Goten nuzzled into his pillow, trying to will away the sunlight that was insisting he wake up. As far as the hybrid was concerned, he had earned the right to not do anything at all for a few days. After all those hours awake and stressed and desperate, he needed a little mental break from everything. Staying in bed until an absurd hour was a start. After that, he was going to lounge about in his shorts and a t-shirt and eat junk food, watching a stupid movie on one television while playing a video game on another. It was his lazy day, damn it, and he was not going to lose it.

That had been the plan, at least. Unfortunately, plans rarely went as planned for their little group, and that day was no different. Goten ignored the first four times his cell phone rang. After all, there was no overpowering energy level running rampant, and no one was hollering for him to put his pants on and jump in to a fight. If the world was not ending, he was not going to care. Unless, of course, whoever failed to get his attention began calling his roommates.

He could plainly hear Trunks' phone ring, just as clearly as he heard his best friend answer. It was quiet for a moment before he heard, "He's asleep, and if the world isn't ending…" Goten smiled at the phrase. Only a best friend would know him so well. A little later, there was a dramatic sigh coming through the wall. "I understand that, but I have a feeling that everyone is just as exhausted as I am. On the off chance that we are confronted by a terrifying power house tomorrow, can we please get rest today?" Another pause, then, "Fine, I'll ask. When he wakes up. I'm not getting him up before he's ready."

Goten shook his head as he rolled over and staggered to his feet. It was sweet that Trunks wanted to protect him, but he, too, was a best friend, and would not force Trunks to stand in the line of fire for him. "Hey," he mumbled, opening the door and stepping halfway out, "I'm awake already. What's up?"

Trunks frowned slightly as he realized that Goten had probably been awakened by the phone call. "Nothing that can't wait, buddy."

"Naw, it's fine," Goten assured, offering a dismissive wave. "What's the issue?"

Biting the inside of his cheek for a moment, Trunks softly told him what was going on. "Um, apparently my mom want to give Goku a chance to look through some of the old stuff from the house that you and Gohan didn't take, but she wants at least one of you there when it happens. You know, in case you want to call dibs or something."

Goten groaned. "All the things in the world we could have gone up against, and I'm stuck fighting my greatest weakness: a severe inability to organize."

"I can tell her…"

Trunks' offer was cut short, though. "I'm goin', I'm goin'," the hybrid yawned. "But Goku's just going to have to wait until I get food and a looooot of coffee." Warily he looked over toward the very messy kitchen. "Assuming, of course, we have any coffee left."

The prince and his younger sister, who had crashed on the couch, exchanged a look. It still seemed intense to them that Goten addressed his father by his first name, but neither one of them wanted to contradict it. After all, they were not exactly fans of the man. "I think we have a little left," Trunks responded.

"Actually," Bra piped up, "I was thinking of going out and getting some of the really good stuff. What's your order, big guy? I'm buying."

As he listened to Trunks relay his message to Bulma, Goten sleepily smiled at the young heiress. "How about I go with you?" he offered. "I kind of want to get some fresh air."

Making sure the phone call had absolutely ended, Trunks rounded on his dearest friend. "So help me, Goten, I love you like a brother, but if you're 'going out' with my sister, you damn well better put some pants on!"

True enough, Goten was still in his sleeping attire: his shorts. "First of all, of course I'm getting dressed if I go out in public," he snootily told the prince. "And secondly, dude, we've been swimming together a million times. She's seen me in clothing that covers these specific dimensions of my body before." A couch pillow was launched at his head, but Goten only laughed as he ducked his way back into his room. It was not how he had planned to spend the day, but at least it still seemed doable.

/

As the phone buzzed, Gohan felt the overwhelming urge to swear violently at it. It had been the first restful night he'd had in goodness only knows how long, and he was not ready to surrender it yet. It was his brother's ringtone, though, and he knew that he had been blowing Goten off far too often. Trying his best not to disturb his wife and daughter, the doctor reached over and grabbed his phone, softly saying, "Hey Squirt, what's up?"

"Oh...wow…"

Gohan shifted slightly, trying to get in a more comfortable angle. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no," Goten assured. "No, it's just, well, I'm not used to you picking up. But no worries, it's probably better I got you in person anyway. Hey, why are you talking so quiet?"

"I'm trying not to wake up Pan and Videl."

"WOO-HOO!"

"Goten!" the older brother hissed. "Too loud!"

The younger one let out a little chuckled. "I'd apologize, but I think we both know there's a severe lack of being sorry on my end."

Gohan shifted again. "So what's up?"

"Oh, yeah, right." Goten hesitated slightly. He thought it was only fair that Gohan know about what was going to happen that day, no matter how rough the feelings were between him and their father. "Listen, you don't have to come to this if you don't want to," he prefaced, "but Goku and I are going to go through some of the old stuff today. You're invited to join us, of course, but there's no problem whatsoever if it's not your cup of tea right now."

