Oh ya! Another chapter is here!
as always I own nothing. and I must send a huge thank you to MariIvyfenta, for being such an awesome Beta.
Enjoy the new chapter
He has been completely ignoring her.
It has been a week since the feast, and every time she would try to ask him about his "type of woman," what does he do? He completely diverts the question or just glares at her before storming off to do some training.
Which is what he is doing now.
Bulma stood at the edge of the training area, her hands firmly planted on her hips and a determined glint flashing in her eyes. She had planned -at first, to just stomp right over to him and demand answers, no matter what. But then got distracted by his shirtless body as he practiced throwing his axes at the scattered trees on the other side of the training area. -At how his trousers hung so nicely at his hips. At that lucky drop of sweat slowly dripping down the center of his back, or how his muscles constricted and retracted as he threw ax after ax.
Her determined stare slowly melted into conflicted desire as she bit down on her lower lip.
Yeah, this week has been a struggle all around.
One: He has been avoiding her and her important questions.
And, two: He is just too god damn sexy. Denying the horny side's desires is getting harder and harder.
With a heavy sigh and raspberrying her lips loose, she wiped the conflicted desire off of her face and began marching over to Vegeta. She will get answers from him today!
"Ooooohh, Vegeeetaaa~," Bulma said in a sing-song voice as she slowly approached him, her hips sashaying as she walked.
His muscles twitched just as he threw his last ax, causing him to completely miss his target. A spike of fear rushed through her body as she watched his body tense up, just before he slowly turned to face her.
His right eyebrow twitched with irritation as his upper lip curled up into a snarl. "What are you doing here, woman?" He growled.
Bulma smiled sweetly at him, ignoring the rising fear in her gut. It is never a good idea to piss off a Viking when he is well-armed with weapons... And yet, here she was. "You have been completely ignoring me. When I have a very important question needing answering."
"I told you, I am thinking about it." He said, his voice still deep with his growl. He turned on his heels, walking toward his target trees to retrieve his axes. "Now, leave me. I have to train for the coming raids."
Bulma fidgeted with her engagement ring, a habit she developed when her irritation began to rise. She had moved her ring from her ring finger to her pointer finger. To have people believe that she still intended to marry Vegeta, she could not have her engagement ring on her ring finger. So with much sadness in her heart, she moved it.
"And when are these raids going to happen? Any idea?" She asked, trying to keep her voice sweet so her irritation would not show.
"No more than a week's time," he said with a grunt as he got back into position to throw more axes.
"In a week?" Bulma's hands fell to her side as shock hit her.
Vegeta aimed his ax at the tree, and with one quick swift movement, he sent it flying. The ax hit the tree with a loud 'thunk.' "The snow is just about all melted, and summer is upon us. And so comes our time to raid. And Kakarot is finishing up the last touches on our longships. So yes, I say in about a week we leave."
"And I'm guessing you will be leaving me behind?" Bulma said through clenched teeth, her hands turning into fists at her side.
"Tch," Vegeta didn't even bother aiming his next ax before sending it flying toward the tree. That ax hit the tree with a loud 'thunk' right next to the first ax. "A raid is no place for a Princess like yourself. Now, if you were a shieldmaiden," Vegeta finally turned to face her, his eyes trailing up and down her body, "which you're clearly not. Then yes, I would be taking you with me."
"But because I am not a shieldmaiden, you are leaving me behind?"
Vegeta just smirked at her, "Exactly." Before she could even open her mouth to retaliate, Vegeta spun and twisted his body, sending a volley of axes toward the tree.
Buma growled and stomped her foot. "You are telling me that you have been ignoring me for the past week when I had such a short timeline to find you a replacement wife!"
Vegeta just shrugged his shoulders as he once again made his way to the tree line to regather his axes.
"And now I only have a week left to find her, when you still have not told me anything about the type of woman you want?!"
Vegeta gave a soft chuckle as he yanked out two axes at a time and slid them into the holsters at his side. He grabbed the last two and ripped them out as well before turning back to re-throw them again, a mischievous smile on his face.
"And you do realize that the moment you come back from your raids, your parents will have us marry!"
