Chapter 16 – The conclusion

Hinata was trying very hard not to giggle at the way her team-mates were teasing did not want the elders to notice that she was happy about their compromise.

But it was difficult. She watched the ship approach and tried not to smile at how increasingly agitated Naruto was becoming.

"What an idiot!" Kiba roared with laughter. "It was so obvious that you were into Hinata. We all had a lot of fun watching you run around like a headless chicken."

The elders, Ko and Ichika were standing further back with Goku, Chi-Chi and the Ox-King, thanking them for their hospitality. Goten and Trunks had not been told when they were leaving, so that Hanabi could have some peace and quiet. The younger Konoha shinobi were huddled together with Gohan and Videl, watching the ship approach and enjoying each other's company for the last time.

"Shut up, Kiba," Naruto muttered, trying to remain composed.

"And then you offer to marry her just to lock her down and keep other guys away!" Kiba howled.

"That's not why I offered!" Naruto snapped through gritted teeth.

"Perhaps not," Shino added stoically. "But jealousy was a large factor in your decision. You acted rashly for fear of losing Hinata. But there was never any risk of losing her. Why is that? Because Hinata has loved you since before…"

"Okay! Okay!" Naruto yelled. "I get it, ya know! I'm the dumbass and everyone knew how she felt except me. You don't need to go on about it!"

At this point Neji decided to join in the torture. Hinata hid her smile behind her hand.

"You also needed Gohan to tell you that you had feelings for Hinata-sama," Neji added. "I'm surprised it took you so long to realise that you were being irrational, short-tempered and possessive."

Naruto glared at Neji and spared a slightly apologetic look for Gohan. Hinata and Gohan both spoke up at the same time, defending Naruto and trying to get everyone to stop teasing him. But that just brought Hinata to Hanabi's attention.

"To be fair, you were not the only idiot, Naruto-nii," Hanabi gave Hinata a sly look. "Ne-sama seemed completely oblivious to how you were feeling too. Even though everyone else could see it."

Hinata's jaw dropped at that. Considering how everyone was nodding along with Hanabi's statement, Hinata realised that she was right. Even Naruto was in agreement, though he was more likely to keep the attention off himself.

"Really?" Hinata asked, looking to Gohan and Videl for confirmation. "Even the two of you?"

"Oh yeah," Videl added with a large smirk. "He was totally spying on you guys the entire time. Not that I could blame him. We both went a little crazy there for a while."

Naruto yelped and glared at Videl in betrayal.

"Hey, hey! You're the one who asked me to spy on them!"

"Well, you were doing it anyway! I thought I might as well make use of you."

Gohan chuckled and put his arm around Videl's waist, drawing her closer while also reigning her in. This put an end to their bickering.

"It's not like I couldn't sense you spying on us," Gohan chuckled before turning to Hinata. "But yeah, it was pretty obvious how you felt about Naruto. It took me a while to realise how Naruto felt, but once I noticed, it was kind of hard to miss. I would have told you, but I wanted to give one of you a chance to confess."

"Yeah, it was really fun jerking Naruto around and trying to get him to admit why Gohan bugged him so much," Kiba grinned.

Even Akamaru gave a little coughing bark of amusement. Naruto growled at them.

"I find your use of the term 'bugged' offensive, Kiba," Shino's voice was cold as he rounded on his team-mate. "This is because insects always have the bad reputation of…"

"I was just kidding, geez!"

Hinata was crestfallen that she had hurt Naruto so much without knowing it. The only reason she had continued with the charade of dating Gohan without telling Naruto it was false was because she had not thought he would care. She had not wanted him to know about the problems within the Hyuuga clan, but she would have told him it was false if she had known how agitated it was making him.

It seemed everyone had noticed except her. Years of doubting her own self-worth and loving Naruto in the shadows had blinded her to his feelings, causing her to rationalise away any affections she might have suspected.

