"Oh my god! It reeks in here!" Bulla practically squealed coming upon her brother in the gravity room. "And the sight is even worse!" she dramatically put her hand up to block the view of her sweating and shirtless brother on his haunches catching his breath.

"What do you want, brat?" Trunks asked her, his breath slightly short from whatever he had been doing. Bulla dropped her hand to survey the room. There were no dents from bouncing off the walls and it didn't look like the fighting robots had been engaged either. What was the point of being in here alone? Then she spied a longsword tossed on the floor and gleefully ran to pick it up.

"Ooh, what's this?" she said, wielding the sword clumsily in her hand and accidentally dropping it not soon after.

"You're not going to take off anyone's head doing it that way," Trunks said. He stood up and kicked up the sword, catching it effortlessly and twirling it easily with one hand. Hmph, show off.

"I didn't know that was the goal," Bulla huffed and turned away from him.

"So you just came here to bug me?" Trunks asked her as she was taking steps toward the exit. Oh yeah...I came to tell him something.

"No," she swiftly spun around. "You told everyone to come and get you if you got anything by courier. It just so happened to be me," she reminded him. Trunks perked up, the exhaustion leaving his features.

"So did they get here?" Trunks asked while rushing out of the room past her, not waiting for Bulla to deny or confirm.

"Yeah but the delivery guy said he needed someone eighteen and over to sign for it so he said he'd come back," Bulla said biting her lip and fighting back a smile.

Trunks froze and turned to her shock, "Seriously? I need to wait even longer?" His expression fell in disappointment and he trudged back into the gravity room head down like a sad sack. Bulla almost felt guilty, almost.

"Geez, if missing some papers makes you upset, just wait until you hear Stardew Valley was canceled."

"What?!" Trunks grabbed her shoulders tightly and shook her. "But they left it with Shane threatening to throw himself off a cliff!"

Bulla threw his hands off her, immediately regretting setting him off like this. "Relax, I was just kidding. Your soap opera is still on the air." At least, she hadn't heard it had been canceled.

Trunks only gave her a hard threatening stare for her reassurances. If she was anyone else, she would say he looked intimidating, maybe even scary but she didn't care. "Don't joke about that. Ever," he hissed. Bulla only rolled her eyes.

Trunks took a breath, seemingly calming himself before turning sharply to her. "So my package?"

"It was more like an envelope."

"They really took it back?"

"Nope! I signed for it, it's on your desk!" she said cheerily. "What is it?" Bulla asked keeping pace with Trunks who was now on his way to his room taking wide and fast strides. Trunks ignored her and kept pace to reach his bedroom first.

"Why didn't you just open it if you were so curious?" Trunks raised an eyebrow at her as he picked up the stuffed manila envelope. "Going through other people's stuff never bothered you before."

"Because I need context," Bulla answered. "Marron said you can't jump to conclusions based on one piece of evidence." She settled herself in Trunks' high backed desk chair watching him pull out the papers she had already looked over but couldn't decipher.

"Zoning, permits, trademarks, licenses—" Trunks mumbled as he flipped through the pages Bulla was careful to put back in the proper order.

"What for?" Bulla interjected hastily. She knew Capsule Corp wouldn't trust him with anything important but all of that sounded like super important stuff. A new product maybe? Another building?

"My sword school," Trunks said, still looking over the papers.

"Excuse me, your what?" Bulla's mouth dropped open in surprise. Trunks? Opening a school?! For swords of all things! "Since when are you into swords?"

"Come out of your bubble, onion baby," he said, ruffling her hair which she didn't appreciate and batted his hands away. "This whole Go-teen thing got me thinking, you don't need to be young to follow your dreams—"

"This is your dream?" Bulla interrupted him again. "You can summon deadly energy from your fingertips but you want to play with swords?" She was having a hard time wrapping her mind around it. It was like using a slingshot when you had an atomic bomb.

"Hey now, swordsmanship isn't all about maiming and killing; it's an art. See, you wouldn't know because you're clumsy and spontaneous and lack the necessary methodical nature to appreciate sword fighting."

