Thank you soooo much for all the comments on the previous chapter. I had so much fun writing this and I hope you all enjoy. Please share your thoughts with me.

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me and I make $0 off this.


Goku gave his 12th sigh since entering the super market, knowing that he was definitely working on her nerves with the hope of annoying her enough to make her send him on his jolly way. Even though her back was too him, as she pushed the shopping cart through the aisle, he could see her visibly stiffen attempting to keep herself from snapping at him. He could imagine that vein on her forehead pulsating and her cheeks reddening whilst she cutely crinkles her nose. He can't deny that he always thought she looked adorable when she was annoyed.

"Goku, it's just shopping. Stop being such a child," she hissed in a restrained voice, giving the impression that she knew what he was up to and even though she tried her best, she could not help but fall into his trap. Goku bit back a smile, knowing that he just had to give one more push and he would win their silent match. He rarely got to win against Chi-Chi, thus on the rare occasion he does, victory was always sweet.

She had made up her mind up this morning that he and she would do some shopping and have a 'couple's day' while they were at it- whatever that meant. Like a good husband he had initially followed without objection as they strolled through the city doing window shopping. Pacified by various snacks and street foods, he did not even mind when she dragged him to a hair salon to wait for her whilst she got her hair done. But as the hours passed by, he started growing more restless as neither Gohan or Goten were there to distract him as they both were in school. Only some hardcore training at King Kai's could placate his restlessness now, but every time he so much as mentioned training his wife would shoot that idea down.

He watched her long hair, now curled and falling down her back like waves made of ink, sway behind her as she glided through the aisles. He pulled various products from the shelf, random things of no use, and cradled it in his arms as he silently followed behind her whilst she adamantly tried ignoring him. Something grabbed her attention causing her to examine it, allowing him to take that as an opportunity to empty his arms, the noise causing her to turn around to see him dump useless items in the shopping cart, an innocent grin tattooed on his face. Yip, this would do it, Goku thought when he saw 'that look' of pure annoyance written in her features.

"You, know what, Goku, just go before I-"

"Hi, Miss Chi-Chi," an excited voice said interrupting her from giving him a tongue-lashing he deserved.

Both she and Goku focused on the source of the interruption to find a tall, well-built man with a face that betrayed his youth, regardless of his grown physique. The tall boy stood grinning behind the meat counter, eyes shining with recognition and excitement accompanied by a blush shading his features.

"Oh, uh, hello Libo," Chi-Chi said, momentarily distracting her from Goku's shenanigans.

Libo's smile widened at Chi-Chi's acknowledgement of his presence, something that caused an unfamiliar flutter to erupt from Goku's belly.

"We have a great special today on beef, Miss Chi-Chi…"

And with that Chi-Chi forgot about berating him opting to rather discuss meat prices and quality with the young man who could probably be not much older than Gohan. A frown made itself known on Goku's face as he heard the polite banter between the young man and his wife, he did not understand why but something did not feel right in the pit of his belly. The way the man would 'accidentally' brush his skin against Chi-Chi's when he handed her the meat, or the way he asked her questions like if she finished reading that cooking book by the chef he had recommended, just worsened the feeling. They spoke about the art of preparing food, Chi-Chi beaming as she explained things to him Goku did not understand. If the food tasted good and found its way into his belly, he did not care how it was prepared, much less how it was presented.

As they spoke Goku studied the young attractive man whose smile was a bit too wide. His eyes shone with too much familiarity. Something about this did not feel right to Goku, he could exactly explain what it was, as it was a feeling he had never come across before and he did not like it at all.

The two home cooks spoke for 15 minutes, laughing about failed recipes or kitchen mishaps. Goku knew he could have taken the change to slip out of the store, but the desire to leave her side had evaporated as soon as the butcher smiled that 'too' wide smile of his.

"Didn't I tell you to go," Chi-Chi said once they left the meat section of the store, remembering that she was still upset with him before she got distracted.

"Not really, you didn't get time to finish your sentence," he answered truthfully rubbing the back of his head.

