A Semblance of Normalcy

"The trouble with normal is it always gets worse."

-Bruce Cockburn

It seemed that the clock itself had to painfully force itself to tick yet another sixtieth of a minute away. Also adding to the aura of languor so pervasive in the classroom, in addition to the drab subject matter, was the dull monotone voice of the teacher himself. Did these guys ever hear themselves speak? How would those higher "authorities" expect enthusiastic students ever to learn anything if the teacher's voice almost always lulls them to sleep? That's like selling one's car for gas money!

"If I take anymore of this, I'm gonna go into relapse for a week," an extremely bored Videl whispered. It was more of a desperate plea for help, rather than a sure-fire objective to be met.

Gohan subdued his chuckles, mostly fearful of teacher admonishments. Too many hectic things had happened during the course of the past couple of weeks. After enduring life at such a harried pace, he was quite comfortable with the succeeding course of events, however dull and tedious school had become.

"Look on the bright side. He hasn't decided to tell us another one of his "wondrous adventures in cooking' stories again. Really, how amazing can making a plate of stir-fry be?"

It was Videl's turn to suppress her giggles, "Pretty darn amazing if you consider all that can go wrong."

Gohan raised an eyebrow, and threw a sidelong glance at his girlfriend. "Speaking from experience, I perceive."

"What's with the Holmes act?"

"I beg your pardon, but which Holmes act are you referring to?" He had even sported a sophisticated English accent now.

"That Holmes act."

"That one?"

"Holmes was a morphine addict."

"Heh, considering our little trip back from the hospital, so were you."

She was going to arc her hand around the back of his head, but noticing the steely glare the instructor was training at them she decided to take a rain check. Besides, there were plenty of other opportunities to abuse poor ol' gullible Gohan's head.

"Ms. Videl, are we enjoying a pleasant conversation up there?"

Videl blushed noticeably as she fidgeted restlessly with her fingers. "Uh…not really Sir."

"Well, then you can tell me what genetic and biological changes will occur to the human body after being in cryogenic freeze for an extended period of time, theoretically of course."

She never knew that they taught cryogenic freezing techniques in High School biology. In fact, she was utterly positive. The question posed had no relevance to the current material they had been learning, and probably wouldn't have any importance to her for the rest of the year. The teacher was giving her the run around.

"Um…He'd have to take a really long piss?" She had a sheepish smile plastered on her face, as she restrained the urge to laugh out loud at the seething Bio teacher.

Most of the class erupted in low snickers, trying in vain to cover them up with their hands. Even Gohan felt the overwhelming urge to chuckle despite his formal training in self-discipline.

"Miss Videl, I'd appreciate it if you will pay more attention to what is being said. Either that, or you can chat all you want with the principal, who I am sure would gladly oblige, understood?"

She nodded slowly, choking out a small 'Yes sir' through clenched teeth. Satisfied with his disciplinary action, the aging, balding man with thick glasses continued on with his incredibly uninteresting lecture.

***************************

"I am going to shove that cue ball of a head up his uptight ass!" An irate Videl seethed after Biology, not at all over the embarrassing scenario earlier.

"Well, at least she called the shot," Sharpener quipped, utilizing his knowledge of pool to its minimal extent.

"Videl, calm down!" Gohan frantically tried to soothe his pissed girlfriend, even resorting to hold both her hands so she wouldn't give the lockers a new makeover. How about a fist as the new school logo, imprinted on the metal casing of said lockers?

"You just wait Son Gohan. When I see him outside in the parking lot," she smirked quite sadistically, "I'm gonna show him just how pleasant it is to chat with my fist."

Gohan swallowed hard, comprehending the full implications of that statement. After knowing her moods practically like the back of his hand, he decided that dropping the subject would have the most success at a time like this.

"Well, we're gonnna be late for next period."

Videl though, was unresponsive. Glancing up, he noticed that she had a far away look in her eyes.

She's probably thinking of all the ways she can paralyze Mr. Virkus. He was immensely grateful that he wasn't on the receiving end of her spite.

Grabbing the books for both of them, he shut both lockers and dragged a zoned out Videl behind him towards Calculus. He didn't notice the queer looks exchanged between both Sharpener and Erasa, undoubtedly trying to decipher this new level of 'interaction' they had witnessed between them. It was strange indeed that Videl had talked excessively to Gohan all period, insisted that both she and Erasa switch seats, and currently allowed Gohan to hold her hand. Last person who tried the latter was in a full body cast for a month. Both blondes' eyes reached a mutual agreement: Dig up the dirt on them both.

Calculus, as always, was not as monotonous as their other classes. In fact, they rather enjoyed the first few minutes of it because their teacher was quite the funny fellow.

"Sharpener, pay attention. I'm beginning to think that hair color does affect one's intelligence."

Sharpener, whose ego wouldn't let him swallow the remark, retorted with his rather limited intelligence. "Yeah, well I'm beginning to think that teachers are wrong."

Most of the class had instantly sweat-dropped, casting wary glances at the blonde who obviously thought himself a riot, as his satisfied smirk betrayed. The Calculus teacher, Mr. Westhead, raised one eyebrow with a bemused expression. "Do us all a favor Sharpener and jump out the window. The average class IQ would increase tenfold."

