What's this? An update less than a week after the last one?

Flying to Capsule Corps took less time than Gohan anticipated. Landing outside the building, the young man's hand was damp and he nervously wiped it across his pant leg. Kiwi had made it clear the day before that she didn't want to have anything to do with him but after the events with Android 19, Gohan had been gripped by a sudden terror that he if he didn't act immediately it would be too late.

The young man might have gone on standing there forever if Vegeta, who had been in the middle of training, hadn't suddenly come up behind him.

"What are you doing here boy?"

Gohan jumped at the brusque voice and looked guiltily over at Vegeta. "I need to talk to Kiwi."

The permanent scowl on Vegeta's face seemed to deepen. "It's after midnight," the prince snapped. "What business do you have with my daughter at such a late time?"

"I came to apologize." Gohan replied meekly, feeling more like a chastened four year old than someone in his twenties.

The laugh Vegeta let out was harsh sent chills down the younger man's spine. "Apologize? You brought harm to one of mine and you think a simple apology will do?"

At that moment Bulma, who had been waiting for Vegeta, came outside wrapped in a robe.

"Vegeta! I just heard the whole conversation. What did I tell you? You leave that poor boy alone." Looking at Gohan the genius scientist continued more gently, "Kiwi's in the lab Gohan. I know she'll be glad to see you."

"Ah...thank you Bulma." Gohan said and hurriedly moved inside before Vegeta could say or do anything else.

The hour was late when Kiwi finally pushed back from the table in the lab. The left over pieces of Android 19 were spread out across the surface and Kiwi had spent the last several hours studying the pieces trying to see what she could learn. So far the girl had discovered that the Android had been relaying information back to his creator but there was no way for Kiwi to trace it back. She had also discovered that unlike his counter parts 17 and 18, the rotund android did not have an explosive device within.

Kiwi was putting away her tools when there was a noise at the door. Turning around she saw that it was Gohan. Her heart skipped a beat and it was a struggle not to run across the room and throw herself on him, all her former anger and hurt towards him was gone; wiped away by the reality that the androids had really returned and any day could be their last.

"Kiwi, can I have a minute?" Gohan's voice was soft and Kiwi felt her heart constrict. Kami she loved him.

The young girl nodded and turned to face him. "What's the matter? Is Pie alright?" After the battle Gohan had recovered his fallen friend and had taken him back to the Watch Tower.

Entering the lab and shutting the door behind him, Gohan replied, "No he's fine. I just wanted to talk to you."

He's nervous Kiwi suddenly realized and the knowledge brought a smile to her face. "What do you need to talk about Gohan?"

Gohan's hand ran through his hand and Kiwi was sure that if he had both arms he would be wringing his hands together. When the silence stretched on, Kiwi suppressed a second smile. "C'mere." She said motioning him over to her work bench.

Once he was close enough, Kiwi pushed him down onto the seat and went over to the chest where she kept things locked up. "I made this for you," Kiwi said as she pulled out the arm she had been working on. She had finished work on it during short breaks throughout the day. It wasn't as elegant looking as Kiwi would have liked but it would serve its function. The prophetic was made from metal and had a functioning communicator within.

Bringing it over to Gohan, Kiwi said, "It's not fancy at all and you won't be able to use it in battle but it should help you out in day to d...Gohan? What's the matter? Why are you staring at me like that?" Her eyebrows drew together in a frown and she looked down at the arm. "You don't like it?"

Gohan stood up, and took the arm from her. Kiwi's mouth dropped as he then slid his arm around her and pulled her close. Automatically Kiwi's arms slid around his torso and she leaned into him. They stayed that way for several minutes, relishing the feel of their bodies against each other.

Touching his forehead to hers Gohan broke the silence, murmuring, "I love you Kiwi. I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize it but I do and even if it takes me the rest of my life I'm going to prove it to you."

The confession made Kiwi want to burst out into a giddy dance but instead she blurted out, "I love you too..." She paused, emotion clogging her throat. When she continued her voice was husky. "I've loved you for as long as I can remember and when you died..." Tears spilled down Kiwi's cheeks and she sobbed, "And now the androids are back and you could die again. I won't survive a second time."

Gohan's hand slid up from its position on Kiwi's hip to cup her cheek. Brushing the tears away he said firmly, "I can't promise you that I won't die but I promise I'll do my best to keep that from happening."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Kiwi said sniffling, her hands fisted in the front of Gohan's shirt. Feeling slightly embarrassed by her tears Kiwi started pulling away but Gohan tucked his arm back around her and held her close to him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gohan asked teasingly. "I'm not letting you go now that I have you."

