Prelude to happily ever after
A/N: Hello! New chapter.
Chapter summary: After their marriage, Videl debates with her husband if they are ready for the next milestone. Because she knows she is.
I know that DBS already showed an aspect of Videl telling Gohan about her pregnancy. But I really wanted to show a different perspective on the issue where the revelation would be more personal, not in front of everyone with the fate of the planet at stake.
To the guest reviewer Nagito, thank you for the comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. You're right, I love Gohan as a dork. And I really hope this next chapter will put a smile on your face. You'll see more of him, that's for sure.
I spent so much time thinking about what to write, I really hope you will enjoy this new section. Let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ! However, I do own any new OC in this story.
Chapter 5: Your amazing superpower
Six months. They had been married for six months now. And things couldn't be better. Videl felt like she was falling even more in love with Gohan each day. He was amazing.
Caring, sweet, gentle, smart, affectionate, responsible… The list never seemed to finish.
She never thought of him as the type of husband who would help with chores, especially considering that Chi-Chi always did everything at their house. Yet, here he was, helping her whenever he wasn't studying.
She never imagined him as the type of person who would enjoy a night in watching her favorite crime shows. Yet, he always found the time to sit with her before going to bed. And he always tried to surprise her with new shows or movies, hoping she didn't watch them yet. She got pretty good at hiding the truth from him but eventually, he learned to know when she was watching a movie for the first time or not. And he'd always chuckle at her giggling. She was like a kid. And she never minded rewatching them, she knew he was happy and that was all that mattered.
Everything in their life was going perfectly fine. And Videl always asked herself what could come next. They had already experienced almost everything they could. Travel, weekends out, mystical orbs, superpowered alien enemies, death.
It was almost as if there weren't anything else for them to try together.
Until, one day, she woke up in the middle of the night and smiled at her husband who was sleeping peacefully next to her.
Were they ready for the next possible milestone?
0o0o0
Videl was really curious about Gohan's opinion on kids. Did he want to become a father? Was it too early? Would he be afraid? Because every time she'd think about it, she'd shiver.
Would she herself be ready to become a mother? If Gohan was ready and she wasn't, would it be fair from her to get his hopes up for nothing? Or put even more responsibilities on him?
And if he wasn't ready, would he let her know when he'd be? If it happened by mistake, would he help her or he'd focus on his work?
She had a lot of questions on her mind. And while she knew Gohan wouldn't want her to take care of their future child alone, she didn't want to stop him in pursuing his dreams? He was doing great at the university and she surely didn't want to hold him back.
But she also knew if she talked about this issue directly with him, and he felt her excited about the idea, it could influence his decision.
So, how could she try to assess the situation with her husband, without unconsciously forcing him towards a specific decision?
Then suddenly, she had an idea.
0o0o0
"So Vi, what do you wanna watch?" Gohan screamed from the kitchen "I found this new show that has more than seventeen seasons. That should keep us going for a while, no?" He then entered the living room and saw his wife waiting for him on the couch "Oh, you chose something? Perfect. Let me prepare some popcorn."
Videl then smiled at her husband "Later, it's a long movie." She then patted the seat next to her "Come on!"
The halfling smiled as he sat next to his wife and she snuggled up against him. He happily passed his hand around her shoulders, holding her closer, as the movie started.
A few moments later, Gohan looked down on his wife who focused on the movie and chuckled "Since when do you watch romantic movies?"
She then snuggled up more "I don't. But a lot of people recommended it online so I thought why not. Something about a girl getting pregnant and she finds the father of her child years later. Boring, I know but we might as well try." She then looked at him "Give it the benefice of the doubt." She then saw Gohan pause the movie and she blinked "You okay?"
He smiled lightly "Yeah. I was just thinking about the plot."
"The movie barely started. What's there to think about? You overthink things."
Gohan then shook his head "I don't wanna think on how lost the girl must've been. Raising a kid alone. What kind of guy doesn't hold responsibility? If he didn't want to have kids, he shouldn't have married the girl in the first place."
Videl then chuckled "You do know they are people who don't wait for marriage right?"
"I know. But they should at least be careful. They are a thousand ways for people to avoid unplanned pregnancy."
"They don't always work, you know that. Besides, isn't it better that the girl decided to keep the baby and raise it instead of losing it?"
