Chapter 5: Country Girl Vs. City Boy

It's been well over a week since Videl, Gohan, and Trunks took over the home and Chichi couldn't be any happier. Laughter and banter filled the Son household daily. And for Chi-Chi the addition of another woman brought her a little more joy.

Chichi and Videl took a strong liking to each other. When the boys went out on their own, Chi-Chi and Videl spent alone time together. Sometimes doing household chores, occasionally sparing, and often swapping stories about each other's past life before the android's arrival.

"My dad is doing okay. He's surviving as much as he can. He still stays in our family home in Satan City, says he can't bear to leave the memories behind. Sometimes I get a little bit worried about him." Videl continued on thinking about her father. In the back of her mind she feels a little sad that she's not spending this quality time with him right now.

"And your mother dear?" Chi-Chi asked, lightly scanning Videl's face. When she noticed her expression change, Chi-Chi lightly placed her hand on top of Videl's. "Don't tell me the androids…"

"No. She unfortunately passed during childbirth. So I don't know much about her. My dad has never really talked about her"

Chi-Chi gave Videl's hand a light squeeze, "I'm sure she was a lovely woman. It probably hurts for your father to talk about her. Losing your partner isn't easy." Chi-Chi looked over to the family photo over the fireplace, a warm smile appearing on her face. "Sometimes you gotta do what you can to survive."

The house exploded once again with energy as the boys returned from their afternoon training session. Both completely drenched in sweat and dirt.

"Looks like you both have been training hard," Chi-Chi commented "Be sure to take off your shoes, so you don't track mud in the house. And maybe you guys should bathe outside today."

"Sorry mom," Gohan laughed, stepping out of his shoes at the door. "We kind of got a little too into it today."

He took off his mud stained gi top too revealing his perfectly chiseled and tanned chest. Every muscle was conditioned to perfection. Videl's eyes followed the trail of his abs, counting each individual section 12 to be exact, following his defined v-lines down to the top hem of his pants. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and quickly looked away to gain back her composure.

Despite her best efforts, Chi-Chi however, took notice of Videl's sudden shyness. A sense of pride came over her that someone was taking interest in her son. "You know Gohan," Chi-Chi called for Gohan's attention. "I don't think Videl has seen what this area has to offer. She must be so bored out here in the mountains."

"Oh, no," Videl protested at the comment. "I'm having such a good time here with everyone already."

"Nonsense, a young lady shouldn't spend all day training and couped up in the house. Gohan, after your bath, I want you to take Videl out to the waterfall. It's so nice out today, you guys can even go for a boat ride."

"Woah, that sounds like fun. I wanna go too!" Trunks added while undressing for his bath.

"No can do young man, I know the Ox King has some tasks for you to help around the house. Let's give Gohan some space to be a man."

"But he's already a man…"

Chi-Chi pushed Gohan and Trunks to the outdoor shower and open bath. "Shu, outside you two before you mess up my house. There's already fresh water in the tub, you just have to heat up the logs underneath Gohan." Chi-Chi closed the door behind them. " Now let's get you cleaned up," Chi-Chi grabbed Videl, pulling her into her room.

Chi-Chi opened her closet and pulled out some of her nicest dresses on the bed. "Really, Chichi, I can go out in this."

"Really, Videl I couldn't let you go out with my son looking like that. We might be country bumpkins but that doesn't mean we can't dress up a little. This one is perfect." Chi-Chi held up a red, floral qi-pao dress to Videl's body. "Here now change into this. I'll be back to fix your hair after I've laid out some clothes for Gohan."

…

It's been quite some time since Videl had given any thought to her appearance. She had decided long ago to no longer give attention to her looks when the androids started attacking. She's kept her hair short and mostly out of her face so she could focus on helping people.

Chi-Chi brushing through her hair and cutting out the knots made her realize just how much she's changed. No longer the wide eyed girl from Satan City, now she's a survivor conditioned by her harsh reality to only pour in the bare minimum to herself.

As Chi-Chi cut through the tangles, Videl's original texture was returning. Next the shears came, snipping away at Videl's length, evening it out. Videl went from having a messy mop on her head to getting a cute pixie—short on the sides and back but still long up top.

