Easily catching her in an embrace, her hands slid behind his neck as she
hugged him back. Pan buried her face in his shoulder as she tried to plan
her next move. She was finding it very hard to focus, and unrelated
thoughts kept jumping to her mind, such as how much she liked standing like
that, how safe she felt right then, and how much she really wanted to kiss
him. What?! Did I really just think that?! Pan sighed and suddenly
decided. Oh, what the hell! Go with the flow; live a little, blah blah
blah. "What is it?" Trunks asked, his eyes narrowing as Pan laughed softly.
"What are you laughing at?" "You!" she replied. "We didn't get very far,
did we?" Trunks smiled in spite of himself. She did, after all, have a
point. He saw a change in her eyes, a glimmer. His smile widened as the
amusement stayed in her eyes. "Pan?" he said softly. "Mmm?" she replied as
she closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. Can I kiss you?
Trunks desperately wanted to say it. The sentence echoed around his head.
Come on, say it! Say it, you chicken! Can I kiss you? Can I-. Trunks'
thoughts were interrupted as Pan brought her lips up to meet his. Her hand
on the back of his neck pulled him deeper into the kiss as his hands moved
over her back. Pan's thoughts were a mess as she kissed Trunks. What am I
doing? God, I don't want to stop! But I have to. Just stop, now! Before she
lost her resolve, Pan broke away and took a step back. She withdrew her
hands and nervously crossed her arms. "I-I'm sorry. I-don't know why I-did
that." Pan searched her mind desperately for something to say. "It's okay,
Pan." Trunks was regarding her with a look of understanding. Pan tried to
go on. "I know it was a bad idea to do that. You-You have already said you
don't have time for a girl-girlfriend." Pan was furious at herself for
tripping over her words, and took a deep breath before she went on. "Again,
I'm sorry." She half-turned away, but then turned back and added, almost as
an afterthought, "It wouldn't work anyway, remember?" Trunks returned her
stare, wondering what she was getting at. Pan continued. "I mean, you've
said you want to live in the city, in Tokyo. I'm a country girl; always
have been. I want to live in the mountains in Shikoku. I'd die in the
city." Ahhh. Thought Trunks. The 'I can't, you won't' card. "Hey, Pan." He
said, taking her into his arms again. "We could get around that, you know?"
he stroked her hair, tucking stray wisps behind her ear as he spoke. "How?"
Pan asked, pouting slightly, sounding vaguely like a spoilt child. "I could
work in the city and come home to you in the mountains?" he proposed,
sounding hopeful, but not confident. Pan shook her head. "You know that
would never work Trunks. We should just walk away now. It won't work. I
want to live in the country." Pan trailed off, looking anywhere but Trunks.
He drew her closer, and she placed her hands on his arms above his elbows
in an attempt to hold him back. Leaning forward slightly, he said "I want
to live in the city." Pan's eyes darted everywhere; the sky, his shirt, the
trees, his neck, a flower, his lips, Arrgg!!! "I want to live in the
country." Pan said, a little more defiantly and focusing downwards. Trunks
just laughed gently. "I want to live in the city." Pan raised her eyes as
she prepared to repeat her wish, but before she could start, Trunks had
closed the gap between them and they were kissing again. Pan felt all her
resolves crumble away as she lost herself in his kiss. She felt like the
whole world no longer mattered, and wished she could stay like this
forever. Indulging Trunks as much as she dared, she moved away when she
sensed him becoming more demanding. "I think," she paused to ascertain
Trunks was listening to her; his eyes focused on hers and she continued,
satisfied, "I think that's enough for tonight. Why don't we head back now.
We still haven't solved any problems, so think about it, and talk to me in
the morning." The whole time she spoke, Trunks' eyes were riveted on hers.
"Deal." He said, drawing her closer still for a quick hug. When they pulled
apart, they started walking back to the hostel, holding hands. They walked
in silence until they reached Pan's veranda. Pan turned to Trunks as she
released his hand. "Good night." She said softly, gazing into Trunks' face.
