Welcome to Boxer & Rice

Bulma sighed as she reached for an Oreo cookie. Despite the fact that she was dressed and ready to go out to dinner with Gohan and Torunksu, she just couldn’t find the energy to move. All she really wanted to do was to sit there and eat more Oreo cookies. To her, they had always seemed to relax her.

Even though she practically ruined her diet every time she ate one.

Idly dunking the Oreo in her nearby glass of milk, Bulma thought over the phone call she’d had with Videl earlier. It had been, well… unpleasant. The minute Videl had figured out who was on the line she had started screeching and carrying on.

It had been extremely painful to sit there and subject her ear drums to such torture but Bulma had felt obligated to make the call. Plus, as a bonus she’d heard swear words that she was sure were from another planet. The whole conversation, if you could even call it that, since Bulma had tried the entire time to get at least one word in between Videl’s screaming, had mostly consisted of profanities that were in some language that Bulma didn’t even recognize.

Plus, through the entire half hour of the screaming fest, Bulma had been forced to hear the women put down the entire Saiyan race.

Apparently, she now greatly disliked the Saiyans.

Needless to say, by the end of the call Bulma had made no progress, and Videl had managed to become even angrier, if that was even possible…

“Hi, Bulma-san!” came a cheerful voice from behind her.

Startled, Bulma dropped the Oreo that she had been holding to face the newcomer. She’d expected Gohan or Torunksu but instead it was…

Goku.

Bulma blinked, almost surprised beyond words. “What are you doing here, Goku?”

Fidgeting slightly, Goku grinned. “Well, Goten found me this morning and told me about the dinner. He said that I should talk to Gohan and Torunksu, so I, well, decided to come. That is, if you don’t mind,” he said, scratching his neck as he looked at her.

“So, you’re not angry with them?” Bulma asked, watching Goku carefully.

Goku shook his head. “No, the other day I was just…surprised. I didn’t really know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.”

“Well then, why didn’t you tell them that?” Bulma asked, offering Goku a cookie, which he quickly ate.

“I just didn’t want to say the wrong thing. You know how I am, Bulma. I have a habit of saying things without thinking sometimes, and I didn’t want to do that again.”

Bulma smiled. “I understand Goku but I wish that you had said something to Gohan or Torunksu. They thought that you were mad at them.”

Goku gaped. “They did?”

Bulma nodded. “What else were they going to think, Goku? Everyone else was angry and when you didn’t say anything they automatically assumed that you were angry with them as well.”

“Oh,” said Goku in a small voice, looking at the pile of cookies mournfully. “I didn’t mean to, you know,” he said, grabbing another cookie from the pile.

“I know, Goku and I think that deep down inside the two of them know that as well but they just need to hear it from you.”

“Hear what?” said a new voice, causing both adults to turn to look at the doorway.

Bulma smiled. “Hey guys, what took you so long? I was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten lost.”

“How could we forget, Mom?” asked Torunksu, coming over and giving Bulma a quick hug.

“Yeah, it’s not as if we could forget the source of the greatest food on the planet,” said Gohan, giving Bulma a quick squeeze and snatching a cookie from the table.

“Shut up, you guys. Flattery will get you nowhere.”

Gohan looked puzzled. “It won’t?”

Bulma only smiled, and then focused on Goku, who was looking quite uncomfortable all of a sudden. “I hope you don’t mind, you guys, but Goku decided to come to dinner with us tonight.”

Looking startled, both young men looked at each other, and after sharing an unreadable glance, faced Bulma and nodded. “Sure, we don’t mind,” said Torunksu, giving Goku a smile.

“Yeah, it’d be nice,” said Gohan carefully, watching his father.

Biting his lip slightly, Goku nodded and smiled slightly. “Alright then, I’m glad that you guys don’t mind.”

“Good,” said Bulma as she stood up and reached for her purse. “Now, since we’re all here, why don’t we get going? It wouldn’t be wise to be late; they might give our table away.”

Torunksu rolled his eyes. “As if, Mom. You’re one of the richest women in the world. They wouldn’t dare.”

Bulma grinned. “I guess you’re right. Well, come on! Let’s go!” she said, as she stood up, and before they could do anything else she had already marched out the door, her heels clicking on the tile as she made her way down the hallway.

The three males looked at each other. “Well,” said Goku, clearing his throat slightly. “She doesn’t wait for anyone, does she?”

“Guess not,” said Gohan. “But then, I guess we should all be used to it by now.”

Goku smiled. “Yeah.”

They all stood there, not moving for some reason unknown to them, until finally Goku spoke. “Umm….I wanted to tell you guys that…I’m, well, happy for you. That is to say, I’m happy that you guys found each other, and you’ve, well, made me proud.”

Gohan smiled. “Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate it.”

Goku took a step forward, hesitated, and then reached out and gave Gohan a hug. “I’m glad you’re finally happy Gohan. And…Torunksu?” he asked, getting the other Saiyan’s attention. “I’m proud to call you my son. Don’t forget that.”

Torunksu nodded, his eyes becoming teary. “Thanks, Goku. I’m…We’re glad to hear it.”

“Great!” Goku exclaimed, letting go of Gohan, and grabbing Torunksu for a quick hug. “Now that everything’s good, why don’t we go eat?”

And with that, they all turned and left the kitchen, but not before grabbing the last of the Oreos, which as it turned out, ended up as a full fledged wrestling match until Gohan managed to snag the last one while Goku had him in a headlock.

Seconds later, they were out the front door and on their way to the restaurant, where, unknown to them, they would run into one of the scariest beings on the planet.

Videl.