One: Coming Home
A/N: Hey everyone! I wrote this fic after reading so many of your awesome ones. Just want to let you know that I'm not a Marron hater at all, but so many stories have Marron as a bad guy. I like her, I just always pictured her with Goten or Uub, so in this one she's cool and she's friends with Pan. If you don't like then don't read. Also this is a T/P and G/M fic so any haters of those couples don't read. I'm not sure if I want to have U/B or not. O well. Also, I dont own any of these characters. I asked my friend Rebekah if I could borrow her Clarrissa for this story too. So on with the fic!
Pan bit her tongue as she finished her cross word puzzle. She had been on this plane for eight hours and had ten more hours to go. With all the great technology they have, it still takes more than a day to travel half way around the world.
She pulled her headphones over her ears and leaned back in her chair. College in California was good; hell, she had a blast, but there is nothing like returning to your own country and back into your own home. In America, she studied to be a psychologist. She didn't really want to be a psychologist, but a novelist. She didn't really know until her third year, but it didn't go to waste. She now had a Master's and it could come in handy.
She leaned back her chair. Nothing better to do than take a nap. Hell, she had ten more hours and she was already bored to death, and the man snoring next to her wasn't helping the noise. Babies crying, people being stupid and loud, men walking up and down the aisle trying to get good reception for their cell phones, women smacking their gums, and kids kicking their seats. Coach is a pain in the ass.
The lavender haired president of Capsule Corporations stepped down from the building and into the parking lot. He usually didn't leave until night, but today was something special. His best friend, Pan Son, was coming back from California, America. They were holding a big party at his parent's house for her. He hadn't seen her in three almost four years, but they wrote letters to each other. She told him all about America and her new boyfriend; and he told her about his girlfriend.
And speak of the devil; his cell phone started ringing. Immediately he knew who it was. He pushed the talk button and the cell phone turned on in his speakers so he wouldn't have to take his hands off the wheel.
"Briefs." He said loudly and in the business tone way.
"Hey honey. Did I call at a bad time?"
Trunks smiled. Her voice sounded so sweet and innocent. "No, I just got off, Clarrissa. Do you need anything?" He pulled onto the highway.
"Videl and Gohan just left to the airport to pick up Pan. Marron, Bra, and me are fixing up the place for the party. Remember to pick up something nice."
"Why something nice?"
"Because sweetie, we're making it a formal get together. Dresses, tuxes, the works."
Trunks laughed and rubbed his forehead. "Oh Dende."
"Why? What's wrong?"
Trunks chuckled. "Think about it Claire. Pan doesn't like dresses. This will be a surprise party for her. And she's getting off a plane. She isn't going to be wearing a gown and we don't want to embarrass her."
"Oh, shoot. We were really hoping for this too. Oh well, I'll tell Bra. Love you sweetie."
"Love you, too." He clicked off the phone and pulled into his driveway. He recognized the car in the street as Goten's. He was always at his house when he had nothing to do. Marron had probably kicked him out because he usually ate the food before it made it to the table.
He opened the door and was greeted by his two buddies, Goten and Uub. Goten immediately jumped up and gave him a bear hug and picked him up. "Pan's coming home today!"
Uub stood up. "He's been acting this way all day. I think he's a little excited that his niece is coming back. We all are actually."
"Ok, Goten. Put me down now." Goten sat Trunks down and Trunks rubbed his ribs where Goten had him in the death lock. "Is Pan's boyfriend coming too?" He asked as he sat down on the couch and took off his shoes.
"No, she called us while you were at work and told us they had a fight." Goten sat down next to him.
"Oh." He always missed her calls because he was at work. He hadn't talked to her since she left. She would leave her number, but it was always off or she was never there. That's why they wrote to each other. "Did she say why?"
Goten shook his head and sighed. "She said it was just something stupid and that he was a pig. Did you know he didn't like her fighting?" Trunks perked his eyebrows up. "Yeah, she told me he said that a 'true lady shouldn't sink herself so low.' " Goten had a scorn on his face at the last remark.
