Author's Note: I just wanted to say that I changed/erased the things on Chapter Four to make Chi-Chi seem less desirable/wanted/popular and all that. It's just, I decided to take this story in a different direction than I previously intended, by making Chi-Chi, kind of, unpopular. I also changed it so that nobody knows that Vegeta is the Prince of Saiymayn. Except himself, of course. Nothing major, I just took out some tiny details, so you don't need to go back and re-read it or anything. I know, it may seem weird, or sudden, and all, but just read on, and I promise it'll make sense after a while.

Oh, and as a side note, nobody outside of the little group (Bulma, Chi-Chi, Yamcha, Krillin, etc..) knows that Goku saved the world against King Piccolo. They just think that the king demon magically disappeared. They are aware that Goku is a martial artist (from his escapades in the Tenkachi Budokai) but they don't know just how good he is (controlling Ki, flying, etc.). In the party he flew so fast that no one even saw him.

Sorry for the long A/N! I just had so much to say….

Disclaimer: My love belongs to another...

Chapter Seven: Careful Where You Stand

"...in my sleep, dude."

Part of the football team, bearing their team's red letterman jackets, stood against the hall lockers, waiting for the bell to ring. Their hollers and laughter could be heard coursing through the entire school.

"Yeah, that's the only place you can screw her, is in your dreams!" One of the boys said, much to the laughter of his friends.

"Shut up!" The first boy yelled, playfully pushing the other one.

After the laughter died down, they spoke again.

"So what about you, Goku? Get any action at the party?" One of them asked.

"Yeah. I know most of the time you don't get what's going on, but it's a fact that you hook-up with a girl at every party. Don't know how, I've always figured that the girl does all the work while you just follow idly." Chuckles were followed after.

"Yeah...so who was it this time?" A blonde-haired teammate nudged him on the arm.

"Hehe..." Goku scratched the back of his neck, wrinkling his sports jacket. "Well, no one, actually."

"What? Are you sure? Maybe you were just making out with someone but you didn't realize that's what it was." Even more laughter was ventured out.

Goku shrugged. "Yea-yeah. It's the truth."

"Well, then, where were you for the whole party? I just figured that's what you were doing."

"Oh, that. I was with somebody."

"Who?" They all sharply inquired.

"A girl."

"So wait-." The blonde-haired boy put his hands out to stop him. "You were with a girl, and you didn't hook-up with her?"

Goku shook his head.

Stunned, the boy continued. "Wha-? Well, who was she?"

The fighter cleared his throat. "Chi-Chi."

Looks of surprise were exchanged. "Chi-Chi?!"

"Yeah. What's wrong with her?" Goku naively asked.

"Well," Another boy spoke. "She's hot and all, but she's... just, so...annoying."

Goku furrowed his brows. He leaned back against the locker. "No, she isn't."

"Umm...yeah. She kind of is."

"Yep. It's like every time in Science, whenever I want to say one word to someone, she turns to me, and goes 'Shhh!' I talk again, she tells the friggin' teacher on me! What is this, pre-school? It's like, what went up your ass and died?"

Goku scratched the back of his head. "I don't know what you guys are talking about."

"There's a shock." One of the guys murmured. Luckily, Goku did not hear.

"I don't know how you don't see it, dude. It's so obvious. Maybe you're just blinded by her hotness. But a girl's only allowed to have so much crazy packed." A boy with a mohawk elaborated.

A boy with a shaved head started to speak. "Wait, so what'd you guys do, anyways?"

Goku shrugged again. "Nothing really." He started to scratch the back of his neck nervously as he spoke again. "But I think we're kind of, like, going out now."

Shocked, everyone's eyes flew wide open.

"Ho-how?"

"What!?"

"You're going out with her? But how? You've never gone out with anyone before! And you choose Chi-Chi? Of all people?"

Before Goku could speak again, the ding of the bell was heard, and slowly, everyone filed out. Usually, the group of guys wouldn't have cared, but they needed to attend their classes these days to keep their average up for a spot on the team.

