Just a Ride - shariVegas (2024)

Chapter 1: The Start of Something

Chapter Text

She's sixteen, and life is great.

She's got money, brains, and beauty- the world is her oyster.

Bulla Briefs is on top of the world, but life happens, and she doesn't get to stay there long.

Bulla Briefs is sixteen years old when she gets her first taste of real sadness. It's around the same time her grandfather's genius mind begins to slip away that she begins suspecting the fragility of her own. It would turn out that discovering the secrets to time travel came easier to her mother than finding the cure to Grandpa Briefs' ailing mind. When he begins to forget her name, her mother becomes frightened.

Times running out.

Her mother grows desperate.

One summer morning, before walking out the front door, she hears a scream followed by the shattering of glass. She follows the noise to her mother's basem*nt laboratory. She peeks through the corner to see her mother crumbled on the floor with broken equipment and glass strewn around her. Her father has beat her there. He crouches beside her mother, and before he places a hand on his wife's shoulder, sends his daughter a look that makes her scamper back up the stairs.

It's the only time she's ever seen her mother fail. It frightens her to think there is a problem her mother or magic cannot fix.

But her mother is determined. The next day, with a member of the Galactic Patrol at her side, Bulma Briefs takes off into space searching for a cure.

She won't realize it until she's a little older, but when she thinks back on her teenage years, it's not only the memory of her mother's failure that stands out with crystal clear precision but also the events that would take place on the day her mother would return from space, happy and victorious.

What had started off as just another innocuous summer afternoon wound up being (for better or worse) life-changing.

She's in the pool, lounging on a float and sipping on something tropical while scrolling through the messages on her phone. She's just received a message from a boy in her honors physics class, and she's smiling like a fool. She's doing her best not to think of her awful morning- of the bewildered expression on her grandfather's face when he asked her what she was doing in his house or of the snappish dismissal her brother gave when she offered to help him in the lab. She's thinking about the university party happening later tonight- of the older boys and the booze and the fun she's about to have. The people at school don't know who she really is. Equipped with a black wig and bold makeup, she dons a persona to avoid the tabloids and becomes someone else.

She's already got two undergraduate degrees under her belt and working on her third. At sixteen, that sounds impressive, until it's compared to the Briefs' achievements that came before her. Her mother and brother, both prodigal wonders, had already earned doctorates by the time they were her age. Everyone in her family was just so extraordinary.

With her grandfather out of commission, her mother was officially the most intelligent person on Earth. Her father was one of the strongest mortals in the entire universe. To her chagrin, Trunks was a mixture of both.

Other than a decent knack for engineering, all she seemed to inherit from her family was her mother's flawless aquamarine features, her grandmother's figure, and an appetite and strength that, while not remarkable, were most definitely not human.

But that's not something she likes to think about.

She's got a smile on her face, and as her fingers quickly swipe a response to the boy she plans on kissing that night, a blur of orange appears in front of her. Surprised to appear over water, Goku lets out a scream as he flails around, and then as though suddenly remembering he was capable of flight, he rights himself with a small burst of ki. The water becomes turbulent, and she lets out a shriek before her float capsizes. By the time she reaches the surface, the older saiyan is standing at the edge of the pool. Goku simply gives her an awkward laugh in apology and walks towards the gravity room without giving her a second glance.

The universe's strongest mortal had always been a stranger to her. Someone she knew existed, and who up until this point was merely Son Goku: Earth's protector, family friend, and father to her #1 crush.

She didn't really know him, and it's not like she wanted to- he was so old.

By the time she scrambles back onto her float, a pair of coughing saiyans emerge from the now smoking gravity chamber. Her father is absolutely livid at Goku for messing with the control panel.

With her phone water-logged, she lounges on the float and silently observes the only means of entertainment available. She may not be capable of controlling her ki, but as long as divine energy isn't being used, her vision is sharp enough to keep up with their movements. Deep down, she's always enjoyed watching the saiyans fight. It's her pride that's kept her from admitting it.

She's sixteen, and her hormones are raging.

Her brain conveniently blocks out her father's presence, and her eyes trail over the marvel that is Son Goku's body. Suddenly, she isn't thinking about the cute twenty-some-year-old boy she's going to see later.

This isn't the first time she notices how handsome Son Goku is, but this is the first time she really looks at him. Kami, has he always been this marvelous? His body is nothing like that of his youngest son. Sure, Goten was cut and aesthetically pleasing, but his father's body was carved from raw, brutal strength. His muscles were so much bigger and defined, and what really drew her attention was the map of scars carved across his skin.

In her mind, she sees a flash of something beautiful:

Goku with his clothes in tatters and his body outlined in a flame of ki; his fists bloody and lips pulled back in a co*cky grin as he towers over some faceless opponent.

Though she's heard nothing but praise sung about the older saiyan her entire life, this is the first time she's ever really acknowledged his strength. At that moment, she doesn't see him as a family friend or an old hillbilly from the mountains- she sees him as a saiyan warrior. One gifted with the strength to defeat space tyrants and gods, and the thought is enough to invoke a curious ache from between her legs.

Done with parrying blows, her father phases in front of Goku, and with a well-timed attack, sends the younger saiyan plummeting to the ground. He falls with the grace of an asteroid crashing to Earth, sending a warm gust of air to once again upturn her float, sending her splashing back into the water. She surfaces from the water sputtering, and by the time she swims to the edge of the pool, both saiyans have touched ground, moving their sparring match dangerously close to her grandmother's prize-winning marigolds.

A silhouette of energy snaps around them, and when she sees their matching smirks, she braces herself. She can't sense ki, but the warm gust of air blowing her hair back and churning the water in the pool is a clear indication that the saiyans are creating large amounts of it. With his eyes fixed on her father, Goku lets out a yell as raw power erupts from his body, charring the grass around him.

A chill runs down her spine.

She's never been able to sense ki, but she can sense this.

A powerful current of energy floods her body, and for a quick passing second, she feels invincible. The confused glance Goku suddenly sends her makes her wonder if he had felt it as well.

That lapse in attention is all her father needs to get a good hit in. Goku falls backward, and when he hits the ground, her grandmother's prize-winning flowers explode in a burst of yellow petals and dirt. Laughing at the saiyans's antics, she pulls herself out of the pool and wraps a towel around herself. She walks away, oblivious to the momentous impact of these seemingly unimportant minutes.

Later that afternoon, the ground begins to shake. Expecting to see Goku and her father engaged in another reckless brawl, she lets out a gasp of surprise when she peers out her bedroom window and sees a spaceship.

Her mother's home!

She runs to the tarmac, and her emotional greeting is cut short when she catches sight of the short, portly pink alien walking out of the ship. The alien is pink and bald with spikes on its head, and even in the lime green labcoat it is wearing, still manages to look menacing.

Her mother says, "This is Dr. Duduria, and she knows how to help your grandfather."

Never one to deny her children an opportunity to learn, her mother allows her to follow them to the medical ward. Dr. Duduria conveniently speaks the standard language, and for hours she listens to the alien doctor lecture her mother and the group of scientists and doctors huddled around her. In great detail, the pink alien describes the delicate process involved in repairing the nervous system's damaged tissue. The alien explains this kind of neurological deterioration is beyond what can be repaired in a regeneration tank- it's not necessarily structural.

Everything this peculiar alien is explaining is just so fascinating to her. In her mind, she sees the chains of DNA open up like blooming flowers and envisions each part of the brain working as a whole. It's all axions and cellular structures, and it's all just so exciting.

Within hours, a biopsy of her grandfather's brain is supplied. The human's privileged enough to witness such groundbreaking science watch in awe as the alien doctor projects her microscopic work on a large screen. Once the appropriate dosages are applied, she sees her grandfather's brain heal in real-time, and for the first time in her life, something makes sense. This isn't groundbreaking physics, but it's pretty damned close.

She can't channel her ki or engineer groundbreaking tech, but maybe- just maybe she can do this. She thinks she'd be good at it.

Hours pass, and it's late into the evening. The ring she's pilfered from her brother's room conceals her ki, and she's ready to have a good time; she's got her black wig on, and beneath her coat, she's wearing something short and tight. She's about to make a dash out the front door when her grandfather calls out her name. He's standing there in his pajamas with his black cat dangling off his shoulders and a clarity in his eyes that's been missing for a long time. She's got tears in her eyes because when Grandpa Briefs tells her to have a fun night, he remembers her name.

The night starts off strong.

Half an hour later, she's got a bottle of something sweet and alcoholic in her hands, and the boys she's flirting with are way too old for her. If they were to see her now, she's sure her father and brother would never let her leave the house again.

A voice as sweet as poisoned honey cuts through the music.

"Hey there little girl, are you lost?" There's a bottle of Jack dangling from the blonde girl's fingers and a slyness in her smile that promises trouble. "Does your brother know where you are?"

It's the first time she's run into Marron outside of their family's get-togethers, and in this environment, they click instantly. In a world where everyone is capable of flight and other inhuman feats, they can't help but gravitate towards each other's normalcy.

The blonde girl lights Bulla's first cigarette, and they dance like the floors melting from under their feet.

The blonde takes a long drag of her cigarette and exhales a ring of smoke into the chill night air. "I'm thinking of applying to med school next semester," she says, and Bulla thinks it must be serendipity. Bulla will later learn that being born to a half mecha/half organic mother would be what sparked Marron's interest in the workings of the human body.

That night she drinks way more than she ever has. She drinks until the world is spinning, and when the older boy kisses her, she feels the echo of something wonderful. He slides his tongue in her mouth, and his hands venture up her skirt, and from within her veins, she feels the thrum of his energy, pulsating and alive.

Her legs tremble, and that night she c*ms harder than she ever has before.

She's eighteen and finishing up her last year of medical school at West City University.

Her mother's over the moon that she's finally found her scientific niche. To the displeasure of pharmaceutical companies worldwide, in her excitement, Bulma Briefs has decided Capsule Corporation will venture into medical research. Her father does not share her mother's enthusiasm- he thinks her career choice trifling. Later, when he discovers it is what his rival's wife had once desperately wished Gohan had done, his opinion changes (but only slightly). Her brother is indifferent. He ruffles her hair like she's ten years old and tells her good job.

Despite her achievements, the most prominent change in the last few years has everything to do with Son Goku.

Some days he follows her everywhere.

It's a flicker of something, a tiny beacon constantly pulling her thoughts to him, and other days, she feels nothing. She yearns for the absence of his presence as much as she longs for the pleasure of his touch. One day, during a stretch of weeks in which she is free of perverse, unwelcome thoughts, her brother and Goten stroll in to the kitchen, sweaty and bruised. Recently, her brother's sparring sessions with their father have become more frequent, and then when he turns to his friend and says, "I'm sick of getting my ass kicked, when's your dad supposed to come back Earth?", Bulla is struck by a wave of panic.

Weeks later, her theory turns out to be correct. For some unfathomable reason, she can sense when Goku returns to Earth.

It's early morning, and she's still lounging in bed when a trickle of static runs down her spine. It was then she understood that little flicker of something would remain, lingering in the recesses of her nervous system like a dormant virus, and awaken when he stepped back into Earth's stratosphere.

Yet as terrible as this imaginary lure may be, nothing compares to the moments she is forced to endure his close, physical presence.

The closer she is to him, the stronger the pull.

Whenever he shows up at Capsule Corporation, she wants to die.

She feels like she's going crazy. The older saiyan has never done anything to encourage this perverse longing. She knows she isn't even a thought in his head (as it should be), but that doesn't stop the sickness from taking root.

What began as just a silly, passing thought of, wow, he's cute, has mutated into an unwelcome obsession. She wonders how his bronze, battle-worn skin would feel beneath her fingers, and suddenly the boys from university lose their appeal. Don't get her wrong, they're still cute, but they're also just so f*cking weak.

She clings to the girlhood crush she's had on Goten like it's a lifeline. At night, when she slides her fingers where she is wet and wanting, she does her best to pretend it's the youngest Son she's imagining.

She thinks herself a wretched, depraved thing and does her best to push the sick, unwelcome thoughts out of her head. Of course, she rebels and tries to find a boy capable of making her forget. She discovers the right kind of sex combined with lots of booze helps, and it's only thanks to the ki concealing ring she's pilfered from her brother's room that she's able to get away with any of it.

She's nineteen, and on the outside, life is picture-perfect.

She's wealthy, beautiful, and it's only her first year of residency, but she's already running circles around the other medical interns.

By this time, she's also undoubtedly 100% certified insane, but she likes to think she hides it well.

Over the years, her maddening obsession with Son Goku has grown and grown. In a household of keen minds, it is the pitifully, predictable opinion they have of her that ends up being her saving grace- but she's getting worse. She knows it's only a matter of time until her luck runs out. She worries that one day when Goku arrives, she will not make herself scarce fast enough, and either her brother or father will notice her erratic response to his presence. She can't conceal the way her heart races or the embarrassing scent of her desire from their sharp senses. She could care less if they found out she found Goku attractive. She's more worried about them discovering just how deep her obsession runs.

It's getting worse, and during those years, she is pained to realize he spends a lot of time on Earth.

Some days her desire is so strong, it feels as though she is about to burst from her skin. On those days, she drinks and f*cks until she's numb and the world goes black. Days like that happen at a pace so rapid she cannot find respite between them, and eventually, they string together, and her body is left vibrating from a ridiculous desire to melt against Son Goku's skin.

The only person in the whole wide universe that knows her secret is Marron. For everyone else, she continues playing the same song and dance expected of her. Only when she thinks back on it, she finds herself unable to recall the exact melody or moves, and when she tries, the soupy mess of memories always brings a pang of heartache. She will endearingly refer to this time in her life as the Forgotten Years: a blur of drunken debauchery and flawless work ethic. Between the pristine recollections of clinical rotations and interesting cases, her memory is filled with holes.

For most, this would probably be a valid reason to get their sh*t together- this should have been rock bottom, but not for Bulla Briefs.

Rock bottom comes for her on the evening of her mother's twentieth thirty-fifth birthday. Out of everything that may have happened those few years, it's a particular cruelty that it is this memory that her brain has chosen to clearly retain.

The night air is filled with laughter and the sweet smell of barbecued meat, and she's stone-cold sober. She's laughing and smearing cake all over her brother's face as Goten cheers her on. It's around this time Goten begins to see her as more than Trunks' little sister, but by now, her crush on the youngest Son has already fizzled out. Goten looks too much like his father for his presence not to leave her flustered, so when he tries to save her brother by smearing frosting on her cheek, she blushes terribly.

Just because it's her mother's birthday doesn't mean he will show up. He comes and goes through his family's and friend's lives as he pleases. Everyone's already been here for hours, and just when she lets her guard down, he appears somewhere behind her.

She doesn't even need to see him; she knows he's there. The dread hits her stomach like heavy lead, and in the background, she hears his cheerful voice.

She does her best to maintain a happy facade, but on the inside, she's screaming. Trunks removes a glob of frosting from his cheek, and her laughter sounds harsh and manic as she tries to escape the cake aimed for her hair. It's been a while since she last saw him, and his presence is so overpowering, it's clawing at her throat.

She doesn't understand how nobody else can feel it.

Clumps of cake fall from her hands onto the cement, and she's just staring at the back of his head in slack-jawed horror. Even though he's standing there with her mother and his wife on either side of him, she wants to f*ck him so badly she's practically trembling.

A reel of her most depraved fantasies assault her: she's on her knees, spine arched in pleasure and he's got her long, blue hair wrapped around his fist as he whispers the most disgusting things into her ear; she's screaming his name- his saiyan name into the abyss as he f*cks the only virgin hole she's got left.

In that startling moment, her imaginings are so vivid and revolting, they feel more like memories.

She hates that Goku has never done anything to encourage this unwelcome, all-consuming need.

This madness is all her.

She's all nerves after that, sick with headaches and her stomach in knots. Using her family's name and zeni, she pulls the unthinkable and manages to get Marron and herself transferred to an equally prestigious hospital across the sea. A scholarship courtesy of Capsule Corporation, including not only a full ride but also swanky apartment on both sides of the Southern Sea, turns out to be enough to convince Marron to join her.

She moves to Beach City to finish up her last year of residency.

She doesn't wear her wig anymore- she's Bulla Briefs again, and on this side of the sea, no one really gives a sh*t. He's been off the planet a lot this year, and when he is on Earth, the ten thousand kilometers between them is enough to keep her obsession at a light simmer. It's even better when the distance between them can be measured in light-years, but at this point, she's just content his presence isn't jarring enough to make the teeth in her head rattle.

She's twenty-three, and he still visits her in dreams.

She's in her mid twenties now, and feeling foolish enough to miss home and brave enough to believe herself capable of facing her madness with her head held high. She tells herself that she's older now, a little wiser, and that this time things will be different.

The sunlight bleeds through the window, stinging her fair skin. She glances out the car window at the tall buildings and bustle of city life, and after her experiences with unassuming summer afternoons, thinks it a particular kind of irony that she would return home on one. The car turns a corner, and in the distance, behind a cluster of buildings she can see a familiar dome shaped building.

The car winds it's way through the front gates of the corporation, and the massive dome shaped building in the horizon doesn't look so distant anymore. Suddenly her heart is racing. When the car rolls to a stop at the entrance of her family home she has to remind herself that this is temporary. It's only at her mother's insistence that she's returned home for the summer, and in a few months, she'll return to the little life she's carved out for herself on the other side of the sea.

She thanks the driver and in a few steps she is standing outside the large, glass doors. The security tech recognizes her instantly, opening the front doors with a soft, mechanic whirr. She takes a deep breath and walks into the home she hasn't dared visit in years.

Her every step echos loudly in the empty home.

If her grandparents still lived here, she is sure she would have had a small welcoming, but after her grandfather's scare, Grandma Bunny dragged him out of the corporation with all their pets on a worldwide, years-long birdwatching adventure. When she steps into the living area, her attention is captured by a photo displayed on the built in shelf parallel to the fireplace. Beside a childhood photo of her at the zoo, flashing the camera a toothy smile, there is a photo that nearly sucks the wind right out of her.

After regaining her bearings, a small smile pulls at her lips. It was a picture her grandmother had taken at one of the company parties a few years ago. Goku stood in the middle, boyish grin stretching across his face and his arms outstretched, embracing both his sons. Her father stood to the side with that trademark scowl adorning his face as Trunks forcefully pulled him into the picture. She can't stop herself from running her fingers across the glass, over his smiling face, and immediately, those old emotions resurface. It doesn't help that since arriving to West City, his presence was louder than it's been in years. She shakes her head and forces herself to stifle the emotions threatening to spill out of her.

It was much easier to forget about all of them when they were an ocean away.

A gruff voice comes from behind her, startling her out of her thoughts.

"You were expected a week ago."

Her father sneaking up on her when her thoughts were wrapped around a certain other saiyan was enough to make her blush, but she recovers quickly.

"What have I told you about sneaking up on me?" Bulla asks, propping her hands on her hips and doing her best to appear peeved.

"It is not my fault your hearing is so pathetic," her father says, and even though his tone is rough there is a twinkle in his eye that is reserved for her alone. "You're just as vulnerable as your mother. It's a miracle you've managed to survive this long on your own."

It's been a long time since she's stood face to face with her father, and her heart swells from how badly she's missed him. A peal of laughter echoes off the walls as she launches herself into his arms. "Don't tell anyone, but I missed you the most!" Bulla tells him after landing a big kiss on his cheek.

No matter how old she got, he still made her feel like a little girl.

Her father scrunches up his face and as she watches him try to scrub off the lipstick she left on his cheek, she can't stop herself from thinking how disgusted he would be if he were ever to learn the real reason she moved away from home. He was especially opposed to her leaving West City, but her mother laughed it off, saying that she just needed to get away for a little adventure of her own. Her brother told her it was her father that took her absence the hardest. It was unsettling for him to not know where she was or how she was doing while she was studying on the other side of the planet. It was not due to her less than impressive ki that he was unable to locate her- he could sense the energy signal of his family anywhere- it was due to the ki concealing device that after years of sneaking out of his room, Trunks had ended up gifting her.

Since they were alone, her father indulged her affections, and after a final squeeze she pulled herself out of his arms. "So, where is everyone? I sent mom a message letting her know I was going to be home this afternoon," Bulla states.

"This morning your mother said there is something urgent happening at the corporation. I wouldn't expect either her or your brother anytime soon."

Bulla sighs in relief. "Well, I guess that means mom won't be making a big deal about me coming home?"

"Your lack of awareness in your surroundings truly disappoints me." Vegeta quirks an eyebrow and scoffs, "Did you fail to notice all the vehicles parked outside the corporation? All the event and catering vehicles? You know your mother enjoys planning her little events for everything."

Bulla throws her hands up into the air and groans, "I just got here- I at least wanted to lounge around in my pajamas for a week before having to play nice with other humans."

Her father simply shrugs. He turns, about to leave, but halts his steps at her next comment.

"I don't even see what the big deal is. Residency is to be continued. I'm leaving again once summer is over," Bulla sighs flipping her long hair back and doing her best to ignore the scowl on her father's face.

"Didn't mom tell you?" Bulla asks, giving him a look of genuine curiosity. She took his silence as a negative, and with a soft smile explains, "In the fall I'm starting a surgical residency. Only the best get in, you know? It's kind of something amazing."

While she may not have the capability of sensing energy like the other saiyans, when there was a patient bleeding to death on a gurney or open on the operating table, she could swear she could sense the life coursing through their veins. She wanted to be the best damned surgeon West City would ever see and help research and develop new tech for Capsule Corporation's biomedical branch. She wanted to make a name for herself and make her family proud.

"Why was I not made aware of this?" Vegeta growled, turning his face away, to conceal his irritation. She had a feeling he wouldn't like the idea. That was why she had hoped her mother had broken the news.

She didn't want to leave home, but that invisible lure is stronger than it's been in a long time. If she were to stay, she'd undoubtably go insane.

"Daddy, it's okay. It's nothing you need to get so worked up about," she laughs, forcing a smile and trying to lighten his mood. She walks past him and in the playful wink she throws over her shoulder, Vegeta sees a reflection of her mother. "It's sweet of you to worry, but don't forget, I'm a big girl now. I can handle myself just fine."

As Vegeta watches her walk down the hallway his scowl deepens.

He doesn't believe her.

She is woken up by the persistent ringing of her phone. A hand emerges from the pile of blankets she is buried in, blindly reaching for her phone on the bedside table. Her clumsy fingers end up pushing it to the floor.

With a curse, she pulls herself out of bed. Phone momentarily forgotten, she staggers over to the window, and when she pulls back the heavy curtain, she is surprised to see the sun already beginning to set. She hadn't expected to sleep for so long.

The event trucks her father had mentioned are parked in the corner of the compound, and as she observes the people bustling about, a wave of jittery energy hits her. She had a feeling he would eventually show up. She hasn't seen him since her mother's birthday all those years ago, and she's terrified she will respond the same way.

No, she reminds herself, this time will be different.

She runs a frustrated hand through her long blue hair and walks over to the purse she had tossed on the ground earlier. Feeling stressed, she rummages through the bag for a lighter and pack of smokes.

She peeks her head out of the balcony doors to ensure the lights to the gravity chamber are still on. After breaking the news of her eventual departure, she isn't so sure she'd want to further disappoint her father. She steps outside and pulls a cigarette out of the box with her teeth. She lights it and after her first drag, she hears a voice behind her.

"Looks like you've picked up a few vices of your own."

Bulla whips her head around to see Trunks grinning at her with arms crossed against his chest. "Isn't it kind of hypocritical for a doctor to be smoking?", he half-jokingly asks, eying the lit cigarette between her fingers. "Was cracking open ribs stuffed with tar hardened lungs not enough to put you off?"

"Only quitters quit," she says with a grin. To prove her point, she takes a heavy drag and blows a plume of smoke in his direction. Trunks scowls and when he wafts the smoke away with his hand, Bulla laughs, "Kami, I missed you." She walks up to him, and with the cigarette perched between her lips, reaches up to ruffle her brother's pale, lavender hair. She exhales the smoke up into the orange sky before passing the cigarette to her bewildered her brother.

This is the first time he's seen her smoke, and the big brother in him disapproves. Knowing who her best friend (and family) is, he knows he shouldn't be surprised. He cringes to imagine her partaking in the kinds of things he did when he was her age.

"You really shouldn't be smoking," he grumbles before taking a drag. She quirks an eyebrow and he sighs, "Not for your health or whatever- dad would lose his sh*t if he found out his sweet, little innocent princess was a chain smoker."

He's only partially lying.

"At least I haven't slept with half the women in West City," Bulla retorts playfully.

"If you had I think we would have a whole new set of problems," Trunks laughs, flicking the cigarette off the balcony. Trunks follows Bulla into her boutique sized closet and props himself against the door frame.

With a snap of her fingers, the virtual home A.I system shuffles through her playlist and music plays through the speakers concealed throughout her room. She's flipping through a row of dresses and gently swaying her hips and in time with the music, and as Trunks watches her, he can't help but think she grew up when nobody was looking.

Trunks does not approve of the nude colored dress his sister pulls off the rack. It's only a few shades darker then her pale skin and though the sleeves are long and the neckline modest, it looks ridiculously short and tight. She walks up to the foot length mirror with the dress held up against her and says, "So, Marron told me mom invited everyone."

In an attempt to find common ground between this new version of Bulla and the young girl who packed her bags and left Capsule Corporation years ago, he teases, "If by everyone you mean Goten, then yes."

A blush blooms on her cheeks and she scowls at him through the mirror. "That crush ended before it could even really start. Will you never let it go?" she huffs, feeling the need to grab the nearest shoe and throw it at his annoying face. She wonders if Trunks would still be laughing if he knew the real reason her crush on Goten was snuffed out.

She thinks as long as he never realized the severity of it, he would even find it funny.

"Yeah, right. I wouldn't be surprised if you turned into a blushing, stuttering mess the instant you see him," her brother laughs, remembering how all throughout her adolescence, Bulla would become flustered in his best friend's presence . Everyone (including Goten) knew about her little crush. Their father found it unbearable, their mother adorable, and he found it to be a constant means of entertainment.

Since arriving at West City, a nagging awareness hooked itself into her consciousness, and in that split second the lure pulling her attention westward flares. A few teasing words shouldn't leave her this rattled. She's feeling a little unhinged and knows she should just shut her mouth, but she's feeling petty and mean.

It's Trunks' turn to get upset.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a teenager anymore," she says heatedly. Her previous embarrassing responses to Goten had nothing to do with girlish pining and everything do with how identical the youngest Son was to his father, and she's irrationally upset at her brother for making her remember.

An unformed, impulsive thought seeds in her brain.

Goten is the spitting image of Goku...

She raises an eyebrow and there's something about the hint of mischief in her voice that makes Trunks uncomfortable. "I'm not a kid anymore," she repeats, slipping on a pair of golden, sky high stilettos before going back to model the dress in the mirror. When their eyes meet in the mirror, her lips curve into a challenging smirk. "You know, men actually consider me a pretty good catch? And I don't just mean for our family name. I mean I know you're my brother- but come on look at me. I'm f*cking gorgeous. You have no idea how many guys I've got falling at my feet, and they want me so badly they'd let me rip the skin off their backs if it means I won't leave them." He doesn't doubt her- the confidence in her eyes doesn't let him. In that moment he feels like he is looking at a stranger. His imagination wanders into dark places and he hopes with all his might that this isn't karma for all his nights of reckless sin.

"I know you've always preferred the lithe, model type, but what about Goten?" Bulla asks with an air of mock innocence. He doesn't understand what game she's playing. The smile on her face doesn't fool him, she reeks of fear and anger. "Do you think Goten likes-" she begins, pausing to press the dress tightly against her obscene curves, and his gut sinks because yes- Goten is a sucker for a big rack and pretty face.

"Do you think Goten would like this dress?" she asks innocently, turning around to face him.

Goten wouldn't dare.

Trunks barely manages to hold back a shiver of disgust. It would be like him chasing after Pan (who was way too tomboyish and similar to his best friend to ever get him going).

But Bulla is not like Pan.

Simultaneously, he feels a burst of disgust and panic.

Her crush on Goten was just supposed to be a joke. Something not grounded on reality. Not only was Goten his best friend, but he was also old and the embodiment of the kind of guy he never wanted his sister involved with.

"You're hilarious, Bulla," Trunks says, feigning boredom. "Goten's only ever had one serious girlfriend, and trust me you're not his type."

Bulla turns around to face him. "Are you sure about that?" she asks, eyes sparkling mischievously.

Tired of her bullsh*t, Trunks throws his arms up in irritation and groans, "Just leave Goten alone!"

When her brother slams the door shut behind him, her bravado falters.

She tosses the dress over the back of the closest chair and walks over to her bathroom to begin getting ready. She takes a quick shower to wash the smoke out of her hair, and when she steps out and meets her reflection in the humidity streaked mirror, she sees her mother staring back at her. Whenever anyone looks at her, sometimes she feels as though that's all they can see.

She smears her hand across the mirror, clearing up a puddle of glass. Her face may be identical to her mother, but her body sure wasn't. Needless to say, it had not been Grandma Bunny's intellect that drew her grandfather's attentions. In her youth, Grandma Bunny had been a centerfold model famous for her generous proportions, and to her father's displeasure, it was painfully obvious from whom she inherited her physique. Her body is soft, nubile perfection. She trails her hands down her neck, over her generous breasts and down her flat stomach to run a finger across the only obvious imperfection. During those blurred years, before leaving to Beach City, ovarian cysts were removed and the light, horizontal scar adorning the top of her pubis was left behind.

Tired of being compared to her mother, Bulla makes little changes to her appearance that are all her own. Because her mother's always seemed to prefer keeping her's short, Bulla has grown her's out inconveniently long and where her mother's never really had the patience for wearing anything other than a light coat of lipstick, Bulla has continued her grandmother's tradition of bold, winged eyeliner and dark, wine stained lips. She checks her make up one last time in the mirror and walks to her closet wearing only the towel on her head.

She slipped into the flesh colored dress that she had lain out on the chair and steps into a pair of shimmering gold pumps with signature red soles. She feels sexy. Dressing up was a nice change to the white lab coat and professional attire she had become accustomed to donning during residency.

A soft knock on the bedroom door snaps her out of her thoughts.

"Come in," Bulla calls out, already knowing who stood on the other side of the door. In her family, only one person knocked.

As expected her mother steps in, already dressed to the nines and looking as radiant as ever. Her mother's eyes brim with happy tears, and she raises her hands, cupping her daughter's cheeks in awe. "My baby- you look divine!"

Bulla can't help but smile- as much as she disliked the constant comparisons, there was no denying her mother's beauty. "Of course I do. I look like you!"

"I missed you so, so much, sweetheart! And I'm so ridiculously proud of you!" Bulma pulls her daughter into a tight embrace and mumbles against her hair, "It feels so good to have my whole family under the same roof, even if it's just for the summer."

Bulla wants to complain about how inconvenient and inconsiderate it is to have planned such a big event without allowing her a chance to settle in, but when her mother pulls away she can't find the words. The happiness in her mother's expression is enough to make her swallow her complaints. It would have made more sense to treat her to a private dinner at a posh restaurant on her return; not to throw this ostentatious gathering not even twenty four hours from her return, but then again, Bulma Briefs was not known for doing things small or quietly.

"I always knew I'd have smart babies, but I really outdid myself!" Bulma laughs, stepping back to look over her daughter. "A tech-savvy businessman and a soon to be surgeon- my prodigal children. Chi-Chi must be so jealous. She always wanted Gohan to go into medicine."

The little box on the bedside table catches her mother's eye. Bulma quirks a brow at her daughter and says, "So, I see that you not only inherited my good looks, but my bad habits as well."

Her mother saunters over to the bedside table and taps her nails against the box. "Your dad hates these things," Bulma says, with a teasing smile. "Hopefully, you didn't inherit my questionable taste in men as well."

If only you knew, Bulla thinks.

Her mother pulls two cigarettes out of the box and to Bulla's shock, lights them both right then and there in her bedroom. Her mother winks and passes her a lit cigarette. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you won't."

Bulla eyes the light cigarette between her mother's fingers and half-heartedly protests, "I can't. I just showered."

"If your dad asks, just blame me," Bulma grins. "Everyone knows I could never quit for too long. I'll take a chance and break my nicotine sobriety for a chance to share a smoke with my daughter. It's not like these are going to kill me- the dragon balls already made sure of it."

To Dende's disdain, Bulma Briefs had a penchant for abusing the dragon balls to grant the most frivolous wishes. They made excellent gifts- for instance a few years back on the day of their fiftieth anniversary, the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Briefs had woken up fifty years younger, and of course being the vain woman that she was, not only tied her life to her husband (with certain, specific conditions of course), but once it became too tiresome to keep wishing five years off her appearance, wished to physically not age past her prime.

Not wanting the scent of smoke to penetrate her carpet, Bulla steps out onto the balcony. In the distance she can see that guests have already begun to arrive.

"Have you seen your father, yet?" Bulma asks, looking in the direction of the gravity chamber. "I swear to Kami, if that man runs off with Goku into that damned training room tonight I'll eviscerate them both!"

"Yeah, I saw him earlier. Thanks for not telling him I was leaving in a few months. He was absolutely thrilled," Bulla sighs, sending ashes into the wind with a dainty tap of her fingers.

"Well, I didn't want to break the news and ruin his good mood. You know how rare those are," Bulma laughs, turning to face her daughter. "And, I want you to know, even though he never says it, your father adores you more than anything. You have no idea how many times I've had to stop your father from showing up unexpectedly. You're lucky I'm the only one with your address."

At high speed, her father was capable of flying across the earth in minutes. It appalls her to think if it weren't for his pride, her father could have shown up to her apartment anytime to possibly find her liquored up with some guy between her legs. ""Snoop on me?! Why would he do that? If he wanted to check up on me so badly all he had to do was call," Bulla says weakly.

Her mother's attention shifts. "Oh look! Chi-Chi is on her way!" Bulma exclaims, pointing at a green car winding towards the entrance of Capsule Corporation. Bulma tosses her cigarette onto the ground, and begins to pull her daughter inside. "Let's go! I haven't seen them in ages!"

Suddenly Bulla's heart is racing and a wave of uneasiness washes over her. In her state of shock, her mother's words jumble together and the minutes it takes for her to be dragged along the long underground hallway connecting the house to the corporation pass like seconds. It isn't until they're standing at the top of the staircase leading down into the immaculately decorated room below that Bulma notices the change in her daughter's mood.

"Sweetie, is everything okay?"

Bulla blinks a few times, forcing herself out of her stupor. She takes a quick glance at the guests below, reminding herself that this time, everything would be different. She would be in control.

A small, tight smile eases its way onto her red lips. "Of course, I'm fine."

Brushing off her daughter's unease as a small bout of nerves, Bulma nods her head before walking down into the sea of suits and dresses below. Her mother's presence demanded attention, and as she descended down the stairs, the room went silent.

Her stomach lurches, and in the back of her mind she sees Goku's smiling face. Bulla listens to her mother speak with her eyes clenched shut.

"I want to thank you all for coming out tonight. I do hope you enjoy yourselves as we celebrate this wonderful, brilliant woman I am so proud to call my daughter. She is a magnificent addition to the medical science community, already making groundbreaking discoveries in her field. I foresee a bright future in her, full of the kinds of advancements and research that will continue pushing our biomedical department to the frontiers of what is possible when it comes to treating the human body. Everyone, please welcome my daughter, Dr. Bulla Briefs."

After a deep, shuddering breath, Bulla opens her eyes to look at the crowd of people below. She lets out a sigh of relief, grateful that the majority of faces below were just a bunch of stuffy scientists and company associates her mother wanted her to get familiar with before her career would undoubtably lead her back to Capsule Corporation. At the same time the guests erupt into a sea of applause, that imaginary lure snaps.

He's here!

In that moment she feels disassociated from reality, but after years of mental torment, she's learned how to continue playing her part. She rests a trembling hand on the barrister and slowly makes her way down the stairs with a forced smile on her lips.

The applause begins to wane and a voice as sweet as a bell cuts through the room. "Hello, everyone. After years away from West City, it is so nice to see all of your faces again. I really do appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to welcome me back home." She reaches the bottom of the stairs with the grace of a silver screen goddess, lithely taking a flute of champagne from a server who happened to be passing by. Bulla raises the dainty glass into the air and before bringing the bubbly liquid to her lips, smiles. "Now enough about me, let's all just enjoy this wonderful evening."

When the crowd breaks out in applause, he turns in same direction everyone is facing. The guest of honor descends down the stairs, and she is so ethereal in her beauty, she takes his breath away.

She's so gorgeous it hurts.

He hasn't seen Bulla Briefs in years. There's no way this lovely creature could really be the same little girl who once had a crippling crush on him.

A pinch to the arm brings him out of his trance. "Shut your mouth before you start drooling! Shame on you, Son Goten! Where are your manners?" his mother whispers harshly beside him.

Goten's face flushes and turns to his mother with an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"You're lucky Vegeta didn't see you staring at his daughter like she was a giant meat bun," Chi-Chi scolds, giving his arm a hard thwack. "I raised you better than that."

"Wow, look at her." Goten hears his father say from behind him. His mother's attention shifts to his father who just appeared seconds ago. "It's kind of creepy how much she looks like Bulma and sounds like Bulma. If I hadn't seen Whis pull her out of her mom's stomach I'd think she were a clone," Goku whispers not so quietly. "You know, like in that scary movie we saw the other day?"

Because he's still distracted by the flawless, busty blue-haired beauty, he flinches when someone lands a weighty pat on his back.

It's only Trunks.

"Not only does she look like mom, she's also every bit as loud and obnoxious," Trunks says, lips pulling into a tired smile. "Don't let that smile fool you."

"That's not a nice thing to say," Chi-Chi giggles.

Goten watches the Capsule Corporation heiress disappear into the crowd of people, and the appearance of a familiar energy catches his attention. "Damn! I can't believe your mom managed to pry Vegeta out of the G.R. for this!" Goten exclaims when he see's the older saiyan. Vegeta is standing as far away from the other guests as possible, watching his wife and daughter.

"Oh, and look at that! Vegeta's even wearing a nice suit," Chi-Chi says, fixing a small glare in her husband's direction. "Aren't you glad I made you dress up, Goku? You would have looked so strange showing up in training clothes."

Goku responds with a sheepish laugh, then turns his attention to his favorite rival. "Hey Vegeta!" he calls out, throwing an arm up to wave enthusiastically. In response, the saiyan prince turns his head sharply in the other direction.

"Dad never misses Bulla's things. Even when we were kids, he'd show up to her ballet recitals and spelling bees. It's no secret, she's the favorite." Trunks voice is light, but Goten can hear the underlying jealousy.

Goten tenses. This is a sensitive subject. The Briefs siblings each grew up knowing very different versions of Vegeta.

Trunks raises the glass of bourbon he had been holding up to his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp. He gives the Son family a forced smile, jabs his thumb in the direction of the bar and says, "I'll catch up with you guys later. It's time for a refill." Noticing the group of pretty girls near the bar, the Capsule Corporation heir grins. "Looks like I've got some new friends to meet. You coming Goten?"

He's tempted. Those girls looked pretty hot (nothing compared to Trunks' younger sister), but the look his mother shoots him makes him quickly shake his head.

He sighs, and looks over to his father. Goku is already sniffing the air, in search of the food.

"Hey dad, wanna go grab something to eat?"

It's been years since she felt this out of control.

A nervous energy buzzes within her body, and she forces herself to ignore it. To focus instead on what is happening around her. She wills herself to keep the glass in her hand from shattering as she smiles and laughs with the man standing before her. He's a good-looking foreign engineer with an ego even bigger than hers.

A pale, slender arm snakes it's way across her shoulders.

To Bulla's relief, Marron's arrival silences the man. Ice, blue eyes slide from the engineer to her best friend. "Hey buddy, don't you know who this girl is?" Marron asks, expression flat and serious. "The last thing she wants to do is hear about your mediocre accomplishments."

The handsome foreigner turns a very unnatural shade of red, and Bulla can't help but turn away to giggle. Before giving him a change to sputter out a reply, Marron swiftly ushers her into the crowd. It doesn't take long to realize where Marron is leading her.

"Thanks for getting me away from there," Bulla says. A server passes by and Bulla exchanges her empty glass for a full one. "It's like my mom couldn't wait a week to show off. I mean, we're going to be here all summer!"

"Oh, stop crying," Marron half-heartedly chastises. "Look at how amazing all of this is- and it's all for you!" Marron raises her arms at the splendor around them. The splendor of the bar in particular. Bulla rolls her eyes and slides herself into a barstool beside her friend. Before she had a chance to cross her legs, the bartender appeared in front of them.

"Damn, a bottle of that goes for thousands of zeni!" Marron gasps, pointing at the pretentious looking bottle of liquor sitting on the top shelf. "And at an open bar? I forget how loaded your family is sometimes. Let's get some shots." Marron says enthusiatically, eying the extensive display of alcohol behind the bartender.

The idea sounds tempting. Bulla so badly wishes she could grab the nearest bottle of something strong, and numb the electric tendrils writhing beneath her skin.

Through her peripheral, Bulla sees her brother abandon a group of fawning girls. He comes in from behind Marron to lean across the counter between them. Her head feels funny, and when she meets her brother's cold blue eyes, her chest tightens. Everything begins to feel strange. Being around all of these people who she hadn't seen in so long, including her family, suddenly feels like a dream.

All of these people were extraordinary, and it made her feel so small.

Her brother narrows his eyes in concern. "Bulla, are you okay?" he asks, reaching across the table for her hand.

Bulla startles at his touch, reminding herself that this is neither the time or place to have a breakdown. "Yeah, I'm great," Bulla says, flashing her brother a smile. She needs to be careful with him. Not only was he capable of detecting slight physiological changes, he was terribly perceptive as well.

Marron nudges Trunks with her elbow. "Shots?"

He turns to her with a grin. "Marron, you really are a girl after my own heart."

"And don't you forget it," Marron teases, signaling the bartender to serve some of that thousand zeni liquor.

Bulla rolls her eyes and gags. Since they were teenagers, the interactions between her big flirt of a friend and playboy brother were always like this.

Three small glasses of something clear and potent quickly appears on the counter. Bulla eyes the alcohol longingly. "Tonight, I think I'm just going to stick to this," Bulla sighs, raising the nearly empty flute of champagne in her hand. She needs to keep a clear head tonight.

Marron shrugs and grabs the extra glass. "More for me. Cheers!" Marron reaches out to clink her glass against Trunks. Without taking a breath, she raises the second to her lips. "Mmm, so that's what a thousand zeni tastes like," Marron says, licking her lips.

The smirk on her brother's lips stretches. He leans in closer to Marron, reaching a hand out to twirl a blonde curl between his fingers. "If you think that tastes good, how about I show you how amazing a hundred million tastes."

Marron gasps in feigned offense, and before allowing her friend to utter a crass reply of her own (they could go on like this for hours), from beneath the counter Bulla delivers a sharp kick to her brother's shin.

Bulla shoots him a sour look. "It's my party. Can you guys please just not," she grouses. "What are you even doing here? Did you already blow your chances with that little titillating trifecta over there?" Bulla points her chin at the girls on the other side of the bar batting their eyelashes at her brother. "Or better yet- why aren't you wreaking havoc on the buffet table with your boyfriend?"

Trunks hisses and makes a big show of rubbing his shin. "They're called manners, Bulla. I know how they elude you." Trunks turns to Marron with a waggle of his brows and says, "But if you must know, I came over here to give my hellos to Marron who I haven't seen in ages. Congratulations on your tremendous achievement, Dr. Marron." Bulla rolls her eyes when she sees her brother not so smoothly reach down for her friend's thigh. "I hope you enjoyed the congratulatory gift I picked."

With a sly smile, Marron slaps his hand away and says, "You've got incredible taste. I've only had that aircraft for a month and I can't even begin to describe the kind of fun I've had in it."

Bulla huffs. Marron was not lying about that.

For a moment, Marron pulls the breaks on their disgusting banter. Her ice, blue eyes soften and the smile she gives Trunks is sincere. Marron reaches for her brother's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "But seriously, thank you. I absolutely adore the car and appreciate the gesture."

Trunks eyes widen in surprise, and before being given a chance to recover from Marron's surprise display of real emotions, Bulla gives him another hard kick.

"What the f*ck?" he hisses, pulling away from the counter.

"Where's my car?" Bulla snootily asks. She knows her brother only got Marron one because he's been trying to get in her pants since they were teenagers. "I only f*cking synthesized an adaptive influenza vaccine capable of providing immunity against any present or future strains! Where the f*ck is my congratulatory gift?"

It's Trunks' turn to roll his eyes.

Marron twists in her chair, props an elbow on the counter and grins. "Don't be jealous. Maybe it's Goten who'll be giving you the congratulatory gift of your dreams."

The dirty undertone of Marron's comment makes Trunks flinch, and he shoots his sister a look in warning.

From behind them, a muffled voice asks, "Are you guys talking about me?"

Bulla jumps in surprise, and to her embarrassment, the champagne flute nearly slips from her fingers. Hoping that Goten is alone, Bulla swivels around on the stool, and tries her best to ignore the hammering of her heart.

Son Goten is standing in front of her, looking every bit as handsome and youthful as she remembers. Bulla didn't think it was possible for someone to look so concerned while they were in the process of devouring a chocolate cupcake.

Goten brushes the cupcake crumbs off his jacket and looks up at the girl he hasn't seen in years. "Hey Bulla, long time no see." He gives her an easy smile and pretends to ignore the scent of fear rolling off of her.

Misinterpreting his sister's distress as a sign of the crippling infatuation she had so strongly denied, Trunks breathes a sigh of relief. Good. He didn't have to worry about his supposed man-eater sister going after his best friend. Trunks calls out to the bartender and gestures to the same liquor Marron and him just had shots of. "Let me have two bottles of that." With a bottle in each hand, he turns to his sister and smugly says, "So much for being over it. Don't embarrass yourself, Bulla."

Once Trunks is gone, Bulla blinks away her horror-stricken expression, replacing it with a gentle smile. "Hello, Goten. It's so great to see you," Bulla says, reaching towards Goten to brush away the few crumbs lingering on the front of his jacket.

The half saiyan chuckles nervously at her touch. "Yeah, it's nice seeing you too, Bulla." Goten brightens up as the scent of her fear recedes. "I can't believe you girls are actual doctors now. That's so wild."

Ever intuitive, Marron can see the potential between the youngest Son and her best friend. After all, once upon a time, Bulla did adore him. Ignoring the sharp look Bulla sends her when Goten turns the other way, Marron slides out of her seat in search of Trunks and the exotic bottles of liquor.

Goten can tell her mind is elsewhere. "Are you sure you're okay?" Goten asks, taking Marron's empty seat. "You seem a little out of sorts."

For a moment, Bulla stares at the glass in front of her. She watches the condensation drip down the flute of champagne and gathers her thoughts. Goten is the spitting image of Goku. Bulla slips on her gave face and turns to Goten with her sweetest smile.

She runs a red lacquered fingernail over the rim of her glass and playfully laughs, "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I shouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach."

For emphasis, Goten pats his stomach and flashes her that famous Son-smile. "I never have that problem."

The pull of his lips drags her mind into dark places. Goku. He looks so much like his father it's making her nauseous. To steady her arms, she quickly props her elbows on the bar and rests her chin on her palms as an excuse to turn away from him. "So how have you been Son Goten? Word around the street is you've been keeping yourself very busy."

"I try," he says with a shrug. He supposes it's a good thing that Bulla is still uncomfortable around him. It helps remind him who she is. That she's off limits, and most definitely serves to keep him from wondering how good it would feel to taste her red lips. "I own this dojo in the city. Pan works with me sometimes. The money's good and it keeps me busy."

Feeling a tad bit braver, with her cheek still propped against her palm, she turns to him and says, "Oh, don't be so modest. A little birdie told me, that not only are you a business man, but you're in charge of training members for Earth's Special Forces- that's kind of a big deal. You're doing well for yourself, Goten."

Even though her flattery makes him blush, he's glad to see a familiar burst of life in those big, beautiful blue eyes. "Well, I wouldn't consider myself a business man just because I own a dojo. I'm not exactly a suit and tie kind of guy."

"For not being a suit and tie kind of guy, I've got to admit, you look quite dashing," Bulla says easily.

"Thanks, Bulla," he stutters, eyes widening in shock. Is Bulla flirting with him? He had not been expecting that, but his experiences with the finer sex have him working on instinct. "You look really nice too. I think you just might be the prettiest girl here." Once the words leave him, he writhes in mortification. What the hell was wrong with him? Suddenly, he feels more like a teenager than a man in his thirties.

"Oh, thanks," Bulla gently says as she studies his face. For some reason, no matter how hard she tired, when she looked into his eyes she couldn't see Goten. All she saw was the saiyan warrior who ravaged her in dreams.

Ignoring the pang of guilt, Bulla decides right then and there that she's going to go through with it. She has faint, recent memories of Goten looking at her like this; with a hint of romantic curiosity, but never really with interest.

She makes a show of crossing her legs, intentionally allowing the short hem of her dress rise even higher. The movement catches his attention, he takes the bait. His eyes rove across her toned, alabaster legs, and by the time they run back up her curvy little body, the shame sinks in. This was his best friend's little sister, and here he was wondering how good it would feel to have those legs wrapped around him.

Kami, he was lucky Vegeta wasn't here to see him leering at his little girl.

Goten's reaction invokes a twinge of irritation. Yes, she wanted him to look at her like that, but for one irrational moment she wonders how differently things would have been if he had returned her affections when she was blindly in love with him. Would her affections never have shifted so severely to his father? In her frazzled mind, the impropriety of a relationship between a man in his late twenties and teenaged girl paled in comparison to the years of depraved obsession she silently endured.

Noticing Bulla's stern expression, Goten jumps off the stool, feeling terribly foolish. He can't explain why, but he doesn't want Bulla to see him the way everyone else does, and or the first time in his life, he is embarrassed of his string of one night stands. In a manner that only serves to remind her of his father, Goten rubs the back of his neck and grimaces. "Anyway- it was great seeing you again. I think I'm going to go look for Tr-"

She reaches forward and the touch of her fingers against his wrist silences him.

"It's my party, are you really planning on leaving me here all alone? " Bulla teases, intentionally dragging her nails across his skin as she pulls her hand away.

Goten shivers, and against his will, blood rushes to his co*ck. Unable to completely ease his shocked expression, the smile Goten gives her is puckered. It was a nice change to see that for once it was her making one of the Son men uneasy. In the back of her mind, she can faintly hear her consciousness telling her to stop. That Goten doesn't deserve this; that it isn't him she wants.

It feels like there's a swarm of hornets buried under her skin, and the imagined tether between his father and her is becoming harder to ignore. Never allowing her smile to waver, Bulla forces herself to ignore the unpleasant sensations roiling around in the back of her head, and decides she'd do anything to quieten the madness inside of her.

Even this.

The desperation within her is all consuming.

The doubt in his eyes- that flash of wavering weakness sends a new thrill through her. Finally, Goten finds his voice.

"Of course I'm not gonna leave you here all alone," he chuckles uneasily.

Bulla smiles, tapping at the empty seat beside her. "Have a seat, Goten. We haven't seen each other in years, and I'm dying to know what you've been up to."

Goten obediently sits down to face his princess, not knowing that his fate had been sealed. If Bulla couldn't have the father, then the son would have to do.

.

.

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A/N: After having abandoned this fic for a while, I went back and reread it and realized the chapters written before 2020 are in dire need of revision. I couldn't stand the first chapter, so for coherencies sake and my sanity, I went ahead and revised it. One day I'll get around to cleaning up the rest, but in the end decided to just focus on updating or else this fanfic will never be finished. Thank you all for your patience in putting up with my erratic updates, wonky, unintentional tense shifts and loose interpretation of English grammar.

Gilded Blue, thanks for your fabulous fanfic writing, and for sparking my weird interest in this crackship. Heirlihy, thank you for creating some awesome Goku x Bulla fanart. I'm in awe of her talent. You can check her work out on Deviantart. It's lit.

Chapter 2: Fever Dream

Chapter Text

Outside the nearest window, a bright light catches Bulma's attention. "I can't believe the nerve of that man!" Bulma balks upon realizing the light belonged to the gravity chamber. "After not seeing his daguhter for years, this is how he celebrates her return home? By locking himself-" Bulma's words trail off when she realizes Chi-Chi isn't listening. Curious as to what could possibly leave such a syrupy smile on the Son matriarch's face, Bulma follow's her friend's gaze and laughs, "On second thought, Vegeta's perfectly fine in there. Look at them! Don't they look adorable?"

Ahead of them, Goten and Bulla were seated at the bar with their backs towards their mothers They were talking and laughing with each other as though they were the only people in the room. She had never seen her daughter interact with a man with such happiness. The girl was practically glowing.

She hoped for her daughter's sake and his own that Son Goten had outgrown his notorious reputation for partying and philandering. Even though he was older than Bulla and loved women just as much as her son did, she knew that if he were committed, Goten could be perfect her daughter. She could tell from the look on Son Goten's face that as he looked at her daughter, he wasn't seeing Bulla as a mountain of zeni or a means of advancing his place in society- he was looking at her in the way of a man succumbing to the desires of his loins and heart.

Goten had probably noticed them staring because suddenly he turned in their direction and offered them a smile so big and bright she couldn't help but think of the man she had run over all those years when she had gone off on an adventure to find the dragonballs. Her smile suddenly felt heavy as she took in the view of the beautiful girl with the long blue tresses and the man with the black spikey hair.

It looked just like a younger version of Goku and her. For a reason she would never openly admit, she felt a slight twist in her heart. She loved Vegeta and her children, but sometimes she couldn't help but wonder how life would have turned out if all those years ago she had protested Goku's engagement to the woman standing beside her.

She dumbly waved back as she turned to look at her friend, not surprised in the least to see that Chi-Chi's eyes were glazed over in joy. She felt repulsed by herself for even allowing such a thought to cross her mind. Especially, when Chi-Chi was standing right beside her with such a vibrant smile.

"They're going to make us the most beautiful grandbabies!"

Bulma blinked, then turned to look sharply at her friend. "Grandkids? Are you kidding me? I'm way too young and beautiful for anyone to be calling me grandma!"

They made their way outside of the party and into the lantern lit lawn of Capsule Corporation. All of the earlier tension had dissipated and now they were engaged in light hearted conversation. Bulla pushed her worries away so that she could focus on the task at hand- making Son Goten hers. She had told herself that once she had him and used him to sate her desires for the older saiyan, her vile thoughts would be silenced and she would finally know what it was like to live a normal life.

The electric, prickling sensation she felt running up and down her spine was a nagging reminder that Goku was very close by. When she felt it, the emotions that it would bring along with it were very erratic- it was a terrible euphoria mixed with a sensation of impending doom.

All of it would end with his son. She just knew he would be her salvation.

As they walked beneath the dark, starless sky she carefully gauged his reaction as she allowed her hand to casually brush up against his. She noticed his posture immediately stiffen upon the contact of their skin, and the uneasy expression on his face as he shoved his hands into his pockets to avoid accidentally touching her.

'He is making this so much harder than it has to be', she thought as she looked him over. She didn't want to go through all the trouble of flowers and dates- she just wanted him to shove her on the ground and f*ck her until she fainted from the pleasure. But of course, a respectable young woman would never do that. And she wanted him to think thats what she was because after all that's the type of girl that boys marry. All that night, as they had been talking, her mind had been churning up the possible outcomes of her interaction with the youngest Son. She wasn't completely certain what she wanted yet, but knew it was best to approach this relationship with caution just in case Goten was meant to be the cure for her mental distress.

"So, are you busy tomorrow, Goten?" Bulla asked as they neared the white dome shaped building. She knew she would have to be the one initiating everything. This infuriated her because it wasn't a secret that both Goten and her brother went through women the way she went through shoes.

After a long pause Goten carefully answered, "No, it's a weekend. The dojo closes early. Why did you have something in mind?"

"Yeah, I did. I haven't been to the city in years, and I'm feeling a little nostalgic," Bulla said with a sweet smile. "I thought it would be nice to pay the aquarium a visit- it's so lovely and serene there- and maybe we can get a bite to eat after."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I haven't been there in years," he said excitedly. "Will Marron be coming? I'd ask Pan, too, but after we close the dojo I think she had a lot of work to do for school."

The more he spoke, the harder it was for her to keep her famous temper in check. She bit the bottom of her lip in order to keep her mouth shut as she mentally fumed at him for failing to see that this was supposed to be an opportunity for them to interact in private.

"It would be so much fun! We haven't all hung out together since we were kids," he continued. If he wanted Marron and her brother to tag along it was fine- she knew Marron was more than capable of keeping Trunks busy. From the look on Goten's face it looked as though he interpreted her proposal of a visit to the aquarium and lunch- something that could be seen as an innocent date idea, had been reduced to something juvenile. She could tell he was conflicted between remembering her as the teenager she was the last time he saw her and the young woman she had become.

"Yeah, sure. Marron's been dying to have some fun this summer, and so have I," Bulla said with a coy smile. "Hopefully, you can help us out with that.

He was about to reply, but as soon as he noticed the shadow walking up from behind Bulla he snapped his mouth shut and swallowed the nervous lump that got lodged in his throat. Mentally he cringed, upset at himself for being so distracted by his conversation with the blue haired princess that he had allowed himself to be completely oblivious to his surroundings. He is embarrassed that he failed to notice the two familiar, powerful ki's headed their way until they were standing right before him.

Even though she couldn't sense him, when Bulla saw the nervousness in Goten's expression she knew who it was that would be joining them. She shut her eyes and let out a defeated sigh. She could sense 'him' getting closer as well. Trying her hardest to look in control, she stood up a little straighter and turned around to face Goku and her father. There was no sense in delaying the inevitable.

Vegeta couldn't help the growl that escaped him as he took in the sight before him. His daughter was standing barefoot beneath the lantern light with a pretty smile on her face and a pair of golden heels dangling carelessly from her fingers. His ire slightly dissipated when he took note that neither her hair or clothing were disheveled, nor did the pair reek of amorous activity. When he locked eyes with his rival's son, the boy offered him an uncomfortable smile. It wasn't until the boy had wandered outside of the party alone on foot with his ki flickering in and out of existence that he became concerned. When surrounded by a crowd of people, his daughter's ki concealing device would conceal the energy of anyone within a certain radius. He had no longer sensed that void of energy within the conference area, and when Goten's energy would suddenly appear and fade out outside on the yard, he was unsettled to imagine they were alone together.

"Hello, Mr. Vegeta," Goten said as he ran a hand through his wild hair and snuck a nervous glance past Vegeta's shoulder. Goku stood there with a big grin, shaking his head knowingly at his son.

"Wow. It's been years and it looks as though nothing has changed," Bulla said nonchalantly, shifting her weight nervously from one leg to another as she did her best to appear causal. The saiyan men had traded their stuffy outfits for training clothes that had already become dirty with flecks of blood and damp with sweat.

As her eyes roamed down Goku, she tried her hardest to keep her breathing regular. He looked even more amazing than she remembered. With the pulse of a thousand suns radiating from him, she took in the sight of his dazzling smile and admired the way he dominated he seemed to dominate the landscape not only with his height, but the tremendous bulk of his muscle. She have Goku a small smile as she realized she had been right. This time was different- this feeling was worse than she could ever remember it being.

Kami, he was just as magnificent as he was in her dreams. She blinked her big cerulean eyes at him, pupils dilating in dread as the feeling came back with an intensity that left her gasping for air.

She cursed herself for looking him in the eye. He was about to greet her when he noticed the immediate change in her. Instantly, her heart rate began to speed up and he noticed her begin to tremble. The sharp smell of fear began to flood off of her, and as he took in the scent he was overcome by a very worrisome feeling.

A feeling that was much too familiar. He had only felt it once before, and even then it had been a fleeting sensation so quick he almost didn't believe he had felt it in the first place.

When Vegeta sensed the change in his daughter, he tore his gaze away from Goten. She reeked of fear.

"What did you do to her, boy?" Vegeta snarled through clenched teeth as he took a threatening step towards Goten.

Bulla completely ignored her father and Goten. Instead she kept her fearful eyes locked on the man who for years had left her heart and mind in confused turmoil. After not seeing him in so long, mentally, this was too much to handle. She hadn't been prepared.

Goku was the one broke the eye contact as he averted his gaze to the grass at her pretty painted toes.

She clenched her eyes shut so tight a colorful wave of light beneath her closed eyelids replaced the sight of the towering man standing before her. She hated these wretched feelings. They frightened her.

"I haven't done anything," Goten said as his eyes darted from Bulla to Vegeta. He was just as confused as Vegeta.

Bulla opened her eyes and looked up towards the night sky, suddenly feeling very weak and lightheaded. She couldn't help giving her father a sad smile as she noticed the hint of worry on his face by the slight furrowing of his brows. As her glittering heels slipped from her fingers onto the grass, she imagines her father would hate her if he knew the dark desires harbored in her heart.

"Daddy, I don't think I'm feeling too good," Bulla said softly, attempting to steady herself as she reached in her father's direction with a trembling hand. She had to get away! She took a shaky step towards her father, and before she could utter another word she was overcome by a sudden coldness as her vision blurred away into eventual darkness.

She didn't even make it to the ground. Before her legs went out from under her, she was lifted by a familiar pair of arms. Vegeta looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms and then angrily at the father and son standing before him. He turned his head to a very confused Goku and spat. "You better keep that boy of yours away from my daughter. I can promise you that there will be hell to pay if he doesn't."

The Son men watched Vegeta's retreating form as he carried the beautiful girl towards the dome shaped building. Goku couldn't help but give his son a lighthearted smile and reassuring pat on the back. "Don't worry about Vegeta. I'm sure he didn't mean that."

"I'm sure he meant every word," Goten said, feeling very stupid for thinking he even had a chance with the Capsule Corp. heiress.

Goku walked over to the spot where Bulla had been standing. Nestled within the thick grass was a pair of shimmering, golden shoes. He picked up the red-heeled shoes by their strappy backs and showed them to Goten, "Look what she forgot."

"Yeah," Goten mumbled as he watched Vegeta fly off and disappear in the direction of the family quarters.

"You can give them to her," Goku said as he threw the heels at Goten.

"What?" Goten gasped, narrowly catching them as they forcefully collided against his chest.

"Tomorrow you can give them to her. Isn't that what you guys were talking about, anyway? Now you definitely have an excuse to see her." His father was smiling at him as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Dad, I can just give them to Bulma or Trunks, now."

"You could," Goku said with a shrug, "But then you'd have to explain why you have them in the first place."

"I guess you're right. I'll see you at home," Goten agreed as he walked away from his father with the shoes in hand. Before flying off into the night sky he took a final glance at the large building behind him and looked through the window at the crowd of people laughing and drinking. All of these people were here because of Bulla- a girl who would go on do do the kinds of amazing things he couldn't even dream of. What had he been thinking? He had no business with a girl like that- she was too good for him.

He would never be able to make her happy.

She had been sitting with Chi-Chi, Gohan, and his wife when her cellphone suddenly began to vibrate on tablecloth. She was about to silence it, until she saw who it was that was calling. Her eyes widened in surprise and she immediately snapped her phone open.

"Hello?" she answered curiously. In the years she had been with him, calls from her husband were few.

"Woman, your daughter has lost consciousness"

"What?" She stood up abruptly with a shriek, earning her a few concerned looks from the guests sitting at the table. She gave them a polite smile and silently mouthed, "I'll be right back." while pointing at the phone.

"I said, your daughter has lost consciousness," he repeated slowly, with irritation lacing every syllable.

"Is she hurt? Where are you?" Bulma asked as she made her way towards the kitchen and away from the noise.

"She is in her quarters and is unharmed, but I cannot promise the same for Kakarot's idiot spawn." Was the last thing Vegeta said before the line went silent.

Bulma pushed her way past the crowd and within a few minutes had made her way towards the family quarters. She hurriedly slammed the bedroom door open to find her daughter lying on her unmade bed in her party clothes, and her husband standing beside her sleeping form.

Checking for warmth, she walked over towards them and ran a hand against Bulla's cheek. "Vegeta, what happened?"

With a look of concern that only those close to him would be able to recognize, he observed the girl lying on be bed and wondered when she had grown up. "She was outside with Kakarot's boy. When I approached them, for no apparent reason she became frightened and fainted."

Bulma quirked an eyebrow and her husband and had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling. "So let me get this straight- when you just happened to stumble upon Bulla and Goten walking around outside, she for no apparent reason became frightened and fainted?"

With a serious expression, he nodded in reply.

His wife could no longer contain herself. She slapped his arm and broke out in a peal of laughter. "Oh, Vegeta! She probably passed out from utter embarrassment! You probably just scared her. I'm sure she probably just had a little too much to drink as well. Did you catch Goten with his belt down and his mouth where it shouldn't be?"

He shot his wife a look of disgust and frowned. "How vile! Absolutely not! Had I caught him with his hands on her, I can assure you that the runt would have found himself turned into a pile of ash."

"Then why were you so mad? You know Bulla's always adored the boy." Bulma reasoned as leaned over her daughter and covered her resting form with the white, plush duvet crumpled at the foot of the bed.

"He is not good for her."

"What do you mean he isn't good for her? He's got a good heart and he's strong- he's part saiyan. What more do you want? Would you rather her be with a human boy when she could find herself a young, handsome saiyan to make babies and grow old with?" Bulma teased. She always knew the day would come when Bulla would fall for a boy. Dating was only something Bulma would bring up jokingly, but never had the actual situation ever arisen. Not once could she even remember her daughter even talking romantically about any boy other than Goten.

"He will cause her nothing but pain," he said as he crossed his arms across his chest and turned to his wife. "That boy constantly reeks of different women. I do not want him perusing her. He is a lazy, philandering sack of wasted potential. I would rather our daughter remain unattached for the rest of her life rather than mated to that pathetic half breed, but unfortunately that will never be. And if she had to pick a mate, I'd rather it be some human of minor merit instead of that joke of a saiyan."

"Oh, Vegeta! It's called being a single young man. Can you honestly tell me that before we ended up together you weren't up in space sleeping with every single gorgeous alien girl you laid your beady little eyes on? I'd be willing to bet on my life that you've got quite the track record, mister," Bulma huffed, glaring up accusingly at her husband.

"We are not talking ab-," Vegeta began defensively before Bulma raised her hand and cut him off.

"Maybe, Goten just needs to find the one. You know, the kind of girl that he just can't imagine living his life without. Kami, knows we need to find that girl for Trunks."

"He is far too old for her," Vegeta stated, hoping that declaring the obvious would be the end of this uncomfortable conversation.

"What happened to finding human societal norms silly? I bet on your planet pretty young girls were paired off to old geezers like you all the time. Now, you're just trying to find any excuse to keep them apart. Sweetie, don't you think she's probably always had her heart set on Goten?" Bulma continued as she continued to comb her fingers through her daughters long azure hair. "Think about it, not even when she was a teenager did she show any interest in any of the young boys she would go to school with. We all know she's always had a little crush on little Goten. Now, she's a young woman, and she'll be leaving soon. Let them have their summer fun. What's the worst that could happen?"

He chose to not answer the question and instead shot his wife a look that would have caused anyone else to cower in fear.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Bulma laughed as she took a seat on the bed. She grabbed the picture frame propped on the bedside table and gave a small chuckle at she looked at the group of teenagers in the photo. Bulla must have been fifteen when the picture had been taken. She and Pan had their arms wrapped around each other while Goten and Trunks stood behind them with big goofy grins. Time went by so fast.

Vegeta looked down at his wife and daughter and let out a defeated sigh as he ran a gloved hand across his face in frustration. Moments like these made him glad he was one of the few remaining of his race, because that meant no one was left to see how ridiculous his life had turned out.

He could only imagine what his father would think if he knew a teenage girl could best him into letting her leave the house in clothing fit for a harlot, let alone having the thought of her winding up broken hearted leave him a complete mess. Yet, as much as he complained, he found the a kind of peace he never imagined could be his. Even though it was uncommon for saiyan father's to show much interest in their offspring, it wasn't until Bulla was born that he had found acceptance in this life so different from the one he had known full of rage and destruction.

He looked down at the sleeping girl and groaned. Out of all the men on this forsaken dirtball- why that little urchin? Having to see his face around the compound when he was horsing around with Trunks was bad enough. Now he'd have to accept the runt laying his filthy hands on his daughter.

Bulma narrowed her eyes up at her husband. "Oh, will you quit it! She's a grown woman. As much as I'm sure you believe our precious daughter is innocent and pure, I'd be willing to bet when it comes to men, she's just as bad as I was at her age. I'm sure by now she's a little heart breaker, herself. If anyone's going to leave that relationship heartbroken, I'm placing my money on Goten. Just watch, she's going to chew that boy up and spit him out."

He turned his head away from the women, refusing to believe a word she said. He supposed things could be worse. As much as it pained him to think it, if she had been born a princess on Planet Vegeta her life would have turned out completely different, and not for the better.

Her lack of strength would have been a beacon announcing just what she was. All that would have been of importance was the regal blood coursing through her veins. Saiyan princesses were a rare commodity. He had never met any princesses in his youth, but he could remember his mother telling him of how the most powerful saiyans the universe would ever see would come from their wombs.

He knew his history well enough to know that men had shed blood in order to be worthy enough of mating these women. To be mated to the princess was an honor bestowed upon the strongest of Saiyans. She would have been something the fiercest warriors would have fought for.

His lips curled in displeasure as he mentally imagined some faceless Saiyan warrior giving him a victorious grin while throwing his daughter over his shoulder and walking away to defile her. His wife had been right; those kinds of warriors were never young men like Goten. They were hardened warriors very much like himself. If they were back on his planet, he was sure Goten would have wound up dead trying to win the princesses favor. It finds it both comical and repulsive to think that on Planet Vegeta, it would have been Kakarot who would have been the one meant to rightfully claim his daughter.

As Bulma watched Vegeta she couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his head. She was surprised this 'talk' had been put off for as long as it had. She couldn't help but feel irritated that it was happening now of all times, when there was a party happening at full swing right under their feet; a party her daughter had already prematurely checked out from.

"Okay, sweetheart. You've got to let this go," She said assertively, standing up and smoothing any wrinkles on her tight black dress. She walked over to her husband and attempted to pull him out of his thoughts with a deep kiss. "Try not to make a big thing out of this. Bulla's only going to be here for the summer and then once again she will be slipping out of our lives for another few years. I want her to at least visit us on holidays, so please don't give her a reason to leave here upset."

He felt like grabbing the nearest thing and slamming it against the wall. This was one battle he didn't have the slightest chance of winning. He glared at the photo resting on the night stand and it took every ounce of self-control within him to not grab it and hurl it out the open balcony doors. He felt his eye twitch as he scanned the photo.

Suddenly, Goten's boyish smile felt mocking.

The night sky was different in the mountains. Here the sky was clear and the stars that were not visible within the city, covered the night sky in an expanse of twinkling lights. Goku was sitting atop of a large boulder, watching the moon's reflection ripple against the lake's surface. Morning was only a few short hours away.

He let out a small sigh as he lay himself supine on the rock's cool surface. He had been in restless state of unease since his arrival home. As he shut his eyes his mind was flooded with images of blue.

His senses were shocked as sudden prickling sensation that tickled at the tips of his fingers, followed by a comforting warmth that enveloped him as he allowed his mind to wander. The energy he was feeling was not completely foreign- he had felt it twice before. While his greatest quality may not have been his intelligence, he had been able to make the connection to the little blue haired girl.

He could still remember the first time he had felt it: It had been few years ago when he had been sparring lightly with Vegeta and the girl had been lounging in the pool as she sipped on some chilled beverage while she observed them with a bored expression on her face. It all seemed so long ago, and he had been unsure of what to make of it in the first place. The events of that afternoon were now a blur. The only thing that he could remember vividly was the way he was momentarily rendered frozen by the eerie feeling that something was not right. It felt like something was tugging at the borders of his consciousness, trying to make its presence known. Suddenly, that tugging became furious. When he turned to the girl in the water to see her expression twisted in confusion, he knew it had been her.

He hadn't seen much of her in the years to pass after that incident, so he pushed the memory aside, deeming it unimportant.

But tonight had been different. It made him realize that something was going on with Bulla, and he wondered if he was the only one that could feel it. Even though he could not sense her ki, when he stood next to her, suddenly he felt on edge.

Tonight, when she was staring at him with a look of complete hopelessness on her face, it awoke some part of him that took pleasure in the scent of her fear. And that feeling from years ago returned, but he had been much too busy trying to make sense of the scene around him to even notice it.

Underneath his shut eyes he was drowned in images of long blue hair and creamy skin. At first he didn't know what woman his mind had conjured up, and to be honest he didn't care; she was stunning.

Was this the woman who had haunted his dreams since his adolescence, or was this the newer version that was tearing up his sanity? With an expression of indifference, she was looking at him with eyes so cold and blue and then she was pursing those thick crimson stained lips at him.

Lips so red he thought of apples and blood.

She brought her hand up to her neck, ruby lacquered nails sensually trailing across her milky white skin and down the neckline of her dress. Her finger hooked on the front of her dress so that she could pull it down just enough for him to realize that this was the younger more dangerous version. With a pout of her lips, she snapped her finger against the tight fabric of her dress causing her large breasts to bounce obscenely.

His breath left him in a shaky wheeze and when he inhaled he was suddenly flooded with her scent; a delicate mixture of honeysuckle and fear.

A scent so sweet and disturbing that he hadn't realized that he had his fist wrapped around his co*ck until he was close to completion. In surprise, his eyes shot open, but before he could rid himself of her haunting image, he caught those lips giving him a smile so malicious he felt his stomach churn.

He stuffed himself back in his gi, and quickly got onto his knees so that he could crawl to the edge of the rock. Goku felt sick. He couldn't believe that his mind had wandered so far. Seductive thoughts of his childhood friend were less common than they used to be when he was a younger, but this was the first time Bulla had even crossed his mind.

And it made him sick when he realized that he found Bulla even more appealing than her mother. There was something about the thought of her that made his mouth go dry and had his nerves tingling in anticipation. The scent of her fear was intoxicating.

He hung his head over the side of the bolder as his stomach churned in repulsion. Sounds of him retching that night's feast filled the quiet forest.

Something was wrong with him. He didn't feel right.

He walked back into his home, rinsing his mouth out in the kitchen sink before returning to bed. He buried himself under the white covers and pulled his sleeping wife's warm body against his. He pressed his nose into her hair, her familiar scent bringing him comfort.

"I'm so sorry," He said softly, his lips brushing against her greying hair.

He shut his eyes and willed himself to think of his family, his friends and all those he had fought so selflessly to protect. His thoughts grew hazy as he fell into a restless sleep and was once again drowned in images of pouty red lips and long blue hair.

Dehydration, food deprivation, and alcohol did not mix. Bulla had woken up the next afternoon with a killer headache. She was too tired to dwell on what had happened only a few hours ago. She didn't want to think about it now- she'd think about it later, when she was clear headed and with a full stomach.

After washing off the nights make-up, throwing off her dress, and slipping into some loungewear she followed the smell of food into the kitchen. She could hear her mother's voice before she even passed the living area.

"All of his patents are utter crap. Anyone who's anyone in the engineering community will vouch for me when I say he's a class-A fraud," Bulma continued as she waved her utensils around for emphasis. Her father was ignoring his wife, instead choosing to grab another slab of ribs from the center of the table, and poor Trunk's looked as though he were at least trying to pay attention as he fought his father for it.

She stood dumbly under the doorframe as she watched her family interact. Suddenly it felt like she had never left and time had stopped an ocean away just for her. Suddenly, a heaviness weighed on her heart as her eyes made their way to her empty seat at the table. To the side of her father there lay a clean white plate and utensils.

"Good morning!" Bulla greeted as she walked over to the kitchen cabinets, giving her family the biggest smile she could muster without making her temples throb.

"Look who finally managed to drag their drunk ass out of bed," Trunks said as he gave his sister a teasing grin.

Vegeta merely looked up at his daughter and gave a disapproving shake of his head before continuing with his meal. After pouring herself a cup of coffee she sat down at and warily looked at her family. Her mom just smiled back and took a delicate sip of diet soda from the can she was holding. She put the drink down, bright eyes never leaving her daughters. "So, do you have any plans for today?"

To her dismay, she suddenly had her father's attention. Before she could offer a reply, Trunks cut her off.

"Before you even ask, I'm going to tell you no." Trunks said as he leaned back in his chair and rest his hand on his full stomach.

Bulma's face whipped in his direction, anger beginning to simmer in her blue eyes, "What do you mean, no?!"

"I know your friend is super hot, Bulla, but I'm so not going to willingly spend my evening watching you and Goten make flirt and play footsie with each other. I'd rather tear my own eyes out," He stated flatly as he made a disgusted face.

Bulla's mouth dropped open and pink tinged her cheeks. "What are you even talking about?"

"I know what you're up to. Marron called the house a million times because your phone was dead. Then she told me that Goten to go on a little lunch outing. A LUNCH outing. Come on, Bulla- on weekends the guy doesn't wake up until way past noon. Something gives me the feeling that it wasn't his idea."

"And your point is?" Bulla asked as she gave him an expression that clearly stated she did not know what he getting upset about.

"An afternoon out sounds like such a great idea, Trunks. Your poor sister hasn't been home in such a long time. Don't you want to spend some time with her?" Bulma asked through grit teeth as she kicked her son under the table.

Vegeta ripped off a piece of meat with his teeth from the rib he was holding in a rather dramatic manner, all the while keeping his eyes locked on his daughter. She rolled her eyes and poked at the scraps of food left in the center of the table. As she plopped a heap of rice in her bowl she gave her brother a sneer. "I'm sorry, I forgot how much of a burden I was to you. Forget it, if you don't want to spend time with me, that's totally fine." Her father watched as she pointed angrily at her brother with the chopsticks she held tightly in her lacquered fingers, "And to think all I wanted to do was go to the aquarium and stop at a cafe. I mean, what's so outrageous about that? Excuse me for wanting to do something normal and boring."

She crossed her arms across her chest as she gave her brother a smug look, "I'm sure Goten wouldn't mind taking me. I'm sure we could find another friend to bring along. You know who I haven't seen in a while? Uub. Remember him? From what I hear he's become a total babe."

When he sensed a sharp spike in his son's ki, Vegeta turned his attention to his son. Trunks was clenching his jaw so tight his mandibular joint seemed to be pulsing under the pressure. Never had Trunk's imagined that Bulla would so obviouly pursue his best friend. Goten was a great friend, but he'd seen the animalistic side beneath all his happy go lucky smiles. When it came to women, he was just as guilty as Goten. They were brothers in sin.

He knew he couldn't place any of the blame on his best friend- after all, the princess always got what she wanted. He had imagined that her infatuation on Goten was just a teenage phase that would have just withered away with the passing years. It had been a means of constant entertainment watching her face burn crimson whenever she was around Goten.

Bulla looked away from her brother, trying her hardest to keep the guilt at bay. She hated it when he was mad at her. It made her feel like an unwanted child all over again.

As Trunk's studied his sister, he realized his poor friend didn't even stand a chance. He had been watching them as they talked at the bar. Goten had become ensnared in her trap the instant she decided that she wanted him. He hoped for their family's sake that they knew what they were doing.

Trunks pushed himself away from the table and frowned at his sister. "Fine I'll go. But we're going to make it quick and then I'm gone. Got it?"

"But what if Goten doesn't want to leave with you? What if he'd rather spend a little more time with me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and smiling up at him triumphantly.

He would have given anything to wipe the smile off her pretty little face. He felt the urge to use his inhuman speed to his advantage and dump a bowl of rice over her head, the way he used to when they were children. Disgust and anger were seething within his chest.

This new polished Bulla was just as obnoxious as the old one, but he could tell from the coldness in her eyes that something had changed. As much as she tried to play the good daughter and keep a smile on her face, he knew that there was something different about her. Something deceitful. It caused him pain to think of what could have caused her to lose that innocent sparkle in her eyes. To him, her smile looked a bit more crooked, her features more dark. He wondered if his parents could see that this was not the same Bulla.

As much as she angered him and irritated him like no other, he loved her; she was his baby sister. He didn't want to see her get hurt.

He pointed a warning finger at her as he stepped away from the table. "This thing you're trying on with Goten- you'd be an idiot to think it's going to last once you leave. I'm telling you right now, the moment you stop spreading your legs for him, he'll be warming some girls bed- and when that happens I don't want you to come crying to me!"

Both children's attention turned to their father when they heard him slam his hand down on the table, just enough for the dishware to rattle and get their attention. "I've had enough of this! Boy, you watch that disrespectful mouth of yours. You would dare speak to your own flesh and blood with such impudence?"

Trunks eyes widened at his father's outburst. His attention turned back to his sister to see the amusem*nt dancing in her cold eyes.

"Uh-," he began as his eyes moved down to take a final look at the blue haired girl. "Forget it. It's your life to screw up anyways. Do what you want, but don't be surprised when don't end up going how you wanted them to."

Bulla simply rolled her eyes and walked out of the room taking her meal with her. "If you're coming, pick me up at three. You know I hate to be kept waiting."

Bulma was resting her chin on her palm with a bemused little smile on her lips as she watched her children bicker. She could still remember the days when their fights were more childish. Now their arguments had transitioned from broken toys to broken hearts

As soon as the children exit the kitchen her attention turned to her quiet husband. He was no longer eating. Lost in thought, he rest his elbows on the table, his lips were a thin, tight line as he stared at the empty seat Bulla had occupied only seconds ago.

When his dark eyes finally met hers, she couldn't help but shrug. "At least this summer won't be boring," she said with a gentle laugh.

Chapter 3: Rue

Chapter Text

The afternoon had begun just as any other in the small capsule home on Mount Paozu. The sun was high overhead in the clear sky as the birds merrily chirped in the forest, and as always, Son Goku was nowhere to be found. Chi-Chi had been looking out her kitchen window as she washed up the last of the pots and pans used to cook her families' meal.

She smiled when she saw a young dark haired girl zoom past. The kitchen door swung open and Pan yelled, "Grandma, I'm here!"

Saturday afternoons had always been her favorite. It had become a tradition, that on Saturday afternoons her son's and their families would gather to eat the lunch she would prepare. When she was seated at the table surrounded by her husband, sons, and granddaughter she felt so much happiness. That void she had felt after years of raising her son's without their father had been filled with so much love it was overflowing.

