Just throwing this out here, in case anyone is perhaps worried?

Goku is not a bad guy in this fic - but he can be a bit negligent sometimes, and this is a theme in this.

Chapter 7

'Intruder'

"Chi Chi—that creepy guy is back." Bulma bumped a hip against her, drawing Chi Chi's attention away from the table she was currently cleaning. She glanced to where Bulma was pointing, and heaved a sigh. What was with this man?

Every day for the past week, he'd shown up at the restaurant, stared in through the window for an inordinate amount of time, before finally leaving. He never spoke to anyone, never came inside, and never did anything else.

Chi Chi often felt that he was staring at her, as she'd get a creeping feeling crawling up her spine every time she saw him. She wasn't quite willing to share that information with anyone else, however, and instead opted to order Bulma not to say a word to Gohan—she didn't want him to be scared or worried. And anyways, whenever the man was there, Gohan was typically at school, or at the very least, over at Junior's.

"Ugh, he's so gross!" Bulma wrinkled her nose, glaring at the man. He seemed to notice the heiress' attention on him, as he heaved his shoulders, and averted his gaze. "No point in trying not to be suspicious now," she grumbled.

"It's fine," Chi Chi murmured, though he made her extremely nervous. "Let's just ignore him, like usual?" If the weirdo ever did decide to do anything, she would call the cops, but as it was, she didn't really think she could do anything about it.

Other than cuss him out, which she didn't want to do directly in front of her business, where customers could see.

"Fine." Bulma huffed, and crossed her arms, stalking over to the kitchen. "I'll go handle prep. I don't want to see his stupid pointy hair anymore."

Gohan and Bulma sat at the dining room table together up in the apartment, with her instructing him over his recent studies. She was helping him build his planetary model. He was looking forward to being done with the building part, as his fingers were getting a bit sore from bending the wire around—but he was proud of what he'd made.

They had the stand on a piece of cardboard, with a big orange Styrofoam ball placed in the center, and Bulma had been helping him attach wires, and paint more planets. He'd been working diligently, while Chi Chi was cooking dinner.

"We've got all of the planets done!" Gohan enthused, shoving Earth onto its wire. "Well," he giggled, "once you finish Neptune that is."

Bulma had purple paint splattered all over her hand as she decorated Neptune, tongue poking out of her mouth as she furrowed her brow. "Well—I suppose that's good enough," she sighed, and shoved her planet into place as well. "Though, your teacher is completely ignoring the rest of the planets."

"Yeah…" Gohan hummed, and filtered through his markers. "We have a kid from Shamo in my class—she was pretty upset." He remembered the young girl crying during recess, and another girl with black pigtails attempting to cheer her up by playing superheroes.

"Yes, I could see her being upset, that planet was recently destroyed," Bulma sighed, tapping her fingernails on the table. "Not like there's much we can do, though. Earth's treaty is only in effect if we don't get involved."

Gohan pursed his lips. He didn't necessarily like that. Maybe in another life, he was more brave, and more powerful, he could fight so things like that didn't happen. But Intergalactic affairs were out of his hands, and he didn't really understand them all that much anyways. He just knew that his teacher told them to focus on the uninhabited planets directly in their system.

"Anyways, kiddo, what else do you have to do?" Bulma drew his attention back to his project, prodding out one of the now-dried planets.

"I have to label them!" Gohan replied, shifting to grab some of the construction paper Chi Chi had given him. "And I need to use my textbook, and identify several features about the planets themselves. We get to present them, too!" He went to look for his textbook, and frowned, brow puckering.

He groaned.

"I think I left my book at Mr. Junior's!" Gohan hopped down from his seat, and double-checked his backpack just to make sure. Once he returned with zilch, Bulma gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Why not just go over there and get it?" she offered.

"Go and get what?" Chi Chi entered the room, carrying plates of spaghetti. She set one down in front of the two, careful to not hit Gohan's display.

"I left my textbook at Mr. Junior's—and I needed it for this project," Gohan pouted. "And Porunga's is already closed!"