Vegeta gave a small nod as he turned to face the trees. He rolled his shoulders and neck as he eyed his targets, the axes in his hands comfortably twirling and flipping about.
Bulma gave a high pitch shrill as she stomped her foot. "No!" She shrieked, grabbing the attention of a few people at the training grounds. "You have charged me with an impossible task! Have you even looked into how you're going to send-" Before she could finish that sentence, Vegeta's hand was firmly placed over her mouth. His other hand, still gripping onto two axes, was firmly at the base of her spine. One ax blade lightly dings into her, just below her shoulder blades, while the other presses into her right butt cheek.
The pressure of the blades on her, with Vegeta being in such close proximity, sent her mind into overdrive. Bulma had to quickly blink her eyes to rid her mind of such thoughts. This is not the outcome that she wanted from this confrontation.
"Quite, Woman," Vegeta growled. "This is not the place for this conversation." He gave her one final glare before removing his hand from her mouth, but kept the other, with the axes, firmly in place.
"Well, where or when would I be able to have this conversation with you?" Bulma hissed. "You have been ignoring me."
Vegeta just remained silent as he continued to glare at her.
"No matter," Buma said in a soft whisper, a small smile on her face. "I have a solution that you better damn well agree to."
"Oh really? And what is this solution of yours?" Vegeta asked as he tilted his head to the side.
The mixture of Vegeta's manly scent, the axes at her back, and the feel of his breath on her lips made her dizzy with desire. Bulma had to clench her jaw together, forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand.
Bulma smirked triumphantly at him, "You will train me to become a shieldmaiden."
Vegeta's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "What!?"
"You will train me to become a shieldmaiden." She sternly said as she gripped the axes still in the holsters at his sides. Vegeta tried to pull away before she got them, but it was too late. She already had them out and at the ready.
Vegeta let out a deep growl as he stared at her. He was more pissed off at himself for such a mistake, one that he won't be making again. Shaking his head, he gave an evil chuckle as he looked her up and down.
"And how do you plan on training in a dress, Princess?"
Bulma just smirked back at him confidently. See, she had come to this confrontation mostly prepared. She knew that if he was training, -he would not want to stop. And so, the only way to get him to talk, was to join him in his training. Before coming to the training grounds, she had stopped by Chi-chi's and borrowed one of her old training outfits. One that she could hide under her green strap dress.
After placing the axes on the ground, Bulma went for the ties on her sides. She simultaneously, with each hand, loosened up the sides of her dress, never losing eye contact with Vegeta. She watched as his adam's apple bobbed up and down from a nervous gulp as he watched her, not fully knowing what she was doing. With a simile, she pulled the dress up and over her head, revealing loose-fitting trousers -tightly bound at her calves with a leather strap. And a matching tunic that was tightly wrapped just under her bust with a leather corset.
When she first got here, she would have been overly self-aware of how free her breasts were in public. But, living with the Vikings for a week now, she was getting used to it. And had barely noticed just how much her hard nipples were making themselves known through her tunic.
Vegeta, on the other hand. He noticed.
Bulma continued to smile confidently at Vegeta as she folded her green strap dress and set it on top of a nearby stump. Once that was out of the way, she went back to the axes and picked them up. "Train me," She sternly said as she faced him. "And while you are training me, you will be telling me about the type of woman you want."
Vegeta growled at her. "And what is training you going to accomplish?"
"I'm glad you asked," Bulma said as she marched herself right up to Vegeta, getting herself almost nose to nose with him. "You see, you will be leaving in a week for the raids. But after you have trained me every day this week, I will be able to come with you. And with your training, I can become a shieldmaiden and protect myself. And with me being able to come along with you, as a shieldmaiden, I will be able to find you that replacement wife. Because I can already tell that one aspect you want in a woman is to be a shieldmaiden. And where are all the shieldmaidens going to be? On the raid, with you." With a mischievous smirk, Bulma finally stepped away from Vegeta.
She spread her arms out wide, her hands still gripping onto the axes. "Train me." She said loud enough so others in the training grounds could hear her.
Vegeta shook his head, a disbelieving laugh escaping past his lips. He was most likely going to deny her training, which she knew was a brass idea on her part. And to go on the raids with him? What is she thinking?
