Seventh, Sneaky Goku.


Anyone privy to the essence of the Son family, would naturally assume that Chi-Chi would wholeheartedly enjoy to decadently savouring a time such as now.

They'd assume that at a time when her house chores are finished, and she only has herself for luxurious company, she would cherish the precise quiet that she has, to catch up on her television pleasures, or at the very least indulge in some magazines as any woman given a break from the reality of life would do. They'd think that she would want absolutely nothing to prick through her alone time, thus disturbing her supposed-to-be-indulgence, and then suck her into a routine of actions that she is already familiar with, leaving her unable to pick up back on her relaxation and self-catering time.

Only, it's not quite like that for her.

It's not the exact opposite of that either, but it's just not quite like that for her.

Perhaps, and she thinks this often in her absolutely quiet times, she's been ruined by the many strong males that constantly surround her, endlessly showering her with work here and there, or better yet, her father's constant visits have spoilt her to never fully appreciate quiet and settled time, but she only knows that she doesn't quite love the nothingness of freedom from her marital, maternal and human duties as much as she should.

She likes them, the quiet breaks, that she does, only, not to the extent that she should. Which is why, when her husband appears a few steps away from her, her heart silently rejoices at getting a break from her break. Her magazine, currently on page seven, featuring a story of a model who's faced countless challenges, and still made it, she closes inside her hand, after her middle and index fingers bookmark her page. Just in case Goku leaves prematurely, she'd like to pick up back onto her page, without paging through the magazine first.

'Hi,' gladly leaves her mouth.

She would add a smile to welcome him as well as demonstrate her relief at having her silent break interrupted, but he's got a goofy smile on his face that she can only describe as suspicious, so she reserves her own smile.

'Hi,' he replies, lifting his hand to wave at her.

His waving along with a greeting is nothing new to her, he likes to do that for some reason, especially with her and Goten, but the very familiar book in his hand, is new, and very much worthy of her narrowed eyes. If she suspected that his goofy smile equalled to suspicion a second ago, Goten's drawing book in his hand, is enough confirm that he is being suspicious. Her dear lovely husband makes it his business to not touch, let alone go near Goten's books, and here he is firmly holding Goten's drawing book in his hand?

No, her eyebrows cannot remain in place, when her husband's unexplained behaviour is pulling them to reach higher to her forehead. What is he planning?

'Ask me,' he prompts her with a smile, apparently knowing very well that she's holding herself from asking him what his plan is.

All right, firstly, why did he sound like a child with a new toy, that's just waiting for any friend, or even any random child to ask him about their new toy, just so he can show it off in great detail? That just makes want to know all the more. And then secondly, Goku isn't the type to keep things inside. Secrets he can keep, but exciting things that he thinks are worth telling, he can never harbour within him long enough to cover the time between his base state and his preferred transformation. That just makes her really, really want to know. And so yes, she indulges him, at the same time relieving herself the pressure of keeping her questions held in.

'Why do you have Goten's drawing book?' is her first urgent question, followed by, 'And why do you look like that?' for her to conclude with what she wants to know in detail, 'What are you up to?'

'I couldn't find a writing pad,' Goku answers her, waving the drawing book in front her, 'but I found this. It was on Goten's table.'

For now, his answer aside, just so she's clear, he's been in the house long enough to snoop inside Goten's room, and she's only now learning of his presence? Doesn't he know that she would've liked for him to interrupt her earlier, no matter what mischief or thing he had brought along with him? He knows this about her, he knows that she cherishes being pulled from relaxation for some trivial thing or other, but evidently, going to Goten's room to find drawing book when he couldn't find a writing pad, took more priority for him. Taking that into consideration, she's sparked into remembering his answer and her suspicion of him.

'What did you want the pad for?' she carefully wonders.