For once, everything was just as it should be.

Chi-Chi wiped her hands on her pink apron and opened her arms to Pan's embrace. "My dear, it's so good to see you. I hope you brought your appetite with you ."

Pan laughed as she turned to look at the heaps of food served on the table. "My appetite is almost as bad as grandpas! Kami, it smells delicious."

The door opened again as a neatly dressed Gohan and Videl made their way into the kitchen to greet the smiling woman. Gohan brought his mother into a warm hug. "Wow, mom- you really out did yourself this time. The food looks great."

Videl grabbed some plates from the China cabinet and began setting the table and shook her head with a teasing smile playing at her lips. "And as always, Goku and Goten are the last ones here."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Chi-Chi laughed as she removed her apron and folded it. "He really is his father's son. Never on time for anything. That young man is probably barely rolling out of bed."

"What did I tell you," Chi-Chi said in a sing-song voice as a disheveled looking Goten staggered into the kitchen. Goten made his way to the refrigerator with the grace of a zombie, grabbing a carton of orange juice and drinking its contents in one quick chug. Empty carton in hand, he shut the fridge door and blinked dumbly at the group of people staring at him.

"I slept in till noon again, didn't I?" Goten asked sheepishly as he tossed the carton into the trashcan. He looked down at the plaid pajama bottoms and wrinkled band shirt he was wearing, then proceeded to spin around and walk out the kitchen door. "Guess, I should probably go brush my teeth and change, or something."

"Yeah….considering it's already noon, that seems like a good idea," Pan giggled before she took a seat at the table and took a whiff of the piles of steaming hot food piled in front of her.

The kitchen door swung open for a third time, allowing for a very hungry Goku to poke his head in. He flashed everyone his trademark smile as he walked in the room, quickly giving his wife a peck on the cheek and ruffling Pan's hair before pulling up a chair.

"Chi-Chi, this sure smells good. I'm starving!" Goku exclaimed as he equipped his hand with a set of chopsticks, wrist ready to dive into attack on the meal before him.

Chi-Chi slapped his hand, earning a surprised squeal from the planet's strongest warrior. "Put those chopsticks down, mister. Wait till everyone's seated!"

Goku sighed and slumped into the chair, eyeing the food longingly and groaning as the steam wafted in his direction, earning a loud grumble from his stomach. Pan quirked an eyebrow at her grandpa and shook her head. "Grandpa, seriously, five minutes isn't going to kill you."

"It just might, Pan," Goku sighed dramatically, laying his chopsticks down on the table in surrender.

It was then that Videl noticed a pair of shimmering golden stilettos carelessly thrown near the front door. She lifted them up and let out a low whistle. "These are some nice pumps, Chi-Chi. A woman could do some serious damage with these babies."

"As pretty as they are, I'd rather keep my feet from twisting in on themselves. Those shoes actually belong to Bulla," Chi-Chi laughed as she took a seat near her impatient husband.

At the mention of her name, Goku felt his insides churn as he remembered the way his mind had concocted images of the sapphire princess giggling and pouting her painted lips at him. He kept his eyes fixed on the food before him, refusing to look at his wife or family in shame; fearing that they would read the guilt on his face like an open book.

"Why would her shoes be here?" Gohan asked curiously, taking a seat next to his daughter and carefully pouring freshly brewed green tea into a white tea cup.

"Don't you know Goten's going to marry that nice, young girl?" Chi-Chi beamed as she placed a tray loaded with dinosaur stir fry.

Gohan couldn't help but choke down his tea in surprise, earning looks from everyone at the table. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie, giving his mother a troubled look. "Are you telling me that the mighty Saiyan Prince is okay with Goten marrying his very young daughter? That Trunks, his best friend finds this acceptable? That no one cares that he's over a decade older than her?"

It was then that Goten stepped back into the kitchen, hair still a bristly dark mess, wearing a Taitans tee that Yamcha had given him a while back and some loose fitting dark jeans. He took a seat at the table, suddenly aware that once again everyone had their attention on him with curiosity clearly evident on most of their faces- minus his father who kept his eyes on the food and his mother who was smiling up at him hopefully.

"Uh….What's going on?" Goten asked slowly, eyes moving nervously from one end of the table to the other.

"I can't believe you're marrying Bulla Briefs!" Pan exclaimed, bringing her hands up to her cheeks with her mouth agape in disbelief. "You own one of the words most famous dojos, and she doesn't even fight. I don't think she can even fly. She's not a good fit for you, Goten!"

"She's even younger than Pan! Goten- what were you thinking? She's barely a grown woman," Videl scolded, crossing her arms against her chest, blue eyes swimming in disappointment.

Goten's face turned redder with every word directed at him. He brought his hands up in defense and sputtered, "W-what in the world are you talking about? I'm not marrying Bulla. I'm not even dating anyone!"

"What a relief. For a moment I had thought you might have lost all common sense. A girl like that is no fit for you." Gohan let his shoulders slump in relief as he let out a deep breath. "I mean seriously, Bulla Briefs? You work in a dojo and pretty soon she is going to be running Capsule Corporation's biomedical department. I couldn't even imagine what you both have in common," Gohan continued, shaking his head as he refilled his teacup, failing to notice the way his brother's eyes narrowed at him in irritation. "She doesn't even train. That would be What would you two even have to talk about?"

Goten couldn't help the irritation he felt at his brother's words. From his perspective it seemed as though his brother found him beneath Bulla. Just because he wasn't the CEO of some monopolizing corporation or some scholar like he was, didn't mean he had any less of a chance of earning Bulla's attention. He couldn't help but grin as the realization struck him that when it came to capturing the heart of the youngest Briefs, he already had the upper hand.

Goten had never been oblivious to the beautiful half saiyan's affections. He saw the way she blushed when he was around, or how him dropping the smallest complement left her a sputtering mess. Yet, he never encouraged her feelings, since at the time she was nothing more than his best friend's cute, very spoiled little sister.

Growing up, Bulla had never gone through that awkward metamorphosis of adolescence to young adulthood. It had been instantiations. From one summer to the next, she had gone from a loud, obnoxious teenager, wearing clothes that made her look like a child playing a dangerous game of Lolita inspired dress up, to the kind of young lady who could steal a man's heart with one look. It was apparent that she had inherited the sinful body that made Bunny Briefs one of the most sought after centerfolds of her time, and the added compliment of her mother's flawless features left her the epitome of feminine perfection.

Her temper had always been a force to be reckoned with, but last night he had noticed she had become more calm and there was something else enigmatic that had changed as well. Of course, at the time he had been too busy enjoying his youth- drinking and smoking things that left him a giddy mess, and having fun with the kinds of girls his mother warned him about.

Then without warning, she disappeared from West City and flew off across the ocean with Marron to some university by the beach.

Last night he had been taken aback by how confident and alluring she had become. He couldn't help but wonder if she still liked him the way she did before leaving to university. He hadn't been serious with any girl since his relationship with Valese ended bitterly a long time ago, but the thought of making Bulla's his made his heart beat a little faster.

"As a matter of fact, I'm going to be seeing her in a few hours," Goten said coolly, resting his arms behind his head and leaning back in his seat, suddenly feeling victorious when his brother gave him another disapproving look.

"Oh, no. We are going to end with her in the family. Won't that make her my aunt?!" Pan exclaimed woefully as she buried her face in her hands in dramatic anguish. "Aunt Bulla- how disgusting! She's been waiting to trap you since she was twelve years old, Goten! And you're just going to let her?"

"Everyone, let's just leave these two lovebirds alone and see where it is that life takes them," Chi-Chi said sternly, waving around her serving spoon at the people seated at the table in warning. Finally, she pulled up a seat beside her wonderful husband, took a deep calming breath and placed her hands together, slightly bowing her head forward. "Thank you, Kami for blessing our family with this delicious meal, and for finally finding a good girl for my poor son Goten."

With Chi-Chi having the final word regarding the possible relationship between the two half saiyans, everyone ceased arguing and the race had begun to pile as much food onto their plates until not even one last grain of rice remained.

Nearly an hour had passed since Gohan had loaded the Son women into his safe, dependable jetcar and taken off into the city for an afternoon of frivolous shopping. After a few minutes spent flipping channels on the television, Goten grabbed the large black trash bag his mother had left sitting by the kitchen door and walked out of the cozy capsule house to start his day.

Goten whistled as he made his way towards the back of the shed, to the small ditch used for the disposal of garbage. He tossed the black bag into the hole and with a quick beam of ki left nothing but burnt dirt and ashes at the bottom.

He walked back towards the house, with more bounce in his step than usual and a silly smile on his face. The thought of seeing Bulla in a few hours left him feeling like a young, love-struck teenage boy.

A cheerful voice called out from behind him.

"Hey, Goten!"

Goten turned around to see his father walking through the clearing towards him, cradling a stack of firewood in his massive arms. He was surprised to see his father was still home after lunch. It wasn't uncommon for the older Saiyan to only come home when the sky turned dark, or go missing for months without warning. It used to drive everyone insane, but instead of arguing it was just accepted as one of the many excusable flaws of the incredible Son Goku.

"Are you already leaving?" Goku asked as he neatly lay the logs against the shed. "I was actually going to ask if maybe you wanted to spar, or go fishing, or really just anything? We really haven't spent time together in a while."

Goten gave his father a shrug, not feeling the least bit guilty when he replied, "Sorry, dad. I've got plans. How about tomorrow?"

"Alright. I'll hold you to it," Goku said with a smile, rising to his feet and popping his vertebrae as he twisted his torso side to side.

For just a fraction of a second, Goku's eyes narrowed when his son walked past him without further acknowledgment, or even a quick, polite farewell. He watched his son walk away from him, momentarily stunned by the irritation he felt at his son's dismissal.

When it came to his family, irritation and anger were emotions that never surfaced.

Goku shook his head in confusion, wiling the irritation away. He replaced the stern expression on his face with a smile as he caught up with his son. "So….. Goten. Where are you going?"

Goten stopped walking, and turned to look at his father. He raised a dark eyebrow at the older Saiyan in confusion. Not once had his father ever inquired where he was going. When he would walk out the door, the only question he could ever recall being asked was whether he would be home in time for dinner.

"I'm going to go meet up with some friends."

"Some friends? Do you mean Vegeta's little girl?" Goku said casually, as he rest his hands on his hips and looked down at his youngest son. None of his sons had inherited his towering height.

"Uh….yeah. She wanted to hang out today," Goten said, trying get in a few more steps towards his car.

He was cut off by his father again, who was walking right beside him. "I was thinking about what Vegeta said last night. He sure didn't seem too happy about you being around Bulla."

This caused Goten to freeze mid-step and look up at his father in confusion. "What do you mean?"

When it came to conversations about family and relationship dynamics, Goku was the one person no one would expect to have any form of input. This was the reason Goten couldn't help but stare at his father as though he had grown a third eye in the center of his forehead. He swore if his father started preaching relationship advice he would fear something was terribly wrong with his father.

"Well, I mean I don't want to have to go around keeping Vegeta from hurting you too bad. And when it comes to girls, I know you like them just as much as Yamcha and your buddy Trunks. It just wouldn't be nice to play with Bulla like that. I think it would make Vegeta really mad if you made Bulla sad," Goku said with a shrug.

Goten spent the next few seconds trying to process the words his father had spoken. His eyes were wide in disbelief and he could feel his cheeks burning in embarassment as he stared up at Goku. "Dad, I'm not playing with anybody. Especially, Bulla- I think I really like her. She's great."

Just the thought of his youngest son being around the heiress made him feel emotions usually reserved for those with malicious intentions.

It scared him.

He didn't want Goten touching her.

He couldn't figure out why, but just knowing that soon his son would be returning home with her scent lingering on his clothing made him nervous. It just wasn't right.

It wasn't right that within a few weeks Goten would probably end up in bed with her, and it wasn't right that he would have to endure the stench of it with a smile on his face. It wasn't right that he cared this much.

As Goku watched his son, he attempted to keep his expression neutral; trying his best to push the bubbling red emotion in the pit of his stomach at bay. He kept his fists clenched by his sides, that cheerful smile never leaving his face.

"Okay, son. Just be careful and don't say I didn't warn you," Goku said, giving his son a pat on the back as he turned towards the sporty jetcar parked in front of the capsule house. With a puff of smoke, Goten encapsulated the car and turned to look at his father, still somewhat dazed by the odd comments that he had made. He brought his hand up to give his father that famous Son-salute.

Goku nodded his head in acknowledgment and watched as his son took off into the sky. He looked up into the clear sky at a flock of birds moving northward, and let out a sigh, willing all the tense energy out of his body.

Sitting around at home was making his mind dwell on atrocious things- leaving him feeling edgy. He couldn't help but feel that his traitorous thoughts would be on display if one only knew where to look. He feared that if anyone looked into his eyes, they find a beautiful girl of blue reflected in them.

He needed to keep his body moving. He couldn't stay at home anymore with only his unnerving thoughts for company. He isolated Piccolo's energy and shot off into the sky, determined that a few hours of physical exertion was all he needed to stifle his unease.

Bulla stood beside him, blue eyes glowing peculiarly in the dim room and reflecting the crystal water behind the thick glass surrounding them. A large, spotted, plankton-eating fish lazily drifted by them, eliciting a surprised squeal from the girl as she innocently hooked her arm around his to pull him closer towards the aquarium glass.

"Look at that one, Goten," she said excitedly, pointing her finger at the colossal fish that soon nearly covered the expanse of their view. "He's so big! I've always loved watching him swim around. You know, me and that fish are practically the same age."

He quirked an eyebrow and gave her a playful smile. "Well I must say, over the years the fish sure seems to have outdone you in the growth department."

She tilted her head, giving him a smile so stunning he suddenly felt uncomfortable and aware of his surroundings. He could feel his friend's energy rising a bit in warning somewhere behind him.

"Daddy would bring me here all the time when I was small." She rest her head against his solid arm and smiled wistfully. "Trunks and you were to cool for me back then- too busy chasing girls and getting drunk. Mom's always been the same- obsessed with work, but after daddy would train all morning, sometimes he would bring me here. Especially in the summers. And then we'd go to the little café down the street where he'd let me eat religieuse until my teeth hurt."

Goten couldn't help but cringe at the mental image she was creating.

It was hard picturing the same saiyan that would beat Trunks and him black and blue for so much as a sideways glance, wasting his precious time taking a little girl to an aquarium and sitting at a French café eating chocolate éclairs. Just knowing that this girl, who he knew had a nearly negligible ki, had enough power in her to get the Prince of all Saiyans to do her bidding made his stomach twist in a very unpleasant way.

As Bulla's mind wandered through her childhood, she couldn't help the little happy smile that tugged at her lips when she looked over Goten. The guilt that she felt the night before was gone and replaced with a giddy determination that for a moment made her think that maybe things would turn out okay. As her mind was replaying afternoons spent with her father, watching the very fish before her swimming though the aquarium, it dawned on her that this choice was the best one for all of them.

While her father may not have approved of her dating Goten, she imagined that as the time passed Vegeta would eventually become indifferent to the idea. She feared that if she didn't act quick enough, eventually Trunks, or worse- her father, would be able to somehow sense the pull Son Goku had on her. Trunks always had a peculiar knack for sensing things that others were oblivious to. Bulla couldn't even speculate what the outcome would be if either of them ever learned how badly her body yearned for Goku's touch, or of how for almost a whole decade he had fueled every single one of her private fantasies.

And she would make sure no one ever knew.

She pulled herself closer towards Goten, daring to take a quick glance at his boyish face. Even though the features were softer, his skin a bit lighter, those dark, playful eyes were nearly identical- and it killed her. She knew it was wrong to use him in such a way. In repentance she would make it so good for him, so that when he was finally between her legs, she could feel less guilty about staring into Goku's eyes when she climaxed.

The thought of having Goku, even though his son, made her heart start beating a little faster, and fueled a shameful pulse from between her legs. In mortification, Bulla took a sharp breath and quickly turned her face towards the aquatic life on display, hoping that the room was dim enough to hide the blush on her cheeks.

Mentally, Goten was light years away. He was left wondering if by perusing Bulla Vegeta Briefs he was abandoning any hope of living long enough to see the next season of his favorite television show. His mind was a flurry of doubt and self-preservation- Was he good enough for her? What did they even have in common? What did she even see in him?

He was brought out of his thoughts by a very particular and jarring scent. The smell of a beautiful, aroused female usually resulted in him panting like Master Roshi at a bikini contest, but the sweetness cut a chill through his spine.

Biologically, the saiyan genes in him were dominant, leaving him to wonder if she was aware that he could smell the dangerously enticing aroma coming from between her legs. The poor lighting did nothing to conceal the pink tinge burning her cheeks from his sharp vision, and as he looked down at the doll-like girl wrapped around his arm he realized something that left him feeling victorious.

She wanted him.

Her desirable scent gave him the courage he needed to uncurl the small hand from around his arm to instead swing it around her small shoulder. All doubts were momentarily subdued- including the strange conversation he had with his father a few hours ago. He brought his mouth close to the blue haired heiress and in a low voice asked, "I have to know Bulla what is it that you feel for me?" If she were anyone else, he would have been more brazen.

Those intense, sapphire eyes scanned up and down his face until she held his gaze. The smell of her arousal was faint, but still strong enough to cause an irritated twitch in his jeans when those thick, painted lips parted in reply, "I guess it was no secret that I used to have this big time crush on you when I was a kid."

She kept her eyes locked on his, but as hard as he tried, his gaze continually shifted back to that wicked mouth he couldn't wait to taste. If he hadn't been so shocked by how strange their evening was going, he would probably have been concerned by how forward she was being. Bulla couldn't stand looking at him anymore, it made her feel dirty. Instead she thought back to her carefree teenage years when she would write Son Bulla on the borders of her notebooks in lovesick, curly lettering.

"Back then, you had learned how to use your good looks to your advantage. I have to admit, watching as Trunk's went out and slept with half the women of West City made me so jealous. It made me wonder, what was it about those women that made you want them so much. What did they have that I didn't? When it came to me, all you saw was some unbearable teenage girl, and that just really hurt," She said, laughing when she saw his hopeful expression falter.

"Even though I refused to believe it, I was still a kid, and you were just a young man doing what young men do; and I'm sure you had a fun time," she continued, giving him a cheeky wink that left him feeling uncomfortable and guilty. "We both took the time we needed to grow up. When I saw you last night I realized something."

"And what was it that you realized?" he asked nervously.

"That just, maybe now you see me." She looked up him and smiled before she leaned back into him, allowing one arm to snake against his broad back as the other hand reached down to curl around his fingers. The contact caused his skin to itch when her small fingers wrapped around his.

He gave her a lopsided grin and squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Bulla, I've always seen you. It's hard not to notice a girl as smart and pretty as you. Please don't find me creepy for admitting it, but even as a crazy teenager it was obvious that you were going to grow up to be someone amazing. I was a different guy back then, please don't hold it against me."

In response she stood up on her tip-toes and planted a chaste kiss on Goten's smooth cheek. "You're the exact same guy I've adored, Goten. Only this time around, I hope you'll be my guy."

He looked down at her, mouth slightly agape in shock, but before his mind could process a response he sensed a very irritated ki coming closer. Before a very angry Trunks ruined their moment, with stupid bravery he craned his neck down to land a light kiss on her lips.

Bulla turned her face, not being able to hide her smile. She had him right where she wanted him.

Immediately, he let her go so that there was at least half a foot of space between them. He casually turned his head back to greet his friend, not the least bit surprised to see Trunk's sending him a scowl that one could only inherit from Vegeta.

"Do you think I didn't see that? What the f*ck?!" Trunk's growled, eyes darting from his best friend to his sister.

"Do you think you could love him?" Marron quietly asked without turning to meet the other girl's attention. The blonde haired girl rummaged through a giant cardboard box sitting on the basem*nt floor, tossing out random items until she would come across something she deemed interesting.

Their afternoon with the boys had ended rather quickly. Trunk's had stayed true to his words and after a quick tour of the aquarium and a bite to eat at a nearby cafe, the girls had been dropped off at Capsule Corp. Her brother had forced Goten to sit up front with him, only allowing for the dark haired Saiyan to offer her a grimace of a smile in farewell before the car peeled out into the direction of the city.

Bulla picked up an old photograph and held it up to the dimly lit light bulb. It was a picture of her mother posing on a beach in a bikini top and cut off shorts, with a machine gun perched on her small shoulders as she smiled cheekily into the camera. She put the picture in a small pile next to her as she continued to sift through a small box of forgotten treasures.

It had become a strange ritual of theirs to come to the attic with an expensive bottle of wine and pop open one of Bulma's old storage capsules and rummage through the forgotten memories. Neither girl ever learned much of their families past, only glorified segments of battles fought to protect the Earth, or things that her brother or Goten would let slip.

The past had always been glossed over for them. No one had ever told Bulla that her father's prior livelihood had been to commit intergalactic genocide, just like no one told Marron that her mother's sole purpose had been to eradicate human life. The photos and knick-knacks they would find in the boxes sometimes filled in missing pieces, or allowed for peeks into the past that they knew so little about.

Do I think I could love him?

"Oh, I don't know, Marron. You know he invited me to lunch tomorrow? Or rather, his mom forced him to invite me to lunch. Apparently Chi-Chi is already planning our wedding," Bulla mumbled as she looked at the next photo. This one featured a shirtless teenage Son Goku attempting to dump her bikini clad mother into the rolling ocean water. She let her finger ghost across his face, a bittersweet smile pulling at her lips. Her brother had told her that including theirs, there was a total of twelve universes. She likes to think that perhaps in one of those, there was a version of Goku and herself that were a mirror image what she had seen in those photos; only instead of merely laughing on the shore Goku would passionately make love to her with the foamy waves lapping at their ankles.

"I think I could learn to love Goten," she said. She tossed the photo back into the box with an irritated flick of her fingers. "But all I really want is to forget about him."

The blonde quirked an eyebrow at her friend. "I'm sure once you wind up tangled in his sheets, you'll be forgetting all about his daddy. Word around town is that not only is he a good lay, but he's also packing muscle where it really counts."

Bulla drew her eyebrows together in annoyance as she brought a finger up to her lips, "Shhh! Marron! How many times have I told you to watch what you at my house. The walls have ears here!"

Marron rolled her eyes, her attention once again being drawn to the random items piled inside the cardboard box. Her mouth formed a small 'o' when she felt a soft material under her fingertips. She pulled out a black folded garment and couldn't help but snicker when she rolled it open and a set of bunny-ear headbands rolled onto the wooden floor.

"Your mom is such a freak," Marron laughed as she held open the black one piece for Bulla to see.

Bulla grabbed the bunny ears at her feet and dusted them off before putting them on her head. I've got admit, this has to be the strangest thing we have found here yet. And that's because I'm including the preserved extraterrestrial body parts."

"That looks super cute on you. I can't believe I forgot about this. In fact-," Marron said excitedly as she grabbed her phone and rapidly scrolled until she found what she was looking for. "I think this super retro, sexy bunny costume can see some action one last time before being put to pasture. I had totally forgotten about the invite!"

Bulla looked at the screen to see an event invite to a costume party happening at one of the clubs Marron and her used to regularly frequent. She could use a girl's night out to enjoy a few drinks and dance the stress away.

"I will blatantly ignore the fact that this is just an excuse to have women dress up like slu*ts and agree to go," Bulla laughed as she passed the phone back to Marron. "Tomorrow, it's just gonna be us, and I'm down for some actual fun."

"Sounds epic," Marron giggled as she flipped through blueprints of rejected inventions. "So what's the deal with Goten? Don't think I missed that lip action at the aquarium today. He's totally into you."

Bulla gave her friend a triumphant grin. "Hook, line, and sinker, baby."

Chapter 4: Cosmic Love

Chapter Text

With her hands tightly clenched on her lap, she kept her eyes shut beneath a pit of oversized sunglasses as the hovercar twisted through the mountain roads. Throughout the drive Goten would take occasional glances at the beautiful girl seated beside him, noticing the further they got from West City, the quieter she would become.

When the nervous prickling of her aura had begun to itch under his skin, he boldly reached across the seat for her hand. Her eyes shot open in surprise and she couldn't help the poignant smile that pulled at her lips upon noticing the look of concern on his handsome face. Goten was sweet. She was sure in time she could learn to love him.

"What's wrong, Bulla?", he asked, his strong hands giving hers a reassuring squeeze.

She looked down at the large hand entwined in hers and ran her fingers across his rough skin of his palm. These hands looked so similar to the ones that would grope and squeeze her in her dreams, until she would wake up in the middle of a powerful climax.

"What do you mean?", she asked, mesmerized by the contrast of his sunkissed skin against hers. "I'm totally fine."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I can tell somethings bothering you."

"If you must know, I'm actually kind of nervous."

Goten's couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. "Nervous? What on earth could make you this nervous?"

"I'm only meeting your parent's for lunch," she began, taking an uneasy breath as the capsule home came into view. "And no offense Goten, but your moms kind of intimidating. And she's going to be watching every move I make. I just don't want to blow it."

"My mom's intimidating?" Goten laughed, giving the girl a disbelieving look. "Every time I even think of you, I get this mental image of your father going super saiyan blue and crushing my skull."

"Oh, please Goten. Don't be so dramatic." From beneath her sunglasses Bulla rolled her eyes and then looked at him with a coy smile. "So, does that mean you think of me often?"

The long drive came to an end as Goten's hovercar came to a slow stop in front of the Son residence. With a push of her finger, Bulla slid her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose to take in the home where her heart's captor rest his head. She stared out the window, unable to believe that within those walls she would have to smile and politely laugh with the saiyan who ravaged her sanity. Her body tensed as a cold tremor ran down all the way down her spine, ending with a nauseating lurch at the pit of her stomach.

Goten opened her car door and offered his hand to the blue haired girl. She blinked up at him, suddenly aware of how uncomfortably electric the mountain air was.

She could feel him.

The instant her strappy sandals met the ground, she regretted her decision to come here. She had blamed her earlier embarrassment around Goku to exhaustion and too much champagne, but now as she stared at the capsule home she knew that this twisted infatuation had reached a point where it was physically manifesting itsef. At this point there was no reason in justifying her sanity.

When Goten gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, she was pulled out of her jarring thoughts. His warm eyes continued to look at her with concern. "Hey, really what's going on? I know you, Bulla. You don't feel right?"

She looked at her hand, entwined in his and furrowed her eyebrows, unable to remember which of them had initiated the warm gesture. She softy pulled her hand back and in a tone he hadn't heard her use in years chided, "Don't feel right? Please do tell, exactly what do I feel like to you?"

He was momentarily rendered frozen by the angry curl of her lips and her finicky facade fell into one that was much more familiar. There was that spoiled princess he remembered. "You feel like someone about to face their death. It was making me nervous.", he laughed with a shake of his head. He threw his arm around her shoulder and began to guide her to the front door, "Let's go, its only lunch. And I can promise you haven't lived until you've tasted my mom's tonkatsu."

Relief flooded her when she heard the synthetic chime of her phone. She rummaged in her large bag until she found her phone and gave Goten a reassuring smile after looking at the name on the screen. "I have to take this. It's my mom, I'll be in there in a minute."

Without giving him a chance to reply, she answered the phone and turned around to face the large river running at the edge of the house. "Hello."

"Bulla, sweetie how are you?" her mother answered in a cheerful voice. "I was just wondering where you ran off to. Your father and I had planned on having a nice lunch with you, but you just disappeared."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know." Bulla said as she made her way closer the calm river, sneaking a glance past her shoulder to ensure that Goten had gone inside.

"That's fine. We can go any other time." Bulma laughed before adding in a much quieter voice, "The only reason I'm really calling is because your father got a little suspicious when Goten's ki suddenly vanished. He was worried you were pushed up against him so closely, you were concealing his energy."

"I did no such thing!", a loud voice boomed from within the background, causing her to flinch.

Bulla laughed. "Yes, I am with Goten. Tell daddy not to worry, we are still barely getting to know each other."

"Sure." her mom crooned, obviously thinking the worst of her and without a drop of subtlety added, "If your version of getting to know each other is anything like it was between your father and I, then maybe he should be worried. Do you remember those days, Vegeta?"

"Please mom, not now." Bulla groaned.

"All I'm trying to say, is have a good time sweetie. And don't be afraid to let Goten know if he ever gets a little too passionate- these saiyan men forget their own strength sometimes." Bulma laughed, earning another audible growl from the Saiyan prince.

"Seriously, we are barely getting to know each other, so there will be very minimal passion happening. Plus, his parents will be having lunch with us. I'll be home in a few hours anyway- I've got a night planned with Marron." Bulla admitted, hoping it would quell her father's worry, knowing full well he could hear every word of the conversation.

"Since you're having lunch with Goku and Chi-Chi, it's only fair that he has to have lunch with your father and I. You're only going to be here for the summer, so we need to squeeze every minute we can from you."

"Okay, I'll let Goten know. Bye."

"These are supposed to be the most exciting years of your life. Get in some trouble. Love you. Bye.". Bulma said, ending the call just as Vegeta had begun a verbal tirade in the background.

She walked over to a large nearby stone, and with a loud sigh let herself slump onto it. Fiddling with the ring on her thumb, she stared into the clear blue water and tried to subdue the nagging sensation she would feel whenever she knew he was around.

'There's no way I can really sense him.' She mentally reassured herself, trying to ignore the buzzing at the back of her head. If she was not even capable of sensing her own energy, it made absolutely no sense that she would be able to sense someone else's.

The nagging sensation suddenly manifested itself as a dreadful chill that ran from the top of her head all the way to her red pedicured toes. She let out a dry sob into her hands at the sudden intrusive sensation, losing whatever measly amount of courage she had initially started the afternoon with.

Before she could even indulge herself in another second of self-pity a cheerful voice called out beside her: "Hey, there Bulla! What are you doing here?"

She snapped her head in his direction, wide blue eyes staring hopelessly at the most powerful being in the entire universe.

After breakfast he had taken off to South Island in search of the boy he had taken to training for his past few years spent on Earth. Unless they somehow went hand in hand with whatever universal threat he was opposing at that point in time, Goku had never been the kind of man to worry too much about ominous feelings or unpleasant emotions.

After the Tournament of Power, life seemed to slow down. There wasn't some power-hungry villain lurking in the horizon, his children were growing up and having children of their own, and he spent his days trying to pacify the restlessness of his saiyan instinct.

While he spent his days same as he always had: a routine of consuming piles of food, hours of grueling physical exhaustion, and adventures trapesing through the universe, life just no longer had that spark it once had.

Sure, he loved his family more than anything, but he lived to fight.

He wiped the sweat dripping off his forehead with the back of his hand, eyes narrowed in determination as he encouraged his student with a beckoning motion of his hands. "Come on, Uub! All you have to do is channel that energy. I know you can do much better than that!"

The dark skinned boy landed midair a few feet near Goku and looked up into the afternoon sky, pointing his finger at the sun. "Look Goku, it's nearly midday. My mother is expecting us for lunch. Perhaps we should take a break and start again later."

If there was one thing that could drag Goku away from training, it was food. He looked up into the sky, noticing that the sun was at its highest position and tried to remember what Chi-Chi had told him that morning. Something important was happening that afternoon. Or maybe she needed him to take her somewhere?

Goku rubbed the back of his head and looked up to the clouds in thought. "Hmm…. I think I needed me to go home for something." He gave Uub a lighthearted smile while bringing up two fingers to his forehead. "I'm gonna' head home. Rest up. I'll see you tomorrow, same time."

Before Uub could reply Goku was already a flickering flurry of colors as he transported himself into the woods of Mount Paozu. The summer wind was much more arid in the mountains than it had been when he was sparring with Uub over the waves of the Southern Sea. As he walked towards his home he removed the top to his sweat soaked gi and slung it across his shoulder.

After lunch with his family the afternoon before, Goku had spent his past waking hours training much harder than he had become accustomed to in these times of peace. The blue haired princess had been the last thing on his mind as he immersed himself in his training, and pushed his body until he couldn't move without having every muscle ache. It wasn't until he exit the forest, a small gust of wind had picked up the lingering scent of fear. It was so strong it overpowered the more familiar scent of breaded pork drifting from his home, and was surprisingly much more tempting.

He raised his nose and took a few more testing sniffs, trying to identify the source of the disturbingly enticing scent. It was peculiar for such an ugly emotion to smell like that, and it confused him even more when he was only able to sense Goten and his wife's ki nearby.

When his eyes moved across his quiet home he noticed her soft voice coming from behind a large rock near the river. He made his way closer to the sound, entranced by the sweet scent of her fear becoming sharper as he neared her. Goku approached her soundlessly and stopped when she was only a few steps away.

He co*cked his head as he studied her, confused by how the girl didn't have the slightest hint of ki- yet he could see her, hear her, and smell her. His dark eyes lazily roamed her body, starting at her bare legs and slowly moving up until they stopped momentarily to observe the way her large breasts heaved under the thin fabric of her dress with every shuddering breath. Long cerulean hair cascaded down her back, across creamy shoulders, and he could already see emotion shimmering in eyes so blue he was sure he could drown in their depths.

His eyes wandered down her neck, stopping once again at the front of her dress, mesmerized at how soft and supple her porcelain skin appeared. Goku was shocked out of his trace when the girl suddenly brought her hands to her face and sobbed so pitifully it made his mouth go dry.

Before it escaped his throat, he swallowed a strangled groan as he shut his eyes and bit down on the insides of his cheek.

Kami, her fear smelled delicious.

That sudden spike in her emotions shocked him all the way down into some part of him that he didn't even know existed- that he didn't want to believe existed.

He opened his eyes to the blindingly bright sky, and was suddenly aware of what he had been doing. He was looking at Bulla, his best friend's daughter, in a way that a man should only look at the woman who claimed his heart. Shame slid down his throat as he realized there was a warmth bubbling in his lower stomach and his co*ck was resting hard and heavy against his leg.

The sight of her caused a surge of memories to resurface. His mind flooded him with past images of her mother perched suggestively across a hoverbike and hugging him so tight after some battle that his face would end up crushed against her modest chest. Nearly forty years later, he could still remember with pristine clarity the night he had caught Bulma and Yamcha enjoying each other when they thought he had wandered away from camp. The first time he had ever wrapped his fist around himself, he had mentally replayed the sight he had witnessed. How Bulma had taken her ex-boyfriend in her mouth, sucking until white dribbled out the corners of her lips, licking him until he was hard enough to bend her over and make her scream.

He thought he'd never seen a girl as beautiful as Bulma, but this girl was otherworldly. Had she always been this stunning? He watched her bite down on her lower lip and couldn't help but wonder if she let men bury themselves in her mouth as well.

The thoughts racing through his head were sick. What was wrong with him?

This wasn't him.

He had a strong wife who had fathered his children, who he loved more than anything. How could his mind betray her like this?

Was this blue haired girl even real? He couldn't sense any energy coming from her body. He had to know she wasn't just some trick his mind was playing on him, so he tried to approach this rationally and tried to calm this side of himself that secretly lusted after Vegeta's wife and daughter. Sometimes he scared himself.

"Hey, there Bulla! What are you doing here?", he called out.

Bulla's head snapped in his direction, leaving him momentarily stunned by how breathtaking her eyes looked when they were alight in fear. Her body gave a little shiver, leaving Goku to wonder if somehow she had been able to sense his revolting, lust filled thoughts.

She pushed herself up from the rock and with her head held high walked over to Goku. "Hello, Son Goku. How are you?" She said crossing her arms across her chest, hoping that this time putting up a brave front would be able to stifle the nervousness eating at her. This time she would be ready. She nudged her thumb in the direction of the capsule home. "I'm here for some of your wife's world renowned tonkatsu ."

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. As mouthwatering as the tonkatsu was, it paled in comparison to the scent of the blue haired princess. His appetite was completely gone at the thought of having to be in the same room with this girl who ignited a sickness in him and his loving wife.

"Smells great. I'm starving." Goku lied with a smile, patting his stomach for emphasis.

He watched as her eyes followed his hand, landing on the sweaty, bronzed skin of the large Saiyan in front of her. He didn't miss the way her eyes lingered over his abdomen and arms, or how her lips slightly parted when she looked at his muscular chest. In the quiet of the mountains he could easily hear the way her heart raced as her eyes ran down his body. Even though it was very faint and overwhelmed by the scent of her fear, there were traces of arousal in her scent. A soft pink tinged her cheeks by the time she managed to tear her eyes away from him, and even though he couldn't rationalize it, knowing that she appreciated what she saw left him with a strange sort of satisfaction.

"Did your dad teach you how to mask your ki?" Goku asked, finding himself drawn to every move she made, needing to know what it was about this girl that had him battling with the inner-beast he had long subdued.

Bulla chuckled dryly, eyes focused on the river only a few steps away. "My father couldn't even teach me how to sense my own ki, let alone hide it. I'm certainly no super saiyan like the rest of you." She brought her hand up, wiggling her thumb so that the silver ring around it gleamed against the bright sun. "Trunk's gave this to me when I was a teenager so that I could actually have a little privacy. You know how bad daddy can be. He's such a square."

"A square?"

"Yeah, a total square." Bulla laughed, outstretching her arms and putting her hands together so that her fingers made four sharp angles. She peeked through her self-made frame, looking at the man at the center of it and gave him a playful wink. She furrowed her eyebrows at Goku, crossed her arms, and in a gruff voice snarled, "Girl, you seem to forget I can sense every move you make. You are the princess of a mighty race- you should conduct yourself with dignity and dress yourself in clothing respectable of a female of your station. I am a Saiyan Prince- you will obey me, and I expect you home at a reasonable hour."

When Goku tossed his head back and laughed, so did she. As long as she focused on her breathing, and attempted to ignore that overwhelming pull she was able to keep a straight head. She could do this.

"Wow. Vegeta sounds just like Gohan. Who knew he had it in him."

"Are you trying to say he's a professional at nagging?" Bulla smiled back at him.

"I guess you could say that. I've never been too good at it." Goku shrugged, looking over his shoulder at the capsule home behind him in what almost looked like regret. It always left him a little stunned to realize the same blood thirsty saiyan who landed on Earth decades ago in search of immortality had become a better father than he could ever be. He'd always known that when it came to being a father he had done poorly, but to be such a bad husband left his heart heavy.

"Good at what? Being a nagging father?" Bulla bravely took a few steps towards the older saiyan and looked up at him with a bright smile. "You're the only reason our planet even exists right now. I think you deserve a pass for not being a boss level pain in your children's asses."

Goku gave her that bright smile that she'd learnt to hate and brought his hand up to scratch nervously at his wild, dark hair. "I guess you're right, Bulla."

Damn his smile. It made her think of poor Goten probably waiting for her patiently at the kitchen table. Damn him! He made her feel so f*cking sick. She was sure if she wasn't clenching her jaw so tightly she would've retched all over his boots.

With a renewed sense of purpose, she took a few more steps toward Goku and looked up at him, trying to match his warm smile with one of her own. "You've only saved the universe a million times. Humanity thanks you for your services and forgives you for being an inadequate nappy changer and enforcer of curfews. You're a good man, Son Goku."

A good man wouldn't want to grab her neck and pin her against the boulder she was standing near just to hear if her moans sounded like her mothers; to feel the fear pulsing in her veins. He had to get out of here. Nervously, he swallowed the tightness in his throat. "Thanks a lot, Bulla."

Emotions made him uncomfortable, she could see that. Saiyan, human- when it came down to it, all men were the same. She watched the muscles in his throat move, and couldn't stop her eyes from trailing down to the thick scars tattooed across his chest.

They looked glorious.

And just like that, everything changed.

She was assaulted by the depraved images of her fantasies and in her mind could see his tattered bronze skin roughly thrusting into her Even in her dreams his scars stayed true, and the ache she felt when she eyed her favorite was absolutely painful. She couldn't even put a number to the times she fantasized about running her tongue against the raised flesh across his chest.

"You're so amazing, Son Goku. " Her voice was no longer playful, and along with her resolve, that smile she had worn so courageously was gone. The static in her head was so loud, it drowned out everything else but him. "I've heard a lot about all the big battles you've been in. I bet you have a lot of blood on your me, did you win against every one?

Only being a breath away from the battle-worn skin she obsessed over was driving her near the edge of a place she knew she would lose herself in. And with all her might, she hoped that there was a way to knock this good, honest man down so far from grace he would fall alongside with her.

"Almost." He admitted, in a voice so low she nearly missed it. Words of thanks and admiration never left his wife's lips. And to hear them spilling so boldly from these beautiful ones made him hate himself more for the needy, longing it invoked.

"Do you still remember where each one came from?", she asked, her attention focused on the creamy, raised flesh marring his skin. The playful nonchalance they had both feigned had been forgotten, only to be replaced with a painful awareness.

That loathsome pull he had always had on her became choking and she was feeling too weak to fight anymore. She had never been a brave or strong girl- in her defense she never had to be. He should have been brave enough for the both of them, but this was his first time stepping into this kind of fight.

And in this universe, he had always been destined to lose.

Sweat was beading down her hairline and pooling under the curves of her dress. The thin cotton material seemed to be constricting around her chest. Her sharp, labored breathing making the rivulets of sweat slide down past her clavicles and down towards her bountiful cleavage. The static in her head synchronized with the hammering of her heart, and it was just too much.

Hyperawareness of everything and self was not something she was familiar with, and now she could feel every blade of grass rustling against her ankles and whatever heat she imagined radiating off Goku had become blistering. Goku watched her intensely, having lost his mask of obliviousness the moment his princess had called to the saiyan in him. The thoughts he had been fighting so hard to push down surfaced in a torrent of unrepressed hunger. He wanted to dominate her. She was his.

Bulla's hands were clasped together at her chest, fighting the urge to slam her palms against his chest just to see if she would burn.

She just had to know.

Her hand slowly made its way between them, drawn to that jagged tear running vertically across where his costal cartilage lay underneath. The wound that had caused it must have nearly been fatal. Her studies left her privy to the exact locations of the veins and arteries roping around a human's body, enough so that she could imagine how the blood had gushed down his chest and the rage and pain it must have invoked in him.

What beast had nearly managed to tear out her warrior's heart?

The instant the tips of her fingers made contact with his skin, the small hairs on the nape of her neck rose, leaving a trail of gooseflesh down her arms. She hadn't missed the way he jolted at her touch, or the startled hiss that had managed to escape him at the electric sensation. When she looked up at him, she was taken aback by the mix of rage in his dark eyes as they landed on the particular battle scar she had chosen to inquire about.

"Your father gave me that."

Before giving her a chance to react, he grabbed her wrist with inhuman speed and tossed it back at her chest, using a bit more strength than intended. Her hand landed against her chest with a dull thud, her breath leaving her in a sick wheeze.

He watched as she crumpled onto the grass with her shapely legs drawn under her, leaving her dress crumpled up high enough for him to make out the puffy outline of her sex against a lacy scrap of fabric. Bulla continued to hungrily gasp for air, her fingers clawing at her chest and the guilt he felt for hurting her had momentarily subdued the darkness that had nearly managed to surface.

The low creak of the doorknob snapped him out of his daze, his attention drawn away from the obscene amount of creamy skin squirming by the shore of the river. He wanted to help her, but for once his need for self-preservation was stronger. There was something so sinister and primal about her. When he had come into contact with her skin he felt a sort of satisfaction that was alien to him.

Those eyes once again looked up at him full of fear and wonder, and he just knew something absolutely terrible was about to happen. With a heavy heart he raised his fingers to his head and muttered a hasty apology to the Saiyan Princess before he disappeared.

He got as far away as he possibly could.

So far that if he tried hard enough, he was able to lock everyone's presence in the back of his mind. He savored the silence and slowly regulated his breathing while watching the golden clouds billow against the lilac heavens. With a heavy sigh, he threw himself on the soft grass and stared up at the magnificent sky of the otherworld. The chaos she had stirred in him was still there, but it was subtle enough to ignore. He decided that he would hide here until either he was able to make a bit more sense of whatever it was that was happening with Bulla, or his wife called him from across the universe that dinner was served- whichever came first.

Another weighted sigh left him as he thought of the princess. In all honesty, he had never thought about a single female in such a short time span as he was currently doing with Bulla. For the past two days he was plagued with indecent thoughts of her, and physically exhausted himself so the only thing he could focus on was the stinging of his lungs and body. It was horrible to realize that even when he was dead, his thoughts of Chi-Chi had been fleeting because he knew that she was strong enough for both of them when it came to doing what needed to be done for their sons.

Goku was snapped out of his reverie when the curious face of a familiar chimpanzee stood over him, blocking his view of the clouds of Snake Way. Startled, he sat straight up and came face to face with his familiar training buddy.

"Bubbles!", he laughed, grabbing the now shrieking primate into a tight hug. "Long time no see, buddy!"

Bubbles protested loudly and struggled against Goku's embrace, drawing the attention of the other planet's occupant. The short blue kai slammed the door open and wobbled out of his house, throwing off a blue apron and threateningly waving a beater dripping with batter at his favorite pupil. "Goku! What do you think you're doing?! Let that monkey go!"

Goku did as he was told and stood up to greet King Kai as Bubbles shot off to the other side of the small planet. King Kai glared up at Goku from behind his round sunglasses and gave him a sharp swat with the dirty kitchen utensil. "How many times do I have to tell you?! You can't just keep popping up like that! Thanks to you my soufflé is de-flay!"

Goku awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and offered the small kai an apologetic smile. "I'm awfully sorry about that, King Kai. I just haven't seen you in a while, and just wanted to see if maybe you were in the mood to train."

King Kai brought his stubby fingers under his chin, giving Goku a calculating look before shaking his head. "You're an amazing fighter, but a terrible liar, Son Goku."

In reply Goku laughed, "What are you taking about?"

"You seem to forget that it is my duty as ruler of the North Galaxy to know what's going on." King Kai said shaking his head at Goku and then surprising him with another sharp smack with the beater. "And right now, I don't like what's going on !"

Goku took a sharp breath, his eyes going wide as the weight of the kai's words sank in. He'd never been a bad guy. Never had he hurt anyone who didn't deserve it or do things with a malicious intent, so why did he suddenly feel like he was the worst person alive?

He hadn't done anything wrong.

Yet-

Goku stood still as stone, watching the kai standing below him, hoping with all his might that the deity before him was blind to the actions that took place between Bulla and himself. He really felt horrible about shoving her near the riverbed and really just meant to push her hand away. He wondered if King Kai had noticed the lustful glint in his eyes when he looked at the Saiyan Princess.

King Kai twitched his antenna a few times before taking a deep breath and reaching up to pat Goku on the shoulder. "While I may not like what's happening, and from what I saw it looks like you're definitely having a rough time not liking it- I can assure you that none of this will be your fault."

"My fau-", Goku began, but was cut off by the kai raising his pudgy hand. The blue deity moved besides him so that they both faced the beautiful golden clouds. His nasally voice had taken that serious tone which Goku had learned to be wary of, because it only meant bad news.

"You are the strongest mortal warrior in all the galaxies, Son Goku. And you have used that magnificent strength to bring peace to the universe. It seems wrong to ask more of you when you have already given so much." King Kai said, resting his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the swirling gilded heavens. "You were destined to die years ago from that nasty heart virus, remember?"

"Yes, but I don't understand what that to do with…her." Goku said, his brows furrowed in confusion as he tried to make sense of where this revelation was going.

"This has everything to do with her." King Kai began, waving his hand in a sweeping motion at the sky above them. "You may not have died in that battle, but you rewrote destiny a million times over. We kais were not the only ones watching what you've been up to. The sentient forces that weave destiny have been watching you as well, and fear that with your permanent demise from the living world, those dark entities currently hiding in the shadows of the universe will reawaken with a vengeance."

"While you may be able to jump to and from the land of the living as you do now, once you are deceased it would tear apart the barrier separating the living from the dead, and of course we wouldn't want that." King Kai laughed at his pitiful attempt at humor then took a quick glance at Goku to see if he was paying attention. It pained the deity to continue, but he knew that no matter which route he took, Goku was destined to suffer. "In this universe, you along with a bunch of people who should be dead aren't. Like your buddy Vegeta for instance."

Goku dropped to the grass, leaning his elbows against his bent knees because he knew for some reason he should be sitting when King Kai explained everything. All this otherworld business went way above him. He didn't mean to go around messing with fate or screwing up timelines; his whole reason for being was to protect those he loved. Things were getting too complicated.

"Vegeta was supposed to have died a long time ago, but because he now lives, the cosmos planned to use him in order to ensure universal peace, for at least the next two centuries. Think of it as universal self-preservation if you will." King Kai explained. Now that Goku was seated, he put one comforting blue hand on Goku's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "The universe recognizes your strength, and has seen how you have brought balance to the universe. The very instant Majin Buu was defeated and Vegeta was dragged out of hell and brought back to life, it was fated that he would have another child."

A sick, heavy feeling was gnawing at the bottom of his stomach when the blue deity gave his shoulder another squeeze to get his attention. Goku looked up at his mentor besides him, staring at his reflection off the Kai's dark lenses.

Kami, he didn't ever think he'd seen himself look so pale.

"You can try to fight this, but when you fail please don't lose hope. After all, it usually is quite useless to fight against your instinct. I apologize, but destiny never really considers anyone's feelings- but you see Goku, the set up for a perfect warrior was all there." Now King Kai had grabbed onto Goku's shoulders, so that he was forced to stare at his cringing reflection. "A Super Saiyan God and the Saiyan Princess with paths that intercede? It was quite literally written in the stars. As you know, I cannot see definite truths, only possibilities. And in each scenario there is always grief for those around you in some way or another, but for trillions of others there is life and hope."

Goku listened but shook his head in denial. The blue deity took Goku's head between his hands so that he was forced focus his attention on him. At King Kai's next words, his heart sunk into the pit of his stomach and for the first time in decades he felt an intense sense of helplessness.

"Don't you see, Goku? She was born for you."

Chapter 5: Abandon

Chapter Text

She had spent the rest of her afternoon buried under the comforting warmth of her plush duvet. All the rage and fear that she had held onto for so many years had come barreling through the moment she had run up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door shut. It was horrible to realize that the glorious feelings she spent nights obsessing over were real. That his rough, sun-kissed skin had indeed felt like magic beneath her fingertips.

And he had felt it. He must have. She remembered the dark look in his eyes when he grabbed her and had to bury her open mouth against her pillow to drown out a pained scream.

Why her? After all these years, why now?

There was an emptiness inside her that made it difficult to muster the energy necessary to untangle herself from her sheets. So, she just lay there in the dimly lit room, still in the dirty white dress she had worn to Mount. Paozu and stared blankly at the wisps of sunlight that had managed to slip through the closed curtains. She couldn't make sense of it, and her head was starting to hurt from sorting through memories and trying to rationalize what it was that fed her neurotic want.

There was no way of justifying how the attention of his dark eyes left her feeling so magnificent and powerful. All of the tension and fear that burdened her was gone the moment she had let go. Being close to him felt so right. She'd never felt that before and couldn't help but wonder if it was just her lust-ridden imagination.

She just had to know if it was real.

She felt her heart begin to race as she tired to think up anything resembling a suitable resolution. Even if it were real, what would it matter? If she were indeed capable of sullying the good-hearted saiyan, other than satisfying her burning need, what good could possibly come of it? Regardless of how badly it was tearing at her sanity, for her family's sake she had to be strong enough to hide this.

Instead of startling her out of her misery, the sharp knock on the door only intensified her guilt. How could she possibly smile and act like everything was okay when inside she was this lustful, frightful thing?

"Bulla, I'm coming in!" The familiar voice behind the door sang. Bulla turned her face sideways so that she was able to see Marron as she opened the door. The blonde's smile fell into a concerned pout as she noticed the her disheveled friend's red, sullen expression. "What's going on?"

She shut the door quietly behind her, the shining of the moonlight through her bedroom window allowing Bulla to make out the white cat ears on top of Marron's tightly curled hair. Her friend crouched down beside her, soft blue eyes wide with worry. "Did something happen today?"

Bulla gave the other girl a bleak smile as she pulled her body up and slumped down onto the carpet beside Marron, dragging the sheets along behind her. "The worst kind of something."

Marron grabbed her friend's trembling hands, and tried to push her own negative emotions. She knew it was silly, but every time her best friend fell into these hopeless moods, she couldn't stop herself from hating Son Goku. Instead of losing momentum, as the years passed, her friend's infatuation with the saiyan blossomed into a full-fledged painful obsession. She couldn't understand what it was about the older man that would transform her beautiful, strong friend into this pathetic, melancholy mess.

It killed her seeing Bulla this way.

"Bulla, you're stronger than that." Marron cooed, tenderly running a hand across the sticky skin of Bulla's cheek.

The blue haired girl buried herself against her friend and moaned. "That's exactly my problem- I'm not strong enough!"

Marron wrapped her arms around her friend, running a soothing hand through her tangled blue hair and held her. With a hopeful smile on her pink lips, she pulled away from the other girl. "You have Goten now. All you have to do is fall in love with him and everything will be just fine. Love conquers all, you know?"

"When did you become such a sap?" A half-hearted laugh left Bulla's lips, as she rest her back against the side of the bed. She looked behind Marron, cringing when she caught her reflection off the flat screen mounted on the wall.

"The moment I decided that we should become legit sisters, and I'd become Mrs. Marron Briefs. It's got a nice ring to it, don't ya think?" The blonde gave Bulla a mischievous wink as she pulled herself up and adjusted the top of the white one piece she was wearing under a petal pink trench coat. She helped Bulla up and then brought a finger up to her delicate chin as she looked up at the ceiling as though deep in thought. "But then that would make us both Dr. Briefs, and I'd imagine that would make things awfully confusing when we're being paged overhead, huh?"

"Keep dreaming." Bulla laughed flipping on the bedroom light as she made her way to the vanity, only to be greeted by the reflection of a girl whose tear slickened face was spotted with broken capillaries and red-veined eyes that stared back at her. Her puffy eyes roamed over her reflection, trying to find the familiarity in this strange, pathetic girl she had almost forgotten was easily invoked.

"You were doing so good." Marron said, taking a seat on the long wooden stool facing the vanity and with a delicate prod of her finger popped open the lid of a box of facial wipes. This was not a routine that was foreign to either girl. The evidence of heartache and tears were easily covered with creamy eyeshadows and ruby red lips.

"Something happened today near the woods." Bulla began, nervously fidgeting in her seat as she allowed Marron to apply a glimmering layer of charcoal eyeshadow on her eyelids. "I touched him, Marron. It was practically an accident, but f*ck it felt like I was on fire! And the way he looked at me was just… it killed me."

Tears were once again pooling in the corner of her eyes, causing Marron to scowl and lightly pinch her cheek. "Quit with the waterworks, you're gonna' smear your eyeshadow!" Tube of mascara in hand, she went to work making her friends eyelashes exaggerated and full, as she added in a harsh whisper. "And until you're looking like f*ck-me-bunny and we've had at least six rounds of shots, I will not be listening to another word of what will probably be the biggest mistake I will ever let you make."

For the next twenty minutes, Bulla kept her mouth shut and scowled at Marron as she painted her face in the shade of beautifully tragic, complete with dark eyeshadow that shimmered like the night sky and lipstick so glossy and red it reminded her of blood. After fighting with a pair of black fishnet pantyhose, she squeezed herself into the one piece the house-bots had cleaned and pressed earlier that day.

After adjusting the bowtie collar around her neck, Marron slid white cufflinks up Bulla's wrists and gave the blue haired girl a grin. "You clean up nice, little bunny. Now what's it going take to make this a night neither of us forget?"

As Bulla finished slipping into a pair of black sky high stilettos, she tossed back her long blue hair and gave Marron a saucy wink. "More than you've got, puss* cat."

Marron threw her arm around Bulla, dragging her to the full length mirror covering the closet door. Marron's reflection smiled in satisfaction at her glamourizing work on both her friend and self. "A voluptuous bunny rabbit and sexy kitten. As usual, we'll be getting free drinks tonight."

Bulla took in her reflection, finding it hard to believe that not even an hour ago she was drowning in the sadness that always came with thoughts of Goku. It was rather upsetting that no matter which side of the planet they were or no matter how hard she tried, this old routine would always play out. These feverish thoughts of him always began with this aching sadness and longing, and nearly always ended with her waking up twisted in some stranger's sheets with a throbbing skull and heart full of regret.

With her eyes still fixed on the mirror, as though in defiance, she lifted her chin at her reflection and told herself that this time would be different. This time she had Goten who she hoped would be strong enough to smother out the deviant obsession she had for his father. There was no denying that this time was unlike any of the ones before it, because only a few hours ago his strong arms had shoved her to the ground, and for those few fleeting seconds she had captured attention.

Goku had stayed in the Other World until his stomach growled and the prospect of a home cooked meal prepared especially for him was too strong to ignore. He was grateful that King Kai no longer brought up Vegeta's daughter after divulging such horrific information, and allowed him to train until his muscles pleasantly ached. It was painful enough to acknowledge that since her fearful eyes caught his attention the night before at Capsule Corporation, he had fought to keep her from entering his thoughts.

He sat at the dinner table with his wife and son, sneaking glances at them when he would refill his bowl with more of Chi-Chi's delicious cooking. As usual, Chi-Chi worked on her meal slowly, giving her men small smiles between dainty bites. For all the pain he had caused her, nothing he had ever done would ever come close to hurting her the way this would.

A short ding from Goten's cellphone brought his attention to his son. Somehow he was tactile enough to swipe through his phone while shoveling food into his mouth. The boy put his chopsticks down and laughed as he began to type on the electronic device. "Hey mom, Bulla just wanted to let you know that she's sorry for leaving like that today and regrets that she was unable to try your cooking. She wants to know if you'd be up for a trip to the city next week to take you out for dinner or something?"

The happy look on his wife's face filled him with even more guilt. "Oh, yes! I would love that. Knowing the way she and her mother are, I'm sure it's going to be someplace fancy! Thank goodness that girl is feeling better. She gave me such a scare." It would turn out that his meeting with the saiyan princess had resulted in a change in his son's afternoon plans. Bulla ended up leaving abruptly, claiming that she was feeling unwell.

How could he do something so awful to Chi-Chi? Since returning to the mortal realm, he had never seen her so happy. Overtime her aura began to take on this golden yellow hue and it was beautiful. Her spirit was filled with so much harmony, and he knew that the happiness she fought so hard for would be shattered if she were to know his thoughts.

Thoughts of a girl with blue hair, alabaster skin and eyes painted as dark as night.

"Yeah, she was pretty freaked out." Goten replied with a shrug as he replaced the phone in his hand with a set of chopsticks. "But she's fine now. Trunk's told me she was gonna' go out with Marron tonight."

Goku shoveled more food into his mouth, busying himself in the repetitive motions of chewing and swallowing as he mentally scolded himself, yet again for allowing her to drift back into his mind. He had no business thinking of her.

Whenever his inner disgust would begin to feel overwhelming, the kai's words would play themselves over his head in a soothing mantra: She was made for you.

A bitter smile twisted at his lips as those awful words echoed in his head. She was made for you. If only Vegeta knew that in penitence for his soul being dragged out of hell, he would give his only daughter to the one man whose strength would always best him. Goku was sure that Vegeta would have rather be damned for all of eternity with Frieza than ever allow him to defile his precious daughter.

To Goku, the rest of their conversation waned into the background as his mind wandered to the events of that afternoon. After finishing his meal he lay under the dark mountain sky trying to clear his head. He was new to these kinds of emotions and they left him weary. As awful as the possible betrayal of his family felt, thinking of her just left him wondering and wanting. Or was it lusting?

He wasn't sure. That desire for soft skin and pleasure was something he had tamed long ago. He had married young, and given his heart to his warrior princess without much thought of consequence. Chi-Chi had been his one and only, and never had he regretted his decision. In his youth, this yearning to turn her over and drive into her would itch under his skin, leaving him frustrated that the few times he did have her, she would politely lay on her back until he finished. He stopped wondering why she never wanted to kiss him passionately like the actors on her favorite television dramas. He no longer wondered what it would have felt like to fist her dark hair in his hands while she put that furious mouth of hers to work on him. No, he had long since deemed that a lost hope and instead focused his attention on becoming stronger.

And for years it had worked. He really could have a one tracked mind when he put in the effort.

But her fevered fingertips against his chest awoke that part of him he had spent so long denying. And he just couldn't shake those big, blue frightened eyes out of his mind. Nor could he stop thinking about the rest of her and the accompanying ache to press his mouth against the tops of her bountiful breasts or sling those pretty feet above his shoulders and drive himself into the place he was destined to be. Kami help him, he really wasn't a bad man.

If she really had been made for him, fate seemed to have spared no sinful detail when creating her. Thinking of her in such a way left his body so responsive that every heartbeat sent a rush of blood to his quickly hardening co*ck.

Goku grit his teeth, and let out a frustrated growl as he took himself into his hand, squeezing until the pain numbed the want and her beautiful image faded from his mind.

The music was loud enough to briefly deafen her thoughts, and the bass was so low she wasn't sure if the pounding in her chest was a result of her fears or coming from the towering speakers. She tried to focus on the man dancing with her, allowing herself to feel his breath ghosting across her neck and his hands pressing on her lower back. The throb in her heart had nearly become as painful as the one between her legs, and the more she drank the more she ached. And the more she drank, the more she danced.

The man shamelessly pressed himself up against her, his hands drifting a little lower. With his breath hot against her ear, in a voice loud enough to be heard over the music growled, "You're a naughty little bunny, you know that? You have no idea what you're doing to me."

In reply, Bulla quirked an eyebrow at the nameless man and brought up the glass cup she'd been shielding in her hand so that she could drown its burning blue contents. He raised his brows at her actions, giving her another teasing grin as he took the empty cup from her loose fingers. She didn't know his name, but she knew she would be picking him tonight. He was attractive- muscular, a canvas of tattoos that identified him as someone affiliated with a dangerous crowd, and of course wild dark hair and eyes of the coldest black. It was that malicious glint in his eye that caught her attention.

She grabbed at the hand on her lower back, purposely dragging it against the curve of her ass before softly shoving the handsome stranger in the direction of the bar. She tried to focus on moving her hips to the electronic tempo and the way she could feel the music thrumming inside her throat. Without someone to distract her, all that fear and self-loathing came pouring through so suddenly that it quite literally left her breathless.

With wide fearful eyes she looked past the dancing bodies and to the beautiful blonde girl perched on a barstool with two handsome strangers of her own. Marron had been watching the heiress mix her drinks and dance with a rotation of men until she had settled upon one that was just her shade of dark and handsome, and unsurprisingly, the most Son-like. Noticing the look of distress upon her friend's face, Marron grabbed the bottle of chilled alcohol sitting on the countertop, and made a beeline straight towards her. Without a word, Marron brought the heiress back to reality with a shock of pain when her injured wrist was hastily grabbed and allowed herself to be dragged to the back exit of the club.

Once they were out in the open air, and far enough for loudness of the dancefloor to be reduced to muffled thuds, Marron turned around and passed Bulla the bottle of vodka. Before taking a swing of the drink, Bulla caught the look of irritation on her friends face.

Somewhere between her last shot of tequila and the dark haired stranger she nearly had her way with in a darkened club corner, Bulla found herself quickly losing her composure. No matter how hard she tried pushing it out of her mind, that moment in the forest kept replaying itself over and over in her head until the alcohol began ebbing away at reality. This time when he pushed her to the ground, his large body came down on top of her. And as she clawed at the soft earth in attempt to escape, he pried her legs open with a wicked grin and pressed his body against her.

Pulling the bottle from her lips, Bulla noticed that the clear liquid within the glass was sloshing around due to her unsteady hand. Marron placed her own hands against her friends trembling fingers, stilling the liquid within the bottle and softly said, "Bulla. What's going on? You haven't been this bad in years."

In a weak slurred voice, that even sounded pathetic to her own ear's, Bulla whined, "I d-don't know! It's just so f*cked up! What's wrong with me? He's a-always there, in the back of my mind. Why can't he just leave me alone?"

"Bulla, it's not him." Marron said, prying her friend's fingers off the bottle so that she could take a drink. "It's you. You need to get this under control before it becomes so obvious even Goten knows something's up."

Goten.

Bulla shook her head and buried her face in her hands, letting out a frustrated groan upon realizing that her almost boyfriend had been the last thing on her mind as she had let random men grind up against her on the dancefloor. How absolutely disgusting.

"Kami, it's only been three days and I'm already losing my mind!" Bulla wailed, pushing two fingers down her impressive cleavage and pulling out a purple capsule. She activated the capsule and with a careless flick of her wrist tossed it onto the pavement.

The smoke cleared to reveal a compact jet car that Marron was wearily eying. "What are you doing, Bulla?"

Bulla gave her friend a shrug as she yanked the bottle from the blonde's hand and opened the ship door, taking a swig of the vodka as she stumbled inside. Marron watched Bulla curse and toss out random things from a compartment by the driver's seat until she found what she was looking for and pulled out a cigarette from the box with her teeth.

Bulla slumped down into the pilot's seat, propping the bottle between her thighs and tightened her trembling hands around the control wheel after flipping on the ignition. She exhaled toward the open door, earning a scowl from Marron as she fanned the smoke away. "You're not thinking about ditching me are you?"

With another shrug, Bulla punched some coordinates onto the screen, refusing to look up at the other girl because she just knew that if they made eye contact, Marron would be able to see right through her. She could lie to her parent's and even herself, but after everything her and Marron have been through, it just felt wrong to lie to her. "I'll take you home if you want."

"We were supposed to have a girl's night!" Marron whined, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I can't stay here, Marron! I'm just feeling too crazy right now. I'm already pretty loaded, and all I want to do right now is to go to that guy's sh*tty apartment and have stupid, drunken sex." With another drag of her cigarette she hesitantly faced her friend, deciding that she would feel less guilty if she only told a half truth. "I-I couldn't do that to Goten. I'm not going to shame him anymore than I already am with therapy courtesy of some stranger's dick. I'd rather be a good girlfriend and drown my sorrows with vodka and pass out alone in my own bed."

A dreamy smile pulled at the blonde girl's lips, her irritation quickly leaving her once she realized how very unselfish her friend was being. She was willing to give up her usual debauchery and a possible inkling of relief in order to make something work with the youngest Son man. If she was willing to give up that method of ineffective coping, maybe the next step would involve Bulla finally smothering her obsession with the older Saiyan.

"Girl, you do what you need to do, and I'll do what I need to do." Marron laughed, giving a small wave as she turned around and made her way back to the club."And your drunk ass better shoot me a text so I know you didn't blow up somewhere."

The ship began its ascent and when the city below was nothing more than a blur of lights in the darkness, Bulla slumped into the pilots' seat and kicked her stiletto clad feet onto the dashboard. She had punched in the coordinates to Mount Paozu with the intention of knocking on Goten's bedroom window and having her dirty way with him underneath his parent's roof.

Knowing that Goku would only be a room away from her while she f*cked his son brought on a sudden giddiness that made her realize just how very drunk she really was. She giggled between sips from the glass bottle, intending to be even drunker by the time the ship landed.

She squirmed in the large leather seat, her laughter becoming hysterical as she imagined Goku's reaction upon realizing the debauchery happening a room away. Her mother had once joked that not even the potential of sex was strong enough to bring the Saiyan back from his adventures, leaving her father to reply that 'The Harpy' had more than likely forced those two sons out of him. Bulla had found it peculiar how absolutely innocent he seemed despite being married and having fathered two sons. Before that incident by the woods she imagined sex wasn't something that interested him, which left her feeling all the more disgusted, because in her fantasies he loved f*cking her as much as he loved fighting.

Bulla was sure Goku would be able to smell it, and even if they were as quiet as possible she was sure with his heightened senses he would be able to hear ever one of her pillow stifled moans. And Kami, he deserved to know what she was doing with his son. She wanted him to be angry and jealous and feel as hopeless as she did.

She hadn't realized she was crying until she felt something wet trailing down her cheeks.

She brushed the tears away with trembling fingers and looked down at the navigation panel. Only a few minutes left until she would be able to bury her anguish in Son Goten. Bulla took a deep, steadying breath and focused her attention on reapplying her makeup, with extra attention on applying her lipstick to ensure that she didn't sloppily slather it on with her blurry vision.

"You have reached your destination."

The calm robotic voice cut through the silence, starling Bulla enough to drop the compact mirror in her hands and stand up abruptly, dropping all the cosmetics she had strewn across her lap. Grabbing another cigarette from the mess on the floor she lit it and took a brave step forward, thankful for the liquid courage she managed to guzzle because it left her mind fuzzy enough to walk out the plane without worry.

The ship had landed in a small clearing, with the quiet forest surrounding her. The moon was high overhead, basking the trees in its soft light and making the moment all that more beautiful. Once the hum of the engine completely stalled she pushed herself off the pilots' seat and towards the door. Taking careful steps so that her heels wouldn't sink into the grass, she encapsulated the ship and stored it away.

With light steps, she made her way through the clearing and stood at the edge of the forest, taking sips from the nearly empty bottle in order to drown out the nagging fear creeping at the corner of the consciousness. She peered through the dark trees, suddenly feeling foolish for allowing her impulsivity to lead her this far. She didn't know how to navigate through the forest. She really had no plan. The smartest thing to do would be to get back into her ship and go home before her stupidity left her unconscious on the forest floor.

But that festering need within her was enough to quell her moment of clarity, and she drowned the doubt away with another drink from the nearly empty bottle. If she hadn't been so drunk, she would have found the way her body seemed to know in which direction to go unsettling. It would have frightened her to realize that within the darkness, some unseen energy was powerful enough to lure her body in a certain direction. The snapping of branches and crunching of leaves under her feet sounded so loud echoing through the silence in the forest as she continued her journey to madness with the red glow of her lit cigarette lighting the way.

She was stunned by the sudden chill that slid under her skin, causing her to find balance against the nearest tree as her vision began to blur and the world began to spin. The dizziness passed quickly, but she felt so very strange. She knew she should be frightened- drunk and alone in a forest, but all she could feel was the rough texture of the bark against her skin, and the way her body suddenly felt hyperaware of the smallest things.

The tickle of the grass on her ankles and the soft smell of damp earth left her reminded her of what had happened that afternoon. She tried not to imagine Goku's ominous image beneath her eyelids, but knew she failed miserably when she felt that awful pulse between her thighs and clenched her knees together from the intensity of it. With her back scratching against the bark of the tree, she took a slow drag of the cigarette between her fingers, finding comfort in hearing the familiar crackle as the paper burned and the taste of the smoke on her tongue.

Slowly, a trail of smoke floated through the darkness from between her lips, and she opened her eyes to a sight so beautiful and haunting and couldn't help but wonder if she were really conscious, because this moment was something that could only ever happen in her dreams. He was standing only a few steps away from her, with an unreadable expression on his face and dark eyes that watched her every move. She felt her heart stop when he started to walk in her direction. For a few minutes he just watched her. She held his stare, again bringing the cigarette to her lips with trembling fingers and taking nervous drags as he burned a hole through her with his relentless stare. When she felt the filter burn at her lips, she tossed the cigarette into the grass and let the glass bottle slip from between her fingers before curving her back against the tree and clutching at its bark with her fingers in order stabilize her trembling legs. As he continued to stare she realized how incredibly ridiculous and insane she must look. Right now, Goku must be trying to figure out why the hell she was lurking around the woods surrounding his home. She really didn't feel very sane, and walking drunkenly through a forest dressed in a skan*y costume surely wasn't something a mentally sound person would find themselves doing.

Yet here she was, too drunk to hide her fear and want, staring at the man who was slowly destroying her without even knowing it.

He was the first one to break the silence, and in a stern voice asked, "Bulla, what are you doing here?"

It had taken him a long time to rest his anxious mind enough to finally fall asleep. He had never been fond of meditation, but he tried recalling whatever scraps of training Piccolo had given him years ago, until his mind was blank and cleansed of temptation. The low hum of an engine woke him hours later, leaving him curious once he sensed that his son's ki indicated he was sleeping in the next room. Hardly anyone passed through the mountain during the day, much less at night.

Pushing himself out of bed he focused on the nearing ship, feeling a sense of unease when he was unable to locate any living energy. Instead of passing through the mountain, he heard the ship come to a complete stop inside the forest. The kindness in him worried of the possibility that the ship's passenger was hurt badly enough that their ki was barely a flicker. If it was someone with ill intent, it would be better to confront them before they entered his home.

His curiosity and good heart pushed him out of bed.

His superior genetics gifted him with vision that was crystal clear, even in complete darkness and his training allowed him to noiselessly walk through the forest. With each step he fought away the agitation gnawing at him, telling him that whatever it was that landed in the darkness was not something he wanted to meet.

He heard twigs snapping and could smell the arid stench of tobacco burning, so he followed. It did not take long for him to find its source, and upon seeing her, regretted leaving his bed. Goku stayed hidden in the darkness, watching as the girl who had infected his mind walked in his direction. She was only a few steps away, and by the oblivious, glassy look in her eyes he knew that she truly was the most human of all the saiyan children. Even Pan was capable of seeing in the dark.

And he was grateful she couldn't see him, because he was staring at her with a mixture of shock and awe. He should walk away right now. Just turn around and pretend he never saw her. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he knew that if he didn't walk away right now something awful was just destined to happen.

The kai's words repeated themselves in his mind: She was made for you.

Goku looked at the princess and had to bite his lower lip to stifle an anxious groan. He remembers carrying an unconscious Bulma to safety decades ago in an outfit just like this, and of the ways he sated his adolescent hormones with thoughts of it during the following years. It really was a beautiful irony that the fates would have him face her in this particular outfit, with her face painted like a doll's and her creamy, unmarred skin on display.

She seemed to have lost balance, and steadied herself against a tree. She looked absolutely divine. Her long sapphire hair pooled down past her shoulders, and he noticed that the black one piece fit her much differently than it did her mother. The black fabric was tight against her skin, giving a perfect outline of her full hips and failing miserably to contain her ample bust. The princess' breaths were sharp, the movement edging the blush of her nipples out of her outfit in the most tempting way. A wistful smile pulled at his lips when she brought the cigarette up to her lips.

She really was just like her mother.

It was a foul habit, but he couldn't help but remember how beautiful Bulma would look with a burning cigarette perched between her lips, blowing smoke into the sky and laughing with him back when it was just the both of them against the world. And now, here was her little girl, playing dress up and indulging in her mother's bad habits. He couldn't rationalize the need to touch her, or the way his legs moved towards her at their own accord. But he did know that the moment her long lashes fluttered open, and those glossy blue eyes focused on him, that she enough power in her little body to be the end of him.

He could watch her forever.

Again, she brought the cigarette up to her lips, closing her painted mouth around the filter in the most provocative way as she took a long drag, leaving him hypnotized when she pursed her lips and exhaled a plume of smoke in his direction. He hadn't even noticed the glass bottle she was holding in her hand till it landed on the ground. It's contents seeped into the dirt leaving him aware of what she had been drinking once he caught scent of its sickly, sweet chemical odor.

She was drunk.

Finally, he found his voice. "Bulla, what are you doing here?"

Those eyes shone through the darkness like a blue flame, drawing him closer until she was only an arm's length away. That was when he smelled it. It filled him with such a sudden anger, he had to take deep calming breaths to keep his ki from drawing attention. That beautiful mouth gave him a mocking smile, and the stench of the other men's arousal was so strong he felt like pinning her against the tree and drowning out their scent with his own.

"I was going to see Goten." She had to crane her head to look up at him, and bury her fingers into the bark of the tree to keep from trembling. He was standing even closer now. Even more close than he had been earlier that afternoon.

Close enough to feel the heat of his body and his warm breath against the top of her head.

Before he could stop himself, he looked down at her, furrowing his eyebrows in frustration. "No, you're not."

The last time he felt this much fury was when the world had nearly been destroyed by Majin Buu. He had never been a jealous man, but knowing that if he hadn't woken up, she would have snuck into his son's room and done with him what he now so badly wanted to do with her, invoked a frightening ire . He didn't want Goten to have her. Hell, he didn't want any man touching her.

Her eyes widened in surprise at his harsh tone, and suddenly she felt a bit less tipsy and a lot more worried about losing her only chance of salvation. "W-w-why not?" Unshed tears burned her eyes as she bit her bottom lip to keep from sobbing like the wretched mess she was. A morbid pleasure came over him when he sensed her defeat; one that instantly ignited a panic within him. This was not him!

He had to get away from her.

He studied her face, memorizing every little detail that caught his eye, so that he could forever remember the moment that he never lost control and beat fate. With the intent of teleporting the drunk princess back to Capsule Corp. before anything regrettable took place, he grabbed her by her upper arm. Bulla let out a startled gasp at his sudden touch, and pressed herself against the tree so roughly she could feel the bark tearing into her exposed skin.

From where his rough hand held her, a shiver twisted down her spine, all the way to her suddenly very boneless legs. A small whimper left her lips as she tried pressing her thighs together, to relieve the shameful need that had begun to pulse between her legs. The way his grip burned her skin was like nothing she had ever felt before. Her body felt so hot and needy, and with her head swimming in the effects of excess alcohol, her inhibitions were completely destroyed. All she could do was feel, and to have him so close to her, with his hand grabbing her felt like f*cking heaven.

Goku had been a second away from using instant transmission, but was stunned by the little blue haired princess' reaction to his touch. Her sudden movement had caused the fabric of her outfit to bunch up at the back, stretching the top so low he prayed that it would only take one more sudden movement before her chest was completely exposed. It was then that he smelled something so gloriously damning it nearly buried all of his guilt-enough so that all he could focus on was the girl in front of him and the way she made the blood rush to his co*ck.

Fate seemed to truly be against him, because his fleeting wish to see more of her nearly came true. Suddenly he felt her body sink down, causing her back to scrape against the tree, pulling her top low enough that his greedy eyes feasted on the pink tease of her nearly exposed nipples.

Bulla clenched her eyes shut, the tears she had been holding back slowly trailing down her cheek as she pleaded with the saiyan. "P-please, just let me see Goten."

"No."

Goku was grateful that the heiress had closed her eyes, because he couldn't find the strength to keep his from looking at all the places he wanted to run his tongue over. Everything about the situation was so wrong. He was sure she didn't realize that she was nearly exposed, or maybe she really more conniving than he imagined. Once again he tried thinking of his loving wife, but the longer he was near his princess' sinful little body, the more his mind's image of Chi-Chi was obscured by his body's traitorous response.

Why did she have to be so damned beautiful?

Fate had been cruel when creating Bulla Briefs. In the years that had passed he'd never spent much time in her company, but now that he was looking at her he could see that the universe had been very deliberate in creating her. It was so painfully obvious that physically, every part of her had been created to excite him. Those ruby lips of hers were frozen in a sensuous pout, her long, soft blue hair was exactly as Bulma's was when he entertained private thoughts of her, and worst of all the way her body curved and dipped was nothing short of desirable.

She truly had been made for him.

Every breath he took only confirmed that she was just as needy as he was, and the scent of it was so decadent. It hazed over the rest of the world so that all he could focus on was her. A very small part of him was still resisting and relishing in the pain and love memories of his life brought so that he could find the strength to escape this trap that the universe had set for him.

It was wrong that the fates would ask this of them. The turmoil in his life was barely winding down, and finally, after a lifetime of risking his life for the greater good, he was able to spend time with the family he had never really been able to enjoy. And Bulla's life was barely beginning- she was really just a child. If the possibility of his son dating Bulla was enough to infuriate Vegeta, he couldn't imagine how terribly her father would react if he knew how hard his baby girl made him. Knowing that she was younger than his granddaughter, yet enticing enough to wonder how lovely her c*nt tasted made his skin crawl in disgust. It wasn't fair to either of them, yet here they were trying to deny this perverse pull between them.

He let go of her arm only to bring his hands up to brush away the strands of hair clinging to her damp forehead. His voice sounded sad and Bulla had never seen him look so defeated. "Bulla, why are you doing this? Why are you here?"

His touch elicited a startled grasp from the heiress. "I don't know. I don't know." She repeated the words in a desperate chant, unable to tear her eyes away from him. She couldn't help but press herself into his hands so that his fingers tangled into her hair and his palms cradled her temple. "I don't know why I came here. I just needed to see Goten. I need him to help me."

"What's wrong? Are you in some sort of trouble?" Goku asked, fascinated by soft texture of her hair against his fingers.

It was all too easy to be careless when he was touching her. The alcohol had loosened her tongue, making it impossible to keep her inner turmoil from surfacing- it was simply too much. As the words began to spill from her lips, the last thing on her mind was effects her words would have tomorrow. "I've been in a lot of trouble for some time now, and I just don't know what to do anymore."

Now he was looking at her with concern, and the kind expression on his face did nothing but infuriate her. Unable to stomach his worry, she turned her head so that now her lips were tracing against his palms. She clenched her eyes shut, the tears she had been holding back were now trailing down her cheeks. "It's really bad. I think I'm loosing my mind."

"I'm crazy and in trouble and I need help, " Bulla slurred, savoring the feeling of his palm so close to her lips. "I'm really t-trying, you know? I never wanted to be this p-pathetic. I've tried lots of things…. Like moving my n-neurotic ass across the Southern Sea and pretending lots of casual f*cking was enough to make me not think of how crazy I am.

Between her declaration of insanity and the pleasurable way her lips moved against his hand, Goku was at a loss for words. Now she was laughing, and with the black tears dripping down her cheeks she looked so very frail and lost. The good man in him was telling him to stop her from saying all these things that he had no business hearing, but the part of him that he had spent a lifetime fighting was simply riveted.

"You're so perfect and good, and I cannot believe I just said that you." Her laughter was laced with a bitterness that sent a pang through his heart.

He didn't know what to say, so instead he kept silent and fought the urge to embrace her small body in hopes of ceasing her tears. The breath caught in his chest, and he had to stifle a groan when her small pink tongue escaped her lips to taste the salt of her tears against his palm. A breathy little moan left her lips and the scent of her lust was overwhelming.

"You know, for years I've dreamt about how good you'd taste." Even though her words were laced with a slight slur, they did nothing but excite him. Knowing she was intoxicated bothered him less than he wanted to admit.

"Bulla, stop it you're drunk. You're not thinking straight." He said immediately, feeling even more disgusted because the beast in him didn't care that her mind wasn't clear. All it cared about was the heady scent drifting from between her legs and how easily she admitted her desire.

