Author's Note: Well, hello. It's me, Chi, again with another piece of fluffy G/CC. Believe it or not, this was going to be an angsty piece on Chichi's feelings about Goku leaving her after the Cell games.

As Shinou will testify, I'm not very good at angst. Will the rest of you settle for fluff?

By the way, I'd appreciate it if you would use the little box at the bottom left hand corner of your screen that says "Submit Review". I like to hear people's reactions to my work; be it positive or negative, as long as it's not nasty.

Chichi's Spring Fever

Chichi paused in her mechanical washing of the dishes. There was something… some presence, in her house, that wasn't normally there.

She called out softly, "Gohan?"

No one answered. A warm breeze swept around her, causing the skirt of her simple dress to whip gently against her legs.

"Goten?" she tried.

Again, there was no one there. Suddenly she remembered that Goten and Gohan had gone to Videl's house for the afternoon. Goku was training, so she should be alone in the house.

If she was alone, then no one would see her if she gave into the foolish feeling that the beautiful spring day was giving her.

Dashing out of the house, Chichi pulled her hair from it's binding, and retrieved a loose pair of pants from the clothesline. She ran back into the house and changed quickly into the pants and a much more comfortable shirt. Pausing before she removed her earrings, she grinned at herself in the mirror. She rarely did anything this… irresponsible. There were still dishes to do, clothes to be washed, and supper had to be made, but afternoons alone were so rare…

"I'll just go out for a little run," she told herself, "and then I'll be right back, and finish the chores then."

The path from the house in and around the mountains was rocky and difficult to handle if you weren't used to it. Fortunately, Chichi was, and she could navigate the path easily.

Immediately, she felt some of the frustration and pressure of her every day life pound out of her in rhythm with her feet hitting the path.

When she began to think too much, she simply pushed harder, running until all that she could feel was the exhaustion of her body.

In her younger days, she had done this sort of purging often, when her daydreams and fears had become too much for even her to handle.

She panted, and as she did, her mind wandered to Goku, who was now restored to them after fighting Buu. Now that he was at home, sometimes it didn't seem like it was that different than when he was dead. He spent long hours training, and often came home exhausted.

It wasn't that Goku wasn't insensitive, because he wasn't, and Chichi wouldn't hear a bad word against him, it was just that he simply needed to be what he was; a warrior.

There was one distinct difference between Goku being alive or dead, Chichi thought and blushed. When Goku was home, she came alive again. It was like the sun had finally risen after a long and difficult night.

Having Goten to raise this last time Goku had died had helped. His bright smile and innocent way of taken in the world had reminded her fiercely of Goku, and she had gotten back in shape while training him to fight.

Chichi breezed by bushes, trees, and woodland creatures; not noticing any of them, so lost was she in her musings.

At one point, she looked up to the sky and noticed a cloud drifting lazily through the sky. Nimbus had never drifted; Nimbus had zoomed. She remembered the feeling of being safe and secure in Goku's arms while they flew through the sky.

So young, so carefree… Okay, so Chichi had never really been carefree, but she remembered being simply, deliriously happy. They had all been happy.

They still were, she told herself. The Sons had a gift for taking what life gave them, for they knew from long experience that it could all be taken away from them.

In the early days of her marriage to Goku, Chichi had fought the inevitable absences, hadn't accepted Goku's career choice.

Now it was simply understood that he couldn't do anything else.

She wished she could fly, like most of the other Z fighters could. To be able to rise from the ground on her own power, to spread her wings and be free, where no one could approach her or demand of her anything.

But then, if she could shirk her responsibilities so easily, would she be Chichi?

Sweat was pouring from her body, her breath was coming less easy. Her muscles screamed their protests, and she felt a little lightheaded. Remembering one of Goku's lectures on the subject, she didn't stop immediately, but slowed to a walk, raising her arms above her head to ease the passage of air into her lungs.

Now she took the time to notice her surroundings, taking in the green grass, the gentle hum of busy insects, the sweet songs of male birds trying to impress their mates.

At the birds, Chichi laughed. Goku had never had to do much to impress her. She adored him simply because he existed.

Of course, he often gave her things to be proud of. He was undoubtedly the strongest man in the world, and also the most gentle. The way he looked, the way he talked, and the way he touched were all careful. He didn't hurt anyone who hadn't hurt him, or wanted to hurt his family.

She slowed to a stop and bent, touching her toes. After the back of her legs felt marginally better, she pulled the ponytail off her wrist and pushed her hair up to the back of her head into a ponytail. It was long, much longer than you would expect, and it was well taken care of, silky, smooth and clean.

Goku adored her hair.

Dropping unceremoniously to the ground, she stretched out and let the sun dry the sweat from her body while it drew more from her pores. Strangely satisfied and purged, Chichi felt her eyes close of their own accord.

A short time later, her body protested a sudden rush of cool air. Like a cat, she had been enjoying the feelings the sun gave her body. She opened in her eyes in outrage, and was struck speechless.

