Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Changing Seasons ❯ Love's Foolish Game ( Chapter 16 )

"He still cares for you, you know." 18 was sitting beside Videl, trying to comfort the young woman as best she could, "Did you see how hurt he looked while you were screaming and throwing things at him?"

Videl snorted and ran a hand through her short, dark hair, turning to 18 she asked; "Then why did he sleep with that woman…and…and not me? Why did he choose her to be with?"

18 shrugged, her expression a mixture of sympathy and amusment, "Because he's a man, Videl. That's what they do. He saw a pretty face and a hot body and couldn't help himself."

"I refuse to believe that, 18!" Videl cried, rubbing her eyes to stop the tears before they could fall, "We are more than just beasts who rut whenever the mood strikes us, we do have brains you know!"

"True." She said, "Although, sometimes it's hard to tell."

Videl was silent for a moment and 18 said, once more, "He still cares for you, Videl."

"So, what if he does, 18?" Videl asked, her heart torn but her pride flaring up like a red flag, "Am I then soppose to just traipse right up to him and throw myself at him, let him get off scot-free after what he's done to me…?!"

"I never said you should let him off scot-free, Videl," 18 said, serious, she could heard her daughter playing in the next room with Krillin and knew it would be time to get her dinner ready soon, "But, you must forgive him…eventually. In your heart, you know that you cannot stay apart from him."

Videl was silent. But that silence spoke volumes. Smiling to herself, thinking that in time, everything would work out, 18 left the bedroom to take care of her own family and their needs. Little Marron greeted her by toddling over and wrapping her pudgy, jam-sticky hands around her leg and sitting down on 18's foot. Giggling, as her mother swung her leg up and tossed the child in the air and caught her, Marron's eyes were wide with delight.

"Time to get you fed, kiddo." 18 said, softly, fixing the child's blonde ponytails.

"Is Videl all right?" Krillin asked as he set the table, "Does she want to eat with us, do you think…?"

"I think it's best if we just leave her be for now, Krillin." She said, looking up from fastening the tray onto Marron's highchair, "She needs some time to think."

Meanwhile…

He couldn't stand it a moment longer. "Damn it!" Gohan cursed, it was very unusual to hear him curse, even mildly, it was a testament to how distressed he was feeling at the moment, had been feeling over the past few days. He wanted to go back to Videl and get down on his hands and knees, he had to, and beg her to forgive him.

But, he had something so silly that got in the way of matters of the heart called pride. His pride made him stay away, made him hold his tongue when he should have been on the phone trying desperately to reach her, to tell her that she was the only girl for him, forever, always. But, he couldn't. At least, then, he couldn't.

Now, however, he stood on the doorstep to 18 and Krillin's house, knowing this was where Videl had been staying after 18 refused to allow her to leave and be alone in her current mental state, feeling like a heel in the too-tight white sports jacket and blue tie with matching slacks, a bouquet of crimson roses and baby's breath in his slighly trembling hands.

"What the hell are you doing, Gohan?" He asked himself for the hundreth time as he flew over there, "She's not about to forgive you just like that…and a bunch of weeds is no way to make it up to her…probably send her into a fit of allergies, anyway…I should just go…"

He was just about to turn around and leave when the door burst open. Pausing in mid-turn, Gohan looked back and his heart stopped. Videl stood there. She was wearing that cute `fight' shirt she was so fond of and had an odd look in her light eyes. She still looked angry, only…not as much.

"Are those for me?" She asked, eyeing the flowers, He shoved them at her and she took them, buried her nose into the velvety red blooms and inhaled the heady scent, "I love roses…"

"Well, It's not much and I know how girls like flowers, so..." He stumbled over his words, uncertain of himself, uncertain of her, "Videl, I was wondering…I mean, hoping that we could…ummm…"

She looked up from her flowers. "What, Gohan? Pretend it never happened? Start from scratch? Give it another chance?"

He looked sheepish at her, "Well…basically…yeah." He never realized how lame he sounded. He mental kicked himself. Hard.

"What if it happens again?" She asked, her eyes narrowing to slits, "What if you run across another hot babe you just have to fuck, what then, Gohan? Do I just turn a blind eye to it? Just pretend nothing happened? What?"

He did not know why he did this, but he kicked his pride in the balls for once and dropped down onto his knees, looking up into her face, praying that she wouldn't just curse at him and slam the door in his face. "Videl?" He began, serious, his eyes beseeching while his hands reached up to take her's, holding the flowers between them, "I can't make it up to you for what I did, but I do regret it, I can't change the past, I can't take back what I did, but I can do something about the future…"

She waited, stunned, and a second close to falling down on the front porch and exclaiming how much she loved him and of course she could forgive him of anything! But she merely waited, and listened.

"I want to make a promise to you, Videl." He said, and she saw two small droplets of water forming in the corners of each of his dark eyes, "That, from this day forward, you will the only woman for me. Forever. I want to know if that would be all right with you, Videl? Because I you must know, I love you so much…"

She felt the tears slide down her cheeks even before he'd finished speaking and fell down to his level, embracing him, not caring about the roses being smashed between their bodies as he took her head in both hands, tenderly, and kissed her with love, passion and

gratitude.

"But if you ever do something like that again…" She said, after breaking the kiss, "I'll do more than throw some plates at you!"

"I all ready promised it wouldn't happen again, Videl!" He said, "I mean it. I gave you my word."

She nodded, believing him. Finally, she took a good long look at what he was wearing and burst out laughing; "You…wore that for me?!"

"Yeah…so what?" He looked hurt, and she realized that he'd been trying to impress her, not wanting to tread on his fragile male ego, she stopped laughing and said, simply, "White looks good on you, brings out your eyes."