Chapter 9:

The thin line between right and wrong


Once again he found himself sitting at lunch on the Ox king's dining table, though, this time was different. Goku couldn't care less about appeasing to the Ox king as he sat there shoving the food down his throat with one hand while resting his head on the other. His eyes landed on the man sitting between Chichi and Ox, his hand casually placed over Chichi's, engaging in a conversation between the two. At that moment, Goku couldn't help the disdain that contorted his facial features.

The instant dislike for the man was unexplainable and Goku vaguely tried to remember when during today's events did it happen.

''Oh yes, all good. I'm Arian, Chichi's fiancé," he introduced himself. Goku blinked a few times, his earlier pleasant mood shifted into an awkward one, the smile that was still gracing his lips, somehow turned eerie and his grip on the other man's hand had involuntarily tightened. ''Fiancé, huh?''

"I didn't know Chichi had a fiancé," he continued. His grip wasn't loosening in the least and Arian fought the urge to cry out in pain, his face slightly pale and sweat glistened his forehead in his poor attempt to fight the pain and look unaffected.

Chichi, of course, caught up to his ordeal and immediately came to his rescue. "Goku, you're squeezing his hand too hard."

That was enough to make earth's hero release the other man's hand, he awkwardly scratched his cheek as he noticed the pained man cradle his hand and Chichi tending to him and asking if he was okay, somehow the interaction just didn't sit well with him.

"Woah, you got quite a grip there!" Arian noted, a pained smile on his face.

Goku released a nervous chuckle. "Sorry I forget my own strength sometimes." he frowned. "I didn't hurt you ... Too much, did I?" Not that he seriously cared but still, he had to ask.

"I think I'll be okay, nothing seems to be broken"

"Great! Glad to know!"

"I guess Chichi wasn't lying when she talked about how strong you are," he stated, still massaging his injured hand before letting it fall at his side.

"Yeah, Chichi is a good girl she would never lie, right Chichi?" in that split second a dark look crossed the Saiyan's face. "Though I don't understand why she failed to tell me she was engaged," he stated with a vengeful smile as Chichi's face blanched.

"It-it slipped my mind," she started while she chuckled anxiously.

Arian shrugged. "Chichi tends to be forgetful at times." he walked over to Chichi and circled his arm around her waist intimately. "Say, why don't you join us for lunch? I'd love to know more about the man Chichi talks so much about."

Normally he would have refused but seeing the way her 'fiancé' held her so possessively, Goku felt compelled by some unidentified feeling to accept his invitation. He smiled almost wolfishly. "I would love to."

He didn't trust the man nor liked him and yes, so far he had absolutely no valid reason for it but, Oh well, his inner instinct never failed him before and they're not about to fail him now. His gaze shifted from Arian towards the Ox king...

Goku was disgusted... He was disgusted with the large man and the way he was fawning all over Chichi's supposed groom-to-be after the poor treatment he gave him last time. Yeah, he admits that this time around the Ox king had actually greeted him nicely, still, it didn't compare to the way he was treating that Arian guy.

'Arian, what a stupid name'

Shoving more food down his throat, his icy glare turned to his new best friend, Chichi.

He felt betrayed!

He wasn't entirely sure why. The knowledge of her engagement vexed him in ways he couldn't explain...

When Chichi finally noticed him, she smiled. "Um... Are you okay?"

"Peachy," he replied, trying not to sound as sarcastic as possible.

The Ox princess frowned.

He obviously failed.

Shoving another ball of rice, he fixed his gaze on his friend's fiancé, who was boasting about building a facility for cancer children.

"That's a great idea, son!" the Ox king beamed, eyes sparkling with admiration... And unfortunately so was Chichi.

"I just love to help people, ever since my... Uh, mother died…" he paused a little, the words seemingly hard to say as Chichi caressed his hand in a comforting matter. "I just wanted to help as many people as I can, it brings me so much joy to know I was able to save at least one."

Goku resisted an eye roll and a snicker. Pfft, Big deal, if it wasn't for him, there wouldn't be any sick children to save. Earth would have been long gone boom.

"That's very noble of you, Arian!" Ox turned as he addressed Goku with a smile "Wouldn't you think so, Goku?"

Ah! The Ox king has finally noticed him.

