"Well, what do we have here?" Trunks whistled lowly as he saw his mom come down the stairs with his six-year-old sister. Trunks had to stifle his laughter or no doubt Bulma would find some way to punish her twenty-year-old son. His little sister was clutching their mother's hand trying to keep her footing as she clumsily navigated the steps, but that wasn't the funny part, no, that was how she was done up.
His angelic baby sister's face was made up like a lady of the night, to put it politely. Her eyelids sported bright sparkly blue eyeshadow, her cheeks were covered in rouge, and lastly, bright red lipstick adorned her lips, to top it off it looked like she applied it all herself. She looked like a vampire clown whore or Chiaotzu, but at least it looked like Bulma had been in charge of Bulla's hair which was done up in an elegant updo.
"Trunks!" Bulla exclaimed rushing to him once she reached the bottom of the stairs. She twirled in front of him in her orange dress that clashed terribly with her hair. "Don't I look beautiful?" she gushed waiting expectantly that Trunks would indeed confirm that she looked beautiful. Instead, Trunks had a coughing fit to cover up the fact that he wanted to burst out laughing so badly. She looked ridiculous, did he really have to play along with her?
"Ow!" Trunks yelped. He had felt a sudden rush of pain in his arm, his mom had pinched him with her sharp nails, and glared at him. I guess I do have to play along. "Yup, you're definitely the prettiest in this room!" he humored the little girl, and Bulla responded with a sweet smile.
"Vegeta!" Bulma yelled out. "C'mon let's go!" It only took moments for Vegeta to appear, he was brooding of course.
"I don't know why I have to go in the jet plane with you," Vegeta sulked, "I can just meet you once you land in Central City. Traveling in one of your machines is a waste of time. I can get us there in minutes."
"I'm not having my neck broken by your reckless flying and high speeds!" Bulma retorted angrily, "Now stop being a baby and get in the plane!" Bulma commanded.
"Bye, daddy!" Bulla waved enthusiastically "You can leave now!" she went to push him out the door. Now that was something, Trunks thought. Vegeta was usually Bulla's favorite person, after himself, of course.
"Aren't you going to miss dad, Bulla?" Trunks asked her curiously.
"Nope!" she said still trying to push an increasingly irate Vegeta out the door. Before Trunks could ask her why, his mother turned to him to grab his attention.
"This weekend you're responsible for Bulla, Trunks." Bulma said seriously, "You know your grandparents can't keep up with her so it's all on you this weekend. No taking her to ChiChi's—"
"Aw, but she loves ChiChi—" Trunks complained. He had been planning to ditch her there or at Gohan's, after all, it was the weekend and he was a red-blooded human-Saiyan hybrid, he needed to get out, plus he had two girls on standby.
Bulma violently grabbed his ear and shouted into it, "I said NO!" She roughly let go and left Trunks rubbing his injured ear. "You WILL watch your sister this weekend. Don't call ChiChi, don't call Gohan, and especially don't call Marron. She's in high school now and deserves some weekends to herself, and don't you dare try to tempt her with money either. I already paid her more than you ever could to ignore your pleas." Bulma threatened.
Trunks put his hands up in surrender, "Okay fine, I'll watch the little pipsqueak this weekend."
"Thank you," Bulma said nicely and pecked Trunks on the cheek, "Take advantage Trunks, she's not going to stay little forever and want to hang out with you." she warned. Bulma then went to Bulla and bent down to her daughter, "Bye sweetie!" she said in a much more saccharine tone to Bulla, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Bye, mommy!" Bulla said completely unbothered that her parents were leaving. She too began to push Bulma out the door but with much more success than she had with Vegeta.
Soon Trunks was left alone with Bulla, a task he felt he was ill-prepared for. Bulla looked up at him expectantly. What do six-year-olds like? Trunks asked himself. Bulla wasn't jumping off the walls, that was good, but she was just standing there in her awful makeup penetrating him with her big blue eyes, it was actually kind of creepy.
"Why don't you get me a drink?" Trunks suggested to Bulla with fake sweetness, if only to get her to stop looking at him. He plunked himself on the couch to see what was on tv. Ugh, soap operas. He quickly changed the channel and found an old action movie.
"Okay!" the little girl eagerly complied. She quickly returned with a juice box. He would have preferred a beer but it would do.
"Thanks, Bulla." he told her and she positively beamed at him. Trunks patted a spot next to him on the couch and asked her to sit down, she eagerly complied and rested against him. Bulla was fairly quiet and as Trunks mindlessly watched the television but he could tell Bulla was getting antsy, the action flick wasn't really doing anything for her.
"This is boring Trunks!" Bulla finally erupted. "Let's do something!" she commanded rather than asked.
Trunks grabbed the remote and shut off the television, "Okay what do you think we should do?" Trunks asked a bit testily. It was enough that his weekend plans were blown to smithereens, but now would he have to play dolls or have a tea party?
"Showdown?" Bulla suggested.
"We can't do that, you're a little girl." Trunks hastily made an excuse. He had heard his dad proudly telling his mom how ruthless Bulla had been in training. He didn't really keep up with training these days and truthfully, he didn't know if she would beat the crap out of him.
"Oh." Bulla looked to the ground disappointed. She kneaded her dress skirt in her hands, "What do you want to do Trunks?" she asked meekly.
"What do I want to do?" Trunks began assertively, "I want to go out like any normal twenty-year-old and not be stuck at home with my little sister." He loved his sister. He wouldn't admit it out loud but she was his favorite person. Her happy-go-lucky six-year-old attitude could bring the grumpiest person out of their funk, but couldn't she have been born ten years earlier so he wouldn't have this obligation to watch her? It seemed like her birth coincided with his coming of age, where he wanted to spend as much of his time with his friends as possible.
Bulla frowned and put her head down from where she was sitting and just sat silently twiddling her thumbs. Oh crap, she's not going to start crying, is she? Better do something!
But before Trunks could think of anything to say, Bulla looked up to him "When is Goten coming?" Bulla asked expectantly.
"Why would Goten come over?" Trunks asked more to himself than Bulla. He realized his words were kind of harsh and he was relieved she had let them roll of her back. He took a sip of the juice box. Hmmm, this is pretty good. What flavor is it? Ooh strawberry, my favorite.
"Goten's your boyfriend. You always go play with him." Trunks nearly choked on the straw. Bulla stood up and started pounding him on the back, rather painfully, in an effort to try to dislodge his throat.
"Stop Bulla! I'm fine. I promise." Trunks winced. He was probably going to have bruises tomorrow. Maybe he should take her up on her offer to train, maybe he could teach her to control her strength better. "Goten is not my boyfriend and we're too old to play with each other." Bulla blinked in confusion, "We do something….different..." Trunks struggled to find the appropriate words, hoping that vague explanation would do it for Bulla.
"But he's a boy and he's your friend, so he's my boyfriend too. He'll want to come over to play." she said confidently. Oh, what Trunks would have given to have Goten and his dad in the room when she said that. He chuckled thinking of the beating Bulla would have inadvertently earned Goten.
