Midnight Conversation
After a long study and spar session, Videl is forced to stay at the Son residence by the order of Chi-Chi – who has some devious matchmaking planned. Meanwhile, Videl has some questions she wants to ask Gohan.
Rating: T
Warnings: "adult" situations/ideas, a sware word or two
Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Dragon Ball series'. This is a fanfiction and is not written to make a profit, but for the enjoyment of readers.
"It's too late for you to travel all the way back to Satan City," Chi-Chi had said, as she came into the family room from tucking Goten into bed. An evening storm has blown its way into the mountain area that the Son family called home, and Goku had gone out to make sure the new hatchlings of Tetradactyls were properly sheltered for the evening.
"You must stay here the night, Videl," Chi-Chi further explained, "The storms here get quite violent very quickly. I'd hate for you to be caught up in it…"
'Especially seeing that my Gohan has taken a liking to you…' Chi-Chi thought to herself as she set about pulling extra blankets from their cupboards.
Not letting Videl or Gohan get a word in, Chi-Chi continued with her mothering: "It is the school vacation period after all, and the extra study you two have put in today will put you both ahead next semester!
"Call your father, Videl, tell him that you shall be staying here the night and you'll be home when this storm clears."
Videl obeyed Chi-Chi's persuasive nature and called her father to explain the situation. Hercule Satan was now quite aquainted with the Son family, to the point of acknowledging in private that Gohan was the saviour of the Cell Games. He enjoyed the company of Goku and Gohan, and liked how Videl was going around with a smile on her face every day – a sight he hadn't seen since the death of her mother five years back. Hercule admired Chi-Chi's maternal instincts and allowed her to be a feminine influence on Videl.
'Just what my dear Videl needs!' He thought as he ended the call.
Chi-Chi ordered Gohan to fetch wood for the fire, and to make sure that Goku was still near by. She knew that Gohan would obey her requests without question. 'Just as I have raised him to do…' she thought wistfully.
She turned to Videl as Gohan shut the door to the foyer area.
"How are you, Videl?" she asked, "Has Gohan been treating you well?"
Videl nodded: "Yes Chi-Chi, Gohan is nothing but good to me."
"That's my Gohan, I've tried to raise him to be a nice young man," Chi-Chi replied, "Goku – on the other hand – raised him to be just like him."
"But the world needs people like Goku and Gohan," Videl replied, "They are not afraid to stand up for what is right – even if other people take all the credit for it." The last part Videl added bitterly. Chi-Chi nodded wisely, understanding the position Videl was in. Hercule Satan, being the champion of the Martial Arts Tournament prior to the Cell Games, took credit for the defeat of Cell because the world could not see young Gohan's heroic effort to save the world.
"It didn't help that your father insulted my husband, sons and our friends in order to take the credit – magic tricks and wires indeed!" Chi-Chi said angrily. However, upon seeing Videl's pinched face, she quickly calmed.
"At least it took the attention off my family… we all need the anonymity, the press would have a field day if they found out humanoid aliens who turn into monkeys and can change the colour of their hair were living on Earth!"
At this point, Gohan returned bringing along Goku and a pile of dry firewood. Chi-Chi smiled and brought towels to dry off her son and husband. Videl watched the exchange between husband and wife – loving and friendly. She had heard the tale of their engagement and subsequent wedding – which Goku had thought were names of some kind of food.
'Lucky for everyone that Chi-Chi can cook up a storm!' Videl thought, as Gohan walked over to her.
"I hope mum didn't drill you too much!" he said, scratching the back of his head – a nervous trait that he shared with his father and younger brother. Videl shook her head and was dragged away by Chi-Chi, who was ordering bedtime for everyone.
"I hope you can fit into this," Chi-Chi muttered as she led Videl to her room, so as to find her pyjamas to suit the sudden cool conditions. Luckily for Videl that she could fit into the pair of pyjamas offered by Chi-Chi – even if the nightshirt was a little too big around the chest.
"Go and take a nice hot bath, and I'll get your bed ready," Chi-Chi said, handing Videl a towel and face-washer. As Videl entered the bathroom, Chi-Chi made her way into Gohan's room. Making sure that she wouldn't be disturbed, Chi-Chi remade Gohan's double bed and added two more pillows. Standing in the door, the doting and scheming mother admired her handy work.
