I wanted to say nice things about how wonderful you are but I'm honestly a little dead inside because this beast is done and

/screams eternally into the distance

Their first real kiss was entirely on accident.

True to her word, Chi Chi hadn't been particularly interested in dating Junior whenever she'd first left Goku. In fact, Junior hadn't been all that keen on kissing her, as he was often distracted by the fact that he had to hold her many nights on repeat as she collapsed in her bathroom floor and cried hysterically. He specifically kept his ringer on as he stayed over at Porunga's, and waited for the late night call he knew was about to come.

Sometimes, when he arrived, it was to Bulma already there, her hair sticking up comically as she attempted to assuage the crying woman. Chi Chi always managed to keep her voice down just enough, however, to avoid arousing any suspicion from Gohan who - surprisingly - was taking it far better than his mother.

This time, there was no Bulma, and when Junior arrived she actually wasn't crying. She didn't look happy, but there were no tears. She looked vacant, and her eyes appeared almost gaunt as she stared at a spot of significance to her alone on the tiled floor.

Junior crept in, mindful of the noise he made as he shut the bathroom door behind him. He hunkered down on the floor where Chi Chi was sprawled, and tentatively pressed his hand to hers. Hand holding was allowed, he'd learned, as well as one sided hugs - which were actually just Chi Chi holding onto someone in an effort to calm herself.

When he grabbed her hand, his fingers knotted in their strange way around hers. His four digits often had a hard time slotting against hers, but Chi Chi never complained. This time threw him off just a bit, as Chi Chi wasn't crying, and thus actually gave him a rather shaky smile.

"I've become pathetic," she complained, and actually sounded like her own self. Junior rejoiced in the way that her dark brows contracted over her eyes, and the way that her nose crinkled indignantly at her behavior. Her eyes rolled in his direction. "I'm surprised I haven't heard more complaints about you. Two years of friendship and that's all you did."

He sneered. "Thought I'd give you a break," he said. And that was partially true. Really, a lot of it had been his own wariness in how Chi Chi perceived him now. He'd never been the focus of somebody's affections, and he was actually quite glad that a lot of their interactions resulted in her not being able to see him through puffy eyes and a curtain of tears. He worried that under constant scrutiny, his appearance and all around demeanor would finally put Chi Chi off of whatever made her agree to even consider him.

"It's been appreciated, Green Bean." She leaned over towards him, and gave him a quivering smile. Her fingers tightened around his, and he furrowed his brow. He didn't know what she was doing, until he'd already moved his head, and had her press her lips against his in a rather bland way. She blinked, and uttered an, "oh!" as Junior rocked back.

He made sure not to break their hands apart.

His first kiss.

He didn't smile, because that would be embarrassing. He could feel his cheeks as they heated up to a rather violent purple, but remained silent as Chi Chi attempted to take stock of herself.

"You okay…?" her voice was uncharacteristically soft as he watched her hip roll and scoot her closer to him. "That was your first..."

He nodded. It wasn't a secret. "It was, uh -," he wanted to punch himself for stumbling over his words like a child, "it was good."

Chi Chi actually looked sympathetic.

He bared his fangs at her, but she merely swatted at his shoulder.

"You've got low standards, is all," Chi Chi said. Her eyes closed for a moment, as she pressed her lips into a thin line. Whenever she reopened them, there seemed to be a new determination about her. "I guess that's it, then. My moping is over. I've cried myself out and kissed a new man."

Junior grimaced at her wording, but he didn't respond outside of flicking one of his antennae at her.

"As much as I would love to teach you real kissing," Junior felt a thrill at her words, "I don't think I'm up to it tonight." She extracted her hand from his, and squinted up her eyes. "You don't have a problem with that, right?"

Junior shook his head, and helped Chi Chi to her feet. He'd become a pro at handling her while she was weak and crying, so now he had to readjust himself to the Chi Chi that he'd fallen in love with. The moment he hoisted her up to her feet, he was swatted away with a scowl. She stretched, and wished him a good night, telling him to lock up behind him.

Chi Chi and Junior sat down in the restaurant, discussing Gohan's recent middle school graduation. The boy was eagerly rambling on about what he'd been told about high school, while Junior and Chi Chi attempted to keep him excited, but still remind him that most what he'd heard was exaggerations.

"Videl's going to be coming with me, too!"

Both Chi Chi and Junior shared a look.

