8- Misunderstanding
"So, what is your type?"
Pan had done it. She had asked Trunks the question that had been bothering her for days. He was standing close to her, close enough to touch her if he wanted.
Trunks let out something like a sigh. "You, Panna."
Pan thought she heard wrong, but the next thing she knew was that he had cupped her face. Then Trunks was kissing her! Actually kissing her! It seemed like a dream!
Pan's eyes fluttered shut, and she focused on Trunks' lips. They were soft and her bottom lip was between his. Her lips were buzzing, and a spark of something was running down her body. Her heart was pounding; her body shook.
Trunks leaned back slowly, and Pan opened her eyes. Had they really just kissed? She gasped as she reached up to touch her lips. They were still buzzing! She had kissed Trunks!
"Panna-" Trunks said her name carefully. She looked over at him with wide eyes. Was he going to kiss her again? She hoped so.
Trunks' eyes were troubled, a frown was growing on his face. "I'm so sorry," he said.
Pan's eyes widened even more. Had that kiss been a mistake? Her stomach started to sink as her frantic heart became painful.
"Pan!" Bulla's voice called with a laugh. She and Seventeen would be back any second.
Trunks swallowed hard. He let out a shaky breath and took a step away from her. "I really am sorry, Panna." And with that, he turned and jumped off of the roof.
Pan was left standing in shock and hurt. Had she misread everything? She had thought Trunks liked her as she did him. She had been so sure of it!
Trunks didn't feel the same way. The realization of it makes her knees buckle, and she fell.
"Pan!" Bulla was in front of her in a flash. Pan could barely see her through her tears. "Pan, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Where's Trunks?"
Pan's shoulders started to shake. "He-he's gone-" she shook.
"What?" Bulla gasped. "What do you mean, Pan? What happened?"
"We kissed, and then he left. It's all my fault, Bulla," she cried. "I kept wanting Trunks to like me as I did him. I should have known better."
"Panny, no!" Bulla grabbed her shoulders. "That's not true! I don't know what's going on in my dumb brother's head, but he likes you. He really likes you."
"I don't think so, Bulla," Pan whispered. Her throat felt tight and sore. She could still feel her tears falling. She wondered if they would ever stop. For her, it had always been Trunks. She had been so foolish to believe that he could like her as she did him. So what if he had called her pretty a few times and flirted with her. He obviously had missed dating, but Pan just wasn't the girl for him.
In Trunks' eyes, Pan was probably nothing but a friend. She felt her shoulders shake again.
Suddenly, Bulla yanked her up. "Come on! Stop crying! I can't believe you and Trunks! I'm going to kick both your assess once this mess is over! For now- I have a plan!"
Trunks was an idiot. No, he was worse than that- he was a perverted idiot. He had kissed Pan, and he would have done more if he hadn't seen the face she made.
When he leaned back, she had gasped loudly, and then her hand flew to her mouth. Trunks knew right away that he had messed up big time. Then Pan looked at him with her wide eyes, which truthfully looked scared, and he felt his insides twisting.
Trunks had wanted to take things slow, and now he probably scared her off. He wouldn't be surprised if she never wanted to speak to him again.
With a groan, Trunks stopped his pacing across his room and sat down on his bed. Maybe he shouldn't have run away, but he just couldn't stand seeing her look at him with shock and fright in her eyes.
Trunks was on the verge of losing his mind. He dug his phone out of his pocket. He needed some advice.
"Hey, best friend!" Goten answered on the second ring.
"I regret calling you already," Trunks muttered.
"Awe, why do you sound so sad?" Goten asked, ignoring his comment completely. "Is Bulla being mean to you again?"
Trunks huffed and rolled his eyes. He was used to Goten being this way, so he ignored it. "If I tell you something stupid I did, do you promise not to fly over here and kick my ass?"
There was a pause before Goten answered, "that depends on what you did."
"I kissed Pan," Trunks admitted.
"What?!" Goten yelled. "Are you serious?!"
He swallowed hard, "yeah."