"Relax, kiddo," Chi Chi took a seat, distributing silverware. Bulma began eating immediately, muttering her thanks to the chef. "You can use the computer instead. It should have all of the information you'll need."

"I guess," he muttered, looking rather morose as he poked at his pasta. "But I still need it for class tomorrow. If I don't have it, the teacher will be upset."

Chi Chi hummed, fiddling with her own fork. "Well, I can text Junior if you'd like. Maybe he'll bring it over tonight, or before school?"

He brightened immediately, earning him a smile from both the women at the table. "Yeah, I guess that could work! Thanks, mom!" Now that his crisis was resolved, he began shoveling back his food. He tried to remain some form of decency, though, as he knew his mother always got upset if he ate too quickly.

Just like your father! She'd admonish him. It must be the Saiyan in you. He said they eat a ridiculous amount!

Of course—he was only half alien, and his dad didn't really know anything about his race. He'd told Gohan once that he'd never even met another Saiyan until he was way older. They weren't one of the more common races that had migrated to Earth.

So he tried to pace himself, and smiled up at his mother. She looked a bit sad, and he tilted his head, but just like that, it was gone.

She'd text Junior about Gohan leaving his book over at the store, and would he please return it to them before Gohan got on the bus the next morning. Chi Chi sat waiting for his response, while Bulma was helping Gohan on the computer. While at first she'd been a bit nervous about the heiress, she found herself growing rather close to the woman. She often stayed later and later in the day, now, spending time with Gohan in the evenings.

It was a great help as far as Gohan's studies went, as Bulma was incredibly smart—being a leading scientist and engineer. She would often work on projects with Gohan in areas where Chi Chi was lacking, and it was wonderful, especially with Gohan's ever expanding thirst for knowledge.

Her phone pinged, and she glance down.

'You can come get it yourself. I'm busy.'

'Fine, you jerk. I'll be by in a couple of hours.'

Really! He just had to be difficult, didn't he? What could he possibly be busy with? The man rarely left his house, and she'd never heard him mention having any friends. From Gohan's stories, no one had ever stopped by with the intention of seeing him, either. He almost appeared to be recluse, aside from whenever he took Gohan out to eat.

'I leave the doors unlocked.'

Now, that was just unsafe. Chi Chi would have to have a talk with him about that. As a concerned neighbor, she could not be at ease with him completely disregarding safety procedures. What if someone were to break into his place and rob him blind? It was really like he didn't care at all about the business!

Gohan had just finished his project, and Chi Chi took this opportunity to usher him to bed. She'd been willing to extend his bedtime just in case he'd needed it for his work, but now that he was done it was back in full effect. With his teeth brushed, and him finally tucked in, Bulma took her leave as well.

Rather bored, Chi Chi decided that she might as well go and get the book now. She knew it was a bit early, but it wasn't like it really mattered. Heading downstairs, she locked the doors behind her—as a responsible adult should—and made her way over to Junior's.

And of course, when she tugged on the door handle, she was not at all surprised that it opened, little bell dinging.

C'mon Cheech, why lock the doors? You know I can beat anybody that comes in!

She stepped inside, the lights flickering on immediately. With the room properly illuminated, she headed to Gohan's little table, searching all around it.

The book wasn't there.

Aggravated, she even got to her hands and knees, checking around for it. Bypassing Xuanzang, she checked behind the counter, opening a drawer and rifling through its contents. There was nothing in there except random papers, what looked like seed packets, and a few paperclips. Grumbling to herself, she started checking shelves, though to no avail.

She paused, and turned, looking at the door that led up to Junior's apartment. Hesitantly, she walked up to it, and pressed a hand against the knob, slowly rotating it. There was a loud click, and the door swung open.

Chi Chi stared at the expanse of stairs in front of her. He'd said 'come get it', and she'd assumed that he'd just left it down here. However, he had bothered to instruct her that the doors were unlocked, so maybe he'd taken it upstairs with him?

She gnawed on her bottom lip, before deciding that she had to at least try. Her first few steps were slow, but she soon picked up pace. Part of her was a bit concerned with if her theory was wrong—Junior didn't seem like the type to appreciate her of all people snooping around his apartment.