Junior was washing dishes as he talked on the phone to Dende. Ever since his cousins had closed up Porunga's, and Junior had moved into Chi Chi's household, he'd attempted to maintain better contact with his family. It was hard to do, however, as Bulma's brat ran about the kitchen, with Videl and Gohan chasing him, red-faced, with diapers and baby wipes in their hands.

"Mr. Junior, can't you help us!?" Gohan whined, as Trunks Briefs ducked underneath a cabinet, wagging an obviously overloaded diaper for everyone to see. Videl muttered curse words under her breath, that got her knocked against the skull with a pot Junior held. She swiped angrily at the soap suds, while Junior told Dende he'd talk to him later.

He put his phone in his pocket, and dropped the full weight of his glare on both children.

"You both went out of your way to offer to babysit for Bulma. You know she's rich, she could have had anyone. Now you get to suffer." Junior crossed his arms over his chest, and attempted to look threatening in spite of the apron that Chi Chi made him wear.

His intimidation was apparently not up to game, as both children immediately burst into giggles. He snarled at their insubordination.

"Sorry, dude," Videl said, still stifling her sniggers, "it's just you look just like Ms. Chi Chi."

Junior picked up his pan again, encouraging Videl to gain her senses once more and scoot outside of Junior's range. Trunks, during this time, had resumed his racing laps around the kitchen. Junior let it continue on for a few more minutes - to teach the children a lesson - before he surreptitiously stuck his foot out, and sent the toddler tumbling into a crate of potatoes.

Videl whooped in victory, and Junior shared a private smile with the dish detergent.

Chi Chi had so been hoping for a late night make-out session. She was rather disappointed, however, as apparently when Junior had mentioned a "movie night", he had unfortunately mentioned it while at dinner - where, consequently, the Briefs and Gohan and Videl had been present. Junior had been rather upset that everyone had decided to invite themselves, but now matter how many impressive curse words he came up with, he was unable to dissuade them from coming over. In fact, the more vehemently Junior protested, the more Bulma seemed to get a kick out of opposing him. She even took to utilizing Trunks' favorite word, 'no'.

Their movie nights still consisted of old horror movies, but they usually moved them up to the rooftop - which Junior had converted to more closely resemble Dende's old one. He even borrowed stuff from his cousin, though Gohan eagerly took up the task of maintaining it. With the blooming flowers, and lovely decorating skills that her son possessed, her and Junior often took late nights up in the cool air. Cheesy screams came from the projector, while Chi Chi would sit and kiss Junior for hours, always fond of how stupefied her big alien could get by the simplest of intimate gestures.

That had been what she'd been planning on, but now she sat on the rooftop, begrudgingly holding onto Trunks as Bulma had taken off to yell at Vegeta about something. She bounced the little boy in her lap, and thought of how she would have liked to have had another baby. She had talked to Junior about it, of course, but…

As medieval as it seemed, she didn't like the idea of having her child outside of wedlock. She knew it was stupid, considering her first marriage had ended in a divorce, so really, what did it all amount to? - and yet, she still clung fervently to the idea. That, and Junior had discovered that during his final fight with Goku, his reproductive organs had been damaged. He would not produce an egg, and he lacked the sperm to impregnate Chi Chi. While Junior had seemed unbothered by this, telling Chi Chi that between Gohan and Videl he had his hands full, Chi Chi couldn't help but feel, especially in moments like this, that she'd love to have another baby around.

Though, perhaps not quite like Trunks. Even as a toddler, he was most certainly Vegeta and Bulma's baby. All the words he knew to string together were increasingly negative, imperious, and quite a few curse words that neither parent would admit had said around him.

Chi Chi thought of passing the baby off to Gohan, but he and Videl had migrated to one side of the rooftop and were conversing in low tones. Chi Chi noticed the way their shoulders touched, and the fact that Videl's pigtails had been abandoned in favor of her black hair spilling down her back, with a little skull pin holding it in place.

Junior came and sat down, and Chi Chi immediately launched into her complaints.

"They're just too close! They're far too young!" Chi Chi said. Typically, she and Junior traded back and forth on who complained about the two friends and their growing closeness. It was her turn to start the complaints, after Junior had just had a go last Tuesday when he'd caught Gohan and Videl planning on going to a fast food joint together.

This time, however, she was met with stony silence.

