Chapter 3: Backstage

The backstage was a tornado of bustle; the musicians loosening their ties and setting their instruments back in their cases. Several of the men began to talk about having a nightcap at the local bar; laughing of filling their bellies with brews and finding a woman to bed for the night.

Vegeta watched them all from the shadows of the curtains, drumming his bicep with his fingers. A scowl darkened his features as he thought of how he could express how he felt about his current piece coming to life.

"You did a good job on that bass solo, Goku," a viola player beamed as he tucked his bow away in his case while he rubbed his bald head. "I was pretty impressed that you nailed it after learning in such a short amount of time."

"Yeah, I was surprised too. I thought Vegeta was just setting me up to fail by telling me about it only a week ago," Goku smiled sheepishly and played through his thick, black mane. "I guess I proved him wrong."

Vegeta scoffed. It was true; he had given the solo to the overly buff base player with such a short notice. But Goku was wrong about trying to set him up. Vegeta would never admit it out loud, but he saw potential in the slightly younger man that he hadn't witnessed in ages. The first time he heard him play, he felt a sense of excitement that he thought was lost on him throughout his musical career. Sure, his orchestra was good; but once in awhile there was one that stood out among the rest, one that carried the ability to read notes of any clef and play the pitch perfectly. Who could pick up any instrument and play it as if it was an extra limb on his body. Goku surely fit the bill. And Vegeta hadn't met anyone who came even remarkably close since…. well...since himself.

And a swift kick in the "never-takes-anything-seriously" man's ass could push him in the right direction. And possibly save Vegeta's last nerve.

"Even Vegeta smiled at you during it, so you must have done his piece justice. Either that or he was upset that he didn't get to embarrass you." Krillin. That was his name. He talked too much and it irritated Vegeta to his very soul, but the man could play like nobody's business. That fact did not surpress the throbbing vein that pulsated in his forehead, however.

"I'm sure he's pleased with it. By now, he would storm out here and say that we disgraced his time and talent. "

Vegeta grit his teeth. Not the he cared or anything, but is this how his own orchestra saw him? As some screaming, yelling, pipe stuck up his ass tyrant? Furthermore, did it matter when he composed such a beautiful score with the perfect sense of direction and conducting?

No. No it did not, and Vegeta would not play nice for the sake of being liked.

But that woman. The one with the obnoxious blue hair that he had a hard time diverting his attention from. She let him know that even she, someone who did not know him enough to count the hairs on his hand, had passed judgment because her inferior boyfriend couldn't handle his tough regimen. Yamcha. Bile on Vegeta's tongue. Was he that incompetent that he couldn't see the bigger picture? That many had begged to even have an hour of his time, his teachings, so they could grow as a musician? What did they do, lay on their over sized pillows while sipping wine, basking in the glow of after sex and discussing his personality? If he ever saw that infuriating woman again, he would perhaps give her a piece of his mind.

"Oh, Vegeta!" Goku looked over to the hidden figure, preparing to walk over. "We didn't see you back there."

"I don't recall asking to be seen," Vegeta folded his arms and propped a leg behind him to support himself on the wall.

"Sure, sure, " Goku waved him off, chuckling. "It was really great to hear the way everything sounded live. The audience was pretty receptive, I heard them clapping for minutes after we exited."

"Your point?"

"My point," Goku continued, not perturbed by Vegeta's dark sarcasm, "is that you composed an amazing score! The second part, after we repeat the bridge, was really something."

"No need to kiss my ass, Kakarot. I am aware it was a good piece."

"Goku, Vegeta. I don't know why you keep calling me Kakarot."

"When you stop reminding me of my neighbors whiny mutt, then perhaps I will give you a new name."

"Okay… I think. Well, are you happy the way it turned out?"

"Do I look happy?"

"Uh… I dunno, honestly. It's hard to tell with you."

"Well when you figure it out," Vegeta stood up straight and walked passed Goku, jamming his hands into his pocket, "let me know."

Vegeta left Goku scratching his head as he tunnel visioned the exit. The concert was over and he wasn't disappointed, but now wasn't time to relish in the moment. It was time for bigger, for better, for a new masterpiece.

"Babe you did so good!"

Vegeta stopped in his tracks. There was the voice that was his current irritation. He turned to watch the encounter out of the corner of his eye, pressing his lips tightly into a thin line.

