"Thanks for taking me to the park today, Mr. Jiren!" Goten stated, sitting on Jiren's shoulders with a huge grin on his face.
Jiren couldn't help but smirk at this, "No problem, kid. Just glad that I could take you somewhere this time instead of Goku."
Goten giggled for a few seconds before soon noticing something and pointed towards it, "Hey Mr. Jiren! Can we have ice cream before heading back to my brother?"
Jiren nodded, "Sure, Goten, sure."
The duo soon reached the ice cream stand and they both bought some, soon sitting at a bench.
"Hey Goten." Jiren began, turning to the young Demi-Saiyan, "Did you know that ice cream was the first food I had from Earth?"
"Really?" Goten exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah." the Gray agreed, "Your father brought me to one of these the first time I came to Earth."
The boy grinned, "Y'know, you're a lot nicer than what everyone thought of you before."
That got Jiren's attention, "Really? What did they say?"
Goten licked his ice cream as he spoke, "Well, they said that you gave everyone a really hard time at the Tournament of Power, and that you were really mean to your teammates."
Jiren sighed, "Yeah, I was horrible to your father and his friends. Back then, I didn't believe in the ideas of trust or friendship. Goku was the one who showed me that relying on others wasn't a weakness, it was a strength."
The Pride Trooper soon looked away as he finished his ice cream, "To be honest... I don't think I deserve your father, especially not after attacking his friends."
Goten shook his head in disagreement and hugged Jiren, shocking him, "That's not true! You've changed! Besides, you're a Pride Trooper, you do good things!"
"Heh." Jiren chuckled weakly, patting his back, "Thanks Goten."
Goten eye-smiled happily, and Jiren's eyes widened slightly as he realised just how similar he was to his father. Besides his looks, he was just as cheerful and outgoing as he was, and that was impressive considering what Chichi did to him when he was younger.
'He's got a strong spirit, just like his father.' Jiren thought as Goten pulled away from him.
The Gray soon chuckled as he ruffled Goten's hair in amusement, "Now come on, let's get you home."
"Alright Pa!"
At that word, Jiren's eyes widened as he desperately tried his best not to scream out of pure, unbridled joy. It got even harder after he brought Goten back to Gohan and Videl and was at his own house. Goku quickly noticed his mate acting oddly and sat next to him on the couch.
"You okay Jiren?" Goku asked, "You seem a little off."
Jiren looked down, head in his hands as he blushed madly, letting out a jovial yell, "Earlier today, Goten called me 'Pa'! I-I just... how?!?"
Goku seemed a little confused at first, but when he realised what he meant, a grin broke out on his face as he squealed happily.
"Aww... that's so cute! He really does care ab-"
The Earth-raised Saiyan's voice left him as Jiren hugged him abruptly, hiding his face in his neck.
"Tell me this, Goku: what did I ever do to deserve you two?"
At that, the Saiyan gave a sad smile, but the answer was not what Jiren expected.
"If I'm being honest... I should be asking you that question."
YOU ARE READING
Picking Up the Pieces
FanfictionGoku rarely had problems in his personal life, if anything it was relatively calm. However, when some drastic revelations are shown, the Saiyan is left filled with rage... until someone who he'd never thought he'd meet again enters his life, and thi...
