"Trunks isn't here." Bulla said turning off the video monitor once she saw who had come to the compound. Bulla just didn't want to deal with whatever was going on with Go-teen, as she dubbed him in her head, Bulla just wanted to wallow in her misery. Stupid Trunks ate her Friday gallon of ice cream and maybe she had just been so damn hormonal lately and had a complete overreaction but she ended up breaking his nose in retaliation. Her mom had been pissed and actually grounded Bulla, that was the only reason Bulla was even home on Saiyan Saturdays. Her mother had even gone as far enough to make sure her dad would stop her if she tried to leave the compound. After her dad stopped laughing, he agreed with his wife and told Bulla that he'd pull her out of the sky himself if she tried to make her way to Mount Paozu, and her dad didn't bluff. Bulma even took her phone away so she couldn't give Pan the go-ahead to sneak in and keep her company. That's why she didn't bother putting herself together. If she had to stay home this weekend with no company, she was going to be comfortable and disheveled.
She had procrastinated this week with her Goten inquiry, she just had other things going on, okay? Her ex-boyfriend Garter had been palling around with his new girlfriend with abandon, and her friends wouldn't stop their hand wringing over it. She was FINE, she insisted to them. Truth be told, she never could get that into him and that's why things ended. Of course, that didn't stop the gossip mill speculating she had been dumped for Tanga which was way worse because she couldn't stand the pitying looks thrown her way.
Hopefully, Go-teen would just go away, but almost immediately as she turned off the monitor, it pinged back on again and Goten's face reappeared on the screen.
"I'm not here to see Trunks. I came to see you." he said, seemingly not at all put off by her rudeness. Either daddy and I are losing our touch or the Sons just can't tell when they're not wanted. Goten smiled his stupid charming smile, possibly in an attempt to win her over.
"That's not going to work." Bulla said over the comm. No one could resist the trademark Son smile, not even her dad though he would never admit to such a thing. She was stronger than her father, she told herself, she was immune. Why would Goten come to see her though? Finding that out was almost a good enough reason to let the youngest Son into her home.
"Oh I can come back later then if right now doesn't work for you? Do you have plans? Did you need to get ready?" Goten asked his smile falling, gesturing to his clothes and hair. Now why is he…? Oh, right. This is a two way comm. Bulla felt a little embarrassed at her appearance. She shouldn't, it was only Goten after all, she'd known him her whole life, he probably even helped change her diapers. Oh god, push that thought out of your head, Bulla!
"Yes!" Bulla felt her cheeks warm. "That's exactly what I meant! I need to get dressed. It will only be a few minutes, just come in and I'll be down soon." She may be grounded literally but she supposed this could piss her dad off and maybe he'd look the other way if she broke out if the alternative was hanging out with Goku's teenage son. It had absolutely nothing to do with the disappointment on Go-teen's face.
Bulla quickly switched out of her pajamas into more appropriate attire for receiving company and tied up her long blue hair to avoid wasting time brushing it. Bulla made her way to her kitchen where she found Go-teen rummaging through her family's fridge. Typical Saiyan, she did the same thing at Pan's house. Despite his gaze not being on her, that uneasy feeling she had experienced at the Son home came back, not helped by the fact that she fell prey to the Son smile. She could feel her heart pounding harder and her breathing coming less easy like she needed to be on her guard, but she resolved to push that uneasy feeling aside and deal with the problem in front of her.
Bulla cleared her throat, alerting him to her presence. Instead of immediately turning to her, Goten grabbed the items he wanted from the fridge and plunked himself down at her family's breakfast nook. Bulla and Goten just stared at each other quizzically for a moment waiting for the other to speak. When no words were forthcoming, Goten looked away and began eating what he had scrounged from the fridge. This is stupid, Bulla thought. She may as well get something for herself she reasoned. Looking through the fridge she saw her grandma had left some fresh sandwiches for the Saiyans of the household; they never had leftovers.
Bulla joined Goten at the table and quietly began to eat as well. The silence began to grate on her nerves however, and she was the first to speak.
"Why would you come see me?" she asked getting to the point.
Goten swallowed what he had been chewing before answering. I guess he has more manners than his father, "Trunks said-"
"OH, Trunks said?!" Bulla interrupted with sarcastic surprise, "What has he been saying about me?" she demanded standing up from her seat and slamming her hands on the table. Bulla would have thought he would have kept the ice cream incident to himself. She thought he would have more pride than to admit his baby sister broke his nose so bad with one punch that his dad had to fly him up to The Lookout to be healed by Dende. She didn't need it to get out that she lost her shit over a gallon of ice cream.
