'Face to Face'
Chapter Sixteen: Me and My Heart Got Issues With You
'Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud,
Their piercing sounds fill my ears,
Try to fill me with doubt,
Yeah I know that their goal
Is to keep me from falling.'
Leona Lewis: Bleeding Love
"Hello?" Bulma answered her phone distractedly, shoving her files under her arm and trying to pin the phone to her ear with her shoulder whilst she grappled with the coffee machine.
"Bulma? Hi! How are you?"
"Krillin?! Is that you?!" Bulma cried back, surprised, before swearing under her breath as she spilt coffee down her hand and black sleeve. Typical. On my bloody cashmere jumper. Eugh!
"Surprised to hear from me?" Bulma could practically envision Krillin grinning down the phone.
"I am! But how weird, I was going to call you the other day! So, what's up?" Bulma sat down and shuffled her files around, looking for the one she needed before pulling it loose with a triumphant grin.
"That is weird! Obviously we're meant to meet up then! I was just calling to see if you wanted to catch up sometime"? Krillin asked cheerily, and Bulma was to busy taking a gulp of her drink to hear someone else murmuring in the background so she agreed readily and they set a date.
Bulma brushed down her outfit one last time before flinging her en-suite door open and peering into the bedroom expectantly. She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she strode towards her bedroom door, flinging it open and gasping out in surprise when she saw her mother stood directly in front of her.
"Mum!"
"Hello darling, you look lovely, where are you going?" Her mother peered her over curiously, and then smiled cheerily.
Bulma glanced down at her outfit, "Thanks. I'm going for cocktails with Krillin…do you think I'm over-dressed?"
"Hmm, maybe a little darling," she paused briefly and then added, "Is Vegeta going?"
Bulma snorted, "Yeah right. Look, I'm going to change quickly, everything ok?"
"Oh of course, I'll just see you when you get back." Mrs Briefs leant over and kissed her daughter's cheek as Bulma waved and then turned back into her bedroom to take another look in her full-length mirror.
Bulma scanned herself impassively, taking in the high black heels and the black knee-length pencil skirt, her slim waist impressively emphasised with a simple white chiffon slip tucked into the high-waisted skirt. She did look a little overdressed. But I look bloody fantastic too!
She grinned and slipped into her bathroom, pulling the slip loose just as the phone rang. She picked it up with a chirpy, "Hello?"
"Hey Bulma, how you doing?" Yamcha's voice rang out cheerfully as she balanced the phone on her dresser and pressed the loudspeaker button, before slipping back into the bathroom.
"Good, great thanks. How are you, lunk-head?" she replied teasingly, carefully pulling the slip over her head.
Yamcha laughed, "Good, thanks. Look, I was wondering what you're up to tonight?"
Bulma winced as the strap caught on her earring and gingerly untangled it, "Oh I'm meeting Krillin for drinks, do you want to join us?"
"Yeah that sounds great, I'm guessing Vegeta isn't coming?"
Bulma rolled her eyes and folded the slip carefully, "Of course not." She smiled and added, "He's training," proudly.
There was a hollow bark of a laugh in reply, "Jeez Bulma, don't give the guy so much credit. He's only training because he's got nothing else to do. He's so unsocial."
Bulma stopped fiddling with her skirt zipper, "Yamcha," she said tiredly, "Please don't."
"Whatever. But he's not right for you." Yamcha said shortly and Bulma frowned, annoyed at her ex-boyfriend for being so continuously negative about Vegeta.
"I don't care." She eventually said, finally getting the zipper down and shuffling the skirt down her creamy, toned thighs.
"Whatever Bulma," there was another tense pause and Bulma felt the normal swell of guilt and annoyance grip at her.
"Was there anything else you wanted?" she asked softly, folding her skirt over a china white rail delicately.
"Other than you?" he was only half-teasing. But she laughed nonetheless.
"Yamcha…" a sudden burring of noises let her know the phone had been disconnected and with a confused frown- her things never broke randomly, she'd created them after all!- she headed into her bedroom and froze at the bathroom doorway as she saw Vegeta stood shirtless, half-crushed phone in hand, and looking furious, at the edge of her bed.