"Why would he want to spend his Saturday here where there's nothing to do when he could be out meeting women?" Trunks asked more to himself rather than acknowledge Bulla's ridiculous declaration that she and Trunks were sharing a boyfriend. Besides, Trunks knew that Goten would probably choose himself over Bulla everytime.
"I'm a woman." she said cocking her hip to the side. Trunks had to laugh. Where does she get this stuff? But still, maybe Bulla was onto something, maybe not that nonsense about being a woman. Goten, huh? Now there was an idea, his mom never said anything about calling Goten…
"Maybe you're right, Bulla. I'll call Goten, but he told me he doesn't like girls that wear makeup, you should wash it off before he gets here."
Bulla gasped horrified and ran all the way to the bathroom. "Trunks! Help me!" she begged. Oh for crying out loud, couldn't she do it herself? Oh right, she was six, she probably did need help washing her face.
Trunks dialed Goten's number that he knew by heart as he made his way to the bathroom where Bulla was splashing her face with water, and getting it everywhere. Thank god for cleaning bots. Goten answered on the third ring.
"What's up?" his best friend answered.
"How soon can you get here?" Trunks asked not bothering to give any context.
"I thought you were stuck babysitting this weekend?"
"I am BUT-" Trunks grabbed a washcloth for Bulla's face. "I've got an idea. Remember Cami and Corsette?" Trunks asked as he wet the washcloth with warm water.
"Yeeah." Trunks could hear Goten perking up.
"Hiii Goten!" Bulla interrupted loudly. Trunks could hear Goten chuckle on the other end.
"Tell Bulla, I said hi." Goten said.
"Goten says hi." Trunks said dismissively to a beaming Bulla as he instructed her to sit on the toilet where he began gently washing off her makeup. "Anyway, they told me they had no plans this weekend-"
"So give me one of their numbers." Goten interrupted before Trunks could finish. Trunks let out unintelligible words of protest. "Well you can't go anywhere, you're watching Bulla." Goten reasoned.
Trunks thought of something evil, "I'm sorry Bulla, Goten says he doesn't want to come over." he said sadly directly into the mouthpiece, making sure Goten would hear.
"WHY?!" Bulla wailed pushing Trunks' hand away from her face.
"What?! I never said that!" Goten exclaimed. "No, she's going to call my mom!" Goten moaned.
"Not if you change your mind right now." Trunks offered and continued to try and scrub a now pouty Bulla's face.
"Fine, but you've got to come up with something….You probably already have a plan, don't you?" Goten said in realization.
"You're catching on." Trunks said proudly.
"Alright, I'll be there in a few." Goten grumbled. "Make sure you tell Bulla. I don't want my mom on my case."
Trunks hung up the phone, "Good news, Bulla, your boyfriend is coming after all." Bulla clapped her hands in delight. "Now be a good girl and sit still, Goten said he wants to see you as fast as he can so he'll get here any minute." Bulla immediately obeyed and stopped fidgeting long enough for Trunks to clean the remnants of her makeup from her face.
Sure enough, Trunks felt Goten's energy approach the compound not soon after he had gotten Bulla all cleaned up. Trunks couldn't stop Bulla from running out to greet Goten on the Capsule Corp lawn, but he tried to keep up. Damn, that kid moves fast. He made it just in time to see a giggling Bulla tackle a startled Goten to the ground. Trunks couldn't help but keel over laughing as he observed a flustered Goten trying to get up to no avail as Bulla kept him pinned to the ground.
"Alright, that's enough, Bulla." Trunks picked up Bulla from the back of her dress and brought her to his eye level. "I'm pretty sure Goten got the message." He placed her back on her feet while Goten glared at Trunks while trying to wipe the grass from his pants.
"Goten! Do you like my dress?" Bulla excitedly asked Goten as she twirled around for him.
Goten smiled though it didn't reach his eyes, "Of course I do! It's my favorite color!" he told her sweetly. Trunks rolled his eyes. Perfect, polite Goten.
Bulla squealed in happiness, "Miss ChiChi made it for me. She said you better like it!" Goten blanched.
"Um...yeah...I like it a whole lot!" Goten seemed to struggle to find more praise. "It makes you look...um…very pretty."
Uh oh, Goten made a costly mistake. Bulla's never going to let that one go. Instead of exploding like he thought she might, Bulla turned bright red and looked away shyly. Trunks took her by the hand and led her back to the house without protest.
"Why don't you play in your room for a little bit or see if grandma will make us some dessert, maybe you can help her?" Trunks suggested to Bulla so that he could go over his game plan with Goten. Bulla looked uncertain, not wanting to leave Goten. "Goten says his future wife needs to be a good cook." Trunks saw Goten frown at him.
Bulla looked at Goten in anticipation; however, she didn't make a comment and instead started giggling and went to find her grandmother.
Goten was decidedly unamused, "Stop using me to get your sister to do your bidding."
"No way, it works too well." Trunks dismissed the younger hybrid. "Besides, you love that she has a crush on you. She's got everyone wrapped around her finger and she's wrapped around yours. The two of you could conquer the universe." Trunks didn't miss the smug look and small smile that appeared on Goten's face, but it quickly disappeared.
"When did this crush kick into full gear?" Goten asked Trunks curiously. "I didn't think I was around her enough."
"No idea," Trunks answered truthfully, "But I think she's just like my mom. Can't resist cute boys." Trunks said teasingly and winked at Goten.
"Whatever man. I heard Bulma telling my mom not to let you ditch Bulla, how are we going to hook up with Corsette and Cami with Bulla around?"
"You're still a teenager, you wouldn't understand." Trunks had to sidestep a swipe from Goten. "Anyway, the first step is who do we call? Corsette is majoring in fashion while Cami's getting a degree in child development. Whom shall I call?" Trunks asked Goten coyly.
"I don't know. What do their fields of study have to do with anything?" a mildly vexed Goten asked. Trunks slapped a palm to his face.
"Watch and learn." Trunks sighed at his best friend's lack of understanding. Once again he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello?" a tentative female voice answered.
"Hey, Cami! It's Trunks!" he maybe said a bit too enthusiastically. Goten sniggered.
"Oh hi, Trunks!" she said sweetly.
"Listen, I heard you and Corsette didn't have any plans tonight."
"Yes, that's true…"
"Believe me, there's nothing Goten and I would rather do than take you and Corsette out on the town but he's helping me take care of my baby sister this weekend-"
"Oh, how old is your sister?" Bingo.
"She's six and quite the handful. We're hoping to take her to the carnival in town and tucker her out, she can be quite the handful."
Cami let out a little squeal, "Oh my gosh, I love the carnival and six-year-olds."
"You and Corsette are welcome to join us." Trunks tried not to sound excited.
"Definitely! I never had any brothers and sisters of my own, I'd love to meet her!" she said sweetly, "And to see you and Goten of course." she added.
"That sounds great. When can you two meet up?" Trunks gave Goten the thumbs up.
"Um...how about six?" It was only about one o'clock.
"That actually sounds perfect. You know, my sister goes to bed pretty early so we can pretty much have the compound to ourselves later." Trunks said pressing his luck.
"Alright." Cami replied, but Trunks couldn't decipher any meaning from her tone.
"Great! See you later!"
"I'll be sure to collect Corsette. Bye Trunks!" she hung up somewhat abruptly.