Gohan considered it for a moment. He was not entirely certain that he wanted to see his father again that day...but a part of him really wanted to be there so he could reminisce with his younger brother. "What time are you guys thinking?" he gently asked. "I'm not spending all day on this, but I might be able to pull off an hour or two."

"Not for a little bit," his brother assured. "I've only been up for ten minutes. I'm on a coffee run with Bra right now."

The two talked for a little longer before hanging up. Gohan slid his phone back to the nightstand and was getting ready to once more relax when he felt a hand on his chest.

"An hour or two where?"

Videl's real question was clear. After swearing to spend more time with his family, was Gohan really going back on his word?

Gohan leaned over and kissed her gently on the top of her head. "It's not work," he gently promised. "Dad and Goten want to go through some of the old stuff today. I was going to spend an hour or two with them doing that." When his wife gave him a slightly concerned look, the husband gave a soft smile. "Don't worry about me," he assured. "If I decide I don't want to be there, I'll leave. Screw obligation."

It was hard to argue with the man. After all, for the first time in years Gohan had a family task that involved a parent directly. But having Gohan, who had only recently begun to find his own peace, spend a lot of time with a man he held largely responsible for his family's problems… "Are you sure you want to be there?"

"I'm sure I want to know exactly what happens with that stuff," Gohan answered. "And I want to go through the past with Goten. Goten's the real reason I'm going."

"Okay." She paused before asking, "Do you want me to be there, too?"

But Gohan shook his head. "No. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like the two of you to go back home today and resettle. While I'm over at Capsule Corp, I'll talk to Goten about crashing at his place."

Videl nodded. Things with her husband were, for the moment, feeling quite nice. However, they were both adult enough to know that there was still work to be done, and they would not rush in for the sake of a speedy reconciliation. "We'll head back after breakfast," she promised him. "And Gohan?"

"Yeah?"

She held him a little tighter and smiled. "You are having dinner with us tonight, right?"

He kissed her again, leaning his cheek into her hair. "I promise."

/

Goku paced around the living room like an animal trapped in a cage. It almost felt as though the walls were coming in at him. Capsule Corp had always been a place to visit for a few hours, not a place to stay at for days at a time. Hell, even his own home had felt too confining to him most of the time.

He frowned deeply. His own home...there was no such place any longer. There was, literally, no place like home. The house had long since forgotten him, and as badly as that hurt, Goku could understand how that had happened. He had walked out without saying good bye. Just because he had planned to return someday did not make it okay to do that.

Thoughts that had been fighting their way through his mind came back to the forefront. Things he had never knowingly paid attention to before, things he had never even thought of as 'things', were screaming at him. Mistakes he had never realized were mistakes haunted him. He had barely been back and already it was starting to get overwhelming.

There was a very real part of him that wanted to run away. Just disappear from that world, and never deal with these problems. Never fight these battles. Never feel the pain. That piece of him wanted to actually leave forever. Staying hurt.

But he refused to let that part of him win. Too many times he had run out of his problems. Too many times he had put his own wishes and desires first, even if he had never meant to. Even if he had not even known he was doing it. He had bailed on his wife and his children too many times before. It did not matter that it hurt. It did not matter that it caused him stress and anxiety and pain. No, he would stay. He owed that to his family.

He owed them so much more than that, but it was all he could offer.

When he had talked to Bulma about seeing what stuff of his, if any, was left, he had not thought that it would be a team activity. Now Goten and Gohan were coming over, and he was going to go through every piece of their history with them.

It was getting overwhelming…

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he almost missed his second born's arrival. He opened his mouth to try to get a greeting out, but Goten's words froze him in his tracks.

"Hey, Goku!"

It was the same as it had been the last time he had seen Goten. The younger son had offered an explanation of his choice of term when addressing his father, but it still cut into Goku's heart a little to hear. "Um, hi."

Goten glanced at his father warily. "You okay?"

Mutely, Goku offered a nod.

Shrugging it off, Goten bypassed the living room and went for the kitchen, determined to get another cup of coffee before getting down to work. After all, if there was something a person could always find in the Briefs household, it was caffeine. Well, that and very creative death threats, but he'd settle for the caffeine. He was in the process of refilling his cup when his older brother entered from the rear of the house. "Hey, Gohan!"

"Hey, Squirt," the older brother replied. He eyed his brother's hands on the coffee pot and shifted into lecture voice. "Now Goten, you know you're not supposed to drink all of that, right?"

Sheepishly, Goten lowered the pot. "I wasn't going to…"

"Because if you take all of the coffee before I get any," Gohan interrupted, "I will be forced to kill you."

"You can't kill me," Goten shot back. "If you did, Trunks would get you."

