A Light in the Darkness - part 13: Vegeta and Gohan Form a Strange Partnership
by Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

PAIRING: Bulma/Vegeta
RATING: Hm... G mostly, the end is a little lemony. (But only in Bulma's thoughts.)
WARNINGS: Well, Bulma is daydreaming... do you want to know about what?
DISCLAIMER: Neither of us owns any of the DBZ characters or anything about DBZ, but we both wish we owned the Saiyans. All of them. These characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation, even though the last one is a crying shame. We do own what we've written here, and our specific storyline, just not Dragonball itself. We make no money off of any of these guys, nor off this fic.
SUMMARY: Gohan and Vegeta want to do what together?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to Ravyn, for her wonderful beta-ing! ^_^ 

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Last time on Dragonball Z: A Light in the Darkness....

Goku sighed. It had been too long since he had been able to hold his wife this way, and he realized that he had missed it. He supposed that he should spend more time with her and Gohan, but he really wanted to spar as well. There had to be some way, Goku reasoned, to do both, without making Chi-Chi too upset. He knew that she was worried about him, but if his friends were in danger he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. So instead he lay there with his wife in his arms and said nothing, hoping that that everything would turn out all right.

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Bulma instinctively clung to Vegeta's neck, startled at the way he'd just scooped her up that way. She looked at the closed expression on his face, wondering what he was thinking. She couldn't help regretting her earlier words to him. She sensed that she'd hurt him, and that's why he'd lashed back that way. ::What do I say to him? How can I tell him I'm sorry?:: She knew she was, but didn't know how to say it. Her pride kept getting in her way. ::Maybe later....:: She snuggled more tightly against him, uncertain what to do.

Gohan followed behind the small Saiyan warrior, wondering why Vegeta hadn't argued about him coming with them. He was grateful to Bulma for giving him permission to stay, but he also wanted to know what was happening at home. He wished that he didn't make his mother unhappy. He still felt that her unhappiness was all his fault, that he wasn't a good enough son for her. He sighed, and continued to follow the other two as they returned to the Capsule Corp.

Vegeta sighed. He wanted to apologize to Bulma for his earlier comments but his pride kept getting in the way. Instead, the warrior found himself wondering why Kakarotto had married a woman that couldn't accept what he was. It struck him as a rather stupid thing to do, but then anything that the other man did was a mystery to him. He was vaguely aware of Gohan flying behind him, unusually quiet. Apparently his parents' arguing bothered the little warrior and he needed something to take his mind off of it.

Vegeta landed, put Bulma on her feet, and headed toward the house intent on getting something to eat. "Come here, brat," he commanded, as he stood with his hands on his hips. An idea was coming to mind as he watched Gohan look up at Bulma. "What are you waiting for, kid? Come here!"

Gohan blinked, wondering what was on Vegeta's mind. There was no question that Vegeta was talking to him, so the little boy walked over to the older Saiyan and looked up at him curiously. "Is there something you want, Vegeta-san?" He wasn't afraid of the Saiyan prince any longer. He'd grown used to him in the last year, and knew that if Vegeta had wanted to kill him, he'd have tried to do it a long time ago.

"So brat, since you are here," Vegeta said grinning down at him. "I might as well spar with you." He smirked as he watched Bulma's jaw drop from the corner of his eye. "After all, I can't spar with your father since he seems to be....." He trailed off searching for the word. "Occupied."

Gohan blinked, and then nodded once. "All right," he agreed. "Will you teach me some of your techniques?" he asked curiously.

Bulma stared at the two of them. They'd gone mad, both of them. Vegeta couldn't possibly be thinking of sparring with Gohan, and Gohan couldn't possibly be agreeing to this. "Gohan, are you sure about this?" she asked the little boy sharply. "Don't feel that you have to, just because you're staying here. He's a guest, same as you. He has no more hold over you than anyone else."

Gohan smiled at her simply. "Vegeta can teach me his techniques, Bulma-san. He knows how to fight like a Saiyan. I want to learn how to fight like a Saiyan!"