The black-haired boy stayed back with Goku, though, as they both headed off to their classes.

Walking side-by-side, the boy put his hand around Goku's shoulders, as a comrade would, which was hard to do, considering the fighter's enormous height.

"Look," The boy began. "You're one of my best friends, Goku, and I just want to help you. But you can be so clueless sometimes."

Goku sighed. "You know, I'm real sick of you guys picking on me all the time."

"Sorry. It's just, well, Chi-Chi may appear to be popular, and loved, and all that shit, but she's not. She just hangs out with all the people who are. As in you, Bulma, Yamcha, etc, etc. But nobody else really likes her. The only reason anyone has asked her out, is 'cause they wanna see who can finally hook up with her. But of course, she won't do anything, 'cause she's just so uptight. None of us will actually date her."

Goku took a minute to absorb all this, before speaking again. "Look, Lint, what do you want from me?"

Lint took his arm of his shoulder and stopped the both of them. Facing Goku, he put his hands up, palms facing upwards, as in self-defense. "Listen, do whatever you want, but dating a girl like her, will ruin your reputation. Now you wouldn't want that, would you?"

Goku didn't answer. The second bell rang.

"Just think about it." Lint walked away, leaving Goku to stand alone in the midst of the hallway.

XXXXXXX

Chi-Chi could not stop smiling. The whole weekend a grin was plastered on her face, despite the presence of a blistering hangover and being bent over a toilet all day as her father interrogated her actions.

The whole while, though, she smiled. Chi-Chi finally knew what they meant in the movies when they said that 'the sun was shining, the birds were chirping', and all that. She refrained from calling him on Saturday, to avoid him seeing look like the living dead, and to not seem too eager. But by Sunday afternoon, she couldn't stand it anymore.

She took her father's jet to The Kame House. Although, she had to sit and watch as Goku, along with Krillin and Yamcha trained, she just thanked Kami that that pervert Roshi was out buying groceries with Launch. After about an hour or two, Krillin and Yamcha went out by themselves to "explore" (Chi-Chi figured out that Goku had told them that they were dating, and being respectful, they gave the two their space).

Nothing significant occurred then. The two carried on like usual, talking, laughing, going for a swim, but just the fact that they were now going out, resulted in some small foreign behavior. Whether they realized it or not, they'd already shown signs that things had changed; just the little things like sitting closer to each other, looking at each other more, and feeling an extremely slight duress at the mention of the opposite sex by one another.

She couldn't wait to go to school now; to show off their relationship in front of everyone. Including that bitch Chelsea. She would hold his hand, she decided. When she saw him in the hall, she would reach out and grab his hand. She knew that Goku had never gone out with anyone before, and even though she was well aware of his "scandals" at parties, Chi-Chi knew that some of her actions would seem a bit unusual.

'Oh well. Someone has to teach him.'

All dressed, and ready to go, she stuffed down the last piece of her French toast, and went outside to join Bulma in her car.

She threw her backpack in the backseat, and took the passenger's without so much as a glance to her friend.

After minutes of silence, as Chi-Chi looked to the opposite side, Bulma spoke.

"Look, I'm really sorry, Chi-Chi."

No answer.

She sighed. "You know how I'm like when I get drunk. I can't control it. It's like I'm a different person."

"Well, then, don't get drunk."

"I can't. I want to; I need to. I'm not you, Chi-Chi, I wanna have fun."

Chi-Chi let out an angry breath. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows, looking at her friend questioningly.

One hand still on the wheel, Bulma ran a hand through her hair. "I didn't mean it like that. I just mean, you can have fun whilst sober. I'm just not built that way."

Chi-Chi pressed her lips into a thin line.

"It doesn't matter anyways; I'm still really sorry, I should've been more considerate. I left you like a thousand messages this weekend telling you that, but whatever. Can we just forget it?" she looked over to her friend. "…..what's new?"

As much Chi-Chi wanted to be mad (she loved holding grudges), she let it go, wanting to tell her friend her important news.