Some of the more reserved students couldn't help but grin, and the other more vociferous ones cat-called with loud 'burned!', 'dissed' and 'go home!' remarks. Sharpener turned beet red as the blood rushed up his face and reflected off his previously pale cheeks. The blonde hair atop a red face made the scene far more comical than it really was, and half the class couldn't stop laughing, especially one Videl Satan.

"Oh ye—," Sharpener made for a desperate attempt to retort, trying to salvage whatever shreds of dignity he had left in front of his peers. Before he could formulate a clever riposte though, the teacher interrupted him again, much to his chagrin.

"*Click* Audio Off. Visual is bad enough." He gestured as if he was clicking a light switch or something similar, accentuating the unflattering insinuation. Again the class erupted in loud jeers and comments, the teacher driving them into an enthusiastic mix of awe and delight. Videl was having a blast, temporarily forgetting her little discrepancy earlier on in Biology. Even Gohan couldn't wipe the smile of his face. "Alright, enough. We have logarithmic functions to attend to. We can postpone this banter to another day." With that he proceeded to scrawl some graphs on the chalkboard as the class gradually settled down. Sharpener grumbled something incoherent as he crossed his arms and began to pout, still redder than a tomato on steroids.

Videl was visibly trying to gasp for air, as she clutched her stomach in a vain attempt to stop her diaphragm from shaking violently. You didn't need to know her well to deduce that she really enjoyed witnessing a good Sharpener bashing. That and her boyfriend Gohan were fast becoming her favorite pastimes. Subduing her cachinnations, she consigned herself to actually pay attention to the lesson being taught, calculus not being one of her stronger subjects.

******************************

"How come I always get picked on?!" Sharpener protested indignantly.

"Face it Sharpener, you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed. Pun intended."

He pouted some more, causing both Gohan and Videl to snicker at his sullen disposition. For Gohan, it felt quite good not to be on the receiving end of Videl's sarcasm.

"Hey, I'm am not an airhead"

"Of course you're not. You happen to be very intelligent," Erasa consoled the incensed blonde, causing his spirit to perk a bit.

"Of course not Sharps. You're just about as intelligent as that guy who got locked in a furniture store and slept on the floor."

All his hopes had been cruelly dashed by two sentences. It didn't do any good for his morale that the person who dashed them had been the very girl he had been doting on for the past couple of years. Talk about blatant rejection, even though he hadn't attempted to make a pass on her for quite some time. Maybe he had finally read between the lines? Maybe he had gotten the hint? Maybe Hercule admitted his mendacity to the world?

Grumbling again in a dejected manner, Sharpener took his bruised ego and lunch towards the cafeteria, Erasa in tow.

*****************

"Finally, we eat!" A famished half Saiya-jin exclaimed in relief. He had been eyeing the clock warily the entire day, anxiously awaiting the best part of school. Where one associates food as the highlight of an institute of learning is a concept best left alone, at least for the normal people that is. Videl rolled her eyes and sneaked a quick kiss on his cheek, after making sure that no prying eyes were around the vicinity.

"I bet that food was revolving around your head the whole time, wasn't it?"

"Yup. I was trying my hardest to visualize."

"Next time when you 'visualize' Gohan, try not to drool."

He grinned and snaked his arm around her slim waist, leaning towards her conspiratorially and whispering, "I wasn't visualizing food then, I was visualizing you." Her face lit up like the Fourth of July fireworks display as she swung for his head, which would make even Barry Bonds envious. Luckily for him, he had anticipated such a reaction and ducked out of harms way before any damage could be done.

"You're lucky."

"That I have you."

She smiled despite her feigned irritation, and sat down against the terrace wall like their morning routine. They had decided to ditch the 'blondes' in the courtyard today for some privacy. Now they could fool around without constantly being wary of any gossiping shmucks.

Stomach complaining avidly, Gohan eagerly de-capsulated the contents of the tiny white pill he held as he drooled noticeably at the large amounts of food that had appeared inside the cloud of smoke. Without further hesitation, he plopped down beside Videl and wasted no time in 'digging in'. As the bottomless pit steamrolled through the various victuals—which had sent the Saiya-jin in a crazed frenzy—Videl investigated her sandwich that was neatly covered with some Saran wrap. A haphazard piece of lettuce was drooping out from the sides, a dull green that seemed to be robbed of life, and bits and pieces of pale meat slices, bologna she figured, also made their presence known. In contrast to the delectable cuisine her boyfriend was blissfully ravaging, she felt a yard shy of being a peasant stuck in a wealthy banquet. Consequence, it seemed, isn't without a sense of irony.

"That's it." With a disgusted snarl, she flung the offending sandwich clear over the terrace precipice and watched as it sailed into distance, ducking out of sight after a few seconds. All things considered, she hadn't consigned herself to starvation with that improvident display of personal preference. Instead, she had just upgraded to first class from economy without even consulting her boyfriend. She figured she hadn't the need for such trivial formalities. If he resisted, she always had her baseball swing on call.

"What was that for?" That was the sequence of words translated into English, from the language of talking-with-food-in-the-mouth that both Gohan and Goten are incredibly proficient at.

"It looked…yucky." She replied, contorting her face into an expression of revulsion.

"Oh no, not again. That wasn't hospital food you know."

"Well, now I have to eat from your lunch," she chirped happily, grabbing the closest sandwich without a second thought.

