Chapter 7 - Duces Wild
"He's late again."
"Since when is he not late?"
"Wanna deal a hand 'til he gets here?"
"He got pissed off last time we did that."
"Yeah, but we're betting that time."
"Just wait 5 minutes Krillin."
"Bulma needs to teach him some punctuality skills."
"Man, he's coming back from training too. He's gonna be sweating like a pig and sweating like a skunk..."
"Shut up Yamcha."
"I'm only talking about Vegeta."
"Well I don't dig it."
"Calm down Piccolo."
"I just wanna have a relaxing time and not have it turn into a bar fight like last time, Tien."
"Dido that. Just keep your mouth shut this time Yamcha..." Tien was cut off when the door to their private billiard room crept open. Everyone in the room: Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, and Krillin, were expecting Vegeta, but got a different Sayain instead, Gohan. Krillin spoke up.
"What are you doing here?"
"Vegeta said I could come, is that ok?"
The four each had a puzzled look on their faces. Then Vegeta stepped out from behind Gohan. He wasn't waiting there, he had just got in and was anxious to sit down.
"Is it okay if he plays tonight?" It must have shocked the living hell out of them. Gohan was a second generation Z Fighter. Even though he was at a ripe age now, he was still a child in their eyes. He had been fighting with them since he was five, and they still saw him as that age. They tried to shelter him from the lives they'd had to live, but were forced to call on him at times because, as much as they hated to admit it, he was the strongest fighter in the universe.
Yamcha was baffled. He knew it was his call because this was his game. "Uh...". He was looking back and forth between Gohan who was still standing in the doorway and Vegeta who was just now sitting down, almost acting as if nothing was going on. Gohan had to be 22 years old now. It would be awkward with him playing, but..."Yeah, sure." It was just the fact the the kid showed up that made him say it. He would have felt bad if he had to make something up about why he couldn't and sent him back to the mountains. He didn't want to be an asshole...to him at least.
"Thanx," Gohan said.
Krillin went over behind the bar and got him a chair. He set it up just as Gohan came by to take his seat.
The place of the game was a billiard room in the basement of the Breif's mansion. It had a mahogany bar, dark cheery wood pool tables, pin pong, two pinball machines in a far corner, darts, one of those magic touch screen games on the bar table, and, of coarse, card tables. The bar served fountain soda and beer, assorted vodkas, wines, champagnes, rum, liquor, and other condiments for mixed drinks. The room was dimly lit with a red tint. Cigarette smoke lingered in the air. There were a few miscellaneous tables around that were used when the Breif's had a formal get-together, all made of fine mahogany. There was a 16 speaker sound system that was currently playing soft blues music at a low volume.
With Gohan sitting at the table, the others were a bit shaky (except Vegeta and Piccolo, who always seemed to keep their cool no matter what). None of them were wearing the fighting clothes that Gohan was used to seeing them in. The former pro ball player was wearing his old black and white jersey, black jeans, and a backwards white baseball cap. The man with the third eye had blue jeans, sneakers, and a plain black t-shirt tucked into his pants. He was still bald. The ex-monk traded in his orange martial arts outfit for loafers, Khakis, a pale green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up above the elbows, a gold plated Rolex watch on his left wrist, a green and white card player's visor, and a full head of hair. The Sayian was still wearing his dark blue workout suit, tank top, shorts, running shoes, with his hair the same as the day he met him. Gohan's childhood friend and mentor, the Namek, was also wearing a plain blue outfit, same brown shoes as ever, and no turban.
If you entered the room at the same door that Gohan came through, the bar was in the far left corner in front of you and took up more than half of the wall's length. The card table was five feet to the right of the bar, and three feet from the back wall. Krillin was at the chair closest to the bar. He was the unofficial bar tender. To his right was Tien, who was really just there to be with old friends. To his right was Yamcha at the head of the table. He sat at a perpendicular line to the front and back walls. Next to him was Piccolo. He actually enjoyed the games. It was a nice break from his usual life of solitude. Gohan took the seat next to him. He felt comfortable sitting next to the person that half raised him, but he was also sitting next to the one who kicked him square in the gut just for the fun of it when he was a child, Vegeta. They had subliminally made their peace, however. Vegeta was sitting directly across from Yamcha and to Krillin's left. The significance of the seat that Gohan was in was that it was his father's seat. They used to keep the seat empty during every game, but stopped because it was pointless. The fact that Gohan was sitting there was an accident, but all of the regulars felt a bit weird about it. Gohan had no clue.
