Archive of Our Own ^beta

“If you’re feeling a low libido, call upon Aphrodite and Dionysus as your spirit guides to unleash your erotic potential,” Pan read aloud as if she had been called upon by the teacher to read to the class, mechanical and flat; however, she and Bulla were nowhere near a classroom and Pan wasn’t reading from a textbook.

“Ugh, would you put that magazine away?” Bulla said. She hadn’t been paying much attention to what Pan said. Instead, she focused on getting nowhere in her knitting experiment—now a tangled mess of pink yarn. Of course, Bulla’s ears perked up when her oldest friend said ‘libido’ and ‘erotic potential.’ Pan had been way too into Bulla’s personal life lately. Any dates lately? What do you think about this guy? When was the last time you had sex? Now she was reading her sensationalist articles to boost her sex drive!

*ping* The tell-tale sound of an incoming text interrupted their conversation. 

“Why is my uncle messaging you?” Pan said, lowering her magazine and peering over to where Bulla left her phone on the Son living room table. 

“The man has been insufferable lately.” Bulla put down her project and looked to see what Goten was bothering her with now. “It’s like ever since Trunks moved to East City, he’s appointed himself to look after me. Always wants to know what I’m doing, where I am, or how I am.” Are you home? The message read. Have any plans later? quickly followed.

“Then why do you even reply?” Pan asked. Bulla paused in the middle of typing out her response; she hadn’t thought that was an option.

She shrugged, “It would be rude not to.” Probably going shopping, she typed and hit send.

Need some company? Came just as quickly. Bulla felt her stomach flip and she opted to take Pan’s advice and ignore it—then put her phone on silent for good measure; she did not need a babysitter. 

“But when was the last time you went on a date?” Pan nudged her, now more animated than before. “Is it low libido?” she said, a patronizing look on her now slightly fuller face. And there she goes again!

“Would you stop?” Bulla gave up all pretense of working on her knitting and perhaps, feeling further annoyed by the fact the Son family wouldn’t just leave her alone , she growled at Pan. “Besides, shut up. The last thing I want is your parents or grandma to hear about my ‘erotic potential’.” Pan pouted, her bottom lip beginning to quiver. Oh no… “Sorry, sorry,” Bulla hastily said, forgetting how sensitive Pan had been lately. “But why are you so invested?”

Pan still looked slightly upset and was nowhere near as enthusiastic when she had started her inquiry. “I just want you to have some fun,” she said, still looking a bit hurt. “And just because you’ve had sex before doesn’t mean it was good .”

“I told you that in confidence,” Bulla hissed, hoping Pan’s grandma didn’t hear that. Bulla’s cheeks burned in shame as she remembered her first boyfriend and the two that came after him; sloppy, short, and all together unfulfilling. The last one put her off dating. “Besides, I’m still young enough. I’ve got plenty of years to have good sex ,” she whispered the last word.

“Not by my timetable,” Pan said, her fingers grazing across her stomach. It was a little odd to see Son Pan sitting still. Bulla was used to her best friend jumping around kicking ass but now she was sitting comfortably reading women’s magazines, perfectly content. On top of that, Bulla never heard Pan complain once about the physical limitations of her current condition.

“I can’t believe at twenty-three you’re already married with a baby on the way,” Bulla couldn’t stop herself from saying. She could hardly imagine herself getting married—let alone having a baby—next year but she was not a Son, her parents hadn’t been married until well into their thirties. It was a little hard, being so young—in her mind—and not having her best friend on the same page. Sure, Pan pushed her to go out and socialize, experience life, but she hardly felt comfortable doing so without her best friend...her surrogate sister...her rock...her excuse for being a shut-in... I’d never do anything without Pan!

“Meanwhile, I can’t believe you’ve never had a serious boyfriend,” Pan tutted, her disposition slightly disapproving, her mood swinging in a different direction. 

“We can’t all meet our soulmates as teenagers,” Bulla mumbled. Though she took no offense, she was always slightly annoyed at how traditional the Sons could be. “Goku and Chi-Chi got married at eighteen, your parents at twenty and now you.” Truthfully, Bulla wondered if Pan found her soulmate or felt some sort of time crunch but Pan never seemed uncertain, Bulla thought with some envy.

“You’re forgetting my Uncle Goten,” Pan shrugged, it was actually more like a jerk of her shoulder, she had taken to constantly cradling her growing stomach protectively and wasn’t about to let go.  “He’s not married.”

“You’re more of a grown-up than he is, Pan. I don’t think I’ll never get a grandchild from him,” Chi-Chi—still standing strong and unstooped without the aid of the dragon balls—strode into the sitting room holding a tray with tea. “How are you feeling, my love?” Bulla had never seen the older woman so nurturing but from what she heard and saw, she was beaming with pride at the thought of her great-grandchild. 

“I’m fine, thanks for the tea, Grandma,” Pan replied, basking in the attention Chi-Chi gave her. It was in a good position to be, not only did it come with pampering but also fierce devotion and protection. “Come sit with us, we were just discussing Bulla’s love life—”

“Hey!” Bulla said.

