IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! :D Anyways, I thought I'd celebrate with writing a cute little Yamcha x Chi-Chi birthday oneshot, but along the way, I got more and more YamChi ideas, and eventually decided to turn it into a series of oneshots and drabbles featuring this couple. I'm really like to see more for this couple, since I think they'd work out pretty well together. I like the idea of Yamcha helping Chi-Chi out after Goku's death during the Cell Games, and the two of them falling in love after a while...gosh, I'm so sappy you guys can make maple syrup out of me X'D

Anyways, I'm just gonna go out and say this: Dragon Ball rocks! :D I just got into it sometime last year, and I've already done WAAYY more than a DBZ noob should be doing X'D I'm reading the manga instead of watching the anime ('cause I don't have the friggin' patience to do so-) and I'm at the beginning of the Buu Saga, I got the entire Dragon Ball GT series for Christmas (no regrets! XD) and stayed up late several times to finish the whole thing in a little over a week, I've watched most of the movies, and I even got Dragon Ball Xenoverse for Christmas as well and am now in the Frieza Saga...Like I said, doing WAAYY more than a Dragon Ball noob should be doing- :'D

But anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this oneshot! Please leave a review, I greatly appreciate them and they give me the inspiration to keep writing! Constructive criticism is welcome, flames are not!

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, it belongs to Akira Toriyama! I only wrote this little oneshot! Enjoy!~

1) Wishes and Kisses

When Yamcha had been dating Bulma, his birthday would roll around and the blue-haired young woman would never be quiet about it. She'd decorate almost every inch of Capsule Corporation in his honor, hiring only the best chefs and bakers she could find to make the best food and cakes that Yamcha had ever tasted, and for hours on end, the whole place would be lit up with fireworks, music, dancing, drinking (once they were old enough), presents, and their friends gathering together to talk and laugh and party the night away.

But not this year. Ever since he and Bulma had broken off for good, Yamcha was pretty sure that she had completely forgotten what day his birthday even was, the thought of which never failed to make him roll his eyes and laugh. This year, there wasn't any fireworks, any loud parties, huge groups of friends, or anything that even vaguely resembled the over-the-top festivities at Capsule Corp.

Instead, it was something a little quieter, and a little less extravagant, but still brought just as much warmth to his heart as the old parties did.

"Happy Birthday, Yamcha!"

The ex-bandit allowed a small chuckle to escape his parted lips at Chi-Chi, Gohan and Puar's ecstatic shout, the dark-haired woman placing the cake that she had prepared on the table in front of him. Chocolate with cherry icing, his favorite, and alit with several candles. Little Goten squealed happily and clapped his hands together from his highchair, his babbling indicating that he was trying to repeat what his mother and brother had just said. Though the little guy was just barely a few months over a year old at this point, so it was mostly gibberish that escaped his mouth, making Yamcha smile even wider.

"Make a wish, Lord Yamcha!" Puar exclaimed joyfully, hovering over his shoulder.

Still smiling, Yamcha leaned forward to make a quick wish before filling his lungs with air and blowing out the candles, though it took a few attempts since there were just so many candles. Thirty-five to be exact.

Chi-Chi smiled down at the man once he finished blowing out the very last candle. "So, how does it feel to be a fossil?" she asked teasingly, winking at him.

Yamcha rolled his dark eyes at that question, though it was more of a comment, momentarily envious of Chi-Chi being younger than him, even if it was only by a few years, though that meant she would be keeping her beauty longer. He opened his mouth to reply when one of the candles, the one in the very middle of the cake, suddenly lit itself back up again. Yamcha looked back at it in mild confusion and blew it out, wondering if he had missed it and hadn't noticed until now.

Only smoke ascended from the top of the candle for a few seconds, then it promptly relit itself again, the small flame practically mocking him. The sound of Gohan and Chi-Chi's fruitless attempts to hide their laughter instantly reached Yamcha's ears, and he instantly understood what was going on. A smirk spread across his face as he looked back up at them with a raised eyebrow, both of them placing their hands over their mouths and obviously trying very hard to conceal their bubbling laughter.

"Relighting birthday candles?" Yamcha asked in a teasing voice. "You couldn't help yourselves, could you?"

At those words, Chi-Chi, Gohan and even Puar all let down their barriers and burst out laughing. Even little Goten was joining in on the laughter, though it was more from the fact that his family was laughing than the prank that had been pulled on Yamcha.

The ex-bandit looked up at Puar, who looked like he was going to laugh himself silly at any given moment. Yamcha fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course Puar had been in on this.

