21- A Mischievous Prince

Summer

Pan's first day on Vegeta-Sei had been fantastic. The festival had been everything she had dreamed it would be, but her favorite part had been watching the fireworks with Trunks. Her face grew warm as she thought about their kiss, and she smiled to herself.

After Trunks had dropped Pan off at Bulla's room, she didn't have much time to linger on the kiss. Bulla was back from the festival, and the two girls had stayed up until almost dawn chatting. Pan was so happy to find out that she and Bulla got along so well.

Pan had eaten brunch with Bulla and Trunks on a balcony over the gardens. The suns were growing higher in the sky, already making the day warm. After they had finished eating, Bulla dashed off, leaving just Trunks and Pan. Trunks said the best time to visit the markets was in the afternoon once it started cooling down. So, since they had several hours to spare, Trunks was showing her some more of the castle.

Pan still hadn't seen Trunks' room. She was trying not to let it bother her, but she wanted to see it. Trunks was all the time relaxing in her room. It wouldn't hurt for her to see his, would it?

They were walking down the hallway, their hands brushing against each other a few times before Trunks' grabbed her finger with his and linked them with a smirk. Pan's cheeks grew warm as she met his eyes. It was obvious that he didn't care who in the castle saw them.

"Prince Trunks-" a servant rushed up to them and bowed. "The King is requesting to see you."

"What?" Trunks' eyes widened. "What for?"

"I do not know, Your Royal Highness-" the servant bowed again. "His Majesty is in his study."

Trunks let out a heavy sigh and looked over at Pan. She gave him a gentle smile, already knowing that he didn't want to leave her by herself. "I'll be okay," she promised.

"Tell my Appa that I'll be there shortly," Trunks told the servant. He let go of Pan's finger before he grabbed her hand. "C'mon, there's someone I want you to meet," he said. "Though, this might be a horrible idea-" he muttered under his breath.

Pan rocked on her feet as she waited underneath a shaded patio near the training grounds. Trunks had run off to grab someone who would keep Pan company while he talked to his father.

"Huh?" Pan heard a man's voice. Though the voice was deep, it had a childlike, cheerful tone to it. "What are you going on about?"

Pan heard Trunks huff. "My Appa wants to see me, and I have company. I would like it if you would keep her -"

"Her?!" The voice shouted. "Trunksie! Did you bring a girl here?!"

Pan bit her bottom lip in amusement. Trunksie?

"Endou, shut- COME BACK HERE!"

Pan gasped, as a tall man suddenly rounded the corner. He had dark hair that was pulled up into a messy bun. His dark eyes were wide as he looked at Pan, and she couldn't help her eyes from mirroring his. There was something familiar about this man, but she couldn't place it.

"Endou!" Trunks was there a second later as he shoved the man to the side.

"Is this her?" Endou asked as he motioned to Pan.

"Yes," Trunks let out a small sigh. "This is Pan. Panna, this is Endou. I know he seems a little slow, but he's a great soldier."

"I am Trunks' here right-hand man and best friend!" Endou stated proudly as he wrapped an arm around Trunks' shoulders. "Isn't that right, Trunksie?"

Trunks' eyes widened as he cringed. "You want to be banished, don't you?" He muttered as Pan fought back her giggle.

"You don't have time to banish me. Your Appa is waiting," Endou chuckled as he removed his arm from Trunks and pushed him on his back. "Go on now-" he shooed him with his hands. "Pan and I will be just fine!"

Trunks was snarling until his eyes met Pan's, and his face softened. "Don't believe anything he tells you, alright?"

Pan pursed her lips together, "I'll keep it in mind," she promised.

Trunks let out a groan before he dashed away so he wouldn't keep his father waiting any longer. Pan let out a giggle as she watched him go. Despite his glare towards Endou, Pan could tell that Trunks trusted him.

"So, you're the girl that has Trunks losing his mind?" Endou spoke up as he placed a hand on his chin.

Pan glanced up at him. He was taller than Trunks was, but he wasn't intimidating. "I guess that would be me," she admitted with a small smile. She bowed her head at him, realizing she hadn't done it yet. "Trunks has mentioned you to me several times. It's nice to meet you."

