Author's Note: We open with a splash of ~lemon~ so hide your eyes if it's not for you! And if it is, sorry it's just a tease! Thank you all for taking the time to review and give me your feedback and questions!


Rough hands pushed smooth, alabaster thighs apart as he slid into her warmth, both of them full and groaning in unison. He was drowning in her. His head was dizzy, breath coming in short bursts, as her lithe body arched up into his embrace.

Sinuous arms wove around his neck as she beckoned him down to her. Fervent and wet, their mouths melded in a kiss, and when he began to move above her, inside her, she moaned against his tongue and his gut clenched wonderfully at the sensation.

But then suddenly she was astride him, her soft palms pushing him down with a force he'd never enjoyed before with a lover, but only seemed so natural for them. It stoked the fire in him hotter, setting it brighter ablaze, and his grip around her waist tightened as she undulated faster, cried louder, all velvet around him.

She fell forward on a sharp thrust of his hips, her panting breath heavy against his mouth and his name a whisper on her lips.

His calloused fingers danced over her ruddy cheeks and cupped her face to draw her closer, wanting, needing to taste her again.

The delicate blue tendrils of her hair brushed his knuckles. He inhaled sharply her scent and marveled at how intoxicating she was, his brain pulsing her, her, her as his tongue pushed into her mouth once again-

Goten woke with a gasp, his whole body rigid as he jolted upright. Trembling, he ran a hand over his face as he attempted to rub at the remnants of the dream that had startled him awake. Like washing ashore from a shipwreck, he tried to desperately latch on to the details, but his mind would not allow it, the images that had roused him growing murky and far away.

Sighing, he sank back down against the pillow he'd been resting upon, trying to get comfortable. His eyes shut tight as he attempted to conjure what had scared him awake (he had been scared, right?)but all he could see behind closed lids was vibrant blue.

Something fell over his torso. Goten popped open one eye to find a silhouette haloed in aqua tucked against his left side. Bulla's head was nestled upon the curve of his shoulder, with one arm now slung high over his chest, her features set peacefully in slumber. They must have fallen asleep after their ransacking of the kitchen, he mused, recalling their contented collapse into the bed following the ravenous meal.

For the first time in days - maybe longer - he was awash in a glow of fulfillment. His belly was full, the bed was soft, and she was warm against him. Her gentle breaths tickled the skin of his neck pleasantly where the collar of his suit had turned down, and Goten allowed himself to drift away as he turned slightly into her.

A peculiar tingle ran down his spine and struck his groin, almost making him recoil in shock. Goten's eyes flew wide open as a flurry of vivid and salacious visions from sleep clouded his psyche uninvited, each of them starring the dozing girl beside him.

His mouth fell open in horror at the realization.

Holy shit, did he dream about her?!

It was impossible. He could never. Right?!

Self-loathing melted sickly inside him.

Goten wished that he was resting anywhere else with anyone else in that moment, utterly unable to compute what his subliminal self had manufactured of its own volition.

As if on cue, Bulla mumbled and retracted her arm to curl it against her own chest, her face snuggling into the pillow underneath them. Goten remained frozen, still and solid and holding his breath until she had settled once more. When her breathing grew more measured, he pushed himself up from the bed quietly and made as stealthy an exit from the room as he could.

Once in the hall, he pressed himself against the wall, needing the support for fear of his knees going out on him. It was a broken record, the images of her face twisted helplessly in pleasure, the passionate movement of hips, and imaginary sighs and groans skipped over and over in his mind. He pulled at his hair in aggravation and wanted to rip each lewd visual out by the follicle.

How could his subconscious betray him like this?

Before his inner turmoil could run away with him, the bedroom door beside him parted. Bulla entered the hall with a fretful expression, obviously in search of him. Upon spotting him, her worried brow softened in relief, and she rested her back against the doorway.

Guilt hit him in the chest as he realized her fear. He couldn't bring his eyes to meet hers - not when the rotation still featured her.

"Here I thought maybe they took you again! I didn't even hear you get up." She yawned widely and gave a long stretch of her arms into the air, and he determinedly looked away. "What're you doing out here?" Goten glanced up to watch two thin creases begin folding between her eyebrows again. "You look sick… Are you alright?" Then, dismay. "Oh, no. Was it the food?"

