The Rv wasn't too difficult to clean up. With a little elbow grease and sweat I had it shining nicely like the day I got it.

"Whew." I heaved a sigh of relief.

All that busy work had kept my mind off of Goku-but even one day without him seemed too long. My chest ached to see his innocent eyes light up as we talked, hold him to my chest, and talk about mundane things. Even that would be enough for me right now.

I rubbed my temples and laid down on the bed. Goku had no reason to leave Chichi and be with me instead. None at all. Yet I couldn't help the longing-that dark haired hero had stolen my heart without even trying.

"Goku," I whispered with a sigh.

To keep myself occupied I showered and shaved, then prepared a small meal of what was left in the RV. Tomorrow I would need to find my way to town and a grocery store.

As the day went past slowly I daydreamed of him. What would he be doing right now? Would he be training if he wasn't made to garden by Chichi? Would he win the next martial arts tournament?

It wasn't too much longer that sleep finally came and I welcomed the reprieve from my sadness.

When I woke the next morning I quickly set to work on finding the best route to town. The RV, however, wasn't fully loaded with gasoline so I found myself not even half a mile away. "Drat!" I shouted as I banged the steering wheel.

My eyes began to fill with frustrated tears. I couldn't even leave this forest and return to my old life; which was my goal so that I could put Goku behind me. I opened the RV door and stepped out, crying angrily at the unfairness. He should have been mine. I would have taken care of him, showed him everything he needed to know about the world, made him feel truly alive. I wouldn't force him to do things like Chichi as if he were a dog that needed potty trained.

"Goku..." I whined, wishing to see him one last time.

I heard a sound beside me and whirled. It was him. The man who had put a claim on my heart. "Ariel!" he said out of breath, "Where-where are you going?"

"Oh Goku!" I cried and ran to him, breathing in his familiar scent.

"I sensed you were moving really fast away from the forest," he said. I peered up into his handsome youthful face and nodded. "I was leaving. To go back to the city where I came from."

His eyes watered and I saw that I'd made him upset. My hand lifted to his cheek and he grabbed it, rubbing his jaw on it. "Ariel-you said-you told me-"

"What is it?" I asked. He was worrying me by being so upset.

He yanked me to his chest and burrowed into my hair and began to cry softly. My chest ached as I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Goku?"

"Ariel...you lied...you lied to me."

"W-What did I lie about?"

"You said you would never leave!" He shouted then cried a little harder. His chest shook against mine.

I grabbed his clothing in my hands and gently pushed him away. "I heard what Chichi said. She wanted you to choose between me and her.."

He wiped his eyes on the blue armband on his wrist and frowned. "I did choose. I told her that I couldn't be without you. She hit me a few times but said that I would get some kinda papers soon or somethin' like that."

"She's...divorcing you?"

He nodded. "Yeah that was the word she used. Dee-vorce."

My heart began to fly. Goku had chosen me? "Is that really true?" I asked as new tears built in my field of vision. His figure swam. "Is it true that you picked me over her?"

"Well yeah. I already said it before but I like you a lot, Ariel. Plus we're going to have lots of babies right?" He smiled shyly.

"Goku..." I called passionately and grabbed him to me, kissing his lips. He made a surprised noise but smiled against mine and picked me up in his arms,

twirling me around. "You look all happy now Ariel. Did I do somethin' right?"

I nodded with a happy smile. "Yes! Yes you did! I'll be the best wife, you'll see! I'll never make you feel bad!"

His eyes widened. "Really?"

"Mhm! Just you wait Goku, I'm going to give you the best!"

His face tinged pink and tucked me into his neck. "Then...I'll give you the best too. B-But you know, I may mess stuff up...like your clothes, or...I might burn the food..."

I laughed at that and he pulled away with a frown, "Why're you laughin?"

"Because silly! None of those things are important. I just want to be with Goku forever."

"Ariel..." His dark eyes looked moist again and he gave me a shaky smile. "...I love you."

Those words lit a fire in my heart. I caressed his cheek and touched his forehead to mine. "And I love you. Just the way you are."

