A/n: R/R, enjoy!
Warning(s): AL, AC
Disclaimer: don't own anything!
My Fair Woman
"Hello?" Bulma answered her office phone
"Bulma?" a male voice came from the other end of the phone line. Bulma's heart skipped a beat
"Yamucha" she held her breath "what's up?" she asked immediately. Yamucha breathe out
"Not much really. I left you a message with Sienna yesterday"
"I know. She gave it to me" Bulma said "I'm sorry. Things have been hectic around here. I haven't had time to call you back" she explained
"I understand" he sighed out "so how things are going?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders
"They're ok. I have a lot of work to do. We got done with inventory a couple of hours ago and I've been faxing the final numbers since" she said. Yamucha nodded
"I see" he said. An awkward silence suddenly hit the conversation
"Did you…call me for any particular reason?" Bulma broke the silence
"Yeah!" he replied quickly "I uh…I wanted to know if you were going to Chichi's tonight" he asked. Bulma nod
"Yes. I am" she said. Yamucha half-smiled
"Good. I'm glad you're going. It'll be good to see you again, Bulma" he said. Bulma breathed profoundly
"It'll be good to see you too…"
Preparing for the Big Fiesta
"NO! I ordered twenty four ounces of chicken! Not twelve! Not sixteen! Twenty-four!" Chichi was yelling on the phone. She had ordered some chicken in order to complete the fabulous dinner for her party. The restaurant from where she ordered, however, had messed up the order only bringing half of what amount she had ordained. Goku sat on a chair in front of her somewhat frightened. He was fearless of absolutely everything but an angry Chichi
"You're damn right you're bringing the other twelve ounces here! And I will not pay for that either!" she yelled again. The people apologized agreeing with her
"I need it before seven o'clock. You can forget it otherwise!" she yelled one last time hanging up the phone. Goku swallowed hard
"Are…they…coming?" he asked shaky. Chichi breathed profoundly in a an attempt to calm herself down
"Yes" she responded in a much nicer tone "they are coming" she informed. 18 walked up to Chichi
"Hey where do you want me to put these?" she asked referring to a couple of white, blue and yellow balloons that had just arrived. Chichi sighed
"The front porch please" she said pressing her temples with her index fingers. 18 nod apprehensive
"O-key-doke" she walked past them. Goku rest his hands on her thighs
"Calm down Chichi. I'm sure they'll be here on time" he said. Chichi looked into his eyes
"They took forever with half the order. I wouldn't be so sure" she said. Goku stood up from his chair walking in between her legs. He cupped her face in his hands leaning down and kissing her forehead
"I'll go to the restaurant and pick up the order" he proposed. Chichi furrowed her brows in doubt
"Will you be back on time?" she asked. Goku grinned
"Sure!" he assured merrily. Chichi smiled
"Thank you" she stood from her chair kissing his lips
"Be careful ok...?"
Preparing – Capsule Corporation
"I'm going to be late" Bulma spoke to herself as she walked around her room anxiously adding the final touches to her outfit. The blue-haired woman was dressed in a white tube dress the loose skirt cutting off an inch or two above her knee. She combined the dress with a pair of short white wedge sandals the strings of the sandals tying high up her ankle. Her beautiful blue hair was down the big waves reaching her mid back freely and beautifully. Her make-up was impeccable; natural yet glimmering and stunning going accordingly with the color of her dress
"A couple sprays of this" she picked up her 'Lolita Lempicka' perfume and sprayed some on her chest, the back of her neck and her wrist rubbing both wrists together afterwards
"And the necklace" she grabbed her toggle heart necklace made out of white gold and put it around her neck looking at herself in the mirror right away
"I'm outta here" she smiled, picking up her purse with her cell phone and her car keys in it and walking out the door hurriedly…
Preparing – Vegeta's Place
"We're late. Kakarot's witch will chew our asses off" Vegeta complained angrily taking a seat on his bed with his arms crossed on his chest. He was dressed already in a simple white t-shirt and a full zip black Armani jacket on top of the shirt combined with a pair of nice black pinstripe dress pants and his usual elegant black shoes. Raditz had already chosen a pair of khaki dress pants to go to the party with. He was only missing a shirt and some shoes which he couldn't choose without knowing what color of shirt he was going to wear. The tall male kept going from top to top looking in the mirror for what seemed like hours to see if the combination looked right
"Hang on man. I gotta look halfway decent" he said "there's gonna be single women at this party" he said. Vegeta raised a brow
"And what do I care? It's the high-pitched bitching that concerns me" he said. Raditz smirked
"Come on. She ain't that bad" he said. Vegeta scoffed
"Wanna bet?" he asked. Raditz shrugged his shoulders silent. Vegeta looked away irate
"You're worse than a woman trying on clothes" he murmured under his breath. Raditz heard the comment yet decided to ignore it looking back to the mirror and examining how the black knit shirt he had just put on looked with his khaki pants
"I heard Bulma was coming" he commented. Vegeta frowned hard
"She is?" he asked somewhat surprised but definitely not amused. Raditz nod
"Yep she is" he held his breath waiting for Vegeta to react. Vegeta did nothing. He decided to continue
"She looks good" he said. Vegeta grunted. There were two people from the 'guy's circle of trust' that knew about him and Bulma. That was Goku and Raditz; the only ones he trusted in matters of the heart
"I didn't ask" Vegeta said arrogantly. Raditz shrugged his shoulders
"I know. I just thought I'd let you know. Just in case-"
"Just in case what?" Vegeta's patience began to run thin. Raditz turned to him with a careless expression
"Just in case… you know… she didn't marry Yamucha after all. Did I ever tell you that-?"
