Author's note:
Finally another update. I truly apologize for the length of time between the updates but this past week and a half has been insane. Truly. In any case, here is chapter 5—it's quite a bit longer than the others. Credit goes to Teddy for suggesting the camping trip and Mr. Satan's reaction. This was really fun to write and the suggestions were great!
Feedback is much appreciated so keep it coming! Keep the suggestions flowing and I'll keep writing.
Peace, love, and Dragonball
Chapter 5: Family Ties
"Gohan! Gohan! Wake up! Mom says it's time to wake up!" Goten cried as he bounded into his brother's room happily and jumped on his bed.
"MMMFFFSH!" Gohan said with a muffled cry as his little brother bounced up and down on his bed, giggling happily, "Goten! Get 'offa me!"
"Mom says you need to get up!" Goten explained happily, "also Videl wants you."
"Hmm?" Gohan said with a peaked interest as he stopped trying to throw his brother off the bed and Goten giggled at his reaction to Videl's name. He had forgotten that Videl had stayed the night on the couch, "Videl is up already? What time is it?"
"Umm," Goten said looking at the clock on Gohan's wall with puzzlement. He still was learning how to read an analog clock, "it's five-ten o'clock!" He said proudly as Gohan looked at him, bewildered.
"I think you mean ten o'five, sport," Gohan said with mild exasperation as he rolled over and looked at his clock. Sure enough, it was five past ten, "still need to work on that a little, huh."
"Ehheh," Goten said with a blush as he got off his brother's bed and headed out, "don't go back to sleep, mkay?"
Gohan chuckled as he walked over and started getting dressed. He really was a cute kid sometimes. He clicked on his TV to a random channel and opened a drawer. He was just about to pull on a pair of jeans as he heard a knock on the door.
"I'll be down in a minute, Goten!" he hollered over his shoulder with one leg in his pants, mildly annoyed at his brother's pestering.
"It's me actually," came a soft voice from the doorway, sounding slightly embarrassed on walking in on Gohan getting dressed, "I'll come back in a minute when you're dressed if you like…"
"N-no!" Gohan said, turning around so fast that he tripped on the other pant leg and fell over, "It's ok! I don't mind, really! Come on in!"
Videl giggled at watching Gohan fall over and walked over to his bed and sat down as Gohan got up looking flustered and finished putting on his jeans. He took off his nightshirt, revealing a muscular back, and put on a fresh one and walked over to his bed to sit next to Videl.
"D'you sleep ok?" Gohan asked, feeling slightly awkward. He felt bad putting her on the couch, but they didn't have any more beds and it really wouldn't have been proper for them to sleep together—not yet anyway.
"Yeah it was great," Videl said, smiling as she reached out to hold Gohan's hand, "my dad is going to be furious when I get home for spending the night at a boy's house, but so what."
"Maybe I should come with you and talk to him," Gohan said guiltily, "It was me who made you stay after all."
"You didn't make me do anything," Videl said with a smile, "I was just having too much fun to want to leave. Besides, I doubt my dad would have wanted me to fly home in my jetcopter—not at night, and he hates when I fly using energy."
"I could have flown you"
"Yeah," she said apathetically as she put her head on Gohan's shoulder and nuzzled his cheek, "but then I wouldn't have been able to stay with you last night, would I?"
"I guess you're right," Gohan said, happily recalling their night of watching movies as he giggled from Videl's tickling. He put his arm around her and put his cheek up against hers.
"Ouch!" She squealed in pain, "Don't you shave? That hurts!"
"Oh," Gohan said, sheepishly as he rubbed his hand over his face, shocked to find that it was rough and itchy, "I actually have never had to before."
"Well, you'd better do it," Videl said as Gohan pressed his lips against hers.
The two of them sat embraced in each other's arms for a few second, smiling as Gohan explored Videl's back, and as Videl felt his muscular chest.
"Gohan! Videl! Come down for break—EW!" Goten said as he waltzed into his brother's room as he and Videl locked lips.
"Goten go away! Give us some space would ya!" Gohan said irritably as he and Videl hurriedly broke apart, Videl blushing.
