Work Text:
An unexpected date
Making sure he was still on time, Gohan looked at his watch before he descended into an alley. Once he was certain no one had seen him, he smoothed his suit to remove any wrinkles his flight had caused on it. He still thought the suit was too much, but his mother wouldn't let him go otherwise. She didn't understand that this was just a get together with friends and suits were not 'hip' anymore. He sighed, Sharpener would have probably made silly remakes on it all day if he hadn't called in sick today.
As he was walking, Gohan thought about the day that lay before him. This was the first time he was actually invited to join his friends to do something outside of school. Maybe it was because Sharpener couldn't make it and that someone had to fill in the gap, but he didn't mind being a replacement. He was just glad he finally was included; it only took them three months.
Turning a corner, he headed to the main square near the shopping mall, the place they'd agreed to meet. Gohan followed the instructions Erasa had given him and after some minutes he found - as the blonde has described it - the ugly stone-ass creep. Gohan chuckled; in fact it turned out to be a statue of an old but highly respected scientist.
Looking around, he didn't see any of his friends yet. He knew he was a bit early, but he'd expected Erasa to be the first one to arrive; she was always very punctual. Maybe she and Videl would come together; he shrugged, Videl was always late.
However, ten minutes after their agreed time Gohan became anxious. He was sure he was at the right spot, so that couldn't be it, but he was afraid he might have missed any messages that they'd canceled, or worse, they were already gone and had just forgotten about him.
"Sorry I'm late," a familiar voice panted, relieving Gohan from his anxiety, "I was held up by some crime."
Turning around, Gohan saw Videl bending over while catching her breath; she indeed looked like she’d had some trouble on the way. He felt bad; if he’d known he would've helped her. “You alright?”
“Yeah, don’t sweat it.” She looked around, confused, “Erasa ain’t here yet?” Gohan shook his head, which made Videl raise an eyebrow, “That’s odd. I actually was afraid I would be scowled at for being so late.”
“I was almost under the impression you guys forgot about me,” Gohan awkwardly joked.
“Hm,” Videl hummed as she started looking through the menu of her digital watch, “She had - and I quote - a ‘wardrobe malfunction’, whatever that means. She’ll be fifteen minutes late, which is right about now.”
"So," Gohan scratched the back of his neck, "What crime held you up?" He felt a bit awkward; he was never good at making small talk.
Videl shrugged, "A pickpocket. Had to chase the guy three blocks before his stamina ran out. It took ages for the police to arrive and take over, too," a slight irrigation was noticeable in her voice. When she straightened herself, she took a glance at her classmate for the first time. She grinned, "Nice suit."
A sigh escaped the half-Saiyan's lips, yet he said nothing. He would have hoped the girls wouldn’t tease him because of his clothes, yet he felt his hopes were in vain.
Almost reading his mind she assured him, "I was serious, yellow suits you."
Gohan raised an eyebrow, "Pun intended?" He couldn't contain a grin from forming because of her compliment; it made him more at ease.
She mirrored his grin cheekily, yet left his question unanswered, making him grin even wider. Gosh, his smile was always so contagious and somehow her eyes were drawn to his. She lingered on them for a moment, but was soon pulled out of her stare by the sound of her phone. Shaking her head and slightly blushing from the realization of what she was doing, she reluctantly picked it up, "What's up?"
Gohan looked at her intently as her face turned into an irritated frown.
"What do you mean, sick?! Fifteen minutes ago nothing but your 'wardrobe malfunction' was bothering you. You don't even sound sick." The raven-haired girl sighed deeply; she didn't seem all too happy, "All right, all right! I believe you… Get better soon, okay?" She'd hung up her phone and looked back up and sighed yet again, "Seems like we are on our own today."
"Are you okay with that?" the half-Saiyan asked, a little unsure, not wanting to be a burden, "We can do this another time if that suits better?"
