This is a little OneShot about Vegeta and Bulma. It is one little scene that just popped into my head...

It is a scene that could have taken place like this in the 3 years before the 'arrival' of the androids.

Enjoy and please leave a review!

All Bark, no Bite

Vegeta stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and began to dry himself. His training had been intense today, even for his standards. But he needed to be ready. There was no way in hell that he'd let himself be killed by some freaking androids. He was a prince and he wasn't going to be outmatched by some silly machine.

After he had dried himself, he slipped on a pair of sweatpants and sat down on his bed, staring at the wall, unseeing. He sighed and then looked around the room. This place was strange. The people here were strange. He had never really known peace, had always been a man of battle. Being here, surrounded by these weak earthlings, made him feel weird. He didn't know what to do with them, couldn't help but search for motives they might have, things they might be plotting.

Especially the old man and his wife gave him a headache. Bunny Briefs was such an airhead, always unnaturally happy and kind. Her husband was equally confusing, always calm and gentle. Vegeta would have written it off as stupidity, hadn't it been for Dr. Briefs cunning intellect. Even Vegeta could see that the man was a genius, though he would never admit it to anyone.

And then there was their daughter. Bulma Briefs would have made a fine warrior – if it weren't for her lack in physical strength. She could be fierce and determined. Those traits were the reason why she wasn't as alien to him as her parents. But then there were also other parts of her personality. Those confused him greatly. There was, for one, her love for fashion or the way she would talk to him as if he weren't one of the most powerful beings in the universe. She sometimes even dared to make fun of him or yell at him!

On the other hand though, as confusing as all of this was, he didn't really need to figure it out. In two years those androids would come and he'd be ready, showing Kakarott just how much more powerful than him he was.

As soon as his mind turned to the coming battle and his annoying rival, he knew that sleep wouldn't come easily now. So instead of lying down he stood up, leaving the room and making his way to the kitchen. He was going to drink something and maybe have a little snack. Perhaps there were some steaks left from dinner.

He heard the TV before he reached the kitchen, seeing the dim light it emanated as soon as he turned the corner. It was past midnight and that somebody was still in the living room surprised him. He cursed himself for not having spread out his senses to register ki. If it weren't for him being surrounded by weaklings, this could have been a severe mistake.

He did now, however, in order to figure out who it was. Ah, it was the woman they called Bulma. A rather ridiculous name, not that he cared, but it fit her in a strange way because she too was… other in a way.

He went into the kitchen, not bothering to turn on the lights as he soundlessly opened the refrigerator and took out the food he wanted. It wasn't much – at least for saiyan standards – but he had only wanted a snack anyway. Normally when he grabbed a late snack he'd sit in the living room, sometimes looking at the strange photographs – with everybody smiling cheerily – and sometimes even watching a bit of TV. But now he turned away, about to walk back to his room with his food his hands.

But then he stopped. "Why?" he asked himself. Why was he changing his normal routine only because of the human female? He wasn't going to hide from her! He'd do what he always did, no matter who got in his way. He turned around stubbornly, walking towards the living room.

Bulma watched as a woman melodramatically bitch slapped her best friend for 'stealing' the guy she'd been interested in. She had only been watching this for three minutes and was already sure that she didn't want to see any more of it. So she skipped to another channel, taking a sip from her hot chocolate. She nearly chocked as a bomb went off all of a sudden, a big explosion showing on the big screen. "Lovely." she murmured, though still thinking it to be an improvement from the former soap opera.

The explosion was followed by gunshots. Bulma watched for a few minutes, but there seemed to be no plot to the destruction. Shaking her head she set down the cup that she had been holding in both hands and switched to the next channel. She was instantly glad that she had put down her drink because this sure as hell was a horror movie. There was one problem Bulma had with these. She normally didn't watch them, because she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep afterwards, but whenever she came across one accidentally, she just couldn't tear her eyes away, desperately wanting to know the outcome.

Right now she watched as a teenage girl slowly walked along a hallway, gulping and putting a shaking hand on the wall. "Hello?" the blonde asked hesitantly. Why was it that in horror movies the people were always walking towards the things that seemingly scared them? The scene in itself wasn't so scary, but the music that played made Bulma's blood freeze. She grabbed for a pillow, anxiously holding it in front of her, ready to shield her eyes from the view if necessary.

The young girl reached a door which was squeaking slightly. Two windows in the hallway stood open, making the girl sigh in relief. "Must have been the wind." The girl murmured, closing the door and the windows. But as she turned one could see a shadow outside, making Bulma's muscles tighten and chills running down her spine as… "Buh!"

