Hello everyone! This is my first B/V fanfic! I've been reading B/V fanfics for about a year and a half now, and finally decided to try my hand at one! I used a song as the foundation for this, but I wouldn't really say it's a song fic. I think this came out well, so I hope you all enjoy it, and please review!

A/N: This is an AU! Vegeta might be slightly out of character. Parts of the song are sectioned off by bold lettering. Song is "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones.

Paint the Sun Black

I see a red door and I want it painted black.
No colors anymore, I want them to turn black.

He sat back, hunched against an aging willow tree, his left arm drooped over his knee as thunder clashed above him. The rain….it was relentless today, the charcoal-grey clouds continued to loom and hover with promises that their grief would not soon subside. Vegeta paid no mind to the torrent of water that drenched him. For once he felt he could relate to the volatile storm, as it mirrored his very own heart.

He thought he had been through the worst of it, that the pain and rage he endured as he watched her murdered in front of him was the absolute pinnacle of emotions he could ever feel. He did not realize the grief that followed her death would wash over him so fiercely. He forced his dark eyes shut, bringing a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, as a flood of agonizing emotion came over him. He bitterly saw, in his mind's eye, the beam of energy pierce through her heart. It was a nightmare that kept replaying...a hellish memory that was forever burned into his head. The stress caused his breathing pattern to increase, as he tried to reign in these emotions that he did not know he had harbored in his heart for Bulma. Emotions…that were brutally pulled forth from deep within him to the surface, as she died almost instantly, and he was forced to face, all at once, the love and loss of this woman that he had denied for so long.

For years now, Vegeta's father and mother hinted that he and Bulma would make good mates…hell, even his people were insinuating that there was something going on between them! It was something he tried to ignore and deny, for why would the intelligent, beautiful, Bulma Briefs be dumb enough to fall for the tumultuous Saiyan Prince? Did his people not think it shameful for him to possibly choose the fragile human female for his mate? Did she not have many earth males trying to court her and that she could have her pick of any one of them? Why would she ever want him? And he, as a Saiyan Prince, could have any strong female Saiyan as his mate, but subconsciously he had always rejected the idea, saying he was a warrior and needed to focus on training than get involved with a female and finding a mate.

Vegeta and Bulma had argued that fateful day, as they always did. He had been especially irritable while he stormed though the castle, looking for her. His mood was foul indeed. All of Bulma's inventions she had created for him increased his strength greatly, but the Legendary transformation was still somehow, someway out of reach for him. And that fool Kakarrot, wielding the power of the Super Saiyan in front of him, mocking him with it! That third-class clown should have NEVER had such a privilege, let alone beat him to it. Angered and determined, NOTHING seemed to be working….Vegeta's gravity training was absurd, he was the strongest and fastest he'd ever been…but for some reason it wasn't enough. He wanted to someone to blame, someone other than himself.

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.

"Woman!" Vegeta yelled, storming into the lab, throwing the steel door nearly off its hinges as he whirl winded in.

"What do you want now?" Bulma bit out, still angered about their earlier altercation, not batting an eye to the Prince's rude entrance.

He stood, legs shoulder-width apart, arms crossed over chest, with a dark, menacing look etched on his royal features. "The power source to the Gravity Room has failed, AGAIN," he emphasized, "Your machines do nothing but break down and injure me. It's almost like you're sabotaging me on purpose." he spat out, looking at the bandages that were wrapped around his torso and arms. He glared up and caught Bulma's glance, which briefly flashed of guilt for his earlier injuries, but gave way to anger at hearing his ungrateful tone.

"Well if you weren't such a stubborn, prideful jackass then you would LISTEN to me when I tell you not to go over 500 times gravity! It's your fault, and yours alone that the bots blew up under the pressure and you injured yourself!"

Vegeta's arms fell from his chest loosely, and determination set forth in his features. "I listen to no one, especially you. Now go fix the Gravity Room so I can resume my training."

"You're an ungrateful ass, you know that?" Bulma retorted icily. "I am the only one who has the brains and the ability to provide you with such technology and all you ever do is destroy it! What did you do to the power core now? Blow a beam through it, I'm guessing. You're reckless, and you are going to get yourself killed!" Bulma barked out, turning her back to Vegeta and began to shuffle through some papers on her desk that got ruffled in the air when Vegeta burst in.

Seeing her turn her back on him, in the middle of one of their arguments, set fire to his rage. Did she not understand that he must achieve the Legendary status and stop being the joke of his people? That his pride was more important than her toys that she could easily fix?