When she moved forward with an outstretched hand, his body jerked back. Her concern deepened, and Goten waved her off, trying his best to pretend he was not as put off as he honestly was. "No! No, I just, uh … had a bad dream," he supplied with chagrin, chancing a bashful look up at her.

Bulla winced on his behalf. Every fiber in his being cried to run, get the hell out of here, but Goten did his best to play it calm and collected, even when her hand landed with a tender squeeze against his upper arm. Fire lit through his belly at the gesture.

"I've had a few, too," she empathized and somehow he felt worse. "It's been awful here... But I'm glad I'm with you, if that helps?"

The hopeful upturn of her voice brought a new ache to him. Goten mustered a smile for her, because - despite feeling like a complete creep now - he had to agree that having Bulla with him had made things easier to endure.

"It does," he admitted with a half smile. "I'm glad you're here, too."

The relief that floated between them was short lived, however. Looking down at her, remembering where they were … memories from his exam with Vatet cropped up unpleasantly, one in particular weighing on him, if given his dreaming.

"So, I didn't get a chance to tell you… Vatet said something weird when I was leaving her office after the exam." Goten paused, but Bulla was watching him avidly, waiting, and he heaved a sigh. "She said something like… To tell you that our first 'session' is coming up."

Her expression gravitated somewhere between fear, surprise, and mortification. His eyes drifted to the floor between their feet.

"...How long?" Her quiet voice sounded wet.

"Ten days."

Then, he felt her ki flicker. Goten looked up to find her glaring at the ground. Her gaze lifted a second after his, meeting him, and the defiant gleam in her eye commanded his attention at once.

"...Fine, then," she huffed and he raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I guess that means we have nine days to figure a way out of here, right?"

Goten couldn't fight the grin that tipped the corner of his mouth at her boldness. He nodded, encouraged by her surety.

"Or less," he added, pleased when she reciprocated his grin with a bright one of her own.

"So, when they had me in for that battle power test or whatever, they removed my binds," Bulla told him as she held up her wrists to him. "But they had to gas me to get me in the room and take them off then again to put them back on."

"Why didn't you blow a hole in the wall?"

Bulla pulled a face that reminded him he was an idiot and she was not. He had the decency to look ashamed. "Of course I tried, dummy," she chided him. "The room they had me in had precautions set up against that. But there's an opening to get in there, obviously, and they dropped whatever they used to knock me out from the ceiling when I was done."

His mind raced to catch up to her, getting excited about the beginnings of a plan. "So, what? You think we can escape that way?"

She shrugged. "Maybe? If we went Super Saiyan, maybe we'd be too fast and strong for them to stop us."

"Hard to tell when we don't know what they're capable of either. Do they know we can do that?"

"I didn't do it during the fight," Bulla said as she began to move toward the bathroom. His feet unconsciously followed in her footsteps. "I thought it was probably best to keep that close to the vest."

"Gotcha, good idea," Goten nodded in agreement, his hand catching the door to hold it open as she stepped inside. "I guess they'll probably run a test for me, too. I could try something then? But they've got some sort of extra security on me after I hit that second guard, so I don't know…"

"We'll figure it out," she assured him with a broad smile. Her confidence was contagious, he found as he stared down into her vibrant blue eyes. "We're gonna get out of here."

Yeah, the two of them could find their way out of this, couldn't they. They could make it out before… that situation. And again his dream flipped through his mind, rendering him confused and bewildered by its occurrence at all.

"Uh… Goten?"

Her uncertain voice started him up out of that descent, and he raised both eyebrows in overt attention and prayed he wasn't as red on the outside as he felt inside.

Bulla glanced behind her, then tilted her head at the door he was still holding ajar. "I need to use the bathroom," she said slowly as her fingers reached for the door handle. Goten shot backward awkwardly, nearly stumbling over himself as he did so, horrified at his runaway train of debaucherous thoughts. Unaware, Bulla just giggled, shaking her head at him as she shut the door.

Goten was left staring vacantly at the closed portal in the middle of the hall, unsure of what to with himself.

/*/

Vegeta had just finished zipping up his boot when the dash alerted him of an incoming call. He glared up at the screen, weighing his options, before his hand slapped down on the 'accept' button. At once, his wife's visage appeared on the screen, and he'd be a damn liar if he said the sight didn't offer him a modicum of comfort, despite the disconcerted expression she wore as she looked down at him.

