Disclaimer—I DISCLAIM YOU! You are NOT MY CHARACTERS!
Characters: *groan* Does this mean we're out of the Will?
FF: YES! Now begone!
A/N—Thanks for the reviews! *stares in blank disbelief* What are you people ON?! Whatever it is, keep taking it, because it's definitely helping you get through my writing!
___________________
Videl pulled nervously at her dress. She wasn't used to wearing dresses, but when the situation called for it, she had been known to don one.
The Brief's house was even larger and more intimidating than the first time she had seen it. She wasn't really sure what to think as she approached the door. Part of her was convinced it was a mistake—the evidence that had seemed so stark and doubtless at first sight, had faded with the hazy fuzzed edges of a bad memory.
Nevertheless, Videl was determined to give Gohan the benefit of the doubt. She didn't do it because the wealthy Briefs had asked her to, she didn't do it because Gohan was Saiyaman, fellow crime fighter; she did it because Gohan was Gohan.
Once upon a long time ago, Videl had thought that she had glimpsed some incredible and elusive pain in Gohan's eyes. Apparently she had been correct. Now it was time to see if he trusted her as much as she trusted him. She had read the pain in his eyes, and in his scars, but was he ready to speak it?
___________________
Gohan sat unhappily in the back gardens of the Capsule Complex. It had been about a week since he had woken in a bed in Bulma's infirmary, bruised and disoriented, completely oblivious as to how he'd gotten there. Bulma had explained the whole wretched mess, and the pit had dropped out of Gohan's stomach when he had learned of what Vegeta had told Videl.
Gohan didn't know whether to feel angry, or relieved. On one hand, the older man had told far more than Gohan was comfortable with. He knew just how dedicated Videl was to justice and he was surprised the girl hadn't tried to arrest him on the spot. On the other hand, Gohan felt a strange but immeasurable sense of relief that he wasn't the one to tell her. Strange, he had never consciously considered revealing his secrets to Videl, and yet this dual feeling of anger and relief existed regardless.
Sighing, Gohan tugged at his constrictive bow-tie and rested his face in his hands. Videl would be here tonight. He hadn't returned to school since the incident with her on the rooftop. Since she had found out about him. What would she think? What would he say?
Yes, that was the question. What would HE say. Would he be able to look her in the eye? Every night since that last and most humiliating flashback, his dreams had been haunted by the images that it had conjured. WHY?! Why did his mind insist on replacing Zarbon's sneering face with Videl's? He just couldn't grasp the connection. He did know that he feared her. Feared not so much what she would do, but what she would say. Who would have ever guessed the dread that a pair of angry blue eyes, and a few simple words could hold?
_____________________
In the dappled twilight of a nearby tree, Goku stood quietly, watching his son. Gohan had grown so much since the last time he had seen him, but as he had stood watching, he had glimpsed the quiet vulnerability of the child he had become so close too, so many years before
Seeing his son's dismal and conflicted face, Goku could hold his silence no more. Stirring the bushes to make himself known, Goku made his way towards his child—now a young man, who sat silent in thought.
____________________
Videl edged uncomfortably through the crowd and towards the back door, which Bulma had indicated. She'd never seen so many odd people, and she was certain that at least a few of them looked suspiciously similar to the people who had accompanied the Golden Fighters at the Cell Games.
Pulling open the door, Videl breathed deeply as fresh outdoor air invaded her nostrils, chasing away the hectic scent of the crowded room. Videl stopped suddenly as she saw a man with a strange golden circlet above his head making his way toward Gohan.
A quick glance from the man convinced her to hold her peace. There was nothing malicious in the look, it wouldn't have affected Videl nearly as much, had there been malice. It was simply a stern but silent request for her to stay put. Uncharacteristically, she obeyed, remaining still as the scene played out before her.
______________________
Gohan's head jerked up as he heard a faint rustle of leaves and registered a ki signature that had not been present before. Whipping his head around, Gohan blinked his eyes, to focus on—his father.
He looked the same as the last time he had seen him in heaven. Weighted training clothes in his classic orange and blue sat comfortably on his shoulders. A glowing golden halo rested above a gentle face topped off with a grin.
It couldn't be…it wasn't possible. Struck with this gelid realization, Gohan's face sank despondently into his hands as he waited for it to come. Waited for his father's gently smiling face to morph into Frieza or one of his cronies—perhaps Zarbon. Zarbon haunted his dreams often, of late. Gohan waited for the torment—the torment that never seemed to end, to take up where it had left off.
A warm, callused hand jerked Gohan from his horror-filled anticipation. Looking up, he saw his father's face, unchanged, lit by a slight golden light from his halo. "What? No hello for your father, Gohan?"
Gohan stifled a sob at the sound of Goku's voice. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. As soon as he believed, this would prove itself to be a dream, mocking voices cawing at him from all sides, laughing at his gullibility. His father was dead. He was never coming back—he was DEAD!
Gohan choked and yanked back from Goku's grip, desperate tears slipping down his cheeks, "No! Just leave me alone! You're not real! I…I…" Gohan fell to his knees biting down hard on his lip. He felt a thin trickle of blood running down his chin where a sharp canine penetrated his tender flesh. It was so real; the pain, the tears, even the salty taste of the blood on his tongue. Slowly, it became more plausible; Gohan began to believe.
Looking up out of hurt but hopeful eyes, he looked pleadingly at the vision before him, "D-dad? Is it really…you?"
