"Heads up, Yamcha!"
"Eh?" The human man only had a moment to glance upward before a glob of chocolate ice cream landed squarely on the bridge of his nose.
Krillin's laughter was almost deafening over the crowds and only Yamcha heard Gohan's timid "sorry." Even if he'd been upset, the almost rabbit like nature of Gohan's response made being angry impossible.
"Eh, no worries, squirt. But if you wanna share, I'd appreciate another way, fair?" As he spoke, Yamcha scooped the sweetness off his nose and sampled it. "Though maybe I should be honored your Saiyan stomach is sharing?"
Gohan laughed.
They were a sight, pure and simple. An ex monk and an ex bandit, clothed in the training colors of the turtle hermit with a preteen perched on the taller one's shoulder trying and failing to eat two cones before they melted in the summer heat.
It was nice though. What with all the threats and monsters and everything else trying to kill them lately, and them very much owing their lives to said-ice-cream-eating-preteen, it was definitely an earned outing. Been a long time since they'd gone out anywhere that wasn't for training.
Yamcha insisted on paying and Krillin was happy to let him. Being a baseball player certainly gave Yamcha the means to do so and Krillin knew the man felt an almost debt to Goku. Best way to repay it seemed to be spoiling his son.
"Sorry the coaster was disappointing, kid." Yamcha went on, glancing up and accepting the bottom half of one of the boy's cones. "Guess learning to fly has its downsides!"
Krillin stretched, "Shame though. Gohan had roller coasters ruined before he was five!"
The boy smirked a bit "Eh, it's okay. Lots of other stuff that isn't." His eyes glanced around and then he pointed. "Like that!"
Yamcha and Krillin diverted their attention to see him targeting a small petting zoo. Hard to tell what exactly they had in there but by the sounds and smell, there was a nice variety. Obviously city kids were fascinated with animals but Gohan was, by every definition of the word, a country boy.
Didn't stop him from jumping off Yamcha's shoulder, shoving what remained of the ice cream into his mouth and starting right at the goats. By the time Krillin and Yamcha caught up to him, Gohan was all but inside the pen, laughing "that tickles" at every lick the creatures placed on his cheeks. Was adorable to be frank and Krillin was not shy about getting pictures of it. Goku and ChiChi would love them and they'd likely be hanging on their living room wall before the week was out.
By the time Gohan climbed out, coated in goat hair and was making his way to the pen full of pigs, Krillin hoped the pictures would keep ChiChi from clobbering them for letting him get so dirty. But then, Gohan HAD said she'd been pretty mellow.
"How's your mom doing?" He finally asked when Gohan pulled away a slobber coated hand and took the offered pig feed from Yamcha with the other before offering it to the squealing animals again.
Gohan turned, looked at Krillin and after a moment to consider, he answered, "Okay, I think. Daddy says that she's starting to get food cravings but I haven't seen that yet."
Yamcha leaned on the wooden fence. "No mood swings?"
"Not really," Gohan shrugged, pulled his hand back and rubbed his palms on his pants; pure Goku style if there ever was one. "She's been relaxing a little more though, even before this." Pushing himself up to sit on the fence, Gohan ran his hand down the nearest pig's back. Not many people wanted to see the grunting creatures so it was nice to have some time to ponder. "She and Dad are gonna send me to a public school next year."
Krillin propped himself up a bit, just stood on the lowest rung and smiled up at the boy. "I 'member Goku mentioning that."
Yamcha tapped the wood lightly with his fingertips. "Reached a deal with your mom, right?"
Gohan nodded. "Yep. She said I can do the martial arts with Dad but I hafta keep up with school and she and Dad talked about it and said it'd be more fair to let me go to a public school so Mom couldn't hold overboard' by accident." He smiled, his eyes warm. "She said that she never meant to go crazy about it but that she was trying to do what she thought was best. But now she knows better how to do that."
"Sounds like a win to me!" Yamcha ruffled the boy's hair a bit. "You excited about it?"
Shrugging, Gohan hopped down and stopped at the next pen to run his hand on the flank of the large horse. He'd never seen one up to close and his grin betrayed that. "I guess so. Nervous though. Mom and I were looking at schools earlier. She said she wants me to start next school year so I don't miss anything." He paused, turned, "When DOES the school year start? Or did you guys not go to school?"
Krillin shrugged. "Master Roshi gave me and your dad education. Goku learned to read from trashy romance novels."
Gohan gave an evil grin, rather out of place on his face. "And you didn't? Daddy tol' me you bought your way as a pupil to Master Roshi with porn."
Face burning red, Krillin clamped his hands over the boy's mouth. "Shush! There's little kids around, sheesh!"
"But you did," Gohan insisted, pushing the man's hand down but he did lower his voice.
Krillin pouted, lightly. "I was a kid with no real authority figure except abusive roommates. You make do."
Gohan caught on real quick and dropped the topic before turning to Yamcha. "What about you? Or were you always a desert bandit scared of girls?"
"Man, your dad told you everything, didn't he?"
Krillin laughed, spirit significantly brightened. "Didn't you hear ChiChi? He numbers the stories."
Shaking his head but resting an arm on the stall door, Yamcha relented. "Fair. Didn't really go to school myself. But I know someone that did. Have you asked Bulma?"
