Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Z, or GT. No matter how much I really, really want to!
Why Can't They?
Summary: After a 3 year disappearance, Pan returns to her family and friends, grown up, mature, and expecting change. However things barely have, her best friend Bulla is still locked in a threesome battle with Marron and Uub, Her uncle Goten is still oblivious to the affections of his childhood friend Rika, and Trunks still sees her as a little kid. Determined for change Pan uses her mischievousness, and new found world wisdom to stir things up.
Chapter 3: Bikinis and Boxer Briefs.
The beach sang a song that was too beautiful to ignore. The sounds of the surf, the seagulls, the laughing families, and the familiar ring of the ice cream truck were incredible. Pan had spent three years out in the woods, meditating under waterfalls, hunting and fishing for her food, and becoming one with nature… it'd been too long since she'd seen the beach.
"This is incredible, Bulla!" Pan circled and gave out a laugh as her feet dipped into the waves, her sandals being buried in the sand. She took them off and let the sand squish between her toes. She wriggled them and giggled happily.
"It's good to hear that laugh again, Pan." Bulla said wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She and Pan were near the same age, and she'd always felt more like Pan's sister than her Aunt.
"Yeah, but I'd laugh much more if it wasn't for the baggage we were carrying." She glanced back and sighed. Word of Bulla's plan had gotten out to Bulma, and like the party goer she was she had invited EVERYONE! Chichi and Seventeen, Krillen and his family, Roshi, Oolong, Yamcha and Puar, even Piccolo and Dende sat under the big umbrellas enjoying the comforts of the private section of the beach.
"Ignore them, Pan, we've got more important stuff to do." She held up her beach bag in a bright red patting it firmly. "Like changing into our Bikinis and going diving for shells.
"Now that sounds like a good idea, I bet you Marron and Rika are already in the changing rooms." She grabbed Bulla's hand and rushed with her Aunt. Meanwhile in the pack Trunks and Goten sat near the BBQ sniffing at the foods with grumbling tummies.
"Kind of reminds you of old times don't it, Trunks?" Goten said licking his lips before sinking his teeth into a big foot long hot dog. He munched happily and Trunks chuckled as he applied ketchup to his burger. "You bet, we haven't been to the beach in years. Your mom was with us last time, and we buried dad in the sand."
Goten nearly choked on his dog at the mention of Rikku, he carefully chewed the rest of what was in his mouth and swallowed some lemonade before looking around. "Careful with the M word Trunks. Some of us still haven't gotten used to her being gone."
"Don't tell me you're still grieving too, Goten. I can understand if you miss her, but honestly not even mentioning Rikku's name at a get together like this is an insult."
Goten licked his fingers and sighed before grabbing up another dog. "Yeah I know, and I really thought I was over it, I really thought I had accepted it. It's just, lately I can't seem to get my mind off her. She just keeps appearing up in conversations. I get streams of Déjà vu, and then there are the dreams,"
This time Trunks choked. "You got the dreams too?"
"What? Yeah, wait don't tell me you've been dreaming of my mother? That's so wrong!"
"I thought it was normal, and that I was just thinking about the old days." Trunks rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "What were your dreams about?"
Goten took another bite of his food, chewing thoughtfully before answering. "I don't really know… but I think it had something to do with Cell. It was a moment in time I don't recall ever seeing in person, but my mom talked to me."
~Dream Sequence~
Goten floated above the battle everything clear but as he floated down to grab Cell by the head his hand went right through him. His eyes ventured further into the crowd, spotting his brother, younger and looking like the weight of the world slammed upon his shoulders.
Cell's sick laughter filled the air and Gohan's high from battle took a dramatic drop, "You can't beat me now. I'm going to blow myself up and take you with me" His pitch was thick and deep impacting with his precarious size. "Say goodbye to the Earth!
Gohan fell to his knees, his cockiness and cool gone and he suddenly felt like the trembling child he really was. Goten looked further out. Further out behind the two combatants was Rikku and the gang.
"Mom? What's going on here? Am I seeing the past?"
Rikku's eyes going soft and sad, her fists clenched at her side. The Earth? The People? All of it was going to be lost. Unless she did something right now. Rikku watched as her little boy fell to his knees in failure realizing his mistake.
Poor Gohan, she thought holding her heart as it beat thick against her chest. Goten could hear her voice though her lips didn't move, almost as if he was reading his mother's thoughts loud and clear.
