Son Family Fic Week (whooops so late now oh well)

Prompt: Drunk

Words: 1212

A/N: I enjoyed this prompt. Last one of this collection. I have a few more requests over on my tumblr to fill and then I'll be finishing the high school fic. (No more requests though, lol, I need focus) - Oh! And I guess once I finish the high school fic, I can start working harder on the split-personality AU (which i'm sorry, I will only be offering teasers here or there as appropriate but for the most part I'm not going to post or update that storyline until I have it completely written out because it deserves a consistent updating schedule)

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"Whoa there, Goten," Goku said with a laugh. "You're gonna knock over that lamp if you're not careful."

Goten whined. "No, 'm not."

Laughing again, Goku plucked the boy out of the air by his leg and pulled him in closer so he could hold him around the middle. Maybe he should have kept a better eye on the boy at the wedding, though he usually left such things to Chi-Chi. But his wife had been pretty lax throughout the whole day – well, once the reception started at least. During the actual service, she'd kept both him and Goten on short leashes and huffed at too much movement from either of them. Chi-Chi did tend to worry about the family's image, though Goku couldn't see what the big deal was all the time.

Still, she had loosened up considerably at the reception, leaving Goten to wander as he pleased. (And allowed Goku to spend a lot of time at the lavish food tables, much to his delight). Chi-Chi had spent her time watching Gohan and Videl; he'd noticed how her eyes couldn't seem to leave their first born as he danced with his newly made wife.

No wonder Goten had found his way to some adult drinks by the end of the night. With the reception and after party carrying on for so long, he supposed it was inevitable. Considering how Trunks was old enough to start searching for such things – and crafty enough like his mother to pull Goten along into his schemes.

Well, however it happened, Goten was now heavily influenced by whatever adult beverage he'd gotten into. As was obvious by the child's weak struggles to get free and his whine between giggles.

"Daaaaaad, I wanna fly through the window!"

With another laugh, Goku shook his head. "No, you don't, kiddo. You want to go to bed."

"Awwww..."

Keeping his hold around Goten's middle allowed the boy to keep up his struggles without getting free. Let him wear himself out. That was the best way to handle this. Besides, once he got Goten into bed, he was sure the boy would pass out in no time. Alcohol did tend to make you sleepy after enough time had gone by.

"Goku," he turned at his wife's voice. "I'm going to bed, too, but I could use some help getting out of this dress so -"

"Don't take too long," he said, finishing her sentence with a smile. "Right. I won't."

Chi-Chi smiled back at him, a slight flush in her face which made him blink. Was that because she had had too much to drink? Or something else? Either way, the request to help with her dress suddenly had a whole new meaning and her giggle meant his realization had shown on his face.

"Goten needs his rest, sweetheart."

"Right," Goku repeated, swallowing something in his throat and then focusing his attention on their younger son. "All right, Goten, you hear that? Mom says it's time for bed now."

"Aww...but I wanna fly more."

"Nope," Goku laughed, walking toward the boy's room. "No more flying. It's bed time."

"But I'm not tired."

"Yes, you are. Come on now. Stop fighting me."

Down the hall, he had to lightly kick the door open, but he made it into Goten's room without much trouble. Two bedrolls were set up on the floor, a sight that made Goku pause. Gohan and Goten used to share this room, but now Gohan was married, sleeping in his own house. Chi-Chi must have rolled both sets out by habit, or they'd been there since the morning with no one picking them up. It had been a busy day.

Still, the pause as reality set in gave Goten enough leeway to break free from his father's grip. "Wheee! Bed time, bed time, bed..."

The boy flew around the room a few times before coming to a halt above the bed rolls. Instead of snatching Goten up, Goku decided to watch and see what his son would do. After all, he hadn't caused any damage yet, and well, he needed a moment anyway. There was just something...oddly painful about saying goodbye to the familiar, even if he hadn't been back in this world for quite long enough to get used to Gohan being a teenager much less an adult. He still wanted to see Gohan as a scared little boy, not as a son who had just been whisked away by a girl, married and starting his own life now. It was...an odd feeling. And then Goten was here, having to say goodbye to the familiar comfort at bed time.

"Dad," Goten said, plopping down to sit on the bedroll. "Gohan's not gonna be sleeping with me anymore, is he?"

With a sigh, Goku walked over to his son, sitting down beside him, feeling the nice formal wear stretching awkwardly as he crossed his legs; at least nothing ripped. "No, he's not, son. Gohan's not going to be sleeping here anymore. You have the room all to yourself now."

Goten slouched a little and grumbled. "I don't want the room to myself."

Goku winced a little. What could he say to that? Goten and Gohan had an unexplainable brotherly bond. Mostly because he had been absent for seven years, so of course they had clung to each other. And now time had separated them, breaking the familiar little aspects of life that no one really noticed until it changed. Gohan marrying Videl wasn't the end of the world; it wasn't like Gohan would be gone from Goten's life completely. But this part of it…

"You'll get used to it," he mumbled. "Life is full of changes and you just can't do much else but get used to it."

Goten mumbled back. "It's hard. I want Gohan."

With a frown, Goku reached out to set a hand on his son's head. "Hey, you'll still get to see him. He lives somewhere else now, that's all."

"I don't want him to live somewhere else. I want him here. I want -" Tear-filled eyes turned to him. "I don't wanna sleep alone."

"Hey, don't cry, son," Goku said, picking him up to rest the boy in his lap. "It's going to be fine after a while. You'll see."

The boy leaned in, burying his face in Goku's shirt, and shook his head. "No, I – I wanna sleep with Daddy now."

"Uh..." Goku blinked. "What?"

"I wanna sleep with Daddy," Goten repeated. "Please?"

"Uhm..."

He blinked again, taking a moment to process what that would mean. Chi-Chi might be a little disappointed, but, well...their fun could always be put on hold. Especially when their boy was dealing with...whatever this was called. Dealing with the unfamiliar of having to be alone at night? So many years spent sharing a room with his brother, the sudden separation really did seem a bit unfair. Well. Chi-Chi would understand.

"All right," Goku said, standing up, holding Goten against him. "But just for tonight."

Even as he said those words, he had a feeling just tonight would soon turn into just one more night for who knew how many weeks. Well. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. For now, one night wouldn't hurt anything.