"Y-You're right, we couldn't resist," Chi-Chi managed to say in between her bouts of laughter. "Gohan and Puar were helping me with the cake, and when Gohan mentioned the relighting candles prank that we pulled on Goku a few years ago, I immediately sent him to the store to get them."

And of course this wasn't the first time that they had done it. Yamcha felt mildly surprised at how casually Chi-Chi had mentioned her deceased husband's name, though felt silly for feeling such a thing, as the surprise was gone just as quickly as it had arrived. Ever since Goku's death during the Cell Game, Yamcha knew that Chi-Chi had been stuck in a depressed state, even during her pregnancy with her second child; Yamcha sometimes silently wondered if Goku even knew that he left his wife with a son that looked just like him in every way. Gohan had once told him that whenever Chi-Chi was upset about something, she would be in the kitchen nonstop, cooking through her feelings. Yamcha had been over several times before Goten was born, and nearly every single time he came over, Chi-Chi was in the kitchen either in the midst whipping something up or just finishing whipping something up. Usually it was lemon-flavored pastries, namely little cakes, which Yamcha knew was Goku's favorite dessert, and he would even help Gohan and Chi-Chi in making sure that none of it went to waste.

But then Goten was born, and when Yamcha had walked into the hospital room and saw Chi-Chi holding the tiny bundle in her arms, he saw her genuinely smile for the first time in months. The past two years without Goku had been quite empty, as the world seemed to finally be at peace after Cell's demise, but having Goten around certainly helped ease that ache. Helped fill that hole in a way.

Yamcha had come by even since he found out about Chi-Chi's pregnancy, knowing that she was going to need the support to get through this, and he continued to come over even after Goten was born, since Chi-Chi was also going to need help raising two children alone, after all. Yamcha might have never been a father himself, but he knew quite a bit about kids, as he had always wanted a family of his own, and Goten seemed to love Yamcha very much. He'd help out Chi-Chi with Goten in any way that he could—changing diapers, reading those picture books to him, looking after him while Chi-Chi was hard at work with their family farm and Gohan was studying, and had even stayed overnight a few times to help her put Goten to sleep. Chi-Chi had once found him asleep on her couch with Goten in his arms, who had passed out in his arms, the early hours of the morning; she said that she had even taken out her camera and snapped a quick picture of it, making Yamcha turn a lovely shade of red. Great, he was never going to hear the end of this.

Yamcha's presence at the Son household had been a common one for the last two years. Whether it be helping out Chi-Chi in the kitchen—who knew he was such an amazing cook?—looking after Goten, or even the times where Chi-Chi made him watch Gohan to make sure that he finished his homework and didn't slack off from his studying, it felt like Yamcha was slowly but surely becoming a part of their crazy little family. And thanks to his support and Goten's presence, Chi-Chi could now speak of her husband casually without the desire to cry uncontrollably.

Chi-Chi had made Yamcha's favorite for dinner tonight, hard-baked soba, and each of them ate in peace, while Goten was attempting to feed himself the mushy food with the little plastic spoon that Chi-Chi had set in front of him. "What did you wish for, Yamcha?" Gohan asked after swallowing a mouthful of soba, right as Chi-Chi was busy wiping away the mess on Goten's face with a napkin.

Yamcha grinned that the young preteen. "Sorry buddy, but you know the rules," he responded playfully. "Don't tell anyone your wish, or it won't come true."

Gohan chuckled almost sheepishly. "Right, I forgot," he said, sound almost apologetic, and had an embarrassed-looking grin on his face.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Yamcha reassured him, tucking a strand of black hair behind his ear. He had decided to grow it out again and it was now just past his shoulders. He had decided that he liked long hair better, anyways.

Yamcha decided to change the subject. "By the way, have you been making sure to study for that upcoming test at school?" he asked before taking in a mouthful of noodles.

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, I really hope I get a good grade on it," he said.

"Oh I know you will," this time it was Chi-Chi who responded, beaming proudly at her son as she finally finished cleaning up Goten. "My little Gohan is a brilliant boy, and he's going to be an amazing scholar someday!" That statement made Gohan turn red and he could only stare down at his bowl of soba, as if it contained a million different reasons for him to not look up in embarrassment.

Though she was also beaming for a second reason. Chi-Chi was glad for Yamcha making comments on Gohan's education, making sure that the boy was keeping up on his studying and homework, something that Goku had pretty much never done before. She understood that he never went to school, but for goodness' sake, Chi-Chi had told Goku time and time again how important education was for their son, and with how dense he was, Chi-Chi was silently surprised that her husband wasn't on the periodic table that Gohan had been learning about!