People die in raids... she could die!
But then again, how else will she be able to see firsthand how Vikings did their raiding. If she was stuck here in this timeline might as well live like a Viking fully, raiding and all. This was totally all for archeological purposes.
And then there was that prospect of having to find Vegeta, a replacement wife. Bulma had come to the conclusion that he needed a shieldmaiden for a wife. For a brute of a man that lived and breathed training, having a woman who did the same was probably what he needed. And those women were here on the training grounds and were going on the raids. So what better way than to see which one fit him better than to be here training and going on the raids.
Even though she knew she was probably out of her mind making him take her, she had two perfectly good reasons to say otherwise.
Vegeta continued to shake his head, his laugh turning into a deep chuckle. But before he could flat out deny her, she had another trick up her sleeve.
"What's wrong with training your future bride, my Prince?" Bulma asked, her voice still loud enough for everyone on the training grounds to hear. "Don't you want to have a strong Queen standing next to you? And raiding with you? Isn't that the type of Queen your people deserve?" She smirked at him knowing her message was hitting home for the people around them. "And how can I become that Queen if you don't train me?"
She watched as his face dropped and his eyes jumped from person to person on the training grounds. She knew she had won once his eyes landed on her once again, his eyes set in an angry glare.
"If it's training you want, woman. Then you should go and train with the shieldmaidens." Vegeta countered, his voice set in a deep and angry tone.
Well, shit... he was still finding a way to avoid her and push her away. Bulma clenched her jaw together as she quickly tried to come up with a retort, but before she had to, someone else came to the rescue. Someone she was not expecting.
"Oh, no no no, Vegeta," came the voice of Queen Eschalot. Bulma smiled wide as Vegeta's face just dropped in horror. Bulma knew that the Queen would have her back.
The King and Queen came to stand next to the two of them. They must have been out on the afternoon walk, surveying the village as they liked to do to stay connected with their people.
"I like the idea of you training her, Vegeta," The Queen said. "If it will be anyone to get her up to par, it will be you. And besides," The Queen gave Bulma a sly smile, "It will be a great way to bond with your future bride."
"And hopefully, love will kindle between the two of you on the battlefield as it did us. Isn't that right, my Queen?" King Vegeta said as he turned his proud, loving eyes onto his Queen.
The Queen sighed longingly as she placed a hand on her chest. "Oh yes. You threw an ax into the head of a man that was strangling me, pinned in the mud. His blood splattered all over my face -I couldn't see. You then ripped his limp body off of me, and with your calloused hands, wiped the blood from my face. The moment I saw you, I believe I grabbed you and kissed you until we were both out of breath."
The King chuckled at the memory. He grabbed the Queen's hand and tucked it back into his arm, and began walking with her once again. The Queen looked over her shoulder toward Bulma and gave her a wink before turning her attention back to her husband. The two of them continued to reminisce about the past, knowing full well that their son will follow what they had ordered him to.
Bulma watched with affectionate eyes as the King and Queen walked away. Even though the tale of how they first kissed was quite gruesome, the love that you can feel between the two was one that she hoped she would be able to feel between her and Yamcha.
Feeling angry eyes on her, she looked back to Vegeta. She let out a yelp from what she saw and almost dropped the axes still in her hands. He was now fumingly mad, a vein popped out on his forehead, and she could swear she saw steam coming out of his ears.
Did she poke the Viking bear just a little too much?
Maybe... But there was no turning back now.
Ignoring the rising fear crawling up her spine, Bulma smiled sweetly at Vegeta. "Well then, Sensei. Where do we start?"
Vegeta's right brow twitched. "Sensei?" He growled.
"Oh, right, sorry," Bulma gave a sheepish laugh. "I had taken a lot of self-defense classes, back from where I am from. And I always had to call my teacher, Sensei. But now I am here in Norway, with ancient Vikings-"
"Shut up," Vegeta growled, his upper lip curling up.
"Ooop, right." Bulma squeaked. "Ok, well. How would you like to start, my Prince?"
Vegeta gave her an evil smirk. If he was stuck training her, making his life a living hell, then he was just going to return the favor and make her regret this decision tenfold.
How and why was this the only idea that she could come up with!?
