Vegeta held his head in both hands as he sat against the wall of the gravity room. He was grimacing as he leaned forward. Oh, he had experienced torture before, many times at the hands of Frieza and plenty of other times at the hands of various enemies. His enemies had always been creative in finding ways to try to make him suffer, and he had always been equally creative in coming up with vicious and cruel ways to make their deaths as painful as possible in response.
But never in his entire life had anyone done something like this to him.
"I hate doing this to you, Vegeta. I really do," a downright evil voice said. "But we had a deal."
"Fiend," Vegeta hissed, looking up to stare into the blue eyes of his enemy as he continued holding his head.
Bulma laughed on the screen projection. He wanted to destroy the center control of the gravity room which would stop the link so he wouldn't have to see the blasted woman anymore. But to do so meant to destroy the gravity simulator. He realized with dismay that she had specifically designed it that way so he couldn't do a thing about it if she felt like interrupting him.
Demon woman… devil wench…
"Give it up, Vegeta," Bulma said smugly. "This is one battle you can't win. Just surrender."
"Never," he snarled.
"I can end your pain with the push of a button…" she said, her tone taunting.
Vegeta shot the projection a furious glare, his hands still on his head. "Woman, stop this at once or I will tear you limb from limb when I leave here," he threatened. "Don't think I won't just because you are a female!"
"Well, tough guy, you'd have to leave the gravity room to do that, which means I win by default," she said with a smirk. He growled, too agitated and flustered to respond, and she laughed. "What? Did you think me a mindless female?" she asked, using his own words against him as her smirk grew. "I'll have you know, Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans, that I am one woman not to be messed with."
She reached down and turned up the volume just a little bit. Not enough to hurt him with his sensitive hearing, but enough so that he couldn't tune out the music playing in the gravity room even if he tried.
Evil bitch, he thought furiously as the horrific sounds assaulted his ears. Blue haired minx... he looked back up at the projection to see her dancing to the music in her seat.
"I don't really like this kid's music, but this song is kinda catchy, don't you think, Vegeta?" she said innocently as she looked at him through the monitor on her desk, that smirk still on her face.
"Turn. It. OFF," he hissed through his teeth.
"Will you come shopping with me?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. She then burst out laughing, and went back to dancing, that triumphant smirk on her face. Bulma hadn't had this much fun in a long, long time. Yamcha hardly ever opposed her, always caving in like a flower meeting a brick. Vegeta, on the other hand, was a hell of a lot more fun. She looked at him through her monitor, and her smirk grew into a grin. "Just say the word, buddy, and I'll turn it off."
He started shaking a little as she started singing along.
"I'll buy you anything, I'll buy you any ring, and I'm in pieces, baby fix me…"
"TURN IT OFF, WOMAN!" Vegeta roared at the projection, his eye twitching from his stress. He watched her ignore him and continue to dance and sing along.
"And I just can't believe my first love won't be around... and I'm like, baby, baby, baby, ohhh…"
Vegeta glared at her, still holding his head from the agony of having to hear these strange and awful Earth sounds that they actually dared call music. The prince had thought he was in the clear, thought he had emerged victorious. Then like an enemy on the battlefield still standing when the smoke cleared, he realized that she was far from defeated. Not only had she interrupted his training just as he was getting warmed up, but she had insisted on playing him a training soundtrack to "encourage" him to work harder. Like he knew what the hell a "soundtrack" was.
And then the music had started.
Thank the Gods that this blasted woman wasn't born a Saiyan female, he thought to himself as his eye continued to twitch. Bulma looked at him as if she caught his thought, and gave him a flirtatious smirk.
"Give up yet?"
"Never," he shot back, his eyes locked on hers defiantly.
"I see," Bulma said thoughtfully, before pressing a button and stopping the music altogether. He lowered his hands from his head, sighing in relief but still suspicious. He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what the demon woman was going to do next. Bulma winked at him and raised her cell phone to her ear.
"Hey, Dad," Bulma said brightly. "Yeah, I'm great, how are you?... ah, yes, I see… well, just wanted to let you know that I'm not going to be able to make our meeting today at 3… I know, I'll take care of it later… all right, love you too, bye!"
She snapped her phone shut and looked at the scowling Saiyan sitting on the floor of the gravity room. "Now we have all day to have fun," she said smugly, before bursting out into a fit of delighted giggles as he visibly paled. Bulma spun on her wheeled chair as she turned to her laptop, pulling up the playlist she had composed just for her Saiyan guest. She casually scrolled through it, ignoring the dangerous growl coming through the monitor.
"Let's see. Justin Bieber isn't really my style, so let's just see who comes up on shuffle," she said, putting her playlist on shuffle and pressing play. The music came back on and Vegeta began shaking again, raising his hands to his head again. He squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to give in. "Oh, I love this song!" Bulma said with excitement, before starting to dance in her seat again.
