Just One Week
VII.
I would say the second day went pretty well, don't you think? After all, I got trained, learned how to fly, and even got to spend a little bit more personal time with Goku. To tell the truth, I have no clue how long Goku and I were just floating there in mid air. However, I do know that I didn't mind a single moment of it.
Goten and Trunks eventually got bored, of course, so they wanted more training. I decided to just watch on that one, considering that even if by miracle that I did make a ki blast, I would probably somehow throw it at myself. Watching the four guys was fun, nonetheless. I also loved to watch fights, so training wasn't much different, just a little slower. Sure is better than to just watch them sit there and meditate.
That's mostly how the whole day went. At one point, we all got hungry, but instead of going to a restaurant and eating like civilized people, they had to find a lake close by the area we were at and go fishing. To cook the fish, they got a bunch of sticks together and used their ki blasts to light a fire. I can't say I'm a big fan of fish, but if I didn't eat it, well…for one, my stomach would be growling like crazy, and two, Goten would give me those puppy eyes and act all sad because he would think he did something wrong. Why is it that that kid always gets to me?
Anyway, after their stomachs were satisfied, they went right back to training/sparring. Some time, Gohan came over and talked to me, figuring Goku needed to give more attention to the two younger boys.
* * * * * * * *
"Hey, Bulma," Gohan greeted as he walked over to her, sitting beside her once he reached her spot.
Bulma, who was leaning her back against the trunk of a tree, looked over at him from all the fighting going on, "Hey, yourself. Why aren't you over their training with your father?"
He gave a slight shrug of the shoulders, "Eh…I know everything he's going over and I figured you wanted someone to talk to," Gohan smirked and nudged Bulma's side with his elbow, "you look so lonely over here. Sure you don't want to come join us?"
Instead of answering right away, Bulma looked back over at Goku, Goten, and Trunks, watching as they flew all through the air. Suddenly, Trunks threw an unexpected blast at Goten, sending the youngest kid out of the sky and landing on his rear, the force also making him tumble backwards a few times. Yet he just chuckled and flew back up to Trunks and a fury of punches and kicks began flying.
"Uhh…" Bulma sweat dropped, shaking her head and looking back over to Gohan, "I'm happy right where I am."
Gohan laughed, leaning forward and touching his toes with his fingers to stretch, "So, did you enjoy flying?"
Her big, blue eyes gave a blink, a smile pulling up her lips as she thought about it, "Definitely. Even though I wasn't doing it on my own, it still felt like I was." She leaned her head back against the tree, taking a look up at Goku, watching as he observed Goten and Trunks.
He only nodded, both of them falling into a comfortable silence. Over that time, Bulma fell into a daydream. Would her and Goku form anything over the time he spent with them? Or will they just stay friends like they have all their lives?
How about I think of us becoming something… Bulma told her mind, a slight smile forming. Wonder what it feels like to have his lips pressed against mine…would they be soft and loving or rough and passionate? I'm just gonna guess both. Thinking this, she let out a small giggle.
Hearing her, Gohan's eyes went over to look at her, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. He followed her gaze and realized she was looking right at his dad. Not knowing how to take that, he cleared his throat, making her jump slightly.
"Bulma…do you think he misses my mom?" he asked suddenly, folding his legs up to sit Indian style.
She stared at him for a moment before looking down at her hands and blushing a bit, "I know he does, Gohan. And just because he doesn't show it, don't think otherwise. You know as well as I do that Goku isn't one to let things get to him too much. It would be too much stress for him, and with his personality, I don't think he would know how to deal with it. So he switches his mind to other things…"
"And what do you think those "other things" are?" he blurted out as soon as she got done answering his first question.
"Umm…" she started off, feeling her face heat up and her mind spin. What exactly was he getting at? She knew he was trying to put her on the spot, it wasn't that hard to figure out. But why? How was she supposed to know what he thought about?!
Bulma decided to just continue on, "Well…I would guess fighting for one. That was always one of his things. Along with food," she gave a short laugh, "no matter what, food has to take part in something." She paused to think, "I'm sure he thinks about you kids a lot, too. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he cares about—."
"You." Gohan interrupted before she could finish her sentence. As soon as he said it, however, he wished he hadn't as he looked away from her eyes and over at the three fighters.
Her heart skipped a beat, "Excuse me?"
Gohan sighed and finally just decided to meet her gaze, "Bulma, I know you're not stupid. I've noticed how you two have been acting around each other and I know you noticed, too. I don't know if it's just the way you guys show your friendship or not, I really don't remember. But…" Gohan was at a loss of words, what else could he say?
