Hi there!
This story is written for the DB Big Bang 2023, a collaboration between writers and artists, and sadly it's a bit overdue since the event finished a month ago, but better late than never.
I want to give special thanks to my artist WISH (AO3: dragonballwish). Not only for making the perfect and awesome art-piece for this story (see cover), but also for your patience with me and the overall support. 3 Thank you so, so much!
Furthermore, I want to thank my BETA LadyCressa for taking the time to look at my story and help me polish it.
And last but not least: I want to thank RobynX for the overall support and help me see the light when everything seemed dark. You have no idea how much you mean to me 3
Please, give them your support as well:
DragonballWish
/users/dragonballwish (AO3)
hlyphwish (twitter)
dragonballwish (tumblr)
LadyCressa:
/users/LadyCressa/pseuds/LadyCressa (AO3)
/Lady_Cressa (Twitter)
ladycressa (tumblr)
RobynX:
/users/RobynX_x (AO3)
/RobynXart (twitter)
robynx (tumblr)
Warnings:
[not really NSFW, but Mature subjects are discussed]
[Alcohol consumption]
[Gohan isn't so innocent in this story]
No Buu AU
Bro time
Wiggling his pencil in his left hand, he sighed deeply. The half-Saiyan was sure he was forgetting something; he'd already checked his exam papers for the fifth time now, but as he glanced at the clock, there was not much more he could do; his time was up. Reluctantly, he stood up and handed his paperwork to the invigilator; whatever this nagging feeling was, it wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.
"Mr. Son?" Gohan turned, looking back questioningly at the man, "You forgot to write down your name and your student number. You know, without it your exam would be void."
Shocked, Gohan hastily walked back, "Thank you sir!" He could smack himself in the head - how stupid was he? Somehow, these finals made him more stressed than necessary and it was beginning to get to him. It wasn't that he didn't know his stuff - he was overly prepared - but the pressure to perform was weighing heavily on his shoulders.
He put down his pen and thanked the invigilator for the last time before leaving the room. That was a close call; he didn't want to think about having to do a re-sit. The thought alone gave him shivers: especially telling his mother such news.
He shook his thoughts out of his head and relief fell upon him; luckily it was all over now. He stretched his back, finally able to allow himself to relax a bit. He continued his route through the already empty corridors and was surprised to see Sharpener leaning beside his locker.
"Took you long enough," the jock greeted him, with an almost irritated tone.
Gohan opened his locker and started to empty it. "You were waiting for me? It's not like I have to check your homework anymore."
Taking a deep breath, Sharpener tried to curb his attitude. It wasn't Gohan's fault he'd waited twenty-five minutes; he didn't know he was waiting for him. "How did your exam go?"
Confused, Gohan looked at his blond friend; he didn't often talk to him, certainly not if it was solely him, "Uhm, good I guess. I almost forgot to write down my name, though."
Sharpener grinned, "A nerd who forgets something like that; just when you think you've heard it all."
The raven-haired teen frowned, irritated, "I'm not perfect, you know."
"Chill dude, I was just teasing ya." Sharpener then slapped him on the shoulder, "Speaking about chilling, what I wanted to ask is if you already had some plans this weekend?"
"Plans?" Gohan raised an eyebrow, "No, not really."
"Good!" the jock smirked, "Now you have."
Confused, Gohan blinked, "I do?"
"Yep," Sharpener nodded, "You and I are going to play some video-games."
"We are?"
"Yes, Gohan, we are. I've got this new platform game I want to try out, and you are going to join me. I'll see you at eight this Saturday. You still have my address, right?"
Gohan? He never heard Sharpener call him by his real name… let alone inviting him to anything, "I do… yes. But why?"
"Because I'm not gonna let you go and walk out on me like that. You most likely wouldn't go to the end of school party or stick around long enough at the graduation ceremony. So, this is basically the last time I'll see you if I don't invite you over. I know I haven't been the greatest friend and I'm kinda late with this, but we need some bro time. You're welcome to stay the night too if you'd like, since you live all the way into the mountains. Just bring some sleep-over stuff, I'll provide the rest."
"Bro time?" Gohan repeated Sharpener's words unsurely, studying his blond friend's face for a moment; was he joking with him? It didn't seem like it though; on the contrary, he'd never seen his friend so serious. Besides, if he was being honest with himself, Gohan could use the distraction. He had locked himself up in his room for weeks to study for his exams and he could use a break. A change in environment would be good for him and he had nothing better to do anyway since school was over. "Yeah sure, why not."
A little surprised that he got a positive reply, Sharpener watched as Gohan put his last book into his satchel and closed his locker. "Alright, see you tomorrow." Gohan gave him a soft smile before waving the blond jock goodbye.
"Yeah, see ya," the jock mumbled, but soon a grin formed on his face; apparently Gohan did see him as a friend, otherwise he wouldn't have taken the invite.
###
Gohan looked at his watch after he'd landed in an abandoned alley. He was quite early as he'd expected some crime on the way, but there wasn't any. This happened quite often lately; even the hardened criminals got the message by now. Gohan - or better said: The Great Saiyaman - really made a difference in this crime-infested city. The half-Saiyan grinned proudly, he'd spent his time in this city rather well, even if he'd said so himself.
He walked two blocks and entered a building, climbing five stories before he reached Sharpener's apartment. Shortly after he'd rang the doorbell, a lot of muffled, hurried sounds were heard at the other side of the door. Gohan raised a brow, confused to hear another person's voice; he was at the correct address, right?
The door opened and a giggly girl - her ginger hair still messy - appeared. Gohan stepped aside so she could pass, while looking confused at his friend, who appeared directly after the girl.
"Yo Brains, I didn't expect you this early…"
"Just fifteen minutes," Gohan replied. "But if you're still busy, I can come back later if that's more convenient."
The jock ran his hand through his long blond hair. "No, it's fine. Inque was already on her way out." He turned and winked at the girl who was now putting on her jacket and asked, "Will I see you next week?"
"You sure are," she replied in a flirting manner, "You guys have fun, okay?" Then she waved and continued her route.
"So, she your new girlfriend?"
"Neh, we have fun sometimes, but to say she's my girlfriend goes a bit too far." He then added as he received a judging look from his friend, "Don't worry, she and I are on the same page… I'm not playing her."
