MORE. one-shot.

Disclaimer: Do not own DBZ. ):

For seven years I believed my father was the strongest under the heavens. He was the world savior. The public worshiped him and, by association, me. I could do anything and no one would tell me no. I didn't have to ask. I just received. There was nothing I could want that I couldn't have, not that there was very much that I asked for. That was my life for a number of years and in a number of days, Gohan Son brought it all down.

After discovering his identity as Saiyaman, things changed. Suddenly I found my eyes opened as I was thrown into this whole new world filled with magic and fantasy. He showed me the countless things I never even once considered possible. My mind was blown away with each revelation as he stood there sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. My father insisted that they were all tricks. No one could fly; no one could shoot light from his or her hands. I believed him then, but Gohan changed that. I couldn't very well deny what was happening before my eyes.

Sometimes I would pinch myself, wondering if this was like what happened Alice and I managed to fall through to Wonderland. The black and blue bruises on the inside of my arm were more than enough proof that this was all very real. I was learning to fly and control my ki as a seven year old flapped his arms around me singing about being a birdie. It was infuriating to watch the little boy shoot past me at speeds I couldn't even see. I could barely keep myself hovering ten feet off the ground and he was doing loops in the air like it was second nature.

I don't know how it happened or when it happened, really, but some time in those days I spent with the brothers in the mountains, something changed. At first I just wanted to learn, to find ways to get stronger. Then, suddenly, it was more than that. I didn't just want to know about ki or fighting. I wanted to know about him. I looked forward to those hours with him and his eccentric family that embraced me as part of their own.

The day of the tournament was out of this world. I knew that my father lied when he said that the techniques Gohan used were tricks, but I never imagined how large a gap there was between them and us. He never bragged about his strength, but Goten always said that if he wanted to Gohan could annihilate the planet with a single finger. I thought the seven year old was exaggerating, that it was simply the adoration of a little brother for his older brother, but these people are making me think otherwise. When I asked him about it, he gave that nervous chuckle and waved it off as the silly imagination of a child. Still, it never fully left my mind. I could accept that there were things Gohan wanted to keep to himself, but just how much was there?

It turned out I didn't have to wait very long.

I wasn't very good at sensing ki yet, but I felt that spike in Gohan's energy when I was being pummeled by that jerk Spopovitch. He wanted to get out there and put an end to it, I know that. Gohan was not one to sit back and do nothing when someone needed help. I could practically feel the anger radiating off of him despite the pain coursing through my body. Still, I was grateful he stayed away. I'm a fighter, not some damsel in distress. I don't need nor want a knight in shining armor. I just need someone to accept me for me.

The whole thing with Buu probably took decades off my life. When they said he was dead, I couldn't believe it. There was no way. He couldn't be dead, not when we didn't even have a chance to…Well, at that point, I didn't know exactly what I wanted a chance for. All I knew was that he couldn't be dead. The thought of a world without that infuriating and stubborn and gentle and innocent and…The thought of a world without Gohan was inconceivable. It wasn't possible. He had to be alive. Gohan always pulled through when he was needed.

He was alive and I knew it, even if no one else seemed to believe.

When the battle was over and he showed up behind me, I don't know. I just…exploded. Everything had been so overwhelming. It all happened so quickly. One second we were competing at the tournament, then the next the whole population of earth was on Snake way, and it was a lot to process. I was angry and happy and confused and I lashed out.

I was crying and pounding my fists against his chest. It barely registered when he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. Eventually, I stopped. My arms slipped around his waist as he held me, waiting patiently for me to completely calm down.

"Don't do that again," I mumbled, voice muffled against the orange material of his gi. I don't think I could handle going through that sort of waiting and not knowing ever again.

"I'll try," he answered, placing a hand over my head. It wasn't a promise, but I knew it was the best I was going to get. Gohan was a Saiyan. He had the pride of their warrior race. He would fight to protect his home. He wasn't just a nerd or a jock or any other guy. He was smart and strong and valiant and almost too good to be true, but he was. He had his faults like anyone else, but those just made him all the more…him.

Since telling Erasa about the past few weeks, I found someone to share this with. She constantly joked about how Gohan Son swept me off my feet. I couldn't agree though. That just wasn't what happened. With that goofy smile and boyish attitude, he knocked my feet out from under me and this fall was going to hurt if he didn't catch me.

I never had to worry, though. Gohan was, if anything, reliable. Every day that passed I was falling faster and faster and one day, strong hands grabbed mine and pulled me forward. Even if he hadn't grabbed my hand, I wouldn't have had to turn my head to he was standing next to me. The past weeks made his presence as familiar to me as my own, from the heat of his skin or the warm blanket of his energy or the intoxicating scent mixed of the mountains and him.

"I think I should probably tell you," he murmured, tugging my hand to make me face him. My eyebrow rose in question as a corner of his lips tilted upwards slightly. "I may be falling in love with you, Videl Satan."

My heart might have stopped at that moment. I wasn't sure that I actually heard him right. He just said… I gaped at him in surprise as he simply stared back patiently waiting for my reply. After a few attempts at forming words, I finally succeeded.

"Just like that?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper as I bit my lip. This was the first time I could ever recall feeling so nervous. When my father first dragged me into the spotlight with him, I huffed and crossed my arms as per expectations of the daughter of the world savior. At twelve years old, I was the daughter of the man who defeated Cell. I was tough. That was the role I had to play and I was good at it. With Gohan, though, it wasn't like that. The way those dark eyes looked at me and looked straight through me was unnerving.

"Just like that," he repeated, running his finger along my jaw. My throat felt parched. It was hard to believe that this guy standing so confidently in front of me was the same boy that stuttered through his excuses just weeks ago. "I've got nothing more to offer, Videl. No extravagant confession. No exaggerated romantic gesture. Just me and my crazy life."

I closed my hand over his, squeezing lightly as I stepped closer. When he didn't move, probably waiting for a more definitive answer, I pressed my cheek against his chest and slid my free hand around his waist in a loose hug. "Who's asking for more?"

Eh, just a little drabble I found lying around in one of the folders on an old USB drive. It is completely unrelated to Stay A While, but that should be obvious. It's definitely got a more serious tone to it and I'm not really sure that I like it. I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway. Haha.

- Skye