"Nothing!" Goten looked terrified of her at the moment. Seeing the scared look on his face, Bulla realized she needed to calm down. She just went from zero to one hundred extremely quickly. What was wrong with her this week? Luckily, she had kept her energy fairly low for this outburst, otherwise she might have smashed the table, and she'd be stuck at Capsule Corp for another weekend.
"I'm sorry." she said as calmly as she could. Bulla didn't feel like revealing her strange bout of mood swings that coincided with his being aged down. Were they connected? Bulla wondered. No, she told herself, what did her mom always say? Correlation does not equal causation. But once again the tension and weird vibes began to surface by being in proximity to Goten.
"Um, it's okay." he said cautiously but kindly. "But um, all Trunks said was that he'd be busy helping Marron for the foreseeable future and that he heard from Marron that you'd be willing to help me navigate Age 796." Bulla frowned, why would Marron tell Trunks to send Go-teen her way? Surely, Pan would be more than capable of guiding Goten through his four months in teenage exile?
"That's okay, you don't have to," Goten assured her focusing on her expression, "Trunks said," Trunks and his bouts of wisdom, Bulla thought mockingly in her head, "that you had been bored lately and you probably wouldn't mind a project." he said scratching his head.
Bulla now looked at Goten in surprise, wow that was actually pretty spot on, I guess Trunks isn't so hopeless after all, he'll make it out of the mailroom and make his way up to getting the big bosses their morning lattes in a few years. "And I'll need all the help I can get." he added looking at her in anticipation.
A beat passed while Bulla considered his request. She weighed the pros and cons. Pro: the subject of her investigation was giving her the perfect opportunity to observe him. Oh! That's probably why Marron told Trunks to send Goten my way. Con: she would have to spend time with Go-teen. Pro: she was bored and this would help alleviate her boredom. Con: This would probably include helping Goten with schoolwork which would probably be boring and she was trying to get away from boring. Pro: she could finally get access to Goten's apartment and go through his stuff to find dirt on Trunks. That settled it.
"Of course, I'll help you." she said sweetly, but to her own ears it sounded completely false; however, Goten didn't seem to pick up on it since he was beaming at her.
"Great! Thanks Bulla!" he said appreciatively. Bulla almost felt bad she was slightly using him. Did it matter if her motives weren't completely selfless or that she wasn't being totally honest with him as to why she would help him? If he didn't ask, was she obligated to tell him? Bulla's answer to all of these questions was a resounding "Nope!"
"We can just eat and you can ask me questions and I'll try to answer as best as I can." Bulla offered to Goten as she dug back into her sandwich.
"Can I have your phone number first?" Goten asked unsure. "You know, in case I have any questions during the week. I can't come over every time something in Age 796 confuses me." Wow, that's bold of him. I guess these are special circumstances after all.
"Sure." Bulla replied. "Just don't use this as an excuse to send me whatever funny thing you've found on the internet. No one likes that." she warned Goten as he handed her his phone. "Do you even know how to use one of these things?" Bulla asked curiously, inputting her number. She never did end up helping him after ChiChi's request.
"Yeah, I got the hang of it pretty quickly." he said pocketing his phone, "My mom and dad still don't buy into the idea of a mobile phone. My dad has a secret one he doesn't tell my mom about though." he whispered the last part to Bulla.
"So I wasn't far off thinking you were Goku's secret love child last week." Bulla joked.
"My dad?" Goku said incredulously. "Come on." he gave her a look.
"Your dad's the one with the secret cell phone." she pointed out.
"And I'm pretty sure he got it from your mom." he retorted.
Bulla couldn't help but burst out laughing at the thought of her mom and Goku having a clandestine affair, causing Goten to join her, "Why are we laughing?" he asked amused but bemused. Did he really have no idea what he implied? That just made Bulla's laughing fit worse.
"Just-" Bulla said trying to keep her laughter under control, "Never mind, Goten." Bulla got herself under control before speaking again, "So what's it been like for you so far, coming from thirteen years in the past?" Bulla took a bite of her sandwich. Slowly the tension she felt toward Goten was beginning to ease. Unlike the first days of his teenage exile, Goten seemed more comfortable and deigned to speak to her.
