fate 25

Gohan took in a deep breath and exhaled it as the airbus disappeared from view. Turning to look at the other three people standing by him, he smiled.

“So, what do you guys want to do now that they’re gone?” Gohan asked. Goten and Trunks looked at each other, big smiles on their faces.

“Yeah,” Trunks followed up, “I even brought some movies with me.” He walked over to his bag and started rummaging through it, looking for the videos. Videl sighed.

< Oh no, don’t tell me we’re going to be stuck watching animated movies all day. I don’t think I could handle it, > Videl said, expecting the 8-year old kid to return with an armful of animated movies. When Trunks returned moments later, he showed off his prize.

“Yeah, I do too actually,” Gohan said. Videl was a little shocked. What was an 8-year old doing with an armful of bloody, action movies? Gohan turned to Videl, noticing that she hadn’t said anything yet.

“Sure,” she said, moving to walk behind Goten and Trunks, who were excitedly moving into the house, Gohan and Videl following.

“Oh yeah. I mean it’s nothing they haven’t seen before. They train with Vegeta, my mother, Piccolo, and me. They’ve seen enough blood and action to last for several movies.” Videl looked even more shocked at how casual the words coming out of Gohan’s mouth sounded. Videl shrugged.

“Ok,” she said, “Whatever you say. You’re the expert on those two. Wait, you mean they train? Like in Martial Arts?” she asked.

“Yup!” Gohan exclaimed, “They have been since Trunks was 5 and Goten was 4. They’re actually pretty good for their age.”

< That’s because of the Saiya-jin blood, but I’m not going to tell her that yet, > Gohan thought as he shut the door behind him. Videl didn’t say anything in response; she just walked into the living room where the TV and VCR were and plopped down on the couch, drawing her legs up onto the couch so that she was sitting cross-legged. Gohan, too, sat on the couch, leaning on the other armrest, one foot resting atop of the backrest and the other planted on the couch’s surface.

Trunks and Goten, knowing that they had no chance of sitting on the couch, grabbed pillows from the chairs in the room and set them down on the floor, creating a soft place to sit on. Goten grabbed one of the movies and expertly turned on the TV, putting the movie into the VCR and pressing the play button before returning to his spot on the floor.

The next several hours was just the four of them watching movies, Gohan and Videl watching with silent amusement at every action-packed scene and Goten and Trunks vocally exclaiming their amusement the entire time, even though they had seen those movies many times.

It was many hours later, during the last movie, that Gohan noticed that Goten and Trunks were asleep, laying on the floor among glasses, plates, and other various signs of eaten food. Gohan stood up and walked over to the VCR, turning off the movie. Picking up both Goten and Trunks, Gohan stood up, looking down at Videl.

“Sure, I’ll come down to help you in a minute,” Gohan said, smiling at Videl before walking out of the living room and up the stairs to Goten’s room, where an extra bed had been placed for Trunks to sleep in. He returned down stairs a minute later, having placed the two young half Saiya-jins in bed, to find Videl in the kitchen, placing glasses and plates on the counter.

He looked at her from behind, watching as she stretched the muscles in her neck by rolling her head around. She then brought up both of her arms to stretch, causing her shirt to ride up a little, exposing the sensitive flesh of the small of her back. Desire coming over Gohan, he walked into the kitchen and impulsively wrapped his arms around her waist. This shocked Videl, who tried to turn around in Gohan’s arms to look at him.

“Gohan, what…” Videl trailed off as Gohan began nuzzling her neck, placing small kisses along her creamy skin, his actions guided by pure instinct alone. A small moan escaped Videl’s lips as Gohan began to add a light suction to his kisses, moving his kisses slowly down her neck towards her shoulder, the collar of her shirt being pushed aside by his lips so he could continue to apply kisses to her exposed flesh.

Videl gasped as his hands began venturing up her shirt, caressing the soft skin on her stomach. Gohan could feel the toned muscles beneath her skin jump in response to his touch as his fingers ran over her stomach. He was amazed at how soft she was and he reveled in the fact that she wasn’t stopping him, her breathy moans only encouraging him to continue. He felt his breathing become labored as well and wondered what it would be like between the two of them when the barrier of their clothes was removed.

“Gohan,” she moaned as he continued his ministrations. Gohan returned his lips to the crook of her neck, his tongue flicking out to lick the skin there before his teeth sank lightly into her flesh, breaking the surface and drawing blood.

“Gohan!” Videl exclaimed. Gohan’s eyes opened with a start and he found himself not in the kitchen, but still on the couch in the living room, Videl sitting in front of him with one hand on his shoulder, shaking him. (AN: Haha, fooled you!)

