A/N: It's so good to be back. I hope you all missed the story as much as I did. I have no idea what the heck is going on with my writing. It's a little more mature than what it normally is. Maybe because it's actually getting into the story now. Who knows. I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let's just say when I was done I was wanting to curl up and dream about it. My roommate thought I was nuts but when she read it she got a dreamy look on her face and wanted to know what happened next. I've got another die-hard fan sleeping at the moment. I'm so proud. Thank you all for sitting by and waiting for me to make my comeback. I'm back and I'm writing like never before.
Black Sunrise
Bulma looked at her reflection in the mirror and touched the puckered pink scar that ran from under her right breast to her navel. Cara was lucky that she hadn't killed her once upon a time friend. She was stupid to think that after all that they had been through, she would still be her ever loving friend. Money had turned Cara against Bulma, she knew that now and she knew that while she was still in Japan, none of her friends would be safe from the wrath that both Jade and Cara held for the blue haired woman.
But that was going to change. Soon everyone she held close to her heart would be safe from them, Bulma was going to make sure of that. She told only her parents the vaguest of details as to what she was doing, but she had to tell them that she was going to be leaving Rayne behind. They seemed fine with that, and knew that no matter what, her daughter would come back for her daughter.
They just didn't approve of the person that Bulma chose to leave her daughter with. But Bulma's mind was set and they knew that she wasn't going to change her mind, no matter how hard they begged her to. In one and a half days she would be gone from her daughter and her friends. A pain raced through her heart but she pushed it away. There weren't enough hours in the day that she could spend with her daughter who cooed from the bottom of the bathtub. Shaking her wet hair, Bulma wrapped herself up in a robe and bent to pick up her daughter.
"Woman, are you done in there?" Vegeta asked, knuckles rasping on the door.
"Yes." She folded her daughter into a towel and kissed her nose as she walked from the bathroom and passed Vegeta who hurried into the bathroom to take a shower himself. There were other bathrooms in the house, yet he insisted that he use his. Men. She thought to herself, eyes rolling upward as she tossed her daughter playfully onto the large bed and began to tickle her. Rayne squealed in delight and pouted when Bulma picked her up again and brought her into her own room to get dressed. Snow glittered on the ground and made a soft sigh leave her mouth. She hated the heat and knew that she was going to miss the snow. Enough. She scolded herself as she pushed away the first signs of bitter thoughts.
This had to be done and she knew it. Today she was going to take Rayne to the mall and get her picture taken with Santa, and then get the picture printed up as many times as she could. One picture for each of her friends, another for her parents and finally one for herself. She needed 7 prints in total which wouldn't be hard with all the money that she had. Hiding in the back of her closet were gifts for all of her friends and the picture, along with a very long letter for Vegeta. She had spent the last week perfecting the written words that would insure her daughters safety and pleading Vegeta not to be mad at her.
Shaking her head, she dressed Rayne in a blue turtleneck and black pants, slipping on black dress shoes. Pulling a jaunty blue cap onto her head Bulma nodded. Her daughter was growing more and more beautiful with each passing day.
Setting Rayne into her playpen, she listened to make sure that the water was still running as she pulled on her bra and panties, a dark red turtle neck and black slacks. Slipping her feet into a pair of socks, she pulled on her black leather winter boots and then wrapped a cream scarf around her neck. Brushing her hair up into a high ponytail, she pulled on her peacoat, did up the buttons then with a whistle, called Isis to her side; and of course, Luna followed.
Both dogs had grown a lot and Bulma smiled lovingly as she patted both on the head before picking up her daughter. They four of them walked down the stairs, Rayne sat still long enough to have her winter coat pulled on and waved her arms around when her mother tried to buckle her into her car seat. But she was in and there was no escaping. Isis and Luna had on fluffy white and red collars, like Santa's suit, and bells around their ankles. They liked the idea of playing dress-up. The parking lot to the mall was packed with last minute shoppers and as law required, Bulma clipped on both leashes to the dogs, though they didn't need them. They wouldn't wander from Bulma's side no matter what was going on around them.
The lineup for Santa was long, but she was ready to wait and sat Rayne onto her feet and watched as she tried to toddle off, Luna ushering her back to her mothers side every time the little girl wandered away. Mothers and fathers in the line-up held their children closer to them, whispering amongst themselves that the dogs shouldn't be allowed in the mall. Bulma heard their comments and knew that they were meant to be heard.
Nothing would bother her at this point in time, her mind was racing as the line inched forward. After 15 minutes it was Rayne's turn and she looked up from her spot on the large white-bearded man's knee and her face crumpled up, threatening tears started to well up in her two toned eyes. The Santa smiled at Bulma who whispered a few words into her daughter's ear and then pointed to the dogs. "Is it all right if she get her picture taken with the dogs? She'll be quiet then."
Santa looked at the two dogs and gulped. He knew that the black and tanned canines were unpredictable but if it helped getting the girl to sit still and smile, he'd do anything so he nodded his head and watched at the blue haired woman unclipped the two dogs from their leashes. He was about to say something but Bulma pointed to either side of the man and spoke a few simple words. "Sit and behave."
That's what they did. Each took to a side of the chair, sitting regally beside the throne. Luna closest to Rayne, and Isis closest to Bulma, both dogs were happy. The picture was taken quickly and bulma smiled her thanks at the Santa as she collected her daughter, the dogs following on her heels. "How many copies?" A woman asked, not bothering to look up.
"Seven. Make it eight." Bulma said, handing over her credit card. The woman nodded, pressed a few buttons and within 5 minutes, Bulma was on her way back to Vegeta's house with the requested number of copies of the picture. Rayne's first Christmas and she was going to miss it.
