Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Light in the Darkness ❯ Vegeta Confronts Bulma ( Chapter 34 )

A Light in the Darkness - part 34: Vegeta Confronts Bulma
by Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

PAIRING: ::sighs happily:: If you haven't figured it out, Bulma and Vegeta, of course! ^_~
RATING: PG
WARNINGS: Mild references to lemony feelings, although no actual lemon. (Behave yourselves! ^_~)
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: Vegeta wakes up and confronts Bulma.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to saiyengerl for the beta!

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Day 5

 

Vegeta awoke with a headache that rivaled the one Goku had given him almost a year and half before. What in the world? He blinked his eyes open and scowled when he realized he was in a regeneration tank, and wondered how he had gotten there in the first place.

 

Vegeta considered just blasting his way out of the tank but something blue out of the corner of his eye attracted his attention. He turned his head and was startled to see Bulma sleeping with her cheek against the tank. It looked like she had not moved the whole night. The Saiyan prince frowned at her, wishing she would wake up so he could get out of the tank and eat something.

 

He could tell there was food nearby, and he was ravenous. He wanted out of the tank to stretch his limbs. His urgency had nothing to do with the fact that Bulma was mere inches from him. At least that's what the warrior tried to convince himself, until Bulma opened her eyes.

 

A strange sensation in her mind brought Bulma back to awareness. She stirred and blinked sleepily, disoriented for a moment by the unusual surroundings. Then memories flooded back to her, reminding her where she was and why she was there.

 

She immediately looked toward the Saiyan floating in the tank in alarm, afraid that his condition might be worse. Relief washed over her when she saw that his eyes were open and he was watching her. The oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose made it difficult for her to see his expression, but there was a look of intensity in his eyes as he continued to stare at her, as though he was studying her for flaws.

 

For a moment neither of them moved, and then she leaned forward and pressed her hands to the glass. To her surprise, she saw Vegeta do the same in response, pressing the palms of his hands against the palms of hers through the glass. She smiled, relieved that he seemed all right.

 

Vegeta moved abruptly, as though impatient to be released, and she saw him raise a hand as though to obliterate the barrier locking him in.

 

"No!" she cried out in alarm, holding her hand up as though to stop him. The tank he was in was the only one of its kind; she had taken the regeneration tank they had found and modified it to be able to regenerate almost any species, given a sample of that species' DNA, since there were so many different species of beings on Chikyuu. If Vegeta destroyed it, it would be difficult - if not impossible - to ever make another like it. Some of the technology was unique, and Bulma hadn't had a chance to document it fully yet.

 

To her surprise he lowered his hand, and remained in the tank, as though patiently awaiting her next move. Puzzled, she hesitated slightly, and then moved to the monitors and the controls. She checked first to make sure that he was indeed all right.

 

The first thing she noticed was that he had only been in the tank for about six hours; not nearly enough time for the extent of the injuries he had taken. She was surprised, however, when the monitors indicated that he was indeed healed. Somehow he had recovered from his injuries much more quickly than he had in the past.

 

She pressed a few buttons, and the fluid in the tank drained slowly through several pipes, returning to its reserve. There it would be cleaned and recycled, to be used again when necessary. She looked anxiously at Vegeta while the tank emptied, and Vegeta continued to watch her in turn, his eyes not wavering from their study of her. When the liquid was gone and the Saiyan prince once again was on the ground, he made another impatient move as though to rip the monitoring equipment off his body.

 

"Wait. Please...." Bulma looked at him pleadingly, and once again he stopped and waited for her to make her move.

 

She pressed the button that opened the hatch to the tank, and then carefully removed the devices from his skin. Every time her hands brushed against his skin she trembled slightly. She wondered how much he must hate her for what she had said and done to him earlier. She wished desperately for a way to make it up to him, but didn't know how to do it.

 

When she had removed the last attachment from his skin, and had lifted the mask off his face, she was surprised when he suddenly took both of her hands in his and pulled her up against him roughly. There was a strange look in his eyes as he seemed to glare at her, and her heart pounded with a kind of anticipated fear.

 

He hated her now, didn't he? Oh, Kami, what had she done? She had treated him so badly, and she needed him so much....

 

She shivered as she looked into his eyes. Because their faces were almost on a level, she couldn't pull back. She knew he could do whatever he wanted to her, and she wouldn't be able to stop him. And she knew, as she swallowed heavily, that whatever he chose to do to her, she no longer cared. If he hated her enough to kill her, then she didn't want to live anyway.

 

::Oh, Kami, I hope he doesn't hate me!::

 

Vegeta could feel Bulma trembling in his arms as he gazed at her. He was not sure what to say to her. He thought he had heard her say she loved him, but everything after he had fought Yamcha was a blur. He remembered Bulma jumping in front of Yamcha, blocking his finishing blow. Odd, considering that Yamcha was the father of the child she was carrying.

 

This made Vegeta glare at her furiously, but he was thinking clearly enough not to act irrational. His grip on the woman in his arms tightened and he leaned forward to rest his chin on her shoulder. He inhaled deeply, memorizing her scent, and when he spoke Bulma had to strain to hear him.

