His warm, intense stare consumed her to her very core, the flame from the fire beside them flickering and reflecting in his eyes. He held her in his sweeping arms, her small body encased in his heated embrace voluntarily, his breath grazing her soft parted lips.

He was home.

Her Goku was home.

It had been a few months since he returned from the dead, but it still felt fresh to her. After all, 7 years is a long time. It had taken some getting use to, and it was still something she was coming to terms with, but she was happy.

So happy.

And to add to her delight, it was Christmas, and here she was, snuggled up to her husband next to a log fire, in his grandfather's cabin.

She couldn't remember the last time they did this ... sometime in the 3 years before the Androids came. But they did this on special occasions. They would camp out in Gohan's cabin, away from the house and the pitter patter of tiny footsteps, so they could have their privacy. Chichi was very much against anything intimate in his grandfather's cabin at first, she told Goku it was almost like a shrine to his late grandfather, and she didn't want to taint that.

But Goku's insistent mouth and adventurous hands, soon made her throw caution to the wind.

She couldn't complain, it was intimate and romantic, with floor cushions, blankets and throws scattered across the floor, a log fire to the side of them, and the sweet sound of the river flowing just outside the door. It was perfect.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

It didn't take long to settle Goten down for the night, the 7 year old had been absolutely bubbling with excitement and bouncing off the walls since Christmas Eve. He always did get excited at Christmas, but this year was special because he had his daddy home. Chichi smiled as she recalled their festivities...

Christmas Eve

Goten had grabbed his father's large hand and briskly dragged him into the living area, to prepare for the arrival of Santa. Goku held a Santa plate in his hand and watched contently as Goten placed two cookies on it and a handful of carrots.

"We have'ta make sure Santa knows that the cookies are for him, and the carrots are for the reindeers" Goten told his father.

"Oh?" Goku cocked an eyebrow, "and how do we do that?"

"By writing him a note" Goten beamed. Goku smiled and sat next to Goten by the fire, his eyes gazing down at the little boy as he began to scribble his note. His little face was full of concentration, his eyebrows furrowed and his tongue sticking out of his mouth. Once he had finished his note, he placed it on the fireplace next to the plate of snacks. Chichi walked into the room with a large glass of milk and handed it to her youngest.

"Be careful with that, Goten, Santa will be very thirsty after delivering everyone's presents tonight, so he will want every last drop". Goten nodded obediently and very carefully placed the glass of milk on the fireplace. He smiled proudly and looked up at his father.

"Daddy, do you think Santa will bring you presents this year?" Goten asked his father.

"What do you mean, buddy?"

"Well … you haven't been here for a long time, y'don't think he'll forget to bring you presents, do you?" Goku couldn't help but give his son a warm, gentle smile. His little son looked so concerned about the possibility of him having no presents.

"Aw, I wouldn't worry, kiddo. Santa's magic, remember? He will know I'm here" Goku assured him, ruffling his son's wild hair. Goten smiled at that.

"Come on, you" Chichi told her youngest, "Time for bed"

"Aw, can't I have 5 more minutes?" Goten whined adorably. Chichi shook her head, he was just like his father.

"You want Santa to come, right?" Chichi questioned him. Goten nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Then you have to get to bed. He won't come unless you're asleep"

"Okay!" Goten chirped, zooming out of the living room and down the hall towards his bedroom. Both Goku and Chichi chuckled at his antics. After tucking in his little son, and telling him a Christmas story, Goku bid both of his sons goodnight and made his way down the hall to the room he shared with his wife. After a quick shower and change into some clean white boxers, Goku slid into bed next to his wife and wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling his nose into her freshly washed hair.

"Mmm, I missed your smell" Goku murmured into her hair. Chichi smiled gently against her pillow and placed her small hand on his large one, that rested over her arms.

"I missed you" she whispered back. Goku softly kissed just below her ear and settled back into his pillow, his eyes closing ready to sleep. It wasn't long before they both drifted off to the land of slumber.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning started as it always did, Goten barging into his parent's bedroom and jumping on the bed excitedly, and Chichi getting straight up to start their Christmas breakfast. Goku was salivating at the table as he watched his little wife pile up her famous Christmas breakfast of pancakes, cinnamon rolls, french toast, an abundance of fruit and Goku's absolute favourite – her breakfast bake! It was egg, sausage, and cheese, with onions and peppers.

Mmmm ... It had been way too long since he last had one of her Christmas breakfasts.

After breakfast was finished, the Son family spent some time in the living room where the boys ripped open their presents, both of them spilling out many "Wows" and "thank yous". Once finished, Goten crawled up to the Christmas tree and smiled a huge smile when he saw a present with his daddy's name on it.

"Daddy! Look! look! He remembered!" He exclaimed, running to his father with the large present in his tiny arms. Goku grinned at him, putting his homemade hot chocolate on the coffee table, and taking the present from him.

"Wow, I think you're right, Goten" his father responded, inspecting the large parcel, "Told ya Santa would know I was here, didn't I?" he winked at him. Goten bounced on the spot happily. Goku opened his present, chuffed he received a new Gi, a Christmas jumper, some jeans and new shoes. He snorted, recalling how he had tried on numerous sets of clothes when he returned from the dead, and half of them didn't even fit him anymore. Chichi was dumbfounded. The man had grown.

