To Fear Him or To Love Him


Disclaimer: I no own. You no sue. We all happy.

Authors Notes: Hello all! I'm sorry that I didn't have this chapter out when I posted the prologue under my name. I finally am getting somewhere with my other fics, so I have time to work on this one. I have been so busy lately with school and other things. I apologize ahead of time if this is not completed as soon as we would all like. I'm trying! Thanks for your patience!


Questions/Answers/Comments:

KamalaKali:Thank you so much for your support with this. It is always hard to take over a story, because there is already so much expectations and prejudice (good or bad) on you. I hope that I can live up to your good prejudice! ^_^

Mimi Sama:lol, thanks for your review and support.

Da Bomb:Thanks, for both the review and confidence.

nikki:Thank you! He's my favorite prince as well!

Videl621:OMG! Did I? I'm sooo sorry. I didn't realize. Well, don't I feel dumb now! >_
Dedication: To the wonderful Videl621 for allowing me to finish this! I hope that you enjoy this as well!


Chapter Two: A Fallen Angel


Usually an excursion to the mall was an event that lasted an entire day. However, today Bulma was on a tight schedule. After having her day ruined by that monkey that she had stupidly invited into her home, she was running late for her date with Yamcha. Of course it was only three o'clock and she still had nearly three hours before she had to be sitting in her living room in her ready clothes, but that didn't stop the genius from fretting. It had been almost two weeks since their last date and she was growing worried.

She knew that he wasn't cheating, hell he still had trouble talking to beautiful women, herself included, but that didn't stop the odd feeling that she got whenever she was around him from surfacing. It felt strange. She had no words to describe it. Lately her mind had become overwhelmed with thoughts of Vegeta, and they weren't good thoughts either. Her dreams, or nightmares were plagued with images of him. Defiling, maiming and generally torturing the poor blue-haired woman.

After today's encounter he isn't too far from that monster in my dreams… Bulma thought with a shudder.

"Hold still deary." The kind voice of Bulma's favorite hairdresser Ms. Rose broke through her tormented thoughts. "Not unless you want all of this hair gone!" she added with a laugh. Bulma chuckled along with her and sat straighter in the padded chair. Ms. Rose continued to hum whatever song was in her head, and occasionally would stop to ask Bulma how the family was or to chat about her own. That's what Bulma liked about her. She was the grandmother that she never had. The kindly old woman, who was far too old to be saying and doing half the stuff that she did, but still far to young to be confined into a rocker. The woman with pictures of her children and grandchildren scattered all over her mirror and table.

Admiring her new hairstyle in both the large lighted mirror in front of her and the smaller, hand held one that Ms. Rose was moving around the back of her head, so that she could take it all in, Bulma smiled. It was drastic if nothing else. However, she always had been the daring one, Except when it comes to pompous monkeys… the voice in her head said in almost a sing song voice. Bulma narrowed her eyes and scowled.

"Oh dear. Do you not like it?" Ms. Rose asked worried that she had upset not only her best customer but also one of her dearest friends. Bulma blinked out of her sub-consciousness and looked at her with a smile.

"No, I apologize. I was in my own world and was thinking of some…thing rather unpleasant. I do however, love the hair!" She said smiling at the worried old woman. Ms. Rose smiled and released her held breath.

"That's good, because I was concerned for a moment there." Ms. Rose said with a laugh. Bulma laughed with her and twirled playfully in front of the mirror, stopping every now and then to strike a pose for the kindly old woman. Her just under shoulder length hair twirled around her shoulders, barely skimming the skin. Ms. Rose had shortened and layered her hair, styling it so that the ends would curl into her face, which did wonders for her heart shaped face. No longer weighed down by the long, heavy hair, Bulma looked and felt years younger.

"If I knew that getting my hair cut would feel this good, I'd have been in here years ago." Bulma said gently touching her hair, afraid that the wondrous style would suddenly disappear under her caresses.