Bulla huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm not clumsy," she said getting up to leave. She couldn't argue over the other stuff he said.

Trunks smirked and put his papers down, focusing on her. "I saw Marron following her own passions, and you and Go-teen discovering yours, and I wanted to feel that way. I've always loved swords but I thought of it more as a hobby but I discovered something," Trunks said getting more and more visibly excited as he spoke. He looked absolutely fervent now and Bulla started to back away slowly.

When Bulla's enthusiasm didn't match his, Trunks moved closer to her and made uncomfortable eye contact but Bulla couldn't look away; it was like he had been overcome with demon energy that forced her to keep her attention on him.

"Did you know you can channel your energy into weapons?" Trunks asked.

Bulla shook her head. Trunks being passionate certainly unsettled her, she had never seen him really care about stuff, let alone his own ambitions.

"You can," Trunks insisted. "It will be more effective and precise than energy blasts alone. It will take more focus than brute strength so there are the mental exercises as well," Trunks said with his face getting closer and closer to hers; they were nearly nose-to-nose now.

"I'm going to call it Kikōkenjutsu "Energy Control Fencing" Sword School!" he said proudly backing away from her spreading his hands over an imaginary marquee. Bulla was—quite frankly—relieved he wasn't so close to her anymore.

"I wish you an ounce of luck, but nothing more," Bulla joked to Trunks, trying to settle herself after that eerie experience. She earned herself a smile from her brother in return for not hating the idea, she guessed. "And that name sounds horrible by the way."

"Yeah, I can see that," Trunks admitted, nodding. "But it will catch on!" he added, looking confident.

It was niggling at her though, Trunks had never done anything of this magnitude alone. Come to think of it, did he ever do anything alone? If he wasn't spending his time with Goten, he was with Marron and if not her, more often than not Trunks was eager to hang out with Bulla and Go-teen.

"Um, do you have a partner or anything? It seems like a lot to take on, and you don't have much work experience do you?" Bulla pointed out. She didn't know why she was getting worked up over it, it's not as if Trunks venture would end up in financial ruin. If he wanted he could probably have his business go on indefinitely without any paying clients. He seemed so passionate at the moment that Bulla half expected him not to charge anyone.

"Believe it or not, I have been thinking about this for a long time," Trunks revealed. "Goten was unhappy at the bank, I figured he'd jump at the chance when I was ready…" he drifted off looking contemplative and shook his head. "I never told him any of my plans though, kind of just assumed he would go along with them," he added having the good grace to look a little sheepish.

"Yeah, if he was still his old self he probably would have," Bulla agreed. Despite not speaking much to the older Goten, Bulla had observed enough of his and Trunks' dynamic to see who called the shots.

"I miss that guy," Trunks said with a far off smile.

"Not this again," the blonde woman shook her head as she tried to move past Bulla, her arms laden with grocery bags.

"Here," Bulla said and, without waiting for Cami's permission, easily took the bags from her.

"Thanks," Cami mumbled and reached into her pocket for her keys. Taking a moment to observe her surroundings, Bulla saw Cami had done well for herself; not many could afford such a nice home in West City. It was the typical cylindrical style popular in their part of the world but it looked to be at least three stories, whereas most homes were the typical single-story dome.

Bulla gave a low whistle as she walked into the foyer after Cami. "Nice place you've got here." Unlike the futuristic look of other places in West City, Cami was more of a traditional girl with rich wood furnishings and classic decor of a time gone by.

"Thank you," she said quietly. Not knowing where the kitchen was, Bulla moved the sliding door to the left of her to explore. Marron would be okay with this, Bulla thought as she moved to peek in with narrowed eyes. Know your enemy.

"That's where I see clients," Cami said when she saw where Bulla was going. Clients? Is she a prostitute? Dominatrix? She didn't tell me not to go in. Taking a good look inside the room, Bulla saw it was spacious with lots of light. It was even decorated differently from the other part of her house with a playful and colorful look. On one side were shelves filled with toys and books. In one corner, there was a small desk and art supplies. Nanny? However, on the other side was a comfy looking sofa and a high backed chair along with a row of filing cabinets behind a desk.

