A Bro-ho-ho-ten Gift for
For the_Fashionista_Nerd
All I Want For Christmas Is You
All of North City was covered in a blanket of shimmering snow as Goten touched down in front of the Briefs winter cabin where the next generation of Z fighters would celebrate the holidays together while the Briefs matriarch and the rest of their parents enjoyed a couples cruise.
The sweet smell of freshly baked cookies, pine needles and firewood greeted the demi-saiyan as he walked over the threshold, toeing off his snow-sodden boots before tucking his gloves into his coat and hanging it on the rack.
"About time you showed up!" Trunks called from the living room.
"I got caught up in traffic." The younger halfling grinned, plopping down on the sofa and making himself at home.
"Liar," The Heir snorted.
There was fire crackling softly in the hearth, beneath a line of stockings with their names lovingly embroidered across the tops as Christmas carols played softly over the radio. Trunks was sorting out a pile of tangled lights, Marron was hard at work icing cookies at the dinner table.
"Hey Uncle Goten!" Pan beamed as she emerged from the hallway, a box under each arm labeled 'Ornaments'. "I'm glad you're here! You can help with the decorating."
"I just got here and already you're putting me to work," He sighed, feigning exhaustion as she passed him a box to sort through.
"Yup," the quarterling said as she began picking through her box, checking that every brightly colored globe had a hook. Those always seemed to inexplicably get lost somehow in between holidays.
"Is Bulla not joining us?" He asked, not sounding as casual as he'd like. He could sense the younger Briefs in the house, her ki a subtle pulse compared to its usual steady thrum.
"She's moping upstairs," Pan sighed.
"Moping?" Goten arched his brow.
"You mean you don't know?"
His niece fished a magazine out of the pile of mail scattered across the coffee table and passed it over. On the cover was a picture of bulla and her most recent beau, along with an obnoxious illustration of a big red heart cracked right down the center.
"Oh." was all he could think to say.
"You… think they're calling it quits for good this time?" Goten asked.
Trunks paused in his struggle to pick apart the tangle of Christmas lights in his lap, glancing over at the magazine in his fellow halfling's fingers. "Oh yeah, I think they're done for good this time, thank Kami. Probably wanna throw that out before my sister sees it though, and if you could not mention him to her that'd be great."
"You're… surprisingly calm about this." Goten mused as he made his way into the kitchen, shoving the copy of the Zeni Star in the rubbish bin.
"That relationship always had an expiration date. I quit losing my head over Bulla's boyfriends a long time ago. She'll mope for a while and then she'll get over it."
"Should… someone go up there and check on her?"
"Don't poke the bear Uncle Goten." Pan said dismissively, shaking her head before changing the subject, "since we're doing Secret Santa and all the parents are out of town this year, it looks a little bare in here."
The quarterling wasn't wrong. Typically, the entire living room was packed to the brim with brightly wrapped packages of all shapes and sizes, but this year there were only three simple packages stacked neatly beside the fireplace, waiting to be nestled under the tree after they finished decorating it.
"I'm glad we did it this way. It makes things so much simpler, well except for whoever got my sister, she's notoriously hard to shop for." Trunks chuckled as he wound the now untangled cord of colored lights around the tree.
The dark-haired halfling drug a hand tiredly across his face, his stomach curdling.
"… why are you making that face?" The heir paused in his task, a bemused look pulling at his sharp features, then his crystal blue eyes widened in realization. "You got Bulla, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"And you haven't gotten her a gift yet, have you?" The lavender-haired halfling sighed.
Goten had been racking his brain for weeks, but nothing he'd picked out seemed right. And now, Christmas morning was just forty-eight hours away, and he still had nothing for the Heiress. "I've been trying, I just… don't know what she'd like."
"Uncle Goten! You've had an entire month to find her something!" Pan scolded, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger.
"Did I hear that correctly, Son Goten? Your Bulla's Secret Santa and you haven't gotten her a gift yet?!" Marron exclaimed incredulously, her brows drawn together, accidentally dropping a globule of festive green icing on the tabletop.
