Height Issues

Videl Satan was perfectly aware that she wasn't very tall. She was, in fact, quite short, even for a girl. But being short had never been much of a problem for her. After all, when you were strong enough to kick anybody's butt quite easily, your vertical shortcomings didn't matter so much.

Well, that was until she started dating a very tall boy.

He was so tall compared to her that it was ridiculous. Whenever she stood next to him, it was almost embarrassing just how short she was compared to him… she barely reached his shoulder, for God's sake! She felt like a child by his side. Why was he so tall, anyway?

Or, rather, why was she so short?

No, really, how come she was so short? Her father was pretty tall, and her mother had been of average height even though she hadn't been overly tall. So where could her height deficiency have come from? Did she have relatives who were tiny like her? She didn't think so. Videl was the only one who was so short.

And it annoyed her that she was getting so worked up about such a trivial thing. So what if she was short? It had never bothered her before, so why should it bother her now?

If only Gohan weren't so freaking tall!


They were having a date at the amusement park. Well, it wasn't really a date since his family and friends had come with them, but they'd managed to slip away from their watch and have some time alone. That was, until Goten and Trunks had turned up, seemingly out of nowhere.

So much for their time alone…

"Mommy said you have to watch us, Gohan! Remember?" Goten reminded them cheerfully.

The teenage boy sighed in defeat, giving up any hope of having some alone time with his girlfriend. And so, together, they got in line for a rollercoaster. While waiting for their turn, Trunks got bored. Therefore, he decided that teasing Videl would be fun.

"Hey, Videl, are you sure you're tall enough for this ride?"

Normally, this kind of remark wouldn't affect the girl, but since her height was becoming a touchy subject for her, she didn't take Trunks' teasing very well. At all.

"Shut up, Trunks. And if you haven't noticed, I'm taller than you," she said coldly.

Taken aback by this icy reply, the little prince mumbled an apology and stayed quiet for the rest of the wait. Videl was like a big sister to him and he liked joking with her, but if she didn't play along it just wasn't fun. Why had she gotten so worked up over a little teasing? He hadn't thought his remark would affect her so much.

Gohan was thinking about the same thing. It wasn't like Videl to get mad over such a small matter; something must be wrong.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked her softly, taking her hand in his.

"Yeah, don't worry. It's just that…," she trailed off, not wanting to make a fool of herself by telling Gohan why she'd gotten so worked up. It was just so stupid!

"It's just that… what?"

Videl sighed. "Nothing."

Gohan was skeptical, but he didn't press the matter. For now.


The foursome was walking around the amusement park in search of the next ride to go on when, all of sudden, a loud rumble was heard. Some of the people who were passing by stopped to look at the small, spiky-haired boy who seemed to be the source of the noise. It couldn't be him, though, could it? He was so small! How could such a loud rumble come from him?

Another, louder, rumble resounded, confirming that it was, indeed, this small, cute boy who was making the loud sound.

"Hungry…," the child moaned painfully while holding his tummy.

Gohan chuckled. "I guess it's time for lunch then, huh?"


They were waiting in the line of a burger stand, the rumbles of Goten's stomach getting louder and louder. What was worse, Trunks was getting hungry as well, his own stomach being almost as loud as his best friend's. Some people who were ahead of them in the line took pity on the moaning boys and let them take their turn.

"Thank you so much, Miss. That's really nice of you," Gohan said gratefully to a young woman as she got behind them.

"Anytime, cutie," she replied, winking at him in a seductive way.

Videl's eye twitched. Had that bitch just hit on her boyfriend? And of course, Gohan hadn't even noticed he was being ogled, like always! It was a wonder that they were a couple at all!

Deciding not to start a fight, – although it was very tempting – Videl took her boyfriend's arm possessively and, glaring daggers at the woman, said, "Come on, Gohan, the line is moving."

Unfortunately, since the woman was right behind them in the waiting line, she advanced as well, getting way too close to Gohan for comfort. Videl clenched her fists. Couldn't she see that he was taken?

"Is that your girlfriend?" The woman asked, showing Videl with her head.