"C'mon, the kitchen is this way," Cami motioned to Bulla, drawing her out of her observations.

"What is this quartz?" Bulla said knocking on one of Cami's countertops after she had set the groceries down in Cami's equally stunningly decorated kitchen.

"Yes, but you're obviously not here to judge my kitchen remodel," Cami stared at her pointedly. "I told you, I don't make decisions for other people and I consider chapter two of Goten over."

"There is no decision, that's the point!" Bulla pointed out acting more emotional than she would have liked. "How can Go-teen make a proper decision? He doesn't remember you and it's not fair to you is it?"

"If you're trying to do this for your own conscience, well, you're fine," Cami said as she went through her bags to put her groceries away. There was nothing exciting there but maybe if Marron was around she'd be able to glean something from Cami's food choices. However, Bulla did notice the bland cereal Cami picked out. Goten hated that stuff. "It's been almost a year. I told you all I needed was closure to move on." Somehow, Cami seemed to see right through Bulla's motives to reunite her and Goten; she did feel tremendously guilty.

"Removing yourself from the equation makes it an illusion of choice," Bulla said, grasping at vague concepts to make her case. Truthfully, she had no idea what she was trying to get at.

"Yes, why would I want to go through all the trouble of putting us on even ground only to still lose out in the end? And as a matter of fact, why would you?" Cami said, staring her down. Bulla frowned at that. "You don't even know me. You don't owe me anything." Bulla did not miss the way Cami had emphasized "me."

"That doesn't mean I can't feel bad about it," Bulla argued back though her heart wasn't it. She had to stop and ask herself what she was doing here again, trying to convince a woman who wouldn't budge to alleviate Bulla's own guilt over the situation.

"Bulla, are you a narcissist?" Cami asked casually.

"What?!" that certainly caught Bulla off-guard. Coming here was definitely a mistake, she didn't need to be psychoanalyzed. "Of course not!" she defended herself not knowing the criteria for a narcissist. All she knew is she didn't want to be one.

"Then why do you have this grandiose sense of self-importance?"

I do not! She wanted to argue back. "What are you going on about?" She fought for control of her physical reactions but was failing. Bulla could feel the heat coming to her cheeks and knew she was turning red and flustered.

"Why do you think this whole situation is under your control?" Damn, she's good.

"It's not," she replied quietly, giving up her attempt to appear collected.

"Then stop blaming yourself," Cami said kindly and moved to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "The person who put the wheels in motion doesn't exist anymore."

"But that's because of me," Bulla said, her confession tumbling out. "I know Goten would go back to his old self if it wasn't for me. Everyone else wants him to and you know he's just that type of guy to make the people he loves happy. Gohan, Trunks, Pan, and even Marron want their old Goten back. They don't even have to express it, how can you not miss the person you grew up with?"

"I see now," Cami nodded sagely. "You don't want to be the reason your friends and family can't have their Goten back."

"Yes," Bulla admitted aloud for the first time. "That and I'm still mad at him for not telling me about you. He may not even have me if he decides to stay this way and then what would the whole point of him staying sixteen be?" Bulla said.

Cami gave a chuckle. It was refreshing to see considering she had inadvertently made this woman miserable. "Cut him some slack. He's come down with a case of teenager brain. He's processing things through his amygdala, the emotional part of the brain. You guys don't think so much as feel at this age."

"So you still wouldn't take Goten back even if he went back to being a legal age?"

"Twenty-nine year old Goten's pre-frontal cortex was already fully developed," she said frowning. "You really don't think that instead of proposing to me, him wishing himself sixteen again isn't a massive red flag?"

Bulla blinked slowly. She hadn't thought of it that way. "Um, I guess you're right. But what if someone erased your memories, then would you take him back?"

Cami stared at Bulla nonplussed and truthfully Bulla began to feel like an idiot for suggesting it but Cami then sighed. "I suppose, right now, part of me will always love Goten but that's firmly in the past now."

