The Popstar
Chapter 9
Bulma stepped out of her side of the apartment and into the living room, dressed to kill, wearing the tightest, most constricted halter dress Vegeta had ever seen. It was a blue bandage dress that gradually faded from a light powder blue to a deep royal blue at the bottom. It came down to her knees, but had thigh-high slits on either side so she could actually walk. The dress was so tight, it was clear she wasn't wearing any undergarments beneath it and it gave the effect that it was practically painted on and it may as well have, considering how border on indecent it was. She looked absolutely sinful and he had to look away before his thoughts wandered off into dangerous territory.
"What?" She said; she'd caught the shocked look on his face, tho it had been only a split fraction of a second before he'd hidden it and looked away. He'd hidden it well, but she was beginning to know him well enough that she could pick up on the subtleties in his demeanour and she took that as a small victory as those fraction of a moment reactions and quick glances were usually the only indications that she was getting under his skin. She'd also noticed that the less he said, the more likely it was that he was trying to pretend like she had no effect on him. She loved it and it became a game to see if she could make him react. So far, no luck in that department most of the time. The man was impossible.
"Could you find a smaller dress?" He blurted out before his brain could catch up with his mouth. It was not his place to even have an opinion about what she wore, let alone comment on it.
"Nope, I couldn't actually. I did try though," she said, placing her hands on her hips assertively. "Try finding a baby bump in this dress, add to the fact that I'm totally going to drink my face off tonight. That will get rid of the stupid pregnancy rumours!"
"Or make them worse that you're being reckless," he deadpanned.
"Do I look pregnant to you?" She asked, turning to the side, revealing her petite waist between her ample bust and voluptuous bottom. The shiny gold heels she was wearing made her toned legs look a mile long and once again he wondered, as he had many times these past seven months residing with her, what it would feel like having them wrapped around his waist.
The dress perfectly showcased her curvy, hourglass figure, hugging all of her curves in all of the right places and left very little to the imagination. Not only would it dispel pregnancy rumours, but she definitely wasn't at an alarming or unhealthy level of thin either. She was… perfect. And he'd dare anyone to argue or publish anything stating otherwise. However, he couldn't tell her that. "Definitely not," he said, quickly glancing away again. Part of him, the protective side, wanted to grab an oversized trench coat to cover her up, but a small other part of him was proud that he would be seen with her. Never in his wildest dreams would he have conjured up this entire scenario. Yet here he was, in a position where he could not act on his desires or live out a brief fantasy with her. What horrible thing had he done in his life to merit this kind of hell, he wondered. He had to remain professional, he reminded himself then and there.
Look but do not touch. He told himself.
Vegeta only hoped that tonight would be easy. If anyone came on to her or touched her in an unwelcome manner, they would not be dealt with lightly by him. If he could live with her and manage to remain professional and mind his P's and Q's twenty four hours a day, seven days a week for the last seven months, so could everyone else, he reasoned. "I can tell what you had for dinner last night though,"
"Hmmm, dammed straight!" She said confidently, trying to hide the fact that she was disappointed he'd slipped back into his usual cool, aloof, supposed professional demeanour. She'd chosen the dress mainly to get his attention. Yes, she wanted to squash the stupid pregnancy rumours that were floating around, but she wanted a reaction out of him and the reaction she got, wasn't what she'd been hoping for. However, she also knew that little no reaction from him likely meant he was hiding his true reaction.
It had been two weeks since they'd installed the new security equipment. For a few days there, he'd been somewhat relaxed and had actually bantered with her, but since then had gone back to his usual aloof demeanour. One step forward, ten steps back, she thought dejectedly. However, the night was young. She was hoping to have some fun this evening and dance her ass off. Maybe he would let his guard down somewhat at the club.
Bulma was attending a music video release party for the video she had done with well known rap artist, Emperor Pilaf about two weeks ago. They'd done a three day video shoot on a tropical island. Tonight they were premiering the video and releasing the single of their collaboration and would be performing the song at a high end night club called Kai. The event had sold out in four minutes. It had been invitation only and only a limited number of tickets sold because it was an exclusive, one night only event. Bulma hadn't done a release party in years, but although her collaborator, Pilaf, was very well known already, he was still fairly new to the music scene. They were label mates and so she was required to promote this single with him when it was released, which was tonight.
