One Stormy Day
Chapter Six
To Romance or?
She leaned back against the railing in a futile attempt to get comfortable. It wasn't where she was sitting that left her so disturbed, it was simply that it had been an unsettling day and she wasn't quite sure yet what to make of it.
The day had started out inauspiciously enough with her scheduled appearance at the courthouse. It hadn't taken the police very long after her startled testimony to gather up a pile of evidence against the man, linking him to all of the murders that had taken place in the last seven months. The fact that she was the only witness didn't make her feel very good about publicly accusing the man who had murdered twelve young women and successfully remained hidden. She was just settling in to what would undoubtedly be a long first day when a commotion at the doors had stopped the proceedings cold.
She hadn't recognized the man who had stormed into the courtroom but he had stalked straight over to her, yanked her up from her chair, tossed her over his shoulder and walked just as stormily out of the courtroom. Needless to say it had caused quite a commotion.
She pressed her back more squarely against the railing, enjoying the solid strength it gave her after a day that had left her feeling as if she was sinking through quicksand. After leaving the courthouse the man, Vegeta, shoved his way through the reporters and news crews and carried her for several miles, never telling her who he was or where he was taking her. He only shouted brisk orders at her to stop 'squirming' as she kicked and flailed about in a vain attempt to get away from the man. She hadn't given up however, not until he had walked her through some gates, across a compound, into a building, and tossed her roughly onto a couch. The shocked expressions on the faces of the people gathered in the room lasted only a moment before they all converged on her with hugs and kisses.
It had all been a bit too much for her to take. She hadn't a clue who any of the people were. And when a ditzy blond woman had tearfully hugged her she had felt her self-control crack. She jumped away from all of them, backed herself into a corner of the room and demanded to know who they all were. Once they realized that she didn't remember them, the blond woman, her mother, had broken down into quiet hysterics on the couch that she had just evacuated. It had taken several hours for her to tell her story, and to be reintroduced to each of her friends and family. The dark man, Vegeta, had merely watched the proceedings for several minutes, long enough to find out about her memory, and then had swiftly left the room. That was fine since he seemed to make everyone nervous. Except for the man who called himself Goku, and her mother, who seemed to be too out of it to be nervous of anyone.
After a long drawn out day with her family attempting to jump start her memory she had finally asked to be shown to her room and had locked herself in, refusing to come out until she had gotten the shakes out of her system. That had been five hours ago, and except for a quick call to Daniel to let him know what was going on, she had been sitting on her bedroom porch, trying to catch even the tiniest glimpse of a memory of her life here. It was approaching midnight and she thought she should probably go to bed. Tomorrow she would have to straighten out the mess Vegeta had made when he'd pulled her out of the trial proceedings. She stood up slowly, stretching her arms up above her head as she tried to get the kinks out of her neck muscles. She slowly lowered her arms when she caught sight of his dark form, leaning against the wall between his door and hers, staring directly at her.
No one had yet explained Vegeta's position in the household. He wasn't related to her, she could tell that much, and he certainly wasn't her husband, unless they were estranged. Her breath caught in her throat as he slowly walked over to her.
"You say you remember nothing woman?"
He stopped frighteningly close to her. She would have taken a step back, but the railing was already pressing against her back, there was nowhere to go.
"That's right…I don't."
There was barely enough moonlight to see his expression but something told her he was struggling with some decision, and he didn't like where it was heading. She thought she saw something flash through his eyes but it was gone before she could identify it. The silence stretched on uncomfortably but he wouldn't release her eyes from his.
"Not even this?"
He said it so softly her brain didn't really register it before he was pulling her against him and kissing her with a brutal savagery. She was stunned for a moment, but the kiss sent fire down her nerves. Just as she began to respond he released her, stepping away and glaring down at her. Then he turned about and walked into his room, slamming the sliding glass door hard enough to shatter the glass. She stared after him, not quite understanding what had happened. Were they lovers? She hadn't gotten that impression but maybe it was a secret affair…
The morning sunlight filtered through the blinds she had forgotten to close the night before and, after several failed attempts, managed to wake the sleeping blue-haired woman. She stretched her hands above her head and sat up, regarding the room around her for several long minutes. Nope. She still didn't remember anything. The room was strewn with the memorabilia that she had sifted through the night before in a vain attempt to remember…something. She wondered if all of those people from yesterday were still downstairs…if she would have to face their happy, expectant faces again. Probably. But there was no sense in hiding in here. Besides, she hadn't eaten any dinner the night before and she was starving.
After she dressed, in her own tasteful clothing, she exited her room and set out for the kitchen. After several minutes of fruitlessly searching she saw the man called Yaumcha walking down the hall toward her.
"Morning Bulma. Did you get lost? Want me to help you?"
His smile was so genuinely friendly and caring that she couldn't help but smile back at him. There was something about being around him that made her feel at ease. Relaxed and peaceful…but somewhere in the very back of her mind she had a little niggling sensation that she ought to be mad at him for something. Well, there was no sense in holding a grudge for something she couldn't even remember.
