Scars – Chapter 07
Gohan was panting with the force of his outburst. It was emotional force more than anything, but it had created a tension in him that he needed to release. He felt sick inside, replaying the awful things he'd said to hurt his father, and seeing the way Goku had forced himself to keep a reign on his own temper while his son was cutting him down.
Guilt swelled in Gohan's mind. It made his chest ache and he looked at the sky outside his window hungrily. He felt his mother's energy approaching his room and knew that the last thing he needed was for her to get involved. He heard his mother knock on the door impatiently. He was surprised that she knocked at all, that was really unlike her.
"I'm fine Mom!" Gohan called to the door, trying to keep his voice from cracking. He could feel tears stinging his eyes and he desperately wanted to keep his bothersome mother from probing him with useless questions. He held great love and respect for her, but when it came to problems, she only made things worse.
"Gohan, Goku! Open this door, what's going on in there!? Why were you two fighting!?"
Gohan looked around and grabbed some clothes off of his desk, he didn't even look at what he grabbed, he just took them and made a beeline for his open window. He sweatdropped when he realized half a mile up in the sky that he'd busted through the screen and would be hearing about that later. Well there was nothing that he could do about it now. Coming to a stop in the air, Gohan looked at the clothes he'd grabbed and put them on. It was a gi and sash, without the wristbands. This particular gi was purple, and the sash was red, of course, because those were the colours he always wore, ever since Piccolo had trained him. Even after receiving the training from the kai's, Gohan wore Piccolo's colours. He didn't even have shoes, but at least he wasn't wandering the world half naked. He looked around, feeling for Goku's ki. It was at the lake where they had fished before Goku had died.
'I should go see Dad... but... as much as all that stuff I said was hurtful... it was true... I just... why does he have to be like that!? Why can't he just... just...' Gohan's thoughts only led to a fresh round of tears which blurred his vision and left him drifting with the clouds.
Finally he settled on a different destination, and went to see Videl instead. Maybe she would be willing to rub the knots out of his shoulders? She did that whenever he was really stressed. He never asked for it, it was just one of those things that she seemed to know he needed sometimes. He really liked that about her –that she knew what he needed- it made him feel confused to think of his best friend like that, but he supposed they were very close... maybe it was ok. Videl wasn't affectionate like Gohan was though. Where he liked to hug and touch, she tended to prefer her personal space. Lately though, it was a little different. Maybe she was warming up to him?
'She's probably worried I've got even more secrets than she's already found out about me... no wonder she's got a hard time trusting me.'
Gohan came over the city in only a few minutes, slowing down to take a look at the streets. It was rather early, sometime before eight... would she even be up? That was a definite no, Videl liked to sleep in more than anything. But Gohan knew that he'd feel better if he talked to her, or even if he just stood on her balcony with her or something. He touched down on said balcony and rapped his knuckles lightly on her window, standing back to wait for her to come out.
++++++++++++++
Videl was sound asleep. No light polite knocking at her balcony window was about to pull the raven-haired young woman from her sleep. In fact, an anvil (or maybe a rhinoceros) would have to fall on her head to wake her up. A few minutes after the first knock there came a second, more insistent one, and it was pure luck for the tearful man on the other side of the door that miss Satan had a good feel for his energy. It was the fluctuation in Gohan's ki that alerted Videl to his presence and woke her up. She opened her eyes, blinking at the ceiling and wondering why she was suddenly wide awake.
Moments later, there came the third knock on the window, and she hopped out of bed, her sleep forgotten. She wrapped herself in a lavender robe and tied it at the waist, pulling the string on the side of the window that opened the vertical blinds. She saw Gohan standing outside her balcony door looking sleep-mussed, very upset, and, she noted, he was not wearing any shoes. She gave him a curious little frown and unlocked the door, sliding it open to let him in.
Gohan was normally very polite about coming inside Videl's house because of the stern respect for women that his mother had practically beat into his head as a boy. However on this fine mess of a morning he entered before Videl could say a word and paced the room in a frantic circle before collapsing cross-legged on the floor and pouring out the string of events preceding his arrival. His hands came up into his hair while he was talking and he rested his forehead on his palms, his elbows on his knees. Videl couldn't see his tears from this position, but she could tell he was crying anyway. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him cry, it just wasn't something that Gohan did, considering how shy he was.
Videl sat down beside him, putting an arm over his shoulders and rubbing at his back. "Gohan slow down, you're going to give yourself heart failure."
