"We’re what?!?" Bulma exclaimed incredulously.

"You heard me, woman. We’re locked in."

They both sat in silence, taking in their predicament. Bulma turned to face Vegeta’s profile. "This is all your fault!" she yelled, standing up in front of him.

"My fault?!?" he demanded angrily, standing up also, not wanting her to look down on him.

"Yes! Your fault Vegeta! If you would have got out when I told you to, I wouldn’t be stuck in here with you!"

"Oh please, woman. For all I know, you probably planned this."

Bulma’s eyes grew wide. "Are you crazy!?"

"I can’t blame you, though. Once you get a little taste of me, it’s hard not to come back."

Bulma sputtered, amazed at his arrogance. "L-look, Vegeta. We’re not going to get anywhere by griping at one another. We gotta find a way out."

Vegeta sighed, reluctant to give up his argument. "Fine. What’s your suggestion Einstein?"

"I-I was kinda hoping…you had an answer to that." Vegeta shrugged, heading over to the opposite side of the bathroom to sit down.

"We wait."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jay turned to his left to look at the profile of the woman sitting beside him. She was deeply concentrating on the basketball game. Only when commercial came on did her concentration break. He took his opportunity to talk to her when the men began to argue again.

"So, you into sports, huh?" Jay asked in an attempt to break the ice.

She turned to face him, nodding her head and smiling at his lame excuse for a conversation. "Yeah, you could say I’m a sports kinda gal," she said, her voice containing a light accent that Jay couldn’t exactly pinpoint.

"You’re not from around here, are you?"

She rolled her eyes playfully in a "duh" motion. "How could you tell? Yeah, I’m from New York."

"Oh? So why’d you come down to LA?"

She sighed, indicating that it was a long story. "Just needed a fresh new start," she said, ending the conversation. Jay could feel her pull away, not physically but something else. It was weird. Suddenly she just wasn’t there anymore.

As the night proceeded, she pulled out of her shell, getting comfortable with him and all the other guys, especially Krillin, who happened to be rooting for the same team. Jay just relaxed and found himself actually kind of enjoying his birthday more than he had intended. He smiled as he looked at Zaria who was once again watching the game and biting her nails in anxiety.

As the last 3 seconds of the game winded down, she leaned towards the television in expectation. Jay took the opportunity to stare down the top of her tank. Hey, who said he couldn’t still be his old perverted self?

He started when the woman jumped up off the couch screaming and yelling, giving Krillin a high five. Jay looked at the screen, catching the instant replay of the Sixers winning with a three point shot.

She walked over to Yamcha, Nappa, and Jin, holding her hand out. The three men grumbled, each digging into their pockets and handing her a $10 bill.

"Nice doing business with ya boys," she said, making sure they each had given her a ten. "That game got me a bit thirsty. Anyone want a soda while I’m in the kitchen?" All the men began to shout out orders.

"Alright," she said when all the requests had been thrown out. "Can someone give me a hand? I’m not so sure where the kitchen is."

"I will!" Jay said, a little too quickly.

"Calm down there, buddy," Krillin said, teasingly. "She may be pretty, but don’t fall over yourself." Jay picked up a cushion and threw it at him.

"C’mon Zaria," he said, walking her to the kitchen. They passed a small room that held all the presents.

"Whoa," she said when they passed. "You sure did get a crap load of stuff."

He shook his head, going to the cooler that was set on the island. "Nah, only half of it’s mine. The rest goes to Juu."

Zaria walked around to the other side of the island. "Now I feel bad. I didn’t get you guys anything," she said, guiltily as she pulled out two Dr. Peppers and a Sprite.

"Don’t feel bad. They are many other things you could give me that are not material."

Her eyes widened and she reached across the counter to playfully punch him in the arm. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

He held up his arms defensively. "Nothing…just…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Just….what?"

"Just a small little peck on the cheek. Totally innocent," he said nonchalantly, the ladies man coming out in him once again. He watched as she thought it over. She bit her lip. "Totally innocent?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Absolutely."

She hesitated, but leaned over the counter. He smiled wickedly, turning his head. The first thing that popped into his mind when her lips touched his was ‘Damn they’re soft.’

Zaria’s eyes widened as she realized that he had moved his head to catch her lips instead and the simple "innocent peck" became more than that. She smiled inwardly and closed her eyes as he leaned in even more, increasing lip contact. Zaria sighed into his mouth when his hand came up to caress cheek. Timidly, she gave in to his coaxing, allowing her tongue to slip out and intertwine with his.

"Oooh, look who’s making with the suck face," a voice said, followed by a couple of female giggles.

Jay and Zaria pulled away from each other, blushing. Juu, Rayven, Chichi, and Launch stood at the doorway, trying to contain their laughter.

"Looks like the new girl’s getting along just fine."

"Yeah, you’re real mature Juu," Jay said, still embarrassed.

"No Jay. You’re mature. Makin’ out with some chick you barely even know in the kitchen." Her voice held a touch of malice.