"Just what are you two doing?" She half-barked, and he rolled his eyes in response. "Vegeta, I saw that you guys have been stalled for half an hour! What's going on?"

"Nice to see you too, woman," he grumbled, as part of him thought the better of telling her their intention.

Unimpressed, Bulma snarled at him, leaning close to her console. "Oh no you don't! Don't you dare do that thing where you ignore my question! You know I hate that!"

He repressed a smirk as he righted himself, his hands slipping on his white gloves as he ate up every second of her indignant glare. "How's the weather down there?" He queried with conversational leisure.

"Vegeta!"

"Oh, hey Bulma!" Gohan greeted as he entered the cockpit, fashioned in a new Saiyan battle suit provided by Bulma. Vegeta was struck with annoyance at his intrusion. "How's it going? Have you heard from Videl today?"

Bulma smiled wide at the boy, sparking a fleeting wave of jealousy through Vegeta's chest. "Hey, that suit looks great on you! Videl and Pan were just here this morning, and they said to send you their love," she told him tenderly. "I was just asking Vegeta why your ship has been stopped for so long, but he's being a prick. All the readings seem fine, is something wrong?"

Gohan clapped Vegeta on the shoulder, heedless of the older Saiyan's irritation at the gesture. "Ah, a distress signal came in today from a nearby moon. We're gonna check it out, see if there's anyone there that needs help."

Worry crept into her features, and Vegeta privately appreciated his woman's brilliance and rational understanding of such a situation. Her eyes darted uncertainly to his face, and he inclined his brow subtly in return. "Are you guys sure it's safe?"

"Would you presume we continue on instead?"

Vegeta wasn't sure what answer he was hoping she'd respond with when he posed the question. Gohan glanced between the couple dubiously, but Vegeta kept his gaze trained on his wife, awaiting her instruction on the matter.

There was a stretch of silent consideration, before Bulma finally shook her head and settled back in her chair. "Go ahead," she assented. "But be careful, won't you?"

Both men nodded in return. As the call finished, they resumed gearing up, silence between them heavy as they readied themselves for the unknown.

/*/

Bulla and Goten had just enough time to brush their teeth when three guards appeared in their quarters. Apparently, being "encouraged" to join general population actually meant "being forced under threat of physical harm" they found when they initially declined instruction to move.

Goten's binds snapped together again as they were ushered out of their homing room, he flanked by two of the soldiers as Bulla was escorted by her earlier purple-hued guard. While he made to complain, a gentle nudge in the ribs from Bulla reminded him that keeping his mouth shut was the better choice.

They were marched through the halls, taking few turns, before the chamber they entered opened into a massive atrium with five other hallways. Their guides lead them down the first deviation to their right, and both hybrids were struck in awe at the various aliens - either soldiers or specimens, as designated by uniform or armor - that paraded by them. Most seemed either nonchalant or apathetic to being present here, and nearly every specimen was a duo of male and female.

Bulla swallowed and shifted her step closer to Goten. He looked around to find the source of her discomfort, and there by a vending machine of sorts was an exceptionally tall humanoid alien with deep blue coloring and lengthy extremities. Her long fingers were laid against the curve of her very large belly, an uncomfortable expression scrunching her face, as two guards beside her barked commands up at her.

"Do you think she's okay?" Bulla whispered.

Goten shrugged, battling an inner war with himself to go over there and harass those soldiers with equal fervor. Bulla seemed to sense it, as he felt her hand on his forearm, rousing him away from the scene.

"Don't," she told him in a firm, quiet voice. "I want to too, but not now, okay?"

He couldn't ignore the pleading in her tone. Goten clenched his fists together and begrudgingly looked the other way as they continued being lead along. They eventually emptied out into what appeared to be a cafeteria. It was a large public space filled with tables and chairs, pairs and officers, and a serving line on one side. The smell of questionable food wafted around them, and had they not already made short work of their pantry in their quarters, Goten would be sniffing out the source.

"This is where you will take your meals," the purple guard announced to the pair of them. "Twice a day, morning and evening-"

"Don't we have a kitchen?" Bulla turned to the woman in confusion.

