Innocent Feelings

20

Bulletproof

He had landed on a roof a few blocks away and Videl had taken her jetcopter to get to the scene on her own, so as not to arise suspicion. After all, it would have looked a bit odd and puzzling if the Great Saiyaman had showed up carrying Videl in his arms, especially with Videl looking the way she did. They didn't need more unwanted attention, people were still speculating about their "strange encounter" earlier this week when Gohan had to forfeit the chess game against Mr. Satan to go help her fight criminals.

Something felt off the moment he got there. Gohan didn't know what it was, but as he touched down next to Videl in his Saiyaman suit, he'd grabbed her arm to stop her from going to talk to the police captain, as a sudden wave of worry submerged him.

She looked at him over her shoulder and gave him an inquiring look, clearly not sensing the danger. Well, of course she had to know this was dangerous, but Videl was used to these kinds of situations and Gohan knew she wouldn't let it get to her, and he liked that about her.

Still, the young superhero wished his girlfriend would sit this one out. He just had a bad feeling and he'd feel better if she just let him take care of the bad guys himself.

But…

"What is it?" she asked, oblivious to his inner turmoil.

Gohan didn't want to get in her way. He knew how much crime fighting meant to Videl and he couldn't bring himself to tell her how it affected him.

"Nothing…" he sighed in defeat. "Just… Please be careful, okay?"

She smiled and winked at him. "Always," she said, before headed off to speak with the captain.

He watched her with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Should he tell her how he felt? Should he be keeping this from her? This dread, this constant worry… He couldn't go on hiding it from her… could he? They were in a relationship, and if he wanted it to work, he should be honest with her, right?

But what would it accomplish? Videl would just feel bad, then again he could never ask her to stop doing something she loved, and it wasn't like he actually wanted her to stop since it was one of the many things he loved about her.

"What's the situation?" he asked the captain, catching up with Videl who had just started to speak with the ranked officer.

"Ah, Great Saiyaman, thank you for joining us, we're going to need all the help we can get," the black-skinned, mustached man said to him, relief washing over his face. "As I was telling Miss Videl, the Red Shark Gang has the domain under their control. They have men everywhere, dozens of them, and their leader who just broke out of jail wants his revenge on Miss Videl."

Gohan glanced at the girl in question with worry. Last time Videl faced that guy, it had been a close one and she'd almost gotten killed. Sure, she'd managed to take the upper hand at the last moment and knock the big guy out, but the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach only got worse at the mention of that mountain of a man.

Videl sighed in annoyance. "Ugh, some guys just can't take losing a fight. Well, I got him last time, I'll beat him again." She turned to Gohan, in crime fighter mode. "Saiyaman, you take care of the henchmen, and I'll take care of the leader. Again," she added, rolling her eyes.

He swallowed his protests, ignoring the alarms going off in his head. "Okay."

"It's nice seeing you two working together now," the captain commented. "Did something happen?"

"Err…" Gohan stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck in uneasiness.

"Now's not the time," Videl stated curtly. "Let's get to work."

Gohan sighed in relief as they sneaked into the domain together, hiding behind well-cut bushes. "That took me off guard… Should we make up something to explain that we get along now? Since you won't be trying to take off my helmet anymore either."

She shrugged. "We can just tell them the truth. Well, part of it," she added with a sideway smile, glancing at him. "That you showed me who you were and that now I trust you."

"Guess that works."

She turned to look at the mansion again. "I don't really get it. If the leader wants his revenge against me, I should be able to just walk in, right? Why isn't he letting me in?"

Gohan frowned. "Maybe he wants you to be weaker from fighting his men before you get to him."

"Makes sense, I guess." She shot him a smile. "Good thing you're here to take some of the workload off of me."

He smiled back, but Gohan knew it must have looked forced and worried. And sure enough, Videl furrowed her brow. She opened her mouth to say something, most likely to ask him if something was wrong, but just then they heard shouting nearby.

"Who's there?!" one of the hooded men yelled. Apparently they hadn't been very discreet with all their chitchatting.