This was going to be her first outing at a club since her abduction and despite her nerves working over time that she may run into her captor, she was determined to have a good time this evening no matter what. Vegeta was coming with her. He wouldn't let anyone bother her. She was hoping that he might relax and try to have some fun as well, but she wasn't going to hold her breath. Security would be extremely tight anyway. If club goers didn't have tickets, they were not allowed in. It was also a very upscale club that offered mainly bottle service only and all of the drinks were extremely over priced. It was not the average night club and so Bulma felt confident that tonight would be a lot of fun if she could just relax, let loose and enjoy herself once her obligations with the press and performance was done.
They arrived at the club and exited the vehicle. Vegeta instructed their driver to park behind the building's exit in case they needed to leave in a hurry for any reason. He knew Bulma did not want to deal with a lot of paparazzi. If she wanted to leave, he would make sure they left without any fuss or drama.
"Don't go in too quickly," she said to him, linking her arm through his elbow as she closed the car door behind her. "I want them to get lots of pictures of me looking clearly not pregnant."
Vegeta grunted, though inwardly cringed. That would mean there would also be a ton of pictures of himself as well. He recalled back at her home before they'd left that he'd held sentiments about feeling proud to be seen with her, but now that they were being swarmed by photographers and reporters and mad fans, he was anything but. He just hoped his father or no one he knew would see these in the tabloids or on the news. Magazines he wasn't too worried about, however they did watch the news on occasion and he just hoped this wouldn't be covered. He'd either be a laughing stock or a source of envy; the latter he did not mind too much, although he did not want too much attention drawn to himself. As it was, he was severely underdressed next to her. He'd worn a dark royal blue v-neck fitted t-shirt and fitted black cargo pants. It was essentially his uniform except he switched out blue for black every once in a while.
He did not discourage her from linking her arm through his as they posed; though he knew that would not do anything to dispel the rumors that they were together romantically. However, he also did not want her too far away from him or in a position where someone could easily reach out and grab her.
"You don't have to look so put out," Bulma said to him somehow, even though she was smiling and posing. "It'll be over soon,"
Vegeta snorted, but did not change his demeanour. He would not be smiling for the cameras like some fool.
Buma let him go for a moment and walked to the side of the sign of the night club and posed. He watched closely as she worked the photographers as though she was born to do that and nothing else; they simply adored her and he could understand why. She indulged them by posing, smiling and taking directions from them; they ask her to turn around, she did. They asked her to blow them a kiss, she blew two or three at them.
Vegeta watched each and every single one of them carefully. They kept a decent distance from her, never crossing the barrier that had been put up. None of them seemed suspicious or matched the description of the man Bulma had given. In the last two weeks, there had been no sign of her kidnapper and that was beginning to make Vegeta extremely nervous.
Suddenly, she reached for him and dragged him towards the nightclub sign she'd been posing in front of. "Smile, lover!" she said to him and wrapped her arms around one of his, leaning into him. He could feel the swell of her breasts against his bicep and wished the ground would open up and swallow him. How the hell was he going to keep this up without fucking it up, he wondered. He was sure they looked like a real couple to everyone else.
"Can you give her a kiss?" one of the paparazzi asked asked him.
"Hmmm," she hummed playfully, looking at Vegeta with a raised eyebrow. "No, I charge extra for PDA pics."
"Aww! Come on!" They protested.
"Nope!" She chortled.
One of the photographers pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and began waving it around at her. "One hundred bucks for a quick peck for us, please?"
"Ha haa, sorry, the stripe club is around the corner." She said teasingly, taking Vegeta's hand and dragging him into the club behind her.
Vegeta sighed in relief as he followed her, glad that part was over and done with and glad she hadn't made him kiss her in front of everyone. While the notion of kissing her wasn't the least bit off putting, if he was going to kiss her, it was for damned sure not going to be in front of everybody and his dog and in front of cameras documenting it for the whole world to see. "One hundred dollars for a picture of us kissing?" He exclaimed.