"Why is that my problem?" Vegeta stood from his bed furious. Raditz smirked
"Nothing. I'm just saying. I'm ready, by the way-"
"Then let's go" Vegeta ordered grabbing his keys from his coffer and walking past him and out the door. Raditz raised a brow smirking
"Sure…"
The Party
Everyone but Vegeta, Raditz and Bulma had arrived. The party wasn't enormous or full of drinks and food; there wasn't loud music playing or a bunch of people that didn't really know each other. It was more of a classy get together; a nicely set terrace to gather around and talk, a nice candlelight dinner, a few trustworthy friends, a good couple of red wine bottles, some scrumptious dessert treats and some laidback music playing on the background. The environment was cool and calmed.
Chichi walked outside with the last couple of candles on hand ready to set them on the big table prepared outside
"Where's Bulma?" she asked Goku as he almost walked past her directed towards the house. The pair faced each other
"I don't know" he said. Chichi tsked
"Has she called?" she asked. Goku shook his head. Chichi looked to the ground
"Vegeta and Raditz haven't called either" Goku informed. Chichi breathe out defeated
"Where can they possibly be…?"
……
Bulma parked her silver latest edition Lexus in front of Chichi's house. She turned the engine off leaning towards the wheel to look at the entire house clearly
"I think this is it" she whispered to herself grabbing the sheet of paper in which she had written their new address on. She read the directions again turning to the house
"Yep" she smiled opening the door "this is it" she stepped out overlooking at the house one more time before entering. It wasn't a Beverly Hills mansion but it was a vast improvement from their old 439 East District home. It was a two floor, small in width but tall in height, mini-mansion with a big garage, huge brown Victorian windows everywhere and a beautiful garden decoration. There was a big wood Victorian door at the entrance; the front porch was made out of fine hardwood floor and the whole house was painted in very elegant neutral colors. She widened her eyes
"Wow. Go Chichi and Goku" she cheered. A black, also latest edition, BMW convertible pulled up behind her. She would've been able to see who was driving it if it wasn't for the car's bright lights blinding her from any sight at all. The male turned off the engine pulling his car door open
"See? We're here" he said. Bulma recognized the voice all too well "now let's go" he ordered shutting the door closed
"Well if it isn't Vegeta Ouji" Bulma remarked loud enough for him to hear. Vegeta looked up with his usual cold frame yet remained silent. Raditz stepped out of the car now closing the door behind him
"That was some crazy driving. I'm never letting you take the wheel again--oh" he stopped talking when he saw Bulma. Bulma half-smiled at him
"Hello Raditz" she greeted. Raditz nod at her in salute
"Hey Bulma I uh-I'm gonna go…inside…now…and uh….yeah, you guys take your time… um…just catch up with us later…sometime……in…the…evening I'm gonna go" he said walking swiftly past Bulma and disappearing through the entrance of the house. Bulma turned to Vegeta giving him a death glare
"So you made it" she said in a very sardonic tone. He narrowed his eyes at her
"Why wouldn't I?" he asked. Bulma smirked shrugging her shoulders
"I don't know. I thought royalty only came when the red carpet was laid out your asshole-ness" she vowed momentarily in mockery. Vegeta frowned hard
"I didn't come to hear you bitch all night. Kakarot's woman will surely be on top of that" he smirked "too bad" he said with his deep voice. Bulma raised her brows arrogantly
"Fine" she started snobbishly "since that's all I will do anyway we just won't speak to each other for the rest of the evening" she proposed "I'm sure it won't be that hard" she turned her back on him
"Really?" she heard him speak behind her "and here I thought you'd want to sit and chat it out" he said with a strong sense of sarcasm. She frowned turning back to him but just as she turned the door to the house became open
"Bulma, Vegeta" it was Chichi they both figured rather quickly "are you gonna come in or what? We're waiting for you" she called. Bulma turned back around calmly forcing a smile on her lips
"Hey Chichi" she greeted walking towards the house. Vegeta stood still for a second eyeing her from head to toe. She was breathtaking. He shook his head attempting to compose himself. She had turned out to be far more attractive than in her work clothes. He tsked angrily pushing the thought to the back of his head. She was naught but a waste of his time; a distraction if he wished to put a label on it. She could look as gorgeous as she wanted but the fact still remained she was a heinous bitch. He saw nothing he wanted…yet…