"Thank you gorgeous," Yamcha spinner her around, letting his arm rest firmly under her butt. He gave it a quick squeeze and Vegeta wished he could've unseen it.

"You were so svelte up there," Bulma rested her hands on his shoulders, batting her eyelashes prettily at him. "I felt like I was looking at a different Yamcha."

"Oh stop, babe, " Yamcha blushed, setting her down, "it's just the suit."

"I like the suit," Bulma pursed her lips together and ran her fingers down the red silk of the front of his jacket, "It gives me ideas… " she rolled her tongue and leaned I'm close to his ear, whispering words that turned Yamcha's cheeks into cherries.

Bulma continued her torment of her barely standing boyfriend, coyly moving her eyes around as her puckered lips continued their torture. Vegeta was just about to turn away from the grotesque scene when onyx eyes collided with blue ones.

Bulma blushed, her pink pout forming in a perfectly formed o. She slowly released her hold on Yamcha, backing slowly away until their bodies were barely touching. Vegeta curled his lip over her top teeth. Why the hell was she looking at him like that?

He turned his stare away from her and proceeded to leave. Sure he said that he would give her a piece of his mind, but now all he wanted was to remove himself from the stuffy atmosphere.

"Hey, Vegeta, wait a minute!" A warm hand accompanied the words, and he looked down with annoyance at the woman's loose grip on his forearm.

"What do you want?" he shrugged himself from her embrace, earning a raised eyebrow from her.

"Well, I had no idea that I was in the presence of someone so mighty earlier. " She chuckled away the tension, briefly glancing down at the floor. "You could've said something."

"Perhaps it'll do you better next time to do your research instead of pestering strangers in the alley. Now if you'll excuse me—"

"Just hold on a second! Geeze, are you always this so wound up? " She placed her hands on her hips, putting all her weight on one leg. "Look," she sighed, "I'm sorry for all that stuff I said back there. I was just a little upset about a few things, and dealing with my issues and Yamcha's issu—" she stopped, noticing the way Vegeta's eye twitched. "I'm just sorry, okay? Please don't hold it against Yamcha. "

"Don't waste your irrelevant apologies on me. You feel how you feel. And the only thing that I want from that speck of a man is his dedication to my music. "

"Don't be like that. And despite what you say, it still wasn't right. How's about we start over?" She extended a hand to his, a smile splitting her face in two. "I'm Bulma."

Vegeta glanced down at her hand before slowly making his way back to her face. He watched her expression grow to aan uneasiness at his quiet and chuckled internally. "You already know my name."

"My God, you're awful at decent human interaction."

"There is nothing decent about humans. The quicker you realize it the better off you'll be."

"Oh yeah?" Bulma smiled coyly and reached into her pocket. She walked into Vegeta's close proximity, earning herself a quick lean back from the flame haired man, and a reddened neck, and placed her palm in the middle of his. "If humans weren't decent, they wouldn't return favors like this."

Vegeta studied his palm when her flesh left his own. In her wake was his rustic gold lighter, the VN sparkling magnificently under the headlights above. His jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth. How could he forget something so important? And in an alleyway at that? He would've completely regretted the tragedy. But this woman had gone out of her way to return it to him. With no way of knowing it's importance, she had returned it without so much of a request. He should give her his thanks….

"I told you to keep your grubby hands off of it."

But his name was Vegeta.

He turned, quickening his stride to the exit, the howls of Bulma's yelling getting lost in the winds of the cold winter night.

"Normal people would say thank you, jerk! " The last thing he heard as the door slammed to the theater.

Normal people, she stated. Normal people would say thank you.

Perhaps, but he wasn't people. He was Vegeta N'Ouija, conductor extraordinaire.

He repeated that mantra to himself, hoping the thought alone would warm him as he bundled up to brave the cold world ahead.

A/N: Thank you so much guys for your wonderful feedback! Hong Kong guest, I'm so excited that you were able to find this story and that you liked it! Thank you for submitting the ask so that I could get inspired to write this story! And if you can be specific about filtering, I can see what I can do. Unfortunately, II can't guarantee that this story will be clean, but perhaps I can post a NSFW version on another site. Thank you for the lovely compliments.

After this, the updates may slow down a bit, but then again they may not. Eitherway, I hope you guys enjoy this story and please R&R!