Bulma was fuming, no she was outraged. "Yesterday, you said 5,000 credits!" she screamed as another bead of sweat slid down her back. It was high noon on the desert planet of Vegetasei, and it was swelteringly hot. Bulma wore a cropped tank top and her mechanic coveralls, half unzipped with the long sleeves tied around her slender waist. The Capsule Corporation logo printed proudly on both shoulders, not that it meant anything to anyone here.
"Well, today I'm saying 8,000 credits," the merchant sassed, a slimy, victorious smile playing at his mouth. Bulma used the back of her hand to swipe the loose hairs that escaped her ponytail away from her narrowing eyes. "Look here, mister. I really need this part but I'm only willing to pay the price you told me yesterday."
"That's too bad, someone came to me this morning also expressing interest in this very part, and so now the price has gone up. Its call supply and demand, honey," the merchant replied condescendingly. The blue haired mechanic growled, "I don't believe you!"
A smirk slid across the lips of a young Prince Vegeta as he observed the scene. The prince had ditched his diplomacy lessons and royal guard before he died of boredom. He wandered into the market of the capitol city of Vegetasei, in a cloak to hide his identity in search of his sparring partner, the strong — but third class — warrior, Kakarot. Then among a sea of faceless strangers, in a scene that seemed to only be colored in shades of brown and red he spotted this little blue firecracker.
He found himself amused that someone with such a low power level had that audacity to scream at this merchant the way that she did. He observed her for several moments longer than he intended. It wasn't uncommon for off worlders to take up residence in Vegetasei, but he had never seen one quite like this. She could almost pass as Saiyan if it weren't for her incredibly peculiar coloring.
"You're a fucking cheapskate!" the blue haired mechanic yelled, catching the attention of more than a few passersby. 'She even has the fiery spirit of a Saiyan,' Vegeta mused while he leaned inconspicuously against a nearby post with his arms crossed and continued to watch their exchange grow even more heated.
The merchant was growing more annoyed by the minute, he raised his hand to strike the insolent woman when his arm was caught in a brutal death grip. All three stood in silence for a moment in shock. Bulma's blue eyes were wide as she stared at her hooded hero with admiration, the merchant's eyes equally wide but conveying absolute fear, as he broke the silence with a whimper of pain.
Prince Vegeta stared at his own hand as he gripped the arm of the merchant, shocked by his own actions. He moved over there in a flash, acting on pure instinct when he saw this man was about to harm the girl. But why did he even care? He released his grip on the bothersome merchant, before he growled, "we're taking this part."
"Like I told the girl, its 8,000 credits," he replied, much more timid than before. Vegeta lunged at him and the merchant fearfully jumped back and fell onto his bottom. "Ok! Fine! Take it!" he said while quivering. Vegeta grabbed the part in question in one hand and the blue haired woman with the other and walked away from the stall.
Bulma was still trying to make sense of what just happened, before she realized this stranger was dragging her down the street. "I mean thanks, I guess," she mumbled, "but I had that situation completely under control." Vegeta paused and turned around to look at her incredulously. Is this girl even aware how weak she is? He decided not to validate her comment with a reply as he pulled her around the corner into a alley, away from the commotion of the marketplace.
They stood face to face and Bulma got her first good look at her hero. He remained quiet as her eyes took him in, noticing his muscular stature and piercing black eyes. "Ok, so you're totally nailing that whole 'I'm so mysterious and sexy' thing but why are you wearing that cloak when its hot as balls out here?" Bulma asked with a raised eyebrow.
Vegeta turned his head slightly to hide the blush that threatened his cheeks at her indirect compliment. Clearly she didn't recognize him which was good, but not totally surprising being that she was an off worlder. "What is this part for?" he asked in attempt to dodge her question.
"Oh, I'm building a ship." Vegeta looked down at the part curiously after her response. "A space ship," she clarified. "Where are you going?" he asked, surprising himself again with his curiosity about this woman.
"Um, I haven't decided yet. To be honest, I'm just trying to get off this hell hole," Bulma laughed. This made the prince frown. "What's wrong with Vegetasei?" he asked, unable to hide the offense in his voice, "I personally think its the best planet in this galaxy."
Bulma snorted a laugh before replying, "well let's see, its hotter than satan's ass crack, and the people here are elitist as fuck. I think that's reason enough." Ok, so she wasn't wrong, but still, how dare her!
"Ahh, a woman with a lot of opinions," he said with a smirk, deciding he would have a little fun with her, "tell me, what do you think of the royal family?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "The king seems like the rest of the elites, inflated sense of self, puts way too much weight on one's power level. The prince though," Bulma rolled her eyes as she spoke and Vegeta moved his hand to cover the smile that was tugging at his lips. "I've never met him, obviously, but I think he's a complete jackass, arguably a bully, and I can't imagine he's as hot as everyone says he is."
Vegeta thought he'd be offended to hear someone call him those things to his face, but the fact that she didn't know it was him just made it funny. "Wow, don't you think its pretty judgmental to say all those things about someone you don't even know?"
