Videl stormed back to the lab tightly clenching the bag she held. This is just what I don't need today. Once she got to the dark hallway that led to her work space she had calmed down a bit. Next time it breaks I am just not going to say a word to him, even if he makes a snide remark. She nodded at this though as she swung the lab door open. Looking around at the silence of the lab, her loud thoughts suddenly seemed silly. She took a deep breath and sat back down at the stool.
Her eyes scanned across the files of the computer. It had been hours since her run in with Vegeta and Videl had managed to continue her work sorting files without any interruptions from him. I'm surprised that idiot didn't break that thing again. Videl starting feel little twinges of guilt in the back of her mind. She sighed frustrated with herself. Why should I feel bad? He started it. She pinched her lips together tightly and looked out the window at the dome. It's that last comment I made...I went too far. Videl put her chin in her hands and thought back to the earlier argument. She shook her head. Forget about it I just need to get back to work. He probably forgot about our argument hours ago. Videl turned back to the screen and buried her in the insurmountable number of files that lay before her.
Time passed quickly and the sound of the keys clicking soothed Videl. Just as she entered a finished folder Bulma walked into the room.
"Videl! What are you still doing here?" Videl looked up at her confused, the blue light of the computer reflecting in her eyes.
"It's 8 o'clock, everybody left 2 hours ago! If I knew you were such a hard worker I would've hired you sooner." Bulma smiled and walked around the table to Videl smacking her across the back playfully.
"I didn't realize it was so late." Videl mumbled still slightly confused about how she managed to work straight into the night without realizing it. She got up from the stool and followed Bulma out of the lab, clicking off the lights as she walked by.
In the dining room, food had already been served. Pam and Bra had already finished and were back in the living room gossiping about the days events. Trunks picked at his food but eventually excused himself as well. Videl and Bulma sat down. The dining room was beautiful, the table was big enough for 30 people and a crystal chandelier dangled elegantly overhead. As Videl sat admiring the the paintings on the adjacent wall Vegeta walked into the room.
"Ugggh Vegeta, couldn't you take a shower before you eat?" Bulma said annoyed. Vegeta ignored this and sat next to her. Bulma rolled her eyes.
"Sorry Videl, usually Vegeta doesn't get in early enough to eat with us, so we usually are spared the odor." Bulma laughed slightly cruelly and looked over at Vegeta for a response. He sat there completely motionless except for his fork moving to and from his plate. Jeez Bulma knock it off Videl thought I've had just about enough arguing today, don't start another one.
"So...I really think I am getting a hang of the system the company uses." Videl said, temporarily interrupting the awkward silence that had ensued. Bulma nodded clearly uninterested. Videl pushed her food around her plate, feeling like she was a child whose parents were arguing.
"So how many times did you have to fix this one's machine?" Bulma pointed over at Vegeta. Before I could answer Vegeta slammed down his fork and left the room. A large crack splintered across the table from the force of his strength and Bulma and Videl stared at it.
"Just ignore him, he always gets like this." Videl nodded and rushed to finish the food on her plate. Bulma talked through the rest of the meal about her new project and the progress of the company. When they finished dinner Videl excused herself to her room. She walked through the familiar corridors until she found her room. God I need a shower. She pulled off her shirt and walked into the bathroom slipping out of her jeans as she walked.
After stepping into the shower she instantly felt better. This is just what I needed. Her excessive thoughts washed down the drain with the water. She leaned forward to feel the water beat against her back. She closed her eyes feeling every drop of water zig-zag down her back. She shivered at the sensuous touch. She grabbed the soap and ran in back and forth between her hand creating a foamy lather. Videl ran the lather across her breasts, increasingly enjoying the erogenous touch of her own hands. She continued washing herself thinking about the events of the day. She soon came to think about the tiff with Vegeta she had earlier. He seemed so upset...disappointed. She thought back to that look on his face it was so...familiar? She opened her eyes. Yes...familiar. To a look I see when I pass a mirror back at home. Disappointment. She knew that look well...
–
Videl was tidying up the house. She had spent all day cleaning the house, arranging flowers and doing her hair and makeup. She was excited...no...ecstatic. Gohan was coming home from a week long business trip, and the end of the trip signified the end of the big project he was working on. And he had promised that he was going to take a week off and spend time with her. Videl put the vacuum in the closet and heard the front door close. She walked toward the door pausing for a moment to check her makeup in the mirror. Gohan walked in, he was texting on his phone.
"Hello darling! I made your favorite dinner and sent Pan to your mom's" Gohan momentarily glanced up at her. He looked frazzled and distracted.
"That's great honey. It will be nice to get a quiet evening at home before going back to work." Gohan set down his luggage and walked past her into the kitchen.
"Well you have a week of quietness and of course...occasional loudness." Videl said with a coy smile. Gohan looked up slightly confused.
"A week? What?" Videl looked at him, she knew then he had forgotten what he had told her earlier.
"Oh...I thought you were going to take a week off after the big project was complete." Videl said quietly. She could feel the lump in her throat sliding down into her stomach.
"Ha! You know what would happen if I took a week off now? Some jackasses would take credit for my design and cozy up to the investors. This is the most important part of the project. The marketing and sales of the product." Gohan took a swig of milk from the carton and walked towards Videl. He kissed her forehead.