He then sighed "Yeah but still. She had to go through all this alone. And the child didn't get to know the father. It's horrible." He then shivered "I can't imagine this happening to someone I know."
His wife then laughed lightly "It's a romantic movie. I'm sure they'll eventually get together and the child will have both parents. It's always like that."
The halfling shook his head "It might have a different ending. It's still a drama. We saw something with a sad ending before even though it was labelled romantic. Who would even think of writing something like that?"
She then decided to tease him "Might be inspired by a true story."
He then blinked at her "Even worse. Dende! How did you find this movie anyway?"
Videl then laughed "I told you it was recommended online. Why are you taking it this personal?" She wasn't lying since people recommended it for her when she saw she wanted to discuss the subject of kids with her husband. But he didn't need to know that.
She then saw Gohan look firmly at her and she shivered when he kept on looking into her eyes "I hate it when people don't take responsibilities for their actions. Especially something like this. Kids are special. They deserve all the happiness possible. And they deserve to grow up in a healthy loving family with both parental figures."
Videl then smiled gently and caressed his face "I know that. Why did you get so defensive?"
"I don't know. I guess it's because I'm always fighting and away that I related a bit with the father. I don't know why he left, he might not even know about the pregnancy in the first place but still. It hit home."
Her smile never left her face as she looked at him "You're nothing like the guy. Stop worrying about this. You're always putting your life in danger to make sure we all have a happy life. Totally different cases."
He then gently smiled at her "I promise you when we do get pregnant, I'll stop. No more fighting. You'll be my number one priority. You and our future bundle of joy."
Videl then slowly removed his glasses from his face and turned him so he would face her "I don't want you to give up something for me or anyone else. We'll manage in time, don't worry about this. Fighting and studying are special to you, you should never give them up."
He then chuckled "I won't be giving them up. My dreams will simply change. Don't worry about this." He then laughed "I don't want you to think I'm a coward like the boy in the movie."
She then laughed "We'll see about that when the time will come." She then looked at the time "Wanna order something? I'm hungry too tired to cook something."
Gohan then nodded "What do you say we go out? You won't have to clean up after."
"It's a plan. Let me change."
He nodded at her as she got up before he caught her wrist and made her fall on the couch again with a small yelp. He then looked into her eyes "I can't wait to start the next step with you. There's no rush, we have all the time. Whenever you'll be ready, we can start trying."
Videl then smiled at him before she caught the back of his head with her hand and slowly lowered him "I love you."
He whispered a soft "I love you too." before his lips met hers in a gentle kiss.
The growling of his stomach then made them stopped them and she laughed "Give me the time to change my clothes before we tame the beast."
Gohan turned bright red as she got up and rushed to their room to change. He then let out a gentle breathe and smiled as he looked at a picture of him and his wife hung over the chimney. Yes, he could definitely see himself raising a kid with this amazing woman.
She then got him out of his trance when she called him "Gohan, ready?"
He got up and looked at her, a smile on his face. How did she manage to look so beautiful even when she was wearing a simple legging and blouse? It was simply amazing.
He then chuckled "You're glowing."
And she laughed at him "You're a dork, you know that? I always wear stuff like that."
He then hugged her "I know. But tonight, you look different."
She simply returned the hug without saying a word. It was normal for him to look differently at her after what they just talked about. And she inwardly smiled to herself. She'd find a way to have another one of these calm discussion with him to tell him she was ready. They always worked for them. Before they got together, before he proposed. Casual talks were their safe place, and she cherished them more than ever.
They then let go and he kissed the top of her head before they left towards the restaurant, happily laughing on their way.
0o0o0
Gohan hurriedly followed his wife to the bathroom. She woke up in a rush and didn't even tell him what was going on. He followed her and saw her throw up. It's been twice in the last three hours.
"Let me call a doctor. Or take you to Dende at least."
The young girl then started to wash her face "I'm okay. I think I caught a cold. We're already in September, it's normal for the nights to get colder. I might've slept without the covers by reflex."
Gohan then frowned "You think you got food poisoning from the restaurant?"
Videl simply shrugged as she proceeded to dry her face "I don't know. It's been more than twenty four hours so it might be possible. Let's wait until tomorrow and if I don't feel better, I'll go check a doctor."
The boy then sighed "Promise?"
She then laughed and kissed him on the cheek "Promise. Go back to sleep, I really need to freshen up."
