Over the Rainbow
- And a Pink Carnation -
Well, I've been a father for almost a week. Me, a father! I still
can't believe it! The whole time prior to the birth the thought of
my becoming a parent was an abstract glimmer of cognition. There was
very little about it that was as concrete as holding my child for the
first time. There was just something about staring into tiny, little
black eyes that blinked at the bright, new world. It took my breath
away then and even thinking about it now does the same.
The little one is sleeping soundly in the bassinet across from me
right now. I am sitting in Bulma's kitchen trying to catch up on my
schoolwork while I have time. The baby is on a feeding schedule that
is just shy of two hours right now and it is really taking its toll
on Vegeta and I already. I've been absent from school for two weeks
now. At first it was because I did not want to leave my mate alone in
case he went into labor. Then it was to take care of him and the
baby. Poor thing, Vegeta that is, is so weak and sore from giving
birth that I feel really bad for him. It was a very long labor that
was hard for everyone especially my mate.
He's, hopefully, sleeping in our room right now while the baby is
asleep also. There were no sensu beans ready enough to give to him
after he gave birth so he has to heal naturally. He's already trying
to do too much without letting himself recuperate properly. Bulma
caught him trying to sneak into the Gravity Chamber yesterday.
Luckily, she still has not changed the gravity generation system back
to its original settings so Vegeta could not really have done
anything in there anyways.
So, until he's back up to one hundred percent, I have elected to stay
home and take care of the baby. I can't really say that I regret the
decision. I love every minute of time I spend with my child. But
then again, I also am starting to go stir crazy in this house. Sure,
I've taking the little on out on a walk around Capsul Corps grounds
but that's not exactly what I'm talking about. I miss my friends at
school. It's kind of lame, I know. I'm not really like them at all
anymore but then again, I never really was to begin with. They are
just high school kids looking forward to the spring dance and
wondering whom they are going to ask. I'm sitting here, basically
married (to any Saiyan, Vegeta and I are married) and I am already a
father. I'm not exactly in the same stage of life that they are any
more. Of course, if one considers that I've never been the same
species as they are but we were still friends, then I don't really
see how this will make much of a difference.
As if sensing my contemplation about my friends, Bulma enters the
kitchen. I look up from my book to see her smiling at me strangely.
I cock my head at her odd expression. Her smile broadens at my
confusion.
"It seems that you have some visitors, Gohan," she finally says to me.
"What?" I really do not know who these visitors could be. If Goten
came over here, he would not wait for Bulma to tell me he came, he'd
just run straight for me and hug me before I could say his name. I
doubt my mom would come here so who can it be I wonder. "How can I
have visitors when no one knows I'm here?"
"I don't know about that, but there are three people here from your
school to see you. Do you want me to take the baby into the other
room so they don't find out?"
"No," I will never in my life hide my child. I am not ashamed that I
have a baby with the person I love. "That will not be necessary."
She just raises a blue eyebrow and then smiles warmly. As she leaves
the room, I run a hand through my unkempt hair in an effort to tame
it. I need a haircut badly and I did not spend much time this
morning trying to comb it because of the baby needing fed and
changed. My grooming is cut short as three people enter the kitchen
through the door Bulma just exited.
Erasa races forward and hugs me, "Hi stranger!"
Sharpner looks like he's about to throttle me for Erasa hugging me.
I really have to set that poor boy straight that I have no interest
in the blonde girl. Videl just stands back and watches as her two
cohorts greet me and then offers a brief hello.
"So, where have you been man?" Sharpner starts off as he flips a
kitchen chair around and sits on it backwards.
"You haven't been sick have you?" Erasa asks very concerned and here
I was worried that my friend's wouldn't even notice that I wasn't
there.
"No, I haven't been sick," I explain while I try to think of what to
tell them. "How did you guys know I was here?"
This time, Videl choose to speak up, "Well, since Mr. Aced-all-the-
entrance-exams actually missed a few days, we thought that something
very bad had happened. At first we thought that the world had come
to an end but when that was found to be wrong, we decided to look
into the issue."
"Yeah, we were so worried that Videl went to the school office and
asked if they heard anything from you. The secretary said that you
had called in and said that you had some `family issues' that
required you to miss school for a while," Erasa continues. "Then she
went to your house because she was the one who knew where you lived
but you were there."
"I can imagine the reception you received while there…" I roll my
eyes at that thought.
"Yeah, your mom was practically yelling and throwing things. It was
kind of scary, especially what she was saying," the dark haired girl
continues. "She was saying something about you being kidnapped and
taken advantage of by some alien monster she kicked you out of the
house so you were living at Capsul Corps, if that makes any sense!"
I just have to sit there and laugh for a minute. My mother was
definitely something, I don't know what but she is. "Well, that's
not entirely true. An alien kidnapped me once but that was when I
was four. I haven't been taken advantage of, because everything I do
is of my own free will. And then, yes, she did kick me out of her
house and I am living here at Capsul Corps."
The just stare at me for a minute trying to take in what I just
said. "You are a very strange boy, Gohan. Are you sure you're not
sick?"
