Chapter 2: Gohan's Second Date
The next morning came far too quickly in Goku's opinion, for when he opened his eyes at half past nine, he still didn't want to get up—he was too comfortable. He didn't even know what had woken him up. First of all, he still wasn't sure if everything had been a dream or not. Sure, it had all seemed real, but was Buu really gone? Had he really spent that wonderful time with his boys? And most importantly, had last night with Chichi been the real deal? Goku smiled thinking about the last part as he rolled over and sunk his face into the pillow. Maybe he'd just lie there for a little while longer. Chichi was probably already up cooking breakfast, but for the first time that he could recall, he was willing to trade food for sleep. He was just about to doze off again when he noticed a shadow falling across he floor, contrasting the bright spring sunlight.
"Mom says you should get up," the shadow said quietly with a little yawn, "she says she's got plans for today."
"Mfhmmfpha," Goku said into his pillow, sounding dejected.
"This is a first, isn't it father," the shadow said, this time with a greater yawn, "I've never known you to pass up a meal. Although, it would have been nice if mom had let us sleep for a little while longer anyway."
"Ffpha Goten?" Goku inquired, still talking to his pillow.
"Goten?" the shadow replied, "I'm actually not sure where he's off to, though I'm sure he's up by now. Maybe he went off with Trunks somewhere. Looked like you did a great job last night putting him to bed—he really loves you, you know that right? Like a dog loves his master, it's unconditional."
"Yeah, I gathered that," Goku said as he sat up in bed, throwing his pillow at Gohan, "poor kid was having nightmares last night though, he woke up at about midnight and came crying his eyes out to me and your mother. I'm not sure what to do though, I mean, I don't want to baby him—he is seven after all—but at the same time, he's seven and he's just been through hell and back."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Gohan said sounding unconcerned as he yawned hugely, "he's a tough kid—always has been, but he's never had a dad before, so I think he just wants to make up for all those years he never had with you. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's faking all of this—I can tell when he is. I just think he just wants to take advantage of your being here."
"I suppose," Goku said, scratching his chin. He just noticed as he did so that his stubble was coming back. His facial hair never grew in Otherworld. He grinned happily as he rubbed the prickly hair on his face. "So why are you so tired anyway?" Goku inquired nonchalantly of his son, who yawned yet again.
"W-what do you mean?" Gohan said flustered, as he tried to cover his mouth, "I'm not tired at all! I went to bed early, you saw me go into my room after you put Goten to sleep, didn't you?"
"Oh please, Gohan," Goku said, not looking convinced as he flopped back down on his mattress, "Chichi and I were out looking at the stars all night, and I could see your light on all while we were out there."
"Ok, fine," Gohan conceded with a huff, trying to nip this in the bud, "I was up studying for a test."
"You're on spring break, son"
"I-I-I know that," Gohan said, blushing now as he tried to regain control of the conversation, "it's for when we get back, see, I've got this giant micro-biological practical exam and I—"
"Gohan," Goku interrupted sternly, though with a slight grin that Gohan couldn't see, "I've obviously been gone too long, since you seemed to have picked up this nasty lying habit. I don't like it one bit, you understand me? I know that you were up talking to Videl—I think it's great, why are you trying to hide it from me?"
Gohan just blushed as he looked down at his feet and played with his fingers. He didn't know why he was so nervous talking about it, to be honest.
"It's just that I-I don't really know what I'm doing yet, and I'm really nervous about it. I really like her, but I don't want anyone to know just in case it blows up in my face and I end up looking stupid."
"Gohan, I know you'll do fine," Goku said, happy that his son was telling the truth finally as he rolled out of bed, "just tell her how you really feel and everything will work out. And don't worry so much about what other people think. Imagine how everyone felt when I proposed to your mom in the middle of the Martial Arts Tournament!"
"Gohan! Goku! Goten!" came a cheery voice from the kitchen, "Come on down! It's time to eat!"
"You go ahead, son," Goku said as he pulled a shirt over his naked back, "I'll meet you down there. Tell your mother that I'm just washing up."
