A simple oneshot. To be completely honest, I really hadn't planned on writing this. o.O It had initially been meant to be another story entirely, but fluff came in and I just couldn't stop it. ^^; Ahhh... Fluffy stuff... Anyway, I really, really hope you like it! Again, it was kinda rushed, so.. :)
Oh, boy... Goku knew that look, and he knew it well. His eyes flicked to the frying pan sitting innocently on the nearby kitchen counter, just waiting to be picked up and flung at his head.
"GoKUUUUU!"
He couldn't help but duck as ChiChi stomped up to him, eyes raging brighter than she was. It made no difference that the top of her bun barely reached his nose, right now she was scarier than any number of bad guys he had faced.
"Goku, how could you!" She showed no signs of stopping her rampage. "You-you nearly destroyed my entire kitchen!"
It was true. The once pristine kitchen had been demolished, from the sink to the oven. It was a bit of a miracle the rest of the house hadn't been burnt down as well. All that was left was the end of the counter, which astonishingly held the prized weapon known as the cast-iron skillet. Figures everything had been destroyed but that.
Taking it in for the millionth time already, Goku's eyes shifted to the floor as he tapped his leg nervously. Making matters worse, it had been mostly his fault. Sure, Goten had assisted in the damage-unknowingly, of course-a little bit, but it all circled 'round to him. But that was okay. He was mature enough to take the blame...and the rage. Or...or so he thought.
"Look, I...I'm really sorry, ChiChi," he attempted, halfheartedly because he knew she wouldn't accept apologies until she had calmed some. "I can explai-"
"No! I do not want to hear one more word!" Her fists were bunched so tightly a vein prominently stood out on the top of her hands. He didn't need to look up to know she was glaring at his face. "Look at what I have to wake up to-no kitchen, almost no food, and my dining room table in flames!"
Well, when she put it that way... Yes, it was a disaster. An utter mess. And her reminder that most of the food had been reduced to ashes just made him feel worse.
"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, still not meeting her eyes. "I'll make it up to you, I promise. I just..."
"And how are you planning on doing that?" she snapped. To be honest, he had no clue. "We're not filthy rich, you know! It'll be very costly to even clean up this mess, much less buy everything again! I...you...!"
She broke off, and he finally looked down at her face. It was aimed at the floor, while her tense shoulders relaxed. Not in a good way, though. The way she bowed her head looked a lot like...defeat. Her rage had sizzled out and been replaced by something else. Something not entirely familiar on her features. Goku couldn't move, he didn't know what to say. He was sorry, oh so very sorry. But what could he do but apologize? It was his fault everything was gone. Well, not really 'gone', just...melted.
After a moment, she tilted her head up to meet his dark eyes, and most of the anger was gone from her own. She seemed to search his face for a moment and then bit her lip.
"Goku, you..." Her voice trailed off and she simply shook her head, words unable to express her thoughts. Then she turned away without another word and left the room. Goku didn't move. He heard the front door open, then close again, softly.
She looked so conflicted. Sad, mad, everything in between. Most of all, she looked utterly exhausted, brows knit, eyes lacking a certain light. She didn't seem like the same old ChiChi. It was admittedly worrying. And guilt still filled him uncomfortably.
So what now? Should he find her? Leave her be for the moment? Was there any possible thing he could do that would make her feel better? Right now, he doubted it.
Instead of moving, he turned his eyes to the wreckage. The fire that had engulfed the kitchen had been smothered, but apparently not fast enough. It had all originated from the oven somehow and had expanded from there. The wooden counters, cabinets, and drawers were blackened, very much like the utensils and ceramic dishes inside. Glasses were relatively unharmed, while the ones nearest to the center of the fire had melted into deformed art projects. From what he could tell, the pipes under the sink had been damaged, as water had created a small pool on the darkened floor.
Maybe some of it was ash, and the damage wasn't as horrible as it seemed first glance. Unlikely, unfortunately... The flames had raged for quite a while as father and terrified son had attempted in any way thought of to quench them. They had no water on hand-all of that was in the burning sink. By the time the flames had eaten their way across the counter, swallowing any susceptible items littering the top, nearly reaching the squat refrigerator, they had come up with the idea of blowing it out with ki blasts. It had worked somewhat well. The flames were out, and then that was all that mattered. Still, the damage had been done during their initial panicking.
Speaking of which... It dawned on Goku that he wasn't sure where the younger culprit was. Maybe ChiChi had gone out to look for him. He seemed to have disappeared as soon as the fire had been put out, probably not wanting to get caught. No doubt he trusted his father wouldn't sell him out, and he was right to believe so. Goku would take the blame, perhaps not very happily, but he would nonetheless. Thank goodness Gohan hadn't been there, or else he would have had to furious mothers at his throat... He deserved it though, he had to remind himself of that.
Finally, he took a step forward. Then another. Suddenly he was in the front yard of their home under the cloudless blue sky with the birds singing carelessly. It was beautiful out. Too bad the same couldn't be said about the inside. He scanned the yard hopefully, mind made up all of a sudden. He had to find ChiChi. He didn't know what he'd say, but with luck she would be in a slightly better mood, and maybe forgive him. That would be nice.
He didn't even have to read for her energy before he heard her voice talking. Who could she be talking to, Goten? It was coming from the backyard, so he hurried around. He paused before he made it.
She was talking on the phone, he judged, based by the lack of another person's ki. But who...? Maybe it was wrong to eavesdrop but he couldn't help it.
