Disclaimer: I don't own anything... I don't feel like jazzing up the disclaimer right now.
Author's Note(s): Hi there again folks! 'Tis me again (who else, right?) I love you all, dearly. This chapter is... well, I don't know exactly how to describe it. It's different from stuff I've written in the past, but you have to move on, right? RIGHT! Okay then, straying off topic a little, I'd like to boast a bit. Hehe. My highschool Freshman team is undefeated! w00t! Of course, I'm on the Junior Varsity team, but that's beside the point. We're currently 2-1 with a game on monday! With a little good luck perhaps we can add another win to our record! Wish me luck. Oh yes, and I apologize for an errors in advance.
Enjoy the chappie!
Chapter 2:
A Little History Lesson.
Chichi had already busted down her son's door, revealing a baffled Gohan in his blue training gi pants, tying the cloth belt.
"Mom!"
"GOHAN!"
"Chichi! NO!"
CLUNK!
Gohan looked at the frying pan in shock. It had just missed his head, and slammed into the wall instead. Phew! he thought to himself. Thank Kami for good reflexes.
Videl stood halfway down the hallway to his room, utterly baffled. T-That's crazy! Going after him with a... frying pan...? Isn't that a little extreme!
Chichi caught her breath and straightened her pose once again, readying for another strike. She panted and shot a glare back at Videl.
"Mom..."
"Ever since you starting hanging around with that slut" Chichi's insult was cut off by a raging Videl.
"What did you just say!" Videl asked through clenched teeth. She looked like a Mountain Lion ready to pounce at any moment. Gohan could have sworn her heard her growl.
"Hey..." a scratchy voice sounded from the hallway. "What's going on?..." he asked, his purple hair a mess atop his head. "What's all the yelling and"
Goten cut him off as he zoomed down the small corridor and jumped beside Trunks. "What's for breakfast!"
"OH NO!" his mother yelled, exiting the room frantically. "MY PANCAKES!"
"YAY! Pancakes!" Goten celebrated, following his mother with a bounce in his step.
"I want waffles..." Trunks whined, dragging his feet into the kitchen.
There was an eerie silence that remained when all but Gohan and Videl had left to the kitchen.The buzzing began. A deadly soundlessness that threatened to consume the duo.
Gohan was the first to speak. "Wow..."
Videl looked over at him. Then at the dent in the wall. She gulped and let her gaze fall on the teenage Saiyan again. "I'm sorry," she muttered.
He chuckled and sat down on his bed with a sigh. "It's okay, Videl."
"Your mom's crazy," she said, then added quickly, "no offense."
"Yeah. I know." He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "That's the second time she chased me around the house with a frying pan today."
Videl was quiet. She didn't know exactly what to say. It wasn't an ordinary thing. Usually when a kid is bad, they get grounded or something... but never chased around the house with a frying pan.
"What made her so mad, anyway?" he queried, looking up at her. He patted the bed at his side, motioning for her to sit.
She complied with a smile. "She asked where you were... and without thinking I said you were getting dressed." Her cheeks reddened slightly.
Gohan noticed her pinked features and smiled to himself.
She glanced in his direction and saw his grin. "What? You think this is funny?"
He leaned away from her nervously. "No no! Not funny at all!"
She gave him a strange look.
"It's just," he started, relaxing back into his seat on the bed. He set his eyes at the floor and smiled like a wise man about to begin a tale. "I'm just surprised she let us off that easily."
Videl sputtered a laugh. "She let us off easy!"
He chuckled at her.
"That's what you call easy! I'd hate to see her when she's playing hardball," she said, a sour edge to her voice.
"You have no idea," Gohan continued, "Only Dad could calm her down sometimes... even if he was the reason behind her fury."
Videl followed his gaze over to a photograph on his bedside table. It was in well polished golden frame.
He realized they were both staring at the same thing and went over to get the picture. He sat back down next to her, closer this time, and handed her the photo. "That's a really old picture of Mom, Dad, and me," he explained.
She studied the picture for a moment. It was old, like he had said. There was a small boy sitting on a relatively young man's shoulders, with a pretty, much younger Chichi smiling up at father and son -her boys.
Videl smiled and looked over at Gohan, who was staring intently at the ancient photograph.
He reached over to point out who was who with his hand and accidentally brushed her cheek. "Oh, sorry," he quickly said.
She smiled. "It's okay."
He pointed to the little black haired boy, stationed atop his father's strong shoulders. "That's me."
"I think I could figure that one out myself, thanks," she said, grinning at him.
"Yeah, I guess you could." He pulled his hand back. "Then I bet you know which one is my dad."