"Your homing room comes complete with a galley that is stocked monthly, yes," the guard answered in a bored tone, and she either missed or chose to ignore both Saiyans' shocked staring. "However, its use is only necessary during abnormal occasions, such as during introduction, quarantine, lockdown, or parturition."

"What does that mean?" Goten shook his head between the disinterested guards and a blushing Bulla. "Nutrition?"

"Parturition, you dope. It means 'pregnancy'," Bulla grumbled through her teeth, and Goten tinted about as pink as she with this newfound vocabulary he had acquired.

The soldiers directed them along the wall as they observed the comings and goings of the populous milling about. If it weren't for his understanding of what was expected of the captives here, Goten would have believed at first glance that this place was a comfortable place to be stationed. However, it was that very complacency that only added to his unease.

As the guards rattled on about meal schedules, Goten became acutely aware that someone was staring in Bulla's direction. His gaze skimmed the area, finally resting on a larger, teal-toned man who appeared quite fixated on the blue-haired girl by his side. Almost instinctively, Goten flexed his fingers to hold her hand, but his binds were still fastened together in front of him.

"Someone is looking at you," he hissed out of the corner of his mouth at Bulla, who was staring ahead, unblinking.

"I know."

"Who is that?" When she didn't glance over, something nervous tickled in his gut. "Do you know him?"

Bulla shook her head, and he could see her blue irises dart into the corners to peek at the other man. Goten looked over at him much less covertly, and he did appreciate the smirk that guy was wearing on his ugly mug nor the way he was eyeing Bulla like lunch.

"Well, he seems to know you."

Bulla snorted and lifted her nose a little higher in the air. It was a snotty look Goten hadn't seen in years, one that conveyed all of her disdain and haughtiness at once, so very reminiscent of her father. The sound of the man's laughter from afar bubbled annoyance in his chest and Goten threw him a nasty glower.

The alien only grinned in return, mean eyes now narrowed on Goten. His lips were furled in a ruthless sort of smile that brought Goten hovering closer to Bulla's side. Whatever his intentions were, it was evident none of them were good, and the protective streak Goten had been nursing over Bulla multiplied tenfold. Thankfully the guards had begun to steer them back out toward the main hall. As they followed the full circle through the cafeteria, Bulla did her best to pay the other man little mind, but Goten made a point to return his staring the whole way around.

And the teal man stared right back, not intimidated in the least.

The rest of the tour consisted of locating the public restrooms, laundry room (Bulla huffed at realizing she would have to do her own), the laboratory wing (Vatet passed them in the hall with a winking smile for Goten, who flushed as Bulla seethed), the regeneration rooms and conditioning ward (they exchanged curious glances when they sensed vibrating power levels of varying degrees), and finally the assignment office. This office was smaller than any of the other rooms they had explored, almost cramped and barely big enough for all of them and the Assignment Operator.

"AO", as the guards called her, was an oblong creature with four-fingered hands, a wide-set pair of bulbous eyes, and a shrunken snout. She appeared rather nasty as she surveyed them up and down with a sneer.

"Sit," she grunted at the two, and both were pushed down into the seats by the guards behind them. "Binds."

When neither of them moved at her command, AO snarled and one soldier behind the pair jacked Goten in the shoulder with his weapon. "Show her your bind, Saiyan."

Repressing the urge to clock the soldier with his locked fists, Goten obliged alongside Bulla and they both presented their wrist fastenings to the grumbling alien. She scanned them with a small tablet, no bigger than a cell phone, and it beeped whining tones at her. AO grunted to herself and held the device up for the guards collected behind them, and Bulla and Goten squinted at the unusual pixelated print.

"She reports to Lab 27.D and he can go to Loading Bay 4.B, there ya go."

"Is that wise?" One of the helmeted guards to Goten's left questioned in apprehension.

"It's what's decided-"

"Wait, what's going on?" Bulla interjected then, agitated at being spoken around as though she were not present. "What are you talking about?"

AO glared and wrinkled her snout, which consequently nearly made the middle of her face concave. "You're getting your assignments, that's what, sweetie. She's mouthy, isn't she?" The operator had turned and posed her assessment to the purple guard, who hitched a non-committal shoulder.

Goten raised an eyebrow, the gears in his brain shifting to a halt. "Assignment? Like homework?"

