TIME FRAME: A YEAR PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF RADITZ; GOHAN IS 3 YEARS OLD.

Frowning, the small child pushed up more on his tiptoes but it wasn't enough, not by a long shot. The child deepened his scowl and thought, walking down the hall to the bathroom. There he found the tiny stool that Daddy had bought for him to reach the sink. It was shaped like a dragon but it was kind of heavy. Still, Gohan was determined and he dragged it out of the room and down the hall, to the storage room. It made a hideous scrapping sound and he stopped, eyes darting around anxiously to see if anyone had noticed his actions.

No one came running so they either didn't hear him or opted that it was unimportant. Noises were not uncommon in a house in the woods after all! Mother was still in the kitchen and Daddy had gone outside. He was supposed to be taking a nap but he wasn't tired anymore. He wanted to surprise Daddy when he came in and he had almost every thing done but he had to have this last item to make it complete. Mom hadn't noticed him darting to and fro from the kitchen, mainly because he was so quick about it and waited until she ventured out for a moment. Plus, he had been very careful to do it throughout the day, one or two items at a time. This was the last thing he needed and he was running out of time. Once Daddy came back in, he would have to do some studying for a while and then dinner and then it would be time to get ready for bed. He wouldn't have another chance to prepare his surprise! He had to get it now. It was risky because if Mom noticed he was out of bed, he would have been ordered back. But thus far, no such obstacle had been encountered.

This last item was the trouble.

Mother and Daddy kept the glue out of his reach.

Gohan pushed the stool underneath the desired shelf stood and then frowned. Even on his tiptoes, it still was far beyond his reach. He pondered this, considering his options as even for his young age, Gohan was quite clever. He couldn't reach the shelf he wanted, however, he could reach the two shelves below it. Pulling himself up, he swung his leg up and stood on the shelf, careful to walk around the jarred fruits. Mom didn't want them broken and neither did Gohan! They tasted yummy.

He paused and then dug his hands into the shelf above his head and yanked himself up. He could reach the glue bottle now and grasped it tightly in his small hands. He sat down on the shelf to ease himself back down then paused, his nose catching the scent of fresh honey, syrup and molasses! Those would work too! He set the glue bottle down and picked up the honey and syrup, climbing down and setting them by his step stool before climbing back up and retrieving his glue and molasses.

Once on the ground, the child frowned and then put all four on the top of his dragon stool and started to drag his treasures off into the hall and then down to his bedroom where the rest of his experiment was already laid out. He heard Mom chattering to herself as she made her way from the hallway and into the kitchen but he was well out of her eyeshot by now. He had snagged the biggest bowl from the kitchen earlier and now with his last supplies safely in his room, he was ready. Standing on his toes again, he slowly and quietly shut his door before sitting and taking hold of the jars he had gathered. He perused each one and took note that every ingredient was present.

Gel from Daddy's bathroom that he used when he shaved his face, the honey, molasses, syrup and glue from the storage room, some sap he'd gotten from outside and that odd stuff that Mother blew over her hair sometimes. It felt empty to Gohan but he would try it. Gohan twisted the top off the first jar, his father's gel, dumping it into the bowl before doing the same with everything else. Having forgotten a spoon, Gohan dug his hands into it, making them into a fist and using that like a spoon, swishing the sticky ingredients together. He had to use both hands so several times the mixture sloshed onto the floor but he ignored it, reasoning he could clean it up later.

When his mixture was mixed to his liking, the child picked up the bowl, with some difficulty and made his way into the bathroom, trying to keep his door as quiet as he could, setting his concoction down on the floor. Darting back into his bedroom, he set to work completing his surprise. Getting out his orange paints, crayons and markers, he pulled out a set of a white sleeved long top, one Mom had bought him a while ago but he hardly ever got to wear so he reasoned he could make it so he could wear it more often. Laying it out on the floor, he opened the top to his canister of orange paint and dumped it out in the middle of the shirt, staining it a permanent orange. He grinned and started to rub his brush through it, smearing it from top to bottom as much as he could, turning the shirt over at one point and attacking the back, never minding that he had nothing underneath it to protect the wooden floor.

Gohan left the sleeves untouched, starting at the elbow. He would finish them later.

Gohan frowned as there were a few places that were not as orange as he would have liked. He had to save his other can of paint to do the pants so he took the caps off his orange markers and started to run them over the blank spots. It was a different color orange but he was satisfied. He cast the crayons aside, discovering quickly that they did not write well on this material.

Gohan got up, coated in paint himself and ran to his closet, grabbing his tan slacks. He wished he had white pants because they would be easier to color but Mother refused to buy him white though Goku said several times he looked cute in them. She'd said it was "suicide."