Wrapping her arms back around Gohan's torso, Kiwi laughed but the moment was ruined when the lab door burst open and an angry looking Vegeta bustled in.

Kiwi and Gohan sprang apart as the Saiyan said angrily, "It's been thirty minutes, it's time for Kakarrot's brat to remove himself from my home." And with that he grabbed Gohan by the shirt and pulled him out of the lab.

"Wait, you're telling me the Androids are back? It's not just that big green one Goku's going to fight in a few days?" Krillin asked aghast.

Kiwi shook her head and looked at the rest of the Z fighters. It was the day after Gohan's confession and Bulma had contacted everyone to go to Kame house to meet. The only people not there were Vegeta and Goku.

"It seems as though Dr. Gero was brought back with the rest of the people killed by the androids.' Bulma said. "But this time we have the advantage. We won't be caught unaware."

Yamcha sighed deeply and crossed his arms. "Easy for you to say," he said glumly. "You're not the one who got killed by them first the last time."

"Then you should keep up with your training!" Tein shot back. Turning back to Bulma he asked, "So what can we do this time around?"

Before Bulma could say anything Piccolo said darkly, "We need to continue training, harder than we have before. If we die this time around we won't have a chance to get wished back."

As the fighters talked back and forth about what the best course of action to take was Kiwi slipped out. While Kiwi took out her capsule case to get her scooter, Sumiko came up behind her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sumiko demanded. "It's just starting to get interesting."

Kiwi rolled her eyes. "Let's be serious, I'm nowhere near strong enough to be fighting the androids. My time is better spent in the lab." A look of excitement came over her face. "I'm going to see if I can make the same shut down controller the Past Bulma made."

"Better you than me," Sumiko said dryly. "I'm more than ready to test my new Super Saiyan abilities. Maybe this time I'll get a chance to take them out before they take us out."

An unhappy frown covered Kiwi's face. "I just wish there was a way I could backtrack the signal that Android 19 was putting out. If I could pinpoint the location we could go scout it."

"Well what are you missing?" Sumiko asked curiously.

Kiwi launched into a complicated technological explanation of what she needed but the words seemed to fade into the background as Sumiko caught sight of Trunks exiting the house. The demi saiyan's eyes met hers and Sumiko felt her heart start to race. Trunks' lips slid up into a smile and casually he walked around to the back of the house.

Holding up her hand Sumiko cut off Kiwi, "Ah, hold that thought. I, uh, need to go see something." Without waiting for a response Sumiko moved past her friend and trotted to the back of the house.

As soon as Sumiko rounded the corner, warm hands grabbed onto her and she was being pulled into Trunks' warm embrace. Their mouths met eagerly and the young pair spent several moments enjoying the feel of each other.

When they finally pulled away Trunks said smiling, "Well, at least your dad's not here to interrupt again."

Sumiko laughed and looped her arms around his neck. "Mom spent three hours yelling at him after you left."

Trunks shook his head and dropped a quick kiss on her lips. "So what does this mean for us?" He asked suddenly looking hesitant. "A...are we together?"

"I guess so," Sumiko replied with a mock sigh. "After all the choices for me are slim; it's either you or Pie."

The days passed by faster than possibly imagined. During this time another android appeared; a completely mechanical person that killed several people before Piccolo, aided by Krillin and Tien, took it down. Bolstered by this victory, The Z fighters spent their time training, each of them eager to prove that they could continue bringing down the androids. The leftovers of this second android were taken to Capsule Corps where Kiwi and Bulma spent hours studying the body. This one, unlike 19, did have a shutdown feature and after one sleepiness night the mother daughter duo managed to create a shutdown control. All that was left to do was wait for the appearance of another android,

Meanwhile, Pie was also progressing with his training. The young man had finished training with Mr. Popo and had moved onto training with Piccolo and Gohan.

The training was grueling, making everything the man had gone through before with Mr. Popo and Korin like child's play. At the end of one particularly taxing day Gohan laughed as he watched his friend collapse on the ground like an outstretched fish.

"You think this is bad?" Gohan said with an amused grin. "Imagine going through all this when you're just a toddler."

Pie groaned in response and it took him several minutes to muster up the energy to respond. "You're half alien," he rasped out. "You wouldn't understand how we humans feel."

Gohan chuckled again and reached into the bag he had brought and pulled out the arm Kiwi had created for him. Once he had strapped it on, Gohan looked up and found Pie watching him curiously.

"What's the matter?"

Shifting into a sitting position with a groan Pie asked, "Where'd that arm come from?"

Raising the arm up and moving the fingers experimentally Gohan replied, "From Kiwi. Something she's been working on for the past couple of months."

