Surviving Together

Chapter 8 - A Bitter Irony

Once Bulma managed to come back to reality after the rush of pleasure drifted from her, she slowly opened her eyes to see Vegeta walk over to Zarbon. She immediately closed them again as she pulled her knees into her stomach and began to cry. She had never felt so dirty in her life, and not just physically, but emotionally. She had just lost the only possession she could take pride in still having. She always wanted to save herself for the man she intended to spend her entire life with. So when she knew it was true love, she could look into his eyes and say her body was only meant for him and that she had never and would never be touched by another. But it seemed her fantasy was never to come to fruition.

Although, perhaps the most horrifying truth of the matter was that she enjoyed it. When he held her in his arms and then looked into her eyes, she actually wanted him to take her. She wanted to know what it was like to feel him inside of her. She wanted to experience that connection. She covered her mouth so as not to draw attention from the two arguing men across from her. 'I enjoyed this! How could I? My friends and family must be looking at me from the afterlife in shame. They are all dead while I'm enjoying being raped-' No, she knew that she could never call what Vegeta had done to her rape. Though she had no choice in what happened to her, neither did her partner. Had Vegeta not by some chance return to their room when he did, she would be bleeding profusely and screaming in bone splitting pain beneath Zarbon right at that moment. That would have been rape.

Hugging her body tighter, Bulma silently cursed the injustice of all this. She hated that she had to lose her virginity like this, to have her body used by the one man who had spent the last six months vowing to protect her. How ironic. He had to be the one to make her feel so used. She buried her head deeper into the pillow, wondering if this would now changed things between them. He no longer had her innocence to protect, would he now expect her to perform the duties he had promised she would never have to partake in? No. Even if she was no longer untouched, she knew he would not force himself upon her. She knew he regretted what had done almost as much as she had; she found some comfort in that knowledge. Unfortunately, not enough to stop the endless onslaught of tears that refused to cease from falling down her cheeks.

Once Zarbon had departed, Vegeta slowly turned back to Bulma. He again saw the tears in her eyes as she was curled up in a little ball with the covers wrapped around her as if for protection. He could not fathom what she must be feeling right now, he did not know if he had hurt her physically, and that was the cause of her tears, or if it was the emotional scaring that was causing this. For all he knew it was both, but the one element that was clearest to him was that he could not leave her. He had done this to her, he was the one that took her against her will, he was the one that stole her purity, her innocence, her virginity. Him. How bitter was the irony? He preached to his fellow Saiya-jin about how important their honor was, their pride. How forcing yourself on a woman, a child, was a disgrace to their people. And now look at him, who ultimately took her? Who stole from her what he fought so hard to protect? He felt pledged by shame, but he could not dwell on his feelings now, he had to at the very least know if he had damaged her. Walking hesitantly back over to the bed, Vegeta sat down next to broken shell of a female he had left. "Woman," he whispered, finding the word 'child' or 'girl' no longer appropriate.

Bulma slowly opened her tear soaked eyes as she looked upon the man she just been with so intimately. She frowned, wanting to yell, and scream, and beg him to give back what she knew he never could, but she refrained. All she had to do was look into his eyes and see them filled with regret and concern to know he so clearly was not dealing with this any better then she was. She knew his honor, she knew how he must have felt as dirty and disgraced as she for compromising his principles. A part of her found comfort in there joint misery. Bulma wiped her tears as she slowly sat up, through still with the covers tightly wrapped around her. For a moment she caught his gaze and the two allowed their eyes to speak what words never could. They both saw how sick the other felt about what had happened, but they both knew how blameless they each were. They were victims of circumstance and they acted in the only way possible at the time.

Bulma sniffled lightly as she reached her hand up and wrapped it around his neck and pulled her body into his. She wanted comfort, and being close to him brought her that. She then pulled the covers from only around her body and wrapped them around his. Leaned back, she pulled him on the bed with her. Vegeta followed suit as he joined their naked bodies together under the warmth of the blanket. They each needed comfort that night. They needed the guilt and disgust to fade away, and they each felt some relief by doing the most innocent act they could. They laid together and allowed a shoulder for the other to cry on, which each did, either silent or aloud that night.

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"Prince Vegeta!" Nappa pounded on his leader's door.

The mates awoke with a groan as Vegeta turned and yelled back out the door. "What the hell do you want Nappa?!"

"Where have you been? We were supposed to be training for our mission tomorrow!" Nappa called back, it was not like the prince to be late for training.

