A/N: A short one but it finally starts addressing the main pairing.
Scion/whatever numbers: Alright, here's the part where I remind you that this is fanfiction. In the anime, Goku wouldn't be interested in a teenage girl, ChiChi wouldn't be cheating on him with Yamcha, Pan wouldn't have a crush on Trunks, and this entire fucking story wouldn't have happened. This is my verison of the story; not Akira Toriyama's. I will interpret Android 18's circuitry and robotics however I please. If you're so strict about canon you probably should stop reading DBZ fanfiction while you're ahead because it just gets worse from here on out.
That said, I don't mind negative reviews, but if you're gonna do 'em, make it for something relevant instead of nitpicking about a silly facet of the story. I will make Android 18 act and behave however I wish. Thanks.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.
-MalRev
Spectre
07
Bulla didn't answer my text for nearly half an hour. When she did, I groaned. She was at a party with Goten and they wanted me to go with them. That was the last thing I needed. My hand was burned beyond recognition, I'd just poured my heart out to Goku, and both of my parents hadn't been home all day. I propped myself up in bed and glared out the window at the steadily darkening sky.
Great. My entire day had consisted of being terrified at the mall while Goten and Bulla both harassed me and I had fallen asleep for the rest of it. Now Goku was afraid to come back and bring me a senzu bean, which meant I'd have to put up with my deformed hand for my first day back to school.
My bad mood didn't fade as I changed into my pajamas. I thought crying would help but it never did. I'd have to take a few tips from mom and learn how to become a machine. Aggravated, I typed out a message to Bulla telling her that she could do whatever she wanted with Goten and crawled back in bed to keep feeling bad for myself. Where was Pan? She'd probably be up for doing nothing with me.
No, she wouldn't be. She was just as popular as Bulla. Neither of them would be caught dead with me and my disgusting burned hand. Y'know, even if Goku showed up with his damned magic bean, I'd crush it to dust and throw it on the floor. Screw all of them and their stupid super powers. I'd recover like any other human did and none of them could gloat or laugh. It was all part of what I was.
I flipped through channels, trying to find something gory or scary. It needed to distract me from how mad I was. Where were my parents?! They'd been gone all day and I hadn't heard a thing from either of them. If I did that, all hell would break loose. Mom would think I was sleeping around, dad would—
Goku suddenly materialized in front of my TV and I shrieked in shock, quickly tugging my blankets up to my neck. He smiled sheepishly, sitting down at the foot of my bed, and offered me a small green bean resting in his huge palm. I held a hand over my heart to keep it from beating out of chest.
"We have a front door," I said icily.
He blinked. "Well, gee, Marron. I figured you were expecting me." A lopsided grin and he opened his mouth like a baby bird. "Just eat this and you'll feel one-hundred percent again."
I shook my head angrily and curled my legs close to my chest. Nope. I wasn't going to eat it. I'd suffer in silence and make my parents feel bad for ditching me all day. They were such jerks. Why did we have to move back to Satan City? I loved where we used to live. This place was lame and everyone was rude.
"Why not?" Goku asked with a pout. "Senzu beans even brighten your mood!"
"I'm not eating it. You can have it."
"But… you're joking, right? You'll probably need to get a skin whatever it is and that's really painful. Trust me, my brother shattered most of the bones in my body and Piccolo blew a hole through my chest when we were younger. Hospitals bring a lot of pain."
"Whatever," I said. "I don't want it. Bring it back to the Lookout."
Goku scratched his head, messing up his thick black hair even more. "Your parents are gonna be really mad if I let you suffer like this. C'mon, Marron."
"No. Don't you have somewhere to be?"
"Not really. Krillin wanted me to come here to check on you so this is where I'm technically supposed to be." Goku frowned and shifted in his spot, watching me uneasily. "You're not gonna eat this?"
I shook my head.
Suddenly, the TV remote wasn't in my hands anymore. The sound disappeared and I glared furiously at Goku as he dangled the remote from his fingertips. He was grinning. It was all a game to him.
