Sparring Partners
Part one: Hit me baby one more time (Hey you, don't pretend you don't know where I got the quote)
The primordial forest, a place of natural wonder. It is a place of peace and contentment, where only the songs of birds and the buzzing of insects interrupt the stillness.
Mostly.
THWAK! THUMP! "DAMN IT GOHAN, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?"
One clearing had obviously felt the touch of human intervention, as attested to by the craters, toppled trees and split rocks. In fact, one chunk, err pile, of granite could honestly attest to an act of god in a court of law. Currently though, the landscape was not being assaulted, or even touched by human hand. This was because both figures were floating above treetop level. One, a young man with short spiky hair and obsidian eyes, scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Um, I thought we were sparring Videl, just like you wanted. I mean, with less than a month until the World Martial Arts Tournament, you want as much practice as you can, right?"
The other glared, taking in his unruffled clothing and absence of sweat stains on either his green Saiyaman top or the dark bodysuit. 'He's not even breathing hard', she thought to herself. Her own condition was a far cry from Gohan's. Her dark blue FIGHT shirt was darkened further by her own sweat. Her recently shorn hair clung in messy tendrils across her face, one of which she absently moved away from her eye before returning her hands to her burning ribs.
"Maybe you should rest Videl, you've only been flying for three days" suggested Gohan with a mix of nervousness and concern.
Videl met his obsidian eyes with her blue ones, silently conveying her anger at this opponent she could not beat and puzzlement about how calmly he stood, well floated, after she had exhausted herself. "I am not going to rest until I beat you and how do we spar if you do nothing but BLOCK?" she spat before closing her eyes to concentrate on her labored breathing.
Gohan had raised his hands defensively and drifted back. 'Why am I so afraid of her?' 'I could vaporize her easily'. 'Not even Freeza made me feel quite like this, and he was stronger than me then'. His mind ran, once again, over the puzzle before him.
Before he could voice his puzzlement or try to placate the irate woman before him, the source of his inner conflict drew a deep breath and resumed a fighter's stance. Her Ki, he noted, was already recovering and had passed yesterdays maximum. He mirrored her stance, still not bothering to power up. 'Man, I need to get some real training if I want a chance against Vegeta'.
As she had many times since the early morning, Videl charged uttering a loud kiai. High punches, low punches, front kicks, roundhouse kicks, two- handed blows, and more rained down on Gohan. Each impact echoed through the trees, driving any remaining creatures of the forest away. Each blow was delivered with deadly force. Each blow was delivered with masterful accuracy. Each blow was . . . blocked.
Through the growing haze of her exhaustion and the endorphins made to counter that same exhaustion, Videl tenaciously clung to one thought. 'Daddy didn't give up against Cell, didn't give up, didn't . . .'
Much to Gohan's relief, Videl broke off her attack and backed away. His relief was short lived as she charged back swinging wildly. Her brain barely noticed as he caught her right arm rather than blocking it. After briefly struggling to free her arm she repeated her attack using the left arm. Had she been thinking clearly she would have noticed the surprised look on Gohan's face as he caught that one too. 'She must be really out of it to try such amateur moves'. His surprise grew as she rocked back and slammed her head forward at his own skull.
Such was his surprise that he didn't dodge, only jerking back slightly. It was enough. Instead of hurting her head against Gohan's skull, Videl struck his soft lips. With her own. Conscious thought had fled Videl with the last attack. In its place Videl's endorphin soaked brain allowed her only simple responses to stimuli. She felt someone's lips on her own and reacted.
For his part, Gohan stood, well floated, frozen in shock. The normal confused mess of thoughts that filled his head was swept away by a single confused thought. 'I am being kissed by Videl'. Even that was swept away as he felt her tongue slide between his lips. Unconsciously he released her wrists, sliding his hands down her arms and under her shoulders to bring her closer. She responded by wrapping her arms over his shoulders as the kiss deepened to mutual.
For a long moment they hung there, far above the ground. The sun blazed down illuminating the two brightly. Neither Gohan nor Videl cared. They weren't even aware of anything except each other. And the kiss they shared.
