Better Than Me
Part 7
My eyes fly open as a warm feeling overwhelms the room. I turn to look at Gohan, who had been asleep on his bed. He's wide awake now.
"Did you feel that?" I ask.
Gohan nods, eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out what that could be. His and my eyes widen when we realize what it is.
"Tenshi!" Gohan cries, throwing his covers across the room and dashing down the stairs. I follow him – as best I can, seeing that I'm still too monstrous for the house. Gohan reaches the kitchen first, which is where Tenshi's bassinett has been located for the past few days. (Chichi keeps moving it into each and every room, waits a few days, then introduces it to another room.) When I reach it, I see that Goku and Chichi are also up. They couldn't have been awake longer than Gohan and me.
"He's hatching!" Chichi whispers.
My throat suddenly doesn't feel like working. I make a noncommittal nod in her general direction. Gohan is hovering over the hatching egg, love sparkling in his eyes. Chichi looks like she's going to either faint or explode if she gets any more excited. Goku can't stop grinning. I see the black crack in the white egg. I watch the egg shudder and crack, and for some reason, I feel numb all over.
Get a hold of yourself, Piccolo. You knew this would happen. Kami's voice echoes through my head. This was expected. There's no reason to freeze up.
That's right. Nail interjects. Births happened on Namek, and on the new Namek all the time. This is normal. It's a normal hatching. The baby will come out, and will do his best to pick out his parents from all present. You and Gohan can teach him everything.
Kami speaks up again, like only he would. He doesn't have to grow up like you did. After all, you and Gohan love him.
What makes you so sure, old man?
I mean, it's obvious Gohan loves Tenshi. I doubt anyone can separate the two after this. But I . . . what will I do? What if I mess up? What - ?
A little green hand shoots out of the egg and waves around. It pulls at the eggshell, then disappears back inside. Cracks litter the egg, and, all of a sudden, the egg is blown to pieces. Eggshell fragments litter the table, bassinett, floor, and the Sons' hair.
A small Namekian sits where the egg had been. Wet tuffs of black hair stand in every which way where antennae normally would be. I – He has green skin with pink lining the areas with significant muscle mass, just like my own. A tail shakes the moisture off. Little Tenshi takes his tail into his hands and tries to dry it with his palms.
He's smaller than I had been. Maybe that's because he's not expected to kill a powerful martial artist in three years. The feelings of familiarity seep from Nail into my own consciousness as the other Namekian is reminded of Dende's birth. But something about Tenshi reminds me of myself. I just can't tell what it is yet. It's more than how he looks. It's – it's how this child is holding himself that's a lot like me.
Tenshi scans the room, looking at each of us in turn.
"Hi, Tenshi. It's great to finally meet you," Gohan says, his smile threatening to expand past his face.
Tenshi's eyes light up in recognition, and a small smile of his own crawls across his face. He tries to stand up, but he falls down on the first try. He manages it, though, and he's probably the only baby that Chichi or Goku ever saw walk so early. He walks toward Gohan and holds his arms out to him. Gohan picks him up and wraps his arms around him. Tenshi giggles and snuggles against Gohan's chest. Gohan giggles with him and holds him closer.
Tears roll down Chichi's cheeks, but for once she's smiling as she cries. Goku has an arm around her shoulders, and he's also smiling and crying at the same time. It makes little sense to me, but then again, what about this mixed-matched family does? I peer at Tenshi as Gohan coos over him. Tenshi peers up back at me, a curious expression upon his face. He looks down at himself, and then back up at me. Back and forth he looks, and then he raises his head again and smiles. He reaches out towards me now. Gohan notices and smiles at me, too.
"He'd like you to hold him," Gohan tells me. I nod, unfolding my arms.
"How – how do I - ?" I stutter. Curse that stutter to Hell.
Tenshi giggles. Gohan walks toward me and holds Tenshi up to me.
"First, put your hand behind his head like this, then make sure you use your other hand to support him here." Gohan instructs.
I awkwardly take the small creature into my arms and hold him. Tenshi smiles up at me and snuggles against me.
A warm feeling builds up in my chest, a warm, fuzzy feeling. This is the first time I've ever had a warm, fuzzy feeling. To be honest, I thought it was just something sentimental humans came up with to say, that there wasn't actually such a thing. Why am I not surprised that I've been proved wrong once again?
Tenshi has Gohan's eyes. They're so full of love and cheer, it's painful. But it's a good kind of pain. A chuckle finds its way into my throat, and Tenshi giggles along.
I look at the rest of my family. I smile. I really do smile.
Slowly, we all start to laugh, Tenshi leading us.
Maybe this is what they mean by living happily ever after. We'll probably still have bumps in the road, but I think I'll never feel as alone as I used to. This baby won't ever have to feel like that. Gohan won't have to feel like that. And, a few years ago I wouldn't believe I'd ever say this, neither will Goku and Chichi. Because we're all a family. And that's never going to change. Ever.
To Be Continued In
The Third in the Triology
With Arms Wide Open