Bulma waited at the bar. She couldn't spot Denim anywhere, and he was twenty minutes late. It was probably too good to be true - the longer Bulma waited, the more she wondered if she'd been stood up.
Ten minutes and two shots later, someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned around, expecting to see the young model of her dreams... But only saw disappointment.
"Hi, you're Lingerie33? You look amazing!" Denim asked. Denim was, for one, obviously wearing a toupé. Secondly, he was a lot older, shorter and pudgier than his profile pic seemed.
Oh, hell no.
"Hi. Um. You're Denim?" She said, and she couldn't help but screw her nose up a bit.
"Oh, uh... Yeah. Sorry, my profile pics are from a few years ago." He admitted sheepishly, "I used to model, but now I'm accountant."
Bulma needed a cigarette. She took out her vape. "So, how long have you been an account for?" She asked, taking a long drag.
"Oh, nearly fifteen years?" Denim shrugged, "Hey, are you Bulma Briefs? Your profile pics didn't have any faces, but I managed to do a search and it looks like some were taken near Capsule Corp."
Bulma didn't want to hear anymore. She was too hot to be talking to a guy who lied and then stalked her a little. "Okay, buddy, I'm gonna stop you right there." She said, holding her hand up, "Unless your salary is seven figures, I don't think this date should continue."
"Actually, I think 86k is a pretty modest-"
She didn't stick around. God, and it was only early, she didn't want to go home just yet! She left the bar and took her phone out. Surely someone could come out and go dancing. It was past the Son's bed time, so she couldn't call them... Whis only ever contacted her, not the other way around... Yamcha was still labelled 'Do Not Call'... She wondered...
The phone rang.
"Hello?" 18 answered, sounding more bored than tired, which was a good sign.
"Hi! Bulma here. You weren't asleep were you?"
"Ugh. No." 18 said, "I'm with my brother and his family. If you don't ever hear from me again, I've drunk the vegan kool-aid. Please avenge my death."
"...you don't wanna ditch them and come dancing?"
"Oh, fuck yeah, give me half an hour. You in West City?"
Bulma went to a food stall and grabbed something greasy to eat. She ignored looks as she stood in between clubs and ate dumplings, and she made a mental note to tell Whis about the place. Unless it was the tequila talking.
What would Whis be like on tequila?
18 landed next to her, a half drunk bottle of wine in hand. She looked amazing, even after flying a few hundred miles to get here.
"Remind me never to fly in a low cut dress. My tits kept popping out." 18 muttered as she adjusted said breasts into her sparkly pink number.
"Thanks for coming. I just had the worst almost date." She said as 18 handed over the bottle. She sipped from it and shivered, it was slushy from the cold troposphere.
"Date?" 18 looked up, pausing, "What happened to Vegeta?"
Bulma got a little bit of a thrill, licking her lips to hide a grin, "He's at home with the kids."
18's eyes widened, and she seemed to be working someone out. "Wait, are you guys polyamorous?" She asked, and she seemed more fascinated than shocked.
"If you wanna put a label on it, sure. We're trying something out." Bulma said, handing back the bottle.
The stony faced blonde broke out in a rare smile. "Okay, you just got ten times more cooler, Bulma Briefs. You have to tell me all about it."
Bulma laughed, "Drinks and dancing first. Then I'll dish out the details."
The two women proceeded to get sloppy drunk. Since money wasn't a problem, drinks were plentiful and expensive. They went to as many venues as they could get into, hanging off each other and bribing their way past bouncers.
Make-up upset and hairdos undone, they ended up in a karaoke room at 4am, just the two of them. Finally, Bulma was letting 18 in on the details.
"That's amazing." 18 said, having to lean on the table because she could barely keep her head up. "I wish Krillin was that adventurous. We just roleplay to keep things interesting." She said.
"Vegeta would never do that." Bulma said, lolling her head to the side, "What kind of roleplay?"
"Oh, you know... I'm a cop, and I arrest him... I'm a cheerleader and he's a coach... He's The Great Saiyaman..." 18 counted off on her fingers, "It's pretty lame, but it keeps things fun."
Bulma burst out laughing, "I'm sorry, I'm just... What? Great Saiyaman roleplay?" She said, wiping her eyes, smudging her makeup further.
"It works! We also have pretended to be strangers and meet at bars." 18 said, not offended at her laughter in the slightest.
