Untitled 2

by 80TakeshITsunA27

Not my fic. Don't read!. I just need to save this in my phone. If you want to read it visit the author DetoxAngel

1. Chapter 1

Untitled 2

By: DetoxAngel

Sorry for the lack of a title. I'm not good at those. Anyway, no summary here, just know it's the good stuff ; Enjoy, and as always, review.

Rated: Fiction M - English - Romance - Goku, Gohan - Words: 74,123 - Reviews: 27 - Favs: 80 - Follows: 18 - Published: 2/14/2012 - Status: Complete - id: 7837547

+ - Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ/GT nor do I make any money from this story.

A/N: Guys...read the author's note at the end. Important stuff down there. Look, you guys know me well enough to know that this is mostly unedited. I mean, look how long this is. Seriously? Not my lazy ass. Oh, and you might want to clear your schedule for this one. Enjoy. Perverts.

One of the many downsides of being home-schooled by your mother was that when there was a problem you couldn't solve, said mother was nowhere in sight. Gone, to be exact. And not just out to the grocery store or on an errand or at a friend's house. Gone. As in not coming back. As in he either had to go without help or ask his father for it. There was a problem with that. His father would have no idea what he was talking about when he tried to explain the problem. He just didn't get that kind of education growing up. All he got was basics and the problem was much more complicated than basics could solve.

The last six of them were like this one and if he couldn't get past them he wouldn't get past any of them. The thing about doing college-level work was that when your own parents didn't have even a high school diploma between them you were often stuck finding the solutions the hard way or by yourself. Luckily, with Bulma as a friend he didn't suffer that too often.

"I guess that means I'm done for the day." He would have to go find Bulma later but she was at a convention in America and wouldn't return for a few more days yet. And not that his father was dumb or anything, but Gohan imagined that it wouldn't feel very good for the man to see just how much he didn't know and that he couldn't help.

"Okay," he mumbled and stood. If he was lucky he could catch his dad for a spar before he went to find Vegeta. Vegeta... Oh how he hated that man. The Prince was detestably cold and very much so to his father. Every time the asshole insulted his dad, Gohan wanted to beat his royal teeth into the back of his head.

He walked quietly into the living room, grabbing the phone off the wall as he went. Then he spotted a bowl. Picking it up, he wondered why it was there, but shrugged, deciding to just drop it off in the sink. He turned, looking down at the phone and began to dial the number for Capsule Corp, hoping to find Dr. Briefs.

He was startled enough to drop the phone and the bowl when he ran into something hard. The turn he had made was so direct and sharp that his face hit the hardness dead on and he stumbled back in surprise so quickly he tripped.

"Woah!" the thing he hit exclaimed with a laugh. When he felt the arm around his back to keep him from falling he jerked forward and hit the hard thing again.

Goku chuckled and caught the bowl with one hand, wrapping the other around his son's torso and pulling the boy into him. His smile widened at the surprised gasp Gohan gave.

"Aw, did I scare you? I'm sorry." The teen looked shocked for a moment. Shaking his head, he pulled himself back and opened his mouth to excuse himself when he realized that his father was still holding him. Closely. There was nothing he could do to combat the blush that arose in his face and he ducked his forehead down to hide it.

"Awww," Goku rubbed his boy's head then let him go to pick up the phone.

"Daaad!" Gohan growled indignantly through his teeth. His heart was still trying to calm itself after being scared nearly out of his wits. He hated when Goku did that. He didn't know what was up with the older Saiyan's habit of sneaking up on him. He would always say he was sorry and then would do it again a few days later. Gohan had told him that he didn't like it (he really didn't) and though his father always claimed that it wasn't his intention to scare him, clearly, it was. And it obviously amused him.

"I'm sorry!" Goku protested. He wasn't sorry at all. It never got old seeing the reactions Gohan had when he was caught off guard. He would then become flustered, because he fell for it every time, and depending on his mood would whine, hiss, or growl, "Daaad!" and it was so damn cute that Goku continued despite how much Gohan didn't like it.

"No you're not!" the boy snapped, rubbing the side of his head.

"I thought you were gone," he continued, taking the bowl and going past him into the kitchen, trying not to let the other see that he was still blushing.

"Were you looking for me?" Goku picked an apple up from a basket on the middle of the table and bit into it with a crunch so loud that Gohan actually winced. How the man kept catching him with his guard down was a mystery.

"Finish all your homework?" The voice behind him was obviously full of apple and it took him a few seconds to understand that he had been asked a question.

"Oh...well, I ran into a few problems...and..."

His father swallowed his bite of apple and looked at him.

Gohan was on the verge of blushing again. Why wasn't his dad saying anything?

"A-and..." He swallowed.

Goku silently waited for him to continue, holding the apple up to his face but not taking a bite.

'Crap', Gohan thought. 'I have to lie'

"I didn't want to bother you. Especially not if you're about to go spar with Vegeta." The lie felt terrible. He knew better; that Goku would drop everything in a heartbeat to help him with anything he needed help with.

Goku blinked. "Yeah," he said. "Uhhh...I'm not going to see Vegeta today. Is it anything I could help you with?"

'Oh man,' Gohan silently groused. "Um...you know...no, n-not really..."

"Okay. Wish I could help," his father said in a sunny voice and went back to snacking on the apple.

He didn't look offended, the boy noted. He didn't sound offended. Gohan wanted to sigh his relief but didn't. No good could have come from him having to elaborate.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to go swimming with me down by the lake."

Swimming?

"Krillin will be there, too." he quickly added, seeing the brief flash of uncertainty in his son's eyes.

"Oh. Sure. I wasn't doing anything else."

"Cool." Goku smiled at the teen. Gohan was so adorable when he was nervous. Of course he knew that a lot of the stuff his son was studying were things he never got to learn (and had zero interest in) and that Gohan never wanted to upset him. Gohan was a good kid and there was very little the boy could do to make him upset with him.

Sometimes, he wondered if his son would be that way if he asked for a kiss. He would say, "Give daddy a kiss," like he used to when the demi-Saiyan was younger, and maybe he would be the one upsetting Gohan and rightly so, because he really did want to kiss him in a way that would upset a lot of people.

He went upstairs to take a shower and thought about what kissing his cute son would be like. Would Gohan blush? Oh yeah, definitely. Goku could always make him blush. Sometimes, when he was in the shower, or in his bedroom alone, he would think about why the boy blushed so much around him. He never did it so much around anyone else, not even his mother. Could it be so bad to fantasize that the teen might...Yes. It would. It would be terrible, because that was the sort of thing that he should never take advantage of, if such a thing could ever happen, which he refused to think it could. He knew he shouldn't be thinking such sick thoughts about a child, his own no less, but he couldn't deny his feelings and felt that as long as nobody, especially Gohan, ever found out, that it was no crime to accept them. That was the sort of thing that came and went, and the time in between should be left alone. Not, of course, that Gohan would ever feel that way, because if he ever blushed after a kiss it would and should be followed by a punch.

Finishing his shower, he stepped out and began drying himself off in front of the mirror. As he was dabbing the towel on his chest, he paused and stared at himself. He was 34 years old, but didn't look as old as he sometimes felt. Apparently, that was one of the perks of being an alien from a bloodthirsty fighting race.

He was tall, but he'd seen taller. His body was somewhere between bulky and lean and was hard and muscled from a lifetime of training. His face was... painfully plain. His hair was shorter now, because of a bad, fuzzy incident that mixed three things nobody should ever mix: a party thrown by Bulma, a lot of alcohol, and an electric razor. It wasn't so bad but he had gone for the first time in his life to get a haircut and found that he preferred it the way it was before. At least it made his pale face look somewhat more interesting.

He sighed. Gohan read those little colorful tween magazine things all the time and there were beautiful young girls his son's age on nearly every page. And the boys weren't exactly a burden to look at either, not that he was interested in young boys, however, what he was interested in was much more complicated than that.

He touched his face. There were times when he considered growing a beard or a mustache. His cheeks had seen nary one whisker in his entire adult life, but if Krillin could get hair on his head, then he guessed stranger things were possible. What stopped him was Gohan. A few months ago he had asked his son what he thought about the idea. Those big, shiny, dark eyes widened and his mouth dropped. "No way," he had said, and shook his head a little harder than Goku thought was necessary. "Nooo way." Well damn. He thought it was a good idea.

He looked at himself in the mirror a little longer. Then looked at his hands. They weren't exactly the hands of a lover. They were rough and calloused and dry at times. His fingernails...well, he bit them so often they looked as bad as the rest of his hands.

He didn't think he was a bad looking guy. Just plain. Normal. Average. But Gohan. That boy was going to break hearts when he got to be his old man's age, hell, he was capable of it now. He got his beauty and brains from his mother and inherited his brute strength and the not-so-wonderful ability to turn into a giant, violent ape from him. He sighed again.

His boy didn't go to school. He wanted to, and Goku was thinking about it, but ChiChi hadn't wanted him to begin until the tenth grade, which was practically around the corner but he wasn't too fond of the idea, sure that Gohan would be sucked into the realm of normalcy that he had never had and be lost to him forever.

Crap, now he was being dramatic. But he knew. He knew all about the parties and drugs and alcohol and sex and cruelty that came with being a normal teenager and though Gohan could surely take care of himself, the pull of a normal life, free from fighting aliens and being bored to tears at home with his old man and never having friends his own age...

How could he, twice the boy's age, an...old person in comparison...how could he beat that? Gohan was nice, always. He would never bother him for anything (not that he could) and Goku knew how much he wanted to go to school. He needed help with his studies and nobody was around to help him.

Goku bit his bottom lip lightly. He was pretty useless.

He quickly dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist and left the bathroom and was almost to his room, his hand on the doorknob, when who but his son caught him.

"Hey Dad, should I bring some lu...u-um...ahem... lunch? Sorry." He quickly turned around and as if that weren't enough, he put a hand over his eyes.

Goku stopped and made a face. Nobody wanted to see either of their parents half naked. Of course.

"Yeah, you could if you want to, but I was hoping we could go out to the city for lunch. We haven't been out there in a while." He hoped Gohan wouldn't mind hanging out. "Take out, if you like," he continued. "And then we can go to the fair. I heard it was out in Nickytown." Shit, a fair, really? Gohan was too old for that, he supposed. What teenager wanted to go to a fair with their dad these days?

"Really? The fair?" Gohan sounded excited and that made him surprised. Was he just being overly receptive or did he really want to go?

"I guess it seems kiddie-ish, but I don't know what teenaged boys do these days. The mall is pretty boring when you don't buy anything," he smiled, "Well it's boring period."

Gohan grinned from nearly the end of the hallway. He hadn't gotten any closer when he saw his father in just the towel. He had gotten the briefest of glances when he'd walked up the stairs and only turned away out of courtesy but he wasn't that courteous because to see his dad half naked wasn't exactly a hardship.

"I would never go to the mall to hang out," he said. It was hard not to turn and look at his father's chest. "The fair sounds awesome..." he trailed off. "Is Krillin coming with us there, too?" He didn't bother to hide the hope in his voice. It was bad enough he had to share.

Goku wanted to open his door, step inside, and talk to the teen from the safety of his room, but Gohan didn't seem to mind carrying on a conversation with him while he stood in just a towel. Even if he wouldn't look at him. "Well, no, I was kind of hoping it could be just us."

'Why can't it be just us at the lake'? Gohan didn't turn. It was like talking to a stranger, he felt so disengaged. He wanted to face Goku and talk, but if he did, he would make the grievous error of trying to see more than he should.

"Okay, Dad, let me just grab a shower and get dressed." He turned and dropped his hand. He had to look. Goku was standing there watching him, still half naked and still with his hand on the knob. He quickly drew his eyes down and up the man's form then disappeared into his room. He closed the door and began gathering his things for his shower. His bathroom was attached to his room, his room having been the master bedroom before his mother moved out, and he had never been more grateful for that.

Stripping his clothes, he looked over himself and wondered if his body would be like his dad's when he got older. He wondered if his dad even knew how beautiful his body was.

"I doubt it," he muttered to himself. He loved his father but the man was painfully naïve at times, especially about certain things. And that too was both a blessing a little bit of a curse.

He turned on the water and hopped in before it heated up.

Gohan hadn't spent too much quality time with his father since the Cell Games had ended and his mother left them alone. The very thought of seeing the man in swimming trunks spurred him to hasten. The sooner they started their fun day, the better.

As he scrubbed, his mind wandered. The air between he and his dad seemed so stiff nowadays. It was either awkward or nerve-wracking or worse yet, like there was some invisible divider between them, keeping his father out of his business and him out of his father's. He knew his excuse, but what was Goku's? The man spent a lot of time training or sparring with Vegeta or hanging out with his other friends, but he seemed to avoid being too affectionate with him.

Before they went to Namek and fought Frieza, Goku always played with him and hugged him and rubbed his head. They went camping, skinny dipped and took barrel-baths together. Then his father returned and he started letting his wife do the hugging and affection while he trained and fought. He let ChiChi do whatever she wanted and there were times when Gohan was disappointed in the man that he wouldn't let him have fun like they used to.

They had the 'you're becoming a man' talk three months ago and all through it he felt like they were drifting apart. Goku was being more distant than he had ever been in Gohan's life. It wasn't that he was ignoring him or not giving him any attention, but a lot of the time it was kind of...awkward around the house. He wasn't sure in what way it was awkward, but it was.

He knew what to do. Today, he was going to demand that they do more things together. He wasn't going to ask, he was going to tell. His father wouldn't say no.

Gohan spent the rest of his shower time thinking of activities they could do together. When he got out, he hurriedly dried off and snatched on a pair of trunks, denim shorts, and a tanktop and practically flew down the stairs.

Goku was already waiting, wearing beige lightweight khaki shorts and a sleeveless black t-shirt and black sneakers. "You sure move quick, son, you must be excited to go out."

Gohan smiled up at him. "It's been a long time since we have," he said, and walked over to the door to open it.

Goku's own grin slipped but he caught himself and asked, "Do you have your swimming trunks?"

"Yeah, under my pants." The boy turned from the open door and looked at him. Giving him the exact same look he received in the hallway, he said, "You look good, Dad," and walked outside.

Gohan squinted his eyes against the sun and took a deep breath of fresh air. It was a beautiful day, perfect for swimming. He, however, would have preferred to be alone with his father, but Krillin was a nice guy and was very funny. He wondered if Krillin did more things with his dad than he did. Probably. And if that was the case then it was a problem.

"Do you want to walk there?" The lake wasn't far from their house and it was a nice day. A little stroll through the woods wouldn't hurt.

"Okay." It was at least a fifteen minute walk and Gohan wasn't about to walk it all in silence. "Dad," he started, looking at the man.

"Yeah?"

He took a deep breath and his imploring look morphed into a slight glare. "We're going to do stuff like this more often," he announced. "We're going to start going camping again, and having picnics and fishing, and hunting, and going to amusement parks and fairs, and the movies, and all that other stuff and we're going to have lots of fun and then come home and hang out some more. We're going to do it at least five days a week because when I start school this fall we won't have as much time."

"Okay?" he finished, crossing his arms.

Goku was surprised with the sudden demands his son was issuing. Where had all of that come from? Was Gohan trying to tell him that they didn't spend enough time together?

"Um...okay," he nodded, just wanting the frown to leave the teen's face. Did Gohan think that he might say no, was that why he put his request in the form of demands rather than questions?

"Great!" Gohan's face broke into a smile again and he hugged the older Saiyan tightly.

Goku watched him and grunted when the boy squeezed him harder. It appeared he wasn't the only one that severely missed the times they used to have together. He had been thinking that Gohan might have felt that he was getting too old to play with him and that he wouldn't even if he were asked. Clearly, he didn't know his son as well as he thought.

On the way to the lake they talked about Gohan's upcoming school year and new life as a high-schooler

and meeting girls and shopping for school supplies. The kid was ecstatic and Goku was happy to see him happy even though he was skeptical about it.

"Hey guys!" a voice called from a little ways in front of the them. Gohan squinted and made out the short form of Krillin, one of his father's best friends and a man he had personally come to like as his third favorite person.

"Krillin!" Gohan yelled and ran toward the little man. Krillin laughed and stood up. The boy barreled right into him and knocked him back down.

"Woah, little man, you're getting a little too big to be doing that. In case you haven't noticed, some of us haven't been blessed with sudden growth spurts," the noseless man complained half-heartedly.

The trio spent an a hour catching up and telling stories and though Gohan didn't have a lot to say, he enjoyed hearing his father laugh and Krillin do his crazy dances and voice imitations. Meanwhile, the sun was beating down something fierce on them and Goku suggested they go for a swim.

By the time they decided to get in the water, the teen was feeling hungry. He hadn't eaten since the early morning and was looking forward to going to get some takeout with his Dad. He was both pleased and a little regretful that Krillin wasn't going but he was more pleased.