Zaria opened her mouth but closed it, not wanting to sound like an idiot. What was she supposed to say? ‘It’s not what it looks like. I was just giving your brother his birthday present’? How lame.

"C’mon Juu," Chi said lightly. "I’m sure they were just having a little fun, right guys?" She directed the last part to the two guilty ones.

"Speaking of fun," Launch started. "Where’s Bulma and Vegeta?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Do you really have to do that Vegeta?" Bulma asked, irritated. He had been sitting there across from her for the past hour and a half, flicking a damn lighter on and off….on and off…..repeatedly.

He didn’t answer, just paused and looked up at her for a moment before continuing.

"Aaaarrgh," Bulma cried, frustrated. She wanted to snatch the damn thing out of his hands! "And why do you have that thing anyway?" she asked him. "It’s not like you smoke."

He stopped flicking. "You don’t know that. In fact, there’s a lot of things you don’t know about me." *Flick*

He was really starting to get claustrophobic and unfortunately for her, he could be and even bigger asshole when he felt helpless in a situation.

"Like what?" she asked, thinking this a good time as any to start interrogating.

He chuckled softly. "If you want to know so much about me, woman, then you should pick up a magazine. You’re bound to find a few articles about me somewhere in there." *Flick*

"Why don’t you just pick up a magazine," she mocked angrily under her breath. ‘What a bastard.’

She watched as he grabbed a tissue paper and lit it, blowing it out before the fire got too big.

"Shit Vegeta, you really must be bored."

He glanced up at her but didn’t respond to her sarcastic remark. He watched as she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. His gaze was captured when she huffed, pushing her chest out and pouting her lips. She really didn’t know what that did to him. He soon became aware of the scorching heat that so suddenly surrounded his fingers.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, quickly racing towards the sink to put out the burning tissue paper. He set it in the sink and twisted the knobs to the faucet. He panicked when they just squeaked, refusing to let out any liquid.

"Vegeta, quit messing around and put that out," she said, almost absently. He grabbed the tissue by the only part that wasn’t engulfed with flames, but the fire was going so fast that he had to drop it. It fell right onto the small rug, and Bulma and Vegeta watched in horror as the fire spread across the small mat.

Bulma screamed, but then calmed herself down. ‘No use panicking, Bulma.’ She raced to the bathtub and tried to twist the knobs. To her dismay, they wouldn’t budge.

"Vegeta….come help me!" she yelled with difficulty because the smoke was becoming thick. He ran over to her, jumping into the tub for leverage, and twisted the knobs. Bulma squealed with delight when water began to pour out.

"Don’t just stand there, woman! Help me put this thing in there!"

She complied, helping him pick up the burning rug and quickly throw it into the tub. They sighed with relief when the fire was put out. But Bulma’s relief quickly turned to anger. She turned to Vegeta.

"Look at the mess you almost got us into Vegeta!"

Vegeta rolled his in exasperation. He was tired of this chick blaming everything on him. Okay…so maybe it was his fault, but damn! Give a guy a break!

"Oh, can it woman. I’m not in the mood for your harping."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. If it’s not praising you Vegeta, then it’s not worth listening to."

"Finally. You understand." He said, seriously.

" You are so impossible Vegeta!" Bulma yelled above the roar of water that was steadily filling the tub.

"I’m impossible?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Yes! Impossible! You strut around, throwing arrogant insults out, and then expect everyone to flatter you."

"And your point is?"

Bulma shook her head in frustration. "You know what, Veg—" but the words died in her throat when liquid began to seep into her tennis shoes.

"What the hell?" Vegeta said confused as he looked down at his own wet shoes.

The tub had overfilled, pouring water onto the bathroom floor. "Oh great. Just what I need," Bulma said, hastily reaching for the handles to turn it off. As she reached over she lost her footing, and slipped on the slick ground. She screamed, reaching out to grasp Vegeta, pulling him with her into the tub in the process.

Vegeta quickly spun himself around midair, allowing Bulma to fall on top of him. Water splashed onto the bathroom floor as the two bodies hit the water. Vegeta struggled to get air as Bulma’s body weight held him under.

He pushed her off, angrily. "Great!" he yelled sarcastically when he caught his breath. "Now, not only am I stuck in here with you, but now I’m fucking soaked!" he spat at her with rage as he turned off the faucet. The sound of the drain guzzling down water could be heard.

"Get a grip, Vegeta," Bulma said, pulling herself up. "I slipped, okay? It was an accident."

He stood up also, trying not to notice the way her clothes clung to her. That white, wet top was leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination and right now was not the time.

He attempted to step out of the tub only to slip, kicking Bulma’s legs out from under her and landing on top of her. The two hit the water once again. Bulma thrashed about once more to get up, only to be entangled by a mass of limbs. She sighed in frustration and gave up, sitting her head against the back of the tub.

Above her, Vegeta was panting with exhaustion. How fucking hard was it to get out of a damn tub?

They both looked up when the bathroom door opened.

