Shopping
Vegeta walked into the kitchen for breakfast after finishing his morning training. He sat at the table and waited for Dr. Brief and Bulma to come in so he could start eating. Mrs. Brief was cheerfully humming to herself as she flipped pancakes on the griddle. Vegeta's mouth started watering as the delicious smells spiced the air.
"Good morning, Vegeta!" Mrs. Brief greeted her young houseguest.
"Hn."
Mrs. Brief was setting a platter full of bacon on the table when Dr. Brief came in reading his morning newspaper. He kissed his wife's cheek and nodded his good morning to Vegeta before sitting down at the table. He turned the page of his paper and continued reading.
A few minutes later all the food was set out on the table, but Bulma hadn't come in yet. Mrs. Brief sat down and started serving her husband and guest. This confused Vegeta because they had never started eating without the girl's presence except the day after he broke her arm. Not that he was complaining. He didn't want to wait any longer. His stomach was growling loudly and he thought he was going to go mad if he didn't get to dig into the food soon.
The elder Briefs and Vegeta were contentedly eating their meal when they heard a small commotion upstairs followed by the hurried footsteps of the absent girl as she descended the stairs. A few seconds later she burst into the kitchen, breathing heavily.
"Mom," she whined, "Why didn't you get me up?"
"Good morning, honey," Mrs. Brief replied. "Come have some breakfast. I didn't expect you to get up so early since you don't have school."
Bulma took her seat at the table and snatched the last two pancakes for herself despite Vegeta's warning growl. She stuck her tongue out at him triumphantly, a gesture he didn't much appreciate. He took the rest of the eggs and bacon before she had a chance to reach for them.
"I know, but you promised we'd go shopping today," Bulma said. "We have to get an early start if we're taking Vegeta too."
Dr. Brief chuckled at his daughter's logic and set his newspaper aside. "Don't you think it's a bit early for shopping, dear?"
"No way! I need new shorts, and shirts, and shoes, and sunglasses. Oh, and some new swimsuits!"
"Is that all?" Dr. Brief mumbled sardonically. He knew his daughter's shopping habits could rival those of his wife. It was a good thing they were obscenely rich or they would be driven to bankruptcy in an hour when those two went to the mall.
Bulma ignored her father's remark and continued, "And Vegeta will need a lot of new clothes too. I just want us to have enough time to get everything we need."
"We'll have plenty of time, Bulma," Mrs. Brief told her. "Now finish your breakfast."
Vegeta was really not liking the idea of going shopping now. He realized the majority of his day was going to be spent following the girl around while she found an endless assortment of garments to purchase. It was going to be boring and annoying and he wanted to get out of it any way he could. Unfortunately, he agreed that he did need new clothes and he didn't trust the airhead blonde woman to get him something decent.
As soon as Bulma was done eating she gathered the dirty dishes off the table and carried them to the sink to wash. While she did the dishes, Mrs. Brief made a lunch for her husband to take with him to his lab and Vegeta went to his room to get ready for his unpleasant excursion. He took a short – but hot – shower and dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Those were about the only things he could wear without looking ridiculous because he was too tall for them.
He was tying his shoes when he heard someone banging on his door. He didn't have to see his visitor to know who it was. "Go away, girl."
"Vegeta, come on! It's time to go!"
He muttered alien curses under his breath as he left his room and followed after the hyperactive blue-haired girl. She led him out the front door of the compound and ran over to the cherry red hovercar where Mrs. Brief was waiting for them. She grinned when she saw her daughter and Vegeta approaching.
"Let's go!" Bulma said as she jumped in the passenger seat.
Vegeta sighed heavily as he got in the backseat. It was time for his torture to begin. They pulled out of the compound driveway and headed for the largest shopping center in the city that had all the best stores. Bulma was bouncing in her seat with excitement and Vegeta was sulking as he watched the city fly by out the window. He wanted to open the door and jump out but figured that would cause unwanted pandemonium. He refrained from escaping and waited with apprehension for them to reach their destination.
He groaned when he saw it. The building was massive. It was surrounded by parking lots that were already filling with cars. So many humans in one place? It was a nightmare come true.