The light breeze from the slow turning ceiling fan was gliding across Yamcha's face as he dealt out the first hand.
"The game's 7 card. Whachya wanna do is..."
"Yeah, yeah. Dad taught me when I was 8."
Everyone was a bit shocked at this. Goku taught his son how to gamble?
Tien rolled his eyes and put the cards that he had face down on the table.
"Yamcha, you didn't give him chips."
Yamcha gave a blank stare for a second like he was trying to remember something. "Oh shit you're right." All of this shock over Gohan playing made him completely forget to change them. Gohan and Vegeta both went into their pockets. "Vegeta, you got the usual?"
"Yeeeeah," he grumbled. The usual was $100 for him. He put his money down and Yamcha gave him his chips.
"How much ya got Gohan?" He was seriously expecting that he didn't bring anything with him.
"Uh, 200." He came prepared.
"Just gimme half, we shouldn't be here that long."
"Ok."
"He got his appropriate change and Yamcha continued dealing. "Starting bet is one."
Gohan studied his hand and almost immediately put two cards down at his turn. "Yeah, two."
Krillin had to ask. "So, Gohan, why ya here?"
"I was board at being home all of the time. Goten's in bed now, so mom doesn't need any help with him. It usually leaves me with nothing to do. So I asked if I could come."
Tien spoke up, "What about your girlfriend? You shouldn't be board with her around."
"That's the thing, she's not in town. She's on some sort of promotional tour with her dad."
Everyone collectively groaned. "Mr. Satan," Yamcha said. "What a piece of work that guy is."
Tien "How the hell did you wind up with that asshole's daughter?...Naw, I'll stay"
"Hey, she's nothing like him. The apple fell far from that tree."
Tien put his cards down "Two jacks, double duce."
Krillin, "Two fours."
Vegeta lightly tossed his cards on the table, "Nothin"
Gohan, "Three sixes."
Piccolo, "Two kings, three sevens."
Yamcha, "And you had me thinking I won with that damn poker face of yours."
"What'd you have?" Krillin asked.
"A straight." Yamcha took the cards back and reshuffled as Piccolo took his winnings.
"So, other than that douche bag of a dad, how is she?" Yamcha asked.
Gohan started laughing a bit and pointed right at Yamcha. "Hey, I beg ya not to talk about my girl's dad like that or I'll rip your mouth out." The table started chuckling.
"Shit, the boy's got an attitude." Tien said, laughing.
"Agh, other than that, she's fine. She's gonna be valedictorian of her school."
"Glad to see things are working out for you two." Piccolo said.
"Yeah, thanx."
"You two plan on moving in together?"
"We want to, but mom won't have it. I want to stay home and help her out with Goten, and I want Videl to move in once school's out, but mom got mad at me even proposing the idea."
Everyone immediately shut-up. Once the conversation went to Chi-Chi, no one wanted part in it. Hell hath no fury like her scorn. They went through another hand. This time, Tien won. Yamcha took this opportunity to get on his nerves.
"So how's Dancing Pete", Yamcha teased as he shuffled.
"Would you stop calling him that!
Gohan was confused. "Who's Dancing Pete?"
Pointing his thumb in Yamcha's direction, Tien answered, "This dumbass is dead set that Chao-Tsu looks exactly like some bit character on The Simpsons."
Yamcha started giggling, "He fucken does dude."
Tien gave a motion that he was about to backhand him. "Shut-up! That guys was in like 5 seconds of one episode anyway," he said with a smile and a slow shaking of his head. Not even Vegeta could help but give a small laugh at this.
Krillin laughed a bit. "I think he was in two."
"Shut up!"
"Just deal already. I gotta break even tonight at least," Vegeta said.
Yamcha began dealing. "Why's that."
"I haven't won in I don't know how long." Vegeta didn't seem as stiff as Gohan was used to seeing him. He was usually boastful and didn't like mingling with people. Here, however, he was much more casual and a lot more cooler. "I'm sick of fucken loosing all the time."
"Maybe you're just having a bout of bad luck," Krillin said.
Vegeta picked up his cards and fanned them. "Yeah, I've been having a lot of that recently."
"Oh, by the way. 18 wanted me to ask you to tell Bulma to get a hold of her. She tried calling today, but no one was home."
"Yeah, she went to town with his," gestured towards Gohan, "mother to do some shopping. She might be down later on to make sure you're not drunk so you can tell her yourself."
"Hey! That only happened once."
"Try four, Krillin," Piccolo said.
