"This is gonna sound stupid, but… Probably seeing my dad for the first time in like three months when he got back from his last overseas trip," Bulla answered bashfully.

"Really?" The raven-haired young man next to her responded, evidently surprised at her answer. "How long ago was that?"

"About eight months ago, I think," she answered, dropping her eyes as she recounted the moment. "So to give a bit of backstory, I've always been really close with him; I'm a total daddy's girl. But for the past long while we hadn't really been getting along all that well, for a bunch of reasons. While he was away, some stuff went down that helped click a lot of things into place for me. It made me realise that nothing had really changed between us. He was still the same person.

I couldn't wait for him to get home so we could start patching things up." She smiled to herself. "I mean, don't get me wrong. As you well know by now, he's not really the easiest guy to be around. Especially if you're not family. But him being away made me realise how much I still needed him, and how much I really love him. After that epiphany, all I could think about was, 'What if I never get to see him again? What if something happens, and I never get to hug him one last time.'

When he got back, I was physically shaking from the anxiety," she laughed. "And when I finally got to hug him after all that time, I thought I could die from how happy I was."

She finally returned her gaze to the boy next to her. "What about you, what's the happiest you've been this past year?"

The two young ones were relaxing on the couch in the recently renovated Capsule Corp. living area on a pleasant Friday autumn evening. They still weren't allowed to spend any alone time in her room, so Bulla was forced to enjoy his company downstairs. She was sitting cross-legged, body to her guest while he faced the TV, leaning his elbow on the armrest.

He had been watching her the entire time she relayed her intimate story, but glanced away as he considered his own answer. "After that, I'm going to be the one that sounds silly," he joked, turning back to face the heiress.

"Well you can't chicken out now!" She declared, prodding his shoulder. "Besides, you're the one that brought it up in the first place."

"Fine, but you have to promise you won't laugh at me," he insisted, still smiling at the teen.

"Of course I won't!" She pledged, eyes fixed.

"It was four months ago," he replied, observing her carefully. "When you agreed to be my girlfriend."

Bulla's hands flew to her mouth as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. "Jett, that's so sweet," she cooed.

"Well it's true," he added, keeping his eyes on the bubbling teen. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." He twisted so the two could face each other more easily. "I've fallen for you so hard, Bulla Briefs."

She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his, kissing him sweetly through her unrestrained grin. Slowly she leaned back into the sofa, pulling him with her. She readjusted her legs, planting her feet on the seat either side of him as he descended on her. One hand gripped her hip while other started to travel between the high waistband of her yoga pants and the hem of her t-shirt.

"Wait," she interrupted suddenly, pressing into her elbows and cocking her head. "Quick, my brother's home." She pushed him up, hastily flattening her top and fingering her hair. A few seconds later, two sets of howling laughter could be heard outside the generous living room window.

"Dude, I've never seen you strike out that hard before," Trunks roared as he came into view. "What on earth did you say to her? She looked like she was about to vomit."

Laughing just as hard, Goten countered. "I asked her if she wants to go home with you."

"Fuck you," Trunks guffawed, throwing an empty bottle at his dark-haired friend. Goten dodged the projectile, catching it with an outstretched hand and tossed it back, ducking once more as Trunks swatted it away. Suddenly the lavender-haired man tackled the younger hybrid, sending both warriors to the ground.

"Oh shit, are they fighting?" Jett uttered, getting up from the couch and approaching the window.

"Hardly," Bulla chuckled, joining him for the evening's entertainment. "This is my brother and Goten for you. You can bet money that this will happen at least once every time they see each other." Her eyes danced as she watched the two men tumbling through the bushes, soiling their clothes on the garden earth. "If they both weren't so disgustingly straight, I totally would have thought they were in love with each other," she jested.

"Wait," Trunks interrupted with a pant, showing a single palm and bringing the other to his collar. "Let me take off my tie."

"Why do you think I never bother with that shit," Goten responded, crouching into his classic stance, readying himself for the next round.

"Ditch the jackets too," the older halfling added, slipping off his blazer and rolling up his sleeves. "I've been itching for a good fight."