Bulma lowered her eyes. She suddenly felt terrible at all the things she thought of about her and Goku. Of course it should be obvious Gohan doesn't want his dad going right into another relationship when he just found out Chi-Chi died! It was to be expected. All through her years of being a mother of three, she figured out what she could say and do that wouldn't seem like she was putting the boys in second place. Bulma never dreamed of hurting any of their feelings, but…she just got overly excited when Goku came to her door. It wasn't like it was purposely done to get the two together.
"I'm not saying anything about not doing it, Bulma," Gohan said after studying Bulma's face go through mixed emotions.
She sighed, closing her eyes, "Yes you are, Gohan. Don't try to suddenly be the nice guy after you obviously said you didn't want anything between Goku and I. I understand…sorry for not asking if—."
"Bulma, why do you think you have to ask me if you can do something? Actually, I think it's great that you and my dad are getting closer. For the past four years, you dedicated your life to taking care of the three of us, what else could I ask for?" Gohan paused for a moment, giving a smile. The smile soon faded down into a frown though, "I just don't want to see you two getting hurt."
Bulma kept quiet for a few minutes, taking in everything Gohan just told her. She finally opened her eyes and looked back over at him, "What do you mean?"
This time, Gohan closed his eyes and took in a wavering breath, "The day my dad died…why do you think he didn't go visit my mom before he left? Because he didn't want to look into her eyes and see all the pain implanted there because of him. He thought it would be easier to leave without any sad goodbye." He felt tears sting his eyes behind his eyelids, making him punch himself mentally for still getting emotional about it.
"But my mom took it way out of proportion. In her opinion, it would have been better if he did say goodbye. She had so much to tell him, yet…maybe she just wanted to see him one last time. It would have possibly soothed her mind that he didn't just pack up and leave because he didn't care." Gohan paused again, opening his eyes and looking over at Bulma with a blurry vision.
"Because of their different views, my mom was hurt. She couldn't act like nothing was wrong when it was. And sometimes I think…what if my dad did come to say goodbye? Would my mom have kept her sanity knowing that he died for a good cause? Or would it have been the same fate either way?" Gohan squeezed his eyes shut tightly, tasting salty water on his lips before he knew it. He put his arm over his eyes to hide his shame, "And what about when this week's over? If you two get too close…will it be déjà vu?" Gohan's voiced cracked a bit, making him swallow hard, "Will you act like my mom because of everything that went on? After all…
"You lost Yamcha and Vegeta, too. Do you really want to go through that again?" Finally, Gohan let out a long breath that he'd been holding in to say what he had to say. He finally got enough courage to uncover his face, hoping his eyes weren't too puffy. He felt all his insides burning, making him slightly dizzy. Why did he have to say all that? Now he's just going to get himself all worked up…just like all the other times he thought about what happened.
Hearing all this, Bulma felt tears sting her own eyes. But she wouldn't dare cry. Another thing she learned about being a mother…always be the strong one. No matter what.
"Gohan…" was all she got out before scooting closer to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, though he wasn't crying anymore. She felt he still needed comforting.
Amazing. That was the only word that went through her mind at that moment. Before, she thought Gohan would be against her and Goku just because he couldn't stand not seeing his dad with his mom. But it wasn't even close to that. Instead, he was worrying about Goku and Bulma…not himself.
How so like him. Always putting others before himself, even if it was killing him inside. Yet for some reason…she didn't think the thought of her and Goku together bothered him at all. It was just the possible outcome.
Maybe she should think about that, also. After all, like Gohan said, she could end up getting hurt if she doesn't feel she's ready to let Goku go.
She let out a sigh. What was she going to do?
"Hey, guys. Anything wrong?"
Both Gohan and Bulma looked up to see Goku and suddenly, Gohan felt very childish. No matter how tough things got, his dad never cried. Now why was he sitting there, with Bulma's arm around him, crying over a memory? He quickly stood up and brushed himself off.
"Nope, nothing wrong. I was just about to come back over," Gohan stated, walking away from the two to spar along with Goten and Trunks.
Goku and Bulma watched him go before Goku looked down at Bulma, a slightly sad look in his eyes, "Is he okay? What were you guys talking about?"
Bulma only shook her head and sighed quietly, "He's just confused, Goku."
Instead of asking too much into the problem, Goku nodded slowly and accepted that as it was. He figured that if it was anything too important, Bulma or Gohan would tell him.