'How sweet it all is!' Chi-Chi thought, 'maybe one day soon they shall get married and have children of their own!'
The two teenagers in question stood in the doorway of Gohan's room, bemused at the situation facing them.
"I think I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," Gohan said, looking down at Videl and giving her a smile.
"If you want your bed, I can sleep on the couch," Videl explained, turning to exit Gohan's room for the lounge area. At that moment, Chi-Chi turned up and blocked Videl's way.
"I thought tonight was a little too cold to be sleeping in the lounge, so you will both sleep here!" Chi-Chi explained, trying to hide her joyous smile from the two in front of her.
"But… mum… I… er…" Gohan stammered, turning red and scratching the back of his head nervously.
"No buts, Gohan," Chi-Chi scolded, "I don't want Videl to freeze, or you either for that matter."
Videl understood Chi-Chi's 'gentle' push to get Gohan 'into bed' with her. She knew that nothing drastic would happen between the two and hoped that this would bring her eldest son out of his shell.
'A little unorthodox…' Videl thought as Chi-Chi finished scolding Gohan for his chronic shyness.
"Good night Videl, Gohan," Chi-Chi said as she left the room. Goku followed his wife's path into his eldest son's room – following his nightly ritual of seeing his sons safely tucked into bed.
In Goku's eyes, Gohan was still the little boy that beat Cell and saved the world – no easy feat for a ten-year-old. Considering Gohan's heritage, however, such immense power came from his pure heart and warrior blood. Goku grinned at the two teens, thinking of how he and Chi-Chi were like when they were eighteen.
"Night Videl, night Gohan!"
"Goodnight dad,"
"Goodnight Mr. Son,"
"Please, Videl, call me Goku,"
"Ok, night Goku,"
"Oh and don't worry about Chi-Chi," Goku explained, "she's just trying to make sure everyone gets what they want."
The two teens nodded and watched as Goku strolled from the room towards that of Goten's to check upon his youngest while he slept.
"Well, I think it's time we went to bed too," Gohan said, slightly blushing. Videl nodded, adding: "It is getting rather cold."
The two climbed into the warmness of the sheets that had been heated from two hot water bottles that Chi-Chi had placed within the sheets. Gohan and Videl settled down, pulling the sheets over their pyjama-clad bodies so that only their heads could be seen by anyone looking in on them.
They heard the light switch in Goku and Chi-Chi's room switch off, and muffled voices slowly peter out into the silence of sleep. From the next room, they could hear Goten's sleep talking while he dreamt. They could hear the heavy fall of rain that hadn't relented since nightfall.
"If it keeps getting colder, we'll be snowed in," Gohan explained, shifting his weight slightly to get comfortable on the mattress. Videl didn't reply, thinking of what questions she could ask the young man lying next to her.
"What's it like being you?" Videl finally asked after a long silence that was punctured by the heavy fall of rain and the occasional clap of thunder. Gohan stared at the ceiling as he thought hard.
"When I found out that I was half-Saiyan, it was like there was a stronger blood flowing through my veins… I was only four at the time and my mentor Piccolo revealed it to me. It explained the tail I had though…"
"You had a tail?" Videl interrupted, shocked. She could sense Gohan nodding next to her.
"If I saw the full moon, I would turn into a large ape – Oozaru form – and because I was untrained, I would go on a rampage. So Piccolo destroyed the moon, and a replacement wished for later on," Gohan explained. Videl could remember a time where there had been no moon, but it was a very vague memory that she thought it was a dream.
"When I was ten, I could turn Super Saiyan – where my eyes go green and my hair goes gold – and I turned Super Saiyan two when I was eleven, during my fight with Cell."
"What's the difference?" Videl asked, curious about the alien side to Gohan's existence.
"Well," Gohan began, "in Super Saiyan form my power increases, I get faster, and my hair and eyes change. In the second form, my power increases further, my hair gets longer, and I get much stronger and faster overall."
"Is that the form you had when you fought Cell?" asked Videl, turning her body to face Gohan. Gohan shivered from the sudden burst of cold air that managed to find its way through from Videl's movements. Gohan nodded his reply, and turned to face Videl.
"There are higher levels than form two – I think Vegeta said up to four levels, where three makes the Saiyan bulkier and they lose their speed, and level four makes us look like humanoid monkeys. At least, that's how dad puts it."