She glanced at Junior, and furrowed her brow. She attempted to ignore the flailing child in her arms, as she bumped her shoulder against Junior. "What's wrong with you, grumpy britches?"

Junior's face had a dark cloud hovering around it, and when he turned to glare at her, she actually almost felt like it was five years ago and they'd just met. "Nothing," he finally snarled out.

"Fine then, brat," Chi Chi hissed back. She turned sharply and let him wallow in his melancholy. Chi Chi attempted to regain her smile, but ended up just glowering at Trunks, all of her rage and frustration showing through clearly. Trunks didn't seem to mind, and even gave her a toothy grin - the first one she'd received all night.

"Papa," he said eagerly, as he waved his chubby hands at her cheeks.

"Please, boy, she's an amateur at looking mean." Vegeta had appeared, seemingly at the mention of his name. Chi Chi realized he must have been watching and listening, even as he and Bulma talked. "Come, now, the movie is about to start." He reached his hand over, and grabbed Trunks by the back of his shirt. Chi Chi was alarmed, as Vegeta swung the toddler to his side, where he let the boy dangle. "Relax, woman, he enjoys it." Then Vegeta turned his back to her, and went to join his wife. The typically apathetic toddler was now all smiles as Vegeta practically tossed him into Bulma's arms, where Trunks seemed perfectly content.

Chi Chi watched as Videl and Gohan crept back to the group, though now they kept a considerable distance. She could see that both were obviously trying to hide the awkwardness that being teenagers brought. Videl often complained that her feet had grown more than any part of her body, and she always wore clumpy boots that she would tuck beneath her, while Gohan had come to the realization that he had acne and needed glasses. He'd immediately set out to grow his hair longer so as to hide this fact, and she could see him playing with the spiked edges.

She wished that Junior were here to spectate with her, but he was fiddling with the movie, and was far too grumpy to be of any use anyways. She glared at his back as she realized he'd essentially made her the odd man out. With a huff, Chi Chi crossed her arms and flopped back in the chair she'd secured. She watched the move in a moody silence, not even noticing that Gohan had fallen asleep against Videl's shoulder. Whether or not Junior took note of anything she didn't know either, as he continued to sulk the whole night through.

Whenever everyone finally left, Gohan went to bed, and Chi Chi set about gathering up her pajamas. She stomped around their bedroom, and attempt to set Junior on fire with her thoughts alone as he stripped down and disappeared into the bathroom.

"That's right, just leave your clothes for me to clean up, you useless oaf." She snarled as she stormed over to his discarded clothes, scooped them up, and was startled when a little box tumbled out of the pocket of his sweatpants. She furrowed her brow and crouched down, clutching the purple bundle of clothes to her chest as she grasped at the plain brown box.

Chi Chi lifted it up, and felt her heart hammer in her chest as she opened the box, the tiny hinges making no noise as she look at the little diamond ring nestled into the plush interior. She bit her lip, and tears pooled up in her eyes as she frantically threw Junior's clothes aside, and pulled the mirror out. It was small, and unassuming, but she loved it all the same.

She was enraptured, and didn't notice that the bathroom door had reopened, with Junior in pajamas (though she often teased him that they were the exact same as his street clothes). He glanced from her, to the ring, and then seemed to notice her tears. His face became completely devoid of emotion, and she realized what he was doing.

"Oh no, you big green dumbass!" Chi Chi launched herself to her feet, and grasped him by the shirt. "I'm not crying because I'm upset, it's because I'm happy." She glowered up at him, practically challenging him to say something.

Junior finally seemed to come back to himself, and she saw his ears pin themselves back against his skull as he inclined his head. "It was supposed to happen at movie night," he growled, barely intelligible as she looked up at him. "I was going to do the whole thing - asking you down on one knee…" He bared his fangs. "I didn't think Bulma would invite her damn self."

"You knew better than that," Chi Chi smiled, and placed the box in his hand. "But, fine. I can see it got you all worked up. How about you do it another time?" She watched as he nodded, and fumbled to put the ring up somewhere. Even though he hadn't officially proposed, her belly was still warm with the thought of fiancee drifting about.

She clambered up onto the bed so that when Junior turned around she could grab him by the shirt collar and smash him into a kiss. He jolted in surprise, but Chi Chi didn't give him any time to adjust, as she pushed off of the bed with her tiptoes, and swung forward. She knew Junior loved her thighs, and she wrapped them tight around his ribs where, just as she'd guessed, his hands immediately flew. When his cool fingers eventually slid back to take a rather generous squeeze of her backside, she made a near-delirious noise, and urged him backwards. She was going to show her appreciation for that little box.