Part one: Hit me baby one more time (Hey you, don't pretend you don't know where I got the quote)
The primordial forest, a place of natural wonder. It is a place of peace and contentment, where only the songs of birds and the buzzing of insects interrupt the stillness.
Mostly.
THWAK! THUMP! "DAMN IT GOHAN, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?"
One clearing had obviously felt the touch of human intervention, as attested to by the craters, toppled trees and split rocks. In fact, one chunk, err pile, of granite could honestly attest to an act of god in a court of law. Currently though, the landscape was not being assaulted, or even touched by human hand. This was because both figures were floating above treetop level. One, a young man with short spiky hair and obsidian eyes, scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Um, I thought we were sparring Videl, just like you wanted. I mean, with less than a month until the World Martial Arts Tournament, you want as much practice as you can, right?"
The other glared, taking in his unruffled clothing and absence of sweat stains on either his green Saiyaman top or the dark bodysuit. 'He's not even breathing hard', she thought to herself. Her own condition was a far cry from Gohan's. Her dark blue FIGHT shirt was darkened further by her own sweat. Her recently shorn hair clung in messy tendrils across her face, one of which she absently moved away from her eye before returning her hands to her burning ribs.
"Maybe you should rest Videl, you've only been flying for three days" suggested Gohan with a mix of nervousness and concern.
Videl met his obsidian eyes with her blue ones, silently conveying her anger at this opponent she could not beat and puzzlement about how calmly he stood, well floated, after she had exhausted herself. "I am not going to rest until I beat you and how do we spar if you do nothing but BLOCK?" she spat before closing her eyes to concentrate on her labored breathing.
Gohan had raised his hands defensively and drifted back. 'Why am I so afraid of her?' 'I could vaporize her easily'. 'Not even Freeza made me feel quite like this, and he was stronger than me then'. His mind ran, once again, over the puzzle before him.
Before he could voice his puzzlement or try to placate the irate woman before him, the source of his inner conflict drew a deep breath and resumed a fighter's stance. Her Ki, he noted, was already recovering and had passed yesterdays maximum. He mirrored her stance, still not bothering to power up. 'Man, I need to get some real training if I want a chance against Vegeta'.
As she had many times since the early morning, Videl charged uttering a loud kiai. High punches, low punches, front kicks, roundhouse kicks, two- handed blows, and more rained down on Gohan. Each impact echoed through the trees, driving any remaining creatures of the forest away. Each blow was delivered with deadly force. Each blow was delivered with masterful accuracy. Each blow was . . . blocked.
Through the growing haze of her exhaustion and the endorphins made to counter that same exhaustion, Videl tenaciously clung to one thought. 'Daddy didn't give up against Cell, didn't give up, didn't . . .'
Much to Gohan's relief, Videl broke off her attack and backed away. His relief was short lived as she charged back swinging wildly. Her brain barely noticed as he caught her right arm rather than blocking it. After briefly struggling to free her arm she repeated her attack using the left arm. Had she been thinking clearly she would have noticed the surprised look on Gohan's face as he caught that one too. 'She must be really out of it to try such amateur moves'. His surprise grew as she rocked back and slammed her head forward at his own skull.
Such was his surprise that he didn't dodge, only jerking back slightly. It was enough. Instead of hurting her head against Gohan's skull, Videl struck his soft lips. With her own. Conscious thought had fled Videl with the last attack. In its place Videl's endorphin soaked brain allowed her only simple responses to stimuli. She felt someone's lips on her own and reacted.
For his part, Gohan stood, well floated, frozen in shock. The normal confused mess of thoughts that filled his head was swept away by a single confused thought. 'I am being kissed by Videl'. Even that was swept away as he felt her tongue slide between his lips. Unconsciously he released her wrists, sliding his hands down her arms and under her shoulders to bring her closer. She responded by wrapping her arms over his shoulders as the kiss deepened to mutual.
For a long moment they hung there, far above the ground. The sun blazed down illuminating the two brightly. Neither Gohan nor Videl cared. They weren't even aware of anything except each other. And the kiss they shared.