"Well...something's new.." She half-grinned, uncrossing her arms.

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Yes...?"

"Well, you know Goku…?"

Bulma chuckled. "Yes, I'm familiar with his work."

Ignoring the sarcastic comment, Chi-Chi continued. "I think we're, like, going out, now." She bounced in her seat, giddily.

"Really?" The heiress sounded astonished, eyes wide open.

"Yes, what's so surprising about that?" Chi-Chi was offended now. She expected her friend to be surprised, but mostly happy; not as if it was the craziest idea in the world.

"No, no. Nothing wrong with that! That's awesome! It's what you've always wanted! It's just, I didn't know Goku was capable of going out with someone."

Chi-Chi crossed her arms once again and grunted. "Well, I'll have you know that he was more than aware of the situation, Bulma. Despite your opinion, he was and is, genuinely happy to be going out with me."

"Alright, alright, Chi-Chi. Geez, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Hmph."

"Anyways, that's great, Chi-Chi, really, truly great. I'm happy for you." Bulma smiled at her friend.

Chi-Chi slowly uncrossed her arms, and smiled timidly at her friend. "….thanks."

"So, have you told anyone yet?"

"Just you, so far. And I think Goku told Krillin and Yamcha, too, though." She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"No reason, no reason…" Bulma took in a breath. "Well, actually, I think you should refrain from telling anyone, right now.."

"Why?"

"It's just, I don't…think," Bulma knew she had to be careful with her word choice, now. Any word, misplaced, and Chi-Chi would blow a fuse. "That…that people would, approve, you know?"

Chi-Chi sighed. The only reason she didn't get mad was because she was expecting this answer, and she knew exactly what Bulma meant. Still, she had to ask. "What do you mean?"

"You know, I just don't think that a lot of people would feel, good, about you two, together. It might upset the social balance. And it might, hurt, Goku….you know?" She was hesitant to say the last sentence.

"Because he's popular and I'm not?" She had a bit of an edge to her voice, now. She couldn't help it; Chi-Chi knew what Bulma was saying, but it was one thing to think it in your head, and another thing to have someone else, your so-called best friend, say it.

"No, no. You're popular, Chi-Chi….."

"You don't have to lie, Bulma," Her tone was softer now. She looked to her side. "I know I'm not popular. I just hang out with you guys, who are."

Some silence passed before one of them spoke.

"Just….just don't tell anyone, okay? Until you're sure." Bulma said.

Chi-Chi let out a breath. "Whatever."

XXXXXXXX

She decided against the whole 'holding-his-hand' thing. Chi-Chi figured her blue-haired friend was right; it might boost her status, but it would definitely hurt Goku's. She knew he probably didn't even care; compared to saving the whole world against King Piccolo, this was nothing, of no importance.

But still, somewhere, deep inside, she knew that she could not handle anymore of their peers' rude words.

The school hallways were getting empty; the bell had already rang and everyone was making their way to class. Bulma was headed to the library on the other side of campus, so the heiress had quickly dropped off her friend and drove off to the East. As Chi-Chi entered the school, she spotted a picture of Chelsea, along with the rest of the cheerleaders, in the trophy showcase. She then, decided, right there, that she didn't care about the stupid social order of things. If she wanted to hold his hand, she would hold his hand! Hell, if she wanted to make out with him in the middle of the hallway, well then, that's just what she would do.

Who gives a fuck what other people think?

XXXXXXXX

Goku's head was flat down against the desk, his arms around it as he looked around restlessly.

"Hey, Goku!" Chi-Chi practically screamed as she rushed to take the seat beside his, pushing another girl headed for the same place out of the way.

"Oh, hey..." He said, slowly picking his head off the table to look at her.

She smiled widely at him, showing off all her pearl-white teeth. "What's up?"

"Oh," he chuckled nervously. "Nothing, really."

Chi-Chi nodded her head thoughtfully. "Cool, cool." She looked around for a minute before slowly reaching out her hand and grabbing his, hooking them together.

