Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Finding Venus ❯ Venus Found ( Chapter 15 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Finding Venus

Chapter XV - Venus Found

*****

I can't take anymore of this.

I wanna come apart,

And dig myself a little hole

Inside your precious heart.

~Staind, Epiphany

*****

The wind whipped around Bulma's trembling body, causing the blue strands of her hair to slash at her face like razors. A cold sweat glistened on her brow as she struggled to remain airborne. Thunder rolled, loud and raucous, above her head, causing vibrations in the atmosphere with the enormity of its sound, and a flash of lightning sizzled the thick air with electricity.

Bulma paused momentarily in her flight, scouting the landscape of rolling hills and deep crevices spread beneath her, debating whether or not she should land. She knew it was only a matter of time before the sky opened, and she would become drenched. With only a thin sheet for clothing, the Chikyuu-jin genius didn't think getting wet would be to the best of her advantage.

Her internal struggle was decided as lightning struck the ground once again, closer this time to the runaway concubine. She flew as swiftly as she could away from it, and in doing so, zapped the rest of her energy. Just as she felt the last of her strength give out, stinging pellets of water began to prick her tender flesh. Within a matter of seconds, she was soaked thoroughly.

She dropped to the surface of Vegetasei, spotting a cave in the distance and mumbling curses under her breath to the gods of this planet and her own native Chikyuu. The day couldn't get any worse, at least to her estimation. Her mind callously listed all her mistakes, including running away from a man she could never hope to escape, doing so in nothing but a flimsy sheet, and heading straight into a storm. Not one of your smartest moves, girl, a voice mocked within her. Bulma could only chock this escapade up to panic and sheer stupidity. If she had thought for one moment, she would never have flown towards the storm, even though she had clearly seen the darkening clouds from Vegeta's balcony. Of course, if she had been thinking straight, she would never have tried to run in the first place. Practically speaking, Bulma knew that the Saiya-jin no Ouji had by now sent guards to retrieve her, perhaps was even pursuing her himself. She knew her attempt at escape was futile. Len'ah's warnings echoed mercilessly in her head, and Bulma was chagrined by the fact that she'd rather face the penalties for escape than confront Vegeta about drugging her. She was too scared that he'd admit that he'd done it, and that all they'd shared up until this point had meant nothing.

As she stumbled across the sand that was quickly turning into mud, Bulma began to rethink that logic. No matter how she tried, her legs refused to move faster, and as exhaustion pulled her further under its spell, she stumbled, falling hard to her hands and knees. The rain seemed to pour even heavier as it pounded on her small frame, and her body shuddered under the weight of all her burdens, both physical and mental.

Bowing into the sodden earth, Bulma let out a keening wail as the cave, her supposed sanctuary, blurred through the tears that formed in her eyes, trailing down her cheeks and melting with the rain. She screamed again, and then another time, venting her anger and confusion and frustration into the lashing wind. She screamed until her throat felt raw and thick. All her will and verve seemed to have left her, and Bulma was about to just collapse into the mud when the storm seemed to answer her cries.

At first, she thought the rumblings were simple thunder and lightning, but looking through the soggy curtain of her hair and into the wall of water, she saw a Saiya-jin warrior zoom past her overhead, yelling something unintelligible. Just as her blue, blue eyes widened in recognition, he paused midair and gazed sharply down at her.

As if in slow motion, Bulma tried to rise, but her feet caught upon the trailing ends of the sheet she wore, and she fell once more to her stomach. Before she could recover, Vegeta was upon her, pinioning her struggling form to the ground.

"Godsdammit, woman!" he ground out harshly, his breath tickling her ear. "What in the seven hells were you thinking?"

He didn't wait for a reply as he roughly flipped her over, straddling her waist and pinning her wrists above her head. Bulma threw her head back, trying to whip her hair from her face and glare fiercely at him at the same time. She was about to give him a scathing response, but all thought left her as she looked into his eyes. Behind the very real anger burned something akin to panic. He looked at her with a mixture of rage, concern, and relief, very similar to the way her parents had looked at her when she'd disappeared from their side at the mall once when she was five. The look Vegeta gave her now made her heart leap into her throat, and suddenly she began to doubt her previous doubts about his intentions.

But then he ruined the moment by further spewing a barrage of insults at her.

"You stupid, idiotic cow!" he yelled into her face. "Do you not realize the dangers that abound in these desert hills?"

"Better than what was waiting for me back at the palace!" she spat back furiously. "At least out here I don't have to worry about being drugged!"

