Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Twenty-One ( Chapter 21 )

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The Price You Pay: Chapter Twenty-One

"Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan"

"Vegeta..."

Bulma was woke in her sleep, covered in a cold sweat. Had she been dreaming, or were those words still echoing in her ears? Vegeta still lay beside her. His eyes were open and he was looking at her inquisitively. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face. She'd been sleeping nearly two hours. Had he been awake beside her the entire time?

It's all right, onna, you're safe. Vegeta spoke into her mind. Bulma wondered if she'd ever acclimate to the sensation.

She nodded in response and moved closer to Vegeta, setting her head on his chest and carelessly wrapping her free arm around his torso. Her back was exposed in spite of the blanket she was under, and Vegeta reached out to touch the mark between her shoulder blades. The blue had faded slightly, but upon his touch, re-illuminated.

Bulma had never seen this much tenderness in him. It was hard for her to believe that it was Vegeta she was laying there with, the Saiya-jin no Ouji. The occurrences of the night before did little to quench her thirst for him, if anything, it made her want him more. Was he skilled in everything?

 

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Vegeta watched the woman from his position on the bed. Partaking in physical intimacy with her had been unexpectedly staggering. And it didn't have anything to do with the fact that he hadn't coupled in some time. This was different. His master plan to mate with her and thus halt the confusing emotions he was feeling had failed miserably. Now he only wanted her more. Shit, what was he going to do?

 

He was a warrior before anything else. Anything. And now he was completely bonded to the Earth female. He felt a twinge of guilt as he considered this but quickly pushed it to the back of his mind as he considered the smooth and creamy skin exposed to him. He wasn't alone anymore, but at what cost?

The woman was beautiful when she slept. There were a few other positions he thought she looked beautiful in as well. He smiled to himself devilishly. He'd warn her out. Scratch that, they were both worn out. Besides the effect of the Khon'daia na, the mating ritual itself was both mentally and physically draining. Not that he was complaining.

Bulma shifted. She was moving, dreaming.

On several occasions Vegeta had tried to use their bond to get inside her thoughts and find out what was tormenting her, but there was a sturdy mental block in place still.

She was sweating and murmuring his name.

"Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan."

His voice trailed off as his wiped the sweat from her forehead. Although he still found comfort to be a strange Chikyuu-jin custom, it allowed him to be closer to the onna. He needed to better understand the workings of her alien mind, so he would learn the skill. Even if it involved those strange touching rituals she seemed so fond of.

Bulma groaned, rolled over, and opened her eyes. She looked upon him as if she hadn't seen him in years or thought they only had so much time left. She smiled weekly and once again draped her arm over the Saiya-jin no Ouji, trailing her fingers back and forth slowly over his toned abdominals.

 

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He's still here, thought Bulma, relieved. Although she was becoming more accustomed to the bizarre dreams, they still left her feeling confused and lonely. Waking up to see Vegeta's face was just what she needed.

Of course I'm here. Where did you think I went? Vegeta-sei? Vegeta answered mentally with a chuckle. Bulma's eyes widened at his response.

"Yes," replied a baffled Bulma aloud. Vegeta removed Bulma's arm and rolled over so that he was on top of her. Placing his hands on either side of her head, he looked her in the eyes.

"Listen, the only place it exists now, is here." Vegeta tapped his temple with his index finger. The Saiya-jin no Ouji looked down at her. His facial expression was hard but his eyes were that rich chocolate brown laced with gold. Her fingers ran over his lips in a silencing motion before she wrapped her arms around him and pulled his lips down upon her own.

 

For now.

 

It was only the first time he'd done it, and he already hated lying to her.

 

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Try as she might, Bulma could not rid herself of the visions of Vegeta going off to some unknown battle. The completion of the mating ritual only made the dream worse.

Bulma glanced over at the digital clock by her bed. 11:57 PM. She threw off the blankets and reached for her robe, groaning as it stuck to her naked body. She was covered in a cold sweat yet again.

She hadn't expected Vegeta to be beside her when she woke up, he never was, so she wasn't shocked when she found there wasn't a warm Saiya-jin laying beside her. The door creaked as she opened it and made her way down the staircase and into the kitchen.

 

Every night for the past two weeks she'd been woken by the feeling of an energy swell, usually a negatively charged energy swell. Not that it alarmed her, Vegeta was always training. Recently, the Saiya-jin no Ouji's training schedule had become particularly brutal. She knew he was struggling with himself—his warrior side fighting for the dominance it had started to lose with the formation of their bond.

Do you remember the first time we met?

Bulma was jolted out of her thoughts by Vegeta's sudden mental interjection.

"How could I forget? We were on Namek. I was more afraid of you than Freeza," commented Bulma with a reminiscent grin that strikingly resembled Vegeta's.

Vegeta smirked and looked down into the mug of coffee that was sitting stagnant and cold before him. There was a period of silence. Bulma could feel nothing coming from Vegeta although his tail swayed behind him, twitching at the tip.

Dad's cat must not be within pouncing range, thought Bulma with a mental block up so Vegeta wouldn't hear her slightly humorous comment.

"I was close, so close," said Vegeta as he brought his fist down upon the kitchen table. His voice was harsh and raspy. "It's like something is holding me back. I can feel it. I can feel the power of the Legendary. I know I'm almost there." He was looking up at her now. His eyes were golden in the darkness of the room.

Bulma wrapped her robe around herself a little more tightly and approached the Saiya-jin no Ouji. She didn't know what to say. It was just the same as so many other nights when she'd come downstairs to either watch him train in the GR or to pay him company as he ate. Bulma pulled out the chair beside Vegeta and sat, resting her head on his shoulder.

Visions of Namek and Freeza's evil laughter shot through Bulma's unshielded mind. Her eyes widened and a half second later, Vegeta threw up an iron-clad mental wall. He was slipping again.

Bulma sat up. "Listen to me, I may not be a Saiya-jin and I may not know what it's like to become the Legendary, but I do know this: you are on Earth now. What will happen, will happen. From what I can tell, this isn't something that can be forced." Bulma looked him strait in the eyes. "And I cannot lose you just because you're pushing yourself closer to death everyday. What goal is worth that?" Bulma stood up and walked back up the stairs to her room.

 

Vegeta just watched her go in silence.

 

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It felt good to be in cotton PJs. Bulma loved how cool they felt on her skin as she slid under the blankets. She pondered her brief conversation with Vegeta earlier in the kitchen and sighed. There was so much she didn't understand. So much she didn't know if she wanted to understand.

Vegeta, who are you? Who made you into what you've become?

Bulma allowed her thoughts to run wild as she contemplated the atrocities Freeza had forced him to commit. And now he was slowly killing himself so he could become the next Super Saiya-jin.

 

She would not lose him. She would not let his past ruin their relationship. Come hell or Freeza himself, she would not see Vegeta destroyed again.

 

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Vegeta sat at the kitchen table for what seemed like hours after Bulma left. What was he doing? Wasting his time on nostalgia? Was being around her making him soft? Was Chikyuu finally atrophying his brain cells?

 

Who the hell was she to tell him to let it go? Did she even know what she was asking? They were bonded, but that didn't mean he was going to give up what was most important to him.

 

He glanced up at the stairway that led to her quarters and then through the window at the dark shape of the lab building that was a hundred yards away. The house was silent. Bulma was probably already asleep.

He was confused and confusion made him irritated. The onna had been right about one thing. He was a warrior. He was born a warrior and he would die a warrior.