"Can you please have him send me the contract as soon as he gets in?"
Bulma paced the Briefs kitchen, phone to her ear, while Bulla and the rest of her family collected in the dining room.
To most, it appeared a perfectly normal scene. Vegeta was at the head of the table, silent as he alternated between glaring at his food, one of the three musketeers arranged along the length, or Bulla herself directly opposite them. Marron and Goten had decided to join Trunks for the evening - something Bulla wished she'd known before strolling down without a believable excuse.
Marron was fine, Bulla acknowledged. She had been planning on catching up with her anyway since she'd returned for the summer, but Goten...
Her eyes drifted to the demi-Saiyan currently seated next to her brother. His hair was looking considerably less mop-like these days and the stubble on his chin had grown enough since his morning shave that some of Marron's fine golden strands we're catching in them as he leaned past her for some steamed vegetables.
"Ack!" Bulla coughed suddenly, pressing her hand to her throat.
The three friends looked up from their conversation to watch her, though Vegeta seemed more interested in his plate.
"Ate too fast," she said, voice straining. "Went down the wrong pipe."
"Are you okay, Bulla?" Marron frowned, pale brows drawing together. "You've been quiet all night."
"Fine." She soothed her throat, unintentionally keeping her gaze on the dark-haired member of the group.
Goten narrowed his eyes for a moment before pawing at the side of his neck. "Is… Is there something?"
"Hm?" Bulla cut into her chicken breast, acting as though she hadn't looked up from it once.
"Is there something on my neck? You keep staring at it."
A stream of water jetted unexpectedly across the table as Vegeta gripped his glass, his face growing an uncharacteristic crimson.
"Dad, what the hell?" Trunks threw up his hands. "I was saving my dumplings for last and you've just spat all over them."
"I'll have them." Goten wasted no time, already edging in with his chopsticks.
Trunks elbowed him away. "Not a chance, Son."
The boys appeared to have moved on immediately while Vegeta scooped up his dishes and made his exit, but Marron kept a watchful eye on the youngest at the table.
"Hey, Bulla," she said. "Weren't you supposed to show me something?"
"Wha?" Bulla replied mid-chew.
"You brought that thing back from campus, remember? It's in your room." The blonde nodded her head towards the stairs, a look in her eye that warned she wouldn't accept anything less than absolute complicity.
Bulla supposed she'd had enough to eat anyway, so pushed away from the table and headed for the stairs.
The moment her bedroom door clicked shut, Marron was on her like a panther. "Okay, what was that?"
"What was what?" Bulla looked back at her with wide eyes.
"I'm not your dad, Bulla, don't pull the Bambi crap with me." Marron pressed her hands to her hips. "You've been staring at Goten all night and it's creepy."
Bulla groaned, more audibly than she meant to.
"So there is something." The blonde softened her stance and pulled out Bulla's desk chair to sit on.
"No, there isn't."
"EHH!" Marron's imitation of a game show buzzer caused Bulla to flinch. "Try again."
"Okay, maybe there is something." The hybrid dropped down to the edge of her bed, facing her pushy dinner guest while shivers coursed from the back of her neck right to the souls of her slippers.
"Better."
"It's stupid though," Bulla said. "Like, really really stupid."
"I love stupid, spit it out."
"And weird," she added.
"Bulla, are you trying to discourage me from hearing this?" Marron folded her arms. "Because you're going the completely wrong direction here."
Bulla gulped. Was she really about to say something so absurd out loud? It felt like that would only give it more power, though she had been dying to get this off her chest from the moment she'd heard it herself. "Okay fine but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone," she said. "Especially if their name is Trunks or Goten."
Marron clapped her hands together, a devilish smile spreading across her deceptively genial face. "Oh, this is going to be good."
"Ah!" Pan recoiled in clear horror, tightening her curled fists to her chest, unbeknownst to her a perfect mirror of Bulla just thirty hours earlier when she had first heard the stupefying words herself.
"Right?" Bulla's idle gaze fell to the oversized unicorn plushie Trunks had won at a carnival twelve years earlier. For a fleeting moment, she wished she could be that age again, holding Vegeta's hand while he all but forced Trunks to offer Bulla the prize originally meant for his girlfriend.
"Why would your dad tell you that?" Pan's face contorted while she squeezed the blameless unicorn.
"Are you kidding?" Bulla threw her a look of panic. "Why wouldn't he tell me? Could you imagine how horrific it would be if I went around not knowing about something as major as this? It would follow me for the rest of my life, Pan. My life!" She pressed both palms to the comforter, fingers digging into its pink fluff.
Pan looked away, distracted, and now easing her grip on the asphyxiating soft toy. "Why didn't my own dad ever tell me?"
"Maybe he didn't know," Bulla offered sympathetically. "I mean, why would he? Your grandpa knows nothing about his own heritage. Besides, there was never any risk of Gohan meeting another Saiyan woman when he was our age. By the time the universe six Saiyans showed up, he was already with your mom and raising a little monkey baby of his own."
"True." Pan exhaled, finally releasing her glitter-horned captive. "So I guess the only ones really affected are you, me, my uncle and your brother…?"
Both girls' expressions twisted at the repulsive thought.
"But they're so..."
There were footsteps suddenly as someone made their way up the stairs and Pan and Bulla immediately shot their heads to the doorway upon recognising the energy signature.
The door was ajar and both fixed their attention to the gap as he walked by, maintaining their glares when he passed a second time.
Bulla felt him pause at the stair landing before backing up and nudging the door open with a quirked eyebrow as two hybrid Saiyans stared accusingly at him. "Uh… What's going on?" Goten said.
When neither girl answered, he slowly retreated showing both palms, hesitating before floating back down the stairs.
"Forever, Bulla," Pan said as they continued watching the now vacant space outside her room door. "That's a long time to be bonded with my uncle."
Almost a week had passed since that disorienting conversation with her father, as well as the rehash that followed with Marron and Son Pan soon after. Some days she almost forgot that her understanding of her world as she knew it had ever been turned on its head, and she was able to continue as normal for a few relax-filled hours. Like today, lounging in a deck chair along her family's pool with her hat placed over her face and a tall, fruity cocktail at her side.