Once both hybrids were sufficiently unclothed, Goten leapt at his friend, reaching for his collar. The lavender-haired demi-Saiyan dodged the grapple and elbowed him in the centre of his back. After a series of punches, blocks and kicks, Trunks managed to catch hold of the younger Saiyan, spinning him around and tossing him haphazardly.

The sound of the crash would easily have been heard throughout the neighbourhood.

Jett leapt at the window. Before he had a chance to voice his concern, the outside laughter recommenced.

"Ten points," Trunks chuckled, reaching for the pile of tossed clothes. "So what are we, like a thousand to nothing Son?"

"You wish," Goten replied, pushing himself up from the pile of rubble and grinning wildly at his best friend. "When you win, it's only coz I'm holding back." He turned around to assess the damage. "Oh fuck man, the fountain? Bulma's gonna kill me."

"What the..." Bulla heard Jett mutter under his breath.

"Please," Trunks snorted, tossing the younger halfling his jacket. "Since you saved Bulla, you can do no wrong in my mom's eyes."

"That's gonna wear off eventually man, especially if she keeps coming home to broken garden furniture," he frowned.

"Not likely, brother. She's never going to forget what you did for her 'precious baby.'" Trunks responded absently, looking up at the night sky.

Bulla could see Jett looking at her questioningly in the corner of her eye and kept her gaze averted. Shit.

"Speaking of which," Goten voiced, throwing the jacket over his shoulder. "How is your sister doing? I haven't seen her in a while."

"Ask her yourself man, she's right there." Trunks nodded to the window.

Both halfling men turned to see the audience that had gathered since their arrival. Bulla waved goofily to the two warriors. They're nothing more than big kids, I swear.

Goten waved back, grinning at the heiress before turning his gaze to the young man next to her and nodding cordially.

"Let's go say hi," Bulla suggested cheerfully, spinning around.

She exited through the sliding door, meeting them as they came around the back. "Look at you two clowns, you're filthy," she chastised, mockingly putting her hands on her hips.

"Trunks started it," Goten quipped, patting soil and dust off his shirt. "He gets mean when he drinks."

"I hope you two are behaving yourselves," Trunks warned, lifting his head and narrowing his eyes at the two younger members, before cracking a smirk.

"Trunks!" Bulla giggled, glancing bashfully at her boyfriend. "We've just been hanging out downstairs."

"Hey man, it's Jett right?" The dark haired-halfling greeted amiably, offering his palm. "Good to see you again."

"Yeah," Jett smiled, returning the handshake. "That was a while back, I'm surprised you remember me."

Goten's gaze briefly flicked to the heiress as he pressed his eyebrows together. "Well, it's kinda big news that the little lady over here has a boyfriend. Many have tried," he stated, grabbing his friend and thumping him on the shoulder. "But none have made it through this man's rigorous filter. Until you."

"Oh my god, Goten." Bulla rolled her eyes, stifling a smile. "Can you shut up? You are such a dork."

"Yeah, Goten," Trunks mocked. "Stop being such a dork." He pressed his open palm into the younger man's face and shoved him away. The dark-haired halfling responded by ramming himself suddenly into the heir, sending them both hurtling straight into the pool with a loud splash.

"Ah!" Bulla shrieked, catching some of the spray. "Can you go ten minutes without brawling, jeez!"

"I had to get him back for the fountain," Goten answered as he reemerged.

"Eh, I was thinking of swimming anyway. You just did me a favour, dick," Trunks responded, flicking his hair back and heading for the pool edge. "I'm gonna put on some actual swimming shorts, since I'm not a fucking barbarian like you. Need a pair?" He asked over his shoulder, walking towards the pool house.

"Yeah, the water feels pretty good." Goten turned to face the onlooking duo, pushing himself up out of the pool. "You two should join us," he added, beginning to unbutton his shirt.

"I don't know if I feel like getting wet right now," Bulla replied, tilting her head in consideration and turning to face her beau.

