Lights

A/N: Me and my silly headcanons... Thanks for all the reviews! Hope you all continue to enjoy.

Chapter 3: Cake

Spring was a great time of the year to spend outside, a great time to take a break from studying, a great time to entertain his little brother. Hands and knees in the grass, Gohan crawled around on all fours while Goten laughed. He leaned his head to the side to grin at the child on his back, the little feet and legs kicking against him as if riding a horse and trying to push him to keep moving.

Goten was dressed in an outfit familiar to Gohan, the traditional green and yellow garb that he'd worn at the younger ages. No hat, of course, and no dragonball. Huh. Wouldn't it be cool if they could find the four-star-dragonball? Considering how Dad had treated it as the special one among all seven. After all, it'd been on Gohan's hat so many years ago, like some special family heirloom. And now who even knew where it could be.

"Go, go, Gohan," his brother laughed, hand slapping at Gohan's head. "Go! Faster! Go!"

Gohan offered a small laugh. "All right, Goten. You want faster?"

"Yes!" Goten squealed, pumping his whole fist into the air. "Go faster, Gohan!"

With a chuckle, Gohan turned his attention back to the ground. He brushed at the dew-dropped green grass, realizing it probably needed a mowing soon. Mom didn't expect him to do the job, but Gohan had watched the country neighbors do it enough now to think he could handle it on his own if he wanted. Or he could always do it Dad's way by using his energy in a specific, careful way, turning work into training.

Regardless, Gohan wanted to help out wherever he could and small breaks from his studies were necessary anyway. Right now his breaks basically left him babysitting his baby brother, but he still wanted to do more. His mother, on the other hand, didn't see any reason to ask him to help beyond quick things here and there – and of course when it came to watching Goten. She wanted him to focus on himself, on his studies. At first, Gohan had been worried for her, wondering if she was going to push herself too hard, but after so long of handling everything with a smile, she sure seemed fine.

"Go, go, Gohan!"

At the demand from Goten, he shook his head and laughed, setting his hands and legs to allow a faster crawl through the grass. As if he were going to race around the house. "All right, Goten. You ready? Hang on tight now!"

A loud affirmative echoed in the air. Tiny hands gripped onto Gohan's shirt. Small legs clenched around his torso as if hanging on for dear life. Gohan could practically feel the rush of excitement and anticipation, especially in the bounce his brother gave as he jiggled against Gohan's back. Little kids were something else.

With one last nod to himself, Gohan took a breath and then focused his ki. He narrowed his eyes, seeing the grass through a more intensive view, not quite like Super Saiyan, but still a bigger attention to detail, as could be noticed when he lifted his head to gaze at the nature beyond their little yard. He wasn't using his ki to bring it forth or use it in any conventional manner. More or less just to center himself so he could keep his movements controlled and balanced even if he sped up his crawl significantly.

Knowing that Goten was hanging on tight like he'd asked, Gohan finally gave his little brother the ride he'd been begging for. Trust the kid who looked like their father to enjoy something that gave a rush and a feeling of risk. As Gohan's hands and knees crawled around, as he picked up the pace and shifted to his feet instead, as he practically bounded around the yard like a dog, Goten squealed and laughed the entire time to express his enjoyment. Tiny hands gripped even tighter but the pure joy in the kid's laughter pushed Gohan along into the act of reckless behavior.

At least until his mom's voice carried on the wind and brought him back down to earth. "Gohan! What are you doing?"

The sound of the voice froze him in place and Gohan felt the heat on his face as he looked toward his mother. "Oh, Mom..."

"Don't you 'oh mom' me," Chi-Chi sighed. "You're going to make him sick. His stomach's still sensitive from the other day."

Oh right, I forgot.

Giving a bit of a sheepish smile, Gohan faced his mother head on and shrugged. Her hands were at her hips, eyes narrowed, lips frowning, but he didn't think she was honestly annoyed or mad this time. Just a little exasperated maybe? Either way, Gohan was still on his hands and knees and still blushing at the disappointed look from his mother. Goten, on the other hand, was still laughing lightly behind him, still squealing in childish delight at the short rush of daring fun. Well, daring fun for a toddler who was technically still recovering from a small stomach virus.

"Sorry, Mom," Gohan mumbled. "I forgot Goten was sick."

Chi-Chi walked over to pluck Goten from his back. "I expected a better memory from you, Gohan. This seems more like something your father would have done."

"Heh," he grunted at the mention of his father as he got to his feet and brushed the grass and dirt from his pants. "I guess. I just like hearing Goten laugh, really."

"Yeah," Chi-Chi murmured, looking to her youngest son who was now smiling in content pleasure in her arms. "Me too."

He supposed that made sense. One of the reasons Gohan liked his brother's laugh so much was because it reminded him of Dad. Of course his mom would pick up on that, too. There was the other reason, though. The simple fact that children's laughter could heal many wounds.

The past few years without his father had been a little empty, but having Goten around certainly helped fill that ache. Filled that hole in a way. Because of all the little things Goten would do that helped to remind Gohan of his father. Like his mom had said when Goten was still a baby – it felt like Goku was here. In some small way. Some little miracle of life to bless their household.

"Gohan," his mom said. "Do you want some cake?"

