A/N: Sorry for the late chapter. It was my 'last' semester in college (I technically need one more summer class that I'm in now) and while I've been chipping away at this chapter over the course of the past few months it was a hard write and I was busy. In any case, here it is! I hope you enjoy it.
'What the hell just happened?'
That was the only thing Vegeta could focus on as he stared at the woman on ground. One moment he was kissing her and the next she lunged out and slapped him before rolling off the couch and onto the floor. Normally he would have been angry and mocked her for her inability to live up to her claims once again but his mind couldn't connect on any particular feeling other than shock. He couldn't even work up enough sense to move his hand away from where she'd struck him, as harmless as the hit had been.
While he was still trying to how to react to what had happened, the woman finally moved. Turning just her head, she looked at him through the cascade of hair and he was struck speechless. It wasn't a look of anger or terror but rather one of recognition; as if she had just woken up from a nightmare and realized that she wasn't actually in danger. It wasn't until Bulma finally jumped up from her spot that he finally found his voice but she had escaped to the bathroom before he'd managed to utter more than a single syllable. As the sound of running water reached his ears he looked back to the couch he was still crouched on and tried to figure out what had gone wrong.
"Her friend had mentioned that she had been attacked before," Vegeta said aloud, as if it would make the situation clearer, "perhaps my actions had triggered some memory." He shook his head, angry with himself at that comment. "Of course my actions triggered something, that's not up for debate here. But what happened? What action triggered that reaction?" Rubbing his temples, he took a breath before starting his thought process again. "We've kissed before so that can't be it. In that case it must have been when I touched her side since that's when she had first reacted."
Of course it'd be impossible to know exactly what had happened without talking either to her or her friend about it but it was preferable to analyze her reaction, since the fault would rely mainly in her, than to acknowledge the blow to his ego he'd just received. He'd never had this much trouble with any woman he'd been involved with before. Even the ones that were initially shy or wary became welcoming when they realized how good he could make them feel. He may have not actually felt anything towards them, hell he was for the most part completely disconnected from the act outside of making sure each action would result in him getting fulfilled in the end. Needless to say, today was a first for Vegeta in more ways than he'd ever thought possible.
Oh sure, it'd be easy to write off the situation as him not trying to actually seduce her but the problem was… that he had been trying. What's worse was that he had completely lost himself to the feeling.
Everything had been going perfectly: He'd given her some causally seductive glances, she had been unsure but her body was definitely showing some minute signs of arousal so he had decided to change his tactics from practice to actual seduction. After all, if they were actually intimate there wouldn't be a need for practice.
She had been surprised at his suggestion of kissing but her increased heart rate and soft panting belied that she was more interested than she let on. He had barely skimmed her lips with his own but the effect was immediately obvious. Adrenaline rushed through her body changing her scent. It had been such a minor change, much less than he usually noticed from the women he coupled with, that at first he couldn't tell if she actually was aroused or just terrified. However after examining her flushed cheeks he decided to push forward with his plans, pushing the subtle scent change to being involved with human biology and nothing more.
He didn't think he had gone too far, she may not have returned the kiss but she didn't push him away either. While his first thought should have been that she didn't react better to this kiss than the first one, at the time, he found himself focusing more on how soft her lips felt against his. It was odd; most races he'd seen were roughened from years of harsh elements or battle. He wondered if all of her was as soft. She certainly looked soft. All the previous encounters they'd had he had worn gloves so he never actually got to feel how soft her hair and skin were.
Despite his earlier proclamation that he wouldn't touch her, he shifted his weight onto one arm so that he could move his hand to brush her arm. Luck would have it that he missed her arm and instead found himself brushing along her hip and up towards the side of her stomach. It was such a small amount of skin but it was softer than he possibly imagined.
"Damn it," he cursed as he rubbed his palms together in attempts to rid himself of the feeling, "how could I have gotten so much enjoyment out of such an innocent touch? How far would I have gone if she hadn't reacted so violently?" It was embarrassing to think that he, for once, had been the one overwhelmed by lust and not the woman. Luckily the only one here that knew of his shame was too distraught to realize his lack of control.
Through the sound of the shower, which in hindsight he realized he'd left at the coldest and hardest setting to clean himself of Yapisha's climate, he could hear Bulma's sobs. Vegeta decided that he needed to avoid the issue with his pride and focus more on finding out what went wrong on Bulma's end of the arrangement.
Finally moving from his crouched position on the couch, Vegeta walked over to the panel. "Kakarot, bring your woman here as soon as the ship stabilizes."