Goten glanced up suddenly, grinning devilishly at the teen before him. Reading his mind, Bulla threw up her hands and opened her mouth. "Don't you dare!" She warned, pivoting and running madly towards the house. As she reached the sliding door she felt two strong arms wrap around her middle and lift feet her feet off the ground. She squealed, kicking her legs about furiously. "I swear to God, Goten!" She shrieked as they approached the body of water. "If you do this, I will- "

"You'll what," he laughed, dangling her over the pool edge. "Kick my ass? All the more reason, I've been dying to see you fight."

"Put me down!" She demanded.

All of a sudden, the older halfling turned around and dropped her back on the wonderfully dry stone. "There. No harm done," he assuaged.

The heiress spun to face the jokester and promptly shoved him back toward the water. Instinctively he reached out, grabbed the nearest thing he could and pulled her with him. The two halflings landed with yet another loud splash, crashing ungracefully into the pool.

"You jerk!" Bulla exclaimed once she'd popped up from the blue depths.

"So much for staying dry," the older hybrid chuckled, wiping his face. The heiress simply pouted at him, causing him to laugh even harder. "Aw, I'm sorry, princess. If it makes a difference I didn't do it on purpose."

A hint of a smile slowly began to break on her face. "Yeah right," she smirked, smacking her hand to the water and spraying him. Trunks reappeared holding an assortment of swimming garb as Bulla waded to the exit and pushed herself up.

"I see someone couldn't wait to get in," he commented dryly, not even looking at her as he passed.

Jett picked up one of the towels and wrapped it around the drenched teen, rubbing her shoulders. He was smiling, evidently amused at the antics that had just unfolded before him. "Enjoy the water?" He teased.

"Would've been better if you joined me," she smiled. "C'mon, let's get changed."


"I'm ready," Bulla sang on entering the living room in a familiar strappy red bikini.

Jett, who had been waiting for her on the couch, turned around to face the perky teen. "Wow..." he breathed, looking her over briefly before returning his eyes to hers. "You are so… wow."

She smiled sweetly, giving him a kiss once she'd reached him. "Thanks."

"I'll never get tired of seeing you in that thing. Especially now that I don't even need to pretend I'm not checking you out," he joked, following the heiress outside, lightly holding his hand to the small of her back.

"What are you talking about?" Bulla giggled over her shoulder.

"Don't tell me you didn't realise." They dropped their towels on the pool chairs.

"Didn't realise what?" Trunks asked from the water, interrupting their conversation.

"I don't even know what he's saying," the teen answered, shaking her head and turning to face the young man in question.

"And here I thought I was way too obvious," Jett smiled, resting his hand on her waist.

"You were pretty obvious," Goten laughed. "I saw it the moment I walked in." The two dark-haired men exchanged a brief look, followed by a sheepish smile from the younger.

"Saw what?!" Bulla exclaimed, spinning around to face the halfling.

"Nothing, babe." Jett kissed her on the lips before somersaulting into the water.

Bulla took a moment to take in the sight before her, beaming as her eyes dragged over each member of the pool. This is great, everyone's getting along so well. She observed her brother, who was currently sharing tidbits on an upcoming gadget currently being trialled by Capsule Corp.'s R&D team with her fully engaged date. Floating her gaze further along to the opposite end of the pool, she exchanged a glance with the mischievous second son of Goku. His eyes were dancing as he grinned at her. She returned his smile and stuck out her tongue.

The teen approached the water's edge and walked down the steps of the shallow end of the pool, flipped onto her back and glided through the water. Humming to herself, Bulla closed her eyes and cherished the moment before suddenly snapping her eyes open and abruptly jerking herself to the left, narrowly dodging the blow-up beach ball that was beelining for her face. "Trunks you ass," she cried.

"Dammit," he smiled. "You're getting too good. How am I supposed to sneak up on you these days? I need to convince dad to ease up on the training."

"Very nice Bulla," Goten clapped. "I'm impressed."

The blue-haired halfling instantly threw a glance at her date before scowling at her brother. Shut up, she mouthed. He shrugged apologetically and gestured to his friend to return the wayward ball. Goten obliged by throwing it up and violently slamming it back him.

"Holy shit!" Jett exclaimed, watching it soar past his face and returning his attention to the dark-haired hybrid. "That was nuts, how did you hit it so hard?"