He should never have been made to do this. He had the power, but Piccolo was right, he was no fighter.
She was, in her mind, a warrior who knew the skills of fighting inside and out. She could grow stronger and stronger with no limitations, but that didn't mean her son could as well. She thought of him as baby, so sweet and so quiet, and then the Saiyans arrived and turned their world upside down.
Though Goten couldn't hear words in her mind, he could see ghost visions of his mother's life racing through her head.
Goten, My sweet Goten.
Goten, taken aback by the sudden call of his mother's voice raced forward to touch her tearing cheek but it slipped through. "Mom, it's gonna be okay. Don't cry"
She thought of the little version of him at home, resting in his crib unaware of the world's end. He could see her imagining him having a promising future, full of laughter, full of fun, responsibilities, and love.
The determination in her eyes suddenly became apparent to him and his eyes widen. "No mom! Don't do anything stupid! Don't do it!"
Even though this was the past, and Goten knew in the back of his mind he couldn't stop anything he still tried desperately to grab onto her. A flash of what she was intending raced in his head and he tried to shake them out.
"Vegeta," Goten stopped and looked behind her at his father.
"Dad do something! She's gonna get herself killed!"
He watched them kiss, a hard hungry type of connection where he could feel the love between them. His heart soared and broke all at the same time. "Dad! Don't let her go!"
She broke from him and looked up into his confused eyes and let the tears fall freely. "Watch over Goten."
Goten was dumbstruck. She was doing this for him?
"What… KARAT!" He moved to grab her, to stop her, but she had already fazed from his grip. His eyes darted to Cell and spotted her figure. "No!"
Goten screamed with his father. "NO!"
~End of Dream Sequence~
Goten shuddered out of his day dream and he held his head wiping some sweat from his face. "Chichi and Dad had told me she had given her life to save the world… but in my dream it felt like she was doing it just for me… so I could have a future."
"Rikku was definitely that kind of person. She's gained my respect on more than one occasion. I guess your dreams are trying to assure you that she loved you with all her heart Goten."
Goten had to smile at that and he nodded his head at Trunks. "Yeah, you're right. So what about your dreams, what were they telling you?"
"All my dreams were sequences of our trip into space, yah know with her and Pan. At first I thought maybe I was just missing Pan-Chan."
"Well there's no mistaking you missed her. Bulla told me how you reacted when she came back." Goten grinned. "Eying my niece are yah, you sly dog."
Trunks blushed and he squished the hot dog into Goten's face getting ketchup and relish all over his face. "Get real! She's just a kid, and she's my friend. There's no way I'd think of her like Tha- Whoa…" Trunks drifted off as his eyes caught a figure running through the sand towards them. The Bikini fitted the form like a Victoria Secret model on TV; all curves and smooth skin. It was a solid orange color with a four star dragon ball accessories on the connections holding the halter and string bikini straps.
Goten wiped the condiments off his face while looking at Trunks' expression. Sure… just a friend. He smirked and turned his eyes to his niece but another figured caught his stare; walking tall just behind Marron and his sister was Rika. While Marron and Bulla sported regular string bikinis in Red and pink, Rika had gone for a more stylish and classy strapless one piece with a sarong. The top hugged her and accented her natural hour glass curves, and the bold, strong colors accented her dominate face and coloring
Both boys went red in the face. Give them ears and tails and they'd be low and wagging like a couple of mutts looking at some prime meat.
Pan approached them first reaching past the blushing boys and straight to the food. "Man I'm starving, look at this spread. Now I'm actually glad Bulma and the others are here. Only they would think to bring buffet style food!"
"Oh no you don't Pan!" Bulla grabbed Pan by the neck pull her into her breasts wrestling against the struggling girl. "You and I are going shell diving first. No way am I gonna wait thirty minutes after you've stuffed your face."
"Oh come on, Bulla just one Hot Dog!" Pan wriggled as Bulla pulled her into the water nearly forcing her into a diver's mask. Marron Trunks shook himself out of his day dream and without even as econd thought planted the food into Goten's hands and ran after them. Marron spotted her family and ran over grabbing up the tan boy Majuub to help her build a sand castle.
Goten barely noticed the food in his hands, which said something, nor did he notice the dispersing crowd. Rika eyed him once smiling naturally and sent his heart a flutter and his face and neck boiling with blood. "Nice suit, Rika."
