This is an idea I've been thinking about for a while now. When I listen to this song I think of Vegeta and how he might feel about the woman his little girl will grow up to be. Vegeta might seem a bit OOC, so I'm sorry in advance if anyone feels this to be true. The song is "I Think About You" by Collin Raye.
Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or its characters, or Barbie and Ken, or the song, "I Think About You". So please don't sue me. I have no money anyway.
**words** ---song lyrics
I THINK ABOUT YOU
"Look, Papa! Up there!"
Vegeta looked to where his eight-year-old daughter was pointing. They were walking back from the park, Bulla skipping along a few feet ahead. She had stopped when she saw something she was really interested in. Vegeta frowned. He didn't find it interesting at all.
Up above and ahead of them was a huge billboard. On it was a blond woman in a bikini surrounded by eager-looking men. The young woman's large breasts were nearly popping out of her bikini top. She had a big smile, showing dazzling white teeth, and she was holding up a can of beer.
Disgusting! Vegeta thought. Do these advertisers really think men are so stupid they'll think if they drink this brand of beer, scantily clad women will ask them for dates? What man would be so stupid?
"Papa," Bulla said, tugging on Vegeta's arm. "Isn't that lady pretty? See how those men want to be her boyfriends?"
Stunned, Vegeta was speechless for a moment. Then he took his daughter's hand. "Come on, let's go. Your mother's probably waiting for us."
Bulla hung back. "She's beautiful! Can I be like her when I'm grown up?"
"Over my dead body," Vegeta growled under his breath.
"What, Papa?" The little blue-haired, blue-eyed girl looked up at him, the picture of innocence. If Vegeta had anything to do with it, she would stay that way.
"Come on, Bulla! I said we're going home!" he said, more sharply than he'd meant to. The little girl's face crumpled and she sniffled like she was going to cry, but she walked along obediently, only looking up at the billboard one more time.
Vegeta didn't want to upset his daughter, but the idea that she admired bikini-clad beer models and wanted to be like them concerned him greatly. He had always been disgusted by the way these humans made their women into nothing more than sex symbols, and the way those women allowed themselves to be degraded that way, but since his daughter had been born, he'd become even more acutely aware of the problems that would undoubtedly face his little princess when she got older. Already Bulla was a miniature version of Bulma. If she grew to be half as lovely as her mother, she'd have men chasing after her like dogs, he was sure of it. Not that he would let any dirty perverted men anywhere near his precious little girl, but that wasn't the point.
Bulla was already starting to think that a woman's job was to look pretty and attract a man. She'd been caught putting on Bulma's makeup a few times, and Vegeta had heard the games she played with her Barbies. He'd almost fainted the time he heard her making one Barbie say she was going to have sex with Ken for the first time that night. She'd heard it on TV, she explained, wide-eyed, when her father demanded to know what on earth made her say it. She didn't even know what it meant. But she would, someday, and he dreaded that day.
She'd even begged him to take her to a movie she'd seen advertised on TV, one where a young woman was pursued by three different men, one of whom was old enough to be her father. The woman apparently ended up with the older man, after secretly dating all of them at once. Vegeta's answer had been a very firm 'No', and Bulla had cried and refused to speak to him for two days, but he didn't back down. She'd understand someday.
**Every time I see a woman on a billboard sign
I think about you
Saying 'drink this beer, and you'll be mine'
I think about you
When an actress on the movie screen
Plays Lolita in some old man's dream
It doesn't matter who she is
I think about you**
They'd almost reached the Capsule Corporation building, when Bulla spoke up again. "How about her? Can I be like her, Papa? She's real pretty, too."
Vegeta glanced at the woman she was referring to. This young woman was wearing a business suit, with a skirt that stopped just above her knees, and high heels. She carried a briefcase and wore her hair up in a bun, but it was obvious she was a beautiful woman. Vegeta nodded to himself in approval. Her skirt could be a little longer, but even Bulma wore shorter skirts and dresses. Aside from that, this young woman was dressed professionally rather than provocatively. So he was a little bit surprised when men driving by honked and hooted at her. In fact, he had to quickly cover his daughter's ears when one man slowed his car long enough to lean out the window and make an obscene offer to the woman.
Watching the young woman, Vegeta noticed that she never stopped walking, and kept her eyes facing forward, her face a mask of stone.
She's dealt with this before! He realized. She's not even doing anything to entice these men! They're all just a bunch of filthy lechers! He thought angrily. Is this really the world my daughter has to grow up in?
**When I see a pretty woman walking down the street
I think about you
Men look her up and down like she's some kind of treat
Oh, I think about you
She wouldn't dare talk to a stranger
Always has to be aware of the danger
It doesn't matter who she is
I think about—
You
Eight years old
Big blue eyes and a heart of gold
When I look at this world
I think about you
And I can't help but see
That every woman used to be
Somebody's little girl
I think about you**
Later that evening, at home, Vegeta was still thinking about the things he and Bulla had seen. He was one of the strongest people in the universe, but would he be able to protect his baby girl every minute? In five short years she'd be a teenager. What could he do when she got to the point where she wouldn't listen to him at all? Trunks had gone through that stage, and Bulla would, too. All children did, it seemed. How would he keep her safe from the perverts of the world?
Suddenly her little voice broke through his thoughts. She'd been watching one of her favorite shows, and the news had come on afterward. The segment that was being shown now was about a local woman who'd been attacked by a stranger in her own home. Bulla was confused. "Papa, what does 'raped' mean?"
Vegeta gasped, and then jumped up and turned the TV off. "It's nothing, honey. Time for you to get ready for bed now."
"But—it must mean something! That lady on the news—"
"Bed, Bulla! Now!" Vegeta said angrily.
She blinked a few times, and then started to cry. "I'm sorry, Papa! I didn't mean to make you mad!" She got up and headed toward her room, but he called her back.
"I'm sorry, Bulla. I'm not mad at you. But I don't want you watching the news anymore, all right? That stuff is for grownups, not children, understand?"
She nodded, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
"That's my little princess." He hugged her. "Come on, let's get you into bed and I'll tell you a story."
"Really? Yay!" Bulla raced ahead of him to her room, and Vegeta followed, smiling. She really was a good kid.
**Every time I hear people say it's never gonna change
I think about you
Like it's some kind of joke, some kind of game
Girl, I think about you
When I see a woman on the news
Who didn't ask to be abandoned or abused
It doesn't matter who she is
I think about—
You
Eight years old
Big blue eyes and a heart of gold
When I look at this world
I think about you
And I can't help but see
That every woman used to be
Somebody's little girl
I think about you
Eight years old
Big blue eyes and a heart of gold
When I look at this world
I think about you**
Vegeta watched his sleeping daughter that night, thinking about how sweet and completely innocent she looked. He knew the day would come when she'd lose that innocence, but he'd always protect her, and no matter what happened or how old she grew, she would always be his sweet blue-eyed, blue-haired little girl.
**I think about you**