"I still have time. I'll figure something out. She… she likes shoes, right?"
"It's safe to assume so. She owns over five hundred pairs." Trunks said with a roll of his eyes, his feet leaving the ground as he floated up, circling the tree as he continued to string lights from branch to branch.
"You're exaggerating."
"I'm really not." The heir grumbled.
"See? She already has everything she could ever want." Goten sighed, taking a seat beside Marron at the kitchen table, swiping a freshly iced, tree shaped cookie and stuffing it in his mouth.
"What's the big deal? If she doesn't like whatever you got her, she can just exchange it." Pan shrugged. "Didn't you two used to train all the time? Surely she mentioned something to help you out. The worst case scenario, get her a gift certificate."
"I am not getting her a gift certificate, it's too… impersonal."
It all started about a year and a half ago, after the youngest Briefs came home from college. With their fathers spending an increasing amount of time in Lord Beerus' world, Bulla had approached him with one request; Would he train with her? It made sense. Pan, with her adventurous spirit, was hardly ever available. Bulla had never cared for sparring with her brother. It always escalated beyond friendly competition and often resulted in costly property damage before either of the siblings would concede defeat.
So Goten seemed to be the most practical choice.
It was just meant to be friendly sparring between friends, but Bulla had changed. She was so different from how he'd remembered her growing up, and little by little it became increasingly difficult to keep the Heiress off of his mind. Those training sessions became the highlight of his week until they suddenly stopped.
Just when Goten had worked up the nerve to confess his growing feelings to the blunette, Bulla had started seeing Serge and between him and her work at Capsule Corp., had very little time to spare.
Trunks gave his best friend a sympathetic look. Everyone knew about Goten's feelings for the Capsule Corp. Heiress. Trunks had been the first to figure it out. Goten never had hidden anything from him. Goten wasn't sure what tipped him off. He'd expected the
lavender-haired halfling to confront him with anger and indignation at the realization, but he hadn't. He'd said if there was one person he would trust with his baby sister; it was his best friend.
"You'll just have to think outside the box." Marron shrugged.
"Thanks Marron, that's super helpful." The dark-haired demi-saiyan rolled his eyes.
The blonde grinned, focusing on carefully dusting each of her little trees with tiny red and white sprinkles, when Goten noticed her shoulders shaking with what appeared to be barely suppressed laughter.
"What's so funny?" Goten asked.
"Nothing." Marron giggled, shaking her head as if she knew something he didn't.
"Marron…"
"Well, it's just kind of adorable."
"What's adorable?" The dark-haired Saiyan frowned. It was never a good thing when Marron used the word 'adorable'.
"Well… Bulla just so happens to be your Secret Santa and she may or may not have struggled to find the right gift for you too."
Oh no.
"Marron, the whole point of Secret Santa is that it's a secret!" Trunks called from the top of the tree, which only made Marron giggle more.
"What did she get me?" Goten demanded.
"Oh no, you're not getting that of me," The blonde shook a finger at him, "I will say, that she put a lot of thought into it."
What if it was something extravagant? It would be just like a Briefs to gift him with a Castle or a plane or maybe even a one year supply of canned hams. The possibilities were endless. Whatever it was, he was sure it would be amazing, and that just made him that more anxious about her gift.
"How about this, we're all going skiing this afternoon but we're going to have kind of a lazy day tomorrow. If you don't find something by then, I'll help you find the perfect gift for Bulla."
"Kami knows he'll need all the help he can get." Trunks chuckled, the corners of his lips curling into a smirk, which quickly evaporated when a sugary splat of emerald green collided with the back of his head.
Several hours later the Heiress still had not seen fit to grace the rest of the household with her presence, so Marron and Pan took it upon themselves to attempt to coax the blunette out of hiding.
They found her sprawled out across her bed, staring at the ceiling and clutching a bag of jumbo marshmallows. The picture of misery.
"Men. Are 's going to be my New Year's resolution Marron. I'm swearing off men. For good."
