(Author's notes: This fic is set in the DragonBall Super Z universe created by Juuhachi-gou and Mirai Bulma. I DO have their permission to play in their sandbox. The song used in the story is "Bitch" performed by Meridith Brooks. What can I say? It fit almost perfectly ^_^ )
Garage Karioke
A DragonBall Super Z short
By Hana Noir
Vegeta was bored. There was no-one in the house and it was annoyingly quiet. Trunks was off somewhere with Juuhachi-gou, he didn't know where nor did he really care. Bra was out at the mall with Marron, shopping. He scowled at the thought. Kakarott was busy doing something with his wife, and he wasn't so desperate for company that he would seek the idiot out anyway. It occurred to him that he hadn't seem Bulma since breakfast and it was now mid-afternoon. What was the blasted woman up to now?
He concentrated on her whereabouts, getting a mental picture of a tangle of machinery. She snorted. It figured. He was bored out of his skull and she was off playing with some machine. He homed in on her familiar ki. She didn't have that much, but it was enough that he could track her. He walked off to find her. His senses finally led him to the large garage at the back of the house. He ignored the large opening and went in through the side entrance. He could hear music playing loudly and winced. He had no love for Bulma's choice in Earth music. He stepped into a short hallway and saw that one of the doors stood open, light shining in to make a rectangle into the dark hall.
He peered through the door and saw his mate, or at least her back end. She was working on what appeared to be an ancient car. It was very old, having wheels rather than being one of the newer, cleaner aircars. The body was dented, sporting rust spots and a plethora of dents and dings. All four tires were flat and the rubber was dry rotted. The driver's side mirror hung limply from the door and the rear window was missing. In short, it was a wreck.
Bulma stood balanced on the rusting front bumper, leaned up under the hood, working on something deep in the back. Clanking and rattling could be heard from inside, and she had tools lined up on the side of car. A greasy hand appeared every so often, reaching for a part, or exchanging a tool. Vegeta leaned on the doorfacing, watching.
All he could see of her was a gray coverall clad behind poking out from under the open hood. It looked almost like a gaping mouth trying to swallow her. He grinned slightly at the mental image. There was a boombox on the counter on the far side of the car and it was from there that the music was blaring forth. A new song started and Vegeta's grin grew wider as Bulma began twitching her behind to the rhythm of the music. Then, the lyrics started and Bulma sang along. Vegeta almost snorted but he didn't want to alert her to his presence yet. Then the words of the song penetrated his brain and he had to fight to keep from laughing aloud.
"I hate the world today, you're so good to me,"
Bulma sang, actually managing the tune this time. "I know but I can't change. Tried to tell you but you look at me like maybe I'm an angel underneath, innocent and sweet. Yesterday I cried. You must have been relieved to see the softer side. I can understand how you can be so confused, I don't envy you. I'm a little bit of everything all rolled into one."Bulma was getting into the song when she hit the chorus, using a greasy wrench as an impromptu microphone. "I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint. I do not feel ashamed. I'm your F, I'm your dream, I'm nothin' in between. You know you wouldn't want it any other way."
Vegeta's eyes were bulging in an effort to keep from laughing. Bulma was blissfully unaware of his presence as she continued to belt out the lyrics. The car was actually bouncing on its chassis as she bopped along with the song. "So take me as I am. This may mean you'll have to be a stronger man. Rest assured that when I start to make you nervous and I'm going to extremes, tomorrow I will change and today won't mean a thing!" Vegeta rolled hie eyes. That was the honest to Kami truth. Whoever wrote this song must have known Bulma at some point in time. She wound up for the chorus again. "I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint. I do not feel ashamed. I'm your F, I'm your dream, I'm nothin' in between. You know you wouldn't want it any other way." During the instrumental riff, she bounced down off of the bumper, still using the wrench as a mike.
She was into it by now, singing loudly, eyes closed. "Just when you think, you've got me figured out, the season's already changing. I think it's cool, you do what you do and don't try to change me.. I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint. I do not feel ashamed. I'm your F, I'm your dream, I'm nothin' in between. You know you wouldn't want it any other way! I'm a bitch, I'm a tease, I'm a goddess on my knees. When you're hurt, when you suffer, I'm your angel undercover. I've been numb, I'm revived, can't say I'm not alive, you know I wouldn't want it any other way!"
Vegeta shook his head. He'd never seen Bulma do anything like this before. It was kind of… sexy. A feral grin transformed his face as the song ended. Bulma was standing there, breathing slightly hard, grinning. Her head snapped up at the sound of applause and she glanced around wildly. Vegeta was lounging insolently in the hall doorway, clapping. A heated blush crawled up her neck, making its way up to her hairline. He'd been there the entire time, she realized, mortified.
"I couldn't have picked a better song myself," he said with a smirk. Embarrassment quickly changed to anger and Bulma let out a furious shriek, tossing the heavy wrench at her mate. Vegeta blurred and disappeared, avoiding the flying tool and reappearing behind Bulma. He had his arms around her, securing her hands before she could react. He grinned, nuzzling her neck. "You may be a bitch," he said, a slight growl in his voice. "But you're MY bitch."
Bulma surrendered to the inevitable and grinned. "Too bad no-one ever thought to write one about you," she retorted. "But then again, I'm pretty sure they couldn't play a song called 'Arrogant Bastard' on the radio." Vegeta chuckled at her comeback and swung her up into his arms.
"Why don't we take this discussion to the bedroom?" he purred. "I'd like to hear that song again, I think. And perhaps you could show me some of the finer points of the lyrics, hm?"
She wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling up at him. "I might just be inclined to make a repeat performance for my adoring audience."
"Your only audience, silly woman," was his final shot as he carried her out the door.