Unfortunately for him, his resolve began to crumble when she started singing again. Vegeta clenched handfuls of his hair as he absent-mindedly wondered if Frieza had hired the blue haired vixen on Namek, just to ensure further torture in the event of the tyrant's death.
"I'm talking pedicures on our toes, toes, trying on all our clothes, clothes, boys blowing up our phones, phones…"
"WOMAN!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, a vein visibly pulsing on his temple.
"Yes, your highness?" she asked innocently, turning to look at him with that maddening smirk on her face.
"TURN THAT BLOODY RACKET OFF AT ONCE!" he roared, before taking a deep breath. "I… I will…" his voice trailed off, his pride refusing to give in but his sanity begging him to end the madness.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Bulma said, turning down the music a little. She leaned in closer to the camera that was recording her, cupping a hand around her ear. "You will what? Please, do finish your sentence, Vegeta."
Vegeta blushed furiously as he looked away, refusing to watch the triumph sparkling in her blue eyes. He couldn't believe this was actually happening, but he was about to give in to the blue haired demon woman. He didn't want to, but he was a second away from putting a palm up to his temple and blasting his own head off if he had to withstand more of this torture.
The proud prince seethed through his teeth, closing his eyes, "I will go with you to buy the blasted garments," he muttered.
Bulma smiled in satisfaction. "That's what I thought," she said smugly, before that smirk was back on her face. "But you do know that I can't take you shirtless like you are, right?"
Vegeta looked down at the white, collared shirt on the floor. He had ripped it off and torn it to pieces as soon as he was inside the gravity room, along with the bandages that had been on his arms. He had seen no need for either since he was going to start his training again.
"That's okay though, I found you another shirt you can wear, you bad man you."
He looked up and saw what he was dreading: she was holding up a very familiar short-sleeved, pink, collared shirt with BADMAN on the back.
Now he was sorely wishing he had kept the stupid white shirt intact.
What a conniving little demon wench! he thought to himself as he growled angrily. Even though he was embarrassed, he couldn't help the feeling of admiration rising up in his chest. She had fearlessly pressed his buttons and had, he admitted silently to himself, won this battle. Then she had added insult to injury by forcing him to wear the one garment he hated more than any other in the world. She was as cunning as he was (if not more) and damn it to hell if he didn't feel some respect burning inside of him for her.
"Fine!" he finally spat out, giving in as his cheeks burned even more. He sulked and tried disappearing into the wall as he stared bitterly at the floor. "Whatever," he muttered.
"Excellent," she said with a huge smirk. "I'll see you out in front in five. And I'm just going to leave this playing, just in case. Don't want you running off again." She turned up the music, and gave him another wink.
The projection was finally over, as was his dignity for the day.
Bulma snickered when she saw Vegeta finally approaching her hover jet a few moments later, with a look on his face like he wanted to blow her to pieces. She smirked and twirled the pink shirt around a little in one hand.
"I said five minutes, dear prince, and you are one minute late," she teased. Vegeta shot her a glare that would've killed her on the spot if looks could kill, before snatching the pink shirt right out of her hands.
"I hope the worms eat you quickly when you're dead, woman," the Saiyan Prince snarled with pure venom in his voice. Bulma just laughed and walked around the hover jet to get into the driver's seat.
They flew in silence. He had his arms crossed tightly over his chest, staring straight ahead, his jaw angrily set. Even when she tried engaging him in small talk, he would either growl low in his throat or ignore her completely. Bulma decided to drop it, just happy that he was there with her.
Vegeta slammed the door shut so hard when he exited the hover jet that the entire vehicle shook from the impact. Bulma shot him a glare as she pressed a button on her hover jet, encapsulating it.
"Watch it, buddy, you're going to ruin our ride home," she warned him, picking up the capsule and putting it in her purse.
"You mean your ride home," Vegeta shot back, crossing his arms angrily as he instinctively took in his new surroundings.
They were in a parking lot to a mall, where he could see people walking in and out of various stores, getting in and out of their cars without worries, unaware of the destruction fated for their world in less than two years now. The environment was making him tense. Vegeta wasn't used to being around so many people when he wasn't murdering everyone in sight.
Bulma saw the way the Saiyan was anxiously looking around him, and could easily tell his clear discomfort. She reached out her hand to him. His dark eyes immediately shifted back at her, before narrowing.
"Come on, Vegeta. It won't be so bad," she told him gently, giving him a small smile. His look turned disgusted when he saw that Bulma was offering him her hand.