"I'd like that."
They fell into easy conversation as he led her to the breakfast area. As they came into the room he was turned towards her, almost as if we was leaning to whisper something in her ear. She was laughing until she heard a chair scrape and a door slam at the other end of the room. They both stopped and looked around the room. Everyone from yesterday was sitting in the room watching her…everyone except Vegeta. Her mother came forward and gave her a hug, led her to a seat and then placed a plate full to the brim in front of her.
Everyone returned to their conversations but Vegeta didn't come back in. It seemed they were secretly lovers. Had he gotten jealous? He didn't seem the type that would be jealous, but maybe…she wondered how long their relationship had been going on. She'd have to catch him alone and ask him…and maybe apologize…although she wasn't sure what for.
Vegeta walked across the compound and angrily punched in the code to his Gravity Chamber. The door closed behind him and he had the fleeting wish he could have slammed it, just to work out some of his anger. Oh, he was pissed. And he was even more pissed at the fact that he was pissed. What did it matter to him if the slut went back to the moron?
Hours later he finally turned the gravity down and exited. It was dark out and the lights were all off in the house. He'd missed lunch and dinner, but that was all right. He was tired of being around those people. The constant exercise had succeeded in taking the edge off of his anger, so he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
He heard the light patter of small feet behind him and immediately he stiffened. It was her. What was she doing down here at this time of night? He supposed that some things never changed.
"I guess you were thinking the same thing?"
He could almost bring himself to admit that he had missed her voice while she was gone…Right now; she was the last person he wanted to see. It had been a mistake last night to give into the temptation, an even bigger mistake to let his anger get the better of him this morning at breakfast.
"Vegeta? I wonder…"
"What do you want woman?"
She stood behind him at the counter, shifting restlessly. It wasn't like her to be so indecisive, probably an effect of her amnesia.
"I was wondering…wer- are we lovers?"
The question startled him. He turned around to look at her silently. So that is what she had gotten from the kiss. He had been wondering, the memory of it had dogged him all day. He regarded her silently for a moment. It would be so easy to say yes, to take what he wanted from her, at least until her memory came back.
"…no, we weren't."
"Oh." She dropped her eyes from him, apparently embarrassed that she had thought such a thing. But really, was it such an impossible idea? She was certainly attractive enough, and a man would have to be made of stone not to wonder about her in that way.
"We weren't. But…"
He saw her eyes fly to his as he took a step toward her. What was the emotion that flittered through her eyes? He stepped up to her and paused an inch away from her. He dipped his head towards hers, she didn't move away and he took that as an invitation.
"Hey Vegeta! Hey Bulma!"
The lights flew on and Bulma immediately stepped away from him, fixing a thin smile on her face as she looked over at the intruder.
He felt a brief moment of fury before he composed himself. He grabbed his food from where he had placed it on the counter and sauntered from the room. He paused behind Kakarot and caught the woman's eyes, making certain she understood this little interlude was far from over.
She watched him walk from the room, unable to take her eyes off of him. He was cocky as all hell, that was for certain, but for some reason she believed that cockiness was well deserved. She heard a small laugh and turned her eyes to Goku, only to find him trying hard not to bust out laughing.
"What's so funny?" she asked him suspiciously.
"Nothing, just the idea of you and Vegeta flirting is funny. Not that I think there's anything wrong with it." He amended as she leveled a withering glare at him.
"I don't see why my love life should be anyone else's business."
"You're right Bulma. Absolutely. It's your business. I just came down to grab myself a little snack anyway. Do you suppose Vegeta left anything in the fridge?"
The shift of topic didn't fool her for a second. He was definitely interested in her and Vegeta, but why he should care was beyond her. Too tired to continue the conversation she ignored him and headed back upstairs.
Outside the door to her room she paused, watching the shadows move in the light under Vegeta's door. He'd said they weren't lovers, but he'd also made it clear he wouldn't mind changing that. She wasn't married; she'd already ascertained that. No one had said anything to her about having a significant boyfriend…so, why couldn't she?
Another minute of deliberation and she'd made up her mind. She grabbed the handle and turned the knob.
A/N: Ok, yep, I am leaving it there. Did she go into her room or into Vegeta's? Guess we'll have to wait for the next update to find out. Let me know what you thought. I think that was one of my nicer cliffhangers, don't you think? Remember, if you want to be on my mailing list, either leave a note in a review saying so, or send an e-mail to Put OSD in the title and I'll add you to the list.
Kiki: Thanks! I'm always glad to hear that I haven't gone all ooc with the characters.
Ryouka-Chan: Oh umm…uhh…I suppose this was too long of a wait? I'm sorry. Heh. But, if you do read this, I hope you enjoy the update. And thanks for reviewing.
Garowyn:Lol, what kind of B/V story would it be if they didn't end up together? Thanks for the praise; it's always very appreciated. And yes, I like evil cliffhangers. Unfortunately, the murderer (at least at this point in time) is not in the slightest bit important.