Chapter One: Strange Messages

Son Pan exited the gate, shivering as she got hit by a blast of cold air from the airport's air conditioning. She stepped aside out of the main flow of exiting passengers to take a moment to pause and check the time. 2:19 p.m. She had told her best friends, Bra Briefs and Marron Chestnut that her plane would probably be getting in at around 2:35 p.m. and knowing the two of them as she did, they wouldn't arrive until then to pick her up. While neither woman was ever late, they weren't known for arriving early either.

It wasn't like she actually needed for them to come pick her up. All of her stuff was stored in the extra-deluxe Capsule Corps. storage capsules that Bulma, Bra's mother, had sent her last Christmas as a gift and a subtle hint to remind her that it was time to move her ass back home. She could easily just walk out of the building and fly to her parents' home, but the problem with that was there was no place she could safely do so without being seen. The people of Earth had remarkably short term memories and despite seeing feats of 'amazement' at world tournaments and when the occasionally word-destroying or conquering megalomaniac threatening the planet over the years, it still freaked them out to see what was considered an impossibility. Of course, she could have just avoided all this by actually flying home on her own power instead of a plane, but her friends in Tazo City had chipped in to pay for the first-class ticket to send her back home in style and she couldn't just turn down such an expensive and thoughtful gift.

"Pan! Panny!"

It was the only warning she got before she was enveloped from behind in a great, big bear hug. Her heightened Saiyan nose picked up a familiar smell that was a mixture of baked goods, spices, cologne and the underlying happy masculine scent that that was unique to Son Goten, her uncle, although their relationship had always been more of brother and sister then uncle and niece. It was one of the reasons why she rarely referred to him as uncle unless she was teasing him or happened to be pissed off enough or needed the distance that using that familial title gave.

"Put me down, you big goofball," she shrieked, legs kicks wildly above the ground. He merely laughed and swung her around in a circle a few times and made her dizzy before setting her back down on the ground. Pan flung her arms around him and clung him, to the comfort that she got from being around him again.

Goten was one of the few men in her life that could just make her feel completely safe and happy when she was around him. The only other two had been her Grandpa Goku and her father. It had to be male Son trait because her mother and grandmother had said they had felt the same way, when she had brought it up one time as child. She stared up at him, ebony meeting ebony, and grinned because it didn't seem like he had changed at all in the fours years she had been away.

Oh sure, she had seen him a few times over the years, but the visits had been too short and to far in between. She should have spent more time with the people she cared about, but she had been too with college, work and the friends she had made in Tazo City. And then there was that...

"Hey, what are we? Chopped liver over here?"

Pan let go and spun around, the trademark sunny smile that she had inherited from Grandpa Goku on her face. "Bra! Marron!" she cried, and then her smile faltered just for a split second as she realized who else was with them. "Trunks! I wasn't expecting you to show up too. I thought you would be busy with work."

"Never too busy to find time to see you, Panny," Trunks replied, his voice and the expression on his face a little less warm then what it would have normally been. A sure sign that he had noticed her initial reaction to him and had been hurt. He always had been more like his father than his mother, especially when it came down to matters of pride and feelings. He'd cut off his own leg before he admitted that something had hurt his feelings.

"Wow, girl you look good," Marron said, drawing her attention away from the Saiyan Prince. The blonde circled Pan, nodding her head approvingly. "I see you've finally seen the error of your ways. Congratulations for joining the world of fashion."

Pan rolled her eyes, although she couldn't really deny her friend's words. Before she had left, she hadn't really cared much for shopping and fashion like her best friends had. She hadn't been a total failure, but she had never really put much effort into the whole matching and accessories business. If it hadn't been for Marron and Bra she would have probably been at the mercy of the Plastics, the popular girls of her high school who loved nothing better then picking at a person who wasn't part of their clique for one reason or another. She may have escaped being attacked for her sense of style, which was limited back then, but she hadn't completely escaped being called a freak for the strength and speed she had gained from her Saiyan blood. Even Bra had to deal with some of the catty comments and she had been one of the most popular girls in school because of her personality, looks, and money.

She glanced down at the outfit she had chosen to wear. The tunic she wore was stretchy, so it would be comfortable on the long trip, and clung admirably to the curves that had finally developed after her high school years. The tunic was in the signature red that she and her best friends were known for; they had certainly worn it often enough while growing up. She paired it up black leggings,
that made her legs look longer then they were. Considering she was of average height, every little bit helped.