"Hey," Naruto approached, tilting her chin up and stroking her hair behind her ears. "Don't worry about them. It doesn't matter how it happened as long as it all worked out, right?"

Hinata looked up into his smiling face. His bright blue eyes were looking at her the way she had always dreamed they would. There was a softness to his expression that she had started to notice the last few weeks but had fooled herself into thinking was not aimed at her. Now she knew that it was, and she could see his love for her. She smiled happily and nodded at him, unable to prevent a blush of pleasure.

Naruto seemed mesmerised by her expression and leaned down to kiss her. Kiba blatantly cleared his throat and Naruto pulled back, realising that everyone was watching them. His face turned slightly pink with embarrassment.

Hinata knew that it was not because he cared that everyone was watching but because he didn't want to embarrass her. Hinata frowned. She wanted Naruto to know that she would never be embarrassed by him.

After a quick glance to check that the elders were not watching, she gripped his shoulder and turned him to face her again, causing him to look down at her in surprise. With an encouraging smile, she reached up on her toes to kiss him softly.

As he leaned into it, she could feel his smirk forming against her mouth. Hinata giggled at how pleased he was by her claiming him. Naruto drew back first, pecking her once, twice and a last time before pulling back shyly and gripping her hand.

"Ewww," Kiba groaned. "Don't do that in front of us."

Despite his words he was smiling. Hinata knew that Shino was happy for her too, even though he was not showing it. Everyone else also seemed relieved that they had worked everything out.

"Lay off us and quit with the teasing," Naruto squeezed Hinata's hand and smiled at her before turning to the others. "I may be an idiot, but I think I found the only girl who doesn't mind. Good luck finding that when your turn comes around, Kiba. You're just as big of an idiot as me."

"Shit. You've got a point," Kiba suddenly sounded distracted. "Crap. Even Naruto got a girlfriend before me. That's gonna hurt my rep back home."

Hinata was quick to comfort him and tell both him and Naruto that neither of them were idiots. But her words were drowned out by Shino fuelling Kiba's insecurities by pointing out that his reputation was unlikely to suffer as he was not very well-known in the first place, and by Naruto reiterating that Hinata was his fiancée, not his girlfriend!

"Anyway," Videl interrupted loudly and turned to Neji, causing Hinata to giggle. Videl sure had a way of making herself heard and putting a stop to pointless bickering. "What's going to happen to your clan now? Do you think they're still going to be looking for matches for you and Hanabi?"

Neji frowned at the question and Hanabi looked nonchalant about the entire business. The reminder seemed to sober everyone's mood. They watched the ship anchor down and the rowboats get lowered into the ocean.

"I don't really mind much," Hanabi added, surprising Hinata. "Unlike Ne-sama, I don't have someone I've set my heart on since I was a kid. I've always made peace with the idea that my marriage is likely to be arranged. As long as it's not someone too weak or disgusting, I don't really care."

Hanabi shrugged, before her expression darkened.

"Although I might make an exception for Goten and Trunks. I think it will be months before I can eat another apple…or even so much as look at a fish!"

For some reason, Gohan and Videl turned towards each other and started giggling. Hinata was too busy focusing on her duty-bound sister to try and comprehend why.

"I don't know, Hanabi. I think by the time you're ready, Goten will probably be stronger than me," Gohan responded thoughtfully, when he was calmer. "And I know for a fact that Trunks is going to turn out really strong, and rich, and kind of good-looking. Your elders might be tempted to match the two of you up when you're older."

Everyone frowned in confusion at the certainty in his tone. Hinata wondered why he was so much more confident about Trunks than his own brother.

"Yeah, they'll probably turn out well. They're cool kids. And sometimes they can be really sweet…" Videl started to agree, before seeming to remember that she was angry with the boys, "...not that either of those little demons deserves Hanabi after the crap they pulled."

Hanabi was nodding along emphatically, even though Hinata was certain Videl was talking about the lies the boys had told.