Gohan did as his father told him and headed downstairs, feeling slightly ashamed for lying so much to his dad. He had only been here for a day and already he was spinning lies about nothing at all. What was the big deal? So what if he liked a girl, he should be proud to tell people about it, let alone his own father. Gohan looked pensive as he entered the kitchen, finding a flustered looking Chichi at the stove, and Goten, and Trunks, who were all sweaty from playing out in the yard evidently.
"Hi Gohan!" came a unison chant from the two.
"Hey," Gohan said indifferently, still thinking hard about his conversation with his dad.
"Everything ok, sweetie?" Chichi inquired as she continued loading the table up with food, "you look a little tense."
"N-no!" Gohan said, cheering up immediately so as to not let onto his emotions, "I'm just fine, thanks!"
"There I go again," Gohan thought to himself, mentally kicking himself, "why do I keep lying all of a sudden?"
"I bet I know what it is," Trunks said in a sing-song voice, "I bet Gohan's got a girlfriend and he doesn't want us to know about it."
"N-no!" Gohan said, putting his hands up in defense of himself, "that's not it at all! I just didn't sleep that well, that's all," as he said this, he pulled a giant plate of pancakes towards him, and began shoveling as many into his mouth as he could to try and end the conversation. But, his mother wouldn't let it drop.
"Yes, Trunks, Gohan is on his way to marrying his girlfriend so that he can give me grandchildren," she said, looking self-satisfied with herself. She knew that Gohan liked Videl—it was only a matter of time before he would admit it. Besides, maybe a little taunting would get him to come out of his shell.
Gohan stopped chewing, feeling his face starting to redden. He told himself just to calm down and let it go over his head—this was nothing unusual. Maybe they'd stop teasing him and talk about something else.
"OOOH," Goten said, in the same singsong voice as Trunks, making a kissing shape with his lips as he leaned towards his brother "kissy-kissy! Smooch, smooch!"
"Alright," Gohan said, furiously as he stood up, throwing his silverware on the table and startling everyone in the room, "you people are seriously insane. I'm leaving," and with that, he opened the door, and blasted off into the morning sun.
"Gohan!" Chichi wailed after her son, collapsing in the doorway looking sad, "come back! You know I was only kidding!"
She looked distressed as she ran outside, trying to find where her son had taken off to, but after failing, resumed her position on the ground and her crying.
"Just let it go, Chichi," came a calm voice from behind her, "he's confused right now, he doesn't know what he wants and he doesn't know who to listen to. He'll come back, don't worry about it."
"But I wasn't even serious!" Chichi cried, tears welling in her eyes, "He knows that I was joking!"
"Yeah, dad!" Goten piped up from the other side of the room with a concerned look, "He's been like that for a while now—he's so moody and secretive. One time, I went into his room 'cause I was bored and Trunks wasn't around, and he got soooo mad at me and he told me to get out and never come back, and that he never wanted to see me again!"
"Goten," Goku said, putting a hand on his son's head and smiling, "Of course your brother loves you, and he didn't mean any of that. It's just that, right now, he's going through a period of great change—he's changing from a boy to a man, and he needs his space.
Goten looked slightly crestfallen, "So, you mean we can't play anymore?"
"No, you can play," Goku responded, sitting down in Gohan's chair and beginning to bolt down the food, "but make sure that he asks you to play—don't just go bounding into his room out of nowhere. He's a teenager, and you never know what they're doin' by themselves in their rooms. You'll understand one day when you get to be big like him. Just give him some space."
"Humph," Goten said, pouting, "well, when I'm a teenager, I'm never gonna be mean to little kids and I'll always tell mom everything."
Chichi giggled at this last part.
"It's not something Gohan has much control over right now, kiddo, and it's not something you'll be able to control either," Goku said, smiling, "there are so many emotions in that head of his right now he doesn't even know which ones to listen to at any one time. Personally, from what I've seen, I think he's handled it rather well to be honest. He's a smart boy, that one."
