I snuck a time skip on you guys. Two days have passed since Bulma talked to Gohan.
Bulma thought about creating a cover story before contacting Erasa. How would Videl react if she found out that the Bulma Briefs was trying to contact her? Would she even be as forthcoming with her relationship as Gohan had? Although making up a fake reason for why she wanted to contact Videl was a good idea, Bulma couldn't think of a good lie.
Gohan is my friend, and I want to see him happy. Bulma nodded, forming a fist with her hand as she stared at the phone on the wall. He just needs closure, I'm sure of it. For years, Bulma had watched the eldest son of Goku grow into a handsome man. He enjoyed the simple pleasures of life like: Chichi's dinners, sparring once a year, hanging out with his brother, sitting in the park, napping on a grassy hill in the afternoons, testing the new machinery in Bulma's lab, and thwarting a bad guy or two in the cities.
On the outside, Gohan seemed like a happy guy, but Bulma knew better. Even the ruthless Vegeta became lonely sometimes. Saiyan's weren't immune to the need for companionship.
Bulma dialed Erasa's number and impatiently waited for her to pick up.
"Hello?" A happy female voice answered on the other line. In the background, Bulma could hear the voices of children playing, along with the soft melody of wind chimes blowing in the wind.
"Hi. My name is Bulma Briefs." Bulma paused, waiting for the shock that would surely come. And it did. On the other end, Erasa told the children in the background to be quiet, that she was talking to a celebrity." I was wondering if you'd like to get some coffee with me and chat."
"Sure, I'd love to!" Erasa squealed." Oh gosh, I'm such a big fan of yours! I've always wanted to meet the beautiful Bulma Briefs in person!" Erasa's happiness came to a halt." Wait, why would someone as smart as you want to talk to someone as dumb as me? Is this a prank?" Before Bulma could answer, Erasa added, with uncontrollable excitement." Did I win a prize drawing or something?"
Bulma pulled the phone away from her ear for a second to collect herself. Erasa's bubbly attitude reminded her a lot of her mom, and already she was becoming exhausted with the conversation. Maybe it was because of all the time she spent around Goku that she had little tolerance for 'dumb' people.
Why couldn't Gohan give me Videl's last name or phone number instead? Bulma groaned, putting the phone back to her ear." No you didn't win anything. I just wanted to treat you to lunch and coffee so I could ask you some questions about Videl."
If it wasn't for the wind chimes, Bulma would've thought Erasa had hung up on her.
Bulma spoke hastily." You see, my friend Gohan was madly in love with her, and I think he still is. I just want to find out what happened, why did she cheat on him? Do you know anything about that? Do you have any way of contacting her?"
"I'm sorry, but there's no way to contact her," Erasa said, her voice sounding strained, as if she were forcing herself to speak now." Videl passed away nine years ago."
. + . + . + . + .
A bell rang as Gohan exited the small grocery store, carrying a plastic bag full of vegetables at his side. He stepped out from beneath the blue awning and peeked up at the grey clouds. Something cold and light landed on his nose.
It was snowing.
Gohan reached his hand out, catching three light snowflakes that quickly melted into his palm. To him, it seemed like spring had started two weeks ago. He'd been so caught up with his projects that he barely noticed the passing of time. Even though he enjoyed the beauty of nature everyday, he was never really seeing the scenery. Once, Piccolo had asked how he was able meditate in a noisy park with his eyes open. In response, Gohan smiled and shrugged, saying." I just can, I guess."
For nine years, Gohan was constantly meditating. It kept his mind at peace.
His sense of time hit him like a kick to the head."VIDEL..." Gohan breathed, taking off in a sprint down the sidewalk. He just remembered it was Thursday, and VIDEl was fully charged.
. + . + . + . + .
Supported by her elbow and the tabletop, Bulma leaned her chin into the palm of her hand as she watched the snow fall outside. It wouldn't stick or settle into large white blankets like it did at Mt. Paozu. The snow always evaporated the moment it touched West City. For the people, it just meant the sun would be hidden for most of the season, and everything would appear grey and dull, like a picture with low saturation.
Erasa finished stirring the dozen sugar packets she'd added into her coffee, and tilted the rim of the cup to her lips." It snowed the day Videl died, too." Erasa whispered. After thirty minutes of sitting at the table, drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, Erasa had finally started the conversation.
"I'm sorry." Bulma said. She wanted to feel anger towards Gohan for not telling her that Videl was dead, but, maybe he didn't know.
Erasa smiled." No, don't be. It's been nine years. I guess I should be over it, but it's just hard." Erasa rubbed the diamond ring on her wedding finger." She was my best friend. We were supposed to do everything together like get married in the same year, and have our kids on the same day," Erasa laughed." We even promised to die at the same time when we were older." She shrugged, taking another sip of her coffee." We were stupid teenagers back then. We thought we had all the time in the world."
Bulma politely listened as Erasa told her stories about Videl. It surprised her when she found out that Hercule Satan was her father, and understood why Gohan wouldn't reveal her last name. It took every ounce of restraint for Bulma not to go off in a rant about that liar. Her anger subsided once Erasa mentioned that Videl admired Goku Son, and wanted to someday meet him.
"Videl recognized him at the tournament and followed him into the restaurant where I worked." Erasa said, giggling at the memory." She even pretended to be a waitress so she could get closer to him." Erasa winked." But I think she just wanted to talk to Gohan. It was love at first sight, they just had that instant connection, you know?"
Bulma thought about the first time she met Vegeta. There was no love at first sight, just pure terror on her part. It took a while for her to warm up to him, but it took even longer for him to warm up to her. But, maybe the instant attraction was there for them, too. After all, Vegeta could've killed her on Namek.
