Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z, its characters and likenesses, are all owned by Akira Toriyama and the creators of the animated series. The characters are used for my amusement and are not being written for money purposes.

Note: this is my entry for the SweetestIrony contest at deviantART for the month of April, the theme being "fools in love." My dA name, if anyone cares to follow up on, is gardenofboyo (all one word). Enjoy.

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Nudge

A one-shot by Shaggydiz

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Nudge. Nudge.

Something rubbed against Videl's shoulder. She attempted to swat it away. "Not now Snuffleluffagus," she murmured, thinking it was her long hair cat begging for attention. She pulled the covers… wait, where were her covers?

Keeping her eyes closed – it was still far too early, even with the sun slowly creeping its way towards the floor – she reached down for the covers and found them…

But she also found that she was wearing nothing save for her panties. She blushed, surprised by her lack of modesty. A peeping tom would have made a fortune at this moment if he had seen Videl lying in bed practically naked.

Ignoring the thought of annoying paparazzi, Videl pulled the covers up over her chest, albeit with some difficulty. There was a weight on the covers. Probably Snuffleluffagus, she thought to herself. The cat was a pain at times, that she knew, but she loved him all the same.

Videl smiled at the thought of her cat and resettled herself under her blankets. She would sleep the rest of the morning off before starting her day. It was Saturday. She was allowed to. She was out late last night anyway, with her cohort of friends: Erasa, Sharpener, and Gohan.

Ah… Gohan…

The thought of the shy, black haired teen made her smile even more. He was so easy to pick on – after two weeks, she had lost track of how many times she embarrassed him – and yet, Gohan was receptive to it all. It was like he needed friends and he got them, despite the fact that he didn't know what to do half the time with those friends. Videl realized that eventually he'll catch onto the teasing, and he'll either tease back – Gohan hadn't done this yet, she thought, because of how much she intimidated him – or he'll shut himself away from his friends, not knowing how to react to the incessant teasing.

The thought made her sad. I'll have to talk to Erasa and Sharpener about laying off some of the teasing… I don't want to push Gohan away.

Videl resolved herself around this idea, making it a point to talk to her two blonde friends about it before the teasing got out of hand. Of course, she'll do that after she woke up again in three hours time.

She slowly drifted off to sleep. A renewed drowsiness took hold…

Nudge. Nudge.

Damn cat…

Videl swatted away again, hoping she was able to get the cat away from her. Again, whether or not this worked, she didn't care. She was happy to be able to get more sleep.

She focused her slowly receding thoughts on the events from last night. The group of four went out to a club – a strange but truly mesmerizing mix of trance and hip-hop – before heading out for a late dinner/early breakfast. She remembered distinctly during the night how poorly Gohan danced, and the blondes were unmerciful with their teasing. Videl joined in too on occasion. She knew Gohan could take it. He smiled and blushed like he normally did, his face contorting into a goofy smile, his hand sliding ever so slowly – and predictably – to the back of his head.

And yet, he got better as the night wore on. Videl was amazed at how much better he got. He wasn't a natural dancer, that was given, but something about his movements…

It was like martial arts, Videl thought, remembering the way his feet moved and the way his arms and hands felt the air. The dancing was like martial arts. She was impressed. Goofy, grinning, shy, blushing and embarrassed Gohan… was he a martial artist? Did he know how to fight?

"I know how to fight," Gohan had told her as they walked back to her mansion, the blondes having gone their separate ways for the evening. "I don't like it, but fighting has been a part of me for a long time. I only fight for the right reasons, like you do. I fight for justice, because there are people who can't defend themselves. I fight to protect the weak. If I don't, then what will happen to those who can't defend themselves?"

Goofy, grinning, shy, blushing and embarrassed… and intense, Videl added. She smiled at this knowledge. She wished to learn more about this side of him, this intense side that demands justice and righteousness. She wanted to know more about him. She wanted to know more about Gohan the person, and not merely Gohan the shy, the goofy, the embarrassed. They were only small pieces that made up his being. He was more than what her and the blondes thought, he was –

Nudge. Nudge.

"No Snuffleluffagus, I'm sleeping," she said, again trying to swat the incessant cat away. She heard a vocal sound from behind her, not really sure what it was. The second one was more distinct.

Meow.

That cat won't give up!

The nudging repeated itself. Nudge. Nudge. The vocal sound followed. She still didn't know what it was. Was she too tired to figure it out? The second vocal sound followed.

Meow.

"I'll feed you later. I'm sleeping."

The nudging repeated itself again, but this time much harder, more forceful.

Her cat wasn't this hard on her.

Her cat never makes an unknown vocal sound followed by the distinct cat cry.

Suddenly, Videl was wide awake. She came to the realization that it wasn't Snuffleluffagus that was bothering her.

There was a person behind her.

Videl did not want to turn around. She suddenly felt her whole body becoming hot. Her face was turning red, no doubt. How much had this person behind her seen?

And then she remembered the difficulty she had pulling up her covers. It wasn't the cat that was making it difficult. It was this person.

And they were awake when she pulled the covers up.

She turned even redder.

But then, Videl came to a realization: why should she be embarrassed and trying to hide when instead she should turn around and beat this person senseless? That was the better solution. This person had no doubt seen her chest, and probably her panties too – and her butt, if any of it was showing because of her low cut panties. No doubt this person got himself off – she knew it was a male because of the deep vocalizations that emitted from the person behind her – and she wanted to hurt him badly for pleasuring himself at her expense.

Nudge. Nudge.

That's it, I'm giving this goon until the count of three and then I'm going to tear him apart.

The vocal sound returned, but this time it was clearer. Videl was fully awake and alert, and thus, it made sense. It was a name.

"Videl."

This person knows me?

The second vocal pattern followed. At first she thought it was "Meow." But then, it was something different, and yet, something very similar.

"Now."

Now? Now what?

Being fully alert and awake now, Videl was able to hear the pitch and tone of the person's voice. It was very similar.

What exactly happened last night after Gohan brought Videl home? Her panties were still on, yes, and the cloth didn't feel wet either. Nothing happened down there, as far as she could tell.

Did she invite Gohan in? Were they drunk? No, they couldn't have been. They're kids! They went to the club, danced, and ate dinner. And then Gohan brought her home.

And then they talked… talked about what though? Videl's mind was reeling.

And before she knew it, Videl, red faced, turned herself over to see who this person was.

Before her was Gohan, equally red faced and burning, with his right arm up again, ready to nudge her once more. She stole a quick glance down past his chest and stomach. There was his left hand, holding what looked like a wash cloth over his groin. The small piece of cloth barely covered his privacy.

"I can't find my clothes," he whispered. "And we only had one blanket with us too." He pointed with his hovering right hand at the remaining blanket that was pulled around Videl's chest.

"How much did you see?" she asked, still red faced, still embarrassed. She was slowly going into shock.

"Everything."

"How much did I see?"

"Probably everything."

"You don't remember last night either?" Videl asked.

"No." Gohan paused, then added, "We came back and started talking. After that… I can't remember."

"What did we talk about?"

"… Stuff."

"Like?"

"You know… stuff. Somehow we ended up here though. And naked, that I really don't remember."

"Oh." Videl still stared at Gohan, the red permanently burned in her face. Gohan stared back as well, the red extending beyond his face now.

And above them both, on the headboard, was Snuffleluffagus. The cat was the only witness to the morning's events.

Unfortunately for Gohan and Videl, cats hold secrets quite well.

Fin.

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I hope you enjoyed. As always, read and review.