"And that's how it's done." Trunks smugly turned to Goten. "We've got dates tonight, and all we have to do is hang out with Bulla at the carnival for a few hours then it's back here to put her to bed along with our dates."
"Using Bulla to score points with the child development student? Good strategy. I do it all the time. Pan is a babe magnet. Sometimes I think she likes all the attention more than I do!" Goten laughed.
Since it would be hours until it was time to meet the girls at the carnival, Trunks and Goten went to the kitchen to see what Bulla and Panchy were cooking up. Bulla proudly showed off a misshapen frosted blob she claimed was a cake but it was surprisingly delicious despite its unappetizing looks. Bulla was excited that they were going to the carnival, and Trunks suggested they go there right away to kill time before meeting their dates.
Bulla had preferred to hold Goten's hand as they made their way through the crowds when they reached the fairgrounds. "Why did you have to come, Trunks?" Bulla pouted and Goten sniggered. Ah, so Trunks was only her favorite when Goten wasn't around.
"Because I have the money." Trunks said, a bit stung by Bulla's question.
Trunks and Goten were able to get in some good girl watching and got a few numbers, Goten was right, Bulla was a babe magnet, while they kept Bulla amused with rides, games, and snacks. Bulla only allowed Trunks and Goten to win her one prize each, and ultimately took the reigns in acquiring her other prizes, she had so many that they had to put them in a spare capsule Trunks had on hand, but she wanted to carry around the pink stuffed bear Goten had won her. The carnival worker at the strongman game had been stunned to see Bulla ring the bell that he demanded Bulla repeat the phenomena, which she did, only to end up breaking the mechanism. Trunks ended up having to pay off the carnival worker with a handful of zeni.
Soon enough it was time to meet the girls. "This has been the best day ever Trunks!" Bulla gushed to him. She had seemingly forgiven him for interloping on her date with Goten and now chose to hold his hand which he couldn't help but lord over the disappointed looking Goten. "You never spend time with me!" she said happily instead of accusing him. Bulla looked pensive for a moment and turned to Goten. "Trunks said you don't like girls in makeup so I took it off but I like it so I'm gonna wear it on our next date." Goten merely gave Trunks an exasperated look while Trunks let out a roar of laughter.
Trunks immediately stopped laughing and composed himself as he spotted the two dates he had set up for himself and Goten.
Corsette certainly lived up to her name though she didn't seem to wear one. She was the textbook definition of an hourglass figure, shapely and well proportioned. Cami, on the other hand, had long slim legs and a great rack. Trunks spoke to Goten from the corner of his mouth. "I call dibs on Corsette."
"Fine by me." Goten looked over at Cami appreciatively. Score! That meant Goten was getting Bulla on his date meanwhile Trunks could hang out with Corsette uninterrupted.
Each couple went their separate ways. Bulla hadn't seemed to mind being led away by Goten and Cami. In fact, Cami seemed more interested in Bulla than Goten much to his chagrin, but Bulla was delighted by the extra attention.
Hanging out wasn't precisely what Trunks and Corsette were currently doing at the time, the Ferris wheel was a great place to fool around. Mid-kiss, Trunks felt his sister's energy spike, then there was an explosion and a screaming stampede. Then he felt Goten's energy rise, as well. Trunks couldn't let Goten handle whatever is was alone.
Corsette clung to Trunks out of fear, they were technically stuck on the ride. Making a quick decision, Trunks forced the safety bar open and held on tight to a now screaming Corsette. He floated them safely to the ground.
"Are you alright?" he asked Corsette, who had stopped screaming and was now looking at him in shock.
"What are you?!" Maybe he wasn't going to able to salvage this date after all.
"No time to explain, just get somewhere safe!" he began to move away, "I'll call you!" he yelled out back to her.
"Oh no, you won't!" he heard Corsette in the distance. Dammit! Someone is going to pay. Trunks thought.
Trunks quickly found the source of the commotion, a Super Saiyan 2 Bulla was bawling while a Super Saiyan Goten was trying to hold her at bay. Cami didn't seem to be scared off at all, instead, she watched the whole thing fascinated and furiously took notes.
"I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE!" Bulla screamed at Goten, pulling away from him. This was bad, with her power unchecked, Bulla could level the whole city.
"Go talk to her." Cami looked up from her notes, seemingly noticing Trunks was there. "I don't think Goten's brute force is going to calm her down, it's probably causing her temper to climb." she scribbled some more stuff into her notepad.
"How did this even happen?!" Trunks asked the young woman.
"I'm afraid Goten unintentionally broke her heart." Ugh, that idiot! Goten was making it on his shit list along with his parents, for making him watch Bulla, and Bulla herself for causing a scene. When Trunks didn't move, Cami spoke up again. "Go talk to her." she insisted firmly. "Stay calm, remove the source of the tension-" Yup, that was a good idea. Quickly, before Cami could finish, Trunks swooped in and knocked out Goten with a swift kick to the back of the head. That shocked Bulla out of the Super Saiyan transformation, then she quickly ran to where an unconscious Goten laid.
"You hurt him!" she yelled to Trunks accusingly while she kneeled by the passed out Goten, tears in her eyes.
Trunks threw up his hands in frustration. "You were trying to do the same thing!" He would never understand girls, not even the six-year-olds.
"Is Goten going to die?!" she wailed, burying her tearful face into the unconscious teen's t-shirt.
"Okay enough of this." Trunks said to himself. He went over to Cami, asking her to fill Goten in on what happened once he came to, then picked up a bawling Bulla by the scruff of her dress. She screamed protesting that she didn't want to leave Goten while he was dying but she was too exhausted to power up and try to fight Trunks.
As Trunks slowly flew to Capsule Corp with Bulla in his arms, he noticed her loud crying had been subdued to pitiful moans and sniffles. What had Cami said? Bulla had her young heart broken? Oof, Trunks knew what that was like, though his romance had been more mature and more importantly, reciprocated. She would get over it, wouldn't she? Maybe he would take Cami's advice and try to talk to her, maybe comfort her? He didn't like seeing his normally happy baby sister so sad.
"Hey, Bulla?" Trunks said to the little girl in his arms. She looked up at him with big blue eyes like his own, giving him her attention. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" she shook her head and buried her face in his chest, he could still feel the wetness there. He carried her to her bedroom and set her down on her bed and took a seat beside her. Silent tears were still running down her face.
What can I say to her? Trunks asked himself.
"When I was younger I liked someone who was too old for me, you'll get over it, I did." Well kind of. "Bulla, you had to find out sometime Goten was never going to like you."
Trunks didn't see the slap coming.
"Get out!" Bulla screamed, bawling again. "This was the worst day ever!" her crying got even worse. "I-want-Marron!" she managed to cry out clutching her pillow. How did she not run out of water for her tears, Trunks had no idea. Nevertheless, Trunks left her room and rubbed his cheek where the powerful slap connected.
"Well, this has been a total disaster." Trunks mumbled to himself. He knew there would be consequences from his parents but he had no idea how to handle the situation. He flipped open his phone and went through his contacts to find her number. Luckily she picked it up on the second ring.
"Hello?" Marron answered cautiously. I guess she doesn't have my number, or maybe she knows it's me.