Gohan simply nodded as he left his wife alone. He sighed when he heard the water running and he sat on his bed, took out his phone, and started to google food poisoning symptoms. If it was really the case, he'd have to talk to the restaurant manager and let him know. It was unacceptable.
A few minutes later, she got out of the bathroom and Gohan lost no time spooning his wife, making sure to keep her warm next to him. She lazily snuggled against him and whispered "It's nice. I feel better don't worry." She then turned to face him "You think I'll have the time to bake a cherry pie for breakfast before you leave?"
He then blinked at her "Cherry pie? In September?"
She then snuggled up more "Yeah, I don't know. I'm craving."
He then laughed as he kissed the top of her head "I'll check by a store on my way back. I might find something."
She simply nodded as she slowly drifted off to sleep and he hugged her tighter. He only hoped she won't feel sick and at least get a good night of sleep.
Videl had no idea how she managed to make Gohan go to the university. He insisted on staying with her and she had to put a very good façade to prove she was feeling better. But truth be told, she felt worse than before. She woke up with a strong cramp and she felt nauseous all through morning. Maybe she should get checked.
It was around noon that she decided she couldn't take it anymore. While she was starting to prepare Gohan's dinner for when he'd come back, the aroma of spices was too much for her to hold it.
She called a taxi, feeling too tired to drive on her own, and she made her way to the hospital for a checkup. She got greeted by a middle aged nurse who smiled gently at her as she gave her an admission paper "Are you okay dear? You seem tired. Don't tell me you came here alone?"
Videl then lazily filled in her information "It's okay. Didn't get much sleep yesterday. I don't know if I caught a cold or food poisoning."
The nurse then took her file and started inspecting it "It says here you're twenty-two and married. Why isn't your husband with you?"
"He's at work. I didn't want to bother him. It's nothing major, I just need a prescription for stomach pills and I'll sleep to rest."
The nurse then shook her head "That's for us to decide dear. Follow me, I'll examine you. If you get worse, we'll have to call him. Work or not, your health is a priority."
Videl nodded as she followed the woman towards an examination room. And she was right, if she didn't feel better before leaving, she'll call Gohan. But right now, she didn't feel like it was worth cutting his day for a simple stomachache.
She sat on the table and the nurse started taking her pulse as she asked her several questions to which Videl answered. The older woman then nodded "We'll do a blood test to check. Everything seem fine for now. The doctor should come visit you in a moment." Videl nodded as the nurse looked at her medical file and frowned "You seem to have missed this question."
Videl then read it and blushed "I don't really enjoy answering these. They feel confidential. But to be fair, I may have some unbalance. I was waiting to check them again before calling a doctor."
"What do you mean?"
Videl then turned redder "Nothing major. I thought it skipped but no, it was just weak."
Surprisingly, the nurse smiled gently at her as she left the room "I think you'll get your answer sooner than expected. Wait for me."
Videl nodded as the woman left her alone in the room. And she was right, it took her barely an hour to come back, an envelope in her hand and a surprisingly big smile on her face. She then gave her the paper and smiled at her "You can leave now. The doctor will contact you in a few days to check in. Everything you need to know is written. Don't worry, it's nothing alarming. You just to rest for a few days."
The younger girl nodded at her, thanking her for her help as the nurse left her alone. Videl then packed her belongings and took the papers out of the envelope to check the results. Weirdly, she only found her blood test results without any prescription.
She unfolded the paper and started reading. Her heartbeat then started to quicken as she reached the bottom of the paper, Traces of HCG detected. Result: Pregnant. And with that, tears started to roll out.
0o0o0
Gohan felt very guilty when he left his wife. She barely slept the night before yet he still checked in at the university. What kind of husband was he? It clearly felt wrong. And the worst part was that he didn't find any single cherry pie to get her, which added to his torment. But what surprised him the most was Videl's state when he came back. He thought she'd be tired and sleepy but instead, she was happily reading a book, clearly waiting for him.
As soon as he closed the door behind him, she smiled at him "Hey, welcome back. How was your day?"
"Uneventful. I should've stayed with you. How are you feeling?"
She then smiled "Much better. I told you it was nothing. I slept a little and it was as if nothing was wrong."
Gohan then sat next to her and kissed her forehead "Glad to hear this. Try to rest tonight and hopefully tomorrow you'll be better."