"It's a yes or no question, Son. It'd make Milk - Chi Chi happy, and while I know you're particularly dense in these matters, I'd hope even you could figure this out."

"Well, sure, buddy! You explained it real good. I'll do anything that'll help you n' Cheech. Don't think I've ever done… y'know… that with a purpose before!"

"Fascinating. I'll let… Chi Chi know that you're willing."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be real happy! She come up with the idea?"

"No. I did. Thus why I'm here instead of her. Trust me, she's far better at dealing with you then I am."

"Aw, c'mon! We get along just fine, don't we? - What? You're leavin' already? Well, all righty, Junior. I'll see ya later 'bout it!"

Videl stared down at her textbook. Her sigh was defeated, as her shoulders slumped forward. Gohan was there immediately, a smile on his face as he placed his large hands on her shoulders. He rubbed at her, achieving nothing through the leather jacket, but still earning him a quick smile as she twirled her pencil around her fingers.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked. He peered at her through his square glasses - ones that she'd picked out for him.

"Homework," Videl replied.

"You need any help with a specific problem?" While Videl wasn't stupid, she certainly wasn't a child genius like Gohan was. It was often that she appreciated his intelligence when she was working diligently, and just couldn't get past one specific part.

"No," she said, and shook her head. "It's not a problem, per se." She compressed her lips, and scanned over textbook. She could feel Gohan straining to do the same behind her. To save him the trouble, she passed him the textbook, knowing he'd be done with the page in twenty seconds. "You see what I mean?"

Understanding glimmered in Gohan's eyes as he held her criminal justice book. She'd taken an interest in the profession, after she'd seen Android 18 - or, rather, Lazuli - going on and on about how proud she was of her husband Krillin for going into the field. The rather stoic woman had been Videl's first crush, and to hear how quickly the icey woman had melted in the face of the dweeb-like bald man had encouraged Videl to pursue the career path.

Of course, as she'd grown older, it had turned into genuine interest, and she'd actually started taking Krillin more seriously. Her crush faded, and she was able to like the blonde's husband, and even appreciate his finer points. Once he'd settled down out of fighting, Lazuli had done the same, and they were both quite content raising their daughter. Videl was now getting ready to graduate high school, with her father promising to pay for both her and Gohan's entire academic career, and she could feel apprehension bubbling in her stomach every time she thought about the impending graduation.

"I see." Gohan was holding the book, and his typical smile had drifted from his face. He sighed, and set her text down, looking far more weary than before. "Well, you know what Mr. Junior would say."

"Life's just like that, you dumb brats," Videl mimicked Junior's deep baritone, and scrunched up her face - she even made sure to wiggle her fingers around by her forehead for emphasis. Gohan chuckled, but there was still a bit of melancholy hanging about him. Videl couldn't blame him. Junior was a father figure for Videl, certainly. She'd just been a kid when she met him, and had been fascinated with him far before that. She'd idolized him - before eventually realizing the man was a big doofus. He ended up being the kind of man that would take her and Gohan out for ice cream, while complaining that he didn't like them. He was the one who had promised Chi Chi he would accompany them for their first date, just to "accidentally" turn around whenever they kissed in the picture booth. He was the one who'd given Videl brass knuckles on her birthday, ignoring both Gohan's and Chi Chi's loud complaints of illegal contraband by saying "she'll be a cop - what's she going to do, turn her damn self in?" It was a simple fact that he'd been amazing. She loved her father dearly, but that didn't mean she couldn't love Junior just as much.

So, seeing textbooks like this, discussing the laws revolving around aliens, and their strictly negligent behavior towards entire species… it upset her. Every time she came across Namekian laws, she felt a cringe, and what was worse were the laws - or, really, lack thereof - for Saiyans. Every time her finger skimmed a line with those familiar words, she'd have a horrible rush of nausea as she looked at Gohan, or even Vegeta. He'd adopted her as well, claiming that she had to have had Saiyan blood somewhere in her history (she knew she didn't) - but she figured it was just Vegeta's way of admitting that he found her interesting.

Videl turned her head to Gohan, and watched as his brows contracted over his forehead.

