A/N: Hey everyone! We're gonna jump right into it! Los of announcements at the bottom for future content to buckle up!

This chapter was very difficult for me to write but I pushed through it and I'm somewhat satisfied with the result.

The days started to blend together.

It could have been two days, it could've been two weeks. Ivory didn't know. She didn't care; the only reason she was aware of time passing was that the weather was slowly beginning to change. She was having fun, and wasn't that the important part?

Like a game of cat and mouse, or mice it seemed, as she had two contenders to play with. Or rather, a puppeteer, pulling the strings of those around her to elicit the responses she wanted. It was easy once she knew the personalities of the people around her and from there, it was about using the right words.

For Erasa, someone who liked to talk a lot and didn't seem to know how to read the room, you simply dangled the thread in front of her and waited for her to take it. She'd talk and talk and talk until you fed her more and let her talk again. Ivory would sit with her cheek in hand and let Erasa talk as much as she wanted because honestly? Most of it was dribble but Erasa had a lot of information to give so Ivory catalogued a lot of it for later.

Sharpner was laughably easy. If he had been her target, this seduction game would have been over before it started. He tripped over himself to talk to her, went out of his way to impress her when he had her attention, and asked her on a date more times than she could count. He simply wouldn't take no for an answer, but his disappointment was his own fault for being so insistent when she obviously wasn't interested.

Videl was the most entertaining. She still didn't like the girl too much, but she did so enjoy their game now that it was taken up a notch. There weren't too many confrontations in or out of bathrooms anymore; their fight was more of a silent one. Glances exchanged between the two of them, sometimes Ivory would smile at her, sometimes Videl would scowl. It was a type of tug of war between them: who could keep Gohan's attention the longest. Ivory was at a slight disadvantage but she was working on it.

And Gohan…sweet Gohan.

How was it possible that a Saiyan could be so sweet? If her information didn't lie, she would've assumed the Saiyan was someone else. He was expressive, kind-hearted, and it always seemed like he went out of his way to help someone out even if it landed him in awkward situations. Ivory couldn't keep count of how many times Gohan was pulled away for something even when he was already busy. He was the same with her; if Ivory needed him, he was at her call. But that wasn't the depth of their relationship; they still spoke at length about a variety of subjects. When they weren't deep in discussion, Ivory was examining him closely to gauge his reactions and Gohan would be so flustered at her looks. She rather liked it when his cheeks would take on a red or pink hue and he stuttered: it was her favorite expression. She thrived on his attention, liked it when his eyes roamed her in new outfits and accessories.

She wanted him. She wanted him so badly it burned. She wanted to lock a collar around his neck and keep him at her heels. She wanted him to kneel before her and look up at her with such unflinching devotion.

And he belonged to her already. He just didn't know it.

~/~

"You're making that face again," Ivory noted casually, lifting her eyes from the book in front of her. Truthfully, she hadn't been paying attention to the words on the page but she happened to look up and noticed the distant, far off look on Gohan's face. There was the slightest wrinkle in his brow, light enough that she would've missed it had she not been well attuned to every expression he made.

She had been studying him intently for a long time now, of course she knew his different facial expressions. Why shouldn't she know?

Gohan blinked, looking up from his own novel. "I-what face?"

She laughed lightly, setting her book down to lean across the table. She poked him right between the eyes, running the pad of her finger over said little wrinkles. "You get these wrinkles right here whenever you're overthinking. Something troubling you darling?"

She forgot when she casually let the pet-name "darling" slip out, but Gohan didn't seem to dislike it and hadn't told her to stop yet; he almost seemed to really enjoy it. Of course, she had to cover it up by lying that she always assigned pet-names to her close friends (and to really sell it she frequently called Erasa "dear", Sharpner "love", and Videl "doll"). Every time she said "darling" his ears would flush in the most adorable way.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, brushing her fingers away.

"If it were truly nothing, you wouldn't be making that face." She titled her head. This was strange behavior for him. Nothing in the past few days should have elicited such a response. Well, that was a falsehood. It seemed that Videl had taken it upon herself to join them for walks in the mornings. It irritated Ivory but what could she do but accept it? Protesting might drive a rift between her and Gohan and that was the last thing she needed.