"You're a worthless human, Bulma." Vegeta ground out, fisting his hands, knowing only harsh words would make her want to prove him wrong, and get her to fixing her machines quickly. Hearing her name pronounced caught her undivided attention as she looked at him, unsure of what else he was going to say.

"So that's what you really think of me?" she harshly commented , her chest and throat quickly feeling constricted from an unnamable emotion that was currently suffocating her.

"I don't know why I've put up with you for so long. Never mind on repairing the Gravity Room…or anything else for that matter." Vegeta said with a nonchalant wave of his arm. "I no longer need your services. I will find someone else who in this universe who can help me better than you have."

He meant for his words to sting her, and intended to light a fire up under her ass and get her to work, to prove to him that she was worthy and the only one who could take what he destroyed and make it better than before. He tried to ignore how quickly her anger turned into a look of genuine hurt. He quickly averted his gaze as he noticed tears building up in her beautiful azure eyes.

A couple of tears, no matter how much she tried to stop them, fell silently from her eyes, and her voice quivered slightly as she tried to remain strong in the face of his rejection. She felt all her anger and strength drain away, replaced with a sudden feeling of being overwhelmingly tired. Tired of the arguing, the stress, the pressure…tired of him.

She cleared her throat, looking down at the ground nearby her. Her face felt hot and she was choked up from the surprising amount of pain his brutal words had caused her. She shook her head slowly. "I can't do this anymore." Her words were simple, but the meanings behind them weighed heavily upon them both. She no longer had the fight within her. "Fine, Vegeta. If that's what you want."

Later that day, Frieza came to Vegetasei unannounced.

Lord Frieza and his henchmen descended upon the planet, too quickly seen unknown, and known too late. As the alarms sounded, alerting them to the unexpected arrival, Vegeta ordered Kakarrot to find Bulma, entrusting him and only him to take her somewhere safely away from the castle, for the Saiyans had kept her a secret from the evil tyrant Lord. But, by the time Goku had reached Bulma, he was blindsided by an opponent unseen, and Bulma was taken hostage.

Meanwhile, the royal family went to falsely greet Frieza outside, while the Elites and lower ranks lined up in crisp, military formation. The rest of the Saiyans fell into an uncomfortable silence, knowing a visit such as this would not bode well. As the lizard hovered in his pod, Vegeta saw a conspiring, evil smirk on his purple lips, and a feeling of foreboding set into Vegeta's chest. Before he knew it, Frieza was grinning at Vegeta's horror when Turles- the betraying son of a bitch Saiyan bastard!- stepped forward, dragging Bulma along by her teal hair, and shoved her down to the ground in front of them. Vegeta quicky looked around for Kakarrot, ready to kill him for his failure to protect the woman, until he saw him flying towards them in panic, a hand covering a bleeding wound from his head. Goku landed near Vegeta and gave him a look of confusion as to what happened…until he saw Turles standing over a frightened-looking Bulma. Turles was the one who knocked him out temporarily and took Bulma?

So HE had been Frieza's spy all along!

Turles presented Lord Frieza with her, bravely standing under the assumed protection of the lizard, as his betrayal sent waves of disgust and rage amongst the other Saiyans. He told Frieza how she was helping Prince Vegeta and other Saiyans to become stronger so they could overthrow him….that SHE was behind all the technological advances they had! These revelations caused quite a murmur amongst Frieza's men, and an outpouring of disbelief and anger amongst the Saiyans.

The rage that seethed inside Vegeta knew no bounds, as he outstretched a gloved hand and sent a ki beam bursting through Turles' head. His lifeless body hitting the ground gave no satisfaction to Vegeta at all, nor to his people. Frieza and his men then taunted and laughed at the Saiyans, telling them how pathetic they were for counting on a weak female. Frieza then turned darkly to Vegeta, telling him that since he killed his only spy, that it was only right to kill his precious assistant.

Panic swept through him….Frieza's cackle resounded and echoed in Vegeta's head as he helplessly watched Frieza lift a single finger and send a beam straight through Bulma's heart. The shock and terror was felt in waves by the Saiyans at seeing their favorite, beloved human female killed before them, all…..except for Vegeta.

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black,
with flowers and my love, both never to come back.

It happened too quickly, as her body collapsed brutally to the floor, her lifeblood splattered around her as she had only seconds left. The room suddenly felt heavy, as though the air pressure changed. The Saiyans fell silent from their outcry of anger as Vegeta's fists trembled with unfathomable fury and pain. Something cracked from within him, perhaps his broken heart, because the next thing anyone knew, he screamed out in rage as he felt his body infuse with a god-like force and a golden glow. He had not a second to delight in elation of finally achieving the Legendary, for all he could see was red.

