AUTHOR: Mia Skywalker 

PAIRING: Bulma/Vegeta 

RATING: PG 

WARNINGS: None 

DISCLAIMER: DBZ and all characters are owned by a bunch of big corporations that have much more money than I do. Suing me would be trying to get blood from a rock. The song "Love By Another Name" is by Celine Dion, one of the most wonderful singers I know of. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks be to Ravyn, for beta-ing this! ^_^ 

NOTES: This songfic follows my other two - "I Feel Too Much" and "Tell Him", but it also stands on its own. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Love By Another Name 

(Bulma & Vegeta)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bulma gazed wistfully at the gravity room.  She could tell he was training again. It had been a month since the night they had kissed, that first and only time. Since then she hadn't seen very much of Vegeta. It seemed that he had thrown himself into his training with even more vigor than before, something she had always thought was impossible. 

He didn't even eat much with the family anymore. When he had first moved in, a year ago, he had refused to have anything to do with them, only coming into the house to eat and sleep. It had taken Mrs. Briefs six months to get him to join them for meals, to eat regularly with them. Bulma almost thought he had even grown to like that sort of thing, in his dour, sullen way, but ever since that night on the balcony he seemed to have distanced himself from them again.

::Is he avoiding me?:: she wondered, looking at the gravity room with worried, longing eyes. ::Did our kiss disgust him so much? He must have known I want him. But he obviously didn't want me. He must think I'm desperate.:: 

She swallowed painfully, looking at her hands. ::No. He must know that I'm desperate.::

~~*~~

Somewhere past midnight 

When the moment is just right 

We ride the streets of desire 

We take it slow and 

Always get where we're goin' '

Cause where there's smoke there's fire

~~*~~

Vegeta gritted his teeth, feeling her pain again. The bond between them was growing stronger, despite his efforts to destroy it. 

He didn't want this weakness. Bonding had been bred out of the royal line generations ago; why was it returning to him of all people? And why with this weak, human female? He desired her, but knew that if it were sexual desire alone, he could quench it and be rid of it. 

But it wasn't just lust. If he followed through with his urges, the bond wouldn't go away; it would only get stronger, and that was something he didn't want.

Distracted by her thoughts as well as his own, he missed blocking a blast, and it exploded against him, knocking him into a wall. He cursed, but welcomed the pain, welcomed the distraction from thinking about his unwanted feelings for this woman. 

::Kuso!:: he cursed silently, blaming her for this new weakness. If only she had never entered his life; if only he had never met her. 

If only he had killed her the first time he had seen her.

~~*~~

There's no denying 

We don't need to keep trying 

Let's face the music and dance

~~*~~

A shaft of pain went through him at the thought of her death. He clenched his fists, furious at the sudden agony he felt at the idea of never having met her, at the idea that something could have killed her, that something still could kill her. He didn't like this pain, didn't like feeling this need for a weak human like her. 

::Shimatta. Couldn't she at least have been Saiyajin?:: 

Then she would have been strong enough to defend herself at least, and maybe he wouldn't feel so protective of such a fragile being.

~~*~~

Well it's all semantic 

What we never say 

But what we feel ain't goin' away...

~~*~~

And her friends, they were the worst part of all. He could even manage the idea of being with her, if it didn't mean that he would have to deal with them all the time. He didn't know which of them bothered him most. Was it that idiotic Kakarot, the only remaining Saiyajin other than himself? 

The fact that the only other remaining Saiyan was a complete idiot rankled him. He wanted - no, he needed - to kill Kakarot in order to fulfill his final duty as Prince of Vegeta-sei, in order to become king. Yet he knew how Bulma felt about the idiot, and how it would hurt her if he were killed. No, Vegeta could never kill the baka, no matter how much he wanted to, not if it would hurt the woman.

Then there was Yamcha, that weak ningen male Bulma clung to so desperately. Everyone knew how he treated her, even Bulma, yet she always seemed to forgive him after their fights. 

::Baka. Doesn't she know he cheats on her? I can smell the other women on him all the time.:: 

It never occurred to Vegeta that Bulma couldn't sense that, or that she would assumed Yamcha would be as faithful to her as she was to him.

Vegeta already knew that she and Yamcha had never slept together; he could smell her innocence on her. It was one more thing that drew him to her, knowing that Yamcha didn't yet have that hold on her, that Vegeta could make her his, since the other man had never truly staked a permanent claim. 

::Not that I would not kill him if he tried to challenge me,:: Vegeta thought with a smirk, the idea of killing the other man bringing a deep satisfaction to Vegeta's aroused jealousies.

~~*~~

So I wonder- how could we be feeling 

More than this Tell me true 

What it is, 'cause 

Something has to make us feel this way 

Love by another name 

Doesn't matter 'cause it's still the same love 

Won't depend upon the words we say 

Love by another name 

Something happens when we're making love

~~*~~

Vegeta ground his teeth again, realizing that once again he was seriously contemplating consummating that bond. "Kuso!" he swore out loud, and in a fit of anger, released a furious barrage of blasts around the gravity chamber, which circled and came back to him. 

