Title: Off the Beaten Path
Author: Ms. Videl Son (aka, megaminoeien on DA)
Rating: PG – Due to the large number of authors participating in this event, rating is subject to change at any time.
Disclaimer: None of the authors taking part in this Round Robin claim to own Dragonball/Z/GT.

Summary: Round Robin. Gohan and Videl get lost in the woods, and Videl doesn't know about Gohan's powers! What's a demi-Saiyan to do? (donated by texaspeach)

Well, that plan was a bust. The only fact about Gohan that Videl had discovered by ferreting through the hapless boy's pockets was that he was supremely ticklish. She'd keep that little tidbit in mind for later, just in case she got desperate for information, but the girl ultimately figured that her efforts had been a waste.

"Just as I thought," Gohan announced, showing her his empty palms. From Videl's position on a convenient nearby rock, she could easily see that her pointless ruse had at least tricked her naïve classmate. "I don't have any gum."

Videl tried her best to feign a disappointed expression, but got the feeling it came off as sarcastic. "Oh, no...too bad."

"Sorry...," the nerdy teen apologized, lowering his eyes in shame. A light blush flowed to the surface of his cheeks, implying sincerity. "My mom doesn't usually let me have sweets."

Though tempted to smack herself in the forehead, Videl restrained her impulses. Sarcasm was always wasted on the dense. "It's no big deal," the teen fighter placated.

"And...uh...sorry I almost dropped you before," Gohan continued. His flushed face deepened in color.

Deciding in hindsight that the butterfingers incident had been mostly her fault anyway, Videl magnanimously chose to wave away that apology, too. "Forget it. It's not your fault that you're ticklish."

"Yeah...but..."

"Seriously," she said with a glare. She dared him to say "sorry" again. "Forget it. It wasn't your fault."

Gohan flinched at her tone, but didn't attempt another apology.

"Now, let's get going," Videl decided for the both of them, rising easily to her feet.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to walk?" Gohan asked. She could tell he was fretting. "You probably shoudln't put pressure on that ankle just yet."

"Oh, that?" Videl looked down at her allegedly injured foot as her insides squirmed with guilt. To think that he was worried over something like that...something that most people would assume that she could just shake off and go about her day. Her selling point was toughness, after all. "It's, uh...not as bad as I thought. I think I just twisted it a little."

Gohan moved towards her and dropped down to one knee to observe her ankle more closely. Videl was tempted to blush; in every crappy romantic movie that Erasa had ever forced her to watch, this was always the part at which the hero proposed marriage to the heroine. Almost reflexively, she took a step back.

The Son boy looked up, clearly confused. "Hold still, Videl," he commanded softly as he inched toward her again. "I need to see your injury."

"It's fine, honest." She backed up another step.

Gohan followed, slowly moving forward in his kneeling position. "I still think I should take a look at it," he argued, holding out a hand as if hoping to put a ring on her trembling finger. "I want to make sure it's strong enough to walk on."

Now Videl could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. There were practically heat waves rising from the surface of her skin. "What are you, a doctor?"

"No," Gohan replied as he closed in on her. "But when you live as far out in the country as I do, you have to learn to take care of yourself. There isn't a doctor within a hundred miles of my house."

Videl had finally moved as far back as she could; the rocky face of the mountain was pressed up against her spine, preventing her from going any further. "What if there's an emergency?"

"Then we fly as fast as we can to the hospital. Now, hold still and – mmph!"

With her supposedly injured foot planted in Gohan's face, Videl queried, "Wait...you don't have a jet. I would've seen you get into it after school! How can you fly to the hospital?"

Gohan blinked at her over the toe of her boot, obviously befuddled by her question. Ha! She'd caught him in a lie. "Mmmph umph fufphpfft..."

Videl lifted her sole away from his mouth and said, "Sorry, say again?"

