Hi there!

Chapter 11 of my WaHD2 story is a bit of a complicated chapter and it takes a bit more time than I'd anticipated, but I'm almost done with it. In the meantime I had the urge to write something lighter and wrote you this short (quick) One-shot to pass the time. The idea has plagued my mind ever since I saw that DB super hero movie, and it feels good to have it out of my system. I'm curious about what you think of it.

One-shot: But… What do YOU want?

The cool summer breeze against her skin was a welcome contrast to the warmth that came from the afternoon sun. Videl sighed in content. They just had a lovely lunch at the Son's residence and she and Gohan had isolated themselves from the lively company.

They had been quiet for a while, enjoying each other's presence. She leaned against him while he leaned against a tree overlooking the meadow. She could do this her entire life, she thought, it was just so peaceful.

Her mind wandered off to the future. They'd never really spoken about it as she came to think of it. Of course they'd talked about what colleges they'd looked into, especially as it was an important step in Gohan's career. But he never mentioned being accepted by any of them.

"Gohan," she softly spoke, mainly to not disturb their peacefulness as she broke the silence, "Erasa has been accepted in Theater Collage." Her best friend had been over the moon when she heard the news the other day. She wasn't sure if she would get in since her grades weren't the best, but eventually she was granted the benefit of the doubt. Probably her bubbly persona had a hand in that.

Gohan opened one eye, "Really? That's great!" It was probably sincere, but something was off about his reply.

"Most people have had their acceptance letters by now," Videl continued, bracing the subject, "Have you?"

A short moment of silence followed. It was a different silence than they'd found themselves in earlier; one that was uneasy. This surprised Videl; maybe he hadn't been accepted in one? No, that couldn't be it… His grades far outclassed any of their classmates.

"I've been accepted by them all, actually," he finally let loose, trying to hide a sigh.

"That's great news!" She hadn't expected less, but because of his hesitation just now, she began to doubt it for a second. "Your mother must be thrilled! I'm surprised she held back about it during lunch… I'd expected she wouldn't talk about anything else."

"That's because I haven't told her yet," the half-Saiyan explained reluctantly.

"Oh…" Videl was a bit confused. Why wouldn't he? His studies were almost his first priority if Chi-Chi had a say in it. So much so that it really bothered her sometimes - or better said - them, but it wasn't something Gohan couldn't handle. He probably was postponing the whirlwind of emotions which was understandable.

"Have you already chosen which one it's going to be?" Videl tried to keep the conversation going.

"I've written a reply to the one my mother is ecstatic about… But I haven't sent it yet." He sighed and looked away.

After a moment, Videl gently squeezed his hand. "Is it because you don't want to go there?" her voice was full of compassion.

A snicker escaped his lips, "Is it that obvious?"

"Why did you apply to it? If you don't like it?"

"Well, my mother w-"

"Gohan!" she sternly interrupted, "This is your future, not hers. Chi-Chi can want all she wants… The question is: what do you want?"

"Me?"

"Yes… What do you want to do, Gohan?"

"I uh…" He avoided her gaze and looked at the ground where some ants were marching in a straight line to god-knows-where.

"Well?" Videl pushed on, "I'm sure you've thought about it."

"Yes I have," the half-Saiyan spoke up, "But what I want doesn't bring food on the table…"

"Gohan, look at me," Videl pleaded with him. With slight hesitation he did what was requested, "Don't you worry about that, okay? I'll cover that department. My dad lives off your money anyway," she referred to all the fortune her father has received after taking Gohan's credit from the Cell Games. Videl cupped his face and repeated her question, "Please, tell me what you want."

"To be brutally honest, I've also sent an application to the University of Natural Life Sciences and I was thinking about accepting that instead," Gohan finally admitted, "I want to study Biology. Ever since I remember I've found nature fascinating. It always finds a way and it's much more complex than we realize in its simplest of forms. Take these ants for example, they build impressive infrastructures we can learn so much about; some species farm their own food or herd other species to their benefit and they even fight wars - not only against other species, but amongst themselves as well." He sighed, "It's a branch that doesn't make money, though. But I think science in that regard is still very valuable; even honorable maybe." He turned to look at Videl again, "I just want a carefree life and focus myself on the things that spike my interest, you know... Care about the little things in life."

"Why doesn't this surprise me?" Videl let out a small chuckle, "What's holding you back? If you are really that passionate about it, you should go for it." She was glad her boyfriend finally opened up about it.

