Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

AN: Sorry for the delay! Life has been hectic…

New position at work leaves me exhausted and mentally drained. My husband and I were caring for our senior dog, who was our first we got together. He passed away 2 and a half weeks ago at age 10! We also got a new puppy back in May- he's a Belgian Malinois (just like Justice). He's everything I wanted and expected, but a lot of work. So I really haven't had much time to write. Bear with me!

Also, huge shout out and thank you to Madlymarie who did some fan art for this story! It can be found on Twitter. Thank you! Way to make an author's day!

The Popstar

Chapter 5

The week passed on as usual without incident. The day of the show Bulma had been tirelessly preparing for had arrived.

Bulma had initially found herself looking forward to it in hopes that it would help her conquer some of the anxiety she was still feeling about performing and being seen in the public eye again. So far her captor still had sent no word and that made Bulma feel better and worse at the same time.

Vegeta was currently working with the building security at the event center. He had hired several of West City's police officers and had implemented a few extra security precautions. He had briefed and given all of the security staff the drawing of her abductor that had been done from the description Bulma had given the sketch artists. Vegeta's instructions were that if he happened to show up at the show tonight, he would be taken aside immediately and arrested. She had to admit that she was impressed with his organization and the way he had delegated everything. Never had she felt so safe at a show; not even when Goku had been around. In all fairness to him, she'd also not had anything to fear until now too, but she couldn't help but wish that he'd started being more conscientious when the letters had first started. Maybe the whole thing could have been stopped. Tonight she was certain that if her captor was here, he would be caught. At least they had some idea of who they were looking for. Goku hadn't had that advantage.

Bulma hoped that her abductor wasn't at the show. Not because she didn't want him charged and arrested for kidnapping her, but because she didn't want to have to confront him and go along with everything else that would follow. She sighed and shook her head, canceling those thoughts. She would worry about that if it happened and if it did, she'd worry about it tomorrow now that she had a few days off to herself after tonight. It wasn't the hiatus she had been hoping for, but it was still something and better than nothing. Tonight she had a show to do and she was so exhausted she wasn't even certain she would be able to pull it off till the end. Tonight had been harder than she'd thought it would be and she was wishing now that she'd been more adamant about Yamcha canceling it.

As she was finishing changing for her final costume change for her last two songs, there was a knock on her door.

"I'll be ready in a sec!" She called out.

The knocking persisted.

Annoyed, Bulma walked to the door of her dressing room and wrenched it open. "I know! I heard you! Oh!"

"Surprise!" Goku said cheerfully.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" She exclaimed, giving her friend a hug and noticing behind him was his wife, Chi-Chi and their little boy, Gohan. "Come in you guys! I'm just finishing getting ready for the last two songs, but come in!"

"Well I haven't seen you in a few weeks and thought since you're doing a show tonight, you might be stressed after what happened and Chi-Chi thought it would be a nice thing to come out and support you." Goku explained.

"Awe, you guys are so sweet!" She smiled. "Thank you so much for coming, it means the world to me."

"Hey, no problem!" Chi-Chi smiled, taking a seat and plunking Gohan in her lap. "Great show by the way!"

"Thank you!" She nodded. "It's been nerve racking and I'm exhausted and paranoid, but it's been okay. I only have two songs to go, I should be able to do it. How's little baby Gohan? My goodness he's getting big!"

"He's growing like a weed," Chi-Chi said. "Takes after his father, that's for sure."

"I think he's adorable," Bulma said. "You guys sticking around after for a while? We can go back to my place for some drinks."

"There's no after party?" Goku asked in confusion.

"No," she shook her head. "Yamcha and I had a huge blow up over it and I get it, there should have been something, but I'm just not up for it. Not after everything that happened. I can't do crowds in small places. As it is, I'm having a very hard time not letting my nerves get the better of me up on stage."

"Understandable," Chi-Chi nodded. "I think you're crazy for even continuing, but it sure doesn't look like you're nervous up there, so good on you."

"How's Vegeta working out?" Goku asked. "I saw him, but he was busy talking to building security. He nodded at us and pointed to which room was yours. He didn't look very happy."

"Oh that's just how he always looks," Bulma waved her hand in dismissal with a snort. "He's working out good though. He's a bit serious, but we're getting along alright."