Once dinner was done with and dishes were in the sink, it was time for cake. Yamcha unconsciously licked his lips as he watched Chi-Chi dispose of the candles—and that included that damned relighting candle—and cut through the cake with a smile, giving the biggest piece to Yamcha and handing slightly smaller pieces to Gohan and Puar, gave little Goten a much smaller piece, and then finally cut a slice for herself. Cherry might not be her favorite flavor, but she had tasted the icing while making the cake hours earlier, as she wanted it to be the perfect birthday cake for Yamcha, and had smiled at the sweet, rich taste that it had placed upon her tongue.

Of course, Goten had pretty much smeared himself with chocolate cake and cherry icing, undoing all the work that Chi-Chi had done to clean him up earlier. And as she cleaned him up with a napkin again, she noticed the bits of crumbs and icing that covered the mouths of the other three occupants at the table, and promptly smirked as she placed her hands on her hips and playfully threatened, "Now you three wipe you mouths as well. Don't make me attack you with a napkin!"

Yamcha nearly choked on the glass of milk that he had been drinking in silent laughter at that comment, but obeyed her nonetheless, as did Gohan and Puar. Sure, he was the birthday boy—or, in this case, man—but you should never upset the queen bee in her own hive. Piece by piece, the five of them reduced the cake to nothing more than a plate of cake crumbs and traces of cherry frosting on the sides, and while the boys sat back in their chairs with full stomachs and satisfied grins, Chi-Chi gathered up the empty yet dirty plates, utensils and glasses and disposed of them in the sick. Usually she would start cleaning up immediately after dinner, but tonight they had something special to do after dinner. Dishes could wait until then.

Gohan got up from his chair and rushed over to Yamcha. "Come on, it's time to open presents!" he exclaimed cheerfully, sounding as enthusiastic as a little kid at Christmas time. He practically grabbed at Yamcha's arm as the man stood up and practically dragged him into the small family room, Puar floating behind them as he followed, and Chi-Chi was right behind them with Goten in her arms.

Yamcha, Gohan and Puar settled themselves down on the couch, the orange light from the sunset shining through the nearby window, and the dark-haired woman placed Goten in Yamcha's arms while she went into her bedroom to retrieve the presents that she had hidden in the closest. Within moments, she emerged from the bedroom with three wrapped boxes in her hands—one from her, one from Gohan, and one from Puar, who had asked Chi-Chi to hide his present for Yamcha.

Chi-Chi placed the gifts on the coffee table and took Goten from Yamcha, then opted to sit next to him with the one-year-old in her lap. "Go ahead, open them up, Lord Yamcha," Puar encouraged with a wide smile.

Yamcha's cheeks were dusted a light red color. "Aww, you guys," he said in a whisper-like voice. "Thank you so much."

"Oh, save it until after you open the presents," Chi-Chi said, Goten squirming in his position on her lap, though she held him there firmly. "Now go on, do as Puar said and open them up."

Yamcha smiled back at her as he reached for the first one, Puar's gift. He tore away the paper and opened up the box, revealing the contents to be a bag full of little sake-flavored candies. The dark-haired man smiled brightly at this. "Oh wow, thanks Puar," he said, lifting the bag out of the bag.

"I knew you'd like it!" Puar squeaked happily as Yamcha opened up the bag. "Sake is your favorite drink, and the moment I saw those in the store I knew you'd like them, Lord Yamcha!"

Yamcha chuckled lightly, then took one of the candies from the bag and placed one in his mouth. The sweet taste of sake mixed with the chocolate from the candy instantly flooded his taste buds, making him smile even wider at the delicious taste. "Mmm, these are so good," he practically moaned out.

"Geeze, get a room," Chi-Chi teased him with a smirk, making both Gohan and Yamcha laugh lightly. Normally she didn't like talking about anything inappropriate in front of Gohan, as she had wanted to keep him pure as long as she possibly could, but her boy was reaching those infamous teenage years now, and he was going to have to learn about things like sex education sooner or later.

"Oh yeah? How about you try this, and then you get a room?" Yamcha challenged playfully, lifting up a sake candy for her in his hand. Chi-Chi rolled her eyes as she took the candy from him and placed it in her mouth, and practically moaned out how delicious it was as well. Yup, she was definitely pouring some sake for the two of them after this.

Next up was Gohan's gift. Yamcha closed the bag and placed it on the table, then reached for the wrapped box, once again tearing off the paper and opening the box like he had done with Puar's gift. There was some kind of folded cloth inside, and Yamcha pulled it out. The cloth was revealed to be the gift, which unfolded itself as Yamcha pulled it out of the box, revealing to be a new white kitchen apron.

