Falling In Love A Second Time

Chapter 6 - A Walking Stove

Their bodies were sticky, hot and sweat drenched as they collapsed together. "I love you," she whispered as she fought to catch her breath.

"Are you certain?" He questioned with all seriousness, as if her response was the beginning or end of all.

"Yes." She moaned as she kissed him passionately.

He then brushed her hair away from her shoulder and sank his teeth into her neck. She screamed in pain, but after a few moments the pain subsided and her body became engulfed in ecstasy. She could feel him supporting her weight as he greedily drank the excess blood from her body. He then gently laid her back down on the bed as he took her hand and placed it on his neck at approximately the same point he bit her. "Your turn," he said in a deep sexy voice.

Without a second thought she sunk her teeth into his hot flesh and drank the warm salty blood running from his pulsating body. She could hear him moan softly as he was overtaken by the same pleasure she was overwhelmed by a moment ago. Once his bleeding subsided she pulled away from him and closed her eyes. She then felt him rest his head on her chest.

"What just… happened?" she panted.

"We are bonded," he said with all seriousness as he pulled his face up to hers. "We are united for all eternity… And nothing can ever break that."

~*~*~

Bulma jolted out of her sleep after having dozed off in her bath. She was panting heavily as her entire body was covered in sweat, and a strangely familiar pain between here thighs throbbed. 'It felt so real,' she thought utterly shocked as she turned her head back and forth in disbelief. She could still feel his arms wrapped around her trembling body, the husky scent of passion the two were drenched in, and the powerful words he spoke; and yet, she couldn't see him. Everything about the dream was so clear to her, but his face was too foggy to make out. 'Was it a dream? A memory? It felt so real, too real. And yet, why couldn't I see him? Is my subconscious trying to protect me from something?' Bulma wondered, as she slowly closed her eyes and allowed the memories to replay in her mind. 'He felt like my other half, like the void in my soul that has not been filled, but how can that be? From what I have been told, there is no such man in my life… there never was…'

A renewed sense of devastation overcame the blue haired scientist as she couldn't help but be reminded of how lonely she was. Thirteen years later and she still hasn't found the man of her dreams, a man who could love her for all she was. Suppressing the tears forming behind her eyes, Bulma pulled herself out of the now cold water and grabbed a towel to dry herself off. After doing so she took hold of the long red silk robe that hung on the bathroom door and tightly wrapped it around her body. Leaving her bathroom she decided to head downstairs for a warm cup of tea to calm her nerves.

Heading out of her room, her head hung low as she tried to suppress the disheartening realities she had awakened to. 'Here I am, after thirteen years, a single mother, with no love interest whatsoever, living in under a roof with an ex-murderer, and- ' Bulma's thoughts were suddenly cut off as her body converged with the topic of her intrigue.

Vegeta's hand scooped around Bulma's back to catch her before she could collapse upon the accidental impact of their bodies. "You should watch more carefully where you are going," Vegeta whispered observantly, as he reluctantly released his hold upon her as soon as she regained her balance. He could feel through the silk that nothing besides the robe was hiding the perfection that was her body. It took all his strength to control a reaction.

Bulma gulped when she came eye to eye with the owner of the voice that had advised her. "Ah… I'm sorry," she apologized, feeling foolish that she had been so careless. Her back stiffened as she noticed his intense eyes became fixated upon her body. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she discreetly pulled her robe tighter as she calmly offered her thanks. "I guess I should have paid more attention to where I was going," she placed an embarrassed smile upon her face as she found it difficult to retain eye contact with him; his gaze was too intense.

Vegeta allowed a slight chuckle, he enjoyed her clumsiness, he found it rather endearing. "You seemed upset when you exited your room, why?" He focused on the reason for her lack of attention.

Bulma blinked as she heard the blatant concern in his voice. Did this man really care if she was upset? 'Perhaps now is an ideal time to hold that conversation I had been contemplating,' she decided, before hesitantly raising her eyes to meet his; she was still intimidated by the man, mainly because she had no clue as to what she should expect from him, but she decided to continue anyway. "I have had some upsetting things on my mind," she admitted quietly before daring to ask for something she never would have imagined herself asking of him. "Perhaps, you can help me sort out some of my confusion."

