2: Reveal
"I've missed you too."
The bathroom door clicked shut and Goku wasn't sure what to think, though he was relieved to see that Chi-Chi was still willing to kiss him, and that she wanted to stay near him. Though that relief was short lived.
Chi-Chi was so thin now. Not that she'd been particularly plump before, but she'd always had a healthy layer of fat softening her form. That was gone now, along with what looked like a great deal of muscle, leaving her too thin and terrifyingly frail looking.
Then there was the fear. The first night they'd been intimate she'd been scared too, but it was a nervous fear, self-conscious and full of excitement. He'd found it cute.
This was nowhere close to cute. The way she shrunk in on herself whenever their attention went to her, how she'd jumped whenever he'd touched her, that she felt the need to curl up around the baby to protect them seemed to set off every instinct Goku had to find and completely destroy whatever- whoever- caused her to act this way. Chi-Chi was strong and fierce, she shouldn't ever be so scared.
The sound of the door shutting brought Goku's focus back to the present. Krillin had finished dealing with the car, apparently. His face was a mix of confused and concerned. Goku wondered if he'd sensed the ki of whoever was following his wife. Though they had moved further away for now.
"What's wrong?" He kind of figured his friend would have mixed feelings about Chi-Chi's return as well. A couple months ago Krillin had joined Bulma and Oolong in musing that Chi-Chi's disappearance was deliberate on her part. By now only Goku himself and Chi-Chi's dad were certain she hadn't wanted to disappear like that.
Somehow he couldn't find it to be happy that he was correct.
"It's just kind of strange that she left the car running," he muttered, looking around the room.
"Chi-Chi's in the bathroom getting cleaned up."
"Ah… Hey, so, what's with the baby?"
Goku could only shrug. In all honestly, he'd been trying not to think about it. Him. Her son- and it would have to be her son, there's no reason why she'd have him otherwise- looked so small, maybe as big as Puar. How old was he? Goku knew it took some time for a baby to be born, and that she was gone long enough for her to have his son. However, she was also gone long enough for him to not be Goku's. Goku stopped that train of thought right there, he couldn't think about something like that, not now and maybe not ever.
Regardless, he was a father now and Goku wasn't sure how to deal with that.
By now their old master had returned from upstairs. He brought with him a thin lacy pink piece of clothing. "Here, looked like that girl didn't have anything clean to change into. This should fit her."
Krillin choked. "I don't- now's not the- master!"
Goku found himself frowning at the sheer garment. Chi-Chi had worn things like that before, but it was never the sort of thing she'd slept in. "I don't know, that doesn't look comfortable to sleep in. Or warm." Though the night was mild, she'd been shivering pretty badly. He didn't think anything of Krillin's or master Roshi's would fit her, and the things Launch left were all along the same lines of what master Roshi was holding up.
Goku himself didn't have very many clothes here, having only been intending to stay for a couple days out of boredom and loneliness. He had an extra pair of boxers that should work, though the only clean shirt he had that wasn't weighted was the sleep shirt he was wearing. Well, he could stand sleeping shirtless for a little bit. Besides, the thought of Chi-Chi wearing his clothes was highly appealing.
There was something a little more pressing on his mind though. "Do we still have some senzu beans left?"
Master Roshi glanced at him. "So you noticed," Krilin's wince meant that he'd seen it too. Whenever Chi-Chi hadn't been holding her son, her left arm had gone to guard her ribs on that side. She hadn't made a big deal out of it, but clearly she'd been hurt there badly enough for that spot to be more vulnerable than anywhere else. "No, I don't think we do."
Goku grimaced at that. However, there wasn't much they could do about it right now. Well, being the only one able to ride the Nimbus meant he could take it to Korin's tower, but the thought of leaving Chi-Chi, even for the couple hours it'd take to go there and back, just felt wrong to him. Especially since they'd just been reunited. Instead he went to where he'd stored his bag and dug through it for something for Chi-Chi to wear.
It didn't take very long before he was standing in front of the bathroom door. He could hear the faint murmurs of his wife and the small light giggles coming from her baby. Those sounds cut off when he knocked on the bathroom door. "Chi-Chi? Can I come in?"