He stepped up to her and kissed her quickly. "Good night." He whispered in
her ear before withdrawing to the shadows. Pan watched the place she had
last seen him for a moment, then turned and climbed onto her veranda. As
quietly as she could, she grabbed some clothes suitable for sleeping in
before crossing to the bathroom. She emerged minutes later, still supremely
happy, running her fingers lightly over her lips. As she stepped up to the
futon that someone had thoughtfully laid out for her, she heard a faint
stirring. Glancing across the room, Pan spotted Bra propped up where she
lay. "Sorry. Good night." Pan whispered to her friend. "Good morning!" she
replied, pointing to the clock. Pan didn't need to look to know that Bra
was right. As Bra settled back down to sleep, Pan felt a wave of relief
rush over her that her friend had sounded amused, not angry at her.
If only morning hadn't come. Pan thought remorsefully. If only I had gone to sleep and never had to wake up. What did I do to deserve the fate cruelly handed to me? Why did things turn out the way they did? Against her will, the memories of the following day came hurtling to mind. Pan drew her knees to her chest and sobbed into her pillow, trying to forget that day, but in vain.
"So then I said, Well, you're gonna have ta do better than that if you- Pan! Are you listening to me?" Bra stopped her commentary to glare at her friend. Pan had just been sitting there, not saying a word, all morning. "Pan? Earth to Pan! Anyone there? Man, I didn't know I was that boring!" Pan snapped out of her thoughts in time to catch Bra's last comment. "Oh, I'm sorry Bra. I didn't mean to ignore you; I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all." She quickly amended, seeing the hurt look on her friend's face. Bra smiled, happy that she'd at least got a response. "That's okay. So what's got you so preoccupied?" Bra thought she may know, but she didn't really want to pressure Pan into telling her. "Oh, you know. Life. The Universe. And Everything!" For Bra's sake, Pan ended with a laugh and determined to be happy from then on. She could be melancholy and depressed when the trip was over. Glancing out the window, Pan reflected how close that actually was. After spending the day sightseeing Fukuoka, they were on their way back to Shin-Osaka, and the darkened Japanese countryside was all you could see for miles as the shinkansen tore past at 287 kilometers per hour. Pan was once again jerked from her thoughts as Bra tapped her gently on the shoulder. "Wanna wander?" Bra grinned, walking two fingers in front of Pan's eyes. Pan smiled gratefully. The distraction was a welcome one. Rising, Pan grinned back. "Sure! Which way?" Bra pointed backwards. "The guys said there's a vending machine back there." "K. sounds good to me." The girls carefully made their way down the carriage towards the sliding doors. Bra passed her hand over the sensor pad and the silver doors slid silently to the side. "Wow. Very Star Trek." Pan muttered to herself, but Bra heard and giggled. This set of Pan and soon the two were back to their hypo selves. Bra pouted in disappointment over the vending machine. She had been hoping for grape fanta, but this one just had snack food. "Oh well. Can't win em all." Bra went to the window and rested her head against the glass. "Hey Panny, if you're still hot, come feel this glass!" Pan wandered over and put a hand out. "Woah. Cold." As she withdrew her hand, Pan leaned back on the wall despondently. "Pan. Are you okay?" Bra asked gently. She just had to know why her friend was so upset. "Umm. Not really." Came the saddened reply. "Do you want to talk about it?" Bra pressed, leaning on the wall opposite. "Do you want to hear about it?" Pan shot back, wondering if she should say what was really bothering her. "Sure Pan, you can tell me anything." A look at Bra face confirmed this. She looked so sympathetic and serious, and Pan could see a look of understanding in her eyes. "Okay. Last night, or rather, this morning, I.I came in so late because I.me and Trunks were." Pan finished helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. Bra wasn't satisfied with this response and questioningly raised an eyebrow. "Did he ask you out?" she said, trying not to sound too hopeful. "Well, we kinda skipped that part and went straight to the making out part." Bra was so excited, she was almost bouncing on the spot. "I knew it! I knew something happened between you two, I just didn't know what! So are you gonna date him now?" Pan regarded her friend skeptically. "I don't know. He agreed to talk about it with me today to sort it all out, but so far he's just been avoiding me. Looks like its gonna be up ta me." "Yeah, he's like that." Bra agreed, nodding as she spoke. "But I really think he likes you, Pan. I've never seen him act like he has been before." Pan was surprised by this. "You really think so?" Bra nodded again. "Uh huh." "Hmm." Was all Pan had to say. After that, the conversation drifted back to the trip and the girls' laments that it was almost over. As an announcement informed them they were nearing the terminal, they returned to their seats to collect their bags.
