Pan came back downstairs a few minutes later, and Trunks nearly choked on his tongue.
She gave him the oddest look as he started gagging, but said nothing, and managed to suppress her smile.
She looked good and she knew it too.
While Bra could take an hour and completely remake a person, from shoes to hair to dress to make up, Pan had taken maybe 5 minutes and made herself absolutely beautiful-and yet she wore no make up, and had done nothing with her hair.
Stupid!
She stood at the top of the stairs with a slightly sheepish look on her face as Gohan came up behind her, still worried, but not panicking any longer. He put an arm over her shoulders, and as she looked down into the living room, she blushed.
He wanted to slam his head into a wall.
She was dressed up enough to be able to slip into a formal party, but not enough for even a high school dance. The khaki cargo skirt was tight in the hips, stomach and butt, but still loose fitting, just tight enough to show how thin she was, to show that she had finally acquired a figure. It reached her ankles, he could see one unlaced combat boot on one foot, and one white half-sock on the other. She held the other boot in one hand. A tight navy blue tank top showed her toned arms, and a tattoo.
Damn she looked good.
"Panny!" ChiChi cried, seeing the tattoo, and Pan's blush deepened. But the sheepish smile was still there. She ignored her grandmother for the moment, then let her eyes fly across those gathered downstairs. They passed over him, then shot back, and suddenly she was running down stairs.
He blinked and realized that she wasn't looking at him. She hadn't even noticed him yet. Her eyes had landed on Bra, who leaned huffily against the picture window, looking out over the surrounding trees. Bra had noticed her friend, but was too busy trying to keep her hurt from showing, trying to forget about the little episode upstairs.
Suddenly Bra lurched forward, almost into the picture window, and she looked over her shoulder, at Pan's wide and brilliant eyes. Bra turned her head away.
"Look, Bra," Pan said quietly, just loud enough for Bra to hear...Vegeta and Gohan were too busy trying to puzzle out their daughters too pay attention, everyone too startled by Pan's tattoo to speak. But Trunks was close enough to hear, he kept his face impassive as he eavesdropped. "I'm sorry...something happened last night and I'm edgy, 'k? But I'll make it up to you. Alright?"
Bra ground her teeth. "Tell me what the hell could have you so 'edgy'," she hissed.
Pan shook her head. "Uh uh...that's the one thing you can't get out of me...but how 'bout this...we'll go shopping tomorrow...you can get me into anything you want to get me into-within reason. K?"
Bra's interest was piqued, but she wasn't that shallow...she'd need more prompting.
"Bra-alright...I will buy anything you want me to...no tomboy tomorrow...alright? And I'll wear it in public...to your birthday next week."
Bra lightened. "No tomboy?"
Pan sighed and let go of her friend, standing next to her in the picture window, setting her boot on the sill and untying the laces. "No tomboy," she replied with a smile, shaking her head. Her hair swished across her back and shoulders. Trunks noticed the blue bandana hanging out of her cargo pocket. Apparently she wasn't done getting dressed.
"You promise?"
Pan laughed. "Yes, I'll make the extra effort and shave my legs in the morning, alright?" she relinquished, looking up at the ceiling, suddenly aware of what she had gotten herself into, but not sounding like she regretted it.
Bra let out a quick cry of happiness and threw her arms around her friend.
"On one condition," Pan whispered, her voice dropping. Trunks strained his ears, tried not to make it obvious that he was doing so. His chest hurt from the absence of the beating of his heart, his eyes still itched, his mind was still plagued by what he had done to his mother only an hour ago, but the fact that she wouldn't tell Bra, and that Gohan obviously didn't know, calmed him, allowed him to let himself think that she'd forgive him in time.
"What's that?"
"That you remember what I said..."
"About..."
"It's dead Bra, and I have no intention to resurrect it...it was just some silly crush I had when I was a kid...no trying to set me up with your brother...alright?"
"Alright."
Trunks felt like falling over. He felt like dying.
He felt like he already had.