Chapter 4
Vegeta woke up the next morning to the smell of breakfast wafting into his bedroom. His stomach growled and he rolled over, expecting to feel Justice beside him, but he was nowhere to be found. He'd slept with the door open, just in case anything happened and he would hopefully hear it.
Grumbling, he got out of bed, putting on a pair of black loose pants and a grey t shirt before venturing out into the main area. He frowned at the scene in front of him.
Bulma was in the kitchen at the stove with her hair piled up on top of her head in a very messy bun, wearing a crop top and very short cotton shorts that didn't even cover the bottom of her ass. Justice was sitting dutifully beside her, waiting for her to either give him something or drop something on the floor.
"Please do not feed the dog," he said.
"Well good morning to you too!" She said, turning slightly to look at him over her shoulder. She looked absolutely adorable despite her dishevelled appearance and he opted to look away. "I wasn't,"
He rolled his eyes at her as he took a seat on one of the bar stools at the island, knowing she was lying, but didn't challenge her on it. In all fairness, he hadn't told her not to feed Justice, so he would give her a free pass on it this time.
"Would you like some coffee? Or I have orange juice too, or would you like both?" She asked, making an effort to not stare at him. How was it he looked so good after simply rolling out of bed, she wondered. It wasn't fair!
"Both please," he said. "Justice, go lay down."
Justice left Bulma's side and plunked himself down on his bed, which was conveniently located on the right side of the room of the room where he could easily keep watch of the door, the balcony, and the entrances of both Bulma and Vegeta's separate suites.
"He's pretty well trained, huh?" She observed.
"He is," he nodded.
"How do you take your coffee?" She asked.
"Black."
Somehow that didn't surprise her. She poured him both a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice and placed them both in front of him. "So have you had him a long time?" She asked.
"Since he was about six months of age," Vegeta replied.
"So you trained him yourself?"
"The majority of his training, yes."
"That's super cool!" Bulma chewed the inside of her cheek. Trying to make conversation with him was like pulling teeth. "So, what is he trained mostly in? Like search and rescue?"
"More than that," he replied. "Much more specialized. Justice is mainly a bomb detection dog, but he is trained for dual purpose. He will take down perceived threats, which is why I have him with me for this job. He is a very valuable asset and weapon, not a pet."
"Interesting," she nodded. "And he's good at what he does?"
"He is the best," Vegeta nodded.
"Is he your first?"
"Second," he grunted. "My first was a female German Shepherd, passed down to me from another handler who was on leave for injury."
"What happened to her?"
"She retired," he replied. "Her handler was not able to return to service, so he applied to adopt her when she was eligible for retirement, should she make it. Not all last that long or are suitable for civilian life after deployment. She was a very stable, solid temperament dog, so she was able to go back to him."
"Aww, that's nice," Bulma smiled. "Was that hard for you?"
"Not really," he shrugged. "I applied for a second dog almost immediately and ended up with numbnuts over there. We've been together ever since,"
"Sounds almost like you're talking about a relationship," she joked.
"It is a relationship," he said. "I trust him with my life, he trusts me for some reason. He's never let me down. Unfortunately I cannot say the same."
Bulma was quiet a long moment, sensing she'd hit a nerve because he did not elaborate further. "I didn't know what you like for breakfast, so I made a little bit of everything. Come help yourself," she said, handing him a plate.
"You did not have to go through all the trouble," he said, taking the plate and getting up to serve himself.
"Well don't get used to it," she chuckled. "I normally don't have time to do all of this. I was up early anyway and I just wanted to thank you for taking this job on such short notice, I'm very appreciative and I wanted to apologize for being whiney and ungrateful last night."
"No need," he said feeling uncomfortable with her apology and effort. "It cannot be easy for you inviting a stranger into your home after what happened; not to mention not only am I asking you to drastically change some of your regular habits, but you are used to Kakarott and his way of doing things."
"I am," she nodded, glad that he didn't seem to perceive her as a high maintenance whiney thing. "Say, why do you call Goku Kakarott anyway?"
"Inside joke from military school," he shrugged. "Turned into a nickname out on the field and I've always called him that."
Bulma nodded as she watched him eat and not elaborate any further. "Do you have a girlfriend or a wife or is it just you and Justice?"
"That is not your business," he grunted.
"Well, you asked me first!"
"That is different," he said. "I was asking because it is my job to know who is in your trusted inner circle. Do not forget; I am not your friend or companion. I have a job to do."
Bulma rolled her eyes and went back to eating her pancakes. He may be sinfully handsome, but sure wasn't much of a conversationalist, she'd give him that. Bulma was a social butterfly and typically got along with and loved to visit with everyone. If he was going to be about as friendly as a porcupine and keep her at arm's length, it was going to be very difficult for her to learn to trust him.
"I am single," he said finally, sounding like he was reluctant to tell her anything to do with his personal life. "It is just me and Justice."
"There, was that so hard?" She teased.
Vegeta glared at her. "My line of work does not allow for me to cultivate close relationships."