"Sorry," she said to him, letting his hand go as soon as they were inside. "That's nothing. You know how much money a picture of us making out would make them?"
"No," he answered.
"Quite a lot," she said. "We gave them enough to keep them happy though."
Vegeta nodded and followed her. He thought she'd handled them extremely well. And he noted in amusement that she'd manipulated him in front of them flawlessly in such a way that he didn't even fully realize it until now. She hadn't done anything to advance the rumours that they were a couple, but she didn't do anything to dispel that either. It was clever and ingenious, really. She had to have known that if she'd have asked him to pose with her, he'd have made a point of not lingering on the way in. Instead, she'd taken her time, made it sound like she'd wanted them to snap only pictures of her in her slinky dress but she'd found a way to include him without him realizing it.
Clever minx.
Bulma went straight to where her designated, reserved table was. Of course, they were treated to a full, complementary bottle service, complements of the record label.
"Emperor Pulaf isn't here yet, but would you care to answer some questions?" A reporter asked.
"Sure, ask away," she said.
"Are you excited about the video?"
"I am, it was a lot of fun shooting it with Pilaf and the location was amazing!" She answered. "It's pretty hot, so make sure the ac in this joint is working."
"Do you have any further plans to collaborate together?"
"Not at this time, but that's not to say we won't in the future,"
They asked her a few more questions before departing and she answered them all cheerfully and professionally.
Now that she was done with that and the paparazzi had taken a ton of pictures of her in her scandalous dress, she kind of just wanted to go back home, put on a pair of yoga pants and thick sweater and binge watch something on tv with Vegeta, but here she was. She still had yet to perform the song with Pilaf and she was already exhausted.
A waitress approached her. "What would you like to drink?" She asked.
"Hmmm, a bottle of white please and a shot of tequila," she said. "Vegeta, do you want anything?"
"Just a bottle of water," he answered.
"No, like a beer or whiskey?" Bulma asked.
"No,"
"Alright. Just the wine, tequila shot and a bottle of water for now please." She said to the waitress.
Vegeta wasn't sure what to do, so he stood off to the side near her, but leaning against the wall. He'd never been to a night club before so all of this was completely new to him. He'd heard about places like this, but he'd never gone to one.
It was busy. The music was loud. People were already drunk and doing what he assumed was dancing on the dance floor. Couples mostly. Doing a whole lot of crotch grinding and groping from what he could tell. Most of the women were dressed even more scandalously than Bulma was and it shocked him. This place seemed more like a meat market than a club and he felt like he hadn't missed out on anything by having never been to a place like this in his youth.
Yamcha approached them a few minutes later and he could tell he'd had a few drinks already.
"Change of plans," Vegeta heard him say to Bulma. He leaned into her ear and she rolled her eyes.
"Well now what am I going to to?" She asked in annoyance. "That's the whole reason I even came to this thing."
"I don't know, improvise, B," he shrugged. "You only have like a million other songs you could do."
"But we're supposed to perform the one we did together in the video. That's the point to a video release party!"
"Yes, I know. But something happened and he won't be here," Yamcha said.
Bulma sighed and looked at Vegeta in annoyance. "I swear, every time I collaborate with someone it goes south the minute we have to promote it and then I'm stuck holding the bag."
The waitress came back with her shot, a bottle of wine, bottle of water and a bottle of champagne. "The champagne is from the label," she said.
"Thank you," Bulma thanked her and promptly downed her shot. "Can you bring me another one of those, please?"
"Make that two!" Yamcha cut in.
"Of course,"
"Okay, I'll do two songs." Bulma decided. "But I get to choose them."
"Two? Okay," Yamcha nodded. "You know you were only supposed to do the one, right?"
"I know, but since Pilaf isn't coming and at least half of the people here came just to see him, I have to at least make this worth their while," she said. "But, I get to pick the songs,"
"Alright, whatever you want," Yamcha said, leaving to go and let whoever needed to know the change of plans what they were going to do.
Bulma rolled her eyes and sat down. "Want some champagne?"
"No," he replied, grabbing his bottle of water.