"Uhuh." Marron rolled her eyes, flicking an invisible speck of dust from her puffy pink coat.
"I am. I'm serious."
"Sure you are." The blonde yawned.
Bulla's phone rang, but the Heiress made no move to reach for the device.
"That's him again, isn't it?" Pan asked with a sigh as she pulled her cozy winter hat over her raven strands.
"Probably." Bulla scoffed. "Yesterday he sent two-hundred roses to my office. I shredded them, well, half of them, then my shredder broke, and then I sent them back."
The whimsical tune of Bulla's phone sounded again.
"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to turn that off." Marron nodded to the phone rattling across the dresser.
"-why can't I just find a cute, sweet, funny, thoughtful guy? Where have they all gone?"
"Don't look at me, I'm a lesbian." Pan shrugged.
"There are some great guys still out there, Bulla. Some of them might be closer than you think, right in plain sight, in fact. One in particular that I can think of off the top of my head. As they say, when one door closes another one opens-"
"I am in no mood for platitudes Marron, I'm having a crisis." Bulla scowled, seizing another handful of marshmallows and stuffing them into her mouth.
"Can you take a break from your crisis and maybe come skiing with us?" Marron prodded.
Bulla sighed, "You guys go, I'm going to take a nap or something."
"You're sure?"
"Yup."
"Fine, guess we'll just go have fun without you…" Pan said in a sing-song voice.
"Go right ahead," the Heiress said sullenly, still glaring at her ceiling fan as if it were the cause of all her woes.
Marron took a deep breath, they weren't getting anywhere with her today, perhaps tomorrow they would have better luck. "Alright, well let us know if you change your mind, or if you… run out of marshmallows or whatever."
"Alright, we're hitting the slopes! You sure you don't wanna come, Goten?" Trunks asked the dark-haired demi Saiyan as he finished cramming their gear into the backseat of his car.
Goten shook his head, slipping on his gloves once more, "no, I think I'll hang back, maybe go into town and try to figure out my Secret Santa gift… Is Bulla not going with you guys?" He glanced back toward the cabin, a frown tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Mopey? No, she said she'd rather stay in bed and sulk." Pan said as she slid into the back passenger seat.
"Maybe you should go upstairs and cheer her up before you go, Goten," Marron said with a wink, giving the halfling a playful nudge with her elbow. "You know, raise her spirits, give her some of that Super Saiyan d-"
"I am standing right here Marron." Trunks said, an incredulous look on his face. The blonde merely snickered before hopping into the passenger seat.
After parting ways with the others, Goten threw one last glance at the cabin before making his trek into town.
The streets were bustling with last-minute shoppers, which only made Goten even more anxious than he already was.
Anxious.
What was wrong with him? Goten didn't do anxious. He was the easygoing one in the group. Usually nothing phased him.
Were he shopping for any other girl, he would be cool as a cucumber.
But Bulla wasn't just any girl to him, not anymore. Not for a long time.
And for the first time since he'd accepted that, she was single.
Maybe now was the perfect time to tell her how he really felt.
Or maybe not.
She had just ended a relationship. What if the last thing she needed was him spilling his heart out to her?
But what if he didn't, and he missed his chance yet again?
He'd been sitting on these feelings for far too long. Once he might have thought them a passing fancy, that would fade with time. But they hadn't. They'd lingered, simmering low in the back of his mind. Carefully kept in check. If she was happy with Serge, he was content to leave them be.
But clearly that wasn't the case.
He went from shop to shop, but none of it seemed to pop out and scream "Buy me!". After devouring a whole pizza and five churros to quell his growing nervousness over the entire ordeal, Goten began the walk back to the Brief's winter cabin in defeat. Marron would help him find the right gift tomorrow. She had to. He was in over his head. He needed help.
When he arrived, the sun was just sinking beneath the horizon, soft flurries floating down from the sky once more.