"Listen, Goku, I don't want to play that shark game again. I don't appreciate being yanked underwater when I'm trying to relax. Besides, you always pull so hard," Krillin stated before they got in the water. Goku only laughed and for that the shorter man gave him a hot glare. His friend stopped smiling.

"Okay, okay, you got it," he said, and looked at Gohan. He winked and smiled and Krillin accused them of plotting something against him, though Gohan knew nothing of any plotting or why his dad winked at him.

"You better not encourage him to do anything that involves ruining my day!" But Gohan thought that very little could ruin the day and Krillin was just as dramatic as usual. They shed their clothing down to their trunks and each cannonballed into the lake.

An hour was spent frolicking about in the clear water, cooling and having swim races that of course Goku won all of. Once or twice the taller man attempted to ambush Krillin and drag him down underwater, but either Gohan's snickers gave it away, or every time the oldest lost sight of his friend, he would get worried and start looking around. The teen couldn't help but think that his father had a mischievous streak of some kind what with the way he liked to jump and ambush and scare people but was happy to see that it wasn't just him on the receiving end of such juvenile acts of mischief.

"I don't get to do this often," Krillin said, floating by on his back after having told Goku to cut out trying to drown him again, "Eighteen hates it that we still live with Master Roshi and demanded, not asked, mind you, demanded, that I build us a house. And you know, I'm all for that, but I've never built a house before. I mean, I guess it can't be that hard, I think all I have to do..."

Krillin about talked their ears off, or at least that was how Gohan felt. He liked Krillin, but the little man sure could yap. He guessed it was because he and his dad hadn't seen each other in a while and they had a lot to catch up on. Speaking of catching up, the more the noseless fighter talked, the hungrier Gohan got and all he could think about was catching up with his father in front of some delicious buffet in the city.

"Dad?" he cut in when Krillin took a moment to laugh.

Goku stopped grinning and looked at the boy as if he had just noticed that he was there. "What's up?"

"I don't mean to interrupt, but are we gonna eat soon? I kinda haven't had anything si-

"Grrrraaawwgg!" his stomach loudly interjected.

Krillin went silent. All that could be heard were the birds chirping. Then his father burst out laughing and Krillin joined him, then, after a hesitant moment, the source of the embarrassing growl giggled a little until the three of them were whooping with laughter.

"My goodness, Gohan, I haven't heard a stomach cry out for food that loud since the time Goku was training with Kami and couldn't eat until he had finished! It was almost a whole day!"

Gohan blushed but managed to hold in the snort of laughter.

The tall Saiyan chuckled and rubbed the boy's head. "Yeah, I did say we were going to eat, huh? Krillin, I'd like to invite you, but I know you'll be busy and Gohan and I kinda wanted to have some father/son time out on the town."

"Oh? Yeah, sure, I better get going now anyway before Eighteen gets into one of her...rougher moods," Krillin said with a grimace.

The short human jumped out of the water and pulled on his clothes. "But I hope you guys can come over for dinner sometime. Eighteen wants to see Gohan, you know, she likes him a lot, but I think she only wants to fight him, haha."

They said their goodbyes and then Goku turned to his son. "Did you have fun so far?"

The dark-haired teen nodded and picked up his clothes. He didn't want to put them back on. "Krillin is always fun and once I get some food in my stomach, I'll be having an even better time."

As they flew back to the house, Goku occasionally glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the younger Saiyan, observing his face as the wind whipped through his hair. It was the shortest Goku had ever seen it, but then again, after being teased in the park for looking like a girl (sadly it was true) when he wore his hair longer, he wasn't surprised that Gohan immediately chopped it all off the same day. Goku himself had never wanted to do anything with his own hair because he was never concerned about the way he looked, but having been forced to cut it, he didn't mind that their hair looked the same, but he thought his boy looked a lot better with the style. Then again, Gohan looked a lot better in anything.

Gohan meanwhile, couldn't feel that he was being watched, too busy enjoying the cool air against his skin. He was also occupied with thoughts of food and spending quality time with his dad and for the first time in a long time going out and having fun.

When they landed, the boy took off into the house and to his room to change his clothes in an excited rush and Goku went to do the same at a more leisurely pace, though he was a little excited too. In under five minutes they met in the kitchen and Goku put a black baseball cap on.

"I like these," he said, referring to the cap, "I don't get much excuses to wear them."

Gohan told him it looked cool on him. It was the first time Goku had worn a cap since he got his haircut.

As they flew toward Nickytown, it became clear to Gohan that Goku had nothing to say or wasn't going to say anything anytime soon. Almost half of the trip had been silent. He decided he would strike up a conversation.

"Dad." He turned to look at his father to see the man's eyes already on him.

"Yeah, son?" Goku averted his gaze ahead of him when Gohan caught him looking.

"I've been thinking; we don't really...well, you don't really talk to me a lot. And we should find more to talk about. We could go to the movies and watch T.V together and talk about girls and do guy stuff, you know? I want to be able to always have something to talk to my dad about, without having to struggle to come up with conversation. I'd like it if you made more of an effort to do stuff with me and talk to me, even if you think I won't like it. One day, just come up with something for us to do, out of the blue, stop me when I'm studying and take me somewhere, talk my ear off if you're lonely or just wanna vent about something. We could talk about anything, right? Because this," he said, gesturing between them, "is not okay. I don't know what happened with us since Mom left, but it doesn't have to be that way. We could be friends, I hope. I say, feel free to talk to me about anything. I'm 15 now. I'm not a kid anymore. It won't be long before I'm all grown up, and then you'll have missed the best years of my life. Do you want that, Dad?"

Goku shook his head. He didn't want that at all. He did want to do all of those things. But ChiChi didn't want him. His friends didn't talk to him much anymore, and his life lacked purpose and direction. He assumed that his son wouldn't want to hang around with someone as boring as he was, who didn't have a job, wasn't very smart, and couldn't keep their family together. And now the boy was demanding all of the things he didn't think he would want and he really didn't want to miss anymore than he already had. Gohan was beginning school soon and by default that would greatly reduce their time together and make things worse. If Gohan wanted all of that with him, then who was he to say no?

He wanted to say that he was sorry for all of that, but he knew that it wouldn't matter. All he could do was whatever Gohan wanted and enjoy him while he was around. He instead decided he would talk to him about why things had been the way they were now and how it was never his intention to deprive the kid of anything; just the opposite. He wanted Gohan to be happy.

They were descending on the city now and from about 1,600 feet in the air they could already see the ferris wheel from the Nickytown Fair. In a secluded forest park was where they landed and walked the short way to the street.

"I wanna eat at Burger World!" Gohan told him.

"Oh yeah, why there?" Goku asked.

"They say that Burger World has the shortest preparation and serving time, so not only will we not have to wait long, but we can have more food in a shorter period of time."

Now that was a Saiyan talking. Goku chuckled.

Burger World was not in the part of the city they were in, so they had to board a bus. Gohan had very seldom been on buses and liked this part of their day together just as much as he would have if they had driven there. His father paid their fare and they went to sit in the back, where the larger windows were and the entire trip Gohan was looking out of one, pointing and talking. Goku was pleased to hear the excitement in his voice and how interesting he found even the smallest things. At one point Gohan saw a cute little animal, a dog, and commented on how that might be a good thing for them to get.

"A pet...I've never thought about having one. Well, I guess we could if you really wanted to."

Across from where they were sitting, there was a girl about Gohan's age staring at his son as the boy chattered on. She seemed to be trying to get a frontal view of his face, but Gohan was still turned away and looking out the window. The girl looked to be alone as he didn't see anyone near her who looked like they knew her much less could be her parents. Gohan turned around and sat properly in his chair and inevitably caught sight of the girl watching him. He stared.

"L..Lime?" he said uncertainly, squinting at her. Goku watched them. His son knew this girl?

"Gohan... It is you!" The girl grinned and moved from her seat to a spot adjacent to them, closest to Gohan.

"Oh wow, Lime, I haven't seen you in like, forever! How have you been?" As they talked, Goku tuned them out and looked out the window. This was how it was supposed to be. Gohan was supposed to be talking to girls and whatever else boys his age did nowadays. As the two teens chattered on, he eventually got bored with looking out the window and looked at them.

"Lime, I didn't introduce you to my Dad," Gohan said. The girl smiled at him.

"I'm Lime. Wow, Gohan looks just like you."

To that Gohan said "More and more all the time, people say. Lucky me."

Goku laughed because he didn't know exactly what that meant or if there was any playful sarcasm in the statement. He wouldn't be surprised if there was. Why should Gohan want to look like him as he got older?

"Yeah, lucky you," the girl repeated, then jumped out of her seat. "My stop." She hugged Gohan. "I hope I see you around again soon, and it was nice meeting you Gohan's Dad." Goku gave her a smile and a short wave and watched her bound off the bus.

Gohan started talking to him about who the girl was and how the two had met. Goku only half listened. Gohan seemed excited about her and he was saying something about hoping the girls in school would be as cute as her.

"That's great, son. Our stop is next." He didn't want to spend all day talking about girls. Gohan stopped talking and they got off the bus. The bus had dropped them off right in front of a huge shopping district and they stepped off into a ridiculous crowd. People were rudely pushing past them in their hurry to get wherever it was they were going and they were the only two who seemed to be the least bit bothered by the hustle and bustle.

"I think Burger World is somewhere in this mall." He was pretty sure the mall had not been there the last time he'd been in the area with Bulma.

Gohan shrugged. With all the people squishing and pushing past them, he would have the perfect excuse to hold his father's hand. He did just that. "Let's stick together," he said. "I bet you could lose a house in this crowd." He felt like a little kid again holding his Dad's hand, but he didn't care, it felt good.

Goku felt the happy little rush go through him when his son's hand slid into his own. They hadn't held hands since Gohan was six years old and his boy's hand was soft as silk and felt small and fragile in his own, but he knew that those same hands were every bit as deadly as his own rough and calloused ones.

After some pushing of their own, they managed to get into the mall and the first thing they saw was the large scale model of the planet Earth with the words "Burger World" wrapped around it like an orbiting ring.

"Well, that wasn't very hard," Goku said.

"But look at all these people."

Goku looked. There were as many people entering and already inside of the place as there was outside of the mall. Back when Burger World was just a single, lone restaurant, perhaps just a third of the people there now was the customer base. Now the owners had expanded the eatery to more than triple it's original size to attract more people in the mall, effectively killing their lunch plans.

"Oh...yeah we're going to have to eat somewhere else-

"Great, let's have a picnic!" Gohan cut in eagerly.

Goku was surprised by how quickly Gohan responded. "A picnic, huh? After we came all this way...Sure!"

Gohan whooped and pumped his fists. If he seemed overly excited it was because he was. They were going to picnic near the lake, where they would get in the water and where Krillin wouldn't be around and he would have the sight of his father's yummy body all to himself.

"We could do that, but by the time we're done, the fair would be closed," Goku told him. It was true. It was Sunday and the fair would close at six and it was four in the afternoon.

Gohan didn't give it much thought. He shrugged happily and chirped, "Oh well!" and grabbed his father's hand again. "We can go on Monday. It'll still be around. Let's go to the supermarket and get stuff for our picnic. But preferably not this supermarket." They were still being pushed and if they went into the supermarket at the mall, they probably wouldn't get out until it was dark.

By the time they got the stuff for their picnic, Goku's stomach was crying out in hunger. He didn't know about his son, but he was far too hungry not to have a snack before they left.

"Hey, you want to get a couple of hotdogs. I'm almost dead of hunger."

"I thought I was the only one. I want shishkabob!" Gohan practically dragged him to a hotdog stand, where they proceeded to shut the poor vendor down with their order. The man looked at then like they were insane when Goku told him that they wanted all of the hotdogs and shishkabob in his kart and that these things were just a snack for them. He gave them their food and drinks in a cardboard basket and happily counted his money.

The two ate their small meal while they walked in silence, balancing their grocery bags and their food basket. When they were finished, Goku said, "Let's just fly back home. I don't have any more change for the bus."

Gohan didn't mind. The quicker the better.

When they got home, Goku loaded one of the sandwich-making servobots with meats and bread and started on a cooler of juice while Gohan filled four baskets with fruit, chips, and paper plates and cups. This was going to be fun, he thought to himself as he worked. He hadn't been on a picnic with anyone in years and he was ecstatic to spend the rest of the day with his Dad, half-naked and happier than he'd been in a long time.

They were at the lake in the next ten minutes where they proceeded to unpack the baskets of food and set them out on a cliché red and white checkered picnic blanket. They set up quickly so that they could eat and Goku took off his shirt and sat down. Gohan surreptitiously enjoyed the view as he started with an apple. He, like his dad, loved apples.

"This is nice," Goku said.

Gohan nodded. A lot of things were nice, but he was sure Goku was talking about being together. That was the nicest thing of all to him. He didn't want to have a silent picnic, so he figured he would start up another conversation, but then his father beat him to it.

"Do you wish you mother was here," he asked out of nowhere.

Gohan shrugged. Would it be mean of him to say he didn't care either way?

"I like it when it's just you and me," he responded and smiled to show his point.

It wasn't that he didn't miss his mother, he missed her a lot, but it was her choice to move to the city and find herself or whatever she was doing. She apparently decided she was wasting herself being the wife of a nice, but not terribly bright (or so she thought) man who just fought, died, hunted, and fought all the time in a tiny little cottage so far from civilization the world didn't even know she existed and she needed them to know that she did.

Goku let her go; what else could he do? What was good for the goose was not always good for the gander, he had said to Gohan about it. But Gohan was glad to be rid of certain idiosyncrasies his mother displayed when it came to him. She was a good person, but Gohan had doubts about that when it came to molding him into being anything that was nothing like his father, and he wanted to be like his Dad. He saw her often, but he tried to keep it at a minimum because she was still his mother and she still didn't want him to be like his father and she still wanted his life to be dominated by school and being a scholar and he didn't want that. She adjusted strangely well to breaking their family apart. Perhaps it was the Saiyan in him that managed to get on in spite of that, he didn't know, but he would rather things be the way they were now, him and his father alone, than the way it used to be. As far as he was concerned, he would always have a mother and as long as they kept in amiable contact, he didn't see the harm in keeping it that way.

"Me too. Say, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Gohan was chewing so he nodded.

"Would you mind having to fly all the way to school in the city everyday?"

The boy shrugged again, swallowing. He didn't care either way. Flying was okay and he didn't think he would like living in the city, if that was what his dad was getting at. If he did have a problem, the only way to solve it would be to move closer to the school and he wasn't sure he wanted that.

"Nope," he said, reaching for the basket. "Short of moving, what else could I do about it anyway? Did you want to move?"

"No, I was just curious." He watched the man drink one of the eight cans of beer that he brought. Goku's head was tilted back as he filled his parched throat with the liquid so Gohan was able to stare fairly unnoticed at his adam's apple as it bobbed with each swallow, the strong cords in his neck, his jaw, his closed eyes-

"Want some?"

'Man', Gohan thought, 'I didn't think he could see me!'

"Uh...no, I'm good." But he was curious. He did want some.

Goku looked at him for a while longer and then extended the arm of the hand holding the beer toward him. "Yes you do. You were watching me drink it pretty intently. Are you curious about the taste?"

Nobody could ever say his father was not observant. He hesitantly took the can and resisted the urge to sniff the contents. He glanced back up at Goku. Was he really going to let him drink it?

"Go on, a little won't hurt."

He tried it. His face scrunched up. "I don't see what's so good about it. It's kinda nasty. Why do you drink this?"

Goku smirked, then frowned, then shrugged. "No clue really. Master Roshi drank it a lot. Said real men drink beer. I guess I believed him at the time but of course I don't believe that now, I just drink it because I've acquired a taste for it. After you drink it long enough, it doesn't taste so bad, especially when it's cold."

Gohan shook his head and they ate their food in silence. When about half the baskets were empty, Gohan stood up and stretched. "Let's go swimming now!"

"Okay, I guess I've had enough for now. We could leave some for later." Without standing, Goku unbuttoned and unzipped his shorts. Gohan swallowed and looked away to take his own clothes off.

"It's probably going to be a great night. Good for skinny-dipping." Gohan turned pale. Skinny-dipping? With who?

Goku tossed aside his shorts and hat. "You okay, son?"

"Huh?"

"You looked a little...I don't know." He cocked his head to the side. What...of course. He said skinny-dipping and that must have inspired thoughts of seeing him naked and so Gohan obviously did not appreciate whatever pictures accompanied this suggestion. Poor kid.

"Oh, are you concerned about skinny-dipping? Oh, I wouldn't do that to you, son. I was just saying. I used to...nevermind. Hopefully a good swim will make you feel better. No one will be naked," he laughed. It wasn't his intention to mention skinny-dipping as a way of seeing Gohan naked or Gohan seeing him naked. He used to do it all the time. ChiChi always yelled at him for his "deplorable lack of modesty" and loudly assured him that not everybody was comfortable being naked or seeing other people naked. He didn't get it but perhaps it was a bad idea to suggest to Gohan now that he thought about it.