“Or lack thereof,” Pan shot a smug look towards her. Chi-Chi was worse though, she looked at Bulla with an expression of open pity, she likely thought her an old maid by now but it also could have been about the mangled booties she attempted to knit in plain view. That’s why she came over in the first place. She had been hoping Chi-Chi could teach her a few things so she could knit something for the latest addition to the Son family but she was hopeless it seemed. Either way, she did not appreciate it.

“Well,” Chi-Chi said, setting down the tea tray and picking up the tangled mess of yarn. “It’s a good thing you’re beautiful and rich,” she said as she examined Bulla’s efforts. “Why don’t you just find a man and tell him he has to marry you. That’s what I did,” Chi-Chi suggested. “I can set you up with a human boy—”

“I would rather you help me pick out a costume, Chi-Chi,” Bulla said, trying to change the subject. Though she loved the Son Matriarch dearly, Bulla did not need advice from the woman who picked Goku for a husband.

“Costume? For what?” Chi-Chi asked, quite baffled. “Are you going to be in a performance or something?”

Pan rolled her eyes and answered before Bulla could. “It’s Halloween season, Grandma. Get with the times, even the little villages are getting in on it thanks to the western influence.”

“But why would you need a costume? You’re not a child!” Chi-Chi said, openly disapproving. “Such nonsense, anyway. I can’t believe parents let their children go door to door begging for food. Have they no shame?”

“Lighten up, Grandma. It’s just for fun and everyone wears costumes these days, even just to pass out candy,” Pan said before Bulla could get a word in again.  “How is it that your only plan is to hand out candy?” she said pointedly to Bulla. “You’re such a little fuddy-duddy.”

“Am not!” Bulla insisted. “For all you know—” 

“You’re also going to hole up with a pile of food and watch scary movies alone?”

“No,” Bulla said, her cheeks heating up. “I might have a hot date.” No, she didn’t, but Pan—

“But you don’t.” Pan smiled knowingly. Damn her! “You would have told me if you did.” Oh, that’s right. I tell Pan everything. “And think for a minute, you came here to learn knitting.”

“Knitting is cool,” Bulla mumbled. 

“There’s nothing wrong with being a more conservative girl.” Not being able to sit still like her granddaughter, Chi-Chi started to sweep her already pristine floor, rather violently, Bulla thought. “You’re a good girl, Bulla. There’s no need to act like those other city women. I wish my Goten would find someone like you.” Bulla wasn’t even sure that her blush subsided in the first place but she was certain now that her entire face was as red as her headband.

“Grandma, be careful!” Pan warned, giggling as Chi-Chi came closer and closer to sweeping near Bulla. “If you sweep under Bulla’s feet, she’ll end up marrying an old man.”

“What a silly superstition!” Chi-Chi said, dismissing Pan and making a point to sweep against Bulla’s ankles, prompting her to lift her feet so Chi-Chi could sweep the imaginary dirt the older woman thought had accumulated there.

“Now, you’ve done it,” Pan tutted. Bulla rolled her eyes, in no way appreciating how the dominant conversation was her love and sex life. Or lack thereof, Pan said earlier. Bulla decided to help herself to some of Chi-Chi’s delicious homebrewed tea instead of throwing it on Pan. It would be a waste, after all. 

“Lots of people end up never getting married anyway,” Chi-Chi said, now dusting the spotless furniture. “Look at Goku’s old friend Yamcha. His life seems alright.”

“Grandma, all he has for company is a sycophantic cat.”

“Then he’ll always be available if Bulla never ends up finding somebody.”

Bulla choked on her tea. She was very much regretting letting Chi-Chi sweep under her feet.

The daughter of the proud Prince of all Saiyans wasn’t about to be lectured about being a homebody by a pregnant and married twenty-three year old of all people! What did Pan know about youthful wild twenties fun anyway? She got married straight out of school and pregnant just as quickly. What business did she have telling Bulla about what was worthwhile? She was, however, going to let said married and pregnant twenty-three year old’s grandmother scare her into getting a life. 

That’s how Bulla found herself deeply regretting the actions that led her to this moment. She sneaked Pan’s magazine home and against her better judgment, read the article Pan recommended. “Stop waiting for a magic pill! The most erogenous zone is between our ears and the most powerful tool in our arsenal is the imagination. Invoking the spirits of Aphrodite and Dionysus for assistance will be just the spark to get your desired pleasure to unfold. Getting to know these characters will bring out the wild man and woman that has been suppressed by our controlling society.” Controlling society? She scoffed. More like her controlling father and the other males in her life. Bulla ran it through her mind hundreds of times in the past few years. Her only chance for romance was a human and if she couldn’t find a human she was going to be alone for the rest of her life but she couldn’t have a human and around it went until she put her fears aside and worse still, she took the article’s advice.

So there she was in a VIP nightclub lounge all to herself on Halloween night trying to embrace her inner Aphrodite by dressing as the fabled goddess. She let her long hair flow freely to her waist and in lieu of her red headband, she wore a myrtle wreath on the crown of her head. Luckily, she had found a talented seamstress to make her a last-minute stola that was flattering on her body thanks to the ornate golden belt at her waist. The masterful drapings of transparent turquoise and green silk organza was a bit risqué but it was layered enough to cover the most important bits and it complemented her coloring well too. Her mother called her a vision, a true personification of the goddess of love and beauty. Then she said she understood if Bulla didn’t come home tonight. It had almost made her feel confident. 