"I can't turn Super anymore… Supreme Kai's training was a little too dangerous to mix with my Saiyan powers. I'm what they call a Mystic now, which I doubt existed before I became one."
Videl was a little sad that she would never see the 'Gold Fighter' again, liking the way that Gohan could transform his hair and eye colour from normal. Videl was growing more curious about the Saiyans now that she knew a little about them. "How many Saiyans live on Earth?"
"Well there's my dad – who was the first one here – then me, Vegeta, Trunks and my brother Goten," Gohan said, listing off his friends and relations.
"Are there any more around? Where do Saiyans come from?" Videl asked, getting more curious by the second. Gohan lay, watching Videl as he thought.
"The planet that the Saiyans used to live was blown up by an evil alien named Freeza, and the only ones who escaped were Vegeta, a Saiyan named Nappa, and my uncle Radditz."
"You have an uncle?"
"Dad sacrificed himself to get rid of Radditz because my uncle was working for Freeza to destroy Earth."
"Oh…" Videl said, her features going dark.
"I don't remember much about him, except that he was a bad man and he kidnapped me," Gohan explained, "Oh and that he also had long black hair and a tail."
"So were you all born with tails?"
"Dad, Vegeta and I were," Gohan replied, "Goten wasn't, and I don't know about Trunks – if he was, Vegeta might have had it pulled out just after he was born."
"So… if you had a child, would they be born with a tail too?"
"I don't know…" Gohan said, "No one really knows about half-Saiyans or quarter-Saiyans as yet."
"Well what is the difference between a full-Saiyan and a half-Saiyan?"
"Full Saiyans love to fight – it's in their blood," Gohan began, "they have black hair which is spikey and never grows, and black eyes."
"You mean that Saiyans are born with a full head of hair?" Videl asked, shocked. Gohan nodded and rolled onto his back again.
"Half-Saiyans depend on their parentage, I guess," Gohan continued, "Myself and Goten were born with the spikey hair and black eyes because mum also has black hair and eyes, however her hair is smooth. I was born with a tail, and Goten was not.
"Trunks, on the other hand has purple hair and blue eyes from his mother's side."
"So if you were to have a child, they might not even have the same looks as you," Videl said, disappointed. Gohan shrugged, not really knowing the answer.
"So what's so special about Vegeta?" Videl asked. Gohan laughed slightly.
"Believe it or not, he's a Prince. The last of the royal bloodline of the Saiyans, unless you include Trunks."
"So is Trunks a prince too?"
"Dad seems to think so, that Vegeta cares a lot about family bloodlines to give titles to his own child. It's hard to tell with Vegeta – only Bulma really knows."
"So they're married?"
"Dunno… as I said, it's hard to tell. Saiyans have a different way of marrying than humans."
"What happens?" Videl asked, now more interested.
"Apparently, Saiyans choose a partner for life – to have children with and to share their life with, just like they do here on Earth, except without the incidence of divorce and affairs," Gohan began,
"If a Saiyan's partner dies, they don't go and find another. They stay loyal until the day they die."
"So are your parents married?"
"Yeah, they got married at the conclusion of one of the Martial Arts Tournaments. Dad seemed to think that marriage and engagement were some kinds of food…"
Videl laughed at the comment, remembering Chi-Chi's earlier story, "Why does your dad think about food so much?"
"You've seen the way he eats! They way that Goten and I eat,"
"Yeah, like food is going to become extinct if you don't shovel it in!"
"That's because Saiyan's need to eat much more than a normal human. It takes a lot of energy to be in the Super Saiyan form, much more than normal. I get hungry really easily, especially after a fight."
"Your mum must be the queen of catering then if she has to cook for you three!"
"Mum cooks the best food! Much better than what they serve at the school canteen." Gohan said, smiling.
A clash of thunder rang out with a bolt of lightening. Videl flinched at the sound, not wanting to seem afraid in the presence of Gohan. As the curtains to his window were still drawn, Gohan crawled out of bed to close them – so that the lightening didn't interrupt sleep. He climbed back in and relished the warmth that Videl had provided in his absence.
"So what about you?" Gohan asked, "What makes you, you?"
Videl thought hard, "Well my mother died when I was young, so its only been me and dad along with some servants and the occasional apprentice of dad's."