No! She screamed to herself, she wasn't going to feel sorry for herself! She needed to do what she needed to do in order for her life to go on without her having to look over her shoulder to wonder if someone was going to pop up and harm her. She couldn't live like that, and she wasn't going too.
It was her life, and she had to go through the plans that she had set forth with herself in order to make sure that her life was going to be safe from now on. Safe from Jade and Cara maybe, but safe from the guilt she was going to be living with when she left? And what about Vegeta? Was she going to be hurting him when she left in the middle of the night? Who cares about hurting Vegeta. He's hurt you enough and it's high time you knock him off his high horse. Maybe when all of this is over he'll be able to forgive you...or he'll just wind up throttling you...
Vegeta was gone when she got back to the house and Mitch helped her with Rayne, who had fallen asleep on the ride home. "And where has his high and mighty gone too today?"
"Who knows. I'm not his personal secretary Miss Bulma." Mitch grinned, laughing slightly.
"You make sure you know where he's going before he knows he's going to go there, so no secrets from me Mitch or I'll...put a spider on your... head!"
"What a threat Miss Bulma, but it is you that has come running to me when there has been those pesky eight-legged creatures in your line of sight. You're the one that's afraid of them, not me. And I should inform you that Australia is full of them at this time of year." With that, he turned around and left the shocked Bulma outside on the step.
The little bugger had been snooping!
"MITCH!" She screamed, running up the steps after him. He was no where in sight, though probably putting Rayne down for her afternoon nap.
"You bellowed Miss?" He asked calmly, walking down the stairs.
"How the hell did you figure that out?"
He shrugged his shoulders and grinned at her. Bulma felt her face going red and her fingers were starting to get an itch that she knew would only leave once she had wrapped them around his neck. "Might I suggest the punching back in the gym? It'll help calm your nerves. And might I add that you just pointed out that I make sure to know who's going where before they figure out that they're going where they want to go."
"You sneaky little rat. Tell me, how did you figure it out?"
"Wasn't that hard really. You were out and some woman with an accent called looking for you, and when I said that you weren't home she hung up the phone. After that I caught on to what you were doing. Master Vegeta is going to be mighty vexed when he figures out that you've taken little Miss from him."
Bulma smiled shyly and shook her head unable to believe that the man that stood before her had figured everything out. "I'm not. I cannot afford to take her with me. She's staying here, but please Mitch, please. Not a word of this to Vegeta. I'm doing this so I don't have to constantly look over my shoulder when I was somewhere. I'm doing this so Rayne can grow up in a proper family, with the proper life. I'm doing this so I can finally be free. There are people out there that hate me enough to harm those that I hold dear to me."
"I know this Miss, but I still don't see why you need to leave."
"If I don't, then it'll only be time before they come here and hurt everyone that I hold close to my heart. You understand don't you? I have to leave. I don't want to, but I have too." Tears burned her eyes and she let them fall, knowing that it would be the last time for a while she would allow herself to feel any form of emotion. Tomorrow night while everyone else was asleep, she would leave her presents under the Christmas tree and be nothing more than a distant memory.
"I understand Miss. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you."
"Don't tell Vegeta where I'm going. He'll be very, very mad when he wakes up to see me no where in sight. Also, don't let him ruin his gift from me...and if you could give him the letter that I've left for him...and make sure that everyone else gets their gifts from me...that would be nice."
"Anything else?" Mitch smiled.
Closing her eyes, she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I don't think so, but I'll let you know if there's anything that you can do for me."
She walked out of the room and headed upstairs to change into her workout clothes. For the next few hours she pushed her body beyond anything that she had ever done to herself and was glad that the numbing pain that raced throughout every limb got her mind off of tomorrow. She showered and dressed in her favorite pajama's and with Rayne on her hip, wandered downstairs for dinner.
Vegeta wasn't there for dinner, not that she expected him to be, as he had been gone for the last two weeks, not talking to anyone, or telling anyone where he was going. He stayed out late at night and wouldn't return until the early hours of the morning. Something was up with Vegeta and she felt another wave of guilt wash over him. Maybe she should have picked someone else to look after Rayne while she was gone so he could get on with his life and finally be free of her and her girl.
Chi-Chi called to make sure that their plans were still set for Boxing Day, and Bulma felt bad lying to her friend, but if she broke those plans, Chi-Chi would want to know why, and then she'd poke around until she got the whole story. She was tired, and Rayne yawned as she drank a cup of warmed milk flavored with honey. Mitch knew just how to get the little girl to go to sleep and with a smile, she lifted her daughter from her highchair and set off to bed.
Her sleep was restless, but then they had been since her fight with Cara. What had turned her friend against her, to hate her with such a passion. Surely Jade had gotten a hold of her and poisoned her mind against her long-term friend. That was the only thing that she could think of. Bulma knew that Cara was still in town hiding out with the wrong crowed, as always. And to think, Bulma used to be just like her. I guess be coming a mother changed all of that for me. My life is now a totally different life than what it used to be and I'm thankful for that. I used to hate the world as much as Cara still hates it and it scares me to think that I used to be just as destructive to myself as she is to herself. Fingers wrapped around her wrists, lightly touching the tattoos that would forever be there. She was into pain a long time ago, just after rayne was born. She needed to numb the pain of her heart, so she inflected more to her body with needles and ink.
Unable to think anymore, her eyes slid closed and she fell asleep and didn't feel Vegeta crawl into bed with her when he came into the house in the early hours of the morning. They slept in the same bed but refused to touch one another. Bulma was fine with that, Vegeta felt for sure that she was as she refused to touch him after the fight with Cara.