The words that left her lips were poison, taunting him to give in to the depravities the universe had gifted him. The part of him that fought for the helpless and loved his wife was screaming for him to push this girl away and run. Neither of them truly wanted this, but the part of him he spent a lifetime denying had managed to claw through the surface and was reveling in just how sweet his fall from grace would be.

Physically, he was the strongest mortal in the universe, but no matter how great and noble everyone thought he was in the end he was just a man. Other women had tried making him stray before, but his love for Chi-Chi had always outshined whatever wandering thoughts he had. With his eyes still on the princess, Goku swallowed the nervous lump in his throat when he realized that she was the loveliest creature he had ever seen.

Mesmerized, he lowered his hand, suddenly wanting know how her tongue would feel on his fingers.

To see just how far she was willing to go for him.

Obediently, she pressed her crimson lips against his hand, opening her mouth just enough for one of his fingers to pull down her bottom lip. The world around her was spinning in the most delightful way, and every intention of bedding Goten was gone. All she could focus on was this god of a man with his fingers brushing against her eager mouth.

"Did you know, for years I'd f*ck all these guys trying to forget how much I wanted you?" Her words came out in hot puffs of air against his skin, each syllable sending a strong throb to his hard co*ck. Then she tantalizingly ran her tongue down his finger. "And in the end, it didn't matter if I was fingering myself or f*cking someone, I always had to think of you to get off."

She shut her eyes, focusing on how his skin tasted and how his hands felt touching her face, waiting for him to pull away in disgust. To her relief, that moment never came, and when she opened her eyes to see him looking at her with a look of complete lust she couldn't help but sob in relief. "I-I've wanted you for so long."

"You're drunk, Bulla. You don't know what you're saying." He choked out, tenderly trailing his fingers down her tear strained cheeks and trying miserably to suppress the desire that her unwanted confession ignited.

"Yeah, I'm drunk. So what?" Bulla practically purred, giving him a saucy smile. "You know, last night as I was laying in bed I imagined how beautiful it would be if you straddled my chest and f*cked my mouth. I don't think I had ever cum so hard."

Now she was nuzzling his hand, her actions becoming bolder once she realized that he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her. She angled her neck, silently willing him to run his fingers against the pale flesh, and when he did the moan that left her pouty lips left him with the realization that before Bulla, he'd never wanted to indulge in another this badly.

Bulla was nearly panting. She could feel a strange tingle under her skin, and the longer he touched her the wetter she got. "Before I got here I was dancing with this guy who kept buying me drinks. He was big and when he groped my ass he made it hurt. I was going to f*ck him while I thought of you."

Goku's eyes hardened at her words, and he couldn't help but tighten his fingers around her neck just enough to garner a sharp little sigh from her damning lips. Even though he had no business feeling it, knowing she let some weak, human touch her like that felt very wrong. He'd decided jealousy was an ugly feeling, it left him feeling violent and with a desire to hurt the lustful man who touched her. "So that's why you stink."

"I forget that nothing can get past those saiyan noses", Bulla laughed, loving the way his hands would squeeze and pet her skin. The thrill of having a man powerful enough to end her life with a careless flick of his his fingers running his strong hands against her skin was euphoric.

"Nope. I can smell everything you did tonight. I know where you were. Who you were with." Goku bent down low enough to whisper into his princess' ear, "And I know where you let them touch you."

"So what do I smell like? I must smell absolutely divine then. Nothing but cigarettes , alcohol, and se-", she started, but suddenly he was hovering over her, pressing her small body against the tree, and then his hands were sliding down the bare skin of her shoulders.

Goku was towering over her. His touch felt electric and she couldn't stop herself from trembling. He hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her eyes on him, his lips pulling into a mischievous smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You must've been having a lot of fun tonight. I can smell so many different men on you. From the scent of it, the last boy you danced with must have really liked you."

The tone of his voice was absolutely filthy and combined with his soft caresses, she was fixated with this horrible need to have him inside her. Bulla failed to stop the needy moan that escaped her parted lips when his thumb swiped against the side of her breast, causing her core to clench and unclench repeatedly. If she were any less drunk, she'd have been embarrassed by how aroused she was. "What can I say? Boys just love to dance with me."

In the moonlight, Goku's smile seemed almost menacing. "I bet they do."

"I bet if I danced for you, you'd like it too." Bulla blew him a playful kiss followed with a wink that filled him with a surge of unwanted nostalgia and guilt. Those flirty mannerisms were eerily similar to those of her mothers.

Kami, what was he doing?

He pulled away from her with his unnatural speed, but was shocked when the princess sprung forward on unsteady legs to cling to his muscular arms for support. He wanted to pull her off of him, but looking at her now only made him realize how very young and broken she was, and the way her whole body trembled just made his heart ache with sadness. It was painful knowing that her existence had been carefuly crafted for moments like this. Moments were she was gifted the power to bring him to his knees. Goku didn't think he could ever find it within him to tell her what the kai confessed of her fate. It would be too painful.

He could see the desperation in her eyes, and it nearly killed him when she closed the distance between them by wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his chest. A gasp left his princess' lips, and he knew that she must have felt just how much he wanted her. It took a large amount of self-restraint to keep himself still when Bulla bravely curled her leg against his so that his erection was nestled against her hips. Bulla lifted her head, looking up at Goku with big, pleading eyes. "Please let me dance for you."

"This is wrong.", he choked, but instead of pulling away, he allowed his eyes and hands to wander over her.

"Y-you think I don't know that?" the princess cried, suddenly looking just as ashamed as he felt. His scent and touch had her every nerve firing, leaving her squirming in desperation.

From his vantage point, the princess below him was breathtaking. As his eyes wandered past her painted lips and down her neck, he choked down a groan as he felt evidence of his arousal trickle down the slit of his co*ck. With her every breath, the way the tops of her large breasts bounced was so wickedly perverse it nearly made him forget why he was resisting.

Enough so that he impulsively raised his arms enough to trace the sides of her body until his fingertips were grazing the underside of those heavy breasts that captured his attention. Noticing that his eyes were ablaze in lust gave her just enough determination to move her trembling legs so that she could cautiously guide him the few steps it took until the back of his knees were against a nearby stump.

The longer she was around him, the harder it was for him to not get lost in the pleasure that her body promised. From her very sent, he knew that under that black scrap of cloth between her legs she was wet for him. And the way her breath hitched in her throat when his fingers touched her skin was enough to leave his body tense and waiting.

He was so distracted by her lust and beauty, that her weak shove was enough to make him lose his balance and awkwardly trip against the tree stump behind him. He landed bottom first on the level stump, with his hands gripping the edges of the wood so strongly that he could hear it splintering over his thunderous heartbeat.

Now, the princess was standing over him and he was forced to look up into those blue eyes that had infected his mind, and endure the slow burn of her fingers teasing his skin. If anything, the costume she wore should have had a comical effect, but the way the fabric clung to her like a second skin, and the way the bunny ears perched on her head reminded him of her teenage mother only served to make this moment all the more depraved. The saiyan couldn't stop his tongue from darting out his mouth to hungrily lick his lips when he noticed in his new position he could appreciate how bountiful her breasts really were.

For a quick moment, Bulla observed the man splayed before her and even in her selfish, drunken stupor knew that this moment would ruin him. He'd never done anything awful enough to deserve his good heart being corrupted by someone like her. She shook her head, refusing to allow any bit of doubt seep into her hazy mind. Tonight she would revel in sin, and then spend a lifetime trying to forget it.

She found it so hard to believe she had the universe's savior sitting on a tree stump, staring at her body with a dark yearning so intense it chilled her straight to the bone. Perhaps it was just the way the moonlight played on his features, making the lines on his face appear harsher, and the teeth worrying his lower lip just a bit sharper. The look in his eyes frightened her, because there was no lingering trace of guilt in his eyes, and his sculpted body was so tense, she could feel the raw energy radiating off his skin.

He was so powerful, and she so badly wanted a taste.

Whatever lingering guilt she had was gone the instant her eyes traveled down Goku's chiseled body and landed on the evidence of his arousal. The thin cotton of his pajama bottoms was so sheer, and his erection so large and stiff she could make out the shape of his plump co*ckhead and a small dark stain at the tightest juncture of the stretched material, proof that he was just as needy as her.

Goku had reached the point-of-no-return when she wedged one stiletto-clad foot between his legs and positioned herself over one of his knees. He couldn't control his body from trembling as he held on to the last slips of his self-control, but when she bent down low enough to press her lips against the side of his neck and the heat from between her legs grazed against the top of his thigh he let out a tortured groan as his resistance was shattered.

Knowing he was watching her every move, a dangerous smile pulled at her red lips, and she slowly slid a hand down from between her breasts to her hip, and brought her shoulders back, arching her body deliberately to entice him. She pulled herself back up, and when she started to sway her hips to a song only she could hear, he was captivated. Bulla had her Saiyan exactly where she wanted him, and from the way she felt his body shudder when she ran her tongue down the salty skin of his neck, she knew that at least for tonight, he was hers.

"Just sit down and enjoy the ride."

Chapter 6: Rapture

Chapter Text

By the time he parked his car in the corporation's underground garage it's already tomorrow. He refuses to spend the night in downtown West City, sleeping in some company apartment, much rather preferring to spend his weekend buried under the covers of his own bed. He staggers into his bedroom, and without bothering so much as loosen his tie, throws himself onto his bed, quickly succumbing to sleep.

A loud repetitive ring jerks him awake and he lets out an irritated growl as he shoves his hands into his pocket, curious to know who had the nerve to bother him in the middle of the night. He squints at the screen, shuffling to his feet and suddenly feeling very awake.

Marron: Hey, Trunks! Sorry to wake you (cuz I know your old ass is already in bed), but I just wanted to know if Bulla was home? She wasn't feeling too good. Said she'd text when she got home. Let me know! ;)

Other than the occasional holiday or birthday message, he and Marron never text each other. It unnerved him to read her message, and worried him when the only ki's nearby were on the other side of the compound and belonged to his sleeping parents. When he tried locating her familiar energy, he cursed himself for giving her that ki-concealing device. Within the swarm of energy in the city, he could sense Marron's tiny familiar energy flickering in concern, but couldn't find a trace of his sister. He wasn't born yesterday. He knew that 'not feeling good' was code for a blood alcohol level way above the legal limit.

He quickly replied.

Trunks: What was she driving?

Before the screen had a chance to dim, the phone beeped.

Marron: Purple aircraft. The fast one.

Trunks: K

It was only logical that every Capsule Corporation vehicle could be traced through its navigation system. Within seconds he was able to locate the jet-car in the woods of Mt. Paozu, and was a moment away from giving Goten a piece of his mind, until he noticed that like his parents, Goten's energy was so low it was obvious that he was sleeping.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, and when he shut his eyes and tried focusing on the area near the ship he sensed a great, familiar ki. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he kept his attention on the energy that wavered curiously. It fluctuated in intensity, from rising so high one would think the powerful Saiyan was about to turn golden, to a low flicker of energy that was almost nonexistent. Then suddenly that energy spiked alarmingly high before completely vanishing, and for a quick second he could have sworn he sensed a second presence.

He had never really paid attention to Goku's energy during waking hours, much less at night. Who was he to know whether the Saiyan was just as messed up as his father, and dealt with the occasional sleepless night? It wasn't his business to know where Goku disappeared to in the middle of the night, but his sister's whereabouts certainly were the instant Marron made it so.

The only possible assumption his weary mind could gather from seeking out everyone's energy, was that Bulla had to be at Mount Paozu. The thought of his ki-concealing sister snuggled up with Goten in post-coital bliss was both pacifying and revolting. He tried not to think about them together, because he found himself angry at his friend for sleeping with his sister so soon, and at his sister for allowing it.

He threw himself back onto the bed and scowled as he typed out a message to Marron before tossing the phone across the room and burying his face into the nearest pillow.

Trunks: She's with Goten

The stars are shining above her, shining more brightly than any stars he'd ever seen, and with the way the moonlight plays against her milky skin, he swears she couldn't be anything other than a vision he'd imagined in his most depraved dreams. He already knows that he has lost, but a tiny seed of hope that he can revel in this one moment, yet wake up the same man blooms within him. With this blue haired girl standing between his legs, he doesn't trust his traitorous body, so he digs his fingers into the rough bark of the stump on which he is seated, finding comfort in the sting of splinters beneath his nails.

He hates that this fleeting moment ignites an emotion within him that makes his blood run hot, and that her body's whispered promise of carnal oblivion feels like he once again has all of Earth's energy coursing through his veins. The Saiyan in him is appalled by his hesitation, condemning him for not seizing what was rightfully his. Reminding him of all those times he gave his life to save the universe, selflessly reaping none of the glory a hero was rightfully warranted. His beast whispered that he deserved this, and the righteous side of him was crumbling as he took his fill of her and watched her body move to the beat of their troubled hearts.

With the sway never leaving her hips, Bulla leaned over him, resting her hands atop his broad shoulders. She feels his muscles tense at her touch, and rather than bare the look on his face, she cranes her neck forward so that her lips are only a breath away from his neck. She refuses to stop moving, for fear of giving way to doubt, so she wills her hips to continue their sensuous movement, and her fingers to continue their journey against his battle worn skin.

With each tease of her fingertips, or brush of lips against heated skin, his resolve slowly breaks, until the creature lurking in the depths of his heart is awake and panting. He cannot help but find her completely ethereal as she dips and maneuvers her curvy little body above him. Goku is amazed by the sensations the blue-haired girl invokes in him, so much so that those moments when her skin brushes against his own, he forgets himself just enough for his energy to jolt alarmingly. The fear of his shifting ki drawing attention floods him with dread as he imagines his son catching them in such a compromising position, or Vegeta waking to sense his uninhibited energy flickering in such close proximity to his daughter.

Her breath leaves her in quick, short huffs, and even though her fear is eased by this sick desire that keeps her hips moving, he can smell its sweetness mixing with her longing, and see its presence in the trembling of her hands. The Saiyan beneath her looks stunned, and that is all that's needed to spur her into twisting around with a feline grace, so that she is facing the dark forest. She shuts her eyes and takes a deep shuddering breath, feeling a momentary relief when she no longer has to meet his eyes. That reprieve is enough for the gravity of the situation to seep in. To realize that from this moment on, the warrior whose energy she feels prickling against her skin, will never again allow his guard to slip in her presence.

This is it.

Kami, she is literally burning for him, and she'll be damned if she lets this moment slip through her fingers. After tonight, she knows she will never have another chance. She musters up that drunken bravado that led her here in the first place, and resumes her hips sensuous movement.

Goku can't help but grit his teeth in frustration at the sight she presents. She tilts her head back just enough for her hair to cascade down the bare skin of her back and brush against his face, assaulting him with her delicate scent. And when she arches her hips back, suddenly he is faced with the part of her destiny promised he was entitled to. With each teasing roll of her hips, he feels the bitter ire of his darkest self writhing in insult.

She shakes her hips enough to make the round cheeks of her bottom sway playfully, and he has to bite down on the inside of his cheek to swallow the snarl that nearly escaped him. His body is rebelling against him, overwhelmed by the visual feast she is dangling right before his face, and the heady scent of her leaves him lightheaded.

Her body moves so fluidly, that he can't help the jealousy that seeps through when he wonders just how she learned to move her body so alluringly. How many weak, unworthy human men had the privileged of watching the Saiyan princess dance?

The kai's words repeat themselves in his agitated mind as he watches her dip her hips and arch her bottom so that it's nestled against where he so badly aches. This urgent need to claim what was promised is unbearable. So unbearable, that his body can no longer abide by whatever meager honor it was keeping his instinct in check. Goku feels disoriented as he watches his hand reach through the cascade of blue hair before him, grabbing her by the shoulder, and with a calculated twist of his wrist, suddenly she finds herself perched haphazardly on his lap.

Her trembling hands curl against his broad shoulders, and her eyes are wide in shock when she is forced to stare into eyes so dark, she fears that this great being weaving his fingers through her hair is not the Goku who she grew up knowing. The Saiyan staring at her is a stranger. That familiar kindness always reflected through his eyes has been replaced with something volatile and dangerous. The way his lips are pulled into a mockery of a smile sends a chill up her spine, and the way his sharp teeth worry against his bottom lip makes her center ache. She can't help but ponder if his wife had ever kindled that fearsome gleam in his eyes, and cannot stop herself from hoping that just maybe she alone is the cause of his malevolent change.

The hand softly gripping her shoulder trails towards the nape of her neck, grabbing a fistful of blue hair and tilting her neck backwards so that she is forced to stare up into an infinite expanse of darkness and twinkling stars. When he speaks, his voice is low and dangerous like heavy footsteps against gravel, and fills her with a delicious kind of fear. "Tell me princess, is this what you had in mind when you wanted to dance for me?" She lets out a whimper as she tries to move her head, only to feel his grip tighten against her scalp. "You're such a pretty little thing. Even prettier than you're mother- but don't let her know I said that. "

The blue haired princess doesn't know if it's the mention of her mother, or the sudden assault of his tongue running down her neck that causes a startled gasp to escape her. As she is staring up into the night sky, her body suddenly feeling very useless, she becomes aware of the way the silver ring around her finger is beginning to burn ominously. Even in her inebriated, dazed state she knows that the little device cloaking her ki is having a much harder time trying to conceal the steadily rising energy of the man currently placing open mouthed kisses against her neck.

Bulla knows she should be scared of being caught, but with the attention of his mouth against her sensitive skin, all she can do is feel. The energy radiating off his body has her trembling with a desire so strong she can feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. She's never felt anything like it. Wherever his skin touches hers tingles, and the effects of his lingering mouth on her neck have her canting her hips against the hard length of him.

The Saiyan below her lets out a tortured groan when he feels her pressing against him, feeling even more irritated by his body's traitorous response to her. He's angry with her for being so damned stimulating and reigniting those urges that used to leave his body tense, and his co*ck hard and leaking as he pleasured himself under the burn of the moonlight. It was on nights like these, when the full moon lit his insides on fire, and the urge to destroy and rut was so ruthless, he would rampage through the forest and pleasure himself until his body gave out. His monster had always been there, hidden in the most obscure parts of himself, but the moon's rays seemed to breathe life into it. Until the passing of time managed to soothe his darkness, learning instant transmission allowed him to find respite on distant planets those nights when the moon burned brightest.

The agony of those nights seemed so small in comparison to this current reality. He's drowning in her wide blue eyes, and lost in the way the soft breeze plays against hair that is such a painfully familiar shade of blue, that he is suddenly aware that before tonight, he had always suffered the shame of these nights alone. The Saiyan Prince never had to endure the disgrace of spilling himself on the dirt those nights the moons soft glow itched under his skin. During those frustrating, lonely hours, sometimes he would seek Vegeta's ki, and unbeknownst to him, a seed of envy was planted when he realized that the prince's beast always had a willing supplicant. A supplicant cut of the same cloth; with soft, milky skin and hair the same shade of blue as the woman his mind would often entertain till the madness was soothed and his seed shamefully spent on the forest floor.

With a deep, ragged breath he inhales the scent of her. Lingering traces of honeysuckle, and the decadent aroma of her wet c*nt mixed with fear overtake his senses, and when he exhales the heaviness in his chest vanishes. He had never welcomed defeat so eagerly, but with the way her supple, little body coaxes his beast to sentience, he feels a relief so glorious, it feels like victory. The inhibitions of Earth's Hero shatter as his darkness creeps forth. He is hyperaware of her body pressed against his so intimately, agitating him till his co*ck is painfully weeping.

He is burning so badly, and cannot help but blame her for it. Goku tilts his head so that his sharp teeth nip warningly at the curve of her neck, and pulls away with a wicked grin. He wraps her hair around his wrist and gives a vicious tug, forcing her to arch her back painfully.

Goku experimentally tugs on her hair, and chuckles darkly at the pained whine that breaks through the silent forest. The motion of his force causes her body to sway, and to his delight, her, large, pale breasts bounce with so much momentum, his greedy eyes are suddenly level with the blush of her nipples against flimsy, black fabric.

The mixture of fear and want has her trembling in his lap, and the awkward backwards tilt of her head leaves her dizzy. Blackness is fading into the corners of her vision, and it is overwhelming. Suddenly, his fingers are trailing down the flushed skin of her neck, only to idly hook one finger between her cleavage and give a teasing tug at the front of her one-piece. She cannot see him, but she can feel his warm breath teasing her sensitive breasts.

Goku cannot believe his boldness. It almost feels as though he is a spectator in his own mind as he watches his finger pull down the fabric covering her. She nearly screams when she feels cool night air nipping at her exposed skin, and simultaneously the ring against her finger simmers against her flesh so severely she swears she can smell her flesh burning. His breath hitches as he inches the material down the creamy mounds of her breasts, only to leave him in a gutted sigh when he exposes her. Her pale breasts are so heavy, trapping the black fabric snugly beneath them, and the full nipples that tip them are the sweetest shade of pink . With this beautiful offering exposed on his lap, the Saiyan is finding great difficulty in restraining his ki.

Goku knows that she is the loveliest thing he's ever seen, and it hurts to know that this beauty was deliberate. With those large breasts trembling in his face, and the scent of her arousal perfuming the night air, he is painfully aware that there will be no going back from this. He isn't strong enough to stop himself from sliding his free hand to the small of her back and pressing her against his arousal when he impulsively buries his face between her generous breasts.

The blue haired heiress is left momentarily stunned by the Saiyan's attention towards her. Her wide eyes are staring down, at the mass of dark, wild hair pressed against her naked chest, and it isn't until his questing fingers are gripping her backside, that her mind registers that this was him giving her his consent. As he roughly grinds her hips against his hardness, she cannot help the bubble of laughter that escapes her lips in relief. Outside the shroud of her most secret fantasies, never did she actually allow herself to believe something this vile and extraordinary would ever take place. Yet, here she is perched on her warriors lap under the moonlight with tears of gratitude beginning to blur her vision. Never being one to look a gift horse in the teeth, the blue haired girl takes this moment for all that it is, and basks in all the glorious sensations of her eventual ruin. Her laughter slowly gives way to soft cries of frustration, as the cool night air plays against her exposed skin, teasing her nipples till they are stiff and tender.

The princess' hands move instantly, clawing at his shoulders, then reaching blindly downwards till they quickly slip past the waistband of his pants. The sensation of her small hand grabbing him so intimately leaves him grunting deeply into the flesh of her breasts. He stops the groans that threaten to echo in the silent forest by taking one breast into his eager mouth, nibbling at the pebbled tip before roughly pulling it into his mouth to silence his excitement as her eager fingers begin to explore the length of him.

Her fingers slide easily against his length, the clear fluid coating his co*ck a testament to the fact that he wants this just as badly as she does. She handles him with a precision that he tries not to dwell on, because it brings a pang of jealousy, reminding him of the unworthy men she's had before. Beneath the darkness of his clenched eyes, an image of his youngest son flickers like a painful reminder of how deep this betrayal will run. In his mind's eye, he remembers the look of confusion his youngest son gave him only hours before, and it is enough to remind him of who he is.

He unlatches his lips from her breast with a pained groan, and looks up at her. When his voice breaks the silence, it kills her to see that magnificent fury that lit his eyes ablaze is gone. "Please, Bulla. Please don't let me do this. I can't do this. It hurts too much."

With his refusal, she can sense the energy that had been crackling the air around them begin to ebb away, and she will be damned if she allows him to slip away. When she feels his fingers become lax against her hips, she pulls him out of the opening of his pajama bottoms and tightens her grip around his co*ck, pumping furiously. His fingers dig into her skin painfully, and every inch of her skin tingles when his energy once again begins to rise. This kind of pleasure is foreign to him, and as he grits his teeth against the princesses' tortuous attention, he fails to notice that her other hand is busy against the black fabric covering her sex.

Her painted lips give him a pained smile. "I'm so sorry, Goku."

Her hand stills against the base of his co*ck, holding him in place as she lifts herself just enough to pull the crotch of her one-piece to the side, and before he can realize what is happening, she impales herself on him.

Goku's eyes widen in shock. Even with his superior reflexes, everything is happening too rapidly for his brain to process. All he can focus on is the immediate relief he is given when she takes all choice from him, and he is lost in the illicit sensation of how tight, and wet she is. He is amazed that such pleasure could be found with another's body. Sex had never felt like this before. This level of bliss was foreign to him, and he felt resentful that he had gone so long without it.

He felt cheated, angry, and unbelievably good all at once.

It is torturous relief, and complete agony. The blue haired princess, is completely undone with him filling her, and all that had been building up within her suddenly breaks. She cannot stop her legs from locking against his sides, and grinding herself down against him. Her hands are wildly seeking any part of him, arms, shoulders- anything to level herself against as a wave of overwhelming pleasure takes her. It is so intense, that it leaves her oblivious to the way the ominous burning of the silver ring around her finger has stopped. Her body is trembling, and her lips are desperately seeking out the salty skin at the base of his neck, sucking madly to silence her moans as the pleasure takes her.

"Bulla." He chokes out, as her walls clamp down against him.

And then he feels her. These past few days her energy had evaded him. Yet now, with her writhing in his lap he can sense that her energy is small, addictive and dangerous. It is with a sense of alarm that he realizes that her ki is no longer being concealed. If he can sense her, that means that anyone else coul. His sac hangs heavily between his legs, and his turgid co*ck is buried inside her. He knows his control over his body is at its limit, and if he doesn't move, he genuinely feels as though death would be welcome. Though he is trying to control it, his ki is steadily rising, and his thighs are trembling from restraint.

That familiar warmth is flowing within him, emitting a small gust of wind around them. All it takes are thoughts of all those that would be affected by his transgressions, and of just how desperately he needs this, to make up his mind. It's hard to concentrate when she's writing against him, squeezing his co*ck so tight that he sees stars, but somehow a picture forms in his mind of a planet reborn.

Bulla presses her arms against his chest when she feels an unfamiliar flurry twisting itself within the pit of her stomach, only to be held in place when he wraps his strong arms against her. It takes only a moment before those blue eyes that had stared at him in confusion, are gazing up at a twin set of moons, and a night sky painted with wisps of fantastic color.

She knows they are no longer on Mount Pazou. No longer on Earth. But, in the time it takes her pleasure riddled mind to process this, his open hand is against her chest, pushing her down onto the softest grass she has ever felt.

On this planet light-years away from guilt and loved ones, he is able to appreciate just how cunning those celestial entities had been in their ploy. Fidelity, trust, and honor are inconsequential to beings whose sight spans across universes. Their sight delved into his psyche so deeply, they were able to unearth his weakest, most secret parts, and breathe life into it. Though he was mortal, his strength rivaled those of the gods. He was content with his power, though he knew that there was always potential for more, just as he had been content with his simple life. But with this blue haired girl under him, he knows that slipping back into simple, would be a lie when he knew a raw, carnal pleasure like this was just within his grasp.

Goku hates losing, but truthfully, who has ever won a battle against destiny.

A soft gasp leaves her parted lips as she realizes he never removed himself from inside her. She lets out a stuttered sigh as the last of her org*sm rides through her, and then her body goes lax. She's peering up at the Saiyan above her with hooded eyes, captivated by the wicked grin pulling at his lips, and the mystic glow of the dual moons hanging in the darkened horizon above him.

Plumes of pearly blue swirl in the heavens with the fury of crashing waves, and he is looking down at her in such a way that leaves her doubtful that this moment is even real.

It isn't till she feels herself being bent unnaturally that she realizes that she had shut her eyes to the incredible scene. He is grabbing onto the backs of her knees, pressing her legs up high enough for her fatigue to leave her as he withdraws himself at an agonizingly slow pace.

A pained groan leaves him through clenched teeth when he pushes himself back in just as carefully. Goku is in complete awe. He'd never seen the way he fit into a woman. The sight of his slickened member disappearing into her pink, parted flesh, and the pull of it when he withdraws is all new to him.

He is familiar with the motions of sex. Him with his hands planted on the mattress, framing his wife's head for fear of hurting her, while she lays politely on her back with a slightly pained grimace on her face as he gently ruts into her. With the years, Chi-Chi had begun to complain that while her body was becoming worn, his was becoming stronger, and in the privacy of their bedroom, she would claim that his body was suffocating.

The way she isn't protesting his weight, or crying out in agony when his grip on her skin tightens, is unbeleivable. But, it's the way she took her pleasure when she sunk down on him, and moaned so beautifully when her c*nt began to contract and pull against his co*ck like a vise, that truly enraptures him.

The pressure of his fingers around her thighs begins to hurt, so she takes the initiative and takes hold of her ankles, keeping herself wide open for him. She is lying in the grass holding herself open for him, with her stiletto clad feet pointing at the night sky, feeling so unbelievably lost. She doesn't know if it's the alcohol making her head swim, or his body's awesome power lapping at her senses, but it's just too much.

This is happening.

And it's everything she expected and more, and Kami when he slides himself out of her completely, only to have his co*ck land right between c*nt, and press against her oversensitive little nub she is gone.

Bulla has never been so aroused, and that small pressure is enough to leave her writhing, and mewling hopelessly as she tries to press herself against him.

It isn't until he hooks a finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him that she realizes that she'd been pressing her cheek against the soft grass with her eyes clenched shut, fearing that if she opened them the illusion would shatter.

"Is this not what you wanted?" A dark chuckle pierces the silence, and she doesn't realize that she is crying till his fingers are wiping the tears beneath her eyes. "What's with the tears? You should be happy. You got what you wanted, didn't you? You won. You play dirty, but I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised, considering…."

Through blurry eyes, she braves a glance at the stranger smirking above her. This is not Son Goku. The energy around him is so raw that it is physically sparking from his skin, illuminating his large, muscular body against the darkness.

Bulla watches as his dark eyes appraise her body, arching her back and whining pathetically when he makes no effort to touch her. His twisted smile widens when he looks down at where their hips meet. "You look so pretty like this, Bulla…So beautiful. Now tell me, is this what you wanted from me?"

She watches in fascination as he takes himself in hand, rubbing himself against the slickened lips of her c*nt. And that evil little smile gracing his lips, slowly falls till his teeth are clenched, and from the way his features darken, she feels frightened and delighted all at once.

This time, it is him who thrusts deeply into her, earning an open mouthed cry from the princess. The Saiyan buries his fingers into the flesh on her hips, pushing her down on his co*ck, till he is completely buried inside of her. It is the first time she feels pain during sex, and it leaves her breathless.

"Tell me!" He roars above her, tightening his grip on her hips and burying himself so deep within her, she feels a stab of pain.

She cannot help but welcome him, pulling back on her ankles as far as she can, till he is grinding down on her so deeply that the pain becomes a numbing pleasure. Her words leave her in wretched little sobs. "I've always wanted this."

He notices the milky skin on her hips beginning to bloom purple beneath his fingertips, but Kami help him, the scent of her lust, laced with pain just makes his blood sing. The Saiyan's grip on her tightens, earning a pained cry from the princess below him. "Is this how you imagined me, princess?"

"Yes!" She cries, as he lifts her hips off the ground, and brutally slams her down on his co*ck. A strange warmth is building deep within her as he continues to impale her. Her head thrashes against the grass, and that warmth is building till it becomes a painful pleasure, so unlike any other she had experienced.

Her whole body is trembling as he continues to push into her deeply, leaving her to wonder if he's scared of truly hurting her. If he wasn't careful, he could literally f*ck the life out of her, and she'd be a liar if she said that kind of danger didn't make her toes curl.

She sees the way he looks at her, taking in everything about her from her rouge smeared lips, to the way her glossy, black heels sway above her head, and knows that he is just as overwhelmed as she is.

His eyes are fixed on the way her large breasts bounce as he f*cks her. The princess is so lovely, and soft, and there is just so, so much of her he wants to touch and defile. With a growl, he wraps a hand around one her massive breasts, rolling its stiff nub roughly between his fingers, his pace growing frantic. "Since we're sharing secrets…and you said you were having naughty thoughts about me, how about I tell you something too?"

His calloused fingers pinch her peaked nipple, pulling and contorting at her creamy flesh. He couldn't hold back his words any more than he could stop himself from drilling into her. "You're just too pretty for your own good. These past few days, I've really tried to get you out of my head, but I just couldn't. You were always there, in the back my mind. And now, look at us."

The way he was thrusting into her, forcing another org*sm from her, and the filthy wet sounds of their bodies made it hard to focus on what he was saying. She knew she'd never been f*cked so hard, and knew that no human man could ever compare. She was thoroughly ruined.

So ruined, she allowed herself to lose herself to depravity, locking eyes with the beast on top of her and submitted all of herself to him. A wild pleasure danced in Goku's dark eyes as he continued to palm her breasts. "I just didn't think about this kind of stuff that much anymore. But, Bulla yesterday, when we were by the river, just smelling you, and seeing you made me wonder how good it would feel to touch you."

He was panting heavily, massive body trembling in restraint. "And every time I thought about you, it drove me crazy…. It made me feel sick. Like I was a bad person for wanting you like that. Does this make me a bad person?"

In that instant, once again she felt his hesitation when his hips came to a stutter and his hands stopped kneading her breasts. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern as he looked her over, but she didn't allow it. She squirmed underneath him, gripping her ankles tighter, and watched his doubt shatter as she pulled her head up, mouth only a breath away from the breast in his lax grip, and slid her pink tongue across the mound of flesh.

The image was painfully arousing. He was right, she did play dirty. The thought of a woman tonging her own breasts was not something even his lust riddled mind had ever concocted. The demanding pulse of her eagerness around his co*ck brought him back to the moment. His fingers dug into her breasts, pushing them up higher to her crimson smeared lips, and groaned in defeat when her wicked tongue flicked against her own peaked nipple.

The cords in his neck bunched, and it was all the warning she had before he ground himself against her, his thick co*ck rubbing against spots so deep inside her that eerie fluttering of pleasure began to swarm. The hand not holding her breast to her mouth was swiping mindless patterns against the sensitive, taut flesh of her other breast. "Kami! You're amazing….. I can't even tell you how much I like looking at you. Touching you. Having you."

Bulla let out an appreciative moan as he roughly took hold of her breast and offered it to her open mouth. Locking her lips around her own nipple, she drew in the little bud and began suckling hard, her eyes never leaving the tortured Saiyan above her. Goku groaned at the sight, grinding against her even harder till he was shuddering as he felt his heavy sac draw up between his legs, a warning that his own completion was nearing.

The air was cackling around them with the raw golden energy silhouetting his body, and she could feel it being drawn into her body. She felt the tremors in her belly, precursor to what would be the strongest org*sm of her young life, and threw her head back against the soft grass, face twisted in ecstasy as she screamed his name out into the darkness.

"Oh, Bulla!" She heard him groan, his hands suddenly everywhere, searing her skin with a pleasurable static as they roamed her body, till encircling her bottom and once again showcasing his awesome strength. "I can't stop! I'm so sorry!"

With his fingers kneading the cheeks of her bottom roughly, she couldn't seem to fathom what he was sorry for. She was trembling from head to toe, her center milking him, as she rode her pleasure to the end. Suddenly, the air around them became stifling as the Saiyan above her groaned, his energy rising dangerously high. The literal heat radiating off him had sweat dripping out of her every pore, and thrumming in pleasure. A soft, golden glow illuminated her warrior's body, enveloping her in his awesome strength and leaving his emotions on display for the woman below him. Her c*nt was like a vise, cruelly draining the pleasure from him, till a cold chill ran down his spine, and he was buried as deeply within her as possible. Once his swollen co*ck could take no more stimulation, he came with a pained groan, crushing her small body against him, as an overwhelming pleasure unlike any other seared through him. Goku's body was trembling wretchedly as he came, hips stuttering with every drawn-out throb of his co*ck. Her wicked, little c*nt forever drained him, lengthening the pleasurable pulsations, till he could feel the mess of his cum dribbling around him.

Through bleary eyes, Bulla glanced at the man above her, and saw him staring down at her in amazement. It gutted her completely. She uncurled her fingers from around her ankles, hissing sharply as she extended her tired legs to cradle the Saiyan above her. As he shifted above her, the wet noise of their bodies separating forced her cheeks to burn in mortification.

Her deepest, darkest desire had come to fruition, with its evidence seeping down her thighs.

Even though they were light years away from their shared reality, with the glow of the twin moons upon a wispy teal sky, and her greatest sin trailing his fingers against tender skin, the illusion shattered.

It was agony to see the mighty warrior's face twisting with so many conflicting emotions, and knowing that she was the cause. How could she face him after tonight? How could she face anyone?

Her labored breathing sounded so loud in the silence, and she cursed the man above her for not even having the decency to at least look partially debauched. Her mind was an inebriated mess and her body ached. With a groan she wriggled herself beneath him, ignoring the fact that he was still hard inside her, bringing her hands up to his chest and feebly attempting to push him off.

He pulled away from her, his throaty laugh echoing across the clearing. The smile on his face was dangerous, and welcoming all the same. "Where do you think you're going?"

Bulla tried lifting herself off the ground on unsteady legs, unaware of the sight she lovely sight she made. Her naked breasts swayed with her clumsy movement, and the fabric that was supposed to cover her sex was still pulled to the side, revealing the mess he made between her legs.

She never made it to her feet.

Bulla never even saw him move. One instant she was facing him, and the next thing she knew, she was on her knees, with her back pressed against his hard chest. He wrapped his hand around her pretty, blue hair, drawing her back to bite and lick her tender skin.

"I said, where do you think you're going?"

When she felt him slide his length against her swollen slit, thoughts of regret were long forgotten. He entered her roughly, electing a startled gasp from the heiress, and the words he whispered hotly in her ear promised her the sweetest oblivion.

"I'm not done with you yet, princess- we're just getting started."

This night had completely ruined her, and she couldn't be happier.

The way the sun rises on Mount Pazou is breathtaking.

In all his interplanetary travels, not once has he ever witnessed a sunrise as beautiful as the one currently lighting up the mountainside in cheerful hues of yellows and pinks. Yet, this morning as he scrubs his skin raw with a soap pilfered from a neighboring village, he cannot seem to find comfort in its familiar beauty. Not when the memory of Vegeta's daughter with her stilettos aimed towards the heavens is as fresh in his mind's eye as the scent of their coupling on his skin.

With a deep breath, he falls back into the water. As he watches the suds lift off his body and float to the lake's surface, he wishes it were that easy to rid his mind of her and erase this moment for all eternity. For a brief moment he entertains the idea of Shenron making that a reality, but knows that if what King Kai said was true, the great dragon would want no part undoing the work of greater forces. When he is clean, he lays his naked body against the warm surface of the boulder and lets the sun dry him. Despite the guilt knotting his heart, deep down he knows he enjoyed every second of his night on Namek. The thrill of having her in such a way that would leave a human woman with a ruptured bladder or shattered pelvis brings him a sick sort of satisfaction that he is having a very hard time coming to terms with.

"What is wrong with me?" he groans, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes.

Everything feels so very out of his control, and the thought of what is destined to come next fills him with nervous energy. He jumps to his feet, regretting his earlier impulse to incinerate his stained pajama bottoms, because in his nakedness going home for a change of clothes is his only option. When he teleports inside his empty bedroom the familiar scent of his wife mixed with that of the breakfast she prepared only works to further his sense of dread and speed up his actions as he hastily grabs his trademark orange gi from inside his dresser. He is too anxious to feel hungry, but the sweet, buttery smell wafting through the capsule house gives him an idea. He senses his wife outside by the clothes line, and tries not to feel too cowardly as uses his inhuman speed to aid him in his escape.

With all his attention focused on Chi-Chi's ki, he materializes in front of the open kitchen window and takes the still steaming pastry from the windowsill, nearly dropping it when he hears someone speak behind him, "Woah, dad! I'm so confused by what I'm seeing right now."

His body goes tense, and it feels as though his heart is trying to worm its way up his throat, but as he turns to face the younger man he conceals it with a sheepish smile. Goten is leaning against the kitchen counter dressed in a raggedy shirt and boxers with a cellphone in one hand and an empty jar of milk in the other. He eyes the purple dessert his dad is attempting to sneak out of the kitchen in amusem*nt. "I must be imaging things, because there's no possible way you'd be dumb enough to take the cake mom made for her book club. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Goku chuckles nervously, sensing his wife's energy slowly begin to near. "As long as I have you to wish me back, I'd say its worth the risk."

His son observes his father for a moment, scrunching up his nose when he faintly smells the trace of something familiar coming from the older Saiyan. He isn't given the chance to identify it, because the doorknob begins to turn, and suddenly and the spot where his father was standing is empty.

Within a second he is a million light years away, materializing on trembling legs before a stone castle built into the husk of an ancient tree. The unexpected encounter with his son has his heart hammering and only serves to intensify what must be considered guilt.

The realization that his guilt is born from a lack of guilt leaves him reeling.

The glass dish in his hand is scalding against his palms, but it barely registers as his sleep deprived mind filters through this week's memories, trying to pinpoint where it was his moral compass shattered. He cares for his friends and family dearly, and the possible repercussions of his actions are what weigh his mind, not the deed itself. That awful darkness he'd spent a lifetime suppressing had been sated so thoroughly, it was silent. It was frightening to realize that rutting the heiress left his beast as placated as the victory of a high stakes battle.

He hates the loudness in his mind, so it is with great relief that he senses Whiz's energy gradually edging it way towards him. As expected a thin, tall blue skinned deity floats down from one of the massive branches overhead, observing Goku with one eyebrow arched in annoyance. "Goku, please do stop doing that with your ki. It's akin to the whining of an insect near your ear, only its grating on every single one of my energy pathways."

It takes Goku a moment to realize the entire time he has been standing here his ki has been in a flux, so with an awkward laugh he reels it in and apologizes. "I'm sorry about that. I've just been having a weird morning." With a forced smile, he holds out the purple dessert to the diety standing before him. "Anyways, have you ever tried ube cake? My wife made it, and you know what a great cook she is. She usually just makes it for special occasions, but I promise its one of the tastiest things you'll ever eat."

Whiz's violet eyes widen in interest as he eyes the pastry, and he can't help but shuffle over to the Saiyan to better investigate his offering. "Yes, your human wife is truly a master of the culinary arts. I really am most intrigued. As of yet, this will be the first time I sample one of her homemade desserts."

After guaranteeing its deliciousness, Goku holds the freshly baked dessert under the deity's nose and smiles so forcefully his cheeks ache, "So does this mean you'll be able to train me for a little bit?" He really, really does not want to go home or spend his time alone with only his dastardly mind for company.

After a drawn out moment of consideration in which Whiz closes his eyes and takes a deep breath of the warm pastry, he opens his eyes to gaze longingly at the dessert and sighs, "With Beerus asleep, and my chores complete I had planned on catching up on some Earth dramas Bulma had introduced me to. But, since you come baring such tempting gifts, I suppose I can spare you a few moments." Unfazed by the heated glass against his palms, the diety takes the dish and as he turns to make his ascent up towards the stone castle he calls over his shoulder, "Oh, and Goku- I must admit I am a bit disappointed. I'd never have imagined you to capable of such craven behavior."

As he processes the words, Goku's look of confusion changes to one of irritation. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I'm sure you know exactly what I mean." Whiz vaguely replied as he landed on the giant branch. Without turning around, the blue skinned deity walks through a set of ornately carved doors and orders Goku to be warmed up and ready in his weighted suit by the time he returns.

Goku is left gritting his teeth in irritation when it becomes apparent his sinful deeds have followed him all the way to the edge of the universe. In defiance of his intrusive thoughts, he forces his body into motion with the purpose of purging the blue haired temptress from his thoughts. He deviates from the expected warm-up routine, forgoing mediation and puts all his attention to preparing his body and ki channels for what he knows will be a brutal training session.

By the time the angel returns, neither Goku's body or ki control is prepared to burn through the vast amount of energy required to attain God ki. He tries hard, but his focus is elsewhere, and Whiz is kind enough to remind him of that with a repeated onslaught of painful strikes. The only mercy the Saiyan finds in training with the celestial being is that the conversation is near nonexistent. Hours later, after nearly receiving a strike that would have shattered his spine, Goku is both relieved and terrified when Whiz announces that it is time for a break. He cuts off his ki and plops his battered body down onto the alien terrain with a defeated groan. He has achieved his goal; the exhaustion in his body and mind has cancelled out all those conflicting emotions.

A sharp nudge in his ribs causes him to sit up abruptly. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep, and is horrified that he failed to sense his visitor approach him. He looks up at the deity in surprise, one hand clenched at his racing heart. "Hey! Are you trying to scare me to death or something?"

"Had I wanted you dead, instead of waking you I would have taken advantage of your disgustingly lax defenses." Whiz said, his violet eyes watching him closely. "When I still sensed you nearby and you failed to come to our usual post-training meal, I must admit I was a bit concerned. You're lack of control over your ki was also quite unexpected. And it appears that my concern was warranted. For a warrior of your caliber to fail to sense me approach, sleeping like a common beast with its soft belly exposed- Well, it is quite alarming."

At the mention of food, the scent of cooked meat catches the Saiyan's attention and the tense atmosphere is broken by the loud grumbling of his stomach. "Let's just go eat. I'm starving!" Goku jumps to his feet, and laughs uneasily, "You don't need to get all worked up over that stuff. I'm just feeling a little bit off today, that's all." He ignores the skeptical look the angel gives him as he takes off, choosing instead to follow his nose and flee what seem to be the beginnings of a conversation he does not feel like having.

On one of the majestic trees many branches, there is a table set with obscene portions of what appears to be smoked dinosaur over steamed rice. Goku takes a seat and focuses all his attention on finishing the food set before him. Whiz is seated before him, slowly eating and eying his bowl as though it had personally offended him. He has lived this moment hundreds of times and for a few merciful minutes he is allows himself to believe that all is as it should be; that everything that took place last night on Namek was simply a nightmare induced by the unraveling of his psyche by the full moon. He enjoys the rest of his meal, and by the time his chopsticks begin to scrape against the bottom of the gulley sized bowl Whiz breaks the silence. "A few days ago I was on Earth and Bulma treat me to the most divine meal at an eatery so elegant I almost believed myself to be in the celestial plane. I'd never tasted meat so tender and with such rich flavor! I believe she called it wagyu. After such a perfect meal, I just can't seem to muster the same enthusiasm for one this dreary."

"I don't know what you're complaining about. This foods pretty good." Goku said through his last mouthful. It wasn't uncommon for Whiz to casually speak of his social outings with the Capsule Corp. heiress, especially if he was introduced to a new and exciting food (which it always was); but right now he didn't want to think of the people waiting for him back on Earth.

"If I'm being completely honest, Bulma Briefs is one of the most exquisite mortals I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. In all the universe, she currently possesses one of the sharpest minds, and despite associating with brutes such as yourself, has the most sophisticated tastes in not only cuisine, but also the interplanetary arts and other things that to you, might seem quite dull. Every Earth lunar cycle she plans these wonderful little outings, and I must say I do enjoy her company. Next time we meet, I plan on inviting her to Gaspa, the only place in the universe that serves dragon meat." Whiz said as he pushed his bowl away and turned his attention to the Saiyan sitting before him. "If I were feeling sentimental, which I am, I might even consider her a friend. And friendship involves doing what you can to protect your friends, yes?"

Goku doesn't say anything, just nods and fears where this bizarre conversation is going.

"I've never intervened in any mortal's drama, but because I wish for my friendship with Bulma to continue, I must insist that you keep me company for a few of your planet's lunar cycles. In the grand scheme of things, everything has fallen into place, but at this moment your instincts will easily overpower your weak mental state- and that would make for a very messy situation." The angel said cooly, materializing a chalice with a tap of his finger against the tabletop. Raising the glass to his lips, he observes Goku's transparent facial expressions as he processes his words. "This situation is necessary to retain balance in the universe. The way this all plays out depends on how you choose to respond. As usual, the universe is counting on you. Should you resist, your instincts will eventually drive you insane, and you will cause an unimaginable amount of emotional pain to those precious to you. But should you choose to yield to your destiny while maintaining discretion, you will continue to walk harmoniously among the same path as your loved ones."

"This isn't fair! I've already saved the universe once. I don't understand why now, in order to save it I have to betray my family- and- and…. Its just too gross and weird." The Saiyan groans as hunches forward in his seat, propping his elbows against the tabletop and burying his head in his hands. "Bulla and I never asked for any of this!'

"What part of yielding to destiny and continuing to walk harmoniously amongst your loved ones didn't you understand?" Whiz sighed, giving Goku a look of minor irritation before he took another drink from the golden cup cradled in his palm. "The only thing that makes life unfair is the delusion that it should be fair. You have seen the darkness of this universe and have seen the oppression and death that it can bring, and yet you complain that this magnificent destiny that the cosmos has singularly crafted just for you is unfair? Your race, a once brutal race of warriors, will become the guardians of this universe. This unfairness of which you speak will be the backbone from which this universe's future Gods and Destroyers will emerge."

"But why me? Why isn't Vegeta going just as crazy as I am?" Goku continued, hating the similarities of Whiz's words to those of King Kai. It seemed as though these deities who he trained with and trusted, had known all along that this would happen. Yet not once did they warn him, and that irritated the hell out of him. He stood up suddenly, fists clenched and ki flaring, and for a terrible moment, his irritation was overwhelmed by fear. "King Kai told me Bulla was born because of me. Does that mean Pan- that Veg-"

"Calm down, Goku." Whiz said, vanishing the now empty chalice and clapping his hands much like an angry schoolteacher trying to get the attention of the class. "Pay attention to what I'm trying to explain to you, and try not to get side tracked. You needn't worry about Vegeta chasing after any other Saiyan females. It really isn't my place to say Goku, but the bond he shares with Bulma is very different than the one that you share with your human wife. Let's just say their unique bond almost makes them what you mortals would consider soul mates. Its very much their own- and nothing you need to concern yourself over."

He couldn't help feeling both relieved and guilty that the universe had not gift wrapped his grandaughter for another Saiyan to use so degradingly. Choosing to ignore that Whiz basically implied that his love for Chi-Chi was not as genuine as that of The Saiyan Prince and Bulma, he sat back down to face the angel and nodded. "Okay, I'll pay attention."

Not even in his most perilous fights had Whiz ever seen the Saiyan appear so defeated. In creating the new generation of heroes, in the grand scheme of things the loss of his family ties would simply be considered a minor inconvenience, but Whiz knows that this would cause a terrible darkness to bloom in the Saiyan's heart. In his mind, the angel see's the future branching out into many possibilities and in every single one it is either Goku or the girl is left in a least favorable position. He really does hate meddling in mortal matters, but just this once he will for the sake of continuing his culinary adventure across Earth with his favorite mortal companion. A future universe with Saiyans functioning as both heroes and destroyers does sound like it would be quite interesting. So with a smile, he makes his choice, saving the majority of Goku's precious people while damning one.

"Goku, your mind really is quite a mess right now. I'm warning you, should you choose to return to Earth right now with your mind in shambles and nearly negligible control over your Saiyan instincts, your presence would result in an irreversible mess." Whiz says, and because he knows humans appreciate such gestures, he places a hand on the Saiyan's shoulder and gives him a smile he hopes conveys empathy. "But, you know what? I'm suddenly feeling quite generous- If you feel capable of committing the next few months to me, not only could you leave here with renewed mental clarity, but also insurmountable power. Why, you still have a long way to master God ki, and I still have so much left to teach you."

The pounding on the door was loud enough to startle her awake, and when her heavy eyes opened the room was spinning. She turned her head sideways, her cheek pressing against a carpet that feels familiar, and when her vision clears she is able to tell that the part of the porcelain tub at eye level is indeed hers.

Eventually the knocking at the door begins to rival the throbbing in her skull, and when she can't take it anymore yells in a voice as loud as her dry throat can muster. "What do you want?!"

"Bulla, it's almost three. Goten was freaking out. He said you were gonna' meet him for lunch, but never showed up. He was sure you were dead in a ditch somewhere." Her brother said mockingly from behind the closed door.

It wasn't until she started shivering that she realized she was naked and lying on a soaking, wet bath rug. She grabbed onto the side of the tub, slowly pulling her aching body up until she was standing. The bath was still half full, with a mixture of stale suds and pieces of grass floating over the murky water.

Her head felt as though it were stuffed with cotton, and the taste of stale cigarettes and vodka was heavy on her tongue. Every movement she made left her aware of an ache all over her body, and when she started walking to the sink, the painful throb between her legs was enough to spark twisted images of a muscular man with wild, dark hair pounding into her.

Bulla reached forward on unsteady legs, gripping the counter top and staring in wide eyed panic at her reflection as Trunks' words echoed in her head. The evidence of last night was evident all over her body, starting with the bite marks on her neck and traveling all the way down to the matching bruises on her ankles.

Goten.

Lunch.

Never showed up.

"sh*t." She groaned, as her stomach lurched and she vomited hot bile into the sink.

Behind her tightly clenched eyes, she can see his teal eyes tearing a hole right through her, and the reality of what she has done comes crashing down on her so hard her legs give out and she tumbles to the floor with a soft thud.

The crack of the door handle being forced open brings her out of her stupor enough to make a grab at the nearest towel. By the time the door slams open, she is holding the towel up to her chest with a shaky hand and doesn't know how to react when she meets her brothers panicked expression.

She feigns irritation and Trunk's doesn't even flinch when she snaps. "What the f*ck made you think it was okay to break down the f*cking door?!"

He doesn't reply, but the worry reflected in his eyes is enough to break her heart. She can't bear to look at him, so she clenches her eyes shut and points one shaky finger at the open door. "Get out! Get the f*ck out!"

He doesn't leave. Instead he walks over to where she is sitting on the tile and crouches down beside her. His big hands frame her face and he's looking into a pair of familiar blue eyes.

Her tears trail down onto his fingers and he can't help but see that sad little girl that just never learned to fly. He doesn't think anyone notices, but lately the bitter scent of sadness lingers on her skin. He's looking at her and his heart wrenches in his chest when he sees the ugly bruises marring her pale skin.

"Go away." Bulla says quietly, slapping his hands away from her face, but the sight of her fills him with guilt and the way the room reeks of a mixture of sex and something familiar confuses him.

His voice is steady when he asks her what happened, but when she finally braves a glance at him she can see rage burning in his eyes. She wants his anger directed at her, she wants him to taunt her and call her names, but he never does. Instead, he sits down beside her and wraps his arms around her, holding her tightly.

"Who did this to you? Was it Goten?" he asks, holding her cold body against his, trying to stifle his rage so his ki doesn't attract their father's attention.

She gives into his embrace, slipping her arms around him and burying her face into his chest. It hurts too much to speak while looking at him. "No, it wasn't Goten. I was going to see him last night, but I guess old habits are kind of hard to break. Last night, I wanted it to hurt. I wanted this, but I'm trying really hard to do better. To be good."

She feels his body flinch at her words, and his hold on her tightens as he processes her words. She wonders just how far a families love can stretch before it snaps. She wonders if that love would be completely destroyed if she came clean and told him just who it was that left their mark on her skin.

When he pulls away from her, the nausea and pain hurt almost as badly as the guilty ache in her heart. "Why would you want someone to do this to you? Finding guys that get off on hurting you is your bad habit? Are you kidding me?" He asks lifting her arm so that her bruised wrist is hanging between them. "Why the hell would you let someone do this to you, Bulla? Some normal guy slapping you around wouldn't leave you this messed up. This guy really wanted to hurt you."

His blue eyes are muddled with confusion and worry, and she wishes he wouldn't waste those emotions on her. The towel wrapped around her begins to slip, so she seizes the chance to pull herself away from him.

"You wouldn't understand". She says with a halfhearted shrug as she rests her back against the tubs cool surface. She points a finger at herself and tries to laugh it off. "We all have our kinks, let's just pretend you never had to see any of this. Last night may have gotten a little out of control, but I promise I'm fine. I'm done with casual relationships. I need to settle down. Put down some roots. "

"Bulla, you were just crying". He states, warily eyeing the bruised girl before him. It doesn't feel right seeing her this way, so small, frail, and undeniably human. He doesn't understand why he feels like somehow this is his fault. That if only he'd listened to her more, or maybe payed better attention, he could have intervened before Bulla thought it was sane to equate sex with brutality. "You know this isn't right. Don't try playing me, I've known you all your life. I can see through your bullsh*t smiles, and I know something's wrong."

She rolls her head from side to side against the porcelain, unable to stop the hollow laugh that escapes her. "Please, do not tell me you're trying to play the big brother now, Trunks?"

Her words sting, because they are true.

"Just promise that this is it." He pulls himself up and offers his hand to her. "It would break mom and dad's heart to find out you died because some creep snapped your neck during foreplay. Then I suppose everyone would know about your bad little habit."

She rolls her eyes and accepts his hand. "Well, I guess once your buddy and I become exclusive, I'll have to give up this deliciously rough sex I enjoy so much. Goten just doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would tie a girl up with his belt and shove her panties in her mouth, you know?"

The idea of his sister as a sexual being makes him grimace, and the evidence of it wafting around the room makes him nauseous. "Well, at least you're already preparing yourself for a lifetime of boring sex." As he looks over this girl who grew up when he wasn't looking, he tries not to think of all the deviant things his buddy does enjoy. He can't fault Goten for enjoying women, because he enjoys them just as much. He tries not to think of how fatal a little racy lovemaking between his best friend and sister could be, but quickly dismisses the thought because even if Bulla asked him, he knows his best friend would never hurt her. It is for the hope of keeping Bulla safe and as a silent plead for forgiveness, that Trunk's decides that he will keep Bulla's transgressions a secret.

He is frightened of the girl sitting before him, frightened for her, because he feels like somewhere along the way something went wrong. He feels ashamed of all those times he called her out on how weak she was, or how she just wasn't as smart as him, and wishes he could take them back. He knows he only said those things out of spite, but in moments like these, they haunt him.

He pulls her to her feet with no effort, and ruffles her tangled hair.

"Oh, and you're welcome by the way." Trunks says, leaving a purple capsule in her palm. "I was able to autopilot your jet car back here before people started asking questions."

She tenses at the sight of the capsule, feeling foolish for leaving her jet-car parked in the mountain forest, so close to Goten. Bulla looks up at her brother with glassy, blue eyes and her mouth parted in surprise. With one hand clenched around the towel, she throws herself against her brother, holding him close despite the way she feels his body tense against her embrace. "Thank you, Trunks."

"Uh… Bulla you're naked. Don't be weird." He says with a grimace, affectionately patting her head and gently easing her off him. "And, I'm only cleaning up after you this one time, you hear me? If I ever find out that you're seeing some guy behind Goten's back, don't think for a second I won't hesitate to tell him."

"So if Goten starts fooling around, I take it I'll get that courtesy warning, too?" She asks jokingly.

"Just to make it fair, he get's to slip up once just like you. But just one. " He said raising one finger and taping her gently on the nose. "Since you were unconscious, I told Goten you'd meet up with him for dinner. And if you don't want to fill him with the false hope that you've started training, you may want to take care of those bruises. Dad may, or may not have a stash of senzu beans in his dresser."

Holding back tears, she crinkles her nose and sniffles, before lifting her face and giving him a watery smile that melts his heart. "I really do love you, Trunks."

"Of course you do. What's not to love?" Before the moment is ruined, and they begin to bicker, he walks out the door flashing her a cheeky smile. "Please do take a proper bath. Unless you want Goten's heart to break when he takes a wiff of all that sex you're practically bathed in."

In all of her previous trysts, not once had she needed to worry about a man leaving traces of himself inside her. Unprotected sex wasn't her thing. Regardless of being on the pill for the last decade, it was mortifying to know how easily Goku tore apart all sense without even trying. The Plan B she swallowed with a swig of apple juice felt just enough like closure so that she was able to delude herself into thinking that everything that happened under the moonlight was just the ending to a hectic chapter in her life. When the lights to the gravity chamber turned on, it was thoughts of a new beginning that lent her enough courage to sneak her bruised body into her parent's bedroom.

"Ah ha! Found you!" She said, after a few tense minutes of rummaging through her father's belongings. Nestled within her father's sock drawer was a small tin box with a handful of green lentils. She was grateful to find them so easily, but knowing that her father stored magical beans grown by an eight hundred year old cat inside his sock drawer, really put into perspective how spectacular her family was. She knew that these were reserved for emergencies, and had never taken one before, but reasoned that if she was starting a new chapter in her life, it would only make sense to revitalize her weary body.

Remembering what Trunk's had told her about the fat samurai that had eaten too many beans, she snapped it in half, eating one piece and pocketing the other. The effects where immediate.

She chewed on the bean slowly appreciating its crunchy texture, remembering its piscine taste, and the almost instantaneous way all her physical pains disappeared. Holding out her arms, she watched in amazement as her body reabsorbed the bruises peppering her skin, only realizing when her skin no longer bore evidence of her greatest sin, that the tightness in her muscles and the throbbing ache in her center was gone.

Blinking slowly, she looked around the empty bedroom, struck by how crisp and vivid everything seemed. How clear her head felt. With small, unsure steps she walked into Bulma's walk-in closet, her attention focused on the girl in the mirror. The girl had a towel piled onto her head, and was wearing the same lilac bathrobe as her, but the eyes that stared back at her were a clear bright blue, and her skin was clean, supple, and ivory.

Bulla brought trembling fingers to her face, unable to believe that only moments ago she was light years away from home, being f*cked into that alien terrain by a kind-hearted warrior who even the Kami's revered. She blinked back the tears pooling at her eyes, refusing to be consumed by regret when she felt as though she had just taken a dose of the world's cleanest amphetamine.

A sudden realization struck her, causing the blue eyes in the mirror to widen in surprise, then slowly crinkle as a genuine laugh rang from her lips. The consuming need for him that had festered within her, slowly driving her to madness was gone. In its place, the guilt and shame of actually having him had cemented itself, and after years of perverse obsession, it felt like freedom.

Chapter 7: Golden Star

Chapter Text

When her dreams could still be considered innocent- before her desire for the older saiyan was even a whisper, she knows that this would have been enough to send her teenage heart racing.

Against the backdrop of sunset, on the patio of a place with a name too difficult for him to pronounce, sat the youngest Son at a table for two. He was dressed in an outfit nice enough for a place like this, but worn with that casual indifference of youth, and stretched across his face was a smile so big it was infectious.

"I can't help but feel that changing our plans from lunch to dinner just worked out so much better. The food here is heavenly," Bulla says with a soft smile as she forces herself to take small bites of the braised lamb on her plate.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've been here. I don't remember it being this good," Goten says, digging into his pasta with the type of learned restraint one would expect from a boy raised by the Ox-Princess. Goten remembers the last time he had eaten here with his last girlfriend, and of how their wine had paired wonderfully with the final death rattles of their relationship.

He can't help but find his company more pleasant this time around.

Across the table from him, Bulla was still experiencing the strange sensations that came from the rapid turnover of rejuvenating cells. Not only had the half a senzu bean she had eaten earlier left her with an euphoric energy, as evidenced her sappy smile and the incessant tapping of her heels against the tile- but, she was also unpleasantly full.

She was lucky Goten wasn't as observant as all the other saiyans in her life. If he had been, not only would he have instantly known something was off with her, but it would have made it that much harder to force her heart upon him. Bulla couldn't help but wonder what it said of her soul, that she was able to look him in the eye and return his smile, knowing that only hours ago she has his father's virtue smeared, hot and sticky between her thighs.

Goten raises an eyebrow and playfully says, "You really aren't as smooth as you think you are, Miss Briefs. I know exactly what you're up to."

She bites back a bitter laugh with a smile and playfully points at him with the chunk of meat speared on her fork. "I have absolutely no clue what you're going on about. The only thing I can be accused of doing is trying to introduce your backwoods palette to a world of culinary perfection."

"Play coy all you want, but I have to warn you- I'm not that kind of guy. This cheesy, romantic set up isn't going to get you anywhere with me," Goten says, trying and hopelessly failing to contain his goofy grin.

"Hm. We'll see about that," she hums, smile faltering as the ugly little voice in her head reminds her that compared to his father, Goten wouldn't stand a chance. He didn't have the faintest idea what she was capable of.

Naturally, she proved herself right when only a few hours later Goten would find himself staring down at her with a warm emotion in his eyes that promised love. The two bottles of pinot noir they(mostly she) enjoyed, combined with the exhilarating after-effects of the senzu bean, left her feeling so, so foolishly happy. When only a few sips remained in her glass, she set her plan into motion. With a longing gaze up towards the night sky, she had sighed her regret of being the only Saiyan incapable of flight. Of how she regrets not training hard like the rest of them. Of how on nights as beautiful as these, she wished she had the ability to control her ki enough to fly across the sea and see the distant flicker of the city lights from high up in the mountains. Once they left the restaurant, she feigned surprise when he gallantly offered to fly her across the night sky to wherever it was she desired.

And for all the lies she told the world, not once did she ever lie to herself.

Never for a moment did she doubt what she was: a selfish, weak, loving liar. It wasn't easy, but Bulla managed to compartmentalize the events of last night into that dark little corner of her soul reserved for her most wretched secrets, and gave the outside world her best smile. When Goten scooped her off the ground she couldn't stop the peals of laughter she released into the night sky as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The air this high up in the atmosphere was uncomfortably cold, but the warmth of Goten's ki warmed her body like a personal furnace. She hadn't been up in the sky like this since she was a little girl, and the novelty of being so high up without a thick plane of glass between her and the clouds never got old.

"I'm sure you use this trick on all the girls."

Instead of being offended, she giggled as his cheeks burned in embarrassment. Bulla couldn't help but find his attempts at stuttering out a defense anything other than delightful. Up until today, she had spent the last few years placating her psychosis in ways that left her thrilled at the prospect of Goten wooing her in the same way he would any other girl.

"Well, I've got to admit- it is a pretty neat trick," Bulla snickered, unable to find it within herself to feign jealousy as she admired the sheepish smile on his stupidly handsome face. "I mean come on- flying off into the sunset with a cute guy after a romantic dinner and just a little too much good wine? I bet it's a real panty dropper."

Kami, she adored the way his cheeks flushed, and how her crass statement was enough to make his jaw drop. She wanted the normalcy a life with him could offer. She wanted a life where their biggest arguments stemmed from finding another girl's nudes on his phone, or him leaving the toilet seat up. Perhaps every now and then- just to keep life interesting, she'd find him in bed with some tramp. Honestly, sometimes she frightened herself at how she could delude herself into believing that everything was just fine. That it was okay to charm this unsuspecting man into building a life with her when the foundation of their relationship was such a dirty, hollow thing.

When they landed on the mountain side, it was with that burning hope that she stood on her tip- toes and latched her hands against the back of his head. And when she pulled his head down to place a chaste kiss against his lips, she wasn't overwhelmed by a surge of endorphins so strong it would leave her head spinning. Instead, the tenderness of his lips leaves her wondering if this is how two people in love kiss.

No one has ever kissed Bulla so sweetly before, and on some primal level it doesn't feel right. For a brief second, she thinks that his lips don't belong on hers, and nearly reels back from the sharp, wave of nausea that follows. She's used to the biting of teeth and taste of blood, but that underlying promise of love was too strong to ignore. She needs to have it. When the youngest Son timidly began to return her kiss, she couldn't help herself from feigning a weakness in her knees that resulted in them tumbling onto the soft ground. With his large, strong body positioned above her and his mouth politely working against hers, she imagines a normal life absent of monstrous desire, and moans against his lips. It isn't his erection pressed against her leg that causes her nipples to harden, or his soft lips cautiously trailing down her jaw that sets off that pleasurable, empty ache between her legs. It's the thought of a completely underwhelming life that has her gasping against his mouth, and unintentionally clenching her thighs together till he is dizzy with the scent of her.

When Goten breaks the kiss to look down at her, in the shadows of the night sky he is a reflection of her most beautiful mistake. His fingers are trembling as he cautiously moves stray blue strands away from her face, and the emotion in his eyes is all wrong. For a fleeting moment, she is filled with dread. This whole moment leaves her feeling uneasy, but she forces herself to cling to that promise of a normal life, wishing and hoping so hard that this night of sweet kisses and innocent touches will be enough to mend the brokenness inside her.

If his heart is the key to her salvation- then she will have no issues being the most pretty, loving liar he would ever have the misfortune of falling in love with.

Whis ordered the Saiyan to attempt to land a hit on him in base form, only allowing him to retire once the sun began to set. The mortal wasn't focused on his training, but rather than allow Goku time to ruminate on his worries and possibly skew his plans, he engaged him till the Saiyan's fatigue was overwhelming. Currently, Goku was fast asleep in the room Vegeta and he occupied during their lengthy training sessions.

With the rest of the night to himself, the deity planned on spending it sprawled across his plush chaise as he caught up on his favorite dramas. His cheerful hums echoed off the stone hallway as he walked towards his relaxation room with bowls of gelato trailing in the air behind him and a large tray of exotic candies cradled in his blue hands.

"Hey Whis! Whats going on?! How's Goku?!"

The sudden telepathic intrusion of a loud, jarring voice startled him so severely, for a frightening moment the gelato trailing behind him was free falling. For the past few decades the poor Kai had fret over how this moment would impact his student, even going so far as to grovel before the Grand Master. Though relations with mortals were not exactly encouraged, it was no secret that Goku was King Kai's shining pupil.

"How many times this millennia must I remind you that unless the universe is in peril, which it most definitely is not, to contact me through the oracle fish?" Whis replied with mild telepathic annoyance.

"It's practically the middle of the night over there. The little guy was fast asleep. It just seemed wrong to wake him up when you're just walking around eating snacks."

Vanishing the sweets trailing behind him, Whis took a deep calming breath, reminding himself that much like King Kai, his involvement was only to prevent a falling out between the key players that would shape the universe's future. "I'll have you know, for the last several hours I was forced to endure witnessing attempts at ki control so pathetic, I nearly sent the Saiyan away. You would think that after assuring him his relationships would continue unaffected, he would be in a better disposition- especially after spending hours rutting that blue haired harlot."

The kai's scandalized gasp echoed in the angel's mind. "Does that mean you told him about, you know-?"

"I wasn't aware that a kai's omnipresence was capable of malfunctioning," Whis replied telepathically. Once he reached the velvet chaise he threw himself dramatically and opened his palm just in time for a very universal remote to appear.

"Oh, I couldn't bear to watch!"

"For my convenience, maybe next time you should. Then you would know exactly just what it was that Goku was made privy to," Whis continued as he wriggled himself into a comfortable position. "But since you're so eager, I'll be merciful and fill you in. After much thought, in order to prevent a repeat performance, I've decided to spend the next few months training him. Should he remain here as we discussed, things on Earth should play out smoothly- as long as you do your part."

"So we're going that route, then?" King Kai asked, the uneasiness he was projecting was so strong, Whis could practically feel it.

"This is why I don't like to involve myself in this kind of nonsense. There are too many variables, and all the possible outcomes leave much to be desired," Whis sighed, propping the wooden candy box atop his chest and tossing the lid across the room. "The potential power these Saiyan's possess is limitless, and I would very much prefer a future in which both Vegeta and Goku completely master ultra instinct and break the limitations of their mortal bodies. One day Shin will fall, and if by that time Vegeta has mastered control of his ki, he would make an excellent destroyer. And as much as I hate to admit it, an eon in which the both of them are present is bound to be entertaining."

"An eon is a long time for a heart to harbor such an ugly thing. Did you tell him he was going to spend eternity in despair? Forever chasing a soul that will always be out of reach, and protecting a universe that will never allow him to forget? Did you warn him?"

"You needn't worry about any of that. Should it all unfold as planned, one day this will merely be the phantom whisper of a memory. All of this will mean everything and nothing all at once."

Whis flipped on the television to where he had last left off, and raised the volume in hopes of drowning out the kai's agitated voice from his mind. Compared to the other planets, Earth really did a spectacular job in producing high quality digital entertainment. As the angel watched the screen, he could swear he almost felt a pang of emotion as we watched the pixilated humans act out scenes of life and tragedy.

It's already past midnight when he senses their energizes trailing down the long road into Capsule Corporation. Even without the soft glow of the full moon, he would have been able to see Goten's sleek air car pulling into the driveway. He's leaning against the balcony railing, observing the couple in the car with a peculiar sort of detachment.

He had every intention of stopping what was destined to be a train wreck before it drove a wedge in their lifelong friendship, but seeing Bulla crumpled up on the restroom floor, covered in bruises and reeking of sex scared him.

It scared him so bad, he couldn't offer her up to Goten fast enough.

There was something menacing in his sister's hysteria that felt inherently worse than whatever negative reservations he had regarding a romantic relationship between Goten and his sister. He can't help but feel like he failed to protect her when it counted, and he is too much of a coward to unearth the truth. He can't change whatever it was that broke her, but she's his blood. He is willing to do what he can before it consumes her, and if that means sitting on the sidelines and enduring sights like the one taking place in the car before him, so be it.

He knows it's absurd, but he can't help but feel that Goten had been willing to toss him aside a little too easily for his sister. A girl he really doesn't even know. He wonders what part of Goten thought that any of this was okay. For Kami's sake- the night before Bulla's arrival, as he was locking lips with a girl in the backseat of a company car, his buddy had shamelessly been pumping his meat into some slu*t's willing mouth. How was he supposed to accept his friend pursing his sister when he knew the kind of nasty sh*t that got him off? The thought of watching his friend play the part of his sister's loyal, doting boyfriend was revolting. Yet, as much as he doesn't want his best friend near her, he much less prefers the idea of her in the hands of the kind of guy whose idea of a good time might end in accidental man slaughter.

It's nauseating to see his best friend running his fingers through his sister's hair and looking at her in a way he has absolutely no right to. The only reason his father hasn't flown out of the house to wrench Goten's mouth off his little princess is because his ki is currently dancing around with his mothers. Inside the air car they're talking and giggling like a pair of smitten teenagers, and he isn't aware of the anger that had begun to simmer low in his belly until he hears the creak of metal bending beneath his palms.

When Goten goes in for a kiss, suddenly the world is sideways, leaving Trunks to wonder if the profound ache in his chest is really just his heart breaking. In that moment, he hates them both. When Bulla pulls away from the kiss, Trunk's is disgruntled to note the little pleased smile she wears until she is out of sight. Once Bulla is inside, Goten drives away onto dark road leading back into West City.

That is his cue to fly off in the vehicle's direction.

Trunks had been keeping his energy low enough those capable of sensing it might brush it off as belonging to a stray animal. He times his landing perfectly. When the air car is already speeding a good distance away from his home, he touches down a few feet before the moving vehicle and simultaneously reveals his ki. Through the windshield he see's Goten's smug expression falter as he slams on the brakes, narrowly avoiding totaling his car as he swerves around him.

"What the hell was that, Trunks?" Goten shouts, jumping out of the car, staring at him with wild eyes.

"Come on, you have to admit I got you good," Trunks chuckles. He'd waited until revealing himself to Goten to dig out the pack of smokes in his pant pocket. "Consider yourself lucky. Originally, if you were that distracted my plan involved more of a rollover type situation."

The lack of humor in Trunks' voice is the reason Goten chooses to stay silent. With his arms crossed against his chest, the youngest Son leans against the passenger's side, observing Trunks bring a cigarette to his lips. It's a bad sign to see Trunks smoking. The lavender-haired half saiyan only brings out those black, sickly sweet cigarettes for two reasons: when he's drinking or when his mood is sour- and right now Goten strongly suspects it is the latter.

After not seeing Bulla for years, Goten is now mortified to realize he'd been so caught up in her spell, that other than a few irritated comments, Trunk's had never directly given him permission to date the blue haired heiress. He really hadn't thought anything of it, up until this moment in which he realizes with horrific embarrassment how foolish he had been. Goten knows the exact moment Trunks catches her scent in the summer breeze because when his nose scrunches up, he breaks eye contact and looks away in disgust.

He'd been a complete punk.

"At least you had the self control not to sleep with her," Trunks scoffs, lighting the cigarette with a tiny flare of ki hovering on the tip of his finger. "I really applaud you for having the will power not to stick your dick in my little sister. I can smell how badly you wanted to."

"It's not like that," Goten replies defensively, waving his arms as though in surrender. "I need you to know it's not like that"

"Then, how about you tell me what it's like?" Trunks is dangerously calm, but the energy he is radiating is anything but.

Trunks walks over to where Goten is standing, taking a small pleasure in the way the youngest Son tenses nervously as he props himself against the car beside him. He was careful to stand in the opposite direction of the breeze, so he wouldn't be subjected to the repulsive scent of Goten and Bulla's mixed arousal, and lose sight of his reason for following Goten.

"It's like…," Goten starts, furrowing his brows in concentration, trying to find the words that won't result in him being pummeled into the ground. "It's like she's the kind of girl guys spend their whole lives looking for. I know she's too good for me- you don't even need to say it. I kind of wish she wasn't your sister, but then she wouldn't be who she is. It's so easy to talk to her. You know all our crazy family stuff has always been a big issue with all our past relationships. It usually always ended up being too weird for them, but for Bulla it isn't. Because she's a part of it, it's not like I have to worry about how she'd react to me being part alien, because so is she. I wouldn't have to worry about a big secret like that, because it's her secret too."

"So, if there are no secrets- does that mean you're going to come clean? Let her know that before this week she wasn't even a thought in your head? Are you going to tell her the night before she got here- while she was flying home and probably daydreaming about seeing you again, you were balls deep inside of your ex's best friend?"

He's just messing with him, but it's still nice to see he's got Goten sweating. Even though the youngest Son has a good heart, he's always had a short attention span when it came to women. Trunks can't help but wonder which will break first: Goten's attempt at monogamy, or the façade Bulla is obviously using to entrap him.

"Come on, man. Don't be like that. You know that didn't mean anything. We were just having fun," Goten reasoned lamely.

"I always hoped my sister would do better, and not wind up with assholes like us."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Goten turns his head sharply to look at Trunks and has the audacity to look affronted. "All those girls we slept with were just looking to have a fun time. We never hurt anyone, so I don't know what you're trying to get at. I'm a good guy, Trunks. So are you."

Trunks' face goes white and he turns to his friend with a sickened expression. "Good guys? Goten, we've fused just to f*ck the same girl. In what world do you think that's anything a good guy would do?" Trunks shakes his head and says dryly, "Sorry to break it to you, buddy, but we aren't good guys. I mean just look at us- we're old as sh*t, and between the two of us have only had three serious relationships," Trunks said around the cigarette between his lips. He waved his hand in front of Goten's face and lifted a finger. "Oh, and even though Bulla is really just a baby compared to us, let's face it we've had younger," Trunks continued as he lifted another finger and then another as he continued listing all the reasons Goten had no business anywhere near his sister.

"It won't be like that with her," Goten stated again, only this time with less conviction once Trunks had finished verbally eviscerating his character.

"You're damned right it won't be like that with her," Trunks scoffed. He allowed himself to slide down the side of the car, and took a seat on the warm asphalt. "You know, for the past few days my dad's really been itching to tell you how he feels about all this."

"I bet he's just thrilled," Goten deadpanned. The thought of Vegeta feeling invoked a nervous churning in his stomach. It had been hard to listen to Trunks bare all his faults so callously, and by the end he wasn't too pleased with the image of himself Trunks had painted.

"He's just as thrilled as I am," Trunks admits with a wry smile. Even though Vegeta hasn't said it outright, Trunks knows that his father's acceptance of Goten as a potential partner for Bulla also stems from a need to protect her. "You're really going to have to watch yourself with him, you know? If he ever catches you having some fun on the side, he really will kill you. Then we'd have to wish you back again."

"I already told you, it won't be like that with her!" Goten snapped. He understood where Trunk's was coming from, but he was getting tired of having his character dragged through the mud. He'd never really had to practice self-control when it came to women, but he was sure he was capable of it. He wasn't a total animal.

"Just so you know, if it comes down to it- I will always choose Bulla over you," Trunks said, finally turning to look at Goten. "Are you willing to risk that? Is she really worth more than our friendship, man? Think about it- you don't even really know her."

Trunks doesn't think Goten would still want her if he did.

For a selfish moment, he wants to tell Goten about how he found her that afternoon; with fresh bruises blooming on her skin and reeking of sem*n and sweat. He wants Goten to stay far away from her, but deep down he knows in exchange for that he would be offering his sister up to something he doesn't know how to protect her from.

"No, you're right I don't really know her that well yet. But it just feels so right when I'm with her. I can't even describe what it feels like to be around her." Goten raises his arms behind his head and sighs. "When I saw her coming down the stairs that night she came home, it was unreal man. She's a f*cking goddess. I got chills just looking at her. I've never seen such beautiful blue eyes, or such a small girl with such giant ti-"

"Hey! Quit it! I can smell just how you feel thinking about my sister!" Trunks barked, cutting Goten off and gagging at the scent of Goten's excitement.

"I meant a small girl with such a giant heart." Goten blushed, offering his friend a sheepish smile in apology. "She's a good girl, man. She's super nice and smart. She's got all these really great ideas- like using nanotech to repair injured hearts and brains and stuff. I just know she is going to do a lot of good in the world. I think my mom's more infatuated with her than I am." Goten is looking up into the night sky with a big, goofy smile on his face. "She makes me happy, and I think I make her happy too."

"This is all so f*cked," Trunks sighs, dropping cigarette onto the ground once it begins to burn into the filter. Trunks brings another cigarette to his lips, lighting it in the same way as the first. He knows that no matter what happens, he will never see his sister the same way again. He knows every time he sees her, he will always remember her the way she was that afternoon.

Goten eyes his friend warily. Trunks is silently seething beside him, warming the air around him with the irritated surge of his ki. When his friend brings the cigarette to his mouth, Goten notices the slight trembling of his fingers. He agrees with most of the things Trunks said, but also knows if he lets Bulla slip away without a fight, he would regret it till the day he dies.

Trunks is brought out of consuming thoughts of battered little sisters and lecherous best friends when Goten nervously chuckles beside him. "I think I'm in love with her."

Remembering the scattering of hickeys and bruises on his sister's skin and stench of dried sem*n souring the air, Trunks throws his head back and laughs.

That one kiss under the moonlight had sealed the deal. Bulla Briefs was in her fist official relationship. As the summer days lazily passed, Bulla had easily slipped into the role of a young girl swept up in the throes of young love.

Her days spent reviewing surgical material and lounging under the summer sun with her boyfriend had been so pleasantly unremarkable. But as the days bled into each other, the secret she had struggled so hard to smother slowly began edging its way back into existence.

