Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Undisclosed Desires ❯ Part V ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.
Undisclosed Desires
Part V

Vegeta woke up and frowned. It was the second night in a row that he had slept decently. Coincidentally it was the second night he had spent with the woman.

He couldn't remember a time when he didn't have nightmares plaguing his sub consciousness. Replays of the more horrific events from his life. Sometimes he would dream that he was back in Frieza’s service again; sometimes he would dream he was in hell again too and that this reality of having been wished back and given a second chance to do something meaningful and honorable with his life had been nothing but a hoax; another joke the universe was playing on him.

He wondered if the woman had something to do with the absence of these disturbing dreams. Speaking of which, where was she?

He was still in her bed but she was gone. He looked at the clock on her bed side and couldn't believe that it was almost seven o'clock in the morning! He never slept in that late. Not since his recovery from his injuries when the gravity room had blown up last year.

What disturbed him even more was that he had been sleeping so soundly that he had not woken up when the woman had left her bed and sleeping quarters. Vegeta always prided himself on his preparedness for anything. He was always ready to defend himself. He slept light always in the event of an attack. did it mean that he had slept through the night and did not so much as stir when the woman had left her bed?

Perhaps his body had just really needed the rest? He had been pushing himself relentlessly since the accident in an effort to catch up on lost time. With the exception of the day off yesterday where he had completely wasted the day away with the Woman he had not taken a day to rest. He slept very little. So maybe he had just needed to catch up on lost sleep?

Either that or he was getting too lax in allowing the woman to share a bed with him? Was he allowing himself to get too familiar with her and perhaps too comfortable with her in her home? That would not do, he told himself as he got out of bed. would not allow himself to fall into the same pathetic existence as Kakarott had with having to take care of a mate. It wasn't who he was.

His thoughts were put on hold as he noticed a note on her dresser with a cup of black coffee, which was now lukewarm; telling him he had slept for far too long and not only had he slept through her leaving but he had slept through an intrusion as well. He snarled to himself in a moment of feeling the utmost embarrassment and shame at the thought. He was about to scrunch up the note she had left without even reading it but his curiosity got the better of him.

Hey Vegeta,
Sorry I didn't wake you but you looked so peaceful in your sleep I didn't have the heart to disturb you.

I brought you up a coffee and set aside some breakfast for you downstairs in the kitchen. If you are looking for me, I will be outside working on the gravity room. The parts came yesterday. So I took the day off to do your repairs. Since I held you up from your training yesterday, I figured it was the least I could do!

Feel free to use my shower.

See you when I see you!
~B.

He frowned. What the hell was with the smiley face? He wondered briefly with mild irritation but then smirked as he read the note again where she admitted to holding him up from his training yesterday. she most certainly had, but he could not say that he truly minded all that much. The woman is learning her place at least, he thought.

He scrunched up the note and vaporized it in the palm of his hand before making his way into her bathroom and started up the shower.

-0-0-0-
Bulma finally closed a panel on the console of the gravity room. She had replaced a few wires underneath that had been fried, but something still wasn’t right. She exhaled heavily through her mouth in frustration, deciding that she needed to check the panel outside of the gravitron. She should have been done by now but she couldn’t focus; her mind kept wandering back to thoughts of Vegeta. She wasn’t sure what this was, happening between them and was afraid to jinx it by putting a name on it but one thing she did know was that she hadn’t felt this happy in months, she reasoned.

She only hoped it wouldn’t just come to a screeching halt; not when she had made so much progress with Vegeta. Sure he still wasn’t super chatty or affectionate, but she was alright with that. She liked that he wasn’t overly affectionate or clingy like Yamcha had the tendency to be at different times throughout their relationship. She was just content that he seemed comfortable around her; she had woken up a few times during the night and had just basked in his presence and the feeling of being in his arms. A few times she had been tempted to wake him and continue their carnal activities but he had looked so peaceful in his sleep and she could tell from the way he had been breathing that he had been sleeping deeply and she could not bring herself to wake him.

Bulma knew that he had been pushing himself hard since the accident. She had been concerned about the pace of his obsessive training regimen; no matter how badly he wanted to achieve his goal, training that hard on a constant basis couldn’t be good for him. How could it be good for anybody? Rest was just as important as training. That was one reason she was happy that she had managed to convince him to take the day off with her yesterday; she only hoped that he would not be angry at her and himself for allowing himself a break.

She didn’t want to get her hopes up too high that he actually cared about her. Bulma knew that the odds of that were slim to none but she couldn’t help but hope that maybe things would continue on as they were. So as a peace offering, she had gotten up a bit earlier than normal and set to hopefully finish the repairs by the time he woke up. She knew that if they were going to eventually evolve into some kind of relationship she would have to show him that she was not going to interfere with his training or prevent him from acquiring his goals. While she didn’t understand this obsession he had, she did want to support him as best as she could.

Unbeknownst to her, Vegeta had watching her carefully for some time, musing at how oblivious she was to his presence. How could she go through life not being able to sense someone was around watching her? It was sad, he thought to himself.

He continued to observe her; she was wearing a very short pair of shorts and had a tank top with spaghetti straps on. He smirked as he heard her whisper a few choice words under her breath.

