[Because Gohan gets to just be a normal kid—to laugh and do something so normal and lighthearted and fun as jumping into a leaf pile.]

It was nice to take a few days off from training sometimes—had to because no rest was bad for the body. Gohan especially needed a break. He gave our harsh training with Piccolo his all and I was so proud of him. It was time to take it easy and let our bodies recuperate. Even though we were resting, I could still help Chichi with things she needed done around the house.

Chichi had asked me to rake up the dead leaves right after breakfast. The cool, late autumn breeze stirred the leaves on the ground and pulled the last stragglers from the branches of dormant trees. Raking our forest clearing wasn't too big of a job. I had only been working for an hour and I was already almost done.

Footsteps crunched through the last of the leaves littering the ground. I knew the warm power I felt before I even looked up. That power belonged to my boy.

"Wow, Dad! That pile of leaves is twice as tall as you!" said Gohan with a giggle.

I chuckled as I leaned my rake against a tree. I ruffled Gohan's long, thick hair. "Pretty close! And there's one more just like it on the other side of our house!"

Gohan's mouth fell open. He took a breath, his eyes lighting up. "Can I—"

"Gohan," said Chichi as she approached from the direction of our house. "Have you finished your math lesson?"

Gohan twiddled with his thumbs and averted his gaze.

Chichi crossed her arms and leveled a hard stare down at him. "Then what are you doing out here?"

"It's just…" Gohan's eyes darted up to meet hers a moment before they settled on the ground again. "Some of the equations are kind of hard," he murmured.

Chichi's stern frown melted away as she ran her fingers through his long hair. "Oh, you need a little break, don't you?"

At Gohan's nod and big, hopeful eyes, Chichi said, "Okay."

Gohan turned his bright eyes to me.

I smiled as I twitched my head toward the mountain of dead leaves. Gohan dove into the pile with a gleeful laugh. The pile swallowed him up as leaves exploded out and rained down around Chichi and me.

"You know you'll have to do all that work over again," she said, her eyes on the constantly shifting pile.

I chuckled. "It's worth it."

"Mom! Dad! Jump in!" called Gohan's voice from somewhere in the huge mound.

Chichi scoffed lightly with a small shake of her head but what I could see of her eyes sparkled. "Oh, it's been a while."

It had been a while. The last time we dove into leaves together, Gohan was little more than a toddler. It was before Raditz showed up, before things got crazy. I took a step back and slid sideways behind her, my feet crunching through the leaves. Chichi's feet shifted, one sliding back as her face turned toward me. She was onto me.

"Goku—?"

Chichi squealed as I scooped her up and laughed as we jumped into the pile of dead brown leaves feet first. The heap swallowed us up. It was pitch black in the heart of the leaf pile but I could see fine. I reached through the dry leaves toward Gohan's warmth. My hand brushed what felt like a pant leg. I grabbed and pulled. Laughing, Gohan tumbled into Chichi's lap. Chichi's musical laugh carried over the dry rustle of the leaves. I wrapped my arms around them both and laughed, too.

Yeah, it was nice to be home.