A/N: Yawnnn, here's the new one. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.
-MalRev
Spectre
09
Getting ready for my date took me longer than expected. It was Goten so it would probably be a nice restaurant, but if we were going to a party after I wanted to be comfortable. I tried on a few skirts before settling on wearing a dress that was pretty moderate and roomy enough to dance in. The doorbell rang downstairs and I threw my hair up in a ponytail before rushing from my room.
Goten was dressed to the nines in a different black suit, chatting casually with someone in his earpiece until he noticed me on the stairs. He muttered 'goodbye' and pulled the Bluetooth out to tuck it in his pocket to watch me walk down to the bottom floor. He grinned at me, running a hand through his spiky black hair. I didn't think I looked that good. It was a plain old dress; nothing fancy.
Beside him stood Goku with his arms folded and brow furrowed. He frowned at his son as I walked toward them, double-checking that I had everything I needed in my clutch. We'd be out late so I wanted to make sure I was prepared for an all-night ordeal. Mini toothbrush, ID, gum, some money…
"She's only fifteen," Goku blurted. "Watch what you're doing, Goten."
The youngest Son rolled his eyes. "Dad, we're going out for dinner, not getting engaged. This is normal for people nowadays. We don't settle down and marry the first person we like."
"I'll be back later in one piece," I said.
"I'm still telling your mother and father. They should know so they can keep an eye on him." Goku was practically pouting. He was frustrated he couldn't control me. "I'll be able to smell him on you even if you take a shower, so don't bother trying to hide it from me."
That was yet another reason I was happy neither of my parents were even partially descended from Saiyans. The thought of coming home and having Goku sniff me over sent shivers down my spine. Did he do that to his sons or Pan? I was glad mom would be coming home to order me around soon instead of trying to smell a guy's sweat on my clothes.
Goten offered me his arm and we left without another word to Goku, who was pacing back and forth impatiently. He watched us get in Goten's black car and leave through the window. For some reason, I felt bad leaving him at the house. He probably wanted some company through this whole situation.
We drove through the dark city that Goten seemed to know like the back of his hand. He was great at avoiding traffic—we were only held up once or twice while skipping around the big jams. I awkwardly fingered my clutch as my nerves began to burn again. Jeez, what was I thinking? He only wanted one thing out of me and after dinner he'd be expecting it.
I felt small next to him. He was a business tycoon alongside Trunks and I was a teenager that hadn't even graduated high school yet. We couldn't have anything in common. I'd be on the news soon enough when Goten accidentally got me pregnant and I could already see mom pummeling the life out of him…
The car stopped. I looked up from my ruminations to see a big house with tons of people milling around outside, casting long shadows across the lawn. The music was playing so loud that I bumped against the car and made it move a bit. I frowned as Goten loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt.
"We're gonna skip dinner and get to the good part," he said. "Bulla should already be here. She might've brought Panny along, too."
"I don't know," I said, doubtfully eyeing the people stumbling around the lawn, "maybe this is a bad idea. Goku was upset so I don't want to make him worry more."
"Come on, Marron, it'll be fun. I'll make sure no one bothers you."
It wasn't up for discussion. Goten got out of the car and opened the passenger side door for me, helping me out onto the damp lawn. The rain had let up just enough that an outdoor party was possible. I clutched my wallet as we headed toward the house and Goten acknowledged the presence of a few people who called his name, but dutifully lead me inside as he promised.
The house was hot and stuffy, filled to the brim with people who didn't know where they were. My nose crinkled at the strong smell of alcohol and other substances and Goten took my hand to pull me through the crowd toward the kitchen. Yeah, I was stupid. I should've listened to Goku and stayed home.
Bulla was sitting on the table with a crowd of guys around her, sipping daintily from a red cup. She glanced up at us and grinned. The men parted like the Red Sea when she jumped down and ran over to hug me tightly as Goten high fived a few more people. She smelled like perfume instead of booze.
Bracelets jangled on her wrist as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders. She leaned heavily on me—she was drunker than she let on. I aimed my eyes at the floor while she chattered with Goten, steadily dropping toward the floor. I couldn't support her weight forever and she was having a hard time standing. Weren't Saiyans supposed to have fast reflexes?
She laughed. "You guys should find Panny. I think my brother came here like… I dunno, a long time ago. She was here but I haven't seen her in a while. Maybe they finally hooked up!"
Goten handed me a drink. It reeked. I took a tentative sip and forced myself to swallow it.
"We'll look for her," he said. "Be careful, Bulla."
As soon as we walked away, the flock of guys came back. Bulla smirked over the rim of her cup at them and returned to her throne on the table.
We made our way upstairs which was just as packed and Goten kept knocking on doors. My palms were sweating. Mom and Goku were both right. Goten kept casually rapping his knuckles against the doors until he finally found a room that wasn't occupied. He carefully opened the door then ushered me inside and locked it behind us. There was no other reason than—
"We should get to know each other better," he said, sitting down on the bed. He patted the spot next to him and smiled. "Kinda tough to do when dad is breathing down my neck so I figured we could come here for some privacy. What do you think?"