I look inside myself and see my heart is black.
I see my red door and it has been painted black.

Following closely second, Goku turned Super Saiyan, who after seeing his childhood friend murdered and Vegeta transform, knew that he might have to step in to help Vegeta kill Frieza. Feeling the overwhelming force of energy radiating from the Prince though, he realized he may need to stop Vegeta from destroying their planet in the process. Frieza stopped laughing when he felt the suffocating power of Vegeta's transformation, which overshadowed the second Saiyan's transformation! Those filthy monkeys! Didn't they only transform into giant apes? What was this new transformation? It couldn't be…..

Enraged, Frieza commanded Zarbon and Dedoria, as well as the rest of his henchmen to attack them. They all proved to be no match as Goku took it upon himself to clear the way, distracting them and keeping them away from the main fight, knowing that Vegeta only had a desire to deal with Frieza. In Frieza's rage, at seeing the other Saiyan handle his top men without breaking a sweat, he took matters into his own hands, lunging for Vegeta. Goku needed no help, but many other Saiyans joined into the fight, helping kill off Frieza's army while Vegeta was busy avenging Bulma's murder. Even Frieza's final form proved to be no match to the enraged Saiyan Prince, who slaughtered the tyrant lizard mercilessly, decapitating him and destroying him in a flash a brilliant, fiery ki.

After defeating Frieza, Vegeta numbly walked over to Bulma's lifeless body, and releasing his Super Saiyan transformation, he slowly fell to his knees. He collected his arms around her and cradled her bloody body up to his. He touched his own cheek to her forehead, wincing slightly from how cold her skin was on his. He closed his eyes, feeling no shame as he sat back on his haunches and mourned her silently in front of his people. Everyone walked away silently, leaving him alone to mourn his mate, for they knew all along that their Prince had formed such a bond with her, even when Vegeta and Bulma themselves were too stubborn and blind to see it. It must have been true, because Vegeta already felt a part of himself was dead as well.

There was no celebration on Vegetasei that night, for it was a bittersweet irony that Vegeta obtained the Legendary and destroyed Frieza once and for all, only to have lost his beautiful human scientist. Her death had triggered Vegeta's transformation…it was evidence to all of them, unbeknownst to even the Prince himself, that his heart had long ago had claimed her.

Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts.
It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black.

Vegeta let out a shaky breath, as his memories came back to him with a vengeance. It had been only a few days ago that these events occurred, and yet his memories and emotions were as fresh as that very fateful day. He opened his eyes and focused his gaze down the gentle-sloping hill he was on, watching the funeral cars begin to leave the cemetery. One of the last to leave, he saw Kakarrot looking back up towards the hill at him. Under his umbrella he gave Vegeta a slight bow and rejoined Chi Chi and Gohan in their vehicle, only to go home and continue to grieve.

The rain continued to pour down on the Saiyan prince, as he patiently waited until the last of the humans left the cemetery. He would have preferred to have given her a proper Saiyan cremation, befitting of royalty, but he wanted to honor her by letting her family decide her funeral arrangements. It was uncharacteristic of him to care what others wanted, but in his mind he had never truly taken her officially as his mate, so he felt he held no power over the decision on how to handle funeral proceedings. He sighed heavily, bringing a hand across his face to clear some water off of it as slowly stood up from his spot. He decided to walk down the slope and over to her fresh grave. He read her plaque stone and fisted his hands, bitterness and grief overcoming him once again as he felt that she should be alive here with him. Well, he thought, if she could no longer be with him in life, then he could join her in death.

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue.
I could not foresee this thing happening to you.

The storm grew worse, as the winds whipped around fiercely, and the rain beat down upon Vegeta's body with determination. Lightening flashed and the thunder cracked, and for a moment he could swear that his grief was fueling the tempest.

He hated everything now. Hated being alive without her. Hated the Earth, hated the people, hated happiness and life and joy and love, for he had none at all. He wanted everyone to suffer as he was, he was overwhelmed with blackness and bitterness, regret and guilt in his heart. He wanted to see the universe burn, and destroy everything in existence. He sensed his soul becoming dark, knowing that he would find the Gods and curse them for what they had allowed to be done. He was determined to see if he, as a Legendary, could kill a God. Vegeta smirked arrogantly.

Of course he could.

I want to see it painted black, painted black.
Black as night, black as coal.
I want to see the sun blotted out from the sky.
I want to see it painted, painted, painted, painted black.