Then again, if the idiot would lock his doors, there wouldn't be a problem in the first place.

The stairs opened out directly into the living room, and Chi Chi gaped. It didn't look anything like what she imagined Junior living in, that was for sure.

The furniture was all a lighter pastel color, with a pristine white carpet. All around were flowers, either hanging or on end tables. There were pictures of smiling Namekians all across the wall, with those shiny motivational quotes stuck up on the wall.

Chi Chi took another step in, feeling as if she'd step into some surreal, other universe. She couldn't imagine Junior having decorated this place. Her mind couldn't equate the grumpy old man image she'd put up with… whatever this was.

Out of the corner of her eye, something on the TV stand caught her attention. She moved closer to it, and glanced down. It was a picture, held in a frame that was bright green, with the word 'BEST FRIENDS' spelled across the top. She furrowed her brow, and picked it up.

Three Namekians were in the picture, and one she immediately recognized. Junior was in the middle of the three—looking extremely different. He had a cigarette shoved between his lips, and his hands stuffed in his pockets, striking a defiant pose. It looked like he had a purple Mohawk coming out of his head, with piercings in his ears, and he was dressed entirely in leather—from pants, to boots, to jacket. There was some strange band shirt that she could just see poking through, but she didn't recognize it, as she was distracted by… were those tattoos?

What in the hell?!

The other two in the picture with him looked rather normal, one being taller than Junior, and the other one much shorter. Nevertheless, they had their arms looped around the rebellious one, and were grinning at the camera. They were dressed in typical Namekian garb—a stark contrast to their friend.

She quickly set the picture down, and pinched the bridge of her nose. The alternate reality feeling was coming back. That was definitely Junior in the picture—Namekians may look similar, but they still had defining features, and there was no denying who that was. But if that were so… How the hell did he have hair, piercings, and tattoos, that were all just completely… gone?

Steadying herself, she realized she heard voices. Furrowing her brow, she left the shocking picture where it had been, and made her way into the hall. Chi Chi was feeling more and more unsure of herself—nothing in this house looked like it belonged to her neighbor. Everything looked happy and pleasant, show-casing family, friends, and flowers.

She stopped outside of door, which appeared to be a bedroom. The door was wide open, and she stood in the doorway.

Inside was a bed, with a floral print comforter, and more of those cheesy decorations. Nothing inside would have told her that Junior lived here—well, aside from Junior sitting on the bed, laptop in front of him on an end table. His large figure was bent over, looking rather sulkily as he sat there.

On the screen was another Namekian, this one much more wizened and old, his skin sagging down on his cheek bones. His eyes appeared dim and grey, and his antennae drooped down to his brow.

"—still wants to see you before he dies," the old Namekian was muttering, voice deep and raspy with age. Startled, Chi Chi scooted back, fingers gripping at the doorframe. She felt like she should leave. It was fairly obvious that she hadn't found Gohan's textbook, and she was certain she was intruding on something, but…

"I don't really give a shit what he wants." That was Junior, and though she couldn't see his face from her vantage point, she recognized that tone. He sounded incredibly hostile, and she could already imagine the disgusted sneer that would stretch his features.

"You shouldn't say those things—your father—,"

"My father can eat his own egg shells, for all I care," Junior snapped. "The minute I didn't do what he wanted, I might as well have been dead."

The old man on the screen's face wrinkled up even further, if that were possible, a storm crossing his features. "Your phase of, well whatever the hell that was, has nothing to do with this!" Chi Chi wondered if that was a reference to the picture she'd seen. She knew she would flip if Gohan came home looking like that.

"Listen, you old fuck, I know damned good and well that you don't care whether or not I come back. You've hated me from the start, so what difference does it make? Suddenly decide that you love your brother?" Junior snarled, sounding particularly malicious.

A sigh. "I know my brother and I have had our differences, and for that matter, so have we. Yet he is lying here dying—do you not care?"

"Not particularly." Junior shifted on the bed, and Chi Chi could see his claws digging into the comforter. "He told me I was dead—and now he's going to be dead. Isn't that just the Circle of Life Guru's always crowing about?"

