Disclaimer: Still do not own.
Dear Floating House in the Sky with the Green God,
THANK YOU!
Gohan collapsed on his waterbed, letting out a sigh of relief. Toki jumped on the bed, and walked on Gohan's chest. Gohan petted his hairy friend.
The past few days were interesting to say the least. He spend his vacation with his biological family, and was able to keep his secret about his true identity. Sadly, Goku eavesdropped on his conversation with Seymour, and learned that his life expediency was six months. Sure he fell down a waterfall, sure he didn't sleep very well, but it wasn't as bad as Gohan thought it would be.
Of course, the day he left the phone lines were fixed, and he found a spot in the house where he actually got a signal on his phone. Hello internet, hello text messages, hello 'of course everything works now because it's the day I'm leaving.'
"Back to normal," Gohan said closing his eyes.
He was quick to pack his items, and a few things out of his room that he wanted. Technically, it was his, so he didn't feel guilty taking a few things. Goten didn't want him to leave, and pleaded for Gohan to stay one more day. As cute as Goten was, the urge to leave was a lot stronger than the cuteness of his little brother. Gohan woke up at seven, and was out of the house by ten. He couldn't thank them enough for taking him in, feeding him, and dealing with his loud music at odd hours of the night.
Gohan smiled. He wouldn't see his parents for a long time.
(One week later…)
"Dammit," Gohan said. He opened the door to the bar, and who did he see?
"Hey Boss," Goku said. Goku was sitting at the bar, with a glass of water, and Seymour was across from him. In front of the duo were papers. Is Goku thinking about working here? "Seymour thinks karaoke night is a great idea!"
Shit.
Gohan forgot about that.
"So where is the money being donated to," Gohan asked. He made his way over to Goku and Seymour.
"We were thinking about the place where you and Owen were adopted from," Seymour said. "They did take care of you guys when you were there."
"Owen may not go for that. He really didn't like the place, let alone the foster families they put him in." Gohan sat next to Goku, and looked at the paper work. There were a list of orphanages, some that rang a bell to Gohan. "Get his opinion too. He may not be on board donating there."
"I'll ask him when he comes," Seymour said. "What do you want to drink?"
"Cherry beer."
Cherry beer was this odd creation Gohan made one night. He took a beer, mixed it with the juice from the cherries soaked in liquor, creating this amazing drink known to man. Only Gohan thought this was the greatest creation known to man. Everyone else thought it was the worst creation ever known to man.
"So how was your New Year's Boss," Goku asked.
"Um…" He got shit faced drunk, puked in Mai's purse, and woke up at some strangers house. Ziggy went missing, Moth ended up sleeping in a dumpster, and Owen was on a plane to the United States. How all that happened was a blur. The last thing anyone remembers was performing at the bar, and after that… "It was good. Had some drinks with some friends and what not."
Drunk calling Videl, wondering if everyone is colorblind, why everyone sees different colors of red…
"We made good money," Seymour said, the only sober one of that night. "Mai got herself a new purse with all the tips she got."
"New wallet, new perfume, new everything really," Gohan said. Seymour handed Gohan his beer. "She was due for a new purse anyway. Hers was falling about."
"She got her old purse on Christmas."
"Wear and tear."
"After five days?"
"Women go through purses like they go through tampons."
"Well in this case both had a bloody mess in them," Seymour said hitting Gohan with a towel. Gohan stuck out his tongue. Seymour turned his attention back to Goku. "Before we were interrupted by this idiot, how about-"
"Hey Goku, have you seen Vegeta lately? He's been ignoring me," Gohan interrupted again as he looked at his cell phone. "He hasn't returned my calls or my text messages. Is he okay?"
Goku rubbed the back of his neck. Gohan knew the nervous gesture.
"Well…he hasn't been in a good mood recently," Goku said, letting out a nervous chuckle.
"What did you do?" Gohan glared at Goku.
"Nothing really. He doesn't like fundraisers I guess."
There had to be more to this story than Gohan was being told.
"Fine. I'll just head over to his place," Gohan said pushing himself off the stool. "And I'm taking my beer with me." Gohan grabbed his beer glass, and stuck his nose up in the air. Once he left Seymour leaned over the bar.
"Someone is going to say something, and Boss will not be happy," he said rubbing his chin. "Your idea is great Goku, but Vegeta is right. This really isn't your business. You let him stay at your place, which was really nice by the way, but you told people his condition. Now your raising money for a friend of a friend for a surgery that doesn't have a success rate. Why are you doing this for him?"
It was a question that Goku was asked a lot. By Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin, almost everyone who knew Boss, and some only heard by name. Chi-Chi was the only one who was with Goku 100%. She made a promise to Mu-Ma, and made sure her son was going to be okay.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand," Goku said looking down at the papers in front of him.
"I'm a bartender Goku. I've heard a lot of things, and somethings I can never un-hear. Boss is a real good friend of mine, and so was his brother. Not many strangers did nice things for them, especially ones who are raising money for them."
"Here." Goku put his hand over his heart. "I can feel something right here, something for Boss."
"You're married, and he has Videl. It's not going to work."
"Huh?"
"Do you have feelings for Boss?" Goku nodded. "So uh…what kind of feelings?"
"It's strange actually. When I first met Boss I thought I knew him from somewhere. I felt a weird pain here." Goku's hand was still on his chest. "I don't know what it was, but Chi-Chi said she felt something similar. When he was staying with us it felt like he was meant to be with us. When he left, it started to hurt again."
Seymour closed his eyes, and nodded his head. With a few kids of his own, he knew what Goku was feeling. Even at work Seymour missed his kids, and he didn't feel right leaving them and his wife. It's not like he had a choice. He needed to support his family.
"He's the same age as your missing son," Seymour said, opening his eyes. "Maybe he reminds you of Gohan."
Goku started to laugh. Seymour knew why.
"Gohan and Boss are completely different people, opposites really. Boss is a great guy and everything, but he's nothing like Gohan. Gohan is…mature, wise beyond his years, and extremely smart!"
"And you're saying Boss is not?"
"Boss is more outgoing, something Gohan never was. Gohan's really shy, and Boss isn't scared to say how he feels. He's smart too, but not brain smart like Gohan. He's more…"
"Street smart?"
"Yeah! Boss knows more about…"
"Life in general?"
"Gohan didn't have much around him growing up, but Boss has this amazing life. He can be friends with anyone, and even though he's blunt he's honest," Goku said, his eyes lightening up. "I wish I was just as open like Boss. His heart is pure, and he never puts himself first. I know his life wasn't the greatest, but he fights through it." Goku frowned. "Gohan struggled through the hard fights. You had to convince him that everything would be okay."
A young Boss was the same way. Always uncertain about things, scared, and beat himself up a lot when things didn't go right. Mu-Ma was the one who told him to stop acting like a bitch. Life happens, deal with it. Her life wasn't great either, but she pulled through. TJ had a crappy life, did stupid things, and stopped caring about what other people thought. Boss watched them, learned from them, and with the help from Mu-Ma and TJ he became who he was today.
