Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Duke ❯ What You Owe Me ( Chapter 31 )

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

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ, or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. But if I did own DBZ...Bulma would have gotten some fabulous hair even in her older age. I wasn't a big fan of the super short cut. Yes.

Warnings: Cussing and adult language (well that sounds severe).

A/N: There is only one person to blame for my absence from this fic--George RR Martin. Finally read all of ASOIAF and it's amazing. But it stole me away from you guys for too long, so feel free to send some hate mail his way (though I imagine if anyone actually does this he will be mightily confused by it).

Anywhoo--this chapter is dedicated to my beta, Lilpumpkingirl--not only was she amazing enough one to be like "uh, Bulma needs to confront Vegeta about what the hell he has been doing," but she has also just gotten engaged! Seriously, congrats Lilpumpkingirl, send her some loving, and if you haven't yet, please, go check out her fics!

One last big thank you to all of my readers and reviewers--you guys are really amazing. I have been missing but you keep sending me your love and your thoughts to me and I want you to know that makes all the difference to me. Especially those of you brave enough to friend me on tumblr--I love talking to you all!!

Chapter Thirty-One: What you Owe Me

Goku arrived back in London three days after he had left it. Riding by himself, he should have arrived a day earlier since he did not have to travel by carriage--but he had gotten lost and had somehow lost the slip of paper that had the name of the town Vegeta had left his precious horse in. So it had taken an extra day to try and trace the route that Vegeta would have taken, looking for the horse that was not to be left behind. In the end, Goku had found himself stopping at practically every inn asking, "Did a short, angry looking man with spiky black hair stop in here two days ago?"

He had not started out asking about short, angry men with spiky hair, as his questions had been a lot more diplomatic, asking if a Duke had stopped in here recently. But he found himself getting told long winded tales by puffed up proprietors about how their inn was so special a Duke had once graced it with his presence and blah blah blah.... It was aggravating to say the least. He had then tried to describe Vegeta in a, once again, diplomatic way--but dark hair and dark eyes did not really get him anywhere. Slowly but surely his description had become less diplomatic, and more honest until it had gotten to 'short,' 'angry,' and 'spiky black hair.' He just hoped Vegeta would never find out that was how Goku was talking about him. Some things were better left--well, with Vegeta's pride and temper--were beyond better left unsaid.

By the time he reached Saiyan Manor on that damn horse (what was his name again? Lightning? Midnight? Did it fucking matter?), he had found himself tired, but strangely exhilarated. He knew what his first stop had to be after he was in the stables--straight to his parents. Well he knew it should be his first stop, but that did not stop him from asking after his best friend. Krillin was out, apparently, and Goku frowned, wondering just where Krillin had gotten off to. But he was a grown man, so Goku had only smiled his thanks at the stable hand that had informed him Krillin was not there, and made his way into the manor. It was after suppertime, and he found his mother and father in their favorite sitting room, the two of them, oddly, not talking. His father was holding a newspaper but looking out the window, while his mother was holding some needlepoint, seemingly going through just one stitch over and over again.

Goku waited a second, allowing himself to delight in the sight of seeing them again after such a hectic few days, before gathering himself and walked straight into the room, making sure to smile. "Mom. Dad."

His parents both looked up in shock, and then before he knew what was happening his mother flew into him, wrapping her arms around him. She squeezed him good and hard, letting out a sob before she looked up at him without letting him go, her blue eyes wide for once. "Oh Goku, we were so worried. Are you all right? Is everything all right? Where's Bulma? Are you married?"

His father had stood, moving closer, clapping an arm on Goku's shoulder over his wife's head. Goku had met his father's unwavering gaze, though he could see the concern written in the purple bruises under his eyes that belied how little sleep he had gotten. "Is everything okay?"

Goku squeezed his mother to him quickly, glad to be home with them and patted his father on the back before he finally moved a step back from them, holding both of their hands. "I'm good. Tired, I have not slept much these past two days--Bulma and I are not married."

"Well that is a relief, Kakarrot."

