Oh, not a soul in the world could understand the dilemma inside a young boy's mind who had just witnessed Mrs. Claus and his father share a smooch. All the toys at Capsule Corps couldn't lift his spirits.
And, no, not even the Christmas jingles that played as he walked down the cold streets could brighten his mood.
Goten was so distraught that he couldn't even fly for a while. He just stared sadly down at his navy boots while marching through the snow-covered sidewalks. Being Christmas Day, all the stores he occasionally glanced at to see his disheartened reflection in their windows were closed.
Perhaps this whole thing was his fault, anyway.
His mama warned him multiple times that catching Mrs. Claus in the act would cause him grave misfortune, hence the tucking into bed earliness. Still, he had witnessed her do it for multiple years with twinkling eyes and nothing awful had happened then.
The little feet of the hybrid came to a skid when something red had caught the corner of his eye. He glanced over to his right, little tufts of snow falling out of his spikes. He had long past the stores of the shopping strip of West City and had entered a quaint neighborhood. His black brows knitted together furiously.
"So it's you!" he spat at the Santa Claus decoration sitting outside of one fairly large home. "Thanks to your wife, you're going to get my daddy killed!"
When the Kris Kringle hadn't answered him, Goten contemplated blowing him to smithereens. But alas, that would get him on next year's Naughty List for sure and he was almost certain it was against the law.
"Ah geez, I'm sorry Santa!" Goten pouted as he dropped cross-legged in front of the Kringle. "I'm just so messed up inside my brain! I dunno what to do!"
The family that owned the lawn ornament stared blankly at the child through the living room window, wondering where the hell he had come from and what the hell he was doing.
"Should I call the cops?"
"He's just a child, dear. He's probably homeless. Just look at those hand-me-down clothes he's wearing!"
"Hey, wait a minute... I think I know him!"
Goten jumped backwards onto his feet as soon as the door flew upon. He was prepared to fly off, when the door opener herself called out to him. "Goooooten!?"
The messy-haired boy stopped mid-flight to blink at the blonde girl, never having seen her before in his life. She didn't seem like a threat at all, so he lowered his once protective hands. "Hm? Do I know you?"
"No, I don't think so!" she giggled loudly, causing Goten to do the same thing. He loved seeing people happy! "I just remember you from the junior division at the World's Martial Arts Tournament! You're Gohan's little brother, aren't you?"
His eyes lit up at the mention of his older brother's name, and flew done immediately towards the sweet lady. He landed on his feet and looked up at her with a scrunched face. "Boy, you're a lot taller than your voice makes you out to be!"
The girl had yet another giggle release from her mouth. "Well, aren't you awfully cute for a drifter! My name's Erasa!"
Goten accidentally ignored her extended hand for a greeting to look at her exposed torso. "Gosh, you must have some kinda Saiyan blood in ya to not be cold right now! I can see your belly button!"
When the boy poked the aforementioned body part with his freezing finger, Erasa screeched and jumped backwards. Her previous happy demeanor swiftly turned to rage as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I wasn't until you did that!"
The messy-haired boy frowned, and removed his orange scarf from around his neck. He still had another one his mother forced him to wear before he went to visit Trunks, and he knew this is what Mrs. Claus would want.
As much as a dirty hussy she was.
"Here!" he offered the cold girl the scarf with a sweet smile on his face. "You can wrap it around your tummy!"
When Erasa tilted her head all the way to her left shoulder, it was like washing the anger all away. She sighed; the sight of her breath being seen in the cold air caused Goten's smile to grow wider. She gently took the object from the boy, knowing that when a child offers you a gift you must take it. Despite being inches from her front door, the girl wrapped the material around her neck. Her blue eyes widened when she realized just how warm it made her.
"Do you mind me asking why you're out here all alone talking to my Santa Claus?"
Goten's smile faded quickly. He looked down at his boots and scuffed them against her walkway. "I've got problems... Major problems..."
Erasa looked towards the window to see her father and mother shrugging. The girl then placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her curiously. "If you want, I can call Videl to come get you. While we wait, you can have something to eat and talk about your problems?"
Goten's eyes shifted uneasily until his stomach answered for him. "Mm... Okay! I ate an entire hour ago, anyway!"
Chi-Chi looked over her shoulder and snickered at the sight of the bulky Saiyan wearing such a thin yellow sweater. It was her mistake of giving it to him nearly thirteen years after making it. He was so much skinnier back then, days before he left to Namek to save Gohan, Bulma, and Krillin.
"You look a bit... uncomfortable," Chi-Chi bit her lip after finding the right word to say. "Are you sure you want to wear that on our picnic?"
Goku cleared his throat before getting out of the large armchair. "Cheech, of course I want-"
Riiiiiiip!
Hunched over, Goku gulped. Soon after the dreaded sound of material coming undone filled the room, the now tattered sweater rolled off the front of his body until it laid in a sad yellow pile at his feet. He looked up from it slowly, raising one eyebrow while laughing nervously.
"I guess all those Santa cookies got to me..."
