Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Butterflies & Hurricanes ❯ Chapter 30
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Froglady15 
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Hentai / Romance / Suspense / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.26.2016 | Pages: 11 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 315 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Drama / Hentai / Romance / Suspense / Angst | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.26.2016 | Pages: 11 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 315 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. Just my
Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination…
Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to
me. I’m just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.
Butterflies and Hurricanes
Chapter 30
It took a few weeks for Jeyice’s new living arrangements to be finalized and put together enough for him to move in and settle himself. The new digs and exceptional increase in his salary had put him in a fantastic mood as of late. He still made a point of visiting Bulma most evenings to keep up his end of their bargain; that had not wavered.
It was always the same: He showed up in the late evening shortly after the boys left from visiting her and she appreciated his discretion on the matter. Sometimes he put the effort in to try and arouse her and sometimes he didn’t, depending on what sort of mood he was in. Regardless of that, Bulma usually shut herself off to him completely, thinking only of Vegeta. It was the only way she could fake her way through it enough that he wouldn’t notice her indifference and complain or threaten to go back on letting her see the boys. She never got anything out of these romps but acted like she did so that he would finish quicker and leave her alone.
She had learned that if she talked dirty to him and over exaggerated her reactions to his touch, it made him finish much quicker than if she just lay there and half-heartedly responded to him.
A few weeks ago, she had been almost at her breaking point with this ridiculous arrangement. The guilt and shame had been nearly eating her alive to the point that it was beginning to affect her performance in the lab. Depression was beginning to set in and win the battle to the point where she was getting up later and later each day. Gero was riding her and beginning to threaten to tell King Cold about her lack of cooperation. She was only barely in compliance enough to keep Gero from ratting her out and getting her into trouble.
As she lay there a few weeks back and allowed Jeyice to use her body to his liking after a few different position changes and some effort on his part to make it pleasant for her, she had begun to feel that familiar feeling of pleasure beginning to build up in her centre. Despite the absolute horror that her body would betray her in that way, she began to cry out and moan in pleasure from the way he was sliding into her and deliberately touching her. To her relief, her response to him had caused him to lose his own control and threw him into climax before she had reached hers.
After she’d pulled herself together and finished punishing and berating herself for feeling any sort of pleasure from him, she began using that new piece of information to her advantage.
Once she began doing that, fortunately for her, he was usually very quick and left right after he had her, not spending the night; thankfully.
Tonight, for whatever reason, he was lingering after their nightly activities.
“You could move in with me in my flat,” he suggested to her once he had come down from his euphoric high, gently tracing his fingers up and down the spine of her bare back as she lay there on her stomach, facing him. He found himself feeling a bit more than offended as she snorted immediately at the suggestion without thought. “I know it’s no palace like you were used to on Vegeta-sei, but it’s nice enough; the bed is bigger and more comfortable and I have both a massive tub and shower that is big enough to accommodate a threesome if you are interested,”
“Nope, no threesomes,” she replied immediately, wrinkling her nose in absolute disgust. That was a whole other low she was not interested in stooping to. The gods knew of all the degrading things she had already resorted to letting him do with her but she was determined that a threesome would never be one of them.
“Alright then, I don’t think I much like the idea of having to share you either, love; but you could fix the place up any which way you like, ‘an no one would hassle you; you’d be safe there. It’s closer to where the boys are located too.”
She cringed inwardly at the suggestion. While she hated it at the lab and her living quarters were cold and left much to be desired, there was no way in hell she would ever consider moving in with Jeyice. “No, I have to stay here, with Vegeta.” She said with a firm resolve in her tone, hoping that it would be enough for him to take the hint.
“But Vegeta is finished, love,” he objected gently, trying not to let her see how frustrated he was becoming with her shutting him down like this so casually without even considering it. “There’s nothing left to hold onto where he’s concerned.”
She thought about it and knew that Jeyice was probably right to some degree; even if she got Vegeta out of the regeneration tank without killing him and she and the boys found a way out of here for good, there was still a very high chance that Vegeta would probably never be the same again even if he did wake up from his coma. Would he be in such a bad state that he would be bedridden his whole life? If that was the case, she knew now without having to consult him that he would rather she left him behind than to live out the remainder of his life like that. She didn’t know what to do, but she knew what she absolutely could not do. “That may be so, but I won’t leave him.”
“And that is very admirable of you, but think for a moment about what Vegeta would want. Don’t you think he would rather have you safe and sound than toiling in here? I can offer you protection and security. Even in my absence, your safety would be guaranteed.”
Bulma forced a smile and nodded at him. “I appreciate that Jeyice, I really do, but I’ll take my chances here.”
“But why?” he demanded, sitting up in bed to look down at her.
“Because I know you don’t get it,” she sighed, sitting up and wrapping herself in her sheets, wishing that he would just drop the subject already and leave so she could wash him off of her. “It’s nice of you to offer, but I would rather stay here.”
Jeyice lightly frowned at her a moment before trying again. “Look, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now over the last four months I’ve been back and I have come to the conclusion that I want you. I’ve never said that to a female before and I’m serious; I want you, but I want you to want me as well,” he said to her confidently. “What do I need to do to make that happen? Is it because you think you still belong to Vegeta?”
She shrugged as she cursed herself inwardly at all the worst possible scenarios that could be thrown at her on top of everything else that had already happened. Since this all began, she simply silently went along with his wishes, never bothering to complain anymore so he would get it over and done with and leave. How could he have taken her mere compliance as an indicator that she would even consider actually wanting him? “You can’t make it happen, it just happens,” she wracked her mind trying to explain it in a way that he could understand it since he was obviously clueless. “I don’t belong to Vegeta in the way that ownership implies. I’m with him because I want to be with him. He belongs to me like I belong to him. It’s mutual.”
“Right, so how do I get that?” he asked. “How do I make that happen?”
“You don’t,” she sighed.
“Yea, but what if I could?” he insisted. “What would I have to do to plant the seeds?”
“Well, letting me see my boys and not making me have sex with you in exchange for that, would be a good start,” she said blandly though she knew she would never truly want him in any capacity beyond wanting him to never come near her again even on the slim chance he did renege on that part of their agreement.
“Well I need something in return,” he snorted at the suggestion. “You can’t expect to get something for nothing, love. It doesn’t work that way.”
“What about simply doing something nice for someone else from the bottom of your heart because it’s the right or kind thing to do?” she asked.
He scoffed at that. “Because there’s nothing in it for me then.”
“So what?” she pressed. “Why force someone to do something they don’t want to do?”
“It’s just sex,” he snorted. “You act as though I’m asking something terrible of you when it’s really no big deal.”
“It is a big deal!” She spat at him in disgust finally, since being polite to spare his feelings apparently wasn’t getting her anywhere. “It’s a violation! It’s completely degrading to just use someone the way you are using me!”
“You’re a female,” he shrugged.
“So because I’m a female that makes it okay for you to use me as your playground or use sex as a form of currency?”