"That's okay," Videl muttered. "That's one of the reasons that Krillin's a great mentor. He stands up against all of this - he knows a lot of the prejudice that your dad faced… even if Goku wasn't aware of it."

"Dad's obliviousness helps him sometimes," Gohan chuckled, though he still looked a bit nervous.

"Hey, that's what we go to school for, right? You did fill out your application, didn't you?"

Gohan gulped. Videl frowned.

"Actually…" he was staring at the book with an undefinable expression. "I wanted to talk to you about that. I… I got in contact with Dende. Uh, he said that I could actually get a few grants and… well, go to a Namekian colony and study there." He blurted out the last part, eyes carefully averted, as if he feared Videl's anger.

She wouldn't lie and say she wasn't shocked - and a bit disappointed. She let the information stew for a moment, because of course she'd wanted to go to the same college as Gohan. They'd spent their entire lives practically together, and she couldn't imagine attending a school without him. She'd known it was a possibility, of course, that they could be separated. She'd always been told college broke up relationships of all kinds.

Videl saw that the longer she thought, the more nervous Gohan was getting. She quickly resolved her own issues, and turned what she hoped was a convincing smile in his direction.

"Hey - it's okay, Gohan. As long as you keep in contact with me…" she trailed off, suddenly realizing that that would be hard to do. Gohan seemed to realize the dilemma she'd come across, because he quickly waved his hands desperately in front of his face.

"Hey - I'll actually be visiting quite a few different colonies! Not all are like Mr. Junior's!" A light lit up in his eyes, and his whole face seemed to beam. "Apparently his is only so strict because of Nail and him acting up during their youth. However, even in the strict ones, I can assure you I'll still be able to write you, and there's almost always payphones. Dende even said that here soon, house phones will probably get the okay, and I'll be able to call you!"

Videl listened, though she couldn't help but feel saddened by this revelation. She'd be attending the local college - a rather large university, but Gohan was going off to do new things. Then she thought of something.

"Have you… told your mom yet? Or Junior?"

Gohan stuttered to a halt, obviously realizing the flaw in his plan.

"Well," he started, biting at his lip, "it's just… with mom's pregnancy, I didn't want to stress her out. You know how she can get."

"And Junior?" Videl arched her eyebrow.

"He… can be just as protective as mom."

"What! The man went with me and Vegeta to get my first tattoo!"

"Please don't mention that too loudly, mom's still pretty upset. And… well, Mr. Junior still sorta has a vendetta against Namekian culture. He thinks it's stupid and a waste. He's probably not going to be terribly happy that I'm dedicating my future off of it. But, I mean - it's not just Namekians!" Gohan appeared to be having an argument with no one, as if preparing for his eventual talk with Junior. "It's - Namekians are a starting point. The more research I do and can publish, as a human… or, mostly human… will greatly help them! And then I can attempt to break the speech barrier with some other species! Perhaps open up shelters for those that are declined elsewhere, or specific counseling, for when someone's home planet is announced as being exploded…"

Videl sighed, and placed her hand overtop Gohan's. "I'm just warning you, dude… neither of your parental units are the kind that liked to be surprised. I could come home with purple hair, set the house on fire, and tell my dad my life goal is to work as a telemarketer, and he'd still support me in two seconds flat. Yours…"

"Are more likely to tell me that I'm wasting my brain power, or that what I'm doing is stupid," Gohan finished for her. They both nodded, sympathetic towards Gohan's cause. "It's fine," he assured her. "I will tell mom. I just want the baby to be born before I go dropping bombshells on her, you know?"

"Understood," Videl said, and returned to her text book.

When Goten was born, the hospital room was completely overrun. There was only three visitors present for the actual birth - Goku, Junior, and Chi Chi, the latter looking the least tired out of the trio. Both Goku and Junior had momentarily put aside their differences to be present for Goten's birth, each encouraging Chi Chi while trying not to vomit. Meanwhile, the pregnant woman had given them both acidic looks, and snatched her hands away from them.

"Please, boys, I've had a Saiyan birth before," Chi Chi gritted out, while Goku looked a little green. Junior was muttering under his breath how absolutely stupid human reproduction was. "I can hear you, Beanstalk," Chi Chi said, fire in her eyes, "and that's an awful lot of smack talk for someone who's dad ingested god knows what out in the wild to have your siblings."