Seymour looked at the papers in front of him. Mu-Ma taught Boss to get over things, but some things were not as easy to get over. TJ's death was one of them. Both Mu-Ma and Boss were in a state where nothing could pull them from their depression. Boss was in the hospital, Mu-Ma was in the hospital, but a funeral service needed to be held. TJ always said that he wanted to be buried. If he ever became a zombie, he would do the thriller, and then attack all his exes and turned them into zombies.
Bodies need to be buried quickly, TJ's especially. Seymour had to do everything. Mu-Ma was too weak, Boss had multiple surgeries, fighting for his life. They missed the funeral.
Boss blamed himself, and Mu-Ma listened to Boss and his rants. He went out of control, and Mu-Ma let him do his thing. Everyone had their way of healing. Boss dealt with his grieving through drugs, Mu-Ma through alcohol. Both were a mess, and no matter how hard Seymour and the others tried they couldn't fix the broken family. Boss moved out, Mu-Ma let him.
It wasn't until one day at the animal shelter. Seymour took Mu-Ma over, telling to get a pet or something to keep her company. She saw a grey tabby, a kitten, playing with some toys. She picked out that kitten, and instead of taking it home she brought it over to Boss' apartment. She handed it over, and left.
The next day Boss called, and ranted about the demon kitten. Peeing everywhere, pooping in his shoes, scratching his guitars, and told her to take it back. She offered to buy a litter box, food, and a scratching post.
'If it keeps the demon cat away from my shit then we can buy it shit.' Seymour remembered Boss saying. He was there for that phone call. He was there for the trip to the pet store. For a brief moment, Mu-Ma and Boss seemed normal. Boss was still complaining about the kitten, Mu-Ma reminded Boss about the destruction he used to do as a kid.
"Well your son let me," Boss yelled right in the middle of the store.
"Well your brother was an irresponsible dick," Mu-Ma shouted back.
"He got it from you!"
"And you got it from him! Congratulations! We're a family of dicks!"
"Well that explains why life is so hard!"
"That's why you have to beat it!"
"Don't expect anything to come out of this!"
"Why? It's a sticky mess anyway!"
"I'm not going to clean it up!"
"So what are we supposed to do now? Should I wipe my chin?"
Boss was taken back for a moment. He was at a loss for words. Suddenly, his eyes went wide, and he put his hands over his face.
"The image," he shouted as he turned to walk out of the store.
Days after that…Boss started to get clean. He locked himself in his apartment, and turned off his phone. He did not want anyone near him, and he refused to speak to anyone. With no communication to the outside world, Seymour and the others were worried. You would go to his apartment, ask if he was okay, and get an F you for an answer. He was alive. That was good, right?
About a week later Boss came out of his apartment. Slowly, he was returning to normal. He warned everyone that he still wasn't right, and if he snapped it wasn't their fault. He was on the edge, constantly tapping his fingers together, cigarette always in hand. Seymour suggested writing new songs, Boss suggested he mind his own business.
Eventually Boss was becoming his old self again, minus the multiple women he was sleeping with. The women stopped when Boss met Videl.
It wasn't that long ago. Seymour was behind the bar, Boss couldn't believe that Vegeta actually showed up, and both were talking amongst themselves. There was a bar stool open, which was strange for a fully packed bar. Seymour said the next person to open the door would be the love of his life. Boss rolled his eyes, thought about it, and agreed. It was tiring sleeping with multiple women. It would be nice just to have 'the one.'
They didn't realize that the next customer was a guy, slightly overweight, hairy, with car grease over his shirt. Boss looked at Seymour, and said that there was no way he was dating his mechanic. Seymour suggested whoever sits on the empty bar stool, as long as it was a girl…
…or an attractive man.
Enter Videl.
Boss noticed her right away. Walking unevenly, a bit too much make-up, and the look of pure frustration on her face. She wasn't happy being here, and from the looks of it her friend left her to talk to some boys. Once she sat down on the bar stool, the one next to her became free. Boss stopped in his tracks when he saw Sharpener. Of course she would have a boyfriend!
Boss walked by anyway, and couldn't help but stop when Sharpener was talk about his muscles. Videl was not pleased. Boss stood behind Videl, not sure what to do. Seymour noticed.
"Boss, ten minutes before performance!"
That's when Videl noticed Boss. Of course, Boss played it off as though he was getting a drink, and not casually stalking her and her 'friend.'
Boss left with Videl, but came back to the bar to pick up Toki.
"You not going to believe this," he said with a chuckle. "She's Hercule's daughter."
There was silence, and then Seymour just laughed.
Of course, the one girl they picked out, the one girl Boss decided to try and date was the child of the World's Savior.
"I like her." Seymour stopped laughing. He noticed Boss with a little smile on his face. "Maybe…I don't know. We'll see how it plays out."
As the memories passed by, Seymour looked at the papers in front of him. It was going to be tricky to pull this off, and it had to be planned well enough for Boss to not figure it out that it was for him.
"Boss took a while to realize that everything will be okay," Seymour said. If all it took was one person to let Boss know that everything was okay, it was Videl. He's changed a lot, but was it because of her? "Let's get started on this. I can call Ziggy to help out."
(Meanwhile, at Capsule Corps…)
There was no way he was doing this alone.
Along the way, Gohan was trying to figure out why Vegeta was acting the way he was. What the hell did Goku say to irritate the saiyan prince? Sure he almost died that day, and Vegeta did take Dr. Barns out of surgery, but to be cold after everything? It sounded like Vegeta, but Vegeta wasn't that way towards him.
Gohan played out a scenario in his head. He'll head over, chat with Bulma, and Vegeta would be in the gravity room. He would go in, probably spar to help Vegeta vent, but when Vegeta vents he shows off his anger. The gravity will turn on in the room, he would be crushed, and Vegeta would call him weak.
There was a 99.9% chance that he would die.
Gohan made a quick phone call. He wanted a witness, and he knew Bulma would back up her husband. Hell, she'll probably hide his body!
"So Vegeta still hasn't called you back," Videl asked. Yep, he got his girlfriend to protect him. He was a coward, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. "Because of a charity event?"
"Assuming," Gohan said wrinkling his nose. "No text, no call, and he hasn't been at the bar. Normally I don't care if people cut me off, but they usually have a reason! Whatever Goku said that night pissed Vegeta off pretty bad."
"Maybe Goku is getting to buddy-buddy with you. Vegeta could be jealous."
"Pfffft!"
"No I'm serious." Videl faced Gohan. "Vegeta hangs out with you a lot, and the rest of the gang too. He doesn't like Goku that much, and Goku is slowly making his way in your group of friends."
"Goku is not making his way into my group of friends."
"He's at the bar with Seymour."
"For some sort of charity thing, and I don't know why he wants to do something like that anyway. Goku saves lives from evil, not raise money for the unfortunate." Gohan brushed his fingers through his hair. The glass he was carrying was gone. He tossed it in a trashcan along the way. "Do you have any idea why this is happening?"
Videl smiled.
She knew.