Her eyes are still narrowed at him, because her suspicion of him is still very much awake, but she made sure to carefully ask him what he wanted the pad for, so that he doesn't get defensive from feeling accused of doing something wrong; like taking Goten's drawing book when he couldn't find a pad, or not paying enough attention to how she arranges their house, to remember where she keeps the pads that uses to make her endless shopping lists.

'I wanted it for you,' he answers.

And he does it so casually, as if he's talking to her about something that Vegeta commented to him about. What he also does casually, is step closer to her and start showing her the empty pages in Goten's drawing book.

'But Goten's book has a lot of empty pages inside too,' he says to her.

Clearly, she agrees in her head, she can see (and understand) that as a substitute for a writing pad, Goten's drawing book is acceptable. However, the question that she needs to know in detail, is still unanswered, thus, she cannot accept to leave it at him saying that.

'Again, I'll ask,' she lets out, 'what are you up to? You've got your suspicious face on.'

After chuckling at her last comment (which just proves to her that he's not denying being suspicious), he answers with, 'I'm not being suspicious. I only want to help you.'

He only wants to help her.

She repeats his words in her head, to see if they somehow carry some suspicion in their veins, like she's convinced they do.

He only wants to help her.

Ha! Funnier words have never been spoken in this house today, she muses while looking at him smiling at her like that; smiling suspiciously. It's not entirely that she doesn't trust her husband to want to help her, or even offer to help her out of the blue, it's that he's got his suspicious face on, and she just can't bring herself to believe that he's just being genuine for the sake of sincerity. For that suspicion of her, she tames herself to look away from his suspicious features, to the drawing book in his hand. What connection is there between him and the book with plenty of pages? Just what in the world is he really planning?

'Help me with what, Goku?' she wants to know, bringing her eyes back to his face.

'Anything you want,' he says. 'Look, you can write down everything that you want me to do for you, and I'll do it.'

Over the years, she's learned to conceal her shock better, but for this one, this shock literally being close to her and well, unexpected, she can't do anything to hide her shock from him. All the signs that usually point to her being shocked, momentary muteness, enlarging eyes and frozen limbs, claim her on the spot, leaving her without strength to fight them. Like a skilled opportunist, Goku uses her momentary state of shock to take the magazine from her hand, and replace it with Goten's drawing book.

'Anything you want, Chi-Chi,' he gently pushes in a lure, which revives her from her shock to look at him properly.

How him telling her to compile a list of what she wants him to do for her, isn't classified as suspicious by him, she can't understand. Anyone with five active senses would clearly be able to tell that the suspiciousness of it all, is right here floating between them. Suspicious fact number one, he never willingly wants to help her out of the spontaneity of his heart. And suspicious fact number two, coincidentally three days after learning that Vegeta went off to train with Whis, he simply wants to help her?

Ha! Her grandmother is a monkey then.

Sure, she'll give him credit that yes, with the bigger things, he'll effortlessly do whatever for her, including slicing up mountains to build an outdoor fireplace. Although, with the little things, the less heavier things, he dies to even hear about. He shouldn't stand in front of her and tell her that he only wants to help her, and that that is in no way suspicious, because in return he'll get her signature sceptical stare.

'Don't look at me like that,' he mildly complains, sounding like her stare is making him break. 'I really only want to help you.'

She wonders, as she stares at him without faltering, she really wonders if at this very moment, it registers in his brain, that she has been married to him for more than twenty years, and knows all the sneaky parts within his beautiful soul. She also wonders if it registers in his mind, that he has a mini clone that she deals with on a daily basis, who she knows from the marrow to the tip of his last hair strand. She really wonders about this, because he wouldn't be insisting on that cheap line with her.

'Okay,' she nods in acceptance, 'you only want to help me, but you want something in return, don't you?'

Her question, despite being a question, is not really her asking him to confirm it. Some facts, when it comes to Goku, are so irrefutable that not even supposed 'evidence' would be able to clear them from being facts. This man, she knows like she knows how to reflexively count, so when he laughs softly, looking away for a second, she triumphantly exclaims out the confirmation that she already knew.