"Sorry." he said.

Gohan just shrugged and said, "It's cool. I just thought about how Mom never liked us being naked unless we were in the shower or in the middle of changing clothes. I haven't done it in such a long time, I'm just kind of surprised you'd bring it up. It's not bad, she isn't here to tell us what to do anymore. There's nothing to be sorry about." But God, that was close. To see his father naked was going to be too much to handle for him, especially if he were naked too. How would he hide his reaction?

It seemed like a green light to casually suggest it again, but Goku decided not to. Gohan was just being nice. Despite thinking this, he couldn't help but remember the way the teen had looked at him when they were talking in the hallway before he went into his room. He had gone from making every effort not to look to simply turning around and shamelessly allowing himself to get an eyeful. He wasn't about to jump to any conclusions about it, but it was odd. Maybe it was all in his mind. Maybe Gohan was thinking of saying something else to him, but thought better of it, or maybe he wanted to see if he had anything else to say to him. It would be stupid to think that Gohan wanted to look, then or now.

"Okay." He put on a bright grin and put one foot behind the other in a stance as if he were prepared to run. "Race you in." The lake was actually a few yards away. They had decided to eat in the shade of the trees and the trees were far enough from the water that they could have a little race there.

"You're on!"

They took off and for the first three yards, Goku was obviously winning. Gohan quickly devised a plan.

"Dad!" he yelled in alarm a yard away from the water. He stopped as abruptly as he could and knelt down. His father stopped quickly and spun around and instantly got into an alert fighting stance, eyes darting about for a threat before resting on his son.

"What's wrong?" Goku ran over and crouched next to the boy. A pained look was on his face.

"I...I..." he tried to sound as pathetic as possible. "I was running and..."

Goku put a hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"

All of a sudden Gohan sprung up to his feet and dashed toward the lake. "You fell for it, that's what happened! Haha!" He jumped off the edge and canonballed into the water with a high pitched whoop.

Goku blinked once, then twice, then his mind wrapped around what had just transpired. Why that sneaky little...

"Oh ho...good one," he muttered under his breath and walked the rest of the way to the water. Gohan was definitely going to pay for that one.

Meanwhile, Gohan was giggling in the water, leisurely back paddling to the middle of the lake. He was in a playful mood and it had been a long time since the two of them had played anything. He knew that revenge was brewing in his father's head and that he had to keep his guard up. Anyone that knew his dad knew that the man could be a surprisingly vengeful and cunning person. He had seen with his own eyes the things the older Saiyan did for revenge. Of course, Goku would never hurt him, but he could be sure that the man was plotting at the very least.

He hiked his eyebrows once at him and smirked deviously. He could be pretty cunning too, as his father just witnessed. At least he knew where he got it from.

"You cheated," Goku stated, stepping into the cool liquid.

"Did I?"

"Yeah. You did."

"Did I cheat, or did you fall for a trick? I tricked you. If you hadn't fallen for it, I wouldn't have won the race. It was your choice to fall victim to my ploy. So it's not my fault you lost, it's actually yours." Gohan's smirked never went away as he talked but he watched carefully as his father approached him slowly, calmly. Plotting.

There was only the tiniest hint of a smile on Goku's lips as he got closer to his son. By the look in the teen's eyes, he knew something was coming. He knew he was planning something. He was on the defense. But he couldn't be all day. He would expect for the situation to be left behind when they left the lake. But patience was a virtue, and he had plenty of that. So, for now, he was going to bide his time and wait it out and Gohan would never see it coming.

"You got me, son. I did fall for it, that was pretty gullible of me. I'll let you slide on that one, because that was a good trick. I still say you cheated, but I can live with it."

Gohan was still wary and didn't buy that 'you got me, let's let bygones be bygones' crap for a second. Revenge was coming to him. Be it then, later, tomorrow, it was coming. That meant that he would either have to be on constant guard, which he couldn't do, or simply wait to get what was coming to him. Yes, his dad was definitely a crafty one. Now all he could do was wait until Goku decided to exact his revenge.

He just watched as Goku got closer until he was in front of him. His father only splashed him playfully, but he flinched anyway. The little smile on Goku's face changed into a smirk.

"Hey, I'm not going to do anything to you." Yet. Gohan didn't look convinced. He splashed him again, and this time, he was splashed back. After a few increasingly forceful splashes it turned into a sparring match in the water, which lasted a short half an hour before they stopped to eat again.

As they got out of the water, Goku couldn't help but glance sidelong at the teen. For a moment he pretended to be rubbing his face of water while he did so as Gohan stood with his swimming trunks plastered to his legs, his hair slick and a light bruise on the left side of his face. God, he was beautiful. He was wet and huffing and smiling. He was... radiant, it seemed, in the descending sunlight. The boy turned his head and caught his eye and he smiled at him, then looked away.

He had to stop thinking about it. If he never got the thought of what it would be like just to run his hands down that young, firm, wonderful young body out of his head it was because of very unplanned and very painful moments like this. If Gohan hadn't been offed by the thought of skinny dipping, he would have been in real trouble. He cleared his throat and moved back to their camp to sit so that he could berate himself.

Gohan was also inconspicuously watching his father but didn't have to be to feel the man's mood shift negatively. They were having such a good time, he wondered what was wrong. Was his dad feeling nostalgic? Is that why he was looking at him and his mood went downhill?

"Dad?"

Goku had sensed that he was about to be questioned about his mood. Perceptive little guy almost never missed a thing.

"I'm fine, son. I just...sometimes I just think of silly things. Well, not silly, but...impossible."

It probably happens to lonely people all the time.

He had been alone for a long time. Even with ChiChi, he was his own person. He never felt like a half of a whole, it was always just him. When Gohan was born, it was supposed to be a fulfilling thing, having a baby. It was supposed to make him feel like a missing part of him was found. It did. For a long time. For years. Now he just felt empty and lonely and sick and he knew he deserved it. Maybe it was because he never took the dark-haired human woman seriously, because his son wasn't conceived out of love. He cared for ChiChi, at the time. He still, by the time they had their honeymoon, didn't know what marriage was, what being a husband and wife was all about, why having babies seemed to excite his childhood friend so much. The idea of settling down was too strange to comprehend.

He made a promise to her that he would try but he lasted all of five years before he broke his promise and almost fourteen years before he broke her heart. He should have felt guilty and ashamed to do such a thing. ChiChi was a good woman. But he never loved her. He had tried, but the feeling never quite stuck with him. Maybe this was a punishment. Of all the people to ever have these confusing feelings about, to want to touch and hold so bad it made his arms ache, to find so beautiful and perfect and never be able to partake in that. He had wronged this child's mother, but the boy never blamed him for it. Gohan always took his side. At what should have been the most crucial moment in Goku's life but wasn't, the boy took his side and refused his own mother the right to take him away. He took the side of the man that broke his mother's heart, took the best years of her life and made them a part of his own personal adventure, and barely wanted to bring himself to build any sort of relationship with him.

This is just wrong, he thought to himself. But he was lonely and always told himself that. How could he stop thinking about it? It was as difficult as it was wrong. Gohan just looked so wonderfully supple and sweet, was it so surprising that he wanted to touch him? Taste him? It wasn't like he wanted to rape the teen, for Kami's sake. That thought was too sick to comprehend, but every once in a while he'd allow the thought that Gohan might ever like his touch to enter his head. Just a innocent touch, on the back. Just to rub the silky skin there, feel the smaller body snuggle into his own and let it happen. Little touches on his arms, thighs, face, little harmless touches. But they weren't harmless. They were wrong and he had come to accept that but he still let himself think about it because it was all that kept him from just one day slipping his hand up the boy's shirt and feeling the heavenly soft skin of his torso and back or caressing his cheek like a lover would, just one little touch. One little touch was enough to drive Gohan away from him and the last thing he wanted was that. It helped to just let himself think about it instead of doing it or becoming more distant to compensate. But now his son wanted to spend more time together with him and now he had more battles to fight with himself about not trying to turn their hugs into a cuddle fest and their spars into some deviant little game.

Gohan wanted to probe and he could see that. He wanted to dismiss him and his concern but knew that it would only make it worse, so he said, "But enough about that. Just the rant of a lonely old guy, don't mind it. You want to finish this off and go for a walk?"

The younger one frowned. There was something he wasn't being told. He shrugged but didn't push it. Not yet.

They ate again in the silence of the setting sun. Awkward quiet had ensued. Gohan wanted to dispel the air of discomfort that had suddenly come over them but he wanted to wait until they started their walk. If there was something going on he felt he should know. Anything that was enough to make his father worry or upset or feel dejected was enough for him to worry about too. If there was anything he could do to help he wanted to know about it.

Once again he snuck peeks out of the corner of his eye as he ate. The man was completely oblivious to how handsome he was. Even with the displeased little frown etching his lips he still looked good. Gohan swallowed and quickly took another bite of his sandwich. He was well aware how messed up it was to think of his own father in such a way. The world was a messed up place, he told himself. If there wasn't a weirdo or two like him around it it just wouldn't be the world. And anyway, nobody could hear or see what went on in his head. It wasn't like he was a pervert or anything. So, okay, he wondered what it was like to kiss a man like his father, but he could hardly be blamed for that, the guy had some very nice lips and a stunning smile and he would like to meet the person who didn't want just one taste at least.

His dad was eating, but by the concentrated look on his face he wasn't tasting much. He took smaller bites than usual and ate like he'd have rather been doing something else. Which in itself was unusual.

Definitely something wrong.

When they were finished he was sure to remind Goku about their walk, in case the obviously preoccupied Saiyan had forgotten. Goku nodded absently, with a slightly confused look on his face that Gohan didn't understand.

"Yeah," he muttered, wiping the seat of his pants as he stood, "A walk." Gohan raised a brow. Something was clearly up and he intended to find out what it was. He decided he would initiate the stroll and quickly packed everything and put it at the base of a tree. Nobody was going to take it.

Goku took his time moving to clean up and put his shorts and sneakers back on. He jerked the cap onto his head and pulled the brim down as low as he could to guard his eyes.

"Ready?" Gohan was just buttoning his own shorts.

"Yeah." The pair slowly began their lazy evening walk and nothing was said for the first few minutes until they got deeper in the woods. Then Gohan pounced.

"What's up with you?" he asked, looking over. Goku's darkened eyes quickly fell on him, then moved away.

"What?" he asked back, as if he hadn't understood the question. His mind was rapidly working up some good B.S. to tell his curious offspring. He had set the boy off and now Gohan wasn't going to leave him alone until he got an answer he was satisfied with and Goku wasn't quite sure he could come up with one.

"This is how you stopped, all those months ago. When you stopped being my friend and for some reason decided to settle for being my bare-minimum Dad. I know there's something wrong and I think I should know because its affecting out relationship," he said emphatically, with a tone that made it clear that he was serious and that they were going to talk about something.

The older man shrugged carelessly. It was getting a bit more out of hand than he thought it would. If he lied now, it would have to be a lie that wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass any time in the future. He was never good at lying, but he knew that this time he'd better come up with a good one.

"I'm a divorced, single father with no job, no education, a son who is quickly growing up and will be living his own life soon and everybody else around me, all my friends, are getting married, settling down, finding the person or things that are going to make them happy the rest of their lives and I'm just getting off that bandwagon and I just feel kind of lost. You wouldn't understand, Gohan. You're a kid. You're too young to know what it's like and I hope you never find out. I just need some time to collect myself and figure out what I want to do with my life next."

Woah. Where the heck did THAT come from?

One minute he was prepared to somehow get Gohan to drop the subject and the next he was blurting out some of the silly little insecurities he had about his life to a mere teenager, as if he could understand. He sighed. What was said couldn't be unsaid and it did beat lying, which, again, he wasn't good at.

Gohan was staring at him a little bewildered looking, as if he were just as shocked at what came out of his father's mouth as Goku was. The man didn't say anything more and continued their walk, waiting for his son to reply to his outburst.

It was actually after some minutes had passed, when he thought Gohan just wasn't going to say anything, that the next shoe dropped.

"I didn't think you minded being divorced, Dad. Or...everything else you said. I didn't know that stuff bothered you. You always...well I guess you hide it well." He stopped talking again, for another few minutes, leaving the last thing he said hanging in the air like unfinished business, like he had more to say but was hesitant to open that can of worms. That would have worked for the tall Saiyan. If Gohan just found it all so awkward and didn't want to deal with it. After all, only adults had to worry about that stuff. Why waste his youth on the affairs of old people? He used the term old, because to Gohan that was what he was. To himself, he wasn't old, he was just too old to be considering a boy who wasn't even old enough to legally drive.

The teen was pleased that his dad was opening up to him. It was a conversation long overdue. "You don't seem to have any interest in getting back on the 'bandwagon', though. But I think I know what you mean. It's hard to enjoy life when you can't do or have the things you love and I know you love to fight. But no bad guys have come in over three years and I never thought about how that would effect life as you saw it, after Mom left.

The boy should be a therapist, Goku thought with dry humor.

"But you still have me, and I like to spar too. I don't care if you didn't go to school or you don't have a job. You're not stupid and we're not hungry or homeless so I fail to see the problem. You're a great Dad and you always will be. As for your friends, remember, they aren't like you. Vegeta needed Bulma, so that's not even an exception worth talking about. You used to live by acting like yourself, but now you feel you have to be human and settle down and do all the stuff a guy your age is supposed to do. I say do what makes you happy. If you were interested in dating again, so that you could have a second chance, you could always do that. Fighting makes you happy, but that was never guaranteed to be a constant source and you must have known that. And you're right, I guess I wouldn't know, but I'm glad we're talking about it. You just have to find someone and something you like, try new things. You don't get out much to meet people. You could meet a lot of nice people if you tried. I think your problem is temporary. Maybe you're having an early mid-life crisis. This is what happens when people start considering the course of and changes in their lives. They usually fix the problem by finding new sources of happiness and productivity both healthy and unhealthy. You could get a job if you wanted, you could get married if you wanted. You could be like them, if you really wanted. So what are you not telling me?"

Goku's head whipped toward him. What was he not telling him? How did he figure there was something he wasn't being told?

"I know just thinking about how you're going to go about getting all of those things is distressing in itself, but I think you're keeping something from me that maybe you think will upset me. I can't make you tell me, but I can let you know that I'm sensitive enough to your feelings to realize when you're not okay. I think we can be friends. I want to be friends with you. I don't have many friends, and even if you didn't want to be I'd still consider you my best friend in the whole world."

"What about Piccolo?" Goku blurted out.

He never admitted it to anyone but he'd always been rather jealous about the relationship his boy had with the tall and broody Namekian. He was grateful for Piccolo and the time he was there when Goku wasn't, but despite what Gohan said he had never felt he and his son were friends. If anything he thought Piccolo was Gohan's 'go to guy', the one he shared everything with, his best friend. He wanted to be friends with his son, but friends probably weren't supposed to think about falling asleep and waking up to one another, or touching them in ways friends didn't touch, or wishing that they weren't friends so that they could be something else.

"Piccolo is my friend, but you're my best friend." Then that gorgeous smile was on his lips, sincere and reassuring.

"I'm your friend?"

"Sure."

Goku nodded. It would have been a nice thought except he wanted to be more than friends with the boy.

"Cool, we're friends." He didn't know what else to say.

"And friends tell friends what's really bothering them."

Ah, he should have known that was coming. He started to walk a little faster, hoping to end the conversation sooner.

"Some friends need time," he told him. He just needed to keep stalling and eventually Gohan would start going to school, meeting new people, and forget all about it.

Yeah okay, Gohan thought. A stall tactic, obviously.

"So there is something you need to talk about."

Damn it. He fell right into that one.

"I guess so. It's nothing really. It will go away." It had to.

"Is it something that should go away?"

"Yes." Definitely.

"Is it bad?"

"Y..." he stuttered on the word when he realized he didn't want to say it but once the Y sound came out it could only be one response and he may as well have said it. "Yeah." Really bad.

Gohan grimaced. It was bad and affecting their time together. What could do that?

"Okay," was all he could say for now.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy our walk and talk about something else." Sometimes he felt so dumb and hopeless compared to his son. Gohan was gloriously intelligent and beautiful and so young he didn't have to experience what it was like to start over again, to not have too much to look forward to, to want something he couldn't have. But it wasn't like Gohan knew all of that.

The person in question was openly trying to read his eyes under the baseball cap in the dark, trying to find something. He pretended not to notice and kept moving, looking around everywhere but at him.

"I hope you tell me someday Dad, or if not, I hope it does go away. I hope you're not sick or anything like that because if that is what you're keeping from me I'll be very upset. It's not that, is it?" He increased his scrutiny to see if he could detect a lie in the little bit of the man's face that he could see.