"Can I ask one more thing before I go?" Bulla asked knowing she was pushing at the older woman's boundaries once more.

"Leaving so soon after I didn't ask you to come over?" Cami said, drumming her well-manicured fingers on her fancy quartz countertop. Seems a little high maintenance for Goten, but okay.

Bulla had the good grace to be a little shamed by that but Cami seemed to be taking the situation in good humor. Distressed teens seemed to be her wheelhouse by the way she made Bulla open up with a few words.

"What was your fight about? The one that made Goten want to be sixteen again?" Bulla asked.

Cami rubbed her brow wearily and let out a big breath. "Yeah, I keep thinking about that too. It makes sense he would make that wish. The idea of a do-over seemed to appeal to him," she said.

"What do you mean?" Bulla leaned in; she didn't want to miss a word of this.

"He lived too much in the past, and never looked to the future. I'm kind of surprised he was thinking about ours. I kept telling him it wasn't too late to change directions but he would insist he was stuck and I couldn't stand his negativity so I tried pushing him to quit the job he hated, sign up for some courses, then he called me pushy—which is fair I guess—and it all snowballed from there. It was just your typical hitting a sensitive nerve blow-up," she shrugged. The two stood quietly for a moment before Cami spoke again. "You know my rate is 25,000 zeni per session?"

"Point taken," Bulla said, turning to leave.

"Let me walk you out," Cami offered.

"Um, thanks for talking to me," Bulla said after the short trip to the door.

"Just keep my rate in mind if you ever come back here again. We'll consider this first session free," Cami said before unceremoniously shutting the door behind Bulla. Quite frankly, Bulla was surprised Cami didn't say, 'Don't let the door hit you on your way out.'

"And never show up without an appointment!" Cami ended up opening her door to shout at Bulla once she made it to the sidewalk.

In typical mopey Bulla fashion, she decided to walk home and process what she had just learned but she felt no better having heard Cami's side. True, she owed no loyalty to her—even though she was totally nice—but she did start to think of those she was close to; her brother, her best friend, her pseudo sister and father…

Who said they couldn't have it both ways? She was practically an adult already. Why did Goten turning thirty have to be the end of them?

It was tense around the table but in typical Go-teen fashion—no doubt inherited from his father—he looked as chipper as ever. "Pass the rice, please," he said before shoveling another heaping spoonful of food into his mouth.

Gohan glared at his little brother but complied and dropped the bowl in front of him rather carelessly, letting it fall with a clatter.

"Gohan, don't be like that!" ChiChi scolded her oldest son. "We're here to forget whatever has happened recently and celebrate Goten's seventeenth birthday," she said uncharacteristically calmly.

This was quite a subdued affair compared to her seventeenth birthday party but not many thought it was appropriate to go all out for Go-teen. Noticeably absent was Trunks, who said, 'Been there, done that,' when he was told about Goten's birthday plans.

Gohan rolled his eyes at the matriarch at the head of the table. "It's his thirtieth birthday," he pointed out.

"Here, dad," Pan pushed a glass over to her father. Much to Bulla's surprise, he downed it in one go, his glare never leaving the oblivious Goten. Why is he even here? Bulla thought as she looked at his sour expression. Unexpectedly, Gohan turned to stare back at her in disapproval and Bulla quickly shifted her gaze to Videl next to him feeling like she had been caught red-handed.

"So," Bulla began addressing Videl in an attempt to cover up that she had been staring at Gohan. "How's work?" she asked in faux interest. What does Videl even do for a living? Bulla wondered if she even knew.

Videl looked a little taken aback by Bulla's question but nonetheless looked pensive before she answered. "Ever since taking over Marron's Capsule Corps case—"

"Wait a minute," Bulla cut her off. "The Capsule Corp case is still going on? But it's been like a year!"

"Yes, it was bigger than any of us thought. I would have thought Trunks told you. He was pretty bummed it moved higher up."

"I bet Marron was too," Bulla said, thinking of her old friend who wasn't here either. Had she been so self-absorbed that Marron's professional disappointment didn't register to her?