"I can't believe you let your hair grow out, Pan," Bra said, picking up a strand of her friend's black hair and twirling it for a moment before letting it fall back in place. "It's as long as Hana's. You two could pass as twins."

"Big duh. She is my younger sister," Pan replied. "Speaking of Hana, where is she? I thought that she and Mirai would have come with you guys to meet me."

"Hana's shopping for a new outfit to wear to the party later and comforting her new boy toy because he can't come," Goten answered, a hint of disapproving snarl in his voice at the mention of the boy toy. It didn't matter if his relationship with his nieces was more sibling-like then what it really was, he still didn't like any males sniffing around them anymore then his brother did. "As for Mirai, she would have come but Gohan grounded her so you won't see her until the party, which if we don't get a move-on we'll be late too."

"Party? What party? I told Bulma not to have a party," Pan complained as they began making their way through the crowds to the entrance; although she knew it was a waste of air to complain. Bulma always threw parties for the smallest reason. The woman lived for them and would have thrown one everyday if it wasn't for the fact that her mate/husband would literally have a royal fit over it. Saying Vegeta wasn't a people-person was an understatement. Even with those within their group, he was distant although they all understood he did care in his own gruff and arrogant way. "And why is Mirai grounded?"

"She got suspended on the last day of school," Bra replied, flashing a grin at a group of guys as they passed, which had the effect of leaving them in a pool of brainless hormones. The Princess of all Saiyans (which was a depressing number of nine) had that kind of effect on men and she was well aware of it. If she wanted, she could have had any one of those guys as her new boyfriend, but the Saiyan Princess had her heart set on one very clueless guy. "Something about sending the entire football team to the emergency room."

"They had it coming," Marron added, grinning evilly. "They cornered her and were trying to feel her up. Boy, I bet none of those guys will ever cop a feel on a girl after this. But I suppose if you look at it from male perspective, it was hard not to resist temptation. Mirai's really grown up in the last four years. She even gives Hana and Bra a run for their money with getting attention from the guys."

"This I'll have to see," Pan said, as they reached Marron's car, a convertible the same color as the tunic she wore and that had the distinction of being able to be labeled as cute and sexy at the same time. A fitting combination since those were the two words she would have used to describe her best friend. Only problem was that it really wasn't meant for five people, especially if two were as big and muscular as her uncle and Trunks were.

"Shotgun," Bra called, jumping in the passenger seat and earning a glare from everyone but Marron. "First come, first serve!"

"Shouldn't I get shotgun since I haven't been back in ages," Pan countered, grudgingly slipping in the back seat. Damn it, now she was going to be squished and in between both guys, since neither thought it was right for two men to be sitting next to each other in a car if there was a girl who could be sitting between them.

"That kind of logic only works if you weren't like family," Bra replied, flaunting her rights by getting comfy in the passenger seat. "In family it's the best Saiyan… er person" she flashed a grin at Marron, "for herself."

"Scoot over Pan," Goten complained as he got in on from left side and managed to push her more into Trunks who had already gotten in the car and was sitting on her right side. "I barely have enough space here."

"Tough luck, Goten," she retorted. "I scoot over anymore and I'll be sitting in Trunks's lap."

"Hey that's good idea. Do it!"

"What," Pan said, giving her uncle a 'look'. There was no way she could sit in Trunks's lap. Not after her initial reaction to him. It just wouldn't be good.

"What's the big deal, Pan," Goten asked, looking confused as to why Pan would hesitate or be upset. "You used to sit in his lap when you were a kid."

"You're not afraid are you, Panny," Trunks asked, that trademark smirk that he had inherited from his father on his face. She didn't think he had figured out the why, but he had clued in that she didn't want to get that close to him. He had challenged her deliberately, poked at her pride to get her to do something she had hoped to get out of somehow. She was Saiyan, no matter how diluted her blood was, and a Saiyan never gave up their pride, not unless it was something that meant more to them then pride. Plus it just wasn't in her personality to back down from a challenge and they had once been very close before she had left, so he'd know that particular quirk of hers.