Goku didn't answer immediately and he started to worry. Then his father said, "I'm not ill," and that was all. Gohan didn't see that he was lying but even that simple statement was a wall behind which there was something else, something that apparently needed to be hidden. The demi-Saiyan was more curious now than ever. He was going to get a little farther tonight and at least try and trick the man into telling him. He had to know. If it was so bad indeed then he just had to know what he could do to help.

"I'd like to be the person you can tell anything, Daddy." He never called him Daddy unless he was extremely excited, upset, or scared, which he was a little tiny bit of the latter two at the moment.

"Maybe I can help you, if you give me a hint. You obviously should talk to someone, and who better than someone you trust completely? I won't tell another soul anything we talk about. We can get through it together-

"No we can't," Goku suddenly snapped in the middle of his sentence. He gave the man a surprised and confused look. Goku was frowning tightly and looked to be more than a little agitated. The look on his face hurt the teen. His father didn't think they should or could get through his plight together. He was pushing Gohan away again, only this time he was doing it not only with actions, but words.

Goku grit his teeth. He hadn't meant to say that and not in such an angry voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." But Gohan's face was already falling though various the stages of a negative reaction. First confusion, then shock, anger, sadness, hurt, then resolution.

"I really didn't. I know you want to help but...what I'm trying to say is that you can't help me with this. I wasn't going to say it, but it just sort of...came out. I know you mean well. But you have to trust me, son. I'll be fine. All I need you to do is believe me. Believe that I can get through it, that's what you can do, as my friend."

Gohan looked away from him and said nothing. Goku sighed and didn't try to hide it. He figured he should just shut up before he made things worse. They continued walking in silence that was now far from companionable. The walk wasn't nice anymore. A palpable air of something went wrong was floating between them and it wasn't going to go away for a while. His mood had also gone sour and he thought he should suggest that they go home, but he didn't. He would let Gohan decide if he wanted to end their walk.

They moved on in silence for almost ten minutes before Gohan spoke. "Sometimes you don't need people to help, you just need them to listen. But I get it if you don't want to tell me. I shouldn't have pried."

Goku said nothing.

Gohan sighed. "Can we go home now?"

Before Gohan went to bed Goku had apologized to him again and Gohan hugged him and reassured him that they were okay. After his father left, the boy lie in bed thinking. He had been overly sensitive earlier. So what if Goku had a secret or whatever. There were some things he wouldn't tell his dad so he guessed it made sense that there were some things his dad wouldn't tell him. He was still curious about what it was but he wouldn't pry anymore. Tomorrow was another day.

When he woke up the next morning, he almost jumped out of his skin to see his father sitting next to him on his bed, watching him.

"Morning," Goku waved. He waved back confusedly.

"What's up Dad?" Why are you in my room?

"Nothing, just watching you sleep." He watched his father stand, trying to detect if something was about to be happen or if he was about to say something important.

"I was trying to decide if I should wake you up, if you wanted to come with me."

"Come with you? Where?"

"To register you for school. The closest school is Orange Star in Satan City and I hear it's good. Did you want to go? You don't actually have to be there, but I thought I'd ask."

Gohan was overcome with happiness so sudden and strong that he jumped up to his feet on his bed and leapt from the bed into his father's chest, flinging his arms around the man's neck.

"I wanna come with you! I'm so excited!" He jumped down just as quickly as he jumped up. "When do we leave? Now? I gotta get showered and dressed!"

Goku chuckled but the sound lacked mirth. "You have time for all of that. You woke up earlier than I expected." He looked at the watch on his wrist, the one Gohan's grandpa got for him for his 27th birthday that he had only worn once to try on. "You've got about two hours. I'll be downstairs with breakfast." Gohan moved like lightning to gather his toiletries and whisk away into the bathroom.

Gohan may have seen nothing but fun ahead of him but Goku wasn't quite as sanguine about it as he was. He knew teenagers were trouble and for someone who had never gone to public school Gohan was impressionable young meat for those promiscuous little vultures he would soon call school mates. Children were capable of being surprisingly cruel, as he learned when he checked out a few schools months ago when he started thinking it was a good idea. Orange Star was the least of all the evils, where at least the kids were more respectful of adults. He had only been exposed to a small portion of the real world, even though he'd seen more than most people did. Gohan was no exception. And the boy had a temper. If one of those kids pissed him off, he might snap and hurt somebody. They would have to talk about that of course. He couldn't say he wasn't happy not to have had to go to school when he was younger.

He was waiting about an hour and a half when his son came downstairs, fully dressed and still very excited. He had prepared a simple breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast for them and they sat down to eat. Goku watched Gohan as he eagerly wolfed down his food, feeling a little silly for wishing he weren't so happy about starting school. The boy had brushed his spiky short hair down and had chosen a pair of tan chinos and a brown button-down shirt with brown loafers to wear. Goku wondered what he would wear for his first day of school if he were so fashionable and passionate about a simple visit.

"Come on, let's go before too many parents show up and we have to wait. They said a good time was before noon." It was almost 9:30am. Gohan nodded enthusiastically and they cleared the table to leave.

Goku picked up a very thick portfolio-type folder from the shelf behind him. "This is all the stuff your mother and I collected to enroll you. It's got all of your work from age 4 to the most recent work you've done to show the principal. All of your tutor information is in here and everything has been sorted according to subject, difficulty, date, and tests. So all I have to do is show this to them, they'll see what a smart boy you are, be happy to have you, and then we can go to the Nickytown fair."

Gohan obviously liked that idea because he gave a big whoop and pumped his fists. Goku smiled. Gohan was too cute when he was excited like this.

They flew to Satan City and landed someplace discreet to walk the rest of the way to the school. Gohan was looking everywhere for it but when they stopped he was still looking.

"This is it," his father announced. He looked at the building. It was a large brick structure that looked a lot more like a church than a school. It was quiet and not many people were around.

"Is this a private school, Dad?" he asked, still looking at the almost deserted place curiously.

"No, public. Private schools cost money we don't have and I didn't think you'd want to go to a stuffy private school."

"You know me well," Gohan praised. The last place he wanted to be was with stuck up rich kids who wouldn't know what it meant to be nice if it were spelled out to them.

"Looks kinda like a church, doesn't it?" Goku asked, tilting his head to the side and squinting.

"Yeah, it does. Let's go see the inside!" The boy ran toward the building and up the stairs before he could even move. He followed and inside they were greeted by a secretary who directed them to a waiting room outside of the school administrator's office. They were the fifteenth family in line.

"Wow, and I thought we were early," Goku whispered and sat down in on of the chairs across from a family whose kid was staring very hard at Gohan.

"Imagine if we came later," Gohan replied, giving the kid an icier glare than the one he was receiving. There were only about six seats left and if too many more people came at the same time, some would have to stand.

"Yeah. Oh well, as long as we get seen." Goku noticed that a few of the parents were looking at him, as they were looking at each other, but they seemed to focus with particular intent on him. The kids were looking too, but they were looking at Gohan, as if they were assessing them as possible competition or threats. He shifted uncomfortably.

"I think if people stare any harder they'll stare holes right through us," the teen said loudly and many of the lookers found other things of interest to watch instead. Goku looked at him and smiled even though he was surprised. Gohan was obviously not there to be stared at and made it known. He was probably going to be able to hold his own but these were just a few out of hundreds of kids that he would be around everyday.

He gulped quietly. Even the parents were staring, like he had done them some kind of wrong just being there. They were scrutinizing the competition hard, maybe hoping it would scare some parents off but they weren't going anywhere and Gohan certainly wasn't swayed.

"Let's not say anything more, son. They feel threatened by us. I guess this is a more prominent school than I thought."

They waited for almost three hours despite getting there early and when they finally got to see the administrator they were more than ready to leave. Goku shook hands with the man and introduced himself and his son and proceeded to present the portfolio, which the man asked for right away. They sat quietly as the old man looked over his work, nodding and grunting. He closed the folder with a smack and leveled his gaze at Gohan, who looked back confidently.

"Mr. Son, your boy's academic history is very impressive," he said to Goku without taking his eyes off Gohan. "For his first time in a school setting I am at a bit of a loss as to where to place him."

Gohan's face didn't change, but he was starting to get worried.

"What do you mean, sir," Goku asked, also getting worried.

The old man folded his thin fingers together on his desk and took his eyes away from the boy to look down at the closed folder. He picked his hands up, opened them, and gestured to the portfolio. "As I said, this is very impressive, but it is excessive for a fifteen year old. Some of this is...college level work. At this point your son is to be entering the sophomore year ten, but with only two academic grades above that, he just barely will be challenged by sophomore work. I would like to consider putting him into the senior year twelve class. The thing is he would graduate high school in one year. He is quite a bit more intelligent than we usually get here at Orange Star."

The man paused to open the portfolio again and skim through it, as if to confirm what he was saying. Gohan's discomfort was in his face now. Was the old guy saying that he was only going to get a year in school? He looked to his father to see how he was taking the information.

Goku looked worried. "So...you're saying that you don't want to admit him because he could only spend a year here?"

The administrator shrugged. "I believe that should be up to you, Mr. Son. We could put him into the tenth year class, but he is not likely to be stimulated. He may not feel that he wants to sit and hear things that he already knows." His beady eyes darted over to Gohan. "Unless the boy doesn't mind and neither do you, I'm afraid it cannot be done any other way but to put him in tenth year or last year. We will not put him in eleventh. You have those two choices."

"I want to go to year ten," Gohan told his father. There was no hesitation in his voice. He wanted to experience school for more than a year and two and a half was better than one.

"Okay, it's settled," his father said. "I would like to enroll him for year ten."

The old man gave them a form to fill out and sent them back outside to wait while the secretary copied the documents in the portfolio. It was going to be a while.

When they finished the forms and sat waiting outside, even more parents and kids were there, some standing, some sitting, and many looking at them and each other.

"It sure is a dog eat dog world," Goku muttered. Gohan grunted in agreement.

After almost a half an hour, the secretary came back and handed Goku the folder with a smile. "We certainly look forward to having your son attend our school, sir. In the next three weeks you will receive in the mail dates and times for class registration, orientation, and parent teacher conferences. We do hope to see you at the parent teacher conference, Mr. Son. You two have a wonderful day." She shook each of their hands and the two left with jealous stares on their backs.

"Man, did you see some of them? They looked so mad," Gohan laughed.

"They're just jealous. Apparently this is a pretty competitive school. But you're so smart you barely even need to go."

"Meh," Gohan waved his hand dismissively. "You said something earlier about going to the fair."

"Oh yeah. Well, let's go home first and change clothes, then we're all set." Gohan was still excited and bouncy. On the way home they talked a little about school and a lot about the fair. Goku was glad the conversation never turned to yesterday evening. It took Gohan less than five minutes to zoom upstairs, change his clothes, and zoom back downstairs in an ecstatic blur. Goku was already wearing casual clothes so he just waited in the kitchen and when Gohan was ready the left and headed to Nickytown.

The fairgrounds were huge and people were bustling around everywhere, some with large stuffed animals and some with big clouds of cotton candy. Gohan almost rubbed his hands together when he saw the rides. The one that caught his eyes the most was one that moved vertically and had two seats per basket. It looked fast and dangerous and fun.

"Dad! Can we go on that one first?"

"You're like a kid in a candy store," his father laughed.

"No way, this is much better than candy!"

They made their way over to the ticket booth and waited behind four teenagers. One of the teenaged girls had turned around for some reason and after looking around for whatever she was looking for, her eyes landed on Gohan. She blinked. Then she quickly turned around and whispered to another girl, elbowing her and not-very-discreetly making her turn around to look too. The second girl's mouth dropped a little, then she too turned and giggled madly with her friend.

"He's cute!"

"I saw the guy with him a couple of days ago at the school. Ohemgee, do you think he's going to go to our school? Or maybe he has a brother or sister already there. That would be a shame..."

The chatted on while sneaking glances back at the two confused Saiyans who were trying not to look back at them.

Goku shifted his weight from one foot to the other, trying to mentally will the line to move so they could escape the giggling girls in front of them oogling his son. Gohan paid the young women no mind as he watched the line slowly get smaller. The seats on the ride, aptly named the 'Screaming Slingshot' were filling up and he was hoping that they would be able to get on for the current round instead of the next one.

As the line moved on it became apparent that they would have to wait until the next round. Gohan sucked his teeth.

"This seems like a popular ride," Goku said, putting his hands in his pocket and looking around. The other rides didn't have the same ridiculous amount of people waiting for it the way this one did. Gohan sure knew how to pick them.

Speaking of which, he could feel the boy's eyes on him as he looked around. "We can do whatever you want to do while we wait. It looks like there's a lot to do." He looked back at him and smiled. Gohan smiled back.

Meanwhile, the girls in front of them seemed to be getting rowdier. Two of them were excited and speaking in low quick voices and thanks to their wonderful Saiyan ears, they had the 'pleasure' of picking up what the girls were saying.

"Ask him, Kurenai! The worst he could say is no."

"His Dad is right there!" the other girl, Kurenai, hissed to her friend.

"So?"

"So? I'm not about to make an idiot of myself in front of not one, but two hot guys!"

"Who cares, he's too old for you anyway. You're going to miss him if you don't say something now!"

"Okay, okay! What should I say?"

Gohan turned fully toward his father so that he could hide his smiling face. He tried not to laugh out loud but the look on his dad's face was about to make him crack. Goku had his own hand over his mouth and was even less successful at keeping his laughter in.

"Dad...hehe...Dad, I think they want to ask me out on a date. But...heh..." He had to stop talking or he would laugh and they would hear him.

Then Goku's hand dropped from his face and his smile faltered. Gohan turned around. The girl was there, and they were all facing him.

"My friend has a question to ask you." One of them said. Kurenai stepped forward.

"I know," Gohan replied. We heard you.

"You do?" The brown-eyed girl looked surprised and scared all at once.

"Yeah, you guys were talking about asking me something. Not that I was eavesdropping, but you guys were kind of loud and kind of obvious."

"You idiots!" Kurenai lashed out at her friends. "I told you we should have waited til we got off the line! Anyway," she turned back to Gohan. "Do you go to Orange Star High?"

"Not yet. Why."

"Oh well we, my friends and I, were wondering about it because we saw your Dad there and..." she trailed off.

Gohan was getting impatient. There were tons of games he saw that he wanted to play and the girls were sucking away his time with his Dad. He stared expectantly at her.

"Are you going out with anyone? Like, dating?"

He shook his head.

"Well, I think you're cute. And there's this end of summer party the week before school at Oroshiro Beach in Star City. It will be us and some other kids from the school. I was thinking we could go together, like a date. I could get you acquainted with some cool kids and give you pointers and stuff."

Gohan thought about it for a second. It was a nice opportunity. He looked at his dad. Goku shrugged. He raised his eyebrows and the man shrugged again.

"That sounds pretty cool. Is there an address or do you have a phone number I ca-

"Here's my number," she said, handing him a slip of paper she had in her other hand. He looked at it.

"Okay. So do you want me to meet you there or-

"You can pick me up at my place," she handed him another slip of paper. Gohan took it, a little perplexed. It had her home address, the address of Oroshiro, and the time of the party.

"Okay. So I guess I'll see you the-

"Are doing anything today? Maybe we could hang out and go on some rides and get some food."

Gohan shook his head. "No can do. I'm with my Dad."

The girls surveyed the man next to him.

"He could come too, if he wants to supervise. It'll be fun."

He looked up at his father again and again he got a careless shrug.

"No, I'm spending my day with just him. But thanks. I'll see you at the beach in a couple of weeks." He turned before the girls could say anything else. "Come on, Dad, let's go play the basketball game first. Then the shooting games, then the whack-a-rabbit."

They walked away towards the games, Gohan yapping away as if what had just happened didn't happen. They hadn't been there a half an hour yet and the kid already had a date and was going to his first party. Goku wasn't going to stop him from having fun so he said nothing. Inside he was feeling jealous of that girl. She was able to legally, morally, and easily ask his son out on a date upon meeting him in line at a fair. He couldn't even ask.

This was the way it was meant to be. Of course Gohan would eventually start dating and living his own life, it was only a matter of time. That party was probably going to be the first day of the rest of his life.

"You okay, Dad?" Gohan's voice rang.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm great. Just thinking."

In a slow and cautious voice, Gohan asked, "Is it about that thing we aren't talking about?"

Goku made a face. "Maybe. You said you wanted to play this game, right?"

"Yeah."

"I've never played basketball before. I'm going to look like an idiot trying," the elder chuckled.

"That makes two of us." If his father didn't want to tell now, then hopefully he would another time.

Goku paid for 2 rounds each and Gohan insisted that he go first. The man running the stand came out from behind his counter to show him how to hold and shoot the ball. Goku was a quick learner.

"So just let it go off your fingertips and relax."

