A/N: This story is getting way more attention than anything else but idc, because I love me some good Goku fluff. This is like 90% filler like this because I lurveeee just dicking around and having good ol' FLUFF. I'll update everything else... eventually. I missed this Goku. And don't worry about the rating: it's bound to change, but for now it really isn't M material. Thank you for all the encouragement! :) As you can see, it makes me write like a madwoman.

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

-MalRev

DEEP - SIX

6 - How To Hide A Guy

My tutee didn't show up that night.

I waited until six o'clock before deciding it was time to go. There was only so much homework I had to finish and I assumed Goku was dealing with Chi-Chi or his other friends. I packed up my things with deliberate slowness, still offering him the benefit of the doubt, and wound up heading back to the dorms around 6:30. I chewed the inside of my cheek and hoped everything was okay.

Mila texted me and offered to pick me up the following weekend to come home. I flopped down tiredly on my bed and considered it—Anna had met a guy already and really wanted me to meet him. Plus, it would be nice to hang around my old friends and let my parents know in person that I was doing well. The coursework itself wasn't too bad: dealing with Owen's drama was the worst part.

At eight o'clock I went to take a shower, intending on going to bed early that night. Owen was still in a bad mood from his encounter with Raditz and I didn't want to bother Bulma. Besides, I was tired from the long day I'd had, which included sitting around waiting for my delinquent tutee. I sighed and tilted my head back to let the water run through my long hair while another girl played loud rap music a few stalls down. Another quiet night was okay with me.

My wing was empty. The only sound was the echo of my flip flops slapping against the floor as I made my way back to my room, jangling my keys. It was easier to just wear a long bathrobe down to the bathroom instead of worrying about bringing clothes along. I'd finish drying off and get dressed in my room, where there was no risk of a girl accidentally seeing me.

I put my shower caddy back in my closet and straightened up to take off my robe when a rapid, loud knock distracted me. Annoyed, I tied my robe tighter and opened the door to see who it was.

A hand covered my mouth in the next instant and I was yanked away from the door, which swung shut with a loud bang. I shrieked furiously into the palm, restrained against my assailant by an arm around the front of my stomach, and he quickly pressed the lock on my door. He pressed himself into the corner of my wall and the closet like he was trying to hide from someone.

My spine prickled as I realized who was holding me. Goku had a very particular scent and I could feel his chest heaving against my back while he tried to catch his breath. He rested his chin on the top of my head and swallowed, trembling slightly. What the hell had gotten into—

"GOKU!" screeched a familiar voice. "WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!"

Oh. I should've seen that one coming.

Goku held me tighter and I was relieved that he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but my lack of clothing wasn't helping the situation. My face burned while Chi-Chi continued to shriek his name until a few other students blatantly told her to shut up. She stomped back down the hallway, coming closer and closer to my room, and paused briefly outside. I could hear her breathing.

"Ellie? Are you in there?"

I realized I was grabbing Goku's thighs. Flustered, I yanked his hand away from my mouth and nodded like she could see me. "Y-yeah, what's up?"

"Have you seen Goku?" she asked in a frighteningly sweet tone.

"Nope," I squeaked.

"Ugh, alright. Let me know if you do. He's been trying to avoid me all day."

Then she stalked off, muttering the different violent things she was going to do when she got her hands on him. I remained perfectly still in Goku's arms until I was positive she was gone before violently struggling to get away from him, prying at the big hands grasping me firmly.

He released me and rubbed the back of his head, smiling weakly. "So that's why I missed our tutoring thing today. She's been after me since I tried talking to her earlier. I didn't know where else to hide so I came here." His dark eyes roamed down my fluffy pink bathrobe.

I bristled. "Yeah, well, don't do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, I just didn't want her to catch me."

"Uh huh. I'm gonna get dressed now, so would you mind leaving? You missed your appointment today so we'll meet again next Monday like usual."

Goku leaned on the wall and stroked his chin. He had a little bit of stubble coming in. "I can't leave yet with her still wandering around all mad and stuff. Tell you what, I'll stand right here and cover my eyes while you change and we can do some… math. There's nothing else to do, right?"

"You're not watching me get dressed," I snapped. "Get out!"

"I'm not gonna watch. What do you think I am, some kind of pervert?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I think. I also think you're a… 20…?"

"Twenty-one," he murmured, smiling crookedly.

"You're a 21 year old male so I don't trust you for an instant in my damn room. Now go away or I'm going to text Owen and tell him to make you go away!"

A cruel twist marred Goku's smile. "I'm not afraid of Owen Hayworth. C'mon, quit being such a girl and just do it. Look, I'm turning around and everything." He did as promised and turned to face the wall, clasping his palms over his face. "See? Hurry up or you're gonna get cold."

I glared at the back of his head before giving in and flinging open my closet to pick out pajamas. All I had really brought were kind of old and torn—I didn't really dress for bed with the intention of impressing a guy. Grumbling, I hung up my bathrobe and hurriedly put on panties and a bra, all the while glancing around the edge of my closet door to see if Goku was looking.

