### CITRUS ALERT ### CITRUS ALERT ### CITRUS ALERT ###

You've been warned. xD

Enjoy!

This was getting ridiculous.

They'd been driving for over an hour now and he still had no idea where they were going. Ok, so they'd left town, the tall buildings were now replaced by trees, hills and assorted greenery - a change he welcomed, 'mountain boy' at heart - but that was about it. It was crucial that he'd bring comfortable clothes and shoes - Sharpner's scrutiny over his current getup hinted to that pretty clearly - and every question he'd ask about their destination was shot down immediately, if ever acknowledged at all.

The blond man was overly quiet and it struck him as almost eerie, just too out-of-character for his otherwise chatty friend. Gohan knew, however, that this behaviour of his was but a gimmick to hide the truth from him, since Sharpner was extremely reliable when it came to keeping secrets, as he came to realize. A mere slip of the tongue would be nearly impossible coming from his friend, even if Gohan were to trick him into making it happen. It was really striking a nerve.

"Just tell me already," Gohan blurted out for the umpteenth time today, breaking the bubble-gum pop song that filled in the hatchback.

"Dammit, G!" Sharpner fired back, slapping the steering wheel with his left hand. "Can't a guy just surprise his best friend on his birthday? You'll know when we get there!"

Gohan let it slide for a moment, almost pouting, crossing his arms in front of his chest and releasing a frustrated sigh - a purposefully loud one, that spoke for his displeasure. He didn't hate surprises per se but the wait just made it excruciating. Surprises were supposed to surprise you, not leave you on edge with anxiety. So after the couple of seconds he spent brooding aimlessly he added, quietly, looking out the passenger's side window: "It's not really a surprise if you keep telling me that it'll be a surprise..."

"I wouldn't have to keep telling you it's a surprise if you didn't keep asking about it! God, you're worse than a little kid!" Sharpner peaked, aggravated. "Is your little brother so damn annoying with his questions? Because God dammit, man!"

Gohan took the bait right away. "You should feel lucky that your brother and sister are older than you. How do I make a seven year-old understand that pregnant women don't eat their babies without explaining about sex?"

His roommate's eyes widened as he peeked over, a grin wanting to bare his teeth but he wasn't letting it. "He thinks... they eat their babies?"

Gohan took a deep breath. "Yep. How else do their stomachs get so big?"

A couple of seconds passed until their laughter echoed over the radio's tune and Sharpner ended up cleaning a few tears from the corner of his eyes. "When are you going to have 'the talk'?" he asked, air-quoting the words.

"My mom thinks they're still too young," Gohan explained. "Maybe next year. I'm pretty sure Trunks already knows a little bit more about it than he should, though. He's a cheeky little bastard, that one."

The blond chuckled. "They're so cool... My brother's kids are such a pain, all entitled and whiny. Not polite and independent like yours."

Gohan just smiled at that. They were his pride and joy, his little monkeys. He felt blessed that they'd turned out the way they did, considering... well, everything. Their fathers being dead, their bodies being different, their abilities... There was so much that could've gone wrong, so much that they could've picked up from his - and his mother's - sad existence as they grew up but they didn't. They were always so happy and carefree. It was a blessing that they'd managed to absorb the good instead of the bad - lucky, even.

"I promise it'll be just another fifteen minutes," Sharpner concluded with a mellower tone to his voice.

"You said that fifteen minutes ago..." Gohan pointed out, a smirk forming at his lips.

"Yeah, but this time it's for real."

"You said that fifteen minutes ago, too."

A pause. "... just shut up."

To his credit it was only thirteen and a half more minutes until their speed began decreasing, a few corners and twists over to gravelled terrain instead of the prior charcoal gray of the tarred interstate.

"There! We're here," Sharpner declared, almost breathing it out like he'd just barely met a deadline. Poor guy... Gohan never realized how easy - and fun - it was to annoy his roommate but he could just see it in his body language how exasperated he was. He curbed a grin.

"Just get out," the blond man said, waving him off.

The young saiyan did a double take towards his friend. Did he hear him right? "W-What?"

"Get out, G."

Gohan stared back at him, knitted brows arching over onyx eyes and lost in those words he comprehended but didn't get. Was Sharpner actually kicking him out of his car? In the middle of nowhere? Not that it'd matter - he could fly his way home - but it was the principle of the thing! Slowly and unconvinced, Gohan started to oblige to the command, gazing warily around his whereabouts for some clue he might have missed.

