(A week later)
(Satan City)
Standing patiently outside the massive iron gates of the Satan residence with the light of the midday sun beating down on him from above, Gohan, adorned in a blue, long-sleeve thermal, a hooded blue vest, jeans and a pair of vans, looked down at his watch to see exactly where he was on time. Having already waited out here for a couple of minutes since making his call, the demi-Saiyan soon began to wonder whether the event that he and his close friend of many years had organized with one another was ever going to happen.
"Hmm… I wonder what's taking her so long?" the spiky haired hero thought out loud as he then spared the nearby mansion another look over. What with the way his feet had begun to chafe in his canvas made shoes, he couldn't help but wonder and worry about whether or not his girlfriend was okay.
However, his woes and concerns over the matter soon ebbed away moments later when, after a couple more minutes and a few patient taps of his foot, Gohan saw the double-doors to the mansion open. Straightening on the spot, the teen then moved into the archway of the resident's perimeter, where he watched with a warm smile on his face and a glint in his eye as his girlfriend trotted down the steps of her home and made a brisk jog out toward the entrance of her property. It didn't escape the teen's notice that the girl's father, dressed in his martial arts garb and a bathrobe over it, had also stopped by the door to see his daughter off.
When the poster girl of Satan City eventually skidded to a stop in front of her half-Saiyan sentry, the young man beamed down at her. "Hey, Videl."
"Hey, Gohan," the raven haired crime fighter, dressed in a yellow sweater and skirt, answered happily, at the same time slipping her hands behind her. "Sorry I took so long. I got a little bit caught up trying to decide what kind of shoes I should wear for our walk across town." Her remark had the demi-Saiyan look down and check her feet, where he saw a pair of lovely white sandals wrapped around her toes and ankles. His little inspection earned a bashful smile from the radiant angel as she lifted her heel in an uncharacteristically girlish manner. "Do you like them?"
"Yeah. I think they look great," Gohan replied, which earned a sigh of relief from his teammate as the Saiyan fixed his most delightful smile upon her. "They definitely match the colors of your jersey and skirt. But, more importantly, are they comfortable?"
Videl nodded enthusiastically. "Uh-huh."
"Good," the demi-Saiyan exclaimed, at the same time grinning brightly. When he received one from his girlfriend in kind, the warrior then looked over the girl's shoulder and waved across at her father. His greeting to the man with the mustache and afro was promptly returned with equal vigor, allowing the teen to rest at ease that the man of the house was at least approving of the situation. Once looks of respect and understanding had been shared, Gohan then looked back at his girlfriend and smiled. "So… are you all set?"
"Well, that depends," Videl shrugged while holding her arms out. "I had no clue what the hell you had planned for today and didn't know what to bring with me. All I've got are my wallet, my phone, my keys, and the clothes on my back… and even now I think they may be a little bit wrong." She emphasized this by checking out her top's sleeves.
"What are you talking about? The stuff that you've got on right now is perfectly fine," Gohan said, grinning from ear to ear as he looked the angel over from head to toe. From her glowing smile to her fit figure adorned in that attractive ensemble of clothing, he couldn't have asked her for anything more. "In fact… you look absolutely stunning."
His comment earned a playful punch in the chest from the raven haired teen, "Oh, stop it."
"No. It's true," the Saiyan persisted with a warm, admiring look in play, "You're beautiful, Videl. The… most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on." Sure, it sounded cheesy as hell coming from him, but what else could he have said in that situation?
When it came to making statements like this, there was no way he couldn't stop himself from sounding all gushy. It was part of his honest, innocent schoolboy charm.
Feeling her heart skip a beat at her boyfriend's highly personalized review on her appearance and overall state of dress, the crime fighter then brushed some strands of hair behind her ear and averted her gaze. Her cheeks reddening with embarrassment, Videl then allowed a loving smile to form on her face as she spared a nervous glance back up at her amiable partner.
"I'll make sure you pay for that," Videl remarked, bringing her hand up to poke him in the arm. Her little jab tickling the demi-Saiyan and earning an even wider grin from him, the raven haired girl then giggled and latched onto his arm. The human Z-fighter instantly took a step closer to her crush so that she was pressed up against him. Once she was certain she had a hold of him, she spoke, "Alright then, Romeo. Where exactly did you plan on taking me this fine Saturday?"
"Oh… I was thinking the local aquarium first. You know, I hear they have a new dinosaur on display in one of their newest exhibits and have recently opened it up to the public. We should go over there and check it out," Gohan informed, at the same time tugging the girl towards him so that he too was leaning into her. When she fixed her fond gaze upon him, the demi-Saiyan felt his heartbeat quicken. "Then after that, I was thinking of shaking down the city a little with a long walk and 'an explore'. What do you think?"
Videl shrugged, "Works for me. Lead on."