"It's been an adjustment, that's for sure." Goten started, "I remember you as a cute three year old, but now you're a-a-" Goten stopped himself. Bulla raised her eyebrow at him while she continued chewing.
"I'm a-a-what?" she asked slightly mockingly, not particularly bothered by what he might have intended to say.
"A teenager." Goten coughed out turning pink, "like me." he added. "You gotta admit, it's a little weird. Pan's even older than I am now." he said normally, seemingly over his little fit.
"Yeah, it is. Pan and I talked about it last week right after the wish happened."
"You're talking about me?" he asked looking a little pleased.
"Well yeah, it was the big news of the week. It's not everyday something extraordinary happens to one of ours." Bulla said pretending not to notice the grin that appeared on his face.
"Oh." he paused thinking "Well how does Pan feel? She won't really tell me and she keeps her distance from me at school."
"Don't worry about her. For what it's worth I think she's more mad at your mom for signing you up at the same school." Bulla assured him.
"Yeah, I noticed things are a little tense between her and mom."
"Well things are never really easy between Pan and your mom." Bulla informed him. "I'm sure she's not mad at you. I think she's just keeping her distance in case she slips up and calls you Uncle Goten, and you know, Pan. She's just a little peculiar about her reputation." Bulla dismissed with the wave of her hand.
"Uh, no I don't actually." Goten said sadly. "I missed so much."
Bulla didn't even consider how a teenage Goten would feel about his little niece. Bulla tried to search her memories of Pan and her Uncle Goten. The older half-Saiyan was always so sweet to Pan, he had adored her, come to think of it. It must hurt when someone you're so fond of pulls away from you.
"It'll only be a few months." Bulla told Goten reassuringly. "Then you'll have your memories back." Though Bulla wondered if Goten would even have it in him to make the wish to turn himself back when the time came. Honestly, given the chance, who would wish themselves older? Her mom was always going on about wishing herself younger, though Bulla had to admit her mom looked great regardless of her age.
"Anyway, why don't you tell me how your first week at school was?" Bulla asked, trying to turn the conversation to a lighter topic.
"Aside from Pan pretending I don't exist, it feels like it always had, I'm just the new kid." he shrugged, "Classes don't seem any easier or harder than they felt last week." he paused, "well last week for me, it was thirteen years ago for you. By the way, you did promise my mom you would be able to help me if I got stuck on any school work."
"I did, didn't I?" Bulla said through gritted teeth. When she made that promise, she had not expected Go-teen to take her up on it, but she never wanted to say no to ChiChi, she was fond of the older woman, and liked helping her out from time to time.
"Everybody is really nice though," Goten continued. "I even went to a party Friday night." Leave it to that charming son of a Saiyan to make new friends that fast. Bulla shook her head. It astounded her how Goten was such a people person. Goten perked up suddenly, "You should come to the next one."
"Uh, thanks?" Bulla said unsure. "But uh-parties aren't really my thing."
"Oh," he said disappointed, but he quickly shook it off. "Then what is your thing?" he asked happily.
What is my-? Bulla was certainly taken back, when she and Goten began talking she didn't expect him to actually be interested in her likes and dislikes but she answered him "I only really hang out with my classmates during the week, most of the time we just goof off at each other's houses or go to the beach or movies or something but that gets boring." she said vaguely. She never really kept track of her activities with her West City friends come to think of it.
"Maybe it's the company." he smiled at her. "None of that stuff sounds boring." That tense feeling bubbling in her stomach started to resurface.
"I usually like to spend weekends with Pan." she continued, ignoring the shift in the mood, "We used have Marron with us sometimes but she's older and has a real job now so she can't always be hanging out with teenagers. When you guys were here last week was the first time I had seen her in a while." Wow, that thought made her sadder than she expected though she tried to hide it.
"So, uh, what about you?" she decided to change the subject to Goten. "What was Go-teen doing in Age 783?"
"Go-teen?" he chuckled. "That's clever."
"Thank you."
He pondered for a moment, "I have Trunks so we just do whatever he wants and it's usually fun."
I guess I shouldn't tell him about the time a vomiting Goten and crying Trunks were brought home by a laughing Yamcha. Bulla never did find out what Yamcha showed them but apparently it had been Trunks' idea and it was bad enough that her mom nearly sent her dad to kill Yamcha, and her dad would have been happy to do it. "Trunks is an idiot though, and you don't have him anymore, well at least for four months. Now you have the opportunity to find out what you want to do."