He kicked off his frost covered boots, shaking the dusting of snow from his shaggy spikes. It was quiet, Goten reached out with his mind, only detecting one other ki signature in the house, belonging to the youngest Briefs still napping upstairs. His gaze drifted to the tree, decorated to perfection with all manner of baubles and twinkling lights. Snuggly tucked beneath the tree, three festively wrapped gifts.
He softly padded over to the tree, crouching down, in the small pile, was his own gift, his name written across the tag in pristine cursive.
Goten gingerly picked up the brightly wrapped package, holding it to his ear and shaking it gently, its contents rustling softly. It wasn't terribly heavy, whatever it was. He gave it a sniff, a soft, sweet feminine scent greeting him. It just… smelled like Bulla.
Whatever he got her, he had to make it as good as whatever was in this box. Maybe if he just took the tiniest peek…
He fingered the edge of a neatly folded corner.
No.
He couldn't do that. One of the best parts of Christmas was seeing the joy and surprise on someone's face when they opened their gifts. He couldn't rob her of that. Goten had a horrible poker face, and he knew it. If he peeked, everyone would know.
With a sigh, he carefully placed the package back under the tree.
There was a small cough, and Goten glanced up at the ceiling, reminded once more that Bulla was sitting, probably heartbroken, alone in bed upstairs. The thought made his chest give a squeeze. Pan had cautioned him against disturbing the Heiress, but he had to try, didn't he? It was Christmas time. If he couldn't give her the perfect gift, he could at least try to be there for her when she's going through a hard time.
Gently he knocked on her bedroom door, "Bulla?"
"What?" Came the muffled response. Feeling encouraged, he pushed the door open. The lights were off, but he could just barely make out a small lump beneath the bedding.
"There's a Christmas lights display in town and I was wondering if you wanted to go check it out with me."
"I don't think I'll be very good company, you should take one of the others instead." His chest gave a squeeze at her quiet response. She sounded so defeated and tired.
"I'd rather go with you."
Silence was his only response.
"I have eggnog." He offered.
"No, thank you."
"I… also have rum."
A heavy silence hung between them. Goten's shoulders slumped, and he was just about to give up when a mess of teal hair poked out from under the pile of blankets.
"Fine. Forego the eggnog and let me get dressed and we'll go."
The snow crunched lightly under their feet as they made their way to the lakeside side park turned sparkling winter wonderland, shimmering lights of every color bursting out against the wintry white and grey. Despite how packed it was in the shopping district, the atmosphere here was calm.
Goten was thankful for it, it was hard enough for him to think around the Heiress these days without a swarm of people hustling them along. Goten snuck a glance at the blunette from the corner of his eye.
As always, she was effortlessly gorgeous, her cheeks pink from the cold, a light layer of frost sprinkled over her red knit hat, the soft glow of the Christmas lights dancing over her skin. They'd only been out a short while, but she already seemed in better spirits. She'd even smiled at a joke he'd made on their way into town. He was kicking himself for not trying to coax her out of bed sooner.
"It's so weird being here without our parents," Bulla mused as they passed through a tunnel of twinkling snowflake lights, "it feels like it was only yesterday, I was here looking at the lights with Mom and Dad for the first time, Dad didn't get the point of it at all of course. But he came anyway."
"I'm sure he's having a blast trapped on that cruise ship, not being allowed to train for a week." The older halfling grinned, taking a sip from the flask he fished out of his coat pocket before passing it over to the heiress.
"Oh, he's in hell, there's no telling what my Mom has him doing, probably spa treatments and ballroom dancing. He's probably hating every minute."
They came to a stop on a narrow wooden bridge, strung from one end to the other with bright blue lights. Below the bridge, a small crowd of people were ice skating on the frozen lake, couples holding hands, several families trying to teach their little ones. The heiress smiled as she watched a father attempting to keep his little girl upright as the blades of her skates scraped clumsily against the icy surface.
"My Dad actually taught me how to skate when I was little, did you know that?"
"Vegeta ice skates?" Goten's brow shot up. "Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans? That guy ice skates?"