"Those two nearly drove me crazy!" Hanabi turned her nose up haughtily. "I'd rather let my father choose my husband than choose either one of them."

Hinata frowned at her sister and was grateful when some of their group left to get into the boats. With Kiba, Akamaru and Shino out of the way and heading to the ship with Ichika and Ko, she felt free to catch Hanabi's eye and really look at her.

This was why the clan elders had been pushing for Hanabi to be the next clan head. Hanabi enjoyed her individuality, and she was extremely strong-willed, but she had a sense of duty that Hinata was missing and she did not yearn for the same independence that Hinata yearned for. Hinata turned to her sister and stroked her hair.

"You say you don't care about an arranged marriage now, Hanabi. But you might feel differently in time. I don't want you to agree to anything until you come of age." Hinata tried to be gentle, but whenever she spoke to Hanabi, her voice always came out stern. She tried to soften it. "Don't make them any promises now. And please tell me if anyone tries to pressure you."

Hanabi saw the concern in her elder sister's eyes and nodded. Hinata breathed out a sigh of relief that Hanabi respected and trust her enough to confide in her. Naruto stroked her back soothingly, as Hanabi crawled in under her arm, taking comfort from her and reassuring her at the same time.

"I suppose I'll be actively seeking a wife before the elders try to choose one for me," Neji said distastefully, before turning to Videl with a blank expression and a slightly cocked eyebrow. "Unless you've changed your mind. You can always trade one perverted playboy for another?"

There was a momentary lapse of silence as everyone realised that Neji was making a joke.

Surprisingly, Gohan was the first to chuckle, hiding his laughter in Videl's shoulder as she smiled sheepishly at her trainer. Hinata was happy about how much Neji had come out of his shell in these two months on this continent. Naruto guffawed and pointed rather obviously at Videl.

"That's right! You called him a pervert in front of everyone!"

Hinata shushed him, while holding back giggles herself. Naruto had tears in his eyes as he seemed to find the idea of a perverted Neji increasingly amusing. Perhaps he was also taking pleasure in Videl's discomfort.

"Uh…yeah…sorry about that, Neji." Videl shrugged, trying to seem unapologetic, but her sheepish blush gave her away. "If it helps, I'll let you call me a pervert next time."

Neji shook his head, but it was clear that he was more amused than insulted. He even offered to host her and Gohan at the Hyuuga compound whenever she was ready for more lessons. Videl smiled and thanked him for everything. Neji shook her hand as well as Gohan's, before making his way over to the second boat.

Hanabi turned to follow him. However, she hesitated for a moment and turned back to embrace Gohan around his middle. Gohan awkwardly patted Hanabi on the shoulder before she released him.

"Hold onto him, Videl-san," Hanabi narrowed her eyes at Videl as she stepped back. "If the two of you aren't married by the time I come of age, you better know you'll have competition."

"Hanabi!" Hinata scolded with shock, as Naruto chuckled beside her.

Gohan looked embarrassed, but Videl hid her own amusement and instead respected Hanabi enough to glare at her as though she were actual competition.

"I'm not letting him go so easily, Hanabi," Videl punched her fist into her hand. "Next time I see you, you'd better watch yourself!"

Hanabi observed her cautiously, as though trying to determine her weaknesses. But then she seemed to realise she was being silly and laughed at herself. She was still chuckling as she waved at them and followed Neji to the boat. Hideki and Hiashi were making their way over too, flanked by their hosts.

"I like her spunk," Videl smiled as she watched Hanabi settle in, before turning to Gohan. "Still, the next time she comes onto you, I'll sic Goten and Trunks on her."

Gohan smiled but scratched his cheek uncomfortably.

"Sorry. I really didn't encourage her."

Videl raised a sarcastic eyebrow and smirked at him, but she still rubbed his back soothingly.

Now that the four teenagers were left alone, Hinata noticed Naruto shuffling his feet. She looked up at him and saw that he was sneaking peeks at Gohan.

