Damaged

Chapter Eight: Room To Breathe

Bulma woke up soon from her dreamless sleep, needless to say with a killer headache. Her temples were pulsing painfully and she felt as if all of the blood had concentrated in her head.

She pushed herself against the bed post with a groan, noting that her body was covered with the silk cover and there was a dress by the foot of the bed, hanging loosely over it and down to the carpeted floor.

With another groan, she pushed herself out of the covers and over to the bathroom which was the only thing that could possibly catch her attention right now. She needed a shower and fast...

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Vegeta stormed in his room, slamming the door shut with force enough to bring any other door off its hinges, yet this was a specially designed door right because of the temper of the young King. He could easily predict that he would be capable of retreating to his quarters at the thought of breaking someone's neck becoming too tempting for him to handle with his self-control. That was why he ordered the royal architects to do something about that issue.

It had been around an hour after Bulma had gone into the bathroom and she picked just the right time to stop the water flowing and to grab a towel that seemed not to be used by anyone.

In the mean time, Vegeta had thrown himself on his bed, staring at the ceiling with the only thought racing his mind: what was he going to do about the whole situation now? He didn't predict she would survive the attack that was supposed to follow. That messed up his plans quite some much. Now he had to worry about her as well. A snort followed the last thought. Worry? He couldn't possibly be worried about her! But as much as he tried to keep his pride at bay, he was indeed concerned by keeping her safe. He would be damned if he rephrased it to her like that though.

His head snapped at the direction where the sound came from as the door to the bathroom clicked open. Was that where she had been all that time? He didn't even notice. He was far too engulfed with his thoughts in the meantime, as now he became engulfed with her frame by the door, water dripping from her whole body.

Unlike how most earthlings do, she didn't carry her towel around her body, nor around the lower parts of her body. She had it around her neck, the small piece of drying cloth barely managing to cover the nipples of her plump breasts as she was currently drying her hair. She stopped her ministrations as she noticed that the owner of this very room and the whole Palace in general had returned from wherever he had gone to. Not quite a fact that made her jump up with joy, but she decided to ignore it, strolling over to the foot of the bed where everything she could need right now was located.

He stared blankly at her, not understanding where the impudence came out of her, yet he let his eyes roam freely over her exposed flesh. That didn't pass unnoted by the former Queen of the Earth, yet she wasn't in the mood for any sarcastic remarks about the way he was 'checking her out', as the young people on her planet liked to call it. Suddenly, her frown deepened ever more as she thought of her home... Of her destroyed home...

"As much as I'd hate," he emphasized on the word on purpose with sarcasm dripping from his voice, "to put a halt to your mischievous plan, do you mind telling me just why are you carrying yourself around naked?" She glanced tiredly at him with an almost pained expression as she examined the clothes left for her on the Saiya-jin's bed.

"I didn't really think his Majesty would mind." The fiery female answered with the same amount of sarcasm in her words as well. She quickly approved the flared four-piece navy skirt that she had with a frown, as she still had that loathing directed at skirts and dresses from her early womanhood, yet now it was ever smaller as a Queen she was supposed to wear those all the time. She looked at the sky blue dressing gown under it and looked at it suspiciously. Well, it could've been worse.

The Saiya-jin King looked expectantly at her yet she did nothing to cover her naked curves which, strangely, seemed to infuriate him for a reason unknown to us all. We can guess that the King was a beauty admirer. Why was he so stiff around this very woman? With a sigh he turned his glance away to the window, watching as the two suns of Vegeta-sei were about to set. Bulma stole a glimpse in the same direction, then continued to roam though the garments she had been provided with.

The panties were snow-white and seemed quite comfortable, yet too lacy for her liking. She noted this with a deep frown.

"Is that how you prefer to have your women dressed when they come to your bed? With this?!" The Queen snapped, showing him the underwear she was forced to accept. He didn't take as much as a mere second look at what she was holding up for him when he turned his head away again angrily.