"Hey Marron, this is Trunks." he waited for her reply.
"Bulma told me to ignore you if you called asking for a babysitter." Marron said curtly.
"I know but this is an emergency." Trunks could hear Marron's sharp intake of breath.
"What happened? Is Bulla alright? I felt her energy spike." Trunks could hear the panic in her tone.
"Yes, she's fine!" he quickly reassured her, "Well...physically, at least. She's in her room hysterically crying over some nonsense with Goten and I don't know what to do." He could hear Marron exhale in relief.
"Well, have you tried comforting her?" Marron suggested like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What would that entail?" Trunks probably needed to know this for the future but hopefully, after this weekend his parents wouldn't trust him with Bulla again.
"Hugging her, rubbing her back, speaking soothing words." Marron rattled off.
"That sounds great! When can you get here?" Trunks asked upbeat.
"I don't know, your mom was pretty clear…Can't you do it?" She was waffling instead of outright rejecting the notion, that was good!
"She asked for you. Didn't want me around." Trunks was pretty sure Marron had a bit of a crush on him. Time to exploit that crush! "It would mean a lot to me too, I don't like seeing her like this. I would owe you one, maybe I could treat you somewhere?"
"Okay—well—I guess, I just need to ask my mom and dad first, then I can fly over there." she stammered out.
"I'm so glad your dad got transferred to West City. It's so good to have you nearby." Trunks laid it on thick. He was pretty sure if he saw Marron right now, she'd be as red as a tomato.
"I'll call back if I can't make it, if I can, you'll be feeling my energy soon." she said quickly.
"Thanks, Marron, you're a gem." Trunks said before hanging up.
Sure enough, not soon after the phone call, Trunks felt two familiar energies approach the compound. Marron had arrived with Krillin in tow, who looked upon Trunks with strong disapproval.
It looked like Marron had been getting ready for a night out. In addition to a trendy dress, she had let her normally pigtailed hair down and even put on a bit of makeup, obviously done up more expertly than Bulla's had been. Dare he think it? She looked pretty.
"She's in her room?" Marron simply asked upon seeing Trunks. "Thanks." she said as she disappeared up the stairs to comfort a crying Bulla.
With Marron gone, it was only Krillin and Trunks in the family living room. Trunks felt increasingly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of Krillin's gaze, especially since his mother was right. Marron was probably going to hang out with some high school friends, and he felt guilty about ruining her night out.
"You know you could have handled this." Krillin said breaking the silence.
"No, I couldn't have." Trunks sighed, ashamed of himself. It seems he failed two people precious to him today.
Bulla had never felt so cheery coming home from school on a Friday, and couldn't wait to get home, but she couldn't help but stop to smell the flowers despite taking the shortest route from school to Capsule Corp. How had she not noticed the fragrant smells coming off the fruit stand she passed by nearly afternoon? How did she miss the bubbles, balloons, and laughter coming from the busking clown that always set up shop on his corner? There was so much color in the city, and the cacophony of city sounds no longer sounded like a discordant mess, but instead, it seemed the sounds all came together to form a sweet harmony. Even the sounds of sirens sounded like the bridge of a beautiful song. Maybe it was the warmer weather that was improving her mood, or maybe it was just that the sun was out and the sky was a clear blue, almost as blue as her hair.
In any case, despite the hitherto unseen beauty of West City, Bulla was excited to get home. After all, she had been tracking his energy ever since the last hour of the school day. It was nearly driving her crazy with him being so close and she was stuck in last period history class. She had been restless, shaking her leg and staring out the window. The final bell of the day rang out, providing Bulla with some much-needed relief. She had bid a hasty to goodbye to Chemise and company and made her way through the urban sprawl to the crowning jewel of the western capital.
Tracking his energy, Bulla found herself in her grandparents' open-air atrium. Typical for nature boy. Goten looked like one of those fairytale cartoon princesses the way the animals crowded around him and how the sunlight filtered in to shine a spotlight directly on him. He looked so at peace petting the many animals her grandparents kept that he hadn't noticed her yet. It was a shame she was going about to ruin that tranquility for him.
Bulla kept her energy as low as possible before approaching Goten as stealthily as possible. She quickly performed a sweeping kick that landed Goten on his back. She didn't waste any time in straddling his hips and pinning him beneath her.
"Hello stranger." she said smiling down at him. Goten's surprised expression quickly turned into a smirk and he pulled her down for a kiss. Sparks. Sparks every time. They went at it for a while, until Bulla needed to come up for air.
"How did you get so good at kissing, anyway?" Bulla asked after they disconnected their lips. She was still on top of him while he kept his hands firmly on her hips.
"Trunks and I used to practice with each other." Goten replied casually.
Bulla's eyes bugged out and she quickly detangled herself from him and stood up in alarm. "What?!" she exclaimed loudly enough to send packs of birds in the atrium flying off in different directions. I kissed someone who kissed Trunks?! Oh god, what else did they do with each other?! Did Trunks get to touch Goten's junk before I did? Bulla felt very possessive at the moment.
Goten's face was dead serious for a second before he burst out laughing, he too got up.
"Oh, so you were having a go at me?" Bulla crossed her arms and tried her hardest not to smile.
"It's payback time for everything you've done to me the past six months." he said smugly, "Don't think I forgot about that couple comment."
Bulla pouted, and Goten swung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, planting a kiss on the top of her head. Reluctantly, the two pulled away from each other. Bulla missed the warmth of Goten's body and the softness of his shirt against her bare arms. I wonder what kind of fabric softener ChiChi uses?
As if on cue, Marron and Trunks entered the atrium. Marron looked very well put together in her grey detective pantsuit, but Trunks' clothes were covered in singe marks and tears, though he had no visible injuries. Even though both Marron and Trunks looked wary and tired, Bulla didn't miss the spark of excitement in Marron's light blue eyes.
"Woah what happened to you?" Bulla asked with mirth. She couldn't keep the smiles off her face these days. She couldn't help it, she was just in a good mood all of the time!
"Glad to see how much you care." her brother said slightly miffed. "I'll have you know, the entire West City police force was summoned."
Bulla remembered hearing police sirens blaring and converging in one area, "Oh, that was you?" she asked disinterestedly. Trunks kept the sour expression on his face. "Oh relax, I could tell you weren't in any danger. If it's you versus a steamroller, I'm betting on you to win, and you know I wouldn't let you face it alone if there was too much for you to handle." Bulla said placatingly.
"It was a trash incinerator." he mumbled, but nevertheless he looked pleased by Bulla's confidence in him. Marron raised her eyebrow, looking like she had questions for the young heiress, but Bulla could tell the older girl was holding her tongue. Nothing gets past her.
"He was a hero!" Marron gushed, full of admiration for the violet-haired half-Saiyan next to her. Bulla saw her brother's cheeks turn pink with her praise. "He got me my evidence! And there were no civilian injuries!" she proudly held up what looked to be a computer hard drive. "I just hope our guy was dumb enough not to erase anything." She was positively frothing at the mouth at the treasure in her hands.
"Were you going to join us at the movies tonight, Marron?" Goten asked, finally saying something.