Trunks laughed. "What did she do?"
"Punched a hole in his car door," Uub said almost laughing. "I wish I could've seen his face."
Trunks pulled off his tie and put it on the inn table. "Pan never mentioned to me that she broke up with him."
Goten shrugged his shoulders. "Well, they didn't really break up. She just left early. He's coming here in several weeks." He gave Trunks an 'are you okay' look.
Trunks raised his eyebrow at him. "What?"
Uub chuckled. "Usually when Pan had a boyfriend you would seriously blow up and go crazy. Remember Gary?"
"Hey, he only wanted her to get to Bra. Besides he got what was coming to him." Trunks defended.
"Or Kage?" Goten said.
"He was so mean to women."
"Or Stephan?" Uub chanted in.
"C'mon it wasn't that bad."
"Michael?"
"Who? Oh him. Yeah, he was a pain in the ass."
"Kentaro?"
"She never went out with him. That was Marron."
"What about Travis?"
"Ha!" Trunks pointed a finger at him. "Pan came to me to get rid of the bastard. I only had to pretend to be her boyfriend." He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Besides, she can take care of herself now. She's twenty-two." He shrugged his shoulders. "And I got my own woman to protect, I can't spend all of my time beating men off of her. I mean, sure it was fun to see them get so scared, but now I'm too busy."
Gotten laughed. "I'm glad she's coming back. Things will be back to normal."
"Uh actually," Uub butted in, "When she left, you weren't dating Marron, Trunks didn't have his own place or a girlfriend, Bra didn't own her own designing company, Marron wasn't a chef, and I had a mohawk." He pointed to his head which was now covered in long black locks that he pushed over to one side.
Trunks shrugged. "Well, almost normal."
As we were set apart from each other with distance and time, not once did I ever forget that you would be waiting for me. Your words of comfort have followed me through thick and thin and have been kept in my heart for all these years. What a friend you were and will always be. You were always like family to me. Now I return home. The place I left behind to find where I belong, has now come to me as the place I should stay. So now I click my heels and whisper the words, "there's no place like home. There's no place like home."
And now I'm on my way to be back with what I left behind; to find a new life. But what is a life that I can't share with you. I try to grab life by the horns, but the bull pulled me away and stabbed me through. So here I come, to have the life that I once knew. My family, my friends, and then there's you.
-Pan Son
Pan heaved a sigh as she stepped down from the plane steps and went to retrieve her luggage. It was good to be back in Japan. She felt more at home than anything. This is where she belonged. Back at home.
Pan was almost toppled over by someone falling over on her with her arms wrapped around her, sobbing. Pan turned around.
"Um, can I help you with something?" She asked scratching her head. Then she recognized the woman. "Mom?"
Videl hugged her tighter, "My baby! My baby! I've missed you so much!" She covered her with kisses and wiped her tears. "I'm so glad you're back. How was Cali?"
"Fine Mom. Where's Dad?" Pan asked as she scrambled out of her mother's embrace, only to have herself in another one.
"Pan!" Gohan picked her up and twirled with her. "Dende! Look how much you've grown!"
Pan laughed. "Thanks Dad. Now we better get home before this place gets even more crowded. I can't wait to eat some of your cooking, Mom. That's what I missed best." They laughed and led her to the car. It was night outside and the air was warm as summer breezes swept their legs and pushed back their hair. She took a deep breath of air. No place like home.
Trunks, Goten, and Uub walked onto the Capsule Corp tower where Bulma and Vegeta, Trunks' parents, lived. This is where they were holding the surprise welcome home party for Pan. They had just gotten word that Gohan and Videl were on their way back with Pan, and Trunks couldn't wait.
He opened the door where they were greeted by a giant roar of "Surprise!" And then followed by disappointing groans.
