(Meanwhile)
(Mount Paozu)
While Gohan was hard at work in the city, Chi-Chi was at home living it up in her own way. This particular occasion took the form of a little get-together she'd organized with the other women of their group. Not only was Zangya hanging out at home with her, but Bulma and Android 18 had also popped in for a visit, all of whom were sitting around the outdoor table and enjoying a nice cup of tea. Since it was such a great day outside with not a single cloud in the sky, all of them were dressed for the occasion and engaged in enjoyable conversation. At the same time, all of the mothers around the eating area were sparing glances towards the hillsides surrounding the home, where they could see Goten and Trunks play fighting across the grass.
They were also paying special attention to another new member of their group, who was at that moment sleeping peacefully in the blonde woman's arms.
"She's adorable, Eighteen," Bulma exclaimed, smiling down at the baby girl currently resting in the android's hold.
The woman smiled warmly at the scientist's compliment and nodded in agreement, "She is, isn't she?" Adjusting the child's position, Eighteen brought a finger up and gently brushed some of the towel the baby was wrapped in out of the way so that she would see her beautiful face. "She has her father's eyes."
"And her mother's breathtaking looks, am I right?" Zangya asked in an almost teasing fashion as she sat beside her friend with a large mug in hand.
Expressing a giggle that would be considered subtle by most, the blonde haired fighter gave the Hera a small smile. "I certainly hope so."
Chi-Chi tilted her head as she watched the new mother cradle her daughter, while at the same time picking up a biscuit and taking a bite out of it. "Are you and Krillin doing alright raising her over at Kame House? You're not having any… problems or issues taking care of her out there?"
"She's only asking you this since you're living with a couple people whose only prevailing thoughts in life are to use the dragon balls for panty wishes," Bulma added, knowing full well the kind of individuals that were currently held up in that tiny pink house.
Even though she respected both Master Roshi and Oolong as lifelong comrades of their group, she still had concerns over the young couple's ability to survive accompanied by those two. When inside tight situations that involved the likes of Doctor Wheelo and the maniacal Broly, they could trust Master Roshi and his crew with their lives. However, outside of the ring during peacetime, there was still much to be desired about their personalities…
"Don't worry about the old man and the pig," Android 18 replied with a continuous smile drawn across her lips. "I can manage those two with both hands tied behind my back. As long as I burn all their dirty magazines, cover up the holes in the walls, and administer some cold hard discipline whenever it is necessary, I'm sure I'll be able to whip those two idiots into shape by the time Marron is old enough to walk around."
"Wow. That's a good plan," Bulma remarked in slight amazement, before smiling as she watched the cyborg fighter tend to her daughter. "I have to warn you though; those two can be quite persistent."
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Chi-Chi said, nudging her blue-haired friend in the arm and gesturing towards the blonde. "She's one of the strongest people on this planet. Out of all of us, she's more than equipped to lay down the law in that house, especially with the more powerful members of our group." Her son and Vegeta included, but only in social situations.
Though the android was no slouch when it came to combat, the Saiyans of their team had made so many leaps and bounds in the last couple of years it's almost close to impossible to completely handle them.
The others though…
Yeah, Android 18 could deal with them no sweat.
"You're going to make an awesome mum when she's all grown up," Zangya remarked, grinning at the blonde angel when she looked her way. "Not that you're not a great mum already. I'm just saying you're going to become an even more awesome parent as time goes on, if I've phrased that correctly."
The blonde nodded towards the orange haired alien, "Thanks, Zangya."
"No problem," the Hera replied, taking up her mug and gingerly sipping from it.
While collecting a biscuit from the center plate and weighing it between her fingers, Bulma glanced over at their android neighbor from across the pond and mounted a secondary inquiry. "How's Krillin doing as a father? Is he coping… or is he freaking out and bouncing off of walls every morning, noon and night?"
"He's doing quite well, actually," Android 18 answered, feeling uplifted as she picked up the glass of water next to her and held it up. "Though he doesn't look it on the surface, that man really knows what he's doing. We take shifts in looking after her whenever she wakes up at night, he taught me how to change her diaper, he's a great cook and knows what kind of nutrition Marron needs…" The blonde then looked up at the other women to see them listening to her intently. "Honestly, I had no idea how to look after our daughter when she was born, but Krillin taught me everything I needed to know."
Bulma, feeling a little teary-eyed at that admission, smiled at her fellow parent, "That's so sweet."