Whatever that meant.

Gohan opened his second can of paint and dumped it out on the slacks, distressed when it didn't turn as dark an orange as the top. He took out his markers, coloring as he smeared the paint the other hand. It did better than he anticipated and after a little longer, he was happy with the color. That accomplished, he went and rubbed his hands on his slacks so to not mesh the paint too much.

Opening his can of blue paint, he grabbed a glob of it and smeared it all over the sleeves, front and back. He found he didn't need the markers for that because the paint was sufficient. Rubbing it between his hands did the best job. Grinning from ear to ear, he ran to the bathroom to finish up and stripped off his clothes, down to his underwear before grabbing his bowl of mixture. He sat in the empty tub and grabbed handfuls of the mess, smoothing it into his hair like Mother and Daddy did with the hair soap at night. It felt gooey and Gohan giggled. It felt funny!

He went on like this until the bowl lay empty and clumps decorated his hair. Oozing out streams of sweet smelling gel, Gohan started to form his hair up into the very familiar spikes that his father's hair had. It held like he hoped it would but just for extra measure, he grabbed Mother's odd can sprayed the odd smelling stuff all over it. Grabbing a towel, he wiped the extra off his face but didn't mind the bits dripping down his neck. With a huge grin, he leapt out and into his bedroom, grabbing his still wet art project and slipping it on, laughing at how cold it was!

Goku came in from outside, stretching and took his shoes off.

"Hey, Chi! That smells great!"

ChiChi smiled, turning around with a grateful smile to her husband. "I hope so. I couldn't find the honey to add to it so I had to improvise." It was not something any cook liked to admit but with the meal half done, she had not been about to waste those ingredients. They might have a bit of a bland tasting dinner tonight. It was an insult to her craft but no point in worrying about it. They would just need to replenish the supply tomorrow.

Goku blinked "That's weird. I gathered it myself yesterday." He shrugged. "I know I didn't eat all of it, Chi, I swear."

Chuckling, the human woman responded, "Well, someone did but we need to get some more molasses and syrup too…so we can-"

"I used it Mom!" came the happy, bubbling interruption from behind them.

ChiChi turned from the stove first, recognizing Gohan's call and dropped the bowl she held in her hands. Slowly, her face turned bleach white and she put her hands to her cheeks.

"Oh my God!"

Gohan ran through the doorway that separated the kitchen from the rest of the small house and spun around "Whatcha think? I look like Daddy huh?!"

ChiChi fell to her knees. "…please tell me that is not your good top!" Maybe it was an odd thing to be focused on but with the way it was dripping paint every time her son moved, it had to have been painted and she recognized the patterns.

"Uh huh! I like it this color! Look like Daddy!"

He directed his eyes up at his father, beaming with streams of yellow, maple and who knew what else decorating the hairline of his face. His white silk top was now a permanent orange and blue mix, smears of his hands prints all over it and those tan pants shared the same fate. Little drops of paints followed their son all the way from his bedroom and into the kitchen.

"Well, do I look like you Daddy?!" Gohan's inquiry came again, snapping Goku out of his daze. The father looked at his son who glanced up at the man with wide, hopeful eyes.

Goku blinked and then burst out laughing. "Yes, yes you do!"

Gohan squealed and ran around his father's legs, saying "I made it myself!"

"…I see that." Goku touched his son's hair and got a glob of the mixture on his finger. He sniffed it and then stuck it on his tongue. "ChiChi…found out where the honey went…"

ChiChi's shoulders sagged, tears in her eyes "All that money…"

Gohan's face fell. "Mom…you don't like it?" His voice crumbled. "I thought you'd be proud I looked like Daddy."

She looked up and Gohan's heart broken face met hers, his brown tail swishing behind him. Despite her dismay over all the money lost, how could she stay mad at that face? She sighed, heavily but then broke into a small smile. Goku knelt, hugging his son, never minding the mess. "ChiChi, I'll get the stuff out, you go get the camera before we tackle this."

She got to her feet, slowly and then laughed, finally, saying "You've gotten your share of miracles Goku. You're going to need another one to get that mess out."

Gohan beamed, looked up at his father and planted a kiss on his nose. "I look like Daddy now!" he repeated, happy enough with that. It really didn't take much to make him happy. Being with his father was usually sufficient but seeing Goku's smile, although his eyes were mixed of horror and happiness, was enough to make all that work worth it and make him decide to cooperate with an early bathtime. Besides, maybe Daddy and him could play with the water!

Goku, smelling and feeling the tightness of the mixture that decorated the whole of his son's head, mused, silently "You're lucky I love you, little man."