Goten nodded, feeling slightly better about the situation, though he still felt slightly guilty about his brother's anger and his subsequent leaving. What if his dad was wrong? What if Gohan didn't love him anymore because he got in the way during his fight? Or maybe that time he barged in on him in his room he was meditating and working on a new move and Goten ruined it? Now he was the one who felt confused, and he gave a great sigh as he returned to his breakfast, poking moodily at the giant plate of pancakes staked in front of him while the other three ate quietly for a while. It seemed as though they were all thinking about Gohan's sudden change. He had always been so quiet and timid, and open too. He'd never been one to keep secrets, let alone get angry when they came out. What was happening to him?
Meanwhile, somewhere near Satan City, Gohan was flying as fast as he could away from his house. He was so angry all of a sudden and he didn't know why. His family was just annoying the piss out of him with all these comments about Videl. It was his business what he did with her, and they shouldn't care about it. Why were they all in his face all of a sudden? He huffed disapprovingly as he continued his flight path towards her mansion in Satan City where they'd agreed to meet up. Sure, it was about two hours earlier than they had planned, but he doubted that she would mind much. Anything, as long as he got away from his brother's teasing and his mother's asinine comments about marriage. Why it bothered him so all of a sudden when he had been able to take it with ease before, he didn't know. He only knew that he needed to get out of the house and be alone for a while.
Gohan landed outside of Videl's compound at around ten fifteen. Since the two of them had been up talking on the computer for the better part of the entire night and morning, he figured that she'd still be asleep—he definitely would have been had his mother not woken him. A short flight up to her bedroom window proved his theory, and he saw her fast asleep, sprawled out on her gigantic bed, with her half-open laptop lying on the floor next to her bed. He smiled, thinking of his day ahead with her.
Since he had rushed out of the house so quickly without eating much breakfast, Gohan decided that he'd try and find somewhere to eat while he let her sleep. Not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to himself, and having forgotten his special watch at home, Gohan figured it would be best just to walk into downtown. It wasn't that far, and within ten or so minutes, he was at a corner deli.
"Morning," Gohan grumbled to the man behind the counter, who looked equally grumpy from behind his newspaper, "I'd like an egg sandwich please. Six eggs, and ten strips of bacon on a bagel."
The man looked up from his paper suspiciously, "six eggs, you said, sonny?"
Gohan gritted his teeth at the last word
"Yes, sir, six eggs please."
The man busied himself preparing Gohan's gohan, while Gohan went to get a bottle of orange juice out of the refrigerator. As he sat down at an empty booth, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. After retrieving it, noticed that Videl had sent him a message:
"Hey G ;) where r u?"
He smiled and tapped out a response:
"Just grabbin a bite 2 eat. I had 2 leave my house early, the fam was being so annoying"
He sent the message and waited anxiously for the response as he got up and retrieved his meal from the counter and started digging into his enormous sandwich. He had just finished the first half when he felt his mobile vibrating on the table:
"rly? :( y didnt u come ovr?"
After taking a swig from his juice bottle, he replied:
"didnt wanna wake u, u looked so sweet sleepin :)"
He tucked away the last of his sandwich as he waited for her next reply, causing the guy behind the counter to jump a little at how quickly Gohan had eaten such a seemingly large amount of food. Still waiting for Videl's reply, Gohan went back up to the counter to pay, when he got back, he found her message waiting:
"rn't u the sweet talker ;). kk meet me at my place when ur done."
Gohan smiled, and after replacing his phone in his pocket, walked out the door of the deli and sprinted towards Videl's compound.
While Gohan was on his way to what would be his second ever date, Goku was out with Goten and Trunks exploring the cave that Goten had wanted to show his father so badly the day before. The three of them finished breakfast without much talking at all—everyone, it seemed, was concerned about Gohan and this most unusual behavior he was exhibiting. Everyone cheered up once they had gotten on their way into the vast wilderness however as all thoughts of the episode in the kitchen earlier that morning faded into nothingness as the bright warm sunshine washed their minds clean.