This time it was a sharp gasp, and Chi Chi wondered if the man hurt himself with how sharp that had been. "Just because you are sacrilegious—,"

"This old thing again? You act as if my father's any better." Junior was laying on the condescension and shitty attitude rather thick, for someone that was clutching the bed like a lifeline out of the old man's sight. Chi Chi shifted, wondered if she should say something… No, it was better to just leave. She stood, and stepped to the side, ready to leave.

"You've been hiding at your cousins' for long enough, they are here paying their respects, and as should—," the old man cut his sentence off so abruptly, that Chi Chi didn't realize that he was staring at her. The moment she'd stepped into the camera's line of sight, his gaze locked onto her, which drew the attention of Junior.

When he faced her, his face was murderous.

Chi Chi stopped, and gulped. "Uh, hey. I'm here to get Gohan's book?"

Junior quickly slammed the 'end call' button on his computer, before turning to face her fully. Her usual confidence was failing her, and she felt rather small now that he was taking steps towards her. She knew how big he was, yet when he was standing to his full height, and looking rather pissed—he seemed even larger.

"What the hell does you getting a book have to do with you being in my house?" he demanded, teeth showing as he snarled down at her.

Chi Chi steeled herself, straightening out her spine. "It wasn't downstairs," she replied, talking a little slower than normal, "so I figured maybe you had it." Her shoulders shifted as she motioned towards the door. "You leave your doors unlocked."

Junior's mouth opened, as if he was ready to say something, but he shut it with an audible click. He glanced back at his computer, and seemed to put in a hellacious amount of effort to calm himself down.

"I don't have his book up here," he muttered, voice sounding a bit strangled. "If it wasn't downstairs, then I don't know where it is. I don't touch the brat's stuff."

Chi Chi squashed the effort to correct him on calling Gohan a brat—she figured now really wasn't the time.

"Look, I'm really sorry about…" her words trailed off as she noticed his glare hardening even more. She gulped, and looked down.

There was a moment of silence, before Junior released a sigh.

"You know, Milk, this is the quietest you've been yet," when she looked up, he was smirking, "it suits you."

Her face flushed red out of anger, and she opened her mouth to retort. He quickly held a hand up, silencing her.

"Do I need to remind you that you're trespassing right now?"

"You told me you kept your doors unlocked," she muttered, realizing that she sounded rather childish and petulant. He snorted.

"Still an invasion of privacy." Another moment of silence. "But, for your sake and mine, we're going to pretend that you didn't hear any of that call."

"But—," Chi Chi was talking, knowing that she shouldn't, "is it true that your father is… is dying?"

Junior's features went blank, his head tilting to the side. "What difference does it make to you?"

"I just—,"

"You just exit this house, and again, you heard nothing." Behind Junior, she could hear the laptop chiming, the loud sounds of yet another Skype call. Junior sighed, dragging the palm of his hand across his face. "Damn it…"

Chi Chi stared, for a moment, before he bared his fangs at her once more.

"Weren't you just told to leave?" He growled, and this time, Chi Chi decided to comply. As she headed down the hallway, she heard him call for her. She turned, slowly, to look at him. "24-4 is the new count. Now get out."

Huffing, she slammed the door as she left. The jackass clearly couldn't be that upset!

Chapter 8

'Phone Call'

The next day, Chi Chi sat at a table with Bulma, the two chatting. They were in their grace period, and were enjoying it before the afternoon rush. Any moment with no customers was to be treasured—especially now that there was no more drama happening at Chi Chi's home.

Well… aside from the fact that she'd potentially pissed off the rather large alien next door, but that was to be addressed another day. Especially considering that she was burning up with questions that wanted answers, and she was getting none.

"You're spacing out," Bulma commented, drawing Chi Chi's attention back. "You thinking about Creepy McGee?"

"Oh," Chi Chi shook her head, trying to clear it. "No, I'm sorry. It's just, yesterday, when I went looking for Gohan's book, I suppose I… found something I shouldn't have." She grimaced, and tucked her hair back behind her ear.

