Hello everyone! So here's the next chapter! Sorry its a little late, I had to get round to editing and have just started my final year of uni so am very busy right now. The only reason I have managed to update is because I have been sick all week - and I realised its been over a month since I last posted. So here's the next instalment of Gohan's unfolding adventures - thank you everyone who have been reading and been so supportive so far! You absolute stars! Enjoy :) xx
Chapter Eighteen
The Single Mothers Club
xxxx
"Alright Goten, lets go."
It seemed ridiculous that he was the only one of the Z-Fighter's not entering the tournament, even his little brother was competing for goodness sake. Of course, it took several months to convince him, but the look on his brother's face and his mother's relentless nagging finally wore him down.
September was just on the horizon, and Gohan's exams had come and gone, which he was elated to find that he had passed with flying colours. But despite the holiday Bulma had given him off before starting his internship, the young saiyan still had work to do, which started today in the grassy planes of Mount Paozu with Goten.
The young saiyan was dressed in a dark purple gi with a red sash, that displayed his muscles and tattoos. He wore black training boots and red weighted wrist bands that Piccolo had given him for his birthday. Goten was also dressed in a fighting gi, but his was long sleeved, black and orange in colour, with a blue sash tied tightly around his middle.
The young boy was excited to get started, yet Gohan was finding it difficult to concentrate, as he had to keep an eye on Gokuto.
The five month old was currently sat in his bouncer, admiring the butterflies that circled around him. His emerald eyes sparkled at his surroundings, his tail swishing with anticipation. Although the boy was unbearably cute, Gohan was nearing the end of his tether with the child. Gokuto hadn't slept through one night without waking up screaming. He didn't know if there was something wrong with him or that, sadly he just still hadn't bonded with the boy and vice versa.
Still, the child seemed settled for now, much to Gohan's relief.
"So you want me to hit you with the rocks?" asked Goten, breaking the teenager out of his thoughts.
Gohan sighed, "For the fifth time, yes Goten."
"But why?"
The young saiyan slapped a hand to his head. Just how many times did he have to go through this?
He thought picking Goten to train with rather than any of the Z-Fighters would be the easier option, and would save him from getting his arse kicked a hundred times over. He wasn't bothered about winning, all he had to do was make it look like he was doing his bit to take part. He would never hear the end of it other wise.
Yet Gohan had never trained with Goten before, and he was quickly beginning to understand why.
"It's a drill that Piccolo taught me," explained Gohan, "It sharpens intuitive reaction."
"Into-wut?"
He sighed again, "It teaches you how to act when you don't have time to think!"
"Ooh, I think I get it," said Goten happily, placing more rocks on the ground beside him.
"Good," said the teen, "Now remember to stay behind the line, no cheating alright?"
"Alright!" chimed Goten, before picking up a rock and throwing it as hard as he could.
The teenager blinked as the rock came hurtling towards him, a lot quicker than he expected. He barely managed to dodge it as it sped past him, embedding itself into the mountain behind him and whizzing through the other side in a display of impressive strength.
"Fucking hell," Gohan swore, sizing up the hole that Goten's throw had left.
"This is fun Gohan, let's go again!"
"WAIT!" The young saiyan yelled, hurrying forwards and pushing his brother back a few feet, "You know what, I think we should move the line back a bit. I didn't know you could throw that hard Goten! That was actually amazing!"
"Wow thanks Gohan!" his brother smiled.
The teen couldn't help but grin, "Alright, so you ready to go again?"
"Yep!"
"On the count of three, just fire them at me Goten! One, two, three!"
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
Gohan dodged each rock as they sped towards him, flipping over and ducking as they crashed into the mountain. Though he wouldn't admit it, Piccolo and Vegeta's training had certainly paid off, he hadn't felt so agile in years.
He grinned, hearing Gokuto clap and giggle from his bouncer as he shot into the air once more, transforming into his super saiyan form as he went.
"Step it up Goten!" Gohan yelled, coming back down to the earth as another flurry of rocks careened towards him.
"Nice!" he praised, flipping over one handed and avoiding three rocks that sped towards him like speeding bullets at the same time.
Suddenly, it was over, and Gohan had thought they had ran out of rocks when he saw the saddened look on his brother's face.
"Goten? What's up?"
"I want to be like you now," said the young halfling.
Gohan frowned, "Like me? What do you mean?"
"You know, super saiyan."