"Hah, we'll its not like I'll ever get the chance to know him, and I pray to Kami I'm off this planet before he's the king, so I don't think it really matters," Bulma replied as she looked back towards the marketplace.
"This was a fun chat and all, but I think I'll be on my way," she said reaching to grab the part from his hand. He pulled it away and looked her mischievously, "that'll be 10,000 credits," he said with a smirk. Bulma frowned, "you can't be serious."
"Sure I am, isn't this what a bully would do," Vegeta replied, clearly amused. Bulma stared at him confused, but before she could question him she was interrupted. "That's them!" a familiar voice called, the pair turned to find the merchant and six royal guards, "those are the thieves!"
The royal guards came barreling toward them, but before Bulma could react Vegeta had grabbed her and was running in the opposite direction. She barely avoided tripping over her own feet trying to keep up with her mystery man who was now saving her for the second time today.
He was pushing through the crowds and turning down random alleyways aiming to lose their pursuers. "I cannot get caught by them," Vegeta told Bulma. "Why?" she teased between heavy breaths, "are you some infamous criminal or something?" He didn't reply, making Bulma wonder if that was actually the case.
Vegeta made a sharp turn and quickly pulled Bulma into his grasp, one hand covering her mouth the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly against his chest in attempt to conceal both of them in a shadow.
Bulma could feel her heart drumming in her chest from a combination of their impromptu run and the oddly protective way this stranger held her against his body. With her back against his chest, Bulma realized for the time, that he was wearing armor. Who is this guy?
He was potentially very dangerous, his earlier show of strength combined with his urgent need to evade the guards was incredibly suspicious, but oddly enough, Bulma wasn't scared to be with him.
Bulma found herself unconsciously closing her eyes, pretending that she wasn't in serious danger, she allowed herself to enjoy his embrace for just a tiny, tiny second. With his strong arms wrapped around her, she felt safe, which was pretty weird considering she didn't even know this guy, but her inexplicable comfort around him felt so natural.
Bulma opened her eyes when she felt him tense, the half dozen royal guards scurried by without turning down the alley they were hiding in. She felt his body relaxed as the breath behind his sigh tickled the back of her neck. He released her and she stepped away from him before turning around to speak.
"Thanks, really, for earlier and for now. I didn't mean to get you in trouble over a part to my spaceship." At the mention of the part, Vegeta's eyes widened slightly as he began to feel his own body. Bulma quickly deduced what he was doing and started screaming, "you lost my part! What was the point of this whole damn thing if I didn't end up with it!?"
"Shut up and calm down!" he growled in a low voice. Bulma shoved him away, savior or not this guy is now just an idiot to her. "CALM DOWN?! I'm so fucking calm it hurts! I can't believe you so irresponsibly lost my—" her rant turned into mumbles as Vegeta grabbed her again and covered her mouth. He whispered in her ear, his tone very serious, "if you don't shut the fuck up, you're going to attract the guar—" before he could even finished his sentence three of the royal guards blocked the entrance of the alley.
Vegeta felt a little mumble from under his hand that he only could guess was the woman cursing. He let go of her and turned around ready to run, only to find another three guards at the other end of the alley. Bulma was right behind him, clutching the fabric of his cloak. "No part and we get caught, you're a shitty partner in crime," she whispered to him.
The prince couldn't help but laugh, this woman was such an enigma, but arguably the most interesting thing that's happened to him in awhile. The guards began closing in on them and two of them grabbed Bulma and dragged her away as she kicked and screamed. "You know what happens to thieves?" the guard asked in a menacing tone. Vegeta turned his head and saw the fear in Bulma's blue eyes, it upset him to a degree he didn't understand, but didn't question it as he resolved to protect her no matter the personal cost.
"Unhand her, right this instant!" Vegeta yelled at the guards. Bulma quit hollering, surprised by his commanding voice. The guards, too, must of been surprised because they stopped moving, then one of them started laughing, "who do you think you are, punk?"
With a flick, Vegeta dramatically ripped off his cloak revealing his identity, the guards shuddered, but Bulma didn't understand his theatrics until he spoke. "I think I'm Prince Vegeta and I told you to unhand that woman!" The two guards immediately released her and Bulma stumbled away.
"Our sincerest apologies, sire" said one of the guards as they all fell to one knee and placed their fists over their hearts. Bulma, the only once left standing, was staring at her mystery man in complete disbelief. Without his cloak, she could see that the armor he was wearing was imprinted with the royal crest and his hair swept up in the shape of a flame, just like that of the king.
Bulma was gawking at him, her mouth literally open as the guards remained submissive to their prince. She recalled all the things she had said about him. "I'm sorry, WHAT?"
Prince Vegeta wore an arrogant smirk on his face and only replied with a wink.
A/N: I intended for this just to be a one shot, but comment below if you'd like to see this story continue. Also, follow me on tumblr vegebulsoup. :)