It made its presence known in the most subtle ways, and always happening whenever she least expect it. Sometimes, all it took was something as innocuous as the wind rustling the leaves outside her bedroom window and she was forced to remember that night on Mount Paozu. Even though she would still catch fragments of his father's dark grin in the sweet smiles he gave her, Goten proved to be her anchor. When he was around, his sweet kisses and encouraging words were enough to keep her present.

It was on days like these- lazy weekends in which she finds herself lying on the sofa beside Goten in a tangle of limbs, that she gets a taste of that life she had been chasing. She knows the amount of emotional dependency she is attaching to the youngest Son is unhealthy, but when whispers of the Super Saiyan God begin to bleed into her waking hours, she can hardly find the will to care. When she closes her eyes, at times Goku's presence is so strong it's practically corporeal, and on those restless nights she swears she can still feel the steady thrum of his energy hot against her skin. In her weakest moments, she uselessly wishes to have never experienced his raw energy lapping at her synapses so entirely. After having experienced such an otherworldly level of intimacy, how could anyone adjust to a life so completely absent of it?

She knows no good will come from dwelling on it, but sometimes when she is alone the heaviness in her heart is enough to make her physically ill. Her frazzled nerves keeps her stomach in knots, and the constant ache beneath her eyes is evidence of the hours of sleep she has lost to a memory. It isn't until the world begins to take on a strange haze and an unfamiliar apathy begins to bloom, that she comes to the realization that nothing will ever be the same again. She knows that it wouldn't matter if she spent an entire lifetime searching, no one would ever come close to making her feel as glorious and complete as he had on that night, beneath the soft glow of twin moons. He was the burst of a supernova beneath her skin. When she surrendered herself to him she was overcome the warmth of his tremendous energy, and within it she understood his unspoken promise to keep her close and safe- eternally.

But what did that mean? It wasn't love, or anything so sentimental. She'd like to think if he were to approach her now at this very moment, this new maybe-love would be enough for her to deny him.

It feels wrong to fake her happiness when everything is falling into place so nicely, but the weariness is bone deep and with each passing day it becomes a little bit harder to play the roles expected of her. Trunk is smart. He knows how to read people, and because he had already seen too much that she is worried that if he keeps looking, eventually he will find things that were better off in the dark. When she catches her brother's worried glances, she tries smiling a little brighter just for him. Perhaps one day she will be stronger than this weariness, but that day is not today; so she pushes through, greedily taking happiness and comfort where she can.

And it's so easy to soak up that happiness when he's around.

Especially now in the security of his embrace, with his arm thrown over her hip and his warm breath fanning the back of her head she can imagine that this is where she was always meant to be. She knows it's all a lie. Eventually, this illusion of summer love will crumble, but when she's with him she lets herself pretend she is a person worthy of this kind of happiness. Under the guise of cuddling, she finds herself falling asleep against him more and more often. In his arms sleep comes easy, and she dreams that that they can spend a lifetime together under the sun, happy and in love.

He always seems to sense when she wakes, because soon his light snoring stops and she feels his lips against her neck.

"Feeling better?"

His words are ticklish against her skin, and when he squeezes his arms around her to bring her flush against him she smiles. She makes a satisfied hum in response and stretches, arching her back and briefly pressing against a part of him that causes him to take in a sharp breath. She enjoys the innocent thrill of teasing him. Even when he looks upon her in lust, she sense there is tenderness beneath it. She wiggles out of his grasp and rolls onto her back so that she can smile up at him.

"From the looks of your face, that's something I should really be asking you," Bulla says softly while trailing gentle fingers against the purpling flesh beneath his left eye.

"Me?" With a laugh, Goten brushes off her concern and smiles down at her as though one of his eyes wasn't nearly swollen shut. "It's not like this is the first time a girl's dad has been out for my blood. I will admit though, it's been the first time one of them's been strong enough to hand me my own ass, though."

"Just watch, because I'm half Saiyan your mom's going to think it's me beating you black and blue. And if it comes down to it, I'm pretty sure the Ox Princess would demolish me," Bulla sighs, lifting herself up high enough to place a consoling peck on the unmarred side of his face. "I can't believe daddy did that to you."

"For being allowed to do this-," Goten wiggles his brows mischievously, and busted lip be damned, brings his lips down on hers for a quick kiss, "- I think I got the sweet end of the deal."

"Getting beaten on the daily in exchange for a few kisses doesn't sound like a sweet deal to me. It sounds awful."

"If you're exchanging kisses for a few bruises, you've got me trembling in anticipation for my payout when Vegeta finally breaks a few of my ribs." His tone is playful, but there is a heaviness in his gaze.

"He would never!" Bulla scoffs, knowing very well that from her father's current level of agitation regarding her relationship with Goten, he was itching to break more than a few ribs.

"Yeah, right." Goten shoots her a disbelieving look, and when he rolls onto his back he pulls her along with him so that she is propped against him with her small hands pressed against his chest. When he pulls his gaze away from her and looks up at the ceiling the laughter dims in his eyes. "I'm just grateful to still be alive after training with your dad these past few weeks. Vegeta's not wrong though. I mean- I guess his hearts in the right place."

"What do you mean?"

"He's right about me not being as strong as I could be, and the only reason he's even bothering to train me is because of you," Goten says. Even with his busted lip and black eye, he's still criminally handsome. "You know, Vegeta's never bothered training me before? On the first day he cranked up the G.R. to 150 and told me to come at him with everything I had, and let me tell you he was not impressed."

"No he was not." Bulla giggles at that. Weeks ago, Goten's face had drained of all color when her father surprised them on their way out, demanding that Goten follow him into his torture chamber.

On that particular evening they had front row passes to what was guaranteed to be a very entertaining and racy music performance, but that night they never made it off the compound. Her mother had kept her company those four hours she spent pacing a trail outside the gravity room until finally on unsteady legs, Goten made his way out the G.R. with a disgusted Vegeta trailing behind him. The sight of him covered in blood was so startling, her medical training instinctively kicked in. When her assessments proved her new boyfriend wasn't about to collapse from a contusion to the head, she turned to her father. Goten doesn't think he will ever forget the fearless way she approached Vegeta. She looked at the Saiyan Prince in a way that Trunks would have never dared to. There was fire in her eyes and before she could make him appear any weaker, Goten grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him and whispered in her ear that this was a good thing. Needless to say, Bulma had watched the whole ordeal in amusem*nt while leaning against the closest wall, nail file in hand.

Goten glances down at the beautiful girl peering up at him. "Man, that day he really let me have it. Yeah, I like fighting, but our dads really take it to the next level."

Bullas stomach flops at the mention of his father, but she swallows her discomfort and discreetly leads the conversation away from the Universe's Hero. "If it makes you feel better, I'll let you know dads' always ragging on Trunks about how disappointed he is that he never took his training more seriously. About how ashamed he is that the son of a Saiyan Prince has less of a warriors spirit than your niece. How if Trunks' spent half as much time training as he did chasing tail yada, yada, yada. Oh, and just so you don't feel too left out, he's gone on rants about your wasted potential plenty of times."

Goten grimaces, not too keen on Vegeta's less than stellar opinion of him, then turns a questioning gaze down at the blue haired girl resting her head on his chest. "Man, Vegeta is such a hard ass. Tell me, how is it that while Trunks spent a good chunk of his childhood running from ki blasts, you spent yours going to ballet and playing with dolls? It never made sense to me that Vegeta would go easy on you just because you're a girl."

"It's not just because I'm a girl," Bulla says with a huff, propping her chin on the backs of her hand.

"Sorry, it's just weird." Goten notices the way his question brought a flush to her cheeks. "Trunks never told me why Vegeta didn't train you."

"I'm glad you didn't ask dad directly. That's actually kind of a sore spot," Bulla admits. She hopes Goten can't sense how uncomfortable this topic makes her. She doesn't want his pity.

"How so?"

"Because dad always hoped I would be the first girl to go super saiyan. He wanted me to be strong, just like the rest of you," Bulla continues, turning her attention to window on the opposite side of the room. She can see the gravity room in the distance with its lights glowing red, and remembers how excited she had been the day she was finally allowed to enter her father's special room.

"Wait," Goten says in disbelief. "Are you telling me your dad actually trained you?"

"For a little while at least," she sighs. "I wanted to make him proud." Once upon a time she believed she was going to soar the skies and fight alongside her father and brother. "All that stuff that came natural to all the other saiyans never happened for me. I was never able to gain awareness of my own ki. Eventually, dad lost his patience and went the tough love route- hoping by cranking up the gravity, I'd eventually channel my own ki enough so that I wasn't pulverized. I'm pretty sure he's still a little guilty about that. It went on for a few weeks, until he finally caved and went looking for answers. We went to The Lookout and the beings that live there tried to figure out what was wrong with me."

"Vegeta tried forcing your ki sense out of you? Then took you to the Lookout?" With how protective Vegeta is of her, what Bulla's telling him seems unreal. "What did Dende and say?"

"I was too little. I don't really remember it all too well." She hasn't thought of that time in her life in years, and now that she is, it isn't the intimidating stare her father would give her when her little body was crushed into the ground, or his angry yells ordering her to pick herself up that stands out the most. What she will remember for the rest of her life was seeing her father speak to those fascinating creatures in funny clothes, and the terrible way his proud expression fell into one of confusion and defeat. "All I know is that they told my dad that no matter how dedicated I was, or how hard I trained, I would never be capable of controlling my own ki. It sounds ridiculous, but they said it was something that always happened of the female descendants on my dad's side."

"And Vegeta just accepted that?"

"Well, what else could he do? It's because of his genetics. My mom wasn't just going to let him disown me," Bulla softly laughs. She doesn't tell him that once they left the Lookout and she was back in her grandmother's arms, her father had disappeared for a very long time in search of a way to fix her.

That ever since that day she's always felt a little bit broken.

"Wow, I can't believe Trunks never let me know about any of that. Any other interesting little secrets you're hiding?" The inquiring look on his face is teasing, but the truthful answer to that question is so profound it would shatter their little world.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Her tone is a playful bite, but his casual mention of hidden secrets creates a terrible rush of memories. For a startling moment, she can feel an echo of her Saiyan warrior's tremendous power running through her body.

In that one second her defenses are down, it is as though she is lying there alone, and she is overwhelmed by the unintended physical response his words elicited. Her body feels like mush and there is a throbbing beneath her eyes that makes her stomach churn. Even though her memories of the years she spent in residency are vague, she remembers often feeling like this.

Her head feels light.

She remembers...

Goten grabs her delicate chin between his thumb and index finger, and tilts her face up to his. "Hey, are you okay?"

A baby crying. Big blue eyes. She remembers...

There is urgency in his voice when he repeats her name. "Bulla. Open your eyes." The concern in his voice steers her back into the present. He holds her tight against him and when he moves them up into a sitting position the blood drains form her head in a dizzying woosh. She takes deep, steady breaths until the nausea subsides and braves a look at the naive man holding her in his arms.

"Bulla what's wrong?" he asks, looking down at her in concern.

"Nothings wrong, I'm fine," She assures him. Inside, she is alarmed that she allowed herself to slip in his presence. She thinks it is the guilt that is making her ill, and knows that if she keeps this up she won't be able to fool anyone for long. The only thing tethering her to reality is this blossoming relationship, and the thought of losing it is frightens her.

When she allows herself to focus only on Goten, the rest of the world fades into the background.

From the earliest hint of sunrise up until the sun had set, the saiyan was subject to a training regimen so intense, some evenings he couldn't find the strength to fly up into his designated quarters. On those days when his body and mind were pushed to the kind of extreme he spent his whole life chasing, after hobbling into the lake and washing away the days blood and sweat (much to the oracle fish's displeasure), he would collapse onto the soft earth. On those nights he was numb to the persistent itch of moon's soft glow against his skin, and would find reprieve in the deep, dreamless sleep only obtained when his body was pushed to the point of unavoidably losing conscious.

As the days became weeks, eventually blurring into each other, the purpose of his training became muddled. The warrior's spirit within him was always yearning for more. The intense training he was being put through had him pushing himself harder than he had in decades, yet he could not determine whether he drove his body to its limit in pursuit of strength, or if his reasons were more cowardly. When his every movement is accompanied by the awful snap of tearing muscle, it was much kinder to imagine it is the pursuit of divine strength inspiring him to push through each agonizing breath; not an irrational need to burn through his ki in the pursuit of dreamless sleep.

Whis kept his promise.

Goku was reaching levels of power so high, he would once again catch glimpses of the energy transcending the physical universe. In those fragmented seconds, he could feel the limitless energy of a quasar's pulsing heart transition into the flow of time, and despite being so quiet he would question if it had been there at all, he would hear the echo of her touch softly strumming against the threads of eternity. It had was haunting and beautiful all at once. In that magnificent surge of energy, he would hear the universe's beguiling promise of immaculate strength.

He tells himself that he will find a way to regain the skill he lost. He just needs time.

He was so immersed in his training; he could go days without thinking of his loved ones back on Earth. But in moments like these, when he is allowed to breathe-he feels everything and nothing all at once.

A few hours earlier, Whis had left for his monthly appointment on Earth, and in the angel's absence he could no longer pretend everything was as it always was. For a while the Oracle fish indulged him, but eventually the rippling surface of the lake shrunk until it all fit within a porcelain tub. Sensing the Saiyan's loss of interest, the fish swam away leaving Goku to become reacquainted with the panic he'd felt that awful night as the haze of pleasure lifted and transitioned into crippling shame.

Now, he is sitting by a lake at the edge of the universe, with its cold water lapping at his bare feet. Even with a billion light years between them, hidden away within a god's planet, he is not far enough to escape the pestilence of what had become his most beautiful and vile memories. He tries to ground himself by focusing on the energy all around him, but it not enough to stop the way she easily slips into his mind. Beneath the powerful thrum of slumbering energy coming from the tower high above him, he can sense her presence, and it is every bit as loud and demanding as he remembers. The lake before him is gone, and in its place is a familiar porcelain bathtub.

He knows none of this is real, but he is caught off guard by the barrage of dreamlike recollections and is lost in the twisted pantomime his most shameful and beautiful memory.

That night, once he regained control of his senses he had been horrified to realize the body pressed against him was slumped over. He had no idea what to do with the sleeping girl, and in that moment to his panic fueled mind all he knew was that he had to get rid of her. The easiest thing would have been to locate her vehicle within the forest and lay her sleeping body beside it. If he had done that, he wonders if there would have been fewer memories to haunt him.

She would've been safe within the mountains, but when he noticed the pathetic remains of her costume and the purpling hues of his touch upon her pale skin, it no longer seemed like the right thing to do. Not only would it have been wrong to leave her like that, but the risk of his son catching her scent in the morning breeze and stumbling upon her was too high.

So he took her home.

Without him realizing it, he is now kneeling beside the tub and beneath the stench of all the bath oils he dumped into the water, the smell of their sex still lingers. He knows this isn't real- that he is caught in a memory; yet, within the radiant flurry of ethereal energy unique to the creatures living between two dimensions, he senses the slumbering ki of her father and brother. Even though now he has no need to, he cannot help lowering his energy till it is the same tiny sputter it was on that night.

With her begging for it harder, it had been easy to be careless and lose control, but under the crisp artificial light, the bruising on her skin was startling. He had wondered how he could hurt someone so powerless, and at the same time his beast snapped to remind him of how she had enjoyed every moment of it. Her blue hair was a dark curtain floating above the water, and with her head lolling backwards off the tubs edge, her bruised neck was arched in such a way his attention was drawn down to the cresting of her full pink nipples against the surface of the dirty water. Even with a sharp panic wiggling beneath his skin, it is with a peculiar cruelty he feels himself harden at the ghost of her memory.

In dreams he is forced to revisit these memories, so when he notices the subtle twitching of her eyelids he braces himself. Even though he knows what will happen next, his heart still begins to race when she opens her eyes to drown him within their depths. Her eyes shimmer like sapphires against the black smudge of her ruined makeup, and when her memory speaks it is a whisper. "Goku, are you really here right now- with me? Am I dreaming?" There is a light smear of crimson lipstick outlining the wobbly smile she gives him, and he can't help but wish he had felt her mouth on him. "No, I'm not dreaming. This has to be real."

Just as he didn't then, he doesn't trust himself to speak. Even with her father and brother's ki looming over them and the heavy guilt in his heart, he had still been utterly captivated by her. He watches in awe as she reaches forward with her small pale hand and gently cradles his cheek.

"How else would I know that when you're inside me, it feels magnificent, perfect- like a star exploding beneath my skin- like I could be happy forever." Her touch is a memory that tingles upon his cheek. She is giving him a look that no one has ever given him before- as though she accepts him for all that he is, darkness and all. "I remember everything. Did you feel it too? "

This time around, he still cannot seem to find his voice, but instead of answering the way he had within the walls of her bathroom, he remains frozen. Her memory doesn't care that he's deviated from the script because she doesn't miss a beat.

"I really hope you like me Son Goku. I don't know why, but I think I like you more than I've ever liked anything before. When you're near me, it feels like sunshine and happiness beneath my skin." With her palm still gently cradled against his cheek, she sits forward bringing her face so close to him he can't help but shiver when he remembers the soft caress of her breath. "I didn't know it was possible to feel so much."

In that moment, within the walls of her bathroom he had felt the pathetic twist of his heart as he realized it had been a very long time since he'd felt such a connection from anything other than fighting. His quest for power had shown him too much of the universe, and though he cares deeply for his loved ones back on earth, sometimes he can't help but feel as though without even realizing it, he has become a distant observer.

"I think tomorrow you're going to hate me, but that's okay. Because, at least you'll be thinking of me. I hope you think of me so much, you feel like you're going crazy," she said with a dreamy sigh. "That's only fair, I think."

He isn't sleeping, but as he sits here on the ground of a destroyer's planet, lost in a memory- time skips in that funny way dreams sometimes do. Now she is wrapped up in a towel and he is sitting on the ground with her in his arms. She is looking up at him and even though sleepiness has dimmed their shine, the blue of her eyes still takes his breath away; and when she speaks, the words that tumble off her heavy tongue still make his heart ache.

"With all those universes out there, do you think there's one where its okay for us to make each other happy? That right now, somewhere else there's a version of you holding a better version of me, and when they kiss and make love, it isn't dirty?"

In those early morning hours days ago, a slight shift in Vegeta's energy had caught his attention, leaving him unable to appreciate her words. Not having given the saiyan prince a chance to rouse any further, Goku had placed the sleeping princess on the plush bath rug and reappeared near a little village on the outskirts of Mount Pazou.

Now he is alone with no interruptions, and those words strike a chord within him, unearthing the old fancies that used to make his young heart beat a little faster.

He's taken back to those confusing years when the understanding of his saiyan heritage is at its infancy, and his newfound ability to travel across galaxies induces a strong sense of wanderlust that infuriates his young wife. The war between being a good human husband and wanting to appease the bloodlust that would never truly vanish had been at its peak back then. Kami, he loved his wife for all her strength and respected her even more for doing what he couldn't, but that wasn't enough to stop his young, conflicted mind from wondering how much different life would have been if he hadn't been so naïve. This is the first time he allows himself to indulge in Bulla's words. The image they bring to mind are practically identical to the ones he entertained when he realized a little too late, that perhaps what he felt for his blue haired friend might be a little bit different than friendship. His mind is quick to recreate that secret place with disgusting ease, and the blue haired girl from many decades ago is still waiting for him just as pristine and dazzling as ever. Only now her features are brighter, the curves of her figure so much more generous, and most importantly- now his soul understands the burden of her pleasure. In that place it isn't hard for him to imagine them laughing as they run through the crowded streets of some alien market, or her moaning as he takes her roughly on the purple beaches of Yardrat.

He wonders if this is the universe's way of offering him a second chance.

His thoughts do not get to linger in that dangerous place for long. From the fringes of the universe a divine ki rapidly approaches, drawing his attention back to the present. That minute it takes before the tall angel is descending from the dreamy tangerine sky is not enough time for Goku to fully compose himself, and from the look the angel directs at him, Goku has a feeling Whis can tell.

"That took you long enough." Goku jumps to his feet, giving Whis his best smile. "It was so boring- I was practically losing my mind waiting for you. Are we gonna' keep training?"

The tense edge in Goku's enthusiasm makes the angel sigh in exasperation. "Honestly, Goku with you like this, it would be completely pointless to continue training."

"Huh?" Goku gawks, waving his hands in alarm. "What do you mean useless? I'm getting stronger, aren't I?"

"It isn't strength you lack," Whis says. "It is simply your ability to tap into ultra instinct that alludes you."

"Yeah, I know, but that's why I'm here right?" Goku asks fiercely. The thought of not being able to continue training ignites a sharp panic. "I know I can do this, Whis. I promise I'll try harder."

"Oh, I do love your enthusiasm!" Whis exclaims with a light chortle as he vanished his staff. The deity's features soften and he is once again wearing that neutral smile Goku is familiar with. "I knew better, but I truly hoped that you would once again prove capable of surprising me, and sort all this out on your own."

"Sorry, Whis. It just doesn't seem to matter how much effort I put into it, for some reason there's just this block there. I can't reach it." During the many weeks Goku has been training on the destroyer's planet, it is a great mercy that the angel has not brought up any uncomfortable topics, but the saiyan has a feeling that this conversation is delving in that direction.

"Since your battle with Moro, you've been able to utilize basic instinct at will, so I know you are aware of how important a calm heart is to maintain and achieve these higher states of power."

"Yeah, I know all that, and I'm really trying, you know? Any chance there's a trick you haven't shown me that might help?" There's always an uncomfortable squirming in his chest whenever she's brought up. Though his approach to life is simple, he isn't stupid-he knows when the root to his heart's imbalance begins.

Whis ignores the saiyan's discomfort and maintains that indifferent smile. "As important as it is for your physical body to have the endurance required to maintain ultra instinct, it is no use attempting to utilize this skill when you are wrought with so much internal conflict. There is simply no point."

"Don't tell me that! What does my internal conflict have to do with anything? I never wanted this to happen in the first place, and now I'm being punished for it!?" The steady simmer of rage has replaced that uncomfortable squirm in his chest. These past few decades, after approaching life with a steady indifference, he is once again learning how to feel.

"Goku, I'd advise you to calm yourself," Whis said with a light huff, though his voice is neutral and his posture relaxed. "All I'm trying to do is simply tell you that whatever it is that is troubling you is wreaking havoc on your ability to appropriately channel your energy. Why, I'd have imagined a stronger awareness in your saiyan instincts would have resulted a stronger drive to increase your strength and fighting skills, thus utilizing your time here. All you seem to be doing is using this exceptional training as a means of avoiding your true nature. I am not saying that I will not assist you, because I most definitely will." The angel looks up at the tangerine sky and sighs. " You see, I will be northbound on my next visit to Earth to try some northern delicacies, so it is in both of our interests to come to a solution."

"So you're saying, even though I'm at a roadblock here, you're going to be able to help me? That you know how to fix this?" Goku asks hopefully, that edge of tension slightly fading.

"I will do my best to help, you," Whis offers, and even though he doesn't say 'because I want to keep eating Earth delicacies,' the implication is loud and clear. The angel keeps his peculiar gaze on him with that secret smile never leaving his lips. "But you need not fret, Goku. It even takes the angels millions of years to completely master using the energy of the divine. In your case, after spending a lifetime surrounded by humans, I'm certain the process of losing one's humanity will be lengthy."

"Losing one's humanity?" Goku gasps, suddenly looking as every bit appalled as felt on the inside. "I don't like the sound of that. I mean, my humanity is the reason I'm here right now. I want to protect the people I love. Protect my home. They are the reason I fight."

"Your humanity is not the reason you fight," Whis scoffs. "But it is the reason you cannot push forward. You are not even human, yet you keep clinging to this. I know you will persevere and achieve insurmountable strength regardless of how you handle this, but I must be frank- you will never completely master ultra instinct if you do not find acceptance. You were destined to soar the heavens, please do not let something so trivial keep you on the ground."

Goku has never been a coward, but he can't stop from feeling unbalanced by everything Whis is telling him. He is confused, angry, and frightened all at once. He really doesn't understand what it is that Whis is trying to tell him, and in all honestly remembering his night with the blue haired princess took a lot out of him.

"I'm a good person," Goku said, hating the way his uncertainty is given away by the waver in his voice. "I know I'm not human, but I won't ever lose what it is that makes me who I am. I refuse to become like that!"

"To gain the kind of strength you seek, you must accept all that you are- your true self and that true-self is no human; you cannot lose it, or exist in denial of your true nature. You must be at peace with yourself and the universe. That is the only way to unlock the secrets of the divine. You must accept what you are, saiyan." His polite smile widens just a little, and Goku is unnerved by the look in the angel's eyes. "This will take time, Goku. As I said, even amongst the immortals, achieving this state is a difficult process. Even with eons of training, not even Lord Beerus has been able to accomplish this. Do not fret, I have faith that with time you will regain what you have lost. And you will have lots of time."

The angel has already turned away and the Saiyan obediently follows him as he heads in the direction of the grass field. They have been flying silently at a leisurely pace and though Goku's expression is calm, inside he is writhing. The last thing she asked him is swarming in his head in unwelcome little echoes, and he knows the angel flying ahead of him would be the best one to ask.

"Hey, Whis?" The angel already knows so much about everything, and even though Goku is sure Whis has the answer, he still asks with trepidation. If the angel said yes, he doesn't want to imagine what it would mean to him. "I know this is kind of a weird thing to ask, but do you think there's an alternate dimension, or a universe or something, where Bulla and I are happy together? And everyone else is too?"

The angel doesn't slow his pace, but his eyes shine with a glint of some emotion Goku can't identify. "I'm sorry, Goku, that's actually quite impossible. You must understand her existence is a singularity unique to this dimension and universe alone. In any universe or dimension where you are present, there exists no other female similar to her in any, way, shape, or form. And I'm certain you understand why."

Goku understands, but he really wishes he didn't.

She is currently laying sprawled in the center of the living area, with bloated textbooks arranged into haphazard little piles around her. The text Surgery: Basic Science & Clinical Evidence is cracked open down the middle with her face quite literally buried beneath it. She could only make it through a few pages before her eyes had grown heavy, and her body began to sink away into the obscenely plush rug on which she was laying.

The heavy slam of the front door isn't enough to rouse her.

It isn't until she feels the cool pages of the text book being lifted off her face that her eyes pop open and she is suddenly presented with the unexpected, upskirt view of a very unamused blonde. She shifts her gaze from the daunting stack of index cards in Marron's pristinely manicured hands to the framed poster hanging on the wall behind her head.

"You think I have what it takes to do that instead?" Bulla groans pointing her chin towards the poster on the wall.

Marron takes one look at the picture behind her and scoffs. Perched right beside a framed magazine cover on which her grandfather is reviving some award for an amazing scientific breakthrough, is one of his wife with her arms strategically covering what was awaiting within the magazine's glossy pages. Bunny Briefs: blonde bombshell extraordinaire, was sitting in the rim of a martini glass with her feet in the air, wearing only the shiny stilettos on her feet and a million dollar smile.

"Fat chance of that happening when you look like hell warmed over. I bet you couldn't even get your horny boyfriend wouldn't touch you with his ten foot pole."

There's a choking noise coming from the direction of the kitchen, and she knows it's moments like these her father wishes his hearing was more selective. Even though Marron's tone is teasing, the way she is looking at her is anything but.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, sorry I didn't realize the despair on my face was so transparent." Marron kicks aside a tower of books and makes herself comfortable on the rug besides Bulla. "It's just the thought of you not making the cut when we start our residency because someone's butthole fell out when you decided to stitch them up lockstitch style when purse string sutures were clinically indicated."

"Hey, I'll hit the books later. I just haven't been f-" Bulla is cut off by Marron pressing a hand against her mouth. With her free hand, she gives Bulla the universal shush gesture.

"Lucky for you, I'm an excellent friend and study partner. I think a cram session is in order!" Marron exclaims, grabbing a random text from the pile before her. "Let's get started! Surgical Procedures for Disorders of the Female Reproductive System seems like a good place to start."

Bulla shoots the blonde a look that heavily implies her lack of amusem*nt, which she maintains until Marron stops reading. It only takes a few minutes of Marron loudly droning on in detail about uterine prolapsed, and the clinical significance of different types of vagin*l discharge before they notice a shadow pass. The Saiyan Prince absolutely refuses to speed up his steps to avoid the girls in the living area, because that would mean succumbing to a level of weakness too pathetic to even fathom.

"Oh, hi Mr. Vegeta! I didn't know you were down here," Marron chirps with her eyes wide in faux surprise. Vegeta bristles like an angry cat when Marron's attention falls upon him, and Bulla has to bite her lip to stop herself from giggling. "My, my you're looking really good, Mr. Vegeta. I can see you are still taking your physical health very seriously. That's so important for a man you-"

Marron isn't given a chance to finish her sentence before the side door opens and shuts with such force it creates a gust of air so strong the piles of textbooks besides them tumble to the floor.

"That never gets old," Marron laughs, tossing aside the textbook in her hands. Both girls peer out the large glass door Vegeta exit through. As expected, not even a minute later the lights to the gravity room turn on and Marron takes that as her cue to grab a throw pillow off the closest sofa and fling it at Bulla's face.

"You stupid slu*t! How could you!?" The anger in Marron's eyes flickers like a blue flame and even though her tone is low, it is heavy in ire.

Bulla throws it back, only Marron flings it aside and rocks forward on her knees so that she is grabbing onto her friends shoulders and in her face.

"What are you talking about?" Bulla asks, genuinely confused and a little frightened at her friend's sudden change in mood.

"In a few weeks we were supposed to leave here together! We busted our asses to get those residency spots!" Marron is trembling and her voice nearly breaks when she once again asks, "How could you, Bulla?"

"I haven't done anything," Bulla answers, trying to wriggle away from the erratic girl. Marron's nails begin to bite into Bullas arms, but over the blonde girls sudden change in mood, the pain barely registers.

"You haven't done anything!?" Marron growls, finally releasing the blue haired girl. She sits back on her knees and looks upon Bulla with a solemn expression. "After all we've been through, I can't believe you're choosing him over me."

"Wha-," Bulla begins, but Marron doesn't give her a chance to speak.

"The headaches, lethargy, and loss of appetite," Marron says all the while shaking her head in disappointment. "I mean, I didn't ace Maternal Health for nothing. I may not have freaky Super Saiyan smell-o-vision, but I can practically smell those elevated human chorionic gonadotropin levels."

Marron thought Bulla had already known and been keeping it secret, so it is a shock to witness the moment the bleak comprehension falls upon her friend.

Bulla is speechless.

"You didn't know?" Marron's brows are furrowed in concern when she leans forward on her knees, and grabs the other girl's trembling hands in her own. "We both know I never am, but please I'm begging you to prove me wrong . That I'm seeing things that aren't there. Please tell me you've been nun-chaste and you just had your period like last week. That all those symptoms that scream pregnancy are only the result of a gigantic malignant tumor currently making itself at home in your uterus."

Marron so badly wanted her to deny it, but from the far away look in Bulla's eyes and the quivering of her lips, she was willing to guess the truth was going to be difficult to accept.

"I-I don't kn-," Bulla's face is awash in a sickly pallor and even though she is looking at Marron, she is a million miles away. "Th-there's no way. N-not p-possible."

"Not possible, like since you were last on the rag your slu*tty snatch hasn't had any encounters of the penile kind, not possible?" Marron asks hopefully.

"No," Bulla answers, sounding as though the words were sucking the wind out of her.

"Am I wrong?"

"I-I don't know" Bulla whispers, the fear and worry transparent on her face.

It was minutes later, within the bright white walls of Marron's tastefully decorated powder room that Bulla was blindsided by a situation so preposterous, even the appearance of that dreaded second line upon the tiny plastic applicator didn't make it seem any more real. This moment was the punchline, and everything in her life leading up to it felt like the set up to some sick cosmic joke that she failed to find the humor in. How could this have happened? Hadn't she suffered enough?

All the headaches and fatigue- what she had imagined to the physical manifestation of her troubled mind turned out to be something so much worse.

She was sitting on the closed toilet seat, elbows resting on her knees with the plastic stick cradled in her hands. She'd spent her short lifetime perfecting the art of denial and avoidance, so she couldn't help but wonder if the root to all these ugly feelings that kept her mind in tatters

had simply been her psyche's sloppy attempts of avoiding a very painful revelation. What other possible excuse could she give herself for failing to notice the aftermath of her greatest shame and pleasure quickening in her belly? It was laughable that a woman with her education and medical training could have misdiagnosed something so obviously textbook, and to be honest it left her ego feeling a little bruised.

"I guess, now it's official. You're f*cking pregnant."

Bulla was so lost in thought she didn't hear the soft creak of the bathroom door opening, and it wasn't until Marron spoke that she noticed the blonde girl peering down at her. The longer she stared at the positive pregnancy test in her hands, the more real the situation was becoming.

At this moment, in her uterus a cluster of cells was rapidly dividing.

And all of this was happening because she has spread her legs wide for her boyfriend's father; allowing him to make a mess of her c*nt, and contribute half the genetic material necessary to make their shared moment of depravity blood and bone. The consequence for the greatest night of her life was the creation of something that was never meant to exist.

Her thoughts were a flustered, intrusive panic and it was with violent revulsion that she realized it was her boyfriend's stepbrother that she was growing inside her body. A body that she had allowed his father to empty himself into until he was mad with pleasure; a body her boyfriend held with such care and looked at with a tender kind of longing that she did not deserve.

There was no sugarcoating it- life had been created in her moment of perverse selfishness. She had always taken the necessary precautions to prevent something like this from happening. As soon as she'd gotten the itch to get her cherry popped, she took her oral contraceptives religiously, and save for the one, she'd wrapped every dick she'd ever taken for a ride. Hell, she even kept a few morning after pills stashed away in case of emergencies After all the precautionary measures she implemented, it was a slap in the face to become a part of that 0.01% contraceptive failure statistic.

But there was no denying it- she had let this happen.

This evidence of her most secret misdeed, this cluster of cells growing within her was simply her burden to bare for dragging an innocent man to her level. And she had worked so hard to move on with her life; to bury her past and enjoy the simple life and love Goten was so willing to offer.

Only a handful of minutes have passed since Marron's possible diagnosis was confirmed, but she already knew what she had to do. She refused to let this moment consume her. It would be hidden away with all of the other little secrets she would never fully acknowledge. It was with bitter regret she realized how wrong she had been weeks ago, when she had imagined that her night a billion light years away would hold the spot of her life's greatest shame. As it would turn out, the pain resulting from the consequences of that night would cut so much worse. If neurosis truly was the byproduct of avoidance, she truly feared for what would become of her.

"I'm not having this baby," Bulla said with an air of finality as she tossed the pregnancy test into the waste bin beside her. In these past few weeks she'd cried more than she had in her entire life. She was sick of it, but despite her determination she could not prevent one damning tear from trailing down the corner of each eye. "I cannot have this baby."

Her heart broke for the loss of something she never imagined she'd have to give, but Kami forgive her, she couldn't see it happening any other way.

"Aren't you going to tell Goten?" Marron asked, shooting her friend a look of concern.

"It isn't his."

In her mind she sees her arms wrapped around a bundle; a pair of clear blue eyes and a gummy little smile. The sadness that follows feels so terribly familiar.

Chapter 8: Lady Lie

Chapter Text

For one long, uncomfortable minute Marron is speechless.

The question is on the tip of her tongue, but when Bulla looks up at her the profound terror reflected in her eyes is enough to silence her. If those forty-six chromosomes weren't the contribution of the youngest Son, then it really didn't matter whose they were. Marron understood what was at stake if this unexpected surprise was discovered by Bulla's family.

"Don't worry. I promise you, together we're going to get through this." Marron bent forward, grabbing onto her friend's shoulders and met her look of panic with one of firm resolve. "You're my ride or die, babe. We'll fix this."

With a wobbly smile, Bulla nods.

Bulla appreciates that Marron understands the fragility of the situation. Even with the privacy her ki-concealing device provided, it wouldn't matter that she could conceal the steadily growing energy of a fetus- not when her family and boyfriend had senses superior enough to detect not only the most subtle change in heart rate, but also things as intricate as a brewing storm days before human technology ever could. The only reason no one had sensed anything so far was sheer, dumb luck, and she wasn't too keen on seeing how long that would last.

"This isn't a problem. If you want, we can take care of this today," Marron said, tightening her grip against her friend's shoulders to get her attention. "But before we proceed, I need you to look me in the eye and tell me you're absolutely certain this is what you want to do. There's no going back."

"I understand."

"Okay, good. I just have one more question, and I need you to be completely honest." Marron has let go of her friend and is now standing above her with a serious expression. "How far along are you?"

"A little over a month," Bulla admits weakly.

She can see the gears turning in Marron's head, and turns her attention to the bright symmetrical tiled wall. She doesn't want to see that look of morbid understanding on her friend's face when the pieces click. A little over a month ago was when Bulla returned to West City.

Everything after that happens so quickly, but throughout it all Bulla can only think of one thing: Goten.

Last night he had spent the evening with her on the roof of Capsule Corp. She had been seated on the warm concrete between his legs as they watched the sun set. She remembers his heartbeat, strong and steady against her back and how sweetly he smiled and laughed as he told her stories about magical earrings and their family's battles with intergalactic villains.

The tears she is holding back sting her eyes. Goten deserved better than this- better than her.

She sees Marron leaning against the porcelain sink, occasionally stealing glances at her while she talks to someone on the phone in a stern, low voice that is all business. When the room goes silent, Bulla looks up and Marron is standing in front of her. The blonde girl's mouth begins to move, but all Bulla can hear are her thoughts, loud and obtrusive as they rattle around in her head. A manicured hand wraps itself around her wrist, roughly pulling her to her feet and then she is dragged out of the apartment and into into a luxury aircar. Marron is speaking loudly besides her, but as they speed past familiar buildings and drive deeper into West City all she can focus on is steadying her hands enough to light a cigarette. Now there is a burning between her fingers, and when she blinks the cigarette she swears she just lit is burnt all the way to its filter, and the thrash of fast air blowing through the car's open window stings her face.

All too soon, the car pulls into a parking lot. Bulla doesn't know if it's the hormones or the nicotine that has her scrambling out the car door and puking onto the asphalt. With a grimace, she looks up and notices a large white dome shaped building reflecting the sunset off the tall windows that encircle it. It's one of the nicer clinics, catering primarily to the wealthy women of West City. The kind expecting women waddled into, all smiles and crisp, designer maternity wear as they yapped on with other happy soon-to-be mothers; not the kind where women went to get the evidence of a sordid affair scooped out of them. If the parking lot wasn't empty Bulla would have worried about being spotted by someone familiar. It wouldn't matter that they wouldn't know it, but her skin crawled at the thought of running into one of her mother's colleagues, or worse- someone who personally knew her family, with something as sordid as this unexpected pregnancy sitting silently between them.

A car door slams besides her, jarring her back to reality. "Gross." Marron walks over to her, wrinkling her nose in disgust when she passes the mess at Bulla's feet. With a tired smile on her face the blonde takes one of Bulla's hands in hers, giving it an encouraging squeeze before dragging her towards the white building. "Come on, Bulla. Let's get this taken care of. Then we can go back to my place. While you were zoned-out on the toilet I took the liberty of getting our stories straight."

"Oh, yeah?" Bulla asked nervously, her heartbeat increasing with every step towards the clinic. She was relieved that no one but Marron would ever know about this, but at the same time amongst the intrusive panic urging her forward, there was a tiny part of her that objected to this.

"So, because I knew he'd let your brother know, I called Goten up and told him not to bother you this weekend," Marron said, trying to make the situation sound casual. "That I was tired of playing second-fiddle, and planned on stealing you away for a weekend on the beach. That you'd probably call him tomorrow because we were on one of your mom's boats about to lose signal, and that you were already eight margaritas in, passed out topless on the sundeck."

If a loud frenzy of detestable thoughts weren't bouncing around in her head, and the alibi wasn't to cover up that the developing embryo attached to her uterine lining belonged to his stepbrother, Bulla would have been scandalized. The mortification would have been the reason the color drained from her cheeks, not the realization that whatever nearly negligible objections she had to doing this had suddenly twisted in on itself, becoming a new, tangible thought. One that despite being new, felt as old and comforting a favorite, warm blanket on a cold winter night.

It had been one thing to irrationally lust for Son Goku, but this unsettling new compulsion was so jarring she hadn't even noticed how tight Marron's hold on her had become, or that they had stopped walking and were only a few feet away from the entrance to the clinic. For one terrible moment she felt compelled to fall to the ground and scream for her saiyan warrior to come save her. She wanted his powerful presence to burn her inside out; to lay waste to this reality that compared to him, felt so unremarkable and small. For years an awful feeling of displacement has followed her, and though she can't explain it, she just knows if she followed him he would replace it with something indefinable and great. She turned sharply towards the girl beside her, suddenly alarmed that she had been valid in her irrational need to confirm that she hadn't somehow projected her loud, blasphemous thoughts. The look on Marron's face made her blood run cold. The blonde was facing forwards with her delicate features twisted in shock; mouth agape and eyes wide like a frightened animal.

"Marron?" she asked, voice shaky and unsure as she turned to look in the same direction as her friend. With a startled gasp, she recoiled backwards, but with Marron's iron grip on her hand she was unable to put much distance between herself and the alien perched over the front doors on a softly lit sign reading: Women's Wellness Excellence of West City.

He slowly descended towards them, disturbing the grass and loose small rocks around them with the gentle gust of his energy and the wave of panic she had been riding surges.

"What the f*ck is The Guardian of Earth doing here?" Marron quietly hisses besides her.

His feet touch the ground in front of them, and even though his smile is kind and his gaze holds no hostility, a chill runs down her spine when she realizes his attention is solely on her. She's seen him around before at one of her mother's more personal events where other universally high profile guests like him were in attendance, but this is her first time meeting one of her family's special friends on her own.

Him being here frightens her.

"Hello, Miss Briefs," the green man said gently, nodding in her direction and then Marron's. "Hello, Miss Marron." In their surprise, neither girl could form a reply, but it doesn't seem to bother him. "It was quite difficult to find you girls without having a ki signature to follow. However do you do that, Bulla? It's so peculiar, I cannot sense even the slightest flicker of energy about you- and it seems as though you are somehow concealing Miss Marron's as well."

She doesn't tell him about the ki concealing device wrapped snugly around her finger. She doesn't tell him anything at all. It is Marron who speaks first.

With a violent shake of her head, Marron snaps out of her stupor, and addresses the alien before them in a shaky voice. "Were you looking for us? Is everything okay?"

The question brings about a subtle tension to his harsh features, and there is something devastating in the way his polite smile wanes ever so slightly that makes her heart begin to worm its way up her throat.

For a moment, there is a crack in his calm demeanor and she briefly catches her panic reflected in his expression. "Yes, I'm glad to report that overall things here on Earth have been going relatively well. Our universe has been fortunate in having warriors who are not only valiant, but are also amongst the strongest in all the multiverse," he said and then nervously cleared his throat before continuing. "That's actually the reason I came here looking for you, Bulla- to ensure that things continue to go well for our universe. It was only recently that King Kai asked me to search for you. I had wanted to speak with you somewhere more private, but without ki you proved very difficult to track down."

"Whoa! King Kai is looking for you?" Marron gasped, looking over at her friend in astonishment . Before turning her attention back to Dende, Marron not so subtly mouthed 'what the f*ck?' to her equally surprised friend. "What does Bulla have to do with keeping the universe safe? She doesn't even fight."

"Her role in keeping the universe safe has nothing do with fighting," Dende said with a good natured chuckle as he gestured towards the clinic. "She simply cannot be doing this. Forces much greater than I- than even King Kai, are looking forward to your offspring's potential. I found it so strange to learn that that in your father's lineage, if paired appropriately the females are capable of producing offspring with legendary strength."

His words hit her like a sledgehammer. She was shattering, and with each shaky breath she could feel herself crumbling into a million little pieces. She knew why he was here. He knew! And she could tell by the way he was looking at her that his reason for being here was serious. That whatever happened next was going to be one of those moments in life that only take a handful of minutes to irrevocably derail everything.

"Why are you here?" When Bulla finally finds her voice it comes out broken and pleading. She wants the world to swallow her up; to disappear from the scrutiny of these fantastical and primordial brings who knew about her existence only because of her very personal experience with someone more god than man.

"I am here under the orders of King Kai to discourage you from attempting to rid our universe of a saiyan of tremendous power," Dende replied.

"Whoa! Hold up!" Marron exclaimed as she took a step closer towards the Namekian. It seemed as though her curiously has been enough for her to get over her initial shock. "Is this whole pro-life ambush you're doing just because she's practically an endangered species?"

"Wha- no!" he replied abruptly, startling both girls with his momentary change in demeanor. "I'm not here because she's half saiyan. I'm here because she is a female descendent of the saiyan's royal bloodline and the child growing in her belly happens to have been fathered by the strongest mortal in our universe!"

"The strongest mortal in our- Oh, sh*t! sh*t! Tell me you didn't?" Marron gasps. Bulla's sudden positive change in demeanor over the past few weeks suddenly made sense. She remembers comforting her distressed friend after a very confusing run in she had with the older saiyan, and then that same night she had thought her friend had gone to Mount Paozu to crawl into Goten's bed. All her life, her father Krillin had placed Goku on this pedestal. To Marron he had seemed untouchable and golden. "Why didn't you tell me, Bulla?"

"Because I was ashamed!" Bulla cries abruptly. "I couldn't even admit it to myself. I really had meant to find Goten, but I was so drunk, I practically ended up raping him. And then the next day I ended up kissing Goten like I just hadn't f*cked his dad. It's just so screwed up! Every time I think about it, it just kills me."

Marron blinks at her friend's outburst and then offers her comforting smile. "You should have told me. I could've been there for you, so you didn't have to go through this all alone."

"I had-" Bulla is grappling for words, unable to believe she is admitting to the one thing she never imagined she would have to reveal. "I needed to pretend it was just another fantasy, because whenever I allowed myself to believe it was real...I just couldn't. I couldn't, Marron."

And Marron truly understands. With a glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes, she pulls her friend into her arms. "Everything is going to be okay, Bulla."

The Namekian folds his arms across his chest and coughs softly to capture the girl's attention. "Uhm- yes, as you can imagine, because Goku possesses extraordinary strength, and you the perfect combination of saiyan and human genetics, the multiverse is eagerly anticipating the birth of your child. I think you'd be pleased to know, as we speak the Grand Minister's of each universe are squabbling amongst themselves for the chance to be one of the universe's that Goku's heir will train in. Is that not remarkable? "

"The Grand Ministers? Universes?" Bulla asks confused. She pulls away from her friend and faces the namekian. "Dende, this is all just a big mistake."

"I can guarantee you, this is no mistake. This was always destined to be your path."

Bulla is in a state of disbelief, and speaks in a voice as empty as she feels. "What do you mean my path? Dende, I can't do this. I won't. I don't care what the universe wants!"

"Bulla!" Marron gasps as she looks up to the sky horrified that a surge of energy will come down to blast her friend for opposing the gods.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Dende replies simply.

All of this feels too sensational to really be happening, and as though a visit from the Guardian of Earth was not enough, a nasally voice suddenly interrupts the overbearing chaos in her mind. 'Hello, Miss Briefs. It's so nice to finally meet you.'

"Who said that?!" Bulla's eyes widen and she grabs onto Marron for support. For a terrible moment worries that this voice in her head is the first symptom of an inevitable descent into madness.

"No ones said anything." Marron answers and when she sees no change in the namekian's expression she understands. From her father's stories, Marron knows that the kai's are capable of communicating telepathically, and fears that whatever is happening right now is more serious than either could have imagined.

"Oh my Kami! I'm losing my sh*t! I'm hearing voices." Bulla gasped as she erratically fist both her hands into her hair.

With a good natured chuckle, the voice in her head said, 'Oops, silly me! I forget how easily some of you earthlings startle. I'm King Kai and I'm speaking to you telepathically from the other world.'

Bulla looks towards the sky as though expecting to see a celestial being hovering there and when she hears Marron's concerned voice beside her, says, "It's King Kai. He's talking to me from the Other World."

"It seems as though King Kai isn't the only one just joining us." There is a hint of humor in Dende's voice when he looks over his shoulder towards the large glass doors behind him. There is a woman in a white lab coat staring at them with her mouth open in shock. "It would appear as though we have caught the attention of a curious human. She looks troubled." He then turns his attention to Marron. "Perhaps you can help her."

"sh*t. I forgot about Kelly." Marron gasps, and then pats her friend on the back before running towards the startled physician. "I'll be right back, Bulla."

For a few moments her mind is quiet, and when she notices what sounds like an occasional hum of agreement coming from the namekian still casually standing in front of her, she realizes that the kai is now speaking to him. They stay like that for a while- her trembling with her arms wrapped tightly against her chest, and him standing there with an unwavering smile as he listens to the kai speaking in his head. There is pity reflected in his eyes that wasn't there before, and she doesn't' dare to imagine the reason the Guardian of Earth would ever look upon her with such a woeful expression.

With a final nod, Dende concludes his telepathic conversation and points towards the edge of the parking lot, to an empty bench beneath a large tree. Just in case he gets any funny ideas and decides to spirit her away, before she follows him she sneaks a glance over his shoulder to ensure her blonde friend is still watching. For a startling moment she is taken aback by how surreal it is to see him- this alien who watches over the earth, to be standing here beside her while she sits on this very ordinary bench. This is Goku's world, she realizes. This world of gods, magic and wonders she can't even begin to imagine belongs to him. He had shown her just a glimpse of it when he took her galaxies away and gave her a taste of the furious energy running through his veins, and when she once again hears the kai's voice in her head, she realizes that whether she liked it or not, she had now become a part of it.

"King Kai has asked me to return to the Lookout. He is confident that you will make the right choice," Dende said. When she furrowed her brows up at him in confusion, beneath the pity she could see a tell-tale twinkle in his eyes. "It truly was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bulla. I am confident the next time we meet will be under much better circ*mstances."

The Gaurdian of Earth leaves her there sitting alone on this ordinary bench, listening to the disembodied voice of a kai as she watches him disappear into the sunset. King Kai's apologetic tone does little to soften the blow. She can only sit there in a silent stupor as the kai drags her deeper into Goku's world with each devastating word, until she is embedded so deeply she knows she will never find a way out. Eventually Marron takes a seat besides her, watching her in concern until there is a feeble glowing of stars within the city smog and the kai finishes speaking. It is when he thanks her for her selfless actions that everything finally hits her. She crumbles into her friend's arms and cries for the lifetime of hurt she will have no choice but to endure.

Other than the sounds of the city traffic and Bulla's occasional shuddering breaths, the drive back to Marron's apartment was completely silent. When they parked, the blonde girl dragged her through the lobby and into the elevator, snapping at anyone who dared look their way, and once again Bulla found herself inside Marron's apartment. Only now, the familiar walls within Marron's apartment have become stifling, so she slides open the glass door to the balcony and steps out into the cool night air. There is a large wicker sofa pushed up against the railing and Bulla collapses onto it. With her legs curled beneath her, she pulls herself up to her knees and grabs onto the balcony railing before her. She is on the top floor of one of the tallest residential buildings in West City, and when she looks down at the city beneath her in all its loud, splendid glory and breathes in the cool night air, she can't help but think she imagined everything that just took place.

She knows Marron is watching her. In the background she hears Marron's phone chime and when she answers, her voice comes from the direction of the open balcony door. "Oh, don't be jealous. I promise to return your girlfriend to you in one piece." She hears Marron say in a voice of feigned cheerfulness. "She went a little overboard with the tequila, so she's sleeping it off right now. She'll call you tomorrow, yeah?" With her sharp hearing she knows who is on the other line. If she hadn't found herself lacking the energy necessary to cry, the concern she hears in Goten's voice would have brought tears to her eyes.

Once she hangs up, Marron calls out to her. "Hey, let's go inside. You're going to freeze your tit* off out here." From the way the blonde is lurking by the door, it is obvious what she is worried about.

Leaning forward with her chin against the cold railing, Bulla said, "My dad would go to hell."

"W-what?" She hears Marron sputter.

"You're worried I'm going to do something dramatic like jump off," Bulla sighs, turning to look behind her when she feels a dip in the sofa. "If I kill myself, my dad will go to hell."

Marron doesn't respond. She just lays a comforting hand on her friend's back and waits for Bulla to elaborate.

"That's what King Kai told me, anyway." Bulla finds herself struggling for the words and has to take a deep steadying breath before she continues. "He said, if I hurt myself or this baby- then when my dad dies, he would go to hell."

"Bulla, that's ridiculous!" Marron gasps, finally understanding why earlier her friend had been nearly inconsolable. "King Kai can't do that! He can't blackmail you with your father's soul. Isn't it because of Vegeta that we are all even alive today?"

"They're gods, they can do whatever the f*ck they want," Bulla said bitterly. She has to focus on that anger, because is she lets it slip, then all that fear and sadness she is trying so hard to subdue will overwhelm her.

"Turns out my dad wasn't always a nice guy," Bulla gasps, chocking back a sob. Growing up, she knew her father had a difficult life before he found a home on Earth. Her mother had explained his race had been annihilated by a villainous alien named Frieza who then forced her father to carry out his evil deeds. King Kai laid out of her father's sin and when he was done, the tears she cried were for her father and all of the atrocities he had committed without regret. Vegeta had been downright bloodthirsty and evil- he killed for pleasure. As she processed these things she discovers that even after learning about how much blood stained his hands, she hates herself far more than she could ever hate her father. "King Kai said after his planet was destroyed, my dad was enslaved by an intergalactic warlord. He destroyed f*cking planets, killing billions for this monster."

She would be her father's penance.

"But that's not fair to your dad! He didn't have a choice," Marron protested. "And he's done so much good since then. I mean, doesn't King Yemma appreciate a good redemption story?"

This is too much to process: her father's murderous past and burdened soul, this child anticipated by the god's, her unwavering and obsessive desire for her saiyan warrior, and worst of all- what she is doing to his son. She couldn't think about Goten right now. She doesn't want to think about her initial selfish intention of using him to soothe her incessant desires, or about how since that night he flew her away from the city and they shared their first kiss, his father's child had already been a secret growing between them.

She had never meant for all of this to happen.

She glances over her shoulder, suddenly wondering if this girl, this person she holds so dear had always known about all the horrors her father had committed . If this was a secret shared between the older children of the Z-Fighters; something they all agreed she was better off not knowing. With her mind latched on to that thought, she slowly began to feel herself unraveling. Krillen was Goku's best friend after all, and he was so much chattier than her father. Surely, he must have at least said something in jest about how absolutely unhinged her father used to be.

"D-did you know?" Bulla stammers, shooting Marron a wary gaze. "Did you know all that stuff about my dad and not tell me? Did you think I wouldn't be able to handle it? That it would make me hate my own father?"

"No, Bulla! I swear I didn't!" The hurt in Marron's voice makes Bulla regret asking. She had to get a hold of herself. She had to keep it together and focus on the problem at hand. If she wasn't careful, this would end up destroying their families.

"My brother…do you think he knew?" she asks, even though deep down she already knows the answer to her own question. She understands why they might have thought it was better to keep her in the dark, but it still hurts to think her family believed she was possibly too naïve to accept the things her father had done. Everyone had their demons. No one could possibly understand that better than her.

Marron shrugs in reply, but from the look on her face Bulla knows she is thinking the same thing. They both knew her brother always tread a little more carefully around Vegeta. He didn't dare push and prod at their father's buttons like she did.

"If Trunks knew, that means Goten must've known too. Why wouldn't they tell me?" Bulla realizes, feeling betrayed. Like her bother, Goten also seemed to take great care in not invoking her father's ire. This left her wonder if they grew up knowing this awful, ruthless and bloodthirsty version of her father. They probably thought she wasn't saiyan enough to understand, but as the indignation ebbs away she realizes perhaps they were right. It is with agony that Bulla remembers everything King Kai said about the years her father spent in space. She sometimes forgets how incredibly powerful he is. That even when he's half asleep, sitting at the kitchen table in his cashmere bathrobe and drinking coffee directly from the pot, the terrible power of a hundred atomic bombs lies dormant within him.

"I wouldn't have hated him. I don't hate him. I could handle knowing that he," she has to take a deep, steadying breath as images of carnage and cities reduced to cinders assault her. "f*ck- Marron, he killed so many. Billions. He wiped out entire races. How could my dad do that? Kill women and children like some kind of…" she shudders imagining the trail of death and destruction that kind of power would leave in its wake. About how according the kai, to this day her father doesn't regret all the lives he has taken. That he still does not use his incredible strength for the greater good; he fights selfishly for only his family and himself. And while it hurts to know these things, she still loves him as unfailingly and unconditionally as she had with her child's heart. "My daddy isn't a monster."

"No, Bulla, your dad isn't a monster." There is a lull of sympathy in the blonde's voice as she scoots across the sofa to wrap her arms around her friend. "I have done things I'm not proud of, and Kami knows so have you. Your dad isn't any different. The only difference is that when your dad makes mistakes they're just so much bigger, because let's be honest, when you compare him to us- we're nothing. Think about it, if he didn't have a good heart he wouldn't risk his life over and over again to save the planet. All of his sacrifices have to count for something."

"They do. As long as he doesn't act like he used to, when he dies, his soul will eventually make it to the Other World. Only, he won't make it right away," Bulla said, turning her attention back to the city lights sprawled out below her and resting her chin against the cold railing. She imagines her father's soul wailing in agony while her mother's lingers between the Other World and Hell, sorrowfully waiting the thousand years until they can find eternal peace together. It was never even really was a choice; she knows what she has to do. She just hopes that when her father learns the price she paid for his soul's atonement he will forgive her, and that perhaps one day she will even forgive herself. "You know how my mom tied my father's life to hers by wishing that they could grow old together? If I don't do this… when they do die together, my mom will be waiting on my dad for a long time. I know he killed a lot of people, but I really don't give a sh*t. He's my dad."

"Oh, Bulla," Marron sighed, finally understanding where all this was leading to. "I'm so sorry."

"A soul for a soul." There is a dazed, faraway look in her eyes as she takes one hand off the railing, resting it against her flat stomach as she considers her conversation with the kai. She has been very careful to only think about these things separately. If she allows herself to fully realize the devastating connectedness of it all, she truly fears where it would lead her.

Marron is at a loss for words. In their world of wish granting dragons, gods, and physical power capable of planetary devastation, it was the Z Fighters who understood and dealt with these kinds issues.

"He's practically a god himself. I should have known something like this would happen," Bulla scoffs as she tries her hardest to keep her emotions under control. Her mind is still on her father when she begins to wonder what Goku will do if he realizes she is carrying his child, and suddenly the weight of it all comes crashing down upon her. She grips the railing tighter to stop the tremor that has begun in her hands, and takes a gasping breath of the cool night air in hopes of easing the tightness in her chest. "I guess you can't f*ck with the universe's darling and expect it to look the other way?"

"I guess not." Marron hums. "Does he know?"

"No, and King Kai believes telling him right now wouldn't be the smartest thing. In the end it's up to me." The question made a chill down her spine. If she asked, King Kai told her that he could contact Goku and request he come back to Earth. She is being forced to have this child she doesn't want with a man that drives her insane with emotions too primal and explosive to ever be considered love. Nothing about this feels right. She knows this deal was only really offered to create the illusion that she ever had a choice. "You know how self-righteous everyone always says he is. I think if he gets involved, his emotions will just get in the way. You heard Dende- the entire multiverse knows about this. He would just make things worse."

"Kami, this is all so f*cked!" Marron groans in frustration, arching against the back of the sofa and pressing her palms into her eyes.

"Yeah, it is."

There is a bone deep weariness beginning to set in that makes her abandon her perch on the railing. As the shock of it all slowly ebbs away she realizes how cold the air is this high off the ground. She is trembling and too tired to feel or think as she stumbles into the warm apartment. She exchanges one sofa for another and stretches herself out on the soft pink velvet of a pretentious looking camelback sofa. With dry eyes and a somber heart, she thinks of the Son men and the very special place they each hold in her heart, of her family, and the unborn child who will atone one by one for each life her father took.

When she closes her eyes, he visits her in her dreams- and what a sight he makes standing there under the soft glow of two moons, with his bright eyes and radiant smile. They are somewhere beautiful and familiar; a field of soft blue grass as far as the eye can see and against the stars, the clouds alive in crashing waves of purples and blue. When he reaches an arm out to her she feels so deliriously happy. Safe.

"Let's go, Bulla."

She takes his hand and they slip out of the world and into another. Somewhere her life is not built on lies and shame. Somewhere she is happier.

"My parents are expecting us and your boyfriend is expecting a tan."

That is Bulla's only warning before a very bubbly blonde in a bikini top and denim cut off shorts drags her away to a little tropical island. They spend the rest of the weekend lounging on white sand.

Between the chaos of chasing away a perverted turtle hermit and trying to act as normal as possible in front of Marron's very intuitive mother, she is not given a chance to process what has happened, which she suspects had been Marron's intentions all along. They spend their days under the summer sun, wearing skimpy bikinis and drinking lemonade as they flip through surgical notes. She thinks it's sweet of Marron to pretend she's in any shape to begin a grueling residency. The relentless summer sun seems to be exacerbating the fatigue she had spent the last month ignoring, but she relishes in the deep sleep it brings her.

It isn't until the night before they planned on returning to West City that Bulla finally decides how she wants to proceed. When they are under the covers of Marron's childhood bed lying face to face, Bulla whispers her plan into the dark.

He answers the door with a look of surprise on his stupidly handsome face.

"Bulla what are you doing here?" Goten asks, shooting an inquiring look past her shoulder and towards the sleek Capsule Corporation aircraft idling at the edge of the gravel driveway. There is a familiar blonde in the pilot's seat enthusiastically waving at him as the vehicle begins its steady assent up into the grey morning sky, and standing before him is a beautiful girl with eyes so deep and blue she takes his breath away.

I am poison.

The thought weaves around her mind just as acutely as it had the night before, only this time instead of falling into that recurring loop of self-indulgent pity, she laughs. She takes note of the dark colored karategi he is wearing and brings her hands together and bows.

"Sensei Goten, I apologize rudely intruding." When she lifts her head there is a playful smile on her lips and when she steps forward to caress his cheek it is done with practiced sensuality. "Didn't you miss me? It almost seems as though you don't want to see me."

"What?" he sputters. He blames the sudden short circuit of his brain and instantaneous erection on the girl standing at the front door of his family home. Marron had been right. She looked gorgeous with a tan.

"My eyes are up here." Before she lowers the hand still cradling his cheek she wriggles her fingers to get his attention, nails lightly tracing the soft skin of his face.

He blinks slowly, his mind sluggishly considering her words as it tries to process the sight of her. She's only wearing a worn oversized shirt that nearly reaches her knees, but the loose neckline is so low he is met with more cleavage than should be allowed on a Monday morning. When it finally dawns on him that this glorious creature is his girlfriend, he jumps back in embarrassment. "Oh, sh*t! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay. As long as you invite me in for some coffee, I'll forgive the early morning ogling," she giggles again, thinking he wouldn't be apologizing if he knew her real reason for being here. Even with such negative thoughts flitting through her head, she is finding it hard to control the big, syrupy grin on her face. "I missed you so, so much."

"Come on in, Bulla." With a mild flush still on his cheeks, he steps aside so that she can pass through the door. "I wasn't expecting you to disappear like that. It was lonely without you."

"With my brother around, I'm sure you didn't miss me too much. I'm sure he was quick to remind you about all fun you can have in West City after dark- the drinks, the girls," she teased. When she sees the gears start turning in his head she has to bite down on her lip to stop from laughing. She could care less if he accidentally fell dick first into some girl this weekend. She is thankful for the expired Valium Marron gave her- the one the blonde girl had been prescribed years ago before she discovered her own worth. When you're a puddle of happiness sinking into the floor, it's hard to feel sh*tty- even when you're doing something this depraved.

"I don't think that's something you'll ever have to worry about. You're one in a million." Goten said, eyes following her as she walked the short distance to the kitchen. Last Saturday night, he'd gotten kind of drunk, but not enough to be tempted by the girls who came up to him. He meant what he said, compared to the Capsule Corp. heiress, all the other girls seemed to fall flat.

The large kitchen table near the center of the room was empty of any freshly prepared breakfast, confirming that Marron had been correct in knowing that Chi-Chi had left to spend time with her older son in Satan City. She followed the smell of coffee and was delighted to find the old-fashioned silver percolator still half full. She isn't thinking about her boyfriend being tempted by other women as she pours steaming hot coffee into a plain white mug, she's thinking about the family picture she saw hanging by the front door. Of poor, unsuspecting Chi-Chi smiling on obliviously as she-the same vile girl who found nirvana on her husband's co*ck, entraps her youngest son. She is a mess of sluggish neurons, smiling through the agony of her heart slowly breaking as she sloppily seduces her boyfriend. She laughs to herself because all of this is funny in that sad way terrible things can sometimes be; funny that here on Mount Paozu, she will have slept with both the son and father. Funny that when she came here on that hot summer night, drunk and needy it had been the lack of inhibitions that allowed her to act on her crazed passion, and now she has found herself back where she started. Only this time she isn't a mess of yearning desperation- she's pleasantly numb.

Bulla's expression is blank, and even though Goten worries that he's come on too strongly, he just can't seem to stop the words from falling out of his mouth. "I'm not bullsh*tting you. I really did miss you, Bulla," Goten insists, lips pulling into a warm smile.

"Is that right?" she questions, peering at him over her steaming mug as she takes a seat on the long red sofa curved against the wall of the house. She crosses her legs slowly, ignoring the self directed revulsion that runs through her when notices Goten following the slow, deliberate movements of her legs. "If you missed me and I'm so pretty, how come I'm sitting here all alone?"

It's been over a month since he's had any kind of physical intimacy, and with her sitting there looking like something out of his dirtiest fantasies he doesn't need to be told twice. She doesn't see him move. Her responses are so delayed she doesn't even flinch when he phases out, suddenly appearing on the seat besides her.

"I really mean it, Bulla. No other girl has ever come close to you. You're on a league of your own," Goten said, taking the mug of coffee from her hands. She loosened her fingers around the mug and was mesmerized by how careful his hands were against hers. When he looks into her eyes she worries that he will notice that her pupils are blown sky high, and when his phone starts to ring she sighs in relief, thanking her luck.

With an irritated growl he reaches into his pocket to retrieve his phone. The number flashing on the caller ID prompts him to peer at the clock ticking over the fridge, and when he answers it is with a heavy sigh. "Yeah, sorry. Turns out I'm not going to make it this morning. I'll call later to check in. Bye." He places the phone down besides her now forgotten cup of coffee on the windowsill above her, and then leans over her and invades her personal space with a boyish smirk. "Now, where were we?"

Bulla moves forward, so close that when she speaks the feeling of her warm breath causes him to shiver."I think you were telling me about how great I am. I think you used the words one in a million."

"Kami, you're amazing, Bulla. You're like a goddess- just so incredibly sexy. And you're not just beautiful- you're got brains for days," Goten groans. He never imagined this is how he would start his morning. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Bulla laughs as she tries to scoot backwards, but Goten is too fast. He grabs her gently by the back of her neck, his fingers trailing up the base of her skull and into her hair. There is the spark of something innocent and sweet in his gaze, and she feels a pull in her heart when she understands he is looking at her the same way he had the night they shared their first kiss.

"I love you." The words tumble out of his mouth in a quick rush of air, and his eyes go wide once he realizes what he just said.

"You love me?" For a moment, the shock on her expression mirrors his.

His surprised expression softens, and when he looks into her eyes and nods she sees it. She can see this love that he is insensibly gifting her, and it stabs at her heart because she doesn't deserve it. He doesn't truly know her; not really- but, she will take what she can, so she fists her hands into his wild hair and kisses him gently.

Poison. The word is an unwelcome echo in her head as she deepens the kiss and desperately tries pulling the unmovable bulk of his body closer.

He doesn't even notice that she hasn't replied. All he knows is that right now, with her nails scraping against his scalp and her sweet lips on his, all of his senses are on overdrive. To him, there is only one thing that doesn't feel right.

"Take the ring off. I want to feel you."

Her head is light like cotton, and when she finally understands his request, she shivers in terror at the possibility of him sensing the tiny spark of ki growing inside her. She feels a nauseating lurch in her stomach, and if it wasn't for the anxiolytic numbing her nerves she is sure she would have already thrown up all over the mauve colored tile.

Bulla acts fast.

Without breaking the kiss, she uncrosses her legs, carefully bringing each one up onto the couch so that she is kneeling and Goten is no longer leaning over her. With one hand still firmly latched onto his thick hair, she reaches for his free hand and guides it up the hem of her oversized shirt, past the smooth skin of her stomach until he touches a part of her that makes him groan into her mouth. She smiles against his lips. "So tell me how do I feel?"

Since he saw her at her walking down the stairs in that tight nude color dress on the night of her welcome home soirée, he has fantasized about finally being able to touch her like this. His heart is hammering as his fingers skim the undersides of her heavy breasts. Other than a few passionate kisses, this is the farthest she's let him go, and he is mesmerized by the abundance of smooth skin beneath his palm. There is an innocent eagerness behind his kisses and instead of the rough manhandling she is used to, he touches her as though she were something precious.

When the grip of her small hand finds his erection, the fingers he had been skimming against her tender nipples suddenly pinch her. Even though she is used to heavier touches, there is a soreness in her breasts that has his touch hitting that sweet spot between pleasure and pain.

It's only been a month since her last sexual experience (which she is doing her best not to think of), but when she feels that familiar empty aching in her c*nt she blames the drugs and does what feels good. She breaks their kiss and when she drags his hands out from beneath the hem of her shirt his groan of disappointment dies when she surprises him by pulling the worn fabric down of her collar down until her perfect breasts are exposed. Even though to conceal it, in the past few weeks she had seen the pent up sexual tension in the way he carried himself, the way his eyes lingered on her. It was obvious, a month without sex had left this man vulnerable and she had planned on using that to her advantage. Bulla had hoped it would be quick, easy, and done before the her sedative wore off.

Through the pleasant haze of the Valium, she finds herself mesmerized by the way he is looking at her. Yes, there is an undeniable lust burning in his eyes, but it is barely a simmer compared to the tender adoration.

"Bulla. Look at you." His deep voice shatters the heavy silence, and she does not fail to notice the slight tremble of his hands when he gently cups her breasts. "I could die happy with you"

She can see his love, but finds no contentment in it. Instead she feels foolish and finds herself overcome with the need to cover her nakedness.

His hands touch her with a practiced gentleness that she imagines he and her brother must have perfected over the years as they took pleasure with female bodies that would have crumbled under the slightest unrestrained caress. No man has ever touched her like this. He dips his head and lavishes her breasts with feather light kisses, pulling from her a lazy kind of arousal. Men love her breasts. It's usually the first thing they notice about her, and it seems as though Goten is no different. He takes his time worshiping them with his mouth and hands, and when his lips finally find their way back to hers she is appalled to notice that her fingers have somehow slipped beneath the elastic of her panties. The smell of her has him dizzy and the wet sounds of her fingers teasing fingers have him kissing her deeply and groaning into her mouth.

He guides her backwards onto the sofa, and is only when she feels his hardness pressing against the back of her hand, neglected within the coarse fabric of his gi that she pulls her hand out from beneath the damp lace of her panties. She reaches between them, loosening the fabric of his belt and when she wraps her hands around the length of him, hot and slick with his own arousal, he pulls his mouth away from her to gaze down at her with a look of unwelcome uncertainty. There is something in that look that drudges up a memory of a man so similar, for a moment they blur merging into one. It is with gut wrenching clarity that she remembers how in the very woods that surround them, he had looked up at her with the same desperation in his eyes and pleaded, 'Bulla, please don't let me do this.'

If only for a moment, he is brought to his senses when he smells a sharp burst of fear rolling off her body. If she hadn't been idly running her fingers down his length, he would've jumped off her in his panic. He pushes himself up on his forearms to put space between them, and when he looks down at her in concern she feels him begin to soften in her hand.

"We don't have to do it this way. I want to do this right." Goten offers her an apologetic smile followed by a gentle kiss to her forehead. "We should take it slow."

Her mind is still lost in memories of the one night that changed everything, but his words echo through and she finds them so odd. She doesn't like it slow. Everything that is happening is opposite of how it should be. She wants him to f*ck her like he had in that field of blue grass; so rough the pleasure was imbedded with the kind of pain that made her fear for her life. He liked hearing her scream. It made him say the kind of vile things that left her dripping.

When she blinks and sees that it is Goten on top of her, the cry of frustration lodged in her throat emerges in a bubbly laugh. "Why? Don't you want me?"

"Bulla. I can't" He manages through clenched teeth. Kami, she feels so good! He's overstimulated by the way she feels around him. When he was still a teenager, he got the saiyan sex talk from Bulma: always use these!, and a never ending supply of Capsule Corporation produced rubbers tailored embarrassingly to indulge her son's and his philandering lifestyle. He's never been inside a woman without that very thin layer of latex between them.

"It's okay," Bulla lies as she arches her hips, tightening her grip over his nearly flaccid member and teasing it against the dull ache between her legs. He of course, stupidly believes her.

With a groan of defeat, he lowers himself onto his elbows and buries his face into the crook of her neck, his hips beginning to involuntarily into her hand. "I wanted it to be different with you."

"I know." To her this all feels the same and yet different. She does not fail to notice the bittersweet irony in the way she has now forced herself on both Son men, making them find pleasure in their eventual ruin. All it takes is an exaggerated tilt of her hips to feel her sex deliciously stretching around him. "Tell me you love me." She hadn't meant to cry that out, but as he carefully fills her she is overcome by the sense that something is missing. This love he is giving isn't it, but it feels nice all the same. Even with him inside of her, she feels a pang of profound emptiness. She wonders if she will have to learn to live with that terrible little ache and spend a lifetime fruitlessly stuffing it with moments like these.

"f*ck," he grunts, looking down at the beautiful girl who fits so perfectly around him. He truthfully wanted their first time to be different. He had wanted to show her how much she meant to him, but with her so wet and hot around him those thoughts were overcome by the need to have her. "I love you."

There are no fireworks.

She does not feel his energy entwining against hers, raw and addictive- enough to make it feel as though she were melting off her bones in pleasure, yet it is lovely all the same. The girl Goten is f*cking is someone else, and for a long time she had wanted to be that girl. He kisses her deeply as he gently rocks against her, and when she feels that steady rise of pleasure between her legs crescendo, it is enough for her to mercilessly forget the demands of the universe.

"I love you," he cries out, hips stuttering and for a split second as he spills himself inside, she catches a glimpse of the raw power he is capable of. His hips snap against hers so forcefully, the resulting blooming pain it is enough to send her over the edge. She wraps herself around him as she trembles violently, unable to look at him when the face in her mind is so similar to his. Goku. The name dies in her throat, emerging from her mouth as a pained sob as a violent org*sm is wrenched from her.

With a hiss, Goten stuffs himself back into his pants and pulls himself off of the girl gasping beneath him. Even with his lust sated, the sight before him still takes his breath away, but beneath that wonder he feels a pang of regret. Sprawled out against his mother's favorite sofa is this beautiful girl with her legs spread wide open and a dreamy look in her blue eyes. It is an embarassing contrast to his fully clothed state, and it is then he realizes what he has just done. Here on his mother's couch he sloppily f*cked his best friend's sister- Vegeta and Bulma's daughter like the animal everyone accused him of being.

He turns away with a pained grimace. "I'm so sorry, Bulla. I really did want-"

"Thank you," Bulla interrupts, tilting her head in his direction and offering him a funny little smile. "It was perfect."

And she means it.

Everything had been perfect.

In a few months, when this child is born ridiculously powerful, with wild, dark hair and obsidian eyes, looking every bit it's father's child she will be able to believably claim a Son as it's father. Perhaps in another time and place this would have been able to happen, and it would have been pure and true; free of these ugly secrets and compulsions that feel so beyond her control. With a wistful smile, she imagines that this would have been enough.

Bulla misses smoking the most.

Even when the nausea is so bad, digesting anything other than saltines seems almost impossible, she still craves that rush of endorphins after a strong, first drag. She especially misses smoking on days like today, when even despite the sun shining brightly overhead or the soft, persistent lull of the ocean she falls into a bout of melancholy. Sometimes when the need for that heavy taste of menthol on her tongue becomes too much, she likes to imagine what would happen if she impulsively lit a cigarette. She can already hear the loud, jarring voice of King Kai telepathically scolding her. She isn't stupid, she knows they're watching- yet the thought disturbs her less than this listless acceptance she is slowly beginning to find comfort in.

When she wasn't sprawled out on the sandy white beaches in various states of unconsciousness, she would walk along the shore and wonder what her next steps should be. Not even the all mighty dragon could undo this mess. Her only option is to move forward, and initially she had even planned on running far, far away. Her great plan consisted of her callously breaking Goten's heart in the most impersonal way possible- via text, and then biding her time until she was finally able to drop this child into the eager arms of those who wanted it. That would have solved her problems, easy. But of course, nothing is ever easy for her. It happened one unremarkable afternoon as she had been walking along the shore. A small swell of energy fluttered from inside her- it seemed to say 'I'm here!'

It's so terribly hypocritical to admit, but that small jolt of life changed everything.

There is a child growing inside of her. Her child. And even though she may not have wanted this, within that pulse of energy there is no denying where it came from. It shone through all her selfishness and despair, and within its tiny presence she felt an echo of her saiyan warrior. It should have only served to increase her self loathing, but in that moment as she stood beneath the bright sun with the foamy waves lapping at her feet and her palm pressed against her flat abdomen, the future didn't seem so bleak. She accepted a part of her would always be inexplicably drawn to Goku, but in a dark, twisted way her restlessness was appeased to know that he would forever be a part of her. She was a selfish thing. If this was the most she could get, then she would take the pieces of him that were offered- this child, his son, and instead of drown in the despair of her sins, she would use them to carve out her own happiness. What had driven her insane with regret and disgust has slowly begun a transition into something she cannot put into words.

It's no longer just Goku who visits her in the shade of dreams. Some mornings she wakes hearing the echoes of innocent babbles, and in her mind she sees a little thing swaddled in a blanket- a shock of spiky black hair and piercing blue eyes; she remembers the weight of him in her arms and an overflowing love in her heart. A lingering sadness always follows those dreams, and sometimes she has to remind herself that's all they are- dreams.

Bulla has had a lot of time to think. It's been weeks since she slept with Goten.

Weeks since she's analyzed every moment and word that led her here- seated on the small steps of the Kame House, avoiding the first boy who had captured her girlish heart, and doing everything she can to not think of the reason behind her malaise. Marron had promised her parent's that she would stay with them for a few weeks at on Kame Island, and to Master Roshi's delight, Bulla decided to join her. It had been the perfect place to ruminate over everything without the danger of completely losing herself to the hopelessness of the situation. Here on Kame Island, all the things that seemed so overwhelming were easily drowned out by the sounds of sea birds and crashing waves. She kept telling herself just one more day, but between the exhaustion and her troubled heart she couldn't find the will to leave the island and face the life she knew was waiting for her.

Up until a few days ago avoiding Goten wound up being easier than expected, especially when she could attribute their collection of conveniently missed calls to different timezones. As it would turn out, the youngest Son ran a dojo of high acclaim within the martial arts community, and on the same week she slept with him, his work had conveniently dragged him west, to the same city her surgical residency would have taken place. Now that he's back, she could sense an edge of panic to his voice whenever she would feed him a halfhearted excuse for her absence.

Her cellphone rings and without lifting her head she blindly reaches for it on the sandy, wooden steps. Against the glare of the sun, she notices her brother's cheesy grin reflected on the screen. While her father may not have called her directly, she now suspects her brother is only getting involved at his insistence. This is the fifth time Trunks has called her today.

"Here. It looks like you need it."

Bulla looks up to see a pair of cold blue eyes before a chilled glass of fizzy liquid is shoved into her face. It's only been these past few days that her symptoms have become obvious enough that in the place of tropical alcoholic beverages, Eighteen has started offering her ginger ale over ice.

"Thanks," Bulla said as she took the glass. "I'm just feeling a little tired. I forgot how exhausting studying can be."

"Yeah, sure." The stoic blonde offers a noncommittal hum in response and casually props herself against one of the two wooden pillars bordering the entrance to the beach house. "You know I just can't help but find it funny that Bulma and Vegeta- two of the most fierce and prideful individuals I know, would be capable of producing an offspring as cowardly and conflicted as you."

Bulla gasps at the insult and then bristles. "If you feel like I'm intruding, that's all you need to say. I can take a hint."

"That's not necessary. Marron enjoys your company." With a little sardonic quirk of her lips, Eighteen turns her attention to the endless expanse of crystal blue water ahead of them. "And wouldn't that be counterproductive? It's easy to pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist when you're hiding away on a place like this."

"Marron wanted to come here. We have a lot to review before summer is over and this is the perfect place to do it. It's quiet and there are no distractions." Bulla offered lamely.

"Yes, I'm sure that's the reason you've forced your company upon us." With an arched brow, Eighteen spares a glance down at the sickly blue haired girl seated on the wooden steps. "No matter how fast you run, one way or another, our problems usually have a way of catching up to us. Eventually, we all get tired."

Bulla is glad Marron didn't inherit her mother's uncanny ability to read people. She raises the glass to her lips as she considers the older woman's words. "I guess it's a good thing my endurance is pretty solid."

This earns a light chuckle from the android. "That's the spirit."

The screen door swings open behind them and the blue haired girl turns to see Marron's father step out to take his place beside his wife. "Hey, girls."

Eighteen bends down to plant a kiss on her husbands bald head and then wordlessly turns her attention up towards the cloudless sky. It was always a little strange seeing them together; this eternally beautiful blonde femme fatale and the bald, aging, kind hearted love of her life.

"Man, Kame House sure is popular this summer. It's been years since Roshi has had this many people over at once." Krillin shields his eyes and looks in the same direction as his wife. "Is your brother going to be staying too? Because to be honest, I really don't think we have the space...or the food."

"Trunks is coming?!" Bulla shrieks as she jumps to her feet, spilling ginger ale all over herself in the process. From inside Kame House, Marron who had left to wash the sand off before dinner could also be heard voicing her surprise.

Krillin glances at his wife and asks, "Uh… I take it you didn't get a chance to let her know that her brother was on his way?"

