8- Friends
Summer
"That wasn't funny," Trunks said as he arrived in the opening.
"What wasn't?" Pan glanced up from her book and grinned innocently.
"The flowers," he sighed. He walked over to her and took the seat beside her. "I'm lucky my Appa didn't see me."
Pan gasped as her eyes widened. She hadn't even thought of that! "Would you have gotten into trouble?"
"No," Trunks' lips twitched in amusement. "I just would have been asked several questions. Questions that I can't answer honestly."
"Oh," Pan sighed in relief. No one knew about her meeting Trunks either so she understood the need for secrecy. "I'm really glad you keep coming back," she told him honestly. "It's nice to have a friend."
"Are we friends?" He asked with a blink.
Pan felt her eyes widening and her stomach dropping. Perhaps she had gotten a little ahead of herself and was assuming something when Trunks didn't feel the same way. "I would like to think so," she told him. "That is if you'd like to be."
"Yeah," he whispered and Pan felt herself relaxing. "What were you reading?" He looked at the book on her lap.
"Oh, just an old book I found from the library," she told him. "I was hoping we would have something on Vegeta-Sei, but I didn't see anything," she frowned.
"Why would you want a book about Vegeta-Sei?" Trunks asked with furrowed brows.
"I'm curious about it," Pan mumbled. She had always been curious about it, but since meeting Trunks, her curiosity grew.
He let out a small snort. "Panna, you're friends with the Prince, aren't you? Don't you think you could just ask him?"
"You don't mind?"
"Not at all," he said. "As long as you don't ask me for government secrets," he teased.
Pan smiled, "I'll save the government secrets for later."
He laughed and it was a sound that sent warmth throughout Pan. "What would you like to know?"
"You said Vegeta-Sei had two suns, right?"
"Yeah, the first one to rise, and the smallest is Chisana Hoshi," Trunks said. "It's not very bright but when it starts to rise, there's a hue of redness that covers the land. Thirty minutes after Chisana rises, Kagayaku Hoshi rises. It's Vegeta-Sei's main source of sunlight. I would say it's about the same size as the Earth's sun.
"My Hyung told me once that Kagayaku used to be the only sun Vegeta-Sei had, but he grew very lonely. His loneliness was so severe that he threatened to kill himself or to burn himself out if he didn't get a companion. The Kais heard his plea though, and they granted him someone who would stay by his side forever."
"Chisana?" Pan raised a brow.
"Yes," Trunks nodded. "That's why we have two suns, or at least, that's what my Hyung told me," he grinned.
"I love the story," Pan smiled. "It's romantic."
Trunks let out a snort, "I guess in a way it is."
"Trunks, there's something I've been curious about. I heard that Saiyans get special powers during the full moon. Is that true?"
Trunks let out a small laugh. "We don't gain any special powers, but I guess you could say we get a boost of power. We're usually our strongest on a full moon."
"Wow," Pan whispered. Saiyans were already strong. It was amazing that they could become even stronger. "You're already so strong," she told Trunks.
"I'm one of the strongest," he stated with a proud grin. "But, Panna, since you asked me questions, can I ask some too?"
"Oh yes," she nodded. She had forgotten that he had admitted to being curious as well. Pan couldn't see why he would be curious though.
"Other than coming here and reading, what do you like to do?"
"I-" Pan knitted her brows together. She thought about telling him some ridiculous hobby she had before she shook her head. It was best to just be honest. "I like knitting. My Mama taught me how to do it when I was ten and I used to do it to pass time when I was stuck inside. Now, I like to do it and make my dresses," she pointed to the light blue dress she was wearing.
"You make your dresses?" Trunks raised an eyebrow.
"Many of them, yes," Pan nodded.
"My sister would love you," Trunks laughed. "She's all the time saying she needs someone to make her new dresses. If she ever meets you and finds out that you like to do that kind of stuff- she'd never leave you alone."
"You have a sister?" Pan asked with a small smile. It was the first time she had heard him mentioning a sister.
"Oh, yeah," Trunks nodded. "Just one. Her name is Bulla, she's fifteen."
Pan gasped, "she's my age!"
"Really?" Trunks seemed surprised.
"When's her birthday?"
"Third day of Summer. She just turned fifteen."
"I'm older," Pan smiled. "I'll be turning sixteen on the fourteenth day of Fall."
"Sixteen," Trunks repeated.
"How old are you?" Pan asked him curiously. He didn't seem that much older than her.
"I'm nineteen," he said. "The first day of Winter is my birthday."
"Our birthdays aren't that far apart," Pan smiled. She would be able to remember it easily.
"Yeah," he nodded. "You said earlier that you were stuck in the palace a lot, why?" He raised a lavender brow.
"I have another brother," Pan said softly. "His name is Goten. He ran away almost three years ago, and Gohan was scared that I might do the same, or that someone would try to hurt me to get to him."
"Your brother just ran away?"
"He left me a note saying that he had something he needed to find and that one day he would be back," Pan whispered before she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know where he is though. I just hope he's safe."
"I'm sorry, Panna," Trunks said. "You seem like you really miss him."
Pan caught Trunks' eyes and she could see the sadness in them. He was missing someone like she was. He understood her pain. "Yeah," she nodded gently. "I do."
Trunks stared at his ceiling with a heavy sigh. Pan truly seemed curious about Vegeta-Sei and him. He was interested in knowing her as well.