"Oh good!" Goku smiled. "I was hoping that you two would get on alright. I figured you'd either get a long great or hate each other. It was a gamble."

"Why would we hate each other?" Bulma asked with a frown.

"No reason, just Vegeta can be a bit intense and you're super easy going," he shrugged.

"Intense is a good way of putting it," Bulma nodded. "How's you shoulder healing up?"

"It's fine," Goku shrugged. "I'm not healed up enough for physio yet, which I will need, but I'm fine. Going stir crazy."

"Aww, alright, well I have to get back up there. Come over after if you want. I'd love to catch up."

"I'd love to catch up, but we'll have to get going as soon as this is over to put Gohan to bed," Chi-Chi said apologetically. "I'll get a sitter soon though in the next few weeks and we can have some wine and hang for a few hours."

"Right, I keep forgetting you can't just do whatever anymore," Bulma nodded.

"Yea, we kind of have a burden now," Goku chuckled.

"Seriously?" Chi-Chi snapped at him with a scowl.

"Aw come on, it was supposed to be funny," he grinned, scratching the back of his head awkwardly the way he always did when he felt uncomfortable. "I didn't actually mean that he's a literal burden… I mean he is, but like a nice one."

Bulma snorted at her friend. She knew what he meant and knew that he loved his son dearly, but it had been a major life change for them. For some reason, he hadn't thought that their lives would be completely different after the birth of their son. He'd just assumed that things would go on as normal but with the addition of another little one. "Alright, well I'm so happy you guys came. That means a lot to me. Let's make sure we get together soon. I can always come to you guys too."

"Sounds good, Bulma. Take care!" Chi-Chi said, hugging her with one arm and leaving with Gohan in her other arm.

"I'm glad Vegeta is working out. I knew he'd do a good job." Goku smiled on his way out. "I'll make sure the four of us get together real soon."

"I'd love that." She nodded and closed her door. She gave herself a once over in the mirror. She was wearing a bright pink crop top with her name across the bust line in big black letters outlined in white and a matching pink pleated mini skirt. Grabbing a pair of knee high white stiletto boots, she zipped them up and decided she was ready to finish the evening off.

Bulma exited her dressing room and saw Vegeta standing by her door. "Hey, did you get a chance to talk to Goku?" She asked.

"No," he replied, looking at her with a frown. "Why are you dressed as a cheerleader?"

"Because it's hot," she shrugged.

Vegeta shook his head and deliberately looked away from her. She did look hot.

"Oh come on," she groaned teasingly. "Don't tell me you never once fantasized about banging the lead cheerleader in high school."

"There was no lead cheerleader in an all boy's military school," he deadpanned.

"Oh," she frowned. That had certainly backfired. "No wonder you're no fun. I can always remedy that for you?" She said, batting her eyes and striking a cheesy cheerleader pose.

Vegeta gave her a dirty look. He hated when she flirted with him. Well, to be more accurate, he hated it because she was completely off limits to him. This job was a constant test of his self restraint and professionalism. She dressed provocatively around him and dropped sexual innuendoes constantly and he had to pretend like he either did not notice or that he hated it.

"Well, let's get this show done, shall we?" She asked, changing the subject.

Vegeta followed her closely, carefully watching every one in the area. So far no one had done anything stupid and there had been no sign of her abductor. However that only made him feel more uptight and he would not relax until they made it back safely to her home.

They reached the back stage area where the other act was just finishing up. "I can do this," she muttered to herself. "It's just two more songs and then I'm off for a few days,"

"I thought you would be off for a few weeks or months after this," Vegeta said.

"No," she shook her head. "I'd love that, but I have too many other contractual obligations I need to honour before I can take a real break like that."

Vegeta shook his head at her in disapproval. "You are working yourself into the ground."

"I know," she shrugged. "Oh well. See you after the show!" She winked at him and off she went.

Vegeta watched her head up to the stage and did not understand why she was pushing herself so hard. This was such a thankless industry and he felt like he was the only person so saw it or even cared.

He went to the far side of the room where he could observe both the back stage area and the stage. So far nothing suspicious had happened, but he was not going to drop his guard. Justice sat quietly beside him.