Well, it wasn't exactly in the middle of nowhere, he noticed; there were specks of civilization in the small stone cottage up ahead and in the few posters and signs scattered all over. Maybe it was a tourist spot he wasn't aware of but looking around, no soul in sight, there wasn't all that much to actually see...

He closed the door as he exited and Sharpner rolled down the electric window behind him. "Happy birthday," he jingled and winked, laughing most probably at Gohan's even deeper frown and inquiring lips as they parted to mouth his perplexity. Nothing came out in time because he closed them shut again when the other revved the engine and stormed off the way they came with a huge cloud of dirt that got him left behind.

Gohan just watched as he sped away, wide-eyed and dumbstruck just too damn massively to be able to produce one single word. He'd just... He'd... left?!

"Ready to go?"

That voice would reach him through a crowd, recognizable as it was, but it startled him anyway, hasting his movement as he turned around over his shoulder. "Vi?" Gohan stretched the word in disbelief, his quizzical stare bouncing between her and the light-brown puff as it dispersed and mixed with the air. Ultimately, it stopped on her. "What's... happening?"

"That's happening," Videl answered with a proud smile as she extended her arm to point behind her.

Gohan followed her index finger. It didn't help to clear his confusion. "The... mountain's happening," he said very slowly to seek confirmation, his expression hinting the same.

"Yes," she responded with nothing more and brought her other hand up to give him what it held. "Here."

"What's this?"

"It's a backpack, silly," she teased, as if she didn't understand what he'd asked. "You have to be prepared when you go on a hike."

Ok, now he was just shocked. "A... hike?"

"Yep," she offered again, and this time her smile grew to a grin just as she turned and paced away. "Now, come on. We're losing precious daylight."

Gohan just stood there, backpack in hand since he was pretty sure he was being tricked or punked or something. Except that she wasn't stopping, walking towards the 'Moon trail', as announced by the carved wood sign that pointed to its entrance. He snapped out of it when he realized the increasing distance between them and slung the bag over his shoulder, jogging up to meet her and taking a deep breath when he got closer. Flimsy denim shorts... who invented those and how would he choose to kill them?

"Down boy," that little voice in his head chirped, as it did more often than not whenever Videl was involved. It kept reminding him of his decision and rubbing salt in the wound, annoying and relentless. Just like a damn cricket.

"So... who put you up to this?" he asked for distraction purposes, slowing his pace to hers.

Videl giggled. "Nobody put me up to this. It was my idea in the first place."

Her idea in the-... It just made him that much more weirded out. "You... the ultimate city girl... it was your idea to go hiking..." he voiced, unbelieving, just to make her see the ludicrous statement she'd just given him.

"Ok, full disclosure," she chuckled, "I didn't come up with 'hiking' but I did decide to come today."

"Oh?"

"It was Bulma's idea, actually; back at the Tigers' party," Videl explained. It made a lot more sense but... why hiking? There were so many other things they could've done today, most of them 'city girl' friendly and he'd be ok with that. Given the afternoon hour and the disassembled tent sticking out of her backpack, they'd be spending the night too. Alone. One tent. ... He didn't really want to think about that right now.

"She told me that you used to do this every year, back in the day," Videl continued. "With your father."

Gohan stopped, a plethora of emotions rushing through him all at once from that word alone. It was; she was right. Their thing on his birthday. When they'd sleep under the stars, Gohan telling him of the constellations and Goku sharing his amazing childhood adventures. They'd talk, about anything and everything, two friends more than father and son. It made him feel so... assured. Of himself, of the world, that everything would be ok, whatever would happen.

Dad was gone and everything wasn't ok, so... where did that leave him?

Videl looked back and turned around, taking the couple of steps between them until she was right in front of him. Her eyebrows knitted just a tad, but it was her soft smile that told him how she was aware of his musings.

"I'm not your father. But I do love you just as well."

W-What... did she say? "Gohan! Gohan, listen to me! As a friend! She loves you as a friend!" the cricket urged in his head but it was getting muffled by that word as it echoed loudly and over the rest of her speech. She was still speaking. What was she saying? Focus, damn you! Was... was she blushing? Or was she blushing already before? From the Sun?

Calm down. Breathe. Focus.

"So, anyway," Videl was saying, clearing her throat just a tad. "Where did you guys used to go? I know that there's lots of mountains back East."

He smiled shyly, they were walking again. "All over the world, actually."

"Really?"

Gohan nodded, lost in the uninteresting dirt, step by step, breathing in and breathing out, his hands gripping tightly around the straps of his backpack.