If Bulla thought that was going to get everyone’s attention on her, she was dead wrong. People don’t go out by themselves on Halloween! she scolded herself. 

“Aphrodite is a magnetic force drawing others to her. Highly charged sexuality and charisma define her sex appeal.” Bulla tried to draw on those feelings in her imagination as the article told her to but utterly failed in bringing out that ‘come hither’ energy. 

The desolate half-Saiyan girl looked down from her indoor private balcony at the crowds of people below her. The revelers at the nightclub were more salt of the earth people, content to chill and laugh with their friends instead of approaching the scowling blue-haired heiress behind security guards and velvet ropes high above them. Her brother and mother would have invited some people to join them. Her father would say they looked like bugs and just as easily crushed—not that he would ever go out to a nightclub, Bulla thought. She could neither muster the confidence to yell out for anyone to join her nor did she feel pleasure in cutting herself off.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything, sweetie?” her personal waitress asked her with sympathy in her voice. She was dressed as an eagle, or rather that’s what she said she was, all Bulla saw was a tight short brown dress with bird wings and feathers in her hair. The waitress had introduced herself earlier and Bulla racked her brain for her name…she was a flower, Hebe, she remembered quickly. 

“No thanks,” Bulla told her. “I think this was all one big mistake.” She never felt so lonely in a crowded venue of partygoers. Seeing everyone else enjoying themselves and having a good time only made her feel worse for herself and her inability to connect with people.

“Oh, um, okay, then.” She stood there awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. Bulla paid to have someone at her beck and call and she tipped her well enough that Hebe didn’t have to work any other tables, but the waitress was clearly bored and Bulla felt bad.

“You know,” Hebe said and sat next to Bulla on the plush couch, trying to find something better to do than just stand around. “There’s a guy dressed like you buying everyone free drinks down there.”

Bulla had to laugh, “Another Aphrodite? A male Aphrodite?” Just what she needed. It didn’t matter if she spent millions of zeni on her costume, a guy in drag always demanded more attention.

“Well, no,” Hebe let out a chuckle herself, “But he’s in a toga and he’s got a wreath of grapes on his head. I’m not sure who he’s supposed to be though.” Bulla’s breath hitched a second. Whoever this guy was, he sounded like the article’s male counterpart. What did they say about him? “Women tired of their ordinary lives seek out Dionysus to revel in nature and touch the ecstatic .”

She was a woman seeking out more than the mundane and contrived! Maybe this was a sign of some sort? Bulla looked around, this club skewed younger, she hoped her Dionysus wasn’t an old man like Pan warned. Aphrodite was supposed to be confident in approaching others. I can do it. Bulla took a deep breath and braced herself.

“Where is he?” Bulla didn’t trust divine supernatural energy to sniff him out and a crush of people was hard to navigate through. 

“Probably around a cluster of women by the bar.” Hebe grinned dreamily. “He’s very handsome.”

“Hebe, enjoy the rest of your night,” Bulla said, tossing the waitress even more wads of zeni. “I’m about to meet my destiny.” Bulla strode with purpose towards the stairs that had been separating her from the regular humans.

“She is spontaneous, lives in the moment—flirting, enjoying her body—setting goals and responsibility aside to give herself over to pleasure and play.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Bulla groaned upon seeing Dionysus in his full godly glory. He was certainly handsome and had the body of a god—it was no real accomplishment for him—but her Dionysus had turned out to be an old man after all. Quite extraordinarily, her outburst attracted the attention of her god of wine, festivity, and ecstasy in the noisy nightclub before she could slip away, go home, and preserve her dignity. At least her costume was infinitely better, his was made of cheap polyester, the kind made for those mass-produced costumes sold in plastic bags—it was a step above a sheet really—but his grape wreath looked original and authentic, she supposed.

His reaction was far from hers, his face split into the familiar grin she had often seen on his father, brother, and niece. He wasn’t Yamcha but he was still only a step above the perennially single martial artist. 

“What brings you down to Earth, my goddess?” he broke through the gaggle of women in lingerie and animal ears that surrounded him—no doubt, some of the city women Chi-Chi warned her about—and came closer to her person. He practically had to yell over the music and sounds of side conversations. “I didn’t think you’d leave your private balcony.” What the hell was he talking about? Then Bulla realized with horror why she picked this club in particular. She didn’t even like nightclubs but for some reason, this one had popped into her mind when she was looking for places to spend her Halloween night. “I’m kind of relieved. You’ve been a little quiet with your messages lately. I was starting to think you didn’t want to hear from me,” he teased.

“Hi Goten,” she said with no enthusiasm. All the bravado she managed to muster up dissipated instantly like a popped balloon. Her inner Aphrodite retreated and Bulla drew in herself, wrapping her arms around her middle like some sort of protection. She wasn’t sure if she should stay or run. “Did you know I was here this whole time?”

“Pretty much, yeah,” Goten said, smiling at her in an unfamiliar way. “But I knew you’d show up tonight even before that.” While she wouldn’t say their relationship was strained or distant, they definitely weren’t close. He would tease her a bit on the uncommon occasions they met in person but they never met as equals. The trademark fondness for her was evident in his features but there was a mischievous spark in his eye. Did he want her there to brag to everyone else that he got goody-two-shoes-Bulla to let her hair down so they could all have a good laugh at the thought? 