Gohan jumped from his hiding spot and phazed out, before reappearing behind the man and hitting him on the back of his neck, knocking him out instantly. But his shout had alerted the others and lamplights were moving from every direction.

"Shoot, we weren't quiet enough," Videl gritted her teeth. "I don't like this."

"It's fine," Gohan said, suddenly phazing in next to her. Videl jumped slightly. He grabbed her around the waist and used his super speed again to get on the roof of the mansion. He smiled at Videl as he let go of her. "There we go."

"Right. Superpowers. Must be nice not to fear anything."

Gohan gave her a look that said, if you only knew. Videl looked at him puzzled.

"Anyway, there's a way in from here," he said, walking past her, his red cape flowing behind him. "Let's get inside."

ooOoo

It all happened so fast – Gohan wasn't able to react in time.

Everything had gone according to plan as they made their way towards the leader of the Red Shark Gang. Gohan and Videl would knock out any henchman they encountered without breaking a sweat and soon enough, they found themselves in the wide and luxurious living area, where the mayor, his wife and two young sons, both no older than ten, were bound and gagged, men pointing their guns at them. The leader was sitting on a leather armchair and smoking a cigar when the hero duo got there.

"Well, well, well, I didn't expect you two to work so well together," he commented standing up. "Since last time you kept berating him," he said to Videl, who sneered at him in response. "I must say, though," he added, looking her up and down with lecherous eyes, licking his lips, "you look… quite nice. I almost feel bad I have to bruise that pretty face of yours."

Gohan clenched his fists, mustering all of his self-control not to rush that guy and beat him to a bloody pulp. Well, it would've certainly helped solve the situation faster, that was for sure.

"You done? Can we get started now?" Videl said in a bored tone. "You wanted a rematch, well, here I am, so let's get to business. I've got a hot date waiting for me." She walked to face the giant man and got in her fighting stance.

"Ooohhh, that's right, you got yourself a boyfriend, I read about that," he snickered. "That explains the hot dress. Lucky guy, that boyfriend of yours." He got down in his fighting stance as well and smirked evilly. "Well, not so much now, since you're gonna be dead after I'm done with you. Hope he got to do you before I kill you, now that'd be a waste wouldn't it?"

Videl's face flared up with a mix of anger and embarrassment, and without waiting any longer she attacked. Gohan wanted to stay and watch, to make sure nothing happened to her, but the mayor's family needed him right now. He swallowed, his fists still tightly clenched, his anger at the leader still boiling hot – but he had to keep a clear head.

He hoped Videl wasn't going to let her feelings get in the way of her better judgement. Anger may become a weapon for Saiyans, but for humans, it usually clouded their judgement and caused them to make stupid mistakes.

As he phazed out and started taking care of the henchmen surrounding the poor, scared family, his bad feeling got worse than ever. Gohan made sure to keep track of Videl's ki's fluctuations, hoping that, like last time, he wouldn't need to intervene.

Videl could take care of herself, right?

Unlike the last time they fought, where they had both seemed evenly-matched, Videl easily had the upper hand this time around. Or so it seemed. She was about to kick the side of the giant's head when he caught her leg out of the blue, and then he grinned evilly at her before slapping her across the face with the back of his hand with such force that it sent her crashing down on the living room table, the glass breaking upon the impact.

Gohan's whole body froze – even his heart. The bad guy he had been about to punch even tried to hit him, although it had no effect whatsoever on him, obviously, so the man got out his gun and fired, but that didn't work either, the bullets bouncing right off the paralyzed superhero.

In the background, the leader was laughing maniacally.

Slowly, Gohan turned to Videl. He couldn't breathe. Shards of glass everywhere. And Videl, lying there, her eyes wide, holding her stomach. Something was sticking out of it, tearing the top of her dress. The blue fabric had turned red, stained with blood.

Suddenly, like shot with electricity, Gohan snapped out of it and was by Videl's side in a flash. He kneeled down and held her, he could still feel her ki, but it was faint, he had to hurry and bring her to the hospital, and then he could bring Dende so he could heal her or something, but for now, the hospital was the closest and he didn't have any time to lose.