Then out of nowhere, a spear would come sailing through her mind, piercing her moment of tranquility with an abrupt and brutal strike.
What about Jersie? Or Chevron? she'd find herself wondering. Were they Saiyans? They had all the dark features. They could have been masking...!
Don't be stupid, Bulla would eventually snap herself out of it. It's impossible. And even if they were Saiyans, daddy said you had to do the weird neck bite thing.
She sighed and took another sip of her daiquiri. I'm being ridiculous. All I have to do is not put my teeth anywhere near Goten's neck if I don't want to initiate the bond. How hard is that, really? We're barely ever within two metres of each other anyway.
The CC heiress shuffled back into her seat with a more settled breath.
"Are you even old enough to drink yet?"
She didn't need to lift her sunhat to know her brother was standing in front of her with a half smirk on his absurdly symmetrical face while his hands hung leisurely in his pockets.
"I'm not biting today, sorry Trunks," she told him through the straw of her pseudo face shield.
"Low effort, I admit," he said, taking the chair next to her and helping himself to her cocktail. "Ooh, strawberry."
As much as she'd like to deny it, he had her attention. It wasn't like him to seek her out for conversation and she wondered if he was about to bring up her little lecture with Vegeta from last week.
"What are your plans for next Friday?" he asked her.
"Huh?" Bulla finally shifted up her seat and removed her hat from her face, giving him a look of suspicion. "Why?"
"Because you've been invited to a party."
"What?" Bulla laughed. "By who?"
"Marron." Extending his legs in front of him, Trunks rested his arms behind his head. "She says she can't stand waiting for October to come around so she's having a costume party in June."
"Seriously?"
Marron hadn't said anything about a party the last time she saw her.
"Oh I get it." Bulla gave him a knowing nod. "You're trying to do that thing where you set me up to humiliate myself by being the only one who turns up in some wacky outfit while everyone else looks perfectly normal."
"That's a good one," he said, seemingly making a mental note. "I'll have to remember it for next time."
Bulla returned her head to the back of the seat and picked up her hat.
"No, Bulla, this isn't a trap," her brother continued. "She's having a housewarming at her new place and doesn't want to do the whole cardigans and polite conversation thing."
After a few seconds of thought, Bulla said, "Alright." and placed her buds in her ears. "If you see her before I do, tell her I'll be there."
He got up again and stood at her feet, mouth still moving. Bulla gestured to her ear buds and shrugged, causing him to roll his eyes and wander off.
With lowered lids, she reached for her glass, waving her hand around when she couldn't easily find it. With a groan, Bulla opened her eyes, already knowing what she would see, or not see, once she had.
She glared at the empty side table.
Ass. Now I have to get up and make myself another one.
Sweaty and utterly flushed, Bulla pressed down on the front door handle, fine hairs sticking to her forehead as she caught her breath.
Before stepping through, her senses tipped her off that there were others in the house beyond just her parents.
The Sons are visiting.
Bulla lifted her fingers from the knob and considered going around the back.
You're being an idiot, she told herself after a few cycles of breath. Why was she even trying to avoid him? Now that she'd had some time to process it, Vegeta telling her about some stupid mating ritual really should not - did not - have any impact on anything. She just needed to suck it up and carry on as though everything was normal.
Everything was normal, she had to remind herself. Stop being weird.
The first thing she heard was laughter as Chi-Chi and Bulma poured over piles of boxes in the living room. Bulla planned on walking right by, head high and eyes forward as she bee-lined for the stairs but when it came down to it, her body betrayed her, allowing her to turn her head for a fraction of a second - which turned out to be just enough time for her to make eye contact with Son Goten and see the pleading in his expression as he leaned his face to his fist, eyes wide and silently calling out to her to save him.
"Goten, look at this one!" Chi-Chi shoved a photo in front of him. "You just loved that old rickety tub, remember? Oh and look at your tiny-"
"Mom!" Goten cried, snatching it from her hand. "Can you please-"
"Oh don't be self-conscious, Goten. We're all family here."
"I think I hear Bulla calling me." He jumped over the back of the sofa and raced to catch the aforementioned halfling while Bulla speed walked to her room, pretending she hadn't heard him.
"Hey, wait up."
Reluctantly, she turned around. "Oh, hi Goten."
"Hey."
The two stood quietly in the upstairs hallway, apparently already out of things to say to each other.
"You know Trunks doesn't get back until six-thirty, right?"
"Yeah, I know," he said. "My mom had some cargo she's been wanting to bring over. It's my off-week and I was the only one free to help her get it here."
Bulla edged backwards, subconsciously attempting to keep a healthy distance between their two bodies. Still hot from her run, the cool wood of her bedroom door was a welcome distraction as she pressed her back to it.
"Oh, right. For that collage my mom's making."
"I guess," he said. After more beats of silence, his brows drew softly together. "Are you okay?"
"Me?" She feigned a look of confusion. "Why do you ask?"
"You seem kind of jumpy."
He took a step closer and Bulla instinctively gripped her door handle, shoving it open behind her. "I'm fine," she said. "Just, you know, a lot going on." She was beginning to feel out of breath all over again.
This was all her father's fault.
In his disturbing reveal, he had ruined the perfect indifference with which Bulla had always regarded Goku and Chi-Chi's youngest son, now inadvertently forcing her to see him as not only a sexual being, but one she could potentially be shackled to for all eternity if she wasn't careful, knowing his every menial thought and memory while he sifted through all of hers as though her brain were a public library and he held the master key.
"I have to shower," Bulla said, slipping into her room and slamming the door all within the same breath. She could sense he was still on the other side and cringed at her own erraticism.
"Grab me when you're done," he said. "My mom is trying her best to humiliate me and the worst part is I don't think she even realises she's doing it."
"I'm… busy, sorry." She winced once more.
"Oh, okay. I'll see you next time then, I guess."
After an exhale, Bulla peeled off her damp layers and stepped into her ensuite, hand under the running water as steam began building in the shower cubicle.
This will pass, she told herself. Soon you'll go back to seeing him as Trunks' dumb best friend and everything will be perfectly normal.
She could hear the familiar low beat of a bustling get together before she even pulled up at the house. The lawn was teeming with imp and goblin cut-outs, some of which were pointing their sharp claws to the entrance.
