If I Could Turn Back Time
IX.
It took Goku and Bulma longer to get to 'their special place' then it did the first time, considering Goku was running at full speed with her in his arms. This time, though, they decided to walk slowly, admiring the beginning of the grassy surroundings as they moved away from the busy city highways.
Sometime along the way, Goku cleverly managed to bump against Bulma and "accidentally" take her hand into his. Bulma didn't abject to this at all, of course, earning him a giggle. By the way he did it, she felt like she was sixteen all over again with a shy boy wanting to take her hand more than anything, but not knowing how to go about it.
Yet, before either of them knew it, they arrived at their destination. Bulma was so overjoyed at being back at her favorite spot that she let go of Goku's hand and ran towards the small river, not wanting to wait any longer to see the beautiful depths.
Bulma was only standing in front of the water for a moment before Goku came up beside her, handing her the key that she sure enough left there. She took it and put it in her pocket almost unknowingly.
She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh smell of nature, hearing the soft sounds of the flowing water.
"I love it here so much," Bulma admitted, that being the first thing either one of them had said for awhile.
Goku nodded, though Bulma couldn't see.
She let out a content sigh, "Being here is like…is like a stress reliever. No matter what your worry is, this place can take your mind off it."
Once again, Goku nodded, not exactly sure what she meant by that, "What stress do you have?"
Bulma opened her eyes and smiled over at him, "None! See the miracles this place can do?" she laughed despite herself.
Goku stared at her for awhile, seeing the carefree smile on her face, the one he always had on his. And right then was not going to be an exception. He gave her his famous grin before falling straight back, landing on the unimaginably soft grass with his arms and legs outspread.
She watched him joyfully before falling backwards also, feeling the lush green grass catch and support her like a trampoline with a fluffy blanket laid over top of it. She arched her back up, moaning softly at the wonderful feeling of the warm sun beaming down on her skin.
"I love being here," she said once again, though Goku knew that plainly enough already.
He flipped to his side so he was facing her, supporting himself on his elbow, "I love being here, too," slowly, he leaned forward and kissed her on her cheek, "With you…"
Bulma turned her head towards him after he pulled away and was looking back down at her again. She gave him a smile, but an almost…sad smile. He didn't know why, maybe she was sad because he pulled away, or maybe it was just him. In any case, he didn't have a chance to ask.
"Kiss me again," she whispered, her eyes searching his.
Goku didn't need to be told twice as he smirked down at her, "With pleasure," and with that, he leaned forward again, this time cupping her face in his hand and bringing his lips to hers for a longer kiss.
Of course, she kissed him back, bringing herself up to throw her arms around his neck to make the kiss fuller. Goku didn't abject, he just had to lay back on the grass, not being able to support himself and Bulma, for he always felt his body go weak every time she kissed him like that, yet stronger, all at the same time.
In any case, Bulma followed him enough to not let the kiss go; yet not laying on top of him completely, either. She pulled away faster than expected, sitting up straight.
Goku copied her, "What's up, Bulma? Why do you seen so sad?"
Bulma tried to give him her best smile at that moment, noticing that it didn't work as well as planned, "I'm not sad, Goku, I'm just…relaxed. Thinking about all the fun things we did just today makes me zoom out of reality a little."
"Yeah," Goku agreed, chuckling, "I do that sometimes, too."
She didn't reply right away, focusing her attention to the water again, watching slight ripples form from the center, getting bigger as they made their way out, only to get splashed about as two fish dive in and out in unison.
"Goku?" Bulma asked, almost as if not there.
Goku didn't turn towards her, too occupied in watching the fish also, "Hmm?"
"Which do you like better? Reality or fantasy?" she moved her legs up to her chest to hug her knees.
Goku paused after that question, not quite sure how to answer it, "Well…I guess I like them both in their own way. I love life, which is reality, right?" he glanced over at Bulma, only to get no response, "Everything I did so far was for a good purpose, so…being awake doesn't hurt me. Then again…sometimes it is nice to fantasize, to imagine stuff that I'll never be able to do or see or get. But I heard that every one dreams, right?" Goku asked her again, expecting a response that time since he was done answering her question.
However, Bulma still looked as though she was on a completely different planet. Goku decided not to disturb her, not minding the silence between them anyway. At least it was an easy silence and not uncomfortable.
"I like fantasy better," Bulma suddenly spoke, startling Goku a little.
He waited for her to continue, but when she didn't, he urged her on, "Why?"
"'Cause…" was all she said at first, "In dreams, you can have nothing go wrong, you can always live in a paradise, and life is fair…but not to reality."
Goku didn't know how to register that response. He looked at it in one way, finding it as a compliment, then at another, seeing it being an insult. Then again, maybe it was neither. Bulma was just giving her honest opinion. It was the way she said it that bothered him the most, though. It was like she was implying that she didn't like her life at all and she just wanted to sleep and dream forever.
Sure, Goku might not be the smartest or the brightest, far from it, but he knew when something wasn't normal. He wasn't sure if he should ask or not.
"Bulma…"
"But never mind that!" Bulma suddenly shouted enthusiastically. She stretched her arms and legs out in front of her, making small sounds. She plopped back down on her back, looking up at the bright blue sky again, "It was just one of those questions that popped to mind."
Goku watched her closely, nodding slowly, trying to figure out of she was telling the truth about it being 'one of those questions that popped to mind'. But in the end, he decided to just let it be. He turned sideways, facing away from her before laying back, having his head rest on her stomach.
He felt her stomach sink down a little at first, but quickly relax as her fingers ran through his wild hair, twirling his spiky tips around her fingers. Goku sighed contentedly, loving the feel of his hair being played with as much as any girl. He clasped his hands together on his stomach, sucking in a deep breath.
