Never Been Kissed
By: Chibi K

Amidst the roaring of the waterfall, Vegeta’s ears pricked up at the sound of high-heeled shoes slowly approaching the glass door, which served as the only entrance to the garden.

"She should be punching the code now…" he thought as he sat under a tree, meditating. Sure enough, the doors slid open.

The grass moved silently with each step she took towards the tree where the boy was waiting. She clutched her bag closer to her chest as she neared his form. Her blue hair flew over her face, and she quickly tucked the strands over her ear. Soon, she was standing right beside him.

"Hi, Vegeta." She greeted him softly.

No other creature would have addressed him in such a bold manner, without his royal title ‘Prince’. Vegeta was the Prince of the Saiyans, strongest race in the galaxy. The only ones surpassing him in power were his father, the King, and Lord Freeza, who formed an alliance with the Saiyans and took them as mercenaries. Both could wipe out a whole planet in a blink of the eye.

Yet this blue-haired girl, from a race which had little or no ki, greeted him by name, and without any trace of fear in his presence.

Keeping his eyes closed, Vegeta moved to the right and motioned to the vacant place. "Sit down." She obeyed.

Bulma kneeled on the grass, smoothening her red skirt and careful not to soil it. She put her bag next to her. As she did, the wind blew strong and her topknot fell loose. She frowned and quickly raised her hands to her head.

Vegeta grabbed the opportunity to crack open an eye. He spied on her, from top to bottom and back to her face, not really sure why. There was something different inside him today. While he was meditating, he could not concentrate for he was eagerly waiting for her arrival. When they were younger, it was almost a ritual to them, meeting in the garden to play hide-and-seek, a game she taught him 8 years ago. It was good practice for him; he sharpened his senses so much that not only his trainers but even the King was impressed. To her, however, it was still play, and play they did until she was exhausted and felt the need to sleep.

But now, times were different. They could only see each other on certain days, since Bulma also had studies to continue if she wanted to inherit the Science Department in the future. Today was a rare day; most of their meetings could only hold small talk, and not real conversation.

But why was he so distracted, even in his training sessions?

Maybe, it was because he really missed her company.

But it had to be more than that. Why else would his heart skip a beat upon hearing only her footsteps?

She caught him then.

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

Vegeta found himself in a staring match with Bulma, whom obviously had finished with her hair and was now looking back at him.

"I…uh…" his voice faltered. There he was shocked; he, the Prince, actually stuttered!

Suddenly, his face felt furiously hot. He looked away, eyes wide in surprise. What was this new feeling of his?

Bulma peered at him curiously. "I thought you were meditating." She gasped upon seeing his face. "Vegeta, you’re blushing!"

"I-uh-what?"

"Blushing…" she repeated in a whisper.

Frantically, he tried to regain his composure. What was definitely wrong with him? He still could not look at her, because the awkward feeling kept coming back.

She took a deep breath. "My…mother said that, if you blush, you like someone." She looked a bit hopeful.

It took Vegeta a few seconds to register the information she just gave him. "Like someone? Yeah right. Like who?" he said scornfully, failing to notice the hurt look on her face.

The feeling disappeared after, and he cleared his throat. To change the subject, he asked her, "What are you doing nowadays?"

Apparently Bulma had chosen the time to speak and ask exactly the same question.

They fell silent. A few seconds passed.

She gingerly touched her hair. "You go first." Right then he longed to touch her hair too. He shook his head. "You first."

She gave him a smile, and Vegeta felt his heart beat faster.

"Oh, I’m studying the advanced controls of the big ship, can you believe it? I’m actually learning fast! And your father has given me permission to work on any enhancements I see fit to the lower decks." She paused, looking dreamy. "Ha. It won’t be long until I get to do adjustments on your quarters."

"What!?"

"Let’s see…maybe I should remove your heating system…"

"WHAT!?"

"Just kidding!" she giggled. Vegeta’s stomach knotted, and his legs weakened as he heard her laughter.

"What about you?" she asked him, playing with the grass a little bit.

The Prince sputtered out some of the green blades, then he heard Bulma giggle beside him. "Sorry. I had to throw some grass on your face because you wouldn’t answer me."

He frowned. "Why you…"

"Hey, don’t be so angry! I asked you a question."

A smirk unknowingly appeared on his face. Still full of spunk, he proudly thought as the girl in front of him kept giggling. He pulled out some grass himself and threw it on her.

"Want to play, huh?" she taunted and got up, but not without pulling more.

"You’re asking for it." growled Vegeta as he used both his hands to get some.

They engaged in their grass-throwing battle for a few minutes, their laughter muffling even the roar of the waterfall. Bulma fell back down, her face glowing from the playing they did.

Vegeta’s face was glowing too, but it wasn’t just from the playing. He sat down, one arm resting on a knee.

"That was fun." She remarked, shtill gasping for breath. She smoothened out her dress and brushed off the stuck grass.

"You’ve got some on your face." Impulsively, Vegeta reached out and brushed them off her cheek.

They froze; Vegeta’s hand was on her face. Bulma desperately tried to stop the burning sensation quickly rushing in her face. Finally, he pulled away, and faced the other side.

Why did I touch her? He thought furiously.

Why…am I blushing? Bulma felt her cheeks, which were still tingling from his touch.

"Um…Vegeta?" she started to ask.

"Never mind." The response was gruff.

Is he mad? She stole glances at the Prince, who now sat with his back on her. Little did she know that he was only trying to hide his embarassment.