"It's free," she said, grabbing the bottle. "Can you at least open it for me?"
Vegeta took the bottle from her and popped it open. Several people began to cheer and Bulma quickly got up and wrapped an arm around his waist in time for a flash that nearly blinded him.
"Sorry, photo op," she said.
Vegeta glared at her.
"Oh lighten up," she smiled at him. "Tonight is a mixture of work and fun! I intend to do both and I'd really like it if you did too."
He didn't say anything and instead, handed her back the bottle of champagne. It was going to be a long light, he decided. She wasn't even drunk yet and she was driving him crazy with her flirting.
Yamcha returned a few minutes later and Bulma wrote down the two songs of her choice that she wanted to perform.
"Neither of those songs is the video," Yamcha said to her in confusion.
"Ya, I know." She replied as though he was stupid.
"Don't you want to perform-"
"No, I want those two songs," she insisted. "I'm not performing that song on my own. Just do it and don't question me for once!"
Yamcha sighed and gave Vegeta a look he couldn't quite place, but he ignored him. Vegeta had no sympathy for him if Bulma was being difficult with him.
Bulma relaxed for a few minutes. She ordered a bottle of water for herself, which she drank quickly and at Yamcha's indication, got up. "It's showtime," she said to Vegeta. "You can stay here. I'm just going to be on that small stage up there. There will likely be security back there as well."
"I will come with you," he said.
"Make sure you enjoy the show," she winked at him and scampered back stage.
Vegeta watched as she spoke with the DJ and someone else he assumed was taking care of the technical stuff. They gave her a hands free mic and she put it on.
The DJ announced to the crowd that the other performer, Emperor Pilaf was to be a no show for the evening and there was a round of boos heard all around for a moment and then he announced that Bulma was still performing, at which some of the booing turned to clapping and cheering.
The first song Vegeta recognized as the obnoxious song about threesomes she'd been doing a video for the day he'd first met her. In the background the video played on large screens behind her. He hadn't seen the actual video in its finished product after that shoot. It had turned out gloriously trashy and he had a hard time taking his eyes off of it and watch her in person instead.
The second song was the newer video she had done not that long ago in the hotel room with the large bed. Once again, he hadn't actually seen the finished result. All he remembered about that song was her flirting with him while singing about not wanting to know her suitors name and how she just wanted to fuck.
The audience seemed more than content with her performances and she kept her flirting with him from on stage to a minimum.
Once Bulma was finished, she thanked everyone for coming and left the stage.
Bulma looked at him coyly as she practically skipped down the stairs towards him, biting her lower lip as she smiled at him. He looked perfect tonight. The royal blue of his fitted shirt was almost the same shade as the dark blue on her dress and she loved the fitted cargo pants he always wore; they flattered his ass and well-built thighs and something about the way he looked in them was just so sexy to her. He was alluring without even trying.
"Good job," he said.
"Aww thanks! You liked it?" She cooed, her eyes dancing with mischief as she stopped herself from ogling him.
"I did," he said.
"Good!" She said, downing her shot that was waiting for her and then pouring herself some champagne.
"So now what happens?" He asked her.
"Hmmmm, that's all up to you, lover," she teased, playfully sticking her tongue out at him. "Ball's in your court."
"I meant for the rest of the evening, you salacious woman."
"Ohh salacious?" She repeated back to him in mock offence. "I've been called a few things in my life, but salacious is not one of them. I like it, though I guess I kinda had that coming."
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh relax," she said. "Nothing really, I have to stay here for a bit since it's a promotional thing so I'll have a few drinks and dance a bit. Some friends of mine are supposed to be coming too."
The waitress came back with another shot of tequila, which Bulma downed quickly and then kicked off her stilettos and decided to join the party on the dance floor.
"Wanna join me?" She asked, reaching for his hand, hoping he'd at least dance with her.
"I'll admire from afar," he answered and followed her.
Vegeta stood on the side of the dance floor, leaning against a pillar, watching her carefully to make sure no one got too close or made her uncomfortable. It was nice to see her letting loose and actually having fun for once. She'd had a few drinks already and he hoped she wouldn't get too carried away. She'd actually been really good about that since the night she'd embarrassed herself and proposed marriage to him.
