Chi-Chi's Mysterious Letters! Is There Trouble in Paradise?

Goku has a feeling that Chi-Chi is hiding something, so he enlists Gohan's help to get to the bottom of it.

A/N: Set after the Majin Buu arc in DBZ / in the beginning of DBS

"Father, I don't mean to be unsupportive," Son Gohan started cautiously as he picked up pages of his thesis from the floor. "But hasn't Mother always had her moods?"

"It's not one of her moods," insisted Goku, handing Gohan a few more pages that he had missed. "Something's different this time."

A few minutes ago, Goku had materialized without warning into Gohan's study, almost giving him a heart attack and scattering the papers he had been reviewing in a flurry. Apparently, Goku had made Chi-Chi seriously mad and he needed Gohan's counsel on what to do.

Stacking the pile of papers on his desk, Gohan got up and led his father into the kitchen. Videl was out with her own father, so Goku and Gohan had the privacy of the whole spacious house to talk.

"What makes you say it's different, Father?" Gohan asked, pouring them drinks. "Can you tell me everything from the beginning?"

Goku plopped onto one of the bar stools at the counter and took a gulp of cold barley tea. "You know Goten's been failing his subjects, right?"

Gohan nodded and took a seat across his father. He had received a call from Chi-Chi earlier that week, asking if he could recommend a good tutor for his brother. Unfortunately, all the scholars Gohan knew only taught advanced subjects.

Goten was being homeschooled, taking correspondence courses just as Gohan had in his childhood. Unlike Gohan however, the grades Goten had been getting were far from satisfactory. The fact worried their mother to no end.

"Well, Chi-Chi got mad at me about that." Goku grimaced, scratching his head.

"Because you weren't taking it seriously?" Gohan guessed.

Goku nodded, looking abashed. "She was talking to me about it, and I kiiiiinda cut her off to ask if I could go train on King Kai's planet for a few days."

Gohan groaned. "Father…"

"I know, I know!" Goku conceded, throwing his hands in the air. "I was insensitive. I know education is important to her and all. I'm an idiot."

Then his expression collapsed into one of sincere concern.

"But she didn't yell at me, Gohan," Goku said softly, his voice troubled. "She just told me in this really quiet voice to do whatever I wanted, that she would take care of the problem by herself."

"Oh no…"

"I tried to apologize," Goku protested. "But she was hearing none of it, so I thought, I thought I'd just go and leave her alone for a while, but..."

Goku appealed to his son, wide-eyed with panic. "Gohan, you have to help me. It's been a week now and she's still distant. I don't know what to do."

Gohan took a long sip of tea as he mulled things over.

His mother was a bomb with a short fuse, and Gohan was no stranger to her going off on anyone that made her angry, most often his father. Giving the cold shoulder, though, was a weapon Gohan had never known Chi-Chi to have in her arsenal.

"Have you tried talking to her again?" Gohan asked his father.

Goku nodded earnestly. "Yeah, but like I said, she's distant, not talking to me at all! And then–"

His mouth was still open, as though he was about to say more, but he hesitated. Darting a quick, guilty look at Gohan's face, Goku fell silent.

"What's wrong, Father?" Gohan asked.

"Nothing." But Goku would not meet his eyes.

"Father..."

"Weeeell…" Goku began, drawing out the word. "There's something else bothering me."

"What do you mean?"

Goku fidgeted, his face a picture of uncertainty. It made him uncomfortable to broach the topic.

"You can tell me, Father," Gohan reassured gently, reaching across the counter to touch Goku's shoulder.

Goku looked at his son cautiously, debated with his conscience for another moment, and then finally he blurted, "Chi-Chi's been acting sketchy, like she's hiding something."

Gohan frowned. He never knew his mother to be the secretive type. "What makes you say that?"

"She's been exchanging letters with someone," Goku explained. "But when I asked her about it, she snapped that it's nothing that concerned me."

"Are you sure it's not just Goten's teachers?" Gohan asked, still dubious.

Goku shook his head. "Chi-Chi's made him take a break from his courses after he failed the last one, so no."

"Maybe it's a new magazine subscription?" Gohan offered.

"Maybe…" Goku looked unconvinced. "But something just feels sketchy!"

"What, you think Mother's… having an affair?" Gohan felt ridiculous even just saying it out loud, and understandably, his father was all but scandalized at the suggestion.

"No way! Chi-Chi wouldn't do that!" Goku defended his wife in earnest. "Chi-Chi's not like that at all!"

"Well, there you go," Gohan concluded. "Mother wouldn't do something like that. So whatever those letters are, I'm sure they're nothing to worry about."

Goku took a while to respond, his eyes on his cup of tea as he swirled the contents absently. Drawing a heavy breath, he conceded, "You're right. Maybe I'm just being paranoid because it's not like her to be cold.

He gulped down the remainder of his drink, his brow still knitted heavily.

Gohan did not enjoy playing referee for his parents because he usually ended up being Chi-Chi's soundboard, but he could never in good conscience be able to just stand by and do nothing when his father seemed so troubled.

So finally, despite himself, he offered, "Do you… want me to talk to her?"

Goku's face brightened instantly. "Would you, please?"

Scratching the back of his head and hoping he was not making a mistake, Gohan accepted.

"All right, Father," Gohan said. "I'll see what I can do."