Junior acquiesced, though Chi Chi couldn't tell if it was because she'd actually one the argument, or if he'd just seen something particularly squishy.

"It doesn't usually look like that, right?" Goku stage-whispered to Junior, who gave him an incredulous look.

"Why're you asking me?!"

"Well, it's just been a while since, y'know, I went down there, and - ,"

"Son, that is my wife!"

"Ha! Mine, too!"

"Ex," Chi Chi shouted, "ex-wife! Goku, please stop discussing my privates."

"Sorry, Cheech!" Goku returned back to his whisper, while Junior shot him murderous looks from his side of the bed. A mere hour of labor, and Chi Chi was blessed with a little boy. His Saiyan tail wrapped tight around Chi Chi's wrist as she held him, his black hair already thick on his skull, just like Gohan's had been. She smiled, face softening as Goku excused himself to go to the bathroom, and Junior dropped abruptly to his knees.

His hands trembled as he ran his thumb over Goten's sticky cheek. He looked, incredulously, from Goten to Chi Chi, and she rewarded him with a big smile. She knew how important this was to him. As much as he'd pretended it didn't matter that he'd been unable to have children of his own, she'd caught him one night, almost in tears as he'd been staring at an old picture of Kami. She hadn't said anything, merely took the picture from him, and urged him to sleep. Not even a month later, he'd approached her with his proposition to Goku - and thus the creation of Goten had been planned.

She was already exhausted, and they came to put Goten away in the nursery. She flopped back on the pillow and slept for a while, aware that Junior was next to her for a while, before even he disappeared. When she woke up, it was to her entire "family" in the room, eager smiles on each of their faces.

"How'd you get in here?" Chi Chi whispered, casting a cautious look towards the door, where any nurse could walk in and see the visitors that were certainly exceeding the allotted limit.

"We own this hospital," Bunny Briefs piped up. She was being wheeled around by a rather stoic Vegeta, who was just starting to gray at the temples. Bulma stood next to him a seven year old Trunks dangling off of his mother's ringed hand. Videl and Gohan were present as well, large smiles on their faces as they crowded up next to Chi Chi, asking her how she was, what she was doing. Lazuli and Krillin had made an appearance as well, even bringing along a rather ecstatic Yamcha. He was apparently eager to see the baby, and Chi Chi remembered the man always insisting that he would have one of his own some day. Dende and Nail hung around by the back, muttering to one another with papers in their hands. Chi Chi wanted to ask them what they were doing, but the absence of someone caught her attention.

"Where's Junior?" Chi Chi asked. She could already guess where Goku was - probably at some snackbar, but the lack of husband at her side unsettled her.

"He's been at the nursery window," Bulma explained, a soft smile on her face. "He took a shit ton of pictures - I think Goku's with him, actually.

Now, that surprised Chi Chi.

"I saw the baby," Trunks snorted. He gave a derisive look at his surroundings. "He wasn't that great."

"Hey now," Gohan said, "that's my baby brother!" He looked proud, but he made sure to laugh so Trunks wouldn't be too upset. Chi Chi saw Videl roll her eyes, though, as the purple haired brat blushed at the attention from Gohan, and dug his toe into the ground, muttering a quick 'sorry' under his breath.

"I'll text the Namek," Vegeta said, producing his phone from Bunny's purse. He tapped out a message, and got an almost instant message in response. "There. Now all of you can return to being useless, while doing nothing to fix your problem."

"Oh, Veggie-dear," Bunny's face crinkled with a happy smile as she patted Vegeta's hand. "You're just so helpful!"

"As helpful as a hernia," Bulma agreed, before sticking her tongue out at her husband.

"Keep it up, woman." Vegeta left all the bite out of his tone, however, as he glanced once more at his phone. "The Namek says they're bringing the child up as well for you to see, now that you've rested."

"Great," Chi Chi said. She felt a bubble of love and joy rise up in her chest. She waited impatiently until she heard Junior and Goku talking, just before they both entered the room. Goku went to stand by Krillin, while Junior sidestepped his cousins in favor of coming to crouch beside Chi Chi. She could see that he longed to kiss her, but he refrained in front of all the watching eyes in the room. She did the second best, and held his hand tightly, just as Goten was rolled into the room, and the walls shook with a resounding "aww".

"Mr. Junior!"

