The door creaked behind him as he closed it shut. He wanted to have a minute alone and think of his current dilemma. The dimly lit room did little to insulate silence however, as he could hear the shrieking cry of his baby daughter in the other room, and his wife trying futilely to serenade her to sleep. He tried to cover his ears to no avail. The twinkles of stars that accompanied the night sky, his baby's witching hour wailing and his weary wife's exhaustive groans in the other room did little to distract him from the banter going on in his head. He found himself mentally obsessed with his latest encounter with Freeza. Each day, he calculated more and more errors in his fighting style, more ways he could have taken advantage of the situation. He wished he could do more, and each day, it weighed more heavily on his conscience.
"I'm so stupid! If only I had foreseen this sooner..."'
He quickly lowered his voice, gobbling up his words midair in a panic so they wouldn't reach the ears of his wife and crying babe in the other room. Still, he knew he was right. His fight against the sinewy, purple figure he vaguely heard being called 'Tagoma' by Freeza and his henchmen proved just that; forget taking the head-honcho head on. He was not ready, not even close. He should've been, he knew this. Distracted by his torturous thoughts, he absentmindedly picked up the compact mirror his wife left on the coffee table the evening before, and stared at his reflection.
Scenes from his father, along with the Prince of Saiyans replayed over and over again with no end. The both of them, bathed in the ethereal blue light of the Super Saiyan God, plagued his nightmares. He witnessed them reaching limits of impossibility, or so he thought. Yet, as he reminisced on their growing greatness, he only saw a mere man staring back at him; potential lost on the wayside, and a family that he himself felt had no chance compared to the horrors that potentially exist in his world.
Ashamed, he put the mirror down and interlaced his fingers. A scowl formed from his brow, while he reminisced over the harrowing adventures and hairline escapes he and his friends made in the face of danger not too long ago. He never had a real passion to fight unless it was of absolute necessity; to protect them, to protect his family, and to protect life. The martial arts lifestyle didn't appeal to him either, unlike his father. But, there was a hunger inside him; beckoning to get back out there and test even his own limitations. That didn't change the fact that he was a new family man, however, and responsibilities to his wife and babe were of the up most priority. There was no place for fighting anywhere besides against local debaters and conference holders. Bill collectors needed to be kept at bay, mouths had to be fed, and an undying need to keep busy kept the half-Saiyan's schedule wound so tightly on the responsibility of being a family man that he had little time to even train.
That didn't stop him, however. After seeing his father's harrowing fight against Freeza, he once again felt compelled to get back out there and push himself to new heights. He trained with Piccolo for the first time the previous week, and the fact that even Piccolo served as a challenge to him once again bruised his hidden ego. His confidence as a provider and protector was at an all-time low, and knew he had only himself to blame. Ridden by his own guilt, he knew he had to make a tough decision, "I can't stay this way."
Just then, the door blew open, and in stormed a very weary, blue eyed woman with short, jet-black shaggy hair and a sleeping babe cradled in her arms. "Gohan, you never came back to the baby's room.'
He rose in a startle, "V-Videl! I'm so sorry, I was kind of sidetracked back there. I was coming back I swear."
Videl scanned his goofy demeanor suspiciously as he brushed his pants down and gathered his posture, "Is everything alright? You look flustered."
"Everything is ok, I'm just having some trouble sleeping. You know how hard it's been to do that since this little flower came to the world." He chuckled nervously.
Gohan could only watch mercilessly as Videl crankily rolled her eyes away from him. He knew she was no idiot, and the last thing he wanted was for her to get wind of how he was truly feeling about their situation. If anything, he envisioned her as being the most badass chick in all of Satan city, even tough enough to take on his own mother. If anyone would understand his predicament, it would be her. Still, he couldn't help but soften at her modest presence. Videl hung up her punching bag long ago in favor of a simpler way of life, away from the limelight. She was a different person then, but would she understand now?
Her yawn broke his trance, and he found himself focused on her hair, which was tousled and possibly knotted; while bags puffed pink and violet under her sea-blue eyes. It was clear that she was very exhausted. Watching her in all her vulnerability as she tirelessly rocked her sleeping baby back and forth inspired him to let down his guard, if even for a moment, and focus on the now.
"You are so beautiful, Videl." He whispered before he gently levitated from the ground and made his way towards her, 'Let me take her from your hands, you need your rest."
Her cheeks blushed at his closeness, intensifying as he slipped his hands nimbly through her arms and grabbed the baby for himself. All of her suspicions melted by the graze of his hands, then and there. If it was one thing she never got enough of, it was seeing his skills in action. It always occured in the mose mundane ways or even when he didn't mean to use them. She figured it was the Saiyan in him, just sprouting out every now and again. Yet, as physically impressive as he was, she preferred her nerdy, nook-pushing husband over having a power-hungry, fighting brute like her own father any day. Then it hit her, and her warm smile turned cold.
"Dad, oh my- Gohan, I forgot to tell you earlier." she said before she cupped her mouth.
He felt the playfulness of the mood take a sudden downshift, so he formed a cloud-like plush of his own ki and placed the sleeping baby on top. It resembled his father's nimbus cloud, but with a silver shimmer instead of the gold puffs he remembered way back when. Videl watched in awe as her little bundle hovered like a feather back to her room and back to her crib, without so much as a whimper. It was a magnificent, little display of his abilities. She had never seen Gohan use his power that way before, and when she turned back to question it, she saw for a moment her husband's sadness until he caught her looking back, and a crooked smile suddenly disguised it. But she saw it. His gaze was fixed deeply on the floor, distracted completely before he noticed her. It was clear he was bothered by something.
"Gohan?" She called, whilst she rested her palms over his chest.
He snapped back into reality with a startle, "Videl..."
"Is everything alright? She pleaded.
As sincere as her request was, Gohan still battled with as to whether or not he should tell her, "She's counting on me to stand up on my own to feet and be a man. I can't let our family down. I can't let her down."
Videl waited for a response while Gohan remained distracted by his thoughts, though her patience had begun to wear thin. His lack of cocrete answers made her blood slowly boil, entertained by so many possibilities. Gohan immediately sensed her discomfort and went for damage control. With the flick of a finger, he exhuded a soft, pink energy wave that surrounded his wife, blanketing her as it carried her back towards him while he used nothing but his will. Videl felt, even saw the small shocks and sparks from his energy, but she felt no harm from it. They were just like small pops over her skin that tickled. Just then, she felt his presence in front of her, and his lips lightly pressed onto hers. When they parted, he pulled her into his embrace.
"I'm sorry Videl. I'm really trying, I am, it's just that I'm a bit stressed out by this new responsibility. With work and the new baby, I'm trying to do everything I can to make sure that you and Pan are taken care of in every way possible. I just wanted you to know that you both are of my up most priority. That's all."
She felt her frown smirk back up, relieved, "Gohan, for everything you have done for us already, I have no reason to think otherwise."