It suddenly occurred to Bulma that she must have fallen asleep. Or perhaps her sobs had exhausted herself to the point that she had fallen unconscious. Her first thought was that she was freezing. She knew this not because she felt cold but rather because she could no longer feel the temperature of the shower falling from above her curled body. 'How long have I been in here?' She pushed herself off the ground slowly and looked around, once again trying to see if she could find the controls to the shower so that she could warm up a bit.
Her plans were cut short when the sound of the door opening startled her. She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed when she saw that it was Chichi who had entered and not Vegeta. Upon seeing Bulma's shaking form, Chichi frowned and made her way over to the shower. Placing her hand on the wall outside, Bulma saw a previously unseen panel light up with the shower controls. A few adjustments later Bulma sighed as the warmth enveloped her.
"Here's a towel and something warm to dress in. You finish up and come out so we can talk about what happened."
"O-okay" Bulma managed to reply through her chattering teeth. She had already planned on talking to Chichi as soon as possible so she wasn't going to fight it. She just hoped that Chichi would be able to help her find a way to make this deal work out despite this massive failure of an attempt.
30 minutes, a shaky retelling of the current events and a steaming cup of her favorite tea that Chichi had the forethought to bring with her, the two friends sat in silence until Chichi reached out and wiped a stray tear from Bulma's cheek.
"Bulma…," she started but was interrupted by a shake of Bulma's head.
"So you see, it was my fault. Yes, he touched my side but it was because of my flashback that I hit him and ran off to cry in the shower." The last thing she thought she'd hear was the sound of Chichi holding back a laugh. "Why…?"
"Sorry, it's just… when I came in here I was wondering what that mark on Vegeta's face was. I'm glad to hear that it was from a well-deserved slap."
Bulma stared in disbelief for a few more seconds until she too let out a small chuckle. "If you think that was funny, you should have seen his face. It was like a deer caught in the headlights. I didn't think his eyes could get that wide."
They both laughed a bit harder at that. Finally Chichi reached out and hugged Bulma. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you that day and I'm sorry I can't do anything to make you the memories go away." Bulma returned the hug fully accepting the comfort Chichi was giving her. "But, you still shouldn't let him get away with it."
Bulma pulled back and gave Chichi a questioning look. "What do you mean?"
"You're the one that needs to call the shots regarding your 'practice' sessions. It may go slower than he wants but it won't go anywhere if he forces you back into those painful memories."
Nodding, Bulma thought about how to approach the situation. "I see what you're saying but, what should I suggest?"
"I don't know, try doing something simple. You know, talking, sitting next to each other, holding hands."
"We're not dating, Chichi."
"No, but you're going to have to get used to each other. Try brainstorming and getting his opinion on some of your ideas for inventions. Oh, also think about some movies or tv shows you've seen before. Maybe you'll get an idea of something low contact that you'll be able to tolerate."
Seeing Bulma in thought, Chichi touched her gently on the shoulder to get her attention. "I'm going to head back to Goku's room and get some things sorted out before bed. Try to get some rest, ok."
"Bye, Chichi." As the door closed Bulma reached over to her bag and pulled out her laptop. "Alright, Bulma, let's see what strategy your genius can come up with."
Vegeta held himself together quite well all the way to the information deck as he checked to see if the remodeling project was going according to the plans he had sent. However he barely made it out the door before the rage building inside resulted in him angrily punching the air that previously held Kakarot's face.
"Whoa, Vegeta, I know it's been a long day but I'd like to not spend the rest of the trip in the rejuvenation tank if that's alright," Kakarot joked before dodging another hit with a yelp.
"Stop jumping around and take a hit like a true Saiyan, Kakarot," Vegeta growled out before continuing his onslaught. If it weren't for the fact that it was getting late and he'd already showered he would have gone to the training area to properly vent his anger.
He really needed to get his mind off how horrible this day had been. Vegeta was used to getting everything the way he wanted, not only because he was a prince but also because he was strong, determined, and smart enough to work most situations in work in his favor. Not today though, oh no.
First off, in attempts to ridicule Zarbon for his amazement regarding the missing human scientist he had gotten himself tied up in a boast with a short term deadline. Then he was forced to choose a concubine as payment for a job Frieza didn't feel like paying for.
That had been enough to put him in a bad mood but it was made worse by meeting Bulma Briefs the very cause of his current tension and irritation. He had figured that anyone in her situation would be eager to take up his offer but not her. It seemed her wit was on par with his own: not only did she figure out the real reason he wanted her was to get himself out of the hole his boasting had dug but she had also turned the situation in her favor, forcing him to give more into the deal than he'd original intended.
