Braten/Broten Week 2024 - Day 1: The Empress (Motherhood)
Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Title: The Missing Feeling
Pairings: Goten/Bulla; Trunks/Marron
Characters: Bulla Briefs, Son Goten, Trunks Briefs, Marron and OC Child
Summary: Bulla has a strange feeling on the day she meets her nephew.
Read it on AO3: English | Brazilian Portuguese | Spanish
Title: The Whirlwind
Pairing: Goten/Bulla
Characters: Son Goten, Bulla Briefs and Vegeta
Summary: Bulla and Goten cross paths again and he has his memories awakened, to her despair.
Cross-posted on AO3
Twenty-three year old Bulla looked up at the sky that suddenly turned into gray. She sighed deeply, feeling frustrated with the change. She hoped she would be able to finish shopping and go home before it started pouring.
She was carrying more bags than she could handle. Her car was parked nearby, but the streets in West City were so crowded that day she struggled to get to it. She was so focused on her task and barely seemed to register what had happened until she was on the ground.
Son Goten managed to look away from his phone only after he found himself sitting on the sidewalk. He was eagerly typing on his phone, having an enthusiastic conversation, and failed to see his surroundings. As he was looking up, he was left speechless. The most beautiful sight was right across him.
“I’m so sorry.” He managed to say after he recovered from his astonishment and crawled towards her. “This is all my fault. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Bulla started collecting her bags in a hurry and didn’t even bother looking at him.
“Let me help you.” Goten quickly began to help her, trying desperately to see her face.
“It’s alright, I can…”
He was pretty sure she was saying something because her lips were moving, but he was hypnotized by the her turquoise eyes. He shook his head and blinked hard a couple of times when he noticed her hand waving in front of him.
“Huh?”
“Were you even listening to me?” She frowned at him.
“I’m sorry. Have we met before?”
“I don’t think so.” She raised her eyebrows, visibly taken aback with his question.
“It’s funny. I could’ve sworn I know you.”
“Are you hitting on me?”
“No, I swear!” He said quickly. “It was genuinely a question. But I apologize for crossing the line.”
“That’s alright.” Bulla stood up and cleaned the dust from her dark blue skirt before grabbing her bags from his hands. “I appreciate your help.”
“You’re welcome.” Goten smiled at her and watched her walk away. Though she had said they haven’t met before he still felt like they had in his heart. And he was gonna find her, no matter what it took.
Bulla leaned against a wall after she made sure he wouldn’t see her and took a deep breath. She wasn’t counting on the fact he’d still remember her, she had erased his memory. Didn’t it work after all? Though she was a completely different person this time around, she still kept her memories. She placed her hand over her aching heart. He wasn’t supposed to remember her. But he did, and she was going to have to deal with that.
Goten noticed she had forgotten a white sweater. He figured she was in such a hurry that she didn’t realize it. He grabbed it and held it close to his chest, promising himself he’d find her again no matter what it took.
****
The weather was dark and windy that late afternoon. Son Goten looked up during his usual jogging session and pouted. It was going to pour any second and he was far from his house. He resumed his exercise, but the large raindrops didn’t take long to reach him and he was forced to find shelter in the porch of a house on his way.
Bulla turned on the lights in her living room and briefly looked through the window. She couldn’t help but think it was going to be an ugly storm. Something caught her attention right after she closed the curtains and she peered through the window again. There was a man on her porch and her heart started pounding on her chest. It couldn’t be possible. He had found her. With a shake of her head, she went to open the door. She just couldn’t leave him outside with that weather.
“Hey!” She glanced at him and felt her heart melting by his beautiful face. “Come on it, you can’t stay out with such a bad storm.”
Goten failed to control his smile. What were the chances that this was her house? He quickly stood up and walked in.
“I’m sorry for crashing into your porch like this.” He began to apologize, trying desperately to make contact with her deep blue eyes. “I wouldn’t be able to get home in time.”
“It’s alright.” Bulla replied, trying her very best not to be shaken up by his presence in her house. “You can stay here in the meantime.”
“Thank you.”
****
Goten was drying his spiky black hair with a white towel she had lent him when he walked into the kitchen. He looked intensely at her, and for the first time since they met, she looked at him.