After a few more minutes, she seemed to have finished tinkering with several fuses and buttons from the outside of the gravity room and headed back inside. He decided to make his move then on her where it was somewhat private and no one would bother them. It had been a fantasy of his for some time now to have the woman in the gravity chamber; now that she was willing, perhaps if he acted out that fantasy, maybe he could finally get her out of his head for good and concentrate better on his training?

He walked into the Gravity chamber just a few short minutes after she had. He quietly closed the door behind them and locked it.

“Vegeta?” She called out, turning around to face him. “Hey, you’re up. I’m almost done here and then you can train if you want.”

“Hmmn,” he grunted, pleased that the entire day would not be a complete waste. Perhaps he could simply have his way with her and then dismiss her and carry on about his day.

She turned around and went back to work, typing in several commands into the console, oblivious as he approached her from behind. “It’s almost done, but I’d really like to do a full service on this thing. It’s been a while,” she commented absentmindedly.

“Does the gravitron work?” he asked.

“It should, yea,” she replied. “That’s not what the problem was.”

“Good.” He said evenly; he had gone a day and a half almost without training, what would another hour or so set him back? The whole point in indulging in her in the first place was to get her out of his system. So far, it had backfired; if anything, he wanted more of her. He stood next to her and activated the gravitron.

“What the hell, Vegeta!” She shrieked at him. “Turn that off! I can’t--!” She didn’t finish her complaint as her body collapsed to the floor.

Vegeta cocked his head to the side in amusement as he watched her squirm. “You cannot even manage to stand up at the level of five times normal gravity?”

“No, I can’t, you idiot!” She shouted back at him angrily. “Now shut it off! I’m almost done the repairs.”

“The repairs can wait,” he said, his hand on the dial debating on whether he should raise the gravity just a little bit or lower it? He raised it up by one.

“Vegeta please, don’t!” she cried out in panic. “You’re going to crush me.”

He chuckled sadistically as he looked down at her; she was bent over on her knees in a squat with her arms and elbows flat to the floor. He could tell it was taking all her strength to look up at him. “I will not crush you, not at this level, but it will immobilize you.” he said, removing his shirt.

He reached for her and positioned her so that she was lying flat on her back on the floor. “What are you doing?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him, forgetting her fears of being turned into a pancake.

“Something I have thought of doing for some time.”

He smirked at her as he smelled her arousal. She was definitely turned on by the dangerous game he was playing with her and it pleased him very much; he leaned over her and kissed her deeply, covering her body with his but being very mindful to not place his weight on her. She kissed him back hungrily, but moaned in frustration as she realized she could not move her arms to wrap them around his neck.

He chuckled against her mouth in response. Finally, he had her where he wanted her. He could not count how many times the thought of having her this way in here had plagued him to the point of distraction.

“Vegeta,” she whined. “I can’t move.”

“That is the point,” he growled as his mouth traveled up her jaw and down to her neck.

“Well what’s the fun in that?” she asked.

“Hmmn?” he grunted, coming to an abrupt halt and glared down at her.

“Well, the gravity is on, and I can’t move.”

“Exactly.”

“So that means I can’t touch you or do anything.”

“You are completely at my mercy, Woman,” he growled into her ear, nipping her earlobe slightly.

“So for some time, you’ve wanted to screw me and have me helpless to do anything?”

“Umm hmm,” he growled affirmatively, getting annoyed by her speech. He wished she would shut up already and let him have his fun.

“Well, why didn’t you say so and I would have just gone out and bought you a life-sized blow up doll,” she sighed. “I’m sure I could find one with blue hair.”

“You talk too much,” he complained.

“Shut off the gravity.” She demanded, turning her face so he would not capture her lips with his again and she would lose her train of thought.

“Woman, this is my fantasy and you are ruining it.” He growled seductively in her ear.

“Good! Cause I’m bored!” She snipped at him.

He quit his ministrations immediately and glared at her.

She giggled at the shocked look he was giving her but suppressed a shiver of fear. She knew she was potentially playing a dangerous game with him. He could just continue on and do what he wanted with her in this position despite her objections but she didn’t think he would do that and so she continued to tease and deny him. She wasn’t exactly sure why; she was hot and ready for him and if he really wanted her this way, then she’d let him; but she just wanted to see how far she could push him.

“I have a fantasy too,” she finally admitted. “Do you wanna hear it?”

“If it will make you shut up,” he growled.

“I always thought it would be hot if you bent me over the console and took me like that,” she said as nonchalantly as she could. The weight of the gravity pulling her down was becoming exhausting and the heat from his body over hers combined with her anxiety was much too distracting for her to enjoy herself if he decided not to go along with her little story. Truth be told, she actually had fantasized many times of him coming into the gravity room while she was doing the repairs and doing her right up against the console.

“Hmmn,” he nodded, looking down at her a moment considering his options. Even he had to admit that the thought of railing her against the console had crossed his mind more than once; and he knew the gravity room was sound proof so her parents could not possibly hear them. Why not? He shrugged inwardly, getting up and off of her to shut the gravity off.

Bulma released a breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding as soon as the gravity returned to normal. To her complete surprise, he reached a hand towards her to help her up. “Thanks,” she said as she stood up and held onto his hand for longer than necessary as she just looked at him in wonder. Chivalry was something she had never expected from Vegeta.

They looked at each other for a long moment, both wondering the same thing: Where was this going? But neither one wanting to ask it out loud.

Bulma finally looked away from him and pulled her top off over her head, tossing it carelessly on the floor near where his had been discarded. She reached for him and wrapped her arms around his neck before leaning in and kissing him.