The teenager snorted with laughter, "Aw don't worry Goten, you're a little young yet to be thinking about that. It takes a lot of hard years of training to become a super saiyan, although I was the youngest super saiyan ever. Don't worry about it, I bet you'll be a super saiyan soon enough-"
His sentence was abruptly cut off, by the appearance of a shining golden light than illuminated the planes around them. An almighty bellow sounded from his little brother's chest as he was engulfed in hot golden flames. Goten's black hair stood on end, turning to gold in an instant, his eyes glistened a vibrant shade of green, and he had the most angered look on his face that Gohan had never seen in such a young boy before.
"G-Goten?!" Gohan spluttered, "Y-your a super saiyan?! When?! How?! What the actual fuck!"
The golden flames dissipated, though his hair still remained gold, "Oh you know, training with Mummy."
The teenager felt as though he had been slapped in the face, "Of course you were. Blimey Goten you're not even six years old yet!"
"Is that bad?" he asked glumly, "Mummy says I'm not allowed to do it again."
"N-No, Goten," Gohan said sincerely, though still a little flustered, "It's amazing! When did this happen?!"
Goten frowned in thought, "I don't remember."
"Oh Kami," groaned the teen, "and let me guess, Trunks can turn super saiyan as well?"
"Oh yeah!" Goten exclaimed gleefully, "We do it all the time in our fighting games."
"Fighting games?!" he cried, "No wonder you can both turn super saiyan, does Vegeta know?"
"No…"
"Good," said the teen, "Don't tell him."
"Why?"
"I don't even want to explain the shit we were subjected to when Dad could turn super saiyan and he couldn't," he informed the boy, "Right, what do you say to moving Gokuto somewhere a little bit safer and get some real training done?"
As the days went on, he had to admit that he was rather enjoying himself. He was taking it slow, most training sessions ending up with him teaching his little brother how to control his super saiyan form, along with a few moves. Training with Goten was actually turning out to be fun.
It was nice, just the three of them; him, Goten and Gokuto out in the scorching meadows all day. Occasionally his mother would come by on Nimbus to drop by some lunch for them and play with a restless Gokuto for a while. When Gohan thought back to such a happy scene, he wished his father could see just what he was missing out on.
Just not when Gokuto was having one of his tantrums.
"I think what you need is more support," Bulma offered one day when Gokuto was in the mist of such a fit, his chubby fists grasping onto Gohan's long hair, his face red and his eyes screwed up in despair. The crying was enough to make the young saiyan's head spin.
"Support from who exactly?" Gohan guffawed, "Mum wants me to be as independent as I can, Piccolo is no use and Vegeta only helped once. Everyone else is terrified he'll scream their ears off. I don't know whats wrong with him Bulma, he cries all. the. time. I'm so tired I don't know what to do anymore!"
"It's hard being a parent," she nodded in sympathy, before adding thoughtfully, "well not for me, I have people to put Bulla down for a nap when I'm working…"
Gohan shot her a most hateful glare.
"Although, I'd say you've got it a lot harder than most. You're going to be under a lot of pressure once you start your internship in a couple of weeks, not to mention Chi-Chi's been telling me you've been training Goten… hows that going by the way?"
"Good," said Gohan stiffly, struggling not to mention that his little brother had achieved the legendary transformation of the saiyan race, he had no doubt Bulma had no clue about Trunks' transformation either.
"Well, I think I may have a little something that might help," she continued, rummaging around in her desk draw, "It may take up a bit of your free time but its worth a try."
"Bulma, at this rate, I'll try anything," Gohan huffed, attempting to soothe the crying boy by bouncing him up and down on his knee.
Bulma beamed proudly, pushing a flamboyant pink and flowered leaflet towards him.
Gohan squinted, attempting to read the writing through the sickly bright colouring, it read;
Come along to the Single Mother's of West City Club!
Where Mummy's and babies shine!
'Aim for the moon, even if you fall you'll land amongst the stars'
Coffee Morning's every Wednesday 9am-11am
West Eden Community Centre
Appleby Lane
West City
"You've got to be fucking joking."
"No I'm not mister! And watch that mouth in front of Gokuto!" Bulma scolded.
Gohan ignored her, staring in disgust at the glittery pamphlet, "What even is it?"
"It's a single mother's club," said Bulma, rolling her eyes, "I always get tons of leaflets through the door, and I kept this one for you. Excuse me for caring."
"What is this, 'even if you fall you'll land amongst the stars'?"
"It's their mantra."
"Sounds like a load of bollocks to me."
"It's empowering," the blue haired women pressed dissaprovingly, "Honestly Gohan I think you should go, it'll be good for you, you might pick up some tips!"
Gohan sighed, "Isn't there a group for, I dunno, single dads or teenage parents?"
"Sorry kid, that's all I've got," she smiled, "You should give it a try, it'll give you chance to be with people that are in a similar situation to you."