Krillin was speechless for a bit and tried to let it pass. For a few moments, there was an awkward silence. They continued to play. Gohan won this hand with a full house. Everyone at the table applauded. Gohan gave a reluctant, yet satisfied smile. Krillin slowly got up.
"I think you just earned yourself a...", he stopped and thought for a second. "Do you drink?"
"At times." Gohan answered. "What can ya make?" Once again, he shocked everyone.
"Beer." He said jokingly. A few of them chuckled at the joke.
"Seriously though, he makes a nice vodka martini," Piccolo said.
"Well, here. Lemme try my hand," he said as he got up. Vegeta mouthed "Wha?" to himself as he scooted behind his chair.
"There is no way you know how to make drinks," Piccolo said with a smile.
Already behind the counter, Gohan said, "I've been in college for four years. You think I'm only learning academics there?" This kid was unbelievable. He started to go to work, mixing, shaking, stirring. In no time at all, had a shot glass filled with a mystery fluid.
"Who wants to try?"
The others were utterly stunned. It took them a second before they could pull themselves together.
"What is it?" Krillin asked?
"Nope, try it and guess."
Krillin took the glass and looked at it as the others looked on with utter curiosity. He downed the glass. He then had a surprised look on his face, pleasantly surprised. "You know how to make screw drivers?"
"No shit!" Yamcha said in disbelief
"It's a damn good one too." Krillin replied.
"What else can ya make?" Tien asked.
"I got something you'd like." He went to work again and produced a tumbler with a green substance. "Try that," he handed him the glass. He looked at Gohan, laughed, and drank it. Almost immediately his eyes grew to the size of golf balls as he gagged and grabbed his own throat.
"Wa, wa, wa, wada!! Wada!" Gohan poured some water and laughed a bit as he gave it to him. Tien didn't even put the glass up to his mouth, he just threw the water in.
"More!" As Gohan drew him another glass, Vegeta rose from his seat, his eyes fixed on the victim. Without looking away, he asked ,"What did you give him?" What ever it was, he had to try it.
"I just gave him a dose of jungle juice."
"Ok, mix me up one."
He made one up and threw it at Vegeta, who caught it without spilling a drop. Vegeta tilted his head downward with his eyes closed. He couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. He finally lifted his head, and his glass, opened his eyes, looked straight into Gohan's, and said "Cheers." With that, he downed Gohan's brew.
He tried to keep a straight face, but was punished with his eyes tearing. He began heaving dry coughs, and started messaging his throat with his left hand. He didn't react as dramatically as Tien did, but none the less, Gohan's brew was strong. He started waving towards himself, a signal for water, an admission of defeat. The room burst into cheers and laughter. With out looking at Vegeta, Gohan fills a frosted mug of the clear liquid with a smile of satisfaction. Victory.
* * *
About an hour and a half had passed, but nobody was keeping track. A few of them were getting a bit tipsy, but not Gohan. He had two Captain 'n Cokes for the night and was still sipping on his second. He would probably stop there. None of the others were totally sloshed, but some of them were showing signs of getting there. He must have mixed up more than 20 drinks that night. They were still at the poker table, still playing, but were now exchanging stories like old soldiers sharing war tales. Yamcha had started smoking a cigar during the game. Gohan never knew he smoked, but then again, he was finding out a lot of new things about his father's friends.
"So der I wuz...Tied tto 'er bead...'Ad mot'r oil smeered all o'er my body...she came into da bed room wita sadle ,n a set 'a' jumpercables!!"
"NOOOOO!"
"NO WAY!!!"
"BULLSHIT!"
"Krillin, how come you always have the best stroies?"
"Coz my women knows 'ow to work it!" He took another swig of his 7 'n 7 feeling very proud of himself.
Piccolo was staying out of the conversation. It was hard at times not having a female Namek companion.
At that moment, Bulma came in with a plate of nachos. Everyone started applauding. They all loved food. This came as a surprise though, she never did this. She must have known Gohan was there.
"Guys, don't make a mess, coz I'm gonna be the one who winds up cleaning up." Everyone collectively agreed to behave.
"What brings you down here?" Piccolo asked.
"Figured I'd drop in and see what's up and surprise ya guys."
It was a nice plate: cheese, ground beef, jalapenos, sour cream, the list goes on. It was as if a professional chef had made them. A round of thanks came from the table.
"So, who's winning so far?" Bulma asked.
"Piccolo the only one who's making a profit tonight." Vegeta said.