"The guy with the orange gi outfit, right?" She glanced over at him, her eyes flowing down to his chest. "Like yours." She laughed. "Oh, and by the way, feel free to put a shirt on at any time."
Gohan looked down at his bare front, slightly shocked to find it uncovered. Shoot, I guess Mom busting in like that made me lose my train of thought... "Uh... t-that's not a bad idea!" His hand instantly went up to scratch the back of his head as he stood up and picked a crumbled blue gi shirt up from the floor.
Videl found herself looking up at his muscular torso again. She was especially fond of the smooth contours of his back that extended into his broad shoulders. No matter how much she looked at him, it never ceased to amaze her. How could this body builder be the same geek that she sat one chair away from everyday at school? It didn't seem possible.
She forced herself to look away from him and instead scanned the picture in her hands. Gohan's father, like her mother, had passed away many years ago. Well... saying that they passed away wasn't exactly the right words, though. Goku was blown up by a huge energy blast, and her mother was hit by a bus with a Cheeto's ad on it. So, they weren't passed delicately into the hands of god, they were thrown into the afterlife like rabid dogs to a cage.
Of course, Videl didn't know that Goku was killed by Cell during the Cell Games seven years prior. In fact, she wasn't even aware he was dead at all. This was one of the many things she didn't know about the Son family. Through all her digging around she only discovered was that Goku was an expert fighter in the World Martial Arts Tournament.
"Where's your dad now?" she asked curiously, glancing up from the picture. Gohan was now fully clothed, and Videl was once again left to marvel at his grand physic. The clothes he wore during school hid everything. Every ounce of power was kept under wraps. The loose gi outfit was entirely different, though. It seemed to add strength and vigor into his form, making him even more appealing to her sight. It was like lifting a veil that hid a force so incredible, that if it was revealed before it's time, it would erupt into a fiery fury and engulf the hearts of teenage girls everywhere.
It was the start of an extremely corny Action/Romance novel. There was a spell about him that not only entranced her eyes, but swayed her mind, which in turn nudged at her heart. Maybe a small bit of longing was seeping into her, like water through the cracks between floorboards. Longing, though? Longing for what? With Gohan? No... no, she must have been mistaken.
"He uhh" He couldn't very well tell her the truth, and have his father show up at the World Tournament in a week. Gohan searched his mind for words. For a thought that could be put into a coherent sentence. Arranged into a lie to why his father wasn't around. "Um..." he paused, looking around the room, searching for some type of inspiration. Anything. He caught a glimpse of the Dream-Catcher hanging above his bed and an idea sprang into his head like a tiger launching itself at it's current victim. "He's helping some Indians rebuild their village..."
"Oh, I see," she said, deaf to the lying note resounding in his speech. "How long has it been since you've seen him?"
"It's been..." Gohan thought hard to himself. Was there really a reasonable response? It had been seven years since Goku's death. He couldn't cover-up the fact that he missed him, so... "It's been about 3 years now."
"Wow, that's a long time for him to be away from his family," she said, genuinely believing his every word.
"Yeah, there were complications and things that I don't want to talk about," he said.
"My mom's been dead about three years now."
He felt a tinge in him of hurt rip away at his heart. Lying to her was like punching himself in the stomach, each time a little harder than the last. "I see." He was glad the topic was no longer on him, but he wasn't all that fond of where the conversation led; to her. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Videl could sense the gorge that held her tears tightly inside shiver at the thought of her mother. Life had never been the same since her death. No matter how much her father tried to make-up for the loss, there would always be a gaping hole through the center of her heart. Please don't ask how she died, Videl mentally pleaded, please don't ask how she died.
"How did she die?" Gohan asked, unaware of the battle waring out inside her head.
Goddamn it! She cursed to herself. Everyone always to ask how her mother died. She hated talking about it... she dreaded explaining the unfortunate events that led to her mother's unlikely demise.
She swallowed hard.
"You okay, Videl?" he asked, his voice flooded with concern.
She smiled meekly. She took a moment to seriously consider if she really was okay. Well, for one, she still wasn't over her mother's demise. She had no faith in god at all, and she hadn't ever let the thought of praying enter her mind, even in the most desperate of times; she couldn't rely on her father for most things, he had too much work to do; the press was always out for her picture, paparazzi following her every movement; no matter how much love she received from her friends, she had never felt more alone in the world.
So, no. She wasn't okay. Of course, Gohan didn't need to know that.
"I'm okay." Normally, she was an average lier, but this was something, that despite every time she had rehearsed it, it never got any easier.