Goku froze, seeing his parents' faces slacken with disbelief and tighten with anger, before he turned around to find the dowager standing in the doorway, her mouth a thin line as she observed him and his family. She took a few further steps into the room straight past the happy family, unnoticing or uncaring of their glares before she sat, occupying the most uncomfortable looking chair in the room. She half turned to look over her shoulder, and motioned to the couch in front of her. "You will sit and tell me everything, Kakarrot, and afterwards we will discuss what punishment shall be served to you for this massive slight to the family you almost caused." Her eyes flicked to his parents, "Tell them they may go. You may see them when we are done."

Goku felt anger flicker inside of him, the likes of which he had never felt before but he forced himself to meet her eyes and calmly told her, "My parents will go nowhere, and there will be no punishment. You do not get to order me around, and you certainly do not get to command them to do anything."

The dowager's mouth tightened so much her lips disappeared, her eyes narrowing into thin slits. All together it gave her a face an animalistic turn for the worse...Goku would like to say she looked like the ape at the top of her cane, but that was being cruel to apes everywhere. "You dare speak to me like that? I would have you remember who I am."

Goku's voice was hard when he could finally reply without yelling at her, "And I would like you to remember that just because your blood runs through my veins--that does not make me your family. This is my true family, and you have no authority over me. You need me much more than I need you. I could go home with them tomorrow without a look backwards, and there's nothing you could do to stop me."

Her face had gone from angry to a stone mask, one he could not interpret nor dare to understand. He could see she was considering saying something, rebuking what he said, but there was truth in his words that even she could not deny. So she just contented herself to stare at him, making it known that while what he said was the truth, there was no way she was leaving without hearing about what had happened in Scotland.

Goku decided that if she was going to be in this room, she was going to hear what he said, but that did not mean he would have to address it to her. He turned towards his parents instead, continuing as if the dowager had never appeared. "I'm okay, and Bulma is okay as well. And, uh...well...." Goku uncomfortably scratched the back of his head, wishing they could have this conversation without the dowager being there, but knowing that it was too late for that opportunity and he was just going to have to grin and bare it so to speak. Goku took a deep breath, then sighed, and bluntly said, "Bulma and I are not married...because Vegeta showed up and married her instead."

"WHAT?!"

The screech that erupted from the dowagers lips and the way her claws tightened into the arm of the chair changed her appearance to that of a vulture, and Goku felt slightly bad from the satisfaction he got from seeing the blood drain from her face. Goku generally tried to find the good in every person, but the dowager had proven to him time and time again that she had none. The dowager quickly turned away, facing the fireplace as she composed herself, and Goku decided to continue to ignore her, as it was not her reaction he was worried about. Ê

He turned back to his parents expecting the worst. But his mother and father's reaction surprised him, distracting him from the dowager as his mother slumped back into him, squeezing him for another hug, and his father took a large sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Kami."

Goku looked at them, tilting his head, curious. "You did not want me to marry Bulma?"

His mother and father traded looks, and his mother smiled at him as she placed a hand on his arm, giving it a light squeeze. "It was not that Goku. Due to Bulma's...well, situation, we knew she would be better off being married to someone--"

"Do not try and sugarcoat anything for my sake." The dowager was standing again, having moved closer to them, her face placid again, though her voice was full of vitriol. "That bitch was pregnant, and she decided to pin it on Vegeta."

Goku turned to face the dowager, ready to become extremely unpleasant with her, but he felt his mother's hand tighten on one arm, his father's hand on the other. Goku turned over his shoulder to look at them, and his father gave a slight shake of his head. No words were said, but the message was loud and clear: With this woman, it's just not worth it. So instead Goku simply stood where he was, crossing his arms as he informed her, "Vegeta got Bulma pregnant and did the honorable thing. You should feel proud that your grandson has honor."

The dowager's face was drawn again, and if it were not so undignified, Goku was sure she would have snorted at him. "Honor? What part of wedding the American whore he bedded is him showing honor? Or doing his duty to this family?" She did not even wait for an answer before she thumped closer to them with her cane, "No matter. You will tell me where to find them, and we will have this marriage annulled. I am presuming that they married this morning. Even if she is pregnant I can convince Vegeta to say he has not bedded her."

