CHAPTER FOUR

***

Fortunately, the extra food Lime had bought in the village didn't go to waste after all, for true to his word Gohan returned many times over that winter and early spring to visit her. In between training he would come, sometimes only staying an afternoon, sometimes several days. After awhile no fuss was made. If he were staying overnight he would just fetch the extra futon from the closet and set it up on the living room floor himself. Lime missed him sleeping in her room, she liked falling asleep to his deep rich voice, but now that he no longer required her care it wasn't proper that he do so. Still, it didn't stop her from occasionally sneaking out of her room sometimes to sit beside his bed and talk to him quietly in the late hours of the night.

He did things for her whenever he visited. When the pump broke it was Gohan who fixed it. When the roof of Otis' shed developed a nasty leak during the first spring rains, it was Gohan who fixed it during a thunderstorm, despite her yelling for him to come in before he got electrocuted or worse. He brought her things as well. Some were small: A book he thought she might like, a pressed flower, some pretty stones. And others were more substantial: like the time he showed up dragging a huge dead sauropod behind him that he butchered for her right there in the clearing.

"What am I going to do with all this meat?" She'd asked, hands on her hips, as Gohan was waist deep in the carcass of the beast cutting steaks. He grinned at her over the growing pile of steaks and roasts. Handsome even covered with gore.

"Don't worry Lime-chan. I'll help you eat it." He told her with a twinkle in his eye. "Besides…I owe you plenty of food from when you took care of me." He said, turning back to the task at hand. Which meant he missed the frown that crossed Lime's face as she spun on her heel and stalked away. Her grandfather noticed however and shook his head. He found her on her knees in the garden, yanking weeds out of the ground furiously, almost taking the fragile shoots of the immature vegetables with them. He watched her silently a few moments before walking up and thumping her lightly with his cane.

"Mind you don't take the carrots there too girl." He told her mildly. Lime stopped and sat back on her heels, wiping her nose with the back of one dirty hand.

"Gomen, Jiisan." She murmured, eyes downcast.

"Good looking eligible young fella brings you a dead dinosaur and even butchers it for ya and you're hiding way out here yanking weeds." Her grandfather said with a sigh. "You're as dense as your mother was." Lime tipped her head to the side as she looked to him.

"Eh?" She queried.

"He brought you a gift girl. Do I have to spell it out for you?" He asked her, leaning on his cane as he looked beyond the garden toward the orchards. Lime nodded when her grandfather spared her a glance at her silence.

"He comes hundreds of kilometers out of his way just to see you for one afternoon and bring you a flower or a book, he risks his neck in a storm to fix the shed roof for you… I thought I raised you to be smarter than dirt girl." Her grandfather said with a small smile. Lime snorted in a very unladylike fashion, earning herself another thump from Ojiisan's cane.

"He only does those things because he thinks he owes me." She said quietly. Her grandfather nodded sagely.

"Might have been his reasoning early on…but now I think thats just an excuse." He ventured. Lime studied her dirty hands as she sat on her heels in the soft loam of the garden. She didn't know why Gohan might think he needed an excuse to come and visit her. But he always seemed to have one; usually that he was repaying his debt to her. Lime didn't want him there fixing things because he thought he owed it to her, she wanted him to visit her just because he wanted to.

"Excuse for what?" She asked. Her grandfather chuckled softly.

"He's courting you magomusume, the only way he knows how. Open your eyes and pay attention." He advised. "Look beyond his words to his actions. You'll find the truth there." With that he left her.

Lime returned to weeding, but without the imminent peril to the fledgling plants this time as she considered what her Ojiisan had told her. Could Gohan be courting her? He did bring her little gifts whenever he visited, and went out of his way to do things for her. Once or twice on the rare occasion that her grandfather wasn't around during his visits, Gohan had even ventured to give her a quick kiss. But not with the same ardor he had the day they went to the village. Lime had convinced herself it was only because he had been grateful she got the senzou back for him. Not out of any real feelings he might have for her. Now her Ojiisan said he did, and that this was his way of showing it. She knew how she felt about him; but she didn't want to even let herself hope that he might feel the same. She didn't need that kind of heartache and stress if he didn't.