Endou's eyes widened, and he quickly bowed back to her. "Trunks has kept you as a dirty little secret all to himself," he frowned. "Though, he has let something's slip about you here and there. It's so exciting that you're here, though-" he grinned. "I've been waiting to tell you things."

Pan's eyes widened slightly as her lips twitched. She had a feeling Endou was about to tell her things- things which Trunks had told her not to believe.

"He did not!" Pan gasped as she and Endou walked through the castle.

For the last half hour, he had been telling her stories about Trunks. She had already known by the mischievous smirks Trunks had given her a time or two that he could be a trouble-maker. What she didn't know was that he really was one.

So far, she had heard about the time Trunks had gotten drunk for the first time. He had only been fourteen! She couldn't believe he had been so naughty! According to Endou, who was just two years older than Trunks, the two of them had broken into liquor cabinet in the palace. Both of them had thought they would be tipsy, but what they hadn't realized was that what they consumed was very potent, and soon, they were a pair of drunkards.

Endou claimed he didn't remember much. He did remember that Trunks had tried to recuse what he thought was a stray cat. It turned out to be a wild animal that scratched Trunks, and because of that scratch, he had to have rabies shots. Endou also said that when he woke up the next morning, he was passed out on the sidewalk, but Trunks was curled on top of the dragon statue in the middle of the Town Square! Their parents had not been pleased.

Now he was telling her about a time Frieza had visited, and Trunks had snuck abroad the Tyrant's travel ship while it was docked and hacked into his computer system.

"He did!" Endou snickered. "Frieza's ship malfunctioned for weeks, and they still don't know who did it! Trunks might not seem like it, but he's pretty smart, just like the Queen."

"What about me?"

Pan and Endou stopped and gasped in surprise as they saw Bulma leaving a room. She grinned at them, "what were you saying?"

"Oh, your Majesty," Endou grinned. "I was just telling Pan here about how mischievous our little Prince is!"

Bulma's grin stretched. "And where is our Prince?" She glanced around the hallways.

"Speaking with the King," Endou said.

"Great!" Bulma chirped as she leaned over and grabbed Pan's wrist. "I'll keep Pan company until he comes back."

"Alright!" Endou nodded. "She's the one with the really good stories," he whispered to Pan with a grin before he dashed away.

"Come on here, sweetheart," Bulma said, leading Pan back into the room she had left.

Pan's eyes widened as she looked around slowly. It was a large room with long rows of books with all shapes and sizes. A table sat in the middle, opened books with scribbles all in it was thrown in the top of it along with a variety of viles, all in different colors and amounts. All around the room were inventions, most of which Pan didn't even recognize.

"This is one of my labs," Bulma explained as she let go of Pan's wrist. "I keep my milder experiments in here."

"This is amazing," Pan awed as she looked around some more.

"Thank you," Bulma beamed. "It's a lot of hard work most days, but it's satisfying. Come sit with me in the back room," she motioned towards Pan. "I just had some tea delivered, and I was hoping to catch you. It looks like I was lucky!"

Pan smiled as she followed Bulma to the back room. She had thought that when she had finally met Trunks' mother, she would be intimidated and shy because, according to Trunks, his mother gave off that impression. And it was true. Bulma did give off a grand aura, but Pan felt welcomed. She had a feeling that she and Bulma were going to get along very well.

"Shit! Shit!" Trunks huffed under his breath as he ran through the castle.

His Appa had needed his help with programming information about the last raid into the database system. Usually, Bulma helped him, since Vegeta was not tech-savvy at all. Bulma, however, claimed she was busy and told Vegeta to ask Trunks to do it. Trunks knew something was up as soon as his Appa had told him that.

When Trunks finished helping his Appa and found Endou without Pan, he knew his fears were coming true. His Eomma was talking to Pan. Trunks knew that leaving Pan with Endou would be bad enough, but he trusted his friend to keep her safe. Letting Pan talk to his Eomma though, was disastrous because he was fearful of just what his Eomma was telling her.

Trunks opened up his Eomma's study, and from the back room, he could hear her talking.