"-the house. No, no...we're fine. It was small, I only just woke when it was almost put out. Yes. Yes... Thank you." At those last words, her voice cracked. A short pause, then, "Thanks, Dad." Ah, so her father, the Ox King.
Goku was about to continue his advance now that he was sure she had hung up, but hesitated again. He then walked slowly, silently around the house so that she was in sight. Standing with her back to him, phone clenched in her hand and held to her chest. She stood there like that for a minute as he found he couldn't proceed. Then he saw why-
She was crying. It was hard to tell, she masked it skillfully even with her back facing him. But he could tell not only by the way her ki had shrunk, defenseless, unstable, but...he just knew. He couldn't explain it. Now he bit his lip. ChiChi, his strong warrior, was crying. Because of him. Maybe it wasn't the first time...he knew that much. But...but this time he was there physically. Perhaps the hurt hadn't been physical, but it made no difference. With his stomach in an uncomfortable, unfamiliar, knot, he walked forward. Well then, it was his responsibility to cheer her. Make her stop crying.
"ChiChi..." he said softly so as not to startle her. She jumped and whirled around. When she saw him, her eyes fell and she turned back. She didn't bother wiping the tears from her face.
"What is it?" She straightened, her voice as no-nonsense as she could make it, which wasn't much.
"I..." The words refused to come. He stopped behind her, close enough to reach out and touch her. He wanted to. Even he knew he wasn't exactly the most touchy-feely guy, but he knew when someone was sad enough to need company. And raising a son like Gohan, he had learned quickly when one needed another's embrace. He could tell she did, but would she want it from him?
ChiChi cleared her throat, but her voice was still beaten when she spoke. "I made arrangements for us to stay with my dad for a while, until the house is cleaned up. How we'll do that...I'm not sure."
He nodded, looking down. Ah, so that was it. A decent plan, it was just a shame it had to be used. Then he raised his head when she turned around to face him. Her cheeks were dry, but her eyes still held remnant tears, gleaming in the morning light. Lips were twisted in a mildly scolding manner. She opened her mouth to speak and he stepped a little closer, showing he was listening. What she did was remain silent, and he blinked when her arms were wrapped around him.
"What on earth am I going to do with you?" she murmured, face partly buried in his shirt. He didn't know what to say. She tightened her grip, and had he bore human strength her clawed fingers would have painfully dug into his back. What was...going on? Wasn't she mad? She didn't seem very mad. He couldn't figure out what to do with his arms until she lightly kicked his shin. "Hug back, you idiot!" She still didn't sound angry. At least not nearly as much.
Then her words registered and he quickly wrapped his own arms around her, unintentionally pinning her arms closer to her sides. He received another swift kick.
"Not so hard! You'll crush me!"
"Sorry!" He loosened his grip a tiny bit.
"'Sorry...'" she huffed a tired laugh. "That's all you'll ever be."
The next moment, she was on her tiptoes and kissing him gently. He blinked. He was so confused. But maybe he should be thankful. Maybe this meant...he was forgiven. Maybe she wouldn't kick him out of the house or worse. Maybe...just maybe it might work out.
Tossing his reluctance aside, he leaned into the kiss. It had taken a little while, but over time he had learned the art of kissing, and, judging by the way she embraced him tighter, he had aced it. They stayed like that for a solid several seconds, simply enjoying each other's company, when ChiChi pulled back softly. She gazed into his eyes with laughter in her own. Amazed laughter, astonished. That he had kissed her? He supposed it had been a while... Or baffled by his mess? He guessed that was it.
A small smile played across her lips, while hers no doubt tingled the same way his did. "Just tell me this: why did the kitchen catch fire?"
Oh... He hadn't explained himself yet, had he? Now was as good a time as any. He gave an embarrassed sideways smile.
"It was my idea. Goten agreed, but he-"
"Just tell me."
Readjusting his grip, he playfully squeezed her arm, extremely lightly. "We wanted to surprise you with breakfast."
She blinked, surprised, but didn't say anything.
"Goten suggested pancakes, so we found it in one of your books. To be honest, I'm not really sure what went wrong." He chuckled sheepishly, letting go to scratch the back of his head in his usual manner. Truthfully, he didn't know what had happened to cause the oven to go haywire, some kind of miniature explosion, fire. It was kind of blurry now.
"You...idiot." She shook her head in amazement, but a tiny smile was growing on her lips again. "You're a sweet man."
"Heh heh heh..."
Then she straightened, coming out of his hold. Her expression was strict, and she looked identical to her usual self. Goku wasn't sure whether to be glad or worried for his safety.
"Well, you've learned an extraordinarily important lesson today, haven't you?" There was a gleam in her eye as she waved a finger at him. He nodded quickly, agreeing. "Never mess with my kitchen again! Understand?"
Another set of rapid nods. Her face softened the slightest bit. "Good. Now DO NOT think you're off the hook!"
More nods, this time ashamed.
"I'll have a good handful of punishments for you and your son! You're going to wish you never set foot in that room! And on that note, WHERE IS THAT BOY?"
Goku started at her yell and looked around frantically. No Goten to be seen. He was no doubt hiding far away by now, and for obvious reasons. Goku would have sympathized, had he not been worrying about himself a little more and what was coming to him.
"Don't just stand there, bring him to me this instant! He's guilty by association!"
"Got it!" He scurried off with a wave.
"And Goku!"
"Yeah?"
ChiChi crossed her arms with a crooked smile. "I love you. Alright?"
He grinned widely. "Right!"