I swallowed hard. "Um… okay."
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna come onto you or anything." His eyes raked down my body and his smiled widened. "Not yet at least. Come sit, Marron. You can relax."
When I rigidly sat next to him, he cocked his head. I touched my phone in my pocket, considering feigning a phone call from my mother so I could go home. There was no way he brought me to some seedy party to talk about our feelings. I'd heard enough from my mother to know the truth.
He leaned back on his palms. "I'd drink with you but it takes way too much alcohol to get me drunk. My metabolism's out of control. I don't even want to think about how much Bulla's had so far. So what were you up to last night? Dad was really agitated and wanted to go over to your house to check on you. Something going on with your parents? I haven't seen them in a while."
"No," I lied, "there's nothing going on. Same old story as always. What's up with you?"
"Working, trying to get Trunks to be less uptight." Goten took a cigarette from his breast pocket and lit it with a flash of energy, inhaling until nearly half of it was gone. "It's funny how we changed as we grew up. He was always the one getting me into trouble when we were younger but now he's either pulling me out of it or convincing me to be careful. He reminds me a lot of Gohan."
"Maybe he possibly might… care about you? You've been friends for a long time so he's probably worried like Gohan is."
The demi-Saiyan shrugged as he blew out a trail of smoke in a corkscrew shape. "I guess. Just don't get why everyone has to be so damn high strung all the time. Capsule Corp. is doing fine, we've had nothing but peace for a long time now and mom finally has dad home to help her out around the house."
I sipped from my cup. It was starting to taste better. "Did our moving back cause any problems? I feel like it's been nothing but drama since we moved into the house."
"Oh no, there's bound to be nonsense when you know people like us. There's never a normal day no matter how it seems. I think that's why I like you, Marron. You're used to that. You moved away a long time ago but I don't have to explain why I can shoot energy out of my palms or why I can't stop eating or how I know how to fly. I think that's why everyone is happy your family came back. Krillin and your mother are kinda the closest to normal out of all of us."
"Normal? My mother is an android. She needs tune ups and she can literally freeze if it gets too cold. I don't think any of us will ever know what 'normal' really is."
"That's what I mean." Goten finished his cigarette and destroyed the entire thing with another flicker of energy, turning to me. "You're sort of… a mix. You know what it's like to be different but you don't have a hard time blending in like we do. Bulla and Pan have a hard time at school and they both stick out like sore thumbs. But you understand it so… I don't know, I guess it comforts all of us to know a full human is on our side and understands our problems."
"Well I'd rather fit in with you guys than normal people," I said. The alcohol was making me a bit dizzy. "Seriously, all of you can be punched a hundred times and still stand up like it was nothing. That's pretty cool. I wish I could do stuff like that but my parents are both from this planet."
Goten laughed and suddenly, his hand was on my kneecap. I didn't bother shying away but drank more and more of the putrid liquid between my fingertips. Wow, it was getting really easy to talk about my feelings. Pretty soon I'd be telling him I had strongly considered sleeping with his father to piss my parents off. Hah! Why not tell him? It'd probably get a funny reaction.
"We have a lot in common," Goten said. "We should go public."
Wait, what?
I opened my mouth to question him and he placed one lean index finger to my lips, silencing me. My eyes vaguely watched him smile and caress my cheek gently. What were we going public with?
"I'll take good care of you if you'll take good care of me. How does that sound?" He swept his hand under my chin, propping it up delicately on the tip of his finger so I was looking dead into his black eyes. "I bet we'll get along very well, Marron. We're both pretty people and this is the kind of stuff that will propel Capsule Corp. to front page headlines."
When I squinted at Goten in confusion, he took it as an invitation.
In a split second I was lying flat on my back with his torso hovering over mine. Then he was kissing me and I couldn't keep up because the alcohol was steadily churning through my body, making complex movements extremely difficult. I lay there stupidly and wondered about what was going on. It didn't feel bad or anything and I wasn't upset but… maybe I should stop and think.
His lips moved to my neck and I suddenly didn't feel like thinking anymore. Okay, so was I technically dating Goten? I thought that was what he was suggesting. Mom wouldn't want me dating someone who was ten years older than me. Was that even legal? Why was all the good stuff—
The air seemed to ripple then Goten growled and rolled off me. Woozy and bewildered, I smacked my swollen lips together and sat up, clutching my spinning head. Someone was standing by the door with their arms folded but it was hard to tell who it was. I rubbed my eyes and Goten got up to start arguing with them. Ugh, their voices made my head hurt.
"…You can't take a fifteen year old to a place like this and—"
"It's none of your business. Marron is fine so if you don't mind, I'd like to continue."
"You're impossible, Goten. You're lucky I found you instead of Android 18."
An arm slithered under me and I was hoisted off the bed, soon draping uselessly over my captor's forearm like I was broken in half. I yawned profusely as they continued to bicker and closed my eyes. The world was moving too fast for me to keep up…