"See, woman." He grinned at her like a Cheshire cat. "The kid knows who is right." Vegeta couldn't explain the sudden desire to teach his adversary's son. He only knew that he wanted to do it. "I suppose I can teach you a few of my techniques. That is if you can handle it."

Gohan looked at him curiously. "Didn't you tell Frieza that I had more power than even I knew? I can learn, if you want to teach me!" He looked suddenly excited at the chance to fight again after a year of holding back. "Will you teach me now?" he asked eagerly.

Bulma suddenly felt that she understood what Chi-Chi was going through. ::But why would I feel that way?:: she wondered. ::It's not like I mean anything to him, like he means anything to me. We're not married or anything. So why do I feel abandoned?:: She shook her head at her own foolishness, and tried to smile at the two. Her smile felt false, even to herself. "Well, I hope you two have fun," she said, as she turned to go to her work shed. ::I might as well get some work in today, at least.::

"Oh, don't worry about us," Vegeta said to her retreating back. "We'll be fine. Won't we, brat? Let's find a place and begin before it gets too dark," Vegeta said turning his attention to Gohan. "We don't have much light left as it is."

Gohan blinked, and then smiled a wide, eager smile. "I know where we can go!" he said enthusiastically, and took off before Vegeta could reply. Gohan headed for an area where he knew his father sometimes trained; he'd felt traces of his father's ki there, this past year, so he'd come to visit there occasionally, even though there was nothing else there. His dragon often came with him, to keep him company, but he didn't even mind being alone there. And it had given him the chance to sometimes practice a few ki techniques, even though he knew his mother didn't want him to.

Bulma went into her shed, and tried to work on some of her new inventions, but her mind kept going back to the events of that morning. Every time she remembered his hands on her, his lips and mouth on her as he gave her such intense pleasure, it made her almost pass out again with desire. She wondered if he would want to sleep with her again tonight, and she couldn't help flushing with anticipation. ::Why am I doing this?:: she wondered, and wanted to smash something.

Bulma had difficulty concentrating on her work the rest of the afternoon. She couldn't get away from the memories of Vegeta touching and kissing her, and doing... other things. She found herself alternatively shivering and flushed with warmth, and she felt a tingling down below, in her center, where he'd touched her most intimately. She wanted him to touch her there again, to do those same wonderful things to her that he'd done to her that morning. ::But what if he doesn't want to?:: she wondered uncertainly. ::Maybe that was just a one-time thing. Maybe it wasn't the fact that it was me, but just the fact that I was there, and I was... available.::

She blushed, realizing that she had been available for him. She certainly hadn't fought him in any manner, she hadn't blocked him or even told him not to. She'd let him do what he'd wanted; she'd even encouraged him. He'd pointed out that both of them had enjoyed it - and she most certainly had! - but wasn't there supposed to be more to it than that? She thought, suddenly depressed, that just because he'd enjoyed it didn't mean that he'd want to do it again in the immediate future. Maybe he'd only had a strong enough urge, and would only seek her out again if the urge got that strong again. And she had no idea how often that might be. In a day? A week? A month? ...a year?

She clenched a fist, unconsciously crumpling some paper in her grasp, as she realized that she didn't want to wait that long. She wanted him now, but she didn't know if he felt the same way. And she had no idea why she wanted him. She'd always thought she'd hated him, but what she felt now was so far from hate that she couldn't even imagine it. All she had to do was think about him, and then she would think about his hands on her, and she immediately felt liquidy, warm, and like she was going to melt.

The odd thing is that she was feeling this way for Vegeta. She'd never even felt this way for Yamcha, the man she'd always thought she'd loved. She barely tolerated Vegeta, she certainly didn't like him - let alone love him! - so why should she feel such incredible desire for him? ::What has he done to me?:: She put her head on her arms and thought about it for a while. Eventually she managed to get some work done on her computer, going over accounts and decisions for the company, but didn't manage to get any research done that day.

To be continued.....

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And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: A Light in the Darkness... Interesting discoveries.