Ugh, Bulla groaned internally, glaring at Goten in frustration. He opened and closed his mouth, stuck for an explanation. "Uh, I have a lot of practice throwing stuff at this guy," he chuckled. "Been at it since I was a boy."

"You have to show me your technique sometime, seriously," the younger man responded.

I need to get us out of here before these two idiots let the cat out of the bag, Bulla moaned to herself. "Hey Jett, I'm kinda not feeling swimming right now. Wanna join me inside? I'm gonna make some hot chocolate."

"Uh, yeah okay sure," he replied, following her to the pool edge.

"We can rinse off in the pool house first. Get all that chlorine off us," she added

"I hope you intend to do that separately," Trunks warned as they reached for their towels.

Bulla simply rolled her eyes, dragging her boyfriend towards Trunks' old pad. Opening the glass door and flicking on the lights, she pulled him into the single bathroom, shut the door and clicked the lock before turning on the shower.

"I thought your brother said- "

Bulla interrupted him, pressing her finger to his mouth. "I don't care what my brother says," she replied softly. "We didn't get to finish what we started earlier."

His eyes widened as she stepped onto the shower floor and pulled him with her. Water beating down on her back, she lightly hooked her hands around the older boy's neck, pressed into her tippy toes and brushed the side of his mouth with her lips. His hands floated to her waist and he craned his neck, kissing her deeply in return.

As he leaned into the heiress, she felt something hard pressing against her crotch. Bulla dropped her arms and carefully began undoing the knot on his shorts.

"What are you doing," he smiled, breaking their kiss.

"Nothing," she responded coyly, smiling back at him. "I want to see it," she blushed. "Can I?"

"Have you ever seen one before?" He asked, tilting his head.

Bulla thought back to her steamy session with his ex-friend in her hot tub. In the brief period that Krowe's shorts were off, she hadn't been able to get a good look since half of him was underwater and the jets were blasting at the time.

"Not really," she admitted shyly.

He looked away briefly, considering something, she suspected, before looking back to the heiress. "Okay, go ahead," he answered, watching her fumble with the drawstring.

Her eyes widened when the bottoms dropped to the floor. The teen was transfixed. She couldn't peel her eyes off the appendage in front of her. "Can I touch it?" She muttered, still mesmerised.

He let out a sudden chuckle, observing the girl in front of him. "Yes, you can touch it."

Slowly, she reached out her hand and lightly wrapped her dainty fingers around his shaft, thumbing the skin curiously. She heard his breath catch, and finally lifted her eyes. Wow, she thought to herself as she took in his expression. That's a look I haven't seen before. She returned her attention to her hand and began sliding it up and down his length. He groaned softly, prompting her to continue. She was enjoying the impact she seemed to be having on him.

"Grab it a bit harder," he breathed. She did as he said, watching closely as he twitched and tensed in her hand. "Faster." The teen picked up speed, becoming hypnotised and falling into a natural rhythm.

Before she knew what was happening, he jerked suddenly, causing her to release her grip in surprise. She watched as he groaned into the back of his hand, white liquid shooting out of the appendage she had held only a few moments ago.

There was a knock on the door, followed by the stern voice of her brother. "Bulla I wasn't kidding earlier, get out of there."

"Yeah, we're coming," she called out. "It's not like we're naked in here. We're just rinsing off." Bulla grinned at the young man in front of her. "That was fun."

Drowsily, he smiled back. "You have no idea."


"So did you guys have a good time tonight?" Goten asked, sitting himself down on the kitchen stool, eyeing up his mug of hot chocolate.

Bulla and Jett held each other's gaze while the older of the two answered with a coy smile. "Incredible time."

The hybrid looked up from his beverage, eyeballing the two young ones suspiciously. Leaning back, he folded his arms. "Uh huh."

"Hi daddy," Bulla sang cheerily as her father entered the kitchen.

"Good evening sir," Jett greeted politely

The Saiyan looked to his daughter's date momentarily before grabbing a glass and filling it at the sink. He had a towel wrapped around his bare shoulders and was wearing a pair of loose training shorts.

"Hey Vegeta, long time no see. All done for the day?" Goten asked genially from the opposite side of the bench.

"Why are you here?" He answered bluntly, pressing his hands into the granite and scowling at the man in front of him.

