35Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z. Period, dot, end of statement.
Agglutination
Agglutinate n. – to unite or cause to adhere, like glue
Krillin snickered gleefully, sounding oddly like the two children beside him who were trying to muffle their own giggles. The threesome had found Gohan stretched out on the couch in one of Capsule Corporation's many living rooms, dead to the world. Videl, who had taken to being around Gohan as much as possible after Majin Buu had been defeated, was sitting on the floor with her back against the couch, also sleeping heavily. From the looks of it, the two teenagers had fallen asleep while watching television. It was the perfect setting for a prank of epic proportions and the maniacal trio wouldn't give something like that up for the world… or food, in Trunks and Goten's case.
Working quickly, the former monk very gently grabbed Gohan's right hand. Unscrewing a small jar that Trunks had liberated from somewhere or another, he spread the substance inside over the hybrid's open palm and the inside of his fingers, being very careful not to get it on his own hands. Sitting back and looking over his work, he nodded in approval and motioned to Goten. "Hold on to his wrist," he whispered, and Goten did so. Krillin repeated the same process with Videl, but he put the stuff on her left hand instead. After Trunks took over holding the girl's wrist, the man cautiously maneuvered her into a lying position on the floor.
Now came the hardest part. Taking Videl's left hand and Gohan's right, Krillin delicately threaded their fingers together, trying to keep them from attaching to each other just yet. That difficult task eventually accomplished, he then pressed their palms together firmly. When he let go, the two teenagers' hands stayed joined together and a self-satisfied smile crossed his lips. He wasn't sure what exactly Bulma had designed the glue for, but he knew that it would do its job – namely, embarrass the hell out of one Son Gohan. He pocketed the jar of "Valtenax" for Trunks to return to the lab later and followed his two accomplices out of the room, glancing back one last time at the as yet unsuspecting people still sleeping.
Had Krillin actually thought about what he was using to glue his young friends together, he might have refrained from doing so. The mere fact that Trunks had taken the glue from Bulma's laboratory of all places should have set off warning bells; however, Trunks hadn't mentioned that small detail. His omission of that little fact soon led to what pushed Gohan and Videl from friends into something more.
It started when the smells of dinner wafted into the room about an hour later. Gohan, his sensitive Saiyan nose registering this fact immediately, woke up first. He rubbed his fist across his eyes wearily; in the weeks since Majin Buu's defeat, his mother and father had… well, they had been very glad to see each other at the end of the battle. They had seven years to make up for, after all, and they hadn't wasted a moment yet. Gohan hadn't gotten much sleep since then and though he didn't begrudge his parents for it, he took every opportunity he could to get a bit more shuteye. Goten, of course, slept like a rock and didn't notice anything, something that Gohan was very grateful for. He didn't relish giving his little brother "the birds and the bees" talk just yet.
Slowly sitting up, the demi-Saiyan noticed Videl lying on the floor and smiled. Then he frowned suddenly; hadn't she been sitting up earlier? And why was her arm up on the… His jaw dropped. Why was she holding his hand? Why was he holding hers? And more importantly: why the heck couldn't he let go? He gulped as Videl's eyes opened, confusion clear on her face as she took in Gohan's wide eyes and their joined hands.
"Why are you holding my hand?" the girl demanded, though it didn't sound angry, per say. More… annoyed. Confused.
"Um… I don't know, Videl," Gohan replied, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "I woke up and we were holding hands and then I tried to let go but I couldn't and I don't think you can either and-"
"Gohan, do me a favor and shut up for a second," Videl interrupted. Gohan's mouth clamped shut instantly and he watched as she tried to pry the offending appendages apart without success. She growled. "Somebody glued our hands together," she announced darkly.
Her dark-haired companion stared at her. "Glued?" he echoed blankly. He brought their conjoined hands closer to his face and sniffed lightly. Sure enough, he could just barely smell something that could have been glue. He could also smell the distinct scents that he associated with Krillin, Trunks, and Goten, though Krillin's was the strongest. He growled as well, this one much more menacing than Videl's had been. "I know who did this," he said lowly. "Want to go kill them?" Videl nodded emphatically and he stood up, drawing her up with him.
