Nightmare
Chi-Chi woke in the middle of the night to a soft whimpering.
She blinked several times, trying to figure out where it was coming from. She rolled over to the other side of the bed, expecting the usual sight of Goku sprawled flat on his back, snoring to the high heavens.
What she saw instead was her husband lying on his side, his hulking frame curled tightly into a ball. His face was pressed against his pillow, muffling the whimpers that she only now realized were his.
“Goku?” she whispered. She laid a hand on his rigid back. Was he having a nightmare?
The whimpering went on. It was barely audible, but something the sound was so broken, so filled with the deepest despair. Worried, she shook him harder. “Goku? Wake up, it’s just a dream.”
He shot up straight in bed. He stared at her with wide, disoriented eyes. He opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to say something. He reached out toward her, and stopped midway, his hand shaking.
“What is it?” she asked, grabbing his arm.
His face crumpled and before she knew it, he pitched forward into her arms.
It terrified her to see him this way—a man normally so happy and confident. He had always been the strong one. Now he was clinging to her like a child, tremors wracking through his body. Oh Kami, he was crying.
Her own eyes filled with tears as she held him tightly. What was wrong with him? What had kind of nightmare had driven him to this?
It was no use asking him in this state. She could only croon reassurances as she pulled him back down to the bed with her, laying his head her breast to stroke his hair. Delicate hands gradually moved down to his shoulders, caressing his broad chest, tracing the rippling muscles with her fingers.
He clung to her in a way he had never done before, trembling with desperation. She was painfully aware of the twisted joy in the midst of her concern. She couldn’t stand seeing him like this, and yet she was happy that he reached out to her—that he was the one that needed her.
It seemed like hours before he finally stopped shaking. The tension eased from his body, although he wouldn’t let go of her.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
She shook her head. “Nothing to be sorry about. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“It…” He faltered, suddenly embarrassed. “No. It—it was stupid.”
“You can tell me,” she urged softly.
“It was nothing,” he insisted. “Really. I’m fine.”
She didn’t press it.
For a long time they lay together in silence. Right before Chi-Chi closed her eyes, Goku spoke up. “Chi-Chi?”
“Hmmm?”
“When I was dead, you…” He hesitated. “…you didn’t want to marry anyone else?”
Chi-Chi looked up at him, shocked. “What?”
“Did you ever want to marry anyone else?” he repeated.
“There wasn’t anyone else!”
“I know.”
“Then what does it matter?” she asked, growing agitated. That had been years ago. The Son family was long since reunited.
He averted her eyes. “Just curious,” he mumbled.
All right, two could play this game. “Well, if I died, do you think you would marry someone else?” she challenged.
He jerked his head around. “No!”
“Then why are you asking me this?” First the nightmare, and now he was bringing this up. What had gotten into him?
He hesitated. His dark eyes clouded. “I’m just saying…if…if you did fall in love again…when I died…I…” The words came slower, like he had to force them out. “If you wanted that…if you…were happy…I…it would have been okay.”
And looking at his face, Chi-Chi suddenly realized just what he might have dreamed about.
Deeply moved, she cupped his face in her hands. “Oh Goku, I’d never want anyone else. When you died, I waited because I thought you were waiting for me too. Weren’t you?”
“Course I was!”
She nodded. “Just like if I died, I’d be waiting for you.”
“Right…” He grew anxious. “But that won’t be for a long time.”
“That’s right,” she agreed. “So don’t worry about it.”
He smiled, the shadows finally leaving his eyes. “Okay.”
With that, she kissed him passionately, which led to something that would ensure neither one of them would have bad dreams for the remainder of the night.
- Thank you for the lovely submission, my friend. Goku's reaction was adorable! :)
