Anticipation

Disclaimer: I don’t own DB/Z/GT or any of the characters found in this fic. They are the property of TOEI ANIMATION in Japan and FUNimation in the U.S.A. I am making no profit from this work of fanfiction.

Once again a BIG thank you goes to Pixelgoddess for continuing to beta this for me. Especially on such short notice. THANK YOU PG!!!! J

A/N: The same holds true as before, I don’t know when this muse will strike again. I needed a break from some of the other more serious stories I was writing though, and this muse came to my rescue.

Warnings - Plot! What happened!? sobs

Rated - R


Anticipation- chapter 4 - Disaster

Vegeta made it back before Chichi did by about 30 minutes, so Goku was able to present the table as a gift rather than having to explain how ‘Vegeta’ had broken it.

Vegeta even had the forethought of getting matching chairs. How he could keep his head in such a situation, I can’t even begin to ponder. Of course, racing the clock rather than racing for a planetary apocalypse…the situation probably didn’t faze him much.

Watching Goku and him as they uncapsuled the individual chairs and the table…that was intense. It wasn’t animosity. It was pure sexual tension, and I am certain that if Goku hadn’t been worried about Gohan or his wife arriving home soon, the two of them would have been trying out the new golden oak kitchen table. The magnetism between the two was almost a physical force.

Chichi was surprised by the new dining room set; I would have thought she had won a game show or something. She came in through the back door, placed her grocery bags on the table, and then took a double take. After her initial squeal of surprised delight, tears formed in her eyes as she glanced at the two of us in gratitude.

To realize so little could make her so happy made me feel like an ass. No amount of hard work or gifts would ever be enough to compensate for the guilt I felt about what Goku and I were doing behind her back.

“I know just the meal to make for dinner tonight!” Chichi cheered. She took a capsule out from one of the grocery bags and popped it open. “I bought these because Goten is coming for dinner tonight; I usually don’t splurge like this.” Two of the biggest brontosaurus steaks I have ever seen in my life were presented on the countertop.

I was a little concerned about feeding four sayian appetites on just the two steaks alone until she reached into the bag again and pulled out four more capsules. “Ten total. And with the table being oak, it can hold the weight.”

There was a moment of silence between the three of us. Goku finally broke it by saying, “I’ll go start a pit outside!” He was out the door almost as soon as he finished saying it.

“Videl, will you help me with the side dishes? I need to start some potatoes and there are three extra bags of fresh vegetables still in the car.” She mentioned as she pulled the moveable chopping block capsule out of a cupboard.

I headed outside to get the bags Chichi had mentioned.


~o0o~


Goku, Chichi, Pan and I were playing ‘go fish’ around the table about the time Gohan should have been back from a spar arranged with Goten at the wonderful dinner Chichi had provided a week before.

Three of our heads popped up at the same time. Gohan had just started to head our way. And he was pissed. Even though she could not read ki, Chichi had seen this sort of reaction enough times in her life to understand something was wrong. “What is it?”

“Papa?” My daughter said, her eyes huge. She didn’t call Gohan ‘Papa’ unless she was scared.

“Chichi, Videl, take Pan to Mr. Satan’s.” Goku told us.

“Goku? What is it?! What’s wrong with Gohan?” Chichi insisted. I was already trying to grab Pan’s jacket from the coat rack.

“Come on Chichi.” I said, trying to get my mother-in-law to come quickly. I was starting to shake. I had a very sick feeling I knew what this was about. How he had found out though? I had no idea. Chichi stood her ground, stubborn at the most inopportune times, as usual.

Which gave Gohan just enough time to get back from the sparring grounds and burst through my in-laws’ front door. He had Goku pinned against a wall before I could blink.
“Gohan, stop! You’re scaring Pan!” I shouted, hoping at least that would stop him. I didn’t think he would care if he were scaring me.

“Shut up, you SLUT!” Gohan managed to shout, even though Goku had a hand under his chin, trying to press his son’s body away from him. Thank gods they weren’t fighting at their full potential…yet. Although, by the looks of it, that last insult thrown at me bothered Goku more than it should have.