Goku looked down at this scene, thinking for a minute before basking at how warm, and reassuring her hand was. He smiled up at her then, leaving his out-of-characteristically sad demeanor behind.

They just smiled at each other, forgetting their whole scenery, leaving the whole classroom behind.

Goku tore his glance away from her for a second to take a peek at the students filing in to the classroom. He caught sight of Lint as the boy looked at Chi-Chi disapprovingly, then glancing at their hooked hands and quickly making eye-contact with Goku, shaking his head fiercely.

As the spiky-haired fighter saw some of the guys from the football team coming in behind Lint, Goku quickly tore his hand away from Chi-Chi, folding them on his desk.

Chi-Chi looked at him questioningly. "Wha-?" She was about to ask when she saw Goku's friends coming in the class. "Oh." She nodded her head knowingly. Looked like even the clueless Goku knew what was going on.

She looked away to hide the pain evident on her face. "Never mind." It was barely a whisper, although with his extra-sensitive ears, Goku caught it.

He bowed his head in shame.

XXXXXXXX

"Hmph. I'm surprised you were able to make it out of bed." A familiar condescending tone called.

Chi-Chi closed her locker, to find a certain pompous Saiymayn leaning against the other lockers, arms crossed, smirk in place.

She rolled her eyes. "Please. I couldn't even feel the alcohol."

"And is that why your porch now reeks of your stench?"

"Wha-! That is so-...wait a minute..." Chi-Chi raised an eyebrow. "How would you know?"

"Woman..." Vegeta shook his head. "I could hear you up-chuck from a mile away...if only you pathetic Americans could hold your liquor..." He sighed.

Chi-Chi gritted her teeth. "Was there something you wanted, Vegeta?" She spit out his name.

His smirk was quickly replaced by a scowl. "What? Am I not allowed to talk to you now that you're sober? Now that you've got other options?" The look on his face was threatening, but surprisingly, it held a twinge of sorrow, which quickly went away before anyone could notice.

She stared at him for a while, furrowing her eyebrows, before sighing and looking away. "No, Vegeta. But could you save the insults? I'd rather not have one more person on my case."

"What do you mean?"

Chi-Chi took a deep breath. She hugged her textbooks tighter against her chest and started to walk away. She murmured, again. "Never mind."

He was quick to catch up with her. Walking side-by-side, many glances were sent their way, most of them as if to say'what is he doing with her'?

"What's with you, woman? Pick yourself up. Your sad display is pathetic."

Chi-Chi didn't answer. She just gritted her teeth and refrained from punching him in the face. Not that it would have had much effect on him, anyways.

Vegeta looked over at her and grunted. "Sorry.." he mumbled incoherently, quite enough only for Chi-Chi to hear.

"Look around Vegeta; do you not see everyone staring?" She continued to walk ahead, moving at a very slow pace.

He took a quick glance around. "Yes. Your point?"

"Look at how they're staring. Cold, cutting; as if I'm the worst scum they've ever seen." She said mono-tonelessly, without any hint of emotion.

Vegeta didn't speak. He continued to walk slowly beside Chi-Chi, looking at her as she spoke.

"It's not like it matters. I should be used to it by now, anyways. Anyonewould kill for someone like Bulma. Me? I'm just there. I look at people; they look away. And that's only if they don't mutter some nasty comment first." She wasn't speaking to Vegeta anymore; it was as if she was saying these comments to herself.

They soon came to the end of the hallway, where only a single window remained. Chi-Chi stood still in front of the window, staring out. Vegeta still stood beside, looking at her.

He shook his head and looked away. "I don't know what you want me to say, woman 'cause I sure as hell will not pity you. Your so-called problems are nothing of importance. You should not care what others think. Fuck them all. They can go to hell."

Chi-Chi let out a small, wavering chuckle. "Easier said than done."