"Here we are!" Mrs. Brief chimed when they pulled up in front of the doors to a large department store. The three got out of the car and Vegeta reeled back in surprise when the blonde woman capsulated it. He'd never been that close to such a large object when it was returned to its capsule.
"Alright!" Bulma cheered. She grabbed Vegeta's hand and dragged him into the store with her mother following close behind.
Vegeta somehow managed to pull his hand free from her death grip without hurting her and crossed his arms over his chest as he walked behind the babbling females. His eyes shifted from side to side as he walked, being sure to take in every detail of his environment. His expression remained stoic but inside he was on edge. There were dozens of humans milling about in the store. Vegeta didn't like crowds. More accurately, he despised them. Bad things could easily happen in crowds. Like ambushes. The tip of his tail twitched with agitation.
'Why did I let them drag me into this?' he wondered.
"Oh my Kami! Mom, look at those cute shorts!" Bulma ran over to a rack filled with very short denim shorts embroidered with floral designs on the back pockets.
Vegeta snorted when he saw what the girl was so excited about. They were nothing terribly impressive. She already owned many pairs of shorts exactly like them, with minor differences in the pockets. But apparently those designs meant the world to her because she insisted on trying on several pairs.
"You go try them on, dear," Mrs. Brief said, "and I'll go look at some shirts for you."
Bulma grabbed as many shorts as she could carry and ran to the nearest fitting room. Before Vegeta knew what was happening, he found himself standing alone in the midst of racks abounding with disgustingly girly garments. He turned in a circle, looking around nervously.
'Oh, great. Now what am I supposed to do?' Vegeta lowered his arms from their crossed position, readying himself for an attack as he crept through the jungle of sequins, glitter, and ribbons.
"Vegeta, look! Aren't these just darling?"
The edgy saiyan leaped back and instinctually formed a ball of ki in his hand and aimed it at his attacker – the crazy blonde woman. He immediately dissipated his ki. She didn't seem to have noticed his strange reaction and the glowing light in the palm of his hand. He turned his attention to the two tank tops she was holding up. One was pink and had the word "PRINCESS" across it in silver sequins and the other was baby blue with a picture of a tiara in gold sequins. His lip curled in contempt as he looked at them.
His breathing slowly returned to normal after his little scare and the crazy woman again disappeared into the abyss of clothes racks. Once his heart stopped hammering in his chest he ventured deeper into his foreboding surroundings. He was mildly irritated with himself for nearly losing control and blasting the woman into the next dimension. He doubted that would go over well with the others. Besides, then who would cook for him?
A twitch started under his left eye when he heard the excited squealing of the brainless woman and the girl. Apparently their opinions converged on the cuteness of some piece of clothing. He rolled his eyes and continued his cautious wandering. Suddenly a small figure appeared in front of him after emerging from under a rack of jeans. Without thinking Vegeta chopped the child's neck and left her unconscious body concealed under the rack from which she came.
'It was a harmless toddler,' he reprimanded himself. 'Calm down. You are the Prince of all Saiyans, not a third-class cub.' He slid his palm down across his face and shook his head. He needed to remember he was on a planet of plebeians, not in enemy territory. He inhaled deeply and slowly released his breath.
"This skirt is adorable!"
Vegeta's head snapped to the side when he heard the blue-haired girl's comment. He walked in the direction her voice came from and nearly got plowed over when she ran to look at more t-shirts. Her arms were filled with shorts, shirts, skirts, and jeans. How she managed to hold onto so much stuff was a mystery to him. He barely dodged her as she darted through the store as if it were her natural habitat. Her mother was doing the exact same, weaving through the racks, picking out clothes without seeming to bother looking at what she was grabbing. They were shopping machines. Vegeta hoped it wouldn't be the same when it was his turn.
Bulma ran into a fitting room again with a heaping armful of clothes. Vegeta saw a chair next to the fitting room entrance and sat down. It might be safer to stay out of the way of the females while they shopped. He tried to calm his mind enough to meditate, but the occasional shrieks of delight and groans of disgust kept breaking his concentration. He opened his eyes with a growl of frustration in time to see Mrs. Brief leaving the fitting rooms with a pile of clothes she hung on a rack near the door. Vegeta figured it was for rejected garments. He couldn't believe how much of what the girl took in was discarded. What a waste of time.