Goku's eyes shone brightly as he cautiously approached his son and knelt down before him. Stretching out a hand, he cupped Gohan's chin gently, tilting it upwards until his son's eyes met his own. "Yeah. It's me. Who else do you know with a halo?"
With a weak laugh, Gohan threw himself into his father's arms. Goku was startled for a moment, but reacted quickly, enfolding his son in a comforting embrace.
In a voice he hadn't used in years, Goku crooned to the shaking boy in his arms, singing his son to silence as Gohan sobbed out three years worth of pain and nightmares on his father's shoulder. You didn't always have to be strong. Goku had taught him that. Not when you had someone to lean on.
____________________
Videl bit her lip, touched by the emotional scene she was witnessing, but unsure of what to do. She watched in silence as the older man rocked Gohan back and forth, humming an odd but consolling lullaby.
Just as she was about to turn and go inside, uncomfortable with eavesdropping on such a tender and emotional moment, Gohan pulled away, and said something she didn't quite catch. The older man smiled and nodded, gesturing in her direction as he replied.
Videl saw Gohan's head whip around, and a look of pallid horror came across the teen's face. Pulling herself nervously erect, Videl took that as her cue, and started towards them.
_____________________
Gohan pulled back sheepishly from Goku's chest. He was a bit embarrassed that he'd lost control like that, but…just seeing his father again. It was like a hopeless dream he'd never thought would be fulfilled. Not until he died, at least.
He didn't know how it was that Goku was here again, but one thing was for certain, he wasn't going to waste a moment of however long they had together, "Dad, I…thank you. You don't know how much it means to me your just being here." The puffy-eyed Gohan brightened, and he grinned as an idea occurred to him.
Recalling the greeting he had received from an exuberant younger brother three years ago, Gohan felt a sudden spark of mischief; Goten was likely to greet his father with at least as much enthusiasm. "Dad, I really think you should go see mom. She…misses you. You don't know how much." Gohan was telling the truth, of course—Chi-Chi DID miss her husband terribly—he was just leaving out one tiny tidbit.
Seeing the unaccustomed sparkle in Gohan's eye, Goku quirked a brow and nodded thoughtfully. "Alright then. I'll go and speak to your mother, and you can talk to that young lady standing over there in the shadows."
Gohan jerked his head around to see Videl, a silent silhouette in the dark doorway, vague unease written across her features.
As Goku started toward the house, Gohan watched helplessly as Videl approached, hesitancy written in her every step. It was time for answers.
"Hello, Gohan." Videl's voice fluted, tentative in the dark night of the courtyard. It wasn't at all like her normal speaking voice. The caution he heard gave Gohan courage. She didn't hate him. Maybe there was hope.
"Hello, Videl. Uh, would you like to sit down?"
Videl nodded and sat, a bit awkwardly on the ground beside Gohan, ignoring the dirt. "Uh, Gohan…."
Gohan's heart beat wildly in his chest. What was she going to say? Did she know the kind of power she had over him? He hoped not. "Yes Videl?"
"Umm…" Videl tried, but the words stuck like glue to her tongue, "….nothing." She couldn't do it. How do you casually invade someone's past like that—rip loose the protective layers that had so obviously been erected and sift through the sordid and painful memories? She couldn't. Gohan would tell her when he was ready, and until he was, she would be what she had always been, perhaps with a little less suspicion, and a little more compassion. She would be his friend.
Gohan didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. She knew—knew more about the squalid and mortifying details of his youth than he would ever have revealed on his own. He had expected…something. Some digging questions, some pointed glares…but perhaps…just maybe this was her way of letting him alone.
He was so used to Videl hounding him, seeking his secret identity as Saiyaman, that it was distinctly odd NOT to be pursued—glared at with suspicion. It was sort of the foundation of his and Videl's relationship.
Gohan nodded in acceptance of the gesture, and climbed to his feet. "How about we go back inside?"
At Videl's nod, the pair returned, with varying degrees of discomfort, to the party.
Videl was still silent, a bit shaken by the powerful emotional scene she had witnessed between Gohan and the man who could only be his father. She couldn't help but feel a niggling stir of jealousy as well. It had been years since Videl had had anyone to lean on.
Gohan nodded absently in agreement, as if the thought were his own. In a short amount of time, he had gone from no one, to a tri-pod. Vegeta, Videl, his father. Each in their own way, they held him up. Entering the house, Gohan smiled. Suddenly, the future looked a bit brighter.
***::continues hypnotism of readers:: You are getting sleepy…you will send Frozenflower lots of nice happy chocolate bars so she can offer them back to you as a bribe for reviewing next time….sleepy….(hypnotist thinks for a moment) OH! (eerie voice resumes) Yes…you will also review…sleepy…***
Advertizing- Hey, I know I advertised this one before in Bring Your Father to School Day, but I just got word that she's advertising for ME this chapter, so I thought I'd remind you all of what a great story Wish For the Past by Burenda is! Chibi Goten and Chibi Trunks go back in time to meet Goten's grandfather Bardock! Along the way, you get action adventure, comedy, kawaiiness (talk about mangling a Japanese word), and just a bit of perving on Bardock (ok a lot -_-;) It's a good fic, worthy of a read, and as of now over 100,000 words, and still going strong. She's got more reviews than I do, and certainly doesn't NEED the advertising, but she's going to get it! If you're up for some fun, read Wish For the Past by Burenda!