"No," Eighteen replied as she pushed away from the wooden beam and walked over to Bulla. With a face devoid of expression, she takes the nearly empty glass from Bulla's hand. "Good thing you have your endurance. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

Krillin watches Eighteen walk into the beach house and when he sees the murderous expression on Bulla's face, nervously chuckles. "Endurance? Wow, are you training now or is that like girl code for something?" When Bulla turns to him red faced and angry, Krillin reflexively flinches. He's seen that same expression on Bulma enough to fear it, and judging from how fast Trunks is flying, Krillin worries the siblings are going to demonstrate how explosive that famous Briefs temper can be.

Whatever Bulla was going to say died on her lips when she is suddenly blinded by a painful spay of sand and saltwater. Kami, she really hated that she wasn't as powerful as all the other saiyans.

"Hey Trunks. Maybe next time-" She was still rubbing the sand out of her eyes when she heard Krillin begin to scold her brother, only to defeatedly sigh. "You know what, I'm going inside. Please just don't break anything."

When she opened her eyes she understood Krillin's hasty retreat. Trunks was standing right in front of her with specks of sand all over his expensive suit and looking every bit their father's son with his arms crossed against his chest and an ugly scowl on his face. Bulla nearly stumbled backwards in fear. The last time she had seen her family was before the world came tumbling down on top of her.

Eighteen was right. She couldn't keep running forever.

She straightens her spine and tries to will the ground to stop moving from beneath her feet. With an equally impressive scowl, she stomps over to her brother and plants her hands on her hips. "Where are your manners? Don't you know it's rude to show up to places uninvited?"

"Don't you know its rude to ignore your family for weeks!" Trunks growls through grit teeth. "Why aren't you answering anyone's calls? Goten is freaking out. Dad's freaking out. It's getting really f*cking annoying."

As he grumbles on, his irritation begins to not so subtly manifest as a gentle gust of heat that warms the already humid air around them. These past few weeks she had been so angry at Trunks for never telling her about the neverending trail of death and destruction that made up their father's past. She liked to think that if she had known, perhaps she would have handled this better, but now that Trunks is here none of that really seems to matter. Bulla wordlessly stares up at her brother and finds herself too weary to continue playing the role of the indignant little sister.

"I'm so sorry." It could be the hormones, or even guilt, but for some reason the sight of her brother is becoming blurry with unshed tears.

As disarming as the apology is, it is not as surprising as what she does next. For a second he forgets that she is pathetically weak and flinches when she lunges into his arms. He peers down in confusion at the small girl pressed against his chest, and cannot seem to remember what he was complaining about.

"I'm sorry," she mumbles , taking a fistful of his shirt in each hand. For weeks she had fooled herself into thinking everything would be fine, but seeing her brother is enough to make the delusion shatter. Nothing would ever be fine again. Just like the rest of the saiyen men, her brother is a wall of muscle, and when he awkwardly wraps his arms around her she feels her defenses crumble. She finds herself fighting the urge to regurgitate all of her truths onto him.

Trunks had been prepared to face his sister spitting and hissing in fury, and does not know how to appropriately proceed. He clumsily searches for the words that will make her let him go. "Hey, it's okay. I get it. It's been years since you've been home, and all of a sudden everyone's in your face. Sometimes we all just need a little space." He hasn't hugged her in years, and through the thin material of his tailored shirt he feels her breasts mashed against his chest. With a grimace he tries to gently push her away, but she does not relent.

"You're right I should have called back. I-"

That's when Trunks smells it.

Her words trail off into the background as a strange scent catches his attention. Something foreboding is intermingled within the scent of her unease. This time he uses just enough force to extricate himself from her embrace, and when she tries to turn her face away he gently lifts her chin up to him. Weeks at the Kame House had given her pale complexion a healthy tan and in the loose cotton pullover she is wearing, nothing about her appearance had seemed to be amiss; but now that he's looking at her, he is startled by her frail appearance.

"What's wrong? Why are you avoiding everyone?" he asks. He notices that the soft roundess of her cheeks has become gaunt and there is a new exaggerated hollowing of her collarbones.

Her inner conflict is almost palpable. It appears as though she is seriously considering his question, but the moment passes and she hastily draws the veil back down over her vulnerability.

"You're being silly. It's sweet of you to worry, but there's nothing wrong with me. Marron and I just needed to get away for a little bit. It was too loud in West City," she says, but the little smile on her face is too unhinged to be sincere.

"Then why are you doing this?" he asks in exasperation. Her strange appearance had been so unsettling, he almost forgot the real reason he was here on Kame Island. "Just so you know, dad's really upset that you've disappeared like this, and since Goku been off the planet for the past few months, Goten and I have been his personal punching bags. Not that you care, but dad's blaming my best friend for your disappearance. "

She brings a hand to her forehead and sighs in exasperation. "I thought Goten enjoyed training with daddy."

"Yeah, well right now daddy is trying to kill him, Bulla!" Trunks yells. The day before, Goten's training session with Vegeta had been so brutal he left the G.R. dragging his broken leg behind him, and afterwards he took a senzu bean just so that he could do it all over again today. When he left his office, he could sense that his woeful friend was headed in the direction of Capsule Corporation. Every time Goten had shown up, it had been with the foolish hope that perhaps this time Bulla would be home.

"Okay, I get it," she winces and raises her hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry I haven't called. As soon as you go, I promise I'll give mom a call."

This earns her a wry chuckle. Out of everyone, their mother had taken her daughter's sudden disappearance in stride. "Have you always been this difficult?"

"Always," she grins. For a terse minute, he silently observes her. The weight of his cold eyes is suffocating.

"You really do need to come home," he insists, taking her hand in his. "Quit being selfish. Goten is a mess. I know he's far from perfect and he's already f*cked up, but I don't know what you said, or did to my best friend that has has him thinking he deserves the beatings he's been getting."

"No I'm-," she starts only to gasp when a startling rush of air brushes against her hand. Trunks raises his hand up, and what she sees pinched between his fingers and glimmering against the summer sun makes her seethe- her ring!

"You need to come home," he repeats, and like the asshole that he is, tosses the ring up into the air. Bulla watches in horror as it catapults up into the sky and then down into her brother's open palm. "Don't worry, you'll get it back after dinner. Mom's ordering from that sushi place you like." She can read the nonverbal threat in his grin as he drops the ring into his pocket and lightly pats it. She is now a familiar flame of energy, easily found by anyone who knows how to look. "See you at home."

He stands before her, face void of expression, and then in a burst of sand he is gone.

Chapter 9: Poisoned Heart

Chapter Text

Inside the room he would usually share with Vegeta, Goku is a mess of sprawled limbs and gentle snores. His day had been mercifully brutal, and after a warm bath he quickly found himself succumbing to the comfort of a deep, dreamless sleep.

On this destroyer's planet, billions of light years away, he finds himself pretending.

He pretends many things: that he is only pushing his body to overcome his limits; that he doesn't know how good it feels to have Bulma and Vegeta's daughter with her legs spread wide open beneath him; and because thinking of him only makes him think of her, he especially pretends that it does not feel peculiar to be training here alone, without his favorite short-tempered companion's constant barrage of insults.

So he focuses only on his desire to become stronger, on the sharp pain the angel inflicts upon him when his guard is lowered, and the wonderful ache of his muscles at the end of each day. Even though he does not purposely seek them out, there in the back of his mind he can sense everyone he has ever cared for, and as the days pass and he becomes more and more consumed in his training, he is relived to find their continuous presence is no longer oppressive.

He had managed to immerse himself into his training so completely, that even though in order to do so he is careful to avoid certain shades of blue- he rarely thinks of her. He does his best to think only of the excitement of one day testing his new strength on a fierce new adversary, or of how he still has so much left to learn until he has mastered the use of divine ki.

He gets so good at pretending, the days he goes without thinking of her begin to outnumber the days he has, and eventually not even the moon's soft glow is capable of pulling thoughts of her from the deepest parts of his subconscious.

Sometimes he even foolishly allows himself to believe that it never even happened at all.

But on this night, within the combined energies of his loved ones back on Earth, he instinctively senses something that makes him wake up gasping.

He feels her.

A creation of his darkest desires made carnate, her energy laps at his senses, every bit as lovely and demanding as he remembers. It makes his blood run hot, and he finds himself longing to once again feel his princess' ki intimately coiled around his.

He suffocates beneath a barrage of memories; the glow of the moonlight against her milk white skin, her hair a pool of cerulean splayed out against the soft grass, the whisper of her mother reflected in the blue of her eyes- and in those moments when his darkness took control, he remembers the decadent scent of her arousal and fear intermingled.

From his open window the vibrant nebulous sky bathes him in the glow of its scattered moons, and with each ragged breath he feels himself unravel. He finds himself fighting the urge to go to her. Even though she is so far away, that small flutter of ki teases his awareness until he feels as though he is dying.

It ignites a painful ache in his chest, and an arousal so intense he finds himself stumbling out of bed and falling to his knees.

He's never wanted anyone like this.

Breathing raggedly and hunched over with his palms flat on the stone ground beneath him, his self restraint shatters. He cannot stop himself from reaching for the hard flesh pulsating between his legs. Hastily, he pulls down his cotton boxers, taking himself in hand, and with a terrible cry of relief, he falls forward with one arm propped against the stone floor and the other working furiously below him. Between the images in his fevered mind and the way her energy calls out to him, it only takes him a few strokes to unravel.

His ragged breathing echoes loudly within his chambers.

Even after his release, he still yearns for her. He feels like a young boy all over again- confused and scared of all the violent and chaotic urges in his head.

He can't seem to catch his breath. Her energy is too loud.

There are a thousand suns burning beneath his skin, and kneeling there on the stone floor he lets out a wretched sob from the agony of it. In his mind he desperately reaches for anything to ground him. He seeks the comfort of his wife's gentle energy, those of his son's, familiar and good; he seeks out the energy unique to each one of his amazing friends, and he focuses on them all at once, but it is not enough to pull him away from the madness in his head. He's gnashing his teeth and his ki flares dangerously, rattling the heavy furniture around him, and when he cannot stand this thing he does not understand, he slams his forehead against the floor, crumbling the stone below with the force of impact.

Pain.

Even though it is mild, he welcomes it. He wants more. Anything to stop this wild and consuming need from tearing him apart.

Unsated, the lust inside of him shifts into something welcome and familiar.

The temptation to wake the destroyer with a punch to his feline face is so strong he finds himself grinding his teeth and growling like a feral animal, but as much as he wants the god to unleash his devastating energy upon him, he knows it would be unwise to invoke Beerus' wrath. With his forehead pressed against the ruined stone, he searches the universe for a suitable distraction.

Someone capable of placating the destructive ire within him.

With his blood boiling, he jumps to his feet and grabs only his orange weighted pants from the bedside table before appearing on the other side of the universe.

When Goku appears barefoot before his favorite frost demon, he is still tying the belt around his waist.

"Goku?" The acrosian startles, his oily voice is raised in alarm as the soldiers flanked at his side quickly assume a defensive stance. He rises calmly from the levitating chair on which he was seated and watches the saiyan before him in apprehension.

All around him there is chaos and destruction. There are pillars of smoke scattered throughout the horizon, presumably from the cities the Frieza Force laid to waste, and all around him he feels the energy of this planet's strongest inhabitants being snuffed out one by one.

Frieza lands on the ground a few steps ahead of his men, and this time when he speaks it is with his usual saccharine tenor. "Why Goku, it's been so long. I must say, I am quite surprised to see you here." Behind him, his tail sways idly as his soldiers begin to power up beside him. He observes the saiyan with a calculated coldness. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Without warning, the air around them lights up in a burst of oppressive energy, simultaneously shattering the scouters worn by Frieza's men, and when Goku smiles, it is with such malice the frost demon is barely able to stop himself from taking a step back in an unconscious effort to escape. The saiyan before him looks wild. Not even when they fought on Namek, with the world falling apart around them, had Goku ever looked this out of control.

The world around him is burning, lost in a chaos that mirrors his own internal strife. Goku takes in the panic and fear of this planet's inhabitants, and with a surge of divine ki, his aura flares red.

It would appear as though he arrived just in time to save the day.

It's been years since Trunks has sensed Bulla's familiar energy, and as he sets off in the direction of West City, he finds it peculiar to notice that it feels different than he remembers.

He doesn't think about it too long, because there is a sudden sharp surge of two very powerful energies in the direction he is headed. It would seem as though Goten had already already arrived at Capsule Corporation, and rather than desperately pursue Bulla's now visible energy, had chosen to wait for her under a gravity level of two hundred with an equally impatient Vegeta.

Sometimes he forgets that even the fastest C.C. aircraft is incapable of reaching the kind of speeds he is capable of. It's going to take Bulla hours to get home. After having endured many long days in the company of his remorseful best friend, the prospect of spending the time it would take his sister to arrive home in the company one of his favorite ex-secretaries seems much more enjoyable than spending it confined in the gravity room with two irritated saiyans.

By the time his sister arrives home it is already late into the evening.

When he senses her ki enter the city limits, he slides into his trousers, plants a quick kiss on the pretty redhead stretched on the bed beside him, and grabs the last slice of pizza before jumping out her bedroom window. Once at Capsule Corporation, he touches down on the balcony above the family living quarters, and using his ki sense, searches for the gentle, loving females of his life. Both Bulla and his mother are in the dining area, and when he hears the shattering of glass he suspects that in their clumsiness, one of them has dropped a dish. While he had expected to find the lights to the G.R. still on, he is caught off guard by the lingering scent of cigarette smoke in the night air.

He had been so focused on the energy below, he failed to notice the small one in front of him.

"What are you doing here?"

The blonde girl standing at the edge of the balcony jumps and clutches at her rapidly beating heart. When she sees that it is him, her expression sharpens, and she angrily throws a lit cigarette in his direction, sending a small shower of sparks into the wind. "What does it look like I'm doing? Kami, did you need to scare me like that?"

"I didn't know you smoked. It's an unattractive habit," he said as he walked over to the large, round patio table. He took a seat on the sturdy concrete table and proffered his hand, open palm upwards, towards the seething blonde. "Let me have one, will you?"

With a scoff, she pulls out a box from her bra and tosses it at his head. He easily catches it and brings one of the appallingly feminine, long, cigarettes to his mouth, lighting it with a tiny spark of ki. "So, for the past few weeks, was there any particular reason you kept blowing off my calls?"

"Maybe because my best friend asked me to." Marron steps up to the table, pulls up a patio chair all the while giving him a placating smile, as though she were immune to the awful grating noise of metal upon concrete. She takes a cigarette from the box, and when she leans forward with it perched between her lips, there is something cold and calculating in her gaze that him makes him wonder if perhaps she is a little like him; if perhaps she had also inherited just a little of her parent's malice. "Aren't you going to light me up?"

Trunks stretches his arm towards her, touching the end of her cigarette with the tip of his finger and asks, "So, tell me Marron, is there any reason in particular my sister decided running off with you was a good idea? Did you two not get enough private time together all those years you spent alone in medical school? Did she suddenly forget she had a family she hasn't visited in years, or a boyfriend that was practically losing his mind without her?"

Marron falls back into her seat and when she tilts her head back she releases a plume of smoke up into the night air. For a moment, Trunks is glad he sated his lust before coming home. He had forgotten how gorgeous Krillin's daughter was. Marron was the opposite of his sister. Where Bulla is all obscene curves, Marron is a lithe, elegant beauty, and he is left wondering why he's never bothered taking her to bed before. The need for a petty sort of revenge to get back at Bulla for ruining his best friend only serves to make the idea even more appealing. He doesn't dwell on those devious thoughts for long, because when she opens her mouth, she is kind enough to remind him of all the things he's doing his best to avoid thinking of.

"I know Bulla and you have had your differences, but right now she is going to need her families support more than ever, and that most definitely includes you. She is going to need all of your love and none of your judgment, understand?" Though her tone is stern, there is a pleading look in Marron's eyes that revs up his anxieties, thrusting him into that place where he sees his sister shaking on the bathroom floor, bruised and reeking of sex. In his head he hears the worry in Goten's voice as he asks about Bulla for the millionth time and apologizes for something he is too ashamed to admit.

"What's going on with Bulla?" Trunks asks, remembering sensing the trace of something ugly when he argued with her on Kame Island. "Is it something really bad?"

Marron brings the dainty cigarette up to her mouth and takes a long drag as she considers his words. With her eyebrows furrowed in thought, she turns to the G.R. He hears the hum of the machine powering down, and senses the nearing energy of his best friend and father no longer in their powered up states.

"You have to promise that no matter what happens, you're going to love your sister," she says, turning to look at him with those piercing, blue eyes. "And that you won't be too hard on Goten. Bulla wouldn't want that. She cares for him in her own special way."

"Of course, I'm always going to love my sister," Trunks says with a dry little laugh, before his voice takes on a menacing edge. "But what the f*ck does Goten have to do with anything?"

Marron opens her mouth to reply, but whatever she started to say is drowned out by a loud explosion beneath them.

It was a long drive back, and after an hour spent in the shower, beneath the warm spray of water and in the company of her worried thoughts, she decided it was time to face her family.

With an air of feigned confidence and nonchalance, she makes her way downstairs.

For a moment Bulla stands at the entryway to dining room, watching as her mother hums to herself while she places a set of chopsticks at each seat and a few bottles of sake at the center of the table. There is an assortment of sushi platters lined up along the dining room table. She grimaces through the nausea that the strong smell of fish brings, and waits until her mother places the last little sake cup on the table

"Hey, mom, I'm home," Bulla says as she walks up behind her mother.

"sh*t!" Bulma gasps, flailing her arms and sending the small cup crashing onto the floor. In the background she hears the whirr of a cleaning bot called to life by the sound of shattering glass.

Bulla hastily apologizes, but is silenced when her mother pulls her into her arms. In the hours it took to get from Kame Island to West City, in her head, Bulla had replayed each of her worries a million times. She hadn't known what to expect when she got home. A lot has happened within the past few weeks, and deep down she knows that she is a different person than she was the last time she stood within these walls. With all that she has learned, she feared coming home to discover that her family had become strangers. That when she would see her father and look into his eyes, they would be absent of that comforting warmth she grew up knowing; that she would see the eyes of a monster. She thinks that it had simply been a stroke of luck that Trunks had not discovered her secret hours ago on the beach, but she has a strong feeling that when she faces her father, she will not be as fortunate.

Even if it is only for a moment, in the safety of her mother's arms she allows herself to believe that if any goodness at all comes from this, then everything that she is doing will have been worth it.

She even dares to dream that one day everything will be okay.

Bulma pulls away, holding her daughter out at arm's length, and when she looks her over, Bulla wonders if the sudden strain in her mother's smile is because she feels it-that little innocuous flutter of life sitting between them. She wonders if her mother would scream or be shocked into silence when she finds out she is going to be a grandma; then she morbidly ponders her mother's reaction to discovering the baby belonged to the little monkey boy she had run over with her car a lifetime ago.

"Oh, my! Sweetheart, it looks like you may have gone a little overboard with whatever crash diet you were on," Bulma says with a forced chuckle.

"It's just stress, but I'm feeling better now." Bulla tries to placate the lingering suspicion in her mother's eyes with something she hopes is more smile than grimace.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Bulma asks, clasping her warm hands against her daughter's cheeks. They both stand at the same height, and when Bulma begins to look over her face with those intelligent eyes, Bulla fights the urge to squirm.

The half hearted response forming on her lips is interrupted by the sound of a door sliding open behind her.

This is it.

She takes a steadying breath, and when her mother steps away she turns to see Goten walking towards her.

After weeks of blaming himself for her disappearance, Goten is finally standing in front of her.

There are bruises on his face and a smudge of blood at the corner of his mouth, and even though there are traces of uncertainty within his eyes, when he smiles down at her it is heartbreakingly beautiful. It's a morbid thought, but she hopes her child grows up to have that same smile- it's father's smile. She is not certain if it is the adoration in his eyes, or the overpowering smell of food and sweat making her stomach churn. He reaches down for her with his burly arms and when she automatically tenses in anticipation of being mashed against his sweaty chest, she notices movement in her peripheral.

In the second she looks up into her father's eyes, she knows that her luck has run out.

She can tell that something already has him severely agitated, but when his attention shifts to Goten, she is filled with a terrible fear. His expression turns into an animalistic rage so palpable it makes the breath hitch in her throat, and she finds herself desperately reaching for Goten.

She doesn't even see it happen.

At the same time her arms close in on the nothingness in front of her, a powerful gust of air nearly knocks her off her feet and the ground quakes from the force of a loud explosion.

The world around her blurs.

It is as though she is looking through a fishbowl, and there is a terrible ringing in her ears. Not only is Goten gone, but so is the wall that was behind him. Across the room, the table lies on its side, and there is a mess of sushi and broken glass strewn across the floor. Through the haze of debris, she notices a golden light floating above the rubble. The air is thick with smoke, but she can still make out a small shadow slightly moving within the chunks of broken concrete. All it takes is a gentle gust of wind to lift the smoke, revealing that the odd shadow peeking through the debris is Goten's boot - it is bent unnaturally with blood seeping through the fabric, and the source of the light hovering above him is her father in his super saiyan form.

A surge of fear prompts her to push her body towards the rubble. As she stumbles in their direction, over broken glass and clumps of sushi, the world folds in on itself, and when it comes back together with a pop, it rights itself regaining its original clarity.

Her first conscious thought is that she needs to help Goten. She is frightened for him. She has never seen her father look so angry.

There is spittle flying from his mouth as he screams at the crumpled body beneath him. "You pathetic, third class swi-" His voice fades in and out over the blood rushing in her ears, and his rage heats the air around her until it is stifling. "Philandering piece of-" As she leans against the broken wall, the sheetrock crumbles beneath her palms. "Impregnate my daughter-" The loose dirt stings her lungs, and when she looks down at the body lying among the rubble, the breath she has been holding leaves her in a scream.

Vegeta goes quiet and even beneath the weight of his stare, she cannot tear her eyes away from the broken body in front of her.

She never meant for this to happen.

"Goten!" she wails, slipping on loose dirt as she scrambles into the small crater he is lying in. There is so much blood. A piece of rebar is protruding through his abdomen, and both his legs are grotesquely fractured. There is another burst of light, and in the background she hears her brother and father arguing and her mother calling out for someone to find a senzu bean.

She falls to her knees beside him, and when she takes his dirty hand in hers, he turns to look at her. Despite the traumatic injuries, he smiles up at her and asks, "Is it true, Bulla?"

Her words fail her.

She is too stunned by the destruction before her to formulate a response.

This is the first time she has ever seen her father inflict such a horrendous injury, and when she wonders how he could do something so evil, she finds herself horrified to realize that she is just as bad as he is.

Beneath the anger and fear, there is a mild disgust. Not at her father, but at Goten for being so weak.

The thought is pushed away when within the arid smoke and food, she notices the foul smell of perforated bowel. She is trembling terribly, and though her medical training is usually second nature, right now she does not know what to do. In an attempt to get her attention, he gently squeezes her hand.

"Is it true, Bulla?" he asks again, forming each word through a shallow, ragged breath. "Are you really going to have my baby?"

No. The word sits behind her tongue, but she nods instead.

Something wet lands on her hand. When she looks down to their entwined hands, she sees a steady patter of drops, and realizes that through the shock, she is crying.

It is so unimaginably painful to know that all of this is her fault.

She thinks of Goku somewhere out there in the universe, oblivious of this mess they have created together, and wonders why he has left her here.

Even though Goten is pale from the blood loss, there is still a brightness shining in his eyes. When he opens his mouth to speak, he is overcome by a terrible rattling cough. When it passes, his teeth are still clenched in pain, and she sees fresh blood leaking from the corners of his mouth. His fingers begin to slacken against hers and she can see the light dimming in his eyes.

Even if he were to get wished back to life, if he were to die right now, in front of her like this, she doesn't think she would ever truly recover.

"Yes, I'm going to have your baby!" she yells abruptly.

Her words have their desired effect.

He stirs beside her, squeezing her hand, and when he smiles up at her, his eyes crinkle at the corners.

Through her peripheral, she sees a golden form nearing them, further illuminating the destruction around them with each step. In the chaos of her mind she hears her brother's gruff voice, but she cannot understand what he is saying. There is a sudden clawing at her fingers, and when she looks down where her hand is entwined around Goten's, she sees a third hand, small and white. Marron is kneeling beside her, and Bulla recognizes that her blonde friend has donned her trauma queen persona.

"I'm going to need you to let his hand go now, Bulla," Marron says sternly. Her expression is tense as her finger's uselessly fumble against the blue haired girl's inhumanly strong grip. Bulla can only blink in response. When her bother begins yelling again she sees a crack in Marron's professional exterior. The blonde's brows furrow in irritation, then she raises her hand and forcefully slaps the stunned girl.

"Bulla, let go of his f*cking hand!" Marron screams. "I suggest you remove it if you don't want Goten to crush it when Trunks lifts him off the rebar."

This time Bulla listens. The sharp, sudden pain on her cheek is enough to snap her out of her trance.

As soon as she pulls her hand away, Trunks crouches beside his injured friend and grips the metal bar, easily snapping it above where it protrudes from his abdomen. Her brother softly apologizes to Goten before carefully lifting him. A pained howl escapes him, but his pride makes him swallow it. When he is placed on the ground, blood begins to gush out of his abdominal wound.

Trunks shoves a senzu bean into his friend's mouth, and when he speaks it there is a slight unsteadiness in his tone."Hurry up and eat this. You can't die yet- I'm the one that's going to kill you."

When she hears her mother's loud voice, she looks up and to see her yelling at Vegeta.

"What were you thinking?" Bulma's hands are clenched at her sides and her face is red with fury as she screams at the stoic man hovering above them. The aura around him crackles in rage, but his face is void of any expression as he regards the scene below him. Even though her mother is calling out to him, her father's gaze remains fixed on her.

Bulla cannot bear the intensity of his stare- not when he's transformed and the green of his eyes looks so undeniably inhuman and violent. It makes her think of all the terrible things King Kai told her, and for a moment she questions why she is doing this. She looks at the people in front of her: Marron and her mother watching in awe as Goten's stomach wound closes, and her brother who is now standing beside his friend, observing them with an expression that matches their father's. Days ago she had already accepted that when it came to having this child, she didn't have a choice. Bulla understood her father's barbaric past had nothing to do with any of this; the pardoning of his soul was simply being offered in consolation, but in this moment all her self loathing shifts, and she finds herself blaming her father for everything.

"Why did you do this? Why? Why?" She cries out. In the back of her mind she hears her own voice answer.

Because there is something wrong with you.

You are selfish.

You have no self control- you hurt everyone.

A sharp pain in her abdomen makes her curl in on herself, but it does not lessen the turmoil writhing hotly inside her. Without lifting her head she screams, "What the f*ck is wrong with you?"

Her father's chuckle makes her blood run cold. She braces her hands against the ground and looks up at him.

"You want to know why? I did not break that idiot's legs because he bred you- oh, no." he says scathingly, turning his hateful gaze towards the young man who had been bleeding out on the rubble. The wound in his abdomen is completely healed, and other than the tattered clothes and the blood caked on his skin, he is fine.

"Vegeta, look-," Goten stammers, pushing himself up.

"Quiet!" Vegeta bellows and the aura around him crackles. The way he is staring at Goten is so feral, she finds herself crawling over to him and grabbing onto his arm for support.

"Daddy, I love him!" Bulla cries out. The words are born from fear, because she does not know what else to do.

"Bulla, I'm so, sorry. You need to know that I didn't mean to-" Goten began, pulling her towards him, but Vegeta cuts him off.

"You love him? Why don't you ask your brother how this boy has dishonored you?" he asks mockingly, and when his furious gaze lands on Trunks, the young man flinches. "This boy is not worthy of your love."

Bulla looks at her brother, but he is unable to meet her eyes. He doesn't say anything, and Bulla's rage seems to deflate. After what she has done, the thought of Goten doing anything to dishonor her seems laughable.

"I don't want you to leave me, Bulla. It was all an accident, a mistake," Goten stammers worriedly. He's grabbing onto her shoulders and looking very apologetic, as though minutes ago he hadn't nearly died right in front of her.

"Whatever it is, I don't care. We'll work through it," Bulla says.

The whole situation is so preposterous, and between the fatigue and dull throb in her pelvis, she finds herself falling into Goten's arms. In the darkness her father glowed with a fierceness unlike anything she has ever seen, and even as she is pressed up against Goku's son, the sickness inside of her reminds her that no one else in the universe could ever match her saiyan. She would love to see him light up the sky for her.

Vegeta's barking voice snaps her out of her thoughts. "You do not care that the night before last, this pathetic warrior- who's offspring you now foolishly carry, brazenly stumbled into your home smelling of another female? It does not insult you to know that he reeked of her?"

"I was so drunk, Bulla! I only let her jerk me off because I thought she was you!" Goten's hasty explanation only made the older saiyan's energy snap around them in warning, and from beside her she hears Marron gasp.

"That is so much worse." Trunks raised his palm to his face and sighed. "You just got put back together- please just shut up, we don't have enough senzu beans for this sh*t."

The ridiculousness of the situation is too much.

If it wasn't for Goten - who much to her father's displeasure, was holding her up as he groveled into her ear, she is sure she would have sunken into the ground. She turns away from her father sparking angrily above her, to the destruction around them. There is a wall missing in the dining room because her father, upon learning she was pregnant with what everyone assumed was Goten's child, flagrantly abused his inhuman power by flinging the poor man through it in defense of her nonexistent honor. Only minutes ago, not only had Goten's legs been broken so severely she doubted even his saiyan genetics would have allowed him to heal completely, but he had narrowly lost his life.

All of this, because she had f*cked Son Goku.

She laughs from the absurdity of it all, pushing herself out from Goten's arms just enough to meet his downtrodden expression. From the hurt repressed in her heart, a bubble of hysteria comes tumbling out of her lips. She's thinking of her saiyan warrior and their clandestine affair; the weight of his heated stare and the way she felt so utterly complete with the heat of his skin, and laughs because even though she has no right to, she wants him so badly.

Her need for him is burning her alive.

Goten's brows furrow in concern, but she doesn't notice or care because she is still lost in thoughts of Goku and the pieces of him that belong to her. She laughs and laughs at the insanity of it all, and when she grabs a fistful of his wild, dark hair and brings them together in a forceful kiss, she is still giggling. The blood in his mouth tastes wonderful, like copper beneath her tongue, and she finds herself forgiving him for everything he has done and everything he will do. Vegeta's ki surges dangerously above them. Not knowing what else to do, beneath everyone's stares, Goten politely returns the kiss and swallows her laughter.

Through the mess in her head, her mothers panicked voice fails to register over the lovely taste beneath her tongue. Goten gently pushes her off him, his eyes dancing over her body until they stop at the juncture between her legs.

"Bulla, you're bleeding!" he gasps. She peers down at her thighs, and sure enough there is a bright bloom of blood against the light pink fabric of her sweats.

After everything she has gone though, she can't lose the baby.

Not now.

All of this would have been for nothing.

She blinks and sees a pair of clear blue eyes peering up at her; he's all gummy smiles and he's reaching his chubby little arms out towards her.

Her hearts breaking and in her head she hears her own voice screaming.

Please don't take my baby!

She peers over Goten's shoulder and mumbles an apology to her parents, but neither reply through their own collective shock.

"Goten, hurry up and grab her before she loses any more blood. Take her to the medical wing," Marron orders, jumping to her feet, and turning her attention to the lavender haired man in front of her. "Trunks go get another senzu bean and give it to her immediately." The blonde turns to Bulma and says, "Just in case that doesn't work I'm going to want a medical bot ready to go at the bedside."

The voices around her become distorted and through the colorful blurring of the world around her, she sees Goku kneeling right besides her.

When did he get here?

A new burst of laughter escapes her. She is so, so stupidly happy to see him.

"You're here!" Her trembling hands frame his face, and then she begins to sob. "Why did you leave me here? You promised me- you told me I was special. Was I not good enough? Let's leave here together," Bulla pleads as she begins to shift in his arms in an attempt to bring herself closer. "I'll go anywhere with you. I'll let you do whatever you want to me. Please, just take me with you." Bulla is too overwhelmed by his sudden appearance to notice his uneasy expression, and when he lifts her up, she smiles brightly up at him.

"We can go back- you said the suns were on the other side. Will you show them to me. Imagine how beautiful those fields look in the light." There is a wildness dancing in her blue eyes, the likes of which he has never seen before, and Goten finds himself unable to tear his eyes away from the macabre sight of his blood stained against her teeth and smeared over her lips.

It isn't until Marron shouts at him that he heads to the medical wing with his ki enhanced speed, leaving the blonde alone with Bulla's parents. It only takes a few seconds before he is in the medical wing, and when he tries placing her into the medical pod, she begins to thrash wildly.

"Don't you dare f*cking leave me!" She claws at his arms, and screams like a wild thing.

The medical robot is beeping excitedly beside him, and within its metal arms it is holding an injection, primed and ready. The door slams open and after placing the blonde he had been carrying on the ground, Trunks walks over to the head of the bed and shoves the senzu bean into his sister's mouth. He pinches her lips shut, forcing her to chew.

After she swallows, he pulls his hand away from her mouth and she beings to scream again, begging to not be left behind. Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, Marron walks over to them and though she appears calm and collected, the saiyans can hear her heart rapidly beating while she assesses her hysterical friend. She reaches for the wires hanging by the medical pod and begins attaching them to the bleeding girl in front of her and cooly says, "Administer 5 mg diazepam IM."

The bot seizes her arm in its pincer like grasp and chirps. "5 mg diazepam administered."

The pain of the injection doesn't even register. Neither does the sting of the IV insertion that follows. The two half saiyans are holding her down, but Bulla doesn't see either of them.

There are tears streaming down her eyes as looks up at him and pitifully sobs. "Don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Goten's words are shaky, and when Trunks looks up he notices a glisten of unshed tears brimming in Goten's eyes, and is a little shaken to note his complexion is more pale than it was minutes ago, when he had been bleeding to death.

"Do you still think about me? I think about you all the time Go-" The rest of Bulla's words are muffled when a hand suddenly clamps over her mouth.

"f*ck this sh*t." Marron growls, keeping her hands firmly clamped over her friend's mouth. "I want flumzeniil and oxygen ready to go on standby. We're gonna snow this bitch."

The bot keeps administering sedatives until the blue haired girl goes limp and the loud, frantic beeping of the machines steadily normalize. As Marron works with the medical bot around them, both half saiyans remain standing at the bedside, in a state of silent shock. It isn't until Marron begins pulling down his sister's blood stained sweatpants that Trunks hastily turns to face the door just in time to see his mother frantically enter the room with a train of physicians hot at her heels.

Between easily subduing the soldiers coming to the aid of their master and exchanging blows with the powerful frost demon, he finds relief.

He fights Frieza for hours.

As he exchanges blows with the acrosian, he sates the animalistic violence inside of him, and for the frost demon, it quickly becomes becomes apparent that the saiyan's intent is to maim, not kill, so he plays along, and forgoes destroying the planet in a last ditch effort to flee.

Instead of bombarding Frieza with a volley of ki, he finds himself succumbing his more savage nature.

There is something malicious in the way he teases his opponent, continuously attacking him at close range, but holding back just enough to ensure he can keep fighting. Even with all the power of his golden form, Frieza can't win. They both know this, but it does not stop Goku from drawing out the battle. There is no honor in the way he is fighting, and even though he reasons that he would deserve it for what he has done to this planet, Goku finds himself startled by how ferociously the darkness inside of him wants more than the pain he inflicting upon his opponent. It wants to see Frieza contorted on the ground, a mess of broken bones and agonizing pain.

It wants him begging for his life.

When he is fighting, there is no room in his mind for beautiful blue haired girls, or guilt, or love. There is only the thrill of the fight, and he finds himself suddenly pulled away from it when he senses a sudden drop in his youngest son's ki. The mountain behind him crumbles beneath the momentum of the monstrous kick he narrowly dodges.

As he exchanges charged blows with Frieza, he hones in on the energy signatures back on Earth. The first one he senses distracts him enough that even though he jerks back in time to avoid the full impact of the furious acrosian's tail, he is not quick enough to avoid the subsequent gash to the cheek.

He forces himself to focus on the fight, to focus on anything but her.

From his quick assessment of the energy signatures surrounding Goten, other than the saiyan's charged up in their anger, he senses no obvious threat. In the back of his mind as he parries blows with Frieza, he continues monitoring the curious happenings on Earth. A senzu bean is used. His youngest son's ki rejuvenates quickly, and a moment before he severs the link tethering his consciousness to Earth, he abruptly senses the small light of his blue haired princess begin to wane. Dread unfurls within him, and he is overcome with an irrational need to go to her, but for what reason he is unsure. He knows the people who surround her would die before ever allowing anything to happen to her.

Channeling his energy in a burst of light so blinding it obscures his golden form, Frieza takes advantage of Goku's lapse in attention by sending a barrage of ki blasts raining down upon him. Goku doesn't move quick enough. One of the blasts hits him in the stomach, sending the saiyan crashing to the ground, and the world around them shakes from the impact.

It takes less than a second for him to recover, and for Frieza to nearly escape the stratosphere. With a wicked smile he phases behind the frost demon, grabs onto his tail and sends him plummeting back down to onto the alien terrain. He feels like he is burning from the inside. He doesn't give Frieza time to recover before flying back down pull him out of the broken earth.

By the time the madness inside of him subsides enough for him to think clearly, they are both fighting mid-air, covered in blood and bruises and panting from the exertion. His training with Whis has paid off. This is the longest he's been able to maintain this form.

It has been a while since he felt Bulla's energy stabilize, but finds he can no longer control his impulse to visually confirm her wellbeing.

While still maintaining his super saiyan red form, he pulls back a safe distance from Frieza, and along with the features characteristic of his transformation, the red of his aura ebbs away until he his left in his base form.

He's at his limit anyway.

"Hey, I gotta go," Goku says, matching Frieza's look of irritation with an easy smile. "It's not nice to pick on those who are weak when you're so strong. It's just not a fair fight." With two fingers raised up to his forehead, Goku focuses on the energy signature of some Capsule Corporation employee working alone at the edge of the compound, and before giving into the call of her energy, yells out to the battered fighter hovering before him. "Try not to be too bad, okay?"

The scenery changes.

He is no longer hovering over a barren wasteland and looking upon Frieza's affronted expression. He is in an unfamiliar lab. It is dim and in front of him there is a middle aged human with one hand rapidly clacking away at a computer, the only source of light in the dark room, while simultaneously peering into a test tube filled with something fluorescent. The human is too engrossed in what he is doing to notice the saiyan behind him.

Even after her energy stabilized, his son remained at the princess's side. It makes him feel unwell to sense Goten's energy so close to her.

He knows it is risky, but he just needs to see her.

He tells himself he won't get too close.

With his ki lowered as much as possible, Goku wanders out of the lab, following the pull of her energy. With his attention focused on avoiding those around him, he walks the empty halls of Capsule Corporation, and beneath the bright fluorescent lights, trepidation unfurls within his stomach. He senses Vegeta's furious energy somewhere over the Southern Sea, and is glad he gone. His heart is drumming so loudly, he is sure if the prince were close he would have easily noticed him sneaking through the empty hallways of his home.

With each step, the scent of antiseptic gets stronger, and he soon finds himself in his least favorite part of the compound. This is the place where Bulma sends him to get patched up when Vegeta and him get a little too carried away with their training. He hates the smell here and how white everything is. Beneath the artificial light, his eyes hurt.

His steps lead him to a sleek, glass door, and from behind it he can sense her energy.

From where he is standing, all he can see is the back of Goten's head. A wild mess of black hair obstructs his view of her, and when he looks around the room at all the strange equipment and machines flashing around them, he sees something that makes it hard to breathe.

Reflected against the pitch black of the window, he sees their faces clear as day, and for a moment he does not know what he is seeing.

There is something dreamlike in the image they make.

Even with his features scrunched up in worry, his son looks so much like he did when he was young. He's all lean muscle and identical in nearly everything but the cut of his hair; and sleeping in front of him, he swears he sees the same girl he once saw cheering him on when he fought the twenty-third Tenkaichi Budokai. It's like seeing what could have been, and suddenly he does not want to be here anymore.

It feels wrong.

Wrong that a girl who is not his wife- who does not belong to him, is making him act so impulsive and perverse; that beneath the self loathing and ire of his more animalistic nature, he is jealous of his son for being able to hold her hand.

Even when she is lying there in bed, looking so frail and small, she makes everything inside of him feel too big; as though she is taking up the space inside of him where his heart should be. The universe told him she was his, so why does it feel like he is losing something that never belonged to him in the first place?

All at once he feels incredibly weary. Too weary to feel guilty, or focus on anything other than the pain in his body. He wants to go to his loving wife, kiss the top of her head and wrap his arms around her.

He wants the comfort of something familiar.

He doesn't belong here.

He wants to go home.

In the back of his mind he senses a change in the saiyan prince's energy so severe even Goten flinches in his seat. Vegeta must have sensed him, because suddenly there is a monstrous flare of his ki and it is rapidly heading this way. Goku knows Vegeta is mad at him for fighting Frieza, and that if he were to go home, the angry prince would follow. The silence in the empty hallway is broken by a faint mechanical whirr behind him. Quickly he turns, and when he sees the security camera discreetly mounted behind him with its black lens focused directly on him, a terrible dread creeps down his spine.

Goten sits up alert, and when he jerks his head to the glass door behind him all he sees is the empty hallway.

She opens her eyes to see soft sunlight pouring into a white sterile room, and in the background the low, muffled persistent wooshing noise she hears makes her bolt up in bed. A warm hand pulls her back and when she turns, she sees Goten sitting in a chair right beside her. Her head is swimming; she remembers this poor man being smashed into the dining room wall, her father's fury, and the spontaneous bleeding between her legs, but she does not remember how she got here.

"What am I doing here?" she asks, staring at the IV inserted into her forearm and then up at the fluids and medications it is connected to. A medical bot softly chirps beside her as it begins to scan her body. "How long have I been here?"

"It's been three days. Kami, I haven't been that scared since I was a kid. You were bleeding. You almost lost the baby," he says as he shifts forward in his seat to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. He looks fresh sitting there in one of his dojo's t-shirts and baggy sweats, not at all like someone who had their gut busted and legs crushed.

"How long have you been here?" The last thing she remembers after impulsively kissing Goten is the pain and shock of seeing blood at the juncture of her legs.

"Three days."

"Three days," she repeats softly.

There is a flat disc strapped to her abdomen, and as relived as she is to hear a continuous, irregular heartbeat coming from the machines around her, it breaks her heart to know while this man sat vigil at her bedside, he had been listening to what to her was the very obvious heartbeat of a fetus nearing it's second trimester. From the relived smile on the half saiyan's face, it would mercifully appear that no one had told him either.

A few minutes later an older gentleman with a kind face and wrinkled lab coat walks in. He is one of West Cities most respected obstetricians, and after gently scolding her for her lack of prenatal care and informing her that she has been medically cleared, he tells her that in three days he will be following up with her here, in her home where she will not be allowed to leave until she delivers. When he walks out of the room, her mother steps in.

Bulma smiles when she sees her daughter sitting up in bed, and then snaps at Goten for not having the sense to get his pregnant girlfriend something to eat. She can tell her mother is irritated at poor Goten for his infidelity. The young man mumbles a sheepish apology before hurrying out the door.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Bulma cries as she throws her arms around her youngest child and buries her face into Bulla's long, tangled hair. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."

"It's okay. I'm okay. There's nothing to worry about," Bulla says with a tired smile. Bulla pushes the heavy blankets off of her and swings her legs off the edge of the bed.

When her mother sits down besides her, there is a tightness in her smile. "Bulla, I almost lost my first grandchild. I could have lost you, too. You looked so unwell- skin and bones. Nothing about that was the least bit okay." Her mother's cups her cheeks in her warm hands and her smile softens. "Thank Kami for senzu beans though, am I right? But all that aside, I can't believe you've made me a grandma. Goten and you are going to have the strongest, most beautiful and intelligent little babies the universe has ever seen." Bulma rolls her eyes lets out a little disbelieving huff. "Although, I can't believe the nerve of that boy- cheating on you. What the hell was he thinking? Especially after he went through all that trouble of opening up a new dojo in Beach City, just so you wouldn't leave him once summer was over." With a wistful smile, Bulma leans forward to brush her daughter's fringe away from her eyes. "I love Goten like a son, but I've also been burned like that by men before. Even if you have his baby, you don't have to stay with him if you don't want to."

With her mother looking at her like that, the steady low whoosh in the background- that confirmation of the life growing inside of her becomes almost unbearable. She tears the velcro belt and the fetal monitor falls to the white tiled floor, and after a final burst of distorted feedback, the room goes silent.

Taking a deep breath, Bulla turns to her mother with a watery smile. "Mom, I forgive him. We're both new to relationships, and between the two of us, I'm sure there are going to quite be a few bumps down the road, but for now everything is okay. I mean it."

Bulma looks down at the plastic disc on the floor that landed beside her foot, and before her mother conceals it with a practiced smile of her own, Bulla catches the look of disbelief on her mother's face. "This secret you were keeping- it was literally eating you alive." Bulma takes her daughter's hands in her own. "I want you to know, there is nothing that you can't tell me. Nothing, you understand?"

I think about Goku all the time.

Without him, I feel like I am dying.

This baby is his.

Bulla feels the words lodged in the back of her throat, and for a delirious moment she wants to set them free. Bulla doesn't trust herself to answer, so she simply nods and calls to the med bot for a gauze.

With her brows furrowed in concentration, Bulma appears to be collecting her thoughts as she watches her daughter peel the transparent tape over her IV. "You really scared all of us- your brother, Goten, Marron, your father. Marron said it was the combination of blood loss and shock that made you act the way you did."

When Bulla furrows her brows, her mother clarifies. "You know- a little delusional."

Dread coils at the bottom of her stomach. In surprise, her eyes dart from the little plastic catheter she is holding in place with her finger, up to her mother who was now bending at the waist to pick up the little plastic transducer by her feet.

"What do you mean delusional?" Bulla asks.

"Oh, you know- you just went a little loopy. You started acting strangely- saying weird things." Marron said she had to sedate you. Other than those times he was sure universal destruction was imminent, I don't think I've ever seen your father look so worried." Her mother says this all with an air of forced nonchalance as she gives the transducer a light thwack that resonates angrily on the monitor. "You went a little crazy there, accusing Goten of leaving you." The more her mother speaks, the quicker her heart beats, and before the monitors around her can give her away, she hastily begins pulling the electrodes off her body. "Then you started talking about a place with suns, partly covered in darkness. Have you ever been somewhere like that, Bulla?"

It flashes brightly through her memory; that alien world with soft blue grass and two moons, and she forces out a laugh of disbelief. "A place with suns? Like plural? Did I also mention the lovely little duet I sang with my grandpa, King Vegeta, after I went Super Saiyan?" She doesn't think she mentioned Goku. If that were the case, she doubts she would have woken up to see Goten smiling at her bedside.

"No, I don't think you mentioned that part," Bulma sighs. Her heart beat is so loud it is pounding in her ears. They share a moment of silence between them, and then when her mother speaks, Bulla is grateful her mother does not share the saiyan's ability to easily sense psychological symptoms of distress. "You know, it's so funny- a long time ago your father and I were once on a planet that-"

Bulla fears if she is subject to any more of this, she will somehow end up giving herself away, and the mention of her father fills her with many conflicting emotions.

"Tell me, what does that have to do with anything?" Bulla asks heatedly. "Are we all just going to ignore what happened? How are you sitting here right here in front of me right now, acting like dad didn't just throw my boyfriend- who by the way, has known dad his whole life- through a goddamned wall?!" She pulls herself to her feet and the blood rushes to her head in a sickening whoosh. "I forgive Goten for what he did- I think he's trying he's best, but what daddy did was so cruel. I was so scared!"

Bulma opens her mouth then shuts it as she grapples for the right words, and somehow decides the appropriate way to respond is with nonchalance. "Goten is fine." She says with a dismissive wave of her hand. "That's what we have senzu beans for."

"He could have died," Bulla said, grabbing onto the plastic dome of the medical pod for support.

"If he had, we would've just wished him back," Bulma shrugs, and if it wasn't for the slight unease in her mother's expression, Bulla truly would have believed her mother was unaffected by what happened. Bulma stood up and walked over to her daughter, offering the crook of her arm for support. "On the bright side, you can be damned sure anytime some little hussy starts batting her eyelashes at him, Goten will remember to keep it in his pants."

Bulla gasps, but her mother doesn't give her a chance to respond.

"I'm honestly surprised that boy knocked you up. I manufactured saiyan-proof rubbers just for the boys, you know?" Bulma says as she pulls Bulla towards the doors. "But, either way this is all just so exciting. My first grand-baby- I can't believe it!"

In nothing but a thin white hospital gown, Bulla is dragged out of the medical wing by her exuberant mother. From the way her mother smiles, Bulla knows in her head, her mother is already hearing the pitter patter of little feet running through the long, empty corridors of Capsule Corporation.

Even though it is late in the afternoon, the sun burned so hot it only took a minute for the slush of Bulla's virgin pina colada to liquify. At the poolside, both Marron and herself were sprawled out on loungers drying off their wet swim suits beneath the summer sun. Marron had a text book propped against her knees and while she idly turned the pages, beneath the dark lenses of her oversized sunglasses, on a tablet Bulla skims over the outline of her new research project.

"You don't love him."

While Marron startles, snapping her textbook shut, Bulla sighs and turns to the man who she hasn't seen in over a week. Trunks walks up to them still in his business suit, looking as sharp and pristine as ever. It would appear as though today was the day both her father and brother decided it was time to return home.

That morning had been surreal.

When she had gone down to the kitchen for breakfast , the only person missing was her brother. Both Goten and her father were seated at the table, amicably eating the piles of food in front of them as though a few days prior one hadn't nearly murdered the other in that very room. As much as she wants to wax poetic about love and defend her relationship, she knows there is no point. She can tell by the way her brother is looking at her that he's seen too much to believe she has retained any of the bright eyed innocence he once imagined her to have is long gone.

"I don't really think you're capable of loving Goten," he sighs tiredly, prompting her to make space for him with a nudge of his knee. When she curls her legs beneath her, he takes a seat at the end of the lounger.

"Maybe," she hums. She slides the sunglasses down the ridge of her nose and the smile she gives him is laced with so much bitterness it sends a pang through his heart. "But I do love the person I am when he's around, so that's got to count for something, right?" She wiggles her eyebrows playfully and leans forward, bringing her left hand between them. "And just look at how much he loves me."

Sitting there on her ring finger, shimmering mockingly in the summer sun is a diamond so clear it looks as though it were made of glass. Even though he knew Goten had proposed to her, it is still shocking to see that engagement ring wrapped around his little sister's finger. After learning that she was going to be okay, he couldn't bear to be around either of them.

In their selfish idiocy, Goten and his sister had f*cked things up beyond repair.

"In the beginning, I thought he was going to be good for you," Trunks said as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. From over her textbook, Marron who is seated on the lounger beside them, gives him a sharp look in warning.

"He is good for me," Bulla agrees as she fondly admires the ring on her finger.

"But you're not good for him." Trunks turns to look at his sister in time to see her smile fall. "Yeah you're screwed up and selfish, but you're my sister, and I f*cking love you." There is pain in his eyes and when he speaks, there is a frantic edge to his voice. "But that's my best friend you're messing with, and you're really f*cking him up. You've got him so twisted he doesn't know which way is up."

"Oh, that must be why he let his dick fall into some blue haired bimbo's hands," Marron mumbles from behind her book.

Trunks bristles and glares at the blonde girl, but she doesn't bother looking up.

"After the sh*t I saw- after seeing you like that, all disgusting and covered in bruises- after dad f*cking wrecked him." With each word he seems to deflate, and soon he is hunched over with his hands cradling his head. "Neither of you get to say anything about what he did. It was an accident- it was my fault really. I encouraged it. And the disgusting part is, he really did think it was you." At the memory, he bitterly laughs into his hands. "And let me tell you, that was a ton of fun to deal with once he sobered up. Whatever you did to him before you and your little friend decided to f*ck off for a month really messed him up."

She doesn't even argue with him.

She isn't even a little mad to hear that he pushed Goten some girl's way just because he was not handling her unexplained avoidance well. She is too focused on the raw emotions he is expressing as he tells her all of the same things that she has already told herself.

Bulla doesn't say a word, she just sits there and soaks up all of her brother's pain.

"And dad, he's so pissed about all of this- he said that the same night we stumbled home drunk, he could smell that girl all over Goten. Of course he didn't say anything to either of us. He wanted to see what Goten would do. If he would come forward." Trunks is feeling so terribly tired of all this. For the past few weeks, each day Goten wouldn't hear back from his sister slowly chipped at him until there seemed to be a perpetual dark cloud hovering over him. He'd never seen his friend so miserable. A few nights ago when he took his friend out to one of their old haunts, he noticed how the more his despondent friend drank, the more his eyes would linger on a girl with long blue hair. In his equally inebriated state, it had seemed like a good idea to push his best friend towards the blue haired girl in the hopes of cheering him up- after all, at the time Bulla didn't seem to care enough about Goten to bother returning his calls. "You've only been home for a few months and look at what you're doing to our family- to my friend."

"I'm not doing anything, Trunks." Bulla takes a deep steadying breath to calm her nerves and gives her brother a watery apologetic smile. "You have to believe me, I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I'm really am sorry, but I'm just trying to make the best of it."

"But you don't love him. I know you don't," he says with an edge of agitation. He pulls off his coat, and because he likes things compulsively in order, neatly folds it in half before hanging it across his leg. "Goten doesn't know you like I do. He'll see what he wants to see, but I know what I saw. I know you. That night you came home, when you lost your sh*t- you were hallucinating weren't you, Bulla?" The immediate spike in her heart rate lets him know how close to the truth he is, and he can't stop himself from asking the question that has been rolling around in the back of his mind these past few days. "Who was it that you saw? Who was it that had you begging so disgracefully, like some whor* off the street?" He has to take a deep calming breath because he can feel his irritation crackling dangerously below his skin.

"Trunks, that's enough!" Marron says sternly, slamming her textbook shut. "She doesn't remember any of that sh*t. Let it go!"

Bulla doesn't need to say anything. The rapid beating of her heart and the acute scent of her discomfort tell him all that he needs to know.

"Don't let yourself forget who you are. You're a f*cking Briefs. That guy who hurt you- he's nothing but a piece of sh*t stuck on the bottom of your shoe. You are better than he could ever dream of being," Trunks said seriously. He regrets not telling her that years ago, maybe then she would have avoided letting men use her like garbage; as though she wasn't the intelligent heiress of a billion-zeni corporation.

"No, I'm not," Bulla said softly. "I'm not better than him."

"What?" he stammers. He looks at her in surprise, not having actually expected a response. With her delicate state, he hadn't meant to come to her spewing all these things he wasn't really sure he wanted to answers to.

"He is better than either of us could ever be," Bulla says wistfully. "He's perfect and he's good-too good for me."

"Bulla," Marron hisses in warning.

"So tell me, who's this perfect guy that likes to leave his girls all f*cked up, Bulla?" Trunks finds himself asking. After seeing her lose her mind like that, he no longer thinks it had been a coincidence that he found her defiled and bruised all those weeks ago on her bathroom floor. "Who is he? Tell me- that way I can go and f*ck him up. Then I won't have to worry about some sick f*ck being the reason my friend winds up heartbroken."

The murderous intent in his eyes is clear as day, and Bulla can't help but scoff.

"If I were a gambling man, I'd be willing to bet all my zeni that it's the same sick f*ck who left you all messed up. Is he the one who left you, Bulla?" Even though her expression is flat, he can hear her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. "If that fetus wasn't giving off an energy nearly as strong as your own, I would doubt it was even Goten's"

"Okay, children- break it up!" Marron snaps, impulsively tearing a page out of her textbook, crunching it in her hand and throwing it in the general direction of his face. "What's with this idiotic inquisition of yours? You're stressing your sister out. That's your little nephew or niece in there-" Marron says as she points at her friends flat stomach. "So unless you want to responsible for it spontaneously falling out of your sister's vagin* in a bloody clump, I suggest either you cool it, or you leave."

"Okay, you're right. I'm sorry Marron, I got a little carried away." Trunks raises his hands up in surrender and lets out a dry laugh as he tries to will away his pent up anger. He would probably be joining his father in the G.R. after this just to relieve all of these pent up emotions, and then find someone down for a quick, dirty f*ck. "I didn't mean to get us both so worked up." He stretches his legs out in front of him, and squirms awkwardly in his seat as he reaches for something in the pocket of his slacks. He feels his sisters eyes on him, wary and observant, and he feels foolish for antagonizing a pregnant girl. He pulls a silver ring out of his pocket.

Satisfied that the danger has passed, Marron sticks nose back into her book looking for all intents and purposes as though she wasn't listening to every word exchanged between them. From how nonchalant she appears, he has a feeling that none of this is new to her. He still remembers them as children; all sweet innocent smiles and girlish giggles, and wonders how in the hell they became so jaded when the world they live in has been so full of peace.

"I mean really- what the hell are we even arguing about?"Trunks asks as he leans forward and places the ring on top of her bare knee. "I'm sorry."

"I need you to know, I do care for Goten. I don't want to hurt him," Bulla looks up at him, and reflected in the blue of her eyes that are so similar to his, he can tell that she truly believes what she is saying . "I know it was wrong to leave him hanging for weeks like that, but at the time I was just so confused- and yeah, I still don't have it all figured out, but I think I need him." Unable to meet his gaze, she picks up the ring off her knee and when she slides it over her thumb, he hears a low familiar zap, and suddenly her ki disappears along with that of the little monstrous brat growing inside of her. "When he's with me, I can pretend I'm the girl he thinks I am. Someone good and normal."

"What are you even talking about? You are good and normal." Trunks groans, wearily pinching the bridge of his nose. "I love the both of you, and I don't want to see either of you get hurt, but I just know, even if you don't mean to- you're going to hurt him. And without him, I think you'll hurt yourself." When he looks up at her, it is with a tired smile pulling at his lips, and when he speaks there is a hint of astonishment in his voice. "This is all just so screwed up. Two months ago, I never imagined things would end up like this."

Time passes and soon the days of clear blue skies and of evenings spent exchanging sweet kisses with the youngest Son beneath the glow of fireflies has come to an end.

With the change of the season, Bulla forces herself to move on.

Stuck on the compound, she finds ways to keep herself occupied. She throws herself into her research, and spends her days once again getting to know her family and the half saiyan who foolishly loves her. She finds that she appreciates his handsome smile, and the way his palm feels against the swell of her belly. She easily forgives him for his minor infidelity, and his quest to make up for it is terribly endearing. When he is with her, she is able to slip into this make believe world where it is easy to pretend what they have is normal. A place where she does not allow his memory follow her.

The past is too painful and the future too uncertain, so she does her best to stay in the present.

In this moment, Bulla focuses on her mother's heartfelt smile and the whisper of soft lace against her skin as the veil falling across her shoulders is adjusted. On how lovely Marron looks under the soft autumn sunlight with those crimson flowers entwined in her hair. She does everything she can to avoid catching her reflection in the full length mirror behind her.

"You look beautiful," Bulma says, running her hands down over the nonexistent fly-aways on her daughter's fringe.

"Yeah, you really do." Marron is in front of her, painting her lips a deep crimson. The blonde gives her a playful smirk. "You look so good, if it wasn't for that little bun you've got popping out of the oven, you probably could have fooled people into believing this was a real wedding."

"Even with your little belly, you still look beautiful." Luckily, before Bulma's gave her arm a smack, Marron had already pulled the lipstick away from Bulla's face. "But, I still don't understand why you decided to wait so long. It took a miracle to get the dress fitted."

The dress was originally worn by her grandmother at her own very posh and ostentatious wedding. It was the same wedding dress her mother wore when she married her father, at a ceremony even more quaint than the one she would be having.

"I told you, I didn't want a summer wedding," Bulla sighs. It may have seemed silly, but she didn't want her wedding to become a part of the many painful and beautiful memories she already had of this summer.

"Sucks that you have to have your honeymoon here, though," Marron says, taking a seat on the tufted ottoman by Bulla's bed.

"It's okay. She's rich," Bulma laughs. "Once my grand-baby is born, she can travel wherever she wants to, whenever she wants to. The sky isn't even the limit."

With her legs crossed, and a finger pointed at her, Marron warms, "Oh yeah and Bulla, it doesn't matter that it's going to be your wedding night okay? Nothings changed-the only sex you can have tonight is oral. Got it? Doctor's orders." With one arm propped behind her, Marron reclines on the ottoman and ignores the embarrassed flush on the bride's face. "And by that I mean you can only give it- you're pregnancy is so f*cked up, we aren't sure how your body would react to that kind of stimulation."

At this Bulma gives a little sigh of empathy. "When you put it all together- the wedding night in your childhood home, the lack of sex- it all just sounds kind of disappointing, doesn't it?"

"It's fine," Bulla shrugs. With her frequent bouts of nausea and fatigue, sex was the last thing on her mind. Well, specifically sex with Goten; sometimes she couldn't stop her mind from wandering down that dangerous path. "It will just be like every other night, only when we wake up we'll be married."

Bulla does her best to ignore the pity in her friend's smile.

Being careful to avoid the mirror in her periphery, she turns around to look outside her bedroom window. There is a small commotion of activity on the lawn, with Chi-Chi at the helm, overseeing the set up for her son's wedding. She tries not to focus on her future mother-in-law. It hurts when she does, so she looks past her, and as expected sees the lights on in the gravity chamber.

Much to her father's displeasure, Goten wound up moving into Capsule Corporation. Between his success in the martial arts community and her family's fortune, they could have easily afforded a place of their own. It was the high-risk status of her pregnancy that been the determining factor. All things considered, living in Capsule Corporation was the best option. Residency started up a few months ago, and with Marron gone and Goten spending most of his time on his newest ventures, she was grateful to have both her family and the bustle of Capsule Corporation to keep her mind occupied.

It took her father the longest to adapt.

Even after returning home, for weeks there had been a palpable tension between him and everyone else, and in the back of her mind the kai's words remained an unpleasant echo. Then one day, after months spent purposely ignoring her, while she had been staring out the kitchen window, lost in thoughts of genetically enhanced glial cells and lovely red leaves, her father appeared beside her. He scoffed and in his own unique way of making peace, told her what a terrible irony it had been to realize how alike she and her mother were; both fiercely intelligent and beautiful, yet somehow idiotic enough to allow something like this to happen.

She cringes to imagine how uncomfortable the consolatory conversation between Goten and her father went.

It was wild to think in a few hours, donned in his formal saiyan attire, her father would be handing her over to her new husband.

Bulla is drawn out of her thoughts when the door opens, and she hears Chi-Chi's voice behind her. When she turns around she can see the stars dancing in the older woman's eyes.

"Oh my, Bulla! You look so lovely." The awe in her voice makes Bulla's stomach plummet. "I'm so glad that you are marrying Goten, and in a few months I'll have a new grand-baby. You've made this old woman so happy!"

"Thanks," Bulla winces.

"Bulma," Chi-chi says, turning her attention to the other woman. "Were you able to get ahold of Goku? Do you know if he will be able to make it?" The question makes Bulla turn back around sharply and firmly grasp the window pane. Chi-Chi continues, obvious to the brides sudden distress. "The caterer needs to know so he can know how much food to have on standby."

Since that night, no one had seen hide nor hair of Son Goku.

She thinks her father is the one who's taken his absence the hardest. Knowing his rival was training off the planet and getting stronger had only fed his near constant irritation.

"I'm going to try calling Whis in a few hours to remind him." She hears her mother say. "Tell the caterer to plan accordingly. It's his son's wedding after all, how could he miss it?"

At this, both of the older women laugh as though sharing a private joke. Eventually it all just becomes too much- standing there in a wedding dress, listening to Chi-Chi and her mother talk so casually about Goku, the man who's child she's carrying- the man who's son she is about to marry.

She lurches forward, barely grabbing an empty shoe box off the floor in time to avoid vomiting all over the carpet.

Sensing her friend's distress, Marron hands the soiled box to the older women and uses her authority as a physician to usher both of the women out of the room. When they are alone, the blonde asks, "Are you sure you can do this?"

"Yes." Bulla manages a weak reply through sharp breaths. "I think I just need a few minutes to clear my head. I'll be fine."

"Right." Marron's expression says she believes otherwise, but once Bulla's face regains some color, she leaves her friend alone collect her thoughts.

With her eyes fixed on the floor, Bulla follows the familiar layout of her bedroom until her bare feet meet porcelain tile. She grabs her toothbrush off the counter and finds that by focusing only on the movements of her hands, it is easier to ignore the blurred outline of blue and white reflected in the mirror ahead of her. She washes her mouth out. The strong taste of mint only makes her nauseous.

In a stupor, she walks out of her bathroom, and forgetting to keep her eyes on the floor, she meets her reflection head on.

A girl so painfully beautiful is staring back at her.

Her mouth is slightly parted in shock, and painted the same shade of red as the autumn leaves. With a curtain of lace cascading over her long, blue tresses, all the way down to her bare shoulders, she wears a simple gown of embroidered white satin. The only thing out of place is the small bump of her belly and the despair in her eyes.

In the mirror, she sees the familiar girl's features fall into one of sorrow. She doesn't want Goten- not really. What she wants- what she wants is something she was never meant to have. It isn't love, not even close, yet in that moment it feels like it is everything.

She is getting married today.

Her breath catches in her throat and the floor begins to sway beneath her feet. She stumbles backwards, suddenly overcome with a terrible unease that starts the churning in her stomach all over again.

None of this feels right.

No longer able to meet those morose blue eyes, she turns away from the mirror. Despite all the reasons she shouldn't think of him, she still finds herself wondering; and all that wondering fills her heart with a terrible longing.

She can't do this.

Her bed is a mess of strewn clothes, and wedding trinkets, so she stumbles to the center of the room, and with her body feeling as heavy as her heart she sinks to the floor.

She raises one pale hand above her, towards the shadows on the ceiling, and there is something almost deliberate about the glint of her silver ring in the autumn light. Knowing nothing would ever come of it does nothing to temper her emotions, or stop the slow, pained ache that accompanies each beat of her heart. She wants him now as terribly as she always has. She'd been a fool to think otherwise.

She doesn't want to marry Goten.

In the fragility of her mind, she cannot understand why he has left her here. Alone, to walk in the fallout of their one shared night. She doesn't know what she would say or do, but against all sense she just so badly needs to see him.

She needs him to tell her that it's all right.

She needs him to tell her what to do.

She brings her hand closer to her face and stares at the silver band around her thumb. She can't explain it, but just as it had that night on Mount Paozu, she feels the innate pull of something gentle and coaxing. It is a soft reassuring whisper against her consciousness, and it tells her that if she were to call him, he would come. She raises her other hand, pinching the silver ring between her thumb and forefinger, and draws in a deep breath.

Lying there on the floor, lost in a sea of silk and lace, she slides the silver band off her finger and waits.

Chapter 10: In the Heat of the Moment

Chapter Text

He lets Whis get too close.

The angel appears in front of him, mid-air, and it only takes Whis one quick, well aimed strike to send the saiyan catapulting through the nothingness below him.

Goku quickly catches himself. He's hovering perpendicular to the void below him, and when he blinks, the world around him takes shape. In the tangerine sky above him, he sees the Oracle Fish floating by. The little seer flies up higher and higher until he is floating in front of Whis.

"You're getting a message from Earth." The seer props his fins over the edge of his glass bowl, and yawns. "I was in the middle of a nap when your Earth woman woke me up."

Goku lowers himself down on the grass, and does his best to ignore the conversation happening above him. Bulma and the Earth are two things he does not want to think about, because it would only make him start thinking about her. Even though her energy signature vanished many, many days ago, she still plagues his thoughts.

"Oh, really?" There is a lift of playful intrigue in Whis' voice. "And whatever did she want?"

"Oh... uhm... let me think," the fish sighs, slumping against the edge of its bowl. "After being woken up like that- and on an empty stomach, too- my brain's just a little fuzzy."

"You know, I was considering bringing you back a little treat of whatever delicious delight Bulma had in store for our next visit," Whis says thoughtfully. "I don't think I will though. It would appear as though all these extra snacks are making you sluggish."

"Wait!" The Oracle fish wails, frantically waving its fins. "I remember! Bulma said she was going to be hosting a gathering today. She's going to be serving the most large and exquisite cake the Earth has ever seen. Please bring me some!" After catching her breath, the fish peers down the edge of his bowl at the saiyan thrown on the grass below and yells, "And, Goku! Your attendance is requested- it's supposed to be important."

"Oh…uh, yeah. I'll definitely try to make it." Goku does his best not to grimace. The unlimited amounts of food offered at Bulma's parties would usually be enticing enough to make a quick appearance, but he isn't sure he is ready to face everyone back on Earth.

Whis floats down and lands beside him. "If you do choose to return to Earth, perhaps you should work on your ki control for a bit before you do? Perhaps even try your hand at a little meditation? It could prove beneficial."

Goku sits up. He hates meditating. There are pieces of grass stuck in his hair as he looks at the angel in confusion.

"You're still very conflicted. To be honest, your presence may lead to a squabble and prove to be quite disastrous to the buffet table," Whis chuckles. "And I really am looking forward to that cake."

Since the time Goku asked Whis about the possibility of an alternate dimension in which Bulla and him were together, neither of them have spoken of the blue haired half saiyan. Despite training until reaching new pinnacles of exhaustion, those few days in which he could sense her ki had been torture, and even after she concealed it, the restlessness never truly went away.

Thinking of her hurts more than it does when he thinks of his family. It's a different kind of hurt, and as the days pass, it is one he is gradually beginning to accept.

With a heavy sigh, Goku plops down onto the grass and bends his elbows behind his head. "Do you think it will always be like this?"

The angel doesn't ask the saiyan to clarify. He simply looks down at Goku with that discerning little smile. "Yes, I do."

"Maybe I could just gather all the dragon balls and wish away all of this away. I don't like this." He looks up into the nebulous sky, with a tired hope brightening his dark eyes.

"That won't you think yourself capable of making such a cowardly wish?" There is a hint of disapproval in the angels voice, and before giving Goku a chance to reply, Whis continues, "Either way, I'm sorry to disappoint you Goku, but that would simply be another wish wasted. This is not a coincidental occurrence. As I told you, in this universe her existence has been carefully planned to favorably intertwine with yours."

Goku lets out a deep sigh.

Usually, he could care less about what the gods were up to, but in that moment he finds himself irritated at them for deliberately using him for reasons he doesn't fully understand.

"One way or another, until one of your souls cross into the Other World, you will always find your way back to each other. Just as you cannot control your need to fight, you cannot control this. It is just another part of your saiyan nature." With his eyes shut in a genial expression, the angel floats higher up into the sky and before disappearing in a burst of speed calls out, "Oh, and Goku- please do leave the acrosian alone. I think it's safe to say, in the past few decades, Universe Seven has already lost quite enough planets. Let's not give Beerus a reason to get too lazy."

Once Whis is gone, the Oracle Fish floats down and peers at Goku. "If you go to Earth, will you please bring me back some food? Whis never remembers to bring me any of the good stuff."

"Yeah, sure," Goku grumbles.

Noticing the Saiyan's glum disposition, the Oracle Fish eyes the Saiyan suspiciously before floating away. "Don't forget, okay?"

Supine on the soft grass, Goku is left alone with his sour thoughts. After a few minutes, the grumbling of his stomach shatters his reverie. It is time for their evening meal, and with Whis gone and the planet's food safely stored in an another dimension, Goku is left to fend for himself. He jumps to his feet and after a quick rinse in the lake, teleports himself to the same planet he saved from Frieza not too long ago. In their gratitude, the furry, long-limbed inhabitants bring him platters of cooked meat that he digs into with his hands and pastries so sweet, globs of congealed sugar are left tips of his fingers.

When he feels it, his fingers are still slick with animal grease and the laugh he had been sharing with the alien beside him seizes in his throat. Within the void of the universe, not only does he feel the fatal lure of her energy, but near her- within her, he senses something new.

He had felt a pull similar to this a long time ago. A cold sweat begins to bead on his forehead when he realizes that had been many years ago, back when everyone still thought he was human. In his minds eye he remembers being happy with his fingers spread over the huge swell of Chi-chi's stomach. He's going to grow up big and strong, just like his daddy, she had laughed and from beneath the taut skin of her belly there it had been, clear as day- that undeniable link between him a new life.

He remembers her sleeping in the medical pod and his son holding her hand.

His surroundings fade into the background, and he cannot think over a sudden rush of panic. His mind does not stay in that feeble place for long. That part of himself that he is barely learning to accept- that part of him always aching for a good fight, the restless part of him- it does not allow it. Goku plants his elbows on the table top, over the half eaten slab of meat and buries his face into his palms.

It can't be.

He has to be wrong.

When he senses his wife amongst the energies gathered around Bulla, content and glowing beside that of his youngest son, Goku bites down on his fist. He is grappling for reason, and despite the strong, visceral disgust the thought brings, he imagines his son on top of his princess, drawing out the same pleasured moans he once had.

Goku feels sick and terrified all at once, and beneath it all he finds himself needing to know that he is wrong.

Goku finds himself sloppily reasoning that with Bulma's earlier invitation, the timing couldn't be more perfect. He could just pop in, say hello and confirm that he was sensing something that wasn't there. Perhaps it is a glitch cast by her energy concealing device.

He tells himself, he is just too far away to tell.

The saiyan hones in on Bulla's ki, noting how far away it is from everyone else, and in a characteristic moment of impulsivity, raises two fingers to his forehead and decides- really, the timing couldn't be better.

He clenches his eyes tightly to stop the world from spinning around him, and in the background he can still faintly hear the alien's animated voices. In the next instant, even with his eyes still closed he knows she is there. In this room, the intensity of her nearness sends a shiver down his spine, and the smell of roses is so strong he can taste it in the back of his throat. Before opening his eyes, he takes a deep steadying breath, and when he looks down and sees her, he falls to his knees.

Beneath the soft sunlight she is glowing. The diamonds she is wearing around her neck sparkle like stars, and in all that fine, white fabric she is wrapped in he can't help but think she looks hauntingly beautiful.

The surprise in her pretty blue eyes gives way to something softer, and when she raises her trembling fingers he cannot stop himself from leaning into her touch. Under the soft brush of her fingers, he is trembling.

"Hi," she says, the word falling from her lips in a breathy sigh.

With his gaze fixed on the pout of her lips, he cannot remember his reason for being here. All he knows is that she is his, and she is glorious.

He is too consumed by the strange allure of her painted mouth to realize that with each passing second he is leaning into her closer and closer. The distance between their lips closes in a burst of electricity.

Goku only knows one way to kiss: soft and gentle, but when he feels her mouth yield under his, he finds himself wanting more. She obliges, obediently opening her mouth for him. He feels the tease of her tongue against his and shudders.

He doesn't remember touching her, but against the rough skin of his palm he feels the smooth material of her dress, and as his eyes trail down her mouth, all the way to the swell of her belly, he remembers his reason for coming to Earth. His fingers flex nervously against her stomach, and then as though sensing his presence, the new energy snaps against his consciousness, strong, vibrant and full of life.

He pulls his hand away in shock.

All of a sudden everything is too real- the baby, the wedding dress, this ugly, suffocating hopelessness, and despite how obvious the answer is, he asks, "Why are you wearing that?"

She pushes herself up on her elbows and avoids his gaze by reaching for something on the carpet. "I'm getting married today."

His heart twists painfully in his chest. Even though he knows, it is the newly developed masoch*st in him that so badly wants to follow up his question with the one he knows would hurt them both- Who is he?

Goku knows who it is. He can smell it.

Under all the perfume and flowers, his son's scent penetrates the room. From the way it lingers in every corner, Goku knows his son has been staying in this room for a very long time. Deep down, he knows how wrong it to be here- in the room his son shares with his young bride. To have kissed her even as she carries his grandchild inside of her, but all of that pales in comparison to what he feels when he realizes he has lost.

And the darkness inside of him does not like to lose. It understands even less why his princess would allow another, someone weaker than him to claim her.

Her eyes remain fixed on the silver ring pinched between her fingers, and with each passing second Goku's agitation grows. The saiyan doesn't know what he wants from her. All he knows is that she is his, and that her avoidance threatens to invoke the worst parts of him. He is a beast backed into a corner, overwhelmed by the frenzy of innate instinctual impulses he is doing his best to control. When she slides the ring over her finger, concealing herself and the ki beneath his palm, he snaps.

In a speed too fast for her to see, he reaches for the back of her head, forcefully grabbing a fistful of blue hair and lace with one hand, and smothering her startled yell with the other. He meets her big, fearful blue eyes with a vicious grin, and knowing she wouldn't dare call out, uncovers her mouth.

"Goku." His name falls from her lips in a whimper, and it oozes down his consciousness like something dirty.

"Don't call me that," he growls. He does not want to hear that name- not when the madness inside of him is burning him alive. "When I have you like this," he hisses through clenched teeth, yanking on her hair for emphasis,"you will call me Kakarot." Goku would never do this. He loves his wife, his family and friends- his home. Goku is repulsed, sorry, and confused, but Kakarot revels.

Kakarot knows exactly what his princess is to him.

Bulla furrows her brows in confusion, and even though she appears hesitant, her body responds beautifully. His princess knows who he is.

"Kakarot," she says slowly, testing the feel of his name on her tongue.

He's been hard from the moment he appeared before her, but as she studies his face, her features soften in acceptance, invoking a new kind of yearning inside of him. One that reaches down all the way into even the most kind, noble parts of him, and twists until all of him is hurting.

He wants this girl.

All of her.

She should have been his.

He reaches down, snaking a palm between her shoulders and exchanges a fistful of her hair to grip her by the back of her scalp. Bulla comes comes to life beneath him. Her blue eyes shimmer like the diamonds hanging from her neck and a lively flush decorates her round cheeks, and because it feels right when everything else feels so wrong, he brings her up to meet his mouth in a bruising kiss.

Goku's never kissed like this.

He's never really wanted to, but there is something about having her mouth on his that makes him realize he has been starving for this kind of closeness for a very long time. From the way she responds, a desperate mess of lips and tongue and teeth, Goku dares to think that maybe she's found something special in this too.

His ki prickles under his skin, and the more Bulla responds, the more difficult it is to keep his energy under control. When she swipes her tongue across the roof of his mouth, the air around them crackles and it is Mount Paozu all over again. In the background he can sense everyone's energies, and though he knows how wrong this is- how much it would hurt everyone, he can't stop. How could he, when being with her felt as natural as breathing and fighting and all the other things he could not imagine a life without.

The scent of her lust is overwhelming. He feels the scrape of her nails against the back of his neck and thinks, I need to have her, and just like that they are on New Namek.

On this planet, the air is light and clean.

Instant transmission startles her, and when she opens her eyes, she knows she is a billion light years from home.

Once her feet touch the ground, Bulla is quick to plant her palms on his chest in an attempt to pull away, but he doesn't let her. He swallows her muffled protests with his mouth, and it is only when he senses a jump in the familiar energy behind him that he lets her go.

"Goku?"

The name makes him bristle. In his excitement, he had forgotten about who's ki he had focused on to bring them here. The Saiyan turns to see an old Namekian staring at the girl in his arms in slack-jawed surprise. Goku glances at Bulla and chuckles at how similar her expression is to that of the village elder.

"Hey there, Moorai! Long time no see." Reigning in his impatience, Goku offers the namekian a cheerful smile and hoists Bulla up into his arms. "This is my friend. I'm going to show her around, okay? Do you think you could do me a favor and ask everyone to leave us alone for a little bit?"

When he envelops her in his ki, Bulla shivers against him. Goku feels just as spectacular as she remembers.

With one arm wrapped around Bulla's waist, Goku salutes the bewildered namekian and shoots off into the clear green sky. The girl in his arms squeals, curling against him with one hand looped around his neck and the other clutched at the sheer fabric adorning her head.

The suns beat down on his skin, drudging up the memory of a promise he whispered against her skin. One day, we are going to come back here, he had told the naked girl sprawled across his chest. He'd still been riding the high of something magical when he raised his hands up to the star covered sky and said, On the other side of the planet, the sun never goes down, and it's nothing but blue grass for miles. I can promise you've never seen anything like it! He remembers her breathing heavily from the exertion of their coupling, and the bright smile she gave him before he flipped her over and made her scream out his name into the darkness.

It's a memory that he hasn't dared revisit. One that feels like a lifetime ago, and now that she is in his arms and as he flies through the clear skies of New Namek, he realizes he must have always known he would bring her back.

He may have been many things, but a liar was not one of them.

Her heart is racing. Goku feels the rush of her blood beneath his hands, and the smell of her adrenaline is driving him wild.

He wants her mouth on him again.

In a matter of seconds, Goku touches ground somewhere hundrends of miles away and gently sets her down. There is nothing but an expanse of rolling blue fields as far as the eye can see, and as beautiful as the sight is, it is one he has seen a thousand times. For him, the real novelty lay in watching the girl in front of him. In the sight she made standing bare foot on the blue grass, looking at the world around them in breathless amazement.

Bulla is in awe of this alien world. Knowing he had made his princess happy brought a new sort of satisfaction, and it was then, as he watched her wriggle her toes in the grass and stare at the spherical trees and green sky in wonder, that a dangerous idea began to grow.

The princess is a wonder to behold, glowing in her happiness. She laughs in delight and twirls, making the fabric of her dress flare out in a brilliant white ripple of satin. "I don't think I've ever seen anything this amazing," she breathes, and when she sharply turns to look at him, her long blue hair trails behind her like the tail of a shooting star.

When her eyes land on him, her brightness wanes, and he wonders if she can see how starved he is for her. It only takes a few steps for her to close the distance between them.

Bulla plants her palms against his chest, looks up him and sighs,"It's no wonder you're always running off like you have somewhere better to be. Earth must seem so small to you." The happiness in her aura slowly fades, and her smile falters just enough to make him worry. "When you can go anywhere in the universe, I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is to stay in one place."

Vegeta once told him that was the saiyan in him, always searching for something more. That as long as there was more strength to gain, the feeling would never really go away. He stays silent because he still wants her as badly as he did when he was kissing her minutes ago.