Gohan stared at her contented features in disbelief, as a bit of a pout was creeping up onto his sulky disposition. "Aww, how come I have to pay for the crappy food your cook gives to you?"

She glowered at him, and he slowly edged away, deciding to abandon all pretense of protest he may have harbored. Who knows what she'd do to him? Considering whom her namesake was, he wasn't too enamored with the prospect of finding out.

"Eh heh. No honey, you're taking it all wrong. What I meant was take whatever you want. Eh heh. What's mine is yours right?!"

She seemed satisfied with this and continued on with his sandwich, while he heaved a sigh of relief and thanked his lucky stars. He also cursed them, but that was on a completely different note.

Time passed rather quickly as both teens attempted to satisfy their stomachs. The amount of intake varied vastly for both, but the time it took for them to meet their hunger objective was relatively the same. Speaks volumes for the amount of speed Gohan was working at.

"Oh yeah!" Gohan exclaimed contently, basking in his post-meal euphoria. For some reason or another, eating his mother's scrumptious meal and having the form of the girl of his dreams right next to him made it seem like things couldn't get any better. But just as he would have known if he was thinking clearly, fate and luck both conspired against him, and this was a golden opportunity if there ever was one. Attack him when he least expects it.

"We knew you two had something going on!" Erasa crowed triumphantly, emerging from the doorway with an equally smug looking Sharpener. Had they both been eavesdropping? Conventional wisdom leaned towards the affirmative. Still, wishful thinking never hurt anyone.

Videl cried out and jumped to her feet, blushing crimson. Gohan just stared blankly at his other two friends, still methodically patting his stomach.

"Huh?"

Erasa grinned in absolute delight at the couple. Even though she had been sending some pretty clear signals towards Gohan all these weeks, she had given up all hope after gauging his naiveté. That, in of itself, was a feat worthy of the Nobel Prize for Erasa. Now, perhaps before receiving the coveted prize, she'd figure out who that prize was named after? She was bursting with ecstasy at her longtime friend finally discarding her preconceived notions about males and getting together with one. Who better to do it with then good ol' gullible Gohan?

"You two look so cute together!" This did not go over too well with an already seething Videl.

"What do you mean Erasa?! We were just eating lunch!"

Sharpener decided, in all his infinite wisdom, that he'd shed light upon this matter in a much quicker way. Besides, he wanted to get retribution for Videl's comments earlier. Revenge is a very compelling thing. And revenge with the absence of conscience and intelligence, is pretty much consigning its bearer to some really embarrassing moments.

Imitating an extremely feminine version of Videl's voice he said, "You're lucky," and then changing into an extremely gruff version of Gohan's voice he continued, "That I have you." Both he and Erasa snickered as Videl's face was burning up in red. She really looked like a Satan now. All she needed was a pair of horns on her head and a pitchfork to stick up Sharpener's, eh…posterior.

"Yeah Vidy, sure sounds like a fun lunch to me," Erasa commented, still smiling from ear to ear. She really didn't like her name being abbreviated, especially the one Erasa had just used.

Gohan grimaced as he watched the slew of emotions unfold on Videl's face. Embarrassment? Check. Irritation? Check. Anger. Sharpener had better start running his scrawny hiney.

"Why exactly were both of you eavesdropping on us?" She ground out between clenched teeth.

"Oh! It is true. When did this happen? How did it happen? Who asked who out? Man, you guys are the last people I could picture together!" Erasa reverted back to bubbly mode, spewing out questions faster than anyone could answer.

"Man Videl, you sure know how to pick 'em." Sharpener jibed, a little irritated at the fact that nerd-boy acquired what he had been trying unsuccessfully for the past few years.

"What's that supposed to mean, Sharpener?" Videl was too flushed to think of any clever retorts, but had unanimously agreed between the evil and good sides of her mind that she must get in the last word. After all, she couldn't have Sharpener of all people get in the last laugh.

"Videl," Sharpener said the name whilst making a face, as he backed up ever so slightly from the femme fatale.

"Sharpener."

"Videl."

"Sharpener."

"Videl."

"Guys! This never goes anywhere!"

"That's cuz you always interrupt it." Videl retorted at Erasa, still training her glower at the blonde ingrate.

Before things could get ugly and Gohan would have stopped banging his head against the wall, the bell shrilly whistled signifying the end of lunch. Gohan shot up enthusiastically, heaving a mental sigh of relief.

"Well, we can chat about our love life another time." He grabbed Videl's hand, not unlike the way he had before, and lead her seething form back into the school building. Sharpener dejectedly followed with a bubbly Erasa chirping her merriment in tow.

***********************

"Hey Videl, Sharpener did a stupid thing in class today." Gohan commented, trying to spark a conversation with his peeved girlfriend.

"What, did he get stabbed in a shoot-out?" Videl muttered under her breath.

Gohan sweat-dropped, but before he could elaborate upon the matter Erasa thrust a couple of sheets of paper in his hands.

"Here you guys go. It's today's literature homework. Since both of you," she peered suspiciously at them both, "decided to ditch."

Gohan perused their homework, which had a large listing of some of the more popular adages used today. "What do we have to do?"

"You have to first complete the saying, and then research it and find out where it came from."

Gohan stared at it incredulously, "A rolling stone gathers…Gee I don't know, what do the Rolling Stones gather? Guitars? Sewing machines? Bad hairdos?"