It wasn't hard to find their prey; all three mischief makers were outside with the rest of the Z fighters, interspersed alongside the more powerful warriors that might be able to protect them from the wrath of Hurricanes Son and Satan. Gohan could see Krillin's eyes widen to an impossible size as the two teenagers marched out grimly and made a beeline straight toward him. He chuckled nervously and sidled behind Goku, who looked startled.
"Whatcha doin', Krillin?" the Saiyan asked curiously, twisting his head around to stare at his friend.
"N-nothing, Goku!" Krillin replied nervously. "Just trying to hide is all."
Goku looked puzzled. "Hide from what?" he queried.
"Dad, do you mind if we borrow Krillin for a minute?" Gohan's voice sounded behind his father. Goku's head returned to a more natural position to survey his oldest son and his friend. His own eyes widened as he saw the two's joined hands before a Vegeta-like smirk crossed his face.
"Why're you holdin' hands with Videl, son?" the man asked. Behind him, Krillin swallowed in apprehension as he tried to make himself as small as possible.
"Because Krillin glued our hands together, the midget!" Videl exploded. She tried to fling herself at the now cowering monk to show him who was boss, but didn't get more than half a foot away before Gohan grabbed her around the waist and hauled her back.
"Videl, let's get our hands unstuck before we kill him," the hybrid grunted, struggling to hold onto his enraged friend with only one arm. Krillin glanced pleadingly at his wife, who only shook her head at him, blue eyes holding an amused glint as she held a sleeping Marron. His shoulders slumped dejectedly; it looked like he wouldn't be getting any help from that end, not that he had really expected it.
Bulma came over, drawn by the sight of Videl hurling insults in one of her old friends' general vicinity. "What's going on?" the blue-haired genius asked, looking between the two.
"Krillin, Trunks, and Goten glued our hands together," Gohan answered, seeing that the Satan girl's attention was situated elsewhere at the moment. "I don't recognize the smell of it, either, so it's probably something you made. I can't get our hands apart at all."
Bulma frowned. "I hope they didn't use what I think they used…" she muttered. Turning to Krillin, she demanded, "Do you still have the glue?" Krillin nodded dejectedly and handed it over like a child who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The name "Valtenax" was displayed prominently across the side, prompting Bulma to sigh in annoyance. "Where did you get this?" she asked resignedly.
"Trunks got it from somewhere," Krillin replied, shrugging. "He didn't say where."
"TRUNKS!" Bulma thundered. The eight-year-old, recognizing that tone of voice and knowing better than to ignore her, trudged over to his mother, shoulders hunched defensively. Despite his better judgment, Vegeta also cautiously made his way over to the group, curious as to what his brat had done this time.
"Yes ma'am," the boy muttered.
"Trunks, sweetheart, did you take this out of my lab?" Bulma asked calmly, showing him the glue bottle. Trunks flinched at the word "sweetheart". With other kids, the full name was broken out; in the Briefs household, it was terms of endearment that let him know that he was in major trouble. Still, lying would get him in even more trouble than he already was.
"Yes ma'am."
"Haven't I told you before that you aren't allowed in my lab unless your father or I are there?" his mother demanded. She didn't wait for an answer, turning back to Gohan and Videl. "Sorry guys, but he managed to get my newest version of superglue. I don't have a dissolvent for it yet, so I'm afraid that you're stuck until I can create one that won't eat through human flesh as well." The two teenagers blinked at her, horrified.
"YOU MEAN WE'RE STUCK LIKE THIS?!"
Several hours later, Gohan and Videl uncomfortably lay side-by-side on a bed in their brand new Capsule house. After the situation had been explained to an ecstatic Chi-Chi who thought the two were now "dating" (visions of grandchildren dancing in her head made this difficult), the only slightly less ecstatic wife of Goku insisted that they get their own house to accommodate their unusual position. Gohan and Goten normally shared a bed, but with Videl now in the picture that was impossible. With the house, Gohan and Videl could have some privacy from the rest of the human (and not so human) race to come to terms with the situation that they found themselves in. Feeling somewhat responsible for what had happened (it was her glue, after all), Bulma had generously provided the latest, top of the line capsule house, complete with the cappuccino maker that her father had insisted be added into the design.