“Pretty much,”
“You want to know how to make me want you?” she finally asked in frustration.
“Yes,” he answered, leaning his face close to hers and looking her square in the eye.
“Leave me alone.” She said bluntly. “Let me see my boys and don’t expect anything in return.”
“Where’s the advantage of that?” he asked, looking at her like she’d lost her mind.
“Just to prove that you are a decent being,” she replied.
Jeyice shook his head and got up to get dressed and leave; he was embarrassed and humiliated that she had thrown his admissions about how he felt about her and his offer to better her situation back into his face so easily without consideration.
“You know, one day you will maybe be lucky enough to find yourself a wife or a mate and fall in love with her. If that day ever comes, you’ll finally understand why this thing between us is so wrong,” Bulma said honestly to him, hoping that if he actually sincerely held any real feelings towards her that maybe he would understand her position on it and readjust his thinking. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. “Vegeta protected me and cherished me because I was precious to him. If you find someone like that you will feel the same about her. The thought of another man touching her intimately and using her body for their benefit and making her feel as disgusting as you make me feel will throw you into a blind rage. Then, and only then, will you will understand.”
He snorted. “I will make you come around one day, love. One day.” He promised before finally leaving her room for good.
“When pigs fly,” she muttered under her breath as she jumped out of bed, administering her monthly shot of birth control she had gotten Dende to secretly acquire for her, and headed into her shower. She had no idea if she and Jeyice were even genetically capable of procreating but she figured that since he was mostly humanoid and she and Vegeta certainly were that she wasn’t going to take any chances that she may end up pregnant.
She had discovered that there indeed was a harem on this planet, not far from the lab, coincidentally enough. Dende had access to most areas of Cold’s base, herum included apparently, which she thought ironic since he was genderless from as far as she understood; still, she referred to him as a he all the time which didn’t seem to bother him in the least. Fortunately for Bulma, the girls at the harem thought he was so cute and adorable that they gave him whatever he asked for, no questions asked. She thanked her lucky stars for that and was happy to take the shot once a month. So far, it seemed to be working and she had no issues or side effects so far from it.
So Jeyice wanted her, she thought as she tossed the needle down the toilet and stepped into her shower. He thought he had feelings for her. It was beyond laughable! Not to mention pathetic. If she didn’t hate him as much as she did, she would pity him for her supposedly leading him on. Though she honestly had no idea how she could have possibly have given him the wrong idea. She was only as cordial to him as she could manage so as to keep him satisfied so he would still let her see Trunks and Tarble.
While she most definitely would not be moving in with him, she wondered briefly what she could do to use this new knowledge to her advantage. She knew she would have to watch herself and tread very carefully, but maybe this meant that she could find a way to use him to her advantage for a chance instead of being the only one being used here.
-0-0-0-
Trunks tumbled hard onto the cold, hard, stone floor of the training centre. He had lost his concentration and as a result was too slow to block a blow from Jeyice and down he went.
He slammed his fist into the floor in frustration at the unacceptable lapse, holding back a snarl for now hurting his knuckles from doing such a thing before shooting back up to meet Jeyice.
“You may be strong, boy, I’ll give you that,” Jeyice sneered. “But that nasty little temper of yours is what will do you in if you don’t learn to control it.”
Trunks shot Jeyice a dirty look in response, readying himself for another onslaught.
“Just like your father,” Jeyice added snidely. “He could talk up a good game too, just like you, but when someone threw a few choice insults his way, he would lose all battle sense and then that was it.”
“Shut up!” Trunks snarled at him.
“I imagine it was his cocky attitude that got him where he is today; nothing more than a laboratory decorative fixture,” he chuckled, continuing to bait Trunks. “You don’t learn to pay attention and ignore petty insults, you’ll end up just like him. Hmmm, two Saiyans, father and son, side by side... Cold would very much like to have the two of you as decorative accents in his throne room perhaps. I’ll be sure to mention it if you don’t shape up.”
Trunks flew at Jeyice, phasing in and out after him, trying to land a punch in his face. Since he had returned to Cold’s base four months ago, he had been exceptionally harder on both boys than he had ever been before. While it was a good thing in terms of improving the boys’ training progress and techniques, it was extremely frustrating for them both. Trunks especially, since he had been the favourite up until this point.
“You need to think first and follow through second,” Jeyice instructed, blocking Trunks every attempt with ease. “Though your father’s method was to act first and think later so I suppose you cannot help yourself then, can you. Your father’s same weakness flows through you.”
Trunks’ fist just grazed Jeyice’s jaw and before he could do it again, Jeyice kicked him hard, under the jaw and while he was still dazed, he threw him back down into the ground.
“Trunks!” Tarble whispered hoarsely from the side-lines. “He’s deliberately trying to make you mad so you’ll make mistakes.”
“I know that, stupid!” Trunks sighed as he picked himself back up.
“Then why are you letting him get to you? You’re doing exactly what he wants you to do.” Tarble observed.
“Alright, since you seem to think it’s so easy, why don’t you go fight with him then? You’ve done nothing since we started but sit there.”
“I’m practicing controlling my ki!” Tarble objected in offense. “Which hasn’t been easy to concentrate on doing with you constantly falling and shouting by the way.”
“Well it’s not my fault you can’t figure out how to do something so easy!” Trunks shot back.
“You know that selfish mother of yours would be doing your father a great kindness by simply pulling the plug on him,” Jeyice taunted, landing on the ground in front of Trunks, distracting the boys from their bickering.
Trunks glared at Jeyice.
“It’s true,” he continued. “I’m more of a father to you two brats than he will ever be. She disgraces him with her conduct and allowing him to live that way. That’s no life. Especially not for a warrior of his calibre. You know for all his flaws and all the shit I talk about him, I did respect him once,” Jeyice said, his tone changing from mocking to sincere. “I’m not quite sure why she hangs on to him the way she does.”
“Because he’s our father and she’s his wife?” Tarble suggested as though the answer was obvious.
Jeyice snorted. “Which means what, exactly?”
The two boys shrugged and looked at each other because they didn’t really know.
“Exactly!” Jeyice scoffed. “Ask your mother one of these days about what it means to be married or mated or whatever the hell she calls it and then ask her about the stipulations of it.”
Jeyice had asked her shortly after his new living arrangements had been set up if she would move in with him. She had shot him down without second thought and it had picked at him ever since. He had let it slide though and had hoped that she would reconsider and bring it up but it had been two weeks since then and she hadn’t, much to his frustration.
Both boys frowned and looked at each other and shrugged, unsure of what he was getting at. He smelled of their mother and she smelled of him, it was something they had gotten used to and while they wondered about it, they never asked about it.
After their frustrating training session with Jeyice, the boys showered, ate and headed down to the science wing to visit with Bulma as they always did.
They found her working in the lab today instead of in her room as she usually was.
“Hey, guys!” she greeted, setting her project aside.