"I suppose that's true, but I usually like what Trunks comes up with." he hesitated for a moment, Bulla could tell, "Why are you so mean about Trunks? Aren't you supposed to hero-worship your big brother?"
"We may live in the same house but we're not particularly close." Bulla stopped to think for a moment. When was the last time she and Trunks spent any real time together? "Come to think of it he usually eschewed my company for yours, and that's just what it's like for us." Bulla shrugged. "He keeps to his friends, I keep to mine. Besides he never seemed that cool anyway, and that means you too by extension."
Instead of being offended, Goten just laughed. He is without a doubt, the least temperamental teenage boy I've ever encountered. "I bet sixteen year old Princess Bulla is too cool for her lame older brother and his best friend."
"Princess?" Bulla asked puzzled. "I assure you I'm not a prissy little princess." she said poking him in the chest, feeling the hard muscle there. She quickly removed her finger.
"Well I mean your dad is the 'Prince of All Saiyans'" Goten said in his best Vegeta impression. Bulla thought it needed some work. "That makes you the princess?"
"Was that a question?"
"No?" he answered. Normally this kind of thing would annoy Bulla but instead she couldn't help the grin that came to her face. Man, no wonder why everyone held Goku unaccountable for his flaws. Innocence radiated off Goten and she couldn't help but get caught up in it, the monster in her stomach retreating.
Her smile must have relaxed him because he seemed more comfortable questioning her. "You mean your dad has never called you 'the Princess of All Saiyans'?" he asked once again imitating Vegeta.
"Okay first of all, if you're going to mock my dad, make sure he's not behind you." Goten quickly shot up in his chair and looked around wildly. Bulla couldn't help laughing at her mischief.
"So you're going to be that way with me too, are you?" Goten said more amused than angry as he settled back down in his chair.
"Yup!" she replied without hesitation, "Anyway, there isn't a planet to be princess of anymore, or a race for that matter. My dad doesn't call Trunks a prince either, I guess he wants to be the only one to wear the tiara."
Goten laughed at her joke and they sat in silence for a while, finishing up their meals. Coming back to himself, Goten spoke again, "I told you, you were strong before. Pan feels strong too. Did you get that way fighting each other?" he asked. Typical Saiyan guy, wanting to measure strength.
"Pan and I don't spar all the time, just when we think we've gained an edge on each other. Otherwise, we're training to make sure we outdo each other, but we do need to check periodically who's stronger. I'll give you a hint, it's me."
He laughed at her, "I don't remember you being into fighting," she glared at him "but I guess you were probably too little, I do remember when you went Super Saiyan for the first time, beat my record…" he mumbled, "Hey do you think you can go up to Super Saiyan 2?" he asked excitedly, "Trunks and I joked you were born Super Saiyan Blue."
"Wait, hold up?" This was news to her, she didn't even recall when she first went Super Saiyan let alone that Goten had been there. It seemed like she could power up to Super Saiyan since she could remember. After all, she never asked when she started breathing so she never really thought to ask when she first went Super Saiyan. "When did I first hit Super Saiyan?" Bulla wanted to hear this story.
"I suppose it's a more recent memory for me than it is for you but it was one of those days that Trunks brought you over to play with Pan. Luckily, my dad was there, or Pan would have became a wish." Goten looked to the ceiling trying to recall his memories.
"I almost killed Pan?" Bulla asked horrified.
"Maybe, who knows what would have happened?" Goten clearly wasn't bothered by her distress. "You were only two, I don't think you meant anything by it, but I think you two were fighting over some old toy of mine my mom kept. Next thing we knew, your hair had gone blonde and you were about to hit Pan. Trunks and I were too stunned to do anything about it but my dad's quick instincts saved the day." Goten said trying to imitate a superhero, probably Saiyaman. He would like that clown. "He knocked you out by the way-it's probably why you don't remember-my mom hit him with her heaviest frying pan for that one," Goten smiled nostalgically. "So my dad probably doesn't remember either." he said laughing at his own joke.
Jeez, that was the lamest story of turning Super Saiyan ever, Bulla thought regrettably, as she watched Goten dig into the last of his food. She found herself getting worked up though. Now Bulla may not have looked like the typical Saiyan-she took entirely after her mother-but like her hybrid and full-blooded counterparts, talking about old battles wasn't good enough.
"Hey, I have an idea." Bulla said impishly. "It's what I never get bored of. No matter the company."
Goten gulped.