“Well, it’s about time you woke up,” Videl said, “I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to clean up this mess by myself.” He shook the sleepiness from his mind as he realized that it had all been a dream.

< Damn, it was only a dream? Well that’s not fair, > Gohan thought as he straightened his body, looking down at the floor only to see Goten and Trunks not there.

“I put them upstairs. They had fallen asleep about an hour ago during the last movie. I just took them up and came back downstairs to find that you too had fallen asleep. Now, come on, let’s clean up the living room so we can go to sleep.” The two teenagers got off of the couch and quickly began to clean up the mess that had been created. Once they had finished cleaning the living room and the dishes had been done, it looked like there had never been any mess there to begin with; Chi-Chi would have been proud at the job the two did with cleaning.

“Well,” Videl said, stifling a yawn, “I think it’s time we get to bed. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. I’m going up to bed.” Videl started to walk up the stairs and Gohan followed.

“I’m right behind you,” Gohan said as he ascended the steps as well. The two went their separate ways once they reached their rooms.

“Good night, Videl. See you in the morning.” Videl flashed Gohan a small smile before closing her door. Gohan sighed and shook his head, walking into his room and closing his door behind him. After he had gotten ready for bed and climbed in, he stared at the ceiling in the dark, his mind thinking about the dream he had just had.

The next morning, Gohan awoke to the sounds of two little kids yelling enthusiastically to the sounds of early morning cartoons. Lifting up his head, he looked at his clock and he groaned; it was only 6:30 in the morning and they were already up and about.

< Could things get any worse? This is the only reason why I don’t like having Trunks overnight. Those two get up at the crack of dawn and are up and about all day long. Why don’t they sleep until at least 8:00 like normal people? > Gohan wondered. He tried to go back to sleep, but the sounds of Goten and Trunks having fun downstairs in the early hours of the morning was enough to prevent him from sleeping. About a half an hour later, Gohan gave up and pushed himself out of bed.

“Might as well go brush my teeth,” Gohan grumbled, staggering over to the door, still half asleep. The moment he opened his door, Videl opened hers, obviously not too happy about the noise being created downstairs by the two rambunctious kids. Gohan managed a small smile at the sight of her. Her hair was down, completely mussed from sleep, as she stood there in shorts and a tee shirt, rubbing the sleep out of one eye with one hand while the other held her toothbrush and toothpaste; it looked like she had the same idea as Gohan.

Videl looked up to see Gohan, who looked as tired as she felt. His hair was going in all different directions as he stood in front of her in a shirt and pajama pants. She saw him smiling at her.

“Looks like you are headed to brush your teeth too, right?” Gohan said. Videl pulled her hand away from her face and looked up at Gohan quizzically.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot about those,” Videl said as the two of them walked into the bathroom. Gohan pulled out his toothbrush, put toothpaste on it, and began brushing his teeth. Videl did the same and they stood there for a couple of moments, no words spoken, as they cleaned their teeth. Gohan looked at the mirror behind them and laughed. Videl looked at Gohan with a confused look and Gohan spit the toothpaste into the sink and spoke.

“Look at the two of us in the mirror, Videl. We make quite the sight, don’t we?” Videl did as Gohan said and looked in the mirror. She chuckled. The two of them were quite a mess, their hair going everywhere and their clothes wrinkled from sleep.

“Yeah,” Videl said sarcastically, spitting the toothpaste out of her mouth and into the sink as well. Videl washed off her toothbrush before setting it down on the counter and attempting to get her hair under control. Gohan saw that she was having no luck combing her fingers through her hair, so he opened up a drawer and pulled out a comb.

“Here,” he said, “This might make it easier.” Videl looked over at Gohan and, with a smile, took the offered object. With the comb, it didn’t take her too long to work out her hair. With a smirk, she handed the comb back to Gohan.

“Nah, combing my hair would only make it worse. It won’t behave until I wash it later. But, before I do, I’m going to go start breakfast. Would you like to help me?”

“Sure. With as much food as you, Goten, and Trunks eat, you’re going to need my help to make it all. I don’t understand how your mother does it,” Videl said incredulously.

“Well, she doesn’t always have Trunks here, so she doesn’t cook so much. I think she’d need help if my dad were here. He eats more than myself and Goten combined. If there was ever anyone with the bottomless pit for a stomach, it would be my father,” Gohan said, remembering the way that Goku ate. It was like he was an unstoppable force when it came to food. Shaking his head to clear them of memories of his father, Gohan started moving out of the bathroom.