After I'd put on sweat pants and an old D.A.R.E. t-shirt from middle school I told him he could turn around. Goku's eyes felt lascivious but I figured it was because we were in such close quarters and he'd been feeling me up five minutes prior. I brushed out my hair and pinned back my bangs, then turned to see him sitting in my desk chair with his arms behind his head. He rocked the chair back and forth on the hind legs, puckering his lips.

My heart skipped a beat. What was I doing with some guy I barely knew in my room? That in and of itself was bad enough but it was Goku, who I could comprehend about as well as deep time. What did I know other than the fact that he was friends with my brother and a few other nice people? His older brother wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine.

Goku raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"Uh… no." I shifted on my feet and wrung my hands. My room was awfully small. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the library? She probably won't think to look there."

"I'm sure. Are you nervous?"

"No," I lied.

"You look nervous." He cocked his head and let the chair fall back in its rightful place with a loud crack. He pushed it away from the desk and patted his thighs, smiling. "You can sit on my lap if you want."

My face soured and I climbed in bed instead, gesturing for him to join me. Goku pouted but handed me my laptop and brought my notebook and pen along with him. We both leaned against the wall and his thigh gently touched mine, unassuming and innocent. I opened my laptop and cleared my throat.

"So what do you want to go over?"

He squinted at the screen. "Wanna see a really funny YouTube video? It's these people dancing around talking about a fox saying something."

"No, I want to teach you math, like the school asked."

"But math is boring," he whined. "One funny YouTube video and then we can do those things with the adding and subtracting and the letters."

"…Those are variables and I think you're talking about polynomials."

Then Goku leaned across my lap to type in YouTube in the search bar and I had my hands poised above his head like an angry cat waiting to strike. He hurriedly typed in the video and clicked it, bursting into laughter the moment the chorus started. I folded my arms and bit my lower lip to keep from laughing. He needed to focus on his math or he was never going to pass.

My eyes flickered down to his wide grin. I didn't really have the heart to tell him to focus, which was a pretty severe weakness for a tutor. Whatever. It was alright to let him enjoy himself a bit—all the tips for teaching said you should always let a student try to relax before doing something stressful. I slowly lowered my hands to my sides and laughed along with him to the stupid videos, acutely aware of his shoulder pressing against mine. Why did such inane touching make me feel so crazy?

And I was hopelessly caught up in it all before I could stop to think. Goku had that effect on people: he made you feel so utterly at ease that you forgot the important stuff, if only for a few minutes. For the first time, I felt like I could relax and just laugh instead of stressing about school or grades or getting into an internship. We sat together in my steadily darkening room showing one another goofy YouTube videos until I realized it was pushing midnight.

I gasped. "Goku! You didn't even do any math like you promised!"

His fingers paused on the keyboard in the middle of typing in another cat video and he blinked owlishly. "I promise I'll do twice as much next week. I've gotta show you this one where the cat jumps off a couch and lands on a mini trampoline. Pets are funny. I wish Raditz and I could have one."

"You don't live on campus?" I asked, genuinely surprised.

"No, I do, but I go home a lot. It's not too far away from here—about a ten minute walk—and the dorms are kind of loud and they get crazy some nights."

That was definitely true. There were plenty of nights when I considered sleeping outside to avoid the ruckus in the hallways. For some reason, I didn't like the thought of Goku and Raditz living together. They seemed so… different. Raditz was aggressive and mean but his brother was much mellower.

"My family lives a few hours away upstate," I said. "Otherwise I would definitely commute here. It's like $8,000 a year just to rent out this tiny room."

The cursor hesitated over the 'play' button. Goku turned to look at me and my pulse plummeted; we were so close, and his black irises were ripping right through me. They wavered around my eyes for a few seconds before drifting down to my lips. I stared at him stupidly as he reached up to grasp my chin with his index finger and thumb to gently push it up, closing my mouth.

He smiled coquettishly. "There's always room if you want to have a sleepover."

"Creep!" I accused, pulling free of his grasp. My dorm was starting to feel awfully warm.

"Aww, I'm only teasing you, Ellie. Kind of. We could stay up late and paint each other's toenails or talk about boys, if you want. I think I have a crush on Vegeta."

"Bulma won't appreciate the competition," I said.

"And it's definitely steep competition." Goku stretched his arms toward the ceiling and yawned, blinking blearily. "I think it's time for my bedtime. Running away from Chi-Chi sure drains the heck out of me. Do you want company tonight or—"

"Get out while you still can."

"Fair enough," he sighed. "I guess I already inconvenienced you enough tonight." Then he slid off the bed and rubbed the back of his head. "Lemme know if you need anything. I hope your classes go good tomorrow, Ellie. You'll probably run into me at some point. Literally."

"Prick," I muttered.

I stood and was surprised by how tired I felt. Goku watched with languid curiosity while I tried to steady myself and groggily shuffled to the door to let him out. He swayed casually into the hallway and gave me a sarcastic two-fingered salute before sauntering off into the silence, leaving me strangely dissatisfied. I pulled my door shut and rubbed my eyes. What the hell had I been expecting?

Thoroughly spent from the day's drama, I crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep.