This chapter is long because there's a lot of boxing jargon (curtesy if the husband and Johnny N whom I discovered from YouTube).
I hope this chapter is a nice reprieve from everything so far. I wanted to get back to the story's roots a little bit.
Chapter 14: Throwing Punches
"Get up, woman," Vegeta growled lowly in Bulma's ear as he hovered over her, shaking the bed to get her attention.
"What the hell, Vegeta," Bulma groaned at his antics. "It's too early for this." She threw her blanket over her head.
Vegeta straddled her and sat up. "Come on, it's Saturday morning. Out of bed. Time to train." He pulled the blanket down to reveal her face.
"I am not training right now. I'm too tired." She rubbed at her eyes sleepily.
Fuck she's adorable, Vegeta thought. He smirked down at her. "Did my sexual prowess wear you out, woman?"
"You're so full of yourself," she stated, trying not to smile. He just continued to smirk at her. He brought his face down to rub his nose along hers.
"We can save that kind of training for later," he whispered sultrily. "But first I want to get you in the ring and spar with you." How does he make that sound dirty? Bulma thought. He jumped off the bed then. He was already dressed in black athletic shorts and a white t-shirt and sneakers. He must've went back to his apartment and changed. "Come on. Up you go," he demanded, grabbing Bulma's arms and pulling her from the warmth of her covers.
"Why're so chipper this morning?"
Vegeta was feeling oddly refreshed. Probably because he wasn't dead yet. He just smiled. He stepped up to her and pulled on her hair, making her look into his dark, brooding eyes. "Because I have plans for you today, woman..."
Bulma gasped. Everything south of the border clenched deliciously. She wanted him. She went to try to kiss him, but he just pulled her head back by her hair.
"Uh-uh-uh," he admonished. A menacing smile spread over his face. He could see how turned on she was right now. How much she wanted him. And he loved it. He slowly brought his face down to hers, lightly brushing his lips across Bulma's plump ones. "I'm gonna have you sweating today. And I can't wait..." he breathed against her lips, making her drag in a breath. Bulma went to put her hands in Vegeta's hair and deepen their kiss, but he backed away from her. He smiled evilly. He knew exactly what he was doing to her and Bulma was getting frustrated.
"You're such a jerk."
Vegeta just continued to smile. "Get dressed, woman."
"Ugh! Fine!" Bulma stomped to her closet, pulling out a pair of black biking shorts, a hot pink sports bra, and an old neon green teeshirt she'd turned into a crop top. As she was grabbing a pair of socks from her dresser, Vegeta came up behind her and placed his hands on her waist. She could feel his thumbs on her exposed skin and it made her eyes flutter.
"I still wouldn't count this as a shirt, woman," he purred silkily in her ear.
"Mmmm. It wouldn't matter if I were wearing a shirt if you hadn't jerked me out of bed so early."
Vegeta chuckled. He loved when she sassed back. She'd always been bold before, but now it felt different. He loved the power he had over her body too. He moved his right hand down to squeeze her butt cheek, then he swatted it none too lightly.
"Eep!"
"Come on, vulgar woman. Let's go." He grabbed her hand and they exited her bedroom.
As they entered the open living space, they saw 18 in the kitchen putting together a smoothie.
"I see you stayed the night," 18 said hostilely at Vegeta as he and Bulma made their way into the living room to look for Bulma's tennis shoes.
Vegeta turned an arched brow toward the woman in the kitchen. "Yeah. What's it to you?"
"Well, when a half beaten man shows up on my doorstep and manhandles my friend like some kind of caveman, I find it in me to make it my business."
"18!" Bulma chided. She didn't understand why 18 was being so hostile toward Vegeta. Especially after their chat last night – this morning. I thought she said she trusted me?
Vegeta just scoffed at the blonde female. "Tch." He didn't like the look she was giving him. Like she knew something but wouldn't say. He walked over to the door. "I'll meet you downstairs, Bulma." As he shut the door behind him – a little too aggressively – Bulma turned to face 18.
"What the hell was that?!"
18 had the nerve to look guilty. "I'm sorry, Bulma. But he just grates on me for some reason." Her eyes looked down at the floor suddenly and she looked as if she had something caught in her throat.
"Spit it out already," Bulma demanded her friend.
The blonde shuffled her feet. "When I went on my run with Krillin this morning, I mentioned how you and Vegeta were getting along." Her eyebrows scrunched in concern. "And he said he heard Goku the other day mention something about how his brother and Vegeta were in a gang together when they were growing up." She wouldn't meet Bulma's eyes even after she finished speaking.