"Here, maybe reading this will help you understand what I mean," Erasa said, sliding a black book to Bulma." It's Videl's diary." Erasa stood up and grabbed her purse." Thank you for buying me lunch and coffee. I had fun." Erasa held out her hand, and Bulma took it. Instead of shaking her hand, Erasa lightly squeezed it." I've been so busy with my kids and husband that I almost forgot about my best friend."
"Don't you want this back?" Bulma asked, holding the book for Erasa to take. It was the last thing Videl had given her best friend, a very intimate piece of her.
Erasa shook her head with a smile." No. I think Videl wanted Gohan to have it."
Bulma had a lot of questions she wanted to ask Erasa, but it seemed that Erasa was anxious to get away from her and return home. With a small wave, Erasa disappeared out the front door.
Bulma stared at the leather bound diary in front of her.
She'd wanted Videl to tell her about her relationship with Gohan, and in a way, now she could.
With sweaty palms, Bulma opened the diary.
. + . + . + . + .
The front door to Gohan's apartment wasn't locked. Panic flared through him like a torch, and he tripped over his feet , falling face first into his living room and spilling the contents inside his grocery bag.
He didn't bother to close the front door or take off his shoes as he stumbled to the window.
His heart sank to the pit of his stomach.
VIDEL wasn't sitting against the window waiting for him. Her charger was laying on the floor, alone, and unplugged.
One torturous thought screamed repetitively inside his head:" I lost VIDEL!'
Gohan struggled to stay calm. He told himself to take shallow breaths,VIDEL will come back on her own. She'll come back to me. She'll come back...
It wasn't working. He couldn't stop taking deep breaths. Losing VIDEL a second time was hastily pushing him into the realm of insanity. Gohan brought his hands up to either side of his head and squeezed. He wanted to meditate, to go back into that part of his brain where he was constantly on auto pilot. He didn't want to feel the pain anymore, and he wished he'd never loved Videl.
When squeezing his head wasn't working, Gohan slapped the side of his face, over and over again. That helped bring back some of his senses. He tried to focus on VIDEL's ki, but what little ki she had that could be sensed was so low that it blended in with every other human's ki on the planet. Anything could've happened to her. Even if she could always find him, that didn't necessarily mean that she would. She could get caught up with exploring the world until her battery ran dead, then he'd never see her again.
Gohan leaned against the counter beside the fridge. He'd never realized how isolated and lonely his apartment truly was until that moment. Even if she had been sleeping, it was comforting having VIDEL in the apartment with him. He often sat beside her as he worked on formulas and sometimes talked to her, thinking that she could still hear him even though she couldn't react.
He cursed, using his arm to slide the dirty dishes he had used that morning off the counter. Dazed and grief-stricken, Gohan slid into a meditative state while observing the shattered pieces scattered on the floor, which reminded him of a puzzle. He knew how to handle a puzzle.
Goten came out of the bathroom, bringing Gohan out of his meditation as quickly as he slipped into it.
"What happened?" Goten asked, zipping up his jeans as he walked into the kitchen, stopping short of a large piece of broken glass. His mouth formed into a wide O as he glanced from the floor to Gohan." What set you off this time?" Goten asked in bewilderment.
"Where is she?" Gohan shouted, grabbing the nearest plate and throwing it by Goten's feet." Where is she! What did you do with her?" Had Goten let himself into the apartment and saw VIDEL charging? Did he think it would be better if his brother didn't have an android girlfriend? Could Goten have given VIDEL to someone because he didn't think Gohan needed her?
"Bro, calm down." Goten said, wrapping Gohan in a tight embrace. It was then that Gohan felt his ki rising and falling drastically. He was transforming in and out of his Super Saiyan state, and didn't realize it. Gohan liked to blindly destroy things when he went through one of his meltdowns, which could be dangerous to West City if he didn't get himself under control.
" Do you wish to spar?" A female voice asked.
Gohan's anger and worry vanished as VIDEL came out of his bedroom, his recently made bed in the background behind her.
" She was sitting in front of the TV when I came in," Goten said, hesitantly letting his brother go." It wasn't even on."
He doesn't know she's an android, Gohan thought with relief. " I'm sorry. . ." Gohan shook his head." I thought you made her leave."
"I've been trying," Goten admitted, adding." But she said you told her to watch TV and not leave the apartment." Gohan could tell by the tone in Goten's voice that he did not approve.
VIDEL stepped into the kitchen with them, glancing at the mess on the floor with curiosity. The broken pieces of dishware crunched beneath her boots as she stepped towards Gohan, stopping just in front of him. " This is not how you clean dishes, bro."
Gohan smiled.
"Hey, only I get to call him that." Goten pouted.
VIDEL turned her head towards Goten and nodded." Okay. I will never call him bro again."
"I was just joking," Goten mumbled, scratching the back of his head.
Gohan surprised himself by placing one hand behind VIDEL's head, and pulling her into his chest, while wrapping his other arm around her waist. He breathed in VIDEL'S scent, unable to recall how good it felt to hug someone.
"What are we doing?" VIDEL asked, trying to mimic the way Gohan was holding her, only she was too short to cradle his head and could only touch his shoulder.
"I'm hugging you."
"Why?"
"Because I haven't seen you in a while, and I missed you."
Goten coughed, narrating everything he did so Gohan wouldn't forget he was still in the room with them." I'm going to get the broom and dustpan now. I am sweeping up the mess. If you want me to leave so you can have hot kitchen sex, just let me know."
Gohan rolled his eyes. He wasn't impulsive. He could control his urges, unlike his brother.