"I could see that," she nodded. "My line of work makes it very hard to find or enter a relationship as well."
Vegeta snorted. "I find that hard to believe."
"Believe what you want, but not everyone wants a life being constantly followed by the paparazzi and having every outing or event documented and publicized, which I respect," she told him. "Or I've been out with men who are very threatened by my success and while they were drawn to me in the beginning, they don't like anyone else being drawn to me or looking at me so they want me to quit. Or they're only interested in my money and fame; or they have preconceived notions about who I really am, thanks to the tabloids, and then they're disappointed."
"Why disappointed?" He asked with a frown as he began eating his scrambled eggs.
"Because my persona of a sex driven minx isn't who I am in real life," she said. "They either think that's what they want and then get all possessive and pissy over my performances, photo shoots and videos and start getting bossy and think they have a say or they want exactly that and get bored when they realize that when I'm not working, I just want to veg."
"Well to be fair, you or your team does market you as such," he said carefully.
"I know," she shrugged. "Oh well. It's their loss."
"And which category did your ex-boyfriend slash manager fit under?" He asked with an evil grin.
"Oh, so you can be nosy ask me personal questions that don't pertain to your job but when I ask you questions about you, you won't answer them?" She teased.
Vegeta grunted. She had him there. "I have not ruled him out as a suspect, therefore it is pertinent."
"Oh my god, Vegeta he's not a suspect! And you are not a police officer or a detective."
"No, but all the same, he has motive and unless I have reason to believe otherwise, he will be a suspect in my opinion. Hopefully I am wrong."
"In time, you will see that you are," she replied confidently. "We may not be together as a couple anymore, haven't been for years, but we're still really good friends."
"And why are you not a couple anymore?" He asked out of curiosity even though it really didn't pertain to his job. "Breakups very rarely are amicable."
Bulma shrugged. "We never really broke up, to be honest. We just kind of evolved into just friends. We both became too busy to work on our relationship the way we both deserved and it was mostly because of my career. I take full responsibility for that, but Yamcha's never been resentful towards me over it."
"That you are aware of,"
"Would you stop?" She sighed in annoyance. "I get where you're coming from, but Yamcha isn't like that. We've known each other way too long and haven't been together for so long that if there was any animosity, it's long gone. Or it is on my end."
"Hmm, do tell," he smirked, taking two more slices of toast and making a scrambled egg sandwich.
"I'll tell you, but then you have to tell me something about yourself," she said with a grin.
"Agreed," he grunted. "Though I must warn beforehand, there is not much to tell and you will find yourself disappointed."
"I doubt that, but fair is fair," she shrugged. "Well, Yamcha is a good guy, but he doesn't always think before doing. Things started getting difficult between us when he started getting a little too friendly with some of the female dancers. He didn't see the problem with it being that I dance rather provocatively with some of the male dancers. I disagreed and so we fought about it a lot."
"So he falls into the category of jealous because of the male attention that you receive," Vegeta said bluntly.
"I guess, yea," she nodded. "He was never unfaithful, just flirtatious and I didn't like it. But he didn't like the way some of my videos are so he thought that gave him the okay to flirt and get a little handsy."
"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," Vegeta snorted.
"Right?" She exclaimed. Vegeta got it, obviously. Why couldn't Yamcha? "I never flirted with any one them once the cameras were off, I never went out with any of them, nothing. Strictly professional. Though we had other issues too. He just doesn't listen to me or take into consideration my feelings and that wasn't even just in our private life behind closed doors, it's sometimes an issue in our professional relationship now as well. He listens, but doesn't always hear or comprehend.
"For example, I've been telling him I need a break for about a year or two now and he just keeps signing me up for stuff," she went on.
"So why don't you put your foot down and say no more?" Vegeta suggested.
"Because it's not that simple. Contracts are drawn up and once everything is done, you can't just back out," she said. "He means well and wants me to do well."
"Meaning well or not, if you need a break, he should take that into account."
"I'm working on it," she nodded. "After this show I'm hoping to take a long break. I have one more album to do, but I'm hoping we can find a way to get out of touring as much this time. I'm about done with that."
Vegeta grunted.
"So that's about it, really," she shrugged again. "So? What's your story? Have any lost loves or crazy ex girlfriends?"
"Negatory," he answered, reaching for a piece of bacon.
"I don't believe you," she snorted. "You're gonna have to give me more that that; you promised!"
Vegeta sighed in annoyance. He hated talking about himself. "Alright, fine," he relented. "I have never had a meaningful relationship. I do not have the time, nor am I around in one place long enough to cultivate anything lasting or meaningful."
"So you weren't just being vague earlier," she said. "So… you'll just be alone forever?"
"It is not a bad thing," he shrugged. "Once I am finished my career on the field, I will take a desk job. The hours are hectic with that as well. Not exactly ideal."
"There isn't anything else you'd want to do with your life?" She asked. "I'm sure there's tons of other things you can do with your skill set. Well like this for example,"
Vegeta shook his head and scrunched his face. "No. When I am able to return, I plan on returning to the field. It is where I belong."