"Goku…" she whispered. "Um, I thought you were training with Vegeta…"

He had been, and on the way home, he'd seen a woman laid out on the middle of the mountain path that only the members of his family used. Chichi rarely left the house by herself, so he had assumed it was someone in trouble.

When he'd reached the site, he was struck dumb by the image of his wife, sweaty and smug from her physical activity. He'd known that she had trained Goten, but it had been so long since he'd seen his wife in her workout clothes that he'd forgotten they existed.

"I was," Goku said, and dropped on the ground next to her. His long body stretched out next to hers felt right, and once again Chichi closed her eyes. "I haven't seen those in a long time," he commented, and ran a finger down the material of the cotton shirt.

"I had a little bit of spring fever today," Chichi admitted, and blushed. "I just had to get out of the house. I just wanted to run… forever and ever. I guess that sounds silly."

"Nope," Goku said happily. "I do that a lot."

Chichi laughed. Of course that wouldn't sound silly to Goku. He often did things simply because he felt like it, one of the traits that she loved him so much for.

"You look pretty," Goku said, after a long moment's pause.

Chichi started. "I what?"

"You look pretty, just like you did at the World Tournament."

Blinking, Chichi shook her head, "Oh, Goku, that was so long ago. I'm sure I look much different now."

"I don't think so," Goku said. "You wore your hair like that then, didn't you?"

"Yes, but…"

"And you wore that same outfit."

"Yes, but, Goku…"

"Your face hasn't changed any," Goku said firmly. "You're pretty, Chichi."

"Thanks, Goku."

"Why? I was just telling the truth."

The nice thing about the way that Goku said those kinds of things, Chichi thought, was that he really and truly meant it. He really was confused as to why Chichi was thanking him.

Overcome by love, Chichi took Goku's big hand in her own. "How did your training go?"

Goku grinned. "I beat him. He's getting better. It's more and more of a strain every time that I fight him."

While this might have irritated other fighters, it excited Goku.

With a sigh, Chichi rolled over onto her stomach. "It's been so long since I've just done nothing with you, Goku."

"I know," Goku said softly. "It's been too long. You're always so busy running around trying to get everything done. I was afraid I'd have to drag you off to spend some time with me while the boys were gone."

Chichi rolled over to her side, shocked, to look into Goku's eyes. He really wasn't as dumb as people thought him to be. "Remember, whenever you thought I was getting too stressed, you'd take me out on Nimbus, and we'd fly forever, or until I fell asleep, and then you'd take me home, tuck me in, and then wake me up."

Goku nodded. That was before their lives had changed for the first time- before the Saiyans. "Do you miss it, Chichi?"

"What?"

"Flying."

Just the mention of the word made her face light up. "Oh, Goku, yes."

"I called Bulma. The boys are going to stay with her tonight. Just think, Chichi," his voice dropped to a deep whisper, "we could fly forever, or until you fall asleep, and then I'll tuck you in so I can wake you up."

The feeling of his breath on her neck made her shrug and grin happily. "You were planning this all along?"

"Since my fight with Buu, we haven't had time to really enjoy each other. Seven years is a long, long time, even for us, Chichi."

"Let's go flying," Chichi said, and stood up. The scent of her wafted over to Goku- female sweat and energy. He growled in the back of his throat, but stood up as well.

"Do you want to take Nimbus?"

Chichi pondered. "Sure. Let's let Nimbus take us for a joy ride. That way, you can concentrate on other things…"

"Like what?" Goku asked, a teasing note in his voice.

"Me," Chichi announced, and did a twirl. "Just me. Not saving the world, not training Gohan, not any Super Saiyan form… just me."

"I think I can handle that," Goku said, and whistled shrilly. "Nimbus!"

The happy yellow cloud that had so many of their fond memories attached to it made its way towards Goku and Chichi in record time.

"I think he missed us," Chichi whispered to Goku.

Nodding, Goku stepped up onto the cloud, and then picked Chichi up by the waist, settling her on his lap.

They flew over Japan, the seas, the rivers, the lakes, the mountains, and took it all in with only passing interest. Their eyes and ears and hearts were for each other. They spoke of everything, and talked about nothing at all.

Goku constantly ran his thumb up and down Chichi's arm, and would occasionally bend down to sniff at her hair. Chichi leaned back into her husband's chest and listened to the steady heartbeat that reassured her he was alive and with her.

On one little island, they got off the cloud to enjoy each other's company in a grove of trees.

Later that evening, Goku carried his wife over the threshold of their home, just as he had done so many years before, and laid her on the same bed. With infinite care and as much grace as he could manage, he tucked her safely into bed as a father would his favorite daughter.

Once Chichi had settled in, he pulled the covers back for himself. Dress only in his gi pants, he draped an arm around Chichi's waist so that her curves fit perfectly with his lines.

Slowly his hand drift up, toward her breast. The wealth of pleasurable sensations awoke Chichi, and it was a great while before either of them returned to sleep.