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"Mama," a tiny, sleepy voice whined, tugging at the hem of Chi-Chi's cheongsam while she was busy attempting to fold some laundry. "Where's Daddy?"
The woman looked away from her work, glancing down to catch sight of her son, Gohan. The child was craning his head back to peer up at her. It was quite early in the morning, and the child's dark eyes were squinted with tiredness. Chi-Chi smiled, reaching down to brush a lock of black hair off his brow.
"Your Father is already out doing chores," she told him. Goku had left as soon as the sun was peeking over the horizon. "He should be back later today. He wanted to take you to go meet some of his friends after lunch."
Gohan pouted, tiny little mouth tugged into a dramatic line. "That's not fair," he whined, "Yesterday, Daddy promised to train together this morning!"
Chi-Chi reached down, scooping the little boy into her arms. He clung to her, settling onto the place on her hip with practiced ease. His little tail curled affectionately around her arm. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she replied, gently flicking the tip of his nose, "But we ran of firewood. He's out cutting some more."
"I could help!" Gohan insisted, "You have to be big and strong for that, right?"
Chi-Chi chucked, ruffling his hair as she said, "You know I don't like you out there with him when he's chopping wood." She rolled her eyes, exasperated but still clearly fond. "Every single time, he always manages to choose the largest tree…"
Gohan huffed, laying his cheek against hers. "I'm never, ever, ever going to be as strong as Daddy."
"Oh, I'm sure you will be," Chi-Chi reassured, stepping away from the laundry laid out on the table in front of her. "You'll be strong, and smart, and brave." The child was already so wise for his age. She couldn't remember being four years old, but she doubted that she had been nearly as well composed.
Gohan only crossed his arms over his chest.
"Hm," Chi-Chi said, "It's too bad there's no one else you could train with here…" she winked at her son, conspiratorially. "Absolutely no one at all."
Gohan's eyes widened just the slightest bit. "Mama," he said in a rushed whisper, "Would you want to fight?"
Chi-Chi swung the child around, plopping him back on the floor. For a moment, she felt guilty. She didn't fight with her son nearly as much as he would like — or nearly as much as she would like, for that matter. Since Goku was usually the one who handled the child's martial arts training, she was the one who mostly had to deal with Gohan's academic training.
"Of course, Gohan," she told him, smiling, "You just have to ask."
Gohan began cheering, hopping up and down in place. "Really, Mama?" he asked? The tiredness was gone from his tone now. "Really, really?"
Chi-Chi had to reach up and cover her mouth, resisting the urge to succumb to a fit of giggles. "Yes," she said fondly, "Now, be a good boy and go change into your gi."
Gohan looked down at himself, as if only just now realizing he was still in his pajamas. He clenched his little hands into fists, raising his arms into the air above his head. "Okay, Mama!" he cheered, literally running off to his room, the sound of his feet stomping echoing through the room as his little tail flew through the air behind him.
"And no running in the house!" Chi-Chi called after him. The sound immediately slowed and she shook her head as she turned to follow, meaning to also get changed.
It felt like it was going to be a lovely day.