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Bulma cupped her hands over her mouth and blew into them. She cursed herself for leaving her scarf and mittens behind as a gust of wind blew a flurry of snow into her face. Though she wore boots, her toes were frozen.
At least she remembered to wear a hat. Her hair poked out from underneath it and tickled her neck, not quite long enough to provide any sort of shield from the chilly breeze. With her hands tucked in her pockets, she pressed forward. A simple walk across the Capsule Corp grounds had never been so ill-conceived, she surmised.
As she trudged along, she heard the unmistakable crackling of approaching ki. That would be Vegeta, back from one of his training sessions in kami-knew-where. The Saiyan prince had warmed up to her these past few months as the days grew cold and short, but he still refused to divulge the location of his training grounds.
Bulma shielded her eyes from the snow and tried tracking his position in the sky. The hair on the back of her neck raised as electricity filled the air, just like it would before a lightning strike.
Something made impact behind her and sent wet slush flying in all directions. Bulma whirled around to see Vegeta doubled over and panting from exertion. A small crater circled his position, and Bulma had been just outside of the epicenter. And she was soaked.
“Vegeta!” she yelped, face red with the cold and pulling her too-thin jacket closer around her. “A little warning, next time!”
The prince finally caught his breath and straightened up. He assessed her a long sweep of his gaze from toes to head and frowned. “It’s no fault of mine you aren’t dressed for the weather, woman,” he laughed derisively, though his face showed no humor.
Usually, Bulma would be more than happy to engage in a verbal spar with the haughty Saiyan. But she shivered as the wetness permeated her clothing all the way to her skin, and really needed to keep moving. More than just her hair was going to be blue if she didn’t get warmed up soon, so she turned and stalked away from him with her hands shoved as deep into her pockets as they would go.
The crunch of the snow behind her as Vegeta took flight echoed across the white-laden pines that lined the path where she walked. He drew alongside her, arms crossed and flying backward. His feet hung mere inches off the ground as he kept pace with her, watching her intently.
He clearly wasn’t going to let her get away without a comeback.
“Weak human,” he taunted. “Can’t even handle a little cold water on her back.”
Bulma could feel the heat he radiated. It was inviting and almost magnetic in its pull, and she had to fight the urge to clamp onto him just to so she could have relief. Her pride would not allow it.
And, surely, neither would his.
Frustrated by her lack of response to his cajoling, Vegeta effectively blocked her path by pulling ahead and planting himself in front of her and crossing his arms like some kind of sentinel.
“Vegeta, move, ” Bulma warned after trying to go around him and being thwarted at every turn. She pulled her arms even more tightly around herself.
He shook his head and refused to move and she was about to push him herself when he reached out and pulled her hands from her pockets. Startled, she tried yanking them away, but his grip was firm.
And warm.
So, so warm.
She unballed her fists and let him draw her into his electric aura. She could almost feel the steam rising off of her chilled skin as she entered the golden glow, and for the moment she forgot her pride and melted into him.
“You’re going to catch your death out here,” Vegeta said, doing his best to keep her at arm’s length and failing.
“You sound concerned,” Bulma said. The pink tint of her cheeks deepened a shade as he held her gaze for a long moment before looking away.
“Tch. Well, who’s going to fix the training robots and the gravity room if you die?” Vegeta said gruffly, his own cheeks turning bright red.
Bulma smiled. “You’re cute when you blush,” she teased. “I was just heading over to the lake. It’s frozen solid, do you want to come?”
Vegeta eyed her like she was crazy. “Whatever for?”
“To skate, silly. It’s what people on Earth do during winter.”
Although that answered none of the questions he had, Vegeta allowed her to lead him in bewildered silence. The creaking of their footsteps in the newly fallen snow was the only sound they heard on the way there.
Once they arrived, Bulma unlocked the lake boathouse and emerged moments later donning a red scarf and gloves. She also held two pairs of skates by the laces, and handed one pair to Vegeta.
“Come sit with me,” she invited, patting the spot on the bench next to her where she sat down to put her skates on.
“Are these… knife shoes?” he asked, taking the proffered skates and turning them over in his hand to inspect them. “And walk around on the frozen lake?”
“Yeah, something like that. It’s fun,” Bulma reassured him. She tugged off her left boot and pushed her foot into the skate with a grunt of effort.
“I don’t have time for fun, woman.”
“Then consider it training. I bet you’ll fall right on your ass the moment you step foot on the ice.”
That challenge, of course, was accepted. Vegeta’s mild embarrassment at having to be shown how to lace the skates only served to further his determination to rise up to the occasion.
“I got a scarf for you, too,” Bulma said once they were both laced up. She handed him a long strip of dark blue fabric in the same shade as his training clothes.
He took it, draping it between his hands and examining it like he did the skates. The capsule corp logo displayed prominently on one end while the other end sported stripes of the complementing gold he usually wore.
“It’s tradition,” Bulma informed him when she noted his hesitation. “Now c’mon.”
The sensation of precariously walking on the skates was uncomfortable. Vegeta’s legs felt wobbly and his steps were unsure. But Bulma’s sure grip on his arm helped him steady himself, even if he wasn’t going to admit leaning on her a little bit.
Bulma took the first step out onto the ice. She slid forward easily and spun around to face Vegeta, who looked apprehensive. It was the first time she could recall him looking almost… scared to do something.
And if he landed on his behind like she predicted, she was going to laugh her ass off because he deserved it for being such a pompous asshole 95% of the time.
However, not quite as predicted, Vegeta stepped onto the ice and didn’t immediately lose his footing. That occurred when he attempted to move forward. He got a bit of momentum going before losing control. His limbs flailed in all directions and he went down, hard.
Bulma crouched next to him with the biggest, most infuriating told-you-so grin on her face.
“Don’t even say it, woman,” Vegeta growled with all the indignance he could muster. He ignored her hand and stood up by himself, but not before his skates went out from under him once more. “You brought me here just to humiliate me. That’s the last time I do you a favor.”
Bulma raised her eyebrows. “And letting you live at my house and repairing my robots and my gravity room isn’t a ‘favor?’ Come on now, big guy. Learn to loosen up a little! Life is short!”
“Yours will be if you laugh at me again.” Vegeta’s threat held no venom and he froze when Bulma looped her arm in his, her gloved hand gripping his forearm. “Woman, what are you doing?”
“Skating, what are you doing?” she replied, grinning and pulling him along with her.
He was surprised to find that when he matched her movements, he was actually able to stay upright. Her movements were graceful and practiced, while his were awkward and clunky. Soon, though, he gained enough confidence to pick up the pace.
Thankfully, the area was entirely devoid of other people, so Vegeta allowed her to be useful for the time being. Even though they were moving faster now, he still clung to her arm. And then she pressed her cheek to his shoulder and smiled up at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Wanna have a hot chocolate later? Help us warm up? We could sit by the fire and relax for a bit.”
“Are you still cold? You have all of those layers on.”
“A little,” Bulma admitted, rubbing her hands together. Her cheeks were still that delightful shade of pink.
Vegeta swallowed. She was hard to resist. Without another word, he let his ki flicker outward to surround them both in a cozy blanket of energy. “Then yes. I will join you for hot chocolate by the fire.”