Top Notes:

This is a short fic of three chapters and was highly inspired by both the latest season of the Netflix series Bridgerton and the book series.

After reading all the books and watching the new season, I felt the urge to write an Alternate Universe of Goku and Chichi with this setting. My initial idea was just a One Shot, but it ended up being a little longer than I thought, so I decided to split it into three short chapters.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it

A huge thanks to yingying57 for beta-reading the story! You're very kind to help!

Balls, concerts, plays, and any kind of high society event were places that Goku usually avoided, especially recitals. He had neither the patience nor the interest for such events, but recitals were the worst. They were so tedious and monotonous...

The food, however, was usually good. At least it was a bonus, but even that didn't seem attractive enough to make him accept all the various invitations he received every week to such events. It just wasn't worth all that effort. After all, he had a cook at home to prepare any food he wanted.

Luckily for him, being a man with a title of nobility allowed him certain privileges, such as the possibility of doing pretty much whatever he wanted. This included refusing invitations and appearing at events where his presence was strictly necessary. And Goku had been doing very well at avoiding all these social events since he had returned from his trip to Namek, where he had been living for the last five years. However, even he, the Duke of Paozu, couldn't refuse to attend one of these events when the invitation came directly from the royal family.

When he arrived in the large ballroom of the elegant Oozaru Palace, where the royal family lived, the Duke made his way to the food table and then to the recital hall, after, of course, greeting the hosts.

He was still munching on an hors d'oeuvre as he looked for a place to sit and soon regretted having lingered so long at the food table. The seats at the back were almost scarce, but then he spotted an empty seat in the very last row, ignoring the stares of some ladies who were waiting for him to sit next to them – or their mamas, with their noses as precise as bloodhounds, looking for the most coveted bachelors of the season.

With determination, the Duke approached the seat, but to his frustration, he wasn't fast enough, because as soon as he put his hands on the back of the chair, a lady sat down on it.

"Oh, sorry, this seat is taken," she said as she looked up at him.

Goku felt the air completely drain from his lungs as he stared at that lady with silky black hair and eyes as black as a starless night that penetrated straight into his soul.

She was beautiful. Breathtaking.

"Well, I..." he scoffed. "Sorry, milady... I suppose I'll have to look for another seat then. Although I'd prefer to stay here at the back..." he turned his head sideways, trying to spot another seat over there.

"Sorry." She gave a shy little smile but seemed to be a bit amused by his frustration. "But I also prefer the seats at the back, and I don't think a fine lord is going to evict a lady from the only seat left in this row..."

Goku laughed.

"Besides, my aunt was already here, guarding my seat." She leaned towards the lady next to her, who seemed to be asleep, and Goku wondered if perhaps she hadn't even noticed that her niece had sat down next to her.

"I understand." He bowed slightly and held out his hand to greet her properly. He wanted, no, he needed to know that lady's name. "Lord Goku Son, at your service."

She smiled at him and held out her gloved hand to him, who, for a split second, seemed to have forgotten social conventions as he lost himself in that beautiful smile, but he soon recovered and kissed the back of her hand gently.

"Lady Chichi Ox, it's a pleasure to meet you, your grace."

Oh, so she recognized his name. He wasn't surprised, though. But her name… Chichi Ox. That name was not unfamiliar to him as well.

"Lady Ox..." he repeated her surname, feeling how the syllables rolled off his tongue, "Lord Gyumao Ox?"

"Yes, Your Grace, that's my father!"

"Of course! The Baron of Frypan." He remembered, and she smiled and nodded.

He knew that Gyumao Ox had a daughter, but he didn't remember that she was probably the same age as him. Also, Goku felt a little bit of relief to know that she was the Baron's daughter, not wife.

"This is my aunt, Lady Uranai..." Chichi looked at the lady next to him again, but then frowned; she was certainly asleep. "Well, perhaps I can formally introduce her to you… later. I'm sorry Your Grace."

"Of course, no need to apologize. Well, I'll find another seat for myself then, since there are no more chairs available here."

He smiled slightly without taking his eyes off her and felt his heart beat faster when she replied:

"See you later, Your Grace."

