Chapter 5



Bulma woke up with a feeling of warmth and comfort. A feeling of fullfillment. She opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings, then sighed.
She was lying in Vegeta's arms. In a delicious and tight embrace. His face rested at the hollow of her throat, and he held he as if he was afraid she'd go. He looked so vulnerable, when he slept. So beautiful and young. His frown was still there - it always would be - but it was softened somehow. He had a slight smile on his face, bracketing one cheek.
Bulma traced his features with the pads of her fingers.This was something she'd never tire of doing and would never stop. She wanted to memorize his face. And once she had memorized it, she wanted to touch for reassurance and just because he felt like Vegeta, and no one else would ever touch him so.His warm flesh, little nose, high cheekbones, tough chin. And his mouth. Bulma loved that mouth.Hard, with thin lips, but they strangley bore the best feelings, the best touches.
" I think I may be falling in love with you, you baka." she whispered, now running her hands through his spiky hair.
She wanted him again. He took all the bad things from her, and cleansed her, which was odd since he had such a dirty past. But he did. He made her feel clean and wholesome and wanted. And he's just so damn sexy, she thought to herself.
She looked down at his face again, and found black eyes, watching her intently.
" I could touch you like this all day." she whispered, smiling a little.
" And I could let you. And never do another thing but be touched by you for the rest of my life." he murmured.
" Vegeta." she sighed, and wiggled down till their eyes were level. Then, with one gently nudge, she caught his lips with hers, nuzzling them, nipping them, before running the tip of her tongue along the seam that parted them. He opened to her willingly, and she drove her tongue inside, and tasted Vegeta, and the promise of a lazy Saturday morning.
For now, that was enough, she told herself. Because a lazy Staurday morning with him was more than she had ever had with anyone else in her life. If what she thought was happening between them was happening between them, there'd be time for explanations later.
She only hoped there wouldn't be time for regrets.

Bulma looked up at him - he was smiling. A lazy, satisfied smile. A smug one. She found herselkf smiling in return. Now or never.You're perfect opportunity had arrived.
"Vegeta?" he traced idle circles on his chest
" Hm?" he opened one eye.
" Could I take you shopping today?" she said hesitantly at first.Vegeta shot up, knocking her off her precarious perch atop his chest.
" What? I , you, je-" he blustered. Bulma sat up, pulling the bedsheet upp , and securing it under her armpits
" C'mon Veggie! You need new clothes! You can't keep wearing those dirty ol body suits! You have no choice here, really." she calmy stated.
He said nothing, just stared at her sullenly. Shopping! Bulma let one side of the sheet slip down to her waist, exposing one ripe , irrisistable breast. She licked her lips and looked at him innocently.
" Please?" she smiled sweetly. Vegeta closed his eyes in resgnation, and blew out a sigh.
" The things you'd have me do.", Bulma could have sworn she heard him say as he got up to go to the bathroom.
"Great! You'll see Veggie! We'll get you tons of new clothes!" she jumped upp excitedly, not even noticing she had already taken to calling him a pet name.
Vegeta moaned. Oh no.....