I can't believe I ever thought for even a minute that he might have liked me! Sure, Bra had sounded confident, but Pan wasn't the type to just except things like that, without evidence. Pan caught sight of her giant stuffed bunny across the room and jumped over to retrieve it. Taking it back to her bed, she settled cross-legged with the toy in front of her. Folding her arms on top of the plush rabbit, she lazily began surfing channels with the remote, which never strayed far from her bed. Pan tried to focus on the infomercials that were playing, struggling to keep more memories from resurfacing. No more! She thought desperately. I can't take any more! Collapsing back onto her pillows, she heard the remote thud to the floor as the tears began rolling down her cheeks once more.
When they had all disembarked the shinkansen, Mrs Johnson had told them that she had booked a hotel room for them to stay at, as it was very late (almost midnight) and some people lived far out from the station. Everyone was grateful, and lugged their gear up to the room before they started fighting for a good spot to crash. Pan viewed the pandemonium with amusement, until she spotted Trunks. He was sneaking out to the veranda. Unnoticed, Pan followed, sliding the door closed quietly behind her. As she approached, Trunks turned his head slightly to acknowledge her presence. Pan rested her arms on the rail and stared at the skyline before them. "So are we ever going to actually talk about this?" Pan asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow at the 18-year-old at her side. Without taking his eyes from the view, Trunks replied "We're talking now." Sighing in frustration, Pan asked angrily, "Do you always make things this difficult?" Trunks turned to her and grinned at her irritation. "Absolutely." Pan melted at the grin. Quickly recovering, but smiling now, she wryly commented, "I should have known." They both became serious again as Pan added, "So have you decided?" Inwardly, Trunks groaned. He had not wanted to talk about that. The truth was, he knew what he had to do; it was just so hard, and so damn unfair! He looked back to the starless night sky as he started to speak. He did not want to see Pan's face when he said this; it would make him lose his resolve. "Pan." He began, gathering all his strength for what he was about to say. Pan could feel his ki fluctuating, and it made her nervous. He tried again, "Pan, we can't.be together.I work - hard, and it wouldn't be fair to you." Inside his head, Trunks was screaming. I didn't want to hurt her like this, but what can I do?! I do work. I go away a lot. What would happen when I inherit the company? Would Gohan even approve? Damn! Pan took a deep breath, then let it out slowly; she wanted to sound calm and in control when she said this. "That's okay Trunks, I understand completely." Pan turned to face him, and noticed that he still wasn't looking at her. Pan's strength increased as she heard her own voice, so calm and casual, continue, "You have a great responsibility, and its really mature of you to be so dedicated. I really respect that." Pan's sincerity made Trunks look, but he quickly looked away again. I can't believe I'm doing this! Trunks thought furiously. I'm letting her go. Why?! Pan had started speaking again, and Trunks struggled for control of his emotions as he forced himself to meet her eyes. "I'm glad we've got this all sorted now." Pan almost lost herself in his sapphire eyes before she caught herself and quickly added, "Anyway, it's very late and it's been a long day, so I'm going to go inside now." Pan turned and walked towards the sliding door. Trunks wanted to call after her. In his head he could hear his own voice calling. Wait. Don't leave. Please. Why can't I say it? Pan opened the door and threw a "Good night, Trunks" over her shoulder. Trunks heard the door click shut from where he stood. Turning his gaze back to the sky, Trunks noticed a solitary star. Sadly, he sighed and whispered the words he couldn't say before. "I love you, Pan." Inside the room, Pan collapsed on the second couch, the only spot left, and willed herself not to cry.
