A/N: Thank you so much for the awesome reviews! :D You guys are the best. Here's a bit of lime before your lemon. Hehehe

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.

-MalRev

The Ties That Bind

10

Dinner was pleasant and filling. Videl explained to me how she and Gohan met while we ate our boiled pterodactyl breast and he refused to look at me, keeping his eyes focused on his meal. It wasn't the boyish awkwardness that came with a crush—Gohan knew something he was trying desperately to hide from me. Both he and Videl knew it but Videl was better at hiding it. Whatever they knew had to be majorly important because Goku let them all know he told me who Saiyans were.

My eyes occasionally flickered to Goku and Chi-Chi seated with Bulma and Vegeta further up the table. Goku didn't even glance at me throughout the course of the meal, instead focusing on playing the part of the dopey but lovable hero. His wife rested on his arm after we were all done eating and he leaned over to kiss the top of her head with an oddly saddened look on his face. The waiters came around to pick up our dishes and I was a free woman once again soon headed to bed with a married man.

Chi-Chi left with Goten soon after without saying a word to me and everyone moved to the living room for coffee and butter cookies. I was beyond exhausted at that point so Goku mercifully teleported us away from Capsule Corp to the home he shared with his wife and sons. Our proper goodbyes were spread around along with promises that we would be back early in the morning to have breakfast. Bulma seemed to pay special attention to us leaving, gauging Goku's face with her steely blue eyes every few seconds. Yes, they all knew something they weren't telling us.

When we were upstairs getting ready for bed I decided to broach the subject with Goku. He had no qualms about stripping in front of me—which I didn't particularly mind but maybe it meant he trusted me a little bit. He might agree with me that something was going on right under our noses. Between the weird looks from Gohan and the vision of demons I wasn't sure what balance Goku and I had upset. I fingered the orange training shirt he had given me to sleep in and cleared my throat.

"Have you noticed the way Bulma looks at you?" I asked.

The Saiyan turned to face me with a cocked eyebrow, showing off his absolutely perfect chest. "Don't tell me you're getting jealous. It's okay if you have a crush on me but don't think you're actually competing with other women for me. Honestly, Naomi. Be reasonable."

"Not like that," I said, averting my eyes to the ceiling. "She doesn't look interested, just… I don't know, excited? Curious? Gohan gave me a weird kinda look when he and Videl brought us upstairs. And don't you think it's weird that Bulma wanted us to go nap in the first place? Yeah we were a bit tired but why send us upstairs when Chi-Chi clearly didn't want that to happen?"

"Well I guess Bulma's never really been on board with Chi-Chi and I. She thinks we married too young and I'm just trying to be a good father." Goku rubbed the back of his head. "It's technically true but I really don't mind being with Chi-Chi. She's aggressive sometimes but I've put her through a lot over our years together and when I make a commitment, that's final. I'll be with her until she dies."

"I was just curious. Geez, you need to relax. I think we should look into figuring out who those demons are before anything else. I know I had nothing planned for the rest of the week."

"We can ask Bulma to look into it but like I said, after all my years in this universe I've never seen anything like them. We should worry about breaking our dimensions apart before something really bad happens. Our bond is becoming more and more intense the longer we wait. We'll head over to Capsule Corp in the morning to see if she's figured anything else out that might help us."

"Those demon things might be what's keeping us together. Didn't you hear what they said? They want something out of us and then they're gonna invade my world!"

Goku sat down on the bed and shrugged. He had opted out of wearing a shirt which meant I'd be stuck sleeping beside his half naked body yet again. I rolled my eyes and climbed behind him to lie down, facing the wall instead of looking at his face. But Goku remained sitting up, not moving or otherwise making any sounds. When my eyes drooped and I was about to fall asleep he spoke suddenly, like it had been waiting to come out of his mouth for days.

"I'm tired of saving the world," he said.

My eyes unwillingly opened and I sat up to look at the back of Goku's head. He was leaning forward, both big hands supporting his cheeks so he could gaze at the door. Suddenly he laughed; it was abrasive and unhappy, not mischievous as usual. I had heard snippets of him saving the world and possibly being immortal but I wasn't sure if I believed it. I needed to just believe everything I heard from now on because most of it turned out to be true anyways. Aliens? Check. Parallel dimensions? Check. Immortal—

"My entire existence has hinged upon the fact that I'm the strongest being in the universe," Goku continued. "I'm not the smartest but I'm a brute and that frightens everyone in the Other World. They like to think of me as a simpleton because if I was smart and powerful… well, I might try to conquer the universe. But I'm tired of it all. I want to be normal. The older I get the less I'm enjoying beating the hell out of my enemies and the more I want to be home with my sons.

