25

Fall

One week... That's how long it had been since Pan had seen or heard from Trunks. When he first didn't show up, she was devastated. She just knew that their friendship was forever ruined, and it was all her fault. He hated her, she just knew it! After four days, it turned into anger... He could have at least come and explain that they could no longer be friends! And then, it was sadness again...

Pan sighed deeply as she looked up at the full moon. She couldn't sleep, and no matter how angry or sad she was, she couldn't stop thinking about Trunks. He was on her mind, every minute of every day. Little things reminded her of him, even though he wasn't around. She knew better than to ever touch his tail again, and she understood why he acted the way he did... Now if she could only tell him sorry.

Something stirred inside of her chest. Her heart felt heavy and she wiped a stubborn tear from her cheek. Trunks must really hate her, but she could never hate him...

XxXxX

Trunks sighed heavily as he quietly trekked through the hallway of his castle. He had just arrived back from a raid, and he felt terrible. It wouldn't have been so bad if he had been up to date with his sparring, but that was the slight problem... He hadn't sparred much since he met Pan, and that's why his father made him spar with him a week ago.

He groaned as he straightened himself up. His bed sounded extremely comfortable at the moment, but he had to see Pan. He had to apologize to her until she forgave him. She couldn't hate him, the thought that she might made him sick. He knew she was probably angry since he hadn't been to visit in a while, but that hadn't been his fault! It was Freiza's for sending him on a raid!

XxXxX

Trunks arrived in her quiet room. It was late, and she was sitting at her desk, her back turned towards him. She seemed to be getting ready for the night, and she hadn't sensed him yet. He should have been more surprised by how much he had missed her, but he wasn't. He missed her more than he had ever missed anything in his life and he was admitting it.

"Pandora..." he whispered loud enough for her to hear.

Pan stopped brushing her hair immediately, her head twirling around to look at him. Her eyes became large as they lit up. Faster than he ever saw her move, she dropped her brush and ran into his arms- which were already open and waiting for her. Her arms were tight around his upper waist and he wrapped his own around her shoulders.

"I've missed you," she whispered, her cheeks slightly pink.

He ran the back of his fingers down her back gently. "I've missed you too..." he murmured, his lips extremely close to her neck and he bent his head down.

Pan felt a shiver run up her spine as his lips grazed her cheek. He didn't just kiss her, did he? She couldn't be sure... Leaning back to look at him, she saw him grimace.

"Are you okay?!" she asked him worriedly.

"Yeah," he forced a smile. "I just got back from a raid, that's all... That's why I haven't visited the last week."

Pan's eyes shot down to his chest and saw a wet spot through his dark suit. She touched it softly, earning a small groan from him. "Trunks, you're bleeding!" her eyes were wide as she looked at her fingers- stained with Trunks' blood.

"I'm fine," he tried to assure her.

"Let me bandage you!" She looked at him worriedly.

"Pandora-" he began.

"No!" she shook her head stubbornly. She removed his arms from her shoulders as she looked at him. "Go upstairs and take your shirt off," she ordered. "Let me bandage you, or I'm never talking to you again."

Trunks chuckled. "You sure know how to get your way," he slowly started making his way up the stairs.

Pan rushed to her bathroom, bustling around it crazily. She gathered her hair up in a messy bun, and shoved her bangs out of the way. She grabbed a rag and wet it before grabbing the first aid kit. She prayed that Trunks' wound wasn't deep...

XxXxX

Pan felt her face heating as she walked up the steps to the loft above her room. Trunks would be up there with his shirt off... She could already tell that he was muscular, but this would be the first time that she actually saw him without his shirt on.

Swallowing hard, Pan forced herself not to admire Trunks muscles as she rushed to the couch. It helped a great deal that his eyes were closed. If they had been open, watching her work, she wouldn't have been able to do a single thing!

First, she cleaned the wound. A sigh escaped her when she saw that it was a scratch- well, to him it would be a scratch. With a few bandages, it would stop bleeding and be healed in no time. She worked quickly, her heart beating fast the whole time. She was fixing to move her hand when Trunks grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Pandora, I'm sorry for the way I acted the other day," he told her gently.

"Oh..." she looked away from him as her cheeks grew warm. "It's okay!"

"Is it really?" he opened his eyes. Slowly, Pan turned to look at him. "I don't want you to hate me..."

"I could never hate you," Pan promised. "I'm sorry too... I shouldn't have touched your tail without your permission."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he smiled. "I've missed you, Princess," he whispered, moving some of her dark hair out of her face.

Pan laughed lightly. "I've missed you as well, Prince Trunks..." Their eyes held each other's for the longest time and Pan couldn't stop her smile. Finally, her Prince was back!

XxXxX

"Trunks!" Bulma gathered her eldest child into a tight hug once she finally saw him. "Where have you been, young man…?! Do you have any idea how worried I was when Nappa and Raditz said that you got injured?!" she leaned back carefully, noticing a dried spot on his suit. "Are you still bleeding?!"

Trunks looked down, examining his suit. It would definitely need to be washed... "Ah, no… I went to the infirmary," he told his mother.

"Oh?" Bulma raised an curious eyebrow.

"Of course," Trunks nodded with a small smile. He kissed his mother's cheek. "I was injured, where else would I go? I'm sorry for not coming to see you sooner, I know you worry. It was just a scratch though, nothing to panic about."

Bulma smiled sadly. "I do worry about you, and your father. I worry that every time you two leave for a raid, that you'll never come back- alive that is..." her voice whispered softly.

"We'll be fine," he promised her with a small grin.

Bulma nodded. "I know, but still, it's my job to worry about you boys."

"What about Bulla?" Trunks chuckled, raising a lavender brow.

"Oh trust me, I worry about her, too," she smiled. She leaned up and kissed her son's cheek. "Now go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Trunks nodded before heading towards his chambers. Bulma watched him go, her arms crossed and a worried look on her face. She knew he had been lying when he said he went to the infirmary. She was his mother! How could he not think that she would check there?! Her son still wore that bracelet she had given him months ago... And, when she hugged him, she smelled something different than his normal scent- vanilla.

Yes, she worried about all of her family, but she was starting to worry about her son the most. His father would kill him if he ever found out that he was going to earth, and to see a girl no less...

"It's never easy to keep reaching for dreams. Strength and courage can sometimes be lonely friends, but those who reach it- walk on stardust."

-Unknown