Yes, she was annoyed Erasa had canceled on her and left her all alone with Gohan - a guy she didn't know all too well and had had a rough start with in the beginning of the school year. She'd suspected him for being this superhero who'd appeared around the same time he enrolled at their school, but over time she'd let it go; it was not a good look on her to be so obsessed about something so stupid. This guy standing in front of her had nothing superhero-ish about him to begin with. He was just a big, friendly - yet attractive - nerd from her class.
Attractive ?!
Shocked by her own thoughts, she shook her head. What was wrong with her?! She admitted that the suit really looked good on him, but still… it was Gohan she was talking about.
"Seriously, it's fine if we go another time when the others can join as well," Gohan added while scratching the back of his neck; the silence made him uncomfortable.
"No, no," Videl answered hastily, snapping out of her thoughts, "It's not that, really. I'm not going to let you travel all the way here to send you back to Mount Paozu immediately after. I'm not that mean." She looked sharply at him, "It still amazes me how you manage to do that every time anyway."
'And there you go again, Videl,' she thought to herself, ' Go and be nice for a change. It's not that hard! '
Relief was written on her classmate's face which didn't go unnoticed. Videl gave him a soft smile instead but remained silent, plucking at her own hair. She wasn't really good at these kinds of interactions with people who weren't Erasa or Sharpener - people she knew from an early age.
After a while Gohan broke the silence, "So, then, what should we do?"
There was the question she was afraid of: What should they do… "I'm… not exactly sure. Normally Erasa just drags us to wherever she wants to go and we follow."
"I see," Gohan chuckled, he was glad she wasn't repelled by the idea to spend the day with only him. Laying his finger on his chin, he thought for a moment. The only time he'd been in the city - besides his superhero duties - was that time with Angela. And before he really thought about it, he opted for the first thing she'd suggested back then, "What about a movie?"
Videl looked at him; for someone who wanted to see the city this was an odd suggestion, but it also meant that she didn't have to entertain him the first couple of hours. This might not be such a bad idea.
But she thought wrong. Videl had led them to a small cozy theater - a different one Gohan and Angela had gone to that one time - and was glancing over the list of movies available. Her face grimaced. "I don't know about you," Videl hesitated, "But if I'm completely honest, I'd had hoped for more… I don't know… action, or a horror movie or something…"
Reading her words Gohan let go of his breath, "Yeah… All those romance movies put me to sleep," he admitted, glad Videl and he were on the same page, and he added jokingly, "I'd rather stay awake while spending time with you. What about fetching some coffee first and thinking about what to do next then?"
Videl couldn't contain a blush from coming up and turned away immediately, already walking ahead so Gohan wouldn't see. "I like the sound of that," she replied over her shoulder and gestured to him to follow.
They walked by each other's side, though they remained silent. Gohan just looked around a bit, making mental notes on the shops and kiosks they passed; it all seemed so different from up in the sky and it was nice to see it from this perspective for a change.
Turning a corner, Satan's City's Shopping Mall came into view. Gohan had never been inside and he needed to get used to the sizable and loud crowd that had gathered there. It was such a difference from the rural area he'd grown up in.
Reading his body language, Videl said, "Yeah, I don't like it either. Never understood why Erasa likes it so much. But I can assure you, the coffee will make it up for it, big time." With a smile she looked back up to Gohan, to make him more comfortable, but she was surprised he wasn't there anymore. Looking around, she found him a couple of steps back, staring at a shop window.
"I didn't know they had a whole shop dedicated to it," Gohan said in astonishment when Videl came in hearing distance.
Videl studied Gohan's face; why was he interested in a martial arts tournament merchandise shop all of a sudden? "Well, you are in Satan City. They'll sell anything to make money out of my father's fame."
Without even hearing her, Gohan went inside with wide eyes. Of course there were a lot of merchandise of Mr. Satan, ' the World Savior' , but that wasn't all: there were stone statues of Tien, displayed with 4 arms; miniature kid-Krillin figures - Gosh, they were so tiny; posters of his father; and even plush Piccolo's. If only these things weren't so expensive, he would have bought them all.
"Didn't know you were into these kinds of things," Videl came standing next to him, still studying her friend. Even though he was a nerd she'd never expected this behavior from him; he'd never shown any interest in her father - which she highly appreciated - or treated her differently from anyone else.