Bulma slumped her shoulders dejectedly. "So you're only going to be working for me temporarily?"
"Yes," he replied.
There was a long, awkward silence between them. He refrained from sighing deeply in annoyance that Kakarott had not told her that he was only taking this job temporarily until either Kakarott was able to convince his wife to let him to return to work or he himself was cleared for redeployment.
"Well, not if I pay you more than what the military does, I guess," she said coyly with a smile.
"Fat chance," he snorted. "No offence to you."
"So you would go back to that even if it's a pay cut?" She asked, dumbfounded.
"In a heartbeat," he nodded once.
Bulma frowned. "Why?" She asked. "I mean, I kind of get it. I love what I do. I have other options like working for my father and taking over his company, but I love performing and getting all done up. I love traveling all over the world. Eventually I will quit, but for right now, this is what I want to be doing. So I guess I can understand your position, but it's so dangerous. Goku said you were almost killed. Why would you even consider going back to that?"
Vegeta was quiet a moment as he thought about it and realized he didn't really have an answer for her.
"You're an adrenaline junkie?" She asked.
He smirked. "That I am," he confirmed. "There is nothing like jumping out of a helicopter with Justice attached to me and plummeting towards the ground, hoping that there will be no hostiles waiting for us as soon as we land, not knowing if you will make it out alive."
Bulma stared blankly at him. "You skydive with your dog?"
"All the time," he confirmed, reaching for his phone and showing her the lock screen. It was a picture of him with a four-legged Justice in a tactical harness that clipped in front of Vegeta's chest on his military gear. It appeared like they were sliding down a rope towards the ground. Justice was muzzled, but appeared un fazed by this activity. "That is not skydiving, but we do this a lot too. This was taken at a training session and is on one of the recruitment pamphlets they hand out."
"Huh. Impressive," she commented sincerely, looking at the picture thoroughly. She could tell Vegeta was enjoying the stunt and Justice looked more than content being in the air and clipped to his handler. "And he doesn't mind that?"
"Not at all,"
"Then why the muzzle?" She asked.
"Not all of the dogs like it, some become overly aroused and will bite their handlers from excitement. Justice is fine and never has, but it is standard procedure for all of the dogs to be muzzled."
"Interesting," she commented, handing him back his phone. "Do you have any other pictures of you guys doing badass army stuff?"
"I do, actually," he said, unlocking his phone and scrolling through his pictures. "Here's one of us doing some training before our last deployment,"
Vegeta slid his phone across the counter top. On his phone was a picture of Justice latched onto the leg of someone wearing a bite suit. He took his phone back and scrolled through another few pictures and showed her another one of Justice snarling at a decoy. He was all teeth and gums and looked nothing short of frightening.
"Jesus," she commented, sliding the phone back to Vegeta.
Vegeta smirked at her reaction as he looked at the picture proudly. "I think that one is my favourite of him. He's playing his favourite game."
"That's him happy?"
"That's when he's happiest," he nodded.
"And you said yesterday I have nothing to fear if I am no threat. If that's how he looks when he's happy and doing his thing, I'd hate to know what he looks like when he's pissed off."
Vegeta looked at the picture again. "About the same," he shrugged, swiping through his photos again and grunting in amusement as he found another one he liked and slid his phone back to her again.
This one was a picture of Vegeta wearing bite pants and a tight t-shirt with Justice biting him between his legs. He actually had something that actually resembled a grin on his face. Bulma frowned as she took a closer look. "Is he biting your crotch?!"
"He is," he chuckled and swiped again, this time a video came up and he pressed play.
Bulma watched as Vegeta walked confidently back and forth across a large training room. Justice was at the other end in a sit, literally shaking in anticipation and practically leaning on the tips of his front feet, ready to go at a moments notice, but waiting for his handlers direction.
Suddenly Vegeta shouted something she didn't understand and Justice launched himself from his spot and barrelled towards Vegeta, who a moment later held his arm up in the air and the dog came to a screeching halt and dropped to the floor in a down position.
Vegeta stood there watching him for a second before continuing to slowly pace back and forth as Justice went back to practically vibrating.
The camera followed Vegeta to a counter top as he grabbed a sandwich and took a bite.
"Aww now you're just being a dick," whoever was filming commented.
Vegeta shrugged. "He'll get over it," he said with a mouth full of sandwich. Once he was done swallowing his mouthful, he walked back to the middle of the room and approached Justice, slowly.
The Shepherd's mouth closed and he instantly went from a shaking, panting animal desperate for a bite to eerily calm and still, watching his handler closely. Bulma could tell though from the strain of his muscles and his overall posture, that he was coiled up like a snake, ready to strike the split second Vegeta gave him permission to. He was speaking to him in a calm, soothing tone that almost gave her goosebumps, but she couldn't hear what was actually being said.
Unfortunately for Justice, Vegeta calmly backed away.
The person behind the camera filming chuckled. "He's gonna get you good this time!"
"I don't doubt it," Vegeta agreed, moving to the other side of the training room.