"G… Gohan…" she croaked out, trying to gain control over her breathing. He hated seeing her so scared and hurt. "I… I can't feel… my legs…"

"It'll be okay Videl," he said, picking her up carefully. "You'll be okay, I promise." He started to run, holding her close to his heart. In the back of his head, he remembered that the mayor and his family were still held hostage and the gang was nowhere near taken care of, but right now, all he could think about was Videl.

"I'm so… cold…"

"No, Videl, don't close your eyes! Stay awake, please! You can't let yourself go, Videl, you have to fight!" His voice was cracking and he was tearing up but Gohan bottled it down. He had to hold it together for her.

He opened a window and flew out, trying to remember where the hospital was – he could barely think straight in his current state.

"You're gonna be all right, you're gonna be all right," he kept repeating as he flew as fast as he possibly could, a golden aura glowing around them. It was like he was trying to convince himself. Or maybe he was praying.

Luckily for Gohan, the god of Earth was a close friend of his.

He heard the familiar voice in his head and stopped dead in his tracks. "Gohan!" Piccolo's voice shouted in his mind. "Behind you! Catch!"

He barely had time to realize what was happening when his instincts took over and he turned around in a flash, still holding Videl close with one arm, and caught the tiny object flying at him with his other hand. When he opened his palm, his eyes lit up.

Quickly, he pried Videl's mouth open and put the bean inside. "Here, Videl, it's a Senzu Bean, it'll heal you. Just swallow."

She frowned in confusion, but he could see that she trusted him, so she mustered her last reserves of energy to chew the hard bean and swallow.

And Gohan could finally breathe normally again.

He was crushing her in his arms the next moment. His shoulders were shaking, he was unable to hold it in anymore. He felt pitiful and stupid but he couldn't help it; he was sobbing on her shoulder, holding her for dear life.

"I… I thought… I was losing you…" he hiccupped. "Thank you, Piccolo. Thank you so much." he added through the telepathic link.

"You're lucky Dende sent me. I'll take care of the rest, you take care of her."

Gohan sniffed. He pulled away slightly, still holding Videl as they were still hovering in the sky – good thing it was nighttime and nobody down there seemed to notice them – and rubbed his nose with his gloved hand. Wordlessly, he floated over to a rooftop and touched down, then, he pushed the button on his watch to change back to his clothes, and the next moment he was crushing Videl in his arms again.

"You almost died… I couldn't protect you. I wasn't fast enough… I thought as long as I was with you, I could make sure nothing would happen to you, but…"

Videl pulled back slightly to look at him, giving him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Gohan, everything turned out fine, see? I don't know how you did it, but you saved me. You saved me, Gohan."

"No, it's not okay!" he snapped abruptly, pushing her away, alarm and fear cracking his voice. He started pacing. "I wasn't fast enough! If it hadn't been for Dende and Piccolo, you could've died, and there was nothing I could've done about it! If I can't protect you, I'm going to lose you at some point and I –" He fell to his hands and knees in desperation, tears streaming down his face, blotching the cement. "I just can't. I can't lose you, Videl."

"Gohan…" Videl put her knee down beside him and rubbed her hand on his back. He turned his tear-filled eyes at her, sniffling and hiccupping. "I…" But she stopped. She didn't know what to say, what words could possibly ease and mend Gohan's hurting heart.

"I love you," he blurted out, knocking the air right out of her lungs. "I love you too much to lose you, Videl, and I can't stand the idea of you getting hurt, or worse, and I know there's nothing I can do about it because it's what you do, it's who you are, and it's one of the many things I love about you." He smiled sadly and cupped her cheek. "I love you so much, Videl. You are everything to me, and I can't imagine my life without you." His shoulders slumped, and he pulled her closer, pressing his forehead against hers. "I guess I'm just gonna have to get over it and learn to live with the danger looming over your head, huh?"

"Gohan…" Her voice was breaking. He winced at her tone, so dejected and helpless.

"This sucks…" he sighed, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "I'm a snivelling mess," He sniffled again for emphasis, "and now I've made you cry… This was not how it was supposed to go… and I had the whole thing planned out."

"I'm not crying…" she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tight. "What do you mean, you had it all planned out?"

