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Bulla couldn't describe how she was feeling at the moment. She honestly wasn't sure how to feel. Various emotions were coursing within her, seemingly bombarding her from every direction, and, as a result, she could hardly decipher anything. The moment she realized Goten was proposing, she immediately whirled around, heading back inside Marron's house discreetly as possible, grabbing several beers out of the fridge - that no doubt belonged to Master Roshi - and began swallowing them down one after one like there was no tomorrow.

Obviously, she underestimated herself and her resolve. She underestimated just how strong her feelings for Goten were. Seriously, she knew Goten and Mika were going to get married eventually, it was just bound to happen. It was inevitable and she'd be a fool if she thought otherwise. It was just difficult to believe that the simple action of Goten proposing to Mika before her eyes threw her so out of proportion like this. Had she simply been deluding herself into believing that she had everything under control the entire time? Granted, she had a lot going on at the moment, but she was at least certain that she was at least making some progress with overcoming her feelings for the raven-haired Saiyan. She was almost sure of it. She had finally accepted her feelings for him after four whole years of doing nothing but attempting to ignore it, and she had accepted that they couldn't be together. They just couldn't.

From the beginning, Goten never saw her as anything past her brother's younger sister or his niece's best friend and if he did, then Bulla was certain that it was nothing on a romantic level. With all the skirts he had been chasing after and after all the relationships he's been through, that should be of no surprise. Plus, he and Mika met and began dating around the time her feelings for him came to light. Not only that, but his niece married her older brother, and weren't they technically related through marriage? Seeing as Pan did marry her brother, that made Pan her sister-in-law and that made Goten Trunks' uncle-in-law... and if there was a slight possibility that her and Goten were to get married, then she'd be Pan's aunt.

Overall, the odds were against their relationship succeeding. And if that was the case, why couldn't she let him go? Jason was a wonderful guy, and due to her selfishness and ignorance she realized that too late. For the past two weeks, she has been calling him, attempting to prove to him that what she stated to him was the truth and that she truly did desire a relationship with him. Had she been deluding herself in believing that as well? Bulla took another swig of alcohol, her eyes downcast as her thoughts continued to course. She couldn't help but wonder though, had she not used Jason like a toy and actually took his feelings into consideration, would that have made an difference? Or was she just attempting to run from the inevitable? The blue-haired woman shook her head. Everything was just getting so confusing now, and she felt like she was going to burst if she didn't do something about it soon.

Apparently, her mother had been right. If she continued to do nothing but hold in her feelings and refused to acknowledge what needed to be acknowledged for an extended period of time, then when she finally did acknowledge it, it'd be far too late and the unpredictable moment would come when she'd just break down and everything would come crashing down upon her. If only she would have listened, Bulla thought sourly, then she wouldn't have been in the current predicament she found herself in.

"Are you okay?" Bulma questioned curiously, trekking beside her daughter and plopping down in a chair adjacent to her daughter, removing the alcohol from her possession.

"If you came to tell me that you told me so, then I don't want to hear that right now, okay? Now's just not the time."

"That's not what I came to do." Bulma stated softly, "In fact, I came to tell you something that you should know; It's my fault that Goten proposed to Mika tonight."

Bulla raised an eyebrow, shooting her an incredulous look. "Mom, that's not - "

" - I told Goten how you felt about him." Bulma interrupted.

"What?!" Bulla screeched in response, rising up from her seat. "How could you do something like that?! I trusted you!"

Bulma frowned. "I know, but if I didn't tell him, you wouldn't! For the past four years, you've been unhappy and no mother wants that for their child! I'm tired of watching you suffer! Go and talk to him."

Bulla shook her head, feeling oddly relieved at the fact that Goten was now completely aware of her feelings, but if he was aware then how come he didn't mention anything earlier? "Are you sure you even told him? When he talked to me earlier, he made no implications whatsoever that he knew how I felt for him?" Bulla pointed out, voicing her thoughts.

"If you were in his shoes, would you imply that you were aware someone was in love with you with your lover right beside you?" The older woman retorted pointedly.

"I guess you're right." Bulla agreed. "Well, can you just give me a moment alone? I need to...soak all of this in."

Bulma nodded, "Give me a call if you need anything, and I hope you plan on spending the night with Marron; you've been drinking."

Bulla nodded and Bulma left her to her thoughts. As soon as her mother was out of sight, Bulla released a sigh. Apparently, things could get worse. It was her, after all. How was she suppose to face him now? He and Mika were engaged and before she knew it, she was going to have to sit through the wedding. And she did not want to think about how that would turn out for her. She took another swig of alcohol, finishing it up, before heading for the fridge and grabbing another one. She whirled around, preparing to head back to the table only to see Goten standing near the entrance of the kitchen, and she froze, her heart literally pounding against her chest as her eyes locked on his.

"We need to talk, Bulla." Goten stated simply, his gaze unreadable. "Hand me one, will you?"

Wordlessly, she pulled another one out of the fridge and tossed it towards him, Goten catching it effortlessly. He popped it open, and took a swig. "When were you going to tell me?"

"I wasn't." She answered simply. "And it wasn't suppose to be like this. I wasn't suppose to react the way I did tonight and I'm not supposed to be so confused. I'm suppose to be attempting a new start with Jason, not hung over you." She stated, frustration evident in her voice.

"It wasn't Bulma's fault I proposed to Mika tonight. I guess you could say it was yours." Bulla looked taken aback, but Goten continued, "You messed my head up more then I'd like to admit when we ran into each other at that diner. The way you behaved towards me, really threw me for a loop and then I just couldn't stop obsessing over what I may have done to you. No matter how much I tried to dismiss it, I just couldn't let it go. For days I've been trying to dismiss it, settling for the fact that you were probably just stressed and had a lot going on...but it wasn't convincing in the least. I really tried focusing entirely on Mika and feeding myself whatever I needed to just stop thinking about you and why the thought of me unknowingly hurting you bothered me so much. Then...when Bulma called me to talk to me; she told me how you felt and I realized that I was in love with you. I didn't want to believe it; I couldn't believe it, but that explained why I had an instant disliking for Jason..."

Goten sighed, taking another swig, before continuing. "Honestly, I tried to push it away because for one; I'm in a relationship with Mika and I really love her too..." He stated, ignoring the fact that it didn't sound as sure to him as it used to. "And for two; we're technically related through marriage and it's just best if we both - "

Bulla interrupted him with a kiss, not being able to resist any longer. It didn't last long, but it wasn't exactly short either. She reluctantly pulled back, sighing. "I completely understand...I just had to get in one kiss...after all, you're going to be a married man soon."

And with that Bulla left him and headed upstairs, cursing herself for what she just did. She hadn't meant to kiss him. It just happened. It was like for a split second, she wasn't herself...

Little did either of them know, it certainly wouldn't be the last time they locked lips.

A/N: Alright, originally, I wasn't going to head in this direction just yet. I was continue to keep a slow pace and this was honestly probably going to end up around 50 chapters. But Brain Xplosion opened my eyes and pointed out that it was time to start buckling down and he was right. He dished out some pretty good ideas, too, so hopefully I applied everything we discussed. Jason was supposed to make an appearance in this chapter, but then I realized that he wouldn't be able to get to Kame Island and he wouldn't know how to get there...maybe I over thought it.. but, anyway, I'd really like to hear your opinion, so reviews would be extremely nice. I tried to make this chapter as plausible as possible.