Chi-Chi rolled her eyes and lifted the sweater off the ground with two fingers. "It's not fat," she flicked his nose and began heading to the bedroom to find him something new to wear. "It's all that disgusting muscle!"
Goku rubbed the back of his neck while following her. "So you want me to stop training so I can get fat?" his voice was teasing now, causing Chi-Chi's temple to pulsate while she dug through their shared closet. "Maybe Mrs. Claus is your real identity, and you've just been disguised as Chi-Chi this entire time..."
The wife threw his black-sleeved orange jacket at his chest and huffed. "You know, that's getting awfully sick real fast! You're starting to tell jokes like my dad!"
Goku chuckled softly as he put his jacket on. He watched curiously as Chi-Chi returned to rummaging through the closet to find something to wear for the picnic, but started to become bored. His eyes wandered above her bum to the infamous red suit hanging up all lonely. "Hey...hon?"
Chi-Chi paused for a moment with a raised eyebrow. He only called her that when wanted something she was against. "What."
"Well," he looked from side to side for a minute to make sure the coast was clear, checking for familiar ki just to be on the safe side. "It is Christmas. The next time you get to wear that suit will be a year from now and... Why don't you just wear it one more time?"
"TO THE PICNIC!?" she screeched, causing Goku to raise his hands in front of him nervously as the cave-woman approached him. No, seriously, Vegeta was right when he said they sometimes looked like cave-women prepared to beat you with their clubs. "ARE YOU INSANE!? Goten doesn't-"
"I know, I know!" Goku waved her off. "I'm just saying... Right now. Before he comes back from Bulma's place... For me?"
The way he pleaded at the end caused Chi-Chi fury to leave her and a defeated sigh to take its place. She absolutely hated that dumb look he'd use to win her over. "What's with you and that thing, anyway?"
"I dunno!" he laughed obnoxiously on purpose to cover up a lie. "You just look so darn ridiculous that it makes me happy!"
While he dodged his wife's punch, relief reflected in his orbs. Last night had been one of the sweetest lip-touching moment thingy he had received in years, and was hoping he'd get one more chance before the kids came home.
"Wait a minute, he's seeing another woman!?"
"Uh-huh!" Erasa spoke wide-eyed into her phone as Goten stuffed his face with another biscuit. "He also said he knows who the woman is, but he doesn't want to ruin her reputation. Weird, huh?"
"Yeah... Strange," Videl's eyes narrowed as she looked over at the teenage hybrid next to her. "We'll be right there to take him home. Just keep him distracted with food."
Their first Christmas together wasn't as awkward as they thought it would be, but this little news of Goten's changed that. Videl was covered from head-to-toe in winter gear, while Gohan was wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans. He had the five coats his mother made him wear concealed in a capsule, and was planning on suiting up before they encountered her again.
"He obviously won't say who the woman is because she doesn't exist," Gohan came to his quick decision, not even bothering to look at his girlfriend's expression. "Yup. Just another little nightmare he had."
"Mmhm," Videl's blue eyes narrowed deeper as they descended to Erasa's home. "And I recall you telling me he was with another woman before the World's Martial Arts Tournament started."
Gohan gave her a 'duh' expression. "I said he was dead, Videl."
The feisty girl rolled her eyes. She was still trying to make sense of this strange world he seemed to be living in. It was all brand new to her. Goku having an affair made a hell of a lot more sense than him coming back from the dead. But then again, Goku isn't the type of guy to cheat and she herself had been brought back from the dead...
"I think I have a headache..."
Gohan awkwardly reached for Videl's cold hand, pulling her closer to him without being too obvious. He could sense Goten's ki above this one building, coming to the conclusion they had reached Erasa's house. "Don't worry, we'll settle this once and for all."
With the closeness of his body to hers, Videl was thankful she could blame her red cheeks on the chilly weather. The two landed beside the decorative Santa Claus, and Gohan offered the girl to go first.
The young female fighter cleared her throat before pounding twice on the door. " 'Rasa, it's me! Open up!"
"Not very formal, are ya?" Gohan chuckled from behind, and stopped when a happy child came running out with a cookie in his hand.
Goten fought back his smile when he realized he would have to tell his brother the terrible news about their father. "G-Gohan... I have to tell you something..."
The older brother offered the child his hand, and he nodded at Videl to give them a moment alone. Walking away from the gossiping girls, they stopped near the Santa Claus as Goten found it most appropriate.
"Gohan..." the messy-haired hybrid whispered loudly, but the girls were talking too loud to hear it. The eighteen year old blinked at the mortified expression his brother had suddenly donned. "I saw Daddy kissing Mrs. Claus!"
Although a smart one, it took a minute for the teen to process this information. Once he had, he doubled over in laughter. Goten kicked some snow up at his face in anger while Videl and Erasa had grown silent, observing the brothers.
"IT'S NOT FUNNY, GOHAN!" the child snapped, and for a minute his future sister-in-law thought he would go Super Saiyan on them. "OUR DADDY IS CHEATING ON MOMMY WITH MRS. CLAUS! AND I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOOD- STOP LAUGHING!"
