~Videl~

After their steamy shower, they both got dressed and Kane helped Videl carry her bedding to the laundry. She blushed at the memories of her becoming voracious for pleasure as she punched in the settings. He must have noticed the look on her face and gave her a slow, easy smile - with a knowing look in his silver eyes, but he said nothing. They made their way to the kitchen and Videl started scrounging around for something to make breakfast for the two of them, as Kane prepared some coffee. She was as hungry as she was that first week out of Cryo. The music was still playing from the TV, making the morning feel like something out of a movie. Everything felt so right. She wondered if her parents had shared mornings as peaceful and magical as this, in these very same quarters, and the thought made a tear fall from her eye before she could blink it back. Her heart ached for her own loss, as well as theirs. She didn't want to feel that pain, she just wanted to be happy and content with the wonderful moment without her grief tainting it.

She didn't want to be sad for them. Especially for her mother. Her parents' love for each other had unfortunately ruined Videl's life, had stolen them away from her. Her mother couldn't live without her husband - she loved him that much. Videl's sorrow twisted into anger. She clutched the edge of the kitchen counter as the resentment squeezed her heart in a vice grip. 

Why didn't you love me, Mom? Why didn't you love me enough to stay? Did you even care about me at all? Did I mean so little to you?

As if she wasn't in control of her own actions, she walked past her parents' bedroom and into hers. She went right to the dresser where the family portrait was placed face-down. She flipped it over with fingers that shook with anger. Her mother looked up at her, with a baby Videl in her arms. Her eyes appeared to be filled with love for her family, and Videl scowled at the falseness she felt she saw in her mother's gaze.

"I hate you," Videl sobbed, spitefully. "I hate  you!"

Kane must have heard her voice from the kitchen, and he walked in her room with both hands carrying mugs of steaming coffee. He stilled in her periphery.

"V?" Kane's voice was laced with concern as he hurried to set the mugs on the dresser. Videl couldn't look at him - couldn't look away from her mother's arms cradling the daughter she would one day cast aside like garbage.

"She didn't love me," Videl croaked, her heart-wrenching pain vocalized. "She loved Dad so much it killed her! I hate that she loved him - I hate that she didn't love me like she loved him." Her words spilled out of her, laced with rage and hurt.

Kane's arms wound around her waist, but she jerked away from him, dropping the picture frame with a clatter like it was acid in her hands. 

"No!" Videl shrank away from him, trembling all over. "I don't want to love someone that much! I don't want to be like her!"

She turned away from him, but she could feel the pain radiating off of him with her rejection of his comfort. The hurt hung in the air between them like a poison cloud. Anxiety trilled in her chest, and her breaths started coming out - rapid and sharp. What if she already loved Kane as much as her mother loved her father? She couldn't take it back - she couldn't stop it. The thought filled her with terror. What if she lost him?

The room started spinning. She wasn't able to breathe properly and she swayed on her feet, her vision reducing and darkness tickling at her periphery, threatening to pull her under.

"I can't - " Videl gasped, barely catching herself on the edge of the dresser. " - breathe!?"

Kane's hands gripped her shoulders and turned her around to face him.

"Look at me, V!" Kane's voice shook - his demand stern, but scared. "Look at me." His tone was gentler the second time, coaxing.

Eyes blurry with tears, she forced herself to look at his face.

"You're not her, baby. I'm not your father."

His words were juxtaposed by the fatherly timber in his deep voice - calming, soothing her anxiety little by little with each word. She sucked in air and blew it out hard, trying to will away the grief, the anger, the fear.

"You would never do what she did. You won't let love break you," Kane's hands squeezed her tighter, shaking her shoulders lightly, as if to break her from a trance. "You're stronger than that. I won't be your downfall. I'm not going to get myself killed. I want to grow old with you, and I won't let anything get in my way. I want to take care of you - I want you to take care of me. You can't push me away now, it's too late. You're mine and I'm yours. Right?"

His hands slid from her shoulders up the sides of her neck to cradle her tear-stained face in his hands. His brows furrowed and his eyes searched hers.

"Right?"  Kane's voice was hardly more than a whisper, and hoarse with emotion.

Videl swallowed hard and nodded, a tiny sob escaping. "Yes!" 

She sniffled pitifully and he pulled her into his chest. This time she didn't shirk away from his embrace. She felt like his arms were the only thing capable of holding her broken pieces together, and without them, she would fall apart. In some way, the love that she felt for Kane that bled from her shattered heart in that moment made her understand how her mother could have been so selfish. She didn't think that she could survive either, if something happened to Kane. But she also knew that Kane was right - if they had a child together, she would never have abandoned them. She would have cherished that piece of him that was left in this world, and would never have, for one second,  taken that for granted. 

~Kane~

It was like the old Videl had taken control of V that morning. All the rage, the terror, the rejection of love. It shook him up, but he did his best to keep a level head. She wasn't going to make him walk away, even if she tried. He knew that she was just scared that they would end up like her parents. He had his own fears of putting his heart in her hands, of ending up like his own parents. But they weren't the same as hers, and neither of their fears mattered, because they weren't  their parents. They could learn from their mistakes - they could be better. They would  be better. If they had children one day, they would be a real family - one that never failed to love and care for each other. One that faced their problems head-on, that never allowed distance between their hearts. One that would always know that they had a place in each other's lives that no one else could fill. No one would feel unwanted or unloved. Kane would find a way to show V that love could be safe. Maybe he could show himself that, too. Show that love didn't make you weak, that it could make you stronger.

Long after she had come down from her panic attack, their coffee was cold, but they sipped it anyway as they sat in the dining area. V had a look in her eyes that Kane could read like a book.

"Don't," Kane shook his head adamantly. "You don't need to apologize for anything."

"But I . . . " V trailed off, looking guilty.

"It'll take a lot more than that  to get rid of me," Kane said with a smirk. "In my line of work, once you get the princess - she isn't getting away. I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

"Stuck with you?" V scoffed with a hesitant, shy smile.

"Of course! You're my prize," Kane chuckled. "I slayed all those damn dragons, so don't make me have to lock you in my dungeon, when I have a perfectly comfortable palace for you to share."

His joke made her laugh, and it was so good to see after the outburst earlier - it warmed his heart.

"I don't know - are you going to tie me up in that dungeon?" V joked back flirtatiously. "Maybe that could be fun."

Kane nearly spit out his cold coffee, and V burst into laughter at his wide-eyed expression. He gulped and cleared his throat.

"Ahem!"  Kane tried to compose himself, with a chagrined mutter, "We'll have to see about that. Naughty little princess, aren't you?" He mimicked a similar sentiment she had asked him yesterday. She blushed deeply, but kept smiling.

 "I just wanted to see your reaction," V giggled, obviously embarrassed for saying it.

"Mmh, too late to take it back, now." Kane teased with a wink. "I might have to take you up on it."

She buried her face in her hands and moaned in a mockingly woeful way, pretending to be rueful for making the joke, and he couldn't help but think to himself that he wanted to marry this girl one day. 

"Yeah, that's what it'll sound like," Kane joked, inciting another sweet little giggle.