"I just know when to pull out and when to stay."
"What were you guys talking about?"
"Ughhhhhh...guy talk." Tien said, not wanting to lie but not wanting to tell the truth either.
"Oh, I see."
"Don't worry. Vegeta hasn't said anything...yet." Yamcha said.
"Fuck you." Vegeta said with his middle finger directed at Yamcha.
"Well he better not."
"Ooooooooo dude, I think that's a threat." Yamcha blurred out.
"Gohan, you must be the only voice I haven't heard from upstairs," she was trying to make an example out of him so the others would calm down a bit and stop making such a racket.
"Ah, I'm like your husband. I like to keep stories of the matter to myself."
"See that, Vegeta, you can be a positive role model."
"Fuck you too."
"Well, I'm gonna be going back upstairs. Don't make a mess and try to keep it down a bit."
The table gave their apologies and waved good-bye. Yamcha, even though he was over her, for the most part, still had a crush on Bulma that he could never shake. The kind of crush that lies dormant for a while, but flares up at certain times, like now. Bulma was one of those girls that stay's in one's mind until the day he dies. Yamcha had his chance, one that lasted for years, but he screwed it up. He moved on, but still regretted that he was no longer with her. He wasn't going to follow-up on it in anyway against her, but he would like to know a snippet of her love life. He decided he was going to try and get them. "Vegeta. Why won't you share any stories?"
"I have none to share. Gimme three."
"Come on dude. I know how wild Bulma is. You gotta have somethin' crazy to tell us."
"Well, she probably calmed down since you two were together. Don't get your hopes up." He was lying.
Yamcha decided he was going to try to ease him into it by asking something else. "Well, you hafta uv been with someone else before her."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well...?"
"And get in trouble when I go back upstairs? No way."
Gohan was listening to the conversation with little interest. He didn't really care what any of their love lives were like. In fact, it almost made him sick. He had his own objective that he wanted to accomplish, steer Vegeta into talking about something he didn't want to talk about. He was hoping that the conversation would just turn in the direction of what happened on Purge. However, at this rate, they weren't. He would either have to steer it there at the next opening in the conversation, or ask to come back. Given his popularity now, it probably wouldn't be a problem, but he really wanted to know what happened to his father now.
"Dude, you were probably with aliens and taught them how to."
"'Ow, dat ood be cool!" Krillin belched out.
"It was, but that's non of you're business."
The ones paying attention went into a burst of "whoa"'s.
"Come on man, what did ya do? What'd she look like?" Yamcha was being persistent.
"I told you, I'm keeping my mouth shut."
"Dude, it's not gonna leave this room."
"Yeah, but this room is in her house."
"Dude, you act like its a bad thing. It's not like you were Freeza's sex slave or anything."
Gohan was resting his arm his head on his hand, which was propped up on the table. He was trying to think how he was going to get Vegeta to talk. All of the different possibilities were running through his head, but none seemed to be pleasing to him. He was almost about to doze off, when he was snapped awake by the table being thrown up from under him. He was splashed by someone's drink and he looked up to see Vegeta diving at Yamcha. Sheer confusion was going through Gohan's head. What did he miss exactly? Vegeta nailed the awe struck Yamcha with a brilliant sucker punch to his jaw. Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien jumped on Vegeta, who was as uncontrollable as a bull.
Yamcha some how made it to his feet and spit red saliva on the ground while the others held Vegeta back. "FUCKEN HELL! What was that for!?" Yamcha lunged at him, but Gohan got between them very quickly.
"Calm down Vegeta! Why the hell did you do that?" Tien asked.
"Just fucken lemme go!"
"Calm down Vegeta!" Piccolo demanded.
Vegeta began to settle down. He was still mad though. The others reluctantly let him go. Gohan stayed between them to make sure nothing else would happen. As Vegeta walked by, he stared Yamcha down. Yamcha did the same. He didn't appreciate being hit like that and he wanted revenge bad at this point. As Vegeta left the room, Gohan turned to Yamcha.
"What the hell did you say to him?!"
"I dunno! We were just talkin' and the fucker nailed me!"
"Great," Gohan thought to himself. He wasn't going to get the answers he so desperately needed.
"Dude, you shouldn't have brought Freeza up. You know how much he hates it when you even mention her name." Tien told him.
"Yeah, what the fuck is up with that anyway?"
"She killed him and had him in relative slavery for almost his whole life."
"Don't bring it up again! I'm sick of these stupid bar fights. Now we better clean this up before Bulma gets down here." Piccolo said.