With his girlfriend's limb secured in his, the demi-Saiyan wasted no time in walking her down the road and out of sight. As they strolled away, the pair of experienced fighters was overseen by the city's savior and namesake, who stood by the entrance to his home with his hands on his hips and a big smile on his face. Just before he watched them vanish around the corner, the Champ was soon joined by his butler Jenkins, who stood by his side with his hands behind him and a professional, stoic expression in play.
Exhaling deeply, Hercule smiled down at his assistant and commented out loud, "They grow up so fast, don't they?"
"If you ask me, sir, your daughter couldn't be in better hands," the butler replied, an agreeable smile forming on his lips too. "She absolutely adores that boy."
"Indeed," the Champ sniffed, before then puffing his chest out and grinning in his characteristic manner. "I just can't wait until he finally proposes to her. The strongest boy on this planet joining houses with my own… I'm telling you, it will be a day everyone will want to hear about!" Bringing his fist up, the martial arts champion shook it proudly and slammed it into his chest. "As soon as a date is set, I will waste no time or expense in making it the greatest wedding ceremony ever!"
The butler bowed his head courteously, "Whatever you feel is right, sir."
"There's nothing too good for my daughter!" the happy fighter shouted, before quickly turning heel and making his way back into the house. As soon as Hercule stomped away while continuing to spout all sorts of jolly nonsense about the preposterous ideas he had for his child's ceremony, Jenkins closed the doors behind them and followed after the father with a bounce in his step.
As for the young couple from Orange Star High, their day started off on a relaxed and noticeably chipper high note. From the Satan Residence, the pair shared a languid walk down to the nearby tram station, where the pair took the trolley to the marina. There, they soon found themselves at the entrance to the aquatic center and the aquarium next door. The facility being the same size as the city's main botanical garden and featuring an equally vast array of plant and animal life, both Gohan and Videl had a wonderful time exploring the various corridors and tanks the center had on display. One of their most enjoyable walks through the park definitely had to be the coral gardens, where the pair took their time strolling through a maze of glass hallways, which gave them a pristine view of what the underwater environment was like at the bottom of the ocean.
Though it'd been quite some time since Gohan had last gone for a trip to the bottom of the sea, with one of his most memorable excursions being with Krillin when the two of them were looking for a giant pearl for his ex, the demi-Saiyan was certain very little had changed about it. What with the recent visit by Zeru to their planet and its death leading to an increased abundance of all life and resources on the planet, the oceans of the earth were probably even more beautiful and healthy than they'd ever been in a long time.
The pair had a blast checking out all the aquarium life and indulging in a little game of tag through the passageways. A dutiful staff member made sure to stop them before their little game got out of hand, and the two Z-fighters went back to acting civil once more.
After their walk through the aquarium and a stop off at the souvenir store, where Gohan bought Videl a dolphin key ring and tried to get her a plushy from the claw-machine, but ended up failing, the duo then carried on to the nearby shopping mall. Here they had another walk about and stopped by at the food court, where the demi-Saiyan purchased a couple of crepes for them. He helped himself to an apple-crumble with ice cream and bought his girlfriend a wild berry one, with an assortment of over a dozen fruits, topped with whipped cream and cherries. The pair enjoyed their treats as they walked around the enormous complex of shops and stands, at the same time intermediately stealing bites of the other's treat. While Gohan put up a fuss that his girlfriend was eating too much of his, the crime fighter simply stuck her tongue out at him and let him have one extra bite of hers just to keep him tamed.
As they were nibbling and devouring their respective crepes, the duo went on a personalized tour of all the shops. Interested in the items that were on sale, both Gohan and Videl went for a little bit of window browsing, where they both took time in admiring the clothes and other accessories on display. Oftentimes the demi-Saiyan pulled them over to some of the shops that were catered towards women, where he attempted to curry his girlfriend's favor by checking out some handbags, belts and other goods that she might be interested in. While this did catch her attention briefly, the raven haired teen soon tore her well-meaning boyfriend away from those stores and dragged him over to the sports outlet places, which she found even more interesting. This went to show exactly where her ideas and preferences sat in contrast to his, and the hero of earth made sure to allow his partner to lead him in this endeavor wherever she pleased.
She did show a surprising amount of interest in the swimsuit section. Though he pointed it out and his girlfriend brushed it off as him being paranoid, Gohan simply let the argument slide and continued to follow her like a diligent boyfriend should.
Their trek through the shopping mall soon led the pair to a Ferdinand brand clothing store, where the demi-Saiyan spent the next few minutes watching the crime fighter peruse through a wide selection of dresses and suits. When she found something she thought would definitely make the boy's head spin, the raven haired angel retired to the change rooms, upon which Gohan then stood patiently outside her door with her sandals in hand.
Almost immediately the girl hit a snag.
