A/N: This little one-shot was thought up after a rather (Clears throat) eventful trip to the American Girl Doll store. I have a little cousin, don't you judge me. Enjoy and review, but no flames.
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, Akira Toriyama does.
...
Vegeta continuously growled and clenched his teeth as he was shoved again and again by the sea of little girls in the store. Bulla had pleaded for a doll and Bulma had insisted that they go to the blasted store and buy their daughter one.
The Saiyan prince kept his temper at bay by entertaining himself with the thought of incinerating every doll, outfit, and piece of furniture in the store and how much all of the spoiled brats would be screaming and crying over the charred rubble that had once been a multitude of playthings. He couldn't help but snicker at the thought of the horrified parents having to promise ice cream, candy, and a number of other things in order to placate the little imps.
"Oh no, what if Bulla wants one that looks like her?" Bulma bit her lip. "They don't sell blue-haired dolls."
"Mommy, I want this one!" Bulla held up a large box. Inside was a doll with shoulder-length layered blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes.
"That was close," Bulma sighed with relief as Bulla handed the box to Vegeta. "Maybe Bulla's not into that."
The four-year-old then ran back and retrieved another doll. This one had black hair, slightly tanned skin, and dark eyes.
"Can I have this one too?" she asked, holding up the doll.
"One more wouldn't hurt," Bulma smiled.
Bulla turned and handed the box to her father before running off again.
"Woman, she's got two," Vegeta glared at his wife. "That's more than enough."
The azure-haired heiress said nothing.
"Hi!"
The blue-haired mother of two turned to see Chi-Chi and Videl, along with Videl's three-year-old daughter, Pan.
"Chi-Chi, Videl, hi," Bulma greeted. "What are you doing here?"
"We're here to buy Pan a doll," Videl answered. "A girl at her preschool brought one in the other day and it's all Pan's talked about."
"I told her if she gives in now, before you know it Pan will want something else," Chi-Chi sighed.
"It's just a doll, Chi-Chi," Bulma replied.
"Yeah, but where does it stop?" Chi-Chi frowned. "Before long, she'll be wanting a number of outfits for it, furniture for it, and who knows how long she'll be interested in it? What if you buy it and then it just sits on a shelf? You'll have wasted that money for absolutely nothing. You will have invested a hundred dollars or more for a DUST CATCHER!"
"Chi-Chi, it's just one doll," Videl said. "Besides, Bulla's kind of rubbing it in her face."
The black-haired daughter of Hercule nodded toward the blue-haired toddler, who had now added a green-eyed doll with curly auburn hair to the two already sitting in her father's arms.
"Alright, Bulla, three is more than enough," Vegeta grumbled.
"Okay," Bulla chirped.
'Why didn't I say that TWO DOLLS AGO?' The flame-haired Saiyan asked himself.
"That spoiled, entitled, little rich br-" Chi-Chi immediately silenced herself when she caught sight of the murderous look in Vegeta's eyes.
"Mommy, I found the one I wanted!" Pan squealed, holding up a doll with dark eyes and short black hair and bangs. "Look! She looks just like me!"
"Oh that's wonderful, sweetie," Videl smiled.
"She's got you now," Chi-Chi whispered. "She's going to start wanting more and before you know it she'll want outfits, shoes, accessories, and of course the furniture and the next you know, you'll be paying an arm and a leg for things that you could've spent on more practical things like food or educational materials."
"Chi-Chi, she's three," Videl said.
"I know, she's going to be so far behind," the Ox-Princess sighed heavily. "By this time Gohan was already doing multiplication...and long division."
Videl said nothing, but gave her mother-in-law a funny look.
"Well, now that I've picked out my dolls," Bulla began.
"We can leave," Vegeta finished for her.
The little girl shook her head.
"Not yet, I have to pick out their outfits," she said.
"And I suppose they'll need matching shoes and accessories too," Vegeta stated sarcastically.
"You're right...great idea, Daddy!" Bulla grinned before running off.
The Saiyan would have facepalmed had he not been loaded down by the damn dolls.
"You see," Chi-Chi smirked. "This is a perfect example."
"Chi-Chi, Pan only picked out the one," Videl pointed out. "That's all she wanted."
"Well there's maybe there's hope for her," the older brunette sighed with relief.
Videl rolled her eyes in reply.
"Don't do that in front of Pan. I will not have my granddaughter learning such disrespectful behavior," the mother of Gohan and Goten sniffed.
...
When the time finally came for them to leave, Vegeta was absolutely livid. Not only was he being forced to carry three dolls, but also an assortment of outfits, shoes, and accessories for all of them.
"Look, Daddy! Look, Mommy!" Bulla called out as she ran to her parents, a number of clothing items in her arms. "I found outfits for me too so I can match my dolls!"
"That's adorable, honey," Bulma couldn't help but smile.
"Absolutely fantastic," Vegeta glared at the clothing. "Let me guess, I'll be carrying those too."
"Thank you for offering, Daddy," the child handed the load off to the prince before going over to Pan to tell her about her new dolls.
"I blame you for this, Woman," Vegeta growled, turning to Bulma, a look of fury on his face.
"And how exactly is this my fault?" the aquamarine-haired daughter of Dr. Brief demanded.
"You were the one who took her on that damned shopping trip," her husband growled.
"How was I supposed to know that one little shopping trip to 5th Avenue would-"
"Get her hooked," he finished for her. "And knowing you a 'little' shopping trip usually means when you've finished, the store has to close until they get a chance to restock their inventory."
"I am not that bad," Bulma protested.
"You're right," Vegeta agreed. "You're worse."
"VEGETA!"
...
After Bulla and her parents finally paid for everything and left, it was Pan's turn.
"See, Chi-Chi?" Videl couldn't help but smirk. "All this time, Pan's only been worried about that one doll. She hasn't once asked for anything else."
"Mommy, I just saw this outfit and it would go great on my doll," Pan said holding up a red t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and black sneakers. "I've got an outfit just like it at home."
"What did I tell you?" Chi-Chi warned. "I told you this would happen."
"Now, sweetie-" Videl began.
"I knew you'd say yes," Pan hugged her mother's waist. "I love you, mommy."
"She's trying to guilt you into it," Chi-Chi whispered. "Don't fall for it."
"That's all I want," Pan said.
"See, Chi-Chi?" Videl said. "One doll and one outfit. How bad could it be?"
...
"$115?" Videl's eyes widened. "No, that can't be right."
"I knew it!" her mother-in-law exclaimed. "I knew those dolls were expensive!"
"That's for everything though," Videl told her before turning back to the cashier. "Right? The doll, the extra outfit."
"No," the cashier answered. "Just the doll. The total with the outfit $152.79."
Videl said nothing as she reached into her purse and pulled out two one-hundred dollar bills.
The cashier smiled and reached to take the money, only to find the wife of Gohan still gripping it between her two fingers.
"Ma'am, please let go of the bills," the cashier said politely. "Do you want the doll or not?"
"Not really," Videl murmured under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Videl said nothing more as the cashier took her money and bagged up Pan's doll.
...
As they exited the building, Pan stopped and looked back.
"Can we come back again on my birthday next week?" she asked.
...
...
I hope everyone enjoyed that. Feel free to leave reviews.