Proximity Protection

Glancing at her bedside table clock Bulma found herself tossing aside another trade journal. Already she had put on her most comfortable sweatpants and long T shirt. She finally got up from where she sat waiting on the side of her large queen seized bed. Crossing the room she sat down in front of her dresser and grabbed the hairbrush to start running it through her hair.

She tugged open one drawer and hunted through it, pushing aside the neatly rolled panties she had assorted into days of the month. Then tugged open the drawer under it. A few nightshirts and teddies were assembled there. Pulling open the drawer to the left she then fingered through the soft silk of several pairs of button up pajamas. Frowning she pushed the drawer of teddies shut and grabbed a pair of blue silk pajamas with long bottoms. Then carrying them she dropped them on the bed. Soon the T shirt and sweatpants were neatly folded at the foot of the bed as she buttoned the front of her pajamas.

Somewhere between sexy and not so sexy perhaps, she asked herself, glancing at the mirror. Somehow she wanted to convey the image that she wouldn’t be rattled by some unknown prowler, yet she didn’t feel up to parading her assets. Fear of such a night prowler had limited her choices from slinky lacy shorts and a negligee to the capsule sweats. When she had slept with Yamcha she had resorted to silk pajamas, and she felt it was a nice compromise. A balance between fear and security.

What did Vegeta wear when he went to bed she wondered. Bulma thrust her feet into a pair of bunny slippers and padded over to the windows. Drawing aside a lacy pink curtain she glanced down at the spherical black and white Capsule 4 parked permanently in the yard. Sometimes she would see Vegeta lying on top of the ship, staring up into the sky. Other times she saw the lights through the circular portholes indicating his nightly training sessions. He rarely emerged save to eat or inform them of the damages they needed to address. Sometimes he would fly away for days at a time into the wilderness, only to return with torn clothes or cracked armor.

“Not as much as a thank you for his most recent set,” she thought forlornly when she had given him her new design. All he had said was a simple grunt and snatched the bodysuit and breastplate out of her hands before marching out. However it was an improvement from calling it a piece of crap or inferior shit. He only wore the armor when he would ‘vanish’ for his sojourns, not in the GR itself. Once or twice he’d dumped the armor in a heap at her workroom door, smeared with blood and smirched with dust. Mostly it was animal blood, but there were times where she was tempted to run a DNA profile and wonder if it was human?

Bulma snapped out of her reverie, seeing the lights click out in the GR. A shadowy shape emerged, and she quickly turned away from the window. Of course the lights were out in the GR. Backing away from the window she turned and gazed at the clock. Ten of ten. Bulma tugged down her side of the bedclothes and sat down, before pulling them up. Then she climbed out of the bed and walked to the door of her suite. She opened it on a whim and saw Vegeta standing there with a bored look on his face.

“Well, I’m here. Hurry up and get to sleep so I can minimize my need for this foolishness,” Vegeta grumbled.

“You’re wearing THAT?” she pointed to his outfit. Vegeta ignored her and marched past her into the room. Glancing around him let loose with a low chuckle.

“Ridiculous frivolity. It’s all pink and green! You must really worship flowers here,” Vegeta commented, amused at the décor.

“You’re wearing THAT in here?” Bulma repeated, closing the door after him as he wandered around the room’s perimeter. Something between fascination and disgust dictated his expression as he nudged a large stuffed unicorn in one corner.

“Is this room for a child or a full grown woman? Or do you actually sleep with those stuffed bits of rag?” he teased, pointing to a large net of stuffed animals strung up over the plush unicorn. He spun around, like precision machinery and surveyed the desk laden with electronic spares and piles of engineering magazines.

“Hey, over here,” she whistled, standing beside the bed.

Vegeta turned his head only towards her, and then swung his body in the same angle to stride arrogantly towards her voice. That dark blue bodysuit and well fitted breastplate seemed totally out of place amidst all the stuffed animals, pillows and ornate chairs decorating her suite. Gold toed boots ground into the thick purple nap carpet without regard for its purpose.