He smirked to himself in memory of it. They still tossed around the odd joke about it every once in a while. He liked that she didn't take herself so seriously that she couldn't make fun of herself when she did something dumb.
A male with straight, black, jaw-length hair approached Bulma. Vegeta vaguely recognized him as one of her back up dancers from a few of her music videos he'd happened to see over the years and he'd been one of her lead male dancers at the last show she'd done a while back. He wasn't overly tall, more or less the same height as himself. He was handsome and wore jeans and a tight, thin long sleeved white shirt with green sleeves that showed off his lithe figure. He confidently approached Bulma on the dance floor. She squealed in delight and wrapped her arms around his neck, apparently glad that he had shown up.
He lifted her up and spun her around once as she hugged him.
"Remix!" the DJ yelled as another song of Bulma's began to play and they began dancing together. The level of comfortableness and familiarity between them did not go unnoticed by Vegeta and so he relaxed somewhat as he looked on. The other club patrons screamed and cheered them on as they began to tear it up. It wasn't often they were rewarded with a free performance from professionals.
The way they were moved together suggested that they must have been recreating some of the choreography that had been done either for a show or a video for the song, Vegeta was unsure; he'd never seen the video for this particular song, as it had been done before he had started working for Bulma.
Other people present on the dance floor whooped and hollered at them and clapped in tune to the beat as they moved off to the side to give them more space to dance.
The man held her close and she moved sensually against him in sync to the beat of the song as though it were completely natural; perfectly, flawlessly, but with a raw edge that screamed sex. They danced so provocatively and as though they knew one another intimately inside and out that Vegeta wondered why they weren't a couple? Clearly they were extremely comfortable with one another and enjoyed each other's company and closeness.
As he watched them, he swallowed back the slight twang of jealousy that was lurking. He could never dance or move like that. While a part of him wouldn't want to make a spectacle of himself like that in front of a crowd, another, small part of him kinda wished he could sweep her off her feet like that and become the envy of everyone in the room; male and female alike. It was impressive to him, despite it not being his craft. He froze as Bulma suddenly made eye contact with him and held it for several seconds as she danced close to the other man, grinding shamelessly up against him before he spun her around several times expertly.
After the song, Bulma let the other dancer go and came bounding up to Vegeta.
"Why are you standing there like a grumpy post?" She asked, her words slurring just a bit. "The building won't fall over, you know!"
"I am keeping an eye on things," he replied; uncomfortable that he had been caught staring at her and the scene she'd put on right in front of him.
"I see that," she smiled. "Come dance with me!"
"No," he replied, shaking his head.
"Aww why not, Vegeta?" she pouted.
"Because I am working and it would not be appropriate," he answered. Even if he weren't on duty, there was no way he could follow that and not feel like an inadequate, imbecilic fool. Vegeta was not used to feeling inadequate around another male. Usually he cared very little about what anyone else was doing or what they could do; he knew his talents… unfortunately none of them applied here and in this setting.
"Come on!" She whined. "Let me buy you a drink and you can have some fun while on duty."
"No," he answered again. "I cannot have anything or participate in anything that might distract me."
"Really? I distract you?" She asked with a grin, biting her lower lip, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing herself close into his body, leaning into his ear. "If I said I want your body, would you hold it against me?"
"Get the fuck out of here," he snorted, trying not to laugh at her lame attempt at flirting. He'd heard that song, though it wasn't one of hers. He placed his hands on her hips to push her away, but she would not move; though his hands lingered on her hips.
"Haa! I actually made you smile!" She giggled at him, her arms still wrapped firmly around his neck, not allowing him to put distance between them. He smelled really good and she really wanted to make out with him and didn't know why she was hesitating.
"Because you're being an idiot," he replied, gently removing her arms from around his neck, putting some space between them and promptly crossed his arms, hoping to deter her from hugging him again. Tonight she was really testing his patience and self control. He would love to do nothing more than hoist her up in such a way that she'd have to wrap those exquisite legs of hers around his waist as he took her somewhere private and had his way with her. What made it so difficult to refrain was he knew she'd be more than willing! In the morning though, he knew he'd be angry with himself and unfairly with her for teasing him to the point of compromising his standards. What part of employer/employee relationship did she not understand?
