The wind blew strands of lavender hair into a pair of clear blue eyes. Briefly, they narrowed...staring intently ahead—then, suddenly shot to the side to see a figure walking towards him.
The young woman came to a halt when she was ten feet away from the man who she'd been wanting to see for so long. Her throat closed up with a bevy of powerful emotions and she stood, just staring at him as he stared back at her. He smiled slowly at her and held out his arms.
Pan hurled herself at Trunks and knocked the air out of his lungs. She laughed gleefully, clinging to his neck. Trunks laughed along with her, until he realized they were making a bit of a scene. He adjusted his glasses before putting his arms around the girl to settle her down.
With surprise, he looked down at Pan, into her dark dancing eyes and realized that she was no longer the girl who he used to watch over. At twenty years old, Pan was a woman. He blinked at the realization, and wondered why he hadn't noticed before. Maybe because he hadn't felt the womanly curves underneath her baggy clothes, or the softness he felt again his body...
Trunks swallowed and forced himself to smile. This was Goku's granddaughter, Gohan's daughter, Goten's niece. He shouldn't be thinking about her in such a manner. He smiled despite himself. He must be spending too much time with Goten. His libido was starting to take over his common sense. Pan was still Pan and that should be enough for him to keep himself in control.
It's been too long since you've had a date, he mused.
While he'd been lost in thought, Pan had dragged him to the baggage carousel and retrieved her bag.
"Just one bag?" Trunks asked incredulously.
Pan grinned cheekily. "I thought you'd be happy about that since you're the one who has to carry my luggage?"
Trunks smiled, and lifted the bag. He was, of course, able to lift it. His father's Saiya-jin blood did flow in his veins, but it was pretty heavy for one bag.
"Did I mention that your mom made some special capsules for me?"
He laughed outright at that. Pan danced beside him, satisfied that she'd been able to make him laugh. He led her out to his car, a sporty black model. Pan ran an appreciative hand down the shiny exterior.
"You like it?"
"I love it. So, this is what being president of Capsule Corp. can bring, huh?"
His lips twisted slightly. "Among other things."
Pan's watchful eyes narrowed at him. He changed the subject quickly, not wanting to explore that particular topic.
"So, how come you didn't just fly yourself back?"
She threw him a curious glance, then decided to let the it drop. "I thought I'd pamper myself just this once."
"Just to warn you," Trunks said with a smile, "everyone's waiting for you at Capsule Corp. They missed you, Pan."
They, not we.
Pan bit back a violent surge of emotion before answering with a well-practiced show of cheerfulness.
"Well, they better have. I've been gone for a year."
Trunks frowned slightly. "Where did you go? Last I heard you had gone somewhere in Europe."
"You mean you never bothered to ask after that? That was four months ago."
He heard the hurt in he voice and winced. "I guess I got a little behind in the news." He tried for an apologetic smile. "I had to make enough money to buy this baby, you know."
Pan smiled slightly, forgiving him. He turned back to the road.
"So, what did you do?"
"I was on a quest," Pan admitted quietly.
Trunks turned his head to look at her. "What were you looking for?" He saw her lips twitch, and a sheen come over her eyes.
"I don't know."
They drove in silence; each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, they reached Capsule Corporation headquarters. Grinning, Trunks offered her his arm and escorted her into the large room where everyone was waiting.
Pan was quickly dislodged from Trunks' arm. He watched amusedly as Videl swept her daughter into a tight hug before relinquishing her to Gohan, who crushed his daughter to him. Chichi came in and fussed over her granddaughter, then Goten twirled her about in the air. Bura squealed and threw her arms around her childhood friend. Bulma hugged her, and Vegeta nodded in her direction.
Pan caught Trunks' eye and they grinned. That was probably the warmest greeting Vegeta had given anyone.
Last but not least, Mr. Satan came up and crushed his granddaughter to him. Pan gasped for breath, at the same time making wheezing noises that could pass for laughter.
"Miss me?" she asked when she was finally put back on her feet.
"How'd you guess?" Trunks said dryly.
"I get clues."