It was now nightfall and the two teenagers were now trying to get some sleep for classes tomorrow. This was proving to be far easier said than done, however; though the manner in which they had ended up in bed together was completely innocent, it still felt like they were doing something wrong. It felt like they were sneaking around behind their parents' backs, having a house out in the middle of nowhere (even though it was maybe two hundred feet from the Son residence) and lying in bed together.
They had already run into a few… interesting obstacles in the few hours they had been joined together. First and foremost was the fact that Gohan was right-handed. Oh, he could use his left hand well enough, but it wasn't the most graceful thing Videl had ever seen. As his right hand was glued to Videl's left, things had suddenly gotten much more difficult. Videl did have to admit that watching him try to do his normal bedtime routine had been quite entertaining. He'd dropped his toothbrush more than once and got toothpaste all over the sink.
The next problem was that of using the toilet. The two stared at the offending object for quite some time, trying to figure out the logistics of how they were going to go to the bathroom without completely embarrassing their partner. It was Gohan that finally suggested that, as the toilet was right next to the door, he cut a hole into the door frame. It would allow whoever was in the bathroom to close the door and have a little bit of privacy while also navigating around the hand-holding problem. That wasn't to say that it wasn't still incredibly embarrassing, but this way it was a little less so.
Their last crisis of the night involved clothing. They had both discovered that neither of them could take off their shirts without ripping the seam out on one side. Though they didn't mind too much at the moment, the fact remained that they would both have to change into their school clothes tomorrow and neither had any idea how to do that without destroying their shirts. "We could always get snap-on shirts," Gohan had suggested semi-playfully and was promptly punched in the stomach for his trouble. They both decided to leave the dilemma for tomorrow and tried to get some sleep instead.
After fruitlessly trying to sleep for over an hour, Videl gave up. "Gohan?" she whispered. "Are you awake?" Of course he was awake; he was just as uncomfortable as she was.
"Yeah," Gohan replied.
"What are we going to do about tomorrow?" the girl asked. "Everyone's going to think that we're dating or something." Gohan was silent for a moment. When he finally did speak, Videl flinched back from the hurt that he failed to keep out of his voice.
"Would it really be so bad, people thinking that we're dating?" the demi-Saiyan asked softly.
"That's not what I meant," Videl retorted. "Do you know what people would do to you if they thought we were dating?"
"They couldn't do anything to me and you know it," Gohan countered heatedly. "Admit it Videl, that's not why you're acting so strange about this."
Videl sat up furiously. "Why wouldn't I act strange about this?" she demanded. "I'm glued to a boy! How else am I supposed to act?"
"I'm not stupid, Videl," the boy said sharply, sitting up as well. "Yes, this is an uncomfortable situation, but there's more to it than just that. It's because you're attached to me." His companion opened her mouth to respond, but he overrode her. "Is it because I'm actually better than you at fighting that this is so bad? Because I can blow up the planet without trying? Is it because I'm an alien, Videl?" His voice had steadily risen with each question and with each question Videl had flinched back from the anger in them.
"Gohan, I don't know where you got any of that, but none of it is true," the girl insisted. "Yes, you're better than me at martial arts, but you've been training for what, twelve years? I started when I was ten. Of course you're better than me." It was true, no matter how much it galled her to admit it. But at this point it was a better idea to swallow her pride to soothe Gohan's hurt feelings. "And it's not because you can blow up the planet either," she continued, glaring up at him. "You would never do that and I don't have any doubt about it. And it's definitely not because you're an alien. I never would have guessed if all this hadn't happened. It's not like it's obvious that you're not fully human, you know."
Gohan didn't reply for what seemed like ages. He stared down at her, his face a blank mask that betrayed none of what he was thinking. "Then why are you so worried about being seen with me?" he finally asked, his voice very quiet.
Videl's cheeks flamed and she only barely managed to meet his eyes. "I think you know why," she replied, her voice as soft as his. She wanted to look away, but the look in his dark eyes drew her in. She had seen a variation of that look when he was playing with Goten, but this… this was much more intense. She had seen that look on Goku's face up on the Lookout the day Majin Buu was defeated, when he looked at Chi-Chi and told her that he was back for good. She had seen it on Krillin's face when he saw his wife in the shadows of the Lookout that same day. She had even seen it on Vegeta's face later that night, when he looked at Bulma while everyone else was otherwise occupied.
