Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Falling in Love the First Time ❯ Saiya-jin Love ( Chapter 20 )

Falling In Love The First Time

Chapter 20 - Saiya-jin Love

Bulma awoke with a yawn, propping her head upon her palm as she lay watching her mate sleep. Mate. That was the term Vegeta liked to use for her. In the few months since they had joined she had come to know a completely different Vegeta. He was no longer inhibited around her. There were no secrets to be hidden between them. She knew all of him, hence taking away any and all of his need to maintain the macho facade he had down to a science. Though that Vegeta would always emerge when they were in the company of warriors or friends who might be taken aback by his more sensitive side, she knew who he truly was inside, and she would relive every moment of pain the exchange had cost her just to ensure the unbreakable connection they now held.

And, Dende, there was pain, both physical and mental. It was no easy feat to make peace with the atrocities Vegeta had committed, and had committed to him, but after seeing his whole life, she actually understood all that made him who he was. Vegeta had never known any of the softer emotions. He never knew love, he never knew trust, or mercy or devotion, or the simple act of kindness. It was not until he came to Earth, after almost thirty years of pure misery, that he learned what it was like to be cared for. And to her shock, she had been the focal figure of all that.

If she had any idea how great an affect giving herself to him during his rut had upon him, she would not have been so submissive in his release of her. He had never known the touch of a woman, the bliss that the physical body could feel. His entire life was built on pain, on pushing himself to the brink of death just to bring about an increase in energy. He was truly the embodiment of a miracle. She did not believe any other being, other than her prince, could have experienced all the hardships that he had and live to tell about it.

Looking down at his sleeping face, she could not suppress the smile that graced her lips. Lowering her head to rest against his chest so she could listen to the steady beat of his heart, she closed her eyes as she recalled their lovemaking session the night before. It had been difficult for her to believe how amazing a man, who had so little experience with woman, could be in bed. They had coupled every night since they became bonded mates; the passion they felt for each other was almost too much to be squelched. Of course, after having denied each other for so many years, it was no surprise their lovemaking would be so powerful. The addiction she felt for him was only mirrored by his need for her. They were truly two parts of a whole, and now that they were finally together, nothing would separate them.

"Mmmm," a deep groan from her handsome Saiya-jin mate stole her from her musings. Rolling onto his stomach so she could make eye contact with her lover, Bulma smiled a warm good morning. "Afternoon, I think it is," Vegeta corrected after taking a quick glance over at the clock. A smirk crossed his lips in remembrance of the past evening as he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. With the light of the sun shining through the balcony, she truly looked angelic.

"Where is my surprise?" she demanded as she broke his caresses to bring his hand to her lips in a short kiss. "Last night you said you had something for me, where is it?"

Vegeta chuckled heartily at her needy nature. "Why, I have no idea what you are talking about, Bulma."

The antsy woman pounded a few times on her mate's chest, as she demanded, "Come on, Vegeta! You told me last night you had something for me, but that I had to work to get it from you, and if I recall correctly," she slithered her tongue against his bite mark, knowing the kind of pleasure it can generate in his body upon mere touch, "I worked very hard last night, so give it to me!"

Vegeta hissed as the pleasure he was suddenly feeling was ripped away as Bulma pulled back from him, crossing her arms across her chest, promising not to attend to him anymore if he does not hand over the prize. "Very well, you win," he leaned over to the nightstand next to their bed and opened the top drawer to pull something out. Before he did though, he demanded she close her eyes. Once she complied with his demand, Vegeta pulled out his gift, and grabbing her left hand, slowly slipped it on her finger. "All right, you can open them now."

Shooting her eyes open, Bulma lifted her hand closer to her eyes to inspect the flawless white diamond ring before her. "Oh my Dende, Vegeta, this is gorgeous," she shifted in the bed so she was lying next to him once again, "but does it mean what I think it does?"

Hiding the frown that Vegeta instinctively wanted to display, he slowly nodded in affirmation. "I won't lie; I think the human custom of marriage is a farce. There is no permanence to it, and the fact that it is so public, well something will have to be done about that in our case, but, I suppose if you were willing to follow my tradition, I guess I can subject myself to yours."

Bulma sprang back up into a sitting position as she heard his non-proposal of marriage. "You are damn right you can, you jerk! Do you know what I went through because of your bond? The least you can do is take part in a harmless little ceremony! Of course, that is assuming I want to marry you at all; I mean, you did not even get down on your knee and ask me! You just assumed I would agree, well that buddy is awfully presumpt-" her tirade was shortly cut off as Vegeta grabbed her face and pulled her down in a rough kiss.

Once he felt her objections were finished with, he mocked, "Honestly, woman, I am trying to do something nice here, savor it."

Deciding to allow the joy of knowing he was actually going to marry her be enough, Bulma once again lay back down next to him as she continued to observe her ring; "It really is beautiful," she finally decided, "who picked it out?"

Turning to glare at her, he looked thoroughly offended, "I picked it out. What do you think; I am incapable of a menial human task, such as selecting an engagement ring?"

"No, it is not that at all," Bulma was quick to disagree. "I guess I just thought the 'menial' part of the task would have stopped you cold in your tracks."