"Geez you guys," Tink said, entering. His belt was already unbuckled, indicating that he really had to go. "I know public places are fun and all, but please, for the sake of everyone else…get a room??"

Bulma blushed, taking in their position. She was lying down with her legs parted and Vegeta in between her thighs. Her face grew even redder when she felt a certain hardness prodding at her leg. She quickly pushed him off of her, carefully pulling herself out of the tub. Vegeta followed behind her.

"Not even three weeks down the line and already you guys are humping like bunnies," Tink joked.

"Shut up, Tink," Vegeta demanded, no trace of humor in his voice.

"Ay, ay, boss," Tink mock saluted as he walked to the toilet.

"Hey and don’t forget to close the door on your way out!" Tink called as Bulma and Vegeta left the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Where’ve you guys been?" Chichi asked as the two made their way down the stairs.

"And why the hell are you dripping?" Rayven demanded, running to Vegta’s side.

Bulma shook her head. "Don’t ask." She turned to Juu. "And fix that damn bathroom door. I think Tinker’s stuck in there. Someone should get him soon." She grabbed Goku’s arm, pulling him towards the front door.

"Where you guys goin’?" Yamcha yelled after them.

"Nowhere. We’ll meet you guys up at the drags!" she yelled back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What was that all about?" Goku asked, taking the wheel.

"Nothing. Just had to get out of there. I’m so damn frustrated over this case!" she cried, putting her face into her hands. "I wish we could just catch the bad guys and be done with it."

Goku nodded, knowing exactly how she felt.

"Too bad it’s not that easy. I just can’t see any of these guys as criminals, you know? Except for Vegeta, that is."

Bulma’s eyebrows quirked. "And why is that?"

"He’s just not such a great person to know. Drugs, car thefts. Do I need to go on?"

She raised her eyebrows. "How do you know?" she asked, trying to be nonchalant.

He sighed heavily, indicating that he was going to tell her something important. "Well, as you know, before I became a cop, I was on the other side of the fence. Selling drugs, breaking and entering, etcetera."

Bulma nodded her head, still not being able to see Goku as a thug.

"Well, during that time, I became quite acquainted with Vegeta. This was before he was into the whole drag racing scene."

Bulma’s eyes widened. "You never told me this."

"There was never a reason to. We were good friends actually. That was until I had a change of heart. Raditz started really pushing me. Telling me I could become something way better. So I focused on my goals and this is where I ended up."

"So, you hate Vegeta, why?"

"I told you, right? Drug bust a few years back. It was brutal. He would’ve faced a minimum of 5 years in the big house had the charges not been dropped."

"Oh, yeah?" she inquired, surprised. "What happened?"

"Well, either he was innocent, or he has friends in high places."

"Let me guess. You opt for the latter?"

"Can you blame me?"

Now Bulma could understand the hated looks that the men had exchanged over the past couple weeks. She thought it was just an over surging of testosterone. But now she realized it went much deeper.

"I just want to know what you have against the guy. Not that I’m on his side or anything."

"Well….he….it’s just…" Goku fumbled, trying to get his words out. "He…he calls me Kakarott!!"

Bulma’s eyes widened not believing his ridiculous reasoning,

"You’ve gotta be kidding me Goku. That’s why?"

"You don’t understand Bulma! I can still remember arresting him and bringing him in. I can tell he hated my guts. Thought I had doubled crossed him. Then, in front of all my associates, he called me Kakarott and started laughing. And he wouldn’t stop! That was a secret I had told him in utter confidence that he wouldn’t tell anyone else. And for the better part of a year, I couldn’t go anywhere without people offering me various vegetables! It was humiliating!"

Goku turned red in a combination of anger and embarrassment just thinking about it.

"Well, Goku. I didn’t think you could surprise me even more with your strangeness, but it seems you’ve just accomplished that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Vegeta, you don’t even know her!" Rayven turned red in a mixture of her anger and frustration over Vegeta’s refusal to answer her, only concentrating on the road.

"For all you know, she could be a fucking cop! You just got the job as boss a month ago. No use in fucking that up!"

"And if she just so happens to be one?!" Vegeta asked, his anger finally bursting. "I don’t have anything to hide! Do you have anything to hide Rayven?"

"Look, Vegeta. All I’m saying is that you can’t trust someone just ‘cause she has a pretty face! You don’t know the girl. She hasn’t been around like the rest of us. You’ve known Juu, Jay and Krillin since you were in diapers, and the rest of us you’ve known since high school. You can trust us."

"Listen, Ray. I’m tired of your dumb little jealousy antics. She works for me. I couldn’t care less for the chick. And for the record, I’m not tied down to you or to anyone else. I can do whatever I damn well please."

"That’s not what you said when you were screwing my brains out."

Vegeta breathed a sigh of frustration. When was this woman going to realize that all she really was, was a release for his horniness? Alright, so maybe it was wrong, but didn’t someone know when they were just a booty call?

"She works for me. That’s it."

The rest of the drive went on in silence.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*