"I am not a child that you can drag around, woman!" he snapped at her. "And what the devil are you wearing?" he demanded, looking at the odd contraption on her face that hadn't been there before. "Is that some type of scouter?"
"No, they're sunglasses. They protect my eyes from the sun, or in this case, they keep me from being identified," she said with a nonchalant shrug.
"Identified?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "People would recognize you?"
She gave him a smug smile. "Well… I am the wealthiest and smartest woman on the planet, Vegeta." She raised an eyebrow back at him. "Don't you remember my invention I showed you? Take your knowledge of physics, and multiply it by a thousand. Then you might be a little closer to my scientific know-how," she said with a smirk.
He grunted and rolled his eyes. "Woman, your arrogance is astounding."
"Pot, meet kettle?"
"Huh?" he asked, giving her a bewildered look.
"It basically means you're being hypocritical," she said with a chuckle. "Besides, I can hardly help it if my parents produced someone gorgeous like me with a killer brain and personality to boot."
He snorted. "Annoying as hell too."
"Hmm... I like how you didn't deny what I said," she told him with a wink. He growled at her as she turned and walked off. "Come now, we have lots to do."
Bulma walked into the first store, keenly aware of Vegeta walking behind her. He stayed extremely close to her, so much in fact that she was amazed he hadn't nicked the back of her heels as they walked. The tension was practically radiating off of him in waves and she could easily feel it, but he didn't utter a single word of protest. She couldn't help but smile, knowing this was a big step for him. She wondered briefly how receptive he would be to her showing him what the Earth had to offer. Considering how she had to practically torture him into coming with her that day, she figured he wouldn't be very receptive at all.
But, they did have just under two years…
"Here we go," she said brightly, plucking out a shirt on a hanger. She turned to show him, but his eyes were scanning the area, his eyebrows furrowed together. Bulma tilted her head a little. "Vegeta?"
He instantly turned to her, and frowned. His senses were being overwhelmed, and he decided it was probably best that he hurry this ridiculous trip along, lest his unease get the best of him and he destroy everyone in the whole mall.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked him, reaching out and taking his hand. He growled and instantly pulled it back.
"Stop doing that!" Vegeta hissed, before snatching the hanger and shirt out of her hand. "Now let me see this stupid thing!"
"Okay, okay, geez," Bulma said, raising an eyebrow as she watched him examine the shirt. He tugged on it and stretched it in some places, before scoffing.
"This is pathetic for fighting," he finally said, before tossing the whole thing over his shoulder.
"Vegeta!" she cried out. The prince blinked in surprise at her outburst, and gave her a confused look. Her anger immediately subsided when she saw it. In fact, she smiled a little at him. He wasn't from the planet; clearly, he didn't know how things worked. And he looked so endearing when he got that confused look on his face. "You have to put the clothes back on the racks if you don't want them," she patiently explained as she went to pick up the discarded shirt.
"Hn. Woman, take me to find some garments suitable for fighting," he ordered as she stood up. Bulma sighed and looked at him in exasperation.
"You already have your armor for that," she told him matter-of-factly. "We aren't here to buy you things to fight in, Vegeta. These are clothes that you can relax in. Now, come over here, you might like this section."
Vegeta stayed very close to her, following her as he mumbled colorful curses in all kinds of languages under his breath, languages from Earth and from other worlds. Very quickly, she realized that he hated anything with any type of pattern, lettering, stripes, or any kind of design. He preferred plain and solid colors. She picked out a few long-sleeved button-down shirts for him; one black, one white, one blue, all three of different sizes.
Bulma turned to him, arranging the shirts in her hands, "Alright, you have to try these on. We'll see which one fits you best, and then we'll know what size to-Vegeta! What are you doing?"
Vegeta looked at her in annoyance, just as he shrugged out of his pink shirt. He let it fall to the floor. "What now, woman?" he asked impatiently. "You said I have to try the blasted things on, didn't you? Now, hand them over."
"Put your shirt back on!" she hissed, looking around her. Already there were women who had stopped dead in their tracks to look over at him, appreciating the view. There were some men too who glanced over with envious eyes. Not that she could blame any of them, but still.
"How else am I supposed to try on these new garments?" he asked, a smirk now spreading over his face at the blush spreading over hers. "Put them over that pink abomination?"
Bulma growled, picked up his pink shirt, and then grabbed him by the hand. Out of amusement, he allowed her to drag him to the nearest fitting rooms, nonchalantly checking out her backside the whole time.
Thank Kami I didn't take him to get pants first… Bulma thought, her face bright red.
They stopped walking when they got to the changing rooms. A stylish-looking young man with trendy glasses perked up at their arrival from behind a desk, smiling up happily.
