A/N: Hey guys, this has been in my head since I watched the entire Buu saga the other day. I'm a very firm supporter of Gohan/Videl and Goku/Chichi, but hey, why not throw in something interesting? :) So please don't flame me for this. It's just a little something I thought up and scribbled out the other night. I really love writing it because it gives Videl some more depth than before. If this offends you, please don't read anymore. It just gets more involved. Some of this might be AU; I like to think I know DBZ enough to keep the characters canon, but if not, sorry. Lol.

Parings: Goku/Videl, ultimately. Otherwise they're all canon.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything affiliated with it. So don't sue me.

Rating: M for future content. Not much swearing because it isn't in any of their natures to swear! Except maybe Vegeta.

-MalRev

Neglected

1: The Beginning

The sun shone through my bedroom window, easily filtering through the flimsy curtain I had put up in a vain attempt to protect my eyes in the early morning. The pleasant warmth on my legs slowly woke me up until I reached full consciousness, blinking away the sleepiness. When I sat up and stretched my arms toward the ceiling, I turned to smile at my husband.

Gohan's side of the bed was empty, but I could hear him moving around downstairs, clinking pots and pans while he prepared himself breakfast before work. It was surprising that he was doing it instead of waiting for me to wake up and cook for both him and our fourteen year old daughter, Pan. As usual, he'd eat, give me a quick peck on the cheek, and I wouldn't see him until much later on.

I reluctantly slipped out of bed and headed toward the bathroom to prepare myself for the day. Pan would be waking up for school soon and I liked seeing her off before she also vanished for the day. My family was growing up, which disappointed me a little more than I liked to admit. Gohan was always working to make sure Pan and I could live comfortably, but it got lonely sometimes.

Taking a morning shower always helped brighten up the day. The lukewarm water washed away my exhaustion and helped inspire me to get more things accomplished. Maybe Gohan would come early from work and we could spar in the fields like we used to when we were kids. I massaged some shampoo into my scalp and closed my eyes, relishing in those memories. Now he was always at the office, leaving almost no time for him to dedicate to Pan and I.

After I was clean and feeling much better, I stepped from the shower and started rubbing myself down with a towel. My eyes caught my reflection in the foggy mirror: Videl Satan, the once proud fighter, had been reduced to a bored housewife. But it wasn't like I regretted my life with Gohan and our daughter we had together. I loved them both dearly. It was just… hard being alone all the time.

When I walked downstairs to the kitchen, my husband was stacking his dirty dishes in the sink. He was wearing a black suit and his thick-rimmed glasses as usual, giving him a scholarly appearance. His hair was carefully spiked up and the faint aroma of cologne filled the small kitchen. I smiled at Gohan and took his face in both of my hands to kiss him on the lips.

"Good morning," I said.

"Hello, Videl." Gohan kissed me chastely and gently extricated himself from my arms. "I'll be heading to work now. Make sure you aren't up too late, ok?"

What was I, a child?

The stairs creaked, announcing the arrival of our only child. Pan swept into the kitchen with her cell phone pressed against her ear. She was already having a conversation with Bulla and it was only nine in the morning! She gave us a small wave and helped herself to some cereal, waving before walking out the front door with the entire box in her arms.

Gohan kissed me once more on the cheek and left right behind her with his coat swung over his shoulder. When the door shut, I was alone once again with a house I had already cleaned ten times over the day before. I turned to the sink and started washing the dishes when I heard a knock on the door.

"Hey Videl, d'you think I could stay here for a little while?"

The sound of the plea made me groan. Goku had been coming to our house for a while now since he and Chichi now fought on a daily basis. I dried off my hands and rushed over to open up the door, where my father –in-law was standing, holding a bag full of clothes under his arm. He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, apologizing up and down as he walked inside.

"It's no problem," I assured him. "We all have our hard times, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Hey, do you have anything to eat? I'm starving!"

I rolled my eyes and led him into the kitchen, offering him some cereal before I could make him a meal fit to feed a Saiyan. Gohan had a huge appetite, but it paled in comparison to Goku's. Maybe he'd settle for what I normally made instead of eating us out of house and home.

Goku took a seat and poured the entire bowl of cereal down his throat before I could blink. "I make her mad an awful lot. Does Gohan annoy you?"

"Not really. He's too busy working to bother me very much." I opened the fridge to take out two dozen eggs and showed the boxes to Goku. "I know you're used to eating more than this, but I've gotta save some for your son when he comes home."

"That's fine with me!"

The flames on the oven burst into flame and I quickly cracked open all the eggs to cook them as soon as possible. Saiyans grew impatient when they weren't fed and I knew none of them could focus on fighting if their stomach was grumbling. Goku would probably head out to spar with Vegeta after he was full and come back in a few hours looking for more.

It took a few minutes for the eggs to finish. I piled them up on two plates and placed them in front of Goku, along with some ketchup and two glasses of water. He thanked me profusely and gave me another one of his giddy smiles. He was like a kid in a candy shop.

I sat across from with a glass of apple juice and we sat in silence, save for the sound of Goku chewing. It was nice to have some company at the house; I never minded having my father-in-law over. Gohan was always busy, so he never had time to just sit and talk with me. I cupped the glass in my hands and took a small drink, musing over what my husband was doing.

Goku was done eating within a few minutes. He pushed back from the table and sighed, patting his stomach contently. "Wow, that was good, Videl! I can help clean up if you want me to."

"It's alright, I don't have much else to do." I collected the dirty dishes and added them to the warm water in the sink. "So what's wrong with Chichi?"

"Oh, nothing really. I came home and my shoes were dirty and she had just cleaned the floor. It was kind of my fault when you think about it. So I just left before she threw me out."

It was hard not to scowl. "That's ridiculous. You shouldn't let her push you around like that. If Gohan does that, I just tell him to be careful next time. It's not like we housewives have much else to do all day. I've cleaned every nook and cranny of this place."

Goku grinned and was about to reply when the door opened again. My husband walked inside with a confused look on his face and shut it behind himself. Why was he home already? He'd left fifteen minutes ago. Gohan threw his jacket on the couch and shrugged in response to my stare.

"Forgot I had today off," he said, pulling out a chair next to Goku.

"That's great! Maybe you and Videl can spar with Vegeta and I?"

His son waved him off and laughed. "No, I don't have time. I'll probably catch up on some extra work. The life of a businessman doesn't leave time for silly games. But you can go, Videl. It'd be nice for you to get out and have fun. I'm just too busy today."

My shoulders visibly slumped, rousing Goku's attention. He glanced between Gohan and I before rising to his feet and gesturing for me to follow him. "Well if Gohan's gonna be inside all day, I think he can do the dishes for you. Come on, let's go have fun! I promise Vegeta will go easy on you."

Gohan grimaced at the sink full of dishes as I eagerly followed Goku out the door. He only smirked when I thanked him profusely for saving me from an afternoon of cleaning.

"I'm kind of rusty, so stay true to your promise about making sure Vegeta doesn't beat me up," I said.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Grab on to me; it'll be much faster if I use instant transmission."

I hastily gripped his forearm and closed my eyes as Goku placed two fingertips to his forehead. For some reason, I felt like he had broken me from chains. Before we disappeared into the transmission tunnel, I snuck a peek at him. He had a huge smile plastered on his face as if he was up to something. And I couldn't help but grin hugely at the prospect of finally having fun.