“So are you going to stare at me ore go to sleep?” he asked impatiently. He stood with arms folded across his chest, scrutinizing her as she tugged the bedspread and sheets aside and tossed off her bathrobe. She caught him glimpsing her pajama clad body, and then slid under the covers.

“Unless you want to join me,” she teased. “Though wearing THAT…”

Vegeta said nothing, just sniffed and turned his head aside. Bulma shrugged, and tugged the covers up to her waist. She reached over to turn out the light, and then glanced at him. Vegeta asked, “What now?”

“I feel sort of weird with you staring at me like that over there! Are you going to just stand there like a statue the whole night?”

“You said you needed a bodyguard... Is that not what one does? Watches and guards?” Vegeta asked, frowning.

“You’re creeping me out. You can sit down or join me in the bed,” Bulma answered. “I did say I’d feel more comfortable if you slept in my room.”

“Fine, whatever you wish. Just go to sleep and stop chattering idly. The night will be long enough as it is before you realize it’s just your stupid overactive imagination,” Vegeta complained. Bulma pursed her lips and shook her head. No responses to an innuendo save ridicule. Predictable.

However Vegeta’s next action surprised her. He rounded to the other side of the bed, and then sat down on the edge of it. Not bothering to remove his boots or armor he then swung around and scooted over towards the middle of the bed before resting his back against the pillows. Staring straight ahead he folded his gloved hands over his belly and closed his eyes.

“You could at least take your boots and armor off before climbing into a woman’s bed!” Bulma yelped. “How rude!”

“You asked for my help, it’s on my terms. Shut up and go to sleep, or I leave now,” Vegeta snapped back. “I’m lying on the damn bed!”

“Fine, have it your way,” Bulma fumed, feeling insulted and rejected. Yet also she couldn’t’ help but giggle a second later at the image of Vegeta fully clothed and battle dressed laying on her soft comfortable bed. Such a contrast was ironic and equally amusing. Vegeta said nothing to her as he continued to lie there, not even looking in her direction or paying her any mind.

Sighing Bulma said, “Good night.”

“Humph, be quiet,” he mumbled as he kept his eyes closed. Bulma leaned over and switched the light off, shaking her head at the ludicrously of the situation. IT seemed a poor substitute for having Yamcha sleeping next to her. By now he would have disrobed and slid under the covers to cuddle with her. Nothing was soft about Vegeta in comparison. All hard edges and fierceness. Yet she sometimes pushed Yamcha aside because he got too amorous or too cuddly or grabby.

“An action figure instead of a teddy bear,” Bulma murmured, curling up so she faced Vegeta. However knowing he was there next to her did reassure her to some extent. Listening intently in the darkness she watched the shadows intently. However all she heard was the heavy breathing of Vegeta, and her own blood pumping alongside the noises of traffic in West City.

Bulma flinched, her whole body spasming. Her cheek was pressed to something hard and smooth, and her body was draped over something warm and breathing.

“What the hell are you doing?” came Vegeta’s stern voice. “Must you cling to me like some damned leech?”

“What the hell…” Bulma blinked, realizing that gloved hands were grabbing her wrist and back firmly. Aware now of the position of her leg, she realized it was tossed over his hip. One breast pressed to a muscled arm that flinched and twitched while her face was buried into his neck.

“Get off me you insane woman,” he hissed between his teeth. “It’s bad enough you insist I waste my time here, but to have you this close…”

“Excuse ME for getting in your space!” Bulma snapped back.

“You snore and talk in your sleep as well,” Vegeta answered. But he made no move to pull her off him. Rather he continued to lay there.

“Well you’re not pushing me away,” she said, shifting to try and separate herself from him. “And if I was that horrible, why even agree to this?”

“To shut you up for one,” he answered.

“Then shut up and let me stay where I am, because I’m scared,” Bulma argued back.