As he watched her perform, he could tell she was tired. She was doing a terrific job about hiding it, but he could tell. Her strut wasn't quite as sassy as it usually was; he loved watching her walk when she performed or rehearsed. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, but it was different than when she walked normally. He was glad she'd stuck to her guns about not having an after party tonight following the show. Yamcha had not been happy about it and Vegeta could not understand how Bulma could not resent him for his constant pushing for her to be out there and doing more than she already was. He resented him on her behalf.

The final two songs of Bulma's went by quickly and he noticed her beginning to sway just a bit towards the last dance segment of the last song. Hopefully her few days off would be restful, he reasoned.

After the show, they immediately headed back to Bulma's place where she went for a shower and Vegeta decided on an evening work out. It was too late to do anything else and too early to turn in for bed.

Showered, make up free, feeling good about herself for getting through her first show since her abduction without having a meltdown or panic attack and having three days off in a row, Bulma decided that was a reason to celebrate. However, she had no drinks or snacks so she quietly slipped away to remedy that without first consulting Vegeta. He was still working out and she knew how he got when he was interrupted from an intense workout. Besides, it was only to the local store for some snacks and the liquor store and then she would come straight back.

She returned about a half hour later and dropped four bags on the island in her kitchen. Reaching into one of them, she pulled out a vodka cooler for herself and a beer. She cracked them both open and went to the gym, where she knew she would likely find Vegeta still working out.

"Take a break and come join me!" She said, putting a beer next to him on the mat where he was doing push ups.

"Come and join you do what?" He grunted, not breaking his momentum or pausing to look at her.

"Come hang out in the hot tub!" She said, trying to ignore the suggestive thoughts trying to take over her mind as he grunted from exertion and continued on. "You've been working out for over an hour!"

"So?" He grunted again.

"So I got drinks and snacks," she shrugged. "I'm off for the next three days! I think we should celebrate and have some fun! You worked hard tonight, so you deserve it too."

"Alcohol and junk food after a workout defeats the purpose of a workout," he deadpanned, still continuing to do his push ups without let up.

"On the contrary," she said. "It means you can have junk food and alcohol because you'll be hungry after and you're just going to do this all again tomorrow, so all the bad calories will just cancel themselves out!"

"Not quite," he said.

"Come on!" She whined petulantly. "I'm bored! And I want some company. It's no fun sitting out there on my own."

"I am not here to keep you company," he reminded her.

"Well, then I need you to come outside with me in case I'm kidnapped from my hot tub on my balcony!" She said dramatically. "You're the one who said desperate people will do anything to get what they want. I don't feel safe being out there on my own since you said that!"

Vegeta snorted at her lame argument, but stopped his gruelling regiment of push ups and turned over to lay on his back for a moment on the cool mat as he caught his breath. Truthfully, the hot water and jets would feel amazing on his sore and overworked muscles. He was still sore from his surgeries and working out as hard as he was definitely was not helping. "You were not afraid enough to leave on your own for drinks and snacks without letting me know first," he pointed out.

"Well, I didn't want to disrupt your workout," she shrugged.

"Yet you just did,"

"Yea, but you've been working out for like two hours now. I think you need a break." She said.

"I do not have anything suitable to wear,"

"Oh, that's too bad… I guess you'll have to go in naked then," she shrugged nonchalantly.

He gave her a shocked and disgusted look.

"That's the rule." She insisted. When the look on his face did not change, she rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, I'm joking!"

"Not funny,"

"You really need to learn to lighten up," she shook her head at him. "Your goal while you are here is to keep me safe, mine will be to teach you how to actually be fun to be around."

"I am fun," he grumbled with a frown.

"Uh huh," she rolled her eyes. "Aside from teaching your dog to bite you in the crotch, I haven't seen you do anything that remotely resembles fun."

"Well then that depends on your definition of the word fun,"

"Well in any case, I want you to come chill with me," she said. "Just wear those lined gym shorts you have. Those will work and I'll make sure we take you shopping for some actual swim trunks since you didn't bring any."