Bulma lay flat on her back in the mud and hey, desperately trying to catch her breath. Crunching hay and squishing mud sounded by her head as Vegeta stood above her. He squatted down as he looked her up and down. Until finally, his satisfied cocky smirk appeared just above her, one of his massive hands supporting him, just by her head, as he leaned over her.
"Have you had enough, Princess?" He asked.
"Fuck you," was all Bulma could rasp out between gasps of breath.
Vegeta smirked down at her. "I'd take you up on that offer," Bulma's eyes widened in shock, and she stopped breathing like she just got the wind knocked out of her... again. "If your voice was not so annoying. Like a screeching fox in heat."
Complete and utter horror crossed Bulma's face. "Excuse me!?" she screeched.
Vegeta winced back. "Like I said, a screeching fox." Before he could even react, a flying fist full of mud and hay came into contact with the side of his head.
Bulma rolled away from Vegeta and crawled out of the mud, satisfied with herself that she was able to splatter the side of his face with mud.
Childish? Yes, but still very satisfying.
"Yes, fine! I have had enough for one day! Thank you." She yelled without turning back to look at him as she stormed off.
Vegeta stood up as he slowly wiped the mud from his face. Some had even gotten into his hair. Great, now he needs a bath. And with a full afternoon of having to deal with her, not just any bath will do. He needs a deep soak to ease his fried nerves.
To the hot springs, it is.
The woman had beaten him to the hot springs. He should have known that this was where she was heading after a full day of getting her ass kicked by him.
He stood just out of sight, still behind the treeline, as he watched her naked form slowly ease itself into the steaming hot waters of the spring. He watched as the steam and milky waters lapped at her pale skin -easing her sore muscles. How he longed to run his hands over her. To give her a well-deserved massage from the dedication that she had put into their workout.
She had surprised him today. He had expected her to be weak and pathetic. True, she was still not as strong as the other shieldmaidens, but she showed promise. If she kept at it, she could be just as great as any of them, and with his help... maybe better.
He should really not be creeping behind the trees like this. He should go and wait for her to be done.
He began to turn away.
'No! She interrupted your training and is having you now train her every day! And you are the Prince! If you want to take a soak in the hot springs, you take a soak in the hot springs! Who gives a shit what the woman thinks!' With the thought in mind, Vegeta spun back around and began ripping his clothes off.
"What do you think you are doing!?" He heard the woman screech as he pulled his tunic up over his head.
"It's a public hot spring woman," Vegeta said as he tossed the piece of cloth to the side. He began toeing his boots off, at the same time working the strings of his pants. "And besides, didn't we already soak together once before?"
"That was before we could communicate with each other. And you could not understand me telling you no, and to get lost." Bulma said as she crossed her arms over her breasts, doing her best to cover as much of them as possible.
Vegeta just smirked at her as he hooked his thumbs into the top of his pants, remembering full well what she did last time he had done that. And just like before, she turned beat red and instantly spun around to look away from him. Chuckling, he proceeded to pull his pants off and then slowly lowered himself into the water.
The woman growled as she Waded through the water. "Fine, but you stay on that side of the spring. And I will stay on this side!"
"Fine by me," Vegeta said as he grabbed a discarded washcloth and dunked it into the water before slowly scrubbing his skin.
"You know, you still have not told me anything about what type of woman you want."
Vegeta's eyes snapped up only to find the woman facing him and staring at him with intense eyes. He knew that she was not going to let this go, that there was no getting away from it this time.
After the feast last week, Vegeta took a moment to think long and hard about that electrifying kiss. The kiss that had sent him straight to the battlefield where a beautiful Valkyrie saved him and then kissed him with such fiery need. About the feelings that were stirring within him just from the simple touches of her. The Valkyrie, who was now standing across from him, stared at him with such intense eyes, demanding him to tell her about the type of woman he wants. And he had come to the conclusion that in his egotistical stubbornness, he had made a grave mistake.
Because the woman that he wants is her.
The gift that was given to him by the gods, by Odin himself. The gift that he stupidly turned away, just because of the simple fact of a language barrier. A barrier that could have been broken by time and patience. Patience that he has learned on many occasions that he does not have.