"I'll just go downstairs for some food," Videl said uncomfortably, getting up and walking past Goten in the doorway.
"Bye Videl!" Goten said cheerily, not realizing what he had walked in on.
"What was that for?" Gohan asked, annoyed, "I told you not to come into my room without asking! I told you I'd be down in a minute."
"Yeah, well you were taking too long, and I was bored!" Goten said, crossing his arms across his chest, "besides, you and Videl were just talking anyway, what's the problem with that?"
"You'll understand when you're older," Gohan sighed as he picked his phone off of his bedside table and walked towards the door
"What's that supposed to mean?" Goten pouted as he followed his brother out of his room, "were you and Videl working on some secret move that you don't want me to know about? I hate being kept out of things!"
"No, it's not that," Gohan said exasperatedly, "Like I said, you'll understand when you're older."
"I wanna know now!"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Would too!"
"Would not!"
"Gohan I'm not a little kid, I can understand grown up stuff too! I bet you and Videl came up with the most awesome new attack and I wanna know now!"
"I told you that wasn't it!"
The two bickered like this all the way to the kitchen, finding both Chichi and Videl standing at the stove, looking alarmed at the argument that was unfolding before their eyes.
"Gohan why can't you tell me?"
"Because you wouldn't understand!"
"Yes I would!"
"No you wouldn't!"
"Yes I wou—"
"WHOA!" Chichi said loudly, placing herself between her two boys and extending her arms out, separating them. Videl turned back to the stove, blushing since she knew what they were arguing about her and Gohan, "what are you two fighting about? And so early?"
"Goten just came barging in on me and Videl this morning without even knocking, and he won't leave me alone about it!" Gohan said, staring down his brother who wasn't backing down at all.
"Yeah, well you were taking too long and Mom wanted you to get up ages ago!" Goten retaliated, shouting down his brother, "you've already wasted half the day sleeping!"
"Have not!"
"Have too!"
"Have not!"
"Ok both of you just calm down!" Chichi said exasperatedly, "Gohan, look at the time, you already slept away the entire morning, Goten, you know better than to burst into your brother's room while he's sleeping."
"But mom!"
"No buts Goten!"
"Mom you don't understand!"
"Gohan, I understand perfectly. Now both of you just sit down and eat your breakfast. Where's your father?"
"I'm here Chichi!" came Goku's voice from outside the kitchen, "morning guys! I could hear you two arguing all the way by the river. What's going on?"
"Morning," Gohan and Goten grumbled in unison from opposite sides of the kitchen table, "we weren't arguing about anything."
"Hi Mr. Goku!" Videl piped up as she brought two heaping platefuls of eggs onto the table.
"Hi there Videl! Sleep ok?"
"Yeah it was great, thanks so much for letting me crash on the couch—I don't really like flying at night since I'm still getting used to it."
"No problem at all," Goku said, waving away Videl's gratitude as he pulled out a chair next to Goten and pulled a plate of eggs towards him, "I'd imagine that Hercule isn't pleased though,"
"Yeah," she agreed, sitting down and sighing, "he'll calm down soon."
"You know, Gohan," Goku said with a mouthful of food and gesturing to his oldest son with his fork, "you should go with Videl and talk to Hercule—might calm him down."
"Yeah I was planning on doing that actually," Gohan responded, this time using his fork to gesture to his father.
"What are you doing today, Goten?" Goku asked his youngest, taking a swig from his glass of orange juice and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"I dunno," Goten said moodily, poking his breakfast, "Prolly just watch TV or somethin'"
"What's Trunks up to today, sweetheart?" Chichi asked, not wanting Goten to spend all day in the house.
"Dunno," he said unresponsively.
"Well how about you go swimming in the river? It's a great day out!"
"I'll pass."
"Is everything alright?" Goku asked tentatively. He could tell something was not right with Goten, but he couldn't figure out what.
"Yeah, dad, everything's fine!" Goten shouted, sounding distressed, "I'll just go outside and play by myself, since I'm obviously not wanted here!"