Distantly, she thought that she should probably be terrified that Gohan appeared to love her the same way that his parents loved each other, or Krillin and 18, or Vegeta and Bulma. She was only barely eighteen, for God's sake; only in fairy tales did a person find the one person they were supposed to be with for eternity at so young an age. Strangely, however, she wasn't afraid at all. There was only a nervous anticipation of what could happen. What would happen if Gohan kept looking at her like that.
She had no more time to think, however, for quite suddenly Gohan's face was barely an inch from hers. "Yes," he replied. "I know why." And then his lips were on hers, his free hand cupping her cheek tenderly. Her eyes closed languidly of their own accord, as did his, the better to focus on the entirely new sensations that kisses brought forth.
Sometime later (neither was sure just how much time had passed), they were lying down again, Videl snuggling against Gohan's shoulder comfortably. They didn't say anything, content to relax in each other's company. Videl drew imaginary pictures on Gohan's chest for a little bit, but soon the motions got slower, and they stopped altogether not much longer after that. Gohan looked down at her peaceful face, her lips (still slightly swollen from their earlier activities) set in a soft smile as she slept. He smiled as well, stroking her hair lightly before closing his eyes. 'Maybe being glued together won't be as bad as I was afraid it would be,' he thought. A few minutes later, he succumbed to sleep, holding Videl close.
The alarm went off early the next morning. Gohan groaned and blindly groped for it, finding it after a moment and throwing it across the room where it continued to ring loudly even though it was embedded in the far wall. He groaned again at the sound; he had forgotten that his mother had gotten Bulma to make an alarm clock that wouldn't break if it found itself in this exact situation.
Beside him, Videl tried to bury herself under the covers and ignore the noise. All the demi-Saiyan could see of his… well, whatever she was now, was a tuft of black hair sticking out of the comforter. He chuckled at the sight and the girl lowered the blanket enough to glare sleepily at him. "Make it stop," she pleaded. For a moment, all he could think about was how right it felt waking up next to Videl like this. He could do this for the rest of his life and never get tired of it.
Shaking his head to rid his mind of the rather sappy thought, Gohan smiled down at her. "Sorry Videl, but we have school in two hours," he replied. "Besides, I have to get up to turn it off and I can't get up until you do." She growled in annoyance before reluctantly sitting up, throwing the covers off as she did so. She ran a hand through her hair and winced.
"I really need to take a shower," the girl remarked. She froze suddenly, before slowly turning to Gohan. He was already staring at her, the exact same thought running through his mind that was currently in hers. "How are we going to do this?" she asked first, slightly panicky. They weren't even really "together" in the Erasa sense of the word; she definitely didn't want Gohan to see her naked just yet! Videl blinked and rewound her words. What exactly did she mean by "just yet"? Shaking her head, she filed the thought away for later. Right now they had a crisis on their hands.
"We could stay dressed," Gohan suggested. "I can dry us off with my ki; it's not difficult. We'll have to figure out something about our clothes later, though. We're going to be late if we don't hurry up."
They entered the bathroom hesitantly after Gohan turned off the alarm, neither looking forward to what they felt would more than likely be the most embarrassing part of this being glued together situation. Gohan squared his shoulders. This was scarier than fighting Cell! He turned the water on, letting it heat up before stepping in. All the tension drained from his body and he looked at Videl, tugging on their joined hands. "C'mon Videl," he said. "The sooner you get in the sooner you can get out."
Videl sighed before stepping in as well. "Happy?" she asked sourly, though a smile tugged at her lips. She looked around the shower to see what was there; thankfully, Bulma had thoughtfully provided a small bottle of shampoo, the thing Videl wanted the most. She reached for it, picking it up before realizing yet another problem and sighing irritably. She wasn't even able to shampoo her own hair.