"If I tell you, you'll be mad," she said as she started to walk ahead of him. Gohan frowned.
"Does it involve Gohan," he asked, following Videl. "Throwing this event, in hopes he stops by?"
"Wishful thinking." She spun around. She walked up to Gohan and poked his chest. "And they want to thank you somehow. Saving Goten, saving Marron…what better than to have a party! Helping others who helped you."
"They can buy me a case of beer, and I will be happy with that," Gohan said. He grabbed Videl's waist, and pulled her close to him. "Now if you showed up naked with a beer I would be happier."
"Pervert!" Videl tried to pull away, but Gohan wouldn't let go. "You've never seen me fully naked before!"
"And it will make me happier!"
"I never seen you naked before!"
"I have no problem stripping down for you."
Videl's face turned bright red. Gohan couldn't help but laugh as Videl couldn't form words, and her struggle to break free from his grip. Videl looked up at Gohan, and gave up struggling. He lowered himself and kissed her on the lips. Videl scrunched up her nose, and Gohan released her. He grabbed her hand, and they walked towards Capsule Corps.
They were five feet from the door, and they heard Vegeta scream. They looked over at the Gravity Room, and watched it shake as explosions were heard. Gohan gulped.
"Well, he's not here so we should go," Gohan said as he began to walk away. Videl pulled him back, and dragged him five feet to the door.
"What are you so afraid of," she asked, her finger on the doorbell.
"Wait! Don't press the button!" Gohan pulled out his phone. "Let me just make a few phone calls, kay?"
Videl rolled her eyes, and took her finger off the doorbell.
(Twenty minutes later…)
Gohan, Moth, Ziggy, Owen and Videl all stood in front of Capsule Corp.
"I can't believe you called backup," Videl said pinching the bridge of her nose. She looked over at Owen. "So how was Florida?"
"With just my passport and twenty seven dollars to my name, it really wasn't that bad," Owen replied. "Met a nice waitress at the bar. She let me crash at her place until my folks wired over the money."
"I still can't believe you took a trip to another continent."
"I have no idea how I got the money to go."
"Did we sell sugar and called it cocaine," Ziggy asked. He was supposed to help Seymour with the planning, and really didn't feel like helping. He was thankful that Boss called. "I vaguely remember snorting sugar so Owen can travel."
"I kinda remember that too," Owen said.
"I don't remember anything," Moth said.
"I remember puking in Mai's purse at the bar, and next thing I know I'm on the phone," Gohan said. He looked at Videl. "Besides questioning life, what else did I talk about?"
"You were incoherent. I had no idea what you were saying most of the time." Videl remembered that night. Gohan asked why the night sky looked dark blue, and sometimes black. Why stars looked white when they were burning balls of orange and red gas. After that his words meshed together. "Are you going to talk to Vegeta, because I'm getting cold."
Gohan looked at his band members. All of them nodded, supporting Gohan and making sure Vegeta doesn't kill him. Gohan put his finger on the doorbell.
Ziggy, Moth, Owen, Videl, and Gohan watched as an energy blast came out of Vegeta's Gravity Room. That room was supposed to be strong enough to hold any attack. That room was supposed to endure Vegeta's training. That room now had a hole.
"We should come back another time," Gohan said facing his-
"What the hell?!"
His friend, his support group, were gone, Videl included. Gohan stood by the front door all by himself, finger on the doorbell. Before he could escape, Vegeta floated out of the room. He was wearing spandex shorts as he landed on the ground. A cold air blew by, giving Gohan goosebumps. Vegeta was unaffected.
"What do you want," Vegeta snapped.
"Uhhh…" Gohan slowly removed his finger off the doorbell. Vegeta was a super saiyan, clearly mad that he broke the Gravity Room, and here stood Gohan…alone. "Wanna go to a bar that's not my bar and have some drinks?"
Vegeta glared at Gohan.
"Or you can kill me. Do you want to kill me, cause I think you're about ready to kill me."
Another cold breeze passed by.
"Let me get a coat," Vegeta said. He entered the house through the hole in the Gravity Room. Gohan let out a sigh of relief. He looked around for his 'friends', and couldn't find them anywhere.
"Thanks for the help guys," Gohan yelled. He doubted anyone could hear.
"No problem Boss," he heard Owen yell back. His voice sounded pretty far away.
"Love you," came Videl's voice. Hers was pretty far away as well.
Gohan knew he should have brought Toki with him.
Vegeta didn't say much as they sat down at the bar. The TV was playing football, and Gohan just stared at the screen. He was hoping that Vegeta would say something, but after sitting for forty five minutes, and having two jack and cokes, not a word was spoken between them. Gohan knew in order to repair this friendship, he had to be the one to speak.
"Need another Boss," the bartender asked.
"Always," Gohan responded. "And a shot of Jameson, for me and my friend."
"No problem."
Vegeta was drinking beer, and Gohan hoped a shot of liquid courage would help Vegeta talk. Gohan needed that shot to speak.
The bartender place a shot next to each glass. Gohan took his, and quickly shot it down.
"Please tell me you're pissed off at Goku and not me," Gohan said, his voice a little raspy. Vegeta grimaced, and took a sip of his beer. Yep, it was Goku. "Okay, good."
What else was he supposed to say? Gohan took a sip of his drink, and looked back at the television. Worst. Date. Ever.
"That Kakarot can't mind his own business," Vegeta spoke. Gohan looked over, a bit surprised that Vegeta actually said something. Vegeta took his shot of Jameson, and slammed it on the table. The shot glass broke into pieces. "He keeps sticking his stupid nose in my business! What can't he leave me the hell alone!"
The bartender quickly cleaned up the glass.
"I'm going to need something a lot stronger," Gohan whispered to the bartender.
"Would you like a body bag on standby," the bartender asked. Vegeta scared him.
"Have a couple in case he blows me into bits." Gohan finished his drink. "Screw the coke, just keep it on the rocks."
"And I need another beer," Vegeta added. The bartender nodded. Vegeta noticed a piece of glass the bartender missed. He picked it up, and examined it. It was about a half an inch tall, and thin. "So one of these is lodged inside of you?"
"A bit bigger than that, yeah," Gohan replied. He looked back at the TV. He hoped that he could clear things up with Vegeta. Instead, it was going to be one of those serious talks. Joy. Vegeta stared at the glass. Gohan was waiting for him to say more, but the prince remained silent once again. This was irritating Gohan. "Listen Vegeta, ignore Goku. Let him do what he wants to do and deal with it."
"You don't even know what the hell he's doing." The prince speaks!
"I don't, and I don't care. He can do whatever he wants, and his reasoning's don't interest me. He's one of those annoying nice guys. He's always been an annoying nice guy."
'Too nice,' Gohan thought as he took a sip of his now whiskey on rocks.
"Why does he want to be friends with you anyway?"
"I don't know Vegeta. Goku wants to be friends with everyone he meets, my friends included."