"What the hell is 'home work'?"

"Oh! From, like, school and stuff," Goten explained, missing Bulla's drawn, exhausted sigh, and he glanced in confusion over at his companion who had shoved her face into her palm. "I, uh, haven't been in school in a few years-"

"Goten, no," Bulla muttered between her fingers. "Not that kind of assignment."

"But then what-"

"Ohhh, would you both shut up?" The rotten creature grouched, effectively silencing the two. "Whiny little beasts. You're getting jobs, so you can earn your keep around here. You think all this stuff's free?"

"I mean, Vatet said it was free..." Goten mumbled.

Bulla, however, scoffed and dropped the hand from her face to reveal an indignant frown. "I thought the whole 'breeding' thing or whatever was what 'earned our keep'!" Her words dripped like acid, accompanied by condescending air quotes as necessary. "So which is it? Have we been taken to a labor camp or a puppy mill?"

AO smirked and shrugged as she gestured outward with open palms. "How about both?" When that did not seem to be the answer Bulla was looking for, the operator's smirk grew wider. "What do you want me to say, sweetie? You belong to the Commander and this team now, and we will use you as we see fit. You will go where you're assigned, and you will do a passable job if you don't want them to make use of you somehow else. So, then, how about both?"

Her explanation left the two of them in disquietude. Satisfied by her rendered reaction, AO cracked her knuckles and pointed at Bulla with a smugness Goten wanted to smash. "You report to your Department Agent, they'll tell you what needs done, ya do it. Earn your credits for the week, spend it how you like. Disobey or cause grief, you get 'em taken away."

With a snort, the operator hopped down from her chair and rounded the desk until she reached the door, which she opened wide. "Now, get the hell out of my office."

Off her command, the soldiers urged Goten and Bulla up from their seats, barrels of guns settled against spines and tension down to their bones.

/*/

The landing went pretty well, all things considered. Gohan had been a little apprehensive about letting Vegeta pilot, but he realized shortly after that Vegeta had plenty of experience flying through space. Certainly, he had more than himself. It was almost like watching someone climb on a bicycle after many years, the familiar ease that settled in not long after Vegeta's initial glance over the controls.

As the vessel shuddered and jolted, landing gracefully into the carefully selected rocky valley, Vegeta flipped several switches and the sounds of powering down echoed around the cockpit. The lights overhead dimmed, and the engine hummed as it rested. The Saiyan prince unbuckled himself and Gohan followed suit, both of them moving toward the hatch in turn.

Vegeta exited the ship first. The hatch creaked apart from the body of the ship, opening up the dusty valley to their squinting eyes. The rocks around them were reddish grey in color with flecks of purple and gold buried hither and yon in the walls. The men jumped from their perch on the ship, each landing deftly on the surprisingly soft terrain. Gohan bounced on his toes a little, the half-second of weightlessness making him snicker. Vegeta rolled his eyes at his juvenile amusement.

"Hey! The ground's bouncy here!"

"Tch. It's a probably a composite of sodium aluminate and low-density polymer," Vegeta assessed, testing the buoyancy for himself with the tip of his boot. He tapped his toe and the ground recoiled just enough to lift his heel up and down again. "You typically see it in high-pressure regions, usually in the aftermath of a multi-source collision."

While Goten definitely understood the words Vegeta was speaking, his scholarly ventures didn't delve much further in the science field beyond biochemistry. The surety with which Vegeta spoke of the environment reassured Gohan that being his traveling companion was not a mistake. In fact, there could even be more to learn yet from the older man.

They half-walked, half-bounced their way around the ship, being lead by the glowing beacon on the hand-held radar Vegeta wielded. The flashing light on the screen's face told them the signal was originating about 64 kilometers to the southwest; a blink of an eye if they flew.

Gohan nodded at the screen, wondering aloud, "Should we fly, ya think? It's not very far."

Vegeta mulled over the suggestion before his mouth turned down, and he gave a small nod. "Just keep low and conceal yourself. We don't know what kind of readings they may have on us or the equipment in their possession."

Two pairs of boots levitated off the ground. Glancing to one another, each nodded on their go, and blurring white ki trails drifted in their wake as they chased the signal south.