In his rage, however, he had somehow misjudged the strength of his attacks, and they knocked him clear into one of the walls. Several blasts bounced off him, hitting the gravity room walls as well, and the intensity caused the walls to crack and break. Vegeta's eyes opened briefly as he tried to deal with the searing pain, and then he blacked out as the walls came crashing down on him. 

The last thing he remembered was wondering if his torment would end, and regretting that he had never been willing to act on his feelings towards Bulma.

~~*~~

Si ce n'est pas l'amour 

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

~~*~~

Bulma sensed something was wrong before she heard the explosion, and she was already headed towards the gravity chamber before it collapsed. 

::Vegeta!:: 

She was terrified that he was hurt, or worse.... It never occurred to her to wonder why she was worrying about a man that a year ago she and her friends had been trying to kill. All she knew was that she wanted him to be all right.

When she saw the damage to the small building, she stared at it in despair. She hastily summoned her robots to clear it, but was afraid one of them might hurt Vegeta inadvertently. 

When she saw his hand sticking out from under the rubble, all her fears seemed to crash forward. With a strangled sob she fell toward him, once the robot had removed the rubble from on top of him. She turned him over as gently as she could, and pressed her ear to his chest to hear his heartbeat. It was several minutes before she could make it out, and she released her breath in relief. It wasn't until then that she realized that she'd been holding it. 

::Please be all right!:: she pleaded silently, tears streaming down her face.

~~*~~

If it's not love 

What is it? 

We're superstitious 

When every day is like Christmas

~~*~~

Vegeta woke to pain and the smell of the infirmary. He opened his eyes and started to sit up, but then lay back again with a weak groan as the motion caused his head to pound. A faint sigh nearby caused him to turn his head, and he saw Bulma sitting in a chair by his bed. Her hair was tumbled loose and over her shoulders, and it appeared she had fallen asleep, her head resting on her arms on the nightstand by his bed.

Without lifting his head, he reached a hand and touched her cheek lightly, brushing her hair from her face to give him a better view. The scowl on his face never wavered, but something inside of him reached out toward her, touched by the way she had stayed by him. He didn't understand her. They constantly fought with one another, he never showed her a moment of kindness, yet she would do something like this for him. For a man who had never shown her anything but brutality and scorn.

He winced as he remembered how he had threatened and terrorized her on Namek. He had desired her even then, but he would have killed her in an instant had it been to his advantage. His hand shook at the knowledge that he would have been responsible for snuffing out this bright light from the universe. He pulled his hand away from her face, turning away from her, trying to forget.

~~*~~

It should be left undisturbed 

No promise spoken 

Hearts don't have to get broken 

More than a four letter word

~~*~~

Bulma seemed to sense something that drifted over the edges of her sleep. She stirred and opened her eyes, shifting as she yawned and stretched slightly. She glanced at Vegeta and blinked, then realized he was awake. For some reason the memory of him chasing her on Namek had returned, but something about it was strange. Then she realized that she was seeing it from his viewpoint; she was somehow sharing his memory. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Then another memory, unbidden, came to her. She remembered how, earlier that same day, she'd had a nightmare that Vegeta had been chasing her, that he had stalked her with glowing red eyes, threatening to kill her if she didn't hand him the dragonball. She had tried to give it to him, in her dream, but he had refused to listen, and had killed her anyway. Her heart pounded, remembering the terror in that dream, and then she noticed Vegeta staring back at her, his eyes wide with surprise.

"You... you see me that way?" he rasped out hoarsely.

She shook her head. "No.... I think I did once, but I don't now."

His eyes narrowed in contemplation. "Your dream was vivid, and your memory of it was strong. Do you still fear me that way?"

"Do you... do you want me to?" Bulma hated the nervous quiver in her voice. It made her sound weak and timid, which she hated.

To her surprise, Vegeta sighed, and turned his face away in resignation. "No. I do not."

~~*~~

If we're just pretending 

We can write a new ending 

If we don't like where it leads

~~*~~

The days passed as Vegeta healed. During this time they didn't speak much, but Bulma spent much of her time in the room with him. He gave her the plans for building her own regeneration tank, so he wouldn't have to go through this slow healing process the next time he was injured this way. 

To his surprise, she didn't immediately go and build one for herself, but instead moved her computer into the infirmary and seemed to be doing something on it while she continued to watch him. He wondered why she didn't start working on the regeneration tank; in the past, when she had gotten new technology, she had always wanted to play with it right away. At least, that was what he had always seen and heard about her. But she didn't seem to want to leave him alone at the moment, something he didn't understand.