Once at Marron's front door, Bulla turned the handle and was instantly transported to what truly felt like another dimension. Bodies - grotesque, mangled and covered in fake blood - filled the dim-lit foyer, forcing her to squeeze through with her arms above her head.
In the living room, a smoke machine bubbled across the dining table, presenting an ominous fog over the suspiciously deep red bowl of punch.
"There you are!"
Bulla was spun forcibly around, coming eye to eye with possibly the least offensive costume of the evening.
"Pan," she greeted, immediately reaching for her pointy brown ears. "You look adorable! You've even got the little white freckles and everything." Taking Pan's fingers and eyeing the dark leather gloves, Bulla cooed, "You are the cutest fawn I've ever seen!"
The quarter-hybrid grinned, her painted black nose stretching in her smile. "I was starting to think you'd changed your mind, especially since the last time we spoke you were still spooked after the whole bonding bomb."
"Oh that?" Bulla waved her hand. "I'm past it. I was just being paranoid. The whole idea of settling down when I've only just broken my twenties..." She grimaced. "Anyway, it was all over nothing. It's never going to happen."
"Good." Pan's smile broadened even further. "You won't mind that he just walked in then."
She nodded for the door and Bulla's hands fell limply to her sides when she followed Pan's gaze. "You have to be joking."
As though he'd heard them, Goten offered a dangerously pointy-toothed smile to the two young hybrids as he greeted the hostess with a hug.
Pan waved while Bulla muttered, "Dracula? Seriously?"
The younger of the two turned, seeking distraction before her mind got too carried away. "Oh look, people I know."
She wandered off, leaving Pan to exchange pleasantries with the others.
"Nice outfit, Bulla."
Bulla twisted at the distinctively smooth voice and saw a face that prompted an instant skip in her heartbeat. "Thanks, Tai!" she beamed. "Had to throw something together at the last minute. I just got back. Well, two weeks ago actually."
Smooth, Bulla. Just keep up the word vomit.
He nodded at her, hand clutching a glass of the mystery punch while he offered a smile that sent hot blood straight to her cheeks.
Some flames die hard, Bulla found, especially the ones on torches you've been holding since your earliest years of high school.
"Uh, what have you been doing with yourself lately?" she said, a bit too desperate to keep the conversation afloat.
As his mouth moved, her brain registered nothing, instead, directing all her attention towards his eyes. They're so warm, she's sighed. Maybe forever wouldn't be so bad with someone like him. It's too bad he isn't Saiyan. That snapped her out of it. Wait, what am I saying?
Absently, Bulla swayed side-to-side, occasionally remembering to listen as he shared snippets of what he'd been up to since graduation. During her swing, Bulla locked eyes with Son Pan who was signalling to her as blatantly as one could, nodding her head in stiff deliberate motions at the halfling's crush.
Bulla didn't even need to be bonded with Pan to hear what she was silently yelling across the living room. Ask him out, you giant loser.
She threw a stern glare back. I know, I know! Give me a minute, alright?
"...And then my girlfriend's dad roped me into joining his family business."
It was as though she'd been hit square in the face with one of her mother's deck chairs.
"Oh." Bulla forced a laugh. "Girlfriend? God, she's so lucky. I mean, lovely! I'm sure she must be lovely if she's going out with you." Bulla smiled a pained, unnaturally wide smile, considering grabbing the nearest dagger wedged in a passerby's outfit and stabbing herself with it repeatedly.
"Uhm, not anymore," he said. "I should have said ex. Still getting used to that."
"Oh, I'm so-"
Bulla was yanked away suddenly, scowling as sharp nails dug into her bare arm. "Ow," she cried. "You're hurting me."
"I'm saving you, dummy," Pan hissed. "You were circling the drain back there. Give Tai room to breathe, let him build some curiosity about you, then talk to him later once you're loosened up and aren't acting so… embarrassing."
"Ouch." Bulla pouted, inspecting the grooves in her arm. "Can you be a little gentler next time?"
"I didn't press that hard, you'll be fine."
"I was talking about my feelings."
She was too busy straightening her outfit to notice Pan had gone quiet and when she looked up, she found the elder hybrid's focus was on something behind her. Bulla pivoted on the ball of her foot just in time to find a pair of long, glimmering fangs aimed right for her exposed neck.
"Ah!"
The halfling death-screamed as she darted away, tearing through the sliding door that opened onto Marron's back patio and hearing Goten's laughter behind her.
Bulla pressed her hand to her chest. Damn, I really am jumpy.
Outside, the silhouette of sagging willows watched her in the distance and she wondered if they were shaking their heads in shame at her as much as she was.
After a few seconds, she began fanning herself. It was too warm to be wearing head-to-toe black, Bulla cursed. She should probably have opted for something more risque. Maybe Tai would overlook what fell out of her mouth if he was too distracted by what was tumbling out her top.
"Hey."
The sliding door opened and out came Goten in his floor-length burgundy cloak. The stiff collar stood high, its sharp corners curling around his neck and accentuating his dramatic appearance.
"Interesting choice," she said.
He eyed her cautiously. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."
"It's not the most original idea," Bulla said, inspecting her dark nail polish. "But you pull it off better than anyone else here could, I guess. You've got the bone structure for it."
"Thanks?" He pulled out his phone, the act irking her more than it should have. "What are you supposed to be anyway? An octopus?"
Bulla scoffed. "I'm Ursula!" The two exchanged blank stares. "Princess movie about a mermaid?"
"Oh!" Goten clicked his finger. "I get it now. Because you take peoples' breath away. Clever."
That caused a giggle to bubble involuntarily out of her - maybe she'd let the octopus comment slide. "She took away voices actually but I like your version more." When silence fell on the pair, she spoke again. "Did you follow me out here?"
He was focused on his cell and the white light from the screen was reflecting off his already unnaturally pale face. "Sorry, what?" Goten looked up. "Oh. No, I was on my way outside to make a call when I saw you and Pan and thought it would be funny to give you a scare. Worked much better than I was expecting." He shifted his weight and watched her more closely. "What are you doing out here, sea-witch? Hiding from someone?"