"Oh, it's just you," said Trunks' younger sister, Bra. She wore a black skirt and blouse and honestly looked like she was going to a funeral.
"Well sorry to burst your bubble." Trunks narrowed his eyes at her. "I guess Pan isn't here yet?"
"Trunksie!" A woman with curly red hair and light freckles blushed against her cheeks came up behind Trunks and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She had marvelous hazel eyes and wore a knee length red dress with thin heels.
"Hey Claire." Trunks turned her around and kissed her lips and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Baby, I thought you said it wasn't going to be formal." He couldn't help but admire her. The dress showed off all her curves and her perfectly round shoulders. But he pretended to pout like a little boy.
She giggled. "But I really wanted you to see this dress. I bought it just for this occasion." She backed off from him and began to model. "You like?"
Trunks smiled. Then he saw Marron coming out of the kitchen where she set down a plate of mini sandwiches. She had on black pants and a pink sweater. She smacked Goten's hand away from the snack table.
"Not until Pan gets here," she warned him.
"But baby, I haven't eaten in thirty minutes." But she gave Goten a look and he stepped away.
"Glad somebody didn't go all out fancy." Trunks said to Marron to tease his girlfriend and his sister.
Bulma turned off the lights and they were cast in darkness. "They're coming! Everyone hide! Shh!" they all ducked down beneath the tables and behind one another as the door slowly eased open.
"Dad, it's two o'clock in the morning. I don't think the Briefs will be-"
"SURPRISE!" Everyone jumped up and turned on the lights and Pan jumped into her father's arms, completely shocked.
"Holy Dende!" Pan shouted with a smile on her face as she jumped down from her father's arms. Trunks couldn't believe what he was seeing. His little Pan-chan was all grown up. She had on shorts that he saw that she made from pants, a red tube top and a denim jacket. Her dark hair was now past her shoulders and she looked more womanly than ever.
Everyone rushed up to her and gave her hugs and gave her congratulations. Pan smiled and hugged everyone tightly. She played with Uub's hair and couldn't believe how everyone looked. Her eyes moved around the crowd until they settled on Trunks.
He smiled and walked over to her and she embraced him in a hug and he twirled her around. "Look at you!" He said amazed.
"Look at you!" She said examining him. "Now I can see why all the ladies want you, Mr. President." She playfully elbowed him in the ribs.
She was the same Pan-chan. Trunks brushed his hair out of his eyes. "And speaking of women, I would like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Clarrissa Taonji." Clarrissa walked up to Pan and they shook hands.
"So this is the amazing Pan Son that Trunks keeps talking about." She said smiling. "Nice to finally meet you."
"Same here. Trunks has told me all about you." Pan smiled. She looked beautiful when she smiled.
"Say Panny, all that time in Cali must've been ruff. I'm so jealous! See any hot movie stars like Brad Pitt?" said Marron. Pan squealed and wrapped her arms around her.
"Marron. Oh my gosh! Look at you!" Pan stepped back to look at her. Marron still had her blonde hair, but it was shorter now to her shoulders, but she still looked like an angel that Pan remembered. Bra came up from behind her and played a game of 'guess who?'
They all chatted and talked and many more 'Look at you's. Trunks made a comment that she looked like she hadn't trained in years.
"Well actually the only thing I had in San Francisco was a gym and a dojo, so I guess I could be rusty." She looked back at Trunks, "What do you say Boxer Boy? How about a spar sometime?"
He smirked at her. "You're on Pan-chan. How about Friday at seven in the usual spot? Or do you think you might not be able to handle me."
"Please," she said raising an eyebrow, "At least I trained. I've seen you in magazines. Parties, concerts, charity auctions. How exactly did you find the time?"
Clarrissa was at the snack table with Uub watching everything. "Boxer boy?" She muttered out loud.
"Oh, that's Pan's nick name for him. You know since his last name is Briefs and all." Uub said as he picked up the small weenie on the tooth pick.
"Oh," she said not taking her eyes off, "And he calls her Pan-chan?"