Goku had a vague idea of the cave that Goten was talking about—he had, after all, lived for twelve years within the same twenty miles or so, and from the way that Goten described it with such excitement, it sounded like the old cave where he hid Icarus—Gohan's pet dragon—when Chichi wouldn't let him live any nearer to the house. There certainly wasn't anything special about the cave—Gohan technically had been more correct in saying that it was downright lame, but Goku put on a very good show of enthusiasm and excitement as he walked behind his son and Trunks, who, like always, were bickering about something or other.
"No way, Trunks!" Goten said, sounding frustrated as he stamped his foot as he walked, "there's no way that you could fly around the world in under two minutes—NO WAY!"
"Goten, you have no idea what you're talking about," Trunks replied carelessly, "you're just mad because I'm way faster than you and you know it!."
"No you're not faster than I am! No chance!" Goten flailed his arms wildly as Goku giggled as he looked on. This was what he had missed out on and he was so happy to be a part of it now.
"Goten, give it up," Trunks said, smiling slightly at Goten's crazed frustration.
"No! I'm definitely faster than you, especially since I trained so hard with Goha—"
Goten cut off before he finished his older brother's name, and as he did so, his cheerful, albeit argumentative demeanor, vanished into thin air. His arms dropped comically to his sides as he put his hands in his pockets and hung his head as he continued walking forward towards the cave. He tried to hide his face from Trunks—Goten didn't want Trunks to think that he was a wussy. Trunks evidently didn't catch onto Goten's sudden change in mood, as he thought that Goten was simply conceding the argument. Not seeing anything out of order, he laughed happily and sprinted ahead, shouting, "I'm the fastest!" as loud as he could.
On the other hand, Goku could tell that his son was upset, and after such a nice morning of fun exploring, he didn't want it to be ruined. He walked over to Goten and knelt down in front of him, trying to make eye contact, but Goten just continued staring down at his shoes—apparently they were very interesting.
"Hey, cheer up big guy," Goku said with a smile as he lifted Goten's chin to see his face, "go and catch Trunks, he's beating you, you know."
"O-okay," Goten said heavily—he was clearly trying very hard not to break down into a fit of emotion in front of Trunks, he had to be strong and buck up.
After a couple seconds of Goten looking into his father's comforting face, he looked much happier. The smile returned to his face and he ran after Trunks, wailing that he was gonna beat him to the cave.
Goku stood up and watched his boy zoom away—he was so proud that Goten had been able to cheer up so quickly and man up about the situation. At the same time however, he made a mental note to talk to Gohan when he got back from wherever he was—he didn't want Goten to be scared of his brother.
"Hey!" came a chirpy voice from behind Gohan as he hovered in front of Videl's bedroom window, "I'm down here!"
Gohan turned around and saw that, sure enough, Videl was standing outside her doorway waiting for him. She was wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of shorts—she had obviously just gotten out of bed since her short black hair was still in tangles.
"Hey," Gohan said sounding slightly nervous as he landed in front of her, "it's uh, it's nice to see you again…"
"I saw you yesterday, silly," Videl said with a smile as she playfully jabbed Gohan's chest.
"Oh, yeah, that's right," Gohan said, with a nervous laugh as he felt himself blushing. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? Just a minute ago in the deli he'd been dying to get over here to see her, and when they had been talking on the phone all night, he hadn't been nearly this nervous.
"So, it's uh, pretty nice weather today isn't it?" he sounding terrified as Videl led him into the house with her head on his shoulder as she clutched his strong arm.
"Yeah, I guess," she replied, sounding uninterested, as she and Gohan entered her vast bedroom, "I just woke up so I haven't seen much of it."
Gohan amazed by the size of her room—it was at least three times as large as his room at home. Videl saw his jaw hanging open and smiled, knowing that this was all rather new to him.
"Why don't you wait here while I get dressed?" she said as she rummaged in her drawers for clothes, "I'm gonna run through the shower, be out in a sec!"
Gohan didn't have time to object, not that he would have, before she had slammed the door to her bathroom behind her. As he did so he looked down at his feet and blushed slightly—as she was closing the door, he could have sworn that she'd winked at him as she left.