"He's late again."
"Since when is he not late?"
"Wanna deal a hand 'til he gets here?"
"He got pissed off last time we did that."
"Yeah, but we're betting that time."
"Just wait 5 minutes Krillin."
"Bulma needs to teach him some punctuality skills."
"Man, he's coming back from training too. He's gonna be sweating like a pig and sweating like a skunk..."
"Shut up Yamcha."
"I'm only talking about Vegeta."
"Well I don't dig it."
"Calm down Piccolo."
"I just wanna have a relaxing time and not have it turn into a bar fight like last time, Tien."
"Dido that. Just keep your mouth shut this time Yamcha..." Tien was cut off when the door to their private billiard room crept open. Everyone in the room: Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, and Krillin, were expecting Vegeta, but got a different Sayain instead, Gohan. Krillin spoke up.
"What are you doing here?"
"Vegeta said I could come, is that ok?"
The four each had a puzzled look on their faces. Then Vegeta stepped out from behind Gohan. He wasn't waiting there, he had just got in and was anxious to sit down.
"Is it okay if he plays tonight?" It must have shocked the living hell out of them. Gohan was a second generation Z Fighter. Even though he was at a ripe age now, he was still a child in their eyes. He had been fighting with them since he was five, and they still saw him as that age. They tried to shelter him from the lives they'd had to live, but were forced to call on him at times because, as much as they hated to admit it, he was the strongest fighter in the universe.
Yamcha was baffled. He knew it was his call because this was his game. "Uh...". He was looking back and forth between Gohan who was still standing in the doorway and Vegeta who was just now sitting down, almost acting as if nothing was going on. Gohan had to be 22 years old now. It would be awkward with him playing, but..."Yeah, sure." It was just the fact the the kid showed up that made him say it. He would have felt bad if he had to make something up about why he couldn't and sent him back to the mountains. He didn't want to be an asshole...to him at least.
"Thanx," Gohan said.
Krillin went over behind the bar and got him a chair. He set it up just as Gohan came by to take his seat.
The place of the game was a billiard room in the basement of the Breif's mansion. It had a mahogany bar, dark cheery wood pool tables, pin pong, two pinball machines in a far corner, darts, one of those magic touch screen games on the bar table, and, of coarse, card tables. The bar served fountain soda and beer, assorted vodkas, wines, champagnes, rum, liquor, and other condiments for mixed drinks. The room was dimly lit with a red tint. Cigarette smoke lingered in the air. There were a few miscellaneous tables around that were used when the Breif's had a formal get-together, all made of fine mahogany. There was a 16 speaker sound system that was currently playing soft blues music at a low volume.
With Gohan sitting at the table, the others were a bit shaky (except Vegeta and Piccolo, who always seemed to keep their cool no matter what). None of them were wearing the fighting clothes that Gohan was used to seeing them in. The former pro ball player was wearing his old black and white jersey, black jeans, and a backwards white baseball cap. The man with the third eye had blue jeans, sneakers, and a plain black t-shirt tucked into his pants. He was still bald. The ex-monk traded in his orange martial arts outfit for loafers, Khakis, a pale green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up above the elbows, a gold plated Rolex watch on his left wrist, a green and white card player's visor, and a full head of hair. The Sayian was still wearing his dark blue workout suit, tank top, shorts, running shoes, with his hair the same as the day he met him. Gohan's childhood friend and mentor, the Namek, was also wearing a plain blue outfit, same brown shoes as ever, and no turban.
If you entered the room at the same door that Gohan came through, the bar was in the far left corner in front of you and took up more than half of the wall's length. The card table was five feet to the right of the bar, and three feet from the back wall. Krillin was at the chair closest to the bar. He was the unofficial bar tender. To his right was Tien, who was really just there to be with old friends. To his right was Yamcha at the head of the table. He sat at a perpendicular line to the front and back walls. Next to him was Piccolo. He actually enjoyed the games. It was a nice break from his usual life of solitude. Gohan took the seat next to him. He felt comfortable sitting next to the person that half raised him, but he was also sitting next to the one who kicked him square in the gut just for the fun of it when he was a child, Vegeta. They had subliminally made their peace, however. Vegeta was sitting directly across from Yamcha and to Krillin's left. The significance of the seat that Gohan was in was that it was his father's seat. They used to keep the seat empty during every game, but stopped because it was pointless. The fact that Gohan was sitting there was an accident, but all of the regulars felt a bit weird about it. Gohan had no clue.