"Oh my God." Bulma gasped, clapping her hands to her mouth. "Is your neighbor like a freak or something? —Don't tell, don't tell me… With how you describe him, I vote murder freak over sex freak! So what did you see?"

Chi Chi stared, dumbfounded, before quickly waving her hands in front of her. "No, no, no! Bulma! It's just, I saw a picture of him as a teenager, and then I overheard a private call…" her voice trailed off.

Bulma looked a bit put-out. "Damn… Namekians are always so clean, I was hoping for something weird. The ones that work at Capsule Corp are boring. Anyways, did he have the little guy's book?"

"No," Chi Chi sighed, staring morosely at the table. "Gohan was so upset in the morning—we tore apart the whole apartment looking for it. But it wasn't down in the flower shop, and Junior said he had no idea where it was if it wasn't down there."

"Well that sucks."

"No kidding. I got yelled at by that big green blob, all over a small accident." Chi Chi wasn't quite ready to admit that the entire thing was her fault. Sure, she shouldn't have been listening in—but he had told her that all of the doors were unlocked, and agreed to her coming over.

"So, what was the conversation you overheard?" Bulma prompted, looking especially curious.

"Oh I… It was something about a family member of his." She tugged on her hair, wondering if she should share. "Apparently they had called to tell him that his dad was dying."

Bulma leaned back, brows arching. "Wow, that's heavy stuff. I guess I could see him being a little upset about it. Does seem like he overreacted, though. Most people would be sad about their dad dying, not yell at their pretty neighbor for no reason."

Chi Chi muttered something noncommittal, and glanced out the window. Something still wasn't right about that entire scenario. Junior had been upset—she knew he had! Perhaps he'd been a bit angry about being caught, but she'd noticed the rigid muscles, and his tight grip on the blanket while that old man had talked. Was it simply about a teenage rebel phase? She couldn't really see that causing a permanent rift between family members, especially with death being an imminent threat.

Another sigh. None of this made any sense…

"Oh—look, Creepy McGee did show up!" Bulma waved her hand at him, and gave him an extremely fake smile. He ignored her.

Around three thirty, Chi Chi saw Junior taking up his post at the bus stop, waiting for Gohan. She hurriedly went to Bulma, and instructed the woman to hold it down while she went and did something. They were a little busy, but most of the parties had already been fed, and she was rather confident that Bulma could handle the rest.

Shooting outside, Chi Chi wiped her hands on her apron, and approaching Junior. He turned when he saw her, and his face was already set into that all too familiar glare.

"Milk." He greeted her, though it was noticeably frostier.

"Hi." It was a weak start—she knew—but she didn't want to come in guns blazing right off the bat. "I just… wanted to apologize. For yesterday."

Junior crossed his arms. "Don't you have a restaurant to ruin?"

"Don't you have customers to scare off?" she snapped back, then immediately retracted. Guilt crept in, and she glanced up at Junior's face, just to see he was smirking.

"Good. For a moment there I thought you were going to do the typical human thing—which is apologize, and then jump right into questions about my father. How does it make me feel, did I want to talk about it—I'm sure you know the ones."

Chi Chi fiddled with the strings on the back of her apron. "Well, I was." She shifted her feet. "Kind of."

"Kind of?" he prompted.

She huffed, then crossed her arms rather tightly across her chest. "All right, that was entirely what I was going to do."

"Of course." Junior sneered, and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think you humans are capable of any other responses." He leaned against the bus stop sign, crossing one ankle over the other. She wanted to argue, but really, what case did she have? That was exactly what she'd been prepared to launch into.

She jutted out her jaw, and saw that Junior was smirking once more.

"Anyways, did you find the damned kid's book?" Junior wasn't looking at her when he asked it, and was instead scanning his gaze across the expanse of road. She supposed he was looking for the bus, as it was almost time for Gohan to be getting home.

"No, I'm afraid not," she sighed, reminded again of her failure. "He said that the teacher takes points off, too. We'll also have to pay for it if it doesn't turn up." Another groan. "I don't have two hundred dollars to drop…"

Junior hesitated for a moment. "I'll give you the money, if you need it."

