Embarrassed by the one I love.

We were nearly there, I reminded myself, heart pounding. It had been only a few days before I was able to fly with my wings and energy. It made me incredibly fast and endurable, but not as much as Goten or Gohan. I was almost able to keep up with Gohan and Goten was nearly able to keep up with me. My pulse sped when Gohan’s house came into view. Thanks to Gohan’s training, I was able to sense energies—four different ones. We landed in the woods, like we’d discussed.
“Story, we don’t have to do this. I hope you know that,” Goten said, staring at me. “Really. I can feel your fear.”
I swallowed my heart enough to say, “I want to.”
“Hm. Looks like you’re going to have one hell of a meeting,” Gohan said, turning a cocky, amused smirk to me. “Vegeta’s here.”
With that, my heart plummeted to the ground and I pulled my wings back into me. “Wh-what?”
“Vegeta’s here.”
“I-wait, oh, God.”
He took my hand into one of his and Goten took the other. “It’s okay. They already know we’re here. Ten to one, they’re on their way to check us out.”
“Damn right we’re on our way to check you out. You have a strong, unfamiliar Ki with you. Who the hell is she?” the unmistakable voice of the Prince of Saiyans asked.
“Gohan, it’s nice to see you.” Piccolo was behind him.
“Hey, Goten! What’s up and who’s the chick?” Trunks came out.
Last was Goku. “Hey, Gohan, Goten! It’s about time you came to visit!”
I was hiding behind Gohan and Goten, trying to make myself small. Not hard, since I wasn’t even five feet tall and weighed about ninety pounds.
Gohan looked back at me, smiling, and pulled me in front of him, pushing me gently toward Vegeta. “This is Story.”
“Pfft. What kind of name is that?” The Prince looked me over, distrust clearly in his eyes. “This tiny thing of a girl has that kind of power?”
I glared up at him now. “I am not tiny, understand? If you are to refer to me as anything, I am fun-sized and nothing more, but I am not tiny.”
He raised a brow. “You have spunk.”
Trunks fidgeted behind his father, grinning and nervous at the same time.
Gohan pushed me toward Piccolo. “Piccolo, meet your greatest fan.” He grinned at him. “She’s your secret pupil.”
“What does that mean, Gohan?”
“She watches Dragonball Z and trained alongside of me and you. And, believe me, her training shows.”
Piccolo let his lips twitch, but that was all the emotion he showed. “We shall see about that.”
I wish I had been as stoic as he had been when he said that, but I felt my eyes get huge. “What’s that mean?”
“It means he wants to train with you.” He moved me on to Goku. “Dad, meet your unofficial daughter.”
I glared at Gohan.
Goku laughed. “I’ve always wanted a daughter. Chichi will be glad for that. Uh, if she likes Chichi?”
“She idolizes Chichi.”
I glared harder, blushing.
“That’s wonderful! I’m sure she would love to meet her—if she’s nothing like Videl.”
Gohan laughed at that. “She hates Videl. Everything she learnt about being a lady came from mom. Cooking, fighting, strictness—Jesus, she chased me and Goten out of the kitchen with a frying pan! I felt right at home.”
Goku laughed again. “That’s wonderful. I wonder if their personalities will clash or melt together.”
“Mom will love her.” He moved on to Trunks. “Well, there ya are. Trunks, Story.”
Trunks grinned. “Heya, Story. What’s up?”
I smiled. “The sky. You?”
He laughed. “She’s funny. Did she really chase you two with a frying pan?”
“Three times.”
I blushed, shrugged.
“Hmph,” Vegeta said. “Great, another one. Let’s hope she can fight, unlike your last girl.”
“Videl could fight,” I said.
“Not in Vegeta’s eyes, she couldn’t.”
“Oh.”
“How’s Pan?”
“She’s great. Taking a nap right now, though.”
“Is it safe to go home now?” Goten asked, yawning. “We’ve been up all night and day training!”
I glanced at him. “What, baby Goten can’t keep up with a tiny girl and his brother?”
Goten’s eyes widened, Trunks and Goku laughed, Piccolo and Vegeta smirked and Gohan laughed. “She’ll fit in nicely here!”
I smiled, blushing, at the compliment.
“Hey, don’t patronize me unless you’ve trained with her!”
When everyone’s eyes turned to me, I blushed. “Uh, well, thanks, I think. . . .”