The light breeze from the slow turning ceiling fan was gliding across Yamcha's face as he dealt out the first hand.
"The game's 7 card. Whachya wanna do is..."
"Yeah, yeah. Dad taught me when I was 8."
Everyone was a bit shocked at this. Goku taught his son how to gamble?
Tien rolled his eyes and put the cards that he had face down on the table.
"Yamcha, you didn't give him chips."
Yamcha gave a blank stare for a second like he was trying to remember something. "Oh shit you're right." All of this shock over Gohan playing made him completely forget to change them. Gohan and Vegeta both went into their pockets. "Vegeta, you got the usual?"
"Yeeeeah," he grumbled. The usual was $100 for him. He put his money down and Yamcha gave him his chips.
"How much ya got Gohan?" He was seriously expecting that he didn't bring anything with him.
"Uh, 200." He came prepared.
"Just gimme half, we shouldn't be here that long."
"Ok."
"He got his appropriate change and Yamcha continued dealing. "Starting bet is one."
Gohan studied his hand and almost immediately put two cards down at his turn. "Yeah, two."
Krillin had to ask. "So, Gohan, why ya here?"
"I was board at being home all of the time. Goten's in bed now, so mom doesn't need any help with him. It usually leaves me with nothing to do. So I asked if I could come."
Tien spoke up, "What about your girlfriend? You shouldn't be board with her around."
"That's the thing, she's not in town. She's on some sort of promotional tour with her dad."
Everyone collectively groaned. "Mr. Satan," Yamcha said. "What a piece of work that guy is."
Tien "How the hell did you wind up with that asshole's daughter?...Naw, I'll stay"
"Hey, she's nothing like him. The apple fell far from that tree."
Tien put his cards down "Two jacks, double duce."
Krillin, "Two fours."
Vegeta lightly tossed his cards on the table, "Nothin"
Gohan, "Three sixes."
Piccolo, "Two kings, three sevens."
Yamcha, "And you had me thinking I won with that damn poker face of yours."
"What'd you have?" Krillin asked.
"A straight." Yamcha took the cards back and reshuffled as Piccolo took his winnings.
"So, other than that douche bag of a dad, how is she?" Yamcha asked.
Gohan started laughing a bit and pointed right at Yamcha. "Hey, I beg ya not to talk about my girl's dad like that or I'll rip your mouth out." The table started chuckling.
"Shit, the boy's got an attitude." Tien said, laughing.
"Agh, other than that, she's fine. She's gonna be valedictorian of her school."
"Glad to see things are working out for you two." Piccolo said.
"Yeah, thanx."
"You two plan on moving in together?"
"We want to, but mom won't have it. I want to stay home and help her out with Goten, and I want Videl to move in once school's out, but mom got mad at me even proposing the idea."
Everyone immediately shut-up. Once the conversation went to Chi-Chi, no one wanted part in it. Hell hath no fury like her scorn. They went through another hand. This time, Tien won. Yamcha took this opportunity to get on his nerves.
"So how's Dancing Pete", Yamcha teased as he shuffled.
"Would you stop calling him that!
Gohan was confused. "Who's Dancing Pete?"
Pointing his thumb in Yamcha's direction, Tien answered, "This dumbass is dead set that Chao-Tsu looks exactly like some bit character on The Simpsons."
Yamcha started giggling, "He fucken does dude."
Tien gave a motion that he was about to backhand him. "Shut-up! That guys was in like 5 seconds of one episode anyway," he said with a smile and a slow shaking of his head. Not even Vegeta could help but give a small laugh at this.
Krillin laughed a bit. "I think he was in two."
"Shut up!"
"Just deal already. I gotta break even tonight at least," Vegeta said.
Yamcha began dealing. "Why's that."
"I haven't won in I don't know how long." Vegeta didn't seem as stiff as Gohan was used to seeing him. He was usually boastful and didn't like mingling with people. Here, however, he was much more casual and a lot more cooler. "I'm sick of fucken loosing all the time."
"Maybe you're just having a bout of bad luck," Krillin said.
Vegeta picked up his cards and fanned them. "Yeah, I've been having a lot of that recently."
"Oh, by the way. 18 wanted me to ask you to tell Bulma to get a hold of her. She tried calling today, but no one was home."
"Yeah, she went to town with his," gestured towards Gohan, "mother to do some shopping. She might be down later on to make sure you're not drunk so you can tell her yourself."
"Hey! That only happened once."
"Try four, Krillin," Piccolo said.