Chi Chi turned sharply, mouth agape as she stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"If the brat lost his book," Junior snapped, face flushing purple. "I can give you the money to replace it."

"I—I can't ask you to do that—look, it's not that important. I can get the money if I need it." She turned away, shoving her hands in her pockets. They lapsed into silence after that. They'd gone from 'hey your father died and I eavesdropped' to 'here's two hundred bucks', and Chi Chi didn't quite know how to process that. She should never have mentioned her lack of money; that was her own problem to deal with.

Chi Chi glanced at him, and he was once more resolutely Not Looking at her.

"Are you…" Chi Chi was really over-stepping boundaries here. "Are you sure you're okay, with the news about your dad?" He gave her a warning snarl. "I'm just saying, if you need a free day, I can tell Gohan you're busy."

Junior gave her an odd glance. "Why would sending the kid away make it any easier?"

Chi Chi opened her mouth, decided she didn't know what to say, and shut it again.

"Anyways, Milk, I've already told you. I'm not bothered in the least about that man's death. In fact, I wish it would hurry up and happen." Junior's voice was callous, but Chi Chi saw the tension in his shoulders once more, and the way his claws dug into his skin.

"Fine. I just thought you might need a day to yourself."

"Thinking doesn't suit you," was the short reply. Before she could respond the bus was pulling up, and Gohan came eagerly flying off the bus. He immediately jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Junior's thighs in a big embrace.

Chi Chi watched as a group of kids exited behind him, eyes cast down as they shot down the street. Odd? She looked down to Gohan, who had just turned to her. He was obviously surprised at her presence, but quickly turned to hug her as well.

"Mom, mom!" Gohan enthused, practically bouncing as he pulled his backpack in front of her. "Guess what I found?"

"What is it, dear?" Chi Chi asked, tilting her head. No sooner had she finished her question then Gohan was shoving a book in her face, which she quickly identified as his text book. "Wha—where did you find it?" she asked.

"Turns out I had left it at school," Gohan sheepishly replied. He dug his toe into the concrete, but he was still smiling. "However, this girl named Videl gave it to me! She said she found it on the floor, so she returned it to me." He was beaming, and Chi Chi returned the book to him. "Anyways, my teacher was really impressed since I had extra stuff that nobody knew about it! It was awesome!"

Junior snorted, and rolled his eyes. "You need to be more careful with your things, brat. Your mother went looking everywhere for that damned thing." He said that part with purpose, grinning maliciously when Chi Chi glared at him.

"I'm sorry, mom!" Gohan exclaimed, to which she gave him another hug.

"Don't worry about it, baby," she smiled, pushing back his bangs. "All that matters is you have it now."

"Hey…" Gohan's voice trailed as he glanced between the two adults. "Mom, how come you're here? It's usually just Mr. Junior that waits for me…"

"Oh that's—,"

Chi Chi was interrupted by Junior. "Your mother owed me an apology," his voice was dry and bland, as he turned away from the two, obviously heading for Porunga's Post. "She's done so, and now we're at 24-5."

"You don't get points for an apology!" Chi Chi snapped, lip jutting out.

"Fine. Then you lose points—23-4." Junior shrugged, and Gohan giggled, skipping over to Junior's side. He soon had his small hand fisted in purple fabric.

"Whatever—you're still losing," Chi Chi grumbled, tapping her foot on the pavement.

"Yes, but with your personality, I feel like you'll end up owing more apologies in the future," Junior sneered, and Chi Chi narrowed her eyes.

"You know what, this is the last time I worry about you, stupid jerk!"

"Is that a promise?"

"Oh, it's an oath!"

"You guys are ridiculous," Gohan chortled, and tugged Junior forward. "Come on! I have to get my homework done to help in the shop." He pulled the Namekian forward. "Bye, mom! I love you! I'll see you later tonight!"

"I love you, too," Chi Chi replied, waving at him as the two took their leave. Once they were inside the flower shop, though, she was disgruntled once more. Everytime she even broached the subject of what she'd seen in his apartment, Junior completely changed the subject and tone of their conversation.