The word she said earlier became a faint whisper eventually, engulfed in the presence of the man who apparently was the whole reason they were there in the first place, on that specific day.

He just wanted to go. Anywhere; away from this place that meant him no harm but that was hurting him all the same. He loved hiking - he always had - and so it was a bittersweet experience but even if he'd done it multiple times after his father had died, he'd never done it again on his birthday. A small celebration, a chocolate cake, a few presents and a fake smile - that was his new birthday routine ever since. He was never really in the mood for anything else, even more so given that 'Gohan's day' was just around the corner...

"You didn't have to do this," he said after a while. He wished she hadn't...

"I know. Bulma just told me how this was kind of a ritual between you two, and how happy it made you, back then."

Gohan's lips curved just the slightest. True, it had.

"Maybe..." she started but hesitated, mouthing silent words like she was unsure of which to choose. "Maybe it could be our ritual from now on..."

Her intentions were the best and he did wish that they'd have a ritual, just the two of them - and of course being outdoors was always a plus - but as much as he knew he couldn't have her, he knew he couldn't have his dad back in his life either. The two people that he wished for the most, for himself and no one else... It kept the words in his throat and his stare on the ground - what could he say?

He was taking too long to respond and he knew it, but it was his ritual with his dad and it would always remind him of Goku. Maybe someday that would turn out to not be such a bad thing but that goal was far enough to be mistaken for a dream right now - miles away, years apart.

"It was just a thought," Videl whispered and it brought his eyes up just in time to see hers look away. No, she wasn't to blame and he wouldn't let her think that she was. He grabbed her around the shoulders in a one-armed embrace and put on his best smile - the one he would usually wear for his little guys, if the mood proved too grimm that day.

"We'll consider it if you survive this one, city girl," he joked.

She smiled back with those beautiful blues, a glassy finish to them that made them extra shiny, but... normally not reddish...

"I don't know if I will," she said, bringing her hands up to rub her eyes. "Damn allergies, I can already feel my eyes burning up."

Oh, allergies. "I didn't know you had allergies."

"I don't! That's the outdoors for ya!"

They laughed. At least he saved that one. He just loved to hear her laugh, even if it was toned down like this, and he sure could use some more of it right now. "Yeah, and you have to watch out for killer rabbits and jabberwockies, too. They're all over 'the outdoors'," Gohan overemphasized the words, huge grin plastered across his face anticipating the expected reaction.

Videl chuckled dryly and bared her teeth when throwing a lazy punch that struck him in the arm. Gohan flinched dramatically and let her do it, rubbing his limb afterwards in mock pain.

"Actually," she was quick to add. "I was thinking that maybe you could teach me."

"Teach you what?"

"Hiking... stuff."

Gohan chuckled. "What exactly does 'hiking stuff' constitute?"

"I mean skills. Like survival crap and what not."

"Oh, that stuff," he joked. "Sure. I can teach you."

"Bulma told me how you guys would just take a sleeping bag and that's it. Was that true?"

"It was," Gohan responded with a soft smile, eying the surrounding trees and bushes for a general assessment of their survival 'supplies'. "In the odd case that we didn't forget about the sleeping bag."

Videl laughed again and this time it was wholeheartedly and loud, bringing his own right along.

Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad. He'd just have to enjoy her company instead of missing his. Not that tall of an order but since her company did come with all of her other 'attributes'... a harbinger for the long day ahead. He sighed at the premonition.

At least he'd try to make the most out of it.

The fire sputtered at will in its circle of rocks - a safety measure that she'd just learned earlier in the day - and its golden flames took over as the natural source of light when the Sun tucked in about an hour ago. Their dance was hypnotizing but unfortunately not enough to ease Videl's tumultuous mind as she sat down against the large tree trunk that Gohan had dragged over, next to their tent.

The night was warm and the small clearing he'd chosen incredibly cozy - perfect she'd dare - but her body just refused to relax, to give into the ambience. There were just too many questions floating around them, unspoken and waiting.

It wasn't a problem normally, the silence. Videl had always felt comfortable with it, the one that came on those rare occasions the two of them had just simply ran out of things to say, but it was never an inconvenience and definitely never awkward. His presence had always been all she needed.

This time however...

She knew exactly why it was translating differently, why her laughs were forced and every input to their trivial conversation would come out of necessity alone - keeping the ball rolling - instead of an intuitive flow, a direct link from her thoughts to her lips and out. The flaw was in her heart, not in Gohan; he wasn't to blame. Well... he was and he wasn't.