"Give it back," I hissed, "or I'll get really mad."
"So? The only human I'm afraid of is my wife. Now take the bean and you can watch TV all night if you want to. I'm just following the orders I was given."
"Give. It. Back."
Goku refused. I leaned back on my headboard with my arms folded and stared at him, trying to melt the self-satisfied smirk off his mouth with my acerbic eyes. My hand throbbed painfully and I grimaced but kept up our staring contest, too stubborn to give in.
He still didn't budge after a few minutes so I leaned over to take Wuthering Heights from my nightstand. When I propped it open and started reading, he scowled. One point went to team Marron.
"That's not fair," he said.
"All's fair in love and war. Have a nice night, Mr. Son."
When Goku made a grab for my book, I knew he wasn't trying very hard. My reflexes were slow as molasses compared to his. But he still seemed to be getting even more impatient and leaned toward me to swipe at the book again, which I promptly hid behind my back. I stuck my tongue out at him.
In an instant he was in front of me with my jaw held firmly between his forefinger and thumb. He smiled and his black eyes sparkled. I struggled for a few minutes until I realized the battle was lost, then opened my mouth and grudgingly ate the senzu bean. He still remained there for a while to make sure I ate it instead of hiding it in my cheek like a squirrel. When I swallowed, he patted my head.
I irately folded my arms and Goku moved back to sitting at the foot of my bed, pressed against the wall so I could watch TV. What a jerk. That was a dirty trick, even for a Saiyan. I stumbled upon a zombie movie and we both watched in silence as screams echoed off my bedroom walls and the light cast strange shadows across out faces. Scary movies were the best.
Before I knew it, Goku was sitting next to me, hiding his face as the blood-stained mouths of zombies appeared on the flickering screen. It didn't bother me. I was used to being the rock when people were scared of something. He looked at me a couple of times in disbelief while I texted Bulla.
"How can you watch this?" he asked, wincing when a head was torn off.
"It's a teenager thing, I guess. I don't know many people who don't like this. Maybe when I get old I'll start being a scardey-cat like you and force teenage girls to eat beans."
When he shifted to turn his upper body toward me, his thigh pressed against mine. Damn, he was hot. Not the "sexy" kind of hot; he was literally hot. I tried my best to nonchalantly continue watching the movie and ignore his intense glare. I wasn't gonna be pushed around or intimidated by any Saiyans.
Goku reached across my lap to pry my phone out of my hands and held my palm facing upwards to untie the bandages. When they fell away, my perfectly healed skin was almost shining from the reflection of the television. He examined my palm to make sure it was all sealed over and I was seriously impressed by the power of the magic beans. They could even heal severe burns.
"Aren't you glad I made you, though?" he asked.
I laughed. "I don't like being forced into anything. It makes it much less enjoyable, even if it does cure my third degree burns."
The Saiyan looked up at me and I suddenly felt very small. He was smiling. "Your parents want me to protect you so I'm doing my job. What if you got an infection? I can suck out venom, but I draw the line at decaying flesh and pus. You need to be more careful, Marron."
"Who, me? I'm the definition of careful."
Neither of us said anything. Goku raised an eyebrow and returned to sitting beside me with his legs stretched out far past mine. As the movie carried on, the lock keeping me from jabbering about my problems began to corrode. What could it hurt? He seemed more comfortable with me now. We could talk about all sorts of stuff and he wouldn't judge me the way Bulla and Pan would.
Soon I was practically vomiting words.
It was hard to hold back my thoughts and Goku didn't ask me to. He turned off the TV after a while and we sat together in the darkness, scarcely able to see each other. When I ran out of steam he was there to carry on with his own thoughts and we were having a conversation that was only hindered by my tiredness. I could've gone on all night. I could've listened all night.
But my worst human weakness, my exhaustion, eventually won over. The door opened downstairs as I was starting to drift off and Goku gently laid me down to sleep. He fixed my sheets.
"I'll take good care of you, Marron," he said.
The rest was eclipsed as I fell asleep.