"Aren't you grounded, girl?" her father asked her stoically shifting his gaze from her to Goten as they entered the gravity chamber her father liked to train in. Bulla figured her dad was due for a meal and he would be leaving the chamber free for a while. She also felt it was the perfect time to test out teenage Goten.
"Daddy, that just means I can't go flying off anywhere not that I can't have people over." It most definitely did not but she was banking on her dad's ignorance of Earthling parenting methods. "I can only go places within walking distance since I have to say on the ground." she added pressing her luck and keeping her expression neutral and confident.
Her dad considered her for a moment and took a swig of his water bottle before addressing her, "I suppose that makes sense." he said swinging his towel over his shoulder and walking out of the gravity room. Bulla waited until he was out of ear shot and looked towards Goten, his expression showing the incredulousness she felt.
"What the hell?" Bulla quietly said to Goten in disbelief, lest her father hear, "I can't believe that worked." she whispered to him in excitement. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the center of the gravity chamber, where he followed her willingly. "Now when we're done here, we are definitely leaving the compound." she said mischievously. She made her way to the panel that controlled the room's gravity, "How high can you handle it without going Super?" she asked.
"Uh, I don't know. I haven't been in here since I was a kid." Goten said unsure looking around the gravity room curiously.
"You're still a kid." Bulla giggled, remembering the ridiculous situation they had found themselves in.
"Then so are you, but you know what I meant." Goten quipped back lightly.
"All right. Let's try 50Gs." Bulla suggested. Goten nodded in assent. Bulla then realized something. "Wait a minute, I can't spar in these clothes. What about you?" she asked Goten.
"I'm fine in this." he shrugged. He was wearing something more typical of a teenager than he was last week when Go-teen was introduced, baggy pants and an oversized t-shirt with his name on it. When I get a chance, I'll need to do everyone a service and use my sizable allowance to get him a new wardrobe because Yikes!
"Well, while you get used to the gravity, I'm going to change into something I won't mind getting torn." she said over shoulder as she exited the chamber briefly seeing Goten's cheeks turn pink. Maybe I could have chosen better words, she realized, but Goten was an innocent creature, he wouldn't dwell on her turn of phrase. She made it to her room faster than her mom would have liked-she always insisted Bulla was going to break something or someone running through the house that fast-and quickly changed into some spandex shorts and a sports bra.
When she returned, Goten turned to her wide-eyed. Bulla saw his eyes travel from her feet to the top of her head sizing her up. I'll show him. I may look delicate but I can kick his ass. Bulla positioned herself into her father's trademark fighting pose. Goten's wide-eyed stare became a smirk as he got into fighting position. "I'm excited for this." Goten told her. When he said that, Bulla felt like her stomach had taken off to the skies, but she shook it off, determined not to let Goten's expectations of her put her off her game. She had never sparred with the older version of Goten, and she didn't know what to expect but she was looking forward to it.
"Let's keep it simple, just hand to hand combat, no energy blasts." Bulla suggested and Goten nodded in assent, keeping his fighting stance.
Sensing Goten wouldn't be the one to make the first move, Bulla attacked first, testing out the other halfling. She purposefully went with a punch to the face, leaving her core unguarded, seeing if he would take the opportunity to counter-attack. Instead, he didn't take the bait and just dodged. Hmmm, he's either got something up his sleeve or he can't recognize a good opportunity when he sees one. Bulla continued her barrage of attacks on Goten but he still didn't even try to swing back. Bulla was making it easy on him, she wasn't even fighting at her full base power and yet Goten seemed to be having trouble. He was getting sloppier and sloppier as the fight wore on. He started off blocking or dodging every kick or punch she threw at him, but then as time wore on he was getting less and less reactive, a few of her attacks were grazing and connecting. Bulla threw a weak lazy kick to his face and he ended up taking it head on like a champ but was thrown to the other end of the gravity room. Was sixteen year old Goten that out of fit fighting shape? This just added more to the mystery. When he was older, Bulla could feel Goten's power level was nothing to scoff at, though she never had the opportunity to spar with the man. How could Goten, the adult, want to intentionally become younger if it meant being weaker? Bulla pulled back from the fight frustrated.
"I'm giving you so many openings." she said exasperated from the other side of the room, "Why aren't you even trying to hit me?" That uneasy feeling was back in full force. When she got a good look at him, she noticed he was bright red, slightly bent over, and breathing heavily. Shit, was the gravity too high? "You're the only Saiyan I've seen get worse in a fight." She joked as she went to return the gravity to Earth's normal level and then went over to check on him. "Hey, you okay?" she asked putting her hand on his shoulder which she assumed would be a comforting gesture.
