I just wanted to start this chapter off with saying that it is amazing how many kind words I've received on this fic, and that it's been incredibly cool reading about how many of you are new to Chiccolo - because, hell, I am too - but it's so great learning that people are getting into this pairing, and enjoying this story as it goes along. You've all been incredibly supportive (especially Sinbin) and I just really wanted to thank everyone with how far it's come, because without reviews and interaction with people in the fandom/pairing, I never would have kept going, so thank you all.
Chapter
"Headliner"
Chi Chi was washing the dishes, gnawing at her lip as she scrubbed away at the plates. She'd been a bit scatterbrained the entire day, Bulma taking up the mantle for the distraught woman. Her hands were practically red with the force she was applying to the pots and pans littered all around her.
She swiped at her forehead, pushing bangs out of the way as she delved in up to her elbows, soap seeping into her t-shirt and apron.
"Careful, Milk, you'll fall in—you're so little you might disappear."
Chi Chi screamed, whirling around as soap suds flew, staring wide-eyed at the source of all her problems. Junior was there—oh no just like in her dream! —and he had his arms crossed, regarding her with his usual dead-panned stare. His blank façade did crack a bit at Chi Chi's reaction, as he chuckled at her disheveled state.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, sounding a little angrier than she ought to have. She saw his nose crinkle, and one of his antennae twitched at her tone. The guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders practically doubled.
"I was bored," he responded, shifting on his feet, as if moving closer to the door. "Dende has a bunch of customers over and it's annoying. I can see you're busy, though—for once," he tacked on, as if to make incredibly sure that she knew he was the one who was ending their communication.
"Wait—I'm sorry," she grunted, hitching her mouth down into a frown. "I had a weird dream, and I'm a little on edge." Not that she would be mentioning any time soon that the dream involved Junior pinning her to a sink and kissing her. Ugh… she was still having trouble admitting it to herself. If she was going to have smutty dreams, it needed to at least be about her husband, or some unattainable celebrity, not her shitty neighbor.
Junior gave a thoughtful noise, before looking pointedly at a pot with disgust. For once, Chi Chi was glad of his surly moods involving anything to do with emotions. It saved her the whole 'what was it about' spiel.
"The hell's in that pot? It smells like shit." He pointed at the burbling water.
Chi Chi huffed. "You smell like shit."
"Just answer the damn question, Milk—it shouldn't be hard one, even for someone like you." He crossed his arms, casting side-eyed looks at the food. She laughed at him—he looked extremely ridiculous, the whites of his eyes showing as if he was afraid of it.
"It's just food, Green Bean, relax." She rinsed off her hands, and began drying them off. Being with him made her realize how ridiculous her dream was—and that was a good thing. It brought a sense of reality around her. This was Junior! Her obnoxious neighbor, who just happened to be very sweet by watching Gohan, defending him from bullies, hosting private concerts, going to parties with them…
She shook her head.
"Anyways, do you want your usual drink?" Chi Chi asked, already heading over to the machine. She heard Junior grunt in approval, and she focused on making his smoothie. The loud grinding of the machine was almost better than what was going on in her head. There was so much happening that she didn't quite want—but she also didn't want to stop it. Thoughts of Goku poured into her mind, reminding her of what a terrible wife she was being.
She passed the cup over to Junior, and scrutinized his face as he knocked back his drink. Really, what was it about him? There was literally nothing special. He had a shitty attitude, he didn't talk about feelings, he participated in so many things she disagreed with, and yet…
He finished his drink, and lowered it, giving Chi Chi a lopsided grin. "The one edible thing you do make," he announced, tipping the drink to her as if in a cheer.
She frowned. "You're a complete ass."
Gohan had enlisted Bulma's help in creating a superhero costume for him. The two were sitting at her workbench, eagerly discussing what made super heroes look the coolest. They'd already decided a helmet was completely necessary, and Bulma had immediately began putting designs down. Gohan had insisted on tights and boots, just like every other hero he saw.
"The color red," Bulma cheered, grabbing a colored pencil, happily handing it over to Gohan who eagerly began scribbling—within the lines, executing perfect precision, if he did say so himself.
"My hero's name is Saiyaman!" Gohan told her, and she spelled it out in golden letters across the green tunic that they'd decided on—for easy movement. "Oo! We have to give the helmet a visor, so that way I can completely hide my face!" He stood up on his stool, and thumped his fist to his chest. He deepened his voice, "I must keep my identity a secret, for the sake of my mother and Mr. Junior."
"You just said his name," Bulma snickered, before poking him in the belly, leading to bouts of laughter. "And that's so sweet of you to protect him." She gave him a pat on the shoulder, and a look of pride. "We all know how defenseless he is."
"Of course," Gohan enthused, flopping down in his seat. "He's like my family, so I've got to protect him."
Bulma hummed, and tapped her eraser against the paper they'd been working on. "So—you already consider him as family? That's interesting."
"Well, he's super rad," Gohan responded, giving a solemn nod as he spoke. "He's the best. I was going to marry him, but mom said I'd have to kiss him and that seems really gross." He gave a slight shudder. "I like Mr. Junior, but no thank-you!"
Bulma muffled her laugh, pressing the heel of her palm into her teeth as she looked at him. "Well…" her voice was slow, "what if Mr. Junior married your mom?"
Gohan paused, seemingly thinking it over. He furrowed his brow, and snapped his fingers. "Bulma! You're a genius!"
"Trust me, baby, I know."
"If mom and Mr. Junior get together, then we get to keep him!"
"Oh, is the Namek a puppy now, how delightful." Vegeta's droll voice sounded from the doorway, and Bulma rolled her eyes.
"Hello, Captain Useless."
"Prince of all Saiyans," he corrected.
"Prince of all Assholes," Bulma returned.