“How could you possibly know that?” she said, feeling snappier than usual. Instead of Aphrodite, she felt she channeled Hera, infamous for her temper. She hadn’t even responded to his text telling her of his Halloween plans and the casual invitation to join him, thinking his request for her presence was merely motivated by pity.

“Call it a gut feeling,” he winked at her. “Drink?” The next thing she knew, he pulled out a glass of wine from thin air and held it out to her. What the—? He wasn’t magic! It must have been some slight of hand.

“No thanks,” she said, using the back side of her hand to gently push Goten’s extended arm away from her. “This whole place isn’t really my scene. I was just about to leave actually,” she lied. Did she imagine it or did she see some restrained emotion in his face? He was still smiling but the lines around his eyes that had been crinkled were smoother and the skin around his jaw was subtly tighter. She shouldn’t have noticed but somehow she did. 

Goten handed off his wine glass to the nearest scantily clad woman—who accepted it gladly—and approached Bulla. He came close to her, closer than she could ever remember him being unless he held her as a baby and she wasn’t going to ever remember that. Was it getting hot in there? There were plenty of bodies and everyone was so close to one another. She tried to back up the few paces she was able to but he followed after her, his chest millimeters from hers. He trailed the back of his index finger up her bare arm before resting his hand on her shoulder and leaning in close to her face. For a second Bulla thought he meant to kiss her—and she would have had no idea what to do then—but he dodged her lips and went to her ear.

“Then let’s get out of here,” he whispered into her ear so she could hear him over the noise in the club. “Why are we fraternizing with mortals when we are gods among them?” What on earth possessed him to say that?!  She shivered involuntarily, the vibration of his voice sent tremors throughout her body. Despite that, she found herself nodding and placed her hand into his outstretched one and let her Dionysus lead her to touch the ecstatic.

Goten said to restrict her senses as much as she could, that it would be better that way. If she couldn’t anticipate things before they happened, it would be more thrilling.

She wondered if she should have taken up Goten’s offer of wine back at the club. Alcohol certainly dulled one’s senses and lowered inhibitions. Bulla could have used some of that right now. Lowering her energy made her immensely nervous. She never intentionally crippled herself before but she did trust Goten.

The room was dark with only the faintest shadows making her more anxious than she had ever been. Bulla instinctively reached for Goten’s hand and he reassuringly squeezed back. 

It happened all at once, the flashing strobe lights disorienting her, the sound of a running chainsaw, and the presence of an imposing figure in a grotesque leather mask coming at them from out of nowhere. Both she and Goten shrieked—though he would say he did no such thing—and bolted from the room to run into another where this time they were met by a psychotic clown, then pursued by a burned man with knives on his gloved right hand, and later taunted by a giant in a hockey mask with a machete and various others until they made it out of the maze of a building into the cold night.

Bulla laughed, relieved they were away from all the jump scares. It was dark out with no artificial lights to illuminate their faces but by the light of the full moon, she could see Goten’s frightened expression. She was glad they were alone and there was no attendant at the end, just signs directing them to the entrance. 

The adrenaline made her positively giddy and she couldn’t help but want to tease Goten. “It’s okay, you’re safe—” Then out of the shadows, a little girl in a dirty shift crawled out quicker than humanly possible after them, her curtain of long dark wet hair hiding her face.

“Oh, hell no!” Goten said and dragged Bulla away towards the street, away from all the monsters and frightening supernatural beings.

Bulla couldn’t keep in the laughter that was bubbling up inside her, not only because he was taking it all way too seriously but also because Goten hadn’t been flirting with her at all, she realized. He still saw her as a kid, amused by the cheesy trappings of Halloween. She didn’t mind, she was having fun for once however innocent it might be. “I hope you’re not going to take me to a cemetery next, I don’t think you could handle it,” she said in between giggles. 

“I agree,” he said, finally recognizing the humor in the situation. Still, he turned his head sharply to check for more threats. “I’m kind of hungry though, all that screaming took a lot out of me.” He was looking at her that way again, almost wolfishly. She finally let herself believe she was imagining things but then he did little things like grazing against her, placing an idle hand on her hip, and looking at her like that.

“Yeah, I could eat too,” Bulla agreed, brushing past him and ignoring her imagination. “Too bad we’re too old to beg door-to-door for candy.” 

“I’m not in the mood for candy anyway.”

“Yeah, me neither. Everything’s closed though, want to go back to Capsule Corp? There’s always plenty there.” She was essentially in a sleeveless dress and her relief from being out of the haunted house wore off and she felt the chill of the autumn night. She was ready to go inside and veg out as she planned. Goten could come too, have some food, and go like he normally did.

“Yeah, we could,” Goten said, his face not quite so playful, “Or we could go back to my place.”

Bulla froze in her tracks and looked to him with wide-eyes. He couldn’t be serious. “Don’t look at me like that,” Goten said, but his expression hadn’t changed and he wasn’t backtracking. “It’s a full moon...Halloween...spooky night and all that.” He did that thing he did at the club again, approached her closely while she stood frozen in place as he dipped his head near hers. “Scary movies? I have quite the collection. Who says we have to end the night early?” he whispered in her ear. He pulled back just as quickly as he came near her, the distance allowed her to see him smiling cheekily at her. At this point, she thought he intentionally riled her up for his own merriment.