The once Saiya-jin prince snickered at the assumption as he wrapped an arm around his mate and now soon to be wife. "Well, I suppose you have earned the right to be called my 'wife,' though I still prefer mate, and even better yet, woman," he bit her nose playfully to halt her complaint. "Besides, having all of your memories made the task easier. I knew exactly what you wanted."

Bulma sulked as she looked up at her prince, "That is cheating, Vegeta. You can't just use my memories to find out what I want. You have to act like a normal man and watch for the subtle hints, and try to be creative. Romance is nothing without surprise!"

Shaking his head, Vegeta offered a short and honest response, "you do not have to worry about my being 'creative' or 'surprising' when it comes to 'romance,' because I am not romantic. I do not do gifts, dates, or considerate gestures. So you will simply have to learn to just settle for loads and loads and loads of sex." He finished on an amused note as he planted another quick kiss upon her lips before pulling away from the pouting woman to get out of bed.

"Vegeta!" Bulma rose to her knees, the covers wrapped securely around her body, as she demanded to know why he was leaving her.

"It is one in the afternoon, woman," he explained while throwing a pair of his blue training pants on. "Though I don't regret staying up until the early hours of the morning fucking your brains out, I have missed precious time training."

Feeling her jaw drop, Bulma crossed her arms over her chest in anger as she glared at him. "We just became engaged and you want to go train!?"

Pausing a moment to make certain the question was not some trick, he then carefully answered, "Yes."

Grabbing the pillow he had slept so comfortably upon last night, she threw the feather filled linen at her husband-to-be. "Vegeta!" she hopped off the bed and walked right in front of him. "You can't leave now! We have things to decide, like when we are going to do this, who I can invite, where we are going to do this, do you want invitations, will you wear a tux, who will your best man be?!?! This is important stuff! I can't decide it-"

"We'll do it right here, this weekend. Get one of those hideous white dresses if you want, and for no more than the time it takes to say 'I do,' I will wear one of those stupid black suits. Your mother will be your 'maid of honor' your father will 'give you away,' and the boy will be my 'best man.' No one else, besides the justice of the peace, will be present to bear witness to my humiliation. Those are all the details you need, and the only concessions I will make. If you don't like my terms you can simply continue living a life of 'sin,' with me-which, by the way gets my vote any day," he swung an arm around his mate's waist to bring her in for a long kiss. When he released her for air, the tears in her eyes surprised him. "What?"

Wiping the liquid from her cheeks, Bulma forced a smile as she shook her head. "I don't know, I guess I am just really happy. That is exactly how I always dreamed our wedding, just a private ceremony with our little family and my parents; it was all I ever wanted from you."

Bringing the teary eyed woman into his embrace, Vegeta chuckled shrewdly, "I know, Bulma. And like I said earlier, you followed my custom; it would be a dishonor for me not to follow yours." He allowed her another few minutes to bask in his warmth, and then once again pulled away to grab his training boots, "But, as I also said earlier, I have training to get to."

Bulma's moment of serenity quickly drifted away as she watched her prince flash her one of his sly smirks before leaving her alone to bask in the glory of being 'newly engaged.' Dropping the bed sheet wrapped around her, she headed into the bathroom to shower and change. She had several people who needed to hear the joyous news, and she did not want to leave a single one of them in suspense.

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"You did it, for real!?!?" Trunks began a series of back flips as soon as his father released the joyous news. In the last few months, the once disheartened boy's spirits had been catapulted to astronomical heights when his parents told him they were back together. Trunks had been happy, but guarded by the news. He did not want to allow himself to become too excited by the concept of his family finally becoming unbreakable, if the arrangements were only temporary. But at the sound of his father saying they were going to get married, it was as if all of his walls crumbled. "So when will it be?"

"This weekend," Vegeta answered while throwing a series of punches at an imaginary foe, "I am sure your mother will want to fit you for a suit, so just suck it up and be compliant. Got it?"

"You got it!" Trunks promised, before an extending thought tickled his mind. "Hey, Dad, if you are marrying Mom, then you have to have a best man. But you don't have any friends, so-"

"I do not need a bunch of sniveling friends," Vegeta snapped at the insulting note the boy's impending question held. "Besides, I already told your mother you had the job."

"Wow, really!" Trunks began springing up and down once more. "That is so great! I can't wait until the wedding! You guys are finally going to be real parents-not that you weren't before, but this will be way cooler!"

"Boy," Vegeta bellowed loud enough to interrupt the child's ranting, "get back to your training."

Trunks frowned as he crossed his arms defensively, "awe, but come on, Dad, this is BIG news, can't I just go congratulate Mom first?"

"Fine," Vegeta shrugged, "but you will have to work out double for every minute you are away!"

Trunks glowered at his father before scurrying off. He did not really mind having to spend the extra time training, his family was finally whole; he was too excited to care about anything else.

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"Congratulations," the forced reply was the most pacified response she had heard all day. After telling her parents, and receiving boisterous best wishes from her mother and a warm acceptance from her father, Trunks had kept the energy high by offering his exhilaration soon after. But now, it was hard for her to handle the sour note she knew she had to deal with, being face to face with her first lover and now best friend.