Vegeta flew off, fast and far away from the outskirts of West City, and headed to Capsule Corp. The storm blocked out the sun, but it was already evening and Vegeta's dark intentions began to take life. He decided he would start by traveling into space….away from the Earth and its people, which Bulma loved so much. He could not bare to stay there much longer, else he would destroy it first in his grief. He landed on Capsule Corp grounds, his heart constricted in pain as everything reminded him of Bulma. He saw a ship in the backyard, and was determined to take off in it, until something deep inside him was coaxing him to go inside the building to Bulma's bedroom. He did not want to, he fought off this instinctual calling to her quarters vehemently as he crossed the yard, but a supernatural force was telling him he could still pretend she was with him if he could just smell her scent one more time.

The door creaked open slightly, light from the hallway temporarily lighting up the dim, empty room. Tentatively, he stepped in, unsure of how to feel about what he was doing, until it hit him. Her bedroom was still saturated in her scent, which intoxicated him with temporary comfort. His tail began to swish back and forth slowly, somewhat contentedly. Unfortunately his comfort was harshly laced with reality, and something akin to despair was forming within him. Something provoked him to lie down on her bed, and he grabbed one of her pillows, breathing her scent in deeply. It elicited a content purr out of him. He closed his eyes and drowned himself in her essence, and for a few moments, pretended that she was still alive.

"Vegeta…what are you doing in my room?" Bulma's soft voice whispered to him. He thought he must have fallen asleep and was dreaming of her. The joy he had in being able to interact with her again, even in a dream, kept him wishing to remain asleep.

"Enjoying your scent, woman." he grumbled out, a bit annoyed he had to admit such a thing to her, even in a dream.

He heard her chuckle gently. "You Saiyans are weird ones, that's for sure." Bulma's soft voice tingled his ear.

"Don't mock me." Vegeta said irritably, eyes still closed.

He could hear the smirk in Bulma's voice. "Always so grumpy. I've missed you a lot, you know. Have you missed me?"

He frowned slightly, his eyebrows furrowed. "What kind of a question is that, woman? You should know the answer."

"Well seeing how you're in my room, on my bed, smelling my scent like a perv, I'm guessing you do." Bulma said smugly.

"I am not a perv!" Vegeta snapped, but then he inhaled deeply and let his breath out, his voice softening to purr. "But I do miss you. More than you know."

There was lightness to Bulma's voice, laced with some sort of happiness to it. "I love you too, Vegeta."

His breath hitched in his throat. To hear Bulma say those words, dream or not, was intimidating. "Who says I love you?"

"The word going around Otherworld is that after Frieza killed me, you turned Super Saiyan and you killed that bastard." Bulma's voice was full of arrogance and pride. Pride for him! "I knew you could do it! Plus killing that monster was a nice bonus."

"And that means I love you?" he asked quizzically, trying to swallow down a lump in his throat, hearing her talk about her death and his achievement so proudly made him feel almost proud about his accomplishment.

"Are you saying you don't?"

Vegeta sighed, and huskily responded. "My heart has always been yours, Bulma. Even when I didn't realize it." He felt a great weight taken off his shoulders momentarily, finally telling her what he felt for her, even if it was only a dream.

She sighed. "I've been watching you the last few days, and…"

"And you call me the perv!" Vegeta couldn't help but retaliate, and he chuckled slightly when she seemed to huff out airily at having the tables turned on her. He suddenly felt her presence close to him, her warmth nearby. He could almost feel her breath in his ear as she softly talked to him.

"I've always loved you Vegeta, only Kami knows why." she said with a playful smile that Vegeta could hear in her voice. He then heard her sigh sadly, and he felt his heart twist in regret. "But it's too late now, I can't be with you in your world….but you can be with me in mine someday. I know your intentions...I can feel them. Don't let them take over…don't become a monster. Someday you'll come home to me, Vegeta. And whether you like it or not, we'll be together forever." He felt the light touch of a kiss on his lips, which startled him awake.

Bitterly he opened his eyes and was greeted with emptiness.

If I look hard enough into the setting sun, my love will laugh with me before the morning comes.

Vegeta stood on Bulma's balcony the next evening, watching the Earth's sunset.

He took a deep breath and let it out. It was now or never. He closed her balcony doors and locked her bedroom door. Alone, he stood by the bedside, eyeing the syringe on the nightstand. All he had to do was charge up his energy enough to deliver himself a mortal wound, and then inject the special ki-blocking serum that Bulma had invented awhile ago, as a means to use against Frieza's henchmen. It would block someone's ki, and depending on how strong the person was, could either kill them or weaken them greatly. In Vegeta's case, it would stifle his ki enough to let the wound kill him.