"Nah…I'm not sick…" I start but I am interrupted. It seems someone
is hungry like a Saiyan and is demanding food the only way they know
how: Crying at the top of their lungs.
"What the Hell?" Sharpner exclaims looking around frantically for the
source of the wailing. Erasa and Videl on the other hand home in on
the bassinet and peer down on the infant. They both give a
collective "awe" and then Videl's eyes snap back to me. I smirk as
an effect of living with my Prince for these past months. I get up
from my place at the table and reach gently down to pick up the
crying infant.
"Umm… so I guess you know why I haven't been in school…"
"Holy shit, nerd-boy-wonder has spawned!" Sharpner in is vast
eloquence exclaims.
I smile warmly down at the squirming bundle in my arms. The same
deep black eyes twinkle up at me as they did a few days ago when she
was born. Her little fists flail in the air in protest to an empty
stomach as she voices her hunger with lungs that work extremely
well. I reach down and brush my hand over her soft, black spikes of
baby hair to calm my little one.
"It is your kid isn't, Gohan?" Videl asks nervously. Well, she's
always wanted to know all of my secretes since the first day of
school at Orange Star High School, I guess now's as good as time as
any.
"Well, guys, I'd…ah…like to introduce you to… ah... my daughter," I
can't believe how nervous I am now. I know I have some explaining to
do but I am not sure how much I am going to have divulge about my
past to get them to understand.
"She's precious! Aren't you little one…awe…aren't you just the
cutest little…" Erasa digresses into high-pitched gibberish while
talking to my little girl.
The infant starts to cry again, true to her heritage that is being
more pureblooded Saiyan than I am; her hunger is not to be
ignored. "Do you want to hold her, Erasa? I need to get a bottle for
her."
I pass my little bundle of joy (which is more like tears at this very
moment because her of protests) to one of my blonde friends and I
head to the refrigerator. I grab an already prepared bottle for the
full shelves inside. From my experience with Goten being a baby and
from Bulma's lectures, I know that I can't just feed her with a cold
bottle so I warm the bottle slightly using my ki. It was a little
trick I figured out about two days ago around three in the morning.
I return to the table and reclaim my progeny so I can quell her
hunger.
"You never told us her name," Erasa states as she watches me feed the
infant.
"Kinoko," I say as I gently rock the child in my arms. She squirms
slight and I start to croon to her in low tones to calm her down.
What I forget is, that when I talk to her, I tend to use the Saiyan
language that I learned from Vegeta while he was pregnant. We had
decided that she would have a Saiyan name and would be raised to know
about her heritage and to be proud of it, which meant that we would
have to use Vegeta's native language to do so.
"I've never heard that name…" Videl's voice trails off as her eyes
narrow for a second and then quickly become the size of
saucers. "What's that?"
I play dumb for a minute but I think I know what she saw. "What's
what?"
"She…has a tail?" Videl stutters, which cause me, chuckle. Well,
that's as good as place as any to start my explanation. That way
maybe I can only explain to them about Saiyans without having to go
into our fighting. I think that point would really throw Videl for a
loop.
"Of course, Kinko has a tail! What do you think this is?" I unwrap
mine from around my waist and wave it where they can see it.
"Shit, is that real?" Sharpner asks.
"That's just not normal!" Videl gasps.
"Of course it's normal, for a Saiyan," I begin. I continue on to
explain about Saiyans, their species as a whole's difference from
humans, how they are all but extinct, and their unique genders. It
takes two more bottles to finish feeding Kinoko and finish my
explanation.
I wait for a moment looking into their faces to see how they are
taking the revelation that their friend is an alien, well half
alien. They range from utter shock to slight misunderstanding to
stonewall. Videl finally breaks the silence.
"So, you never did tell us who the mother is," she states as if she
is just going to ignore everything I just told her. I think she's ok
with everything though from the way she just moves on.
Before I get a chance to say anything, the person in questions
wanders into the room and straight to the refrigerator. Everyone
remains silent for a moment as he pulls out a few items and then
walks over to the cupboard. He pulls out five glasses and pours milk
in one. He then sets the other four glasses on the table along with
the carton of milk.
"Aren't you going to offer your friends a drink?" Vegeta asks me in
Saiyan so the others don't hear him halfway being nice. He turns and
leaves without saying another word. A glass of milk is in one of his
hands and the chocolate syrup is in the other.
I chuckle and offer introductions towards his retreating
back. "Guys, meet Vegeta. Vegeta, meet the guys…"
Their mouths gape and I just sit there and smirk. Kinoko just cuddles
into me as I rock her and she coos contently. At least now, I'm not
all that alone here since I now have friends whom I can talk to. My
happy little moment is quickly brought to an abrupt stop when I smell
something that can only come from the wrong end of a baby. She just
giggles and looks up at me as innocently as a child of Vegeta's could
and I get the feeling that she did it on purpose. Well, in the words
of my mate: If I can defeat Cell, then I am perfectly capable of
changing a dirty diaper. Sometimes I don't know about that though.
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