"It is OK to tell me how you really feel, Yamcha. We have known each other a long time, we do not need to hide things from one another," she extended a hand across the desk to embrace his. She was pleased to see him meet her eyes with a genuine smile.

"I am happy for you, Bulma, I really am," he admitted with a reserved certainty. "Believe it or not, I always wanted you to find happiness. Once I thought that could be with me, but now I know better. I could never make your eyes light up the way Vegeta does. And though I won't pretend to understand what he has that I don't, I respect it, and I really hope all three of you will be happy."

"Oh, I know we will," she lifted her hand to wipe a few stray tears away. She seemed to be doing that a lot today. "Vegeta and I have already shared our vows with each other, in a sense. We know exactly what we are getting from the other, and it is more than either of us could have ever hoped for. So believe me when I tell you, our past hardships are over. We understand each other, and it makes what we have unbreakable."

Pulling back to rest casually in his seat, Yamcha released a long gasp. "I dare say you are truly in love, Bulma; hard to believe that Vegeta is the spark behind your eyes."

Rising from her seat, Bulma walked around to the front of her desk, and leaned against it softly as she took a moment to face reality. "I guess it does seem a little bizarre, especially after all we have been through together, but I do love him, with all my heart, just as he does me."

"Good," Yamcha rose from his seat with a half smile as he took his ex-girlfriend's hand and placed a light kiss upon it. "I really wish you all the happiness in the world, Bulma. If anyone deserves it, it's you."

"Thanks, Yamcha," Bulma watched as he turned quietly on his heel and without further word departed from her office. It had been hard for her to break the news to a man she had so much history with, but she was certain where her heart lay, and no matter what, it would always be with her prince.

"Mom," the sudden sound of her son's voice broke Bulma from her trance as she turned to see Trunks coming towards her. "Was that Yamcha I just saw?" he asked somewhat out of breath as he finally stopped before her. Apparently he had been training with his father most of the afternoon.

"Yes, it was, I just told him about your Dad and me getting married," she explained as she pushed herself to stand up straight. "So, why is it you came all the way to my office? Do you need something?"

"Yes!" A frown graced the small boy's lips as he briefly crossed his arms in a pouting manner. He just had a rather unpleasant exchange with his father minutes ago, after being denied a trip to the park. Trunks had hoped the particularly pleasant mood his father had been in would work to his advantage, but it turned out he had been depressingly wrong. "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 as she tried to walk back to sit at her desk, she was stopped abruptly by her son's insistence.

"Come on, Mom," Trunks pouted, his father may have said 'no,' but that didn't mean he couldn't try to talk his mother into it, "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 on 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, I knew he wouldn't say no to you. He loves you too much!"

"Awe, you think so?" Bulma bit her bottom lip, flattered by the thought. "You should go get ready for the park, I am sure your Dad won't want to be kept waiting."

"Right," Trunks nodded before turning to leave.

As Bulma watched him disappear from the room, she couldn't help but smile to herself. For once in her unconventional existence, she finally had everything she had ever wanted. A handsome son, and now her prince charming to boot-well, maybe the 'charming' part did not quite apply, but one thing was for certain, what she had, she knew was forever.

Thinking back to when it all began, Bulma could not help but recall the prophetic conversation she had had with Vegeta, days before his tri-rut. She had asked him what he looked for in a woman, and to her shock he had confessed a desire for a woman who was, as he had put it, soft. For years she had never understood what he had meant by the adjective, but now she understood perfectly. His need for a 'soft' woman had nothing to do with a physical or emotional state of being, what he was asking for was his compliment.

For so long Bulma had falsely believed that Vegeta could never love her because she was not Saiya-jin, and therefore, neither physically nor emotionally strong enough to be with him; but, in truth, that was never what he wanted. What he had secretly desired all his life was a safety net. Someone he did not have to be so tough around, someone who he did not have to keep up the princely façade with, someone he was not afraid to admit his feelings to, cry in front of, or even show real emotions to. That was what he had meant by soft. A female who was the total opposite of him, whose gentle heart and soul could nurture his beaten and broken one. That was all he ever wanted, and yet why he had pushed her away for so long. Bulma reflected the gentility the great Saiya-jin no ouji always wanted but, at the time, had scared the hell out of him.

However, the fear of losing her was more powerful than that of actually having her. And not just physically as he had promised, but what they shared was so much more powerful than anything either of them could have ever imagined. The passion to nearly the point of obsession was shocking to her. He was never severed from her thoughts, just as Bulma knew she would never be from his. They were truly a perfect completion of one another, and together, they were a force to be reckoned with. No matter what hardships were to be thrown at them, she knew they would make it out all right, because they would always have each other, and their love. Not the transient love that is defined by humans, but a deeper, more eternal love.

Saiya-jin love.

The End

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Author's Note: **Teardrop** Well, that is it boys and girls. The Falling in Love's are completely finished. I hope you all enjoyed the ride. Now for those of you who need an LGV fix in the mean time, check out Ward, and yes, I am finally posting it, the final part to the Surviving Together trilogy! Look for it soon, very soon…