Gero turned from his own studies and narrowed his eyes at the two boys. His efforts of helping Bulma had dwindled after a week or two and he had gone back to his obsession of studying Vegeta’s physiology.
She uneasily noticed his scrutinizing the boys. “Let’s go where it’s more comfortable,” she suggested.
“We wanted to see dad today though,” Trunks objected. Jeyice’s taunting from earlier today had been weighing heavily on him.
“Oh,” Bulma replied, turning to look at Vegeta floating in the regeneration tank briefly and then shooting a dirty look of warning at Gero. “Sure. You can see him, but nothing has changed, he’s still in the regeneration tank.”
The boys walked up to the tank to look at him in what she assumed was admiration and awe. She wasn’t sure what to say to them so she didn’t say anything, only watched Gero warily as he observed them like a hawk following a small rodent prey.
“Don’t you even think about it.” She hissed quietly at him.
Gero shot her a dirty look in reply before packing up his notes, books, and whatever else he was working on. “I will see you tomorrow.” He spat before quickly heading out of the lab.
Bulma breathed a sigh of relief after he closed and locked the lab doors before walking up to the boys who were still gazing at Vegeta.
“So why is dad still in a tank?” Trunk asked.
“Because King Cold wants him kept in there,” she replied.
“Will he ever get to come out?” Tarble asked her.
“I don’t know, sweetie. I would love nothing more than that but until King Cold says so, he will have to stay in there.”
They were both quiet for a while before Trunks spoke again. “You should just pull the plug.” He said tonelessly with a shrug.
Bulma was almost too shocked to even reply. Almost. Her shock was instantly replaced by anger. “Trunks! How could you even think such a thing!”
Trunks shrugged in response, turning away from the regeneration tank.
“This,” she said, mimicking his shrug, “Is not an answer. Why would you even think of such a thing?”
“You don’t know what it’s like!” he accused her angrily. “You don’t know the things they say about him. What an embarrassment it is that everyone knows that he’s in here! He’s nothing more than a joke.”
Bulma was taken back by Trunks outburst and wasn’t sure what to say.
“Jeyice told us that it’s not nice that he stays in there,” Tarble added.
“Well, no, he’s right; it’s not, but it’s only temporary.” She said, still disturbed by Trunks thoughts.
After swallowing down a weave of emotion she put an arm on Tarble’s shoulder. “Let’s go,” she said quietly, ushering them both out of the lab and into her own private quarters.
Trunks didn’t say anything further, just plopped himself down onto the couch silently brooding over whatever it was that was picking at him.
Tarble helped her make some tea in the kitchen and handed her a capsule loaded up with all of their favourite snacks silently before heading back out into the living room.
Bulma took a seat next to Trunks, trying to think of something to say to him to get her to open up to her. He had been increasingly moody these past few weeks and she didn’t understand why and any effort she put forth to get him to open up usually backfired on her and only seemed to push him further away.
As she sat there in worry, trying to think of something to say to lighten up the sour mood in the room, she began to absentmindedly play with the two rings she wore around her neck as a neckless.
“Why do you always wear that?” Trunks asked, pointing to her neckless pendant with both hers and Vegeta’s rings hanging on it in her hand. She had found Vegeta’s in the lab on Gero’s desk shortly after her arrival and had taken it and took to wearing it for safe keeping for Vegeta she told herself. Her own ring she had removed and put it on the chain with Vegeta’s and she wore them both always, never taking it off. In her guilt over her arrangement with Jeyice, she just didn’t feel quite right wearing it on her ring finger but couldn’t bring herself to not have it on her at all, so that’s what she did.
“This is your father’s ring and this ring is mine,” she said, slipping the chain off and handing it to Trunks. “In my culture, where I come from, it was customary to exchange rings when you get married or mated and decided to spend your life with someone special. Your father chose the blue one for me and the plain black one for himself. When he was taken, they wouldn’t let him keep it so I’m keeping it safe for him until we get out of here.”
“We’re never getting out of here,” Trunks snorted bitterly, looking at the rings with only mild interest before passing them on to Tarble. “Not all of us.”
“Well, it may be a while, but I’m working on it.” Bulma sighed, trying to keep a positive tone.
“Where would we go?” Tarble asked, looking at Bulma’s ring carefully.
“There’s a planet far away from here where my parents live.” She answered vaguely, not wanting to give them the name of it just in case they accidentally it slipped to Jeyice or someone else. “I was supposed to take you there but didn’t get out in time.”
“You keep saying that but never tell us why.” Trunks said.
“Oh, well, it’s such a long story, sweetie.”
“You always say that too,” Trunks pointed out. “Why don’t you just tell us? All we do is sit here and play games.”
Bulma looked at him a moment, slightly taken aback by his tone. “Alright, well, I packed you guys up and was ready to leave when I decided to let some friends of mine and your father’s know where I was going so they wouldn’t worry. On my way out I was arrested and we were all brought here.”
The boys didn’t say anything.
“You were both only little babies at the time. That was about seventeen months ago, from my count anyway. It could be a bit less, but I think that’s about right.” She said. “I’m sorry it worked out that way but I did my best and that still wasn’t good enough.”
“We still can,” Tarble shrugged. “We get to go with Jeyice on his next mission!”
“Wait, what?” Bulma asked in shock. Jeyice hadn’t mentioned anything about this to her. Not that they talked much, but she still always asked him about the boys and their progress and any developments that she should know about.
“Ya!” Tarble continued excitedly. “I don’t know where he’s going, but he said he gets to take us with him. He told us that today before we finished training for the day.”
“It’s going to be great!” Trunks agreed. “I can’t wait.”
It was Bulma’s turn to be quiet this time and dwell on the implications of this news. It was a positive step in the boys learning where other planets were and maybe find a way to escape, but they were only a few months shy of being ten years old! Was it appropriate for them to be going on a mission? What if something happened to them?
“Do you know the nature of this mission?” she asked finally.
“Nope,” they both answered in unison.
“Jeyice hasn’t said but he said it’s a good one for us and that we would be briefed on our way out.” Tarble said.
“Alright,” she nodded despite feeling incredibly uneasy about the idea that they would be starting to be sent on missions. She’d known that eventually this day would come, but that didn’t make it any easier for her to come to terms with it. “Well, be careful and make sure you do everything Jeyice tells you to do.”
“We will,” Trunks said. “We’ve been waiting since forever to be allowed to go on missions, we’re not going to blow it.”
Bulma nodded. “Your father would be proud.” She said despite herself. While she didn’t like it or understand it, she knew Vegeta would have been proud that they were old enough to do missions and such. She cringed the thought of not knowing what would be involved in these missions. They wouldn’t be expected to kill anyone, would they?
“Too bad he isn’t coming,” Tarble said. “I’ve gotten stronger! I’d love to show him what I can do now that I’m starting to catch up to Trunks!”
“You haven’t caught up to me, Tarble,” Trunks huffed.
“No, but I’m getting close,” he replied proudly. “Jeyice said so.”