Vegeta blinked, he couldn't believe she actually seemed ready to speak with him, let alone delve into personal topics she was dealing with. 'Maybe her bond is not as inexistent as I thought. She must know that she can trust me, but perhaps she simply doesn't understand why.' "I'll do what I can," he agreed, before following her silently downstairs and into the kitchen. He took a seat at the table as he waited for her to prepare herself a cup of tea. "I like honey in mine."

"Excuse me?" Bulma blinked. She turned around utterly confused by his comment.

"I said, I like honey in my tea," Vegeta smirked. "You weren't about to pump me for information without so much as the courtesy of making me a cup of tea now were you?"

Bulma suddenly felt her lips curl into a half smile. This seemed more like the Vegeta she remembered. "Actually, I had intended to be so impolite," she laughed lightly before finishing with her preparations and walking back to the table with two cups. She placed one before him and smiled warmly. "But, I suppose I could make an exception this once."

"How magnanimous of you," Vegeta smirked as he picked up his cup and took a quick sip. As soon as the liquid touched his tongue he frowned.

"What's the matter?" Bulma asked with her falsely naïve expression.

"This is cold," he stated the obvious, strangely sounding genuinely offended.

"Is it?" She gasped, utterly stunned in appearance. "I must have forgotten to boil the water. I am so sorry," she smirked. She began to feel more comfortable acting like this, like herself.

Vegeta decided to play along with her little game as a smirk of his own graced his lips; memory or not, he wasn't going to let her win. "It's all right," he patronized, "I know you are in the middle of one of those forgetful spells."

Bulma's eyes narrowed as she tried to ignore him, but her attention was only shortly lost as she turned to see Vegeta focus a small blue concentration of energy at the tip of his index finger. He placed his cup over the ki and she watched rather impressed as the liquid began to boil. After a few seconds he dissolved his ki and took as sip. "All better," he grinned as he looked back over at his dumbfounded companion.

Bulma silently pouted, not liking that this man had bettered her. In her sore loser manner, she plastered a sarcastic expression on her face, as she congratulated him, "oh, I am terribly impressed. You must be so proud that you're a walking stove."

Vegeta voiced a short, but thunderous laugh, before his companion couldn't help but release a chuckle of her own. It seemed the ice had been broken, and perhaps that could lead to something more. Watching with enjoyment, Vegeta's scrutinizing eyes followed Bulma as she grabbed her own cup of tea and almost hypnotically blew the steam away from the top of the cup. Then, dipping the tip of her tongue into the hot water, testing for its heat, she opened her mouth and slowly took her first sip. Each movement she made was slow and graceful, in even the slightest of tasks Vegeta could so easily be reminded how much of a woman his mate was. For a moment he wondered how fate could have ever been so generous as to bestow such an angel upon him.

It had taken Bulma a few minutes to realize that she was being watched so carefully. She had tried not to let it bother her at first, but the way he looked at her, it was so longing, so needy; she couldn't help but wonder what he was hiding from her. "Vegeta," she asked as the silence and curiosity had become too much for her. "Can I ask you something?"

"That is why we are here, is it not?" he asked quickly as he snapped out of his trance. He mentally chastised himself for gawking at her so blatantly.

Bulma nodded before carefully asking her first question. "I have to say I am a little," she paused to find the right word, the last thing she needed was to offend him and blow her chance of getting her questions answered, "confused as to why you would still live here? You are a grown man. Don't you want to go start a family or at least experience a woman's love?"

'But I already have,' Vegeta frowned to himself, if only she remembered that she was his reason for staying there, his reason for everything. "I am not a 'family' man," Vegeta technically told the truth, "I have no need or desire to search for 'love' and family. I have all I need here."

Bulma's brow knit slightly at his response, she couldn't help but be surprised, "I would have thought a man with an ego as large as yours would want an entire clan of little Vegetas that could go wreak havoc on the universe even after you are dead."

"That's not amusing woman," Vegeta growled at her assessment. "Is that all you wished to ask me?"

"Yes," Bulma said with a sigh before correcting herself, "I mean, no-or, I don't know if you can answer the question that plagues me the most."

"Try me," Vegeta offered simply. There was no being in the universe he knows better than his mate. If something is troubling her, he's certain he could lay whatever anxiety she has to rest.

Bulma traced her middle finger around the rim of her cup a few times before daring to ask what she had wanted to learn the answer to most. "Did you know Trunks' father?" She asked so quietly that had Vegeta not been Saiya-jin he would have missed the question completely. "I get the distinct impression that asking about him is some sort of taboo, but, I can't help but wonder…" Her thoughts died off, her distress in the situation was very much evident.