Still, that should be no reason why Gohan would act so strange.

"Do I really make a face?"

She laughed. "You're very expressive, though I just know what to look for. It's very subtle honestly, but your brow tightens just a bit."

His eyes dropped down briefly, then back up to meet hers. His look made her realize that she was still leaning across the table and the strap of her shirt had fallen down her shoulder. She slowly sat back, though she let the strap stay just where it was. If it was drawing Gohan's attention, there was no need to move it.

"Are you…dating Sharpner?"

Ivory blinked. Of all the things she expected him to say, that was the last thing she thought of. What? "Dating Sharpner? No, we are merely friends. Why do you ask?"

He turned away, trying to hide in his book. Whatever tension was between them started to fade and Ivory felt her eyes widen a bit as she realized what this meant. "No reason."

"There's a reason," Ivory huffed, snatching his book away. "Why did you ask?"

Gohan made a small noise and avoided her gaze. "The way you act around him. I thought…I don't like it."

Ivory stared at him for long moments. She wasn't too familiar with this, but she had a very good idea of what was going on.

Jealously.

Gohan was jealous. The thought of him being jealous sent a little thrill through her. Jealously was good. Jealously was very good. She had to school her expression into something neutral to stop the grin threatening to spread across her face.

"Don't like what?" Of course, only playing dumb would get her the information she wanted. She wanted to see where his line of reasoning came from because there was absolutely no way she was letting him go that easily.

"You…You call him "love" and you hang on his arm sometimes or play with his hair and…I thought you were together."

Ivory held back a laugh. She would not laugh right now, because she knew Gohan would take it the wrong way. He was jealous and sounded like a petulant child and he was honestly pouting. He was too adorable for his own good.

But he was right, she had done those things. The pet name was just something she did to cover a slip, but she would be more than happy to stop if Gohan didn't like it. Hanging off Sharpner's arm? Well, she picked up that habit thanks to Erasa and the only reason she did it was to shut Sharpner up sometimes. Playing with his hair she had done once because he had gotten hit in the temple with a baseball and was delirious for some time before help came; she'd merely been trying to distract him from the steadily forming bruise and the pain.

"Darling," she murmured softly. "I've given everyone a pet name because I care for them dearly, but if that name bothers you so much, I will change it or simply stop it altogether. I was merely comforting him the day I was toying with his hair but I haven't touched him since. Save for "hanging off his arm" but I assure you that it is no more than a friendly gesture; I've no romantic interest in him."

Whatever remaining tension was between them was started to fade until it had dissipated completely. Gohan seemed to relax and Ivory graciously gave him his book back. Not that he opened it, instead fidgeting with the cover. Ivory watched him again, waiting for him to say whatever else may be plaguing him. She shouldn't have had to explain her reasons but she couldn't very well let him be upset.

"Good," he mumbled. And Ivory had to strain a bit to hear him. "I mean, he's nice but you can't…not with him."

"Trust me darling. I've only eyes for you."

She said it quietly, low enough where she was sure Gohan wouldn't be able to hear her, and opened up her book again. She didn't even need to look up to know that he was staring at her. She let a small smile grace her lips as she turned the page. She heard a quiet, amused huffed before he opened his book again and they lapsed into silence.

Like she'd let him get away that easily.


The rest of the afternoon passed in blessed silence, with the occasional shared glance between them. And this time, Gohan wasn't looking away from her when she caught his gaze. And when she smiled at him, he'd smile back (albeit shyly).

She was in such a good mood that she decided to skip going home for the day and dragged Biamuh with her to the mall. She didn't know what her goal was for being here, but she knew she wasn't going to buy something for herself. No, if she bought anything, it'd be for Gohan. She wondered how he would react if she presented him with a collar. Perhaps a blue one or a purple one would be fitting for him, with nice fur lining on the side to protect his neck from any chaffing. The possibilities were endless.

She was happy with the day up until the moment the world exploded.

Ivory heard the whistle just seconds before the blast landed. One moment, she was looking in the window at a set of jewelry and the next there was screaming. So much screaming, as people ran for cover, tried to avoid falling rubble, or crying over lost loved ones. Ivory was startled out of her browsing and watched as flames began to lick up the sides of storefronts and buildings began to collapse in on themselves. There was a gust of hot air and another piercing whistle, then another explosion. This one was closer, but she couldn't see much more as Biamuh wrapped his arms around her and rolled out of the way.