"I gave up Martial Arts a long time ago," Gohan said while looking at a gift-card displaying Videl who'd just had won the junior division. Grinning, he showed it to her, "Look at how happy you are! You should wear that smile more often, it looks really cute on you."
Blushing profusely out of embarrassment - and maybe because of his compliment - she grabbed the card out of his hands and put it hastily back where it came from. Turning Gohan the other way and pushing him gently, she mumbled, "Shut up."
Gohan grinned, "What? It's true." But when looking to his front again, the half-Saiyan stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide. There was a whole section with iconic outfits from different participants of all tournaments! He hastily walked across the racks, searching for that orange Gi his father used to wear.
Videl, not understanding why this clothes section had spiked her classmate's interest, raised an eyebrow when he pulled out a kid-sized costume. "I'm pretty sure that… doesn't fit you," she finally said.
"My little brother would be overjoyed with this," Gohan stared at the orang Gi in his hands while answering Videl. "You know, he's the spitting image of my father…" he pointed his finger to a life-size cardboard cutout of the champion of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, and continued with a somewhat melancholic tone, "He died before Goten was born. I bet they would've been inseparable otherwise." He looked at the price tag and sighed - this was way more he could afford - and reluctantly hung it back. "C'mon, let's get that cup of coffee."
Videl was gob-smacked and looked from the cupboard figure to Gohan. They did look very much alike, didn't they. Reading the name at the base, ' Son Goku', she smacked herself on her forehead. Why hadn't she made this connection before?! Gohan is the former Champion's son?! What the actual fuck.
Catching up with him, she wanted to bomb him with all kinds of questions, yet somehow she remained silent. It didn't go unnoticed that Gohan mentioned his father was dead. Maybe that's why he'd never outed this side of him.
"So where’s this coffee place?" Gohan asked, pulling Videl out of her thoughts. "I think we have a lot to talk about now." He turned his head and to her surprise, his smile was gentle and somehow relieved.
"Right over there," she pointed, answering his smile with one of her own while tucking a couple of strands of hair behind her ear.
They’d entered a small rustic coffee house, decorated in wooden elements and with many indoor plants; it was a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of the indoor shopping mall. After they made themselves comfortable in one of the private booths all the way to the back, they were quick to order - Gohan a cappuccino and Videl a large black coffee. The conversation, however, got off to a slow start, both staring at their cups. Then Gohan remembered something.
"Do you… want me to put some sugar in your coffee?" he asked hesitantly, thinking back at the amount of sugar Angela consumed with hers. But to his surprise Videl started to giggle and confused he added, “What?”
"Nothing,” she half apologized, “It’s just that it's a strange question."
Gohan looked at her surprised and a little embarrassed, "Is it?"
Videl looked sheepishly at her classmate, "Kinda. If I wanted sugar in my coffee I would’ve done it myself, don’t you think?”
“I guess…” he mumbled, even more embarrassed.
Videl smiled encouragingly at him, “Why did you ask?" She knew he meant well.
He reluctantly started to explain to her about Angela and the amount of sugar he'd had to pour into her coffee, and assumed this was normal to do. Videl laughed this carefree laugh, and even though he felt still embarrassed, he too could finally laugh about it. It broke the ice, and soon they started to chat nonstop: about how he fell asleep during his awkward date with Angela he'd never wanted to go to in the first place, Videl's experience from winning the junior division, his experience with Martial Arts - leaving out all the life threatening battles and training for obvious reasons, her social struggles with being famous, and finally about the impact the loss of Gohan's father had on his and his family’s life. After a couple of orders, Videl eventually excused herself to the restroom and it dawned on Gohan it was much later than he'd realized. He sighed; his mother wouldn't be too happy about him being late for dinner...
"Hope I didn't make you wait too long," the raven-haired crime-fighter said while flashing a smile.
She was about to sit down when Gohan suddenly stood up, "As much as I hate it, I think I need to head home. It's getting late and I have quite a trip ahead of me."