"Uh. Not exactly." She glanced away, unable to maintain eye contact while he scrutinised her so shamelessly.
"Bulla Briefs." Goten raised a single eyebrow, teasing smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Are you hiding from me?"
She didn't reply, which caused him to let out a Hah!
"I knew it!" He pointed a stiff finger at her, causing Bulla to instinctively dodge the laser beam she seemed to think would come firing out of his index. "Something's been up with you since you got back." Goten took a step closer. "But when I asked Trunks about it, he said I was imagining things."
She was beginning to come down from her earlier fright and the annoyance at her own reaction was starting to set in again.
"What's going on, Bulla. Did I do something? Say something?"
"No." She shook her head. "You didn't."
He didn't reply, but continued observing her with an expression that suggested he wasn't quite buying it.
"I swear." She put her hands on her hips and dropped her eyes to the Marron's outdoor brickwork. "This has nothing to do with anything you've said or done."
"So tell me what the problem is then." He didn't seem to notice, or perhaps care, that Bulla preferred more space between them than the single metre he kept pushing for, forcing her to the edge of the patio.
Bulla drew in a breath, mortified by the idea of even considering broaching this subject with him. "This is going to sound insane," she said. "But please just go along with it until you hear everything, okay?"
He rooted his feet and folded his arms, raising his chin in a clear show of his undivided attention.
Her heart began pounding again.
"So my dad told me this thing... about Saiyans. Boy Saiyans and girl Saiyans, or boy Saiyans and boy Saiyans, I suppose. Or girl Saiyans and girl Saiyans." She rolled one hand past the other, attempting to find the words. " And how if you're unrelated…"
"Wait." Goten reared. "Is this about bonding?"
Bulla blinked at him, dumbstruck.
"It is, isn't it?"
"You already knew about this?" Bulla blurted.
"Of course I did." His expression switched from something of genuine curiosity to what appeared to be total disinterest. "Do you really think Vegeta would let two horny Saiyans wander around without an ounce of education in what the consequences could be if either of us got lost in the moment."
Ew. Bulla shuddered. She could have gone without Goten describing himself as horny.
"Why didn't he tell Pan?" she asked him, eager to wash the last comment away as quickly as possible.
"Because Pan isn't eligible," he replied. "She's got enough human blood that it's not going to be a problem for her."
Oh. That makes sense, I guess.
"Why aren't you more bothered by this?" she frowned. "You seem so relaxed. Do you realise that you and I could be bound to each other for the rest of our lives because of this?"
Goten answered her with a dubious look. "Is that what's been bugging you this whole time?" he said. "This is why you're avoiding me?"
"No!" Bulla crossed her arms and snapped her head.
"Don't you think you're jumping the gun a little here, princess?" He took another step, giving her little room to move if she didn't fancy stepping on the damp grass in her heels and sinking into the dirt. "Think about it, Bulla. We haven't even kissed before. We haven't even thought about kissing each other before. Do you really think we're at risk of something like this happening to us?"
Bulla felt her face redden. So what if she'd said the same thing to herself plenty of times before? That was different. This time he was the one saying it.
"Are you telling me that you don't imagine, even for a tiny second," - she leaned into him this time, forcing him to bend backwards while she held her thumb and forefinger millimetres from each other right before his face - "that you would ever, have even the slightest bit of attraction for me?"
His eyebrows were raised, along with both palms as he cautiously watched her hands. "I mean…"
Bulla eyes narrowed to thin slits as she spat under her breath, "Birds of a feather." She strode towards the sliding door and uttered before shutting it behind her with a slam, "You and Trunks are way more alike than I ever gave you credit for."
"What was that about?" Marron attempted to catch her as she whirred past but Bulla swerved, grabbed the nearest shot glass and threw it back before casting her eyes around the living room.
When she found who she was looking for, Bulla marched towards him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Yes?"
Tai turned, heartstopping smile gleaming back at her when he saw who had interrupted his conversation.
"You said you're single now, right?" Bulla asked him, fist clenched at her side.
"Yeah, we actually broke up two, maybe three-"
"Do you find me attractive?"
Tai's eyes bulged as he stammered for an answer. "Of course, you're really pretty-"
Before he had a chance to finish, she grabbed both sides of his head and crushed their faces together.
It didn't take long for his tongue to begin tracing circles in her mouth, nor for his hands to drift boldly to her waist.
"Aw, gross."
She heard her brother's voice from somewhere behind her and offered him her middle finger in response, her other hand now buried in the soft brown hair of her teenage crush.
The rest of the night would be hers. Trunks was free to watch if he wanted.
The first thing she saw when her eyes drifted open was a single patent leather shoe, black, with a generous platform, and a limply hanging ankle strap.
Bulla blinked, vision going fuzzy again before slowly clearing.
Where am I? And why is there a shoe on the bed?
As she pushed into her shoulder with a groan, Bulla realised with a remorse-filled ache that there was nothing wrong with the location of the shoe. She had spent the night on the ground, using her costume as her pillow.
Pressing into her hands, Bulla looked behind her, wondering why she hadn't just opted for the queen-sized bed she'd woken up right next to.
Oh.
On top were her two unconscious girlfriends, Pan's tan-toned face paint smearing all over Marron's crisp beige sheets while Marron herself slept peacefully in her satin eye mask and yellow nightie.
Bringing her palm to her forehead, Bulla decided she wasn't ready to wake up yet so dropped back down, praying the nausea would have passed by the time she woke again.
The second time Bulla opened her eyes, eager morning light was streaming through the faintly open curtain, hitting the side of her neck and prompting her to pull her blanket up higher.
Still too early, she moaned, ready to try for round three. A pair of voices caught her ear however, causing Bulla to pause.
Pan and Marron were no longer in the room, she realised, and judging by the intensity of the sliver of light sneaking through the curtain, Bulla suspected it may have been rather late in the morning by now, so she forced herself up.
As she'd noted earlier, her costume was in a pile on the floor and she appeared to be wearing an old oversized t-shirt of Marron's that said Taitans in square, cracked letters.
"Hi." Bulla slunk out of Marron's bedroom and into the kitchen, taking in the piles of empty cups, plates and strewn rubbish along the way.