" There, that wasn't so bad now was it?" Bulma tucked her arm in Vegetas. He only scowled at her.
They had shopped for five hours. Five hideous hours, Vegeta thought to himself. And ten bags, and two unloading stops later, they were finished. Finally finished.
" Let's go walk in the park Vegeta. We've got things to talk about, I think." Bulma said, suddenly serious. She steered him across the practically empty street, to the green haven, surrounded by trees, and park benches.
They strolled through the park in silence for a while, before Bulma had gathered all her thoughts together.
" I've been seeing Yamcha since I was a teenager. Since he was the shy 'desert badit'. It's hrad to walk away from that, you know?"
" Bulma, he bea-" Vegeta began angrily, but was cut off by a calm Bulma.
" He didn't always. It's only been for maybe a year. It all started, god, when did it start? We were at a party, and I was being stupid- you know, flirting with guys, drinking a little- it was harmless, really, i had no intentions. But Yamcha saw. .We went outside and argued. And I said something to make him really angry and he hit me. I knew it wasn;t right, but I felt like, I felt like it was my fault. Vegeta, it's never my fault!" her voice cracked, and her eyes filled with tears at the memory. Vegeta pulled her into his arms to hold her till she was able to speak again.
" At first, he always apologized. He was always so sorry!" she sniffed," then he started liking it- telling himself it was necessary and shit. Like it was his fucking duty." she spat out bitterly.
Vegeta's arms tightened around her and she wrapped hers around his waist. They stood holding eachother for comfort till Bulma composed herself.
" I'm okay now. Let's keep walking. Back to the car." They seperated, and started back to the street. " And now, you know, he threatens me. Like, I have to stay with him, or he'll kill me or something."
They reached the street and began to cross. " And I;m scared Vegeta. Really really scared." her voice cracked again." There's no one to protect me, now that I can no longer do it for myself."
I'll always protect you ,Vegeta thought to himself.
I'll always protect you...Bulma heard it, in her head! As if he had said it out loud to her. She stopped, there in the street. Vegeta kept walking, now nearing the middle of the street.
" Vegeta." she gasped, amazed that she had heard, amazed at how it made her feel. He turned around, and saw it in her eyes, shining with her tears.
She heard that. She can hear that. What is that?? A bond?! He looked at her again, her amazement mirrored in his own eyes.
" Bulma, I..." he trailed off. A bond?!
In that second, Bulma saw it; the car barreling down the street ant break-neck speed, heading right for Vegeta.
" Vegeta! Look out!" she screamed. Then, without even thinking of the consequences, she threw all her weight on him, only managing to knock him over with the element of suprise on her side.
" Bulma, nooooo!" he roared from the pavement as he saw the car hit her, and as he heard the scream rip from her throat as she was thrown into the air, and landed - with the sickening snap of breaking bones- in the gutter, three feet away.
The car swerved off down the road, and Vegeta rushed to Bulma's side, heart pounding, head screaming.
There was blood, blood everywhere. It stained her pale skin, and pooled around her tangled blue hair, and broken body.
" Bulma, no." he whimpered, gently picking her up. Her blood seeped into his new teeshirt and jeans, and it dripped down his arms. But he didn't care. He had to get Bulma to the hospital. " Hang on," he whispered," you're gonna be okay. Hold on. I need you."


" Uuuh....Mr.....Prince Vegeta?" a kindly middle aged nurse walked into the waiting room, clipboard in hand.
" That's me." he said gruffly. The nurse took in his blood-soaked clothes, and hear-hysterical eyes, and took a literal step back, eyes wide.
" B-Bulma.....she...she's going to live." she managed to get out.
Vegeta let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. He closed his eyes, to keep the releived teras in.
" Her leg is severley broken, and she has innumerable cuts and bruises, and she lost a lot of blood. But sh'll live. We're hoping she'll only need to stay here a week or two before she can leave."
" Thankyou," he breathed, the first thankyou he had ever said," thankyou."
She smiled kindly at him. " You can go see her now.Two doors down this hall."
Vegeta was about to walk to Bulma's room , when the main hospital doors burst open. He immediatley heard Mrs.Briefs' wailing, and Chi Chi nagging Gohan. He looked, and saw everyone- all of Bulma;s friends and family. They hadn't seen him yet. He ducked into another room as the crowd bustled to Bulma's room. He'd never get to see her now.
With a quick backward glance, Vegeta exited the room, and then the hospital. No one saw him go.

" Bulma! My baby! Oh, are you allright? What happened? When? How? Are you comfortable? Hungry? Do you - " Mrs. Briefs babbled, fussing around her daughter.
"Mom. I'm okay." Bulma whispered hoarsley. She searched the crowd, looking for Vegeta. He wasn't there. Mrs. Briefs noticed Bulma's quick search, and she also noticed the dissapointed look on her face, and mistook it completley.
" We couldn't get a hold of Yamcha, honey. We left some messages on his machine. I'm sure he'll be by soon."
Yamcha! Bulma hadn't thought about him for a minute. Just Vegeta. What would Yamcha say if he found out why she got hit? That she was with Vegeta? On Kame... She turned pale, no small feat as she was already amazing pallid.
" She's tired. Let's leave her alone for a bit." Mrs. Briefs murmured to everyone.
" C'mon Goku. We'll get you something to eat." Chi Chi said, nudging Goku to the door. He glanced backwards one more time at Bulma before he left. There were tears in her eyes, and he heard her whisper something..so quietly, only his saya-jiin ears could hear.
Vegeta.
His eyes widened, but he left quietly. Bulma sighed, and closed her eyes. Where's Vegeta?


