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In the months leading up to the androids’ arrival emotions in the household were running wild. All Chichi wanted was for her son and husband to be safe, and all Goku wanted was for Chichi to stop lamenting what was to come. He knew their situation was dire and as time went on, as the day came closer, he knew he and Gohan might not come home to Chichi at all. But he was making every effort possible to keep their spirits up while also making sure that Gohan trained well.
Mornings were for chores, afternoons were for training, and evenings were for studying. Time passed that way up until the last year when Gohan announced during dinner one evening, “I’ve decided that I’m going to start taking training extra seriously. I’ll be cutting back a lot on study time but I’ll still make sure to get some work done.” When Chichi didn’t argue or insist that Gohan must be talking to someone else because there’s no way he’d ever talk to her that way, Goku knew she had given in. He saw the way her shoulders slumped, the tight set of her jaw, the way she looked down at her plate rather than at her son. She simply nodded and asked about their day.Now there were just three short months until the androids were expected to wreak havoc on their lives. Goku was determined to make sure that Chichi knew just how much he loved her. Despite the last two and a half years being chock full of arguments and worry, their love life had never been better. Sure their first year of marriage had been fun; a whole year of exploration and intimacy that was so new to both of them. They couldn’t get enough of each other. Especially when they started trying for their son. But there’s just something about the urgency of staying alive that really sparks the mood. Unfortunately when Gohan had walked in on them a few months back because he thought he heard his mother crying, that had been the end of their carefree lays and lead to a very uncomfortable conversation about the importance of knocking and privacy.Now it had been more than a month since Goku and Chichi last had sex. He didn’t beg or complain or grumble about their lack of intimacy when she would turn him down. He was patient. But he was starting think maybe Chichi was losing interest. What if she no longer found him attractive? Surely that wasn’t the case, but Goku wasn’t above letting his insecurities get the best of him. No, there’s was something else. Something that Goku had said to Chichi the last time they were intimate. He had brought up having another child. She had frowned, pushed him off of her, and turned away from him, grumbling about “of all your crazy ideas, honestly, Goku this one really is the craziest.” He really didn’t understand what was crazy at all about having another kid. He figured with Gohan being nine years old already it might be the right time to try to give him a little brother or sister. But when he tried to say as much she just shut him down and went to sleep. Now a whole month later he still didn’t understand why she had reacted that way. Was it because she only wanted to have one child? Chichi never expressed interest in having more children once Gohan was born. The moment he was able to read all that mattered to her was making sure that Gohan would succeed in life. Would a second child really throw a wrench in that plan? Maybe there was something else to it. Something more pressing. Maybe she was worried he would try to get her to let loose in bed again since it had been a while that they really enjoyed themselves together. Gohan walking in on them really had traumatized the three of them that night.But that still didn’t add up. He was at a loss. It wasn’t like he could ask any of his friends for advice since none of them were married with children. Although he was sure Bulma had already given birth to little Trunks by now he wasn’t sure she would be qualified in giving advice on how get your partner back in bed. Maybe he ought to just wing it. That usually worked in a fight. What could go wrong?Goku was determined. He missed Chichi and wanted to reconnect with her. Their lack of intimacy was starting to affect their daily lives and it was making him feel like an intruder in his own bedroom. Tonight after Gohan went to bed he would make his move.Just after Chichi tucked Gohan into bed she came into their room to get ready for bed. Goku didn’t want to scare her away before she came to bed so he waited patiently for her to complete her nightly routine of showering, moisturizing, and putting her dirty clothes in the hamper. When she finally did climb in he pulled her in close, arms wrapping around her from behind, pressing a kiss just below her ear. She smiled and huffed a laugh but didn’t turn around to reciprocate his embrace. He waited for her to show any sign of interest. When she showed none, he turned her around to look her in the eye.