Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Light in the Darkness ❯ Pod People? Saiyan Jealousy ( Chapter 9 )

A Light in the Darkness - part 9: Pod People? Saiyan Jealousy
by Mia Skywalker &Wataruo

PAIRING: Vegeta/Bulma
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. These characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, Bird Studios, Ocean Group, 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.
SUMMARY: Pod people?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: To Magnes for the original beta, and to W-chan and Selenity Jade for the re-beta.

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A tingling awareness brought Vegeta wide-awake. At first he couldn't figure out what it was. Something was nagging the back of his consciousness, bringing him out of the most sound sleep he'd had in years. As he concentrated his senses, he realized that there was suddenly a very strong power on the planet. A power he recognized. So, that baka finally decided to come back to Chikyuu. This was what a Super Saiyan's power felt like.

 

Vegeta was about to get out of bed and go confront him, but something soft against his side made him pause. He looked down to discover that Bulma was still sleeping against his side. One of her arms was thrown casually across his chest, her hair was spread all over the pillows, and for the first time she looked completely relaxed. If any onlookers had seen him, they would have been shocked to see a softened expression light his face as he reached down to play with a strand of her hair.

 

He bent his head over her and breathed in her scent, automatically committing it to memory as he had everything else he had learned about her in the past year. He knew exactly how much time she took getting ready in the morning, the scent of her favorite perfume, how her face would flush and her eyes become a brilliant shad of blue when she was angry. The warrior was pleased to note that her eyes had turned the same color when he had been pleasuring her the night before.

 

What the hell was he thinking? He gave himself a mental shake. Before long, he would be an idiot like Kakarotto. He had more important things to be concerned with, he didn't need to moon over a human female. This was completely unacceptable, he told himself sternly. Get out of bed and go train now! He was still lying there frowning when Bulma awoke.

 

Bulma stirred, feeling the warmth next to her move slightly. The sun caressed her face, teasing her, warning her that it was time to get up. She opened her eyes slowly, and noticed Vegeta frowning down at her. She blushed as the memories of that morning swarmed back to her, remembering why he was in bed with her. A warmth grew in her at those memories, and she flushed, almost in anticipation of experiencing them again.

 

Then she noticed the frown on his face, as though he were angry with her. She froze, staring up into his fierce countenance. "Vegeta?" she asked softly, almost afraid to speak, afraid that if she said or did the wrong thing, that he would hurt her or even kill her. "Did I... did I do something wrong?"

 

Vegeta snorted. "How could you have done something wrong?" he asked her, forcing himself to relax. "You were sleeping. Kakarotto, on the other hand, is back." For some inexplicable reason he needed to explain himself to her. He had never explained himself to anyone before. He was the Prince of Vegeta-sei. He could do no wrong.

 

He swung his legs out of bed and stood up. "He has been back for a while now. What do you suppose he has been doing for a year?" He spoke as if to himself as got dressed.

 

Bulma wondered how he knew Goku was back, then she remembered that the warriors seemed to have some odd way of sensing each other. Still, she didn't know how he could sense Goku unless...

 

"Goku's back?" Bulma sat up abruptly, repeating what he had just told her.

 

"Unfortunately," he muttered and looked back at her to see the most brilliant smile on her face. Kami, she couldn't be that happy to see him, could she? His stomach clenched as an unfamiliar emotion shot through him. He had the strongest urge to kill Goku immediately, so Bulma would concentrate on him and not that mindless idiot.

 

Completely oblivious to Vegeta's jealousy, Bulma continued excitedly. "Oh! I have to go see him then!"

 

She threw her covers off of herself, and started pulling out clothes haphazardly, looking for something to wear. She settled on something, and then ran into the bathroom to get dressed. When she came out a few minutes later, she was wearing a pale green tube top that set off her hair, and a pair of tight shorts. She smiled at Vegeta, looking as excited as a kid in a toy store. "I have to go over and find out how he is!"

 

"Don't be an idiot," he snapped at her. "He is fine. If he had been hurt, he would have died when Namek was destroyed."

 

His jealousy was quickly escalating into anger. Why wasn't she ever that excited to see him? "Besides you have work you need to finish. Knowing that baka, he'll show up when we least want him to."