Vegeta seethed, arms crossing as he stomped into the room. He took one glance at their project, before sniffing in disdain. "Goodness, woman—is this supposed to be a hero? By the stars, he doesn't even have a cape!"
Bulma and Gohan stared at Vegeta for one long second, before cheering loudly for the prince. The small Saiyan looked pleased, yet baffled, as the duo quickly returned to the drawing board, eagerly shouting over one another about the cape.
Obviously growing agitated with the attention leaving him again, Vegeta decided to push his way in between the two, and snatched up the red pencil.
"No, you fools!" he snarled, elbowing them out of his way. "It has to sit right here—woman, grab the gold! He must have regal buttons sewn on, let me show you the proper way!"
Krillin stood nervously on the edge of the sidewalk, glancing down at his phone every few moments. He'd received a message from 18—in which she asked for him to meet her at this coffee shop. He had come with one purpose in mind—to perhaps get her to call of the fight. It was fast approaching, and he didn't fancy his chances.
On the bright side, apparently Roshi had finally gotten around to reading the challenges they'd been receiving, so Goku was preparing for a fight of his own. The competitor was still a mystery, as all they'd been told was there was a match coming soon. With Goku distracted, now was the perfect time to be alone with 18.
Looking around, he finally spotted blonde hair, which was attached to the beautiful fighter. She strode with a purpose, flipping her hair back behind her head, as each step she took drew looks. Some were fans, some just impressed by her simple presence. Her jean jacket was torn and studded, with a skirt that matched, and knee-high boots that made no sound whenever they hit pavement. With her hands stuffed in the pockets, she looked very intimidating as she approached Krillin.
He audibly gulped.
She stopped next to him, and lowered her eyelids as she gave him an odd smirk.
"C'mon, big guy, aren't you going to invite me in?" her teeth were incredibly white behind her lips, and Krillin found himself staring. He dragged himself out of his reverie, coughing, as he moved to hold the door open for her.
"Uh, s-sure, right ahead." His palms were already sweaty. This was ridiculous. She was beautiful, and could break him in half—two things from people he did not handle very well. Her chuckle was deep and melodic as she swept past him, choosing a table. She flounced down in the chair, staring around the room at all the watchful eyes.
He approached her, nervously swiping his palms against his jeans.
"So, uh—Eight—Eighteen, what would you like?" Krillin looked at her, watching as she cradled her hands together, and placed her chin on the bridge her fingers had formed. The way she looked at him made him feel as if he were going to be a snack. Everything she did seemed built around intimidation, and God did it work.
"I think I'll have… a blueberry muffin, and a hot chocolate. Make it small," she purred, and Krillin flushed, hurriedly rushing over to the counter and placing the order. His stubby fingers drummed a tune against the counter, and he focused on the ceiling fan whirling high above him. When the girl brought him the tray, he recognized her eyes trailing along the swatch of gauze taped to his face, and when he turned, he could hear her whispering to her friends.
He sighed. He didn't really blame them. His appearance now was rather freakish, if he were to be honest. Missing a nose, coupled with the incense burns along his forehead (an unfortunate accident from his childhood), he looked like a freak. His short, squat stature didn't help matters, so far as he was concerned. Every time he went into the ring, it was always against some giant—like Ma Junior… he shuddered.
Krillin seated himself at the table, staring at 18. She would be the first one that wasn't a complete giant, yet he was almost as afraid of her as he had been of Ma.
18 picked up her muffin, biting into it as she twirled the pastry between her finger tips.
"I'm going to go ahead and answer the question you've been burning to ask me," 18 said suddenly, lips puckering around the food in her mouth. "I'm not giving up our fight. I'm much too excited about it."
Krillin felt his heart drop to his stomach as he took the wrapping off of his cinnamon bun. "I see…" he said, voice despondent. "I was that obvious, huh?"
"Painfully," 18 agreed, grinning. "But don't worry. This whole nervous guy buying me a meal—super cute." She circled her thumb and index finger into the 'O.K.' symbol.
"Uh—well…" Krillin grimaced. "So if my pleas go unanswered, why did you invite me here?"
"Free meal?" 18 smirked, and tilted her head.
"Seriously, 18—,"
"Call me Lazuli," she interrupted, taking another bite of her muffin. Krillin blinked in surprise. "Oh my God, please tell me you didn't actually believe that my name was a number?" He shuffled, and shrugged in embarrassment. She rolled her eyes in disbelief, but it actually looked—somewhat affectionate?
"All right," Krillin coughed, "Lazuli… why did you invite me here?"
She sighed, and took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Didn't I tell you that I'm a fan? I meant it." Her gaze was strong as it bored into him, practically making him break into a nervous sweat. She was looking directly at his eyes—her gaze not even dipping lower to where he could feel the gauze itching.
"That's still a bit odd, to be honest," Krillin laughed, rubbing at the back of his head. "Sorry, I'm definitely not used to that." Lazuli chuckled, and when she lowered her cup, she had a trail of whipped cream wrapped around her upper lip.
Krillin snorted, and clamped his hand over his mouth. Lazuli gave him an odd look, and he ran his finger against his lip as well. She poked her tongue out, and lapped up the mustache that she'd had.
"Laugh it up, there," Lazuli griped, but she was smiling. Krillin returned it, feeling a little more at ease. Something about the incident humanized her in his view point, and he could feel himself relaxing just a little bit. This was a girl—an incredible one, yes—but still a girl, who went out to bakeries with men and got whipped cream 'staches.
"Milk!" Junior shouted, bursting into the living room. She whirled around, the Jenga pile taking an unfortunate tumble. Gohan cheered at his victory, and Chi Chi turned her scowl onto Junior. He had already crossed the floor, flipped on her TV, and was scrolling swiftly through channels.
