Falling In Love A Second Time

Chapter 10 - Regrets

"You are a fool," he whispered, as he leaned his head forward to tickle her throat with his hot breath.

"Oh?" She spoke, unfazed. "And why is that?"

"Because," he kept his voice low and menacing as he removed a hand from her throat and slipped it around her back, pulling her roughly against his chest. "If you think this little tantrum of yours will turn my heart soft, and I'll start confessing my undying love… Then you have failed to learn anything about me these last few years." A sadistic chuckle left his lips before roughly pulling hers against his in a bruising kiss. Then, after no more than a few minutes of ravaging her mouth, he pulled away just as quickly. "I'm done with you." The words left his lips almost as harshly, as he pushed her body away from his. "I'll stay and train the boy, and you can go try and find that 'man who will be as devoted to you as his pathetic heart can offer.'" He chuckled frigidly. "Not that such a man could exist; you, woman, are nothing but a whiny self-righteous bitch. You are no more 'lovable' than I am. " He finished his blunt assessment without mercy.

~*~*~

Bulma's eyes flew open as the visions from her dream brought her undeniable pain. 'Who could have said such horrid things to me?" she wondered, as she replayed the dream in her mind. 'Did that truly happen? How could someone be so cruel? If you think this little tantrum of yours will turn my heart soft, and I'll start confessing my undying love-Love? Could this man be a former lover? Could he possibly be Trunks' father? Is that it? Is it possible I actually had loved this man, but he rejected me? I suppose that would make more sense than my having a meaningless one night stand, but wait… I'll stay and train the boy-Boy? Could he have been referring to Trunks? But how can that be? I was never told that Trunks' father had at any point lived with me-it was supposed to be a short-lived affair. And why would he train Trunks? Trunks told me he had been trained only by Ve-Oh, Dende, no!' Bulma immediately moved to sit up in bed, but for the first time since she had awakened she realized that was quiet impossible. Lifting the covers to find what was keeping her nailed to the sheets, she almost screamed as she found Vegeta's arm tightly wrapped around her waist. 'Oh, no-last night we-we-' before Bulma could completely recollect the events of the night prior, her bedmate began to move, her shifting had jarred him from his sleep.

Yawning lightly, Vegeta slowly opened his eyes as he pulled his mate closer to him. "Morning," he whispered against her ear. Sometime in the night she had turned her back to him, but he didn't mind, it was adequate enough to have her body against his. "Sleep well?" He asked with a suggestive note.

Bulma's back stiffened as soon as she heard his voice. 'Is this some kind of joke?' she asked herself, as she felt him begin to stroke her abdomen. 'How could I have let this happen?' she sighed with heavy shame as she attempted to wiggle free from his grip. "Please, let me go." She tried asking nicely, she didn't imagine him to be a man to take demands well.

Vegeta blinked in confusion. "Is something wrong?" If he didn't know any better, he would have thought she had been suppressing tears when she spoke.

"Please," she repeated, much weaker than before, "just let me go."

Heeding her plea, Vegeta relinquished his hold, watching disturbingly as she kept her back to him while sitting up in bed. Grabbing one of the bed sheets, she wrapped it around her, protecting herself from his further sight of her body. Taking a long shaky breath, "I think you should leave," Bulma whispered, before rising from the bed and heading towards the bathroom.

Vegeta's eyes widened in disbelief, 'what the hell?' he silently cursed. Using his superior speed, he cut Bulma off before she could make it to the bathroom, not caring that to do so he would have to stand before her without any covering. "Woman, what--" before he could even complete his question his answer stood as clear as day before him. His mate's eyes were blood shot, with fresh tears running down her cheeks. He instinctively reached out to wipe them away, but he didn't have the chance when Bulma's hand flew up to deflect his.

"Don't touch me!" she ordered violently, as she pulled the sheet she adorned more protectively around her. "You got what you wanted, now leave."

"Got what I wanted?" Vegeta repeated, what had he done to garner this reaction? "I don't know what you think--"

"You must be real proud of yourself," Bulma cut him off before he could conger up some lie she had no intentions of believing. "I mean I can't figure out if it was a game you were playing, trying to see if you could get a woman who had lost half of her mind into bed, or maybe it was more personal, maybe it was a preemptive measure so you could have something to humiliate me with after I regain my memories."

Vegeta felt his head spin as she spoke; he had no clue as to what the hell she was talking about. "Bulma, this wasn't a game or some attempt to humiliate you, I wanted you last night--"

"You wanted me?" Bulma stopped him with a chuckle, "really? You wanted a whiny self-righteous bitch that you had already decided you were 'done with.' Well, pardon me if I don't believe you."

Vegeta's mind raced as he recognized something familiar in her choice of characterization. 'Shit!' he thought, as he realized he had used those exact words when he had refused her love, right after their future son had returned to his timeline. His stomach churned as he recalled his stupidity. 'Why can't she remember any of the pleasant times we shared together?' he wondered angrily, before realizing that if their blissful times were weighed against their painful ones, the latter would greatly outmatch the other. "Look woman, I can understand your anger, but you must let me explain, that was--"

"-a long time ago," Bulma completed his thought with a laugh, "everything is 'a long time ago' with you! You keep using that excuse, but I'm not buying it anymore! I don't think you are the 'friend' you claim to be. In fact I am beginning to think that the only reason I let you remain under this roof was so Trunks could be trained, even as ridiculous as that may sound!"

