It's Tradition

In one of the fanciest and priciest clothing stores in Satan City, a sharp-eyed blonde woman could be seen accompanied by a notably younger looking woman with short cut black hair. The blonde woman was holding a very fancy looking blue dress, holding it against her frame.

"How about this one?" she asked.

The black haired woman turned to her friend with a contemplative look on her face. "It's nice Eighteen, but I'm not sure it really suits you."

Eighteen turned to look in a nearby mirror and let out a dismissive sigh. "Well, that's enough of that. In the meantime Videl, why don't we focus on you for now?" she suggested.

"Sorry Eighteen, but I already know what I want to get for tonight," Videl chuckled. The younger woman proceeded to reveal a long, strapless, red, form fitting dress, and a black scarf.

Eighteen couldn't help but give an impressed hum. "Not bad. Red certainly seems to be your color these days, doesn't it?"

"I guess that's one way of putting it." Videl grinned. "You know Eighteen. If you can't decide what to get, why not go for something a little more...simple?' she suggested.

"I'll keep that in mind, but given what tonight is, I want to go a little bigger than usual," said Eighteen.

Videl let out a nostalgic sigh. "I still can't believe we've been doing this for...what? Three years now?"

"Tonight's the start of the fourth," Eighteen added.

"Geeze, has it really been that long?"

Both women turned their attention upwards as a certain memory began to play in both of their heads.

[Four Years Ago]

Krillin, dressed in his fancy white suit and hat combo and Eighteen, dressed in some fancy yet casual wear, could be seen strolling rather merrily through the evening streets of Satan City. Eighteen had finally received her promised money from Mr. Satan and the blonde cyborg couldn't be happier.

Wasting no time, she and Krillin immediately went house shopping and managed to find a REALLY nice place in the heart of the city. While they would admittedly miss the beach ocean setting, they, mostly Eighteen, were both ecstatic that they could finally have their own place and not have to deal with the likes of Roshi or Oolong. A place with more people around wouldn't hurt either. To celebrate their imminent move, Krillin and Eighteen decided to have a night out to themselves with some of the money they had leftove after buying their new home. They both swore to save enough so they could have another night to celebrate with Marron as soon as their new home was ready. Tonight however, it was all about them and Krillin, with a little help from Bulma had managed to snag reservations at one of the best restaurants in town.

"You sure this place is gonna be worth it?" Eighteen asked.

"Babe, have I ever steered you wrong before?" replied a smug Krillin. "Besides, this place was reccomended by Bulma, so they've got to be doing SOMETHING right."

"Hm, true."

The couple continued walking for a short moment before they finally started coming up at their destination.

"Ahh, there it is. Come on, shall we?" Krillin extended his hand which Eighteen readily accepted.

As they made their way to the restaurant, hand in hand, they both received numerous stares and envious glares from many an onlooker.

'Who's the hot broad?'

'Why's she with the half pint?'

'Keep it quiet man, the small dude looks too sharp to be just a runt.'

'He's actually kind of cute,

Ignoring the numerous comments, the couple entered the restaurant and instantly came face to face with a well dressed maitre'd standing behind a podium.

"Good evening. May I help you two?" he greeted.

Krillin removed his hat as he approached the podium, a pleased look on his face. "Yes my good man. We have reservations for tonight. It should be under the name 'Krillin'."

The maitre'd quickly flipped through his guest book before he let out a nervous tongue noise.

"I'm deeply sorry sir, but it seems that your table has been booked by another party."

Krillin and Eighteen momentarily froze before letting out a loud unified "WHAT!?"

"What do you mean our table's been booked by someone else!?" boomed a furious Krillin.

"Exactly that. A second party requested the same table as you two, and they were oh so generous enough to pay the full fee right up front."

"So...what does that mean for tonight?" asked Krillin.

"That...will be left up to you two. If you're willing to have guests at your table, then all you'll have to do is wait for them to show up. If not, well, I can assure you will be refunded every Zeni you spent for your downpayment."

As soon as the maitre'd finished speaking, he was fiercely grasped by the collar by a none to pleased Android 18.

'Oh no...'

"Uhh ma'am...!?" the maitre'd managed to squeak out.

"Listen pal, I don't care what that other party paid, that table is ours, and only ours. We'll pay double if we have to. You can just tell that other party to buzz off for all I care!" Eighteen demanded.

She was cut off by the sound of a bell ringing, signifying someone entering the restaurant behind them.

"Well if you'd prefer, you can tell them yourselves. Cause there they are."

Eighteen let the head waiter go and turned to give the new arrivals a piece of their mind. Who she and Krillin came face to face with were two of the last people they expected to see; a young man with spiky black hair dressed in a blue suit, accompanied by a young woman dressed in a pink and light blue ensemble.

