Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Veil ❯ Gesture ( Chapter 17 )

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An entire week had passed on Vegeta-sei, and in that week Vegeta had locked himself in the gravity chamber that Bulma had built. Bulma stared at the large portrait of Vegeta, that was hung over the fireplace. She sighed. She hadn't seen him in an entire week and it felt strange. He had devoted his time to training in her newly built machine, much to Bulma's relief. At least she would some peace and quiet in the calm before the storm. A frown creased her features as she inspected the portrait closely, Deja Vu hit her. Hadn't she done this before... before Radditz had died? Bulma blinked at the dryness of her eyes. She had no more tears to cry. She had finally come to accept his death. If only she could get back to Earth, then Goku would help her to find the Dragonballs and wish him back.

She smiled as she remembered her young friend. She had missed him dearly, and wondered what he was doing at that very moment. Thoughts of him had not come to her before, until now. She cocked her head as she thought that it was so strange that he resembled everything a Saiya-jin should be. Snorting, she realized how ridiculous it all seemed. Sure enough he did have the physique of a Saiya-jin, but his entire demeanor was altered from that of a Saiya-jin warrior. Look at Vegeta! Hardly Prince charming, and yet Goku had such a good nature to him.

She jumped as the door crashed open. Whirling around, she gawked at the haggard form of Vegeta as he limped in. Gasping, she ran up to him. "Vegeta!" She tried to grip his arm, to keep him upright, but found herself being pushed back.

"I do not need to be coddled woman." He growled, breathing heavily. He couldn't bear the thought of being touched by her soft hands. The strange emotions always began coursing through his veins when she touched him. What was it, guilt? Guilt for the past pain he had caused her? And there was another emotion, one he could not place. One he did not want to place.

"But your hurt!" She cried in exasperation.

"It should be of no concern to you. You have more pressing matters that must be dealt with." He gazed at her intensely.

Bulma frowned at his stoic expression. "What's that?"

"Your machine needs to be fixed."

"What do you mean?" She said slowly, fearing the answer she was to receive.

"It's broken."

If you could have seen Bulma's face right there, you would have thought she was a boiling kettle. For she had become red slowly, the color rising in her cheeks. It was obvious to Vegeta that she was about to explode.

"WHAT?" She screeched. "How is that possible?" Hot air seemed to flow out of her ears, much to Vegeta's amusement.

"It is quite simple, the machine is broken and so now you must fix it."

Bulma opened her mouth to let a tirade of unknown vulgar words spill out. Instead, she opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish, finally setting her jaw straight. "Fine."

Vegeta raised his eyebrow, he was expecting more of an explosion, but this was nothing! He secretly wondered what she was up to.

Bulma smiled in a sickeningly sweet manner and turned to leave the room, slamming the door behind her.

Vegeta gaped momentarily at the door. Anger began to rise within himself and he was about to go after her, wanting to make her pay for the disrespectful way in which she acted. Something stopped him. Damn. Now he really was becoming a weakling. Shaking his head, he collapsed back into the large chair by the window. Blood was seeping from the wound in his left arm, delicately staining the crimson chair into a darker shade. Frowning, he looked up at the setting sun over the forest. He was beginning to wonder if he had gone too far with his training regime. For the past week, he had done nothing but train. It had been his release from the nightmares and visions that haunted him during the day. It was his only solace from Frieza's lecherous ways. And Bulma was his only escape from the maddening pace of his training. Without her, he knew he would have gone too far and killed himself training, before he even got a chance to pummel Frieza into the ground like the swine he was.

Snorting, he closed his eyes momentarily. For a strange reason, they seemed heavy. Exhaustion was not one of his best qualities, but the only way he knew how to ride it out was to sleep. Even if sleep did not release him from his subconscious thoughts, it was the only way to get rid of the material world that surrounded him.

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Bulma quietly opened the door to the large room she shared with Vegeta. She had spent the last four hours fixing the damage done to the gravity chamber. She thought that she would never have finished! Some of the wires had been completely dislodged from their position and parts of them had melted into one another. It was safe to say that the job had been a frustrating one indeed and that she had been ready to shove the melted wires down Vegeta's throat.

Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she silently made her way through the darkness of the foyer that led through to the three different rooms. As she opened the door to the sleeping area, she realized how eerily quiet the room was. "Vegeta?" She whispered into the darkness.

