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Chapter Text

DB Ship Week: Day 5 “Flowers: Nature”

Arrow of Carnations
Vegeta/Bulma
Rated T for Teen

His love was not an inferno, that much was certain, but rather a smolder.

Little embers burning quietly in the dark, the Saiyan Prince kept the fire going in a way that did not draw much attention. For as long as Bulma knew Vegeta, he was never one to be flashy or ostentatious. No, hotheadedness in battle aside, the man was surprisingly calm and controlled when he needed to be. 

This was not to say he lacked passion; far from it. Their bedroom was full of heated whispers and primitive Saiyan dominance. Arguments between the two were just as fierce, neither one backing down for even a minute. Understandable given how stubborn the two were.

Vegeta just wasn’t the typical idyllic Prince Charming. Instead of superfluous poetry, he’d say that dinner “wasn’t the worst thing he’s ever eaten” and leave to go train. Instead of lavish dates, he’d attend one of Bulma’s various parties, sulking in the corner of course, but in attendance nonetheless.

And as far as flowers went…

He thought this gesture was one of the strangest he encountered ever since making Earth his new home. In those awful movies Bulma forced him to watch from time to time, the man showed up with hundreds of roses to prove his affection. What a waste. 

“Foolish,” Vegeta admonished with his arms crossed. “Flowers wilt and die,” he scoffed. “It’s an empty gesture.”

“True,” Bulma acknowledged, eyes still on the screen, “yet it doesn’t make them any less beautiful.” 

So much of Earthling tradition he found to be strange, and yet, over time he became used to it. Vegeta stopped getting furious anytime a Capsule Corp. worker greeted him; fury turned to indifference, without acknowledgement, and eventually the proud prince would quietly nod in response. That was the equivalent of someone making small talk in his case. 

Maybe he was softening up more than he cared to admit.

Still, Vegeta noticed Bulma would buy flowers instead of waiting to be gifted them. She took after her mother in that regard, save for growing them herself. The variety ranged from all styles and colors of the rainbow, bright blues to deep reds and every shade in between. For every violet, there were hydrangeas to match. For every baby’s breath, calla lilies in spades. 

Bulma never made a fuss about wanting Vegeta to partake in such a human ritual. No, she was smart enough and rich enough she could do it on her own. Besides, she thought, Vegeta would probably yank a radish out of the ground, caked in dirt still,  and call it a day. She didn’t expect him to understand. Bulma was content in other ways so no need to to make waves.

However, on very rare occasions, even the Prince of Saiyans still surprised her.

It was usually when he was preoccupied elsewhere; either training or taking a shower, but it coincided with Bulma returning to their bedroom for the evening. On their bed, a sole carnation had been plucked and placed on top of their covers. Fuschia tips against a white base, Bulma knew instantly these came from her mother’s favorite flower bush in the gardens. It happened to be her favorite too. She often would stop to smell them on her way into work; their fragrance as enticing as their appearance. 

While it wasn’t an ornate bouquet, the fact that Vegeta would know how much she enjoyed even a single carnation meant more to her than any grandiose display. 

He’d return a little later, almost hoping for her to already be asleep so he wouldn’t have to address it. But Bulma would still be awake, the carnation now blooming in a vase near the nightstand. As Vegeta situated himself under the covers, Bulma quietly turned to kiss him on the cheek. 

“Thank you for the flower,” she whispered in his ear.

“Tch,” Vegeta clucked, “go to bed, woman.”

Though she usually hated that moniker, Bulma smiled as she maneuvered herself back on her side, about-face. No, his love was not loud or on display for the world to see. But, as he encased her in that strong grip of his while they drifted to sleep, Bulma knew how brightly his fire burned for her.

It would always be a quiet blaze, she accepted, but one that could never be extinguished. 

-=-=-=-

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,  
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:  
I love you as one loves certain obscure things, secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

“One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII” - Pablo Neruda

Chapter Text

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Between the Shadow and the Soul
Gohan/Videl
Rated T for Teen

Beast; such an odd name for such a sweet man.

Videl wasn’t there the day Gohan achieved that form, nor was she very familiar with the logistics of it. Something to do with anger, that much she knew. She had often heard tales of how his rage was the root of his great power over the years. From being a scared toddler kidnapped by his uncle, or a young kid with the fate of the world on his shoulders, Gohan had a number of moments that required him to tap into that side. 