"The day I'm scared of you Briefs, is the day that your father admits that my grandfather is his best friend," Pan said, moving so she sat on his lap. She tried to ignore the fact of how good he smelled to her, but in a whole different way then her uncle, or how she liked having his arm wrapped around her waist to hold her steady while Marron drove (the woman had major issues while behind the wheel).

Fuck it all. This was why she had left in the first place, because she had to notice Trunks, not as one of her closest friends, but as a flesh-and-blood man who sent her pulse racing whenever she was around him. Up until that day, four years ago she had seen Trunks as one of her best friends and maybe a brother figure like Goten. Sure, she knew he was hot. She wasn't blind and the media and female population never let her forget how in demand he was. But then something had happened and she really began to see him and that's when things went to hell because she started noticing things. How blue his eyes looked when he really smiled from his heart and didn't give her that arrogant smirk that was so typical of a child of Vegeta. Or how sexy said smirk could be. Her thoughts were no longer staying in the PG-13 range and that had scared and worried her.

Trunks was one of her best friends. A brother figure. He was fourteen years her senior. And here she was lusting after him and having thoughts that probably made a porn movie seem tame in comparison. What was she supposed to do? She had panicked and decided that she needed space away from him. Maybe if she was away from him she could get her mind back to where it needed to be and her hormones under control. She wasn't about to screw up a friendship, just because she had suddenly decided she wanted to jump his bones.

So she had jumped at the chance to study in Tazo University for college. But being her father's daughter, she had graduated ahead of time, two years ahead and that hadn't been enough time to work through whatever infection had made her want to rip Trunks's clothes off when she saw him. To avoid going home, she had started her career in Tazo City, ironically enough working for a branch of Capsule Corporation located there. Two years she had thrown herself into the work, making herself so busy that it was next to impossible to visit or to visit for very long so she had managed to avoid the sight of him in person, quite a feat considering he was the president of the entire company and surely had to make visits to the other branches on occasion. And then she had been transferred back home, which she suspected was due to her mother, grandmother, and Bulma's combined influences.

She hadn't been ready to be back. Her reaction to Trunks being here was proof of that. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings. She had just been shocked by his presence and angry with herself because she was still lusting after him. Great, lusting after the boss. Another no-no and cliché of life that she was breaking. She just seemed to be racking them up lately.

"Why so quiet, Pan?"

Pan had to resist the urge to shiver when Trunks whispered into her ear. It seemed so intimate considering they were with friends and just the feel of his hot breath… well she was just glad that her body didn't react any more then a shiver because with three demi-Saiyans in the car, it would be hard to hide it if her reaction was anything more. At least she could chalk this up to being that he had surprised her and not because of anything else that could be labeled X-rated.

"Just thinking," she answered quietly, meeting his eyes. "It's good to be home. Although I wish your mom wouldn't throw a party. There's no need."

"You know how my mom is," Trunks replied, amusement lurking in his eyes. There was nothing quite like family to get the Saiyan Prince in a better mood even if he might still be miffed with her. "She loves her parties. She'd throw one everyday if Father wouldn't have a fit. Since she can't she jumps at the slightest reason she can get away with having one. Be glad that you've had a break while you were gone."

They stared at each other and he gave her one of his half-smiles that told her that he would forgive her for the unintentional slight she had given him earlier. His half-smiles had always been his way of meeting her halfway in some mishap in their friendship which let her know that he didn't want to fight or make something worse then it normally was. She smiled back at him and his own smile deepened. They could never really stay mad or upset at each for very long, especially for something that couldn't be considered major considering some of their other fights in the past. She was home again and she still had these pesky lustful feelings towards Trunks. Somehow she'd deal with them.

Somehow.

Despite the weird feelings that Trunks set off inside her, Pan was still glad to be home. Although she could do without Master Roshi and Oolong's not-so-subtle hugs that they used to try and feel her up. Dende, they were both so old now. Couldn't they act their age and stop ogling women like they had since as far back as anyone could remember? Then again maybe they were masochists who liked pain, since her instinctive reaction to being felt up was pull back and punch them so hard then went flying across the room.

"Good. You haven't slacked off in your training, brat"

She turned and raised an eyebrow at Vegeta, but didn't bother saying anything in return. It was just like the man to not bother greeting her properly and instead focus on whether or not she had kept up training to get stronger and hone her abilities while she was away (and how did he know that she had kept up her training?). If she didn't know him as well as she did, she would have thought that all he cared about was training. But she knew how important his family was and how much he grudgingly cared about the friends he had made on Earth.

