17- Homecoming

Mid-Spring

Pan's arms moved slowly as she moved pages on the book she was reading. Truthfully, she wasn't fully recovered from her illness that had struck her for almost an entire season. However, the weather was finally nice enough to go out again, and she was tired of being cooped up inside of a castle all day.

She fought back a yawn as her heavy eyes drifted across the pages of the book. They were moving across the words, but she wasn't reading.

Her mind was too far off. It was thinking of lavender hair and blue eyes. Pan felt a massive pang in her heart, and with trembling fingers, she shut her book.

Maybe it had all been a dream. She had dreamed of him before he ever came, so maybe her meeting him was a dream, too.

Pan knew it wasn't a dream, though. She could still feel the ghosts of caresses from Trunks on her skin. She could remember just how warm he always felt and the way his blue eyes shined brighter than the sky.

The thing that hurt the most wasn't that he didn't say goodbye. It was the fact that Pan didn't even know if he was okay or not. What if something horrible had happened to him? She had no way of knowing.

Pan glanced at the stream in front of her and listed to its burbling. She could hear the faint swoosh of the waterfall nearby, and she let out a small sigh at the calming sound. Her eyes were growing heavy as she leaned against the tree.

A shift ran through the air that made the hits on Pan's neck stand up, and her eyes widened. She had never felt something as strange as what had just gone through the air, but it felt almost familiar. With a huff and shaky arms, Pan pulled herself up to stand. Her knees buckled, and she pressed against the tree as she glanced around the clearing.

A strangled gasp escaped Pan's lips as she watched a familiar figure walk out of the wooded area beside the clearing. She was dreaming. She had to have been. Trunks was there, and he was walking straight towards her!

His blue eyes were set on her, making her insides feel as if they were a mountain about to explode with lava. His lavender hair had grown a bit and was now pulled back into a low ponytail. He almost looked the same as she remembered him, but something was troubling behind his eyes.

Pan was shaking by the time he reached her. She blinked her eyes several times and opened her mouth to say something- anything!- but nothing, not a word would come out. She raised her hand, and Trunks' lips twitched.

"Panna-"

Slap!

Pan gasped, and so did Trunks. His eyes widened as he held the left side of his cheek in shock. Pan glanced down at her red hand.

"My hand's buzzing. It hurts," she sighed as knees gave out.

"Panna-!" Trunks gasped as he caught her fall and landed on his knees.

Pan felt her tears welling up in her eyes as she shook. She could feel Trunks' hands on her waist. She could feel his chest against her arm, and her hand was still hurting! He was there!

Choking on a sob, Pan threw her arms around Trunks' neck and held him tightly as she cried. His arms encircled her and held her firmly.

Several minutes passed before Pan had enough strength to lean back and look at him. His blue eyes looked at her like he had never seen her before, and she gasped as she saw his cheek. It was red! She must have hit him a lot harder than she had thought.

"I'm sorry," she whispered hoarsely as she gently touched his cheek. "I had to make sure you were real."

"Don't be sorry," he told her gently as he grabbed her hand and held it. "I'm the one that should be apologizing. I owe you an explanation if you're willing to listen to it."

Pan was just thankful that he was alive and that he was back, so she nodded her head. Surely, he had been on some secret mission that had kept him gone for so long.

Trunks let out a sigh, and his thumb started to play with Pan's knuckles. It sent a small shiver down her spine. How was it that he just returned and he was already driving her body mad?

"The truth is, I destroyed the bracelet that let me visit you. I destroyed it on purpose, so I wouldn't be able to come here anymore."

Pan's mouth slowly started to part. She felt as if someone had dropped a cold bucket of water on top of her. Her hand that was holding Trunks and that was buzzing by his touch now felt cold. She unclamped her hand as her eyes burned and tried to pull apart from him. Did he not want to see her anymore? Was he here to say goodbye?

"Listen to me, please," Trunks pleaded, refusing to let go of Pan's hand. "I know it was stupid and very selfish of me, trust me, I do. I've worked my ass off the last several days just to learn this new technique so I can see you again."

"So you can tell me, goodbye?" Pan choked out.

"No-" he shook his head quickly. He let out a heavy breath, "I'm sorry, Panna. I'm sorry for just leaving and not explaining anything to you. I just- I started thinking, you know. I'm a Saiyan, and I'm not perfect- my race has so many enemies, and what if one of them found out about you? What if Frieza found out about you? The thought terrified me," he whispered.

He was still rubbing Pan's knuckle, and she was half tempted to close her hand around him again, but she didn't. Not yet.

"You didn't even tell me goodbye, or that you were leaving," Pan's shoulders shook. "I know I'm a human. I know I'm weak, but I'll become strong!" She declared.

"I know," Trunks told her gently. "You have no idea just how sorry I am that I felt the way I did and that I even left at all. I couldn't stop thinking about, Panna. You were all I thought about- constantly. I realized that I feared to lose you more than I did Frieza. He's strong and evil, no doubt, but I'm strong too. I won't- I refuse to let him harm any more people I care about," he promised.

Pan trembled. She couldn't resist anymore, and she clasped his hand tightly again. She leaned against him as she sniffed. He was back, that was the most important thing.

"Will you forgive me?" He asked gently.

"Only if you promise never to leave again," Pan hiccuped.

"I'm never letting you go, Panna," he promised, and Pan leaned back to look at him. He wiped her cheeks and gave her a gentle smile. "As prove-" he held her hands with both of his now. "I want to court you."