With that he threw down his fork and ran outside, the entire table looking on in a mixture of shock and confusion as Goten vanished out the door, a distinct sniffle audible to the room. Goku looked at his wife, who looked equally as bewildered. Then he looked at Gohan, who also looked bewildered, but also slightly guilty.
"Something I should know?" Goku probed gently.
"I just don't understand," Gohan said, sitting back in his chair and running his hands through his messy black hair, "I think he's mad because I was going to spend the day with Videl, or something. Maybe he feels like I've been being negligent…"
Videl blushed as she continued to eat uncomfortably. She hated to think that she was creating all of these problems for Goku and his family.
"He's probably feeling like he's not getting any attention anymore," Chichi sighed, feeling as though she should have seen this coming, "I mean, before you came back to life it was all about him—he got all of Gohan's attention all of the time. Now with you back to training and with Gohan having Videl, I'm sure he feels like none of us cares about him anymore."
"Aw man," Gohan said, sounding really guilty now, "I shouldn't have been so hard on him this morning. It was totally innocent and I responded way to harshly."
"It's not your fault, son," Goku said consolingly, "you were basically his father for his entire life so I suppose it's natural to feel some sort of responsibility. But now I'm here, so you need to focus on being sixteen and make sure that you give as much attention to Videl as you can."
"Thanks, dad," Gohan said, sounding slightly relieved though looking worried still, "I think I should go check on him though…"
"Don't you worry about that," Goku said, getting up from his seat and waving away Gohan's suggestion, "I need to spend some time with him alone anyway—get to know him, you know. Besides, go with Videl and talk to Hercule—he'll take it better if you're there too."
"Ok, thanks, dad," Gohan said, smiling uneasily, "at least tell Goten that I'll make it up to him, ok?"
"Sure."
Goku headed out the door and into the bright crisp day. He wasn't particularly concerned with not being able to find Goten's ki—he'd been so upset as he was leaving the house that he was doubtlessly giving off tons of detectable energy. Sure enough, as Goku concentrated his mind on feeling Goten's spirit, Goku was able to locate it without any difficulty. So he blasted off, heading north and towards his upset son.
"Man I feel terrible," Gohan said miserably as he helped his mother and Videl clean up from breakfast, "he looked so upset."
"It's alright," Chichi sighed, commiserating with Gohan's guilt, "He is only seven after all so he doesn't understand what he barged in on."
"Yeah but that's just the thing," Gohan said, watching Videl's face turn red, "we weren't doing anything, really. I totally overreacted."
"He's got to learn someday that not everything is about him," his mother said defiantly, "for all these years since your father's been away every ounce of your attention that hasn't been spent on schoolwork was spent on him. It's about time that you started enjoying your life rather than worrying constantly about the wellbeing of others. Now shoo! Go have fun with Videl."
Gohan just looked at his mother in utter shock, his mouth half open and a plate hanging dangerously in his hands as he bent to put it in the dishwasher. Never had his mom ever said anything like this.
"But mom—"
"No buts! Off you go!"
Gohan looked over at Videl, who also had a dish in her hand and a look of equal confusion on her face. Gohan looked back over at his mother who had since turned her back on him, and was vigorously washing plates by hand. Judging by her stony countenance and the force with which she was cleaning a delicate plate, Gohan inferred that this was an inarguable point—despite feeling terrible about what he felt was abandoning his brother.
"Well if you say so, I guess we could, like, go see a movie or something," Gohan said uneasily, looking over at Videl, who shrugged, "then we could go see your old man later on."
"Good," Chichi responded curtly, "now get out."
Goku landed a good distance away from where Goten was and decided that he'd walk and mask his energy as much as possible. Goku thought it unlikely that Goten would be focusing on trying to detect someone following him, but Goku thought it better to be on the safe side. It wasn't that he was trying to sneak up on him or anything, it was just that he figured that Goten would bolt if he saw his father coming, and Goku wanted to avoid a chase if possible.
