Sneaking to the Front Desk

Summary: Majin Buu has annihilated the entire human race. In afterlife, Videl waits for her turn amongst Gohan’s friends. She wonders why she got to keep her body, and she wonders who is the voice who is whispering to her to come over. Could it be…?

Fandom: Dragon Ball Z

Pairing: Gohan and Videl

Rating: PG

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Sneaking to the Front Desk

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How long had she been standing in that line? Videl honestly couldn’t tell. It felt like hours, or maybe it was just a few minutes. Guess it’s true, what they say, she thought to herself, standing on her tiptoes to try and see the end of the long line of fluffy little clouds. Time doesn’t really matter in afterlife.

“You remember that you can fly, Videl, don’t you?”

She looked at the tall dark-haired man, the one with the scars on his face. His name was… Right! Yamcha! She shrugged in response, and turned to look ahead of her again.

Most of Gohan’s friends had died around the same time as her, when Majin Buu had turned them all into chocolate bars and eaten them, so it wasn’t surprising that they were all grouped together as they stood in the line, waiting for their turn to be judged to go to either heaven or hell.

But there was something else too. Among the countless cloud-shaped souls of the dead, there were corporal envelopes here and there. They were quite rare and scattered, and Videl was one of them. So were most of Gohan’s friends, for that matter. Only the blonde little girl, her mother, and Gohan’s grandpa didn’t get to keep their bodies for some reason. Videl wondered what it meant, but she figured that the others didn’t know either so she didn’t bother asking. Besides, they should be told the meaning of this once they finally reached the end of the queue, right?

Some distance ahead, Chichi stood amongst little white clouds, tapping her foot impatiently. The woman had died before them, thoughtlessly provoking Buu when he arrived on the Lookout. Videl had admired her for that, even though it led to her death. That woman was fearless, especially when her kids were involved, and while it had been stupid and pointless to hit Buu and yell at him for killing Gohan, Videl had felt envious of the woman’s audacity. Gohan’s mom was a badass, that was for sure.

Videl wondered if Gohan was way up ahead in the line, since he supposedly died the day before, but somehow she doubted it. She still believed that he’d survived – she’d felt it in her gut, and Videl always trusted her instinct. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, and perhaps she was delusional, but Videl wanted to believe that Gohan was alive. Although… That would mean she wouldn’t see him in afterlife until he died. Not to mention the whole human race had been annihilated by that pink blob of a monster, so even if Gohan did survive, he’d only find an empty planet, devoid of life.

Wait… Didn’t Piccolo say that Majin Buu had spared her father? Then that meant… that her dad was all alone in the world. Gosh, that was terrible. How long was he going to bear with it until he snapped and, God forbid, took his own life? That was not how she wanted to see him again…

Her shoulders slumped. This whole situation was so depressing. They were all dead, all of humanity. Turned into some kind of sweets by the most ridiculous monster ever. At least it couldn’t get any worse – they were already dead. It was the end. It was over.

Hopefully death would be peaceful. And well, Videl saw no reason she’d go to hell, so there was that at least. Yippee.

And then something weird happened. Well, weirder than her current situation, in any case.

“Psst! Psst – Videl, over here!” a hushed voice called her. She frowned and looked around her, but she didn’t see anyone. There was the impossibly long line of souls in front of her, leading to a Chinese-styled construction and continuing behind her, and there were yellow clouds everywhere else. Who could be calling out to her anyway? Was death playing tricks on her?

“On your right! See my hand?” the whisper continued, and Videl turned her head to the right in confusion. She frowned, skeptical, at the hand sticking out from behind a yellow cloud, signaling to her to come over.

Videl looked around, and nobody else seemed to notice what was going on. She turned to the cloud again, behind which the hand had disappeared once more. Who the hell could that be?

“Come on, Videl, it’s me!” the voice whispered again, and then Videl’s heart skipped a beat when she saw a head of spiky black hair stick out from behind the yellow cloud, followed by a pair of onyx eyes looking back at her. And then a split second later, he was gone again.

“Don’t let anyone notice,” he instructed. “Come on.“

He stuck his hand out of his hiding place again, and beckoned her over. She noticed the blue wristband that he was wearing. Videl grinned in excitement. It was really him.

She started backing up slowly, to the edge of the narrow pathway where all the souls waited, and then summoned her ki to levitate off the floor and onto the yellow clouds. Her heart was beating frantically. She looked around her, making sure no one was paying attention to her, and most particularly the blue skinned, single-horned, glasses-wearing, demon-like man, standing atop a tall yellow cloud, who was telling the souls to behave on a megaphone.