"You know…" Gohan sighed, "Mom probably wouldn't approve."

"Gohan, it's your future, not hers. And if you want to do it, you should. Let me worry about the rest, okay?" She squeezed his hand, "And she wants you to be a Scholar right? Don't see why this doesn't meet the criteria. Chi-Chi would be happy regardless what you choose, I'm sure of it."

He looked her into her eyes, seeing the sincerity in it. He let her words sink in and started to blush a little; she was so sweet to him. "Okay, I will," he finally accepted, "Thank you…"

A smile appeared on her face. "You're welcome," she said softly, giving him a playful wink.

"And you?" Gohan asked Videl after a short while, "Are you looking forward to the Police Academy?" He was much more at ease now and tightened his arms around her lovingly. He was really happy that she was so open to what he wanted from life; nobody actually had shown that to him before. Probably one of the reasons he loved her so much.

"Well, I-" Now it was Videl's turn to pause, "I have decided not to go."

"Huh, why not?" Gohan raised an eyebrow; he was surprised to say the least. "You are always really involved with the police. You breathe 'police'. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"It's not that sudden, to be honest," she ran a hand through her short raven hair. "I've been thinking about the future lately. And I came to the conclusion that the Police Force is too unsafe of an environment for me. Therefore I was thinking of opening my own Dojo instead."

"What are you talking about?" Gohan protested, "You are above capable of handling whatever criminals throw at you."

"I know," she sighed, "But criminals do have guns or other weapons, and even though you teached me how to protect myself with Ki, I'm not that good at it. Last time I was lucky that that bullet just grazed my arm…"

"You just need a little bit of practice, that's all," Gohan tried to reassure her.

"I need 'a little bit of practice' for the last two years now, Gohan. I don't think there will be much progression all of a sudden."

"Even if you're right, I don't think you should worry too much about it. If something goes wrong, there are always Sensus or Dende to help out." He caressed the skin of her arm to comfort her, even though she didn't seem too upset about it.

"It's just that I don't think it will work in the long run, you know," Videl hugged herself slightly.

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked a bit worried and threw his arms around her too, hugging her as well. He didn't understand where this was coming from.

"Well, I don't think it's a proper job for a mother. It's too risky and I don't want to raise a family while constantly worrying about not coming back home one day." She sighed, "I've been raised without one myself, and I would never want that to happen to my children - not that I think you wouldn't be able to raise them happily solely on your own…"

Again an - for Videl - unexpected silence fell. She tried to look at her boyfriend from the corners of her eyes, to see what was going on, but couldn't see his features without turning her head.

Then finally he said hesitantly, "You want to have kids?"

Turning her head and raising a brow, she took him in. His eyes had an uncertainty over them, looking back at her intently.

"I thought you'd be happy? You're always such a family man…" Videl couldn't hide her disappointment. "Guess I was wrong?"

"No! No…" Gohan hastily replied, "I do… really… But I just thought you looked at it differently."

"Well, I don't," she retorted. Even though Gohan had answered her positively, he didn't seem that happy.

"I guess I've noticed…" He sighed, "I just hoped I was wrong."

"What is that supposed to mean? First you say you want kids… but now you're saying you were hoping I wouldn't?!" A deep frown featured her face.

"Sorry," the demi Saiyan apologized. "I just…" his voice faltered, "You know that I'm a half-breed…"

"Yeah, so?" Videl crossed her arms, "And you know I don't have a problem with that."

"I know, I know," he replied, trying to shush her upcoming anger, "But it comes with… some complications."

Confused, she looked at his worried face, her anger vanishing instantly, "What kind of… complications?"

"Ever heard of a mule?"

"Yeah, those are those workhorses, right? But I don't see why that is relevant to our conversation."

"More relevant than you think," Gohan replied with a broken smile, "A mule isn't a horse. It's actually a crossbreed between a male donkey and a mare and it has its own unique set of genes. They are much more durable and stronger than horses and that while they are more efficient with their food, making them ideal animals to do work with. Also, they're more intelligent and less stubborn than donkeys. They exceed both of their parents in various traits."

"Okaaay…" Videl said questionably, still not understanding where this conversation was going.

"The same goes for other crossbreeds. Take the 'liger' for example; a crossbreed between a male lion and a female tiger. They can grow much larger than any of their parents and are even considered the largest of all known extant felines. The reason why this occurs is because its genes are in conflict. In lions, the males have a gene that stimulates growth, the females have genes to do the opposite, counteracting each other; it's what keeps their offspring's size in check. The tiger however doesn't have such genes, causing the liger to have only the growth-promoting gene. The same principle applies to me; the reason I have such a high potential in strength, far exceeding both of my parents."