Chichi watched the Duke sit down in a vacant seat about three rows in front of where she was sitting, also at the end, but on the opposite side, right next to the Gero family. She smiled when he turned to meet her gaze, and smiling, he muttered quietly that he had found a seat, pointing to where he was sitting.

Too bad it wasn't next to her, Chichi thought...

She felt her cheeks flush and she bit her lower lip. He was handsome, very, very handsome. She had heard of the Duke of Paozu. All the girls in town talked about him. After all, being a Duke, he was someone very much in demand among unmarried ladies, but she had never seen him in person, not even before he became a Duke. From the gossip columns circulating the city, Chichi knew that it had only been a few months since he had returned from his trip to another country, where he had lived for the last five years, and she also knew the true and unfortunate reason for his return.

Chichi looked away at her old aunt Uranai, who practically accompanied her to every event, and sighed. Luckily, she was almost deaf and almost blind enough to have not noticed the Duke's presence just a few minutes ago, so she didn't mind sitting at the back either since the old lady wouldn't be able to see or hear much of the recital anyway. And she seemed to be... snoring?

Well, that didn't surprise Chichi and it saved her from being lectured about needing to find a husband.

Chichi wasn't against marriage, and since her debut, she had already received a few proposals. She was a very beautiful lady after all, but also her father was a Baron, and her dowry was very impressive. She had turned them all down because she simply wasn't attracted to any of those men, no matter how handsome they were, even if their titles were important. Chichi hoped to marry for love and wouldn't say yes out of sheer social pressure.

And no man had ever made her heart beat faster. Well, none until that moment...

She looked again in the Duke's direction. He had dark, unruly hair, even though it was tied up in a low ponytail, a few strands still sticking out to the sides. He had beautiful black eyes and a very handsome smile too, with straight white teeth, and a mouth that molded perfectly to his angular, well-defined jaw.

The flames in the candlesticks were extinguished, indicating that the performance was about to begin. She couldn't watch him with precision anymore, but she hoped to see him again after the recital.

After long, tedious minutes of instrumental music, Chichi began to get impatient. That recital was taking too long to finish. How long had it been since they'd started? An hour? An hour and a half perhaps? She took a delicate pocket watch from her handbag and noticed that only ten minutes had passed.

She let out a long sigh.

Although an invitation from the royal family would be prestigious for any noble family in the country, the daughter of the Baron of Frypan was tired of these events. Always the same. Always the same people. The balls could change the theme, be masked, or have masquerade costumes. There could be plays once in a while, or an opera or ballet performance. But the truth was that Chichi was already tired of this kind of entertainment. It was something she had been doing since she was sixteen when she made her debut.

She tapped her foot incessantly on the floor and noticed her gaze shifting from the group playing a beautiful melody on stage to where Lord Son was sitting. Even in the dim light that only reflected off the few remaining lighted candles she could tell he was no longer there. She wondered where he could have gone, since it wasn't polite to leave in the middle of a performance like that, especially one hosted by the royal family.

Perhaps he shouldn't have drunk so much wine that he couldn't hold himself up while watching the tedious recital, but nature spoke louder than common sense and he had to get up to go to the comfort room. However, there was a large part of him that absolutely did not want to go back to that place. The other part, which was just as big, wanted to go back just to be able to see Lady Ox again, even from afar. However, as he would have to wait until the end of the recital before he could have the chance to talk to her again. There was no harm in spending a few minutes eating some of those delicious delicacies.

"Your Grace?" He heard that sweet voice calling him and regretted putting a vol-au-vent in his mouth, but he couldn't spit it out now.

Goku turned and saw Lady Ox slowly approaching the food table, her royal blue dress contrasting beautifully with her porcelain skin. As soon as he had swallowed and wiped his mouth with a napkin, he nodded in greeting:

"Lady Ox."

"Hungry, your grace?" she asked with a playful smile, and picked up a petit four from the table.

In that part of the hall, it was still possible to hear the music from the recital playing inside. They were alone, except for the many royal guards who stood in various corners of the room, but the guards paid no attention to anyone who might be there, although they were on the lookout for any sign of a threat to the royal family.

"Well, I had to go away for a few minutes, and I couldn't resist this magnificent table of food." He smiled. "After all, it's not often that we get to sample a menu offered by royalty, is it?"

"You're right, your grace," she agreed, and took a light bite of her snack.