"I've died twice and left them behind both times. I feel obligated to protect this planet but it's becoming so exhausting. Meeting you has made me realize nothing will ever be normal in my life. Some mistake I've made will always come back to haunt me in the end. Now Chi-Chi is so furious she doesn't even want to share the same bed at night and Goten doesn't know what to think. I've been a terrible father and husband all to protect an insignificant planet in an insignificant dimension."

"Yeah, but think of all the innocent people you've saved from being needlessly destroyed. I'd give anything to have a life that's constantly changing—I go to work at the same time, work the same hours, and go home to the same boredom." I crawled forward and sat beside Goku so my legs were dangling off the bed. His feet rested on the floor. "You can't blame yourself for how Chi-Chi is acting. All you can do is understand why she's upset and give her time to figure things out. I'm sure after all this is resolved you'll feel much better and you can go back to just spending time with them."

Goku smiled weakly. "I guess you're right. I'm just being a drama queen, that's all. Having you around has some good points, though. I'd never be able to talk to anyone else about things like this. Chi-Chi would think I have a fever or something and everyone else would laugh. Are all the people from your world like you, or are you the exception?"

"There are good people," I said. "They're few and far between but they exist. So let's go to bed and go see Bulma tomorrow to get this fixed. Who knows, maybe it'll be done by the end of the week and we won't have to keep traveling back and forth like this."

One of Goku's big hands patted my knee, completely obscuring it from view. My heart beat a little faster when he looked over at me and smiled even wider. He was so warm. Videl told me they all had fast metabolisms so their bodies were much hotter than our own but I hadn't noticed it yet. Goku's grasp tightened a bit and I started muttering about having a long week ahead of me. We were facing each other now, but I had my eyes trained on the bed sheets and he was staring at my lips again.

Don't kiss the married guy, I thought to myself as Goku gradually moved closer. Whatever you do, do not make out with the married alien from a different dimension. That will not work out well for you, Naomi. Think of Craig. He's kind of clingy and controlling but he's pretty attractive and smart. Doo dee doo dee doo, wait for the moment to pass and go to sleep. He's gonna give up pretty soon.

"Remember when I said I think you're pretty?" Goku murmured.

"Sure do," I said, examining my nails.

"You are. Do you want to look up at me so I can show you?" He kissed my forehead and his hand grew even tighter around my kneecap. "Your energy is all over the place and you're starting to leak pheromones. I have to be honest, I'm flattered."

No, my inner voice said in a panic. No, no, no. Stop leaking pheromones, Naomi, you dumb bitch! You just came to this new world and you're still trying to get in good with everyone. If you do this you're gonna fuck everything up. Goku got over it before and he'll do it again. Just slide yourself back and tell him you're going to sleep. Don't destroy everything.

When I attempted to get up and leave the boiling hot room Goku grabbed the back of my head and kissed me hard on the lips. My hands didn't hesitate by my sides and immediately wound through the thick, black hair, pulling him closer until his tongue was in my mouth. He wasn't too bad of a kisser—he took direction well and he tasted more or less like spearmint toothpaste which was much better than the weird animal we had eaten for dinner. My head was spinning and the voice inside it gave up. I was a lost cause. A homewrecker.

Soon I was pinned underneath Goku and I became aware of that the tugging in my gut had come back with an animalistic ferocity, demanding I get closer. It was a burning desire that threatened to consume me if I didn't do what it wanted, but Goku was way ahead of me. His hands were under my shirt, struggling to get it off so we could satisfy the crazed yanking…

"Hi, daddy! Are you wrestling with Miss Naomi?"

Both of our heads turned to see Goten standing in the doorway with a big grin on his face. He had his hands clasped behind his back and watched his father quickly get off me and pull a shirt on. My own shirt had been ripped a bit during our encounter so I hid myself behind the sheets. Goku's chest was heaving as he climbed out of bed and knelt down in front of his son, trying to communicate that what he had seen was not a big deal. I was humiliated beyond belief.

"Aren't you supposed to be with mommy?" Goku asked.

"I had to grab my lesson book." Goten peered over his father's shoulder at me and smiled. "Were you winning, dad? You always win."

"Goten, I need you to not tell anyone about this, okay? I'll bring you out fishing as soon as you come back if you don't say a word. Does that sound good?"

Goten's brow furrowed before he agreed. His black eyes watched me as Goku escorted him from the room, probably to bring him out to his mother. I ran a hand through my hair and turned over to go to sleep. If I was lucky, I'd be passed out before Goku came back. There was no way I wanted to talk about what had just happened. We'd act like it was just part of a dream.