Gohan eventually shrugged, knowing he wasn't the one to judge, "You do what you got to do."
This confused the blond jock; he never would have guessed such a nonchalant reaction from him, but let it slide, "You coming in or what?"
Gohan had never been inside Sharpener's apartment before. It was quite small and quite messy, but somehow it looked cozy and inviting.
"Sorry, I wanted to clean up a bit before you came over," Sharpener apologized, "I lost track of time."
"Don't sweat it…" Gohan winced at his unintentional pun; the scent of sweat and certain other activities still filled the room. At these kinds of moments, Gohan wished his senses weren't so sensitive. Luckily for him, Sharpener was on his way to open the window.
Maneuvering between the furniture and sport equipment, Gohan made his way to the couch. Before he could sit down, however, he had to pick up a weighted barbell that got in the way and set it back into the bench press. Then he flopped down to immediately sink into a deep pit; this was probably where Sharpener used to sit all the time. To make himself more comfortable, Gohan reached out for one of the pillows and put it behind his back. 'Much better,' he thought and finally looked in his friend's direction, only to see him look back in shock.
"D-Did you just pick that barbell up like that?" Sharpener almost stuttered, knowing how much the thing weighed; he'd put extra weight on it to impress Inque and barely managed to lift the thing himself - the sole reason why it was still laying at that spot - and that was with two hands!
Gohan just looked at him sheepishly, not understanding what the problem was, "Do you want me to put it back? I didn't know that I wasn't-"
"No, no! It's fine!" Still being flabbergasted by what he'd witnessed, Sharpener tried to shrug it off. In any case, he was glad he didn't have to move that thing himself. But man, how strong was his nerdy friend? Even though Gohan had matured over the past two years, he still pictured him as a sort of wimp.
Gohan flashed him a relieved smile. Then his eyes fell on a game case lying on the side table. He picked it up and studied the cover; Martial Kombat 3! - Satan City special edition.
Gohan raised an eyebrow. Of course Mister Satan was prominent on the cover. But what made it a Satan City special edition? He turned the game case around and found his answer. Apparently some battle arenas were based on iconic locations in Satan City, and the one fighting in the example image was Videl, accompanied with the text: Unlock special characters like Videl Satan!
"Want one?" Sharpener held a beer in front of Gohan's face. After what he'd witnessed, he felt like he needed one himself, and because this evening was about bonding with his classmate, alcohol might loosen things up a bit. He didn't even know if Gohan was one to drink alcohol in the first place, and if he did, it was probably not as much as others his age. In any case, to persuade Gohan to take it, Sharpener had opened the beer in advance. He knew the guy always tried to be as polite as possible.
Gohan looked at the offered beer with some hesitation. He hadn't consumed alcohol for a long while, with good reason. But he also knew this was something people his age did, and he decided it was best to go with the flow. School was over anyway and he was here to let off some stress; to have fun with a friend. "Thanks."
Sharpener looked as Gohan took the beer out of his hand, not expecting his nonchalant reaction. "Alright then!" he replied with a bit too much enthusiasm and flopped beside Gohan, "On with a great evening with lots of gaming!" Gohan gave him a friendly smile and raised his own bottle to meet Sharpener's cheer, before taking a gulp of it himself. He grimaced; he'd almost forgotten how bitter this beverage was. Turning on the tv and the gaming console, Sharpener continued, "You've played platform games before, right?"
"I've occasionally joined my little brother and his friend. This game looks a lot like Street Fighters," Gohan remembered, still holding the game case.
"Yep, it's basically the same, only this one is based on the World Martial Arts tournament, with almost all of its famous contestants. And this one has a lot of extras we can unlock!"
"Like other characters to play?"
"Yeah, and different arenas to play too. I hope we can unlock Mister Satan." Sharpener handed Gohan a controller, "Ready?"
Gohan couldn't contain a smirk from forming; he wouldn't mind letting out some of the bottled up frustrations regarding the guy through this video game. It's not often he'd be presented with such an opportunity. "Alright! Let's get on with it, then."
It was quite a fun and challenging game. Sharpener turned out to be pretty good and in the beginning Gohan got owned. This bruised his pride, however, and it pushed him to put more pressure on the game by using tactics he gained from his real-life battle experiences; Gohan eventually managed to outsmart Sharpener on several occasions - though, getting the hang of the keys might have had a significant change on his performance too. They'd already unlocked some new battle arenas and extra minor characters, but Gohan was looking forward to seeing if his father would be in this game too. He was now playing as 'Ma Jr.' and Sharpener had chosen Yamcha - his all time favorite baseball player - and the sides were evenly matched. But when Gohan missed his next attack, Sharpener smirked and pushed a combination of buttons. The screen switched to a cut scene of a special attack - in this case, the Wolf Fang Fist - indicating that Gohan had lost.
"K.O., Brainy Boy!" Sharpener exclaimed, elbowing him to the side.
Gohan gave him a fake glare, eager to get back at him next round. However, a new unlocked character appeared, catching him off-guard. The screen featured a figure: his hands on his sides and his helmeted head raised in the air, his red cape waving in the wind; a character way too familiar to Gohan.
"Huh…?"
Sharpener smirked, "What did you expect? It's the Satan City edition! Thought you'd like it as you were a fan of his, right?"
Gohan just raised a brow, still staring at the screen, "But, shouldn't they ask permission to use him?"
"They probably have," Sharpener shrugged, stretching his muscles.
"I'm pretty sure they didn't..." Gohan mumbled, but was ignored by Sharpener who stood up.
"Want another beer?"
"Yeah, sure," Gohan replied as he leaned against the back of the couch. He didn't know how he felt about this. On one hand, he was excited to see and play himself in the game - they did a really good job in programming Saiyaman's features - but on the other hand, he didn't feel very comfortable that they made money off his alter-ego without asking.
Sharpener's phone buzzed, indicating he'd received a message. He sat their fresh drinks down on the table to check who it was; he wasn't able to hide his grin.
"Inque?" Gohan asked, looking at his friend intently, but with slight amusement at the same time.
"Yeah," Sharpener gave in, putting his phone away after typing a short reply, still grinning.