"Uh so…sorry that I called you a perverted playboy," Naruto grumbled to the floor.

Gohan rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled happily.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. No hard feelings."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and smiled brightly at Gohan.

Videl, however, glared at Naruto. A glare which he returned, before Hinata nudged him slightly. Naruto looked down into Hinata's worried eyes and smiled. He relaxed a bit and extended his fist out towards Videl.

"You're a tough one alright," Naruto admitted reluctantly. "But you're not so bad. You'll stop him getting too soft."

"Hey!" Gohan grumbled, but it made Videl smile.

"You're not too bad either, once you stopped attacking my boyfriend and grew a pair," she admitted, bumping Naruto's fist with hers. "Hinata's pretty amazing. She's way out of your league too. You better take care of her."

Naruto grinned, not hearing, or choosing to ignore the insult. "You bet I will."

He squeezed Hinata's hand tighter and her heart fluttered at the soft look in his eyes. She was afraid she would blush or start kissing him, so she turned back to Gohan and Videl.

"It was lovely meeting you both, and I really enjoyed spending time with you," Hinata bowed to the two of them. "I sincerely hope this won't be the last time we see you. And once we have a date for the wedding, I hope you'll come."

Both Videl and Gohan smiled at her and confirmed their attendance, reassuring her that they would not let the newly discovered friendship die.

Naruto and Hinata greeted Chi-Chi, Goku and the Ox-King, before they walked towards the boat hand in hand. Hinata had considered letting go of Naruto's hand as they approached the elders, but she decided then and there that she had waited too long for Naruto to worry about what they thought.

Hideki ignored all of them completely, but Hiashi looked like he was trying to speak. Unfortunately for him, the rest of them were all giving him the cold shoulder. He seemed to be feeling it.

Hinata's ire had cooled. As they silently made their way back to the ship, she realised that she felt bad for her father. He did not know any other way of being the clan head, and after her mother had died, he did not know how to be a father to his daughters either. She softened up just enough to be lenient towards him, but not enough to continue to accept his behaviour. He needed to change, and it seemed he knew it.

When they reached the ship, everyone separated into different directions and started waving back at the others on the shore. Naruto and Hinata made their way to the railing and waved at Gohan and Videl. Naruto stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Hinata leaned back against him, sighing happily. She was glad to be going home, but she was going to miss her new friends.

"Kakashi-sensei will be glad to know that there don't seem to be any enemies on this continent," Naruto murmured against her hair, placing a kiss on her temple. "Although I've been so unfocused on this mission, there might have been an army gathering and I wouldn't have noticed."

Hinata giggled at him and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto seemed surprised by her sudden affection, but he was pleased nonetheless. He blushed adorably and nuzzled her hair.

As the ship hauled its anchor and started to pull out of the bay, Hiashi approached the two of them. Naruto released his grip on her out of respect, but Hinata held onto his hand. A move that Hiashi's sharp eyes didn't miss.

"If you wouldn't mind, Hinata, I'd like to invite Naruto to have tea with me in my chambers," Hiashi began cautiously, trying to retain some of his dignity while knowing that he had lost a great deal of respect in both their eyes. "I'd like to get know my future son-in-law."

Naruto looked at her for some clue as to what he should do. A few moments passed where Hinata was surprised they both let her think in silence. She looked between the two of them and nodded.

"Thank you for taking an interest, Father," Hinata's expression softened, but her voice was still cool.

Nevertheless, both Hiashi and Naruto breathed subtle sighs of relief and Hinata could not help smiling at how much they both seemed to fear her reactions. That was a surprising development.

Naruto squeezed her hand before following after Hiashi. Her father turned around to look at her hesitantly. Hinata decided to encourage his behaviour and his attempt at amends by nodding at him. To her surprise, he looked relieved, and as he led Naruto to his chambers, he seemed lighter.

Hinata found herself hopeful that things in her clan would be better from now on.


