Welcome back, it's time for chapter 5!
It's still pretty slow moving - more glimpses into our characters' lives and thoughts.
BUT there is smut in this chapter. Not loads but a bit.
Enjoy!
GOKU
Tending the fields was relaxing, in a calm, quiet way. It kept him moving and Goku enjoyed the days spent under the warm mountain sun. He loved being outdoors and the work was easy.
Not only that, but while he was here, Goku could get away with the odd few minutes here and there of working out, and the routine of it helped keep his usual restlessness in check.
"They look great, Goku-san," Chichi's voice drifted over from the far side of the field, and Goku looked up from where he'd been crouching, carefully picking a slug of one of the cabbages.
"They sure do!" he agreed, rising into the air, the small creature cradled in his hand as he drifted over towards his wife. Though he was surprised to see her here, he didn't let it show.
"They'll need harvesting in the next day or two," she said, glancing out over the vast field.
Goku scrunched his face up softly in thought. Chichi was definitely better at remembering dates and schedules than he was, but… "Not yet," he disagreed.
Chichi eyed him suspiciously. For all that she was the one who kept track of planting and harvesting seasons, she'd never developed the same sense for the weather or the plants that he had.
The usual seasonal showers hadn't come over the last two weeks and he'd been reluctant to use too much of the river water for irrigation as the water level had already dropped lower than normal. The air pressure had shifted over the last few hours though, and he was sure that by sunrise the next day the rain would have come.
"Don't you go thinking you can put off harvesting so you can train instead," Chichi said, eyeing him sharply.
He wasn't entirely surprised at what she said. She was still mistrustful that he'd stopped training, and she had a point he supposed - he was still doing workouts whenever he could, but they couldn't be called training, not by a long stretch. But this time she was wrong about his motives.
"No! No!" He asserted smiling, raising his hands and taking a step back in a disarming manner. "But it's gonna rain soon, and I think it'd be good for 'em to get some more water…"
She eyed him a moment longer, then nodded, seemingly pacified by his answer. Her face fell back into a satisfied smile as she looked out over the field.
Feeling relieved at no longer being scrutinised, Goku began searching around for a good place to put the slug, aware of the small creature's growing distress at being trapped in the heat of his hand. Finally settling on a spot a couple of hundred metres away from the field, Goku quickly put the slug down, wiping his hand clean on his trousers as he stood.
"So, uh, is dinner ready yet?" He ventured.
Having Chichi here made him nervous: he hadn't forgotten her demand, just over a month ago, that he give up fighting - and he was doing the best he could - but he tried to spend as much time out of the house as he could, specifically so that the subject wouldn't come up again.
"Of course not!" Chichi snapped back half-heartedly, this conversation long familiar by now. "It's far too early for dinner," she continued, by now we'll used to dealing with him and his love of food. She rolled her eyes before turning away and beginning the walk back to the house, muttering about saiyans as she went.
Goku sagged slightly in relief, glad that the tactic had worked. He cared for Chichi deeply, but - well… they each wanted very different things from life and he'd long ago learned to avoid conflict with her whenever he could. Overpowered megalomaniacs hell bent on destroying the world were something he could face up to without a shred of fear, but Chichi? Well, she was another thing entirely…
CAULIFLA
The bed was unfamiliar, its crisp white sheets soft and cool against her skin. It should have been pleasant but compared to the hot, wet lips on her breast and the tongue licking over her nipple, it was nothing more than background noise.
She squirmed slightly, pushing herself up into that wonderful mouth, and almost groaned at the brush of his calloused hand up her side, stopping frustratingly close to the curve of her neglected breast.
Hooking one leg over his hip, Caulifla sighed and thread her fingers through the soft, golden spikes of hair, scratching at his scalp in a way that earned her an approving shiver down his muscular back.
His hand, so big and calloused, and unbelievably strong, drifted back down her body, tickling at the skin of her navel before sliding over her heated core and sending pleasure and excitement coursing up her spine. She succeeded in holding in her moan but could not stop herself further spreading her thighs to grant him easier access, wanting more. She felt lazy and indulgent as she let him play with her body.
She tugged at his hair, wanting to pull him up for a kiss, but only succeeded in removing him from her nipple before he turned his attention to her other breast, nipping at the sensitive underside as she tugged at his hair again.