"Alright, if I go, and I said if!" Gohan stressed, "You have to promise not to tell Vegeta, or anyone else for that matter!"
Bulma looked saddened, "Aw, can't I tell Eighteen? Or Launch? They'll think it's sweet!"
"Absolutely not!" he scowled, "I'm telling you Bulma, you'd better promise or else I will not be going!"
xxxx
"Welcome everyone, to Single Mothers of West City."
Gohan suppressed a groan, he couldn't believe that Bulma had signed him up for this - he couldn't believe he had actually agreed to it!
It was a breezy Wednesday morning, and the teen had already walked in late, getting lost in the city as he struggled to find the meeting place. The Single Mothers Club was situated in conference room in a small community centre. The chairs and tables had all been pushed back to the walls, with only one table set out at the back of the room, housing coffee, tea and biscuits for the group members. Everyone was given a slightly worn cushion to sit upon, which the teenager found especially uncomfortable, his knees tucked underneath him whilst he bounced Gokuto on his lap.
He had been ordered to leave the buggy outside, along with his shoes by a cheery woman at the reception. As Gohan slipped off his converse, he didn't notice any pair of shoes but his own that weren't pairs of heels or dolly shoes.
Gohan was surrounded by single mothers, ranging from their early twenties to forties. There were about twenty of them in total, all with babies and toddlers that they were either holding or letting play with the mountain of toys in the middle of the circle they were sat in.
The group was headed by a portly woman that the halfling had guessed to be in her early forties. She had frizzy brown hair and kind eyes. She was donned in a thick patterned cardigan and had numerous coloured beads hanging from her neck.
She addressed the room with an air of confidence, her smile settling on the half-saiyan.
"Now even though we do advertise as a single mothers group, we don't discriminate here," the woman, Sandra, spoke cheerily, "It's always nice to have new members. Why don't we go around the circle and introduce Mummy's and Daddy's and our little ones?"
The teenager zoned out as the woman to Sandra's left began to speak about her and her toddler. In all honestly, Gohan couldn't really care less.
He sighed, as one of the babies next to him was promptly sick all over herself, gurgling happy as she turned to look at him with a toothless grin.
He couldn't believe he paid two Zeni to get into this hellhole. Stuff the coffee fund, he didn't even like coffee!
"… and he did his first wee wee on the potty yesterday!" Another woman spoke from beside him, cuddling her toddler to her bosom.
Realising an applause had begun, Gohan quickly followed suit, switching his hands for his tail to hold Gokuto in place.
"Well done Maximilian!" Sandra cooed at the boy who's face was covered in drool, "Now, it's our newest member's time to shine…"
The young saiyan froze, as all eyes snapped towards him in interest.
"Come now, don't be shy," Sandra ushered gently, "Why don't you start by telling us your name?"
"Um," he started, holding onto his son a little tighter for support, "Well, I'm Gohan."
"Hello Gohan!" the women chorused.
"And I'm a single parent," he added, copying what the other's had said.
"Welcome Gohan, welcome," Sandra grinned.
The women looked at him expectantly, "Yeah, um. A friend forced- I mean, suggested I come here, so I really don't know what to say."
"That's quite alright," she smiled, "Everyone's nervous the first time. How's about telling us about about yourself Gohan?"
"Er, I'm sixteen," he continued, trying to think of some kind of story, "I'm actually from the Eastern Mountains but I'm staying with an aunt in the city for a while… um…"
"And your little one?"
"Oh," he said hurriedly, gesturing to the baby boy, "this is Gokuto, he's five months old. And yeah, he has a tail, like me. Runs in the family."
No one seemed to care about the boy's furry appendage as the women positively gushed over him.
"Oh he's adorable!" a breastfeeding woman with an afro cooed, "Look at those chubby little cheeks!"
"I could just eat him up!" a singleton named Elsie swooned, tickling Gokuto's tummy.
Gokuto squealed with laughter, his tail waving frantically around him.
"Yeah, I suppose he is pretty cute," Gohan smiled, as the group fawned over his son.
"Like his dad eh?" Mother of twins, Talulah winked.
Gohan barely saw Gokuto for the rest of the meeting, as he was constantly being passed around by his new adoring fans.
The coffee break came around in no time at all, and the young saiyan was currently attempting to gulp down a steaming cup of coffee that had been thrust into his hands by Sandra, whilst Gokuto was nestled in between the bosom of another mother.
Sighing to himself, he made to reach for his tenth spoon of sugar when he knocked hands with someone.
"Whoops, sorry," he said, turning to a girl who looks to be a few years older than him.
