Summary: An unlikely Vegeta and Bulma get together that spans over the infamous three years. How did it really happen? Slow burn. Harsh language, sexual situations and tons of mayhem.
Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own any Dragon Ball characters, etc etc. Rights to their respectful owners.
Brief note: It's time for some good ol' hard core Vegeta denial. Hope you enjoy. :3 P.S. updates will be roughly every 10-14 days starting now. :]
Chapter Two: Power over Pleasure
Humans are disgusting.
He could feel her ki still lingering in the kitchen even after he had found himself back in his private suite, sitting on the bed's edge with a hand on his face in frustration. He snarled inwardly at his own idiotic behavior and was ashamed to have said some unnecessary things tonight while present with the woman. Her scent of arousal had permitted the air so strongly upon his arrival into the homestead that it obviously had caused him far more of a primal reaction than he had anticipated – or at least that is what he was going to choose to believe. Never would he have said such things if he was within sound mind and body. Lowering his hand, his fists tightened upon instinct, feeling the woman now finally entering her room to retire for the evening. Always on the defensive and unnecessarily paranoid, he knew such words would do something to the earth woman. These creatures were so emotionally charged, and he knew there was going to be consequences.
Their rutting earlier had set him on edge for some reason and he was unsure why such a thing was of any interest to him. Not only had he felt such acts before between the two morons, he had even almost walked in on their grotesque acts of pleasure all over the compound. It had not taken him long to obviously understand the implication between the two humans; that they were within some sort of earthling courtship. It confused him though, since the woman's scent was not the only female he could smell on the weakling. It shocked him that the blue haired heiress would continue to participate in such acts knowing the scar face was obviously enjoying the flesh of more than one woman. Did they not frown upon such a thing on this planet? The woman's behavior had been strange since the explosion of her gravity simulator, and the scar face being suddenly absent had led him to believe that she had finally grew a pair of what these earthlings called "balls" and had moved on. He had assumed anyway, as her affection and sudden interest in the Saiyan Prince had significantly increased… until tonight that is..
Fuck, who cares.
Wasting no further time dwelling, the prince proceeded to undress and gather beneath the sheets for the night, set on erasing all memories of this evening before his eyes closed. He had training to do tomorrow – everything else was insignificant.
Including her.
"Good morning honey!"
Her mother chirped upon her entrance into the kitchen for breakfast, spatula in hand already elbow deep in stacks of pancakes and piles of egg like some housewife you'd see on television. Bulma came to a halt at the flame haired warrior already seated at the table enjoying a fair share of what her mother had prepared for this morning's menu. She examined him for a moment, still confused by his words and demeanor last night and walked forward to seat herself at the table across from him. His eyes never left his plate, hand shoveling his food upon a fork directly into his mouth, obviously fueling himself for the day's training ahead. Not a word, not a twitch to his face, nothing. Honestly, what was she expecting? She rolled her eyes and then cast them aside to finally respond to her mother's greeting.
"Morning mom, " she spoke watching as her mother was already starting to fix her a plate, " Just some toast and coffee mama, I didn't get much sleep and I need to head to the lab first thing this morning."
"Oh my! " The blonde tittered," That's no way to prepare for a big day at the office!"
Her mother set the plate in front of her anyway, ignoring her daughter's plea for a lighter sampling. Bulma snorted, taking the cup of steaming coffee from her mother's hand once offered, bringing it immediately to her lips. The black brew was soothing to her nerves this am and seemed to put her a bit more at ease. She held onto the cup's base with both hands, staring down into the murky depths of its surface, the steam billowing out with the wonderful aroma she loved so much. Another day and she still felt just as miserable as the day before. The pit of her stomach still felt heavy, her emotions were still a complete mess and it was obvious whatever satisfaction she was chasing last night clearly had dissipated. It wasn't what she really wanted. She sighed deeply glancing upward to Vegeta, his concentration still resting upon the mechanics of feeding himself, her brow furrowing in disappointment.
Come on briefs, like he gives a shit, she mentally scolded herself, this is Vegeta we're talking about.
She cast her eyes back down to her coffee and then stood from the table, " Thanks mom, I'm going to take it on the go."