If his intention was to make her moan he got his way; the feeling of him sucking her nipple into his mouth at the same time that he slid a single finger into her was divine. She could feel her own wetness as he worked her and it wasn't long until he added a second finger, until she was writhing underneath him as she rode his hand, the palm of his hand grinding against her clit.
Each thrust of his digits made her want to cry out for more and each stroke of the tips of his fingers over her sensitive inner walls was pushing her closer and closer to going over.
She wanted to feel his mouth on her, to feel his tongue playing her clit the same way it was playing her nipple, but as his mouth started it's slow, indulgent way up her body instead of down, she could only tremble at the strength of her need.
Had it really been that long, that she'd be so pliant for this beautiful blond man?
She stopped caring as he rose up above her and removed his fingers, using that same slickened hand to pump his already hard length. The sight had her licking her lips and spreading her thighs once more in invitation.
His kiss swollen mouth was set in a cocky smirk as he took in her body with his eyes, lingering on her breasts and the apex of her thighs.
She groaned even louder as he positioned his tip at her entrance and began sliding into her. She was already so close and, as he pushed deeper and deeper into her, she knew it wouldn't take long.
Pulling back out, he set her inner walls to trembling as his fingers found that sensitive nub, working it expertly, thrusting back in at an angle that nearly pushed her over the edge.
Grasping at his shoulders she-
CRASH
… No…
Rolling onto her back, Caulifla groaned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as another ominous clatter emanated from the hallway downstairs, quickly and efficiently dispelling any last remnants of her dream.
'Are they serious?!' She growled angrily in her head.
She recognised the two voices arguing downstairs and heard the tell tale signs of a fight about to break out, as well as Kale's timid attempts to calm the two gang members.
Definitely time to get up, dream or no.
Who had she been dreaming about? She didn't know any blond men, did-
Oh.
Oh yes she did.
And now she knew exactly which one she'd been dreaming about.
Shutting down that thought as abruptly and harshly as she could, she scrambled to get dressed. Even rushing as she was, she could hear the argument downstairs beginning to escalate and she really hoped they didn't actually start brawling in her hallway because if they did, after waking her up, this'd make for a memorable morning for all of them - and not in a good way.
Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Caulifla pulled open her bedroom door. Time to deal with her guys.
And forget all about that dream.
About him.
GOKU
"More training?!" Chichi's voice raised in a shriek, making Goku flinch.
"Well, yeah…" Why? Why did he never know what to say?
He could clearly see a blood vessel pulsing on his angry wife's forehead and knew he was in trouble this time.
She'd told him right after the tournament, almost two months ago, that she didn't want him fighting anymore and he'd done his best to knuckle down and work. He'd even gone so far as to take on a couple more bodyguard jobs for Mr Satan, as much as he disliked them and hated the ill-fitting suits that went with them. He'd done everything he could to avoid the subject coming up, hoping - in vain it seemed - that his wife would forget all about it.
But all along, her words had echoed in his head.
'Please, Goku san, please tell me you're done with all of this. That you're done with all the fighting.'
They felt like a lead weight in his stomach.
These two months had been tough: His body was itching for a fight, a proper work out; and he hardly slept at all because of the restless aching of his joints.
Did she really expect him to give up the one thing that really mattered to him?
It certainly seemed that way
"But Chichi, Whis and Beerus are expecting me to go. And it's only training."
"I don't know what you think you're training for!" Came the sharp retort as she slammed her palm down on the table, making the wood tremble. "You've already beaten every threat in this universe and if there's a problem you can just press that button and call your 'Zen-chan'." She scoffed the name, disdain clear in her voice.
"You're not young anymore Goku, when are you going to accept that?"
Goku had never thought of himself as old, never had a reason to.
And he'd never felt older than he did at that moment: sluggish muscles, aching joints, lost and completely without direction.
He'd felt more alive in the years he'd spent in other world than he did right now.
"It doesn't work like that, Chichi. We can't depend on someone else to save us."
"Save us from what, exactly? Why can't you accept that there isn't anything left to fight? All you need to do is provide a role model for your son and granddaughter. Is that so hard? Everyone else can do it!"
Goku scratched at the back of his head, feeling awkward. She had a point, he supposed: everyone else could do it. But he wasn't everyone else. He was him.
This conversation really wasn't going well. Time to try a slightly different approach.
"But Chichi," he tried his most disarming, clueless smile, "Beerus really wanted us to train more. And Bulma said Vegeta's going…" That last was usually the winning line.
