XXXXXXXxxxx

Chapter 5

XXXXXXXxxxxx

Bulma followed Vegeta outside watching as he stood there letting the rain soak his clothing. He said nothing for a while and she suspected he was just enjoying the water on his flesh since he did come from the ocean after all.

"Go inside, Woman."

"Vegeta?"

He sighed and turned to face her, his black eyes turning teal for a brief moment before settling back. "You need to get out of the rain."

"I'm fine, I'm worried about you."

He held up his hand. "You shouldn't. I won't get sick, unlike you."

"What will happen when you take Goku back to your kingdom?"

"He will aid me in getting the Tritan back. I will assume the throne and hopefully dig the kingdom of the sea out of this forsaken darkness."

"What did Freeza do?"

"He has done many things." Vegeta turned back towards the darkness. "None of which concern you. This information is only for Kakarot. I shouldn't be interacting with you land-dwellers anymore."

XXXXXxxxx

Distance. He needed distance. She wasn't his to claim. An air-breather and he a prince. She could not be part of his world and he wouldn't give up his throne just to lay with her. He heard her huff of frustration and growled low in his throat.

"Fine, shut me out you jerk." He felt the heat of her hand on his back as she shoved him. "I won't help you anymore and then see how far you get on land. Goku may have grown up here but he's not the brightest bulb in the box."

"Woman, you try my patience." He turned around and faced her once more and it turned out to be a mistake. Water beaded off her skin, coated her aqua hair and caused it to curl against her face. If he wouldn't have known better, he would swear she was one of his kind. Vegeta itched to grab her, nuzzle her, protect her. He wondered if this was how all males felt. He took a step closer in spite of himself, instinct warring with reason as he continued his approach and try as he might he couldn't resist her pull anymore.

Her breath against his face, the honey and mint from the tea she drank fanning the flames within his soul. He gave in, touched his forehead to hers again and crumbled. This creature, this female, this blasted woman had unmanned him. The way she viewed him in her eyes was like a water blast to his solar plexus.

Vegeta?

Her voice in his mind like a balm to his soul. We are one, little female.

She gently pushed against him, breaking the connection and he felt lost; dazed. Bulma raised those blue eyes to his teal gaze and gasped. "What did you do?"

Vegeta hung his head. "Something I shouldn't have but could not fight. I'm bound to you."

"Why would you do that?" She screeched and backed up.

"I'm not human, Bulma." Her name felt foreign on his tongue and he wished there was a way he could translate it to Mer. "I'm Mer and if there's one thing I've learned over the course of my life is that I cannot deny my instincts."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You are mine as I am yours." He bowed low, the rain increasing and he gathered her in his arms to warm her chilled body.

"I hardly know you, Vegeta."

"Doesn't change the fact that I know you, all of you."

Xxxxxxxxx

Freeza glared at Dodoria and continued to scan the water for signs of any Merfolk. It seemed most of them had run after the death of their King and the disappearance of their Prince. He kept the Tritan above the throne where he sat, his tail swinging to and fro as Zarbon massaged some of his fins. The little prince would not live to see the fate of the fallen Vegetesai.

XXXXXXXXXXxxxxxxx

Bulma hid from Vegeta when they made it back to her home. What could she do? He was adamant about her staying near him and she snuck away the first chance she got. She couldn't believe this at all. Sure, she was single. Yamcha was a big asshole but Vegeta was practically a stranger. A hot stranger, to be sure. His physique rivaled the best body builders on land.

A shudder rushed through her body as she imagined them together. The heat, the need. However, that was a thought for another time. He wouldn't live on land with her and she couldn't go into the ocean. How could he bond with her knowing that fact?

"Woman, I can hear you thinking." His voice echoed through the door and she wondered how he found her. She never even showed him where her room was located. "It's the bond, woman. I know where you are at all times."

"Stalker."

"No, that would be a human thing." He huffed. "Open the door."

"Vegeta ..."

"Enough of this foolishness." She heard the knob snap and the door crashed open. "I'm not patient by any means, woman. I know what you're thinking, what you're feeling. It's ridicules. Yes, I am Mer. A prince, yet I will not deny myself you."

"What about your kingdom?"

"Freeza will die. The kingdom will be fixed and I have ways of taking you with me." He reached behind his neck and undid the clasp of his pendant. "There is so much to the world of Vegetesai that is kept under lock and key. For eons Mer could choose a human to breed with if that is what the soul needed."

He placed the necklace around her and clasped it behind her neck, the pendant a heavy presence dangling above her breasts. He touched her cheek and growled low in his throat.

"What does this mean?"

"You are my chosen." He answered simply.

"I ..." He kissed her then, an act he saw through many of her memories and wanted to try for himself. She tasted devine, sweet even, and he couldn't stop himself. It all seemed too fast. This hunger, this drive. He'd come to the surface to get back his kingdom and instead he'd found a mate.