Vegeta’s smirk suddenly widened. “Ah, I see. Kakarrot, it seems your son has chosen a mate.”
I wasn’t the only one who blushed this time, but I was the only speechless one. “What do you mean by that, Vegeta?” Gohan asked, blushing.
“You two have marked one another, haven’t you?”
Now I wasn’t the only one speechless, nor was I the only one who suddenly found an extreme interest in the ground.
Goku looked between the two of us several times before he grinned. “Is this true?”
No answer. From either of us.
From Goten? Oh, yea. “Does marking mean biting?”
“With blood?” Vegeta asked.
“Yeah.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Their powers challenged each other.”
Vegeta’s brow went up. “Really? Who won?”
“Gohan.”
“Hm.” He studied us with a new interest. “That’s rare between Saiyans, let alone a Saiyan and another breed. What happened?” When Goten started to answer, Vegeta said, “No, I need to hear it from one of them. It’s important I know what it felt like. Was it pleasurable or painful? Just answer that.”
Gohan sighed. “Pleasurable.”
“Warm,” I added.
“More hot, than warm.”
I nodded.
“Hm. Your powers are the perfect match. You two could be very powerful.” His gaze locked on Gohan. “You’re already twice as strong as you were before you left.”
I stared at Gohan. What? When had that happened?
He blinked. “Am I? I hadn’t really noticed.”
“You know, he’s right.” Piccolo stared at Gohan. “I didn’t notice at first, either, but he’s right. Your power has more than doubled.”
Jesus friggin’ Christ. 900,000,000 power level? Time to go out into space! Bye, Earth! Nice knowing you!
Gohan smiled at me. “He said more than twice my power level, not just twice. And why are you abandoning Earth?”
I stared at him. “I . . . didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah, you said, and I quote, ‘Jesus friggin’ Christ. 900,000,000 power level? Time to go out into space! Bye, Earth! Nice knowing you!’”
“No . . . I thought that.”
“No, I heard you. Am I the only one that heard her?” He looked around.
“Only you heard her.”
“Of course he heard her. They are a mated pair now.”
“Everything I think . . . will he be able to hear me?”
“Not everything. Just things that refer to him.”
I groaned. “Wonderful. That’s enough.”
Gohan grinned. “Aw, wonderful. I’ll know what you really think of me.”
“Aw, come on! Is there any way I can block him?”
“Not unless you become stronger than he is. I should probably warn you that he’s the master in this relationship.”
I raised my eyebrow at that. “The hell he is.”
Gohan chuckled, but Vegeta went on to say, “His powers are much greater, so that makes him the master. That means he can read your thoughts, but you can’t read his.”
Right brow upraised, I glanced up at Gohan. “Yeah, he’s master, all right.” I turned and stalked off. “If you’re my master, bite me.” And instantly after I said those words, I ran into a broad expanse of chest. I looked up slowly.
He grinned down at me.”Where do you want it?”
I glared up at him, challenging him by raising my Ki threateningly. “Try it, buster.”
“You don’t like that I’m the master, do you?”
In answer, I just gave him my very best death glare.
“We should go now, everyone. They’re about to fight,” Goten warned seriously.
“Hmph. Mate, more likely, if they haven’t already. They’ve both marked each other, so it’s highly unlikely that they haven’t mated. Unless your son has remarkable self-control.”
“We haven’t fucked and I doubt we’re about to,” I growled. The growl was more aimed at Gohan than anyone else.
“We should go, really, guys. You don’t want to be in the middle of this if they really fight. I’ve seen them spar. That’s intense enough for me.”
“Your son’s right, Goku. I sense Story’s ki raising to outrageous levels as it is.” Piccolo’s voice jarred me. Mostly because I hadn’t realized I’d raised my power by that much.
I heard them fly off, but my attention was on the man in front of me. I hissed at him.
He blinked at me. “You growl and hiss. Interesting. So . . . are we about to fight?”
“If you don’t move, yes.”
He smiled. “Then you’re in for a fight because I’m not moving.”
I launched at him, tackling him to the ground. Before I’d even pulled my fist back, I was on bottom, being pinned easily by him. “Let me up,” I hissed.
“Not until you cool off.”
“Yeah, because you pinning me to the ground is so going to cool me off!”
“I’m not letting you go off on your own with that guy around. I’m a hell of a lot stronger than you are and I couldn’t hit him. You won’t fare well against him, either.”