“Hey, no bickering!” Bulma reprimanded them both. “What happened to working together, hmm?”
“We do work together,” Trunks replied. “But I’m still stronger than Tarble.”
“Alright,” she sighed. “Whatever the mission is, just make sure you both take care of each other. I don’t care what they want from you, you both need to stick together and look out for one another. Do you understand?” she lectured them, feeling a panic attack coming on at the thought that they would be leaving. Would it be a dangerous mission? What would they be made to do? Surly Jeyice would make sure they would be safe, wouldn’t he?
The boys left soon after; the rest of their visit was light and went by without further incident, though Bulma’s mind wasn’t present as she conjured up all sorts of scenarios of what may happen and possibly go wrong while they were gone. What would she do if something happened to either of them? They were her current reason for hanging onto her sanity.
By the time Jeyice showed up, she had worked herself into such a tizzy that she couldn’t help but take a strip off of him.
“When were you going to tell me, you son of a bitch!” she shouted accusingly at him when he showed up to her quarters, tossing a shoe at him.
“What the fuck!” he exclaimed as he deflected it, last minute with his forearm. “Tell you what, you crazy bitch?”
“That they boys are leaving to go with you on a mission?”
“I only heard this morning!” he said defensively. “An’ the little brats weren’t to tell you until just before we left!”
“Which is when?”
“Three weeks from now,” he told her. “They’re ready. It’s time for them to begin their careers in King Cold’s service as soldiers.”
Bulma shook her head at him in disbelief. “They’re too young.”
“They aren’t,” Jeyice insisted. “Now, I have put off and delayed this for as long as possible on your behalf. I cannot put it off any longer or Cold is going to have my ass. As it is, he is becoming very impatient that I have held them back for as long as I have.”
She swallowed a lump of emotion, knowing that he was right; it couldn’t be put off forever. Cold would be wanting them out doing whatever they’ve been training them to do since they were infants. As she paced across the room, she had to even admit to herself that once Trunks had reached this age naturally, she would be sitting here more than likely having this same argument with Vegeta. At least she would have actually had almost ten years with her baby boy instead of two years. Two years! That was how old Trunks should be now. Not almost ten!
It sent her into another weave of near hysterics as she tried to fathom that idea once again. It still just didn’t make sense to her; she felt like she was going crazy and wanted to scream out in her frustration.
“Should I go?” Jeyice asked, yanking her out of her train of thought.
Never had he offered her a choice in the matter before. “Yes,” she replied after the shock of him asking such a thing wore off.
Jeyice stood there for a moment longer, unsure what to say to her before leaving finally. She still in such deep thought that never heard him leave.
-0-0-0-
The three weeks had passed by quickly for Bulma and the boys. They were so excited about their first mission it was all they talked about when they came to see Bulma.
She tried her best to share their enthusiasm and put her worries aside when she was with them. They seemed confident in their abilities and Jeyice had reassured her repeatedly that everything would be fine. He wouldn’t divulge her the objective or any details of what they would be facing or required to do while on this mission, but insisted that he would keep a close watch on them and make sure they both returned safely.
“If anything happens to either one of them, I will hold you personally responsible, do you understand?” she snipped at him.
“I will do my utmost, love. You have my word on it. Besides, we will only be a month or two at the most,” he had told her casually.
Bulma sighed as she sat at her work station, going over her notes again. She had left Jeyice asleep in her bed and came to work to clear her head.
Last night she hadn’t been fortunate enough that he left after taking her once, as usual. Unfortunately, since he was leaving the next morning for several weeks or so, he figured he needed to get his fill in before he left and had spent the entire night with her, waking her up a couple of times throughout the night. She knew she would undoubtedly miss Trunks and Tarble terribly but she could not wait for him to leave! After the last time, he seemed to be tired enough that he would hopefully stay asleep. Bulma decided she wasn’t taking any chances, left him in her bed and went to work in the lab to distract herself from worrying about the boys leaving.
That had been a few hours ago and she had been so absorbed in her work she hadn’t heard him enter the lab.
“What are you working on, love?” he asked her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
She started at the contact and sound of his voice. “You scared the shit out of me!” she snipped at him.
“Sorry,” he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. “I woke up an’ you weren’t there, I was worried.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” she answered honestly. “So decided I may as well get up and try to do something productive.”
Jeyice nodded. “What is it you’re working on?”
“King Cold wants us to build him a cloaking device,” she replied. “So far we haven’t been able to come up with anything he’s happy with. I don’t even think what he wants is even possible.”
“Well it’s no secret around here that he’s bloody nuts,” Jeyice snorted.
Bulma turned to look at him, shocked that he’d said such a thing.
“What? He is! He’s frigging bat shit crazy, he is. Sure Frieza was a tyrant and a vindictive bastard at the best of times but at least he had it together. He knew what he was doing and there was order in the way he ran things. It was fucked up, but there was order. With Cold he hasn’t a clue on how to run things and to make matters worse, he’s paranoid as hell! So you can be on his good side one day and on his shit list the next if you sniff in front of him instead of sneeze. The man is a bloody lunatic.”
Bulma nodded as she listened. This was interesting, though not surprising. “So it’s better to keep a low profile then?”
“Yea,” he replied. “So what is it, exactly, you are trying to accomplish when you say King Cold wants you to make a cloaking device?” he asked.
“He wants his troops to be invisible, pretty much,” she shrugged. “I can make it so that they aren’t visible or able to be detected any type of radar or ultrasound device used to pick up on incoming ships at a distance but once they reach a certain point, they will be visible to the naked eye.”
“That’s impressive,” he nodded. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, we are going with it but he wants everyone to be completely invisible so that they can sneak up on whoever he wants them to sneak up on and phase in and out of visibility at will pretty much.”
Jeyice snorted. “Good luck with that,”
“Exactly, right?” she agreed. “So I’m trying my best and so far nothing I’ve come up with has been deemed acceptable to him.”
“Hmm,” Jeyice grunted. “Let me see if I can maybe find something on my travels that could help. Sometimes we leave base for entertainment to unwind and such. It’s not uncommon to find unique little finds here and there; novelty items and such. If I happen to come across something that might help you out with this, I’ll look into it.”
“You’d do that?” she asked, turning around to face him, genuinely shocked that he would even offer.
“Of course,” he shrugged as though it were obvious that he would offer to do such a thing for her. “It wouldn’t do me any good if something happened to you because Cold was unsatisfied with your work.”
“Well that’s very sweet of you, Jeyice.” She smiled, cupping the side of his cheek.
“I know,” he said, offering her a satisfied smirk, lifting her off the ground and propping her up on the work station. “However I must be leaving in a few hours. Why don’t you an’ I take a shower and you can give me a proper send off? I’ll even make sure the boys come see you real quick before we depart.”
Bulma forced a smiled and nodded as she cringed inwardly at the thought of him touching her again but forced herself to lean in and kiss him deeply. If he was to be gone for a month or two, this was a small price to pay. The sooner she got this over and done with, the sooner he would be gone and she could forget about him entirely until his return.