She deftly hid behind the closest cloud just as he looked her way, and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t seem to notice her, still repeating the same instructions over his megaphone. Videl looked in front of her, to the tall cloud behind which she knew Gohan was hiding. As she carefully moved from cloud to cloud, making sure to stay hidden, so many questions came rushing to her head. She wondered what happened to him, and why he was hiding like that, and when, exactly, he had died. Somehow she had a feeling that he was coming from the end of the line, way behind her, but really until he cleared up what really happened to him she had no way of being sure that her instinct had been right.

“Hey there,” he greeted with a grin when Videl finally reached his cloud. They sat next to each other onto the fluffy surface, arms touching, and Videl felt her heart swell with warmth as she locked eyes with him. His irises twinkled with something she couldn’t quite place. He chuckled. “Heh, I knew you’d be one of the privileged, too.”

“What happened to you?” she couldn’t wait to ask, dismissing his confusing statement. He gave her an awkward smile, scratching his hair.

“I think the Earth is gone. I died with it.”

“The Earth is…” She couldn’t finish, gaping at him. The Earth is gone… she repeated in her head. So it was really the end, huh.

Wait, did that mean her dad died as well?

“Did you see my dad?”

“Yeah, we picked him up in some desert after my first round with Buu.”

Videl stared at him blankly. She had no idea what Gohan was talking about. He really needed to tell her everything that had happened to him since they parted ways after the tournament. “I mean, here. Since the Earth is gone,” she clarified.

“Oh!” His eyes lit up in understanding. He smiled. “Actually, no, I didn’t. Piccolo and the boys were with me, but not your dad. I don’t think he died, somehow. Neither did Dende for that matter.”

Videl felt a mix of relief and confusion. So her father was still alive, but in that case where could he be now, if their planet was gone?

“Let’s sneak to the front desk,” Gohan then proposed, an inquisitive glint in his eyes. “The line shouldn’t be so slow. I think something’s up.”

He grabbed her hand and smiled. Videl felt her face grow hot. She suddenly recalled a promise she’d made to herself the day before, right after Gohan had flown away with Kibito, and her blush intensified.

Well, right now was probably not the right time. She nodded her head in response, signaling that she would go with him, and Gohan’s eyes lit up.

“Alright then,” he grinned. “We have to be careful, we’re not supposed to step out of the waiting line. If they catch us, they’d send us at the very end of the line with a warning. We might even be sent to hell, but since we have our corporal envelopes I don’t think they’d go that far.”

“How can you know so much about this place?” she asked with a thoughtful frown. “Do you know why some people get to have bodies while most of the dead don’t, for that matter?”

“Yeah, I do,” Gohan nodded. He sneaked a glance out of their hiding spot, then motioned to her to another cloud a short distance away. Videl nodded in understanding, and they moved quickly, hand in hand, to go sit behind the new cloud. They waited a few moments, and sure enough no one had noticed them. Gohan turned to her again. “It’s selflessness. When someone dies, there are four possibilities to what becomes of them. If they were good people, they usually go to heaven. The really bad people go to hell, and those who were neither really good nor bad gets their soul cleansed and are reincarnated.”

“And the fourth possibility?” She figured that was them, the ones who got to stay corporal.

Gohan gave a gentle smile, and Videl would have let herself melt into a puddle of goo if she hadn’t been so intrigued by this bizarre situation. “It’s the really good people. Those who, in life, have proved to be selfless and even heroic. Those are the privileged, and we are among them. We get to keep our bodies, and we can even train among gods if so we wish.” His eyes softened, and his hand held hers a little tighter. “I knew you’d be privileged, too. There was not a shred of doubt in my mind.”

Her mouth was dry, and her heart was thumping hard. She had no idea Gohan thought so highly of her… It made her so happy.

He pointed at the next cloud, and Videl nodded. Gohan counted with his fingers: three, two, one…

Videl let out a breath, as they both leaned against their new hiding spot. She turned her head, looking to the Chinese-style house where the line ended. They still had a long way to go. Well, she didn’t mind. It gave her more time to spend with Gohan… Err, well, she had to get answers from him about what happened to him, after all.

“So where have you been all this time, since you only just died?” she asked him. Gohan was peering over the yellow cloud, to make sure the coast was clear. He tugged at her hand, and motioned to their next cloud with his head. Videl nodded once more, and they scrambled to their destination.