"The way I was supposed to tell you that I love you," he whispered, his cheeks reddening. "It was supposed to be on our date tonight – I was just about to tell you when your watch went off. That damn watch of yours…"

She smiled wistfully, remembering that beautiful sunset on top of the Lookout, and Gohan suddenly saying her name and cupping her cheek and looking her right in the eye. It would've been quite the romantic love profession – no doubt Erasa's idea.

She pulled back and smiled at him, wiping his face with her sleeve.

"Gah, don't do that, I'm pathetic enough as is," he protested weakly. In response, She leaned in and kissed him deeply. Gohan felt his heart glow at the feeling, the weight in his gut slowly melting away as he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around the girl he loved and crushing her all against him.

"No you're not," she panted, her heavy breaths tickling his lips. She held his face between her palms and made him look at her, offering him an adorable smile. "And, for the record, I love you too."

He felt like crying again.

"Yeah, I had a feeling," Gohan laughed slightly, half-heartedly.

Videl stroked his cheek, searching his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," he answered honestly, letting out a sigh. "I'm still going to worry about you, but there isn't much I can do about it, because there's no way I could ever ask you to stop crime fighting. You would never listen to me anyway, right?"

"But I don't want you to feel this way every time I go out and fight crime…"

"So we're in a dead end…"

She sighed and let her head rest on his shoulder. He tightened his arms around her, pressing his cheek against the top of her head.

"Can you take me home?" she asked softly. "I'd like to get out of this bloodied thing and take a shower."

"Of course."

ooOoo

Captain Kolt had expected Miss Videl and the Great Saiyaman to come back giving them the okay to get in and bring everybody in, but it was someone else entirely who flew back towards him holding the unconscious leader of the Red Shark Gang by the scruff of his neck.

The man was huge and intimidating, and not only because his skin was green and his teeth were sharp and his ears pointy and he was wearing this weird white armor-like cape and looked overall alien and dangerous. Okay, maybe it was all of the above.

"Something happened so I had to step in. The kids had to leave."

His voice was gruff and sounded annoyed, like he'd rather do anything else than report to such a lesser being. The captain had to take a second to register that he meant Miss Videl and the Great Saiyaman by "the kids."

"What happened?" he couldn't help but ask, even though he felt like cowering at the dark scowl the green giant shot him.

"The girl got hurt, but she's fine now. They both had to leave, so I took care of the rest. Just send your men in and do your job, I'm done here. You're welcome."

With that, and a majestic flap of his white cape, the green fighter flew into the night sky. The Police Captain got his bearing just in time to shout a rushed "Thank you!" after him.

ooOoo

She was in the bathroom and he was sitting on her bed, waiting for her to be done. He raised an eyebrow when the door opened. Her hair was still wet, and she was wearing another dress, this one a little less flashy however. It was strapped with navy blue and white stripes, and the skirt came down to her mid-thigh. Gohan had expected Videl to put on her usual comfortable clothes.

"What?" she smiled. "We're still on a date, you know."

He smiled, stood up and walked over to her, wrapping her in his arms. She sighed in delight and hugged him back, resting the side of her head against his muscular chest. He ran his fingers through her humid hair, breathing the delectable smell of her shampoo. His heart swelled with warmth.

"I love you so much," he whispered, closing his eyes. "I'm glad I was finally able to say it, at least. Even if it didn't go as planned."

"It doesn't matter. I'm glad you said it. I wasn't sure if it was too soon to tell you I love you."

Gohan chuckled. "I decided the hell with it – I've been dying to say it to you for too long. I could barely contain myself this week."

"We've only been dating for a couple weeks, how is that too long?" she giggled.

"Every minute without telling you felt like an eternity."

"You're so sappy."

"Well, who's fault is that?"

She laughed, tightening her arms around his neck. "Oh, I love you so much."

Her words warmed his heart, but at the same time, it couldn't shake off the fear and dread gripping at it. He buried his nose in the crook of her neck. "I can't lose you, Videl… I don't think I could live on without you."