“Come on, let’s go. I don’t want to leave Trunks and Goten down there alone for too long,” Gohan said as Videl followed him. She rolled her eyes as she walked.

“Why did they have to get up so early?” Videl said with a sigh, “Don’t they realize that there were still people sleeping?” Gohan shrugged.

“They just don’t care,” Gohan said, “They don’t think of these things. All kids are like that. I was when I was little.” They arrived at the kitchen and made short work of starting breakfast. Trunks and Goten, who heard the commotion in the kitchen, immediately rushed over.

“Not too long,” Gohan said, “Just wait a little bit.” Trunks and Goten went over to the table and sat down, watching as Videl and Gohan moved their way around the kitchen, creating piles of food within 30 minutes. After the difficult task of transporting all the food over to the table, the four began eating, the three half Saiya-jins surprising Videl with how much they could eat.

While they barreled through their food, eating helping after helping, Videl slowly ate what she served herself, full by the time she finished eating. There was no conversation as they all ate; Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were all too absorbed into their food to speak. Once they were finished, Videl and Gohan moved all of the plates over to the sink and dumped them in, filling the sink with soapy, warm water.

“So,” Videl said, turning around to look at Goten and Trunks, “What do you two want to do today?” Trunks looked up at Videl and gave her a straight answer.

“We want to go treasure hunting.” Videl was visibly taken aback by their answer; she really hadn’t been expecting that one.

“Yeah,” Goten agreed, “We saw it on TV. It looks like fun!” Videl turned to Gohan, looking at him as if he could find something to respond to their request.

“Gohan, what do you say about that?” Videl asked, “Is there any place that you know of that we could go treasure hunting?” Videl really didn’t expect Gohan to positively answer that one.

“Actually, yeah I do. It’s close to Master Roshi’s house, in the middle of the ocean. We’d have to go diving for it though, but that should be no problem.” Trunks and Goten’s faces lit up like Christmas lights.

“Yeah, in Videl’s jet plane,” Gohan said, shooting the two young Saiya-jins a look to hush it about the flying thing. They miraculously understood and agreed. Gohan looked at Trunks.

“Good. So, after we all get dressed, we can head out, ok?” Gohan said. Trunks and Goten looked at each other and gave each other a high five.

“Yes, Goten, we’re almost there. Only about a half hour more, ok?” Gohan said, trying to reassure Goten, who sat behind him and Videl with Trunks.

“Yeah, I know,” Goten agreed, his voice equally as quiet. Videl took a glance back at them and noticed that they looked really bored.

“Sheesh, for two kids who really wanted to go treasure hunting, they sure don’t look all that enthusiastic about it,” Videl remarked. Gohan just shrugged.

“They just don’t like long plane rides, I guess.” The rest of the ride over was uneventful; both of the kids were silent for the rest of the way until they spotted Master Roshi’s house.

“Yeah, just land on the shore right there,” Gohan responded, pointing at the spot Videl should land at. Slowly, she brought the plane down on the sandy surface and Trunks and Goten leapt out at the first chance they got. Gohan and Videl stepped out moments later, Videl pulling on a small bag on her way that contained everyone’s swimsuits. Pressing a small button on the side of her jet plane, Videl returned the vehicle to its capsule, securing the capsule within in her bag. Krillin immediately rushed out of the house to greet them, knowing that they were coming due to Gohan’s phone call before they left.

“Oh, I’m doing fine,” Gohan said, “Thanks for letting us borrow those masks, Krillin.” Krillin dismissed the issue with a wave of his hand.

“Eh, it’s no problem. It’s not like we don’t have enough of them. I remember the first time we used those masks, Gohan. Remember? It was when we were looking for the Mermaid’s Tear.” Gohan chuckled, remembering the reason why Krillin went searching for it.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot. Krillin, this is Videl. Videl, this is Krillin, a friend of the family.” Videl walked forward and offered her hand, which Krillin took and gave a firm shake, looking on approvingly as he felt Videl’s firm hand shake.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Krillin said as if he were setting eyes on Videl for the first time, which could be further from the truth. He had spent many nights watching over her in order to protect her from the people who wanted to take her from Earth; he knew a lot more about her than she thought. All of the Z-senshi did from guarding her for the past couple months.

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m finally getting to meet all of these friends of the family that Gohan keeps taking about. Bulma, Vegeta, and now you.” Krillin blanched.

“So, you met Vegeta, huh? I’m sorry you had to go through that. He’s a pompous, pain in the ass isn’t he?” Krillin said, a grimace on his face. Videl nodded understandingly.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t know what his problem is, but he needs an attitude adjustment,” Videl said. A few moments later, she sighed and opened up her bag, pulling out the navy blue piece of clothing that was her bathing suit.

