In the Stables
Chapter 7
The storm continued to rage on as Goku opened his truck door for light. When he turned his head to see how Chichi was holding up, he had to restrain himself from rushing over and pulling her into his arms. The fear in her eyes had him grit his teeth and force his brain to say something comforting.
"Get in." Smooth. Way to go jerk-wad. He had to wonder if he had a neon sign above his head flashing IDIOT in bright orange lettering. The girl was freaking out, and all he had was a command. "You'll be safe in here." Much better.
Chichi hesitated at first, but soon climbed up in the dust coated cab. If he knew he would have a girl in his truck, he would have cleaned it up, but thanks to the constant driving with the windows down and hauling hay in the back, dust happened.
"A-are you getting in?"
Was he?
When another close strike of lightening popped, Goku climbed in without hesitation. He waited for Chichi to scooch over and plastered himself as close as he could to the door he just shut. Even as big as the diesel truck was, he still felt like he was right against her. He could hear every little breath she took. The sudden inhale and clinching of her fists as another bolt and rattle got its groove on outside.
"Are you scared of storms?" Chichi asked after a moment of awkward silence.
"Not really." He answered, trying to keep his mind from roaming to inappropriate thoughts. "Apparently you are though."
"Am not." She bit out and crossed her arms against her chest. "I just don't like them is all. Especially for the horses."
Grunting in agreement, Goku pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a drawn out breath. The tension was beginning to build in his skull and pound out his eyes from the pressure. Between the heat, kissing Chichi, the storm, and now sitting with Chichi in his broken down truck thinking about kissing her; he wasn't surprised that a migraine was showing up to add to the mix.
Need to chill, Goku thought as he noticed the steam rising on the windows.
"I'm sorry." Chichi broke the silence. How long had they been sitting there not speaking?
Goku cleared his throat, "Sorry about what?"
"About today. About anything I've done since meeting you to make you not like me," Her voice was faint when she spoke. As if she were afraid to say what was on her mind, or what he would think. Shit. She was going to bring it up, wasn't she? "I really did want you to kiss me. And I'm sorry that I pressured you to do it."
Pressured? Goku had to hold back a groan and grip the steering wheel. He was far from being pressured into kissing the girl. If common sense didn't kick him in the ass when it did, he would have gone a lot further than what he had.
"I don't want to stop training with you, Goku. I've learned a lot." Her sweet voice caused every muscle to tighten. His hand that was on the steering wheel had turned white around the knuckles. When he didn't respond, Chichi began to fidget with the door handle like she was ready to bolt out of there and take her chances with the storm.
"You..." He began, trying to find the words that would keep her from leaving, "You don't have anything to be sorry for."
"But, I've done something to make you hate me."
Hate her? She really thinks that?
"I don't hate you." It came out more like a growl than comforting words as they were intended to be. He just couldn't support the tone in his voice and hold his body at bay at the same time.
"Then why don't you want me to help with training? I promise I wont get in the way anymore. I'll do anything I can to help out."
How was he to respond to that? First, a good head ramming into the steering wheel would be good for starters. She seemed to recoil as he readjusted himself in his seat. He really needed to just get it all out. Make her understand what would happen if he allowed them to work together. But could he grow a pair and actually explain it?
When he made no attempt to break the awkward silence, Chichi flipped the handle she had been eyeing and opened the door. The interior lights popped on just as his brain finally began to function again. Without thought or reason, he reached out and grabbed her wrist. It definitely did the trick of stopping her, but now that he had her attention, what was he supposed to do?
"Goku?"
Oh right. Say something that will keep her from leaving. "I should be the one," his voice was low as he held her wrist and made eye contact. She seemed surprised at the sudden change. "I should be the one to say, sorry. And I am. About...everything. But I'm not sorry for meeting you. That kiss today? I didn't want it to end. But it had to. Do you understand? If we continue working together...there might be a chance, that could happen again."
Goku forced himself to let go and lean back into his seat. She was wide-eyed as she comprehended every word he said. Well, he hoped she understood anyways.
When she seemed to calm down and ease back into the truck, the young girl began to fidget with her hands. "Then...why can't it happen again?"
Surely he heard her wrong? Was she asking for it to happen again? To have him at her lips and completely surrender to the laws of nature? And why the hell was he contemplating this? The answer would be, no. Plain and simple. He couldn't let that happen again, no matter how much she begged and pleaded.
Yet, the words to let her down were stuck in his throat.
"Goku?"
