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A few months after the incident with Majin Buu and it felt like things were finally back to a normal routine. She sent Gohan off to school in the morning with gentle teasing to pay attention in class and not day-dream about his new girlfriend. She spent some time convincing Goku to go out and work on farming so they could have some sort of income. And she watched Goten as his eyes followed his father the whole time, planning to send the boy later with Goku’s lunch for the day.
It was part of the routine by now, but having Goku back to life after so long was still like a dream come true. For her – and for the boys, Goten especially. She would never get over the gleam in Goten’s eyes whenever he got attention from his father. It was one reason she took every opportunity to push the two together. She knew Goku wouldn’t mind. In fact, she was pretty sure Goku enjoyed it, too. He always had been good with the little kids.
Smiling to herself, Chi-Chi bent down to talk to Goten after they watched Goku fly away into the distance. “Goten, do you want to take lunch to your father again today?”
Goten’s eyes lit up almost immediately as they turned to her. “Yeah!”
“All right, then you need to do a lesson in your workbooks for me.”
“Aw, Mom...”
“Oh, don’t give me that,” she said with as stern a smile as she could manage though internally she had to giggle at how much he sounded like Gohan there. “I don’t expect you to spend as much time as your brother did, but you’re old enough now to take your education a bit more seriously. You want to go to the same high school as Trunks in the future, don’t you?”
“I guess...” Goten mumbled before glancing up at her. “I still get to take Dad his lunch, though?”
With a smile, Chi-Chi nodded. “Of course, sweetie. I’m not going to keep you locked inside all day or anything. I know how you are.”
At that, the light returned to her baby boy’s eyes as he laughed and nodded. Without another complaint, he went off to do as she asked and Chi-Chi had the time she needed to clean up the mess in the kitchen. She had almost forgotten how crazy breakfast could be with Goku in the house. Her boys at a lot on their own, but Goku was in a league all by himself.
She’d missed it.
She hadn’t realized how much she had missed it. Or how much she was grateful for having a full family of four now. But in the quiet moments of the day, she could take the time to examine her conscience and accept how much more alive she felt. Content. Happy. Full. Grateful to all the gods and powers of the universe for bringing her husband back to her, for allowing this completeness to return to her home.
Satisfied that everything was now going according to her new routine, Chi-Chi turned her attention to house cleaning. As her thoughts took her around memory lane, she worked through all her daily cleaning routines that helped to keep her little house looking beautiful and homey. Comforting and warm. Inviting. A feeling it always managed to carry no matter how life was playing out in the outside world. Of course having her full family of four inside together made it more so, but, well, the house had an air all on its own.
She hummed as she worked today. Washing dishes. Dusting furniture. Sweeping floors. Making sure everything was as close to perfect as possible. As if she were still living in a dream.
Eventually, she made a few boxed lunches for Goku (and one for Goten as well). Her little boy hopped up immediately at her call, grinning wide as he was handed his father’s lunch. She had a feeling Goten actually enjoyed doing little tasks like this, especially if his father was involved. She was so glad to see the love from Goten toward his father, so glad to see them hit it off so well, though deep down, she’d always known they would have been close, would now be close.
Regardless, Goten rushed out the door as soon as he was able, leaving Chi-Chi alone in her cozy little house.
Alone.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, soaking in the crisp air of an incoming winter. A time when so many things began to die in order to give way to a new rebirth in the spring. Maybe it was time to let some hidden feelings within her die with the season as well. Feelings that had build up over seven years.
Nothing as serious as stark bitterness, of course, but the ache inside that thrummed deep in her heart. A stain of loneliness that grew even with her children beside her. Even with Goku back from the dead. It rested there, gnawing at her insides, like a sickness that refused to completely release her from its grasp.
And, of course, the loneliness reared its ugly head whenever she was physically alone for a time. She had been alone before. Several times. This shouldn’t have been anything new, but regardless of what she told herself the feeling came at her again and again. Reminiscent of the one year when Goku had been dead and Gohan kidnapped. She had never been that alone ever since, but still…
Sometimes emotions – deep emotions – were a hard thing to control. Or even to understand.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Chi-Chi walked across her kitchen and plopped into a chair at the table. A deep-seeded urge to cry hit her. For no reason. Was it because everyone was growing up on her? Was the shock of Goku being back to life after so long still hard to process, even with these past few months of adjustment? She didn’t understand it. She should be fine. She was stronger than this.
But…
Some things were just simply hard to shake sometimes. The quiet drone made her house feel empty. They were all away. Sent away by her own choices. Gohan to school. Goku to work. And Goten to be with his father.
Oh, but her mind looked forward to the end of the day and her heart ached to see them all again. Together.
With a soft smile, Chi-Chi shook her head. Now she was being silly. True or not… it was still a silly, uncontrollable emotion of longing. She’d better find something to do to occupy her time, or it would drive her nuts.
Time passed, moving on through the minutes and hours. Chi-Chi pushed her thoughts to the side and focused on her house. Focused on other past times. Knitting matching sweaters for all of her boys. Presents that they would hopefully be appreciative of in the coming winter. She occupied her mind and her hands with anything she could think of, and before she knew it, the family trickled in as the night hit and the moon rose.
Gohan came home first, a little later than expected since he should have been only been gone away for school, but he quickly set his books down and went to the task of helping her with supper. Old habits died hard, apparently. They talked about his school. They talked about his superhero business taking his time throughout the city. And they talked about Videl, much to Gohan’s blushing dismay, despite the questions he had for her.
Goten and Goku came home together. By way of instant transmission. Sometimes she wondered if Goku even remembered he could fly, with how he jumped to her location as often as possible. She was still startled, of course, and they had a good laugh, a good teasing reprimand and a look shared between them.
While she was still staring into he husband’s sparkling eyes, Goten decided to practically attack her in a hug, his small arms wrapping around her as best they could. “We love you, Mom!”
“Oh!” She gasped, reaching down to set a hand on her son’s back. “Where’d that come from?”
“Mmm, just felt like it.”
Before she could comment further, Gohan leaned over to join in the hug. “Well I feel like it, too, then. Sometimes I wonder if we hug you enough, Mom. For all that you do for us.”
“Oh!”
No other words wanted to come free. Instead, she found herself a little breathless and just a tiny bit teary eyed to hear such a thing from her son. To feel the love coming from them both. What would she have done without them? She was so grateful to have such beautiful boys -
Goku’s laughter interrupted her thoughts as he jumped into the group hug as well, almost encompassing all of them in his arms. “Yeah, Chi, I think they said it all. I sure am glad I get to be alive for this. Would have been a shame to miss out on a hug this big, huh?”
Chi-Chi laughed, then, bringing a hand up to scratch at her blushing cheek. Oh, these boys. All three of them. They were going to turn her into a weeping mess in no time. Just like that, her house transformed back into warm, inviting, and comforting. And instead of feeling that encroaching loneliness, something else took its place. Something nice and...
Cozy.