Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Cop Story ❯ Coffee and Champagne ( Chapter 23 )

Disclaimer: The characters aren't owned by me.

Warning: This chapter contains a short lemon snippet. It is also comprised of several different scenes, which were originally cut out of the story and place into this chapter as a type of bonus chapter. I apologize if things don't flow as smoothly.

A Cop Story

Part Twenty Three

By RM

Coffee and Champagne

Chi Chi stirred her sauce before leaning slightly sideways to observe her love muffin pacing back and forth in the foyer with a crestfallen pout. He had been miserable all day and he was doing a terrible job of hiding it. He must've felt her eyes on him since he turned around to look at her with a heavy sigh.

"He never goes anywhere," he complained like a small child that was just told that the pool party had been cancelled due to lightning. "Ever!"

She watched his face and his earnest expression.

"Well," she shrugged, watching him. "He's gone away on that business trip with Bulma. It's only natural that they should do things together when they have the chance." She stated before turning her attention back to the dinner at hand. She stared off as she began stirring once again, daydreaming of what her own romantic vacation with Goku might be like. While they did plenty of things together, it would certainly be nice to just get away from it all for a couple of days. In a way, she envied Bulma for being able to skip town for days at a time, although she didn't envy the fact that this time around she was stuck in some crowded city with Vegeta.

"We always spar at this time every Tuesday," he quietly commented as he entered the kitchen and just stood there with his shoulders slumped. He sighed again, really feeling as if he was missing something. While Goku was not against change, he adapted to situations very quickly in fact, his sparring sessions with Vegeta were one of the things that he really and truly looked forward to. It was an important part of their weekly routine. There was a sense of comfort in knowing Vegeta was trying to knock his block off, and vice versa he was sure. His body knew where he was supposed to be. This just didn't feel normal.

"Chi," he pleaded, looking for an answer.

"Call Krillin," she offered. "Or Tien."

He looked towards the phone.

"Call both," she finally suggested with a quick shrug. "We have plenty for dinner. Tell them to bring the girls. There's plenty of things for us to do while you pound each other senseless." The last word came out a little more forcefully than the rest, although she was sure Goku wouldn't catch on. Oh, she knew he understood, but he had that odd habit that even most human men possessed that included filtering out the things they didn't want to hear. She frowned after a moment in thought. She supposed she would just have to accept it, although she admitted she didn't have to like it. Still, if it was what made her little pumpkin happy…

Goku made a dash for the phone, slipping once on the newly waxed floor in his socks. Although he knew that both Krillin and Tien weren't as much fun to spar with as Vegeta, he had to admit that it was better than nothing.

Of course, he might have to play it sneaky. He was never sure just how his friends would react. Then again, he did happen to know at least one person who couldn't pass up a fight to save his own life, OR a meal, now that he thought about it.

He dialed the number.

"Hey Raditz? You like pasta, right?"

*****

It had been sleeting quite heavily in the city all afternoon just before the temperature dropped, forming glacial sheets of ice on the sidewalks and roadways. The overall effect created a stage of vague amusement for the two investigators sitting at the table next to the window at a small coffee shop.

"Do you think they know we're tailing them?" #17 asked as he took a sip of his double cream and double sugar coffee.

Piccolo took a sip of his own bottled water as his gaze never left the softly glowing cocktail lounge located just across the street from the coffee house. He was only momentarily distracted as victim number seven fell down in front of the beauty supply store two shops down. His lip curled up in a smirk as he watched the figure flail around, dust off their coat, and fall down again, dropping their bag.

"You'd think they'd wear more sensible shoes," Piccolo's deep voice scratched out. #17 turned to give him a curious look before dismissing the whole conversation with a shrug.