In his own way, he was welcoming her home and she understood that training was still important. You never knew when the next big bad would decide to show up on Earth, and like Grandpa Goku, the King of all Saiyans worried about the new generation not being strong enough to defend the Earth. Earth was for better or for worse home for Vegeta and the last of the Saiyan race. He didn't want his descendents to be defeated by some upstart alien or whatever hell decided to show up. And with the Saiyan bloodline thinning with each generation, it was something to worry about that they would be getting weaker instead of stronger and leaving Earth defenseless.

"Of course Pan's been training," Mirai said, as she joined her sister and their quote unquote King. "She's not like that slacker Prince who spends more energy being a bum then a warrior." The smirk upon Mirai Son's face was eerily similar to that of Vegeta and his children. It made Pan wonder how much time the youngest Son spent with the man, because it was clear she was picking up character quirks by osmosis. It wasn't really surprising as Mirai did tend to look up to Vegeta, particularly as he had become a bit of a surrogate grandfather, since their own wasn't as around as much thanks to that Dragon Balls mess.

It was still quite a shock to see how much her baby sister had changed while she had been gone. Especially since most of the changes had occurred in the past year. Mirai had been 13 when she had left for America and had been as much of a tomboy as Pan had been at that age. From e-mails and phone calls she knew that hadn't changed much with her sister, although Mirai's physical form had. Unlike Pan, Mirai as well as their sister Hana had bloomed much earlier. It was a bit disturbing to see that Mirai's breasts were about as big as her own, especially since it had taken her much longer to grows breasts that she could be proud of, instead of being embarrassed as being nearly as flat as a board.

Even though Mirai's style seemed to tend to lean towards the baggy and goth-like, it did nothing to detract from the fact that her baby sister had a nice body. The black scoop neck fishnet top and flared denim jeans she wore just emphasized the curves she had. It was little surprise that the youngest daughter of Gohan and Videl was beating, literally, the boys back away from her. She was certain to be quite a looker as an adult. Despite her tough attitude, there was a softness in Miari's appearance that Pan and Hana did not have.

"Squirt, you should show more respect more for your elders," Vegeta replied, scowling although it was obvious to those who knew the signs that he wasn't mad at Mirai's dismissive words about his son. "The boy could beat you even if he tied a hand behind his back."

It was Mirai's turn to scowl, since her height was a sore point with her. She had always been the shortest one in her class and being petite had often meant that bullies mistook her for being weak. They had quickly learned the error of that assumption, but it ended up with her having a reputation of being a 'little freaky monster,' although people didn't use the 'little' part while she was around. "Perhaps, once he had that type of strength, but now I could beat him without the use of either of my hands. He grows weak with the choices he makes."

And with that enigmatic statement she left to go terrorize Master Roshi and Oolong as only a teenager could. Pan frowned, puzzled at what her sister had meant. Trunks was not the type of person to do things that made him weak. He was his father's son through and through in this. Even his mother was not the type to do things that would be seen as weak.

"Are you going to fight for it this time, brat?" Vegeta asked, drawing her attention. She blinked, the classic Son expression of cluelessness upon her face.

"Huh?"

"Fight for it, brat. Strangely, you feel it more strongly despite your diluted blood, so you will suffer more if you don't complete it. Don't run away again. I'll let you off for the first time. You were more child than woman then. But a Saiyan woman does not run away from what is hers."

For the second time that night, Pan was left totally puzzled by something someone had said. What the hell had Vegeta meant about fighting? Suffer? Suffer from what? Damn it, coming home and dealing with her lustful feelings for Trunks was bad enough. Did everyone else have to say stuff to confuse her?

Final Thought from Pan:
What are they talking about?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story was formerly known as 'Call Me Maybe', however as I begin the process of revision and edits I really didn't think the title was fitting and a few spins on iTunes helped me find a title that I think will fit the overall tone of the entire story. Anyways, I'm fairly certain that after going over it three times, and making edits and cutting out bits, that I've caught any mistakes. However, should you see one please let me know so I can go back and fix it. Anyways, enjoy. =)

Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z/Dragon Ball GT or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Toriyama Akira and anyone else he says has rights to it.