Once again, Vegeta said something to Justice and the dog launched himself across the room towards him and promptly latched onto his crotch.
"Aww shit!" The person behind the camera exclaimed.
"It's fine," Vegeta reassured him, holding his hand out to stop him from coming to his aid.
The person still approached, slowly and quietly, wanting to capture this ridiculous scene that was unfolding in front of him.
Justice had not let go and it was clear, now that the person filming was closer, that Justice had a full bite grip on his handlers crotch. Periodically, he would thrash and then would be still. When he was still and calm, Vegeta would lean forward and calmly stroke his head or the side of his neck and speak to him quietly, praising him.
Suddenly Vegeta lightly booted him in the flank, not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to test his nerve.
"Why did you do that?" Bulma asked, pausing the video.
"You have to fight him somewhat," Vegeta shrugged. "If he bites someone he's supposed to, they're not going to stand there nicely and take it and tell him what a good boy he is. They'll be kicking, screaming, hitting and punching him. He's been trained to not let go under any circumstances and to become more aggressive should someone become abusive towards him."
"Oh,"
"Do not worry, I don't do it hard and he likes it," he reassured her. "It is nothing more than just rough play."
Bulma pressed play again.
After the boot to the side, Justice did not release his grip, but hunkered down and began pulling backwards.
"Good," Vegeta praised him, allowing himself to be pulled forward and letting him win.
"Eighty thousand dollar military dog at your disposal and you're teaching him stupid party tricks," his friend snorted.
"I think it is rather amusing," Vegeta chuckled. "Wanna give it a go?"
"Fuck no!" Then other person exclaimed.
"Pussy," Vegeta goaded him.
"I like my junk just fine, thank you very much and I'm not completely insane," he said. "You know the training director won't be impressed, right?"
"On the contrary," Vegeta said proudly, grunting as Justice began thrashing again. His grip had still not let up. "It was his idea."
"Get out!"
"It was," Vegeta insisted. "This is what happens when you spend a late night training protection and drinking. He thought it would be funny, but couldn't be done, I disagreed and so this is what we've been working on the last few weeks."
The other person snorted. "You're nuts. I truly hope he doesn't decide to bite you in the balls one day just for shits and giggles."
"There is that risk," Vegeta agreed. "I'll worry about it if and when it happens."
Vegeta outted Justice, who released his crotch immediately and Vegeta tossed the familiar ball on a string across the room. Justice quickly bolted after it.
The video ended.
"I agree with your friend," Bulma said, sliding his phone back to him. "You are nuts."
Vegeta shrugged.
"Has he ever bitten anyone else there?"
"No," he scoffed. "That is just a stunt and only equipment associated. He would not bite like that unless someone is wearing bite pants. For real take downs, he goes for the upper thigh or forearm."
"Interesting," she said. "So I don't have to worry about him ever biting me randomly?"
"No," he shook his head. "Not unless I tell him to."
"So I'd better be good then, huh," she teased with a wink.
Vegeta shot her a dirty look, but did not reply.
Bulma inwardly rolled her eyes. He was a nice guy and definitely handsome, but he obviously had no idea how to flirt with a girl. I guess I have my work cut out for me, she mused to herself.
They finished their breakfast quickly and headed back to the same place Bulma had spent her afternoon rehearsing the previous day.
By early afternoon they were done. Bulma was already exhausted and did her best to nap on the drive back to her place.
Once they'd made it back, Bulma showered quickly, taking care to make sure her hair wouldn't get wet, but she felt all grimy and sweaty after the rehearsal.
She emerged and went to her kitchen where the makeup artist and hairstylist were already waiting for her. There was a food spread on the counter top too.
She noticed Vegeta come in from the main balcony with Justice.
"Have some food, Vegeta," she told him. "And if you want, you can go out or work out or take Justice for a walk. You can take the afternoon off if you like, I should be fine; we're not leaving."
Vegeta grunted. While he was relieved that he would not be required to babysit while she was doing some ridiculous shoot, truthfully, he had no where to go or any means of transportation to go anywhere.
"Bring me my purse and I'll find my car keys if you want to go out," she offered, as though reading his mind.
"You are comfortable with that?" He asked quietly. "I can remain here if you wish, it is my job."
"Yea, I'll be fine," she shrugged.
Vegeta left for a moment and returned with her handbag.
"Here," she said, handing him her keys. "It's the little white sports car in the garage. Justice can stay here if you're okay with leaving him."
"I will not be gone long," he said. "I just need to make a call and there are a few items I want to buy to store in your fridge if that is alright."
"For sure!" She said. "Don't rush, have fun! We'll be here for a while."
"Just do not feed the dog," he said before leaving.
Bulma laughed at him.
"Oh. Em. Gee! Who the hell is that?" Her hairstylist asked as soon as Vegeta was gone. "Please tell me that's your new man! And if he isn't, is he single?"
Bulma laughed. "No, he's my new bodyguard," she said. "He is single, but he doesn't believe in relationships."
"Who said I was interested in a relationship?" She snorted.