Bulma jumped up with a squeal, holding her pillow in front of her as if it were a mighty shield. "Vegeta!" she hissed as the man laughed evilly, completely enjoying her discomfort. "You scared the hell out of me!" He just kept on laughing as she lowered her pillow a little. Bulma was distracted for a second, as she realized that Vegeta was wearing no shirt but only sweatpants, exposing his upper body. He quieted and looked at the pillow that she had still raised in front of her. "Is that the kind of weaponry humans use?" he questioned, quirking an eyebrow. "You very well know that it is not!" Bulma snapped back at him, embarrassed at her feeble attempt at protecting herself.

The saiyan just shook his head, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch, a large plate in his one hand. "What are you doing?" Bulma asked cautiously as she looked at the food. "Getting myself a snack, woman. Not that it is any of your business." Bulma leaned her head to one side. "But you ate later than we did… it can't have been that long ago…" Vegeta just shrugged, not willing to answer. "You saiyans are like bottomless pits, I swear." Bulma muttered under her breath, remembering Goku's eating habits. She didn't know how Chi-Chi kept up with him without robots to help her.

Vegeta didn't say anything in return, but Bulma hadn't expected him to reply anyway. He wasn't much of a chatterer. He surprised her then, speaking without having been asked a question. "Why do you humans keep these pictures?" She looked up at him, only to see him staring at a picture up on a cupboard. It had been taken at Kame House shortly after Goku had married Chi-Chi. It displayed the happy couple, that old pervert, Oolong, Krillin and her with Yamcha and Puar right next to her.

She and Yamcha had broken up again recently, both trying to come to terms with what had happened after Vegeta had first arrived on earth. Yamcha had died and Bulma had gone to Namek, both of them experiencing new, strange things. Bulma had cried and grieved when Yamcha had died, but it hadn't been as hard on her as she'd thought it would be. That kind of made her wonder if Yamcha really was the one for her… "To remember old times, I guess. I like looking at them and thinking back… About how things were back then, what has changed since…" she answered in order to distract herself from her previous train of thought. She'd thought that he would say something dismissive and he didn't disappoint.

"You humans are so sentimental." he stated, but kept looking at the pictures. Bulma shrugged and continued watching him, shutting out the sounds coming from the TV, as her eyelids grew heavier with each second.

Vegeta scanned the different photographs as he ate lazily, his hands moving with the same speed as a human's would when eating. He noted the differences between those people in the pictures and the earthlings he had come to know. There seemed to be almost no difference with Kakarott though, making Vegeta believe that humans changed faster with age than saiyans did.

The pictures mostly displayed Bulma and her parents, though, so the only person who he could really analyze from those pictures was her. One showed her when she was nothing more than a child, her father smiling proudly at her as she worked on some machinery. Another showed her when she was slightly older, both her and her father covered in grease, but they were laughing. In one she held a paper in her hands, a haughty smirk on her lips. He didn't really understand that one. It was just a piece of paper, wasn't it?

All in all she seemed happy, no matter which photograph he looked at. Sometimes during the past year he had heard her and her parents talk about the 'adventures' she had had with Kakarott when he was still little and due to what he had heard, he knew that her life hadn't always been easy. That she was still able to smile like that, as if she didn't know any kind of hardship, made him feel something that he really didn't want to feel. Respect.

It was ridiculous. Respect for a human? He turned so that he could glare at the woman who made him feel something so absurd, but could only blink when he realized that the infuriating creature had fallen asleep. Was she nuts? Did she have a death wish or something? It was very foolish to fall asleep in the presence of someone you were supposed to be wary of. And she should be wary of him! He could destroy this mud ball of a planet, her and all her friends in a heartbeat. Well, maybe not Kakarott, but that would change. He'd see to it.

For a warrior, falling asleep when someone was nearby was a display of utter trust as people were most vulnerable when they slept. Yet this woman had fallen asleep right beside someone who she should consider to be her enemy. This woman was plain confusing, maddeningly so. Then his forehead creased. Well, on the other hand it didn't make much of a difference. He could as easily kill her when she was awake as when she slept.

The woman seemed relaxed, as she lay there, sleeping. Vegeta had finished his meal by now and considered going upstairs and leaving her like this. He probably should. What was she to him anyway, besides a nuisance? Well, and besides the one to fix his GR when the stupid thing got damaged? He put the plate he had been holding while eating down on the table in front of him. He cursed, half wishing that it would wake her up. But the woman seemed to be deep in slumber.

He stood up and walked towards her, putting one arm beneath her knees and the other beneath her shoulders. Then he picked her up easily. It was strange, the feeling that shot through him, as her head rolled against his shoulder, her whole being completely at his mercy. She sighed then, seeming content in his arms, making him frown. "Strange humans." he whispered as he carried the sleeping woman to her room.

The next morning Bunny Briefs entered the living room, surprised to find the TV turned on. Then she saw a large plate and a half-emptied cup of hot chocolate on the table in front of the couch. She immediately knew who the items belonged to. She hummed as she turned off the TV and took the plate and cup with her to the kitchen. "Oh, they'll make such an interesting couple!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.