 

"Hunh?" Bulma blinked at Vegeta in confusion. "I haven't seen him in a year! Two years, if you count the year he was dead, when we were waiting for you to come attack us! Why shouldn't I want to go see him now? My work can wait a day. It already has!" She frowned at him suddenly. "What's wrong with you, anyway?" she demanded of him.

 

"You are going to see him wearing that?" he asked incredulously. It gave away too much of her body for Vegeta's liking. "It barely covers anything." Her tube top clung to her breasts allowing Vegeta to see her nipples. Her shorts clung to every curve making Vegeta's mouth go dry with desire for her. "Don't you think you should change first?"

 

Bulma looked down at her clothing in puzzlement. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She had worn outfits like this the past year; Vegeta had seen her wearing them and had never said anything about it before.

 

Suddenly, it dawned on her when she saw the expression on his face. She smiled at him in understanding. "You're jealous, aren't you?" she asked, sounding slightly surprised. "Of Son-kun? Why would you be jealous of him?"

 

"I am not jealous," he ground out. "Why should I be jealous of that half-witted..."

 

He snapped his mouth shut as she continued to smirk at him. The muscles in his jaw tensed, and then he spun on his heel and stalked towards the door. He wasn't angry with Bulma, but with himself. He didn't like these emotions which seemed to come out of nowhere. The fact that they were starting to control him made him even angrier at himself.

 

Bulma couldn't help giggling, his reaction giving her a funny sort of happiness that bubbled up from deep inside her. She wasn't sure why, and she didn't want to explore it at the moment.

 

But she couldn't help quipping out as he walked towards the door, "Are you going to go with me? Or am I going to visit Son Goku all by myself?" She paused a moment dramatically before continuing. "All alone, just the two of us...."

 

Vegeta stopped and spun to face her. "I don't think so." He stalked over to her, crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. "I'll go with you." Her grin seemed to get wider. "But only because I want to meet a Super Saiyan. I am not jealous of that baka. Have I made myself clear?"

 

"Oh, of course!" Bulma looked at him innocently; had he known her better, he would have known it was patently false. "But didn't you have training to do today? You've been sleeping on your lazy butt all day and haven't once turned on the gravity room. Aren't you afraid it will rust or something if you go for a day without using it?" She looked at him in wide-eyed innocence, knowing he wouldn't be able to recognize teasing when he saw it.

 

"It can wait," he ground out, oblivious to the fact that Bulma was only teasing him. The only thing he was sure of was that he did not want Bulma alone with Goku. It hadn't yet occurred to him that Chi-Chi would be there, and even if it had, he was so worked up he would have wanted to go along anyways.

 

"Well, let's get going." He shoved her towards the door.

 

"If you say so," she told him dubiously. "Although I thought the world might come to an end if you ever spent a day without training."

 

Suddenly it occurred to her that the world *might* come to an end, Vegeta might be planning on coming with her so that he could fight Goku. She blanched at the thought, her face going pale. She didn't want to lose her oldest friend right when he came back, and she was sure that was what Vegeta had in mind. He seemed so angry.... And she had goaded him to be that angry. It was her fault! She should have let him train and gone without him! Why did she have to tease him that way?

 

"Vegeta," she said, in a quiet, strangled-sounding voice. "You don't have to go with me. Really. I'll be fine on my own. You can stay here and train, he and I are just friends... please?"

 

"I could not care less what your relationship is with that simpleton," he snapped and steered Bulma into the hall. "I told you, I want to see what a Super Saiyan's power is like."

 

The truth was Vegeta did care what her relationship was with the other warrior. And he didn't want to admit it to himself, let alone the woman he was practically dragging behind him.

 

He wanted to see what kind of power Kakarotto now had. Every time he ran into the other warrior, he seemed to pick up some new skill. Vegeta ground his teeth together in frustration. He was not about to let a third-class, tailless loser like Kakarotto outdo him. He was supposed to be the strongest warrior in the universe. He knew without a doubt that one day soon, he would defeat Kakarotto and blow this miserable planet to dust.

 

Bulma allowed herself to be dragged by Vegeta, afraid to resist him, afraid to fight. ::Oh, Kami! He's going to kill all of us! He's going to kill Goku, and then Chi-Chi and Gohan, and then me...!::

 

She didn't know why she had thought he wouldn't hurt her, just because they had slept together. Who knew many women he'd had sex with before? It didn't mean anything to him. He would still kill her, he still wanted to kill Goku, he still wanted to kill everyone.