Bulma wrapped her legs around his waist as he picked her up and carried her out of the lab and into her small shower.
Butterflies and Hurricanes
Chapter 30
It took a few weeks for Jeyice’s new living arrangements to be finalized and put together enough for him to move in and settle himself. The new digs and exceptional increase in his salary had put him in a fantastic mood as of late. He still made a point of visiting Bulma most evenings to keep up his end of their bargain; that had not wavered.
It was always the same: He showed up in the late evening shortly after the boys left from visiting her and she appreciated his discretion on the matter. Sometimes he put the effort in to try and arouse her and sometimes he didn’t, depending on what sort of mood he was in. Regardless of that, Bulma usually shut herself off to him completely, thinking only of Vegeta. It was the only way she could fake her way through it enough that he wouldn’t notice her indifference and complain or threaten to go back on letting her see the boys. She never got anything out of these romps but acted like she did so that he would finish quicker and leave her alone.
She had learned that if she talked dirty to him and over exaggerated her reactions to his touch, it made him finish much quicker than if she just lay there and half-heartedly responded to him.
A few weeks ago, she had been almost at her breaking point with this ridiculous arrangement. The guilt and shame had been nearly eating her alive to the point that it was beginning to affect her performance in the lab. Depression was beginning to set in and win the battle to the point where she was getting up later and later each day. Gero was riding her and beginning to threaten to tell King Cold about her lack of cooperation. She was only barely in compliance enough to keep Gero from ratting her out and getting her into trouble.
As she lay there a few weeks back and allowed Jeyice to use her body to his liking after a few different position changes and some effort on his part to make it pleasant for her, she had begun to feel that familiar feeling of pleasure beginning to build up in her centre. Despite the absolute horror that her body would betray her in that way, she began to cry out and moan in pleasure from the way he was sliding into her and deliberately touching her. To her relief, her response to him had caused him to lose his own control and threw him into climax before she had reached hers.
After she’d pulled herself together and finished punishing and berating herself for feeling any sort of pleasure from him, she began using that new piece of information to her advantage.
Once she began doing that, fortunately for her, he was usually very quick and left right after he had her, not spending the night; thankfully.
Tonight, for whatever reason, he was lingering after their nightly activities.
“You could move in with me in my flat,” he suggested to her once he had come down from his euphoric high, gently tracing his fingers up and down the spine of her bare back as she lay there on her stomach, facing him. He found himself feeling a bit more than offended as she snorted immediately at the suggestion without thought. “I know it’s no palace like you were used to on Vegeta-sei, but it’s nice enough; the bed is bigger and more comfortable and I have both a massive tub and shower that is big enough to accommodate a threesome if you are interested,”
“Nope, no threesomes,” she replied immediately, wrinkling her nose in absolute disgust. That was a whole other low she was not interested in stooping to. The gods knew of all the degrading things she had already resorted to letting him do with her but she was determined that a threesome would never be one of them.
“Alright then, I don’t think I much like the idea of having to share you either, love; but you could fix the place up any which way you like, ‘an no one would hassle you; you’d be safe there. It’s closer to where the boys are located too.”
She cringed inwardly at the suggestion. While she hated it at the lab and her living quarters were cold and left much to be desired, there was no way in hell she would ever consider moving in with Jeyice. “No, I have to stay here, with Vegeta.” She said with a firm resolve in her tone, hoping that it would be enough for him to take the hint.
“But Vegeta is finished, love,” he objected gently, trying not to let her see how frustrated he was becoming with her shutting him down like this so casually without even considering it. “There’s nothing left to hold onto where he’s concerned.”
She thought about it and knew that Jeyice was probably right to some degree; even if she got Vegeta out of the regeneration tank without killing him and she and the boys found a way out of here for good, there was still a very high chance that Vegeta would probably never be the same again even if he did wake up from his coma. Would he be in such a bad state that he would be bedridden his whole life? If that was the case, she knew now without having to consult him that he would rather she left him behind than to live out the remainder of his life like that. She didn’t know what to do, but she knew what she absolutely could not do. “That may be so, but I won’t leave him.”
“And that is very admirable of you, but think for a moment about what Vegeta would want. Don’t you think he would rather have you safe and sound than toiling in here? I can offer you protection and security. Even in my absence, your safety would be guaranteed.”
Bulma forced a smile and nodded at him. “I appreciate that Jeyice, I really do, but I’ll take my chances here.”
“But why?” he demanded, sitting up in bed to look down at her.
“Because I know you don’t get it,” she sighed, sitting up and wrapping herself in her sheets, wishing that he would just drop the subject already and leave so she could wash him off of her. “It’s nice of you to offer, but I would rather stay here.”
Jeyice lightly frowned at her a moment before trying again. “Look, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now over the last four months I’ve been back and I have come to the conclusion that I want you. I’ve never said that to a female before and I’m serious; I want you, but I want you to want me as well,” he said to her confidently. “What do I need to do to make that happen? Is it because you think you still belong to Vegeta?”
She shrugged as she cursed herself inwardly at all the worst possible scenarios that could be thrown at her on top of everything else that had already happened. Since this all began, she simply silently went along with his wishes, never bothering to complain anymore so he would get it over and done with and leave. How could he have taken her mere compliance as an indicator that she would even consider actually wanting him? “You can’t make it happen, it just happens,” she wracked her mind trying to explain it in a way that he could understand it since he was obviously clueless. “I don’t belong to Vegeta in the way that ownership implies. I’m with him because I want to be with him. He belongs to me like I belong to him. It’s mutual.”
“Right, so how do I get that?” he asked. “How do I make that happen?”
“You don’t,” she sighed.
“Yea, but what if I could?” he insisted. “What would I have to do to plant the seeds?”
“Well, letting me see my boys and not making me have sex with you in exchange for that, would be a good start,” she said blandly though she knew she would never truly want him in any capacity beyond wanting him to never come near her again even on the slim chance he did renege on that part of their agreement.
“Well I need something in return,” he snorted at the suggestion. “You can’t expect to get something for nothing, love. It doesn’t work that way.”
“What about simply doing something nice for someone else from the bottom of your heart because it’s the right or kind thing to do?” she asked.
He scoffed at that. “Because there’s nothing in it for me then.”
“So what?” she pressed. “Why force someone to do something they don’t want to do?”
“It’s just sex,” he snorted. “You act as though I’m asking something terrible of you when it’s really no big deal.”
“It is a big deal!” She spat at him in disgust finally, since being polite to spare his feelings apparently wasn’t getting her anywhere. “It’s a violation! It’s completely degrading to just use someone the way you are using me!”
“You’re a female,” he shrugged.
“So because I’m a female that makes it okay for you to use me as your playground or use sex as a form of currency?”
“Pretty much,”
“You want to know how to make me want you?” she finally asked in frustration.
“Yes,” he answered, leaning his face close to hers and looking her square in the eye.