They laughed and food was passed around. As usual, there were several tablefuls of culinary delights; for Saiya-jin appetites were nothing to joke about. And in accordance to that rule, within ten minutes most of the food was in the respective digestive systems of Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks.
"Don't you ever get indigestion?" Bulma asked her husband peevishly.
Vegeta only smirked. "Only when you cook."
Those within hearing distance choked back laughter except for Trunks and Goten who howled. Bulma glared at her son, who stifled his chuckles. Goten smiled angelically.
"You boys will never grow up," she clucked.
The party went on for several more hours, just until everyone grew restless. Pan thanked Bulma and Vegeta for hosting the little party. She turned to Trunks and hugged him, thanking him for picking her up. She pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek and swept out the door.
Trunks smiled goofily. Fortunately for him, no one had noticed. Bulma and Vegeta had retreated to the house and Bura was nowhere to be seen.
He let out a relieved breath and followed his parents. This had come out of nowhere. He had to remind himself that Pan was still Gohan's daughter. He used to baby-sit her! He shook his head and chalked it up to just being so unbelievably happy that she'd come back. He had missed her and a lot more than he'd expected.
"Trunks here."
"Hi, Trunks!"
The pencil Trunks held in his hand snapped in half, but he didn't even notice and the paperwork that had been put off yesterday had been forgotten once again. He grinned.
"What's going on, Pan?"
"Just thought I'd kidnap you from your office for lunch. How 'bout it?"
"Sure," he said.
"Great."
He heard tapping behind him and swiveled around in the big leather chair. He gasped in surprise to see Pan levitating right outside his window, then chuckled. She waved at him. He pressed a button on his desk and the glass slid upwards. She climbed in and turned off her cellular phone.
Still grinning, she straightened her rust colored v-neck sweater and long black skirt. Trunks smiled, taken aback at seeing her so dressed up.
"Interesting way to get a date, Pan," he teased before he could think about the implication of his words.
To both their embarrassment, redness spread over both their cheeks.
"I didn't mean—"
"I wasn't trying—"
They smiled at each other.
"Let's go to get something to eat." He regarded her one more time. "You look nice."
Pan smiled shyly. "Thank you. So do you."
Trunks straightened his tie and shrugged into his jacket. He looked as comfortable in his navy blue suit as he did in his fighting gear. Pan had to admit that he looked so business-like with his hair gelled back. He held out his hand and bowed his head.
"May I escort you to lunch, dear lady?"
Chuckling, she laid her hand in his and they flew out the window. At the same moment, the office door opened and Trunks' secretary came in with an armful of files.
To those watching, it would look like the lavender haired man and his beautiful dark-haired companion was engrossed in a deep discussion about the more important things in their lives—at least judging from the serious expressions on their faces. In reality...
"...then Goten came up behind me and slashed downward with his ki," Trunks continued. He rolled up his sleeve—by this time his jacket was off, the knot of his red and black striped tie was halfway down his chest, and his hair was beginning to break free from its captivity—and showed Pan a scar that was around five inches long on the inside of his forearm. "I don't even thing he realized how sharp it was. Blood was everywhere."
Pan whistled. "Yikes. Wish I had been there to see it."
"Yeah." His lips twitched and his eyes lightened in the way it always did when he spoke of his parents. "Dad was a little annoyed that Kakarot's son was able to give such a blow to the son of a Saiya-jin prince."
Pan chuckled. She filled her spoon with fried rice and shoveled it in her mouth. Trunks' story was interesting, but the smell of the food right underneath her nose was beginning to make her mouth water. As if reading her mind, Trunks dipped a chicken ball in sweet and sour sauce and stuffed it in his mouth. They'd been sitting at the same table for nearly an hour, and even for being half Saiya-jin and a quarter Saiya-jin respectively, they were pacing themselves. The buffet was showing signs of their consumption, much to the shock of the management.
"You know," she said around a piece of broccoli, "I think going to a buffet was one of your better ideas. We don't have to wait for the other dishes to be brought to us, and they are not on to us yet."
Trunks eyed the busboy who was trying not to stare at them. He turned back to Pan with an amused smile.
"I don't know. I think they're on to us."
Pan followed his gaze and grinned when she saw the busboy. The young man blushed and hurried to the kitchen. She turned, puzzled, to her companion.