"Don't look so shocked. My Dad makes it his business to be the best at everything, and that means everything." Apparently, all it had taken was a few taunting remarks from Bulma, and he was skating circles around the other Briefs before sundown that day. "I think he low-key enjoys it, but he would never admit that. He always used to take me when I was little, though. I kind of miss it, it was one of the things about the Holiday I looked forward to the most."
Her gaze drifted away from the lake to the twinkling forest waiting for them on the other side of the luminous bridge.
"They're pretty, aren't they?" He slid an arm across her shoulders, he couldn't help himself, and to his surprise, she snuggled into his side, her hand coming to rest on his back, a warmth flooded his chest that he knew had nothing to do with alcohol as they resumed their leisurely stroll.
"They are," she gave a small, tentative smile, "I can't remember the last time I got to enjoy something as simple as Christmas lights. I've been so busy."
"Maybe you should take time off more often."
"And leave the running of the family business to Trunks? I don't know about that." She chuckled softly. "Thanks… for inviting me. I know I've been kind of a stick in the mud lately."
"I enjoy spending time with you." He could feel that pesky warmth creeping up his neck. "I'd actually like to spend more time with you, like we used to. I've… kind of missed you."
"I've kind of missed you too." Bulla smiled, giving him a little squeeze before releasing her grip on him.
They made their way into the thicket of illuminated trees, and just ahead, was a swarm of children giggling and pelting each other with snowballs and suddenly, Goten got an idea, he quietly drew to a stop, allowing Bulla to get a few paces ahead of him, before he crouched down in the snow, gathering a mound of the icy substance between his gloved fingers.
Bulla turned and was just about to ask Goten what the holdup was when something wet and freezing exploded right in her face.
Goten let out a burst of laughter that petered out when the Princess remained utterly still, her mouth hanging open in shock. Oh no, maybe that wasn't the right thing to do. Great he'd screwed up their entire night. Things were going so well and then he had to go and-
WHAM
Goten was nearly knocked on his ass by the force of the absolutely massive snowball the saiyan princess had hurled his way.
"You're going to regret that Son!" A positively manic smile bloomed across the heiress face as she ran at him, a snowball in each hand.
"You'll have to catch me first Briefs!"
By the time they started making their way back, the snow was falling heavily, they were both freezing and soaked from head to toe from their impromptu snow battle. Because it wasn't a fight, it was a battle. But even though their teeth were chattering from the cold, Bulla had been laughing and grinning from ear to ear the entire way home and as far as Goten was concerned, that was worth the slight possibility of catching a cold.
They had nearly reached the path leading up to the cabin's driveway when something caught the elder halfling's eye.
This was a sign. He knew it. Now was his chance.
"Wait."
"Hmm?" The blunette turned, walking back toward where her fellow hybrid stood, eyes fixed skyward.
Overhead, dangling from a low-hanging branch and barely covered with snow, was a sprig of pale, waxy, white berries.
"It's mistletoe." Goten said softly, a hint of shyness in his voice.
Her gaze flicked back to his, and they simply stared at one another for a moment, neither moving a muscle.
Though not for a lack of trying.
Kiss her. His heart began to thump thump thump in his ear, all of his instincts urging him to lean down and finally, do what he'd been wishing to for the past year and a half, say what he'd been wishing to say, but he seemed to be frozen in place.
It's now or never-
"So it is," the blunette said with a grin and leaned up on her tippy toes and pressed her lips to his cheek.
It was a small, fleeting kiss, but the sweetness of it made his heart thrum contentedly. The next thing he knew she was sashaying out of his reach, giggling, "The last one back to the house is a rotten egg!"
Though Bulla had a bit of a head start, Goten still beat her to the front door, right as he was about to declare her the Rotten Egg, he noticed a small package on the welcome mat, wrapped in shiny blue paper and topped with a gauzy golden bow, beneath which was a small card that read 'Bulla' in a loopy script.
He picked it up as the Heiress's snowed covered boots padded to a stop on the porch.
"It's for you," He said quietly as he passed the package to the heiress.