It took him a moment to respond to her; his mind running in circles that he should leave and go train elsewhere while she was finishing the repairs. This was just another distraction; something else keeping him from his goal. He cursed himself for starting this with her again this morning. He could not let himself miss another full day of training. But what was one more day? He asked himself. It was a little over a year before the Androids would appear. He had already made tremendous progress in his training; surely his ascension was just around the corner! It had to be, or he would go mad.

“What’s wrong?” she asked against his mouth, noticing his lack of reciprocation.

“Nothing,” he lied.

Bulma arched her back away from him and looked at him suspiciously as though trying to figure him out. As usual, his stoic features and everlasting frown was all she got back and she shook her head at him in frustration. She knew something was bothering him but she didn’t know what.

“What?” he asked, his frown deepening.

“You,” she said bluntly, shrugging at him.

“What about me?”

Bulma paused a moment before daring to voice what she had been wanting to say to him for a while now. “I want to know you,” she whispered, leaning into his left ear, nipping and sucking lightly on his earlobe. She had been dying to know more about him ever since he had come to her the night she and Yamcha had broken up. It had been the first time they’d had any type of meaningful conversation and while he still hadn’t revealed much to her about himself or his past, he still had spoken with her a little bit and had given her enough to hope that maybe he would eventually open up to her.

“You know everything that you need to know about me.” he growled, trying to put the subject at rest before she tempted him into opening up any further to her. As it was she knew too much; however he had no one else. Maybe opening up to her would make him finally feel like he belonged here on this planet. Fuck that! He chastised himself; she didn’t need to know anything else about him. He had gone through his life mostly on his own and had gotten by just fine. He didn’t need anyone to know anything other than what was necessary.

“Then tell me something I don’t know; tell me your fears, are you scared?” she asked as her lips travelled down his neck and back up again until she reached his jaw line. “I know I am," she confessed, looking right at him with an expression he couldn’t pinpoint the meaning behind.

"I fear nothing." He said, hoping she would not see right through him. In truth, he was afraid; very afraid. He was not sure what this was developing between them. All he knew was that he was falling and this thing seemed to be spiraling out of his control. A part of him was screaming at him to get out now before things became more complicated than they already were but the other side was telling him to stay and see where this may go.

However, if he did that, he may end up trapped. He did not want to lose himself,his identity; everything he was working so hard for over want of a woman. Though if this life of having a woman and a family was good enough for Kakarott, then maybe it was good enough for him as well? No, he told himself firmly; this was not something that he wanted for himself. This arrangement of theirs was only temporary; a convenience to satisfy his lust and curiosity. He was certain by the end of the day he would have had his fill of her and that would be that. He could resume his normal training schedule without further interruption.

"Tell me your stories; I'm not afraid of who you are," she said, interrupting his inward thoughts; kissing him again.

"You would do well to be afraid of me and end this,"he warned, despite the fact that he was leaning into her, his arm had somehow made its way around her waist; unbeknownst to him until now and was pulling her closer to him and his other hand was moving up her side, caressing her left breast.

"Maybe I like to live dangerously." She shrugged nonchalantly, waggling her eyebrows at him mischievously.

"You are a very, very stupid woman," he growled, snaking his hand that had been on her breast up and around her neck and tightening it around her throat slightly. Instead of shrinking back in fear or panicking, she boldly looked at him, her eyes flickering with excitement. "Or you are crazy."

"Maybe I am a bit of both?" She suggested,her hand up and placed it on his, still gripping her neck firmly.

He could not figure out why in the universe she would want him? Sure he knew he was attractive as far as his looks and body were concerned, he was not that dense. But beyond that, it didn't make sense why she would continue to pursue him.

He had come to this planet to satisfy his own selfish desires. He had been the reason behind several of her friends and her then-lover dying in battle. When things had not gone as planned, he had threatened to destroy this planet, her home. After that, he had threatened her life and the life of her friends on Namek in order to have his wish of immortality. He had lost bitterly in a skirmish with Frieza and somehow was granted a second chance when the dragon balls had been used.

Here he was, on a back water planet with nothing and nowhere to go and she had opened her home to him as though it were no big deal and catered to his every whim no matter how unreasonable. Why? He asked himself for the thousandth time. Did she have some kind of ulterior motive? Not only that, but was she not ashamed to be with him? It was no secret that aside from Kakarott, no one but her gave him even a second thought. As he looked at her with suspicion, he took note of the care free look on her face and decided that either she didn’t or she was very good at hiding her true intentions from him.

Vegeta removed his hand from her neck and quickly turned her around so that she was slightly bent over the console and entered her slowly from behind; he was tired of waiting, his own arousal painful to the point that he could not think of anything else but fulfillment. He would take her here, now, one last time and that would be that.

“Oh,” She moaned as he began to move deeply inside of her; pulling out of her slowly and then plunging himself back into her quickly. She leaned herself forward so that he could move deeper into her and in response, he leaned himself over her as well. He wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her close to him and his other hand slip up her side and settled to cup her right breast as he continued to move into her at an almost inhuman pace; it was not gentle and careful like he had been the previous day.