A knock on his door caught his attention and slowly it opened. Trunks sat up in his bed, wondering who was brave enough to just enter without permission. It had to have been one of his family members, or Endou.
"Appa," Trunks said when he saw Vegeta. His father wore a grim look on his face, one that Trunks knew well. He swallowed hard, waiting to hear the bad news.
"Frieza has contacted me," Vegeta's voice was low. "There's a raid. You and your squadron will be leaving in three days."
Trunks let out an annoyed huff as he glared down at his floor. Three days. At least that gave him time to tell Pan goodbye before he left.
Mid-Summer
It had been almost two weeks since Trunks had seen Pan. To him, it was strange how much he had missed her when he hadn't known her for that long, but he did miss her. He missed hearing her giggles and seeing the way her eyes shined when he told her something.
The small planet he had raided was called Resacar. The civilians there didn't put up a fight once they saw the ship land on their planet, they just woefully surrendered. Trunks honestly wasn't sure what was worse, aliens woefully surrendering or aliens fighting when they didn't stand a chance.
Trunks never thought he would admit it, but he was glad to be back on earth. Pan was there, somewhere. He didn't see her in the opening anywhere but her belongings were there, letting him know she was nearby.
A loud splash of water caught Trunks' attention and he turned to the stream just in time to see Pan pop up. He knew he should have turned away as soon as he saw, but it was like he was frozen into place. Pan swam topless, or at least, she was at the moment. Her wet, dark hair clung to her slender frame, and although her hair covered a good chunk of breasts, the skin that Trunks did see caused him to swallow hard.
Pan turned and noticed him and let out a small yelp as she ducked into the water. "You're back!" She squeaked.
Trunks turned away from her as his cheeks and neck started growing warm. What was wrong with him? He could not be getting excited- not now! "Yeah," he cleared his throat. "I just got back today. Sorry, I didn't realize you were swimming."
"It's okay," her small mumble. "Um, if you don't mind staying like that for a moment, I'll get dressed right quick. I'm really sorry!"
Trunks nodded and closed his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest and let out a few heavy sighs. He needed to calm down. He needed to think of something that would take his mind off of the current situation, something boring like Bulla talking about dresses. Wait, no, Panna liked making dresses. He groaned and thought harder. He could think of Endou's rock collection! For some reason, his friend liked collecting rocks and had shelves full of them. He had even named them all. Trunks furrowed his brows as he tried to remember their names- Rocky, Grant, Hugh-
"Okay," he heard Pan say as she sat down. "I'm dressed. Again, sorry."
Trunks opened his eyes and turned to face her. Thankfully, she was dressed, though she still had an adorable blush across her cheeks. "It's okay, Panna," he told her. "You didn't know I was coming." He walked over to her blanket and took his usual seat on it.
"How was your raid?" Pan asked as she dug through her bag.
Pan had been understanding when he told her he had to leave for a while, which had surprised Trunks. He had expected her to be a little frightened, but she was asking about his raid.
"It was boring," he answered with a small shrug.
"Really?" She asked as she pulled a hairbrush out of her bag. "Didn't any of them put up a fight?"
"No," He answered as he watched her yank the brush through her tangled hair. "They knew they wouldn't win so they didn't put up a fight. Doesn't that hurt?" He winced as he continued to watch her.
"Huh?" She blinked before she glanced at her hair and laughed. "Oh, my hair gets super tangled when it's wet. I don't have any spray so I'm just trying to brush it out as soon as possible."
"Give it to me," he held out his hand.
"What?" She asked.
"The hairbrush," he flexed his fingers. "You're making my head hurt with all that yanking."
Pan stared at him for several seconds before she slowly placed the hairbrush in his palms. "You're going to brush my hair?" She asked, confusion on her face.
"Yes, now turn around," he ordered.
Pan turned around slowly and Trunks began his work. She was right, her hair did get tangled, but he made sure to be gentle and work from the bottom up.
"I'm honestly surprised," Pan said softly. "You're good at brushing hair."
Trunks let out a small laugh. "My sister used to make me brush her hair all the time, plus I've had long hair before."
Pan turned around quickly and looked at him. "You've has long hair?"
Trunks laughed and turned her head back the other direction. "It was only down to my shoulders. It wasn't as long as yours. Your hair is very pretty," he commented.
"Thank you," she replied softly. "Trunks, if the planet you raided had put up a fight what would you have done?"
"Kill them," he answered without a second thought.
"Have you killed before?" She asked quietly.
Trunks wondered briefly if he should be honest with her. Would she become terrified like everyone else?
"I've done what I've had to do to keep my people safe," he told her.
"I understand."
"Do you?" He asked as he stopped brushing her hair.
She turned around and faced him. She didn't look scared, in fact, she gave him a smile that looked rather sad. "You have a people to protect, Trunks. I've never met Frieza, but I'm assuming you have?"
"Let's hope you never have to," Trunks told her honestly. Frieza was the definition of a demon, and Pan was the total opposite.
"You're not a killer by choice," Pan told him as she turned back around.
Trunks was silent as he stared at the brush in his hand. No one had ever told him that before. If only he could be brave enough to stand up to Frieza, and then maybe he wouldn't have to be a killer at all.
"In the end, there doesn't have to be anyone who understands you. There just has to be someone who wants to."
- Robert Breault