She was colder than ever with him and he knew that he had hurt her...again. You've got to stop doing that or she'll leave the next time you do something foolish. I'm still surprised that she's stuck around with your grumpy ass all this time. You mock her, cut her down and throw everything you've got at her, and yet you love her daughter. Go figure.
Pulling a pillow over his head he blocked out the rest of his thoughts with sleep. Everything that he needed to finish was done for the time being, and now he could stay at home with his make believe family. A smile graced his lips while he slept.
Sunlight poured into the room and woke Bulma as the warming rays heated up her cheeks. It was later in the day that she had thought, Vegeta all ready up and gone from the house most likely. Stretching like a languid cat, she sat up and scratched her head, before she unraveled her hair from the braid it was put into and threw a look to the clock that sat on her side of the bed. 11:30. "Shit!" she cursed, jumping out of bed.
Rayne must have been up for at least an hour all ready and she had neglected her daughter! Laughter reached her ears from her daughter's room and she pushed open the door and looked inside to see Vegeta tossing Rayne into the air. He looked happy as he hugged the little girl close and his dark eyes showed no trace of the troubles that had been there before.
Bulma watched the two of them play and took this time to engrave the memory into her mind, for she would need them on a rainy day. His hair was growing out, the black pushing the blonde farther and farther from his head. He didn't want to keep the blonde for that was just something that he had done for his Halloween party. Arms reached above his head sending the little girl flying into the air once more and her blue eyes watched the muscles of his back ripple when he caught the air-borne child. Giggles erupted from the both of them and she watched as he pulled her daughter close and kiss her forehead.
"I thought you'd have been gone by now." Bulma asked, her voice cold. Inwardly she cringed, knowing that she should be nice to the man for he was intrusted with her daughters life.
"I'm done all that I need to do. Did you get a good sleep?"
"I suppose. What are your plans for today?"
"I figure I'll take Rayne outside and play with her some and then we'll all sit around and watch movies the whole day. What about you? What are you doing today?"
"Nothing." Trying to gather my courage to leave tonight.
"Care to join us?"
"I don't see why not. It's not like I've got anything better to do."
Vegeta turned and looked at her. "Good god your beautiful." He whispered and then instantly blushed. She was standing in front of him in a pair of black silk pants and a white tank top, her blue hair crimped from the braid that she had placed it in the night before.
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." Bulma waved off his compliment as if it were nothing more than a fly buzzing around her head. He just called me beautiful, and I'm waving him off! What kind of idiot am I?! You're the kind of idiot that knows he'll hurt you in the end, and you know that if you accept his compliments now, then you're not going to be able to leave tonight and you know it. Sighing she turned from the room and walked back into the shared one to get dressed.
Vegeta watched as she went, dark eyes puzzled as he tried to figure out what was going on with Bulma. "Who cares. It's just a mood swing." Liar. He spoke to no one but himself. Shrugging his shoulders he tossed Rayne into the air once more and then walked out of the room, Luna following close behind.
The two of them were all ready outside when Bulma made her way out wearing her coat and scarf again, camera in hand as she took pictures of the two playing in the snow. Rayne toddled after Vegeta as he walked in front of her, and then swung her up onto his shoulders and galloped around the large yard like he was a horse. Even Isis and Luna jumped and barked ecstatically in the snow. Mitch wandered outside with mugs of hot cocoa for the adults and a warm bottle for the rosy cheeked nymph of a little girl. "C'mon, let's get Mitch to take our picture." Vegeta nudged Bulma.
She chewed her lip but nodded her head. "Would you?" She asked, holding the camera out for Mitch to take. Vegeta led Bulma around the side of the house and onto one of the many benches that were scattered throughout the yard. She sat in the middle, her daughter on her lap, the dogs lying down at her feet and expected Vegeta to sit beside her but was surprised when him climbed onto the back of the bench and perched on top, his arms wrapping around Bulma. She settled her head against his chest and for a few moments allowed herself to be happy.
Vegeta placed his chin on Bulma's head, breathing in the scent of coconuts that she used every day in her hair and smiled. He was happy. There was nothing wrong in his life at this point in time. Bulma was sitting in front of him and he felt as if they were a family. Almost.
Mitch took the picture and returned back into the house as he handed Vegeta the camera and smiled. It was good to see everyone in a good mood, even if it was only going to last for a few more hours. When Vegeta woke up in the morning, Bulma would be gone and there would be no trace of her left in his life, except the clothes that were in the closet, and her daughter. But what needed to be done had to be done.
Vegeta jumped from the bench and raced into the trees causing Bulma to roll her eyes. She got up and bounced Rayne on her hip as she walked through the snow under the large trees that fenced in the garden. She heard the clicking of her camera and sighed. Vegeta was going to take enough pictures to last a lifetime...but maybe that was a good thing.
If he wanted pictures, she'd give him a good one. She placed Rayne in the snow and fell backwards, wavy hair fanning under her head in the snow as she made a snow angel. She then pulled Rayne to lie down beside her in the nook of her arm and smiled as she heard Vegeta's footsteps coming towards her. He snapped the camera and smiled. The woman was exotic and perfect in everything she did. "Camera's done. Why don't we run into town and get the film developed?"
She stood up and picked up Rayne who let out a loud yawn. "You put her to bed and I'll run into town."
"Agreed." He handed Bulma the camera and watched as she took off into the house to grab her purse and her car keys, Isis bounding after her. Shaking his head, he listened as her car started and pulled out of his driveway. "Well you little Angel, let's get you upstairs and into bed. You're tired and tomorrow Santa will come and you'll see all the wonderful things that he has brought for you."