“Yeah, it’s inside the house, I’ll show you.” Krillin and Videl walked inside of the house, Videl following Krillin through the small, yet cozy edifice.

“You’re lucky that Master Roshi is upstairs, taking a nap,” Krillin said as he led her to the bathroom. Videl’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“Because he’s a perverted, old man. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a nice guy and everything…just very perverted.” Videl didn’t remark to Krillin’s words as Krillin stopped in front of a door.

“Anything for a friend of Gohan’s.” Videl’s smile grew and she entered the small bathroom, closing the door behind her. Krillin went off in the direction of the front closet, digging through its contents briefly before finding the underwater masks he was looking for. He walked back outside, masks in hand, to see that Goten, Trunks, and Gohan had changed into their swimsuits out in the open. Goten and Trunks were happily playing in the water while Gohan was standing on the sand, looking around at everything.

“That’s quite the friend you’ve got there, Gohan,” Krillin said, setting the masks down on the ground next to the younger warrior. Gohan smiled.

“Yeah,” Krillin agreed, “And beautiful too.” Krillin looked over at Gohan to see his response. The smile on his face only grew.

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you Gohan?” Krillin asked. Gohan gave a start and looked at Krillin, a blush spreading over his face.

“Gohan, it’s written all over your face. It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I saw the way you looked at her. It’s the same way that Goku looked at Chi-Chi. Just admit it.” Gohan sighed; he knew he had lost that battle.

“All right. Yes, I am in love with her. But, do you promise not to tell her?” Gohan said, worried that if Videl found out he was in love with her then she’d turn him away. Krillin held up a hand.

“Ok, I’m ready to go.” Gohan and Krillin both turned to look at Videl. Gohan’s jaw practically dropped while Krillin just raised an eyebrow.

“Wow,” Krillin whispered, “She’s more of a looker than I thought. You’re very lucky, Gohan.” Gohan looked away briefly to glare at him before he re-fixed his gaze on Videl. The swimsuit left nothing to the imagination, as all swimsuits are likely to do, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her soft curves were outlined distinctly by the tightness of the bathing suit, but Gohan knew that Videl was anything but soft; underneath the softness of her curves dwelled the hardness of a warrior. Gohan knew that Videl was strong for a human, even though her looks said otherwise.

Gohan shook off his stupor by the time Videl neared him and he watched as she bent over to pick up one of the masks by Gohan’s feet.

“Yeah,” Gohan said, picking one up as well, “They do. I know from firsthand experience. Besides, Bulma made these. They have to work.” Videl inspected the mask in her hands for a couple of moments before slipping it on over her head. A smile spread over her face and she took it back off.

“Hey Goten, Trunks! Come on, let’s go!” he called out to them. The two boys immediately stopped their water games and rushed over to where Gohan was, who was holding out a mask in each hand.

“Yeah, totally awesome, Gohan. You’re the best brother in the world.” Gohan brought out a hand to ruffle Goten’s hair before his little brother put the mask on.

“Thanks Goten.” Goten smiled up at Gohan, giving the classic Goten look that would melt anyone’s heart. Videl just had to smile at the tenderness exhibited between the two brothers. Videl could tell that Goten thought of Gohan as more than a brother; Gohan was more like a father. Videl knew that Goku had died before Goten was born and Gohan had helped his mother raise him. Their relationship was a special one indeed.

Gohan removed his hand from Goten’s head and put his own mask on. Looking around to make sure that everyone had their masks on, Gohan wordlessly took off into the water, the others following behind.

“Have fun, you guys. And Gohan, don’t go looking for the Mermaid’s Tear, ok?” Krillin cried out, remembering the time they tried to find it. Gohan turned around and waved to acknowledge Krillin’s words before diving into the water, going beneath the surface. As Goten and Trunks swam a little ways ahead of them, Videl looked around, noting the aquatic beauty that surrounded her.

“Yeah, it is,” she said, looking around at all of the fish and plants that floated freely underneath the water. Turning to look at Gohan, she spoke again.

“Well,” Gohan said, “I’m not quite sure. I know the general direction, but not specifically where it is. It shouldn’t take us too long to find it, no more than a couple of hours if we move at a good speed.” Videl smiled.

“Well, then, we better get going. I don’t think I want this treasure to sit there too long by itself,” Videl said mischievously. Gohan nodded and began swimming off in the direction he remembered it being.