"Just having some fun, huh?"
The jock's grin widened as he grabbed the remote once again, "Maybe I like her a bit more than I dare to admit."
Gohan chuckled, "And they say I'm an open book."
"Talking about girls…" Sharpener continued while starting up the next game, "I never saw you with any… You'd plenty of opportunities in High School, you know."
Gohan shrugged, "Just didn't feel like it." He tried to be nonchalant about it, but it was much more complicated than that…
Much more.
"But aren't you afraid to go to university as green as you are?"
Gohan's eyes shot briefly towards his blond friend, but quickly continued focussing on delivering some more punches to Sharpener's character at play - man this Saiyaman character had some really smooth moves - before asking, "What do you mean?"
"You know… people at our age have some experience by now…" Sharpener carefully broached the subject, "Have you even kissed a girl?"
His eyes still fixed on the screen, the half-Saiyan stopped playing as he answered reluctantly, "I've done much more than just that…" He wasn't proud of it, not at all…
"Wait, what?!" the blond jock jerked his head towards his friend, the game being forgotten at this moment, "You mean you ain't a virgin?!" Gohan shook his head, answering the question. For a second, Sharpener could only blink, letting the information he just received sink in, before he forced himself to continue with the game. He quickly gave Saiyaman some damage to even the score now Gohan wasn't paying much attention. After some silence the jock mumbled, still a bit in shock, "I would've never guessed…"
"People always judge a book by its cover," Gohan too had continued the game, "Truth is, I wasn't even one when we first met."
"Wait!" Sharpener jerked his head towards Gohan once more, leaving his character open for the attacks Gohan had in store for him. "You mean you…" His eyes focussed back on the game, where Gohan just delivered the final blow and claimed victory as Sharpener continued talking - more to himself than towards Gohan - "Well, I'll be damned."
It stayed quiet for a while, both staring at the victory poses Saiyaman displayed on the screen, until Sharpener broke the silence yet again, "Why haven't you said anything? I've been teasing you about it all this time…"
Gohan shrugged, "Why does it even matter?"
"I don't know. Maybe because it's some life-changing event friends support each other in…"
"And yet you were teasing me with it… is that what friends do too?"
"Yeah kinda…"
Gohan sighed, scratching his hair. He'd never got the hang of social interactions; to him those two things were very contradicting.
"How many, Mountain Boy?" Sharpener had a grin on his face, almost not believing his ears. Did he really? Maybe he underestimated his nerdy friend.
"Three."
"WHAT?!"
"Look, I'm not proud of it at all. So please don't make this a big thing." Gohan casted his eyes down, feeling the need to explain - they were friends, right? That's what friends did? "Before I went to high school, I was in a dark place… I've done some stupid things, including that."
Sharpener grabbed his beer and took a big gulp, "You? In a dark place? You always seemed like a happy little pup."
Gohan too took his beer and drank what was left in one go and leaned back on the couch. The subject they broached wasn't one he'd like to talk about; nevertheless, he replied truthfully, "I've had a troubled past. For one, I witnessed my dad being killed and I never got the chance to give it a place. I was ten and he left me and my pregnant mother behind. I had no choice but to be there for her, casting myself and my feelings away. But when my little brother reached an age where I was no longer needed for both of them, all the feelings came crashing back in. I tried to search for relief and comfort in the wrong places, wandering around in the outskirts of nearby cities… Eventually my mother got a glimpse of me slipping off when I came home drunk, the reason she decided I needed structure, being amongst people my own age and getting out of the house for my own sake - the sole reason I was sent to Orange Star High." He shivered for a moment; that argument with his mother was not one he liked to look back at.
"Dude… You witnessed your own father being killed?!"
Gohan nodded, but stayed quiet.
"No wonder you don't like to talk about yourself. That's damn rough, dude..." Sharpener stood up and walked to a cabinet, grabbing a bottle of whiskey, "I feel like we need something stronger than beer."
"No, please," Gohan shook his head, "Let's keep it to beer. I haven't drunk in a long while and I don't want to end up in the same place again." He sighed, he was glad he could crash at Sharpener's place tonight, but he needed to avoid a hangover. He'd promised his mother not to touch alcohol ever again after that moment. Not a realistic promise - he knew that - but he wanted to keep his word as much as possible.
Not much later Sharpener appeared, holding his beer, "Wanna talk about it?"
Again Gohan shook his head, "I came here to relax, not get tense all over again."
"As you wish!" Sharpener flopped on the couch, threw him the controller and started a new game. This time the jock chose 'Jackie Chun'.
Gohan chuckled. He knew from the stories that this character originally was Master Roshi in disguise - teaching his young father and Krillin an important lesson. He himself chose his alter ego. It was a bit stupid, but it gave him a certain comfort at this moment. His Great Saiyaman act had kept him on a straight path ever since he was sent to high school - giving him a purpose again. Not only was he able to save people from the crooks in Satan City, but also he had saved himself to some degree.
"So," Sharpener said, while dodging one of Gohan's moves, "Were they all one-night stands?"
"Two of them, yes," Gohan answered reluctantly, although relieved the subject of his father's death was off the table. In the meantime, he threw some energy blasts at his friend on-screen.
"Thought so."
Gohan raised an eyebrow, "How?"
"Well," the blond said while he commanded his character to jump out of the way, "You obviously haven't had a good experience, so I figured as much. Take it from me, if you love the girl, it's so much better! Your time will come, Brains, don't let your previous experience get you down."
That was something Gohan knew like no other. He sighed, "Yeah, tell me about it…"
Sharpener looked in his friend's direction for a moment, knowing there was more behind that sentence. He opted to broach the subject, but he was afraid he would hit a wall; Gohan tended to shut himself out if he was asked about personal stuff. But when the match was almost over, he couldn't resist to ask, "The other one, was she your girlfriend or something?"