"Um, hi—what the hell is this?" Chi Chi demanded, rising up to block Junior. She planted her fists on her hips and narrowed her eyes up at him. He gave her one bland look, before very pointedly looking over her head to where he could still see the screen. Her face burned as she cursed her height. Gohan still sat on the floor, gathering up the Jenga blocks. He was staring at the two of them as he went, fingers clumsily grabbing at pieces.
"Dende won't let me watch these at my house," Junior said, making no sense. He seemed to arrive at the channel he wanted, though, and sat down on the couch. He finally seemed to acknowledge that Chi Chi was still standing, and still looking rather angry. He huffed in aggravation. "Milk, you're blocking the screen!"
"It's my TV!" she snapped. Her body was straight with indignation.
"Dam Sharks…?" Gohan said, tilting his head to the side.
"Gohan!" Chi Chi admonished.
"No, mom! Like a beaver dam!"
"Ah… wait, what?"
Chi Chi whirled around, and after Junior insisting on her moving, she saw a girl jumping off a cliff getting immediately nabbed by a shark. She burst into laughter with Junior. Gohan looked slightly queasy, and stood up.
"I think I'll go to my room," he griped.
"Don't forget to say good night before you pass out," Junior called to him. Gohan announced that he would, before shutting his door with emphasis, muttering something about gross adults. "That was amazing," the Namekian was smirking, and Chi Chi quickly joined him on the couch.
"What is this?" she asked, settling into the couch. Her love of B-rated horror movies was rather unfortunate, but even a strict moral compass couldn't dampen her love of all things cheesy. Romance novels, rom-coms, horror movies—if it was lame and had a low budget, it was her thing. The hammier the better. Junior seemed to agree.
"It's a new shitty movie," he replied, staring at the screen. "They're doing a rollout of garbage, and I plan to watch them all. I got away with it the other day, but Dende was home this time, and decided the whole channel was off limits due to 'sensitive material'." Junior gave a derisive snort.
"Well, I love bad movies," Chi Chi grinned, glancing over to Junior. "You can watch them all here. I'm sure Gohan will be a little put out." She pointed to the door, where they knew Gohan was probably nestling down with some book Dende had lent him.
"He'll be fine," Junior snarled, as a commercial came on. He turned his attention to Chi Chi during the break. "After all, that little brat is already dragging me to this damn dance thing." His fingers waved as if to demonstrate how ridiculous he found the whole thing. She bit her lip as she smiled.
"Don't be a grump—you know you'd do anything for him," she teased, prodding him in the ribs. He huffed, and covered his torso with his burly arms, giving her a look full of distaste.
"Just don't tell anybody," Junior grumbled, "I can't have people knowing."
"Of course not, big guy. Your secret's safe with me. Oh! I'm going to get some popcorn!"
The day of the party, Gohan was eagerly rushing around, gathering up things for his mom and Junior to wear. His own costume was deemed a 'secret', and he informed them that Bulma would be bringing it over later for him. He assured them that it was completely awesome, and not to worry too much about it.
Chi Chi had been handed a dress, which was rather nice—she assumed it came from Bulma as well. The fabric was crisp, and felt velvety, with the colors deep red and black. She slipped it on, before hastily removing it, and throwing on a tank-top underneath. Definitely Bulma's doing. Grumbling, she hiked up the skirt, and moved over to the mirror. Her hair was still trapped back up in her usual sloppy ponytail, and she rubbed nervously at her bare face. Without make-up or anything to help her, she looked ridiculous in this get-up.
Gnawing at her lip, she moved to her bedroom door, just to be flung back as Bulma barged in. She pin-wheeled her arms, desperately keeping her balance so as to not rip the dress. She stared in bewilderment at the blue haired heiress stampeding through her room, slamming the door shut behind her. The woman was carrying a bag with her, which she quickly tossed onto the bed, before demanding Chi Chi be seated at the edge.
"C'mon, hon," Bulma grinned, "you didn't think I'd let you go without a little help? I know you're completely hopeless on your own." She feigned a sigh then, and grasped Chi Chi's shoulders, snapping open the bag she carried and unfolding at least three tiers of cosmetics. She grabbed one of the products with nimble fingers, and locked gazes with Chi Chi.
Feeling rather disoriented, Chi Chi let her friend go to work, feeling mascara rake against her eye, as a pencil was shoved against the other one. Blood red lipstick that Chi Chi would never have touched in her life was smeared across her lips, and Bulma dabbed some strange liquid on her fingers, that she swiped over Chi Chi's cheeks.
She was finally released, as Bulma's clapped her hands together, pretending to dust them off. She grinned at her work, before motioning for Chi Chi to take a look at herself. The second look was much better—Chi Chi now felt a little less ridiculous. She didn't necessarily feel that she looked good, but at least now her hair was down and her face matched the occasion.
"All right, I already had the boys dressing themselves up—Gohan's real excited about this, by the way. He brainstormed for ages on what to have you two dress as." Bulma's chatter was amicable enough, but Chi Chi gave her a startled look.
"Us two?"
"You and Junior."
"We're matching?!"
"Well, not yet," Bulma replied, rushing over to the coffee table, where she produced fake fangs. "Now, open wide—I have to squirt some of this spirit gum in your mouth, okay?" Chi Chi made a few noises of protest, but she was soon wrangled into submission. All of her strength did nothing against Bulma's own sense of formidability.
Gums sticky, Chi Chi crossed her arms with disdain, and tapped her foot impatiently. Gohan was in his bedroom, while Junior had taken up residence in her bathroom. Bulma was whistling a happy tune, rocking back from her toes to her heels.
"Can you talk okay?" Bulma asked, giving Chi Chi a curious glance.
"Kind of," Chi Chi managed around the spit accumulating in her mouth. She was only slightly slurred—which was better than she'd initially thought. Gohan came out of his room then, opening the door with force as he tucked and did a barrel roll across the carpet. Chi Chi and Bulma both shared a look at his antics, identical grins stretching across their faces as the little boy stood up, dropping into ridiculous poses.
