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She had first noticed it when they moved into their new home. Graciously provided by both her father and Gohan’s family friend Bulma Briefs, it was a brand new building, with pristine walls and modern, updated appliances. It was absolutely gorgeous, if a little big for just two people. That was an idea for later - maybe having a housewarming party would help fill up the space.
The moving trucks had just put everything in the front driveway. No need to pay for movers when your husband and his family could easily bring in the couch one-handed. Piccolo and Gohan’s family came by to help with just that, even though they probably could have handled it themselves. Secretly, Videl thought that they just wanted to come and admire how Gohan had grown up. Chi-Chi had been wailing the whole time, pulling both Gohan and her daughter-in-law into back breaking hugs before unloading enough neatly packed food to feed a small army into their heavy-duty fridge. Even the stoic Mr. Piccolo had placed a hand on Gohan’s head, engulfing it even though his student was full-grown. They seemed to share some sort of silent conversation, before Gohan grinned widely and Piccolo looked away to hide his own small smile.
Now, all unpacked and truly exploring for the first time, the inside of the house had that new building smell. A bit sterile, with hints of paint. First order of business was definitely to open a window - half alien husbands did not deal well with strong smells, and even as a human Videl didn’t want that paint smell to linger. Moving from room to room, she opened every window she could figure out how to unlock. The cool spring breeze filled the house with a nostalgic smell.
Now where was her husband? Staring intently at a wall, apparently. He had his arms crossed, and his nose wrinkled. He seemed to be sniffing the air?
“Is it the paint smell? With the windows open, it should only take a few days to get rid of.”
Gohan turned to her and gave one of his goofy grins. “Yeah! Just thinking about how all the smells here are so different.” he sighed wistfully. “I guess I’m just used to having my family’s scent around me. Having them here earlier helped, but the house just seems so empty right now. Hmm. I feel like I just need to-”
He rolled his sleeves up and held out hand. “Do you mind if I do a weird alien thing to you for a moment?”
Videl rolled her eyes and took his offered hand. “Of course, I wouldn't be standing here if I minded.”
Her husband pulled her into a tight hug, bending over so that he could shove his chin into the crook of her neck. Then he started rubbing the side of his face there, making a sort of soft chuffing noise. Videl couldn’t help but giggle. It was surprisingly ticklish.
After he had gotten his fill of whatever that was, Gohan pulled back. His hair was somehow even more messed up now, and Videl was sure hers was also looking rough. His pupil-less irises were blown wide.
“Sorry. You just had a lot of new smells on you. I wanted to cover them up. I think it’s because you explored the house just now.”
Videl waved away his concern. “You’re more sensitive to it than I am. Plus it’s not like I dislike getting hugged by my husband.”
He laughed. “Are you hungry? I think one of the meals Mom packed had potstickers in it, we can heat those up real easy.”
She started following him into the kitchen area. “You saiyans and your food drive. Your mom’s cooking is top-notch though, even reheated.”
As they passed through the doorway, Gohan brushed up against it like he had misjudged how to angle his body. Weird, but not really something Videl put too much attention on. Maybe all that time wearing those ridiculous shoulderpads Piccolo liked to put him in skewed his ability to judge doorway dimensions. There was a meal to be had, their first meal in their new home.
---
A week later, the weird bumping into walls had continued. Videl had noticed a pattern. Every time he went through an entranceway, he would sidle up on one end and brush against it with his whole body. When turning corners, sometimes he hugged the wall and kind of… rubbed himself? Against it as he went past. Most of the interior walls got this treatment. He did it to the couch too, and the headboard of their bed, and the fridge door...
It was weird, but harmless. It took about a day for Videl to realize what it reminded her of.
“Dude, you’re like a cat.” She told her husband. At his bewildered expression, she giggled.
They were folding laundry on the couch together, windows open and letting in a nice breeze.
