Disclaimer: I own nothing. Would you stop rubbing it in my face?
A/N: Wow. Thank you guys so much for all of your reviews! I'll be thanking each of you personally next chapter, gotta hurry and update this and I'm lazy. -sheepish smile- I can't believe I got so many! Anyways, here's the next chapter. (by the way, Princess M-Chan, the only way I update this so quickly and it's so long is because I already had the first 6 chapters written before I posted any of it. I wasn't sure if it was good enough…)
Midnight movies with milk and 2 spoons of sugar
Pan sat on her bed, looking out the window at the falling snow. Seeing the crystals dance and spin about her window reminded her of last week, when she'd been snowed in at Bulma's house. Last week, when Trunks' tongue had a party on her stomach. She still couldn't shake the shivers when she thought about it. She hadn't been comfortable around him since then. And that was no good because Bra was having another movie night tonight and Pan couldn't miss it because Marron wasn't going to be there. She was on vacation with her parents, despite her whines and groans her mother and father thought it would be a good idea for her to go with them anyway.
Marrons absence meant two things, if Pan didn't go Bra would whine and complain and call until she changed her mind. Or until Videl and Gohan got tired of hearing the phone ring and made Pan go over there anyway. And that Trunks would be more observant of Pan, since the object of his affection wasn't there to distract him.
Inwardly, Pan groaned thinking of how extra sweet Trunks had been acting towards her lately. It was like he'd done something that he knew she would find out about, eventually, and when she did he would be in so much trouble. She was just waiting to find out what the big error in his ways was. Maybe he felt bad about the whole truth or dare thing...maybe?
"He probably wishes he'd never put his mouth on me." Pan spoke aloud as she turned from the frozen pieces of heaven that were falling on Earth. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a red sweater, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a white turtle neck. She didn't know how long she was going to stay with Bra, but the girl had told her it would be more than just tonight. But she knew it couldn't be that long because Christmas was about five days away and she'd have to be back before then. She grabbed her denim bag and placed the sweaters in it as well as three different jeans, two extra low cut, all hip-huggers, and her Christmas gifts for the Briefs. She was about to head out.
Her mother thought it would be a good idea for her to leave before the snow got too heavy. It was expected to blizzard later in the night and she was cold just thinking about it. She grabbed her jacket and slipped it over her long, dark brown and black sweater, picked up her bag, and headed down the stairs.
Bra was sitting on the living room floor, staring at her brother. All week she'd tried to get him to talk about this girlfriend of his and he hadn't even given her the time of day until this morning. She was breaking him, she knew it, but she couldn't quite get him to talk. There was something serious about this Narissa, it was obvious in his eyes when he spoke her name. Had he loved her? Bra sighed and leaned forward, asking him for the hundredth time.
"Tell me about Narissa." He groaned and leaned back in the chair.
"When's Pan-chan coming?" He looked down at his watch and back up at Bra.
"She's not coming. And you shouldn't call her Pan-chan, you're not her boyfriend." Bra smiled at her brother's shocked reaction.
"I can call her whatever I want, it's only a joke. What do you mean she's not coming?" He looked at the pile of movies on the floor, sure his sister was lying.
"It doesn't matter, you didn't answer me. Tell me about Narissa."
"What do you want to know about Narissa?" He asked, exhausted and tired of hearing his ex's name. She grinned happily and sat up as if she were about to hear the biggest scoop of the century.
"How long did you two date?"
"About seven months." He answered nonchalantly. Her eyes widened. That was like centuries for Trunks. He'd never even thought about the same girl for more than a week in his dating years around Bra. She smiled, goofily.
"Did you love her?" His eyes shifted after she asked the question.
"Narissa and I...we...I was going to ask her to marry me...." Bra coughed, not expecting that.
"What happened!" He sighed and rolled his eyes into his head sadly, as though the memory was too hard to bare.
