"You need to be nicer to girls," Goten said in a low voice, after Gohan commanded VIDEL to sit on the couch while he helped clean up the mess. Goten's tone had unintentionally thrown Gohan ten years into the past. A time when Goten worshipped everything his big brother did. Goten had a squeaky voice back then. Honest and unafraid to point out the bad things Gohan,or Trunks, were doing.
. + . + . + . + .
"You're not supposed to sneak out of the house, Gohan," said a grumpy, seven year old Goten, whom was only pretending to be asleep. He sat up, pushed away his teddy bear blankets, and jumped out of bed.
"Shhh!" Gohan let go of the window he had opened halfway to press his finger against his lips. Every night he waited for his little brother to fall asleep so he could sneak out of the house. It was only a matter of time before Goten caught on.
Goten pulled himself up on the window sill and peeked out the window. There was nothing to look at, except the dark, scary silhouettes of the trees.
"Where are you going?"
"Nowhere." Gohan hissed, pulling Goten away from the window sill.
"I want to come too!"
"I'm not going anywhere, Goten."
Goten blinked at his big brother." Then why did you change out of your pajamas?" It's true, Gohan had put on a shirt and changed into a pair of beige pants. It was obvious he was going somewhere, and Goten wanted to tag along.
Gohan crouched down to his brother's eye level. "You can't come with me, buddy. I'm going to see a girl."
Goten's eyes lit up." You have a girlfriend? That's so cool! Trunks has a girlfriend named Mai, and she's really pretty. But i bet your girlfriend is even prettier! Is she pretty?"
Gohan nodded.
"I want to see her!" Goten shouted, the rest of his words were muffled out by Gohan's hand. To keep Goten from crying, and to keep him from blabbing to their mom about him sneaking out, Gohan took Goten to meet Videl.
They flew up to Videl's window on Nimbus. Gohan tapped twice on the glass. Videl pulled away her curtains, smiled, and waved at the two boys, disappearing from the window to get something out of her closet.
"Why does she need a jacket? It isn't cold," Goten said.
"Videl is sick," Gohan explained." She needs to wear layers of clothing to keep warm. If she isn't warm, she could get pneumonia and die. She also has trouble breathing so we'll have to fly slowly." Although Gohan was happy Videl was well enough to be released from the hospital, he worried about her constantly. He didn't want to take Videl out on Nimbus, but she loved flying so much that he couldn't say no to her.
Videl unlatched the window, shivering a little as a light breeze greeted her, pushing her long black hair behind her. She smiled at the Son boys, convincing Gohan that she was okay, that these small flying trips on Nimbus weren't killing her.
Goten, whom was sitting comfortably in Gohan's lap, looked up at his brother with wide eyes and quite loudly whispered," She's beautiful."
. + . + . + . + .
Gohan smiled at the memory.
He felt mournful that his little brother was disappointed in him, but he couldn't tell Goten that VIDEL wasn't a real woman. Until she learned how to act human on her own, Gohan needed to order her around. That's just how it was.
"I'm serious." Goten continued, sweeping at an angrier pace." Women are fragile. Just because we're stronger doesn't mean we should bully them."
Gohan's mouth tensed. He wanted to reassure his little brother that he wasn't a man who liked to bully women, but maybe Goten had a point. Yes, VIDEL needed guidance on how to act human, but it probably wouldn't hurt to add a "please" or a "thank you" to his commands.
"You're right. I'll start being nicer from now on," Gohan said, emptying the contents of the dustpan into a trash bag.
"Good, because Mom want's to meet your girlfriend." Goten smirked, handing the broom to Gohan.
. . .
Starfire Grace: Yay! I'm so glad that chapter made you feel all of those things. lol. Goten will be ruining many moments. It's like the unwritten rule all younger siblings have to follow. :D
dee dee: Somehow, I completely forgot Bulma was rich. I think I didn't want to take the time to create an investigator and just decided to have Bulma as the woman to reveal all secrets, which will come in handy at the end of the story.
dcp1992: Thanks. I'm glad I surprised you, I thought I made it too obvious that Videl was dead. You're right, only time will tell.
So how was the chapter?
I have a few other stories i'd like to work on but I can't seem to pry myself away from this one. I'm like obsessed with it. I think the creepy ending I have in mind is the driving force behind my obsession. But,if you think about it, the whole concept of creating an android to replace your dead lover is already creepy.