"I...I can't... I said so many awful things to my dad... what's wrong with me!? And what's wrong with him!? He didn't even react! He just left... IT'd out of my room just like that! What a coward!"
Gohan rubbed his eyes with frustrated fists and caught Videl's eyes. His own were red and glassy, and very dark looking. He had a distinct crease in his forehead from scrunching his face up with anger or worry.
"Come on Gohan... relax. Its really early in the morning... if you wake my dad up he'll freak out and kick both our butts. He's the strongest man in the world you know..." Videl gave a half-smile, knowing that Gohan couldn't stand Mr. Satan. Her words worked wonders, he gave a derisive snort and stopped ranting, though he couldn't seem to stop his tears. Videl rubbed his back and folded him into a hug. Her hand went up to play in his hair because she knew that always calmed him greatly.
Gohan sniffled and closed his eyes. He hid his face shamefully in the crook of Videl's shoulder and returned her hug, careful not to crush her. He relaxed at the hand in his hair and focused on his friend's scent. It was comforting and familiar to him. He wiped his eyes on her robe and backed out of the hug, blinking at her and earning himself an award for looking pathetic.
"You overreact Gohan. Did you lose your temper?"
"Yeah..."
"Did you yell at him?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Well can you blame him for leaving then? Jeeze I wouldn't want you pointing that temper at me either. You can't blame your dad for leaving the situation, it was probably better that he did, he probably prevented things from getting much worse. Haven't you thought of it that way?"
Gohan looked like he'd been smacked in the ass with a whole load of realization. He blinked at Videl, looking surprised that she was right, though he didn't know what else he might have expected from her. She let him go and changed positions so she was facing him. He wanted to crawl beside her so she'd rub his back again, but he knew about how she liked her personal space. He let his eyes crawl up to meet hers.
"Thanks... you always know what to say. *sigh* Now what do I do...?"
"You deal with what you brought onto yourself, that's what. I know how you feel about Goku, you've told me bits and pieces, and I think I've managed to pick up the rest just because I know you too well. Its better that you told him the truth than pretending everything was fine. Now he knows there's a problem between you two and maybe he'll cut the crap and actually try to work it out. Give him some time to think. As many times as I meet that man, It still amazes me how long it takes him to understand some things, though he's quick as the crack of a whip when it comes to others. Now, you look like hell. Why don't you take a shower? Have you eaten? I'll get someone to cook you something, and we can work out what we're doing today after that. Sound like a plan?"
Gohan nodded obediently and stood up, pouting internally that he didn't get a shoulder rub like he'd really wanted. He knew where the bathroom was, he'd spent a fair amount of time in Videl's house. In fact, there were lots of bathrooms, he knew that too. He headed for hers, which was the one he tended to use, and closed the door behind him, taking his gi off and stepping into the shower. She was right, it did feel nice to have some hot water ease the tension out of his shoulders.
++++++++++++++
Videl frowned at Gohan's back as he left the room. It bothered her sometimes that her friend was so... needy. She wished he were a little better able to handle things himself, but she knew that it was just how Gohan was, and that it would never change. On some level, it really made Videl feel like she was needed by him, and that was a nice feeling. She got dressed and went downstairs to ask the maid to cook enough breakfast for twelve people. The poor maid blinked and nodded meekly. She hadn't been planning on spending her morning cooking and then washing dishes, but she was well paid, so she supposed it didn't matter what she did, she was compensated.
While Gohan was washing up Videl got herself a glass of orange juice and sat at the table in the dining room. The table was huge and polished to perfection, the dark wood looked rich in the articulate room, it matched with the moldings and the deep red of the walls. The chairs (all 14 of them) were high-backed and expensively cushioned. It looked like some kind of royal dining hall, but Videl didn't think too much of it, as she was used to it. She drank her orange juice, looking up when Gohan came into the room.
"Wow I'm glad I can sense you, I got lost like four times trying to find this room!"
"Gohan you've been here lotsa times, you should know your way around by now."
"Yeah but my house has like... six rooms, one staircase, and one hallway. You've got too many to count."
"Shut up and sit down fool... Hilda is making you something to eat."
Gohan sat in the chair beside Videl's and looked around the room, appearing to feel marginally better. Videl leaned back in her chair and smirked at him, deciding that if she was hungry she'd just borrow a little from Gohan's plate.