He looked back at her. "So what? You gonna let them walk all over you? Woman..." He shook his head again. "You're gonna let one stupid comment ruin you. I must say...I'm disappointed. I thought you were stronger than that." He paused for dramatic break. "Guess I was wrong…" His whole speech seemed like a forced façade, but Chi-Chi knew that deep down, he truly was disappointed.

Slowly, he started to walk away, just as the bell rang, and everyone filed out, leaving Chi-Chi to stand alone in the midst of the hallway.

XXXXXXXXX

"…Tris and Lapel, Mike and Ralasia, Peri and Cam, and Vegeta and Goku. These will be your partners for the history project. Now I don't want to hear any complaints, I will not change it."

As the teacher went back to his desk, slowly, and silently, students got out of theirs to meet with their new partners.

Vegeta just continued to sit in his chair, unsurprisingly arms crossed, but the grimace on his face was even bigger than usual.

'With that blasted moron, I'm going to fail the project. He wouldn't know history if it shot him up the ass! Damn it. Damn it all!"

"Hey, Vegeta!" The spiky-haired prince looked up to see his cheerful partner standing in front of his desk, looking down on him with his normal joyful expression.

"What?" Vegeta spoke with a slight edge.

"Let's work on the project!" His happy tone did not falter.

He sighed. "Yes, I suppose.."

"Good, good. Alright, so…? What did you have in mind?" The tall warrior asked as he sat on the chair placed next to Vegeta.

"Why? Can't you come up with anything on your own?"

Goku shrugged. "Yes, but, I was just wondering. We're supposed to do this together, after all.."

"Well? Let's hear it. What is your plan?" He stared at his partner impatiently.

"Well, we're supposed to just pick a country, right? So, I was thinking, what about Egypt?"

He contemplated this before speaking. "Pick a country? You idiot. Let's do Saiymayn." Vegeta spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, but a lot of people are gonna want to do that. Let's be different."

The short teenager sighed in exasperation. "Yes, but we will do it better. We are actually from there, after all.."

"Alright, I guess so.." Goku slowly nodded his head. "So when did you want to meet up?"

"Meet up? Why would we do that?"

"Because, Mr. Brahm said that this was the only class time we were going to get, so…yeah.."

Vegeta groaned loudly in frustration. Not only was he going to have to put up with this idiot, but he was going to have to use his own free-time, the only time he could escape the tiring clutches of humanity, to do it.

He shrugged. "I don't-…I don't care. Anytime. I guess.." He added tiredly.

"Okay," Goku spoke with standard glee, oblivious to his partner's despair. "How 'bout this Saturday? My house? You know where it is, right?"

"Yes. Fine. Whatever." He waved him off, as a boss would dismiss his employee.

With nothing more to say, they both just sat there, their thoughts concerned with different subjects, as the murmur of their classmates rose around them.

"Hey, Vegeta..?" Goku finally spoke.

The mentioned snapped his head around to face his partner.

"Can I ask you something?" The third-class Saiymayn asked, quite timidly.

"As long as it's not stupid." He spoke stoically.

"Okay…um…so…" He scratched the back of his neck. "What do you think of Chi-Chi?"

Vegeta was taken aback by this question. What was the deeper meaning of this? Why did he care? The prince furrowed his brows. "Why do you ask?"

Goku shrugged, attempting to seem non-chalant. "I'm just wondering."

"No. Nobody ever just 'wonders' something." He smirked on the inside, thinking of the irony of how he had previously done just that to the raven-haired girl. "Why do you care?"

The other teen sighed. "Well, it's just that…everybody has been saying stuff about her, and, well, I just want to see if you also think that. I know you don't know her very well, but yeah….."

Vegeta scowled, as if disgusted by the opposing male. "You're pathetic. People like you truly sadden me." Goku frowned. Vegeta continued. "You shouldn't care what other people say. It's cowardly to let others form your thoughts, your opinions."

Two motivation speeches in one day. Vegeta inwardly shook his head. He hated how people at this school were so affected by others. It was weak. And if there was one thing the Saiymayn Prince hated, it was weakness.

