Trunks idly tapped his pencil against his leg. He didn't know what to do about Pan. He had not seen her in nearly a week. She made no effort to seek him out nor did he try to see her. He found himself missing her, but had to wonder if he was missing her as a friend or something more.
I'm not ready for commitment, he told himself over and over again. I like my life too much.
He smirked. Yeah, but what kind of life is it? All you do is try to figure out how to skip another day's work, and when you do skip you just sit around and do nothing. When was the last time you were serious about a woman?
He found that he could not remember. He sighed and struggled to concentrate on the pages staring up at him. Columns of numbers blurred and shifted, and Pan's face stared up at him. He touched a finger to her cheek, tracing her jaw.
"Am I worth all this?" he asked her image tenderly.
He stood and went to the window.
"TRUNKS!!"
He nearly shot to the roof--literally--at the shout. He turned, a hand to his chest.
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Woman, how many times do I have to tell you never to scare a Saiya-jin," he demanded. "You could have ended up on the other side of the building if Trunks hadn't controlled himself."
Bulma threw her hands up. "He was just about to jump out the window again," she explained shrilly. "I had to stop him."
"I could have chased him down," Vegeta argued.
Trunks rolled his own eyes and yanked his parents into his office before they drew any more attention to themselves. He quickly released Vegeta--he didn't want his hand to be broken--but held on to his mother.
"I wasn't going to leave again, Mom," he told her. "I was just looking out the window."
Vegeta went to stand by it. He peered out. "I don't see anything worth looking at."
Trunks showed him a graph filled with numbers. "When this is the other choice, wouldn't you rather stare out that window."
Vegeta gave it a cursory glance. "Humph," he grunted.
"So," Trunks said, sitting on the edge of his desk. "What did you come here for?"
"Didn't you think that we just wanted to visit?" Bulma inquired sweetly.
Trunks and Vegeta glanced at each other.
"No," was the quick reply.
"Thanks a lot," Bulma said, slapping his arm lightly. "You're right, of course, but I would think that you would appreciate a visit."
"I do, I do," Trunks assured her.
"Just get on with it," Vegeta growled.
"Oh, shut up," Bulma retorted.
Trunks waited for his parents to stop bickering. They had been like this for as long as he could remember. It never bothered him one bit. It was just the way the were.
"Well, Gohan called this morning, demanding to speak with you. He sounded very agitated."
Trunks could feel himself getting faint.
"It seems that Pan had disappeared and hasn't come back since yesterday." Bulma raised an lavender eyebrow. "I can't even begin to imagine why Gohan would be upset with you, though."
"What makes you think he was upset with me?" Trunks inquired, not looking her in the eye.
"He practically yelled--imagine, Gohan yelling--in my ear saying 'Where is Trunks?!? I need to speak with him or else I'll hunt him down like an animal' Tell me, does that sound like a particularly happy man?"
Trunks rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, the last time I saw Pan she flew off on me. Goten and I were worried sick because we had no idea where she went. That was about a week ago."
"Now, why would he do something like that? Pan doesn't usually do things like that," Bulma wondered.
"Something must have been on her mind," Trunks muttered. "You know how Pan is when something occurs to her. She just has to go do it."
"But she didn't even say good-bye," Bulma said pensively. "She's not rude."
"She's probably just training somewhere," Vegeta said. "Let the girl be. Maybe she just wants to be alone."
Bulma turned to her husband, startled. "Really, Vegeta. That's very astute. I didn't know you had it in you."
"I didn't want to waste my breath on you."
"Anyway," Bulma continued, glaring at Vegeta, "I just wanted to see if you had any idea of where she could have gone. Gohan and Videl are climbing the walls."
"I'll call them if I think of anything," Trunks promised, ushering her out the door. Vegeta was already there.
"Why did you come, Dad?" Trunks asked.
"The car broke down," Bulma replied. "He had to fly me here."
Trunks choked back a laugh. It was hard to picture the proud Prince flying with his wife in his arms. Vegeta's sharp hearing picked up on the sound and he glared at Trunks.
"Have a nice flight," Trunks teased.
Vegeta muttered something under his breath. He and Bulma disappeared into the elevator. Trunks went back to his desk and picked up the phone.
"Goten, is Pan really missing?" he demanded when his friend answered on the third ring.
"Yeah," Goten replied. "Gohan and Videl are really freaking out. I'm about to go over to their house now."
"Do you think I should go?"
"Only if you want to. I don't know how Gohan will react if he sees you. He's all strung out."
"Then, it probably wouldn't be a good idea," Trunks said. "I'll fly around and see if I can find her."
"Alright. I'll see you later then."
"Bye."
Trunks replaced the receiver and threw open the door. "Miss Haruna!" he called.
"Yes, sir?" his secretary said, a little shocked at seeing him.
"Cancel all my appointments for today, Miss Haruna," he ordered. "There's been a family emergency."
"Yes, sir," Miss Haruna said. She knew this was serious. The president rarely informed her that he was leaving.