Vegeta sighed in resignation as he got up. Apparently he was stuck having to entertain her. While he didn't mind her company or spending time with her while off duty, he was making a conscious effort to not let her grow on him anymore than he'd noticed she already had. They weren't friends or companions and there could be no allowance of infatuation or romantic feelings to grow. She was his employer and he needed to follow a strict protocol of professionalism with regards to their relationship. Over the course of the last few weeks, he was beginning to notice that they were both becoming just a little too comfortable with each other.

"I will join you after I shower," he said, picking up the bottle of beer she had brought him and taking a swig.

"That's a promise?" She asked with a wink.

"It is," he said.

"Great! It's a date then!" She said cheerfully, turning and leaving the gym before he could object.

Vegeta stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. He could not tell whether or not she was joking with him or if she was serious. He hoped she was only teasing him. If she wasn't, then he needed to start looking for someone to replace him soon before he made a mistake.

Once Bulma had changed into the tiniest bikini she owned, she grabbed a small plastic bin, filled it with ice and emptied a case of beer and a case of coolers into it along with a bottle of wine. She placed it next to the hot tub where it was easily accessible along with the snacks, a couple of glasses and towels before hopping into the warm water.

It was getting late, so it was a bit cooler outside and the sun hadn't quite fully set yet. She had turned on a couple of the patio lights too for some nice ambiance.

Justice hopped up to the side of the hot tub and looked in curiously. "You don't want to come in here," Bulma said to him, scratching the top of his head.

A few minutes later, Vegeta emerged from inside. He was still damp from his shower and had a towel around his shoulders. Bulma resisted the urge to stare at him. Despite working out together almost every day and living together for the last three weeks, she had yet to see him without his shirt on and she was not disappointed.

Aside from a few deep looking scars on the right side of his body along his collarbone, chest and abdomen, he was the picture of absolute male perfection and she wondered what it would be like to wrap her legs around his narrow, sculpted form. The thought of it made her stomach flutter.

"There's drinks in the bin and a bottle opener next to it, help yourself," she said to him, looking away before he noticed her ogling him. He had caught her on a few occasions and she knew it made him uncomfortable when he knew she was checking him out. She found it endearing and it made her want him more even if it was a bad idea.

Vegeta grabbed a beer and climbed into the hot tub, sitting directly across from her.

"How was your workout?" She asked him once he'd settled in and had had a few sips of his drink.

"It was fine until you demanded I come out and join you," he said, not looking at her. She was wearing the smallest white bikini top that possibly existed and if her amazing breasts weren't already distracting to him on a day to day basis, they were now with practically nothing covering them up.

"Oh, you're so hard done by," she chortled. "I feel so sorry for you."

"I need you to be serious," he said to her, feeling like he needed to be honest with her so she did not think there was a chance of anything romantic happening between them. As it was, he knew she liked him more than she should and that presented a big problem for him because he was very much attracted to her as well.

"I am serious," she answered.

"You are my employer," he said plainly. "I realize this situation is unique in that I am residing here with you, however there needs to be boundaries and a certain level of professionalism between us."

"We behave perfectly professional," she shrugged, rolling her eyes. "You're just too uptight."

"I have a job to do and do not like distractions," he insisted.

"Right, you're very good at your job, but you're not always on duty," she said. "You don't have to be a stick in the mud twenty four hours a day just because you're living here as my body guard."

"I will remain professional on duty or not," he said.

Understanding what he was getting at, Bulma shrugged. She was disappointed, of course, but not surprised. However, the fact that he felt the need to bring this up told her that he was indeed interested in her and that was all she needed at the moment. "Alright, be that way," she sighed, getting up to grab another cooler and making sure she walked slowly and bent over a little more exaggerated and longer than necessary so he could get a good look at what he was missing out on. "Just because I'm not some badass military chick doesn't mean I can't be one of your friends with benefits on the side while you're here."

"Because you are my employer it means exactly that you cannot be one of my friends with benefits," he said, looking away from her once she'd grabbed her drink and he wondered why she'd even bothered wearing anything at all.

"So quit, we can have some fun and I'll rehire you in the morning," she shrugged.

Vegeta sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. She was going to be the death of him. "I will not do that and you are not getting the point,"

"Oh relax, I'm just teasing you," she said, rolling her eyes. He scowled at her. "Okay, half teasing then, but I hear ya, I'll behave."

Vegeta nodded and took a sip from his drink, relaxing a little.