"I prefer them to wear nothing, if they are really headed towards my bed." He seethed through his clenched teeth and the woman mocked disbelief with raising her thin eye brows.

"Really?" She continued with her act looking at the garment herself again. "I could've never imagined." She finally saw a bra. Her bra, to be exact. The frown reappeared on her face as she took it. Someone had touched her stuff from the ship. That someone was to pay dearly for that. But meanwhile, she might as well as get herself something to wear before she caught a cold.

"Why are you still naked?" He snapped sharply at her in a demanding way. She threw a bored glance at him, noting he was still glaring daggers at the window.

"Does that bother you?" Silence. "It does?" More silence. "Than that's the way I'll always 'carry myself around'. Seems like fun to piss you off."

"Your insolence has no boundaries, now hasn't it?" Was his short answer to her blatant words. She smirked mockingly at him.

"Last time I was like this in front of you, you didn't seemed to be very bothered by that fact." She stated and put her panties on, slightly bending herself by her waist as she did so. He unconsciously let his eye go to the corner as to steal a small glimpse at her. He quickly cursed under his breath and kept his look away.

"Situation has changed since then."

"And how come that?" A light clipping sound could be heard as she clasped her bra behind her back, bending over for the skirt.

He didn't answer immediatelly. His glare seemed to soften and turn more of a look of... regret? Pain? Ha! Vegeta and emotions! Nice one. She snorted under her breath as she put her peignoir on. She was not in the mood for this topic...

"We both changed since then. Realized things that changed the situation by its roots."

"And what did you realize, Vegeta?" She hissed between her clenched teeth as she moved closer to the window and looked down from it, seeing the guards at the front gate of the palace, on both their posts restless. She frowned again. Saiya-jins. How much she hated Saiya-jins right now was not possible to describe with words. She hated a whole race because of their leader. The irony. She guessed their race hated hers because of her too, and the connection she had with their leader. As if she cared.

He fell in silence once again, only serving to further enrage the angry woman by his silky curtains. Was everything around him so soft, she suddenly wondered.

"I am a King now, have a lot of things on my head and I do not have time for silly weakling business." He explained as-a-matter-of-fact-ly. She glared coldly at him. How could he possibly say such a thing. "Not to mention a race to take care of--"

"Here we go again with the precious little race!" She exclaimed as her anger took the best of her. It was the young man's turn to glare at her and stand immediatelly up from the bed as if burnt and advancing towards her.

"Yes, my 'precious little race', woman! What did you expect me to do? You revived it! Not me. What did you expect me to do about it? Not come back because of you!? Stay on your dear little mudball of a planet!? What!?!" Vegeta snapped sharply at her bending his head slightly over so he could yell at her more efficiently. She glared back and looked away, letting her hair hit his face a little at the sharp turn her scalp had taken.

"No!" She hissed but didn't answer. It was none of his business in the first place. With an annoyed sigh, the former Prince sat back on his bed, still having his look pinned to her back turned to him. He began massaging his temples in an attempt to ease the pain in them yet to no avail. All he managed to do was strengthen it. He growled and rolled on his back on the bed. This was going to be a long night...

"Well, if that's all you have to tell me, I'll be going now." His head snapped up as well as his whole upper body as he looked dangerously at her advancing form towards the door that led out of his room. He jumped up and blocked her way before she could reach it.

"Just where do you think you're going?" He hissed at her and tried to push her back slowly, but she refused to move. She still had some of her power left, he noted with a mental smirk. After all, she had not changed completely.

"I'm going to see my friends, what else!?"

"No, you aren't." He assured her. A frown took upon her face again.

"Vegeta, get out of my way." She ordered sternly.

"No." He answered just as firmly. Both of them stood by the door for a minute or so in silence.

"Vegeta... Move! Now!" She emphasized on each single word. To no avail, as could be expected. The Saiya-jin didn't move an inch.

"You aren't going anywhere." He assured her again. The woman tightened her jaw and balled her small fists.

"Why are you trying to be the ass you are?!" She finally let go of it, almost hitting him against the built chest with her wrist.

