Dragon Ball Ships Week 2023 - Day 7: Free Day
Title: The Spy and The Thief Characters: Vegeta, Launch, Bulla Briefs, Bulma Briefs, Yamcha, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Trunks Briefs Pairing: Launch/Vegeta Summary: Bulma has had enough of Yamcha's fan club. Warning: Rated T for language.
Cross-posted on AO3 and FFN
The lights were all out when Vegeta walked inside his house. It had been another exhausting day and he just wanted to lie down on his bed as soon as possible. He hung his black coat in a pin behind the door and loosened the knot of his black tie. By the time he walked into his daughter’s room to give her a goodnight kiss, his white shirt was fully open. He stared at her for a moment and then bent over to kiss her forehead. His tie was curled up on his hand and fist when he walked into his bedroom. Launch was sitting on their bed reading a book, while waiting for him. “Hi.” “Hi.” Vegeta sat on the bed and untied his shoes, then removing them and placing them in a corner. He took his shirt off and turned it into a ball before throwing it above his shoes. “Tough day?” She closed her book and put it away. Then she approached him and started massaging his shoulders. “Yeah, there’s this woman who’s causing a lot of trouble and we can never seem to catch her.” “That’s awful.” She tried to sound serious, but couldn’t stop a smile from coming to her lips. “So what are you going to do now? Can you get into trouble for not succeeding in catching her?” “No, that’s one of the benefits of working on my own. I can’t get fired or anything.” “That’s good to hear.” She pulled back and watched him stretch his neck. “I’d hate to see you getting into trouble because of her.” The couple started laughing at how ironic the situation was. “I can’t believe they haven’t figured out who you are yet. They’re really a bunch of morons.” “Well, the long blue wig really helps out, so I don’t blame them for not recognizing me.” “How much did we get today?” With a large grin, Launch bent down and reached for a heavy bag next to her side of the bed and placed it between them.“Two hundred thousand zeni.” “Wow, that’s great!” Vegeta cheered. “I think it took us two or three robberies to make this amount of money last month.” “That’s true. Now that we have enough to live by, why don’t we go live somewhere else? This city sucks.” “Come on, it doesn’t suck. It’s amazing.” “Do you really want to risk getting caught?” “I won’t get caught. I’m the head spy, they can’t fire me.” “They can if they find out you’re involved in this. And then we’re screwed.” “Don’t worry, they won’t.” He moved a lock of her long curly hair away. “We’re being very cautious about it. There’s no way it can happen.” “Okay, if you say so.” “Now, why don’t we celebrate our big accomplishment?” “I thought you’d never ask.” She smiled and then pushed him towards the bed. **** “Papa!” Bulla jumped up and down on his bed excitedly very early in the following morning. “Mama asked me to wake you up or you’ll be late for work.” “Alright, sweetheart.” He mumbled and then buried his head on his pillow. “But can you please not jump on the bed?” “Sorry, papa.” She knelt down beside him and cupped his face. “Are you going to make my breakfast?” “Yes, I’ll make it.” Vegeta rolled over and rubbed his eyes before sitting down. Then he stood up and went to his wardrobe to choose a new shirt to wear. He turned around with a dark blue and a pink one. “Which one should papa wear today?” “The pink one!” Bulla sat on the edge of the bed and started swinging her legs happily. “Alright then. Pink it is.” “Good morning.” Vegeta walked into the kitchen with Bulla sitting over his shoulders. “Food smells great.” “They better taste great too.” Launch put a plate full of pancakes over the table. “These ingredients were quite expensive.” “Mama, did you know I chose Papa’s shirt today?” Bulla said as Vegeta put her in a chair. “You did? You already have a good taste.” The blue haired girl giggled and then looked at her father. “Papa, I want five pancakes with chocolate sauce.” “Five? Are you sure you can eat that much?” “Of course!” She showed off her muscles, so he could see how strong she was. “I want to become as