It didn't take long for Goku to see traces of where Goten had been. Trees had big dents in them from where he'd obviously punched them, there were great divots in the ground from where he'd kicked the ground, and there were no animals to speak of in the surrounding area, despite it being a usually lively forest. As Goku got closer, he felt Goten's ki stop moving, and start to settle down, and as Goku emerged from a clearing, he saw his son sitting on top of a rock overlooking a lake. He approached his son and heard him sniffling slightly, his arms holding his knees up against his chest. Goku walked next to his son and sat down, not saying anything, just looking out over the water.
"Hi daddy," Goten said quietly after a little while of silence.
"Hi son," Goku said calmly, looking out over the water, "you feeling better?"
"Yeah," Goten said evenly, "I don't want to talk about it though."
"That's fine," Goku responded gently, respecting Goten's request for the moment at least, "I understand."
"Thanks," Goten said, smiling.
"You sure picked a nice spot," Goku said after a little pause, still not looking at Goten.
"For what?" Goten asked, looking at his father with bleary eyes. He had obviously been crying before Goku arrived.
"Well I thought you might like to go camping with me today—this looks like a great spot," Goku said with a smile, as he looked over at his son whose face brightened up instantly.
"Camping? I've never gone camping before," Goten said excitedly, wiping his face with a sleeve, "you mean like with tents and sleeping bags and marshmallows and stuff?"
"Yeah!" Goku responded, grinning broadly, "that is, unless you've got other plans."
Goten shook his head vigorously and tackled his father, hugging him tightly.
"Gee daddy, you're the best!" he said happily.
"Your mother sure does have strong opinions, doesn't she, Gohan?" Videl asked gently as the two flew towards Satan city, leaving behind Gohan's house in the woods.
"Yeah, she sure does," he responded distractedly, smiling uneasily. He was focusing on trying to find his father and brother's spirits.
They flew in silence for a while, Videl looking straight ahead and looking apprehensive, and Gohan looking all around, trying to pinpoint his family. After a while, he detected that Goten and Goku's energies had met and subsided, so he concluded that all was well, and he brightened up.
"Sorry you had to see all this nonsense, Videl," Gohan said, blushing slightly as he looked away from Videl, "I'm honest when I say that this has never really happened before."
"Don't worry about it," Videl said with a slight giggle as she floated over to Gohan and climbed onto his back, "to be honest I found it slightly entertaining."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I don't have any siblings and I never had a mom, so I never got to experience anything like it. Besides, you're kinda cute when you're angry," she finished with a giggle and a tug on Gohan's ear.
"Uh, yeah," Gohan responded uncomfortably, blushing furiously now, "I just feel bad about Goten—I feel like I'm abandoning him."
"I wouldn't worry about it," Videl said, unconcernedly as she fought to keep her hair out of her face, "your dad was right—it's his job to be a father now. You've fulfilled that role enough already."
The two of them made small talk for a while until they arrived in Satan City, and after being sure to touch down where nobody could see them behind a building, they exited onto the street and headed towards the cinema. It was a bright crisp afternoon and the sun was warmly shining down on Videl and Gohan, who were walking down the sidewalk hand in hand, each one giggling and blushing slightly about openly showing their relationship.
"You know," Videl said coyly as they approached the theater, "I've never had a boyfriend before."
"Yeah?" Gohan said in a falsely surprised tone, grinning about the corny joke he was about to make, "I'm shocked given how beautiful you are."
"You knucklehead!" Videl said, trying to be angry through a smile as she punched Gohan in the back, "bad joke!"
"I'm sorry, but it's true!" Gohan said defensively as he blocked her next punch, "Honest!"
Videl pouted at him, her hands on her hips. After staring him down for a few seconds with a beet red face, she cracked a smile and drew him into a kiss.
"You're such a clown," she said softly, making Gohan turn a similar color red.
"Ehhe," he responded, feeling awkward.
The two didn't even care that their smooching in the middle of the sidewalk was clogging up traffic, and making people have to dodge out of the way to get around them. It didn't really matter. At least Goten wasn't here to ruin the moment this time.
"Camping!" Chichi shouted at Goku from across the kitchen table, "you want to take him camping?"
