Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Light in the Darkness ❯ Sympathy Visit ( Chapter 29 )

A Light in the Darkness - part 29: Sympathy Visit
by Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

PAIRING: Pairings? Do we have a pairing? ^_~
RATING: G
WARNINGS: None
DISCLAIMER: Neither of us owns any of the DBZ characters or anything about DBZ, but we both wish we owned the Saiyans. All of them. At least all of the ones with hair. These characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation. We do own what we've written here, and our specific storyline, just not Dragonball itself. We make no money off of any of these guys, nor off this fic. We just have fun writing it.
SUMMARY: A sympathy visit to a sick friend.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to saiyengerl for the beta!

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Hakusai and Goku sat there at the kitchen talking while Chi-Chi moved around the kitchen preparing breakfast. It was almost 45 minutes later when Chi-Chi announced that the soup was ready, and had Goku set the table.

 

"Ummm." Hakusai sighed appreciatively after the meal. "This is good. Goku you are right. Your mate is a genius in the kitchen."

 

Goku gave her one of those I-told-you-so looks and smiled at his wife. "Chi-Chi, I am going to take Hakusai over to meet Bulma. I figure there has got to be something she can do for her. Do you want to come along?"

 

"All right," Chi-Chi agreed, then she smiled. "We should call her and let her know we're coming, first."

 

She telephoned the Briefs while the other two talked, and when she got off the phone she had a worried look on her face. "Bulma's mother says she's ill right now. We can see her, but we shouldn't tire her out."

 

She frowned thoughtfully. "There seems to be some left-over miso soup, too. I'll take some over to her." Then she made a face. "We'll just have to make sure that awful Vegeta doesn't eat it! Bulma needs it, if she's ill." She began putting the rest of the soup in jars that she could carry over to Capsule Corp.

 

"I hope it is nothing serious," Hakusai said.

 

"Chi-Chi's soup will bring her around, you'll see," Goku said. "Besides, we won't stay long. You are welcome to stay with us until you find your own place."

 

"Assuming, of course, that I decide to stay on Chikyuu," Hakusai said dryly, following Goku and Chi-Chi to the door.

 

"Kinto'un!" Goku called and the little cloud appeared, earning an arched eyebrow from Hakusai.

 

"I am not going to ask," she said as she watched the couple climb on and start off towards Capsule Corp. Goku merely grinned at her and gestured for Hakusai to follow them.

 

"She owns all this?" Hakusai asked as she touched down, looking impressed at the size of the grounds.

 

"I've known Bulma since I was a little kid," Goku explained, helping his wife off the little cloud. "She is really smart, she invented Capsule technology."

 

"She did?" Hakusai took one of the jars of soup from Chi-Chi's hands and Goku took the other. She had no idea what capsule technology was, but from the way Goku said it, she thought maybe it was important.

 

Goku shrugged as they made their way to the front door. "She is really nice. You'll like her." They rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer.

 

Mrs. Briefs answered the door for them. "Oh, Son-kun!" she exclaimed, with her usual vacuous smile. "Chi-Chi said you'd be coming over with some soup for my Bulma! She's really very ill; you shouldn't stay too long."

 

A shadow passed over her face, but cleared so quickly that the others wondered if they had imagined it. Mrs. Briefs always seemed to be a complete airhead, but Chi-Chi suspected that there was more going on there than most people realized, including Bulma.

 

She led them up to Bulma's room, ushering them in, and she checked Bulma's pulse and forehead briefly before she left. As she did so, she glanced up at the window, and gave a sudden, sharp glance that no one noticed. Outside on the balcony, Vegeta wondered if she had seen him; she was looking right at him for a moment. Then the moment was gone, and her usual vacuous expression was back on her face as she looked towards the others.

 

"Yes, you mustn't stay long!" she said sweetly but insistently. "You mustn't tire her out when she's not feeling very well!"

 

Bulma moved her hand dismissively, wishing her mother would leave. She wished the others would leave, too. She suspected that her mother might have known in advance that they were coming, but she hadn't bothered to warn Bulma.

 

Bulma knew she looked a fright. She hadn't gotten dressed or even brushed her hair that morning; the most she had managed was to wash her face and brush her teeth. She knew she looked terrible, and that was not something she wanted people to see. After all, she was supposed to be pretty, and right now she looked far from that.