She huffed but chose to say nothing to him allowing a silence to grow between them. This silence is not as comfortable as all the other silence, because Goku's bubbling emotions demanded answers from him, that he could not give.

"Well, what are you waiting for then? You can go."

"No, I want to stay."

She looked at him over her shoulder with an eyebrow raised.

"And where did this change of heart come from?"

"I want to stay," he repeats again as if it was an adequate explanation

Realization then dawned on her

"Son Goku, are you… jealous?" She asked shocked that her husband could even experience such an emotion. Her Goku was too pure of a creature for that.

"No," he said quickly, too quickly to just shrug it off.

Chi-Chi tried to stop the growing smile forming on her lips at her husband's pout, her annoyance forgotten. He was most definitely jealous, even if it was just a little, and that knowledge caused Chi-Chi's ego to swell. Her husband never failed to make her feel loved, be it small things like him mumbling her name in his sleep or feeling a tad protective of her.

"You have no reason to be jealous, honey."

"I'm not jealous, I was just asking a question," he said a bit too upbeat, it sounded unnatural even to his own ears.

That smile Chi-Chi tried so hard suppressing broke free accompanied by a giggle as she gently bumped her shoulder against his arm, as she was too short to reach his shoulder.

"You have no reason to be jealous," she repeats. "Besides, I'm old enough to be his mother."

"That does not seem to bother him," Goku mumbled. "I think you need to start shopping at another store."

Now this was growing absurd.

"Goku, stop being silly."

"I'm not being silly, Chi-Chi. I think there are a lot of stores with specials out there you can go to next time."

"Goku, I'm not changing stores-"

"But Chi-"

"Well, maybe if you had a job I could afford to buy from another store," she said, with a bit fire in her voice.

"My big mouth," Goku muttered, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

He rubbed the back of his head with a pout, this finding a job thing somehow found its way into every conversation. He had been doing a good job of ignoring the hints she was throwing his way, but he knew that she would soon lose her patience with him and small hints will turn into demands.

"This store has a lot of savings Goku and I'm not going to avoid going there because some boy, who is old enough to be our son, has some crush on me," she said calmly as she continued pushing the shopping cart leaving the man to stare at her as she walked away.

Goku looked over his shoulder to find the young butcher intensely stare at Chi-Chi's moving figure, a glint in his eye, a smirk planted on his face. Only when he noticed Goku's eyes on him, a frown shading his features, did he look away before disappearing behind a thick plastic curtain leading to the back.


The strange sensation he had felt in the shopping market would emerge at random times during the days following its first appearance. He did not like the feeling at all. It caused a pit in his stomach through which his swelling heart would drop through causing him to frown. He thought perhaps it was a Saiyan thing, thus he had gone to Vegeta for advice regarding the feeling as he was an encyclopedia on all things Saiyan.

Of course he already put Vegeta in a bad mood by transmitting behind him while he was rummaging through the fridge for something to eat, causing the man to nearly drop his food. The prince shouted at him in an attempt to cover up his embarrassment at scaring so easily, thus when Goku had explained to the man what had happened in the store and the feeling it produced he was met with anything but sympathy from his fellow-Saiyan.

"The problems you and your wife have are of no concern to me," he stated with his arms crossed over his well-defined chest.

"Auw, Vegeta, come on. This is serious; I don't understand what's going on with me."

Vegeta rolled his eyes as he made himself comfortable at the kitchen table.

"What type of idiot does not understand his own emotions?" he asked, the trade mark glare of his focused solely on Goku. "You're jealous."

Goku did not like that word at all. He was not a jealous person. Point blank.

"No, I'm not."

Vegeta ignored his reply. "Stake your claim, this race seems to communicate best through body language, so do the same, play their game"

If he had been the same person, he had been a few years ago, and if he was not under the watchful eye of his wife he would have probably told Kakarot to just shoot a ball of energy in the brat's face. But, 'you don't have to solve every problem with violence, Vegeta' popped into his head, the words accompanied by the sound of his wife's annoyed, yet dangerously alluring voice. Dammit, even whilst she was on the other side of the world, she still held him at a tight leash, though he would never admit it.