"I'm fine!" he gasped out slightly pained. I must have hit him harder than I thought. The boy was still bent over breathing hard. "Could you just-" he breathed out, "give me some space?"
"Um sure." she stepped back from the other hybrid still watching him. He seemed to be clutching his stomach-she didn't remember landing a hit there-no, he was pulling his shirt down. Did he eat something that disagreed with him? That would definitely put him off his game. Still slightly crouched, Goten started making his way out of the gravity chamber slowly. Once his back was turned to her he stood up straight and took up a quicker pace but was still walking stiff. "Hey where are you going?" Bulla called out curiously. "Are we done here?"
Without turning back Goten shouted out, "Yes!"
"Wait!" Bulla called out after him before he could leave the room, "Where are you running off to? Are you going home already? I wanted to go for ice cream!"
"We can do that," he managed to croak out, "I just need to go to the bathroom," he said hurriedly still not facing her, Ah definitely stomach issues then. "If you'll excuse me."
"Good idea, why don't you take a shower? I think we both reek." Bulla suggested just in case he had an accident before he made it to a bathroom. "You can borrow some Capsule Corp gear to wear."
"Great idea!" he said as he finally made his way out the door.
Funny. She ate the same stuff and she felt completely fine.
"In case you're wondering," Bulla began as she scooped another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, "An Azuki isn't popular anymore."
Goten looked at her incredulously, "An Azuki?! Come on, she was way before my time. I wasn't born that long before you."
"You could be old enough to be my dad." Bulla asserted.
"That's insane. I couldn't have gotten a girlfriend let alone a girl pregnant at thirteen." Goten muttered out somewhat vexed. "Anyway, I'm more into Cocoa Amaguri." He got a dreamy look in his eyes when he said her name. Though honestly, Bulla had no idea who he was talking about.
"Never heard of her." Bulla told him bluntly. Truth be told she only knew of An Azuki because of a story her Aunt Tights told her, and suffice to say, it put Bulla off those Eastern idol girls.
"I guess a lot of time has passed." Goten got that sad look again. This guy, bringing the mood down again. "Thanks for treating me for ice cream by the way." he said. Son Goten, ever the model of courtesy. It was a welcome change from some of the idiots at school. "Don't losers usually end up paying though?"
"Beat me next time and then I can be the loser paying for the ice cream then. Don't worry about it though, my mom gives me enough money to get food around the city. She knows how much we need to eat." Bulla said nonchalantly. "And enough to tip the staff since she knows they have to work harder whenever we're around." she added.
"Next time?" Goten said slowly fixing her with a hopeful gaze. Wow this guy really likes the idea of free ice cream.
"I'm surprised you wanted to go out for ice cream." Bulla told the black haired boy sitting across from her in the colorful ice cream parlor. He was eating rather ravenously.
Goten looked at her puzzled, "Why wouldn't I?" he asked. I guess I don't feel like embarrassing him today.
"No particular reason, I guess." Bulla said dismissively. Goten shrugged and just continued shoveling ice cream into his mouth and Bulla did the same.
"Can I get you anything else, Bulla?" the teen boy manning the counter called over to her. Bulla looked at the bowls on the table, they were each on their third triple sundaes.
She looked to Goten, "I think I might have one more in me. What about you Goten?" she asked the other half-Saiyan who was scooping the remnants of his bowl into his mouth.
"Sure, I could go for another." Goten said casually. "Ooh with fruit flavored ice creams this time."
"Hey Tux!" she called to boy working behind the counter. "Give us two more of the works, one with fruity ice creams please, the other surprise me!"
"You got it!" Tux replied and got to work.
"You're going to make the other customers jealous with your special treatment of me." Bulla called out to Tux as he made their sundaes. Bulla could feel Goten's eyes on her as she tried to make conversation, and a quick glance his way confirmed he was indeed watching her and watching Tux as well.
"I aim to please." Tux smiled at her. "And the big boss says I have to, you're one of our best customers."
"How can I not be a good customer when you guys are such wonderful employees." she said making the boy behind the counter blush. That will get him to put more fudge on my sundae than usual.
"I'd probably lose my job if you weren't 100% satisfied with my service." Tux joked as he got back to work making their sundaes. Bulla let him get back to his work and turned to a neutral faced Goten.
