Top Notes:

I like to thank you all for the support for the GoChi Fandom Award. I've won in two categories: Fluff (with the story "Love for the 4th Time") and Sexy Times (with the story: "True Partners").

Thanks for all that voted, but also for reading my stories and leaving kind words which always encourages me to write more and more!

Happy reading! ❤️

The comfort of his bed had never been as good as it was that night, and Goku had never imagined that he would sleep so peacefully with a woman hugging his body. Just him, who liked space and hated clinginess. He, who liked to sprawl out completely on the mattress and didn't like anyone grabbing him or holding him down, because, after all, he moved a lot during the night.

But he had also never slept as serenely as he did that night. He had never thought that sleeping cuddled up with Chichi would be so good. He had never imagined that he wouldn't be bothered by her body warming his, or her hands on his chest, or her head on his arm, or even her hair spilling over the pillow and the sheet with the strands that even tickled his nose, or even bothered to share his pillow.

Everything he had always had an aversion to was suddenly extremely pleasant next to her.

Or maybe it wasn't so suddenly, after all, he was in love.

As Goku moved his arms to steady his grip on the small body of the woman beside him, an emptiness suddenly came over him, and his arms reached for nothing more than the coldness of the sheet on the bed. He groped a few more times, in all directions of the bed, but when his hand reached nothing but the soft fabric, he opened his eyes at once and leaned over, sitting down on the mattress.

It was already morning and the room was dimly lit by the light coming through the curtains' gaps on his window. He looked around and everything looked the same as when they had fallen asleep, except that he was alone. Chichi wasn't in the room.

A strange and unpleasant feeling came over Goku, but before he could think too much about it, he glanced at the clock on the wall that read over nine o'clock and got up, putting on his shirt – the same one Chichi had worn the night before. – He walked out of the room and saw no sign of her in the bathroom nor in the living room or the kitchen, and the brunette's belongings were nowhere to be found either.

Goku felt his mouth go dry and his heart soar.

She had left?

Was she really gone?

Chichi had left, without even saying goodbye?

This was like a punch in the gut for Goku and he couldn't believe that this was really happening. He refused to believe it was happening.

Why would she leave? After the incredible night they had together. Why would she leave?

It didn't make sense to him. It didn't make sense at all. There was no reason for Chichi to leave, especially without saying goodbye to him. The only explanation there could be was that he had dreamed the whole thing, but the scent of Chichi on his shirt was proof enough that she had been there.

Unless...

No!

No, no, no, no, no!

Goku's eyes widened at the realization.

It couldn't be!

Ribrianne had taken away his curse. She had rid him of that torment. It couldn't be that. Chichi couldn't have left because she simply wasn't interested in him anymore, like all the other women he had had sex with in the past few months after he had been cursed. It couldn't be that. He had seen it, had proof, the women who were supposed to despise him, were now looking for him again, were going after him again like he had always hated.

It couldn't be that. There was no way!

Nervous, he hurried back to his room to reach for his cell phone on the bedside table to try to contact her when he finally noticed a small piece of paper with a handwritten note made in pen:

"Sorry to leave unannounced. I had to go to the hospital with my father.

Talk to you later.

Chichi."

Goku hadn't realized how tense he was until he felt his shoulders relax instantly. For a moment he actually believed the worst. The man took a deep breath and ran his hand over his face before calling Chichi. He knew that the brunette was worried enough about her father to accompany him to the hospital, but he still wanted to ensure everything was okay.

As soon as he turned on the device, however, he was overwhelmed by several different notifications, from missed calls to messages. Some of the notifications were from women, the same ones that had become interested in him again – which was further proof of the end of his curse – one from his mother and a few others from his friends. Which made him smile. He couldn't wait to tell them that he finally had sex with Chichi! They wouldn't believe it.

But he quickly ignored the thought, this was not the time for that, he needed to talk to her. So he dialed her number and waited to be answered.

"Hello, Goku?!"

"Hi, Chi! How are you? I just saw your note, is everything ok? Is your dad ok?"