She hummed in agreement before she got up and held his hand "I'm sure you're hungry. I want you to try something for me."
He then sighed at her "Why did you cook? I told you to rest. I could've done something to eat."
She simply laughed "It's nothing, I swear. Go sit in the living room and put the blindfolds on. Let's call it 'Our little experiment'."
Gohan simply sighed as he did as he was told while his wife left towards the kitchen in a rush. As oblivious as usual, he didn't notice the word play his wife discreetly used as a first clue for him, quoting in a slightly different manor his words from the previous night "Our little bundle of joy".
After he blindfolded himself, she chuckled and stood next to him without a sound "Since I'm tired and really don't feel like chewing, can you guess what's for dinner?"
Gohan then tilted his head "Um, soup? I hope not. Broth maybe?"
She then laughed "Close. You'll see. Try to guess the flavors and tell me which one are your favorites."
Gohan simply nodded at his wife as he heard the sound of a tray being put on the table. She then put a spoon in his right hand and a container in the left one. One by one, he started eating the assortment of purees his wife had prepared, counting which ones were his favorites and which one weren't. The only thing he didn't understand was why did his wife even bother doing all of these in the first place. It must've been time consuming and tiring. What for?
After finishing sorting the different combination, he looked at his wife "Can I remove the blindfolds?"
She then chuckled "Not yet. Which ones did you prefer?"
"I liked the one with a taste of meat and fish. The purely vegetables weren't my go to. There's one that tastes like meat stew that's amazing." He could feel his wife's aura radiating at the news and he chuckled "I take it your experiment worked. But why did you do that?"
"Training I guess. I wanted to start preparing."
"Puree? You know I don't really eat it."
She then chuckled "I know silly. I was bored. Does it remind you of something?"
Gohan simply shook his head at her and she inwardly laughed. Truly, her husband was as clueless as ever. She then smiled, not that he could see her "Wait a sec. There's something else."
She disappeared into the kitchen only to come out barely second later, a bottle in her hands. She then handed it to him "Drink up."
He simply nodded at her before he swallowed up the container in one go. He then sighed in content "I love cold milk. It's so refreshing." He then heard his wife laugh and he tilted his head "What?"
"Still not a clue? Wait a minute."
Gohan then heard his wife mumble something as her footsteps echoes into the house. He was becoming very curious and still had no idea what she was planning. Assortments of puree? Training? Milk? What was the link between these anyway?
When she came back, he heard a weirdly distinctive "Pop!" and a liquid being poured. She then held his hand and gave him a glass "Drink this. What do you think?"
As he did previously, Gohan took the glass and started drinking. It was a bubbly champagne like texture, but juicy. After finishing the glass, he nonetheless tilted his head "Fruity champagne?"
"Didn't notice anything special about it?"
"You did it yourself?" And he shrugged.
She then laughed "No. Nothing else?"
"No, sorry. Can you give me a clue?"
She then chuckled "Nope. Let me try one last thing before I give you the final clue to what's going on. Consider it the last stage of my experiment."
Gohan chuckled at his wife as she once again left towards the kitchen. He had to be honest, he enjoyed trying new stuff but he was also very hungry. He only hoped he would get a decent meal after all this. That was if Videl let him eat anything consider he had no idea what everything was about.
She then came back and said softly "I'll give you something. Don't eat it right up and tell me what you think?"
She then proceeded to give him three items. Two identical sets of bananas and one smaller.
Gohan re-tilted his head as he examined them "Two of the same sizes and one smaller?"
"Yes. That means?"
"The third one didn't have the time to grow?"
Videl then burst out laughing "Seriously? That's what you came up with?"
He then shrugged at he scratched the back of his neck "What? It's scientifically possible. While growing on the tree, the smaller banana…"
"Gohan please stop." And she chuckled "I give up. Keep the blindfold for one last experiment. Let's see if you'll come up with a hypothesis while I'm gone."
Gohan then sighed as he kept on trying to find a link between everything that happened. Everything was food related. But why? Puree of different tastes and bananas might be linked. They have the same texture somehow. And milk and juice were related since they were both beverage. But why the champagne like texture for the juice? It was so weird. Either get bland juice or normal champagne. Not a non-alcoholic blend between the two of them.
It was driving him crazy, he couldn't believe it.