“Weakling,” Vegeta answered.

“Are you that disgusted by a woman throwing herself at you?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered simply. “But since you insist on this charade, I suppose I’ll have to tolerate you… though I loathe it.”

“How can I be THAT bad to be close to, hm?” Bulma asked, sliding her hip over so she straddled him. Vegeta in the darkness exhaled sharply, and she felt the hard parts of his armor poking her in odd places.

“You sleep in a bed the size of a damn cell and you have to climb on me? Pathetic. You are so starved for contact you’d cling to me?” Vegeta answered quietly.

“Yes,” Bulma answered. “I’m scared, okay? Maybe I do want to be close to you. To anyone because I don’t know if I might be alive tomorrow. Because you had to fight the damn androids! You wouldn’t let me just seek them out and destroy them.”

“That is a coward’s way. I’m a true warrior, not a thief in the night. Though I admit you show some sense to admit that I am your only hope for protection,” he said.

“Like I said you’re not trying to push me away,” Bulma murmured, wrapping her arms around him.

“I have no choice. You’d scream and whine if I did so. And it would be days before you would affect any repairs. It’s something I will tolerate if I must,” Vegeta answered.

“If you can tolerate this, maybe you can tolerate something else?” Bulma giggled, her mind now fixated on something else rather than anyone invading her room. Probing with her hands she felt the soft fibers of his spiky hair and inhaled deeply of something rich and spicy that was his own scent. Underneath her she could felt the witching of his muscles and loved the feel of his hard body under her. Even if it was covered in that damn armor.

“More foolishness?” Vegeta grunted. Bulma traced fingers along his jaw, but was surprised his gloved hands had let go of her and he simply moved them to tuck behind his head. Smirking through the darkness she nosed into his collar, then mapped out the location of his jaw. Under her chest his rose and fell with sudden inhalation, and she felt the puff of air against her neck.

Covering his body with hers, Bulma cupped his cheek and then searched for his lips with her own. First they contacted the aristocratic point of his nose, and then slid down to map out the shape of his mouth in the dark. Ghosting small kisses over it she then stretched her mouth overtop to claim it in a fuller kiss. Under her Vegeta was rigid, his muscles tensing and his body completely still. Determined to see suddenly how much he would allow she then dragged her tongue along the crease of his lips, levering herself so she straddled the hard bulge in his spandex. In small half circles she moved her head back and forth, teasing at his tongue.

Still his lips would not yield. Now her fingers tunneled through his hair rubbing his scalp. Moaning softly she rocked down on him again, before once more covering his mouth with her own. Did he seek to discourage her by not responding, or was he truly unwilling and unaffected? Rubbing at the nape of his neck she started to massage and push with her fingers. Suddenly she was startled when his mouth hesitantly opened, and she was given access. Hot breath crossed her palate and she explored the insides of his mouth and tasted him. Murmuring softly she deepening the kiss, putting bursts of desires that she had kept locked away for a long time.

Though he did not resist he did not respond. Passively allowing her to ravish his mouth and press every inch of her pajama clad body to his. When she felt disappointment in his lack of reciprocation she felt the slight clumsy movement of his tongue against hers, and her hope was renewed. A gloved hand landed on the small of her back, pinning her in place, and tightening its grip. Stiffly his own lips moved, in an unpracticed and limited fashion that caused tingling along her nerve endings that pooled in the junction between her legs.

“Is this part of the protection you wanted, you vulgar woman?” he answered hoarsely.

“Uh huh,” was all she could manage because of the heat of his breath had surged through her. “Because if you’re here then nobody can get at me. And the closer you are…”

“How close,” he mumbled.

“Well if you’d take off the armor and get under the covers…” she answered. “I did say sleep in the bed. And you’re sleeping ON the bed.”

“You’re really starting to get on my nerves,” he mumbled.

“Or are you more scared of getting closer to me?”