strong as you.” “That’s great, sweetheart.” He grabbed her decorated plastic plate and put the five pancakes she wanted. “How do you say?” “Thank you, papa.” She eagerly started eating her breakfast. “What are you going to do today?” The blond man turned to his wife. “Oh, I’m just going to…” Launch immediately stopped talking when Bulla lifted her head and looked at her, not at all hiding how curious she was to hear her mother’s answer. “Go shopping, I guess.” “That’s so cool, mama! Can I go with you?” “I’m afraid not, Bulla. You have to go to school.” “Ah, but I don’t want to. School is boring.” “You need to study. That’s the only way to be successful in your life.” The blonde pair exchanged looks, not believing a word that had just been said. Launch shook her head and laughed, finding it ironic Vegeta would say something like this, from all people. They were most definitely the greatest thieves in West City. “Your father is right.” She said eventually. “You can go really far with a good education. Plus, you get to see your friends and play with them during lunch break.” “This is true. I’ll go to school then.” “That’s the spirit.” **** Vegeta reached for a lighter on the left pocket of his black coat and a pack of cigarettes on the right one. He lit one on while he walked down the street towards his office, after dropping his daughter at school. Like all the other days, his team was already working frantically when he walked in and slowly hung his coat on the coat rack in a corner of the office. “Good morning, Mr. Vegeta.” Son Gohan, one of his most competent employees, greeted him briefly and resumed his task, not having enough time to wait for him to answer. Vegeta thought West City was probably a chaos sooner than they expected that day. “Looks like we’ll have another busy day ahead.” He said with a sigh. “Yeah, the thieves decided to start acting way earlier today. Hopefully we’ll be able to catch many of them by the end of the day.” “Let’s hope so.”
When it was almost noon, Vegeta walked out of his room to have lunch in a restaurant nearby. That was always the excuse he gave, but in fact that was the time Launch robs a bank and he stays hidden, so they can get away with no problems. That was one of the benefits of knowing every inch of West City. Little did he know his luck was about to change soon. A smirk appeared on his lips when the first few police cars passed by him at full speed. He couldn’t help but think the cops were wasting their time, they were going to run away with the money once again. However, something in the corner of his eye got his attention and he looked across the street, but there was no one there. He waited a while and then resumed his way to the bank Launch was robbing, as peacefully and slowly as he could. “Uh, that was close.” “Mrs. Briefs, we almost got caught.” “I know.” Bulma Briefs, another spy from West City, told her partner, Yamcha. “I need to be more careful if I want to take him down.” “May I ask you what he did to you? You seem pretty determined to do that and I was wondering if…” “Let’s just say I have some unresolved business with him.” “Got it. He turned you down and you didn’t take it very well.” “That’s not it, you moron!” She smacked him in the head and he flinched. “I loathe that guy, I couldn’t possibly get involved with him. I’d rather be single than be his girlfriend, even if he was the last man on Earth.” “What about me? Would you go on a date with me?” “I’ll think about it… if we can take him down.” “I’ll do my best. He isn’t getting away with it today.” Yamcha said with determination and then looked at his boss. “May I ask you how long you’ve been observing him?” “You surely ask a lot of questions.” “I’m sorry.” He felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. “Sometimes they just slip through my mouth before I realize. I didn’t mean to…” “It’s okay.” Bulma assured him. “I’ve been following him for about three months, and I’m surprised he hasn’t noticed that yet. I thought he would be more careful about his surroundings. He let his guard down very easily.” “That seems like it.” “Come on, we can’t lose track of him. Let’s go.” She pulled him by the wrist and they secretly followed Vegeta.