"I am the Great Saiyaman!" Gohan announced, arms locking into position above his head. A large, clunky helmet sat on his head, with a little cape flowing behind him. His white boots practically squeaked as he clicked his heels together, saluting the women. "I'll be protecting you tonight, ladies!"
"You're adorable!" Chi Chi crowed, pressing her hands to her cheeks. She could see Gohan beaming with joy at her praise, before he snapped his gloved fingers, and dug a red sharpie out of his pocket. He motioned for his mother to crouch down, and she did, just to receive two little dots to her neck.
"Your bite marks!" he said, pocketing the marker once more. "You and Mr. Junior both like old movies and stuff—so Bulma and I decided vampires would be a good costume!"
"Oh? You and Bulma, huh?" she said archly, turning to her companion, who was once more whistling innocently.
The sound of the bathroom door opening drew everyone's attention to a rather grumpy looking Junior. He stepped out, wearing the tux from the magic show, but now with a cape trailing behind him. He straightened out his white gloves, and Chi Chi suddenly realized that her mouth wasn't really drenched with saliva anymore.
He glanced at Chi Chi, before quickly looking away, and approaching the group. She ducked her head, wondering what that brief glance had been. Did he think she looked stupid? Well then, fine! He looked stupid! Even in his stupid tight dress slacks… her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
"You don't even need fake fangs," Gohan grinned up at Junior, who had a baffled expression on his face.
"Kid, what the hell are you wearing?" Junior demanded.
Gohan frowned, and even though his eyes weren't visible behind his helmet, Chi Chi could guess that his eyebrows were drawn together in consternation. "What's that supposed to mean? This is my super cool superhero costume—The Great Saiyaman!" He stuck a pose.
"Do that in public and I'm leaving you there."
"Junior!" Chi Chi snapped, and his eyes found her once more.
He smirked. "Sorry—couldn't quite understand that," one of his big ears twitched. "Care to repeat it with a little less spit?"
"I'll MURDER you!"
"Enough!" Bulma intervened, though she had a huge smile on her face. She clapped her hands, before roaming her eyes over Junior. "Though, it is good to see you back in this again—really does wonders for your figure…"
"I think you're being ridiculous," Chi Chi said as they approached Satan's manner. "And plus, I look stupid by myself!" They climbed up the stairs, Gohan leading the way, while she had to tuck up her skirts to go. After Bulma's comment, Junior had immediately demanded to have a change of costume—and the only thing Gohan had been able to offer last minute was a sheet with some holes cut in it.
"You looked stupid with me," Junior retorted. "My costume has nothing to do with your appearance."
Chi Chi inwardly seethed. She didn't know what she expected—maybe a compliment, a dumb struck look? But this was Junior. What the hell was she thinking?
"C'mon, guys! We're already running late!" Gohan called, reaching the doors. He knocked on them, while Chi Chi shot Junior a pointed look.
"We'd be fine if drama queen here hadn't decided to have an outfit change." Her voice was acidic, and she saw Junior give her a sideways glance through his sheet. It was ridiculous! How could she get properly mad at him when he was standing there in her floral best—which only hit his knee caps. The eye-holes made it even worse (Gohan had made sure to cut them extra-carefully with his safety scissors).
Hercule appeared at the door, then, just as Junior and Chi Chi reached the top step. He was wearing his normal clothes, beaming at them all as he stepped aside.
"Howdy there!" Hercule shouted, reaching to hardily shake Chi Chi's hand. He jostled her entire arm so hard it almost came out of the socket, while he gave Gohan an affectionate pat on the helmet. He gave an odd look to Junior, obviously unsure of who or what was underneath the ridiculous get-up. "Well, come on in, folks!"
"Mr. Satan," Gohan followed behind the man, and Chi Chi and Junior fell into step behind him, "where's your costume?"
Hercule chuckled. "Well, lil' feller, I'm dressed as myself!" He thumped his chest proudly, and Chi Chi was certain she heard Junior choke back a laugh. She bit her lip—then remembered the lipstick, and shuddered at the taste in her mouth. Junior laughed more.
He led them through the foyer, and while Chi Chi was openly gaping, both Gohan and Junior were acting like this was completely normal. Marble floors, gold, ornate walls, hanging chandeliers—her mind was blown at the grandiosity of it all. She was used to her little apartment now, and before that, their old country farm house up in the mountains. This was bizarre, and it was even worse than being at Bulma's—this was entirely too gaudy.
They entered the living room, where people were milling about, talking as music pumped out of the speakers. Hercule announced that he was leaving, and took off, schmoozing his way around the room. Chi Chi rolled her eyes, and glanced around.
She saw a giant green blob, which quickly attached itself to Gohan. Blinking, Chi Chi shifted on her feet, noticing that what she thought was a blob, was actually a little girl painted haphazardly green. It was Videl—wearing a leather jacket, fake earrings and nose ring in place, with giant clunky black boots that were several sizes too big for her feet.
"Hey! You came as Saiyaman!" Videl cheered, leaning back as she poked out her tongue. "Check it—I'm Ma Junior!" She whirled around, and pointed at the giant patch on her jacket that spelled out 'demon'. Beside her, she felt Junior tense, and she saw that Gohan looked rather uncomfortable as well.
"That's really cool, Videl," he said, looking nervously behind him to where Junior's looming form stood. Videl crinkled up her nose, revealing spots where her paint had missed. The little girl gave a dismissive sniff, and crossed her arms.
"Is that your Mr. Junior?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "He's taller than I thought he'd be…" She screwed up her mouth, before sighing and shaking her head. "Still no Ma, though."
"Ma's a jackass," Junior snarled, breath puffing so harshly Chi Chi saw the sheet move. Suddenly she was grateful for his stupid change of costume, as she saw Videl preparing to argue. Chi Chi quickly interceded, grasping Junior's arm through the fabric, and standing between him and the argumentative little girl.