“Don’t taunt me, woman,” Vegeta growled. He lifted her up off him and set her aside.

“Hey,” she began, before she heard the sounds of clasps being unsnapped and the thump of something on the floor.

“I fear nothing, least of all you,” Vegeta answered hoarsely. “Just HOW close again did you insist before you stop pestering me and sleep?”

“Well you’ll be more comfortable in the bed and you may be able to sleep yourself if you’re closer to me under the sheets,” Bulma answered, tugging at her pajamas. She almost tore the buttons in her haste to remove them. Through the dull haze of the orange lamps she saw a pair of white gloves being peeled off and tossed to the foot of the bed. Then Vegeta’s spiky haired head vanished when he hiked his shirt up and over it.

“At this point I won’t get any peace from you if I don’t do otherwise,” he mumbled, words trailing off in a growl that tingled her. She slid off her pajama bottoms and peeled aside the covers by the time her hand collided with a bare chest.

“It’s not that bad,” she giggled, sliding under. She felt the hard muscular thigh bump against hers as Vegeta lay down and she pulled the covers over them both.

“Tolerable,” he answered, as she turned on her side to face him.

“Just think about it. The closer you sleep to me, the more rest you’ll get. Because if anything happens to me, it will happen to you…” Bulma murmured, scooting closer. Vegeta by now lay on his side too, his dark eyes peering at her through the gloom.

“As if anything will harm me, idiot,” Vegeta replied.

Bulma leaned forward and kissed his neck, then threw her leg across his hip. Her breasts pressed tightly to his chest and Vegeta exhaled sharply. Lips by his ear she purred, “Exactly. And you aren’t screaming to get away are you?”

“What will it take you to shut up?” he murmured.

“If you get as close as possible, Vegeta,” Bulma whispered, rubbing her hand up and down the scars on his chest.

Suddenly his arms seized her shoulder and flipped her over. Bulma giggled as she wrapped her leg around his back, and Vegeta’s hand slammed down into the pillow by her cheek. His breath rasped against her as he knelt and she moved her other leg out of the way before winding it around his waist. Her arms looped around his neck and his other hand tangled into her hair. The scant light was eclipsed by his body.

“THIS close?” Vegeta whispered, lips tickling her ears.

“That’s what I had in mind,” she purred, reaching up to tug on the tight elastic waistband of his training pants. As his bulge pressed into her, moisture soaked into the front of his pants. A slow hiss tickled her ear. Already she could feel the molten heat of his body pressing into hers as Vegeta lay down on her and she pulled him towards her.

“Close enough woman?” Vegeta growled, sending more waves of arousal from head to toe. Bulma massaged the back of his neck and then slid her other hand between them. As it dipped down it rubbed and squeezed the muscles there that twitched.

“Not quite enough,” she murmured, tugging the front of his pants down. She unlatched her legs from around his waist while he removed his hand from fondling her hair to remove them. Now their skin was in full contact, his body hair tickling her as he once more lay between her legs. Bulma returned both arms to encircle his muscular neck. Her legs parted, thighs embracing him from below.

Something hard and hot tickled the juncture of her legs. Inhaling deeply Vegeta shifted, and Bulma gasped as he entered her. Savoring the contact between them she sighed and moved her hips at his penetration. Vegeta’s breath fanned her neck and he buried his face between her shoulder and neck, nibbling at the sensitive skin there.

“That close enough for you now, woman?” he rasped.

“Perfect,” she answered, rocking her hips. Vegeta braced his hands on either side of her, and then pulled out. Sharply he thrust down, pinning her under his body, and causing her to cry out in pleasure.

Vegeta measured the doses of his thrusts, savoring the closeness that the woman had insisted upon. It was far more comfortable guarding the woman that way. Or at least Bulma figured that was what must be going through his mind. One of her knees brushed a nub on his back at the crease in his buttocks and he gasped, thrusting so hard and deep that she whimpered.

“Ohhh yes,” she moaned, clenching.