Bulla's smile melted away almost immediately as she tugged the box free of the fluffy bow, making quick work of the wrapping paper. Inside was a velvety blue box. The Heiress cracked it open, revealing a glittering diamond bracelet.
And Goten knew without a doubt that the bracelet likely cost more than he could hope to earn in an entire year.
Bulla's brow was creased in a scowl as she looked down at the bracelet. Her lip was quivering, she looked furious.
Goten didn't know what to say as the Heiress snapped the box shut and shook her head. "This is his solution to all of our disagreements, buying me something pretty, hoping to shut me up so he can go back to doing the same old shit, so he doesn't have to put any actual effort into our relationship."
She tore open the small envelope, flicking open the festively decorated card, "This isn't even his handwriting, his assistant probably picked this out."
"… Wanna go kick his ass?" The older halfling offered, "you know we totally could."
And just like that, her temper seemed to evaporate, that radiant smile was back, and she was laughing again. "No, he's not worth it."
They made their way back into the house, hanging their coats up to dry by the fire because they were still utterly soaked. Bulla snagged a Christmas cookie from the table before unceremoniously tossing the bracelet and card Serge had sent her into the waste bin.
She paused on the stairs, peering over at Goten as he stoked the fire. "Goten?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you again for hanging out with me. You always know how to cheer me up."
"Anytime Princess."
And with that, she disappeared upstairs once more, leaving Goten to contemplate the task at hand with fresh vigor.
To Goten's surprise, Bulla didn't hide away in her room the next day. She came down for breakfast, helped Marron with the prep work for dinner, and happily joined them all outside for a snowman building competition. Or rather, a snow 'fighter' building competition. They attempted to recreate each of the z-fighters in snowman form, with varying degrees of success. The best one being Pan's interpretation of Goku, although his 'hair' kept falling off. Afterwards, everyone settled in to curl up by the fire and watch Christmas movies, giving Goten and Marron a chance to sneak off to the mall to search for Bulla's perfect present.
"So you're actually going to tell her? Tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Fucking finally, we are going to find her the most fabulous gift and then you can finally stop pining pathetically in the corner at family gatherings! Oh, and then we can go on double dates. How fun would that be? I mean, we've had double dates with some of the other guys Bulla's gone out with, but this time it'll actually be fun because-"
"You're getting ahead of yourself Mare, she might not even be into me. Let's just focus on the gift." Goten shook his head at his friend as he thumbed through a rack of picked over but quirky T-shirts with a frown. "It needs to be somewhat romantic, but not so romantic that it'll be weird if things don't… work out the way I want them to." His eyes darted over to another rack, "Maybe a sweater? Everyone loves an Ugly Christmas sweater, right?"
"A sweater? Not very romantic Goten. I thought you were supposed to be something of a Casanova. It would seem that was only a rumor."
"I told you I needed help. What about these?" The blonde gave him an exasperated look as he held up a pair of furry pink bunny slippers.
"I'm going to save you some time, Goten. No clothes. If there is an item of clothing that woman wants, I assure you, she owns it. Maybe… jewelry?"
He thought back to the way Bulla had responded to the diamond bracelet Serge had sent her, and frowned. "No, I don't think so."
"Mmmm you're right, too soon, maybe in a few months if you grow some balls and actually make a move tomorrow."
"I am going to make a move." He just wasn't sure how yet. Yet another reason he had to get her something good, something special, that would make her face light up at the sight of it.
"Yeah, that's what you said last time, and then you didn't, and then she got together with Sewald."
"Serge."
"Whatever. Hmm, I'd say anything tech-related is out as well, seeing as that's literally her job."
Her job, as the co-ceo of a multi-billion-dollar corporation. What does anyone give someone accustomed to such wealth? "… What are you getting for Trunks?"
"A Blow job." The blonde said offhandedly as she spritzed a dash of perfume onto a small piece of cardboard and sniffed it. "What? You asked."
"I'm beginning to think you aren't the expert gift giver you think you are," the halfling grumbled as he twirled a rack of charm bracelets with a frown.