Goku nodded and picked up a ball to take the first shot. Gohan was watching him closely, not interested at all in seeing if he was going to make it. No, he was more interested in the way his dad's arm flexed when he raised it to shoot the ball. Goku was so concentrated on the game he didn't even see his son staring. Gohan thought his father looked good shooting baskets. He was too engrossed in watching to see that Goku missed 6 out of 8 baskets.

"Wow, that's harder than it looks!" Goku exclaimed. "Your turn, Gohan."

"Okay." The teen took the ball and the guy behind the counter instructed him on how to stand and hold the ball. After missing every shot but one, the two moved on to other games. Before it was time for them to get on the "Screaming Slingshot', Goku had won a large stuffed bulldog and handed it to Gohan.

"There you go, a little companion until we get the real thing."

The boy was so happy he gave his dad a hug and Goku felt better than he had all day.

"It's time! The ride is loading up, let's go Dad!" Gohan dragged him by the hand to the ride.

"Can you leave that here," the guy running the ride asked, pointing to the stuffed dog. Gohan handed it to him and leapt into a basket.

"Come on, Dad!"

Goku sat beside him and they got strapped in. He looked around and saw all the younger people and teenagers and knew that his ears would have nothing to thank him for later. Suddenly he felt a hand close around his forearm.

He looked over, but Gohan was messing with his safety belt with his other hand, as if he didn't realize he was holding Goku's arm. He didn't let go even when the ride started to move and when it did he still made no acknowledgment that he was touching him. Goku barely resisted the urge to touch the boy back.

The ride started slow, as most rides do, and cranked them up in their baskets to about six stories then stopped. Gohan's hand was still on his arm.

"This, Dad, is why this ride is being discontinued here and added to a theme park in Okinawa. They say this ride doesn't belong in a fair." The operator of the ride had apparently decided to give them a moment to think they were safe. "This is gonna be so mu—

Their basket suddenly dropped without warning. Gohan felt his stomach drop with it. Screams of elation, fear, and surprise erupted from their fellow ride mates as the line of basket carriages fell almost back to baseline, then shot back up to six stories. Goku had gulped and his eyes got big in surprise when they went down and sucked in a breath when they went up and his son was intently (as intent as one can get on such a ride) watching his reactions. He would have figured his dad to be too manly and strong to react to a human-made design but sure enough he seemed to be impressed with it. Not the he wasn't manly or strong. That could clearly be felt as the muscles in his forearm went rigid as he gripped the bar.

He still hadn't let go of him and didn't intend to until the ride was over because that would make it the longest duration he had ever touched the man. His skin was shockingly soft, as usual, and warm to the touch like the hot-blooded Saiyan he was. If he was asked he would say that he was so excited that he just had to hold to something and the something so happened to be Goku.

The older Son, meanwhile, was not making any sound and was losing interest in the ride. He was concentrating on the feeling of his son's small soft hand on his arm, the boy's long, thin fingers closed tightly around it. He had no idea why Gohan was touching him and frankly, he didn't care. He was trying not to look at him because he could feel that Gohan was already watching his face for signs of having fun. He was having enough fun, but distress was creeping up on him like a shadow in the night.

Everybody who cared to look could see them and he used that as his excuse for not touching the boy back. If he did touch him it would look weird and people might think he was a...well, for lack of a better term, a weirdo. Goodness knew what Gohan himself would think. Of course it was okay for him to be touching his father, but the other way around might not sit well with others so Goku stoutly kept his hands to himself and tried not to let his mind wander to the impossible reasons Gohan might want to touch him.

The boy looked away from his obviously conflicted father to enjoy the ride before it was over. He laughed and whooped and held onto his dad's arm until the ride slowed down and came to a stop where they had started.

"Wow," Gohan was saying, "That ride was eve-

This time they both let out startled cries as the ride jerked up faster than any other time and yanked itself back down just as quickly. Everybody else screamed and as the ride officially ended, some people could be heard crying and by the sound of frantic conversation, someone had peed their pants.

"That was AWESOME!" Gohan shouted happily.

Goku was not an easily startled man, but that last bit of the ride almost made him feel like getting out to blast the evil thing to pieces. He was trying not to appear moody. The day signified so many things to come that he just didn't like. It signified Gohan's ascension closer and closer to adulthood—and farther away from him. How stupid of him to think that he would be a child forever, at such a perfect age, shielded from others in the world and kept only to himself.

Shit, maybe if he got a life...

"Yeah, that last part surprised me."

They got the stuffed dog and went on to play a few more games and go on a few more rides, many of which Goku felt a bit silly for playing but Gohan was having a good time and he wasn't about to ruin it.

Because it was just a fair, it wasn't very large so in just under two and a half hours they ran out of stuff to do and decided to call it a day. Gohan snacked on a hotdog while he held onto his winnings and three other smaller stuffed animals while his father held the stuffed dog. They walked through the city, window shopping and talking about whatever came to Gohan's mind.

The boy was pretending he didn't notice Goku's quietness but he did. He didn't want to go home yet. There they would just drift apart like they usually did because his father was obviously not in the mood to bond. He wished he knew what the guy's problem was so that he could help but if Goku didn't want to tell him then he wasn't going to beat himself up about it.

When they got home it was around six and Gohan had some work to do before he planned what he was going to do with the rest of his night. Goku half-heartedly told him that he enjoyed their day together and asked him what he was doing for the night.

"Some reading and math I didn't finish from before. I think I got it now. Then I was maybe going to watch T.V. or something." He shrugged, thinking Goku didn't care but was just asking to be conversational.

"Want to watch it together?" The man offered and Gohan had paused on his way up the stairs in surprise. After the day they had the last thing he expected was for Goku to want to spend more time with him. As you might expect, he snatched up the opportunity.

"Sure. I think I'll be done at about 9, 9:30." He was tempted to ask what his dad's plans were up until then but realized that he didn't really care. It would probably involve brooding, which he seemed fond of lately.

"Look," his father began as he turned again to go to his room. "I'm sorry about today. I know I wasn't the best company. Just got a lot on my mind."

Gohan regarded him silently for a moment. Then he gave a slow, stiff nod. "Right." He turned and went up the stairs, leaving Goku alone and sighing.

The man stood in the living room for a long time. This was going badly, he thought. He hadn't intended to project his mood on his son but it looked like had. He sighed again. Perhaps there was a way he could let Gohan know what his issue was without telling him everything. Sure. That might work.

Son, he'd say. Your old man is...in love. And Gohan would blink owlishly and ask him with whom was he in love.

Son, he'd say. It doesn't matter.

Wait. He bit his lip. He couldn't say that. The boy was inquisitive and was sure to ask annoying questions.

Okay then.

Son, he'd say, again. Have you ever wanted something you couldn't have?

And maybe Gohan was a little more childish than he thought and would likely answer: yes, Dad, I have. After all, what kid didn't want something they couldn't have at some point in their lives?

So he'd say again, son, I want something...someone, I can't have. You know, it's hard to accept, but it does go away. That's all that's up with me.

That might work, he thought. Should he propose the talk tonight or tomorrow or never?

Maybe he should rethink the never. Gohan was growing up and he was soon to start school. If he didn't get attention from his father he could easily find it elsewhere. Goku could be replaced by anyone and it was the most unpleasant thought he had ever entertained. Tonight. He would tell his son the well masked, well versed version of his woes. Until the boy was finished with his homework he would train with himself outside to burn off some of the anxiety.

Three hours passed terribly slow for Gohan and too fast for Goku. They met in the living room and sat down. Goku turned the T.V. on and his son settled on to the large couch next to him, clear on the other side like he thought his father needed the space.

"Have anything you want to watch in mind?" he asked. Goku hesitated before he picked up the remote and muted the volume. Gohan said nothing, but looked to him curiously.

"Can we talk?"

Gohan shrugged. "Sure."

Goku had never thought much of the saying that nervousness sometimes felt like butterflies in people's stomach. It didn't feel like butterflies in his though. It felt like lead.

"I kinda...I've been weird these past few days and I just wanted, again, to apologize."

Gohan shrugged again, noncommittally. "Apology accepted." Then he turned back to the television and looked at the screen. "Do you want to watch The Office? That show is really funny."

Goku almost wanted to give in and let his nerve abandon him but he fought to reign it in and moved the remote from his son's reach. "Sure, but I've got to talk to you first."

The boy suddenly took an interest in what he had to say and oriented his body to face him on the couch. "Okay, Dad. I'm listening."

He was such a wonderful child. He was considerate, magnanimous, and patient (most of the time). Goku felt like a total curd for making him worry.

"Ah, well..." What was he going to say again?

Gohan just stared.

"Have you ever..." His voice came out like a frightened whisper, like someone telling a scary story around a campfire. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Have you ever wanted something," you shouldn't want "I mean, someone you couldn't...couldn't have?" God, that sounded much more pathetic out loud than in his head.

And, like he imagined, Gohan blinked once and stared. Then his mouth moved, and no sound came out at first, but eventually he said, "Yeah."

He continued in a soft voice, trying to impress upon the boy how much this meant to him. "Well, that's what I'm going through now. It's like I said. It's just a passing phase," but he didn't believe that "It will go away in time. I like someone."

The demi-Saiyan's eyebrows rose toward his hairline. His father...had a crush on someone?

"So yeah. That's it. Sorry to bother you with it, but it's no big deal."

It probably wasn't but Gohan was now extremely interested in everything about this person. "Why don't you think you can have h-this person, Dad?"

Goku shrugged as if the answer didn't matter. "They don't like me is all. I mean, not like they dislike me, they just don't like me...like that."

"Oh." Then things went silent and the air turned awkward.

"Well...how do you know they don't like you?"

His father made a face that was a cross between confused and saddened. "I just know."

"That's not an answer," the teen replied quickly. "How do you know? Or do you just assume that?"

Goku frowned. "I know," he said defensively.

"How?"

"Look-

"You know what that's like?"

"No, but I-

Gohan continued as if he weren't talking. "That's like me assuming that you were being distant with me because you wanted to push me away because you felt that I was holding you back like Mom was."

The room went cold and still and quiet. Goku's mouth fell open and his eyebrows nearly met. He was shocked. Push him away? Holding him back? How could Gohan think such terrible things?

"You...you thought that...?"

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Just an assumption."

But Goku's mind was reeling. His son thought that he thought that he was holding him back and was pushing him and away and worse yet thought that he would meet the same fate his mother did. He didn't think Goku wanted him in his life.

"How could you think something like that?"

"It was just an assumption, Dad. People make them all the time, doesn't mean they're right. You're doing it."

"It's not the same!" Gohan winced when he yelled.

"It's not. The same."

"Sorry," his son muttered, looking away shamefully.

"Come here," Goku demanded. Gohan scooted closer and he pulled the boy into a tight hug. Gohan's arms hung limply at his sides.

"Your assumption is not true. Never assume such a ridiculous thing ever again. And if you ever do, please talk to me about it, don't just go on feeling that way. I'm really very sorry to make you think that. I didn't know."

"It's okay, Dad," came the voice from below his chin. "I'm just glad to know what it is that's making you so down. Thanks for telling me."

Goku let him go and he moved to pick up the remote.

"Now let's watch The Office."

Goku stared.

"You're not going to ask who it is?"

Gohan flipped through the silent channels and muttered, "You're not going to tell me."

The man's head tilted down and to the side and his eyebrows flecked up with a thoughtful frown. Yeah, that was true.

"The Office. What's this show about?"

Gohan explained it to him and though he didn't hear anything that might indicate it would be funny, he looked forward to seeing it. He didn't watch much television and didn't have a favorite movie or show but he liked watching it with other people, especially when other people were Gohan.

"That person is lucky to have your affections," the teen said out of the blue, without looking at him.

"Even if they don't want it."

He managed to summon up a tight, plastic smile and hoped his son didn't see the sadness behind it.

What a painfully nice thing for him to say. "Thanks."

It was Gohan's first day of school and he was so excited he was practically a blur the whole morning. Goku had woken up to see him off, making sure he had his capsule lunch, books, supplies and...

"Wait, here, I got you something." The boy stopped in mid blur.

Then his eyes widened to a comical size when his father pulled out of his pocket a small Samsung cellular phone.

"Oh my God!" The boy gasped. He reverently took the little thing and stared at it in mute shock.

"Call me anytime if you need anything at all or just to talk. I got one for me too. I put the instructions manual in your bag. We can text, go on the web, play games, all that stuff that I have no clue yet how to do, hahaha." He never had a cellphone before but knew that a lot of teenagers had one and that his son would appreciate one of his own.

Gohan felt tears well up in the back of his eyes. For his father to go out and get him a cellphone, and one so nice at that so they could keep in touch while he was at school warmed him to his core. He never needed reminding about how great his father was but it was gestures like this that reinforced his belief that his dad wasn't just great, he was perfect.

"Thank you, Daddy!" He jumped into the man's arms and hugged him fiercely, blinking back the tears.

His father caught him and hugged him back just as hard. "You're very welcome, Gohan. Just promise you'll text a lonely old man every once in a while."

"I'll text you everyday, I promise!" Goku rubbed his hair and bent to kiss him on the forehead.

"Now run along. You might need the extra time to find your classes," he chuckled. Gohan didn't move. He blinked.

"What?"

His son was just standing there, looking down at his feet, his face rapidly shading to pink. He looked back up at him, looked away to the side as if he were contemplating something. Then he started shifting his weight from leg to leg. Goku patiently waited.

Then the boy raised himself high on his tiptoes and hugged him again and before he could hug back, planted a soft, shy kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks again, Dad," he whispered, pressing their cheeks together, "You're amazing." He turned and quickly ran out of the house and took off into the air before his father's reaction could manifest itself.

Goku stood in mute surprise. It wasn't surprising that his son had kissed him on the cheek, even though he hadn't done it since he was four. What threw him was the fact that what the boy was doing fidgeting around beforehand was getting up the nerve to do it. That blush he loved to see so much had precluded the sweet little peck to his face. His cheek actually tingled from the sensation and he brought his fingers up to it but didn't touch it.

Today was already a great day. Now he would just learn to use the phone and look forward to a text message from his boy.

Though it was his first day, as Gohan walked down the hall a few people he had met at the beach party stopped to greet him. The party had been very rowdy and fun but he hadn't stayed long. When alcoholic beverages were produced he knew he shouldn't stick around. There was no shortage of scantily clad, beautiful girls to keep his attention and entertain him, but he couldn't dance and he didn't know how he felt being grinded up on and kissed. When Kurenai kissed him out of nowhere, a flare of anger rose up in him. How dare she, he thought. He wasn't ready for it but she thought it was cute that it was his first and delighted in being the one to take it. He withdrew from her for the evening to hang out with some of the boys until it was time to leave.

He left the party thinking he had made one solid possible-friend. A boy with long hair dark hair and dark eyes like him had cracked him up through their whole conversation about television shows and manga. The boy's name was Daniel. He wasn't Japanese but had a perfect accent and knew about a lot of things. He didn't drink and stayed clear of the girls, like Gohan, and had a girlfriend named Mikoto who was just as nice and funny as him.

Gohan didn't see him walking down the hall and didn't know if he would see him the whole day, but if he did he had a new cell phone to take his number so that maybe they could hang out.

"Gohan!" He paused and turned. He groaned. It was Kurenai and her friends. She was wearing a very short and tight version of the school uniform and platform shoes imbedded with heels that clicked with every step she took. He wanted to turn and run but he didn't.

"Hey," she stopped in front of him and hugged him. "Where's your first class? Mine is in room 307B. I have to walk all the way up the stairs with these heavy books."

Knowing where she was getting, he said, "Oh really, my class is on this floor, room G32. Sucks you have to take the stairs."

"Yeah, uh huh," she continued. "The bell doesn't ring until five after and from what I saw at the party, you're fast. Surely you could help me upstairs and be back down here in time before the bell rings."

Gohan's eyelids drooped at her coyness. He smiled. "Surely I could. But those books don't look very heavy."

Kurenai looked around at her friends, who looked amused. She looked back at Gohan with a pretty pout. "Oh but they are. My arms hurt just carrying them. And as my strong boyfriend, you wouldn't want me struggling up those long stairs with them, would you?"

Boyfriend? A dark eyebrow rose.

"Well, if I were your boyfriend, which I am not, I wouldn't want a weak girl who couldn't carry three textbooks, a notebook, and a cellphone up three flights of stairs. You seemed to have a lot of energy at the party. What happened to all of that?"

The hallways erupted in a instigating "Ooooohhh!" as if he had insulted her. He looked around. Already it was a confrontational day.

"You are my boyfriend, silly," she said, recovering from the enraged glare that passed across her face a second ago. "Sorry if I didn't make that clear. You have my number, my address, and we kissed, so that makes you my boyfriend."

Gohan wanted to leave, but decided to wait until the bell rang, then he would have a real excuse not to help her.

"Well, for that to be true, you would have to have MY number, which you don't, MY address, which you don't, and I would have had to kiss you back, which I didn't because I didn't ask to be kissed in the first place. But now that you mention that you're my girlfriend, allow me to take this opportunity to formally break up with you. Now you have no choice but to carry your own books." He wasn't interested in coy, manipulative females and had no issue reporting that.