"Just don't sue me for sexual harassment, please,"

Vegeta snorted. "Stop trying to tempt me,"

"What's the fun in that?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not often that I'm in the company of such a gentleman. It's actually kind of a turn on,"

"You are drunk," he said.

"Hmmm, no," she shook her head. "A tad tipsy, maybe, but not drunk… yet."

Vegeta didn't say anything. Things had been awkward as soon as she had interrupted his workout. He wasn't sure how to respond to her. If she wasn't his employer, he'd be more than keen on showing her how much of a gentleman he wasn't, however that was a bad idea. "What do you have planned these next three days you are off?" He asked, changing the subject to something hopefully benign.

"Not sure," she shrugged. "Sleep. You?"

"I will be doing whatever you are doing, I suppose,"

"That would technically count as sleeping together!" She giggled, knowing that would get a rise out of him.

"Very funny," he deadpanned.

"I know, right?" she snickered. She was about to say something else inappropriate to him, but her phone chimed. She reached over to the side of the hot tub to grab it.

Vegeta watched her discreetly and took note of the expression on her face turning cloudy. "What is the matter?" he asked. If it was Yamcha texting her and informing her that her three days off was canceled, he would phone that thoughtless halfwit back and give him a piece of his mind.

"Twitter," she mumbled a minute later, scrolling frantically and looking more and more upset as she went.

Vegeta sighed and rolled his eyes as he finished off his beer. "What nonsense has everyone twitterpated about now?" he asked, standing to grab himself another beer and snagging one of the bags of chips she'd brought.

"Apparently my show was terrible and a bunch of people think I was inebriated or high or something!" she said, still frowning as she read the comments. "And it's tweeting,"

Vegeta shrugged. A month ago he hadn't even heard of Twitter. "And let me guess; the ringleader of the nasty tweets, that rival of yours?"

"Not the ring leader, no. She wasn't there, but she's all over it," Bulma said, shaking her head. "I couldn't have looked that bad, did I?"

Vegeta shrugged again. "I thought you looked fine," he said. "However, I was not watching you the entire time. I was doing surveillance and making sure security at the front and sides of the stage were being attentive. But from what I saw, I thought you looked fine. A little tired at the end maybe, but certainly not inebriated."

"I just don't get it," she sighed, still scrolling through comments.

"Who cares?" he scoffed. "Shut your phone off for the next few days and stop letting worthless twits dictate you. Why would you let anything they say affect you? The fact that they have nothing better to do than twit bullshit about someone should make their opinions worthless to you. You showed up tonight not long after enduring a very traumatic event rather than cancelling and you pulled it off like a professional."

"They're fans tweeting, not twits," she corrected him again. "And it does matter. A good chunk of my career depends on likes and follows and comments."

"They sound like twits to me," he said at an attempt at humour. "Where do they live? Justice and I will pay them all a personal visit."

"Uhm, that would be impossible because there's already over fifteen hundred likes, comments and shares from people all around the world; but thanks." She rolled her eyes. She became quiet as she clicked on a link someone had uploaded. It was a portion of her performance and it had been her last song. She shook her head as she watched it.

"Do I need to drop that thing in the water?" he asked in annoyance as he could see her growing more and more upset as she watched.

"Don't you dare," she snapped at him, but handed him her phone. "Watch that and tell me I don't look off."

Vegeta sighed, but appeased her and took her phone. "I see a cheerleader busting her ass to put on a decent show despite being exhausted. The quality of this video is not even that good anyway, so I am confused as to how this is your fault. Look, someone commented and said that."

"Yea, but people who were actually there are saying they thought I looked high,"

"Well, maybe tell your idiot manager that if you had a decent time to rest, people would not mistake exhaustion for inebriation."

"He's going to be pissed when he sees this blow up," she sighed.

"Oh well," Vegeta shrugged, turning her phone off and tossing it over where Bulma had placed clean towels. "Let him handle it. You are off for three days, remember?"

"I guess," she said, still looking crestfallen. "I put my all into that show,"

"I know," he replied. "This will blow over,"

"You don't understand anything about social media, do you?"

"Not until I met you," he admitted. "And I cannot say I feel like I was missing out on anything."