"I'm not," she rolled her eyes at him. "I just want to have fun,"
"Then go have fun," he said leaning into her ear so she could hear him over the loud music blaring. Her heart pounded and her gut fluttered as his jaw brushed against her cheek and she felt his warm breath on her ear. "I have a job to do. Maybe another time."
Bulma was tipsy and had a decent buzz going, but she wasn't that far gone. Though the alcohol was giving her a bit more courage and she was being a little more persistent than she normally was around him. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but she'd feel nervous and did nothing but put her foot in her mouth whenever she tried to flirt with him. She'd been around many good looking men before. She'd crushed on other men before and the flirting was always the part she liked the most; so much so, that half the time once she'd gotten a guy to finally ask her out, she'd lose interest by then. She never had a problem flirting except with Vegeta and she didn't know why. "Hmm. I'm going to hold you to that," she said teasingly.
"Huh?" He asked, moving closer and leaning into her again so he could hear her better. The blasted music was so loud he could barely hear himself think.
"I said-"
Bulma's thought was cut short as the sound of gunshots filled the club and immediately, Vegeta grabbed her hand and rushed towards the kitchen and then out the back door of the club.
"What's going on?" She cried. Vegeta had been so quick to drag her out of there that her brain hadn't had a chance to realize what had happened and the danger was only just now beginning to register.
"Not sure," he replied, opening the door to their car. He helped her in and was about to close the door, when she stuck her arm out and leaned on it.
"Where are you going?" She asked in terror.
"To find out what is going on," he said, sounding exasperated with her. "Go home, I will see you there."
"No!" She cried in terror. "No! I need you with me! He's here! It's him! I know it is! You cannot leave me alone!" She carried on, border on hysterical and grabbing his hand insistently.
"If it is him, then the smartest move is to get you the hell out of here and you are wasting time!" He said.
"I don't care," she shook her head. Her pleasant buzz quickly fading. "Goku left me alone to investigate and I was taken and then he was shot! Please don't leave me alone, please! Let the police figure it out. Just get me home."
Vegeta sighed in frustration, but relented. While he did want to know who was responsible for the commotion and why, he also agreed that separating was a bad idea. Especially if that was what had happened before and how she'd been taken. She had every right to be terrified.
He nodded in agreement and she slid over to make room for him.
Vegeta pushed the button to make the privacy glass roll down, just to make sure it was their driver. That was also what had happened last time. Her driver had been switched. "Take us back to the compound immediately," he instructed, relief flooding him that nothing had happened to their usual driver. "Take an alternate route."
"As you wish," the driver replied.
Vegeta rolled the window back up and sat back against his seat. Not a second later, Bulma took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you," she said.
"For what?" He asked, absentmindedly threading his fingers with hers without even thinking. He hadn't noticed until now, but he himself was rattled by this incident as well.
"For not leaving me alone," she said.
"You were right to ask me to stay,"he admitted.
They were quiet the majority of the ride. It took several minutes for Vegeta to notice his heart rate slowing down and the burn of adrenaline beginning to wear off. Suddenly he felt exhausted and he was ashamed he'd felt so afraid the moment he'd heard the first round go off. He couldn't even remember now how he'd gotten them out of the club so quickly. It was packed and everyone was screaming in terror. He'd just grabbed Bulma's hand and off they went. He hadn't even known for certain that there was an exit in the kitchen, only that he'd instructed their driver to park behind the establishment. Yet somehow he'd gotten them out of there quickly and safely while on auto pilot. Now, he was resisting the urge to shake and weep in the aftermath. It was pathetic… and so not like him.
"Are you okay?" She asked, sitting up to look at him. She'd felt him trembling beside her.
"I am fine," he lied, mortified that she'd noticed when he'd thought that he was keeping his cool. "Just adrenaline wearing off; that is all."
Bulma nodded, but didn't believe him. The look in his eyes told her that he was just as frightened as she was. "It's okay to be scared, you know," she said.