Videl re-emerged into her bedroom after about twenty-five minutes or so—she had intentionally spent longer than usual in the shower to see if Gohan would get impatient with her, but after twenty solid minutes under the water and nary a peep from Gohan, she was satisfied and got out. It wasn't that she didn't trust Gohan or anything, far from it, she was just curious. As she came back into her bedroom, she found Gohan exactly where she had left him—literally, he had not moved an inch from the spot on her bed. She smiled as she walked over to her desk and started brushing her hair.
"So where do you want to go today?" Gohan said, feeling slightly less nervous as Videl continued to attack her hair with a brush.
"Mm, I was thinking maybe we could go see a movie. Don't worry though," she said, throwing him a coy smile, "I don't like chick flicks like Angela."
"Eheh," Gohan said, feeling his cheeks turn red as he scratched his head as he recalled his first ever date.
The pair departed not long after, and as they walked along, Gohan tried not to think about how rude he had been to his family earlier that morning. It was strange, just a few hours ago he'd been furious, and now he felt horrible. Videl didn't seem to notice though, since she just continued to hang on his arm playfully, much to Gohan's discomfort. Gohan really liked Videl, so he didn't know why he felt so awkward and uncomfortable when she touched him.
Videl also picked up on Gohan's anxiety as they walked along towards the cimema. Why was he being so distant? Why wasn't he returning any of the affection that she was giving him? She didn't think too much on it though as they continued their stroll—it was probably just that because this was his first date, or at least the first one that he hadn't been tricked into going on, he was nervous and didn't want to make any mistakes. Yeah, that was probably it. So she smiled and continued walking, though as they entered the theater, she couldn't help but notice that it was starting to get cloudy out.
Gohan and Videl emerged from the movie theater at around two o'oclock, and by that time, the sky had clouded over entirely, and it looked like it was actually closer to about six or seven in the evening. Since the paltry breakfast that Gohan had bolted before meeting up with Videl hadn't been nearly enough, he proposed that they go get something to eat somewhere.
"There's a good little café just up the road," Videl said cheerily as they walked out of the movie, "they've got sandwiches and stuff, though I doubt anything we can find in the city would be enough to satisfy your appetite." She grinned at Gohan at this last remark, who looked slightly sheepish.
"Uh, yeah, I guess I do eat a lot," Gohan said laughing uncomfortably.
As they walked along towards their next destination the two of them chatted lightly about the movie that they had just seen. It had been a pretty cheesy action movie, but Gohan had enjoyed the explosions and car chases—far more than Videl did anyway.
Gohan was glad that he was with Mr. Satan's daughter, because otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to pay for his enormous lunch. He literally cleared out the entire cabinet of all the meats that they had to offer, and had hovered down every loaf of bread they had for sale. Videl just watched on in horror as he gorged himself on his food as she ate her little salad.
"How can you possibly eat that much?" Videl asked incredulously as she noticed people starting to stare, "the food you're eating must be at least twice the capacity of your stomach!
Forgetting momentarily that he was in presence of a lady, Gohan proceeded to answer, his mouth bulging with food:
"Fsyousee," he said, taking a gigantic swallow, "we saiyans have a really fast metabolism. We evolved so that we could eat a lot at once so that we could go on long missions without needing sustenance."
Videl just giggled at his innocence—he really was just adorable.
"Bye Goten!" Trunks shouted happily as he ran inside his house, "Bye Mr. Goku! Thank you for taking us out today!"
"Bye Trunks!" Goten called after him, "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
"Say hi to your mom for me!" Goku hollered after him, "See you soon!"
As Trunks disappeared into his huge house, Goten turned around to Goku, looking overjoyed.
"Hey, dad, today was so much fun! What did you think of the cave?"
"I had a good time too, son. That cave was so cool! I can't believe you found it!"
At this last part, Goku picked up Goten and put him on his shoulders, to his son's delight.
"Alright then, you ready to go home, Goten, it's getting late and I'll bet your mom's started dinner!"