A hand appeared in front of her face. "I'll wash your hair for you," Gohan offered shyly. His cheeks were slightly red, and though it could have merely been from the heat of the shower, she knew that he was feeling self-conscious. Wanting to put him at ease, she took the cap off the bottle with some difficulty and poured some of the liquid into his waiting hand. Gohan quickly dumped the handful onto her head and did his best to cover all the strands before letting her rinse it all out quickly. He had to kneel for her to do the same thing, something that made them both laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the entire thing. They exited the shower considerably less tense than they had been before and Gohan flared his ki to dry their clothes.
Videl glanced at the clock. "If we leave now we can go see Bulma," she suggested. "She said she'd stay up all night to find the dissolvent if she had to."
Gohan shrugged. "Fine by me." They took off after capsulating the house, arriving at Capsule Corporation in a relatively short amount of time.
Bulma was waiting for them. She looked exhausted, but there was a happy smile on her face regardless. "I did it," she announced proudly. In her hand was a large bottle. Gohan and Videl both reached for it as one, but Bulma held it out of their reach. "We'll do this in the lab," she said reprovingly. "I have some Senzu beans in there just in case you need them." The two teenagers nodded meekly and followed the blue-haired woman to her lab.
"Put your hands over that bucket," the woman directed. Gohan and Videl obeyed instantly and Bulma overturned the bottle over their hands. Both victims hissed in pain; the solution, whatever it was, was icy cold, so cold it hurt. The reason for the low temperature became clear within seconds, however. The glue simply froze and shattered.
Gohan and Videl immediately took possession of their hands, wincing as they straightened their fingers out. "Thanks, Bulma!" Gohan said gratefully, giving the woman a gigantic hug. After hesitating a brief second, Videl joined in. This was a lifesaver; now they didn't have to answer any awkward questions about why they wouldn't stop holding hands.
Bulma tolerated the hug for about three seconds before she shook them both off. "If you're really grateful, you'll let me go to bed," she said, smiling to take the sting out of her words. She began to trudge out of the room, obviously intent on a nice warm bed, when she suddenly turned around. "Oh, and you might want to take a look at that bottle over there," she said, pointing at an innocuous-looking container. She left, leaving the other two people staring at each other.
Finally Videl went over to look at the bottle. She read the label and a slow smile spread across her face. Gohan, curious about what would make her smile like the cat that got the canary, went over to see what it was. He smiled as well, though it wasn't a nice smile. On the bottle, in big bold letters, were the words "Hair Loss Serum". It looked like Bulma was just as eager to get revenge on Krillin, even if it was probably because she had to stay up all night and not because Gohan and Videl had been glued together.
The two glanced at each other quickly. "I say that revenge is more important," Videl announced. "School can wait." Gohan nodded in agreement.
"G-Gohan, c-can't we t-talk about th-this?" Krillin stuttered, backing away from the evilly grinning hybrid. Videl stood beside him, casually tossing the bottle from hand to hand. The monk knew he was in trouble the moment Gohan and Videl landed on Kame Island with their hands unglued and a big jug of some sort of liquid. He tried a feint to the left, but Gohan had been weaned on such tricks thanks to Piccolo. He caught the monk easily. "Eighteen! Help me out here!" Krillin shouted desperately. The blonde android came out to stand on the porch.
"You got yourself into this," she said coolly, though her voice held a hint of laughter. "You should have known better." And she went back inside, leaving Krillin to his fate. The short man slumped in Gohan's hold, resigning himself to whatever evil punishment his two victims had cooked up. What he didn't expect was for Videl to pour the liquid on his head and thoroughly rub it in. He was quite suddenly dropped unceremoniously on the ground along with the bottle. He started to rub his head, which had taken the full brunt of his fall, when he noticed just what Gohan and Videl were doing. His jaw dropped as they shared a rather heated kiss before blasting off, presumably going to school.
The monk leapt to his feet, pumping a fist. Though it wasn't quite the result he was expecting, it seemed that his prank had done the trick. Gohan and Videl were together now, something that provided Krillin with ample opportunities to embarrass the hell of out Gohan. Something black falling on the ground caught his attention and he bent down to pick it up. It looked like hair… Horrified, he grabbed a fistful of hair, which came out immediately. He stared at it for two seconds.
"MY HAIR! NNNNOOOOO!"
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