The shy scholar always seemed more interested in bugs and books than blood and power. It was one the things that drew Videl to Gohan in the first place. He was so genuinely kind and thoughtful it sometimes bordered on absurdity. From the day the two were married, Gohan proved to be the doting husband of her dreams. Handsome, attentive, strong…what more could she ask for?

And yet…

This “Beast” form intrigued her. Something so inhibited, so feral…it made her quiver just thinking about it. The two were far from lacking in the bedroom, but Gohan had this tendency to treat Videl like a delicate flower; after all, she was a human and he was one of the most powerful beings in the universe. While she wasn’t fragile, the human was still just that: human.

In the past, she had subtly hinted at Gohan getting a little more passionate with her. He in turn, misinterpreted this as needing to be more grand with his gestures. Giant bouquets of roses and candles certainly did add to the ambiance of their encounters, but Videl wasn’t sure how to approach the subject of performance. Gohan was a generous lover, and she couldn’t ask for a better partner, but sometimes she had that urge to be thrown on the bed like a rag doll. Videl worried he wouldn’t understand that.

Still, she figured, maybe it was worth a chance to sate her curiosity once and for all.

On a night where Pan was sleeping over Bulla’s house, Videl sought to put a plan into motion. She cooked a big meal for her and Gohan, sparing no expense. All of his favorite dishes were made exactly the way Chi-Chi would prepare them. Though Gohan wasn’t a heavy drinker, she kept the good wine coming. Videl hoped some of the liquid courage would inspire her to finally voice her desires to him.

Towards the end of dinner, Gohan leaned back and patted his stomach in contentment. “Wow Videl,” he said happily, “you’ve outdone yourself!”

Videl beamed. “You flatter me, Gohan,” she replied.

“It’s the truth! To what do I owe such a feast to?”

The daughter of Mr. Satan had a gleam in her light blue eyes. “Well,” she began, “I will admit that since it’s just us tonight, I was hoping you and I could…”

A faint blush coated his cheeks when Gohan realized what she meant. “Oh! I-I mean,” he stuttered, his cheeks only pinkening further. Gohan cleared his throat. “The thought crossed my mind, too,” he admitted softly. 

Videl felt her own cheeks inflamed. “About that,” she continued. Her eyes darted down as she tried to find her wording. “I did have a…request.”

“A request?”

“Yes, a curiosity, actually…”

Gohan’s eyes widened, unsure of where his wife was going with this. He took off his glasses to wipe them nervously before putting them back on. “About…?” he started to say. 

“Your…” she trailed off. More heat rose to her face, matching her dress. “Your Beast mode.”

The statement caught Gohan off guard. “My…what?” he questioned with a laugh. He figured they must be talking about different things. 

Videl shifted in place. “I’ve been curious about it,” she murmured, “what it would be like.”

Her husband’s charcoal eyes expanded as he nearly choked on his glass of wine. “Videl,” Gohan said, “you mean like…?”

“Yes,” she answered quickly.

All the breath left Gohan’s lungs. “I-I don’t know what to say,” he muttered, nerves getting the best of him. 

Videl slowly approached the sweet scholar. Her hand was placed on top of his, gently tracing the skin with care. “You’re so good to me, Gohan,” she praised. Her grip tightened as she smiled. “Always so giving and loving, there’s little else I could want,” Videl continued. She paused her hand movements as she found her voice once more. “But I can’t help but want to explore more with you,” Videl confessed, “and I’d love for you to be a little less…gentle.”

“Videl,” Gohan stated her name with such care as he held her hand tightly. “I’m open to that, but think about what you are asking; that form is almost equivalent to Super Saiyan God,” he rationalized. Gohan pulled her into him. “If something went wrong and I accidentally hurt you, I could never forgive myself.”

Her heart melted at his sickeningly sweet concern. “Gohan,” she sang as she kissed his hand. “This is you we are talking about. I don’t think you could hurt me even if you tried.”

“You say that so confidently,” he said with a light laugh. His face grew serious once more. “Even though I would never willingly hurt you Videl, I don’t have mastery over this form yet. There is no telling what could happen,” Gohan explained.

“We’ll never know until we try, right?” she countered, her reddened cheeks growing darker. 

His wife snaked her arms around him as Gohan attempted to catch his breath. “But if it’s too much I never want to pressure you,” she added as she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Gohan lovingly rubbed her back.

“I’ll clean up,” he insisted. Rising to his feet, Gohan embraced Videl with all the affection he could muster. “You go unwind with a bath and I’ll come up soon,” the scholar continued.