"Don't say that…"

"Maybe…" he started, an idea starting to form in his head. "Maybe, if you become stronger… if you become bulletproof…"

"Bulletproof? That's your thing, Gohan. I couldn't possibly…" She pulled back to look at him doubtfully, but maybe with a little bit of hope. "Could I?"

"It's not a Saiyan thing, to be bulletproof," Gohan explained. "I know a group of humans who got strong enough to be able to catch bullets like me."

She gaped. "For real?"

"One of them could train you," Gohan went on, getting excited by the idea. "Yeah… I'm sure Krillin would help. He's one of the strongest martial artists I know and he's one hundred percent human."

"Why don't you train me instead?"

He gave her an awkward smile. "I don't think I could. The way I was taught… Piccolo was ruthless with me – brutal – and it's the only way I know to train someone. But with you I could never… I mean, I can't barely stand the idea of you getting a bruise, so there's no way I could train you. But I know people who can. It's the summer break soon, so you'll be able to get an intensive training during that time. You could be bulletproof by the end of the break."

"You really think that? I mean… That sounds so surreal to me."

He grinned at her. This could be the solution. It was giving him hope. "Of course. I was thinking of teaching you how to fly earlier actually, and I guess we could start with that."

"Wait, wait, wait…" She put her hand on his chest, as if to steady herself. "I could fly?"

"Most of my abilities were taught to me, and the group of human fighters I was talking about? They can do pretty much everything I can do. I'm just stronger because of my Saiyan side, and I can transform."

"Right…" she said, but she could barely wrap her head around what Gohan was telling her. "So I could… fly… and become bulletproof…"

He smiled, beaming down at her, and brushed her bangs away from her eyes, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. "And when you do, I wouldn't need to be so worried all the time, because then I'd know that you don't need my protection, that even if I'm not fast enough to save you, you would be strong enough to take care of yourself."

His eyes, his touch, it was making her melt, and Videl felt like agreeing to everything Gohan said just so he would keep smiling at her like that.

"Okay," she said, before pulling his head down and kissing him.

As he kissed her back, Gohan felt the familiar, urging heat in his stomach, and he pulled back before things got too heated. "I should go, it's pretty late."

"Or…" she breathed, sliding the strap of her dress off her shoulder. "… you could stay, and we could, you know…"

Fire alarms sounded off in his head. Gohan swallowed. He couldn't believe she was actually asking him to… His hands trembled at his sides. Videl took a few steps back and sat on the bed, leaning back on her hands, clearly inviting him.

But he couldn't move. He mustn't.

"Unless you don't want me…?" she whispered, looking away, her face turning red.

"That… That's not… I mean of course I want you, but…"

She glanced his way with a shy smile. "But what? I love you, and you love me, and we both obviously want to, so why should we wait?"

His eyes widened and his face flared up when Videl started lowering her dress, revealing the black lacey bra she was wearing. Gohan was paralyzed, and before he knew it, she was sitting there, on her bed, in her sexy underwear.

And his pants suddenly felt too tight.

"Why… Why do you want to do it now?" he croaked out, finally finding his voice. His question made her pause as she was about to unhook her bra. Whew, just in time. "Is it really from love, or is it because our hormones are going crazy?" Which they were.

Videl tilted her head. "What's the difference? Our hormones are going crazy because we love each other. I wouldn't feel this way if I didn't love you, Gohan."

"I know, it's just…" He forced himself to look away, lest she enticed him with her gorgeous body and her inviting, beautiful blue eyes. "I want the moment to feel perfect. I want… I don't know, but I don't want it to happen like this. Tonight was a mess and I don't want to relate our first time together with the time you almost died in my arms."

He was getting emotional just thinking about it and he knew she could hear it in his voice. Videl got up and went towards him, wrapping him in a comforting hug. He hugged her back, desperately, wishing, hoping, praying that nothing like tonight would ever happen to Videl again, that he wouldn't ever feel so helpless and scared again, that he would never, ever, ever find himself holding Videl's cooling, bloodied body in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Gohan," she said softly. "I understand… I just love you so much it drives me crazy sometimes."