Kurenai went red and her eyebrows touched in anger. "You little imbecile! You were lucky I even invited you to the party! You'd be a nobody if it weren't for me!"

"I am a nobody." he cut in.

"And you're an asshole, too! I mean, what kind of teenaged boy goes to the fair with his DAD and turns down hanging out with girls to hang out with his loser father?"

Gohan felt something in him tighten. "Listen, bitch, call my Dad a loser again and you'll lose some teeth!"

The kids in the hall yelled and whooped loudly, encouraging a fight. He knew he couldn't hit this girl, but that skank took it a step too far with what she said.

"Daddy's boy, daddy's boy, daddy's boy," she started chanting. The kids in the hallway gradually joined her. She was obviously popular and had considerable influence among the students. Gohan looked around as they chanted and then looked at his watch. He waited until they settled and Kurenai said, "I run shit here, little boy."

"Am I supposed to care that you're teasing me? My Dad will always take priority over a bitch like you."

"Oh really," she spat, "You know you wish I was your girlfriend, I saw the way you were looking as I came in. You want me, you little-dicked bastard!"

"Not while there are dogs in the street," he said nonchalantly, and turned on his heel to head to his first class, leaving her seething. Many of the students burst into laughter, including some of her friends.

"Thanks for inviting me to the party." The bell rang and as he walked down the hall, some people were patting him on the back and cheering him on for telling Kurenai off. He smiled. He had made some enemies and some friends all on his first day. This was it it was like to be a teenager in high school.

He liked it.

Goku fiddled around with the phone on and off for four hours before he finally learned how to text a full sentence. Perhaps, he thought rather belatedly, he should have gotten a simpler phone. He was so busy trying to impress his son that he didn't think about how he was going to figure out how to use such a complicated device. He supposed if Gohan had time that he could help him when he got home. He didn't know how the texting thing worked but apparently all he had to do was wait for it to pop up on the screen. That was easy enough. Gohan had his number and he had his son's as a part of the plan. Maybe Gohan would have time at lunch to learn how to contact him. He hoped it wasn't too hard. But his boy was smart, he'd probably learn everything about the phone in a heartbeat.

Goku chuckled to himself. It really was a good thing Gohan didn't take after him in the brains department.

It was nearing twelve thirty and he was done messing with the phone for the day. It was lunchtime. Instead of fixing himself something in the kitchen, he decided he would go to Capsule Corp and spar with Vegeta and have Bulma's mother's cooking for lunch.

As he got in the shower, he wondered how Gohan was doing on his first day. Unlike some parents, he didn't have the pleasure of seeing his child off to school at the tender age of five. Gohan was thrown into a world a thousand times more different than the one he grew up in without the gradual preparation of kindergarten through junior high school. Goku knew he shouldn't worry, Gohan was a good, smart kid, but he couldn't help but imagine people picking on the boy, calling him names, provoking him into fights. Oh well, he thought. He would just have to wait.

Washing up at a leisurely pace, he let his mind wander to Gohan and the girl he had met at the fair. She was pretty, he wasn't going to lie. She was instantly taken with his boy and it was no surprise. But Gohan...didn't seem that interested. He nodded and went along with her invitation without any real excitement or anticipation. As he dressed for the party, he didn't rush or anything. He didn't seem at all as if he looked forward to seeing her again. He had never given the girl their phone number and never asked to and as far as he knew, his son never called her. He returned that day as placid as when he left, reporting that nothing spectacular happened but he met a new boy he thought might be a good friend. Nothing happened with the cute older girl. At least nothing he was told about.

Goku was happy about that and he didn't try to hide it. He took his son out to dinner and it seemed that Gohan was more excited about that than he had been about going to the beach party.

His new cellphone was on the sink when he heard it make a vibrating 'bi-bing' noise. He froze. Was that a message? A text? He hurried to finish washing up, hopped out of the shower, dried his hands and picked the phone up.

It said '1 New Message from 902-258-5523'.

He carefully pressed the 'read' button and the message opened.

'Hey Dad. I'm having lunch. Just wanted to let you know I'm okay. So much happened already. Don't know if you're up for talking. Or you can just text me back. But I'd like it if we could talk. I love you.'

A huge smile rented his face. Then it disappeared. So much happened already? Like what? Was it bad? Did someone try to fight his son? He put brought the phone back to his room, neglecting his towel and padded naked to sit on his bed.

With inexperienced fingers, he painstakingly made his way through a response message.

'Hi, son! Sure, I'm up for a call. Just got out of the shower.'

He hit the send button and went about drying off and finding clothes to wear while he waited. About a minute later his room was filled with the gayly melodic sound of his preassigned ringtone. He answered the phone.

"Hey."

"Hi, Dad." Gohan sounded a little agitated.

"What's up, is something wrong?"

"Besides the fact that Kurenai and her friends have been giving me crap all day about what happened this morning, everybody and their dog wants to talk to me and girls are breathing down my neck in every class so far. I'm heading outside to eat my lunch someplace where hopefully nobody will find me."

Goku frowned. "What happened?" he asked, trying not to sound as if he was concerned.

Gohan proceeded to explain to him the whole Kurenai debacle and how he had shut her down in front of a hallway full of people.

"She told me that I knew I wanted her, and called me a, excuse my language, 'little-dicked bastard', not that she's ever seen it. I told her I wouldn't I want her as long as there are dogs in the street."

Like the kids in the hall, Goku started to laugh.

"You said—hahahaha-you said as long as there were-hahahahaha- there were dogs in the street?" He was glad he was sitting down because he didn't think he had ever laughed so hard in his life. Tears were in his eyes he was laughing so hard.

"Oh my God, son! Hahahahaha!" He tried to get more words out but every time he thought about saying something, he thought about why he was laughing and laughed harder. Whenever he tried to catch his breath, Gohan would talk.

"Far as I know, dogs don't make demands or complain, so I was like..."

Goku started cracking up again. He had never heard anything so funny in his life.

"Where did...haha...where did you even get that from?" He could practically hear his son's shrug through the phone.

"It just popped up in my head. Seemed like the thing to say at the time."

It took almost another five minutes for Goku to stop laughing long enough to talk coherently.

"So what about all these people following you?"

Gohan sighed and finished chewing his food. "Some people hate her, no surprise there. I stood up to her and now the other half thinks I'm cool. Meanwhile, her friends, some guys on the football team, have been harassing me all day about it. One of them pushed me. Good thing the teacher came along because I was fixing to beat his eyes out." Goku couldn't help the snicker that escaped.

"I'm glad you didn't do that, son. Remember that these kids are not like you. They will do anything to get a rise out of you. Be the bigger man and don't let them. Succeed where they fail and they'll leave you alone. If not, we can arrange for something to happen to them if you know what I mean." The mischievous hint in his voice told Gohan exactly what he meant.

"Oh yes, Dad. I've already plotted to take the tires from his car and leave it on the concrete. If he thinks he can mess with me, he better think again. Speaking of which, Kurenai called you a loser and I told her that if she dared repeat that she would lose some teeth. She didn't. Which was good because I know I couldn't follow up on that threat. Instead she chose to get the kids in the hallway to call me a Daddy's boy. Every once in a while, someone will call me that on my way to class and I've been hearing it all day."

With his amusement now gone as Gohan continued, Goku pulled on his shoes and stood. "Don't listen to them Gohan. Kids are so cruel. Besides, you only have two years there and I know you'll make friends. Focus on the good parts and if you don't like it, it's not like you need to be there."

"I know. But I don't care. So what if I am a Daddy's boy? I like that, and if people feel like pointing out the obvious, then that just makes them look stupid. Anyway, I have to go now, Dad, lunch is over. I'll text you when I have gym. If you're not busy, maybe we can talk again? I like talking on the phone with you, though of course, it's better in person."

His heart warmed at his son's words. The boy was just so good and sweet he was so lucky to be his father. "Okay, son. I'll just be sparing with Vegeta. When is gym, so I know when to expect your call?"

There was some ruffling of paper and voices and bustle before he responded. "Ninth period at...2:05 to 3:40. I love you, Dad."

"Ditto. Thanks for calling."

"No problem. Later." With a click, Goku was thrust into silence. The house seemed so empty without Gohan around, so devoid of life. He couldn't wait until his boy came home. He hadn't been keeping his promise about being close very well, but he was going to have to try harder now that Gohan's school life was picking up the way it was. He had to enjoy all the time he could with him before he made real friends and decided that it wasn't cool to hang out with your dad anymore.

It was so nice that Gohan called him. Obviously it took no time at all for him to learn how to use the phone. He probably did it on his way to school. It surprised him though, how quickly Gohan had attracted trouble there. That Kurenai girl was a real brat and he was happy that Gohan didn't like her, otherwise she'd have had that boy carrying her books all day long, waiting hand and foot on her like a slave. No son of his was going to be treated that way by anybody.

He looked at his watch, a digital one he had bought for himself along with the phones. He would have about an hour to spar with Vegeta, which was good enough for him. He would eat afterward so that he didn't miss his son's call.

As he flew toward West City, he contemplated the idea of asking Gohan if he wanted him to pick him up from school. He figured every father should be able to do that at least once but maybe it would be too embarrassing for the boy. Well, it was worth a try.

After lunch, Gohan was feeling much better after his talk with his father and went off to philosophy class with a small smile on his face. He head some jerks cough 'Daddy's boy' as he passed, but he just flipped them the bird and kept it moving. He was better than them. And he had great photographic memory. The 'cougher' over there had locker number 63 and Gohan would be visiting it on his next bathroom break for sure. He entered the lecture-style classroom and slid into a seat all the way in the back. He didn't like the thought of these mean kids behind him in a stationary setting so he sat himself with his chair against the wall, high above the class, surveying the sour glare one of the birds in Kurenai's flock was giving him, as if he did her some kind of wrong.

"Okay class. My name is Mr. Nawaki and I've just gotta put this out there. I'm not here to take your shit. I will fail you in a heartbeat if you disrespect me, and your chances of getting an A in my class are slim to none. Keep hoping you're one of the ones with a slim chance, and you'll do all right here."

Gohan liked this teacher already. Some of the students groaned and started to whisper to their friends their regrets for having a douchebag as a teacher.

"Miss Simon, you have earned yourself a zero for the day, compliments of the douchebag. You can leave my classroom. Go play out in traffic or whatever it is kids do when they're not in school, but you get no points today and you will not be marked absent."

The girl who made the douchbag comment looked up, startled. "W-what? I—

"I, Miss. Simon," Mr. Nawaki interrupted, "have excellent hearing. You have made your first mistake with me. Make sure it's your last. Goodbye." He turned and began writing on the board, ignoring the stuttering girl and her excuses and pleas.

Gohan was smiling in the back. He and this man were going to get along. He just wished all of his teachers were like this. Oh well, he mused, watching the girl stomp out of the class and just about break the door on the way out.

"Zero for tomorrow for damaging school property," Mr. Nawaki murmured to himself, notating it in his book. He looked up.

"Like I said, no shit here. I am a mean SOB and I will delight in showing all who act out how true this is. Rules. No cell phones. If I so much as hear one vibrate, you get a zero. If you're clever enough to hide a bluetooth, then more power to you, you're going to need it. Texting is obviously a no-no. Chatting with your neighbor is also not tolerated. If it's not about the work and you aren't willing to share, you and your friend can share a zero. Textbook. Edition 4 of History and Systems. Can't afford it? See me after class. Notes. I will not be writing on a board all day. That means it is up to you, the studious student, to take notes in my class. No laptops. If I can't have one, you can't have one. And last but not least, homework. You will have it. Everyday." The whole class minus Gohan groaned.

"Luckily most of it will be reading." A collective sigh. "Each and every one of you will participate, every class session, and discuss the reading in detail, so if you think you can bullshit me and skimp on the assignments, I've got bad news for you. And for those of you who can't answer the questions correctly, for any reason other than you were dying the day before, with proof, then you get a zero for the assignment and a zero for the day. Two zeros drop you a whole letter grade for the class, so watch out for that, it's a doosie. And yes, I know I'm an evil man. This school doesn't pay me to be good. I'm not your friend here. I don't call parents if you act up. I hand out fails like pink slips. That's what I'm good at. Your parents will call me. Now, I expect you all to have the textbook by Wednesday, and like I said. Can't afford it? See me after class. Wanna get cute and wait? Zero for not having it by Wednesday barring extenuating circumstances. Today we're going to..."

As the class went on, Gohan could see that he was the only one enjoying this man and his teachings. The others all glared bitter holes into the poor guy while he had his back turned. He had two more classes after this one and the next one was gym. He was looking forward to talking on his new phone with his dad. His mother would have never allowed him a cell phone, just one more reason why he had the best father in the world. Sure, these other kids probably got anything they wanted without asking for it or being surprised, but Gohan appreciated every little thing his father did for him. He knew that they couldn't afford to be too frivolous but his dad wanted him to be happy and went out of his way to ensure that.

His father was such a good man and Gohan knew he got lonely and had some issues with himself but all he wanted to do was be there for him. Even though school was surely a turning point in his life, it didn't mean he had to leave his dad out of the equation.

When that girl Kurenai had kissed him he was so upset because she stole what he wanted to give to someone else, someone more important. He knew it was stupid to think that his father would ever want to kiss him, but he always liked to imagine that he was the person he'd share that special thing with. And she ruined it. And what nerve she had to call his dad a loser. Like, who was she? Today he had used profanity for the third time in his life because of her. If she had repeated it, he would have called her out of her name in several other colorful and obscene ways, but he was glad she didn't.

His father hadn't responded any particular way about it, but over a phone he didn't know how the man was really reacting. At times he sounded as if he were holding something back, but it could have just been his imagination. And of course no girl was as important as his dad. No person was as important. Call him obsessive, but nobody had done anything for him to take his father's place.

That morning, when he was given the phone, he hadn't ever been so touched before. After he was kissed on the forehead, he fought with himself about whether he should kiss him back. The very thought of putting his lips on the man's skin made him so nervous and excited and he knew he was blushing but couldn't do anything about it. He had almost backed out, but convinced himself that there was no harm and that it wouldn't be so out of the ordinary and just did it. When his mouth touched the older Saiyan's soft cheek he almost moaned in happiness at the feeling. He could smell the man, and God's he smelled nice for not having taken a shower yet. He beat it out of there before his dad had any time to react and spent the whole trip to school with a smile on his face.

He couldn't wait to get home. He knew his father was lonely. Sometimes he sparred with the short Prince or went to see his friends but the older Saiyan wasn't always willing to spar with him nor did his friends always have time for him. He could see how that could make a man dissatisfied with the quality of his life. But his father had so much going for him. He was extremely kind, gregarious by nature, clever, caring, forgiving, warm, fun, funny, strong, and of course wicked gorgeous.

What didn't he have that somebody out there didn't want? He had everything Gohan never knew he wanted until he turned eleven in the Room of Spirit and Time and fought Cell and his father put the fate of the world in his hands without hesitation. When his mother left and his father came downstairs one day and just stood in the kitchen for several minutes, alone and still reeling from the loss, Gohan knew he loved him. It was foolish to deny it when he could never kid himself.

Like anyone else, he hoped his feelings would go away. Maybe he was mistaking intense respect for love. Maybe it was just a phase. He was in school now. He would meet some nice girl or guy and that would be the end of that. Maybe his dad would meet someone, too. That would be good. That was the way it should have been.

He didn't care about the same things his father cared about. So he didn't have a job, so what? He didn't go to school. Gohan was living proof that you didn't need school to learn and he knew that the most important things in life were not taught in a classroom. His father was plenty smart to him. He could afford his awesome new phone and they always had food. He was never wanting. It was all in the man's head. And he, like a good son, would help his father get passed those unhelpful cognitions and get him to see himself for the wonderful man he was. He was trying, but it didn't seem to be working.

It upset Gohan to think that he couldn't help, no matter how hard he tried. And this person his father was in love with? Who were they? Were they good looking? Were they nice? Would he like them? And most importantly, did he know this person? Were they married or taken? Was that why his dad knew he couldn't have them? Yes, that would complicate things a whole lot. He wanted to know so bad but every time he brought it up his father got uncomfortable and instantly shut down, refusing to talk about it. Just bringing it up ruined his mood for the day, it was so bad.

He had to find out who this person was. Just who was it that was making his father so miserable and him so jealous? They must have been very special to produce such a reaction in his usually upbeat dad. Part of him wanted to somehow hurt this mystery person for making his father so dejected but he couldn't do that if he had no clue who they were.

The ringing bell pulled him from his thoughts. It was gym time, which meant he could call his dad. He would wait until half past two to do it. They would be going outside and just standing around or playing softball. He wasn't going to be participating in those activities for the obvious reasons unless he had to. Today, they were being assigned activities and uniforms and were left to their own device when the teacher finished speaking. When two thirty rolled around, he slunk away to the a lonely spot at the top of the bleachers and took out his phone.