"Y-Yeah!" Goku responded weakly, putting his hands in front of his face in case Chichi decided she wanted to start throwing things at him. There was no one in the entire world scarier than his wife, "What's the problem with that?"
"Think of all the things that could happen to my baby!" Chichi shrieked, wringing her hands, "he could get attacked by a bear when he's sleeping, or, or he could get lost—you know he can't feel spirits that well yet!"
"Chichi, calm down!" Goku said, shrinking from his wife's exploding rage, "none of that's going to happen! You saw how upset he was this morning. I thought this would be the perfect way to bond with him!"
"Humph," his wife responded, crossing her arms and pouting at her husband, "I suppose that's true…"
"Yeah," Goku said, walking around the table and putting his arm around his wife, "and besides, if he's out of the way, Gohan can spend all day with Videl and not have to worry about being interrupted by his brother!"
"Well…," she said, still not convinced.
"Pleaaaase," Goku begged.
"Ok, fine," Chichi conceded, throwing her husband off of her, "but I'm going to pack him a bag right now."
With that, she took off her apron and stomped upstairs to her youngest son's room and started throwing together an enormous bag of everything under the sun. Meanwhile, Goku sneaked up to his room and packed a small backpack with just the essentials for himself and his son. After running out to the back of the house to get the tent and sleeping bags, he went out front and found Goten chasing a butterfly through the air outside.
"Ready to go, sport?" Goku asked, slinging the pack over his shoulders and handing Goten the tent and a sleeping bag to carry.
"Where's all the stuff that we'll need? Like clothes and stuff?" Goten inquired, sounding concerned.
"Right here," his father responded warmly, gesturing to the little pack on his back.
"But that bag is tiny! What about all the water we'll need?"
"We are setting up next a lake you know, son"
"Ok, well what about the food?"
"I'm sure we can find some fish around."
"What about extra clothes?"
"You're wearing clothes, aren't you?"
"Well then what do you have in that bag then?"
"Don't worry about it," Goku said sweetly, bending down and patting Goten's head. The kid was starting to get a little worked up about being out in the wilds of nature, "I promise that I am fully prepared for everything that could come our way."
That seemed to be good enough for Goten, and after picking up the sleeping bag and tent again, and hopping up onto his father's shoulders, they headed out towards their spot—on foot, not by flying or IT.
"Hey daddy," Goten asked after a couple of minutes of walking, cupping his hand over an ear and listening behind him, "is that mommy calling after us?"
"Ehhe, what?" Goku asked, speeding up his pace slightly and making as much noise with his feet as he could, "no, I don't hear anything, son. Must be just the sounds of the forest."
"Ok!" Goten said cheerily, his father's answer apparently good enough for him.
Gohan and Videl emerged from the movies at around two thirty. Neither of them had paid much attention to what was being shown—they were far too interested in enjoying each other's company. Surprisingly, the theater was essentially empty, so they had their pick of seats right in the back.
"We should probably go back to your place," Gohan said, dread audible in his voice "can't wait to see how bad your dad blows up."
"Yeah, it's gonna suck for sure," Videl said, sounding defeated as she pulled out her phone and checked the screen, "look at this, he's called me fifty-eight times and sent me over a hundred messages."
"Wow that's an impressive number," Gohan said, shocked at the over-protectiveness of Hercule. He knew that the man was a little shielding, but Videl wasn't like a baby or anything. Besides, half the kids that Gohan knew who may have ever wanted to go out with her were afraid to—not because of what Hercule could do to them, but because of what Videl could do. Next to Gohan's family and Vegeta's family, Videl was probably one of the strongest fighters on the planet.
"You ready to face the music?" Videl asked rhetorically as she walked up to her front door, turning around to find Gohan cowering a few feet behind her, "Oh grow up, you big baby."
She opened the massive double doors using a key and pushed them wide open, revealing the entrance hall into her mansion. It was enormous. There was a main staircase smack in the middle of the room that branched off right and left to the upper floors, there were fountains spurting water at the four corners of the room. Flowers grew alongside the walls of the room, and great crystal chandeliers hung from the columns on each wall. Gohan entered the house a few feet behind Videl, and when his eyes caught sight of the incredible house before him, his mouth hit the floor, and his eyes glazed over. Never in his life had he seen such a beautiful room—except for maybe in a textbook—and to think that someone actually lived here?