He examined her like he had never done before. She was on the verge of tears, her bottom lip tightly clenched -willing herself not to surrender to the raging ocean behind her eyes that was threatening to burst forth. He tilted his head to look more closely at her face that was slightly hidden under her hair that was jaggedly dropping around her eyes and downcast expression.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah," she swiftly said. "I... I'm fine."
He could almost feel the quiver in her voice, his Saiyan senses kicking in. The smell of her unshed tears hung in the air, her eyes reddening the tiniest tint. The salty tears that continued to assault her by burning in their unstable captivity began to spread a glaze over her eyes and dam up at the bottom of her eyelids. It was obvious now that she was being eaten away from the inside-out and nothing she could do would cover it up.
Gohan had been through this, more than once in the past. After the Cell Games, the Son family had lost a Goku and soon gained a Goten -Goku's last gift to his wife. The shower of tears that rained from his eyes that day were in too high a number to count. The amount of tears he held inside was at least twice that, though. No doubt they were still there... devouring his soul like an acid gnawing open an old wound in his chest.
His father died, and suddenly his responsibilities tripled. He couldn't break down in front of his mother, that was the last thing she needed, and besides, she had taken over that role all alone. He had to stand strong and hide his pain, for the sake of his mother and his own pride. Then, Goten came along. His birth was full of joy and merriment. He was a miniature Goku, in almost every way. It was Gohan's turn to play the part of the dad, he was his role model, his, "Ni-chan" and his mentor.
Remarkably, he learned how to do all this with Vegeta not too far away. They were both going through something similar, Gohan with the loss of his father, and Vegeta with the loss of his rival and determination. He taught him of pride, honor and responsibility. Gohan listened carefully, and took a step back in his mind to put Vegeta's words into modern terms. He had to have pride, honor, and responsibility to take care of his family.
Goten arrived almost exactly a year after Trunks' birth. Vegeta had never dealt with a child before, let along his own son. He was learning how to be a decent father, while Gohan was learning how to be a good brother. You couldn't always be nice, but you always had to love them, whether it be shown to the world, or just between the two. There was an instant, everlasting bond set at their birth, father to son, and brother to brother. Gohan and Vegeta both had their work cut out for them, that was a given.
Now, years upon years later, Gohan was sitting down with the girl of his dreams and she was going through the same thing. A common link of fate that was always going to be there. Comfort, Gohan knew, wasn't going to help here. Everyone tried to pamper and console her, but their attempts were useless. Videl was an extravagantly beautiful, confident, and strong girl. She wouldn't just miraculously toss her shield away and cry on his open shoulder, nor would she accept any help.
She was a female Vegeta in a certain sense. Her pride, self-esteem, honor, and headstrong attitude drove her forward, and sometimes, pulled her down with the weight of it all. Even the sturdiest shoulders crumble under so much pressure. There's only so much one can do, and Videl's load was far over her limit.
Thus, comfort was out of the question. She would refuse his sympathy and end up hiding in the bathroom. She wasn't going to cry in front of him, he knew that -at least, not until she was prepared to wrap herself in the warm blanket of his embrace.
Therefore, he did the only thing he could do at that point. He shifted the weight onto his side of the conversation scale. "Alright then."
"Huh?" she looked up from the crumpled pile of clothing on the floor and treaded her pleading eyes up to his.
He caught her glance, and held it for as long as he could sustain without losing his sanity. He never realized just how blue her eyes were. How deep the river ran from them to her soul. It was finally his turn to be caught off-guard. Had he ever actually truly gazed into the ocean that swirled wonderfully around into the pitch pit in the center? No... not like that. The gleam of watery tears seemed to wipe away all of her defenses, like raining on a car window.
"I uh..." he gulped, turning his head away after gaining her attention.
Before Gohan could finish his thought, his little brother blasted through his bedroom door (which he had had just fixed) and stood atop it victoriously.
"Ni-Chan!" an excited yell escaped his tiny body.
Trunks followed behind him. "Some guy's at the door for you..."
"Huh...?"
Looked like Gohan didn't have to come up with his own distraction anyway. He wearily walked down the hall with his brother in the lead. Videl hastily let a persistent tear fall, and wiped it away with the palm of her hand before walking after them. Gohan thanked Kami for the guest... until he saw who was at the door awaiting him.
End Note: Wahoo! Did you like it? I hope so. If not, how about leaving me a comment of how I can improve. Although, there is that slight chance that you actually enjoyed the chappie... if so, then perhaps you could leave me a review telling me what you liked... o.O Please? I always accept suggestions! w00t! Help a girl out, will ya?
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A big thank you to all the reviewers of Chapter 1:
Story Weaver1
RWT
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DBZ Fan
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Firelife
baby blonde
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Go read my reviewers ficcy's >.> Now! I command thee! o.O
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