Gohan put down the washcloth he had finished folding, and cocked his head in the way all the men in his family seemed to do.
“When you do your wall-rubbing thing. It’s like when a cat rubs themselves on all their stuff-” She had to pause at her own realization.
“That’s totally it, isn’t it! You’re trying to put your scent on everything! You do it to me too, when we hug!”
Gohan’s entire face went red, and he diligently avoided eye-contact with his wife.
“Ah, well, that is- I don’t, we-” he fumbled with his words, embarrassed at being called out like this.
Videl abandoned her pile of laundry to scooch closer to him on the couch, He hid behind his hands in order to continue avoiding her gaze.
“..The house didn’t smell like mine yet. Humans can’t really distinguish scents like that, but my brain kept telling me to mark everything as mine.” He mumbled out weakly. Videl laughed as he pulled his hands away from his face.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed! It’s like you said, it doesn't really affect me!” She paused to think. “Actually, are there really many who can tell?”
Gohan shook his head. “Dad, Vegeta. Trunks and Goten too. Some beastfolk probably can.” He looked at her with those big, dopey eyes. “But I don’t put any aggressive messages in my scent so they’d probably be unbothered.”
“Do you just do this to…. everything you deem as ‘yours’?” she asked, curious.
Gohan blushed again, but nodded slightly. “A lot of inanimate objects. Family gets their own scents. You get a special one too.” He paused. “Don’t tell Piccolo, he’d get embarrassed if he knew.”
“Do all the Saiyans do this?”
“As far as I know. Dad and Vegeta are more intense about it. Vegeta used to yell at me for coming into his house while smelling like Dad.” Gohan rolled his eyes.
“He can’t talk, they have plenty of mixed scent on things. When I was little, Vegeta yelled at my Dad for not putting the right scents on me, something about keeping away predators. Then he rubbed his hand over my hair and for a month every beastfolk in the city acted like a bomb was about to go off when I went shopping with Mom. It was even worse with Trunks, if you can believe it. Don’t get me started on whenever Dad tries to scent Bulma. He sees her as part of his family but Vegeta blows up every time.”
It sounded like there was a bunch of hidden drama happening that the humans in the group weren’t aware of. What a fascinating peek into Gohan’s life.
“Well, you don’t need to be embarrassed! Clearly, this is important to you, and it’s not hurting anyone.”
Gohan sighed and leaned back. His pile of laundry was pretty much finished, the folded stack much larger than the unfolded. It jostled with his movement, but didn’t fall.
“I know, I know. It’s just.. Weird. And this is my first time living with someone who can’t smell things the same way I do. Even when Dad was gone, Goten understood.”
Videl leaned forward on the cushions to give him a gentle kiss. He turned his head to meet her.
“This is your house, as much as it is mine. As long as it helps you feel comfortable, I don't care what you do. I knew I was getting into some wacky alien nonsense when I married you. This one of the least strange things you have done, anyways. Rubbing yourself on things like a cat is much less startling than turning blond by screaming.”
This made him flush again, but this time with a happy smile. He grabbed her in a hug and pulled her down against his body. She yelped in surprise but quickly started laughing as he started rubbing the side of his face against her once again. He was making that chuffing sound again, and it made Videl wonder if he could purr like a cat too.
She broke free of his grasp to kiss him again, this time deeper and longer. By the time she pulled back, she was panting. Gohan was- Huh. He could purr after all, it seems.
-----
Much, much later, on that same couch, Videl’s husband held their perfect little girl, just staring at her in awe.
“I think...” he started in a hushed voice. “I think I understand what Vegeta was talking about now.”
He used his thumb to gently rub patterns into Pan’s forehead and cheeks. She sighed and turned towards her father’s thumb, trying to capture it in sharp teeth.
“What did you put on her?” Videl asked.
He gave one of his goofy grins. Videl really hoped their daughter would inherit those from him.
“Slightly more polite version of what Vegeta put on me back then.”