"I'll be out," Vegeta hissed as he and Bulma sat up in bed.

"One more things, sir," Nappa's annoying voice persisted. "Radditz and I haven't seen the wench since last night, and none of her work has been done." The burly Saiya-jin was thoroughly irritated that his plans to kill her had been postponed.

Vegeta looked down at Bulma for a reaction, but all he saw was her fallen head. Her demeanor disturbed him immensely, considering under normal circumstances she would have jumped up and been cursing the bald giant for calling her a wench. Instead she continued to look down, emotionlessly ignoring his comment. "I had her working late last night Nappa. Now get back to your training," Vegeta grunted with a deadly tone, making Nappa scurry out the door without a second thought.

Once Vegeta felt the man's ki fade away he turned back to the woman next to him. She was still looking down, and slouching low enough to make a person wonder is she still had a spine. He once again was at a loss for words. He was not a man you could discuss your 'feelings' with, and then give some heartfelt analysis of the situation. He could not deal with emotions, and since last night was draining as it was, he was in no mood to learn how to console properly. No, he was a man of action, so he instead decided to act.

Vegeta swiftly placed one hand behind Bulma's back and another under her legs and lifted her off the bed to carry her into their washroom. It took Bulma a minute to realize what he had done, but when she did, a look of panic covered her face. "What are you doing?"

The Saiya-jin prince frowned as she tensed in his grasp. She should have known by now he would not do anything to harm her. "Relax woman, you need a shower," he said simply as he let her down in tub. "Vegeta, I don't think-"

"Then don't think," he cut her off as he shut the curtain and grabbed a bar of soap. "Do you trust me woman?" he asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice. Bulma hesitated a moment, but ultimately nodded in agreement as she took a step towards him. "Good," he smirked as he stepped back under the water, making his hair go flat under the pressure. "Now come here," he ordered while extending his hand to her.

Bulma felt a smile come across her face as she accepted his gesture, "You know with your hair down like that, you look bald."

Vegeta merely glared at her insult, but made not objection, it was better to hear her make a joke of him that retain an absent minded appearance. Taking her hand, he spun her around so she had her back to him. Walking her backwards so she was under the water along with him, he watched amusingly as her hair fell long and wavy as she joined him under the water. He tried to focus as he brought his hand to her abdomen. He felt her shiver upon contact, but she relaxed as she felt him take the bar of soap and slowly begin to lather her stomach in circular motions. She rested her back against his shoulder as he worked his way around her stomach to right below her breasts. He then pushed her forward slightly so he could move to her lower back, and lather her all the way up to her shoulders and neck.

Vegeta felt a genuine smile cross his features as he felt her relax under his touch. She seemed to grow more accustomed to his touch with every passing second they were together. Moving the bar of soap to the front of her neck and then down to the top of her chest, he leaned into her ear and asked her softly, "may I go further?" He wanting her consent to have the pleasure of feeling her ample mounds beneath his fingertips once more.

"Yes," she barely moaned as she allowed her back to fall against his chest once again to allow him better access. He smirked as he brought the bar to her pert nipples. He savored the gentle moan she released. Watching intently to her every flutter, he could have kept his hands around her hardening breast all morning, but not wanting her to believe he was trying to take advantage, he once again continued his trek down her perfect body.

Dropping to his knees, Vegeta began lathering from her ankles all the way up to her thighs. He was extra gentle when he reached her inner thighs, which she welcomingly spread to give him better access. Vegeta took a moment to take in the scent of their sex from the night prior. He had never inhaled anything so potent, he would have felt his legs tremble at the intoxicating aroma if he was not already kneeling. Stopping before her entrance, he knew she would be too sore for further contact, so he rose once more to observe her shaken features. "All done," he whispered causing her to open her eyes and look at him with a most deliciously lustful expression upon her face.

Bulma smiled at him before she wrapped her hand around his neck and softly brought his face to hers. She gently placed a protracted kiss upon his wet lips before pulling away and flashing her big blue eyes at him. "Thank You," she whispered, hoping those two words were enough to explain to him exactly how much this meant to her without getting all emotional on him. Vegeta simply nodded in understanding as he turned the water off and then pulled back the curtain. Bulma looked at him thoroughly confuse for a minute as he did this. "What about you?" she asked wondering why he had not cleaned himself.

Vegeta only smirked, avoiding the question as he reached over to grab a drying cloth. He shook his head at her when he realized there was only one, yet again. "I guess we will just have to share," he said with false disappointment as he grabbed the cloth and pulled her body into his and began drying both of them. Bulma smiled as she felt his warmth encompass her, she could not remember feeling such safety and comfort as she does when he holds her.