"She didn't know me the way I thought she had. And apparently, I didn't know her at all. It just didn't work out, is all. Love isn't all people make it out to be, you know? It's a lot more to it than that, sometimes it takes more than will to make a relationship work." Bra wrinkled her brow and cocked her head to the side.
"What would it take for you to make a relationship work with someone?"
"Well, she would have to be...." He paused, thinking about it for awhile. "She would have to know me, how I feel, think, what I like. She would have to understand me, the whole saiyan thing and all. She would have to love me, unquestionably. She would have to give herself to me just as I would give myself to her. I want to feel like I'm the only one she's ever wanted, because when I'm with her she'll be that only one for me....When I find that girl I'll marry her. But she would have to know how I take my coffee." He said the last part with distaste, as though some awful thought were coming to mind. Had that been Narissa's folly? Did she forget the way her brother drank his coffee? That was a silly thing to get upset about.
Trunks caught the frown on Bra's face and knew what she was thinking.
"That was just another way for me to say 'she needs to know who I am'."
"Why would a girl need to know how you take your coffee in order for you to marry her?" She said it as though it were the stupidest thing to ever want, Trunks laughed and shook his head. Then, after a pause she asked, "How do you take your coffee?"
"With milk and two spoons of sugar." Pan wrinkled her brow from the walkway.
-How long had she been there- Bra wondered. "Why are you talking about how he likes his coffee?" She asked Bra.
"What did you say?" Bra asked Pan to repeat her statement. Pan misinterpreted.
"Why are you talking about-" She began to repeat the question.
"No, no. Before-" Trunks cut Bra off in the middle of her cutting Pan off.
"You said Pan wouldn't be here."
"I lied." Bra stated simply and turned back to Pan. Before she could ask her to repeat anything Trunks cut her off again.
"How long have you been there, Panny?" Pan winced from the name he'd called her, a childhood torture, and shrugged.
"I just got here. When I heard Bra say something about your coffee." She walked over to the couch and sat her bag down before taking a seat. "Why are you two in here talking about that?"
"Boredom." Trunks answered as Bra dropped her mouth in astonishment. She couldn't get one word in and that just wasn't natural. Bra always got to talk, whether anyone else did or not was their problem. But she always got her voice heard.
"Pan!" She yelled as they snapped their heads to look at her. Couldn't they see she was trying to help out in their measly lives?
"What Bra?" Pan asked in an exhausted voice.
"Can we go up to my room? Girl talk." She offered her brother an explanation as the doorbell rung. Pan nodded and Bra pulled her up the stairs.
"What is it?" Pan asked, once they'd made it into Bra's room. Pan sat, after Bra gave her a stern look, and prepared for some sort of long ramble. She'd half expected it to be about Larson, when Bra asked her to repeat herself.
"When you first came into the room, what did you say?" Bra asked the question slowly, as if she were a detective about to crack a case.
"I said, 'why are you guys talking about that?', or something to that affect."
"No, no!" She yelled, agitated. "Before you said all that, you said...."
"Oh, I don't know Bra. I don't know what you're talking about."
"Let me re-enact the scene, then. "Trunks," she began as if Trunks were in the room. "How do you take your coffee?" Pan laughed. "This is where you walked in and said...."
"With milk and two spoons of sugar." Bra squealed.
"That's what I thought you said." She shouted with glee.
"Only, you didn't say 'Trunks' before your question. Or, I didn't hear it." Bra's face dropped.
"So you responded with how you take your coffee?" She frowned.
"No, I don't like coffee." Pan shook her head.
"I was just making sure." Bra laughed with delight and sat down, calm again.
"That's it?" Pan frowned at the girl. "That's the 'girl talk' you pulled me up here to discuss? How your brother drinks his coffee?"
"Well, if you like, we can talk about how long you've been in love with him." Pan rolled her eyes and ignored the girl.
"Speaking of love," Pan had a devious glint in her eyes. "Who were you 'in love' with that never knew?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Bra tried to play innocent, but Pan knew she was no angel.