“I was with Shin and Kibito. They healed me and got me training,” he explained, sneaking a peek behind the cloud as he spoke. “My dad joined us when his time was up on Earth. I’ll spare you the details–”

“I want details,” she cut him off, and Gohan looked back at her with his eyebrows raised. Then he smiled.

“Okay. Well, Shin wanted me to pull out a magic sword from a rock.”

“That sounds familiar,” Videl commented. Gohan kept smiling at her.

“Well, turns out the sword was just really heavy. I trained with it for a while, it got me stronger. And when my dad came along, he thought it’d be a good idea to test the blade. It broke.”

Videl stared at him, a droplet of sweat rolling down her temple, and Gohan chuckled. “Yeah, we were pretty shocked too. But it turned out to be a good thing in the end, because there was an ancient Kai trapped inside the blade.”

“Are you sure this isn’t a fantasy tale?” Videl joked, and Gohan laughed softly. He checked around again, and they swiftly moved to the next cloud.

“Anyways,” he continued. “The Old Kai had mystical powers, and he agreed to bring out my hidden potential. It took ages, and I was honestly convinced he was a phony, but it actually worked.” Then Gohan frowned. “But when I got back to Earth, the only ones left were Goten, Trunks and Piccolo. We later found your father and Dende, too.” He sighed, running his free hand through his hair – they were still holding hands. “I had the power to beat Buu. I was so far above him, actually. He could do nothing against me… But he tricked us.” Videl tightened her grip on his hand, to show that she was there for him, and Gohan offered her a mild smile. “Let’s pick up the pace. We still have a long way to go.”

“I don’t mind,” Videl replied without missing a beat. Gohan raised his eyebrows. “I want to hear the rest of the story. What happened?”

He looked up, to the pink sky. “Buu provoked the boys, got them to fuse again to fight him. But he only meant to absorb them to get stronger, and he even got Piccolo. At this point I could do nothing against him. I was…” He gave a dry smile. “Helpless.”

“And then?” Videl breathed out. Her heart clenched, seeing Gohan so dejected, and in a way she felt bad for making him relive all that. But she had to know.

“Then Dad turned up, alive again somehow. Then it’s a bit of a blur… Buu absorbed me too, and I was unconscious… but in the back of my mind, I think I felt a powerful presence taking on Buu,” he added with a thoughtful frown, now looking ahead of him. He turned to her. “When I came to, I was here.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity – which, given their situation, might have been the case. Then, Gohan smiled, hints of irony echoing in his eyes.

“I feel conflicted,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “I mean, I’m glad I found you, but I didn’t want you to die. But then, if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be with me right now, and I would feel pretty lonely without you.”

Videl cracked a smile. “Yeah, I feel the same. This whole situation is so weird. Death is beyond weird.”

Gohan laughed. “Tell me about it. I’ve heard of it before, but experiencing it is a whole different matter.”

She eyed him. It did explain how knowledgeable he seemed to be about what happened in afterlife. “You’re heard of it? How?”

He smiled. Ah, she felt like melting… She really did love his smile. “Do you know about the Dragon Balls? Did the others tell you about them while I was gone?”

“Oh, yeah…” The image of a gigantic green dragon with red eyes, coming out of seven crystal balls upon a pitch black sky, came back to her. Not something easy to forget. “I saw the dragon. Bulma wanted to bring back the people who were killed in the tournament. That was pretty weird, too.”

He chuckled. “Well, that wasn’t the first time we’ve used the Dragon Balls to bring the dead back to life. My dad’s died twice, and Krillin is actually at his third time now.”

She blinked at him, her eyebrows raised under her messy bangs. “O… kay…”

Gohan laughed again, and actually had to cover his mouth so as not to be loud and get them noticed. Her features softened, as she gazed upon him. Watching him laugh, that was one sight she could really get used to.

“Your life seems so unreal,” she said softly. “It really does sound like a fantasy tale.”

His smile toning down, his pitch black eyes watched her carefully. “Is it too much for you?”

“Not at all,” she answered truthfully, looking right back at him. She’d already made her decision concerning Gohan, and nothing was going to make her waver. “I like that you’re different. No, not different,” she corrected herself. “Special. Extraordinary.”

They’d scooted closer to each other without her realizing it. Gohan was still smiling at her, still holding her hand, and her heart was still beating like crazy from sitting so close to him. Somehow, she became breathless, and her chest heaved in and out deeply. Gohan seemed to be going through the same predicament.

“Then,” he whispered. “Would you become a part of it? Of my crazy life.”