It was something the older Saiyan had realized during his years on earth and especially with Bulma. Luckily the women confined her physical acts of attraction to their bedroom as she knew he hated being coddled in front of an audience. His race, however, was one which spoke with brute force not passive aggressive gestures of the body.

"…."

"You have no idea what I mean."

"Uhm, not even a little," Goku said a light-hearted laugh bursting forth from his lips. He hated when people spoke in riddles, he just wanted facts clearly stated on black and white because it was less likely for him to get confused then.

"You're an idiot," the prince growled in irritation. "You display your power- in this case your relationship with the very woman he desires. You show him you have what he can't have. It's called psychological warfare, or something pathetic like that. You show him that she's your woman."

"Oh, that makes sense. But how?"

"Do I look like a life coach? Figure it out and leave before I send you back to the afterlife," he said growing even more disinterested with the conversation.

"Is that what you do with Yamcha- the psychological warfare thing?" Goku asked. Vegeta's animosity towards Yamcha had come up during pillow-talk one night, thus Goku desired to know if Vegeta ever took his own advice.

The short man stuttered, his face turning red in embarrassment and annoyance.

"It's barely the same thing."

"You're right, at least the butcher doesn't get invited to my house," Goku said thoughtfully rubbing his chin, not to taunt him but rather just stating a fact.

"Kakarot, you have two seconds to leave before I return you to your wife as nothing more than ash," the elder of the two growled dangerously. Realizing that he had pushed Vegeta too far, Goku quickly said goodbye and transmitted out of his sight once he locked into someone else's energy.


"Hi Krillin."

The short man yelped, overcome by surprise dropping the binoculars in his hands.

"Goku, hide before they see you," Krillin whispered pulling his tall, very noticeable friend down to join him on the ground.

"Who?" Goku asked in confusion as he made himself comfortable on his belly, he craned his neck to try and pinpoint what it was Krillin was looking at.

"I'm on a stakeout," Krillin explained, hoping that Goku would read between the lines…

"Oh okay, can I ask you something?"

…but of course, Goku was never one to grasp the concept of subtly.

Krillin deduced that humoring his best friend would be the quickest way of getting rid of him and not losing his job.

"Shoot."

Goku explained to Krillin all that had happened, as well as the emotions brewing within him. He even mentioned Vegeta's advice in detail.

"I even went to Piccolo before I came here."

"And how did that go?" Krilin asked, his eyes still glued to the house and the subjects it housed.

"He told me he wanted no part of what happens in Chi-Chi and my marriage. Oh, and then we sparred a bit- he's gotten a lot stronger," Goku said, his voice raising a few octaves with excitement at the surprise.

"Can't blame him."

"For getting stronger?"

"No, man, for not wanting to be in your and Chi-Chi's business. Chi-Chi's scary, and trust me buddy no one wants to incur her wrath."

Chi-Chi was intense, and she would most definitely kill him if were to give Goku bad advice that could directly be linked back to him, even if he were best friends with her husband. No, sir, Krillin liked living very much.

"You're jeal…You feel threatened,"Krilin said changing his initial statement when he recognized the look on Goku's face when his mouth dared attempt to form the word 'jealous'.

"No, I don't" Goku said, a frown growing on his features. "why would I feel threatened?"

"You tell me," Krillin said with a small shrug.

"I'm not threatened by him. I mean, he does not really have the power level of a threat, nor does he seem to have any strange vibes oozing off him." Well except with regards to Chi-Chi.

"I'm not talking about a physical threat, I'm talking about a love rival. But you have nothing to worry about, Chi-Chi isn't really planning on going anywhere soon," Krillin said with an encouraging grin.

"What, no, that doesn't make sense," Goku said accompanied by good-natured laugh that sounded a bit too forced to even his own ears.

"It kind of does; you've been dead for 7 years and even though you died you still presumed Chi-Chi would remain faithful to you and not consider anybody else, right?"