“You’ve got a nice house.”
“Thank you.” She blushed heavily, not sure whether it was because of his compliment or the intense stare coming from him.
“Have you been living here for long?”
“Not really. I think for about two years.”
“It’s so ironic that we live nearby.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, we met in the city by accident when our houses are so near each other.”
“Didn’t you live in the countryside though?”
“How did you know that?” Goten raised his eyebrows at her.
“I didn’t. It was a lucky guess.” Bulla shrugged, mentally cursing herself for giving the truth away like that.
“Are you sure we…”
But his voice was trailed off when the power threatened to go off a couple of times before actually doing it for real.
“Oh crap.”
“I wonder how people in the past lived with faint light or no light at all, don’t you?” Goten commented after seeing the powerful light of the flashlight lit up the whole room.
“They had lamps.”
“What?!” He raised his eyebrows, visibly surprised at her certainty about it. “How do you know that?”
“It was just a luck guess.” She tried to keep it cool by shrugging, but was mentally cursing herself for letting the truth about her small slip. “That’s just what it looks like, from books and all.”
“Right.” The brunette nodded and noticed the flashlight was failing. “Is this flashlight… charged?”
“Damn it, the battery must have been low.” Bulla commented on his right, unable to see anything.
“Do you have one to replace it?”
“No, this was the last one.”
“Fuck.” Goten said spontaneously and immediately covered his mouth. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. You didn’t say anything I didn’t want to.”
“Alright.”
****
Bulla walked to the window in the living room, as it was the only place faintly illuminated by the light outside, if you could call it a light. The weather outside was worse than before, and it was much windier as well. She tapped around for localization and knelt down behind her sofa when a very loud noise echoed and her house shook quite heavily.
“Bulla!” Goten came rushing to the living room, almost tripping on himself and falling down.
“What was that?!” She stared at his beautiful black eyes, choosing to ignore their proximity for a moment.
“It looks like it’s a perfect weather for whirlwinds.”
“Oh no, what are we going to do now?”
“Do you have a basement here?”
****
Bulla looked over her shoulder when she noticed she was suddenly illuminated by a light. Her eyes went a little wide and she raised her eyebrows at Goten.
“You had a cellphone all along?”
“That’s right.”
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” She smacked him on the chest quite strongly. “We wouldn’t have to stay in the dark for so long.”
“I’m sorry.” He held both her wrists with just one hand. “I hadn’t thought about it then. And you must admit it felt kinda romantic.”
The blue haired woman narrowed her eyes and analyzed him intensely.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing?”
“Are you saying you purposely didn’t want to use the flashlight on your phone so we could have a romantic moment together?”
“I didn’t say such thing.”
“You implied it. That’s a red flag in my book.”
“Look, I’m sorry. I swear I forgot about it. I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation, I promise.”
“Okay, I’ll believe you.”
“What are you looking at?” Goten asked Bulla from across the basement and she looked up at him just in time to see him motioning the photo album on her lap.
“Oh it’s just a bunch of childhood pics. Not a big deal.”
“What do you mean it’s not a big deal?” He stood up from where he was sitting and sat beside her, glancing down at the photos. “It’s your memories you’re talking about.”
“I guess.” She shrugged, avoiding to look at him. She felt his arm slightly touching hers, sending a cold shiver down her spine. She knew she shouldn’t let herself fall for him again, but she just couldn’t help it.
And she knew he felt exactly the same way.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Bulla.” Goten caressed her bare arms up and stared into her sapphire eyes, leaning closer by each second.
Bulla’s brain was hysterically screaming for her not to do it and push him away, but her body simply wasn’t responding to her commands, except the one who told her to lean forward. And seconds later, their lips were touching and she felt the warmth of his hand on her right cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she took him in and their tongues tangled up on each other. He embraced her as he gently laid her on the floor, lying on top of her right after. With one of his hand and without moving away from her, he reached for his phone and turned it off, leaving both of them completely in the dark.
****
Bulla took Goten to the door when the storm passed and the sky cleared outside. She had tried to fix her long blue hair, but it was still a little messy.
“So I guess that’s it.” He turned around when they stepped on her porch and looked at her. “Thanks for letting me stay here during the storm.”