"Y-yeah, the door's unlocked." He made a mental note, as he entered, to tell her to lock it next time; master Roshi tended to barge in whether people were using it or not. Mostly with Launch and Bulma whenever they visited.
His wife was still fully clothed and kneeling by the tub, from the sounds of water splashing about, her son – their son, he supposed- was getting a bath. He couldn't stop himself from smiling at the sight of his wife. Despite how worryingly thin and ruffed up she was, Chi-Chi was still so pretty.
He held up the extra clothes when she glanced back to him. "Kind of figured you'd want cleaner clothes." On his way to the bathroom, master Roshi had been very insistent on letting Chi-Chi wear the lacy shirt, so he had that too, despite knowing Chi-Chi wouldn't wear it. Her thankful smile made his heart flutter and a purr lodge itself in his throat.
Her smile turned shy as she half turned back to the tub. "Could you come closer? There's- there's someone I want you to meet."
Goku had stayed by the door, not that he hadn't wanted to be as close as possible to his wife right now, he just didn't want her to feel trapped. "Do you want me to lock the door? Master Roshi has a habit of entering without knocking."
She hesitated briefly before nodding, her eyes flickered to the room's window. Was she making sure no one would come in that way? Maybe he should teach her how to sense ki. It'd probably make her feel better to know there wasn't anyone outside the house.
Well, not immediately outside the house. The several ki signatures he'd sensed from earlier were still hovering around, just inside his sensing range. A part of him wanted to go out now and take care of them, these people who'd chased his wife, who made her scared. He wanted them gone right now. The rest of him was just terrified that if he got too far away Chi-Chi would vanish once more and he'd never see her again.
He could hunt whoever they were down later, but Goku wasn't about to risk losing Chi-Chi again.
She began talking again as he approached, her voice was thick with nervousness. "This really should have been the first thing I talked to you about, but it didn't seem like the right time and I wasn't sure what to say, it's kind of a shock and well…" She suddenly picked up her baby and held him up to Goku. "This is Gohan, he's your son."
His mind jerked to a halt. He had known that the child, no matter how they'd come into being, was his. But seeing the baby fully held before him, seeing the familiar way his face looked, how he had Goku's ears and Chi-Chi's eyes and hearing her say that, was all completely different to just thinking about it.
What's more was his name. "You- you named him Gohan?"
His wonderful wife bit her lip again and nodded. "I-I was missing you, and you weren't there. It wasn't your fault but I still wanted you to be there, and- and you were always talking about your Grandpa and how much he meant to you and I thought that…that it'd be a little something more of you and whenever I called him that he'd smile so much…and…" Goku really couldn't tell why she was so nervous but it looked like she was about to cry. "Is it okay? The name I mean?"
"It's perfect." He smiled broadly at her before turning back to look at his son- his son!- and just take him in.
"Did you want to hold him?"
"Can I?"
She smiled and nodded though Gohan himself didn't look too impressed with the idea. Gohan was so small! Goku had noticed before but it was different now that he was holding his son in his arms. A damp fuzzy brown tail wrapped around Chi-Chi's wrist as she handed him over. His son had his tail; this was the best day ever! And the sun hadn't even risen yet.
Gohan didn't really like being away from Chi-Chi though. Goku could sympathize, he didn't like being away from Chi-Chi either. As soon as he left her hands, Gohan was whining and reaching back for his mom. It hurt a little, but he was a stranger and Goku doubted Gohan had ever really been away from Chi-Chi since he was born. Still, he didn't want his son to be scared of him.
Gohan abruptly turned to face him with a strange look on his face and a curious sound coming from the back of his throat. Goku glanced at his wife for the sudden change, she smiled at him.
"You chirped," her face grew red. "I didn't know when you'd get to meet him, but I wanted Gohan to get to know you before then, so I would, uh." She refocused on Gohan before she made a small chirping noise that sounded slightly off, but it made Goku's own face turn scarlet and his insides feel like goo. In a good way.