He then his wife's footsteps and he sighed "I'm dumber than I look like. Can't you give me a clue?"
"No, you lost your chance." He then heard her laugh lightly as something was being put on the table and she spoke "When I tell you, remove the blindfold. Okay?"
Gohan nodded and did as he was told. He heard his wife adjust the box and move things on the table and he patiently waited for her. She then chuckled "Ready?"
He nodded as he took the blindfolds off and looked at the table. And he froze.
On one side, the several containers of the puree with a notes that said "Mummy's goodies.". Next to it was a bottle of milk, and on it engraved "Baby Son's first meal.". The bananas had smiley faces drew on them, the smaller one put between the bigger ones. He saw the juice bottle that looked just like a champagne one, on it written "Non-alcoholic so we can celebrate.". Finally, in front of him was a small box with a pair of baby shoes and a thin tube-like object stick in it with a notes.
His breathing halted at first before he took the stick and read the note "The butterflies in my stomach turned into two small feet." And he then recognized the tube. It was a pregnancy test. And it was positive.
Gohan then looked at his wife, a tear hanging in his eye, and she smiled, her blood test results in her hand with the word "Pregnant" highlighted. And she simply said "Surprise!"
Suddenly, Gohan stood up and held her up, making her twirl in the air. She chuckled at him and he kept on spinning them before he put her down and hugged her tight.
He kept on fidgeting between hugging her, looking at her and the table as he mumbled "How did… I don't… What happened… When? Dende, how did you? When did you?"
She then laughed and gently ruffled his hair "Turns out I didn't have a stomachache. It was morning sickness. Same for my cravings and tiredness."
"I can't… Oh Dende. When?"
She then laughed "I don't know exactly. It looks like I missed a month and it happened to coincide with something called "Implantation bleeding." I didn't think much of it. I felt very tired this morning so I went to the hospital to get myself checked, the nurse understood and ran the tests."
Gohan simply shook his head "I can't believe this. This is amazing. How long?"
She then smiled "I don't know for sure. I thought we'd go to the first doctor appointment together. But judging everything, I'd say six weeks or so."
Gohan then scooped her and made her twirl again "It's amazing." He then put her down and kissed her tenderly "I can't wait for this new journey. We'll do it together. Every step of the way. We're. team, you and I."
Videl then smiled as she lowered his forehead to hers "I know. I can't wait for you to become a dad."
He then whispered "And you a mom. I promise to protect you both. You'll always have the same smile on your face."
She smiled as she got on her tiptoes to kiss him "I love you." He lovingly kissed her back, cupping her face between his hands. It just felt amazing.
He then chuckled against her "I told you you were glowing."
She then laughed "Shut up! It was a lucky guess. You didn't understand any of the clues. From the movie to tonight."
"The movie?"
She then laughed "Yeah. I chose it on purpose to open the discussion of kids. I wanted to see what you thought about all of this. Though I have to say, it was a surprise for me as much as you. Then, the wordplay "our little experiment." It was based on what you said "Our little bundle of joy." Putting aside the puree which is obviously baby food and the milk. And everything was food related because you Saiyans prioritize food over anything else."
Gohan then burst out laughing as he scratched the back of his neck "Didn't see that one coming as all." He then looked at her and smiled "It was perfect. You're perfect. And I can't wait to meet the perfect little bundle of joy you're growing up. He or she will be just like you." He then looked at the table "Let's drink the champagne to celebrate then go out."
"You're still hungry after all this?"
He then blushed and answered without thinking "You call this food?"
She started laughing and rolled her eyes at him before she poured two glasses of champagne for them to drink. She then heard Gohan call her and she turned around "Don't move. I want to take a picture." He then took out his phone to immortalized the moment his wife told her the best news of his life.
He then proceeded to take a picture of the table before he told Videl to hold the pair of boots near her stomach. She chuckled at him and did as he wanted before he stood next to her and smiled "Let's take one together."
She eagerly nodded as Gohan stabilized his phone on the couch and inserted a timer. He then stood behind his wife and held a boot in each hand while she put her hand on her stomach.
It was officially their first picture as a family.
They then took each a glass and Gohan smiled at her "I may have superpowers but they're not as good as yours. I can't wait for our new adventure to start."
She then smiled back "I love you."
"I love you too."
And they both toasted their glasses together, celebrating their next step together.