Yamcha blinked at it, then Gohan quickly explained, "Well, mom's always been commenting about how ragged and dirty your old cooking apron looks whenever you help her cook, and you have been talking about getting a new one…" he trailed off after that, as if too embarrassed to continue.

Nevertheless, Yamcha still smiled and gently ruffled the boy's black hair, though made sure not to do too much and upset his mother. "It's perfect, Gohan. Thanks," he said, making the boy look up and smile as well, glad to know that the gift he had chosen was a good one.

The third and final one was Chi-Chi's gift. Yamcha refolded the apron and placed it next to the sake candy bag on the coffee table, and reached for the last box. He repeated the process of tearing off the wrapping paper and opening up the box, taking out what had been hidden inside.

It was a photo album, with a black leather cover and the words Live, Laugh, Love on the front in golden curse lettering. Yamcha opened it up and smiled at what he saw. Inside were pictures of him and his friends. Pictures of him and Puar, pictures of him, Bulma and Goku with few of their friends and/or Bulma's family members, and pictures of him with their friends at milestone events over the years. But it was the last picture at the very end of the album at made him smile the most.

He immediately recognized the final photo. It had been taken only weeks ago. They were all sitting in the oasis at the Diablo Desert, surrounded by fields of beautiful flowers and right next to the water, a blanket beneath them and a large umbrella over them to protect them from the sun's merciless heat. A large straw-weaved basket was sitting on the blanket with them, and several plates of food and a few drinks were placed close by. Chi-Chi was wearing a beautiful yellow sundress, her hair was down instead of in its usual bun, and she had a sun hat placed atop her head, while Gohan and Yamcha were both wearing the casual shorts and T-Shirt, Puar was sitting on Yamcha's shoulder, and Goten was in Chi-Chi's arms and dressed in Gohan's old yellow and green outfit with the Son family symbol on it, though without the hat. All five of them were smiling at the camera, and Yamcha remembered how much fun they had that day, especially after they finished eating—Gohan playing hide-and-seek with Goten in the flowers (though Gohan easily found his little brother by detecting his energy), Yamcha, Gohan and Puar all stripping themselves down to their boxers and diving into the water, enjoying the coolness it provided from the heat…it was such a happy day for all five of them.

And underneath the photo, written in black ink with Chi-Chi's beautiful handwriting, were the words: Happy 35th Birthday, Yamcha! – With love, Chi-Chi

Yamcha reached up and wrapped his arms around Chi-Chi's shoulders in a rather awkward hug, which the dark-haired woman returned as best as she could with a toddler in her lap. "Thank you, Chi-Chi," he said, and he meant every word that escaped his mouth. "I love it so much!" When he was dating Bulma, she would always make sure to get him extravagant and expensive gifts every time his birthday rolled around, which of course she expected him to do the same to her when her birthday came months later. But these gifts weren't expensive or extravagant. Instead, they were just perfect.

Chi-Chi smiled back at him, more than happy that Yamcha loved his present. Then, once Yamcha had finished his awkward hug, she stood up and placed Goten in Yamcha's arms for the second time tonight. "Wait right here, I'll be right back," she told him, then turned and walked back into the kitchen.

"Ya-Ya!" Goten squeaked out, looking up at Yamcha, and making the dark-haired man look back up at him. Goten was finally learning how to talk, though only managed to do a few simple ones, including 'mama', he said 'Go-Go' whenever he tried to say either his or Gohan's name, and of course, 'Ya-Ya' was his was of trying to say Yamcha's name.

And Yamcha knew just what Goten wanted whenever he said 'Ya-Ya'.

Yamcha turned Goten to where the little toddler was facing him. "What is it, Goten? You wanna play horseback again?" he asked, making sure to speak normally instead of the baby talk that most people used with infants and toddlers. Chi-Chi didn't want anyone talking to her son that way, the same way that she did with Gohan, as she wanted him to talk clearly once he started to say full words so that she could understand him when he talked to her.

"Ya-Ya!" Goten exclaimed happily, clapping his little hands together.

"That's what I thought," Yamcha laughed, then turned to the elder of the two Son boys. "Hey Gohan, can you give me a hand?" Gohan nodded and took his little brother from Yamcha's hands. Yamcha got off of the couch and got down on his hands and knees, and Gohan placed Goten on the dark-haired man's back, making sure to adjust the little demi-Saiyan to where he wouldn't fall off. "Now hold on tight, Goten," Yamcha reminded the little one-year-old on his back.

"Ya-Ya! Ya-Ya!" Goten squealed and laughed, holding on to both Yamcha's shirt and hair.