A couple of weeks was a very long time as she came to realize, too much time to brood over the exact words she wanted to tell him. A statement or a question? Point-blank or suggestive? The perfect sentence would come to mind only to be rewritten time and time again into a completely different one in the end. What the Hell was she going to do?

Her tears were gathering into a knot at her throat, waiting, lurking skin-deep for the right touch or the wrong word that would give them the green light to do their thing. Two whole weeks she'd held them off and it wasn't that hard either, given her resolve, her decision that she just had to know. Good or bad, she had to ask him about his damn feelings.

But then he hesitated, back there, all those hours ago... Ok, maybe the actual word 'love' was too much for him to take right now but rituals were a good thing; friends do rituals too, so... why did he hesitate on that?

Maybe the thought of her being in his life a year from now wasn't all that appealing to even consider doing this again on his next birthday, let alone every year. … It was irrational and she knew it; he wasn't like that. He was an amazing man, a kind soul. Honest. He'd let her know if her presence had become a burden in his life, if he didn't want to hang out anymore, for whichever reason. Right? … Would he have one? A reason? Did she do anything to push him away? Those tears were burning now; acid corroding at her flesh.

"So," Gohan's voice brought reality and a sweet smile as per instinct. She looked back at him. "How does it feel to eat something that you actually caught yourself?" he asked with that gorgeous smile of his.

"Amazing," Videl responded truthfully, a little pitchy but nothing to worry about. "I actually thought I knew what fresh fish tasted like. Pfff," she joked but it was exactly how she felt about their meal.

The majestic lake where they'd caught dinner was astounding all in itself, sitting not too far from their camping spot - thirty-two steps, Gohan made her memorize for safety reasons, since dirt and water tend to become dangerously indistinguishable at night - but what really boggled her mind was how easily they caught more than enough to ease their rumbling bellies.

Not having packed any kind of fishing gear, Videl was expecting a 'spear out of bamboo' type of scenario - like in that movie about that castaway - when Gohan had suggested they'd catch their own fish for supper. How wrong was she, in retrospect? A cane out of a branch, line out of thin braided leaves and stems, and a damn fish hook out of damn thorn from a black locust tree! Talk about resourceful...

Gohan chuckled. "Yeah, nothing beats catching your own. I really love it." He was staring at the back of his right hand and she found herself doing the same, noticing how the amber light would shift into shadows at the ligaments beneath the skin when he moved his fingers.

Silence again.

"Thank you for teaching me," she forced herself to add, her voice a little raspy. She cleared her throat.

"No problem. You're a fast learner." Those damn eyes. Once upon a time they brought her comfort, now... Well, they still did but at the same time they didn't, again that same dichotomy that she'd unwillingly began associating with his name as time went by. Good, yes - heavenly, rather - but nevera bad thing; more like disorientating.

"Are you ok?"

His question paralyzed her. Not only because she hated to lie - to him especially - but also because she could clearly see the 'gateway' sign flashing boldly and brightly in neon colors right in front of her eyes. She could ask him now; about everything. She could tell him how crappy she'd been feeling on his account. How he'd been making her go mad and question herself. She could... she nodded and smiled; fake, both of them.

"Are you sure?" Gohan insisted. "You seem..." he delayed, looking down to his hand again, "distant."

He noticed... "I do?"

Gohan nodded and brought his hesitant gaze back up to her, like waiting for a reason of some sorts. Stupid, she scolded herself. You're ruining everything again. His birthday; what a great day to spoil with these damn insecurities. What was she thinking? She shook her head and moved, turning her back around to the fire and sitting the closest she could to him, dark obsidian on blue sapphire.

A smile, then. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm ok."

"I don't believe you."

And he called her stubborn. "It's nothing to worry about."

"I care about you, hence I worry."

She blinked out of nervousness, the knot tightening in her throat. "I know."

"Do you want me to whoop someone's ass? Because I will."

She laughed and he grinned at his own accomplishment. "I believe you."

"I don't know if you've met any other geek mountain-boys but we're able of major kick assery."

If the expression wouldn't do it for her, the fact that it came from him of all people would be more than enough and her laugh escalated into a fit which he joined on immediately. Videl hid her face between her arms on top of his bent knees, her whole body quaking uncontrollably.

After a while she managed to calm herself enough to look back at him, tears flowing across her cheeks but these were the good kind. She took a deep breath.

Maybe he just needed a bigger push...

Gohan could live for that laughter. He could eat it, breathe it and drink it everyday for the rest of his life instead of those other useless things. Food, air, water; who needed them? That twinkle in her eye... yeah, that was more than enough.