"Yeah, he's a real hero!" the words flew out of his mouth, his voice dull and unimpressed. "Now if you'll excuse me," he ate whatever left on the plates set for him before wiping out his mouth on his arm. "I have to go now!" getting up and walking away. He had about enough of this dinner and he wasn't about to spend one more second watching those two praise the hell of that... That... That- oh whatever.

"Um, I'll be right back" Chichi excused herself, the chair screeched as she stood up, intending to follow her orange-clad friend. She heard her father call for her as she made her way out of the dining room and into the hallway, trying to catch up to Goku, almost running after him.

"Goku, wait!" she called but he was walking too fast and obviously ignoring her. By the time she reached him, grasping his shirt from behind to make him stop —which did the trick—they were already outside, in the garden.

"Why didn't you stop, didn't you hear me?" she asked, panting a little, eyebrows creased expectantly as she was now facing him.

Oh, he heard her alright. "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in there..." a thick finger pointed at the inside of the house. "With your fiancé?" he says this, putting as much bitter emphasis on the word 'fiancé' as possible.

Chichi frowned, thinking of a way to carefully choose her words, she hadn't meant to upset him, honestly, it's just-

"You know, you girls are so fickle!" he continued, nose scrunched with obvious disdain.

"Excuse me!?" she exclaimed, taking back by his words.

"How can you not tell me that you're engaged?"

"You never asked!" she, Exclaims. She had expected him to be mildly upset, which he had every right to, but this and his earlier behavior at the dining table is simply blowing things out of proportion. "Just what is your problem?! You've been moodier than a girl on her period all day and now you call me fickle?" She yelled, hands clenched beside her.

Exactly, what was his problem? He really couldn't explain why he was feeling like this? He contemplated his response for a second or two as his hand ran through his thick black locks. "I told you everything about me and you failed to mention that one little detail about you being engaged!"

Right, that must be it, he reasoned.

Chichi's eyes softened, guilt washing over her features as her hands fumbled with the fabric of her dress, her eyes not meeting his as she spoke, "I... I just didn't know how to bring it up," that was the truth, the honest to God truth. She didn't know how to bring it up without him asking first and it felt so weird to just come out and outright say 'hey, I'm engaged!' that and—

When her eyes finally met his, they were glistening, looking genuinely remorseful. "I'm sorry, okay? It wasn't as if I wanted to hide it from you or anything and I don't want to lose our friendship," she blew a breath as she continued. "But I really did forget!"

Dear God, why did he feel like holding her right now? He couldn't find it in himself to stay angry at her as he watched her stammer an apology, even if he wanted to. His lips broke into a smile as his hand reached to caress her face but before he could, a hand rested on her shoulder and Goku's mood immediately soured as he saw who the hand belonged to.

Arian came up behind her with that smug smile on his face.

Now, why did he hate this guy?

"Is everything alright?!" Arian asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Everything is fine," Chichi proclaimed, her hopeful gaze meeting Goku's. "Right?"

His lips pressed into a thin line as he nodded, swallowing the uneasy feelings stirring inside him. He was being unreasonable and he had no reason to be rude to the guy and he will act as the man deserved, at least for Chichi's sake. He wasn't here to cause trouble.

"I better get going." Goku forced a smile, his hand extending to shake the other man's hand. "It was nice meeting you, Arian!"

"You as well!" Arian shook it back.

As Goku took flight, he tried to shake the constricting feeling in his chest. Just what was wrong with him?


He adjusted his tie, trying not to itch although he was really feeling like it right now. What was so appealing with these suits, anyway? They wrap around you like a damn mummy's... Whatever that thing that mummies are wrapped with is called. It's tight, he couldn't move freely in it and it was hot and not to mention, it itches and he'd take his orange Gi over this any day.

"Stop squirming." He caught sight of Karen shooting him a warning glare and he smiled apologetically at her. The door opened and they were greeted by a maid and Goku followed his wife inside the house.

Every time he was here, he finds himself struggling to keep his eyes straight ahead. It's a bad behavior, he was told, but the place was way too marvelous not too. Gold dominated over the other colors, huge paintings decorated the walls, and fancy chandleries lit the ceilings. Not even Kami's place was this beautiful!

Everything here spelled expensive, and that includes the people flitting around.