She saw his lips moving, but nothing he was saying went into her ears because she was hypnotized by him. After some seconds she blinked hard and shook her head.
“Yeah.” She said simply, not even bothering at the fact it may not be an answer to whatever he had said.
“Well, I should get going then.” Goten leaned towards her and gave her a kiss on her right cheek. There was a rather wide smile on his lips when he appeared in front of her again. “Thank you again. I’ll see you around.”
“Sure.” Bulla stared at him walking down her pathway and turning right, towards his house.
****
Goten walked into his house feeling a bit upset. It felt good to be finally at home, but he’d still rather stay with Bulla. He couldn’t quite understand why he was so attracted to her, considering they only met twice. He had a strong feeling they’ve met in other lives too, even if it went against his personal beliefs. He placed his palms on the back of the couch and looked down, sighing deeply. He just couldn’t take her out of his mind.
Goten woke up at once the next morning and sat down on his bed right away. He had a faint feeling he was screaming in his dream. Or rather, nightmare . His mouth was dry and his heart was beating fast, not to mention he was sweating too. But everything made sense to him. He was dreaming about Bulla, and she was wearing a beautiful white dress with golden details on its cleavage and the tips of its sleeves. She was also wearing a golden tiara with bright pearls and looked so radiant, almost like a goddess.
He checked the time on his cellphone and dropped his head in frustration. The realization he had woken up way before he was supposed to struck him, but he knew he couldn’t go back to sleep now. With a heavy sigh, he threw his legs out of the bed and stood up. He headed to the bathroom to wash his face and attenuate his sleepy look.
****
Bulla tied her long blue hair in a high ponytail with a thin black satin band, finishing it with a bow. She took one last look at the mirror and smiled before grabbing her purse and leaving her house for work.
She was caught by surprise when she walked out and stumbled on something on her front door. She looked down and saw a bouquet of lilies by her feet. Bulla glanced around, hoping to find whoever had done that, but the street was completely empty. Deep down, she had a feeling who had left the flowers, and her heart started beating faster. She bent down and picked them up, going back inside to put them in a vase with water.
Five minutes later, she was once again closing her door and turned around to go her garage. She stopped dead on the edge of her small stairway when she heard a noise noise coming from her right.
“Lily is still your favorite flower, isn’t it?”
“You remembered.” Bulla turned around, with her hand over her heart. She was slightly trembling. “How? That’s impossible.”
“That’s why I had the feeling I knew you.” Goten said as he walked towards her. “We’ve already met.”
“Goten.” She gulped, internally in panic with his proximity. “You weren’t supposed to remember that, because…”
“You erased my memory.” He finished her sentence in a hurtful tone. “Yes, I know. Why?”
“Please, don’t make this harder than it is.” She lowered her hand and looked away, staring at the street across her. “We can’t be together.”
“Why not?” He stood in front of her, blocking her previous vision. “Just because you’re a goddess?”
“What?” Her blue eyes widened for a second and she felt shivers all over her body. “How do you know that?”
“You said yourself. I remembered.”
Bulla bit her lower lip and took a step back, but he curled his hand around her arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Why can’t we just be together? We love each other.”
“We just can’t. I’m a goddess, I can’t get involved with an Earthling. They will kick me out of heaven.”
“That’s such a stupid rule.”
“I agree. But I still need to follow it.”
“Bulla!” Vegeta’s deep voice echoed all around them. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, papa.” She flinched and then looked at Goten. “You see why we can’t be together?”
“I hate this.”
“I know.” She cupped his face and kissed him tenderly, then touched his forehead with hers. Tears started falling from her eyes. “I hope you can forgive me for this, but it’s for your own good.”
Goten blinked hard, trying to understand what he was doing in a stranger’s house. He glanced at Bulla and apologized to her before he turned around and left.
The woman fell to her knees on her porch and let tears fall freely from her eyes. She slammed her fist against her knees when her father appeared behind her.
“Why did you do this to me?” She cried. “We just wanted to be happy together.”
“You know these are the rules. You can’t fall in love with an Earthling. You shouldn’t be down here, you disobeyed me again.”
“I hate all of this. I hate you.” She screamed in anger; tears falling harder down her face.
