A/N: After alllll those chapters of buildup, STUFF IS HAPPENING.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.

-MalRev

Rust & Stardust

:: Onze ::

The months free of work would be the final stressful surge that pushed me into a free fall of insanity. I'd grown conditioned to my routine and detested leaving it behind, even if it offered more time to devote to my other interests. Capsule Corp. was essential to my being and I longed to rest in my reclining chair, checking reports and financial summaries that others found monotonous. Predictability was my greatest asset. I was a man who adhered to a steady, plodding pace in life.

Between my broken circadian rhythms and forced vacation I wasn't sure how I would cope. Voltaire held my interest for quite a while but my thoughts and desires bled together, leading me to bitterly ruminating about what fool was performing my duties. My underlings would find me weak for leaving work after a divorce. I had never experienced more distinct clarity than I had for my first month of freedom from my wife.

Dangerously teetering on the brink of boredom, I relaxed in my chair to begin reading Inferno by Dante Alighieri for what I assumed to be the fifteenth time. It was far too dangerous to use my laptop openly after my potentially fatal encounter with Bulla. Books were equally amusing. I idly scanned the paragraphs, collecting concepts from each rather than wasting time on each word, a talent that had made me especially adept at crunching numbers.

The distinct sound of bubble gum popping drew my attention to my bedroom door.

Bulla was leaning on the frame, grinding her gum between her teeth in the likeness of a cow. I glanced at the clock and joyfully realized it was 2:30 PM, which meant the others wouldn't be back to Capsule Corp. for some time. She tilted her head and soft blue hair spilled across her shoulder. Blue jeans obscured her lean, pale legs from sight and her upper body was clad in a thick sweatshirt.

"What're you reading?" she asked.

"Inferno. I'm not sure if you would like it."

Her nose crinkled in distaste. "Probably not. I like Twilight. Did you ever read it?"

"Uh… no, I haven't."

"Awww, why not?"

"It doesn't interest me," I said.

"Didn't you even see the movies? They were so great!" Bulla suddenly became animated, twirling into my room with a radiant smile and sighing softly. She vaguely reminded me of an actress playing the role of Juliet. "Edward is so cute and mature. Guys only pull my hair and throw things at me."

I tried to maintain my composure. The flirtation methods of young boys were repulsive. "That's very rude of them. Perhaps you have unrealistic expectations from your protagonist's love interest."

Bulla paused, blinking her bright blue eyes. "Well you can't talk about it if you haven't read it or seen it." Then she leaned on her tiptoes to peer at my book and the moment I had been starving for finally came into focus. She rocked back on her heels, smiling. "Do you want to watch it with me, or are you gonna read your boring book all afternoon?"

Warmth tingled along my limbs as I began to come to life. I swallowed hard and could only nod, resulting in the nymphet jumping with glee and vanishing from my bedroom. Damn, I had only one brief encounter with Videl to prepare me for close to two hours alone with Bulla, who was undoubtedly far more tempting. I clenched my jaw, setting my book down and rising to my feet.

The television was on a black screen and Bulla knelt before it, tossing DVD cases across the floor in her search for Twilight. She bowed her spine and crept toward the inside of the television stand and I sat on the couch behind her, eyes trained on her twisting body. She suddenly recoiled with the movie in hand and beamed at me; I hardly averted my eyes in time to smile back. While she finished setting up the movie I glanced down at my clothes. Jeans and a dress shirt felt too casual.

Bulla leapt upon the couch to draw the curtains behind us and promptly collapsed beside me. We were inches apart, reminding me of her small form crawling into my lap only a day before. My patience seemed to be paying off better than I had hoped—Bulla did not fear me.

Blood pulsed in my ears, drowning out the awkward acting of the characters that had bewitched Bulla. Her blue eyes were bright in the dreary afternoon as she gazed at the male vampire with her lips partially opened, occasionally turning upwards in a smile or giggle. I stretched my arm over the back of the couch and twisted my neck several times with closed eyes to keep myself steady.

"Isn't Edward great?" Bulla whispered.

I nodded stiffly, miserably. "Yes. I'm particularly fond of the facial expressions he makes."

The nymphet looked up at me irately and I realized I had overstepped my boundary. "That's because he's trying not to bite her. If he does, he could kill her."

"He can't have one small taste? Surely he has enough self-control."

"Nope, vampires can only go all the way. They drink the entire human."

"How frustrating that must be for Edward," I said.

Bulla puckered her lips. I desperately wanted to kiss them. One feathery brush on flesh would be enough to feed my hunger. "Yeah, but he loves Bella so he doesn't care too much. If he does what he wants, she could end up getting really hurt in the end."

"I see," I said.

"Y'know, you make faces like him sometimes."