Before he met his wife, Goku was oblivious to the world's social classes, neither did he care to know or understood why it existed. And it was after he met her did he realize that an uneducated, jobless man like him was at the bottom of the social stairs and that she (his wife) was at the top. It was because of that he never felt like he could fit in with these people, and why the last time he was here it had gone so horrible.

"Stop." a quiet order sounds from beside him, and Goku realizes that he was staring. Scratching his cheek, he mouths another apology to his clearly annoyed wife as she smiled and waved at people she knew but doesn't care to remember.

When they finally stand still, a guy offers them a tray full of those thin glasses filled with champagne (a fancy type of alcohol in which he recently became accustomed to). His wife takes one for herself and he mimics her action being extra careful, those things always broke in his hand, and he didn't need to draw any unnecessary attention.

"Wait here," his wife says and darts to god-knows-where before he even has the chance to protest. Goku stood frigidly, staring at his wife's figure disappearing amongst the crowd. It was bad enough that everyone here eyed him strangely, now he had to endure it all by himself.

"Hey!" At the sound of the greeting, Goku notices the shorter man that just stood beside him. "You're Karin's husband, right? I'm Sophia's, James." The man offer's his hand for a handshake.

He knows Sophia is his wife's sister, so he eagerly returns the gesture, shaking his hand firmly. "I'm Goku."

James laughs. "Yeah, I figured. Is this your first time in one of their parties."

Goku wonders if he had exposed himself, after all, even though this isn't his first visit to this house, it was his first party here, so replies nervously. "Sort of."

The man nods and looks straight ahead, casually taking a sip from his glass of champagne. Goku does the same. "Don't you just love all those pretentious people? Acting like they fucking love each other, fucking hypocrites."

"How do you know?" Goku asks, wondering why the man spoke with so much venom. He doesn't like being here, sure, but he doesn't think he knows them enough to think they are pretentious hypocrites, he just thinks that they're different than he is and his own group of friends.

"How do I know what?" The man cocks a brow.

"That they're all those things you said they are," Goku elaborates.

"Oh trust me, I know. I've been around them long enough."

There's a lot of things that Goku feels curious about such as why James was still here if he hates being here, but decides to refrain from asking the man any more questions. Karin always did say that his constant inquiry made him look like a fool, and he doesn't want that.

Goku takes another sip of his champagne before he hears James' voice again. "So, Goku looks like you're pretty popular with the ladies, huh."

He furrows his eyebrows as he looks down at the man questioningly. James gestures with his glass at a group of girls ahead of them. One of them twirls a strand of hair around her finger flirtatiously and he is strongly reminded of the first time he had met his wife.

"I'd hit that if I were you," James continues to say.

Goku wants to say that her Ki was too low to receive a hit from him but is distracted by the movement of the girl's fist in front of her mouth. "What is she doing?"

James looks at him oddly, but says bluntly, "she's saying that she wants to suck your dick."

"What?! But I'm married," Goku bursts, cheeks tinted pink as he looked horrified.

James laughs. "You're really are as weird as they said you are, huh? Oh, wait… Don't tell me that you actually love that…" his features contorts into the semblance of disgust as he scrunches his nose and shakes his head. "Never mind. I'm gonna go get me more champagne." And without another word he sprints ahead, leaving Goku confused and alone again.

.

As soon as she reaches her sister, Karin plasters a pseudo smile upon her lips and hugs her sister as she says cutely, "Hey, sis! I missed you."

Sophia doesn't return the hug, nor does she buy into her sister's façade, instead she says coldly, "I see you brought him this time, too." She gestures towards Goku on the far-side of the room. "You sure he won't be an embarrassment this time as well."

Karin frowns. "He won't, I made sure..." her lips stretch again, and she looks down at her sister's bloated belly. "Anyways, how are you feeling, sister."

"Perfectly fine," her sister answered, tone dry as a sandpaper.

"Great! So how far along are you?"

"Drop the act, Karin, we both know you're not much of a small talker so what is it you want?"

Karin's jaw drops as she feigns both hurt and disbelief. "Nothing, Geez! Can't I ask about how you are without being accused of having an ulterior motive?"