"Well… Krillin was always a really amazing person," Chi-Chi added, expressing her opinion with a slight laugh as she picked up her cup and stirred the contents with a spoon, "Even though he's not as strong as the other boys, he more than makes up for that with his personality and charm."
Zangya, grinning devilishly, threw her friend a cheeky glance, "I'm sure Eighteen has become more than familiar with that particular side of him. Am I right?" The Hera's curious inquisition had the android look away with red in her cheeks, indicating the orange haired fighter was right on the mark regarding that point. "Where is the hubby right now, anyway?"
"He's at work," the android informed, taking a sip from her water and setting it aside, "Krillin's overseeing the construction of a community piece in a city on the south-eastern peninsula. After all these years of working for the company, the higher ups are finally getting him off of the grunt work and into a managerial position."
Bulma smiled, "That's great. It means he'll be able to make more money for you guys."
"That's what he told me a few days ago," Android 18 said, cradling her daughter gently when the baby began to stir from her nap.
Turning to the other women around the table, Chi-Chi decided to offer another two cents on the matter. "Things have been going well for Krillin these past couple years. I'm really happy for him."
"And what about you, Chi-Chi?" Bulma asked, glancing across at the raven haired mother to see her take a swig from her teacup and set it back down on the plate in front of her. "Gohan's told me he's been taking you and Goten up to Otherworld to visit Goku every couple of days to catch up with him."
The Son mother nodded to the scientist in response, "It's been going great so far. The man hasn't changed one bit since the day he passed away and even though he's dead his appetite is as healthy and active as ever. He's pretty much the same kind, selfless, thick-headed numbskull I fell in love with all those years ago."
This put a grin on the blue haired woman's face while she rested her head on her hand, "You're not disappointed at all that he's still hanging out with a bunch of dead people from the past?"
"I'll admit it was hard to wrap my head around at first. I even gave him a smack over the head the first time we were alone together for deciding to stay up there in Otherworld," Chi-Chi informed, rolling her teacup between her fingers for a moment with a troubled expression in play. That however faded moments later when she replaced it with a smile. "But after we sat down and talked it over, I soon came to understand why he made that choice and why he decided to step out for a little while."
"To protect you guys, right?" Bulma asked, receiving a nod in response. Tilting her head, the scientist turned back to stare ahead of her once again, "You have to admit, a lot of the enemies we've encountered over the last decade have been a direct result of Goku's meddling or his being here on this planet. It's like he'd transformed himself into a massive, glowing beacon that attracts bad guys."
Zangya chuckled at that little joke, "So I've heard." Gohan had spent a great deal of time chatting to her about his father. As far as she was concerned, the man was pretty much a walking jinx for their group.
"I mean, think about it," Bulma then began counting on her fingers. "Piccolo showed up at the world tournament and nearly ended up destroying everything as payback for his father's death. Radditz came to the planet to pick up Goku and to finish the job he was originally sent here to do as a child. This then led Vegeta and his old partner coming to the planet a year later." She raised another finger. "Cooler visited the earth to take revenge on Goku for killing his brother. Frieza also came back after the thorough butt-kicking your husband gave to him on Namek. After that, the androids showed up because of what Goku did to the Red Ribbon army when he was a kid."
This then led to Zangya taking on a sheepish look and raising a hand, "And my old boss came here wanting to pay Goku back for setting us free by destroying everything." Her words had Android 18 look across at her sympathetically, which then earned a pat to the shoulder from the abashed Hera.
"And don't even get me started on that Broly guy everyone ended up fighting on that planet," Bulma said, waving a hand in front of her dismissively. "Let's face it. In the long run, I think Goku made the right choice."
Chi-Chi sighed and nodded her head, unable to argue with the woman's logic considering a lot of it was all linked to her beloved Saiyan husband. Staring into her now half-empty cup of tea, the woman was startled out of her contemplation by a nudge from behind and turned around to see Icarus standing behind her. At first surprised at the sight of her son's animal friend, the raven haired woman smiled and stroked the pink dragon on the snout, before then shooing him away to go join Goten and Trunks out on the field. Upon seeing the reptile off, she turned back to the other women next to her.
"But things are going great between me and Goku," Chi-Chi concluded, smiling fondly and placing a hand against her cheek as she put on a dream-like expression. "Even though he's dead, he still knows how to show his wife a good time…"
It didn't take long for Bulma, Android 18 and Zangya to figure out what the Son mother was implying, which led to the latter blushing uncomfortably, the blonde instinctively covering her sleeping daughter's ears, and the scientist grinning mischievously.
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