He pressed a kiss to her rosy cheeks and set about the task of getting the little girl undressed and settled into her bed. She fell asleep almost instantly and he knew then that there was nothing that he wouldn't do for this little girl. "You're just as beautiful as your mother, you know that?" He whispered, brushing away a clump of blonde hair from her brow.
No matter what anyone said, she was his daughter. And it scared him. "I love you." he whispered softly, pressing another kiss to her brow. Walking down the stairs, he looked around for Mitch and found him in the kitchen, where he always was.
"Do you think that tonight would be a good night to give my gift to Bulma instead of making her wait until tomorrow?"
"I think that you should give it to her tonight and see if she opens it or not. If she doesn't then she'll wait for tomorrow and then you'll see what'll happen."
"I do hope she'll like it."
"I'm sure she will Master Vegeta. I'm sure she will. Now, what would you like?"
"Some company until Bulma returns. Tell me, have you noticed that she'd been acting a bit strange lately?"
"Not really, but then again that woman is really hard to read."
"Tell me about it. Is it wrong for me to love her so much I hate her at times?"
"'It's the way of love Sir. One loves so much he hates, and one hates so much he loves. One big circle. I thought you wouldn't let yourself love her."
"I didn't want too, but you see, she's got this way about her...I just cannot refuse her anything."
"Make sure you remember that Master Vegeta. Make sure that you remember you love her even when times get rough. She'll need to know your love for her."
"But she doesn't love me."
"She doesn't yet know she loves you, but I know she loves you. I can tell in the way she looks at you, but she's afraid you're going to hurt her as you've done so many times before."
Vegeta sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Mitch was right and he knew it. He had hurt Bulma many times in the past, but he'd also helped her and cared for her when she was hurting. Not the last time. You ran away when she was hurting the worst she had ever hurt before. You ran away like a scared little boy, but then again, you're really nothing more than that are you? You're nothing but some lost little boy looking for love where there is none to be found. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't listen to the sneering voice in his head. The voice was wrong. He loved Bulma and she loved him...she was just too damned stubborn to admit it.
Even to herself.
But then again, he was too stubborn not to admit it to her, he just didn't know how. She was so difficult at times he didn't know whether to strangle her or kiss her. And that's what he loved about her. He loved the fact that she was so unpredictable. He loved the fact that she threw insults almost harder than he did, she worked for what she wanted and more times than not, got what she wanted as well.
She was timid at times, shy even, but he knew that wasn't really her. She would play some little part when it suited her fancy, but she was a raging tempest under the act of meek. Bulma was spirited and wild, as untamed as any horse.
And he wanted to be the one that tamed her. He just didn't know how to go about doing it. Vegeta was a proud man, and knew that if he told her his feelings, she'd laugh at him and he wouldn't be able to handle it. So he'd love Rayne more than ever and care for her like his very own. Surely Bulma would be able to see that he'd make a good father for the little girl.
The object of his affection returned a little while later with the pictures and a bag. She rushed upstairs after flashing him a shy smile and locked herself in her study. He had the key but he knew that opening the door to her hiding place would only make her angry. He didn't want that tonight. Tonight he wanted to act as if the world was in the palm of his hands. Damn it. He was only 19 and he should have been out with the copious women that wanted him. He shouldn't be swooning over a girl...no woman that was two years his junior. 19 and still in highschool. A senior, but then again, he'd been a senior for a few years now. She was a senior as well and had her whole life ahead of her.
Maybe he wasn't in her plans? He wanted to be, but what if he wasn't? He loved her, and damn it, he wanted her in his life. He wanted her in more ways then one and knew that his desire to possess her must stay just that. A desire.
If he voiced his needs, she'd turn tail and run away. He knew her kind. He knew her kind all too well. His mother was just like Bulma. His mother. Vegeta smiled and shook his head.
"Ah, the young Master is thinking about his mother again."
"Shut up. How the hell do you know that?"
"You get this boyish smirk and your eyes go glazed as if you're going to laugh about something but decide against it. You always look like that when you think of your mother. Miss Bulma is a lot like her no?"
"Mitch, you scare me sometimes."
"Why?" The butler asked, brows lifting upwards.
"You know just what I'm thinking."
He winked at Vegeta and left the kitchen with a steaming mug of something. Vegeta knew that he was bringing the drink upstairs to Bulma. Mitch was the only one that was allowed inside her study. Mitch was the only one allowed wherever he wanted to go in the house and it irked Vegeta to know that there were places in his parents house that he wasn't allowed to go and yet the butler was.
But Mitch was more than a butler, he was a friend and a trusted one at that. No matter what would happen in the house, Mitch refused to gossip and knew that there was nothing in the world that would make him betray his family.
Bulma lifted her head from her task when a knock came to her study door. "Coming!" She giggled, shoving something under some tissue paper. It wasn't Vegeta, she knew that much, but it was Mitch and what she had was for that very person. Unlocking the door, she poked her head around it and smiled.
"Ah, my most favorite person in the world. I see you have something for me to drink. I hope it's tea. I could use one right now."
"Tea it is Miss Bulma. You know me to well."
"Actually Mitch, it is you that know me to well."
Mitch chuckled and handed the drink over to Bulma. She grabbed it, raised it in a salute and closed the door. Standing there for a few moments, Mitch knew that she'd pass on a message to him.
"Tell Vegeta I'll be down in a bit. I still have some gifts to finish wrapping." Mitch smiled and walked down the stairs. It never failed. As soon as Bulma closed the door she would say something to him. He wanted her to stay in this house as much as any one else, but knew that she had to get the horrors out of her life before she could truly be free.