The hybrid laughed. "What do you mean? I come here all the time."

"I mean why are you in this house, runt. My son's premises has been built to completion. You have no reason to wander these halls any longer."

"Daddy!" Bulla interjected. "Why would you say such a mean thing to Goten? He's always welcome here, you know that. If mom heard how you were talking to him right now she'd put you back on the street." She folded her arms and scowled at her father.

"Your mother is as clueless as you are, child," he countered harshly, keeping his eyes on the youngest son of his old rival. Bulla watched as the two warriors stared each other down, feeling her father's ki steadily rise before he finally placed his empty glass in the basin and wordlessly headed up the stairs. The two halflings exchanged a glance, concern written plainly on the younger's face.

Does he know? How could he? Bulla's eyes widened.

Goten stared back at her, expressionless, before slowly shaking his head at her.

Is he thinking the same thing?

"What was that about…?" Jett asked reluctantly, eyes flicking between the two other members of the room.

"Nothing," they both answered quickly, still locked on to each other.

"Vegeta's got a point," Goten voiced finally, exhaling as he grabbed his mug. "Trunks is probably done in the shower, so I'm gonna head over there. Good seeing you again Jett. You two enjoy the rest of your evening." The duo watched as he exited the kitchen, listening for the opening and closing of the living room sliding door.

Jett turned to face the heiress, who was staring into the distance, hand gripping the side of her head. "Bulla, is everything okay? I feel like something just happened, but it went way over my head."

"Yeah, of course," she forced a smile, urging herself to snap out of the fear spiral that her mind was currently travelling on. "Just my dad being moody as usual. There's no telling who he'll pick on when he wakes up on any given day." She wandered around the granite bench top and sat herself down on the stool Goten had just recently occupied, cup in hand. Jett joined her, grabbing the adjacent seat.

"Okay, so while we're on the topic, what is the deal with your dad? Whenever I come here he's in that room." He was watching Bulla carefully.

"Uhm, like I've said before, he likes working out. A lot. He's kind of obsessed with it," she responded, trying to keep her answer as honest and concise as possible.

"What about your brother and Goten? They seem like they're really strong too. I mean, your brother literally threw a grown man into a fountain so hard that it broke, and then Goten just got up without a scratch. That is seriously nuts," he proclaimed, looking into his hot chocolate.

Hands either side of her mug, Bulla closed her eyes. Dammit, I'm not ready to deal with this shit yet. "Well, as you know, my dad is into martial arts. Goten's dad is too. By the time to two boys were born, both daddy and Goku were really experienced so Goten and Trunks were raised with fighting on the brain basically from day one," she answered, taking a breath. "I guess in that time they've learned how to avoid getting hurt from the ridiculous stuff they do to each other. You know how those sports teach you how to fall without injuring yourself, or break boards without shattering your wrist. It's all the same idea." Bulla reluctantly glanced out of the corner of her eye, trying to gauge how much her date was buying her excuses.

"Yeah, that makes sense," he mumbled. "So you do it too then, I take it?"

"Me?" She reared. Damn you, Trunks. "Uhm. Sort of. Not like those two wackos, but recently I did ask my dad to teach me a few basics. Nothing worth talking about though."

"I'm not gonna lie," Jett chuckled, bringing the drink to his mouth. "It's pretty intimidating being around all these super strong martial artists who seem to enjoy hurting each other for fun."

"Oh don't be," Bulla reassured, bringing her teal eyebrows together and shaking her head in disagreement. "They would never hurt you. They only really get their kicks fighting each other."

"Good to know," he nodded slowly. "I do have one more question though."

She held her breath.

"Earlier, when they got back, Trunks said something about Goten saving you. What did he mean by that?"

"Oh that was nothing," Bulla laughed nervously, flapping her hand before shoving her mug to her mouth.

He frowned at her in response. "It didn't sound like nothing. It sounded like kind of a big deal," he persisted. "Trunks made it seem like your mom idolises him for it. Even when you mentioned her opinion of Goten to your dad earlier, he conceded and went upstairs."

