Chapter 10: Tears for Love

Bulma and Vegeta had leaned in and were lip-locked in a passionate, but innocent (meaning no tongue), kiss. Their eyes were shut in ecstasy and they forgot about the people around them...they were in heaven. But, as all good things must, it came to an end. Bulma gently pulled her lips from Vegeta's and gazed dreamily at him. Her eyes were clouded over with emotion and she smiled warmly into Vegeta's ebony orbs. He watched her face as it blushed a light pink and she turned away. He smirked in satisfaction, it was evident that she had liked their "intimate meeting" as much as he had. It was then that he first noticed they had an audience. And he wasn't at all happy about it.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU OVERSIZED CANINES GAPING AT?!" he roared.

"As you can see, my friends, they have already begun their courtship! Wonderful!" the doctor applauded, shortly followed by the rest of the Yangh. "This swapping of spit - - or kissing - - as recorded in my research, is the most accurate sign of affection between two individuals. Saiyans also have a custom of marking their mate by..."

The two tuned out the doctor's voice and turned back to one another. Bulma blushed even redder at Vegeta's contented smirk. She averted her eyes until he put his tanned hand under her chin and forced her to look at him.

"It is nothing to be embarrassed of, woman. If anything, I should be ashamed for kissing you - - I am, after all, a Saiyan prince, and I just finished swapping spit with an alien." he smirked even wider at his own words.

"But Vegeta, we didn't 'swap spit,' it was a simple kiss. No tongue or anything." Bulma replied, smiling shyly at him.

"Well, in that case...care to try again? This time, let's do it right." Vegeta suggested as he pulled Bulma towards him.

Secured in his vice-like grip, Bulma wrapped her arms around his strong back and touched her lips to his before opening them up like a clam. At her invitation, Vegeta's tongue slipped into her mouth and he moved his hands up to pull down her hair. The audience watched the second display in rapt attention, and the temple was completely silent.

With Vegeta's fingers working at taking down her bun, Bulma allowed her own hands to drift around his neck and rake through his hair as well. Its softness surprised her. It was like a kitten's fur. Bulma relished in the feel of Vegeta's smooth hands wandering through her blue locks, he was so gentle and loving...yet Bulma hadn't thought he could ever be anything more than barbaric.

Vegeta's eyes were closed as he battled his inner emotions. He could feel some deep-seeded connection with the woman in his arms, yet he didn't know what it was. 'Lust, that's all it is. Pure lust.' he struggled to convince himself. 'I'm not in love with her, I can't love. So this must be lust, too bad I can't let it out without being stuck to her for the rest of my miserable existence.' But something told him he was denying the truth. This time, it was he who pulled away, for he was afraid of losing control and taking her then and there.

Bulma opened her eyes again and locked them fondly on Vegeta's. She was shocked at the anger and doubt she saw deep within his dark eyes. It scared her to know that he might be regretting kissing her, wasn't she good enough?

Vegeta growled lowly in his throat. She was doing this, she was making him feel these foreign emotions. His pride told him he couldn't let her get to him. He was a Saiyan, and a Prince. He couldn't let some simple female distract him from his ultimate goal of becoming a Super Saiyan! 'She's not worth it!' his pride declared. But his heart told him differently; it told him that she was worth every drop of blood in his body and more, that he would gladly give up his life for her should it become necessary, that he was in love...in love with Bulma Briefs of planet Earth.

Bulma watched the turmoil in his infinitely dark eyes slowly boil down as he made up his mind. She was afraid of his decision. She knew that if she never returned to Earth she would be content, so long as she was with him. He may not be the prince she had wished for - - but if her Earthly one simply forgot about her before she came back, Vegeta would still be there, and she would still be happy. She loved him, it had taken her so long to find the one thing she was searching for...and yet, it had been there all along. Right in her own home, eating her food, destroying her machines, ruining her life. As Bulma's eyes watered up and her vision became impaired, she felt Vegeta's hands drop from her hair. The freed locks came cascading down to frame her face in curly blue waves. Her knees buckled and she dropped to the floor on them, automatically she covered her face with her hands and wept desperately. It hurt. It hurt so much to be inevitably refused by the one person you had come to truly adore. Bulma felt her already wounded heart break. It shattered into a million pieces and she lost it.