Plus, this house wasn't Vegeta's. It was his parents and Mitch was sure that Bulma wouldn't want to live with his parents when they returned. Sighing, Mitch walked back down the stairs to pass the message on.
"What is she doing?" Vegeta asked, looking up from his book.
"Wrapping gifts."
"Figures. That woman spends more time in that study then she does in the rest of the house."
"She's an artist."
"No excuse."
"She's a lot better then you give her credit. What she does isn't just putting paint onto canvas." Mitch joked. He knew what had happened between Bulma and Vegeta, the first of many fights that had broken out in the house. But they reconciled and almost as soon as they made up, Vegeta was saying something to hurt Bulma.
"I know, I know. I knew that I was going to regret that comment before it even came out of my mouth."
"You just don't know how to think before you speak." A giggle came from behind him. He turned his head and saw Bulma standing in the doorway to the livingroom.
"Touché!" Vegeta laughed putting down the book he had picked up a few minutes ago. "Are you done what you set out to do?"
"Oui!" Bulma laughed, walking to the matching overstuffed chair and sat in it, legs flung over the arm of it. In her hand the black mug was grasped lightly as she tilted her head back and regarded Vegeta with a new look of wonder of her face. The pictures had turned out better than she had thought and was shocked when she saw the look that was on his face in the picture that Mitch took.
He looked at ease and insanely happy with his arms wrapped around her and she didn't know if that was a good thing. Maybe after what she had to do, he'd forgive her. "What do you want to do then Blue?"
"Sleep."
"Then go and take a nap."
"I was just teasing. I want to watch a movie like you promised. And I want some lunch. I'm famished."
"Mitch. Go make the starving lady something to eat."
"Yes Milord!" Mitch laughed as he dropped into a bow and clicked his heels together.
"What movie do you want to watch?"
"I don't care. As long as it's a good one."
"Where do you want to watch it?"
"Right here. This chair is so comfortable..."
He got up from his chair and set out in the task of picking a movie and making the room dark enough. He pulled the tv out from its slot in the wall, positioning it so they both could see from their chairs. He pressed a few buttons and then the tv came to life. "What did you pick?"
"'Moll Flanders'."
"Vegeta!" Bulma squealed in delight, sitting up properly in her chair. "That's my favorite movie!"
"I know."
"How?" She asked, brow wrinkling in confusion. She thought that she had kept her movie fetish to herself.
"You think I don't know what goes on in my own house? It's called movie history you know. You watch this movie at least twice a week. I haven't seen it so I thought that it would be a good time to watch it. Rayne's sleeping and she should be down for a good chunk of the afternoon. I don't have any plans and yours consists of eating what Mitch has prepared for you and watching this movie."
"Mmm, you know how to pamper a girl."
He just smirked and sat down in his chair. A few minutes into the movie, he paused it so Mitch could walk in a place a bowl of hot mushroom soup in front of both of them, along with a bagel and cream cheese. To top it all off he left a pot of coffee and some cookies on the table, out of Bulma's reach. "Now you eat your soup before you even touch those cookies Miss Bulma. I know you're the one that has her hand in the cookie jar all the time."
She just laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. Sliding onto the floor in front of the coffee table, she stretched her legs out in front of her, under the table, and began to eat her lunch. Vegeta rolled his eyes and knew that the woman was as uncomfortable as she looked with her back poker straight, legs straight out in front of her. She wanted him to move behind her so she could lean against his knees.
Her habit.
And his habit was to do as she silently asked of him. So he moved his chair around with some difficultly, pressed play on the movie and sat back down in his newly moved chair. He smiled as Bulma put her back against his knees, lounging out like a perfectly content kitten as she ate her soup, eyes never leaving the screen.
Vegeta had to admit that the movie was good, but he found himself watching Bulma more than he was watching the movie. Her soup was done and she was working on the bagel. "You should eat you know. Your soup is getting cold."
"What are you talking about? My soup is done."
"Bullshit." She chuckled. "You haven't touched it. It's sitting beside you but you're wrapped up in staring at the back of my head. Watch the movie and eat your soup like a good little boy."
"How did..."
"Eyes on the back of my head. I'm a mother remember? We have to have eyes on the back of our heads to know what's going around when our backs are turned."
There was no arguing with her and he knew it so he picked up the bowl of soup and ate it quickly. But his attention strayed far from the movie every time Bulma moved. She was growing restless and he knew it. She always grew restless when she wanted something.
"All right. What do you want."
"You know what I want."
"I know what you want, but you have to tell me what you want in order for me to give you what you want."
"I want you to rub my shoulders. And if you knew what I wanted, then why did you make me tell you what I wanted if you all ready knew that's what I want?"
"I just like hearing you tell me what you want."
"But you all ready knew what I wanted before I told you so why make me tell you?"
"To get you into an argument?"
"I'm so not arguing with you. Now shut up, give me a back rub, and let me watch my movie."
"Yes ma'am!" Vegeta chuckled. He placed his hand son her shoulders and slowly started to kneed his digits into her flesh. Her eyes closed and her head lolled backwards, a smile gracing her lips as she relaxed under the magic touch of his skilled fingers.
"You're not watching the movie."
"But I'm listening to it. Now get back to what you were doing. You do that so well."
"Bitch." He cussed under his breath on a laugh.
"Don't forget it either." She could have purred if she knew how too as his fingers worked out every little kink in her back and neck. He was almost too good to her sometimes, and she wished that he was this nice to her all the time. Maybe she would have let him into her life as something other then a friend. But he was an asshole at times, in fact most times, but she couldn't hold it against him.