Erasa stared at him blankly, not catching on to his sarcasm. "Uh. Gohan. I think it's talking about a stone rolling, not the Rolling Stones."

Gohan glanced at her with a bemused expression, Videl grinning from ear to ear behind him. "Hmm. With great power comes great…" He shook his head at that saying. It was from Spiderman for Pete's sake! "Abs? Lasagna?" He was beginning to enjoy this assignment.

Videl took the paper from Gohan and lightly glanced over its contents, unable to hide her curiosity. "The pen is mightier than…?" She raised an eyebrow, which incidentally Gohan thought was really cute.

"The pigs."

"Ok guys, I don't get it." Erasa declared, a little annoyed at not being in the fold so to speak.

"Think about it. Pen. Pigs," Videl gesticulated with her hands, trying to emphasize the connection between the two ideas.

"Uh…I don't think pigs are able to write Videl."

Videl threw up her hands in exasperation, while Gohan was forcibly trying to suppress his chuckles. This normalcy, for lack of the better term, was a welcomed change from the chaotic events that had occurred over the past few weeks. God knows they needed a break.

"Well, whatever Videl, I gotta go find Sharpener and hitch a ride. I'll see you two lovebirds later," and giggling like a giddy schoolgirl, the effervescent blonde disappeared amongst the throng of students heading somewhere far away from their weekday hellhole.

"So, whadya wanna do?"

"I don't know, have anything planned?"

"Well, we can go to your house. You still have to teach me to fly, Saiya-Man."

"Yeah, we better go. I don't think I want to face my mom's wrath if I came late," Gohan replied, shuddering involuntarily.

Videl looked at him a little amused, gauging the extent of Gohan's fear of his mom. Rather, his mom, and her frying pan. The poor boy has been whacked so many times with that pan that he might have the words 'Teflon' imprinted on his skull. One day, she mused, she would have to check his unruly mass of hair for those ominous words.

They made their way towards the staircase that led to the terrace, which took some doing because they had to fight their way against the strong current of students. Videl would have preferred to knock over whichever fool decided to obstruct her conduit to the staircase, but had been amiably restrained by her new boyfriend. After a slew of profanity and painful yelping, they had made it to their desired destination. In retrospect, Gohan figured a few disgruntled students is a much better result than the whole corridor strewn with unconscious bodies, courtesy his impatient girlfriend.

Upon reaching the roof, Gohan proceeded to scrutinize the vicinity for any signs of life. He didn't want to take any unnecessary chances, especially because he hadn't noticed Sharpener and Erasa stalking them before. True, he was preoccupied with one of his favorite activities of the day. That, he reasoned, was not a good enough excuse to let his guard down.

Satisfied with his search, he quickly changed into his Saiya-Man attire with a simple touch of a button.

"Oh great, Saiya-dork decides to grace us with his presence."

Gohan just grinned at her and grabbed her waist, blasting in to the sky as unexpectedly as possible. He heard a muffled scream, followed by a bunch of 'thwaps' as he got a couple of smacks on his helmet. He twisted around, gliding on his back while Videl straddled him around the hips. To the casual observer, the scene would no doubt bring about a smile. It really looked like Videl was riding a hover-bike or something of the like, clutching the green cloth gi like a bar handle.

"Woohoo!" Videl felt quite invigorated as the cool wind whipped through her hair and soothed her worries away in a single moment of excitement. Excitement, a little bit of fear and anxiety, and definitely trust, all wrapped in a stimulating bundle. She leaned down and kissed Gohan on the lips, causing her 'ride' to dangerously sway in mid-air. If it were at all possible to 'capsize' whilst they were airborne, then they would have assuredly tumbled over if Gohan hadn't regained his senses quick enough.

"Woah, Videl, don't do that! You want an encore performance or something?" He was, of course, referring to their little 'accident' a few weeks ago. They still didn't learn what the problem with her craft had been, but certainly they didn't suspect sabotage.

"No, but it's fun to make you nervous."

"Glad that you take such pleasure in my torment," Gohan muttered as she giggled and hugged him tighter. Suddenly it occurred to him that this is only Videl's second time flying with him, well when she was consciously aware of her surroundings. Time for some retribution. Unbeknownst to him, a small smirk very much reminiscent to a certain Prince of three people had slowly encroached on the side of his lips. It had an eerie effect to it, very nonconforming to good ol' gullible Gohan's usual demeanor.

Without warning, he plummeted as fast as he could towards the ground below. Pushing himself harder, he put on a sudden burst of ki and pulled up sharply, performing loops and various other aerial acrobatics. The excess of wind rushing past them stifled Videl's screams, as her stomach lurched at the sudden altitude fluctuations. She clung to his body for dear life, burying her face in his ample chest. Soon, after throwing a glance at her position, Gohan relented and slowed down to a reasonable speed. He was sure that he would be in for it big time now, but he knew that it was more than worth it. Upon seeing her incensed features reemerge from his chest, he gulped and second-guessed himself.

"What the hell was that for!?" Gohan cringed as he felt a sharp pain emanate from his right ear, the one closest to her mouth. Panicking noticeably, he stumbled to string an explanation together in coherent sentences.

"I…I thought it'd be fun."