"Sometimes Panny. They've been friends forever. Pan is a major tomboy and she and Trunks were like two peas in a pod." Uub looked at her.
"How long have they been friends?" She asked.
"All their lives. Trunks used to train her when they were little and they went on adventures together with Pan's grandfather, Goku." Uub chewed off the meat and swallowed.
"Doesn't she have a boyfriend?" Clarrissa still didn't take her eyes off.
"Uh, yeah. He won't be here until a couple of weeks."
"Oh I see." She yawned loudly. "Well it's real late. Tell Trunks that I'm going home and I'll see him tomorrow." She walked away and out the door. Uub watched her leave and sensed Bra walk up behind him.
"Is it just me, or does she seem jealous?" She said as she watched the door in shock.
"Yeah, she was practically giving Pan death glares." Uub looked at Bra. "Why?"
Bra shrugged her shoulders and pointed to the crowd with Pan as the center of attention. "Well, Clarrissa is use to being the one who gets the attention. With Pan here she's in the shadows. And just look at Trunks."
Uub looked back and saw Trunks and Pan laughing at something and watched as he ruffled her hair. They looked like they always did. "So?"
Bra sighed. "Look at it through Claire's eyes."
Uub looked again and thought about what Clarrissa would see. Then Trunks leaned in and whispered something in Pan's ear and made her laugh. That definitely looked like flirting if you didn't know the two. "Ohh. I see now. But why would she be jealous when she's already dating Trunks."
Bra shrugged and ate one of the little weenies on Uub's plate. "I guess she sees how close they are and she doesn't want to lose Trunks to Pan. I mean, they're best friends and Pan is also a woman. Perasu was jealous of Marron when Goten was dating her. Next thing you know, Goten's dumping her and is dating Marron." She sighed and shifted all her wieght on one foot, "I just hope that Clarrissa doesn't think that'll happen."
Uub sighed. He was hoping there would be no troubles.
Pan woke up in the afternoon, but didn't get out of bed. The comfort of her thick blankets and sheets in her old room felt like the most comfortable thing in the world, and she couldn't believe she left it behind. Her parents kept her room looking exactly the same, right down to the foot prints on the wall where Pan would prop her feet up when talking on the phone. None of her clothes fit her anymore except for the occasional baggy jeans that were now tight on her.
But right now she just wanted to stay in the warm bed for all eternity. She hadn't slept that good in days. Her dorm was small and her roommate was messy back in San Francisco. Pan was a neat freak and hated messes. Dirty people didn't get along well with her. She would come home after major tests and hours of studying at the library just to clean up coke bottles and cigarettes.
That's what Pan hated the most. She honestly kicked her roommate out of the dorm to smoke when she was there. She smelled horrible and her teeth were yellow and she was only nineteen.
Her door opened and she was impaled by two girls who smothered her and wrestled her down.
"Wake up sleepy head!" said Bra.
"It's two in the afternoon, you had plenty of sleep. It's time for a girl's night out!" Marron said. They pulled the cover off her and Pan rubbed her eyes.
She stretched and glared at her two friends that were perfectly groomed. Pan had her hair messy and sticking up in all ends and still had on her t-shirt and underwear. She groaned and laid her head back on the pillow, but Bra swiped it away.
"Oh no you don't. You'll sleep all day and stay up all night and totally miss the day." She pulled Pan's arm to lift her up.
"Alright alright. Jeez, you sound like my mother." She stumbled out of bed and grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top and proceeded to the bathroom. When she climbed out she wore her dark blue jean shorts and an orange tank top. Bra smiled as Pan bent over her vanity to brush her hair.
"Whoop whoop! Pull over that ass too fat!" Bra rapped and Pan covered her rear and blushed.
"Stop that!" She said. But the blush on her cheeks told them to continue. They loved to embarrass little Panny.