"Oh. Oh, that's kinda hot. I'd do that." Bulma said, pouring more sake.
"Mm, yeah, and then we do it in a bathroom stall." 18 said with a look of nostalgia.
Bulma took a sip of sake, "We used to bang in the changing rooms to keep shopping interesting." She confessed, offering 18 a cup.
18 did the whole thing like a shot, "Before I got with Krillin, I used to fantasize about sleeping with girls." She said, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. Even completely wasted, she still looked gorgeous.
Now that was a confession. "Have you ever?" Bulma asked, fascinated.
"Nope. Didn't get a chance. Pretty much got with Krillin straight away." She said, a far off look on her face as she remembered. But she didn't want to unpack her past trauma, so she changed the subject, "Women are gorgeous. Even you, and you're like... Twice my age."
"Oh my god, I am not. I'm not even 50." Bulma whined, pushing at 18's shoulder playfully. 18 laughed.
"I'm pretty sure if I asked Krillin, he'd be the type to say 'lesbian sex isn't cheating'. But he'd probably want to watch." 18 said, giving Bulma a suggestive wink.
Bulma thought about it. 18 was beautiful, but she didn't think she'd enjoy sex with a woman. And she didn't want Krillin anywhere near her in a sexual setting. "Mm, pass. Although I did think of sleeping with Krillin once. But Gohan was there and it would have been risky. And weird."
"Man, you missed out." 18 pulled a face, but she wasn't uncomfortable, "Although I've wondered what Vegeta would be like in the sack."
Bulma grinned, "He's an animal. Would Krillin let you fuck him?"
"Pfft. Nah. Not without being involved in some way. And then he'd get weird and clingy. Krillin, not Vegeta." 18 clarified, but then thought of something. "Okay, so you got all these dates lined up, what's Vegeta gonna do? Or who."
Bulma shrugged, "You know what? He's been pretty adamant that he doesn't wanna sleep with anyone else. But I'm pretty sure he's got a crush on Goku."
"No shit. Goku's gorgeous. Everyone should have a crush on Goku." 18 said, "What about you?"
"Hmm..." Bulma played with the rim of her sake cup. "I dunno. I mean, he's hot, you'd have to be blind not to notice that. I always thought he was cute, especially when he grew up. But he was off limits. And I love Chi-Chi like a sister. I don't wanna fuck anything up for her."
"Bulma..." 18 said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You're so cool. I'm glad you invited me out."
"Aww, thanks 18. You're really cool too." Bulma said, and then chuckled, "Okay. One last drink because I'm really drunk. And then we should go home."
18 grabbed the sake bottle. "To good friends and good sex." She toasted.
"Amen, sister."
Bulma and 18, heels off, snuck into Capsule Corp, giggling and shushing each other. It wasn't like her dad or Vegeta was going to tell them off for coming home before dawn, she was a grown woman who could do what she pleased.
She set 18 up in a spare room, where the android passed out. She made sure she knew where the ensuite bathroom was, just in case she needed to throw up at some point.
Bulma needed some water and something to eat before bed, so she went to the living area. The television was on, volume low enough for both Vegeta and Bulla to sleep peacefully, passed out on the couch. The sight of them together made her heart swell.
"You're home late." Vegeta opened an eye.
"Sorry..." She whispered, "Can you put Bulla to bed?"
"Fine." He said, sitting up slowly. He sniffed the air between them, "You're drunk."
"Yeah. I'm gonna take the morning off." She said, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, inspecting available leftovers. Ugh. There was nothing she wanted.
"Fair enough. How was your date?"
Bulma obviously had made a face, because Vegeta smirked knowingly. "Can we talk about it in the morning? I'm so tired." She said, and then yawned on cue.
Bulla stirred in his arms, and they both froze. She settled again, and her parents decided it was best to put her to bed before they continued this conversation.
By the time Vegeta joined Bulma in the bedroom, she was snoring. Vegeta put her water bottle within reach and made sure there was a bucket next to the bed, just in case. She'd managed to unzip her dress and take her bra off, a commendable feat in this state. He pulled the blankets up around her neck.
Even if his wife stank like a brewery and looked like she had stumbled home backwards through a bush, he looked at her with the same amount of fondness and love he had always felt for her.
...He was still gonna give her shit in the morning.