Yamcha laughed as well, and started crawling around the room on all fours rather quickly, knowing by now that Goten really liked it when he went fast. Sure enough, Goten was squealing and laughing with glee, his little legs and feet kicking against Yamcha as if riding a horse and demanding that he go faster, which the dark-haired man did and set his hands and legs to allow himself to crawl faster. He could practically feel the rush of excitement and anticipation from Goten as the toddler bounced on Yamcha's back. Little kids were something else.

Chi-Chi had returned to the living room with the sake bottle and two small cups in her hands, but hadn't said a word as she watched Yamcha playing yet another game of horseback with her little Goten, smiling to herself the whole time. She was glad that Yamcha was making her little boy smile and laugh. Of course, a lot of things easily amused Goten, but the toddler seemed especially happy when he played with her, Gohan or Yamcha. It was just something else, and it never failed to make Chi-Chi smile at the sight of it.

Eventually the game of horseback died down, and thankfully it seemed to drain Goten's almost boundless energy, because once Yamcha stopped and Gohan pulled Goten off of the man's back, the one-year-old had practically passed out in his brother's arms, falling into a deep sleep with an almost heavenly snore. Chi-Chi placed the sake and cups down on the coffee table and took Goten from Gohan's arms and placed him in his play pin in her bedroom, then quickly returned to the living room.

The sake was opened and shared between the two adults, both of them and Gohan talking and laughing the rest of the night away. Eventually, Chi-Chi reached over and turned on the radio that sat right next to the lamp, and practically pulled Yamcha up to dance with her to the beat of the upbeat country music that blasted through the radio's speaker, a few of them were even romance songs but they just danced away anyways, both of them laughing as they danced to their hearts' content. Gohan and Puar inevitably joined in on the dancing and laughter, enjoying the night more and more with each song that they moved their bodies to.

The next morning came rather quickly. Chi-Chi's eyes fluttered open, surprised that she didn't have a hangover from the sake last night, and the sound of light snoring immediately reached her ears. She turned to see that she and Yamcha had both collapsed on her bed, the latter lying down on his front on Goku's side of them, and snoring lightly. Chi-Chi had been lying down on her back on her side of the bed, morning sunlight from the window effortlessly illuminating the room, and smiled at his sleeping form.

Of course, she felt silly for not realizing it the moment she opened her eyes. They had tired themselves out last night from all the talking and dancing and laughing, and not wanting to deal with a hangover, Chi-Chi put the sake up and the cups in the sink. It was quite late at night—Chi-Chi wasn't exactly sure how late, all she knew was that it had been dark outside for hours now—and it was a bit too late for Yamcha to go back to his home in the Diablo Desert, which was where he had moved back into after his breakup with Bulma, so Chi-Chi practically demanded that he stayed the night. They had both walked into her bedroom, and collapsed on to her bed, practically passing out the moment they hit the blankets.

Chi-Chi sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, smoothing down her dress before heading over to check up on Goten. Sure enough the little boy was already awake, and eagerly waiting for his mother to pick him up and take him to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Mama!" Goten cooed, reaching up with his little hands, an obvious sign that he wanted to pick up.

"Come on, you," Chi-Chi said quietly with a smile, making sure to not wake up the sleeping man on her bed. "Let's wake your brother up and get some breakfast."

Chi-Chi picked Goten up and held him in her arms. Though before she walked out of the room, first she walked over to Yamcha's sleeping form and leaned down to gently place a soft kiss on his cheek. "Happy birthday, Yamcha," she said in a whisper-like voice, her voice sweeter than chocolate. Then walked out of her bedroom and headed for the kitchen to prepare a hearty breakfast for the five occupants of the household, missing the fact that Yamcha's snoring had stopped right when she placed that kiss on his cheek.

Once Chi-Chi had left the room, Yamcha opened up his dark eyes and sat up on the blankets, placing one hand over the cheek where she had kissed him. He probably looked like an idiot right now, because he was more than certain that he had just the dorkiest grin in the world on his face, which was dusted red with a small blush.

It felt silly to wish for such things on your birthday when you blow out the candles, but it was worth it. He got his wish after all. Yamcha stood up and decided to follow Chi-Chi to the kitchen to help her out with breakfast, his silent wish echoing in his ears as he walked out of the bedroom.

"I wish for this to be the best birthday ever!"

Nothing extravagant or expensive, loud or flashy…Just good food and cake, perfect present that he'll always treasure, drinking and talking and laughing and dancing with the people he considered family…and to top it all off, the kiss from Chi-Chi…

Yep, this was definitely the best birthday ever.