“Ha, ha,” Bulla said, unamused. “I would hardly call 2:00 AM an early night but sure,” she shrugged. “My parents aren’t expecting me and I’ve never been to your place; it should be interesting.”

“Yes, interesting indeed,” he said cryptically. “Follow me.” He began to levitate and Bulla knew that meant they would be flying.

“Wait!” she said before he could take off and leave her no choice but to follow. “You’ll have to carry me.”

Goten rolled his eyes as his feet came back to earth. “I know you can fly, probably better than I can. Not that I mind,” he said, winking at her.

“It’s not that.” She shook off that wink. “I don’t want this dress to blow over my head and end up flashing some red-eye flight. Didn’t think of that, did you?” 

“That’s oddly specific.” Goten shrugged. “I guess I don’t think about it too much. I’m not really self-conscious about that sort of thing...and I’m not used to wearing skirts.” Before she knew it though, he had grabbed her by her waist and flung her over his shoulder, taking off toward his home. Her fantasies about being delicately swept off her feet and held bridal style evaporated in a moment as she was hurled through the air.

“Goten!” she screamed. How undignified! He either didn’t hear her or pretended not to because he did not stop until they landed on the roof of Goten’s condo. At least she thought it was the roof; she couldn’t see anything as her hair had been tousled by the high speeds Goten flew and she was straining to get it out of her eyes.

“See? Not a flash of underwear,” Goten said as he put her down on her feet with her hair being the only thing disheveled. “C’mon,” Goten said, not looking back at her as he led the way. It wasn’t a roof they landed on after all, but a rooftop deck where a sliding door led right to the man’s bedroom. She thought he would have led her to the kitchen but he lingered in his bedroom. Bulla was unsure if she was meant to stay there with him or go ahead and find the kitchen herself. He was rifling through a chest of drawers, maybe looking for something to change into. She opted to give him his privacy and made to leave, that is until his hand caught her wrist.

“Where are you going?” he said quietly and gently as if he wasn’t a grown man in his own home, but as if he was trying not to get caught breaking curfew and his parents were asleep in the other room. Goten hadn’t turned on any lights but Bulla could still see his unmade bed and a few clothing items thrown about and not much else except for that expression again.

“Um, food?” was the inarticulate response that came out of her mouth. The fact that Goten was a man, established enough to have his own place, hit her. Though he fooled her for a bit, he was a full adult though his looks and mannerisms were deceiving. Men brought women to their homes for other stuff.

He didn’t notice her unease and chuckled, “Yeah, in a bit, I just need to find something.” His words made Bulla stay in place instead of fleeing like she felt compelled to do. This is Goten, she reminded herself. He’d never be into you, she thought as she stared at his bed, a vision—unbidden, invading her mind—of them together, tousling in the sheets. He was a very attractive man, she had always known it but she had never seen him as a man before and she very much doubted he saw her as a woman. No, he took her from that club to make sure she didn’t get herself into any trouble, maybe as a favor to her brother. 

“Got it!’ he said, holding up a small silken drawstring bag, breaking through her thoughts. “Tarot cards.” He motioned for her to follow him out of the room finally and she was grateful the darkness covered the blush that gave away her forbidden thoughts. 

“Tarot cards? You said we were going to watch scary movies.” Her stomach was in too much turmoil to want food though Bulla’s mind still strayed to Goten’s motives. Didn’t guys like to watch scary movies with their dates— Don’t go there! This is not a date! The tarot card twist was more evidence she was overthinking things.

“I think this will be more fun. It won’t be long, c’mon,” he said as he led her into the main living space, a kitchen on one side and a television, couch, and coffee table on the other. She tried to find a light switch or lamp so they weren’t in the dark but Goten stopped her once again. “It’s Halloween,” he had said, “Candles are just the thing.” He went about setting the right mood with a few lit candles which did very little in brightening the room but it did provide a bit of ambiance. For romance or spirituality? He had them sit on either side of his coffee table on the floor and pulled the cards out of the silk bag.

“Why do you have these anyway?” Bulla asked. He didn’t seem at all like the type to believe in psychics and the occult but then again, it’s not like she knew the man. This was perhaps the first and only time they spent an extended amount of alone time together.

“A friend left them here, never came back for them,” he shrugged. He didn’t shuffle or touch the cards, Bulla noticed.

“Was this friend a girl?” Bulla asked. It would make sense, from what she knew, things like tarot cards, crystals, and spells were associated with women and women seemed to love him, be drawn to him. How many had been in the position she was in now?

“Yes,” he said but offered up nothing else and it made Bulla burn up with curiosity. 

“Girlfriend?” she ventured, not being able to help herself. Goten didn’t look at her but the corner of his mouth upticked into a half-smile.

“A friend that happened to be a girl? Yes. Girl-friend, one word, no.” He pushed the neat stack of cards to her. “She taught me how to interpret these a bit. I can do a reading for you but you need to shuffle them.”

Bulla did as she was told. Of course, she thought the whole thing was nonsense. Magic did exist in some forms—dragon balls being one—and as far as she knew, tarot cards weren’t one of them. 