"Hi Daddy! I'm home!" Videl called trying to sound cheery and carefree, her voice echoing around the room and house as she approached the stairs and started to climb them, beckoning for Gohan to join her.
Gohan apprehensively entered the house, instantly feeling as though eyes were watching him. Sure enough, as he looked around, countless maids and housekeepers were staring suspiciously at him.
"Videl, maybe I should just go outside and wait…." He asked hopefully, his voice cracking.
"Please don't chicken out on me," Videl said in a fake singsong voice, putting on puppy dog eyes and turning around to hug Gohan, "I reawlly need someone to be wif me cuz I'm scarwed."
"It's ok," Gohan said, trying to puff up his chest and seem brave at Videl's fear, "as long as I'm here, everything will be alright!"
"Aww, you're so brave and strong," Videl said in a falsely flattered way, tiptoeing up to kiss Gohan, "what would I ever do without you—"
"VIDEL!" came a boom from upstairs to the right, "Videl you get away from him right now! I told you that if you wanted to have a boyfriend, he'd have to be big and strong see, and just look at how wimpy he is! You get away right now! I won't have it you hear me!"
"Daddy!" Videl cried exasperatedly as her father raced down the staircase, "Please calm down, he's a good kid!"
"Oh no," he said, "Look how wimpy those arms are!"
"Daddy, Gohan fought Majin Buu and he beat Cell! I'd say he's plenty strong enough to protect me—he's stronger than you at the very least! You got beat by an eight-year old with one punch!"
"How dare you talk to your father like that!" Hercule shouted, making the walls tremble with his deep voice, "I am the world's strongest fighter and you know it!"
"No, you're not! You're a coward, and a liar, and a cheat!"
"How could you run off like that and not even leave me a note?" he bellowed, trying to change the subject away from his questionable status as the world's best fighter, "I had no idea where you were!"
"How could I?" Videl replied sarcastically, staring her father down and putting her hands on her hips, "I was tired of your ridiculous over-protection and I wanted to live my life the way that I want to live it. Not how you want me to live it. That's how."
The argument continued like this for some time—Hercule continuously bombarding Videl with questions and ridicules after she would answer them reasonably and make his argument invalid. Finally, after a while, it seemed like Hercule got tired of arguing and instead demanded that she go to her room, grounding her indefinitely. Not really knowing what to do since he was essentially ignored throughout the whole argument, Gohan turned around to leave so that maybe he could sneak Videl out through her window, but before he could take one step, Mr. Satan turned on him.
"And you," he said, turning around to face Gohan, "I want you to stay away from my daughter you hear me?"
"But sir, don't you think that you're being a little harsh?" Gohan pleaded
"I most certainly am not being too harsh," he replied, taking a step towards Gohan and pointing a finger at his chest, "I know what is best for my baby girl."
"That's just it though," Gohan said, backing away from Hercule's finger, "she's not a baby girl anymore—she's a strong young woman who definitely can take care of herself. I mean, most of the kids I know would never even think about dating her just out of fear of being beaten up."
Mr. Satan paused for a second, thinking over what Gohan had said. It looked for a moment as though he was about to concede defeat, but then he riled right back up again.
"But you see that's the problem," he said, grinning confidently, thinking as though he'd won the argument, "because she's so strong, stronger people will come after her and try to hurt her. Being strong makes her more of a target to people."
Gohan was starting to get annoyed now. The obtuseness of this man was startling. Didn't he realize that there was nobody in the city that would dare challenge Videl? Didn't he realize that she was the city's number one crime fighter? Didn't he realize that his own daughter could knock his head off with a single punch?
"Ok, you know what," Gohan said, feeling anger bubble up, "I've had enough of your nonsense, sir. You need to realize that your daughter is not a child anymore—she's an independent, strong lady, and you need to start treating her as such. I hope that you realize that whether you like it or not, Videl will continue to date me as long as she wants to—she doesn't care if she has your permission. You've made her live a closeted life since she was a baby—and I can understand that you were doing it to protect her, but now that she can take care of herself, I think you need to lighten up."