"Oh, yes, he's fine, yes." she answered. "It was just a routine exam, nothing major, but Dr. Karin was only scheduled for this Sunday and didn't want to wait that long, anyway... I wanted to follow up to see if everything was okay with my dad."

"But is everything okay then?"

"Yes, yes, everything is fine."

"Great!" Goku smiled. "See you later, then?"

"Erm, actually... I think I'll spend the day with my father, to make sure everything is really okay." she said, a little hesitantly. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Oh, okay, all right then. Bye!"

Goku hung up the phone and stared at the cell phone screen a little apprehensive, but relieved at the same time. She sounded a little different on that call, didn't she? He felt as if she had made an excuse not to see him again that day.

He felt a terrible shiver run down his spine.

It couldn't be the curse. He was already free of it. He was sure he was.

He threw himself back on the bed, hitting his back on the mattress, and put one arm over his face. He was feeling frustrated, very frustrated. Hadn't the night been good for her? But... Goku was sure he had made her cum, hadn't he? He had been gentle and caring, but also kinky in the right measure. In his eyes, he had not been disrespectful, nor had he done anything she didn't want or dislike... Or did he?

"Damn it!" he grumbled.

They had an incredible, deep connection, he was sure of it. He wasn't wrong. He couldn't be!

Why did Chichi leave?

He was so sure that he would wake up next to her, that he would see her beautiful smile when he woke up, that they could have coffee together, in bed, have more sex, spend the rest of the day together doing something else. They didn't have to just have sex. He didn't want to just have sex. He wanted to be with her. He had never felt this desire before, he had always looked at women as a pastime for his desires and lusts. But with Chichi he didn't feel that way. Maybe at first, he had only looked at her for that purpose, but not anymore. Now he wanted her close by, he wanted to be able to see her smile, to kiss her and hold her in his arms...

Was this what it was like to be in love? Because his heart leaped in his chest just remembering the brunette, just remembering their moments together and especially the wonderful night they had.

Goku didn't think it could really happen. He knew that there was a possibility that one day he might like someone, but he shielded himself from it behind his manly behavior. He wouldn't allow himself to deepen his relationships for something like this to happen. He didn't want it, he never wanted it. It was never something he sought, after all, he didn't believe in relationships, in feelings of love and passion. He strongly believed it wasn't for him.

Of course he knew that getting to know Chichi more intimately could be dangerous, but he had always thought it was dangerous for her. He felt shielded from this feeling. He couldn't imagine falling in love with her (or anyone else), although at that moment he couldn't imagine not falling in love with her.

Things started to make sense to him, why he was so insistent on going out with her even though there was a prospect of nothing more between them after sex, and how desperate he was to reverse his cursed state just so things wouldn't happen that way. How he didn't mind receiving messages from her at any time of the day, how he himself liked to send her random messages, even when they weren't seeing each other. How he felt so free and at ease to open up to her, to talk about his family, his past... And he just wondered at what moment this had happened.

He was in love with her and that was undeniable, but the most curious thing of all was that he was finding it great. He had always thought that being in love would be something bad and stupid, senseless, but it was exactly the opposite. This feeling was good, very good. He had never felt this way before. Of course he had had crushes on women before, especially in his teens, when he was still silly and naive, but there was nothing like a passion that warmed his heart like that, it was something that came from the bottom of his stomach and filled his whole interior.

The only thing that made him slightly worried was the fact that she wasn't there at that moment, but she had said she was with her father, accompanying him to an appointment and needed to take care of him. That was all. No big deal. Soon they would see each other again.

There was nothing to worry about!

As Chichi hung up her phone and ran her hand across her forehead as she sighed, she felt a heavy tap on her shoulder and looked to her side, listening: "Is everything okay, my dear?"

She smiled sweetly before answering: "Yes, it is, Dad."

Gyumao smiled. He was broad, stout, and very tall, had a thick but well-trimmed beard, small black eyes, and wore glasses. He was the complete opposite of his daughter, who looked more like a small, delicate doll next to him. However, he had a gentle expression on his face.