"You know perfectly well. When we were playing truth or dare, you said you'd been in love. Now I want to know who with. You never told me about this. Larson?"
"Whoa, now you're talking a mile a minute. That's my job." Bra laughed, but Pan wouldn't be swayed.
"Listen, I just don't want to talk about it, kay? It's embarrassing."
"So, it's not Larson 'cause I know all about that asshole. I don't know what persuaded you to date that jerk."
"Okay, but he's dumped now so we can drop it." She rolled her eyes, hating to think of her recent ex-boyfriend, the same boyfriend who'd tried to pressure her into sleeping with him. Just because they were seniors didn't mean they were too old not to sleep with one another, but he'd tried to make her think that anyway.
"I don't care how embarrassing it is, I'm your best friend and I demand to know." Pan stuck her tongue out at Bra, crossed her arms and waited for a response.
"I asked you about Trunks a while ago, and you never answered me."
"And I never will, it's non-" She paused, realizing this wasn't going to help her win her point with Bra. If she said 'non of you business' then Bra would copy that as her excuse as well. That wouldn't do, Pan wanted to know who this guy was. It wasn't like Bra to keep her crushes a secret. This was Bra. It was Pan's job to hide her feelings, Bra was always open.
"Listen, just drop it. I'll never have him so it doesn't matter." Pan's eyebrows lifted. Now she was more curious. A guy that Bra couldn't have? He'd have to be one hell of a guy. Bra was gorgeous and every guy knew it and was glad to get attention from her. "I think Goten is here anyway, let's go back downstairs." Bra didn't wait for Pan to agree, she just walked ahead. This was serious, she wasn't even smiling as she walked out the room. Maybe this guy had broken her heart...could there be that much about Bra that Pan didn't know? Did Marron know? Pan was clenching her fists as she walked out of the room.
"How do you know how my brother likes his coffee, Pan?" Bra whispered as Pan caught up with her. Pan shrugged.
"Just do."
"What's his favorite color?"
"If this is one of your schemes to get me to admit I'm in love with him, forget it." Pan whispered as they paused on the stairs.
"No, no. I was just curious." Bra smiled. "Just wanted to know if you knew." Pan shrugged again.
"Lavender." She answered as if Bra had asked what two plus four was.
"It's blue, Pan." Bra corrected her.
"No, it's lavender, same as his hair. He just doesn't admit it often."
"No, it's blue. He's my brother." Bra seemed upset.
"Maybe, but you didn't even know how to make his coffee." She teased her.
"I'm going to ask him." She marched down the stairs.
"I already told you, he doesn't admit it!" Pan whispered in a harsh tone, following Bra down the rest of the stairs.
"Trunks," Bra was already asking. He looked at her, waiting for her to finish the question. "What's your favorite color?"
"Blue." He answered quickly, looking at Goten awkwardly. Bra looked satisfied towards Pan. Pan shook her head.
"You're a liar, Trunks." Pan informed the boy. "Blue is not your favorite color." His cheeks ripened slightly as he looked away from her. Bra studied him and frowned.
"It really is lavender? I thought Pan was lying just to make me think she knew you better than I did. Damn." Bra's forehead wrinkled as she thought this through. Then she smiled again. "Never mind, this is better." She laughed. "My best friend knows my brother better than I do. Either I'm really bad at this sibling thing or she's really good." Pan smiled, happy she had won, and took a seat on the couch next to Goten.
"Hi, uncle Goten." She said loudly, reminding Bra that she hadn't spoken. Bra snapped out of her thoughts, looked at Goten sheepishly and waved. -That wasn't like Bra, that was more of a Goten move. What is her mind on?- Pan wondered. She knew Bra was up to something, but she wasn't sure what. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know what it was Bra was up to. Pan simply shrugged the feeling off as Bra sat down on the opposite side of her.