Goku felt himself get that perverse satisfaction, again, from looking her in the face and calmly telling her. "It is too late. They were married two mornings ago, and I doubt even you could convince anyone they have not consummated their marriage at this point."

The dowager's whole jaw clenched, her face becoming a mask of hatred, pure and simple, before she calmly took a deep breath, forced her jaw to unclench and just as suddenly as she had entered the room, left it, leaving behind only her icy aura that gave Goku the shivers. In what universe was it possible that he shared blood with a woman like that, but the man and woman in front of him did not? He sighed, thinking that it was the same universe that had allowed him to be raised by the two loving, caring people in front of him rather than that, that...vile woman!

Goku made sure to close the door, locking it this time before he turned back to his parents and gave them the shortened version of events in Scotland, leaving out that while him and Vegeta spoke they were brawling, though he was sure his father (and possibly his mother) picked up on the fact that Vegeta was not going to see reason without some (knuckle-cracking) persuasion. His parents were relieved, and his mother squeezed him again in another hug when he finished.

"You did the right thing, Goku. Those two...well, in their own weird way, they are perfect for each other."

Goku genuinely smiled for the first time in what felt like days at that, before he made his excuses about being tired and dusty. His parents let him go without much of a fight (after one more hug from his mom of course), but Goku still felt guilty when he did not head directly to his rooms. Instead he headed straight to the kitchens, where he was not surprised to see Chi-Chi cutting a piece of meat rather aggressively.

Goku allowed himself a minute to take her in, this strong woman before him, still not understanding why the mere sight of her had his heart speeding up before he softly said, "Chi-Chi."

She turned and Goku tensed, ready for her to aim the knife at him and to block another unexpected blow, but he was not prepared for her non-reaction to his being here. Her mask was as placid as the dowagers had been and she bobbed a curtsy, "M'lord."

Goku frowned, taking a step into the kitchen, saying the first thing that popped into his mind, "I did not marry her."

Once again, she reacted unexpectedly. She acted as if he had not said anything for a long moment, not moving, not saying anything before she said, "Aye heard ye were back and aym preparin' some food for ye. Do ye have any requests?"

Goku stepped closer to her, his confusion growing. "Chi-Chi, did you hear me? I didn't marry her."

Chi-Chi whirled back to the lamb she was cutting off of, her voice neutral as she hacked at the roast meat as if it had personally insulted her. Better the lamb then him, he supposed, "Aye was thinkin' of makin' ye some cold sandwiches. Do ye have any preferences?"

Goku told himself to take the hint, to let her go to go away and come back tomorrow when she had time to process him being back here and unmarried. But, instead, he found himself grabbing her shoulder and turning her to face him, needing to see her, needing to see the real her. "Chi-Chi, what's the matter with you? I'm back. I didn't marry her."

Chi-Chi's facade slipped for a second, but then she looked over his shoulders, refusing to meet his eyes, "Aye dinna see what this has to do with me. This is naught of me concern, m'lord."

Goku let go of her shoulders, and ran his hands through his hair in aggravation before he blurted out, "I couldn't stop thinking about you while I was gone. It was the one thing I knew I would miss when I was gone...it would be you."

Her voice was haughty, "Me cookin' ye mean."

Goku emphatically shook his head, though the woman's cooking did win him over in the beginning. It was her strength, her inner and outer strength that was, that kept him coming back to her, thinking about her. His brave little warrior cook. Or so he had thought.... "No, it was not your cooking I couldn't stop thinking about. It was you. When Vegeta showed up, you know what my first thought was?" She still refused to meet his eyes, but she gave a slight shake of her head and he sighed before continuing. "Oh good, now Chi-Chi won't be sad, and I'll be able to see her again."

Her eyes softened at that, but then he saw her force herself to stiffen, her arms crossing in front of herself, though, he considered it a small victory that she met his eyes again. "Ye were the one who left without even sayin' good-bye."