Still, as she watched Gohan eat two of the huge steaks she prepared for his dinner, complimenting her profusely on her cooking - though it wasn't her strong suit - her grandfather's words came back to her and she couldn't help but wonder.

***

"This is too much. I mean a dinosaur is one thing, but really Gohan. I can't take this." Lime said firmly, hands fisted on her hips as she stood outside the cabin one bright morning a month later and regarded Gohan's latest offering.

"Don't you like it? I put it together myself." Gohan asked, one hand behind his head. "It's taken me months to scavenge all the parts for it." Lime put one hand over her eyes. The soft late spring breeze caressing her skin as she tried to find the words.

"Gohan-kun…it's a car." She told him reasonably, as if he had no idea what he had just unencapsulated before her. It was an absolute fright of an aircar too, made up of a mish mash of parts from many. If she had to choose a predominant color of the thing she would have to go with gunmetal gray, as it seemed to be the color of the largest part, followed closely by the orange fenders and a single faded green door. Gohan looked slightly hurt that his gift wasn't being met with the enthusiasm he'd hoped for.

"I know it isn't pretty, I'd hoped to find some paint for it, but it's so hard to come by now. It runs just fine though." Gohan said defensively.

"Gohan…it's a CAR!" She fairly yelled at him. He scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"Well yeah…you don't have one and it would be a lot faster for you to get to town to get supplies or take the apple crops. Besides-" He started, when Lime cut him off.

"So help me Gohan-kun if you say it's because you owe me I am going to scream." She promised in a low voice, before pressing her lips together in a thin line. She stared at the ground just before the aircar rather than look at Gohan. He was silent for a long moment.

"I was going to say now you can retire that poor old horse." He said quietly. She felt the flush of shame crawl up her face for her presumption and she still couldn't meet his gaze. She heard him approach and put his hand on her shoulder. "Lime-chan…"

"I can't take it." She whispered, shaking her head. It seemed her entire body was there for the sole purpose of supporting his hand she was so attuned to him.

"Why not? I made it for you. I want you to have it." He told her softly. Lime closed her eyes briefly, the timbre of his voice striking a resonating chord within her that made her vibrate like a tuning fork, turning her to mush. She shifted her weight slightly toward him, toward the solid heat of him like a moth to flame. Gohan moved his hand to her opposite shoulder as he pulled her closer to his side. "Give me one good reason why you can't take it." He challenged in that same low voice.

"It's too much." She answered immediately, earning a gentle squeeze to her shoulders from Gohan, whom she still couldn't look in the eye.

"I said a good reason." He chided with a small laugh.

"I don't know how to drive it." She confessed finally.

"We can fix that." Gohan said, letting go of her. "Come with me and I'll teach you." She folded her arms stubbornly.

"I can't just run off. I have things to do. I need to make bread today, and clean out Otis' stall and mend th-"

"Go with the boy!" Her grandfather shouted at her from inside the cabin. She glared at the closed door, as Gohan grinned at her. He held open the passenger side door of the aircar to her.

"You heard the man. Two to one, you've been outvoted." He told her. Relenting, she stomped to the car and got in staring straight ahead. Since when does he get to vote? She thought as she watched Gohan run around the car and get in. She was going to regret this…she just knew it.

She sat silently watching the forest fly by as Gohan drove the aircar farther up the mountain. He was correct on one count, even though the aircar was an absolute eyesore it probably ran better than the original cars that summed up its parts had.

"I didn't know you knew anything about cars Gohan-kun." She said finally, after they had ridden in silence for a while. Gohan glanced over at her before looking back at the road - trail was more like it - he was taking. It was only slightly wider than the aircar itself and required he pay close attention to where he was going.

"I don't really. But I found some books that showed me how they go together and how they work, and I got some advice from Bulma-san too." He told her. "But I put the whole thing together on my own." His voice held a note of well-deserved pride for his accomplishment. Lime half smiled as she gave him a sideways look. Gohan noticed her looking and glanced over.

"Nani ka?" He asked. Lime shook her head as her smile widened. Only Gohan would attempt to put an aircar together from directions in a book. There seemed to be no limit to what he could do.

"Nothing." She replied, and reached to turn the radio on. Gohan put his hand on hers stopping her.

"No don't." He said. Lime looked at him curiously.