Finally, Bulma came out of the fitting room holding a few pairs of shorts, a couple skirts, and a variety of shirts. "I want these," she told her mother.
Mrs. Brief nodded and took the clothes from Bulma. "Ok, honey. Now let's find some nice things for Vegeta."
"Ok, but can we go to the shoe store after this?"
"Sure, dear."
Vegeta slid off the chair and allowed the mother and daughter to lead the way to the boys' clothes. He sighed when he saw the extensive and unimpressive selection spread out before him. They already spent a solid two hours in the store, and knowing his luck they would be stuck there for two more. Bulma ran ahead of him and started rifling through clothes as if her life depended on it.
"Well, go find what you like, silly," Mrs. Brief said, pushing Vegeta into the fray.
Vegeta took his time looking over and carefully analyzing everything that caught his eye, which wasn't much. There were too many bright colors, stupid graphics, and ridiculous mottos he didn't understand printed on the shirts. He figured they were from some sort of popular cultural fad he wasn't familiar with. He wanted clothes that would give him freedom of movement when he trained, so he gravitated toward the athletic wear. He didn't know where the woman and the girl had disappeared to, but he wasn't concerned about it.
He picked out several identical pairs of black shorts and a few dark t-shirts and sleeveless shirts. Satisfied with his selection, he went to a fitting room and tried them on. He didn't enjoy the thought of wearing things some miserable human whelps already wore, but he knew he needed to make sure the clothes fit and that they would be big enough to grow into so he could avoid another shopping trip for as long as possible.
"Vegeta? Are you in here?" Mrs. Brief asked.
They young saiyan cringed. He was hoping he wouldn't have to go through the same routine as the girl had. He finished pulling a new shirt over his head and opened the door to his fitting room. "What?"
Mrs. Brief's perpetual smile broadened. "There you are! I found some things for you to try." She dumped a load of clothes in his arms. He grimaced when he saw the obnoxious colors. Without a word he returned to the small room and closed the door. He had no intention of putting a single thing she gave him on, but he would humor her by accepting them. Let her believe he tried them before deciding he didn't want them.
'She must be out of her mind if she thinks I would wear this,' he thought as he threw aside a pink button-down shirt that said "BADBOY" on the back. Vegeta finished trying on the clothes he picked out for himself and left the fitting room with the few things he approved of.
"Hey, Vegeta try these," Bulma said as she took the clothes from him in exchange for jeans, polo shirts, and dress shirts. He snarled at her before turning on his heel and marching back into the tiny room. He was beginning to feel claustrophobic in there. He had to admit the girl had better taste than her mother. She chose mostly dark colors and avoided the words and graphics he previously decided he didn't like.
'At least the girl has some sense.' He took his clothes off again and began trying some of the things Bulma gave him. He was surprised to find he actually liked some of the simpler things. He wasn't very taken with the dress shirts, seeing no need for them, but the jeans he liked and some of the polo shirts too. He shrugged and picked out a few of his favorites and left the rest behind as he again exited the fitting room.
"Find anything you like?" Bulma asked when he came out.
Reluctantly, he nodded and let her take the things he'd chosen. Mrs. Brief came over to the kids and took all the clothes from Bulma, adding them to the clothes Bulma picked for herself. "Are you sure that's all you want?" she asked when she saw how much more Bulma had than Vegeta.
"Hn."
"Ok, then, if you're sure." Mrs. Brief carried the myriad items to the nearest checkout station and paid for the clothes while Vegeta and Bulma waited. Mrs. Brief put the bags in a capsule and tucked it in her purse. It was much easier than carrying bulky shopping bags all day. She caught up with her daughter who was eagerly gesturing for her to hurry on to the next store. "Alright, kids, let's go find you some shoes."
'Shoes?' Vegeta looked down at his feet and wiggled his toes. They rubbed irritatingly against the inside of his shoes. He never paid much attention to it before, but now he couldn't ignore it. Yes, new shoes would be favorable. And they couldn't possibly take that long to shop for. Seriously, they were shoes.
Vegeta stopped walking when they reached the entrance to the mall corridor. It was noisy, smelly, and crowded. The others kept walking, but he wasn't willing to dive into that. No way. The mixture of smells was strong enough to make his eyes water. People, food, coffee, perfumes…the combination was almost enough to make him vomit.