Gohan opened his mouth to answer, but the Satan girl beat him to it. She'd had enough of this outrageously flirtatious woman. "As a matter of fact, I am. So you should stop hitting on my boyfriend before I get pissed."

"Oh, really? And what's a little girl like you going to do?" The woman jeered at her.

"What… did you say?" Videl said, her voice dangerously low.

The woman obviously didn't understand what she had gotten herself into as she continued mocking the girl. "Oh, are you deaf on top of everything else, Shorty?" She laughed, unaware of the danger that she had put herself in. The two little boys, however, knew exactly what was going to happen. And it wasn't going to be pretty.

But before Videl could launch at the careless woman, Gohan, seeing what was going to happen, reacted quickly and held her back.

"You should go find another food stand," he told the woman while holding a struggling Videl back. "Before I decide to let her loose on you. Which you deserve."

"Pfft, like she could do anything to me," the woman said disdainfully as she began to walk away.

"Let me go, Gohan!" Videl struggled. "I'll show her you don't mess with Videl Satan and get away with it! Now let me go!"

Hearing this, the woman froze. This was… Videl Satan? The daughter of the man who had saved the world? The girl who dealt with dangerous armed criminals daily? The woman gulped and hurriedly left the stand.

She'd just escaped a very painful death.

"She's getting away! Damn it, Gohan, let me go!"

"Videl, stop it," he said frowning. "I know how you feel, and I actually want to let you go so you can beat her up like she deserves, but sadly, it wouldn't be the right thing to do."

Calming down, Videl sighed and looked up at Gohan. "Why do you always have to do the right thing?"

He grinned. "Because that's why you love me."

She shook her head chuckling. That boy…

"Can we eat now? We're hungry!" The two kids complained.

It was precisely their turn now. What timing.


The sun was setting and the amusement park was closing. Gohan's friends and family went on their separate ways while the Son boy walked his girlfriend home. They were travelling in silence, hand in hand, and enjoying the nice evening weather and each other's presence. The silence didn't last long, however, as Gohan was still thinking about the events of that day. Sure, he knew that Videl had quite the temper, but he doubted it was the only reason for her outburst at lunchtime.

"So, tell me," he began, getting straight to the point. "What's been bugging you for awhile?"

Videl sighed. She'd known that he would bring it up sooner or later, but the girl had hoped it would be later rather than sooner.

"It's stupid, really," she said, blushing slightly.

He stopped walking, making her stop as well, and turned towards her fully, looking down at her intently. "Tell me," he said.

Videl blushed, looking away from his dark, intense gaze, but Gohan held her chin to make her look at him and again he insisted, "Tell me, Videl."

She gave him a small smile. "I just can't refuse anything to you, can I?"

Gohan smiled back at her and waited patiently for her to give him some light on the matter.

"It's just that…" She sighed. "I… hate being so short." She felt so stupid while saying it that she couldn't even look at him. It was such a ridiculous thing to get worked up about, and admitting it was so embarrassing that she could feel her face heat up.

Seeing that Videl was still unwilling to look at him, Gohan lifted her chin again so that he could see her beautiful blue eyes. He smiled softly upon seeing them finally looking at him and his hand moved up to stroke her blushing cheek.

"Your height never mattered to me," he said, his voice soft and gentle. "You're the strongest, the most courageous, the most determined girl I know, and I'll always admire you for those qualities. You're just the way you are, Videl, and I love you that way."

She never knew how he did it, but Gohan always knew how to make her feel better. She smiled up at him, and reached up to kiss him lightly on the lips. She truly was lucky to be with such a sweet boy.

"Thank you, Gohan," she said softly as she pulled back. He grinned.

"I'm just glad you're feeling better," He said. "Besides, being tall isn't all that great, either. I mean, I have further to fall whenever I trip!"

Videl laughed wholeheartedly, hugging her sweet boyfriend. Gohan held her against him, simply happy to be there with her.

And that was how Videl never worried about her height again. Okay, so she was short. But who cared when you had such an adorable boyfriend?

The End