Your dad is a great guy, they said. Why would you runaway, the asked. When he first told them about Goku they thought he was an irresponsibility parent. Now his friends like Goku. Ziggy mentioned that maybe Gohan over reacted after the Cell Games. His parents were kind people, and if Gohan stayed with them he may be kind as well, and not a rude prick.
Goku was no longer the bad guy, Gohan was. They, his friends, were now seeing two sides of a story. Goku misses his son, and is still searching for him. Gohan was ignoring the fact that his father missed him, and is acting like a spoiled child.
Gohan hated the backlash, but he would get the last laugh in the end.
"Once the fundraiser is done I won't see Goku anymore," Gohan said. "Things will return to normal."
"You can't stop him from seeing you," Vegeta said. Gohan rolled his eyes. Vegeta was right. Goku could always come by the bar, the music store, or his apartment.
"I can make him hate me."
"Your mother too?"
Gohan scrunched up his nose.
Shit.
"Less than six months Vegeta. I'll be out of your life, Goku's life, everyone's life. Then everything will be back to normal."
"You just can't wait to die, can you?"
"I don't have a choice." Gohan looked over at Vegeta, and smiled. "So until then, let's just do what we've been doing. You can continue to hate Goku, and I'll pretend not to be his son."
"Sounds like something your father would say," Vegeta commented.
"Eat a dick Vegeta."
"There's the Boss I know."
Gohan and Vegeta tapped their glasses against each other.
Bulma stood outside a small store underneath the overhang. She went out to get some screws to fix the gravity room, and as she walked home she felt a few raindrops hit her head. The sky opened up, so Bulma quickly found shelter. It didn't help that it was night time, dark, and most of the stores were closed.
Lightening flashed across the sky, thunder soon after. Bulma sighed as she looked at her watch. She didn't have time to wait out the storm. Vegeta wanted his Gravity Room fixed, and Bulma told him that she needed more parts. This wasn't going to be an easy fix, especially since she needed to create a stronger Gravity Room. For the time being, Vegeta headed over to Goku's to train. Of course, Vegeta would come back in a bad mood, shower, and head to the bar to watch Boss' band.
The room was complete. All Bulma needed to do was add one panel to the machine, but she ran out of screws. She wanted to wait until morning to get the screws, but Vegeta was being a pain. He was going to get the screws himself, but Bulma knew better. He didn't know the shape or size, and if he went alone Bulma knew that she would end up paying for damages he caused.
And here she was, cold and wet, waiting for the rain to stop.
Another flash of lightning struck, followed by thunder.
"You could have waited until I was home to start pouring!"
Bulma looked over to her left. Standing there was Boss, soaking wet, with a wet newspaper in his hand.
"Five minutes! You couldn't wait five minutes?!" Gohan jumped back as lightning struck in front of him. "You missed!"
Another lightning bolt went his way, and he quickly moved out of the way. Bulma was surprised how quick he reacted. If Boss didn't dodge that he would have been hit by lightning!
"Fine! You win! I'll just wait here, wet and cold, and get pneumonia," Gohan yelled at the sky. He took the paper, and threw it on the ground. He leaned back on the store's window, fold his arms, and scrunch up his nose. "A pack of cigarettes! All I wanted was a pack of cigarettes, but noooOoooOOOoo. It had to rain. Clear skies, the weatherman said. Nothing but stars, the weatherman said. I didn't realize that clear skies rained!"
Gohan huffed. He was in grey sweatpants, which were soaked, and a black hoodie with a band name on the front, soaking wet as well. Bulma had on a winter coat, furry brown boots, and black leggings. Both assumed it was going to be a quick trip to the store, and now both were camped in front of a small store with little shelter.
"I could break into the store," Gohan said. He pushed himself off the glass, and looked inside. "I see ponchos, no cameras, and no witnesses. Welp, if I'm the only idiot out in the rain, no other idiot will know I broke a window."
Gohan noticed some stones nearby, and grabbed the biggest one he could find. He looked around, and saw Bulma standing there. The rain was pouring down, and the thunder and lightning were not letting up.
Busted.
Keeping eye contact with Bulma, he placed the rock in his hand on the ground. He tried his foot to kick it back with the others. He missed the rock a few times, and was able to find it with his foot. He gave it a swift kick.
What he thought was a gently kicked turned out to be a bit stronger, and flew. The next thing Bulma heard was a broken window, followed by a car alarm.
"What brings you out here on this beautiful night," Gohan asked, ignoring the fact he broke someone's car window.
Deciding it was best to ignore the car alarm, Bulma looked at the rain.
"I needed to pick up a few things," she said as she lifted up her bag. "Vegeta couldn't wait until tomorrow for the Gravity Room to be fixed."
"I ran out of cigarettes," Gohan said, leaning back up against the building. "I didn't even make it to the store."
"Hey if you have your cell phone on you, we can call Vegeta to come get us!"
"I didn't bring my cell."
"Neither did I."
Both sighed
"At least the lights still work," Gohan commented. The lights around them started to flicker, and then went out. "I hate my life."
"Is there anywhere nearby we can go," Bulma asked. There had to be a place that was still open, like a bar or something. The Kamehameha was too far of a hike, but if they could warm it may be worth it.
"I know a place," Gohan said, his arm reaching out. "Take my hand. We're going to run for it."
Even though there was no light, Bulma could see Gohan's hand.
"Are you going to break into someone's home," Bulma asked. The car alarm was still going off.
"Yes and no. We're not really breaking in, but it has been abandoned for a while."
Something in his voice was off. The rain was still coming down hard. Bulma was cold and wet, and wanted shelter. It didn't look like the rain was going to slow down, so she took Boss' hand.
"Okay," she said, clutching her bag in her hand. Gohan waited for lightening to strike, and once it did he took off.
There weren't that many cars that were stuck in the rain. Gohan and Bulma were able to make it across the street with no issues. Bulma did her best to keep up, and was falling a bit behind. Gohan slowed down; he could feel his arms being pulled.
"We're almost there," Gohan yelled. "Just a few more blocks."
Bulma was tired of running, but knew that shelter was nearby. They were running past houses, lit houses, and were in a tiny neighborhood. Gohan stopped in front of one house, and opened the gate. Bulma ran towards the door, Gohan right behind her. She watched as Gohan pulled out his keys, and unlocked the door. Bulma went in, and was thrilled to be somewhere that was not in the rain.
The lights turned on.
"At least they still work," Gohan said. He and Bulma were soaking wet. "Stay here. I think I left some clothes here."
Where exactly was here?
Bulma looked around, and noticed she was in the living room. The couch was a faded, the pillows had cute pictures of them. The TV was an old TV, brown and bulky, with knobs to turn on and change the channels. There was a recliner by the couch, a folded up blanket on top of it. Bulma noticed some pictures on the wall, and decided to take a peek.
The one picture was of a teenager, long black hair, sitting outside playing a guitar. Another one was of the Power Rangers, with Boss and his friends faces taped over. (Mai was pink, Boss was black, Owen was yellow, Ziggy was red, and Moth was blue) The Green Ranger was Toki. Bulma knew that the Green Ranger was the leader, or the red, so how did Toki get to be that ranger?