He slipped in, under the cover of darkness. She was alone. Good. He breathed out a nervous breath. With one shaking hand, he placed hte delicate object on the bedside table. He lightly kissed her cold cheek. Then he slipped out the window again

Bulma woke up with excruciating pain in her legs. He throat was dry. Her heart felt dry. No Vegeta. He hadn't even come to visit her in secret, when everyone was gone. She turned to the bedside table to call for a nurse.
Then she saw it. On the table. It's bright colors twinkling in the sunlight streaming through her open window. Her open window. The one the nurse closed last night. It was pink, and purple and green and yellow. Two truly ugly,fat pink pigs on sparkly wings winked at her from their perch on the tiny glass rainbow. She looked at the open window again.
" Vegeta...." she smiled, and fingered the tacky object again.

The next morning, there was another gift. Two hideosly adorable green elves smiled coquettishly at her from sparkling emerald rhinestone eyes.Rhinestone eyes, for Kame's sake. She loved it. So Vegeta didn't pick out oarticularly nice, attractive things. The point was, he picked out something for her. And they would always be special to her.
She held the little elves, and thought of her love life, in complete dissaray. There was Vegeta, who was urning out to be wonderful, but secret, and Yamcha, the bastad she was afraid of, who still hadn't come to visit her, and then, there was her Prince Charming. The man a part of her was still holding out for, at the same time her heart told her it might be Vegeta.
" Yamcha beats me. I know I don't love him anymore. I stopped loving him a long time ago. If I wasn't so scared for my life, I'd leave him. God, what do I do?" Bulma was speaking quietly to herself, completely unaware that Goku had come to the door, and was listening quietly, right outside her room. He held his breath, and just stood there, hardly beleiving waht he was hearing.
" And now Vegeta. Kame, I just don't know what to do. He says he'll always protect me. And I think I love him. I do. I love Vegeta. Damnit! Now what? What about my perfect man? Oh jesus. Goku!" she cried out in suprise as he walked into the room.
" Bulma," he said seriously, " I'm sorry, but I just heard everything you said." he sat down next to her on the bed, took her hand. She swallowed nervously, and looked up at him. He smiled kindly.
" Bulma, you should have known that I would've protected you from Yamcha. We all would. If we had only known! And I feel just..just....awful that I never knew, and that it happened. I just want to kill him!"
" Goku, calm down. What's done is done."
" And what about Vegeta ,Bulma?" Goku demanded
" I don't know what's come over me. I, I'm sorry, I'll - "
" That's not what I mean, Bulma! He truly is a good man now. He'd be good for you, though I'm sure no one else will think so."
" I really love him, Goku. But I absolutely cannot tell him. He'd never go for that. Ever."
" Do you know what a bond is, Bulma?"
" Like....a bank bond?"
" No...it's like...a connection. Saya-jiins make them. It's like, love is not a natural instinct in them. I mean, they learn, here on earth, like I did. But a bond, it's like, deeper. You'll hear his thoughts, and he'll hear yours. It is the final connection. The deepest truest thing."
Bulma's heart raced. She knew this thing- this bond. She'd experienced it with Vegeta.
" Do...do you have that with Chi Chi?" she asked hesitatingly.
" Yeah. I do." Goku murmured quietly, and looked at Bulma, his eyes shinning. We'll all take care of you, Bulma. Give Vegeta a chance." He stood up to go.
" Thankyou, Goku."
" Bye Bulma." he left.

Bulma sighed and turned over to rest some more. She was still in so much pain. But now..there was a lightness in her heart.....
She loved Vegeta. He'd take care of her. SHe had friends to take care of her.. The only thing left to do was see what tomorrow would bring.




And I wanted
You turned away
You don't remember
But I do
You never even tried