"So, there he was running by and shouting all crazy like. I asked him what it was he had, and he said a knife! And-"

"Eomma!" Trunks rushed into the back room quickly. His Eomma looked up at him innocently, and Pan grinned. "Do you live to embarrass me?" He groaned.

"I'm your Eomma. What else am I supposed to do?" Bulma huffed.

Trunks let out a huff as he looked at Pan. "Don't believe anything she tells you."

"Oh, calm down," Bulma rolled her eyes. "It's not like I told her about the time you were three and you went streaking in the town square."

Trunks' eyes widened in horror as his face grew hot. "Can you stop?!" He yelled as Pan started giggling like mad.

"Pan, it's so nice to talk to you," Bulma said. "But, I'm afraid my Son might just set my lab on fire if I don't stop."

"It was nice talking to you too!" Pan said as she bowed her head.

Trunks walked over to her and gave Bulma a deep frown before he grabbed Pan's hand and led her out the lab and as far away from his Eomma as he could get her.

"You were quite the mischievous little Prince," Pan commented with a grin.

"I told you not to listen to them," Trunks groaned. "It's all lies," he said.

"So you didn't pass out on the Dragon Statue in the Town Square the first time you got drunk?" Pan asked with a sly smile.

Trunks' eyes widened as he looked at her. "Who told you that?"

"Endou."

"That's bastard," he hissed with narrowed eyes.

Pan laughed and squeezed his hand. "My Mischievous Prince. It fits you well."

Trunks felt his chest growing warm as he smiled at Pan. She didn't know the first thing about how mischievous he could be.

"I'm going to miss you so much!" Bulla whined as she hugged Pan.

"I'm going to miss you too!" Pan said.

Over the last several days, Pan had gotten to know Bulla a bit. They had stayed up almost every night, chatting away about the littlest of things. Bulla had shown Pan her closet, which looked as if it came out of a fairy tale book. Pan being a princess herself, had her array of fancy dresses, but Bulla's seemed to be more exotic. Maybe it was because she was a Saiyan. Bulla had given her several dresses, though, despite Pan's protest. All she wanted in return was for Pan to make her a dress.

"I'll make Trunks take me to visit you real soon," Bulla promised with a grin. "Although I already know he'll throw a fit because he doesn't like sharing his time you."

Pan giggled and glanced up at Trunks, who simply rolled his eyes. "Come on," he grabbed Pan's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'll walk with you guys to the garden," Bulla smiled.

They had just started down the hallway when someone turned the corner. Pan's eyes widened as she looked at the young woman. She was beautiful! Her golden hair was pinned up neatly, and her blue eyes were shining. She seemed surprised as she looked at Pan before her eyes darted between Trunks and Bulla, who had frozen.

"What are you doing here?" Trunks asked with wide eyes.

The blonde-haired woman looked over her shoulder quickly. "Mother came to show your Eomma a sample of the army-"

"Your mother is here?!" Trunks gasped.

"Yes!" The Blonde huffed. Her blue eyes found Pan's, and they were soft and gentle. "I hope we have time to meet each other someday properly," she said with a small frown. "Get her out of here, and I'll distract Mother," she told Trunks.

"Thanks, Marron!" He said as he tightened his grip on Pan's hand.

Pan furrowed her eyebrows together. Why did that name sound so familiar?

Pan gasped as Trunks turned them around and took off down the hallway the way they had just come. Before Pan knew it, they were back in her room and on earth.

"That was close," Trunks let out a heavy sigh. "No way did I want you to bump into Eighteen. She's such a bitch."

Pan blinked her eyes slowly as her memory clicked. Marron was the name of the woman that Trunks was supposed to marry. He was engaged to her. Pan felt her stomach sinking as her body grew cold. How could she have forgotten all about that? Had she been so happy these last few months that she forgot reality?

"You-" Pan's voice broke, and she let out a heavy breath. She let go of Trunks' hand and took a step back from him. His eyes widened in confusion as he looked at her worriedly.

Pan felt so confused. She felt lost because even though she knew Trunks had told her multiple times that neither he nor Marron wanted to marry each other, it didn't change the fact that they were still engaged. Marron's mother was working hard to ensure the wedding would continue.