They both continued to stare out of the window for quite some time before either one was still not compelled to speak to the other. It was a great partnership for both involved. #17 was the type, who although he enjoyed a joke almost as much as the next guy, was more prone to contemplative silence. Even his voice reflected his nature, in a sense. It was calm and even, and it never seemed to incite people to do any more than carry on with their business. Piccolo, on the other hand, was a Namek with one hefty mean streak. It wasn't that he didn't like humans, it was just that he considered almost every human he'd met, stupid, weak, and basically incapable of making good decisions, let alone the right ones, to save their lives. It was one of the reasons why he enjoyed police work. Someone had to tell those useless slugs how to behave themselves.

"Why don't we just go in there?"

Piccolo gave his partner a look before glancing down at his gray sweat shirt and navy blue sweat pants. He wasn't much into the cocktail lounge scene, as he imagined #17 to be, but he did know a few things about them. One of those things being that a tall, green guy dressed like a fitness club casualty would probably catch more attention than necessary. Of course, there was always the matter of #17 himself.

"I don't think they'd let you in the door," Piccolo mumbled before taking another drink of water.

#17 momentarily took note of his own baggy pants accentuated by paint stains and his choice of T-shirts, doubled up, the white long sleeved under the blue short sleeved. Both had seen better days.

"I have a suede jacket in the car," he shrugged, turning to stare out of the window once again.

The two sat there for several minutes in silence as the soft music of the coffee shop and the quiet giggles of two young girls went on somewhere behind them. Piccolo growled deep in his throat at the irritating background noise while the lack of activity finally got to #17 as he laid his forehead on the table and sighed. The dark haired investigator took in another breath as he was about to ask something of his partner when his question was stopped dead in its tracks.

"This is a stick up!"

Piccolo never once took his gaze off of his target on the other side of the street while #17 didn't bother moving an inch, although he did hazard a quiet comment.

"You have got to be kidding me," he mumbled into the table, thankful that it was clean.

"Oh yeah," Piccolo mumbled back at his partner, "It's a regular party."

#17 smiled and raised his head slowly as the shouting and whimpering of scared customers started up around them. "Do I get to cut the cake?"

*****

"Dessert anyone?" Chi Chi asked as she stood and began clearing dishes from the table.

Goku raised his hand and began to fidget excitedly when he learned that the meal wasn't over. Although Chi Chi liked to cook, she didn't always make something sweet for dessert. It was probably a good thing that she didn't, Goku thought, and when she did, it made it all that much more of a treat.

"What do you have?" #18 asked as she also stood to help the hostess clean the table.

"I have lemon meringue tarts, passion fruit and kiwi custards and chocolate mousse for those of us who aren't so daring," she eyed Krillin as he chuckled nervously.

"I'll have all three, please!" Goku announced with a smile, receiving a glare from his brother who by this time was sporting a large shiner on his left cheekbone.

"Oh, that tart sounds yummy!" Launch smiled as she dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin. Tien, who was sitting next to her and was in no condition to move too quickly, silently agreed with a slight nod. The sparring session had been a lot of fun, but several bumps and bruises later, it had turned out to be a lot of sore fun. Tien knew he was a pretty good fighter, but when matched against someone of Goku's caliber, he had still turned out to be a loser. He had only realized that he'd been a sore loser when he tried to sit down.

"They all sound pretty good," Yamcha admitted, setting his napkin on the table. "The custard sounds especially nice."

"Anything chocolate sounds pretty good to me," Krillin chimed in.

"I don't discriminate," Raditz added, watching the desserts with keen interest. Normally, he tried to stick to a pretty strict diet. He tried to limit his sweets and stick to things that didn't take too much work to prepare. Take out, for instance, was always a top choice, although anything with a whole lot of meat was considered tops for him as well.

Chi Chi prepared two trays teeming with sweet treats and handed them to #18, who brought them to the table without any trouble. She then brought out the china and silverware along with steaming hot coffee to enjoy with the desserts. When she sat back down, Goku was eyeing the goodies excitedly, trying not to lick his lips. Glancing across the table, she noticed that Raditz was also practically drooling into his napkin. The two had horrible table manners, but in a way she found the whole situation rather…cute. Never before had she met anyone who loved food like they did, enough to get genuinely excited over something as simple as a tart. She knew that they truly loved any little treat she made for them, and in a way it served to make her enjoy baking for them even more. Well, she supposed, she'd just have to continue making lots of goodies for them so she could teach them how to eat them properly. And it could take an awful long time.

