The silence didn't last. It couldn't last.
Mrs. Brief's words—"I'm going to marry Buu"—had fallen like a bomb, detonated by the satisfied, yet barely visible, smile on Buu's face across the table.
Bulma was the first to react. She'd always known her mother was eccentric, but this wasn't eccentric, it was too much.
"You... you can't be serious!" Bulma's voice was high, cracked. She stood up abruptly, her chair screeching on the polished floor.
Her blue eyes, usually full of calculation or irreverence, were now filled with pure, desperate disbelief.
"It can't be happening! What about Dad? Have you talked to him yet?"
Mrs. Brief (Author: From now on, I'll call her "Panchy." Or at least the AI told me that's her name, I don't remember, so... Tell me, in case I will fix it) remained unperturbed. She had the imperturbability of someone who's just decided to change the color of the walls, not her husband.
"Your father," she said with an almost bored sigh, "was in the lab, so not yet. He's always in the lab, as long as we make him tea, it's all the same to him."
Bulma staggered as if struck.
Mai, until then silent and tense as a bow, spoke with a sharp calm, staring at Buu.
"And me?" she asked. "I don't understand. What do you want from me? Just an assistant?"
Buu smiled. It was a slow, patient smile, but it never reached his eyes. He rested his arms on the table.
"I want you too," Buu replied, his voice deep and melodic. "Panchy was just the first to take the initiative; I didn't know about this proposal until you heard it."
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and tilting his head toward Bulma.
"Bulma, I want you too. Don't think I didn't see you that night a few days ago, or are you trying to tell me it wasn't you?"
Bulma stared at him, her mind racing with feelings she didn't even understand. "I-I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, yes, just like you say." Buu let it go, but with a shrug, said, "If I'm Panchy's husband, then I'll be Bulma and Tights' stepfather... You can start calling me dad or daddy if you prefer."
Bulma stepped back, tears of anger and embarrassment blurring her vision. "You... You. I'll never call you that."
She turned to her mother, her voice a pleading whisper. "Mom, please. Tell me this is a joke, please?"
Panchy smiled at her, an inexplicably happy smile. "Oh, no, dear. It's the most real thing imaginable. You don't have to think about it, I want to be happy with you."
Buu stood up calmly and
"Think about it," he whispered in a gentle tone, almost like a father to his daughter. "You too." Buu turned to Mai, looking at her with a veiled challenge.
In less than a second, both Bulma and Mai run to their rooms and lock ourselves in.
"Are you sure this was the right choice? I wanted to wait a little longer," Buu asked, hugging Panchy.
"I don't know about Mai, but I know my daughter. This is nothing. She'll probably try to win you over, so I hope you're ready." she replied starting to unbutton Buu's pants.
"Can't you wait to go to your room?" he looked at her fondly
"First, it's 'Our' room," she replied sternly. "Second, I've waited long enough. I want my strawberry milkshake."
Author here: How is it? Btw I made a new picture for this novel, tell me if you like it. (I will post it here)