Videl could only see love in her husband’s eyes. Perhaps he’d always be a little overprotective, but it meant that he cared more about her well-being than anything else. For that, she was eternally grateful. Maybe one day he’d be open to exploring things, but for now, Videl was content to be cherished by the best man she knew. 

“Alright, dear,” Videl conceded with a peck on the lips. “Don’t take too long,” she said with a wink. 

Gohan returned the grin as he traced her shoulder. “You just enjoy yourself,” he stated. “After this amazing meal, I’m sure you are exhausted.”

Videl could not disagree with that. 

As she headed upstairs, she heard the water running in the sink and Gohan quietly speaking to himself in his distinctive superhero voice. The former Great Saiyaman took on his next foe: dirty dishes. The thought made her smile.

Some things never changed; and truly, she was okay with that.

…

Videl drained the intricate bath full of epsom salt and lavender, feeling more relaxed than ever. She had expected Gohan to join her but he never came into the bathroom. Perhaps he was waiting for her in bed already. Wrapping a towel around her slender frame, Videl finished freshening up and headed towards her bedroom to change.

Gohan was still not in the room yet. Maybe he got caught up in a good book while waiting. It happened on more than one occasion. Videl started to organize her pajamas wondering if she should save the “special” lingerie for another evening.

“What to wear, what to wear…” she trailed off quietly to herself. 

“I prefer you as you are.”

A low, gravelly tone filled the air and Videl’s heart skipped a beat. Her breathing heightened, wondering just where exactly the voice had come from. The rapid heartbeat in her chest drummed like an orchestral tympani. She clutched her towel tighter.

“Gohan?” she wondered aloud to the empty room. 

“Turn around,” the voice commanded.

Eager to obey, Videl twisted her body to face the doorway. From where she stood in the darkness, it was hard to make out the exact outline before her. It seemed familiar, and yet, the generously tall hairstyle did not ring a bell. As she squinted, Videl was apt to notice sharp, red eyes gazing at her. She gasped with both a bit of shock and delight.

A dark chuckle escaped the figure’s lips. As he stepped into the moonlight from the window, his white hair illuminated before her. Those beast-like eyes never strayed from her eyeline. “You don’t look as relaxed as I thought you’d be,” he said amusingly. 

Videl felt nervous yet titillated by this intriguing new form. “You just…caught me by surprise,” she replied.

Gohan stepped closer, towering over the petite frame of his wife with ease. “Apologies,” he answered back in that foreign tone. “I forget how…strange this form looks.”

“Yeah,” Videl said blankly, mesmerized by the sight in front of her. 

“I thought about what you said,” Gohan continued, “how you would prefer me to be less gentle I believe?”

All Videl could do was nod.

A smirk graced the Beast’s lips. “I can’t say for certain how this experience might be,” Gohan added, guiding a finger along Videl’s side. She shivered at the contact. “But if at any point it’s too much,” Gohan resumed, “let me know and I’ll do what I can to…tame the beast, as it were.”

Videl felt her lip tremble as his fingers moved just beneath her chin. “Is this what you want, my beautiful wife?” Gohan asked in that raspy cadence that made Videl dizzy. 

“Ye-yes,” she stammered. Her whole body felt on fire already and here he had barely touched her. 

“Good,” Gohan responded, hoisting Videl up in his arms. The towel fell to the wayside, already forgotten as his wife attempted to catch her breath. Gohan’s red eyes kept their focus on her as he slowly strided towards their bed. 

“Your eyes,” Videl could barely breathe out.

“Yes?”

“They’re so…red.”

Another dark chuckle reverberated in Gohan’s throat. “All the better to see you with, my dear,” he said with all the charm of a wolf. 

Videl faintly giggled at the nod to the fable. She noticed the sharp gleam of fangs as Gohan’s wicked smile flashed her way. A light gasp emitted from her mouth. “Your teeth,” she remarked. Her shocked expression diminished as Gohan continued to pierce through her very being. Suddenly, trepidation turned to excitement. 

“What big teeth you have,” she continued, echoing the fairytale. 

With that, Gohan tossed her on the bed, eliciting a small yelp from his paramour upon doing so. Videl slowly lifted her head to see her husband, in all his Beast form glory, licking his lips at the edge of their bed. Just a look and Videl knew what his intentions were.

“Gohan…” she whispered, burning up inside.