"Come on," she said loudly, "that punch over there looks great." Applying pressure, she led Junior away, attempting to ignore the tensed muscles that only tightened more beneath her grip. She stopped by the food table, spooning a drink into little paper cups for them. She handed one to Junior, and watched as it quickly disappeared beneath the sheet.
She knocked back her own.
"You okay?" she prompted.
"I'm fine." His voice was a low growl, and he sounded most definitely Not Fine.
She sighed. "Look… she's just a little girl, who idolized you. Big deal."
"Big deal? That's awful easy for you to say."
"It is," Chi Chi replied, refilling her cup. Junior's hand appeared soon, asking for his own cup to be topped off. "Jeez—would you take off that ridiculous thing?" she snapped. "Videl might recognize you, but at least it won't be near as stupid as this!" She gestured vaguely at his entire form.
"You're rude, you know that?" Junior griped, and gripped the edge of his sheet. "Anyways, your friend made me uncomfortable."
Chi Chi rolled her eyes. "You're being a moron."
"Oh, stuff it, Milk." He crossed his arms, causing the sheet to bunch up even more. He glanced to the side, where he could see Gohan playing with Videl, though the boy was obviously shooting the two looks every few seconds. He heaved a full body sigh.
Chi Chi threw away her cup, and he finally came to a decision.
"This is stupid," he grumbled. "Incredibly stupid. But…"
"But?"
"Gohan looks like he's walking on eggshells," His huge shoulders heaved. "Fine. Whatever." He shrugged off the large sheet, and Chi Chi watched it flutter to the ground. His antennae twitched at her, and his mouth was turned down into his typical frown. She stared at him, and wanted to punch either herself or him for the way her whole body warmed at the sight of him.
Around them, several people stopped and stared. Chi Chi moved a little closer to him, attempting to offer support with her presence. She heard Junior clear his throat, and shuffle in place. She now realized that this was Hercule Satan's party—there were probably quite a few people here who knew who Ma Junior was.
"It's ok," she whispered, placing one gloved hand on his forearm. "Come on." She laced her forearm around his, and he gave her an odd look. She attempted to keep her smile warm as she pulled forward, and Junior came with her.
"Your dress is itchy," he muttered.
"Try being in it," she replied. He chuckled, and she found she liked the sound of it, especially when the reverberations rolled through her. As they came closer to Gohan and Videl, she saw that her little Saiyaman had a pretty big smile on his face.
"Videl—Mr. Junior's back!" Gohan cheered.
"Oh yeah?" the little girl sounded rather dismissive as she slowly turned, her eyes slowly widening in shock as her eyes rose to Junior's face. He bared his fangs at her, and Videl fainted. Gohan yelped in surprise, and rocketed forward, catching his friend as she swooned.
"Oh my gosh!" Gohan yelped. "Videl!" he kept his voice low, trying not to alert any guests. Complaining very loudly, Junior stooped down, scooping the little girl up. "Come on, her room's this way." They earned a few odd looks, but they swept past everyone in the crowd, and Gohan led them up the stairs. There were fewer occupants in the upper halls, and they were quickly in Videl's room.
It was almost the size of Chi Chi's apartment, chocked full of fighters, superheroes, and comic books strewn all about. On the wall were posters of Ma Junior in all his glory, and a few pop bands jammed up on the ceiling. Junior picked his way through the room, face ripe with distaste as he set the girl down on her pink bedspread. He looked at all the memorabilia, and grimaced.
"This is odd," he muttered, and Chi Chi had to agree. It was incredibly weird, to see the younger Junior leering down at her from a little girl's walls.
On the bed, Videl began to rouse, and Gohan flopped down on her bed, obviously eager for his friend to come round. She slowly sat up, rubbing groggily at her eyes as she blinked blearily up at the people in her room.
"Wait…" she locked onto Junior, eyes slowly widening with awe, "so that… wasn't a dream… I really… really met Ma Junior…?" Her mouth opened in a silent scream, as she pressed her cheeks hard enough to form a fish mouth. Gohan laughed at his friend's behavior, while Junior looked increasingly uncomfortable.
"Are you all right, Videl?" Chi Chi demanded, noticing that there were now green paint marks smeared across the girl's comforter. Thankfully, Junior hadn't gotten any on his nice suit—though how, she wasn't entirely sure.
Videl nodded at Chi Chi, and swiped a hand through her already mussed up hair. "I mean—yeah, I'm fine but you're—you're Ma Junior!"
"Just Junior," the Namek interrupted, lips peeling into a snarl. "I dropped the Ma a long time ago."
Videl didn't really seem to acknowledge anything he was saying. "I can't believe it's really you—gosh, you're bigger than all of your books say! That's bananas!"
"I was just a kid back then," he muttered, face turning a rather unfortunate shade of purple.
Videl bounced up to her knees, thick boots mussing up the bed behind her. Chi Chi had sympathy pains for whoever it was that cleaned the Satan household—it made her heart yearn to jerk it out from beneath the little girl and clean it properly.
"Gosh… This is so cool!" Videl squealed, curling into a little ball before happily unfurling. "How do you know him, Gohan?" she demanded. The little boy shifted, and rubbed at the back of his head.
"Oh… ha, well, Videl… this is… uh, this is… Mr. Junior…" he was sheepish as he motioned towards the man.
She sat for a moment, seeming to take it all in, before she made a sharp noise of objection.
"No way! You said Mr. Junior hung out with you, and ran a lame flower shop, and made stupid milk puns! Ma Junior wouldn't do any of that!" Her face would have been red if not for all of the paint caked on her, but her little mouth screwed up and her eyebrows scrunched down as she planted her hands on her fists and glared down at Gohan.