Goku sighed, looking down before he looked into the dark depths of her eyes. "I know. I'm sorry. It was just...she's my sister. I owe her and her family so much, and I thought for once I could repay them for all of the kindness they've shown me. For once I could do something for them. They've given me everything, and well...." He left some words unsaid, but he knew she would understand. She seemed to understand him better than he did himself sometimes.

Chi-Chi looked down then, frowning, before she looked back up. Her face was not softened, but it was not an emotionless mask either, nor could she completely hide the waver in her voice when she spoke, "It's just...if next time ye decide to run off without me...if ye could...tell me yerself. Okay?"

Goku knew she was still mad at him but it seemed as if she mostly forgave him and he gave a sigh of relief at that before he agreed, forcing himself not to reach for her to hug her, though he wanted to, to reassure her with words as well as actions. "Okay. And I won't...run off without you I mean." He gave her a grin, and she smiled softly back at him

She turned towards the food she was preparing, looking at him over her shoulder, and meeting his eyes again. Her tone was more teasing when she spoke next, "Now I know ye. How hungry are ye, really Goku?"

Goku rubbed his hands over his belly, "You know me--I'm starving!" As he did though, he was reminded about the piece of paper in his pocket, the one he had not taken out since he had seen it in Scotland. He forced himself to now, unfolding it carefully, before he frowned, looking at Chi-Chi. "There is one thing though... Chi-Chi, what's this?"

Chi-Chi looked over her shoulder, a questioning smile on her face before she saw what he was holding. He literally saw her freeze, and could see the need to flee again come up in her. He immediately stepped into her path, and as one of her arms came out to hit him, he grabbed it, before he grabbed the other hand that had come up a second later, moving his legs back a step as she tried to kick his feet out. They struggled, but Goku ended up with his arms wrapped around her as she wiggled, pinning her arms to her side, holding her legs between his own. He was glad that even though she was quite strong, he still outweighed her, and well, he was a world-class fighter. Chi-Chi really did not have much of a chance against him. He looked down at her when he had her immobilized, seeing the panic in her eyes and trying to comfort her even as he held her prisoner.

His voice was soft, imploring, "Chi-Chi, you can tell me anything. What is going on?"

Her face softened and he thought he had her, but then she surprised him by pushing herself up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his in a kiss that he had not seen coming.

Goku was so shocked by the flash of warmth he felt from her lips that his arms and legs slackened. He cursed himself, knowing that was the opening she was going for, but she surprised him (and herself as well, he later found out) when instead of running from him, or pushing away from him, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer to her as she deepened the kiss.

Goku happily responded to her kiss, the paper he found pinned to that board days before floating from his fingers and it hit the ground with a whisper that neither heard nor acknowledged. On it, a drawing of a woman who remarkably resembled Chi-Chi. Sprawling words at the bottom placed the woman as the missing daughter of the Ox, King of the Clansmen in Scotland.

~~&~~

Bulma was proud of herself the next morning when, the first thing she did was speak to Vegeta about everything that was bothering her.

Well, technically not first thing. It seemed since her and Vegeta were sharing a bed all night, she would just close her eyes for a second before he would be kissing her (sometimes on her lips, sometimes...well, other places) or touching her (she had woken up once with one hand between her legs the other massaging her breast, as he ground himself slowly into her backside, and she was not going to complain about that) awake ready to go again. Not that she minded much, truth be told--Vegeta was passionate in the bed as he was in the Opera, the gardens, the library, anywhere else she might have imagined him, and she always welcomed him with open arms. Technically when she spoke to him it was the third time she had woken up with the sun filtering in through the still shut curtains, but it was the first time they had spoken words to each other, other than 'Kami,' 'Ohhh...right there,' 'Faster,' and a bevy of other dirtier things Bulma was not quite ready to think of.

But she was not going to get caught up in the semantics of it all. She was awake before him for once this morning, and she was going to take advantage of that. First she just needed to put some clothes on and some distance between them, because Bulma was no fool. If their first night as a married couple had taught Bulma anything it was that she was powerless to Vegeta's overtures. Like seriously she could not function, brain shutting off, going off of feelings, powerless. Not that she minded much at the time. She just hoped he never realized how much power he had over her.