Maybe she was just tired - she looked as much - but at least that twinkle was still there, bathing in the mirth that he was proud to have created. She was glowing in that way that he loved, an aura surrounding her body from that familiar fire he knew she had within, even if it actually came from the one behind her. Was she ever more beautiful?

In one smooth motion she shifted and got closer... and closer and closer. Her hand touched his chest and the proximity widened his eyes into a tense stare, leveraging her body as she straddled his hips with her luscious ones.

His hands shot up into the open air in response, not sure on where to rest, but he was just too shocked and worked up to move another single muscle, let alone make that particular decision. Glad and horrified, he gasped when she took it in herself to resolve it for him, grabbing his hands and placing them on the small of her back. Hers encircled his neck afterwards.

He was breathing hard and loudly - he knew it, he could hear it - looking into her eyes that were probably the complete opposite of his own. There was a peacefulness to them now instead of the previous weight. He'd missed the change and he'd probably dwell on it further, but he could barely think right now, her lips were getting closer, inch by inch; her delicious breath intoxicating.

They touched his and as always there was nothing he could do against them. His own puckered back to deepen the contact, with a tremble out of struggle that his rational brain sent as a reminder.

"Don't..." the cricket in his head spoke, quietly.

Gohan heard it but he didn't, drinking her in for everything she could give him and trying desperately to quench this thirst that always managed to come back. Just a little bit, he argued with himself. Just to last him a while longer. He'd really do it this time. He was going to let her go, cold turkey and without looking back. He just needed this last touch, this last taste.

Her hands were dancing around his hair in that way that he loved, fingernails raking trails of passion across his scalp and sending shivers down his spine. Those lips... was there anything sweeter, tastier, that tongue teasing his and waking his whole body up in the process.

Just a little bit more...

He felt her hands leaving his head, down his neck and fisting his shirt at his chest but he only saw it coming when her top was already off and discarded to the side, and her breasts...

Lazy eyes shot open with surprise and desire, and the air rushed all at once, in but not out, weighing his lungs with too much intake that he daren't give away lest he'd faint for lack of it and miss out on this view - everything he'd dreamed of and completely different, but still absolutely perfect.

"Stop..."

"Vi... W-What..." he braved the words as per the voice's demand but the dizziness was just too much for him to be sure if he'd actually said them at all. Either way there was no strength behind them because he didn't really care what, in fact, was she doing right now. As long as she didn't stop.

She smiled or smirked, he couldn't tell. "I thought I'd give you your birthday present."

That deep voice made him tremble more than the actual words just before she did as she'd promised, taking both his hands again and sliding them up her torso to claim his gift at her breasts. He was mostly sure he'd whimpered at the touch, or at the way she lifted her chin up to the sky and moaned and gasped and squeezed his hands into groping her tighter. Her nipples were hardened, piercing through the thin fabric of her crimson bra and he just barely controlled himself not to claw the damn thing off of her.

"Gohan, stop!"

Videl left his hands to fend for themselves while hers explored and ventured all over. Her tongue and lips teased his earlobe, neck, jaw, kissing every inch of his skin and licking over the goosebumps that her own breaths were creating.

His life-long dream of feeling like a whole person was happening at this very moment. His saiyan side and his human one were blended, one and the same, yearning and begging for more; for everything. More of her lips, of her breasts and more of whatever she was hiding down there that was starting to drive him insane with the scent it was producing. He knew she could feel him, pressing up against her, but he didn't care. He wanted her to feel it. To know what she was causing. What he was going to do to her. She moaned again.

"Gohan! You have to stop this!"

He really heard it this time - as puny as it was - and his drooped eyelids pressed together from the pang in his heart. Videl's mouth came up to ravish his again and her hips slowly started moving, front and back, up and down, drawing small circles against his own in a skillful dance that no man would resist. How could he, flesh and blood like any other? He had to stop this but his body was reacting against him, throbbing achingly beneath his jeans, ready for her, waiting for her. The tiny little voice was shouting hopelessly, pleading, increasingly lost in the turmoil but he could still hear it. Please, he begged it.

A desperate tear conquered its way down his cheek from the pressure inside his chest and his hands started to tremble uncontrollably, fighting themselves to leave her when all they wanted was to have her.

It was hurting him more than anything ever did in his entire life - physically, mentally - everything in him shriveling in torture and screaming for mercy, for permission but he couldn't let it happen. If he'd let it all go they would do it, the most intimate act two people could share with each other and he could never take it back. It wasn't fair that he'd do this to her, that he'd let his weakness, his powerlessness against the way that her body pulled on his instincts to turn her into another victim of his life's injustice. He'd carry that burden alone.