She cried out as pleasure began to spread through her in weaves despite his roughness. Never had Yamcha taken her hard like this; he had always been considerate. Never had she had cause for complaint, but this was something new to her. It was exciting. No, it was not slow and sensual, but it was raw and a bit clumsy. He was not causing her any pain or discomfort but she could not think of anything but him and how he made her body feel things she had never felt before. It was just basic need and take and give at complete abandon of everything and anything else.

Screw the consequences.

Right now was all that mattered.

He skimmed his nose up the length of her neck, inhaling her scent deeply. Until his encounters with her, he had truly never smelled anything as decadent or enticing as her; not that he could remember anyway. She threw her head back, resting it on his left shoulder, exposing the length of her neck to him.

Vegeta licked and nipped his way from the nape of her neck and to her right side, sucking lightly at the thin skin at her jugular. The quick pulsing of her main artery against his mouth did not escape his notice; he could feel it against his tongue and lips as he licked and kissed her there and he felt a rush of excitement flush through him at the thought of how easy it would be for him to end her life right now.

While he had no intention of killing her just quite yet; alright, never he corrected himself begrudgingly. The thought of how easy it would be in this moment crossed his mind.The thought nagged at him that he had not killed anyone since Namek. Never had he gone so long without ending someone’s life. The thought disturbed him somewhat.

Not only the thought that he had gone so long without killing, but that he knew he could not kill her. Not now, not ever. He briefly wondered what that meant before dismissing the line of thought, wanting to drown only in the feel and scent of her in this moment. Forget everything else; this with her, right now was the right thing and even though he feared the eventual outcome of what it could mean he was stepping into, at the moment he was alright with that. She somehow made him feel complete. She didn’t make him feel ashamed of his past. She accepted him even though he refused to give of himself any more than he felt necessary; she didn’t push him.

His mouth went back to her neck at the juncture of her collarbone and he sucked, licked and nipped the delicate skin there again. She moaned in response, which he took as encouragement and without thinking, he bit down on her.

“Ow! Hey!” she cried out, turning her head to try and look at him. “What the hell?”

He halted his movements the second she shrieked at him. How could he have been so careless? He had very nearly just marked her, which in his culture was as good as a marriage certificate as far as he knew of Earth customs.

“I was into Twilight and thought the whole turn her into a vampire while screwing thing was kind of hot, but I didn’t ever want to try it, god that hurt!” she said jokingly as she realized quickly by the way his body went rigid behind her at her reaction that he had not meant to do that.

He did not say anything to her as he withdrew quickly in shame. What was she doing to him that he would lose his senses that much that he had accepted the possibility of continuing this with her and had gone so far as almost bound himself to her?

“Hey, it’s fine. Don’t go,” she said turning around and quickly wrapping her arms around his neck. “I don’t mind getting a little rough once and a while, a little nipping can be fun,” she teased, playfully nipping the tip of his nose to prove her point. “It just caught me off guard is all, I’m not upset.”

He frowned at her and did not say anything to her for a long moment, trying to collect his thoughts. At the moment everything in his head was telling him to flee. Leave now and don’t come back. Screw this planet, screw the androids. He did not sign up for this. He had no use for a mate; it did not fit into his life’s plans or long list of things he wanted to achieve in this new opportunity at a second life he had been chanced. This woman was dangerous he decided.

He looked at the side of her neck where he had mistakenly bitten her and grimaced; it was already bruised and swelled an ugly red and blue and there were clear teeth marks imprinted in her otherwise flawless white skin. The only positive thing was that he had not broken the skin and the mark would not be permanent; within a matter of a few days it would be as though it had never happened.

“The skin is not broken,” he muttered, still looking at it.

“It’ll be fine,” she shrugged.

He nodded once. “It will not be permanent.”

“Well, I should hope not!” she exclaimed, touching it and wincing slightly. “I pride myself on having beautiful skin all over, not just my face. I love hooking up with you, but don’t damage me, okay? At least not where I can’t hide it.”

His frown deepened at her words; so she would be ashamed for everyone to know about them then? If that was so then why was she wasting his time? Not that he wanted anyone to know about their recent romps, but if it came out he would not care to hide it; what he did and with whom was none of anyone’s business he reasoned. He would not go to great lengths to hide it as she obviously would. So then what was the point in this, he wondered. Was she intentionally trying to distract him from reaching his goal? Was that what her agenda had been all along? To set him back so that he could live longer with the shame that a third class clown had out bested him in every way imaginable?

Had she just been playing him all these months with her flirting and provocative gestures and clothing? He did not have a name for what was taking place between them, but he had been sure her interest, while insane, was sincere.

“Hey, don’t take this so seriously,” she said, placing a hand on his cheek, abruptly tearing him out of his thoughts. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“You would be ashamed,”

“Not quite ashamed, but a bit embarrassed, yea.” She nodded, feeling her face grow warm.

“I fail to see the difference.”

“I can’t go out in public or even go into work with a giant hickey on my neck, Vegeta. My god, the press would have a field day over that one and my father would have a conniption if I come to work with this,” she explained. “It’s not a big deal, I can cover it up with makeup and a high-necked blouse or scarf, though it’s so hot right now that’s going to suck for a few days; whatever. Now where were we?”

He tipped his head back, turning his face from hers as she leaned in to kiss him. “This cannot go on,” he commented cryptically, removing her arms from around his neck and stepping away from her. “Finish the repairs.” He said as he pulled his pants back up and turned to leave the gravity chamber without further comment.