Gohan stood with his family, waving at the ship as it started to sail away. He was both glad and sad to see them go. They had brought a lot of unnecessary conflict and drama into his life, but everything had ended well and he did not regret meeting them at all.

He and Videl had needed the push, and he was glad to have made some friends his own age. Gohan found himself eagerly looking forward to the wedding. He would like to go to Konoha to meet other shinobi his age and see how they lived.

He was glad he and Naruto had left things on a good note. Naruto was weird, Gohan chuckled to himself. There had been a dark cloud between them for months. But as soon as Naruto apologised, it was like everything was forgotten. Now there was only brightness, and Gohan felt enveloped in sunshine. What an interesting guy.

"What?" Videl asked at his chuckle, nudging him playfully with her shoulder.

"I was just thinking about Naruto. How come you two couldn't get along?"

Videl frowned as she contemplated his question and thought through her answer. Gohan loved that she was always careful to speak her own truth and never said things thoughtlessly. He supposed that being a role model and being surrounded by the media her entire life had trained her to think carefully before she spoke.

"I guess, for the same reason I never got along with Saiyaman when you first appeared," Videl shrugged as she watched the ship disappearing. "Naruto's strong, and I don't like it when I don't know where that strength comes from or when I don't know how to stop it. If I'm going to protect people, I need to know what the threat is."

Gohan nodded in understanding, remembering the way she had constantly tried to unmask him. This little insight into her mind was helping him to understand why she had seemed so frustrated when they first met.

Then Videl got excited and glared at the fading outline of the ship as she burst out: "Plus, he totally came here to spy on us all! And he was being really obvious about it. I didn't know what his intentions were. But by the time I figured out he was harmless, we had already established a relationship based on mutual distrust."

Gohan mused at her reasoning. He would never have thought that way. There were very few things that made him paranoid and cautious, possibly because he was so powerful.

He realised that Naruto had been right when he said Videl would protect Gohan from getting too soft. Videl was always on guard and looking for threats. She was a true guardian and protector. He remembered their conversation about him keeping his guard up and Gohan realised that there was a lot he could learn from his girlfriend.

"Besides, after a while it just became fun to rag on him," Videl laughed, showing the playful side that had made him fall in love with her.

Gohan smiled at her and kissed her temple, causing the others to stare at them. Belatedly Gohan realised that he had not had a chance to tell his family that he and Videl were together.

The three of them approached, mischief in their teasing eyes. Videl suppressed a chuckle as Gohan gulped.

"Hey, Gohan," the Ox-King started, sounding confused. "What's going on? First you're together, then you're not, now you are again?"

Chi-Chi squealed as she saw the affection the two teens were showing and Goku was scratching his head in confusion. Goku seemed to just be going with the flow. But he looked bored, and Gohan was certain his father would rather be off training.

"I knew it!" Chi-Chi yelled excitedly.

For a split-second Gohan truly thought that Chi-Chi had read his mind and was yelling at Goku for preferring training to spending time with his family.

"You knew what?" Gohan asked alarmed as he turned to face his mother.

"I knew you two were dating!" Chi-Chi punched Goku on the arm. "Didn't I tell you? A mother always knows."

"Oh," Gohan said lamely, and blushed bright red.

He let go of Videl instinctively as he saw the conniving look his mother was sending their way.

Videl laughed awkwardly, starting to feel the pressure Chi-Chi's crazed eyes were placing on them and consciously stepping even further away from Gohan.

"But then why did you get mad at me when I said you were?" Goku pouted at the teenagers. "Everyone was shouting at me. I can't keep these things straight anymore! What's the big deal anyways?"

Chi-Chi glared at her husband. Videl and Gohan exchanged a look and a sigh.

"We weren't dating back then," Videl folded her arms defensively. "We only started dating a couple of weeks ago, and we had to keep it quiet because of the Hyuugas."