Bulla reaches for his face and there is a strange sort of emotion in her eyes. When they were young, sometimes his wife would look at him like that. Goku feels his breath catch at the sudden stab of betrayal the thought invokes, but the need for his princess is too strong, and it easily smothers everything else.

Goku stoops down so that she can run her fingers across his face, and as she trails them up into his wild hair, he shudders. He is hyperaware of all of her, and trembles from the want.

"When you're so much larger than life, I bet everything must feel that way- small and insignificant. I bet I must feel like that to you too," she says with a rueful smile. "Sometimes I forget how different your world is from mine. Is life always like this for you?"

He doesn't understand her question. Bulla leans forward, and as she studies his handsome face, she thinks of the kai's and the gods. How for him, someone more god than man, nothing- herself included, is ever truly out of reach.

"Is your world always this full of magic? Kami, I wish I could see it," she muses.

In this moment, he thinks she may be the most magical thing in his world- a witch, enchanting him with her beauty.

Especially, now when something stronger than gravity seems to be pulling him towards her. She squeals when he hoists her up into the air, burying his hands beneath a sea of white fabric until he is holding her up by the backs of her thighs. Her arms are wrapped around the back of his neck, and he feels the swell of her child pressed against him.

Goku feels uncomfortable. His skin feels to tight, his need too out of control, and even though the voice in his head is growling mine, mine, mine, he knows that no matter what the deities may have said, she isn't his- not truly. The child growing inside of her and the wedding dress she is wearing are proof of that, but when she cranes her neck forward to press her forehead against his, he can't stop the words from tumbling out of his lips.

"I could take you with me."

He isn't good with words, and immediately thinks he must have said the wrong thing. Behind her dry eyes, he can smell the salt of tears forming.

She pulls away from him, brows furrowed and eyes searching as they flitter across his face. "You don't mean that."

"I do mean it," he tells her. "If you wanted to, I would take you with me." Something inside of him did not appreciate her doubt, and then as though to prove his point adds, "I wouldn't lie to you."

"I know you wouldn't," she sighs. The tears she is holding back glisten in her eyes, and she seems to find whatever it is she was looking for, because she's smiling again. "That's a nice thought, though. Could you imagine us traveling all over the universe? Going wherever it is our hearts desired. Doing this whenever we wanted?" She hooks her fingers behind his neck and leans in close enough until their noses touch. "Where would you take me first?"

"I would take you anywhere in the universe you wanted to go, princess. You just tell me where," he replies seriously.

And she knows he means it.

This thing she makes him feel is torn, twisted, and beautiful, and when she leans forward to whisper, "Hmm, maybe later. Right now, I just want you to kiss me," and softly presses her lips against his, he decides that her chaos matches his perfectly.

It's the only part of her that does.

It's jarring to realize that even after what they have done, her heart is a stranger to him. To know he will never completely have her invokes an irrational discontent that spills into their kiss. He bites her lips and digs his hands into the backs of her thighs until she is trembling. The more forceful he is, the more responsive his princess becomes. She knows it's gross and demeaning, but she can't help but submit to him.

What they have is reckless and selfish. It calls to him with the fury of the full moon, appealing to the parts of him he has spent a lifetime trying to deny existed. Goku thinks Bulla wouldn't be here right now, with the skirt of her wedding dress bunched up around her thighs and her mouth hot and open upon him if the same madness did not exist inside of her as well.

And within this, Goku has found a sense of completeness that he never imagined possible outside of fighting. It makes no sense, and the saiyan thinks he will think differently when he is alone, suffocating under the heavy guilt he knows will eventually come. Despite how twisted everything is, right now, it feels like this is where they were always meant to be.

Bulla slides her fingers up his neck and into his hair, scraping her nails against his scalp, and with her mouth, draws the madness out of him. She drinks it until the smell of her becomes urgent, and she is just as wild as he is. In the craze of the moment, even the child growing inside of her feels right.

He hates what he is doing. He feels so out of control, but he can't stop.

He doesn't want to.

Here on New Namek, they collide in a frenzied mess. It doesn't matter that he doesn't have to pretend, she's still making a liar out of him.

He tells himself, just one more time. After one last taste he will quit her, but Kakarot will always be waiting for her, lurking in the shadows, waiting to gorge himself on the parts of her she slips him when no one is looking.

Is this my true self?, he muses as he shifts her in his arms. Goku remembers Whis' cryptic words, and wonders if this is how he ends up losing his humanity.

The skirt of her dress is ruched up at her hips, and with one hand spanning the small of her back, he pushes her sex against his stomach. Her head falls backwards and she moans so prettily. Goku doesn't think he likes who he is right now- a creature reduced to it's most base desires, and even though he's lost to his son and shamed himself, he has to admit, he's never felt better.

Bulla makes him feel powerful and so, so good, and in turn, when she is with him, he sets her world on fire.

Her saiyan's energy prickles against her skin, and when his large hand finds her lower back, pressing her c*nt against his hard stomach, she decides she would do anything for him. It's moment's like these that prove this saiyan is her entire world. She is beyond pleased to know she is capable of pulling out the parts of him that are harsh, punishing and just as sick and wanton as her own.

He is relentless.

Goku's mouth quickly finds her neck, and careful of the baby growing between them, he grinds her against him until her toes curl. A cataclysmic pleasure is building inside of her. When she feels a gentle nip on her neck, she gasps in surprise and opens her eyes to a clear green sky.

She goes still and grabs a fistful of his thick, wild hair, pulling him away just enough to get his attention. "Please, don't mark me," she pleads. That darkness creeps into his eyes again, and when his grip on her becomes more urgent she finds herself frightened. Not of him, but of the terrible thrill that runs through her when she imagines appearing in front of Goten, debauched and marred with the stronger warrior's bites.

"You can't get too carried away," she warns through labored breaths. "Don't you f*cking dare leave any bites or hickeys- not this time."

Goku's eyes widen in surprise, and there is a hint of disbelief in his voice when he asks, "When you say not this time, what exactly do you mean by that?" His hands go still against her, and she can see the gears turning in his head. The moment her words click, a boyish smile pulls at his lips, contrasting terribly with the volatile madness brewing in his dark eyes. "Okay, sure. Not right now, I get it, but what about tomorrow, or all the days that come after that? Will you let me mark that pretty neck of yours then?" he asks, brushing his lips against the pale column of her neck. "When it's not today, will you let me have you again?"

The fingers pressed against the small of her back journey downwards to tease the swollen lips of her sex, forcing a reply from her.

"Yes!" she gasps, clenching her legs against him. The saiyan sneaks his fingers beneath the damp lace of her panties, and when they slide against where she is slick with need, she goes rigid in his arms. "Yes! After- after this, I promise," she cries out, her words catching in her throat when he uses his index and fourth finger to part her.

Against her neck, he asks, "After this, you promise what, princess?"

And when he slides his middle finger inside of her she sobs, "After this, you could do anything you wanted to me." Her spine arches dramatically and she's writhing against him from the overwhelming pleasure. "Kami, I want you so much. I always want you," she admits wretchedly.

Her words soothe the darkness inside of him, and as she grows more responsive, the roiling wrath inside of him ebbs away. She is mine, it says with a pleased growl, and at the same time it strikes a new vulnerability within him. Vulnerability is weakness, and as much as he tries to squash it down, focusing instead on the smell of her lust, or the feel of her against his fingers, it bleeds through.

"You'd let me do whatever I wanted to you? Do you really mean that?" He is panting, absolutely fascinated by the feel of her warmth enveloping his finger. There is a kaleidoscopic burst of filthy images in his mind, and over the ache in his loins, his heart twists painfully. "Please don't do that to me, Bulla. Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I mean it," she says urgently, clenching her legs so tightly against his sides they tremble. "After today, after-", she starts, but he slowly moves his finger inside of her, forcing her words to melt into a drawn out moan.

The sound makes him go still.

It runs down his spine like something electric, triggering a short circuit in his brain that seems to make time bend. In a stretch of a few seconds she floods his senses, and as drowns in her, he catches the scent of another. In his delirium, the baby inside of her felt so familiar he could almost imagine it was his, but Goten's faint scent breaks through.

Struck by a sudden impulse to disobey, Goku opens his mouth, teeth poised against the nape of her neck. With a growl of irritation he pulls away, and cranes forward to press his forehead against hers. "But what about today, Princess?"

Today she is promising herself to his son.

His primal nature is betrayed and confused. Can she not feel that she is his? The baby in her belly doesn't matter it seethes, he can put a new one there.

The violent chaos in his eyes is hypnotic, calling to her like something she has always known, and when he asks, "What will you do for me today?", she hears the answer from deep within her bones.

Anything.

The word sits at the tip of her tongue, but the pleasure he is quickly building with his hand combines with a sudden gripping fear.

He is being too rough. Remembering the blood stain between her legs, she cries out, "Stop!"

The word strikes him like a painful lash, and he clenches his eyes from the shame of it.

It is the same word he would repeat to himself over and over when she would seep into his thoughts, and it only serves to worsen the ones currently in his head. When the princess unhooks an arm from around his neck to reach down and grab his arm in warning, he shudders from the severity of the ugliness building up inside of him.

"Stop what? Wanting you- thinking about you?" The menace in his voice creeps into his ki, crackling against her skin in warning. "What makes you think I haven't tried? Do you think I like being like this?" The saiyan wraps his big hands back around her legs, and the she feels her arousal on his fingers, slick and warm against her skin. After a deep steadying breath, he opens his eyes and bares his teeth at her. "What have you done to me, Bulla?"

Startled by his intensity, she loosens her arms from around his neck, and in an attempt to put space between them, wedges the sharp of her elbows against his chest. The scent of her fear rolls off her skin thick and sweet, clouding his senses till he is drunk with it.

Goku relishes the way her fear sharpens as he begins to languidly trails his hand up the side of her body. When he reaches her shoulders, he lays his palm flat against her bare skin, and she cries out, "Please, just put me down! You need to put me down."

He scoffs in disgust, but obliges in his own way.

Goku moves quickly, and in the next instant she finds herself perched on the saiyan's lap with her palms flat against his chest and the skirt of her dress ruched up over her knees. Bulla blinks slowly and realizes that there is grass beneath her toes, and the shadow cast over her is coming from the giant spherical tree overhead. The same tree that Goku is now propped against.

"I thought I knew who I was." His palm is still between her shoulders, holding her in place. He leans forward to bury his nose in the crook of her neck and in a low voice says, "But I'm not so sure anymore."

She doesn't dare imagine how ridiculous they must look. She thinks their families would die if they saw them like this. Goku in his trademark orange gi, reclined against a tree with her perched on his lap with her wedding dress billowing around them, positioned in a perfect mockery of romance.

"You're like a sickness, Bulla," he whispers, breath hot against her ear. "You're ruining me- turning me into something I can't recognize."

His words land on her heavy as boulders.

Bulla shakes her head vigorously. She does not want to hear anymore, and when Goku pulls away, she fruitlessly tries stilling his lips with her fingers.

Goku chuckles darkly at her attempt to silence him, and with one hand catches both her wrists. "You're turning me into the thing I've spent my whole life trying to fight. That thing that loves the smell of fear and blood and the sound of a body breaking beneath my fists. Man, even thinking about all of that really just gets me going. Sometimes it feels like I'm going crazy from how badly I want to make the world burn," he tells her with a dark chuckle. It's not his hand between her shoulders, or his grip on her wrists that hold her in place. It's the abyss in his eyes that stills her. "You know, when I was just a kid, I didn't know my own strength and ended up killing a lot of people. Bulla, I've never told anyone this, but killing all those people felt good. It was scary how good it felt." It's like he's transforming before her eyes. His features harden, and there is a subtle elongating in the sharps of his teeth. "That's why I like fighting really strong bad guys. I can hurt them as badly as I want, and everyone just cheers." His energy snaps frantically around them, and his grin is absolutely feral. "And if they're really bad, I can just kill them. I really don't like doing that, though. It's not right to waste a good opponent like that. After dusting themselves off, they come back angrier and stronger- and they always come back."

His words should quicken the fright inside of her. The heiress should be disgusted that in pursuit of such his own personal amusem*nt he would selfishly risk the lives of so many, but instead his brutality captivates her.

He knows it does.

When he closes his eyes and inhales, the air is heavy with the scent of her rekindled desire.

"Bulla, you like this," Goku says in disbelief, and when he opens his eyes to look at her, a vicious grin pulls at his lips. "All those fights I've won- the enemies I've killed- you like hearing about all the terrible things I've done, don't you? I can smell it."

"I do," she replies with surprising candidness.

Goku is left speechless, and after a breath he laughs in disbelief. "What a pair we make, huh?"

For a moment, they stare at each other. And in the same way she is mesmerized by his otherworldly strength, he finds himself in awe of her bloodlust and beauty.

With a soft smile she says,"I think we'd make a good pair", and in his head he can faintly hear the universe whisper, She was made for you.

He releases his hold on her wrists to sweep away the loose strands of hair at her cheek, and in the sapphire shine of her eyes, he catches a perilous glimpse of devotion. In her deliberate beauty and acceptance, Goku sees nothing but danger.

He takes in the sight of this obscene offering crafted by the universe; his son's pregnant bride, nestled against where he is hard and aching, and his thoughts darken.

"I think you're the most dangerous creature I've ever met," he tells her, running his fingers against the soft skin of her cheek. "For my entire life, I've tried my best to be good, to do good- to ignore the ugliness inside my head, but you make it so hard to do that. You've made me scared of myself again." And though his touch is tender, his words are a pained hiss through clenched teeth. "I'm afraid of who I'm becoming."

His grip against her wrist loosens and his anger melts away. Kakarot is gone. It is Son Goku who sits before her, vulnerable and raw.

"You make me want to hurt my own son, Bulla," he says brokenly.

"What about me?" she asks, hoping to invoke the brutality within him. "Do you ever think about hurting me?"

For a drawn out moment, Goku stares at the pretty girl perched on his lap, carefully considering her words. In his mind, he imagines Goten on the receiving end of his fist, face bruised and ki waning. "No." He shakes his head. "Not like that."

Because she is sick and selfish, excitement flutters in her chest.

The fingers against her cheek twitch, and he slowly drags them across her skin, down her neck and over the jewels that drip between her breasts. "I want to hurt you in a different way," he says, fingers catching at the bodice of her dress. His eyes follow his fingers as they journey up towards the milk-white flesh of her breasts. He looks up at and his expression is pained. "I want to hurt you for letting my son touch you- for making me want to do disgusting things to you." He slowly drags the tight fabric down with the tips of his fingers, exposing her breasts.

"I want to hurt you for not choosing me," he admits, dragging his eyes up to meet hers. The honesty in his voice is too much. This is too much.

"How about right now, do you want to hurt me right now?" she asks. He shakes his head, and in his eyes, she can see her eventual ruin. Overcome with the need to please, Bulla grabs the large hand pressed against her chest and leads it down to her exposed breasts. His hands are a primitive reassurance upon her fevered skin. "Do you want to touch me?"

The apple of his throat bobs and against all sense, he finds himself nodding.

The princess gathers up the skirt of her dress and scoots back to sit on his knees. "I want you to touch me," she admits, and with the bodice of her dress bunched up under the weight of her breasts, she reaches back with one arm to steady herself on his leg. In her other hand she holds up the skirt of her dress and parts her legs to show him where she wants his touch. "Please, be gentle."

He knows he should stop this, but the same part of him that lives to fight needs this. The significance of the white dress and the swell of her belly is too threatening, and Goku finds himself desperate for whatever she will give him.

They don't speak.

With his hands, the saiyan worships his princess.

Instinct is telling him to be punishing with his touches- to pinch and pull, but he heeds her words. He kneads her breasts and when he reaches between her legs to touch her where she is wet and wanting, she moans so beautifully for him. Her blue eyes go wide when he slides the front of his pants down low enough to free his co*ck, and as he pleasures her, he pleasures himself. Kami, he loves looking at her, and in this moment it is so easy to pretend the baby growing inside of her belongs to him. Neither of them lasts long. His inexperienced fingers easily pry an org*sm from her, and it isn't long before he follows her. His pleasure builds and after spilling into his hand, the biting madness inside of him dissolves into a strange, bittersweet kind of wonder.

Goku wipes his hand on the grass, and pulls the princess flush against his chest, wrapping her in his strong arms. The electric sparking of his aura is gone, but to her his presence still feels enormous.

Bulla can't seem to catch her breath. "It feels like this is where I was always meant to be," she says in breathless wonder.

She feels the saiyan tense. He doesn't reply, but when Goku brings his nose against the crown of her head and sighs, she likes to imagine he must feel the same way.

"I don't know why, but when I'm with you, the world makes sense," she says softly. "I really wish you would just take me away- I don't feel crazy when I'm with you" She buries herself against him, waiting for the guilt that does not come, and in a pained whisper says, "I don't want to marry Goten."

Bulla thinks of the baby and their families and even though her voice cracks, resolution bleeds through. "I don't want to marry him- but I have to." Beneath her palms she can feel every beat of her warrior's heart, and remembers the man back on Earth who is trusting her with his. "He loves me you know."

This is it.

She holds her breath in anticipation of his response. She would do anything he asked of her; gratify his every request.

All he has to do is tell her.

Instead, with a wry chuckle he says, "He'd be crazy not to," and disappointment fills her. Against the top of her head she feels him smile. "He'll make a good dad."

Her heart crumbles from the unspoken imagined words left hanging between them.

He'll make a good dad, better than I could ever be. Go ahead and marry him.

She rests her hand against her stomach, and wishes she could tell him the truth. She wants to tell him everything the kai had told her. She wants to ask him about her father's bloody past and tell him that her father's soul is being used as leverage to birth his child, but she fears his response. Most mortals endure the god's whims in silent suffering.

But Goku is not most mortals- he is a force of reckoning, and his actions the strength to create shockwaves that run through the cosmos. Bulla worries if he were to be blinded by his pride and acted out against the wishes of forces greater than he, it would be her world that suffered.

She nuzzles her nose against his neck, deciding she doesn't want to waste these few precious minutes dwelling on things neither of them have any control over. He smells like the sun and happiness and all things good, and as she melts against him she foolishly dreams that this could be her forever.

Afraid that all of this would slip away if she let go, she grips him tightly.

"What's wrong with us?" she asks.

"There's nothing wrong with us," he replies, and then brightly adds as though it were the answer to everything wrong between them, "It's because we're saiyans, Bulla."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," she laughs.

For the first time in as long as he can remember, he sits still.

Neither of them speak. It's the first org*sm she's had in months, and as she rests against him in a puddle of sluggish neurons, the lust she has always harbored for him slowly begins to take a new shape. One that slides over the warmth and butterflies of what she had imaged to be young love, sparking something within her that feels more like a memory.

The guilt never comes.

Goku follows her back to Earth.

From this far away, it took a few guesses, but eventually he was able to isolate Krillin's daughter's energy signature. He waited until she was a safe distance away from the bustle of familiar ki's before appearing with Bulla in tow.

The blonde girl appeared shaken to see them, but before Goku was given the chance to apologize, Bulla lunged for him, grabbing the scruff of his shirt. Her tone had been biting, and the challenge in her eyes kept him rooted in place. "You're going to stand there and watch me marry him." There's a mean little smile on her face when she tells him, "Let's see how long you last."

His response had been automatic.

"Okay."

Ridding himself of any physical proof of their foolishness had been easy. A quick bath and change of clothes had taken care of that. His thoughts aren't as chaotic as they had been earlier, but a lingering unease remains. It's been a long, long time since he's had to play pretend in front his family and friends like this.

Here on Earth, they are born again.

He hasn't seen his Chi-Chi in months, and when she finds him he is laughing with his friends. Chi-Chi is radiant in her joy, and when she throws her arms around him, he does his best to ignore the anxiety slowly building inside of him. She's so glad to see him, she doesn't even scold him for showing up in his training clothes.

Goku is overwhelmed by new emotions that slither through his consciousness. He feels overwhelmed and strange. There's guilt inside of him, but it's not for what he has done. It's because if given the chance, he'd do it over and over again. It's because as much as he loves his family, he does not possess the strength or the will to deny himself the nirvana he has found within his princess.

He does not think he would be able to bear Bulla's permanent absence without losing his mind.

Soon Goten finds him, and his son is happier than he's ever seen him. Goku hates that as he stands by his wife's side, smiling and congratulating his son, he can feel himself beginning to unravel. He can't look at the boy without remembering the way Bulla looked not even an hour ago; lipstick smeared across her lips and milky white breasts bouncing as she squirmed on his lap in pleasure.

He loves his son so much. He doesn't want to hurt him, but his darkness is vindictive. In his mind's eye he sees himself pummeling the poor boy into the ground.

Now Goku understands the reason Whis suggested that he distance himself from Earth. He's getting sicker by the minute, but he's no stranger to dealing with the less than pleasant qualities of his saiyan nature.

With a deep calming breath he tells himself, this will go away- he will figure this out.

It's a beautiful day on Earth. The sun shines softly and the autumn weather is mild. On the pristine lawn, there are two horizontal rows of white benches facing a small stage. Winded through the lattice arbor on the stage and along the outer sides of the benches were flowers that smelled the same as the ones from Bulla's room. When Bulma wrangles everyone into their seats, his heart rate increases, and he feels the angel's gaze on his back, heavy and all knowing.

The band plays a song that signals everyone to stand, and when the light melody starts, Chi-Chi grabs onto his arm and shifts to look behind her. She gasps and a terrible sense of dread renders him frozen. With bated breath, the Saiyan turns in the direction his wife is looking.

In the small line of people that pass, he can only see her.

She is a dream within a nightmare.

Goku watches on in horror as Vegeta and Bulma's daughter- the same young girl he defiled with his fingers, walks down the aisle. With his daughter's hand curled in the crook of his arm, Vegeta walks beside her regal and proud, looking every bit the part of the Saiyan Prince. Goku crinkles his nose when she passes by, and realizes the reason for his friend's pinched expression.

The princess smells terrible. The artificial fragrances she doused herself in may have served to conceal any traces of their prior actions or whereabouts, but Kami the odor was so pungent he could taste it. She is so close he can hear the beating of her heart, and when she passes by his mind goes blank.

Bulla walks right by him like he is nothing.

In his mind he hears something hiss- How dare she!, as a flame of irritation begins growing in his chest.

On the stage front and center, Fortuneteller Baba hovers on her crystal ball with Goten and Trunks are standing beside her. Marron and Pan are standing at their sides. The blonde is gripping the bouquet in her hands so tight the petals are trembling, and Goku does his best to ignore the scowl she is sending in his direction. The proceedings are led by Fortuneteller Babba, and with each passing minute he is forced to endure Bulla staring at his son with that demure little smile, a terrible pain begins to grow within him. Under his pained smile, he grits his teeth as an awful pain lances through his temples, steadily rising until he feels something inside of him split in two. The curious glance the Saiyan Prince sends him reminds him that he needs to keep it together.

Just as he is once again Son Goku- husband and father, protector of innocents, and someone kind and true, he reminds himself that here on Earth, the pretty girl standing in front of his son is someone else as well. Here on Earth, Bulla and him are strangers. The princess plays her part so perfectly he begins doubting the promise he pried from her with his fingers.

After this, you could do anything you wanted to me.

When Goten leans down to kiss the bride, he forces himself to look away.

The ceremony is over, and everyone follows the smell of food to the tables set up a slight distance away. After the ceremony, Baba floats over to him and looks into his eyes with something akin to pity. Goku gives her a pained smile before going to sit at a table with his family, and focuses on gorging himself on the platter of food set before him. The couple of the hour are seated right in front of him, and the few times Bulla does speak to him it is with such polite, casual indifference he could almost believe the vile things they had done together had only taken place in his imagination. Besides him, he feels Chi-Chi rest her hand against his forearm to get his attention. "I can't believe you stayed awake for the whole ceremony. During Gohan's wedding, you were snoring a minute into the vows," she says playfully, and when everyone around them erupts in laughter, he raises a hand to scratch at his head and sheepishly smiles for their benefit. The only one who doesn't laugh is Bulla. Her gaze remains fixed on him after everyone's laughter fades away. The saiyan ignores the thick ropes of dread coiled in his stomach, and once the princess' attention flitters back to Goten, he gives his wife a smile and resumes eating. With a utensil, someone clinks their glass. Speeches are made, and in the next minute after upbeat music begins to play from speakers strategically concealed in the trees, Goten and Bulla vacate their seats. Goku puts his chopsticks down and watches the couple dancing jovially on the makeshift dance floor. In his mind he sees Bulla as he had earlier that day, wearing that same dress with her breasts bouncing and her head thrown back in bliss.

He is blown away by how easily she fools everyone.

It is so strange to see her like this- all sweet kisses and coy smiles as she dances in his son's arms. After doing such a careful job ignoring him, Goku is caught off guard when he finds his princess watching him over his son's shoulder. The instant their eyes meet, Vegeta reaches his limit for frivolous social interaction. Vegeta suddenly stands and barks out for him to follow, and Goku lets out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

The gravity room begins to whir to life around them, and Goku smiles mischievously. The Prince of all Saiyan's was spoiling for a fight, and he was more than willing to oblige.

"Isn't it wild that when we first met, you were just another evil guy trying to find the dragon balls and kill me?", Goku asks, and because when it comes to riling up Vegeta, he knows exactly which buttons to push, adds, "Who would've imagined that one day we'd become family? Isn't that just great, Vegeta?"

Goku's on a roll- he can't help himself. "So since we're family now," he begins, ignoring his friend's rising ki as he scratches his chin and stares pensively up at the ceiling, "Does that mean I'm saiyan royalty, now too?"

Vegeta's face contorts in disgust. "I wish I had killed you," he snarls, gloved fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Should Vegeta ever discover the stolen moments he shared with his daughter, Goku knows how quickly his friend's words would become true, but he ignores those thoughts and focuses on riling up Vegeta. "Aww you don't mean that," Goku says as he assumes a fighting stance and begins to channel his ki. When he goes in for the kill, he is all easy smiles. "If you had killed me, you wouldn't be expecting your very first grandbaby right now, would you?"

Vegeta lunges towards him before the gravity room finishes calibrating.

By the time the lights flare red and the gravity slams down upon them Vegeta has already gotten a good hit in. Between blows, Vegeta snarls his many grievances.

Goku doesn't know what upsets Vegeta more, the fact that their kid's married each other or that he's been training with Whis and getting stronger without him. And because Vegeta has always been more cautious when it came to Frieza, when Goku told him the frost demon was back to his old planet purging ways, the prince was livid that he hadn't just ended the space tyrant's life or handed him over to the galactic prison. For a while, Vegeta turns out to be a good distraction. When the blood is pounding in his ears and his adrenaline is pumping from dodging Vegeta's charged blows, Goku is able to forget the madness waiting for him outside these metal walls.

In the gravity room, there are no windows and hours slip by like minutes. They spar until they are numb, and by the time they step outside it is pitch black.

Everyone is still celebrating. Under the loud music, Goku can hear the sound of laughter, and when Vegeta flies up one of the domed towers overlooking the small gathering below, he follows.

It's hard to miss her.

As she dances with Goten, the princess shines so brightly she appears to be outlined in a small flame of ki. All too soon those ugly, intrusive thoughts begin worming their way back to the surface. From somewhere below, a familiar burst of feminine laughter captures the prince's attention, and the masculine one that follows seems to irk him.

Goku looks in the same direction as his friend, and when he notices that his son isn't the reason for the prince's annoyance, he becomes curious. "Hey, Vegeta," he says uncertainty. "Do you ever think about hurting Bulma?"

From the look of horror on Vegeta's face, Goku backpedals and nervously laughs,"Eh- not like with punches and kicks. I mean like-"

"Kakarot," Vegeta seethes dangerously, "If you ever so much as think about hurting my-"

"What? No!" Goku's exclaims, eyes wide and then with a laugh he adds, "I wouldn't ever want to hurt your Bulma."

"Explain yourself."

Goku looks up at the hazy night sky and gathers his thoughts. "You know that weird feeling you get when you're fighting, or when the moon is full?" Vegeta looks puzzled, but he nods anyway. Goku continues, "Well, do you ever feel like that whenever she does something that makes you upset? Maybe when she's talking to Yamcha like that, or saying something that really, really gets you mad?"

"Kakarot- surely, you jest ," Vegeta eventually says, and though he is once again looking down at where his wife is seated, Goku can feel the prince watching him through the corner of his eye. "I'm offended you would ever imagine I'd consider that weak imbecile a threat."

"Does that mean you've never felt like that before?" The edge of worry in Goku's voice matches his pitiful expression. "Like you want to hurt her when you're doing stuff like kissing, just to remind her how strong you are?"

The strange look Vegeta is giving him makes him regret asking. Perhaps this had nothing to do with being saiyan at all. Maybe he was just sick.

"Not only are our wives human, they are far too old and frail to survive such reckless whims," Vegeta says tersely, and when he spots the table where Chi-Chi is seated with the namekian and her eldest son, he scoffs, "I'm sure by now you must have realized namekian's are asexual beings. If it is the nameki-"

"No!" Goku cuts him off, and when Vegeta raises his brows, Goku nervously chuckles, "I guess what I'm trying to ask, is this just another part of being a saiyan?"

Vegeta studies his rival for a moment before turning his pensive gaze to the group below them. His expression doesn't change- not even when he notices the funny way Yamcha looks at Bulma as she walks away. "As you know, I was a child when Vegetsei was destroyed. My knowledge in these matters is not vast, but from what I was taught, these aggressive sexual behaviors you describe are common amongst our kind, but they are most prevalent during adolescence." Vegeta looks at him oddly, and there is a mild exasperation in his tone when he says, "You're already well into your prime. Your relationship with your mate is established- there are no other males vying for her attentions, and she has birthed you sons. These behaviors should have already passed."

A burst of rambunctious laughter catches the prince's attention, and whatever words he had been about to say leave him in a strangled groan. Down below, Goten is swaying against Bulla with a big, goofy grin on his face and a handful of her bottom in each palm. To both of the older saiyan's horror, Bulla throws her head back and laughs.

Vegeta's upper lip curls in disdain. "I've had enough of this," he scoffs, and when he shoots off into the night sky, it is unclear just what it was that Vegeta had enough of .

With a heavy sigh, Goku slumps cross legged onto the concrete floor. The day had been as beautiful as it had been terrible, and he suspects that from here on out it would be difficult to pretend anything would ever be the same. He wants to prove his strength and rebel against the universe, but he can't. He feels like no matter how hard he tries to change his path, it remains circular. No matter how hard he tries distancing himself, even if it's just in thought, he always ends up finding his way back to her.

Goku's heart twists as he finds himself thinking about the promise she made him. Another burst of laugher catches his attention, and when he looks to the small crowd below, he sees Goten and Pan dancing as though the ground was moving beneath their feet. His wife and Bulma are sharing a bottle of something red and Gohan and Videl are dancing together. Most of the Z-Fighters are here- he can hear Krillin and Tien's voices coming from somewhere amongst the small crowd.

Here on Earth, these people are his home, yet as dear as every single one of them are to him, Bulla's appeal to his primal nature is too overwhelming to ignore. Neither her marriage to his son, or the child growing inside of her does anything to lessen appeal. She belongs to Kakarot, the selfish, darkness inside of him, and that creature full of violent, reckless passions has been left with a lingering doubt.

He shakes his head, deciding he's had enough of this.

There is a dull ache in his temples, and the thoughts bouncing around in his head are too loud. Just as Goku hones in on the faint energy of a destroyer slumbering on the other side of the galaxy, he notices the princess wandering away from her guests and into the shade of night. A chill runs down his spine when she looks towards the tower on which he stands. She's looking right at him.

His body moves on its own.

Suddenly, he is standing in the shadows behind her. She is facing away from him, half concealed in darkness with her hip propped against a giant clay pot housing large bright flowers.

Her hands are clenched at the opening of the too large coat hanging off her shoulders- a coat that reeks so strongly of Goten his presence is nearly palpable.

Somehow even with her lack of ki awareness, she knows exactly where he is. "Kakarot," she teases as she turns to face him, "I didn't think you would stay this long." She wrinkles her nose at his sweaty clothes. "But they do say time flies when you're having fun."

Ah, there she is, his Bulla.

"I'm about to leave."

"It's official, I'm a Son now," she tells him, tightening the coat thrown around her shoulders. "So tell me- what do you think about that?"

Those keen, blue eyes widen in surprise at his easy going smile. "I think I'm supposed to say something like congratulations, right?"

"So after you congratulate me, what do we do?" Bulla asks, moving towards him until she's close enough to feel that pleasant thrum of energy he always seems to radiate. She wants to touch him, and when she nearly does, settles for brushing her fingertips against his forearm before safely resting her palm against the swell of her stomach. "What happens next?"

And because Goku truly does not know, he shrugs.

"I'm not sure either," she sighs. She looks up at the starless sky, and she's smiling that same, sad smile she gave him on Namek. "Just promise that while you're up there, you'll think of me from time to time." With a shake of her head, she scoffs and turns to him with a tired look. "I guess I'm just another person caught in your orbit, just hoping one day you remember I exist."

Goku grimaces. This speech sounds familiar, and when he opens his mouth to give the same sorry reply that usually works on his wife, Bulla interrupts him.

"After that night," she says with a shaky breath, "You left me when I needed you. I get it- we don't owe each other anything, but f*cking hell-"

"Aww, Don't be like that, Bulla. If I had stayed here on Earth and caught the smallest hint of you- your scent or voice or whatever; Kami, I don't think i would have been able to stop myself from chasing after you." He admits, nervously rubbing at the back of his neck. "I just didn't trust myself not to do something really, really dumb. If I stayed, I think I would've done something weird, and a lot of people would've gotten hurt."

"How noble of you," she says scathingly, and because there's something familiar in the tone of her voice and pout of her lips, he can't help the soft smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "What about me, Goku? You hurt me? Don't I count?"

"Don't be silly, of course you count."

"Then why did you leave me?"

His smile only seems to grow at her irrational outburst. He wishes he could hoist her in his arms until she's laughing at her own silliness. Instead, he ruffles her carefully styled hair. "I don't think that's anything you need to worry about anymore. I think we both know you've figured out exactly how to get a hold of me." He reaches for her hand and runs his thumb against the silver band concealing her energy. His touch startles her, and when she stumbles backwards to put distance between them, the coat slips off her shoulders and lands in a black pool of fabric at her feet. Goku grabs her wrist and pulls her towards him. "Hey, Bulla- did you mean what you said?"

He wants to believe her- he needs to. The fragile peace inside of him would shatter otherwise.

She tilts her head up to look at him, and his heart races at the thought of never again being able to look into her blue eyes like this.

Goku's struggling to find the words. "That thing you told me earlier." His grip on her wrist tightens, and there's something desperate in his voice as he whispers the question into her ear, "Did you mean it when you said-"

Her soft laughter is met with a look of confusion. "Oh, there's no need to get all worked up ," she says, and all too easily the dangerous devotion in her eyes stills his worry. "Goku, since I was sixteen, I've been ready to let you do whatever you wanted to me. I'd have let you have me however you wanted." She admits all of this with a breathless kind of ease, and pulls his hand onto the swell of her stomach.

For a fragmented second, her pulse matches the tiny one beneath his palm, and when he feels a sudden kick of energy, his mouth goes dry.

"After. Find me after," she tells him, firmly holding his palm against her.

Satisfied with her response, the darkness inside of him withdraws, and the tension he has been carrying for months slowly ebbs away.

Grandma Bunny finds him seated at the smoker's table, nursing his umpteenth beer.

"Sweetheart," she coos, completely unfazed by the cloud of smoke she has stepped into. She playfully scolds Marron and Yamcha, for indulging in such a naughty habit before bending down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Your granddaddy and I have been out for far too long- our little babies must miss us terribly. Give your sister my best wishes, won't you? I already said goodbye to her handsome new husband."

Trunks does his best not to grimace. He's still trying to wrap his head around how in less than six months, Goten went from being his brother in sin, to his brother in law. He won't lie though- he's more than a little interested to meet the monstrosity whose existence had created such a fiasco. From the week he had been able to sense it's ki, he knew the new Son was going to be powerful. Already, it was capable of draining his sister of her energy so thoroughly, if it wasn't for the magic of senzu beans, she'd have been left a bedridden husk a long time ago.

Trunks lifts his chin to see his grandmother's smile hovering above him. Courtesy of his mother's frivolous wishes, his grandmother was a hundred going on fifty, with only the faintest of lines marring her porcelain skin."Sure, I'll let her know," he says loudly, giving the leering baseball player a sharp nudge with his elbow before turning his attention to the very small crowd of guests around them. "But if you want to catch her, I could've sworn I just saw her walking around here somewhere."

It doesn't matter how many times he reminds her, Grandma Bunny always seems to forget his extraordinary hearing is not the least bit diminished in loud surroundings. Grandma Bunny shouts into his ear, "Oh no, my dear. Your sister seems a little occupied right now. It doesn't seem right to bother her right now." He winces, and from across the table he hears Marron begin to snicker.

He wiggles his ringing ear while scanning the area around them. Bulla's ki concealing device works well. He doesn't sense her anywhere.

On the dance floor he spots Goten laughing like a fool and holding onto his little neice for balance. The bottle of whiskey dangling loosely between his fingers is nearly empty. Ever since what has been termed, Bulla's pregnancy reveal extravaganza, Goten's been living the dry life. Since they discovered alcohol, this is was the longest Goten's ever gone without drinking, and for some strange reason, after the wedding service his sister was practically pouring the alcohol down Goten's mouth. She had encouraged Goten to let loose and celebrate enough for the both of them, and from the looks of it, Goten hadn't taken her request lightly. All the old timers were still here, laughing and reminiscing.

He raises his beer to his lips, and just as he takes a drink, he spots his sister. To Marron's amusem*nt, he sputters in surprise, spraying beer all over both the tablecloth, and his poor grandmother.

Grandma Bunny dabs at her dress with an unused napkin, and always intuitive, before sauntering off, his grandmother giggles, "It would appear that Son Goku has a soft spot for princesses."

Marron's laughter dies in her throat, and over the loud music he senses a sharp increase in the blonde girl's heart rate. "For f*ck's sake!" she curses, before crushing her half-finished cigarette on the lace tabletop.

The scene unfolding in the shadows of the reception is so bizarre, Trunks doesn't even ponder Marron's hasty retreat. It wasn't so much that Bulla had stepped away from her guests to suspiciously stand in a little pocket of darkness that Trunks found odd, nor was it the older saiyan standing beside her. What really stood out, was that after years of what he imagined to be practically nonexistent interactions between the two of them, not only were they were standing in each others personal space, but Bulla was clearly upset about something.

He blinks slowly, trying to make sense of what he is seeing. It always floored him how easily their universe's strongest warrior could be cowered by angry women. His hearing isn't sharp enough to make out what they are saying. Whatever nonsense Goku fed his sister seemed to give him the upper hand. Trunks chuckles when he sees Goku ruffle his sister's hair, and right before turning away, he sees Goku make a grab for Bulla's wrist. Suddenly, the situation playing out between the older saiyan and his sister doesn't look so innocent. Goku is whispering something in her ear, and when he pulls away, the words they exchange appear heated.

From beside him, he hears Yamcha's drunken laughter. "I'm telling you man, there's something about the Briefs women that these saiyan's just can't seem to get enough of. Do you think it's the blue hair?"

"What?" Trunks asks, half listening as he keeps his attention on Goku and his sister. He's terribly curious to know what could possibly have the both of them so riled up. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how much saiyans love the blue haired ladies- I mean, for one, there's Bulma and your dad," Yamcha slurs, and then he tips the neck of his beer towards Goten. "Then of course, there's the couple of the hour, and Kami, what a fine pair they make. I bet your dad's just f*cking thrilled that the little Goku look-a-like over there is giving it to his baby girl." Before he clanks his empty bottle on the table, he points it towards where Goku and his sister are having a very peculiar conversation. "But before all that, this is where it all started."

"With my sister and Goku?" Trunks asks in disbelief. He brings his neglected cigarette to his lips and curses when a clump of ash crumbles onto his slacks.

Yamcha takes a final drag of his own cigarette before dropping it into an empty bottle. "Haha! You're a riot, man!" Yamcha snorts, reaching for another beer. He grabs one from the iced bucket at the center of the table, and shakes his head. "No- Goku and Bulma. Don't get me wrong, kid, Goku's great- the f*cking best. He's saved our asses so many times, but I swear, since his balls dropped, the guys always had eyes for your mom- and I think your dad f*cking knew it. Sometimes, you saiyan's are like f*cking animals!" He lights another cigarette and slouches in his seat, watching the weird scene with laughter dancing in his eyes. "For Vegeta- in the beginning, I think that was the whole appeal. He knew Goku had this cute little crush on your mom- and I mean who could blame him. Look at your mom, she's a total babe. And of course Vegeta being Vegeta, had to get one up on Goku any way he possibly could." Yamcha punches his arm and laughs, "And then, boom- you were born!"

Even though Trunks is sure Yamcha's infidelity had played more of a role in his parent's union than this bullsh*t story, he can't explain why he suddenly doesn't like the way Goku is looking at his sister. It's almost predatory. He shakes his head in disbelief at his overactive imagination. This is Goku they're talking about. All the guy cares about is fighting and eating.

"How much have you had to drink?" Trunks asks.

"Enough that I can't seem to shut my f*cking mouth," Yamcha grins, popping the cap off his bottle with a flick of his thumb. He shrugs. "Think what you want, but let me tell you- when you're standing on the sidelines, and no one thinks you're watching, you see things."

Like this, Trunks thinks.

In the back of his mind, he sees his sister and Goten sitting on their knees, surrounded by debris, and the instantaneous change in her expression when her deluded mind warped his friend's face into another. That's how Bulla is staring is Goku- like he's the reason for the stars in the sky- like he's so perfect and good.

Suddenly, Trunks is on his feet.

In the second it takes him to reach them, Goku is already pulling his hand away from his sister's stomach. An awful sense of déjà vu washes over him, and if Goku thinks there's anything curious about the slight tremors in his limbs, he doesn't voice it. The older saiyan turns away from his sister like she's not even there. Trunks is on edge, but Goku's heavy handed pat to his back still nearly manages to send him stumbling to the ground.

"Hiya, Trunks!" Goku is all bright smiles.

Now that he's seeing Goku up close, it seems foolish that he would let the drunken ramblings of a spurned ex get him so worked up. The saiyan's training gi is filthy, and he's covered in scrapes and bruises. Bulla was probably peeved at Goku for showing up to her wedding in training clothes. Trunks reasons, that after having a little too much to drink, the play of shadows had simply cast Bulla and Goku's interaction in a more spirited light.

Mentally, he scoffs at himself for being so ridiculous. This was Goku after all.

Marron is slightly winded by the time she reaches them. "Honestly, Bulla- you should be taking it easy. After all the dancing you did, I'm so not happy to see you still on your feet," the blonde gripes, and before dragging his sister away, she shoots the older saiyan an icy glare. Once they are a good distance away, Marron not so discreetly hisses, "Seriously, just because he's saved the universe a few times, does not give him the right to show up to wherever the f*ck he wants in that orange abomination."

The look Bulla casts over her shoulder before disappearing into the small crowd unsettles him. If only for a second,Trunks could have sworn he'd caught a glimpse of something he hadn't been meant to see. He quickly turns, intending to question the older saiyan, only to let out an exasperated sigh.

Goku is gone.

Trunks chuckles nervously, telling himself that he had only imagined the terrible sentiment in his sister's eyes.

He tells himself it had been a trick of the light.

Chapter 11: When You Know

Chapter Text

Within a fraction of a second, Goku appears on the destroyer's planet.

Even as he stares at the colossal tree before him, he is still lost in the blue of her eyes. That night he stumbles into bed, and as though caught in a trance, stares up at the stone ceiling for hours.

While waiting for the world to stop and the guilt to come, he falls asleep.

Hours later, golden light streams through the open window, and he wakes with a smile. He hums to himself as he brushes his teeth and changes into his orange gi, and when he stands beneath the magical morning sky, there is a newfound lightness in his soul. One that's been missing since his saiyan princess tore into him, unearthing the darker parts of his nature.

After a quick breakfast, under Whis' watchful eye, the saiyan warms up and prepares his ki channels the same way he has every morning before training. On this day that the world does not end, and the guilt does not come, the universe once again reveals itself to him. The blockade of his own making has been lifted, and when he channels that energy with the controlled precision of an unencumbered soul, electric sparkings of purples, reds, and blues paint the flare of his aura.

It's been a long time since he's felt this good.

The angel lifts one corner of his lips in a smile, and with a knowing twinkle in his eye, says, "I knew it was only a matter of time."

The only place in all the world serving Bulla's current craving was located a few blocks down from his newest dojo. Goten walks out of the dingy burger place with stacks of takeout in his arms and a red ice chest hanging off the crook of his elbow, and after checking that the coast was clear, he takes off into the sky. Within minutes of leaving Beach City, Goten touches ground on the roof of Capsule Corporation.

On this side of the hemisphere, the winter is cold and biting, and even after the speed of light delivery, the food in his arms remained warm. He jumps off the side of the dome-shaped building and floats downwards until he reaches Trunks' office window. On the other side of the glass, with an expression of pained boredom set onto his face, Trunks sits hunched over his pretentious desk. Sensing his friend's energy, the lavender haired half saiyan looks up from the stack of papers in his hands and then tosses them aside.

Trunks jumps to open the window and all too happily relieves Goten of half the burden in his arms. "These better all be mine," he says as he closes his eyes and deeply inhales the aroma of greasy Beach City food. When he opens his eyes, Trunks notices the small red ice chest Goten is carrying, and his smile falters. "Damn, those two can't just exchange gifts like normal people, can they? Do I even want to know what's in there?"

For a second, even Goten's smile stutters. Not even thirty minutes ago, Bulla had asked him to stop by the hospital where Marron worked, and that was where the blonde girl handed him the ice chest he was currently holding. He has long since learned not to ask what he would be delivering, but that afternoon the blonde girl told him anyway. Inside the ice-chest was the diseased heart belonging to a kid Marron had operated on that afternoon.

Goten grimaces. "Marron told me it's another one."

Bulla and Marron had decided to make use of his commute to and from Beach City, specifically for the transport of the deceased's organs. He still hasn't gotten used to it, and on many occasions, has had to remind himself that it's for a good cause.

Eager to rid himself of the ice chest, Goten stalks out of Trunks' office and changes the topic. "So, I ordered your burgers just the way you like it- no onions, extra mustard. I asked for that sauce you like, too."

"Nice." The mention of food makes Trunks grin. As they walk through the hallway, the lavender haired half saiyan catches up to his friend and walks beside him. "With how crazy your schedule is, I'm surprised you're free for lunch."

"Organ transport, remember?" Goten deadpans.

Trunks looks down at the ice-chest in Goten's arms. "Oh yeah."

"And what about you, Mr. V.P.?" Goten teases, nudging his friend with his elbow as they stand waiting for the elevator. "All week long, your mom's been going on about some important meeting you're not supposed to f*ck up. How'd you manage to worm your way out of that?"

To Goten's amusem*nt, the lavender haired saiyan cringes. For all the square footage within the Briefs household, privacy was practically a nonexistent commodity.

"Yeah, well, whatever. I am my own boss," Trunks grouses, stretching an arm out to hit the down button on the elevator. "If I wanted to, I could take the rest of the day off."

"I'll be sure to let your mom know," Goten jokes.

He punctuates his words by obscenely pumping his wrist in the air.

"Please," Trunks scoffs, "if you did that, then Bulla might just find out the real reason the wi-fi crashed last week." He punctuates his words by obscenely pumping his wrist in the air.

This time it's Goten who balks.

The elevator quickly dings, and the large silver doors slide open. The elevator takes them below ground, down to the department where Bulla works. This far below ground, there are no windows, and within the sterile white walls, the cold air carries the stench of sickness. Surprised by their vice president's arrival, as soon as they step out of the elevator, nearby employees scramble to get out of their way. Other than Trunks and him, the blushing receptionist is the only other person in this department not wearing a lab coat, and to her delight, the half saiyans decide to park themselves at her desk. He can't see her, but he quickly isolates Bulla's voice, and as expected, she is engaged in serious conversation with a group of scientists.

Not wanting to interrupt her, he sets the food on the marble reception desk and waits.

Trunks leans forward over the reception desk and rests his arms against the smooth marble. "Bulla better not be ta-," he begins, but when the large frosted doors at the end of the hall slide open, the rest of Trunks' words fade into the background.

Even after seeing her every day, she still takes his breath away. In the months they've spent together, he's learning little things about her. Like how she ties her long, blue hair up in a bun when she works, and that when she taps the end of her pen against her chin, just like she's doing now, it's always because her mind is running at a thousand miles per hour. In the lab, she stands surrounded by a group of similarly dressed people. They hang on her every word, occasionally nodding their heads while frantically jotting notes down onto their clipboards.

Someone in her group gestures towards him, and Bulla looks over to where Trunks and he are standing. Upon seeing the half saiyans leaning against the reception desk, the severe expression on her face wavers, and before returning her attention to her employees, she sends him a smile so sweet he's falling in love with her all over again.

Despite cataclysmic beginnings, Goten finds himself pleased with where his relationship with Bulla has led him. Sometimes when he sees her like this, heavily pregnant, wearing a lab coat that no longer buttons and using her intellect to make the world a better place, that he feels a small tug of regret.

She was still so young and deserving of so much more than this.

So much more than him.

He had so badly wanted to do right by her. To take it slow and prove that he was capable of more than casual hookups. Most days, he finds himself thanking his lucky stars that despite such a rough start, things had turned out the way they had. He glances over at the half saiyan beside him, and as he observes Trunks shamelessly flirt with the secretary, a small smile tugs at his lips. Goten is so grateful that even after all the stupid, disrespectful things he had done to Trunks' sister, he still managed to walk away with his best friend at the end of the day. While things were still a little touch and go when it came to her homicidal father, he felt like he got off easy considering the whole unplanned pregnancy and infidelity.

The changes in his life had been mercifully pleasant, with the only real downside being the occasional broken rib courtesy of his nurturing and understanding father-in-law.

These past few months, he's been doing his best to prove himself to the Saiyan Prince. Goten has traded his nights of boozing and casual f*cking for hours spent under the crushing weight of five hundred times gravity, dodging Vegeta's fists. And it's only because Trunks is too prideful to let his friend overpower him in strength that he's recently joined in on the fun.

Thanks to his frequent spars with Trunks and Vegeta, he's stronger than ever, and to his mother's relief, between the success of his dojos and help in training Earth's Special Forces, he's making quite a name for himself.

All in all, he was in a good place.

Lost in thoughts of her beauty and his luck, Goten blinks owlishly when he hears Bulla's voice calling out to him.

"The specimen?" Bulla shouts, raising her cupped hands over her mouth. "Do you have it?"

Goten smiles sheepishly and responds by raising the little red icebox.

There is a pause in the heavy flirting happening beside him. "Did you seriously just forget you're lugging around a dead person's organs?" Trunks disbelieving asks.

"Maybe." Goten shrugs and then turns to the half saiyan with a grin. "But if I did, it's only because I got distracted staring at your sister's-" The rest of his words leave him in a grunt as a bruising punch is delivered to his bicep.

Unfazed by the ice box's contents, Bulla takes it from Goten's hand when she reaches them. "Thanks for bringing this. We were lucky to get our hands on this specimen. It's so rare to find one that isn't contaminated by secondary disease processes," she says brightly. She cranes her neck in the direction of the greasy fast food and sighs. "Kami, that smells good." Before walking back to the lab, she gestures to the ice chest in her hand. "After I drop this off, let's get out of here."

As he watches Bulla walk away, his smile falters, and as though reading his thoughts, Trunks mumbles, "On the upside, if she does go into labor down here, the medical wing is only a few floors up."

Of the three-hour standing allowance ordered by the doctors, Bulla seemed determined to spend each and every minute in her laboratory. From what his mother and Bulma had disclosed about their own experiences, Bulla's pregnancy was progressing much differently than theirs. The baby in Bulla's body absorbed whatever energy she could spare, and without the Guardian of Earth's weekly energy boosts, she could sleep for days, only waking to eat. Judging from the extra pep in her wobbling gait, Goten could very strongly guess the namekian had visited Bulla earlier that morning.

In the low swarm of voices, Goten hears something that catches his attention.

He focuses on the conversation of a pair of scientists standing in the corner of the lab Bulla had just exit. Goten doesn't pay much mind to the one hunched over a microscope. It's the lanky young one casually reclined against the workstation that draws his attention; he's running his mouth off a little too carelessly for Goten's taste. Being half-saiyan, his hearing wasn't as sharp as that of his father or Vegeta, but if he focused, he could still hear every word being spoken at the end of the laboratory.

The scrawny scientist lazily follows Bulla with his eyes, and when he speaks, his drawling voice is laden with disgust. "I still can't believe some muscle head managed to knock her up. From the look of him, I'd wager he's too intellectually stunted to even fully appreciate her brilliance." The scientist peers to where Goten is standing, failing to notice the half saiyan's murderous stare. "The guys just a slab of over-sexed muscle. I couldn't even begin to imagine what she sees in a loser like him."

"You've answered your own question: over-sexed muscle." The other scientist smiles into his microscope. "And trust me, even if he hadn't taken her off the market, a guy like you would have never stood a chance."

"Whatever. The whole world knows he only even had a chance because he has connections." The lanky man bitterly drawls, "You know, being the boss' idiot best friend."

"Are you f*cking serious right now?" The other man pulls away from the microscope, turning to his partner in disbelief. "Did you not sign the same nondisclosure agreement I did when you got signed on? You know he's one of them, right?" With his hands, he subtly gestures to the half saiyans reclining against the reception desk and scoffs, "That guy isn't just some bum off the street- he's so strong, he's the one training Earth's Special Forces."

"So what? Just because he can fly and bust through cement walls with his fists doesn't make him any less of a muscle head. I'm telling you-"

Noticing the rising tension in his friend's aura, Trunks drags his eyes away from the pretty receptionist. "Dude, you can't let idiots like that get to you. The sh*t coming out of that guy's mouth," Trunks says, jabbing his index finger in the mouthy scientist's direction, "is nothing new. You married a Briefs, so whether you like it not, you're going to be hearing that kind of slandering drivel forever."The lavender haired half saiyan co*cks his head and turns to his friend with a wicked smirk. "But if you wanted, I totally wouldn't be opposed to a little shakedown."

Goten sighs.

Trunks is right. It's not like Goten isn't aware of the kinds of things being said about him and his relationship with the Capsule Corporation heiress. Even though he's been telling himself he didn't care about the bullsh*t being told about him, when Bulla walks back into the laboratory, he suddenly finds that he cares a lot.

She sets the ice chest down on the nearest workshop. While Goten knows her hearing may not be as sharp as his, by the furrowing of her brow and sudden tensing of her shoulders, he is horrified to discover that it's still good enough to pick up on the hushed conversation happening on the other side of a room. The blue-haired half saiyan reaches for a nearby folder, and when she speaks in a cold and biting tone, a hush falls over the laboratory.

"Dr. Spopovich, a word, please."

Every eye in the laboratory turns to the lanky scientist.

"Yes, Dr. Son," he replies, a tremor in his voice replacing his previous acrid tenor.

As Bulla walks towards the lanky scientist, the man's eyes widen, and the apple in his throat bobs and Goten has to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing. Bulla thrusts the folder into the man's hands. "This string of PhDs on your badge here," she says, poking at the ID card clipped onto the breast pocket of his lab coat. "tell me, did you earn them through some diploma mill? Capsule Corporation is usually very selective about who they hire."

"I completed all my studies at The University of West City, just like you!" he sputters. "I graduated top of my class and my published research-"

"Well, Mr. Top-Of-My-Class," Bulla dryly interrupts, reaching forward to pat the folder in his hand. "I just went over your formulation here, and for a minute, it just blew my mind that someone from our department would ever think of submitting this. Kami, if this had made it to trial, it wouldn't have been the cardiac disease that killed our patient, it would have been the hepatic failure caused by your shoddy work."

"This will be corrected immediately." He quickly bows and stammers out an apology. "Please forgive me, Dr. Son. I promise you; this will not happen again."

Of all the researchers in the room, Bulla may be the youngest and newest, but in the field of medical science, she's a trailblazer. The kinds of groundbreaking discoveries she already had under her belt were the kind most of these brains would dedicate their entire careers to finding. And when he sees her like this, fierce and deserving of all her arrogance, he remembers whose daughter she is.

"We are in the business of saving lives, people," she says sternly. Her huge stomach does not make her seem any less intimidating. Her fellow scientists all stand a little straighter when her gaze falls upon them."Each of you is here because you are among the best and brightest in our field. Yeah, I get it- this is research, we're supposed to catch the errors, but when you make mistakes, when it's not your best, you are guilty of wasting our department's resources. Of wasting time." She leans back against the edge of the tabletop where she had placed the ice-chest, crosses her arms over her rounded belly, and slowly shakes her head. "No more f*ck ups; no more lost time, understand?"

The room echoes with a chorus of "Yes, Dr. Son."

"Time lost equates to lives lost." She uncrosses her arms and lightly pats the ice-chest transverse to her. "This specimen comes all the way from Beach City. The patient was a five-year-old female, who other than the disease process we are currently researching, had no remarkable medical history. The patient expired approximately thirty minutes ago, and it's only thanks to my- now what was it you called him, Dr. Spopavich?" She pauses, blue eyes falling upon a very pale Dr. Spopovich. "My muscle head husband, that we were able to get such a viable specimen from the other side of the Southern Sea."

Simultaneously, every scientist in the lab turns Goten's direction, and he feels his face flush.

Bulla plants her hands on the sides of the workstation and pushes herself off, and as she walks away, she calls out to the flustered scientist behind her. "Dr. Spopovich, I want a sample prepped and ready by the time I get back. No more f*ck ups."

Trunks watches the receptionist step away into the little closet behind her, then slaps a palm across Goten's back and snickers. "She's such a ball-buster! You know, I used to think I'd feel sorry for the sorry bastard who got stuck with her, but since that sorry bastard is you, I can't help feeling a little less inclined."

Goten rolls his eyes.

The receptionist returns by the time Bulla reaches them and hands the corporation heiress a winter coat. Once she finishes shrugging it on, Goten pulls her against him. "Remind me never to get on your bad side. I don't think I'd make it out alive."

"Oh Goten, with a face like that-," she laughs, reaching up to bring his face close to hers, "it's not something you'll ever have to worry about."

In a test of balance, she stands on her tiptoes, and the kiss she plants on his lips ends up being a little too much for Trunks to handle.

"Did I suddenly become invisible?" his friend asks, crinkling his nose in disgust. "I'm standing right here."

Upon it becoming apparent the couple was not going to disengage, Trunks hoists his pile of takeout off the reception desk and stalks off without another word. Goten and Bulla break away from each other, and the laughter they had been holding in follows them all the way out the corporation front doors. By the time they step outside into chilly winter air, Trunks' tosses his half-smoked cigarette onto the cement and puts it out with the heel of his leather oxfords. To keep up with her wobbly steps, Goten is careful to keep his steps short, and when he feels her shiver, he powers up just enough to warm her with his ki.

"Let's eat outside," Goten suggests, tossing an arm over Bulla's shoulders. "It's ninety degrees in Beach City; I want to see the snow falling before I head back."

Bulla looks up at the grey sky. "The forecast didn't say anything about snow."

"Trust me; it's going to snow. I can feel it in my bones," Goten says with a goofy waggle of his brows.

"I didn't know you had arthritis," Bulla laughs. "You are old!"

Trunks voices his impatience with his sister's slow pace, and before allowing Bulla a chance to reply with a biting remark, Goten bends down and scoops her into his free arm. She wraps her arms around his neck, and they take off into the air, following Trunks to the area of Capsule Corporation where they lived. When Goten lands on the balcony, Trunks is already a few burgers in, and on the patio table are the soda cans and beers he brought up from the kitchen.

With a generous amount of burgers and fries spread across the stone tabletop before them, the trio eats and laughs beneath the grey winter sky. Goten and Trunks use their energy to warm the air around them, and sometime between his tenth coney dog and seventh cheeseburger, Trunks notices Bulla bring her hand to her stomach and the mild flash of discomfort that appears on her face.

"Kami, you look like you're going to burst," he mutters, eyes darting to her swollen stomach. "Just please try to hold it in till I leave."

She grabs a wadded up wrapper and flings it in his direction. "I'm not going into labor, idiot."

"Have you guys finally decided on a name? You better not even think of naming that poor kid Dennim," Trunks says before grabbing a handful of wedge fries and shoving them into his mouth.

They had a few contenders but hadn't officially decided on a name yet.

"If it's a boy-" Bulla begins, only for Trunks to cut her off.

"With a power level like that, there's no way it isn't a boy."

Bulla rolls her eyes and laughs. "Oh-kay! Just because I'm in a good mood, I'm willing to let that sexist comment slide." And with a small, secret smile, she says, "But if you are right, and this little energy leech is a boy, then I was thinking of naming him Goshin."

"No!" Goten says abruptly.

Two sets of blue eyes turn to him in surprise, and even Goten finds himself startled at the sudden racing of his heart. His reaction had been visceral, an unexpected pang of needle-sharp panic deep within his gut.

Bulla's confusion is palpable, and before she opens her mouth to ask him the question he doesn't have the answer to, Trunks breaks the silence.

"Goten's right. I don't like that name either," he says, looking down at the wedge fries set on the flattened wrapper before him. He raises his head, flashing his sister a tight smile. "I think you'd be better off choosing Dennim."

Days later, Bulla wakes one morning with a pained groan.

She instinctively clutches her stomach, rolling to her side as another sharp burst runs through her. After another ragged breath, the pain recedes. For the past few days, these pains have come and go, and with their increasing frequency, neither Goten or her had much of a restful night.

She opens her eyes to empty, crumpled sheets.

A sliver of winter sun shines through a gap in the curtains, softly illuminating the bedroom. In the room she grew up in, Goten's presence lingers in every corner. It hangs in the very air, in the smell of his aftershave on the sheets. She sees him in the half-empty glass of water on the bedside table and in the still damp towel tossed haphazardly over the settee by the balcony doors.

Her girlhood dream has come to fruition, and in her head, she hears her brother's pained voice.

You don't love him.

She remembers the daydreams of a lovestruck girl; of writing her current name within the hearts, she would doodle in the corners of her notebook. Son Bulla. It's was funny how life worked. Sometimes, when she signs her name, a pang of longing would emerge, bringing forth a new daydream. One that, given her current situation, should disgust her. Instead, it seems that whenever her mind wanders to that secret place, she can't help but rest a hand over the child in her stomach and smile.

He still follows her everywhere, easily slipping into her thoughts and dreams.

In the past few months, she has given up fighting him and found a peace that she knows she is undeserving of. She surrenders herself to the things that had once filled her with shame and accepts that she is drawn to her saiyan warrior in ways that she cannot explain.

Her emotions flow through her like water.

She allows herself to feel the happiness Goten brings her with his gentle love almost as much as she cherishes the underlying satisfaction his father has left thrumming beneath her skin. A peculiar balance has formed within her, and while her rational mind screams that none of this is sustainable- that one day everything will crash and burn around her, after years of self-directed loathing, she selfishly takes her happiness where she can.

Sometimes when Goten expresses his joy over starting a family, her is mind quick to remind her of his ignorance in all of this. And when that phantom pain of guilt bleeds through, she finds herself wondering what is wrong with her- how is it that she could go through with this and feel so little. It is then she remembers Goku's carefree words.

It's because we're saiyans, Bulla.

Unbeknownst to her, on some level, she must have accepted that.

That could be the only explanation as to why at this very moment, as she rests her palm against the fluttering in her stomach- despite the blackmail of her father's soul and her unforgivable betrayal, she is actually pleased to be having Goku's child.

A grimace replaces the smile on her face. The movement against her palm becomes more forceful, and when she rises on her elbows to get a better look, she can see the outline of a foot, toes, and all testing the elasticity of her viscera.

"Good morning, little one," Bulla coos, gently applying pressure over its foot with her palm. "You're just like your father- you can't sit still."

Thinking of her saiyan, training somewhere in the cosmos brings a wistful smile to her lips. "Everyone keeps telling me you're going to grow up to be super strong. I've heard it from the Guardian of Earth himself that you might even grow up to be as strong as your daddy." Thinking of Dende always makes her remember the day he appeared to her in West City, stopping her from doing something that now seemed so inconceivable.

Her voice seems to calm him.

She is already awake, and because a hint of melancholy laces her thoughts, she knows that to remain in the quiet of this room would only invite a rare moment of guilt. She forces herself out of bed, and with a snap of her fingers, commands the virtual home A.I. system to fill the room with music. She sings loudly as she gets herself ready for the day, and as she sits at her vanity, applying just enough makeup to cover the dark circles under her eyes, her gaze lingers on the photo strip wedged on the side of the mirror. It was taken in a photo booth, on their unofficial first date before everything became so unimaginably convoluted. In the image of Goten's bright smile, she sees someone else.

By the time she steps into the empty kitchen, it is already late into the morning. The kitchen is empty, save for the small stack of soggy pancakes set for her on the kitchen counter, and other than her humming, the house is silent. It took a while to get her body moving, so rather than take a seat at the kitchen table, she props her hip against the kitchen counter and eats her breakfast standing. The kitchen arch opens into the living area, and as she eats her breakfast, her attention is caught by the upward spike of dark hair peeking over the back of the sofa.

It's odd to see her father lazying about at this time of day.

She rests her elbows against the kitchen sink, and even though she knows her father's hearing is ridiculously sensitive, she still places her dirty dishes into the sink as quietly as possible. An awful lancing pain rips through her, and the glass she was holding beneath the faucet slips from her fingers, shattering in the sink. Bulla lets out a pained cry and slumps forward, holding herself up against the edge of the sink.

Over the growing intensity of the pain, she can barely make out the gruff voice beside her.

"What's wrong?"

She isn't a warrior, and extreme physical pain is not something she is used to. The sharp, stabbing pain in her abdomen makes her lose her footing, but her father is quick to catch her before she hits the ground. This pain is unlike any she has ever felt before, so severe in its intensity that she nearly vomits. Her father's booming voice seems to reverberate off the kitchen walls, but she can't make his words out over the loud beating of her own heart.

She lifts the bottom of her shirt to get a better look and sees the outline of her child's face and his hands and feet as he pushes his whole body forward against the taut skin of her stomach. The little open palms clench, forming two pockets of puckered skin. The sight is grotesque, and when those little hands pull, she screams.

The world around her begins to blur, and in the darkness, she sees a pair of beautiful blue eyes peering back at her. She feels the whisper of soft fur wind itself around her forearm. Suddenly something inside of her tears, and before she can figure out why her hands have become slick with something warm, she goes limp in her father's arms.

Vegeta holds his daughter up in his arms, and before it begins dripping onto the tiled floor, he smells it.

For a split second, the coppery scent sends him to that place he had seen his son lying broken on the ground, where Trunks' every gasping breath had been fruitless against the gaping wound in his chest.

But Bulla isn't dead.

She shudders in his arms, and as Vegeta holds her against him, he feels the unnatural movement coming from his daughter's abdomen. As easily as he can hear the fast, thready beating of Bulla's heart, he also senses that the child within her is panicked.

Not wanting to allow the monstrous child to inflict more damage, he hoists Bulla into his arms. The saiyan rushes through the underground passageways connecting his home to the other corporation buildings and reaches the medical wing in seconds. Lacking the patience to wait for the doors to open, Vegeta delivers a swift kick to the glass door.

The doctor seated alone at the small nurses' station jumps at the loud shatter of glass and is even more shocked when Vegeta appears seemingly from nowhere. There human remains frozen, staring at the saiyan and his unconscious daughter in slack-jawed horror.

"You! Human!" Vegeta barks as he moves to the nearest gurney at a speed too fast for the human eye to follow. All the Capsule Corporation employees were aware that certain household members living at Capsule Corporation, along with some of their equally powerful friends, possessed inhuman capabilities. From the doctor's shocked expression, it was apparent he had ever witnessed these abilities first hand.

Sensing the human behind him had not moved, the saiyan pivots on his heel and bellows, "You useless swine, are you blind? Can you not see that she is bleeding out?"

As terrifying as the raging alien in front of him may have be, one look at the ashen girl on the gurney was all it took for the doctor to forgot all about Vegeta and his freakish abilities. In his haste to reach her, the man nearly slips over his own feet. Noticing the bottom half of her shirt is saturated with blood, the doctor lifts her shirt. On account of her not being entirely human, the doctors hired to treat Bulla were told to expect the unexpected- but this was something else. What he sees makes him gasp out in shock, but he recovers quickly.

"Medbot, initiate rapid response protocol," the human says in a strong voice, and as he assesses Bulla, he all but pushes the saiyan out of the way. Beeping in their excitement, a swarm of medbots come rushing to follow the doctor's orders. The mechanical helpers are a flurry of movement- poking and prodding and attaching wires and so forth as the human examines Bulla.

Understanding his presence in this situation was not helpful, Vegeta steps aside, but not before taking his daughter's limp hand in his and sliding the silver ring off her thumb.

Vegeta's eyes widen in horror.

To feel an energy like that flaring within its mother's womb almost seems an abomination. In its panic, the infant's steadily rising ki engulfs Bulla's. It takes a great mental effort to sense her. These last few months, Vegeta had felt his grandchild's ki a handful of times and knew it was impressive- but this was on another level.

Perhaps what he had learned as a child was true- that the most powerful saiyan's the universe would ever see were forged within the womb of the princess. He should feel proud, but with the child displaying such freakish energy, Vegeta finds himself remembering The Legendary- a creature of unimaginable power and unbridled rage, and fears for his daughter.

A monster like that could kill her.

The doctor steps away from Bulla and says, "Prepare the operating theatre. Cesarian and possible repair of traumatic bowel injury in T minus five minutes", and half the bots speed off down the hallway. The medbots left behind attach themselves to the metal gurney. The doctor stares at the small tears on Bulla's bare stomach and the wild movement happening within her bare, blood-slickened stomach and nervously swallows. "Transport patient to the theatre and initiate hemorrhagic shock protocol." The medbots wheel Bulla away, and the human doctor follows closely behind them.

His offspring was in trouble, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to help her. Vegeta could handle planet-eating wizards and space tyrants, but this level of hopelessness was beyond him.

Vegeta watches the medbots push Bulla into the operating room at the end of the hall, and right before the doors close behind the doctor, Vegeta jumps. Careful of his strength, the saiyan grabs the human and pushes him up against one of the walls adjacent to the open doors.

Vegeta presses his forearm against the human's chest to hold him in place and leans forward, meeting the man's terrified expression with one of menace. "If anything should happen to her," Vegeta warns, voice low and heavy with threat, "then consider your own life forfeit."

The doctor is much taller and looks down at the intimidating alien in terror, arching his back against the wall in an unconscious attempt to distance himself. "Yes, sir," he manages between pants. "I promise I will do my best."

Vegeta grunts in response and removed his arm. The human slumps to the ground by his bare feet, and through the open doors, Vegeta catches a glimpse of the medbots frantically working around his daughter. They are connecting her to bags of blood and hooking her up to wires, and when the one at the head of the bed begins to jam a metal hook down Bulla's throat, Vegeta jumps back. He turns to the simpering human with a sharp glare and asks, "What are you still doing here?"

The man is quick to get back on his feet and all but stumbles into the operating room's open doors. Vegeta catches a final glimpse of his child lying under harsh, fluorescent light, covered in blue drapes from the neck down. The doors slam shut, and the last thing Vegeta sees is the tube protruding from his daughter's open mouth.

The sounds coming from behind that closed door make his stomach churn. With a groan of frustration, the saiyan sharply turns and marches far enough that he isn't driven mad by the squelching of wet flesh and the pungent smell of cauterized tissue. In the empty lobby, the scent of Bulla's blood is still overwhelming. He raises his arms and opens the hand he has clenched, and for a moment, all he can do is stare. In the palm of his blood-stained hand, a silver, red-smudged band shines under the artificial light.

Unbeknownst to her, these last few days, if the house were empty, he would wait until Bulla was in her lab before training. Vegeta is tempted to crush the cloaking device in his palm. If Bulla had been alone, it would have been the wailing of a child that would have drawn attention to her disemboweled corpse. In the operating room, he senses her energy wane and forces himself to remember that even if she were to lose her life here today, she wouldn't truly be gone.

With the dragon balls, life after death was a simple wish away.

The group of humans he had sensed rushing through the hallway nears, suddenly pausing at the medical wing entrance. They briefly hesitate, and soon the silence is broken by the sounds of glass being crushed beneath their feet. Vegeta has his back towards them, but he can feel the stare of every one of them as they rush past him towards the operating room.

Vegeta can sense that Bulma is running on foot a few floors above, and within minutes she barrels into the room. She doesn't bat an eyelash at the broken door or glass strewn about the floor. She rushes over to Vegeta, reaching out with trembling hands, and uses his broad shoulders to steady herself. Her face is flushed, and sweat beads down her hairline.

"I heard what happened to Bulla over the doctor's communication feed," Bulma says through labored breaths. "But what about now? How is Bulla right now?" Her eyes go wide, and her bottom lip quivers. "Kami, and the baby- how's the baby? Please tell me they're both alive!"

In a tone beguiling his own unease, Vegeta says, "Calm yourself, woman, they both live." It was only right before her arrival that Bulla's energy stabilized, but with how worried Bulma is, Vegeta does not feel the need to divulge just how close their daughter came to dying. He lifts his blood-stained hand between them, pinching the silver ring between his thumb and index finger.

Bulma's hands shoot to her mouth, and she gasps in horror at the blood on his hands. "Is that-"

"Do not worry, woman." Vegeta cuts her off and lightly shakes the ring for emphasis. "I know they are both fine."

She looks into his eyes. "They're okay?"

He nods.

In her relief, she almost seems to deflate. "Thank Kami," she half-sobs, falling against her husband's chest. "After Trunks, I couldn't bear losing another child. I just couldn't."

His hands streak her lab coat with red as he holds her trembling body against him. "There are always the dragon balls," he reminds her.

"I know, I know." She shakes her head. "But it's not the same-," she begins but is interrupted by the loud cry of new life that echos through the ward. She wrenches herself out of Vegeta's arms with a gasp. For a split second, those big, beautiful blue eyes stare at him in shock. "Did you hear that? A baby," she whispers. Then as though a switch was flipped, Bulma smiles and grabs onto his cheeks to pull him in for a kiss. "We have a grandbaby!" she shouts excitedly. She jumps up and down, absolutely radiant in her joy. "Can you believe it, Vegeta? Our very first grandbaby!"

In the operating room, one of the humans separates from the group surrounding his daughter, appearing behind his wife and him. He turns his head to see a stern-looking older woman.

"I'm happy to report that both mother and baby are doing well," the old crone says flatly.

"And for that, you and your team have my thanks." Bulma raises her hands to her chest in a gesture of relief. "It sounds like the baby is well," she says with a small smile. "I understand my daughter was in pretty bad shape. How is she now?"

The frames of her glasses sit low on the bridge of her nose, and she stares unblinkingly at the couple. "Yes, well- despite the unusual circ*mstances, you did employ some of the best surgeons in West City. They were prepared for possible complications and a birth not of this world," the woman states. "As a result of the neonate's distress, the mother did suffer trauma to her abdomen, but in due to everyone's swift actions- your husband's included, the infant was removed before inflicting an injury that could have very well been fatal." The physician nods her head, and the corners of her mouth lift in an attempt to convey a warm smile. "Your daughter's recovery will be long, and so long as there are no additional surprises, I expect that she will be fine."

In the background, the infant's wailing rises to a crescendo, then goes silent after a tiny hiccup.

"When you say the baby was in distress, what exactly do you mean?" Bulma asks.

"The infant had somehow managed to tangle itself in the umbilical cord."

The doctor's eyes land on Vegeta and the saiyan has to fight the urge to snarl at the woman. From where he stands, he can sense the old hag's disgust. "In its panic, the infant began clawing its way out from its mother's womb, and once my colleague freed him, the neonate grabbed onto his hand, instantly crushing two digits."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Bulma gasps, and Vegeta does not resist the urge to roll his eyes.

With how agitated the infant was, the human was lucky it was only his fingers that were broken

A soft set of footsteps nears them; this time, one of the energies catches his attention. Another woman dressed in white scrubs rounds the corner, a smile on her face and a wrapped bundle in her arms. In his calm state, the infant's ki is still impressive. Bulma squeals in excitement and runs over to the nurse. His wife is handed the swaddled infant, and after seeing what it did to his much stronger daughter, Vegeta keeps a close eye on his slumbering grandchild.

With his wife gone, the old crone's attention falls on him.

"Legally, patient-doctor confidentiality laws should bar me from disclosing such information, but after learning you threatened my colleague's life," she says fearlessly, "I feel I must inform you that any of your daughter's future pregnancies may be as risky as this one. I do not say this only because of the infant's strength- I say this because when I removed the infant, I noticed there was already extensive scarring in her uterus. This correlates with her past medical history, and I must warn you-," she continues, her unwavering gaze remains fixed on the saiyan. "-should your daughter plan on birthing more children with- similar capabilities, you should prepare yourself not only for similar events but possibly even a less than favorable outcome."

The longer he is forced to endure this human woman's condescending tone, the less he finds himself willing to put up with her insolence. To the old hag's luck, just as his patience is about to reach its last rope, two half saiyans come rushing through the door.

The youngest Son comes skidding to a stop in front of Bulma. "Kami- is that?" he breathlessly asks, looking down at the infant in Bulma's arms in wide-eyed wonder.

"Congratulations, Son Goten," Bulma says warmly, handing the now thankfully quiet bundle over to Kakarot's youngest son. "A healthy and strong baby boy."

For once in his life, it would appear as though the dark-haired half saiyan was speechless. From where he stands, Vegeta can only see the blankets his grandson is swaddled in, and in Goten's bulky arms, the wrapped creature looks tiny and deceivingly frail. While he may have given the boy grief for wearing his heart on his sleeve, when the boy lets out a burst of laughter and turns to Trunks with a bright smile, Vegeta finds himself pleased by the boy's reaction. While his children's births had filled the saiyan with doubt, as Goten looks down at the infant in his arms, Vegeta fails to sense any similar anxieties. The boy's aura radiates pure unbridled joy, and when Goten turns around to face his best friend, Vegeta's eyes go wide in shock.

Trunks steps up to his friend, stuffs his hands into his pant pockets, and bends at the waist to peer at the sleeping infant. He grins up at his friend and lets out a low whistle. "Damn, Son! From the look of this kid, there's no denying it: you are the father." Trunks gently runs his fingers through the infant's wild, black hair. "Congrats, man."

From where Goten now stands, Vegeta sees the infant's face peeking out of the blankets. Slowly, it opens its dark eyes and, for a long moment, seems to stare at him from across the room.

Vegeta curses his luck.

After spending more than half his life playing catch up to Kakarot, it seems a cruel twist of fate that his first grandchild should so strongly favor the appearance of that low-class fool.

The first thing she notices is the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor.

Bulla listens to it without opening her eyes, and as the fog of unconsciousness pulls away, she grows aware of a disorienting heaviness weighing upon her body. A grimy coat of dried sweat prickles over her skin, and her every breath draws a tender pain from her abdomen.

The last thing she saw flashes behind her closed eyes.

In her mind, she sees the form of her unborn child grotesquely pushing against the taut skin of her belly, and when she remembers the tearing pain that followed, her eyes snap open, and the steady beeping in the background accelerates.

Careful of the two IV's stuck in one arm, she reaches for her belly with trembling hands and finds it flat. Her heart slams against her ribs, and in her shock, she tries lifting herself up on her elbows but fails. She lets out a pained cry and wildly turns her head to the side and sees Goten.

He's sitting on a chair at her bedside, and the panic on his face matches her own, but he shakes it off and quickly jumps to her side. She can only manage a croak over the dryness in her throat.

"Bulla, you're okay" he strokes his fingers through her hair, and a small smile pulls at his lips. "Our baby is okay."

Her sigh of relief sounds more like a broken sob, and she looks up at him with a shaky smile. "Our baby?" she asks in great disbelief.

"Yeah, our baby- you did great, Bulla." Goten warmly replies. He bends down to kiss her forehead, and when he pulls back, his eyes drift to her stomach. "I'm just sorry I wasn't there," he says with a grimace.

She realizes just how much pain she is in, but she ignores it in her excitement. The last thing on her mind isn't the grisly sight of her infant tearing its way out of her; it's of the little gummy smile she would often see in dreams and those beautiful blue eyes that would take her breath away.

In a hopeful voice, she asks, "Is it a boy?"

He nods and steps aside so she can see the bassinet behind him. Hearing his mother's voice, the baby coos and the brown furry tail hanging off the side of the plastic crib begins to sway.

Bulla reaches for the buttons on the interior panel of the medical pod with trembling hands. "Let me see him!" she says excitedly, brushing off the sharp pain as she raises the head of the bed.

Goten proudly smiles at the baby and reaches into the bassinet. Tears blur her vision, and her heart swells with emotion too pure and overwhelming to be anything other than love. Goten lifts the baby, and her heart simultaneously breaks and grows all at once. The baby in her husband's arms looks so much like his father, and for only a second, she is forced to realize how utterly f*cked all of this.

She doesn't dwell, because suddenly there is a baby in her arms.

The rest of the world seems to fade away, leaving just her and the swaddled infant in her arms. He's bundled tightly in a light blue blanket but somehow manages to free his tail. Almost instinctually, the infant's tail coils around her forearm, and in the brush of soft fur against her skin, a curious feeling of dejavu emerges.

As magical as this moment is, it feels as though she has lived it before in another life- but that feeling does not tarnish what she feels in her heart. It does not make this any less special.

"He's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," she says in breathlessly. After months of gazing upon the bluest of eyes in her dreams, when the child in her arms slowly opens his eyes, she is struck by a brief pang of confusion. From their shape to their deep onyx color, her son's eyes are identical to his father's. Short of running away, fooling everyone into believing Goten was the father had been her only choice.

The baby in her arms looks so much like Goku.

Goten reaches down to run his fingers through the soft fur wrapped around her arm. Looking up at her poor, unsuspecting husband, Bulla forces herself to swallow the shame threatening to surface, shoving it down so deep, only happiness remains.

His voice cuts through her musings. "What do you want to name him?"