The shine of her ring caught his eye as her hand slowly brushed across her chest, washing her skin clean. Reminding him of the promise that he had sworn upon his own ring. And if he did not keep a promise sworn upon his ring, he would not be allowed into the halls of Valhalla.
Cursing to himself, he knew that he had to uphold that promise. And the only way out of it was if he could convince her that this place, here and now, with him, was her home. And that sending her back, to this Yamcha guy, was to send her away from her rightful home.
So yes, he had been avoiding her. Hoping that by avoiding her, she would run out of time to find this replacement wife, and then his parents would have them marry, and she would have no choice but to stay with him. But he sees now that that is a bad idea. She would not be happy.
With a heavy sigh, he squeezed the water out of his cloth and then ran it over his face. "I'll make a deal with you," he said as he wetted his washcloth again. "Every day after training, if you show just as much vigor as you did today, then I will tell you something that I am looking for in a woman."
"Aren't you supposed to be doing that for me anyway?"
He smirked at her, "No, I have never agreed to tell you what type of woman I want. You are just supposed to find her for me." He brought the cloth up and started washing the side and back of his neck. The muscle of his biceps bulged as he cleaned, catching Bulma's eye. Vegeta smirked at her as he caught the slight pinking in her cheeks, but continued talking as if he saw nothing. "Me giving you clues as to what I want is a favor to you. And I will only do so if you face me in the training grounds with no fear. You have raided your way into my training, so, therefore, you will face me like a shieldmaiden. And when you have proven your worth, then I will reward you with the information that you want." He brought the cloth away from his neck and back into the water, fixing his hard stare onto her sapphire blue eyes. "Deal?" he asked with an arch of his brow.
Bulma smirked back at him in reply, "Yes, deal."
She lowered herself more into the water, leaning her head back, allowing her blue locks to fully submerge into the milky waters. Bringing her arms up to run her fingers through her hair, the top of her breasts perked up from the water, giving Vegeta a decent eye full. Before the blush could creep its way across his cheeks, he averted his eyes and focused them elsewhere.
"Well, then I do believe that you owe me a bit of information, my Prince," Bulma said as her hands still worked out all the tangles from her hair.
"Yes," Vegeta said, still averting his eyes away from what he was now yearning to bury his face into. "The woman that I want must be strong. Not just in strength but in mind." He heard the slosh and trickle of water as the woman lifted her head up and watched him with curious eyes. "She must be smart, and brave. She must be willing to face down an opponent, even though she knows that the odds are against her."
Little did the woman know, he was describing characteristics that he saw in her.
Bulma nodded her head, "So, like Caulifla?"
Vegeta's eyes snapped back over to Bulma's, his brows scrunched together. "No," he growled out. "Not like Caulifla. The woman I want must still be able to be a lady, not be a full Drenger."
Bulma gave a small chuckle, "Ya, that woman is the manliest out of the shieldmaidens." Bulma nodded in understanding, "So you want someone who is strong but can also be lady-like. Got it." She then lifted her arm and began to scrub it clean, "I'll keep that in mind in my search."
Just then, the sound of footsteps sounded by the tree line. Bulma and Vegeta both snapped their heads toward the newcomer. Bardock's wife, Gine -Bulma had learned, stopped in her tracks, clutching her cleaning supplies in her arms. Chichi also came up from behind Gine, rambling about something with Gohan.
Not noticing Gine had stopped walking, Chichi collided with her back. "Oof," Chichi stumbled back, confusion clear on her face. "Why did you-" Chichi then spotted Vegeta and Bulma in the spring, a knowing smile spread across her face.
Gine's eyes bounced back and forth between the two of them, her brows scrunching together just slightly before quickly easing into an apologetic smile. "We're sorry," she said, "We did not know that the spring was occupied."
"It's fine. I'm just about finished." Vegeta said as he did one last once over on his face, neck, and arms. He fully submerged himself into the water and gave a quick scrub of his hair before popping back out with a gasp of breath. He looked to Bulma, only to find her with her mouth slightly agape, staring at him. With a smirk, he finally climbed out of the spring, causing Bulma to yelp in surprise. He grabbed his pants and quickly pulled them on. With a dip of his head, he made his exit.