Junior glanced up from the salad he'd been picking at, as Gohan approached him. Hospital food was terrible - and it was especially terrible when you had strict dietary needs that were met with the most wilted excuse for a plant known to humankind. He refused to leave the hospital while Chi Chi was still recovering, though, and had thus subjected himself to the horrendous food.

Gohan had no such pains, and so he walked up to where Junior sat with a McDonald's bag in hand, and a nervous looks on his face.

"Kid, I feel like we've known each other too long and too well for you to call me 'mister' anymore." Junior knew it was a losing battle. There was no way the kid was going to stop - and Junior didn't even particularly care. He more said it as a back-and-forth play fight that he and Gohan had kept going since he was a child.

Gohan didn't appear in the mood to play, however, as he sat down rather heavily at the table across from Junior, and that was when he realized that his step-son had quite a few papers in hand, of which Junior could only see some form of legal script, in what almost looked like Namekian.

"There's something I want to tell you… and I'm only telling you first because I don't want to upset mom while she's recovering." Gohan sucked in a deep breath, fished some fries out of his bag, and nervously chomped his way through them. "You see… instead of going to university with Videl I… well, I talked to Dende and he's offering a way to get grant money to go stay in Namekian colonies and commit myself to research."

Junior frowned.

"Please, Mr. Junior - ," Gohan almost stuttered, like he was eight years old again, "I, well I know you aren't the biggest fan of Namekian traditions but… this is a once in a lifetime chance! Dende said they're very exclusive on what humans they allow to do this, and I'm only getting in under Dende and Nail's word. I'd be able to travel, learn about your species, learn about - ,"

Junior had held up a hand, making Gohan skitter to a stop.

"Kid…" Junior cleared his throat, hoping to sound less angry than he felt. "What you're talking about… there's no point to it. You can study from books."

"That's not the same as experiencing it," Gohan protested.

"As someone who has experienced it, you're not missing much."

"Mr. Junior, your bias aside, this would be wonderful! I could take this, and potentially spread word outside of the colonies. Get rid of some prejudice, take care of things and possible help other species and - ,"

"You and Videl," Junior gritted out, "think you're goddamned saviors of Earth, don't you?" He took in the shocked look that appeared on Gohan's face. "Listen," he jabbed his fork in Gohan's direction, "I think this is stupid. I think you should write a damn thesis over it, get your doctorate like you originally planned, and then go on to do something productive with your life. But… you're probably not going to. If there's anything you inherited from any of the adults around you, it's an insane amount of stubbornness." Junior's face hardened as he leveled his fork quite close to Gohan's nose. "However, you listen to me, and you listen to me good. You will wait to tell your mother until I tell you to do so. If you cause her to stress herself out and hurt herself, you will be in the hospital bed next to her. Am I clear?"

"W-well, it's highly unlikely that I'd be in the bed next to her, the odds are at least - ," Gohan stuttered out his hasty response, before finally clicking his jaw shut, and nodding in agreement. "Right. Sorry, sir…" He stared, dejectedly, down at his papers.

Junior softened, just a bit. "Look, kid… you're smart. Just… naive." He stood from the table, and rounded its edge, just to drop his hand onto Gohan's shoulders. The boy smiled up at him, and Junior kept having to remind himself that this boy was a man, and in fact would soon no longer have to obey Junior and Chi Chi's rules. He'd be free to make his own mistakes, and the thought terrified Junior, deep down to his core.

"I know I am, Mr. Junior," Gohan whispered. He twisted his mouth down, and he laced his fingers together. "But… how can I live my life not even trying to do something good?" Junior was reminded, sharply, that Gohan was part alien, too. He sighed, just as Gohan launched himself up from his seat, and delved into a hug with Junior. People around them were staring, but for once, Junior suppressed the panic that rose up at the idea.

Gohan might as well have been his son, so fuck the people around them - and he returned the hug, fully aware that soon Gohan would be off in the world, in a place where Junior couldn't reach clung tightly to Gohan, and thought of how painful this would all be once more when he went through it with Goten.

"On temporary leave of duty, all because I look like a fucking blimp!" Videl had her face down on the countertop, cheek sticking to the surface as she groaned. Her choppy black hair hung over her eyes, and Chi Chi gave her a rather sympathetic pat, before placing a plateful of noodles, marshmallows, and ketchup. It was distasteful, but Videl dug in greedily.

"You're not a blimp, dear," Chi Chi corrected. "You're only just barely watermelon sized."