Vegeta knew how to be sweet when he wanted to be, and she relished in the fact that he wanted to be sweet right now. The movie finished, but he made no move to stop his fingers or turn on the lights so she leaned farther against him and kept her eyes closed. Just then Rayne let out a light cry and her blue eyes snapped open, but closed once again when she heard her daughter go back to sleep. Mitch had taken it upon himself to install speakers all over the house that connected to Rayne's room so no matter where Bulma was, she could hear her daughter.
Bulma started to get up but Vegeta pressed his hands against the top of her chest. "It's all right. Stay. She's sleeping."
"You dolt. I have to pee. That's why I was getting up."
"Oh. They by all means go, but when you leave turn on the lights."
"Do everything the old fashioned way. Lights, on."
The lights to the livingroom turned on and Bulma stood up to look at Vegeta's baffled expression. "Merry Early Christmas." She winked and stretched her arms above her head, causing her shirt to ride up on her stomach.
"Does it still hurt?" He asked softly, fingers tracing the scar on her stomach.
"No. Don't worry about it. It's not important."
"Sure it is. You almost died."
And you weren't there to save me from death. She shrugged her shoulders and turned on her heels to walk out of the room. "Much Music. Volume 20." Vegeta blinked as the tv once more came to life to do as she commanded it to do.
"Command operated. Go figure."
"Yeah. It was my father's idea but he wasn't into software. I was. So he gave me the credit, though it was his idea."
"That was nice of your father."
"I know. I miss him, but I know that he's got to work in order to keep his company up and running."
Vegeta nodded his head and pulled Bulma into his lap, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "You'll see him again soon enough."
"I know." She sighed, leaning against his chest, her head under his chin. They said nothing for a long while and then Rayne woke up, pulling Bulma away from him and her thoughts. "Well it's time to be a mother again. My job is never done."
"Why don't you just sit down and I'll go up to her."
"Because she's my daughter."
But I want her to be mine as well. "Fine." Vegeta sighed. The woman was as stubborn, if not more stubborn than a mule and would argue her way out of death if she could. He let her up from his lap and crossed his arms over his chest after he himself had gotten to his feet. She jogged up the stairs and into her little girls room, followed by Isis, who was followed by Vegeta. He watched as mother picked up and changed her little girl, making her ready to come down for dinner. Vegeta wandered off into his room, or the room that he shared with Bulma and looked around. He felt as if there were some things missing, though he couldn't put his finger on what.
"Master Vegeta, dinner's ready." Mitch called up from the bottom of the stairs.
"Bu..."
"I know, I know, I heard. Let's go down and see what kind of feast Mitch has cooked up for us tonight."
Vegeta held out his arms for the little girl and Bulma allowed him to carry her daughter down the stairs and set her in her highchair that was pulled out of the closet and at the table waiting for the little girl. There was little conversation at dinner as both people were wrapped up in their thoughts, Vegeta wondering what was keeping Bulma's mind active, and Bulma wondering when Vegeta was going to go to sleep so she could sneak out of the house after putting her presents under the tree. Dinner was tasteful as always and she played with the ice cream that was served afterwards and rested her chin in her elbow as she looked across the table at Vegeta, though not really seeing him.
"A penny for your thoughts."
"Not really. But you know, whatever floats your boat right?"
Vegeta chuckled and looked at Bulma, who still looked lost and unhappy. Well, time to get her laughing. He looked into the bowl of ice cream and scooped some up into his spoon. "Hey Blue?"
"Hmm?" She lifted her head and looked at him and found herself with a face full of cold vanilla ice cream. "Vegeta you ass!"
She threw a handful of ice cream at him and burst out laughing when his face was splattered worse than hers was. He threw another spoonful at her and she screeched as it landed on her chest, rolling her eyes and sighing. "You know this is just going to make Mitch have a terrible time cleaning this up right?"
"He'll have fun doing it because he told me to get you to smile, so I got you to smile did I not?"
Rayne gurgled and while her "parents" were playing, she had managed to dump over her bowl of ice cream onto the floor. Ice cream was flying all over the place as Bulma brought her bowl under the table and crawled to where Vegeta was sitting and lifted up his shirt, smearing the creamy cold treat all over his stomach. That rewarded her with a loud gasp from his part and moved out of the way as he pushed the chair away from the table and reached under to pull her out.
There was ice cream in her hair, down her face and all over her clothing, and he wouldn't have wanted her any other way. He could see that she was happy and having a good time by the way her eyes sparkled. She shook her leg, trying to rid herself of his hold and yelped loudly as cold hands wrapped around her bare stomach, dragging her out from under the table.
"You witch." He growled, hauling her up and setting her on the table in front of him.
"Ve...Vegeta!" she chuckled trying to move away from him. "I ... I didn't mean to do that!"
"Yes you did."
"Well, sure I did, but still! I was just playing! Let me go!"
"Never."
Bulma looked around and spotted her daughter playing with some melted ice cream on the tray of her high chair. "I've got to get Rayne up to bed."
"MITCH!" Vegeta called out as he pushed Bulma onto the table and towered over her, his arms on either side of her head.
"Yes?"
"Take Rayne upstairs and give her a quick bath. Call us up there in exactly 10 minutes."
Mitch smiled and took the sticky child from her highchair and walked up the stairs leaving the two alone. Vegeta smirked down at Bulma who licked her lips quickly but didn't count on the fact that the tip of her tongue running over her bottom lip would entice Vegeta so much. His eyes darkened even more causing her heart to skip a beat. "Vegeta... I should see to Ra...yne."