“Leave me alone.” She said bluntly. “Let me see my boys and don’t expect anything in return.”
“Where’s the advantage of that?” he asked, looking at her like she’d lost her mind.
“Just to prove that you are a decent being,” she replied.
Jeyice shook his head and got up to get dressed and leave; he was embarrassed and humiliated that she had thrown his admissions about how he felt about her and his offer to better her situation back into his face so easily without consideration.
“You know, one day you will maybe be lucky enough to find yourself a wife or a mate and fall in love with her. If that day ever comes, you’ll finally understand why this thing between us is so wrong,” Bulma said honestly to him, hoping that if he actually sincerely held any real feelings towards her that maybe he would understand her position on it and readjust his thinking. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. “Vegeta protected me and cherished me because I was precious to him. If you find someone like that you will feel the same about her. The thought of another man touching her intimately and using her body for their benefit and making her feel as disgusting as you make me feel will throw you into a blind rage. Then, and only then, will you will understand.”
He snorted. “I will make you come around one day, love. One day.” He promised before finally leaving her room for good.
“When pigs fly,” she muttered under her breath as she jumped out of bed, administering her monthly shot of birth control she had gotten Dende to secretly acquire for her, and headed into her shower. She had no idea if she and Jeyice were even genetically capable of procreating but she figured that since he was mostly humanoid and she and Vegeta certainly were that she wasn’t going to take any chances that she may end up pregnant.
She had discovered that there indeed was a harem on this planet, not far from the lab, coincidentally enough. Dende had access to most areas of Cold’s base, herum included apparently, which she thought ironic since he was genderless from as far as she understood; still, she referred to him as a he all the time which didn’t seem to bother him in the least. Fortunately for Bulma, the girls at the harem thought he was so cute and adorable that they gave him whatever he asked for, no questions asked. She thanked her lucky stars for that and was happy to take the shot once a month. So far, it seemed to be working and she had no issues or side effects so far from it.
So Jeyice wanted her, she thought as she tossed the needle down the toilet and stepped into her shower. He thought he had feelings for her. It was beyond laughable! Not to mention pathetic. If she didn’t hate him as much as she did, she would pity him for her supposedly leading him on. Though she honestly had no idea how she could have possibly have given him the wrong idea. She was only as cordial to him as she could manage so as to keep him satisfied so he would still let her see Trunks and Tarble.
While she most definitely would not be moving in with him, she wondered briefly what she could do to use this new knowledge to her advantage. She knew she would have to watch herself and tread very carefully, but maybe this meant that she could find a way to use him to her advantage for a chance instead of being the only one being used here.
-0-0-0-
Trunks tumbled hard onto the cold, hard, stone floor of the training centre. He had lost his concentration and as a result was too slow to block a blow from Jeyice and down he went.
He slammed his fist into the floor in frustration at the unacceptable lapse, holding back a snarl for now hurting his knuckles from doing such a thing before shooting back up to meet Jeyice.
“You may be strong, boy, I’ll give you that,” Jeyice sneered. “But that nasty little temper of yours is what will do you in if you don’t learn to control it.”
Trunks shot Jeyice a dirty look in response, readying himself for another onslaught.
“Just like your father,” Jeyice added snidely. “He could talk up a good game too, just like you, but when someone threw a few choice insults his way, he would lose all battle sense and then that was it.”
“Shut up!” Trunks snarled at him.
“I imagine it was his cocky attitude that got him where he is today; nothing more than a laboratory decorative fixture,” he chuckled, continuing to bait Trunks. “You don’t learn to pay attention and ignore petty insults, you’ll end up just like him. Hmmm, two Saiyans, father and son, side by side... Cold would very much like to have the two of you as decorative accents in his throne room perhaps. I’ll be sure to mention it if you don’t shape up.”
Trunks flew at Jeyice, phasing in and out after him, trying to land a punch in his face. Since he had returned to Cold’s base four months ago, he had been exceptionally harder on both boys than he had ever been before. While it was a good thing in terms of improving the boys’ training progress and techniques, it was extremely frustrating for them both. Trunks especially, since he had been the favourite up until this point.
“You need to think first and follow through second,” Jeyice instructed, blocking Trunks every attempt with ease. “Though your father’s method was to act first and think later so I suppose you cannot help yourself then, can you. Your father’s same weakness flows through you.”
Trunks’ fist just grazed Jeyice’s jaw and before he could do it again, Jeyice kicked him hard, under the jaw and while he was still dazed, he threw him back down into the ground.
“Trunks!” Tarble whispered hoarsely from the side-lines. “He’s deliberately trying to make you mad so you’ll make mistakes.”
“I know that, stupid!” Trunks sighed as he picked himself back up.
“Then why are you letting him get to you? You’re doing exactly what he wants you to do.” Tarble observed.
“Alright, since you seem to think it’s so easy, why don’t you go fight with him then? You’ve done nothing since we started but sit there.”
“I’m practicing controlling my ki!” Tarble objected in offense. “Which hasn’t been easy to concentrate on doing with you constantly falling and shouting by the way.”
“Well it’s not my fault you can’t figure out how to do something so easy!” Trunks shot back.
“You know that selfish mother of yours would be doing your father a great kindness by simply pulling the plug on him,” Jeyice taunted, landing on the ground in front of Trunks, distracting the boys from their bickering.
Trunks glared at Jeyice.
“It’s true,” he continued. “I’m more of a father to you two brats than he will ever be. She disgraces him with her conduct and allowing him to live that way. That’s no life. Especially not for a warrior of his calibre. You know for all his flaws and all the shit I talk about him, I did respect him once,” Jeyice said, his tone changing from mocking to sincere. “I’m not quite sure why she hangs on to him the way she does.”
“Because he’s our father and she’s his wife?” Tarble suggested as though the answer was obvious.
Jeyice snorted. “Which means what, exactly?”
The two boys shrugged and looked at each other because they didn’t really know.
“Exactly!” Jeyice scoffed. “Ask your mother one of these days about what it means to be married or mated or whatever the hell she calls it and then ask her about the stipulations of it.”
Jeyice had asked her shortly after his new living arrangements had been set up if she would move in with him. She had shot him down without second thought and it had picked at him ever since. He had let it slide though and had hoped that she would reconsider and bring it up but it had been two weeks since then and she hadn’t, much to his frustration.
Both boys frowned and looked at each other and shrugged, unsure of what he was getting at. He smelled of their mother and she smelled of him, it was something they had gotten used to and while they wondered about it, they never asked about it.
After their frustrating training session with Jeyice, the boys showered, ate and headed down to the science wing to visit with Bulma as they always did.
They found her working in the lab today instead of in her room as she usually was.
“Hey, guys!” she greeted, setting her project aside.
Gero turned from his own studies and narrowed his eyes at the two boys. His efforts of helping Bulma had dwindled after a week or two and he had gone back to his obsession of studying Vegeta’s physiology.