Isn't Trunks a bakayaro? Not the real Trunks of course.Remember what I said about the cookie! ^_^
If only morning hadn't come. Pan thought remorsefully. If only I had gone to sleep and never had to wake up. What did I do to deserve the fate cruelly handed to me? Why did things turn out the way they did? Against her will, the memories of the following day came hurtling to mind. Pan drew her knees to her chest and sobbed into her pillow, trying to forget that day, but in vain.
"So then I said, Well, you're gonna have ta do better than that if you- Pan! Are you listening to me?" Bra stopped her commentary to glare at her friend. Pan had just been sitting there, not saying a word, all morning. "Pan? Earth to Pan! Anyone there? Man, I didn't know I was that boring!" Pan snapped out of her thoughts in time to catch Bra's last comment. "Oh, I'm sorry Bra. I didn't mean to ignore you; I've just got a lot on my mind, that's all." She quickly amended, seeing the hurt look on her friend's face. Bra smiled, happy that she'd at least got a response. "That's okay. So what's got you so preoccupied?" Bra thought she may know, but she didn't really want to pressure Pan into telling her. "Oh, you know. Life. The Universe. And Everything!" For Bra's sake, Pan ended with a laugh and determined to be happy from then on. She could be melancholy and depressed when the trip was over. Glancing out the window, Pan reflected how close that actually was. After spending the day sightseeing Fukuoka, they were on their way back to Shin-Osaka, and the darkened Japanese countryside was all you could see for miles as the shinkansen tore past at 287 kilometers per hour. Pan was once again jerked from her thoughts as Bra tapped her gently on the shoulder. "Wanna wander?" Bra grinned, walking two fingers in front of Pan's eyes. Pan smiled gratefully. The distraction was a welcome one. Rising, Pan grinned back. "Sure! Which way?" Bra pointed backwards. "The guys said there's a vending machine back there." "K. sounds good to me." The girls carefully made their way down the carriage towards the sliding doors. Bra passed her hand over the sensor pad and the silver doors slid silently to the side. "Wow. Very Star Trek." Pan muttered to herself, but Bra heard and giggled. This set of Pan and soon the two were back to their hypo selves. Bra pouted in disappointment over the vending machine. She had been hoping for grape fanta, but this one just had snack food. "Oh well. Can't win em all." Bra went to the window and rested her head against the glass. "Hey Panny, if you're still hot, come feel this glass!" Pan wandered over and put a hand out. "Woah. Cold." As she withdrew her hand, Pan leaned back on the wall despondently. "Pan. Are you okay?" Bra asked gently. She just had to know why her friend was so upset. "Umm. Not really." Came the saddened reply. "Do you want to talk about it?" Bra pressed, leaning on the wall opposite. "Do you want to hear about it?" Pan shot back, wondering if she should say what was really bothering her. "Sure Pan, you can tell me anything." A look at Bra face confirmed this. She looked so sympathetic and serious, and Pan could see a look of understanding in her eyes. "Okay. Last night, or rather, this morning, I.I came in so late because I.me and Trunks were." Pan finished helplessly, shrugging her shoulders. Bra wasn't satisfied with this response and questioningly raised an eyebrow. "Did he ask you out?" she said, trying not to sound too hopeful. "Well, we kinda skipped that part and went straight to the making out part." Bra was so excited, she was almost bouncing on the spot. "I knew it! I knew something happened between you two, I just didn't know what! So are you gonna date him now?" Pan regarded her friend skeptically. "I don't know. He agreed to talk about it with me today to sort it all out, but so far he's just been avoiding me. Looks like its gonna be up ta me." "Yeah, he's like that." Bra agreed, nodding as she spoke. "But I really think he likes you, Pan. I've never seen him act like he has been before." Pan was surprised by this. "You really think so?" Bra nodded again. "Uh huh." "Hmm." Was all Pan had to say. After that, the conversation drifted back to the trip and the girls' laments that it was almost over. As an announcement informed them they were nearing the terminal, they returned to their seats to collect their bags.
