Lights

Chapter 7: Reunion

"All right!" Gohan exclaimed as he walked out of the house and pressed the button on his watch to make his Great Saiyaman outfit appear. "Today's the day. Are you ready, Goten?"

"Yeah!"

Goten jumped to his feet and pumped his fist in the air. He'd been outside waiting for them to finish getting ready for the tournament today. Well. They were both still waiting on their mother of course, but that was natural. She must have made sure Goten was good and ready before she did anything for herself.

And he must have gone outside to be sure he wasn't in the way. Goten was dressed in his gi, since he was being allowed to participate in the tournament as well. Seeing his little brother in that still made Gohan pause for a moment.

So much like their dad. Like a little spark of a memory left behind. A little light of the good moments of the past to carry around with them at all times…

Gohan shook his head at the thoughts and bent over a little to talk more directly to his little brother. "You excited? Or nervous?"

"Uhm..." Goten glanced down. "A little of both, I think."

Gohan smiled. "I guess you would be nervous. This is the first time you get to see Dad, huh?"

With a slow nod, his little brother glanced off to the side. His fingers danced in front of him like a nervous gesture one step away from wringing his hands. Gohan may have known there was nothing to be worried about, but Goten didn't have anything except stories to go off of here.

He had to wonder…

What had he told Goten about their father? All the good things, he was sure. Except he hadn't wanted to dwell on it for the longest time. Speaking of Goku had become easier over the years, but it sure was difficult at first. Mom had told stories, too. She -

"Gohan?"

A small hand tugged at his pants leg and Gohan blinked down at his little brother. "What is it, Goten?"

"Dad...he's...the strongest in the whole universe, right?"

"Yep!" Gohan grinned. "So-"

"And he used to train all the time, right?"

"Uh huh..." Gohan said as he rubbed the back of his head. "He's probably still training in the afterlife, too, since he got to keep his body."

Goten hummed, glancing down again with a mumble in his voice. "Then does that mean he's like Trunks' dad?"

Gohan blinked. Once. Twice. Three times before he found his voice.

Only for his words to get caught in his throat. "Huh?"

"Well, Trunks says his dad is super strong and he's always training. So, if Dad acts like Vegeta, too, then -"

"Oh, heaven's no."

This voice wasn't from Gohan, but the exasperated tone of his mother. He turned to see Chi-Chi striding up to them, finally dressed and ready to leave. She squatted down beside Goten and patted gently at his hair.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Goten," their mom said, a smile sliding onto her face as a soothing tone smoothly left her lips. "Your father is nothing like Vegeta. Sure, they both are completely obsessed with training but their personalities aren't the same at all. He's going to love you at first sight. Trust me. You'll be fine."

Goten nodded, his shoulders more relaxed now. "Okay. I'm still nervous, though."

"That's okay," Gohan said with a grin, glancing up to the bright sunshine falling down on their little family. "His light is bright enough to melt all your fears away."

~!~

Gohan glanced around the area. Everyone was here. Ready for the tournament. They still had time to sign up and register. But... No, everyone wasn't here. They were missing someone. Someone important. Someone they had all showed up to see in the first place.

Where was his father?

The air was buzzing with the sound of crowds of people talking. A nice breeze blew through the nearby trees and bushes. The sun shone brightly on the walkway and contestants. But still.

It felt a little...empty.

He could hear his mother, worrying over it, too. Where was Goku? Where was the person they had all gathered together to meet? Maybe they weren't able to bring him back for the day after all. Maybe something went wrong. So often, things went wrong so it wasn't hard to imagine.

But…

Goten pointed out Mr. Piccolo in the shade of a tree, and Gohan happily ran up to his old mentor. Even with his sunglasses on he could still see the taller figure standing away from the crowds. Piccolo never had been much of a people person. He'd always been a loner, even if he was welcome among their families anytime he wished.

He asked if Piccolo had seen his father, receiving a negative in response. No one had spotted him yet, then. No one could feel him. That ki should have been easy to pick up. Goku didn't just show up and not be noticed. His ki was too strong, too bright for that… So… where…?

Just as Krillin announced that he would search around, a sudden warmth filled the area. A hole closing up and filling with a familiar touch. A ki hitting his senses. A ki he knew like no other.

Gohan turned and faced the direction of the feeling, his eyes misting behind his sunglasses. He was here at last. His father, Goku, had returned to Earth. Gohan...could hardly believe it. There his dad stood in front of all of them, the center of attention like always, and yet none of them could move. Gohan could barely breathe. He could feel that warm presence again, a presence he had carried deep in his heart even through the absence that now was no longer memory but really there once more. The presence of his ever-glowing father.

And that oh-so-calming grin.