Gohan was panting with the force of his outburst. It was emotional force more than anything, but it had created a tension in him that he needed to release. He felt sick inside, replaying the awful things he'd said to hurt his father, and seeing the way Goku had forced himself to keep a reign on his own temper while his son was cutting him down.
Guilt swelled in Gohan's mind. It made his chest ache and he looked at the sky outside his window hungrily. He felt his mother's energy approaching his room and knew that the last thing he needed was for her to get involved. He heard his mother knock on the door impatiently. He was surprised that she knocked at all, that was really unlike her.
"I'm fine Mom!" Gohan called to the door, trying to keep his voice from cracking. He could feel tears stinging his eyes and he desperately wanted to keep his bothersome mother from probing him with useless questions. He held great love and respect for her, but when it came to problems, she only made things worse.
"Gohan, Goku! Open this door, what's going on in there!? Why were you two fighting!?"
Gohan looked around and grabbed some clothes off of his desk, he didn't even look at what he grabbed, he just took them and made a beeline for his open window. He sweatdropped when he realized half a mile up in the sky that he'd busted through the screen and would be hearing about that later. Well there was nothing that he could do about it now. Coming to a stop in the air, Gohan looked at the clothes he'd grabbed and put them on. It was a gi and sash, without the wristbands. This particular gi was purple, and the sash was red, of course, because those were the colours he always wore, ever since Piccolo had trained him. Even after receiving the training from the kai's, Gohan wore Piccolo's colours. He didn't even have shoes, but at least he wasn't wandering the world half naked. He looked around, feeling for Goku's ki. It was at the lake where they had fished before Goku had died.
'I should go see Dad... but... as much as all that stuff I said was hurtful... it was true... I just... why does he have to be like that!? Why can't he just... just...' Gohan's thoughts only led to a fresh round of tears which blurred his vision and left him drifting with the clouds.
Finally he settled on a different destination, and went to see Videl instead. Maybe she would be willing to rub the knots out of his shoulders? She did that whenever he was really stressed. He never asked for it, it was just one of those things that she seemed to know he needed sometimes. He really liked that about her –that she knew what he needed- it made him feel confused to think of his best friend like that, but he supposed they were very close... maybe it was ok. Videl wasn't affectionate like Gohan was though. Where he liked to hug and touch, she tended to prefer her personal space. Lately though, it was a little different. Maybe she was warming up to him?
'She's probably worried I've got even more secrets than she's already found out about me... no wonder she's got a hard time trusting me.'
Gohan came over the city in only a few minutes, slowing down to take a look at the streets. It was rather early, sometime before eight... would she even be up? That was a definite no, Videl liked to sleep in more than anything. But Gohan knew that he'd feel better if he talked to her, or even if he just stood on her balcony with her or something. He touched down on said balcony and rapped his knuckles lightly on her window, standing back to wait for her to come out.
++++++++++++++
Videl was sound asleep. No light polite knocking at her balcony window was about to pull the raven-haired young woman from her sleep. In fact, an anvil (or maybe a rhinoceros) would have to fall on her head to wake her up. A few minutes after the first knock there came a second, more insistent one, and it was pure luck for the tearful man on the other side of the door that miss Satan had a good feel for his energy. It was the fluctuation in Gohan's ki that alerted Videl to his presence and woke her up. She opened her eyes, blinking at the ceiling and wondering why she was suddenly wide awake.
Moments later, there came the third knock on the window, and she hopped out of bed, her sleep forgotten. She wrapped herself in a lavender robe and tied it at the waist, pulling the string on the side of the window that opened the vertical blinds. She saw Gohan standing outside her balcony door looking sleep-mussed, very upset, and, she noted, he was not wearing any shoes. She gave him a curious little frown and unlocked the door, sliding it open to let him in.
Gohan was normally very polite about coming inside Videl's house because of the stern respect for women that his mother had practically beat into his head as a boy. However on this fine mess of a morning he entered before Videl could say a word and paced the room in a frantic circle before collapsing cross-legged on the floor and pouring out the string of events preceding his arrival. His hands came up into his hair while he was talking and he rested his forehead on his palms, his elbows on his knees. Videl couldn't see his tears from this position, but she could tell he was crying anyway. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen him cry, it just wasn't something that Gohan did, considering how shy he was.
Videl sat down beside him, putting an arm over his shoulders and rubbing at his back. "Gohan slow down, you're going to give yourself heart failure."