"Thanks Goten," She sat under an umbrella near the food where she had set her belongings. She pulled out books from her bag and Goten's back went rigid.
"You brought your work to the beach?"
"Yeah, I like the scenery, it's very serene, makes it easier to concentrate. Plus I'm not very good at beach activities. My clumsy side comes out around that type of physical activity."
Goten had to smile at that. Rika always carried this high image of herself, but she never let it seem demeaning or insulting to others like what Vegeta would do. She was honest about her strengths and weaknesses, except when she was in court. "Not all activities are strenuous." Placing the unfinished burger and dog on the table he walked over and knelt in front of her.
"We could go looking for shellfish. I know this great spot just down the beach, it'll be easy. What do you say?"
Rika was all prepared to resist him, but the smile he paired with his persuasion made it damn near impossible to overrule him. "Okay, Goten, you win."
~In the water~
Bulla and Pan had swam out to the deeper part of the ocean, they could still see the shoreline which was good, and when pan was underwater her thoughts of food quickly turned. She swam through looking around at all the beautiful wildlife below the surface. The coral reef itself was something to be admired.
She felt something coil around her leg and she jerked turning her head around she spotted Trunks' familiar face. He pointed up and she nodded and they went up to the surface gasping for air. "What are you doing out here Trunks, I thought you were eating with Goten.
"I was," Trunks couldn't hold back the slight red in his cheeks from how his body reacted before his mind caught up to what he was doing. "Then I saw you and Bulla going diving and felt that would be way more fun."
He pulled out a clam and the pink shell was nearly perfect in shape. Pan smiled and admired it touching the smooth surface. Trunks pried it open and Pan's smiled spread ear to ear. "Oh wow Trunks a Pearl!" Pan took the shiny orb with as much admiration for it as she would give a Dragon Ball.
Trunks felt his heart go thump, thump, thump. Did he really just see her as a kid? Why would his body have such a reaction if his only thoughts about her were supposed to be friendly, and almost familial. "Do you like it?"
"Yes I-" she drifted off and found herself blushing. There was no way Trunks was looking at her that way. Her young woman's heart went skidding and bumping around. "I love it."
Trunks set the pearl back in the shell and closed it back up. Putting it in her hands, he held them tightly. "Then it's yours." Trunks looked up from their hands and became very much aware at how close they floated together. Her chest was nearly pressed to his and the bikini she wore made it very hard to ignore that she was no longer a little kid. "Pan…"
"Trunks…" Pan leaned up her eyes drifting closed… she could smell his breath, feel his heat. Suddenly they were pulled under both of them letting out a yelp. Bulla laughed loudly as the two of them resurfaced.
"You guys should have seen the look on your faces!"
"Bulla I'm gonna kill you!" Trunks growled and shot up out of the water and Bulla shot up as well flying around. Pan watched them flying around smiling happily as she looked down at the clutched shell. It was her first REAL gift from Trunks. All the birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, and times he had taken her out all vanished, and was replaced with this special shell she held. He hadn't needed a special occasion, he just gave it just for the sake of giving it to her. She would glue the shell back together; maybe make a necklace out of it… and vowed keep it forever.
Bulla laughed big belly laughs as her and Trunks land back into the surf, the waves rushing over and round them. She tossed her hair back and smiled looking around for her brother to appear. "Trunks?"
"Bulla!"
Bulla's back went rigid, and her face turned bright red as she looked over her shoulder to see the rushing figured coming across the sand. By human standards he was what you would call a hunk! Six feet of proud athletic muscle, a stubby tail of shaggy black hair paired with a magnificent godly tan. His smile was one she'd seen more often then she liked… one that sent her normally put off stance into a mushy puddle. "Boxer Briefs…"
The son of Yamcha and Bulma ran up wrapping her in his arms. She was stiff in his arms her Saiyan pride trying to keep her libido in control. "Sorry I'm late, but it was for a noble cause. I was on a hot date."
"Yeah," and for good reason she pushed him away shaking off the emotions and reactions. Damn human, she thought frowning and crossing her arms. "Reaaaal noble."
End of Chapter 3… Love is in the air, but who is smart enough to catch it? Also Goten and Trunks are having dreams too… is this coincidence, grievance, or something deeper? To find out you gotta keep reading!
Next Chapter: Rika's smile, Feliz's innocence