She swallowed. Her face was burning. And Gohan was so close… “We’re both dead, Gohan,” she pointed out jokingly, and he laughed.

“You know what I mean,” he chuckled, his eyes twinkling with mirth, and with hope. “Besides, my dad’s still fighting Buu. I’m not losing hope. We can still fix everything.”

He brushed away her bangs from her eyes, his touch so feather-like it made her shiver. “But the Earth is gone,” she murmured, and then gulped, while Gohan cupped her cheek. “Aren’t those magic balls gone too?”

“Earth isn’t the only planet where we can find those ‘magic balls’,” Gohan said. “Trust me on this, Videl. This is not the end.”

His thumb was stroking her cheek. Videl felt like she was melting. She was so… drawn to him. His touch, his eyes, his gentle smile. She knew she loved him, but that one word couldn’t even begin to really describe how Gohan made her feel.

“That would be nice,” she replied in a breath. “If we can fix everything.”

He moved closer. Her breath hitched. “We will. I promise.”

She closed her eyes, and her heart almost burst out of her chest when Gohan pressed his lips against hers. It was tentative, slow, and soft… so soft. It took her breath away. It made her skin burn. And, somehow, even though she was, indeed, dead, Gohan’s kiss… it made her feel alive. More alive than she’d ever felt.

He pulled back slightly, and Videl wondered distractedly how they could be panting so heavily, when breathing was supposed to mean living. This whole thing was so bizarre.

Gohan smiled. She smiled back. “Let’s not forget our initial plan,” he said with a chuckle. “To the front desk.”

“Right,” she acquiesced, her smile widening. “To the front desk.”

It took a while, but it was still way faster this way than waiting in the endless queue like everyone else. Finally, Gohan and Videl reached the main building. Gohan tugged at her hand, bringing her around the estate, to possibly find a back door or something. And what do you know – there actually was a back door.

And yet again Videl thought to herself, This place is so weird.

Gohan shot her a smile, and Videl beamed back at him. He gave her the signal, and they sneaked into the building through the back door.

“Come on, Goku… Come on…” a booming voice was muttering.

They hid behind a huge box full of… Videl blinked. Yep, that was paperwork, and the stack of paper inside the box seemed to be filled with judgments of the damned. Somehow, this place just got weirder.

“I knew it,” Gohan whispered, looking past her. Videl followed his gaze, across the giant desk and the giant man sitting behind it, to the giant flat screen that was hanging on the wall.

How could Gohan even suspect that the guy who was supposed to do the judging would be too busy following the actual fight against Majin Buu, was beyond her. Well, now they knew why the line was moving so slowly. As Videl looked more carefully at the screen, she paused, confused. A fat Buu was fighting a smaller Buu. What the heck was going on? Well, the fat Buu seemed to be losing, and Videl honestly didn’t know what that even meant.

Until her father actually appeared on the screen – swearing at the smaller Buu and telling him to let go of the fat Buu while hitting him with everything he got. Videl gaped at the scene.

“Hey, so he is alive!” Gohan whispered to her excitedly. “He must be the luckiest person ever, your dad. He’s literally the luckiest man alive.” He snickered at his joke. Videl rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile. Gohan was adorable.

They both winced, and Videl almost gasped out loud, when the smaller Buu – who was apparently the bad guy here, not the fat Buu – hit Mr. Satan with his antennae, while choking the fat Buu. But her father seemed to be fine, somehow. Videl blinked. Gohan was right. Her dad actually was the luckiest man alive – no pun intended.

Things didn’t look too good, though. Both Vegeta and Goku were out of energy, and the fat Buu wasn’t going to be lasting much longer… Videl shared a worried look with Gohan.

“It’s going to be okay,” he murmured soothingly, rubbing her hand with his thumb. “I promised you, didn’t I?”

She nodded her head, but avoided his gaze. How could he still be so optimistic when all the odds were against them? They already died, and Buu was seemingly invincible. It was hopeless.

Videl sighed, and leaned forward, burying her face in his chest… seeking comfort. Gohan kissed the top of her head, giving her hand a squeeze while wrapping his other arm around her, holding her close to him.

“They’ll find a way,” he whispered to her ear. “They always do. It’s not over. It can’t be over.”

Something was happening on the screen, behind her; Videl vaguely heard Vegeta giving orders to… Dende? Weird, she didn’t remember seeing Dende on the monitor. What he was asking for didn’t make much sense to her, but something he said next made her turn around in Gohan’s arms to watch the screen.

“For once… let the earthlings take their fate into their own hands.”