Bulma's heart stopped. There was no way. That's not what Vegeta had told her. She remembered the haunted look in Vegeta's eyes as he recounted his story to her about his parents and his upbringing. No, she shook her head."Well, he misunderstood. That's not how it is." Bulma was now truly annoyed, if not somewhat offended. "Don't believe everything you hear, 18. I know what's going on with Vegeta and that's all that matters." But her heart stuttered a little at her words. Did she know? Vegeta said he refused Frieza's offer. But he never mentioned Raditz's involvement in anything. Only that they were cousins. She shook her head again. Goku can be very obtuse sometimes. Who knows what he was really talking about.
18 finally looked up to see the hurt look on her friend's face. "I'm sorry, B. I just thought you ought to know what I heard."
"Well, you've told me." Bulma was angry. At 18. At Vegeta. At herself... "I gotta go," she said quickly, turning her back on her roommate and walking out the door.
She walked outside in a daze. The air was cool against her skin. It looked like it had rained in the night. When she saw Vegeta leaning against his motorcycle, she stopped. God, he's sexy. Vegeta smiled as she approached, but then scowled when she stopped before she reached him. He pushed himself off his bike and walked toward her. He stroked her cheek. "What's wrong?" The look on Bulma's face made him nervous. Like he betrayed her somehow. Damnit. What did the stupid blonde tell her? Bulma couldn't fight against the need to lean in to his caress. Her eyes pricked with tears at the thought that Vegeta had lied to her. She looked up at him. His face paled seeing her expression.
"Bulma." He said her name sternly. "Tell me."
Bulma took in a shaky breath. "18 and Krillin went on a run this morning and Krillin told her something Goku had said." She looked up at him then. "About you and Raditz."
Vegeta stiffened. Shit! "Oh?" was his angered response.
A tear slid down Bulma's cheek as she stared at Vegeta's hardened expression. She didn't like his reaction at what she'd said. In a very small voice, Bulma continued, "she said Goku had told Krillin that you and Raditz were in a gang together when you were younger." Vegeta remained unfazed by her words. He was staring intently at her face, but he seemed to be looking through her and not at her. He eventually broke the long silence.
"That's not exactly true." Bulma gasped and he looked down at her. He brought his hand up to rub his thumb and forefinger against his temples, closing his eyes. When he opened them, they were heated. "We were technically never in the gang." He paused, gauging Bulma's reaction. She was frozen in place, completely at a loss. "We just worked for one." He ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to be having this conversation in the middle of the sidewalk. But he had to tell her now. He groaned, annoyed. "When me and Raditz were in high school we started working part time at this car shop. Turned out to be a chop shop for a local gang that doesn't even exist anymore. We used to boost cars. We'd lift them and then sell the parts. We were stupid teenagers. Thought it was fun. Nappa about lost it when he found out. But we were never actually apart of the gang." He shook his head. Bulma was just staring at him, her eyes still misty. He wiped a tear from her cheek.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She quietly asked.
Vegeta shrugged. "Of all the things I needed to tell you, that seemed the least important."
And he had a point. Bulma kicked herself mentally for being so disbelieving. She didn't like that she was ready to discount Vegeta so easily. She stood on her tiptoes and planted a light kiss on Vegeta's lips. His expression finally changed to one of shock. "I'm sorry." Vegeta pulled Bulma into his arms. She rested her head against his chest and breathed in his scent. "I knew there had to have been more to the story than what 18 said."
"Tch. I had a feeling something was up with her. I was starting to get worried when it took you so long to come down..."
"I'm sorry,"'she said again. "I shouldn't have been so easily swayed by her words."
He lifted up her chin and gave her a chaste kiss. "It's okay." He put on a mock angry face. "Just don't let it happen again." Bulma giggled. "Can we go to the gym now?" He sounded like a sullen teenager asking his parents 'are we there yet.'
"Yes!" Vegeta released his hold from Bulma's waist and took her hand as they walked back to his bike.
They pulled up outside of Bulma's parents' place a few minutes later. Bulma's mother could be seen working in her garden wearing a floppy sun hat and holding a pair of gardening shears in her hand.
"Hey mom! We're just gonna be using the gym today." Bulma waved as they passed, trying to get away from her mother as fast as possible. Oh those two! Panchy gushed.
Vegeta excitedly pushed open the doors to the Briefs's fitness center. This place is like heaven. Bulma stood back as Vegeta walked further into the gym. She kept her arms around her torso feeling odd being in this room with him again. This is where he walked out on me...
Vegeta made his way over to the sparring ring but was surprised when he realized Bulma wasn't behind him. He turned to see her still standing by the entrance. His face darkened. Crap. What did I do now?
"Bulma," he called from across the way. "Why're still standing over there?"