Marron joined in and walked around Pan. "Oh my god! Becky, look at her butt!" Pan glared at her trying not to laugh as they mimicked the old school rap song. "It is so big! Ah! She looks like one of those rap guys girlfriends."
Bra laughed and joined in. " But, ah, you know, ah, who understands those rap guys? They only talk to her because she looks like a total prostitute."
"Guys, I'm not kidding!" Pan pleaded as she bit her lip trying to conceal the laughter that still showed up.
"I mean, her butt it's just so big! Ah! I can't beleive it's just so round, it's like out there. I mean, ah! Gross! She's just so… Blah!"
Pan decided that they had won this war. She also chimed in. "I like big butts and I cannot lie! You other brothers can't deny! When a girl walks in with an itty-bitty waist and a round thing in your face you get sprung!" They did a little routine before they collapsed on the bed laughing like little high school friends.
Marron stood up. "C'mon Panny, we're hitting the clubs today with the guys at six so that only leaves us less than four hours to hang out."
Pan climbed off the bed and brushed her hair one last time. "Alright, lets go."
Pan and Bra both fell over laughing when Marron admitted having a secret crush on an old high school friend. They were over at Bra's apartment playing a game of Truth or Dare, but they were also with Clarrissa. She had come over since she had nothing to do. She didn't quite understand what was so funny because she didn't go to high school with them.
Pan stood up, "Who wants popcorn?" She was about to walk in the kitchen when Marron stopped her.
"Hold on Pan. Truth or dare?" She said before Pan shut the kitchen door.
"Um," Pan couldn't say dare because they had a rule that wouldn't allow the person to say the same thing three times in a row and Pan had used both her dares. "Truth I guess."
"Okay…" Marron thought hard. "How far did you go with your boyfriend?" She gave her a sly look hoping that Pan would panic and rush in deep crimson. But Pan just shrugged her shoulders.
"We kissed." She looked at Bra and Marron's doubtful faces. "Honestly. If you think I did it with him then you're wrong. Believe it or not, I'm still a twenty-two year old virgin." She stuck her tongue out at them.
"Get out of here!" Bra said. "No way!"
Pan disappeared in the kitchen. "I came close though." She came back and the sound of popping popcorn followed her with the sweet smell of melted butter.
"What do you mean you got close?" Clarrissa asked as she smiled, trying her best to be friendly.
Pan sat down. "Well, a couple of friends of mine were having a party. A college party to be exact. Well, I had a few drinks and got very drunk. I mean, I was puking into a bucket drunk." They laughed. It was funny imagining Pan drunk. When she was young she use to practically be a saint. "This guy and I were flirting and he said he had a surprise upstairs for me." They all 'oooh'ed like kids when someone in their class got in trouble. "Well, if I was sober I wouldn't have fallen for it, but I wasn't. Little o' drunken me was like 'sure! I love surprises!' And so I followed him upstairs where he immediately whipped it out."
"He just whipped it out? Just like that?" Bra asked, now having all her attention on Pan's story. "What did you do? Chop it off?"
Pan laughed. "Well, you guys have never seen me drunk, but when I'm hammered I'm the biggest smart ass there is."
"So then you're drunk all the time?" Marron joked and they all laughed. Pan stuck her tongue out at her.
"No! Well, when he did, I was like this," she put on a face like she was surprised, "Oh my god! It's so….small!" They all laughed and fell over. Pan continued with her story, imitating herself like she was drunk. "And you make fun of us Japanese! What do you call it? Mr. Tinkle?" They were all red in the face from laughing. Even Clarrissa was doubled over. "It's like a baby worm holding two peas." Even Pan laughed now. "After being embarrassed, he zipped it back in and drove away. Then I had a friend take me back to the dorm where I passed out at."
Marron wiped her brow and tried to catch her breath. "Oh man! That was hilarious!"
Pan laughed. "After that he was granted a new nick name."
"What was it?" Claire asked.
"Centimeter peter!" They all laughed and Pan went to retrieve the popcorn.