It didn't take long before the small blinking orb had begun to take up most of the screen. As they neared, both slowed their flight to a idling glide, before the remnants of a crashed pod appeared before them. Not far off, there was a haphazard shelter constructed against another wall of rock. Vegeta and Gohan landed quietly, hopping to regain their footing on the unusual earth. Silently, they crept up behind a partition of boulders that separated them from the crash site. Vegeta's thumb shut off the monitor, and he pocketed it in the breast of his suit.

"Doesn't look like a big ship," Gohan observed, peering around chips in the rock to make out the side of the ship. "It looks like it says something..."

"...It says Galactic Conservation Institute," Vegeta's voice venomously hissed. "It's a fucking escape pod."

Gohan whipped his head toward Vegeta, both of his eyebrows arched high. "EH?!" He looked around the boulders again, reaching out with his senses for his brother or the young woman he knew well. When neither ki breached his awareness, he shook his head in dismay. "It's not them-"

He barely had the time to finish the sentence and glance back at Vegeta when he found that the older man had already stalked onward, now halfway to the pod. Gohan gasped and scurried as quickly and quietly as he could to catch up. When he fell in step with his companion, he grumbled, "Warn me when you move next time, Vegeta!"

"Pay closer attention, boy. I'm not going to hold your hand." Vegeta inched toward the broken hull, casting sidelong looks at the lean-to by the rock wall. "Of course it isn't them, you idiot. This signal's been running for two weeks, remember?" He ducked his head to peer into the small pod. From Gohan's vantage point over Vegeta's shoulder, he could tell the thing couldn't hold more than two people at most. A small dust pile was collecting on the dash and seats from where the wind had blown it in, and there on the console was the flashing distress source, which the Saiyan prince flicked off.

They backed away from the pod, huddling together against the side of the ship. "Should we look in that?" Gohan asked, pointing toward the shelter. "I mean, I don't sense anyone in there, but that doesn't mean someone isn't."

"Could mean they're dead," Vegeta countered darkly with a shrug.

"Thanks for that," Gohan rolled his eyes. "Way to look on the bright side, Vegeta."

Vegeta sneered viciously in return. "You haven't yet learned why they call space 'the black', boy. Keep your bright side to yourself; you're going to need it." The man stood, a wind gust whipping his spiky mane aside and whirling dust around them both as he narrowed his gaze on the lean-to. "We'll check the shelter. If no life is present, we'll strip the pod for any information and be on our way. Let's go."

/*/

Humiliation hadn't stopped coursing painfully through her breast even after they had long since left AO's office. Bulla should've been prepared for someone to speak to her so brashly - it's not like it was the first time - but for whatever reason the operator's derisiveness had left her face hot and tears stinging in her eyes. That coupled with the aggravation of further expectations set upon them was almost harrowing for the young woman.

She wasn't blind; Bulla was well aware of the comfortable life she had been allowed to live, having had not much in the way of responsibility laid upon her in her youth, neither had she seen much trial or tribulation as her brother and Goten had. But here, now, in this place? Everything made it almost glaringly obvious. Maybe she could take care of herself physically compared to most others, but what about in other circumstances? Bulla always thought she was brave enough, smart enough - but now she wasn't so sure.

Their escorts only briefly showed them down the credits hall where small 'shops' and kiosks lined the dingy walls. Bulla could feel Goten's worried eyes dancing over her profile, but she couldn't meet his gaze, still too caught up in her self-pity. She instead busied herself with feigned interest in the commodities and vendors, mood only slightly buffered by the window shopping.

Elevators brought them back to the main atrium, and they were returned to their homing room. Goten's connected shackles came apart as soon as they crossed the threshold, and Bulla watched sympathetically as relief flooded him and he made windmills of his limbs.

The purple alien stood in the doorway, the other two soldiers waiting outside the room. "With your tour complete, you are welcome to enjoy the many amenities provided," she told them both, unamused by Bulla and Goten's mutual eyerolls. "Female, as you have one demerit on your account, you must notify security when you leave your quarters. Failure to do so will result in a second demerit."

She turned then to Goten. "As you have two against you, you must be accompanied by an officer anywhere outside this room. A third demerit will result in further consequence." He would not grant her a single look, his dark eyes drilling into the side wall. Bulla could make out the tightening of his jaw as he clenched it.