'Hey, Dad!' he texted and waited for the reply.

He looked down at his schoolmates playing and talking and laughing and wondered why he really wanted to be a part of that. Maybe he wanted to normalize his life. What normal teenaged boy was enamored with his father, who wasn't human and had saved the world several times? He didn't care about those things, but somebody did. He couldn't stay home and hope to gain his father's affections by simply being around. The man would never want him anyway, for the obvious reasons. What was he getting by staying around? He wasn't benefiting by not going to school and finding himself friends and having new experiences. He had accepted ages ago that the things he'd often dreamed about and wanted more than anything in the world could never happen. With time he would get over wishing they would and that started with being in school, among all those normal kids his age, and finding someplace to fit in. He would never abandon his father, but he had to move on. His dad would always be his dad but sadly nothing else. He would still always be the most important person in his life, regardless of if he did meet someone.

A dull 'ping' noise alerted his attention.

'Hey, Gohan. Just eating lunch. Call me.'

So he did. On the second ring his father picked up.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, just outside for gym. Not much to do. Found a good spot alone on the bleachers and I hope no one wants to join me anytime soon."

"Aw, son, don't let me stop you from having fun. You can go and mingle with the other kids, you don't have to talk to me. We can talk when you get home." Gohan didn't know if he meant it or if he was just feeling guilty. Would he sound weird if he said all he wanted to do was talk to him?

"No, it's okay Dad. It could just be for today. We can just text from now on. I can call you every other day or so if you want. Or maybe if that's too often, we can just text once in a while." Maybe his dad didn't want to hear from him so often, maybe he thought it was silly seeing as they lived together and would see each other when he got home. On the other line, things went quite for a few seconds.

"Dad?"

"Y-yeah, I'm here. It's just...you really don't mind talking to me when you could be making friends? I mean, when we could talk when you get home?"

Gohan chuckled. "No, Dad. I don't mind. I could never mind talking to you. Besides, I like hearing your voice." Two points for creepiness. "I've got one more class before I'm done for the day. Maybe if you're not busy or if you don't mind, you could come pick me up and we can hang out in the city for a bit?"

He heard his father suck in a small breath and prepared to hear that he had other obligations but he said, "Sure, I could pick you up. Is there any specific place you want to meet? I mean, I'd understand if you don't want to be seen near the school with me, what with this whole Daddy's boy business."

Gohan scowled and once again cursed Kurenai in his mind. "Of course I don't mind. I told you, I don't care about that. I'm proud to be a Daddy's boy and I want everyone to know it. If they don't like it, they can kick rocks. How could I not want to be seen with someone so awesome?"

"Nobody can tell that I'm awesome by looking at me, Gohan," his dad laughed.

"You look awesome."

"Haha, how?"

Gohan was glad nobody, especially his father, was around because after he realized what he'd said and then was asked to elaborate, an embarrassed tint rose in his cheeks.

"Um..."

"Hey, Gohan!" a voice called from the bottom of the bleachers. Below, Daniel and Mikoto stood waving for him to come down. He smiled. He was saved, but he was still busy talking to his dad.

"Just a minute, guys, I'm just talking to my dad," he called back.

They nodded and walked away together.

"That your friends?"

"Yeah, the ones I met at the party."

"Okay, you have fun with them and I'll see you after school, okay?"

"Okay, Dad. I love you. See you at 5:15."

"Alright sweetheart, see you then. Bye."

Gohan sat with the phone to his ear after the conversation ended. It was kind of quick, but he was certain his father had called him 'sweetheart'. He had never called him that before. It wasn't a strange gesture but it seemed so intimate. Like something someone would call their significant other or a girl. His blush deepened. He hoped his dad called him that again. It was nice being his sweetheart.

He went to join his new friends, who wanted to talk about his day and tell him some things he didn't know but might have guessed about Kurenai.

"She's wealthy and used to getting what she wants. I mean, she's not super rich, but she obviously has more than most of us have. Ignore her and her stupid friends," Mikoto was telling him, "They eventually get bored with fresh meat, especially when it fights back. They're a bunch of pussies."

Mikoto was a slight, red-headed girl with huge blue eyes. She was prettier than Kurenai and nicer to boot. She and Daniel made a nice couple, even though Daniel was almost a whole foot and a half taller. They had been going out for a year and had been friends since they were six. He hoped he would get to hang out with them all the time. They seemed to like him.

"Hey, Gohan, what class do you have next?"

"Calculus?"

"With who?" Daniel asked, pulling out his already rumpled schedule.

"Mr. Mifune."

"Yes!" Daniel and Mikoto high-fived each other excitedly.

"Us too!"

Gohan smiled broadly. His day was definitely looking up.

"Wanna exchange numbers?"

"Sure." Gohan pulled out his phone and Mikoto whistled.

"Wow, you got a Samsung Galaxy? Sweet." Gohan didn't know much about cellphone brands but his phone was apparently as cool as it looked. They each exchanged numbers.

"Yeah, my Dad got it for me for school. He's the best."

"Oh yeah," Daniel said, "That would explain why you looked like you were about to bitch-slap Kurenai into last night when she called him the big 'L'." He laughed and he and his girlfriend slapped fives again.

"Her enemy is our friend, buddy," he went on. "Anyway, are you doing anything after school? Me and Miko were gonna hit the arcade and get some pizza."

Gohan replied, "Yeah, my Dad's picking me up. We were gonna hang out too."

"Can we meet him? I mean, if it's cool with you."

"Sure!" He couldn't wait to show his dad his cool new friends.

They walked around the tracked and told each other about themselves. Daniel and Mikoto both loved The Office and loved watching and reading anime, like he did. They lived in West City three and a half blocks away from each other and they took the bus home. Gohan was hoping they didn't ask how he got home. His dad didn't have a car and he couldn't very well let them find out he flew. At some point they were going to ask where he lived and how he got to and from school. He didn't know what he was going to tell them yet, he was just too happy they were talking to him.

Their teachers called for them to go inside and the three of them walked to their last class together.

"Had Mifune last year. He's a weird old dude, but he's cool. Mega boring. He likes to make the cool kids answer really hard questions and make them look stupid, it's hysterical." They entered the class and Gohan sat down first and Mikoto sat next to him and Daniel in front of him. Daniel turned around.

"Hey, Gohan, you got a Facebook?"

"No." He didn't want to say that he had no friends to talk to on Facebook and therefore had never bothered to get one. He had a computer at home that he practically lived on but never was drawn to social networking sites. Now he might have to consider getting one.

"Oh." The other boy sounded disappointed. "What, you don't use it, or don't like it or something?"

The demi-Saiyan shrugged. "Just never really was interested in getting one. The thing is, this is my first time in school."

Mikoto's head snapped to the right to stare at him. "Seriously? You were home schooled?"

"Yeah." He felt sort of embarrassed by telling them that but if they were really his friends they wouldn't care.

"I see. Well, if you make a Facebook account, we can all talk to each other over the web. There's a bunch of stuff we could do."

Gohan didn't have a problem getting a profile and was definitely looking forward to chatting with his new friends online. They had a lot in common and he had never interacted with another person over the internet.

"Cool."

"Alrighty, kids." The teacher walked into the room and put bag down and the whole class shut up.

The man was old and mean-looking with a eyesore of a tweed jacket on with lapels and patches and non-matching pants and shoes. Despite that, all the kids in the room gave him their undivided attention, even though some, like Gohan, had no clue why.

"Today is the first day, obviously. Not gonna ride you about homework or textbooks, but you better have the text by Wednesday and expect homework that night. Today we're going to learn what calculus is, for those of you who don't know, and some basic principles. If you're good, I'll let you go early—

"Yes!" some people hissed.

—but that's not a guarantee. You should take notes, though it's not required. Everything I'll teach you is in the book, but it would behoove you to do so just to get a jump on things."

Gohan knew calculus very well. So far none of his classes impressed him. According to his the curriculum, he was not going to be taught anything he didn't already know, but that was expected from the beginning. As long as he had his friends near him, he was likely not to bore to death too soon.

"Psst!" His head jerked up at the quite hiss. Daniel smiled at him.

"You know this stuff," he asked and Gohan nodded and shrugged.. He didn't want to come off as bookish and nerdy, but he wanted Daniel to come to him for help if he needed it. At least he would be doing something productive.

"I know who I'm going to for tutoring," the other teen said and turned back around in his seat. The class went on and Gohan zone out until the bell rang. When it did, he had only seen people in mortal danger move as fast as the students to get out of the class.

"Dang," he said, watching.

"Yeah," Mikoto said from his right, "Nobody wants to bore to death before school is done for the day."

Gohan nodded. He had seen some student nodding off in there.

"Okay, I'm going to call my dad and see where he is."

"Cool," Daniel said, following him out with Mikoto.

He dialed his father's number and waited through six rings before it picked up.

"Hey," the man greeted.

"Hi Dad, are you here or on your way?"

"I'm in the front near the first yellow bus."

Gohan walked, scanning above people's heads for his tall father. Spotting him was easy. Daniel and Mikoto were still looking around, not knowing who they were looking for.

When they stopped in front of Goku, Mikoto bumped into her boyfriend's back as he abruptly stopped.

"Dad, I'd like you meet Mikoto and Daniel. This is the one I met at that party and this is his girlfriend. Guys, this, is my dad."

Mikoto was staring at him. "Didn't I see you at registration?"

Goku smiled at her and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."

"Can't forget seeing a guy like you," she said.

Goku extended his arm and Daniel shook, then Mikoto shook with a blush.

"You're tall," she said.

The man chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

Gohan was beaming. It looked like his friends liked his dad, not that he had expected otherwise.

"Dad, Mikoto and Daniel were going to go to the arcade and for pizza. Since we were going to hang out anyway, can we go with?" he asked, looking up at his father. Goku rubbed the top of his and nodded to the other two teens.

"Sure, we can do whatever you want."

Daniel said, "I don't know if he told you, but Gohan flipped today when this girl said you were a loser. I thought he'd tear her a new one! He said you were awesome, and you sure seem pretty cool."

"You look awesome, too," Mikoto put in, earning her a elbow to the side from her boyfriend.

Gohan withheld a snicker. Of course, she was right. The tall Saiyan was wearing a black wife-beater which loosely hugged his muscled torso to perfection, and tan cargo pants with black sneaker-boots and his baseball cap. He looked great.

"Okay guys, I'm following you, so lead the way."

The four of them started away with a bunch of people when Gohan spotted Kurenai, her friends and some jocks leaning up against a truck and chatting. He made eye contact with one of the members of the jock flock and raised a brow and smirked. The boy glared at him as they passed.

"Funny how they have nothing to say now," Mikoto spoke up, also looking at the crew.

"That's because they're all pussies," Daniel stated absently. When he realized what he had said, he slapped his hand over his mouth and looked back at Goku. "Oh man, I'm sorry, Gohan's dad, I didn't mean to just blurt that out."

Goku laughed. "It's cool. If those are the kids that were giving my son crap today, then what you say is true. Just don't make it a habit of cussing when I'm around. I know I can't stop you guys when I'm not there."

"Yes sir," Daniel said, relieved.

"And you can call me Mr. Son."

"Okay, Mr. Son," Mikoto said. The arcade was just a few blocks away and the pizza shop two more stores down.

"This place is great. They have Pac-Man, Bust-a-Move, Street Fighter, Capcom vs. SNK, all that stuff. I bet I can beat you in every game," Daniel boasted.

Gohan wasn't sure if it would be uncool to tell them that he had never played any of those games before, but decided again that if they were really his pals, they wouldn't care.

"You probably could, but I'm a quick learner. By the time we leave, I'll at least have beat you once."

"Oh really," the other boy challenged.

"Yeah."

They looked around. At the moment all of the games were occupied so they went to get pizza while they waited. While they were ordering, the two Saiyans tried to keep it light so as not to freak out Gohan's new friends.

While Goku placed their order and Daniel went to get condiments, Mikoto poked Gohan's arm and leaned into him and said in a quiet voice, "Don't tell Danny I said this but holy shit your dad is hot!"

Gohan laughed. He couldn't help it. It was especially funny because Saiyans had excellent hearing and his dad was close enough, if he were paying attention, that he could hear her. He wasn't about to tell her that, though. Instead he replied, "I knew you were going to tell me that sooner or later."

"What? How?"

"Daniel didn't elbow you for nothing. You weren't too subtle with the looks and the whole 'You look awesome' thing. You stressed the word 'look' enough for us to get the hint."

She blushed and put a hand over her mouth dramatically. "You think he noticed?"

"Yeah." He wasn't going to lie. Besides, it was funny to watch her face turn different colors.

"My dad is pretty perceptive. Not that you have to be with the way you were going on, haha. It's fine though, he doesn't care. Girls drool over him all the time. He never really notices though. But that's why I could tell you thought he was cute."

"You like any of this stuff?" Daniel's voice broke in on their not-so-secret conversation and Mikoto stepped away from him to the safety of her boyfriend because his father was turning around with their food at the same time.

Gohan held back a snort.

"I got this, kids," Goku said, bringing two trays full of hot pizza to a vacant table.

"Really? Thanks, Mr. Son!"

They sat down across from each other in pairs. Goku was sitting facing Mikoto and she was rapidly turning pink, even though the man was paying her no mind.

Daniel obviously noticed because he leaned over and whispered something in her ear and she went pinker and tried to hold back a smile. Gohan was so happy at that moment that he couldn't stop smiling. It was his first day and not only did he already make two good friends, but his dad had met and them and approved of them and had treated them to pizza. It was great and fun and normal. He was looking forward to school the next day and hopefully chatting with his friends on Facebook that night.

When they were finished eating, they headed back to the arcade and only the Pac-Man game was free.

"My favorite," Daniel said, quickly heading over before anyone else could.

"Ever play?" he asked. Gohan said no.

"It's easy, but you gotta be quick. Miko and I are about neck and neck for scores. Nobody has been able to beat them yet."

Gohan looked at his dad. "You wanna play, too Dad? We could learn together, haha."

Goku started to put his hand up and shake his head, but then stopped and nodded. "You know what, why not? I'll suck, but I'll try."

Gohan's day just kept getting better.

It was around a little after seven o'clock when Mikoto reported that she had to get going and Daniel left with her.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Son. Thanks again for the pizza. You're a Pac-Man natural. Hope we get to hang again soon," Daniel said before he departed.

"Yeah, thanks Mr. Son. See you tomorrow Gohan. I'll text you my Facebook."

"Okay." The duo left to go wait for the bus and Goku and Gohan had an early dinner at a buffet before they made their way to and uninhabited part of the city so they could take flight.

"This is why I'm not to fond of the city. You have to take so many precautions so that people can't see you fly away," Goku said. "Oh well, it was worth it to come. Your friends seem like good kids, and I'm glad you had fun."

Gohan was still smiling slightly. "Today was a really great day. It was only so good because I got to talk to you twice and we played our first arcade game together and you hung out with me and my friends. Thanks for the pizza, Dad. That was cool of you."

"No problem. So, you got any homework?"

"Yeah, I have to write a two page essay on why I chose to take my Biology class and I have to read a chapter for economics. That's all. I'll be finished that within an hour. Then maybe we could do something?"

Goku still couldn't help but find it cute and a little surprising that his son always wanted to do something with him. Such a thing wasn't guaranteed to last, now that he had friends. He had been trying to take as many opportunities to hang out with the boy for the past two months as he could and most of the things they did was initiated by Gohan.

When they got home, Gohan retired to his room to do his homework and Goku went to read a book in the kitchen. He felt that reading would somehow make him feel better about his intelligence at first, but it really wasn't so bad when the book was good. He was reading Clan of the Cave Bear which was a story about the lives of early hominids and how their more modern human counterparts were making their continuance obsolete. He didn't know anything about evolution but Gohan had explained it to him one day and he was so interested he took a book out at the library and had been engrossed in it since last week.

He didn't feel much different reading, but he could see why people liked to do it. Though he considered himself and earthling, he wasn't a human. It was interesting to see the evolutionary perspective and development of the human race. He wondered if Saiyans had a similar history. He wasn't about to ask Vegeta, who would throw it in his face that he knew nothing about his own race.

He had been reading for a while before Gohan came back downstairs and announced that he was finished with his homework.

"Hey Dad, let's look up funny stuff on the internet."

Gohan loved going on the internet. It was some kind of teenager thing. He himself wasn't interested in exploring the web-based world, but his son insisted it was great and had information on just about everything and anything he cared to think about. He was proficient enough using a computer, but he preferred sparring or watching television to surfing the net.

"Daniel and Mikoto want me to get a Facebook account so I could talk to them online. I wouldn't usually do the whole social networking thing, but I think it's a small price to pay for friends like them. Say, Dad, let's forget about that for now. I'll do it later. Can we play a game?"