She noticed Vegeta look up for the first time since her arrival, sparing her a brief glance before returning to the new pile of eggs her mother had brought him. Interesting. With hands reaching out to pick up her breakfast she decided to suddenly forego retrieving them for now and allowed her right hand to rest upon the prince's left. No warning, just for fun – an experiment if you will. She gave it a brief squeeze and removed it, causing the man's spine to go rigid, halting the fork halfway to his mouth, eyes raising to glare at her. Bulma just winked, hands moving to their original task, her pink tongue sliding out to swipe her lips subconsciously, the bitter taste of coffee still upon them. She didn't miss the way Vegeta's gaze dropped to them, regardless of how brief and slight the motion was, causing her to smirk. Oh ho, she triumphed inwardly as his gaze moved back upward to meet her knowing gaze. He winced slightly, a tinted hue spreading adorably to his cheeks as he immediately went back to finishing his meal as though nothing had happened.
So he was still a man after all.
She was within the confines of the lab, engrossed in calculations for an updated ship like the properties of Goku's when the slam of her door startled her to jump out of her chair.
" WOMAN!"
She spun around in shock, hand pressed to her chest, heart seemingly beating out of her chest. The smirk that greeted her upon the prince's face infuriated her. He obviously got some sort of sick twisted pleasure out of terrifying others, especially herself. She sighed deeply and allowed her hand to drop from her chest to perch upon her right hip.
" One of these days you're going to give me a heart attack, " She said with a huff, " What will you do without my genius to fix your toys for you?"
"Tch, " the dark prince snorted, " There's always the old man."
"What do you want?! " She snarled, obviously displeased with how quickly he disregarded her.. again, " I already fixed the panel, Vegeta, don't tell me you broke something already?! "
Vegeta crossed his arms in his signature pose, "The pathetic weakling is upstairs and demands to see you. I came to retrieve you so I could be rid of his presence. His stench is ruining my meal. Your dingbat mother told me that his death was not an option."
She looked at him confused then turned her head to observe the clock above his head. 6 pm already? Had time gone that quickly? Wait.. a second, what?
"Stench?" She suddenly asked, her face screwed up in confusion, "What stench?"
Vegeta frowned and slowly uncrossed his arms, " Don't be an idiot. The stench of those other females."
He said it so matter of factly that Bulma could do nothing but stare at him. Other.. females? It was then that she recalled Goku's own sensitive smell, how through their childhood he had complained about several instances that she just couldn't smell herself - including her own scent, one that Goku told her on many occasions were individual to each person. Saiyans obviously had far greater senses than that of humans. When she realized the implications by his words, she blanched. She grasped for the edge of her desk, leaning her bottom slightly against it to catch her breath. Vegeta had just confirmed what she had thought all along... and though she had believed she would be relieved to finally know the truth, she just felt.. devastated. She raised her gaze to Vegeta to find him staring at her, seemingly uncomfortable with her reaction.
"What's wrong with you?" He demanded with a tone that was annoyed.. yet oddly concerned.
She startled slightly at his aggressiveness of the question, ".. N-nothing. I'll be right up."
The prince only lingered for a bit, examining her slightly before nodding and disappearing without another word. Her shoulders slumped, her arms crossing protectively in front of her as she wallowed for a moment. So it was true then. For the last several months she had noticed a difference in Yamcha's behavior. Despite his sudden obsession of her these last few weeks, he had always had far more interest in the other women around him. This just confirmed it. Vegeta was harsh, cold and vindictive but a liar he certainly was not. The man was as direct as they come. It was time to end this empty relationship that she had desperately clung onto the last few years. Yamcha was all that she knew, but it was obvious that she certainly was not. The harsh reality of suddenly being alone was difficult but necessary. Was this the feeling in the pit of her stomach?
Was it really time to move on?
"You look like shit."
She almost laughed out loud at the blatant statement, but just trudged past the dark prince as though he hadn't spoken. A week had passed since her inevitable break up from Yamcha and she was still wallowing. Her upkeep these fast few days had declined and she knew she probably looked like a drowned rat. Her hair was now limp, desperately needing change, while her eyes were red rimmed and puffy. Her form, having been a bit plump, was already much slimmer than it had been. Today was probably the first day she was contemplating having more than just a glass of orange juice for the day. Vegeta, who she hadn't seen within that entire timeframe since she had spent the whole time buried within the comfort of her bedroom, obviously could tell she had been sulking. By the look on his face, he was obviously disgusted by her appearance.