 

"Goku," she rasped out after her mother had stepped out of the room. "What are you doing here?" She was too ill to be even the slightest bit polite.

 

"Chi-Chi and I brought some soup." Goku said a look of worry crossed his face. "Are you sure you are ok? You look kinda pale to me."

 

Bulma looked down at her sheets, glancing briefly at the spot Vegeta had slept in that other night. Her eyes were often drawn there. She wished they weren't.

 

"Mom says I have a fever. I don't feel well. I have a sore throat." She shrugged. "Guess I came down with something."

 

"I'll say." Goku said sitting down on the edge of the bed. "You look awful."

 

Hakusai groaned and swatted him on the back of his head. "That isn't polite, Goku. Your friend doesn't feel well." She studied the other woman for a moment, wondering what it was about her scent that was familiar, then smiled thoughtfully. She wasn't sick, she thought as she folded her arms over her chest. She know that smell.

 

"Maybe we should come back later. When you've eaten some of Chi-Chi's soup." Hakusai tugged Goku up to a standing position. "You really need to keep your strength up right now."

 

Goku looked over at Hakusai and nodded. "Is there anything we can get you, Bulma?"

 

Bulma glanced at the soup and shuddered. "No thanks," she said hoarsely. "I can't eat right now. Take it downstairs. Mother will heat it up later." Just the thought of eating anything was making her feel queasy again.

 

At that moment, Gohan burst into the room, having sensed his father's ki from his own room. "Daddy!" he practically screamed, launching himself into his father's arms. "Mommy! What are you doing here?"

 

"Well, aren't we allowed to visit Bulma, too?" Goku asked with a smile, hugging his son in return.

 

Gohan nodded eagerly. "I'm glad you're here. I missed you." He jumped down from his father's arms, and hugged his mother. He looked earnestly into her face, and then smiled when he saw that she was looking happier. "Do you want me to come home now, Mommy? Or should I stay with Bulma a little while longer?"

 

"Well, now, Bulma's not feeling very well..." Goku began, when Chi-Chi interrupted.

 

"You can stay here a little while longer, Gohan," Chi-Chi said. "Just let Bulma have some rest right now. She's not feeling well."

 

It wasn't until that moment that the little boy noticed Bulma sitting in her bed, still wearing her nightgown. "Bulma? You're not feeling well?" He looked at her uncertainly. "Should I go home?"

 

She smiled at him wanly. "You can stay, Gohan. I think your parents need a little time to themselves. They haven't had very much of that since they were married."

 

Chi-Chi blushed at how accurate Bulma's assessment was. That had been exactly what she had been thinking.

 

"Just be quiet when you're upstairs, so Bulma can rest, all right? And if you need something, ask Mrs. Briefs, not Bulma."

 

Gohan nodded, then went over to Bulma and patted her hand, smiling at her. "You'll be better, Bulma. I know you will." He looked at her curiously for a moment, and then he wondered, but didn't say anything, whether the fight with Vegeta had anything to do with it.

 

"We will drop by tomorrow and see how you are doing," Goku promised. "Take care Bulma. And behave yourself Gohan." He patted his son on the head.

 

"Okay, Daddy," Gohan said with a smile.

 

The two Saiyans followed Chi-Chi out the door and Goku shut it behind the.. "I hope she will be okay," Goku said as they headed down the stairs.

 

"Sure." Hakusai said calmly. "She'll be all right in a day or two. You'll see."

 

"You sound so sure about that," Goku said as they made their outside. "Kinto'un!" The little white cloud appeared and Goku jumped up on it, offering Chi-Chi a hand up before they started towards home.

 

Hakusai flew by them in silence on the way back. She hadn't said anything to Bulma about her condition. She didn't know the woman well enough to ask her how far along her pregnancy was, but she figured she could ask Goku about it later. When the three reached Goku's home, Hakusai offered to help Goku catch fish for lunch and by mutual agreement would bring it back for Chi-Chi.

 

"Unless you would like to go with us?" Goku offered looking at his wife hopefully.

 

Chi-Chi gave him a funny look. Fish? He knew better than that. She didn't enjoy hunting and fishing the way he did. "No thank you." She couldn't help expressing her distaste. "I've got housework to do today."

 

She suddenly remembered that she hadn't had a chance to take her shower that morning, so she was still going to have to do that. But she could get her housework done first.