"I...I can't... I said so many awful things to my dad... what's wrong with me!? And what's wrong with him!? He didn't even react! He just left... IT'd out of my room just like that! What a coward!"
Gohan rubbed his eyes with frustrated fists and caught Videl's eyes. His own were red and glassy, and very dark looking. He had a distinct crease in his forehead from scrunching his face up with anger or worry.
"Come on Gohan... relax. Its really early in the morning... if you wake my dad up he'll freak out and kick both our butts. He's the strongest man in the world you know..." Videl gave a half-smile, knowing that Gohan couldn't stand Mr. Satan. Her words worked wonders, he gave a derisive snort and stopped ranting, though he couldn't seem to stop his tears. Videl rubbed his back and folded him into a hug. Her hand went up to play in his hair because she knew that always calmed him greatly.
Gohan sniffled and closed his eyes. He hid his face shamefully in the crook of Videl's shoulder and returned her hug, careful not to crush her. He relaxed at the hand in his hair and focused on his friend's scent. It was comforting and familiar to him. He wiped his eyes on her robe and backed out of the hug, blinking at her and earning himself an award for looking pathetic.
"You overreact Gohan. Did you lose your temper?"
"Yeah..."
"Did you yell at him?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Well can you blame him for leaving then? Jeeze I wouldn't want you pointing that temper at me either. You can't blame your dad for leaving the situation, it was probably better that he did, he probably prevented things from getting much worse. Haven't you thought of it that way?"
Gohan looked like he'd been smacked in the ass with a whole load of realization. He blinked at Videl, looking surprised that she was right, though he didn't know what else he might have expected from her. She let him go and changed positions so she was facing him. He wanted to crawl beside her so she'd rub his back again, but he knew about how she liked her personal space. He let his eyes crawl up to meet hers.
"Thanks... you always know what to say. *sigh* Now what do I do...?"
"You deal with what you brought onto yourself, that's what. I know how you feel about Goku, you've told me bits and pieces, and I think I've managed to pick up the rest just because I know you too well. Its better that you told him the truth than pretending everything was fine. Now he knows there's a problem between you two and maybe he'll cut the crap and actually try to work it out. Give him some time to think. As many times as I meet that man, It still amazes me how long it takes him to understand some things, though he's quick as the crack of a whip when it comes to others. Now, you look like hell. Why don't you take a shower? Have you eaten? I'll get someone to cook you something, and we can work out what we're doing today after that. Sound like a plan?"
Gohan nodded obediently and stood up, pouting internally that he didn't get a shoulder rub like he'd really wanted. He knew where the bathroom was, he'd spent a fair amount of time in Videl's house. In fact, there were lots of bathrooms, he knew that too. He headed for hers, which was the one he tended to use, and closed the door behind him, taking his gi off and stepping into the shower. She was right, it did feel nice to have some hot water ease the tension out of his shoulders.
++++++++++++++
Videl frowned at Gohan's back as he left the room. It bothered her sometimes that her friend was so... needy. She wished he were a little better able to handle things himself, but she knew that it was just how Gohan was, and that it would never change. On some level, it really made Videl feel like she was needed by him, and that was a nice feeling. She got dressed and went downstairs to ask the maid to cook enough breakfast for twelve people. The poor maid blinked and nodded meekly. She hadn't been planning on spending her morning cooking and then washing dishes, but she was well paid, so she supposed it didn't matter what she did, she was compensated.
While Gohan was washing up Videl got herself a glass of orange juice and sat at the table in the dining room. The table was huge and polished to perfection, the dark wood looked rich in the articulate room, it matched with the moldings and the deep red of the walls. The chairs (all 14 of them) were high-backed and expensively cushioned. It looked like some kind of royal dining hall, but Videl didn't think too much of it, as she was used to it. She drank her orange juice, looking up when Gohan came into the room.
"Wow I'm glad I can sense you, I got lost like four times trying to find this room!"
"Gohan you've been here lotsa times, you should know your way around by now."
"Yeah but my house has like... six rooms, one staircase, and one hallway. You've got too many to count."
"Shut up and sit down fool... Hilda is making you something to eat."
Gohan sat in the chair beside Videl's and looked around the room, appearing to feel marginally better. Videl leaned back in her chair and smirked at him, deciding that if she was hungry she'd just borrow a little from Gohan's plate.