25- A Call
Trunks let out a small sigh as he looked out the hotel window. The sun had set hours ago, and clouds covered the sky, blocking the moon and stars. The lights from the city sparkled down below, and Trunks' lips twitched.
He and Pan were currently celebrating Pan's 18th birthday, which had been a few days ago. Trunks had told her that he would take her anywhere she wanted, and she had asked to go to North City since she had never been.
The bathroom door opened, and Trunks turned to look at Pan. The sight of her always made his heart pound, but looking at her now made his body grow hot and his throat dry.
Pan was wearing a tiny black dress that hugged her body, showing off every curve she had. The fabric looked soft, like velvet, and it didn't help that it only reached mid-thigh on her. It came off of her shoulders, the velvet sleeves running down Pan's arms. Trunks bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from running his hands all over her.
Pan looked up at Trunks, and she smiled shyly. Her cheeks were glowing pink.
"You look beautiful, Angel," he told her softly.
"I was just thinking that about you," she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
Trunks smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He ran his hands down her dress slowly and heard her suck in a small breath. It sent a shudder through him. He knew he needed to get a grip - he wanted to make this a special night for Pan and show her around the city. If he didn't stop touching her, they might not make it out of the hotel room.
Trunks placed his hands on Pan's shoulders and pulled her her away as he smiled. He smiled down at her. "Are you ready?"
Pan's smile lit up her whole face. "Yes!"
Pan had never been to North City. Even in her original timeline, she had never visited the city, though she had always wanted to. The East District and West City had snow occasionally, but it was nothing like the snow from North City.
Snow fluttered down in giant white puffs, sticking to everything. Pan had been thrilled as she walked the snow-covered streets with Trunks. She wore a coat to help keep her warm, but the snow was so beautiful that the cold didn't bother her.
Cold hands cupped Pan's cheeks from behind, and she let out a small shriek and turned to glare at a smirking Trunks. He raised his Ki to his palms, and warmth instantly flooded through Pan.
"This is the best birthday I've had in a very long time," Pan told him softly.
She could remember her birthdays when she was younger, how her Mama always fixed her her favorite breakfast. Her Mama, along with her Papa and brothers, always made her day special, and then they would enjoy cake together after supper. After Axel had kidnapped her, Pan's birthdays had become days of mourning and wishing for her family. Axel had always tried to win her over with gifts, but nothing he could buy could ever replace her family.
This year, she had woken up to the Chi-Chi and Bulma of this timeline, making her favorite breakfast. Trunks had decorated the kitchen in streamers and balloons, and when they had shown Pan the cake they made, she had cried. She was spending her birthday with people she loved and cared about for the first time in years.
The weekend trip to North City was a bonus. The night had been so beautiful and so perfect. Trunks had taken them to a restaurant that overlooked the city, and Pan could see the snow falling on everything from there. Then, he had arranged for them to have a carriage ride through a park that had been lit up with fairy lights.
"I'm glad," Trunks said softly as his thumbs brushed her cheekbones. "I'm glad I could make it a good birthday for you."
Sometimes, Pan still found it hard to believe that her life had changed so much. She wondered what would have happened if Trunks hadn't been there the day she arrived in this timeline. How would she had ever survived?
"Trunks," she whispered his name.
His lips twitched into a smile. "Pan," hearing him call her name sent her heart hammering.
Pan was feeling bold. Maybe it was because of the way Trunks was looking at her. So gently, with love and compassion. She reached out to him and placed her hands on his chest, and she could feel his pulse quicken, just like her own.
"Do you know what would make this night even more perfect?" She asked him.
Trunks swallowed hard. "What?"
"Come back to my room with me," Pan whispered.
They had slept together in the same bed before, but it had always happened because Pan would fall asleep while watching TV with him, or she'd sneak into his room at night to cuddle. They had only been dating for a few months, so they hadn't passed the threshold of having sex yet, so Trunks had gotten them them a suite with two separate rooms.
Trunks was looking at her, his light blue eyes darkening with desire. Pan had seen how he looked at her when she had come out of the hotel bathroom earlier. She had felt it in his lingering touches what he wanted. She wanted it too.
Pan wasn't sure if it was a Saiyan thing or just the bond that had grown between her and Trunks naturally, but he had become everything to her. There was always an invisible pull that gravitated her towards Trunks since the moment she met him. She had never ignored it, and she didn't want to miss it now, not when she felt it deep in her gut.
"We've been bonding," Trunks told her softly.
Pan's eyes widened slightly. "Bonding? So it is a Saiyan thing between us," she whispered.
"Well, part of it," Trunks nodded. "Saiyan or not, you are all I want," he tucked a piece of her dark hair behind her ear, and Pan shivered. "Do you know about Saiyan bonds?"
"Only a little bit," she said. "I know that when two Saiyans find each other attractive and they click, they start bonding. Which is the same thing as dating, right?"
He smiled and nodded. "Basically, yes," he ran his fingers through her hair, and Pan felt herself sighing in delight. "But it's more than just that. We become physically and mentally aware of each other. If we mate, then there'll be no turning back."
"So you're saying if we mate, you can't get rid of me?" Pan raised a teasing eyebrow as she grinned.
Trunks laughed as he tightened his hold on her. "I would never give you up, anyway," he promised before he leaned down and kissed her. Pan sighed into his kiss that only lasted a few seconds before he pulled away. He reached down and grabbed her hand, and their fingers locked together. "Are you ready to go back to the hotel?"