"What made you do it?" she asked. Bulma turned, startled at the question.

"What?"

"What made you get your hair cut?" Ms. Rose asked again with a smile. "It's always something, it gets in the way at work, you know. That sort of thing."

"Oh." Bulma said, unconsciously quaking in fear. She knew exactly what it was, it was Vegeta…he forced her to chop of all of her beautiful hair, and damn him it looked better now then it had ever looked before. "It was just a time for a change." Bulma said, finally answering Ms. Rose's question. Ms. Rose nodded and turned, heading to the register.

"Here you go." Bulma said handing her enough to cover the hair cut and still having enough for a nice tip.

"You don't have to…" she started. Bulma smiled and shook her head.

"Keep it. Later Ms. Rose." Bulma said waving as she left the hairdresser's and headed to pick out her outfit for that night. Deciding that a totally new look and outfit was long overdue, and hoping that it would help divert her mind from a certain Saiyan, she walked into her favorite store, "Benny's Boutique for Beautiful Babes." However silly the name was, Benny was certainly a genius when it came to fashion.

"Hello darling!" the British drawl of one Benny Ruthenstein called, welcoming Bulma, one of his most cherished customers, and that was only partly because she was rich. Bulma chuckled, no matter how bad of a mood she was in; Benny always seemed to cheer her up with his flamboyant attitude.

"Hey Benny." Bulma said smiling, and brushing a strand of her newly shortened locks out of her face.

"Lovin' the do!" Benny gasped, grabbing Bulma's hand and making her twirl for him. "Trying to impress that boyfriend of yours eh?" Bulma's smile faltered slightly, but luckily not enough for him to notice.

"Yes…I have a date with Yamcha tonight, and I was wondering if you had something that could…I don't know…wow him in? Bulma asked, her face scrunched up in thought. Benny chuckled deep in his throat.

"When don't I have a dress that would wow any man, Bulma darling?" Benny said shaking his head in mock surprise. "I thought you knew me so well…but alas, I was wrong." He said sighing deeply.

"Benny!" Bulma said laughing until there were tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. "You are too much." Benny smiled a large toothy grin.

"Now, what do you say we get you all dolled up?" He said, snatching her hand and dragging her back to the fitting rooms.


~*~*~



Vegeta groaned, using the white towel to wipe off the excess sweat, and there was a lot, from his face and neck. He had just spent the whole morning and nearly the entire afternoon in the gravity chamber, which was quickly becoming the bane of his existence. His stomach growled at the lack of sustenance, and demanded to be sated. Damn…the last thing I had to eat was at morning meal…and dessert. He thought, smirking both mentally and physically.

"Wonder what the woman is up to?" he said aloud, moving along the path to the patio doors of one Capsule Corp. He was quite ready for some more dessert…he thought chuckling to himself, his smirk growing. He entered the kitchen preparing to scare the onna but was strangely disappointed to find that she was no where in sight.

"Oh hey there handsome." The annoying blonde otherwise known as Bulma's mother said smiling, moving her eyes up from whatever magazine currently held her interest. "Bulma's not here." She continued before moving her eyes back to the article that she was reading.

"I don't care." He snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall. Bulma's mother looked up at him, her eyes showing her confusion.

"But you looked…I don't know dismayed that she wasn't here…or maybe it was something else. Oh well, I'm being rude. You probably want something to eat?" She said chuckling in her high pitched cackle before standing and moving over to the industrial sized refrigerator.

"I was not, dismayed." Vegeta retorted haughtily. However, Mrs. Briefs didn't hear him, or if she did, she chose to ignore the comment, because she had moved over to the stove and was currently grilling several large steaks on the range. Vegeta was too busy trying to ignore both his mouth that was salivating at the thought that in a few moments, the delicious smelling food that was wafting from the stove would be all his, and his stomach that protested waiting those long minutes until it was sated, that he didn't notice a certain blue haired goddess flounce into the kitchen and kiss her mother on the cheek.