"I'm not lying!" Gohan cried, jumping off the bed. He grabbed Junior's hand (or, at least the index finger, which is all he could really grasp) and pointed at Videl. "And Mr. Junior is Ma Junior! Except now he's all grown up and nice! And he only makes milk puns at my mom, because they're best friends!"
Chi Chi shifted uncomfortably at that, and she saw Junior throw her an exasperated look.
Videl was still staring, several emotions flickering across her features, none of them staying for very long. She appeared angry, then intrigued, then confused, and a whole myriad more that didn't have names.
She leaned back on her haunches, and regarded the group. "So… you're really Ma?"
"Just Junior," Junior insisted, looking increasingly agitated by the usage of his old name. Videl took this in slowly, and twisted to where she was leaning on her hip.
"I can't believe this…"
"I can't believe you dressed like me," Junior rolled his eyes. "You look like an idiot."
Chi Chi and Gohan gasped, but Videl smirked.
"Takes one to know one, ya big green lump," she replied, and Junior's eyes widened with what looked like pride. Videl still looked a little star struck, but she seemed to be settling back down into her regular attitude. "What kinda bad guy goes around making flowers?"
"You don't make flowers, you grow them." Junior retorted, crossing his arms as he gave her a derisive snort. "And they're a cousin's, not mine."
"I guess that's a little less lame," Videl admitted, then her smile grew just a wee bit wider. "Hey… d'you think I could get an autograph before you dip?"
Chapter
"Road Trip?"
"Ugh, those three are yucking it up at some party, and I'm stuck here with you," Bulma whined, lifting the weights that Vegeta was training her with. They weren't that heavy, but she faked as if they were, pouting as she hardly lifted them.
Vegeta gave her an annoyed look. "Come now, woman! Chin up! Arms braced!" He walked around her, tail tip touching her back as he strode. "Your whining will get you nowhere."
"Gee, what a hot date," Bulma rolled her eyes, but straightened up, pulling the weights as high as her shoulders. Her forearms committed to the curls, and she idly watched Vegeta take another walk around her. "So, what do you want for dinner tonight?"
"Bunny promised me lasagna," Vegeta replied primly, giving her a rather conceited grin. "I suppose she offered you nothing, as per usual?"
"Yes," Bulma huffed, and swiped her short bangs out of her eyes. "Though, I do feel the need to point out, she didn't offer me anything, because she won't be here tonight. Anything she promised to make for you is leftovers, and thus, fair game." Slowly, Bulma lowered her weights to the ground, hoping it would take Vegeta a few moments to catch on—it usually did.
"Yes, well, I'm not particularly against leftovers," Vegeta announced.
"Mhm. Me neither." Bulma edged closer to the door, and heard the psshhh of the doors sliding open. She inwardly cursed, as she saw Vegeta's tail go ramrod straight, and he seemed to finally piece together what Bulma was doing.
He turned on his heel, eyes narrowing as he caught her, one leg in hall already.
"Oh, hell no," he snarled, and Bulma took off running. She could hear Vegeta's pounding footsteps behind her as she tore through the complex, the lean muscles he'd been helping her build working to her advantage as she skittered around corners. She turned her head in enough time to see Vegeta wipe out, slamming into a wall as he debilitated into curses. Screaming with laughter, Bulma reached the kitchen first.
She launched over to the fridge, hands just reaching the first of the Tupperware containers, right when Vegeta finally gained on her, and wrapped his arms around her, physically jerking her up above his head. Shrieking, Bulma pummeled punches into the top of his head, hitting mostly hair until he flipped her, her larger frame hanging over his smaller one, as he whistled a happy tune and grabbed at the lasagna.
In a last ditch effort, Bulma sucked in a deep breath, and swung her foot out, knocking the bowl out away from him. They both watched as their dinner went arching through the air, just to crash into the wall, splintering the sides of the plastic, and leaking lasagna all down the wall.
In anguish, Vegeta threw Bulma away from him, leaving her to hit tile as he rushed over to the food, which he desperately tried to push back into the Tupperware bowl. When Bulma finally approached him, he whirled around, the shock of betrayal still evident on his face.
The whole ordeal cost Bulma ten pizzas, as a moody Vegeta sat on the couch. Every time Bulma tried to talk, Vegeta would begin chewing loudly, with his mouth open as he sat inches from her face, and Bulma gave up after she'd had to physically push his face away from her to get him to stop.
He didn't talk again until the doorbell rang, and he stopped mid-chew, some of the cud almost leaking out of his mouth. "Whozzat?" he demanded around his stuffed mouth, and Bulma wrinkled her nose up in disgust.
"First off, ew. Second off—how the hell would I know? I haven't answered yet." Vegeta sneered at her, and Bulma shoved her tongue out, setting off towards the door. When she swung it open, she was startled to see Zarbon there.
"Hello, Bulma," he greeted her, tilting his head to the side as his long green ponytail swished behind him.
"Um—hey?" she said, glancing down at her phone. She didn't think that he'd messaged her…
"I didn't text before stopping by, I'm terribly sorry," Zarbon said, perfect white teeth meeting in a row as he smiled. "I just really wanted to see you." His gaze darted behind her, and she instinctively blocked the doorway. Bulma Briefs didn't like people who pried.
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting company," she replied, motioning towards her workout gear. "I'm afraid I'm not prepared for it." She also didn't want her boyfriend—and even that was a stretch—anywhere near Vegeta. The little squirt was a ticking time bomb for stupidity, and she wouldn't have it happen around anyone that she didn't directly control.
"Well, it's quite all right." His voice was cheery as he moved to take a step forward. Bulma didn't move.
"Yeah, well. Guess we'll have to meet up some time later."
"Ah."
"Yup. I've got pizza right now, and I'm super hungry. I had an… incident earlier," she curled her lip up at the race that she'd lost, "so I super need this right now. See ya later," she said, offering a quick little salute, before shutting the door in Zarbon's face.
