Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Fourteen ( Chapter 14 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Fourteen

 

Vegeta continued his training for another six hours. She hoped he'd come and talk to her before midnight, but she wasn't holding her breath.

 

He was still remarkably aloof. But then again, had she actually expected things to be any different? No, she hadn't. It was obvious to her that Vegeta had no intention of becoming emotionally attached. She had never liked clingy guys, but Vegeta was a little too withdrawn.

 

Strange, the mysteriousness that cloaked him had always been one of her major turn-ons. And, she concluded rather shamefully, it still was.

 

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

 

As was routine, Vegeta stopped his training when the alarm went off at midnight. The onna hadn't noticed, but she slept nearly the whole day away. The Khon'daia na must have hit her harder than he originally thought. She would get used to it eventually. There were so many things she was going to have to get used to.

 

He sighed. She was probably still angry with him. And this time, he had to pretend to care. He hated that about her. She always made him think things over twice. He didn't like questioning himself. Before he came to stay with the Briefs, he never questioned himself.

 

Vegeta's eyebrow twitched in agitation.

 

His training session hadn't gone as well as he hoped. He couldn't locate the trigger that had caused him to Ascend.

 

Not one bloody trace.

 

It was irritating how his mind kept straying. And it worried him. It was a weakness. Freeza hadn't tolerated weakness, and neither did he. To admit to weakness was admitting imperfection and that too, was something Vegeta would never do.

 

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

 

Bulma knew that she and Vegeta were going to have to talk sooner or later, so rather than waste another couple of hours, she went down to the lab and worked on some research.

 

Dr. Briefs was at the lab when Bulma came in and asked her how she was doing. She said she was fine and went on with her business. She glanced at him warily.

 

He'd been acting strange lately. In the past months, she'd more than once seen Vegeta leaving the research compound late in the evening. Her father was the only other person with an access code that worked after hours so she couldn't imagine what would have drawn the Saiya-jin no Ouji to the facility at such a time. She didn't dwell on it. It probably had something to do with the GR.

 

At least I'm not the only one he's pushy with, thought Bulma as she rolled her eyes.

 

She glanced back at her father as he hurriedly flipped through some paperwork. Apparently he was working on a new project that was going to revolutionize modern technology. She wasn't sure what he was talking about, but given the excitement with which he approached every project, she wasn't overly concerned.

 

Dr. Briefs sat quietly at his desk, obviously waiting for her to start some sort of a conversation. In an attempt to appease him, she gave her father a huge grin and made a comment about how happy she was to be working in the lab again. Her father didn't need to know what was going on between his daughter and the Saiya-jin no Ouji. At least not at the moment. And she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to know how he would react to the news.

 

Most likely he'd be deliriously happy, she thought. Her mother would be in love with the idea, but then again, her mother was in love with anything and everything that seemed even slightly romantic. She had to hand it to her mother though. Mrs. Briefs may have come off as a ditz, but she was extraordinarily intelligent behind the scenes. She'd added her own ideas on more than one of Bulma's projects, and they were usually very good ideas at that. She enjoyed the finer things in life, but wasn't afraid to wander into the lab upon occasion. Bulma just liked to work.

 

And I wonder why I have personal problems.

 

As much as she loved Yamcha, she knew that if worse came to worse, her work would always be there for her. Fights would come and go, but her work—that was her one true love. Some would call it empty. She just called it realistic.

 

But Vegeta...

 

No, there was just something different about Vegeta, something she knew she wanted, and Bulma always got what she wanted. She grinned.

 

The Saiya-jin no Ouji was probably one of the biggest challenges she'd ever undertaken in her life. She'd spent months getting Vegeta to simply tolerate her presence. Not to mention developing a verbal report that sometimes bordered on civil. But she liked when they argued. She enjoyed the competition and knowing that she was competing with someone to whom she could possibly lose. It made winning so much more fun.

 

Dammit, why can't I stay mad at him? Bulma thought with some resentment as she noticed where her train of thought was leading her. Well, I always wanted to be with a prince when I was a child.

 

Of course, the murderous, dark, monkey of a prince hadn't exactly been what she had in mind. And now that was exactly what she was stuck with. Perhaps `stuck' was too harsh of a word. He wasn't the prince she had envisioned at that younger, more naive stage in her life, but at that very moment, remembering their interlude in the living room, he had all the makings of becoming her personal erotic prince charming.

 

And boy, did he.

 

She had to stop thinking about this. She needed to keep a cool facade. Not another one of those bizarre fogs of lust that seemed to come over her like a tidal wave. Kami, she could have smacked herself. Her body was rebelling against her.

 

Traitor.

 

Strange things had been going on the whole day. She seemed hot and fuzzy, energized. Like she was seeing everything through a haze, but with minute detail. It was the oddest experience.

 

Her lab, which she usually kept around 75 F, had to be dropped down to 60 just so the room wouldn't feel stuffy. She needed a glass of water about every five minutes, and her staff had taken the brunt of her temper more than once. She felt wired and exhausted at the same time. If that was possible. She really needed to hit the sack.

 

Must be that stupid bug.

 

Bulma was suddenly overcome by a shivering spell as she slid under the blanket in Vegeta's room. She'd come to his room nearly an hour prior to shower and just relax before slipping off to sleep. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, she was also there, waiting, still in the hopes that he would show up early and talk to her.

 

Bulma laid back into the pillows that lined Vegeta's headboard. They were black, matching the sheets and the gray comforter. Bulma sighed as Vegeta's fragrance filled her nostrils.

 

It was funny really. She knew men that would kill to get their hands on a cologne that smelled like Vegeta's pillows did. The amusing part was that Vegeta didn't wear cologne, and he sure didn't need to. He smelled good naturally.

 

The room was freezing.

 

Bulma turned and looked at the climate control box. It was set at 55 degrees. Had it been that cold the last time she was in the room? She couldn't remember. Strange how she was just comfortable at 60, but freezing at 55. The blankets were starting to warm up anyway.

 

The clock under the temperature display read 11:54pm.

 

Any minute now.

 

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

 

Vegeta walked into the Briefs' home and quietly shut the door behind him. He had no need to wake up the whole household, and he certainly wasn't in the mood for an argument.

 

Something that's been happening far too often.

 

The tired Saiya-jin no Ouji started his way up the stairs. He could sense the onna's ki coming from his room.

 

Good, she actually wanted to get some sleep tonight.

 

He wouldn't apologize. It wasn't his fault. Vegeta grimaced. Now he was even rationalizing to himself. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to take a mate in the first place.