"Trunks would beg to differ. Once I gave him a naughty coupon book, another time I surprised him at work wearing nothing but a trench coat and heels ooh and then there was the time with the edible body paint-"
"Anything not involving sexual favors, Mare?"
"No… no, not really."
They made their way through all the same shops Goten had hunted through the previous day and came to the same conclusion. Nothing, nothing on any of those shelves, could convey what the demi-Saiyan wished to.
"Maybe you should just get her a gift certificate."
"No, I do not want to do that. I want it to be special. Maybe I should have made her something instead."
"Considering you have less than twenty-four hours. I'd say the ship has sailed on that." Marron rolled her eyes, linking arms with the halfling and pressing the crosswalk button. "Maybe instead of stuff, you could give her… an experience instead?"
The wave of cars passed and as Goten and Marron stepped off the curb to cross the street, Goten's eyes landed on the window of a sporting goods store.
"Or… maybe I could give her both."
On Christmas Eve, Goten went to bed feeling surprisingly good about the next day, so much so that he could hardly sleep. He awoke just as the sun was peeking over the mountain tops outside his bedroom window.
Unable to wait a moment longer, the hybrid hopped out of bed, quickly tossing on an old t-shirt and made his way downstairs, where the scent of sizzling bacon and eggs met his nose.
All the hard work they had put into decorating the cabin had paid off. It looked just as wonderful as it had when they came here as children. An array of colored bulbs and curled ribbon hung from the ceiling, twinkling lights framing the windows, the Christmas tree practically dripping in tinsel and flickering lights and ornaments of every color.
Bulla and Pan were lounging on the sofas as Marron and Trunks finished cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Bulla smiled sleepily at him, patting the space beside her, indicating that he should join her.
After eating their fill, the five of them finally exchanged their gifts. Marron gifted Pan with a new set of sparring gear. Pan gifted Trunks a bottle of his favorite scotch. Marron refused to share what Trunks had gifted her, but whatever it was had the two of them throwing heated looks across the room at one another. That just left Bulla and Goten.
"Merry Christmas," Bulla smiled, holding out the gift that he'd been debating opening just two days ago.
He carefully tugged the bow away from the box before tearing into the wrapping paper. Inside was a thick, woolen scarf in a lovely shade of dark blue.
"Do you like it?" Bulla asked after a beat. "I made it myself."
"I… love it…" He ran a hand over the material, "you made this?" He'd never seen her knit a thing in his life.
"I did! I asked your Mom to teach me and after many, many tries, I finally got it down! I think." She lifted her hands, wiggling her fingers, displaying an array of faded red marks where it appeared she had accidentally poked herself with the knitting needles.
It was just like the scarves his Mom used to make him when he was younger.
He didn't know what to say; it was such a thoughtful gift. He knew he would love whatever she got him, but he wasn't expecting something so touching. "I have something for you too, but you'll need to grab your coat first."
"My coat? Where are we going?" She quirked an aqua brow.
"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?" The dark-haired halfling smirked.
With a squeal of excitement, Bulla hopped up, racing to the door to pull on her coat and boots. As Goten got up to join her, he caught Trunks' eye. The heir simply nodded his approval, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.
A short time later, Goten and Bulla touched down in a quiet clearing near to the cabin. It was utterly silent but for the sound of snow crunching beneath their boots.
"Um, Goten, what exactly are we doing here? If you were anyone else, I might be concerned you were about to murder me."
Her fellow hybrid let out a laugh. "Just a little further. You'll see."
When they reached their destination, they were standing before the vast frozen lake, sunlight bouncing off the icy surface.
Goten swept the snow off the top of a nearby fallen tree, drying it with a quick burst of ki and motioning for her to come sit with him.
Bulla looked at him with confusion, but took a seat beside him. He simply held out a bright red bag topped with glittery white tissue paper. "Open it."