One of his goofy smiles made its way to his face. He stretched his arms high above him, letting out a satisfied sigh as he fell straight back and landed on the ground, his head near her feet.
A laugh escaped her mouth, "Those kids wear you out that quick?"
He grinned at her and put his arms behind his head, "Hey, those kids are tough. I'd like to see you fight with them all day."
Bulma rolled her eyes, punching his leg lightly, "I do! Maybe not in the way that you do, but believe me, when you spend day in and day out with a four and five year old…you get your disagreements where you have to step in." After saying this, she grinned, "But I always won in the end."
"I wouldn't doubt it," Goku said, "you probably just yelled out one word and you scared them away."
She narrowed her eyes into a glare, "Hey—!"
"Ah! No! I'm sorry for insulting you!" Goku yelled out, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he hid his face with his hands.
Hearing and seeing this, Bulma couldn't help but laugh. She shook her head and smirked down at him, "You haven't changed one bit, Goku."
He uncovered his face and mirrored her smirk, "Is that a good thing?"
"It's a very good thing." Even though it was a simple enough answer, it seemed to hold more meaning behind it than let on. And both of them sensed it. Goku sat up so they were facing each other directly. For a moment, Goku had a serious look in his eyes, but it quickly averted to their normal, carefree appearance.
"Ditto."
Bulma's eyes sparkled, a slight blush heating her face. She opened her mouth to respond to that, but got interrupted before she could start.
"Mommy, I'm tired," Goten said, his eyes drooping a bit as he reached them. Before saying anything else, he crawled onto Bulma's lap, resting his head on her chest and closing his eyes.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around his small body, placing a kiss on his forehead, "You ready to go home?"
Goten only nodded, gripping the bottom of her shirt within his fist, "Mm-hmm."
"Okay, we'll go then. It's getting late anyway," Bulma said, taking note on all the dark shadows that began forming around the area from all the trees. She guessed the sun was pretty well hidden over the horizon now, showing a deep red glare. She stood up with Goten still in her arms, groaning a bit from all his weight laid on her.
Goku stood up also, "Want me to carry him?" he asked, already holding out his arms to take his youngest son.
Bulma stepped forward and carefully handed Goten over to Goku, the moving hardly fazing the boy at all. Goten laid his head on his father's shoulder and that was it for him.
"Hey, you two! We're ready to go!" Bulma called to Gohan and Trunks, who quickly made their way over to the trio.
"Aww, already?" Trunks whined, crossing his arms. Of course, they all knew he was tired, also. He just wasn't ready to admit it yet.
Bulma nodded, taking his hand in hers, "Yes, already."
So all five of them headed back to Capsule Corp. Even before they got half way there, Trunks' eyes began drooping and Gohan was letting out yawns himself. Bulma knew it must've been a busy day for them if even Gohan was tired at eight-thirty.
As soon as they got home, all of them went upstairs. Gohan announced that he was going to take a shower then go to bed, while Bulma and Goku laid Goten and Trunks down in their beds, both of them falling into a deep sleep, no problem.
"I'm just gonna slip into something more comfortable," Bulma said, going across the hall to her room.
Goku nodded, going down to his room, "I think I'm gonna take a quick shower myself," he paused and sniffed himself, "Worked up a good sweat today."
Bulma gave a disgusted look before disappearing within her bedroom. Goku laughed as he too went into his bedroom, the spraying sound of the shower soon heard.
She opened her drawers and took out a loose shirt and comfortable shorts, changing into them quickly. She let out a loud yawn before exiting her room and heading back downstairs, her stomach growling. Putting a hand over her stomach, she moaned and entered the kitchen, taking out the ice cream from the freezer immediately.
"Note to self," she said out loud, getting a bowl and a spoon, beginning to put the ice cream into the bowl, "never eat fish. No good."
After filling her bowl all the way to the top, she licked the spoon and put the ice cream back into the freezer. She sat down at the table, taking a large scoop and putting it in her mouth, loving how it froze her tongue and made her teeth tingle.
As soon as she got done eating and putting the eating devices into the sink, Goku walked in wearing a tight white shirt and blue boxers, a fluffy towel around his neck.
"Refreshing!" Goku said, grinning ear to ear, going back into the living room, followed by Bulma, plopping down on the couch and relaxing.
"Wow," Bulma said, looking at the clock to see it was quarter past nine, "this was a long day, yet it seemed to go by so fast."
Goku nodded, rolling his head and punching the back of his neck lightly with his fists to loosen up all the muscles around that area, "Sure was. But you hardly got to do anything."