"Do you remember your mum?" Gohan asked, taking over the asking. Videl shook her head.
"I wasn't even a year old, dad said she died of an infection. He is still devastated, but he hides it with his training and being the world champion." Videl was frowning slightly, trying to gain a mental picture of her mother – one that the photographs on her wall didn't seem to portray well enough.
Gohan had never thought of Hercule Satan as a 'feeling' type of person, however, he was willing to give the man a chance. He seemed nice enough: 'If you ignore his fame-driven mind…' Gohan thought.
"Dad's trained me since I was five – he wanted me to be included and be around him all the time," Videl continued, "it was as if he left me out of his sight, I'd cease to exist."
"What about now?" Gohan asked
"How about now, what?"
"Now that you're growing up," Gohan replied, "is your dad still the same?"
Videl thought for a second, "Well, not as much as before," she replied, "his stint as 'World Champion' takes him away a lot…"
Gohan frowned. It seemed that him and Videl were more alike than he first thought – both had absent father's at some time in their lives. The difference was that Goku was dead for seven years of Gohan's life, and Mr. Satan was touring around the world being the Champion.
"Well," Gohan said aloud, "at least he has tried to provide for you."
"Yeah…" Videl agreed, "and he did call – no matter how busy or tired he was."
A loud clap of thunder caused Videl to scoot closer to Gohan than she intended, and before they knew what was happening, their lips collided. Both pulled back quickly – blushing slightly visible from the next flash of lightening.
Chi-Chi knelt next to her bed, praying to the God of the Earth – a close family friend of Gohan's named Dende.
"Please let this weather continue so that my Gohan will make Videl his wife!" she whispered up to the ceiling. Goku rolled his eyes, Did you hear that Dende? he asked telepathically.
Loud and clear, Goku. The Namek replied, a stifled laugh evident in his telepathic message.
I'll fulfil her wish… just this once. Dende said. Goku's eyes bulged
You're not serious are you?
Sure am, came the reply, it needs to happen anyway from what Baba told me…
How much did she charge you for that? Goku asked, knowing full well that the old witch asked a ridiculously high price when it came to telling one's future.
Not a Zeni, said Dende, she gave it to me for free – 'Anything for the God'.
Goku sighed, and watched as Chi-Chi finished her prayers.
"… please watch over father, the Briefs, and all of our friends. Thank you Dende."
"Now I will be able to sleep peacefully!" Chi-Chi declared, slipping between the covers of the bed next to Goku.
"They could be just sleeping, you know," Goku said, unable to sense what his eldest son was doing. 'He's guarding himself well…'
"Nonsense Goku," Chi-Chi replied, "remember when we were their age and we used to stay up all night talking?"
"But with all those… portable telephones… don't kids these days just communicate by written words?"
"Don't be silly Goku, kids these days still talk! How else do they say such horrible words?"
"Like what? 'Darn'?" Goku replied, teasing evident in his voice. Chi-Chi giggled quietly.
"Darn is such a vulgar word!"
"Is not!"
"Is too, now go to sleep!"
"Good night Chi-Chi, love you."
"I love you too, Goku."
In the next room, Goten was wide awake. As quietly as he could, he was talking on one of those 'new' portable telephones that Bulma had invented. On the other end of the call was none other than Trunks Briefs.
"So your mum let Gohan and Videl sleep in the same bed?" Trunks asked, bemused by the whole situation.
"Uhuh!" Goten replied, "she said that she didn't want them to freeze… isn't that why our mums and dads sleep in the same bed?"
"Nu-uh, they sleep in the same bed so they can make babies!" Trunks replied.
"But how come my mum and dad only have me and Gohan if they sleep in the same bed every night?"
"Because, they have to do a special dance… like fusion… except they don't become a different person like Gotenks or Gogeta," Trunks explained with his eight-year-old's knowledge.
"So what happens?" Goten asked, "during the dance?"
Trunks giggled, and with his child knowledge of an adult act he began to explain about the 'birds and the bees'.
"… and they say bad words too, like f—," at this point, Goten gasped and tried to cover his ears.
"Mum says that if I hear that word, my ears will fall off!"
"Then how come our parents and your brother still have theirs?" Trunks asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes – which was not visible to Goten.