"You are not going to leave this room, until I say you may. And that is not going to happen, so you better just let go of it, because the only thing you're going to achieve is getting yourself tired." He added then turned around and shot something at the door with his index and middle finger sticking out of his balled fist, after which he made his way back to bed.

She saw her chance and grasped the locks but let go just as fast with a shriek of pain as an intense heat burned the sensitive skin of her hands. She looked at her shaking upper limbs and noted that she didn't get her skin really burnt, it was just red where she had touched the thing, whatever it was. Bulma looked at the locks carefully and found them braced by yellow energy rings, which sight made her blood only boil. She snapped her head sharply at the man on the bed and strode over to him.

"Why?" She demanded. "Why won't you let me out of here!? Am I that much of a thorn in your eye that you can't even let me walk around your Palace?" She yelled every single word as she was losing her patience ever the more.

"I won't walk around after you just to make sure you're out of trouble, woman. I do not plan on saving your ass every time." He informed her casually and continued staring motionlessly at the ceiling that seemed to collect all of his attention currently.

"I do not need you 'saving my ass'. I think I'm big enough to take care of myself." She said haughtily.

"Oh?" He asked disbelievingly. "Like you were fine with saving yourself with that imbecile?" She looked at the floor, angry at the remembrance of her weakness back then. "Who are you trying to fool, woman? You are no longer as strong as you were, and you are certainly no match for my servants around, so I suggest you--"

"You're the Lord around here? I find it hard to believe you can do nothing to quell your raging monkeys." She seethed. He looked weirdly at her. Then pinned his look back at the ceiling.

"That I won't do." He informed her.

"Why not?" She asked.

"You'll be in a worse situation if I do that." She tried to ignore the alarm that went on in her head that he might be concerned about her for unselfish reasons as she continued her interrogation.

"And how could that possibly happen?" That woman was beginning to seriously dance on his nerves.

"Can you even begin to imagine how powerful can my enemies be?"

"I thought you were the Ultimate Being, you have no one to fear." She recited. "Or maybe there is now someone to compete your power, your Majesty?"

"You'll get yourself killed if spread the rumor of you being 'my mate'."

"I do not ask of you to claim I am your mate. I just want you to--"

"I understand what you want." He hissed, hating to be cut by her. "Yet the fact of my protectiveness over you will mean you are my mate. A Saiya-jin only protects what is his." Bulma sighed. Saiya-jins and their animalistic ways. She doubted most of them could even pronounce 'care'.

"Fine." She dropped off and climbed the bed and let herself rest on the pillow with her back facing him. "Don't then."

"I never said I would even consider it."

"Don't then." She repeated angrily again. After a few minutes of silence she supported herself on her elbows as she had turned to him. "Do I have to sleep in the same bed as you? Why do I even have to be here, anyway?"

"Do you prefer to be in the room of any of my subjects? I'm sure they would take that as a generous gift from their King. Besides the fact it might make them too proud of themselves, I might as well as do it." He threatened her.

"Then do it, what are you waiting for!?" She snapped, turning her back to him again.

"You should be thankful you're still alive, woman, as unbelievable as it is to me."

"If you're so anxious to see me dead, just go ahead and kill me. Pull me out of my misery."

Silence. A long silence. Tension filled the air and made it weight more than it ever did before. Vegeta didn't know what to answer to that. It seemed not like a dare, but a wish... And that was what stung him the most. She, in turn, didn't have anything left to say to him. It was useless trying to get out. She didn't want to have her hands burnt.

It was useless demanding why she wanted to die. The answer was clear to him. As a day. She had no one. He was keeping her away from what little friends she had left in this world. He had nothing to have her entertained. Let alone he wouldn't lower himself more as to take something for her to find entertainment in. The best he could do for her was to lock her in this room and keep her inside so she wouldn't get herself raped or killed in a very painful way...

For the rest of the night, neither said a thing. Not a word left both their mouths. Each of them turned their back to the other, having a long time to thing whatever was on their mind over and over again...