"Can you tell us what it's about, mom?" Pan piped up.

"I'm afraid not, honey," Videl said. "All I can say is it's been frustrating."

The Videl conversation didn't take off quite as Bulla had hoped and the table was further silent for a few moments.

"Thanks for coming to my birthday dinner, Pan," the birthday boy deigned to speak and ended the silence. "I know it's your first term and all. You've probably been studying hard." Pan just gave a little embarrassed shrug but smiled sweetly at him nonetheless. She's probably doing keg stands instead of studying.

"Pan?" ChiChi spoke up. "Why haven't you invited your little girlfriend over for a family dinner? Your universities are in the same city aren't they?"

"You always say family dinner is for family, grandma," Pan said, rolling her eyes, her good mood forgotten. "Or like family," Pan added, nodding at Bulla.

"If things go right she may become family!" ChiChi spoke cheerily enough. Soon, they were all distracted by the sound of Gohan choking but only Videl moved to help him by pounding on his back and Pan took the opportunity to hand him another drink which he gulped down.

"Seriously? You're not offended by the thought?" Pan stared at her grandma suspiciously after the situation had calmed down.

"Oh, Pan. All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy!" ChiChi said, looking full-on sincere. Bulla and Pan shared a skeptical look. A lot of Pan's gripes had to do with ChiChi's expectations of her only grandchild.

"Since when? I thought you wanted me to be a businesswoman. I don't," Pan sat back in her chair crossing her arms. "That's not even my major."

"You don't?" ChiChi looked surprised and blinked a few times, seemingly processing the info. "But when you were little you said you wanted to be like Bulma. I was only encouraging your interest."

"Huh?" Pan looked utterly lost then realization dawned on her face. "Grandma, I had a crush on Bulma."

!

Bulla was screaming internally. She had not known this and learning it in the middle of her kind-of-ex-boyfriend's birthday dinner was incredibly disgusting and she had to push her plate of delicious food away; her appetite was gone.

Unexpectedly, the table erupted in laughter and Bulla was the only one not laughing.

Eventually, ChiChi was the one to speak after the Son family laughter died down. "I'll encourage whatever you want to end up doing, Pan." It was a rare sight, but Pan was positively beaming at ChiChi.

"Thanks, grandma," Pan said genuinely. "I love you lots."

"Same to you, honey," ChiChi responded in kind.

Bulla knew she would be talking about this to Pan later but looking at her best friend now, it seemed like a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders.

Everyone's plates were soon clean and Gohan was acting goofier than usual, his annoyance at his brother dissipating and things felt a lot less tense.

"Who wants cake?" ChiChi declared to the room of humans and Saiyans.

"Ooh, me, me, me!" the three Son men seemed to be shouting over each other at once.

"First, we sing happy birthday!" ChiChi declared bringing out a large three-tier homemade cake. Bulla wondered if she would even get a slice seeing as the guys were salivating and gripping their utensils firmly.

They all sang Happy Birthday to Goten flat and off-key but the birthday boy didn't seem to mind at all.

"Make a wish," Videl said quietly to Goten before he blew out the candles, giving Bulla a quick furtive look that she hoped everyone else had missed.

"Now presents!" Pan said excitedly, thrusting a badly wrapped package into Goten's arms.

Bulla didn't really pay attention to what Goten was getting, she knew her gift was the best anyway. She walked over to ChiChi who she had mainly kept her distance from ever since the succession of awkward moments they had since Goten and Bulla's affair was exposed.

"Hi Ms. ChiChi," Bulla said tentatively. She didn't want ChiChi to get any more ideas about arranging a marriage between her and Goten and approached the woman cautiously, ready to reject any offers.

"How have you been, dear?" ChiChi asked her as warm as ever and rubbed her upper arm. Bulla was relieved she was acting much more rational now.

"Um, okay, I guess. It's my last year of school so I've got to put some real thought into what I want to do with my life," Bulla said. Oh no! She thought, instantly regretting the last part of her statement. Don't take the bait!