"She's awake," Pan announced from the kitchen barstool, putting down her phone. "Finally. Now you can help me clean up while Marron handles the kitchen. Take this."
She tossed Bulla an empty garbage bag and flicked open her own then scooped her arm across the benchtop.
With markedly less enthusiasm than her fellow hybrid, Bulla dawdled around the living room, picking up bits of rubbish one-by-one. There was soft music in the background, though nothing like what had been playing last night, and the ease of the morning gave Bulla a chance to reflect on what had happened the previous evening - at least so far as she could remember.
She recalled dancing. With Tai! Bulla threw her hand to her mouth. Oh my God. A shameful flush crept up her neck and spread across her face. Did I really throw myself at him like that?
"Ugh," Bulla groaned. The leather squeaked pathetically beneath her as she dropped onto the sofa. Now he's going to think I'm super desperate and easy and-
"Hey Bella," Pan called from the opposite end of the room. "You've just been sleeping for like ten hours. Get off your ass."
"Ha. Ha." Bulla met her gaze with a flat look. "You're so funny."
"Thanks." Pan bounced, flashing a satisfied smile. "I've been waiting all morning to use that one. So what did uncle Edward say to you last night anyway? You looked like a raging bull when you came in here but when I asked about it he told me it was nothing."
"He would, wouldn't he," she grumbled to herself, blowing her fringe out of her eyes.
"What was that?" Pan yelled.
Marron had just turned on the electric mixer and Bulla couldn't muster the will to have a screaming match across the living room so she simply waved her hand, dismissing the conversation, and continued cleaning up.
The three continued in relative silence, likely still enjoying the aftereffects of last night, with the Saiyan hybrids using their natural born swiftness to speed up the cleaning process while Marron prepared a hearty breakfast for her helpers.
Bulla shoved the last of the trash in Marron's garbage bin, forcing it down before wiping her hand past her sticky brow.
"Food's done," Marron told her when she returned, spreading her arms proudly over her display. "And you two better finish this. I don't have enough space in my fridge if you leave anything behind."
"Thanks Mar," Bulla exhaled, reminding herself to smile. "Looks great. If it's okay with you, I'm going to take a shower first."
"Of course." Marron nodded. "You've figured out where the bathroom is by now."
"What are you sulking about?" Pan said, shoving a forkful of food into her mouth while Bulla picked at her flapjacks. "I thought you'd be ecstatic after last night. You finally got your kiss with Tai."
Bulla looked up, fist squishing into her cheek, and saw Marron was watching too, though more discreetly over her cup of coffee.
"I'm not sulking," Bulla said. "I'm just-" She took a deep breath and noted two sets of eyes still on her. "-Still coming down from it all, I guess. Oh crap!"
The halfling jumped off her stool and ran for her bag when she realised she hadn't checked her phone once since she'd woken up. She was meant to meet her mother for lunch in the city today and it was already close to two o'clock.
Crap crap crap. After digging through her clutter, she finally found it. Of course it's dead.
"Marron," she called from the bedroom. "Do you have a charger somewhere? I need to call my mom."
Pan, Marron and Bulla crowded around the device, waiting for it to boot after she'd plugged it into one of the blonde's kitchen sockets.
Notifications began to fill the screen as her phone caught up.
5 New friend requests
17 New followers
8 New emails
4 New messages
3 Missed calls
"Oh!" Pan squeaked. "Are one of those messages from Tai?"
That possibility hadn't even occurred to her. Instead, she found herself inexplicably disappointed that Son Goten was not one of the names in her list. What are you expecting, Bulla? she berated herself. An apology?
One of the messages was indeed from Tai, though Bulla didn't open it just yet. The preview was enough for her to get the gist:
Hey Bulla. It was great seeing you last night. I was wondering would if you'd be interest-
She'd have to get back to him later. The remaining texts were from her mother and appeared urgent.
"Hi mom." Bulla held the phone to her ear, cringing as both girls grimaced back at her.
"Bulla!" Bulma cried. "I was this close to asking your father to find you! Is everything okay?"
"I'm sorry," she began. "I woke up really late and my phone was dead and-" she paused when Bulma interrupted.
"Where are you now?"
"At Marron's," Bulla answered. "Pan and I stayed behind to help her clean up."
"Oh." She could practically hear the tension leaving her mother's shoulders. "Well that's very considerate of you two. Should we reschedule our lunch date?"
"Could we?" Bulla asked, hopeful. "I'm really sorry, I've been looking forward to it, I swear-"
"It's fine, Bulla, I was just starting to panic after Goten showed up looking for you."
"Wait." Bulla looked up at both girls as she said, "Goten came looking for me? Like, at the house?"
Pan and Marron exchanged equally quizzical glances.
"Well, yes. I told him you didn't come home last night and he got this weird look on his face. I asked him if everything was okay and he said yes, but then just turned around to leave almost without saying goodbye. I was on the verge of getting hold of your father to come and find you, but then you called me before I could track him down."
"Uhm. That's kind of weird isn't it? Ha ha. I wonder what he wanted? Well I have to go now but I'll be home soon. By, mom. Love you!"
Bulla ended the call, seeing two sets of stern glares as she looked up from her phone.
"I won't ask," Marron said with a narrowing of her eyes. "But it will all come out sooner or later, Briefs."
Bulla leaned her arms across the cool, steel railing, late afternoon breeze bringing ocean mist to her sun-kissed cheeks and a gentle sway to her loose locks.
Clasping her jacket over her shoulders, Bulla closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath. Today has been pretty perfect, hasn't it?
"Bulla, hey."
When she turned to the voice, her moment of serenity was instantly sucked away. "Goten?" Instinctively, she looked to the cafe entrance before returning her gaze to the demi-Saiyan. "What are you doing here?"
He approached her with his hands in his pockets, eyes on the horizon while he squinted at the sun. "Looking for you actually."
"What?" She reared. "Why?" Her eyes popped open. "Did you follow me here? Have you been watching me while-!"
"No!" He immediately showed both palms. "I swear, I was just on my way home and I felt your ki nearby so I thought I'd try to catch you."
She continued to watch him sceptically.