"Hey kaasan!" Bulma said smiling placing several bags onto the table.

"How was your trip dear?" she asked, not even looking up from the stove. Bulma smiled and leaned against the table, her back to Vegeta.

"Great! It was just what I needed. I see that you are making that monkey's dinner already." Bulma snorted.

"That monkey is standing right here." Vegeta said growling low in his throat. Bulma screamed and wiped around so fast that her now short hair twisted around her face, before once again falling to frame her face. Her eyes were wide with fright, much like the preverbal deer caught in headlights. Bulma's eyes were widening inversely proportional to Vegeta's narrowing ones. Vegeta choked back his next insult in favor of another. "Just what the hell did you do to yourself?" Bulma's mother chose that moment to turn from the stove and look at her daughter.

"Aw, Bulma-chan! You got your hair cut! It looks great on you. What's the occasion?" She asked reaching out and running her fingers threw her daughters now short locks. Bulma blushed, thinking of the real reason.

"Nothing, kaasan. It was just time for a change you know?"

"That Yamcha boy not paying you enough attention?" Her mother asked worried. For a blonde ditz, she sure knew what was going on in her love life to the scariest detail.

"No, no. Speaking of him, I need to go get ready for our date! Benny got me the most beautiful dress that I've ever seen in his store! I can't wait to see Yamcha's face!"

"I'm sure he'll puke at the sight of your wretchedness." Vegeta snorted, rolling his eyes in her general direction. Bulma eyes welled up and she looked as if she were about to tear up. Vegeta smirked triumphantly loving her face when it was streaked tears. However, before a single drop left her ocean eyes she wiped at her sockets furiously, and instead of saying anything to him, she grabbed her bags and stormed out of the room. Vegeta unconsciously followed her path with his eyes, which had narrowed to slits.

As soon as Bulma was safely in her room, she broke down both in her mind and with her tears. Why does he have to be so mean? She screamed in her mind. Deciding that she wasn't going to give the monkey the satisfaction of hearing her break down, she got dressed silently, having to wait a few minutes to apply her makeup for fear that the constant stream of tears would only serve to ruin her hard work. Why are you letting this bother you? That voice screamed to her.

It made her pause, the words that the voice said. Why was she letting the damn jerk's words affect her so? Was it because she was frightened to death of him? No…that couldn't be it, she didn't feel scared. Only upset, upset at his harsh words. Why the hell would I care what that monkey think? His opinion doesn't matter! She told the voice firmly; her eyes finally dry enough to put on her makeup.

She closed her closet doors to examine herself in the large full-length mirrors that hung on the doors. Her short blue hair was left relatively untouched, she only ran a drier over it to add some fluff, and added a few butterfly clips to hold her insurgent sides in check. Her makeup was flawless, as always, her cheeks were covered in a light rouge that accented her natural color. Her eye shadow was a sparkling blue that accentuated the depth of her sockets, giving her a hauntingly beautiful look. Her naturally pink lips were covered with a light gloss that only added a bit of color.

Moving down, her ears were adorned with striking dangling butterfly earrings, and her necklace, keeping with the theme was a butterfly choker. The butterfly charm was a sparkling blue that matched her eye shadow. Her dress, the fabulous one that Benny had chosen perfectly, fit her as if it were made with her in mind. The top was a tight bodice that came off the shoulders. The shear sleeves that connected at the end of the silky material flowed out from her small arms and then came back at her wrists. The bodice itself was a dark blue that brought out the dark in her eyes, and the shear sleeves was a clear, almost silver blue. There was a butterfly pattern in small diamond studs that ran the length of her chest, with the wings ending at her hips. The skirt that flowed out from the bodice fell to just above her knees flattering both her womanly hips and long gorgeous legs. Her feet were adorned with tall stiletto pumps, the strings threading half-way up her calf. The pumps were silver with diamonds around the straps.

