Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters
Special thanks to multiple guests, including Winrycherry101, and also Mistress-Zutara, Shizuka23, blonde22, iluvveggie, KimiruMai, gdoodle, and withoutwingsx for reviewing the original Chapter 7.
Bulma woke up the next morning, broken, sore, and alone. She still couldn't get over the feeling of betrayal and disgust she felt towards Vegeta. He had promised that it would never come to this, that he would never be like the men who attacked her on her home planet. She was still wishing that the attackers would have killed her or that Vegeta would have when he found her. It would have been for the best. She could have been with her family if that had happened and not where she was now.
She thought back to the men who destroyed her home. They had come to Capsule Corp. trying to find the head scientist. Anyone would have suspected it to be her father, but they knew. Bulma was the real brains behind many of the weapons and defense system. That's why he wanted her.
That creepy, purple lizard had ordered the attack on Earth. He knew of Bulma's talents, though she had no idea of how. His men wanted her; that much he knew, so he gave them the order to crush her spirit. She had been left a little too crushed, and Frieza did not want her in that condition. So they left her, but would be back in a few months to see if she came around. If not, oh well. Besides, the monster still had to discuss selling the planet to another. And that is how Bulma came to be all alone.
She had not recovered. Sure, she seemed fine to anyone who saw her, but the truth was she hated this situation and this planet. She had wanted to help Vegeta prevent another tyrant like Frieza from taking over the universe. But in addition to helping him, she was partly planning her way out of the world. Depression and fear of the unknown could drive someone to that limit. Little did she know, there was another at the moment attempting to do just that, either to get rid of the pain in his chest at the known rejection of his new mate or to get strong enough to defeat his father.
"Sir, she said the gravity chamber hasn't been tested," Nappa said trying to reason with the young prince. Vegeta had entered the lab and had started messing with the gravity room. This is where Nappa had found him, expecting to find the scientist there and not the prince.
"I don't care," he admitted, stewing in his self-hatred.
"Vegeta, what happened?" his guard questioned, noticing a change in Vegeta's behavior.
"Nothing," the prince lied.
"Don't give me that," Nappa scolded. "You know I know you better than that."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Vegeta argued, still refusing to meet Nappa's eye. "Now leave me alone. If something happens then so be it. I don't want you here."
"What if you get severely injured?" Nappa asked in concern.
Vegeta shrugged nonchalantly. "Then I die. No big deal."
Vegeta walked into the gravity chamber leaving Nappa stunned into silence with his mouth hanging open. The prince didn't care about dying? Why?
Nappa shook his head, not wanting to go against an order but also not wanting the prince to hurt himself. He settled for going to the prince's room to confront Bulma. Maybe she knew why he was acting like someone stabbed him through his heart.
Bulma took a bath but, no matter how much she scrubbed, she could not get rid of the dirty feeling she felt crawling over her skin. She had started to trust Vegeta. After all, he was kind to her, making sure she was clothed, fed, and safe. But now, she felt everything but safe. He had lied to her. He promised that he wouldn't use her as his sex slave. Yes, his father threatened to take her, but it was still emotionally scarring. She never expected someone she was starting to care about to take her before she was ready. Would I have ever been ready? She couldn't say for sure that she would have been. "I should talk to him," she whispered. There had to be a way for her to get over it and push it behind her.
Bulma moved over to the mirror in Vegeta's washroom and saw a mark on her neck. She put her fingers to it and was met with a shock of pain. Whatever it was, it was still tender to the touch. It had to have been something Vegeta had done, but Bulma numbed herself so much that she had no memory of it.
"So I was right," Bulma heard Nappa say from the doorway. She squealed slightly and grabbed the towel closer to body to hide herself. "Relax, girl. I'm just here to talk to you. I was going to ask you why the prince was on a suicide mission, but now I understand." Bulma looked seriously confused and Nappa realized that she had no idea what the mark on her neck meant. He sighed in frustration. "Get dressed, princess. You need to come with me."
"P-Princess?" Bulma asked nervously. "I-I'm not a princess."
"Just get dressed and I will explain," Nappa replied.
Bulma obeyed and took out a blue dress from Vegeta's closet and then sat down in a chair, hugging her knees to herself as she sheepishly looked up at Nappa.
The guard shook his head. Something had obviously happened here that had nothing to do with the prince wanting a mate. "Tell me what happened, Bulma," he ordered gently.
"There's nothing to say," she said looking away from the man.