She uneasily noticed his scrutinizing the boys. “Let’s go where it’s more comfortable,” she suggested.
“We wanted to see dad today though,” Trunks objected. Jeyice’s taunting from earlier today had been weighing heavily on him.
“Oh,” Bulma replied, turning to look at Vegeta floating in the regeneration tank briefly and then shooting a dirty look of warning at Gero. “Sure. You can see him, but nothing has changed, he’s still in the regeneration tank.”
The boys walked up to the tank to look at him in what she assumed was admiration and awe. She wasn’t sure what to say to them so she didn’t say anything, only watched Gero warily as he observed them like a hawk following a small rodent prey.
“Don’t you even think about it.” She hissed quietly at him.
Gero shot her a dirty look in reply before packing up his notes, books, and whatever else he was working on. “I will see you tomorrow.” He spat before quickly heading out of the lab.
Bulma breathed a sigh of relief after he closed and locked the lab doors before walking up to the boys who were still gazing at Vegeta.
“So why is dad still in a tank?” Trunk asked.
“Because King Cold wants him kept in there,” she replied.
“Will he ever get to come out?” Tarble asked her.
“I don’t know, sweetie. I would love nothing more than that but until King Cold says so, he will have to stay in there.”
They were both quiet for a while before Trunks spoke again. “You should just pull the plug.” He said tonelessly with a shrug.
Bulma was almost too shocked to even reply. Almost. Her shock was instantly replaced by anger. “Trunks! How could you even think such a thing!”
Trunks shrugged in response, turning away from the regeneration tank.
“This,” she said, mimicking his shrug, “Is not an answer. Why would you even think of such a thing?”
“You don’t know what it’s like!” he accused her angrily. “You don’t know the things they say about him. What an embarrassment it is that everyone knows that he’s in here! He’s nothing more than a joke.”
Bulma was taken back by Trunks outburst and wasn’t sure what to say.
“Jeyice told us that it’s not nice that he stays in there,” Tarble added.
“Well, no, he’s right; it’s not, but it’s only temporary.” She said, still disturbed by Trunks thoughts.
After swallowing down a weave of emotion she put an arm on Tarble’s shoulder. “Let’s go,” she said quietly, ushering them both out of the lab and into her own private quarters.
Trunks didn’t say anything further, just plopped himself down onto the couch silently brooding over whatever it was that was picking at him.
Tarble helped her make some tea in the kitchen and handed her a capsule loaded up with all of their favourite snacks silently before heading back out into the living room.
Bulma took a seat next to Trunks, trying to think of something to say to him to get her to open up to her. He had been increasingly moody these past few weeks and she didn’t understand why and any effort she put forth to get him to open up usually backfired on her and only seemed to push him further away.
As she sat there in worry, trying to think of something to say to lighten up the sour mood in the room, she began to absentmindedly play with the two rings she wore around her neck as a neckless.
“Why do you always wear that?” Trunks asked, pointing to her neckless pendant with both hers and Vegeta’s rings hanging on it in her hand. She had found Vegeta’s in the lab on Gero’s desk shortly after her arrival and had taken it and took to wearing it for safe keeping for Vegeta she told herself. Her own ring she had removed and put it on the chain with Vegeta’s and she wore them both always, never taking it off. In her guilt over her arrangement with Jeyice, she just didn’t feel quite right wearing it on her ring finger but couldn’t bring herself to not have it on her at all, so that’s what she did.
“This is your father’s ring and this ring is mine,” she said, slipping the chain off and handing it to Trunks. “In my culture, where I come from, it was customary to exchange rings when you get married or mated and decided to spend your life with someone special. Your father chose the blue one for me and the plain black one for himself. When he was taken, they wouldn’t let him keep it so I’m keeping it safe for him until we get out of here.”
“We’re never getting out of here,” Trunks snorted bitterly, looking at the rings with only mild interest before passing them on to Tarble. “Not all of us.”
“Well, it may be a while, but I’m working on it.” Bulma sighed, trying to keep a positive tone.
“Where would we go?” Tarble asked, looking at Bulma’s ring carefully.
“There’s a planet far away from here where my parents live.” She answered vaguely, not wanting to give them the name of it just in case they accidentally it slipped to Jeyice or someone else. “I was supposed to take you there but didn’t get out in time.”
“You keep saying that but never tell us why.” Trunks said.
“Oh, well, it’s such a long story, sweetie.”
“You always say that too,” Trunks pointed out. “Why don’t you just tell us? All we do is sit here and play games.”
Bulma looked at him a moment, slightly taken aback by his tone. “Alright, well, I packed you guys up and was ready to leave when I decided to let some friends of mine and your father’s know where I was going so they wouldn’t worry. On my way out I was arrested and we were all brought here.”
The boys didn’t say anything.
“You were both only little babies at the time. That was about seventeen months ago, from my count anyway. It could be a bit less, but I think that’s about right.” She said. “I’m sorry it worked out that way but I did my best and that still wasn’t good enough.”
“We still can,” Tarble shrugged. “We get to go with Jeyice on his next mission!”
“Wait, what?” Bulma asked in shock. Jeyice hadn’t mentioned anything about this to her. Not that they talked much, but she still always asked him about the boys and their progress and any developments that she should know about.
“Ya!” Tarble continued excitedly. “I don’t know where he’s going, but he said he gets to take us with him. He told us that today before we finished training for the day.”
“It’s going to be great!” Trunks agreed. “I can’t wait.”
It was Bulma’s turn to be quiet this time and dwell on the implications of this news. It was a positive step in the boys learning where other planets were and maybe find a way to escape, but they were only a few months shy of being ten years old! Was it appropriate for them to be going on a mission? What if something happened to them?
“Do you know the nature of this mission?” she asked finally.
“Nope,” they both answered in unison.
“Jeyice hasn’t said but he said it’s a good one for us and that we would be briefed on our way out.” Tarble said.
“Alright,” she nodded despite feeling incredibly uneasy about the idea that they would be starting to be sent on missions. She’d known that eventually this day would come, but that didn’t make it any easier for her to come to terms with it. “Well, be careful and make sure you do everything Jeyice tells you to do.”
“We will,” Trunks said. “We’ve been waiting since forever to be allowed to go on missions, we’re not going to blow it.”
Bulma nodded. “Your father would be proud.” She said despite herself. While she didn’t like it or understand it, she knew Vegeta would have been proud that they were old enough to do missions and such. She cringed the thought of not knowing what would be involved in these missions. They wouldn’t be expected to kill anyone, would they?
“Too bad he isn’t coming,” Tarble said. “I’ve gotten stronger! I’d love to show him what I can do now that I’m starting to catch up to Trunks!”
“You haven’t caught up to me, Tarble,” Trunks huffed.
“No, but I’m getting close,” he replied proudly. “Jeyice said so.”
“Hey, no bickering!” Bulma reprimanded them both. “What happened to working together, hmm?”
“We do work together,” Trunks replied. “But I’m still stronger than Tarble.”