Gohan’s breath hitched. “No way… He’s not thinking…”

Videl glanced up at him, still as lost to what was happening as ever. Gohan grinned down at her.

“I think we’re going to be resurrected in a moment,” he said happily. “I told you they’d find a way.”

Her eyes widened. “Wha… for real?” Her head turned back and forth between the wide screen and Gohan, but she was abruptly stopped in her momentum when Gohan held her head in place with both hands and kissed her lips.

For a moment, while Gohan stole her breath away, everything was a blur. She forgot the world around them, she forgot that she was in afterlife, and she forgot that the whole universe was in jeopardy. Her mind was completely blank – it only registered Gohan’s touch, Gohan’s lips, Gohan’s scent, Gohan’s warmth.

Wasn’t it strange that she got to experience her first kiss only after she died?

Gohan chuckled, his breath tickling her lips, when she voiced her random thought.

“Don’t worry,” he said softly, his tone mirthful. “I’ll make sure to kiss you again when we’re alive.”

She flushed, gaping at his bluntness, and Gohan grinned down at her. What happened to the shy, awkward boy she came to know? Sure, he would have his moments of confidence now and then, but this was different. Videl looked at him more carefully. Actually, he was different, somehow. She’d noticed a change, but only now did Videl really see just how much more mature and self-assured Gohan had become.

And then he was kissing her again, and Videl forgot what she had been thinking about. The gentle way he kissed her, cupping her face between his palms… Ahh, it was killing her… Well, err, she was already dead, but that was just an expression.

“I’ll see you in a bit,” he murmured against her lips, and Videl’s eyes fluttered open, looking at him in confusion.

His onyx irises were the last thing she saw. She felt a sudden pull in her stomach, and the next moment she was standing on the Lookout. On the exact same spot where she’d died, in fact. Her hand moved over her head, and sure enough, her halo had disappeared.

Alive again. Just like Gohan had promised. Her lips broke out into a broad smile. They did it!

But it wasn’t over yet. Vegeta was somehow communicating with the people of Earth, and he was asking for their help to destroy Majin Buu once and for all. Without any hesitation, everyone on the Lookout did as they were told and raised their hands to the sky, and Videl followed suit, trusting the people Gohan trusted.

Her heart jolted as she thought of him. But then she winced, feeling her energy be literally drained out of her body. Still, she kept her arms up. She wanted to help, too. Like Vegeta had said, it was time the people of Earth took their fate into their own hands.

She crumbled to her hands and knees in exhaustion, panting heavily. It took a while to calm her breathing, and Videl stood back up slowly, her legs a little wobbly. But, looking around, everyone else looked worried, in addition to being worn out. And she quickly understood as Vegeta’s voice kept asking the earthlings to help. They all looked shocked that Vegeta actually begged for their help, and Videl supposed she could see why, even though she didn’t really know the man. With his tough exterior, he looked too proud to stoop to begging. But those were desperate times, and pride didn’t have its place in crisis. Even someone like Vegeta got that.

But it still wouldn’t work. Even Goku implored them in desperation, but the human race was selfish and uncaring. They apparently thought it had all been a dream. Videl frowned. If this kept up, getting brought back to life would have been for nothing. Buu could come back and kill everyone all over again. Things looked really bad in the battle grounds…

And then, out of nowhere, of all voices, her father’s boomed out angrily, demanding that everyone collaborate.

That did the trick. Videl couldn’t believe it, but it actually worked! They could even see balls of energy lifting up to the sky, being collected from all over the world to help defeat Majin Buu. Because everyone believed in her father, no one on Earth doubted his word when he claimed to be fighting Buu and asking for their help. Videl laughed. It actually worked. Her dad’s stupid fame was actually helping save the world – scratch that, the universe!

She ran to the edge of the Lookout, grinning, her head raised as she watched the balls of energy floating up to the sky. A minutes later, they were all gone.

This was it. It was the end of Majin Buu’s terror. In any moment now, they would hear Goku or Vegeta or her father, announcing to them that they did it, that Buu was destroyed.

But the seconds ticked by, and the only thing they could hear through the telepathic link was Goku struggling. Videl’s brow creased in worry. Shouldn’t it be working?

A look behind her told her that she wasn’t the only one worrying. But, no, it had to work… They couldn’t fail now, so close to the goal. He promised.

She wished Gohan could be with her right now. Holding her in his arms, offering her words of comfort. She needed his warmth, and his optimism. She needed to believe that he was right, that everything would be okay in the end. She needed him to say it to her again.