Bulma stood there a moment, somewhat dazed, unsure of what had just happened. She frowned at the doorway where he had been only moments earlier; had she offended him?

She shook her head and readjusted her clothing and stood there a moment longer dwelling on what had just happened. Only a few minutes ago, she had been wrapped in bliss and a moment later he was gone. Was it because of one simple, thoughtless comment from her? She was sure she had said much worse things to Vegeta before. Never could she remember worrying about offending him with something she’d said. Her mind raced as she tried to recount the events just a few minutes ago. She frowned again to herself as she touched the side of her neck where he’d bitten her. Maybe she had overreacted when he’d bitten her, but it had taken her by surprise. It had hurt!

“Psh! Whatever!” She huffed and picked up her tools and went to finish the repairs. She had been almost done when he’d interrupted her. This is Vegeta, she reminded herself. The most temperamental, arrogant and ill-tempered man I have ever met! What were you expecting?

She closed the panel she had been working on and decided to go back outside and finish replacing the old fuse that had been fried.

Bulma took a quick look outside of the gravity chamber to make sure that Vegeta wasn’t waiting out there to make her feel worse than she already did. “Of course the arrogant bastard isn’t anywhere in sight!” she fumed to herself, though she was silently relieved that he was nowhere to be seen.

She continued her work and decided to put Vegeta and his odd behavior out of her mind for the time being.

"Hey, B."

"Yamcha? What are you doing here?” asked in genuine surprise.

"Your mother said you were out here doing repairs on the gravity room," he said standing a few feet away. "Is Vegeta around?"

"Nope." She answered curtly.

"Oh." He replied casually; he knew that tone. "Ya, I couldn't sense him lurking around. So, how are things going?"

"They're going just fine. How about with you?" She sighed, wondering about the real reason behind his visit.

"Things are alright. I'm not playing ball right now because the season is over so I've been training real hard so I can help everyone out with the Androids." He said.

"That's good." She commented vaguely; not trying to be rude but she was concentrating really hard on what she was doing.

"I take it Vegeta is still training really hard as well?"

"You know it."

"Yea. So has he reached Super Saiyan yet?" He asked. "All that training must be paying off I would think."

"No, not yet." She grunted as she put her full weight in trying to unscrew a bolt that was seized. "He will though."

Yamcha looked at her a moment. "You really think so?"

"If I can fix this, yea."

Yamcha shook his head. "I just don't get it, B. I mean, I do. Sort of. You always want to help and you always put yourself out there for others. That's awesome! But Vegeta of all people? He's a mass murdering psychopath. can you help him achieve something that may destroy us all? What if when he reaches Super Saiyan he actually is stronger than Goku? Then what?"

"I really don't think he is going to destroy Goku. if he could, I can't see him doing it."

"Oh, I can."

"You don't even know him, Yamcha, so leave it alone." She bristled in annoyance.

"I don't want to know him. I already know everything I want to know about him."

"Well then keep your opinions to yourself. Why are you here, anyway?"

"I just thought I'd drop by and see how you were is all. Since I've quit playing ball and have spent more time training, I’ve had a lot of time to think about things," he said, happily changing the subject.Vegeta staying at Capsule Corporation was a topic that always ended badly. In the end they both would have to agree to disagree.

"Yamcha, I really hope you're not here in an effort to get back together," she groaned. This was the last thing she needed right now.

"No, no." He confirmed quickly, shaking his head at her. "I just have been thinking about us and how things ended and I just really wanted to apologize to you. acted like an idiot and I'm sorry for that."

"Don't worry about it," she said, waving her hand in dismissal. "What's done is done."

"Really?"

She nodded thoughtfully, pausing briefly from her work in deep thought. I said and did some things too that didn't help. I should have been more honest with you instead of ignoring our issues and burying myself into my work, but you know me."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have cheated," he admitted. "I guess I was trying to find a way to get your attention; not that I'm trying to justify myself. It was still wrong and I don't know what I was thinking."

"Hmmmmn, you got my attention all right." She snorted, though not bitterly. "Did you really have to rub my nose in it by bringing her to mine and my father's launch event? That's what really pissed me off; you know what thatproject launch meant to me.”

“Yeah, about that,” he started, scratching the back of his head nervously. “That was wrong of me, I shouldn’t have done that. It was a dick head move on my part and you had every right to be upset at me. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It’s okay,” she shrugged. “So how is what’s-her-name?”

Yamcha was silent a moment. “She’s good,” he answered. “We’re not together anymore; I mean we’re not serious or anything.”

“She cheat on you?” Bulma asked, trying to hide the slight amusement from her voice at the irony of that.

“Yea,” he sighed. “She’s really nice and we have a good time hanging out together and all but she’s all about open relationships and seeing other people and stuff like that. At first I was okay with it since we had just broken up and I wasn’t looking for anything serious but then I just realized that isn’t what I want.”

Bulma didn’t say anything, she just kept on working. Her work was done; all she needed to do was put the new casings back on the fuses to protect them from blowing again. She had ordered a protective casing that would keep them cool in hopes that they would last a little longer. Once she did that all she needed to do was close the panel up and that was that. She needed a hot bath and a nap she decided.

“We still hang out, like as friends. Nothing more than that,” he continued quickly. “She knows how to have a good time and where all the hot spots to party are so it’s fun and I’m okay with that. She’s doing a shoot right now in Millan and I’m off training for the Androids so we’re both pretty busy right now. I haven’t seen her in a few weeks and I’m alright with that.”

