1Apologies - 680

"I'm sorry..."

Videl felt her heart split in two at the words, tinged with so much desperation, anger, happiness that she could hardly suck in air. Or maybe she couldn't breath because Gohan was holding on so tight. But that didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

And he had nothing to be sorry about.

"Ah, god, I'm so sorry Videl..." the barely muffled anguish reverberated through her stomach, where his face was currently buried - his warm breaths puffing across her navel. She felt her legs turn to water when he pressed his lips against her skin, almost dropping to her knees at the rasp of his tongue. Like he was trying to familiarize himself with a terrain he'd forgotten. A taste he'd forgotten.

She'd only been gone for a heartbeat - she'd only died. Why was he so sorry? It wasn't his fault and she was back, so there was no need for sadness.

Please, never sadness.

"G-Gohan, it's -" Videl would've said okay, but then his hands had smoothed down her lower back and drifted to her hips. She could feel each individual press of his fingers, hot and branding, the ability to form words suddenly fallen from mind. Oh, she sighed, that felt wonderful in a way she couldn't quite explain. Was unable to because she'd never felt it before.

The rapid sound of her heartbeat and Gohan's pained breaths made her skin feel translucent, memories of her death still sliding like a heavy blanket across her flesh. In a sudden flash of instinct, Videl's body reacted to the touch of an alpha male and made her press against him - aching in a place she didn't realize women could ache.

Something in her animal brain told her to reaffirm the fact she was alive. Alive to taste, touch, smell, see, and hear - alive to love and hate. Alive to want and be wanted. Alive to mate.

If he kissed her again, she'd drop to her damn knees and kiss him right back in that soft, opened mouth way she always watched her friends practice on one another. Not sloppy, not too much spit, not dry, but moist and caring. Loving. She wanted to kiss him like a lover -

because he was currently kissing her stomach like she'd been the most valued thing in his world.

Videl wasn't anyone's valued thing, except maybe her father's, but that wasn't the same. No where near the same.

"I'm sorry Videl. I'm sorry baby."

She felt his husky rumble of words shoot straight to her core, making that spot between her legs tickle even worse - and while the woman in her ached for the man in him, she let that endearing 'baby' slip beneath her defenses and right into her heart.

Brave warrior, she mused gently, who waited until they were all alone to topple over in emotion. Mrs. Son had told her it might take a long time to understand some of the weird outpourings of fighters and heroes. Men who'd lived most of their lives dependent on themselves, and yet serving so many other people.

But when they're alone, Mrs. Son had murmured on the quiet shores of heaven, all they are is men.

Indeed. So when Gohan pressed another open kiss to her stomach, Videl sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, thinking now was as good a time as any to lose her virginity. Slowly, she slid to her knees, relishing the feel of his mouth following the line of her skin up between her breasts, the arch of her neck and finally her lips, where she surprised him by kissing just as passionately back.

She stared, seduced into his oh-so dark eyes that hinted at eternity and felt her breath hitch as he traced her bottom lip with his tongue. Certainly, Videl thought in a haze, certainly she could fall forever as long as she knew he was what awaited her at the bottom.

Owari

A/N - a fair bit of limey fluff was neeeeeeded for me this afternoon. Gohan and Videl, ah, they'd make such bootiful musik togethar!