Scars - Chapter 03
Son Goku was the first to rise the following morning. He stirred sometime just after the sun broke over the horizon, and shifted out from ChiChi's arms, which were wrapped around him loosely. ChiChi made a soft sigh in her sleep and Goku grew still, not wanting to wake her, although the prospect of breakfast could not have been more tempting. He had other things to do.
After stretching indolently and laying with his eyes pinned to the brightening ceiling for a few minutes, the broad-chested hero blinked the sleep from his eyes and got out of bed. He moved to the other side of the room and began a series of light stretches. This was Goku's way of beginning every day. He felt that keeping his body fit and limber was pretty much the biggest personal goal in his life. He loved his family and watched them grow and change around him, and although the warrior knew that he had also changed, he never lost the desire to perfect himself physically. Goku prided himself on his form, not to impress others, but because his body was his most cherished tool, especially considering that both his common sense and his ability to solve problems were somewhat lacking.
Goku finished his stretches and proceeded to head outside, where the Son family's bath was. He filled the oversized tub with water from the hose and used a bit of ki to warm the water to a desirable temperature. There was a regular bathroom and a shower inside, but Goku had his reasons for sticking to his habit of bathing under the sky. The air was fresh here, and the sun felt nice on his bare chest. Furthermore, Goku had built his home himself, and before Bulma had butt in and had electricity and running water installed all over the house, there had only been the bath outside. Being a creature of routine and habit despite his strange and unorganized life, Goku preferred to stick with what he was comfortable with.
Fresh and much more awake, Goku wrapped a towel around his waist and returned to the bedroom he shared with ChiChi. He changed into a fresh orange gi with a blue sash and wristbands, and dried his hair off with the towel, tossing it over a chair that sat in the corner of the room. ChiChi would pick it up long after Goku forgot his careless action, and she wouldn't complain either, she just didn't do things like that. ChiChi liked playing housewife, Goku knew that much for sure. He was happy that she did, although it really stressed him out when he thought about the brief conversations he'd shared with her on the topic of his unemployment. ChiChi had urged him to look for work, but Goku was stubborn. He managed to put it off until his wife forgot about bothering to nag him any longer. In that sense, Goku felt mothered by ChiChi almost as much as he felt married to her. It was kind of nice though, he'd never had a mother, and his wife was strong. She could handle things pretty much by herself while he was off dealing with the consequences of saving the world, like death. Of course staying dead had been Goku's choice, but he'd long ago convinced himself that it was a good decision that benefited the Earth as a whole, and nobody had been able to change his mind on that front so far.
ChiChi was still asleep. Goku looked at her peaceful form, and smiled slightly, feeling like a very lucky man to be loved by such a dramatic and intense woman. As much as he would have liked for her to keep on sleeping, he was hungry and helpless to cook for himself. Goku crawled onto the bed and laid down beside ChiChi, putting an arm around her and shifting her close to him. She began to wake from the movement.
"Chi... wake up... I'm hungry."
Goku's stomach punctuated this claim by growling eagerly. ChiChi's eyes opened and she looked both happy that her husband was holding her, and displeased that she was pulled from her slumber. Her mouth moved but she had yet to find her voice. She cleared her throat and pushed weakly against this chest.
"I can't feed you if you've got me pinned here Goku. Sleep well?"
Goku shrugged, he tended not to sleep too soundly now that he was back. It was strange to have a ki as powerful as Gohan's in the house, although that wasn't the problem. It was more that Gohan seemed to have a loose hold over his power in his sleep, and his dreams, be they pleasant or dark, caused his energy to fluctuate a lot when he slept. Goku was getting used to it though. He smiled and gave ChiChi a friendly kiss. He rubbed her back and nodded, never one to confide small discomforts in someone who worried as much as ChiChi did. She worried out loud, which was what discouraged him so much from sharing certain things with her. But when he thought about it, Goku knew he wouldn't have her any other way, because she was someone he could understand -she wore her heart on her sleeve- and that is exactly what he needed in a companion. Well, that and good cooking, of course.
"Well good, wake the boys up, and I'll fix breakfast."
"Breakfast sounds great! It feels like I haven't eaten in a week!"
