A breeze clutched her body in a thin grip as the sliding glass door to their balcony slid open and shut. Videl was aware of Pan's stirring consciousness in her bassinet near the bed before she managed to open her eyes. She wasn't as alarmed as a new mother perhaps should've been, because she knew it was her husband's manner of entering whenever he didn't want to bother waking her.

She was a master of feigning sleep along with ignorance, because in her childhood home feigning ignorance was a necessity to cope with the lack of sincerity of her household. It wasn't that she didn't feel loved by her father; she knew he loved her more than life itself, far more than he even loved her mother. But Gohan's sincerity rendered the monstrous gifts and unabashed bragging for what it was; insignificant beside his all-consuming love for her.

So no, she wasn't startled when he entered her room that night. She was delighted, because he'd agreed to take part in this tournament at her bidding when Goku appeared at their home with his classic charming smile that he hid from almost no one, and she had wanted Gohan to spend more time with his father. And for now it was just them again.

But it was in Gohan's absence that she learned exactly how spoiled she'd been, having his company and attentiveness so frequently since they met. She recalled when she first met Chi Chi, and couldn't fathom the loneliness and sadness that woman must've felt during that time.

Gohan proposed to her formally on a waterfall on his parents' land, frozen on the surface in the dead of winter with the rush of water underneath the icy crust. They'd levitated gently across the ice just before then, and Videl was genuinely concerned about rupturing the surface of such beautiful scenery that Gohan considered sacred. She still hadn't mastered the ability nearly as well as Gohan, and when she spun around he was there on one knee, with a big grin on his face with a ring in hand.

With the exception of a flock of crows scattering overhead, cawing as they went, the air was as stiff as the frozen breath escaping her lips. Because only months prior to that, she had gripped him fiercely by the collar of his shirt in her dorm room and kissed him forcefully to demand his physical affection, overwhelmingly frustrated at his hesitancy and delicate mannerisms, treating her body as though it would shatter like glass against pavement.

Videl smiled at the memory, failing to suppress a pleasurable inhale when she felt Gohan's body slide over hers, hugging her from the back over the sheets. Pan remained asleep, which was something she was grateful for because though she loved her daughter fiercely she wanted to have this moment with Gohan; since childbirth they'd come few and far between.

An arm slid under her shoulder and wrapped around her front as his opposite hand rested at her bare shoulder. She nuzzled backward into him, as if notifying him she was awake. Saiyan genetics must've been truly amazing, because even in such a short time of resuming his training his body had changed quite a bit, she thought as she noted how much further his arm scooped her shoulder up off the mattress, and how noticeably heavier his hand had felt on her shoulder.

This could give the tabloids some interesting stories for a while, she thought morbidly, because if she was seen in public with Gohan like this, especially without his glasses, the only reasonable explanation they would come up with would be that she was cheating on her husband with this new man, especially after the latest "scandal" with whats-her-name.

"Hey." He whispered, returning her invitation with a brief squeeze on her shoulder.

"Hey." Videl returned the notion and shifted her body slightly so that she could see him.

"You're still awake." Gohan observed, his smile in the dim moonlight showing the slight crinkles at the corners of his eyes; he was exhausted, she could tell.

"I was sleeping. I woke up when you opened that door and let the cold air in, dummy." Videl mused, placing a mocking fist against the bony prominence of his jaw.

He face grimaced, visibly displaying his disapproval of the fact that he woke her.

Her face softened. "I missed you today."

"I missed you too." His eyes watered with sincerity above her, melting her on the inside and causing her to inhale sharply at the genuine, simple remark.

Gohan had no clue what that did for her, or how he'd changed her life by being that way.

And in the midst of it all, she could perceive that there was something he was withholding from her; something he held on the tip of his tongue and chose not to disclose.

Some other invading alien lifeform or threat maybe. Videl reached a hand to smooth the hair at the side of his face, as if his secrets could permeate the surface of her skin and give her the information she was seeking.

Gohan looked at her like that for a moment longer, like she was the only thing in the universe, or like she was the last thing he'd ever see. Then, he leaned downward, pressing soft lips to her and kissed her fully, causing her to respond by parting her own and basking in the gentle, fleeting brush of his tongue against hers.

Her eyes slipped shut as he released the delectable pressure, and when she opened them against he was resting against her pillow, looking at her that way again.

So this wasn't just any other tournament.

She opened her mouth to ask but held her tongue, because she ultimately trusted him more than anything, and knew that he had his reasons for not saying what he perhaps wanted to, but mostly she so enjoyed when he looked at her that way that she wanted to push any negative thoughts from her mind.

"When this tournament is over, let's take a vacation somewhere, you and me."

Her eyes widened. "With Pan?"

Gohan squeezed her hand sharply in his own again, with a newfound pressure that caused her knuckles to crack.

"We should take a trip with Pan too. But I want to go somewhere with just you."

The thought was so unexpected; their entire lives had been invaded by Pan since her birth, because like any first-time parents they were overwhelmed and obsessed with Pan's well-being.

But getting away with Gohan sounded nice.

"Um, Okay." Videl cocked her head sideways, getting a better look at his face.

They eyed each other for a moment. She knew Gohan needed sleep, he likely had an early morning and another full day of preparation for the tournament tomorrow.

But she'd grown accustomed to being spoiled by him, so her hands slowly gripped the shoulders of the weighted gi that resembled his father's, and when she raised her chin to kiss him again he welcomed the gesture before she'd hardly moved, and he pressured her downward into the pillow, momentarily taking her breath away.

Gohan sighed, hands sliding to her sides and relieving the seams of her nightgown of their stitches when he pulled her roughly on top of him.

The sequence caught her by surprise, causing her to gasp at the sensation of his newly calloused hands sliding over the sides of her waist because she was more accustomed to Gohan's cautiousness and hypersensitivity to her safety, but his only acknowledgment was a soft, "Sorry" murmured against her lips.

It was possibly the most insincere comment he'd ever made in his life.

Thin fingers trailed up the front of his chest to his neck, before threading her fingertips through his hair and pressing him to her harder, encouraging the behavior. They were still practically newlyweds, after all, and she hadn't quite mustered the confidence to tell him directly that she desired anything differently than what he had been giving her.

Videl had forgotten about the tournament by the time he grasped her shoulder length hair in a fistful and pulled her head to the side as he kissed the base of her neck, signaling the nerves down her spinal column to tingle. They were a far cry from that day at the frozen waterfall. Or when she'd first discovered she was pregnant. Holidays and birthdays with the Son family were both heartwarming and exasperating. But Gohan was the most consistently real thing about her world that was otherwise all about appearance.

Afterward, when his breaths came deep and even at the top of her head, she thought about how she was starting to dislike the idea of this tournament; she didn't like it at all.

A/N: This was my first attempt at Gohan/Videl (unless you count my oneshot from a million years ago). I've been watching DBS as Funimation releases the english dubs and feel overwhelmingly lukewarm about Videl's character compared to how she was in DBZ. She's not someone I feel compelled to write a ton on, but I have to admit her devotion to Gohan is pretty badass sometimes! I'm currently working on a Videl/Gohan ensemble DBZ cast wedding story-piece-thing, and got a little sidetracked. Thanks for reading!