Earlier that day he had Goku teleport him back to Vegetasei, where everyone left him at peace. He did have to bark at everyone in the lab to get out, so no one would know what he was up to. With the serum safely tucked away, he spent most of the day enjoying the beauty of his home planet, and said an odd farewell to his parents, telling them he had an important matter to attend to and that they wouldn't be seeing him for awhile.

Now, as he stood there contemplating taking his own life, he felt ashamed. It was not an honorable or glorious way to die, and knew he would be known as a coward…but they could never understand that without his mate, he was already dying. A lifetime without her was no life at all. Why would he wait for his inevitable death when he held the power to hasten it, and be with her in Otherworld tonight?

He knew the energy to charge a ki blast powerful enough to kill himself would be felt by Goku and the other Z Fighters. The energy spike would alert them to something going on, but he figured with the ki serum, he'd still die in time before anyone would try to stop him, or feed him one of those damned senzu beans! Like anyone would want to stop him anyway. No one really liked him, except for his rival Kakarrot, who he would now admit was the closest thing he had to a best friend.

Vegeta had no fear or doubt as he turned Super Saiyan and began charging a ki blast in his hand. His massive energy spike would alert Goku and the others more quickly, but the ki blast would be much more powerful while he was transformed. In the back of his mind, he felt Goku's ki flicker in interest. Vegeta hurriedly threw more power into his palm, to the point that the lights were flickering and the room seemed to be shaking. He felt Goku's ki spike up in more alarm, and knew he'd use that damned Instant Transmission any second to see what he was up to. Plus he felt the other Z Fighters' ki spike up in alarm now also…so without another second to lose, Vegeta placed his palm to his heart and shot the ball of energy though his chest.

The pain was agonizing, as his blood splashed around his immediate surroundings, pouring from his chest and began to pool on the floor around him. He quickly let go of his transformation and felt highly weakened, and as he grabbed the syringe to inject himself with the ki serum, Goku appeared before him. "What the….VEGETA!" he yelled out, seeing the Prince with a grave wound in his chest.

"Go away, Kakarrot." Vegeta rasped out as he injected the serum into his vein. Right away he felt his ki being drained away, as his blood continued to pour from his mortal wound. He dropped down to his knees, his breathing becoming labored, his body beginning to go into shock at the blunt trauma his heart was enduring, compounded by his blood loss and his life force being sapped away.

Goku was panicked and alarmed, but seeing how Vegeta was not trying to save himself, he felt he should try. "This isn't the way, Vegeta! C'mon, I'll get you a senzu bean!" he yelled out as he went to grab Vegeta and use his Instant Transmission technique to go to Korin's Lookout for a bean. Vegeta gave him a dark look and managed to swat away his hand.

"You'll do no such thing, Kakarrot!" he roared, losing strength fast. "I will die, and you will let me! As your Prince, you will obey me!" he mustered with all the authority that royalty entitled him with. Goku was taken back, horrified that Vegeta was desperate enough to do such a thing as kill himself. He was going to try to teleport Vegeta with him back to the Lookout again, but suddenly Vegeta opened up a telepathic link with Goku, flooding him with all the pain and grief and suffering he was enduring without his mate around. Goku shut his eyes forcefully, bringing his hands up to clutch his head, drowning in Vegeta's torment as it brought him to his knees. The breath was sucked out of Goku's lungs at the severity of emotion that Vegeta had allowed him to sample. And just as quickly, Vegeta closed the link, sealing off Goku from the torrent of his unspoken emotions. The energy to have done that took much of the remaining energy Vegeta had, and his breathing slowed down. His body was shutting down.

Goku opened his eyes, and distressed looked at Vegeta with understanding. He managed a hard swallow, he was fighting an internal battle, and his voice came out uncharacteristically calm after a moment of contemplation. "As you wish, your Highness." Vegeta managed a slight smirk…it was good to finally hear his rival address him the proper way for once. Goku placed two fingers to his forehead, and sighed. "Goodbye, my friend. Save me a spar in the afterlife." Vegeta nodded, and Goku teleported back to Chi Chi and Gohan to soon mourn his death.

Vegeta's vision began to darken as he looked down at himself, and at the pool of his own blood he was kneeling in. He managed, with the last of his strength, to pull himself up off the floor and collapse on Bulma's bed, taking a few last breaths…breaths that harbored his beloved blue-haired mates' scent.

"Come back to me, Bulma." Vegeta whispered as he closed his eyes and passed away from this world, hoping his blue-haired mate was waiting for him in the next.

If I look hard enough into the setting sun, my love will laugh with me before the morning comes.