He knelt on the floor, his eye contact firmly fixated on the beauty before him. Another amused chuckle escaped while his hands stretched open his wife’s legs with ease. With confidence, Gohan showed off his toothy grin one last time. The whites of his canines catching the moonlight.

“All the better to eat you with, my dear.”

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Happy #HanVi_2024 Day! Be sure to check out @DB_Hanvi for more pieces!

Chapter Text

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Except in This Form
Goku/Chi-Chi
Rated E for Explicit

“Chi-Chiiiiiii—please don’t be mad!”

“I have nothing to say to you, Goku!”

His usually radiant wife was still seething from earlier. After the shock of returning in their Super Saiyan forms wore off, Chi-Chi turned to anger once they had retired for the evening. Goku should have realized something was amiss when Chi-Chi was silent the entire way home from Kame House. He knew she had a flare for the dramatic, something he genuinely enjoyed about his beautiful spouse, but this time felt different.

By this point in the evening, Gohan had long been asleep and the two of them were left to their own devices in their own bedroom. Chi-Chi’s long hair, normally in a tight updo, cascaded down her milky white shoulders. The contrast of ebony and ivory reminded Goku just what a beauty she was, even in the midst of her ire. She purposely laid over on the far side of the bed, back to her husband with the goal of icing him out. Goku hated the thought of her going to bed angry.

“Chi-Chi…”

Flipping over in a huff, Chi-Chi and her inflamed face gave Goku pause. The dark irises of his bride narrowed in. “I told you that you could train our little Gohan, not turn him into a punker!” she yelled. Her husband sighed in frustration.

“Chi, I told you,” Goku began again, “it’s not hair dye! This is what being a Super Saiyan looks like.”

“A likely story!” she yelled.

Still incensed, Chi-Chi grabbed the blanket to pull over her as she resumed her previous position: laying down staring at the wall; ignoring Goku as best she could. Goku knew his wife well enough, and long enough, to know that whenever she was acting this animated, it usually belied some other emotion. “Babe,” he said softly, “what’s the matter?”

“What? Aside from the fact that my husband and son look like hooligans?!” she shouted, but as she did, Goku’s strong arms wrapped around her from behind. 

“Chi-Chi…”

“Let me go, Goku! I’m not in the mood!”

The iciness in her gaze and tone remained, but Goku held her close. “Chi-Chi,” he repeated, even more gentle than before. “C’mon, I know that look. What’s really going on?” Goku murmured.

Chi-Chi attempted to release herself from his grasp. A futile effort against the strongest man in the world, yes, but she made the effort nonetheless. She resigned herself to his hold when she could not break free. A loaded sigh left her lips. “Seeing Gohan that way,” his wife spoke softly, “it just…reminded me how much like you he is.”

Raising his eyebrows, Goku was curious. “Like me?” he repeated. “Is…is that bad?” Goku asked innocently. 

“You almost died, Goku,” she declared with a crack in her voice. “Again!”

“Chi-Chi,” he murmured.

She started to falter in her façade of anger, morphing into an ephemeral sadness. “I lost you once, Goku,” Chi-Chi spoke with conviction. “I thought I lost Gohan during that time, too. Every time you both come back to me, you’re just as soon running off into danger. It’s not fair.”

Goku pulled her in close. “I’m sorry,” he could only manage to say into her hair. After hesitating a moment, Chi-Chi slowly allowed herself to return the embrace.

“And here, you’re about to do it again,” she croaked, the emotion only intensifying. 

“Chi-Chi,” Goku whispered, “if we don’t put a stop to Cell, that’s it for the Earth. For everyone who lives on this planet. For our family. I can’t let that happen, not while you and Gohan are both still here.”

“Why is it always you though, huh?” she questioned into his chest. “Loads of other fighters on this planet—why you? Why Gohan?”

Goku thought about his reply for a moment. “Because,” he retorted, “this form—and I know you aren’t a fan of it, I get that—it’s the only kind of power that has a chance on Cell’s strength. That’s why it’s so important that Gohan and I stay in it right now. We’re not trying to upset you, Chi-Chi, honest.”

He tightened their embrace. “Babe, I know you didn’t sign up to be married to an alien. My whole Saiyan side is still a mystery to me, too,” Goku admitted. “But,” he continued, “it’s allowed me to reach a level of strength I didn’t think was possible. Even Gohan being half-Saiyan has become stronger than any human I know. That gives us a responsibility to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”

Chi-Chi dipped her head, averting his eyeline lest she start to cry. “Can’t you just forget about the world?” she requested, voice shaky with nerves. 