Disappointment was written on Videl's face, yet she understood. She nodded and was about to walk to the counter to pay the bill when she was held up by a hand on her shoulder. Blushing slightly from the contact and closeness, she looked at him confused. He answered with a smile, "Already done that. Come, I’ll walk you home. It's probably dark outside."
"You paid? But shouldn't I…"
"Nope," Gohan interrupted her, giving her a slight smirk - a look that somehow fit him really well, "I'm the guy, and I'm paying. Might be old-fashioned, but that's the way I've been raised."
"But…"
"No buts!" he insisted.
Videl nodded, "Thank you." This gesture made her blush even more. She was the one that came from money and she knew Gohan didn't have much himself. That issue was painfully clear when they were in that merchandise store, yet he paid without giving it a second thought. Even Sharpener and Erasa made her pay almost every single time.
When they stepped outside the shopping mall, Videl shivered - if she’d known they would be out so late, she would’ve brought a sweater. The sun was already down and during this time of year the evenings were still quite cold. But when Gohan draped his jacket around her shoulders without hesitation, she looked up in surprise, “But what about you?”
He gave her a heartwarming smile, “Don’t worry about me, I’m never cold.”
“You’re never cold?” she asked with a slight smirk, “Why are you always dressed with ten layers of clothes then?”
Gohan shrugged, “I have my reasons, it being cold is not one of them.”
“Ah…” she replied after his vague answer, “Becoming the mystery guy once more, are you?”
He glanced at her and tried to give her a smirk himself, but couldn’t hold his composure. He eventually scratched his neck, “I’m just… not the guy to show off, that’s all.”
Not expecting his answer, she gave him a good look. Now that he was only wearing a white dress shirt, she noticed it was quite tight around some specific areas. She fired up and came back to her earlier thoughts: no Gohan wasn't attractive… he was unexpectedly hot .
She swallowed thickly and forced herself to focus where she was walking, trying to calm herself down. "I see…"
Gohan put his hands deep down his pockets as he was walking beside her, "Anyway, had fun today."
"Me too; sorry we didn't see much of the city in the end."
Gohan gave her a soft smile, "Don't be, we can go sightseeing some other time."
She blushed with his last words and nodded in acknowledgment; she sure wouldn't mind that. She tugged his jacket more firmly around her; gosh, it smelled nice… he smelled nice.
Turning a corner a large gate appeared, the word 'Satan' written on it with big letters, "Guess we are here."
Disappointment fell over her. She didn't want this day to be over yet, but knew he also needed to head home at some point. She reluctantly took off his jacket and handed it over, but when Gohan went to take it, their hands touched. For a moment he hesitated, but then took it anyway, both slightly blushing.
"Thank you for letting me borrow it…"
"My pleasure," then Gohan grinned and added, "I’m not the only one that looks good in yellow - even though you almost drowned in it."
"Shut up," she replied while fakely glaring at him.
An awkward silence rose, both not knowing what to say or do. Videl was rubbing her arms - not only because she was getting cold. "Gohan…" she nervously began, "This here… This was a date, wasn't it?"
Now it was Gohan’s turn to flare up. "I-I haven't had much experience in that," he nervously joked while rubbing the base of his neck, "But if it was, it’s the best I’ve had." Videl gave him a shy smile, brushing some strands of hair out of her face and Gohan added as he subconsciously shifted closer, “Does this mean… You want to do this again some other time? Just the two of us?”
“What about Wednesday after school?” Videl replied shyly.
“Wednesday it is,” Gohan agreed within one breath, not even thinking if he’d had any other obligations that day - he would figure something out if he did. Again a moment of silence rose, both lingering on each other's eyes as nervous tension filled the air. He’d noticed they both were moving towards each other, shifting towards a certain direction: him bending slightly forward as she started to stand on her tippy-toes. This ‘dating’ thing was new territory for him and Gohan assumed people in the city probably had a different view on it than him. He reluctantly decided to clear the air, “I already told you I was raised old-fashioned, right?” His words came out as a whisper, his breath almost brushing her lips.