Rather than give into the doubt that clenched his gut at her words, Vegeta stood, hauling her up with him. He noticed absently that she'd rather ingeniously tied the sheet about her so that everything important was covered. The long expanse of cloth was drawn tightly around her back, and the ends were crossed over her chest and tied behind her neck. She'd found a belt from somewhere in his wardrobe to tie around her waist to hold the rest of the sheet closed. The material was now completely wet and clung to her like a second skin. Of course Vegeta's mind picked up on this fact, and he immediately felt lust burn through him.

Rather than bask in her glory, however, he also felt enraged at her for being to exert such power over him even in their less-than perfect circumstances. The middle of a pounding rainstorm in the desert of Egrat was not a good place to fuck, much less anything else.

"Look, woman," he bit out, pulling her clamped wrists tightly to his chest and forcing her closer to him, "Now is not the time for this discussion. Shut the fuck up and listen. We've got to find shelter. This storm is only going to get worse."

Though she still glared at him, Bulma also nodded, realizing the truth of his words as the rain continued to pound them. She'd done enough stupid things for one day and wasn't about to add arguing in a storm to that list. Motioning towards the cave with her head, she said, "Over there. I was headed there when I saw you fly over."

He looked in the direction she nodded towards. "Very well. Hold on!" he shouted through the din of the rain. "But just for the record, I didn't drug you!"

Bulma let out a startled 'eep!' as she felt her body violently pulled tight against his as he launched into the air. She might have protested his manhandling of her, but she was too stunned over his denial of drugging her. The possibility that he was not the perpetrator hadn't occurred to her. As her mind reeled with this new possibility and all its ramifications, exhaustion overtook her, and she shivered as they flew through the hard rain to shelter.

Vegeta felt Bulma's body sag against his as the weight of his words hit her, and he felt resentment sour his stomach again. What did I do to deserve her doubt? That question, while perhaps justifiable on some levels, also carried with it a double-edge. While he'd done nothing to earn her distrust recently, he'd also done nothing to earn her loyalty. And that was perhaps the most damning of all his actions. If Bulma didn't trust him, how could she ever love him?

He touched lightly upon the ground once more as they reached the entrance of the cave. Setting Bulma on her feet once more, he shoved her behind him, leading the way into the cave slowly. The caves of Egrat were home to many wild animals, and he didn't want to risk the woman's safety any more than necessary. A quick survey of the enclosure revealed, however, that it was nothing more than a relatively shallow indenture in the side of a mountain. It was deep enough to provide them with dryness, but not much more, as it was only about fifteen feet deep.

"Well, this should do alright for the time being," Vegeta remarked softly, satisfied that they would encounter no further problems from the physical world as they waited out the storm. Moving towards her, he continued, "We need to get you dried off..."

Bulma, however, paid no heed to his reassurance. She stepped back, close to the entrance of the cave, avoiding his outstretched hand and scrutinizing the drenched Prince with keen and desperate eyes. His normally-upswept hair hung long and wavy around his shoulders, making him look younger and incredibly vulnerable, and his obsidian eyes glittered more with fatigue than anger. Something has happened, came the unbidden thought. Her heart stirred once more.

"Did you speak the truth back there?" she queried, her voice edged with anxiety.

Thinking of the panic she'd caused him earlier, the Prince tried to quell the sudden desire he had to sweep the woman into his arms once more and make her remember the passion that had been between them rather than discuss why it had occurred in the first place. She looked at him too intently for him to want to do anything but make love to her. He'd been scared for the first time since his childhood when he'd seen her laying on the ground, trembling from both sheer exhaustion and fear. Anger burned through him for an innumerable time, and he had to slow his breathing to maintain his fragile hold on all the emotions running too close to the surface of his being. Though he now knew Bulma to be physically alright, he was still frightened of how things were going to be between them now. Perhaps that was why instead of answering her straight, he chose to prolong their game of words that had begun even before the Festival.

"I don't know," he replied at some length, crossing his arms across his chest. He struggled to keep his face a blank mask as he saw both doubt and relief play across Bulma's face. "What do you think? Why would I drug you when what you offered last night is just as easily taken without the aid of comangi?"

"Why can't you just answer me, dammit?"

"I have already answered you!"

"Why should I believe you?" she then challenged him, choosing to err on the side of caution rather than surrender to the need to run to him and bury herself in his embrace.

Vegeta's mouth twisted into a savage snarl. "Because it is the fucking truth!" he snapped. "I have NEVER lied to you! Why would I begin now?"

Bulma's temper flared to match his own rising one, but her words caught in her throat as she realized Vegeta's simple logic. She could not say that he had ever lied before, and he also had to know she wasn't stupid. He wouldn't have drugged her, and then let her find out, even by accident. The whole point of gaining her submission was to keep it. She wouldn't have remained docile and willing in his bed if she knew she was being drugged.

