A/N: And the plot thickens. Damn, this story is getting long. Probably because this is a wonderfully twisted pairing.

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

-MalRev

A Poor Player

8

"Bulma seems upset."

As usual, Goku spoke matter-of-factly. I glanced at him over my shoulder as I piled clothes into my suitcase and shrugged. Of course mom was upset. She realized dad knew what she was doing and didn't want her to keep pushing me out of the house. Goku was sitting on my bed watching TV. He scratched his head quizzically while his black eyes followed the cartoon flickering across the screen.

I was slowly beginning to realize that something wasn't right about Goku but I was afraid to say anything. What if I was wrong? He'd be mad, I'd be embarrassed and my mother wouldn't know what to do with me. Then I'd actually have to go to therapy. I was kneeling on the floor folding shirts when I heard him clear his throat. He wanted me to look at him.

"Yes?" I asked without breaking my routine.

Goku sat up and my bed creaked. "Can I braid your hair? Pan showed me how to do it."

My spine prickled at the thought of his big fingers twisting my hair into patterns. I unconsciously reached up to smooth my ponytail and had to swallow a baseball-sized lump before I could talk again. No, there was no way I'd let him touch my hair.

"Maybe later. I want to finish getting my stuff together so we can catch everyone before they head home. Mom needs to let me go back to school soon."

"Bulla, come here and let me braid your hair. I bought you all those nice things and I'm still doing something nice for you."

"I'm really tired from everything so I'll just fall asleep in the middle of it."

His smile didn't fade. "Do you really want your parents to know what you did last night?"

We stared at each other for a few long moments as his threat sank in. The door slammed downstairs and Goku raised an eyebrow, asking if I was willing to take a gamble. I shook my head slowly and my bedroom door opened to let in both of my parents.

Mom set her hands on her hips. "All packed and ready?"

"Just about!" Goku said. "Bulla's excited to train with me and we're going fishing, too!"

"That's so sweet of you, Goku. I'm glad she can get away from the city for a while."

Dad glared at Goku without hesitation. I got to my feet and Goku followed suit, hugging mom after I did and promising to bring me back in one piece. Once again I was separated from my parents and once again I was left wondering why they didn't care. Was I that bad? I knew they hated feelings so I hid mine as best as I could.

The sun was setting when we arrived at Goku's new home. He had been true to his word: it was the same on the inside, just much smaller. It was good for a single person to live in. I brought my things upstairs and dropped them in the bedroom. Hopefully we didn't have to share.

"I'm glad I don't have to go to that place in the city anymore."

I turned to see Goku standing in the bedroom doorway, arms folded over his broad chest. There was a dull sense of foreboding in the back of my head that I completely ignored. I'd let him touch my hair if he wanted to. I liked when people did it, anyway. Dad did when I was a kid.

"What place?" I asked, only vaguely interested.

"Oh, nowhere interesting. Why don't you sit on the bed and I'll bring some snacks?" He dropped his hands to try looking more open. "We can talk. I miss talking."

It sounded fine with me. I crept into his new bed with blue sheets and turned on the TV. At least he invested in some modern technology. I flipped through the channels and settled upon cartoons again since that seemed to be the only thing he had available. Strange. Oh well. I liked them.

Something was seriously wrong and I kept ignoring it.

Goku came back upstairs with some fruit and chocolate. It was turning dark in the bedroom but the television kept it light enough to see. He sat behind me and moved forward so I was between his legs, which were sprawled out alongside mine. It was near bedtime and he was only in his boxers; I could see the muscles bulging in his calves. Then his fingers were pulling out my ponytail.

It felt good to have my hair touched. At first I ate a few pieces of fruit but soon my eyelids were falling so far that I could barely see the cartoon. He wound my hair in loose braids and hummed quietly while I struggled to stay awake. His chest was just behind my back. If I let out the tension in my spine I could be resting on him and just fall asleep…

"You're quiet tonight," Goku said as I was about to collapse.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. You're making me tired."

When he laughed, I could feel it in my chest. "That's a good thing, right? I'm glad you're comfortable with me. I like making new friends."