Chichi settled it. “I don’t care what you have to do to resolve this. Just take it away from my home and my grandchild, NOW!” Her demon side was effective enough to gain Goku’s attention. A single nod before he let go of Gohan’s hands (which immediately latched around his throat) and he managed to IT them to somewhere else.

It was deathly silent for a few moments after their angry auras had left. Then Pan started crying. “Videl, why don’t you take her to your father’s?” Chichi said. How she was so calm was beyond me.

I nodded my head. “Come on honey. We are going to go see Grandpa and Buu.” My daughter was so upset she didn’t put up any fight about this.

“I’ll call ahead and let him know you are dropping Pan off,” my mother-in-law informed me. I looked up at her a little confused. Firstly that she wasn’t going with us, and secondly, she expected me to come back. “We need to talk, Videl.” I gulped when she said this.

“Okay.” I said as I held out Pan’s jacket so she could put her arms into it. “Do you want to fly or ride?” I asked my daughter.

She sniffled before replying. “Ride”

I nodded, and we both headed out the door. He little legs were slow to follow, another indication of how upset she was. She usually beat me to the car in time to hop in the driver’s seat and say she was driving. Of course, I always told her no. Not this time; she just opened up the car door and climbed into the passenger’s side.

The first half of the drive to my father’s house was unnaturally quiet. Pan had her forehead pressed up against the window, looking at the scenery as we drove by. She would sigh every once in a while, but wouldn’t say anything, and I had to wonder what her young mind was thinking of the incident that had happened less than an hour ago.

Finally. “They aren’t going to hurt each other, are they?” she asked me.

“I-I don’t know honey.” I told her honestly. “They probably will. It’s what they are capable of.”

She turned to look at me with sad eyes. “Well, I am glad it was Papa that was angry, and not Grandpa.”

I kept my eyes on the road, but raised an eyebrow in her direction. “Why is that?”

“ ’Cause if it was Grandpa that was angry, Papa couldn’t stop him.” She said quietly, and then she turned back towards the window.

My heart grew a little bit sadder at her statement. Children, human children, usually had unwavering belief in their parents. I knew I had in my dad. It was a sayian way of thinking that had my baby girl calculating who would beat whom in a full out fight amongst her own family members.

The rest of the trip was quiet. Pan thinking about, well, whatever it is children think about when they don’t know all the facts. And my own mind was a mess, thinking about what I should be telling my daughter to alleviate her fears, but knowing that many of the fears she probably had running through her head were justified. I would only be making it more painful for her if she later learned I had lied to her about what was happening.

My dad, Bee and Buu were on the steps to the front porch when I pulled up in front of the mansion. The car had hardly stopped before Pan was unlatching the seat belt and opening the door. She ran quickly to my father, burying into him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly for a moment before picking her up and passing her to Buu. She started crying into the pink monster’s vest. “You want candy? Buu make candy,” it said as my father came to the car. He closed Pan’s door before walking around to my side. I rolled the window down.

“Chichi said you were going back as soon as you dropped her off. Is there any thing I can do sweetheart?” he asked. I loved it when my dad left his mantel of bravado hanging on a peg somewhere.

“No, Daddy. I think I really messed up this time, and I’ll have to face the consequences on my own.” I told him.

He looked over at his granddaughter and sighed. “You aren’t on your own any more though. This will affect her too, won’t it?”

Tears formed in my eyes, but I blinked them back as my lips threatened to quiver to the point I couldn’t speak. I nodded instead. He leaned into the window and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll always love you,” he told me quietly.

I smiled sadly, but couldn’t turn to face him fully. I mumbled a quiet “Thanks” before I started the engine back up. He stepped away from the car as I pulled slowly out of the circular driveway, and headed back home. How much longer I could consider it home, I didn’t know. I might be returning here sooner than I thought.

The trip back was even worse than the one to my Dad’s. Even Pan’s silent company in the car made sure I worried about her because of her immediate vicinity. I still worried about her, but now, with no one with me, I could worry about me too, and stew on the fucked up choices I had made to lead to this in the first place.

It finally became too much, and I must have been driving on autopilot, because the lights to my mother in-law’s house came into view much sooner than I was comfortable with. I parked the car in front of their house and turned the engine off. I gave myself a few seconds of silence before I finally willed myself to open the car door and get out.

