| What is Jealousy, But an Insecure Plea for Love? Chapter 5 |
| Author: Valeyard Rating: R Disclaimer: She doesn't own, so don't even bother. |
| Vegeta ran out of the spaceship dismissing the vision of his father’s ghost from his mind The sight of the meteorites filled him with rage and complete dread. This impending storm of stone seemed a collective comment on his life. Cheated of his destiny as heir to the Saiya-jin race, Vegeta had punished and starved himself for more than a month. To prove, if to no one else but himself, he was the legendary Super Saiya-jin, not the usurper, Kakarotto. Then, to return to kill this usurper who not only stole his place, but dared touch his woman. Only, now it would be for nothing because of another random event, he could not control. If there was anything that enraged Vegeta, it was not having control over every aspect of his life. Random events, seemed a cosmic insult to his royal presence, and this one, would not be tolerated. Vegeta flew into the sky, the light show from the falling meteorites, reflecting in the burning rage of his eyes. He screamed in fury as his rage became a white-hot fire, which he shot out of his hands. He flitted and danced in midair, shooting away burning missile after burning missile. Fighting fire with his own fire, he knew letting even the smallest meteorite get through to his ship, would mean being marooned on that gray rock, forever. Excruciating seconds fell like hours. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he fought streak after streak of deadly, burning rock. He screamed in frustration as the faces of Kakarotto and Bulma, pointing at him derisively, threatening to blind him in his rage. No hallucination, not of his father, not of Kakarotto, not of his woman, was going to keep him from achieving his goals. Vegeta shot right through their faces, fighting with the last of his strength. ‘Oh shit!’ Vegeta looked up in disbelief and dismay. As if all the heavens were pouring their derision down on him, the slate grey skies of the horizon turned from dotted spires of fire, to an impending doom of solid burning stone. Half, again the size of the very rock he was living on, Vegeta knew if this asteroid hit the planet, it wasn’t just his ship that would be gone, but the planet and probably two other neighboring planets, as well. The sight of his own possible obliteration pushed his rage out of control. He shot at it with everything inside of him. Vegeta was amazed there was still a well of power inside his starved, emaciated body. He drew from this power freely as the burning asteroid pushed back with all the unforgivable force that was gravity. Vegeta cried out, feeling the loss of control and rage burn all around him. He would not lose against this unreasoning foe. He was going to live! He was going to return to take back what was his! His woman, his birthright, his revenge against the usurper, Kakarotto! His determination fed into his well of power. When he dared hope he might win, Vegeta was taught, once again, fate was never kind to the Saiya-jin no Ouji. The asteroid blazed brighter and brighter under the onslaught of Vegeta’s own fires. The heat from his own body mingled with the scorching heat of the asteroid, until everything exploded sending a shock wave of rock showering all around him. He was flung back to the ground, feeling his face and arms torn in the maelstrom of shattering stone. Vegeta hit the ground with such force, he doubted, for a second, he survived. He painfully opened his eyes, before attempting to move his arms and legs, hoping nothing was broken. He rolled over and crawled out of the crevice his body had made on impact. Painful movement after painful movement he pushed himself along on hands and knees, as he crawled up to the cleft to see if his ship had also survived. The ship, somehow, had survived. What had fallen victim was the only two things he had clung to for years – his pride and his hope. ‘How can I hope to defeat, Kakarotto, if I can’t even beat a fucking rock?’ The thought burned in his mind as he felt his control slip away. Vegeta beat the ground, screaming over and over until all the smoldering remnants from the asteroid storm rang with the sound. Vegeta looked at his now bloodied fists in frustration. "I will never defeat Kakarotto this way! All I’ve accomplished is to make a fool of myself while that fucker takes my woman and they laugh. That is all my life is, a stupid, fucking joke. I’ve had it, I just don’t give a fuck anymore!" Vegeta raised himself on his knees as he screamed out to the unforgiving skies. "Do you hear, father? I just don’t give a fuck!" It was then, Vegeta realized, that had been his problem, all along. Vegeta’s fury turned from Kakarotto to himself. He clenched his fists, slamming them into the ground trying to gain control over himself, but it was no good. He had come to the end of his rope. He had done everything expected of him, and still ended a fool, without a kingdom, without a legacy, without a woman, and without even control over himself. Vegeta beat the ground harder and harder doing something he hadn’t done since he was very small. He was having a long restrained, temper tantrum, and he wouldn’t have cared if his father and all the nobles of Bejita-sei had been there to witness the spectacle. He raised himself on his knees screaming out his failures and his disappointments in himself, when his rage, exploded all around him in a golden burst of light and his fury turned to joy! ‘It burns! Oh, how it burns!’ The power was frightening in its intensity, as even his hair blazed in the fires he could feel all around him. Yet, it was also the greatest feeling of his life as he screamed in his rage and joy. "Loss of control!" Vegeta screamed as the aura of a Super Saiya-jin burned brightly around him. "You stupid shithead! Why couldn’t you see this before?" Vegeta laughed uncontrollably as his joy exploded into an even higher power. "That’s why I couldn’t attain it before! The royal training to always be in control, always be reserved." Vegeta thought back to all the teachers and advisors of his royally trained youth – let alone his most strict teacher, his own father. "Those assholes! Filling me with that bullshit! Telling me I was destined to be the first Super Saiya-jin in one thousand years, then training me in a way, where I might never have achieved it! Those stupid, fucking assholes!" His laughter rang to the now, empty, gray skies. Vegeta stood up, surveying the grey terrain like it was a fertile, conquered land. "I am returning woman!" Vegeta screamed. "I’m returning for you! But I’m not returning a man." Vegeta straightened himself, standing proudly as he shouted madly for the heavens to hear. "You better get ready, woman. Because I’m returning to you, a god!" "Kakarotto!" He screamed as he shook his fists joyfully to the skies. "This is the voice of your doom!" "Woman!" She turned her head irritatingly to the sound. ‘What does he want, now?’ She thought with annoyance. "Woman!" She heard his voice more clearly, and urgently. She sighed and put down the dish she was about to wash, turning to look out the window, as she dried her hands on her apron. Her husband was standing in the pasture looking down at something. "What is it, Clement?" She called betraying her annoyance at his interruption. "I’m trying to get the dishes done!" "Hang it, woman, get out here. You have to see this!" She sighed heavily again, as she donned the boots that protected her feet in the cow pasture, and walked out the door of the house, trudging over to where her husband was standing. Her feeling of irritation melted when she saw the concerned look on her husband’s face. He had his shotgun slung against his shoulder as if he feared he would need it. He beaconed for her to follow him, as they got into the truck, turning it into the private road they had through their pasture. Her husband said nothing, as he drove. He remained silent, yet looked terribly agitated as he checked in the rearview mirror every few minutes as if expecting something might be following them. When they got to the back acres they kept for grazing cattle, her husband stopped the truck, got out and beaconed for her to follow. He walked out into the pasture with his wife following until he reached a crater right in the middle of their field, and stood there, fixedly staring at it, shaking his head. "What is it, Clement?" She looked down at the same spot in dismay. Her husband spit reflexively toward the crater, and turned to look at her, shaking his head. "I don’t know. I just plum, don’t know! I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s just a big round, thing, stuck in our field." Martha wiped her hands on her apron again, as she walked up for a closer look. "I’ve seen something like it. Do you remember those aliens that came some years ago, and destroyed half a city? They came in craft that looked a lot like that!" Clement walked closer as he spat on the ground again, and peered into the hole. "You’re right. I remember them two. There was this big, bald guy and this funny looking, little guy, with hair that stood straight up. Yeah, as I remember this little fat guy with a sword took care of them. He was all over tv! What did they call them two guys? Those aliens? Didn’t they call them Saiyans?" Martha shook her head. "I thought they were called Saiya-jin, near as I recall." Clement shook his head, sure he was right. "No, No, as I recall they were called Saiyans!" Martha was about to argue the point that Saiyan sounded stupid and Saiya-jin sounded better, when she forgot all, at what she spied farther away in their field. "Clement!" She pointed in dismay. "Look." "Oh no!" He cried in equal dismay as he went running to his herd of cows. There was a pile of bones at the edge of the pasture. Clement ran, falling down beside the pile of bones, disturbing the cows who contentedly grazed beside the bones of their own. "What could have done this?" Martha cried as she ran up to stand beside her husband. "I don’t know." Clement replied, shaking his head in confusion. "Can’t be wolves. Even dinosaurs leave scraps. This cow has been picked completely clean. Nothing’s left! Not even the eyes, or the tail! What the hell eats a cow that completely?" Martha looked around fearfully. "You ‘spose those aliens are back, and they ate the cow?" "Don’t be ridiculous, woman." Clement