The half-Saiyan let out a sarcastic snicker, but stayed quiet - giving a confused Sharpener quite a hint not to continue the subject. As the game came to an end, however, Gohan stood up with a defeated sigh and walked to his bag, rummaged in it a bit, and continued his route to the balcony. The jock just watched, even more confused, and felt bad for him - it was probably a painful memory for his friend. After Gohan stayed away, however, the blond decided to follow, but when he peeked outside, his eyes grew wide in shock, "What the…"
Gohan was leaning against the railing taking a long drag from a cigarette. As he inhaled the smoke, the hot air burned his throat; his lungs felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket that comforted him. He held his breath for a moment and slowly blew the smoke out from both his mouth and nose. Sometimes when he was this wary, a cigarette helped his body to relax a bit within a matter of seconds; the odd benefits of nicotine reaching the bloodstream.
"I already told you, I've made some stupid decisions," Gohan answered Sharpener's shocked face as he took another drag. "Don't worry, I only do it to relieve some stress sometimes - I'm not addicted."
Sharpener moved to stand beside him, and he too leaned against the railing, ignoring the acrid sting creeping up in his nose. He gave Gohan a judging look, tapping his fingers on the railing out of annoyance; something was really wrong with this picture. Brains, smoking?! What had made him this way? This wasn't the Gohan he knew. Not at all…
Gohan sighed and let his head hang down. She always stressed him out - so much so that he no longer could resist the urge to take this smoke; it was the only thing that he knew could take that edge off of him. He felt awful that Sharpener saw him like this; nobody had ever seen him like this. What would his mother think? The pain this would probably cause her if she knew. He still couldn't forget the disappointment in her eyes when she caught him drinking. That day, he promised himself to become clean as a whole, including his smoking behavior. But then that issue came crashing into his life, and he had reached for the easiest way out. He hated feeling so weak. Sharpener had all the right to judge him right now.
"I…" he started hesitantly, "I think I could use some girl-advice..."
Sharpener instantly smirked: of course this was all about that girl. His irritation regarding his friend's behavior subsided and made way for sympathy, "You like her, huh?"
Gohan tapped the ashes off his cigarette and hummed in agreement, too ashamed to look at the blond jock.
A moment of silence arose and while he understood that Gohan needed time to think, Sharpener became a bit impatient, "Alright, Brains, I need a little more details before I can give you any advice, you know."
Gohan let out a defeated chuckle, "I don't really know where to begin, to be honest."
"Just start at the beginning and we will see where it goes…"
The half-Saiyan took one last drag of his cigarette before putting its remains out, "I really like this girl, but I ruined my chances."
"How?"
"It's complicated…"
He reached for another cigarette and without much thinking he lit it with just his hands; though making sure Sharpener wouldn't see the small Ki-ball he used. Sharpener blinked in confusion: how did he do that without a lighter?
"I always assumed this girl didn't like me." Gohan started to share as he blew out some smoke, "Somehow we always end up in a fight. And this time wasn't any different."
He thought back on that day when he saved her from an explosion. She demanded to be put down immediately, struggling so much that he had difficulty holding her safely, and thus he landed in an abandoned building nearby. There, their argument escalated.
"You know me, I'm not the one to give much resistance, but this time I strongly disagreed with her."
She'd yelled at him she wasn't in any danger at all, but if it wasn't for him, she would've been dead. He'd gritted his teeth, blaming her for being so reckless.
"But then it happened out of nowhere…"
"What happened?" The jock got intrigued.
Gohan looked at his friend, "She suddenly started to kiss me..."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"Well… things kinda… escalated. I still can't comprehend what actually happened."
Sharpener smirked, "You dirty bastard. You guys fucked, didn't you?"
Gohan blushed intensely, dodging the question, "After that, it got a bit awkward between us. We decided it would never happen again…"
"And yet it did…" Sharpener already knew this girl in the story wasn't a one-night-stand.
"More than once, yes…" Gohan sighed and took a drag.
Sharpener straightened his back, "Then why don't you tell her you like her?" He then took the cigarette from Gohan's hand to stop him from smoking, "Then it wouldn't stress you out this much for you to even smoke. Don't worry so much about it, it seems like you two have a connection… otherwise these 'arguments' wouldn't escalate like that."
Gohan ignored Sharpener putting out his cigarette before throwing it over the railing, and continued, "Here is the problem… She doesn't know it's me."
The jock looked confused at his friend, "I'm not following you."
Gohan sighed and took a firm hold on the railing to ease his nerves, "As I said, it's complicated… It's-" he paused for a moment, not sure how to explain, "She hasn't exactly seen my face."
Sharpener raised an eyebrow, "Is this like one of those role playing geek things?"
"Something like that." He deliberately didn't look at his blond friend, feeling too embarrassed. He didn't even want to know what his friend thought of him right now. Though, he had lived with this issue for months and he really could use his point of view on the matter - he needed a solution to this situation so badly.
"Whatever floats your boat," Sharpener shrugged. He then turned his body so he could observe Gohan; the jock had never seen him this tense - and that said something. He was making this issue much more complicated than it should be, "So, if I understand correctly. You two have sex every now and then, and she hasn't seen your face due to this cosplay thing… and you think you've 'ruined your chances'. So now you are self-pitying it, ruining your chances for real. The damage is already done, Brains, so just reveal it's you and swallow the pill. Maybe she's angry, but there is also this chance you two will end up together. If you keep shutting your mouth, it's never gonna happen."
"I just can't simply reveal myself, okay!" Gohan exclaimed a bit too harshly, surprising the jock.
"Dude, it's just a silly game, right?"
Gohan shook his head and sighed - he wished he never started this conversation, "I can't explain; it's complicated. Just forget about it..." He then pushed himself off the railing and gave Sharpener a head gesture to follow. He went inside and made his way to the fridge to grab himself and Sharpener another beer before joining his friend on the couch. With a flick of his finger, he opened the beers. He was glad Sharpener got the hint and gave him the room he needed. He surely could use a break from the sudden rise in tension and was grateful they simply resumed gaming.
"C'mon, Brains! Hit me!" Sharpener exclaimed irritably, "What's gotten into you all of the sudden?"
Luckily, that intense moment on the balcony was quickly forgotten and the two boys were again throwing kicks and punches at each other on-screen for about forty minutes. They'd managed to unlock a big portion of the available characters and arenas and it was all fun until Gohan had fallen quiet after this new character came into play.
Gohan again blocked yet another attack, but didn't counter; a pattern he'd performed the whole match. The setting; the opponent; himself being there as a character… Even if this was just a game, it all seemed too confrontational. He would never hit her, certainly not as Saiyaman.