"Mrs. Claus?" Videl placed her hand on her hips while marching over to Goten. She knitted her brows together and glared at Gohan as he stood up straight to wipe a tear from his eye. "If he's this worked up about it, why don't you just tell him she isn't real-"
"VIDEL!" Gohan's smile left him completely as he covered his girlfriend's mouth from behind. She began furiously punching his arms that blocked her word-hole. "Don't be st-" He stopped himself from making the biggest mistake of his life and released the little spit-fire. Still, his action didn't seem to help at all. She was trembling so much, he began to think she would go Super Saiyan.
Technically, Super Human.
"Were you just about to call me stupid!?" she pressed, inching towards the frightened teen. Erasa had long grown bored and disappeared back into the house, not watching any of the action anymore. Goten giggled. He loved seeing his brother acting like a chicken sometimes.
"Uh... Uh..." the older brother took one look at his sibling and the two took off. Videl was behind them the majority of the way, with Gohan spitting apologies left and right in a frenzy hoping she would forgive him. He gulped for a minute after looking over his shoulder, not seeing her anywhere.
"How could you call her stupid, Gohan? That's mean!"
"I didn't!" the teen pleaded with his brother, hoping he'd believe him. "It was a mistake of the mouth! She's a very, very pretty girl who is very bright... And probably coming with an ingenious plan to capture me at this very moment."
Goten took a glance at his brother and frowned. "Well, let's worry about that later! What are we going to tell Mama!?"
Gohan shook away his fear for the sake of his brother. He tried hiding a small smile, remembering the issue at hand. "Just tell her the truth. Tell her you saw Dad and Mrs. Claus... having a moment. I promise it's all going to turn out okay."
The boy bit his bottom lip, knowing that Bulma had said the same thing. Both her and Gohan were the smartest people Goten knew. "I guess you're right- ... Hold it!" the boy paused mid-flight, levitating above their small cottage on Mount Paozu. His eyes narrowed in on the window of his parents' room, and saw muscular hands wrapped around the back of a woman wearing red. "OH NO! HE'S DOING IT AGAIN!"
Goten had darted off before Gohan knew what he was talking about. It wasn't until he caught sight of the moment happening in his parents' room that he began to panic sweat. "OH, GOTEN! WAIT! DON'T GO IN THEIR ROOM! WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T GO IN THEIR ROOM!"
"NOPE! HE'S NOT GETTING AWAY WITH IT THIS TIME!"
"Darn it," Gohan breathed out, realizing that Goten was way too fast when he was angry. The child had already burst through the door and was running down the hall. Gohan had almost grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, but the child had already kicked the door down.
"MRS. CLAUS, YOU BETTER LEAVE MY DADDY-"
Mrs. Claus had paused long enough for a moment for Goten to see her face before she used Goku as a human shield. Mouth agape, Goten dropped his hands to his side. "I don't believe it..."
Apple-cheeked, Gohan covered his eyes and turned his body around. He could hear Videl pounding on a window from somewhere outside, prepared to kill him. "I, uh... Yeah. Well, good luck with this one!" The embarrassed teen darted out of his parents' room, leaving the cheering Goten behind.
"I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!" he jumped up and down while Goku's howl blocked the sound of Chi-Chi mortified mutters. "MY MAMA IS MRS. CLAUS! MY MAMA IS MRS. CLAUS-...Wait a minute..."
Chi-Chi removed herself from behind her husband to look at her awakened son. "...Goten?"
The boy raised a finger in the air so he could finish his thought. "If Mama is Mrs. Claus, then..." he gasped loudly, and took a dramatic step backwards before pointing his previous silencing finger at Goku. "THEN DADDY IS SANTA!"
Goku pounded his chest proudly and raised his chin up. "Yes, yes I am son!"
"WOW!" Goten's eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of his head. He grabbed his father's large hand with his two tiny ones and dragged him out of the room. "So that's why Mama had to deliver the gifts these past years! You've been dead so you put her in charge! Dad, you're the awesomest guy in the whole world, I mean you're sooo cool!"
Chi-Chi, now alone, shook her head in amazement. As much as she didn't want Goten believing his parents were people of ole Christmas Time Myth, being both of his heroes all wrapped up into one was the best gift in the world.
For both the child, and the parents.
She quickly slid out of her Santa suit and put on the white pants she wore a month ago to Bulma's party. Her pink jacket was contrasting greatly against her jet black hair, trying to pin one of the loose strands in place when she saw Gohan run across her window with Videl chasing him.
"CHI-CHI, LET'S GO YA SLOWPOKE!"
The proud mother growled under her breath, deciding to leave her hair as it was and jogged to meet her returned husband in the living room.
A/N: A bit early, but happy holidays you wonderful people! God bless and may the season bring you happiness beyond your imagination! Thank you for all the sweet reviews, and I hope I can keep growing as a writer! Ooh, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! :-)