She sniffed, picked up her bag, and rose from her place. "I’ll go now, if you want me to."

"NO!" Both children were startled at the obvious loudness of Vegeta’s voice. She turned around in amazement.

"Uh…I mean…you’re supposed to…tutor me, right?"

"Oh…yeah." Bulma replied, playing along. She could have sworn he reacted when she agreed.

So she returned to her former place, beside him, and opened the bag. Vegeta faced her once more, and they now sat side-by-side, their backs on the tree trunk.

She was so close to him that he could smell her hair. It had a wonderful scent. He was certain he’d never forget it. He watched her taking out the laptop computer Freeza must have given her as a gift.

As she booted it, she asked him, "What’s happening to your studies now?"

He unconsciously made a face as he remembered the past events. "Father’s given me that idiot Spichuno to replace the old tutor."

Bulma nodded. "I still can’t believe that…you almost killed Rubaru-san. I think he stayed in a tank for two weeks."

"He should be glad he annoyed me." He said harshly. "Now he’s a lot stronger, and thanks to whom? Same goes with this new one; he’d better watch out."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh Vegeta, like I’ll be a much better tutor for you."

"Yes." He answered absently. She froze again in the midst of typing.

He caught himself, but shrugged it off quickly. "It’s the truth."

Her eyes widened. Slowly, she turned to look at him. "Really?"

Vegeta didn’t reply.

Bulma smiled. "I’m happy then."

What was this feeling? To know that you made this person happy, and it makes you happy too? He wanted to ask her how and why, but he couldn’t find the right words. More importantly, he couldn’t open his mouth.

The clacking of keys filled the empty air, before Bulma clasped her hands together. "Okay! So what’re you studying now, Vegeta?"

He wouldn’t say anything. She was puzzled. Her hands groped for the keyboard again, and she brought up a holographic map.

"Here’s a map of the Arko sector. C’mon," she coaxed, "tell me which planet are you studying now!"

At last, Vegeta found the strength to crawl nearer the computer. He peered at the map, surveying each sphere and area. "There." He pointed.

"Where?" asked Bulma. Certainly, Vegeta was acting funny, he wouldn’t even point clearly. She gestured to the planet near him. "This one?"

"No, this one." In exasperation he stretched out his arm towards the far end, which ironically the one beside her. However, as he was on his knees, the pull made him unstable. Vegeta tried to keep his balance, but the only thing he could do was to swerve and avoid from squashing the laptop.

Which made him fall on top of Bulma instead. He heard her gasp.

For the third time they were frozen; he was now very very close to her; their faces less than an inch apart. Hers were in a moment of shock; his must have been full of wonder. But both were red and fiercely hot. He was pinning her on the ground; his arms restraining hers; their bodies touching - even the Prince had never felt anything like this before. He practically grew up with this alien girl, and they came across this much physical contact years ago, in their games. She even curled up to him at naps - what was so different then from now?

She broke the silence by whispering his name. "Vegeta…"

He recovered from the trance, and fear crawled up his spine. "Am- am I crushing you? Are you hurt?" He was about to pull away when Bulma shook her head. "No, of course not." She sighed deeply. "I- I just- like it this way."

And then Vegeta could see that her aqua-blue eyes, so beautiful, were shining with hope. As he stared at them, he felt them beckoning him; drawing his face near to hers. Her eyes closed and her lips parted in response.

Instinct made him cover her mouth with his, as they shared a wonderful moment in which they were the only two people in the universe. She did not hold back, she was enjoying his touch as much as he liked hers. Hell, she seemed to know what to do more than him! He lessened the pressure on her arms, and immediately Vegeta felt her soft hands on his head; stroking his hair, weaving the strands through her delicate fingers.

He experienced another sensation; he pulled away for a moment to gaze at her, then he brought his lips gently on her forehead. After that, they found their way all over her face. He nuzzled her nose; she giggled; and he smiled upon hearing it. He moved his own hands towards her head, and slowly undid the topknot she painstakingly fixed a while ago. He didn’t want to at first, but he just couldn’t resist her touch and he also wanted to run his fingers through that blue mane. She nodded in reply, and the topknot fell loose.

He went back to her lips. They were so full and warm, sweet to taste; now his heart was beating so fast he was afraid it would leap out of his chest. His fingers were trembling, as he poured out thousands of hidden feelings he had for this girl, his childhood friend, and now maybe more; the one who seemed to understand him more than anyone else in the world.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, to keep him from shaking, but instead they made the hairs on his nape stand. She caressed the back of his head, encouraging him to let his feelings out; she would gladly accept them. Finally his head dropped to rest on her shoulder; his breathing ragged and gasping heavily. She literally took his breath away, so it seemed. She held him close until he calmed down. The Prince couldn’t describe the feeling, but he knew it was mutual, and did he feel relieved after knowing that.

When they broke apart, she sat up, touched her lips, and smiled shyly. He kept his head down, almost as if ashamed of what he did.

"In Chikyuu, we call that a kiss."

His head snapped up, his eyes widened, and color rushed into his face. He knew, he knew its meaning.

"And my mother said, when you kiss someone, you like that person." Bulma stood up, her cheeks red from either blushing or happiness. "Maybe…even love." She picked up her things and ran to the door. When she reached it, she turned around and waved.

"Thanks for a wonderful time." She smiled sweetly. "Hope to see you again." She ran off and disappeared in the corner.

And Vegeta couldn’t help but wait for the next time they would meet…

~fin~

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