“Well, if those androids are going to be anywhere near as dangerous as that boy from the future said they would be, I think spending your time training is a better usage of both your time and energy. We can’t afford to lose you again. After all, I won’t be able to wish you back a second time.”

“I know,” he nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. I realized I never thanked you for travelling all the way to Namek to use those dragonballs to wish us back. All I thought about was Vegeta living here. So I came by today to see how you were and I wanted to apologize and say thank you, Bulma.

“Even though I was a bit of a jackass after I got wished back, I really did and still do appreciate that and I was hoping that maybe we could still be friends? After everything we’ve been through together, I still care about you and I’d still like to have you in my life in some capacity.”

Bulma closed the panel on the side of the ship, content that her work was done. She smiled and nodded at Yamcha. “Sure, Yamcha. I’d like that.”

“Really, Awesome! I’m so happy, B!” he exclaimed. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve kinda missed you too, Yamcha.” She admitted truthfully. While she wasn’t still hurt over everything that had happened over the past year, she had missed his company, even if just a little. She was in no way interested in picking up where they had left off on a romantic stand point, but she wouldn’t mind having him in her life as a friend. “I think that’s why things never worked out for us when you came back.” she said thoughtfully.

“Hmm, why do you say that?”

“I think we’ve both kind of outgrown each other,” she shrugged. “That’s not a bad thing. We just kind of grew up and expected different things out of life and evolved into good friends. I’m alright with that, if you are.”

“I guess that’s a good way of putting it,” he nodded. “So when you’re done the repairs, do you want to go out for a bite?”

Bulma began packing away her tools. “That sounds nice, Yamcha, but I’m exhausted. I think I just need to take a nap.”

“But it’s only noon, Bulma.”

“Yea, I know, Yamcha but I’ve been super busy,” she objected weakly, not wanting to tell him what she really had been up to these past few days.

“It’s Vegeta, isn’t it?” he guessed, not hiding his dislike of her house guest.

Bulma looked at him wide eyed a moment. How could he possibly know? “What do you mean?”

“Come on, Bulma. He’s a slave driver. All he cares about is his training and this stupid gravity room.” Yamcha said, helping her put a few of her tools into her tool box. “He has to be the most self-absorbed, selfish person I’ve ever met, after you of course.” He added playfully.

“Very funny, Yamcha.” She muttered.

“I’m serious, B!” he objected. “You put so much time and effort into him and how much thanks do you get in return, huh? Not wanting to rehash old news, but that’s one of the reasons I think our relationship failed; once Vegeta started staying here he just took up all of your time and that was that. I’m not blaming you or accusing you of anything, I’m just saying that I’ve noticed that he takes up a bit more time in your life than he should is all. Does he even notice or appreciate all the effort you’ve put in for him?”

“Yes, Yamcha!” she ground out in annoyance. “He does. He may not be the most vocal person in the world and he may not come right out and say ‘Thank you Bulma for everything that you do.’” she said, mock imitating his gruff voice and foreign accent the best she could. “But I know that he does appreciate my efforts.”

“How do you know?” Yamcha challenged. “Because this place is still standing and he hasn’t destroyed it yet?”

She chuckled at that statement. “You could put it that way, yea. That and he said one day that my inventions were adequate enough that he may consider not blasting me once he has destroyed the Androids and Kakarott.”

“Oh, that’s comforting to know.” Yamcha huffed. “So you continue to help and house him why?”

“He doesn’t have anywhere else to go, Yamcha.” she argued. “And he’s not such a bad guy. He trains all day and most of the night, sometimes shows up for meals and that’s it. He’s not the worst houseguest we’ve kept around. He has barely any laundry to do since all he wears is sneakers and spandex and so long as his gravity room works and there’s food available he’s content. That’s more than I can say for you when you lived here.” she finished, picking up her tool box and heading back to the house.

“Whoa, what happened to your neck, B?”

Shit! She cursed inwardly to herself. “Nothing, it’s fine.”

“Is that a hickey?”

“Yea,” she mumbled awkwardly. “No, I burned myself with my curling iron yesterday and it looks like a hickey, but it isn’t.”

“Oh, come on, B! I may be clueless, but I’m not that dumb,” he chuckled at her. “I thought we were going to be friends? You can tell me. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“It’s no one, Yamcha.” She said, shaking her head, not wanting to tell him.

“Really, B. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m glad you’re moving on. You can tell me, I can take it.”

Bulma looked at him a moment and shook her head. He really was clueless. She didn’t feel guilty for moving on and sleeping with someone else! She wasn’t sure if she should be somewhat insulted or not that he assumed that she would still be sitting here pining away from him all this time. Okay, so she hadn’t gone out all that much since they had split up; she had gone on a few dates but that had been it. Even then, she reminded herself, the point of that had been to grab Vegeta’s attention than because she was actually interested in any of the guys she had gone out with.

Other than Vegeta, no one kept her interest for long. Of course there were a few guys here and there that she thought were drop dead gorgeous or she enjoyed flirting with but she would never actually consider them as serious candidates for a potential relationship.

“Come on, Bulma! I really want to know!” Yamcha pestered her playfully. “It must have been good; that’s quite the hickey.”

“Stop it, Yamcha.” she snapped, feeling her face starting to grow warm.

