Thinking of You

Part 19

Goku and Chi-Chi walked side-by-side down a practically empty sidewalk, their strides far too different. Goku walked heavily while Chi-Chi was nearly having to jog to keep up. The sun had just started to set through the treeline, sending long shadows dancing along the street and store fronts. Fluffy clouds in shades of pink, orange, and even purple lined the sky like a blanket. It was truly a beautiful night, which only made Goku feel even more guilty.

All he wanted was to be back at his apartment, back with Vegeta. He found Chi-Chi as a kind and gentle woman with a warm heart, but he wasn't attracted to her, and had no hope of being attracted to her. While that may sound mean, it was more than clear now that girls weren't his type. He decided, however, to suck it up and enjoy a few hours with her. She did look pretty, with her dress and hair and makeup. She smiled at him every few steps, and Goku got the slight feeling that maybe...she liked him.

More than a friend.

Now that he was aware of this, he made sure he didn't give off any signals that she could interpret as attraction. Sure, he found her as a good friend, especially since she was a friend of Bulma's, but he didn't want anything to happen between them that Vegeta wouldn't like. He had left him back at the apartment with Marty, and while the two weren't fans of each other, he thought it was a good opportunity for them to get to know each other better. If Marty and Vegeta got along, things would be even more perfect.

When Chi-Chi had come over, Vegeta had done practically everything he could to stall Goku. He kept distracting him with random questions, hiding his clothes, getting Marty all riled up, and he even hid Goku's phone. Goku knew exactly why Vegeta went to all those efforts, and he wished he didn't have to go, but he couldn't just lie to Chi-Chi. They were friends, and friends don't lie.

They walked in silence, casting nervous smiles to one another every few seconds. In the dim sunlight and the crowd of West City, they walked into a fairly populated park and playground area. A few kids were running around playing tag, some dogs darted this way and that, and parents sat on benches talking to other parents about their problems. The sun poking through the trees sent shadows dancing, and the light wind sent leaves skittering away along the ground. It looked like October rather than April. The laughter and chatter from the people around them was a calming background to their little outing. Both were nervous, but for very different reasons.

Chi-Chi cleared her throat then, making Goku jump. "We've managed to walk for ten minutes without saying a single thing. That deserves a reward."

Goku laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah. Sorry. I'm just...I hate to say it, but I kinda forgot we were hanging out today, so I don't know what to talk about."

"That's okay, we can improvise." Chi-Chi said with a wag of her finger. "Let's ask each other questions to get to know each other better, how about that?"

"Okay, that sounds fun." Goku said with a nod. He had figured that Chi-Chi would be angry with him about forgetting, but he was surprised that she wasn't. She was understanding, which let Goku breathe out a sigh of relief. They walked through the smooth green grass towards the play ground equipment, sidestepping little kids running rampant around like animals, with parents chasing after them with exhausted looks on their faces. It made Goku chuckle.

"I'll start. What's your favorite color?" Chi-Chi asked, looking at Goku with a wide, playful smile.

Goku pretended to think about it deeply, then snapped his fingers. "Orange. It's a pretty color."

"I agree. Mine is purple." Chi-Chi said, sitting down on one of the swings, rocking back and forth slowly. Goku sat down beside her, lightly holding onto the chains holding the plastic seat up.