"Are you guys friends?" he asked lightly.
"Not really, I just come here a lot." Bulla shrugged. "We don't even go to the same school." They waited in silence for a few moments until Tux came with their dishes. "Thanks." she smiled at the ice cream employee and handed him a sizable amount of zeni. "You always go above and beyond, Tux." Bulla praised. "Keep the change."
Tux counted the bills Bulla had handed him and looked pleased, "It's always my pleasure, Bulla." he said before he went back behind the counter to help other customers.
"Well I know you can't be training in your spare time." Bulla joked. She wasn't sure she liked silent Goten. He wasn't even touching the sundae that had been put in front of him, instead he was watching Tux. "Hello?" she waved her hand in front of Goten's face. "Should I let Trunks know he's got competition for your affections? I get it, Tux is cuter and more importantly, younger than Trunks." Goten barely acknowledged Bulla and that feeling of unease came back.
"So this is being grounded?" a teasing voice came from behind Bulla, thankfully interrupting the two hybrid Saiyans.
"Chemise!" Bulla exclaimed and turned to her school friend. Bulla quickly got up to greet the other girl. Chemise eyed Bulla's table curiously and whispered in Bulla's ear.
"Who is that?" Chemise asked with her eyebrow raised. "Is this why you say you're fine when Tanga and Garter are trying to devour each other at school?" she whispered to Bulla. It was all for nought as Bulla knew she and Chemise weren't far enough for Goten not to pick up what they were saying with his superior Saiyan hearing.
"Not exactly," Bulla answered vaguely, she wasn't about to tell her friend her best friend's uncle accidentally aged himself down with magical wish orbs. Instead she opted to introduce them.
"Chemise, this is Go-teen-"
"Goten." he corrected her and took Chemise's proffered hand.
"Right, Goten." Bulla rectified, "He's a family friend, visiting from the Eastern region."
"Woah, you've come a long way dude." Chemise said in surprise.
"Yes he has, that's probably why you won't be seeing him around too much." Bulla said dismissively. "Anyway, Goten, this is Chemise, a friend from school."
"Pleasure." he said. "Would you like to join us?" Goten asked, ever the polite young man ChiChi raised him to be.
"Oh no, I wouldn't want to interrupt your date." she said mischievously. I am going to kill her. "I just came over to say hi to Bulla, I never see her most weekends." she put on a frown.
"You know those are the only days I can hang out with my best friend, she lives way out of town you know."
"I know, you love Pan more than your West City friends, but just bring her along some time." Then you guys would find out she's Mr. Satan's granddaughter and fawn over her.
Bulla shook her head, avoiding what Chemise had just said "What are you doing here? You don't even eat sugar."
"I'm meeting Leo here." Chemise said proudly. Good for Chemise, Bulla thought sincerely. Leo was one of the most desireable guys at school, fit as a fiddle and good looking to boot, though not Bulla's type at all, not that he would look her way anyway, but she was okay with that. She found him a little boring to be honest.
"So he finally wore you down?" Bulla teased.
"Well I needed to make sure he knew I was worth it." Bulla smiled at her friend's antics. Chemise turned to Goten, "It was nice to meet you, but I see my date has just walked in." She gestured toward the tall dark haired boy who had just walked into the ice cream parlor.
"Bye Bulla, see you at school Monday. Bye, Gotenm make sure Bulla invites you to my next party." Chemise said as she walked over to the fit teenage boy staring at her with hungry eyes.
While Goten was polite to Chemise, he didn't seem keen on making conversation so Bulla took a cue from him and just ate her ice cream in silence. What had happened? Goten had completely shut down after Chemise had left them alone and on top of that Goten and Bulla had spent the better part of a day together and she still hadn't learned anything new about what might have made Goten wish himself into Go-teen.
Keeping to the no flying rule, Bulla and Goten walked back to Capsule Corp but still in complete silence, amplifying the weirdness between them. She tried to get him to go home to Mount Paozu but he insisted on coming home with her to pick up his dirty clothes. That was all that was said between them during their trek back to Bulla's home.
Bulla figured she would have to be the one to speak up first. She hoped whatever got him down wouldn't hinder the somewhat friendly relationship they had built today. Once they made it to the entrance of the Capsule Corp compound Bulla turned to Goten to wind down the evening. "Well you got to know a bit about what I've been up to for the past thirteen years and got caught up on some of the latest pop culture, maybe you can try Marron next week if she's not too busy." Bulla said breaking the silence.