Bulma shook her head. "Well I'm not sure, but I'm under the distinct impression he won't even go out with anyone who isn't military anyway because of the lifestyle."
"Well, I have one of those G.I. Jane costumes from Halloween a few years back. Does that count?"
"I don't think so," Bulma snorted, shaking her head. "Besides, I'm already crushing on him badly, so I get first dibs anyway!"
"So Goku isn't coming back at all?" the makeup artist asked. "I liked him. His brother sure is cute. Doesn't he have something to do with security? Why didn't you hire him?"
"He wanted the job, but Goku wouldn't allow it because he's too much of a flirt to notice if someone is stalking me," Bulma said. "I think he's nailed like half my back up dancers already."
"Not just your backup dancers," her makeup artist snickered, looking at the stylist.
"No!" Bulma exclaimed, looking at her stylist. "You didn't!"
"Oh we did!" she confirmed with a satisfied grin. "Actually, I'm seeing him again tonight."
"Then why did you want to know if Vegeta was single?" Bulma asked.
"Pfft!" she snorted. "It's not like we're exclusive. We're just having a bit of fun."
"You dirty bitch!" the makeup artist teased.
"What can I say?" she shrugged, not offended. "He's definitely one of the better lays I've had, so I'll keep him around for a while."
Bulma shook her head and sat down so they could begin doing her up for her shoot.
-0-0-0-
Vegeta easily located the garage and Bulma's car. It was a brand new Porsche 911. The boy still inside him squeed in glee at the prospect of driving it. Vegeta had never been a car guy as a boy or a young man, but even he could appreciate a work of art like this.
He started the car and left Capsule Corporation, driving around aimlessly for a while, familiarizing himself with the city. Eventually, he found a supermarket and stopped to pick up a few things before going back and driving around for a while again.
He stopped to get a coffee at one of those expensive specialty coffee shops and walked across the street to the park and took a seat on one of the benches.
After a few minutes of enjoying the silence and solitude, he took out his phone and dialled his therapist he'd cancelled and not contacted since he'd sent him a short, vague email informing him that he would no longer be requiring his services until further notice. His therapist had written him back, requesting he call him at some point and so here he was.
"Krillin here,"
"It's me," Vegeta said.
"Oh! Vegeta!" Krillin exclaimed. "I was wondering if you would call me."
"Hmmmn," he grunted. "What do you want?"
"Nothing really, just some additional notes to add to your file," he said. "I fully agree with your decision in taking a break from therapy and taking on another job. I think it's a great idea and will help you. Especially if you're taking on a security position I understand?"
"Yes," he said.
"Well, I know you are highly qualified and so doing something like this and keeping someone out of harms way will help with healing the guilt you carry on your shoulders over what happened,"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. He hated therapy and hated how they all just made assumptions about what he was thinking and feeling about things. They all thought they were fucking mind readers! However, if he had any hope of going back into deployment, he had to go through the motions and endure this bullshit. "Right," he grunted.
"Alright, so what I want from you is a weekly email, letting me know what you've done for the week and what positive benefit you feel it's had on you and I want one phone call from you each week. How does that sound?"
"Like a waste of my time," he deadpanned.
"Hey, I'm being super lenient here, Vegeta," Krillin said. "Technically you shouldn't even be working since you are on disability and are working through some major post traumatic stress disorder and more importantly, denial on your diagnosis. You're also still recovering from your injuries-"
"My injuries are fine," he said. "I am back to working out as usual,"
"Alright, well just be careful and don't over do it," Krillin sighed. "Also, technically you're not permitted to just take Justice with you wherever you want. I left that out of my report summary."
"The dog goes where I go," Vegeta said with finality.
"I understand your sentiments regarding him, but until he is cleared as stable for civilian living, he is still technically the property of the government and seen as a possible liability if he happens to snap and bite someone."
"I know all of this," Vegeta groaned and then realized that leaving Justice alone with Bulma and a room full of strangers who did not fully appreciate that the dog was a weapon and not a pet had been a very bad decision on his part. Fortunately, he had faith that everything would be fine. Justice was a very clear headed dog; always had been. "I am working and he is essential for my job."
"Right, but you shouldn't even be working!" Krillin said again, beginning to get frustrated. "You know what? Just… be careful. Make sure he doesn't bite anyone and it won't matter."
"He won't," Vegeta said confidently, though decided he needed to get back to Bulma's place just to make sure everything was fine. "I will call you next week."
"And send me an email!"
"Whatever," Vegeta snorted and hung up.
He finished his coffee, went back to the car and made one last stop at a liquor store. As he grabbed his favourite brand of whiskey, he paused by the wine isle and considered buying a bottle for Bulma.
He frowned to himself, not understanding why he was bothering; he didn't even know what brand she liked, however she was drinking red the other night. He couldn't remember which brand was on the bottle though. Shrugging, he grabbed a bottle of Cabernet, paid for everything and went back to Capsule Corporation.