Unimpressed, Sophia raises a brow. "I know you well enough to know that you only came here for two reasons, and aside from trying to embarrass dad by bringing him…" She points at Goku again who could be seen slowly making his way towards the buffet table. "There's something else you want, so what is it?"

"Nothing!" Her teeth grind, she tries to stay calm but deep hidden resentment and jealousy run through her veins like belching lava. Oh, how she hated how her sister read her like an open book, a talent she acquired when she was labeled the heir to everything her father owned, or perhaps even before that. Sophia was a prodigy, the pride of the Shou name while she was cast aside as the good-for-nothing, prodigal daughter.

"Goddamn, you really know how to make someone feel at home."

Guilt is immediately palpable on her sister's features, she wraps an arm around her belly and brings her other hand to rub against her forehead. "You're my sister, Karin, and I love you, but—"

Karin cuts her off with a cynical laugh. "Then you really know how to show it. Just admit it, big sis I've always been a nuisance to you."

She's surprised at the firm grip on her arm, and Sophia's passionate eyes. "That's not true. I'm looking out for you. I've always been looking out for you." They don't break eye contact, and she's touched by the shimmer of genuine feelings in her eyes. "But you sure as hell don't make it easy for anyone to look out for you, Karin."

It was true, despite their differences Sophia had always looked out for her ever since she was a little girl, and she almost feels shame for all those times she used that to her benefit. She casts her eyes aside, avoiding her sister's and draws her arm back. "I need money," she starts quietly, "Dad had cut me off, and Goku, he… he eats a lot… I just… I don't know what to do with the rent and everything else."

When she looks back into her sister's face, she's not at all surprised to see disappointment, yet she still fidgets in anticipation. Sophia sighs. "I can't give you any more money, Karin. I'm sorry."

Her heart sinks. Her sister peruses, "But I can get you a job. I think it's time for you to stand on your own two feet."

Relief washes over her, she had really reached a financial breakdown and although she is unsure of how well she'd do in a job considering she hardly ever worked before (except for that modeling gig which ended terribly) it was still better than assuming her father would relent and give her back her allowance. Karin ejects a breath of air. "Thank you. I promise I'll do my best."

"Honestly, what do you see in him?" she turns following the other's gaze to find Goku trying to discreetly (and failing) to munch down the buffet table.

She titters and considers spitting a venomous remark about Sophia's gold-digging husband (Goku might have his titanic flaws but she knew that he was at least loyal and has zero interest in her father's wealth) but considering she now owes her sister a favor, she chooses not to. "I love him."

Her sister raises a brow. The corner of Karin's lips curl. "Besides, he's great in bed!" and she's humored by the way Sophia rolls her eyes at her.

"Typical Karin."

.

He's on the verge of breaking out in cold sweat sprinting from one alleyway to another, bladder so full he's about to leak.

Just how many rooms are in this house? And why was none of them a bathroom? He's supposed to remember where the bathroom was from his last visit, but this damn house was too big, it's so easy to get lost.

He closes yet another door that opened up to yet another room, continuing his frustrated march down the hallway. If only he could get his wife to help guide him towards the restroom, but she was nowhere in his line of sight since shortly after they arrived here.

With a huff Goku opens up another door, finally finding the bathroom, though his elation quickly dies down at the sight he stumbled upon.

"Ahh!" the girl screamed as she stumbled away from the man who had his back to him, trying frantically to cover up what was exposed of her body. He had recognized her from earlier, the same one who made those obscene hand gestures.

"Fuck!" the man exclaims, pulling his pants up. Goku was about to apologize when the man turned, rendering him speechless. Shocked. "Don't you know how to fucking kn—"

"James!" He stares in silence as the man was anything but comfortable in his presence barely paying attention to the girl who hurriedly brushed past him and bumped Goku's shoulder on her way out in shame. His pressing needs all forgotten now.

James continued dressing up as if nothing happened. when he was done, he looked past him and his eyes widen. "You broke down the door?!"

Goku turns his gaze towards the door frame only then noticing the ripped apart lock and the splintered wood. Shit, he lost control of his strength in his hurry. He brings a hand to the back of his head, a nervous habit he can't seem to shake off. "Sorry, I was sorta desperate to get to the toilet."