 

"If you want him, woman, I won't stand in your way. But tell me why. Why you are choosing him over me?"

 

Bulma wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes in relief when Vegeta put his arms around her, but she froze at his words.

 

"Choosing him? Who are you talking about?"

 

She pulled back and stared at him, the realization dawning on her suddenly. "You think I want Yamcha? After everything that's happened between us, you think I want him?" Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. "Do you really think so little of me?" She was carrying his child, she had saved his life, and he thought she wanted someone else? Why did he want to get rid of her so much?

 

"You are carrying his child," he stated quietly. "I do not blame you. You need more than I can give." He reached up and brushed a tear away from her cheek with the back of his hand.

 

"I'm carrying his...." She stared at Vegeta, dumbfounded. How in the world could he think...? "You idiot!" she hissed at him furiously, the tears spilling down her cheeks. "You're the only man I've ever been with, and you know that! How the hell am I carrying anyone's child but YOURS?"

 

She tore out of his grip and collapsed back into the chair, burying her face in her hands and suddenly weeping.

 

“If you don't want me, then at least acknowledge your own child! Don't leave it without a father!"

 

Why don't you want me, Vegeta? she wanted to scream at him, but bit the words back, still sobbing brokenly into her hands. Why do you hate me so much?

 

Vegeta stared at her uncomprehendingly for a few moments, then knelt down and gathered her in his arms.

 

"Hush." He ran a comforting hand down her back to soothe her. "I am sorry. I am not thinking clearly." How could she think he did not want her?

 

"It's the bond," he said as if this explained everything.

 

Bulma had no idea what he was talking about. The only thing she knew was that he didn't seem to want her, and he didn't want to acknowledge the child as his own. That cold emptiness she had felt inside of her when he had left before came back with a vengeance, that solid chunk of loneliness that she had felt throughout her life. It wasn't until he had melted it with his touches that she had realized perhaps there was something more, but now he had rejected her again, shown her that she was nothing to him.

 

She wept, uncertain what to do. Instinctively she wanted to push him away, to fight his rejection by rejecting him in turn. But she knew as soon as she considered it that if he left her again, it would once again lead her down that self-destructive path where she would simply want to collapse in on herself and die. Whether he cared about her or not, she needed him, and that knowledge left a horrifying ache inside of her.

 

To know that she needed someone who cared nothing at all for her.... He could destroy her with a single word, and there was nothing she could do. All she could do was simply never let him know how much control he had over her, since that would be disaster for herself.

 

::I give up. I need him, but I can't force him to stay, and I won't force him to stay. If he leaves again, I will die, but I can't make him care about me.::

 

Her weeping stilled, and after several more minutes she wiped the tears from her face and looked at him again. "There's food for you over there," she said softly, pointing to the tray. "Mother brought it for you. She knew you'd be hungry when you came out. We didn't know how long it would be, so I think she made you some sushi."

 

There was a hollowness to her words that even she could hear, an echoing emptiness, a distinct lack of enthusiasm. He could see the pain shadowing her eyes as she refused to look into his, and the sorrowful droop to her shoulders.

 

Vegeta frowned at her. He could feel her pain as if it were his own. She looked like she had lost the will to live. He knew if she died, then so would he.

 

"Then we will eat," he informed her, "and then go to bed. We both need rest." He reached up and brushed her hair away from her eyes.

 

Vegeta did not realize his expression had softened as he touched her. It occurred to him that her symptoms were similar to his own, and he wondered if it was possible that she had bonded to him as well. He had never heard of an occurrence of a non-Saiyan bonding with a Saiyan, but his year on Chikyuu had taught him that anything could happen. Encouraged by this, Vegeta leaned forward and brushed his mouth across hers.

 

Bulma froze, unable to respond to his kiss, she was so surprised by it. Did this mean he still wanted her after all? Did this mean he didn't hate her? Was he going to stay with her?

 

When he pulled back, she couldn't help looking at him with hope shining in her eyes, with all the love and warmth and need she had for him showing through. She had no idea how incredibly vulnerable and appealing she looked at that moment.

 

He brought the tray of sushi over to where she was sitting, and as she started to reach for a piece, he shook his head, and then gently fed her. She blushed, but accepted the offering shyly, and then she fed him a piece in turn. Somehow, something about the way they gently fed one another actually strengthened that invisible bond between them that they were still unaware of, and they managed to finish the tray of sushi off piece by piece, each of them feeding the other.

 

Vegeta stood up after feeding Bulma the last piece of sushi, and he offered his hand to Bulma.

 

"It's too early to be up and about," he told her as she shyly took his hand. "First I think I need to find some clothes. I don't want to give your mother a heart attack do I?" he said smirking at her.

 

Bulma was feeling a little light-headed, both from exhaustion, and confusion. Vegeta was acting almost like a suitor courting her, as though he was really in love with her. She knew it was only a fantasy, but that didn't make the feeling go away. She smiled weakly at him, shaking her head.

 

"It's too late for any modesty now. Mother saw you with no clothes on when you were in the tank. You should have worried about that before you got hurt!" she teased him.

