LOVES TRIALS 9
"Woman, why can't you cook as well as Kakarot's mate?" Vegeta growled as everyone sat down around the dinner table later that evening.
"Oh, Vegeta, just shut up and eat your dinner," Bulma said, "Anyway, Vegeta, I'd like you to meet Videl."
Vegeta looked over at Videl, who was sitting in between Gohan and Goten, and gave her a calculating gaze. Videl squirmed slightly underneath Vegeta's critical gaze, but it was more out of anger than nervousness.
After a few moments, Vegeta said, "Hmph, not bad. She's pretty strong for a human. She'd make a good mate for you, brat. She could give you lots of strong children." Gohan knew Vegeta was addressing him and he also knew that Videl wasn't going to be happy with Vegeta's remark.
< Oh Dende, please, don't let her explode at Vegeta, > Gohan thought. But, unfortunately, his prayers weren't to be answered.
"Ooh! I don't know who you are, you arrogant pig, but I am not a possession who's purpose in life is to give people babies, so back off," Videl cried out, standing up and slamming her hands down on the table.
Vegeta's temper flared as well and he stood up, his fist clenched.
"Why you..." Vegeta trailed off, throwing his fist straight for Videl so fast, Videl couldn't block it. Just as Vegeta's fist was going to impact with Videl's face, Gohan held out his hand to catch Vegeta's fist.
As soon as Vegeta's fist hit Gohan's hand, Vegeta looked at Gohan with an angry look that soon turned to a scared look as he saw Gohan's face.
"Don't touch her," Gohan spat out, fury in his eyes. Vegeta harrumphed, his face settling into its usual scowl, before sitting back down to eat his dinner.
::You are one dead Saiya-jin when we get home, Vegeta. You're sleeping on the couch, tonight,:: Bulma told Vegeta as she started eating her dinner.
Vegeta didn't bother arguing back; he knew it was useless to argue with his mate. He hadn't meant his remark to be harmful; he was just trying to give the girl a compliment, however twisted the compliment may be. < Well, if they don't want to hear my compliments, then I'll just not talk for the rest of dinner, > Vegeta thought scornfully.
There were a few silent moments before Goten, who sensed the tension in the air, piped up and started the conversation.
"Hey mom, guess what Trunks and I did today?" Goten asked his mother.
"What did you and Trunks do, Goten?" Chi-Chi asked and listened as Goten told her the story of what they did that day. The whole table laughed, even Vegeta, as Goten told his tale.
Videl watched, enviously, as the conversation at the table commenced. < God, this whole situation looks so happy. I envy Gohan. He gets this great family dinner every night. My father doesn't have any time to eat dinner with me, so I eat dinner alone most evenings. I would give almost anything to have a family dinner every night, > Videl thought, < And everybody, except for Bulma and Chi-Chi, eats so much and so quickly. What kind of people are these? > Videl slowly ate her food, watching the friendly conversation happen in front of her.
***
Later that evening, after Vegeta, Bulma, and Trunks left the house and the dinner table had been cleared, Goten was rushed off to bed by Chi-Chi, leaving Gohan and Videl alone.
"So," Gohan said nervously, "Do you want me to show you the area around the house? It's really nice at night." Videl smiled.
"Sure, that'd be nice."
"Great," Gohan said, "I know this really nice place that's not far from here. You can see the stars and everything. Do you wanna go see that?" Gohan asked. Videl nodded.
"That sounds great. I bet you can see the stars clearly out here...well, compared to in the city that is." Gohan looked Videl over.
"Well, before we go, we might want to go get something warmer on. It can get kind of cold out there at night."
"Ok," Videl said and the two of them moved upstairs, Gohan to his room and Videl to the guest room, to get jackets for the trip outside.
"Ok, come on," Gohan said when the two of them walked back downstairs. Wordlessly, Gohan walked out of the house, with Videl behind him. The only light that they had was the light coming from the house, and it faded fast as the two headed into the trees. Eventually, Videl couldn't see where she was going.
"Um, Gohan, I can't see where we're going." Gohan smiled in the dark.
"That's ok; just take my hand and I'll lead you." Videl chuckled.
"Gohan, I can't even see that," she said. Gohan shook his head and sighed in mock annoyance.
"What am I going to do with you, Videl?" he asked as he grabbed her hand, using his powerful night vision to find her hand.
Videl felt a tingle go up her spine as Gohan's hand grabbed hers; Videl blushed and blessed the darkness of the night that hid her blush from Gohan. Videl felt herself being led through the forest and she looked up at the trees, trusting Gohan not to let her trip. Eventually, her view filled with stars and she gasped. Gohan noticed her reaction.
"So, you like it?" he asked.
"It's beautiful out here, Gohan. I never imagined that I could see the stars like this ever in my life." Gohan smiled; he knew Videl would like it out there. Gohan sat down on the ground and pulled Videl into a sitting position next to him.
"You know what the only thing that's missing is, Gohan?" Videl asked.
"What?" Gohan said. Videl smiled a little.
"The moon's missing. I remember seeing it once when I was little, but I never saw it again after that."
Gohan laughed inwardly. He knew why there wasn't a moon anymore; Piccolo blew it up when Gohan was a child to prevent him from turning into a huge wereape again during their training in the event that his tail grow back.
"I wonder what happened to it?" Videl asked, "I mean, the moon just couldn't disappear, could it?" Gohan shrugged.