I can't believe I ever thought for even a minute that he might have liked me! Sure, Bra had sounded confident, but Pan wasn't the type to just except things like that, without evidence. Pan caught sight of her giant stuffed bunny across the room and jumped over to retrieve it. Taking it back to her bed, she settled cross-legged with the toy in front of her. Folding her arms on top of the plush rabbit, she lazily began surfing channels with the remote, which never strayed far from her bed. Pan tried to focus on the infomercials that were playing, struggling to keep more memories from resurfacing. No more! She thought desperately. I can't take any more! Collapsing back onto her pillows, she heard the remote thud to the floor as the tears began rolling down her cheeks once more.
When they had all disembarked the shinkansen, Mrs Johnson had told them that she had booked a hotel room for them to stay at, as it was very late (almost midnight) and some people lived far out from the station. Everyone was grateful, and lugged their gear up to the room before they started fighting for a good spot to crash. Pan viewed the pandemonium with amusement, until she spotted Trunks. He was sneaking out to the veranda. Unnoticed, Pan followed, sliding the door closed quietly behind her. As she approached, Trunks turned his head slightly to acknowledge her presence. Pan rested her arms on the rail and stared at the skyline before them. "So are we ever going to actually talk about this?" Pan asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow at the 18-year-old at her side. Without taking his eyes from the view, Trunks replied "We're talking now." Sighing in frustration, Pan asked angrily, "Do you always make things this difficult?" Trunks turned to her and grinned at her irritation. "Absolutely." Pan melted at the grin. Quickly recovering, but smiling now, she wryly commented, "I should have known." They both became serious again as Pan added, "So have you decided?" Inwardly, Trunks groaned. He had not wanted to talk about that. The truth was, he knew what he had to do; it was just so hard, and so damn unfair! He looked back to the starless night sky as he started to speak. He did not want to see Pan's face when he said this; it would make him lose his resolve. "Pan." He began, gathering all his strength for what he was about to say. Pan could feel his ki fluctuating, and it made her nervous. He tried again, "Pan, we can't.be together.I work - hard, and it wouldn't be fair to you." Inside his head, Trunks was screaming. I didn't want to hurt her like this, but what can I do?! I do work. I go away a lot. What would happen when I inherit the company? Would Gohan even approve? Damn! Pan took a deep breath, then let it out slowly; she wanted to sound calm and in control when she said this. "That's okay Trunks, I understand completely." Pan turned to face him, and noticed that he still wasn't looking at her. Pan's strength increased as she heard her own voice, so calm and casual, continue, "You have a great responsibility, and its really mature of you to be so dedicated. I really respect that." Pan's sincerity made Trunks look, but he quickly looked away again. I can't believe I'm doing this! Trunks thought furiously. I'm letting her go. Why?! Pan had started speaking again, and Trunks struggled for control of his emotions as he forced himself to meet her eyes. "I'm glad we've got this all sorted now." Pan almost lost herself in his sapphire eyes before she caught herself and quickly added, "Anyway, it's very late and it's been a long day, so I'm going to go inside now." Pan turned and walked towards the sliding door. Trunks wanted to call after her. In his head he could hear his own voice calling. Wait. Don't leave. Please. Why can't I say it? Pan opened the door and threw a "Good night, Trunks" over her shoulder. Trunks heard the door click shut from where he stood. Turning his gaze back to the sky, Trunks noticed a solitary star. Sadly, he sighed and whispered the words he couldn't say before. "I love you, Pan." Inside the room, Pan collapsed on the second couch, the only spot left, and willed herself not to cry.
Isn't Trunks a bakayaro? Not the real Trunks of course.Remember what I said about the cookie! ^_^