"She's being looked after. Don't worry about it. Now tell me what's got your mind set on it tonight?"
"Nothing. It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does."
"Really. Nothing. Just drop it. I was just wondering what kind of presents I'm going to get tomorrow...that's all."
"Uh huh."
"No, honestly!" Bulma squeaked. "Now get off of me so I can go and look after my daughter."
He shook his head and smirked again, a hand going into his bowl of ice cream. "Vegeta. What are you... Vegeta! VEGETA NO!" She yelped as his hand, filled with ice cream, found its way under her shirt and onto her stomach. He rubbed it in and then slowly withdrew his hand onto to rub it in her hair. She moved her hands, feeling around the table for the bowl of ice cream and with quick motions moved her arms from under him and dumped the bowl of ice cream into his hair.
The liquid ran off his head, down his face and dripped onto hers as she burst out into a fit of laughter. Vegeta chuckled. She had got him good. Now there was no more ice cream and Bulma was sticky, along with him. "Please Vegeta. My stomach is cold."
Cocking his head to the side he looked down and regarded her for a moment before slowly starting to pull himself away from Bulma. But as soon as she tried to sit up, her shirt went flying up her torso as more ice cream, from her forgotten bowl, landed on her stomach. "VEGETA!" she whimpered. !"
He dropped onto the chair in front of her and leaned forward licking off a clump of ice cream. Her flesh trembled. "Mmm. I want my desert."
"You...you had it all ready."
"No I didn't."
"Vegeta..." she couldn't say anything else as all thoughts were erased from her mind as the tip of his tongue dipped into her bellybutton, lapping up the ice cream that had melted into the small hole. Bulma fell against the table, eyes closing in sudden bliss as his lips walked up the trail of her scar in fevered little kisses. He felt her pulse under his lips as he slowly devoured the ice cream that was on her stomach, licking and kissing off its sticky presence from her flawless, or almost flawless flesh.
He ran his tongue along her scar again, smirking against her flesh as she trembled. Pulling his head away he saw her flushed cheeks and placed a hand splayed over her stomach. "Bulma?"
"Y...yes?" she stuttered, opening her eyes with what seemed to be great difficulty.
"I am going to kiss you, and then you are going to kiss me back. It will be something simple and sweet like our ice cream all right? Is that all right with you?"
"Y...yes." She whispered looking at him as she licked her lips. He stood up and leaned over her form once more, head slipping down slowly as he placed a kiss to each of her eyelids, then the tip of her nose, both of her cheeks and her chin as well. Vegeta brushed his lips over hers once, twice even a third time, nuzzling his flesh over hers before he relented and gently placed his lips over hers.
Simple and sweet. That's what he said he was going to do. He was just going to give her a simple, sweet kiss. But he couldn't and she didn't want him to. Her arms came up from off of the table, wrapping around his torso as she pushed her mouth harder against his and felt his growl against her lips, and then felt it in her mouth as she opened herself to him. There was nothing simple about the kiss, not the way that it made Bulma's heart beat faster, or the way it made Vegeta light headed.
He felt her arch against him, trying to get him to touch her, touch more of her, touch all of her but he knew that he couldn't. Hell he knew that he shouldn't but as her lips yielded their softness to him, he propped all of his weight on one elbow as his now free hand wandered down her side and onto her all ready bared stomach. His fingers traced her scar, causing her breath to quicken and he swallowed a low moan that rumbled from her chest.
She wanted him, she needed him. There was no way she would be able to leave him. Not now, not ever. Bulma needed Vegeta in her life now and for always. Her lips became more demanding and Vegeta responded eagerly, his hand slipping up her shirt to settle between her breasts and stayed there. The only thing that moved against her flesh was her lips and she clung to him as if he were her lifeline, the only thing that held her to the Earth.
"Master Vegeta. Miss Bulma. It's been 10 minutes."
Bulma groaned against Vegeta's lips and mewed softly as he pulled away from her. "Come sweetheart. Let's go and tuck our little nymph into bed." He extended his hand to her and she took it, allowing him to pull her from the table and lead her up the stairs. She was glad he knew where he was going, for she had forgotten everything in the wake of the kiss that shook her to the very core.
Rayne was settled into bed her stuffed toy ceremoniously against her chest as she watched the ice cream covered pair walk into her room and lean over to give her a kiss. They tussled her hair and then Bulma leaned over to turn on the star shaped nightlight and then turned off the overhead light. "Good night little princess. May your dreams be peaceful and loving." She whispered to her daughter before closing her door. Isis looked at the two and Vegeta looked at the dog with a sigh.
"She follows you everywhere."
"She's supposed too. That's what you taught her to do."
"I know, but still...it gets rather bothersome."
"Hm. Now if you don't mind...I'm going to go and have a shower."
"Actually, I do mind. I'm going to have a shower with you."
"Bu..." She was cut short when he pulled her against him and nuzzled his lips against her neck. "Ok." Bulma sighed.
Vegeta picked Bulma up and walked into their room and into the bathroom. He set her down on the floor and turned the shower on, testing the temperature with the underside of his wrist making sure that it was warm enough for both of them to be comfortable. He turned to look at her cheeks still flushed with drying ice cream in her hair. Pulling the hem of her shirt up and over her head, he tossed his discarded item onto the floor and then leaned forward, lips caressing her bared shoulders.