"Maybe somebody blew it up," Gohan said, knowing it was true, but not able to tell Videl the truth. Videl laughed slightly, almost a giggle, but not quite.
"Right, I'm sure they did, Gohan," she chuckled; Gohan could tell she didn't believe him. "And how would they go about doing it?" she asked. Gohan thought about it for a moment, trying to come up with an outrageous answer. Within moments, he got it.
"Well," he said slowly, "Maybe somebody one day decided that they didn't like the moon anymore, so they took a big ray gun, flew up into space, and blew it up." Videl laughed again.
"Stop making fun, Gohan," she said quietly. A moment of silence fell over the two and they sat there, just looking up at the stars.
Videl studied the stars carefully; she had never seen them in such detail before. The effect of seeing the stars clearly in the night sky was intoxicating and created a surreal mood, like a dream world. She sighed contently before shivering slightly; her sweater didn't quite do the job in protecting her from the cold.
"Ooh, it's cold," she said, hugging her body. Gohan looked over at her and smiled in the near-darkness.
"Move closer to me," he commanded gently. Videl's brow furrowed.
"Why?" she asked.
"Just do it," Gohan said. She complied and moved over to her right, closer to Gohan. When Gohan felt she was close enough, he put his arm over her shoulder in order to help her keep warm.
"Better?" he asked, using his ki slightly to heat up the area around them. Videl smiled.
"Yeah, thanks Gohan." Videl felt so much warmer; how much that had to do with sharing body heat compared with Gohan's touch, she didn't know, but she was just happy to be warmer. She moved in closer so she was leaning up against him and she chuckled.
"You're a good person to lean against; you'd make a good chair."
"Are you comparing me to a piece of furniture?" he asked, feigning hurt.
"Well, that's one way to put it," Videl quipped, smiling the entire time. Gohan didn't respond and, instead, just savored the moment he was having with Videl; she had become such a close friend to him over the last two months and he felt privileged to be able to be friends with her. More moments of silence passed between the two, each moment becoming more and more comfortable. Suddenly, Videl spoke up.
"Gohan," she said sleepily; she had had a long day and she was tired,
"Tell me a story."
"About what?" he asked. He was intrigued; no one had ever asked him to tell a story before.
"About something that happened to you when you were a kid. Something fun," she whispered; it sounded to Gohan like she was falling asleep. Gohan searched his memory for a few moments before he found one of his happiest, most normal memories.
"Well, one day, when I was about 7, I was studying in my room, like my mom made me do every day, and I was getting really bored. I was working on English and having the worst time concentrating. All I wanted to do was go outside and play, but I knew that my mother wouldn't let me. I needed to sneak out if I was to get away, but the only way to do that was to fly out my window, and I couldn't fly.
"But, luckily, my prayers were answered because something tapped on my window. I got up to see what it was and I found Icarus, this purple dinosaur that had followed me home once from a camping trip and refused to go back home, and who had become my friend and playmate out here. He wanted me to come out and play, so I climbed on his back and we flew off."
Gohan delved into a story of one of his adventures with Icarus, with Videl listening to every word he said. But, slowly, Videl started drifting off, listening to his beautiful voice wash over her ears, comforting her and lulling her off to sleep. It wasn't long until Videl was asleep, leaning up against Gohan as he spoke.
"...And that's one of my stories about my adventures with the little purple dinosaur, Icarus. Maybe you can meet him sometime this weekend. Would you like that Videl?" Gohan asked after finished his story about 15 minutes later. When Videl didn't answer, Gohan's brow furrowed with worry and confusion.
"Videl?" he asked again, wondering what was going on. He listened for a few seconds before he noticed Videl's soft, even breathing; he knew she was asleep. < She must be really tired. I guess my family, Bulma, Vegeta, and Trunks wore her out during dinner. I should carry her back to the house and put her in her bed, > Gohan thought with a smile on his face.
Removing his arm from around her shoulder, Gohan picked Videl up and flew off towards his house under the night sky. He cradled her body close to his, holding her close so she wouldn't fall from his arms, and savoring the closeness, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time that he felt her so close to him.
The trip back home was quick and Gohan almost regretted going home as fast as he did for the moment he got in the house, he would have to put her in her bed and leave her to sleep.
Gohan landed on the ground right outside his front door and, using his super speed, he moved one arm out of under Videl and opened the door, moving it back in time to support her once again. Once in the house, he pushed the door shut, gently so as not to break the door, and walked upstairs to the guest room that was across the hall from his room and in between his mother's and Goten's. He got up to the guest room and found that he only needed to push the half open door with his hip.
< Well, at least this time I don't have to let her go, > Gohan said to himself, but he would have to let one arm go just once more. Gohan moved to stand next to the bed, Videl still cradled in his arms, and, using his super speed once again, he pulled down the covers. He carefully set Videl down on the bed and removed her shoes before drawing the covers over her body.
He stood back and looked at Videl as she slept, her hair having come slightly loose from her pigtails and brushing up against her cheek, her breathing slow, deep and even, and a small, content smile on her lips. Gohan smiled at her sleeping form. < She looks so peaceful and beautiful; she lets her guard down in her sleep and looks very...relaxed, > Gohan thought before turning to leave the room to go to bed himself. He reached the doorway and turned around once more, facing Videl again.
"Good night, Videl," he whispered before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.