“I can’t do that, honey.”

“Why not?”

Tipping her chin up towards him, Goku forced the two of them to look at each other. “You’re my world, Chi” Goku whispered. “And a world without you is one I don’t want to live in,” he said quietly. Chi-Chi’s dark irises misted with affection at the sincerity her husband exuded. Quietly, a smile made its way to his face before becoming distracted by her beauty. His eyes darted to her exposed nape, tempting him to taste. As his lips found the beckoning bare neck of his bride, Goku continued to press his mouth over every inch of skin up to her jawline, prompting a pleasurable noise from his wife to echo in the air. 

“Goku,” she exhaled sharply.

“A world I don’t want to imagine,” Goku added, kissing the sides of her face. “Not when I know what this one is like. Not when I have you in my arms.”

Before she could reply, Chi-Chi felt her lips captured by her husband’s set. It was hard and possessive, as if desperately clinging to what was his.

She was his. 

Nothing could change that. No threat, no enemy. Chi-Chi knew that Goku would always be her one and only. As he kissed her so fiercely, she melted into his hold, finally letting down all the walls she built up earlier.

When Goku sensed his wife kissing him back, he groaned against her. Everything in this form felt magnified; his stamina, his strength, his lust. Below his pants, Goku grew rock hard with need. He wanted to show her just how much he meant what he said; Goku knew words were far from his speciality. He was always far better with actions, with his body.

Groans soon turned to growls as Goku possessively pulled his wife’s nightgown off of her body with ease. Chi-Chi was so preoccupied with their mouths exploring one another she barely registered the nakedness. That is, until Goku descended down her collarbone towards her chest and buried himself between her ample assets. She moaned when his lips found a hardened nipple and suckled her hungrily. In tandem, his thick fingers started to explore the heat between her thighs. He could smell her want already.

His middle and index finger joined forces as they rubbed against her slick entrance. A stray mewl escaped Chi-Chi’s mouth, only prompting Goku to nurse harder on her breast. The pressure of his digits also increased, and before she knew it, Chi-Chi spread herself for her husband to give him better access. While he moved from one breast to another, Goku’s fingers dipped inside the beauty beneath him. Chi-Chi moaned against him, bucking from the sensation of being filled. Silently demanding more, she brought his head even closer to her chest, while his kisses bathed her in his fire.

“Mmm,” Goku murmured, still entangled with her nipple. A wet pop released her teat from his ministrations, almost yielding a sharp protest from his wife. “I hate going to bed without dessert, Chi,” he responded in a low tone. It was rare for Goku’s primal side to come out in public, but in the quiet of their bedroom, it was more than apparent there was an animalistic quality to the man. A Saiyan quality. And Chi-Chi knew better than anyone how voracious his appetite was…

“Goku,” she uttered breathlessly.

His green eyes, so different from his usual dark orbs, blackened with desire. They stared her down even as his head lowered from her torso to her navel. Chi-Chi’s legs were pried open further to make way for her husband’s form. His nostrils flared while inhaling her scent. Though he loved anything Chi-Chi whipped up in the kitchen, there was one thing he loved more.

Eyes still wide open, Goku lowered his mouth to Chi-Chi’s amply wet slit, not breaking his gaze. He wanted to watch his wife’s face blossom with the heat of their union. Chi-Chi’s lips trembled, a faint bray of feminine pleasure leaving the confines of her throat. “Goku,” she spoke more urgently. Though not the ebony strands she had come to love so dearly over the years, Chi-Chi gripped the blond spikes in front of her, trying so hard to steady herself.

The strength of her husband could be felt even in the gentlest of touches, but Goku wasn’t holding back like he usually did. His large hands clutched his wife’s backside, cupping the soft globes of her ass to better support them both. He feasted ravenously at the meal before him, growing harder the wetter she became for him. Goku finally broke his bride’s gaze in order to dive in deeper; lewd slurps filled the room amidst the mutual moans.

His tongue lapped at her like a man starved, causing Chi-Chi’s head to rear in ecstasy. “Oh yes,” she cried, her fingers pulling even tighter on his locks. With little control of her body, Chi-Chi undulated against her husband’s face, drenching his chin while he continued to explore every inch of her womanhood.

“Chiiii,” he purred into her. His nose danced around her rosebud before languidly swiping up the length of her slit. Circling her bundle of nerves with the tip of his tongue, Chi-Chi felt a familiar pressure build. With the chaos of the last few weeks, it had been so long since they had been intimate and the pleasure started to overwhelm to the point of no return.