I bit his arm, sinking teeth in and tasting blood.
He froze and, for a moment, nothing happened. Then that same musky smell from the night before returned and his eyes got that heated look again. “Story, that’s not a good idea.”
I ignored him and bit harder, mumbling, “Then get off,” around his arm.
He took a deep breath and the musky scent strengthened. “Story, I’m warning you. That’s not a good idea.”
I pulled back, ignoring the scent of him and his blood. "Then get off."
He sighed. "Look, Story, it's not my fault that I'm what Vegeta says is master. I'll try to stay out of your mind, okay? Because I see it as mind-rape."
"You promise to try and stay out of my mind?"
He nodded. "I can't promise I'll do it, but I can promise I'll try. Deal?"
"Fine. Deal."
He got up, offering his hand down to me. "Great."
I took the hand, let him pull me to my feet. "This all means I'll have to train harder."
He smiled. "Does it really matter who is master if neither of us intend to force the other to do their bidding?"
Now I sighed. "No, I guess not, but I'll still need to train hard because of Mochai."
"Yeah, that's true. Should we go find the others?"
"Do you think they know I'm no threat?"
He smiled. "I'm master, remember? They'll think I have you under control, even if you are a threat."
"True. All right, let's go find the others." I saw the bite mark on his arm and smiled. "Looks like you have a new scar."
He looked down and a small smile graced his lips. "Yeah, proof we fought." Then his eyes, serious with a twinge of mischeif, found mine. "But you don't have any marks."
I was just suddenly against him, his arms holding me tight to him. "What are you doing?"
Seconds later, I got my answer--he bit down on the other side of my throat, drawing blood as I had on him. The same, musky scent engulfed the magnolia-and-spice-scent of our blood. He pulled back a moment later, grinning, my blood around his lips, and pressed his mouth to mine again. He pulled back seconds before our powers rose. "There, now we're both marked."
"Twice," I said, voice slightly breathy.
He grinned. "Yup, twice." He took off into the air. "Join me when you get your wings out!"
With a small ripping sound and a bit of blood, my wings were free and I started after him. "Hey, no fair!"
His laughter floated back to me as I struggled to catch up with him. "Not my fault your wings take forever to come out!" He stopped and turned to face me, smiling. "Interesting." His eyes drifted lower.
Which made me realize my shirt was pretty much gone, thanks to my wings forcing it off. I flipped my long, silver hair over to cover my bra. "Hey!"
He grinned and pulled his shirt off, flying over to adjust his shirt over my wings and body. It required him to make two, long slits in the back and left him shirtless, but he didn't seem to care. He stood back and grinned. "There. Now it looks like we did more than just fight, but it's either that or let you meet the rest of them completely shirtless."
I glared at him. "Dammit. I should've just kept my damn wings out."
"It wasn't my idea for you to bring your wings back in, now was it?"
"Bite me."
"I just did that--we're landing now." He lowered and I followed.
"That took less time than I thought it would," Vegeta's snide voice came out.
Goten smiled when he saw us. "Did Story forget that her wings rip her shirt as well as her skin?"
Gohan nodded. "Yeah."
"Damn. I should've stayed."
I glared at Goten. "Bite me."
"It is considered bad form to bite someone else's mate." Vegeta smirked at Gohan. "How was the fight?"
"Not too bad--but it was just a fight. I promised to try and stay out of her mind."
Vegeta laughed. "Good luck with that."
I ignored them. Not on purpose, but because there was a familiar, blue-haired woman striding purposely toward me, followed by a black-haired woman. They were both smiling. "So," she said as she was close enough, "you must be Story."
I smiled cautiously. "Yes, I am Story. You must be Bulma and Chichi."
Chichi smiled brightly at me, holding her hand out to me. "Vegeta said that you and my son are now a mated pair, much like Bulma and Vegeta and Goku and myself. Is this true?"
I glanced back at Gohan, who was watching me. "Yeah, I guess it is."
Chichi, much to my surprise, hugged me. "I'm glad that he finally found that one person. I'm even more glad it's not Videl."
I was shocked for a few moments, but I hugged her back. "Thanks, I think."
"And Goku told me what Gohan said, that you're our unofficial daughter." She pulled back. "As my unofficial daughter, that means Bulma and I get to take you shopping." She smiled at me. "And spend some quality time together."