"What are we going to do?" Goten asked as Pan laughed. Things were returning back to normal now, couldn't Goten see all the movies on the floor? What did he think they were going to do, play catch with them? Bra sighed at his question and oblivious look.
"What do you think we're going to do, lug head?" She reached across Pan and hit his side. "It's called 'movie night' for a reason." Now Trunks joined Pan's laughter, watching Goten's face as Bra smacked his shoulder. He could easily tear her apart, the hit hadn't hurt, and yet he was rubbing it. She'd wounded his pride. His cheeks turned crimson as he nodded.
"Can we eat first." He asked her, almost timidly. She let out a loud sigh and stood up, highly annoyed.
"I don't care." She answered in the tone a mother would use on a four year old who was asking for ice cream, for the hundredth time. "You have to fix your own food, though. I'm not your mother, or your servant." She walked over to the kitchen and soon everyone else was following.
"Trunks, do you want some coffee?" Bra asked Trunks, a devious look on her face. "Pan can fix it." Pan frowned, obviously annoyed by being volunteered for such and action. Trunks looked down at his last sandwich then back up at Bra as if he were asking why he would want coffee with sandwich meat. Pan giggled.
"No thank you, Bra." He frowned and took a bite of the sandwich.
"I never said I'd fix him any coffee." Pan mumbled as she finished her last sandwich.
"Whatever." Bra waved her hand to dismiss the comment and poured herself of glass a juice.
"How come you didn't ask me if I wanted juice?" Trunks asked, giving her glass a longing look.
"Because I wasn't offering juice." Bra answered shortly.
"You weren't offering coffee either. Apparently I was." Pan rolled her eyes as she put her plate in the dishwasher.
"It was just a suggestion, Pan." Bra smiled innocently at her.
"Okay, why wasn't I offered anything." Goten looked wounded as his eyes wandered for more food. Bra laughed and handed him her glass of juice, she'd already swallowed half of it.
"Better?" She asked him, a cute smile on her lips.
"It's half empty." Goten complained, the smile wiped away.
"It's half full!" She stated sternly, as though they'd had the conversation a million times before. He wrinkled his brow and just before her hand reached out to snatch the glass back, he picked it up.
"All right then. Anything is better than nothing." He gulped the juice and sat it on the table. "More please?" He asked sweetly, knowing she'd never fulfill the request.
"If you want more juice, get up and get it yourself." She informed him of the procedure he should embark upon to get more liquid in the glass.
"But you're so much closer than I am to the container. If you'd just pour the juice in the cup then I'd be happy. Don't you want to see me happy?" He whimpered as she ignored his pleas.
"I'm not your mother, she's the one who babies you too much. Not me mister. If you want more juice, get it." She repeated, unwavering in her decision. He sighed as Pan laughed at them.
"Hey, I asked for some juice. You knew I wanted it but you gave your juice to Goten. What's that about?" Trunks frowned again as he swallowed his last piece of sandwich. "You offer me coffee and no juice."
"If you want juice, you tell Pan to fix it." Bra informed him. He looked confused.
"What do I have to do with anything?" Pan asked, exasperated. "First coffee and now juice? I'm not his mother either. At least you two are related." She pushed past Bra, obviously upset about something.
"I'll just get my own juice." Trunks said quietly as Pan stormed out of the room. Trunks got up and Goten used to opportunity to get what he wanted.
"Could you get me some too, while you're up?" Bra laughed at the way he'd manipulated Trunks, who complied with a scorn on his face directed toward Goten. She walked into the living room to discover what pissed Pan off.
"Pan, what's wrong with you?" She called as she stepped into the room. Pan was sitting in the loveseat that was positioned next to the couch. It was where Trunks always sat. Bra bit the inside of her lip to keep the smile from showing.
"If you're trying to prove that I'm in love with your brother by getting me to do things for him, it's not going to work. Just mind your own business." She snapped.
"I wasn't..." Bra was taken back. Had her best friend just told her to 'mind her own business'? That wasn't in the friend description.