“Goku,” she keened, “oh baby, I’m so close.”

“Yes, Chi-Chi, c’mon honey,” he coached through her impending orgasm. 

She cooed at the encouragement, bringing a satisfied smirk to Goku’s face. The pureblood Saiyan returned his fingers inside her, matching his movements with his tongue. Another loud suckle followed. “That’s my girl,” Goku praised. 

Those words allowed Chi-Chi to hit that pinnacle, crying Goku’s name as she reached her release. Never one to miss a drop, Goku greedily ate out his wife for every ounce of her nectar. Her body hummed against his mouth, the aftershocks of their shared passion making her head spin. With Goku’s face still buried between her thighs, she unclenched his digits from her sex. Before she knew it, Chi-Chi felt a familiar hardness replace the soft lips of her husband. Rubbing up and down her core, Goku’s incredibly large manhood ached to be inside her.

“You’re so beautiful like this, Chi-Chi,” he whispered, still teasing her with his length. 

“Goku,” she whispered, out of energy from her climax. “Please,” Chi-Chi begged, “oh please honey, I need you.” 

“What do you need?”

“You…”

“Chi-Chi,” he said darkly, “what do you need?”

“Goku, I need you inside me!” Chi-Chi begged, almost loud enough for the slumbering Gohan to hear them in the next room. Her desperation was that great.

Piercing her to the hilt, Goku gave his beautiful bride exactly what she asked for. They groaned against the other before Goku sought her lips out once more. “Chi,” he gasped in her ear. Though his wife was not of the same level of power he was, Chi-Chi never failed to impress him in the bedroom. The way she took everything he gave her only made Goku yearn for her more ardently. 

She was so tight, so hot for him. His cock twitched inside her, prompting Goku to liven the tempo of their lovemaking.

Every time he filled her, Chi-Chi moaned his name. Even though she had resented his changed appearance earlier, she found herself lusting for those delicious green eyes drinking in her form. As her heavy breasts heaved, Goku grabbed a fistful and strummed her nipple. He continued to fuck her deeply, pressing as far into her as he could. Chi-Chi started to claw at his back when she felt his cock throb incessantly inside her. 

“There,” she cried. “Right there!”

He grunted and picked up the pace. “Chi-Chi,” Goku groaned. “You feel so damn good, baby.”

“Oh Goku!”

“C’mon,” he encouraged, “come apart for me.”

He felt her legs wrap around his frame and Goku lifted his bride up for deeper penetration. The two sang their pleasure against a chorus of moans and the slapping of skin. Goku returned his lips to her neck, still twisting at her breast, and started to teeth. Both of them were so close to the edge. “Chi-Chi,” he grunted against the white of her nape. All his wife could do in response was lilt in rapture.

“I’m—I’m—!”

“Me—too—!”

Husband and wife cried out for each other, a warmth flooding the channel occupied with their sexes. As Goku’s seed thoroughly filled her, Chi-Chi collapsed back onto the bed, with her husband following suit, still wedged deep inside. It was a minute before he finally separated the two of them, but kept her close even so. 

In the afterglow, the room was silent. Chi-Chi finally found refuge at her husband’s side, burrowing her face into the muscular pecs she adored. Goku’s eyes fluttered shut, thinking the two would drift directly into slumber, but had the sensation of being watched. He opened one eye to see his wife gazing soberly at his form.

“Do you have to go?” Chi-Chi asked sadly, wrapping her arms tightly around the taut bicep. The earlier sadness lingered even after their proud display of passion, the reality of it all still hanging in the balance. Goku brushed away her bangs with his free hand, admiring the long, disheveled locks of his bride. With her face cleared from any obstruction, he became breathless. There was no one else he found more beautiful than her. 

“You’ve got me until the games, Chi,” he professed swiftly. “These next few days,” he murmured, “I have nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Chi-Chi observed him briefly, considered his words, and with a soft smile, leaned in to kiss him one last time before bed. “I love you,” she confessed. A large sigh followed. “In this and any other form,” Chi-Chi spoke, stroking his unusual blond locks with more affection than earlier. “I love you.”

Goku returned the kiss as he cradled her cheek. “In this and any other form,” he repeated, “I love you more.”

Though he had no idea how the fight with Cell would go, Goku allowed himself this respite from it all, in the careful care of his beloved. For now, he thought, the rest of the world could wait. 

For now, and for always, she was his whole world. 

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