As soon as he stepped off of the elevator, he could hear the music blaring from inside of her apartment and pinched the bridge of his nose; the thought of enduring listening to that all afternoon already grating on his nerves. Maybe he would take Justice and find the tennis court Bulma's mother had said he could use.
He walked into the apartment and saw Bulma sitting on the floor with an oversized light grey sweater hanging off of her, exposing her neck, left shoulder and the upper half of her arm. Her legs were bare and Justice was sitting between them as she leaned forward, behind him, seemingly hugging him somewhat. A photographer was in front of them, taking pictures.
Vegeta frowned. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"You're back so soon?" Bulma said, standing up; the seater coming just over her hips, and he assumed she must have been wearing nothing more than panties for bottoms. Her makeup was light and her hair was big, tousled in a mess as though she had just gotten up from a bedroom romp. Justice hopped towards him in greeting.
"I picked up everything I needed," he said.
"Cool," she smiled. "Umm, we were running late with hair and makeup and had a disagreement about wardrobe and Justice was sitting so nicely and regally that the photographer just had to take some pictures of him and then we decided to use him in a few photos as a prop. Hope that's okay,"
Vegeta sighed. While he didn't have a problem with it per say, he was pretty sure he didn't want Justice in a magazine spread. Krillin's council about him still technically being government property came back to mind. "Do not publish any pictures of him,"
"But Vegeta, he's beautiful!" Bulma said. "Plus he's a war hero!"
"And he is not for me to have taken," he said. "He is still government property."
"Ohhh," Bulma sighed. "Can I still keep the pictures?"
"I suppose," he shrugged. "Just keep them for yourself."
"Bummer," the photographer said, scrolling through the photos of Bulma and Justice. "Some of these turned out amazing. Look," he said, showing Vegeta a few of them.
Vegeta nodded. The pictures with Bulma and Justice were really good. So were the ones of Justice just laying on his bed alone. The sun had been shining in from the patio and brought out his reddish golden highlights. "He does look beautiful," he admitted.
"Would you like me to send you these on a flash drive?" He asked.
Vegeta shrugged, "Whatever,"
"You should!" Bulma chirped. "Do you even have any nice pictures of him?"
"I have plenty,"
"No, I mean nice pictures where he doesn't look scary!" Bulma clarified.
"Not since he was a puppy,"
"Oh then you for sure need some of those!" She said. "My treat!"
"You do not have to do that," he said, uncomfortable with the idea of her paying for professional photos of his dog.
"I know, but I want to," she shrugged. "They'll be all cropped and pretty too."
Vegeta grunted and nodded. Apparently he had no say in the matter. "Thank you,"
"Don't mention it!" She winked at him.
"Alright, lets get a few photos of you on the couch and maybe a few on your balcony before you change," the photographer suggested. "If we cant use the ones with the dog, we need a few of you in that sweater since the designer paid for you to feature that sweater. It needs to be on the cover."
"Alright," she sighed. Truthfully, she was already exhausted and ready for a nap.
The rest of the shoot went by quickly. Vegeta took Justice for a long walk around the enormous grounds of Capsule corporation.
After her photo shoot was done, Bulma decided to go for a walk and look for Vegeta and Justice. She found them in the tennis court playing fetch with his ball.
She didn't say anything as she approached, watching them play tug with the ball, which was on a string. Bulma could not help but smile as she observed them. There was nothing sexier than a guy who loved to work with and play with his dog. She gasped suddenly as she watched Justice release the ball at Vegeta's request, then he threw it and the three-legged Shepherd sailed right over the tennis net and back over with the ball in his mouth, bringing it back to Vegeta with such ease, you'd never know the dog was missing an appendage.
Vegeta turned and noticed her for the first time; he'd heard her.
"Sorry," she apologized, walking up to the court. "I just wanted to let you know that everyone is gone and it's safe to come back in if you want."
Vegeta grunted in reply before tossing the ball again for Justice, who again, took off after it, leaped over the net as though it were nothing, in hot pursuit of the ball.
"He really doesn't let the loss of a leg bring him down, does he?" She commented in awe.
"Nope," Vegeta replied. Justice returned with the ball, but Vegeta let him keep it this time; they'd been playing for almost an hour now. "If you think that's impressive, you should see how he gets if you show him a bitesuit."
Bulma watched as they exited the court and came towards her. "You're done?"
Vegeta shrugged.
Not knowing what to say, Bulma walked beside him back to her place. "Sorry about the pictures. It didn't occur to me that it might not be a good idea. I should have asked."
"It is fine," he replied. "Just so long as they are not published."
"Right. I told the photographer and I'll tell the person interviewing me tomorrow as well to just disregard them." She nodded.
They returned to her suite and decided to hang out and watch tv for a little while before turning in for the night.
"Did you bring this?" She asked, holding up the bottle of wine sitting on the counter top.
"I was not sure what you liked," he said. "But I was buying whiskey for myself and thought it would be rude to not bring you something since you are trusting me to stay here. Believe me, the living space is far more than what I expected."