 

She closed her eyes in terror as he dragged her from the house, unable to do anything other than shake in fear.

 

The fine tremors that were going through Bulma were the first indication to Vegeta that something was wrong. He stopped in mid-stride and turned to look at her. She was alarmingly pale and she was shaking almost uncontrollably. He frowned at her, wondering what could be wrong with her, when it hit him.

 

Bulma was afraid of him.

 

From the way she had her eyes closed, refusing to look at him, he knew he had done something to cause this. He released her from his grip and scowled at her. "What's the matter with you, woman?" he demanded.

 

"You're going to kill us, aren't you?" Bulma whispered, terrified. The nightmare that she'd had on Namek, with him chasing her with glowing red eyes, came back to her and she shuddered. The memory of him shooting ki blasts at her resurfaced and she trembled.

 

"You're going to kill all of us. I don't want to die. I'm too young to die. I don't want to die yet!" She was babbling almost incoherently in her terror.

 

"Don't be an idiot," he snarled, glaring at her. "I have no intention of killing you."

 

He scooped her up into his arms and took to the air. He felt her arms tighten around his neck and he snorted. "Relax, woman. I am not going to drop you." He looked down at her in his arms. "Which is the fastest way to Kakarotto's?"

 

She buried her face against his shoulder, not convinced in the slightest. "If I tell you," she said, her voice muffled against his chest, "will you promise not to kill him? Kill any of us?"

 

Vegeta was tempted to taunt her with the fact that he could find Kakarotto easily enough by his ki. He really didn't need her to tell him, but for some reason he wanted her to believe he was not a threat to her.

 

"That depends," he answered carefully. "Would you believe any promise I made?"

 

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "I don't know," she replied truthfully. "You've broken so many promises to all of us before. You've broken promises to Goku, to Krillin... to me." She looked thoughtful, but puzzled. "I don't know. Would you keep a promise, if you made it? Or would you just break it again?"

 

She found that she wanted to trust him, but she didn't really know if she could. He could kill her so easily. She knew he could. Why didn't he just do it and get it over with?

 

::Because I do not wish to kill you,:: he thought to her, ignoring her startled look at his use of telepathy.

 

"We could discuss this until we die of old age, woman," he said aloud. "I promise not to kill anyone tonight. Is that satisfactory?"

 

Bulma nodded, uncertain how to understand his statement. He didn't wish to kill her? Did that mean he never had, or he didn't anymore, or that he just didn't want to kill her for the moment? Well, at least he had promised not to kill anyone that night, that was something. For what his promise was worth, at least. She wasn't sure how far she could trust him, even though she wanted to.

 

"His house is that way." She pointed, without taking her eyes from his face.

 

Vegeta nodded and leaned down to kiss her softly. "Arigato," he whispered as he took off towards Kakarotto's house. He found himself wondering why he was so pleased that Bulma had trusted him. At least, she did at the moment. He wondered why he was so aware of Bulma's hip pressing into his abdomen, why he found the scent of her hair so arousing. Since when did this human mean so much to him?

 

Bulma blinked, and froze in utter confusion. Vegeta was... thanking her?!? That had never happened, not the entire time he had lived with them! He had always demanded, never asked; he had always smirked, never thanked. She stared at him as though he had suddenly sprouted horns, or a second head, which maybe he had. Was this Vegeta? Or had he gotten replaced by a pod person? It had to be a pod person! He hadn't acted like himself all day! He had been positively... nice!

 

She frowned, suddenly. "Who are you and what have you done with Vegeta?" she demanded abruptly.

 

"What are you talking about, woman?" he asked as he scowled down at her. "Have you lost your wits completely?" She was watching him with an expression he had never seen before. And quite frankly, he didn't like it. "Or is the fact that you have been around Kakarotto all these years finally affected your brain cells?"

 

"You're not Vegeta!" she accused, frowning. "The Vegeta I know would never have thanked anyone! He wouldn't ask, either! He would demand, in the most arrogant, rude manner possible! He would be as hateful and spiteful as possible, and would threaten me at every turn! You've been so nice to me today, you can't be Vegeta! Either you've taken over his body, or you're an evil - er, not-so-evil - twin, or you're someone in disguise as him. Which is it?"