"Is there something in my teeth?" she asked, baring them.
"No. Could it be that young Pan has befuddled one of the opposite sex with her beauty?" Trunks gasped, feigning surprise. He felt a twinge of something foreign in the vicinity of his gut and wondered if Pan had met anyone on her trip. Taking in her luminous blue eyes and shining black hair, he wouldn't be too surprised if she had.
Pan flipped her short hair. "It wouldn't be the first time," she said airily, confirming his suspicions.
Trunks' eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. She only smiled. He began to wonder what she'd done on that little quest she went on...
An hour later, they left the Chinese buffet restaurant. Trunks' cheeks were a pinkish hue, while Pan was howling with laughter. He put a hand over her mouth.
"Shut up will you," he hissed.
She nodded, and managed to stifled her giggles. "It was just too funny. Really, you didn't have to give him so much money. We had paid already. It's supposed to be all you can eat."
"I don't think he expected us to eat everything," he reasoned.
"But," Pan said with a chuckle, "it was all we could eat."
Before he could stop himself, Trunks doubled over with laughter. Somehow, he and Pan managed to make their way to the park and onto a bench.
"That was fun," he remarked and to her ears sounding a little surprised.
"You don't have to baby-sit me anymore," she said, nudging him lightly with her elbow.
"No," he said, his voice quiet.
She looked at him, and seemed to be drowning in the depths of his eyes. The space between them lessened rapidly.
"Hey, guys!!"
Jumping apart guiltily, they turned towards the source of the greeting. Goten was coming towards them with the flavor of the month clinging to his arm.
"Hi, Uncle Goten!" Pan called, waving.
Trunks couldn't help wanting to beat his best friend over the head. Then, quickly checked himself. He should be relieved. Who knew what would have happened if he had kissed Pan?
He glanced down at her, the sun glinting off her ebony hair. Oh, he knew exactly what would happen if he had kissed her...and he had a feeling it would be far from unpleasant.
Goten hugged his niece and cuffed Trunks lightly on the arm. He grinned at the two of them and introduced Mindy. The blonde giggled and ogled Trunks, much to Goten's amusement, Pan's annoyance, and, surprisingly, his embarrassment.
Normally, Trunks would have taken it in stride, after all, it wasn't as if this was the first time it had happened. In fact, he probably would be trying to see if he beguile her, but with Pan standing next to him it wouldn't be right. He nodded at Mindy, giving her his best impression of Vegeta's expression of detachment.
"So, aren't you supposed to be behind a desk, Mr. President?" Goten asked. He was a little confused at Trunks' response to Mindy's blatant admiration. He had expected something, but not—disinterest?!?
"He's the president?" Mindy cried, awed.
Pan choked back a laugh. She looked up at Trunks and saw his lips thin. At first she thought he was annoyed, but when his eyes met hers she saw them tear up with held back laughter. They could see the same thought running through each other's heads.
Where does Goten find these girls?
"Well, we might miss our show," Goten said, drawing an adoring Mindy away from Trunks.
Trunks winked at his friend. "I better be getting back to running the country."
Goten's lips twitched before he glared at Trunks, remembering that he was supposed to be defending his date. Pan kissed her uncle on the cheek and left with Trunks. Goten led Mindy across the park and was suddenly hit with a thought. He looked over his shoulder to see his friend and his niece walking close together, Trunks' head so close to hers that his hair brushed her forehead.
Trunks and Pan? I didn't see any pigs flying so what's going on?
Trunks watched from his window as Pan flew away. She turned around once to wave at him, and then disappeared into the darkening sky. He had stayed out much longer than he'd meant to, but time seemed to fly by. The awkwardness that should have been there after their near-kiss hadn't occurred since Pan was dissecting her uncle's girlfriend and reducing him into a useless piece of quivering, laughing soon-to-be ex-president of Capsule Corp. For after his mother heard about how he'd played hooky again she would surely kick him out. Well, he could just say that he'd been entertaining Pan. That should calm Bulma down a bit. She was fond of the girl.
And it wouldn't be prudent to say that her son was fond of Pan as well.