"I just can't…"
Sharpener raised an eyebrow in confusion, as he commanded Videl to do a flying kick, "Why not?"
The half-Saiyan stopped with everything he was doing, staring blindly at the screen while reluctantly mumbling, "... it's complicated."
"How the hell can pressing the attack button being compl-" the jock stopped mid-sentence, his eyes wide. He looked at the screen where the two characters were left performing idle animations; first to Videl, then to Saiyaman and eventually to Gohan - who tensely avoided his gaze - when it all sank in.
Sharpener's head worked in overdrive as images and oddities concerning his friend came flashing by: the numerous amount of times Gohan made excuses to disappear from class - especially when Videl had been called for a police job; his sudden defensive passionate attitude when people talked the city's hero down - let alone his overall nervous behavior when the guy came up in conversations; that impossible leap he made at his first P.E. lesson or that he didn't even had a scratch on him when he was deliberately hit by Sharpener's pitch; the overloaded barbell he picked up without any effort using only one hand; his love-issues with that girl who hadn't seen his face because of this 'cosplay thing' that made everything really 'complicated'...
And then there was that thing Erasa had confided him with; that she desperately needed to get off her chest. Something concerning Videl and a certain superhero… An issue that suddenly seems too familiar to that of Gohan's.
Too familiar…
"You…" Sharpener stammered, not believing his own conclusion, "You are him, aren't you?"
Thinking back, he'd noticed the change in behavior back then from Gohan too; he'd become more quiet around Videl and more nervous than usual at that specific time. Sharpener interpreted it as him getting a crush on the girl, but since he'd figured Gohan probably wouldn't stand a chance, he'd let it be; he opted to tease him with it, but figured Gohan probably wouldn't handle it well. Though, now everything became clear as day…
It stayed quiet for a while, albeit the music playing in the background from the untouched game, until Gohan let his shoulders slump and sighed, "Don't make a big deal out of it, please."
'Did he… Did he just confess?' Sharpener thought, still staring at Gohan with a slightly parted mouth. "Well, I'll be damned," he eventually mumbled in utter surprise; but when he saw how his friend was tensely gripping the controller and when his plea finally reached him, Sharpener shook his head, nonchalantly flicked his hair behind his head and smirked. "So, do I now need to call you Super Brains?"
"Just Brains is fine…"
"Okay, Brainy-boy, let's cancel this game for obvious reasons and start another one. I'm determined to beat your ass even more now." He went back to the main screen while he asked, "Who is your greatest enemy? Let me guess, yourself?"
"I guess…" Gohan sat flabbergasted as he'd expected all kinds of reactions from the jock: excitement, anger, disappointment, disbelief, being ridiculed, praise; everything with a storm of emotions basically. But this? Being treated as normal? Gohan jerked his head to his blond friend and stared at him, questioning with a raised brow and waiting for the blond to react.
Sharpener noticed his gaze and he too raised an eyebrow, "What? You asked me not to make a big deal out of this, so I'm trying not to. C'mon, focus, the game is about to start."
Gohan couldn't contain a smirk from forming on his face and came to realize how good of a friend Sharpener really was to him. He should've let the guy in sooner; the fun they missed out on the past two years. Relieved and feeling as if a ton of weight was lifted off his shoulders, he turned his attention back to the screen where a match began between Saiyaman and Saiyaman as if nothing ever happened.
"Take that!"
"That's hardly fair!"
"Nice one!"
"Prepare yourself! I'm coming right at ya!"
"You'll pay for that!"
"Who's the superhero now, huh, Brains?!" Sharpener laughed amusingly when he gave him the final blow. "As for my price, you'll get me a fresh beer. Mine is empty." Gohan just gave him a look before he stood up, but was held back by a hand, "Nuh-uh, beware: the floor is lava."
The half-Saiyan frowned, but grinned at the same time, "You're an asshole, you know that, right?" Sharpener just gave him a self-righteous smirk, non-verbally answering his friend's question. Gohan rolled his eyes and lifted himself off the floor using his Ki. At this point he had nothing to hide anymore and it didn't even gnaw at him; he somehow really trusted Sharpener and he was convinced his secrets would remain between the two of them. Maybe it was the alcohol, but his apprehensiveness and inhibitions had completely vanished towards the jock.
"Here," Gohan said after giving Sharpener his beer while he floated back into his seat.
"I have so many questions right now." Still grinning from the entertainment, Sharpener took a gulp out of his bottle, then he turned serious all of a sudden. "Okay, as much as I am enjoying this… I do need to address the elephant in the room: that girl you were talking about, it's Videl isn't it?"
Immediately, Gohan's shoulders fell in defeat, staring at his bottle in his hand as he eventually nodded in agreement. "I just… It was never my intention to go that far. Really, I didn't. I always had feelings for her, and when she suddenly kissed me…"
"Yeah, yeah, we already went over that part," Sharpener sort of shushed him - he understood it was painful for his friend to talk about. And if he was being honest, he didn't want to know all the details either now he knew it was about their mutual friend. "But I do see what you mean by 'it's complicated'."
Complicated indeed…
A deep sigh next to him pulled him out of his thoughts - Sharpener still was a bit shocked by all he'd learned - and understood he needed to switch tacts; he had a role to fill: the one of a true friend. "Quit being all gloomy about it. So what if you fucked up - literally - I'm sure there's still some room to fix things. Let's focus on resolving this issue, alright?"
Gohan looked at him, a glimpse of hope written on his face, "You really think I can fix things?"
"Uh-huh," the blond nodded resolutely. "But first, I need more details to work with - and no, not from the actual deed," he warned his friend jokingly to lighten the mood, though some truth was mixed into it. "You mentioned you guys decided it would never happen again, even though that was wishful thinking… What did you guys discuss?" Looking sideways to the half-Saiyan, he took a sip of his beer while waiting for an answer.
"Well…" Gohan began tentatively, "We - uh - I mean… The first time we saw each other after… you know… it was at a crime scene. It was awkward and we both couldn't focus on what we were doing. Eventually, we ended up arguing about it - blaming each other as usual - and the criminals escaped. When the realization came crashing in, it was already too late. We tried to find them and somehow we managed to work together very well all of a sudden, but in vain; they were long gone. Anyway, we understood that this issue had serious consequences and that it may not happen again. That it would never happen again…"
"And what made it happen again?"