"Are you injured Princess?"

"I'm fine, worry not." Her eyes stung a bit from all the dust but neither blast was close enough to do any damage to her. Though her clothes were beginning to accumulate a fair amount of dust from everything going on. "What happened?"

"An explosion of sorts," Biamuh answered. He was quick to pull her into an abandoned shop. "I didn't see where it came from, but the cause is not my concern. You are my priority and we need to get you out of here."

Ivory surveyed the area. Too many people tried huddling together to hide, others shoving children and adults alike away from their hiding places, and some desperately running away from the blast zones. Even worse, some people were looting damaged stores while everyone was stumbling around in confusion.

Her lip curled in disgust. So, this was how humans behaved in a crisis?

Something caught Ivory's eye just beyond Biamuh's shoulder. She tried to make out what it was, but another whistling noise reached her ears just before another explosion rocked the area. People started to scream again as the ground shook, part of the floor collapsing downwards.

What was going on?

Biamuh didn't give her time to think. He lifted her to her feet and began tugging her towards…somewhere. Ivory hadn't kept track of where all the exits were when they entered and with everyone running around as such; at least they were both level-headed right now. She normally didn't panic in dire situations like the one they were currently in but this caught her by surprise. And ruined her mood. She was having such a good day and someone decided to ruin it.

Together they ran, sprinting and leaping over any piles of rubble in their way. People who passed them were nothing but a blur, nothing of a concern with her. No one would notice them moving faster than normal and Ivory didn't care if they did; it could easily be written off as a hallucination in response to everything going on.

Just as they reached a throng of people, she heard another telltale whistle. One that sounded far too close for comfort. It wasn't something she was worried about exactly but if it was something this close to the two of them, there was bound to be an issue. Plus, Biamuh wasn't like her; at this close a range he'd be severely injured.

She didn't think she could handle it if he got hurt. It didn't matter that it was his duty, she considered him more than just her guard. If anything happened to him…

Ivory grabbed his arm and yanked him into a near empty shop mere seconds before the explosion went off. A wall of hot air slammed into them both, not strong enough to knock them off their feet, but the heat was oppressive. Biamuh was saying something to her, but she couldn't hear him. There was a harsh ringing in her ears and that was the only thing she heard. Biamuh's lips moved but there was no sound. His face was pale as he desperately tried to communicate with her. But there was so much smoke and heat and dust she could barely read his lips. He seemed to huff and began drawing symbols on her arm over and over and over again. It took her a few tries to read what he was saying.

E

She hoped he didn't mean leave without him because she wasn't going to do that. He seemed urgent but she shook her head. No. They either left together or Ivory would blow a bigger hole in the roof and drag him out of here kicking and screaming. His duty be damned, she couldn't lose him, especially not like this.

Biamuh suddenly stiffened and looked at something over her shoulder. Ivory looked over her shoulder and squinted at the shape slowly forming in front of her. Someone was coming towards her, wearing…A mask. No, a helmet of sorts. It took her brain too many moments to catch up and even longer to realize the person was trying to talk to her.

Gohan.

Or, at least, it was his hero persona. She almost slipped and called him by his name, but she realized that he had no idea that she knew his identity. She could, of course, break the news to him down but she'd rather not have this discussion while her guard was at risk of dying and there was fire all around them. Now was not the time for it.

Gohan was trying to say something to her, probably about getting her out of danger, but she couldn't make out the words. She couldn't read his lips nor could she hear him over the ringing; she felt irritation rise in her because all she wanted to do was enjoy the rest of her day.

She pointed to her ears and shook her head. She had been too close to the blast and now she was paying for it. The damage would wear off with time (she hoped) so all she could do was hope that he would understand her as is.

He seemed to grasp that they couldn't communicate and hefted her into his arms with the utmost of care. Ivory felt her shoulders tense when he moved towards her but when he lifted her up, her heart jumped. The gesture was sweet…but the situation was not the most romantic of ones and she'd prefer if this happened when things weren't on fire. She clung to him and shieled her eyes, listening to the rapid beating of his heart as he moved, hefting Biamuh onto his shoulder.