“Do that again,” he panted; remaining in place so it seemed that she could feel him in every part of her. The connection was so tight and hard it overwhelmed Bulma.

“This?” she asked, squeezing once again.

“Yes that,” he answered, that low growling purr undoing all her self control.

“Nobody can threaten me now, with you here protecting me, Vegeta,” she cried out. Their bodies danced and collided, Bulma containing him as deeply as he could penetrate. She forgot all fear of impending doom, losing herself in the intense closeness of the Prince crushing her and pressing her under him. Yet that one hand still held his full weight off of her, and then his large hands caressed her bottom as it lifted her and he knelt upright. From this position he could thrust upwards while the weight of her body caused her to slide down with each buck of his hips. Faster and more furiously he thrusted and Bulma clung to him tightly, holding on for such a pleasurable ride she could hear her screams in the night.

Yet they were not screams of fear, but of joy and bliss. A huge spasm of pleasure shuddered her body and she felt him twitching strongly inside. His arms crushed her close, though held back so they would not crack her ribs. A loud gasp and snarl through his clenched teeth and he nipped at her neck with sharp teeth. Then she felt herself falling into blackness with his strong arms to hold her. Before he continued another wave of assault on her and wrung more cries of delight.

Still containing him she slumped to the bed, and the Prince encased her in his arms protectively. Weary beyond words Bulma finally slept.

***
Bulma blinked awake, aware of herself in a rather odd position much as she remembered from last night. Sprawled atop a sleeping Saiyan Prince who was tossing his head slightly and blinking. She peered over her shoulder at the tangle of clothes on either side of the bed, and then giggled. Not once had she awakened and she felt the proximity that they still shared of sweaty bodies tangled together. His hands still gripped her bottom tightly, his lips twitching.

Bulma rested her head on his chest and rubbed with one hand that wasn’t tangled around his body. Slowly Vegeta’s dark lashed eyes opened and he glanced down at her with a small frown. For a moment she shivered, and then saw his mischievous smirk.

“Good morning to you sleepyhead,” Bulma answered with a giggle.

Vegeta blinked up at her and commented, “Really, if you’d simply wanted to fuck, you chose a foolishly transparent and feeble charade to request it.”

“Say what?” Bulma flinched in his arms, but Vegeta’s grip held her securely against him.

“You don’t think I was that naïve about sex did you?” Vegeta snickered.

“So you DID know what I meant by going to bed with me?” Bulma grinned, rubbing his chest before she gave him a kiss.

“Your inane customs are easy to figure out. I was simply amused seeing how desperate you were to humble yourself and beg for my attention,” Vegeta answered.

“And yet you still came to my bed. I guess you’re not too big and bad to share a woman’s bed after all are you Vegeta? Not so scared of a woman throwing herself at you for sex?” she teased.

“Not when the woman in question offers herself in a manner that is worth considering,” Vegeta answered.

“And how is that?” she asked, feeling his other hand reach down and trace down the small of her back.

“Acknowledging that she requires a male’s protection, and shows her willingness to serve him in reciprocation. On terms that are clear without her need to control and expect more than a warrior can give,” Vegeta answered.

“So you wouldn’t go to bed with me if I threw myself at you, but the minute I beg for you to protect me you’re suddenly interested? What the hell?” Bulma frowned.

“You can’t expect me to acquiesce to your fool human culture. I am a Saiyan prince after all. Not a puppet for someone’s amusement,” he answered with a low growl.

“Well Kami help anyone who’d think that,” Bulma purred, shifting herself a bit so she could cover his mouth in another kiss. Vegeta responded, taking a leisurely time to return the gesture before parting again.

“Indeed. And you aren’t as loathsome to be around as I initially thought either,” Vegeta murmured as she traced his cheek with one finger.

“So you won’t object to ‘protecting me’ this way in future?” she couldn’t resist saying.

“Idiotic fool,” he answered with a hint of affection.