"What kind of game," his father asked.

"It's called would you ever."

"Would I ever what?"

Gohan laughed. "That's up to me. So, you wanna play?"

"Sure, why not?" It wasn't like he had any ideas.

"Okay." Gohan beckoned him to the living room and sat on the couch facing Goku with one leg on the seat and folded into his lap and his arm over the back.

"So, like I said, the game is called would you ever. Some kids were playing it at gym, that's where I got it from. Anyway, so I get to ask you if would you ever do something and you have to tell me yes or no or whatever your answer is and then tell me why you would, wouldn't ever, or why it might depend."

"Okay..." Goku wasn't sure he liked the sound of this. If Gohan learned it in school, who knew what those kids asked each other. But he would play along anyway, because Gohan looked pretty excited about it and he was already rapidly formulating questions in his head that he could ask.

"Now, these questions are all, of course, hypothetical. Nobody would suggest you would or would not do anything or why. You can ask me anything, and I'll ask you whatever. If you don't feel comfortable with the question, you could skip. In school, skipping led to being teased or hit, but I won't do anything like that. In the school version, after any number of questions, the questioner would ask the person being questioned if they would like to 'up the ante', which means, if they would like more difficult, personal, uncomfortable, or embarrassing questions to be asked. You can choose not to up the ante, but the game ceases to progress after a while if you continually do that. We don't have to, I'm just explaining. Upping the ante is for really daring people. If you asked me to up the ante, I'll say yes, to keep it interesting, but you can say no, that way the game will last longer. I played a round but I was too afraid not to skip so I was weeded out of the game. So, still wanna play with me?"

Goku was nodding along the whole time, getting more and more anxious as his son explained the object of the game. Gohan could very well use this game as an excuse to ask him questions about who it was he was interested in. It was good to know he had the option to skip questions and avoid more personal ones. Still, he was interested in asking some personal questions of his own and with Gohan willing to be daring, it would be unfair for him not to be. If the boy didn't ask him about that person, any other questions should have been fine. Really, what would Gohan ask him other than that that could make him uncomfortable?

"Okay, I'm game. Who goes first?"

"I will," his son said. "Start each question with 'would you ever'. So, Dad, would you ever...drink a cup of gasoline?"

Goku made a disgusted face. "Ugh, no. But I guess it depends..."

Gohan put a hand up. "I forgot to mention that you can ask would you ever in conjunction with motivators. Motivators are things like 'for money', 'to save your own life', 'to get a date with someone you like', etcetera etcetera.. You don't have to, but it depends on the question and could make the game more interesting. The person being questioned or the questioner can specify a 'no motivation condition' in which answers will only be yes or no and why, no maybes, or it depends. Most people already consider motivators when answering questions, likely leading to the response 'it depends', like you just said. Some things are more cut and dry. Now, tell me which is your answer and why."

His father replied, "Well, it depends, like you said, on the motivator. If I had to drink it rather than drink or do something worse, I'd pick that. Or if I had to drink it to save the Earth, or you, or any of my friends. But for nothing? No."

"Okay," Gohan nodded. "Your turn."

Goku smiled a little. There were so many things he could ask. He felt it waste of time asking childish questions like Gohan had asked, but for a start he supposed it was okay.

"Would you ever...and this is a no motivation condition, as you called it. Would you ever hug Vegeta?" He laughed.

Gohan snorted. "No. Way. Not. Ever."

Goku laughed harder at the way he responded. "Why not?"

"Hugging a cactus would be better. And it's Vegeta, why WOULD I hug HIM? I don't even like him!"

"Okay, my turn again." Gohan looked up in thought and put a finger to his cheek contemplatively.

"Wanna up the ante?"

Goku pursed his lips and swallowed. Gohan sure got around to that quick. Should he risk the possibility of being asked about that person or skip and be a pussy? Or was that being wise?

"O-okay. Let's up the ante. I could skip on this, right?"

"Right," the boy confirmed.

"Okay, shoot."

"No motivation condition. Would you ever..." Gohan had this telling little half-smirk on his face that spoke of something embarrassing he was about to ask. Goku braced himself.

"Would YOU ever hug Vegeta?"

Goku blinked and his mouth dropped open. That was the last thing he expected to be asked. What kind of question was that? Why would he ask him the same question he was asked a moment ago? Then the man pursed his lips again and almost rolled his eyes. His son thought he was coy. He must have been trying to narrow down who he thought that person could be by asking if he would ever engage in friendly intimate activities like hugging with them. He did spend what could be considered a substantial amount of time with the Prince. He guessed it was harmless. After all, the boy could never narrow it down to himself because hugging him only meant that he loved him like a father should. He was safe. For now.

"Not a chance. Why? Because it's Vegeta, I'm a guy, he's a guy, he hates me, I'm not quite best buddies with him, and anyone who found out would begin to wonder to about me."

Gohan cheered a little inside. So it wasn't Vegeta. Thank God for that. And now, as he understood, it might not have been a guy. So it was a female. He plotted his next question carefully while he waited his turn.

"Okay, son, that was an uncomfortable question, and now for me to return the favor."

The demi-Saiyan simply smirked. "Bring it on, Dad."

"All right. Would you ever kiss another boy?"

Gohan almost burst out laughing. He had no idea his father had it in him to ask such a question. So he wanted to play like that, huh?

He shrugged. "Sure, if he's cute and I like him. I can appreciate both genders equally."

His dad looked surprised for only a second before he smiled. "Well that backfired," he said. Gohan was watching his reaction but could not see anything that indicated that he found his little confession upsetting in any way. He hadn't expected him to care, him being Goku, but it was a relief for it to come out that way. Besides, he had asked.

"Okay, Dad. So I'm getting that you wanna play hardball. So right back at you. Would you ever kiss another guy?" He was trying not to look too eager for the answer but it was the most exhilarating question he had ever asked the man.

Goku hadn't taken his cap off when that got in and did so then to run a hand through his hair, unknowingly making his son more interested in his response.

"Well, I've never done it before. But I would. If I found this guy attractive and if I liked him, sure. Like you, I can appreciate both sexes." As an afterthought, he added, "He'd have to be pretty special though."

The younger Son was definitely thinking this person was a woman. Now he had to gear his questions toward narrowing down who, which was going to be no easy task.

"Okay, my turn," Gohan announced.

Goku stopped him. "It's after nine so you're going to have to get ready for bed soon. Dinner is leftovers from last night so fix yourself a plate if you want and get ready for bed in a few minutes."

"Okay." Darn, the boy thought, just when it was getting interesting.

"All right, last one then." He had to make this one count. "Would you ever tell someone you had feelings for them even if you weren't supposed to? I mean, have feelings for them?"

Goku squinted suspiciously and turned his head slightly to the side. "What do you mean?" If Gohan was fishing for answers then it was better he was direct so that Goku knew what he was about to skip answering.

"You know, like...let's say you like your best friend's girlfriend or boyfriend or if you liked your distant cousin or someone close like that or if you liked someone twice your senior or junior. Those things are taboo, but if someone really felt like they had to get it off their chest, would you ever condone them doing so?"

It was a question from hell. He stared at the boy, who looked serious as a heart attack. The question wasn't specifically aimed at finding out who he liked and yet, it was. It was an obviously well-thought out question. All of his problems were summed up in that one inquiry. Hell, it sounded a lot like the question he'd asked when he told the boy about his problem. How could it be that Gohan would come to ask him something like without having a clue who he was interested in? Did Gohan himself have a similar problem? Did he have feelings for someone he wasn't supposed to have feelings for?

"Um..." he balked. He could say yes, but what would happen then? Would he be giving the boy the green light to profess his love to someone they knew or worse, a stranger? An older stranger? Well he hadn't said it was a no motivation condition. He would have to explain his answer but Kami knew it depended.

"Well, uh...I think that it depends. Since this is all hypothetical, I'll just say that if a person liked, for example, someone related to them," and it was a great example, "like you said, a cousin, or someone close, then it would depend on how open the other person is. If they are non-judgmental, than I say you should go for it with extreme caution and finesse. If it's a stranger, or someone older but unrelated, again, be cautious. For strangers, you would have to build rapport with them first, then they wouldn't be strangers anymore and then the next step is seeing if they can be trusted. All I can tell you is it depends. I could answer better if I knew some things to be true, like an actual scenario. Personally, I think if the person you have feelings for is someone you know and isn't likely to hurt you for your feelings, then tell them. It couldn't hurt and it wouldn't mean doing anything that would be considered wrong."

The teen sitting next to him looked away. For a minute he said nothing, then he took a deep breath. "Okay. Cool. It wouldn't mean anything, is what you're saying?"

"No, that's not quite what I'm trying to say. It would mean something, I mean, how could it not? I'm saying that it wouldn't mean that anything typical should follow, like dating or anything like that. You said tell, not do, so telling is harmless and doesn't even involve touching. And I would never say that having feelings is wrong. Loving someone, no matter who they are or how you love them, should never be a burden or a crime or wrong. It's just...sometimes, other people don't understand. It's all about the world we live in and we live in a world where things like that are looked down on. I really wish..."

If Gohan was speaking in strict hypothetical, then it wouldn't hurt to air his feelings hypothetically, either. He felt good and yet anxious talking to his son about his inappropriate feelings without having to admit to anything. It was taking a load off his mind to know that Gohan was so open, like himself. He was happy that he had raised such a perfect child, who didn't judge people or blindly follow the crowd.

Gohan was watching him with such intense interest and adoration in his eyes that Goku knew that continuing was the right thing to do. Even if the situation were real, and his son did like someone he wasn't supposed to like, he knew it wasn't him and he also knew that to criticize his young, innocent feelings was the worst thing he could do as this boy's father.

"I really wish it weren't like that, you know," he went on. "If we lived in a world where people were just people, where feelings were feelings and not curses or abominations, where you could love anybody you wanted and not have to think twice about it, that would be great. But like you, I grew up here and I expect not to see certain things, not to hear about certain thing, and not to feel certain things for certain people. It's sad that it ever came to be that way and I don't know much about the human race and I haven't really lived my life in places where I could see multiple social rules operating at once. I had to be told by people I met along the way what was right and what was wrong. It was confusing then and it's confusing now. I don't know, maybe it was different on Planet Vegeta, maybe that's why I feel that these rules here on Earth are erroneous and ridiculous and serve no real purpose. Then again, there are good people and bad people and some things really should never happen no matter what. I don't believe people do anything that could potentially hurt anybody else with the best of intentions. There's always some sliver of malice or selfishness in their actions. Forcing your feelings on someone is an example. Just because you feel a certain way, physically or emotionally, about someone, it doesn't mean you should hurt them to show it. It's at times like that we decide how we want to use our free will, and people don't always us it for good." Was it strange that he had so much to say about that?

But his son said, "See, Dad, that's why you're so great. You're forgiving and understanding, yet at the same time you are willing to stand up for whatever you believe in regardless of what the majority supports. I agree with you on every point, so I guess that's where I get that from. I'm glad to be more like you and less like Mom. There are some things I know she could never hope to understand. But you, you...heh..." he paused. Goku waited. He was surprised, then, when a blush rose on his son's face and the boy shifted in his seat to to force himself to look him in the eyes.

"You know, if you were about 17 years younger or I was 17 years older and we weren't related, I'd have the hugest crush on you."

All the man could do was blink and swallow. Gohan was still blushing and fidgeting and seeing the look on his father's face, hastily added, "With you I know I can say that and you won't freak out. It would be awesome to find a boyfriend or a girlfriend like you. They say that people typically date or marry others that are like their parents, I guess that's true. Then again, who wouldn't want someone like you? You have everything going for you, even though you think you don't. I mean...I'm not trying to say anything about you and that woman you have feelings for, I was just saying that, well, I think she's lost her mind if she doesn't like you, at least, in which case it isn't healthy to be attracted to a crazy person. To be completely honest with you, because I've been wanting to talk to you more about it, I think you put yourself down too much. I remember some of the stuff you said and it doesn't sound like you at all. We both know you're not perfect, but you're closer to it than anybody else I've ever met in every way. So I'm thinking; this person must be extra special if you think you aren't good enough for them. And I'm not trying to butter you up but I really can't imagine who you aren't good enough for."

The younger Saiyan's face was serious and Goku's head was down and his eyes were in his lap as his son spoke. This wasn't the way he thought this game would turn out. He didn't think he would ever speak about that person with his son again. A part of him knew it was stupid to focus on only the negative things about himself because it was so impossible for anything about him to be good enough for the person he wanted. By nature he was already flawed by being older and related and all the things that came with that. When he considered those things, he couldn't help but think about his life compared to that of others.

Sure, ChiChi could have done worse, but she definitely could have done better and it hurt that it took 13 years for her to figure it out. He just felt empty inside, like something was missing, though he had everything that meant anything to him in his life. He had his son but he didn't have him the way he wanted him and he certainly couldn't keep him. Once Gohan was gone, he would be the only person in his group of acquaintances without a spouse. He lived in the middle of nowhere because he didn't like the city and never gave it much thought to move anywhere else. He couldn't think about finding another wife because he had the most unpleasant fault of being in love with his son and he just didn't want anyone else. He loved the boy for the very same reasons and characteristics Gohan described about him and yet he felt that they were miles apart.

He wished he could heed the boy's words and learn from them, find comfort in them, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. It was like he was drowning in these inappropriate feelings and there was nothing else going on in his life but them. How could he get over them when the object of his every desire was always there? Always making him feel lucky and happy and sad and nervous and so low about himself? When the threat that that person who made life worth living would someday leave him and find someone that made his life worth living. He would not always be the most important person in Gohan's life, even if the boy said that now. He wasn't sure he could accept that.

And now the teen was talking about how he would date him if not for everything that made it wrong, if he weren't his son, if he weren't so old, how could that not upset him? The despair and shame he felt was compounded the longer his son talked. The longer his son hinted that it was time for him to move on and find someone, the more his pain increased. How could he tell this child that the only person he wanted was him? And they had just finished establishing that telling should not have to lead to doing and he wanted to not only tell Gohan, but he wanted to be with him. To hold him, kiss him, and make love to him. Those things could never be and he felt so stupid and overly sensitive about even beating himself up over something impossible.

"You taught me to always reach for the sky. I know that sometimes when you do all you get is a handful of air, but who knows, once you may touch the sun. This sun wouldn't burn you because it's been waiting for you. Remember when you told me that, Dad? When I thought you'd have to be crazy to reach out and touch the sun even if you could do it? But crazy is not reaching. Not trying. When you don't know what will happen, making assumptions is not always the best way to go about it. I understand that there are just some things you know, some things that are just wrong, but you said so yourself, feeling isn't wrong. Sometimes it's the doing part that hurts. Sometimes it isn't. Words can hurt, but they can heal, too. I guess that's what I'm trying to do. I asked you that question I did because I knew how you would answer, because I know how you are. So I'm trying to get you to follow your own advice. Tell her. If she is a good person, then she won't be offended. I take you for the kind of guy that would fall for a woman that mirrors your personality and attitudes. But if you did happen to fall for someone who is the opposite of that then I'm begging you to forget about her. You know what? Or him. Whoever it is. If they don't have at least some similar qualities to you, then they probably are not the person you should hurt yourself over. I know you can't help who you fall in love with, believe me, I know, and it's terrible when you want someone you just can't have. I'll tell you something you didn't know about me."

He stopped and waited to see an expression of interest. His dad picked his head up and looked at him. Then he continued. "I asked that question also because I want to know what I should do about the person I like. I like someone I shouldn't like. Just like you. But unlike you, I think, there is a socially stigmatizing basis for why I haven't and probably won't tell them. I don't know if it's the same for you, but I know what it's like to want, more than anything, to just feel like your feelings are normal and wanted, that someone won't hate you for them. I just don't let it get me down. I just know that there are some things that are not meant to be. The way I see it, I shouldn't dwell on the impossible. I have to grow up someday and that day is fast approaching. Like you, I wish things could be different. But they aren't, are they? You don't have to tell me who they are, I don't really care anymore. I just care about you and how you feel and what you've been doing to yourself. This is what happens when your own wisdom comes back to haunt you. I say go for it and tell them, and maybe you'll at least get closure and be able to develop positive attitudes about yourself. You never know, there could be a bunch of reasons they don't seem to like you or share your feelings, it wouldn't always have to be because you aren't a likable person. It could be anything and that is why assumptions will get you nowhere fast."

His father's eyes were open wide and his mouth was slack. He looked stupefied and extremely anxious. He sat staring at him as he talked, as if he couldn't believe that someone shared the same problem he had. Was that good? Would that make his dad feel that he wasn't alone in this and that they could get through it together?

"Do you want to know who I like?" Gohan asked shyly. His father closed his mouth, swallowed, and then looked away. He solemnly shook his head 'no'.

"Why not?"

-LINE-

A/N: I'm not the author of this fiction. I just post it to save it on my phone. It's too damn long I just cut it into two hehe.