Bulma shrugged, putting her feet up on the coffee table, "That's okay. Just watching you guys was tiring enough," she smiled a bit, "some of the things you did looked cool, though, I admit."
He went quiet for a moment before a big smile appeared on his face, "Well, even though you aren't much into fighting, I can teach you some self-defense moves that you might like."
Giving a short laugh, Bulma eyed him weirdly, "Goku, I may be a fast learner in most areas, but I don't think fighting is one of them."
"You never know until you try," Goku said, jumping off the couch and grabbing her hand, making her stand up, also. She let out a short squeak as she was suddenly on her feet, watching as Goku moved the couch and coffee table back with ease.
"Goku…" Bulma said, not quite sure if she wanted to do this or not.
"Okay, how about we start off with ground ones," Goku suggested, ignoring the uncertainty in her voice. Before anything else was said, he lay on the floor on his back, his knees folded. "Now…the first thing you do is stand in between my legs and wrap your hands around my neck."
Hearing this, Bulma once again blushed, "Why would I want to do that?"
"Because this is how you learn," he stated simply, lying his head on the floor also.
She looked at him for a minute before sighing in defeat. Slowly, she walked between his legs and leaned over and laid her hands against his neck.
He looked at her strangely, "Well, that isn't exactly what I would call choking, but it'll do." Since she was close enough to the position he wanted her in, he decided to begin with the move. He grabbed her right wrist with both of his hands, pressing her hands more against his neck, "Okay, the idea is trying to make you believe that I can't put up a fight and bring you closer to me." When he got done explaining this, he wrapped his feet around the outside of her legs, pushing her feet even closer to him, "Then when I do this…it makes you lose your balance, so…" he pushed his feet more to her legs. Because she didn't want to fall on him, she arched her back, throwing her off balance even more.
Her eyes widened as he pushed her hands away from his neck, making her squeal as she began to fall backwards. She landed with an oomph on her back, her eyes closed tightly. Once she was sure she was okay, she opened her eyes to find Goku standing right above her, her legs still in between his, as he smiled down at her.
"Got it?" he asked, the grin never leaving his face at her surprised expression. Seeing her nod, he also nodded and flipped his one leg over so he was standing on her right, "Good, now it's your turn."
Once again, her eyes got bigger as he walked between her legs and leaned down to gently grab her neck, making sure not to choke her, "Remember what to do first?"
"Umm…" she folded her knees up and grabbed his right wrist with her hands. She paused a moment to try to remember what he did next.
"Trick me," was all Goku said before Bulma's face lit up as she remembered.
She wrapped her feet around his legs, bringing him closer to her. She knew that he was helping her along a bit (of course she would never be able to move him on her own!), but she also knew she was doing well nonetheless. Once she got him so close to her, it felt like he was going to fall on her, so she lifted her hips off the ground, making him fall backwards. Because she didn't let go of his wrist, she flew forward with his weight, not catching herself on her feet when he went down. Instead, she found herself straddling his stomach.
Here comes that blush again.
Goku grinned, "That was great, Bulma! See, you can be a fast learner in this, too!" by the way he spoke, it made her almost believe that he didn't even realize the position they were in.
She nodded, mocking his grin, "Of course! Piece of cake!" After she said this, she shifted her weight to one side, about to flip off of him, but that was before he grabbed her wrists quickly.
"Goku?" she asked suddenly, finding that she couldn't move. She squinted down at him, noticing how dark the room had gotten since the sun had completely gone down.
"Once you have me down like this…" Goku started, shifting slightly under her, "know what you can do?"
Bulma shook her head, letting out a short yelp when Goku quickly rolled them over so he was once again on top, "Well, you sure ain't going to get anywhere just sitting there."
She wiggled a bit, once again doing the move he taught her not five minutes ago. This made him chuckle as he was once again on his back looking up at her, "Yeah, so we're in this position again. You better do something before I'm in the lead again."
Tilting her head to the side, she thought about it for a moment, "Umm…the only thing I can think of is to just knee you."
"No!" Goku yelled, his eyes going wide, "There's another way you can go about it."
Bulma let a laugh at his terrified expression, "I wasn't actually gonna do it, Goku…"
Goku only shook his head, not even wanting to imagine what that would feel like, "Anyway…you can scoot up and wrap your arms around my neck from the side and fall off to the side. That should put my neck in a very uncomfortable position."
She nodded and did as she was told and…it sort of worked. Instead of connecting his head with her shoulder, she let go half way through the move, making his head fall onto her leg.