I felt the ridiculous urge to knock before I entered, but didn’t. Chichi surprised me. The cards were picked up, and there were two cups of tea on the kitchen table. I’m not really certain what I expected, but the calm order I was sensing wasn’t it. I hung my coat up, and walked into the kitchen.

Chichi closed the cupboard she had been searching in, turning around with a bottle of honey. “I made chamomile,” she said, smiling faintly.

I nodded. I didn’t know what to say as I sat down in front of one of the steaming cups. Finally, as she sat down with honey in one hand and spoon in the other, my mouth seemed to open. “Chichi, I am very sorry…” Even though it was true, I couldn’t look her in the eye.

“Ssssh. I have a few things to tell you first. Then you can decide how much of an apology you actually owe me,” she said as she stirred the honey into her tea.

I could only nod. If she wanted me to be quiet, it was the least I could do. I took the jar and spoon from her as she handed them over. I looked up as she gave a sigh. Her eyes were focused on a point somewhere near the ceiling. “I don’t really know where to start. This wasn’t what we had planned.”

“We?” I asked.

“Bulma and I,” she stated, finally looking at me. I am certain I had a questioning look on my face. “Did you know, I thought I would inherit my father’s longevity?” she asked, seeming to change the subject. I shook my head, wondering what all this had to do with the current situation. “When I first married Goku, I thought it would be me who outlive him by a hundred years or more. Neither of us knew of his alien heritage.” She smiled softly at a private thought before she continued. “He was everything I could have wanted and more for a mate. Kind heart, pure spirit, open mind. As a little girl, I always knew I would need something to balance the demon heritage I would pass on to my offspring. Even at that young age, when I first met Goku, I knew there was no one else for me.”

I sipped quietly at my tea, still having no clue as to where this was going. It wasn’t often Chichi talked about her father’s legacy, so it was prudent to listen. She was talking about Gohan and Pan’s heritage after all.

“I was always so strict with Gohan, and wanted him to study rather than fight, because I thought his wanting to fight was because of his demon heritage. For the first four years of his young life, I tried to fit him into a box he didn’t belong in. And then I learned that Goku wasn’t the perfect human I had thought he was, but something that could rival any demon potential I may have carried. He was a sayian.”

Now she smiled sadly. “It’s taken me a lot of years to learn even the tiniest bit what exactly that means. Vegeta isn’t necessarily a good example of what a sayian is.” I choked on my tea, but she continued. “Seriously dear. That man has too much trauma in his past to be a perfect example of a normal sayian.”

She let me think about that for a moment before she continued. “And of course, my Goku is not either. Brain damage or social upbringing, whichever. Neither one of them grew up on their planet in a true sayian social setting. War is never pretty.”

I finally started to see what she was talking about. “Do you think about this while cooking?” I asked. Really? When had the woman had this much time to rationalize this?

Chichi smiled at my statement. “Actually, it was after the second time Goku died I had a lot of time to think about it. It took me a long time to trust Vegeta enough to let him train Gohan, and a lot of that trust was built on the belief that Bulma wouldn’t just throw her heart away thoughtlessly.” She smirked, so briefly I almost didn’t catch it. “Even if she was jealous that I had snared Goku out from under her fingertips, she wasn’t just being silly when she picked the ‘next best thing’. My words. Not hers.” Chichi winked at me, and I smiled back unsure.

“Of course, by that time, I had Goten in my belly and then on my hip. He certainly had it a lot easier than his brother, since I had more knowledge about the two of them.” She sighed sadly. “Being a first time parent is never easy.” She smiled at me. “But it makes it even harder when you don’t really understand one half of your child’s true heritage.”

I nodded at her statement. If I hadn’t had her to help me raise Pan…I don’t know what I would have done. Gohan’s mother was able to explain things. It didn’t make up for all of Pan’s misbehaving, but I learned that a lot of what I would deem as unacceptable was ‘normal’ even if it was very different than what I was used to.