"For once, I might have to agree with you," she said, grabbing another cooler. "It can be a great thing, but it can also be your worst nightmare in my industry. People are mean."

"Because they are brave behind their phones," he agreed. "I have no time for such nonsense, and if I did, I would not say anything I would not say to someone's face."

"You say that now, but it's so easy to forget that when you're on your phone, at home," she pointed out.

"Do I seem like the type of person who holds back my opinion when I am pissed off?" he deadpanned.

"No," she shook her head. "Good point."

"Forget about it," he said again. "Just focus on having a relaxing few days off, alright?" he said, holding his beer bottle out to her.

Bulma smiled, stood up and reached so she could clink her cooler bottle with his beer bottle. "Deal," she agreed.

They stayed up later than they had intended, visiting and enjoying a few drinks before turning in for the evening.

The next day, they both slept in and opted to take Justice for a nice long walk on the compound. Bulma showed Vegeta around a little bit more and explained more about her father's company and what they did. To Bulma's amazement, he was very familiar with a lot of the Capsule Corporation products. Apparently the military had a contract with them and they utilized many of her father's inventions from vehicles to capsule technology for transporting weapons and storage for meals and supplies and such, something which shouldn't have surprised her, but she was so uninvolved with her father's company, she truly had no idea.

"Bulma, dear!" her mother called out to them as they were exiting one of the labs.

"Hey, mom,"

"How splendid to see you both!" Mrs. Briefs smiled. "I'm surprised you're actually home."

"Yea, I'm off for a few days. I thought it would be a good opportunity to finally formally show Vegeta around. Apparently, he knows more about Capsule Corporation than I do," she laughed.

"Well, that's no surprise, dear," her mother shook her head at her daughter. "I think everyone knows more about your father's company than you do,"

"Please don't start on that right now," she sighed. "Now that I'm off for a few days, I was going to ask if you still wanted to have us for dinner to get to know Vegeta a little better?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Why your father and I would love that!" she gushed. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten."

"No, just busy," she shook her head.

"How long are you off for?" she asked. "I hope it's a decent amount of time,"

"No, only three days."

"Three days?" her mother exclaimed. "Dear, that's not long enough! You need a nice, long, clean break from all of that. Especially after everything that happened!"

"Yes, mom, I know," she sighed. This was part of the reason she avoided her mother like the plague. If she wasn't nagging her about quitting her music career to begin working for her father, she was constantly on her case about over working herself. "I have a video shoot that I need to do though that was already postponed because of my abduction and a bunch of other things I just can't push back right now. Yamcha is working on clearing my schedule."

"Tch," Vegeta snorted without meaning to.

"Is he not actually doing that?" Mrs. Briefs asked, narrowing her eyes at Vegeta, who was sufficiently embarrassed he'd not caught himself before doing that.

"He claims he is," he shrugged. "However, I know nothing of the business, so it is not my place to comment."

"He is," Bulma rolled her eyes and gave Vegeta a dirty look.

"Well you make sure he does," Mrs. Briefs said. "Anyhow, if you two don't have any plans for tonight, why don't you come later? Your father and I have nothing planned and I've been just looking for an excuse to whip up a good feast."

Bulma shrugged and looked at Vegeta. Today seemed just as good a day as any.

"Sure?" Vegeta shrugged. It made no difference to him. As far as he was concerned, the sooner they got that over with, the better; as he wasn't entirely comfortable with it to begin with. He was only appeasing her family because of Bulma's situation and because they seemed like nice people.

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Briefs exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I will get started on something right away! Come for six o'clock!"

"Sounds good," Bulma nodded. "We'll see you in a bit."

They headed back to Bulma's side of the compound. There was a package laying at the door.

"Oh look what came!" Bulma exclaimed in excitement as she picked up the large envelope.

Vegeta relaxed somewhat. If she knew who the sender was, then it was alright that someone had left something there. "What is it?" He asked.

"You'll see when we get inside," she winked at him.

Bulma ripped the envelope open while Vegeta did a quick sweep of her apartment with Justice.

She slid out two large printed photos of Justice that the photographer had taken of him laying in her living room that day of her photo shoot. He looked regal and serene. There were also three wallet sized pictures, two of the same pictures as the large ones and one of Bulma with Justice. Also in the envelope was a memory stick. "Look!" She said, sliding them across the counter to Vegeta, who had come to see what it was that had come in.