"Well, to be honest, I had my doubts about you." Now awake, I picked out a piece of chocolate and popped it in my mouth. Strawberry center. My favorite. "But if my parents are on board with us hanging out then I guess it's cool with me. I haven't spoken to Shoppa in a while since we started talking."

"Really now?"

"Yup. She doesn't get me like you do."

Oops. I jammed more fruit in my mouth and leaned away from him, feeling myself turning red. Since when was I all sappy and emotional? I liked complaining but I didn't like dealing with feelings. Goku hesitated a bit at my Freudian slip before resuming braiding my hair. His fingers brushed my neck.

"I'm really happy you trust me," he said.

When he reached past me to get a piece of chocolate off the plate I felt something hard press against my lower back. His breath was hot on my shoulder for a second. He moved back into place but something was different. Now we were closer than before and what the heck was poking me?

I shivered but it wasn't that cold. "So the house looks nice."

"Thanks. I've been here so long I could just rebuild it from memory. I closed off the ceiling, too."

Goku's big hands drifted away from my hair to my shoulders and he squeezed to test the waters. A combination of nerves and curiosity kept me from saying anything. He massaged my back gently without uttering a word, leaving me to watch my cartoon in silence. I couldn't lie, it felt really good. The perfect mix of pressure and tenderness. My concerns melted away with each rub.

Yeah, I was crazy. There was nothing wrong with Goku. He was rubbing my back and giving me a tasty snack before we went to bed. It was one of the best nights of my life.

"It'll be easier if you take off your shirt," he said.

What did it matter? He had already seen naked girls. I thought he was genderless, in a way. I reached back to unhook my bra and took it all off without thinking much about it. He brushed my hair forward around my shoulder then returned to massaging my back. I was close to falling asleep.

"Are all guys like you?"

It was a question I had been burning to ask. If they were, I was really excited about growing up.

Goku laughed. "No. Very few of them are. They're more like your father."

"Oh… ew," I said, making a disgusted face. "Dad never gives mom back rubs or anything. You do nice things for me all the time and we aren't married or anything. You're really something, Goku."

"I'm something all right. You're beautiful. I've never seen anything more perfect."

"Thank you! I think it partially has to do with being a Saiyan but the rest is all genetics."

"Perfection shouldn't be wasted. Not everyone appreciates it." Goku leaned in close to my ear. His breath smelled like strawberries. My favorite. "I will never waste you, Bulla. You will always be cherished when you're with me. You don't want a gangly, rude teenage boy spoiling you, right?"

It all flew over my head. I giggled and nodded, thinking it was just another silly quirk of Son Goku. He was the only person giving me the attention I wanted. He took my earlobe between his teeth and tugged slightly, making me wriggle nervously. It was getting late. I needed to go to bed so I could actually wake up at a decent time.

My naked back was pressed against his bare chest. I could feel his muscles tensing. Goku leaned back until I was lying on him and started playing with my hair again, a bit more idly this time. I stretched and yawned, ready to fall asleep. One of my arms was slung over my chest; a weak grasp at modesty.

The peace was broken by a knock on the door.

Goku went stiff as a board and sat up, clinging me to his chest so he could wrap me up in the comforter. He got out of bed and tugged on a t-shirt without pants at first, then seemed to realize it would be a good idea to be fully clothed. I moved the plate of snacks to the nightstand and followed him downstairs, curious to see who was visiting so late.

When he peered through the peephole I could have sworn I heard him curse. He ran a hand through his thick black hair and looked over his shoulder at me standing unsurely by the staircase. The person knocked more intently and Goku yanked it open, muttering something else.

There was a girl about my age standing outside with a piece of paper in her hand. My jealousy flared—she was okay-looking but nothing special. She had brown eyes and brown hair like everyone else. Me? I was blue as the ocean. I stepped closer and her eyes flickered to me and narrowed dangerously.

"Yes?" Goku said tersely.

The girl ripped her eyes off me and handed him the paper, which he opened and stared at.

"We need to talk," she said. "I'm pregnant."