"Hi there, Miss. Would you like—oh my," he said as he saw the tanned, bare chested flame-haired man standing next to her, his jaw dropping a little. Vegeta was too busy looking around to notice. Bulma took a quick glance at the man's name tag.
"Daniel," she greeted politely. "We'll need a fitting room in the men's section."
It was only then that Bulma realized that they were in fact still actually holding hands. She looked at Vegeta, but he was looking off to the side in concentration, tuned into someone else's conversation. It seemed like he forgot that they were still holding hands too.
She cracked a small smile.
"I'll get your handsome friend a fitting room as soon as possible," Daniel said eagerly, eyeing Vegeta's exposed upper body with rapacious eyes. The Saiyan instantly turned and settled his dark gaze on the young man, only now becoming aware of the scrutiny. He snarled dangerously in response.
"You better look away before I rip your eyes right out of your head! Understand?" Vegeta hissed. The man visibly paled as Bulma just forced a laugh.
"He's just kidding! We'll pick out a fitting room ourselves, don't worry about it!" she told Daniel nervously, before pulling Vegeta along. She had to use practically all of her strength to get him to budge, and even then, it was only because he allowed it.
"I most certainly was NOT kidding, woman!" Vegeta yelled adamantly as they continued walking. Bulma sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, come now," she said, still holding hands with the agitated Saiyan behind her. "You don't mind when it's me looking at your sexy body." She was met with silence. Looking over her shoulder, Bulma saw him scowling with reddened cheeks. She snickered. "This is why we have fitting rooms, Vegeta. It's so you can change in private."
Finally, she found a room that wasn't being used. She walked in and removed her sunglasses, putting them in her purse. She then stretched on her toes to reach the hooks to hang up his shirts. Vegeta watched the back of her snug blouse rise up a couple of inches when she did so. He raised an eyebrow at the smooth, exposed skin of her lower back.
Her figure was positively divine, and he couldn't help but wonder what the rest of the skin on her back looked like with the blouse removed completely… along with her pants… what would she look like in her natural state, without any ridiculous clothes in the way?
"You can change here. Try these shirts on, and I'll go pick out some-"
Her words died on her lips when she turned around, only to find Vegeta practically in her face. His eyes were heated and intense as they roamed over her body, and she suddenly became acutely aware of his body heat from his proximity.
She backed up a little. He stayed still, his gaze following her. His eyes were almost suffocating with their intensity.
"Vegeta?"
He blinked a few times and shook his head a little, as if regaining his senses. He took a small step back. Noticing that she was still looking at him with an expression he couldn't read, he frowned at her.
"Don't get any ideas, woman. I don't want a damn thing to do with a woman who has sex with that scarfaced fool, especially when that woman is you," he sneered.
His tone was extremely convincing considering that he had been visualizing himself throwing Bulma against the wall in the fitting room and ripping all of her clothes off, taking her however he wanted, for as long as he wanted. It was a testament only to his incredible will power that he wasn't doing so at that very moment with how badly he craved her body. His sudden and overwhelming need for her had blindsided him, and he didn't know what to make of it. The prince took another small step back, away from her, and crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
To give in to his physical need for her would be to give in to weakness.
And it would be a cold day in hell before Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, ever willingly gave in to weakness.
Bulma just stared at him in confusion, unsure of what the hell that had been about. One minute it looked like he was seconds away from completely ravaging her, and then the next he was being cold and aloof again. She let out a deep, slow breath. The Saiyan was more complicated than astrophysics.
"Well… okay then, I'll just go find you some more things you can try on," she said, trying to ease the tension that was now propagating in the small fitting room.
He just grunted, and Bulma took that as her cue to leave.
Two hours later, they had already picked out a variety of shirts and sweaters for him, all of solid colors. Pants had been no big deal either: he liked dark or neutral colors. He had given an indifferent shrug to jeans when she offered them to him, so she figured those were fine.
Vegeta was now staring at a variety of boots in the men's shoe section, scrutinizing the selection while Bulma watched him. He had hardly said anything to her since that awkward moment in the fitting room, but he wasn't being as difficult as she thought he would be. She found that he was much more receptive to the experience when she allowed him to make his own selections, instead of her choosing for him.
Finally, Vegeta picked out a box with black, steel-toed boots. He threw the box aside, making Bulma roll her eyes. He tossed the boots up a few times, catching them and feeling them out. They had lifts in them that would give him another inch in height. Oh yeah, he was definitely sold.
He looked over at her and smirked. "These are adequate," he said.
"Great, we'll take them then," she said with a bright smile. The boots were the first thing he had actually seemed genuinely interested in. "Now let's go get you a nice jacket, and then I'll end your misery," she teased, going and taking the boots from him.