He flushed at her words. "Yeah, I know the feeling…"

It occurred to him that she was still in her underwear. Gohan suddenly pulled away and took a step back, making sure to avoid looking at her.

"You should, um, put your dress back on."

Videl's face flared up, looking down at herself. "Geez, I feel like a horn dog," she muttered, grabbing her dress and putting it on hastily. "If it weren't for you…"

"Trust me, I'm no better than you," Gohan sighed, his gaze dropping to his hard-on tightening his pants. "I think I'm just more of a romantic."

Videl laughed. "I guess that's true."

He grinned, and then pulled her to him and kissed her passionately. Videl melted in his arms, and he tightened them around her waist.

"I love you…" he whispered against her lips.

She beamed at him. "I love you too, Gohan. So much."

He kissed her again, submerging himself in the taste of her, in her scent, her curves pressed up against him. It wasn't helping his growing erection, but he just couldn't stop kissing her. Her lips were just too addicting.

They ended up lying on the bed, Gohan on top of Videl, kissing, tasting each other's skin, hands wandering everywhere…

"Hey…" Videl panted deeply as Gohan planted hot kisses along her neck. "I thought… you wanted to wait?"

"I do… But as long as we don't go too far…" He raised his head and rubbed his nose on hers. "I don't see the harm in having some fun with the girl I love…" His hand went under her dress, along her thigh, and Videl held her breath, shivers running along her skin.

How she wished he would touch her there. He was so close, too… But she knew he wouldn't go that far. Not yet.

He kissed her again, deeply, tenderly, and she melted completely. She let all these delicious sensations wash over her, while she floated along. She felt his hard-on against her crotch and moaned against his lips, rubbing herself all against him. Ahh… It felt so good…

Indeed, Gohan was right. A little fun wouldn't hurt. And she was certainly enjoying it.

ooOoo

It happened again. They had been fooling around on her bed for a while, touching, kissing, nibbling, rubbing, fondling, grinding… And then Videl's whole body started convulsing and she let out a surprised squeak. And then she flushed.

"What… What was that?" Gohan asked in confusion, out of breath, still lying on top of her. "It happened last time too, at the park, didn't it?"

Videl hid her face with her hands and groaned. "Ah, this is so embarrassing…"

"What is it? Videl," he said her name, and tried to pry her hands off her flushed face, but she wouldn't let him. "Videl, look at me. It's okay, you can tell me."

"Why can't you just figure it out so I don't have to say it?" she complained.

"But I… I don't understand…"

She heaved out a deep sigh and finally removed her hands from her face, glaring at him half-heartedly. "What do you think happens when you… stimulate a girl, genius?"

His eyes narrowed in deep thought, his brow furrowed. "I don't know… You get hot?"

"And…?"

Gohan sighed in impatience and got off of her, sitting on the bed. "Can't you just tell me? I don't know much about that sort of thing. You're the only girl I've ever been with, and the only girl I'll ever be with, so if you don't tell me, I'll never know."

At that, Videl burst out laughing – she couldn't help it. He was so adorably, hilariously clueless.

Gohan blushed and crossed his arms, upset that Videl was laughing at him. Usually it didn't bother him, but the pent up frustration in his pants wasn't helping his mood.

"Are you done laughing at me yet?" he asked, vexed, as her laughter started to die down.

"I'm sorry," she giggled, moving closer to him to wrap her arms around his neck. "You're just so cute."

"Can you finally tell me what happened then?"

She sighed in defeat. "Fine…" Her face flared up brightly and she looked away. "I… finished."

But her choice of word only confused Gohan more. "Finished… what?"

She groaned in frustration. His cluelessness wasn't so adorable anymore. "Oh, come on, you know…" Videl sighed again, utterly beaten. "Like when you have sex…?"

Finally, there was light: Gohan's eyes flashed with understanding. "Oh…!" And then there was embarrassment. "Oh…"

For a moment they both sat there on the bed, at good distance, blushing brightly, avoiding each other's eyes.

"… Can I use your shower?" Gohan finally asked. "I mean, I'm still… pent up and all…" He flushed brighter.

"Sure… Go ahead."

She needed some time to collect herself anyway.

March 6, 2021