"Aww you didn't have to do that!" She cooed. "Thank you! And thank you for agreeing to stay here! It means a lot. Believe me, I'm not the type of girl who just asks random good looking guys to move in with me!"
"I believe you," he nodded. "This situation is a little different."
"It is," she nodded, opening the bottle and pouring herself a glass. "Want some?"
"I'll have whiskey," he answered.
"Good, because you're off duty," Bulma said as she grabbed the bottle of whiskey he had brought and left on the counter and opened it, pouring him some before putting a few ice cubes into the glass. "Just prepare to be eaten alive by the tabloids," she warned him, handing him his glass of whiskey in the living room. "When they find out that there's a guy living here with me, they're going to go insane."
Vegeta shrugged. "I am not from around here and I could care less about what they think,"
"Good," she snorted. "Because they'll be hounding you and asking who you are, where you're from, why you're living with me. They'll begin digging into your personal history."
"Let them," he shrugged again. "There is nothing too terribly interesting. My mother passed when I was very young; I barely remember her. My father is a high ranking military officer. We moved around a lot and I signed up at the age of sixteen, essentially following in his footsteps. That is all they will find."
"So you've always been in the military then?" She asked, inwardly flattered that he was finally sharing something personal about himself voluntarily.
"Always," he nodded. "It is all I know,"
"Hence why you've never had a girlfriend I take it?" She smiled.
"Correct," he nodded. "No time for anything other than casual encounters,"
"But you don't strike me as a player,"
"I am not," he confirmed, his face growing red. "I have one or two friends with benefits you could call them."
Bulma nodded as she sipped her wine. "And they're in the military too?"
"Yes," he replied grudgingly, not understanding her interest in his private life, nor why he was even divulging. Again. "No one else understands the lifestyle,"
"And you wouldn't want a serious relationship with any of them?" She asked in surprise.
"No," he shook his head. "What would be the point? One of us would always be away on some mission somewhere, never nearby. It would be pointless, not to mention a liability in the sense that you would always be worrying about the other person and if they are alright," he explained. "This way everyone gets what they need when they need it. We have a good time. No strings attached. Everyone is happy. As it is, we very rarely have the opportunity to cross paths."
"I guess," she shrugged. "Still sounds super lonely to me,"
"There is no time for loneliness," he said.
Bulma finally settled on a mindless program to watch and brought her knees up, making herself comfortable. She wasn't able to pay attention as her mind wandered and began thinking about Vegeta and his friends with benefits situation. It bugged her for some reason and she found herself discreetly staring at him.
He wasn't that much older than she was, but he acted like he was quite a bit older. He was definitely one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen, that was for sure and she decided she wouldn't mind being one of his friends with benefits while he was here, though she knew he would likely not take her up on that. From the practical way he'd rationalized his reasons for never getting seriously involved with someone, it seemed like he had resigned himself to being alone forever and she knew he would likely not cross any lines with her being that he didn't even like drinking with her.
Unfortunately.
It was too bad, she mused as she continued to look at him while trying to figure him out. He was so chivalrous and protective. She liked that. A big part of that, she realized, was because it was his job to look out for her and keep her at arm's length so as to remain professional, but something told her that his demeanor went far beyond taking his job seriously. He was respectful and she admired that. He was one of the few males she knew, Goku being one of the others, that was never constantly mentally undressing her with their eyes. If anything, from what she'd noticed, when she was wearing something revealing, he was quick to avert his eyes and while a part of her found that frustrating because she really liked the guy and wanted him to check her out, another part of her found it to be a major turn on. It was endearing.
"Why are you always scowling?" She asked him suddenly before thinking better of it. It had been more of an observation of hers rather than something she meant to actually ask him.
"I do not always scowl," he replied, his scowl deepening.
"Yes, you do," she insisted. "You're scowling now."
"Because you're asking me stupid questions," he countered.
"Okay but you were scowling a minute ago too while watching tv,"
"That is because this program is beyond ridiculous,"
"Nuh-uhh," she shook her head. "I bet you'd still be scowling even if you actually liked what you were watching," she accused him. "Here, you choose something else to watch that isn't ridiculous then," she said, tossing him the TV remote.
"Why are you always talking?" He gripped, catching the remote.
"I don't," she shrugged, watching him carefully as he began channel surfing.
They were both quiet. Vegeta trying to find something he wanted to watch, Bulma observing to see if his surly expression would change. So far it hadn't.
He heard a clicking noise and glanced at Bulma, who had her phone discreetly pointed at him. "What are you doing?" He asked, his frown deepening even further.
"Taking your picture," she replied nonchalantly, taking another.
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to document it that I'm right. That you're always frowning or scowling," she shrugged, snapping another picture of him now that he looked especially annoyed. "Other than the video you showed me on your phone of your dog chewing on your crotch, I haven't seen you smile once since you've been here."
"That is because I have nothing to smile about," he said. "Delete those,"
"No!" She snipped with a snort. "I'm keeping them and in a few weeks, I'll show you all your frowny faces. Oh my god, is your face just stuck like that because you scowl so much?"