"So what you are basically saying is that you have some traits that are different from both of your parents?" She still didn't understand what the issue was.

"Yes, I do." Gohan replied, "And even though most of those traits are in my favor, it comes with some issues as well." He took a deep breath and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "The thing is… there aren't many second-generation hybrids."

"You mean…" An uneasy feeling came over her. Was he saying what she thought he was?

"I'm afraid so…" the half-Saiyan looked down in defeat, "Bulma said there is still a slim chance I can have kids, but the odds aren't in my favor." He looked up at her, guilt written all over his face, "You never seemed much interested in kids, so I'd hoped this wasn't an issue… but I've seen you change over time. I should've told you sooner, but I was afraid you'd turn your back on me and since we were too young anyway, I just pushed it back; pretending it wasn't even there…"

"Gohan…" her voice was soft and caring, surprising the Saiyan hybrid, "Look, I do want to raise kids someday… With you… But there are all kinds of ways to do so. We could ask Shenron - or if that's not up his alley - adopt one or two little ones. We'll figure it out, alright? And in the meantime, we can have fate decide." She gave him a mischievous look, "So let's ditch the condoms from now on."

Blushing at her comment, Gohan replied, "B-But aren't we too young for that? I mean, we are about to go to college."

"You are, not me. I've something different planned for myself," she reminded him. "Look, we are on the young side, yes, but there are many couples who start a family our age. And you said it yourself: the chance you can have kids is very slim. So why waste that chance? I'd rather have kids early than not even have tried our best." Suddenly she chuckled, "And I don't think your mother would mind it too - her talking constantly about grandchildren and all."

Gohan chuckled as well, "No, she wouldn't be one to complain." He felt such a relief wash over him; a weight lifted from his shoulders. "You're absolutely sure?" he asked for reassurance.

"No doubt in my mind," she replied, not even hesitating about the answer.

He hugged her tightly, she was something special, that was for sure. "Thank you," he whispered as he gave her a kiss on her head.

For a while they stayed quiet, content with each other's presence once again.

"You asked me before what I wanted," Gohan eventually broke the silence. He reached into his pocket before continuing, "There is one thing I'm certain of; something I really want. But I was afraid it was me just being impatient - that we wouldn't be ready for it yet. But since the conversation we just had…" he paused.

"Oh?" Videl got curious, "What is it?"

He presented her a small box. "This is for you," he said softly.

Even more curious - knowing Gohan was sometimes too dense to even think about giving her gifts - she took the box out of his hand and opened it carefully. Inside, there was a ring.

"What I want is to spend the rest of my life with you," he whispered, "Would you marry me?"

She jerked her head towards Gohan with wide eyes - she hadn't expected that question at all. Afraid he'd scared her off, he quickly added, "We can wait until y-"

"Yes."

Startled that he was interrupted, he mumbled confused, "W-What?"

"Yes, I will marry you, Son Gohan," Videl repeated as the corner of her eyes became moist.

Joy overtook him completely by her words and he began to kiss her firmly. He couldn't believe his ears: she said yes… She really did say yes! He felt like the luckiest man on Earth right now.

When they came short on breath, Videl pulled away from their intimate embrace. Laughing - thinking it was silly both were actually crying happy tears at this point - she looked back at the ring. Gohan took the opportunity to pick it up and he gently slid it around her finger. She looked at it with a big grin, then back at her husband-to-be while whispering,

"See, you should speak your mind more often about what you want. It'll do you good."

He chuckled, knowing she was right and, after a tender kiss, he whispered back, "I love you."

"I love you too," Videl answered and they both leaned back into the tree; enjoying each other's company once more with many, many years to come.

Hi there,

It's kind of a funny thing that I of all people wrote this piece. I don't want kids - never been interested in them - and I probably would never marry for that matter. However, the message I want you to take home is that these kinds of life-choices are important to talk about. And no, do NOT assume you know the wishes of your partner or expect them to change over time. My ex-partner wanted to have kids, I didn't, and he thought I would be such a person to change my mind - even though I really made it clear I didn't want any from the first day we met. So, if you have any plans for the future: talk to one another and make sure they know what YOU want.

Alright, that said, I love the idea of Gohan being a Biologist/Entomologist! You've probably understood that by now.