It was swift really, too swift in her opinion, to get them to safety. One moment, Gohan was maneuvering through the fire and the next, they were ushered into the arms of what seemed like medical professionals. Biamuh stuck to her side despite the urging that they both get themselves checked out, gently but firmly steering everyone away from the duo. To at least assuage some worries, Ivory accepted the thick blanket and cup of water someone gave her and sat beside Biamuh.

The blanket was warm, but it was nothing compared to how warm it felt being in Gohan's arms.

~/~

"I cannot believe the nerve of you! How dare you try to stay behind while I escaped?! Do you understand how incredibly stupid that was? I don't care what your duty is, you'd better not pull another stunt like that ever again! You either leave with me, or we figure something else out together. But there will never be a situation where we separate like that and if you try that again, I will punish you!"

Biamuh, to his credit, seemed to break his normally stoic façade and looked very sheepish. For once in the many long years she had known him, he refused to meet her eyes. "Your safety-"

"It was a series of explosions from primitive earth contraptions! Surely you know I've survived worse."

As it turned out, Biamuh had gotten injured protecting her. After a lot of prodding from Ivory, he lifted his shirt to reveal a large span of bruises spreading from his shoulder to his hip. Ivory pressed her fingers into the bruise and didn't relent until Biamuh caved and confessed that at some point during their escape, something large clipped him in the side but he foolishly pushed through it without saying a word to her. It would've been fine but he also got hit with something else during the third blast they were so close to, which left him incredibly winded.

And he didn't tell Ivory until he nearly fainted.

"I know you have. And I know you are capable," Biamuh sighed. "But all my instincts are tuned to keeping you safe, regardless of the situation. My life means nothing."

Ivory rolled her eyes, but she wasn't too cross with him. She regarded him fondly, even as he still refused to meet her eyes. "You've been at my side since I was a child. Your life may not mean anything to you, but it means something to me. And I refuse to watch you throw it away like that. You are more than a throwaway soldier to me."

Biamuh probably wouldn't admit it, but Ivory caught how misty-eyed he was. She wouldn't say anything either, just to save him his dignity. "I…do not deserve such words Princess."

"You do. I'm quite fond of you Biamuh. You aren't allowed to die on me or leave be behind. If you do, I will never forgive you."

"I promise."

Ivory smiled. At least, if she had any constant to fall back on, it was Biamuh.

~/~

It was maybe two hours later when there was a frantic knocking on the door.

Ivory wasn't startled, but she felt subtle tension build in her shoulders again and slowly rose to her feet. Was it a night time visitor for her mother? Because despite what Kirsi said, she was a weak-willed woman at the end of the day and this was the longest stretch of time (that Ivory knew of) where her mother kept her legs closed.

But no, Kirsi wasn't rushing down the stairs, shouting at Ivory not to answer the door because she was expecting anyone. So Ivory sighed and got to her feet, doing her best to put on a neutral face for whoever it was at the door and hope that they didn't irritate her enough to force her hand.

She just bought a new dress and she'd rather not ruin it would blood right now.

The last person she expected to see when she opened the door was Gohan. She thought he'd be busy after the whole explosion thing, and yet here he was, breathing raggedly. She was glad to see him after the whole ordeal and couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face.

"Gohan, what-"

She stumbled, barely resisting the urge to strike out at him, as he yanked on her wrist and pulled her close. Her entire body shut down as he pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her. All her thoughts were muddled and all she could do was stand there in shock as he held her.

"Ivory," he murmured. "You're okay."

She blamed him for why she was so slow to remember what he was talking about. Trapped like this, his arms around her, his warmth, his scent…it was very hard to focus, dizzying really. "I…the mall…"

"I was worried about you. I-I saw what happened on the news and…"

She blinked. The news? But…no, he was there wasn't he? Ivory tried to think past the fog in her mind and realized that he was just trying to cover up for his persona. Silly, there was no need for all of that. "I know who you are darling. You don't need to hide it."

Gohan pulled back just a bit, though he didn't move his arms from around her. Not that she had any complaints about that. "You knew?"