The only thing anyone in the temple, including Vegeta, saw after Bulma's dropping to her knees was a blur of violet as she bolted from the room. The guards couldn't even react as the woman fled from the building, she was out of sight before anyone could regain their senses.

When the citizens of planet Kraston realized that one of their "saviors" had escaped, they were distraught. The guards quickly moved to surround Vegeta for fear that he would run too, and as soon as Doctor Ungo assured the crowd that they would find the human female, they prodded the Saiyan with their weapons and lead him into the house he and Bulma had been staying.

Vegeta let the guards force him back into the building he and the Earthling had shared. He felt...lonely. 'What was that woman thinking? She could've gotten hurt! Why did she run? Where did she go? Why? Why?' he asked himself over and over again. In the end, he always came up with the same answer... him. He knew somehow that he was the reason, and he loathed himself for it. If she were to get injured, it would be all his fault...and he would never be able to forgive himself.

* * * * *

Bulma ran and ran and ran. She had no idea where she was running, she just knew she couldn't stop. If she did, then what had just happened would catch up to her and slowly eat away at her from the inside. Vegeta didn't love her, he never could. She already knew that, and yet, for just the briefest of moments, she had allowed herself to believe that he did love her. And now she was torn, her heart was completely crushed and bleeding. She had nothing left to live for. To hell with her "prince" he didn't mean anything now, maybe he never had. She had found her happiness only to have it jerked away before she could truly cherish it. This realization only made her chest ache even more, and her tears flowed down her face in great waterfalls as she cried her heart out.

How long had she been running? Hours? Minutes? Seconds? Bulma had no idea. The only thing she did know was that she was out of breath and she still hurt inside. She stopped and bent over to remove her sandals, they made running five times harder. Her blurry eyes took in her surroundings. She was in a forest, the trees had pink leaves and yellow trunks. The grass was white and the dirt, orange. Squinting, she attempted to gage her distance from the city...but it was nowhere in sight. Bulma limped on her blistered feet over to the base of one of the unusual trees and sank down against it. Her breathing was harsh and hitched, and still she cried. Only after she had finally calmed herself down a considerable amount did the seriousness of her situation sink in. She had absolutely no idea where she was, in all the time that she had been on the planet, she had never been allowed to leave the city. As far as she had known then, the entire planet was one great, big city. Evidently, it was not. She hadn't the faintest idea of the creatures or plants inhabiting the world, nor did she know of any other towns or villages nearby. She was lost.

* * * * *

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT! I WANT HER FOUND! SHE IS PRICELESS TO ME! FIND HER NOW! DO NOT REST UNTIL YOU HAVE BROUGHT HER BACK SAFE AND SOUND!" Doctor Ungo roared to the unit of soldiers issued to find Bulma.

"Yes Sir!" the soldiers saluted and set off to find the runaway.

* * * * *

"I don't know what words I can say, the wind has a way to talk to me. Flowers sleep a silent lullaby, I pray for reply...I'm ready. Quiet day calls me, oh serenity! Someone please tell me, waauuuum, what is it they say? Maybe I will know one day? I don't know what words I can say, the wind has a way to talk to me. Flowers sleep a silent lullaby, I pray for reply...I'm ready." Bulma sang, her sweet voice echoing off the trees and helping her to relax. She couldn't remember where she had heard that song...but it was so familiar and comforting.

Eventually she fell into a fitful sleep, curled against the tree-trunk, lonely and afraid.

* * * * *

"Goku? Gohan? Anybody? Is anyone here?" Bulma called as she looked over the charred earth, searching for some sign of life. "Tien? Chaotzu? ChiChi? Puar? Yamcha?"

Bulma began to wander over the rubble, hoping to find one of her friends... alive. She had no idea where she was or how she got there. Answers, she needed answers. The woman climbed upon a particularly large piece of a building in her way and saw a wasteland. There was nothing but the burnt remains of buildings and vehicles, all plant and animal life was extinguished. Through all the black and white, Bulma caught sight of a figure lying amongst the remainders of a road. Her heart leapt into her throat as she stumbled and climbed to reach it. She was not ready for what she saw.

"V-V-Vegeta?" she asked of the figure tenatively. "V-Vegeta, wake up. Wake up Vegeta." she knelt down beside the Saiyan's crumpled form and pulled his head into her lap. She couldn't remember how often she had done this in her life, too many times for her liking.