Little did she know, she had her work cut out for her.

*****

The apartment was small, but comfortably cute. Two cats watched with feigned interest as the tall, dark haired woman picked at her dinner, which consisted of a boxed meal of macaroni and cheese. Every now and again, a thumping echoed from the hallway as the dryer continued its cyclic spin.

"Have some more bubbly," Marron smiled, pouring her friend another glass with a wink. "It helps it go down much easier."

Mai eyed Marron a little uncertainly. She had come over for dinner since Marron had asked, and also since the two had dates for the evening and had both told the other that they would help out with their hair.

"Do you think I should go with the frosts? Or the pastels?"

Mai continued to eye Marron thoughtfully. They were sitting together at the kitchen table, which was also doubling as a sort of vanity. Marron had brought out her vast array of cosmetics, while Mai had taken it upon herself to pack her own. Besides, the bathroom was too small.

"Frosts," was Mai's brisk reply. She watched as Marron combed out her hair, which they had taken great pains to frost with touches of white. Mai had suggested they try a lighter shade of blue to compliment Marron's natural color. Marron had simply insisted that if she was going to frost her hair, it was going to look frosty. "Definitely."

"Have you decided what we're doing with your hair yet? It's almost time," Marron informed her friend as a dull, thumping continued to sound through the apartment.

"I was just going to put it up in a ponytail," Mai shrugged, giving the rubber hair curlers a dirty look as they bounced in her peripheral vision. "I don't see the point in these."

"You have to give the man some pizzazz! Honestly!" The other woman added with a half pout, mostly just to test her lipstick. A very glittery, pink frost. "Where is he taking you tonight anyway?"

"We were going to check out the bird sanctuary's owl exhibit," Mai began.

"Eww," Marron replied before Mai had a chance to finish. "That's kinda creepy."

"Nonsense," Mai replied in her no-nonsense tone. "I happen to like wildlife. And so does he."

"I think it's kinda creepy."

Several moments passed before either one spoke again. One of the cats jumped off of the small stool it was laying on and wandered over to rub Mai's legs. She looked down and watched the small, furry thing with curiosity. She really did like wildlife, and she had been amazed to find out that #16, the guy she had met through Marron's friend one week ago at the bowling alley, had a major thing for nature and wildlife as well. They had spent a great deal of time that night talking and getting to know each other. Their meeting could best be summed up as electric. Something just sparked between them, almost like circuitry. Although Mai had no idea on #16's origins or what made him tick, it somehow seemed to be the best way to describe him. And the more she thought about him, the more she realized that he just might be the man of her dreams. Although, most of her dreams she considered nothing more than a blatant waste of time.

"Where are you and Zarbon going tonight?" Mai questioned after her train of thought had come to its logical conclusion.

"Oh, honey. The question is where aren't we going!" Marron smiled with enthusiasm. She was so excited about this date that she'd had little else on her mind during the week. Although many people would agree that there might not be enough room for more than one thought at a time.

"What is that noise?"

Marron shrugged vacantly before suddenly snapping out of it and into some sort of action. "My shoes!" She exclaimed, tearing off down the hall towards the small laundry nook.

Mai dabbed her cheek lightly with powder before making a face in the small mirror at the curlers in her hair. She leaned forward to peek around the corner of the wall in order to catch a glimpse of what was going on down the hallway.

"They were soaking wet after I chased down that taxi! I swear this weather just doesn't know when to stop!" The voice was somewhat muffled, but seemed to echo briefly before continuing on in varying tones. "Well, they're mostly dry."

Mai chuckled. Last time this had happened, Marron ended up baking her boots at 400 degrees for two hours.

"Hey, you're wearing that red dress, right?"

Mai sighed from her seat in the kitchen, glancing down at one of the cats with an exasperated expression while listening to the sounds of someone rummaging through the hall closet. Sure, she wanted to look nice but she didn't want to overdo it at the same time.