"That's some strength you got there," James remarks with a raised brow before he picks up his discarded jacket from the toilet floor, dusting it off a little before wearing it, and then promptly approaches him, putting both of his hands in his pants pockets. "Listen Goku, I know you probably think badly of me now. But… ah, what you so here, it's not what it looks like…"

He scrunches his eyebrows, confused. Which part of what he saw wasn't what it looked like, he wonders. He thought that he got a pretty good idea of what they were doing when he walked in on them entangled on the sink with her skirt hiked up and his hand on her exposed breast.

"So how about I make you a deal?" James continues, taking an extra step closer as he looks up into Goku's eyes. "If you don't tell anyone about what you saw here, I won't tell your in-laws that you broke their door. And with how bad you're getting along with them, trust me you don't need them to know…" He runs a hand through his brown hair and breathes a sigh. "Besides, some people are really going to get hurt if what you saw here comes out, you don't want that, do you?" Goku shakes his head. "So do I have your word, you won't tell anyone?"

Reluctantly, he nods and James smiles, patting him on the arm as he walked out. "You're a good guy, Goku."

His arm where James had touched him tingles in a revolting away, he wanted to rip his suit out and wash his arm free from this sensation. His grandpa had always told him to never be judgmental but he couldn't stop himself from thinking bad about these people.

He really didn't belong here, with them.


Goku, she realized, is by far the most frustrating, infuriating man she had ever dealt with. It has so far been a tiring day of drifting from one store to another. Her feet are sore and she was becoming increasingly tired but at least she was determined to see it through, Goku on the other hand...

"Well... What're you waiting for? Pick one," she ordered, pointing towards the set of beds laid across the store as Goku just stood there, looking bored.

He shrugged. "Do I have to? It's just a bed, Y'know?"

She pressed her lips into a thin line. Ah, right, that's the same answer she's been receiving all day long as if she wasn't furnishings his house and putting the money he entrusted her with to good use. It was the same damn nonchalant attitude she had to put up the whole day.

'What do I need kitchen utensils for? I can't even cook.'

'Do I really need a carpet? I'm not going to be around the house much anyways and it's going get dirty and I'm not very good at cleaning.'

'Whatever, it's just a couch.'

And to top thing off, he kept moaning and whining about being hungry every five minutes. Two hours later through this trip, Chichi decided then and there that this is the last time she's ever helping him with shopping, ever again. Sighing with exasperation, a hand rubbed at her temple as she turned to address Goku again. "Go-"

She halted at the sight unfolding before her. The young, redhead sales casting her eyes and smiling flirtatiously at a smirking Goku who made sure to throw her a wink.

Anger bubbled up Chichi's throat and she swung her fist and punched his arm, hard!

"Owe!" Goku exclaimed as he rubbed his forearm, clearly caught off guard. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

"Pick One!" She glared, tone deadly serious as she pointed towards the beds, taking the desired effect as the man cowered away from her, putting his hands up defensively.

"Okay, Okay. Take it easy..."

She couldn't believe him! Here she was taking her time of the day to buy all the necessities for his house and putting up with his obnoxious self just to find him flirting with some floozy saleswoman. She turned and glared at the said saleswoman satisfied to see her practically run with her tail between her legs. She was well aware of all the attention Goku received from other women today but at least they had the decency not to do anything about it, considering that she was with him—not in a romantic way or anything like that, but they wouldn't know they weren't together, would they? This woman though, didn't even care and went ahead and flirted with a potentially taken man... Who does that?!

"That one!" Goku's voice beamed, breaking her train of thought.

"Which one?" Chichi asked as she tried to pinpoint which one he liked. When she finally did, she smiled, it was actually a good choice. Heh, how surprising. A little too elegant for Goku's taste but she liked the redwood, the whole high headboard and especially the built-in storage drawers, plus it looked sturdy enough to carry his weight. Finally! She didn't have to chide him on his choice this time.

"It's nice, I like it. And you do need a king size bed," she said. Goku shot her a confused look but she ignored it. "Let's see it up close."

When she reached the bed, Chichi was indeed pleased, it really is a nice bed. She checked the wood, the round bed posts, knocked on the headboard, she even sat down on it and checked the mattress. She was definitely buying this mattress too.

"Um... What're you doing?" Goku questioned, giving her an odd look.

"What does it look like? I'm checking the bed for you!" she answered, an eyebrow raised dubiously.