"I would have thought you would go into the family business," ChiChi commented. Much to Bulla's relief, she didn't offer matrimony and children as a solution to Bulla's directionless life.

"That would be easy, wouldn't it?" Bulla sighed. "I don't know what my plans are," Bulla said wistfully, staring at Goten who managed to get more cake on his face than into his mouth. To hell with choosing a focus in university. She was more concentrated on the fact that in a few weeks it would be decision day when Goten ultimately decided whether or not to stay young. Bulla knew that he more or less made up his mind, but now she wasn't so sure she was okay with it after all.

"I think no matter what happens, you two will find your way together," ChiChi looked at her knowingly. "Whether or not I'm able to negotiate a dowry or bridal price," ChiChi said beginning to seethe. "I can't believe your mom turned down every offer." It was good while it lasted.

Now it was time for Bulla to back away slowly lest ChiChi start negotiating with her.

"And after all those gifts I send with Goku too!" ChiChi grumbled quietly to herself but Bulla caught it.

"Wait, that's you're doing?" Bulla said, the realization dawning on her. Admittedly, ChiChi sending Goku with presents for her mom seemed more plausible than Goku trying to win her mom's favor.

"Do you really think Goku would be so thoughtful on his own?" ChiChi arched her eyebrow at her, challenging her to refute her statement.

"No, I guess not," Bulla said looking over to Goku who had cut himself the largest slice of cake and was greedily digging into it.

"It's a game Bulma and I play. She won't let us pay her back for anything so I send Goku with presents and she pretends to not know I'm behind the gifts," ChiChi said with a small shrug.

And so another mystery is solved.

Bulla, indeed, managed to get her hands on a slice of cake though she had to slap Goku's hands away. Then it was time for Bulla to go home because unfortunately, Pan had decided to live on the university campus and was returning the same night so Bulla had no convenient excuse to spend the night on Mount Paozu.

"Shh," she told Goten when they took off into the sky; ChiChi still insisted on Goten flying Bulla home. "I have a plan," she whispered in his ear making him visibly shudder. She surprised him by jumping on his back and lowering her energy to zero when they were half-way to West City.

"Let them think you took me home," she said, hoping Goten would understand what she was getting at. He didn't say anything but nodded. He turned around flying back to his house with Bulla on his back. Luckily, there was no one around to watch them land and Bulla crept around the side of the house to stand flat against the wall next to Goten's bedroom window.

Goten seemed to know what to do as he walked through the front door. She heard him say a few things to his parents and wish them goodnight before she heard the sounds of hasty footsteps come toward the window.

"Well, get in here," Goten whispered to her as he opened the window to allow her in. She had a feeling Goku would still be able to smell her presence but he was unlikely to make a fuss and ChiChi was none the wiser considering she couldn't sense energy or smell that well. Besides, she had already arranged something with Goku. Gohan was the real problem but Pan had taken care of that.

Accepting assistance from Goten, she climbed through his window, letting herself into his room. She hadn't spent much time in here the whole year she'd been with him, she realized. ChiChi had strict rules when it came to them under her roof. Looking around, she saw this place was distinctly Goten's, unlike his West City apartment. He had kept the lights off but Bulla could make out he had posters, stacks of comics, even books on his shelf that contained his interests. Maybe Cami was right, the other guy was gone.

"I went to see Cami," she said, settling herself at his desk chair, trying to keep her distance. This was the first opportunity they had to be alone since Bulla had gone to see the other woman.

"You did? So what did you find out about Cami?" Bulla felt Goten put his arm around the back of her chair and move his head next to hers, her attempt to keep them physically apart be damned. The centimeters of proximity between them was crumbling her resolve to have a serious discussion. Evidently, Goten had other ideas.

"She seems great, Goten," Bulla admitted, trying to be cool, inside she was swimming in turmoil, the inner brat inside of her just wanted to grab Goten and scream, "MINE!" but perhaps it was due to Goten's pure-hearted influence that she tried to be more empathetic. It certainly didn't help how Goten's lips were making their way closer and closer to her ticklish neck.

