Goodnight

By Tanyaneko

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball/Z/GT or any of the characters, and I'm not making any money off of this. I don't own Emotion- Destiny's Child sings that. I do own the plot. That and a few colored pencils.

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Trunks sat in his empty room, slouched over a desk, paging through a photo album and sighing. The only illumination in the room was from the faint snatches of moonlight that managed to filter through his curtains. It was dim, dark almost, but he didn't mind- it complemented his mood, went perfectly with just how alone he was.

He looked at one photograph of himself and Goten, smiling and looking like they had all the time in the world to have fun. But his best friend had girlfriends all around him now and he didn't have time for the 32-year-old man that was Trunks. A sad smile crossed his face when he saw a picture of Pan, looking very different from how she had during the Galaxy Tour. She was older, more mature, and absolutely gorgeous. She didn't have time for him anymore, either. She was gone, 18 now and studying abroad. Face it, Trunks. You're a lonely, friendless old man, he thought to himself. It didn't matter in the slightest that he still looked 19 at the most, and that he had at least a million girls after him. Each and every one was only after his money.

He was too engrossed in his solitude to pay much attention to his surroundings, but when bits of music drifted to his ears, and he realized his sister was in one of her karaoke moods.


It's over and done
But the heartache lives on inside
And who's the one you're clinging to
Instead of me tonight?


A groan escaped his lips. Not THAT song… It fit his mood far too perfectly. It would make him think of Pan. He knew it would. "Bra! Could you please sing a different song?" He yelled, hoping that she heard him. Obviously she didn't, because the music continued.


And where are you now, now that I need you?
Tears on my pillow wherever you go
I'll cry me a river that leads to your ocean
You never see me fall apart


Slowly, almost hesitantly, he reached for his phone. He pressed down the keys, punching in Pan's number. Part of him thought this was stupid and hoped she wasn't there. Another part of him knew that this was what he needed- that he had to talk to her, and that part wished, prayed even, that she would pick up.


In the words of a broken heart
It's just emotion that's taken me over
Caught up in sorrow, lost in my soul
But if you don't come back
Come home to me, darling
Don't you know there's nobody left in this world to hold me tight
Don't you know there's nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight
Goodnight, goodnight


She did. "Trunks? Why are you calling so late? Is something wrong?"

"No, Pan, there's nothing wrong. Why would you think that?"

"There is," she insisted in that stubborn way of hers. He laughed mirthlessly, because she always knew what was wrong with him even when he didn't tell her.

She was worried by his hollow laugh, he heard it in the shaking of her voice and he recognized her concern. She cared about him, she really did, he could tell. She's an angel. An angel just for him.



I'm there at your side
Part of all the things you are
But you've got a part of someone else
You've got to find your own shining star


That was when he understood the reason he was feeling horrible. It was because he'd always thought that Pan would be there for him forever. And now that she was away at college, he missed her. He felt… betrayed. He knew he had no excuse to feel that way, but there was still that unreasonable part of him, the part that insisted, There were a whole bunch of good colleges in Japan that would have taken her, but she had to go away. She knew I needed her, but she left anyway. She left me alone.


And where are you now, now that I need you?
Tears on my pillow wherever you go
I'll cry me a river that leads to your ocean
You never see me fall apart


"Where are you now?" He asked, his voice quiet, sad, pleading. She could have simply answered, "Silly, Trunks! You know I'm in the US." But she knew there was more to it then that. She heard the silent question behind the one he was asking: Pan, why did you leave? Why did you go so far away?

He heard her sigh over the line, and she was silent for awhile, as if she was contemplating what she was going to say. Trunks listened to her take a deep breath, and then she whispered, so lightly and quietly, like the brush of an angel's wing, or the silent bright light of a shooting star passing across the dark backdrop of a midnight sky, "I left because it hurt too much to stay."


In the words of a broken heart
It's just emotion that's taken me over
Caught up in sorrow, lost in my soul
But if you don't come back
Come home to me, darling
Don't you know there's nobody left in this world to hold me tight
Don't you know there's nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight
Goodnight, goodnight


"But it's funny," she continued, in a voice that was ironically not amused at all, but the opposite, "It hurts being gone, too. I miss you."

He realized then, that he wasn't the only one with a broken heart. That she'd been hurting too, and for much longer than he had. It wasn't really a conscious thought, but something at the back of his mind that he wasn't really aware of. It was the slightly depressing understanding that she knew that she needed him and left so she could get over him, and that he only realized he needed her now that she was gone. "There's nobody left anymore, Pan. Nobody like you."

Trunks could almost see the tear trail down her cheek, and he wanted so badly to be there with her. He knew she was crying. He heard the little intakes of breath, the almost-complete silence from her side of the line. He wished he were beside her, able to brush away her tears.


And where are you now, now that I need you?
Tears on my pillow wherever you go
I'll cry me a river that leads to your ocean
You never see me fall apart


You'll never see me fall apart? What a joke that is. Here I am, a wreck, and she's all the way over there crying. His angel needed him as much as he needed her, but she was far away, and there was nothing they could do about it. He knew the way Pan was. She was determined, and she wouldn't leave in the middle of the year. She'd probably stay the whole four years, and he wouldn't see her until then, because that was the way she was.


In the words of a broken heart
It's just emotion that's taken me over
Caught up in sorrow, lost in my soul
But if you don't come back
Come home to me, darling
Nobody left in this world to hold me tight
Nobody left in this world to kiss goodnight
Goodnight, goodnight


"Pan?" He begged. "Promise me you'll come back. Promise me you'll come home to me. When it's all over, you'll be here."

She sniffled, and in his mind he could see her nod, the way she'd done so many times before. Then the mischievous gleam would come into her eye, and she'd make him promise something back. He was sure she would, because he knew her. "Only if you promise to wait for me." There, he'd known. He could tell that her words held a double meaning, and he promised her, even if he didn't quite know what she meant, even if he wasn't really sure if what he was feeling was true or if it was just emotion.

"Goodnight, Pan."

"Goodnight, Trunks. I love you."

"I love you too."

Then he hung up, unsure of what had just happened. Panny and me? No… that was just emotion. But part of his mind, or maybe his heart, whispered that the "I love you too" was true.

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Okay, people… what did you all think? I'm thinking of writing a sequel, but I don't know. It depends on how many people want me to.

~Tanyaneko