He just... he had to let her go.

Gohan fisted his hands against her chest to keep them from touching her any further and he let his head sink down into breaking their kiss. "I can't..." he whispered unevenly.

His shaky hands came slowly to cover his face since he didn't want to see what he'd just done. What he'd lost. There was no escaping this time. No dodging or evasion to pretend like he didn't stop it on purpose. This was it.

The end.

Did he ever shake this badly? Did he ever hurt this much? Probably not, but then again... he'd never lost this much, either.

"Gohan..." she said, so softly. He couldn't look. "Is it... is it me?"

Those words came out shaky and faint, causing his eyes to shoot up to meet hers. They fled away from the connection and she was covering her chest with crossed arms. Was she seriously doubting of her body? "What?! No! Vi, how can you say that?"

"I don't know!" Her hands covered her mouth and she started crying, her eyes closed.

"Vi..." Gohan rushed her against him in a hug, as tight as he could as if it could muffle her sobs.

He'd done it. Right here, the whole reason why he should have just stopped seeing her altogether, in any way. Those tears were his soleresponsibility this time - every single drop - and that realization alone was bringing his right along. He couldn't be sure if they actually came but there was nothing he could do about it, either way. Something had just cracked in his chest.

Her hands kept put on his chest but her face came up to meet him. He wished it hadn't. All those tears...

"Why? Why can't you?" she urged. Her chin trembled.

Not a word. Nothing. All of his strength... and people actually told him how he had all this inmensurable power within him. Unthinkable, unparalleled; he'd heard them all. 'The most powerful being in the Universe'... what would they say of him now?

"Gohan!"

"God, Vi... please..." he begged. Weak, pitiful, shitty; a whole new list of adjectives came to mind and the tears that he really felt coming this time just helped to confirm each and every one of them. His eyes pressed shut to keep them in.

It took her only a second and Videl reached in again to hug him around the neck with the comfort he had failed to provide her.He hugged her back, unworthy, and they rocked back and forth in soft, quiet motions for a few minutes while Gohan just tried to swallow his tears and even his breaths.

Videl broke away, cupping his cheeks with that gorgeous smile of hers and he pinpointed every single detail one last time, focusing to prolong the memory once it was gone from his life.

"It's ok," she whispered, but the way she said it was off. It wasn't overly wishful or soothing, no inflexion at the end. It was a statement, on purpose - an oath.

"W-What?"

"It's ok," she repeated. "I'll wait."

He wanted to speak but didn't know what to say, unsure if he should thank the Gods that she didn't just run away from him or curse them for the very same. "Vi, I..."

"I want to be with you, Gohan. I'll wait for as long as you need."

It warmed him, it glued the first pieces of his heart together but the damn voice spoke again. "No! She can't. Say it, Gohan. Let her go."

He averted his gaze, looking into the dark woods beside them. "I... I don't want you... to wait. I want you to move on. To find... to find someone else."

She leaned back further away, thankfully, preparing to get up and leave. It took all of him, all he had but he'd said it: the biggest, most deceitful lie to ever leave his mouth. Why did he ever go to college? Why did he have to meet her? The Eternal Dragon could erase his memory, maybe he could just… no, he couldn't bother Shenron with such a selfish wish. The deed was done and all that was left now was to survive without her. If it was possible, at least. He still wasn't sure...

"Fuck you."

Slowly, he looked back at her. "W-What?" Her face... a frown completely revitalized, full of drive and piercing; her hands gripping tightly at her waist.

"You heard me. Fuck you!"

"V-Vi..."

"Don't give me that shit because I won't have it!" she scolded. "How dare you say that to me: 'move on'? You can be all confused and afraid, you can send me all the mixed signals you want and you can push me away every single time I try to kiss you, but you do not get to tell me to move the fuck on!"

Gohan was silent, too shocked to even think of a word, let alone say it.

"You were driving me crazy! You'd kiss me and then pull away. You'd be all happy and elated and then Bam! It's like I'd fucking stabbed you in the gut. But you know what? Not anymore. You don't get to do any of that shit anymore because I'm done. I know, now."

She calmed herself, her words toned down.

"You like me back," she stated. "Just as much as I like you. I could feel it in you lips and in your hands and I can still feel it right now stiff and hard between my legs, so don't lie to me."

He blushed, only now realizing that she was right - stiff and hard...