She hurriedly gathered a slice of toast and another glass of orange juice and retreated as quickly as possible, not wanting to linger any more in front of the flame haired man. She was embarrassed and ashamed by how much her lack of a relationship had really affected her. Her once elevated level of confidence had dwindled down to a flat tundra of insecurity. Once in her room she quickly removed her robe, leaving her in nothing but her silk night gown and instantly buried herself under the covers, breakfast forgotten. She closed her eyes, desperately refusing to allow her frustrated tears to spill over at her ridiculousness the last week. What had happened to the fiery woman she once was? Why was this bothering her so much?
She didn't even have another second to berate herself mentally before the covers were pulled harshly from her body, leaving the cool morning air to exposed legs and arms. She jolted into a sitting position, screeching slightly at the sudden intrusion and came face to face with the dark prince's deep brow. He looked pissed.
"Enough of this bullshit, woman! " Vegeta gnashed his teeth, " The gravity simulator is in desperate need of upgrades and your pathetic emotional wallowing has held me back several days already!"
Bulma looked at him shocked then burst into anger, " Fuck you, Vegeta! Not everything is about you and your training!"
"If you want to live when the androids arrive, it is about me, " He countered, still pulling the covers from her pathetic attempts to cover herself back up and escape the outside world, " I demand that you quit this pathetic emotional antics and get to work at once! The old man is busy with some other stupid contraption and told me you were the only one that could do these repairs!"
Bulma screamed in frustration and then stood on her bed looking down at him, fists clenched furiously while she bellowed, " NO!"
Vegeta was suddenly taken back by her outburst, his hands slacking slightly on their grip of the covers she used as a barrier from the reality she refused to acknowledge. He was astounded by how this woman could go from a sniveling train wreck to a fiery and unforgiving adversary in such a short span of time. He hated to admit it, but he was aroused. This woman was doing things to him that he didn't fully understand. Taking advantage of his startled state, Bulma grasped the covers back and laid back down, covering herself. She was so ashamed, embarrassed and furthermore enraged by the selfish demands of this man.. of all the men apparently in her life. Her shoulders shook with fury but then died down into a quiver of sobs. She broke down, releasing a stubborn array of tears that came without her consent. She was not normally this weak, but damn it, she could not help it.
The frustrated prince ran a hand through his upswept hair in uncomfortable silence. He could hear her crying and it was placing him in a situation that sounded off alarm bells within his mind and body. He shouldn't be here and he shouldn't be doing this, but damn it he wanted those upgrades and the foolish old man had strictly told him that such improvements would be Bulma's dealing, and hers alone. He knew something had significantly changed between her and scar face. The argument that had occurred last week was one that even he had found himself suddenly uncomfortable in. The rage he had witnessed from the woman had been one that even he had never the pleasure of receiving. Apparently, the blue haired heiress had not known of the weakling's transgressions (humans apparently lacked his superior sense of smell) as he was lead to believe and it had ultimately cost the scarred warrior whatever courtship he had with the woman. It was a display that had ruined the entirety of dinner, the two humans making a scene in the middle of the kitchen without a care in the world of who was around them. Though aggravated at the disturbance, he had looked on with a sick sense of glee as the weakling cowered before the heiress.
Good riddance, he thought as his mind wondered back to the moment where he was pleased to see the man leave, vowing to not return as she had requested.
Her sobs invaded his thoughts and he sighed. What the fuck was he going to do now?
"Bulma, " Her name was uncomfortable on his lips, rarely spoken or used by him but he felt the moment warranted it. Her arms lowered the covers suddenly to look at him confused, obviously taken back by the sudden use of her name. It had obviously had the chosen effect.
" He is nothing, " He found himself spewing with a softness that he didn't even know he possessed, " Why do you mourn the loss of someone that was not even worthy of you in the first place?"
His eyebrows shot up as the words dropped from his mouth, a rarity of comfort that the seasoned warrior never gave to anyone. The shock on Bulma's face only confirmed that he had said too much and he abruptly turned to exit. He was fleeing, an action that seemed automatic to uncomfortable situations that he refused to further participate.
"Wait!" Her soft voice rang out but he ignored it. This was pathetic – he was pathetic. The only thing that mattered to him was the power that he knew was waiting for him, the blistering tickle in the back of his mind that he knew he had to reach, could reach… Nothing mattered more to him. Nothing.
Brief Note: Well, what did you think? :] Remember, this is a slow burn, so things are going to slowly build over time. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I do! :3