"You are an idiot," he growled, going back to channel surfing. He finally found a mixed martial arts fight on one of the sports channels and settled on that.
"Oh god," Bulma groaned, slouching into the couch.
"What?"
"Couldn't you find something else to watch?" She said.
"Do you ever stop complaining?" He asked.
Bulma simply stuck her tongue out at him.
They were both quiet for a long time as they watched a fight together. Bulma, however was on her phone and not paying all that much attention.
"See that?" Vegeta asked suddenly.
"What?"
"If someone grabs you from behind, that is how you get out of it," he said, pointing to the screen. "That guy wants to take this to the ground, but the other guy doesn't want that because his stand up is better than his ground game."
"And because he's not gay and doesn't want to be dry humped for the rest of the round probably," she snorted, rolling her eyes. "Though look at those thighs! I wouldn't mind being squished by those. Damn!"
Vegeta shot her a dirty look. "I am trying to educate you and here you have your nose in your phone and are making childish sexual innuendos."
"Is that why you're still scowling?" She asked with a giggle. "Sorry! I don't find watching two monkeys pummelling each other to a pulp and rolling around on a mat entertaining. Especially since that bitch Marron just called me out onTwitter, essentially accusing me of faking this kidnapping as a means of a publicity stunt!"
"Who is that?" He asked.
"You don't know who Marron is?" She asked in shock, looking at him as though he had grown a second head.
"No, I do not," he deadpanned. "I have more important things to do than follow celebrities."
"She's like a poor man's version of me," Bulma said haughtily. "She's got blue hair and eyes so looks like me kinda, only has bigger tits and needs more auto tune on her tracks than anyone in the industry because she's so not talented. If you think my videos are trashy, watch some of hers."
Vegeta snorted in amusement. "And so the claws come out,"
"I'm serious! She's being a bitch and I'll bet anything she has a new album coming out in a few weeks," Bulma retorted in a know it all tone. "This will be the third time she's instigated a feud with me before an album release because she has nothing better to do with her time and needs me to help sell albums. Just you watch!"
She was quiet after her rant and he watched as she began viciously typing on her phone screen.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Calling her out on her bullshit," Bulma replied, not pausing from her angry typing; her fingernails clicking on the screen.
"Don't do that," he said, getting up, taking two long strides across the floor and yanking her phone out of her hands.
"Hey! Give that back!" She objected, standing up and following him back to his side of the couch.
"No," he said, putting her phone in his pocket.
"That's theft." She snipped at him. "Give me my phone back!"
"Later, when you have calmed down and have the good sense to not make a fool of yourself by walking into something that will make you look bad. This other idiot wants you to engage. Do not give her the satisfaction," he said, leaning back and relaxing into the couch and resumed watching the fight.
"I can't just let her put that out there!" She whined. "What will people think? If I don't respond, that's like agreeing and admitting that it all was just a hoax."
"Or it is not wasting your time acknowledging an idiot's ridiculous remarks," he shrugged, sliding his hand into his pocket and handing her back her phone. "At least wait until tomorrow before replying."
Bulma snatched her phone from his hand and trudged back to her side of the couch. "Fine," she grudgingly said, slumping back into her seat. He did have a point. It would likely piss her off more if she didn't respond at all than if she fired back something nasty to her.
Bulma put her phone away and began watching the fights, though her mind was a million miles away, thinking about if she should respond to those allegations or take Vegeta's advice and take the high road. She also began thinking more about what had happened to her and how anyone would be stupid enough to think that it was faked.
After a while, she dozed off.
When the fights were done, Vegeta stood up to go to bed and debated on waking her up or not. After a few minutes deliberation, he decided to let her sleep. One thing he had noticed over the past few days here was that she did not sleep much and she was exhausted because of her hectic schedule and poor eating habits. Instead, he grabbed a blanket from an open basket in the living room and carefully draped it over her. She did not so much as stir.
Satisfied, he went to sleep, leaving Justice in the living room with Bulma.
-0-0-0-
Bulma awoke a while later with a start.
She was on her couch with a blanket draped over her, but she had been awoken by loud voices in her place.
Someone was there!
She stood up cautiously and noticed Justice was on his bed. Awake and alert, but not bothered.
"Some guard dog you are!" She hissed at him, though if he was not upset then maybe it was nothing.
Bulma decided she must have been dreaming and decided to go to her bedroom to go back to sleep, she heard shouting again, only this time she was able to determine that it was coming from Vegeta's room.
He always slept with the door partially open and so she quietly crept into his room and saw that he was asleep, but obviously having a nightmare. Unsure of if she should wake him or not, she stood there a moment, feeling bad for him, but also worried he'd be deeply embarrassed if he knew she knew he was having bad dreams.
Instead of waking him, she quietly called Justice and pointed into the room. The Shepherd jumped up onto the bed and began licking his owner, waking him up.
"What?" Vegeta growled at him and Bulma discreetly left his room unnoticed and went to sleep in her own room, glad she had found a way to wake Vegeta up without possibly embarrassing him and he wasn't still in the middle of a bad dream.