*Smack* *Smack*

"I thought that would be fun."

Gohan rubbed his rump ruefully, as he eyed her resolute expression. He now regretted reverting back to his normal street clothes a little while earlier. He missed the added protection of his helmet. Shrugging it off, he grinned and pressed his lips against hers. He watched as her eyes widened considerably at the sudden move, which after a little while softened as she kissed him back.

"There, now I thought that was fun."

She smiled at him and surveyed the surroundings of his home. From a bird's eye view of the whole mountain area, there seemed to be a sense of calm and serenity as nature carried on its various activities unperturbed by the hassle of city life. Large grassy fields littered the area, sporadically interrupted with a patch of evergreen trees every once in a while. The unvitiated expanse was breathtaking in the day illumination, the green grass having a deep rich color and the woodlands teeming with life. The sheer diversity of the fauna one could see from up above, also accentuated by the impressive floral variety, was a sight to behold. Videl had just discovered her unknown dream. A dream to bask in the atmosphere of solace this place brings, to reel in its simplicity. Maybe one day to live here, away from the congestion and hectic world of the city. Maybe that's why Gohan is such a laidback person, one who tries to be calm and rational and always optimistic. This place, this ambience, can forge the malleable personality of the young into someone that reflects what this place brings out in a person. It was a special place. Even his house, which was just visible in the clearing in which it resided, reflected the simplistic nature of the environment. Maybe stresses, worries, fretting, all these things, are brought on by excessive thinking. Excessive thinking, in turn, tends to confuse the person. Makes the concept more ambiguous than need be. Sometimes looking at things from an abstract perspective is beneficial. Looking at the world in different spectrums of perception can enhance and broaden the 'educationality' of those things. But sometimes, it just distorts the simple clear truth and brings on unnecessary troubles. What was the saying? "The man who can view the world through the eyes of a child is the man who will attain most from this life." Maybe we should ask Goku how he does it.

They had been flying the rest of their trip in a comfortable silence, both lost in different thoughts upon different subjects. Gohan landed softly in the ground before the house, cradling Videl's petite form with unnecessary care. Before both had time to do anything two whirlwinds, one suffused with a blue tint while the other with an orange one, attacked them both in a flurry of activity. All four tumbled to the grassy green earth, laughter and small growling emanating from the cluster of bodies piled up atop a flustered Gohan.

"Woah." Simple and concise, yet effective. His entire inquisition, surprise, and greeting Gohan summed up in one colloquial ejaculation.

"Hey big brother! Lookie, Trunks came over to play!"

"Hey, Gohan. Who's this, your girlfriend?" Trunks, as was expected from a child his age, said that last word with a palpable sense of abhorrence and antipathy. Talk about hating something with a vengeance.

"So, this is the second part of the Infernal Duo," Videl said, smiling down mischievously at the lavender-haired boy. He looked up at her, eyes twinkling with mirth and some tomfoolery, inspecting this new raven-haired girl. He snickered after gauging her powerlevel, which compared to both him and Goten, was of miniscule proportions.

"Trunks, she is NOT my girlfriend. Her name is Videl." Gohan sighed lethargically. He was going to be bombarded with questions similar to that one for a long time, especially by a furtive nose-less ex-monk. They had decided to keep their relationship clandestine for the time being, just to measure the public reaction their pairing got from other people. Not like they cared, but it was good to know what to expect from his family after they reveal the big news. Well, at the rate their inquisitiveness in his love life was going, the news wouldn't be so 'big' after the due course of events.

"Hi Videl! See, this is my bestest pal Trunks," Goten exclaimed, jumping up and down and pointing at his crafty counterpart. Probably due to his excitement, or lack of perceptive skills, he hadn't deduced the obviousness of the matter. Videl already knew the other boy was Trunks, and most likely would have deduced who he was regardless if Goten had made that statement earlier or not.

"I see, I bet you're the brains of this joint aren't ya Trunks."

"It all depends on who's asking the question," Trunks responded coolly, trying his hardest to look indifferent. The boy had an unquestionable reverence of his father, and tried everything possible to act and sound like him. Of course, he wasn't as apathetic and unbearable as his father, but the boy tried.

"How so?" Videl was looking at him with a curious expression, something like a cross between amusement and admiration.

"Well, if it was my mom or Goten's mom or Gohan asking, then he did it," and he pointed to his Goku look-alike friend, who at the moment was quite intrigued with a small bug, poking it and making 'ooh' and 'aah' sounds. Trunks sweat-dropped at his friend's antics, but continued on, "and if anyone else is asking, especially my dad, then I did it."

Videl laughed loudly as the group starting walking towards Gohan's domed abode. She was beginning to like both these kids, especially Trunks' cunningness and Goten's effervescence. Suddenly Chi-Chi stormed out of the door brandishing a frying pan in one hand like a raving lunatic. Upon the scary sight, both chibis whimpered and scampered behind Gohan and Videl's bodies. Even Gohan felt the overwhelming urge to join Trunks behind Videl's body, but then realized that most probably her scorn wasn't directed at him and he would leave poor Goten whimpering behind nothing.

"Ok what the in the name that is holy did you two do to the toilet seat?! And where are my tea leaves?!" She stopped to glower at the two chibis, who were shaking uncontrollably behind their human shields.

"Don't use the frying pan mommy! Trunks said that we can make a big bowl of tea in the toilet!"