She was about the same height as Gohan, with long straight blonde hair and light grey eyes. She was dressed in leggings and a tight long sleeved shirt, odd socks upon her feet.
The teenager blinked, she was very good looking, and the shirt she was wearing didn't leave much to the imagination.
"Got the same idea have you?" she mused, "I need something sweet if I have to endure another half an hour of this."
Gohan grinned, he was too busy brooding earlier he hadn't even noticed her.
"Same," he sighed, placing his cup back on the table, "What I wouldn't kill for a cigarette."
Her eyes lit up, "You smoke? Oh thank the gods! At least I have one person that wont judge me."
The halfling watched her, as she pulled out a packet of cigarettes from her purse, "Want one?"
With a look to make sure that Gokuto was still thoroughly entertained, he followed her outside, where they lit up and smoked in the car park.
"Honestly, I can't deal with those self righteous mothers," the girl scoffed, inhaling her fix, "Every week they turn up and boast how they've got so much sleep and baked a million fairy cakes. I'm sitting there thinking, I barely have time to piss!"
Gohan laughed, twirling his cigarette in between his fingers, "I know what you mean. And what's with the million milestone kid? What, he gets awarded for sticking a piece of lego up his nose every five minutes?"
She chuckled, "It's Gohan right? Kami, it's nice to talk to someone who actually gets it."
"Yeah," he grinned, "Sorry, but I didn't catch your name?"
"That bored were you?" she smirked, "It's Eve. My little boy's Amos, he's six months. Did you see the baby with really bright blonde hair? Sat with Sandra most of the morning, she loves him. Looks just like me thank Kami, his ugly prick of a dad left when I found out I was pregnant."
She finished, staring at him and cocking her head to one side, "So, what's your story?"
Gohan took another drag, not saying anything.
"That bad huh?" she winced, "Don't worry I'm sure the single mother's of West City will help you through it."
He laughed at her sarcastic tone, "How long have you been coming?"
"About two months," Eve admitted, "I moved here for uni from Satan City, got a place on my own after I got pregnant and had to drop out, so I don't really have many people to hang around with. It's nice here at the club, but there is a few nutters."
"I'm sure I can handle it," he grinned.
"I don't know," she mused, "You haven't gone through the emotional roller coaster yet, wait until they set the tears on you."
"Aw man," Gohan whined, "is that optional?"
"Definitely not, it's like your initiation to the group."
The teenager sighed, "Parenting is so hard. I had to travel all the way over here with a screaming baby, after being up all night with a screaming baby and now you're telling me I have to endure more screaming and crying from grown women! Is this what parenting is? Because so far, it really blows."
Silence greeted him as he finished his rant, and he looked towards her hesitantly, thinking he had said too much when she asked;
"Do you want to grab the babies, skip out and go for an ice-cream or something?"
Twenty minutes later, and Gohan was in Eve's apartment overlooking West City, not entirely sure how he had ended up here. They had somehow managed to forget all about ice cream and soon enough the teenager had followed her up to her apartment, placed the babies in the playpen and was currently snogging her furiously in the hallway.
"I haven't had sex in four months," Eve panted as she was pinned up the wall by Gohan. The young saiyan ravaging her neck with his lips.
At her words, he looked up, resting his forehead on hers, his onyx eyes full of lust, "I don't think I've slept for that long."
"Oh Kami!" the girl moaned in ecstasy, pushing him up the adjacent wall and tearing off his t-shirt by pulling it over his head.
"Every morning," she breathed heavily, her hands running all over his muscular shoulders, as he dipped his head low to kiss her chest, "Every morning I wake up with baby sick in my hair."
"I don't remember the last time I washed mine," the halfling groaned, lifting her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist.
Eve moaned, as Gohan ripped her shirt clean off, attempting to kick off his shoes at the same time. They bundled into the bedroom, crashing into her desk as they went. Clawing and tackling each other as pencils and books spilled out onto the ground around them.
"Last week, I spent nine hundred Zeni on a push chair," she whispered longingly, unbuckling his belt hurriedly, "I don't even have enough money to go back to uni."
Gohan panted, spinning them around and landing on top of her on the bed. He kissed her deeply, her hands running through his spikey hair.
Then, pulling back with a smirk, he whispered huskily, "I didn't even finish school."
She gasped, throwing her head backwards in pure ecstasy, "Oh! Say it again!"
"I didn't. finish. school," he said lowly.
With that, the blonde haired girl rolled them over, straddling him as she pushed him down on the bed. She did so with such force, that he nearly smacked his head off the headboard.