"Goku you never change..." ChiChi bestowed a warm smile on Goku before her face turned more serious. "Now Goten has studying to do today and he promised that he'd have all of it done before lunch, so he'd better get up soon or he's not going to be allowed to play with Trunks today. They caused a lot of trouble yesterday... Trunks talked Goten into baking pie at CC... *shudder* Goku we should get that boy another friend... Trunks is so much like his awful father, he's influencing Goten!"
Goku tuned out much of what ChiChi said to him, but he frowned unhappily when ChiChi insulted Vegeta. He respected the man immensely, despite his superior strength.
"Chi, Goten can make some of his own decisions about things like who he's friends with. When I was nine me and Bulma had lotsa fun, and nobody ever told me I shouldn't be fiends with her, even if we did blow a lot of stuff up and make trouble sometimes. We didn't mean to... I don't think Trunks and Goten do either. Ok... maybe Trunks does... but he's good inside."
"Can he ride the nimbus, Goku?"
"Er... no..."
"Well, then he isn't good at all, he's going to get our baby boy into trouble!!"
"But ChiChi... they're best friends! They're both half saiyajin too... you think finding Goten some human friends is a good thing? He might hurt them by accident, at least with Trunks you know you don't have to talk to some kid's parents and try to explain how they were accidentally killed playing tag, or blown up, or...or...whatever."
"Hey, its your job to teach Goten to control his strength. If you're telling me that he's a menace to anybody without saiyajin strength, then I think you're slacking off Son Goku! Never mind playing with Trunks this afternoon, I want you to take him to meet some new friends!"
"Me? But... where do I take him? Why can't he just play with Trunks like always?"
Goku's head was starting to hurt. He was really beginning to wish that he'd left ChiChi sleeping soundly, as her voice was awful to hear screeching first thing in the morning. He pouted in frustration, his hand slowing to a stop on her back. Goku honestly did not see any reason to change something when it wasn't harmful or broken or bad somehow. As mentioned, he was a creature of habit and routine.
"Don't argue with me Goku, I want you to take him to meet some other boys his age. And don't bring Trunks!"
Goku sighed and unwound his arms from around his wife, feeling frustrated but cornered. It was not his position to talk back to ChiChi on these things. He wasn't a very good father sometimes, and he was even worse when it came to planning for a bright and healthy future where Gohan and Goten were concerned. He thought that taking care of themselves and making good decisions should be their job. He could only guide them in bright directions, he couldn't physically separate Goten from Trunks and force Goten to make new friends on a whim. But ChiChi was now glaring at him with that frying-pan-thwapping look in her eyes. Goku swallowed and nodded in submission.
"Ok Chichi, me and Goten will go do something this afternoon. *dramatic sigh* But if he has to do that then can me and Gohan and him spar this morning? He can do schoolwork tomorrow..."
"Goku if you put off until tomorrow what you can do today, you won't get anywhere in life!"
"But we can spar today! When are we supposed to do that?"
"Work it out, Goten has to study this morning. Now if you want breakfast, go and get him up and tell him to take a shower. Oh, and we should ask Gohan about what he's decided to take in university... that's coming up in a few weeks, at least that's what he said. Ooh... my little boy is growing up, he's going to be so successful..." ChiChi clasped her hands together in the middle of getting dressed, looking at Goku with a pleased smile.
Goku blinked at her in confusion. "University?"
ChiChi quirked her brows at him. "Well of course, hasn't he told you yet? I was going to, but he asked me not to because he said he wanted to explain it to you himself. Don't tell me you forgot! Goku that's horrible! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"I didn't forget, Gohan never told me about that... actually he never really tells me much at all. *frown* You know, since I got back he doesn't like me..."
"Nonsense, I won't have you spouting that silly rubbish about our son, Gohan loves you as much now as he ever did. Go wake Goten up, I have breakfast to make."
Goku left the room, feeling incredibly helpless and frustrated with the whole experience of trying to have a conversation with his wife. It seemed to him that he had not been trying at all, and that the conversation just came and jumped him from out of nowhere. And now he had to be the bearer of bad news to Goten about not being allowed to play with Trunks later. Goku doubted that Goten would do any schoolwork or studying at all if he wasn't allowed to see Trunks afterwards. It had been a well-balanced little reward system, and ChiChi had unwittingly stomped all over it.
In the back of Goku's mind, his elder son's face flickered, the expression on it cold, the way Gohan tended to look at him. OK, that was wrong, he wasn't cold... he was just distant... as if he felt alienated or something. Goku pushed Goten's door open, trying not to think about Gohan for the time being.