"Fine," Vegeta muttered, crossing his arms and walking after her. He had already come this far, he might as well see it through all the way, lest she decide to coerce him into doing this again. Bulma was pushing some contraption with wheels, having dumped all the clothes she was going to buy for him in it. The prince stayed extremely close to her, continuously glancing around him. His anxiety had passed for the most part, but Vegeta still felt a bit overwhelmed. He found that if he stayed close to Bulma though, her sweet scent had the effect of soothing that feeling.
If his proximity bothered her, she gave no indication of it.
"Here we go," she said, stopping abruptly. Vegeta stopped himself at the last possible moment, almost running right into her from how close he had been. He scowled and looked around impatiently.
"Now where are we, woman?" he asked with an impatient sigh.
"Check out the jackets over there," Bulma said, motioning to their right. "Who knows? You might actually find something you like. Crazy thought, huh?" she teased light-heartedly.
Vegeta gave her a dirty look, before taking a deep breath and venturing off to see what she was talking about. Bulma leaned into her cart and watched as he began scrutinizing the leather jackets she had led him to. She noted how his gaze changed when he was studying an article of clothing. His look was studious, concentrated, and thorough. She smiled a little as she remembered just how intelligent he was. It was so refreshing to be around someone other than her father who had an actual appreciation for science, even if his knowledge was only basic compared to hers.
Bulma stood there for a while, losing track of time as she daydreamed about showing Vegeta more about science, when his voice finally interrupted her thoughts.
"Hello? Woman! Can't you hear me?" he demanded impatiently. Bulma blinked and snapped out of it, before looking over at him.
She tried not to let her jaw drop.
Vegeta had changed into some of his new clothes and was now wearing dark blue jeans, the black boots, a black, sleeveless shirt that accentuated his physique nicely, and a brown leather jacket over it. The jacket had the collar popped up, and she figured that was more to him not knowing to lower it than him trying to make a fashion statement. Nonetheless, he looked unbelievably handsome and she couldn't look away from him even if she tried.
Vegeta buttoned up the cuff of his jacket, looking at her in pure bewilderment as he wondered why she was staring at him like that. He stopped what he was doing to self-consciously rub one hand over his face, just to make sure that he didn't have something there that she was staring at. Finally, he thought of a possible reason for her intense gaze and scowled at her. "I threw that stupid pink shirt away," he sneered. "It's not worthy of royalty. And if you so much as suggest that I go get it, then I swear, woman, I will-"
"No, definitely leave it there," Bulma said, almost in a daze. Vegeta looked at her like she was going crazy, before adjusting his jacket again. He looked down at it, and wouldn't admit it, but he really liked the material. He had never felt anything like it, and it felt a hell of a lot stronger than the other stupid Earth garments he had seen that day. The rest of the things they had picked out weren't as high quality.
Except for the boots. He did like the boots.
"Well? Can we go now?" he growled impatiently. "I would like to train for the androids, if you don't mind. You know, the ones that are coming to destroy your planet," he added sarcastically.
Bulma just smiled at him, thrilled that the day had been a success in all kinds of ways. No one had died, she had gotten him a Senzu bean so he could feel better, she had outwitted him in a battle of wills, and now she had gotten him some nice clothes. And best of all, they were actually talking.
And the more they talked, the more she liked him.
"Definitely, let's pay for this stuff and get out of here."
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"I hope you enjoyed it, because it's never happening again, woman," he snarled angrily. He shot her a glare, and then got out of the hover jet. Bulma just sighed as she got out as well.
"Honestly, Vegeta. You aren't going to live very long being so angry all the time," she told him. He snorted and didn't reply, continuing to walk back to the compound. "Will you wait a second? I need to give you the capsule with the clothes we got today!"
Vegeta gave an exasperated growl as he stopped walking, an eye beginning to twitch, before turning back to face her. He just wanted to be rid of her already. The last two days of hearing her and being around her were driving him nuts. He was sure that further time together would result in him either killing her or forcing himself on her. Neither situation was ideal.
"Will you hurry the hell up, woman?" he snapped.
"Oh, just relax. The gravity simulator will still be there," Bulma said as she rolled her eyes, finally reaching him. To her delight, he was still wearing his leather jacket. It suited him very well. "Here, Mister Impatient. Just press the button and throw it to the floor. The clothes will all be there for you."
"They had better be," he shot at her, snatching the capsule and putting it in the pocket of his jacket as he turned to finally walk away.
"Geez, Vegeta! Will it kill you to be nice to me for a change? I've been nice to you all day."
He stopped walking.
Slowly, Vegeta turned to look over his shoulder at her. He raised an eyebrow. "Is that a fact?" Bulma didn't like the look on his face as he finally turned around. "What about earlier today? I almost forgot about your underhanded coercion to get me to come on your trip. That wasn't very nice, woman…"
"Um," Bulma said nervously, backing up a little as he approached her. He was looking like he was advancing on an enemy that was on their very last legs, a cunning and devilish smirk on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about…"
"Oh, I see. You've developed amnesia. How convenient," he said mockingly.