Goku slowly nodded, that's exactly what he thought. He did not care for any romantic companionship but that of his wife, thus he presumed the same would be true for her, because though he had died, he was not gone forever. He knew he would one day see her again in the after life thus he saw their marriage as valid, even beyond death.

"Well, usually when a spouse dies their widowed partner finds someone else."

"Okay?"

"What I am trying to say is that the guy's crush on Chi-Chi might be triggering a subconscious fear borne out of the fact that you were absent for 7 years. Because of that insecurity anybody that shows attraction to your wife, is seen as a rival because you feel guilty and afraid that Chi-Chi might seek someone else who could give her what you didn't and can't, even if it's just subconsciously.

"But-but Chi-Chi, doesn't like him," Goku said scratching the back of his head.

"So? That doesn't mean that in your mind he might not steal her away from you," Krillin said.

"Well, how do I stop feeling like that then?"


"Why do you have to come every week, Chi-Chi?"

"Because you and your sons have no concept of portion control," she said feigning annoyance with a loving grin on her face.

That was not the answer he wanted because it was true: he wanted her to say something he could rebuff and somehow twist around to get his way. His way being her leaving this store and never returning so that 'Libo' could not dare lay eyes on his wife again. The young man was the very reason Goku decided to accompany her to the store, a week later, willingly this time to protect her virtue. Not that his wife honestly needed much protection, her glare alone could turn men to stone, but still that was the reason Goku gave her, resulting in her breaking out in laughter. He was trying to mask his jealousy under a layer of protection; jealousy he still refused to acknowledge.

Noticing that her husband was treading on childishness, rather than his usual childlikeness, Chi-Chi rolled her eyes but allowed him to wallow in his jealousy. She still could not believe her husband who was easily one of the strongest beings in the universe was threatened by a boy who had just recently left his teen years.

His finger curled around her hip whilst he leaned forward, so he could rest his chin on her shoulder. The action surprised her for her husband was rarely one to show affection first, much less in public. But what surprised Chi-Chi even more were the words whispered into her ear: "Cheech, can't we just go home? Goten and Gohan are still in school."

Chi-Chi nearly choked on thin air at the thought that her husband was attempting to seduce her. But was that even possible? Her husband was not much of a planner when it came to intimacy, and nor was he one to bring it up anywhere but in the bed room, thus she shrugged it off. But then he pressed a gently kiss to her vein on the side of her neck, making sure to gently lick the throbbing artery in the process as if to taste her racing pulse.

She was conflicted; on the one hand she was a woman of morals who believed such intimate affection should only be confined to the bedroom, but on the other hand the thought of her husband desiring her was doing incomprehensible things to her body.

"Go-Goku," she stuttered, miserably failing at sounding upset, escaping his gentle grasp. "Stop it. What's going on with you?"

"I'll tell you at home," he looks at her with the most innocent eyes but that smile he gives is filled to the brim with innuendo which has her chocking on her own spit. It would be a lie to say that he was not enjoying his wife's flustered reaction; he rarely ever had the upper hand with Chi-Chi so on the rare occasions it happens he makes sure to relish in the moment.

She gently hits him against his head fearing that the childhood knock he had received was wearing off giving the suppressed parts of his personality the freedom to act so bold.

"Ow, what was that for?" he said rubbing his head even though they both knew that the hit was far from painful.

"What's your name?"

"Why are-"

"What's your name?" She asks again, this time placing her palms to his forehead to feel for a fever.

"Well, I'm kinda hurt, Chi-Chi, I mean we've known each other for over 20 years now, I would have guessed you would have known my name by now."

He was trying to be cute, and dang it, it was working judging by the smile growing on her lips.

"You're such a goofball," she mutters, with a slight pout at not being able to resist his charm, only to be gifted with a dopey lopsided grin from him. "But we're still finishing shopping. So, you better Suck. It. Up."