"No I didn't! Goten said he wanted some tea!"

"Nuh-uh! Trunks said that we can make a lot of tea in the toilet!"

Both Gohan and Videl burst out laughing while Chi-Chi exchanged a forlorn glance with Bulma, who had just appeared from the narrow archway of the house.

"Gohan! You're back, and with Videl," she clasped her hands together with a broad smile plastered on her face. "Hum! I need to buy a crib, ooohhh, set the wedding menu…" At about this point both Gohan and Videl exchanged frustrated glances with each other as a smirking Bulma piped from behind,

"Oh, Gohaaaaan. You never told me you had a girlfriend. Well, aren't you going to introduce us to her or do I have to find out who your love interest is?"

"Bulma! We're just friends!"

"That's what they all say, Gohan!"

"Geez, you guys jump to conclusions way too fast!" Gohan threw up his hands exasperated, simultaneously winking at his 'friend', who also was feigning annoyance and glowing with glee on the inside.

"Sure, Gohan. If it was like that, then why would you protest so much?"

"Because it's all wrong!"

"The guilty are afraid, Gohan."

Gohan just shook his head while Bulma and Videl conversed in idle chatter, the usual woman talk. Videl could barely contain her surprise when she figured out she was talking to Bulma Briefs, owner of Capsule Corporation and her surprise heightened in discerning that Gohan chatted with her like she was his mother, or close family. There were still a lot of things she had yet to discover in the enigma that is her boyfriend, and she'd be damned if anyone would stop her.

In the course of these new developments, both chibis had scuttled off into the house fearing further admonishment from their respective mothers. Both chibis, unsupervised, left to their own devices, in Chi-Chi's home spelled trouble, big trouble. Soon enough, they heard a loud 'crash' followed by girlish screams as both chibis raced out of the home faces ashen with fear. Both mothers whirled around to face the panicking duo and yelled as loud as their respective lungs could permit in unison, Chi-Chi's being slightly louder and more piercing than her counterpart's,

"What did you two DO THIS TIME?!"

"Nothing!" Both chorused, voices a little higher than normal.

Both mothers proceeded to give the death glare at them, as Videl watched both of them squirm uneasily under the heated glares. She stifled a laugh at their antics and Gohan just shook his head in resignation.

"We…We wanted to build…the world's largest tower…" Trunks managed to choke out through chattering teeth, deciding to be the spokesperson for the Infernal Duo.

Chi-Chi looked at their faces in horror, trying to decipher that statement into all its possible extremes. One could call that pessimistic, but when your dealing with these two vagabonds then one quickly learns to expect the worst. Chi-Chi dashed into her home as all three adults looked on blankly at her retreating form. Gohan calmly placed both his hands over his ears, clamping them so hard that his ears hurt.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Both chibis panicked, and yelling 'run for it!' blasted off into the sky for some unknown destination. Bulma quickly shoved a crumpled piece of paper in Gohan's hand and said as fast as she could,

"Get these groceries and don't let those two get into any more trouble!"

Gohan nodded mutely and grabbed his astonished girlfriend, blasting off after the two frightened chibis. His bluish aura enveloped them both, and their pace quickly accelerated so fast that Videl's eyes started to tear up.

They found the two chibis in a large clearing, 'playing' with a hundred foot two ton dinosaur that had its eyes as wide as saucers. Both seemed to have blissfully forgotten their little incident a few moments before and were in the process playing 'catch' with said dinosaur, hurling the poor thing across the clearing as fast as they could. Imagine if one chibi were to miss the hurtling reptile. The collateral damage would be immense.

Videl stared incredulously at the scene playing out before her eyes, mouth open in a conspicuous gape. Gohan chuckled to himself and cupped his hands, calling out, "Trunks, Goten. How 'bout we go get some ice cream?"

Unfortunately, Gohan's timing was a little off, and both chibis turned towards his direction just as Trunks hurled the immense reptile towards Goten. Upon seeing Gohan and because of the lure of ice cream, both chibis abandoned their game and whooped ecstatically as they approached the two teens. They heard a deafening whine, or something of the like, as the gigantic creature hurtled past their view and onwards towards the horizon. The force of the throw was enough so that the creature maintained a parallel conduit with the ground, even after a few seconds of travel. Its once deafening whine had receded gradually until it was a mere tickle to the ears, disappearing amongst the woodlands some miles off.

"Ice cream! YAY!"

"This time I'm going to sample every single flavor before I pick my scoop!" Trunks conspired with pleasure, rubbing his hands together in glee. Videl smiled at them both, and the foursome continued on towards Satan City, Videl cradled in Gohan's arms whilst the two chibis flew adjacent to them. Videl surreptitiously nipped at Gohan's ear from her vantage point, loving every minute of his nervous glances at the two chibis.

The relatively short trip to the city ended without incident, as both chibis refrained from any devilish deeds, probably because they were having dreams of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and other flavors. Gohan instructed them all to land quickly in a deserted alleyway, to avoid suspicion from the general populace. It isn't every day you see a teen and two kids flying around like it's the most natural thing in the world.