Bulma sighed in exhaustion... The was falling so fast in this vast abyss called her consciousness...

x.x.x.x.x.x

The days passed by so slowly for the lavender haired woman. Her hair had quite grown. Her fringe was getting in her sight, her hair reached down to her lower waist and she had a hard time keeping her hair in a good condition with no hair brush at all. Do not ask how she did it... It was not a pleasant topic for her pride... Yet as a woman her vanity refused her to live with herself if herself if her hair resembled Goku's. And every time she thought that her face got twised in a deep frown. Her friends... The people that she hadn't seen for what, two weeks? More? How did she manage to live at all for so long completely isolated?

She sighed and continued to run her fingers between her long lavender tresses. There was nothing she could do about it...

x.x.x.x.x.x

A month had dragged itself by since Vegeta got the woman in his room. The situation had turned more than just disturbing...

She was no longer commenting anything. She no longer snapped harsh or sarcastic remarks of what he looked like, how he felt like by the expression of his face, neither how loyal his 'barbarian' subjects were to him. She rarely spoke at all. And she never exchainged one with him. She laid with her limbs sprawled all over the bed yet when she heard him coming in she collected them to herself and pulled her feet closer to her body, one over another with her eyes pinned to the nearest wall or the ceiling.

She didn't fall asleep before early hours of the morning and when she did, she had a restless sleep as she seemed to have her subconsciousness agonizing more than she let herself tell.

Vegeta had even talked to Ariane. The weak little female had advised him to give the woman some room to breathe, to let her out, take her to the palace's gardens as they were beautiful enough for a sight to make the woman's heart flutter again. He, yet again, refused to do such a thing, trying to assure her he had already done enough by lowering himself enough as to accept the earthling in his personal chambers and didn't let any other woman join him in the mean time, claiming he was 'suppressing his needs'.

The girl had only shaken her head and continued her work in the kitchen alongside with ChiChi who had trouble with a big caldron of thick suspicious soup that 'slightly' overpowered her. Not to mention, that got Vegeta quite mad and he didn't speak to her until this day.

x.x.x.x.x

One day the woman had completely thrown him in shock... Let us see what exactly happened that day...

The doors to the Throne room opened widely only to be closed just as fast a couple of seconds later, having the ruler look up from the table in front of him as he was attending a really important meeting about the mission he had sent half of his best crew when he noticed the long lavender tresses of a certain survived earthling. His eyes widened ever so lightly as he watched her stoll over to the beginning of the long table and put a halt to her movements as she reached it. Her face was unreadable. Expressionless, cold, distant... Her eyes were no longer shimmering with emotions... She seemed to be ever so cold inside... Dead...

"How did you get out?" He inquired. She didn't answer as she looked at the ground motionlessly, yet taking a secret glimpse at her unclenched palms. He did as well and noticed the ever so invisible blood drops fall from both her wrists. She broke the rings!? How on Vegeta-sei was that possible!? She didn't possess the physical power to do that!

"I am here to make a request to Your Majesty." He saw how she clenched her fists making her deafen her wince at the pain it probably inflicted to her weak human body. It probably took her all those weeks to get herself to walk over her own pride enough as to do this, in front of so many Saiya-jins.

"Well?" Vegeta turned his full attention to her. She gulped slowly and raised her eyes to lock her gaze with his.

"I ask of permission to go to the ship I have arrived on this planet by."

"What business with it might you have?" He inquired again. She swallowed again, once again clenching and unclenching her fists as fast, having a couple of crimson drops hit against the marble floor of the Throne room.

"Today is the anniversary of my mother's birthday. I wish to collect the materials from the room I possess on the ship for a sentimental ritual of my planet, Your Majesty." The room echoed with chuckles released by the Saiya-jins that inhabited it. They knew such a request had no option for gratification. How could their leader be sure she wouldn't try to bewitch him with some magic of any sort?