Bulma pinched her nose.
Wherever she was, Boss knew the people who were here, and had a key. Did one of the bandmates live here? Looking around at the photos they mostly had Mu-Ma, Boss, and the long hair stranger. One picture had Boss and the other guy in matching Mohawks. Was it safe to assume that was Boss' brother?
"I didn't know what you wanted, so I grabbed a few things," Gohan said coming back into the living room. Bulma saw that he had clothes and towels in his hands.
"So whose clothes are we stealing," Bulma asked, noticing the grandma like nightgown. Did they just sneak into an old women's house?
"My mom, my brother, and I found a pair of old pajama bottoms that may fit you. If you don't want to use Mu-Ma or TJ's clothes then you can wear clothes I left here."
Clothes he left here?
"This is where Mu-Ma lived. I haven't been here since after her funeral." Gohan handed her a towel. "Sorry about the dust. I've been meaning to come and clean, but you know…"
Gohan's voice trailed off. He looked around the living room, and bit his bottom lip. His face changed, his eyes went wide, and he started to look around the house. He lifted up the TV, frowned, and started to lift up the couch cushions.
"What are you doing," Bulma asked as Gohan felt underneath the couch.
"Mu-Ma hated seeing my brother and I smoke, so she used to steal our packs of cigarettes and break them," Gohan answered, lifting up the couch slightly. "TJ and I used to hide our cigarettes around the house when she wasn't home, so if she found our packs we had some hiding around."
Gohan walked over to the picture frames, and lifted them up.
"Bingo!" Gohan pulled two cigarettes from the frame. It was the picture where TJ was sitting on the step. "Now, are these my cigarettes, or TJ's?"
"You guys didn't smoke the same cigarettes," Bulma asked, drying herself with the towel.
"I'm menthol, he's buys the cheap shit." Gohan pulled the lighter out of his pocket. "Want one?"
"Please." Gohan walked over, and handed Bulma a cigarette. He held the lighter close to her face, and helped light her cigarette. "Menthol."
"Good. Something actually went right today." Gohan stuck the cigarette in his mouth and lit. He inhaled, and coughed. "The hell? Why is this the cheap shit?"
"Maybe TJ had the same hiding spot as you."
"This cigarette is old then." Gohan inhaled again. "I'm going to go change in my room. Mu-Ma's room is over there. There's an opening in the kitchen where the washer and dryer are. Just toss your clothes in the dryer so they can get dry."
Bulma nodded, and headed over to Mu-Ma's room.
When she entered, Bulma noticed how clean the room was, ignoring the dust of course. There were shelves with unicorn knick-knacks, and pictures on her desk by the bed. The bed wasn't made, the pillow had a dent, punched probably, and Bulma remembered that she was standing where someone had died.
Shaking her head, Bulma quickly got out of her wet clothes, and put on the dry ones. She wore blue and green flannel bottom, and a black shirt with Led Zeppelin in white letters. The clothes were really baggy, but it was better than the old nightgowns. Bulma was old, but not that old to be wearing nightgowns.
Exiting the room, Bulma headed towards where the kitchen was. She turned on the lights, and looked at the kitchen. Dirty pots sat in the sink, the stove had a pan filled with oil. Cooking preparations were started for a meal, but never finished. Bulma looked up at the ceiling, and noticed a black circle. Bulma looked at the stove, but the burn mark was too far away from the stove.
"Science project that went wrong," Gohan said appearing in the kitchen. He wore one of Mu-Ma's nightgowns, a yellow one with a cat on it, and blue pajama bottoms, that were also Mu-Ma's. The pants came to his knee, with an elastic ruffle at the end of the pants. "I can show you the video."
Bulma handed Gohan her wet clothes. Gohan tossed them in the dryer, and proceeded to hit a few buttons. Gohan slapped the dryer a few times, but it didn't turn on. Bulma watched as Boss threw his head back, and moaned. He faced forward once again, had both hands on two different buttons, and started to kick the machine. It started to ruble, and Gohan took his hand and slapped it again. The dryer finally turned on.
"That dryer reminds me of Chi-Chi's stove," Bulma said with a giggle.
"TJ broke it. He thought the dryer was the same as my rock tumbler, and tossed some rocks in there. Side note, he broke my rock tumbler."
"You had a rock tumbler?"
"I was a bit of a nerd when I was adopted." Gohan headed towards the living room. "I wanted to impress Mu-Ma, and then TJ decided to corrupt me. My nerd phase was shortly lived."
Gohan motioned for Bulma to sit on the couch. He went over to a shelf, and started looking at VHS tapes. Bulma assumed that Mu-Ma wasn't really up to date with technology. She started to wonder if Mu-Ma even used capsules.
"Found it," Gohan cried, as he pulled a video off the shelf. "Now…where exactly did we leave off?"
Gohan walked over to the TV and turned it on. He popped the tape in the VHS player, and hit play. Gohan was blocking Bulma's view, but she could see bits and pieces of the TV. Gohan was rewinding the video, and Bulma did catch a glimpse of a fire, a moving fire actually. After about a minute, Gohan got up and sat on the couch.
On the screen was someone holding a piece of paper. On the paper was 'How a volcano works, by Boss McGee.' The paper dropped to the ground, and a young Boss trotted back to a table. On the table was a volcano, painted and everything. TJ stood in the back, arms folded, and another person was in the back as well. He looked familiar.
"Whose that," Bulma asked.
"Seymour," Gohan answered. "When he had hair."
Seymour had brown hair, parted on the right hand side. He was thinner, and sported a moustache.. That did not look like the Seymour she knew. And Boss…
He had a lopsided blue Mohawk, part of his hair shifted to the left, some to the right, and some perfectly straight.
"You should have kept the hairstyle," Bulma joked.
"Total chick magnet," Gohan said. "Too bad it pushed girls away, and not bring them closer."
Bulma couldn't help but laugh.
"Hello. My name is Boss McGee. And I am here to demonstrate how a volcano…works," the young Boss said. Clearly he was reading from sure cards. "Inside the volcano is baking soda. And here," young Boss pointed to a measuring cup, "is vinegar. I have two adults behind me-"
"One and a half," Seymour corrected.
"I'm more of an adult than you," TJ said. "I'm the adult adult."
"Both of you shut up and let Boss do his presentation," you heard Mu-Ma say. "And I'm the adult here! You two make the half."
TJ rolled his eyes, and Seymour made a face. Bulma never seen Seymour so…not serious.
"I will not pour the vinegar in the volcano," young Boss said. "This will make the volcano…erupt. I added red dye to make the lava…red."
Young Boss poured the vinegar in the volcano, and stood back. Nothing was happening.
"Did you add the baking soda first," Mu-Ma asked. Young Boss folded his arms.
" I know I did," he said. "Maybe I didn't add enough."
TJ handed Boss the baking soda, smirking. Young Boss poured some baking soda down the volcano and stood back.
Nothing.
"Let's add some fire," TJ said lighting a match.