Not that she did not have power over him as well. If anything, she had grown more bold every time he had woken her up, and Bulma was more than pleased to discover just where she could press with her lips, or touch with her fingers, or stroke with her tongue, or which way to circle her hips to have his gasping her name in pleasure. She found that he especially liked it when she got a little more rough with him--as she looked at him as she slipped out of bed she could clearly see the love bites she had left on him, as well as the scratches down his back and arms from her nails. None of them were done maliciously--just sometimes when he was--well, driving her crazy--she lost control of herself as a lady (and what a relief that was!) and found herself raking her fingernails down his back with pleasure, or biting him to stop the screams from coming.

Bulma forced herself to stop staring at Vegeta where he slept (though she had to admit even asleep he did not look peaceful and that worried her), and to turn to the nearest closet she could find. The second she walked in, she knew it was his simply from the scent. That masculine odor that was pure Vegeta, and was going to be the death of her one day--seriously, how much control had she let this man have over her if his mere scent had her standing dazed in an open doorway fantasizing about going back to that bed and waking him up the right way? She took a moment to idly drag her hand around the hung clothes she saw before her (almost all of them black, though a surprising few were dark grey, and one or two white shirts) before she saw a set of robes in the back.

She was just shrugging on a black one when she heard the closet door open behind her. She whirled in the process of tying the robe, and found her hands tightening on the belt as she saw Vegeta leaning against the doorway crossed arms and legs crossed at the ankle, smirking at her as he took her in in the robe that was gaping right at her chest. His eyes flickered down to the exposed flesh, and Bulma felt her chest constrict with desire as his eyes darkened, his tongue coming out to slowly lick his lips.

Her own eyes dipped further and saw that he was already hard, his cock standing tall, flushed with desire for her. Bulma felt her resolve to talk to him melting away, replaced with that burning desire that never really seemed to go away around him, that just turned into a simmer when he was not looking at her like he currently was. All it would take would be for her to cross the few steps to him, and she would be back in his embrace--hell, she was sure if she cocked her hip the right way he would--

Bulma! Bulma what are you doing? Stop that and talk to your HUSBAND already!

Bulma was not sure where the voice inside of her had come from, or whose voice it was (a mix of her mother's and sensible Bulma--where the hell had she been, by the way?) but it was the necessary bucket of proverbial cold water she needed to douse her desires--mostly--and Bulma quickly averted her eyes, looking up to his face. Though when she saw that he was looking at her like he was a starving man and she was dinner, Bulma forced her eyes even higher, to the ceiling. She felt slightly ridiculous, but she knew it was the right thing to do. This was just another instance of her own senses working against her when it came to this man.

"Vegeta, hold on. We need to talk."

His voice was thick, hoarse with desire and even that got her pulse pounding. "Later, come here." Bulma sighed, wishing she could tune all of her senses out right now, as they were the ones pushing her to forget about having to talk to him. So far her own sight, hearing and smelling were working against her--she knew if she so much as tasted or touched this man she would be completely undone. "Woman...."

Bulma stubbornly kept staring at the ceiling above her as she frowned at that endearment he had picked up for her somewhere along the way between last night and this morning. But she knew that was just a small battle in the war she was going to be fighting with him as she told him everything that was concerning her over these past few months of knowing him and she decided to drop it. For now.

"Vegeta, I mean it. I need to talk to you."

There was a pause and she heard him take a step closer and Bulma's body tightened with desire as she imagined him coming up to her, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her back to the bed to have his wicked way with her. She was disappointed when he instead reached past her for another robe (though incredibly pleased he was listening to her), tying it around him before he spoke in his usual gruff voice, "Woman, you can look at me now. I'm clothed."

Bulma dropped her eyes, but pulled then back up when she saw he had not grabbed a robe, but a towel. Yes, the most indecent part of him was technically covered. But nothing else about that perfect body of his was, and even though she had come to know him more intimately last night, if anything that seemed to make her desire for him worse. She knew exactly how she could talk to him to have him melt into her, and she wanted to do nothing more than that, right now. Still, Bulma knew an opportunity when one was handed to her and she was not going to chance having Vegeta finding an excuse not to listen to her, especially because she had things to say. Things she had been thinking on quite heavily, even since he had brushed her hair last night. Yes, she had not had the most amount of time to think about things, what with Vegeta and his distractions, but Bulma was nothing if not a quick learner, and an even faster thinker.