Once Vegeta had dried them both adequately, he wrapped the cloth around her and then went back into their bedroom. Bulma followed closely behind, and then leaning casually against the bathroom door, she watched as he slowly began to dress. She bit her bottom lip to hide her excitement as she observed him pulling his spandex suit to hug every one of his perfect muscles. The sight was enough to make her want to moan in delight.

Once Vegeta had completely dressed he turned to see the young woman still looking at him, almost in a trance. He smirked as he pulled his boats on before walking back to her. "Woman?" he asked while snapping his fingers to refocus her attention.

"Ah, what?" Bulma shook her head as a slight shade of rouge appeared on her cheeks.

"I expect you to take care of all the chores you missed yesterday and the ones for today," he said with a smirk as he saw her eyes narrow. 'Much better,' he decided, as a surprising sense of relief engulfed him.

"Fine," Bulma pouted in a poor attempt to mask her anger as she watched him flash that sexy smirk before he turned to leave. It seemed things were going to go back to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.

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Later that evening Radditz and Nappa had returned from their training, while Vegeta stayed to catch up on time he had missed. Both men noticed something strange about the prince that day. He was much stronger than before, they assumed because of the Saiya-jin increase in strength after defeat. But also, something else disturbed them. He had a strange scent on him. It was most definitely the scent of a woman, but who? They did not recognize the aroma, though both had to admit it was most enticing.

But more important issues were to be dealt with at that time. With Vegeta out, Nappa and Radditz decided it was time to get a little action of their own as they found their sleeping blue haired slave on the couch waiting for them. Both men licked their lips as they decided who was going to get her first. After five rounds of rock paper scissors, Radditz won the first chance. He smirked as he knelt down, he had waited for this for so long that he intended to savor every second of his feast. Reaching to dispose of her shirt first, he froze before he could remove it, jumping away from her as if she was poisonous.

"What is it Radditz?" Nappa asked confused. After receiving a nod from his counterpart to do the same as he just done, Nappa knelt down next to the female and took in the overpowering scent that was coming from her. He jumped back as well as he looked at his fellow Saiya-jin. "She's the scent Vegeta had practically bathed in! Damn him!"

It was upon that rather loud curse that Bulma awoke with a jerk. She was startled as she saw Nappa and Radditz looking down at her furiously. "What?" she asked while gazing upon them with blatant worry.

Radditz only glared at her before looking over at Nappa, "This is ridiculous! He speaks about honor and stopping us from having her, and then goes and rapes her himself. Fucking hypocrite!"

Bulma's eyes widened, 'How did they know we slept together?' Not taking the time to worry about the details, Bulma focused on later, more disturbing accusation Radditz had made. "Vegeta did not rape me!"

Both men looked at her in utter confusion, before breaking out in laughter. "Don't lie, wench! We could smell your scent all over him. He obviously fucked you last night, hence his late arrival for training this morning."

Bulma slowing opened and closed her eyes in understanding, 'so that is why he did not clean himself, he wanted them to smell my scent on him. But why did he want them to know we had slept together?' Assuming the answer would have to wait until the next time she saw Vegeta, she continued to explain, "Look you two idiots, I never said we didn't have sex, I just said he didn't rape me."

Bemused expressions crossed both Saiya-jin's faces. "You willingly mated with him? You willingly gave your virginity to him?" Radditz seemed to have a difficult time believing the absurd concept.

Bulma suddenly felt an overwhelming defensiveness engulf her. "Yes!" she hissed, "Vegeta happens to be smart, and sexy, and loyal, and if you two morons haven't noticed, he has more honor and self respect than either of you assholes could ever hope for!"

Radditz suddenly became over powered with rage as he lifted his hand to strike upon the ranting woman, but he never made contact as he felt a hand stop him abruptly. "Enough Radditz," Nappa growled, as Bulma opened her eyes in confusion, wondering why he stopped him, when she technically insulted them both. "Get out of here," Nappa ordered. Not needing to be told twice, Bulma rushed out of the hostile room, grateful for once, for Nappa's assistance.

"What the hell did you do that for!?" Radditz asked angered as he ripped his hand away.

"Don't be an idiot Radditz," Nappa glared at the man. "Vegeta is no fool, if he left her scent on him then it was for a reason. You know how possessive he is. He wanted to make it crystal clean that she is his mate, and his mate alone. If you followed through with that punch, you would have been given a one way ticket to the next dimension."