"Bulm--"

"No!" She shook away from him once more, wrapping her arms around herself more tightly. Some fresh tears began to fall as she finished what she had to say. "I really don't want to hear you tell me some lie about how you and I are close or that we had some sort of relationship or whatever sick story your mind can come up with, because the truth of the matter is very simple: if I meant a damn to you, if any part of you held any compassion or concern, you wouldn't have slept with me last night. You knew damn well how vulnerable I was, but you didn't care, did you? But, maybe that's my fault. I mean, I certainly could have said no, I sure as hell should have, but I suppose that was my horrible mistake; this must all be my fault! That and, of course, my own stupidity in ever contemplating trusting you for a second!"

Vegeta for once couldn't find a rebuttal to her claims. She was right. He had let his need for her had run away with him, never once did he consider the aftereffects of their mating. Never did he consider the emotional turmoil it could cause her. As always, he had once again been selfish. "I'm sorry," he whispered, to the shock of the furious woman before him. "I should have stopped what happened between us," he conceded, "but I can not regret it. I may be many things, but not one of them is a man who takes advantage of a woman, physically or emotionally. I played no games with you last night, I did not intend to humiliate you with our coupling; and perhaps had I not been so lost in the thought of having you again, I would have stopped it. But I didn't, and I do not intend to regret it. Your mind recalls a time I rejected you, but even that was not as it seemed. If you do not wish to believe me, that is your prerogative, but for the record, I am not the man you continue to see in your memories, at least not anymore." As he finished he abruptly turned from her and walked over to the other side of the bed where his boots and training pants had been discarded. Throwing them on quickly, he left the room, without further comment, or a chance to hear her rebuttal; which, probably wouldn't have been much anyway because as soon as he left, Bulma collapsed on the floor in a heap with the sheets around her, as she released what was left of her tears.

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"Damn it!" Vegeta screamed, as he intensified his speed. What a fool he had been, to actually believe, for one minute, that his suffering was over, that he had actually reacquired that which was most important to him in the entire universe. '…if I meant a damn to you, if any part of you held any compassion or concern, you wouldn't have slept with me last night. You knew damn well how vulnerable I was, but you didn't care, did you?'

'How could I have been so stupid!? I been acting carefully so as not to release the truth about our joining, but instead I simply mate with her and confuse her more than I ever could have by telling her the damn truth!'

'You got what you wanted, now leave.'

'Leave, ha! She banishes me as if I took my own physical gratification from her without offering her anything in return-is that it? Was I inadequate last night?-Ah, who am I kidding, I'm a fucking deity in bed! But, why wasn't that enough for her? Save her damn memory loss, how could she simply ignore the fire that exists between us? The passion we shared last night!'

'I can't figure out if it was a game you were playing, trying to see if you could get a woman who had lost half of her mind into bed, or maybe it was more personal, maybe it was a preemptive measure so you could have something to humiliate me with after I regain my memories.'

'Humiliation, Dende, woman how could you ever imagine humiliation stemming from our joining? We are so perfect together, we know each other's bodies better than our own, we--' Vegeta's thoughts fell as he realized that she wouldn't remember how perfectly they fit together or have any memories of his body. In her mind they had never slept together. He cringed at the thought of his mate's only recollection of sex was being with her weakling ex. Probably the most sickening memory he had to accept from Bulma, was the memory of her first and proceeding times with Yamcha. It was disgusting how he had guilt tripped the poor woman into sleeping with him, practically begging for the woman's virginity after he had returned from his death at the hands of the Saibaimen. 'Wait, but that was after she had returned from Namek.' Vegeta paused to reassess the time frame of when Bulma has lost her memories and when she lost her-'She has never had a man before,' Vegeta's jaw dropped at the thought. As much as he wanted to smirk at the concept of being his woman's first, he knew how emotional loosing one's virginity can be. And even though his mate was far from physically being a virgin, mentally she couldn't remember anything but.

'Damn it, why the fuck didn't I think of this sooner?' Vegeta cursed himself; it all began to make sense as he recalled their coupling the night prior. Bulma had been apprehensive, and at points, all out lost when it came to her movement; two sets of behaviors Vegeta had never experienced in bed with his mate. And then there was the clutch. 'So tight,' Vegeta closed his eyes as he remembered her clutch being almost to the point of pain for him. It was utter ecstasy.

With a long sigh, Vegeta finally halted his flight. 'Of course she would have felt used. Not only did she think I was attempting to humiliate her, but by memory I made her first time seem absolutely worthless! Damn it! Here I had my one chance to be her first, as she had been mine, and I fucking blew it!'

Abruptly changing directions Vegeta decided to return to his home. He couldn't leave things as they are between him and his mate. He would have to speak with her once again, but not immediately. He wanted to give her some time to calm herself before he was to walk into the lion's den once more. Besides, now that the bulk of his pent up sexual frustrations were released, he might be able to refocus on his training once more.