"What did you do that for?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.
Vegeta scowled, "What the hell were you talking to him for?" he chucked the phone on the bed and crossed his arms across his chest, his face resuming a look of cold, hard anger.
"He rang. He wanted to know what I was doing today." She said shortly, striding into the bedroom and towards her walk-in wardrobe, sending him a warning glare as she passed.
He took no heed of it, "Doesn't he know not to touch other people's property?"
Bulma swung around and glared at him, "I'm not your property!"
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, "You're as good as."
"I damn well am not! Besides, there has been no touching involved!" she shot back, tossing her silky blue hair over shoulder and turning back to rifle through her clothes.
She heard him growl low in his throat and felt a shiver go down her spine. "There better not have been."
Bulma rolled her eyes and pulled a soft purple shirt-dress out, "Don't be so petulant." She slipped past him, not able to resist a quick glance at his finely honed chest and stomach.
He growled again, this time more dangerously and the shiver flicked into anticipatory tingles all over body. She ignored them and pulled the dress off its hanger.
"He wants you."
She turned around impatiently and jumped when she found herself nose-to-nose with him. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes as he scowled down at her, "So what? He's just lonely Vegeta."
Vegeta continued to scowl at her so she turned her back to him once more, delighting in the fact she could practically feel his eyes burning a trail across her barely clad figure. "Besides, I want you. I told you that before. I'm yours." She winked and turned around again, just pulling her arms into the sleeves when two strong arms encircled her waist and swung her around.
Vegeta pulled her flush against his body, smirking as her breath caught in her throat, "You damn well are."
Bulma opened her mouth to reply but Vegeta silenced her with a demanding kiss. She snaked her arms up to his shoulders and moaned slightly as he pulled away. He brushed his lips against hers lightly before leaning back to gaze at her, his face and eyes dark with intensity, "You're mine." He growled before grasping her flush against him again and kissing her with such passion that Bulma's whole body trembled and she writhed against him.
He slid his hands up her back and deftly flicked her satin black bra open, sliding it off her shoulders and sending it fluttering to the ground within seconds. Bulma moaned into his mouth as his hands grasped greedily at her breasts, massaging them and flicking this thumbs over her nipples.
Bulma's hands gripped his shoulders tightly as her head fell back, her hair falling smoothly down her shoulders and leaving her pale neck exposed. Vegeta attached his lips to it instantly, kissing her collarbone and nipping at her neck lightly, causing her to let out a little mewing sound that never failed to arouse him enormously.
Bulma arrived late to the club she had arranged to meet Krillin at, and sent a cheery grin at the bouncer as he let her skip the line with a respectful nod of his head.
She scanned the bar quickly and let out a giggle when she spotted Krillin's gleaming bald head. She skipped over and planted a kiss right on the top. "Hello you."
"Bulma!" Krillin spun around and grinned widely, "How are you?"
"Great! Sorry I'm late! Got a little caught up. How are you? Is Yamcha coming?"
"Yeah, he's here already…he said he called and you hung up on him. I think he's a little worried about it." Krillin answered, before nodding over to a small booth in the corner where Yamcha was sat, necking a beer.
Bulma hummed nonchalantly, and smiled as the barman eyed her up and asked her what she wanted flirtatiously.
"Man, Bulma, I've been waiting for ages and you got served straightaway!" Krillin said with a grin.
"Well I guess that means I'm far prettier than you," she winked cheekily, "what do you want?"
"Four beers please," Krillin added to the barman.
"And we'll have that sent over to the table in the corner please?" Bulma added with another flirtatious smile, and the barman nodded and watched her walk away appreciatively and Krillin followed her with a chuckle.
Krillin let out a loud, hearty chuckle as Bulma slammed her glass down with a triumphant smile.
"There you go Yamcha, I'd like to see you do that!" she stuck her tongue out at Yamcha.