"You know you didn't have to come along with me. You didn't have to leave where you were, or leave who you were with to come along with me. You were with your boyfriend, weren't you?"

"What?" Chichi's eyes widened, she blushed and stammered. "I-I-I... n-no... n-no, I-I don't have a boyfriend, Dad!"

"But you were with someone, weren't you? I would like to meet this guy you are seeing."

Although he didn't know where Chichi was or with whom, he knew that his daughter must be in someone's company. He knew the daughter he had, and even though he was not entirely privy to the details of her love life, Gyumao knew that she was a good and responsible girl, and that lately, she was seeing someone who made her smile and sigh all over the house. It was clear to him that his daughter was in love. He didn't usually meddle in her personal affairs, after all, she was an adult, but he felt that she limited herself in many things because of him, or more precisely because of the excessive concern she had for him.

"It's nothing serious, Dad!" she replied, shrugging.

"All right!" he shrugged. "When you're comfortable enough to introduce me, I'd like to meet him!"

Chichi was silent and just stared at the phone in her hands, remembering Goku's call. He seemed worried about her. Maybe she shouldn't have sneaked out of there without saying goodbye to him, after all, they had an amazing night.

"And anyway, it's just a routine appointment, no big deal. You didn't have to come!"

"It doesn't matter!" she crossed her arms and frowned. "Important things can come up in these consultations, Dad, you know that."

"And if they do, you'll be the first to know, my dear." he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "But you can't stop your life because of me."

"It's not about that, Dad. Your health's my priority, you are my priority and always will be!" she sounded a little annoyed.

"You should be your priority, darling. You and your happiness!" Gyumao replied, gently. "I've lived my life, I've had my adventures, I've had a great marriage, and I have a wonderful daughter. I'm old and tired, but I can still manage very well on my own. You go a bit overboard with your worry and care, and, don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't enjoy your care or your company, but I'm not incapable… yet."

At that moment, however, Goku's words came to her mind, "Maybe your father just wants you on his side as his daughter, you know? He just got back from a trip, he must be missing you. Leave this part of care to the docs, to the nurses, just be you, Chichi, his daughter."

Chichi shook her head. This wasn't the first time her father had come up with that speech either, but how could she not worry about him? How could she leave him alone? She had tried before, she had left home for a few years, but she had to come back to take care of him, he needed her, and she couldn't just turn her back on him. There were only the two of them, for so long…

"But dad-"

"My darling!" Gyumao interrupted her and looked deep into her eyes. "Just don't stop living your life because of me. Don't stop having fun, loving, and living fully because you're worried about your old man here. All I want is for you to be happy! And, to be quite honest, I wanna have grandchildren before I die too."

He laughed loudly and made Chichi slightly blush. She looked once more at the phone in her hands that lit up with a text message that had just arrived and sighed.

Maybe she really should live her life more, maybe she really should take the opportunities that life was giving her.

Goku couldn't stop staring at his phone screen and his heart would race every time he received a new notification, only to be disappointed when he noticed it wasn't from Chichi. Every now and then he would receive a message from some woman, whether it was an old affair or some new one interested in him, but he would just ignore it. He hadn't had any new interest in a long time, because the only one that truly interested him was Chichi's.

They haven't spoken since that morning he called her, in fact, she just answered a message from him saying that everything was fine with her father followed by a sentence commenting that their date had been fun, but after that, she never answered him again. And that had been at least four days ago.

His mind tried to find a reasonable explanation for this: she must have been very busy, her father must have needed a lot of care, she must have been studying. Anything! At first, he thought that something might have happened, but he followed not only her social media but also her friends, so he knew that things were apparently normal over there.

His leg was shaking and the anxiety was eating him up inside. He wanted to see her, kiss her, hold her... Just to be with her and talk, hear her sweet voice, or look into her beautiful brown eyes. His heart raced just at the thought. He never imagined that a woman could have such an effect on him.