"Yeah!" Goten said enthusiastically, "But, can we take the Nimbus instead of Instant transmission?"
"The Nimbus?" Goku inquired, "Yeah, sure why not?" NIMBUS!"
"Yay!" Goten squeaked as he saw the fluffy yellow cloud come streaking towards them.
After positioning himself securely in his father's lap, they took off at max speed, making a beeline for their house. Goten couldn't be happier as they zoomed along, and he was pointing out things left and right to his father.
"Oh look there!" Goten shouted excitedly at one point, as he motioned to his right off in the distance, "Look at the rainbow!"
"Rainbow?" Goku replied, sounding slightly concerned, "Wait a minute, that means that it's gonna rain!"
Sure enough, as though on cue, the skies opened up, and big, heavy raindrops splattered on Goku and his son's heads. Goten looked slightly confused for a second as he felt raindrops pelt his face, but then broke into cheerful laughter, enjoying the cooling water. Seeing as he didn't mind the rain, Goku just laughed right along with him, and they continued streaking across the cloudy sky, with rain soaking through their clothes.
Gohan on the other hand had no opportunity to notice the falling rain, for at the moment; he was trying to control his nerves, which once again had flared up as Videl had started trying to play footsie. Every time he felt her foot brush against his, he stiffened, and fresh sweat started leaking from his body. Meanwhile across the table, Videl was starting to get frustrated with his lack of responsiveness to her advances. She continued to smile though as she tried to get Gohan to play along with her feet, but he just sat there, stiff as a board. Finally, he tried to force some nervous conversation:
"U-Uh, so, the w-weather sure did get bad all of a sudden didn't it?" he asked, trying to think of anything to distract her from torturing him.
Videl looked out the window and shrugged, but then, thought of something as she reached her hand across their table begging to be held by Gohan's
"Yeah, it looks terrible out," she said sweetly, "it's great weather for cuddling though, don't you think?"
Gohan blanched as he tried to force a smile.
"C-cuddling?" he inquired, trying to make his voice sound even.
"Yeah," Videl said as she snaked her hand across the table, inching closer to Gohan's, "what do you say you fly me back to my place and we can snuggle under a blanket and watch another movie?"
"U-h, uh," Gohan stuttered as he felt himself getting hot. He also noticed that she was back to playing with his feet as her hand slithered closer to his. Why was he so nervous? He should embrace this!
But as Videl's soft hand grasped Gohan's rough one, Gohan withdrew his arm and feet. Videl just looked stunned for a second, but then turned angry as she shot up out of her chair, knocking it backwards.
"You know what, Gohan," Videl began angrily as she put her hands on her hips and people turned their heads, "I've been trying all day to be affectionate to you, and you have not once returned the gesture. It's clear to me that you just want to be friends, but why did you pretend like it was something more? Shame on you for leading me on like that! I thought you really liked me!"
Her last few words were interrupted by sobs as Videl stormed out of the café, slamming the door in Gohan's face as he ran after her.
"Videl! Wait! It's not like that, you don't understand!" he tried as he got up and hurried after her, "Come back! I can explain!"
But his attempts were to no avail, for by the time that he had gotten outside after she had slammed the door in his face, she had already blasted off into the cloudy sky and was out of sight. He just stood there for a few minutes, gazing off into the sky as it started raining harder, the big drops pounding his anguished face. As he stood there, he felt hot tears stinging at his eyes—now not only had he forsaken his family, but also the one person that he had hoped to be able to call his girlfriend. What was going on with him? He had been so excited to see her, and all day he wanted to get away from her, and now he was crying that she had left him. Hadn't he gotten what he wanted all along? He didn't know as he stood there on that late afternoon in the rain.
"Shit," he muttered to himself as he felt salty tears start to drip down his face, "I really messed up this time, but good."
He walked back into the café after about five minutes of solitude outside—it was easy to cry in the rain, nobody could see it. After throwing some bills on the table, he exited the building again sulkily and blasted off into the darkening sky, flying slowly, and thinking about what he should do next and more importantly, where he should go and who he should talk to. Either way, he badly needed help.