Why did he have to wash his hair and climb out of the spring, like he was a part of some manly Viking shampoo commercial or something? It just was not fair, and so did not help her with trying to reach her end goal of leaving him for Yamcha.
She desperately tried to avert her eyes, but it was no easy task when his well-defined ass was on full display. Or that Chichi was also giving her the wiggle brow look.
And as he walked away with those pants now clinging to all the right places...This whole situation was just not fair.
"We did not mean to interrupt your bath there, Bulma," Chichi said as she set her things down at the edge of the spring once Vegeta had left the area.
Bulma waved her hand dismissively, "Oh, you weren't interrupting anything."
"Uh-huh, sure," Gine said as she too set her things down and started getting undressed to climb into the spring.
Bulma could have sworn that she saw Gine's eyes snag on her engagement ring, judgment flashing through them. But just as fast as it showed, it was gone. Why would she look at her ring like that? it's not like she knew who the ring was from and what it represented. It was not even on her ring finger anymore.
With a shrug of her shoulder, Bulma brushed it away. She was probably being paranoid and seeing things.
Chichi climbed into the spring and wiggled excitedly over to Bulma, "I am so happy to finally see you and our Prince spending some quality time together."
Bulma smiled warmly, "It is better than him ignoring me all the time."
"I saw the two of you training today," Gine said as she slowly eased herself into the warm water.
"Yes, he will actually be training me every day this week."
"Really? What for, if you don't mind me asking?" Gine pushed.
Bulma's brows scrunched together, what did it matter to her that she was training with the Prince? She would think that the whole village would be happy she was spending more time with their Prince -to ensure a happy marriage.
Chichi snorted, "To spend more time with her future husband, of course." Chichi grabbed her washcloth and began rubbing her arms, "You know, thinking about it, maybe I should pick up training again. I need some quality time with my Kakarot. That's a good idea there, Bulma."
Bulma smiled and gave Chichi a wink.
"You're not going to go on the riads with him?" Gine asked as she too began washing her body, "Right?"
Bulma bit down onto her bottom lip, -Why did she feel like she was going to be in big trouble if she told her the truth?
Chichi shrugged her shoulders, "It would be nothing wrong if she were to join him in the raids. It might actually be a good idea for our future Queen to raid alongside her shieldmaidens."
Bulma smiled at Chichi and nodded her head in agreement.
Gine held Bulma with a hard stare, "But you have never raided before." She said matter-of-factly. "And my husband, Bardock, he told me that the place you come from, no one raids. It is a much more peaceful time there. So, would it really be smart for you to go on raids?"
Bulma once again bit down on her bottom lip. Being lectured by this Gine, felt like she was being lectured by her best friend, -one she knew full well she will never see again if she did not get out of this place. It made it really hard for her to fight back.
But she had to, it was not in her to let other people tell her what she could or could not do.
Bulma squared her shoulders, "I'm not defenseless, you know. I have taken many defense classes. I can hold my own in a fight."
Chichi nodded her head firmly in agreement.
Gine shook her head softly in disagreement, "Raiding is far from just simply protecting yourself. You will be expected to kill people. And from what Bardock has told me of the place you come from, killing people is not something that happens every day, -unlike here."
"I know that," Bulma said firmly. Why was Gine fighting so strongly against her raiding and spending time with the Prince? It made no sense.
Chichi looked nervously between Bulma and her mother-in-law, "Yes, but she is our future Queen. She will be marrying Vegeta." She pointed out, "She needs to know how to raid. Don't you think so?"
Gine looked at Chichi, shock flashing across her eyes like she just noticed Chichi was there.
Giving a sheepish laugh, Gine nodded her head, "You're perfectly right." Gine then reached forward and caressed Bulma's cheek, "I'm just nervous for you, is all."
Bulma smiled back at Gine, and the feeling of something off fluttered in her stomach.
The rest of the soak was relaxing and full of normal girl Gossip. But Bulma could not help every once in a while, glancing toward Gine with curiosity and having the feeling of something stir within her belly. No matter what, she could not understand what that feeling was… But she will get to the bottom of it, eventually.
And that is the end of the chapter! please leave a review and let me know what you think. See you next chapter.