"You and Vegeta slept together," he stated as fact. When Bulma tensed, he continued. "It wasn't a choice either of you made, was it? It was his father." Bulma nodded as the tears formed in the corners of her eyes again. "The prince mated with you." Bulma shot up in alarm and stared at him with wide eyes. "He probably did it to keep you safe from other Saiyans. That mark on your neck means that you are his and no one would dare mess with a Saiyan's mate. However, if you or he rejects each other, it could potentially kill him. You wouldn't feel the pain as you are not a Saiyan."
"What?" Bulma asked. She didn't know anything about Saiyans or mating with them and, from what Nappa was saying, Vegeta was hurting worse than she was. "I didn't know…"
"I know, and don't worry, he won't die physically any time soon, but emotionally…he's been gone there for a while…"
Bulma could see that Nappa was very concerned for Vegeta. Hell, now she felt bad for the prince even though her trust in him had faltered. "What do you mean?"
Nappa looked away from her. Every Saiyan had a policy about not showing weakness to others, and he was about to go back on Vegeta's. "The prince is a good kid," Nappa told her. "He's never done anything to cause harm to anyone except for when his father forces him on purging missions. He has never taken a woman against her will, at all until you, that is. He blames himself for a lot of his father's actions…because he's not strong enough. None of us are. The king has this device that traps our energy inside our bodies. It's painful, which is why everyone is so obedient to him. Vegeta has been training to overcome that little trinket's power. He causes himself harm, not because it could make him stronger, but to punish himself for failing the people of the planet and other planets. Now he has taken you as a mate after doing something horrible to you and he hates himself more. He's in the gravity machine right now, probably about to cause more harm to himself whether he realizes it or not."
"But I haven't tested it yet!" Bulma shouted, rushing out of the room to the lab, leaving Nappa behind mid-story.
She got there just in time, as the machine's ventilation system was not working properly. Had it been a second later, the gravity chamber might have exploded. Bulma hit the emergency override switch and entered the gravity chamber.
Vegeta was on the ground, completely broken from having the gravity up so high. He had turned the level to its max, just to see how it felt. He was instantly dragged down to the ground, the gravity crushing him. If he had put his full strength into it, he could have turned the machine off, but he stopped caring once he hit the ground. Now, out of nowhere, he felt as light as feather.
His vision was clouded, but he knew someone was there next to him, holding a senzu bean to his lips. Vegeta managed to take the bean with his tongue. He felt his energy return to him, but he refused to open his eyes.
"Vegeta, please don't do this," Bulma whispered.
Vegeta's eyes snapped open and he forced himself to sit up. He looked at her as if she were an illusion and not real, and moved his hand to touch her hair and face. She felt real, but he had to be dreaming. There was no way she'd be anywhere near him, not after what he had done to her.
"You're not here," he whispered.
"W-what?" Bulma asked confused. "Vegeta, I'm sitting right in front of you. Of course I'm here."
"No," he said weakly shaking his head. "No, you aren't real. I pushed you away. You hate me."
Bulma's heart clenched. Vegeta was babbling stuff that didn't make sense, almost as if he was losing his mind. "I don't hate you, Vegeta," she said, tears falling from her eyes. "I don't think I ever could. I was just…just…"
"I hurt you," he said leaning against her forehead. "I went back on my word. I betrayed you."
"And I'll get past it," Bulma replied honestly. "We both will. I know what you made me."
Vegeta's eyes shifted down to the floor, but he kept his forehead against hers. He was breathing heavily, as if he was struggling to get air. Despite having the senzu bean, he still felt incredibly sick and hot. He wondered if it was the effects of having a mate who had rejected the other. It was not something he could have ever experienced in the past, so he couldn't be certain.
"Vegeta, tell me what's wrong," Bulma demanded, stroking his hair.
Vegeta closed his eyes and his breathing started to return to normal. He relaxed against her, his mate. He had planned on keeping it a secret from her even though he knew it would slowly drive him insane, if he hadn't been there already. The fact that she knew and that she was by his side helped a little bit, though he still felt immense pain in his heart and mind. He still wasn't able to speak to her either.
"Let's go, Vegeta," Bulma ordered quietly.
Vegeta shook his head against hers. "No, I…I need to train," he argued, though his voice was hoarse.
"You always train," Bulma pointed out. "Plus, the gravity chambers ventilation system wasn't working properly. It could have killed you."
"That's the least I deserve for everything I've done," Vegeta whispered.
"No, Vegeta, you don't deserve any punishments," she told him. "You have already been punished enough. Today you are going to get your ass back in your room and eat and sleep. Only if you feel better in the morning can you train, deal?"
Vegeta forced himself to nod and let Bulma lead him out of the chamber. He still looked like his eyes were glazed over. Bulma would be surprised if he remembered anything that just happened the next day. It was bad enough he was already delirious and hot with fever. Bulma still didn't know what to think about any of this. Apparently rejection by one's mate led to serious illness. She would have to make a mental note of that.