"Dammit! I owe Bulla 50 bucks now!"
"What?" Trunks' eyes widened in shock.
"She's been keeping me up to date with you and Pan's cringing flirting. We had a bet to see when you and Pan would finally kiss and get the tension over with."
"What the hell!" Trunks huffed as he stood up.
"Eh," Goten said, and Trunks knew he was shrugging. "So you kissed Pan. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal," Trunks began, "is that I think I went too fast and scared her."
"What do you mean?"
"You should have seen her face when I pulled away," he muttered. "She looked shocked and scared."
Goten snorted, "shocked, probably. Scared? Doubtful."
"Her eyes are all wide, and she was gasping at me!"
"Yeah, because the guy she's been crushing on for forever finally kissed her. Look, Trunks," Goten sighed. "I know it's different for you and Pan than the rest of us because you're both Saiyan. I know you don't want to rush her, and that's what you're afraid you did, but Pan likes you. Like, she really likes you. She practically worshiped the ground you walked on when you guys got back from space. She used to have a notebook with your name on it with little hearts- don't tell her I told you that, she'd kill me.
"My point is," Goten continued, "is that Pan likes you a lot. I'm willing to bet my life that you're just over-thinking things, and she wasn't scared. Also, I think you should tell Pan about the bond thing between you two. I never understood why our parents wanted it hush-hush, but I think it helps her understand where you're coming from and why you ran off."
"How do you know I ran off?" Trunks muttered.
"Because you're talking to me instead of making out with my sister, you goof," Goten snickered.
"Okay, I got it. I'll go talk to her," Trunks huffed.
"You would be so lost without me," Goten laughed.
Trunks got off of the phone with Goten and attempted to call Pan. If she'd give him a chance, he'd explain everything. She didn't answer, so he called Bulla next. She didn't answer either, and he was sure he had both of them pissed.
With a sigh, Trunks walked out of his room and headed downstairs. He wasn't even sure if they had made it home yet, but his mother would know.
"Hey, Mom," Trunks walked into her study, where she sat reading a book. "Have the girls returned home?"
"Huh?" Bulma blinked before looking up at him. "Oh, no, they're not here. Didn't they tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Trunks raised an eyebrow.
"Some of Bulla's friends invited them out. I thought you were with them?" She raised an eyebrow.
"I was earlier, but I came home. I was just wondering where they were," he faked a smile, then turned around and left before his mother said anything else.
Trunks fell onto his bed with a groan. Pan and Bulla went out with others. He wondered if there were any guys with them and if Pan was smiling at them with her heart-stopping smile. Trunks wondered if she was dancing with any of them, and the thought made him huff. He knew this was what he deserved.
Trunks wasn't sure how long he stared at the ceiling and into nothingness. When his phone went off, he moved to answer it quickly, hoping it was Pan.
"Hello?"
"Trunks." It was Bulla, and he was probably about to get yelled at. "I need you to come to get Pan."
"What?" Trunks sat up, confused.
"We went out," Bulla said. "And Pan got drunk. Come get her."
"What?" Trunks said again as he got off of his bed. "Where are you two?" He asked as he rushed across his room to put on his shoes and grab his wallet.
"I'll send you the location," Bulla said.
Trunks sighed as they hung up, and only seconds later, Bulla texted him the location. It wasn't that far away, and Trunks took off.
Pan felt heavy and light-headed at the same time. She was lying down on a bench, her head in Bulla's lap. Thankfully, she had changed out of the dress from earlier. Bulla had taken her to a club to dance and ease her mind, but one drink turned into two too many. She couldn't even walk straight without help.
"Panny," Bulla's voice was gentle. "Trunks is coming to get you."
"What?" Pan shot up with a gasp and instantly regretted it. Her head was pounding, and she whined, and she grabbed it. She may be intoxicated, but she still remembered that Trunks kissed her, apologized for it, and then left.
"You two need to talk, and bad," Bulla huffed. "You keep saying that he doesn't like you, but that's not true. He's spent the last week eye-fucking you every chance he got. So, for him to apologize and leave, it must be something serious. Find out what it is- demand answers and don't leave him alone until he gives them."