“Alright,” she sighed. “Whatever the mission is, just make sure you both take care of each other. I don’t care what they want from you, you both need to stick together and look out for one another. Do you understand?” she lectured them, feeling a panic attack coming on at the thought that they would be leaving. Would it be a dangerous mission? What would they be made to do? Surly Jeyice would make sure they would be safe, wouldn’t he?
The boys left soon after; the rest of their visit was light and went by without further incident, though Bulma’s mind wasn’t present as she conjured up all sorts of scenarios of what may happen and possibly go wrong while they were gone. What would she do if something happened to either of them? They were her current reason for hanging onto her sanity.
By the time Jeyice showed up, she had worked herself into such a tizzy that she couldn’t help but take a strip off of him.
“When were you going to tell me, you son of a bitch!” she shouted accusingly at him when he showed up to her quarters, tossing a shoe at him.
“What the fuck!” he exclaimed as he deflected it, last minute with his forearm. “Tell you what, you crazy bitch?”
“That they boys are leaving to go with you on a mission?”
“I only heard this morning!” he said defensively. “An’ the little brats weren’t to tell you until just before we left!”
“Which is when?”
“Three weeks from now,” he told her. “They’re ready. It’s time for them to begin their careers in King Cold’s service as soldiers.”
Bulma shook her head at him in disbelief. “They’re too young.”
“They aren’t,” Jeyice insisted. “Now, I have put off and delayed this for as long as possible on your behalf. I cannot put it off any longer or Cold is going to have my ass. As it is, he is becoming very impatient that I have held them back for as long as I have.”
She swallowed a lump of emotion, knowing that he was right; it couldn’t be put off forever. Cold would be wanting them out doing whatever they’ve been training them to do since they were infants. As she paced across the room, she had to even admit to herself that once Trunks had reached this age naturally, she would be sitting here more than likely having this same argument with Vegeta. At least she would have actually had almost ten years with her baby boy instead of two years. Two years! That was how old Trunks should be now. Not almost ten!
It sent her into another weave of near hysterics as she tried to fathom that idea once again. It still just didn’t make sense to her; she felt like she was going crazy and wanted to scream out in her frustration.
“Should I go?” Jeyice asked, yanking her out of her train of thought.
Never had he offered her a choice in the matter before. “Yes,” she replied after the shock of him asking such a thing wore off.
Jeyice stood there for a moment longer, unsure what to say to her before leaving finally. She still in such deep thought that never heard him leave.
-0-0-0-
The three weeks had passed by quickly for Bulma and the boys. They were so excited about their first mission it was all they talked about when they came to see Bulma.
She tried her best to share their enthusiasm and put her worries aside when she was with them. They seemed confident in their abilities and Jeyice had reassured her repeatedly that everything would be fine. He wouldn’t divulge her the objective or any details of what they would be facing or required to do while on this mission, but insisted that he would keep a close watch on them and make sure they both returned safely.
“If anything happens to either one of them, I will hold you personally responsible, do you understand?” she snipped at him.
“I will do my utmost, love. You have my word on it. Besides, we will only be a month or two at the most,” he had told her casually.
Bulma sighed as she sat at her work station, going over her notes again. She had left Jeyice asleep in her bed and came to work to clear her head.
Last night she hadn’t been fortunate enough that he left after taking her once, as usual. Unfortunately, since he was leaving the next morning for several weeks or so, he figured he needed to get his fill in before he left and had spent the entire night with her, waking her up a couple of times throughout the night. She knew she would undoubtedly miss Trunks and Tarble terribly but she could not wait for him to leave! After the last time, he seemed to be tired enough that he would hopefully stay asleep. Bulma decided she wasn’t taking any chances, left him in her bed and went to work in the lab to distract herself from worrying about the boys leaving.
That had been a few hours ago and she had been so absorbed in her work she hadn’t heard him enter the lab.
“What are you working on, love?” he asked her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
She started at the contact and sound of his voice. “You scared the shit out of me!” she snipped at him.
“Sorry,” he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. “I woke up an’ you weren’t there, I was worried.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” she answered honestly. “So decided I may as well get up and try to do something productive.”
Jeyice nodded. “What is it you’re working on?”
“King Cold wants us to build him a cloaking device,” she replied. “So far we haven’t been able to come up with anything he’s happy with. I don’t even think what he wants is even possible.”
“Well it’s no secret around here that he’s bloody nuts,” Jeyice snorted.
Bulma turned to look at him, shocked that he’d said such a thing.
“What? He is! He’s frigging bat shit crazy, he is. Sure Frieza was a tyrant and a vindictive bastard at the best of times but at least he had it together. He knew what he was doing and there was order in the way he ran things. It was fucked up, but there was order. With Cold he hasn’t a clue on how to run things and to make matters worse, he’s paranoid as hell! So you can be on his good side one day and on his shit list the next if you sniff in front of him instead of sneeze. The man is a bloody lunatic.”
Bulma nodded as she listened. This was interesting, though not surprising. “So it’s better to keep a low profile then?”
“Yea,” he replied. “So what is it, exactly, you are trying to accomplish when you say King Cold wants you to make a cloaking device?” he asked.
“He wants his troops to be invisible, pretty much,” she shrugged. “I can make it so that they aren’t visible or able to be detected any type of radar or ultrasound device used to pick up on incoming ships at a distance but once they reach a certain point, they will be visible to the naked eye.”
“That’s impressive,” he nodded. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, we are going with it but he wants everyone to be completely invisible so that they can sneak up on whoever he wants them to sneak up on and phase in and out of visibility at will pretty much.”
Jeyice snorted. “Good luck with that,”
“Exactly, right?” she agreed. “So I’m trying my best and so far nothing I’ve come up with has been deemed acceptable to him.”
“Hmm,” Jeyice grunted. “Let me see if I can maybe find something on my travels that could help. Sometimes we leave base for entertainment to unwind and such. It’s not uncommon to find unique little finds here and there; novelty items and such. If I happen to come across something that might help you out with this, I’ll look into it.”
“You’d do that?” she asked, turning around to face him, genuinely shocked that he would even offer.
“Of course,” he shrugged as though it were obvious that he would offer to do such a thing for her. “It wouldn’t do me any good if something happened to you because Cold was unsatisfied with your work.”
“Well that’s very sweet of you, Jeyice.” She smiled, cupping the side of his cheek.
“I know,” he said, offering her a satisfied smirk, lifting her off the ground and propping her up on the work station. “However I must be leaving in a few hours. Why don’t you an’ I take a shower and you can give me a proper send off? I’ll even make sure the boys come see you real quick before we depart.”
Bulma forced a smiled and nodded as she cringed inwardly at the thought of him touching her again but forced herself to lean in and kiss him deeply. If he was to be gone for a month or two, this was a small price to pay. The sooner she got this over and done with, the sooner he would be gone and she could forget about him entirely until his return.
Bulma wrapped her legs around his waist as he picked her up and carried her out of the lab and into her small shower.