Marron grumbled, "I would love that but I have to go do paperwork or else we might not be able to use this in our investigation." she held up the hard drive once again, "I just wanted to come by and say hi. I haven't seen you two since that trip to your apartment, Goten-though Trunks has been filling me in on all your get-togethers." she said her eyes skimming over the two teenage half-breeds. Act normal, Bulla. Luckily, Goten probably doesn't know she's suspicious or he would give us away. "All three of you enjoy yourselves though, and I'll definitely make it to your birthday party, Bulla."
"I'm going to walk Marron out and then take a shower." Trunks told the two teens before following Marron out. "I'll meet you in the kitchen!" he called out over his shoulder as he and Marron left the atrium with their heads huddled together whispering to one another.
Bulla watched them out of curiosity and turned to Goten, "Do you think there's anything going on between them?" Goten just looked nonplussed.
"I don't think so," he put on a thoughtful expression, "we always saw Marron as our little sister, then again that was when she was twelve."
"Yeah, she's actually older than you now. Twenty-five and thirty isn't a big gap." Bulla reasoned. "And you know things change." she gave a pointed look to Goten, "I wouldn't mind it."
"Wishful thinking?" Goten offered. "What would Detective Marron say to you jumping to conclusions without evidence?" he said in faux seriousness.
Bulla swatted at him, "Fine."
"They're probably just friends. I don't think he's gotten over my loss." Goten said smugly.
Bulla laughed at Goten's arrogance. "Oh, get over yourself, you're not dead." Bulla scoffed. "And besides this is all only temporary. You'll be back in Trunks' arms soon enough." Suddenly, the mood turned somber and awkward. Bulla knew Goten never liked it when anyone brought up that he was due to be aged up in six months but he needed to get used to the idea, Bulla thought.
"Let's go wait for Trunks. How odd that he knew you'd be hanging out in the kitchen?" she said in mock surprise trying to defuse the tension that had appeared. After saying bye to all the animals he had given his own nicknames to, Goten finally followed a patiently waiting Bulla out of the atrium.
Bulla grudgingly shared the gallon of ice cream she made sure was on the grocery list every week, while they waited for Trunks to get dressed and showered. This had been somewhat of a routine for the past two months. To alleviate any suspicion from Trunks-they had avoided Marron for good reasons-they hadn't raised any fuss when Trunks invited himself along to Goten and Bulla's weekend plans. She had used Pan and her relationship, as well as the fear of ChiChi as an excuse for why she was hanging out with Goten. Bulla suspected Trunks was lonely and missing his best friend, and that's why he had given up trying to get Goten to go out for adult fun and instead invited himself or sometimes invited them to hang out for more age-appropriate activities.
Goten was always finding stuff to do, and always avoiding that one singular topic, the adult life he left behind. Whenever Bulla would suggest an outing into his old life, like visiting his workplace, Goten would always bring up rare exotic phenomena, like a flower that only bloomed every forty years, or say it was the perfect time to see the auroras in the northern region. Bulla didn't want to push him and truthfully she didn't want to acknowledge it either but she knew Go-teen would have to disappear eventually.
As Goten and Bulla's spoons were locked in a battle for who got the last bit of ice cream, Trunks was finally ready to go to the movies. Instead of walking or flying to the theatre, Trunks drove them in one of his many fancy cars. Bulla called shotgun, of course, leaving Goten cramped in the backseat. These cars were trendy and stylish but they definitely weren't roomy.
"I never asked you," Goten began from the backseat, "but why don't you drive, Bulla? You can get your license in this region at sixteen, can't you?"
Trunks let out a howl of laughter. "She's too much like my dad."
"I believe he asked me." Bulla sneered at her big brother. "Anyway," Bulla turned her head back to look at a smooshed Goten in the backseat, "Maybe I get a little frustrated with the test takers." she admitted.
"Understatement." Trunks interrupted.
"I've been banned from taking the test until I complete an anger management course." Bulla said sheepishly.
Everything had been fine when they were in the car but once they arrived, his demeanor changed. Trunks was acting odder than usual today, but what constituted as odd for a thirty-year-old man who was spending his weekends unknowingly chaperoning two sixteen-year-olds?
Unlike on their other outings, Trunks kept an eye on the two of them the whole time. He sat between them in the theatre and never left them alone. He sent Goten to get snack and drink refills whenever he ran out and even though he was fidgeting, he avoided going to the bathroom, and it wasn't until after the show when Bulla said she had to use the restroom, that Trunks finally went to relieve himself. Bulla wasn't about to let him off the hook.
After Goten left, Bulla followed Trunks as he tried to escape to his room. "Wow, you are not good at pretending nothing is wrong." she said from behind him. "I should tell Marron how subtle you were being."
"I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary." Trunks said with a sigh, trying to get away but Bulla wouldn't let him.
"As if. You were watching Goten more than the movie. Which was weird because you were gushing about that movie all week since the lead was your favorite soap opera actor."
Trunks faced Bulla and opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it, grimacing.
"Well, say something." Bulla prompted him.
"Fine," he grumbled and motioned her to follow him into his room. Bulla stood at the doorway, surprised to see how clean it was, no doubt credit went to the maids and cleaning bots. Trunks put his jacket away without saying anything. "Just come in." Trunks said exasperated. Bulla complied and plopped on his king-sized bed. She could only recall a few times that she had been in here, being fourteen years apart their interests didn't exactly intersect.
Bulla felt the bed sink as Trunks sat down next to her. "I'm a bit worried." Trunks finally said. Did he know? Goten and I were really careful. Bulla kept her face and energy as impassive as possible.
"About what? Is it that thing at work?" Bulla asked trying to divert the topic to something other than what she feared it might be.
"No, that's pretty much wrapping up." Trunks ran a hand down his face, "It's you and Goten." Dammit, so he might know something.
Bulla decided to play dumb, "What could I and Goten give you to worry about?" she asked pretending to be surprised.
"It's obvious he has a crush on you." This time the surprise on her face wasn't feigned.
"What?! What gave you that idea?" Bulla was afraid to know the answer. "And you've been hanging out with us for months, why is this worrying you now?"
"Marron picked up on it and told me, just today actually. I guess I didn't want to see it but it makes sense now, why he's being such a good boy. Believe me, the sixteen-year-old Goten I knew wouldn't be spending his free time studying, but I suspect he just wants to spend time with you. I caught him sniffing your hair too." Bulla scrunched her face at that revelation. She didn't know about the hair thing. "And his crush combined with the one you used to have-"
"Hey!" Bulla said indignantly, "I got over that years ago!"
"Okay, okay." Trunks put his hands up. "I believe you. I just want…" Trunks paused, "I don't want the same thing that happened to me to happen to you. Seeing you heartbroken once was enough. If you say you don't have feelings for Goten, I'll drop it."
Bulla was relieved. All she had to say was, in essence, the truth, she didn't have romantic feelings for Goten, but it didn't come out as easily as she thought it would. Luckily for her, Trunks didn't notice.