"TJ that's not going to work," young Boss cried. He tried to stop TJ from dropping the match in the volcano, and Seymour came in to help. Bulma watched as the match fell in the volcano.
"Oops," TJ said. "Oh well."
TJ tried to escape, but Boss was holding him back.
"You ruined my project," Boss yelled.
"I didn't ruin anything! Besides, I need to get some fresh air!"
"Why are you in a rush?"
"I'm not in a rush, I just need to leave!"
Both started to argue back and forth.
"Seymour, look in the volcano and see if anything is working," Mu-Ma said, talking over the yelling. Seymour looked down the volcano.
"I see nothing," Seymour said.
Suddenly, the volcano, and table, started to shake. TJ made a break for it. The volcano exploded into pieces, fiery pieces. Seymour started to scream; his hair was on fire. He started to run around in the kitchen while Boss stood there, confused. Mu-Ma came from behind the camera, chasing Seymour. TJ cracked up laughing. Mu-Ma was at the sink, and used the sprayer to get the fire out of Seymour's hair. He was still screaming, and Mu-Ma was screaming at TJ, who was kept on laughing.
"Why didn't this work the first time," Boss questioned, completely oblivious to everyone behind him. Seymour's hair was no longer on fire. He looked straight at TJ.
"This is all your fault," he yelled, his hair completely gone. He lunged towards TJ, who moved out of the way. TJ ran, followed by Seymour who was being followed by Mu-Ma. Boss still stood there while the ceiling, and volcano, were on fire. TJ, Seymour, and Mu-Ma were running in and out of the screen, yelling at each other.
"Maybe I didn't add enough baking soda," Boss said as he frowned. Mu-Ma came back onto the screen with a fire extinguisher. She sprayed the ceiling, around the kitchen, and then the volcano. Boss stood there as he got sprayed.
"What are you standing around for?!" Mu-Ma yelled.
"Why did it explode," Boss asked.
"Gun powder," TJ yelled, who was no on the screen. Boss' head perked up, and looked at TJ, angry.
"You did ruined my project," he yelled, and soon Boss ran off screen. Mu-Ma put her head in her hands, and shook her head. She looked up at the ceiling.
"Are you testing me," She said, her voice quiet and frail. Everything started to shake, and Mu-Ma held onto the table. Boss was yelling profanity, TJ ran across the camera and knocked it down, there was an explosion somewhere, and police sirens were heard.
Boss paused the video.
"That's why there's a black mark on the ceiling, and why Seymour doesn't have hair," He said with a sheepish smile. Bulma just stared at the frozen screen.
What she just saw…what she heard…it was like watching her own family! The yelling, the explosions, the profanity, that was her life in a nutshell. As much as she hated to admit it, her and Boss had a lot in common.
"Bulma?"
"You're Vegeta," she said as she turned her head to look at Boss. "You stood there as the madness was right behind you, and you did nothing! Nothing! Vegeta will stand there while I chase Trunks around the house, and Vegeta only snaps to his senses when it involves him."
"I don't know if you complemented me, or insulted me."
"Excuse me. I have to call Vegeta to let him know where I am. Does the phone still work?"
"In the kitchen. It still has a cord."
Bulma thanked Boss, and headed towards the kitchen. Once she was out of view, Gohan continued the video.
Even on the ground, the video captured the young Boss, powering up, and throwing ki balls at TJ. Unlike his training with Piccolo, TJ was able to dodge the balls of energy. The police arrived, guns held out because Boss was flying, and being the good kid that he was, Boss fired ki blasts at the cops and destroyed their guns. Mu-Ma stood in the kitchen, cursing up at the sky, and then the video went to static.
Gohan phased out, and remembered what happened afterwards. The S.W.A.T team was called, the house was surrounded, he managed to get out of the house leaving everyone on the ground. He flew above the local town, and sat down on a building, letting his feet dangle over the edge. After he calmed down he went home. Mu-Ma was yelling at TJ, crying, but when she saw Gohan she hugged him.
"You came back! Oh thank God you came back!"
TJ was relieved as well. They were both afraid that he left them, like he left his family, because things got way out of hand. Truthfully, he scared himself. He destroyed the guns without thinking, and thought they were going to arrest him. There was a lot of action that happened in this house. You knew it was bad when the cops knew you by name, and didn't rush over when the neighbors called for disturbance.
"A teenager," Gohan remembered one cop saying to Mu-Ma. "I give you kudos for adopting an older child, but you're an idiot adopting a teenager for TJ to corrupt."
"I really thought Boss would rub off on him," Mu-Ma said at the time. "So how much to bail them out this time?"
Gohan bit his bottom lip and smiled. Yeah, TJ changed him from an innocent child, to something that Gohan could really describe.
Getting up from the couch, Gohan went into the kitchen where Bulma was.
"Do you have drinks here," Bulma asked.
"There should be some soda in the fridge, water too," Gohan answered. He reached up to the top counter, and pulled out a bottle of Jack. At least there was still some comfort in the house.
Bulma, who was still on the phone, opened up the fridge, She took a few steps back, and covered her nose.
"What died in here," she shouted. Bulma looked at Gohan, his mouth partly open, shocked at the words that came out of her mouth.
"Too soon," Gohan said.
"Stupid woman," Vegeta said from the phone.
"I didn't mean it that way," Bulma said. Her face twisted up as the smell from the fridge started to linger in the kitchen. She covered her nose. Gohan got a whiff as well, and looked in the fridge.
Vegetables were rotted and leaking, the lunch meat was covered in some sort of mold. The milk didn't look like milk anymore, plus there was something growing on the leftover meatloaf that was wrapped around a plastic plate.
Gohan shut the fridge, eyes watering from the smell.
"We have Jack," Gohan said, pointing to the bottle. "And semi-safe water. You'll have the runs for a few days, but it cleans your system."
"I'm going to die here," Bulma said under her breath.
"You wouldn't be the only one."
Vegeta chuckled over the phone.
Bulma said farewell to her husband, and decided that she wasn't that thirsty. The thunder and lightning stopped, but the rain was still pouring down. Since Mu-Ma never had cable, Gohan and Bulma watched some Disney movies. While Gohan was singing along, Bulma decided that some Jack wouldn't kill her. It was getting late in the night, and Bulma was getting tired. The rain never let up.
"We can always stay here," Gohan mentioned. They were watching Mulan. "There are rooms here, heat, and by morning the rain should stop."
"That sounds like a good idea. Should I take Mu-Ma's room," Bulma asked stretching.
"Uhhh…" Gohan looked towards the room Mu-Ma stayed in. "You can, but she only had the one set of sheets, and she kinda died on them, so if you want to sleep-"
"I don't need to sleep there." There was a chance that Mu-Ma would haunt her. "Oh, how about TJ's room?"
Bulma knew TJ didn't die there.
"He never cleaned up after himself. We were not touching it. You can sleep in my room, and I can sleep on the couch."
"Is it really okay to sleep in your room?"
Gohan stood there, thinking. He hasn't been in his room, and the short time he was there it was just to get dressed.