Bulma gasped at her reflection, not to be vain…but she looked like an angel fallen from heaven, all she was missing were the proverbial white wings, and golden halo. Shaking her head, trying to clear her thoughts she walked downstairs to await Yamcha, grabbing her matching purse on the way out.

Vegeta sat at the kitchen table, eating steaks as fast as the onna's blonde haired mother was placing them on the table. He barely took time to breathe and drink his water, he was so hungry. He was also anxious for some strange reason. He had convinced the voice in his head that it was not because he was eager to see what dress had the onna all excited. Ever since he had given into his desires and kissed the onna, he had ignited a dangerous fire within his soul. A fire that she had complete control over, however he'd be damned to hell for eternity before he ever told anyone, especially her that little fact. He barely allowed himself to admit it, and it was never aloud.

Bulma's mother moved to the table, with the last tray filled a mile high with the cooked steaks,

"Here you…oh my Bulma." She said placing the tray on the table, and covering her mouth with her hands. "You look darling." She whispered in that annoying drawl of hers. Vegeta rolling his eyes turned to look at the onna that was apparently making her way down the stairs, and nearly choked on the piece of meat that he had in his mouth. Forgetting to chew, he swallowed the hunk of meat whole and watched her nervously make her way down the staircase. His throat burned but he didn't care.

"Is Yamcha here yet?" she asked her mother, trying to ignore Vegeta's cold stare. She felt as if his eyes bore right through her, and it was making her more nervous than Yamcha's reaction.

"Not yet dear, but it's only 5:45, you still have fifteen minutes." Bulma nodded, and moved to the living room to wait for her lover. No more than ten minutes later, Bulma stood to answer the pounding on her front door.

"Yamcha still doesn't use the bell…" she whispered with a slight chuckle, shaking her head before opening the door.

"Hey bab…" Yamcha paused mid sentence when he looked up and saw Bulma for the first time. His jaw lowered further than Bulma thought was humanly possible, and she saw a dribble of drool fall from the corner of his mouth. His face soon turned into a bright tomato red, starting at his cheeks and ears. Bulma felt her cheeks redden as well, and she bowed her head.

"Hey Yamcha."

"You look…I…wow." Was all the poor man was able to utter, before his face once again glowed. Bulma smiled and hugged him tightly, planting a kiss on his warm cheek.

"That's just the reaction that I was looking for! Let's go!" Bulma said laughing and dragging the still blushing Yamcha out to his capsule car. Vegeta, who had yet to move or even blink from his seat in the kitchen snapped to attention when he heard the Bulma's blonde mother giggle.

"They make such a cute pair, don't you think?" Vegeta snorted.

"He's a weakling. I should kill him, but I do not wish to waste the ounce of ki that it will take to exterminate his puny ass." Vegeta said, standing abruptly and leaving the room in a huff. Bulma's mother smiled and giggled, beginning to hum the famed wedding march.

"That boy's got it bad." She said smiling before moving to clean his used dishes from the table.


~*~*~



"That was so much fun Yamcha! I can't remember the last time that I just cut loose and relaxed." Bulma said smiling and hugging closer to her boyfriend's body, her hands clasped around his right hand, her arms intertwined with his.

"Yea, for you. You didn't have to glare at the entire male population of West City tonight." Yamcha said threw gritted teeth. Bulma shrugged nonchalantly.

"Can I help it if I'm gorgeous?" Yamcha frowned, and moved them over to a nearby bench.

"What's wrong?" He asked looking into her ocean eyes.

"What do you mean?" Bulma asked carefully, starring back into his midnight eyes. Her eyes reflected the confusion that she felt, but they also held a guarded look, like there was a big part of her life that she wasn't telling him. And that's what worried him.

"Are we…okay?" he asked, turning from her eyes to look at the passing people. Bulma nearly recoiled in shock. Sure they had been growing distant but this was something that she wasn't prepared for.