Bulma was successful, wealthy and strong willed; three things Chichi saw as important for a woman. Admittedly, Vegeta didn't work and Trunks didn't spend anywhere near the amount of time studying that Chichi thought he should, but throwing Bulma into the conversation - specifically that she was 'allowing' Vegeta to do something - usually helped.
She glared at him for several long moments before turning back to the cooking, leaving an uncomfortable, if familiar, silence hanging over them.
Well, he wasn't going to get anything more out of her now. With a sigh, Goku turned and made his way to the door.
"Fine." Chichi's voice cut across the room and he turned to look at her, one hand still on the door handle. "You can go," her voice was sharp with anger, "but this is the last time, Goku san!"
Her voice had an air of finality to it that Goku didn't like.
He knew he wasn't a perfect husband but never had he asked her to change anything about herself, to be someone different. He'd always done his best to do what he could to keep her happy, even when what she was asking was completely against his nature. Yes, he'd left a lot of times and he knew that was hard on her. But he couldn't understand why she was so determined to change who he was.
"Is that clear?"
How could he answer? His tongue felt like it was made of lead.
He swallowed and tried again "Come on Cheech, you don't really mean-"
"Oh, I mean it! Goku san, all you ever do is run off to train or fight. Well, no more! It's time you were a real member of this family." She turned her back on him once more.
GOKU
The by now familiar sight of Beerus' strange planet was more comforting than he'd expected. He'd never found it that way before but now, after another sleepless night - his wife's declaration bouncing around in his head - it felt good to be back here.
It was much later than usual, Whis and Beerus having stayed for dinner, and Goku was fighting to suppress a yawn.
Vegeta, his grey combat suit as crisp and clean as ever, didn't seem to be sharing any of his fellow saiyan's fatigue. He didn't however object when Whis announced that training would begin in the morning and bid them goodnight.
Goku fell into step behind the shorter man, trailing him as they made their way to their usual room.
Their room, when they entered it, was the same as always. In fact, aside from the piles of clean bedding on the foot of each bed, the room appeared to have been left untouched: Vegeta's bed was still as far from Goku's as it was possible to be, and Goku's bedding was still in disarray along with the gi Whis had given him.
It felt strangely like home, though not as much as Other World. Neither should feel like that when he had a family and a home back on earth.
VEGETA
Vegeta wasn't one to dwell on memories, but every now and then he remembered his first day of training with Whis: the sheer difficulty of the tasks he'd been assigned, never mind how many chores he had to complete before his training even started.
He'd never done a single chore in his life until he started training with Whis. He'd trained, had pushed his body and his mind to breaking point and then forced himself beyond, never resting, never stopping.
But he'd never washed a plate or mopped a floor.
He was the Saiyan Prince, scion to a now dead race, and he bowed to no one. But Beerus had been a foe of a caliber which Vegeta had never before encountered. Beerus was less a being than he was a force - the likes of which nothing could oppose.
But, of course, nobody had told Kakarot that.
The idiot had almost done the impossible. And if he could do it then Vegeta could too.
He'd pushed himself harder than ever in his months on earth following their first encounter with the Hakaishin, but the moment he'd heard that Whis was in fact Beerus' teacher the answer had become clear to him.
The price of his warrior's pride had been his pride as a Prince. But what was that pride worth if he continued to lose? So he'd done it: he'd swallowed his pride and, for the first time in his life, he'd submitted himself to the teachings of another.
He'd had six blissful months without the clown around but, when Whis had arrived with the idiot in tow, Vegeta had swallowed his objections and trusted Whis. The reward for his obedience and hard work had been Super Saiyan Blue.
From there both he and Kakarot had worked even harder, completing their chores faster and faster to give themselves more time for training, giving everything they had and more, even knowing that come morning they'd simply start again, feeling like they'd hardly slept at all.
Despite reaching a level beyond Blue, nothing had changed, Vegeta threw himself into his training with the same commitment, the same abandon.
He'd failed at the tournament and that simply wasn't good enough.
A/N:
Thanks for reading!
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and that you haven't lost faith in or gotten bored of my story just yet. There's still plenty more to come and we'll be getting more substantial time jumps (like in the DB verse) to move things along.
A huge thank you to those of you who have taken the time to review - I'm taking all of your comments on board and I appreciate each and every one of them!