"Give me a minute."
Gohan walked towards his room. Bulma followed, curious to what his room looked like. Bulma figured it was rock posters, an old calendar, something that looked like a teenagers room. Once Bulma looked in she was dead wrong.
"Well…it's not that bad."
"It is that bad," Bulma said. There was a band poster, even one of a car, but there were cut outs of naked ladies around his room, a mirror above his bed, a nightstand with lotion and tissues. Bulma noticed the nightstand, and Gohan laughed nervously.
"Gives Trunks a few years. His room will look the same," Gohan said defensibly.
"The mirror?"
"He may not have that."
"Is the room at least clean?" Gohan looked around.
"I can put on a new set of sheets for you. I kept the room fairly clean even though I don't live here anymore."
"I hope the sheets aren't like your room."
Gohan looked at her.
"Well…"
With new sheets on the bed, Bulma looked at what she was sleeping in.
My Little Pony bed sheets.
"How awesome are they," Gohan exclaimed, both arms extended. Gohan's room was a heavy blue. Not real bright in color, and made the room look darker. Besides the posters with the women on them, his room looked more like a shadow.
And then you add the bright pink pony set, with Rainbow Dash on your pillow cases.
"You're strange," Bulma said shaking her head. She smiled. "You're a good kid Boss."
"That's the biggest compliment you ever gave me," Gohan said.
"It's a shame though." Bulma lowered her head.
"What's a shame?"
Bulma perked her head up.
'That's right. Boss doesn't know what Goku said about him.'
"Your mother would be proud of you."
Gohan looked at his bed, and his clothes.
"Would you be proud of this," he asked, pointing to his pajamas. "And that?" Pointing to his bed. "Pretend I'm Trunks and tell me your proud of this!" He pointed to his posters, his mirror, his bed, clothes, and did a circle motion with his fingers.
"I'm proud of you Trunks," she said as she kissed his cheek. It caught Gohan off guard. "Now you get to bed. It's been a long day, and we need our rest right now."
Bulma walked behind him, and pushed him out of the room. Once he was out the room, he looked back at Bulma. She smiled at him and closed the door.
"Are we friends now," Gohan yelled through the door.
"Yes," Bulma quickly replied.
Three days ago, Gohan and Bulma slept at his old house. The next day was nice, still cold, but it stopped raining. They went out to breakfast, and went their merry way. Bulma finished the Gravity Room, and Gohan got his cigarettes.
Gohan was working in his CD store, reading a music magazine since the place was dead. Mike was with him, on his phone while he sat on the counter.
The door opened, and Gohan looked. He saw Vegeta, and next to him was his son, Trunks. Vegeta wasn't really a music guy, Trunks maybe?
"Thanks for watching him," Vegeta said as he left the store.
"Wait what," Gohan said. Vegeta took off into the sky, leaving Trunks in the store alone. Gohan looked over at Mike. "You know, sometimes you have the long weeks that never end, but for me it's been a…Brief week."
"You're not funny," Mike said jumping off the counter.
"I'm hysterical!"
"Keep telling yourself that." Gohan pouted, and turned his attention back to Trunks. Mike walked next to Gohan. "So uh…what do we do with that?"
"I don't know. I never babysat before," Gohan replied.
"Do we feed it?"
"You don't want to feed that."
"So he's a gremlin?"
"We can feed him after midnight."
"Are you sure?"
Dead silence.
"I can hear you," Trunks said folding his arms. "I'm bored."
"Hi bored I'm Boss," Gohan said.
"Still not funny," Mike commented. "Hey kid, if you're bored, you can clean the windows in the store."
"I said I'm bored, not desperate," Trunks replied. "Do you have anything to eat?"
"Do we look like we have food?"
"No, you look like two losers behind a counter."
"Ouch," Mike said. "I'm going on break." Mike went around the counter.
"You went on a break today," Gohan exclaimed. "You can't take a second break. You have to work!"
"Then I'm taking a smoke break."
"You don't smoke."
"I'm taking a break from you."
"Why can't you be more open about our relationship?!" Mike looked over at Gohan, hand on the door handle. "I don't want us to be on a break."
"I don't even know why my dad is friends with you," Trunks said as he wondered the store. Mike nodded in agreement, and left the store. Figuring Trunks could do no harm to the store, Gohan went back to reading his magazine. "Can I play with the guitars?"
"No," Gohan replied. When TJ taught him how to play, Gohan broke all the strings on TJ's guitar by strumming it once. He then snapped the neck in half because he was holding it too tight. TJ cried for days.
"Why are some guitars different colors? Hey, how come this one is fat and this one is skinny?"
Gohan looked up from his magazine, and saw Trunks floating by the guitars.
"The skinny ones are electric and the bigger ones are acoustic," Gohan answered. Trunks plucked a few strings on the electric guitar, setting Gohan in a state of panic. "I told you not to touch them!"
"You said not to play with them. You didn't say I can't touch them." Trunks plucked a few more strings. "I think this one is broken."
"It's not broken Trunks. Those you need to plug into the amps," Gohan said making his over. The last thing he needed was Trunks breaking one of the guitars. Gohan grabbed the guitar Trunks was touching, and strapped it on. He played a few notes. "It sounds like this, but when you plug it in one of these," Gohan grabbed an amp wire, and plugged it into the guitar. He played a cord. "It sounds like this."
Trunks watched as Gohan played, interested.
"Can you teach me to play," Trunks exclaimed, a big smile on his face.
"Uh…you're strong. You might break the neck….and cords."
"Pffft, yeah right. Unlike some people, I can control my energy."
That was a shot in the pride.
"Here," Gohan said handing Trunks the guitar. 'I'm going to regret this!'
Trunks smiled as he put the strap around his arms. His tiny fingers felt the cords, plucked a few, and hear the sound from the amp.
"This is so cool," he said.
"A pic helps," Gohan said, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a green pic. He handed it to Trunks, and grabbed an acoustic guitar from the wall. He grabbed another pic from his pocket. "These guys here don't need an amp. The hallow of the guitar makes the sound."
Gohan strummed the guitar, playing one of his own songs. Trunks watched his fingers, and repeated the same motion as Gohan. Gohan stopped playing.
"You have to press harder on the strings," Gohan said pressing on Trunks' fingers. "Not too hard. Just like that." Gohan adjusted the fingers. "These cords are the G, C, and D. You can play any song with these."
"Any song?"
"More or less. Watch." Gohan put his fingers on the three cords, and strummed the guitar. "All you have to do, is move your hand up and down the neck."
Trunks watched as Gohan played, moving his up and down, paying attention to the sound change. He decided to give it a try. It sounded strange. He pressed on the cords a bit harder, and started to play.
"Hey look! I'm doing it!" Gohan smiled.
"Now sing!"
"Okay!" Trunks moved his arm up and down, and felt comfortable repeating the pattern. "My mom's a genius, my dad is crazy. All I want to be is lazy. YEAAAAHHHHH!"