"Why not? Don't you want to know if the Jinzouningen are attacking or anything?" She asked. Gohan's expression hardened a moment.

"Not really, not today." He replied enigmatically. He slowed the aircar down and turned off the trail onto what could only be considered a deer track. He nosed the aircar slowly up the narrow track through the trees until they came to a high meadow that overlooked the valley to the south. The entire meadow was filled with flowers: pinks, yellows; oranges, and blues all mixing in a riot of color. Gohan stopped the car at the tree line and turned to her. "Come with me." He said with a grin as he hopped out of the car.

"Where to?" She asked. Gohan started walking backwards through the meadow holding his hands out to the sides at hip height, brushing the tops of the taller grasses and wildflowers.

"You'll see." He promised with a grin. She got out of the car slowly as Gohan got farther away, still smiling at her.

"What about my driving lesson?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"It can wait a little while." He called. She cocked her head at him. Just what was he up to? She folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What about your training then?" She countered, and started following him slowly. Gohan shook his head.

"That can wait too. Come on!" He yelled back to her before turning and running across the meadow toward the trees on the far side. Lime rolled her eyes as she followed him at a more sedate pace. She too held out her hands to touch the wildflowers as she walked across the meadow. It was a beautiful day; the morning sun was warm and the slight breeze refreshing. It was easy, as she looked at the deep blue of the nearby mountains and the vibrant flowers under her hands, to imagine the world was peaceful. That somewhere on the face of the planet there didn't lurk two beings bent on reducing all of it to a smoking memory. She sighed as she watched Gohan disappear into the trees ahead and wondered, not for the first time, if she and Gohan would have ever met if the world were a different place. It rubbed Lime to think she might have even one thing to thank the Jinzouningen for.

She wandered into the trees after Gohan, but didn't see him anywhere. She knew the river was up ahead and she made her way toward it, most likely that was where Gohan had gone. When she got closer in to the river she saw Gohan's boots littering the ground, followed by his orange gi top, then his dark blue weighted shirt. She gathered them up absently out of habit, wondering again what Gohan was up to. She was amazed a step or two later to come across his gi pants and wristbands. She rounded the last corner to the river and saw Gohan standing on the bank above the wide, slow moving stream in his boxer shorts. He looked more perfect than a god to her as he stood facing the river. It had been so long since she'd seen his bare torso, not since she brought him up the mountain to care for, that she had forgotten what a powerful and spectacular body Gohan had. He looked over his shoulder at her gaping at him; her arms filled with his clothing, and grinned.

"C'mon in swimming with me." He said, and turned to jump in the water. Was he nuts? At this time of year the water was bound to be very cold from the melting snow higher up in the mountains.

"Uh Gohan-kun…you might want to rethink that. That water's gonna be…" She said as Gohan leapt off the bank into the river. Then observed as he shot back out of the river with a yell to hover above it, shuddering violently, his expression pained. "…Freezing." She finished smugly, and then watched with a faint smile from beneath her eyelashes as Gohan landed near her shivering and chattering his teeth. She couldn't help but notice that his boxer shorts had molded to his body and become nearly transparent when wet and she found herself unable look away from his beautiful body as he raised his ki to both dry off and warm himself.

"May I have my clothes?" Gohan asked amused. She blushed, realizing she'd been caught staring and thrust them in his general direction without looking at him again.

"If you want to swim I know a warmer place." She said hurriedly, her mind latching onto the first topic of conversation she thought of. "It's this way." She told him and started upstream without even looking to see if he was dressed, or even following her. Embarrassed she moved quickly through the underbrush that bordered the stream. She couldn't believe she had just done that, stared at him openly like that. The image of him was burned in her mind now making her skin tingle as her imagination ran away with her.

"Lime-chan! Wait up." He called from behind her, but she paid him no heed as she rushed onward. The underbrush was getting thicker and closer to the bank the farther upstream she went, giving way to blackberry brambles that scratched her forearms as she pushed her way through them. She knew the hot spring fed pool was up here somewhere; she had just never approached it from this direction. She could hear Gohan's muffled complaints about the brambles as he tried to catch up with her and she felt her chagrin renewed. What must he think of her for looking at him like that? She pushed through a particularly thick patch of berry bushes, took two steps and pulled up short as she almost charged right through a huge mud puddle at the streams edge. Just beyond she could see the pool she had been seeking sitting at the base of a small set of waterfalls like steps that climbed the hill ahead.