While Chi-Chi had never seemed to mind the small noises he'd make, nearly everyone else thought it was weird whenever he'd do that. Even his Grandpa had tried to get him to stop. Granted Grandpa had told him it was baby talk and that he'd been too old to keep doing it, rather than it just being strange. It felt wrong not to make sounds like that though, like he was only saying half of what he meant to say even though he knew for a fact that the noises didn't have specific meanings to them. It was kind of hard to explain, and the rest of his friends never seemed to understand him when he tried, but Chi-Chi just shrugged and told him she didn't mind.
Hearing her mimic those sounds, teaching them to his son as a way to recognize family, it only made him love her even more.
Then Gohan chirped back. It was so cute Goku felt like he was going to die. Instead he cooed and brought his son up to nuzzle the crook of his neck. He used the opportunity to take in his son's scent and memorize it. He could feel Gohan taking in his own too. It was perfect, they were both perfect.
Too soon though, Gohan wanted to go back to his mom and started reaching for her again. Though this time he was making more chirps and whines than before.
"He likes you," her voice was soft as she took back the squirming damp baby. "I knew he would." She smiled up at him. "You're very likeable."
"Just likeable?"
She giggled and leaned against him as they lapsed into a comfortable silence. Well, semi silence. Gohan would make noises and Goku would respond in kind. Goku could sort of see why his Grandpa had thought that the noises were baby talk, but then Gohan would babble something that was genuinely baby talk and the similarity, to Goku's mind at least, would be gone. There was just something more to the chirps and coos that wasn't there in the babbling. Chi-Chi would on occasion join in, but Goku could tell it wasn't quite as natural for her as it was for him and Gohan.
It didn't take long for Chi-Chi to finish giving their child a bath and by the end even Goku, with his limited experiences with babies, could tell that Gohan wouldn't be awake for much longer.
He waited until she'd taken him out, dried him and then wrapped their son up like an eggroll before speaking again. Broaching a topic that had be niggling at the back of his mind though one he really hadn't wanted to think about.
"You weren't going to stay, were you." Between her leaving the air car running and the way she'd looked ready to bolt when he'd opened the door, there wasn't really much of a question in his mind.
She froze briefly before seeming to sag. "I didn't know you'd be here." Her voice was quiet and filled with guilt and sadness as she rocked Gohan gently. "I-I thought it'd just be master Roshi all alone here. And- and they were too many of them. They were too smart to just attack one at a time and…and protecting someone is hard. Harder than just defending yourself. And I couldn't risk Gohan getting hurt." Her breath hitched and she looked like she was going to start crying.
Goku pulled her close and let her burry her face in his shoulder. "I was going to lead them away. To give Roshi time and space to get Gohan to you. Even if I-" She cut herself off and had to take several breaths before starting again. "Gohan would have been safe, I knew he'd be safe. As long as he could get to you."
"I'm glad you stayed." Her nod of agreement felt like a balm to the idea that she had been thinking of leaving Gohan behind. Even if she did have a good reason, and even if she was going to leave him with someone they knew, the thought of Chi-Chi abandoning her child like he'd been abandoned hurt. While Goku would never complain about being raised by his Grandpa, there were times when he'd wonder about his parents and why he was alone when he'd been found.
He waited until her breathing evened out a bit more before pulling away and smiling at her. "It's not just master Roshi here. We'll protect you and Gohan no matter what, okay?"
She nodded, wiping some stray tears from her eyes. "I know."
Her eyes were filled with trust and faith in him, the sight made him feel so giddy inside he couldn't help but kiss her on the lips. She pulled away quickly though, muttering shyly about bad breath and toothbrushes and covering her mouth in embarrassment. True it tasted a little off, he didn't care though. It'd been far too long since they've last kissed. Still, if she didn't want to kiss anymore right now, that was fine.
He leaned back to give her some space to compose herself and his hand touched fabric. That's right, he'd brought clothes for her. She'd refocused her attention on getting Gohan to sleep so he quickly took his shirt off to add to the small pile.
When their son- and he didn't think that thought would ever stop thrilling him- was asleep she turned her attention back to him, eyebrow raised silently in question of his now shirtless state. He smiled sheepishly, "I didn't think you'd like master Roshi's offering, so…" He held up the two tops. In the back of his mind he was confused as to why his master gave her a top but no bottom; the lacy garment wasn't as long as his shirt was and he knew Chi-Chi would need to wear something under his shirt for her to feel comfortable.