Vegeta stood completely still, his breathing and thinking the only proceeding processes. He could deny her that wish and make her a laughing stalk to all of his subjects present. It was the most common thing for him to do. But looking at her face made it impossible for him to do that. Hell, she almost slit her palms in two just to get out of his lock! He sharply turned his head to the guard behind him and mentioned to him to come closer.

"Toryu." He demanded. The man saluted and stood stiff by his commander, bending by his waist so he would hear the request of the sitting King. "Take this woman to the Third Dock and take whatever she claims she wishes to have. Show her the way to my quarters after that. Before you return her back to the room, take her to the new nurse in the medical wing to mend her wounds and remember one thing..." He lowered his voice so no one else heard his following words. "Just touch her once even with your filthy finger, and I will break it in millions of tiny pieces, along with every single bone in your body. Am I clear?"

The male nodded desperately. A smirk curved one of the corners of Vegeta's mouth up.

"Very well. Now leave before I change my mind." He directed his words to the bowing woman. She turned around on her heel, following the broad shouldered dark-brown haired Saiya-jin that was going to collect her stuff for her.

The throne room stood in a long silence before Vegeta snapped at all of the present warriors,

"What the fuck are you waiting for!? Back to work, worms!!"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Bulma continued writing in her diary despite the burning pain in her whole right palm. She heard the door click open and she glanced up for a moment only to confirm Vegeta had come back and she quickly turned her attention back to the little book.

The matress bent a little as a certain amount of weight dropped onto it tiredly. A sigh followed suit, escaping the Saiya-jin King's parted lips.

"I made it clear to every single one of those 'barbarians' that you are something none of them shall touch. You are free to go wherever you like. If you find yourself endangered, tell the nearest guard or anyone more powerful than yourself about it and that you are the former Queen of the planet Earth and they will get the hint immediatelly. If it is something none of them can handle, find a way to release enough amount of energy to collect my attention and I will come personally." He suddenly spoke, grabbing her attention completely. "I think it's needless for me to say you shouldn't get too far away from the Palace. Anyone else outside this place will not tolerate your attitude, nor the fact that you have been a Queen of an advanced race they never respected." He added. She turned her gaze back to her book.

He sighed in annoyance and turned to the side on his part of the bed.

After some time of another tense silence when he had nothing left to say, a deaf pair of words could be barely recognized as it left the soft lips of the female beside him,

"Thank you..."

'Whatever' was not much of a comeback in such a situation, he wasn't in the mood of screwing with her around. 'You're welcome' was never an option for him. So he decided to act smart and remain silent.

'For the better.' They simulatenously thought.

x.x.x.x.x.x

In the middle of the night Bulma still had those nightmares. He glanced over his shoulder at her sleeping form that seemed to be in pain. He sighed. Well, there was nothing he could do about it... It was something she had to deal herself about...

Then the onyx eyes grew wide. What he felt he couldn't believe. For the first time for a month and something, her arms entangled around his waist as she pulled closer to him under the soft sheets, collecting some of his warmth. Was that the real 'thank you' for the room he had left her to breathe?

True, he did that... But what would it cost her?...

He clenched his eyes shut as different scenarios played in an instant through his mind. He didn't turn around to hug her back, neither did he perform any action to push her back. How could he do such a thing? On the other hand, how could he not? It was becoming ever the more confusing before he finally gave up on his thoughts that raced in his head, deciding that he would have to deal with himself tomorrow. Today had been a long day... A long and tiresome day...

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! This is my gift to every single one of you that has supported me up until now and to everyone that is reading this fic at all but doesn't review! I love all of you and you know it, but I'm just making sure you don't forget it! Lol. I want to place here a little 'thank you' to my mom, thanks to whom I got Bulma dressed in the beginning of the chapter, for I have no idea about this skirt/dress business... -.- So, do you like your gift? You could make me a gift by reviewing. It's not really hard, you just type some words into a little box then you push the 'submit review' button! Lol. Nah, just kidding, review if you like, don't if you don't.

Remember, reviews are a huge driving force to me and even bigger inspiration! It will trigger the faster writing of the next chapter and, plus, you'll know you have been the reason for it!