"I have this great ostrich feather hat!" Marron offered as she entered the kitchen.

Once again, Mai gave her friend a doubtful look. Somehow, she figured that the owls could care less if she matched, and bird enthusiasts everywhere would be ready to run her off a cliff.

"No," Mai finally answered, beginning to unroll one of the curlers from her hair, "thank you."

Marron sat down with a sigh, reaching out and picking a little piece of fuzz from her friend's eyelashes. Stopping to take another sip of champagne, Mai smiled at her friend as warmly as she was able. She really did appreciate everything that Marron had done for her. And for tonight, she would certainly take to heart the advice given to her earlier.

And she poured them both another glass of champagne.

*****

She watched him make love to her in the mirror. The experience far outmatched the visual but watching him move slowly and rhythmically on top of her somehow enhanced her pleasure. It was almost as if she was watching someone else. This was a whole side of their relationship that she never got to see.

She watched in fascination as his lips traveled down her neck and she felt his hot breath escaping in gasps with each thrust. He was being extremely gentle and going joyously slow, making quite sure that she had a chance to feel every single subtle nuance of his love for her.

His weight shifted momentarily as he clasped one of her hands in one of his, sliding it over the satin sheets, halting just above her head. His grip was firm but not overpowering as he intertwined his fingers with hers. She let out a light gasp of pleasure when he began to caress her earlobe with his lips and tongue. When he released a lust filled moan, it sent shivers up and down her spine. Her eyes slid shut as her whole body began to tingle. It was always such a rush to hear the sound of his deep voice gasping or murmuring incoherently against her neck when he was in the throes of passion. Pleasure filled sighs and moans were not things that she associated with Vegeta.

Vegeta.

She had run the gamut with Vegeta. Their brief relationship had already had its fair share of ups and downs. And the intimacy? While that ran an almost perfect ten across her boards, it could range anywhere from hard to slow quicker than the mood swing of a pregnant woman out of pickles. She smiled at that last thought as she trailed her free hand over his compact shoulder and once again concentrated on the couple reflected in the mirrored ceiling of the hotel suite. She tried to focus on how his body moved, the fluid, graceful movements of his muscle and her own small frame underneath him. She watched herself slide her leg down one of his, tracing a line to his ankle with her toes. She looked on as she tried to wiggle slightly to reinforce the sensation of her chest against his. She wasn't impatient in the least, she simply wanted to savor the exhilarating experience of his hot, hard flesh for as long as she could. But as he continued with his incredibly powerful and slow pace, she could no longer ignore the warm, anxious sensation building up quickly inside of her.

That was when her thoughts stopped. She heard him groaning once again as she tried to arch her back underneath him. She couldn't contain her moans as her head titled back and her eyes shut slowly. It felt as though she was losing her grip, her body unable to cope with the overwhelming ecstasy. He continued with his slow, even pace as she moaned and writhed underneath him, caught up in the sheer ferocity of her climax. His own body stiffened minutes after her release had begun, his voice hoarsely calling her name as his hand gently squeezed hers.

They lay there together for a long while in relative silence, the only sound that of their breathing and her happy chirps of contentment. Bulma easily broke his limp hold on her hand and brought both arms around him, rubbing his strong back in a fluid, circular motion.

"That was incredible," she breathed out, watching his body shift on top of hers in the mirror.

He let out a throaty chuckle against her neck, his deep voice rumbling in his chest. She once again felt his hot breath when he lightly kissed her shoulder before he shifted his weight one last time. She let out a slight sigh as she gave his shoulders one last squeeze before smiling up at her reflection and closing her eyes. She was teetering on the edge of two states of consciousness, wanting sleep but also wanting to feel the comforting resonance of his deep voice rumble through her body. However, realizing that he was in no mood for talking, she slid into the world of slumber, never once easing her hold on him.

*****

She awoke sometime later, tangled in the soft sheets and pinned down by two heavy limbs draped across her body. She released a breathy sigh as she gingerly lifted his arm and wiggled out from under his leg. She paused for a moment on the edge of the enormous bed holding his hand until he grumbled, smacked his lips, and rolled over.