"You're attracted to me. You like me. I don't care what it is, why you can't." She paused. "Fix it."

That simple: Fix it. How? It wasn't like he hadn't thought of the solution every single second of his life since he'd realized it was an issue. Every alternative, every scenario, he studied and analyzed to exhaustion until the moment it became clear that there wasn't one. Every path he could choose had implications and none of them ended well. This was the only option, the only choice. … Wasn't it?

She cupped his cheeks again, her eyes soft. "I don't care how you do it. Find a way. I will wait for you."

Something tugged at the corners of his lips as he looked into the obstinate blue that was staring back at him. He should've known. This fight had been long and hard for him, unyielding and brutal for months now, but it was still no more than a scratch for her instead of an open wound that just hadn't began scarring yet. He knew that there was no way around it, but he also knew that she wouldn't let him throw in the towel like that. Such hope in her eyes, strong-headed and heart on her sleeve... had the gods made her especially for him?

"You're so fucking stubborn," he whispered through his smile.

She grinned now. "Shut up, you love it."

Gohan pressed his eyes closed and nodded ever so slightly. He truly, truly did. She chuckled and hugged him again, his face furrowing between her shoulder and neck. That closeness meant everything right now and he found all his troubles dissipating into thin air, if just for this moment. The organic frequency of her ki felt so inviting yet so subtly different, looking back at when they met. He'd never seen it happening before but, then again... his own ki didn't feel normal either. He stopped thinking about it mainly because he knew it was supposed to feel different. Why... he wasn't sure.

There was nothing on his mind. His body knew what to do.

His hands slid around her waist and up her back, pinning her against him as tightly as he could. She felt amazingly warm to the touch, heat emanating in waves from every inch of her body like it was singing to him. Like it was saying what he needed to hear.

Her skin was so intoxicating, her flesh so hot and captivating against his. He was pressing his nose against her muscle, brushing his lips along the way like they were testing the waters. He knew it in his heart and in his gut, no doubt or little voice holding him back. Her heartbeats were telling him to do it, spellbinding him not to stop. It felt so right, he felt so ready.

He licked the skin first, preparing it, warning it that this was meant to be. It would be quick, just a little pain and it was done. He pinched the area with his teeth to bring more blood into the surface but all of the sudden Videl pushed away from him.

"Oww! Gohan!" she yelled. He blinked. Why was she yelling? "Did you just bite me?!"

Did he? That didn't seem... right. Why would he do that? He stared back at her frown, noticing how she was rubbing the area between her neck and shoulder. Wasn't he just there a minute ago? His brain was a damn mess and he knew it, shaking his head to try and place his previous actions but to no avail so he was as truthful as he could, blurting it out. "Does it look like I know what I'm doing, right now?!"

At least, it made her laugh. Either that or his lost expression but it actually didn't matter. Just to be hearing that sound again, having been the one to have put it in her lips... He had really thought it would be just a memory from now on. He'd hurt himself more in the end but good or bad, he'd deal with that when the time came.

Right now, he couldn't be anything but glad for those extra minutes in the final countdown.

The fire was dimming, hot coals glowing faintly under a small wisp of orange flame. Videl's head rested on Gohan's shoulder, side by side as they sat still and silent again. It didn't bother her this time. They were both thinking, their own musings on the same subject, she was sure.

Her hand had found its way to his a while ago and their fingers had intertwined. It came as naturally as the soft breaths that left her lungs and as such there was no smile, word or sigh added to the action. She wasn't sure on how long she'd been caressing his skin with her thumb but her eyelids were getting incredibly heavy. Hopefully tomorrow would be much less mentally exhausting.

Her head shifted up a bit. "I think I'm gonna go to sleep."

Gohan looked down to meet her and nodded, a soft tug at the corner of his lip.

She sat up straight and took a better look at his face. He looked so tired... poor thing. "You should come too." She cupped his cheek and brushed it lightly.

He nodded again. "I will, but I think I'm going to sleep out here if you don't mind."

Videl's lips parted the slightest, glancing at the tent and then back at him but not at his eyes. "Is it... because there's only one tent? Because I wouldn't-"

"No," he injected and rushed to grab her hand again. She met his gaze now. "It's just..." he looked up to the sky, "my dad and I didn't have a tent."

Videl looked up too and took notice of all the bright stars that prickled the dark veil above them; much more than those that could be seen from the city, for sure. She never knew there were so many...

"You miss him," she stated, looking back down and rubbing his hand again with her thumb.