"You were just dying to embarrass me in there. Trunks has to think I told you something about him, the way you're shamelessly trying to get me to throw myself at him." She was whispering, knowing that the saiyans in the other room had excellent hearing.
"I would never embarrass you. If that's what you thought I was doing-"
"Save it, Bra. You were getting a kick out of it too. I saw the way you were holding in the laughter. Like I said, mind your business, for once." Bra was furious now, Pan had just made a complete fuss over nothing. Bra hadn't been laughing at her, on the inside or the out. She was only trying to get Pan and Trunks to see how they belonged together. But maybe her friend didn't want her help, didn't need her help. Maybe Pan wasn't in love with Trunks, maybe Trunks wanted nothing do with her. Bra didn't know how either of them felt and neither would ever admit it if they were in love. So maybe she should mind her own business, if Pan got hurt it'd be Bra's fault. And Trunks...her own brother...if he got hurt it would destroy him. He was already heartbroken as it was.
But she knew Trunks felt something for Pan. She saw it when he looked at her, she wasn't imagining these things. And Pan, she had always been in love with Trunks. Ever since the sixth grade when....what did happen? Bra didn't know, Pan never told her. But it didn't matter now, Pan had always loved him.
"I'm....I'm sorry." Bra found herself saying, still not resolved on whether she should mind her business or not. Pan was only being defensive because she thought Trunks wasn't interested. How could someone be so oblivious?
"It's fine." Pan said after a second. "Maybe I over-reacted. If so, I'm sorry too." Pan looked away, she didn't make apologies often. It was against her saiyan pride to bow down, admitting she was wrong about something wasn't done often. Even if it were obvious that she was wrong.
She shifted in the chair as Trunks and Goten walked in. How had they had such perfect timing? Pan wondered. Trunks looked at her curiously as Bra and Goten sat on the other couch, flipping the movie on. Why was he staring at her in that particular fashion? She shifted in the chair again as he walked toward her. He paused, as if he were unsure of something, and then sat down next to her. -Oh- Pan nearly said aloud. She sat in the wrong seat. She started to get up but it was that pride in her again. Admitting she'd made two mistakes in such a close proximity of time wasn't in her plans. She'd grin and bear sitting so close to him on the small chair, just until this movie was over...what was it? She nearly groaned as she saw the big boat.
It was Titanic. She'd have to sit next to him, inhaling his soapy smell and seeing his beautiful hair, for the next three hours. She'd have to feel his body warmth and she would have to stay sitting up, she didn't want to be too close to him if she didn't have to. For three hours. She'd have to sit up and watch three hours worth of boring movie. There was no action in this movie. -Maybe,- She tried to sooth herself. -Maybe he'll move. Maybe I can get up and go get something to eat and then get on the big couch.- Just as she thought it, Bra stretched her legs out on the remainder of the chair and placed her head on Goten's knee. They weren't moving, especially not Bra, so that she wouldn't have to sit next to Trunks. And if they asked her why she didn't want to sit there she wouldn't be able to explain. He didn't seem to mind that she was sitting there, so that would not be an excuse she could use. -Get a hold of yourself, Pan.- She tried to calm her nerves. -It's just a seat for Dende's sake. It's not like the world is falling apart. It's just a seat. You don't even have to touch him.- At that moment he laid his head on her shoulder, his objective being sleep.
"Do you mind?" He asked without looking up. "I hate this movie." He didn't know if she answered him or not, he was out that fast. Pan sighed, she was never going to think of anything that could go wrong again. It was Murphy's law, anything that could go wrong, would.
Goten was rubbing his fingers along the side of Bra's face, through her hair. She was asleep, still in his lap, smiling from the comfort of the situation. His head was rested on the back of the chair and his eyes were only half open, and he was probably not even aware that he was doing it. Bra shifted her head on his lap and he snapped his eyes open. He looked around the room, remembering where he was, and then relaxed. It was only Bra. He smiled and rested his head again, allowing his fingers to continue the caress. Soon everyone was asleep again.