"Hello? We're waiting for you!" Chichi yelled. Vegeta grunted cursing under his breath as he walked towards the house, ready to join the rest of the group…
Dinner Is Served
"The food looks amazing Chichi" 18 complimented loudly as they all sat on the table sharing a few words and laughs before dinner. Goku sat on one of the big ends of the table. On the line to his left, Chichi occupied the first seat. Tien sat across from Chichi while Yamucha sat next to her. Marron sat across Yamucha with Krillin seating next to her. 18 sat across from Krillin with Bulma right next to her. Vegeta sat across from Bulma with Raditz by his side. Piccolo sat across from Raditz the last two seats left unoccupied for 17 and wife Neo who still hadn't showed up. Chichi smiled at the flattering remark
"Why thank you!" she said proudly standing from her chair with a glass of red wine on hand
"Just a couple of words before we begin to eat" she said loudly. The chattering settled down in order to hear Chichi talk. She smiled kindly
"Thank you. I want to formally welcome you all to our new home" she said looking at Goku and mouthing the words 'get up.' The crowd giggled some as Goku stood aside her with a deeply confused frame. Chichi continued
"It was hard to leave our old home" she caressed Goku's back gently "we were very used to it and now it's like we're starting from scratch. It's been crazy these past two months with the coffee shop going past closing hours and the whole moving process. Getting married was not hard at all. Keeping your shit together? Now that's a whole different story" she said enticing laughter from the people present. She looked at Goku with a sweet smile
"But I could've never found a better man for that" she leaned into his chest. He looked down at her with a smile embracing his broad arm around her shoulder
"I want to thank you all for coming, again, in case I haven't told you already. I hope you like the food and the dessert. Help yourself to some wine, please. We have enough for everyone to have at least ten glasses" she giggled along with the crowd "you're welcome to come by here anytime you want or need. Without further a due…let's eat!" she announced. A small number of applauses followed her little speech ending as soon as the food began to circulate around the table. Dinner was soon served and the group ate without further interruptions…
……
"Can you pass the salt?" Vegeta addressed Bulma. Bulma continued eating as if no one had talked. He stared at her with an evil frame
"Bulma would you mind passing the salt?" Piccolo spoke now. Bulma looked up with a smile
"Oh sure Piccolo here you go" she said grabbing the small container and passing it down to Piccolo. Vegeta grunted
"I asked for it first!" he raised his voice at Bulma. Piccolo looked at Vegeta
"She heard me first Vegeta" he said. Vegeta looked at Piccolo
"Stay out of it green freak. I said pass the salt-"
"Don't get me started!" Bulma raised her voice back at him. Everyone on the table stopped eating looking down at the argument on hand
"…and I didn't hear you-"
"Bullshit! You knew I was talking to you-"
"Oh please! Bite me-"
"Uhh…guys?" Goku called nervously. They turned to Goku in unison
"What?" they said. Goku chuckled nervous
"Can you keep it down a little? We're trying to have a good time here" he said
"Exactly" Bulma turned to Vegeta "did you hear that-"
"Speak to yourself-"
"Asshole-"
"Bitch-"
"Alright" Raditz spoke now "here's what we're gonna do. I will switch seats with Vegeta OR you" he signaled Piccolo "will be switch seats with Bulma. Which one is it gonna be?" he asked. Piccolo looked at Bulma
"I'll do it" he offered. Bulma sighed out
"Thank you" she said the pair standing up at the same time Piccolo sliding over while Bulma walked around him and sat on his earlier seat
"Are we good now?" Raditz asked. Bulma smirked
"Much better" she narrowed her eyes at Vegeta. Vegeta narrowed his eyes right back at her continuing to eat his dinner. Chichi eyed 18 with an expression that clearly read 'this was a bad idea.' 18 shrugged her shoulders unsure. The dinner continued in peace a few laughs here and there but no other words shared between Bulma and Vegeta…
After Dinner
Bulma sat by the pool of the house quietly drinking from her glass of wine. The pool was settled a couple of feet away from the terrace and she needed to breathe…really breathe. She didn't know why but Vegeta just couldn't stop being an attractive man to her. His strong compact body and the way he talked and carried himself so prideful and cavalier; he was truly a charming man. She sighed gloomily going back to what to what they had been. How could it all come down to this? They were a one-of-a-kind couple; nobody really understood what went on inside his head more than she did. And then it happened; he didn't want her anymore. He had replaced his devotion to her for a never-ending desire to achieve, to succeed, to not only be better than most but be best than all.