He searched for the blonde woman and the girl in the thick crowd, but they were out of sight. Hesitantly, he took a few steps forward, but the noise hit him harder and he clamped his hands over his ears and rushing back into the relatively quiet store. He was stranded, alone in the hellish place.
'I could leave and go back to the compound. Knowing those two, they would overreact to my absence and scream until my ears bleed, though. It might be better to stay here. Maybe they will come back.' Vegeta scowled at the swarm of humans and leaned against the wall, hoping the females would hasten in their return. His patience was running thin.
"Mom, where's Vegeta?" Bulma asked, looking around. The flame-haired boy was nowhere to be found.
Mrs. Brief stopped and looked around too. She didn't see Vegeta anywhere. "Oh, dear. He must have gotten lost!"
Bulma grabbed her mother's hand and started pulling her back the way they came. "We have to go find him!"
"Now, honey, let's not panic," Mrs. Brief said more to herself than her daughter.
The small girl pushed and shoved through the crowd, frantically searching for Vegeta. He couldn't be all that hard to find. For Kami's sake, he had a tail, gravity-defying hair, and the most prominent widow's peak she'd ever seen. He was short, but he stood out in a crowd.
"Was he with us when we left the store?" Bulma wondered aloud.
"I don't know. Oh, dear, I hope he's not scared."
"I wouldn't worry about that. If anything he's probably mad."
They finally reached the store where they spotted Vegeta casually leaning against the wall as if all was well in the world. Mrs. Brief breathed a sigh of relief, but Bulma felt her ire rising. She stomped over to Vegeta and poked him in the chest.
"What the heck is your problem? Why didn't you come with us?" she demanded.
Vegeta swatted her hand away and pushed off from the wall. "You expect me to walk through that stinking, cacophonous hell? Count me out."
Bulma's eyebrow raised. "You mean to tell me you've never been in a mall before?"
"No."
"How could you never? Never mind. It doesn't matter. We have to go through this mess to get to the shoe store, so come on."
"What's the matter?" Mrs. Brief asked finally catching up to her daughter. "Are you ok, Vegeta? Do you feel sick?"
"I am fine." Vegeta glanced out at the corridor. He shuddered. He didn't want sensory overload, which would surely happen if he went out there.
Mrs. Brief smiled brightly and ushered him out of the store. "We can get lunch after we get you some shoes, so let's get going."
"Lunch?" Vegeta's stomach growled. He took a deep breath and went out into the corridor with Mrs. Brief and Bulma. He tried to breathe through his mouth to lessen the overload of smells, but he cringed with the horrible noise of hundreds of people talking, music playing from every store, and shoes pattering against the marble floor. All of that echoed and intensified the noise until he thought his eardrums would burst.
After what seemed like hours of sensory torture they walked into a small store with only a few patrons and light music playing in the background. Some of the tension he felt lifted when he stepped into the quiet place. It was filled with the scent of leather and some kind of polish, but it wasn't too strong. At least it wasn't the stench of too many things blended together in a cesspool of reeking shit. Breathing more freely, he advanced into the store at the insistence of Mrs. Brief, who guided him to the shoes for boys. Aside from the wide range of sizes, they all looked essentially the same. There weren't any boots though.
"I'll let you pick out your shoes," Mrs. Brief said, "and I'll go help Bulma. We'll just be on the other side of the store if you need anything."
Vegeta nodded and she left him to find shoes on his own. He looked down at the shoes he was wearing and back up at the wide selection. He figured what he had were good enough for training in. They were made of some kind of mesh material that kept his feet cool and dry and they were rather comfortable. They weren't the best in terms of protection but then, he wasn't going into any real battles in them.
But the problem was not finding the style he liked. The problem was finding a pair of shoes that fit well. The sizes were arbitrary. Numbers were assigned to different sizes with no relation to actual length, width, or other dimension of the shoe. He picked up a shoebox and opened the lid to see the shoes within. They were obviously too small.