"I never heard back from you after leaving those voice messages," he said, running his fingers over the back of his scalp. "I wanted a chance to clear things up after Marron's party and catching you virtually wasn't really working out."
"Now isn't really the best time, Goten," she told him, watching the doorway again. "Can we talk about this later?"
"This won't take long, I promise," he said, pressing his hands together. "First, I want to apologise. I didn't mean to insult you by implying anything about your attractiveness."
Bulla blinked, now too surprised for retort.
"That isn't what I was getting at when I said what I said," he continued. "And second." He took a deep breath, looking to the sunset. "I wanted to show you something."
She looked at his hands, still held together as though he were praying to her, then his pockets. They looked empty to her. "Show me what?"
"If I tell you beforehand, you'll use that Briefs brain of yours to over analyse like you always do and talk yourself out of it. So I need you to trust me on this, okay?" He directed his hands to her now. "Do you trust me?"
"Goten." She shook her head. "I've known you all my life. Of course I trust you-"
Bulla gasped as the rest of her sentence was abruptly interrupted by a pair of soft lips pressing gently to her own. Instinctively, she threw her hands up before slowly lowering them to her sides while Son Goten threaded his fingers through the feathery hairs at her nape and grazed his thumb along her jaw.
For a spell, she lost track of where she was, what she was doing, and who she was doing it with, only registering the light touch of a hand caressing her face, and a warm, sturdy body brushing reassuringly against her own. Conscious thought was entirely absent, something she had, up until this moment, never had any recollection of experiencing outside of sleep.
Her lips felt as though they'd melted, the boundaries of their bodies inexplicably fading so she couldn't confidently place where she ended and he began. His scent, pleasantly familiar yet never quite so entrancing, swirled its way up her nose and sent her mind soaring.
As her legs gave in, his flat hand snaked across her back, holding her firmly while the other cupped the back of her neck and cradled her to him.
She was floating through the cosmos when the squawk of seagulls circling above anchored her suddenly to earth, acting as a gong to persuade her out of her temporary hypnosis. Before she knew it, the beacon of heat that had fused so convincingly to her chest was drawing away and her lips were peeled torturously from nirvana.
"See," he whispered, deep brown eyes visibly dilated and locked tightly on her own. He appeared almost vacant, as though he may still have been a little lost. "... Nothing."
His Adam's apple bobbed and Bulla could not tear her gaze away. Her heart was pounding at mach speed and her skin was beginning to burn from all the internally coursing heat.
"Hey there." A tan arm passed her from behind, extending towards Goten while the other clutched a paper box. "Sorry, I took so long," he said to Bulla. "I couldn't decide which cake to get for you. I'm Tai." He looked back to the older hybrid. "Are you a friend of Bulla's?"
Goten finally seemed to snap back to the present, his eyes widening as realisation dawned. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly. "Uh yeah," he eventually said, uncharacteristically unsteady. "I am. Son Goten." He offered his own hand in return.
"Oh, I recognise you now!" Tai grinned. "You were at Marron's party a couple weeks ago, right? The vampire?"
"I'm sorry," Goten said, looking between the two. "I didn't realise-" The earlier flush in his cheeks had drained completely and his face appeared suddenly gaunt. "I should go." He started retreating. "It was good to see you, Tai."
With not much more than a wave, he walked briskly away, disappearing until Bulla felt him take for the sky.
"Everything alright?" Tai asked as Bulla kept her attention on Goten's departing ki. "You look kind of spaced out there." He brought an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze.
"Of course," she said, hoping her smile was as convincing as her conscience needed it to be. "Everything's great."
Bulla was flat on her back, curtains closed and lights off as she laid on her bed staring at the ceiling.
I have never - her heart began beating like a war drum - In. My. Life. Experienced a kiss like that.
She rolled onto her side, now watching her bedroom wall. What the hell was that? she thought, replaying the moment for the hundredth time in her head.
And why did it feel so… The only word she could find her mind offering, yet refused to allow herself to say directly, was 'Right'.
The moment their bodies touched, hers had instantly surrendered, being drawn to him as though she were a droplet of water finally returning to it's ocean home.
And he felt something too. Bulla swallowed. I saw it.
She reached for her phone, squinting at the harsh light as she scrolled through her contact list until she found his name.
Son Goten.
His display photo was one she recognised easily. Trunks had the uncropped version sitting on his mantle and that thought alone made her stomach turn. It was taken a few years ago during a visit to Mount Paozu and she could see the slight flush in his cheeks after a day of sun-filled festivities.
Bulla trailed over every detail she had never cared to notice before - his killer Son smile with a single dimple in his right cheek, the subtle downturn of his dark, deep set eyes, the harsh lines of his strappingly square jaw.
This is wrong. She threw her phone to the opposite end of the bed, falling on to her back once again.
It's Goten, Bulla. Goten! she berated. Trunks' best friend. Pan's uncle. Mom's oldest friend's son. It's practically incest in like three different ways!
Bulla grabbed her pillow, pressed it to her face and let out a scream.
Don't let this go any further, she told herself once she'd calmed down. We kissed, it was definitely a mistake, but we can move past this. Our families have come back from so much worse.
"He's not my boyfriend," Bulla said, spooning the foam off her frappe.
"Sure, Bulla." Marron interlaced her fingers on the white laminate with a knowing smirk. "And I didn't see you two making out in the middle of my living room a month ago, or the text he sent the next day asking if you'd go on a date with him."
Lips wrapped around her milkshake straw, Pan's eyes flitted from one girl to the other.
"We just hung out a few times." Bulla pointed her spoon at the blonde, a drip of coffee falling as she did so. "That's how us kids do it these days, you wouldn't understand."
Marron's attention shifted to the glass entrance. "Oh, hey, the boys made it."
Bulla's long metal spoon fell to the floor with a clang as Marron waved to the door.
"What are they doing here?" Bulla said.
Marron grinned at the pair as they made their way over, gesturing at them to join. "I invited them," she answered, nonplussed until she looked back to Bulla. "What is that look for?" Her face fell. "Bulla, please don't tell me you and Goten are still on the outs after my party."
"No!" Bulla quickly replied. "We're fine. Everything's fine."