Not to mention that he shortly after found out that she might not be able to keep up with her part of the bargain, given her tendency to freeze up and faint in even the chastest of intimate situations. He was sure he could eventually find a way around that problem since they would only have to intimate for the short time Frieza was visiting but upon seeing her without that damned cloak his plans drastically changed.
No longer content with acting intimate, he wanted to actually be intimate. However despite his usual efforts, ones that he had always been sure he was proficient at, he had lost to Bulma again. Not that she turned him down; oh no, that wasn't the case at all. No, it wasn't that she didn't desire him and he was sure that if it hadn't been for this past trauma that he would have been able to coax her into his line of thinking. He would find a way around this problem; it was for the good of their plan, after all.
"Vegeta," a new voice rang clearly through the air interrupting Vegeta's assault on Kakarot, "is there any particular reason you're sparring in the hallway?"
"Trust me, Father, I don't need any commentary from you right now," Vegeta said sharply before pulling his arms to his sides, fist clenched just like the rest of his body. He noticed his Father's eyes scan his body before opening his mouth to say something. And Vegeta could place money on what his Father was going to say, the conversation was getting so ridiculously predictable. "Don't even start with that inane dribble again, I don't want to hear about that either."
"Well you're going to hear about it anyway!" King Vegeta barked out, his voice echoing down the empty hallway. Kakarot nervously shifted but Vegeta just tensed even more than before, glaring at his Father as he clenched and unclenched his fists. "I know today has been awful for you. I know that you hate dealing with Frieza. I know that we lost several men on a pointless mission that we didn't get paid for. But I also know that you're not helping your condition any by bottling up your frustration."
"I don't have a condition!" Vegeta growled out. "I don't care what the damn doctor said. He's just a senile old man that needs to be replaced."
"Then go to another doctor if you think you'll get a different diagnosis."
"I don't need to get another diagnosis! There's nothing wrong with me."
"Damn it, Vegeta, look at you! You constantly push yourself to the breaking point. If you don't take some time off the stress is going to kill you."
"I take time off!" Vegeta countered.
"Only because I make you and even then you're just not training as much. And now you've made it worse by this invention claim of yours. Might as well have told Frieza to ridicule you right then and saved us all a month."
"Believe it or not but I was completely serious about that. I've already come up with plans to re-arrange my study into a makeshift lab and have started considering way to improve those lame inventions that Frieza and Zarbon were gushing over."
King Vegeta sighed and shook his head, obviously unbelieving of his son's claims. "I had hoped that you'd be more willing to admit to your mistake now that we were in private but I see that you're planning to lie even now."
"I'm not lying, I don't have a stress problem, and I'm done with this conversation." Vegeta turned on his heel and started back towards his room only to once again be stopped by his Father's voice.
"Is it too much for me to hope that you'll actually indulge a bit with this concubine and relax a little?"
"Father, Seriously? Are we discussing my sex life again? I guess you're just the type to think that all problems can be solved by hopping into bed with any available woman."
The King closed his eyes, knowing that his next comment wasn't going to help the situation any. "Vegeta, you and both know that I haven't been to bed with any woman since your Mother died."
The loud sound of metal crunching filled the air and Vegeta slammed his fist into the wall, visibly shaking now with repressed anger. "Don't talk about her. Don't ever talk about her," he said with a calm that defied his current mood before stalking down the hallway, ignoring Kakarot's attempts walk with him. He didn't want to deal with anymore pointless conversations tonight. He was exhausted and had a headache that refused to go away. He just wanted to eat and then go to bed. Hopefully the Woman would already be asleep so he wouldn't have to deal with her.
Unfortunately for him, she was still quite awake. He noticed that she had already eaten though she had left quite a bit on her plate. 'Do humans not eat much or was she just not that hungry after her little episode?' Vegeta wondered before shaking his head and grabbing his own food. He half expected her to either scream out when she saw him or to try and talk about something as pointless as everyone else tonight wanted to but she didn't even stir. Her eyes were glued on some type of portable viewer with a white cord that connected to her ears so it seemed that she hadn't even noticed him enter the room. 'Good. That means that I can avoid any more trouble tonight.'
He made quick work of his meal and set the trays and the cart outside for the workers to clean up. As he passed the sofa on his way to the bed, he couldn't help but look at what the woman was watching only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight.
It was some kind of recording of two humans having sex, or about to that is as their clothes were still on, but it was obvious where the situation would lead. 'Do humans find entertainment in watching others copulate?' He was shocked that this woman was so easily watching something so lewd when she acted as if she didn't have a clue how to react to intimate situations before. 'Did she trick me? Is she actually used to this kind of thing?'