"Ugh. I don't understand it. Why is it that at every Silk Sheik and Dunstan outlet the girl clothes always have to be so complicated?" Videl cursed out loud while her boyfriend leant against the frame of the gate. "This goes on the outside… so this chord should go all the way through… right?"
Hands in his pockets, the spiky haired Saiyan looked over his shoulder and peered through the overlapping slits in the door, yet couldn't see jack-all. "Having problems?"
"No. I… I'm fine," the girl replied with a slightly frustrated undulation in her voice. "I can take care of this myself. Don't worry about me."
"Are you sure?" the warrior asked again for clarification.
"Positive. I'm a tough girl. I'm not afraid of a little challenge… ah! Crap…"
Her little break in confidence in the end shot down any value her dispute had. However, not wanting to point it out and earn her wrath as a consequence, all Gohan did was stand there quietly and shook his head in amusement.
For the next several minutes after that, the demi-Saiyan waited patiently for his partner to finish dressing and looked on as a few other customers went about checking out the contents of the store. It was only when he once again heard the struggled grunting sounds of his date through the barrier that his concerns were once again raised. Looking back through the gateway, the young man blinked a couple of times and tilted his head.
"Videl? Do you… want me to get somebody who can help you?" Gohan asked in earnest.
After a couple more muffled grunts, the raven haired teen on the other side of the door smirked and looked over her shoulder towards the visor. "If you're so worried about me, why don't you come in here and help me out?"
Hearing her question loud and clear, as well as the tone she spoke with, the young Saiyan blushed to the roots of his hair and looked away. "Uh. Th-That's okay. I… I'm fine out here."
"Really? I mean, it is you after all… and you are my date. I can trust you enough to let you hang around here while I'm in my underwear. Aren't you even a little bit curious about what your girlfriend wears underneath her regular clothes?"
"I'm not gonna lie, it has crossed my mind a few times," Gohan murmured a little under his usual volume, before his cheeks flushed red again and he spun towards the door. "B-But that's not the point-"
"Hey," Videl suddenly interrupted, causing the demi-Saiyan to stop his train of thought, "Do you want to see what kind of underwear I'm wearing?" She then wasted no time in unhooking the latch on her door.
Alarm bells going off, the demi-Saiyan jumped in the way of the entrance, shut his eyes, held his arms out, and looked away in panic. "Wait! Don't do that!" His shout echoed throughout the entire store, startling a few of the customers and drawing the women's gazes in his direction.
At first the blushing Saiyan remained as he was, standing as still as a statue as he heard the fitting room door creak open. Moments later though, as he stood there shielding the gate as best as he could, he suddenly heard the sound of a playful giggle and cracked open an eye to see what the problem was. When he did, his expression then became one of shock and disbelief when he saw exactly what his girlfriend was wearing.
"I'm just messing with you," Videl chuckled, placing her hands on her hips as she saw her boyfriend's stunned gaze fixate upon her person. "So… what do you think?"
Gohan was at a loss for words. He initially hadn't thought much of the black dress his girlfriend had taken down to try on. Though it was designed specifically for formal occasions, it was tasteful and had a moderate feeling of elegance to it. It seemed like something he'd seen on several occasions on the television and reasoned that it was just another ordinary piece of clothing. Oh, how wrong he was.
The long, black silk dress hugged at his girlfriend's body like a sheet, accentuating every curve and every highlight of her form. Not only did it have a cut at the bottom, showing off her leg, the dress was also backless and hung off of her shoulders by two straps, with the front of her chest exposed by a low-cut neckline. It was also tied at the waist by a large front bow and, to complete its look, she also had on a long black shawl wrapped around her neck and draped over her arms.
Since the dress matched both her night black hair and her sapphire eyes, the girl looked just as stunning and radiant as a goddess at a party.
Swallowing nervously, Gohan attempted to slow his heart rate and keep his face from getting any redder. He then put a smile on his face and directed it towards his dazzling girlfriend. "You're gorgeous." When he saw the girl wrap her arms around her waist and throw him an inquisitive stare, the demi-Saiyan nodded affirmatively, "I mean it. You look amazing."
Feeling her own cheeks heat up, a loving smile formed across the girl's lips as she gazed back at the young warrior. "Good." She then turned away to hide her red cheeks.
It was clear she appreciated his comments, as well as the outfit she'd picked out, and in the end Gohan wound up buying her the dress. After that, the pair left the store and went on another explore of the district, where they pulled over at a bar and ordered a couple of smoothies. This was the very place where the pair decided to end their venture of the mall with a late lunch and share in some small talk. Once again, the demi-Saiyan donated his wallet to the cause, enabling them to enjoy a filling meal and a delightful beverage on the side.
Of all the many dates they'd been on in the past, after the recent string of chaos that'd engulfed their daily lives, this one had to be the most memorable outing yet.
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