When she turned to go back to her pizza, she saw that both the boxes and Vegeta were gone. Her mouth opened, preparing to scream in rage, when a nearby closet door kicked open, and the Saiyan emerged, clutching the pizza boxes that he was still steadily eating. His expression was dark, though.
"That was your boyfriend?" he demanded, finally setting aside his food.
Bulma rolled her eyes. "I guess. I don't know—I don't like this whole showing up out of nowhere, and—,"
"Silence, woman," Vegeta interrupted with a hiss, staring at the front door. He shifted closer to Bulma, and pointed angrily to where Zarbon had just been. "That is one of Freeza's men!" His voice was low, but she could see him shaking with anger. "I bet he sent him to you… he's trying to spy on me!"
Bulma's mouth slowly fell open, and she could feel her rage mounting. "How dare that dirty little bastard…!" she gritted her teeth, and felt immensely like punching something. Judging by Vegeta's shaking body, she could tell that he shared the sentiment.
"I can't believe you've been dating the enemy this whole time!" Vegeta chastised her, shaking his head.
"Well, how was I supposed to know!" Bulma demanded. "Even when I looked into Freeza's stuff, I wasn't able to match a lot of names to faces. He's kind of hush-hush—color me surprised!" Her tone bled sarcasm, and she snatched up a slice of pizza, stuffing it angrily into her mouth. "I don't like being used," she snarled. "Now I'm definitely shutting down this little lizard freakazoid. They'll get you back over my dead body!"
Vegeta said nothing, but his posture shifted, and his tail curled tightly around his waist once more.
"Now come on, short stuff. I'm seriously hangry, and I'm going to knock back enough pizza to make me vomit."
"Now that's the spirit, woman!"
"Hey, Goku!" Yamcha set his coffee down quickly, turning around to where Goku was doing pull ups from the shelves of their camper. "Did you see this article?" He waved the newspaper at his friend, who comically wrinkled up his nose at the very idea of it. Yamcha knew damn good and well that Goku hadn't bothered to read the papers, but this was certainly interesting.
"Nah, is it something important?" Goku asked, still focused on his pull ups.
"Well," Yamcha said, elbow digging into the back of the chair as he used his other hand to straighten out the paper. "Your wife is in it."
"Cheech?" Goku asked, finally slowing down in his exercise, just dangling there as he regarded Yamcha.
Yamcha rolled his eyes. "How many wives do you have?"
"Just the one," Goku replied seriously, and Yamcha groaned. Why did he bother?
"Okay… Well, Chi Chi is in the news. Apparently she was out with Ma Junior."
Goku dropped from where he was, and rushed over, snatching up the newspaper. He flipped it open to where Yamcha directed him, and saw the picture blown up in grainy black and white. There was Chi Chi, very distinctive even though she had on makeup and her hair was down. Goku wrinkled up his nose, and stared. In the picture, it looked as if she were holding on to Ma…
He gritted his teeth, and crumpled up the paper. "What is Ma doing with my family?" Goku demanded, actually looking rather agitated as he took to pacing. Yamcha tilted his mouth down at the corners. It wasn't incredibly often that Goku got serious, but this was one of those moments. The man seemed incredibly worried about his family.
"C'mon, Goku, this is Chi Chi we're talking about—let's think about this," Yamcha said, attempting to calm his friend. "The article was making a big deal out of it; something about they attended a party together. Nothing bad happened, from the looks of it." He picked up the wadded up paper, attempting to smooth it out so he could view the passage once more. "Looks like they didn't even print Chi Chi's name. They were too focused on Ma Junior being with a woman."
"What if he's done something to her, though?" Goku whirled around, arms crossed as he appeared to be thinking. "Ma Junior is bad news, Yamcha—we all know this!" They were interrupted as Krillin entered, happily chattering away on the phone.
Once he entered the tense air, however, he stilled, and slowly shut the door behind him.
"Hey—yeah, Lazuli I'll uh… I'll call you back," Krillin muttered, and Yamcha gave his friend a wolfish grin as the bald man quickly pocketed his cell. "Sorry guys, uh… what's up." To answer, Yamcha tossed Krillin the newspaper. He caught it, and opened it up, and almost immediately froze. He stared down at the picture, eyes wide as sweat beaded across his forehead.
"I'm worried," Goku muttered, furrowing his brow. "I don't know why Ma would be with Cheech, but this can't be good. I'm going to talk to Roshi." He disappeared, then, and Yamcha was left with the terrified Krillin.
"Hey," Yamcha's voice was soft, and he took the paper from his friend's shaking hands. "It's ok. It's all in the past."
"Yeah…" Krillin rubbed at his nose, obviously scraping the edge of the gauze. "Yeah, it is…"
Junior was sitting in Chi Chi's restaurant, sipping happily at his drink as he relaxed. After the mess at the party, he was actually in a rather good mood. The meeting with Videl had… gone rather differently than expected, sure, but he found it didn't bother him all that much. The little girl had spunk to her, and he could appreciate that.
He gripped his drink, and watched Chi Chi flit around the restaurant. It would be closing time soon, and Gohan would be coming back from Porunga's Post to begin their movie night. Junior had come over to sit and enjoy some alone time at first—that, and he found it rather calming to watch Chi Ch in action.
She was so frantic, so all over the place, but he liked it. The way her messy, sweaty hair clung to her forehead, the way her face scrunched up whenever she knocked something over on accident. She seemed to do that a lot—her wide hips seemed like a death trap.
He frowned. The last of the customers were filing out, and Chi Chi heaved a relieved sigh, knocking her ponytail back as she arched her back into a stretch. Bulma helped her close down the restaurant, only bothering Junior when she came to clean his table, her tongue sticking out as she got exceptionally close to him. The blue haired woman set him on edge, and he hastily shifted out of her way. He wondered if Vegeta knew what he was getting into.
