They sat there, eating dinner silently: Chichi on one end of the table, Goku on the other. Sitting uncomfortably was Goten, again caught in the middle. Chichi picked at her food, watching Goku with cold, angry eyes.
Suddenly they heard a door open and close. All of their heads looked up to see who it was.
"Sorry I'm late" Gohan said, standing there awkwardly. Why were they all looking at him like that?
"No, no, don't be sorry. That's quite alright, just take a seat" Chichi smiled.
Confused, Gohan reluctantly sat down in the empty chair – shouldn't his mom be yelling at him by now for being so late? He stared down at the plate of well-presented food in front of him. Chichi turned to him.
"How was your day? Good?" she asked, overly cheerful.
"…Yeah" Gohan said curiously. He looked over to his dad, who was eating quietly. She continued.
"Well your father and I were just discussing our day when suddenly he brought up the idea that he should start training again, fulltime"
"Chichi…" Goku protested, looking up at her. Gohan stared at both his parents apprehensively. He then looked over to Goten, who was sitting there miserably.
"Your father seems to think that abandoning his family, once again, is something to be proud of" The false smile was still planted on her face. Goku sighed heavily.
"Okay, one: I've never abandoned you, and two: I'm sick and tired of not being able to suggest something without being screamed at"
Her smile disappeared. "You know, you should really think about what type of example your setting for our sons"
"What? Sticking up for myself is too much for you now?"
Chichi put her fork down angrily.
"How dare you speak to me like that in front of them…" she said, exasperated. "And I marvel that you can be so contemptuous of me when you're the one who wants to leave-"
"I never said that" Goku stated. Chichi didn't stop.
"And I'd like to thank you for the added pressure of me supporting this household-"
"Mom" Goten pleaded her to stop.
"-Oh, I don't mind. Really, I don't. Let's just leave everything up to me now, huh? No really, don't give a second thought as to who's going to take care and have the sole responsibility over the house, the money, the family. I don't mind at all – I should be used to it by now! I don't mind having a husband who just leaves whenever he wants to-"
"I'm not leaving" Goku said angrily.
"Okay, I'm not going to be a part of this" Gohan said as he rose from his seat.
"Sit down!" Chichi shouted. Gohan did so, intimidated by the extreme power in her voice. Goten looked at his mother with wide eyes. Breathing deeply, Chichi stood up and took her plate over to the kitchen.
Later that night
"Chi?" Goku asked quietly. He could barely make out her figure in the dark. She sat on the side of their bed silently.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered. Immediately forgiving her, Goku sat down beside her.
"It's alright" he said calmly.
"No, it was wrong of me to shout at you like that and how I acted so callously in front of-"
"Don't worry about it" he reassured her. Chichi felt tears forming in her eyes.
"It's just that I…I don't want to lose you" she began to cry as she leaned closer to him, Goku taking her in his arms. He hushed her and kissed her forehead.
"I love you" she whispered. Gently tilting her head so it faced his, he stared into her eyes. He then leaned forward and kissed her passionately.
**************************
Accepting the fact that his mom was not in the house, Goten leaned against the wall in deep thought. Suddenly hearing footsteps near-by, he looked up to see who it was.
"Hey" Gohan said cheerfully.
"Oh, hey" Goten replied, disappointed that it wasn't Chichi. Gohan looked at him strangely.
"You don't look too happy to see me…"
Goten didn't say anything.
"So…where's mom and dad?" Gohan asked, looking around. Goten sighed.
"I found mom crying in the kitchen…I told dad about it but when we got there she was gone. I've been looking for her everywhere…I think dad's gone to look for her"
Gohan frowned, his eyes wandering. What was happening to them? His mom missing and his dad searching for her? He looked down to Goten.
"You don't think this has anything to do with that argument they had at the dinner table?"
Goten shrugged. He was angry, and sad, about the whole situation.
"I don't know…it might do" he said quietly.
"That was over two weeks ago…"
Goten looked up at him.
"I know. It's just that mom was really angry and upset that night…you didn't see what happened when dad actually told mom…"
Gohan looked forward. Good point. Goten could be right; what if that argument did have something to do with this…
He looked back over the last two weeks. His dad had been acting differently lately, especially around his mom…
Either that argument had something to do with it or his dad had done something much, much worse.
Gohan's eyes widened at the possibilities of what he could of done.
No…he wouldn't. Would he?^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Author's Note: Sorry this took me a while to write…I sort of wrote myself into a corner with the last chapter but I finally settled on what Gohan and Goten would think. I wrote it so that you're unsure if Gohan has fully figured it out yet – he might shrug off the thought that Goku cheated on Chichi and tell himself that his dad would never do that…or he could believe it.
Thanks for all your great reviews and I'll try to hurry up with the next chapter. *I hope you liked the argument scene*
Please review ^_^
- Lola