The odd mixture of relief, disappointment and nervousness made her burst out laughing, “Does this mean I have to wait for that kiss?”
“No kissing on first dates,” he gave her an apologizing look, "Sorry..."
“And what about gifts?” she gave him a cheeky grin.
“Huh…?!” Gohan was cut off guard; was he supposed to buy her a gift today? “I-I don’t know about any! If I’ve m-”
“Just making sure if it was allowed,” she cut him off, grinning even wider. She reached out to her backpack and grabbed a small figure out of it, handing it to Gohan, “I saw you staring at this with such a grin I had to buy it. Is this your favorite Tenka'ichi Budōkai contester?”
His grin indeed widened broadly, “Believe it or not, Piccolo is my best friend actually, and a great sensei too.” His eyes twinkled as he looked at the green figure in his hand, “You bought it for me?”
“Yes…” Videl replied, “I need to confess I didn’t go to the restroom and went to that merchandise store instead.” She again reached into her backpack, “And this is for your little brother.”
Gohan's eyes shot wide, “You didn’t!”
She gave him a friendly smile, “Sure I did, hope it’s the right size.”
Suddenly she was pulled into a long warm hug that lasted a good moment before he pulled back, still holding her, “I-I don’t know what to say…”
“It was my pleasure, really,” she assured him and even though she really didn’t want to point it out, she added, “You should go… it’s getting really late and after all I heard about your mother, I don’t want her to get angry at either of us.”
He nodded and studied her face before planting a soft kiss on her cheek, “See you on Monday.” He then let go of her and almost ran the other way - beat red, turning and waving before disappearing out of view. Videl's heart was racing, touching her own cheek; did he actually kiss her?
###
She flopped onto her own bed, already dressed in her oversized sleeping shirt even though it was still too early to sleep. She wanted to be alone so that nobody could burst the happy bubble she was in. The raven-haired teen was glad her father wasn’t there for dinner tonight, but everyone else she saw daily - like their butler and the maid - had noticed her overly happy demeanor. She could only hope they wouldn’t tell her father, she wasn’t in the mood to justify herself - certainly because a boy was the cause of it.
Her mind went over the events of today. She wasn’t expecting to have a date - not at all - and certainly not with Gohan. But he somehow managed to get her under his charming spell and she wasn’t even mad about it. On the contrary, she felt happy and warm inside, something she never had experienced. And all she could think about the rest of the evening was his stupid goofy smile.
She abruptly shot up: Damnit, she totally forgot about Erasa!
Feeling guilty, she opened her phone for the first time today to check on her sick friend. Her heart sank; no messages. This wasn’t like Erasa at all, so she probably was really sick.
Videl thought of what to write, but before she had typed any letter, she saw her friend typing herself. Glad she didn’t have to open the conversation, Videl patiently waited for her message to arrive.
______________________
/ \
| You’re finally online! |
< ________________________ /
This message confused Videl… has she been waiting? But before she could think of it some more, the already received another.
_______________________________
/ \
| How was your day with Gohan? |
< _________________________________ /
Videl blushed. Her day with Gohan was… well… really great, but she wasn’t going to tell her friend that, certainly not all the details. She wasn’t ready for the storm of excitement she probably would receive.
____________________
/ \
| So? What did you do? |
< _______________________ /
_____________________ .
/ \ .
| We had some coffee. | .
| How was your day? | .
\ ______________________ >
________________
/ \
| Just coffee? 😟 |
< __________________ /
_____________________________
/ \
| My day was nice! I bought a |
| cute pair of pants as my |
| other one got ripped. |
< ______________________________ /
Videl looked stunned at her phone. How could she…?
_________________________ .
/ \ .
| I thought you were sick? | .