He jumped when realizing just how close she'd gotten. Somehow without him noticing, the young girl had come within a few inches of his face, looking into his eyes and waiting for an answer. With her close proximity, Goku felt his hardened heart start to pound. Being this close to her had every wrong doing, every evil deed in his past melt away. She was like a light at the end of a tunnel, expanding as he drew near.
"Chichi, we...we can't-"
"Why? Why can't you see that I like you?" Her voice was strong but her body was shaking. He could tell it was taking a lot of courage to tell him that. A seventeen year old having more nerve than himself who had a few more years of maturity. Now who was acting like a grown up?
Goku cleared his throat. A second time for good measures to make certain his voice would come out clearly, "I can't...You're my bosses daughter. It's not right."
"Who gives a damn about that!" She angrily bit out. Her brows lowered and in the small capacity of the truck, things grew serious. Chichi was bound and determined to get what she wanted.
"You're seventeen-"
"I'm not a child."
No, she was very much a woman in this moment, he had to agree. Chichi was so close he could easily reach out and pull her in. Her scent drove into his nose of clean laundry. His lips parted just as his hands were raising to grab her. Was he really considering this?
"Do you, like me?" She questioned, adding to the numerous thoughts racing around in that pounding brain of his.
From the beginning, he had always looked at her as a spoiled girl, and she still was. But something had changed from spending so much time together. That's the reason he wanted to distance himself from her. If he could have separated the chance that she could grow any feelings towards him, then this moment may have not happened. But had he been too late with his own feelings? He had tried so hard to put up his hardened walls he had built through out the years, only to find this girl cause his ruin. Each brick he put up, fell down piece by piece. He felt exposed and the raw wounds he still carried were out in the open for her to see if she looked hard enough. Did he want her to see them? The scars on his heart?
When her hand touched his own, all the worries, all the pain, all the guilt seeped out, leaving only her presence. She was leading him out of the maze his heart had become lost in.
"Yeah," he swallowed hard. No going back. "I do."
Her cheeks rose in a soft smile, causing the light she was already blinding him with to radiate to a most welcoming warmth. He could see himself becoming lost in that light. Lost in her.
Chichi was hesitant at first, but he knew what she was trying to do. His first instinct was to jump out of the truck and not allow anything to be rushed, but he couldn't move. He anticipated her lips.
Chichi couldn't believe she was actually doing this. She couldn't believe she had told him she liked him and knowing that he liked her as well. She was drawing closer to his lips, her heart pounding in her chest since she got in his truck. How did she go from being angry at him to being lost in his presence? How did they get to this point in time? And where the hell did she find all that courage?
By going with her heart, she could feel that he needed to hear her words and know her feelings. He was restraining himself since the day they met, but the cold stare he always had given her had melted away. There was a battle being waged within his heart, and if there was anyway to help him win the war, she would do it.
As she let her lips fully touch his, it took a minute for them to respond. He was the first to begin moving his mouth, teaching her the ways to glide and delicately draw her tongue along his lower lip. Remembering her first kiss, this was a lot better. She knew what to expect and how her body would respond to the feel of him against her. Chichi just wished she knew what was going inside that head of his.
Okay. She was kissing him and he was definitely kissing her back. No mistake in that. He had to remind himself that she was the one to kiss him first, but hell, he was right with her. Exploring and tasting the sweetness of her mouth. And she fucking responded with a soft moan. God help his reserve. What the hell was he doing? Was he really allowing this to happen right now? Yeah, he liked her and she felt the same, but was it still alright to be doing this? As she ran her tongue against his, the answers came flooding to him. Yes, yes, and hell, yes.
Fuck the rules, screw the age shit, and bring on the peace he was dying to have. He needed to find a way to let go of the past, and this girl was his bright future. She was meant for him, yet he couldn't comprehend why or how, but he knew in that moment he would be doing this very often with her.
When Chichi's hand moved up his chest, the warmth of it soaked in. He knew she could feel his heart pound against his rib cage, his breaths heavy as his lungs found it hard to expand properly. Hell, was he having a heart attack?
The hand continued to move up. Past his neck and finally resting on his shoulder to hold onto as she inched closer on her knees. If he put his hands on her, he would do something even more idiotic than what he was already doing. This time, she would have the free range. It was only fair for what he did to her earlier that day.
Since he refused to touch her with his hands, Goku increased the kiss. His tongue darted into her parted lips, invading space and meeting up with her curious tongue. Her hand tightened on his shoulder as she learned what to do. After she seemed confident, she did the same. Pressing into his mouth with a raging fire he had created. They met half way, then taking turns devouring.