"Found it." She whispered to herself and was turning around to warn Gohan, who she heard gaining on her quickly, about the mud when he charged through the bush behind her and ran into her. Off balance from turning, Lime pin wheeled her arms frantically trying to regain her balance. Gohan made a grab for her, but it was too late and she landed on her backside in the middle of the mud puddle with a squawk.

"Oh…Lime. I'm sooo sorry." Gohan told her trying hard to hold in his laughter. She could feel the cold mud seeping through her jeans clinging to her and she looked up at Gohan with a glare. Gohan was doing his best to keep from laughing at her as he tried to school his face in a serious expression.

"Think that's funny do ya?" She asked, and with a mischievous look reached up and grabbed the ends of his pants sash and pulled…HARD. It was her turn to laugh as Gohan fell face first into the mud with her. He sat up next to her and gamely tried to wipe the mud off his face.

"Ano…I guess I had that coming." He admitted.

"Yep." She agreed cheerfully. Her earlier embarrassment was forgotten as she watched a muddy Gohan with a giggle. Without warning Gohan reached out and grabbed her, rolling with her in the mud until she was on her back pinned under him. "Gak!" She protested as wet cold mud went down the back of her t-shirt. The front of her shirt liberally coated from Gohan as he held her wrists over her head. Gohan grinned at her and leaned down rubbing his muddy face against hers smearing her with gook and making her shriek in a mixture of protest and giggles.

"Like playing in the mud?" He teased her, rubbing his muddy nose near her ear and sending her into another peal of giggles as he tickled her.

"Get off me! That tickles!" She yelled at him. All she could see was the white of his teeth and eyes as he grinned at her and slid his hands down her arms slowly toward her armpits. She twisted and bucked underneath him as his light touches on her arms tickled like crazy. "Gohan!" She gasped warningly, as he got closer to one of the most ticklish spots on her body. His cold muddy fingers reached in the armholes of her t-shirt to prod her sensitive underarms and Lime lost it. Grabbing the front of his gi in two fistfuls she brought her legs up and flipped him off of her, sending him flying over her head to land on his back in the mud puddle behind her.

"Guh!" Gohan announced as he splashed down in the mud. Any place on him that hadn't been coated with the goo before was now. Lime sat up and glanced over her shoulder at him archly.

"Serves you right." She told him. She got up to make her way to the other side of the puddle and the clear pool beyond. Her wet shirt was cold and heavy with mud as it clung to her. She struggled through the sticky mud slipping and sliding as she tried not to lose her boots, while Gohan still lay on his back looking up at her like some kind of mud monster as she made her way past intending to go wash herself off.

"I think I'm stuck." He said. Lime looked over her shoulder at him and he held up a hand. She hesitated for a moment, it could be a trick, but in the end she turned and clasped his hand to help him up. But when she leaned back to pull him up the mud slid underneath her feet and she landed on top of him in an ungainly sprawl. "Oof!" Gohan wheezed as she landed on him.

"That worked well." Lime groaned as she pushed herself up from her face first slump over Gohan into the mud. "I don't know why you needed MY help to get up. You can fly." She said. Gohan grinned at her again and put his arms around her, holding her tightly to his chest.

"Good point." He laughed, and levitated them above the mud and over to dry ground next to the spring fed pool. Lime looked down at herself, coated brown and dripping with mud, in disgust.

"Ugh. There is no way that Ojiisan is going to believe we were out driving." She told Gohan, holding her shirt away from her body. Gohan reached out and tried to wipe a glop of mud off her face and only succeeded in smearing it worse.

"Guess it's back in the cold river then." Gohan said with a grimace. Lime shook her head and pointed at the pool at the base of the hill.

"YOU can freeze your butt off if you want, but that's heated." She told him and made her way toward it, Gohan following. They washed the mud off of themselves with a quick swim through the warm water. Lime finished first and stood on the bank in her sopping wet clothes and dripping hair shivering as she waited for Gohan. She was purposefully not watching him, not wanting a repeat of earlier if he came out of the water with clinging clothing. So she was unprepared for strong arms to wrap around her shoulders from behind, pulling her back against him. Her skin began to tingle in the most peculiar way as the air around them began to move. Lime remembered this - this is what she'd felt in the orchard before Gohan transformed.