Bulma didn't say anything. She just slowly made her way over to where he stood and stopped a few feet away. Vegeta's eyebrows furrowed. He closed the distance between them and grabbed her face in his hands. "What's wrong now?"
Bulma's expression became angry. She threw his hands off her. "Nothing." She stomped up to the sparring circle. "Are we going to train or what?"
Vegeta gapped after her. What the hell is her deal? He schooled his face back into its usual scowl. "Fine. But we aren't getting in the ring just yet. Follow me." He made his way over to the punching bags. Bulma begrudgingly followed.
"This is a punching bag," he told her as he come up beside the hanging object.
"I know what a punching bag is, you asshole!"
"Tch," he sneered. Oh she's angry. "Have you ever used one before?"
Bulma gave him an angry glare. He's laughing at me. "No," she answered, shaking her head.
"Perfect," he said, rubbing his hands together sinisterly. Man, he looks positively evil right now, Bulma thought, his expression making her nervous.
"First things first. We have to go over safety procedures. I don't want to have to explain to your mother how you ended up breaking your hand." He went to riffle in his gym bag. "You remember when I told you about metacarpals and how boxers usually have micro-fractures?" Bulma nodded her head. "Well, every strike a boxer makes creates a micro-fracture. You have to build up your strength so you don't end up hurting yourself too much. When training, you want to make sure your knuckles are cushioned and your wrists supported. That's what these are for." He held up two brick colored gloves that looked to have a bit of wear on them. "And I'll also show you how to wrap your hands too." He held up what looked like an ace bandage. He sauntered back over to her.
"Give me your hands." Bulma reluctantly placed her right hand in his. As Vegeta clutched her hand, he dragged his fingers over her palm, making Bulma's insides clench in desire. She let out a shaky breath and Vegeta smiled. "The hands are made up of many small joints and small bones that could easily fracture from the impact of repeated punches. Handwraps are there to hold your hand together, providing support for your wrists, fingers, knuckles, and the entire hand itself. Many people think handwraps are for extra cushion or protection for your knuckles. That's not really true. Their purpose is actually not to cushion the impact; that's what the boxing gloves are for. The handwraps are there to secure all your loose joints and moveable bones. It fastens all your joints together so the shock is better distributed across your entire hand. You don't want your joints to be moving freely and independently when the hand strikes an object. A properly wrapped hand will tighten into a solid fist when the hand is closed."
Throughout his whole explanation, he kept playing with Bulma's fingers, closing her hand into a fist at the last part. Bulma's mind went into the gutter. He's so sexy when he talks like this. Brawn and brains. Mmmm. Bulma had to resist the urge to jump him right then. She reminded herself that she was supposed to be annoyed with him. He lightly placed a kiss to the palm of her hand before he released it to grab the handwrap.
"The loop goes around the back of the hand so it tightens when you make a fist. If you run the wrap down the front of the hand, the handwrap loosens instead. We use the rule of threes." He turned her hand over and wrapped the material around her wrist. "Three times around the wrist. Three times around the hand. And back down by the thumb. Now we make three X's through the fingers. This part pulls your knuckles together for support but keeps them separated so they don't collapse or break over each other." He began creating X's crossing at the back of her hand, each time pulling the material between each of her fingers. "Then we go around the thumb once. And then we lock it into place by going around the thumb halfway and finishing across the palm." Bulma noticed how much of the roll was still left. "We're not done yet," Vegeta said, catching the confused look on her face. "Now we wrap the knuckles three times. Then we complete the wrap with some extra wraps around the wrist and a couple more X's." He finished off the roll. "Then we secure the Velcro right on the wrist." He pressed the end to her wrist with a flourish. "There. All done." He smirked up at her, holding her hand out to her. Bulma tentatively looked at her mummy-like appendage. "Go ahead. Make a fist." She did. "Comfortable?" She nodded. It didn't hurt when she fisted her hand, but felt nice and snug. He kept smirking at her, but she avoided eye contact with him least her resolve to stay mad at him break. He ignored her behavior and casually put out his hand, asking silently for her other hand to wrap. He repeated the steps on her left hand. Once finished, he covered her hand with his. "Perfect." He caught her eye then. Bulma stared back, but didn't say anything. She quickly pulled her hand away. Vegeta just chuckled. He bent down to retrieve the old pair of gloves from the floor. He held out one of the gloves for her to put her fist into. "Remember. Don't tuck in your thumb." Vegeta helped her into the other glove and then he dawned on a pair of MMA gloves for himself.
"Why do you get the sleeker pair and I'm made to wear these big ol' things?" Bulma asked, holding up her bulbous fists.
She looks so adorable, Vegeta thought. "You won't be given MMA gloves like these until you learn how to throw a punch correctly."