Three pairs of confused eyes blinked back at them. Chi-Chi seemed the most surprised and confused.

"You really weren't dating before this?" she asked with a puzzled frown.

"No," Videl insisted, looking up at Gohan with a slight smile that made his knees weak. "We were trying to get everyone to think Gohan was interested in Hinata to get the Hyuugas off our backs. You didn't think so too?"

All three of them laughed at that idea, even though it seemed that Goku was laughing at something completely different. Videl looked confused, but Gohan thought he understood why they were laughing. It was probably clear to his entire circle of family and friends that Gohan was in love with Videl. That was probably why they all teased him so much. He became embarrassed at the idea that the only one who had not seemed to realise it was Videl herself.

"Of course not, honey," Chi-Chi chuckled and cradled her own face in her hands as she cooed about the romance of it all. "Hinata is a lovely girl, but she's not you. I know my son, and I could see he was a hopeless case the first time he ever brought you home with him."

Gohan flushed with embarrassment and rubbed at his neck.

"Mom," Gohan looked down, avoiding Videl's eyes. "Stop…"

Videl looked up at him in surprise and laughed at how pink his face had gotten.

"Yeah, and that Hinata girl looks way too soft to handle Gohan," Goku added, as an afterthought. "She doesn't even look like she's ever yelled at anyone before."

Gohan shook his head at his father's obliviousness, as the two women puffed themselves up and rounded on him.

"Gohan's not dating me just because I yell at him…!" Videl started.

"Gohan's not some troubled hoodlum that needs to be handled…!" Chi-Chi continued, drowning her out.

They both stalked up to Goku, glaring and gesturing at him angrily. Gohan lost track of what they were saying, as he tried not to laugh at Goku's cornered expression.

"…I can be nice. I'm totally nice! And I don't even shout that much!" Videl finished with a flourish, before turning back and coming to stand next to Gohan with her hands in fists at her side.

"…and maybe you wouldn't need shouting at if you Saiyans stopped behaving like wild animals!" Chi-Chi yelled, poking Goku in the chest.

For his part, Goku was waving his hands in front of his face, chuckling naughtily and bowing his head in a false apology.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he said inauthentically. "I take it back. Gohan doesn't need to be yelled at."

Gohan shook his head at his tactless father, but also knew how much Goku enjoyed the thrill of being put in his place by a strong-willed woman. Gohan knew what he was feeling, because he felt that thrill himself too sometimes.

Then Chi-Chi came right up to Gohan, making him step back a bit defensively.

"So, when are you two going to get married?" Chi-Chi started sweetly, to no one's surprise. "I can't believe you let Naruto beat you to a proposal when he and Hinata weren't even dating yet! You need to hurry up young man..."

Videl smirked at him behind Chi-Chi's back, as Gohan shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Videl's eyes were twinkling with happiness as she witnessed his discomfort, and Gohan felt his spirit get lighter. He could even handle his mother's tirade better than usual. He let her go on as long as she wanted, especially since it was providing Videl with so much amusement and making her look at him with that fondly amused expression.

"The boys will be so happy," the Ox-King commented, once Chi-Chi had finished enthusing.

"You can't tell them about us yet," Videl was stern as she plotted her revenge. "Those two nearly ruined everything."

"Wh-whaaa…" Goku complained. "More secrets? Aww man, why can't we tell 'em?"

Gohan very concisely told them everything the boys had done to try to force them together, as well as all the details about the Hyuuga marriage plot. Goku and the Ox-King thought it was all hilarious, but Gohan was relieved to see that Chi-Chi had come around to their way of thinking.

"Those two trouble-makers!" she shouted. "Oh, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. And to think, you two might have been engaged by now if they hadn't interfered! Come on, Dad! We're going back to punish them!"

Gohan chuckled nervously, not willing to correct his mother on her incorrect assumption. She was gripping Goku by the arm and started yelling some more about all the freedom Goku allowed the two half-Saiyan monstrosities.