"I do think you should give her another chance," she said, squinting her eyes shut and cringing at what she said. It had the desired effect, however, and Goten indeed stepped back from her. He didn't say anything but looked at her quizzically.

"You would give me up to another woman?" he said, looking hurt.

"No, it's not like that," she insisted though she dared not be loud. The walls weren't soundproof, after all. "Even if you don't think your relationship with her is enough of a compelling reason to go back, it really brought some things to the surface, stuff I didn't even think about," Bulla confessed. "Gohan and Trunks miss the old you and I think Pan does too, Marron as well. I'm the only one you weren't close to so I didn't have anything to lose but everything to gain." This time she closed the space between them, taking his hands in hers hoping to show him how much she cared, not just for the two of them but for everyone else they loved. The decision wasn't really up to her, though was it? It would be up to Go-teen, she couldn't force him though she knew her opinion probably held more sway than anyone else's.

"There are only win-lose situations, we win and everyone else loses or," she paused, "we can go for the closest thing to making everyone happy. You wish yourself back to your original age with all your memories intact. If there's still something between us, we can just pick up where we left off. I'll be eighteen a few months after the wish, some people might talk but at least it would be legal."

Goten didn't look reassured by any of her words or gestures but nodded anyway though Bulla knew she couldn't take it as an agreement.

"Rowr!" an indignant sound came from what Bulla thought was Goten's empty bed.

"Um, what was that?" Bulla asked, looking around for the source. Was it Gohan hiding out of sight? No, that's ridiculous! But maybe...

"It's just Bulla." Goten went over to pick up the ball of fluff and held her close so she could rub against his face and purr contentedly. "She probably wants to be let out."

"Oh yeah, the cat my dad gave you," Bulla said and went to pet the little blue kitten who wasted no time in reciprocating Bulla's ministrations. "How's she been? She's a little sweetheart."

"Yeah, she's not like you at all. She likes everyone," Goten smiled lovingly at the other Bulla.

"Hmph."

"Did you just get me alone to tell me this stuff?" Goten looked at her utterly disappointed. He gingerly opened his door to let the kitten out and shut it just as quietly.

"No," she said, walking towards him. Once she was near enough she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his pants and drew him to her, almost hip to hip. "It is your birthday after all. Who knows if we'll get another happy moment to ourselves?" Bulla didn't wait for him to say anything. Instead, she slowly began to unbutton and unzip his trousers. She could feel Goten's breath getting shallower and his pulse quickening.

"It's my birthday, not yours," Goten said, making Bulla smile. She remembered when he had said something similar those mere months ago. What Bulla didn't expect was him grabbing her hands and stopping her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, feeling worried. Did he no longer want her? Was her attempt to warm him up to Cami too effective?

"Nothing," he said, not letting go of her hands. There was that comfort at least. "I'd never pass you up but how do you plan on keeping my mom in the dark? She asks me point blank if we've been messing around and she knows how quickly I crumble. And what about Gohan?"

That's all? Bulla was relieved; he did still want her.

"Pan agreed to run interference to make up for being mean to you and kept filling up Gohan's cup with alcohol while he wasn't looking. You didn't notice he was nearly passed out, drunk?" Bulla explained to him. "Consider it another of her birthday presents to you."

"Hmph, I was doing my best to ignore him."

"As for your mom," she paused thinking it over, "I'm not sure you want to know." She didn't want to ruin his birthday.

Goten raised a skeptical eyebrow to her, "I don't?"

I wouldn't want to know about my mom and dad getting it on.

"You don't," she said firmly.

I now have 69 followers on this story...nice.

And here we are at the penultimate chapter. Yes, folks, that means there is only one more but that doesn't mean it's too late to become a regular reviewer and tell me what you think. Maybe it will pay off in ways you never imagined but probably not.

Anyway, a huge bucket of thanks to those who have been reviewing consistently. I've been on this ride for a while and have been ready to get off so many times but you guys have been my seat belt strapping me in for the long haul. Many thanks to Vagus, STS, TBossK, Dulcet Shoujo, AnneBrief7, and TheGodfather93.