"Wh-what are you doing?" She gasped, as the air blew around her like a tornado and energy sizzled up her nerve endings, prickling and tingling in her most sensitive areas. She wasn't cold anymore though as her wet hair lifted off her neck to blow around her head wildly as it dried. Then just as suddenly as it began the warm wind faded. He didn't let go of her shoulders, and Lime made no move to step away as she felt her heart race and her face get hot. Her breath came in quiet little huffs as adrenaline charged free rein through her bloodstream. Both from the titillating charge of the energy and Gohan's closeness.

"There…good as new." Gohan said softly, the deep rumble of his voice making her melt like butter. She had it so bad for him; she knew it and didn't care as she let herself relax against him. Leaning her head against the broad expanse of his chest as they stood beside the spring fed pool. The only sounds were their breathing, the breeze rustling the leaves in the trees and the tittering of the birds. It was like they were a million miles from everyone and everything else.

She felt Gohan's hands in her hair, stroking. Combing out her wavy russet hair with his fingers gently. She closed her eyes and unconsciously tipped her head back, enjoying having her hair combed.

"So pretty…" Gohan murmured.

"What is?" She asked, opening her eyes to find Gohan gazing down on her.

"You are. Your hair, your smile, your eyes…you're lovely Lime-chan." Gohan told her. Lime blushed a bit, and lowered her head, but Gohan tipped her head back up with a finger under her chin to look at him. She held her breath at being caught in his ebony eyes. Having never met his parents Lime couldn't say who Gohan favored more - his mother or his father - but either way she didn't think there could have been a more favorable outcome of the Human/Saiyajin crossing than Gohan. He was absolutely perfect in her eyes as she stared back at him.

"They do change." He said with a small smile. Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Huh?" She questioned. Too lost in Gohan's good looks and the overwhelming signals her body was giving her at being close to him, being touched by him, to know what he meant.

"Your eyes. They change color. Most times they're gray, but sometimes they are almost blue-green." He told her.

"Oh?" She said absently, watching his mouth as he spoke and remembering the day they went to the village and he'd kissed her. She desperately wished he would again.

"Mmmm." He hummed the affirmative. "They were blue-green that day …and they are now too." Lime was way too far-gone to even think of being embarrassed that Gohan seemed to know what she was thinking about. There was only him.

"Maybe it's a hint." She said bravely. Her grandfather would be shocked at how forward she was being, but she didn't care. Her grandfather wasn't here. Gohan smiled at her and turned her in his arms to face him. He inclined his head toward hers to kiss her until a loud rumbling interrupted him.

"What was THAT?" Lime asked, jumping back and looking around. Gohan put one hand on his middle and grinned sheepishly.

"That was me. Gomen nasai, I'm hungry."

"Well that's like saying the sky is blue Gohan-kun. When AREN'T you hungry?" Lime laughed, the moment gone. "I guess we should head home so I can make you some lunch then ne?" She told him a little ruefully. She'd been looking forward to that kiss.

"We don't have to. I brought us lunch." Gohan told her. "We just need to find a nice spot to have it. Where does that spring come from?" Gohan wondered out loud, looking at the waterfall as Lime gazed at him in wonder.

"You brought lunch? Where did you get lunch?" She asked. Gohan grinned at her and grabbed her hand, pulling her after him up the hill past the pool. At the top of the hill was a small clearing near the top of the waterfall. The sun dappled the grass through the trees and you could see over the tops of the trees below all the way to the meadow they had left earlier - the aircar a gray smudge at the far side.

"My mother made it. This looks like a nice spot." Gohan said. Exploding another Hoi-Poi capsule, Gohan spread the blanket inside and sat on it, opening the huge basket that was in the capsule too. Gohan looked up at her curiously when she didn't sit on the blanket and join him. Lime stared out over the forest toward her home. She couldn't see it, but she imagined she could almost see the curl of smoke rising from the chimney. She found that when Gohan wasn't directly in her vision or close to her body her powers of reasoning were restored. Her gaze fell on the aircar in the meadow below, looking like a toy from this distance. And her grandfather's words came back to her again. He's courting you magomusume…the only way he knows how. Was that really what this was all about?