\ _________________________ >
_________________________________
/ \
| Okay… before you get mad… |
| Hear me out! |
| You two looked so adorable 😍 |
| when I arrived… |
| I just couldn’t! |
< _________________________________ /
__________________________________
/ \
| So I kinda went shopping instead |
| Sorry, not sorry 😘 |
< ___________________________________ /
God dammit Erasa! Videl frowned deeply. She should be mad - really, really mad! But the truth was, she wasn’t. She just sighed in annoyance and closed her phone. The truth is, if it weren’t for her stupid friend she wouldn’t have been this close to Gohan right now, let alone have planned a second date with him. She will get Erasa back for this, but for now she decided to let it slide. She didn’t want to let this revelation spoil her day.
Her phone buzzed, signaling her she got another message. She sighed; she wanted to ignore it but couldn’t contain her curiosity. However, instead it coming from Erasa, the message was from an unknown number.
____________________________________
/ \
| TANK YOU SO MUSH MISS FRIEND! |
< ______________________________________ /
She raised an eyebrow; what a strange message…
_____________________________
/ \
| Sorry to bother you so late! |
| My brother really wanted to |
| thank you, but it took me a |
| while to get your number. |
| Eventually Sharpener helped |
| me out. |
< ______________________________ /
________________________
/ \
| Hope you don’t mind! |
< _________________________ /
__________ .
/ \ .
| Gohan? | .
\ __________ >
Videl blushed only thinking of him.
______________________________
/ \
| Yeah! Sorry. |
| I should’ve mentioned that… |
< ______________________________ /
She could almost hear his awkward chuckle and imagined him scratching the base of his neck. ‘ Gosh, even his odd habits were cute ,’ she thought.
_______________________________
/ \
| Again, sorry to bother you |
| this late. Goten didn’t want |
| want to go to sleep otherwise, |
| so I didn’t have much choice. |
< ________________________________ /
_______________________________ .
/ \ .
| I’m glad he liked it! | .
| Do you have a picture? | .
| You got me really curious on | .
| how much he looks like his dad | .
\ ________________________________ >
She saw him typing something, but he stopped rather quickly. She looked at her phone a bit worried as it kept quiet for a moment; maybe she had scared him away? He wasn’t one to open up that quickly - she’d learned that by now - but she thought they were on a different level now. But as soon as a disappointing feeling crept over her, he started typing again.
_________________________________
/ \
| I do have the one my mother |
| took of us this evening, but |
| I’m too embarrassed to send it |
< ________________________________ /
Somehow this made Videl smile. Gohan was cute when he was like this, even when she couldn’t see his face. He made her fuzzy inside.
_____________________________ .
/ \ .
| It’s okay. You can send me | .
| one tomorrow. | .
\ ______________________________ >
____________________
/ \
| I will! Goodnight. |
< _____________________ /
______________ .
/ \ .
| Goodnight. | .
\ ______________ >
She stared at the textmessage she’d just sent and couldn’t contain herself, adding after a moment of silence:
__________ .
/ \ .
| Gohan? | .
\ ___________ >
__________
/ \
| Yes? |
< _________ /
She blushed. Was she really going to send this?
_______________________________ .
/ \ .
| Can’t wait to see you again… | .
\ _______________________________ >
Videl almost instantly regretted sending that message. Nervousness fell over her as she realized she also couldn’t delete it anymore; iit already had been viewed by Gohan. She hid her face into her pillow, her face beet red of embarrassment. For a while nothing happened, but even after she heard the buzzing sound of two messages she received, she couldn’t bring herself to watch. What was the matter with her?
She didn’t know how much time had passed when she dared to look up again, but she knew it was quite a while. Gohan was probably asleep now, she assumed. Finally gathering the courage to look, she grabbed her phone, instantly blushing from what she saw:
_________________________
/ \
| For in the meantime… |
< __________________________ /
Added was a picture of a little kid - smiling this big broad smile - dressed in the orange Gi Videl had bought today. He was sitting on the shoulders of Gohan - equally with a carefree happy smile - and he too had put on his father’s Gi. Videl blushed profusely; damn, Gohan was even hotter than she could imagine.
Rolling on her back, her phone on her chest, she sighed in content. Yep, he really managed to get her under his charming spell...
She couldn't wait for their second date.
She couldn’t wait for his kiss.