"I figured it out long ago, but I knew you had your reasons for not saying anything. So I kept your secret for you; I wanted you to be able to tell me when you felt comfortable." There was a spot of soot on his cheek that she rubbed away with her thumb. Gohan leaned into her touch and she swore he whined when she pulled her hand away. "I'm grateful to you for saving me."

"I'm just glad you're okay." He pressed his forehead against hers and Ivory found it hard to think again. Too close, he was too close and it was too much and hard to think. Very hard to think with his…everything just in front of her. Her heart was racing, her hands trembling and she couldn't breathe. It was like he was taking up all the air and she couldn't get air into her lungs.

"I'm fine darling. Thank you for checking in on m-"

Her eyes widened. He…he was kissing her. It was a hot, desperate thing that she almost lost herself in. How she wanted to press back and let him sweep her away. But this was wrong. This wasn't the way things were supposed to go. Yes, she had him but this wasn't the way she wanted him. She immediately understood why he was behaving like this and it would've been so easy to just take.

But this wasn't how she wanted him.

Even though it pained her so, she pushed him away, cupping his cheeks before he could look too hurt about the rejection. "Darling, I need you to listen to me. You only feel this way because we were in a difficult situation."

"No. No, Ivory I've always-"

"These feelings were brought to the surface but only because you saved my life. Had you not, would we have been here right now?"

The answer, and she could admit it, was a no. They hadn't reached that point yet and Ivory could admit it to herself that the Saiyan was not yet in her grasp.

"You and I both know that this wouldn't happen. I care for you so much my darling but I don't want you to regret starting any kind of relationship with me because you made the decision worked up like this. It won't be healthy." She leaned up as far as she could to gently kiss his forehead. It was the least she could do to let him know she wasn't outright rejecting him.

"Give yourself time to get over this, alright? I will still be here. And once you have everything sorted out, come to me again."

At first, she was worried he chose not to listen to her; his silence spoke volumes. It felt like an eternity before he nodded.

"I promise."

~/~

It took a week for him to stop hovering over her. His hands would twitch as if he was going to reach for her and then he would draw away. She would look over and catch him staring at her and looking around for any source of danger.

It took two weeks for to stares to stop. The danger must've passed enough for him to stop worrying so much about possible harm to her. Their conversations resumed as well and he seemed to relax more.

It took three weeks for things to settle into their normal routines. They walked together in the mornings, the conversation between them flowed like usually, and Gohan smiled at lot more. They hadn't yet discussed his persona again but that was okay; with time they would broach that topic.

A month later the season changed. She could feel the chill in the wind, the dampness in the air, the oncoming cold that would soon sweep the land. Her favorite kind of weather, where she felt more powerful. More like herself. Rain and snow were approaching and she couldn't wait.

It was also a month later, on the day that the first drops of cool rain began to fall, that Gohan surged forward and pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to her lips. But this time, Ivory didn't push him away.

A/N: I needed a believable situation where Ivory was in danger and Gohan rescued her (and yes I know how cliché it is but sometimes the classics work). The initial idea was for her to be taken hostage again, but that didn't make a lot of sense considering Ivory would've just killed them all, so a random bomb threat seemed like the better idea out of all the ones I had.

Hooray! They kissed again! But like, for real this time. And with this, we can finally move into the second phase of this story. This is where other characters will come in. And yes, that does mean that things with get disgustingly fluffy between Ivory and Gohan.

We've also learned that Ivory values Biamuh more than her other soldiers; maybe even more than she values Kirsi. This is one of the ways she's a bit different from Frieza: Ivory values her personal factions as more than expendables.

Also, in other news I have a few things in the works for these two. I'm going to be publishing a series of stories that revolve around Ivory and Gohan in different AUs. I'll label them accordingly (some might be explicit) and some of them will be one-shots, some will be series (like a soulmate enemies to lovers story, modern aus, stories that take place in Xenoverse, etc.). I am also in the works of a story of Ivory and Broly, but that one will take just a bit longer since it'll probably be a longer story, fifteen-ish chapters I believe. I'm still working out a lot of the kinks in terms of plot and timeline but that will be coming out soon (also Ivory and Broly will merely be very good friends, nothing more than that).

Thank you for reading! See you in the next one!