"So, sweetie, how are things going at work?"

He raised his eyes when he heard the voice that called him and the pair of black eyes that stared at him with a certain sweetness. He smiled and responded emotionless as he crossed his arms behind his head: "Same old, same old, Mrs. Gine."

"You don't look very happy!" Gine remarked.

"Nah!" he made a dismissive hand signal. "It's a good job, I have nothing to complain about. I can pay the bills, that's enough!"

Gine smiled softly. She had black, spiky hair that fell down to her shoulders, not as wild as her son's, but people could see the resemblance. Her eyes were black and slightly slanted. She had a small body and thin arms.

"You know I want you to be happy, don't you, my dear?

"I know mom, but it's just a job." Goku shrugged. He had never overthought about it, for it was what he had and what sustained him.

Gine was silent for a moment, looking away from Goku, who had noticed that something was troubling her. Her mother looked nervous, anxious, and kept moving her fingers and hands around.

"Are you all right, Mom?" he asked.

"Huh? Yes, sweetie, I'm fine, yes!"

"Is there something going on? Do you need something? Money?" Goku asked worriedly. He always took care to ensure that she or his grandpa lacked nothing, and his mother's evident nervousness was making him a little tense. "Is grandpa okay?

"He's fine, yes, my dear, there's nothing to worry about. We're also not having any financial problems or anything like that. You can rest assured!" she smiled sweetly and stroked Goku's hair, but bit her lower lip before sitting down at the table with a bowl full of brownies. "Eat up sweetie, I made them for you!"

Goku salivated in the same instant. He loved the brownies his mother made, they were his favorite.

"Hmmm..." he inhaled the aroma eagerly before popping a whole brownie into his mouth and starting to chew. "This is delicious!"

"Good, sweetheart. You can eat them all, I made them, especially for you!" Gine encouraged him by pushing a glass of milk at him. Honestly, sometimes she felt like he was still her baby.

Goku squeezed a smile with his lips as he chewed and took a sip of the milk. Gine then bit her lower lip and drummed her fingers on the table, apprehensive. Goku then realized that she still wanted to say something more. He stared at her while still chewing on a brownie.

"Honey, the reason I asked you to come here today is because..." she said before he could ask anything, and then held her son's hands. "There's something that... Something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Goku's heart suddenly shot up. His mother's tone was serious, although she spoke very calmly.

Gine pressed her lips together and clasped her hands together.

"Come on, Mom, what's wrong? You're making me worried!"

She bit her tongue, hesitantly. Goku's curious black eyes stared at her with expectation, but also fear. How would she tell him that?

"It's just that..."

"That...?"

Gine took a deep breath and sat back down at the table in front of Goku, taking his hand in hers. Goku then pushed the plate of brownies away and took a wide gulp of milk with his free hand before wiping his mouth.

"You know that I love you and your brother more than anything in the world, right?" she asked and Goku nodded, sure of his mother's words, but a little suspicious. "And you know that I have dedicated my whole life to you, to take care of you, so that you have a good future!"

"Right..."

"Well... First of all, I wanna tell you that nothing, none of this will ever change! Never! That you and your brother will always be my priority in my life and that nothing in the world will replace the love I have for you. You're my children! And know that I wouldn't be bringing this up if... if I really wasn't sure what I was feeling or what I wanted for my life." As she said this, Gine looked at Goku whose expression was one of uncertainty. She knew that she had to be very cautious in what she was going to say, even though Goku was an adult, a grown man, when it came to some matters, he could simply behave like a child. "But the thing is... I met someone."

Goku was completely mute as he looked at her and blinked slowly. The matriarch waited for a reaction, a comment, anything, but nothing happened. He was static. Perhaps the information was slowly being processed in his brain.

As those words penetrated his mind, he felt his body freeze, from head to toe. He stiffened when he finally asked emotionlessly:

"Someone?"

"He's a pediatrician at the hospital. He was transferred a few months ago and ... we are dating."