Son Goku was the first to rise the following morning. He stirred sometime just after the sun broke over the horizon, and shifted out from ChiChi's arms, which were wrapped around him loosely. ChiChi made a soft sigh in her sleep and Goku grew still, not wanting to wake her, although the prospect of breakfast could not have been more tempting. He had other things to do.
After stretching indolently and laying with his eyes pinned to the brightening ceiling for a few minutes, the broad-chested hero blinked the sleep from his eyes and got out of bed. He moved to the other side of the room and began a series of light stretches. This was Goku's way of beginning every day. He felt that keeping his body fit and limber was pretty much the biggest personal goal in his life. He loved his family and watched them grow and change around him, and although the warrior knew that he had also changed, he never lost the desire to perfect himself physically. Goku prided himself on his form, not to impress others, but because his body was his most cherished tool, especially considering that both his common sense and his ability to solve problems were somewhat lacking.
Goku finished his stretches and proceeded to head outside, where the Son family's bath was. He filled the oversized tub with water from the hose and used a bit of ki to warm the water to a desirable temperature. There was a regular bathroom and a shower inside, but Goku had his reasons for sticking to his habit of bathing under the sky. The air was fresh here, and the sun felt nice on his bare chest. Furthermore, Goku had built his home himself, and before Bulma had butt in and had electricity and running water installed all over the house, there had only been the bath outside. Being a creature of routine and habit despite his strange and unorganized life, Goku preferred to stick with what he was comfortable with.
Fresh and much more awake, Goku wrapped a towel around his waist and returned to the bedroom he shared with ChiChi. He changed into a fresh orange gi with a blue sash and wristbands, and dried his hair off with the towel, tossing it over a chair that sat in the corner of the room. ChiChi would pick it up long after Goku forgot his careless action, and she wouldn't complain either, she just didn't do things like that. ChiChi liked playing housewife, Goku knew that much for sure. He was happy that she did, although it really stressed him out when he thought about the brief conversations he'd shared with her on the topic of his unemployment. ChiChi had urged him to look for work, but Goku was stubborn. He managed to put it off until his wife forgot about bothering to nag him any longer. In that sense, Goku felt mothered by ChiChi almost as much as he felt married to her. It was kind of nice though, he'd never had a mother, and his wife was strong. She could handle things pretty much by herself while he was off dealing with the consequences of saving the world, like death. Of course staying dead had been Goku's choice, but he'd long ago convinced himself that it was a good decision that benefited the Earth as a whole, and nobody had been able to change his mind on that front so far.
ChiChi was still asleep. Goku looked at her peaceful form, and smiled slightly, feeling like a very lucky man to be loved by such a dramatic and intense woman. As much as he would have liked for her to keep on sleeping, he was hungry and helpless to cook for himself. Goku crawled onto the bed and laid down beside ChiChi, putting an arm around her and shifting her close to him. She began to wake from the movement.
"Chi... wake up... I'm hungry."
Goku's stomach punctuated this claim by growling eagerly. ChiChi's eyes opened and she looked both happy that her husband was holding her, and displeased that she was pulled from her slumber. Her mouth moved but she had yet to find her voice. She cleared her throat and pushed weakly against this chest.
"I can't feed you if you've got me pinned here Goku. Sleep well?"
Goku shrugged, he tended not to sleep too soundly now that he was back. It was strange to have a ki as powerful as Gohan's in the house, although that wasn't the problem. It was more that Gohan seemed to have a loose hold over his power in his sleep, and his dreams, be they pleasant or dark, caused his energy to fluctuate a lot when he slept. Goku was getting used to it though. He smiled and gave ChiChi a friendly kiss. He rubbed her back and nodded, never one to confide small discomforts in someone who worried as much as ChiChi did. She worried out loud, which was what discouraged him so much from sharing certain things with her. But when he thought about it, Goku knew he wouldn't have her any other way, because she was someone he could understand -she wore her heart on her sleeve- and that is exactly what he needed in a companion. Well, that and good cooking, of course.
"Well good, wake the boys up, and I'll fix breakfast."
"Breakfast sounds great! It feels like I haven't eaten in a week!"
"Goku you never change..." ChiChi bestowed a warm smile on Goku before her face turned more serious. "Now Goten has studying to do today and he promised that he'd have all of it done before lunch, so he'd better get up soon or he's not going to be allowed to play with Trunks today. They caused a lot of trouble yesterday... Trunks talked Goten into baking pie at CC... *shudder* Goku we should get that boy another friend... Trunks is so much like his awful father, he's influencing Goten!"