"Lime-chan? Are you going to join me?" Gohan asked from behind her. Lime turned and faced him slowly. She couldn't go on any longer wondering what his motives or intentions were…not feeling about him the way she did.

"Gohan-kun…what is this all about?" She inquired softly. "The aircar, the picnic…" Gohan set the basket aside and motioned for her to sit.

"Do you know what today is?" Gohan asked when she was settled cross-legged in front of him. Lime shook her head. It wasn't her birthday - and as far as she knew it wasn't Gohan's either. "It was six months ago today that you saved me Lime-chan. By putting me on your horse and taking me to your home." Gohan said softly. Lime felt her heart wrench. She knew it! She knew it would have something to do with his supposed debt to her. Her grandfather was wrong he wasn't courting her. And she was silly to have entertained the thought for a moment. Gohan was honorable, a gentleman. He probably couldn't bear the thought of letting a debt go unpaid. Lime turned her face away before answering.

"So?" She said sharply.

"It was a very important day to me Lime. I wanted to remember it." Gohan said. Lime studied the grass, the weave of the blankets edge, anything but Gohan.

"I wish you'd just forget it." She muttered quietly.

"Why?" He questioned with genuine surprise in his voice. Lime bit her lip in hesitation. Might as well get it out in the open.

"Because you don't owe me anything Gohan. There is no debt for you to repay, there never was. There is no need for you to kill dinosaurs for me, or bring me cars, or…waste your time on me anymore. I don't want that." She spit out in a rush. Gohan was silent for a long minute.

"Is that what you think?" He asked her finally. She shrugged, pulling some blades of grass to toy with rather than look at him. "What do you want of me?"

"I know that I don't want you coming around because you think you owe it to me Gohan. I want you around because…you want to be." She whispered the last, her head bowed as she studied the blades of grass in her fingers. And to think a few short minutes ago she had nearly made a fool of herself by wanting him to kiss her.

"You think I'm not?" His tone was slightly incredulous. Lime felt she was digging herself even deeper into a hole to keep talking, but it was cathartic in a way as well, to get it off her chest and have no misunderstandings between them. She shrugged again.

"I don't know, Gohan-kun. Sometimes I just think I have you all figured out - and then I'm not sure. Why you come here - is it because of some debt you feel you owe me, or is it something else between us? I thought there might have been, but I think I may have been mistaken. I'm not very experienced with men I'm afraid."

"Mistaken…" Gohan parroted flatly. Lime forged on ahead while her courage held out.

"That day we went to the village and you…kissed me." Lime said blushing. "I thought foolishly that it might have been because you had, well…feelings for me. But I think I understand now that you were just happy that I got your magic beans back for you--"

"That's not it." Gohan interrupted, but Lime talked right over him.

"-Since you haven't kissed me like that since then." She finished.

"Your grandfather is always around." Gohan said defensively. Lime nodded her head knowingly.

"There is no need to explain or make excuses Gohan-kun. I understand, I really do. And I want you to know that I'll understand too if you don't want to waste precious training time by coming all the way out here when you really don't have to." Pleased she'd gotten it all out in a calm and business like manner Lime raised her face to Gohan. The saliva dried up in her mouth to see his eyebrows were snapped down low in annoyance, the lines between them deeply etched. She felt a twinge of unease that she may have gone too far as he scowled at her stonily. "Nani ka?" She said in a small voice.

"Are you finished? Is it my turn now?" Gohan asked in a low clipped voice. She nodded meekly. She had never made Gohan angry before and she found she didn't like the feeling one little bit. Gohan sat still as a statue on the blanket before her, his arms folded across his chest. The sunlight through the trees making patterns on his burnt orange dogi and blue undershirt as he watched her with his ebony eyes.

"My whole LIFE Lime-chan has been a 'have to'. 'Have to' study, 'have to' fight. I 'have to' honor my mother; honor my father's memory and the memories of Piccolo-tachi by defeating the Jinzouningen. Do you really think that I would want to add even one more thing I 'have to' do to that list" He asked sternly. Lime fidgeted and shrugged, not trusting her voice. Gohan was quiet for a long moment as Lime looked at the patterns of light and shadow that played among the creases and folds of his gi.