Stepping fully into the room, she slid over to the corner of the room, turning the light switch to a dim glow. At least this way she was able to actually see what she was doing. A small smile danced on her features as she looked at the sleeping form of Vegeta on the large crimson chair. Maybe now it would be a good idea to relay her idea to him.

All through fixing the gravity chamber, one idea was swirling in her mind, assaulting her thoughts. Tonight, she would present him with an agreeable idea and hopefully he would accept. Sneaking up to the slumbering Saiya-jin in the chair, she bent down and lightly moved her lips to the corner of his unusual shaped ear. Breathing lightly against it, she prayed that she was using the right method to persuade the proud Prince into agreeing with her. Actually, she was surprised he hadn't already awoken from her entering the room. Normally he was always alert and ready to attack anything that dared to breathe or seemed like a threat. He must have been really tired, Bulma mused, keeping in mind that she had to get him to agree with her idea.

"Vegeta..." She breathed into his ear.

The Prince's eyes snapped open. Thinking automatically, he phased from his seat and grabbed the culprit around the neck, squeezing tightly.

Bulma's eyes widened as she realized he was strangling her. "V-Vegeta!" She sputtered in between choking.

As Vegeta began to gather his bearings, he saw himself strangling in image of Bulma and not Frieza. Letting go immediately, he dropped her to the floor.

Bulma landed on her knees, coughing with her hands to her throat. "What is your problem?" She snapped. Slapping herself mentally, she stood up. Being angry with him was not a good way of getting him to agree with her idea.

Vegeta stared at her for several moments. He was still in the midst of the dream world and reality. He scowled at her. "What the fuck were you doing?"

Bulma shrugged her shoulders, having comprehended that she needed to keep him on good terms. "Sorry."

The features on his face drooped downwards in surprise. He was sure that she would have retorted with one of her 'quirky' comments. Looking at her in disgust, he absentmindedly scratched at the wound on his arm that was caked in his dry blood.

She caught the motion from him and found the perfect opportunity to make amends and take advantage of the situation. "I'll be back in a minute." She stalked towards the bathroom like a woman with a mission.

By now Vegeta was utterly confused by her behavior. Shaking his head, he sat back down on the large crimson chair, looking up at the two moons of Vegeta-sei. He came to the conclusion that he would never understand women and their kind, even if they were alien. Running water could be heard from the bathroom and he wondered why she was taking a bath so late in the night.

Closing his eyes, he let the soothing sound of Bulma's humming voice roll between the folds of his intricate ears. As the humming got louder, he noted that she was coming closer by the second. Before he could open his eyes, he sensed her kneel down besides the chair in which he sat. Confusion reigned over his emotions. Now what was she doing?

Vegeta's eyes snapped open as he felt a moist cloth sting against his open wound. He hissed, "What the hell are you doing?"

Bulma ignored the harshness in his tone and continued to clean away the crusted flakes of blood. "I'm cleaning out your wound." She spoke so softly that it left no room for Vegeta to argue, and he found that he couldn't push her away. "Besides," she added, "It could get infected." A secret smile flitted across her face as she saw the awe inspiring look on his face. Her plan was working, well a little, but it was still working!

Vegeta grunted as he watched her wipe away at the open wound, occasionally causing him to hiss at the stinging sensation. Who ever said ki blasts were more painful than this, were wrong. Extremely, idiotically, one hundred percent wrong!

What Bulma did next, completely caused Vegeta to almost choke on his own tongue.

Causing air to flow between her teeth, Bulma lightly blew on the open wound, causing the stinging sensation to cease somewhat.

Now he was beginning to grow suspicious. A chuckle emanated from his throat. "Tell me, what is it you want woman?"

Bulma looked up in surprise. He knew. Damn him. Stupid Prince, he just had to be one of the clever ones! "I-I don't want anything Vegeta." She said, none too convincingly, bowing her head and continuing to clean out the wound.

"I am no fool, Onna." Grasping her hand away from his wound, he lifted up her head with his other hand. "Tell me." He had done many terrible things to her in the past; he might as well see what she wants. He was a Prince after all, and it was his job to give deserved rewards to his precious concubine. He smirked at the thought.

Bulma did not reply. Pulling her face away from his hold, she dried the wound and began to wrap a gauze bandage tightly around his upper arm. Knowing Saiya-jin healing patterns, she knew the wound would be fully closed by tomorrow morning. As she continued wrapping the bandage around his upper arm, she spoke even more softly than before. Causing a strange sensation to bubble forth from the depth of Vegeta's black heart.