The word couldn't get out of Pan's mouth fast enough, "yes!"
Chi-Chi hated storms. She hated how flashes of lightning sparked across the sky dangerously. She hated the way claps of thunder boomed so loudly that it would shake the house. She hated the way rain assaulted the roof and windows, sounding like tiny bullets. Mostly, she hated what it caused her to remember.
The night Gohan died, it had stormed. His death felt like someone had reached inside her chest, twisted her heart, and yanked it out. For so long, Gohan had been her reason for living in the cruel world terrorized by Androids. With him gone, she felt hollow with no motivation to live.
The thought of taking her own life had crossed Chi-Chi's mind more than once. What was the point of living if the love of her life was gone as well as her son? She had wanted to do it, but something stopped her - a little voice in the back of her mind that told her to keep fighting. It told her that Goku and Gohan wouldn't have wanted her to give up. So Chi-Chi pushed herself every day to live, to fight, to find something to give her life meaning again.
Then Pan arrived, and it was as if everything fell into place. The reason she had to live was so she could be there for Pan. They had helped each other grow and heal. Chi-Chi's world wasn't whole, but it was patched together thanks to Pan.
A small shriek knocked Chi-Chi out of her thoughts. She dropped the towel she had been folding and ran into the kitchen where Pan had been peeling potatoes. Chi-Chi relaxed as she saw that it was just Trunks, who had came in from outside soaking wet. He had placed his wet hands on Pan's cheeks, startling her, and that had been the shriek.
Pan turned around and glared at Trunks with a huff, but there was no fire in her eyes. "You're cold!" She said with a frown.
Trunks grinned and removed his hands from her cheeks and wiggled his fingers. "That spring rain is cold."
Pan let out a small huff, but a smile was twitching across her face. She grabbed a nearby dish towel that was dry and placed it on the top of Trunks' head. He was snickering as she dried his hair.
Chi-Chi's heart felt warm as she watched the two of them. They had been dating for almost a year, and the love between them was so evident. It was right after Pan's birthday that they moved into the same room, and Chi-Chi was waiting patiently for the day when they would get married. She was eager for the day when there would be little children running around.
"Trunks!" Bulma joined their little gathering now as she exited her lab. "You've covered the floor with water," she frowned.
"Sorry," Trunks replied sheepishly. "It just started pouring out there. I didn't think it was supposed to storm today."
"Nature does whatever it wants," Pan nodded knowingly.
"It sure seems to be picking up," Chi-Chi muttered as she glanced outside. The sky had darkened to a nasty blue. The trees were roaring in the wind. The rain continued to pelt against the roof.
Suddenly, the lights flashed off with the electricity. Lightning flashed nearby, illuminating the room in white for a split second. It was followed by an ear-splitting roll of thunder that shook the house. Not a moment later, the lights popped back on.
Chi-Chi hadn't realized she had been holding her breath until she released it. She glanced around and gasped as she spotted Pan. She was tense - her back straight, eyes wide, and skin ashen. Her teeth seemed to be clenched together, and a slight hiss escaped her.
"Panny?" Chi-Chi said.
Pan didn't speak as she turned and bolted towards the backdoor. Trunks was right behind, and Chi-Chi let out a startled yelp as she followed. By the time she reached the backdoor with Bulma, Trunks had caught Pan. His hands were on her shoulders, and she was shaking her head frantically.
"I heard him!" Pan's voice was a wail above the rain and wind. "I heard him call my name!"
Chi-Chi felt a shudder go through her. She knew instantly who Pan was talking about. Fear froze her insides. Could Axel have found Pan? The thought terrified her.
Pan shivered from her spot beside Trunks on the couch. He had brought her back inside, and their mothers had quickly come to them with towels. They had been sent upstairs to change into something dry, and Pan was in a haze as Trunks helped her change. Soon, they were back downstairs, both of them in dry pajamas. Trunks had grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around her.
"It sounded like him," Pan's voice was low. Her throat felt tight like she was about to cry. "Maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me," she let out an exhausted sigh. The storm had quieted down, and the thunder was nothing but soft rumbles in the distance.
"Do you think there's a possibility he could have found this timeline?" Bulma asked softly.
"I don't see how, if he did," Pan whispered. "He didn't know about this timeline at all," she frowned.
"What about the Axel in this timeline?" Bulma said. "There's no Dragon Balls, so I don't know how he could have gotten the power, but could that be possible?" She suggested.
"It's not him," Chi-Chi answered her this time. She let out a small sigh, "not too long after Pan arrived, I tracked him down myself. I was going to kill him," she confessed. "After everything he had done to me as a child, to our clan, and after everything the other Axel did to Pan - he deserved it. But when I got there, he was already dead. He had been dead for a while."
Pan's eyes widened in surprise. She had been so busy trying to stay hidden from the Axel of her timeline that she didn't even think about the Axel of this timeline! It was a relief, though, to know that he was dead in this world.
She let out a small sigh. "There's no way he could find me here," Pan told them. "To jump time dimensions is a tricky thing. You have to know the place you're jumping to. Axel didn't know about this timeline, so he wouldn't be able to come here. But I do think he's trying to find me," she whispered. She could feel it deep inside of her - Axel was searching for her. "I'm scared he might find a way here."
Trunks had been rubbing Pan's back, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Angel, I'll kill him before he can even think about taking you. I'll protect you with everything I have."
Pan looked at Trunks. His blue eyes were serious. He was truthful, and Pan knew he was. And that's what scared her.