Chichi was next to open her gifts – some new perfume, a light pink cheongsam and some earrings. Gohan had been sat on the floor watching his parents open their gifts and with a wink to Goten, he pulled a present out from behind his back.

"Um, me and Goten have one more for ya" he said proudly, handing the rectangular shaped gift to his mother. She looked at her eldest son in question but took the gift willingly.

"You two got this for us?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's nothing too much, but we knew you'd like it" Gohan told her bashfully. Now Goku was even intrigued. Chichi carefully unwrapped the solid object and when she saw what it was her mouth hung low and her eyes began to water. It was a framed photo of the four of them, which had been taken not long after Goku returned home. Goku was planting a kiss on Chichi's cheek, her eyes closed, and she was clearly laughing playfully at his affirmation of love, Gohan and Goten both smiling for the camera next to them.

"You sneaky boys! Was this my dad taking the photo?" she questioned Gohan, a teasing smile on her face. Gohan grinned from ear to ear.

"Maybe" he cheeped, rubbing the back of his head, a nervous but endearing act that his father had passed down to him.

"Well, I absolutely love it" she gently declared, standing up and perching on her tiptoes to press a small kiss on his cheek. Gohan chuckled as she tackled Goten too, kissing him on his cheek. She walked over to the sideboard and added the frame to the others she had on there. It was the perfect addition.

"Aw, that's a great gift you guys" Goku added, he too getting to his feet. Goku reached into his jeans pocket and gave his sons a knowing smile, both of them fully aware of what was about to happen next. Chichi sighed as she stared at the photo frame, her heart swelling with joy in her chest.

"You boys are the sweetest" she cooed, clasping her hands together and spinning on her heels to give them her biggest smile. But her smile dropped, shock written all over her face when she saw Goku in front of her … on one knee.

Her nervous hands clutched at her chest, her watery eyes darting between the small box in his hand and his gentle eyes.

"Goku" she managed to breath out, "What are you..." she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"I've been dead for 7 years, figured I needed to ask ya again" he mused.

Chichi was speechless.

"Besides, I didn't really do it right the first time, so I think it's about time I did" Goku added softly, opening the small white box in his hand, to reveal a diamond ring.

"Oh, Goku" she gasped. It was a beautiful, delicate silver ring with a small white diamond encrusted on the top.

"I know ya didn't have a ring the first time, so I got'cha one this time. It's the least you deserve after what I put you through"

"Honey" she gently called, noticing a sadness briefly flicker in his eyes.

"So, what d'ya say? Will you marry me again?" he asked her softly. The words had barely left his mouth before she pounced on him, wrapping her small, lithe arms around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder. Goku had to put his hand out to the floor to stop them from falling over.

"Oh, Goku, of course I will marry you again!" she cried, her answer slightly muffled against his skin. Goku chuckled lightly at her reaction.

"Phew, that would'a been awkward if you had said no!" he joked. Chichi laughed at him and playfully slapped his chest before letting him remove the ring from the box and place it on her finger. Chichi was impressed he remembered what finger to put it on, but after chancing a glance at Gohan, she had a feeling he was in on the little surprise, so probably helped his father with that one.

Chichi admired her sparkling ring for a few seconds, before returning her gaze to her husband.

"I love it" she told him tenderly, the tone of her voice making his heart race. Their lingering gaze continued, a sudden presence next to them catching their attention. They both looked at Goten in wonder as he grinned from ear to ear, raised on his tiptoes, their eyes glancing up to the mistletoe he held above them in his hand.

"You have'ta kiss now. It's tradition" Goten told them firmly. His parents both stifled a laugh at their youngest son before letting their eyes meet again.

"Well, it is tradition" Goku whispered to her, cupping her face with his one hand and pulling her lips to his. Chichi smiled a heavenly smile against his lips as Goten giggled next to them. Gohan blushed at his parents, but couldn't hide the smile on his face. This was the happiest he had seen his mother in a very long time, and it was the best feeling in the world.

Goku ended the small kiss and nudged his wife's little nose with his before sitting back. Chichi turned her attention to Goten and grabbed him, a little shriek escaping his mouth.

"You little rascal" she accused him, tickling him, causing more laughter to spill. Goku leant his head back so he could see his eldest son. He gave him a wink, which made Gohan's smile grow even bigger. His eyes refocused on his wife and Goten before him, his heart was most definitely beating erratically in his chest.

It was so good to be home.

Chichi gave her husband a loving smile, her reminiscence ending and her mind coming back to focus on him. Her breath was caught in her throat from his intense stare, his fingertips gingerly caressing her back up and down. She took him all in, in his entirety; the content look upon his handsome face, the light glistening of sweat on his chest from their earlier intimacy and the warmth that radiated from his large, powerful body.

Her heart soared at the thought of him being there, his skin against hers, his nose nudging hers, his soft lips gently brushing against her own. When he pressed his lips against hers more firmly, she hummed in serenity, the hairs on her arms standing up and butterflies sprouting form her stomach.

This was her favourite Christmas ever, and nothing was going to wipe the smile off her face.

He was home.

Her Goku was home.