"I don't want anything Vegeta. I have everything I need." She looked up sadly into his eyes, seeing a dark mist cloud over his own onyx eyes as he gazed down into hers.

Vegeta remained silent, seeing that she had not finished speaking. He noticed how much she had changed since becoming an inhabitant of Vegeta-sei. The sinister ways of the planet had corrupted even her pure intentions.

"However, I do have an idea..." She trailed off as something in his eyes ignited.

Vegeta nodded for her to continue. This was the most they had spoken to each other for a long time, without fighting of course.

"What would you say about me moving away from Vegeta-sei?" She held her breath and waited for a response.

"And where exactly would you plan on going?" He asked suspiciously.

"Back to Chikyuu-sei.." The words were uttered to quietly, it seemed as if the wind itself had whispered them.

Vegeta snorted, "You think that by doing all of this," he motioned to the blood soaked cloth, "I will give you a leave of absence so you can run away and hide on your own planet?!" His voice all but boomed through the large quarters of the room.

"NO!" She shook her head desperately, trying to keep him calm. She delicately placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please," She shuddered as she saw the rage grow once again as he began to stand, "Hear me out!"

Vegeta sank back into his seat, waiting impatiently.

"I don't have to go back by myself."

"And who do you think would go with you?" Vegeta snapped back in annoyance. Somewhat hurt that she would only tend to his wounds because she wanted something. Well, could he blame her? Not really. But he wanted to.

"You," she whispered.

The bodily functions within Vegeta began to slow to a halt. She was asking him to go to her home planet with her? But that would be impossible, wouldn't it? "What makes you think that I would want to go with you?"

"So you can continue your training there. With more advanced technology."

This caught his attention. "How is that so?"

Bulma continued laying out her case. Her thoughts spun towards the man that had sent her to this living hell, her father. "My father is a scientist like me. Alongside him, we can build anything you want. You want an efficient sparring bot? Well, we can build one for you!" She tried futilely to persuade him.

Vegeta nodded slowly, "That is understandable..." He saw her eyes light up, and knew he couldn't say no to her. Scowling, he made his decision. "Very well. We shall go to Chikyuu-sei, where you shall accommodate me with your knowledge of fighting equipment and give me the necessary means to train. Once I am strong enough to defeat Frieza, we will return to Vegeta-sei. Is that clear?"

Bulma was overwhelmed with happiness that she could find the words to respond.

"We will leave on the dawn of tomorrow. Pack your things. I will also bring other Saiya-jins with us, it will be interesting to know how useless your planet really is." He said disdainfully. He really didn't feel like going, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to deny her one last visit to her home planet, after that she would become his. Maybe he truly was becoming soft? Shaking his head, he was caught off guard when Bulma flung her arms around his neck as he sat on the large chair.

Because she could not find the words, she expressed her gratitude through the small gesture. Well, it was a small gesture for her, but a major one for Vegeta. One that had stunned him into silence.

"Thank you so much!" She mumbled, smiling into the crook of his neck. Not realizing his awkward stance as she hugged him, she pecked his cheek and extracted herself from his embrace. Now that she was in her own world, she began to bounce around the room, gathering some of her possessions to put into capsules, they were leaving in the morning after all.

Vegeta felt his cheek twitch oddly at the touch of her lips pushed against his skin. Sitting back into the large comfortable chair, he watched her in an amused fashion as she gathered her belongings. She was such an unusual being to comprehend sometimes. It was confusing most of the times, but until now he had never really understood that she missed her home planet dearly. Of course, he wasn't going to let her stay there permanently. Once he was strong enough, they would definately return to Vegeta-sei. What had Frieza told him? That he'll be back for Vegeta in a month's time. Vegeta smirked. That lizard was in for one huge fucking surprise.

He continued to watch her pack away her things, like she was an energizer bunny. Secretly, he wondered if all Chikyuu-jins were like her. He had never really thought about what Chikyuu-sei would look like, but from Bulma's physique he could determine that their living conditions were similar to that of Vegeta-sei's. Questions were twirling through the fragments of his mind. Was it a peaceful planet? Did they have any hierarchy? And more importantly, what was the food like?

In any case, it would certainly be interesting to find out.

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