'Blast it, there has to be a more efficient way of finding the right size than looking at every pair of shoes!' He growled and returned the shoebox to the shelf. Not one to waste time, he walked around the store until he found a human man and his whelp to observe. The boy put his foot on some kind of metal plate that looked like some weird sort of torture device. The man knelt down and adjusted something on the simple device and said something to his son, who grinned and went over to pick out a shoebox from the shelf. He seemed confident in his choice of shoes, Vegeta noted. Probably the metal thing determined what size would best fit. That was easy enough, if he could get his hands on one of those measuring devices.
"How do you think Vegeta is doing?" Bulma asked her mother as she put on a new pair of sandals.
Mrs. Brief put a pair of shoes back in its box and put it on top of a tall stack of boxes of unwanted shoes. "I'm sure he's fine, honey."
Vegeta set the foot-measuring device on the floor and put his foot on it. … He moved the sliding piece until it touched his toes. There was a line there that said 8. He figured that must be the size he needed. He went back to the shoes he wanted and picked out a box with the number 8 on it. He opened the box and looked at the shoes. They appeared to be big enough. Still, he needed to be sure so he sat down on the floor and took his shoes off before putting the new ones on. He couldn't feel his toes rubbing against the inside of the shoes, which was certainly an improvement. He stood up and walked around a little. Yes, these shoes were definitely more comfortable than his old ones.
"Oh, wow, these flats will go perfect with my new skirt!" Bulma exclaimed.
Mrs. Brief agreed. Her daughter was a natural at coordinating outfits. It made her proud. She continued browsing the aisles filled with shoes, letting her daughter choose all she wanted. It was always so much fun shopping with her little girl. Their shared love of shopping made for great mother-daughter bonding. She couldn't understand why her husband never wanted to tag along.
"I hope Vegeta is finding some nice things," she said as she picked out another pair of shoes for Bulma.
Vegeta was satisfied with the shoes he found. They were labeled as cross-trainers, so he assumed they would be adequate for his purposes. The soles were somewhat squishy, which was a nice surprise. He'd never had shoes that made him feel as though he was constantly walking on a soft surface before. They were gray with a blue symbol on the side, probably a company logo. He preferred the dark color to the blinding white of so many of the shoes he saw in the store.
'I guess these will do. I should go find the crazy woman so we can get out of here. I need nourishment.' Vegeta's stomach growled its agreement as he walked to the other side of the store that had an awful amount of pink merchandise. He clutched the box of new shoes under his left arm and sniffed the air until he found the blonde woman's unique scent that always had a hint of sugar and spice. It fit her well, considering he respected her for her cooking. He rounded the corner of an aisle and found the two females there. The girl was putting a pair of red flats in a box and set it on a tall pile of boxes at her side. He saw a shorter stack of boxes on her other side and assumed those were the shoes she decided to buy.
"There you are, Vegeta," Mrs. Brief chirped. "Did you find some things you want?"
Vegeta nodded and handed her the box of shoes. He wondered why she looked so confused when he gave it to her.
"Only one pair of shoes? Don't you want more?"
"This is all I need."
"But you'll need some sandals! It's summer, after all!"
Vegeta shook his head. "I just want these."
Mrs. Brief shrugged and added his shoes to the tall stack of boxes. "Ok, if you're sure, honey. We can always get you more later if you decide you want them."
"Hn."
"Hey, Mom," Bulma said as she came over to them with another shoebox, "What do you think of these?" She opened the box and took out one of the shoes, a sandal covered in gold glitter. Vegeta thought it was disgustingly gaudy.
"They're cute," Mrs. Brief said, "but I don't think the gold matches the shirt you wanted them to go with."
Bulma nodded and returned the sandal to its box. "That's what I thought too." She frowned and put the box on the smaller pile. "Well, I guess that's everything I want then."
"Are you sure?"
Bulma nodded again. "Yeah, and anyway I'm hungry. I want to get lunch." She went to the tall stack of boxes and picked a few up off the top. "Hey, Vegeta, could you grab a few of these?"
Vegeta looked at her like she had grown a second head. She was really going to get all those shoes? There were over twenty boxes there, only one of which was his! He grumbled as he picked up most of the boxes and followed Bulma to the checkout with Mrs. Brief bringing up the rear with the last few boxes.
He waited with Bulma by the door while Mrs. Brief paid and put the boxes in another capsule. She tucked the capsule in her purse with the one from the first store and walked to the door. "Alright, kids, let's go get you two fed. I bet you're awful hungry after all that shopping, aren't you?"