Chi-Chi stopped in the middle of her tirade and turned to smile at Gohan and Videl.

"You two enjoy your afternoon. There's a nice romantic forest over there that would be a good spot to propose."

Both Gohan and Videl's jaws dropped at how blatant and pushy Chi-Chi was being. The Ox-King and Goku could barely keep up with her yelling about meddlesome children as she gripped the both of them and Goku used instant transmission to whisk them all back to the palace.

Videl turned to Gohan as a chuckle escaped her mouth.

"So, I guess I don't have to worry about whether your family approves of our relationship?" she teased.

Gohan flushed. "I'm sorry they're so embarrassing."

Videl chuckled and closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his back.

"Please, Gohan. Have you met my dad?" Videl laughed against his chest. "He's probably going to challenge you to an armwrestling competition or something."

Gohan laughed along with her and the two of them suddenly couldn't stop. They laughed and held each other and let all the tension of the last two months drain away.

What with the Hyuugas, and Videl's training keeping her busy, and the boys interference, they could finally just take the time to enjoy each other's company. And Gohan was relieved that there was no longer any reason for them to hide their relationship. He could take her on a real date now and not worry about who saw them. He started planning something in his head, but Videl interrupted his thoughts.

"You know it won't be long before the boys find out about us, right?" Videl asked, quirking her eyebrow at him. "Between Chi-Chi's yelling and Goku's total inability to keep a secret I wouldn't be surprised if they already know."

Gohan chuckled and leaned down to kiss her, revelling in how secluded they were. At least they didn't have to sneak around anymore, trying to find the time to see each other. He enjoyed kissing her without a time limit. So much so that he nearly forgot what they were talking about.

"Yeah, I guess so," he eventually responded, when he remembered what she had been saying. "I guess we're going to need a new payback plan. Unless we just let my mom take care of their punishment. She's definitely on the warpath."

Videl chuckled and floated up so she could look him in the eye and wrap her arms around his neck.

"Well, it's enough for a start," she grinned mischievously. "And besides, revenge is always best served cold. If we can't make them suffer now, just imagine how much fun we'll have when they get girlfriends of their own."

Gohan couldn't help but laugh at how truly evil she looked right now. He couldn't resist kissing her. Videl responded enthusiastically, clinging to him and wrapping her legs around his middle. Gohan stroked her back as she pressed against him and he shivered darkly, once again struggling to remember what they had been talking about before.

She pulled back and stared at him lovingly. Gohan's stomach fluttered at the look in her eyes.

"Let's not talk about them anymore. We have a lot of lost time to make up for," Videl's voice was husky, before she lightened it. "And I have it on good authority that there's a very romantic forest over there that we can get lost in."

Gohan chuckled at the reminder as he gripped her tightly and flew towards the forest his mother had suggested. He couldn't deny that it was very romantic. He would not be using it to propose any time soon; but he was definitely planning on using it to spend some quality time with his girlfriend.

As they settled in for a steamy make-out session, Gohan found himself overwhelmed with gratitude that the Hyuugas had decided to come to their shores. He did not know if he ever would have found the courage to confess to Videl without Hinata's encouragement. And he now knew exactly who he would turn to for advice whenever he was ready to propose.

And who knew? Maybe he would be ready by the time they took the trip to Konoha.

Gohan couldn't think of a more romantic setting for the two of them than a rural village with some of the best fighters on the planet, with plenty to learn and experience, and plenty of people to meet.

It might be a bit too soon to be thinking of these things, but as Gohan leaned in to kiss Videl, he suddenly thought that Hinata and Naruto's wedding could not come soon enough.

The end


A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who read this story to the end, especially through the ups and downs and delays. A special thanks to those who favourited, followed, and reviewed. Depending on the level of interest, I was thinking of writing a sequel in Konoha. Please review if you would be interested in reading a sequel and let me know what you would want to see in a sequel as well as what your favourite parts of this story were.