Hercule's face blanched at Gohan's outburst, snot dribbling down his nose as his finger hung comically in the air. He swore he could feel the air around the two of them getting hotter. He tried to regain his composure but he was starting to realize that the boy was right.
"You don't think I look strong enough?" Gohan shouted as he prepared to go super saiyan, "well how about, NOW!"
Before he could transform however, Hercule was down at Gohan's ankles, his forehead touching the ground and his hands gripping Gohan's feet.
"P-please don't hurt me!" he whimpered into the floor as Gohan looked down confusedly, "Y-you can d-do whatever you want w-with Videl. H-How about you stay for d-diner tonight? Huh? Just p-please don't h-hurt me!"
"Huh?" Gohan asked, completely taken aback by this abrupt change in demeanor, "so it's ok if Videl and I go out?"
"Y-yes, of course it is," he cowered, still talking to the floorboards, "anything you want, just don't hurt me!"
"Alright!" Gohan said triumphantly as Mr. Satan scuttled away to the opposite wall, trying to put as much space between himself and Gohan as possible, "uh, Mr. Satan, is everything alright?"
"Y-yes, of course it is," Hercule said, smiling uncomfortably as he sneaked upstairs to go to his room, "Videl's room is the third on the left. Byebye!"
"Uh, ok, bye I guess," Gohan said, bewildered as he witnessed Hercule speed away down the hallway, "what a strange man."
"Hey, daddy, look at the fish I caught!" Goten exclaimed proudly as he popped out of the icy lake holding a giant blue fish, "isn't it great?"
"That's awesome, Goten!" Goku replied from the bank as he got the fire started. The sun was starting to set on the lake and the two were getting hungry.
Father and son had spent a nice afternoon together in the woods: swimming, jumping through the trees, racing, fishing, and anything and everything that they could do together. It was strange, but even though Goten hadn't spent that much time with his dad yet, he found it very easy to be around him and to spend time with him. He just felt comfortable around him.
"Dinner's almost ready, Goten!" Goku called out to his son, who was still splashing around in the water, chasing a fish, "Come on out and dry off!"
"Ok, daddy!" Goten responded cheerfully as he jumped out and got a towel that was hanging from a line near their tent. Two towels were two things that Goku actually had brought with them in that little bag, "I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom first."
"Ok, remember to wash your hands in the lake afterwards!" Goku called after his son who ran off into the woods. As the fish was finishing up on the fire, Goku went and got Goten's shirt and pants and laid them out on a log next to the fire, and went into the tent and got two plates for them to eat on. As he got the things together, he couldn't help but reflect on how much he was enjoying this time with his son—there really was no place he'd rather be at the moment. He was so cheerful and happy-go-lucky—so much like his old man when he was a kid. He always had a smile on his face; it was like nothing ever got to him—at least not for long anyway. Goku also couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in his boy: even though he'd seemed a little apprehensive at first, Goten completely got over his fear of being out in nature alone without the comforts of home very quickly. Goku cringed slightly however as he put the plates down next to the fire thinking about the beating that he'd get from his wife for leaving without telling her and not taking everything that she'd packed for them. But he felt like it was worth it—he didn't want Goten's first camping experience to be artificial. The whole point of being out in nature was leaving behind the luxuries of home and being at one with nature and enjoying the company of the people that you're with.
"Ahh!" Goten cried happily as he ran back to the fire from the woods, arms flailing wildly, "I'm so hungry, daddy!"
"Yeah me too!" Goku said, rubbing his belly and licking his lips, "did you wash your hands first?"
"Yep!" Goten replied, smiling toothily, showing his palms to his father, "see? All clean!"
"Good boy," Goku said proudly, "now why don't you get dressed and we'll eat!"
Goten threw on his clothes and took up a plate and allowed Goku to dish him up some of the fish.