Marron was beautiful, too. She looked like a prim and proper Princess. Pan didn't know her; all she knew is what Trunks had told her. He seemed to be good friends with her, and Pan hated the way it made her feel. She felt something growing in the pit of her stomach. Pan didn't own Trunks. She couldn't stop him from being friends with Marron, and she didn't want to because the woman had seemed so lovely and sweet.

"Panna?" Trunks spoke gently as he looked at her. "Are you okay? I'm sorry if I surprised you. I just want to get you out of there before-"

"Are you two still engaged?" Pan asked as she felt her eyes growing warm.

Pan felt childish for being upset, but she couldn't help herself. If Trunks and Marron were going to stay engaged, then why was he even courting her? Was she just a way for him to spend his time? Pan felt guilty as soon as she thought it. She knew Trunks wasn't like that, so why couldn't she stop her thoughts?

"Panna, the only one who is still fighting for Marron and me to be engaged is her mother," Trunks said gently.

Marron's mother must be something for Trunks to not even to want to mess with her.

"When I look at Marron-" Trunks continued. "I feel the same way I do when I look at Bulla, and it's completely different than the way I feel when I look at you."

"What do you feel when you look at me?" Pan asked curiously.

"Everything," Trunks whispered. "You are a magnetic force that pulls my eyes, body, and mind to you constantly. When I'm with you, I feel reckless and unstoppable," he admitted. "It's like I'm capable of doing anything as long as you're the one by my side." He let out a deep breath, "and when I'm not with you, I don't stop thinking about you. If I have to go days without seeing you, I about go crazy."

Pan felt her cheeks growing warm. She felt the same way about Trunks. For her, Trunks was the only one she had ever felt this way about, and she was sure he would always be the only one.

"What if your feelings change?" Pan whispered. She prayed they never would, just like her feelings for him.

"That's impossible," Trunks answered. He swallowed hard, and Pan saw how his cheeks started to glow pink. "When a Saiyan finds someone who's a compatible mate for them, they start to bond with that person."

"Bond?" Pan raised an eyebrow. Trunks had mentioned that word before, but he had never really explained it.

"It's like courting," Trunks explained. "Kinda, except with much deeper feelings. Once a bond grows deep enough, there's no stopping that Saiyan's feelings."

Pan could feel her heart growing quick as it pounded against her chest. "Are- are you bonding with me?"

"I've been bonding with you for a while now," Trunks admitted softly. "There's no going back for me, Panna. I couldn't change the way I feel about you even if I wanted to."

Pan stepped closer to Trunks and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull his face down as she stood on the tip of her toes. She gave him a quick peck before she pulled back to look at him.

Trunks blinked in surprise, and Pan's body grew warm. "I'm sorry," she said. "I know you've told me that you and Marron don't want to marry each other. It was just my first time seeing her, and I guess I got jealous," she admitted quietly.

"You got jealous?" Trunks asked slowly as he looked at Pan.

She swallowed hard and removed her arms from around his neck before clasping her hands in front of her chest. "Yes," she admitted in embarrassment. "I don't know what came over me," she murmured. "I didn't like the idea of possibly having to share you-"

The words had barely escaped Pan's lips before Trunks was leaning down and kissing her. He was kissing her in a way that made Pan weak in the knees. It was as if he wanted her to feel every inch of him and Pan could swear she did. She felt him everywhere from her lips to the tingles down in her toes.

All too soon, Trunks pulled away, and he was smirking at her. "Get jealous," he told her. "Be selfish, and never worry that you'll have to share me." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, and Pan felt herself beaming. "I'm all yours," he promised. "How about we find your Mom and let her know you're back?" He asked as he leaned away from her and held out his hand.

Pan took his hand and gave him a small smile. "You don't have to go back to Vegeta-Sei?" She asked. If Marron and her mother were there for a visit, then shouldn't he be there?

"Didn't you just hear me?" Trunks raised an eyebrow with a grin. "I'm all yours."

Pan smiled and squeezed his hand. "Let's go find Mama! I can't wait to tell her about Vegeta-Sei!"

"I kissed him passionately. I even wanted to bruise him so he would not be able to forget me."
-Françoise Sagan, Bonjour Tristesse