“So…I need to stop reminiscing so much. Bulma grew older, and I was shocked to learn that I was doing so also.” She stared at the steam rising from her tea for a moment. “It was the third time Vegeta had broken her hip while they were having sex that she finally called me. It took two senzu beans to heal the injury, because her body was…well, getting older. Bone density and such,” she said, picking up her cup, and taking a sip.

“We met at her office. She said she just needed a friend who could understand even a little bit of what she was going through to talk to. And, frankly, even though Goku has never broken any of my bones, I did understand. It is very difficult to admit to becoming older when you thought you were going to live forever.”

I hugged my teacup with my hands, and waited for her to continue. “Those two,” she said and sighed, looking away. I knew she was talking about Vegeta and Goku. “Before this conversation, Bulma and I would joke about them getting together. We laughed it off, thinking it some silly perverted fantasy. We were more serious about it this conversation though.” She nodded to herself before turning her attention back to me.

“Our husbands were going to outlive us. It was and is the obvious truth. We should have just let things take their natural course.” She shrugged. “But what woman doesn’t want to play Cupid sometime in her life?” she gave a little laugh, and her statement reminded me of school for a moment. I had the shocking realization that neither Chichi nor Bulma had ever attended high school.

“So, we hatched a plan. I would tell Goku it was okay if he needed to find someone else for a physical outlet. After giving my husband some time to digest the information, and Bulma corralling Vegeta’s thoughts towards Goku, she would throw a party, making sure Vegeta attended. I guess she and Vegeta have always had an ‘open’ relationship, even if neither one of them took advantage of it much.” She smiled deviously at me before she continued. “From what Bulma said, not all of Vegeta’s playmates were female.” She blushed before stating. “And not all of hers were male.”

I could feel my eyes widening as I realized exactly where this was going. Chichi nodded in acknowledgement, even if I hadn’t said anything condemning quite yet. “I called Bulma the next morning, after the party. I had woken up with Goku in my bed, although he did sleep in.” She poured herself more tea from the kettle on the table. “Bulma said she had made sure Goku had drank more than his usual ‘one drink’, but that she had found Vegeta, alone, in their room after she had told the guests it was time to call it a night and waited for all the cabs to come pick people up.”

“We didn’t know what had gone wrong with the plan. Neither Goku nor Vegeta knew many of the people there, and Bulma had been very careful not to invite other people she knew Vegeta had a past history with.” Chichi sighed. “Well, I am guessing, somewhere between the party and now, things didn’t go quite as planned.”

She smiled knowingly at me, and I spilled what was left in my cup as I tried to pick it up. Chichi got up and got a dishcloth to wipe the mess up with. Even as she sat down, I really didn’t know what to say. She stared at me for quite some time; I suppose waiting for me to respond. It finally became one of those awkward silences, and she must have felt the need to fill it. “I was very serious when I told Goku he had that option. I am just disappointed he didn’t use it in the way Bulma and I had intended.”

She placed her fingertips at her temples and started little circular motions as she closed her eyes. “Why he would have picked you, when things could have become as complicated as they are…” now she sighed. “I know why.” She smiled at me. “You are young, strong, and someone he is comfortable with.” She nodded to herself before picking her cup up and taking another sip. “But I would have at least expected him to think of his son’s feelings in the matter. It did take me a while to figure out why Goku was staying so close to home. I was thrilled at first. I love having him here. Even if we can’t get as reckless as we used to, it doesn’t mean we don’t do things.” She held up her hand as I opened my mouth to say something. “And it isn’t like you were trying to drive a wedge between us. Nor was Goku trying to drive a wedge between you and Gohan. I don’t know that Gohan is going to see things so clearly. He’s always loved you with what little portion of his heart is human, and that portion isn’t going to understand lust as well as his demon or sayian parts would.”

“Well, now, I guess you can decide exactly how much of an apology you do or don’t owe me. I think the real person that needs to be apologized to, however, is my son. From all three of us.”

I swallowed at the dread that tried to clamber up my throat, and nodded. “T-this is…is there anything I can say that is actually going to make this better?” I asked. I made a decision then. “Well, I don’t think that you telling Gohan this part of the story is going to help.” I said. She looked up at me quickly. “Goku doesn’t know that you and Bulma had this planned, right?” I was trying to think, and stalling.