"Does this mean the two of you made up?" Pie asked.

Subtly had never been Gohan's strong point and a wide grin spread across his face. "If you call confessing your love for each other making up."

Pleased by his friends news Pie got up and hobbled over to him. Giving Gohan a friendly pat on the back Pie said, "That's great news. I'm surprised you haven't rushed off to be with her after our training sessions."

"I would have but Vegeta has really taken a dislike to me being around there," Gohan confessed morosely. "He's convinced that 'Kakarrot's brat' isn't good enough for her."

"That's preposterous," Pie burst out, angry on his friend's behalf. "Any father would be lucky to have you dating their daughter!"

"It's a good thing I agree with you and not Vegeta," Kiwi called out cheerfully from above the two men. A few moments later she landed beside them on her scooter. "How's the training coming?" The young woman had spent the day working on a device similar to the Dragonball radar that would track androids. As soon as Vegeta had locked himself and Bulma into the their bedroom, Kiwi had lowered her ki and snuck out of the house to go find Gohan.

Resisting the urge to pull Kiwi over to him and kiss her, Gohan replied teasingly, "Why don't you ask Pie that question?"

Kiwi listened as Pie described the ups and downs of training with the Namekian When he finished, she laughed. "Sounds like training with Vegeta...speaking of Piccolo where is he?"

"Meditating somewhere else," Pie said sheepishly. "He said we made too much noise just breathing for him to stay and do it here."

They all laughed at this and Pie stood up, brushing his hands on his pants. "I need to go, uh, clean myself off." He had noticed the glances Kiwi and Gohan kept giving each other and wanted to give them a few minutes of privacy.

The moment Pie disappeared, Kiwi launched herself into Gohan's arms. Clinging to him tightly Kiwi said, "I'm going to go crazy if Vegeta doesn't get over his obsession with you."

Dropping a kiss onto her shoulder Gohan sighed heavily, "I don't think that'll ever end as long as my dad is alive."

"It's because I'm a girl," Kiwi grumbled, shifting so that she was in a more comfortable position on Gohan's lap. "We all walked in on Sumiko and Trunks kissing this morning in the kitchen and Vegeta didn't even bat an eye."

At the mention of his sister kissing Trunks, Gohan shot to his feet knocking Kiwi over. "Trunks and Sumiko are together?"

Glaring at Gohan from her place on the ground Kiwi demanded, "How is Trunks and Sumiko being together something negative? We're together aren't we?"

"Yes," Gohan agreed reluctantly. Helping Kiwi up he continued, "But I'm her brother, I should have noticed that something was going on."

"Well you didn't," Kiwi said feeling annoyed. Brushing her hands across his chest she said, "Now we can keep talking about our siblings or you can let me kiss you the way I've been thinking about all day!"

Vegeta was drifting off to sleep, his arm draped around Bulma's waist when his eyes opened and he let out a growl.

Bulma, who had been asleep, immediately awakened, "What is it?" She asked groggily, "Is Goku in the room again?"

"Your daughter is with that infidel," Vegeta snapped sensing Kiwi's ki miles away and besides Gohan's. "When I see that brat again, I'm going to teach him a lesson he won't soon forget."

Letting out a long suffering sigh Bulma rolled over so that she could face Vegeta. "You're not going to do anything to him," she said firmly. "It's not up to you who Trunks and Kiwi date. Besides, I'd think you'd be thrilled that that they chose Saiyan partners and not 'miserable pathetic worms' as you so lovingly called us humans the other day."

Softened by the love making he and Bulma had just participated in Vegeta admitted, "They have chosen strong partners." Then his eyes narrowed and he snapped, "But why must they be the spawn of that idiot Kakarrott?"

"I guess that's something you'll have to ask Kami the next time you see him," Bulma said leaning forward to kiss Vegeta's chest. "But right now..." her hand slid beneath the blanket and Vegeta let out a soft groan as it found him. "You have more important things to do."

The next morning for the Son household started off with Chichi throwing a steaming pan of dumplings at her husband.

"I don't care if your battle is tomorrow Goku!" The woman yelled. "You are not going to train today!"

Goku narrowly dodged the pan and cringed as it smashed into the wall behind him leaving behind a dent and a trail of dumplings. "But Chichi," he protested. "How can I take off the day before a big fight that could determine the fate of the entire world?"

Chichi' face turned purple, "That's your excuse before every fight Goku and I'm sick of it! You haven't taken one day off since you started training for this match and I insist that you spend today with your family!"

At that moment a sleepy Sumiko and Gohan entered the room. Gohan had come home the night before for a clean change of clothes and had made the mistake of laying down on his bed.