Pan blinked as her face grew hot. "You want to court me?" She whispered.

Trunks gave her the smirk she had missed so much, and her pulse jumped into her ears. "Didn't you hear me, Panna? I told you that I'm not letting you go."

Pan grinned and let out a teary laugh as she nodded her head quickly. "Yes," she told him.

He didn't say anything as he let out a sigh and held her tightly. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and pressed against him as her forehead rested against his neck. She never wanted to let him go. She was content, and she felt the best she had in months! Her world finally seemed to be back in order.

Trunks walked around the castle hallway with a small skip in his step. He felt more than okay. He had seen Pan- he had held her! She had even accepted his courtship. Once she asked Gohan to approve it, it would be official. It worried Trunks only slightly because what if Gohan didn't agree? It didn't worry Pan, though, who claimed that they would still court anyway, approval or not.

Trunks pushed a set of doors open and walked in. Dr. Brief was sitting at his desk, and upon seeing Trunks, his eyes widened.

"My boy," he said as he stood up. "You-" He looked Trunks over quickly. "I'm glad to see you're okay. Have you seen the Princess yet?"

Trunks gave him a small smile. "I have," he said. "We've talked."

"I see," Dr. Brief's mused.

"I know I shouldn't be here," Trunks said. "I know it's dangerous, but I'm going to fight for her. I don't want to lose her."

"That is all I wanted to hear," Dr. Brief stated simply. "I must apologize. I did not mean to run you off all those months ago. I simply wanted you to realize the danger and be determined to stay with her anyway."

"You couldn't have said that from the beginning?" Trunks muttered.

"You didn't give me a chance to before you took off," the doctor huffed.

Trunks felt his face grow warm in embarrassment. "So, you do want us together?" He asked carefully.

"You could say that I'm rooting for you," Dr. Brief's gave him a genuine smile, which Trunks returned.

Chi-Chi sighed as she read through a few transcripts for cargo with Gohan. There were so many of them since the land from the East was blooming with vegetation for the spring. The land from the West was finishing up their most beautiful silks, and the land from the north was getting their gems ready. Chi-Chi felt a little guilty that Gohan had to look over so much paperwork, so she had offered to help.

"Han!"

Chi-Chi jumped, and she saw Gohan do the same as Pan came rushing into the room. Chi-Chi could only gasp at her. Was this the same girl that had been bedridden with sickness for weeks? She was grinning from ear-to-ear. Her eyes were sparkling, and Chi-Chi knew instantly what had happened.

He had returned.

"Panny," Gohan gasped as he looked at her. "What in the world is wrong?" He jumped up and placed a hand on her glowing forehead. "Goodness, you're all sweaty! Are you running a fever?"

"No, Han, I'm not!" Pan grabbed his wrists and shook her head quickly. "I ran here."

"What on earth for?"

Pan was practically buzzing, "Trunks returned!"

"Trunks?" Gohan furrowed his brows before he gasped. "Oh! Dr. Brief's grandson? I heard he had to go back to his hometown for a while. It's nice that he's back."

Pan nodded quickly, and she glanced at Chi-Chi. "He's back, Mama!"

"Will He be able to stay this time?" Chi-Chi asked.

Pan's cheeks turned pink, and she smiled as she nodded slowly before she looked at Gohan. "Han, I-" she took a deep breath. "I'm the age where I can court someone, and you told me I could court whomever I like. Trunks has asked me to court him, and I already accepted, so you'll just have to accept it as well," she said.

Chi-Chi gasped as did Gohan. He stumbled back slightly until he fell into his chair. "C-courting?" He could barely make out the word.

"Your Majesty," Lapis was by his side in an instant. "Don't you think this is a rather rash decision for the Princess to make? Plus, Lord Koba is still very interested."

"Gohan said it was my choice to make!" Pan flared. "I don't like Lord Koba- I like Trunks!"

"He's not of nobility status," Lapis snipped.

"That you know of," Pan muttered under her breath with a glare.

"He is the Royal Physician's Grandson," Chi-Chi spoke up.

Truthfully, she was on the fence with the idea. Even though she now understood Trunks' reasonings for leaving, she didn't like that it had upset Pan so much. But, he must have passed the test Dr. Brief's had mentioned because he was back now, and he did make Pan happy. And to Chi-Chi, Pan's happiness was what was most important.

"Plus, I heard he's training to join the military. He's quite strong, right, Panny?" Chi-Chi looked at her daughter.

"Right!" Pan agreed quickly. "You promised me, Gohan," she said.

"You're right," Gohan said softly as he nodded. "I did. Okay," he nodded. "You have my blessing- though it looks like you would have ignored me even if I had rejected it."

Pan let out a joyful squeal before she danced across the room. "I have to go tell him! He's catching up with Dr. Brief's now."

"Panny!" Chi-Chi called after her.

"Yes, Mama?" She turned to grin at her.

"Tell him to stay for supper."

Pan's grin widened. "I will!" She chirped before she dashed out of the office.

Gohan let out a whine once Pan was gone. "I know I promised her she could choose, but I said that in hopes that it would be several years before she was interested in it."

Chi-Chi just let out a small chuckle. She had a feeling that Castle was about to become very lively.

"He felt warm and familiar. He felt solid and safe. I wanted to cling to his shirt, bury my face into the warm curve of his neck, and never let go."
-Crescendo (Becca Fitzpatrick)