"I am not scared!" He snapped at her more harshly than he intended. "I have been through much worse than that."
"I'm sure you have," she agreed. "But the last time you were in a situation, it was scary. This wasn't nearly as bad, but I can understand how it would shake you up and that's okay. That's all I meant."
"I have a therapist, thank you," he snipped at her, looking out the window. Damnit, she was right, but that didn't mean he wasn't deeply embarrassed. He could not stop shaking, no matter how hard he tried and it felt like the longest car ride back to Bulma's place. All he wanted to do was get back there and go to bed and forget what had happened this evening. Hopefully he would not be plagued with nightmares all night.
"Shit, I left my shoes there," she said and he was so deep in thought he hadn't even heard her.
They silently made their way upstairs to Bulma's suite. She pulled out her phone and texted Yamcha to ask if he was okay and to let him know that they'd left the club and didn't know if it had anything to do with her, but she was home already because Vegeta had been quick to react.
"I hope Lapis made it out safely, oh my god, I didn't even think of him!" She said, sending him a text message next.
Vegeta didn't even hear her rambling as he took off his jacket and shoes and then stood there, petting Justice absent mindedly, not thinking of anything in particular.
"I don't want to be alone," she said to him a moment later as they both stood in her front foyer in uncomfortable silence. "Will you stay up and watch tv with me?"
"I suppose so," he agreed. Truth be told, he likely wouldn't be falling asleep any time soon anyway and he did not particularly want to be alone either, except that thought bothered him.
"Thanks," she said. "I'm going to change and I'll be right back,"
They both changed and by the time Bulma had made it back out into the living room, Vegeta was already on the couch, mindlessly channel surfing.
"Do you want anything to drink?" She asked, feeling worried that he had been so quiet since they had left the club.
"Hmmmn, no," he grunted, deep in thought as he berated himself for being so weak. Since when was he so shook up after a little bit of gunfire?
Bulma came back with a large glass of water and placed it on the table in front of them. She grabbed her favourite blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders before she sat down close, next to him, leaning into him with her knees on the couch and sitting on her feet.
Vegeta stiffened up for a moment, but hid it by reaching over and grabbing the remote to turn the sound on and resumed mindlessly channel surfing.
"Wait! Go back!" Bulma exclaimed suddenly. He went back. It was a local news station where there was a reporter outside the club they'd been at.
"A gang related shooting took place at the popular night club, Kai, where a music video release party for Bulma Briefs and rap artist Emperor Pilaf was happening," the reporter said. "The altercation started over two rival gangs showing up and ended in several gun shots, killing two of the gang members involved. No one else has been reported as injured. Bulma Briefs whereabouts are unknown at this time, but it is assumed she fled as soon as the incident took place and she remains safe.
"About six months ago, she was abducted by a crazed fan in somewhat similar circumstances. Her rep could not be reached for comment to confirm or deny her safety."
Bulma swallowed down a heavy lump in her throat. "I'm sorry," she managed to say. "I'm sorry for overreacting,"
"Do not be sorry," he said. "It is understandable that you would assume the worst. Especially after what you've been through."
"Thank you," she said, her voice quivering. "You just… got me out of there so fast. When I heard the first shot, all I thought was that it was happening again. I know it had nothing to do with us and it was stupid of me to assume that it did, but… thank you for getting me out of there and thank you for staying with me. You could have been seriously hurt if you had gone back in!" She cried, throwing her arms around him and beginning to cry.
"Nonsense," he said, feeling awkward that she was so emotional and so close to him. He didn't want to simply push her away though. She was upset and had every reason to be, however comforting emotional women was not something he was good at or had much experience with. He'd had brutal experiences with missions going very wrong with fellow female soldiers and their way to work it out after something traumatic happened was to get rip snorting drunk afterwards. Sometimes it resulted in a passionate romp, sometimes it didn't. He definitely did not want to cross that line with Bulma, even though she smelled wonderful and he himself was a little shaken up from the incident and could use the distraction for a little while. If he did finally cross that line, he didn't want it to be because they were both vulnerable over a bad experience.