"But that's not the one I wanted," he pointed out, still looking confused as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Chichi blinked, feeling a little disappointed. She honestly liked this bed. "What're you talking about, I thought this was the one you pointed at?"

"Nope, I pointed at this one…" When her eyes landed on the bed next to the one she was sitting on, the bed in which his finger was currently pointing at, she looked at his face -that practically lit up with his wide grin- and then she looked back at the bed he chose again and cast a forlorn glance at the bed she mistakenly thought he wanted and then at his beaming face again.

Ugh, she hated this man!

"You are not having this one," she declared. Her tone resolute.

"Whaaa? Why?!" he whined. "You said to pick one, so I did, what's wrong with it?"

"Goku, you are not picking a ridiculous sandwich bed!" she yelled, pointing a slender finger at his face, threateningly. God, he was really forcing her to act less and less like a princess but at this point, she honestly didn't care anymore. She is not buying the ugly sandwich bed. "just look at it!" she patted the bread-shaped frame, the layers of cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce. "You're a grown man! Grown men don't sleep on sandwich beds."

"But y'know, it is a grown-up's be-"

"Goku," she breathed, feeling a headache coming up soon as she squeezed her eyes shut. She knew the horrid, hideous, grotesque bed was in fact for grown people. She was still not buying it. "Remember when you agreed to do everything I tell you?"

Goku grimaced, then nodded.

"Yeah, you're not buying this bed and that's final."

He pouted before he remarked, "well, aren't you extra bossy today, Princess. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're shopping for your own house."

"And you are still picking another bed, now get moving, peasant!" she turned, not wanting him to catch the blush that stained her cheeks, although she could hear Goku's good-natured laugh behind her.

Eventually, Goku managed to pick a decent enough bed, that he liked and she accepted. It was simple but sturdy and it would fit well in his room along with a full-body mirror, a set of drawers and bedside desks. Everything a bachelor would need in a bedroom. She also made sure to glare hard at the saleswoman, in case she tried to do anything else. All capsuled and ready, she placed the goods in her purse, shifting to the other shoulder. The purse was getting increasingly heavy from all the stuff she bought and her hand went to massage her aching other as she made her way out of the store. All Goku needed now was casual clothes and he's set!

"Oh, oh, oh, can we buy ice cream?!"

Goku was pointing like an excited child at an ice cream stall and she groaned. "Ice cream? Are you kidding me?"

"Oh, c'mon Chichi," he pleaded, giving her the puppy dog eyes.

Bemused, she answered. "No!"

"It's been a long day, don't you think it's high time we took a break? I bet you want one too!" he was grinning and wiggling his eyebrows at her and she couldn't help but note how humorously cute he looked at that moment.

"Ugh. Okay, fine!" She guessed, they could use a break.

...

The day was finally coming to an end and it felt nice to relax like this, on a bench, eating ice cream after a long, long, a very long day of shopping.

Unlike most women in his life, Goku hated the chore. The busy malls were never his favorite place, the babble of people annoyed him and the task was generally boring. Honestly, he couldn't figure out why women liked shopping so much.

At least he got a kick out of getting under Chichi's skin, though.

He had to suppress a laugh at that thought, it was so amusing how easily riled up she got over trivial, silly things, the way she'd bite her lip, her flushed face, and her frustrated huffs. He just couldn't get enough of that, not to mention she looked cute with her hair down like this. But in all truth, he really wanted that sandwich bed…

Sighing, he placed his arm at the back of the bench as he took a bite of his ice cream, enjoying the cool, creamy feel in his mouth and the sweet taste on his tongue as he turned to look at Chichi, fully planning on harassing her, again. As he did so, he took a moment to watch her, entranced. Her tongue darted from between luscious lips, scooping a gob of vanilla ice cream before receding back into her mouth. Her face lit up with delight. His face flushed, his heart beat faster, mouth has gone dry and fuck this is bad!

He jerked his head away from her, whatever he was planning on teasing her with now, was all but forgotten. Shit, he needed to stop doing that. He had to remember that she's just his friend and that she wasn't like all the girls he passed by in his life... And that she had a fiancé...