"Heh…oops," she said sheepishly, running her hands back through her hair.
Before she could think anything else, Goku sat up and spun around her, his legs wrapped around her legs from behind and his right arm coming around her neck. He lowered his head next to hers, so his mouth was right next to her ear. In a low, almost growl like voice, he said, "And how do you handle this one?"
Hearing his voice that close and feeling his breath on her neck, she shivered noticeably, goosebumps making their way to her arms. She sucked in a deep breath, gripping onto his boxer shorts tightly.
After finally regaining herself a little, she let out a breath and relaxed, but didn't loosen her grip, "I would handle this one by…relaxing," she stated, her head falling back onto his shoulder, her eyes closing from pure bliss.
Goku's whole body froze for a moment, his once narrowed, menacing eyes going to their normal big, innocent eyes. Black orbs disappeared and reappeared quickly with all three blinks he made. He looked to his side and it was quite clear that she was enjoying herself. Slowly, he lowered his arm from around her neck to around her waist. His other arm, which was supporting him upright, slid back a bit to get in a more comfortable position, but he was surprised when he felt his back come in contact with the couch. Guess he didn't realize how much area they took up by rolling around.
"Mmmm," Bulma moaned out when she felt them go back a little, snuggling her body more into his.
Slowly, almost unsure, he wrapped his other arm around her waist also, both of his arms overlapping each other. She herself brought her arms over his, his skin burning into hers.
His big eyes continued to stare down at her with wonder, the deep silence floating around them. It's been so long since he held a girl in his arms; he almost forgot what it felt like. When he was with Chi-Chi, they hardly had any little romantic moments like this so it was a wonder he was doing everything right now.
Wait…was the word "romantic" just used? His eyes shrunk a bit. Romance? With Bulma? Weren't they just friends?
He swallowed before speaking lowly, "Bulma?"
"Hmm?" she asked back, turning her head to the other side so now her face was facing his way.
He blinked a few times once again, watching through the darkness as she intertwined her legs within his; "…What are you thinking?"
She was quiet for a moment, before answering with the same low voice; "This feels so wonderful…I've been waiting so long for this…"
Hearing this, he felt his heart speed up a couple of miles and he was sure Bulma felt it also, "For…what?"
Bulma decided not to answer right away on this, either. She wondered why she was so calm at the moment…she thought she would be so nervous that she wouldn't be able to say anything and she would just think so much into the idea that she would quickly jump out of his arms.
She never imagined it would be this good…
"For the moment when I would be held again. For the feel of another body against mine. For the greatest emotion to overfill my senses once again…" was her simple, yet explanatory answer.
Goku's eyes shrunk even more, his arms hugging her tighter to him. What was he doing!? Truth be told, he didn't think his mind was working quite right, "Greatest emotion?"
She nodded slightly, running her fingers over his arms. She tilted her head back some, her eyes opening slightly to look into his. He stared back, the shrinking of his eyes happening once again. They were so close…and even though Bulma always had the temperature in CC just right, it suddenly felt like something got messed up and the temperature skyrocketed.
"Don't you feel it, too, Goku?" she whispered, moving her legs to entangle their legs even more.
His Adam's apple moved down then up again as he swallowed hard, his black orbs dancing around to search for some sort of answer within her blue pools.
Before he knew it, he felt her body scoot closer to his. She tilted her head back more, and leaned up. He watched as her face came closer and closer to his, making him uncertain if his breath picked up or stopped all together.
Once she got so close, he could feel how hot her breath was as she breathed out his name, pressing her lips to his before another long moment could pass.
His eyes widened back up again. His mind swirled with just one question… Am I…kissing Bulma? Of course, he knew he was. Yet as soon as he totally realized what was happening, she pulled away slowly, laying her head back on his shoulder.
"Bulma…" his voice cracked out, strong emotion coming through completely, "Why…you…I…"
Hearing that he was at a loss of words, she closed her eyes again and smiled, "Is it so wrong for two friends to share a kiss?"
Goku's eyes shrunk down a bit again until they finally closed. He sighed silently and squeezed her body tighter to his.
"No…there's nothing wrong with it at all."
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YAY! Pretty chapter! ^^ Sorry for the long wait for this, guess I needed a little break. But I hope it was well worth the wait and you enjoyed it. Please review! Thank you so much!
BTW: I got a new story up… A Goten/Bra fic. ^^; just thought I'd let you know in case you're a fan. It's called "Away". …okay I love you buh-bye!