She forced herself to look at him when she could, dead in the eyes as she said, "I have every right to hate you right now."

His face closed off so quickly, it was hard to reconcile the living breathing man she had spent the last twelve hours pinned beneath with the one who stood before her in that moment. His voice was already back to that of a man who had no interest in the conversation they were having, the dark, husky tones gone. "Why, because I stopped you from marrying Kakarrot? And forced you to marry me instead?"

Bulma frowned at him, "Don't be stupid. Goku is and forever will be simply my brother. Two nights ago when I first saw you at the inn, as you yelled at me for leaving my room--well I was leaving to tell Goku I could not marry him." She paused, then thought, emphasizing, "I would not marry him."

She saw something flash in those eyes of his--pride maybe--and his voice had warmed up the tiniest fraction (or it could be she was desperately seeking signs that he was actually listening and caring about the conversation they were having) when he asked her, "You were going to turn down a man who would make it so your baby was born not a bastard? And a Viscount on top of that?"

Bulma's mouth flattened, her eyes moving from his to hide some of her anger, though she knew her crossed arms and flippant voice were making it apparent she was not happy. "Believe it or not Vegeta, titles never interested me." She waited for him to scoff, to say something about her now being a duchess, but he did not, and she hesitantly continued trying to put her jumbled thoughts into words. "Yes, Goku was offering me a solution to my problem of being unwed and pregnant, which is why I went with him to begin with...but I realized it was at too great a cost for him, and for my own guilt. Plus, the life he talked about, it...it was not what either of us really wanted. He would be doing it for duty and I would be doing it because that is what society tells us we need." Bulma stopped herself for a second, forcing herself to stay on task, and to not get off topic about the expectations of society. Instead she forced herself to look back at him as she continued, her arms crossing tighter against her midsection, "But that's not why I should hate you."

His nostrils flared as she finished, the softening of his face that had come about during her speech disappearing again. His voice was icy when he spoke next, "Then enlighten me Bulma? Why do you hate me?"

He was getting angry she realized and she should try to stem that before it got too out of hand, but he was not the only one in this closet with a temper that was quick to spark, so she could not stop her voice from rising as she said, "Kami, do you only hear what you want to?! I said I should hate you Vegeta, not that I do!" His eyes widened in surprise at that, before narrowing in suspicion, but she plowed on as she took a step closer to him, her hands out, pleading. "I have every right to hate you after the way you treated me. You took my virginity and continued to chase after me as an object of lust! On top of that, you pursued me only as someone to have an affair with rather than as a marriage partner, which I think speaks volumes for how much respect you hold for me--and then, on the night of the mission, when I needed you the most, you push me away and say some truly horrible things about me!" Her hands turned into fists, and she forced them to her sides, even as she took a step closer to him in the already small space. "You wonder why I was not going to come to you with this pregnancy? It had nothing to do with my thoughts on you as a father but rather on having to face you after you humiliated me so thoroughly that night!"

He tried to cut her off as she took a breath with a supplicating, "Bulma--" but she was not finished, and she bulldozed right over him.

Bulma was speaking without stopping or breathing now, all of the thoughts she had been holding back on coming out of her with no way of stopping them, like some flood of words, coming faster and faster. "Like I could believe anything you said when you were constantly lying to my face. Even the one question I asked you that night, whether or not you wanted me? You lied about that Vegeta, I think we proved that last night when you could not keep your hands off of me. And I asked you for to answer that truthfully, on your honor! Why should I ever trust anything you would say to me?! Did you set out to try and make me feel like less than dirt, or is that just the normal effect you have on people?"

She stopped then taking a deep breath and she looked at him, focusing in on him after she had said her speech. His face was flat, but there was some red color on his cheeks, that either spoke of anger, or embarrassment. Hopefully shame. His palms were facing her though, and he had taken a few steps to be closer to her but was standing far enough away that she did not feel like he was crowding her. Still Bulma was not finished and she forced herself to finish saying what she had to say.