"I love you," Goku breathed out as he exhaled.
Bulma continued to brush his hair back and out of his face, feeling his head rise and lower from every breath she took. She smiled just thinking that. It was like listening to the perfect song…she didn't know which love song that would be, one about being close to that special someone and feeling him love you.
"I don't wanna miss one smile, I don't wanna miss one kiss…I just wanna stay with you, right here with you," she began saying under her breath, not even sure if she was singing the right lyrics. All she knew was that it fit the moment, "Just like this…feel your heart so close to mine…"
Goku shifted a little, "What are you singing?" he asked quietly.
Bulma laughed, "I dunno."
He, too, laughed along with her, "You can be stranger than me at times."
"Hey!" she accused, untangling her fingers from his messy hair and smacking him playfully on the head.
Of course, the hit didn't faze him any, but he covered his head in defense anyway, "I was only saying, Bulma, that…"
Goku stopped and Bulma waited for him to go on, "Well?"
"Heh…I was only saying that sometimes you can be even dumber than me," he admitted innocently, not knowing how much of an insult that really was.
Bulma smacked his head again.
"Ow!" he laughed, "You shouldn't worry to much about it, you can be dumb but you have a big head."
Her eyes widened as she pushed him off of her, once again, hitting him on his head, "Goku!"
Goku cowered his head behind his arms, "No! I didn't mean that you literally had a big head, but…you have a big head! You're brainy."
Smack!
"Now you're making me sound like a nerd!"
He cocked his head to the side, "You are?"
Strike!
"NO! I said you made me sound like one!"
"But…isn't that the same thing?"
As Bulma went to hit him again, she ended up hitting him no harder than a baby would, seeing as how she began laughing, "Goku, would you please just stop? You're even confusing me!"
Goku grinned at her, opening his mouth to once again insult her.
Bulma cut in quickly though, "Zip it! Do not say anything!"
He covered his mouth quickly with his hand.
She nodded, "Better." She went to lay back down.
"But all I was gonna say was that I always confuse you," Goku said as fast as possible before covering his mouth again.
Bulma glared at him, but the scowl soon became a mocking smile, "Yeah well…everyone confuses you!"
"Heh…I know," he admitted, "So anyway…"
She smiled, "So anyway what?"
"I have a question for you now," Goku scooted closer to her.
Bulma raised an eyebrow at his actions, "Yeah, what's that?"
"Would you like to go on another dragon ball hunt?" he asked straight out, leaning forward, eager to hear her answer.
Her eyes widened, then shrunk down to their normal size, trying not to act surprised, "Umm…well, I don't know. What would we wish for?"
Goku shrugged, "We have plenty of time to think about it, and I'm sure there's something we can both agree on. So how 'bout it?"
Bulma bit her lower lip out of habit when she didn't know how to answer something, "Gee, I'm really not sure. I mean…with all the stuff going on right now and all."
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, then his head in his hands, "What stuff?"
"You know…" was all Bulma could think of to say as she sunk her back more into the grass.
Goku shook his head, "No…I don't know."
She forced a laugh, "Well, we'll see, Goku, okay?"
He nodded slowly, "Okay…sure," he said, half satisfied, since her answer wasn't no. He stood up and walked over by a tree.
Bulma watched him, but since his back was turned, she couldn't see what he was doing. She, too, stood up, brushing herself off as she began walking over towards Goku.
Once there, she saw that he was leaning on the tree with his right elbow, looking at something on the bark. Bulma looked to where his eyes were looking to see something engraved deeply within the tree. She moved in closer to see what it said.
Goku + Bulma
It said. She smiled a little and looked up at him.
"When did you write this?"
Goku smirked at her, "About five or so years ago…"
Her eyes widened once again, "That far back?"
He nodded, "Mm-hmm, yep."
Bulma's smile lessened; her hand reaching up to feel how their names together felt. To her amazement, it didn't just feel like any other bark, but like it was more special…had more power even. She took her hand back quickly, putting it to her heart.
Goku watched her before bending down and picking a lone lavender flower. He turned to her, pushing her hair behind her ears and setting the flower on the top of her ear. Bulma looked up at him with eyes of wonder. As she looked into his eyes, again, she saw an unconditional love within them, ones that can be clearly seen, even from a mere amateur.
"…And it still holds true," he continued from a sentence she long had forgotten already.
Before she could say anything, Goku leaned down and planted his lips on hers again, pressing her gently against the tree where their names were carved. Bulma gripped his forearms, kissing him back as lightly as he was her.
When she opened her eyes, it seemed that the sky got darker, the day letting her know that it was almost over. She didn't have one clue of how long her and Goku were standing against the tree kissing, but she enjoyed every second of it.
"We should start heading back, Goku…it's getting late," she said, putting her cheek up against his.
"Okay," he agreed from deep in his throat, "Are you gonna stay with me tonight again?"
Bulma opened her eyes slowly, shivering noticeably from his breath in her ear, "Sure."
Goku stepped back then and reminded her of his usual self, "Cool! We can get going now."
Bulma let out a deep breath, finally noticing that she was getting way to caught up in that moment.
They began walking back, side by side, yet not saying anything.
Before they knew it, the scenario quickly changed from beautiful woods to a busy city. Bulma looked up and saw their hotel about one hundred feet in front of her and her mouth became dry. She quickly pressed her tongue to the space in front of her lower teeth, trying to build up saliva again.
Already, she felt tears come to her eyes and she kicked herself mentally, punishing herself for all that was to come.
She looked down to the sidewalk, "Goku, I have something to tell you…"
Only ONE MORE chapter to go! O.O Man…it seems like I just started this! But oh well. Okay, please review and I'm terribly sorry for the cliffhanger, heh. ^_^