Sighing deeply and running a hand through her messy hair Sumiko said asked sourly, "What are you guys fighting about this time?"

"Chichi doesn't want me to go train today," Goku pouted. "My fight with Android 16 is tomorrow."

Sumiko rolled her eyes but before she could say anything Chichi said sharply, "I don't care if it's the end of the world tomorrow! We are having a family day today and that's final!"

"Family day?" Sumiko repeated aghast. "But I already have plans with Trunks!"

Gohan nodded and added, "I'm still supposed to be training with Piccolo and Pie...I just came for some clean clothes."

Folding her arms across her chest, a look came over Chichi's face; one that her children had only seen a handful of times but those times had all ended badly for them.

"I'll go let Trunks know that I'll see him tomorrow." Sumiko said meekly.

Gohan smiled sheepishly. "I'll, ah, do the same."

They scurried out of the room looking more like five year olds than the twenty plus year adults that they were.

Turning her gaze on Goku, Chichi asked coolly, "Any other questions?"

"What's the matter Trunks?" Bulma asked her son. She had just walked into the living room and had found him slumped on the couch looking as though it was the end of the world.

Trunks sighed heavily. "I won't be able to see Sumiko today; they're going to have a family day before Goku's big fight tomorrow."

"A family day?" Bulma repeated wistfully. "That sounds nice...since Kiwi's return a few months ago we haven't had any time together that wasn't related to Androids or fighting."

Looking warily at his mother Trunks said, "I don't think Dad would be interested in having a family day."

Shrugging her shoulders Bulma smiled and said, "Then let him do what he wants. The three of us could go and spend the day together."

Determined now to have her own family day, Bulma sent Trunks off to go get ready. Feeling excited about the prospect of spending some time with her children she went outside where Vegeta and Kiwi were training. Bulma took a moment to admire her daughter. There was no way her daughter would ever catch up to Vegeta's level. It was physically impossible but the way the young girl tried to do all Vegeta asked was impressive. As were the changes in Kiwi's physical appearance. No one could have accused her of being unhealthy before the Z fighters had been wished back but now the hours with Vegeta had carved off all the unnecessary fat and revealed muscles that had been hidden before.

Noticing his lover watching them, Vegeta broke away from the training and moved over to Bulma. "What is it woman?"

Giving Vegeta's appearance an admiring look Bulma replied, "I need Kiwi. I want to take her and Trunks somewhere." With only the briefest hesitation she added, "You can come too if you'd like."

"Tomorrow is Kakarrot's battle with the Android." Vegeta said, a sneer touching his lips. "If he loses, as he will, I will be the one to take down the Android."

A wave of affection washed over Bulma and acting on impulse she leaned up on her toes and gave Vegeta a short kiss on the lips.

Stepping back and looking embarrassed that Bulma kissed him in front of Kiwi, Vegeta snapped, "What was that for?"

"Because I love you," Bulma said patting his check with a smile. "Now tell Kiwi to come in and get dressed. I want to leave in an hour."

Sumiko didn't want to admit it but she was enjoying sitting on the picnic blanket beside her mother while her brother and father fished in the nearby lake,

"I'm glad you made us do this," Sumiko admitted. "We haven't had a day like this since I was a little girl."

Chichi nodded, a serene smile on her face. "Whether your father wants to admit it or not breaks are important when it comes to training." She sighed softly and looked at her daughter. "Forgiveness is important too."

Shifting uncomfortably under her mother's gaze Sumiko played with the edge of the blanket and asked stiffly, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You can't stay angry at your father forever," Chichi said bluntly. "He may be the strongest person on the planet and the savior of the world but that doesn't make him perfect."

"I'm not angry at him!" Sumiko immediately protested. "What makes you think that?"

Chichi pressed her lips together and said flatly, "You can't lie to me Sumiko, I'm your mother. I know everything."

Groaning Sumiko flopped backwards and grumbled, "Well why can't I be angry? You're always angry with him!"

"I'm his wife," Chichi shot back. "But he is your father and you need to respect him."

As much as she wanted to argue Sumiko knew her mother was right. "Fine," she said reluctantly. "I'll talk to him."

Getting up from the picnic blanket Sumiko walked over to where her brother and father stood by the lake's edge, admiring the five fish they had caught so far. Upon reaching them, Suniko pinched Gohan. The younger man let out a yelp and moved away from his sister's fingers.

"What was that for?" Gohan asked looking at his sister reproachfully.

Smirking slightly Sumiko jerked her thumb over her shoulder pointing at their mother. "Mom needs you. I'll help dad skin the fish."

"Fine but don't think I won't get you back for that pinch!"