"Yeah, let's go!" Bulma said.
This time Mrs. Brief took Vegeta's hand and strode out the door with Bulma leading the way to the food court. He tried to pull his hand free, but she had a surprisingly tight grip and wouldn't release him. Apparently she didn't want a repeat of last time when he got left behind. He cursed her in several languages but his voice was lost in the noise of the mall. It was slightly more bearable this time as he was becoming desensitized to the overload of unpleasant sounds and smells all around him.
When they reached the food court Vegeta was relieved that the scent of food far outweighed that of the humans. He breathed in deeply filling his nostrils with the enticing aromas of all the different fast-food ethnic cuisines. It was hard to determine which scent went with which food type as French fries melded with marinara sauce and gyros. Vegeta sniffed the air and followed the most pleasing smell until he found himself standing in front of the pizza place.
Mrs. Brief came up behind him and looked up at the menu overhead. "Do you know what you want, sweetie?" Without waiting for an answer she put her hands on his shoulders and guided him to the register where there was a teenage girl smacking a wad of gum and rapping her fingers on the counter. Vegeta frowned at her.
"What do you want?" the girl asked impatiently.
Vegeta glanced up at the menu and shrugged. "Two pizzas."
"Ok, two slices of what kind?" she asked. She clearly hated communicating with customers.
Vegeta scowled. "I said two pizzas, not two slices. And I want whatever has the most meat on it."
"Kid, we sell by the slice, not whole pizzas."
"Then count how many slices are on one pizza and multiply that by two. You can do that, can you not?"
"Now, Vegeta, be polite," Mrs. Brief chided. She turned to the girl at the register and said, "He'll have sixteen slices of the Most Meaty pizza. And a large drink, right honey?"
The girl at the register rolled her eyes and put the order in. She didn't feel like arguing anymore. "That'll be $38.72.
"Idiot wench," Vegeta muttered. He waited for the blonde woman to pay, then moved down to the opposite end of the counter where the order pick-up was. He was irritated when he found that his order was not already waiting for him. He ended up having to wait a few minutes before he was handed a tray with sixteen slices of pizza stacked up on it. He grabbed it and stalked over to the table where he saw the blue-haired girl sitting down with her own tray of food.
Bulma quirked an eyebrow when Vegeta slammed his tray down on the table. "Got enough food there, Vegeta?"
"Hn." He sat down and started eating. The pizza was hot and delicious – much more than he expected it to be after the terrible service. His already superhuman pace of eating sped up until he was barely swallowing before shoving another slice of pizza in his mouth. The cheesy, greasy goodness was almost all gone by the time Mrs. Brief sat down with a tray with a subway sandwich and a bottle of water balanced on it.
"My, you must have been hungry," she giggled as Vegeta finished his last slice of pizza. "Did you get enough to eat?"
"No."
Bulma looked at her own tray. There was still a lot of food and she was already full. "Do you want my food? I can't eat it."
Vegeta sneered at her. How dare she offer him her food? Did she have any idea what that meant? Probably not. His bristled tail smoothed out as he reminded himself that she did not know his culture and meant no offense. He was immersed in a culture he didn't know well, and, as the visitor, it was his duty not to offend his hosts. He figured if she was casually offering her food, it was not overly significant and was socially acceptable.
She pushed her tray across the table to him when he shrugged. Vegeta picked up a piece of food that looked interesting. It was long and golden brown. It smelled odd, but he bit into it anyway. His eyebrows rose at the unexpectedly amazing taste. 'What is this thing?' he wondered in astonishment as his tongue was assaulted with the perfect combination of pork, cabbage, and spices all wrapped up in a fried piece of heaven.
Bulma laughed when she saw his reaction. "Haven't you ever had an eggroll before?"
He shook his head and shoved the rest of the eggroll in his mouth. It was quite possibly the best thing he had ever tasted in his entire life. He needed more. "Where can I get more of these?" he asked once he swallowed.
"Over there," Bulma said and pointed to the Chinese fast-food place. Vegeta got up, hardly taking the time to grab the money Mrs. Brief handed to him, and ran over to get a tray piled high with eggrolls.