Bulla closed her eyes once more and sighed. "Okay yes, it wasn't nothing." She twisted to face her date, but kept her eyes on the bench. "So you know that night you and I first met, I originally told you afterwards that some unstable prototype exploded, causing all that drama?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, that was a lie." The heiress looked up, cringing as she watched his frown deepen. "You have to swear to me that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you okay?"

He nodded.

"I nearly got abducted that night," Bulla muttered.

"What?!" Jett exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Yeah, I guess these guys figured they could hold me at ransom or something," she continued quietly, averting her gaze as her mind drifted to the night's events, as well as the information she'd learned about their intentions soon after. "Goten was still here when they showed up, but they managed to restrain him. One of them caught me, and was beginning to get…violent. Eventually, Goten broke out of his bindings and fought him off. He took me back to his place in the hopes that they wouldn't be able to find me." The heiress took a deep breath. "That weekend that I spent at his apartment? He wasn't doing me a favour because I had nowhere else to go, he took me there so that he could protect me." Finally, Bulla returned her gaze to the young man next to her.

"Jesus fucking Christ," he breathed. "That is horrible. I'm so sorry that happened to you."

"Don't be," she smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine. I mean, it was scary at the time, but I'm fine now. Besides, that was almost a year ago and nothing major even ended up happening." Thanks to Goten.

"You sure? Like there's no lingering trauma or anything?"

"No, nothing like that," she insisted, glancing to the floor unthinkingly. "Like I said, Goten managed to turn things around before they got too crazy."

"Why did he take you home instead of, like, straight to the police?"

"Oh," she muttered. "Well, we try to avoid doing anything that could remotely bring attention to our family. That's why we told the media that it was just an accidental explosion. Trust me, things are much simpler if we don't let people ask too many questions..." She trailed off.

"But what if they're still out there?" He looked out of the window, eyes darting. "They could come back and try to hurt you again."

"No real risk of that happening. We sort of have our own guys for damage control. There's nothing to worry about, honestly. Probably best if you don't ask too much about that though," the teen added. He nodded knowingly.

"Wow," he sighed. "Well, thank you. I can only imagine how hard it was for you to tell me all of this." He rested his hand on her knee, smiling kindly.

"So you still want to be with me?" She asked hesitantly, raising an eyebrow.

"What? Why would you even ask that?" He enquired with a chuckle.

"Because my family is really, really weird," she replied earnestly. "Everyone is into fighting, and people apparently occasionally target us for their own personal gain. It's messed up, and I get it if you don't want any part of this circus."

"No way," he smiled. "Didn't you hear what I said earlier? I'm in love with you. None of this other stuff matters to me. It's all part of the Bulla Briefs package." He cupped her cheek tenderly and looked into her eyes.

The heiress exhaled in relief, grateful that this little secret hadn't scared him off altogether and leaned in to kiss him.

"I guess it answers a few other nagging questions too," he added once they pulled apart.

"Oh? Like what?" She enquired, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Well, I thought it was sort of weird how close you and Goten are for two people who are pretty far apart in age. I mean, I get that he's your brother's best friend, but I'm not nearly that friendly with my friends' sisters, you know?" He answered casually, returning his attention to the hot beverage.

Bulla stayed quiet as she observed him.

"I dunno, maybe I was just being a typical jealous boyfriend or something, but for a brief moment I thought he might be into you or something," he laughed.

"Really?" Her heart jumped. "What made you think that?"

"It's hard to say really," he answered, tilting his head in consideration. "I guess... How I caught him he looking at you sometimes this evening? And how much he seemed to enjoy having his hands all over you earlier. I mean, I realise now that that's ridiculous. Clearly, you two have been through some stuff together. I took it totally the wrong way, he obviously sees you as something of a younger sister. I get that now."

"Yeah," Bulla smiled back at him, masking the guilt that was bubbling to the surface. "He's like an annoying older brother to me."


Post chapter notes:

Wow, guys! You absolutely spoiled me last week, so many wonderful reviews :)

One of the lovely guest reviewers (KK) actually mentioned quick updates being a nice thing for readers, so I will keep that in mind too.

I just love hearing everyone's interpretations so feel free to share your thoughts, no matter how fleeting.