As the rest of his clothes were quickly taken care of, Gohan couldn't help but think that maybe he had been too harsh on Bulma. Maybe The Single Mothers of West City Club wasn't so bad for him after all.
xxxx
"So brat, hows your mother's meetings going?"
It was a quiet Wednesday evening some few weeks later, and Gohan had decided to stop by Capsule Corp. for dinner after the single mother's club. Gokuto was busy playing with Bulla and Trunks on the floor next to them in the large dining room, whilst the teenager was enjoying a meal with Bulma and Vegeta that the kitchen staff had prepared.
"You told him?!" Gohan growled suddenly at Bulma, his fork falling onto his plate with a loud clatter.
"Sorry," Bulma smiled sheepishly, "I couldn't help it! I just think it's such a good thing you're doing."
"So you decided to tell Vegeta of all people?"
"Well he is my husband…" she said admittedly.
"That doesn't mean anything!" He yelled, "Who else have you told?"
"No one!" she protested, yet Vegeta cut across her.
"Your blasted mother and father were there when you told me woman, don't lie to the boy."
"Well that's not too bad I suppose…" said Gohan.
"And you happened to let it slip to the Namek when he was here earlier this morning enquiring as to the brat's whereabouts."
"Bulma!"
"Im sorry!" she cried, "that time it really was an accident!"
The young saiyan sighed, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest, "Great, by this time tomorrow the whole gang will know. Cheers for that."
"Oh don't be silly Gohan," said Bulma, "It's nothing to be ashamed of! Now, have you learned anything useful?"
The teenager thought for a moment, before looking towards them both with a wicked smirk, "Yeah actually, I learned that it's a great way to get laid."
Bulma's expression was priceless, as Vegeta roared with laughter.
"Gohan!" Bulma cried in despair, "I told you to go there and meet new people! It's supposed to be educational!
"But he is getting an education woman," The prince grinned, "Didn't you hear?"
"Yes but you're not supposed to be doing… doing that!" she yelled.
"Bulma!" the teenager gasped mockingly, "Just because I'm a parent doesn't mean I'm not allowed to date!"
"I didn't mean that kid," she replied with a sigh, "But for Kami's sake Gohan just how old is this woman? I don't think your mother would approve."
"She's nineteen for your information!" He scowled, as Vegeta erupted again, "Her son's about a month older than Gokuto. Kami Bulma, do you really think I'd go out with someone that much older than me?"
"At this rate, I wouldn't put it past you kid."
"Hey!" yelled Gohan.
"I'm just saying Gohan," Bulma sighed, "Nothing surprises me about you anymore."
"I beg to differ," said the teen with a wicked smile.
"So this girl," Bulma pressed, "Is she your girlfriend?"
"Sort of," he admitted.
"Sort of?"
"Well yeah, we just kind of meet up at the club and then go back to hers, thats about it really," he informed her, picking up his fork and popping a sprout into his mouth.
"And they say romance is dead," said Bulma, shaking her head with a small smile.
"Bababababa"
"Yayayabayaya"
The three occupants at the table turned their attention to the floor, where Bulla and Gokuto were playing together on the rug, Trunks having long since gotten bored of the babies and having disappeared to the confines of his bedroom.
"Bababababa?" gurgled Bulla, patting Gokuto's tail.
The baby boy giggled from where he was propped up by a stack of pillows, "Yahyahyahyah."
"Aw, how cute," said Bulma, "I wonder what they're talking about."
Gohan couldn't help but laugh, as Bulla patted Gokuto on the head, causing him to topple backwards onto the pillows. But surprisingly the littlest saiyan didn't cry, he simply drooled, clapping his chubby hands together and swishing his tail about him.
Bulla was besotted by the furry appendage, making grabs for it when it came near her.
"Alright Bulla be careful now, Gokuto needs to build up strength in his tail before you go tugging on it," said Bulma, picking up her daughter and settling her on her knee.
Gokuto whimpered as his little friend disappeared from his line of sight, so Gohan quickly grabbed him and placed him on his lap so that he could see Bulla was still there.
"Speaking of training brat, how's it going?" Vegeta asked him, eyeing him skeptically.
"Really well actually, Goten's coming on in leaps and bounds," Gohan informed them, smirking, "Funny thing actually, did you know that Goten and Trunks can turn into super saiyan's now?"
"W-what?"
"Yup, full blown golden hair, green eyes, the whole shebang," he grinned wickedly, "anyway, I'd better get Gokuto to bed, big day of internship studying tomorrow! See you!"
With that, he was out the door and had taken off into the skies, only staying far enough behind to hear the exasperated shrieks of Vegeta.
"TRUNKS! Get down here boy! Now!"
Kami he loved being the element of surprise.