"Hmmm," he grunted as he looked at them. "They turned out well,"

"Of course they did!" She shrugged. "Can I look at the others on the memory stick and save them?"

"Of course," he said, handing the stick to her. He looked at the small picture of Bulma with Justice. It really was a great photo of them both. For a moment he considered giving it to her since she was so enamoured with Justice, but upon second thought, he decided he wanted to keep it. It wasn't every day you got a picture of a celebrity with your dog. Not to mention she would probably save a copy of it anyway.

Vegeta found the scissors and cut the small picture prints so they were individuals. He put the duplicate small picture back into the large envelope with the large photos and put the small ones in his wallet, including the one of Bulma with Justice.

"Cool!" He heard her as she came back to him and put the memory stick onto the counter top. "I saved them all. Thanks!"

He grunted in reply.

"You still up for dinner with my parents?" She asked, stifling a yawn.

"I suppose so," he nodded.

"Alright. Let me take a shower, change and we'll go," she said. "I'm pretty tired, so we don't have to stay too long."

They both showered and had a glass of wine before it was time to go meet her parents for dinner.

"Thank you for coming!" Mrs. Briefs cheerfully greeted them. "Now make yourselves at home, please. You didn't bring your furry partner?"

"No, I left him back at the suite." Vegeta answered.

"What a shame," she pouted. "He looks like such a nice dog. Well, bring him next time. He's as welcome here as you are."

"Thank you, I will keep that in mind,"

"Now what would you both like to drink?" Mrs. Briefs asked. "I know Bulma would like a glass of red wine, but you don't look like a wine kind of guy. You don't strike me as a beer guy either… I'm going to go with scotch or whiskey maybe? Yes. You're a whiskey guy, am I right?"

"On the nose," Vegeta grinned.

"I have a knack for these things," she said, turning and prompting them to follow her.

"She does," Bulma confirmed. "It's like her favourite party trick, guessing what everyone likes to drink. She's rarely wrong."

Vegeta nodded.

"Dinner is almost ready, I just have to bring everything out, have a seat wherever," Mrs. Briefs told them, handing them both their beverage of choice.

A moment later, Mr. Briefs arrived. "Well hello,"

"Hi dad," Bulma greeted him. "This is Vegeta, he's been staying with me for the last few weeks and doing security."

"Right, I have seen you around the compound a few times with your dog," he nodded, shaking hands. "I hope everything is to your liking and that Bulma isn't giving you too much trouble."

"Everything is fine, thank you," Vegeta replied, shaking the other man's hand.

"If there is anything you need to make you more comfortable here or that will help you do your job better, please don't hesitate to ask. Bulma's safety is our prime concern and we appreciate your efforts and willingness to take on such an unusual job."

"It is my pleasure," Vegeta said.

"We keep trying to convince her to switch careers, but she seems to have no interest," her father shrugged. "One of these days, I am certain she'll come to her senses and ask to be a part of the company. Until then, I guess it will be a while before I am retiring."

"Dad!" Bulma hissed at him. "I don't want to discuss that right now!"

"See?" The older man shrugged. "Zero interest."

"It's not that I have zero interest," Bulma said. "I'm just having fun doing my own thing right now. When I'm ready, I'll let you know and I'll be happy to start learning. That's all."

"But hunny, you've been saying that since high school," her mother pointed out, placing a large bowl of salad on the table along with a sliced loaf of bread.

"Look, can we not discuss this?" She huffed. "I'm

Sure Vegeta would like to talk about something else other than what a disappointment I am to you both."

"You're not a disappointment, dear!" Mrs. Briefs said, stopping in her tracks on her way back to the kitchen.

"On the contrary," her father added.

"Could have fooled me." She snorted.

Mr. Briefs sighed heavily as he sat down. "It isn't that we aren't proud of you, we are. We see how hard you work and we know you're having fun, but it's dangerous out there and you're working a little bit too hard I think. When was the last time you had a vacation?"

"I'm off for the next three days,"

"That's not a vacation," he shook his head.