"When this stage is complete, I will take that week off I promise." Gohan smiled at her and walked out of the kitchen. She could hear his footsteps travel upstairs but she just stood there. She knew he wasn't going to. This was how it always went. She snapped awake from her daze and walked slowly out to the living room. Looking at all the effort she had put in to make the house beautiful and herself... She spun around and saw her reflection in the hallway mirror. She moved closer towards it and moved her hair out of her eyes to see her face fully. There was nothing beautiful about sadness. And she could see the disappointment in her eyes.
–
Videl pulled her wet hair out of her face as she thought about the past. That had happened over three years ago but she still remembered the feeling so well. I should apologize to Vegeta for the comment I made. She was about to turn off the shower when she heard a loud crash coming from the hallway balcony. Instinctively she shot out of the shower only momentarily pausing to wrap a towel clumsily around herself. She ran out into the hallway and heard another crash sound, this time much more clearly. She walked toward the end of the hallway and looked out the window. Oh thank god it's just Vegeta. Vegeta stood panting heavily in the lower gardens. Two pronounced holes indented nearby trees and smoke was billowing from them. He must be training his energy control. The use of energy had always fascinated Videl ever since she learned how to use it to levitate. She hadn't seen it in practice for a long time. Vegeta wiped sweat off his forehead and continued practicing his moves. Wow he is moving so fast, I can barely make him out from here. Videl leaned against the window frame and looked out at him. I wonder if he gets lonely? She had never really considered this, in fact she had never considered he had any feelings outside of arrogance and annoyance.
Vegeta stopped again and stretched his arms and looked up toward the window. Oh god he sees me! Videl, oblivious to the fact that a puddle of water had formed underneath her, attempted to quickly step backward only to slip forward out the unlocked window. Videl plunged out the window, much to quickly to remember that she could in fact fly if she wanted to. She screamed in shock and fear, waiting for the intense impact of hitting the ground from three stories up. She closed her eyes.
"Videl...Videl...Videl!" Videl could hear a voice calling out to her. She opened her eyes but everything was hazy and distorted. She closed them again drearily.
"Gohan?" She muttered quietly.
"You must have hit your head on the railing...idiotic woman." Videl could hear the tearing of fabric and felt a large hand press against her head. Immediately waves of pain rippled down her head to her spine, throwing her violently into consciousness.
"What? What happened?" Her eyes flung open and she saw Vegeta reached over her to wrap her head in the fabric. Vegeta looked down at her.
"You fell out of the window, you were lucky I was here to catch you before you hit the ground." Vegeta replied as arrogantly as he possibly could.
"Ughhh my head hurts so bad." Videl said, ignoring Vegeta's answer. She leaned up a bit and immediately fell back down.
"You should sit up quite yet, you have a nasty looking cut on your head." Videl nodded and she looked back at Vegeta, who was mysteriously shirtless now.
"Where is your shirt?" Videl asked groggily. Vegeta looked back at her with a strange expression. Why does he look embarrassed? She looked down.
"Oh my God! Where is my towel?" Videl had noticed that she was now covered with shredded piece of Vegeta's shirt, and covered was an overstatement. She quickly crossed her arms over her half covered breast, sending a second shock wave of pain through her head.
"Well...you see...it must have...ahem...caught on the railing..." Vegeta stumbled unrecognizably with his words. She looked over at the railing on the window, sure enough her white towel dangled hooked on one of the metal grates. Oh...my...god...Videl's cheeks flushed brilliantly pink and she looked away from Vegeta's gaze. Vegeta seemed to be getting increasingly uncomfortable with this situation and tried to direct the conversation towards his comfort zone.
"Well if you weren't lollygagging around at night you would've saved yourself the humiliation!" Vegeta said crossing his arms. He looked back at her and felt his own cheeks burn a bit. Videl was lying on moonlit grass basically naked. His tattered shirt scrunched up where she was crossing her arms and, unbeknownst to her, this was increasing visibility rather than decreasing.
"You should get back to your room, do you happen to remember how to fly now?" Vegeta said verbally increasing his anger the more he felt aroused by her. Videl nodded and leaned up cradling his shirt against her. She tried to get up but it was clear she was having trouble.
"Oh forget about it. You will just leak blood everywhere anyway." Vegeta said and with that swept her up into his arms. She felt incredibly light in his arms, It must be like carrying paper for him. Vegeta rearranged her in his arms and she fell closer against his chest. She could feel his heart beating rapidly.
"Hey Vegeta..." She said. He looked down at her, looking uneasy with the intimate way he was holding her.
"I'm sorry about what I said before...about Bulma. It was out of line." Videl spurted it out and looked away.
"Don't worry about it...Videl" She looked at him with surprise. She had never heard him say her name before. And he said it so carefully too, not a drop of sarcasm anywhere near it. Videl smiled as Vegeta floated up to the window, pulling off the towel from the railingto drape over her. He cautiously navigated them to her room where he placed her on the bed. Vegeta looked at her for a moment, as if he was about to speak. But instead he walked into the bathroom to turn off the shower and the light. He stood at the main door for a moment.
"Good night Vegeta." Videl said softly. She gave him gently smile and closed her eyes.
"Good night Videl." He responded as he shut the door. Vegeta walked down the hallway to his room. A soft smile edged across his lips as he entered his room.
Hey everybody...stuff is starting to go down. Like always: review...please :D It encourages me to keep on writing. And I forgot to add in the other chapters that I do not own any DBZ characters or am affiliated with them in anyway so "please don't sue." Lol. The next chapter shall come shortly. But for every review it comes a couple hours earlier. :D