Her fingers trembled as they grasped the bottom of his black corded sweater, pulling it up slowly to reveal taunt stomach muscles and perfect pecs. He stood before her his chest rising and falling quickly. He didn't look away from her, no matter how hard he wanted to watch the skin being uncovered. If he looked away then the spell would be broken and he would have to nurse a few things alone. Fingers slide bra straps from her shoulders, and down her arms, a hand sneaking its way behind her back to unhook the small duo of clasps.
Like her shirt, her bra was discarded as well. They took their time slowly undressing each other, Vegeta anxious to see Bulma in all of her proud glory, Bulma scared to let Vegeta know she was scared. But she wanted him, she wanted this memory, she wanted no needed him.
Fingers ran over the silvery lines on her stomach, smiling with each one that he touched. "You must have been very pregnant."
"Once upon a time, yes I was. Just be lucky you don't have to put up with it. Men are very lucky. But no more kids for me. I'm good with what I have at the moment..."
Vegeta didn't say anything as he fell to his knees and placed a kiss on each stretch mark. The shower lasted a lot longer than it should have as they took their time washing each other, having to taste, lick and nibble every exposed piece of flesh they could touch. She never wanted to leave the bathtub.
He made love to her in the bottom of the bathtub, slowly and sweetly like he promised in his intoxicating kisses as water played over his back keeping both of them warm, though they didn't need to extra help as Vegeta taught Bulma what passion was, and Bulma taught Vegeta the meaning of the term 'making love'. She was liquid fire in his arms, and he was everything she had ever needed or wanted in life.
Bulma knew she must have this man for the rest of her life. She was so young and yet she knew that in his arms, and his arms alone, she would feel at home. He turned off the shower and stepped out of the tub, grabbing two large towels from the cupboard. Wrapping one around his waist, he looked down into the tub at the nymph that had stolen his heart.
Vegeta picked her up and stood her on the floor, supporting her with his chest as he draped the towel around her shoulders. "My nymph. My little water nymph..." he crooned into her ear as he carried her to the bed and placed her gently in the middle. "Would you like your present now?"
"Present? What present?"
"Your Christmas Eve present."
"Mmm. I just got my present. A few times..." she giggled wickedly. Vegeta grinned, and with a pinch to her thigh vanished into his closet. He returned with what looked to be a very thick letter and a small square box, roughly the size of a bar coaster. She looked at it, then looked at him and sighed as he handed it to her. She had nothing for him, well she had something for him, but he was only to get it when he woke up.
"Go on. Open it. Or you can wait until the morning to do so."
"I shall wait until the morning for I shall ruin my surprise if I open it now. But I know what you can give me. Another kiss and then come lie down with me so we can go to sleep." So you can go to sleep and I can lay in your arms for a few hours before I have to leave in the dead of night to rescue myself from Jade and Cara. I hope you understand Vegeta. I hope you'll forgive me...
He did just that after turning off the lights and placing Bulma's gift and letter on her bedside table. Stripping off his towel, he crawled into bed with her and pulled the blankets over them. "Ah!" he scolded, grabbing hold of Bulma's towel and tossing it to the floor. "No towels in my bed tonight. Nothing in my bed but love and us."
"Vegeta..." She curled against him her face pressed into his chest. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes and she knew that if she started crying, she'd never stop.
"I love you Blue."
"What?!" She jerked her head up so fast that it caught him on the chin and he groaned him pain. "Holy shoes. I'm sorry...." she cooed, rubbing her fingers along his jaw.
"I love you Blue. I. Love. You." He spoke slowly, letting each word sink in slowly.
"Then love me Vegeta. Love me like you say you love me. Love me until you cannot love me any more..." she whispered against his chest. And he did. He loved her throughout the night and stopped when the stars were bright in the sky.
She allowed herself a few minutes to lay in the safe restraints of his arms before pulling away. Bulma slipped into her closet, pulled on a pair of light sweat pants, grabbed a sports bra, tugged it over her head and then tip-toed around to Vegeta's closet where she found his hamper of laundry and plucked out his (and her) favorite shirt. She looked around the room to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything of dire importance. Chewing on her bottom lip, she let out a little sigh knowing that she couldn't stall any longer. It took her three trips up and down the stairs to move the gifts from inside her closet to the Christmas tree in the living room, and once she did that, she walked back up the stairs and into Vegeta's room.
Isis was curled up on the foot of the bed and woke up with a scratch behind the ear. Front paws stretching out, toes coming apart and with the stump of her tail wagging, she jumped off the bed soundlessly.
Together they walked down the hall and into Rayne's room where Luna lifted her head and put it back down. Bulma leaned over, kissed her daughter's brow one last time before she turned away. Bypassing his room, she jogged down the stairs. "Are you going to leave without saying goodbye first?"
Her feet skidded to a halt and she turned around, tears stinging her eyes. "Oh Mitch..." She flew into his arms and the older man wrapped her into a hug, squeezing gently. "Thank you for everything. You've done so much for me and my daughter that I don't know how to ever repay you."
"You can repay me, Miss Bulma, by staying safe and writing every once and a while. If you get the chance."
She nodded her head, unable to do anything more then that. Pressing her face against his neck she sniffed gently and had to pull away. Pale, shaking fingers brushed her loose hair out of her face as she lifted her eyes to look at Mitch. "I'll..." Bulma coughed, her voice not willing to work with her. "I'll make sure I do that. Remember, you don't know where I am, and you don't know anything about me leaving. Place the letter on Vegeta's present from me will you? If I do it myself I'll break down and stay here."
"Anything for you Miss Bulma." She handed him the thick letter that was in her pocket and then with a blown kiss, she ran out the door and into her awaiting, all ready running, car. Isis jumped in beside her and without looking back, they drove off towards the airport.
And her new life.