Gohan blinked and half wanted to kick himself for his stupidity. Of course! If he wanted to know about school schedules, Bulma or her sister were the folk to ask. Well, he knew what he was going to be talking about at their next meeting. "No. But she's been coming every week. I can ask her then!"
Yamcha offered open palms as a symbol of resolution. "Well, there ya go. She might chat your ear off though."
Snorting as he pulled away and headed back towards the main body of the park, Gohan remarked. "You know how much Mom talks sometimes? I'm used to it."
For the underlying teasing he engaged in though, Gohan was grateful to both his parents. After all, they were working at home while he got to enjoy this outing—and the food that came with it. He verbalized such. "Feel like I need to bring Mom and Dad something home though. I know Dad's been working in the farming land and Mom is always doing something around the house to make our lives better." He gestures to his shirt as proof. "I split it the other day during training and Mom just sewed it up—well, and asked me not to wear my good clothes if I'm going to be punchin' and kickin.'"
"Good advice," Krillin offered as the boy scanned he environment as if some answer to his inquiry would pop out of thin air. "But your mom was glad to let you come, remember?"
Yamcha added, handing the boy a soda from a nearby vendor as he set some zennie in the man's hand, "Yeah. Does you good to get out and have some fun!"
Gohan took a sip of the drink, savoring the sweetness a moment. "I know but I mean...I want to bring them something. But something they'd like." That definitely complicated things. After all, Dreamland was designed with kids in mind, not adults. Plus, Gohan didn't really have the money to get his mom jewelry or his dad a new gi or anything like that. He got allowance but especially now, he'd not been asking for it. Hardly seemed fair. Parents could use it for something they needed—
"There!" His eyes caught it first and Krillin and Yamcha had to run to keep up with him. By the time they realized what had caught his eye, it took all their willpower not to double over laughing. The attendant currently talking to Gohan gave them an odd look but when they restrained themselves, he turned back to Gohan, explaining rules and expectations.
Yamcha glanced at the sign overhead then back at Krillin "Think they have any idea what they're in for?"
Krillin eyed the announcement: Do you have a stomach of steel? Can you pack away more than anyone you know? Try your luck at our Eating Contest! Winner takes 10000 zennie home!"
Chuckling, the ex monk remarked "Nope."
OOO
Amid the noise and dust and dirt, ChiChi weaved here way through the halls like an angry hurricane. The sunlight beaming through the ceiling should have been her first clue but she learned all too long ago that Goku was never predictable and that tremendous crash REEKED of Goku—it was deliberate but contained.
All the same as she turned the corner, the last thing she was expecting was to see the back wall missing and her husband in what remained of her son's room, counting to himself as he walked heel to toe from the remaining wall to the pile of rubble.
"Goku!" She shouted again and this time, he did turn to face her, dust covering him from hairline line to chin, a scarf around his neck but he'd only opted for slacks and an undershirt besides. If half of the house wasn't lying in the grass, she might have found it sexy. "What are you doing?! What happened?!"
"Aw, Chi, you made me lose count." Pouting, he approached her, dust and all, laying his hands on her belly. "I didn't scare the kiddo, did I?"
Pushing him away, she planted her hands on her hips. "The baby's fine but you just went and took about twenty years offa my life!"
Grinning sheepishly, Goku rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. Was tryin' to be quiet but ain't no quiet way to knock down a wall."
Exasperated, ChiChi rubbed their bridge of her nose. "So...WHY are you knocking down the wall?" She chanced a glance inside and was both relieved and surprised to see Goku had blocked all of Gohan's belongings behind a pile of bamboo and leaves. Of course, Goku wouldn't purposely wreck their son's things.
Slapping his hands together to knock extra dust off, Goku rubbed the residue on his pants. Standing up straight, he laid his hand on the remaining wall. "'Member right after we got married, Chi? Your dad gave us the capsule kitchen but the living room, the bedrooms, the meditation room...I made all those." He beamed at the memory. "Your dad was a big ol' help but I 'member cutting the trees, making the logs, getting the paint and other stuff from Bulma and them."
ChiChi had to admit that sometimes she forgot. When Goku had told her he was gonna make her the house she wanted, she'd almost not believed him until the walls and hallways started going up. She approached, wrapped he arms around him, tightly. "I 'member. Shouldn't have surprised me that country strong boy Goku could make a tough ol' shelter."
Goku smirked, nuzzled her nose a bit. "Well, I was thinkin'...I made it once, I can do it again. Why make Gohan hafta worry 'bout sharing a room when Daddy can make another one?"
ChiChi stared at him. "Goku...can we—"
"We made it when we just got married with your dad and Bulma's help, we can do it again." He grinned. "And I can get Gohan to help me! Let him feel involved with this! Maybe it'll help him feel better about this baby if he knows he helped make its room."
ChiChi did admit that such a prospect was an encouraging thought. There was something to be said about pouring hard work into something. Everyone she talked to said that Gohan should be involved as much as possible. Thus far, she didn't want him to feel pressured but this—doing a project with his father...that might very well do it.
She considered, looked the demolition over then turned and headed back down the still-intact hall. Goku called after her like a frightened bird. "Chi? Is...that okay? Where're you going?"
"With you laboring like that, the small lunch I had planned is not gonna cut it."