“I miss you Chichi,” he said as he kissed her temple. “I miss you a lot. I don’t wanna pressure you into something you’re not up for but I just want us to get back to normal again. It’s been so long since… And I don’t understand what I did wrong.”She looked up at him then. “Why do you assume you’ve done anything wrong?”“Because that’s usually why you get upset with me. And it feels like you’ve been upset. I don’t want us to argue, I don’t want to push but…” He was going for it. “You’ve been distant ever since I suggested we have another kid. And I still don’t get what’s so crazy about that.”She huffed and tried to pull away from him but he wouldn’t let her this time. “Do you really want to have another child with me or do you just want to leave me with something to take care of and worry over while you and Gohan are out fighting those androids?”“Is that really what you think, Chichi?” She nodded. “I brought it up because I remembered how happy we were when we were expecting Gohan. Remember how excited we were when we found out you were pregnant? I feel like we’re not that close anymore and-”“Goku, a baby isn’t just a bandaid solution for hurt feelings. That’s an unfair reason to bring new life into the world."“I just meant that it might be good for both of us to make our family a little bigger. Don’t you want to share the love we have with another one? Imagine another little one crawling around, this time with a good big brother there to help take care of him. That’s all I want."Chichi didn’t look convinced but she didn’t seem totally against the idea anymore so that was a step in the right direction. He would take what he could get. “It’s not a terrible idea. And I do like the idea of having another set of hands helping me with chores around here. Not like you do much unless you’re asked anyways.” Goku smiled at her light chiding. “Don’t get ahead of yourself just yet!”Goku held his hands up in a placating manner as she pointed a finger in his face accusingly. “I’m not, I swear!”“Don’t forget I’m the one who had to do all the hard work last time.”“Hard work?” He doesn’t remember Chichi working much when she was pregnant with Gohan but he could be mistaken.“Don’t you remember all the months of morning sickness, the swollen feet, the painful heartburn? Do I need to remind you of the excruciating pain of childbirth? It’s not like you went through anything to bring Gohan into this world.”“You’re right. And it’s not fair of me to ask you to put yourself through all of that again. Maybe we could get a puppy instead? I think Gohan is mature-”“No. No animals, this house gets messy enough with the two of you tracking dirt all throughout the house as it is. You think I’m gonna settle for dog fur on the couch? Or-or any other mess a dog could make? The teething?” She wasn’t serious. In fact she was giggling as she rejected Goku’s puppy idea. Perfect.“Well if you don’t want a puppy, I guess we could always have a kid instead.” His expression was mostly innocent, betraying only for a moment a glimpse of hopefulness, despite his manipulation tactic. “A dog is messy after all, maybe another baby would be less messy.”“Goku, what if-” She didn’t want to say it, for fear it might come true. “So many things could happen. Unexpected things.” When she looked into his eyes she saw a flash of something. She was sure he knew what she meant. What if he didn’t survive the androids’ assault? What if he didn’t survive the heart virus that was yet to show itself. What if Chichi was left alone to raise Gohan and a new baby all by herself? Or just the new baby? How could she go on without her family?“Come here,” sometime during their conversation she had migrated to the edge of the bed. He held the blanket open and patted the spot right next to him. “We can talk about it tomorrow. For now let’s just get some sleep.” Chichi was hesitant but in the end she found comfort in Goku’s embrace. He was hard muscle and warmth, his calloused hands gentle against her back, his lips at her ear asking if he could show her how much he loved her. She hadn't realized how much she missed him too.Goku knew once they reconnected they’d be back on the same page again. Being this close to Chichi felt long overdue, like he’d been starved of the feel of her bare skin against his. He knew he wouldn’t last, with the excitement of being touched so sensually after so long, the air in the room was thick and they were already breathing so heavily. It only took a few minutes before they were both reaching their peak together, so in sync after nearly ten years of practice, despite the month long pause.
Things would be okay. They had to be okay. The universe didn’t have a choice in the matter, he would make sure of it. Even if they didn’t end up having another baby, they had each other. If any android thought they were going to come and wreck his life here, they had another thing coming. Even if he didn’t come home from the fight in a few months, which he’d realized tonight was Chichi’s biggest fear and the focus of her apprehension of having another baby, he would do his best to make sure Gohan came home. As of that moment Gohan’s survival was now his number one priority.