A/N: Sorry for the hold up. Just had a wonderful holidays with my now one-year-old :) (Just a reminder that I don't own DBZ).

Chapter 10:

As usual, Chi-Chi began her day by stretching and making her way to the kitchen to begin her domestic activities. It was still very early in the morning, a time that not even her son should wake up to despite being known for her tough motherly love.

Once in the kitchen, she saw that Goku's usual sleeping spot on the living room couch was deserted. She tsked a bit, seeing the blanket and pillow haphazardly strewn over the couch, but it turned into a little smile as she went ahead and folded up the blanket to make her house neater. It also helped that she took a teeny tiny moment to fluff his pillow and smell the natural scent coming from the bedding.

She had to admit, it was nice having him around the house again. At some point, Chi-Chi even began to long for her former husband's company. There hadn't been a night this week where she was tempted to ask Goku if he could sleep in their bedroom again. And when he came strolling in without a shirt? … Yeahhh. But she was still definitely confused—how were they supposed to get past this with both of their needs being met?

For now, she enjoyed cooking for him and seeing him happy again. She was going to enjoy this momentary bliss as much as possible.

A typical breakfast may have taken fifteen minutes to make, but for Chi-Chi, it usually took her at least an hour to prepare a feast proper enough for a Saiyan appetite. And there were two of them in her house. Scrambled eggs, boiled vegetables, pancakes topped with syrup, bacon, fried rice, steamed buns. Her efforts were never in vain though as there was never a piece of food uneaten.

Chi-Chi was a little slower than usual, but she still managed to set up the table at a reasonable time. It was then that she realized that her son was still sleeping and it was already past 8.

"Goten?" she asked, knocking on his bedroom door. No reply. She tried again with the same result. That's strange… The third time, she went ahead and opened his door, expecting to see him burrowed underneath the covers, deep in sleep. What she found instead surprised her.

A neatly made bed indicating no one had been there for hours, maybe a whole night.

The shock of it was quickly replaced with anger though, as Chi-Chi growled. The hell! Did her son really sneak out in the middle of the night? Not on her watch!

She was just about to slam open the front door to look for her son, but she ran into what felt like a brick wall. Thankfully that brick wall steadied her.

"Goku?"

"Morning Chi," he chirped.

"Good morning. Have you seen Goten? He's not in his bed and Kami knows what time he snuck out. When I get my hands on him—"

"He's at Gohan's."

The raven-haired mom stared openly at Goku. "What? Why is he there? When did he get there?"

"I dropped him off early this morning, before you even got up." Goku definitely had a new appreciation for his wife's child-rearing abilities, remembering how hard it was to wake up Goten. That kid could sleep through anything.

"Okay… but, why?" Chi-Chi asked, still wanting answers.

Goku just smiled. "It's a surprise."

She continued to stare at him dubiously, but the subject would have to wait as Goku finally noticed her food. He immediately made a beeline for the table and proceeded to chow down after shouting a quick thanks to her.

Despite her annoyance, a small chuckle escaped her. No point in worrying about it now, she thought as she took a seat and helped herself to some pancakes.

Even though there was enough food to feed a small army (or the equivalent of two Saiyans), Goku ate it anyway, save for two plates of food for Chi-Chi. He patted his belly in content when he was done. There was really nothing better in the world than a home cooked meal from his female. Well…

He watched as Chi-Chi hummed to herself as she started to wash the dishes. His eyes went from her beautiful face to the strong, capable hands currently scrubbing a large pot. It was interesting. Bulma had always cared about the appearance of her hands ("skin care is every girl's priority!" his friend would say), and he rarely saw 18 do any sort of chore now that she and her family lived in a bigger house and they had enough money for hired help. Chi-Chi? He loved how those hands used to touch his face softly, while still being capable of splitting a tree in two, and then flurry worriedly over their children.

His woman could do a lot of things, and with everything that was happening, the one good thing he could say was that he was loving her even more.

Chi-Chi was cleaning the final plate before she found herself wrapped in Goku's arms. There was a sharp inhale from her. They hadn't really touched, let alone embraced, each other since their divorce. "Goku…"

"Thanks for cleaning Chi," he whispered softly to her.

They stood like that for a while. She allowed herself to relish his hug and Goku thanked any deity out there for giving him a chance to do this. But there was still more he had to do.

"Chi, I have a surprise for you. Go ahead and get changed."

"Okay," she said, missing his warmth already when he released her. He was still patiently waiting for her in the living room after she was done getting ready, wearing something rather nice. With only a smile and no words needed between them, Goku took her hand and they teleported away.