“All right, I’ll indulge you,” she said, cutting and shuffling the cards, wedging them into each other to rearrange the order.

“Hey don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” Goten said. “Magic is very potent between October first and November second. It is called the Witches’ New Year for a reason.”

“Yeah, and what is that reason?” Bulla challenged, almost satisfied she had scrambled the cards well enough.

“It’s the perfect night for some divination for one thing. It’s said the veil between the living and spirit worlds is thinnest on this night and coupled with the full moon tonight, universal energies are flowing like crazy, particularly for a witch.” 

Somehow she knew, the witch he was referring to wasn’t himself. “I’m not a witch!” she protested. She was rational, she did not participate in this type of nonsense. More to the point, she did not believe in witches—except for Baba, of course, she was real.

“You sure about that?” Goten smirked at her but dare she think—he looked downright flirtatious. She shook her head and pushed her shuffled deck to Goten expecting him to arrange the cards or whatever.

“Oh no,” he said, pushing the cards back to her. “You deal them out, we’re divining into you.”

“But I don’t know how!” she said. Not that it made a difference, she didn’t believe in this stuff anyway. 

“It doesn’t matter, you just arrange them into any form that pleases you,” Goten informed her, staring at her with that little smirk like she was the most amusing thing in the world. 

“How many cards then?”

“Up to you.”

“Okay then,” she said under her breath and began doling out the cards on the table into the shape of an inverted pyramid, ten cards in all. “Now what?” she said once she was done.

“Flip them over in any order you want but first, what was your question?”

Bulla threw back her head a little and laughed, she hadn’t been thinking of anything at all when she laid her hands on the cards.“What was the point of tonight? How about that?” Truthfully, she had fun with Goten. He showed her all facets of Halloween tonight—except for those horror films he promised. She was grateful and couldn’t help but throw a genuine, full-fledged smile his way. 

His smile turned wry. “It’s a fair enough question, I guess. Now go ahead,” he encouraged with a nod of his head.

She decided to start at the top left corner and turned the card on the short side. “The Empress and upright too,” Goten said looking at it. “The card most strongly associated with Aphrodite,” he looked pointedly at her. “Beauty and sensuality. Fitting.” 

Bulla couldn’t lie to herself. What a coincidence that she was dressed as the goddess of love and beauty and drew the card associated with her most! But she barely grasped onto the feeling of Aphrodite earlier until it left her completely at the first sign of trouble. How could she channel the goddess when she felt none of her power?

There hadn’t been a discussion of Goten and Bulla’s matching costumes aside from him acknowledging they were both dressed as gods from mythology, but Goten’s look made her think he knew exactly who she was supposed to be. Bulla thought herself dressed rather generically, her mother only knew she was a specific goddess because Bulla told her. 

“How did you know I dressed as Aphrodite?” After all, there weren’t specific symbols attached to her costume that were associated with the goddess—at least, known to the average person, she hadn’t bothered with shells or doves.

“Same way you probably knew I’m meant to be Dionysus,” he indicated to the crown of grapes on his head. There was her confirmation. “Myrtle is a symbol of love, sacred to Aphrodite.” At her surprised look, he said, “What? I do my research.” He paused for a beat. “That and Aphrodite is supposed to be the most beautiful being in the known universe, downright irresistible.” What was that supposed to mean? She wondered. He hadn’t outright connected her to what he said about the goddess but again he was toeing the line between friendship and flirting. 

Stop overthinking things again! She shook her head and turned the next card.

“Two for two, upright again and the Ace of Cups.”

“What does this one mean?” Bulla stared at the image of a bird drinking from an overflowing chalice held in an open palm. The Empress depicted a beautiful and powerful woman, rather straightforward to the layperson. This one was so abstract, she didn’t know what to think.

“Love, the coming of a new relationship,” he said, “Go ahead to the next one.” Really? No discussion there?

“The Emperor, upright as well,” she said, staring at the wizened old man on his throne. Surely, this couldn’t have been another romantic card? 

“Normally, it means an authority or a father-figure,” Goten said, his smiling slipping.

Bulla let out a laugh, “Is my dad going to come after my new love?”

“Ha, don’t think so,” Goten said with his smile back in full force, “In context, I’d say your new relationship is a long-term one, maybe forever.”

“Pan will certainly be happy about that,” Bulla snorted. She felt the tension in her body dissipate. This wasn’t serious; it was all fun after all. She eagerly turned over the next card in the second row.

“Knight of Cups,” she read the card before Goten could. Like the others, it was upright for her. Unusual in its depiction of knights, the card had the warrior on a white horse holding out a cup peacefully with his helm up, not down and ready for battle.

“That card appears if you’re being romantically pursued by someone,” Goten swallowed thickly. Bulla shivered though the room was warm enough. It doesn’t mean anything, she told herself and moved to turn over the next card. “Your new love is probably someone known to you,” he said before she could. 

Bulla felt the air getting heavier and the air smelling sweeter though Goten’s candles weren’t scented; they wouldn’t be with their olfactory senses. She dared to look at the man across from her and all she saw was a soft smile and intense eyes in the parts of his face that weren’t hidden by shadows. She quickly uncovered another card.