Yamcha grinned, and toasted his beer bottle to her, "Will this do as a replacement?"
Krillin watched in amusement as Bulma nodded in response and Yamcha raised the bottle to his lips to down it the beer in the same manner Bulma had just tossed back her champagne.
He finished it swiftly and Bulma whooped loudly and leant over the table to plant a congratulatory kiss on his cheek. Krillin cheered and Yamcha beamed proudly, before shooting Krillin a conspirational glance and nodding at the door. Krillin hadn't even turned to look when Bulma shrieked loudly again.
"Chi-Chi! What are you doing here?!" Bulma leapt out of her seat wobbly and grinned as Chi-Chi shuffled her coat off her shoulders and headed over to them.
"I just had to get out of the house! Besides, we've got a lot to catch up on!" she sat down with them and Krillin glanced at Yamcha, who nodded minutely.
"Yeah, I hear there's some gossip I should know Bulma?" Krillin said bravely, forcing himself to sound jovial and light-hearted.
Bulma looked nonplussed and poured Chi-Chi a glass of champagne, "What?"
Chi-Chi pursed her lips impatiently, "Vegeta."
Bulma rolled her eyes, "Oh don't get on at me about that Chi-chi…" she leant over to Krillin and whispered loudly, "I'm kind of dating him."
Chi-Chi scowled, "You are not dating him Bulma..."
"So what are we doing then?" Bulma gestured around her angrily, "Please, fill me in on my own relationship why don't you?"
"Relationship?" Yamcha couldn't stop himself snorting, "He's only shagging you Bulma. That's all you are to him."
Bulma's head shot around and she sent him a dark glare that had Krillin shrinking into his seat. Yamcha stared back at her defiantly and crossed his arms over his chest, "You know it's true Bulma. Don't fool yourself into thinking he cares about you. Vegeta doesn't care about anyone or anything."
"He's right Bulma," Krillin piped up earnestly, "Vegeta's not really a good guy. You could do a lot better."
"You guys don't know anything about him!" Bulma shot back hotly, getting indignant and angry under the accusing and disbelieving stares of Chi-Chi and Yamcha, and Krillin's nervous pity. What the hell are they talking about? Who the hell do they think they are?!
"Listen, Bulma, we understand that you like the bad boy, you like trying to 'save' a guy or whatever…I mean, look at your entire relationship with Yamcha! You two were hardly functional!" Chi-Chi said exasperatedly, looking at Bulma with matter-of-fact eyes. "But a smart girl like you has got to realise that you can't take this thing with Vegeta seriously! You can't expect him to ever actually love you, or care for you, or commit to you!"
Bulma gaped furiously and glared around at them all. "Who the hell do you guys think you are? None of you have any right to tell me how to feel! And none of you know anything about Vegeta and me! You have no idea what he's actually like at all, so just butt out!"
"Bulma! We just don't want you to get hurt!" Krillin cried earnestly, and Bulma- despite her annoyance- knew that was all Krillin was worried about. Chi-Chi and Yamcha though, well, they're just meddling because Chi-Chi can't stand the idea of me being happy with a guy, and Yamcha…well, he's probably just bitter.
"And you certainly will with Vegeta." Chi-Chi added archly, and Yamcha let out a gruff, "That's for sure."
Bulma grit her teeth and sucked in a long breath before pushing out of her chair and placing her hands down on the table, "Just stay out of it." She said firmly, before walking off, ignoring Chi-Chi's huffing and Krillin's half-begging for her to come back.
Yamcha scowled as Bulma left and looked over at Chi-Chi. Goku's wife nodded tightly, "We've got to keep trying. She doesn't know what she's doing."
hello there, sorry again for the delays!
thanks again for all the reviews, you are all amazing and every review i get makes my day!
im trying to answer every question here (sorry if i missed any out!): i do intend on showing more of Vegeta's feelings in the upcoming chapters, i do intend to carry on through where Vegeta leaves, when Trunks is born, etc, etc...and i am sooooo pleased you are all leaving such great reviews! please continue to do so :D thanks so much! x