The situation in the bank was chaotic. The blue haired woman had stroke again and was using a human shield to bribe the police officers and security guards to get what she wanted. “Just fucking give me the combination of the safe and no one will get hurt.” “Please don’t hurt me.” “Alright, lady.” One of the employees said. “I’ll take you there and open it for you.” “No!” She shouted and turned around, the gun still pointed at the person’s head. “I want the damn combination!” “Alright, alright.” The man wrote the combination on a paper and handed it to her, shaking. “Please don’t kill me.” “Where’s the damn safe.” “It’s the room in the back of this hall.” He pointed towards a door behind her. “Thanks. I’ll take this one, just in case.” Vegeta was waiting for Launch outside the bank when he had the feeling someone was watching him. He looked all around him, but didn't see anyone. And then, the sound of a familiar voice sent a shiver down his spine. “So there you are.” He turned around and saw a female figure in the shadows. “Bulma.” “So now you got together with a thief? The one you're supposed to arrest? No wonder why no one seemed to get her. You were covering for her the whole time.” “That's not what it looks like.” “Stop fucking lying to me!” She shouted and came out from the shadows, staring intensely into his dark eyes. “Is that the environment our daughter is living in?” “I've been taking good care of her.” “That's not what I asked!” She snapped, her eyes burning with fury. “She is, isn’t she?” “What about you, huh?” Vegeta raised his voice and walked towards her, not intimidated by her at all. “Wasn’t it your idea to include her in this whole mess? You wanted to use her as a bait.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “What?!” Yamcha looked at her in shock. “Don’t play dumb on me, Bulma.” The blonde continued, completely and blatantly ignoring his ex-wife’s partner. “You know exactly what you were doing. You used Bulla as a bait to finally get Launch behind the bars. You even advised her to call Launch ‘mom’. But you weren’t expecting the fact we could fall in love.” “You fell in love with her?” Bulma mocked, laughing hysterically. “You’re so funny, Vegeta! You can never love anyone.” “Alright, I got the money.” Launch walked out as she removed her long blue wig. “We can… what’s going on here?” “That’s the end for you, Launch.” The blue haired woman looked at her. “You’re finally going to be where you deserve.” “You mean in Maldives?” “You f…” She motioned to jump on her throat, but Yamcha held her back. “Mrs. Briefs, you don’t want to end up in jail too, do you?” “You’re right. It’s not worth it.” She took a deep breath. “Mr. Vegeta?” Son Gohan’s voice echoed a few meters behind them and they all looked at him. “What are you doing here?” “You should arrest him.” Bulma said as she walked away with Yamcha. “He’s been helping her with stealing the banks in West City. That’s why no one seemed to catch her. He was covering it.” “You’re lying!” He shouted and tried to get away from a few officers who went to put the cuffs on him. “You can’t prove it.” “Are you serious?” She turned around and started walking backwards. “Did you forget I’m a spy too? I’ve been following since we broke up. I wanted to see how long you would resist until you became a criminal as well. Turns out it was sooner than I expected.” “You’ve been following me?” “Oh honey, you don’t know who you’re dealing with.” She blew him a kiss and then turned her back on him. “Bulma, come back here! I swear to my life I had nothing to do with this. I can’t be way from my daughter.” “So now you don’t have anything to do with this?” Launch kicked him hard on the knees. “Are you fucking kidding me?” “Hey!” One of the police officers took her away. “You brainwashed me to join you in committing crimes.” “Are you out of your freaking mind? I didn’t force you to do anything. If anything, you made me believe we were in this together.” “And you were naive enough to believe it. I’m a spy!” “You bastard!” She nudged one of the officers on the belly and rushed to the blonde, strangling him. “You told me you loved me.” “And you believe that?” He laughed out loud. “That was all acting.” “I will fucking kill you!” Launch snatched an arm one of the police officers was carrying and pointed at him. “No one lies to me and goes unpunished.” “Hey!” A spiky haired officer threw the gun away from her hands with a precise kick, while a lavender haired one immobilized her. “Get in the car!” “Make me.” “Get in the fucking car!” The second officer demanded firmly and pushed her in the trunk of the vehicle. “The deputy will talk to you as soon as we arrived at the station.” “Gohan, you have to help me!” Vegeta begged as he was being taken to another vehicle, to leave. “I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m innocent, I was a victim.” “Then you should have no problem with clearing things up with the deputy. If you’re really innocent, you’ll be released soon.” “I need to see my daughter! You can’t let them do this to me. I’m begging you. She will hate me.” “I’m sorry, Mr. Vegeta. I work for the city above all.” “This is a mistake! I’m not her partner, I wanted to take her down.” “Sir, you better cooperate or things will be worse for you. The deputy just wants to talk to you.” “You can’t arrest me, I work for the police.” He grabbed his badge and his ID card and showed them. “See?” “We’re an honest institution and the corrupt ones inside it should be investigated and punished, if guilty.” “This is not fair, I was only doing my job.” He started knocking on the back window with both hands as the police car drove away.