He moved closer to the punching bag. "Now, when you throw a punch, I want you to use your first two knuckles since you've never hit a heavy bag before."
"How am I suppose to do that when I'm wearing a boxing glove?"
"It's in the swivel of your wrist. It all depends on how you aim." He took ahold of her wrist. "Like this," he guided her hand to the left. "Or like this," he turned her gloved hand to the right. "I want you hitting with your wrist to the right. But remember, you're still keeping your wrist straight, parallel with your arm. You're just turning your hand in a way that changes where the impact will land." Bulma was still a little confused but she wasn't about to mention anything to him. She was supposed to be annoyed.
"Your forearm is made up of two bones." She gave him a look that screamed I-know-that-I'm-not-an-idiot. He ignored her. "Hit with the first two knuckles of your hand. This way you hit the stronger of the two bones. Instead of using your other three knuckles and possibly getting a boxer's fracture, or in layman's terms, a broken hand."
He moved to position her in front of the punching bag.
"You're back foot is where your power is going to come from. So since you're right handed you're going to lead with your left foot." He splayed his hand on her right thigh and pushed her leg back behind her. Bulma ignored the tingling sensation she felt from his touch and looked up at him quizzically. "People think that boxing is all in the arms. But your strength comes from three points; your back foot, your hips, and your shoulders." His hands touched each body part as he spoke them. "You're always moving in a swivel motion, propelling yourself forward from the ground up. Momentum is key." He circled her forearm with his gloves hand. He moved her arms down in front of her in the typical boxer stance and instructed her to bend her knees lightly. "You want to make yourself as narrow of a target as possible. Kinda like a straight line. Helps you protect yourself from your opponent and reduce their chances of getting pass you defenses."
"Okay." Bulma whispered. It's the first thing she'd said in awhile.
Vegeta's scowled returned to his face. "This step is good in practice, especially when you're first learning. When punching, aim six inches behind your target. This will help with your follow through. Rule of thumb is jabs are one to three inches behind your target. Those are your quick punches, to daze the opponent or keep them on their back foot. Every other strike is six inches behind the target or more. Those are for when you want to actually cause damage." He moved his hands down to her hips. "Enough explanations. Now throw a punch. Just how I taught you. Don't worry if the bag doesn't move. It's pretty heavy."
His implication that she would not be able to make the bag move peeved her off a little. But overall Bulma looked worried. She didn't know if she was ready yet. He'd done a lot of talking and she got most of it. But she had been focusing too much on her anger to really pay attention like she probably should've been.
"You can do it," Vegeta encouraged.
Bulma let out a shaky breath. She took the stance that Vegeta had shown her and prepared herself for what she was about to do. Six inches behind the target. She pulled her arm back and swung her hips, pushing her right foot into the ground, and put her shoulder into the punch. Her gloved fist made contact with the black bag before her and it swung meekly on it's hinges. She looked at the punching bag in shock. I actually got it to move...
"How's the hand feel?" Vegeta asked her, a hint of pride in his voice.
Bulma flexed her fist inside her glove. "Not broken," she said in amazement.
Her eyes shined with excitement. She smiled up at Vegeta and threw her arms around him in a hug. He pulled her to his chest and swung her around. When her feet were back on the ground, she looked into his eyes. He bent his head to kiss her, but she stepped away from him.
"For crying out loud, woman!" Vegeta was done with her mood. "What the fuck is wrong? What great atrocity have I committed?" He was seething. She'd been grumping around since they got here. Realization dawned on him then. He stared her dead in the face. "Is that what this is about? What happened last time?"
Bulma looked down at the floor. "You walked away from me. You've walked away from me so many times that sometimes I still feel like you're just going to leave."
He rushed to her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his dark, serious eyes. "I am never going to leave you. Satan himself would have to drag me down to get me off this plane before I'd ever spend a day without you." His voice was emphatic. Bulma stared up at him with shiny eyes. Vegeta grabbed her face and crushed his mouth against hers. "I love you, Bulma," he breathed out. "So much." An involuntary sob escaped Bulma's lips. "Oh, Bulma." He kissed her again. This time she kissed back. She was tired of being mad at him. She wanted him. Right this second.
Bulma pulled back slightly to say, "I thought you said you were going to make me sweat today..."
Vegeta smirked. "Oh I intend to." His face split into a devilish grin.
Author's Note:
I want to credit this source for the information in handwrapping.
I don't half ass anything. I did a lot of online research and listened to a lecture from my husband about boxing safety and tips (literally recorded his whole schpeel on my phone). I just feel if I'm putting information out there I want it to be accurate as possible. Even if this is just fanfic.
(1) How to Wrap your Hands /how-to-wrap-your-hands