My heart was thundering in my ears; I could have sworn it was audible. If her legs were bare I would've certainly lost my self-control. Weakened by her presence, I could only manage a small smile instead of a verbal reply. It wasn't in my nature to meekly bow before a female. My ability to banter endlessly was an asset I treasured and it helped keep me sane during my decade and a half with Erasa.

Then Bulla leaned back, pressing her head against my wrist and scrutinizing me. Her legs were curled up beneath her on the couch, nearly touching mine. "Are you upset because your wife ditched you?"

It was a blunt question typical of a nymphet. I raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Huh. I wish I could've met her. Trunks said she was really pretty."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"…Well, if she was so pretty, why didn't you have any kids?" Bulla asked. She was looking at me in a stern manner like I was being reprimanded for not reproducing. The television flickered in the background, illuminating the contours of her face.

My tongue knotted itself into intricate contortions and I rubbed the back of my head with my free arm, reminiscent of my father. "That's a little complicated."

"I'm bored," Bulla said, sighing dramatically. "Let's go read your book now."

"Your movie isn't over. Plus, my book isn't good to read out loud."

This didn't sit well with my nymphet. She chewed her bottom lip in an enticing manner that I was sure she directed towards me and suddenly leapt off the couch to dart upstairs. I blinked in surprise, watching the actors wandering on screen, and wondered if she meant for me to follow. But Bulla returned a minute later with Inferno clutched in her hands.

It felt like a dream. I wished I was in an irreversible coma so I never had to wake to brutal reality in which Bulla Briefs would certainly not crawl into my lap. She would be shopping with her gaggle of friends, drinking soda at the mall and ogling clothing and young men. I would become an elegy in my dark bedroom, cloaked in shadow and self-loathing.

The afternoon sun lanced through a partition in the curtains to bathe my kneecaps in orange light as Bulla crept onto the cushion beside me, nestling close to my body. Slowly, I lowered my arm from the back of the couch to hold her around the waist with gentle pressure. She leaned toward me. Her thigh pressed firmly to mine. I cleared my throat uncomfortably as she opened the book to the first chapter.

"Why are the paragraphs so big?" she asked after a few minutes.

I was struggling to keep my eyes trained on the book. "I told you it was boring."

"Does it get any better? Twilight was really boring for a while, too." Then she sat forward, planting her hands upon my bicep. "I have an idea! Why don't you read my book and I'll read yours?"

"Ah, I suppose, even though vampires don't appeal to me."

"They will after you're done. There're four books to read so if you like it you can read them after. Come on, we can go get Twilight and read in my room. I'm sick of running up and down the stairs."

Small, soft fingers slipped through mine and I squeezed tightly, lavishing in the sensation of her flesh. "Your mother won't be very happy if she sees me in your bedroom. Why don't we sit here for a while longer? You can read my book, since I'm sure you'll have questions." I attempted a disarming smile and tugged on her hand. "Do you want to sit on my lap?"

Bulla cocked her head. "Yeah, you're right. She gets bent out of shape over nothing. You can braid my hair while I read!"

To her, I was sexless. It wasn't a terrible position to be in—if she was intensely attracted to me, luring her would be far more difficult. I began to tremble at the notion of touching her silky hair like I had dreamed for so many weeks. Bulla impatiently told me to turn and lean against the arm of the couch, and then the nymphet sat between my legs that curved around her, stretching much farther along the length of the furniture. I swallowed as she leaned against me and opened the book once more.

Bulla tilted her head back to look up at me. I stared.

"Are you gonna braid my hair or what?" she demanded.

The movie had ended and the only sounds were the clock ticking along with my pulse. Trembling, I ran Bulla's soft blue hair through my fingertips and began to experiment with it, twisting the locks over one another in awkward, lopsided braids. She closed her eyes and smiled then returned to reading.

Fifteen minutes passed. She shifted, pressing her tailbone against me, and I gritted my teeth. "This is a weird language. "

"It's Latin, the progenitor of many modern languages. I had to learn it during college."

"Ooh, that sounds really cool! I'm learning Spanish but I don't like it very much. Can you teach me some Latin sometime so I can show my friends?"

"Of course," I said.

Silence ensued and I resumed touching her hair, marveling at its texture. It had the consistency of a liquid in the way it draped across my fingers. I considered touching her narrow shoulders. Surely she wouldn't complain about an innocent massage.

"What's 'lust'?"

My hands froze with her hair gently held within them. It felt as if I had been found out.

Bulla looked up at me again and blinked her blue eyes, full of curiosity. "Is it that bad? You shouldn't be letting me read bad books, Gohan."

"I'm… surprised, that's all. You've never heard that word?"

"Nope!" she said brightly.