"Hey! You guys sure have changed quite a bit, huh?" The familiar voice rang out through the air, as everything else seemed to go silent, or at least Gohan stopped caring about the noise of crowds moving in the area. His father! Here at last! "Even so, how have you been?"

That presence, that grin, that voice. Gohan was tearing up more and more with each passing second, not having a care if the others were or not. His father was back! For the day or not, he was here.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Gohan rushed forward, nearly stumbling in his effort to wrap his dad in a hug. He beat the others there, claiming his dad's arms first. They could wait. This was his father. And it had been seven years.

Seven years trying to deal with the pain of no longer having his dad. Seven years of moving on. He'd made it. Him and his mom, both. They'd pushed through the pain and continued on with life. But seeing his father here almost opened it all up again. He ignored the halo. Pretended it was going to be for more than a day. Twenty-four hours suddenly didn't seem like enough time. Not enough time at all. How were they even going to spend the day after the tournament? He should have planned more…

"Haha, Gohan, you must've hit your growth spurt, huh?" His father had his arms around him, patting his back. "Looks like you did a good job taking care of your mother. I'm proud of you."

"Dad..."

He wanted to say more, but the words got choked up in his throat. So he pulled back from the hug and tried to breathe, laughing a little at the tears still dripping from his eyes. Gohan reached up to scrub at his cheeks and under his sunglasses. Well. Crying was a little embarrassing, but he had a good reason so it didn't really matter, did it? He could tell that his dad was smiling through it all anyway, not even taking notice – or pretending not to notice.

As he stepped to the side and allowed his father to greet everyone else, he thought he noticed a spark of a shine in his father's eyes as well. Maybe the friends and family Goku had been separated from weren't the only ones feeling the emotion. In fact, the interaction between his parents proved how good they were at holding back. The way they looked at each other… The way they spoke…

Gohan had to grin. Warmth filled his chest seeing his parents interact like that. Like a couple who had been separated for so long, finally able to see each other after no doubt sleepless nights. He could feel it from both of them. And it made his heart warm to know as such.

Yeah, Mom missed you Dad, but you missed her too, huh?

How many people got to see their father, their husband, again after he had died? Goku was dead. He shouldn't have been allowed to come back at all. No one else got to. And yet…

Here he was. Together. With all of them. One day or not, this was special. It filled every hole that had been made over the years. Sure, they had worked to build bridges over those holes, but now things were filled. At least for now. At least for a while. At least...until the day was over.

But best not to think of that now. Best to enjoy the time they had.

And…

Oh right… Goten was meeting their dad for the first time.

Gohan stood back with the others as Goku moved ahead to get closer to Chi-Chi and Goten. Goten hid behind their mom's leg, clinging to her dress. He really was nervous about this after all, even after all Gohan had said to try to encourage him and promise him it would be all right. He supposed it didn't matter too much. Their dad would shine his light and Goten would understand in no time.

Peeking out from behind Chi-Chi's leg, Goten stared up at their dad. For his part, Goku simply waited in silence, though he looked down with a smile. A moment passed where the two sized each other up. A spark of something brushed across Gohan's senses and he noticed that his dad had pushed his ki out a little. Just a little. Like a hesitant touch.

After that, Goten practically sprang from his mother's side and rushed to his father. Laughter filled the air as Goku picked up his second son, and Gohan sat in the back with the others, smiling at the interaction. Things had gone over well after all. He knew they would.

Of course they would.

Everyone liked Goku. His dad had a presence that you couldn't deny, a light that had been passed from him to Goten, an ever-present light that made everything around them brighter.

Seeing the two together, Gohan could have sworn that the world grew twice as bright around them. All the memories of the past seven years hit him, the memories of Goten's moments that had stuck with him. Moments when Goten had...saved them. In a smile. In a laugh. In a word.

"He never did leave, did he?" Gohan muttered under his breath. "Did you, Dad? You left us Goten, intentionally or not. You left us your light. And now..."

Now you can share in it yourself.

~!~

The End

~!~

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this. Thank you to those who are reading and not reviewing. Thank you to anyone who enjoys this work. I had a good time slowly working my way through Gohan's head over the seven years. I hope the ending pays off. I feel like I either pushed the theme too hard or not hard enough, but ah well. I had feels at the end.

Guest: What happened between Goten and Chi-Chi, you ask? Well. I was trying to (yes, vaguely) allude to the moment when Goten went Super Saiyan against Chi-Chi in one of their sparring sessions and she was upset by it, which in turn made Goten upset by it. Gohan does figure it out later but at that moment, I don't think he even knew Chi-Chi was training Goten, much less that Goten could go Super Saiyan. So I had to keep it vague to stay true to that. BUT – that's what I was thinking of. Hah.