Pan let out a groan and leaned against Bulla. "But what if he really doesn't like me?"
"Then I'll kick his ass," Bulla answered simply.
Pan felt like she needed another drink, but she knew it wouldn't be wise since her head was already swarming. She let the sleepiness and alcohol lull her asleep, and she didn't wake up until she heard him.
"Why did you let her drink?" It was muffled, but it was Trunks' voice.
"Excuse me for trying to let her soothe her broken heart, asshole," Bulla shot back.
Pan peeked her eyes open. Her vision was blurry around the edges, but she could make out Trunks' frown and sad face.
"I didn't mean to hurt her," he said. "I thought I scared her."
"You two need to talk," Bulla sighed. "You owe me big time, Trunks. You both do."
"Where are you going to go?" Trunks asked.
"Gohan had to run to the East District to do something for Goku and Chi-Chi before they get home. Seventeen and I are going to go hang out with Marron and Tsu until he gets home."
"Behave yourself," Trunks told her before he leaned down to look at Pan. "Panna?"
The way he said her name caused her stomach to flutter, as it always did. Even upset, confused, and maybe even mad at him, he still had her under his thumb.
"I'm upset with you," she told him. "And confused. And probably mad too," she said her thoughts.
Trunks nodded slowly. "Yeah, you have every right to be. Let's get you home, and we'll talk about it, okay?" He held out his hand to her.
Slowly, Pan placed her palm in his. It was warm, as always. Trunks helped her up and supported her as she leaned against him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and squeeze him, but she stopped herself. She was upset- she had to remember that!
"Have fun, you two!" Bulla called, and Pan glanced back to see that she was waving and smirking at them.
Trunks helped Pan into the car and buckled her up. She watched as he walked around the front of the car and got in the driver's seat. Pan watched him as he drove to Brief Manor, which hadn't been too far away. Once they arrived, Trunks got out first before helping Pan out.
Brief Manor was quiet, and Trunks helped Pan upstairs to her guest bedroom. She plopped on the bed and kicked off her shoes. Trunks took off his shoes and sat down in the computer chair across from Pan. It didn't seem like he was leaving. That was good, but it also made Pan nervous.
"I shouldn't have left earlier," Trunks began the conversation. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Panna."
Pan tilted her head to the side as she looked at Trunks. His blue eyes were focused on hers. He looked serious and handsome. She let out a sigh, "why did you?"
Trunks made a face, like a wince, and rubbed the back of his head. "I thought I scared you."
"Scared me?" Pan repeated in shock.
"I thought I was moving too fast. I mean, I pulled back, and you gasped, and you're eyes were all wide."
"I wasn't scared," Pan muttered. "I was in a daze. And what do you mean moving too fast?" She asked. She knew she should let him answer, but her heart was pounding, and liquid courage was swarming inside of her.
"I like you, Trunks," Pan confessed. "I've liked you ever since I was a little girl, and honestly, I'm probably in love with you now." Trunks' blue eyes were growing wide, and his lips were parting. She continued before he spoke, "I don't know exactly what's going on between us, but I do know how I feel. I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, assuming you don't feel the same way about me. But if you're going to reject me, then I don't want to hear it-" she blinked back her tears.
"Reject you?" Trunks gasped. "You honestly think I could reject you, Panna?"
"Well, you-"
Trunks sat up straighter, "Panna!" Her name was a desperate plea, "ever since I returned home, you are all I've thought about! You never leave my mind! I've been going crazy this whole week trying to keep myself calm around you! I could never reject you," he told her in a breathless whisper.
Pan's eyes were wide and wet. She could feel herself growing warm from the confession. "So you want me?" She whispered.
"I want you," Trunks' voice was low and slightly shaky. "I want you more than I've ever wanted anything else, Panna."
Pan jumped up from her bed and ran to him. Trunks' arms were already open, his hand grabbing her wrists to pull her onto his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and then there was nothing between them as their lips melted against each other.