 

She opened a closet and pulled out an orange gi with a black shirt. "These are some of Goku's spares. They're probably too big...." She glanced at him quickly. "But at least they'll keep your 'modesty' intact!" Her eyes twinkled. "Or you could always wear one of these!" She opened a small drawer containing some of the underclothes that she kept stored in there, for when she needed to change clothing, and held up one of the lacier pieces. "This would look just darling on you!"

 

Vegeta eyed it a moment before a wicked grin spread its way across his face. "I'd rather see you in that," he said pulling her abruptly against him. "Or in nothing at all."

 

Desire shot through him as he held her, making his legs feel weak. He found himself holding his breath as he looked into her eyes. Then he pressed his lips against hers, fingers entangled in her hair as his tongue explored her mouth.

 

When he pulled back, he was breathing erratically and his heart was pounding hard in his chest. "Woman, we really need sleep," he told her as he stroked her jaw with his thumb. "But when we wake up, I am going to make love to you again, every way there is, until the sun sets," he promised.

 

Bulma stared at him, her eyes wide and vulnerable, her heart pounding furiously. Did he mean it? He still wanted her? After everything that had happened, everything he had said, he still wanted her? She could feel the physical proof of his desire for her pressing against her, and a liquid warmth shot through her limbs again.

 

"Oh, Vegeta!" she cried out softly, throwing her arms around his neck. "I am yours, if you want me! Oh, Vegeta!"

 

Tears welled up in her eyes, not knowing if he returned the feelings in her heart, but she had to tell him, she couldn't suppress it any longer. "Ai shiteru, Vegeta," she whispered. "I love you, now and forever. Please don't leave me again, or I will die!"

 

Vegeta cupped her face between his palms and looked into her eyes with emotions that the prince used to have no idea he would ever feel. He was overwhelmed by emotions that he could feel through the bond, and was awed when he realized that he knew the truth of Bulma's words. Vegeta smiled at her, when he acknowledged that the bond between them. He was overjoyed when he realized that she was truly his.

 

"Ai shiteru, Bulma," he said quietly before bringing his mouth to hers.

 

Bulma clung to him desperately, not wanting to let go. His words echoed in her head; she had difficulty believing that she hadn't just imagined them. Vegeta loved her? He really, truly loved her? But she knew it was true; those weren't words he would have said if he hadn't meant them.

 

She returned his kiss hungrily, tasting salt on his lips, and then realized that it was from her tears, as she wept desperately from joy and relief.

 

"Stay with me, Vegeta," she whispered as they kissed. "Don't ever leave me again."

 

They heard a throat clearing suddenly, and pulled away to see a very pleased-looking Mrs. Briefs standing in the doorway. "You really should put something on, you know," she told Vegeta, eyeing his posterior appreciatively. She looked at him curiously. "When did you grow the tail?"

 

Vegeta blinked several times, then shrugged. "Tails do that," he said as if that explained everything. "Probably while I was in the tank."

 

Bulma pulled back, staring at his tail in horror. She remembered when Goku's tail had grown back as a child. It hadn't seemed to grow back as an adult, or at least, she had never seen him with a tail since he had grown older. She also remembered how he had turned into a rampaging beast when he saw the full moon. She definitely didn't want Vegeta having a tail.

 

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "We're going to have to cut it off now!"

 

"We most certainly are not!" he snapped, glaring at her. "I am not that idiot Kakarotto. I can control myself in that state."

 

"I don't want you turning into a giant ape!" she cried out. "What if you turned into it when you're in the house? What if you turned into it when...." She flushed, thinking of them being in bed together when he went oozaru. She didn't like the idea at all.

 

Vegeta sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked arching a brow. "There are other uses for a tail besides going oozaru."

 

"What? Like what? More ways to kill people?" Bulma looked extremely unhappy at the idea that Vegeta was a killer.

 

Vegeta smirked at her. ::A few things, woman, that I am sure you don't want me to discuss with your mother present.::

 

Bulma looked at him puzzled, and then blushed when she realized Vegeta was still not dressed. She pulled away, practically throwing Goku's gi at him. Vegeta caught it with a grin and slipped it on. When he belted it, it still fell practically to his knees, fitting him somewhat like a robe.

 

"Can't say much for the colour," he commented, smirking at her.

 

"At least it covers you," she muttered darkly.

 

::I'd rather I was the one that covered you,:: he replied to her mentally, and she flushed at the image that invoked. Not giving her a chance to respond, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her upstairs to her room. After shutting the door behind them with his hip, he set her down, then peeled of their robes and lay her on the bed.

 

He frowned at the nightgown she was still wearing. "Do you always wear that thing to bed?" he asked with a frown.

 

She nodded. "Usually. Unless it's really hot out."

 

He didn't say anything, but continued to scowl. Well, he would argue with her later. Right now they were simply too tired, so he placed her under the covers and slid in after her.

 

"Come here, woman," he growled softly, opening his arms.

 

She snuggled up next to him, sighing contentedly as he wrapped his arms around her. For the first time in several days, both of them managed to get a full and satisfying sleep.

 

To be continued.....

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And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: A Light in the Darkness... Yamcha is tormented by Bulma's loss, and Goku explains the dragonballs to Hakusai.