"Oh come on! You had a good time," Bulma exclaimed, studying his dark eyes for what this new game was. His smirk just grew.
"You know what I think of as a good time?" the prince asked dangerously. Bulma swallowed, and shook her head slowly, her body tense. She was anticipating him saying something along the lines of murder, violence, fighting, battling…
"I think teaching people new things is always a good time."
"Huh?" she asked, blinking in confusion. That was extremely unexpected.
"Sure. Like teaching people how to fly," he said calmly. Her eyes began to widen, but he continued before she could say a word. "Here. I'll show you, woman."
"Ve-"
That's all she got out before he grabbed her by the wrist, reared up, and then threw her up into the air as hard as he could. Bulma shrieked and screamed for her life as she soared up into the air with frightening speed. She pathetically tried flapping her arms as if that would help her somehow fly. Vegeta saw this down on the ground, and he couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped him at the sight. He raised a fist to his mouth to stifle the rest of his laughter, but his eyes were bright with amusement as he watched her disappear into a tiny dot in the sky.
I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE! She thought to herself in sheer panic as she finally came to a stop in midair. Then gravity took over and she began to plummet back down to the Earth.
She screamed as she saw the ground coming closer and closer to her. She once again tried flapping her arms as she continued hollering. "VEEEHHH-GEEEE-TAAAAAA, YOOOUUU JAAAACKKAAASSSSSSS!"
Finally, she landed.
Right in his arms.
Bulma looked at him, dazed, her whole body trembling from the terror of free-falling from such an outrageous height. He just gave her a maddening smirk, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, that wasn't very nice. I save your life, and you call me a jackass. Perhaps you should take your own advice and be nicer to me," he said tauntingly.
"You… I… jerk… I hate you…" she breathed out, still shaking. His arms holding her were strong and warm, and she couldn't help but instinctively lean against him as she tried to get her trembling under control. His smirk just grew.
"Such anger and hatred. You won't live very long like that, woman." He then let go of her completely, dropping her on the ground. Bulma yelped when she landed hard on her bottom. Vegeta crossed his arms as he stood over her, his posture and the look in his eyes triumphant.
"You… I swear…" she growled, glaring up at him as she tried forcing her heart rate to slow down.
"Don't play these games with me, little girl," the Saiyan Prince said as he snickered. "You'll lose every time."
Bulma was so frazzled, and Vegeta was so preoccupied, that neither of them noticed that Yamcha was now staring at them from the compound entrance. He had been waiting inside for them to return, and had heard Bulma screaming for her life. He had then run out to see what was going on. The sight that greeted him was Bulma sitting on the ground, shaking and looking disheveled as she glared up furiously at Vegeta. Standing over her was the Saiyan bastard, looking smug and proud of himself. He immediately figured that Vegeta must have attacked her or something, and that was the cause for her screams.
Yamcha's sight went red.
Bulma was almost standing up when she was surprised by the dangerous sound of Vegeta snarling. Before she could ask what was wrong, the Saiyan shoved her roughly back. She yelped out again as she flew back a couple of feet, landing hard on her bottom again. She opened her mouth to scream curses at him and ask him what the hell his problem was, when she suddenly saw Yamcha spear Vegeta with a fury that was frightening. Yamcha tackled the Saiyan with so much speed that they both flew ten feet back before slamming into her hover jet, completely destroying it.
Vegeta absorbed the brunt of the impact and hissed in pain. He immediately pushed it away as his fury took over. Yamcha aimed a punch for his head, and Vegeta moved his head out of the way before punching Yamcha hard in the ribs. He then punched Yamcha with his other fist in the face, effectively knocking the other man off of him. The Saiyan snarled and got up, before charging right at Yamcha, both of them ignoring Bulma screaming for them to stop.
Yamcha was expecting the Saiyan charging at him like this, and he dodged out of the way at the very, very last moment. Vegeta noted, too late, that he had underestimated the human. The scarfaced weakling had advanced a considerable amount since the Saiyan's very first visit to Earth. He realized this when Yamcha surprised him by dodging him and ramming an elbow into his lower back. Vegeta dropped to the ground on his hands and knees, letting out a choking cry of pain; Yamcha had hit him right where he still had a small stub leftover from his tail.
"YAMCHA, STOP IT!" Bulma screamed at him.
Yamcha, blinded by fury now, ignored her when he saw the weakness in Vegeta and realized what he had done. He immediately made a rash decision to capitalize.