"Gohan!? Videl!?"

"Krillin and Eighteen!?"

"What are you guys doing here!?" the quartet exclaimed simultaneously.

[Back to the present]

"Man. You looked like you were about to throw that guy through a wall," Videl grinned. "If we didn't show up when we did..."

"There'd be one less restaurant on the city map."

"Eighteen!?"

"Kidding...mostly."

"Mostly how?"

"I'd probably talk to Bulma about getting that place shut down. While I'm glad it turned out to be you and Gohan, our table still shouldn't have gotten taken like that, especially after Krillin laid down such a large downpayment."

"Fair enough," Videl agreed.

After a few extra minutes of searching, Eighteen failed to find something that satisfied her. Turning her attention over to Videl, she raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"Hey Videl?"

"Yes?"

"Do they have that dress in black?"

[Later]

Videl and Eighteen exited the boutique, bags in hand, both looking rather satisfied with themselves.

"Well, nothing to do now but get dressed and get going," Videl beamed. "The usual place?"

"Yeah, but let's mix it up a little this time," Eighteen replied.

"Hmmm, what'd you have in mind?" asked Videl.

"Call Gohan. Tell him to meet us at the place. I'll tell Krillin the same."

"Okay, but why?"

"To see the look on their faces when they see their two beautiful wives looking more stunning than usual."

Videl let out a mischievous grin. She always did enjoy teasing Gohan back when they were dating and started doing it less so after they got married. If Eighteen's gambit worked, the payoff would be COMPLETELY worth it.

"Alright then, see you later tonight."

Eighteen gave Videl a two-fingered salute before strolling off for home.

[Meanwhile, at Mt. Paouzu]

Krillin and Gohan could be seen dressed in two of their best suits right outside the door of the former's parents' house.

"Mom/Chi-Chi, thank you! This really means a lot!"

The woman in question could be seen holding her adorable granddaughter in one arm, while Krillin's equally as adorable daughter was latching onto her leg.

"No worries guys. Like I wouldn't take a chance to spend the night with two of my favorite girls!" Chi-Chi cooed snuggling up against the giggling Pan's face. "Besides, you four going out together is borderline tradition at this point."

In the next instance, both Krillin and Gohan's phones beeped and the two, almost in synch, read the similar messages out loud.

"Change of plans, you and Krillin/Gohan meet us at the usual place...?"

"Huh...the timing am I right?" quipped Krillin.

"Well, looks like we'd better get going," said Gohan. "Alright, now you behave yourself for Grandma, okay?"

Pan responded by letting out a cheerful giggle and excitedly waving her arms.

"You too Marron. Don't give Aunt Chi-Chi too much trouble."

"Okay Daddy!" Marron beamed.

Both men gave their respective daughters quick kisses on the cheek before blasting off into the sky.

"Bye! Daddy!"

"Papa!"

"Bye, and thanks again Mom!"

"Have fun!" Chi-Chi waved back.

As the two guys eventually faded from sight, Chi-Chi's mind couldn't help but wander. 'Hmmm...I wonder if I could get Goku to do something like this. But then, who'd we go with? We can't put him and Vegeta together,' Chi-Chi quickly mused.

"Hey Aunt Chi-Chi?" Marron squeaked, getting her attention. "Where's Goten?"

Chi-Chi giggled as she brought the two little girls inside. Unaware of a certain familiar third party in a white cape watching the scene from the roof of the domed home.

"Looks like it's gonna be a noise night at Goku's place."

[In the sky]

"Hey Krillin."

"Yeah?"

"Why do you think the girls want to meet us there?" Gohan asked.

"Beats me. Usually, it's one of us with our girls meeting the other pair there." Krillin paused to give the situation a bit of thought.

"Then again, if they want us to meet them, it PROBABLY means we're both in for a treat," Krillin said wriggling his eyebrows.

Gohan's face flashed a deep red as he quickly understood Krillin's implication, shifting his head aside trying to avoid eye contact.

"Geeze Gohan, you'd think after being together for like, five years and married for two of them, you wouldn't get embarrassed thinking about Videl in an intimate light."

"I'm not embarrassed...I'm just...staying focused...?"

"Uh huh, sure thing Gohan." replied an unconvinced Krillin. "But man. Can you believe we've been doing this double date thing for four years now?"

"I still remember the first time. Eighteen was about to raise some serious hell after the restaurant gave us your table. Honestly, if we'd known you were the ones who booked it ahead of us, I'd have tried to stop Videl from trying to taking it."

Krillin let out a hearty chuckle. "Ehhh, don't worry about it kid. That's all in the past now, and frankly, that had to have been one of the best nights out I can remember!" said Krillin.