They approached the supermarket, a big building with a ridiculously large parking lot that was half full, or half empty, depending on your perception of life. Now you can vividly visualize some bald shrink (A/N-Frasier!) explaining to you the netiquettes of harboring these conceptions, the pessimism and optimism reflected in your views and such. Disregard it as utter bullshit that only serves to cloud your judgment on life further and nothing else. Gohan glanced at the sheet of paper, which had a commendable list of supplies needed. He wondered what it was for. Were they having a party or something tonight?

As soon as the group entered through the sliding doors into the air conditioned confines of the "Joule" (A/N-Jewel Osco can't sue me for that) supermarket they were greeted with the periodic 'beep' of the cashier sensors. Determined at the task at hand, Gohan grasped his girlfriend's hand and maneuvered them through the rotating entrance thing and stared intently at the various aisle signs. Glancing at the grocery 'wishlist', he planned a rough route of the supermarket to attain all the objects at hand with minimal time wastage. He didn't know why he needed to save time anyway. It wasn't like he had some pressing matter to attend to. But by nature Son Gohan was a methodical person.

"Ok, we need some soap," he announced to their group.

"Soap?"

"Yeah soap."

"Gohan, can we go check out the toy section? Please?"

"Oh no you don't. Last time you guys disemboweled all the Barbie dolls in stock." He remembered the way in which the astonished store clerk found the butchered dolls, some with heads or various limbs missing, laying strewn in the toy aisle. He also remembered how Bulma had to sweet talk the manager and compensate for the mass of broken figurines.

"Oh come on big brother, please?" Goten immediately put on the wide-eyed puppy dog look, something that tugged at Videl's heart again. Damn these Son men.

"Oh just let them go Gohan."

"No way! And Bulma isn't even here to pay for all the damage they'd cause."

"We won't do anything, we promise." Goten looked up at him with innocent eyes, hope clearly reflected in those shimmering black orbs.

"Let 'em go. Besides," she nudged him in the rib cage, "They'd leave us alone."

Gohan glanced warily at his girlfriend, and then trained his sight at the two hopeful chibis. Sighing in defeat he pointed towards the toy aisle, "Alright. But I swear, if you guys do anything I'll leave you locked up in a room and let mom rant your ears off, you hear?"

Both chibis shuddered involuntarily and nodded eagerly, waving their small 'thanks' and darting off towards the other end of the supermarket. Gohan watched them disappear in the crowd of shoppers, already dreading the decision he had just made.

"Well, let's get this over and done with."

"I take it you don't like shopping?" Gohan asked, smirking despite himself. Somehow, he had known the answer to that before he even asked.

"Was that a rhetorical question?"

"Was that a rhetorical question?"

"Yes."

"Oh the irony."

She punched him lightly in the arm and continued on to the vast selection of soap bars, liquid soap, and some brush thing she'd never seen before.

"Ok, which soap?"

"I dunno," Gohan shrugged, as he picked up a bar of Dial soap. He turned it over in his hands and inspected its ingredients and such, finally nodding in approval. He was about to put it in the shopping cart his girlfriend had unceremoniously stolen from some old hag, when something caught his eye. It was something printed in bold black on the packaging of the soap bar. Curious, he perused it and it read as follows: 'Directions: Use like regular soap.'

"And that would be how?"

"What?"

"Read this," he showed the packaging label of the soap, to which his girlfriend read and chuckled.

"You'd think they would be more specific."

"Yeah, I really think that I would think twice about using a bar of soap like I use, well, a bar of soap!"

They continued on with the grocery list, most condiments ranging from party supplies and drinks and such. It really looked like there was going to be party sometime soon. After passing in through the refrigerated aisle, his attention was caught on a frozen dinner. Curious to see how someone could possibly bear this precooked trash, he picked it up. 'Serving suggestion: Defrost.' Videl peered over his arm to read what he was staring incredulously at, and again felt to urge to chuckle.

"It's only a suggestion though," Gohan quipped to Videl, not hiding his amusement. He was beginning to like making fun of corporate stupidity. Videl sighed and shook her head, as Gohan was picking up anything and everything that interested him just to pick out some flaw. Soon, he crowed in triumph and held a package of Bread Pudding.

He read it out aloud for the benefit of his sighing girlfriend, grinning from ear to ear. " 'Warning: Product will be hot after heating.' And you thought…?"

She smiled and quipped back, "Maybe they're talking about nuclear fission or something."

He had a Hair dryer in his hands and again read out aloud, " 'Do not use while sleeping,' Gee, that's the only time I have to work on my hair…"

An Iron box in his hand, " 'Do not iron clothes on body.' Wouldn't that save me more time, Videl?"

Soon, a large bag of Fritos made its way into his hands. " 'You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.' What, the shoplifter special?"

A children's cough medicine bottle soon was the object of his attention. " 'Do not operate an automobile or heavy machinery after ingestion.' Now, we can do a whole lot to the rate of construction accidents if we kept those five year olds with colds off those goddamned forklifts!" Videl chuckled heartily at that comment Gohan made. At times, if he wanted to, he could have quite the sense of humor.

He picked up a Nytol sleep aid bottle, which was in close proximity to the cold medicine. " 'Warning: May cause drowsiness.' Why am I taking this again?"

"Geez Gohan, one would think your getting a great pleasure in making fun of people that can't even hear you."

"You can hear me. I like to see you laugh. You look gorgeous when you laugh."

She blushed a little and smiled, "And I'm not if I don't laugh?"