"I don't know why, but before I left, I kissed her goodbye. I think I was trying to leave it all behind - to mentally put an end to it - but something happened." Seeing the look on Sharpener's face he immediately added, "No, not like that… More like we got on the same wavelength; I believe we connected with each other, right then and there. I don't know how to explain it properly… Anyway, the kiss lasted more than a moment - so to say." He too grabbed his bottle and took a sip from it before continuing, "I don't know why, but we ended up in a vicious cycle after that. At one point, we started flirting with each other on jobs, occasionally ending up kissing afterwards, then something more happened, we ended up talking and promising each other this wouldn't happen again… and then the cycle started over. Somewhere along the line it really felt like we were dating: meeting with each other outside jobs, watching sunsets… However, we put a permanent stop on it after the last conversation we had. It was about two months ago. It was a hard one on both of us, as feelings really got in the way."
Sharpener placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder, "Erasa told me about that; although being as vague about it as she can - you know how she can be. All I know is Videl was devastated and that she and Saiyaman 'broke up'."
Gohan let his shoulders sink even more, "Technically, it wasn't a break up, but it did feel that way, yes." The half-Saiyan scratched his neck, "We got to the point that she didn't want to continue what we were doing without knowing my identity, which was absolutely valid. But I just couldn't…"
The jock threw his feet on the table and leaned back into the sofa, his arms crossed behind his head, "You know that was your chance to come clean, right?"
"I know," Gohan sighed in defeat, "I just couldn't… It's not that I don't trust her with my secret identity… I was just too afraid she would be so damn mad at me; you know… the guy sitting practically next to her in class… acting as if nothing ever happened…"
"Yep, that's pretty fucked up."
"Hey!" Gohan exclaimed in protest, looking at him indignantly.
The jock shrugged, "Hey, I'm just being honest… the whole situation is fucked up." But he then gave Gohan a reassuring look, to the surprise of the half-Saiyan, "What I do know is that Erasa told me Videl did have real feelings for your alter ego - and not because you were a hero. I believe she's now holding on to the belief that Saiyaman will find a way to her heart as his normal self and hopes he will reveal himself eventually, if what Erasa said is true."
Gohan processed the information for a brief moment, before replying, "She would never be interested in me as me…"
"Why not? You are smart, friendly, funny at times - the things I heard she really liked about Saiyaman - and not less important: you are good looking too. And above that, you apparently can handle her - one thing I think she finds attractive too."
"So, you honestly think I stand a chance?" Gohan's heart skipped a beat, a glimmer of hope was rising in his chest.
"I stand by what I said earlier," the jock sat up straight again, "Why not ask her out to the end of school party and see for yourself?" And with that, the little hope Gohan had vanished. Seeing his demeanor, Sharpener added, "C'mon Mountain Boy, what do you have to lose? You already believe you ruined your chances, school is over so you don't have to see her again if she turns you down… If you ask me, you are already in the worst case scenario. It can only turn out for the better; just act on the things you want."
Gohan scowled at him, "You are not very good at giving motivational speeches you know."
"Just think about it. You'll see eventually that I have a point." He reached out to the table and threw Gohan his controller, "Let me knock some sense into you in the meantime."
During the next game, Gohan was mulling over Sharpener's words: yes, he'd fucked up the whole situation… that he already knew. But sitting on the sidelines and doing nothing hadn't exactly worked out for him either. He wasn't good at flirting or getting her attention in general; he'd already tried. Maybe he'd done it at the wrong time, he thought; It wasn't that long after their 'break-up' and after she didn't catch up on his advances, he just gave up. But now that two months have gone by, maybe enough time has passed for her to have moved on. Maybe this is the moment to act. And Sharpener had a point. This was his last chance overall: school was over and frankly he hadn't got any time left - and indeed nothing to lose.
The jock had noticed that Gohan's mind wasn't into the game as before. He understood. He figured he had a lot to think about. Even with everything he had come to learn this evening, including the mistakes Gohan had made with Videl, he realized how well they suited each other. They both had a strong sense of justice and never failed to put themselves in harm's way to protect others; as far as he knew, Saiyaman and Videl were cut from the same cloth. And as a great yet not unimportant bonus: Saiyaman turned out to be this really great guy too - something Sharpener always doubted for some reason.
The game ended and a halfhearted smile featured the half-Saiyan's face, "Thanks."
"For what?"
"For letting me win this one."
"I would never!" Sharpener over-exaggeratedly replied, sarcasm written all over that sentence.
This made Gohan chuckle; it was nice to have a friend being there for him. "I'm fine, don't worry. I think I just need some food. Do you mind if I…?" Gohan just pointed unsurely to the fridge.
"Yeah, sure… help yourself out," Sharpener shrugged. "There is some leftover lasagna in the freezer too if you feel like it. Inque made it; it's well worth it if I say so myself."
Sharpener remained playing single-player mode while he left the half-Saiyan emptying his fridge. He figured the guy would have a hunger spree somewhere in the evening and bought some extra food just in case, yet he wasn't prepared for that amount. At this rate, he should go out and buy some breakfast in the morning. He'd always wondered… "How are you able to eat that much?"
"Flying and stuff drains a lot of energy," Gohan answered from over the kitchenette between some bites of food. "Imagine a vehicle that travels 600 miles in less than 15 minutes. That vehicle needs a lot of fuel to accomplish that. But instead, I'm the vehicle and while I take my time to travel to school to preserve the energy - you know, since I can do it in less than a minute if I have to - I need fuel too. I'm always starving at school."
"That figures…" Sharpener mumbled, then chuckled, "So that 'one-seater' you sometimes mention is just you flying around? No wonder you tried to avoid bringing Erasa home even though she tried so many times. Would be golden to have seen her face, though, if you just said 'okay' and lifted her up and went flying without warning. She'd probably scream so loud that the whole City would hear it."
Gohan, too, chuckled, "I had to walk eight blocks once, since Videl was following me; she wanted to know how I traveled to and from school all the time."
"She did?!" Sharpener exclaimed surprised, "Stalker much!"