“Geez, on a roll,” Goten said when she revealed another upright card. He didn’t seem fazed at all by what the cards were saying and they were his interpretations! This time it was an image of a man and a woman opposite each other, holding huge goblets out to one another. “The Two of Cups means a strong bond and attraction between two people.”

Out of nowhere, another passage from the article she read earlier flashed in her mind. “Aphrodite is always present when two people are falling in love. An atmosphere of magic, enchantment, and infatuation runs high. Surrender to the passion and wild abandon!”

Bulla opted not to turn over another card. “What does it all mean? How does it answer my silly question?”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Goten peered at her intently and didn’t smile, a rarity for him.

“Get what?” Bulla’s breath hitched. She was even afraid to breathe, she wasn’t sure she could handle her disappointment if he didn’t tell her what she wanted to hear or—worse—if she said what she had wanted and he did not respond in kind. 

Goten didn’t say anything but moved to her side of the table to be near her, setting her senses aflame. She felt her heart beating like a pinball back and forth in her ribcage as she recognized the smells coming off him that mingled with his natural scent of wood and spices, the subtle smell she started to pick up only seconds ago.

“Did you ever wonder,” he took one of her hands in both of his, “why I’ve been messaging you lately? Why I come to your home so much even though Trunks doesn’t live there anymore?” He drew her hand to his lips and gently kissed the underside of her wrist but he didn’t stop there. Goten dragged his lips down her forearm sending little shocks that diffused from where his lips touched throughout her entire body to the tips of her extremities. “I always need to see you, be there for you.”

With her free hand, Bulla quickly turned over her next card. She didn’t need to have Goten’s knowledge to know what it meant: the Lovers. 

“I didn’t—” Bulla started to speak. Consider you... she was going to say. It was the truth, before tonight she would have never entertained Goten as a possibility for a romantic partner but now she wanted it more than anything. “Since when?” she asked. Did it come upon him suddenly as it had with herself?

“Not long,” he dragged his mouth away from her arm but still held it. “But I haven’t stopped thinking about you ever since.”

The flame in her body that had been a mere wisp had turned into an inferno, more intense than all the candles around them combined but how could she vocalize it? “Surrender to the passion and wild abandon!”

She freed her hand from Goten’s and pulled his head onto hers like she had imagined doing when he had gotten close earlier in the night. Breathing? Who needs air? Bulla thought as Goten’s lips eagerly massaged against her own, an overwhelming thrill traveling from the nerves of her lips to her core. 

How long was it before they broke apart? Bulla didn’t know, but she was iron and he was a magnet and she was eager to explore their attraction; however, soon it was apparent Goten did not seem content with just kisses. He moved down her neck nibbling and sucking as his hand trailed up and down her body, but gently still though his touch stayed imprinted on Bulla’s skin as he continuously moved on to new places.

Bulla startled with a sudden fright. There was a reason her previous times having sex were poor that had nothing to do with her partners. “Wait,” she cautioned though she hated to say it.

“What is it?” Goten asked, concerned. Of course, he wouldn’t be the type of man to be annoyed by her hesitancy. “Are you nervous? Don’t be,” he reassured her soothingly but made no further moves to touch her.

“It’s not that, but it is that,” Bulla confessed. “I’ve done this before but with less than stellar results.” Much to her relief, Goten didn’t look angry or jealous that he wouldn’t be her first though she didn’t know why she thought he would be. “I’m Saiyan,” she said.

“So am I,” he smiled at her again, the worry gone from his face.

“But I’m female,” she pointed out. “You’ve never had sex with a female Saiyan. You couldn’t have.”

“No,” Goten agreed, shaking his head but still smiling, “But I would like to. Very much.” His eyes flashed darkly at her. “Whatever it is,” Goten said, his hand finding her thigh under the layers of fabric of her dress, sending another shiver of anticipation through her, “I can handle it,” he assured her, “But if you ever want me to stop, just say so. There’s no need to go so far tonight just because I want to.”

“It’s not only you,” she assured him. Bulla said no more as she laid down and loosened up on Goten’s living room floor. He lived alone and despite her earlier fantasy, what point would there be to move to the bedroom?

She was brimming with curiosity. Goten had years of living and—likely—years of experience on her which none of her previous lovers had and so she was content to let him take the reins. He didn’t try to undress her and in her uncertainty, she wondered if she was expected to remove her dress herself. That was quickly thrown out of her mind when Goten hitched up her skirt with his hands, the gentle feeling of the silk ever so slowly moving up her thighs followed by his slightly roughed hands was enough to bring her back into the moment and focus on the now as Aphrodite would. 

She was never more grateful for her Saiyan heritage then, for being to focus so keenly on one sense at a time. Each kiss and lick he placed on her legs as he inched up higher and higher was filling her with more and more eagerness. She craved it, she needed more. 

At last, one of his fingers found his way to her underwear, running its way under the line by her entrance but he made no move to touch her further as he quickly took it away. 

Her pleasure was turning over to frustration. Tonight she was Aphrodite and the goddess did not shy away from what she wanted and neither did Bulla. “I don’t like being teased,” Bulla growled, sitting up from where she laid. Taking initiative, she swiftly undid her golden belt and pulled the dress over her head letting Goten gaze at her mostly naked body. Previously, she had felt shyness about being so bare in front of another person but now she felt nothing but pride for rendering him dumb. 