As her younger brother trudged off Sumiko looked at her dad. Their eyes met and despite how hurt and angry she still felt about what Goku had done with the androids, Sumiko was hit by a wave of affection for her father. Sighing deeply Sumiko ran a hand through her hair and said stiffly, "I need to talk to you dad."

Using a well placed hit to knock off scales from the fish, Goku smiled wryly at his daughter. "Talk or fight? I don't mind fighting but I don't think your mom will like it too much."

A sharp retort immediately came to her lips but Sumiko bit it back as she proceeded to skin the second fish using her ki. "Just talk." She said firmly. Ignoring the disappointed look on her father's face she continued, "I just...wanted to say sorry. For attacking a few weeks back."

Goku looked surprised. "You don't have to be sorry about that. I had fun fighting you."

"I know." Sumiko replied shortly. Sucking in a deep breath she forced herself to continue. "But you're my dad. I'm still angry with you but I'm sorry about the way I showed my anger."

The silence after her statement stretched on for so long that Sumiko thought the conversation was over. As she finished with the first fish and moved onto the next one Goku's voice startled her.

"I'm proud of you for fighting." Goku paused on the fish he was cleaning and gave Sumiko his full attention, an uncharacteristic serious look on his face. "I'm going to fight that Android tomorrow but I'm not worried about dying." Goku paused, his lips spreading into the familiar carefree grin he always wore. "If I die then I know I'm leaving the earth in good hands."

"It feels almost sinful to just be sitting here," Kiwi confessed to her brother as they started out at the ocean.

Trunks, who had been laying on his back, hands folded on his stomach in contentment, cracked an eye open. "Why is that?"

Adjusting herself on the beach chair she sat on, Kiwi said, "Well you know, relaxing when there's so much to do."

"We've been fighting our whole lives," Trunks replied, shifting so that he could look at her. "We deserve a break."

At that moment, Bulma who had gone diving into the water, popped back up laughing. Putting her hands around her mouth she shouted, "What are you two just sitting there for. C'mon in!"

Trunks and Kiwi exchanged a look before bursting into laughter. Hopping up, Kiwi reached down and pulled Trunks up to his feet. Together they ran into the water splashing their mother. Bulma laughed and the three of them ended up in a three way water war. When Trunks came out of the war as the winner, Bulma flopped on her back in the water in disgust.

"You cheated!" Bulma accused him breathlessly.

With a smirk that looked very much like Vegeta's, Trunks shrugged. "You guys lost fair and square!"

Bulma and and Kiwi rolled their eyes at each other and with one move splashed Trunks in the face. The rest of the afternoon was spent in this fashion and by the time they returned to Capsule Corps they were happy but weary. Trudging up to her room Kiwi was sure that she would be able to fall asleep with no issues. Since she and Gohan had gotten together the nightmares had ended and, with her mother's help, wean herself off the sleeping pills. Because of this Kiwi had moved back into the main house.

Entering her room Kiwi found a sleeping Gohan stretched out on the bed. He was in his normal training clothes minus the shoes which were on the floor and the mechanical arm which was resting on the night table. His real arm was draped across his face and Kiwi could hear soft snores coming from his mouth.

Suppressing a smile, Kiwi quietly shut the door behind her and locked it. Quietly she tiptoed to the bathroom so she could shower and change. When she was done Kiwi slipped into bed beside Gohan and reached out to tweak his nose.

Startled awake, Gohan bolted upright and powered up. Realizing it was just Kiwi he lay back down and blew out a sigh of relief. "You're finally back."

"What are you doing here? How'd you get past Vegeta?"

Gohan grinned and turned so he was facing her. "He just let me in!" At Kiwi's incredulous stare he continued sheepishly. "Well he gave me a look that could have killed me but that was all."

"Mom must've talked to him," Kiwi concluded. It was the only logical reason why Vegeta would have allowed Gohan into the house after so many days of threats. "So what are you doing here? I'm not going to do anything with you while my parents are nearby."

Gohan sat up again, this time to grab the mechanical arm and put it on. Once it was in place he lay back down and slid it around Kiwi's waist to draw her closer. "I'm just here because tomorrow could be the end of the world."

The words were spoken in jest but a ball of anxiety welled up in Kiwi. Tomorrow very well could be the end. Goku would be fighting against an Android and it would be a great opportunity for Dr. Gero to release the rest of his demons. Trying to clamp down the fear Kiwi moved closer to Gohan and kissed him softly.

"Then let's try to make the most of our last night together."

I hope you enjoyed all the shippy feels in this chapter. Shit is gonna hit the fan in the next. Leave a review!