"You're right though Lime-chan. At first, after I started to get better, all I thought of was repaying you. Showing you my gratitude for all that you had done for me. But it's different now; it has been since that day at the village. You risked your life to get the senzou back for me Lime. Done so many things for me, given me your kindness and your friendship…can't I want to do something for you as well?" Lime felt sheepish.

"But you don't have…" She trailed off as she realized what she had been about to say. She heard Gohan shift slightly closer to her.

"I come here Lime, because being here, and being with you. I can forget about training, and the Jinzouningen, and all the things I 'have to' do. I can forget about fighting for a little while and just…be. I can just be Gohan. Wakarimasu ka?" He asked softly. Lime nodded, her head still lowered.

"Hai. I understand Gohan-kun."

"That's not the only reason either." Gohan said quietly, moving even closer to her so he sat directly in front of her, his knees nearly touching hers. Lime looked up questioningly at him. "I come here to see you too Lime. I didn't kiss you that day out of gratitude. I kissed you because I wanted to. I still do."

"But you haven't…" Lime began embarrassed, biting her lip.

"Because we're never alone." Gohan said with a degree of amusement. Lime tipped her head as she looked into his handsome face.

"We're alone now." She pointed out shyly. Gohan smiled and reached out, cupping her face in his hand.

"Think that's an accident?" He purred at her. Lime flushed in anticipation. He'd brought her out here to be alone with her and her heart beat faster at the very thought. She peeked up at him from beneath her eyelashes and watched as Gohan's smiling face slowly inclined to hers.

The touch of his lips on hers sent a charge through her body like a lightning bolt had hit her. His kiss was both sweet and tender as he slid his hand to the nape of her neck. Lime closed her eyes as she gave herself up to Gohan's kiss, leaning toward him until she felt only Gohan's lips kept her from falling on her face. Reaching forward Gohan put his hands under her arms and lifted her like she was a child. Pulling her close to sit in his lap on his folded legs. Her eyes widened momentarily in surprise to be so intimately close to him, but her discomfiture was eclipsed when Gohan smiled at her and put his arms around her, holding her close. Lime wrapped her arms around him in return and hugged him back. Enjoying the feel of his strong body against hers.

"Your eyes tell me that you want me to kiss you again." Gohan teased when he pulled back a bit. He caressed her cheek gently with his hand, and Lime reached up and covered his hand with her own. The feeling was back, the feeling of being lost in him - of wanting to lose herself in him. Imagining his touch on her body, in places she knew, but couldn't name without blushing. She wasn't blushing now as she boldly brought his palm to her lips and kissed it, her eyes holding his.

"Did my eyes tell you where?" She inquired brazenly, her voice not sounding like her own. Gohan looked startled, his eyes widening as pink colored his cheeks. Lime smirked at him; it was nice to see someone besides her blushing for once. But he recovered quickly and caught her lips with his, kissing her intensely. She opened her mouth for his tongue when she felt it brush her lips and even ventured her own forth to explore his mouth. When his lips moved from her mouth to her jaw she tilted her head to allow him better access to her neck. She made a sound that was a half whimper, half moan as Gohan nipped gently at her neck. Raising gooseflesh on her arms and torso.

"Gohan…" She sighed. When he raised his face to hers she held his head in her hands and kissed him deeply, tasting his lips and mouth with her own. Gohan put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, wrapping her legs around his waist and making her upper body mold to his more fully. She could feel the evidence of his desire against her through his gi and her jeans, and she tried not to think of what her grandfather would say if he could see her right now. Call her a wanton for what she was doing - for what she would do given the chance. Even though she had never done these things before with a man she wasn't nervous or afraid…because it was Gohan. And she loved him. The realization of that fact didn't even give her pause as she held him tighter. Pressing her body against his as though she couldn't be close enough to him. Gohan's stomach gave another soft rumble making her giggle.

"Did you need to eat? You were hungry remember?" She asked. Gohan pulled his head back from her neck and looked at her, brushing the hair off her face. There was a different kind of hunger in his dark eyes now. One that struck an answering chord in her.

"I'm not THAT much of a slave to my stomach. It can wait too." Gohan said huskily and lowered her to the blanket with a smile.