But Gohan shook his head. "Briefs household rule," the older brother explained, smirking arrogantly. "He or she who finishes off the last of the caffeine in the house shall be sentenced to immediate death, and the executor may not be held accountable or in any way face retribution for those actions."

Goten pulled a mug out of a cabinet, intimately familiar with ever inch of the room. "I guess it's a good thing they have enough coffee here to get us through the next three Armageddons, huh?" He poured his brother a fresh cup and handed it over.

Gohan raised it toward his brother. "Amen to that!"

It was a simple moment, but it was a wonderful moment. Just being able to relax with each other, as brothers, had not happened in some time. And yet somehow there they were, able to fall right back into it as though nothing had ever happened. As he began to take a sip, Gohan mentally acknowledged how lucky he was to have Goten for a brother. There was no one, at all, in the universe, that could forgive and forget quite like Goten Son.

From the far side of the room, Goku had observed the entire scene. It had all seemed so natural, so casual. It also made him feel like he was an intruder.

However, both of his sons pretty quickly turned toward him. "So," Goten said, swallowing the coffee that had been in his mouth, "shall we get down to business?"

"Sounds like a plan," Gohan agreed. He looked over at his father, and found himself surprised by the sudden swell of negative feelings that seemed to hit him. Maybe this had not been such a great idea after all… "So, where do we start?"

Goku reached into his pocket and produced a couple of capsules. "Bulma gave me these this morning. I, uh, haven't looked in them yet." He shrugged slightly as he added, "I was waiting for you."

"Cool," Goten said, snatching one from his father's hand and making a beeline back for the living room. He had that thing popped open before either of the other two could catch up. "So, what do you think is in these?"

The smoke cleared, and there, in very organized piles, were items from the old home. Goten quickly began to dig in, pulling out things he quickly recognized as his own. Proudly he held up a crudely made drawing of some dinosaurs with stick figures riding on them. "Check it!" he called out, displaying it for the others. "Master artist by the age of six!"

Gohan slowly approached and pulled the drawing from his brother's hand. "I remember when you drew this," he fondly spoke. "You, Mom and I had gone for one of our longest hikes ever. You just would not let us turn around."

"Hey, there was adventure to be had!" Goten interrupted.

"Which is what prompted the picture," Gohan chuckled. "You wanted so badly to climb on them and go for a ride. And Mom and I tried to reason with you when we explained why that was a terrible idea."

"And I was six, and reasoning with me was impossible," Goten returned.

Gohan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, reasoning was impossible with you."

"Right," Goten affirmed. "Now I am totally open to logic and reason." He paused. "On occasion." A little more. "When I feel like it." Another gap. "If I'm being bribed heavily."

"But you were so mad about it," Gohan continued, chuckling at his brother, "that you drew this up to prove to us that we could have done it if, and I quote, 'you two weren't such scaredy cats!'."

Goten snatched the drawing back. "I stand by my analysis of the situation," he huffed. "And if you had been willing to listen to me, we totally could have been surfing pterodactyls through the sky."

Gohan shook his head. "I'm honestly shocked you didn't try to get Trunks to do it with you."

Pouting again, Goten flopped onto the couch. "I tried. He told me it was a stupid idea, especially since I didn't know how to fly yet."

"That's right," Gohan remembered. "You made it to seven without being able to fly, huh?"

"Yeah, 'cause Mom trained me, and she couldn't fly!"

As the boys laughed at it, Goku quietly eyed the picture. Chi-Chi had trained Goten to fight? When had that happened? And why had he never known about it? Goten had sparred with his father a few times during Goku's visit years earlier, but it had never come up. Goku had always assumed that Gohan had trained the boy.

"Hey, look at this!" Goten crowed, diving in to the pile of stuff. "Check it out!"

With a grin on his face, Goten held up a framed photo. It had been taken on a beautiful day, with wildflowers blooming all around as a clear sky shone bright with the sun. Inside stood four people holding on to each other dearly. It was full of love and laughter. Ever smile in that picture was one hundred percent genuine. It was wonderful, it was beautiful, it was joyful.

In the center of the photo stood Goku, beaming with pride, one hand holding on to the treasure above him. Goten sat on his shoulders, his fingers playfully running through his father's hair. Gohan stood just to his father's side, leaning in, grinning, an arm wrapped around Goku. And in front of them stood Chi-Chi, radiating a sense of happiness and peace that had rarely been seen on her face. Goku's other arm was wrapped around her, his lower arm crossing her collarbones before resting on her shoulder. Chi-Chi held on to his arm with two hands, her head tilting slightly to the side, her cheek resting gently on his bicep. It was a beautiful photo of the whole family.

It was also the only one that had ever existed.

It became too much.

Without a word, Goku put two fingers to his forehead and disappeared.