Krillin was speechless for a bit and tried to let it pass. For a few moments, there was an awkward silence. They continued to play. Gohan won this hand with a full house. Everyone at the table applauded. Gohan gave a reluctant, yet satisfied smile. Krillin slowly got up.
"I think you just earned yourself a...", he stopped and thought for a second. "Do you drink?"
"At times." Gohan answered. "What can ya make?" Once again, he shocked everyone.
"Beer." He said jokingly. A few of them chuckled at the joke.
"Seriously though, he makes a nice vodka martini," Piccolo said.
"Well, here. Lemme try my hand," he said as he got up. Vegeta mouthed "Wha?" to himself as he scooted behind his chair.
"There is no way you know how to make drinks," Piccolo said with a smile.
Already behind the counter, Gohan said, "I've been in college for four years. You think I'm only learning academics there?" This kid was unbelievable. He started to go to work, mixing, shaking, stirring. In no time at all, had a shot glass filled with a mystery fluid.
"Who wants to try?"
The others were utterly stunned. It took them a second before they could pull themselves together.
"What is it?" Krillin asked?
"Nope, try it and guess."
Krillin took the glass and looked at it as the others looked on with utter curiosity. He downed the glass. He then had a surprised look on his face, pleasantly surprised. "You know how to make screw drivers?"
"No shit!" Yamcha said in disbelief
"It's a damn good one too." Krillin replied.
"What else can ya make?" Tien asked.
"I got something you'd like." He went to work again and produced a tumbler with a green substance. "Try that," he handed him the glass. He looked at Gohan, laughed, and drank it. Almost immediately his eyes grew to the size of golf balls as he gagged and grabbed his own throat.
"Wa, wa, wa, wada!! Wada!" Gohan poured some water and laughed a bit as he gave it to him. Tien didn't even put the glass up to his mouth, he just threw the water in.
"More!" As Gohan drew him another glass, Vegeta rose from his seat, his eyes fixed on the victim. Without looking away, he asked ,"What did you give him?" What ever it was, he had to try it.
"I just gave him a dose of jungle juice."
"Ok, mix me up one."
He made one up and threw it at Vegeta, who caught it without spilling a drop. Vegeta tilted his head downward with his eyes closed. He couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. He finally lifted his head, and his glass, opened his eyes, looked straight into Gohan's, and said "Cheers." With that, he downed Gohan's brew.
He tried to keep a straight face, but was punished with his eyes tearing. He began heaving dry coughs, and started messaging his throat with his left hand. He didn't react as dramatically as Tien did, but none the less, Gohan's brew was strong. He started waving towards himself, a signal for water, an admission of defeat. The room burst into cheers and laughter. With out looking at Vegeta, Gohan fills a frosted mug of the clear liquid with a smile of satisfaction. Victory.
* * *
About an hour and a half had passed, but nobody was keeping track. A few of them were getting a bit tipsy, but not Gohan. He had two Captain 'n Cokes for the night and was still sipping on his second. He would probably stop there. None of the others were totally sloshed, but some of them were showing signs of getting there. He must have mixed up more than 20 drinks that night. They were still at the poker table, still playing, but were now exchanging stories like old soldiers sharing war tales. Yamcha had started smoking a cigar during the game. Gohan never knew he smoked, but then again, he was finding out a lot of new things about his father's friends.
"So der I wuz...Tied tto 'er bead...'Ad mot'r oil smeered all o'er my body...she came into da bed room wita sadle ,n a set 'a' jumpercables!!"
"NOOOOO!"
"NO WAY!!!"
"BULLSHIT!"
"Krillin, how come you always have the best stroies?"
"Coz my women knows 'ow to work it!" He took another swig of his 7 'n 7 feeling very proud of himself.
Piccolo was staying out of the conversation. It was hard at times not having a female Namek companion.
At that moment, Bulma came in with a plate of nachos. Everyone started applauding. They all loved food. This came as a surprise though, she never did this. She must have known Gohan was there.
"Guys, don't make a mess, coz I'm gonna be the one who winds up cleaning up." Everyone collectively agreed to behave.
"What brings you down here?" Piccolo asked.
"Figured I'd drop in and see what's up and surprise ya guys."
It was a nice plate: cheese, ground beef, jalapenos, sour cream, the list goes on. It was as if a professional chef had made them. A round of thanks came from the table.
"So, who's winning so far?" Bulma asked.
"Piccolo the only one who's making a profit tonight." Vegeta said.
"I just know when to pull out and when to stay."