Trunks slammed the door. He walked into this personal bathroom and rummaged through the closet full of clothes that he kept there. He changed into a blue Capsule Corp. bomber jacket, greet cargo pants and a black tank top. He fastened his sword in its sheath across his shoulders. He needed to find Pan himself. He knew why she had run away. He did not know what he was going to say to her when he saw her, but all he knew was that he had to find her. With one leap, he was out the window and soaring through the skies.
Pan floated in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, her eyes closed. The waves were relaxing as they bobbed underneath her. She cleared her mind and just thought about the waves. She knew that everyone at home was worried about her, but she had no way of letting them know she was alright. There was no phone for miles.
She bobbed in the surf for several more minutes before flying back to shore. The small, secluded island was just big enough for her to have a small hut to sleep in, but that was all. It was merely a speck when seen from the sky, making her hiding place perfect.
She toweled herself dry and went into her temporary home. Her stomach rumbled hungrily. With a smile, she went to rummage through the fridge only to find that nothing was in it. Sighing, she reached for a pair of old jeans that had one torn knee and the last clean t-shirt she owned. She then flew off to the nearby islands of Hawaii.
Trunks made his way through the throngs of people at the outdoor market. He had taken off the jacket, and it was now tied around his waist. The sun beat down relentlessly, making his brow bead with sweat. He craned his neck, searching for her. He hadn't picked this place randomly. He had felt her ki while flying over and tracked it. She must have been flying because it was so easy to sense, but when she landed it grew faint and he'd had to search on foot. It was more time consuming to search this way, but he had not other way of looking for Pan. If he flew, he would have to fly low and he couldn't do that. Not with so many people around. He did walk unnaturally fast, but no one noticed.
Out of the corner of her eye, Pan spied a head topped with lavender hair making its way through the crowd of people. She froze and waited for the face to come to view. She felt her heart leap in her throat as she recognized Trunks. Carefully, she turned around and made her way back to the secluded area where she had landed-at least she hoped it was still secluded.
The small park was pretty much empty, as most of the people had decided that the beach was the place to go on such a nice day. Pan powered up slightly, just enough so that she could fly. She nearly screamed when a hand dropped on her shoulder. It took all her self-control not to grab the arm and break it. She turned slowly, silently praying that the hand didn't belong to who she thought it did.
"Excuse me, Miss," the teenage boy asked her, "Do you have the time?"
"No, I don't," she said a little abruptly. She felt as if her heart was about to explode from her chest.
The boy smiled amicably. "That's ok. Say, you're not from around here, are you?"
"No, I'm not," Pan replied. Would you go away!
"If you need anyone to show you around, I'll be glad to do it," the boy said, easily putting an arm around her shoulders.
Pan was about to let loose a smart retort when she felt a familiar ki behind her. Trunks. She felt it rise slowly. Feeling a surge of anger, she grabbed the boy and kissed him on the lips. She had no idea why she did it, perhaps to salvage her already tattered self-esteem. To show Trunks that she was not crying over him.
Trunks' ki shot through the roof. Turning around coolly, Pan faced him, not prepared for the onslaught of emotion that choked her throat. Eyes blazing, and hair standing on end, Trunks had turned Super Saiya-jin. He looked so good that it hurt.
In a flash, he was at her side. Ignoring the amazed young man, Trunks grabbed her arm and flew into the air. At first, Pan was too surprised to do anything, then she yanked hard against his grip to try to free herself. She might as well have been pushing against a stone wall-well, a Saiya-jin proof stone wall. He didn't even budge. She started to power up, preparing to blast him off her.
"Don't even try it," he said between clenched teeth.
Without question, she powered down. There was something in his voice that told her that she would end up a stain on the nice green grass if she tried anything.
"Would have been to difficult to ask me to come with you instead of hauling me around like a piece of luggage?" she questioned stiffly.
Trunks didn't answer in words, but in his eyes she could see the flaming anger. It only made her angrier.
"Trunks! Answer me dammit!"
He turned his head towards her, his countenance sending a chill down her spine. "Why should I? It's not as if you had the decency to tell any of us where you've been for the past 2 days."
"For your information," she spat, "I just called my family. They know where I am now, so you can leave."
His hand tightened on her arm. She winced. There was going to be a bruise there.
"Not yet," he replied. "Is your boyfriend going to be alright by himself?"
Pan's eyes shot to his face. Boyfriend? Oh, that guy...
"He'll be fine," she replied. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, she reflected. Her pride wouldn't allow her to tell him that that boy wasn't her boyfriend. Let him stew.
"So, where have you been staying?" he asked, his tone polite. "We need to talk."
"I don't need to talk.?"
"Fine, then we're going because Ineed to talk," he answered softly, avoiding her gaze.
"Just land at that cove," she said, pointing. "There's no one there."
Trunks dropped down gently and released her. He powered down to his regular form and his blue eyes watched her intently.
"What did you want to talk about?" she inquired.
"Why did you run away, Pan?" he asked.
"Smooth tactic," she snorted. "Answering a question with a question."
His face tightened briefly, before going blank again. "Why did you run away?" he repeated as if she had not heard the first time.