Suddenly, the blue-haired woman felt her cheeks flush in complete embarrassment as she realized that her anger and her running away had been for naught. She closed her eyes tightly in regret so that Vegeta could not see the full impact of her foolish actions hit her thoroughly. If there was one thing she had learned above all else about Vegeta was that he had an incredible amount of pride. He would never stoop to tactics that were beneath him. Taking advantage of those weaker than him did not bother the Prince, but he would do so only if they were fully aware of what he was doing, whether it was enslaving them or killing them. He made sure they knew what was going to happen.

She reopened her eyes to find Vegeta glaring at her. For the first time since she'd met him, Bulma found herself unable to meet his eyes. However, like Vegeta, she also had incredible pride. She could not bring herself to apologize for misjudging him, at least without a full explanation.

Forcing herself to at least concentrate on his face, she asked, "If it wasn't you, then who slipped me the comangi root? You are the only logical person who would have something to gain by such an action."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed further and his jaw clenched tighter as frustration roared through him at her obvious refusal to apologize right away, especially when he thought about the humiliation he would face when they returned to the palace. By now, everyone would know that his favorite had runaway, and he would lose face when he refused to punish her severely and publicly. Vegeta knew that he could never harm Bulma, no matter that she did, short of absolute betrayal, and he found even that definition grower more liberal as each day with her passed.

But there was no reason to let her know that, at least until she had apologized for assuming the worst about him.

"Woman, I owe you no explanations," he grunted in response, trying to keep his face narrowed in a glare. "And it makes no sense for me to want to drug you in the first place. I would get much more satisfaction out of conquering you into submission with wits and my fists."

"You bastard!" Bulma spat angrily, stepping a bit closer to him as anger coursed through her. Water shook from her hair as she tried in vain to keep from quaking with rage. "I have been in turmoil the ENTIRE fucking day! And all you can do is bait me! You'd better tell me what the hell happened last night, or by the gods, I'll---"

"You'll what?" he mocked cruelly, feeling much more at ease at playing the bastard than just simply giving into her.

"Gods, I can't believe the depths you'll sink to just to win," she replied scornfully. "Why won't you just give me the fucking truth instead of hiding behind your damnable pride?"

"For the same fucking reason that you ran away!" he shouted back as the control that he'd so carefully and painstakingly crafted over the years simply evaporated. "You're scared shitless because you've never felt more alive than you did last night, drugged or not!"

"I ran to get away from you!"

"Bullshit! You ran because you can't admit to yourself how you feel about me!"

"That is such a godsdamned typical response! Just because you're the fucking Saiya-jin no Ouji doesn't mean that all women fall at their feet in adoration of you! And you're one to talk! You can't admit to yourself how YOU feel about ME!"

"Oh, I know how I feel about you alright! You're just another piece of ass!"

"At least I don't allow you to control me like Frieza controlled, still controls, you," Bulma whispered, knowing even as she spoke the words that they would pierce through his stony wall of pride and anger. "At least I don't hide behind my childhood as an excuse for not loving anyone!"

"Woman," Vegeta snarled, "You'd better watch what you fucking say!"

"Truth hurts, doesn't it, monkey prince?" she asked scathingly. "You can act like you're so much better than him and your father, and hell, even Len'ah! But you're not! You're still just a scared, pathetic little boy only pretending to be a man! And you always will be!"

Faster than she ever thought possible, Vegeta closed the gap between them, fury twisting his face into unfamiliarity. He raised his arm high above them, and she felt the whisper of air as the thickly-muscled appendage flew towards her face. In the few seconds all this happened, she screwed her eyes shut and steeled herself for the deathblow.

It never came.

Several long minutes passed as silence engulfed the couple, broken only by the deafening roar of falling rain. All Bulma felt was the heavy tickle of warm breath on her turned cheek, and she opened her eyes to find Vegeta standing oh-so-close to her, trembling violently with the effort to reign in his temper. Her mouth dropped slightly in shock, for she fully expected to be knocked into the next dimension for her insolence. She let out a ragged, strained sigh, gasping for air she hadn't realized she'd denied herself in those few, fatalistic moments.

"I didn't drug you, woman," Vegeta whispered sharply. "Len'ah did. By accident. She, like you, thinks me capable of such action."

Though he was still quivering, he managed to find the strength to move away from the woman before he stumbled. Bile rose in his throat, and he lurched forward to his hands and knees as his stomach clenched viciously in dry, excruciating heaves. He knew it was beneath him to show such weakness in front of her, but at the moment, he didn't fucking care. All he knew was that he had been at the edge, and he'd almost dived head first over it. He didn't even know how he'd stopped himself. Gods, what has she done to me?