Achievement became the one and only thing he wanted. It blinded him; it clogged his head; he wanted it so bad that he was determined to put everything aside in order to get it. She tried to understand him even when he pushed her away she stood strong like a rock. The more she tried to be there for him, however, the less he wanted to be with her. Eventually the time came when she could stay no more. She valued her life and her future greatly. Staying with him meant leaving everything she wanted to succumb to him. She was more than a woman to ever consider that--
"You ok?" Bulma jumped at the sound of the male voice. The man smiled taking a close seat beside her by the pool sipping from his own glass of wine
"You scared me Yamucha" she said in a soft tone. Yamcha sighed
"I'm sorry about that" he said kindly. She shrugged her shoulders
"You're fine. What have you been up to these days?" she beat him to the question. Yamucha drank the last of his red wine
"I've been working a lot. You were right about corporate. It is a lot of work with not enough time to sleep" he said. Bulma eyed him sympathetically
"I'm sorry" she said. Yamcha tsked
"Don't be. Just because it's hard doesn't mean I hate it" he said
"So you like it then?" she asked. Yamucha snapped
"I love it! It's great! I have my own office at the top of the building and I'm in charge of all of the financial processes within the company. A lot of people depend on me" he said. Bulma raised her brows
"Well finally got what you wanted then" she said. Yamcha stared at her
"You're upset" he said. Bulma breathe out
"I'm not upset Yamucha. It's been almost a year since we broke up. What you do with your life isn't too much of my concern anymore" she said. Yamcha swallowed. The comment had sting she could tell by the pain his eyes expressed
"It's been hard without you Bulma" he confessed. She looked down at her feet
"It's been hard without you too. But we can't keep trying to make it work. We know it's not going to-"
"I can change-"
"No. You can't" she cut off "and even if you could I wouldn't want you to. You're a great man Yamucha" she looked into his eyes "just not for me" she said in a low tone. Yamucha looked to the ground. He breathed profoundly
"Well that about sums it up then" he said
"Yeah. It does" she added letting her head rest on his shoulder "we can always be friends you know?" she suggested. He smiled
"I don't think I'd mind that at all…"
……
"Vegeta. What's going on, man?" Goku ran into the shorter male who was thoughtfully staring at one of the paintings hung in their living room. Vegeta shook his head wordless hoping Goku would get the hint: he didn't want to be disturbed. Goku joined him in the art watching
"It's a good painting isn't it?" he tried to start a conversation knowing that Vegeta was a man of very few words
"What's it called?" he asked. Goku thought for a second
"Uh…I think it's a Picasso" he said. Vegeta nod once not another word said. Goku looked to the side and out the window. He could see Bulma seating by the pool in complete solitude now. He turned to Vegeta
"So" he started "Bulma's outside" he informed. Vegeta turned to him with an angry frown
"So?" he asked irate
"So she's by herself" Goku further informed. Vegeta frowned harder
"What do I care?" he said. Goku sighed turning back to the picture
"I don't know man. If you ask me I'd rather look at Bulma. She looks a hell-of-a-lot better than the woman in the painting" he said. Vegeta raised a brow
"It's art idiot. You're looking at rare color permutation not the woman's face" he said annoyed. Goku shrugged his shoulders careless
"Sure. I still rather look at her though" he stated. Vegeta grunted moving to the side and looking out the window as well. Goku was right; she was a better picture to look at. She looked like a perfect angel illuminating the low light area with the bright colors of her dress and her hair. He stared pensive
"You should go talk to her" Goku spoke "now's your chance" he added. Vegeta grunted angrily
"Listen! I will not-"
"Goku honey" Chichi interrupted joining the scene "there you are" she smiled "some of the guests are starting to leave. We need to say good-bye" she said reaching her hand out to him. Goku entangled their hands together walking past Vegeta
"Good luck" he said disappearing through the small crowd. Vegeta looked back at the painting unable to keep his eyes on it. He wanted to look out the window. He wanted to admire her beauty. Kakarot's idea went in circles inside his head yet his pride kept getting in the way. He grunted to himself. When did initiating conversation with the woman become a tough process for him?