They finished their lunch and were walking through the mall again when they heard a commotion and saw two paramedics running through the corridor pushing a gurney with a small child on it. They were yelling for the way to be cleared for them as they rushed to the ambulance outside. Behind them a hysterical woman, presumably the child's mother, was running after them and wailing about her poor baby. Vegeta's eyebrow quirked as the short parade ran by. He caught a glimpse of the girl. He felt as though he'd seen her before…
"Oh, that's just awful," Mrs. Brief said sadly once they had passed.
Vegeta shrugged, now remembering why the girl looked familiar. She was the little cretin who sneaked up on him in the store. He acted on reflex before he could stop himself from hurting her. He wasn't concerned about her. He knew he didn't hit her hard enough to permanently damage her in any way. Again he was amazed at how easily humans got worked up over the smallest things.
"Whatever. Can we get this over with already?"
Mrs. Brief, who was wringing her hands as her heart bled for the small girl, turned to her grumpy houseguest and smiled. "Sure, dear. Eager to get some swimming trunks, huh?"
"Swimming what?" he asked, but the blonde woman and Bulma had already moved on.
The two females dragged him into a small shop hidden between two larger stores. From the outside it didn't have a very impressive appearance, but they insisted it was by far the best store for what they were looking for. Inside the store, he looked around and still didn't find himself to be very impressed. It was small, cramped, and stuffy. There was light rock playing in the background and mannequins all over wearing obscenely little clothing made of brightly colored fabric with gaudy designs.
'Who the hell would wear this?' he wondered as he pulled a tangerine-colored Speedo from the rack. They were shorts. Very short, very tight shorts.
"Look, Vegeta! I think this would fit you," Mrs. Brief sang, holding up an identical tangerine Speedo.
The twitch under his eye came back with a vengeance when he saw the horrid garment she was insisting he try on for size. He didn't mind the tightness of the thing, but it was so…short. And the color was revolting. He shoved it away when she tried to hand it to him, shaking his head in a definite 'no.'
"Over my dead body," he grumbled.
"What's wrong with it?" Mrs. Brief asked.
"The color and the length. Or lack thereof." He pushed past her to look at the selection of swimwear on his own. He didn't know why they were even there. He didn't plan on going swimming, and even if he did, why would he need a specialized piece of clothing for it? He could either swim in his armor bodysuit or nude. It didn't make much difference to him.
His browsing was again interrupted by the blonde woman appearing in front of him holding a black Speedo Jammer. She held it out to him, and this time he didn't reject it quite so fast. It was made of the same stretchy material as the ugly orange thing, but it was longer and a much better color. He took it from her and tested its stretchiness. It wasn't that unlike his bodysuit, actually.
"Do you like this one?" she asked.
He shrugged and gave a noncommittal grunt. It was better than anything else he'd come across so far. He didn't like the loose-fitting shorts that seemed to make up the majority of the selection for males. What was the point of swimming in something that would only work to slow a person down and limit mobility underwater? Liquid was already a hard enough medium to fight in. Having baggy clothes would only make it more difficult to fight. Again, for what must have been the hundredth time that day, he reminded himself he wouldn't be fighting at all on the mudball planet.
Bulma found her mother and Vegeta and ran over to them, holding up a halter tankini with a solid pink top and pink and white striped bottom. "Look what I found. Isn't it the cutest?"
Vegeta glanced at it and rolled his eyes. "Why do you call everything you find cute?"
"Because it is, duh," she replied. "What is it with you and black? Is that your favorite color or something? It's kind of dull."
He looked back down at the Speedo and shrugged. "I prefer blue."
"They have that in blue, Vegeta," Mrs. Brief said happily, "Would you rather try that on?"
He shrugged again and before he knew it the crazy woman was handing him a navy blue Jammer and taking the black one from him to return to its rack. He was flabbergasted by the speeds she could move at when in a clothing store. Anywhere else she was slower than an intergalactic slug when he wanted something, but here she was running laps around him.
They spent almost an hour in that store while Bulma ran around picking out everything she deemed 'cute' and trying it on, only to decide against almost all of them. By the time she was tired of that store, she had six swimsuits picked out, one courtesy of Vegeta who claimed she couldn't swim fast in anything else she chose. Determined to prove she was a good swimmer, she made sure to get a one-piece that would help her speed through the water. She also picked out three pairs of sunglasses and numerous pairs of flip-flops before they reached the cash register. And still, the only thing Vegeta had was his single Speedo Jammer.