"Now for the finishing touches." Chichi added two pearl stud earrings to Videl's ears and applied a little bit of pink lip gloss. "There you're such a beautiful young lady. I bet you looked exactly like your mother, when she was your age."

Chichi gently massaged Videl's shoulders trying to calm her nerves a little bit. "I'll give you some time. Come out when you're ready, okay."

…

"Now remember Gohan," Chichi called her son's attention while adjusting Gohan's buttons. "You're not going to train and roll around on the ground. Videl's a young lady, so I expect you to treat her like one." She finished buttoning up Gohan's shirt and stepped back to admire her son. He looked exactly like his father, a strong build with such unruly hair. At least he wore his clothes better than his father. Chichi picked out a casual loose-fitting white top, with comfortable black bottoms and black loafers to wear.

"Don't worry so much mom, I'm sure we'll have a good time." Gohan protests slightly at his mother's sudden interest, making sure he's dressed appropriately. "Besides I think Videl's the one more interested in training."

"Trust me Gohan, she won't want to do any training with you today."

After a few moments the door from Chichi's bedroom opened, and Videl emerged from the room to greet everyone. The house was quiet for a moment before the Ox King spoke up, "Wow, you look so pretty Videl. Don't you think so, Gohan." The Ox King nudged Gohan in his arm to get him to say something, but Gohan was at a loss for words.

He certainly wasn't expecting Videl to be dressed so nicely. The red dress showed all the curves, she normally hides under her baggy clothes. The slit in her dress, while modest, invited Gohan's mind to wonder about the smoothness of her skin legs. He never really noticed Videl's femininity before today and for a moment he felt like his mind drifted off into an unfamiliar space.

"Oh I got the camera too." The Ox King pulled out a polaroid camera and directed everyone where to stand. He took several pictures of everyone together smiling and making silly faces together. "Last one, just Gohan and Videl."

The pair stood beside each other awkwardly, unsure of how to pose."Not like you two. Stand like you like each other," Chichi instructed this time, turning Gohan and Videl to the side and having Gohan wrap his arms around Videl's waist. "That's much better. Now smile."

…

The two walked through the forest silently for some time, unsure of what to say to each other. Gohan's long legs put him at a slightly faster pace than Videl could ideally keep up with, but she didn't mind so much. Looking at Gohan's tall frame and wide back, it made her feel protected, like nothing in this world could affect her.

"So the waterfalls…" Videl spoke first, wanting to get Gohan's attention. "Is it as nice as your mother says it is?"

Gohan cleared his throat before answering, "It's beautiful, and very peaceful. My parents used to take me there all the time when I was a kid. My dad built a small boat out there and sometimes he'd take us rowing on the lake. I think it's just up ahead this way if I remember."

Pushing away the oversized leaves, revealed the beautiful lake with a giant waterfall that feeds directly into. "Wow it's beautiful here," Videl exclaimed. Chichi really didn't do the waterfall justice when she explained it to her.

Gohan set down the picnic basket and laid out the blanket his mother had packed for him, and offered his hand to invite Videl to sit down. The dress hugged Videl's body in all the right places, accentuating every inch of her petite curves. "Wow, your mom really did think of everything." Videl unpacked plates, chopsticks, onigiris, pickled vegetables and more. The supplies seemed like it was never ending.

"She always does think of everything." Gohan silently thanked his mom for thoughtfulness.

Videl started placing bits of food on the plate and served it to Gohan, "Here, for you."

"Oh you don't have to serve m—"

"It's okay. It's the least I can do for you, taking me all the way out here. It's kind of nice to take your mind off of all the craziness in the world, even just for a moment."

Gohan gladly accepted the food and waited patiently for Videl to prepare her own plate before eating his meal.

"I never knew such a beautiful place like this existed. I never really left the city much before everything happened. And much of the nature around us now has been destroyed."

"I've lived out here my whole life, so I've always been surrounded by nature. My dad and his friends always talked about the importance of being attuned with the Earth. It makes you a better fighter."

"I can see that, a little. Learning how to sense ki and fly. I guess you kind of need to be aware of your surroundings at all times."