Despite Goten's strong refusal, the name Goshin has lingered in the back of her mind. She watches the baby open his little mouth and yawn, and in her heart, Bulla knows the name Goshin does not belong to him.

Another name falls from her lips like something whispered by the universe.

"Gokun." She looks down at the child, and the joy shining in her eyes is genuine. "I want to name him Gokun."

The name is almost cruel in its near likeness to that of her saiyan, yet perhaps that is why it fits so well.

Slowly, as though tasting each syllable, Goten says, "Gokun." He breaks into a big smile. "Yeah, I think that's the one. I like it."

In her arms, she holds something infinitely precious- a gift from her saiyan. Bulla sits in the medical pod, surrounded by all these pieces of Goku she has used to build her life and allows herself to think of him, a billion light-years away, training among the brilliance of the cosmos.

In her mind, she can see his smile; radiant, confident, and so damned beautiful.

It's because we're saiyans, Bulla, he says, and she feels no regret.

On the other side of the universe, Goku continues his training.

He isn't keeping track of how long he's been on Beerus' planet, but if he had to guess, it's been over half a year, and since regaining his ability to tap into ultra instinct, he's been on cloud nine. With the obstructive turmoil within him gone, he's been utilizing that divine technique with newfound endurance.

After a day spent dodging a volley of Whis' energy blasts within the dimension in his staff, Goku rests beneath a dusty, purple sky. The saiyan bathes under the soft glow of stars as he lays on the grass with his arms crossed behind his head and an easy smile on his lips. About an hour ago, upon leaving Whis' staff, his princess' energy struck his consciousness like a bolt of lightning, and as a testament to his self-control, even in that moment of surprise, his ki control did not waver.

At first, he thought she had been calling out to him.

To his disappointment, when he focused on her, he had been able to sense all these familiar energies gathered around her. His family and hers were close, and most interestingly, the life he had last sensed growing within her was now a small distance away from her.

His second grandchild had been born.

Goku does not allow himself to feel happy for his son. He does not allow himself to feel anything because then jealousy would bleed through, collapsing his concentration. In these last few minutes, only Goten and the infant remain by the princess' side. A swell of pride fills him because, in these last torturous minutes, his concentration over his ki did not break.

Months ago, he would have been certain that sensing Bulla would have been enough to send him into a spiral of destructive thoughts and agitation. He would have already forced a fight out of Frieza or risked invoking the wrath of The Legendary to ease his restlessness. He couldn't pinpoint the reason, but something about his last stolen moment with his princess had changed everything. He no longer tests his physical limits to purge her from his thoughts; he pushes himself because he wants to.

His endurance is great; his energy control is perfect- he's more powerful than ever.

On one uncomfortable occasion, with that all-knowing smile gracing his lips, the angel flippantly asked him what could have brought upon such a drastic change. Goku had laughed it off at the time, but he knew upon what sins his newfound enlightenment had been founded.

It had been Bulla's promise of more that had been enough to appease the darkness inside of him.

They were just words, but Kami help him, with everything he was, he believed her.

He believed her so wholly he could singularly focus on the burning of his muscles and the vibration of energy under his skin. Goku could go days without thinking of anyone, and when he did, the choking guilt he had once felt has lessened to a dull throb. One that is easily overwhelmed by the radiant anticipation that always accompanies thoughts of his princess.

He loves Chi-Chi and his sons. They are his home, but within the song of the universe, he hears she is mine, and the pull he feels for his princess only serves to confirm what he feels deep within his bones.

Despite his ambivalence, Goku has never felt more at ease. His darkness has instinctively categorized her as his, and the saiyan's animal brain had been quick to group the princess with his wife and sons and all the other's who belonged to him.

Simply put, Bulla belonged to Kakarot, and with anyone other than the gods' none the wiser, life went on.

Whis sits in an ornate chair a few feet away from him, engaged in a magical board game with the Oracle Fish. After Whis' turn, the fish groans in defeat and turns to the resting saiyan with a huff. "Goku, can't you turn that off! It's distracting!"

Goku sits up and looks at the Oracle Fish with a puzzled expression.

"My, my," Whis chuckles. Ignoring his companion's outburst, he raises an eyebrow at the saiyan and then turns his keen eyes back to the board. "You've managed to maintain that form for days- even in your sleep. Your progress is quite impressive. If you completely master this, you will have been the first mortal in all the universes ever to do so."

In this form, his silver eyes appear to take on an animal sharpness. A co*cky grin pulls at the saiyan's lips. "Yeah, the longer I keep it up, the easier it gets." The corners of his mouth lift in a co*cky grin and a giddiness fills him at the thought of testing his progress. "When Beerus wakes up, I sure hope he's in a mood to spar."

"After a long nap, sparring is usually the last thing on my lord's mind," the angel tells him, moving his game pieces telekinetically with a tap of his finger.

Goku falls back onto the grass with a disappointed groan.

As he lies there on the ground watching the stars dance in the purple sky, the angel's staff lights up, engulfing the magical game board. The Seer's disappointed grumbles are cut short when the light turns green and vertically expands, projecting a serene face over Whis' staff.

It is the Grand Priest.

It's been years since Goku's seen him, but instead of jumping to greet him, the saiyan only cranes his neck up when the mighty angel begins to speak. From the direction the projection is facing, Goku doesn't think he is visible.

"Whis."

The slight furrow of his brow is the only indication Whis is surprised by the other angel's call, but he composes himself quickly and respectfully bows. "Father," he replies. "Is it that time already?"

"Yes," the Grand Minister says with an even smile. "Though things progressed unexpectedly, the earthlings intervened swiftly, negating any necessary intervention on our parts. Other than that random occurance, everything shall proceed as planned. You are to deliver it to the same place as it's-"

Whis interrupts with a forceful "Yes sir, right away!" and, with a gentle nudge, turns his staff just enough for Goku to be in view of the Grand Priest's projection.

The Grand Minister blinks away his expression of mild bewilderment and greets the saiyan with a polite smile. "Congratulations, Son Goku. You must be so proud."

The saiyan's face scrunches up in confusion, then remembering the birth of his grandchild, replies with a stiff, "Thanks."

The Grand Priest turns to his son. "The appropriate attendants have been notified and are expecting your delivery of universe seven's newest demi saiyan."

"As you wish."

The older angel nods his head and severs the communication.

Finally realizing the Grand Minister's words, Goku jumps to his feet in alarm. "Newest demi-saiyan? Attendants expecting a delivery?" Goku asks nervously. "What exactly was the Grand Priest talking about?"

"Whatever thoughts you have bouncing around in your head are probably correct," Whis says, turning to the saiyan.

Goku stares at the deity in silent horror. As jealous as he may be of his son, he does not want to see him hurt this way. He pictures Bulla sobbing through bloodshot eyes as her child is wrenched from her arms, and slowly that horror shifts into a wave of steady anger.

"What does the Grand Priest want with a baby?" Goku tersely asks.

"Before Planet Vegetsai was eradicated, saiyan princesses were already considered extremely rare." Whis tilts his head slightly and offers Goku a good-natured smile. "Princess Bulla is a singularity present only in our dimension. Her presence in our universe is not a mere random occurrence. This is something you are already aware of, yes?"

"Yeah," Goku says cautiously. "But what does any of that have to do with you taking away Bulla's baby?"

"The reason I bring up the past, is that her purposeful creation and the events of yesteryear are what have played a role in influencing forces greater than I to come upon this decision."

"I don't understand." Goku narrows his eyes, and his ki begins sparking dangerously beneath his skin. "Just tell me why you're doing this!"

"Calm down, Goku. I am merely the messenger." Whis theatrically waves his arm inwards and chuckles. "Or in this case, the courier. Just as you have your part to play, so does Bulla. As you may recall, she is destined to birth the new generation of legendary warriors- the ones meant to continue maintaining our universe's balance of good and evil once Prince Vegeta and yourself are no longer able."

Goku grimaces, remembering this is the real reason Bulla and his destinies intertwine.

"After Buu's defeat, you saiyans of universe seven once again caught the universe's attention. You pushed past the limits of your mortal bodies, transcending into godly levels of power, and after that, the cosmos grew curious. Due to past events, the immediate removal of the newest saiyan seemed the most prudent option for all parties involved." The corners of the angel's mouth draw up into an ominous smile. "The cosmos has grown curious regarding its asset's potential, and thus, has grown more protective."

Goku nervously laughs. "Protective of a baby?"

"Yes, protective of a baby," Whis states. "By now, I'm sure you've already sensed the newly born saiyan's energy level-it is remarkable. And while it may be an outlier for its race, it is expected given its carefully planned creation." The angel taps his staff on the grass, and a set of chairs appear. Whis takes a seat and gestures to the empty chair, but the saiyan refuses. "While you may already know that saiyan princesses are rare, were you aware that their lack of strength is intentional?"

Goku knows the angel is trying to distract him but shakes his head anyway.

Whis crosses his legs and softly clears his throat before continuing. "While their physical weakness may have been useful in keeping them out of battle and ensuring they were drawn to the strongest males, when it came to the protection of their offspring, this lack of strength proved to be a terrible inconvenience," the angel explains. "As enthusiastic as your race may be about fighting, not all the saiyans were too keen on housing a legendary powerhouse. The child was often perceived as a threat not only because of what it would grow up to be but because as it grew, so would its ki, thus potentially attracting danger from other planets. If the father's perished, more often than not, the mothers of these younglings proved incapable of protecting them. And it wasn't only the child these saiyans viewed as a threat."

Since the game board's disappearance, the Oracle Fish has been watching the happenings around her with rapt attention and chose this moment to surface from her bowl. "This is true- most saiyan princesses were killed when they were born!" She props a fin over the rim of the bowl and excitedly says, "But every few centuries, after the previous generations had all faded away, a princess would slip through and ripen- and what followed was always the same- a bloodbath."

"It is for this exact reason those peace loving saiyans of universe seven went ahead and purged their species of any carriers of this gene. Instinctually, the strongest males are drawn to the princess and will fight to the death to breed her. For a warrior race, I'm sure you see how this could be a tremendous liability," Whis materializes a chalice and swishes the liquid inside of it with a gentle turn of his wrist and continues, "In short, while the princess caused discord amongst the most powerful males, her offspring were perceived as threats not only to the planet but the royal line of succession; thus, their lives were often cut short."

"That was a long time ago," Goku reasons. While most of the troubles caused by the previous saiyan princesses no longer apply, Goku does his best to ignore that the unseen hostility he feels towards his son is happening right now and disguises his unease with an offhanded chuckle. "It's not going to be like that for Bulla or her baby- no one's going to hurt either one of them. Earth has some of the strongest fighters in our universe; the kid couldn't be better protected."

"While that may be, I cannot ignore orders given by my superiors." Over the edge of his chalice, Whis casts the saiyan an amused glance and asks, "Tell me Goku, the child's safety- is that something you're personally willing to see to?"

"Of course it is," the Oracle Fish laughs, pushing herself up so far she is practically hanging out of the floating bowl. "The saiyan princess mates with the strongest warrior for a reason... isn't that right Goku?"

It takes Goku a second to process the Seer's words, and when he does, he stumbles back in shock, his mind lost in a flurry of panic.

No.

It isn't possible.

It can't be.

He raises his hands to his head and is nearly brought to his knees by a flood of memories: Gohan as a toddler cuddled up against his chest, Chi-Chi standing in the ring, so beautiful in her fearlessness as she raises her fists, a young Goten shyly peering up at him from behind his mother's skirt; Bulla in a bunny costume, shining in all her exorbitant beauty as she dances for him in the woods- the feel of his palm over the swell of her belly.

Goku sees all these things and remembers how on New Namek, if only for a second, it had been so easy to believe the life growing inside her belonged to him.

Goku stares at the celestial beings before him, mouth uselessly opening and closing. His words fail him and as the control over his ki begins to slip, the blues, and purple of his aura dim.

What have I done?, he thinks, and heedless of anything but the buzzing in his brain, he places two fingers above his eyes and focuses on her.

He needs to go to her.

He needs to know the truth.

The earthy colors of his surroundings blend, and with his next breath, the air he inhales is stale, and when the world around him turns white, he finds himself caught in the blue of her eyes. By now, his ability to continuously sense the energies of his friends and family is muscle memory. He is intuitively aware of all the familiar ki's scattered around the compound and even his close physical proximity to his son- but it is still not enough to ground him. Goten's alarmed voice disappears into the background, and if only for a moment, in Goku's panicked mind, they are alone.

He stands at the foot of Bulla's medical pod, and even as the world crumbles around them, he can't help but still find her beautiful. The saiyan's eyes trail from her horror-stricken expression down to the bundle in her arms, and his energy control sputters, forcing the silver of his features to fade to black.

The sight is so devastatingly beautiful- something wrenched from the deepest parts of his subconscious. The opening of her white gown is pulled down, and against her breast, the baby she nurses has wild black hair just like him and a tail just like the one he used to have coils up her arm. There is a powerful flux of energy within his tiny body. That telltale sign of limitless potential should excite him- because damn, that kid was going to grow up to be something, but right now, all it does is further his unease. From his darkness- the part of him that has claimed the princess as his, he feels an involuntary rush of pride.

Goten suddenly appears in front of her, lifting the sheet bunched around her waist high enough to conceal her nakedness and the baby suckling at her breast, and the trance breaks.

Goku looks up at his princess. "Bulla," he says, voice cracking in disbelief. "Is that-?"

The tears she has been holding spill down her cheeks, and she sharply turns away from him, facing the side opposite of his son.

Goku takes a hesitant step towards her, and she clenches her eyes shut. "Bulla," he says again and only manages another syllable before she begins crying in earnest.

In that instant, it isn't the infant's obscene power level or uncanny resemblance to him that serves to answer the question he can't seem to put into words. Her inability to meet his eyes and the heaving sobs she is crying into her shoulder tells him everything he needs to know.

In this small room, the stench of their combined fears is noxious. Alarm bells are ringing in his head. Vegeta is close. It is with a distant awareness that Goku knows that the older saiyan will be here in seconds. He needs to get out of here; he needs to run- but his body won't move. Suddenly Vegeta is in the room, standing in Goku's face and looking upon him in deep, frowning confusion.

The older saiyan's voice booms, startling the child now in Goten's arms, and at this point, Bulla is sobbing so hard she can barely breathe. Vegeta makes a grab for the scruff of his shirt, and Goku instinctively jumps back. He barely resists the urge to deliver a punch to the prince's gut, and those reflexive impulses are what wrench him back to reality.

The world rights itself, and within his panic and horror, he feels a pulse of anger.

He looks around the room- at Goten, cradling a crying baby that he does not know is his brother, and Bulla hunched over, sobbing brokenly into her hands. When Vegeta comes at him again, demanding to know what it is he is doing here- to know why he is upsetting his daughter, it is with an indignant rage simmering in this chest that Goku pinpoints a familiar energy and raises two fingers to his forehead.

.

Chapter 12: Give It All

Chapter Text

King Kai flinches when Goku appears behind him.

For a long minute, the deity doesn't move or speak. He holds his ground, standing on the grass of his small planet, arms folded behind his back and his gaze fixed on the gilded heavens above. In the back of his mind, Goku is aware of the angel on the other side of the universe, traveling through the galaxies like a burst of light. From the corner of his eye, Goku sees movement in one of the windows of King Kai's home, and catches Gregory and Bubbles nervously peeking out at him.

Goku takes a step forward, and the kai's antenna twitch nervously.

"Is it true?" Goku asks, his voice a low rumble of unrestrained fury. "Bulla's baby- is it mine?"

King Kai doesn't turn around, and with his back still towards the saiyan, the diety looks over his shoulder and carefully starts, "Goku- you have to-"

"Is it?" Goku harshly interrupts.

"Yes."

"You knew," Goku accuses, and within his chest, anger blooms. "All this time- while I was training with Whis, you knew, and you didn't tell me. Why didn't you warn me?"

The kai slumps his shoulders and lets out a heavy sigh.

"I would've expected something like this from Whis or Beerus- those guys are just so cold sometimes, but never from you, King Kai." Goku clenches his fists at his sides and grits his teeth. "I thought you were my friend."

When King Kai finally turns, his expression is somber. "Even if I had told you, it wouldn't have made a difference."

At heart, Goku knows this is true, but it does not stop anger from bubbling in his chest like lava, white-hot, and spilling over everything. With an harsh laugh, Goku asks, "What do you mean it wouldn't have made a difference?" His energy snaps wildly under his skin. "It would have made all the difference! I should have known it was me who put that baby inside of Bulla! I would have-"

"Would have done what, Goku?" the kai snappishly interrupts. The diety shuffles over to his student and shakes his head knowingly. "I know how you operate, Goku. You would've tried to make all of this right somehow, and in the end, wound up making it all so much worse." King Kai reaches up to give the agitated saiyan a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Last time you were here, don't you remember me telling you that none of this was going to be your fault. You need to believe that."

Goku bristles. "It is my fault!" he hisses. "If I hadn't been so weak- if I had just been able to control myself, none of this would have happened."

"Oh, Goku, this was always meant to happen," the kai chuckles, not unkindly. "You are my most special student, and I've done what I can here and there to ensure things are less painful for you this time around." The weary smile on the kai's face serves to soothe him, but only slightly. "You must realize that even though all of this may seem confusing right now, in the end, your sons will be heroes. This has always been the universe's will. Through the existence of your boys, countless lives will be saved, and unimaginable darkness purged."

Goku laughs in disbelief. "Sons? What are you talking about?" With how little enthusiasm Goten and Gohan have for training, Goku has the feeling King Kai isn't referring to them. When King Kai doesn't immediately reply, Goku barks, "Bulla is supposed to belong to my son! I'm not having any more babies with her!"

A flash of confusion appears on King Kai's face. "Goku, you're the most strong and healthy saiyan in our universe- the princess is supposed to belong to you."

"I don't care!" Goku says, even though the darkness inside him has long since claimed her as its own. He hastily adds, "And there's no way I'm letting anyone take her baby away either!"

"Didn't Whis tell you it was a bad idea for this kid to stay on Earth?" King Kai grumbles.

"You think I'm scared of some bad guys poking around Earth?" Goku asks, and the uncharacteristic hint of malice in the saiyan's grin makes the kai shiver.

The kai lowers his face into his palm and sighs in defeat. "Look, Goku, it's not as simple as that."

"Well, that's what Whis told me!" Goku throws his hands up in the air and grabs at his suddenly throbbing head in frustration. His head is spinning from all these emotions that make his blood boil. "I don't understand any of this. Why are you all making this so hard? Just leave Bulla and her baby alone!"

The blue diety looks up at the golden sky and groans in exasperation. "This is just what the universe wants. You've been around the block enough times to know the universe gets its kicks where it can."

In the back of his mind, he can sense that the angel is close to Earth, and his anger is so intense, he feels it burning under his skin.

He's always hated playing these games and hates even more that innocents have been dragged into it.

"This is wrong," Goku says evenly. "Doing this to Bulla is wrong."

"I know right now you can't see it-," King Kai begins with a tired shake of his head. "-but this really is for the best. History has a way of repeating itself." The deity tries for a hopeful smile. "Your son is supposed to get godlike training- if you can let him go, I promise one day you will see him again." The kai grabs onto the saiyan's shoulders, holding him in place, and something almost like sadness bleeds into his nasally voice. "And when you do see him again, I promise he will astound you."

The kai's words briefly tempt Goku. When he appeared in Bulla's hospital room, he had sensed the infant's large power level. If early on, the child received the same kind of training he had from Meerus and Whis, Goku can't even begin to imagine what kind of fighter his son would grow up to be.

But all of this is too sudden.

In his mind, he sees Bulla as he had minutes ago- with tears spilling down her cheeks and a child at her heavy breasts; her heart-wrenching sobs echo in his head, and Goku knows that if he didn't stop the universe from taking their son, Bulla would never forgive him.

He'd never forgive himself.

Sensing the angel's distinct energy no longer zooming through the vacuum of space, Goku tenses. Whis has reached Earth.

"No one's taking my son anywhere," Goku says, a low snarl lacing his words. He raises two fingers to his forehead, and the last thing he sees before the golden sky melts into one that is cloudy and grey is his face reflected off the kai's sunglasses, unrecognizable in feral rage.

Back on Earth, Vegeta is left pondering Kakarot's strange behavior and the terrible sense of foreboding, past and present, that followed. That feeling of dread only worsened when the younger saiyan disappeared, and Vegeta grew aware of the divine energy nearing Earth.

The birth of a grandchild, no matter how powerful, would not be incentive enough to pull Kakarot away from training. It was simply too much of a coincidence that the younger saiyan would visit his newly born kin simultaneously while Whis was en route to Earth.

Not long after Kakarot's departure, the Saiyan Prince stands on Capsule Corporation's balcony, beneath the grey winter sky, and uses his ki to warm himself against the frigid air. With his arms crossed against his chest, he stares at the spot on the concrete the angel usually lands on; the only sign of his unease being the drumming of his fingers against one bicep.

Vegeta doesn't have to wait very long.

After a few minutes, Whis barrels through the stratosphere in a burst of light, coming to a halt right in front of him.

"Hello, Prince Vegeta."

Vegeta stiffly bows at the waist. "Master Whis."

"Congratulations on universe seven's newest saiyan hybrid," Whis says congenially. "His strength is truly remarkable. Such an addition to your family line must please you."

"Yes, he shows great promise as a warrior." Vegeta stands before the angel, disguising his unease with a stoic expression. He does not believe the deity would not travel all this way for something so trivial. Cautiously, Vegeta asks, "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I'm here on account of your newest family member, of course," Whis replies with a light chuckle. "You will be happy to note the universe is not only aware of your grandson's potential but also wishes to nurture it carefully. I am here to collect the youngling and deliver him to a realm where he can grow spiritually, thus allowing him to master the use of his energy with absolute precision."

For a terrible moment, Vegeta's guarded expression slips into one of stupefied horror.

Though the situations were as different as night and day, he thinks of himself as a child being taken from his planet, and his stomach churns. This would be different- the gods would train the child. Save for Kakarot and himself, he's never heard such an opportunity being offered to any other mortals, but this isn't the same. Whis did not show up to ask if it was their wish for the infant to be trained. For a saiyan, it is a great privilege that someone from his family line would be considered for such training, but something about all of this feels off.

He knows what the gods are capable of and knows better than to trust them.

"I am honored that one of my own would be considered for such an opportunity," Vegeta carefully replies.

"I am glad you see it that way," the angel says, and from the glimmer in his eyes, Vegeta knows Whis can see right through him. After taking a few steps towards the balcony doors, Whis turns back around to the tense saiyan behind him and chuckles. "It would be rather rude to show up unannounced by stepping out of a portal- and your home is so easy to get lost in- it's practically a maze. Would you be so kind as to show me the way to the one they call Gokun?"

If it came down to it, he would fight for the child, but Vegeta wasn't a fool. He knew it would be of no use- the deity was far too powerful.

Out of ideas, Vegeta turns away from the diety and scoffs," The sprog is only a few hours old. Surely, at this age, he is far too useless to train." The saiyan forces disgust into his voice. "He will piss and sh*t himself; hell, he can't even stand. Surely, there is no place in the divine realm for such a creature."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but was it not a common practice among the saiyan's to send their young out on their own into space to purge planets?"

A bead of sweat trails down his temple, and Vegeta steadily replies, "Yes, but by the time they reached their destination, they were older- already capable of walking and caring for their basic needs."

"This is better," the angel cryptically replies.

At that moment, a third energy pops onto the balcony, and suddenly Kakarot is standing beside him, staring fearlessly at the blue diety. When it came to the gods, Vegeta never knew if Kakrot's defiance stemmed from ignorance or bravery, and when he walks up to the angel with his anger rolling off of him in waves, the Saiyan Prince braces himself.

"Hey Whis," Kakarot says, voice serious and eyes glinting in steely resolve. "You're going to leave Bulla's baby alone." The younger saiyan gestures towards him with a sharp grin. "You've got two strong saiyans right here- Vegeta and I will train him." When he doesn't answer quickly enough, Kakarot delivers a punch to his shoulder. "Right, Vegeta?"

He replies with a stiff nod.

From the pensive look on the angel's face, perhaps Kakarot's reckless courage was working in their favor. "I'm afraid that decision isn't up to me." Whis' mouth eventually curls into that infernal smile of his. "A request like that would require either the approval of the Omni-King or the Grand Priest."

Without any hesitation, Kakarot raises two fingers to his forehead. "I'll take care of it."

"Just a moment, Goku," Whis says, causing the younger saiyan to shoot him a distrustful glance. The angel walks over to Kakarot and places a hand on his shoulder. "You're in quite a mood right now. Perhaps it would be best if I accompanied you."

A snarl rumbles in Kakarot's throat, but he agrees anyway.

No longer wanting to rely on Kakarot's dumb luck and ignorant bravery, Vegeta finds his voice. "Like Kakarot, this matter involves my family. I will join you."

Kakarot jumps at his voice, and when their eyes meet, Vegeta does not know how to interpret the brief flash of panic on the younger saiyan's face. Kakarot's attention quickly shifts, his eyes closing and brows creasing in concentration as he readies himself for instant transmission.

The angel watches Vegeta with that same thin smile on his lips. "I'm sorry, Prince Vegeta; at this time, I do not believe it would be wise for you to accompany Goku to the Omni-King's palace."

Before he has a chance to reply, Vegeta once again finds himself alone on the balcony beneath a grey winter sky.

When Goku appears before him on Kaiōshin-kai, Shin is standing beneath a mighty tree. The Supreme Kai does not seem surprised to see him, and with a serene smile, asks the saiyan, "You wish to see Master Zeno, yes?"

Goku nods, and after the angel and saiyan each rest a palm on the kai's shoulder, they appear before a palace located somewhere outside all of the twelve universes. Nowhere in all of his travels has Goku ever encountered such a curious atmosphere- floating stones encircle the palace, and against the bright purples and pinks of the heavens, galaxies swirl within black spheres.

Standing guard at the colossal wooden door are two of Zeno's attendants. They step aside for them to enter, glaring at the saiyan over the collar of their uniforms, and to Shin's distress, Goku returns their glare when he passes by them. Many years have passed since Goku last walked through these ethereal halls, yet everything is exactly as he remembers it. Within this palace, something eternal hangs in the air, and now, the divine energy he once found so calming agitates him.

With each step deeper into the palace, Goku can sense Shin's discomfort rise, and once they reach the great hall where both Omni-Kings sit upon their golden thrones, the Supreme Kai shoots his arm out, halting Goku in his steps.

"Goku, please wait," he orders, allowing Whis to step past them.

From their thrones, the Omni-Kings wave down at the saiyan, and Goku waves back half-heartedly. The Grand Priest stands at his master's side and greets the saiyan with a polite smile. For a terrible moment, Goku feels doubt. Zenny was capable of making entire universes disappear in the blink of an eye.

For his family's sake, he needs to be careful.

He can't screw this up.

With their attendants following behind them, the Omni-Kings float down from their gilded thrones, and when they land, Whis is quick to stride across the celestial room towards them. After a respectful bow, the angel taps his staff on the floor made space and stars and envelops the Omni-Kings in a light pink sphere.

In this dreamy, ethereal place, Goku watches the gods play their games.

Wide-eyed, with their mouths slightly open, the Omni-Kings gaze up at the angel in rapt attention. To Goku's annoyance, the bubble blocks any sound from escaping, and because the angel is facing away from him, the saiyan cannot even make a guess at the words Whis' forms with his lips.

Sensing Goku's distress, the kai beside him gently warns, "I understand you feel slighted, but be careful, Goku."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Goku dryly replies.

"What is being offered to your son- this divine training- it truly is a great honor," Shin says, all the while observing the saiyan through the corner of his eye. "This is the universe's way of showing you favor."

Goku shoots the Supreme Kai a look of disbelief.

Across the celestial void of the room, the pink sphere pops, and Whis steps to the side of the Omni-Kings. With a small smile and nod of his head, the angel gestures for the saiyan to approach. A quiet rage festers inside him- a rage that feels different from the violent urgings of his darker nature. What he is feeling now is personal, and he does his best to ignore it, to bury it so deep the flames of his ire turns to ash in his mouth.

The saiyan crosses the distance between them, and torn between unease and silent anger, Goku tensely bows before the Omni-Kings. The only sign of surprise the little gods show at this unexpected formality is a slight widening of their eyes.

Trying for an easy smile and light-hearted tone, Goku says, "Yo, Zenni!"

But gods aren't as easy to fool as mortals, and for a brief moment, the smile on their child-like faces wanes.

Goku isn't good with words, and right now, his family depends on him to find the ones that will allow Bulla to keep her baby and the Earth safe from the universe's temper. Panic wriggles in the bottom of his stomach like worms, but he forces himself to ignore it, choosing instead to focus on his rage.

A saiyan has no use for fear.

"Goku, it is so good to see you again!" Zenos brightly exclaims. The little god then co*cks his head and, then with an air of curious concern, says, "But something is bothering you."

His counterpart hums in agreement. "Yes, this is true. But why, Goku? Another strong son was born today- you should be happy!"

The saiyan rubs at the back of his neck. "Yeah, that's actually why I'm here," Goku says, and in his mouth, the ash and smoke are bitter upon his tongue.

The growing disquet and unease following Kakarot and Whis' departure hangs in the air like heavy atmospheric pressure. Kakarot's unhinged behavior; Whis' unexpected demands; Bulla's hysteria- when coupled together, these happenings only served to feed the lingering feeling that he was missing something.

It's unnerving because he knows that something is there, sitting at the back of his brain, only slightly out of reach. Vegeta is standing on the balcony railing with his arms across his chest, and as he stares out into the fog enshrouded city, he focuses on that hazy, unformed thought, but try as he may, nothing comes of it

On the other side of the corporation Vegeta senses the infant's monsterous energy flare, and his attention shifts. One of the royal descendants of Vegetsai had caught the universes attention, yet the pride he feels is shadowed by something he does not understand. Today another legend had been proven true, and though the saiyan hybrid was abnormally strong, Vegeta failed to see this justifying the universes interest in a newborn mortal- an interest that while seemingly not malicious, was strange all the same.

He can't shake off the feeling that something is wrong.

A nearing energy pulls him from his thoughts, and soon the sound of chattering teeth and the loud crunch of footsteps on snow comes to a stop behind him. Bulma had changed out of her blood smeared lab coat into something equally unflattering, yet the smell of their daughters blood still clings to her.

It clings to both of them.

With her back to the city, Bulma rolls her shoulders backwards to prop her elbows on the railing behind her. She takes advantage of his ki for warmth, scooting herself so close to him her elbow nudges the side of his boot, and without preamble begins to speak.

"So not even half an hour ago, I went to check up on our adorable, little grandson- and let me tell you, my timing couldn't have been more perfect. I got there just in time to stop Goten from firing a ki blast directly into his brain." From the corner of his eye, Vegeta watches his wife slip a hand into the pocket of her coat, and to his irritation, pull out a box of cigarettes. "I walked into a mess of tears and chaos, courtesy of both mom and baby. For a while, they were inconsolable." She pulls out a worn lighter from the box with her slender fingers, and because she knows better than to ask him, lights the cigarette on her own. "And here's the kicker- when I asked Goten what the hell happened, he told me his dad showed up, lighting up the room like he was going into battle- then Bulla started freaking out." With a dry, high pitched laugh and sharp gleam in her eye she tells him, "Oh yeah, and you were there too." In order to see his face, Bulma leans back against the railing, and as she takes a slow, drawn-out drag of her cigarette, he feels her watching him. "What's going on, Vegeta?"

Keeping this from her would be pointless, and should Kakarot fail, Vegeta does not want her to be blindsided by the removal of their grandchild.

With his eyes fixed on the muted greys of the city, he asks her, "Today, did you at any point contact Whis?"

"Huh?" she stammers out, shooting him a puzzled glance. "No, I didn't. Why would you ask that?"

"Because only minutes before you joined me, Whis was here."

"Alright," she says hesitantly. "And what did he want?"

"At only a few hours old, Bulla's infant possesses amazing strength. Whis arrived with the intention of removing the child from Earth, to train in such a way his potential as a warrior could be maximized." Vegeta tells her this all with a clinical detachment, and does his best to ignore his wife's rising distress. Should Kakarot fail, he knows this kind of loss would destroy his wife and daughter's soft human hearts. In an attempt to soothe Bulma's anxieties, Vegeta says the words he knows deep in his heart to be true. "What is being offered to this child is an honor."

"What?" Bulma shouts, nearly slipping on the snow when she pivots on her heel to glare up at him. "An honor my ass! I hope you told him to get screwed! No one's taking my grandson anywhere!" He can almost hear the gears in her glorious mind begin to turn. "Do you think that's why Goku was here? I mean- let's be serious, even if he had been lazying about on Earth -he wouldn't have been bothered to see his grandchild." Vegeta glances down at his wife, but shes no longer looking at him. She's leaning forward against the railing, and he can tell by the short, frequent drags she takes on her cigarette she is lost in thought. "But if he knew-"

If he knew, then why had he shown up like that- powered up and agitated.

"Kami knows I hate it when that man uses instant transmission, but Bulla seeemed genuinely upset." The hand she is not using to hold her cigarette is tapping against the railing, and then as though muttering to herself says, "Goten thought it was because his dad showed up while Bulla was topless, but I don't think so. Bulla's has beautiful breasts."

The saiyan finally tears his eyes away from the horizon, and frowns at his oblivious wife. "Kakarot did what?" Vegeta growls, clenching his fists and making a mental note to clobber the clown the next time he sees him.

Bulma ignores him and continues, "Do you think Goku had already told her?" She flicks the the butt of her cigarette off the balcony and looks up at him, her pale complexion red with cold and her eyes wide in concern."Do you think Bulla already knew?" Bulma asks, and from the expression on her face, he knows she is thinking the same thing he is.

If Bulla had already known, what was the reason for Kakarots dramatic entrance? The younger saiyan's energy had been confused and frightened, as though he had barely learned of their grandson's fate.

Not only did none of this add up, there was something off about Kakarot.

From the very beginning, that saiyan had always been so far removed from reality, but after achieving godly levels of power this only seemed to intensify. But this was not that. From his strange behavior only minutes ago, to those painfully awkward inquires after sparring on Bulla's wedding, and his reckless chasing of Frieza across the cosmos- all of these occurrences were so out of character for the younger saiyan. And when he thought on it, he was rewarded with something akin to an itch in the back of his brain.

There is something he is missing.

Breaking the silence, his wife turns to him and asks, "Where's Goku right now?"

"He left with Whis to speak with the Omni-King."

Bulma pinches the area between her eyes and groans in frustration. "That idiot better not screw this up."

Once a deal was made with the Omni-Kings, and both Whis and Shin were left on Kaiōshin-kai, Goku finds his way back home.

It's been months since he's been here, and in that time, while his life's path may have changed direction, everything on Mount Paozu is precisely as he remembers it.

Here on the roof of his family home, Goku tries to keep it together.

Beneath the stars of Mount Paozo, the emotional exhaustion eventually takes its toll, and Goku falls into a restless sleep.

In his dreams, a girl in the loveliest shade of blue comes to visit him. She carries a baby in her arms. A baby with an upward shock of black hair and a long brown tail that lazily sways behind him- and when that baby's clear blue eyes lock on him, Goku is struck by the feeling that he knew his name once.

The girl sits down on the roof beside him, and as they gaze out towards the mountains, the sky comes alive in violent splendor. The moon slowly begins to crack. Snow and stars fall all around them, and Bulla's energy seeps into him, as bright and mesmerizing as all the colors lighting up the sky. Occasionally, he feels the infant absentmindedly brush his tail along his arm, and Goku thinks he could be happy here.

With her free hand, Bulla reaches forward, sweeping her fingers across his face. Her fingertips pause over his lips, and a chill runs down his spine.

He wants to touch her, to speak, but he cannot move.

The baby she holds against her chest coos, and above her, pieces of the moon fall from the sky, and nebulas implode. The universe is crumbling over their heads, and it's so beautiful. The blue-haired girl leans forward and whispers, "Kakarot, you need to wake up."

Her serene expression shifts to one of panic and the baby in her arms starts crying. "Please, Kakarot, you need to remember," she pleads, shaking him roughly. "You need to wake up!"

Goku's eyes snap open, and he wakes with a start. Up above in winter sky, each of his shaky breaths clouds above him. In the distance, he senses two energies, winding closer and closer up the mountain.

The forest is quiet.

The soft hum of an engine replaces the chirping of birds, and with each passing second, the gnawing in the pit of his stomach grows. The hovercar comes to a stop on the dirt path below him. Doors slam shut, the car horn sounds, and suddenly a young girl is hovering in the air over him.

He forgets his dream.

"Hey, grandpa!" The smile on Pan's face falls when she glances at the area around him. "Did you sleep up here?" She asks, shooting him a strange look. The warmth of his body may have kept the snow from accumulating over him, but around him, it sits in tell-tale piles.

Something tumultuous writhes inside him, but he chokes it down and forces his lightness to surface. He scratches the back of his head and sheepishly chuckles, "Yeah, I guess I fell asleep watching the stars again."

"Oh, he does that from time to time," a voice below chirps.

Goku replies with a strained, painful laugh. He forces himself to his feet and jumps off the roof to land soundlessly on the snow-covered ground before his wife.

It's Chi-Chi's warm brown eyes that he's staring into, but he's still lost in a dream. Soft fingertips whisper over his lips, and in the distance, hundreds of kilometers away, he senses the life the universe told him he was always meant to create. He offers his wife a thin smile, and when she returns it with one so big it crinkles at the corners of her eyes, Goku pretends not to notice the beginning jab of something breaking in his chest.

Never in all their years together had Chi-Chi ever been overly affectionate with him, so when she throws her arms around him, he is caught off guard. Her embrace is so tight, the thing breaking inside of him begins to crack like broken glass, and he swears his heart is being squeezed up his throat.

"Thank you so much for what you did for our grandson," Chi-Chi says breathlessly. She takes a step back, and when she reaches up to frame his face within her cold hands, he fights the urge to flee. "If it weren't for you, Gokun would have been lost to us."

"She named him Gokun?" His eyes go wide, and he stupidly stutters out, "Why would she do that?'

"What do you mean why?" Chi-Chi asks, eyeing him strangely. "What a silly thing to ask."

In his shock, he didn't even sense Pan land beside him. "Didn't you get a good look at the little guy when you burst into Bulla's hospital room?" Pan giggles. "He looks just like you, grandpa."

He looks directly into Pan's eyes and doesn't even wince. "I guess he did."

He feels his Chi-Chi watching him, and when he braves a glance at her, he forces himself to stand a little taller. With her brows drawn in confusion, Chi-Chi studies him with a sharpness that goes right through him.

He wants to tell her the truth.

He wants to tell her that he's sorry, but his apology would only be half true.

Months ago, it would've been real, dripping in shame and guilt, but today his greatest remorse isn't for the baby he made with Bulla. It's that he didn't have the strength to stop all of this from happening in the first place. That he can't resist the relentless pull between them; that for as long as his princess would let him, he'd take what he could from her over and over again.

He's sorry that at his core, he's nothing but a ruthless saiyan: blood-thirsty, with a constant hunger for battle and a desire for his princess so strong, to deny it would unbalance his soul.

Goku wants to tell Chi-Chi the truth, but he knows it will hurt her.

So he keeps his darkness close, and after a few seconds, Chi-Chi blinks and is once again all smiles.

"After a cold night on the roof, my hero must be hungry," Chi-Chi says, patting his hard chest affectionately as she strides past him through the front door. "Before I pack my things and head out, let me make you a big, special breakfast."

Goku frowns, and in the next instant, he appears beside his wife in the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

She shrieks in surprise, and the giant, spotted dinosaur eggs she'd been balancing in her arms go flying into the air. Goku quickly catches them, and when his wife rounds on him in exasperated fury, he offers her an apologetic smile.

Her agitation gives way to confusion, but she shakes it off and collects the eggs in his arms. "After all these years, I've never asked you where you were going," she huffs, and over her shoulder, as she cracks the eggs into a large glass bowl, she shoots him a suspicious look. "So why the sudden interest in where I'm going?"

"I dunno," he shrugs, and it feels like shards of glass are scraping at his insides.

The inflection of something in the saiyan's voice gives her pause. "Goku," Chi-Chi says slowly, watching her husband through the corner of her eye. "Is there something wrong?"

"Something wrong?" His words chime with laughter, and he shakes his head. "Why would you think that?"

The big, silly smile he flashes her dispels any concern, and she goes back to preparing his breakfast.

When he was unaware of fathering Bulla's child, his saiyan instincts had still been quick to claim the life growing inside of her. Since his arrival back on Earth, his newly born son's presence was like a hot brand, pressing painfully on the back of his consciousness.

As he watches Chi-Chi move around the kitchen with efficient precision, he can sense Gokun's presence blip in and out of existence. The evening before, sometime after Whis returned to earth to collect Vegeta, it had been a small mercy that Bulla's ki once again disappeared. However, he quickly realized that even with her ki masked, he could still isolate her location. Due to Bulla's cloaking device, whenever the infant was in his mother's arms, his energy would vanish. In those moments, he could picture the both of them, and the impulse to confront Bulla would prickle under his skin.

There was no honor in this.

Even now, it takes all of his willpower to sit still. Consequences be damned, the part of him belonging to his friends and family so badly wants to set the truth free. He's doesn't like lying. If his wife were to ask, he'd tell the truth.

As Chi-Chis hums to herself while whisking the eggs in a glass bowl, the aura around her glows a harmonious yellow, and Goku finds himself unable to look away. He watches his human wife play out a scene he's already lived through a million times, and in his mind, a single thought begins to run on repeat.

I love my wife.

I love my wife.

She must have felt him staring because Chi-Chi looks at him over her shoulder. His guilt is a whisper, a gentle reminder of what he should feel, and even as Chi-Chi meets his eyes and smiles, regret eludes him. Here in his kitchen, his learned humanity collides with his saiyan nature, and for a jarring moment, Goku wonders if he truly does love her.

They've shared a life together, and he respects her for her strength and courage. He loves her because she has always been his home, and he loves his home- his Earth.

He would give his life for it.

Yet, as much as he may love his human wife, it his princess that he needs. To lose Bulla would weaken him.

And when it comes to his own weaknesses, he's never had much tolerance.

Being angry at the gods or himself serves no real purpose. Instead, he allows himself to follow the path crafted by the cosmos, and the serenity he has spent a lifetime achieving remains preserved. A little pain accompanies each beat of his heart, but the energy of eternity still flows through him.

Earth is his home and Bulla is something new. She is an undiscovered world- an adventure he can't wait to have.

Really, that's all life is anyway- one great, big adventure.

The few seconds he watches his wife move around the kitchen stretch into a lifetime, and it is only when Pan calls out to him that the trance breaks.

"Hey grandpa, while we wait for breakfast, you up for a little morning spar?" The young girl asks with a challenging grin, standing half in and out the front door.

"That sounds like a great idea," he replies brightly, and when he follows Pan out the door, Chi-Chi doesn't bother looking up. She just stands there with her back towards him, preparing his breakfast and glowing in her happiness.

Just as he is about to step out the door, the remnants of his humanity cry out, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Chi-Chi," he says softly. "Do you really have to go?"

The chopping of the knife on the cutting board stops, and when he turns, Chi-Chi is staring at him in surprise.

Peals of girlish laughter break the silent tension, shifting Chi-Chi's attention away from him. Pan steps back into the small house and grins at the older woman. "Gee, grandma," she says. "Can't you see, Grandpa just wants to spend some time with you?"

Goku laughs nervously in response, and the pitiful smile he gives Chi-Chi throws her off.

With a vigorous shake of her head, his wife finally regains control of her senses and props her hands on her hips. "Don't be ridiculous, Pan. Not only do Goten and Bulla need me, but so does Gokun." Her eyes dart from Goku to Pan, as though daring them to challenge her. "I need to be there."

"Bulla took a senzu bean yesterday, and Uncle Goten may have to go back to work soon, but so what? Bulla will still be there." Pan rolls her eyes and waves her hand dismissively. "I'm sure the little, happy family will be just fine."

With both of them staring at her like that, she quickly gives in. "Fine, I'll stay," she sighs, and her lips twitch against the smile she is trying to hold in. "But only for a little while. My little grandson needs me- his parents have no clue what they are doing."

Hearing his wife talk so casually about a baby she did not know was his made a curious feeling well up inside him. It was not guilt but felt terribly close.

He ignores it and laughs. "Thanks, Chi-Chi. You're the best."

When he walks by the kitchen window, he sees Chi-Chi smiling down into the vegetables she is chopping. King Kai had been right. If he had known Bulla's baby was his since the beginning- during the time he had not been able to accept what he felt towards the saiyan princess, things would have been a disaster.

All these secrets upon secrets made his head hurt.

He wasn't cut out for stuff like this.

Pan darts into the trees, and he follows. She takes him deeper and deeper into the woods, only stopping when they reach a decent sized clearing. His young granddaughter assumes the fighting stance he taught her long ago. When Pan jumps into action, Goku senses a shift in the energy he has subconsciously been tracking since arriving on Earth. From hundreds of kilometers to the west, Gokun's energy slightly rises, and Goku imagines that he is crying. He easily dodges Pan's attack, and as he waits for her to come at him with another charged blow, a smirk pulls at the corner of his lips.

He turns his back on Pan, and stares westward.

The darkness inside of him creeps through, the sharp pain in his head breaks. For a heartbeat, he is no longer a saiyan playing the part of a human. There was no denying that the baby he made with Bulla was strong, and the saiyan in him is filled with pride.

With all his barriers down, the same parts of him that find this pleasing also find satisfaction in knowing that even if it was Goten who she kept in her bed, it was he who fathered her child. The thought should disgust him- it's vile and perverse, yet Kakarot feels no shame.

He thinks of his princess, and in the snow-covered clearing, he can hear the soft echo of her voice.

It feels like this is where I was always meant to be.

Even when he is lost in thought, he is aware of his surroundings. He senses Pan behind him, and with his focus wrapped up in thoughts of his princess, he is running on instinct. Instead of feinting Pan's attack as he usually does when they spar, he counters. The wild grin carved into his face gives her pause, and at the exact moment his fist makes contact with her stomach, Goku realizes what he has done.

Pan is flung back into the mountain.

A flurry of snow flies up into the air, and Pan clenches her eyes shut and tenses her body, preparing for an impact that does not happen. Before she crashes into the sharp rocks behind her, Goku phases in front of her.

He's holding her by her upper arms, and when Pan opens her eyes, the bright winter sun shines above the saiyan's head like a halo. Goku smiles sheepishly and chuckles, "Sorry about that. Sometimes I forget my own strength."

It's okay, grandpa," she says, trying for a carefree smile. If he hadn't caught her, Pan's injuries would've been severe. He can tell she is still a little shaken, but once she jumps away from him, raises her arms, and braces her feet in the snow, she's all business.

"Let's go!" She roars, coming at him with everything she has. The snow parts for her in a giant white wave and a gust of air follows the kick she aims at his head.

The last time they were alone like this, they were newly married and still getting to know each other.

They picnic by the mountainside, and on a whim, he even takes her around the east continent on the flying nimbus. The years have left their mark on her, but when they fly through the sky on that golden cloud, the feel of Chi-Chi's arms around his neck and the sound of her laughter is the same as it's always been.

What he feels for both his wife and Bulla is as natural as breathing- it used to make him feel dirty, but as the hours' pass, it is something he begins to accept as just another part of his journey.

It's only when he thinks of Goten and the gods that his inner turmoil is incited. That dangerous spark of jealousy towards his son still simmers in the deepest parts of his subconscious, and when it came to the gods and the universes' will, he does his best to focus only on the cosmic balance of it all and the good that will come of this. The desire to pummel his boy into the ground still lingers. It's probably what frightens Goku the most. He loves Goten; he doesn't want to hurt him, but what he feels for his son's wife would be as impossible to ignore as his innate need to fight.

To deny himself of his princess would leave him empty.

But he doesn't feel empty now.

On Mount Paozu, with his wife's familiar energy soaking into him and that of his new son shining brightly towards the west, life goes on.

This time, he doesn't dwell on things he cannot change. Instead, he thinks of what a great fighter Gokun will grow up to be and of the fantastic battles the boy is destined to fight. He allows himself to look forward to the future- and Kami, the future looks amazing!

The following day he wakes to find Chi-Chi is already packing her bags. Goku isn't too disappointed. He's been ready to leave since the afternoon before. Fighting is his way of life, and by this point, he is so tense it feels as though he is about to burst out of his skin.

He's been sitting still for too long.

On the second day, he takes her to West City.

Coming to terms with the fact he cares for two different women does not mean he's ready or willing to be in the same room with both of them. In a display of cowardice, he hones in on Bulma's energy while she's on the outskirts of the corporation, surrounded by a group of weak human ki's. He appears beside his old friend in a crowded room of people dressed in lab coats and fancy clothes.

The papers in her hands go flying, and with her next breath, she shrieks, "Goku, what are you doing here? I'm in the middle of a meeting!"

Bulma punches him over the head, and Chi-Chi blushes while staring back at the stunned crowd of humans surrounding them. His wife is apologizing profusely, and before she composes herself enough to join Bulma in scolding him, he chuckles out an apology and disappears.

With Vegeta off-planet and the half saiyans too busy with boring work, there is only one other sparring parter with enough skill to give him a workout on Earth. He follows that person's energy signature and is led to a busy market on the other side of the hemisphere to a place not touched by winter.

Here the sun shines with so much intensity; it burns against his skin, and among the scents of the people crowding him and the spices of the food cooking around him, Goku can smell the ocean. Standing in front of him, with a pretty girl wrapped around his muscular tattooed arm, is Uub.

The young man blinks up at the taller saiyan, and then his mouth pulls into a big grin. The pretty girl huffs when Uub lets go of her and chooses instead to throw his arms around the saiyan in greeting.

"Goku, it's so good to see you again!"

"You too, Uub," Goku replies, patting the man on the back. He pulls away to flash the young man a smile of his own. "What do you say we pick up where we left off?"

"I've gotten stronger since the last time we trained," Uub says proudly.

"That's great. I'm looking forward to seeing just how much stronger."

Tired of being ignored, the young girl Uub was with comes up to them. Her skin is the same color as the sand on this island, and her hair and eyes, a lovely shade of green. She curls her hand around Uub's arm and asks, "Who's this?"

Uub blinks down at her as though barely remembering she was there, then laughs, "Oh, this is Goku. He's one of the strongest fighters in the entire universe. He's taught me everything I know."

With there being no possibility of him leaving Earth, Goku stays on the Southern Isles.

Weeks and weeks pass, and he spends each and everyday training with Buu's reincarnated soul. Uub is lucky. No one tells him to farm or earn money, all he has to do is defend the village, and while he trains, the pretty girl with green hair takes care of his home. Because Goku trains Uub, she's even nice enough to cook for the saiyan and somehow even manages to launder his weighted training clothes.

Now that Uub can tap into some of his latent godly powers, he is a great opponent. When Goku spends his days fighting with someone that powerful, time just slips by.

Training with Uub makes the days pass quickly.

It's the nights that are sometimes long.

Some nights, when he lays beneath the stars and listens to the waves crashing against the nearby cliffs, he hears Uub and the pretty girl's hushed moans. It is then, as he lies on the thatched roof of Uub's home, that his mind wanders to his princess. Goku thinks of her, and when he does, sometimes he feels a little rush of anger- how dare she lie to him; how dare she not tell him she was having his child, but for the most part, nothing has changed.

He still wants her just as badly as he always has.

Maybe even more.

Sometimes when he stares out at the sea, the sun or moon will reflect every shade of blue off of the ocean's surface, and Goku is left mesmerized. For months and months, especially when remembering the words she last spoke to him, the saiyan finds comfort in the color blue.

On the Southern Isles, Goku does his best to ignore his growing impatience.

Bright sunlight pours through the extended skylight and into the indoor garden. The snow has long since melted, and on this lazy spring afternoon, Bulla lays on the grass with a stack of neglected pathology reports at her feet.

Goten is thrown on the ground beside her, gently snoring with his mouth slightly open. The blanket she had initially intended to spread across the lawn is bunched up behind her head and propped atop her chest with his tail idly swaying in the air, rests a baby with wild, dark hair. Gokun is lying on his belly, and he lifts his neck to peer up at his mother.

Bulla runs her fingers through his soft hair, and when she smiles, Gokun smiles back.

When considering the cosmic levels of extortion behind her son's birth and her history of selfish and self-destructive behavior, motherhood came surprisingly easy to her. She always imagined herself too selfish to be capable of this kind of love.

It is infinite and pure and so different from everything she has ever known.

Gokun pulls an arm out from beneath him and shoves his pudgy fist into his mouth. In an attempt to pull his hand out of his mouth, Bulla gently laughs and reaches down to hook a finger around his wrist, but Gokun is determined. He tenses his arm, and in a show of strength, refuses to surrender.

Sensing the rise in the infant's energy, Goten mumbles in his sleep beside her and blindly reaches out, his large hand falling on the infant's back. In surprise, Gokun's wet hand flops out from his mouth onto Bulla's chest, and as he stares up at her with as much indignation as a baby can possibly muster, Bulla's heart swells.

In this love that Bulla feels for her son, she finds the strength she needs to push forward, and find peace in the lie she has carefully crafted.

A lie that is so, so undeniably beautiful.

Here on Earth, she mirrors Goten's warm feelings of love. In the dark of night, having Goten's warm body to cuddle up against is a comfort, and his patience regarding their lack of intimacy endearing. Goten took on his new responsibilities in stride, falling into a new father's role with natural finesse.

If another hadn't already claimed the deepest parts of her soul, she thinks he could've been the one.

Goten shifts in his sleep, and to Gokun's annoyance, the hand on his back is replaced by a forearm's weight. From the pinching of his face, Bulla knows Gokun is about to make his displeasure known, so she awkwardly wriggles a hand out from beneath Goten and shoves his arm away. Goten's open palm slaps against his face, and with a sleepy snort, the half-saiyan rolls to the other side.

Finally free, Gokun plants his chubby hands on her chest, and the force he uses to push himself up leaves her winded. As she catches her breath, she laughs in disbelief.

"You just can't sit still, can you?" she says, reaching down to grab the wriggling infant from under his arms. She hoists him up, placing a kiss against the top of his head, and sets him down on top of her chest.

Gokun replies with a wet babble and joyful clap of his hands, and when he looks right at her with eyes she has long accepted will never be blue, she feels a pang of something resembling heartache.

She raises her hand, brushing her fingers against the softness of his cheeks, and her eyes sting from the tears she refuses to cry. "My handsome boy," she whispers, lips pulling into a bittersweet smile. "You're just like him- so, so beautiful."

Here on Earth, the darkest, truest parts of her belong to her warrior.

Since their son's birth, Goku's presence tugs her consciousness southwards, but gone are the days of overwhelming obsession. What had begun as a burning need has eased into want, and sometimes Bulla does not know if that is worse.

She loves Gokun and thinks one day she may even love Goten, but it is Goku she needs.

Life without him had been so, so painful.

The pull she once found unbearable is now a comforting reminder of the secret they now share, and in this period of acceptance, she is learning to be gentle with herself. Memories of their last encounter still weigh heavily on her heart, yet when she holds the evidence of their passion in her arms, all she knows is happiness.

Gokun stares at her with big curious eyes, and as though sensing her sadness gives her a gummy smile so beautiful, she quickly covers her mouth to stifle a sob. If it weren't for Goku, she wouldn't be here right now, thrown on the grass with his infant replica wriggling atop her chest and babbling his complaints. If it weren't for Goku, Earth would be gone, the universe unbalanced in chaos, and all she would have of Gokun would be a memory.

Hours after Gokun's birth- once her mother's angel friend had taken her father away into space, and she was no longer choking in panic over Goku's unexpected appearance, Bulla discovered just how close she had come to losing her son.

For this picturesque version of happiness, she owes Goku her thanks.

And Kami, she so badly wants to thank him for it, to apologize, to just see him. She wants and wants and wants with a bone-deep kind of longing.

In these past few weeks, she cannot put a number on the number of times she has nearly removed the kai cloaking device off her finger, only to lose her courage at the last moment. In the end, the time never felt right, and with Goten and her family so close, she could never find the courage to sneak away.

She blames the prickling in the back of her eyes on fluctuating hormones, and in the second she brings her hand up to her eyes to pinch her tear ducts shut, Gokun shifts his weight and rolls face down into the grass.

Bulla squeals, quickly sitting up, and from beside her, Goten shoots up to his feet so fast the pathology reports stacked by her feet go flying. She lifts Gokun off his face, and instead of crying, he coos in delight as though falling onto his face was the funniest thing. Gokun is fast, strong, and terribly prone to accidents. While Bulla knows Gokun is made of harder stuff than most, it still sends a shock through her every time she sees him take a tumble.

Nonplussed by Gokun's antics, Goten slumps back down onto the grass, crosses his legs, and reaches forward to ruffle the happy baby's hair. "You're a wild one, little man," he says affectionately and bends forward to nuzzle the tip of his nose against Gokun's. "You keep that up, and you're going to give your poor mother a heart attack."

"That's not how heart attacks work," Bulla playfully scoffs.

She sits Gokun on her lap, and as she forces him to sit still and endure being checked from head to toe for bumps and scratches, he looks up at her. In the dark of his eyes, she sees a familiar spark of lively energy-a need for adventure, and at heart, she knows she doesn't have to worry.

Weeks without seeing him could turn to months, months to years, but the parts of her that belong only to her saiyan are quick to remind her that her warrior will always be waiting for her.

The smell of steamed buns draws Goten into the kitchen.

He strolls into the kitchen, using one arm to dry his wet hair with a towel and the other to hoist an equally fresh Gokun around like a sack of potatoes. A lavender-haired half saiyan is already seated at the table, half a platter into the meat buns set before him. It's not even dusk, but the corporation heir is already dressed for bed in silk pajama bottoms and a shirt so raggedy, billionaire had any business wearing it. The chopsticks in Trunks' hand are furiously at work as he tries to inconspicuously heap the whole portion of steamed buns onto his plate.

Goten grabs a set of chopsticks off the table, readies them in his hand, and uses them to knock the chopsticks from Trunks' fingers.

"What the hell?" Trunks shoots his friend a dirty look and reaches across the table for his discarded chopsticks.

Platters rice, whole dinosaur roast, and a large assortment of other savory dishes almost cover the entirety of the table, but that doesn't stop Goten from grabbing a bun off of his friend's plate with his bare hand and shoving it into his mouth.

"If you weren't lugging that baby around, you'd be so dead right now," Trunks grumbles.

It is then his mother steps into the dining room, showcasing her strength as she balances two heavy trays of steamed buns in each hand like a pro. "There's no need to fight. I've made plenty," Chi-Chi laughs, and with a smile on her face, she sets a tray of buns before each half-saiyan. "Both of you boys work so hard. You deserve to eat well."

Trunks beams at the Son matriarch. "Kami, Mrs. Son, don't tell your husband, but I think I'm in love with you."

His mother bashfully waves her hand at Trunks and giggles, "You're too sweet, my dear."

After his friend's flattery, Goten's thanks falls a little flat. He hangs his damp towel over the chair, and once he takes a seat and places Gokun on his lap, the infant's eyes go wide. Gokun reaches a pudgy hand out, and a bottle of milk replaces the steaming bun he is about to close his hand around. The baby blinks in surprise, then clumsily brings the bottle to his mouth with the use of his tail.

Before taking a seat beside him, deep from within the seemingly bottomless pockets of her apron, his mother not only pulls out a bottle of wine but an additional five baby bottles filled with milk. As she lines them up within the baby's reaching distance, he feels his mother's eyes on him.

Goten turns to her, and with a mouthful of food asks, "What?"

Crumbs fall out of his mouth, onto the baby's freshly washed hair, and her wistful smile instantly vanishes.

"Where are your manners? You are married to a Briefs for Kami's sake!" Chi-Chi scolds, reaching forward to brush the crumbs from Gokun's wet hair. She uses her fingers to comb out the damp hair plastered to the infant's head, and under her breath, she mutters, "Speaking with your mouth full. Shame on that boy."

With a huff, his mother begins to fill her plate, and as though sensing his grandmother's annoyance, Gokun unwinds his tail from a now empty bottle, and at the same time he drops it onto the floor, he lets out a surprisingly loud burp. Chi-Chi shoots the baby a scandalized look, and the boiled radishes she had been serving herself fall onto her plate with a splat.

The lavender-haired half saiyan can no longer hold in his laughter. "Cheers to that little man," Trunks chuckles, raising his can of beer in the air, then taking a drink.

They settle back into eating their dinner, and it isn't until the two half saiyans have already cleared out half the food on the table that Bulma enters the kitchen. From the white lab coat she is wearing, it's obvious she came here straight from the lab. The blue-haired woman greets everyone with a big smile and takes a seat next to her son.

"Kami, Chi-Chi, you really outdid yourself," Bulma sighs, grabbing a clean set of chopsticks and filling her plate with enthusiasm. "I haven't eaten food this good in years!" She takes a bite of the roasted dinosaur meat and moans in delight. "Seriously, Chi-Chi, I mean it- you are welcome to stay for as long as you like."

"You're too kind, Bulma," Chi-Chi says with a polite smile.

Trunks swallows the food in his mouth, points his chopsticks at his friend, and says, "Once your mom decides she's had enough of us, it's gonna be nothing but take out for you, man. In case you aren't already aware-" The lavender-haired half saiyan tilts his head towards his mom. "-Bulla's cooking skills are probably on par with my moms."

"Hey!" Bulma cries out in offense. "I'll let you know your father tolerates my cooking just fine."

"You know it's funny- once dad told me while he was up in space, he had to eat these bugs that were as big as cows-," Trunks says with a grin, adding his empty plate to the pile of dirty dishes in the center of the table. "-and when I asked him how that was, he said, compared to starvation, tolerable."

"Smartass." Bulma slaps her son across the back of his head, then flashes Goten an encouraging smile. "I'm sure as time passes, you'll grow used to Bulla's cooking. Hell, who knows, Goten- you might even like it."

The meat bun in his hand stops right before reaching his mouth, and without much thought, Goten blurts out, "Does Bulla even cook?"

Not that it matters- it's just after being with someone for almost a year, it feels strange not knowing something so basic. Granted, with how hectic both of their schedules were, when they didn't have their meals in restaurants or order take-out, most of their food was prepared by cooking-bots.

Trunks furrows his brows in thought. "You know, I'm not really sure if Bulla does cook."

Bulma reaches for a chilled can of beer and cracks it open. "Of course she does. Don't you remember that one summer she enrolled in culinary school?"

"Oh, yeah," Trunks shudders. "How could I forget the eclairs from hell?"

Chi-Chi reaches for the bottle of wine on the table, and as she passes it to him, the infant on his lap lazily tracks the bottles movement. His mother catches him by surprise by casually saying, "What does it matter if Bulla isn't a good cook? Give the girl a break." When he doesn't move to open the wine bottle, she taps at it with her finger to direct his attention to the task at hand. "Your wife is a true gem- not only is she a mother, but she's a surgeon and a scholar!" By the smile on his mother's face, Goten worries his mother might be more in love with Bulla than he is. "In the weeks I've been here, the poor girl is rarely home. Between all those hours she spends saving lives at the hospital and being a new mother, your wife barely has time to breathe, let alone cook for you."

"I wasn't saying I wanted her to cook for me!" Goten replies defensively, and with a quick jab of his chopstick, smoothly pops the cork from the wine bottle.

Using his heightened reflexes, Goten simultaneously passes his mom the wine bottle and catches the empty bottle Gokun releases from his tail before it lands in the boiled radishes. While Gokun may have lacked the motor skills necessary to control his limbs, he had no such issues with his tail.

"When you do see that busy wife of yours, please let her know her dinner is in the oven. She only has to warm it up." Chi-Chi tells him as she pours a generous amount of wine in her glass.

"I'm actually not sure if she's going to make it home tonight," Goten replies, lifting Gokun high enough off his lap so that he can reach across the table for a beer. "She called earlier to tell me she might be on call tonight for emergency procedures."

"Perhaps you should drop her dinner off at the hospital then?" His mom suggests. "With all that selfless work and your son's high demand for milk, she needs good, nutritious meals."

"She doesn't like when I do stuff like that. She says it throws her off her game when I show up." Goten mumbles.

Seeing him only makes Bulla miss Gokun more, but he doesn't tell his mother that.

Bulla only started her surgical residency a few weeks ago, but he already missed her like crazy- and he wasn't the only one. After spending months at home with his mother, Gokun was none too pleased when Bulla suddenly disappeared. When it came to helping out with Gokun, his mother was a godsend. Since Bulla started her residency program, his mother would travel from West City to Satan City, staying at the corporation on the weeks' Bulla was scheduled to work. The demands of her program were ridiculous, and while Bulla always came home with a smile, he could tell it wasn't the crazy hours or occasional night spent on call that was getting to her- it was being away from Gokun. The moment she had Gokun in her arms, whatever weariness she may have been feeling would melt away. To Goten's embarrassment, when he sees how much Bulla loves the baby, he finds himself a little irrationally jealous.

While slowly sucking at his last bottle, Gokun stretches his arms out in Bulma's direction and motions gimmie-gimmie with his little hands. Before Goten has a chance to put his chopsticks down, Bulma is already out of her chair.

With her arms stretched expectedly out in front of her, Bulma coos, "Come to Nana Bulma."

As Goten stands to pass Gokun across the table to his other grandmother, it is with mild annoyance that Chi-Chi says, "It's the blue hair that catches his attention."

Ignoring Chi-Chi's comment, Bulma gently unwinds the drowsy infant's tail from around the now empty bottle and croons, "You're a sleepy little saiyan, aren't you?" Being shifted in his grandmother's arms is all it takes for him to burp. Bulma smiles down at the baby, and the baby stares back at her through half-closed eyes, seemingly mesmerized by the blue of hers. "It's so wild how he looks so much like Goku," Bulma says absentmindedly, softly stroking her fingers through Gokun's damp hair. She looks up at Goten and smiles. "And if that crazy guy had ever gotten a haircut in his twenties, he'd have looked just like you." She shakes her head and laughs. "I've got two Goku's right here, but where's the original? I haven't seen that guy since your wedding- and of course his five second appearance in my last board meeting."

"That's one meeting, I wish I had been at." Trunks exchanges his empty plate for a platter of whole roast over rice and replies, "If you really want to know, at this exact moment, he's powering up somewhere in the Southern Isles. He's been there for months, training Uub."

While gently rocking the sleeping infant in her arms, Bulma scoffs, "For months? You can't be serious." She bops the sleeping infant on his nose and tells him, "Can you believe your silly grandpa has been on Earth for months and still hasn't come by to see you?"

Goten takes a swig of his beer and shrugs. "If you consider the whole showing up in the medical ward, ki blazing, and pretty much making a general scene, then technically my dad's already seen Gokun."

"Ten seconds does not constitute a visit," Bulma chuckles. She looks over at Chi-Chi and quirks an eyebrow. "Did Goku ever tell you what happened after he left that day? His attempts at diplomacy usually backfire. All I've been able to get out of Whis is that Goku took care of it, and as part of some weird agreement, Gokun's tail couldn't be removed. I'm dying to know what he said to convince Zenos to let Gokun stay on Earth."

"You don't know?" Chi-Chi asks shakily, setting her glass of wine back on the table. She turns to her son, casting him a curious glance. "Do you, Goten?

Both Goten and Bulma shake their heads.

His mother's eyes fall upon the sleeping infant in Bulma's arms, and when he sees the dimming in his mother's eyes, Goten curses his naivety. His dad was never the best at solving problems without collateral damage.

So after learning the universe wanted his son, why had he so quickly concluded that was the end of it? That keeping his son hidden from the moon would be the worst of it?

"When I asked Goku, he said so long as he trained the boy, the Omni King would let Gokun stay on Earth." The dark-haired woman uncharacteristically uses her chopsticks to pick at the food on her plate. "Then when he is old enough, he will leave to train with the angel on the destroyer's world... and he won't be able to return to Earth until he finishes the first part of his training."

The chopsticks in Goten's hands fall onto his plate with a light clink. He is frozen in his panic, and it is Bulma who speaks the question stuck in his throat.

"Why are they doing this?" Bulma asks, her voice barely a whisper as she subconsciously holds Gokun against her a little tighter.

His mother stares at the sleeping infant, and a weary smile pulls at the corners of her lips. "He's supposed to save the universe."

By the time Bulla leaves the hospital, the employee parking lot is nearly empty. She's bone-tired, but as she walks through the poorly lit parking lot, a faint smile still plays at her lips.

After two long weeks of back-to-back shifts, she is finally done, and to her luck, her last day on for this rotation had been phenomenal.

Today, not only did she receive incredible trial results for the research she heralded during her time under pregnant house arrest, no one died on her table- not even the ninety-year-old man with a two-pack a day smoking habit. She's only a few months in her surgical residency, but she's a prodigy; she's doing amazing. So amazing, in fact, she's already outshined her attending by decreasing patient mortality due to the modifications she's made on decade used surgical techniques.

And at home, things seem perfect. She had a loving husband waiting for her, and every minute spent with Gokun is a joy.

This should be enough, but it isn't.

Something is missing.

For months and months, it feels as though an invisible lure is pulling her southwards. Goku's been on earth since Gokun was born- she can feel it, and while this may have brought comfort to her, tonight it just makes her want.

She reaches her hovercar, and instead of entering the vehicle, crosses her arms over the roof and rests her forehead against it. The moon's soft glow itches at her exposed skin, and the satisfaction she felt over her achievements is nullified by reckless frustration. While irrational, this want is still strong enough to make her clutch at the silver ring she now wears on a thin, silver chain around her neck. It's been months, and even with his ability to travel across the universe in seconds, he hasn't bothered finding her.

Logically, she knows this is careless and wrong, that no good could come of this.

But he's the thing that she's been missing.

He always has been.

She's been waiting for him for years and years and months and months, and she is so tired of waiting.

The timing never felt right before, and after such a good day, she feels overconfident that this is the moment she's been waiting for, and if for no other reason than wanting to know if he will show, it is with trembling hands that she pulls the chain up over her head. She lays it on the hood of the car and takes a step back.

Her heart is beating out of her chest, and even breathing becomes a little harder to do. Bulla wishes she could blame the nervousness on shame or guilt- because neither Goten nor his mother deserved this, but she couldn't stop herself from doing this even if she wanted to.

For a seemingly eternal minute, she stares at the chain coiled on the roof of her car. Just as her racing heart calms and a sense of foolishness replaces anticipation, a chill runs down her spine. A prickling wave-like static suddenly falls upon this ordinary hospital parking lot, and the hairs at the nape of her neck stand on end. For the first time in months, the continuous southward pull of her senses is silent. Without even turning around, she knows he is here.

Hastily, she grabs the ring off the roof of the car, slips the chain over her neck, and before she has a chance to turn, a pair of muscular arms cage her against the vehicle. He presses his large form against her back, and his labored breathing fans over her neck. Her arousal is instantaneous. From the smell of sweat and sea salt clinging to his skin and the dampness of his clothes, she knows he's been training.

"Goku!" she gasps, and because she is desperate for him, Bulla reaches back to grab onto any part of him. "You're here! I can't believe you're really here," she says, and when her fingernails scrape at the back of his neck, he lets out a shuddering breath against the back of her neck.

"Well, you did call me," he says, and she can practically hear the smirk in his voice. "Sure took you long enough, though."

"Well, you sure weren't making any efforts to come and look for me either," she replies, but when she's a puddle at his feet, her words lack any real bite. "Didn't I tell you to find me?"

The saiyan envelops her in his bulk. The power hidden beneath his skin sparks against her, and his question is a rumble against her back. "What did you want me to do? Just show up?" His lips ghost across her neck, and she feels her knees weakening. "You do know I can't sense your ki, right?" He asks her, and while his voice is light, she can feel his energy snapping at her in warning. Bulla shifts under him in an attempt to turn, but Goku keeps her in place, trapping her against the car with his body. One of his hands ventures up her neck, his thumb and forefinger encircling her jaw, forcing her to stare up at the foggy, starless sky.

When she's in his arms, nothing but him exists.

She wants to prolong this moment for as long as possible, so it is with a wry chuckle that she tells him, "What does it matter if you can't sense my ki?" She slides her fingers through his damp hair, and even though she realizes how inappropriate this is, she cannot stop. Her desire is so intense now; she doesn't even realize she's clenching her thighs in an effort to relieve some of the ache. "You're resourceful- if you really wanted to, you would've figured something out."

"Same goes for you."

"Have you always been such a smart ass?" she manages through heavy breaths.

He takes a deep, shuddering breath, then chuckles against her ear. "Maybe."

He moves so fast; he's nothing but a blur in the corner of her eye.

She doesn't feel his hands on her, pulling down the bottom of her scrubs, or hear the rustling of his clothes. One moment she's staring up at the city sky, and the next, she's got her face pressed against the roof of the car. Her head is still spinning from her forceful change in position. The feet she had on the asphalt are off the ground and shoeless, and her legs are now clenched at his sides. His nails bite into the soft skin of her legs, and the grip he uses to hold her in place is bruising. She can barely process the nakedness of her bottom half over the co*ck buried deep inside of her.

He f*cks her right then and there.

Her hands scramble for purchase against the metal of the car roof. Bulla grits her teeth and bites her fist to muffle her loud moans, and the street lights overhead flicker from the charged energy around them until they go out in a shower of sparks. She wants him so bad; it only takes two thrusts until her c*nt begins to spasm around him with a pleasure so intense, it blurs into pain. No drug has ever gotten her higher. Her warrior's energy thrums beneath her skin in toe-curling pleasure, and his every thrust is so sharp and forceful, under the lids of her eyes, stars burst in a cataclysm of colors.

In this pitch, dark parking lot, she gives herself to him.

In the background, she hears a code called out through the hospital speakers and the honking of car horns out in the city, but compared to the sounds of their ragged breathing and the wet sounds of their bodies meeting, it all means nothing. She sobs against her fist, tears trailing down her eyes and drool leaking from the side of her mouth from the blinding pleasure of it all. Her saiyan f*cks her like he did the first time on New Namek- hard and heedless of her comfort, and his callous touch makes her writhe in abandon.

Only he is capable of making her feel this way, and even when he isn't sending her to the heavens with pleasure, she still wishes this could last forever.

He pushes her up higher, angling her so that as he holds her up by one trembling thigh and f*cks into her, he is able to slide a hand up the smooth skin of her stomach. His fingers travel upwards, violently lifting the bottom half of her sports bra, and crumpling the damp cotton pads attached to the interior within the fabric. Her heavy breasts swing free, swaying below her like a pendulum from his forceful thrusts. None too gently, he gropes at her breasts, and when he feels the weight of them in his palm he falls against her and groans. He spills into her then, in thick, hot, spurts, hammering himself into her so roughly the current in the air feels like a weight upon her. Over and over again, he pushes himself through the contracting muscles of her c*nt until the pleasure is so sharp it becomes suffocating.

When he sets her back down, Bulla's still floating from the surge of endorphins flooding her brain. Her legs buckle from beneath her, but before she falls, the saiyan catches her from around her waist.

Goku props Bulla up against the car and takes a hard look at her. Embarrassment is a stranger to him, but with her leaning against the car with her bare bottom exposed and his sem*n smeared over the insides of her thighs, he thinks what he's feeling is very close to it.

Realizing he broke his promise never to betray his wife on Earth, he lets out a high, panicked laugh, "I really shouldn't have done that!"

Bulla holds herself up by pressing her palms against the car window, and when he thoughtlessly takes a step away from her, she begins to slide down. Goku catches her again, holding her up from under her arm to stop her from sliding to the ground.

"If you're worried about knocking me up, then don't," she wheezes out. "The birth control I'm on now is impervious to your super saiyan sperm."

Remembering King Kai's mention of sons months before, his mouth drops open in horror. "It's not just that- I didn't come here wanting to-"

By the time she turns around to face him, he's already slipped himself into his pants, and she's still naked from the waist down. "Oh please- you better not even think of doing me wrong like that," she warns him, awkwardly twisting around. When she finally sees him, she is rendered frozen. In the dark parking lot, he comes to life under the moonlight, and after a few seconds, she manages to stammer out a few more words. "We both wanted this, so-"

He cuts her off, a puzzled expression set onto his face. "Bulla," he says hesitantly, eyes dating to her chest. "I think you're leaking."

She looks down at the two wet spots on her chest and huffs in irritation, "Just get me my pants will you!" Then after a pause adds, "And my sneakers!"

Goku quickly collects her pants off of the vehicle parked beside her car. Her clothes smell as badly as she does- that same cloying combination of sickness and disinfectant that clings to her skin clings to the fabric.

As he watches her struggle to open the car door and awkwardly fall into the seat with her pants bunched up in her hand, he tightly clenches his jaw to keep from bombarding her with the million questions buzzing around in the back of his brain. Sitting sideways in the vehicle, with her socks touching the warm asphalt, she reaches up to shut off the courtesy light on the roof of the car and slips her pants over her trembling legs.

Once her pants are on, Bulla stretches her legs out and crosses her feet at the ankles. She props an elbow onto her knee and leans forward, holding her head up with her palm, and reflected in her eyes is an easiness he cannot return. "He's incredibly strong," she tells him with a lazy smile. "Can you sense him?"

Of course, he can sense him- for the past few months, that's all he's been able to do, and he tells her so with a simple nod.

"Then how about we go to him right now," she says, and there's something almost hopeful in the shine of her eyes. "We can just grab him and run away forever. The universe is a big place. I'm sure you can think of a few places we can go." She laughs at his stunned expression and buries her face into her hands. If she continues to laugh, she is sure she will begin to cry.

"Is that really what you want?" Goku asks, sounding surprisingly serious.

Her throat tightens. She isn't laughing anymore. "Yeah, I think it is."

"I already told you I could take you anywhere in the universe you wanted to go."

In his words, as clearly as if it were painted in front of her, Bulla can see a future she would sell her soul for. "My dad wouldn't rest until he found us," she sighs, propping her head sideways against the headrest.

He flashes her a co*cky grin. "You think I'm scared of Vegeta?"

"You're probably the only guy in the whole universe who isn't," she tells him with a teasing roll of her eyes. As she stares at her saiyan, her smile begins to wane. "Us-," she begins, pointing a finger and gesturing towards herself and then him. "- This thing between us would break my father's heart. It would break so many hearts."

"Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?" he replies, his smile suddenly as tired as her own. The remnants of his anger and confusion dissipate, and he walks over to crouch before his princess. He stares at her- at this girl his soul has bound itself to without his permission, and begins to feel things that scare him more than the wildest bloodlust ever could.

"You should have told me, Bulla," he tells her gently.

She doesn't need him to elaborate.

Instead of talking about the one thing she knows will ruin both their moods, she says, "Goten told me what you did, you know- the whole saving our baby from getting abducted by an angel thing." She lowers her hand, and Goku tries not to shiver when she runs her fingers across his cheek. "Thank you for letting me keep our son." Bulla stares down at him. "Goku, I know our son is supposed to grow up and be this great hero, but when I found out they tried taking him away, I just-I-"

"Bulla, that's not something you ever have to worry about," he interrupts. "I won't ever let anyone- not even the god's- take him away from you."

"Do you promise?" she whispers.

"On my life."

"Thank you." Unable to reach his lips, Bulla stretches her upper body in his direction and settles for planting a kiss on his forehead. "Will you come to see him?"

The corner of his mouth lifts in a slow grin. "Sure."

With their son no longer a lie between them, it feels like a weight has been lifted. The calmness within her happens only when he is around- it seeps all the way into her soul, and because she does not want this night to end, she swings her legs into her hovercar, turns the motor on with a push of a button, and tells him, "Come on. Get in the car."

He slowly stretches up into his full height and eyes her strangely. "Why would I want to get in that when I can fly way faster?"

His sem*n is slick between her legs, and she smiles brightly, revving the engine of her car. "Let's go, Goku! The nights still young- jump in!"

Her happiness is infectious, and soon he's matching her bright smile with one of his own.

Goku is okay with being inside vehicles that fly; it's the kind that stays on the ground that he's never really liked, but he gets in any way.

He wants Bulla to keep smiling at him like that.

He wants to taste her lips and skin; he wants to keep her forever.

As they drive through the city, she shines more brightly than any star he's ever seen. His princess confesses how much she loves it when she's with him, and when she talks about their son, Goku forgets ever being upset she never told him she was carrying his child.

The real world, with all its pains and truths, will come for them later.

Right now, all he wants is for this little happy fluttering in his chest to last forever, so he puts up with the discomfort of cramming his body into this tiny car and the obnoxious sounds of the city around him. The vehicle comes to a stop in the middle of the street, and Goku thinks the reason might have something to do with the red light hanging over the middle of the road. Bulla reaches over his lap, opens the hidden compartment by his knees, and takes out a small box.

He knows what's inside the box before she even pulls one out to put between her lips.

"Don't look at me like that- this is my first cigarette in months," she tells him, then she leans in close, and when she looks up at him, in the blue of her eyes, he can see forever. "Light me up, won't you?"

He touches the end of her cigarette with just enough ki to make the tip glow.

The car starts moving again, and the air coming in through the open window sends her hair flying behind her. She turns to him, her lips a smile around the lit cigarette, and suddenly, the air is squeezed from his lungs.

Reality blurs into memory, and he's a teenager again.

He's on a mission, chasing the Red Ribbon Army across the world to the dragon balls, and beside him, with a cigarette between her fingers, sits a young girl with long blue hair. As she drives them through a seemingly endless desert road, she sings so awfully his ears hurt, and when she smiles at him, he finds himself thinking she's prettier than all the flowers in the world.

Goku.

Goku.

The calling of his name brings him back to the present.

"Earth to Goku!" Bulla laughs. "I asked if you wanted anything to eat?"

"Yeah sure."

Bulla pushes some buttons on the screen between their seats, and instead of music, Goku hears a person's voice come out of the speakers. Bulla orders food from a place with noodles to absolutely die for, then she's back to singing off tune to a song playing on the radio and dancing in her seat.

At another red light, before shifting her attention back to the road, he catches a glimpse of the universe in her smile, of selfish happiness and second chances. Under the harsh city lights, Goku does not think of the Saiyan Prince or of the Ox Princess and the sons he made with her. He thinks only of Bulla and how she is prettier than all the flowers in the world- prettier even than the brightest stars and each and every color he has seen paint the cosmos.