Bulla found that Saturdays were still for Saiyans, just not in the way they were with Pan. While the pool wouldn't be her first choice to make out, it was the wisest. They could count on Trunks and Vegeta's senses of smell to be among the sharpest in the population, smelling them all over each other would be a dead giveaway. The chlorine in the pool overpowered their scents and the water masked any smells that the two teens would give off to indicate they were doing anything more than just swimming. There was another benefit to fooling around in the pool, however, Goten didn't have to wear a shirt. She was sure he appreciated her minimally dressed form as well because she could feel his appreciation pressed against her.
Before she could help take care of it, the two teens had to spring apart. Vegeta was making his way over to the two. Bulla wasn't sure if her dad was getting suspicious or not. He was keeping his energy practically non-existent and prowling about the house. Bulla could only tell when he was coming when she smelled him come near. Luckily, Vegeta's scent was always strong as he was always training.
Unfortunately, they couldn't pull away from each other fast enough and Bulla needed some quick thinking on her side. Still holding onto Goten's shoulders, she pushed him underwater and kept him there while he thrashed wildly trying to surface.
"Take that third class!" Bulla taunted, using her superior strength to keep Goten underwater.
While Vegeta looked upon her in approval, he told her to let Goten up.
"Aw, you're no fun, daddy." Bulla pouted. She let go of Goten and let him resurface. Goten swam to the pool's edge and started coughing up water.
"As much as I enjoyed seeing the boy flail, you're wasting valuable training time." Her father looked at her sternly, "I'll be having my afternoon meal, you can use the gravity chamber for two hours at most." he told the pair and presumably went to the kitchen.
"You could have warned me." Goten said once Vegeta had made his way back into the house.
"But then it wouldn't have looked real." Bulla said innocently.
"Why would you think drowning me would make your dad less suspicious?" a flabbergasted Goten asked.
Bulla shrugged, "He never questions anything that has to do with harming your family. It wouldn't make sense to a well-adjusted person but I guess it makes sense to him."
Goten still looked a little hurt, "Aw cheer up," Bulla said placatingly, "After all, I still have to take care of my friend here," she said deeply as she moved her hand to the front of his swim trunks.
Saturday was the only day they could satiate their physical desire for one another, and according to Bulla, that's all it was, physical. They would have their fun and when the time came for Goten to wish himself older they would go their separate ways. They were Saiyans and according to her dad-who was the supreme authority on Saiyans-they didn't form romantic attachments. Fueled by lust, that's what they were.
Since Pan was spending most of her free time with Sasshi, Goten came up with the idea to use this as an opportunity to be her new training buddy. Of course, they weren't doing the type of training their parents expected of them. Vegeta's gravity chamber was a good fit, Bulla had to admit. The safety features ensured that no one came in without a warning, and if people thought they were sparring, no one would think anything of the fluctuations in their energies.
They had thought they had all their bases covered, except for one that they never anticipated.
The swoosh sound coincided with the presence of a subdued but powerful energy. There standing above the two teenagers was Son Goku with two fingers on his forehead. Goten let out a frightened yelp and quickly removed his hands from where they were currently occupied, leaving Bulla exposed to the two Sons. At the same time, Bulla sat up and couldn't help but scream having been startled by Earth's greatest warrior. Having noticed her, Goku himself started to visibly panic. He covered his crotch with his hands and pleaded, "No! Please! Bulla, don't hurt me!" he begged, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Bulla scrambled to put her sports bra back on. No doubt her scream and Goku's energy alerted her father and he'd be coming in soon. "I won't hurt you if you shut up and don't say anything to daddy!" she screeched in panic. Goku nodded eagerly. He probably remembers the last time he instant transmitted to me. Goten quickly moved as far away from Bulla and his father as he could to the other side of the room.
Not a moment later, Bulla was proven right. The room powered down and in walked an irate Vegeta. He's probably pissed off we interrupted his meal. "What is the meaning of this Kakarot!?" he demanded of the younger Saiyan. "Why were the children screaming?" Vegeta's fists were clenched and to Bulla it looked like he was about to throw down.
"Sorry daddy," Bulla began breathlessly, "He just startled us is all." Vegeta sniffed the air, Oh no! Please don't notice. Bulla silently prayed to gods she knew had no power to intervene. "You should go back to having lunch." she suggested trying to keep herself as calm as possible.
Vegeta looked sharply at Goku ignoring Bulla, "Weren't you training on Lord Beerus' planet? Why are you back?" he asked in his normally gruff tone of voice. On the bright side, he's ignoring me and Goten. Goten was far from her trying to be invisible and still.
Goku looked to Bulla, looking at her to answer her father's question. Why is that idiot looking at me for? "I don't know why you're here, Goku!" she let out in frustration, "Come to think of it. I want to know what the hell possessed you to interrupt our training!"
Bulla had never seen her dad look so proud.
"I came back because Lord Beerus is coming for Bulla's birthday party." Goku said mechanically. Bulla had never seen her dad look so frightened. Bulla, on the other hand, was astonished.
"Really? Cool!" Bulla turned to Goku, no longer angry at the man. "I finally get to meet the God of Destruction? Maybe I'll challenge him to a fight!" Bulla declared as she started throwing out kicks and punches to an invisible opponent.
"You will do no such thing!" Vegeta roared at her. Even Goku and Goten flinched but Bulla wasn't intimidated though she was taken back. "Never pick a fight with Lord Beerus. He may not want to destroy Earth because the food keeps him coming back but he wouldn't hesitate to destroy you, and no one would be able to stop him." her father warned.
Bulla rolled her eyes, "Fine." she huffed.
Talk of Lord Beerus' impending arrival must have unsettled Vegeta because he merely nodded at Bulla and exited the room, leaving the two halflings with Goku.
Bulla saw Goku slowly lift his fingers to his forehead, "Oh no you don't!" she rushed to him, slapping his hand away from his forehead.
"You said you wouldn't hurt me!" Goku recoiled from her touch.
"Oh would you stop, you baby!" she said fiercely. "I'm not going to hit you."
"I just want to make one thing clear," Bulla said intimidatingly, "You will tell no one what you transported in on." Goku nodded afraid. "Same deal as last time." she threatened. Goku gulped and nodded vigorously, and made his way to his son.
"Why did you come here, dad?" Goten moaned in embarrassment.
"When I came home from Lord Beerus' planet your mom wanted me to come to get you so you can get cleaned up and we can have a family dinner."
"Why didn't you just call me?" Goten said with his head now in his hands.
"This way is faster." he explained. "I didn't think you would be up to anything!" he added innocently directing his comment to Bulla. "ChiChi wanted you to come too, Bulla!" Goku said extending his hand to her.
Bulla weighed the pros and cons of attending the Son family dinner. She wasn't sure if she could hide her shame from ChiChi but she didn't trust Goku to not let something slip. "I need to shower first, I'll meet you over there." Bulla said hastily.
"Okay," Goku conceded, "But you and I need to have a talk Goten." Goku addressed his son and put a hand on the boy's shoulders. He raised two fingers to his forehead, "By the way Bulla, you look just like Bulma." he said staring at her chest before he and Goten disappeared.
Bulla screamed in mortification.
God, Goten smells so damn good freshly showered. Bulla thought as she tried not to stare at the boy sitting across from her. Every Son was at the dinner table tonight, and Bulla was the lone non-family member, seated at the end next to Pan. Right now Goten was chewing his food and nodding along to something ChiChi was saying. She wasn't paying attention to what was being said, she was just eating her food and sneaking looks at Goten. What I would do to him.