Nappa stood up when he saw Bulma helping the prince to his room. He quickly covered his smile at the fact that the girl had gone to help him. Despite the rift the king had caused between them, he could tell she would take care of the prince. That would be enough for Vegeta to form any kind of bond with Bulma. Vegeta did not need her for pleasure or even for show. He just needed her for comfort, as she needed him. "Is there anything I can get for either of you?" Nappa asked Bulma seeing as Vegeta was still dazed.
"Something to eat for both of us," Bulma replied. "And that tea…what was it called?"
"Kamormiru tea?" Bulma nodded. "You got it, princess."
"My father doesn't know," Vegeta muttered under his breath. "Do not say anything."
Nappa and Bulma shrugged to one another before Nappa went to go to the kitchen, though Nappa knew what Vegeta had meant. The king would not react well if he found out Vegeta had taken an alien woman as a mate, not to mention one deemed as his concubine. No other Saiyan would pursue her, which had most likely been Vegeta's plan all along. His father, though, was a different story entirely for he had no morals. The Saiyan guard sneered in disgust at the thought of their king. He hoped Vegeta would be able to pull himself together and be able to take the man down.
Bulma turned to Vegeta and put her hand on his shoulder. "What doesn't he know, Vegeta?" she asked once Nappa was gone.
"That you're my mate," Vegeta said in a whisper. "He would not react well. I don't want him to hurt you or take you away."
"Then he won't find out," she responded quietly. "It will be another of our many secrets."
Vegeta nodded and lied down on his bed, curling up within himself. Bulma frowned. This was the first time she had seen him so vulnerable and it was so off-putting. She was still slightly nervous around him, but they were mates now. He wouldn't hurt her again, right?
Bulma swallowed back her fears and forced her rational mind to take over. She lied down next to Vegeta on the bed and kissed the Saiyan on the cheek. "It will be okay, Vegeta," she told him. "We'll get through all of this together."
"Together…" Vegeta repeated the foreign word before drifting off to sleep.
When Vegeta woke up, it was dark, and he had no idea how he got back into his room or bed. Part of him thought he remembered being with Bulma, but that couldn't be. He still wasn't ready to face her, and she probably wanted to be as far away from him as possible. At that thought, the prince felt an ache in his heart. As he combated the feeling of rejection, memories of the gravity chamber and what happened after came back to him. Bulma! he thought in alarm.
He panicked and started looking around, only to find her curled up against him. Vegeta stared at the young girl in shock, not understand why she would be this close to him. Surely she wanted nothing to do with him. She had to be insane to appear this relaxed beside him. He didn't realize he was still staring at her until he saw her eyes staring back at him.
"You're awake," she whispered, before pushing herself off him. "I had food and tea brought in, although I'm sure everything's cold by now. How are you feeling?"
Bulma pressed her hand against his forehead and Vegeta's face heated up as he blushed. She didn't seem to notice. "You still feel a little warm. I'll be right back."
Vegeta watched Bulma walk into the washroom and wet a small cloth. She also filled a bowl that was brought into the room with water and then returned to him on the bed. She put the wet cloth against his forehead and then wet another cloth in the bowl. She ran it all over his hot skin, and he had to admit that it felt nice.
"Bulma…" Bulma looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. He couldn't find his voice with her innocent, blue eyes on him. "I…"
She put her finger to his lips. "I'll forgive you, but only if you promise not to do it again until I'm ready."
Vegeta nodded as she continued to move the cold cloth over his skin. When she was done, she handed him something to eat. He didn't really want to eat, but he was starting to feel a little better about everything with Bulma sitting next to him. She gave him a hopeful smile and handed him more food, which he forced himself to eat. Even though he did not fully satisfy his hungry, he told her he did before lying back down on the bed. When Bulma turned over so her back was facing him, Vegeta put his hand on her shoulder. When Bulma tensed, he pulled away. He mentally cursed himself for trying to get close to her, but he just wanted to remind himself that he wasn't dreaming. He was surprised when he felt Bulma pull his arm over her body, both their hands resting on her stomach.
"Goodnight, Vegeta," Bulma whispered.
Vegeta didn't respond. Instead he just let out a breath of relief and held her. All that was going through his mind the entire day was how much he hurt her and how much of a failure he was, but now he felt some of his worth returning. If Bulma could forgive and accept him, then maybe he wasn't as far gone as he thought. Only time would tell, but until then, he would do everything he could to make it up to Bulma and regain whatever trust he had had.