"And you, running away from the event?"

Chichi gave a low chuckle and the Duke realized that he liked the sound as much as he had liked the smile.

"I also had to take some time off, but I confess… as wonderful as the presentation is, I can't help but feel a little..."

"Bored?"

She sighed and nodded.

"Yes, I think so."

"I see," he mumbled. "If it makes you feel better, I'd also prefer to be at a slightly livelier event."

"Like a ball?"

"No. No, I'm definitely not talking about balls." He chuckled and shook himself, dismissing the idea. "But I appreciate more exciting events. Ones that make me feel joyful, happy, alive!"

Chichi cracked a wide smile and Goku, who thought he couldn't be more charmed by her, realized that this beautiful lady was captivating him more and more.

"I'd like to attend an event that gives me that feeling someday. But as a lady, I don't think I would ever have the opportunity," murmured the Baron's daughter reflectively. "Your grace must have many incredible experiences, mustn't you? I heard that Your Grace has been living on Namek for the last few years, you must have had many exciting moments, I suppose."

"Oh, yes, yes. Namek is a very different country from here and I certainly had some exciting moments." The Duke expressed a certain air of nostalgia in his voice. "But it's about time I went back and took over my responsibilities here once and for all."

"The Dukedom..."

"Precisely." Goku nodded slowly.

He had no interest in becoming a Duke. His brother was the one who had been groomed for it and had been an excellent Duke after his father's death. However, life usually doesn't care what you have or don't have an interest in, and with the unfortunate turn of events that had taken his brother's life, Goku found himself in possession of a title and a dukedom that he had never been prepared for but couldn't turn his back on.

"I'm sorry about your brother, Your Grace." Chichi lowered her eyes. It was common knowledge that the former Duke of Paozu had passed away a few months ago. Chichi had had the opportunity to see him from afar once or twice during social events, but never spoke to him directly nor the Duchess.

"Thank you. And you don't need all this formality of your grace. There's no need for that, I insist."

She smiled. Both Goku and Chichi knew very well that titles were totally necessary for the society in which they lived, but when there was a certain intimacy and away from prying eyes, some allowed themselves to leave these formalities aside.

"As you wish, Lord Son", she said, showing that she was still maintaining a certain formality between them. For now.

The Duke smiled. He knew he would need a little more time with the lady to convince her to call him by his first name. It also did not go unnoticed by him that she didn't give him the same intimacy to call her by her first name. For now.

Goku then looked at the recital door and asked, "Would you like to go back there, Lady Ox? I suppose we shouldn't be absent from the event for so long."

Chichi sighed slightly at the thought of going back to the boring recital.

"I suppose we really shouldn't... Although my aunt probably didn't even notice that I left, as she's a bit blind and deaf, and it was too dark to notice my absence."

Goku wasn't very excited about the prospect of going back there either and Lady Ox had mentioned a very important point. It was dark. No one had probably noticed that he had gone, since he had sat on the edge and hadn't disturbed anyone on his way out. He was sure that old Lord Gero hadn't noticed his absence when he got up. He too was already a little blind and deaf. The recital would take at least another hour, and after that, a few more hours of socializing until the guests went home.

Although staying to chat with Chichi was an attractive idea, he knew it wouldn't do to spend all his time with her. He would have to share the attention with other guests and with the matrons who were thirsty for a good catch for their unmarried daughters.

"Lady Ox..." He turned to her when a crazy idea crossed his mind. "Would you like to go to a slightly more exciting event?"

"N-now?"

"Yes. Why not?"

"Because... we should attend the recital..." It was the only answer she could come up with.

"We should, and yet we're out here!" He made a gesture showing himself and her. Then he held out his gloved hand to her. "Come with me and you won't regret it. I promise we'll be back before anyone notices we're gone."

Chichi stared into the duke's dark eyes that shone with anticipation, her heart beating fast in her chest. There were countless reasons for her to refuse the duke's invitation, countless reasons not to trust him. After all, they barely knew each other. He was a man, a single man. She was a lady, a single lady, and yet...

Yet, Chichi held out her hand to him.

End Notes:

Please let me know what you think of the first chapter. I'd love to know your impressions and your guesses as to where Goku will take Chichi

Thanks for reading and see you soon!