The two continued to recount their first annual double date. Following the whole 'reservation debacle', the two groups began talking out the issue (an easy task when it's between close personal friends). Turns out, it had been a full year since Gohan and Videl started dating and they'd wanted to do something special to celebrate. In essence, it was like an anniversary date. Since both couples had their own cause for celebration, they decided to dine together after all and the maitre'd couldn't have looked more relieved, especially after Eighteen intimidated the hell out of him and his staff. Thankfully, the quartet was treated to some genuinely great food and enjoyed a nice game of catch up as they all talked about past events, and their respective futures. While Gohan and Videl's future remained a mystery for the time being, Krillin and Eighteen made it clear that they intended to create a great life for themselves in Marron in Satan City. All in all, it was a very memorable night for both parties indeed.

The two couples would've enjoyed each others' company more, but unfortunately, Krillin had just a few too many to drink that night following an impromptu toast (impromptu because Gohan and Videl were both too young to drink at this point in time) so he and Eighteen had to cut out earlier than anticipated.

"You know Krillin, now that I think about it, where did you two dissappear to after you left the restaurant?"

"Uhhhh..."

Now it was Krillin's turn to blush awkwardly. He'd been more than a little drunk at the time, so his memories were still somewhat hazy, but what he saw when he finally sobered up was something that he felt he should keep to himself. Then again, now that he thought about it...

"Hmmm..."

"Krillin?"

"Ya know what Gohan, ask me again after dinner," Krillin replied.

"Huh? Okay but...why can't you tell me now?"

"You'll understand when the time comes. Right now, we're just coming up on the city."

Sure enough, the pair was jetting straight for Satan City. The sun had already gone down some time ago and the city was ablaze with the lights of a city that never sleeps. The two wasted no time in finding a secluded place to land before making the rest of their trip on foot. Before long, the two were less than a block away from the place that started their time honored tradition. However, both of their better halves was nowhere to be seen.

"Okay, we're here. Any sign of the girls yet?" said Krillin.

Gohan nodded. "Nope, and I can't sense either one of them either."

"Lemme guess, you taught Videl how to hide her energy?" Krillin asked sardonically.

The sweatdrop forming on Gohan's head was all the answer Krillin needed.

"Well, there you boys are," said a soft but sultry female voice.

"Hope we didn't keep you guys waiting too long," added a second, more upbeat sounding female voice.

Gohan and Krillin turned to come face to red-face with none other than both of their wives garbed in a pair of red and black dresses that accentuated both of their appealing figures, while still putting special emphasis on a few of their more, alluring areas.

"W-wow...you...you both look..." Gohan stammered.

"Amazing!" Krillin finished.

The two women flashed each other a pair of satisfied looks. They were right, the stupefied looks on their husband's faces were well worth the asinine price of the dresses. As the black clad Eighteen strolled over to Krillin's side and placed a hand on his shoulder, the red clad Videl latched onto Gohan's arm.

"Glad you like them," purred Eighteen. "Well then, shall we get going?"

With a nod from the guys, the quartet entered the restaurant, ready to make even more pleasant memories together.

[Some time later]

Both couples exited the restaurant more than pleased with their earlier dinner.

"Man. You'd think the quality of this place would go down after all these years, but nope, it's still as great as the first time!" said Krillin.

"I'll say!" Gohan agreed. "So what's next? Do we stay together and keep up the double date, or do we go our seperate ways for now?"

Krillin and Eighteen looked at each other with a pair of smiles. "This time, I think we ought to go our own ways. No offense old pal, but I'm sure you'd rather enjoy the time you have alone with your wife too."

Gohan and Videl both sheepishly chuckled.

"Still, I really do enjoy doing this with you guys," said Videl.

"Next time though, why don't we try something a little different," Suggested Eighteen. "I don't know what we'd do, but at least think about it."

"Will do," the younger couple responded.

The pairs said their final goodbyes for the night, but before Gohan and Videl left, Krillin called the former over.

"Yo, you forgot to ask where Eighteen and I went after our first Double Date Night," he whispered in his ear.

"Oh yeah..."

"Don't worry bro. I gotcha covered." Krillin gave Gohan a small slip of paper that looked like a business card.

"What's this?"

"Where Eighteen and I disappeared to that night. I figure it's high time you and Videl did a little 'disappearin' of your own," Krillin snickered.

"Welp, that's all for now. Catch you two later!"

Krillin and Eighteen slowly ascended into the air before locking hands and flying off into the night sky. As they disappeared, Gohan examined the card Krillin gave him and mentally read, 'Bowl of Love'?

"Come on Gohan! We've still got plenty of night to enjoy!" Videl beckoned to him

As Gohan turned back to rejoin Videl, he took one last look at the card before slipping it into his shirt pocket. Locking arms, Gohan and Videl strolled off to enjoy the night.