Guilt sunk into Gohan's chest remembering Videl's near death experience earlier in the week, realizing he hadn't properly apologized to her. "Videl, I'm so sorry about our flying lesson. When you fell out of the sky… I don't know what I would've done if you got hurt."

"No, no need to apologize. I think I just freaked out is all. I didn't realize how high up I was, and didn't expect to get there." She laughed a little remembering being up in the clouds and how free she felt up there with Gohan. Like none of their problems mattered anymore. "Besides, I don't remember feeling scared. I think I was more angry with myself because I didn't know how to get down."

"You were falling so fast though. Weren't you scared?"

Videl shook her head no, "No I wasn't because, I knew you were going to save me." She smiled at the memory of Gohan coming after her. He was like an angel in that moment, and she knew there was no reason to be scared when he's around. "I just wish I could do what you do. I wish I could keep up with you."

Gohan chuckled at Videl's vigor and praise. He's never felt like the strongest warrior, especially when compared to the likes of his father and Mr. Piccolo. He's always felt like great power was inaccessible to him, every milestone he achieved there was always another one waiting even further away."There's no need for you to try and keep up with me. I just want you to go at your own pace. I'll always be there waiting for you. And when you've finally caught up I'll push you to go even further." Gohan explained, lightly touching Videl's hand. Both their hearts seemed to skip a beat at the touch. But instead of pulling away they embraced the warmth of each other' hands."Shall we get closer to the waterfall?" Gohan asked, standing up. He slipped on his loafers and bent down to help Videl retie the laces of her sandals.

A singular wooden boat was tied to the dock by an old rope. The boat still looked sturdy even though it hadn't been used for some time. Gohan stepped in first testing the boat's strength before extending his hand out to Videl to invite her.

She slowly stepped down, trying to hide her nervousness about being in the boat. One foot stable. On the next move she lost her balance and fell forward into Gohan's arms.

"Woah, are you okay?" Gohan could feel the tension in Videl's shoulders and he tightened hold on her lower back to keep her steady while silently enjoying the softness of her body against his.

"Sorry, I'm just a little scared."

They stood in the boat for a minute longer before Gohan could figure out how to get her to sit down."Don't panic, okay? I'm gonna slowly lift you. Ready? 1, 2,"

Videl felt her feet raise and she gripped Gohan's shirt. He slowly turned them both around, and lowered Videl down onto the wooden seat. "See that wasn't so bad." Videl released her grip and opened her eyes to be greeted with Gohan's smile. "Are you ready?"

Videl nodded her head yes, a little embarrassed by weakness. Gohan stood up to release the rope holding the boat to the dock, sat back down beside Videl and began rowing them slowly out into the lake. The waterfall grew louder as the drew closer. Gohan stopped a safe distance away so the ripples from the falls wouldn't rock the boat. Videl leaned over the side a little to see some of the fish swimming around in the lake. She lightly touched the surface of the water letting the fish come up and gently kiss her fingers.

"Here comes the best part," Gohan warned her, pointing towards the water. As the sun slowly set behind them, the light created a beautiful rainbow across the falling water.

"Wow, it's beautiful!" Videl exclaimed, still in shock and awe at the beauty of nature.

As they watched a loud thud came from under the boat, and Videl tensed up. "What was that?" Her left hand instinctively gripped Gohan's pants, scrunching them into her fist.

"It's probably just one of the big fish or a turtle. It's nothing to worry about." A second thud came, followed by silence. Then a third one. The fourth one swayed the boat slightly and Videl retreated back into Gohan's chest again.

"Sorry, I just don't do well with water," She could feel Gohan's laughter as his chest moved up and down."Shut up," she muffled. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry it's a little funny. You're not afraid to fall out of the sky, but you're afraid of water?"

Videl lifted her head to look Gohan straight into the eyes but his contagious laugh destroyed every bit of annoyance in her. She laughed along with him, "Stop, it's not that funny."

Their laughing finally dissipated when they locked onto each other's eyes. Their heart rate slowed to match each other as they searched for reassurance in each other's eyes. Videl shied away first averting her eyes, but Gohan lightly cupped her cheeks in his hand to keep her focus. Their faces grew closer and closer together, only stopping as their noses lightly touched. And without thinking they both closed the distance between their lips.