"What were you guys talking about?"
"Ughhhhhh...guy talk." Tien said, not wanting to lie but not wanting to tell the truth either.
"Oh, I see."
"Don't worry. Vegeta hasn't said anything...yet." Yamcha said.
"Fuck you." Vegeta said with his middle finger directed at Yamcha.
"Well he better not."
"Ooooooooo dude, I think that's a threat." Yamcha blurred out.
"Gohan, you must be the only voice I haven't heard from upstairs," she was trying to make an example out of him so the others would calm down a bit and stop making such a racket.
"Ah, I'm like your husband. I like to keep stories of the matter to myself."
"See that, Vegeta, you can be a positive role model."
"Fuck you too."
"Well, I'm gonna be going back upstairs. Don't make a mess and try to keep it down a bit."
The table gave their apologies and waved good-bye. Yamcha, even though he was over her, for the most part, still had a crush on Bulma that he could never shake. The kind of crush that lies dormant for a while, but flares up at certain times, like now. Bulma was one of those girls that stay's in one's mind until the day he dies. Yamcha had his chance, one that lasted for years, but he screwed it up. He moved on, but still regretted that he was no longer with her. He wasn't going to follow-up on it in anyway against her, but he would like to know a snippet of her love life. He decided he was going to try and get them. "Vegeta. Why won't you share any stories?"
"I have none to share. Gimme three."
"Come on dude. I know how wild Bulma is. You gotta have somethin' crazy to tell us."
"Well, she probably calmed down since you two were together. Don't get your hopes up." He was lying.
Yamcha decided he was going to try to ease him into it by asking something else. "Well, you hafta uv been with someone else before her."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well...?"
"And get in trouble when I go back upstairs? No way."
Gohan was listening to the conversation with little interest. He didn't really care what any of their love lives were like. In fact, it almost made him sick. He had his own objective that he wanted to accomplish, steer Vegeta into talking about something he didn't want to talk about. He was hoping that the conversation would just turn in the direction of what happened on Purge. However, at this rate, they weren't. He would either have to steer it there at the next opening in the conversation, or ask to come back. Given his popularity now, it probably wouldn't be a problem, but he really wanted to know what happened to his father now.
"Dude, you were probably with aliens and taught them how to."
"'Ow, dat ood be cool!" Krillin belched out.
"It was, but that's non of you're business."
The ones paying attention went into a burst of "whoa"'s.
"Come on man, what did ya do? What'd she look like?" Yamcha was being persistent.
"I told you, I'm keeping my mouth shut."
"Dude, it's not gonna leave this room."
"Yeah, but this room is in her house."
"Dude, you act like its a bad thing. It's not like you were Freeza's sex slave or anything."
Gohan was resting his arm his head on his hand, which was propped up on the table. He was trying to think how he was going to get Vegeta to talk. All of the different possibilities were running through his head, but none seemed to be pleasing to him. He was almost about to doze off, when he was snapped awake by the table being thrown up from under him. He was splashed by someone's drink and he looked up to see Vegeta diving at Yamcha. Sheer confusion was going through Gohan's head. What did he miss exactly? Vegeta nailed the awe struck Yamcha with a brilliant sucker punch to his jaw. Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien jumped on Vegeta, who was as uncontrollable as a bull.
Yamcha some how made it to his feet and spit red saliva on the ground while the others held Vegeta back. "FUCKEN HELL! What was that for!?" Yamcha lunged at him, but Gohan got between them very quickly.
"Calm down Vegeta! Why the hell did you do that?" Tien asked.
"Just fucken lemme go!"
"Calm down Vegeta!" Piccolo demanded.
Vegeta began to settle down. He was still mad though. The others reluctantly let him go. Gohan stayed between them to make sure nothing else would happen. As Vegeta walked by, he stared Yamcha down. Yamcha did the same. He didn't appreciate being hit like that and he wanted revenge bad at this point. As Vegeta left the room, Gohan turned to Yamcha.
"What the hell did you say to him?!"
"I dunno! We were just talkin' and the fucker nailed me!"
"Great," Gohan thought to himself. He wasn't going to get the answers he so desperately needed.
"Dude, you shouldn't have brought Freeza up. You know how much he hates it when you even mention her name." Tien told him.
"Yeah, what the fuck is up with that anyway?"
"She killed him and had him in relative slavery for almost his whole life."
"Don't bring it up again! I'm sick of these stupid bar fights. Now we better clean this up before Bulma gets down here." Piccolo said.
