A/N: OK, I've got to pick up the pace here. These one-shots are so short, there's absolutely no excuse for me only writing one like every month and a half. -_- And it's not like I don't have ideas either - I'm just so damn lazy, lol. Anyway, here's a nice summer-themed one for you! Set post-Cell.
At the Beach
As Bulma lay on her back atop her beach towel, she could feel her body soaking up the warmth of the sun, and she sighed contently. In her opinion, there was no better way to relax than this. The feel of the light coastal breeze brushing over her skin; the sound of the nearby waves crashing against the shore; the smell of the salty ocean water filling the air - yes, it was simply perfect. And to make things even better, she had found a very secluded spot, away from all of the crowds. She had been waiting so long for the opportunity to finally relax at the beach that she wanted to enjoy every minute of it.
"How long are we going to sit here?" came the gruff, irritated voice of the man beside her.
Bulma glared at him through her sunglasses. Now, she was wondering why she had insisted on bringing Vegeta with her in the first place.
"Vegeta, we're at the beach! You're supposed to just relax, which is what I'm doing. I'm trying to get a tan here!" she exclaimed.
Vegeta simply grunted in response. He wasn't good at relaxing! And why did she want him to come so badly if she was just going to ignore him?
As Vegeta silently yet angrily mused over these thoughts, Bulma closed her eyes again and tried to get back to her sunbathing when she felt a large pile of sand being dumped onto one of her legs. Immediately, she shot up to see none other than 5-year-old Trunks holding on to his now empty bucket and grinning mischievously. Now, she was wondering why she hadn't just come to the beach alone.
"Trunks, what are you doing?" she asked, trying not to sound too annoyed. She knew he was just playing, after all.
"I'm gonna bury you!" he replied excitedly, as if it was the best idea ever. She heard Vegeta trying to suppress a chuckle, and she shot him a glare.
"But I don't want to be buried," she explained. "Look, Trunks, Mommy's trying to relax so why don't you find something else to do? Maybe build a sandcastle?"
Trunks frowned but brought a finger to his chin while he contemplated her suggestion. He really wanted to bury someone in the sand, but he thought twice before trying that on his father, so he decided sandcastle-building was probably the way to go.
"Hmm, okay," he said as he turned and began filling up his bucket with sand again. Bulma, seeming satisfied, smiled and laid back down.
"Woman!" Vegeta exclaimed, no sooner than Bulma's head had touched the ground. "You insisted on me coming along with you and the boy, and for what? For me to just sit here? This is a waste of time."
Bulma sighed in annoyance. "You don't have to just sit here! Do whatever you want - although, I would appreciate it if you would just stay here at the beach. Go swimming in the ocean or something."
Swimming? He hadn't thought about that. Yes, that might work, at least then he'd be getting exercise. Without responding, he got up and walked out to the ocean. Bulma sat up and watched him for a moment as he waded into the water. Maybe she was being a bit selfish, after all... Her family had accompanied her on this little trip, and she was just ignoring them.
"Trunks," she said as she stood up and brushed some of the sand off of her, "I'm going to join Daddy in the ocean for a little bit, okay? You can just keep playing here if you want. We won't go far." Trunks only nodded in response seeming now very intent on his sandcastle project.
Bulma walked to the shoreline and stood for a moment letting the water wash over her feet. It was a bit a chilly, and she noticed some floating seaweed - needless to say, she was starting to second guess her decision.
"So, you've decided to stop being lazy for a change?" came Vegeta's teasing voice. She looked up to see that he was a little ways out, standing where the water was a little over waist-deep.
"Relaxing is not the same thing as being lazy, Vegeta! And you just seemed so desperate for my attention that I figured I'd better spend time with you before you threw a tantrum," she replied cooly with a smirk that rivaled his own.
"Ha! You wish, woman. Now, are you getting in or not?"
Bulma tested the waters once again by shuffling her feet closer to the shoreline. Nope, still cold. "Vegeta... it's cold!" she exclaimed as she dramatically wrapped her arms around herself.
"Oh, stop whining! Such a weakling," he replied knowingly. He knew that would strike a nerve.
Sure enough, she was fuming. "Just because I'm sensitive to temperatures doesn't mean I'm weak! Grr... That's it, I'm coming out there!" Before she could change her mind, she began storming into the water, hoping that the faster she moved the less cold it would be. She suddenly hated the fact that so much of her skin was uncovered; although, really, she doubted it would make a difference.
Finally, once Vegeta was in arm's reach, much to his surprise she immediately launched herself at him, grasping his arm and pulling herself as close to him as she could possibly get to get any warmth that she could.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, slightly exasperated by her behavior.
"Vegeta, this water is freezing!" she complained, backing away from him slightly to look up at his face.
Suddenly realizing her close proximity to him added with the fact that she was barely clothed, Vegeta couldn't resist his urge to briefly steal a glance at her chest. Upon looking, he noticed a tell-tale sign of how cold she was, and a smirk spread across his face. "I can see that."
Bulma's cheeks flushed a bit as she looked down, but then she delivered a hard smack to his shoulder. "It's not funny! I'm going back on the beach; I don't know why I came out here anyway," she huffed.
Vegeta wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to him. "You're not going anywhere." In an instant, he hoisted her up against him, gripping her thighs as she wrapped her pale legs around his waist. "Now you're barely in the water. Better?"
"Yeah," she said softly as she smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pressed her lips against his, attempting to kiss him softly at first, but of course, he reciprocated in a rough manner, feverishly moving his lips against hers. She didn't mind, though; she entangled her fingers in his thick hair and pressed her body even closer against him, feeling her own fire now burning inside of her. Forget what she had thought earlier; this was more like it. The slight waves rocking against them; the closeness of their bodies; the passion in this kiss - this was perfect.
"Uh, Mom! Don't you wanna see my sandcastle?"
Trunks. How could she forget about Trunks? Immediately, Bulma broke their kiss and turned to see her son standing on the shoreline. "Yeah, I'll be right there!"
She turned her attention back to Vegeta, and he saw the blush on her cheeks. "I can't believe I forgot he was even here... Thankfully, we didn't get too carried away. Anyway, let me down. Even though I don't want to get back in that cold-" Before she could even finish her sentence, Vegeta unceremoniously tossed her into the water. He couldn't force the grin off of his face as he watched her flail in the water for a moment, wiping the water out of her face as she stood back up. Oh, she was going to be pissed.
"VEGETA, YOU ASS!" she screamed.
He simply stood there, smug as ever, with his arms crossed over his chest. "Hey, I helped you out. Bet that water doesn't feel as cold now, does it?"
"That's not the point! I didn't want to get my hair wet!" But it was falling on deaf ears - Vegeta chuckled, then dove into the water swimming away from her. She let out an irritated growl and then stomped back to the beach. This trip to the beach was no longer perfect - not even close.
But, when she finally laid eyes on her son's small yet well-built sandcastle and his proud smiling face, she realized that, no, wet hair or not, this day was still perfect.
A/N: Wow, this came out longer than these usually do. I am such a slow writer; I literally spent quite a few hours writing this. I don't know; I just don't feel good about my writing while I'm writing. But then, I'll come back and read it a couple days later and really love it. :/ Anyway, I'm trying to push past this. Thanks for reading! Please review!