"Like I said, I should hate you, and I would have every right to do so. Hell, there are probably people out there who would say you don't deserve to breathe the same air as me..." Another deep breath, and she forced herself to keep his gaze as she crossed her arms around her body protectively, again, falling into herself after her great tirade. "But I don't hate you, and... I can't hate you, Vegeta." His eyes widened at that, but Bulma did not give him the time to think about what she had said plowing straight on, "Vegeta, I want you to be honest with me. Why did you push me away the night at the Regency?"

Vegeta took a step back, his arms crossing over himself as he mirrored her, and alerting her to the fact that he was closing himself off from her--or protecting himself from her--as he spoke in those same icy tones from before. "You're smart Bulma, you wouldn't be asking if you didn't already have a theory so why don't you let me hear it?"

So that was how he wanted to play this? That was fine with her. Bulma uncrossed her arms and took another step toward him, making sure to keep her face neutral as she calmly told him, "I think you were scared."

Vegeta scoffed and she could tell his tone was going to be flippant simply by the way he raised an eyebrow at her, "Scared?"

Bulma pursed her lips, but she ignored the way he spoke to her, barreling onwards so that she would not let herself be disheartened by his answers. "I think that when I almost died you realized something about how you felt towards me. I won't kid myself and say it was love, but I think you felt something towards me that scared you. You are not a caring man, and as far as I can see, you have no one around you you truly care for. No close friends, no real family--please don't try and insult my intelligence by telling me the dowager is someone you truly love deep down, there is no way that woman inspires anything in people other than hatred--and so the second you started to realize that you cared about me, your immediate reaction was to push me away, which is pathetic."

She saw him flinch as if she had hit him, and she prepared herself for what she knew his reaction was going to be. His voice was deadly soft, and hard as steel, his eyes glinting. "Well you have a rather high opinion of yourself don't you Bulma. You were right when you said I care for no one, but that is because no one is truly worthy of my thoughts or feelings. What makes you think you would be any different?" His face contorted into a frown, and he mockingly asked her, "Could it be that I saw how you put your life so recklessly in danger that I revised my opinion of you? Realized you weren't worth caring about?"

She had expected him to go on the defensive, and she had already thrown her barriers up to protect herself from the barbs he would throw her way. Nothing he could say to her right now could hurt her, she would not let it hurt her, simply because she knew this was how he lashed out when she got too close to the truth. Especially since she knew more about how Vegeta thought and felt now. Bulma had things to say, and he was going to listen, dammit--he could throw all the insults he wanted at her but she would still say them.

"Don't try that bullshit with me, Vegeta. It might have worked with your other bimbos, but you should know by now that it won't work on me. You realized I was a weakness so you decided to cut me out of your life before that attachment got too deep. Which is stupid, Vegeta, and speaks about how closed off you are to the rest of the world. And don't bother denying it, Vegeta. I refuse to believe that the way you fucked me last night was the same as you fucked the Widow, or any other woman you've been with before me. You want me to truly believe that you would have married any woman you got pregnant?"

He did not flinch at her use of the word 'fuck' but his lips did thin into a straight line when she asked her last questions. His eyes were practically slits, his voice dripping with condescension when he spoke next, his arms dropping to his sides, fisted in anger. "You have it all figured out, don't you woman?"

She glared at him, unable to stop herself, "MY NAME IS BULMA, DAMMIT!" She took a step back, forcing herself to turn away, to take a deep breath before she decided to see how far he was willing to take this. She could not turn into a screaming shrew, would not demean herself so, and most of all DAMMIT SHE WAS NOT GOING TO CRY. Bulma forced herself to fight the pressure building behind her eyes, to take some more deep breaths so she did not break down in front of this man. She was not surprised he did not say anything after her outburst, but she was surprised he stayed in the closet with her instead of scoffing and leaving her to be on her own.