Goku tuned out much of what ChiChi said to him, but he frowned unhappily when ChiChi insulted Vegeta. He respected the man immensely, despite his superior strength.
"Chi, Goten can make some of his own decisions about things like who he's friends with. When I was nine me and Bulma had lotsa fun, and nobody ever told me I shouldn't be fiends with her, even if we did blow a lot of stuff up and make trouble sometimes. We didn't mean to... I don't think Trunks and Goten do either. Ok... maybe Trunks does... but he's good inside."
"Can he ride the nimbus, Goku?"
"Er... no..."
"Well, then he isn't good at all, he's going to get our baby boy into trouble!!"
"But ChiChi... they're best friends! They're both half saiyajin too... you think finding Goten some human friends is a good thing? He might hurt them by accident, at least with Trunks you know you don't have to talk to some kid's parents and try to explain how they were accidentally killed playing tag, or blown up, or...or...whatever."
"Hey, its your job to teach Goten to control his strength. If you're telling me that he's a menace to anybody without saiyajin strength, then I think you're slacking off Son Goku! Never mind playing with Trunks this afternoon, I want you to take him to meet some new friends!"
"Me? But... where do I take him? Why can't he just play with Trunks like always?"
Goku's head was starting to hurt. He was really beginning to wish that he'd left ChiChi sleeping soundly, as her voice was awful to hear screeching first thing in the morning. He pouted in frustration, his hand slowing to a stop on her back. Goku honestly did not see any reason to change something when it wasn't harmful or broken or bad somehow. As mentioned, he was a creature of habit and routine.
"Don't argue with me Goku, I want you to take him to meet some other boys his age. And don't bring Trunks!"
Goku sighed and unwound his arms from around his wife, feeling frustrated but cornered. It was not his position to talk back to ChiChi on these things. He wasn't a very good father sometimes, and he was even worse when it came to planning for a bright and healthy future where Gohan and Goten were concerned. He thought that taking care of themselves and making good decisions should be their job. He could only guide them in bright directions, he couldn't physically separate Goten from Trunks and force Goten to make new friends on a whim. But ChiChi was now glaring at him with that frying-pan-thwapping look in her eyes. Goku swallowed and nodded in submission.
"Ok Chichi, me and Goten will go do something this afternoon. *dramatic sigh* But if he has to do that then can me and Gohan and him spar this morning? He can do schoolwork tomorrow..."
"Goku if you put off until tomorrow what you can do today, you won't get anywhere in life!"
"But we can spar today! When are we supposed to do that?"
"Work it out, Goten has to study this morning. Now if you want breakfast, go and get him up and tell him to take a shower. Oh, and we should ask Gohan about what he's decided to take in university... that's coming up in a few weeks, at least that's what he said. Ooh... my little boy is growing up, he's going to be so successful..." ChiChi clasped her hands together in the middle of getting dressed, looking at Goku with a pleased smile.
Goku blinked at her in confusion. "University?"
ChiChi quirked her brows at him. "Well of course, hasn't he told you yet? I was going to, but he asked me not to because he said he wanted to explain it to you himself. Don't tell me you forgot! Goku that's horrible! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"I didn't forget, Gohan never told me about that... actually he never really tells me much at all. *frown* You know, since I got back he doesn't like me..."
"Nonsense, I won't have you spouting that silly rubbish about our son, Gohan loves you as much now as he ever did. Go wake Goten up, I have breakfast to make."
Goku left the room, feeling incredibly helpless and frustrated with the whole experience of trying to have a conversation with his wife. It seemed to him that he had not been trying at all, and that the conversation just came and jumped him from out of nowhere. And now he had to be the bearer of bad news to Goten about not being allowed to play with Trunks later. Goku doubted that Goten would do any schoolwork or studying at all if he wasn't allowed to see Trunks afterwards. It had been a well-balanced little reward system, and ChiChi had unwittingly stomped all over it.
In the back of Goku's mind, his elder son's face flickered, the expression on it cold, the way Gohan tended to look at him. OK, that was wrong, he wasn't cold... he was just distant... as if he felt alienated or something. Goku pushed Goten's door open, trying not to think about Gohan for the time being.