"Gohan?"

The half-Saiyan turned to face his father.

"You going somewhere buddy?"

"Uh..." Gohan felt cold drops of sweat form on his forehead. He was halfway out his bedroom window with no conceivably good explanation as to why that was.

Goku tilted his head at his son curiously.

"Uh," Gohan said again. "I just thought I'd go to the…library. To study."

"Can't you study here?" Goku asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Gohan hesitated. "Um, I'm missing some books. Yeah, I'm missing some books," he decided. "Very important books. That I need. To study. Um."

"Oh, okay." His father was looking at him very strangely. "You could use the door you know."

"Yeah, of course!" Gohan chuckled nervously. He extracted himself from the window. "Right. I'll just go now." He stumbled towards his bedroom door.

"Don't you need your notebooks and stuff?" Goku pointed to the abandoned study materials on Gohan's desk.

"Right!" Gohan's face was now a bright red. "Heh. I guess I forgot."

The teenager fumbled around his desk, stuffing papers and notebooks into his bookbag hurriedly, before practically sprinting out the door.

Goku watched Gohan's retreating back and felt something he'd never felt before towards his eldest son.

Disappointment.

Gohan made his way not to the library, of course, but to Acia's bedroom window. Over the last month the two teens had been meeting the same way almost every day, taking advantage of Vegeta's frequent absences.

It had really started the second time Gohan had shown up unannounced at her window, and Acia discovered that the half-Saiyan was trained in telepathy. Since then, Acia used the technique to inform Gohan when the coast was clear, and Gohan used it to tell her when he could come over.

Unfortunately for Gohan, this involved a lot of lying, which made him uncomfortable and which he wasn't particularly good at. Acia, who was an expert at it, didn't see what the bid deal was.

It was becoming an increasing source of tension between them.

Gohan arrived to find the window open as usual, and let himself in. Acia was lying on the bed, her nose in a book called "Guns, Germs, and Steel." She peeked up from behind the worn copy but didn't set it down, following Gohan's entrance with her eyes instead.

He stood at the window for a moment, watching her watch him before he spoke up.

"Hey," he said.

Finally, Acia lowered her book and grinned at him.

Gohan joined her on the bed, sighing a little as he settled against the pillows.

Acia cocked an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Gohan replied, smiling unconvincingly. He reclined a little deeper, turning on his side to face her. "I'm happy you'll be free to go in a couple weeks."

Acia shrugged. "I just hope my uncle doesn't change his mind."

Over the last month, Acia had avoided her uncle almost completely, meeting him only at the kitchen table during mealtimes. Even then, she ate in silence, carefully avoiding his gaze. He'd done the same – since the private conversation he'd had with his niece when she'd first returned to his home, Vegeta had not spoken a single word to Acia. It made her nervous, not being able to read him. She'd been tempted, so many times, to take a peek into his mind and see just what he was thinking, but she was too scared. Since Gohan told her he was also capable of telepathy, Acia had begun to suspect that the two older Saiyans were much more capable of psychic techniques than they let on.

It had been a frustrating month for Acia. Unable to take a step into her uncle and aunt's bedroom, her scouter search had essentially come to a screeching halt. She'd broken into the lab two more times to no avail – it just wasn't there.

And that was it. Acia was trapped in Capsule Corp., with few outlets for training. There was nothing to do but read, which was interesting but hardly the stress relief she needed. Between training with Bulla and fighting with Trunks, Acia was going nuts with boredom. Gohan had rapidly become the one bright spot in her life.

"He won't," Gohan reassured her. "It'll be great, you'll see! We can finally go on our second date. We could go to the beach with Krillin, or maybe we could see a movie – you've never been to a movie theater right? – or we could…"

"Gohan stop," Acia interrupted, looking annoyed. "What exactly do you think is going to happen two weeks from now? We're not telling anyone about the date."

Gohan's eyes widened in surprise at this sudden hostility. "Wha-what…why not?"

"You said we could keep it a secret!" Acia said, voice rising in frustration.

"Yeah," Gohan sat up, shifting on his knees, brows creased in confusion, "but we agreed that wouldn't be forever, right?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we need to say anything now."

"Acia, we've been seeing each other for three months."

"Perhaps you'd like to tell my uncle that you've been sneaking in here to see me."

Gohan sighed heavily, leaning forward to close the gap between them. "Acia…" She was so resistant sometimes, it was frustrating.

Acia glanced to the side in silent consideration. Finally, she inched closer to Gohan's face, her nose almost touching his, eyes glancing downwards and hidden beneath her bangs. "I need something," she whispered.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice lowering to match hers.

"My scouter." She glanced up quickly, taking in his expression – confused, curious – then looking back down again, her gaze concentrating on the hem of her short dress spread over her crossed legs, bare knees touching Gohan's jeans-clad ones.

"Why…"

"My uncle took it from me when I first got here," she said quickly. "It-I just need the communicator, that's all. I need to contact my parents."

"But…"

"It's been six months." Her eyes were hard now, determined. "It wasn't supposed to be this long."