"Good." She stood up, allowing Trunks to slide into the booth between her and Pan while Goten hovered at the head, fingertips resting lightly on the table.
"Hey, everyone." Goten glanced around cautiously, hesitating when his eyes met Bulla's.
"Hi Goten," Bulla murmured, softly in the hopes Pan and Marron's hellos could drown hers out.
"I'm…" He pointed his thumb over his shoulder after a few seconds. "Gonna get something to drink."
Bulla watched him walk off to take his place in line while Trunks caught up with the others, helping himself to Marron's fries.
"Ow!" Bulla cried suddenly, rubbing her shin. "What was that for?"
"You're doing it again," Marron hissed.
"Doing what?" Tongue out, Trunks inched Pan's milkshake his way, earning himself a punch to the shoulder. "Ah!"
Both Briefs siblings scowled as they soothed their throbbing limbs, each one's bitterness directed at a different member of the table.
"Nothing," Bulla said through gritted teeth. Her phone began to ring then and she scratched through her bag to find it, sure to keep her narrowed eyes on the blonde. "Oh. Hey Tai." She made a face when the elder girl teasingly raised her eyebrows
"Hey, gorgeous. I haven't heard from you in a while. Are you busy right now? Do you feel like meeting up somewhere?"
"Oh." She looked over the rest of the table. "I'm just out with the girls."
"Tai!" Marron yelled. "Come join us! We're at Ambrose."
Bulla's eyes ballooned as she looked at Goten, on his way back now with two ginger ales.
"Did she say Ambrose?" Tai replied. "Sounds great, I can be there in about twenty."
Bulla forced a smile. "See you then."
"What did I miss?" Goten passed one of the bottles to Trunks as he sat down on Marron's opposite side.
"Bulla's boyfriend's going to be joining us," Pan said, holding her hand over her mouth as it threatened to spill pink.
The aforementioned halfling blinked at the dark-haired hybrid opposite her.
"Oh," he said, easing into his seat. "So you two are still seeing each other?" Goten took a sip from his bottle, seemingly relaxed, though Bulla could feel his gaze lingering on her longer than it normally would.
"He's not…" Bulla let out a sigh. There was no point in going over technicalities, it wouldn't change anything.
Conversation continued as normal around the table, though Bulla was finding it hard to engage. She kept glancing between her phone and the door, anticipating the rapidly approaching moment where Tai would walk in and she'd be forced to sit in a cramped diner booth with Son Goten right opposite her.
I can't do this.
Bulla stood up from the table and walked briskly to the exit, phone in hand.
"Bulla?" Pan said.
"Let me." She heard Goten get up after her, along with his footsteps a few paces behind. "Bulla," he called as she pulled the door. "Wait."
The two stepped outside and Bulla peered through the glass, seeing all three watching them with confusion.
"Bulla, I'm sorry," Goten said, placing a hand on her arm. "I'm really, really sorry. I never should have done that, it was such a stupid idea."
Bulla ignored him for a moment, continuing her text.
"I didn't mean to put you in that position," he persisted. "I didn't think things through at all."
Bulla dropped her arm with a sigh, finally looking up from her cell. "It's okay," she said. "I'm not angry about what happened. You're probably the only guy in the world I can trust would have done something like that for reasons that had nothing to do with getting a piece of me."
The creases in his forehead deepend as thick, black brows drew together.
"I get what you were trying to do," she said.
"Do you?" he replied. "Because I've definitely been wondering what the hell I was thinking."
"You were trying to help me," Bulla replied. "You saw that I was freaking out about what my dad said, even though I was pretending not to, and in classic Son fashion, your first instinct was to act where mine was to agonise.
You wanted us to face this thing head on and prove to ourselves that there wasn't anything to worry about." Bulla rubbed her arm. "So we could get it out of the way early. Right?"
Her eyes traced over his distinctive features under the harsh street light, quietly embarrassed at how easily she could marry them with the Goten who lived as a display photo on her cell that she had spent more time staring at than she'd ever like to admit out loud.
This one was gazing back at her with noticeably less spark however. "I was wrong."
Bulla gulped as a bright, hot bloom hit her cheeks.
"I should have been worried," he said.
In the corner of her eye, Bulla realised the three inside were still watching them through the diner window and quickly grabbed Goten's arm to pull him out of view.
"What are you saying?" she spoke softly.
He didn't answer, though neither hybrid took their gaze off the other.
Bulla's phone vibrated in her pocket, and though she was intending on ignoring it, Goten didn't seem to miss the call. "You should get that," he said. "And I shouldn't be alone with you right now. Your boyfriend could be here any minute. I wouldn't want him getting the wrong idea."
"He's not coming," she replied.
"What?" Goten frowned. "But I thought Pan said-"
"I told him I changed my mind," she said, waving her phone at the demi-Saiyan.
"Why would you do that?"
Bulla hesitated, unsure how to choose her words without coming off completely pathetic. She glanced towards the street, watching air cars glide sluggishly towards the intersection and noted that the space between the two of them had faintly narrowed.
"Bulla," he said, leaning towards her.
"Because…" She gazed back up at him, her throat dry as he thumbed loose hair out of her eye. Bulla brought her fingers to his wrist and pressed his open palm to her balmy cheek. "Every time I'm with him, all I can think about is how much I want you to kiss me again."
She saw the dilation in his pupils as he continued staring, speechless, at her and felt the sudden, yet brief, pulse in his ki.
Both turned their heads to the diner entrance and instinctively took a step back as Marron appeared, striding out while she clutched her shawl.
"What is going on?" she said, looking from one hybrid to the other. "You guys have been out here for like fifteen minutes."
"Nothing," Bulla said. "We were just clearing something up, but we're done now."
Marron shifted her gaze to Goten, who hadn't taken his eyes off Bulla once since the blonde had appeared.
"Alright, let's go then," she said.
As Marron walked through the glass doors, Bulla began to follow but was promptly jerked back as Goten grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, meeting her mouth with his own.
Bulla let out an involuntary whimper, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting her knees buckle as he leaned into her. "We shouldn't do this." She pulled back with unexpectedly laboured breath, then saw the sink in his expression. "Out here, I mean!" she quickly added. "It's a bad idea. Someone could see us."