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't we be?" she asked innocently. Yamcha sighed.

"We are seeing less and less of each other lately. And when we do go out, you're always distracted."

"But you're always training now! Not that I'm complaining, the stronger our warriors the better, I couldn't ask you to spend too much time away from your preparation. I couldn't handle it if you died because you weren't ready. I couldn't handle it if you died at all!" Bulma said pausing as a few tears made their was down her face, smearing a bit of her mascara and eye liner. Yamcha pulled her to his chest,

"Baby…I promise that I won't go down without a fight. I love you. I don't want to leave you, I was just concerned. You haven't been yourself lately." Bulma sighed in his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around her lover.

"I know…it's just that." Bulma paused to sniffle a bit, "I'm not sure. Things have just been odd at home."

"Is Vegeta bothering you?" Yamcha asked, his eyes narrowing into slits, his whole body taking on a much more dangerous look. He pulled Bulma from his chest and starred into her eyes, daring her to lie to him. "You will fear me woman. Do not tell anyone of this. Yes, your little friend Goku could kill me for this, or try to...but I will make sure, before anything happens to me, that I will kill you first. So do not speak of this...we'll finish this later," Vegeta spoke in a dark, cold tone. Bulma's mind chose that time to remind her of the event of which she was desperately trying to forget.

"No! Of course not." She said quickly, a little too quickly for Yamcha's eyes to return to their normal position. "Honestly, he's just sort of scary you know?" Bulma shrugged. "He hasn't done anything!" she said quickly noticing that Yamcha was going to say something. "It's just, I know how powerful he is, and he is getting stronger every day. I just worry about which side he's really on is all." Bulma answered quietly. Yamcha sighed and nodded, pulling her back to his chest, but Bulma stopped him. She pressed her palms against his chest and turned her head upwards so that her lips were hovering near his.

"Bulma…" Yamcha whispered before sealing his lips with hers. Gently pressing his lips to hers, they each engaged in a simple kiss. However, soon Yamcha's tongue darted from his mouth and begged entrance into Bulma's wet, inviting cavern. Bulma gladly extended the invite and soon both parties were moaning, and leaning into each other, deepening the kiss. As he spoke, his lips brushed against hers. "I found my dessert..." he said huskily before roughly kissing her.

Bulma jerked away from the now confused Yamcha. Horror filled eyes widened as a flood of memories raced through her head. His fingers roaming across her flesh, feeling her waist, her toned stomach, and her breasts.

"No!" She shouted covering her ears with her hands and furiously shaking her head back and forth. Then he flicked his tongue against her neck and licked his lips. "Please Kami no…please just leave alone."

"Bulma?" Yamcha asked holding his arm out to her. He was afraid to touch her, for fear of her, he assumed, would be violent reaction. Yet, a part of him was more scared that she was breaking down and needed him to comfort her. He hesitantly reached out and touched her shoulder. As he dreaded, she jerked back violently her eyes wide, her breath coming out in shallow gasps.

"Please no…" she whispered the tears rolling down her soft cheeks, the last thing she remembered feeling before welcoming the coming darkness, was fear, absolutely blinding and paralyzing fear.

"The hell that bastard didn't hurt her…" Yamcha whispered hatefully, catching his now unconscious girlfriend before her delicate body could hit the cold concrete.



TBC!

Not too much of a cliffhanger there, this time. Sorry if this seems as if it's moving too slow, I really want to develop the characters and their relationships before Bulma and Vegeta are together…so yes, that means that Yamcha will be in the picture for at least a few chapters. And yes she loves him still, and will much of the fic. Love just doesn't disappear.

I hope that I'm doing this fic justice, and that this is what you were hoping for Videl621!

Please read and review all! I really appreciate the feed back! Oh, if anyone would like me to e-mail them when I update this fic, please indicate such in either your review or an e-mail. (My e-mail address is Anime22DBZ@aol.com)

~Kaiya~