#chestnutfest2k22

It was a brisk Fall day in Satan City. A cold breeze wafted through the streets, light, high clouds filling the sky outside the window.

"Man, it's been chilly today." Krillin stood in front of the window, sipping some hot cider from a mug. "Glad I have the day off."

18 shifted in her seat on the couch, turned a page in the book she was reading and nodded. "Definitely 'inside weather'. Perfect excuse to break out the blankets." She looked up, smiled and raised an eyebrow at her husband. "One might even say this is... snuggle weather."

Krillin grinned and replied in mock scandal. "Why, Miss 18! Are you suggesting you and I be under a blanket? Together? Alone?!"

18 chuckled. "What can I say? I'm a rebel."

He sighed. "Well much as I'd like to, I'm pretty sure a certain little lady is gonna be here soon, and it's my day to help with her homework." He stretched. "Ah! And I need to be fully awake if I gotta deal with math." He turned around and noticed 18 smiling at him, a familiar look in her eyes. "Uh... babe?

"I was just thinking... you doing the dad thing? It's very attractive" She winked at him and giggled as his face turned a shade of red.

The front door opened, letting off a soft creak followed by a pair of tiny footsteps. "Mama! Papa! I'm home!"

18 winked at her husband. 'Later,' she mouthed at him before turning toward the entrance. "Hello, sweetheart. How was school?"

Marron took her hat and jacket off and hung them on the rack by the door. "Was OK," she said. "Sorta."

Krillin frowned. "'Sorta', huh? Did something happen, kiddo?"

"Yeah..." She trudged over to the couch and smoothed her uniform skirt before hopping up and plopping down on the couch next to her mother. "Some of the other kids were being mean today."

18 set her book aside and held her daughter close, stroking her blonde hair softly. "I'm sorry, baby. Kids can be mean sometimes. What'd they say to you?"

Marron was quiet, looking down at her shoes, avoiding eye contact. Krillin could tell she was uncomfortable. "Hey, firefly, it's OK. You can tell us when you're re-"

"How come I don't have a brother or sister?"

Krillin and 18 both froze for a moment, stunned. They were expecting name-calling, making fun of her looks. Being asked about having children wasn't on the list.

18 recovered first and cleared her throat. "My, that's a pretty random question. Why do you ask, sweetheart?"

Marron looked to her mother. "We're doing a project in school. About families. Miss Rulah wants us to make a chart of our family and share stories with the class. And my classmates... all of them have brothers or sisters, older or younger. And they asked me why I don't." She brought her knees to her chin, and 18 ignored her instinct to chide her for having shoes on the couch.

"One of the girls said her mommy told her that babies come from the love between a mommy and a daddy, and that the more and longer they love each other, the more babies they have." Her voice was cracking a bit, as if she were about to cry. "A-and Uncle Goku and Auntie Chi had two babies. And Trunks has his little sister now. So..."

Marron looked up at her father. "Papa... do you not love mama enough?"

The words seemed to pierce Krillin's heart like a sharp blade. He swallowed hard, trying to come up with an appropriate answer. "W-what? Of course I love your mom! She means the world to me! You both do."

She looked at her mother. "So does that mean you don't love daddy enough?"

Now it was 18's turn to feel that pang at the accusation. "Marron... sweetheart, you know I love your daddy very much. It's not that simple, though.."

Marron looked back down at her shoes, confused. "Oh. That's good." She fidgeted with her hands a bit.

"It's not that we don't want to give you a little brother or sister, sweetie. Honest. It's just..." 18 bit her lip, trying to find the appropriate words to explain. "It's... just that it's not as easy for some people to have children as it is for others."

"How come?"

Krillin sat down on the other end of the couch. "There's lots of potential reasons, firefly. Sometimes, it's just life. Timing. Other times it can be hard on mommys' and daddys' bodies. But none of them mean that people don't love each other, OK?" He patted her on the head softly. "That's one thing you don't need to worry about."

"Marron, sweetie..." 18 spoke hesitantly, her voice quiet. "Did you know... mommy and daddy weren't supposed to be able to have babies?"

Krillin winced behind her as Marron stared at her mother, wide-eyed. "Why's that, mama?"

"Remember... remember that evil old doctor I told you about before?"

Marron nodded. "I think so. The bad man who kidnapped you that uncle 17 beat up?"

"Yeah. That's the one." 18 placed a hand on her belly. "That man... did experiments on us. Lots of them. And because of that, mommy's body is different."

The little girl tilted her head and blinked. "Different how, mama?"

"A lot of ways, sweetheart. And unfortunately, one of the ways is that it made it... very hard for me to have babies." She looked down at her hand for a moment before removing it. "So that's why-"

"Part of why, Marron." Krillin chimed in. "It's hard for daddy too."

Marron scratched her head, confused. "Papa, you can't have babies though."