"Oh.." Goku spoke softly. He looked away, and they both just stayed quiet for the remainder of the class.

XXXXXXXX

"Beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear..."

She ran her hand along the wall, tracing the outline of the cracks and dents staining the white plaster.

"You are someone else." She gently placed her whole hand against the surface.

"I am still right here." She whispered. Slowly, she leaned her upper body against the wall, tracing the lines now with her eyes.

"That's beautiful."

Chi-Chi didn't move. She brought her head to look down at her old, worn-out soccer cleats. Not having gone shopping in a while, these were her only option. But as usual, she didn't care. Despite it being a bit uncomfortable, and small, it simply did not matter; much less the disheveled appearance.

"It's Nine Inch Nails." She answered the voice from behind.

A familiar gentle chuckle was heard. "I didn't know you listened to Nine Inch Nails."

"I didn't know you knew who they were." She still didn't turn around as she heard a step towards her.

"I didn't. You told me about them, remember? Unlike everyone else, you were nice about it. You didn't scream, or call me stupid."

Chi-Chi absently nodded her head.

"But I thought they were rock? I didn't know you liked rock."

"People can surprise you." Even softer, she spoke.

"Yeah."

"Why are you here? Did you lose your time-table again?" She placed her forearm against the wall to lean on, still facing the opposite way from her visitor.

A small, yet comforting laugh filled her ears. "No. Not this time. Bathroom. I- I saw you here. I wanted to see what you were up to."

She nodded her head again, slowly, without purpose. "Nice.." A vacant answer.

A sigh, filled with obvious frustration, came from behind. "Chi-Chi….." The guest spoke softly.

The black-haired teen finally turned around, calmly, gracefully, and made direct eye-contact with her visitor. Unlike her usual self, her face remained stoic, expression-less, yet it contained a soft, unspoken sadness. She leaned back against the wall, her hands behind her.

"Yes, Goku?" She said his name without the normal intensity as before.

Goku didn't walk closer; he just held their gaze, as if that closed the distance between them.

"Are you sad?" Chi-Chi couldn't help but smile at his naivety. The look on his face showed all his innocence. Just a child in a teen's body. Too gentle to hurt anybody undeserving.…. 'But you.' She thought dryly.

She chuckled, yet it was free of humor. "No, Goku. Why would I be?"

"You just seemed, kind of, different. But I've never been good at this stuff anyways." He shook his head.

"Did I hurt you?" He took a step forward.

"No. Of course not. You didn't even touch me."

"Not that way."

Chi-Chi sighed. She twisted her head to look to her side, to the window at the end of the hallway. "It's not you that hurt me, Goku."

"You know, Vegeta told me something today. Something that made me shut-up."

He continued when she didn't answer. "He said, 'You shouldn't care what other people say. It's cowardly,'". Goku shrugged. "I know it's not much of a poem, unlike that 'Shucks-fear' guy, but it made me rethink something's."

"Such as?"

"You." Chi-Chi brought her head back in surprise at his bluntness.

Goku took another step forward, closing the distance between them, trapping Chi-Chi against the wall.

"You're the only one who's nice to me, Chi-Chi. You're the only one who stops to actually care. I know I can be difficult sometimes, because I don't get everything, but you never yell. You're patient...Gentle."

Chi-Chi gave him a soft smile at his words as she looked up at him. She was genuinely touched by his words. Nobody ever looked past her angry and nagging exterior to see how much she truly cared. She grinned more widely, not showing any teeth, but it fully reached her eyes.

Goku gently cupped the side of her face, brushing her hair back and running his thumb over the soft surface of her cheek. He lowered his head so that it was almost level with hers, and it was so close that their noses were just barely touching.

Softly, he spoke in a whisper. "I don't care what anyone thinks, Chi. I like you. I can't explain the feelings I get when I see you, or be close to you, like this," he brushed his other hand against her forehead to put her stray hair behind her ear. "I don't know what it is. But I like it. It's…it's warm. Like you. And- I- I don't want that to go away."

