Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Sixteen ( Chapter 16 )

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The Price You Pay: Chapter Sixteen

Bulma wasn't slow. She had to know what he was looking for.

The onna squeezed him a little bit tighter. She'd been staring at him for the past few minutes thoughtfully—trying to figure out what it was that had kept his attention for so long. Apparently, she'd figured it out.

Vegeta didn't like pity, and as he was discovering, he especially didn't like it from his mate. Part of him knew that she didn't pity him, but the emotion was similar enough that he considered it the same. Perhaps there were too many things that he didn't know. He didn't appreciate the feeling.

Bulma sighed heavily and rested her head on Vegeta's shoulder. It was cold outside, but the onna didn't seem to mind.

Ah, the human form of 'comfort'.

That was something he also wasn't used to. Comfort made you weak, vulnerable. Vulnerability had never been an option.

Vegeta stopped searching for his lost star. It wasn't there. There was no use in reaching for things that didn't exist.

No use at all.

The onna yawned. It was getting late. Maybe not so late by his standards, but late by hers. She snuggled in closer to his side, successfully getting Vegeta to remove his arm from the railing and place it around her. It was unlike him.

The words of the elders echoed through his mind yet again. How he hated that. It was a constant reminder of weakness. Bonds weren't supposed to happen, well, at least not to him.

There was another yawn. It was time for bed. Rest would certainly be a welcome release after the night before. His body seriously needed to be shut down.

Vegeta glanced down at Bulma. She looked comfortable, as if she could fall asleep right there in his arms.

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Bulma tried her best not to yawn, but it seemed her desire for sleep was getting the best of her.

When Vegeta casually wrapped his arm around her, she didn't know how to react.

Vegeta snapped out of his reverie and looked down at her. It seemed to be the first time he acknowledged her presence in the last half hour or so. Bulma considered it a welcome change.

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The woman opened her eyes when she noticed he was watching her. She glanced up at him sleepily.

Vegeta lowered his head down to her ear and whispered hoarsely, "I think it's time for bed, don't you?"

It wasn't meant to come out the way it had, but it had certainly gotten the onna's attention. What was meant to come out as a statement of exhaustion came out as a rather suggestive growl.

Vegeta felt her stiffen. It was remarkably easy to turn her on. He had to stifle a laugh as she snapped her head to attention at his innocent words.

The Saiya-jin no Ouji let a short chuckle slide. Bulma backed up and punched the amused Prince in the shoulder. He didn't even flinch, but he did plaster an arrogant smirk on his face. After a few minutes, Bulma started grinning herself.

"I hate when you do that," said Bulma, trying to recover from her temporary lapse in will power.

"Hate what?" asked Vegeta as he started toward the open doors to his room.

Bulma let out a very Saiya-jin like growl and stomped into the room behind him. She was such a baby when she didn't get exactly what she wanted, and Vegeta knew what she wanted.

Toying with her is only half the fun.

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Bulma realized that Vegeta was baiting her only a few moments after she stomped into the room.

The Saiya-jin no Ouji walked to the temperature control panel on the opposite wall, adjusting the air conditioning. He was wearing a simple pair of boxers, a human article of clothing he'd never given a second glance before. She smiled internally. The man was becoming more human than he was aware.

Bulma laid on the bed and got under the covers. The cool material felt good against her skin. There was nothing she could do to push down the excitement that was growing in her stomach.

God, I'm behaving like a giddy fourteen-year-old.

Vegeta laid down next to her and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments. Neither of them knew what to do. The Saiya-jin rolled onto his side and called out to the computer to turn the lights out. He was facing away from her. It appeared the night would go by eventless. He had his side of the bed and she had hers.

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The first thing Vegeta did after turning over was decide that he didn't like the position he was in. Cursing the hormones he was struggling to control, he rolled over and wrapped his free arm around Bulma, pulling her right up against his stomach. Bulma gasped and struggled, the momentarily settled for compliance. She shivered involuntarily. There was no way she was still cold. Vegeta chuckled.

Bulma continued to squirm, not sure what to make of the situation. Vegeta was sure it had something to do with the suggestive comment he'd made earlier, but he didn't care. She was his now, dammit, and she would stay where she was.

Deciding this was a game she was going to lose, Bulma let out a sigh and snuggled in closer to her Saiya-jin captor. It wasn't like she really wanted to get away. Who was she kidding?

Vegeta tried not to dwell on how Bulma's body felt pressed up against his own. Part of him was even regretting that he couldn't fulfill the deeds he'd hinted at earlier. If anything good came of this, it would be finally taking her and getting this hormonal nonsense out of his system. He could deal with the more upsetting parts of bonding once he stopped thinking about how it would feel to... But he had to wait, even if the rest of his body disagreed. And, ye gods, did it disagree.

Tomorrow. The rituals must be performed tomorrow.

It would be a miracle if they even lasted that long, especially if things continued to progress the way they had been.

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Bulma awoke the next morning to find herself in a tangle of limbs. It seemed that somehow she'd managed to turn herself around in the middle of the night. She was half on top of Vegeta and his arms were around her. His tail was loosely coiled around her right calf and their legs were intertwined.

She was covered in a light sweat and her head ached. Panic struck her with a jolt when she tried to remember the events of the previous evening and found herself drawing blank. The cotton of her pajamas, however, reminded her that things hadn't gotten too out of hand.

That was way too close, she thought to herself. She didn't trust herself around Vegeta anymore. Correction, she didn't trust her body around Vegeta anymore. There were too many things it liked to try to do without her consent.

The room was cold. It had to be in the lower 50s and she still felt like she was going to die of heatstroke. It didn't help that the Saiya-jin no Ouji seemed to be on fire.

She'd dreamed again. It was odd. Before, she thought that they only occurred when Vegeta was out of the room and away from her, but not now. How was it possible that she could have such a nightmare when he was laying right there beside her?

She'd run to him. Begged him not to go. Wrapped her arms around him and cried until she could cry no more. But he still left. He pushed her away and left. It was duty, it was his choice, and it was destiny.

Bulma looked at the clock next to her bed. It was ten o'clock in the morning.

Vegeta's not going to be too happy when he realizes how much of his day he's wasted when he could have been training, thought Bulma with a cringe.

Bulma pushed up on the bed and tried to get up without moving the sleeping Saiya-jin no Ouji.

"You do know that I can sense you in my sleep, onna, don't you?" asked Vegeta as he cracked one eye open. He grabbed her and pulled her back down. Knowing that she was no match for his inhuman strength, Bulma complied without a fight and took her place right back on Vegeta's chest. His skin felt smooth. She wondered what it would feel like to have her own bare skin up against his and his arms around her.

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Vegeta could smell the onna's arousal. Perhaps pulling her back down wasn't the best idea. He knew what Bulma wanted.

Vegeta began to slowly run his fingers up and down Bulma's lower back. After the onna's initial reaction of shivers passed, she relaxed on top of him and started breathing more evenly.

That's right. Rest, little onna. You're going to need all of your strength.

"Vegeta," asked Bulma after a few moments had passed, "can't you feel it?"

He wasn't quite sure what she meant. He felt something. The dreams she'd been having worried him. And there was something else. He just wasn't sure what it was. What was he missing?

"I can feel it." He trailed off. What was he supposed to say?

"Then why can't you stop it?" she whispered. It was a rhetorical question, he knew, so he didn't reply.