Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Five

 

For awhile, Bulma just sat with the handset gently nudged between her shoulder and ear, listening to the dial tone. She knew all she had to do was push one button and the speed dial would call up Yamcha's number. There was absolutely no reason for all this hesitation. It wasn't like she had assassinated one of his girlfriends. She'd merely accused him of doing some not-very-nice things. A lot of people did that. She wasn't the first person in this relationship to make a mistake.

 

After a few moments of mustering the courage, Bulma pushed number one on her speed dial and sat patiently, waiting for Yamcha to pick up. After about the fifth ring she was starting to think he wasn't home. Then, just as she was about to hang up, he answered.

 

"Sorry, babe. Just got out of the shower. I couldn't hear the phone ringing." Somehow, Yamcha always knew when she was calling. He didn't have caller ID, or at least he didn't the last time she was at his house.

 

"How do you do that?" asked Bulma, completely baffled.

 

"Do what?" asked Yamcha, equally baffled.

 

"Automatically know that it's me calling." Bulma sighed the last part.

 

"Come on, babe. I've known you for nearly a decade now, and you're still trying to figure out how I know when you're going to call?" Yamcha smiled. Bulma had no idea just how predictable she was.

 

"I guess you're right. You probably know more about me than I do." Bulma smiled. It was great that they could still be friends through everything. Even after he cheated on her. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence while Bulma tried to sort out exactly what she was going to say to him.

 

"So the guilt finally built up, huh?" asked Yamcha, figuring he might as well get the ball rolling. Bulma always did have a difficult time admitting she was wrong.

 

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Her voice was deadpan.

 

"You know," Yamcha broke in before Bulma could had another chance to speak, "I don't blame you for what you did." Another uncomfortable silence.

 

"Why the hell not? I completely jumped all over you for no reason," Bulma said when she finally recovered.

 

"Bulma, babe, I know you'd like to say it was your fault, but it wasn't. It was mine." He paused for a moment. "My fault for cheating on you—for not being the man you wanted." He sighed.

 

"Yamcha—" Bulma tried to cut in and stop him from saying things he would end up regretting, but he would have none of that.

 

"No, I think you need to hear this." He took a deep breath and then released it slowly. "I don't want what happened the day we decided to go our separate ways to hinder our current relationship, and I sure as hell don't want you to feel guilty about something you had every right to presume. I need you to know that you will always be my number one girl. You got that? Always."

 

Bulma smiled sadly. "Well, I still don't think I had any right jumping all over you like I did, but if you're choosing to forget about it, then I guess I should tloo." She sighed heavily. "You have no idea how good it feels to get all of this off my chest."

 

"Believe you me, I definitely know how you feel, babe," Yamcha responded in an attempt to lighten up the mood.

 

"You were always good at getting me to smile.”

 

"What do you mean `were'? You're smiling right now, aren't you?" Bulma had to laugh at that one. She was smiling after all.

 

"Thanks, for everything, Yamcha."

 

"No prob, babe. Man, it's cold in here!" he proclaimed, reminding Bulma that he had, in fact, just gotten out of the shower and was talking to her while wearing only a towel.

 

"Oh, right. Sorry. I'll talk to you later!" said Bulma, closing their conversation.

 

"Right on."

 

Silently rejoicing inside, Bulma hung up the phone.

 

Well, that was surprisingly painless.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

The onna had been on the phone with her mate for about a half an hour. That was considerably shorter than usual. From the look on the onna's face and the freakish way she seemed to be glowing from the inside, he guessed that they had `made up'.

 

What's she so happy about? He cheated on her, lied to her about it, and then assume that he was still open to her bed. He didn't even have the honor to admit to his adultery.

 

Vegeta strolled into the kitchen. He'd been sitting in the living room, watching some karate match or something or other on the Briefs' big screen TV. Needless to say, he'd heard the whole conversation.

 

It was amazing to him that Chikyuu-jin could just leave all their problems behind and move on to through something called `forgiveness'.

 

If my mate even thought about dishonoring me in such away, I would have never granted forgiveness.

 

The whole planet was warped. That was the only reasonable conclusion he could come to. On Vegeta-sei, adultery was nearly impossible. Mates were too close to one another physically and mentally for any nonsense like that to slip by.

 

After some consideration, Vegeta realized it wasn't like he would have totally disowned his mate, but he would have made damn well sure she knew he was displeased. For a Saiya-jin to live without his mate, circumstances had to be severe. Being separated from a mate was even considered a form of torture—especially if a bond had been created. Both partners would be linked body, mind, and soul. Vegeta contemplated the idea. No, if he had a mate, and they had been bonded, there wouldn't be any cheating. It wouldn't have been possible.

 

Another area in which Chikyuu-jin are lacking.

 

Vegeta almost felt bad for the inhabitants of Earth. Almost.

 

Although being mated and/or bonded to someone else meant that there was an invisible leash, the positive usually greatly outweighed the negative. A mind link was created that, from any distance, could keep the couple in contact. Mental images, messages, and emotions could be transferred directly to the other almost instantaneously. Not to mention the sexuality of it. The mental link was a major contributor to the sensations between a mated couple. A mere touch from a partner could be considered sensuous and send shots of electricity through both of their bodies.

 

A bond was sacred. Though separating two mates was a preferred method of torture for many Saiya-jin enemies, no one on Vegeta-sei was ignorant enough to interfere with something so blatantly untouchable. And as for members of other species, they were knowledgeable enough to realize that if they were to tamper with that part of Saiya-jin life, it would come with serious repercussions. It was one of the most renowned interplanetary taboos.

 

There were some negatives, however. If a mated pair was separated by too far of a distance, they could experience nausea and shocks of pain, and their bodies could eventually go into a sort of coma if one mate were to die—possibly leading to the death of both Saiya-jins.

 

These considerations, above all else, were the reason why he could never take a mate. There was no way that anything, especially a woman, was going to tie him down. It was a weakness, and Vegeta had never had a fondness for weakness.

 

Glancing over at the woman in the kitchen, Vegeta could tell that Bulma was just bursting to tell someone about her experience with Yamcha.

 

Worthless piece of shit.

 

Not that he really cared. It wasn't his responsibility to watch over the onna or to feel protective. Why was he thinking about this anyway?

 

"What was his excuse this time?" asked Vegeta in a blank tone of voice, amazed that he had even opened his mouth. He walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

 

Bulma, forgiving his intrusion on her privacy, smiled. "There was no excuse," she stated brightly.

 

"The baka actually admitted to his pornographic tendencies? Interesting, maybe he's braver than I thought," he said sarcastically. "It's about damn time." He added the last part more under his breath than to Bulma, and removed what was left of a watermelon from the enormous fruit crisper.

 

"You know what, Vegeta?" said Bulma, turning on Vegeta and looking him directly in the eyes. "There's nothing you could say right now that could possibly fluster me."

 

"Is that a challenge?" asked Vegeta, raising one eyebrow inquisitively. His tail unraveled from around his waist and swayed softly behind him.

 

"No, I believe that was a statement," said Bulma in return. Was he actually insensitive enough to try and bait her at such a time when she was so deliriously happy?

 

Of course, he is. This is Vegeta I'm talking about.