"Oh yes you are, you just don't show it that well."

She clasped his hand and continued on, systematically chucking in the groceries into the shopping cart as they moved along. Christmas was nearing, well, for the early planners that is. It was only the start of November, somewhat chilly but not full-fledged winter yet, and some stores were already starting to stock up on Christmas supplies. They walked past several bundles of Christmas lights, with signs proclaiming 'Beat the Christmas rush now with our quality brand lights!" Gohan peered at one, only to burst out laughing as he instinctually pulled his petite love closer to his body. She glanced at him and exclaimed, "Not again! What did you find this time?"

He pointed to one Christmas light's packaging, " 'For indoor and outdoor use only.' What I want to know is, as opposed to what?" Videl smiled at snuggled in closer to Gohan, enjoying the warmth of his large and muscular chest.

Finally, with two shopping carts packed to the brim, courtesy another old hag's cart stolen, they headed for the checkout counter. He paused to pick up a packet of nuts, opening it and popping a few in to his mouth. He offered some to Videl, but she declined. Shrugging, he did what he was dying to do, and checked the packaging. Videl rolled her eyes and put on a patient face, waiting for the ensuing comment.

" 'Warning: Contains nuts. Packaged in a facility that handles nuts.' Wow, talk about a news flash. Who would have thought that nuts would contain nuts, and would be manufactured around a bunch of other nuts?"

Videl grinned broadly and surveyed her surroundings, finally spotting the two devilish chibis chatting near the exit. They had got bored and decided to wait of them she figured, so she placed the two shopping carts in line at the checkout counter.

She just remembered something funny, and since the topic was corporate stupidity she decided to share with her amused boyfriend.

"Hey, I just remembered something. Last summer my father and I went to America for some promotional trip. We flew American Airlines and I got hungry, and since it would be some time for them to serve dinner they gave me a packet of nuts. Well, I ate it and had nothing to do, so I started playing with the wrapper until I finally forced myself to read it over, just for the sake of doing something." Gohan grinned, this was getting to be good. "Well, I read the instructions and it read: 'Instructions: Step 1: Open packet. Step 2: Eat nuts.'" She burst out laughing as Gohan chuckled heartily, slipping an arm around her slender waist.

"Step 3: uh…fly United?"

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they had everything they needed bagged and ready for hauling back to his house. Only problem was, Gohan forgot to get money from Bulma. Panicking, he looked at Videl for help. She sighed, and checked the whole thing out on her card, rationalizing that if her Daddy ever checked the bill, then she'd come up with some lame excuse.

Meanwhile, both chibis were chattering excitedly outside about the new Supersoaker when a thoroughly inebriated man knocked Goten down. He had two buddies, presumably his lackeys, flanked on both sides as he smirked at Goten's fallen form. The little chibi got up a little irritated, as he peered up at the goon and smelled the putrid odor of liquor coming from him.

"Hey mister, don't mess with my friend," Trunks bravely declared, defending his comrade.

"Or what ya gonna do, call yer mommy?" The leader retorted, swaying slightly to the sides as he tried to steady his balance.

"No, I'm gonna do this!" Trunks held out his hand, and soon the white cloth covering the goon's crotch area erupted in flames. It took a while for the intoxicated buffoon to realize this, and finally when he smelled something cooking he began running around like a headless chicken screaming,

"Put it out! Put it out!"

One of the lackeys acted upon his first instinct. No. It wasn't to yell stop, drop and roll. He threw the panicking goon down, and started stomping away at his, well, crotch area. Terrible howls of anguish could be heard from the unfortunate thug as his friend kept stomping away at his genitals in an attempt to douse the fire. Soon, the last remnants of the fire flickered away, leaving only the charred and tattered remains of the goon's pants and underwear. His eyes had glazed over and faint moaning was being emanated from him. The other thug whispered to the one who had so efficiently doused the fire, "Wh…Where did you learn how to put out a camp fire?"

"Uh…The boy scouts?"

Both chibis erupted in howls of laughter, as they clutched their tiny bellies and rolled on the floor in agony. A small crowd had gathered around the fallen men and little boys, watching on in amusement. Of course, they hadn't known what the cause of the fire was, not suspecting the little kids of any magic or anything, but were amused at the scene nonetheless.

Gohan came out holding a ridiculous number of shopping bags, followed by his girlfriend, and gaped at the scene. Both Trunks and Goten were rolling around the floor in laughter, while he could see another man laying on the asphalt of the parking lot, smoke emitting from his, ahem, crotch area. Two other men were looking over their fallen buddy, while Gohan immediately frowned at the hysterical chibis.

"Alright, what did you two do this time?"

(A/N- I think that a long update once a week suits me better than the twice a week regimen. I dunno, too much high school activities going down that is restricting my time. Oh yeah, I decided to make this kinda comical and lighthearted, given all the sentimental drab I've been spewing for the past couple of chapters. Hope you got a smile or two from it. It may be a little zany, but hey, what can you expect from a person being sacked repeatedly by a six foot five three hundred-pounder, after I threw the ball. Yes, when being a quarterback, watching such a large form barreling towards you can be very scary indeed. Especially when the stupid offensive linesman doesn't know not to hit after I threw…I shoulda complained about roughing the passer.)

"Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself."

-A. H. Weiler (1909 - 1943)