Fine, she'd leave it be. The stupid jerk could cry up in his room all alone, if that's what he wanted!

Bulma seated a couple by the window, and happened to glance outside to see Chi Chi rushing to the bus stop. She stopped, and spoke to a the Namekian leaning there. Curious now, Bulma set down menus for the customers, before wandering to a window where she could see better.

She blinked.

She rubbed at her eyes.

There was no fucking way.

That was the Namekian neighbor that Chi Chi was always going on about? That was the supposed asshole that was practically babysitting Gohan and having spats with Chi Chi over? She wondered, did her boss have any idea who that actually was?

Bulma took a step back, just as a customer began attempting to flag her down. God—what were the odds? Son Chi Chi living next door to him… and should she say anything? She had high suspicions that her boss had any idea of who that actually was.

Shit—the customers were standing up. She quickly rushed to their table, fake smile in place.

'Gohan keeps asking me what you were apologizing for. It's annoying, and all your fault.'

'I'm not the one that decided to be a sarcastic asshole just to gain points.'

'I'm not the one that creeps around other people's apartments, listening into conversations.'

'Well if you'd /lock your door/ then none of this would have happened.'

'Are you really going to lecture me over my own household?'

'I'm just saying – it's an unsafe practice!'

'So is dealing with you.'

'…'

'asshole'

Gohan was watching TV, when he heard his mom's phone go off. Her ringtone filled the apartment, but she was busy taking a shower. Shuffling over the phone, Gohan checked the ID, and bit his lip.

-Goku-

He supposed that he should answer, since Chi Chi was busy…

He picked up the phone, and pressed it to his ear.

"Hey Cheech! How are you and the little monkey doing?"

Gohan sucked in a deep breath, and gulped. "Hi, dad… It's me…"

"Gohan! Hey! It's been a while, kiddo!"

"Mhm…" Gohan didn't know what to say, or what to do. He started twisting his fingers up in the hem of his shirt. He knew he shouldn't do it—he was stretching it, and he knew Chi Chi would get upset about it.

"Where's mom at?"

"Taking a shower," Gohan replied. He was waiting for something, and he didn't know what. Didn't know what he expected his dad to say or to do. All he knew was that he was expecting… something.

"All right! Well, I just called to tell her that I ended up taking on three more fights coming up! They'll all be on TV—I know how she loves to watch them!"

No, Chi Chi didn't watch them, Gohan knew. She used to—she had some old tapes packed up in a box somewhere. But as for recently… she had nothing to do with any of it. She completely avoided the channel, and Gohan never asked her about it.

"I'll… I'll make sure to tell her, dad." Gohan wasn't about to tell on his mother, since he didn't know all of her reasons for doing this.

"Well, son! I guess I'll be getting off here, now! Tell your mom I said hey!"

Gohan clenched the phone tight in his hands, as Goku hung up. The phone stayed there, pressed to his ear, even though there was nothing else left to be said. Goku was gone, and he hadn't said he would be home anytime soon, but that wasn't really what bothered him.

Why hadn't Goku asked him how he'd been? Why hadn't his father asked anything about how things were going? He wanted to tell Goku all about his new school, their new place, and the restaurant. He'd wanted to tell him about Bulma and Videl—his new friend. He'd wanted to tell Goku about his job at the flower shop, and how helpful he'd been. He wanted to tell him about the bullies—and how even though he hadn't been strong enough, Mr. Junior had been there anyways.

He really wanted to tell Goku about Mr. Junior, because that was his favorite thing about this new place. That there was always somebody there, and this somebody wasn't Chi Chi or grandpa. Someone that Gohan could always count on to be present, who was sometimes rude, but Gohan could tell that he meant to be nice…

And he'd wanted to tell Goku about how he'd finally read Journey to the West, and would his father please explain to him why that book was so important?!

But what he didn't want to tell him was that when Chi Chi entered the living room, Gohan was kneeling on the carpet, crying as he still pressed the phone to his face.

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