“Oh, I think someone’s smitten!” he laughed. “Really, what’s the big deal? I’ll tell you who I’ve been with.”

“I don’t care, Yamcha. I don’t want to know,” she frowned. “Stop being childish. It was a onetime thing anyway that probably won’t go anywhere so it doesn’t matter. Leave it alone, alright?”

“A one night stand, huh? Well, I still don’t get why you won’t tell me who it is. Unless it’s like Vegeta. Hah! Then I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to fess up to that one; but what are the odds of that anyway?”

Bulma glared at him she shook her head.

“No way!” he exclaimed. “You and Vegeta, really?”

“Shut up, Yamcha!” she hissed at him with gritted teeth.

“Wow! I knew it!” He said. “I always knew there was something there from the day you mentioned you’d had a dream about him-”

“Stop it, Yamcha. That was just a coincidence.”

“I don’t think so, B,” he said bitterly. “Then when he came back here from looking for Goku and he let you boss him around; the way you always defend him and are available to his every back and call no matter what else you have going on.”

“Yamcha, don’t.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” he insisted, though she could tell by his demeanor that it wasn’t fine. “Is that what you wanted though? He didn’t hurt you or force you, did he?”

“No, Yamcha!” she sighed irritably, wishing he would just leave already. “He didn’t hurt me.”

“So let me get this straight; you and Vegeta hooked up?”

“Yes.”

“Just once?”

“It doesn’t matter! I’ve never given you the grill over how many girls you cheated on me with and where and how many times and that’s when we were together still and it mattered!” she yelled at him, finally getting angry. “For your information anything that did happen with Vegeta happened long after we broke up so you can get off your moral soap box.”

“Alright, B. Sorry!” he said, raising his hands in a surrender position knowing from her tone that it was in his best interests to back off on the subject, even though he was greatly disturbed by the thought of his ex-girlfriend shacking up with the one person he hated most in the entire universe. “I’m just worried about you is all. It’s not like Vegeta is a model citizen of chivalry and kindness. I just hope you’re not being used is all; I want you to be happy.” He said honestly.

“Thank you, Yamcha, but it’s really none of your concern,” she sighed. “Vegeta and I hooked up, it was consensual and it was fun and now it’s done. There, are you happy now?”

Yamcha didn’t say anything for a few long moments before shaking his head. “Fine, I get it. We aren’t together anymore; but Vegeta? Really, B, how do you think that makes me feel? Never mind that, this is Vegeta we’re talking about here! The guy is insane for starters! Do you remember the reason why he came here to this planet? B, He’s the reason why I was killed in the first place! I can’t believe you would forget that!”

“He wasn’t the one who killed you, Yamcha so stop whining and crying about it every chance you get.” she sighed.

“Well, he may as well have,” Yamcha replied defensively. “He stood by and ordered those saibamen to execute us like it was all a big game and stood by as a spectator as it happened. He let it happen so in my book that makes him directly responsible.”

“Look, I don’t want to rehash all of this again, Yamcha. We’ve been over it a thousand times and this conversation never goes anywhere and we just end up being angry with each other so leave it alone, alright?”

“Fine,” he agreed. “But I hope you know what you’re doing getting into the bed of a homicidal maniac.”

“Funny, because I don’t remember you complaining when I took a notorious dessert bandit to my bed.” she snapped back.

“That’s not fair, Bulma.”

“Isn’t it?” She shot back. “You weren’t exactly walking the straight and narrow when we first met.”

“Okay, that’s true but-”

“But I saw some positive qualities in you and knew you had the potential to be a good guy. I took that chance,” she said with strong conviction. “So our relationship didn’t survive and we aren’t together anymore, but I don’t regret my decisions where you are concerned.”

“Alright but Vegeta isn’t me, Bulma. He’s deranged.”

“No, he isn’t,” she sighed. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe he is the way he is because he never had an opportunity to be anything but evil? If our lives hadn’t crossed paths and we had never met, what would you still be doing, hmm?”

“I lead my life the way I did because I had nothing. I had no choice.” he argued defensively.

“Well, maybe it was the same for Vegeta,” she said sharply. “I know on the outside it looks bad but if you would make an attempt to get to know him, maybe you’d realize he’s not all that bad. Goku saw something good in him and Goku’s track record at picking out who is worthy of a second chance and who isn’t is pretty good. Look at Tien, Yamcha; he was cruel when we first met him and now you embrace him as a brother practically. Even Piccolo! Who’d have ever thought that Piccolo would have any redeeming qualities after everything he did. Yet he took Gohan in and cared for him and trained him; now he’s an ally alongside us.”

“That’s all true, Bulma, but I still don’t think we should just assume that Vegeta will just stop being who he is and be one of the good guys from here on out. What if he’s just biding his time? Making us all think that he’s reformed and then just snaps one day and takes us all out?”

“I really think you’re just being paranoid, Yamcha.” she said, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t say he’s reformed, but I don’t think he’s a threat to any of us. Can we just leave this alone now?”

“I think you’re wrong, B; but I won’t bug you about it.” he said agreeably. “Look, umm, I’d love to stay and hang out with you, but I need to go.”

Bulma nodded but didn’t say anything. Truthfully she wanted to just be alone.

“I’ll call you in a few days, ok?” he asked hopefully. “We can go grab a bite or something?”

“Sounds good, Yamcha.” she smiled, glad that things would be alright between them but relieved that he was leaving.