“As far as I know, the only thing he knows is that I gave him the ‘okay’,” she said, a wary look on her face.

“Good. Then we don’t have to worry about Goku telling Gohan this. That man is honest to a fault.” We smiled at each other knowingly. “And…right now, I guess I don’t owe you an apology, other than for being stupid.”

Chichi laughed. “Oh, honey, if it were me? I’d have been just as stupid.” She leaned unconsciously towards me. “After all, my husband is irresistible.”

I stifled a laugh, which turned it into a snicker. “Okay. We don’t tell Gohan or Goku about ‘the plan’. How…how do I make this up to him? Is there going to be a way to keep this marriage from falling apart?”

We both sighed at the same time. “I don’t know, Videl. I just…don’t know. Goku has never been a smooth talker. The best we can hope for at the moment is that Goku takes just enough of a beating from his son for Gohan to feel he’s gotten his point across. That will take care of the Goku and Gohan side of this equation. The next piece will be up to you.”

I finished what was left of my tea as I thought about this. “You…you said Bulma’s had on the side relationships?” I asked.

Chichi tilted her head at me. “Yes”

I stood up and walked over to the phone. I dialed my Dad’s number. The phone rang a couple of times before someone picked up. “Buu.” I had to pull my ear away from the phone as the monster’s high-pitched voice boomed over the line.

“Hi Buu, it’s Videl. May I speak with my Dad please?” I asked.

“Buu get Satan,” came the simple reply before I heard the phone being set down on a hard surface.

I only had to wait for a few moments, watching Chichi clean up and then put away the tea set. “Hi honey, everything going alright?” my dad’s voice came over the line.

“At the moment, better than expected,” I told him honestly. “Will you do me a favor?” I asked.

“Sure. What can I do?” I heard squealing in the background, and pictured Buu chasing my daughter around.

“Would you be able to keep Pan there for a week, and make sure she gets to school?” It was an awfully big task to be asking of my father. He had rarely made me go to school when I didn’t feel like it.

“I can keep her for a week, but I can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do,” my father said.

I nodded silently on the other end. “Buu could make her go,” I told him.

My dad laughed. “But you know Buu. He wouldn’t.”

I smiled. It was true; Buu would have more reason to keep my daughter at my dad’s house than making her go to school if she didn’t want to go. “Okay, you let me know if she doesn’t go, and I’ll call the school and make arrangements for homework to be picked up.”

“Better plan,” he told me.

“Thank you Dad. I love you.”

“I love you, too, and I hope this all works out. Good-bye,” he said.

“Bye, Dad,” I replied before hanging up the phone.

Chichi had gone to some other portion of the house by the time this conversation ended, and I dialed Bulma’s number. “Hello?” the woman’s voice came over the line.

“Hi Bulma. I need to talk. Do you mind if I come over?” I asked.

“Videl?” I forgot to announce myself, and it wasn’t often I had a reason to call her.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“If this has to do with Gohan and Goku, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. Vegeta has them in the gravity room,” she told me.

“Oh…” the thought had never crossed my mind that the two of them would be there.

“How about if we meet at my headquarters downtown?” she suggested quickly.

“Okay, your headquarters then,” I said, looking at the clock. This was going to be a very late night, but my marriage was worth a couple hours loss of sleep.

“How long do you think it will take you to get there?” Bulma asked me.

“Forty-five minutes.” I said. I would fly rather than drive. No use putting someone else’s life in danger by driving while tired on the road.

“Okay. I’ll see you there, and I’ll have coffee on.” I nodded as she hung up the phone.

By the time I hung up my end of the line and turned around, Chichi already had my coat and a scarf in hand. I smiled. “Thanks, Chichi.”

She hugged me before relinquishing her hold of my things. “You be careful. If you need to, you sleep on her couch in the office, okay?”

I nodded my head as I put my things on, and headed out the door. It wasn’t until I was at least five minutes from the house that I began to wonder about Chichi’s departing comment.


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A/N # 2- For those of you who are interested in what exactly is going on in the G.R., be on the look out for ‘Anticipation: A Side Trip’ in the yaoi section. Coming soon!