Trunks strummed a bit too quick, and the guitar started to smoke. He stopped when he smelled something funny. The cords broke, slapping Trunks on the face, leaving scratch marks. Gohan was paralyzed, not sure exactly how to feel. He wanted to freak out, but was it because Trunks broke the guitar, as he predicted, or the fact that Trunks got injured, and Gohan would have to deal with his parents.
Gohan heard the door open, and prayed it wasn't Bulma, or Vegeta, or any of the Brief family. He turned his head, and saw Mai. She saw Trunks floating with the broken guitar, scratches on his face. She looked at Boss, eyes wide, hands frozen in air.
"Not getting involved," she said as she attempted to exit out the door. Gohan quickly made his way over, and pulled her back.
"You're involved now," Gohan said pulling her back. Trunks took off the guitar, and held it by the neck.
"So do we throw this in the trash," Trunks asked. Gohan grabbed the guitar and looked at it. Besides the strings being disintegrated, it was severely scratched up.
"No…it's fine," Gohan said in a monotone voice. He could fix it, and if he couldn't fix it he would buy it. He hated throwing away money. "How's the face?"
"I've had worse." Gohan agreed. "I'm hungry. Can we go somewhere to eat?"
Gohan's face lit up.
"Mai can feed you," he said as he grabbed Trunks, and forced him into Mai's arms. "She works at a restaurant. They have a lot of food there."
"Yes!"
"No," Mai shouted. She tried to force Trunks back to Gohan. Gohan used the guitar as a shield. "I am not here to babysit other people's kids!"
"But you're so good at it, and I'm not," Gohan said. Mai kept pushing Trunks towards Gohan as Gohan backed away.
"Are you going to pay me?"
"No."
"Then take the kid!"
"You touched it last!"
"He's your responsibility!"
"I am not a responsible adult!"
The door opened once again. Mai shoved Trunks towards Gohan, who stopped Mai by putting his hands on Trunk's shoulders. Both stood frozen by the sound of the door, both praying that it wasn't Vegeta or Bulma. They turned their heads and saw Videl standing there. Gohan and Mai looked at each other, and came to a quiet agreement.
"No, no, no, no, no," Videl said as she reached for the door. "I made a horrible mistake!"
Gohan reached out, one hand still on Trunks, and pulled Videl towards him. He let go of Trunks, who was pushed by Mai, and Trunks was pressed on Videl's chest. Videl pushed Trunks away. Gohan stood there as both women had Trunks pressed in the middle with their hands.
It was then Gohan noticed the guitar on the floor, broken.
Was it really worth stopping Mai, grabbing Videl to take his place?
"Boss," both women shouted. They were mad.
Totally worth it.
"Wait, we can just drop him," Mai said. Both women pulled their hands back, and Trunks landed on the ground.
Totally not worth it.
"Why do you push your responsibilities to other people," Mai asked, stepping over the guitar.
"Vegeta just left him here with me, so who is really the irresponsible one," Gohan proclaimed. Videl and Mai nodded their heads in agreement. "What are you guys doing here anyway?"
"We're bored. It's too cold outside to do anything, and there are no good movies out."
Mai jumped on the counter, and looked at the magazine Gohan was looking at.
"So you came here?"
"We knew you wouldn't be busy," Videl said as she walked up towards Gohan. He smiled as he kissed her and hugged her.
"Ew," Trunks commented, making a face as he stood up from the ground. "Even my parents don't do that."
"You're parents have a different way of showing their feelings," Gohan said. He had his arms over Videl's shoulders, and his chin resting on her head. "Why did they drop you off here anyway?"
"I don't know. They were fighting, and then they stopped. My dad grabbed me and left me here."
"Weird," Videl commented. Gohan was confused as well. Mai, who was looking up at the magazine, lifted her head.
"Oooooohhhhh." Gohan and Videl still didn't get it. Mai looked at them, and titled her head, eyes looking towards the door. It was something she could say out loud, since Trunks was there. Videl finally got it.
"Oh," she said, head perking up. "Ooohhh."
"Why am I not getting it," Gohan said, his voice slightly high. Videl moved her behind her back, and grabbed Gohan. "Oh, got it."
Gohan and Videl has yet to be at that part of the relationship. Videl has been shy, really shy. When they were alone, Gohan's hands could explore…above the waist. He would try and coax her to the bedroom. Sometimes she agreed, but would push him away once he reached for her pants. It's not like she didn't want it, she wasn't sure if she would be good enough.
Gohan had a lot of experience with women, and Videl…she wasn't like normal girls. She never sought out a relationship. She was too busy fighting crime or working out. She wasn't the one to go to the bar either, or pick up random men. A relationship was new to her, and when it got down to the nitty gritty Videl heard horror stories.
It was nothing like the books or movies; it was a bit more complicated than that. What if she wasn't good enough? Would they break up, again? Would Gohan go to someone who was better?
Of course, Gohan and Videl talked about it. Gohan laughed, telling her that it really wasn't that bad, or maybe it was. He explained his first time, which was with Mai. She pinned him down, told them that they were doing it, and he laid there through the entire thing. Best thirty seconds of his life. (Mai's worst thirty seconds of her life.)
Is it better to do it with someone you love? Of course! Has Gohan told her he loved her yet?
Of course!
…not.
Just as scared as Videl was with sex, Gohan was the same expressing his feelings. He's told her how he loved being with her, how he loves her spirit, her hair, and how she punched Owen in the face because he accidently touched her butt. He just…
Mike walked into the store, with a bag of chips.
"Just what I like seeing, nonpaying customers," he commented. He looked at Trunks. "What's a kid doing here?"
"His parents dropped him off," Gohan answered.
"Why?"
"They kinda…you know."
"Oh, yeah. Got it."
"Well I'm glad you four got it, so can someone explain it to me," Trunks asked.
"Adult stuff," Mai answered. "Mommy and Daddy things. Things adults do with each other."
"Can anyone else answer besides the dumb blonde who can't speak in complete sentences?"
Mike choked on his chips. He coughed, and hit his chest a few times.
"That's comedy," Mike said, laughing. Mai gave a look of disgust. Mike looked on the ground, and saw the broken guitar. "Do I wanna know?"
"My fault," Gohan said. It was easier to say that, and not explain that Trunks had super human powers. "There was a spider."
"Why would you use an expensive guitar, and not a cheap pair of maracas?"
"Because I kill spiders the way I listen to music, and that's with heavy metal."
"Ba dum tiss," Mai whispered under her breath.
"You're never going to be funny," Mike said.
"You don't know a funny joke when you hear one," Gohan spat.
"Your life is a joke," Trunks said. Mike gave Trunks a high five.
The door opened, and while Gohan and Mike hoped for a paying customer, it was only Vegeta. He was smiling.
"Let's go brat," he said. Trunks nodded, and ran up towards his dad. They went out the door with no thank you, no goodbye, no nothing. Everyone in the store watched them walk away.
"Well babysitting was very…Brief," Gohan said, arms extended out.
"You already said a joke like that earlier," Mike said, throwing his arms up in the air. "You. Are. Not. Funny!"
END CHAPTER!