A/N: If you're enjoying my writing or have any suggestions for improvement please leave me a comment, I read all of them! I'd like to know if there is something I could do to improve your reading experience. While I don't plan on Goten wallowing in shame endlessly, I don't plan on making shit easy for them either. Kyogan Saori That would be a crazy AU! Chi-Chi would definitely fit as Catelyn Stark. xconversegirl99x, PoisonPenPrincess thank you for reviewing!

All Over You

Chapter 7

Bura had been working meticulously in her lab when a certain lavender haired Saiyan had seen fit to grace her with his presence. "Have you finished the prototype for the VR Combat Simulator?"

Bura paused in her task, before sliding her safety goggles up onto her head, and setting her tiny screw driver down. She spun her chair around, surveying her brother quietly for a moment as he thumbed through some files on the table. She supposed now was as good a time as any to talk with her sibling. "Right now I'm ironing out a few kinks on the Gravity Bands. But I'll have everything ready by the end of the week."

"Good."

"Marron spoke with me here in my lab the other day," She began carefully.

Trunks stopped flipping through the documents and his eyes flickered up to meet hers. "And?"

"Is everything...okay?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"Yes Bura, really. Why? What did she say?"

Bura couldn't help but detect the defensive tone in his voice, but she pressed on, "She seemed, concerned that you hadn't returned home the night before, and that you didn't call her to check in."

"Why don't you just come out and ask what you want to ask me?" My, he was certainly on edge.

"Is there anything, in particular, I should be asking about?"

"I'm not cheating on my fiance if that's what you're hinting around at, not that it's any of your business what I do anyway." He glared at her.

"First of all, you're awfully defensive, furthermore you're my brother and Marron is my friend and when she comes to me upset and confused about something you've done, that does make it my business," She glared right back at him, "She's a sweet girl, Trunks, if you have some things that you need to work out or get out of your system or whatever, she deserves for you to be up front with her about it."

"I told you, everything's fine, make sure you have that prototype ready in time for our presentation with the board."

She scowled at his back as the door to her lab swung closed behind him. Who did he think he was? Getting an attitude with her like that? Trunks had been in a positively wretched mood all week and she was absolutely fed up with it. It was one thing for her father to be surly and abrasive, but it was completely out of character for Trunks to comport himself in such a way. He may have been taken after Vegeta in terms of strength and fighting ability, but his personality was more laid back like their mothers'.

She pulled her goggles from her head with a frustrated sigh, making her way to the large window of her lab, the clouds were a dreary gray, it was raining.

Perhaps he was being unfaithful, perhaps he was panicking about his upcoming nuptials and was regressing into his old party boy self. Perhaps he wasn't and he was telling her the truth.

Perhaps the stress of being President of the company was getting to him. He was good at the job, but Bura knew at times the pressure of filling their mother and grandfather's shoes could be a daunting task. The Briefs we're invited to Kame House that evening with 18 and Krillin, she'd planned on going but perhaps it would be better to stay and complete the work on the VR. It would be a late night, but she could pull it off.

Goten had stopped avoiding her, but they still hadn't spoken about what happened between them, not the incidents at the lake and not about the frenzied embrace they'd shared on the balcony. He trained, he went to work, he ate breakfast and supper with her and her family with the exception of the evenings he visited his mother and father. He had mentioned recently having found several apartments that would suit his needs nearby and that he would likely soon be moving out.

He would cast clandestine looks her way, and she knew he was recalling those moments. While he wasn't avoiding her presence like before he was making an effort to steer clear of being alone with her. He couldn't pretend nothing had happened, and he couldn't pretend he didn't enjoy the feel of her lips against his. And he knew he would be powerless to keep it from happening again given the chance.

He resisted her, out of loyalty to her brother. She understood, he was afraid of violating some ridiculous male code of conduct, but at the same time, it wasn't as though her brother owned her. She certainly didn't need his permission. According to him, his love life was none of her concern, the same could certainly be said of her. She was a grown woman, free to pursue who she wished.

If only Goten could see it that way.

His moral compass was all that kept him from giving in to her. He was always thinking of others and putting their feelings first, she had always admired that about him, his kind heart. It only served to make her want him more.

The delicious smell of his mother's cooking wafted through the air as he took his usual seat at the dining room table. His mother looked so loving at his father even as she chastised him for his talking with his mouth full as he all but inhaled his meal. Even with his father's frequent absences, she never wavered in her love for him. Never resented him for it. At times, it would cause her moments of frustration, but it was who he was and she understood that.