"You both will report to your assigned posts no later than 0700. Instructions will be delivered to the terminal at the rear of your homing room. I assume you both know what will occur should you be tardy or absent."

The pair of them stood with their gazes averted from the female soldier. After it became obvious silence was all she would receive in turn, the woman bowed her helmeted head and turned out of the room, leaving them alone once more.

As soon as the door was shut, Goten rounded on Bulla. Her chest tightened in anticipation, as she could sense his ki flare in annoyance. "Okay, what the hell was up with that guy?"

"What guy?"

Goten narrowed his eyes at her, shaking his head, not buying her ignorance. "Bulla…"

She sighed heavily and rubbed at the headache building behind her brow. "He was just … some person, another captive. He was in the infirmary when I was getting stitches."

"And?"

"And he was nosy, asking the doctor about me," she grumbled her way to the back hall, Goten on her heels. "His name was… Veron, I think? He wasn't very nice."

Suddenly, Goten had his hand around her upper arm, turning her around to face him and stopping her in her tracks. She groaned in annoyance, leveling him with an exasperated pout. "What, Goten?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" His tone bordered between accusatory and disappointed. It stung under her skin, just a bit, when coupled with his uncertain eyes. "What did he say to you?"

"Nothing! He just obviously isn't a fan of Saiyans, or honestly probably anyone!" Bulla pulled her arm from his hold, her flesh tingling where his fingers had been. "And I didn't tell you because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it!"

"Yeah, but-"

"Goten!" Her boot stomped once, irritation scratching its way to surface now, and he gaped at her. "All I want is to try and lay as low as possible until we can plan our escape from here! I don't want to draw any more attention to us, and then you just had to go and make stupid faces at him!"

Goten went still at her reprimand, though slowly his features began to bend in offense. "I was just trying to-"

"Trying to what?" Bulla snapped. "Start another fight?"

"You need to tell me if something like that happens again," he told her seriously, trying to provide the calm to smother her temper, but another command was the last thing Bulla wanted to hear. "You're my responsibility."

Her cheeks flared rose. "I'm not your responsibility! I'm not some kid you're babysitting here, you jerk!"

That immediately stopped whatever righteous anger was beginning to bud fresh in his throat. Goten closed his mouth, eyes wavering over her incensed features, and she saw him visibly deflate before her. Why that made her breast ache, she didn't know, but his apologetic frown that followed only made it worse.

"You're right," he amended, and her shoulders sank. "I'm sorry, B. I just-" Goten glared at the floor, his hand rubbing over his creased forehead as he seemed baffled and conflicted in some way she couldn't understand. "...I just want to keep you safe," he finally decided on the appropriate words as his earnest eyes found hers.

How he could look at her like that, like she was valuable to him - it stole her breath away and reminded her of nervous butterflies cocooned in her belly from years before.

Swallowing, Bulla released the tension in her shaking hands, wanting desperately to reach for him in that moment. Instead, she shook her head, at him and at herself.

"Yeah, well I want to keep us safe," she spoke softly, and her inflection dredged a self-effacing chuckle from his chest that infuriated the blush still staining her cheeks. "And that plan is the smarter one of the two, so stop trying to ruin it, okay?"

Goten nodded his agreement, though he was at a lack of words as he stared at her. He seemed almost defeated as he stood there not more than three feet apart from her, a silent discordance floating in his gaze. On the tip of her tongue was the question is something wrong, but instead she moved forward and embraced her friend around the neck tightly. His hands hesitated before falling around her waist.

"I won't keep secrets again," she promised to the curve of his ear. "I'm sorry."

His head shook against her temple, and his broad shoulders arched in a shrug under her forearms. Bulla began to pull back, only pausing to press an impulsive peck against his cheek, when his hands tugged her a modest distance away from his torso.

Goten's features were wrought with absolute shock, his mouth hanging open and eyebrows lost in his spiky black bangs. Bulla had to admit she was surprised with herself as soon as she realized her misstep, and she was positive her complexion would never turn a normal shade again. But in the second that shock began to morph into apparent confusion, she yanked away with the intention of hiding herself in the nearest room that Goten didn't occupy.

Strong hands held her fast however and drew her in again, and Bulla didn't register much more after that than the brush of his nose against hers when his lips pushed into her own.