"Do you like him?" Goten asked her, completely out of nowhere.
That surprised Bulla, "What are you talking about?" she really had no idea what, or rather who, he was referring to. Who could "him" be and why would Go-teen care about her love life, or rather lack thereof, but he didn't need to know that.
"That guy that worked at the ice cream parlor, named after clothes...just like everyone else in this city." he mumbled the last part.
Instead of answering him she got defensive, "How is that any of your business?" she spat.
Goten rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry I asked."
Pan warned her this might happen, but Bulla didn't believe her at the time. At most, Bulla thought Goten would just focus any overprotective chauvinistic tendencies he had on Pan, not her, "If you think you have some obligation to scare every boy that talks to me, just remember what happened in the gravity room today." Bulla said quietly, threateningly even.
"What?!" Goten yelped loudly, Bulla hoped it hadn't drawn the attention of the occupants of her household, he turned red immediately, then whispered, "Why are you bringing that up? Did you know?" he asked horrified.
That confused her, surely it was obvious she was the stronger of the two and could easily over power him without even needing to go Super Saiyan, but she remembered Marron's advice, be confident and let him think you know more than you do. "Of course I knew. You were trying to keep away from me. I got the idea pretty quickly." she bluffed.
Goten looked like he wanted to die on the spot. Bulla nearly rolled her eyes but controlled her impulse. Getting beat up by a girl isn't the worst thing in the world, dude.
"I don't know what you expected, being a teenager again and all." she said using the opportunity to catch Goten off his guard, maybe she could learn something useful. Bulla shrugged her shoulders, "Everyone is talking about it, you know." Well that wasn't true, she and Marron weren't everyone, but she needed to keep her bluff, and as far as Bulla was concerned the two of them were among the few that mattered.
Goten looked even more horrified if that was possible, "You told people? Why?" he asked desperately.
"Are you really surprised? You know Pan and I talk about everything." Bulla said recalling their conversation earlier.
"She knows too?!" Goten exclaimed, no longer caring about keeping quiet. "I wish the dragon balls weren't inert." he moaned in despair. Pan didn't know yet but Bulla was definitely going to let her know how much Go-teen sucked at sparring. Goten was the first to bring up the dragon balls maybe she could unsettle him on that bit too?
"You know, the dragon can't override the will of someone stronger than its creator. You've long been stronger than Dende." she started, wondering if she should continue. She decided to press on, "The only reason the wish was able to be granted in the first place is because you really did want to be sixteen again."
"But my dad said it was an accident!" Goten looked somewhat perturbed. He became quiet, probably reconciling the possibility that the wish could be anything other than an accident. "And what does that have to do with anything that happened today?"
"What? You're the one who made yourself weaker with your wish. I get it's embarrassing little Bulla can beat you up but that's the side effect of wishing yourself younger on purpose." she accused jabbing her finger at him.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Goten looked at her nonplussed. Wait, were they talking about two entirely different things?
"No, what are YOU talking about?" Bulla asked trying to keep the upper hand. Marron wasn't going to be impressed.
Goten shook his head in what seemed to be relief, "Don't worry about it Bulla. I'll see you soon." he smiled at her and saluted as he took off into the sky. Damn, she messed up her interrogation. He saw through her bluff and she wasn't any closer in solving the mystery of Go-teen.
As she saw him fly out into the sky and fade away into the distance Bulla felt something she rarely felt, guilt. Had she gone too far with her questions? Should she have kept pressing even though she saw he was uncomfortable? There was no use dwelling on it, she reasoned, they weren't even on the same page. But you unsettled him so much he forget to get his clothes. Who knows what the hell he was so embarrassed about?
As she made her way back into her home, quietly reflecting on the day, she could hear her mom yelling at her dad about what being grounded actually meant.
Thank you to everyone who read chapter one and came back to read chapter two. Now an extra special thank you if you've made it to chapter three! I really appreciate the reviews, follows, and favorites as well.
A note on the names of the incidental characters in this chapter:
In the Jaco the Galactic Patrolman manga that Akira Toriyama wrote, the main character, Tokunoshin Omori, notes that Tights (Bulma's older sister) is a name from the western region, so I figured I would name the West City residents after clothes. Tanga, Garter, and Chemise are all literal names of clothing much like Trunks, Bra, Tights, and Briefs. Leo is derived from leotard and Tux is, of course, short for tuxedo.