"Well I'm going to go to sleep now, I can hear dad coming upstairs. I'll see you tomorrow…"
"Night Trunks."
"Night Goten."
The call ended, and Goten placed his phone on his bedside table. Sitting up, he pressed his ear to the wall that he shared with Gohan's room. He couldn't hear any abnormal sounds or sware words.
"Trunks is wrong! Gohan wouldn't do those things to Videl… would he?" Goten whispered to himself as he snuggled back under his covers. A loud clap of thunder rang out in time with a big flash of lightening. Goten could hear a gasp from Gohan's room. Immediately, Goten jumped out of bed and ran towards Gohan's door.
Videl looked at Gohan, slightly blushing in the dark. What she couldn't see was Gohan's red cheeks and tingling lips. He felt like he had been struck by the lightening that hit the ground a few kilometres away.
Suddenly, a breeze seemed to pick up out of nowhere, signalling the speedy arrival of Goten.
"I don't want you two to fuse forever!!!" Goten yelled, sobbing into Gohan's chest. The two teens gave a confused look as Goku strolled into the room, turning the light on as he went.
"Hey buddy," Goku said to Goten, walking over to prise him from his death hold on Gohan. "Did you have a nightmare?"
"No!" Goten hiccuped, "Trunks told me that they were doing a dance so that they could be fused together forever and run away from here!"
Goku gave a wink to the two teens and mouthed; "Nightmare". The two nodded and watched as Goku carried his youngest son back to his own room. He turned the light off as he went, and closed the door.
In the darkness, Gohan turned to face where he had last seen Videl's face.
"I'm sorry…"
"For what?" Videl replied, her voice only slightly above a whisper.
"For… my brother…" Gohan said lamely. Videl laughed slightly and shifted closer to Gohan.
"Perhaps Trunks has been telling him about the facts of life that he doesn't know himself," Videl replied, causing Gohan to blush further. Videl, not able to see the crimson colour that had crept across Gohan's face, leaned back into his body innocently.
A shiver ran through Gohan's body, the electric feeling that had happened at the slightest touch prior to Goten's intrustion. He relaxed and – after making sure that Videl wouldn't turn around and slap him – wrapped his arms around the young woman.
The two sat there, fitting comfortably like a jigsaw. They watched as lightening flashes appeared around the curtain that covered the window from the outside world.
"Can I -?"
"- kiss me?" Videl suggested.
"Yeah…"
Videl leant up, her lips searching for Gohan's, whilst his were directed down like a magnet. They touched for the briefest of moments before the two pulled apart once again, without the feeling of shock that had been the aftermath of the previous contact.
The two lay down and Gohan covered them both with the layers of blankets that Chi-Chi had left them due to the cold weather. The two teens were facing each other, the darkness veiling their facial expressions.
"Have you… done that before?" Videl asked, curious about Gohan's mysterious past.
"No, have you?"
"Only a peck on the cheek from Sharpener," Videl replied, "but I nearly killed him for it." She giggled from the memory, which made Gohan smile. The side of him that enjoyed fighting found Videl's comment a bit of a turn on – his Saiyan side starting to fight for control over the rationality that made up everyday Gohan.
Videl could feel the change in demeanour, which didn't worry her. Her curiosity was taking the better of her. Once again, just like magnets, they were drawn together for another kiss.
This kiss was not like the previous two, this one being longer and clumsier. Teeth knocked together slightly, and noses got in the way. Gohan raised a shaking hand to touch the side of Videl's face, which he found to be smooth with slight bumps from the invisible pimples that occasionally dotted her face. Videl caught hold of his wrist and held his hand in place. They pulled away slightly, breathless, only a few centimetres from the other's face.
"I really like you, Videl."
"I really like you too, Gohan."
Enclosing the lithe girl in his arms, Gohan could feel himself drifting off to sleep despite the noise of the storm. Strong feminine arms wrapped around his torso, pulling the smaller body closer to his own. He could feel Videl's breath slow and deepen into a sleep pattern, which lulled him into a deep sleep.
Videl could hear his slow, strong heartbeat through the fabric of his t-shirt. She felt safe in his strong arms, and the new feeling of confidence she could feel radiating from the both of them gave her a small smile as she drifted into slumber.
Author's note: Well… 12 pages that took me. Longest I've written in awhile! There could be another chapter to come… Lyndal