He'd had difficulty understanding it when he was younger. After his father had chosen to remain in Other World after Gohan defeated Cell, declining the opportunity to be resurrected by Shenron. He could remember when he was a small child, and he or Gohan would say or do something that would remind her of him, his mother would smile, but there was a sadness beneath it. She'd missed his father so terribly.

But when he returned, it was like new life had been breathed back into her. He remembered the day his father had reappeared, it was the day of the Martial Arts World Tournament, he'd never seen his mother smile quite like she had that day.

She always waited patiently through his absences, and that patience was rewarded with nights like this, surrounded by her family. It was all she'd ever wanted.

He'd tried to be patient with Paris, it hadn't worked out so well for him.

He admired his mother for her strength, were he in her place he didn't think he could have endured it with all the grace that she had. Goten had spent plenty of nights playing over his failed relationship in his mind, analyzing every memory they ever made together, to find the flaw. The flaw was simple, Paris had been all wrong for him right from the beginning, and deep down he had always known it. And still, he had tried to cram her into this box, this role, in which she didn't fit. It wasn't even really her fault that things ended the way they did, it was inevitable.

He looked across the table at his brother, who was playfully arguing with his wife over who would eat his last serving of onigiri. Gohan, he had always felt, that no matter what he'd do, he would never crawl out from beneath the weight of his brothers' shadow. Anytime Goten managed to accomplish something, Gohan had accomplished it first. He'd saved the world defeating Cell, became a successful scholar just as their mother had always dreamed, married a girl who couldn't be more suited to him and had a beautiful daughter. Even after retiring from martial arts, Goten knew that if he were to challenge his brother, victory wouldn't come easily. It seemed almost cruel to Goten, for one man to be so extraordinary.

Videl, looked at his brother so fondly, as she cut the last piece of onigiri in half, being sure to give Gohan the larger portion. Even after all their years together, she still looked at his brother like he'd hung the moon.

He'd wanted that for himself. He didn't want to be everyone's hero, conquering the mightiest evil or be a genius, he simply wanted to be content. He wanted to go out every day and nurture new generations in the martial arts, and every night to come home to someone who looked at him like that, that would be enough for him.

He'd been through a slew of women, he and Trunks prowled clubs and bars night after night. And that had been satisfying, for a time. Until it wasn't. Enter Paris. She'd been beautiful and sweet, and it worked, for a time. When things fizzled out, and it was clear that they were completely incompatible and that the spark he was looking for was nowhere to be found, instead of ending things, he tried to force it to fit into the perfect picture he'd envisioned as his life.

He'd always pictured he and his future wife, and perhaps a child or two, having dinner with his family like this. He used to picture his wife as Paris. Now, the woman envisioned didn't have a face.

An odd feeling fell over him, and the woman in his mind suddenly had long aqua waves, and big, blue eyes to match, bordered by dark, curling lashes.

Bura.

Living with her had been hell. Ever since the kiss they'd shared at the lake, and everything after, it had given him a thirst, a terrible thirst that he knew couldn't be quenched easily.

He tried to act normal, to act like nothing had happened between them. But he couldn't, every time he was in her presence, he felt like all the air had gone out of the room, and all that remained was the heat between them.

And he knew, given another chance he would give in to it, he wouldn't have the will power to stop himself.

What was 'it' exactly? He still hadn't quite figured it out. He'd thought her interest in him was purely sexual, but she'd seemed so irritated when Marron's bridesmaid, Aya, shamelessly flirted with him and responded by all but dragging him out onto the balcony to make out with her right under his best friends' nose. He couldn't help but recall the sinfully sexy black dress she'd worn, the passionate kiss they'd shared on the balcony, if she hadn't pulled away when she did, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he would've hiked up her skirt, bent her over the railing and taken her right then and there, with Trunks within shouting range. A fresh wave of guilt fell over him at the thought.

But still, he couldn't just pretend none of it happened.

But what did she want from him? Really? She could have any man she wanted. Younger, more successful men, men whose intelligence and accomplishments rivaled her own. He could never have her, not really, so why torture himself further?

After dinner, his mother served a delicious sponge cake, topped with strawberries and a rich frosting. Not long after Gohan and his family left, Goten stayed behind to help his mother clean up and do the dishes.

When they had finished, she put together a parcel of leftovers for him to take with him and they said their goodbyes.