"So this one time," Goten said at one point after his father helped him to more fish, "me and Trunks were in the city, and we did this prank right."
Goku nodded enthusiastically, happily listening to all of Goten's stories.
"And the prank was that each of us stood on one side of the street, and pretended like we were stretching a rope across the street, and as the cars came up to where the rope was, they all stopped! Because they thought that there was an actual rope there! Can you believe it! We stopped traffic for about ten minutes!"
"No way!" Goku said animatedly, "that's crazy! You boys are nuts sometimes."
"Yeah," Goten said, giggling at his father's reaction, "and when you were off fighting Majin Buu, me and Trunks, we entered the adult tournament by pretending to be the Mighty Mask."
"How'd you do that?" Goku asked, genuinely confused.
"Well," Goten said, slightly apprehensive to admit what they'd done, "we kinda knocked him out and stole his costume, and Trunks stood on my shoulders and we fought…"
"Well that's not very nice," Goku said somewhat firmly.
"Yeah, I know," Goten said, sounding guilty, "Trunks and me were just so bored after the junior division."
"Ok, but cheating is wrong," Goku said.
"Yeah, I know it is," Goten said, hanging his head, "I'm sorry, dad."
"That's alright, just don't do it again, ok?" he said, sliding over to sit next to his son and putting an arm around him.
The two of them sat like this next to the fire for a while, continuing to tell stories and bond and catch up. Goten made roasted marshmallows and ate them greedily and happily. Finally, as it was starting to get late, and Goku could see his son's fading consciousness, he decided that now would be a good time to explain Gohan's situation to him.
"Your brother loves you, you know that right?" he asked softly at one point with Goten sitting in his lap with his head on Goku's chest.
Goten nodded slowly.
"You probably felt like nobody cared about you this morning," he said, running his hands through his son's messy hair, "what with Gohan dealing with Videl, and my being out training, and mom cooking."
Goten nodded again. Goku could feel his son's breathing become stuttered, as though he was trying not to cry.
"Since I've come back, I know that things have been a little crazy around here," he said, soothingly rubbing his son's back, trying to calm his breathing, "I probably messed up your entire routine that you had gotten used to for your entire life. You were used to Gohan always being there for you—like I should have been."
Goku heard a quiet sniffle from his lap.
"I understand that you're confused and everything, but you need to understand that Gohan is your brother—he's sixteen—so he's got other things to deal with in his own life, and taking care of you isn't his primary job anymore. He's got a proper school, a girlfriend, homework, friends. He loves you more than the world I promise you that, but he can't spend all of his time with you anymore—that's my job."
Another sniffle.
"I hope that you can get used to my being here now," Goku whispered into Goten's ear, "things are a little different now, but I promise that everything will work out. You just need to give your brother a little more space, ok? Spend that time with me! We've got seven years of catching up to do, and I can't wait to do it with you."
Goten nodded and turned around and put his head into his father's chest. He wasn't crying though. He was smiling actually. Smiling that everything had been cleared up in a way that he could understand. He understood now that this man was his daddy—he was the one that was going to be there to take care of him, to take him camping, to teach him things. He snuggled closer to his father, who put his hand on Goten's head and softly patted it.
"Thank you, daddy," Goten said as he closed his eyes and felt his breathing get softer, "I love you."
Goku just smiled and stroked his son's hair as he felt him fall asleep in his lap. It was quite late—almost midnight actually. He was surprised that the kid had lasted this long. He sat there for a good half hour, enjoying the starlight bouncing of the smooth glassy water and the warm body on his lap slowly moving up and down with each soft breath. After a while, he gently got up and put Goten over his shoulder and carried him to the tent, where he put him down in his sleeping bag, and took off his shoes. Before he left the tent however, he reached outside for his bag and rummaged around for a second before producing Mr. Bunny, and putting the toy in Goten's limp arms. Feeling the fuzzy animal touch his face, Goten smiled and grasped it and held it close to his chest. Goku smiled and bent down and kissed his forehead and whispered: "I love you," before exiting, kicking out the embers that remained of the fire, and finally climbing into his own that he'd laid out under the stars.