"Okay," Gohan said slowly, wrapping his mind around the unexpected request. "So…you want me to ask him for it? I don't think he'll…"

"No, no, of course not." Acia twisted the hem of her dress nervously. She hadn't planned on dragging Gohan into this. As far as she was concerned, she was too involved with him already. But he was easy to talk to, he was trustworthy, and he was here. "But, maybe Bulma?"

"Yeah, okay." Gohan's face relaxed a little. "Couldn't you ask Bulma yourself though?"

"I don't want them to know I'm the one asking for it," Acia explained, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. For being the smart one, Gohan could be more than a little dense sometimes.

"Okay," Gohan nodded in understanding. "I get it." His lips pursed in concern and he reached for her, cupping her face in his hands. Acia closed her eyes against the comforting touch, and Gohan leaned forward and kissed her gently. "It'll be okay," he said against her lips, and she smiled softly at the tickling sensation. "I'm here for you no matter what."

Eyes still shut, Acia closed the bare inch between them, kissing him, tugging on his shirt, pulling him closer.

Gohan kissed her back, one hand moving up to stroke her hair while another drifted downwards, moving around her back, letting her tail twist around his forearm and squeeze it.

She was always aggressive when they did this. Even now she was pinching the skin under his shirt with one hand and digging her nails into his neck with another. Her tail's grip on his arm vicelike.

It was painful. It was also, to his terror, very pleasant.

There was no one Goku loved more than his firstborn son. He loved Chi Chi and Goten with all his heart, every fiber of his being. But Gohan was special. He'd come into Goku's life at a time when the Saiyan was, frankly, confused about married life and what was expected of him in this new role.

Chi Chi, of course, knew exactly what it meant to be married and what wives and husbands were meant to do, and she had no problem telling him exactly what she expected of him. But it was still Goku being led by the hand through this unfamiliar territory, and that had been new and uncomfortable for him. He'd always known what he wanted to accomplish and how he was going to do it, even in those days when his foresight was limited to the next mealtime and he couldn't tell boys from girls.

When Chi Chi had explained to him what it meant to be pregnant, he was apprehensive. He couldn't remember ever even seeing an infant, and being responsible for one was something he'd never considered. When Gohan was born, Goku was content to let Chi Chi take the reins and raise him the way she wanted.

But then he'd started laughing. Walking. Talking. Looking at Goku with those curious, admiring eyes. His little tail waving behind him. And Goku had felt something like he'd never felt before.

He'd fought for people so many times before. He'd fought against the Red Ribbon Army for villages all over the world, and he'd done it for the people. He'd fought King Piccolo to save the Earth, and he'd done it for the people of the world. But there had always been the thrill of the fight, the desire to test himself against an opponent, that element of selfishness, that part of him that fought for his own betterment.

With Gohan it was different. When his brother had kidnapped him, there was not a single part of Goku that fought for any reason other than to save his son. It was always like that with Gohan. The world disappeared before him.

It was a two-way street with them. Goku always believed he and his son had a special bond, one strengthened by their time on Namek and in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Even when he returned after seven years in Other World, he still felt that connection with Gohan, that sense that they were part of one whole.

And now his son was lying to him.

It hurt.

That was how Goku found himself at Kame Island, sitting on the beach with his oldest friend, their legs stretched out into the surf, salt water running over their bare feet.

"I honestly don't know what to tell you Goku," Krillin was saying, leaning back on his elbows in the sand. "Maybe you should just confront him, you know? Tell him you know he's been lying and sneaking around and you wanna know what's up."

Goku sighed heavily. "I just don't know why he'd lie to me at all. I mean, I know he's kept stuff from Chi Chi before, but I thought it was different with me."

Krillin patted his friend on the shoulder. "I'm sorry Goku, I just don't know what to tell you. I mean, Marron's only eight, and teenagers, they're a whole 'nother ball game." He paused, then added, "Do you have any idea what's going on with him? Maybe Piccolo has an idea…"

"I already talked to Piccolo," Goku replied. "He hasn't seen Gohan in a week, even though he tells me he's going to the Lookout. He comes home smelling…different, but not strange."

"Huh?" Krillin, having no nose, was the least person qualified to understand just how significant smell was to Saiyans.

"It's familiar," Goku explained. "He's not going somewhere new or different from where he normally goes. That's why I don't understand why he's lying."

Krillin considered this for a moment, then turned back to Goku. "Talk to him," he said firmly. "He's still the same Gohan, and he's a good kid. If he's lying, there's probably a reason for it, but he'll trust you."

Goku nodded, giving Krillin a small smile. Maybe this was simpler than he thought.

But maybe those seven years had created a rift he couldn't see.

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a while, and this chapter is quite short too. Believe it or not I spent a lot of time on this. As the story develops and grows I'm really determined to keep everyone in character while at the same time crafting a plot that is both believable and exciting. It's been a huge challenge, but I'm looking forward to the next stage in this story and have a lot of ideas for what will happen next. Piccolo, Chiaotzu, and the other characters will also play a bigger role in the upcoming chapters as well. So please continue to read and review! Your feedback gives me ideas and helps guide my writing.