 

As Chi-Chi watched the two Saiyans fly off, she went into the house, intent on doing housework. Then it occurred to her that Yamcha might not be aware that Bulma wasn't feeling well. Unaware of their breakup a few days ago, she called Yamcha to tell him the news. He was worried about Bulma, but was convinced that her mother would be enough to care for her.

 

His attitude irritated Chi-Chi, and she told him off, making him feel guilty enough that he agreed to go see if there was anything he could do for Bulma. Chi-Chi got off the phone with him feeling satisfied, and Yamcha headed to Bulma's.

 

~~~*~~~

 

Vegeta had masked his ki while Goku and the others had visited Bulma. The Prince had listened, but not very attentively. He was sure that Bulma's mother had seen him out there. Why she hadn't said anything would remain her secret. He had come to know over the past year that there was more to Bulma's mother than she let on.

 

But Bulma's mother was not his problem. His undeniable need to be around Bulma all the time was.

 

::Pull yourself together,:: he commanded himself. ::This is no way for a warrior to act.::

 

He would be a laughing-stock on Vegeta-sei if his father could see him slinking about on a woman's balcony, just to hear the sound of her voice or to smell her scent. He realized that he didn't like what he was beginning to suspect about himself. He was afraid that if he didn't come to terms with this problem soon, he would regret the consequences.

 

The prince got to his feet and silently lifted off from the balcony, heading to the place where he and Gohan had trained the day before. Maybe if he meditated, he reasoned, he could figure out why he felt so... lost without Bulma. Why he wanted to be near her all the time, as well as share her bed.

 

He missed that, he realized, and it had only been a day since he had touched her. He missed her as she snuggled against him in her sleep, her hair spread out on the pillow, the feel of her skin against his, her hands on his back as they made love. He could feel a familiar heat spread throughout his body as he imagined her writhing under him, begging for his touch. To think he could never touch her again left a longing, an aching need that he couldn't ease.

 

As he landed on the rocky soil, he realized he could not pinpoint when she had become so important to him. To deny that she meant anything to him at this stage would be stupid and Vegeta was not a stupid man. He might be stubborn, but he was not stupid. He had no idea when it had become more than just desire.

 

As he sat down, staring off at the horizon, he recognized that he had desired her for some time, possibly as early as Namek. He had noticed her beauty even then, but it was not until later that he had noticed other things. Her courage, her strength, and her intelligence had all been factors that had drawn him to the little female.

 

Vegeta folded his arms across his chest and sighed. He needed to face it. He had somehow bonded to that female. Yet she had thrown him out and rejected him. He didn't even know if humans bonded to their mates the way Saiyans did. And, he wondered, why would she want him? He had threatened to kill her, her friends, and destroy her planet.

 

He blinked several times, trying to clear his head, but knew he was too tired now to think about it. Vegeta closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would claim him, clear his mind for a little while. At least while he was asleep he could pretend that Bulma wanted him and needed him as much as he needed her.

 

~~~*~~~

 

Gohan waved good-bye to his parents as they left Capsule Corp., and then considered for a little while what he wanted to do that day. He could spend the rest of the day playing video games, but he had spent the afternoon yesterday doing that, and he wanted to do something physical. He really wished Vegeta hadn't left; he wanted to keep training with him. He sighed despondently, wondering where the older man had gone.

 

Almost as though his thoughts had summoned it, he felt the older Saiyan's ki. Apparently Vegeta had been hiding it earlier, since it appeared abruptly, not as though he was approaching from a distance. It was low, as though he were masking it, but it was recognizable.

 

Gohan considered where he was sensing it from, and then with a rush of excitement realized that Vegeta was where they had been sparring yesterday. Maybe he wanted to spar some more today, but didn't want to come back here because had Bulma kicked him out! Maybe Gohan should just go see him!

 

The little Saiyan boy took off, heading for the desert area.

 

When he arrived, he was surprised to see Vegeta slumped on the ground, looking almost exhausted. Vegeta's ki was very low as well. He had thought that maybe Vegeta had been keeping it low to hide it, but now he sensed something might be wrong.

 

He landed lightly next to the older Saiyan, and waited for a response from him, wondering if he should ask him if he wanted to train, or if he should leave

 

To be continued.....

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And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: A Light in the Darkness...  Two strange visits with sick friends.