Chi-Chi's breath faltered at their close proximity. They had been near each other before, but never like this. As sad as it may seem, Chi-Chi had never been close to anyone like this, before. Her body remained unmoving, too startled to react. It was then she noticed how handsome he really was. His strong, chiseled jaw, his kind brown eyes, and his clean, shaven, stubble. And his scent- oh, his scent! She was sure that he didn't take as many showers as he should, but strangely, that was just the way Chi-Chi liked it. He had a strong, musky smell. Like the outdoors, the balmy mountain breeze that hugged your body on a warm morning. It was intoxicating. Handsome was not the word, no. It was much more. He was, in a word, beautiful.

Goku, then, brought his forehead to place directly against hers. "Who cares what other people think?" He breathed huskily, his voice laced with desire. He licked his lips, looking down at hers in an almost hunger-like desire. Goku tightened his hold on the side of her face, and slowly, he brought his head even down further to meet his lips with hers.

"You do." She murmured quietly, almost forcing herself to say it, causing Goku to stop in his tracks.

He looked up at her from his lashes, clearly frustrated with her for ruining another one of his attempts.

"I don't." His voice was gritty, husky, which sent shivers up her arm but she wasn't going to give in, although she wish she did. How much she wished she did. He was so close to her now, any slight movement and their lips would be touching. She could move forward and taste him, in all his husky form.

'No.' she internally shook her head, pushing him away, much to his chagrin. She turned the other way, not wanting to look at him.

"You say that now, but as soon as soon as someone sees us, you'll just push me away." She ran a hand through her hair. "And I won't blame you."

"I won't, Chi." His disappointed clearly showed. He took a step forward to grab her from behind, and was even more upset when she moved away.

"Just go, Goku." Still not facing him, she looked down to the ground as if searching for a way out.

"Chi-Chi…" He whispered, disbelievingly.

"Leave." She said a bit more forcefully this time, but it was still quiet.

Bowing his head down, he turned to leave but stopped midway in his tracks.

"No." He growled. Pivoting around, he grabbed Chi-Chi's wrist and spun her around, pinning her against his muscled chest. Her eyes were wide with shock and fright, but before she could respond, he crushed his lips against hers, wrapping his hand in her hair to push her against himself.

It started out forcefully, Goku kissed her with vigor completely unlike him, but then as Chi-Chi got over her initial shock and melted onto him, he replied by making it more gentle, soft, taking time to activate all her senses. Chi-Chi wrapped her arms around his neck, using it as a fulcrum to push her body against his. It was a gentle kiss, tender, yet filled with compassion. His mouth was warm, moving against hers in a passionate manner, in no hurry. It was as if the whole world had stopped, everything put on pause just to capture this moment, the two of them, setting away all their problems for one instant. One minute of pure, unadulterated passion.

Goku tasted like honey, almost as sweet as he looked. He then pressed his tongue against her teeth, gently asking for access which she willingly gave. They explored each other's mouth, tracing each other's every inch, searching for any way to be closer. Goku slowed down the kiss now, taking the time to enjoy it, and as he did, Chi-Chi moaned against his mouth in amiable pleasure.

Smirking of his success, he calmly pulled her off him, as he gradually broke off the kiss.

The fighter slowly opened his eyes, to be met with a pair of affectionate brown ones. Arms still around each other, breathing heavily, he gently pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes again, taking in her scent, her essence; her everything. They breathed in hurried tones against each other, not wanting to let go.

"It's Shakespeare, by the way." Chi-Chi whispered quietly between breaths.

Goku took his forehead off hers to stare her in the eyes. "What?"

"What you said, earlier," She smiled kindly. "It's Shakespeare, not Shucks-fear. It's okay. It's a difficult name."

Goku just stared at her for a while, before letting out a soft chuckle and pulling her in for a hug.

He pressed his head into the crook of her neck as he pushed his nose in her hair.

"Only you, Chi-Chi." He whispered, ever-so-tenderly. "Only you."

XXXXXXXXX

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