Bulma didn't even think to feel ashamed as she collapsed upon the cavern floor. She herself was beginning to shake as she realized how wrong she'd truly been about the Prince. Tears, thick and fat, began rolling down her pale-white cheeks, and broken sobs escaped her lips as she rocked back and forth with grief.

But what she was grieving for, she couldn't put into words.

She didn't know how much time passed, but eventually, the stream of tears slowed and stopped. Vegeta moved from hands and knees to just sitting, not looking at her or anything in particular. His dark gaze just stared into nothingness, and Bulma just studied him, noting not for the first time the incredibly-hard vulnerability he showed when unguarded.

In that moment, she knew the truth of both why he had stopped himself and why he could never let her go.

And she also knew that she would never run again.

Gathering her strength, she crawled over to Vegeta and crouched before him. At first, he didn't seem to even notice her, but she forced his gaze to turn upon her when her small hands reached up to gently cup his face.

Running a thumb lightly over his slightly-parted lips, she asked, "Why do we do this to ourselves?"

Still dazed from his brush with madness and mesmerized by her touch, he could only mumble, "I don't know."

As he spoke, his tongue gently brushed her finger, and though Bulma gasped with shock, she did not flinch away from him. Instead, she brought him closer to her so that their heads rested against one another.

"Let me show you why," she whispered breathlessly.

Realization dawned in his obsidian eyes, but he dared not believe, even as she placed a butterfly kiss upon his lips and her hands began cupping something besides his face.

"But you're still my slave..."

"Not right now. I'm not wearing those godsdamned bracelets, so I have nothing to fight," she whispered feverishly as his hands began their own exploration of her goose-pimpled body. "Besides, I'm so fucking tired of fighting..."

Her murmured confession was silenced as his mouth swooped down upon hers, and their tongues gently mated. Hands ran down necks and arms and chests as they desperately tried to memorize the other's body, both frightened that this moment would end. Soft curves and hard planes were kissed and caressed and kneaded and worshipped as they lost themselves in only each, ignoring the hard, craggy ground and violent storm that raged only a few feet away. There was no struggle for domination as clothing was removed and tossed aside. They was equals in both their ability to please and their desire to please.

Bulma allowed Vegeta to gently tug the sheet knotted around her neck loose, and she reveled in the feeling of his very capable mouth upon her breasts. She cried out in sheer ecstasy when he trailed a wet path down her torso to her navel, where he laved attention for a few moments before traveling lower. He delighted in the soft whimpers and groans every flick of his tongue elicited from her, and almost came himself when he felt her tight inner walls clench the two fingers he'd inserted into her as he brought her to orgasm.

When she'd come down from the initial explosion, she ignored his startled protests as she pushed him onto his back and divested him of the rest of his clothing. Bulma then proceeded to torture him with her luscious mouth in the same manner he'd down to her, smiling in contentment at the strangled cry of passion that escaped him as her lips closed around him. Her ministrations continued to be alternatingly slow and sweet and hard and fast until she felt him begin to tense beneath her.

More than ready herself, Bulma eagerly straddled his lap and lowered herself upon him. Vegeta gasped aloud again at the wonderful warmth that she encased him in and sat up, pressing the entirety of her into his chest. Though he clutched her tightly, Bulma set up an easy, impassioned rhythm, and soon both were rocking gently, their moans timed together.

As both flew higher and higher, Vegeta, dug his fingers in the thick spill of Bulma's silky tresses, bringing her lips to his, swallowing her long, low moans.

She returned the kiss just as fervently, breaking away only as she felt her muscles begin to tighten harder and more frequently. Bulma felt Vegeta stiffen beneath her, and she knew he was almost there as well. She moved her pelvis a little faster, causing him to groan even louder as their bodies moved harder and more feverishly against each other. Vegeta placed fast, light kisses along her jaw and throat, and as he felt her sheathe tauten violently about him, he let go of himself. Soon, the cavern echoed with their shared cries of pleasure, and with one, last volatile thrust, both lovers plunged over the edge of ecstasy.

The journey back down to reality was slow and lethargic. Bulma collapsed against Vegeta's sweat-slicked chest, gasping for breath. He in turn was equally out of sorts, but not so much that he couldn't pull her face up to his.

Brushing wet hair away, he gently kissed her forehead and looked intently into her blue, blue eyes. "Regrets?" he whispered, tongue erotically outlining her lips.

Tiny beads of perspiration had formed above her upper lip, and as he licked these away, she shook her head slightly. "Again?" she asked impishly.

"Little vixen," he admonished playfully. "You'll be the death of me."

She pouted. "No, then?"

"Of course not, foolish woman." Already he could feel himself hardening again inside of her. "I will never get enough of you."

"Nor I you," she murmured breathlessly as her lips sought his once more.

Then, as the storm continued to rage outside, they again showed each other with their bodies what they could not put into words.