"That would be accurate," Vegeta smirked as he entered the room, after having heard almost the entire interaction.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us?" Radditz hissed rather angered.

Vegeta shrugged as she walked over to the door of his adjoining chambers. "As Nappa said, she is my mate, and mine alone. Do not forget that," he reminded forebodingly as he left the two jealous men to curse him. Once Vegeta entered his room, he found Bulma already comfortably situated on his bed. He walked over to face her as he crossed his arms accusingly. "What do you think you are doing woman?"

Bulma smirked before she looked up at him innocently. "Well you are the one that decided to let them smell my scent on you, and think we are mates. I'm just keeping up appearances."

Vegeta shook his head with repressed amusement. "Manipulative little thing," he said in a playful voice before he changed and crawled under the covers himself.

"Well you know what they say," she yawned as she snuggled on the far end of the bed, for once grateful she did not have to sleep on the floor. "Like master like slave," she chuckled before closing her eyes to drift off to sleep.

Vegeta soon after followed suit, wondering what he was going to do with this woman.

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When Bulma awoke the next morning she found Vegeta's tail tightly wrapped around her again. 'How strange,' she thought, 'I guess it likes to hold something.' She tried to physically remove it, but upon touch, Vegeta release a deep-throated purr.

Bulma jerked her hand back in shock a moment. 'You've got to be kidding. His tail is an erogenous appendage?' she wonder while naughtily deciding her theory needed to be confirmed. Slowly beginning to pet his tail, Bulma watched as his entire body started reacting to her touch. Slowly at first, but once his movements became more powerful, and his hips started bucking forward towards her, she knew she had to stop. It was then his hold finally loosened. Quickly pulling herself out of the bed, she watched as his tail almost shot out after her as if to prevent her from leaving him. She actually thought the scene was rather cute, 'I guess I should have figured that out after last night.' Her entire body shivered upon remembering what it felt to have that tail inside of her. Suddenly feeling the need to take a quick shower, Bulma disappeared into the washroom.

Sometime while the shower was running Vegeta awoke to find himself nursing a painful erection. 'How the hell did I get this?' Lifting his tail to his nose, he could potently smell her intoxicating scent all over it. Frowning, he quickly realized sleeping in the same bed with her was perhaps not a very wise idea. He did not know if he could hide his heavy desire for her under such circumstances.

"Prince Vegeta," a knock at his door came.

Vegeta walked over and opened it to see Nappa carrying an electronic notepad. "We have the details of our mission, sir. It looks as though we will be gone for a month."

Vegeta ripped the pad away and then slammed the door in Nappa's face. It was a mission plan for purging a planet thirty thousand light years away, about a two week round trip. Vegeta growled, as he studied the planet. It was estimated to have some rather large energy levels, so two weeks has been designated for the purging. A part of Vegeta was relieved. This would eliminate his little problem with the minx in his shower. Of course, a purging mission with an estimated difficulty of two weeks is never something to look forward to, but under the circumstances he would.

A few minutes later Bulma came out of the shower and before she could say a word Vegeta rushed in and took one himself. She thought at first he was angry at her about something, but when he came out in full armor and a scouter she knew differently. "What's going on?" she asked with mild concern in her voice.

"I'm leaving for a little over a month on a purging mission," Vegeta said simply as he finished pulling on his boots.

"A month," Bulma repeated with a long sigh, "but you have never been gone that long all at once. What am I to do until then?"

Vegeta shrugged as he busied himself adjusting his scouter. "Stay out of trouble," he advised while grabbing a small bag of supplies and turning to leave.

"Well, wait a minute," Bulma called before he could, she did not like the cold shoulder he was giving her. Walking towards him, she placed a soft smile on her face as she allowed him one final look at her creamy white skin, luscious red lips, and deep blue eyes before leaving. Leaning in to offer a similarly chaste kiss to the one she had given to him in the shower the day before, Bulma softly voiced her goodbye. "Don't get yourself killed, all right?"

Vegeta only half smiled, her send off caused him to feel a knot tie in the pit of his stomach. "As if anyone could kill me," he answered neutrally before finally departing.

As Bulma watched him leave, she could not help but wonder why, after all she had been through at the expense of the man, the thought of his leaving her for so long made her feel like crying.

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Author's Note: Hmmm???? I wonder what it could be? Well, in the next chapter we find out what happens with the mission, and smart money says it won't be good. Until then…