He was brought out of his thoughts by a soft, but frustrated, sigh. Bulma turned the device off and removed the earpieces before viciously scrubbing her face. It was only then that he noticed the bright red blush covering her face. And despite his early plans to go to bed without confronting her, he couldn't resist teasing.
"You should know that scrubbing your face isn't going to remove the stain from your cheeks, Woman." At her jump, he smirked thoroughly enjoying her scramble to catch her viewer before it fell to the ground. "What kind of lewd culture do you come from where you watch others having sex for enjoyment, Woman?"
"It was just a romance movie! There's not even a sex scene in that one."
Vegeta raised a brow at that. "In that one? Meaning that there are recordings with 'sex scenes' in them?"
"Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, in movies it's usually short and not as showy but there are porn movies too where it's just people having sex with little or no plot." She blushed and looked up at his again. "Not that I have any of those things, mind you!"
'Damn that blush,' Vegeta thought enjoying the Woman's frustration, 'I'd like to see that up close. No, it's too soon for another attempt. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.'
Vegeta turned and started to walk away when Bulma called out to him. "W-wait! Vegeta before you go to bed, I-I wanted to talk to you."
Sighing, Vegeta turned back with a bored look. He really just wanted to fall into bed and, hopefully, fall asleep quickly. "Woman, your friend already explained about your trauma earlier today the first time you fainted. We don't need to go into the details again. While I will concede to the fact that I moved too fast, you do need to brace yourself and find a way to make this deal work."
"I-I know. That's what I was doing just now."
"You're not going to get any better at intimate interactions by watching other people have sex, Woman."
"I wasn't… That's not what I was doing! Look, Chichi mentioned that if we're going to get this to work I'm going to have to set some ground rules and decide what we're going to do for practice. And don't tell me that you should be able to decide what we're doing. I'm the one that needs to get used to this, not you, so we're doing it my way. And so, after watching a few scenes from romance movies I've decided on something."
"Oh?" Vegeta crossed his arms, interested in what she had come up with. "Well hurry it up, I'm tired."
With a yawn, she nodded. "Me too. I nearly nodded off a few times already but I want to do this tonight. Anyway, I want you to lie down on the couch."
Vegeta blinked. "What? Why?"
"Well, there was this scene I saw where the couple was lying down on the couch together with the woman resting on the man's chest. I thought, maybe I could handle that since I wouldn't feel closed in."
Rubbing a hand across his face, Vegeta decided not to use up what little energy he had left fighting her on this. "Whatever, let's get this over with." He moved over to the couch and started to lie down on his back.
"Wait, aren't you going to put a shirt on?" Bulma asked with panic clear in her voice.
"No, either you lay down or I go to bed."
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Bulma took a deep breath and moved over to him with a look of determination. Vegeta watched closely as she placed her stiff arms on both sides of his torso before moving her legs in between his. Her discomfort was obvious as she closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths. He would have been more insulted that it was taking this much effort to simply touch him but given that her current position was giving him a generous view of her cleavage he couldn't complain too much.
Finally after a few minutes, she shakily lowered her arms until she came in contact with his chest. Turning her head to look towards the table, she exhaled again. "There, see this isn't so hard. You know, as long as you keep your hands to yourself this time."
"Are you questioning my restraint, Woman?"
"No I'm telling you to not touch me so this will work." Vegeta glared down at her head before closing his eyes, trying to think of anything but the feel of her soft body pressed so intimately to his. "You're really warm, you know that?" Bulma mumbled beneath him. "You must have a higher body temperature. I'll have… to…"
At her incomplete sentence, Vegeta's eyes popped open. "…Woman?" Her breathing had evened out and he craned his neck to confirm his suspicions that she had, in fact, fallen asleep.
He sighed, tiredly rubbing his face wondering how he'd gotten talked into this situation again. 'Well, practice is over then.' He moved his hand to her shoulder but paused and instead decided to move it to her back instead. 'Let's see if your reaction is any better asleep than when it was awake.' Yes she had said not to touch her but it was important to see if there was any chance of her recovering from this trauma of hers. Besides, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
Placing his hand on the small of her back he made a soft, circular motion. He froze when she shifted but at her nuzzle and sigh he smirked and continued his movement moving up under the loose top she was using as a nightshirt. He wouldn't go too far but he couldn't help but compare her to his past encounters with women. Vegeta let his eyes drift shut as he gently skimmed the soft skin of her back.
Before he knew it, he too drifted off into a comfortable sleep.
A/N: Sorry for any typos, I'll look through it again later and make changes. I hope you enjoyed it.