replied as he spit on the bones of the cow. "I told you, that fat guy with the sword, killed them both. He said so, right on tv! No one has seen hide nor hair of them, since, so it must be true! ‘Sides, I noticed as we ran around the crater, the words, Capsule Corporation, are right on the side of that ship." "Capsule Corporation?" Martha said surprised. "Where?" Clement pointed toward the crater, while never looking up from his fallen cow. She ran over to the crater to examine the ship, more closely from the other side. "You’re right, Clement! It says, Capsule Corporation, right on the side. That explains the ship, but what about the cow?" "Hey you two!" A commanding voice boomed out to them. Clement and Martha looked up in terror at the strange looking man floating about 30 feet over them. Martha screamed. "It is aliens! It’s that little guy that came with the big, bald, guy. I’m sure of it!" "Don’t be ridiculous, Martha." Clement said under his breath. "That little fat guy with the sword killed him." "But he’s flying!" Martha cried. "Regular people don’t fly!" "It’s a Capsule Corporation ship!" Clement continued to argue as if the little man wasn’t there. "That flying guy is probably part of a Capsule Corporation experiment." "Shut up, you prattling fools!" The small man screamed at them, impatiently. "That ship is Capsule Corporation property. Do not touch! Someone will be by later to collect it and pay for the damage to your field." The strange man turned as if he would fly away, when Martha plucked up her courage. She didn’t like aliens, whether they were from outer space or the Capsule Corporation, and she especially didn’t like rude ones. "That’s all well and good!" She screamed as she watched the man turn to look at her in genuine surprise. "But that ship, apparently burned up our cow! What about that?" She watched as a look of rage crossed the strange looking man’s face. He doubled up his fists, and made a low, animal growl, making a very ugly expression. His anger as suddenly as it came, drained away, as if contemplating her words had deflated him. A slight blush crossed his cheek, and then he stiffened with an air of self-importance. "You will be reimbursed for your cow at the same time!" He declared regally and then flew away without another word. Clement spit on the ground, relaxing his grip on his shotgun, as he looked ruefully at his wife. "You got more guts than brains sometimes, woman. You know that? That crazy fella looked like he was going to tear you apart or something." "Well, we are going to be paid for the cow, thanks to me!" Martha replied indignantly. "I don’t care where he comes from, he should pay for the cow." Clement shook his head in exasperation. "I love you, woman." Clement smiled and put an arm around her. "I sure hope you have supper ready." "The way to a man’s heart, through his stomach." Martha sighed, as they both walked back to the truck. "Is Vegeta, back?" Mr. Briefs walked into the nursery, smiling at Trunks who was happily playing on his mother’s lap. "There isn’t a scrap of food, or drink left in the kitchen, except the milk." Bulma’s heart leapt inside her chest at his words, as she fought to keep her anxiousness from her expression. Thoughts of Vegeta returning put her in such a state, she put Trunks back in his crib for fear she would hold him too tightly in her excitement and joy. Trunks bawled, shaking little balled up fists at her in protest. Mr. Briefs, gently came to the rescue, lifting up Trunks. "Hey!" Mr. Briefs cried joyfully as he heartily addressed his grandson. "You get heavier every day!" Mr. Briefs turned with Trunks in arms, eyeing Bulma, happily. "He’s been putting on weight since you changed doctors, and he cries a lot less since you’ve fed him that new formula. He is looking so much healthier!" Traces of mischief glinted in Mr. Brief’s light blue eyes. "He’s back, isn’t he?" He said in a sly undertone, smiling. Bulma walked toward the window so her father couldn’t see her trepidation. "Who’s back?" She replied in feigned innocence. Her father chuckled and his gentle teasing could be very clearly heard in his voice. "You know, very well, who I am talking about. Didn’t your mother tell you, he would come back?" Bulma turned toward her father blushing, knowing it was no use hiding her excitement. "I guess she was right. But, if Vegeta’s back, where is he?" Mr. Briefs smiled knowingly. "If I know your husband, and I think I do, he will want to make a grand entrance. No, normal entrance will do for him." Mr. Briefs chuckled shaking his head good natured ly. "But, I notice it didn’t stop him from cleaning out the icebox." "Can you blame him?" Bulma replied sympathetically. "That ship could not have had enough food on it for a Saiya-jin. It’s amazing he didn’t starve to death as long as he was gone." Mrs. Briefs, in a tube top that was several years out of style, breezed in with her usual air that all was right with the world. "You won’t believe the note I found in the inbox for bills. It’s instructions to pick up a Capsule Corporation ship at a farm out toward Metro South. But look at what is attached to the note: An order of reimbursement for damage to a field and