Before Vegeta could realize what was happening, Yamcha lifted Vegeta's shirt and jacket, pulled the back of his jeans out a few inches, and fired a ki blast right into the small stub.
Vegeta screamed in agony, the pain in his sensitive nerves feeling like it was going to rip his whole body as half as he collapsed to the ground. He spasmed and grit his teeth, exhaling furiously through his nose, curses running endlessly through his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut as hatred suddenly flooded through him.
Yamcha seemed to realize that he had crossed the line when he saw Vegeta convulsing on the ground. Bulma immediately blew past Yamcha and dropped to her knees next to Vegeta.
"Are you okay?" she asked with pure concern, her hands on his upper back. He growled in response and turned his head away from her, not wanting her to see him like this as he struggled to get the convulsions under control. Bulma looked over her shoulder at Yamcha, who backed up a little over the intensity of the fury in her eyes. "What the HELL is wrong with you, you asshole?" she screamed at him.
"What's wrong with ME?" Yamcha asked in disbelief. "That Saiyan bastard hurt you! He got what he deserved!"
"HE DIDN'T HURT ME, YOU IDIOT!" Bulma shrieked. She turned back to Vegeta who was up to his hands and knees now, his whole body shaking from pain. She put a hand on his shoulder, "You'll be okay, I have another Sen-"
Vegeta growled dangerously and cut her off, "Stand back, woman, or you'll die too," he hissed through his teeth, giving her a harsh glare.
"What do you mean, he didn't hurt you?" Yamcha asked, taking a wary step back now. His fists were still raised and his right eye was swelling from the punch Vegeta landed. He was starting to realize that he might have just sealed his death sentence.
Bulma wasn't listening to him as she focused on the Saiyan getting back up to his feet. She got up to hers as well, one hand on Vegeta's arm and the other on his back. "Vegeta, don't-"
"I said, STAND BACK, WOMAN!" Vegeta screamed. He then shoved her roughly away from him. Bulma yelped as she stumbled back a few steps, before landing sitting down. She very quickly forgot that this was the third time now that her poor bottom had dropped to the ground when she saw the completely enraged look on Vegeta's face as he slowly turned to face Yamcha.
"You… coward…" Vegeta spat out, his body still shaking. Bulma couldn't tell if it was still from pain or from rage, not recognizing the look in his eyes anymore.
Vegeta's eyes were distant and unseeing. Aside from the fool who had cut his tail off, no one had ever so blatantly targeted the base of his tail, except for one being.
He wasn't seeing Yamcha anymore.
He was now seeing Frieza.
Yamcha took a few steps back, his resolve crumbling at the look of murderous fury in Vegeta's eyes.
"Vegeta…" Yamcha said, gulping. "I… I thought you had-"
He was silenced when Vegeta closed his eyes, threw his head back, and roared in unadulterated rage, his ki exploding around him in a powerful blue aura. Yamcha fell back from the force, landing sitting down and watching the Saiyan power up at a rapid pace. He gulped again.
Oh no! What have I done? he wondered in despair. He looked over at Bulma, and she looked back at him. She just shook her head at him, disappointment in her eyes, before she turned back to look at Vegeta. Her mind was racing as she tried coming up with something to stop him. If she didn't think of something fast, he was going to kill Yamcha. Of this, she had very little doubt…
"Human," Vegeta seethed, not seeing Bulma or what she was doing, "I promise that I will make your death as painful as poss-"
His words and rage choked in his throat, his eyes widening in shock when he suddenly felt warm lips on his and warm hands on both sides of his face.
Bulma could think of no other way to break through to him as she started sucking on his lower lip. Her only hope was that the shock of her action would calm him down long enough for her to talk him down.
Vegeta, too shocked to push her away, instinctively growled low in his throat at the sensation of her sucking on his lower lip. He had never had anyone do it to him before, and it almost instantaneously aroused him. Bulma shuddered a little bit when she heard and felt him, before pressing herself fully against him. He was burning hot with his ki fully powered up, and his heat was addicting. He gasped inaudibly at the feel of her body against his, and for the moment completely forgot about what he had been planning to do.
Vegeta then noticed Yamcha staring at them in absolute dismay, and he suddenly realized what the woman was doing. She was doing this just to distract him from murdering her precious mate.
Well, two can play this game, he thought smugly. The woman might have thought she was helping Yamcha, but it was clear from the look on the weakling's face that she was causing him unbearable pain. The fool looked like he was seconds away from bursting into tears. Vegeta realized with absolute delight that this display was much worse than any possible beating that he could dish out. In trying to help Yamcha, Bulma had given Vegeta the key to getting the ultimate payback.
And he was all game for making payback as painful as possible.
Shooting Yamcha a triumphant look, Vegeta put one strong arm around Bulma's waist and pulled her firmly against him.