He pouts at that, watching her pushing the shopping cart, her hips swaying as if to taunt him for failing at his seduction efforts. He powerlessly follows her as she roams through the store; he gathered a bunch of snacks for he and Goten as he follows, thinking he might as well get something out in return for having to endure this. After a while they finally ended up at the dreaded butcher to find to the happily grinning face of Libo.

"Good morning, Miss Chi-Chi," his voice carries the same excitement as his smile. Again, his gaze is only focused on her completely ignoring Goku's presence. Goku's gaze met that of the young man whose brown eyes were glistering with the same boldness they did a week ago

"I already packaged your meat for you, the best cuts of course."

"You're so sweet, thank you," she says with a polite smile causing the young boy to blush.

"Of-of course, Miss Chi-Chi."

He picks up the heavy bags of various meats and cuts, making sure his powerless muscles flex in a flamboyant display that Chi-Chi had to swallow a laugh. She found it all adorable; like a puppy trying to show off its new tricks in exchange for a treat. As she and the butcher made polite conversation both Krilin and Vegeta's advice taunted him, demanding he act therefore he did what any other man would do, stake his claim…publicly.

The perfect opportunity presented itself when his wife's conversation ended, and she turned to walk away from him and continue her shopping. Again her hips swayed as if to grant him permission for what he was about to do. Possessively his large hand made itself comfortable on her soft, plump backside, giving a firm squeeze silently taunting his rival, a smirk planted on his face. Such a display was probably the most primal of urges akin to how animals mark their territory with their urine, but this was a battle Goku was going to win. Goku, loved showing off during a battle, even in a battle of wits it seemed. However, he got too cocky, a character flaw he still needed address, celebrating his victory prematurely as unfortunately for him, his testosterone-induced stupidity failed to consider his wife's reaction to his public claim.

Not expecting, nor ever having experienced such an intimate touch in public, Chi-Chi's immediate response was to hit first and ask questions later. At the speed of light, she swing her fist around to make contact with a very hard jaw, however adrenaline numbed the pain receptors in her body.

Though he had lightning fast reflexes, Goku's unexpecting body flew backwards at the sheer force of her hit, as his muscles did not expect any reaction from her, especially one so forceful. He fell against the hard glass case which protected meat from flies and various other insects, causing it to crack and him to grunt in surprise at having the wind knocked out of him.

The sound of her husband's grunt immediately caused Chi-Chi to run to his side, but she stopped mid-step when her brain registered, what her body did not initially- her husband had just groped her in public. Self-righteous anger heated her skin causing it to turn pink. He had clearly pushed her too far judging by the glow of rage emanating from her skin.

"Why I never! I am your wife, Son Goku, YOUR WIFE, and the MOTHER of YOUR children. How dare you not treat me with the respect I deserve. How dare you touch me like that in public! You're lucky I don't have my pan in my hand or I would have sent you straight back to King Kai-"

"But, babe-" he began sheepishly trying to explain that she was drawing more attention to the action than the action itself, only to be interrupted.

"Don't you 'babe' me,l."

She then turned her ire to the very amused butcher, causing the young man's smile to drop immediately and fear to take its place

"And you ..." That voice is a smooth and poisonous as venom. "… go find a girlfriend your own age, I'm a married woman." The man stared at her with wide eyes nodding as fear coursed through every inch of his body. "And stand up straight, you look like a hoodlum, and your posture is going to give you back problems when you get older."

Immediately the young man did what he was told as he watched her turn her attention back to her husband yet again.

"You better stop this, Son Goku!" she exclaimed as she pulled him by the ear off the floor.

"Ouch, Cheech, too hard."

"Get used to it, the floor you'll be sleeping on will be hard too."

Regardless, Goku can't stop himself from grinning at the knowledge that Chi-Chi probably scared the living daylights out of the kid and it brought him some solace that only he could handle his wife and that's the way it's supposed to be.

All was right with the world again.


Oh yeah, the first few chapters will be in chronological order, those that follow will not be.

Next: It's winter and that of course means a Son Family snowball fight, but Chi-Chi doesn't play fair.