Epilogue

One year had passed since Goku and I had found each other. With Chichi now a thing of the past, and our newborn on my chest, I watched from the hut as Goku did pushup after pushup. He was already over three thousand and didn't look tired. It was with awe that I watched the love of my life train for his upcoming rematch with Piccolo, who had shown a few months prior and challenged him.

"Look Gohan, daddy's hard at work! He's gonna be the strongest in the universe one day," I told the tiny infant who was suckling my breast.

Gohan was the image of his father, and born with a monkey tail. We had decided to keep his tail because we both liked it; it suited him.

Goku paused doing his pushups and looked over at me with a grin. "You two gonna watch me all day?"

I nodded. "Of course. I want to witness for myself when you break your own record. And Gohan wants to watch his daddy too!"

My husband blushed and scratched his head. "Well I'm hopin' to break it today. Who knows? Ah, anyway it kinda makes me nervous when you keep lookin' at me."

I giggled and stood up. "I get it. We'll go inside."

"H-Hey now. You don't have to go in. It's just..." he walked over and lifted my chin, "You look so beautiful sitting over here. I want to take you inside and make love instead of doing pushups."

My face flamed. "Goku!"

He grinned widely. "Eh heh! I'm just sayin' what I think. A man could get distracted around you."

I playfully shoved his shoulder. "You smooth talker! Those books are teaching you how to be naughty."

He laughed again. "Ha ha! Maybe. You're the one who gave 'em to me Ariel. So that's all your fault." With a cheeky smile he reached behind me and smacked my bottom.

"Ah! That's it mister, later you're going to get it." I replied with flaming cheeks.

Goku kissed my mouth and then leaned over and kissed Gohan's head. "Lookin' forward to it."

We shared a smile as the sun began to sink behind the forest sky. Life with Goku had been filled with fun, laughter, and play time. Every day that I woke up beside him was a dream come true. He'd learned so many things in one year. How to cook, clean, do laundry, and take care of flowers. None of which I had forced on him; he wanted to know to be the best husband. When I had found out I was pregnant with Gohan, Goku had been the mothering type and didn't let me wander far. He was protective and insisted on doing everything for me.

Now that our son was born, he had been able to refocus on training and pick up where he left off. I fully supported him and often would sit with our son, just watching him do his warm-ups. There was nothing better than being with Goku.

Except one thing.

We now had a family-tiny Gohan, who would know doubt want to grow up and be just like his daddy. This was a future I looked forward to, and was glad for the one millionth time that I had gotten fired and came here.

Goku was my everything. He never looked sad and we never raised our voices at one another.

"C'mon Gohan, let's head inside and get dinner going for daddy. He's going to be one hungry man after all that training." I said and turned to the hut. We added onto it to make it bigger, as both of us found it more homely than the round home he'd shared with Chichi. Now the tiny hut was a few bedrooms big and perfect for us.

"Ariel?" Goku asked.

I turned. "Hm? Yeah babe?"

He grinned and the sunset cast orange streaks to his already golden skin and dark hair. "Just wanted to remind you that I love you a whole lot."

"Goku.." I returned his smile with my own. "I love you a whole lot too."

Just like that, we spent our days together. When he wasn't off saving the world and it was safe for me to come, I would join in his adventures. Android 18 became a good friend and often came over with Marron and Krillin, who would spar with Goku outside. Our family kept growing as well over the years. We had five children before we both decided that was enough. Eventually Goku taught me how to fly and do basic fighting, which he was more than happy to do. Our training sessions often resulted in us having sex at the end and jumping into the stream to cool off. Still, I learned a lot from him and even fought with Android 18 sometimes when we both weren't busy with children.

This was our love story.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Goku!" I yelled, panting after sliding in the dirt by our home. He grinned. "Gotta be faster than that-"

I vanished and elbow struck his spine. He went tumbling forward and turned, grabbing me around the waist and a me to the ground. He smirked seductively.

"Looks like you're a damsel in distress."

"Are you going to save me from the big bag wolf?" I asked, fluttering my lashes. He closed his eyes and our lips merged briefly. Then he pulled away.

"I'll save you every time."

Fin

Hope you enjoyed this story! Look forward to seeing you in the next one! 3