The tension on the Lookout was at its height. One minute, two minutes passed, and everybody looked increasingly grim and worried. Gohan, where on earth are you? Videl started pacing. In her head, she kept repeating to herself, this can’t be the end, it just can’t. It has to work. Gohan said it’d be okay. It can’t be the end. It can’t.

And then something changed in the air. Krillin, Yamcha, and Master Roshi shared a big smile, and the next moment, her father’s voice boomed all over the world, announcing that Majin Buu was finally history.

Everyone broke out into cheers. Videl felt a bit embarrassed by her father’s antics, but ultimately it’d been for the best. The universe was saved, everyone was safe again. That was all that mattered, right?

She felt like she could finally breathe again. Videl closed her eyes, silently thanking Gohan for giving her hope when she had none left.

Now, if he could just hurry up and get there already. There was another promise that he had to keep…

And, soon enough, finally, finally, he arrived, coming down from the sky. Tears of joy and relief escaped from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Before Gohan could land, Videl flew up in his arms and held him tightly around the neck.

“Took you long enough,” she mumbled into the crook of his neck, while Gohan hugged her back just as tightly.

“I’m always so punctual, huh?” he joked, and she snorted laughing, tightening her arms around his neck. Videl closed her eyes.

“I love you,” she whispered faintly, almost afraid to let him hear her. Gohan lifted her chin, and looked at her with the most gentle smile. And Videl felt her heart skip a beat.

He kissed her then, and she melted into his arms. “I love you too,” Gohan mumbled against her lips, and Videl could even feel his smile as he kept kissing her.

Finally…

“So… when did that happen?” Yamcha wondered out loud, down below, his head raised, like everybody else’s on the Lookout, as he stared at the young couple hovering in air.

“Beats me,” Bulma replied, still hugging Trunks absentmindedly while her eyes were glued on the kissing teens.

“I still don’t get it…” Piccolo mumbled to himself, confused, as always, when anything related to romantic love was involved.

“Maybe they were together all along and only pretended to be just friends,” Krillin offered.

“Why would they hide it?” Yamcha pointed out.

“MY BABY!” Not even Goten could distract Chichi long enough from her first born’s display of affection.

“That’s why,” Krillin smirked, pointing his thumb at Chichi, who was crying that her baby was kissing a girl. Her father consoled her the best he could, patting her back gently.

The lovesick teenagers finally took notice of their audience, and both gave awkward smiles as they looked down. Pink hues colored their cheeks, but even the embarrassment of being the center of attention couldn’t dim down the euphoria to know that their love was mutual.

They touched down the tiled floor, and Gohan immediately sought her hand, interlacing their fingers. Videl looked up at him, and they shared sweet smiles and loving gazes – not even caring that everyone else was still looking at them.

Later on, after Goku, Vegeta, Dende, Mr. Satan, and, for some reason, the fat Buu had joined them, and everyone was celebrating their victory on the Lookout, Gohan still hadn’t let go of her hand, and Videl’s grin seemed to be glued to her face permanently.

“Thanks, by the way,” she said to him softly. They were lying on the tiled floor side by side, looking at sky while Goten and Trunks shot energy rays to the darkening sky, making them look like fireworks.

“You’re welcome.” There was a pause. “Um, for what?”

Videl laughed into her hand, and they turned their heads to look at each other. Gohan grinned at her. She scooted closer to him, snuggling up to his chest. He put his free hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer.

She loved how comfortable they already were with each other, as if being held in Gohan’s arms was the most natural thing in the world. “For finding me in afterlife. And for keeping your promises.”

He kissed her cheek, before nuzzling her neck; she sighed in delight. “You’re definitely welcome, then.”

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The idea for this story merged to life one night, in November 2015, when I had the sudden thought that Mr. Satan is definitely the luckiest being in the world (a concept I was planning to use for another story at the time, which you might be able to guess at present). I mean, he’s the ONLY one who NEVER died. Adding to that, how he just so happened to be the first one standing after the ruckus that Cell and Gohan’s last showdown caused, and being able to dupe the whole planet that he killed Cell and basically becoming a god on Earth? Yep, definitely the luckiest man alive. Literally.

I’ve also always toyed with the idea that Gohan and Videl could have met in afterlife. They died about two hours apart, didn’t they? And the line must’ve been super long, right? Not to mention, we see that King Yemma is more interested in watching the fight with Goku and Vegeta against Majin Buu than doing his work. So the line had to be slow, right?

And thus this story was born.

Hope you had fun reading it! And don’t forget to leave a comment! ^^

normiz