"We...umm...," the nerdy teen struggled. Videl half-suspected that he hadn't actually said anything before, but had rather hoped that she would think he had a quick answer ready. Relying on her to fill in the blanks was a BIG mistake.

Videl couldn't help smirking triumphantly at him from her lofty position above him. "What was that?"

"Uhhh...," Gohan fumbled for another couple of seconds before blurting, "W-We have...um...a neighbor! Yes, our neighbor has a jet that he lets us use in emergencies."

Videl frowned. His story, despite being suspiciously belated, was infuriatingly plausible. "I thought you were so far out in the country that there was nobody around to help you."

"W-Well, there's a small town only a few miles away," the Son boy explained, sounding truthful for once. "They've got stores, a post office...that kind of stuff. They're just not big enough for a hospital."

Curses. Foiled again.

"Whatever," Videl said with an annoyed snort. She put her foot back on the ground and began stomping down the trail, openly miffed. After a few yards, she turned and snapped, "You coming or not?"

Gohan, who had remained in his awkward kneeling position throughout her pouty walk, leaped into a standing position. He was at her side so quickly that Videl almost wondered if he'd used superhuman speed to get there.

Deciding she was too mad to point out this latest weird occurrence, the teen fighter commenced her huffy pace and took off down the trail, Gohan bumbling along behind her.

They had been silent for nearly five hours now, Videl's annoyance hovering over the pair like a threatening cloud. Gohan fully expected lightning to strike at any second (figuratively speaking, of course) and so tried to make himself look as small and inconspicuous as possible. He irrationally wished that he weren't quite so tall...

Over the past few hours of tense quiet, Gohan had distracted himself from Videl's ire by tracking the energy signals of his classmates. It had been a little difficult to direct the Satan girl's path in their direction at first, but eventually she had given up on taking the lead and simply followed him unquestioningly. The group of teens and teachers they were hunting weren't very far away now. Even considering their slow pace, they should arrive at the class's campground before dark. Maybe within the hour, even.

Gohan chanced a peek at Videl over his shoulder. When he caught her glaring eyes, he turned away again, petrified. She had been staring at him that way since their last conversation and Gohan was getting closer and closer to all-out panic. He knew what that expression meant on his mother's face and if Videl had similar ideas...Well, he might just have to reveal his secret and fly away from her if it ever came to that. FAR away.

On the other hand, he didn't want Videl to be angry with him. This little adventure together had taught him that, despite her temper, the Satan girl was really very nice. She was honorable, clever, strong, mature...even sweet sometimes. With any luck, they would one day be friends. He could see that happening...They could hang out at lunch, go to the movies on weekends, hold hands while they walked...it would be great.

Gohan was so caught up in his cheerful fantasies of cuddling (in a friendly way, of course) next to a roaring fire with Videl that he didn't notice the uneven ground until it was much too late. Like Alice going down the rabbit hole, the Son boy suddenly found himself free falling past packed earth and spidery roots. There was no mysterious door or size-changing snacks at the bottom, just a bunch of mud and rocks that were really uncomfortable to land on.

"Oof!" was the sound that Gohan made upon contact with the ground, the air whooshing out of his lungs at high speed. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the pain in his organs to abate.

"Gohan! Are you alright?"

When the Son boy opened his eyes he instantly felt a little better. Videl, who had apparently decided to break her silent treatment in favor of showing him pity, was leaning over the rim of the pit to check on him. She was frowning still, but in a different way...maybe she was worried about him? (Just the thought of Videl fretting over his welfare made him blush.)

"I'm fine...," Gohan replied, sitting up just to prove it. He moved his arms and legs for her benefit and grinned up at her before announcing, "Not injured!"

For the first time in hours, Videl smiled, sending the little butterflies in Gohan's stomach into a tizzy. They tickled at his insides, making him want to giggle and vomit simultaneously. "Good..."

"HEY!" a new voice suddenly interjected. "What're y'all doin' to my critter trap?"

Beta'd by Ms. Videl Son (aka, megaminoeien on DA)