“Take care,” he said, giving her a quick hug and left.

Bulma stood there a few minutes, contemplating the events of the day. How ironic that she had pissed off Vegeta and somehow got Yamcha back into her life, though not romantically. She hoped that his knowing about her and Vegeta wouldn’t ruin their friendship, though she figured if she and Vegeta were going to keep on this path they were headed down that he would find out about it sooner or later; better it be now and from her than later from word of mouth or a tabloid magazine.

She closed the gravity chamber before putting her tool box away and headed inside the house for a nice cold beer. She opened it up and went back to her room to draw herself a bath.

When she got upstairs, she shook her head as she noticed that Vegeta had tossed the towel he had used on the floor. She picked it up to place it in the hamper and started running herself a bath in an effort to clear her mind. What the hell had happened this morning? She wondered. One minute everything had been fine and the next Vegeta had just taken off. She wished she could understand what was going on in his head at the moment and then sighed, figuring that when Vegeta was good and ready to talk to her, he would show up.

-0-0-0-
Vegeta shouted as he disintegrated the top of a very high mountain, effectively levelling it into a modest-height plateau. He wasn’t sure where he was but it was cold and full of ice and snow and the cold wind whipping against his exposed arms and chest made him feel numb.

Numbness was good.

Numbness meant he could go on as usual and train without distraction and forget everything and everyone around him. Numbness was what got him through most of his life.

He closed his eyes as he sat in the middle of the now flat surface of the mountain; he needed to meditate. He needed to get his thoughts and priorities back in order. Acting on sheer impulse and taking the woman to his bed had been a mistake, he told himself. He had thought that by acting on his deepest desires where she was concerned that it would alleviate his curiosity and the need to have her close; that to simply get her out of his system was all he needed.

He had been wrong.

He had been very wrong indeed and now he was angry at both her and himself for his actions. He had been weak and foolish in his actions and how dare she make him want her as badly as he did! Walking away and leaving her in the gravity room, while the smartest thing he had done in the last forty-eight hours had also been one of the most difficult things he had done. He knew it was the right thing though. The needs of the flesh were shallow and could be beat with a little bit of willpower and self-control, he told himself.

He snarled as he once again caught a whiff of her scent; it was all over him, serving as a reminder of what he left behind. Instead of relocating elsewhere to wash it off and rid himself of the reminder and distraction, he stayed where he was and determinedly decided that he would work with it. He would not be tempted to return for her and he would not return to her bed no matter what she said or did; she was a very dangerous woman. She made him feel things and consider things that he had never once given thought of and for that he could not forgive her or allow her to get any closer to him than he already had.

He would admit to himself that he had indeed enjoyed himself with her and that it was a much needed reprieve he needed to gather himself together for the remainder of his grueling training regimen, but the time for leisure was over. He was a warrior. Warriors did not have distractions and did not keep women around for any length of time but for the briefest of moments.

Even if they did, they took one of their own kind; not some being lowly in stature. He could not believe he had forgotten that; he was sure his father was rolling over in his grave over this. Thankfully she had been ashamed that he had nearly marked her, reminding him that she was indeed not Saiyan. Though she may have Saiyan-like qualities and those qualities had drawn him to her, any Saiyan woman would have been more than proud to have been marked by him. A proper Saiyan female would not have wanted to conceal that.

The longer he thought on it, the more convinced he was that the woman had inadvertently done him a huge favor. She had reminded him that she most definitely was not Saiyan. Even so, why had she reacted so strongly about it he wondered? If she had marked him, he would not have minded all that much.

At the moment it would have happened. His mind nagged him. Now in thinking about it, her reaction had been best. He did not want anything tying himself down to her or anyone else for that matter.

Vegeta nodded in agreement with himself and made a pact then and there that he would return in a few days to resume his training but he would not return to her bed. He had allowed himself a minor slip up in bedding her, but he would not falter again.

Their relationship would be purely professional and out of convenience; nothing more. She had the means to further his training and achieve his goals and adequate housing and food. He would continue to take full advantage of those provisions but nothing more.

Once the Androids were defeated by his hand, he would leave this planet and forget all about her.

With this new firm resolve in mind, he cleared his mind from any further thoughts of Bulma and began to meditate. He now had two days’ worth of training to catch up on and it was the Woman’s fault entirely.

Or that’s what he was telling himself.
-0-0-0-

Thanks for reading!

I’m almost finished this bit… Just one last confrontation for these two and it’s done. I am hoping to have it up in a week or less. I was just editing all this and thought it was getting much too long. So one last chapter and this will be wrapped up! I am hoping in about a week or so. Not sure If I was clearly able to describe the issue between them.. But What I was going for was a culture clash. They both don’t know much about each other- cultural customs and backgrounds. She doesn’t understand things to his culture and so he’s a bit offended and doesn’t understand why she would react so strongly against something that’s almost second nature to him. Hope that clears everything up. No, not trying to make Vegeta a bleeding heart romantic or anything. He was just caught up in the moment and followed through on a basic instinct and it didn’t go all that well. Good thing cause he’s not ready for a serious relationship with Bulma yet anyway…. ;) And I needed a reason for him to take a step back and really consider what he’s doing and I thought that this one was legitimate. They’re both different species! How could cultural differences and misunderstandings not have played a role in their issues? I always wondered why no one ever has tackled that issue? So here was my attempt.