Inside her car, Goku is a behemoth squeezed into creme leather seats.

It's a strange sight. This creature greater than life itself looks so out of place in something as ordinary as her car. In her imagination, Goku is always flittering across the solar systems, in search of things she could never fully comprehend.

Bulla still can't believe this is happening and worries that at any minute, if she were to look away for too long, he would vanish in a cloud of smoke.

She drives them into an underground parking garage, and the saiyan stares at the lights flickering overhead and concrete walls in childlike awe.

Bulla lets out an amused laugh. "You act as if you've never been in a parking garage."

His eyes dart across the large block letters and numbers stamped on each concrete column. "No, I can't say I ever have."

She parks the car, and he follows her up the elevator. Instead of asking where she's taking him, Goku smiles down at her, and even though the scent of sea salt and sweat clings to him, Bulla allows him to pull her against his body. In the elevator, he nuzzles her neck almost lazily, and their lips meet for a kiss so sweet and slow, she's melting into the floor.

Her world begins anew when he is around, and as she clumsily unlocks the door and drags him into Marron's apartment, she wishes that time itself would stop for them.

When the phone in her purse begins to ring, Goku has her pushed her up against the closed door, drawing sighs from her with his lips and fingers . Bulla tries to ignore it, to focus only on how her saiyan's energy seems to wrap around her, but it doesn't matter.

Time restarts, their lips part, and the illusion fades.

Before reaching its final ring, Bulla pulls the phone from her bag. She stares at the picture flashing on the caller ID, and after a deep, steadying breath, raises the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Goten," she answers, forcing an empty cheerfulness to her voice. In the background, she hears a baby babble, and her heart crumbles.

"Hey, babe," he replies. "It's kind of late. I was just wondering if you were gonna make it home tonight."

His father's cum is slick between her legs, and his fingers loose on her hips. With one of her hands pressed over the steady beating of Goku's heart, she says, "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier." She's staring at the hand over her saiyan's heart- at the empty spot on her finger where her wedding ring should be. She trails her eyes up, up, up, and the look on Goku's face is murderous and tortured, startling Bulla enough that she tries to move away.

On the other end of the phone, Goten replies, "Don't worry about it."

But she's more worried than she's ever been. Even as she listens to Gotens voice, the whisper of oblivion she saw in her warrior's eye has her trembling in anticipation.

Without so much as a quiver, the lie smoothly slips off her tongue. "I'm going to be on call tonight for another surgeon. They're short on doctors, so I might not get home till late tomorrow morning."

"That's too bad. I'm gon-" Goten's sentence ends in a curse and clatter of movement so loud, Bulla pulls the phone away from her ear and winces. She raises the phone back to her ear to hear a baby fussing, and Goten chuckle, "Sorry about that. This little guy knocked the phone out of my hand. I think he's ready for bed."

"He was ready to bed four hours ago. Give him a kiss for me," Bulla says, and because looking upon Goku is too overwhelming, she rests her forehead against his chest.

"Sure thing," Goten tells her. She hears him kiss Gokun and the soft, This is from your mom, that follows.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning." If Goku's shirt muffles Bulla's words, Goten doesn't seem to notice.

"Okay, be safe. I love you, Bulla."

"I love you too. Goodnight." With her forehead still pressed against Goku's chest, Bulla lowers the phone between them and stares at the screen. Below the white numbers reading 23:57, Goten smiles back at her, and in his arms, he proudly holds up a rosy-cheeked Gokun to the camera. Goku doesn't move. Once the screen goes dark, she holds the phone to her chest and whispers, "Are we going to keep doing this forever?"

She feels his fingers gently wind around her ponytail, then graze the back of her neck. "If you wanted to, we could stop."

Bulla remembers how life was before him, and knows if that were to happen, a part of her would die.

"I don't want to stop," she says with a tight laugh. "Do you?"

"Never," he replies, and his fingers trail from the nape of her neck, down her spine, and she shivers.

That night in Marron's apartment, reality splits thrusting her headfirst into somewhere wonderful.

Moments after her phone call, Bulla walks into the shower, and while rinsing her hair, her warrior steps in behind her, eager and ready. Beneath the warm water, he skims his hands across her smooth, pale skin with a tenderness she never imagined him capable of, and then wearing only the white sheets from Marron's bed, they eat noodles on the bedroom floor.

They talk about everything and nothing all at once- of heart viruses and battles with planet-eating wizards, and between their spoken words and the soft, white sheets, time slips by like a dream. Nothing that they're doing feels wrong. This thing between them doesn't feel like an affair- it feels like something she has always known. And while all of this is new, when they make their way to the bed and Bulla rests her head on his muscular chest, she knows this is where she was always meant to be.

It seems like only seconds ago, she closed her eyes to a dark, starless sky, and already, through the stretch of floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side of the room, bright morning light pours through. The blue-haired girl rolls onto her stomach and buries her face into the pillow with a groan.

It is then she smells him- his distinct scent of fresh forest air and sunshine lingers on the sheets and pillows. The bed dips, and when she hears the rustling of fabric, she snaps her eyes open just in time to see his glorious backside as he stands.

"Good morning," he says brightly, slipping on his pants. He stretches across the bed to kiss her dry lips, and Bulla's throat tightens.

All of this had been real. It really happened.

And it was over.

She grabs his arm before he can completely pull away and asks, "Where are you going?"

"I told Uub we'd train this morning."

"I'm sure he isn't waiting for you- it's already afternoon over there, so what's the hurry?" Bulla asks, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

He grins. "Well, I am hungry."

"I know a place-, " she starts, desperately wanting to prolong whatever this is.

"Nah," he interrupts. "After Chi-Chi, Uub's girl makes some of the best food I've ever eaten. I bet she's already got a big lunch going- how about you join me?"

What's more jarring about the casual mention of his wife is that rather than inciting panic or jealousy, she feels nothing- nothing but a slight embarrassment over how badly she wants to say yes.

Wearing only a thin bra lined with nursing pads to keep her milk from soiling the sheets, Bulla sits up and stares at him. She lets go of his arm and asks, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Goku pulls away from her, walking to the other side of the room to grab his matching shirt, and as he slides it over his head, he tells her, "Yeah, it's fine. You don't have to worry about Uub."

She blinks in surprise at how nonchalant he is about all this. She thinks of Chi-Chi and Gokun waiting for her at the corporation- about how if she were to say no, who knows the next time her saiyan would flit back into her life.

Against all better judgment, she smiles and says, "Yeah, I'll go with you."

Within minutes, Bulla finds herself on the other side of the world. The seawater mists over her skin and below her, an endless sea stretches out as far as the eye can see. There is no trace of winter here. The sunlight beats down on them, and in the distance, she can see a young man hovering mid-air. The man flies over to them, and with his eyes wide as saucers, stares at the girl his mentor is holding in his arms.

Uub hesitantly asks, "Is that Vegeta's daughter?"

Bulla blushes terribly and Goku lets out a loud laugh from deep in his belly- and just like that, the life she had settled into branches out into something glorious and new.

.

Chapter 13: Cherry Pit

Chapter Text

A girl with bright green eyes and hair prepares a large meal of grilled fish and buttered crab. She's young, beautiful, and woefully eager to please. Once the food is ready, the emerald beauty rolls a mat out on the sand, and Uub leaves the clay hut carrying a worn, wooden table over his head. The warm complected warrior places the low set table onto the mat and Bulla helps set the table with mismatched dish-ware. Beneath the afternoon sun of the Southern Isles, the four of them share a meal on the beach.

Other than Uub casually mentioning her father or his occasional wary glance, there is no awkwardness when interacting with the young couple. Between bites of savory marinated seafood, the young couple converses and laughs with Goku and her as though they've always been the best of friends.

After they eat, Bulla plops down on the trunk of a fallen palm tree to watch her saiyan and the Southern Island warrior spar high in the air, a good distance from shore. Goku and Uub are titans among mortals. Even when they stand still, the sheer energy radiating off their bodies churns the sea below them. This is the first time she's seen Goku in action since she was a teenager, and when he powers up, a trail of goosebumps runs along the skin of her arms. Her vision is nearly as sharp as the other three half saiyans, allowing for her, even at this distance, to see every charged blow exchanged between the two fighters.

Here, thousands of kilometers away from home, she is safe to stare at her warrior's every move, and she savors all of it- from every stretch of muscle beneath sun-kissed skin to the co*cky grin on his lips.

She digs her bare toes into the warm sand, and the sounds of the ocean surround her; the seagulls cry overhead, and nearby, waves crash violently against the side of a nearby cliff. With one hand raised to shield her eyes from the sun, Bulla watches the fighters overhead and smiles.

She thinks of what she told Goku the night before. Of how she wished to escape from this world with him and their son and spend the rest of their years traveling the vast wonder of the cosmos. Beneath the island sun, it's easy to dream of a life that, full of endless adventure and true happiness- a life where she no longer had to pretend to be anything other than herself.

Uub's girlfriend takes a seat beside her, and Bulla is pulled from her thoughts. She blinks those pretty green eyes, and in a voice absent of criticism, asks, "You're married to Master Son's youngest, are you not?"

Bulla turns to the other girl, stunned, her mouth gaping as she tries to find the right words. She fails, and blurts out a short, strained, "Yes."

"You're so lucky!" Uub's girlfriend gushes. "Son Goten is getting to be so famous now." Noticing Bulla's discomfort, the green-haired girl shakes her head and giggles. "Don't worry- I would never dream of saying anything about you and Uub's master. For Master Son to show such trust around his student is a great honor." Overhead voices are shouting, drawing the girl's attention to the men hovering mid-air. "Uub has the powers of a kai, and Master Son is even stronger. Even if Uub no longer wanted to be with me, I wouldn't dream of betraying him or his master."

Even if this emerald beauty was to blab all their secrets, Uub and Goku are much too occupied with training to ever waste time on such pettiness- but Bulla doesn't tell her that. She just nods understandingly, and as though on cue, the cellphone she's slipped into the waistband of Marron's borrowed leggings chimes.

She pulls the phone out to see a message from Goten. She lets out a humored huff upon seeing the photo captioned: wax on, wax off, in which he has donned dark sunglasses and is grinning like an idiot under the bright Beach City sun. In the background of the image, with wash brushes in their hands and buckets of sudsy water at their feet, Earth's finest warriors are busy at work cleaning his personal collection of hover cars.

Bulla squints up at the clear blue sky, staring at the saiyan currently voicing instructions to his student, then pulls her gaze back to the image Goten sent her. She waits for a surge of guilt to blindside her. For that mental scream of, What the f*ck am I doing?

But it doesn't come.

Not even when she returns to Capsule Corporation a few hours later than anticipated, and Chi-Chi catches her scampering up the stairs.

The distance between Goku and herself stretches, and without realizing it, once his presence fades into a whisper, she sheds her skin like a serpent. Within the walls of her home, surrounded by those dear to her, Bulla effortlessly shifts into the woman she once not so long ago wished she could be.

When Chi-Chi emerges from the kitchens and calls out, "Hello dear," it is that woman- the pretender, who answers.

Bulla turns to face Chi-Chi and politely asks, "Mrs. Son, how are you? I hope Gokun behaved himself while I was gone."

With a dismissive wave, Chi-Chi smiles and replies, "Caring for that boy is always a joy. I just put him down for a nap up in your bedroom." Chi-Chi takes a few steps closer, dusting the flour from her hands onto the pink apron tied around her middle. "I hope that's alright- when he naps, he enjoys the way the afternoon sun comes in through those big windows nearly as much..." Chi-Chi pauses, observing Bulla through squinted eyes then widening them in surprise. "What happened to you, Bulla?"

"What do you mean?" Bulla blushes, and forgetting the coat she was wearing zips all the way up to her chin, she self-consciously raises one hand to cover her neck.

"Your face, your arms- you're so red! Surely your skin isn't sensitive enough to burn on cloudy, winter days like this?"

Relived to know that even if Goku had left any evidence of their transgressions on her neck, it wouldn't be visible, Bulla lowers her hand and quickly thinks up an excuse. "Oh, this-," she laughs, gesturing to her face, "-is what happens when you have sensitive skin and decide to use moisturizer from the hospital supply room."

The older woman hums in understanding, and for the next few minutes, while Chi-Chi explains in great detail the home remedies she's used on her half-saiyan boys for their irritated skin, Bulla stares at her as though in a trance. She wonders if, throughout the years, she has used up all her guilt. Since starting the surgical residency program, on the weeks she was scheduled at the hospital, Chi-Chi would stay at Capsule Corporation, caring for a baby she believed to be her grandson. In that time, despite all the wrongs Bulla had done to this poor, unsuspecting woman, her conscience never wavered.

Not even now while looking right into her eyes.

Distantly, she is aware of how irreversibly convoluted everything has become. Of how perhaps remorse may not come today or tomorrow- perhaps not even in the next few years, but when it does, she fears it will only emerge once the veil to this most damning secret has been lifted.

Bulla excuses herself with a tired smile and heads up the stairs.

The door to her room is open, and each window curtain is drawn, allowing the winter sun to bathe the room in natural light. She quietly walks into the bedroom, only stopping once she is standing before a large mahogany crib. Dressed in a fleece onesie, Gokun rests belly down in the center of the crib with his knees bent beneath him and his tail draped over his back and wound around the handle of his favorite pacifier.

Despite wanting nothing more than to lift the sleeping infant from the crib and cuddle his tiny body against her, Bulla leaves Gokun alone. In fear of leaving behind just enough sensory evidence to pique a half-saiyan's curiosity, Bulla doesn't even dare run her fingers through the baby's wild, dark hair.

Instead, she walks to the bathroom, and upon turning on the lights and catching her reflection in the mirror, thanks her lucky stars the boys were at work and her father off-planet. Those saiyans would know where she had been in seconds.

Even without an astute sense of smell, the scent of sea salt lingers in her windswept hair, and a blotchy redness has spread across her usually fair complexion. To conceal any evidence, she grabs a bath towel and douses it in body spray, and once she pulls off the clothes she borrowed from Marron, she rolls them into the cucumber melon scented towel and tosses it down the laundry chute behind her.

She takes a hot shower, careful to wash her hair, and scrub her body an extra time for good measure. Wrapped in a towel, she moves to the sink. As she brushes her teeth, she stares at her reflection in the frameless mirror, and with a toothbrush in her mouth, she lifts her wet hair to examine her neck for marks. Pleased to see that there are none, Bulla drops the damp towel at her feet and strides over to her closet naked as the day she was born.

A full-length mirror stands outside the bathroom door, and as she passes it, she notices the fresh bruises on the outer sides of her thighs. She pauses, standing naked in front of the mirror, and skims her fingertips over the purple splotches marring her skin, and smiles. She looks to the future with anticipation of the secret moments they have yet to share and the new marks he will leave on her skin.

For now, she isn't too worried about the bruising. It's in a place no one can see, and with Goten not sexually pursuing her, Bulla knows it won't be difficult to conceal until her quick healing abilities make work of them.

After slipping into something cozy, she hoists the sleeping infant from the crib and lays him down beside her on the bed. They lay face to face, and in his sleep, Gokun wriggles closer until his hair tickles her neck and his head is buried beneath her chin. With her eyes closed, she nuzzles her nose in the baby's wild hair and breathes out a happy, little sigh.

The bed dips behind her, and her eyes fly open. She cranes her head back to see Goten, still dressed in his dark-colored karategi, seated at the edge of the bed behind her.

Through the window, the bright winter sun has begun to set.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he says, and when their eyes meet, he visibly tenses. "Whoa!" he exclaims, eyes wide in surprise. "What happened to your face?"

Bulla raises a hand to her suddenly warm cheeks and quickly turns away. "I have sensitive skin, okay? I'm sorry for being so horrendous to look at."

"Aww, babe, don't be that way. Even with your tomato face, I still think you're beautiful."

"Nice save," she dryly replies.

She hears him shuffling around behind her. After quickly kicking off his boots, Goten slides into bed beside her. He softly kisses the curve of her shoulder and pulls her against his chest. "I missed you last night." He softly rubs at the sleeping baby's head and adds, "We both did."

As she rests in bed between the man who foolishly loves her and the infant she has fooled him into believing was his, she feels a trickle of the shame and guilt that had previously eluded her.

Bulla grabs Goten's arm and pulls it tight against her chest, and if only for those few minutes as they would lie together in bed, she regrets ever having used him to fill the void left behind by terrible obsession. After drunkenly stumbling onto Mount Paozu and forcing herself upon the universes' hero, it had been Goten who had been her anchor, tethering her to reality with his tender words and soft kisses.

After that night, when she needed him most, Goten had loved her. And while what she feels for him does not mirror the heartfelt, romantic kind of love he feels for her, she does love him.

Only it's not enough to stop, and she doubts it ever will be.

On the day of her wedding, somewhere between the minutes spent with Goku on that alien world and their parting words, her anchor to Goten broke and was replaced with inexplicable wonder. But Bulla does not linger in those dangerous thoughts for long.

In his sleep, Gokun inches himself closer to her, and as Bulla takes in the baby's sweet, familiar smell and listens to the pattern of his breathing, she knows, if it came down to it, she wouldn't change a thing.

Goten's lips skim the curve of her shoulder, his breath tickling her as he kisses a trail up her neck, and whispers, "I love you."

Bulla brings his hand to her mouth and softly kisses his knuckles. Goten has never seen her at her ugliest. He does not know the levels of her selfishness and depravity; he has never seen the darkness dwelling inside of her, but his father has.

The girl Goten loves does not exist.

Still, through the knot formed in her throat, Bulla pushes out the words, "I love you, too," and pretends she is capable of loving him in the same way that he loves her.

Right now, the guilt is a tender ache in her heart, but it won't last.

It never does.

By the time the dinner comes around, she's sitting around the table, eating the meal prepared by her generous mother-in-law and laughing along with her family- and that guilt she felt earlier, well, it's long forgotten.

Spring arrives early to West City.

From one day to the next, the snow covering the corporation grounds melts away to reveal a lush carpet of thick grass, and to Bulla's luck, this day had fallen upon her day off. With everyone out at work and Chi-Chi gone to spend time with her other son in Satan City, Bulla had the day to herself, and perhaps the almost playful way the sun shone that morning was what influenced her behavior.

Late that morning, the blue-haired heiress walks out the front doors of Capsule Corporation with Gokun in her arms and a smile stretched across her face. From the oversized bag slung over her shoulder, she procures the small metal container the house-bots prepared for her and tosses a capsule onto the ground. Once the smoke clears, a sleek, black jet craft sits in the middle of the driveway.

She straps Gokun into the car seat beside her, punches in the coordinates to a lovely clearing Goten and her often passed when flying to Mount Paozu. Within a matter of minutes, West City is already a hundred miles behind them. It's the first time Gokun's been up in the sky, and while he happily chews on the teething ring he has clenched in his tiny fists, he stares out the window, wide-eyed at the clouds ahead.

They land in a meadow miles away from any city or roads, and it's just as she expected. Today's touch of spring has stretched far east, and all around her, flowers as yellow as the sun have bloomed, filling the air with the rich smell of pollen. This little clearing is nowhere near as impressive as the blue fields of New Namek, or the beaches of the Southern Isles, but for an afternoon picnic it's just fine.

After encapsulating the vehicle, Bulla carries Gokun against her hip and walks along the meadow, the grass tickling at her ankles with every step. The blue-haired half saiyan stops below a giant tree and lifts the silver chain over her head. She looks at the silver ring in her palm. It's only been a week since she last saw him, but her heart still races in excitement.

Bulla looks down at Gokun and smiles. "Are you ready?"

The baby looks away from a passing dragonfly, and the short, wet babble he gives is response enough for her to hang the chain on the closest branch.

The blue-haired heiress slowly backs away from the necklace she left hanging on the tree. It's now or never.

With each passing breath, Bulla's anticipation rises until the gentle flutter of butterfly wings inside her stomach is furiously beating against her rib cage. She stares ahead at the rolling field of flowers and grass and anxiously shifts her weight from one low-heeled boot to the other and waits.

But she doesn't wait for long.

A quick shock of static runs through her. In the time it takes her to blink, Goku is already standing under the shade of the giant tree.

He smiles brightly for her and waves at her like they were old friends. "Hey, you!" he says, and before he can take a full step in her direction, Bulla leaps forward into his arms.

Over his princess' breathy sigh, Goku hears an indignant squeal of protest. His brows shoot up, and he is suddenly aware of the bundle of concentrated energy mashed between them. The saiyan places his hands on Bulla's shoulders and gently pushes her back to get a closer look at the baby scowling up at him.

For the last few months, Goku had followed this infant's energy, but to see him right here in Bulla's arms, right before his eyes- it just takes him by surprise. His brain is still attempting to process the fact that this baby is his when Bulla thrusts his infant replica into his arms, gasps out a quick, "Here, take him!" and pushes past him.

Goku hooks his fingers under the baby's arms, lifting him into the air until they are nose to nose, and he is staring into a set of dark eyes identical to those of both his sons- identical to his. Beneath his palms, the baby's energy hums like the energy of a growing star.

Goku knew this infant was strong, but to feel the confirmation of that power was breathtaking. "Kami, you're pretty amazing, you know that?" he whispers, and the baby replies by winding his soft brown tail around his forearm.

In the background, Goku senses Bulla's energy reappear, and with her every step, the sound of rustling grass grows nearer. When she is close enough for her ki concealing device to also mask the infant's energy signature, the spell breaks.

While Bulla's energy might be easy to overlook, the sudden appearance of a certain baby's very high power level so far out from West City was not.

An idea forms in his head, as impulsive and reckless as any other. Gokun begins to wriggle in his father's arms, and Bulla turns around just in time to see Goku sidestep the infant's aim for the tall flowers behind him. "You can't eat those," he laughs, and her vision swims.

Neurons misfire in her brain; his words reverberate within her skull.

You can't eat those.

Bulla blinks, and the baby in Goku's arms changes. Pudgy hands still reach for the tall flowers, but this baby's outfit and hair are different- his tail is gone. The infant glances at her with eyes as blue as burning sapphires, and Bulla is struck by the feeling that she's been here before. Her heart wrenches in two, and she doesn't even know why.

It's over in a flash. A sharp pain lances at her temples, and once again, she knows the name of the baby in Goku's arms.

The smile on her saiyan's lips falls, and he furrows his brows in confusion. "You alright, Bulla?"

She raises a hand to gently massage at both sides of her temple and shakes her head dismissively. "Sorry, I just got a little lightheaded. Must be all these flowers."

It's faint, but within the scent of pollen and ozone, Goku can smell her sadness.

He arches a brow and replies with a drawn-out, "Right."

He doesn't like it when she lies to him but doesn't press the issue either. In all his years, women were something he never really understood. And though the saiyan never really understood them or their erratic emotions, right now, what he most certainly does know, is that he doesn't want for Bulla to be sad. So he strides over to her and wraps a heavy arm over her shoulder. "If you brought me here- even if they make you dizzy, you must like flowers, right?"

It's Bulla's turn appear confused. After a beat, her perplexed expression softens. She rolls her blue eyes and drags her syllables as though she were explaining to a child. "You're already an old man. Haven't you already learned, all girls like flowers?"

Goku leans down, bringing his mouth close against her cheek, and with a hint of amusem*nt in his voice, tells her, "Well, if flowers are something all girls like, then there's somewhere I wanna show you."

It's instantaneous.

In the blink of an eye, the world shifts. The field of yellow flowers she had been standing in is gone, and in its place are rows upon rows of small prickly plants with lavender leaves. The colors surrounding her are so bright, at first, she has to squint her eyes.

The sky overhead is so blue it's practically neon, and the freshly turned soil under her feet is golden orange- and if none of that were obvious enough for her to realize Earth was a billion light-years behind them, a big clue would have been the air she was breathing in. Despite the warm climate, the oxygen she breathed in carried a curious chill, and each breath of it was pleasant in her lungs.

Gokun claps his hands, softly babbling in amusem*nt, and Bulla is wrenched back to the present, where she is aware of the arm slung over her shoulder and the wall of muscle pressed against her back. She should be mad- because how dare Goku just up and take her to another planet without her permission, but truth be told, how could she?

They've only been away from Earth for a few seconds, and already her soul feels lighter.

Something begins to speak behind them, causing Bulla to jump and fold herself against the slab of muscle behind her.

"Son Goku," a voice says, strange, like marbles rolling against the hard ground. "I am humbled that you would visit us. In honor of you saving our planet from the evil Frieza, will you allow my people to prepare a great feast in your honor?"

Goku doesn't let her go, but a tall, hunched alien steps into view. Bulla's eyes widen in surprise- she's never seen anything like him, and against her back, she feels Goku's rumbling laughter. "As nice as a feast sounds, we're actually in a bit of a hurry. Maybe next time," he says, and Bulla can practically hear the smile in his voice.

The alien lets what Bulla can only assume is a gardening hoe drop from its spindly fingers and waves its hands around anxiously. "If not a feast, then before you depart, perhaps my village can prepare a quick meal for you and your mate?"

His mate.

Bulla doesn't question why but as she stands there with her back pressed against her warrior's chest, his energy a familiar hum under her skin, those two words feel right.

Before she can stop herself, she smiles kindly at the alien and says, "Some food sounds lovely." She cranes her head up so that she is looking at the tall saiyan behind her. "I brought a capsule full of food planning for a picnic, but I think it would be terribly rude to pass on your friend's hospitality."

Goku's grin widens.

Bulla's always been curious by nature, and while she is interested in learning more about this alien's world and culture, she'd be lying if she said that was the true reason behind her words. On this planet, no one knew who she really was, and even if it was only for as long as they were on this planet, Bulla could pretend they were more than just each other's secrets.

Goku asks the alien if there would be the same sticky buns he had last time, to which the alien replies with an enthusiastic, "Anything for this planet's savior!"

Goku laughs good-naturedly, tells the alien they'd be back soon, and suddenly they are in the air. Bulla's loud, piercing shriek drowns out Gokun's delighted squeal, and she stabilizes herself by encircling her arms around Goku's strong neck.

"Before blasting off, a warning would be nice," she huffs, but her words don't have any real bite. She's much too awestruck by the kaleidoscopic colors of the world below to be angry.

By now, she's come to realize with Goku, life moves fast.

Thick, burly arms hold Gokun in place as he giggles up at the opalescent clouds and kicks his little feet in joy. They're thousands of feet off the ground and a billion light-years from home, and she's never felt so at home.

In no time at all, her saiyan lands in a field painted in cotton candy hues, so vibrant, it almost seems to shimmer with the light passing breeze. Bulla catches the soft sound of running water, and when she steps out of Goku's arms in search of the sound, what she sees leaves her breathless.

Stretched across the field behind her ran a cliff of mossy rock, and cutting through that cliff was a high waterfall. With the way the bright, alien sun refracted off the droplets, the water crashed down into the river below in a mist of prismatic color, and it's unlike anything she has ever seen.

In the night or day, New Namek had been beautiful with its roiling pearlescent clouds and blue fields of grass with curious spherical trees, but this world was magical- and that her saiyan chose to share it with her sends the butterflies in her stomach fluttering all over again.

Late one spring afternoon, after another week-long stretch at the hospital, Bulla finds herself outside of Capsule Corporation, leaning against the balcony. She is still dressed in her scrubs, and with Gokun currently downstairs being spoiled by both his grandmothers and Goten still at work, before washing away the stale hospital smell off her skin, she indulges in one of her newly found, less serious vices.

Bulla raises a small rectangular device to her lips, inhales off the mouthpiece, and tilts her head back, releasing an airy swirl of smoke into the clear blue sky. Because she breastfeeds, she hardly vapes, but today she's made an exception.

Her hospital rotation had ended on a dismal note.

Despite her best efforts and phenomenal debulking of atrophied cardiac muscle, the high-risk cardiac disease she had yet to find a cure for wound up taking one of her patients. As she stands on the rooftop, furiously pondering whether she should be focusing more on research and less on surgery, an intense burst of air hits her. Her blue hair whips backward, stinging her cheeks, and the plastic vaping pen is blown from her fingers and sent skidding across the polished cement.

Suddenly, standing a few feet away from her, as though appearing from thin air, was her father, an angel, and a destroyer.

In her surprise, she expels the vapor she'd been holding in her lungs in a violent cough. Her father eyes the puff of smoke leave her mouth with distaste, and under the deities, heavy stares, Bulla's heart begins to race.

Only months ago, the angel had every intention of removing her child from her; the sudden appearance of these two ancient beings terrifies her. The quiet malice she sees reflected in the destroyer's yellow eyes keeps her rooted in place, and upon shifting her attention to his attendant, she finds little reprieve. The angel's gaze bores into her with an unnatural sharpness that seems less ancient intelligence and more omniscience.

Finally remembering herself and her manners, Bulla stiffly bows. "Master Whis. Lord Beerus," she says, rising to meet the deities with a flushed face and pained smile. "It's always a pleasure."

"Princess Bulla, you appear healthy. Why I'd even say, you're glowing," the angel says, and from the little amused lift at the corner of his mouth, Bulla knows he finds her discomfort amusing. "I apologize for startling you. Had I known you were standing here, we would have arrived elsewhere."

That's a lie, she thinks, but what she says is, "It's no problem."

Bulla feels the destroyer watching her through the corner of his eye and unconsciously pulls the chain out from under the neckline of her scrubs, clenching it in her fist. It's been years since she's been face to face with these guys, and when she falls under their scrutiny, she still feels as small as ever.

The ancient duo trail behind her father, and just when she is sure they will walk past her and through the balcony doors, the feline destroyer stops right in front of her. He looks down his nose at her and, in a voice dripping with disdain, says, "You sure didn't wait too long, now did you, Princess?"

She takes a reflexive step back, eyes darting towards her father. He subtly nods at her, then goes tense, his attention suddenly shifting between her and the balcony.

Not one to be ignored, the destroyer leans forward so close, the ominous heat of his aura prickles warningly at her skin. "I take a short nap and wake to find history repeating itself," Beerus says, lips curling into a razor-sharp sneer. "Though this time around, even though you seem to have lost your spine, you're still as troublesome as ever."

In the background, Whis lightly chuckles, "Saiyan princess usually are-" Then under his breath, the angel not so quietly murmurs to her father, "-Hence the infanticide."

The doors to the balcony swing open, and the reason for her father's concerned glances become clear. Her mother comes strolling out onto the balcony, utterly oblivious to her surroundings, carrying Gokun in her arms. When she notices four pairs of eyes watching her instead of one, she chokes on her cheerful hums, and clutches Gokun tightly against her chest and screams.

Her father and Beerus wince, raising their hands to cover their ears, and after the baby in her mother's arms gets over his shock, he begins to wail. Bulla tugs on the chain around her neck, ready to break it should she feel the need to reveal her ki and involve her child's father.

The destroyer wriggles his ear and, to be heard over the baby's loud cries, turns to Bulma and shouts, "Was that necessary, woman?"

Her mother frowns and takes a deep breath, readying herself to tell the god precisely what she really thought was necessary. Then as though remembering the child in her arms, she deflates with an irritated roll of her eyes.

The angel points his staff at a wailing Gokun, and a pacifier magically materializes in the baby's mouth, stopping his cries. If these two ancient beings wanted her child, there was absolutely nothing she would be able to do. As much as Bulla wants to wrench the baby away from her mother and run, she can't help but feel Gokun is safer where he is, cradled in the arms of his fearless grandmother.

Bulma's fear is a novelty. The destroyer turns to her mother, yellow eyes dancing in mirth, and points at the baby. "Bring it here. I wish to see it."

Humored by Bulma's distraught reaction, the angel tosses his head back and chuckles. "Do not fret, Bulma- your little saiyan is still to remain on Earth."

Bulma stomps over to the destroyer, face set in a defiant scowl, and Whis moves to stand by his charge, leaving the tense saiyan standing on his own. Vegeta remains a good distance behind the immortals, posture squared, and observes their every move with an animal sharp awareness.

Gokun curiously stares up at the feline destroyer, and Beerus crinkles his nose, eying the infant's dangling tail in disgust. "Unlike the one before, this one actually looks like a saiyan."

"And when he was born, his power level was much more impressive," Whis casually adds, looking over the infant in an appraising manner.

Beerus' eyes slide towards his attendant. "Where's this one going?"

"He's to stay here in our universe, my lord,"

The three mortals follow their conversation, eyes curiously darting between the angel and destroyer.

Beerus stands with his hands loosely clasped behind his back and drops his head back with an exasperated groan. "Our universe? Why not send him to the ete-"

The angel silences Beerus with his staff by delivering a hard thwack to the back of his head. "While you were sleeping, to ensure the little saiyan remained in our universe, Goku struck a deal with Zenos. The two most powerful saiyans of Universe Seven-" The angel pauses and gestures towards himself with long, elegant fingers, "-along with yours truly, will be responsible for the young hybrid's growth and development."

"The poor brat," Beerus mutters, rubbing at the small lump forming over the crown of his head. As though struck by a sudden realization, the destroyer turns to his attendent with a fierce scowl. "So what, now my universe is going to be terrorized by two freakish saiyan hybrids?"

Whis hums in acknowledgment.

"How wonderful," Beerus replies dryly.

While Bulla and her mother remain quiet, their eyes darting between the two deities as they speak, at the mention of a potentially strong saiyan fighter Vegeta breaks his silence.

"You mean to say our universe contains another saiyan hybrid similar to this one?"

It is then, Gokun wrenches the pacifier out of his mouth and flings it at a very unamused destroyer. Beerus raises his arm, quickly catching the pacifier, and before Gokun can utter a sound, the destroyer shoves the pacifier back into his mouth. "Yes within our universe there is another painfully similar little creature," Beerus drawls, shifting his frightening yellow eyes to Bulla. "And from the looks of this one, I think it's safe to assume, he's going to be equally as troublesome."

Bulla stands frozen in place by the destroyer's frightening gaze and nearly breathes out a great sigh of relief when her father speaks, drawing the god's attention away from her.

"This hybrid you speak of, if he is so powerful, why have we never sensed him or heard of him?" Vegeta asks.

"There's no need to get so excited," Whis says lightly. "Right now, the other saiyan hybrid is just a child. He won't be a worthy opponent for a while longer."

Her father's expression remains neutral, but Bulla can tell this topic greatly interests him from the way his brows rise ever so slightly when he asks, "Are there other saiyan's in this universe?"

"Our universe is a vast place," Whis answers, turning to curiously smile at the saiyan. "There are bound to be saiyan's scattered here and there. The question I believe you are trying to ask is whether, among those saiyans, there exists any of mentionable fighting merit."

In the minute shift in her father's expression, Bulla sees something akin to hopeful curiosity.

Beerus points a long, clawed finger at Gokun. "Other than this wretched hybrid and the abomination currently lurking in the outskirts of our universe- well, the other abomination," Beerus begins, raising a clawed finger to scratch at the tip of his nose. "The two only other saiyan's with fighting abilities worth mentioning are the ones whose presence I'm constantly forced to endure."

Refusing to let the matter rest, yet not wanting to appear too interested, with an air of aloofness, Vegeta asks, "And what of the child's kin? His parents?"

Suddenly, the destroyer falls forward in a fit of knee-slapping laughter. "Parents?" He sputters out, between chuckles. "That sad, pathetic creature is practically an orphan of the cosmos, raised by- oof!" The destroyer's mouth snaps shut, his sharp teeth biting into his tongue as he is once again silenced by the force of a magical staff slamming into the back of his head. He cradles the back of his head and rounds on his attendant in fury. "What the hell was that for?"

The angel tuts. "Now, now, my lord, you've got it all wrong. You know as well as I do that the youngling isn't orphaned. He's just lost."

Before the indignant destroyer can get a word in, Bulma finally finds her voice. She takes a thoughtful glance at the happy infant in her arms, then turns to the temperamental feline and asks, "Are you telling me, right now, somewhere out there in our big, mean universe there's a little saiyan- one so strong, even you know he exists- and he's probably doing his best just to say alive- and even though you know he's lost, you haven't helped him?" She gasps, and raises a her free hand to her cheek in horror. "His poor parents must be so worried." She frowns at the deities and asks, "If you know where he is, why don't you help him?

"Help him?" Beerus growls. "Why the hell would I help him? In case your supposed genius brain hasn't already realized, I'm a destroyer- I don't do charity!"

"Either way, in this situation our hands our tied," Whis interjects, "Unless we receive specific instructions from greater forces, it is not our place to interfere with such things."

Bulma flashes the immortals a charming smile. "So, then if you guys can't help him, how about you just tell me where he is?," she asks, fluttering her lashes.

Through the corner of her eye, Bulla sees her father raise his gloved hand to his face in irritation. "Woman, the child is part saiyan, he will be fine wherever he is."

As a mother, Bulla can't help but pity this nameless saiyan child, and from the sullen expression on her mother's face, Bulla knows she isn't the only one. A saiyan all alone in the universe, with no home, longing for a family- it's no surprise her mother is taking it so personally.

Before her mother can voice her demand to adopt this possibly feral child, the end of Whis' staff flashes and an iridescent baby rattle materializes between his long, elegant fingers. The angel stretches his hand out, softly shaking the toy over Gokun's head, and says, "For now, the young hybrid is precisely where he needs to be." Whis allows the infant to pry the rattle from his fingers and turns to Bulla with a knowing twinkle in his purple eyes. "But when the time comes, I can personally guarantee you will meet him."

The destroyer bares his teeth and growls, and Bulla watches on in horror as the dark purple of Beerus' skin begins to glow. "And when that time comes, I won't have another saiyan on my planet!"

"Duly noted," Whis chuckles.

Gokun continues to shake the ornate rattle in his hand, and while the infant may have been oblivious to the cold yellow eyes that snaked his way, Bulma was not. The destroyer takes a menacing step forward, and Bulma lets out a startled gasp. In the background, her father uncrosses his arms, assuming a defensive stance.

With his yellow eyes still boring into the baby, Beerus ignores Bulma and continues lamenting his grievances. "You saiyans cause me nothing but trouble." The glow of his skin intensifies, and he reaches for Gokun, wiggling his clawed fingers, lips pulled back into a sharp sneer. "I should save myself the headache and embarrassment and just destroy him right here, right now."

"What is wrong with you?" Bulma sputters, turning to shield the baby from the destroyer's tantrum.

Unfazed by the destroyer's antics, the angel slowly shakes his head and explains, "Sometimes, after a long nap, my lord wakes with an empty stomach and a grouchy disposition that can linger on for decades."

Her mother's eyes widen, and the tension around her mouth eases into a practiced smile. "Oh, you gouchy destroyer," Bulma teases, diffusing the tension with an airy laugh. "If you're hungry, why didn't you just say so?" While maintaining her smile, she raises her electronic wristwatch and taps at the screen with her other hand. "I'm the richest woman on Earth. By now, you should know that for me, no food is ever off the menu, no matter how rare."

Bulma saunters over to her daughter, putting distance between Gokun and the temperamental destroyer. "After missing my husband for months, he's finally back." Careful to shield Gokun, Bulma turns around and brightly continues, "I've got my whole family under one roof; two of my most favorite immortals have come to visit- I couldn't think of a more perfect reason for a little celebration."

Bulla had to give credit where it was due. Once her mother knew what angle she needed to play, she went to work. Gods, angry saiyan princes- her mother could charm them all.

Bulma stands in front of her daughter, putting up an air of matronly busyness. She uses the hem of her shirt to absently wipe at the baby's clean face and slyly shifts the destroyer's attention. "A beautiful spring day like today just calls for something delicious, don't you think?" The older blue-haired woman closes her eyes and moans. "A thick, juicy slab of ribs, fresh off the grill slathered in tangy-sweet sauce, succulent golden squid, dripping in plumb juice. Mmm! I can practically taste it."

The destroyer's ears twitch, and Bulla watches on in disbelief as the threatening glow enshrouding him recedes.

"I think a big cook out is in order," Bulma says, turning to her husband with a wink. "Is that fine with you, honey?"

Her poor father goes from battle-ready to flushed and embarrassed. Crisis averted, he sputters out, "It makes no difference to me," and pivots on the heel of his boot. Bulla's vaping pen had landed near the balcony doors, and to her dismay, right before stepping through the doorway, her father makes sure to not only stomp on the device but thoroughly pulverize it by grinding the toe of his boot on it like it was a bug.

Her mother goes on to list the menu in elaborate detail, distracting the destroyer, all the while subtly transferring Gokun into her arms.

Not wanting to catch the destroyer's attention, Bulla is careful not to show any outward signs of relief and only holds her son tightly against her chest. Beerus is no longer looking at Gokun. He is licking at his chops, listening to her mother with rapt attention as she describes grilled squid in graphic detail- and while the destroyer may be distracted, the angel sure isn't.

His amethyst eyes slowly trail up from the baby in her arms, and before turning back to his charge, their eyes meet, and he smiles that awful, cryptic smile of his.

The doors to the balcony swing open with a bang, startling Bulla. A trail of house-bots come rolling onto the balcony, and the platters of steaming appetizers and iced beverages they carry in their clawed hands catch both the angel and destroyer's eye.

Her mothers' always complained about being put in precarious situations, but when she turns with a big, victorious smile stretched across her face, Bulla knows this is how her mother gets her thrills.

"This poor little guy looks absolutely exhausted," Bulma says with feigned concern, reaching for the very bright-eyed infant in her daughter's arms and pinching his cheek. Bulma then takes hold of her daughter's shoulders, spins her around, and nudges her towards the door. "Now, why don't you take him inside and put him down for a nap?"

Bulla doesn't need to be told twice.

Without looking back, the blue-haired heiress follows her mother's cue. Behind her, her mother's laughter rings through the air, light as bells and the angel's chuckles follow. Bulla scurries into the house and shuts the balcony doors, leaving her mother alone with two of the most dangerous beings in the universe.

While Bulla washes away the scent of disease and antisceptic chemical from her skin and hair, Gokun rolls around in his crib, absolutely enthralled with the iridescent rattle gifted to him by the angel. She exits the shower wrapped in a towel, and on her way to the closet, pauses at the window. She pulls the curtain back and peeks out the window with one eye to see that the house-bots wasted no time in setting up a large table and firing up a monstrous grill on the lawn.

Bulla's attention falls on the two gods seated at the table beside her mother, and she quickly pulls away from the window with a shiver.

Beerus and Whis didn't always have this effect on her.

Back when she still believed in the tooth fairy and the magic of happily-ever-afters, she had adored the destroyer. He would tolerate her childish questions and indulge her, playing tea party with her, if only for the mountain of macaroons she would serve him.

This fear is new.

She cannot remember precisely when or why it started, but if she had to guess, it had to do with how the destroyer looked at her. As though his sight was so vast, it wasn't just limited to the world around them. For a girl with such lewd secrets, the thought of his gaze penetrating her mind was unsettling.

It wasn't just the destroyer; his attendant had the same effect on her.

While she stands, shivering by the window, she wonders what else they see when they look at her, which amuses them so. With one glance, it felt as though they could see her entire life laid bare before them, and in the comfort of her room, she finds herself wondering if they've always known. In her mind, she can see the angel's bare smile and decides that, yes, they must have seen this coming from the very beginning.

And her father had been with them for months.

She is so worried and scared. How much longer can she live this way, never knowing if today was the day her lies would catch up with her?

Bulla is so lost in her thoughts, she nearly screams when she suddenly feels Goku's presence, warm like the summer sun, nudging at her consciousness. She goes rigid, and then presses a hand over her mouth to stifle her bitter laughter. It's been a while since she's felt crazy like this- physically imagining things like she had when her obsession with Goku was at its peak. She tells herself that there was no way in hell Goku was outside and that what she felt was just the product of her overwhelmed mind.

She never imagined she'd have to use Goten this way again. She needs something familiar and normal, so she slips into one of his shirts, knotting it at the waist for a more flattering fit. It's a corporation-issued t-shirt jersey with his name printed across the front in big, block letters, and she finishes the look with a pair of leggings so tight, she nearly forgoes underwear.

At this moment, two deities who knew her most damning secrets were chatting outside with her mother, and the thought is so overwhelming, Bulla nearly succumbs to old habits. It takes all her self-control to stop herself from ordering the house-bots to bring her a drink to calm her nerves. For an hour, Bulla manages to hide away in her bedroom. She feeds Gokun the bottles the house-bots brought to the room, finishes up today's surgical note- she does anything to ignore the imaginary pull leading her outside, to someone who is not there.

The door to the bedroom opens, and Goten comes strolling through, still dressed in his training gi. He finds Gokun and her, both lying belly down on the carpet. "What are the two of you doing up here?" Everyone's outside- even your dad." Goten bends down, hoisting a very happy Gokun up into the air, then grins at the baby and tells him, "And your two grandpas are here! How about we meet the less grouchy one first?"

Bulla jumps to her feet.

He is here, she thinks, her mind ablaze in panic. She hadn't imagined the nearness of her saiyan's presence.

Goten turns to walk out of the room, and without thinking, Bulla shoots her arms out to wrench the baby from his arms, then timidly pulls away.

She isn't ready for this.

She isn't stupid. Goku was her husband's father, her parent's friend. She knew he was bound to eventually pop up; she just thought she would have time to prepare.

Goten senses that Bulla is not following him. He stops before reaching the door and turns, looking at her in question. "Aren't you going to come down? When I got here, the food was nearly done." His dark eyes trail down to the letters printed across her chest and, with a brow waggling grin, says, "My name looks real good on you."

Bulla remains silent, rooted to the ground in fear.

Her child's father, the angel and destroyer, her husband- Bulla's stomach churns at the thought of being in their combined presence.

Goten frowns in concern. "What's wrong?"

Everything is wrong, but she smiles. "Absolutely nothing. Everything is perfect." Instead of following him, she walks over to the edge of the bed and, like the coward she is, sits down. "If it's alright with you, I think I'll just stay up here. It's been a long day."

Goten accepts her lie easily and nods. "Sure, if that's what you want."

Goten only gets as far as the doorway before Gokun begins to wail and sends the rattle in his tiny fist flying over the half-saiyan's shoulder. The infant in Goten's arms panics, twisting himself so he can look at his mother over the arms holding him in place. It hurts Bulla to see her baby like this, with tears running down his round cheeks and his flailing arms desperately reaching for her.

For the past few days, the majority of her waking hours were spent at the hospital. Gokun probably feared that she was leaving again, and when Bulla can no longer stand the sounds of his cries, she forces herself to her feet. She picks the rattle up off the floor and chases her boys down the hall.

Goten must have heard her movement because he's just standing in the middle of the hallway, and when he passes her the baby, Gokun all but throws himself into her arms. As they walk down the stairs, she holds Gokun tightly against her chest, stroking his back and kissing the top of his head, and in a matter of seconds, his cries cease.

Bulla doesn't understand how Goten can be so calm. Two immortal beings were outside their house- one of which had wanted to take Gokun away, and as though this was any other day, he tells her about Pan's surprisingly good management skills and his new recruits.

Outside on the grass, all her secrets were waiting for her, and she cannot think of anything else. She is on auto-pilot. When Goten asks her about her day, she forgets to censor herself. Despite her best efforts at reviving her coding patients, over the years, she has watched people of all ages draw their last breath. For her, death was a part of her profession; for Goten, death was something strange, taboo.

Her face betrays no expression, and in a flat voice, she tells him, "Today, while I was performing rounds, my patient died right in front of my eyes." He turns to her, eyes wide and clearly uncomfortable, but she ignores him and continues walking. "And, sometimes, I feel responsible. Like, if only I dedicated more time to research, I could save more lives."

Unsure of how to reply, Goten nervously chuckles. "It's not your fault, Bulla. I know you're doing your best."

She doesn't bother with a response. Goten doesn't know what he's talking about, and she's not really paying attention anyway.

They reach the back doors all too soon, and through the glass, he is the first thing she sees. Her mouth goes dry, and her heart swells in her chest. Her saiyan is a creature made of starlight, outshining the very gods standing beside him.

He stands on the lawn, with Chi-Chi and her mother on either side of him. Whatever remark her mother makes has Goku tossing his head back in laughter. Her sandaled feet touch the grass, and his dark eyes immediately find her.

Time warps into a slow crawl.

She can't look away. Goten's still talking to her, but his voice fades into the background. With her eyes still on Goku, she moves as though in a daze.

She startles when she feels a gentle tug against her arm, pulling her backward. Her back hits Goten's chest, and he leans down to whisper in her ear. "Bulla, you're kind of freaking me out. What's wrong?" When she doesn't immediately answer, he adds, "Don't tell me it's nothing. Somethings scaring you. I can feel it."

She blinks, and Goku's attention is no longer upon her. His mouth is moving, and whatever it is he is saying has Chi-Chi and her mother laughing.

It's an effort, but she forces herself to speak, a slight bitterness seeping into the words she quietly hisses. "Look around. Can you really blame me for being scared?" How could I not be, she muses, I have so much to lose.

After a pause of silence, Goten steps beside her and throws his arm over her shoulder. He reaches for her with his other hand, and his fingers gently grasp her delicate chin, pulling her eyes away from his father and up to him. "Hey, Bulla," he says, lips stretched into that beautiful Son smile. "Don't worry, everything is going to be okay."

Goten's arm slides from her shoulder down to her back, stopping when his palm is pressed against the small of her back. He guides her steps forward, and in her mind, she utters a quick, wordless prayer willing her luck not to be over.

They reach the small crowd, and she forces herself to smile.

If she wasn't currently a nervous wreck, the proud smile on Goten's face as he took the baby from her arms and introduced him to his father would have killed her. "Dad, there's someone I really want you to meet," Goten says brightly. " I don't think you guys have had a proper introduction."

Bulla watches on as though in a daze as Gokun is passed from one set of muscular arms to another.

"Yeah, we've met. He's a strong little guy," her saiyan casually replies, and her heart clenches because, behind his words, lies a memory of a colorful prismatic world and infinite happiness.

In her mind she sees Goku holding Gokun up from under his arms while standing in a field of yellow flowers; father and son, nose to nose, staring at each other in mirrored wonder.

She ignores the wistfulness that follows and forces herself to continue playing her part. She starts off strong. She laughs and smiles, all the while pretending she doesn't know how it feels to have Son Goku's lips on hers- as though the infant he was carrying in his arms wasn't really his son.

She glances at him when she thinks no one is looking and watches as he cheerfully works everyone around him. When they keep calling him Gokun's grandfather or ask him how it feels to have another grandchild his mask slowly begins to slips. At every mention, the corner of his mouth twitches ever so slightly, and when their eyes meet, it is Kakarot she sees staring back at her.

It's only when Goten, along with her mother and Chi-Chi, are distracted by Gokun's antics that her saiyan breaks character.

His eyes roll down to her chest, and while his voice is light, his grin cuts her like a knife. "Nice shirt."

Bulla stupidly blinks, lowers her chin to her chest, and reads upside down, in big, block print the letters spelling out GOTEN. For a second, she is rendered speechless, but beneath the weight of her growing discontent, her fear immediately collapses. Does he not realize the severity of the situation they are in? Here they both stand, their greatest secrets gathered all around them, and he, the universe's hero is acting so terribly petulant and human.

It disgusts her.

Bulla knows she shouldn't- that this jealousy of his is dangerous, but she is so upset, she cannot help but fall to his level.

She remembers every shared word between them. The first time she encountered him alone on Mount Paozu, he had expressed something almost like regret over not being as good of a father as the saiyan prince- and really, she's never been above throwing a person's words back in their face.

They just seem to bring out the worst in each other.

"Oh, this-," she says, running her fingertips over the waxy letters, "-Yeah, Gotens' the absolute best, and I have you to thank for that. Having a father like you just really just shaped him into the person he is today." She looks up at him, her blue eyes shimmering with a coyness her hardened heart is no longer capable of. "He's a perfect dad, a perfect husband," she says, ticking her fingers one then two. "Every night when I fall asleep beside him, I just feel like the luckiest girl in the universe."

His smile falters, the corner of his jaw pulses, and it feels like victory.

But her satisfaction is short-lived. The saiyan blinks, and right before her eyes, he transforms back into Son Goku.

He turns away from her like she never held his attention in the first place, and if she were anyone else, that bright smile on his handsome face would have seemed sincere. Goku throws an arm up into the air and waves at someone behind her. He shouts, "Hey, Vegeta!" and her irritation is immediately extinguished.

Bulla doesn't bother sticking around for the exchange between the two saiyans. Instead, she scampers over to where Gokun is, and while her mother is busy ordering the house-bots around, she chats with Goten and his mother. Once the food is served, they all gather around the table, and Bulla laughs and smiles for what feels like an eternity. She even manages to get enough food down her churning stomach to avoid worrying Goten.

Her earlier bout of reckless anger is long forgotten. While sitting at the same table with her brother and father, a daunting agitation falls upon her, making her restless and jumpy.

Gokun is propped in Goten's lap, and the entire time they are at the table, the infant gnaws on his shiny rattle with his gums and stares, fixated on the spiky-haired saiyan in front of him. Bulla sits beside Goten, shoulder to shoulder, and once her husband is done eating, he slides his arm over her shoulder. Usually, she finds his touch endearing, but right now, she wants to shrug him off.

Every now and then, she peers at Goku from under her fringe, and only once do their eyes meet.

He's chuckling with Goten and her brother, and as soon as he notices her watching him, his expression sobers. His lips don't move, but she hears him anyway.

You're like a sickness, Bulla.

You're ruining me. Turning me into something I can't recognize.

It is then she regrets ever antagonizing him. The saiyan whose eyes bore into hers isn't Goku, but she knows him just the same. He is the one who pushed her to her knees on New Namek, f*cking her roughly and leaving her breathless with his talk of ruthless carnage.

The saiyan sitting in front of her is Kakarot, and he has no business here.

Bulla is the first to look away and pretends not to notice the subsequent upwards quirk of his mouth. Jealousy seeps from him, ugly and violent, and she doesn't know how he can sit here laughing and stuffing his face with something so noxious festering inside of him. From the way everyone around them carries on, she thinks she must be the only one who feels it.

She tries to ignore it and focus instead on playing the part of Goten's wife.

The dark-haired half saiyan absently runs his palm down the smooth skin of Bulla's arm, and she tries not to grimace. From across the table, her mother not so humbly brags about her genius daughter's recent Nobel Prize nomination, and Goten leans in to tell her how amazing she is.

For Goku, the quick kiss between them that follows turns out to be his breaking point. He pushes away a plate still half-filled with grilled vegetables and meat and stands up so abruptly, Bulla jumps in her seat.

Goku points an index finger at Goten and grins. "So Vegeta told me that before he left, you spent a few months training with him- and Vegeta's no slouch." He turns his palm inwards, beckoning his son, and excitedly says, "Come on, let's have a quick spar. I'm excited to see what you've learned."

That fire burning in his eyes, the subtle glint of malice in his grin- Bulla sees it all, and a shiver runs down her spine in anticipation of his violence.

"I don't know, dad. It's kind of been a long day," Goten sighs, and the disappointment his hesitancy invokes is so alarming, it dampens her bloodlust.

Goku ignores his son's refusal. He walks over to a clear spot on the lawn and raises his arms up at his sides. "Come on, son. We won't spar for too long."

Bulla hastily reaches for the arm Goten has slung across her shoulders to hold him in place and growls, "Don't even think about it."

Goten casts her a bewildered glance. She's never had a problem with him sparring before, and at the same time he opens his mouth to to speak, Goku's loud laughter catches everyone's attention.

"Aww, Bulla, let him fight, won't you?"

Everyone at the table- immortals included, turns to look at her, and Bulla flushes.

"Yeah, what's the big deal? Fightings a saiyan thing," her brother says, sounding positively affronted- as though he had been the one she told not to spar. "It's something you wouldn't understand. If Goten wants to fight, let him fight."

Trunks' words are piercing.

Fighting, a saiyan thing? If only her brother knew, at this very moment, an awful part of her writhed in anticipation to witness father and son spill each other's blood.

Goku chuckles, and the sound is grating. "Yeah, Bulla, don't be like that- let him fight."

Bulla sends a scowl to the saiyan standing on the lawn and hisses, "He just said he didn't want to! Stop pressuring him!"

Goku remains silent, but his smile stretches in defiance.

To Bulla's horror, all it takes for Goten to hand her the baby in his lap and jump to his feet is one glance at her father's disgusted expression. The half-saiyan follows Goku onto the lawn, and while he stretches, he chats with the older saiyan.

Chi-Chi and her mother resume their conversation, and the rest of them watch the beginnings of what they all dismissed as being just another episode of saiyans being saiyans. Well, everyone except the angel and destroyer. While they sample a platter of exotic seafood, the level of interest in which they observe the two fighters leaves Bulla feeling uneasy.

When both fighters stand ready to face each other, she doesn't see what everyone else sees. She doesn't see a father and son- she sees the two separate parts of her life threatening to converge.

The two Son's assume near-identical fighting stances, and she is struck by a jolt of fear. Her father is sitting ahead of her on the opposite side of the table, and through the corner of her eye, she is horrified to notice that small pulse of adrenaline had enough to catch his attention.

Her father turns his head in her direction. She feels him watching her but pretends not to notice. Goten bursts forward, fist drawn back to make the first strike, and she doesn't look away.

Goku easily blocks his son, and as Bulla watches the two fighters dance around each other, she focuses on keeping her breathing steady and on the weight of Gokun's tiny body on her lap and the brush of his tail against her arm.

She focuses on everything but the predatorial gleam in her saiyan's eyes.

The sparring match begins simple enough.

There is no obvious aggression; it's just a back and forth of light attacks. Bulla tells herself that this sparring match happening on corporation grounds is a small blessing. It means that they can't put too much power behind their attacks, and neither of them is reckless is enough to fire energy blasts in the city.

Her heart isn't racing, her hands don't tremble, yet she must not be hiding her nervousness as well as she thought. Her mother eventually strolls over to her, announcing her presence by playfully bumping her hip against her daughter's shoulder.

"You've had a stressful day. I can watch Gokun for a little bit," her mother says, plucking the baby off her lap. The older blue-haired woman points at the portable bar set out near the back doors and grins. "And while I watch him, how about you take a little breather and go see the little concoction the bots mixed up for you?"

It's almost been a year since her last drink, and right about now, she'd kill for one.

Bulla walks away, turning her back on the two fighters, and Gokun is too busy trying to snatch the diamonds off his grandmother's ears to protest. She only gets a few steps in before Goku's loud voice rings out, stopping her right in her tracks.

"Hey, Goten, how about we take this to the sky? Then you show me what you've really learned."

Bulla doesn't turn around.

The ground is swaying beneath her feet, but she forces herself to keep walking. A shiny, silver house bot waits for her at the bar, a serving tray balanced in its metal arm. On that serving tray sits a hurricane glass, dripping with condensation and filled with white slushy alcohol, but she bypasses the drink entirely. Instead, she reaches an arm over the bar and seizes a bottle of vodka.

She needs to be careful. Even at this distance, she knows her father and brother can still see her perfectly, but as soon as she has enough room to breathe, her hands begin to shake.

Each punch happening thousands of feet above her recoils against her senses with a supersonic boom. And that noise triggers something within her. Other than Goku's strange mood and the presence of two very frightening immortals, nothing else around her is terribly amiss; yet as she stands leaning against the bar, a fear worse than any she has ever felt washes over her.

At her temples, a dull ache forms, and all around her, she feels a flux of energy so powerful the ground below her feet thrums with it. She looks over her shoulder, taking in everyone's calm expressions, and doesn't understand they're all so calm.

Don't they feel it?

Gokun is sleeping in her mother's arms, but she hears a child wailing. The sound is so close it seems to be coming from right beside her. The ache in her head swells, the colors around her distort, and within that blur of color, she sees something. The little boy with an upward shock of dark hair and blue eyes is back, and he's staring at her with wide, fearful eyes. Tears stream down his cheeks, and in his open mouth, his tongue quivers from the force of his cries.

And it's not just his cries she hears.

Bulla clamps a hand over her mouth, and to her horror, though her lips are pressed tightly together, she hears herself screaming.

The Earth groans and cracks. It begins to rumble under her feet, then just as suddenly as it began, the world rights itself and her vision clears- but her skin is left crawling.

That misfiring of neurons in her brain created an image that felt terribly familiar. It was almost like an echo from another life; like those fantasies of Goku she had tried burning from her braincells, the ones that had always felt more like memories. After months of peace, inside of her, it feels like everything is reverting to how it was before. The agonizing obsession, the sickness- she feels the beginning of it all welling up inside her.

Bulla doesn't want to go crazy again. Not now, not when she's happier than she can ever remember herself being.

She's shaking so violently, her teeth chatter in her skull, and all too easily she falls back into old habits. Bulla raises the bottle to her lips and tells herself, just a little, just enough to stop her hands from shaking. But it's 60 proof, and the burn of it going down her throat is an old, familiar comfort.

When three energies appeared westwards- one of controlled familiarity and two divine, Goku had been sprawled across a thatched roof, watching the sun rise over the Southern Sea.

The saiyan tried controlling himself and staying away, but once it became apparent the angel and destroyer weren't leaving anytime soon, a combination of boredom and curiosity pulled him to his feet.

He thought, maybe now that Vegeta was back, Whis might even agree to train him again.

And once that idea stuck, Goku didn't even hesitate. He figured, eventually, he'd have to face Goten, so why not now? And with how great these past few months have been, it had been with reckless optimism that Goku believed it would be like the day Bulla married his son- that even with such a big secret weighing upon him, he would be able to play nice.

But when Bulla strolled out of Capsule Corporation, carrying his baby in her arms and with Goten trailing behind her, his vision went red. He had not been prepared for that rush of anger; even with Chi-Chi standing behind him, under the clear, blue sky, the madness of the full moon burned within him.

He realizes it was dumb of him- that it was just a shirt- but the part of him that is all innate savagery loathed seeing another saiyan's name over what was his. And the moment Goku sensed everyone's attention was elsewhere, he turned to his princess and couldn't stop himself from snidely commenting on it.

Despite her lack of physical strength, his princess knew how to hit where it hurt, reminding him of whom it was she laid down beside every night.

Being here was torture.

Goku thought he had long since learned to control the darker parts of his nature, but every time Goten's hands touched his princess- and Kami, that damned shirt- little by little, it all just chipped away at him. This twisted game the universe had them all play- wasn't it enough? Must he also endure these awful thoughts?

He loved his son.

He didn't want to hurt him, but he was sick, sick, sick. A part of him wanted nothing more than to drive his fist up the poor boy's ribs and crush his heart. He wants the monstrous voice rattling in the back of his skull to shut up.

Goku tells himself he just needs to get one really good hit on the poor kid to clear his head- and to his luck, Goten reluctantly agrees to spar with him. When he had told Goten to show him what he learned, he had meant it. Goku wants to fight till his knuckles bleed, and his blood sings. He wants his son to come at him with everything he's got.

With his feet planted on the grass and a grin pulling at his lips, Goku dances around his son's attacks.

He lets the boy take the lead for a few minutes, but then Bulla turned her back on him. His beast did not appreciate her dismissal. Staying on the ground limited the amount of energy they could use on their attacks.

If he didn't do something about the madness roiling around inside of him, he genuinely worried that he might kill his son. Leaving would have been smarter, but instead, he grins at his son and says, "Hey, Goten, how about we take this to the sky? Then you show me what you've really learned."

Goten obediently follows him up to the sky.

Down on the ground, none of their family or friends think anything of it. To them, this is just another sparring match, but to Goku, it's something else. Adrenalin rushes through his veins, and his heart pounds loudly in his ears. He needs to feel the sting of fists pummeling his body, the taste of his own blood in his mouth- he needs to fight.

Up in the air, they can let loose a little more, but Goku is still careful. As wild as he may feel, he isn't so far gone he would decimate a city.

His son is a better fighter than he remembers; faster and more agile- but still, Goku bitterly muses, this boy is unworthy of the princess. Rather than help cool his rage, the attacks he lets Goten land on him only further his agitation. The boy's attacks hit their mark like open-handed slaps, and as the minute's tick by, Goku's disgust and impatience grows.

Compared to him, Goten's strength is nothing. The darkness inside of him so badly wants to feel the crush of his son's bones beneath his fists. It reminds him that even in his base form, he could kill the boy instantly.

Mid-air, as they exchange punches and kicks, his animalistic rage sings. The chaos in his head grows too loud, and his control slips. It's only for a second, but that second is all it takes for a rush of energy to slip through, flowing through his previously blunted attacks.

His son never stood a chance.

Goten's fist comes barreling towards his face, and blinded by instinct, Goku comes to collect every one of his son's attacks with one well-aimed blow. The older saiyan crashes through the air in a furious rush and rams his elbow down on his son's shoulder. There is a sickening crack at the contact. With all the force behind his attack, Goten plunges downwards, unable to right himself.

Goku sees no reason to intervene- the boy's point of impact is a safe distance away from the gathering below them.

He allows gravity to take its course.

The half saiyan hits the ground with an explosion of dirt and grass, and the small shockwave that follows rattles the dishware at the table below. His wife's cry is followed by Bulla's, and the sound cuts through the deafening roar of blood in his ears. The sight of his son, lying in the center of a small crater of upturned dirt, winded and staring up at him in shock was satisfying in a horrible kind of way. And while he is genuinely terribly sorry, Goku knows he needed to see Goten like this- defeated and weak.

The sight clears his head. He can breathe again, but he feels so pathetic for allowing his self-control to slip. Again.

By the time he floats down, Trunks is already hauling a stunned Goten out from the hole he had been lying in. The lavender-haired half saiyan sets his friend down on the lawn and shoots Goku a wary glance. Goku stares at the arm hanging limply at his son's side, and in the background, the destroyer's harsh laughter rings through the air.

Goku takes a few steps towards his son and nervously rubs at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Goten," he says, a slight tremor present in his voice. "It was an accident. I really didn't mean to get carried away like that."

The lie nauseates him, but his son is too focused on the burst of stars clouding his vision to notice his father's apology.

It is then Chi-Chi arrives, scrambling over to their son and falling to her knees beside him.

"Goku?" she gasps, dark eyes staring at Goten's limp arm in horror. She whips her face towards him and shouts, "How could you do this?"

The words I'm sorry sit wedged in the back of his throat.

His princess' ki is nonexistent, but even now, Goku still feels her. He smells her in the evening air, and all the while he is staring at his wife and son, it is Bulla's heart he hears thumping wildly in his ears. The loud stomping footfall behind him nears, and the only reason his heartbeat doesn't mirror hers is the frightening fact that Vegeta is watching.

He wants to tell his family, I'm sorry I wasn't stronger, and has to clench his teeth to keep the words from tumbling out, but it was the universe- it's not my fault! I'm still good.

The evening breeze carries Bulla's scent, and while staring pleadingly at his wife, his lips tremble just the slightest. I'm still me, he thinks, mouth pulling into a wobbly smile. But I'm not ready to let go.

"I'm sorry, Chi-Chi. Goten," he says softly, then slowly turns to look over his shoulder.

Bulla stands frozen behind him, staring at Goten with her hand pressed against her open mouth in disbelief. Blue eyes drag across the lawn towards him, and when their eyes meet, a single tear trails down the corner of her eye.

"How could you?" she asks.

Goku turns completely to face her, palms open and outstretched at his sides. "I'm sorry, Bulla. I didn't mean to."

"You're going to ruin everything," she says, voice hollow and eyes searching as they dart across his face. "That's your son," she whispers harshly, raising her hand, index finger pointed at Goten.

Goku sees the bottle hanging loosely between her remaining three fingers and thumb, and his gut clenches.

He's only seen her drunk once, and that was the night he found her wandering around Mount Paozu. She had been terribly chatty then.

"Aww, come on, Bulla-," he says, raising a hand to nervously rub at his neck. "You know I didn't mean it."

Trying to keep the tears at bay, the princess scrunches her face and, with the hand not currently wrapped around a bottle of alcohol, yanks at her scalp in frustration. A low chuckle of disbelief rolls of her tongue. "That's your son," she says again. Her breathing quickens, and as though struck by a sudden realization, her bleary eyes widen. "That's my husband."

Goku watches on dumbfounded as she lets go of her hair and raises her other arm, fist now clenched around the neck of the bottle, and lightly thumps it against her chest. "That's myhusband!"

Does she think he's so dumb, he doesn't know that?

Everyone around them is silent, and even under the weight of all their stares, anger flutters against his ribcage.

Momentarily, it blinds him.

Goku clenches his fists at his sides, and upon his first step towards her, his princess goes tense like a cornered animal. "You say that like it's something you think I don't know." His lips pull into an odd sort of smile, and a dangerous petulance seeps into the evenness of his voice. "I already told you I was sorry. What more do you want from me?"

His words trigger a knee-jerk reaction. His princesses' blue eyes come alive in anger, and she bares her teeth at him like a wild animal. She's so mad, within the creaking glass of the bottle in her hand, the clear liquid sloshes wildly against the sides, and through grit teeth, she asks him, "What more do I want from you?"

"That's what I asked, right?"

Bulla growls, impulsively raising the bottle above her head, and right before it goes flying at his head, Trunks appears beside her. He stills her arm, and she sharply turns to her brother in surprise.

The Briefs siblings stare at each other, only looking away when Goten nervously chuckles behind them. "Whoa, Bulla, go easy on my dad. There's no need to get so worked up. I'm totally fine."

Hearing Goten's voice has the same effect on both his princess and himself- it's like being doused with frigid water. He follows his son's voice to see him already on his feet, with his mother standing at his side.

Bulla drags her eyes over Goten from head to toe. "Your shoulder is dislocated," she states, then unable to hold it in, a breathy, unhinged laugh escapes her. "You really think you're okay? That this is okay?" Her defenses are stripped; she is all raw emotion and loose lips, and just when Goku is sure she is about to round on him in a new burst of anger, she stops.

Trunks still has his hand wrapped around Bulla's wrist, and gives her a soft yank to redirect her attention. "Who would've ever guessed you were a crazy drunk?" Trunks asks, his mouth easing into a humored smile. "You know, I think you're even worse than mom."

Bulla's already flushed cheeks redden even more in embarrassment.

When her brother looks at the older saiyan, any trace of playful affection disappears, leaving Goku under the scrutiny of a cold and calculating stare. Goku admits he doesn't know the boy terribly well, but after years of being around Bulma and Vegeta, he can easily recognize the boy's inherited shrewdness. He's seen spurts of it throughout the years, the last time being on the night Bulla married his son.

When he and Bulla had been whispering in the shadows, he knew Trunks had been watching them- and because of his carelessness today, Goku can expect the boy will continue watching him.

Trunks strolls over to Goten, pulling his flustered sister along by the wrist with him like she was a child. "He's fine, see," Trunks chuckles, then before Goten has a chance to reply, the lavender-haired half saiyan grabs onto his friend's limp arm, quickly shoving it back into place.

Bone and cartilage meet with a loud crunch, and where Goten clenches his teeth, trying to hold in his pained cry, the two women beside him have no such reservations. They both scream, the sound causing everyone with heightened hearing to flinch.

Chi-Chi quickly cradles her son's arm, gently prodding it for more injuries and coos, "My poor boy, are you all right?"

Clearly embarrassed, Goten blushes under his mother's attention. While pushing her away with a quiet murmur of, "I'm fine, please stop," he sheepishly glances over at the immortals still enjoying their meal, then at the Saiyan Prince standing only a few meters away. To Goku's horror, Vegeta moved, and he didn't even sense it. The older saiyan now stands only a few paces away from his children, taking in the scene with his upper lip curled in disgust.

Bulla spares his son a quick glance and then turns to him, hypnotizing him with those blue eyes he has loved for a lifetime. These last few months, Goku had come to appreciate the way those eyes looked upon him. In the shine of her eyes, he could see his life and happiness stretch for eternity- but right now, he doesn't like the way her eyes feel on him at all.

And for that, he supposes, he has no one to blame but himself.

She scoffs in disgust, and without another word, raises the bottle to her lips and walks away.

That evening, his parents are the first ones to leave Capsule Corporation.

Today had been Bulla's last day scheduled at the hospital for this monthly rotation, so before his father disappeared off the face of the planet, his mother asked him to leave her at Satan City. Not too long after, once the food no longer held the deities' interest, the angel conjured a transport bubble, and both immortals vanished into the stars.

Outside of Capsule Corporation, the night air still smells of sweet grilled meat, and the sounds of the city fill any silent pauses between Trunks and himself. Both half saiyans linger outside, and while Gokun rests slumped in the crook of his arm and Trunks complains about his job and his mother's unreasonably high expectations, Goten laments his stupidity.

Sure his dad has never hurt him that badly while sparring, but compared to some of the damage Vegeta's dealt, it was nothing. Hell, after Bulla showed up pregnant, his training sessions with the prince had oftentimes been outright lethal. In the beginning, Bulla had been horrified with her father's version of male bonding, but once the shock wore off, she'd find him lying on the floor of the gravity room with his ribs broken and femur shattered and wouldn't bat an eyelash. To say the least, Bulla's strong reaction to his father dislocating his shoulder was unexpected.

At the time, Goten had been so embarrassed by how Bulla and his mother overreacted to his injury, he hadn't been able to see what was really happening.

Kami, he'd been so stupid!

Bulla had been on edge since he arrived at the corporation that evening. The death of her patient, the arrival of the angel and destroyer- she had told him something had been bothering her, and like the idiot he was, he thought nothing of it. His father knocking him on his ass had simply been her breaking point.

Trunks' phone chimes, and after a quick glance at the screen, his lips pull into a grin. He asks, "Hey, you remember that super hot blonde- you know the one with the legs?" The blank look on Goten's face prompts the lavender-haired half saiyan to turn the screen over, refreshing his friend's memory with a picture of a beautiful, scantily clad woman. Goten recognizes her all right. She was a fashion model who, after a few drinks, would let him put it anywhere.

"Oh, yeah, I remember her," Goten replies, glancing over his friend's shoulder at the yellow dome-shaped building only a few meters away. From where Goten is seated, he faces the windows to both Trunks' bedroom and the one he now shared with Bulla.

"I know she was one of your favorites and all," Trunks continues, keeping his attention fixed on the glow of the screen while his fingers type out a reply. "So, how pissed would you be if I saw her tonight?"

Until now, the entire section of the building he is facing remained dark and void of energy. The light to Trunks' bedroom flickers on, and because Goten cannot sense even the slightest hint of energy, he is perturbed to notice a shadow moving behind the curtains. This entire time, he thought Bulla had gone up to their bedroom, and under the influence of a little too much alcohol, fallen asleep.

Trunks glances up at him from the screen of his phone. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Uh-huh," Goten mumbles, his eyes following the movement behind the curtains. "Have a blast."

While appearing to look down at his phone, Trunks watches his friend through his peripheral. "Anything you want me to tell her?" he asks, and in an attempt to catch Goten's attention, offhandedly adds, "How about how much you miss f*cking her asshole?"

Goten doesn't so much as blink. "Yeah, sure," he replies. The dark shape behind the curtain becomes more erratic, and the longer he watches what he knows is Bulla rummaging through her brother's room, the more unsettled he begins to feel.

For reasons he cannot explain, Goten finds himself thinking about the night Vegeta had learned he was going to be a grandpa and then nearly killed him. Goten relives the moment, heartbeat quickening as he remembers the sight of blood staining the fabric between Bulla's legs and of his own blood smeared across her mouth. As he watches the shadow behind the curtain, in his mind, he can hear her voice pleading for him to take her away- to never leave her.

The Bulla he saw that night scared him.

Trunks places his phone down on the table and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers under his chin. The silence stretches between them, and all the while Goten is lost in thought, staring at something over his friend's shoulder, the corporation heir observes him.

In the quiet, the buzz of Trunks' phone against the table is jarring. The tail wrapped around Goten's arm tightens, drawing his attention to a now frowning, but thankfully still sleeping, Gokun.

Goten meets his friend's eyes and is struck with a startling realization.

Bulla had embarrassed him, making him look weak in front of the gods and, to his shame, Vegeta. Before stumbling away, she even attempted throwing a bottle of vodka at the strongest fighter in the universe- yet, the entire time they've been out here, not once has Trunks brought any of this up. Not even to make fun of his sister.

And Trunks never misses an opportunity to make fun of his sister.

Goten's nerves are only further rattled by Trunks' unflinching stare. The dark-haired half saiyan nervously chuckles, mouth pulling into a pained smile. "What's wrong with your sister, man?" he asks, immediately turning back to the window.

Trunks slowly twists in his seat and looks over his shoulder to see the lights on in his room. The lavender-haired half saiyan hums in thought. "When it comes to Bulla, I'm not entirely sure what it is that's wrong with her- and to tell you the truth, I'm not sure I'd ever want to," Trunks admits. He turns back to his friend and teasingly adds, "But hey, you're the one who married her- she's your problem now."

Goten opens his mouth to reply, but is silenced by the distant sound of shattering glass. He jumps in his seat but doesn't make any effort to move.

Trunks raises an eyebrow, clearly not amused and asks, "Aren't you going to check on her?"

To be honest, at this very moment, if Goten had to choose between doing that or putting his life at risk by barging into his in-law's bedroom and jumping up and down their bed, thus waking a certain sleeping saiyan, he'd choose the latter. The lights to Trunks' bedroom flicker off, and because Goten is so hyperfocused, the sound of the door slamming shut tens of meters away resonates in his skull, loud as a crack of thunder.

Trunks frowns, crossing his arms and staring at his friend. "Unless you'd rather deal with my dad, you'd better get off your ass and go see what's up."

"Right," Goten says, standing up so fast, the chair had been sitting on falls backward onto the lawn, and Gokun, unhappy with the sudden jostling, whines in protest.

Goten is only able to take one sideways step before Trunks calls out to him. The lavender-haired half saiyan jerks his chin in the direction of the house. "While you deal with that disaster-," he says, plucking a snoozing Gokun from his arms, "-I can deal with this little guy."

Gokun's head lops forward, and with his tail still wrapped around Goten's wrist, the infant pulls his arm along with him as he is passed across the table. Goten gently unwinds the tail from around his wrist and asks, "What about your plans for tonight?"

Trunks brings the infant against him, cradling him awkwardly against his chest, and shrugs. "It's fine. I wasn't too excited for your sloppy seconds anyway."

Goten doesn't call his friend out on his lie.

Trunks watching Gokun would be the smartest option. He doesn't know what state Bulla would be in and is grateful that Trunks had the foresight to realize that.

"Okay." Goten nods, stilling the slight tremble of his hands by shoving them into the pockets of his pants. "But if he wakes up and starts fussing, just find me."

"No need. We'll be fine- and if anything, I can always wake my mom." Trunks ruffles the infant's hair, then tersely adds, "Right now, all you need to do, is worry about taking care of my sister."

Goten falters. He stares at his friend, brows creased in confusion. Really, this whole situation was just preposterous, and the fact Trunks was so serious and hadn't already bust his gut laughing is strangely terrifying.

Goten trudges a few steps towards the yellow dome-shaped building, turning around when Trunks calls out to him one last time.

The heir nervously swallows, uncertainty edging into the usual confidence of his voice. "Goten," he says, offering his friend a lackluster smile. "Be careful."

The Briefs' home is immense, and Goten nearly walks the entirety of it. He keeps the lights off as he goes from empty room to empty room, his senses on high alert for the slightest sounds or smells. Besides his in-law's bedroom, Bulma's basem*nt laboratory is the only other place he hasn't looked.

He's already opened the door and is looking down the dark descent of stairs when he smells nicotine burning.

Upset that his friend would smoke around Gokun, the dark-haired half saiyan shuts the door a little too loudly, and follows the stench towards the patio doors. It isn't until his hand is closed around the door handle that he realizes Trunks isn't even outside.

His friend's energy signature is upstairs, with Gokun's in the rooms above.

Sweat begins to bead at his hairline, and his heart gallops in his chest. Outside these doors, he doesn't sense anyone's energy. Yet, the scent of smoke trailing in from outside is so fresh he can practically hear the crinkle of a cigarette burning.

The back doors are all glass, and outside it is completely dark, but he can still see. From his viewpoint, the patio is empty. On the lawn, the only signs of movement are the house-bots quietly moving around, cleaning up any traces of that evening's cookout.

Goten takes a deep, steadying breath, then shakes his head and wonders what the hell he was getting so worked up for? In his childhood, he'd come face to face with literal evil- a drunk, possibly crying, possibly angry wife didn't compare. He's dealt with drunk girls before.

Goten chuckles lightly to himself and steps outside.

He stands half in and half out of the door, fingers still loosely gripping the door handle, and spots Bulla only a few feet away. She's at the edge of the patio, sitting against the rim of a gigantic planter, hidden under the shadows of the heavy, blooming flowers hanging over her head.

His usually vibrant wife stares out into the city with dull, lifeless eyes.

And seeing her like that- her pale face glowing from the red ember at the end of the cigarette raised to her lips, with a bottle of vodka dangling from her fingers- it's just the strangest thing.

Goten grimaces. He tries telling himself that he's stupid.

So his wife liked to smoke when she drank, what of it? But the look in her eyes, he's never seen it before- that apathy, it's new to him. And when Bulla wraps her lips around the bottle of vodka and takes a large gulp without so much as a grimace, Goten feels like he's looking at a stranger.

He clears his head with a rough shake, and then to not startle her, noisily closes the door behind him. The blue-haired heiress doesn't even flinch. She just turns to him with those bleary, dull eyes and raises the cigarette to her lips, inhaling slow and deep.

That cigarette between her fingers, rolled in black paper and smelling of cloves, are the same exact kind her brother has smoked since they were kids. If he had to guess, he'd say it was the reason she was in her brother's room.

Even though smoking has never been this thing, to show Bulla he doesn't care if it's hers, he walks over to her and takes the cigarette from between her fingers, and inhales. The nicotine makes his head spin, and the taste of cloves on his tongue is nauseatingly sweet- and even though he hates it, after expelling the smoke from his lungs, he smiles at her.

Her eyes water and she sharply turns away from him, busying herself by reaching under the neckline of her shirt and pulling out a box of smokes. She places an unlit black cigarette between her lips, and he reaches out with a finger, touching the tip with enough ki to light it.

All the while, Bulla has her lips wrapped around the filter, bringing the cigarette to life with a slow, drawn-out drag, she stares at him with those big, beautiful blue eyes.

Goten tries for a light-hearted chuckle. "I didn't know you smoked."

Bulla lifts her face, exhaling smoke into the starless sky, and then turns to him with a tired smile. "I guess there's a lot you don't know about me."

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