 

She looked away from him suddenly, and muttered, "The Vegeta I know, I don't even like! But you...."

 

"And?" he prompted as he looked down at her. "Just because I thanked you once, doesn't mean I intend to ever do it again." He scowled at her. "I doubt I will ever make that particular mistake again."

 

Bulma looked down, suddenly ashamed of herself, wondering why she had done that. He was being nice to her for once, why did she punish him for it? Why couldn't she just have accepted it? But she thought she knew why. He had been nice to her, and she found it threatening. When he was his usual arrogant, rude, cruel self, she could hold him at a distance. But if he was nice, then she might accidentally let him in.

 

::Why did I have to do that?:: she thought miserably, looking away from him. She leaned her head against his chest, automatically snuggling closer to him, and sighed sadly. Did she drive everyone away like that? Why did she do that? She wondered if it were her fault that people didn't like her.

 

Vegeta sensed Bulma's withdrawal and was instantly sorry he had snapped at her. He had been acting abnormally all day. She hadn't deserved to be spoken to like that. He did not apologize, however, for he did not want to be ridiculed again.

 

Vegeta was silent for the rest of the trip to Goku's home in the mountains. He spoke again only when he could see the smoke from the fireplace, rising above the trees. "This is it?"

 

At the sound of his voice her head snapped up, but at his words she sighed in disappointment. Why? she wondered. What was she hoping for? He was not going to be nice to her again, not when she snarled at him for it. She had made her bed, now she would have to lie in it. She felt a deep wave of regret for that, feeling like she had lost something infinitely precious. She didn't know how to apologize, and was too proud to try.

 

She looked at the smoke rising above the trees and nodded. "Yes, that's Son's house," she said softly, still subdued. It didn't even occur to her how he had managed to home in on Goku's house so quickly, since as far as she knew he had never been there before.

 

Vegeta nodded once and concentrated on heading towards Goku's ki. He studied the surroundings of Goku home curiously and wasn't in the least bit surprised to see that he and his family lived out in the middle of nowhere. It was the type of place Vegeta had no problems with, and if the prince were honest with himself, he would have chosen something similar.

 

 

To be continued.....

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And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: A Light in the Darkness... Confrontations

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Review Responses:

Jess124: Um.... thanks! ^_^

The crazy One: Well, I've found quite a lot to fix. Mostly sentence flow, grammar, typos, and issues from my co-author's odd dyslexia. (Her sentences are sometimes *really* awkward.) The story itself hasn't been changed, but we've learned a lot about writing in the three or four years since we started this originally, and I've found a lot to tighten up. I really prefer this version, and in a way I like the excuse to go back and fix everything. I'm glad you're reviewing, and yes, you're right, this fic needs more reviews! ^_^

Just Another Saiyan Wannabe: Yes, a beta reader is sort of like a proofreader. A beta reader goes through your fic, marks up all the errors you have (whether technical - grammar and spelling - or continuity, or sentence flow - like awkward sentences - or characterization or plot problems), and then you take what they marked, and decide which fixes you'll use and which ones you won't. I personally prefer to have several beta readers; what one doesn't catch, another does. Also, sometimes both will notice a problem, but one will give a suggestion I don't care for, and I prefer the suggestion of the other. Or sometimes one of them will completely misinterpret something we wrote, which tells me we need to reword it, because if the beta reader didn't get it, other readers will misinterpret it as well. Everyone should have at least one beta reader, but I recommend more than one if you can get them.

Cooey: Hm... I thought I mentioned it in my ffn profile that I had moved here. Guess I have to check and make sure I have. I have no intention of ever posting anything new there, whether NC-17 or not. (Most of the fics I'm working on currently are NC-17, except a one-shot about chibi Trunks told from Vegeta's POV.)

Lychee SSJ: Sorry it took so long to do this update. I'm in the process of moving at the moment, and the packing is quite... formidable. Especially since most of it is going into storage for the next three or four years. And unfortunately, I won't be able to update anything else for the next month or so, as in about a week or so my computer will be taken offline, and I won't have any internet access for several weeks. So it's going to be a while until the next one. More IS written, it's just a matter of getting the edits from my beta in. And I haven't had time to write more in *months*, unfortunately, much to the irritation of my numerous co-authors, I'm sure. :-)

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Don't forget to review! ^_^