"Ah, well, she had all the right to be suspicious."
Gohan looked up from his food as a sudden victory tune came from the tv-screen followed by an ecstatic cheer from Sharpener. Curious, he abandoned his food and looked around the corner to see what was going on.
"Damn! I've heard about this," Sharpener exclaimed, "After the amount we've been playing I thought it was just a rumor, but it's actually there!"
"What is there?"
"The secret level!"
Gohan joined the blond jock back at the couch and got a controller thrown right at him. Blinking confused, he glanced at the screen before him. It showed a completely different level than before, but it looked awfully familiar.
"I-I don't think this is a level for me…" Gohan began hesitantly. He sighed; the universe really seemed to be against him this evening.
"What do you mean? This one is awesome! We finally can play together against a common foe!"
"I'm not sure…"
"C'mon Brains, I've been waiting all evening to finally play Mr. Satan! Just one of these! If you don't like it, we can switch back to the normal settings, promise."
Gohan reluctantly grabbed the controller and went through the available characters - exclusively for this bonus level. His father was there, and to his surprise, his younger self was there too - albeit both with blond hair.
This whole new setting, however, was a painful reminder to him; not only from his past, but also for the potential future too. Something that was gnawing on him since he started to open up to Sharpener. "You know…" he hesitantly began, "Me being Saiyaman isn't the only thing I've been hiding from her…"
"From who? Videl?" Sharpener threw him a look, before focussing at the tv-screen and starting the game, "Don't tell me you screwed Erasa too?"
"What?! No!" Gohan exclaimed, shocked, yet the jock chuckled.
"Dude chill, I was just kidding." Pressing some buttons in a specific order the jock initiated a 'Dynamite kick', hitting their common target. The target, however, counterattacked in the direction of Gohan, but he was quick enough to dodge it as the blond continued, "But tell me, what is it? It obviously cannot be more shocking than being Satan's city's superhero."
"Trust me, it's- What the?!" Gohan stood perplexed when he tried to execute a special combo attack, "What the hell is this?! Why is my character throwing pizzas?!"
"Because it's funny." To his utter surprise, however, he noticed Gohan growing angry very quickly.
"There is nothing 'funny' about it!" Gohan was now gritting his teeth, unable to stop himself - the alcohol in his bloodstream wasn't helping him either. "It's a fucking insult!"
"D-Dude… calm down… It's supposed to be a joke because h-he's the Delivery Boy… so they made him throw food. That's all. It's just a running gag." Somehow the air became somewhat static and goosebumps appeared on Sharpener's arm. What was happening?
"Do I seem like a running gag to you?!" Gohan exclaimed and suddenly a blinding light appeared as the air began to move violently in this instant. Sharpener could do nothing more than close his eyes at that very moment, but when everything settled down very quickly, he opened them again and was shocked by what he saw. Instead of Gohan, he was now faced with none other than the Golden Warrior!
He swallowed thickly before stuttering, "G-Gohan?"
Unaware of the consequences of his actions, Gohan rattled on in anger, "Seriously?! I've put my fucking life on the line, lost my father in the process because of that fucking monster, and I saved the world by beating the life out of it… and this is what they remembered me for?! A running gag?! I know Mr. Satan took the credit, but this is just…" He stopped abruptly when he finally looked in the direction of Sharpener. The guy was trembling.
"G-Gohan…" he stammered, "Y-Your hair is glowing…"
Realizing his mistake, Gohan immediately dropped back into his base form and his eyes grew wide; his anger instantly made way for shock too. Did he just turn Super Saiyan in front of his friend? How on edge was he? He knew he should've stayed away from alcohol.
For a while, both young men stared at each other, each unsure what to do or say. But then Sharpener ran a hand down his hair and mumbled - still tense, "So, now you gonna tell me planet Kryptonium or whatever is real too?"
"Krypton," Gohan corrected him automatically, but then let his shoulders slump while sighing, adding reluctantly, "No, but planet Vegeta was…"
"Alright… I do need that whiskey after all - no offense."
"None taken," Gohan waved it off, but was immediately caught in some inner turmoil. He'd never - ever - told anyone this. The lengths he'd gone through to hide this side of him. To act normal. So why tell now? And more importantly: What would Sharpener do? Would they still be friends after this? Was his secret safe? Was he safe?
His train of thoughts were interrupted as a hand appeared in front of him, holding a glass of whiskey. Gohan looked up to a softened smirk, though still some tension was written on Sharpener's face, "Take it, I don't want to drink alone. Or can't your alien ass take a bit of whiskey?"
Gohan took the glass from his hand without a word and began to stare blankly at the screen in front of him - still with slumped shoulders.
The fact that Gohan didn't correct him was enough for Sharpener to assume he'd correctly read between the lines. But, so what if he now sat beside an alien? Gohan was still Gohan. Him being a Superhero didn't change that either, so why would this be any different?
The most weird part about this all was that it wasn't even the most shocking thing he'd heard all day…
"He… He took your credit?"
"Uh-huh," was all Gohan could get out, still unsure where he stood in this situation. Cautiously he turned his head towards the jock, studying his face. It was as if a very serious issue had landed on Sharpener and that he tried to let it sink in. But to the half-Saiyan's surprise, it wasn't about him nor what just had happened. The blond's gaze was focussed on the game-case; on Mr. Satan's face.
Then Sharpener let out a sarcastic snicker, shaking his head as he placed his glass on his lips. Before taking a sip of his whiskey, however, he mumbled with disbelief, "And you're in love with his daughter…"
Gohan scratched his neck to ease his nerves as he broached the subject, "How can I possibly ever tell her..?"
"I'm begining to understand how fucked up complicated your situation is… But-" Sharpener sat right, taking another sip of whiskey, "- I also know from very reliable sources - Videl herself - that she knows something is off about her father. The signs are there apparently. I didn't believe her obviously - damn I'm such a fool." He shook his head, "Anyway, it's up to you of course, but if you ask me, she deserves to know the truth."
"I don't know," Gohan said with a heavy feeling, "I don't want to break her heart even more."