He then closed his eyes and returned her kiss.
Bulma's heartbeat raced when she felt his lips respond to hers. She couldn't help the moan that escaped her at the feel of him dominantly working his tongue into her mouth. The hot moistness of his mouth was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. She had only meant this to be a brief distraction, but now she found that she couldn't pull away.
Vegeta powered down, completely forgetting that this kiss was just for show to hurt Yamcha as he fully explored every last crevice of her mouth. The woman had a taste that he had never encountered before in the entire universe. She tasted sweet, and he quickly found that he could not get enough of her taste.
Vegeta put one hand on the side of her neck to deepen the kiss when a single moment of sanity hit her like a bolt of lightning. Extremely reluctantly, she breathlessly pulled away from him. He groaned in disapproval but forced himself to remain still and not force their kiss to continue. Bulma looked up into his eyes to find that they were clouded over with lust and desire as he stared back into hers. His look alone was practically enough to make her moan, and it frightened her how right their kiss had felt.
With one kiss, Vegeta had lit her world completely on fire and showed her a passion she had never once experienced with Yamcha.
Vegeta smirked at the dazed look in her eyes.
"Your plan worked, woman," he said, making her eyes widen in realization. He snickered and looked over at Yamcha, before looking back at her. "And so did mine," he told her in a smug, low voice.
With enormous self-discipline, Vegeta let her go, turned around, and walked off. The pain in his lower back from Yamcha's blast was paling in comparison to how badly his body was aching to have the woman right then. He ignored it though; he had used her to get back at the scarfaced weakling, and that was all he needed of her. To give in more would be stupid and weak. He ignored his body protesting at the loss of her heat as he took to the air to fly over the compound to the gravity room.
Bulma just watched Vegeta fly off, still dazed. She hadn't meant the kiss to go down like that. But now she could only think of one word…
Damn.
"I knew it."
She blinked and suddenly turned to see that Yamcha was on his knees. He looked completely defeated, and she sighed.
"I was trying to stop him from killing you."
"Looked like more to me," he said in a pained voice.
"Yamcha… I'm sorry, but…"
"But what?" Yamcha asked in a wary voice, not liking her tone.
"Look," Bulma sighed. "You've just been all over me lately, you know? I can't even talk to Vegeta without you-"
"YOU WERE KISSING HIM!" Yamcha roared angrily.
"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!" she yelled back at him instinctively. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just said. The words had just tumbled out without thought or hesitation.
Yamcha let out a choked sound, looking at her in disbelief. "What?"
"I just… I'm just pissed at you right now, okay? I can't believe what you did to Vegeta," she said in disgust. His jaw dropped.
"I thought he hurt you, Bulma!"
"He didn't hurt me, you idiot!"
"Well how was I supposed to know that?" he screamed angrily as he got up to his feet. "He's a murderer and a monster, AND NOW YOU'RE CHOOSING THAT ASSHOLE OVER ME!"
Bulma recoiled as if he had actually struck her. She tried to form words, but didn't know what to say. Finally, she took a deep breath, regained her bearings, and stared evenly at him.
"Vegeta is a lot more than a murderer. Sure, he might have been… less than noble… in the past, but that is in the past. He has good in his heart, I know he does. If you would open your eyes and stop resenting him for a Saibaman getting the best of you, maybe you would see that," she said in a calm voice, though her eyes were furious. "And I am not choosing him over you, you moron. If I wouldn't have stepped in right now, you would be dead! I just saved your life you idiot!"
"FINE!" Yamcha yelled in exasperation. "Why don't you go be with your great and amazing Saiyan pal and leave me to worry about saving my own life! You sure as hell seemed to enjoy distracting him!"
"FINE!" she screamed back at him. "He's a better kisser than you anyways!"
He glared furiously at her. "Too bad he'll never give a shit about you. Vegeta is incapable of caring about anyone or anything except himself. He is going to break you, and when he does, I'll tell you that I told you so," he told her bitterly.
Tears came to her eyes over his harsh words, and she choked over her words before finally saying, "I told you I wasn't interested in a romantic relationship with Vegeta. And contrary to what you might think, I'm still not interested. But right now, you are the absolute last person I want to be in a relationship with. So get the fuck off my property, before I go ask Vegeta to make you leave. I'm pretty sure he would gladly care about that."
Yamcha's face reddened, and he took a step back. He hesitated momentarily, seeing a relationship spanning over a decade crumbling down with heartbreaking speed. At the look in her eyes, though, he knew the truth. He turned around and reluctantly took to the sky as he began to accept what was staring him right in the face.
They were really over.
A/N: "Tik Tok" is by Ke$ha and "Baby" is by Justin Bieber. ;)