As Bulma was leaving, Dende and Gohan appeared, the small Namekian looking rather tense as he quickly rushed to Junior. He had his cell phone in his hand, which he hastily stuffed up to Junior's face.
Glaring at his cousin, Junior took the cell phone and grumbled, "Hello?"
"… Piccolo—ah, your cousin did get a hold of you! Listen!" It was Kami, the old man's voice sounded very frustrated, and Junior's only lament was that he wasn't the direct cause of this time. He growled, and heard staticy voices in the background. "I need you to come back to the colony—do you hear me? Come back to the colony, there's something—oh, your moron of a father—you'll just have to come and see!"
"What?" Junior demanded, grip tightening around the cell.
"It's causing quite a stir," Kami was rambling, and Junior heard a lot of voices in the background, "there are so many young impressionable Namekians here and… Oh, I only put one quarter in no, one moment, I—," Kami's voice was cut off, and Junior pulled the cell away from his ear, where he stared at it.
Dende twisted his fingers nervously, and accepted his cell back from the dumbfounded Junior. Chi Chi approached then, placing her hands on Gohan's shoulders. They were all staring at him with obvious questions on their faces.
Junior pressed his mouth into a thin line. "Apparently, they need me back at the colony."
"The… Namek one?" Gohan asked, head tilting to the side. He moved away from his mom, choosing to scoot closer to Junior, his tiny hands resting against Junior's forearms. Without thinking, Junior pressed one of his own hands to the little boy's, completely dwarfing them.
"Yeah, the Namek one. Kami was practically unintelligible," Junior snarled, looking at Dende. The younger one nodded, face pensive.
"Yes, I thought it was odd… I kept trying to get him to respond to me, but he just kept demanding that I take the phone to you. Luckily enough there were no customers, so Gohan and I were able to come over immediately, but…" Dende bit his lip, antennae twitching as he regarded his cousin. "So. Are you going?"
"I don't see that I have much of a choice," Junior complained, dropping his chin into his hands. "That old fool's going to waste all of his money calling me back on repeat if I don't. Whatever it is—it sounds big…" He gritted his teeth. He hated the thought of going back to the colony. But he also knew that Kami was a stubborn jackass, if nothing else.
Beside him, he felt Gohan tug at his shirt. He turned to look at the inquisitive boy.
"Wait… how would he waste his money?" Gohan asked, nose crinkling up. "They have data plans."
"Kami's calling on a payphone," Dende replied, and Gohan stared, stupefied. "You pump in quarters, and you can make some local calls for a set amount of time."
The little boy looked completely bewildered. "Wha—,"
"Uh," Chi Chi finally spoke up, and the attention shifted to her. "What's going on? Something back at the colony…?"
"Apparently my father did something inane—not a surprise there—and Kami needs me to come there to get it. Whatever it is, it's got to be something bad. All of the Nameks are in an uproar, I could hear them in the background." Junior smirked a bit, because his teenage self probably would have thought the very idea was hilarious, and rushed there, just to take pictures of the simple fools. Dende gave him a reproachful look, as if he knew what Junior was thinking.
"I thought you hated it there?" Chi Chi asked. And boy, didn't she hit the nail on the head?
"I do," Junior replied, voice a little gruff. "But, I also hate being annoyed. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can go there, get it, and get out—at least within a week." He began to stand up, when Gohan let out a little cry of distress. His hands scrabbled at Junior's shirt, and he had to stop himself from stepping on the boy. "Gohan, what the—,"
"No! You can't leave!" Gohan sounded desperate, face pinched with some emotion as he held tightly to Junior. Chi Chi was admonishing him, attempting to collect him, when Gohan jerked back more fiercely, and scrambled up Junior.
Must be the monkey blood, Junior thought to himself, as the boy was now clinging his arms to Junior's shoulders, face pressed close to Junior.
"It's just for a week, kid," Junior said, but Gohan shook his head, whole body wiggling from the motion.
"No! If you leave, you'll—you'll be gone!" Gohan cried, and Junior could see Chi Chi's red, embarrassed face as she was still attempting to collect Gohan.
Sucking in a deep breath—and wondering briefly where he got his wealth of patience from, because it sure as hell wasn't from his father—he pressed one of his hands to the little boy's back. He wasn't very reassuring, he knew, but he had to give it a shot.
"Well… why don't you take Gohan with you?" Dende spoke up. All three others paused, and gave the small Namekian an odd look. "I-It's just that… Gohan's been learning some Namekian, and he's always wanted to go…" He shifted to Chi Chi. "It's the safest place on Earth."
"I don't know about that," Chi Chi began, but Gohan already had stars in his eyes, practically running through a mental checklist of all the things he wanted to experience.
Junior's mouth pinched around the edges, and he looked to Chi Chi.
"You could come with us to," he said, mentally kicking himself as he slowly lowered the calm Gohan to the floor. "I know you're a complete nut when it comes to watching him, so…"
Her face morphed, eyebrows drawing in as she stared at the two. "W-well… I don't know…" Gohan was giving her his best puppy dogs eyes, and the woman groaned, shoulders collapsing inwards. "Fine. Let me call Bulma…"
She stepped away then, and Junior felt an odd sensation swooping through him. He was holding Gohan's hand, barely listening as the boy jabbered on to Dende about finally putting their lessons to good use. He couldn't quite align his thoughts—that Chi Chi and Gohan were coming to the place where he'd spent the majority of his childhood. A place that he'd avoided for so long, all because… of what? A crying kid? Was that really enough to sway him? He'd once stood proud and strong, coated in blood, destroying careers and lives—what was he now?
Gohan turned, and beamed up at him, just as Chi Chi reentered the room, a small smile on her face.
Junior didn't know what he was now, but whatever the hell he was, maybe it was okay?
As always, reviews are loved!
And everyone should watch the movie Dam Sharks! it's a goddamn riot.