"Dating?" Goku almost jumped out of his chair.

"Yes," she answered calmly, already knowing that this would be a challenge and that even brownies might not be able to tame him. "We've been getting to know each other for a few weeks now and things have gotten more serious, so I'm telling you because I want you to meet him. I want him to meet our family."

"Dating?" he repeated, ignoring her entire speech. "Is this a joke, Mom? Because I'm not finding this funny at all."

"It's not a joke, sweetie, it's serious!"

"My mom, dating!" Goku made an expression of disbelief. This was absurd to him, and frankly, he thought it would never happen. "Dating?"

"Honey, I know this is a lot for you to process right now, but..."

"How? When?"

"Sweetheart..."

"What-you- no! No! My mother-my mother doesn't go out... dating!" he grimaced in disgust. "That's teenage stuff! Not-not my mother!"

"Goku Kakarot Son!" Gine lowered her voice and looked at him sternly, her brow furrowed and her hands on her waist, a threatening pose that Goku was already well familiar with and feared every time he witnessed. "Watch what you say about me! Respect me!"

Goku shut up immediately, although his face was grumpy and his arms were crossed. Then he asked, grumpily: "And who's this guy, this doctor who's seducing the nurses? That's harassment, you know?!"

Gine shook her head harshly. "He's not like you, Kakarot." she replied, earning a disgusted frown from her son for calling him by his second name.

The matriarch knew that her son was no saint, although she didn't know how much of a womanizer he was. But she knew that he used to go out and be with women that he had no intention of seeing anymore. She had argued with him several times about this, saying that it wasn't right, and Goku always answered that she was right, but it was no big deal, it was just a flirtation that leads to nothing, so this made her believe that it was not a frequent behavior, but she still knew that he did it.

"Toma is a good man and you'll like him when you meet him. I'm sure."

"I don't want to meet this guy!"

"But you'll have to meet him at some point, honey!"

Goku let out a cynical laugh. "And have you told Raditz yet? I'm sure he won't be at all pleased to hear this story either."

Gine sighed deeply. "Yes, Raditz has known about it for a few days now, and for your information, he supported me in my decision!"

"Whaaat?!" Goku opened his mouth, incredulous. "And he didn't tell me anything?! That traitor... And Grandpa?"

"Same!"

"Traitors!" he muttered.

The matriarch put her hand on her forehead and took another deep breath. She needed a lot of patience to deal with her youngest sometimes. She knew he would be the worst of all, so she tried to at least feed him well before dropping the bomb.

"We're having lunch here at home next month, to introduce Toma to you." she informed and Goku opened his mouth to retort, but was immediately cut off by her. "No buts, Goku. You'll come and you will treat Toma with respect, for I did not raise you to be rude!"

Goku's shoulders slumped in a sign of defeat. There was no way he could defy an order from his mother, but he was completely disgusted by that news.

First Chichi would disappear from his apartment first thing in the morning after they had sex, then she would no longer answer his messages, and now this? That news that his mother was dating?!

What was supposed to be a memorable week for him was in reality becoming a nightmare.

End Notes:

Wow, Goku woke up alone and abandoned in bed. Who would have thought? Why did Chichi leave? Especially now that he accepted he was in love with her...

See, that's why people shouldn't feel sorry for Goku. He's still immature and sexist, even his own mother isn't safe from it. He needs to improve to deserve Chichi! 😤

But let's see how this situation will unfold... We're almost at the end, but there's still a lot to happen yet...

gigichow: thank you very much for your kind words. It's nice to know that you're enjoying this story. I don't get so many reviews, so sometimes I feel there's no one reading 😅 but the few people who are reading motivate me to still continuing writing and publishing! ❤️

DBZWars: I don't think so. I just came up with these Dragon Ball meanings for this story, but maybe they do mean something? I dunno lol but I guess they don't, or I would have heard of it by now.

Well, NOW Goku's experiencing the same feeling... let's hope it will teach him some lessons, right?

Krillin is really the best, isn't he?