In truth, that was what was bothering him more than the actual incident itself. He'd been caught in the middle of gunfire before. It was no big deal. Hell he'd been in situations where he was actually being deliberately shot at and he'd brushed it off afterwards as nothing and barely gave it a second thought. However this time, he hadn't been frightened until the adrenaline had worn off and he could hear Krillin in the back of his mind telling him in his therapist tone that it was definitely a side effect of ptsd from the explosion that was rearing it's ugly head.
"Everything is fine," he said, finally bringing an arm around her shoulders as he realized that he needed consoling almost as much as she did. Though not because of this incident. He hadn't let himself grieve over what had happened to him and his platoon of lost men and to Justice. He'd swallowed back the grief, burying it away and had allowed himself to be consumed by shame and anger instead and to distract himself from all of that, he had taken on this job. "We're safe now."
He held her close and took comfort in her embrace as he let her cry into the side of his neck. He suspected that she hadn't let herself properly unwind from her full ordeal either. How could she when her manager kept her so busy she couldn't think or decompress and the media kept bringing it up constantly whenever they ran any kind of story about her? While completely different circumstances had happened to them both, it was similar in that neither of them had given themselves the chance to heal from it and come to terms with it.
Finally, she sat back and looked at him. "Are you alright?" She asked, wiping her face and looking imploringly at him and he resisted the urge to wrap both of his arms around her and hold her close and weep himself.
"I am fine," he scoffed as though she were being completely ridiculous.
"Are you sure?" She asked again, tipping her head to the side as though analyzing him. "I realize that this was probably nothing compared to what happened to you, but if you need to talk about it, you can. You can't live your life constantly on auto pilot, you know. That's not good."
His heart sank as he was genuinely touched by her sincere concern, but it would be highly unprofessional for him to confide in her. "I am sure," he nodded. "I just was not expecting gunfire and this was my first exposure to it since the explosion. I will be fine after a nights rest."
Bulma narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, but chose not to push him. His reaction to her noticing that he was shaking right afterwards in the car told her that it was best to leave it alone for now. "Alright, well, I'm here if you ever need someone to talk about any of that stuff with. I'm glad you were with me even though it was nothing. Thank you." For the second time that night, she contemplated leaning in and kissing him. The only thing holding her back was fear that it would cross the line and he would leave and she'd almost rather continue to torture herself and flirt with him and admire him from afar than risk making him so uncomfortable by forcing him to bend his own rules he'd rather leave. No, he knew she wanted him. She would continue to leave the door open, but it had to be him who walked through it.
Vegeta looked back at her and knew she wanted him to do something. He couldn't though. She was off limits, he reminded himself regretfully as he resisted the urge to reach over and pull her into his lap and kiss her or just hold her close. He couldn't do that though. He knew she liked him a whole lot more than she should and he himself was walking a very fine line as of late with regards to his feelings for her. It was hard enough living with her and working out with her… and watching her rehearse and train with her in self defence. How he was able to refrain from not crossing a line there was beyond him. Vegeta wasn't stupid; he knew why she'd asked him to teach her. She was using it as another strategy to tempt him. Unfortunately for her, he not only saw straight through that, but he was also very competitive and to succumb to her efforts would be like losing a bet. What she did not have to know, was the majority of the time after their work outs, he indulged and allowed himself relief in the shower. However, even he knew that would only be sufficient for so long.
"Just doing my job," he shrugged awkwardly, wishing she would put some distance between them before one of them instigated something stupid that they would likely regret in the morning. Sex would only ruin the amicable, easy and otherwise professional relationship they had. If only she weren't his employer and if only he weren't entrusted with her safety…
Sensing that he needed comfort but refused to admit it, Bulma leaned back a bit further, but curled closer into his side so that she could rest her head on his shoulder.
Despite the warning bells sounding off in the back of his mind, he left his arm draped around her shoulders and relaxed as he went back to channel surfing; his mind a mess of shame for his reaction and what to do about the woman beside him who he was having more and more of a difficult time not letting the boundaries between them become blurred.
It took a while, but eventually they both fell asleep on the couch with the tv on, leaning into each other.
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