Blinking out of his thoughts, Gohan tilted his head to the side. "Cake?"

Chi-Chi nodded. "Yeah, I ended up making one because… well…"

"Cake! Cake! Cake!" Goten interrupted, waving his arms around in circles. "I want cake! I want!"

"No, Goten," Chi-Chi said. "You're still sick. No sweets."

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Gohan swallowed his own comment at hearing his mother's answer. Goten wasn't going to like that response. His brother was now at the age when tantrums were a major player and Goten wasn't exactly the shy good kid. When he wanted something, he really wanted something.

The crying first. Loud wailing. Tears streaming down his cheeks. Goten was still in their mother's arms so the arm flinging and kicking wasn't quite as likely. At least not right away. Chi-Chi ignored the cries and made her way inside the house, Gohan right behind her. He watched his mother put Goten in his play pen, setting him down and then sighing as the boy instantly flopped on his back and carried on with a full blown tantrum.

All over a cake.

"Mom?" Gohan asked as he sat at the kitchen table and followed his mom with his eyes. "Are you sure you can't give him anything?"

Plates were set out for two slices of cake. His mom cut into the lemon cake she'd made and then brought him a single slice with a smile. She sat across from him at the table, all while ignoring Goten's tantrum.

"He doesn't get anything," she said. "Because I already told him no. If we give in now, he'll cry and whine and throw fits like this to get what he wants for years to come. We put up with it now and he'll learn it doesn't work."

"Oh, right," Gohan mumbled, trying to ignore the wailing of his disappointed brother. "But he sounds so sad."

Eyes narrowed at him immediately. "No, Gohan. Your father spoiled you enough when you were younger. I don't need you spoiling Goten in his place."

Gohan winced. The words hovered in the air, cutting deep. In his place, huh? He wasn't some replacement for Dad, though. Just 'cause Goten didn't get to grow up with Dad… it didn't mean Gohan was going to fill any shoes. He only wanted to be a good big brother. And a good son. Which meant he was caught between the two roles right now. The good son would obey his mother. The good big brother would sneak a bite of cake or two to his little brother. Right? That's what it felt like at least, an internal war.

Groaning, Gohan tried to push back the urge to hand his cake over. Instead, he took a bite and thought about the taste. A lemon dessert, reminding him of one of his father's favorite sweet dishes. It wasn't exactly the same, but his dad had always preferred things that were lemon flavored. Which made him wonder why his mother had made a lemon cake of all things. It wasn't exactly Gohan's favorite, or hers, and Goten wasn't going to be able to have any, so why had she made it?

Lifting his eyes, Gohan noticed his mother looking away. Almost wistfully staring at the cake on the counter. What was she thinking about? Was it Dad? Was today something special between them or had she just been wanting to cook through her feelings again? He knew she did that. Shortly after Goku's death, Chi-Chi had been in the kitchen almost non stop. Gohan had been glad to have Grandpa Ox King around then to help him eat all the food his mother had made. But now something else had come up…

Should he ask? Or was it better to leave her alone? If cooking was a coping mechanism, then she should be fine, right? That meant she was coping in her own way. Only now they had a lemon cake sitting there for no other reason than his mother had felt like making one.

"I...want….cake!" Oh, and Goten's tantrum wasn't dying down anytime soon, either. "Give me cake! I want it!"

With a sigh, Gohan turned around in his seat to face his little brother. The child's play pen was set up in the kitchen. Because that's where Chi-Chi liked to spend most of her time, even if she wasn't cooking. And she had to keep an eye on Goten because he would sneak out of the house, even worse than what Gohan used to do apparently. And Gohan was too busy studying to have to worry about chasing down a lost kid.

Now Goten had sat up, hands resting on the floor in between his legs as he continued to wail and as tears continued to fall. It looked so fake now that he watched it happen. Like a child who knew enough crying would garner sympathy. Well, it had worked when he was a baby, but now was the time to break him of those habits. Mom was right. Giving into Goten now wouldn't help anything.

Gohan let out a breath and pushed his chair back. Standing away from the table, he left his cake slice half eaten and walked over to where his little brother was still throwing his tantrum. His very obviously fake tantrum. He sighed. Kids. Maybe he could compromise between 'good son' and 'good big brother' after all.

Reaching out, Gohan set a hand on his brother's head, surprised to see the boy pause in his cries to look up at him. "Sorry, Goten. Maybe next time. Or tomorrow, even. I doubt we'll eat it all right now so just be patient, okay? You probably shouldn't cry like that anymore. You might make yourself more sick and then it'll be even longer before you can have some cake. All right? You understand?"

To his even greater surprise, Goten looked up at his smile and then nodded, wiping at the wet tears at the edges of his eyes. "Okay, Gohan."

"G-good."

A wide smile was returned and then Goten reached around his little pen to grab a wooden toy train, holding it up with hopeful eyes still shining with tears. "Gohan play?"

He laughed and shrugged. "You know what? Sure. But just for a little while. I need to get back to studying soon. Got to keep Mom happy, you know."

"Happy!" Goten repeated, waving the toy around in the air. "Keep happy!"

Crouching down, Gohan gave a small smile in return as he whispered. "Yeah. Keep happy."