He didn't say anything but his body responded anyway. She saw it in the way his blink took a fraction longer, how he hurried to bite down his bottom lip even if she'd already seen it tremble the slightest, or how that one single inhale, short and fast, broke the soft rhythm of his otherwise harmonious breaths.

She kissed his cheek and he brought his eyes down again, forcing a smile.

"Happy birthday."

His smile grew and eased. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry for the mess."

He shook his head as to relieve her of that responsibility. "It was never yours to begin with."

Videl indulged on his eyes for a second longer and got up silently, opening the zipper on their tent and grabbing one of the sleeping bags. She placed it on top of the log for him to use and knelt to get in the small shelter, stopping for a moment while hesitating over her next words. Looking over her shoulder, Gohan was staring back.

"He seemed wise, your father. Maybe you should talk to him."

A little smile and she got in, zipping up the canvas behind her. The denim shorts she was wearing were all the overpowering fatigue would allow her to be bothered with, trading them for a much more comfortable light cotton pair. In a few constrictive minutes of awkward moving and shifting - damn tent, so damn tiny - she was ready and curled up in her toasty sleeping bag, but her brain was far from shutting off for the day, reliving all of its moments over and over again. The good and bad, but mostly the hot ones. Such big, strong hands... and where did he learn to kiss like that?!

Suddenly she heard him outside, no more than a faint whisper but she focused on it to make out what he was saying. "You'd know what to do." His voice trembled. "I miss you so much."

Her tears came running again and she covered her mouth to keep in any sound of her sobbing. So much pain in so few words... Gohan had lost his father, his best friend, his stronghold, all in one blow; how would she even survive if it was her in his shoes? She couldn't help but wonder what happened, too... how did he die? When? Maybe someday he'd tell her about him. She'd love to hear his stories, Gohan's memories of him.

Pure exhaustion took over after a while and she closed her eyes but the very next minute she was opening them up again.

"Vi, wake up," she heard, far away. That familiar pitchy sound of a running zipper came next.

"Huh? Gohan?"

He was right outside, a big grin taking over his handsome face. The black sky was now a dark blue, announcing the morning that was arriving to greet them. Her eyes were tired and lazy from an apparently long sleep that served no purpose but at least that smile was a nice way to start a day. She just knew it; he was one of those damn morning persons.

"Come on," he repeated, stretching a hand towards her. "You're gonna miss it."

"What?" she asked, confused, but took his hand anyway. "I'm not even dressed."

He chuckled. "Who's gonna see it out here? Come on!"

Too enthusiastic for the hour - whatever it was - but ok. She followed his path and pace only because he was pulling her along but then he stopped and she woke up that instant.

The view was breathtaking. Puffy white clouds were brushed across the sky with orange and pinkish strokes that cascaded down onto the surrounding mountains encircling the big lake. The first rays of light speckled the water with tints of gold and the dark shadows were waking up to purple hues that spread all around the greens, blues and browns alike. It blended the palette into the perfect scenery, a picture worthy of the best museums but it would never make it to one. It would be nothing painted on canvas since miracles are meant to be experienced, not seen.

She looked up to Gohan, a small smile taking his lips and melting her insides. She'd take this view over the other one any day but today it was just too overwhelming, last night still too raw and fresh in her mind. Their hands were still glued together and she gripped his tighter, snaking her other one around his arm. He squeezed hers back but quickly released it, bringing her entire body closer and embracing her. His hands hands joined together at her back and hers around his waist as she pressed her cheek firmly against his chest, letting his scent enrich the view while they stood silent.

Videl listened to the steady beats of his heart as they told her not to worry, not to think about how she'd given this man hers, unsure of what he was actually going to do with it. Whatever it was, she just hoped it ended up giving him the strength he needed to fight for moments like this, for them. Ok, sure, she was a grown woman; she could live without him, without those amazing kisses, that amazing personality or those amazing eyes, but to live the rest of her days comparing all guys to him and all things to this moment, right here... what kind of life would that be?

As if one could get over heaven...

Sorry it took so long, guys. I hope it was worth the wait. :D Thank you mama Gue for editing 3

Just a note... Holy mother of reviews, Batman! (I mean, A-man xD) that thing was HUGE! xD Your point did come across and I thank you for all of your reviews. I'm really sorry if I came out as aggressive in any way when I responded to you, because that was definitely NOT my intention. It's the problem with the written word: if you don't have back up text to convey how it's said, it can come out a little differently than you imagined in your head. :D No worries from my part and I hope there's none from yours, either.