"Okay…" She arched a brow at him, taking the bag from his hands, carefully digging through the tissue paper and producing…
A pair of pristine white ice skates trimmed with fur. "Oh Goten…"
Goten rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, "you probably already have a pair, So I get it if you want to take them back-"
"They're perfect Goten, thank you so much." She beamed, running a hand over the downy fur trim, her cheeks flushed with pink. "This is why you and Marron disappeared yesterday, isn't it?"
"I really wanted to get you something nice, but nothing I looked at seemed to… click. You're not the easiest person to shop for, ya know. It's a good thing you and Mare wear the same shoe size." He said playfully.
"Neither are you! Why do you think I went to your mom for help!"
"Fair enough," He grinned, producing another set of skates for himself. "So what do you say? Why don't we take these out for a test drive?" He motioned to the frozen lake they had all to themselves.
"Absolutely."
And so they did.
But whereas Bulla was gliding across the ice performing spins and twirls, forward and backward with all the grace of a Swan, it took Goten exactly five seconds to fall flat on his ass.
Smooth Goten, real smooth. He thought to himself as he rubbed his aching butt. Why did it look so easy when she did it?
"You've never done this before, have you?" Bulla giggled, skidding to a stop in front of the dark-haired demi-saiyan.
"No, never actually." He admitted bashfully.
"Well, I'll just have to teach you then, won't I?" She grinned, taking his hands in hers, pulling him to his feet.
She kept his hands clasped firmly in hers as she drifted backyard guiding him further out onto the ice. This was it, this was when he planned on finally telling her, but it was a little difficult to be romantic when he was trying to keep his balance on such a slippery surface.
"You're being quiet. What are you thinking about?"
His gaze flicked up from his feet to meet her aqua gaze.
"I'm thinking I'm a little embarrassed about falling on my ass this early in the morning."
"Everyone falls. It's not a big deal. Left… right… left… see, you're getting better already. You could go Super Saiyan at what? Seven? This'll be a piece of cake for you."
"I was also thinking… about that kiss you gave me yesterday, under the mistletoe," He licked his lips, "and I'm not sure we did it right."
Bulla brought them to a complete stop, aqua eyes fixed on onyx. "Oh?"
He pulled a hand from hers, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small sprig of mistletoe.
His other hand slid to her neck, his gloved fingers sliding into her teal tresses. "I was wondering if we could try it again? Properly."
"Oh." She blushed, her gaze dropping to his mouth.
A beat passed.
And then another.
And then she said.
"I.. think you might be right, show me how it's done exactly?" A small smile tugged at the corners of her pillowy lips.
Part of him thought she'd laugh at him and turn him down, but she was saying yes, he couldn't help but wonder if he was still asleep in his bed as he attempted to will his thumping heart to relax.
But he couldn't relax, not when she was so close, not when her soft body was pressed up against his, not when he could smell that soft, feminine scent that was entirely Bulla.
As if she couldn't wait another second, Bulla reached up and grabbed the back of his neck, hauling his face down to hers. When Goten's lips finally pressed against hers, the feeling in his chest bloomed into something indescribable and utterly unyielding in its intensity. This is what he should have done that night under the mistletoe.
He didn't know how he'd resisted this for so long. And now that he'd finally had it, he knew there was no going back.
When they finally came up for air, the expression on Bulla's face was open and vulnerable in a way he'd never seen before.
"How long?"
"Since you came home from college." He admitted quietly.
"That long? Why didn't you say anything?!" She swatted him on the shoulder, causing him to wobble slightly.
"You never said anything either!" He exclaimed.
She rolled her eyes. "Why do you think I started training with you? It was an excuse to spend more time with you Dummy! What was I supposed to do? Club you over the head, drag you back to my cave and have my way with you?"
"I mean… I wouldn't have complained."
"I guess I'll keep that in mind," the blunette smirked.
"For now, I'd be happy with another kiss."
"Okay," she grinned, Goten leaned down only to be halted by the press of her fingers against his lips, "but you will have to catch me first."
With a wink, she all but blinked out of sight and was twirling across the ice out of his reach. After nearly losing his footing twice, Goten took to the air, chasing after the blunette, and when he inevitably caught her, he had no intention of ever letting her go.
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