It didn't take him long to reach capsule corp. He was surprised to see Bulma's hover jet unaccounted for. They must still be at Krillin and 18's he thought to himself, he was likely the only person in the compound. Or perhaps not, upon entry to the compound, he sensed a familiar energy.

He followed it, to his surprise he found Bura, still clad in her lab coat, sleeping soundly on the couch, two empty noodle cups and her lab safety goggles, and several blue prints cluttering the surface of the coffee table. Her aqua hair spilled across the plush throw pillow cradling her head, a few wild strands falling across her face, her chest rising and falling with each breath, only the soft glow from the television illuminating her petite frame.

He couldn't help the smile that tugged the corners of his mouth at the sight. He stood there for a moment, simply watching her, resisting the urge to reach out and push the hair from her face.

She must have worked late instead of joining her family at Kame House for dinner, she must have also been quite exhausted, she even still had her shoes on. Gently, against his better judgment, he removed her heels and set them neatly on the floor trying not think of how smooth her skin felt, or the sweet smell of her perfume. He took the soft beige blanket Bulma left draped over the back of the sofa and gently covered her with it. He organized the blue prints into a neat stack, before moving into the kitchen to dispose of the empty noodle containers and put away the leftovers his mother had sent with him.

He was about to make his way up the stairs, but not before pausing at the liquor cabinet Bulma kept stocked in the living room and pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

"Goten?"

He turned to see Bura, sitting up from her place on the sofa, groggily wiping the sleep from her eyes and smoothing her hair away from her face. "I must have dozed off... Are you the only one home?"

"It looks like it," He made his back over to the sofa, making sure to keep the coffee table between them. He should have just gone to bed, this was exactly the situation he'd been trying to avoid. He couldn't trust himself to be alone with her. "I thought you were all going to Kame House for dinner tonight?"

"I was, but after I talked to Trunks earlier, he seemed really stressed out, so I thought I'd finish up the project we're presenting on Friday ahead of schedule." She rose up from the sofa, stretching her limbs, before reaching across the coffee table, taking his glass from his hand and having a sip, "Have you talked to him? Has he been acting weird toward you at all?"

"No not really, honestly I can't say I've been paying attention," He took his glass back from her and downed the rest of the amber liquid, his tone was brusque and terse.

"And why's that?"

"I've had other things on my mind."

"Like what?" She asked not so innocently.

"Gee, I wonder." He scoffed, setting his glass down and turning to walk back towards the stairs.

She gave a short, somewhat frustrated laugh at that, crossing her arms over her chest. "Aren't you tired yet Goten?"

"Yes I am, that's why I'm going to bed."

"That's not what I meant."

He didn't pause in his retreat, "I know."

She moved to follow after him, "Goten! Wait!"

He halted in his retreat upon hearing her feet on the steps, turning around see her, standing just below him on the staircase. Blue eyes met onyx and he knew he needed to march straight up the stairs, go to his room and shut the door. That was the right thing to do. He couldn't let things slip out of his control again. He had to do something. "What Bura? What do you want from me?"

She narrowed her eyes at that, "What do I want from you?"

"What are you doing? Is this some kind of game to you?"

She scowled at him, before straightening her back and replying curtly, "I think that's a little uncalled for, coming from the guy who's kissing me one minute and avoiding me like the plague the next."

"I have enough shit going on without you fucking with my head." He bit out, an uncharacteristic edge in his voice.

He instantly regretted his harsh words when he saw her scowl falter and for the smallest moment, it seemed as though her defenses had collapsed. Just as quickly her features morphed into something smug, "I'm fucking with your head? Forgive me, but if I remember correctly, you kissed me at the lake buddy, no one forced you."

"I made a mistake, I can't be with you like that Bura, you have to understand that."

"Why? Because of my brother? Because of my Dad? They don't own me, Goten."

"Trunks is my best friend and I can't stand lying to him and if he found out-"

"What if they weren't in the picture?"

"-What?"

"What if Trunks wasn't my brother, and Vegeta wasn't my Dad, would you want me then?"

He ran a frustrated hand through his short ebony spikes, why did she have to make this so hard? "That's not the world we live in, there's no point in even discussing it."

They stood there quietly for a moment, the air between them thick with unease.

Then the turning of keys could be heard, and the creak of the front door opening. She gave him one last pensive look, then brushed past him. "I see, Goodnight, Goten."

A/N: Thoughts?