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"Mom, I want to go to the park!" Trunks jumped up and down pulling on his mother's pant leg.

"Trunks, I have work to do, go ask your father." Bulma smiled at her handsome son.

"Come on Mom," Trunks pouted, "you know Dad won't take me! He hates the park!"

"Ask him nicely, Trunks." Bulma pushed her son towards the door.

"Awe, come on, please Mom!" Trunks stopped her from pushing him too far. He flashed his big puppy dog blue eyes at her as he frowned in a plea for sympathy. "Can't you ask him? You know he'll listen to you!"

"Trun--"

"Please." Trunks pushed out his lower lip further to look even more pleading.

"Oh, fine." Bulma chuckled as she walked past her son and down the hall. A few moments later she was in the kitchen, staring at the handsome backside of Trunks' perfectly chiseled Father. Walking up behind him, she wrapped her arms around the shirtless man, taking advantage of the chance to feel his well-sculpted chest.

"I'm not going to the park," he said quickly, before she could speak.

"Come on." She maneuvered her way around him so she could look into his bottomless eyes. "Your son really wants to go, and I can't take him right now."

"Your son," the dark man corrected, before taking a bite of a banana he had picked up.

Bulma frowned, in a manner similar to that of Trunks, before tracing the perfect indentations around her lover's abs. "I really hate to have to do this," she pouted before leaning in to his ear, "but if Trunks doesn't get to play this afternoon, you won't get to play tonight," she whispered seductively, before clamping her teeth down in his banana and suggestively taking a bite of her own.

The man before her growled deeply within his throat before attempting to capture her lips, he failed as she dodged him with a victorious laugh. "Ah, ah, ah," she warned, "not before you take Trunks to the park."

"Honestly," he allowed a smirk to grace his lips as he recoiled, "if you keep being manipulative like this, I'm going to start to think I'm wearing off on you."

"Dende, forbid," the pair laughed, before calling Trunks to join them.

"But know this is a one time thing, woman," he added with all seriousness, as he detached himself from Bulma before they could be seen by their son.

"Of course," Bulma allowed him to believe what he wished, before turning to see her son walk in. "Your father has agreed to take you to the park."

"Really! Thanks Dad!" Trunks then ran over and hugged his Father, whom in return quickly detached the boy from himself before leaving the kitchen.

Trunks only laughed in understanding, as his father parted. Then turning to his mother he offered her a much more receptive hug. "Thanks Mom… Mom… Mom!"

~*~*~

"Mom! Hello, Earth to Mom! Are you in there?" Trunks asked, as he loudly knocked on his mother's door.

Bulma's eyes jerked open in confusion. 'Another dream? A memory perhaps?' she wondered briefly, before realizing that the voice of her son was not from any dream. 'I can't let him see me like this,' she suppressed further tears as she looked down at the disheveled mess she still was, after having fallen asleep on the floor. Deciding not to open the door to allow her son in, she decided to answer his calls, "Trunks, what do you need?" She tried to keep her tone steady as she spoke, so as not to alert any suspicions in the boy.

"Um," Trunks was surprised that his mother wasn't coming out of her room to speak to him. "I was just wondering if you have seen Vegeta. I haven't been able to find him all morning, and it doesn't appear that his bed was slept in." Trunks' blatant concern was highly apparent.

Bulma felt her heart stop, out of all of the things her son could have asked, did it have to be about him? Taking but a few moments to contemplate her possible responses, Bulma opted for the least motherly of them all. She would lie to get the child out of the house. Her call was of course selfish, but she needed some time alone, to allow all that had happened to sink in, and she feared she couldn't do that under the close scrutiny of her son. "You know, I think Vegeta said he was going meet Goku for a sparring match." It sounded like a logical possibility; Bulma hoped Trunks would accept it as such.

"Oh, ok." Trunks laid his mother's worries quickly to rest, "but are you sure everything is all right, Mom?"

"Of course, I'm just resting." Bulma added a yawn for effect; she didn't want her son to have to worry anymore than she knew he already did about her.

"All right then." Trunks shrugged, though not completely satisfied with his mother's conviction, he decided to let it go. His father was still missing and finding him was his top priority.

Waiting a few minutes, to make certain her son had actually gone, Bulma finally rose from her broken position, went into her bathroom, and locked the door. So much was happening so fast that she feared she would never make sense of any of it. From memory flashes, to dreams, to dates with ex boyfriends, to liaisons with ex murders, it seemed nothing could possibly get any worse.

Deciding for once not to think about all of the complex issues she was dealing with, Bulma turned her shower on. She reeked of Vegeta's scent, and as strangely intoxicating as that scent seemed, she couldn't bear the memories that stemmed from it. Dropping the sheet covering her body, Bulma stepped under the heat of the blazing water, hoping for both physical and mental purification.

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Author's Note: Awe so sad. Will they work things out? And what about the man Bulma is seeing in her dreams? Will she connect Vegeta and Trunks' father as one in the same? I'm not telling, but trust me, things are going to start getting complicated when Trunks drops in on the Son's and tells them about some things he heard last night! Until next time…