Pan nudged her in the side, rather painfully, Bulla would say. "Ow, what was that for?" Bulla hissed to Pan.
"What's up with you?" Pan asked quietly, "You've barely said anything, and you alternatively glare at my grandpa and stare at Goten biting your lip." Dammit. Am I being that obvious?
"Why the hell are watching me? Sasshi is going to be jealous when I tell her." Bulla joked hoping to turn the conversation. Pan jabbed her in the side with the end of her chopsticks again.
"Bulla!" Videl said, getting her attention and saving Bulla from whatever Pan was going to say next, "I haven't seen you around much. What have you been doing lately?" she asked kindly.
"We aren't done here." Pan whispered to Bulla.
Screwing around with your brother-in-law. Bulla needed a better thing to say in front of her paramour's family, though. "Studying mostly. It's almost summer vacation and they say the second to last year of high school counts the most towards getting into a good university."
Pan scoffed at Bulla's statement, "Why do you even care about grades? You can get into any university you want as long as you tell the admissions office who your mom is."
ChiChi fixed a glare at Pan and opened her mouth to say something but before she could someone else beat her to the punch, "Jeez Pan, give it a rest. Not everyone wants to coast by on their relative's name, granddaughter of Mr. Satan." Goten said annoyed.
Pan gawked open-mouthed at Goten but no one else batted an eye. "Goten's right, Pan," Gohan spoke up. "Besides even if you can get in based on name alone, you might find yourself not able to keep up and failing out." he said in between bites of food. "I see it all the time."
"Well I think it's great you're looking at universities." Videl beamed at Bulla. "Not thinking of going to Satan City University are you? Gohan can't guarantee your safety." she covered her mouth with a hand in an effort to hide her giggles.
"I'd worry about his fan club's safety if they try anything with Bulla. She's a beast in the training room." Goten piped up winking at her, eliciting another stare from Pan. Bulla blushed at the latter part of Goten's comment and tried to hide her face in her long hair.
At the talk of training Goku perked up, "Really?" he looked to Goten excitedly. "Would you mind if I have a go at her? What do you think, Bulla?" Goten starting choking pulling everyone's attention to him at the moment instead of Bulla's increasingly reddening face. Just pretend he didn't catch you completely topless with his youngest son's hand down your shorts.
"Maybe someday, Goku." Bulla managed to get out as calmly as she could, "But daddy barely even lets me use his training room, and we're trying to get Goten up to snuff." she shot a warning glance towards the old Saiyan.
Still, he didn't seem to catch on, "If you want higher gravity, I can just instant transmit us to King Kai's planet!"
"Oh for god's sake Goku, she doesn't want to train with you!" an irate ChiChi came to her defense, "And while you're here, you won't be training, you'll be working the fields." she told a demoralized looking Goku. Everyone was quiet for a moment and just went back to their food.
Videl cleared her throat, "Getting back on track," she began, "What do you think you'd be interested in studying, Bulla?"
The rest of the dinner passed with casual conversation and some laughs. Aside from telling off Goku, ChiChi couldn't seem to stop beaming. All in all, Bulla felt more comfortable and more at ease than at previous Son family dinners. She honestly couldn't remember an instance when she was there with all of them together, usually, there was one or two missing, but most of the time, it was her and Ms. ChiChi who would send her home with some leftovers. Bulla realized she liked everyone together very much.
Once all the plates were licked clean, Bulla offered to help with the dishes since she hadn't helped with the cooking this time but once again ChiChi dismissed her and assigned her two sons and husband to clean up duty, leaving the girls to relax in the cozy living room. Bulla was content to wait and let her food settle before Goten flew her home-she hadn't objected this time when ChiChi ordered Goten to do so-but Pan had other ideas.
"My mom's right, Bulla," she began, "You haven't been by in a while." Pan said with a fake smile plastered to her face, Bulla could tell. "We need to catch up, let's go to my room." She picked Bulla up by the arm and led her out the door, "We'll be back, grandma." she said placatingly to ChiChi who made a move to rise from her seat and say something.
Pan was gripping Bulla's upper arm so hard to the point of it hurting. "What are you doing? Let go!" Bulla hissed shaking Pan off once they were outside.
"You were so potent, even I could smell you." Pan said suspiciously. "Lucky for you my dad is too polite to say anything and grandpa probably has no idea what your scent means."
"Oh my god, Pan." Bulla threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, "We're teenagers! It happens! Even a carrot can set me off, much in the way oysters do it for you. Ow!" Pan had pinched her at the latter part of her statement.
"You weren't staring at a carrot, you damn well know, and you couldn't keep your eyes off Uncle Goten," she accused harshly. She paused, "And my grandpa." she added confused. "But you haven't been hanging around grandpa!" she said regaining her senses. "We're best friends. We tell each other everything." Pan said quietly.
"And when could I have possibly told you anything? If there's anything to tell?" she challenged Pan. "You kicked me to the curb once you got yourself a girlfriend." Bulla crossed her arms defensively.
Pan shook her head. "That's not true! I invited you out with us plenty of times. You said no and I gave you your space."
"Gee, I wonder why I didn't want to be a third wheel on your dates?" Bulla snapped sarcastically, "You two completely ignored me, and that especially hurt from you since you could even tell I was so miserable. So what if I've found a new friend to spend time with?"
"Right, he's just a friend." Pan rolled her eyes and hadn't even tried to deny what a crappy friend she had been the past few months. Pan then sighed, "But maybe you're right, maybe I convinced myself it was right to leave you alone so I could spend time guilt free with Sasshi." Pan grabbed Bulla's arm again, gently this time. "Let's make it right then, fill me in on what's happening with you. No judgment, I promise." she said leading Bulla inside the younger Son's home and into Pan's bedroom much like she had done the day after Goten made his wish.
And talk they did, Bulla reluctantly admitted to Pan that she and Goten were more than friends but not quite a couple. Bulla had to admit, she did miss her best friend, while she had Go-teen to keep her company, nothing beat the one person she could totally be comfortable with.
"I knew he liked you!" Pan gloated.
"You could have told me!" Bulla cried out, swatting Pan in the face with a pillow. "I was totally caught off guard by that attempted kiss."
"You didn't fall for it though."
Bulla sighed, "No I didn't." I almost did. "So if you knew he had a crush on me, is that why you begged me to go to that party?"
"Duh, I admitted as much that night."
"I thought you just wanted me to run interference."
"I could have gotten anyone to do that, but I knew he probably cared more about me than scoring with a random Orange Star High girl and the distraction wouldn't have lasted." she said slyly, "He likes you way more than he cares about me getting into trouble. Even then I could tell. I mean it took me a while to figure out but from what I remember he never tried so hard to be in someone else's company as he has with you." Bulla felt herself warm and she felt a mild euphoric lightheadedness at Pan's statement.
"I never thought you would like him back though." Pan said. "What's up with that? How did you even manage to touch him knowing he was that old guy you avoided?" she asked curiously.