She heard a hoarse cough from the near-dead man.

"W-w-woman? Yo-you're still a-alive?" Vegeta gasped out, his eyes filled with awe despite his obvious pain.

"Oh course I am, silly."

"I th-thought you we-were gone... f-f-forever..."

"Don't worry, I'm still here. What happened? Where is everybody else?" Bulma asked in fear, her voice catching.

"D-dead. All dead. I am th-the only one... left." Vegeta groaned.

"My Kami, who did this?"

"A-a-androids. Wasn't st-strong enough. I-I'm sorry... B-B-Bulma..." his voice trailed off as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Shhhhh, Vegeta... I don't know what you think you did wrong, but I know you must have tried your best. You-you need to save your strength now..."

"N-no! They'll be back! I ha-ha-have to protect you! I w-won't let th-them kill you t-too! Not m-my chosen m-m-mate!" he coughed.

"Mate? Vegeta, what happened after Kraston? Can you tell me?"

"Th-they let me go, when yo-you ran off. S-said they didn't n-need me a-anymore. I c-came back and t-tried to t-train, but couldn't... I-I-I missed you t-too much. I didn't g-get strong enough... I-I wanted to beat the a-androids and th-then go back to find you, but they a-attacked sooner th-than we thought and I-I couldn't. I c-c-couldn't go back for yo-you. I-I tried to beat th-them... but... but..."

"But you weren't a Super Saiyan yet?" Bulma offered.

"N-no. I-I-I still am n-not. I'm s-sorry. Now you will d-die too because I-I c-can't protect you. I wanted to bond with you... b-but I d-didn't have enough t-time..."

"Wha-what do you mean 'bond,' Vegeta?" Bulma asked, afraid of his answer.

"Well, isn't this a sweet scene? What do you think, 18?" interrupted a male's monotone voice.

"I think that we should have killed the Saiyan earlier, 17, but now it will be much more fun because we can kill this woman too, right in front of his eyes." answered a female's voice.

"Wha-?" Bulma turned around to see the Androids. A dark haired boy and a blonde girl. Their cold blue eyes frightened her.

"NO! YO-YOU WILL NOT LAY A FINGER ON M-MY MATE!" Vegeta roared from the ground.

"Oh really? Well, by the looks of it, you wouldn't be able to do much about it if we did." laughed the boy, 17, evilly.

"Leave him alone!" Bulma ordered, standing protectively in front of the fallen warrior and spreading her arms bravely.

"What a cocky bitch. Trying to tell us what to do. Let's kill him first, so she can watch instead." 18 suggested.

"Great idea. Outta my way, wench!" shouted 17, smacking Bulma ten feet away and face down in the rubble.

"Now for the prince..." 18 began to power up an energy attack.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Bulma wailed from the ground as she rolled onto her back. "VEGETA!"

"I love you Bulma! I have always loved you, I just couldn't admit it to myself. I am so sorry, so very sorry. Farewell woman...remember me!" Vegeta's last words before the female android finished him off.

Bulma awoke drenched in sweat and tears and shivering convusively. She wrapped her arms around herself and slowly replayed the dream in her mind. She had watched Vegeta die at the hands of the Androids. It was so horrible. And his last words... how he said he loved her, and had always loved her... but then, they had killed him. It was only a dream, a nightmare really, but it felt so real. Bulma feared that maybe Vegeta had actually died, that he was gone for good...

* * * * *

Vegeta jolted awake. He had seen her, she was far away... alone and-and... in danger. The Saiyan could sense the predator move swiftly across the ground, he could feel it's negative force... so much like his own used to be. And the creature was heading directly for the woman's position.

* * * * *

Author's Note: For all of you who don't already know it, that song Bulma sings is from Outlaw Star. Melfina sings it and the first time I heard it, it brought tears to my eyes. Forgive me if I sound sappy, but it's the truth. It's a woeful song, and this chapter is almost like a romantic-tragedy, so it fits perfectly. I don't own it though, too bad for me. E-mail me with comments, I think this chappy is my best so far...I just love tear-jerkers, they instill so much emotion in the reader, I hope you guys liked this part as much as I! Lemme know if you did!