"Then be there for her when she finds out." Sharpener gave Gohan a serious look, "Eventually, she'll be better off knowing the truth. If not, she will always be wondering and searching. You know how she is." Gohan gave him a nod in understanding, but stayed quiet. Sharpener felt for him. All this time he thought Gohan wanted to be a loner, but he just turned out to be alone - unable to talk about himself or what he was. The thought pained him, feeling that he should've done more to be a friend earlier on. "Why haven't you come forward? That you were the one?"
Gohan gave a sarcastic snicker, "Have you seen what it did with Mr. Satan? That's no life for me, nor for my family. We were safe there in the mountains, and we were able to just live normal lives." Then Gohan dared to ask, "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you treating me like normal? After everything you've come to know?"
Sharpener shrugged, taking another sip of whiskey, "I just… I don't know. I think it's good I got to know you in school first, for those two years. Who you were there, that you couldn't have pretended. You are you, and you have your heart in the right place." He ran a hand through his long blond hair, "And with all I came to know, you've never misused your powers or whatever you call it, so I have no other reason than to accept it and be happy now you've finally dared to tell anyone. For all that matters, I'm kinda flattered."
"Thank you…"
"And sorry I forced that level upon you. That wasn't right. I can't imagine what you've gone through fighting that Cell monster again - even if it's just a game."
"It's okay. It's a long time ago anyway."
"No, it's not okay. I should've listened when you tried to tell me you didn't want to play it."
They remained silent, both staring at their glasses. It was a different silence from before, one of mutual understanding and relief. Eventually a smile crept up on Gohan's face as he broke the silence, "Wanna play another game? Old settings of course."
Sharpener, too, grinned broadly, "Hell yeah, I'm gonna beat your superhero ass."
"Oh no you won't!"
"Wanna bet?"
The two started laughing and for a while they were sucked into the game as they were at the beginning of the evening; as two close friends that did this regularly. After Sharpener had won two rounds in a row, Gohan stood up to leave for a bathroom break. When he came back, however, he saw Sharpener leaning against the back of the couch, his feet crossed on the table and one arm behind his neck. In his other hand he held a phone. Gohan glanced at the clock; it was almost eleven o'clock. A bit late, but maybe not too late for Sharpener to call his 'girlfriend'.
The jock looked up when he noticed Gohan and grinned, "Oh, here he is! Hold on." He then held the phone in Gohan's direction, "It's for you."
Confused, Gohan took the phone and placed it on his ear. "Hello?"
"Hi, Sharpener told me you wanted to ask me something?"
Hearing her voice, Gohan froze for a split second, but quickly recovered to give Sharpener a dirty look of disbelief. Sharpener just smirked and quickly wrote something on an old envelope that was laying around, showing it to the half-Saiyan: 'Ask her to the school party.'
"I - uh," Gohan began, painfully aware Videl was listening on the other side of the line. "I was wondering…" He took a deep breath while Sharpener was encouraging him to go on, "Are you going to the end of school party this Friday?"
"Maybe, why?" he heard her say through the receiver, "Are you planning to come too?"
"Maybe…"
For a moment it was quiet. Sharpener sighed and shook his head, underlining 'Ask her' a couple of times to encourage Gohan to push through.
Gohan swallowed, "W-Would you be interested in going together?" He held his breath; Did he actually ask her?!
Silence.
But when his heart started to sink, she answered, "Yeah, why not. Would be nice to see you again."
Gohan slowly let out the breath he'd apparently been holding. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as relief fell upon him, but his heart felt like it was running a marathon at the same time. Maybe he had a chance with her after all? Otherwise she would have declined the invite, right? He shook his head to try to contain his emotions as he replied, "Alright, see you Friday."
He looked at Sharpener who was gesticulating violently that he wanted the phone back. Confused and not able to think straight, Gohan did just that. The jock's smirk grew broader when he held the phone next to his ear and said, "Oh, for the record, he means as a date. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah. Bye."
As he hung up, Gohan exclaimed, "What the… What on Earth did you do that for?!"
The jock stood up and walked to the bathroom himself, but as he passed Gohan he gave him a pet on his shoulder as he said, "You just needed a push in the right direction. And what kind of friend am I if I don't help you with that?"
Gohan probably hated him for what he'd done, but he figured it would never have happened otherwise. The two were made for each other - he was sure of that - and it would be an eternal shame if they never took this chance to get together. With a self-indulgent grin, Sharpener entered the living room and found that Gohan had returned to the couch. He was taking a gulp out of a fresh beer he'd apparently grabbed from the fridge and just glanced over to the jock. Surprisingly, and somewhat relieved, it wasn't a death-stare.
Sharpener, too, reached out for his glass of whiskey when his phone buzzed. As a reflex, he grabbed it instead to see if that message was from Inque. It was… The content, however, let him raise his eyebrow:
Yes, I would love to!
He opened the chat to see what exactly she'd answered to, as he didn't ask her any questions. He read the message that he supposedly sent quietly to himself:
Hey, maybe this'll come out of the blue… But would you be interested in joining me at my last school party this Friday? I'm still looking for a date.
He jerked his head towards Gohan, who in turn had a grin on his face. And while he answered Shaprener's questioning face, his grin grew wider, "What kind of friend am I if I don't give you a push in the right direction. You told me you liked her."
"You absolute ass!"
"And? Is it a double date?" Gohan was genuinely curious.
"I guess I deserved that one," Sharpener sighed, but he couldn't suppress a grin from forming on his face. "And she said yes…"
Gohan smirked and threw the controller at the blond's face, "Let me beat your single ass while I still can."
A snicker escaped the jock's lips, "Ha, you wish! You're the one going down."
"Prove it!"
"I will."
Hi there!
I was really nervous to write this different side of Gohan, tbh. I hope this story is received positively. Maybe I might write a second chapter for it. If not, the story stands on it's own and I'll leave it like this.
Overall, I had a lot of trouble getting back into writing ever since my energy-levels dropped down. I'm much better atm, but not there yet. It doesn't help that my work season had started directly after I felt a bit better and I hadn't had the headspace to pick up WAHD2. Though, better days are coming and I look forward to be able to continue writing that story. It still has my heart and soul. 3 For now, I'm still focusing on myself and I hope you'll see more from me soon.
You can follow me on socials to be kept in the loop:
linktr . ee /kipke
Lot's of love,
Kipke