He chuckled. 'Bless her innocent heart. Now to figure out how to explain this without...'

"No, Marron. I mean that... I think you already know your dad's not exactly like... other people."

"Mama says that just makes you cute and special." She grinned at him.

"Heh. Well I'm glad she thinks so. But it also caused some other... issues. Like I can't smell things the same way other people do. I breathe right through my skin. And..." he hesitated. "And it makes it harder for me to help your mommy have babies too."

"How does that work?"

"Uh..." Krillin was at a loss for words. 18 sighed and picked up.

"Remember what you said early, Marron? About moms and dads loving each other, and that's where babies come from?"

She nodded.

"Well, even though your papa and I love each other very very much, those issues can still make it hard for babies to happen." 18 stroked her daughter's hair gently and smiled. "But your papa and I love each other so much, we managed to overcome that one time, and made you."

"Yep!" Krillin chimed in. "And that's why you're the prettiest, sweetest, most adorable little girl in the whole world!" He poked her belly and she giggled. "Made out of pure love, you are."

18 smiled. "You're our little miracle, Marron."

Marron grinned and pulled her parents in for a big hug. "I love you both whole bunches!"

"We love you too, sweetheart." 18 closed her eyes and held her family close.

"Y'know though, Marron..." Krillin spoke slowly, a grin spreading across his face. "Your family is a lot bigger than you think."

The little girl pulled back, a bit confused. "How's that, papa?"

"Family is more than just brothers and sisters or moms and dads, kiddo. More than blood relations too." He pointed at the photos on the coffee table in front of them. "See? Take a look."

Marron leaned forward, dark eyes full of intensity, trying to discern her papa's meaning. The small framed photos contained many familiar faces. There was a picture of her papa and Uncle Goku when they were kids, side-by-side with another, more recent picture of the two her mom had snapped. There was one of Grandpa Roshi and the old Turtle, waving from the beach. A picture of her mama and Uncle 17, sitting together at a picnic table, arm wrestling with intense scowls. A photo of her mama and Auntie Chi, laughing at the mall food court. "Everyone there loves you very much too, Marron. They've always helped take care of and look after you. You're precious to them too.

Marron blinked a few times before her mouth formed a distinctive o-shape and she gasped with surprise. "Ohhh! I get it now!" She looked up at Krillin and grinned. "I get it, Papa! Those are my family too!"

18 smiled and patted her head. "Mhm. And don't forget your uncle's family. We might not see them very often, but they're part of it too."

Marron jumped to her feet and ran to the dining room table. "Oh my gosh, I got so much to write down!" She whipped open her school bag and pulled out some paper, a pencil, and crayons. "I gotta do a picture too! I hope I have enough room for everyone!"

Krillin smiled as he watched over his shoulder. "Look at her go. No stopping her once she gets motivated, huh?" He looked over and noticed 18 was sitting quietly, seemingly lost in thought. "Babe? You feeling OK?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," 18's voice cracked slightly. "Just... " She looked up into her husband's eyes. "Sometimes I do feel bad, you know? About... not being able to have more. Y'know?"

Krillin sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I know, 18. I know. But we have our Marron, right? And she's perfect."

18 nodded and smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "Perfect beyond belief." She pulled back for a moment and looked him in the eye before placing a soft kiss where his nose should be. "And you're not so bad yourself, mister."

Krillin blushed and chuckled. "Thanks."

18 tilted her head and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "And for what it's worth, little man... I'm definitely down to go ahead and try for more if you are."

Krillin's face turned beat red and he pulled at his collar. "O-oh yeah?"

She winked and nodded, chuckling lowly. "Mhm."

"Papa, can you come help me for a second please?"

Krillin broke eye contact and stood up fast. "Y-yes, Marron! I'll be right there!" He started out of the room, but turned back and quickly dipped down, capturing his wife's lips with his own for a quick kiss. "Love you."

"I love you too. Now go on." She shoo'd him toward the dining room and smirked. "Don't keep the princess waiting. Do the dad thing so I can watch."

Krillin smirked back, remembering their talk from earlier. "Y'know, I'm feeling a little objectified right now, and I gotta say... I'm not mad at it."

She laughed and swatted his arm. "You goof! Go on."

He grinned and walked out to the next room. "Alrighty, let's see what you need help with."

"Can you color in Uncle Goku's hair? My hand is hurting."

"Oh. Uh, sure, I can do that."

"And then I need help with math. We're multiplying fractions now."

"Those absolute monsters, making kids do these things..."

18 smiled as Marron giggled at her papa's jokes. Their family unit was small, yes. And maybe it would stay that way. Maybe not. But she knew she wouldn't trade them for the world.

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And there we have it! Chestnut Fest 2022 is in the books. I hope you enjoyed these works, and hopefully I can have a few updates out sooner rather than later.