Vegeta's hand drifted to his chest as he felt her longing and unabridged desire, that she seemed unable to comprehend, pulsing through her veins. He wanted so desperately to tell her the truth, reveal his feelings for her, and her feelings for him that she could not remember. But he refrained. As much as he wanted her to be aware of their connection, he could not do it at the price of her health. He refused to jeopardize her recovery in anyway. "I wish I could help you," he admitted honestly, "but the subject you breech is not one in which I could justly speak on." Not an entirely untrue statement, how could he put into words the intensity that lies between them?

"I understand," Bulma accepted his cryptic reply as an admission that he did not know Trunks' father well enough to comment on the man. She wasn't surprised; she couldn't really see Vegeta as the social type who would take the time to get to know people. It seemed their dialogue wasn't as productive as she had hoped. "Well, thank you for at least listening," she said before rising from her seat, clearly preparing to depart from the kitchen, "I won't bother you anymore."

"You're not a bother," Vegeta rose from his seat, thoughtlessly reaching out to stop her. He hated the thought of her leaving him, even if it was only for her to head back to her room. She had been taken from him for too long, he just needed more time with her. His hands encircled her arm halting her departure, but it seemed to do even more when she turned to him with a vacant expression upon her face.

~*~

He grabbed Bulma by the arm to hold her in place as he took a step back from her. With his classic smirk, he brought the ball of energy just centimeters from her chest.

A long gulp cleared Bulma's throat as she slowly moved her eyes from his to the glowing ball of chi, and then back up to his. "Do it," she said in an almost challenging tone.

Vegeta ground his teeth. "Do you doubt who I am woman! I have killed many a nation for much less than you have spoken to me now. Do you honestly believe I won't follow through?!"

Bulma's eyes narrowed as she watched him closely. "I stand by what I said," she argued boldly as she continued to look right into his eyes.

Vegeta released an infuriated growl. "You are truly an idiot woman! You think because of your family's foolish hospitality I will spare all your lives!?! Do you actually believe I will stand by and allow myself to be insulted in such an offensive manner and do nothing in recourse!!? You are nothing to me woman! Your family, your friends! I will kill all of you once---"

"AAAAHAHHHHAAAAA!"

~*~

"Aha!" Bulma moaned as she ripped her arm away; she took a few steps away from Vegeta, suddenly fearing for her life. Raising her hand to cover her chest, she suddenly felt as though she just suffered an attempt on her life. "You tried to kill me a second time," she whispered as she continued to take steps away from him until her back hit the counter.

Vegeta shook his head, utterly confused. One minute they seem to be getting more comfortable with one another, the next he is feeling utter fear pulsing through her veins. "What are you talking about? I am not trying to kill you."

"No, you… you blasted me… with your ki… I… I can remember it!" Bulma objected, still shaking from the intense memory.

Vegeta's mind raced to try and conclude what she was referring to. Quickly he recalled the event. 'Of all the things you could have remembered, woman,' he thought bitterly before attempting to ease the situation. "That was a long time ago, just a year or two after the last memory you have. I was still foolish back then; I swear to you, I am nothing of the like anymore."

Bulma felt some reassurance with his words. It seemed logical, his explanation, but that still didn't make the memory any easier to handle. "Fine, you're a changed man, I've got it," she tried to look less intimidated; she failed miserably. She wanted away from him; she would say whatever she had to, to lead to her escape. "I just want to get to bed." She eyed the door and made her quick departure without waiting for her counterpart's answer.

As soon as she was gone, Vegeta thoughtlessly grabbed his cup of tea and pummeled it across the room, infuriated by this development. The irony of course was not lost on him, how his past was coming to kick him right square in his ass. That didn't help his anger however. He should have seen her regaining a memory as an improvement, but it seemed whatever composure she had gained around him was now gone.

'Damn, it!' he thought before frustratingly grabbing a washcloth to clean the mess he had made. The last thing he needed was Bulma waking the next morning, in bare feet, and walking into the kitchen, cutting herself with broken glass. She already hated him too much for his liking; he wasn't about to exacerbate an already devastating situation any further.

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Author's Note: Ah, and right when you think they are making headway… So, what to expect come the next chapter? Well, Bulma's still antsy to find out about Trunks' father. Who will she turn to for the truth? Well, I can tell you this much, Vegeta isn't going to like it! Next chapter in a few…