……
Bulma drank the last of her wine staring at the sky in complete silence admiring the stars. She breathed profoundly. Never had she seen a sky so clear. It was beautiful; little white sparkles that adorned the wide and dark space. She placed the glass on the floor a pair of dark shoes stopping right in front of it. She looked up immediately
"You" she said "what do you want? You don't strike me as the kind of guy that wants to fix things" she said snobbishly. He took a seat besides her
"I'm not" he assured. Bulma stared
"Then why are you here?" she asked. He frowned
"Do you have a problem with it?" he asked annoyed. Bulma breathed out
"Other than the obvious communication difficulties between us and the earlier agreement, there aren't any objections" she said. He breathed profoundly the conversation hitting an awful silence slump
"You could've called you know" Bulma began to speak. He looked to the ground
"What for?" he asked
"To let me know you were leaving" she said with a sad tone
"We weren't together anymore. Me leaving would've been of no interest to you" he stated clearly. Bulma looked to the ground now
"You're right. You leaving would have been of no interest to me at all back then" she looked at him "but I still would've appreciated you telling me instead of having to find out through Goku" she critiqued
"You found out didn't you?" he asked
"After you were more than three thousand miles away from here, yes!" Bulma argued. Vegeta held his silence in anger. Women. He couldn't understand them for the life of him
"Why did you leave anyway?" Bulma asked skipping through topics. Vegeta shrugged his shoulders
"Staying would've made no difference. I had nothing left here" he said. Bulma raised a brow
"You're sure about that-?"
"No doubt about it" he assured. She frowned
"You had me" she said in angrily. He looked at her but Bulma cut him off before he could ever speak
"All this time I wondered if you had thought of me when you made your decision to leave. You know what made me feel better? Thinking that you actually had. It made me think higher of you than just a coward and it made me feel valuable, it made me feel like you deserved everything I did for you instead of thinking that I was just an easy chick you picked and fucked" she shook her head in disbelief "truth is you weren't worth it. You weren't worth my time" she confessed speaking every word as cold as the other. Vegeta swallowed thinking carefully of what to say in response. Bulma stood from the seat ready to walk away
"I'm done with this conversation" she said taking a few steps. Vegeta stood from the seat pulling from her hand to make her turn to him. She frowned at him opening her mouth to speak but he cupped her face with one hand placing his thumb over her lips to stop her from doing so
"Leaving had nothing to do with you woman" he walked closer to her his eyes playing with her lips as he held her face in his hand. She breathed on his lips shyly
"Don't" she whispered. He looked into her eyes. Once bright and full of life her eyes had turned opaque. They were lacking her sweetness and compassion, her kindness. For someone so alive it seemed impossible to believe. All these years he had been so determined to forget what had happened between them, he had become obsessed with working hard to achieve everything he wanted, he had dedicated to take his dreams into higher grounds. But at what cost? Was everything he gave her up for worth looking into her eyes and have her look at him like she had died inside?
"I'm done with the crying, the talking, the getting-over-you" Bulma pulled away from his weak embrace "this part you deal your own. You need to figure it out…"
End of Ch. 2 – Ok, kind of like a cliffhanger, sorry! R/R please, hope you enjoyed and wait up for chapter 3 coming up…
PL