“Goten and Trunks! Come on, it’s this way.” The two boys heard Gohan’s voice call out to them and immediately followed the source. As Gohan said, it took the entire group of four about 2 hours to reach the site where Gohan found treasure years ago, right after the incident with Garlic Jr. Trunks and Goten were amazed by the sight of the sunken ship. To them, it meant hours of exploring and adventuring. Videl was speechless as she stared at the sunken ship; she couldn’t honestly believe that Gohan had known about it.

“Well, I found it about when I was about six years old. You remember me telling you about Garlic Jr., right Goten?” Goten nodded, urging his brother to continue.

“When I was six. I told Krillin about it, but he wasn’t interested in it at the time. He was on a mission for love at the time, a mission we ended up failing. But, that doesn’t matter anymore because Krillin still ended up falling in love and getting married anyway, though not to the person that we were searching for the Mermaid’s Tear for, but it all worked out in the end,” Gohan said, looking around at the other three members of his party.

“Well, are we just going to stare at it all day?” Gohan swam over to the ship and began pulling apart the wood, which was completely compliant after being underneath the water for so long. The boards moved apart easily, revealing the mounds of gold and jewels that were kept in its hull. Trunks and Goten immediately bolted into the ship, looking at everything they could get their hands on, while Videl still stared at it, her eyes wide. Gohan swam back over to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the ship.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” he said as he swam through the hole, Videl being led in behind. While Goten and Trunks had disappeared to look around the ship, Gohan and Videl looked around the room with the treasure, inspecting everything. While Videl was over on one side of the hull, looking through a large trunk of gemstones, Gohan was sifting through a large pile of gold. He felt something other than gold in the pile and reached in, pulling it out.

It was a small box, about 6 inches long and 6 inches wide, gilded with metal on the corners and hinges. He gently tried pulling it open and noticed that it was locked. He decided to use a little more force to open the box and, that time, the lock gave no resistance as it broke. Gohan gasped at what he saw inside. Inside rested a set of silver jewelry, all pieces inlaid with sapphires and diamonds.

Something about the set called out to him, urging him to keep it. He gently fingered the sapphire pendant that was looped through a silver chain before picking up the silver ring. It held a sapphire, delicately surrounded by 4 tiny diamonds. The silver band was delicate as well, definitely made for a woman instead of a man.

“Hey, whatcha looking at?” Videl said, swimming over to look over his shoulder. He tilted the box for her to see what was inside and she gasped.

“Wow, they’re beautiful,” Videl whispered, awe ringing through her voice. Gohan inspected the look on Videl’s face, quickly reaching a conclusion.

< They would so good on her. The sapphires would match her eyes, > Gohan said to himself, before telling the thought to her.

“I know, but I’m not going to sell them. They’re too beautiful to sell,” Gohan said, cradling the box close to his chest.

“I can understand that. I don’t think I’d want to part with them if they were mine either,” Videl said, a tone of understanding in her voice. Gohan smiled at her.

“No, not yet. But, I’m not finished looking yet, so we’ll see when we go back.” Gohan smiled as he remembered something.

“Hold on a moment. I think I have something for you. Just stay there.” Gohan returned to another one of the big piles he had previously rummaged through.

“Now, where did I see it? I could have sworn it was over here. Oh, there it is!” Gohan said, spotting the object he was looking for. Scooping it up into his hand, he went back over to Videl.

“Now, close your eyes, ok?” he gently commanded. Videl did as she was told and closed her eyes, waiting to find out what Gohan was doing. Gohan swiftly moved behind her and placed the necklace he had found around her neck. Once it was secured around he neck, he moved back around to face her, a smile on his face.

“You can open your eyes now,” Gohan said. Videl opened them and felt the presence of something foreign around her neck. She looked down and almost gasped again. Hanging off of a simple silver chain was a square-cut, burgundy colored jewel.

“I think it’s a garnet,” Gohan answered thoughtfully, “Do you like it?” Videl nodded. “Good, I thought you might. I suppose you can keep that if you want to.”

“Oh, I’m going to keep it, you dork,” Videl said, “Though my dad is going to be wondering where I got it from if he ever sees it.”

“Easier said than done, Gohan. He’s a very perceptive man, if you hadn’t noticed, especially when it comes to me. He always knows when I’m wearing something different. But, I’ll try to hide it from him,” Videl said; she really hope her dad didn’t find out where she got it from. If he found out that she was spending an excessive amount of time with a boy, her dad would forbid her to see Gohan.

“Well, I’m going to continue looking, ok?” Videl said, turning around to look at another pile of stuff. Gohan nodded and the two continued to look at the various items of treasure.