"Well once it started it was very easy." Bulla snorted, but Pan just stared at her blankly. "It seems insane but my dad said the Saiyans were pretty flippant about fucking." Bulla wrinkled her nose remembering her dad's terminology, "I think it's just my Saiyan side calling out to his, hormones and primal urges…" she trailed off, "Dad said Saiyans didn't really form romantic bonds, once Go-teen goes back to normal, we'll probably just pretend it never happened." she finished casually.
"You can't be serious." Pan stared at her unamused, "I don't know if you noticed but 'Go-teen' is totally crazy about you."
"The beauty of it is, his feelings will probably change once he's back to himself and since I never developed any at all, we'll be fine." Bulla said dismissively but she felt a weight in her gut as she said those things, trying to keep her voice as impassive as possible.
Pan shrugged but then got a glint in her eye. "Have you two done it yet?"
Bulla wasn't surprised by this line of questioning but she had nothing juicy to tell her like Pan anticipated. She shook her head, "No, I still haven't, not with Goten, not with anyone." Pan looked slightly disappointed. I wonder why? "Don't get me wrong, I'm not waiting for the ONE." Bulla assured the older girl, "I would have with Garter just to get it over with but he broke up with me." It no longer hurt her pride to admit she had been the one that had been dumped. "Have you and Sasshi…?" Bulla trailed off, but Pan knew what she was getting at and nodded. Ah so that's why she's so eager. And I can't believe Pan lost her v-card before me!
"No way! When?" Bulla inquired. She was intrigued by this new development
"About a month ago."
"Wow, we were long overdue for this talk!"
"How weird would it be to say you lost your virginity to your best friend's uncle?" Pan joked instead of elaborating about her and Sasshi.
"Not as pathetic as saying my best friend is my lover's niece." Bulla quipped back.
"Lover sounds like you're doing it on the reg." Pan pointed out.
"Semantics! There's not a word for a 'guy you fool around with that also happens to kind of be your friend.'" Bulla tried to explain herself. What were they exactly?
"Um, yes there is! It's B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D." Pan spelled it out for her
"Ugh, we have an understanding. Don't ruin it." Bulla said seriously.
"Would you though? With Uncle Goten?" Pan inquired.
Bulla blushed, truthfully she didn't know, but that was the next step though wasn't it? "I don't know." she said shyly. While she couldn't say that there was no one else in all twelve universes that Bulla was closer to, she wanted to keep some things to herself. Every time she was around Goten, she wanted to go further and further. She had a hard time focusing on anything else when Goten's hands were all over her, they had even had a few close calls, though luckily Goku had been the only one to catch them in the act, and he was the adult least likely to make a fuss.
"Goten and I haven't really talked about it." Bulla shrugged, "It might not be smart in the long run." she admitted. "I don't want to go down that road with Go-teen, seems too emotional. I mean, at most there's only six months until the dragon balls recharge. I don't think I'll be able to look him in the eye when all this is over."
Pan shrugged, "Maybe that same spark will be there when he gets aged back."
"Yeah, and he can get arrested and beat up by Trunks and my dad." Bulla scoffed. "I get away with a lot but probably not that, and that 'sad Son face' he pulls probably wouldn't save him but earn him a harsher beating from my dad." Bulla joked. "Anyway, let's not focus on me anymore, how did it go down between you and Sasshi?" Pan had some explaining to do.
It wasn't long before it was time for Bulla to go but the time passed quickly. Catching up with her best friend was just what she needed. Bulla bid farewell to all the Sons and met Goten on the front lawn of the Son home.
"Okay, I can't resist I have to know." Bulla said eagerly as they took to the sky. "What did your dad want to talk to you about?"
Goten turned red. "I think I know more about sex than my dad does." Bulla laughed, though she wasn't surprised, her dad was always complaining about Goku's stupidity and she had observed it herself a few times.
"He told me it was rude to pat someone in the front of their pants to find out if they were a boy or a girl, and tried to teach me better ways to identify males and females. He told me a really gross story about your mom too." Goten shuddered.
Bulla howled with laughter. "So he thought you didn't know if I was a boy or a girl?" Goten nodded. Wow, no wonder why her dad was often so frustrated by his only subject. She didn't want to give any thought to what that "gross" story about her mom could have been.
"Then in all seriousness, he asked me about kissing! Apparently, he and my mom have never kissed and he was trying to get details out of me." Goten was almost turning green. "It was so embarrassing that I just directed him to Gohan, I shouldn't have to be the only one who suffers." Bulla congratulated Goten on a job well done. No one wanted to give their own father 'the talk', but at least Goten had avoided the job and was able to pawn it off on Gohan.
Soon Capsule Corp was in sight and the two teenagers landed on the lawn. They were getting ready to say their farewells. "So do you want to get in some extra training tomorrow? I mean actual training this time, well at least it will start that way." Bulla said pulling Goten closer to her by his belt loop.
"Sorry, can't. I have to get something extra special for my girlfriend's birthday." he said enthusiastically, "It might take a while to put together." Bulla abruptly pulled away from him and she wanted to punch him. How dare he?!
"You've been seeing another girl?!" she seethed primed to throw a punch. "When did you even find the time?" Calm down Bulla, you never agreed to be exclusive, she told herself. At first, she thought she was jealous of Page and the Satan City girls because she wasn't the one jumping Goten's bones but now that she and Goten were the ones fooling around, she found her jealousy persisted and it was layered with something else too...pain. And what was worse was that Goten was laughing at her. Her lip was trembling and tears were starting to form in her eyes.
"Oh ha ha." Goten said sarcastically pulling her closer to him and planting a kiss on her head, "Raising your energy was a nice touch, but I'm onto you." he let out a laugh, "Why would I look at anyone else when you're around? Besides, I can't even handle you as my girlfriend." Goten joked.
Bulla's eyes widened. Luckily, Goten didn't see as her face was buried into his chest. His warm muscle-y chest. "Your dad's coming. Gotta go." Goten said before lifting her chin and planting a kiss on her lips before taking off.
In her turmoil, she hadn't even noticed her dad's incoming presence. "I felt your energy spike. Did Kakarot's boy do something to you?" he asked cautiously from a safe distance. Instead of the agitation she felt last time Vegeta checked on her, she couldn't keep the corner of her mouth from twitching, nor could she prevent the warmth that started from her belly and made it all the way to her head...Why would I look at anyone else when you're around? Bulla broke out into a huge smile.
"It was nothing daddy." Bulla said still smiling walking towards him. "We were just talking about birthday presents." Bulla could tell Vegeta was still cagey after she broke his nose. She felt his energy rise as she threw her arms around his neck in a hug. She couldn't resist and planted a kiss on his cheek when he tried to pull away. "Love you, daddy." Bulla said leaving him on the lawn while she made her way to her room, humming a pleasant melody.
Oh shit. Bulla realized once she made it to her room. He called me his girlfriend.
Thank you so much to anyone who has made it to the end of this chapter, I know it was a lot to slog through!
Credit where credit is due: I borrowed the phrase "vampire clown whore" from an irrelevant show from ten years ago, Kyle XY.
The name Cami I derived from camisole, another West City lingerie name, and Corsette was just a cute way to write corset.
I would appreciate any feedback anyone wants to leave, especially typos and grammatical errors. Those easily slip me by.