to replace a cow!" "A cow?" Mr. Briefs turned to Mrs. Briefs and then back to Bulma with a look of shock and revulsion. "Your husband ate out the whole kitchen and a cow? How the hell does he eat a cow?" "Raw, I’m afraid." Bulma said taking Trunks from Mr. Briefs, patting Trunks on the rump as she walked away. "Raw?" Mr. Briefs bushy eyebrows rose higher and higher in amazement. "How the hell do you eat an entire cow raw?" "Without ketchup." Bulma replied, sighing happily. Mr. Briefs shook his head. "Well, I’m off to shower and get dressed. It looks like we’re going out for breakfast." Mrs. Briefs sighed happily. "It’s just like when Vegeta-kun first came to live with us. I told you, he would be back Bulma didn’t I? I told you, he loves you." With that they both left and Bulma sighed, too. She could feel her heart beating hard in her chest. She wanted to be happy, but she was afraid at the same time. She could not forget their last fight, or the words of rage Vegeta had screamed at her when she left the room. She knew Vegeta. He was not a forgiving man. He was back, but did that mean a happy ending for them? ‘Vegeta came back because he was out of food, not for me.’ She told herself. ‘If it were for me, he would have shown himself, already.’ She hugged Trunks like he had some power to bring them back together. She felt a tear brim in her eye. She did her best to stifle it. She didn’t want to cry in front of Trunks. He would not have understood her upset. She gave Trunks a forced smile. She had to keep up her spirits for Trunks sake. With that, she forced herself to put Vegeta out of her mind, at least for the moment. "Mom!" She called after Mrs. Briefs. "Will you watch Trunks while I shower and get ready?" "Certainly dear, as soon as your father and I, um, get ready." Bulma blushed. ‘Showering together again. Of course they shower together. Vegeta and I shower together all the time – when we are getting along.’ She sadly shook her head. ‘So much for putting him out of my mind.’ She held Trunks, thoughtfully patting him, as she walked around the room. She was totally lost in thought, as she wondered what the day had in store for her. Where was Vegeta? Did he hate her? If he didn’t, why didn’t he show himself? She looked out the window, wondering when all those questions would be answered, and wondering if she dared hope. Despite her worry about Vegeta, it had been a good day. In fact, it was one of the best since Vegeta had left. There were few good days she could count as her own, since he left. Despite his unreasonable jealousy, she missed him, and her worry about him hung over even her most joyful moments However, for once, she didn’t feel worthless, because they weren’t getting along, or a bad mother because Trunks was in distress. Things, for the first time, since she had given birth, seemed to be going right. Life had been so much easier. Trunks wasn’t nearly as fussy since the new doctor put him on a different formula. He was even putting on weight! Bulma had great hope with Trunks’ renewed health and vigor he would be able to catch up on his shots. She actually had some free time during his naps. Sometimes, he even slept through the night! Despite, still not seeing Vegeta, she couldn’t help but feel happy. He was home, somewhere, even if he hated her. ‘Besides!’ She told herself. ‘Trunks is happier, which makes it all the better.’ She stretched and sighed audibly. Trunks renewed health gave her some much appreciated free time to enjoy one of her favorite romantic movies on the television. Bulma smiled and settled back on the couch as the movie came to one of her favorite parts. As the star-crossed couple made very noisy love on the screen, she imagined it was her with Vegeta. She laid her head back on the couch dreamily, as the couple exchanged dark, breathless whispers, between long passionate embraces. Before Bulma had time to react, the door blew violently in, careening into the far wall, smashing on impact. The light exploded at the same instant, plunging Bulma into darkness, as she fought between confusion and terror. She sat up on the couch, looking around wildly in the darkness for the source of this sudden attack. Her eyes could see nothing but she knew she wasn’t alone. She could feel his presence in the pricking of her hair on the back of her neck. She could sense movement in the patterns of darkness that cloyed the recesses of the room. Most of all, she could hear breathing. An excited, animal like breathing that sent chills down her spine. There was someone there, panting in excitement, panting in the darkness! Bulma was simply too surprised and too terrified to do anything, but wait and wonder what all this meant for her. Before she could gather enough wits to do anything, the room erupted into a golden shower of light which dazzled her almost to blindness. Bulma’s blinked, struggling in the sudden brightness. As her eyes adjusted, what met them caused them to widen in awe. There, standing in the middle of the room was Vegeta, his whole being aflame in waves of power, which ran up and down his body. His hair! Bulma rubbed her eyes as she tried to take it in. His beautiful, midnight black hair, blazed as gold as the