'I knew it! You do want something.'

And it's also confirmed, he was being suspicious, until he involuntarily came clean with his laugh just now. How he honestly thought that he could be sneaky without her notice, is a language that she's never heard before.

'I don't want anything right now,' he explains, before covering his face with the magazine that he took from her hand. Only after he apparently feels like he's safe enough away from her stare, does he complete his defence with, 'Just in the future.'

Future, he says? What future? The way that she knows him, his definition of future could range from two hours later and infinity, which ultimately means that he could be here for this second, only to be gone in the next half of the day. Yeah, no, she doesn't trust his future 'assurances', if she can call his dodging that.

'What's going to happen in the future?' she questions, roughly pulling the magazine away from his face, and then letting it loose to fall between them.

It's silly of him to think that he can hide behind a magazine after being caught out, she thinks while lightly shaking her head. It's a little cute too, especially with how after realising that she pulled his shelter away, his face breaks into an expression that is the cousin to a sulking smoulder, but still, it's silly, and really not helping his case right now.

'Nothing,' he assures her, 'but lately, I feel like my body needs heavy training, so just in case I need to go to King Kai's, or something...'

Upon hearing his answer, her lips draw together along with her eyes, while her eyes glare at him.

This guy...

Next, her brain starts to size him up, trying to figure out exactly how she feels about him as he stands.

This husband of hers, he thinks that he's so clever...

King Kai's or something, he said, when they both clearly know that 'or something' really means a certain being by the name of Whis. He thinks that he's so clever that she won't figure it out. Or maybe, he doesn't want to mention Whis by name, because their last conversation about him going to train with Whis, didn't go down well. Evidently though, despite having resigned to staying home and being a good grandpa to Pan, he's obviously been plotting his escape since. He obviously still thinks that he is so oily that he can fit through her tight awareness, but she'll show him.

'In case you need to go to train?' she tests, looking him right in the eyes. 'So, you're bargaining in advance?'

'Yes,' he pulls the word, to show that he doesn't like to admit this, 'but that's why you can give me as much responsibility as you want. Goten's book has plenty of pages, see?'

Wasting no time to demonstrate what he means, he pulls the drawing book from her, and begins to hastily flip through it. While she watches him do that, a thought that never occurred to her during this whole time, comes to her now. That thought, is that while he's evidently thought this sneaky approach through, it's only to show that he really does, with all of him, want to go and train with Whis; but with her permission. When she remembers how abruptly he burst through Gohan's wall that day, only to accept her words and stay at home despite wanting to go off and train, it falls into place that he really does want her approval on this. He may be using a sneaky way of bargaining to get what he wants, but all the same, he wants her total approval.

Automatically, prompted by the realisation, she feels herself relax to his suggestion, because either way, he'll get what he wants anyway. She, better than anyone, knows that her husband is the type of man to do what he wants to do, when he feels like he can, or wants to do it, which means that he wouldn't have a problem sneaking off without telling her. The fact that he's held back from leaving for her sake, is enough reason for her to cave into what he wants. But, for trying to sneak bargain this, instead of bargaining the right way, she'll play around with him for a little before she lets him know that.

'I'll think about it,' she tells him, dropping her vision to the book in his hand.

'Come on, please,' he tries in a desperate beg, his tone bringing her eyes back to his. 'I feel like my arms are spaghetti. Feel them,' he finishes, thrusting his supposed spaghetti arms for her to feel.

Although she indulges him in feeling his arms, it takes a lot more grovelling on his part, for her to finally break from her show and tell him that yes, she'll make him very long lists of everything that he can do for her, in exchange for his 'future' plans. And so, two weeks later, when she watches him fly off into the sky with Whis, and her fingers are firmly pressing into the metallic railing of Bulma's balcony after strongly fighting him on leaving with Whis, she remembers their agreement and its consequent benefits, which is why she decides to let it go. After all, he did thoroughly pay his dues to her.


Eighth, Cheating Goku.