"Well I have way too many other commitments booked to let me take more than that off right now," she replied sourly wishing everyone would mind their own business about how much time she had off versus how much she worked.

Vegeta resisted the urge to comment; it wasn't his problem. However he did feel better that her parents agreed that she was working far too much. Apparently Bulma was too stubborn to listen to anyone where that was concerned.

They had their meal and visited. It wasn't nearly as awkward as Vegeta had thought it would be. Bulma's parents were very nice people, as he'd initially expected.

"You seem to be very meticulous. Maybe when Bulma decides she feels safe enough to not need someone stay with her, you might consider taking a security job here," Mr. Briefs suggested, lighting a cigar.

"Thank you, but I will be going back into deployment as soon as I am able," Vegeta said graciously. He was genuinely flattered.

"That's so dangerous!" Mrs. Briefs said. "Why?"

Vegeta shrugged and shook his head, unable to form an answer that anyone who didn't live the life he did would understand.

"For the same reason I don't want to quit my music career yet." Bulma answered. She didn't understand why he would prefer that to a safer, less dangerous security position, but she could understand not being able to understand why he made that choice because she couldn't explain why she didn't want to give that up either. "When he's tired of that, maybe he'll be interested."

Vegeta gave her a fleeting look. "When I am tired of what I am doing and no longer able to do it, I will take a desk job or do something low key like intel."

Bulma nodded. He had told her that before. "Right, I forgot. Forget it, dad, even if we payed him three times more than the military does, he'll still choose that because he was essentially born into it. I already tried offering him more to stay permanently. It didn't work."

"What a shame," Mr. Briefs commented. "However I can respect that. If you ever change your mind though, give me a call. I will gladly hire someone as thorough and meticulous as you and with your experience."

"Thank you," Vegeta nodded. "I will take that into consideration."

Bulma smiled at him. It was funny how they weren't a couple, but this dinner with her family had gone over better than with any guy she'd brought home to meet them that she had been dating. Even Yamcha had been flustered and it had taken a while before her parents decided he was a good guy. What a shame, she thought to herself.

They stayed for a little while longer before heading back to Bulma's suite.

"Your parents are good people," he said as they stepped into the elevator.

"I know," she smiled. "They're just a little over protective is all."

"They mean well," he agreed. "You would be smart to listen to them."

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked. "Besides, if I didn't, then we wouldn't have met and that's very sad."

"Hmmn," he grunted, feeling uncomfortable again. "You're right. I would be rotting away in my apartment watching trashy television for another six months."

Bulma resisted the urge to sigh in disappointment. He was impossible! "Right. Think of all the fun you're having though! You don't seriously want to go back to war and bombs and all that, do you?"

"That is fun," he said as they stepped out of the elevator.

"We'll have to agree to disagree on that one," she said, unlocking her door.

"I will find something fun for us to do while you are off and then maybe you will understand." He said. Justice greeted them happily as they entered her suite.

"Sure, I'm game," she shrugged. "So long as it doesn't involve letting your dog bite me or having lunch in the middle of a war zone somewhere,"

"That would almost be romantic," he said jokingly. "However, no. I have something else in mind."

"Really?" Bulma said, turning to face him with a raised eyebrow. "Like a date?"

"No," he shook his head and noted how visibly disappointed she was by his answer. "Like an excursion," he said.

"Alright then," she shrugged, happy enough with that. "You decide and I'll go along with it."

"Whatever it is, though, you have to do it," he said with an evil smirk that made her stomach flutter.

"Deal," she nodded. "When are we doing this little excursion?"

"Not sure," he shrugged. "I will see tomorrow and make a few calls and go from there. If it can be arranged, hopefully while you are off before you start on that hectic schedule of yours again."

"Ugh, don't remind me," she groaned. "Glass of wine?"

"No, I am good," he shook his head.

"Alright, well I'm going to take a bath and go to bed early because I'm tired even though we did nothing."

"I will do a perimeter sweep and then take Justice out for a walk and ball toss if you are alright to be left on your own."

"I'll be fine," she nodded. "Good night,"

"Good night," he replied, watching her leave and enter her own suite for the night.

He smirked to himself. She kept telling him he was no fun, he would definitely show her some fun in the next two days… If he could figure out how to arrange it in such short notice.

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