Just as his will power to keep from touching her became a bending branch, Chichi pulled away to catch her breath. Her shy smile caused a grin of his own to explode. She was about to lean in for another round, but this time he did stop her. "Slow down," his voice cracked with a chuckle. "No need to rush this." Yeah, definitely needed to slow down. Kissing was going to be the only thing he allowed to happen and if she kept pressuring him into any more contact, another problem would surface. Or rise, more like it. His jeans were already beginning to feel a little tight once her tongue met his, and he was leaving it that way.
After sitting and catching their breath in silence, Goku spoke up, "Sounds like the storm has passed."
Chichi nodded her head as she listened. There were slight rumbles in the distance but nothing compared to the storm that had just passed.
"So...will you still let me train the horses with you?"
A laugh rolled up out of his chest, surprising not just her, but himself as well, "Is that what you were worried about the whole time?"
"N-no!"
Goku didn't follow what his body did until it actually happened. It felt like the right thing to do, so he went with it as he pulled Chichi into his arms and onto his lap. She didn't struggle in the slightest. Both her hands were placed on his chest, her eyes smiling down at him.
"Yes. You're still going to help me," he answered and brushed Chichi's long hair from her face and behind her ear. She was absolutely breath taking in the glow of the trucks light. "I would be lost if I didn't have you watching me get thrown a few dozen times."
A spark of irritation shot across her face, but Chichi's smile never disappeared. "I do more than just watch, you know?"
Another chuckle vibrated his chest. He loved seeing her flustered and he could finally admit that to himself now that it was out in the open.
She was his kindling to the burnt out fire in his heart.
As Chichi sat in Goku's lap, she couldn't help but think how their relationship had turned a one-eighty. The man she was mere inches from, had completely changed. When she would catch glimpses of his smile, it would cause her heart to flutter, but now as he laughed and smiled directly at her, she could feel a tingle all through out her body. To have his complete attention and to know how he felt about her was a bit scary. She had never known that falling for the first time would be so nerve rattling.
"What are you thinking about?" Goku broke the silence as well as the many thoughts racing through her head. Apparently she had just been awkwardly staring down at him. She double checked to make sure she didn't have drool running down her chin from the impolite stare down.
Great, now he probably thinks I'm a total weirdo, Chichi groaned internally and shook her head.
"Nothing," she answered on a shy voice. He was staring at her intently and she didn't know what to do with herself.
"Oh come on. I know you have something wondering around in there," he teased up at her as his hand softly held her hand. His fingers were shaking as he squeezed tight.
Is he as scared as I am? His face held no sign of being nervous, but his hands said other wise. There wasn't a chill in the air to make the excuse up that he was cold, so why was he shaking?
"Are you nervous?" Chichi asked without running it by her brain first before letting it fly out of her mouth. But in the end she was glad she asked. She had the pleasure of watching a blush take over his cheeks. She couldn't hold back the giggle at the sight. The fact that Goku was able to look cute while blushing had her lock away the mental picture within. Who knew when she would be able to see him this way again.
"Well..." he started and paused for the longest time. His eyes became serious as he thought it over. Contemplating if this was the right thing to do or not. She just had to make him understand that she wanted this. Wanted him.
Chichi leaned in and gave him an encouraging kiss. It was light and delicate. Just enough contact. She was beginning to feel comfortable with the whole kissing thing, especially with him. She pulled back just enough to see what facial expression he held and watched him lick his lips.
"You've got to stop doing that," he forced out and rearranged himself in his seat as if he was becoming uncomfortable.
"But I like doing it." Chichi answered honestly. Goku let out a constrained groan and leaned his head back against the headrest. "And I think I'm getting better at it."
"You got that right." Goku muttered.
As he continued to keep his head laid back, Chichi looked down his neck. Her lips were twitching to go there, but she refrained from it. His chest expanded under her hands as he forced out a controlled breath. The tension in Goku's body had returned, causing concern to rise.
"My eyes are up here." The realization that she had been staring at his body caused the girl to jump. His smile was still intact but his eyes were once again fighting a new battle. It was a look she didn't recognize. Heated, and a bit clouded. Was this lust? His mouth parted to speak, but even before he could get what was on the tip of his tongue out, the barn door swung opened...
*I just want to take this moment and thank each and everyone of you for reviewing and continuing to show support for this story. I appreciate it! I'm just glad there are readers out there interested in this fic so that it wont be placed on the back burner (which it has for the most part.) I'm making it my top priority to work diligently on the next upcoming chapters. There may be a delay in updates, but just know that I am working on it. I've had personal issues arise, and I believe you all understand that life comes first.
Bless you all, and thank you once again!