“You are so beautiful,” he stated breathlessly after a short while of drinking in her image. Goten stared at her in awe for a moment longer before following her orders not to tease her and began to attack her breasts with his mouth and hands. “What did I do to deserve this?” he said before capturing one of her nipples between his teeth. No one had ever done that to Bulla before but she found she enjoyed it immensely, the heightened sensitivity of her arousal intensifying the experience. Her body tightened like a tense coil ready to snap and Goten was only at her breasts! What was he doing to her? Maybe he was the witch, she thought as his tongue lashing moved to the other breast. He thought he was under her spell but maybe she was under his.

But what of him? She loved what he was doing to her but the thought of making him feel as wild as she did now was inflaming her more than his actions.

“Stop,” she managed to get out though it pained her to do so. He did as she bid but looked confused.

She said nothing more as she used her Saiyan strength to rip his costume off. It was easy, the fabric was cheap and the structure was poorly made. Goten let out a surprised, “Hey!” before Bulla shushed him. He’s certainly a god underneath, Bulla thought as she did her own admiring of his muscled, well-proportioned body.

“I’ll buy you a new one,” she said before kissing him again and stealing his breath away. Unlike Goten, she saw no point in being slow about things and pulled down his boxers to reveal his member, already standing at attention for her. There had been others but nothing like this where she was just as excited to touch him as she was for him to touch her.

“How much can you take?” she asked as she began to stroke him, gently at first. Being Saiyans, they were essentially invulnerable to many things. Unfortunately, the touch of a human could be unsatisfying at times and if they lost control, they could unwittingly hurt said human. It was something Bulla always kept in mind when she thought of her romantic future but now ...

“Keep going and we’ll see,” Goten said. Since his hands were free and hers weren’t, he took advantage and held her head in his hands, kissing her with such fierce pressure that she felt compelled to open her mouth up to him to allow his tongue entrance. He ran his hands through her hair, gently lapping her tongue with his as she continued her ministrations on him. He pulled back suddenly, startling Bulla and causing her to stop her strokes. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked, feeling slightly worried. She didn’t have much experience; maybe she wasn’t good?

“Nothing,” Goten smiled dreamily at her. “You’re fucking fantastic,” he said grabbing her again, this time meshing their bodies as close together as possible, her soft breasts pushed against his hard chest. The position had effectively put her in his lap, their groins brushing against each other, teasing one another.

Bulla felt that throb between her legs, that longing to be filled. She hissed as Goten’s cock brushed against her entrance. She wanted it inside her more than anything at this moment. It was driving her mad; an itch that only he could scratch. 

“Are you ready? Do you want this?” Goten asked her. She nodded and laid on her back again. This time Goten didn’t hesitate with her and hooked his fingers in her waistband to pull off her underwear in one motion.

“I might hurt you,” Bulla warned.

Goten chuckled, “I think I’m supposed to say that to you, no?” He couldn’t, she thought, she was slick enough to allow him easy access without resistance. He nudged her legs apart and stared at her most intimate of areas that few ever saw. “Blue hair, why am I surprised?” he muttered to himself. He teased his tip at her entrance and unlike her other experiences, she was bubbling over with excitement, not anxiety.

He fit inside her easily, letting out an unrestrained gasp when he was fully surrounded by her inner walls. The feeling of full connection between the two of them overwhelmed Bulla both mentally and physically and Goten hadn’t even started moving yet. Before he did, he planted the sweetest of kisses on her lips. 

When he started moving, she began to lose control, even more, when he took one of his hands to her clitoris and started drawing small circles with his fingers. Then what she feared would happen, happened; her vagina had begun to involuntarily contract around him. It was one part of her body she had no control over and she could not do anything about the intensity and strength of her pelvic muscles. It had only happened once with her last partner causing him a fracture and a trip to the hospital. But what about Goten? Could his Saiyan strength compensate?

“Oh my god!” he let out, louder than he had spoken all night. “Holy shit, Bulla,” Goten said as she continued to contract around him while their hips began to meet in an undisturbed rhythm. He kissed her deeply again, then let his head lull about around her neck as he began to tire out. “I’m alright,” he assured her in the same whisper that unnerved her earlier. “Just let go.” 

She hadn’t hurt him after all, rather he enjoyed it. That knowledge had set her mind free to relish the moment with him completely. It wasn’t long before Goten’s magic hands and movements had her moaning his name as she gave her mind over to how good he had made her feel. She forgot to breathe as the waves of pleasure convulsed through her body. That made him still a moment, calling her own name before he rolled off her, too spent to move. To be fair, so was she and far too gone to care about the mess between her legs.

As if reading her desires, Goten pulled her close, skin to skin, making her content in his arms. When she stopped to think of it, this whole night was insane. Common sense would come in the morning, no doubt, but for now, Bulla relished the feeling of being Aphrodite in Dionysus’ arms. She, the tempting, sensual goddess, and he the impulsive god that thought of nothing but pleasure.

Already, Goten’s breath was even and lulled to sleep beside her. Bulla was also about to fade into dreamland but one last thought came to her before she succumbed. She remembered the last line of the article. “Both are willing to risk it all for love. Do you dare to find out if it will work for you?”

She would overturn the rest of the tarot cards tomorrow.