"I do not understand how you can buy all this nonsense and not get one practical garment," he groused when they finally walked out of the little shop.
"What do you mean? I'm going to wear everything I got today!"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "As if you could train in any of that girly garbage."
"Train? What do you mean tra—" Bulma managed to cut herself off when she saw his growing smirk. She nearly forgot about that! He was teaching her how to fight. In that case, what he said was true. She hadn't bought a single thing she could 'train' in. "I guess we'll have to go to another store and get me something then, won't we?" she asked, grinning smugly as his expression darkened. He had hoped their shopping trip was over.
Bulma grabbed her mother's and Vegeta's hands and pulled them into another store that sold sportswear. She didn't take nearly as long there, having little interest in what it had to offer. She did buy several pairs of running shorts, tank tops, and a new pair of cross-trainers though.
"Are we done yet?" Vegeta growled when they exited the sports store. All patience he had was gone after spending hours at the mall when he should have been getting something more important done. Namely, getting his scouter connected to the intergalactic network so he could communicate with a technician who might be able to help him out.
Mrs. Brief checked her watch and frowned when she saw what time it was. "Oh, dear. We really do need to get back home so I can start dinner."
"Finally," Vegeta murmured.
"Aw, do we have to go already?" Bulma whined. She was having too much fun shopping to leave so soon. They had only been at the mall a few hours. There were countless more stores she wanted to stop in. But she knew that dinner took a long time to cook because of Vegeta's rather voracious appetite, so she didn't complain too much about their early departure.
Half an hour later Mrs. Brief pulled the car into the Capsule Corporation driveway and parked. "Alright, kids, now you go play until dinner."
Vegeta and Bulma hurriedly hopped out of the car and made their way to the compound. Vegeta was much happier about being back than Bulma, but that went without saying. Inside, Mrs. Brief handed the capsules to Bulma, who opened them and separated her items from Vegeta's and took hers up to her room to try on again. Her favorite thing to do after a trip to the mall was planning new outfits with all her new clothes.
Vegeta grabbed his things and went upstairs to put them away. He wasn't nearly as excited about clothes as Bulma was, but he was happy enough that he had things that would fit properly and that he wouldn't have to go shopping again hopefully for a very long time. Then again, at the rate he was growing, it might not be as long as he would like. 'Hopefully what I have now will last me until I leave this planet. I would rather not be subjected to that particular form of torture again.'
He yawned and stretched out on the bed and closed his eyes. Taking a nap before dinner sounded really nice, he decided. Within minutes he was fast asleep.
'It really is a shame I can't go swimming for three more weeks,' Bulma thought glumly as she looked at the hot pink cast on her arm. It was summer and she was ready go out and enjoy herself in the pool, but keeping her cast dry was more important. She sighed and looked herself over in her mirror. She loved her new clothes and couldn't wait to show them all off.
She put on a pair of running shorts and a plain white tank top and started punching the air, pretending she was in a real fight and she was dominating her opponent. She knew it was a silly fantasy, but if she was going to learn fighting from Vegeta, she needed to get in the right mindset, right? Her arms were a little sore from her workout the day before, so she didn't keep up with her game for long. Hopefully Vegeta wouldn't want to train again that evening. She was way too tired after all her shopping.
'He wouldn't make me train if I don't feel like it, would he?' Bulma shook her head, confident that Vegeta would go easy on her since she was a beginner. She had no idea what she had gotten herself into when she asked him to train her.
A/N: So this chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope you caught all the references I made to details in the show ;)
I'm trying to write new chapters for this, but in order to do so I need to go back and watch Dragon Ball... so it's taking quite a while. Still, I'm currently working on chapter 30, so at least I'm that far. Classes are officially over and I have absolutely nothing to do for the next week other than pack before graduation, so I'll hopefully get lots of writing done, on this story and my others.
As always, I appreciate your reviews! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, it really does make my day. Thanks especially to Aela for your review on the last chapter (assuming you're reading this). That is a struggle I've had in this story as well as my others and I'm trying to work on it. I've been trying to work on that in some of the later chapters I already have written.