"It must be considered foul language," I muttered. "Lust is considered to be a sin. It's normally used to refer to letting your desire for something control your reasoning. Dante is referring to, ah… carnal lust rather than materialistic lust."

"What's a carnal?"

I grimaced. "Nothing, just keep reading."

"Tell me! I can't understand if I don't know. He's said it like a hundred times."

"It's… it's about a person's sexual appetite."

She rolled her eyes. "Lame. That's all you had to tell me." Then she looked back down at Inferno, leaving me bemused.

The pages of the book turned slowly and after a while her head was dipping forward away from my chest. The sunlight had faded, leaving chirping crickets and moonlight behind. Yawns filled the room before she finally succumbed to her exhaustion and dozed off between my legs.

Hardly breathing out of fear that the rise and fall of my chest would rouse her, I remained utterly still, one arm resting delicately upon my thigh and the other hanging limply from the side of the sofa. The scent of her hair lingered on my fingertips. Bulma would be returning soon enough and I was in a compromising position. Unfortunately, my nymphet needed to be in her own bed.

But moving felt wrong. I tried to gently take her into my arms only to result in her turning over, both small hands resting on my stomach. She breathed quietly against my chest. My hands trembled on my knees—I looked like a goddamn lunatic with a caffeine problem.

I'd forgotten how to sense energy. The front door suddenly opened.

Bulma entered carrying several shopping bags and kicked the door shut behind her. She dropped them in the kitchen before turning and noticing me, pressing a palm to her mouth. My chest tightened.

"That's so cute!" she whispered, tiptoeing over to put a hand on my shoulder. "She used to sleep like this with Vegeta all the time." Her eyes roamed to the television and she scowled. "She leaves a mess like her father, too. Was she bothering you very much?"

"Oh, not at all. I hoped she would read Inferno but she dozed off after a few chapters."

"Mhm. Bulla's more of an arm piece than a brainiac." Bulma looked at her daughter disdainfully and squeezed my shoulder. "Could you bring her to bed for me? Your father gave me a pretty rock I'm going to rinse and set on the windowsill in the kitchen. I'm sorry to impose."

Relieved, I quickly agreed and tenderly took Bulla into my arms, supporting her bridal style on the way up the stairs. Bulma began humming to herself and removed an ugly black stone from a grocery bag that she set in her pristine stainless steel sink and began to wash. I frowned before proceeding down the hall to Bulla's bedroom, wondering what the hell had gotten into her mother.

It was my first time in the nymphet's room. The walls were pink with posters of various boybands along the walls, and for some reason she had taped a blue piece of cloth above her bed. The sheets were electric yellow with circles but it was unmade and messy; typical antics of nymphets. Underneath my feet was a plush tan carpet that was much thicker than the one in my bedroom. There were nail polish stains dotting along it, leading to a vanity with incalculable amounts of makeup.

Carefully, I laid Bulla upon her sheets and tried as best as I could to arrange them around her slumbering form. She nuzzled into her pillows. One of my hands remained on her shoulder, thinking.

Her blue eyes blinked open and she smiled in a delirious manner. She pushed her hair back from her forehead and yawned. "You can't leave without kissing me goodnight."

"You're right, I can't."

I leaned forward to press my lips to her skin, closing my eyes and relishing in her warmth. She giggled and pushed me back a few moments after before turning over on her side and curling into the fetal position. Breathless, I stood straight again and gazed down at her, still somewhat tempted.

However, my ever-present fear of discovery tugged me from the room and I shut the door quietly. I took a steadying breath and turned to return to my own bedroom when I felt fingers on my bicep again, pulling me in the opposite direction. I turned to be met with another pair of blue eyes that were far hazier than Bulla's.

Bulma was holding a glass of white wine in one hand and holding my arm captive with the other. Her gaze was focused intently on me in a way I had seen from many women. But Bulma certainly wasn't looking for money. She had that in spades. Nausea bubbled in my stomach.

"You're so patient with her," Bulma crooned.

I shrugged. "It's nothing. I'm a bit worn out so I'm going to sleep."

"Already? Don't you want some adult time after amusing my daughter all day?"

"That's precisely why I'd like to go to sleep—"

"I'm only asking you to have a few drinks." Bulma took a feminine sip of her wine and her nails nicked my skin. "Can't you spare a few minutes?"

Displeasing her could result in me being discharged from Capsule Corp. Not only was my career on the line but my access to Bulla would be utterly destroyed. I smiled pleasantly at Bulma, struggling to find the strength within myself to do what I knew she was requesting. It had been a long while since I was last drunk. Enough alcohol would certainly sway my revulsion to desire.

"Sure," I said. "I can spare a few minutes."

For the first time, my creeping demon was screaming.