The air was chilly as she padded daintily towards the lavish bathroom, stepping over two empty champagne bottles and a handful of chocolate wrappers. She shivered when her bare feet hit the cool ceramic tile and turned on the light with a soft click. Partially closing the door to keep the light from waking her sleeping Saiyan, she gazed at her ruffled reflection in the mirror, admitting to herself that she had no idea what she was doing up. She stared critically at herself for several minutes, paying specific attention to any signs of aging that might be forming post-Vegeta. She frowned when she thought about him and how things had progressed with the man she knew to be one of the biggest jerks she'd ever met. Her brow smoothed however, when she thought about his positive traits as well. While it was true that he was stubborn, rash, hot-headed, egotistical, outspoken at times, and had a wee bit of a mean streak…OK…so it wasn't so wee of a bit…he seemed to also have a very traditional view when it came to certain aspects. She had also noted that he held a very strict code of what she could only term as honor. While he may be cold-hearted towards people, he was never hypocritical in his judgements about them. He could handle his own problems and he never whined about it. And he never put anything off. He made no pretense. You always knew exactly where you stood with him. And he never picked favorites. Vegeta pretty much hated everyone. So the question was, why did she love him so much?

She sighed again, deciding that she was much too tired to deliberate on her lover's moral fiber and grabbed her toothbrush. She spent a few minutes cleaning up and of course thinking about him anyway. She had moved from the topic of what kind of person he was, to what kind of relationship she really wanted from him and if he was perhaps even capable of such a thing. While he wasn't the dominant factor in her life, she still couldn't imagine being without him. They didn't live together, although she wished he would consider it. She liked to have him around and she took comfort in the feeling she got knowing that he was close by, even when he was a bit moody. She couldn't help but wonder though, whether or not he could think of life without her.

The door opened slightly as she placed her hairbrush on the counter. She watched the reflection in the mirror as he groggily made his way over to the toilet and lifted the seat. She continued inspecting her own image but found her eyes wandering to his. He cracked his neck as he stood with his back to her, relieving himself. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror as he did his business, not bothered in the least at the fact that he didn't care that she was standing behind him. It was an intimate moment that he was sharing, although perhaps not the kind of intimate moment people normally strive for in a relationship.

He tilted his head back slightly and she watched his muscles tighten briefly as he finished up, flushed and walked towards her standing at the sink with his eyes closed. She barely moved as he approached her from behind and gently bumped her against the counter. He brought his arms around her on either side, and turned the faucet on, running warm water and washing his hands. After he reached for the hand towel he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her ribcage just under her breasts. She continued looking on in the mirror as he gently swayed with her in his arms and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Are you coming back to bed?" He asked her quietly, not once opening his eyes.

She leaned into his embrace and the warmth that he generated.

"I don't sleep well without you," he mumbled sleepily against her shoulder.

She bit her lip as she tried to contain a chuckle of glee. Had he even realized what he had just admitted? His grip on her lessened and she was able to turn in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and lightly pressing her lips against his.
"I'll be there in a minute," she sighed against his cheek and smiled, running her slender fingers through his thick hair. He pulled away from her slowly, scratching his rear as he shuffled back into the bedroom. She continued to smile as she watched him walk away, knowing full well that he was more asleep than awake. She turned back to her reflection and ran her fingers through her own hair one last time, flashing the beautiful, blue haired woman looking back at her the most dazzling smile she could pull off.

She no longer had to wonder about anything. Vegeta definitely needed his sleep.

Without her, he'd be miserable.

*****

There is it, the bonus chapter not originally part of the story. Please feel free to let me know if it sucked. Some of the things in here I had written already, but never quite got around to finding a place in the story for it. If you find errors, you can feel free to let me know. But you're all pretty much the first to read this…so you can let me know what you think…Other than that, I'll have the next part out tomorrow. Take care.

-RM (aka FatherMcRoury)