He wouldn't admit that he liked having her around, and he did his best to complain about her hanging about him constantly, but the truth was that he found her presence there soothing. He wasn't sure why he found her so; she could be loud and rude and temperamental - if he yelled at her she wouldn't run away like other people would, but would yell right back at him. He couldn't intimidate her, and that fascinated him. He realized that it always had. He was drawn to her, not just to her beauty, but also to her courage, her strength, and her intelligence.

::Who knew?:: he wondered. ::Who knew a weak Earth woman would be what I have needed all my life?:: 

It was only then he could admit to himself that he did need her. He wasn't ready to admit it to Bulma just yet, but he knew he was going to do his damnedest to make her return his feelings. He didn't want her to fear him as she had on Namek; he wanted her to trust him, to need him, to... love him.

~~*~~

Well it's new romantic 

Action over words 

The sweetest nothings that I've heard

~~*~~

Bulma wasn't sure what had changed between them. Three weeks now had passed since that kiss, the one that had changed her feelings towards him, and even towards Yamcha. She had seen her erstwhile boyfriend a few times since then, but his half-hearted attentions and almost indifferent contact with her didn't bother her anymore. That one kiss with Vegeta had stirred feelings she had never known, not even with Yamcha, whom she had always thought she loved more than anyone. If she could feel that way for someone she had never thought she could have cared for, then she didn't believe she had ever truly loved Yamcha. Her feelings towards him waned, and as they did, her interest in Vegeta's welfare continued to increase.

She noticed, too, that Vegeta seemed almost quieter. Not since the kiss - he had avoided her for weeks after that, and she still didn't know why. No, it was since the explosion in the gravity room. She had no idea what had changed for him, but something had. Although on the outside he behaved no differently, sometimes she would catch him watching her intently, as though thinking of something she couldn't understand. And he was actually polite to her on occasion. He wasn't exactly 'nice', but at least he wasn't deliberately rude to her all the time.

~~*~~

I can't tell you everything I'm feeling 

More than this 

Do you know 

What it is, 'cause

~~*~~

It was on the third day of Vegeta's enforced convalescence that Bulma came into the room, excitement bursting about her. Vegeta could feel it, and couldn't help being a little intrigued. As usual, however, he grunted noncommittally when she told him she had something she thought he would like to see. He allowed himself to be dragged into the outer room, complaining all the while, even though he truly was curious. 

When he saw the regeneration chamber settled there, he stared in disbelief. Somehow, even though she had rarely left his side except, he suspected, to sleep, somehow she had found the time to build this. She smiled in delight when she saw the astonishment on his face, and crowed happily.

"There you go, Vegeta! And better than your plans! It won't just heal Saiyajins, it'll heal anyone! And it works faster, because it doesn't use just generic Saiyajin DNA, it takes a template of the person in it and uses their own!" 

He could tell she was excited, but none of that mattered to him. What mattered to him was that if he got hurt, he could use this and be healed again. He could let Kakarot beat him within an inch of his life, and become stronger, and eventually he might be strong enough to defeat Kakarot himself, and maybe even kill him and become king....

Bulma was talking again, and something she said caught his attention. "Gravity chamber?" he repeated again, not certain what he had heard.

She nodded. "Of course. That's what I wanted you to see. I finished this yesterday, but I didn't think you'd be interested. Come on, you have to see the improvements I've made!"

He followed her out, stunned again. She had outdone even what he had imagined she could do. In less than half a week she had not only built a regeneration tank based on plans she had never seen before in her life, but she had rebuilt his gravity chamber?

She dragged him inside and showed him the controls. It went up to a thousand gravities? She said it could also be lowered to go to zero gravity, but he shrugged that off as useless. Once again, he stared at her in amazement. And then he did something that shocked her just as speechless as she had made him.

"Thank you, Bulma-chan," he whispered, staring intently at her.

Her stunned expression made it impossible to resist, and he approached her until their faces were less than an inch apart. Slowly, permitting her plenty of time to flee if she wanted to, he moved his mouth towards hers, and allowed his lips to touch her own. 

She gave a startled gasp but didn't back away, and he slid his arms around her and drew her close, deepening the kiss. It was something he had been wanting to do for weeks, ever since that first one. 

It was just as sweet as he remembered; she was just as responsive.

~~*~~

I know that I can't describe 

What I'm feeling inside 

Maybe I'll learn 

I guess I live with the fear 

This could all disappear 

If I try to put it in words

~~*~~

When he drew away at last, he smirked at her, and couldn't resist annoying her. "Well, woman? When are you going to get me dinner? Or do you want me to starve to death now?"

Bulma pulled back angrily, and stormed out of the room, heading towards the house. ::That jerk! How can he do that? I almost thought he....:: 

Then she slowed, and her fingers touched her lips, trailing over them lightly. She smiled, her face softening as she felt his kiss again. No, she realized, he acted like a jerk to cover up his feelings. He had shown her his true feelings when he had kissed her.

With a triumphant smile she headed into the house, knowing that it was only a matter of time until she won.