"Because I did," she answered tartly. "Is that it?"
His lips thinned and before she knew what was happening, he grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him. "Dammit, Pan!" he swore savagely. "Why did you leave? Tell me!"
Her eyes widened and realization set in. He knew! He knew she loved him!
She forced herself not to cry, and instead glared at him. "Why do you want to know? Why do you care so much? Did my father send you here?"
Oh, Dad. I didn't know you could be so cruel.
"No, he didn't," Trunks replied, letting her go. "I came myself."
He turned away from her and faced the incoming surf. He walked towards the waves, letting them lap at his boots. He crossed his arms Vegeta-style and stared out at the setting sun.
"Why did you come?" she asked.
"Because I care about you. I was worried."
Like he would be if Bura ran away, because that's all I am to you, right Trunks? I'm just like a little sister.
"Well, I'm fine," she said, a little bit gentler. "So, you can go home and get some sleep."
He nodded. "You want to get rid of me quickly." It was a statement, not a question. "I guess your boyfriend is expecting you."
Pan was surprised at the jealous note in his voice. It was faint, but it was there. Hope flickered like a light inside her. Could it be?
"Do you want to meet him?"
Yeah, so I can beat him senseless. "I don't think so," Trunks replied.
"Why not? I thought as your role as big brother, you would want to check out any prospects."
She felt his ki rise slightly, but his body didn't so much as twitch. She had definitely hit a mark with that one.
"I'm not your big brother," he said, his voice low, but fierce.
She made her way to his side and touched his arm. "Why do you find the idea so unappealing? Am I that terrible?"
He stared at the sunset as if it was the most fascinating thing in the universe. She would have believed it if his eyes had not gone strangely flat. "No," he answered warily. "Why the questions, Pan? You can go."
He wanted her to go. He couldn't take it anymore. He knew the moment that he saw her kissing that boy that he loved her. He felt positively murderous when he saw her arms around the boy. Arms that should have been around him. And he'd gone to her, thinking that her heart was breaking because of him. He loved Pan and more than he had ever thought possible to love someone, and now he knew how she felt when she had seen Marron kissing him.
Or at least how I thought she felt, he thought bitterly. Obviously, her feelings weren't as strong as I thought they were.
Pan watched as Trunks grew positively thunderous. She felt courage build up inside her. He was jealous. He had feelings for her. He may not love her yet, but one had to start somewhere.
Feeling courageous, she flew up in the air. She starting gathering her energy. Trunks looked up, brow furrowed. Before he could react, she fired an energy blast at him. Sand flew in the air with the impact.
"What the hell are you doing?!?" he demanded, shooting up from the cloud.
"What does it look like?" she retorted.
Trunks felt all the frustration finally explode inside him. He gathered his own energy and fired it back at her. Pan dodged it easily.
"Is that the best you can do?" she taunted.
Gritting his teeth, he launched himself at her, kicking and punching. She blocked some, but more hit their target. Bruised and bleeding, Pan backed away. She wiped away the blood trickling from the lip with the back of her hand. The bottom hem of her black shirt was hanging by only a few threads and Trunks' tanktop was ripped across his left ribs.
"Are you alright?" he asked, breathing heavily.
"Just fine."
Trunks' guard was down and she took the opportunity to fire another blast at him. This time it hit him head on. He managed to stop himself from plunging into the water. He let out a yell and fired a succession of blasts at her. Pan flew further away, ducking and dodging.
"Running away again?" he said cruelly.
Pan gasped. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You ran away a year ago, Pan," he said. "And then you ran away two days ago. Why don't you face your problem instead of turning your back to it?"
Pan glared at him. "You don't know anything about it."
"I would if you had told me instead of running away," he said. "I thought we were friends, Pan. You didn't even leave without saying good-bye."
"You were the problem, idiot!" she screamed. "I couldn't tell you because you were the problem!"
Suddenly, an explosion of energy blasted from Pan. Trunks was blown back several meters before he could correct himself. To his amazement, Pan's hair was blonde, and her eyes were blue. She floated in the air, glowing.
"Holy shit," he swore.
Then, she powered down, her body sagging. She began to fall. Trunks caught her before she hit the water.
"Pan," he said, shaking her. "Pan!"
"Shut up," she said, punching his face before she passed out.
It was a little difficult to get a hotel room with an unconscious woman in you arms, but Trunks told them who he saw so that they wouldn't worry-the president of Capsule Corp. was well known-and also that the young lady was just suffering from heat exhaustion. He told them that they had been out exploring and had gotten lost, which was why they were a little worse for wear. He entered the hotel room and dropped Pan onto the bed. He removed her shoes and socks before slipping her between the covers. She muttered something incoherent, but didn't wake up.
Trunks sat at the armchair near the bed.
I couldn't tell you because you were the problem!
Could Pan have been in love with him for this long? Trunks couldn't believe it. He watched her sleep. Her eyebrows were knit together and underneath her eyelids he could see her eyes shooting around. Even in sleep she didn't get any rest. Trunks leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Nearly two days of no sleep had taken their toll on him and he was exhausted.