light that emanated from his body. She watched in awe and disbelief as he stood there, his hair waving in the breeze of his own powerful fire. Bulma gasped at the sight of him, thinking he was never more beautiful or more terrifying. Vegeta stood before her like some burning, immortal god, come down to the mortal plane to grace her presence. His aura lit up the corners of the room, throwing pulsating shadows, and waves of golden light, emphasizing the severely dark look on his face. Those dark eyes, she loved, now seethed with a lethal green fire, as each pupil darted from side to side, as if each had a life and mind of its own. Vegeta said nothing to her. He stood there, his body tense, muscles flexing, fists doubled up, while arcs of lightening spitted and crackled up his body. His eyes darted looking over every recess of the room, as if expecting some hidden adversary who might spring on him at any moment. The seconds crawled into minutes as Bulma sat on the couch too stunned for words. The seconds seemed to take their own toll on Vegeta, as well, as the frustration and suspicion in his expression deepened with his glowing rage. It was then, that Bulma’s shock coalesced into a small form of reason. ‘That’s why he didn’t show himself, until now. He expected me to be with someone!’ ‘He waited until now to challenge Goku and fight for me!’ Vegeta moved into a crouch, with the grace of a dancer. One hand ready to block, one hand ready for the kill. Every movement possessed a deadly meaning, and Bulma knew it. She didn’t know if she was too mesmerized by his beauty, or his rage to speak. She only knew she was too stunned to think of anything else to do. After what seemed like eternity, there was an almost imperceptible shudder from Vegeta, as he stopped searching the room. The veins in his arms and on his forehead relaxed, and he came out of his fighting stance. He lowered his arms to his side, as he finally looked at Bulma and stared at her for a few minutes. She watched Vegeta’s insanely green eyes glisten, as his expression changed from paranoia and rage, to sorrow, and finally to something Bulma would never have expected. His cheeks softly reddened as Bulma saw the knowledge finally work into his eyes that he had been completely wrong about her. Neither of them said anything. They just looked at each other as Bulma watched the situation working into Vegeta’s expression. There was an understanding she could fathom in his shimmering green eyes. A recognition of the pain they inflicted in each other, borne out of their own desperate need for one another. This pain burned in his steady gaze. They both knew at that moment, no matter how hard they tried, there would always be this pain borne out of a barrier they could never change. A barrier that Vegeta had made permanent by finally fulfilling his destiny. He, had become what she could never be, a Super Saiya-jin. They were completely different worlds trying to live on the same sphere and they both knew the price they paid for bridging that unforgiving gap. Yet, neither would shrink from the impossible. She didn’t know if it was their love, their need, or they were simply too stubborn to give up on the impossible. She only knew she had never been happy before with a man because she wanted the impossible, and Vegeta was that man. Vegeta finally spoke, but he sounded very tired and utterly defeated. "The androids will be here, tomorrow. I’ve got more training to do." With that, he sullenly stalked out without another word, looking very disappointed, and leaving the room in total darkness. Bulma was still too stunned for words. After a few minutes, she found the will to bury her head in her pillow as she half laughed, and half cried, both out of relief and hysteria. ‘He was expecting me to be with someone!’ She thought while trying to catch her breath from laughter and tears. ‘He came to challenge him!’ After catching her breath she buried her face deeper into the pillow and laughed even harder, both in sympathy and hysteria. ‘He finally did it. He went Super Saiya-jin. He must have been looking forward to making this big entrance and I went and spoiled it by being faithful!’ She took another breath and laughed even harder into the pillow. Her laughter changed to full blown crying, but it was half out of bitterness and half out of joy. ‘Mom was right. He really was afraid of losing me!’ Her head sunk to her chest as she felt bitter tears follow her laughter. ‘But, have I lost him, anyway?’ She wiped her eyes. ‘His pride!’ She beat her fist into the pillow with the words. ‘His damn pride comes before everything – even me.’ She buried her face into the pillow to stifle a sob at the last thought. ‘He’ll probably hate me now that he thinks he’s made a fool of himself.’ She shook her head. ‘Why does everything have to be so hard with him? Why?’ Then a certain euphoria born of hope came to her. She wasn’t sure if it was false hope or real. She just couldn’t help feeling it. ‘But he came back for me. He came back! He must love me, he must!’ Bulma lay awake for hours, all her feelings for Vegeta churning inside her. It would be hours before those feelings would let her, mercifully, fall asleep. |