Once inside, Bulla found that her brother had ordered enough food to feed a small Saiyan army. Bulla reclaimed her earlier spot and Goten slid in opposite her, taking a sip of his drink.
"Everything okay?" Pan asked, a mountain of fries in front of her now as well as three more milkshakes.
"A-huh." Bulla folded her arms across the table, smiling more easily this time.
"When's Tai getting here?"
"Oh. Uhm." Bulla couldn't help but look up and saw that Goten was casting her a discreet glance as he held his bottle to his lips. She hoped her cheeks didn't look as rosy as they felt. "He couldn't make it after all," she said. "But that's okay, I was kind of hoping it could just be us five anyway."
"So you and Goten kissed and made up, I take it?" Pan said, happily chomping on a freshly cooked fry.
Goten choked on his drink, immediately bringing his hand to his nose as ginger flavoured fizz squirted out of his nostrils.
Bulla froze before bursting into a fit of giggles. To anyone else she would simply appear to be laughing at the older halfling's expense, which in turn caused the rest of the table to laugh with her. "Uh, sure," she smiled. "Something like that."
"Alright, sweetheart," Bulma called from the entrance hallway as Bulla lounged lazily on the living room carpet, sliding choppy cuts of photos on and off the oversized white poster. "Chi-Chi and I are heading out now. We'll probably be back in a couple of hours. Would you like anything from the bakery while we're there?"
"I'm fine, thank you." Bulla shifted onto her knees and rearranged the top right corner. Krillin and Eighteen should go here, she decided. With Seventeen and the other tournament winners.
"Can I get like fifteen cream doughnuts?" Goten called back.
"Goten!" Chi-Chi chided.
"Okay, twelve."
"That's no problem, Goten," Bulma said. "Fifteen cream doughnuts coming your way." In a lower volume she added, "Don't worry about it Chi-Chi, I'm happy to do something nice for him after he and Bulla so generously agreed to help with our little project."
The door closed and Bulla tilted her head towards the driveway, listening for the gradual departure of her mom's aircar. Once it was completely out of earshot, she shifted her gaze ahead.
Goten was leaning into his hand, stretching leisurely across from her on the floor, dark eyes entirely on her.
Bulla smirked, pulling another photo off the board.
"You should put these two-" He picked up two roughly cut photographs and placed them side-by-side. "-next to each other."
Bulla looked at the two pictures, amused. "Why would anyone think it's a good idea to put cut-outs of you and me next to each other on a Z-gang collage?" she laughed. "We've never had anything to do with each other. If anything, you and Trunks seem like the more obvious choice." She picked up a picture of her brother to match with the one Goten had picked out for himself earlier.
"It can be a little Easter egg," he replied, pushing himself up and stepping over the collage. "Just for us."
Bulla shrieked when he grabbed her waist and lifted her off the ground. "Goten!" she giggled, slapping at his shoulder. "They only just left. What if they come back for something?"
He dropped her on the couch and threw off his t-shirt. "Then they're going to want to turn right back around because I'm tired of waiting."
Bulla pulled her tank top up over her head and Goten peeled off the rest, tossing it onto the fire stoker before leaning a knee to the edge of the sofa.
Fingertips pressing into the seat either side of her, Bulla's breath grew heavy as Goten lowered down, face buried in her neck as his hands squeezed hungrily at her sides. Eager fingers travelled to the clasp of her bra and Bulla pulled away from the back cushion with a moan.
"You're not allowed to break this one," she breathed. "It's my favourite."
"I can see why."
She shivered at the slide of his tongue on her neck, then flinched when she felt the brush of his teeth.
"Goten." She pressed her palms to his torso. "We have-" Bulla inhaled. "We have to be careful. Don't forget my dad said even if only one of us bites-" She leaned the back of her hand to her forehead, trying to even out her breath.
"I know." He planted a string of kisses along her collar before beginning his way down her chest. "I won't slip, promise."
Good.
She arched away from the couch and reached for his pants. "We should probably move this to my room," she said. "Our dads could instant transmission here at any moment."
Goten leaned his fists into the seat and pushed himself up. "You're probably right," he replied. "They've both seen my bare ass enough times but I don't need my dad getting any ideas about you."
"Goten!" Bulla screamed, shoving him with her foot.
"I will need to thank Vegeta at some point though," he added, pressing his hands to his hips in thought.
"For what?" she chuckled.
"For bringing this whole thing up in the first place. If he hadn't mentioned it to you, you never would have become obsessed with me-"
"I was never obsessed with you!" Bulla cried. He gave her a look that prompted her to throw a cushion at his face. "Shut up."
"That won't be happening today though."
Bulla wrapped her limbs around him as Goten lifted her off the sofa.
"Or tomorrow," he said. "I'll need at least a week head start."
She could feel his smile against her lips as he kissed her on his way up the stairs.
"I don't know, Goten," she laughed, nudging her door open as they approached it. "Maybe he knew what he was doing all along, and this was his way of playing Cupid."
He laid her down on her fluffy pink quilt, arms either side of her as his gaze trailed down. "As much as I appreciate that idea," Goten murmured into her collar bone, hand slipping under the waistband of her joggers. "Let's stop talking about your dad."
Bulla writhed on her mattress, slim fingers running through Goten's thick dark locks while he sucked at her bare skin.
"You know," she said, eyes covered by her bent arm. "If you keep this up, I might be tempted to bite you after all.
"Mhm." He lifted his head. Bulla could hear the amusment in his voice and it prompted a tug at her lips. "Why's that?"
"Because forever might just not be long enough."
A/N:
Hello! I didn't think I'd be posting another story so soon, but when Sunshine Spray presented a challenge to write a one-shot involving the ever-famous bonding trope, I couldn't say no. This one-shot is a submission for the collection: Old Ideas, New Spins.
Truth be told, I am not the biggest fan of this particular trope, but I know it's a classic in the world of Dragon Ball FF. My earliest FF memories involve 11yr old me reading about Vegeta bonding with his Onna. Premise credit to Sunshine Spray herself who said many moons ago, "Why would Vegeta not have told his kids about this?"
I had lots of fun writing this one-shot, hope you enjoyed reading it :)