He couldn't deny that the thought still bothered him in a sense and he tried not to think about it, or Arian for that matter. It was mostly easy when there was just him and Chichi but whenever she brought him up, he immediately wanted her to stop talking. Sighing, he took another bite of his strawberry ice cream, he really needed to stop thinking with his playboy head.

"Finish up so we can go to the men's wear section."

He sputtered, "What?! We're not done yet?!"

"Of course not, we still need to buy you some clothes." Chichi stood up, throwing away the unfinished ice-cream cone in the trash can next to the bench they sat at.

"Don't really need clothes, I'm wearing all I need." he gave her the 'thumbs up', looking proud of himself.

She stared at him, horrified. "You can't be serious! You need more than one set of Gi, Goku. Casual clothes, and some... S-some underwear." her voice was barely audible when she said the last word, embarrassed. Oh, gosh, it just dawned on her, she's going to have to buy him underwear now, isn't she? She gulped. Does Goku even wear underwear?

No, No, No, she can't have that thought in her head now. She shook her head. "Now get up, we're taking you to the men's wear!" she said, determined. It wouldn't be so bad, right?

"Oh, Chichi, can't we just go home already, I'm tired!" he whined, "We can come another day, can't we?" although he says this, he wasn't planning on coming back another day, not really.

"No way, bud, I'm never doing this with you ever again!"

"What? Why? We had fun, didn't we?" she was already walking ahead of him and he followed behind her only to stop abruptly and shoot him a bemused look. "Fun for whom? 'Cause I was certainly not having fun." then proceeded to walk along.

"Oh, I see. I get it. And here I thought we enjoyed each other's company. As it turns out, I was the only one feeling such a thing."

"yes." she was a few steps ahead of him on the escalator, giving him the 'you asked for it' look.

"... " His jaw fell at her response, this time he honestly was in a state of disbelief. "When did you become so ruthless?"

"When I had to deal with you on a day-to-day bases." she smirked.

"So it's my fault, huh?" he said when he finally caught up to her.

"Yep,"

"You're too cruel! Too cruel, Chichi…"

Chichi laughed, walking ahead of him inside a men's clothing store. "Now stop your whining and let's get to it!" Wasting no time what so ever, she picked several shirts, T-shirts, jeans, and jackets, piling them all in his hands as she scurried through the multiple rows of clotheslines.

He likes Chichi. That thought suddenly whirls around in his head. When she's furrowing her eyebrows in concentration, tapping her chin in thought, and when she picks a certain article of clothes, lifts it up in front of him, frowns and says 'no good' before she returns it in its place, and even when she's picking up boxers and briefs, eyes not meeting his and cheeks tinted pink, Goku keeps thinking that he really, really likes Chichi.

And it's disconcerting how happy he feels when he's around her.

…..

"Well, I guess that's about it." She turns to face him and then points to a changing room on the far side of the store. "Now, let's see them on you."

Goku sighs, slumps his shoulders, but concedes anyway…

Thank God, she isn't sure if she has enough energy to argue with him anymore, and from the looks of things, Goku realized that there's no point in arguing with her either.

As soon as he's inside the changing booth, Chichi finds herself a seat to sit, takes out a bottle of water from her bag and thinks, that overall today was a good day… depending on how you look at it.

She has all she needed for Goku's house plus some clothes. Sure, it irritated her to no ends Goku's lack of… uh, involvement to the point where she felt like she could've done this trip perfectly fine without him, that all she got from bringing him along is pointless whining with the occasional 'I'm hungry' bouts—she rolls her eyes and laughs at that, what a baby!—still, she felt pretty accomplished. Chichi liked helping people as much as she liked being in charge of things, and deciding to help Goku gave her the opportunity to do both.

Mentally patting herself on the back, Chichi proudly thinks, she did well. One day she'll make an excellent queen… and wife.

As she took another swig from her bottle, she reminisces on another thing she's self-admittedly good at, interior design. Ah, she couldn't wait to go to Goku's new place and start—

Her thoughts halt as Goku emerges from the dressing room. "Hey, what do you think?" He struck a pose, putting his hand on his hip, looking like a picture taken from a male magazine.

With her jaw hanging open, the water she sipped pools at the bottom of her jaw, eyebrows creased in disbelief. She gulps the water down and gnashes her teeth. She couldn't believe this insufferable man!

