A/N: Hi everyone! Just letting you know I am almost on summer break and my big WIPS will be updated in a few weeks. I wanted to share one of the GoChi Awards 2021 stories I wrote for the winner of the "Favorite Warrior" category! :) cc6512eng on Twitter made such a beautiful piece of art and I was so honored to write this for her. I am active on AO3 and have some stories (mostly Mature content) there that are not on here. I hang out there mostly now, but I am still determined to close up my stories here! I love all of your support so, so much and hope everyone is doing well these days. I have enjoyed my return to this fandom very much :)

Sunset to Sunrise

He was always at his strongest after a full meal.

This was something I found out quickly.

He looks at me and says, "Do we get to do it again!?"

I smile coyly and nod my head, expecting to be whisked away to the bedroom when he picks me up like the bride I was a few weeks ago.

I scream and cling to his neck as he flies out the open window of our small cottage instead.

Dirt. Rocks. A barren wasteland.

"What kind of place is this to take your new wife!?" I scold him with my arms crossed over my chest. "At least you could've taken me to a river, a forest, a place out of a storybook! Anything but this !"

He cocks his head to the side as if he has no clue why I would be upset.

"Chi-Chi," he speaks calmly as he places his hands on my shoulders. "You're facing the wrong way, silly."

I blink my eyes. He turns my body and I see it.

Lowering slowly is the sun, causing the sky above us to turn as orange as my husband's gi. I open my mouth to gasp at the beauty of it all.

This place isn't a wasteland, after all.

It is…

"Beautiful."

I grin as Goku says the word that was on my mind. When I turn to speak to him, I see that he isn't staring at the sunset.

He is looking at me.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"You ever wonder where I go during the day?"

"Sometimes."

Most days following the wedding were spent in the bedroom.

"I come here to train."

"By yourself?"

Goku shrugs his shoulders and pulls me in close. He kisses the top of my head and we continue looking at the sun as it lowers.

"Yeah. It would be nice to spar with someone else."

A wild thought crosses my mind, and I know he's been waiting to hear it.

"I'll spar with you."

Our noses touch when we face one another. His eyes lit up.

"Thank you."

His physical strength overpowered my own.

I knew that when we reunited.

That never mattered. Goku never made me feel less. In fact, I'm growing nervous waiting here on the far end of the desert land as he waves to me. From where he stands, he looks like a speck. I wave back and get into position.

Right hand clenched by my side, left hand raised with two fingers up. My feet are well rooted into the ground; my boots picking up dirt.

"Ready!?" he calls out.

"You know it!"

He's charging towards me, flying through the air with one fist back and one in front of him. His black messy spikes flowing in the wind he's creating for himself. His teeth are bared, prepared to attack me like I was an enemy.

That's when I smile.

That naive little boy grew up to be the man I always knew he'd be.

My hero.

I bend my two fingers to beckon him toward me, challenging him with my eyes. As he approaches, his fist misses my face on purpose. The wind from his punch as he travels through the empty space next to my head would have knocked me over like it did in the tournament if I didn't plan on it.

He pauses with his arm extended, resting it on top of my shoulder. There's a fire burning in his eyes that's brighter than the orange sky.

"Whatcha gonna do now, huh?" He teases me. "I got you trapped."

I glance at his other hand that is now holding my waist gently.

He loves this.

He loves me.

So I kick my leg straight up and strike him in the jaw. He stumbles back dramatically as if that really hurt him, but we are both laughing. He stands straight and pounds his chest with a smirk.

"Come and get me."

I front flip twice to close our distance. My hands become sharp tools, moving in snappy whip-like actions.

A human praying mantis.

He always blocks and never strikes.

My movements get faster as I continue to jab his chest. Mine is heaving, but my gentleman is looking me in the eyes that are getting hard to see out of. Sweat is dripping down my forehead and wetting my bangs.

We are dancers, moving in circles.

"What's wrong?" I pant. "Scared?"

Goku doesn't say a word. He takes both of my hands in his own and stops me mid-attack. The sun is almost down and twilight is approaching. It seems that fighting is no longer on his mind.

I close my eyes and feel lighter than air.

I am lighter than air.

I open my eyes as the ground disappears from underneath my feet. Goku is flying me just under the clouds. His hands are wrapped around my lower back tightly. I can feel his heart beating against mine being pressed this closely.

"Goku…" I whisper, and I am not sure why. There is nobody around. "What are we doing up here?"

Still, he says nothing.

He moves one hand up from my waist to caress my warm face.

He looks at me like this is the first time he's ever done so.

His fingers move slightly to become entwined in my damp locks. He pulls gently to bring my head back. He kisses my neck and continues to move upward towards my jawline.

"Honey," I finally gasp out right before he reaches my lips. He brings my head back up and I know that look very well. "Let's go home."

"Almost," he says. "Almost."

With a type of passion I didn't know he was capable of, Goku claims my mouth with his own. Our hearts are both beating faster than before, so loud I can hear it in my eardrums. His hands roam all over my backside, careful to not drop me.

"Don't worry," I whisper in between our kisses that feel so natural, so right.

I am holding him tight.

I will never let go.

"Chi-Chi," he murmurs when we stop to catch our breath. "Can we do this again?"

His eyes are pleading with me, and how could I resist?

"If we train outside ," I arch an eyebrow and he does the same, wondering what I have to say. "Then we have to train inside right after."

It didn't take him long to figure out what I meant.

"Does it need to be inside?"

"Oh, Goku…" I feel my face burning up again before it even has a chance to cool down. "You're not suggesting we…?"

He chuckled and kissed my forehead before whispering a secret.

"The sunrise out here is even better than sunset."

All it took was that look again. I sighed and rested my head against his chest to avoid saying anything else that was scandalous.

"Fine, but I hope you don't think this will ever happen again."

Goku snorted and I furrowed my eyebrows playfully. "Oh, I doubt that."

"Why do you say that?"

"You're my wife, aren't ya? I thought I get to spend my whole life with you," he squeezed me and my eyes watered. "I think I've got plenty of time to convince ya."

I sniffed and let the tears fall. He's concerned, but I quickly kiss his worries away. He doesn't always understand happy tears.

"I love you, Goku."

With his strong arms protectively around me back in a bridal style, he flies us down to the empty land. As his boots touch the ground, we face the sunset once more and before it disappears completely I hear him say,

"I love you too, Chi-Chi."