She grimaced at the pink lacy fabric and gave him a small thankful smile. "You're right about that. If you don't mind being without a shirt at least."
"Nah it's fine." Tonight was a night he didn't mind being shirtless. Even if it was colder, if it meant Chi-Chi wearing his shirt, he wouldn't mind sleeping without it. The sleepshirt itself was actually something Chi-Chi had bought him. When they first started living together she freaked out once when she'd caught him sleeping with his weighted shirt on, as he hadn't wanted to sleep shirtless or in his gi, and treated him to a blistering lecture about compressed lungs and suffocation. Then she dragged him to a store and told him to pick out something he'd like to sleep in. It'd been kind of overwhelming but it'd also warmed him up inside to know how much she'd cared about him. Since she was the reason he had the shirt in the first place, in a way, it seemed kind of fitting that he'd let her wear it for tonight.
Another thought occurred to him, and he could feel his lips twitch upward in humor. "Chi-Chi, I was wondering…"
"Hm?"
"How do you think they'll react if I leave the bathroom wearing this?" He held up the rejected top over his chest, smiling widely. People had weird ideas about clothes and Goku had learned that it made them react in funny ways whenever he wore something he 'wasn't supposed to.' Granted he didn't normally want to wear something like this; the kind of lace that was on it was itchy.
She giggled in response, settling Gohan on her lap so he wouldn't be jostled.
"Don't laugh, I bet I'd look really good in it. It's my color and everything." He didn't know what that phrase meant exactly, but he'd heard it said often when women were talking about clothes on the TV.
"I don't think you'd fit in it."
He shrugged, "well I can try." Just to prove it he went to put it on, only to get stuck as his shoulders were far too broad to even fit through the bottom. After a few more moments of struggling he gave up. "Chi-Chi, help?"
She hid her laughter behind her hand. "Strongest man in the world, defeated by a nightie."
"It's a tricky opponent!" He whined, quietly though. He hadn't forgotten that Gohan was there and as much as he wanted to make his wife laugh, he didn't want to wake up his son. Not with Chi-Chi looking more and more tired as the time passed.
"Here, come closer." He could have gotten out of it easily enough, without even ripping the fabric as well, but he was not about to pass up a chance to be close to Chi-Chi. On her suggestion he crossed his legs and without another word she gently placed their son into the natural cradle his legs and lap had formed. Gohan snuggled into his thigh, he wanted to squeal it was so cute.
Standing she moved behind him and gently tugged the garment off. "Maybe later we could find one in your size."
He'd only been joking and he was pretty sure she was too, but the thought of doing something like shopping with her made his heart pound. It'd been so long since they'd last gone out together, after all. As soon as his arm was free he couldn't help but reach around and hug her, nuzzling his face into her leg. "Promise? Maybe not this kind of shirt but…shopping together? Promise?"
She ran her fingers through his hair. He just about melted right then and there. How could he have forgotten just how good it felt to have her play with his hair? If there was anything that made him purr quicker than Chi-Chi touching his hair, he couldn't think of it. "Anything, as long as you're with me." He had the feeling he was the one who should be promising her anything, but in this case it felt like it'd be the same either way. He would do anything she wanted so long as they were together.
They stayed like that for a while before Chi-Chi pulled away. His whine was much more genuine and pitiful sounding this time, though he had to cut himself off as Gohan had started to stir at the sound.
"I need to get cleaned up," she mumbled, "before I fall asleep standing. Could you… Could you take Gohan and wait outside?"
"But I want to stay with you."
"I know, and I do too, but this…It's stupid but please? For right now? I can't…"
He smoothly stood up, easily transferring Gohan to a hold much like he'd seen her hold the baby before, and kissed her cheek. "It's okay. We'll be waiting outside, okay?"
She kissed him back, "thank you."
His smile fell when he was on the other side of the door. He wanted to still be in the same room as her, darn it! Even if it did mean he could hold his son for longer. He could hear Krillin and master Roshi talking quietly in the living room, but he didn't feel like joining them at the moment. All he could do was stand and wait until Chi-Chi was done so he could be near her again.