Was he really asking for her opinion coming out like that, wearing nothing but a piece of tight boxers?! A part which she was trying really hard not to look at.

God, this man… this indecent man! She furiously clenches her fist around the bottle in her hand, the water spills, eyes closed, cheeks flaming.

"Um, Chichi… why-why… do you… look so angry?" Goku Speaks calmly.

"You…" she seethes.

"Huh?"

"You… You're impossible!" and she turns and storms away, but not before meeting Goku's confused face once more just to tell him that she'll be waiting for him at the cashier.

"I take it, she didn't like those boxers." Goku Thinks aloud. "Oh, well…" He turns back to the dressing booth to change into his Gi, gathers the clothes Chichi had picked and decides to chase after her, he doesn't want to bother wasting any more time trying them on, he's certain they'll all fit just fine, after all Chichi was the one to pick them out for him.

Just as she said, he finds her waiting at the cashier, looking prettily flustered. She doesn't acknowledge him, nor look at him when he puts the clothes on the counter. "We'll take all this," he says. The cashier nods. And Chichi gives him the cold shoulder when he tries to talk to her.

They pay the money and take the bags, evenly divided between the two of them. As they walk out the store, he speaks again. "So, we're finally going home, huh?"

She turns just so she can roll her eyes at him. "Yes, you're finally going home."

As she tries to walk again, Goku places a hand on her shoulder urgently yet reluctantly, because he feels like he has something to say. A lot to say. But when she turns and stare at him inquisitively with those big, warm eyes of hers, he's suddenly at a loss for words, instead, he's awed. The thought of how fucking gorgeous she is dances around in his head and chases away whatever he wanted to say, leaving him staring awkwardly at her face.

How did she always manage to make him speechless? That's pathetic, he thinks. He's pathetic.

"Goku?" Chichi tilts her head in wonder.

"I… " he licks his lip. Fuck why can't he remember the words?

"You… what?" she urges.

"I just wanted to say that… uh…" she raises a brow, and he frowns, diverting his gaze away from her to look around. Best not look at her right now, since it's clearly a bad idea when he's trying to think straight. So he keeps scanning their surrounding as if expecting to find the words he'd lost floating around in the mall, instead Goku finds something else. If he can't put it into words then maybe he could show her what he wanted to say. He looks back into Chichi's eyes and orders, "wait here, I'll be right back!"

"Ah, Goku!" she calls for him as he strides away, "I thought you wanted to go home— and here you go leaving all your bags here," she mutters the last statement watching him walk into one of the stores. Slumping her shoulders in defeat, Chichi takes it upon herself to move the bags away, and walks to a nearby fountain, so she wouldn't be in the way of the other mall-dwellers.

"Geeze, what did he need to buy all of a sudden." She huffs, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for his return. After all the nagging he'd done to leave the mall, yet he's the one delaying their departure.

Chichi sighed, stretched her arms a little before gathering all of the bags with both of her hands, as she figured Goku should return by now. As she looked up, she was surprised to see a man and a women standing before her, both of which looked positively displeased. The women wore an elegant shirt and pants, with dirty blonde hair tied at the back and a condescending scowl as she stared Chichi down, she pursued with a 'heh' sound. As for the man, Chichi is unsure of how to read him, she only thinks that she doesn't like how he's looking at her.

Confused, agitated and slightly self-conscious, Chichi frowns as she asks, "Can I help you?"

The woman starts to speak but stops short as Goku appears abruptly beside her, startling her in the process. Oddly unfazed, the woman looks at him, and the corner of her lip curl in a derisive smirk. "Well, well, well… if it isn't Son Goku…"

So she's an acquaintance of Goku… instantly Chichi's eyes drift to study his face, and she's surprised at what she saw. With his jaw clenched, eyebrows creased, and a sweaty forehead, she could see his Adam's apple pop as he swallowed, she can't remember ever seeing him so uncomfortable. Turning back to look at the woman, just who was she to induce such a reaction from Gok— her eyes widen and she stifles a gasp as she realizes who this woman could possibly be.

She mimics Goku's expression and swallows. Of all the people she could have met at the mall, why did it have to be Goku's wife?


A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me. Your kind words had brought me back to this story. I hope that I will do better from here on.

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one day i'll go back and edit this story, i swear...