Videl's look was plain acid.

"I think you look beautiful!" Gohan grinned at them from the Skype video, though the service was a bit dodgy, so sometimes he simply froze in place as he talked.

"Easy for you to say," Videl griped. "You knock me up and then run off to some colony!"

"I'm trying to get home," Gohan protested, but his image skidded and burst into too many pixels to make up a decent picture. "I'm at the airport right now! Kinda why the service is so slow, I think…" Gohan started grumbling to himself, and it sounded like he was asking other people if they were having troubles, too.

"Ugh!" Videl chewed angrily at a piece of marshmallow. It was the first time Gohan had had service in a while. The last time they'd spoken had been in a short trip outside of the colony he'd been staying at, when he'd learned that his young wife was four months along. He'd regretfully informed Videl that he'd had to stay on site for the religious ceremony that was coming up, but he'd assured her he'd be on the first flight home post-holiday, and indeed, as Videl trundled into her six month, he'd announced that he'd be home soon.

The restaurant was practically empty, being early morning, so Chi Chi's hired help still hadn't arrived. After the passing of Mr. Briefs, Bulma had stepped up to be in charge of her company, meaning that, unfortunately she'd been unable to keep up her sidejob at the restaurant. Chi Chi wasn't surprised whenever Bulma had finally called it quits, as she'd always known the woman would move on - but she couldn't say she didn't miss their nights together. They still saw each other as, thankfully, Goten and Trunks were quite close.

"Milk!" Junior had just entered the building, swinging the door purposefully shut behind him. "Sperm-donor is here."

"Don't call him that!" Chi Chi hissed, looking nervously at the steps. "What if Goten heard you!?"

Junior rolled his eyes. "That kids up there with his Legos, not paying any attention." Chi Chi twisted her mouth into a frown, but couldn't really argue. While Goten was… perhaps, not the most intelligent child ever, he seemed really fixated on building things. He wasn't particularly good, but he liked anything where the shapes fit together. He often made rather large, abstract pieces of multiple mediums, but he always put his heart into them, and Chi Chi and Junior both had nightstands overflowing with rather odd decorative pieces from their youngest.

Chi Chi went to yell for Goten, while the still pixelated Gohan greeted Junior. As she hollered up the stairs, Goku entered, goofy grin in place as he shuffled in. Unlike Vegeta, Goku had not started to prematurely grey, and instead, looked just like the day Chi Chi had met him - though with perhaps a few more lines around his eyes.

Goten came bounding down the steps, eagerly pulling his bag of Legos behind him, though Chi Chi could see glue sticks and scraps of aluminum poking out through the various holes in his pack. He hurtled over to Goku, eagerly giving his father a big hug. Goten was to spend the weekend with Goku while the man was in town, and he was rather excited to spend time with his 'other dad'.

"Wait, honey," Chi Chi called. "Kiss stool!"

Videl made a gagging noise, while Goten quickly dropped his bag and scuttled over to the stool located by the counter. He clambered up to the top, and smacked a quick kiss on Chi Chi's cheek, before turning to do the same to Junior. Junior pretended to huff at his son, as Chi Chi could see little specks of chocolate left behind from Goten - but she could see how happy he really was as he swooped Goten off the seat, and tossed him to Goku. Goku easily caught the giggling boy, gave a cheery salute, and headed out, making sure to drag Goten's bag behind him.

Chi Chi sighed. Every time Goku visited, it was rather sad, watching her son go. But, they had all decided that Goten should most certainly be raised knowing that both Goku and Junior were his fathers, just in different ways. Chi Chi turned to her husband, then, and gave him a soft smile.

He hadn't changed much, over the years. His skin had perhaps lost some of its vibrancy, and the pink parts of his flesh had started to lighten up in their hue. He was still muscular, and still large, but she knew one day he would be hunkered like his father and Kami. But none of that mattered, because his sharp black eyes still trailed to hers, and they still held the same light as always. And, as she moved into kiss him, she remembered how proud she was of that one, singular laugh line that had etched itself into the corner of his mouth.

"I love you," she muttered, and her forehead rested against his chest.

Before he could answer, the bell dinged, and a customer entered. Chi Chi smiled as she pushed off of him. She heard him pulling on an apron, still chatting to Gohan and Videl. She pushed up her sleeves, rounded the counter top, and greeted the customer.

"What can I get for you?"

/distant screams echoing