When she had calmed herself enough, Bulma felt the fight leave her, the anger flowing as if right out through her fingertips as she turned to him, exhausted from everything of the last two days. When she spoke next, her voice was flat, dull, and she was proud it did not shake. "You know what, fine. You want to play it close to the chest like that, or stick to your story of not wanting me, then fine. You already got me pregnant with what could be your heir, and as far as I'm concerned, you don't need to ever touch me again unless this child is a female. So I'll just move into the Duchesses rooms across the way, and you can keep your pride intact."

She made a move to go past him, and she was surprised when he caught her arm instead, twirling her as he reached out to close the closet door, moving her so that she was pressed against the back of it in one fluid move, his face inches from her. "You are mine," he hissed at her.

Bulma resisted the urge to say 'Gotcha.' It had been a last ditch attempt to get to see how he would react, and a bad ploy at that--Bulma could not keep herself away from Vegeta any more than she suspected he could be kept from her. And she was willing to admit she had feelings for the man in front of her, real feelings. But not if he was going to continue to be a stubborn ass that would rather pretend he felt nothing than admit to caring for her in even just the tiniest way.

But she did not smile at him falling for her artifice instead she raised an eyebrow, bringing her face closer to his as she said, "Sure doesn't seem like you feel nothing for me. If you can't even bear to not share a room with me, how am I ever to believe that you could push me out of your life so easily, that you feel nothing for me?"

Vegeta's eyebrows slashed down, and his face became carefully blank as he realized he had been caught. But Bulma was becoming a skilled interpreter of all things Vegeta, and she saw the wheels turning in his head as his eyes searched her face. He let go of her arm, and pulled back from her, leaning away from her as his eyes hooded over. "Fine. I lust after you, you caught me."

Bulma scoffed at that, shaking her head as she rejected that. Her finger poked into his chest as she told him, "If you wanted me to believe that it was only lust you felt for me, then why marry me? You could have kept me as your mistress the night at the Regency, or even after you returned me to London after this madcap adventure to Scotland. Instead you married me, to legitimize the birth of our child. That is not the mark of a man who only feels lust for a woman."

Vegeta quirked his head, studying her, before he said in a voice that was curiously not dripping in sarcasm, "You really do have it all figured out, don't you?"

Bulma almost replied not everything, as I have no clue how to classify what I feel towards you but instead she just said, "If only. But I think I have this figured out." She looked down, then took a step closer to him, her hands on his hips as she pulled closer to him, looking him dead in the eye as the heat of their bodies intermingled, "You pushed me away that night because I was an emotional vulnerability to you as a spy, or to your own self. You married me yesterday because you do have feelings for me, and you don't want me to get married to any other man. You want a future for us."

She stopped, taking a deep breath and searched Vegeta's face for the truth. For any sort of truth, for any inclination as to what he was thinking. He surprised her, though, by giving a slight, almost imperceptible, teeny-tiny nod. Almost undetectable, but a totally there and a totally real nod. Bulma's mouth dropped open in shock at that, as she had been not expecting him to...to...agree with her. She had been expecting more refusals, or for him to just throw his walls up. Instead, she got confirmation.

Bulma knew there was more to say to him, more to talk about with him--but she knew that there would be time enough for that later. Right now, all she wanted to do was cry with happiness--or show him how happy that nod had made her by fucking his brains out in the walk in closet.

She went with the latter.

~~&~~

A/N: As I said at the beginning, a big thank you needs to be sent to Lilpumpkingirl for reminding me that Bulma had every right to be furious with Vegeta--I was too ahead of myself in the story in my head and I would have glazed over this completely. I'm curious, what do you guys think? It's always hard writing Vegeta as anything other than having the emotions of a stone, but with a story like this he will have to break at some point and show some emotion.

Plus, Bulma is a smart cookie, and one of the reasons I think they work so well together is that she knows him well enough now that he is not forced to say the mushy emotional stuff with her, that she just knows it, ya know? Like I said, I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter.

Also, the return of the wicked dowager (boo, hissssss), and finally, an explanation for Chi-Chi's slip up with her accent that a few of my more eagle eyed readers caught onto.

Okay, thanks for reading, until the next installment!