Trunks was stretched all the way out on the love seat, his legs falling slightly over the side of it. He was lying on one side and Pan was lying on the other, they were facing each other and his arms were wrapped around her. Their legs were entwined and Pan was trapped between the chair and Trunks. Her arm was placed on his waist and the movie was completely over. The silence of the blank screen woke her up and she had to stifle the yell in her throat when she realized someone's arms were wrapped around her.
Then she remembered where she was, it was only Trunks. She let out a sigh of relief and slowly moved her arm from around him. She was trying to get out of the 'embrace' they were in without waking him up. Her hand was free now and she very slowly inched her leg away from his, untangling their bodies. She tried to get up without moving the couch too much, but the second her body was up his arms had found her again and were pulling her back down. She let out a quiet moan of annoyance and started to untangle her body once again.
This cycle repeated a couple of times before Pan became completely upset. He just kept pulling her back down. She was seconds from just shoving him off the couch and then moving. Maybe if she did that he'd wake up and realize what he was doing. Not that she minded being in his arms, it was just that she needed to get up. She had to use the bathroom and she didn't want to have to pee right there. Still, his skin was so soft, she smiled and rubbed her cheek across his arm happily. Sure, she couldn't have him any other time, but he was sleep now, what would he care? As if in response to her affection, he pulled her closer to him. Her heart skipped a beat as she closed her eyes. Damn her bladder, this was almost heaven. She had to remember to be around him while he was sleeping, more often.
She gently placed her hand on his chest and pushed him back, trying once again to get up. He relented, slightly, and she moved her body up, at least she could see past his broad shoulders to the T.V. now. She was almost up but as fate would have it, he pulled her back down again. This time her anger shot up and she squirmed.
"Trunks, let me go." She almost pleaded.
"I don't want to." He responded, to her surprise. "I'd like to keep you here." He smiled but his eyes were still closed. He was still asleep. She sighed and was about to say something else when a voice interrupted from the hall. It made her jump.
"Just lower your ki, dear." Bulma informed her. Pan lifted her eyebrows, but didn't argue. She lowered her ki and tried once again to get up. This time, he didn't pull her back down. She sighed with relief and jumped off the couch. She wanted to ask Bulma how she knew that would work but she had to run to the bathroom, there was not time. When she got back out, Bulma wasn't down there anymore. -Maybe I'll ask her later- Pan thought.
Bulma smiled to herself as she walked back into her room with the water she'd went out to the kitchen to get. She hadn't known, until then, that Trunks was in love with Pan. They looked so cute cuddled on her couch. Why hadn't she been able to tell before now? Pan had been so good about hiding her emotions and Trunks was the product of his father, she never would have guessed. But still, it was plain and clear before her. He was in love with her. No one would lay with someone that way and not love them.
Sure, Goten and Bra had been the same way on the other chair, but that was no surprise. Bra had been in love with Goten for as long as Bulma could think about Bra liking boys, and that was a long time. But Trunks and Pan....no, that was different, new to her. She had seen the way he located her ki and pulled her close to him. It reminded her of Vegita. She'd never been able to tell Vegita that he did it, she just loved it when he did it so much she couldn't risk telling him. He might have found a way to stop it.
She thought back to the first time he'd ever done that to her. She was so scared when he grabbed her. She'd thought, -I could have sworn he was sleeping. Now look, he's pulling me onto the bed with him.- The remembrance brought a smile to her face. For, not even the strongest warrior with the coldest heart could control what he did in his sleep. He loved her and that's how she found it out. In his sleep, he scanned for her ki, and that took a lot considering her ki was so small compared to the saiyans, and then he would pull her to him and hold her there. She asked him why he did it, while he was asleep one time, and he'd told her it was because he liked for her to be next to him. Ever since then, she enjoyed it when he pulled her body next to his.
She was beaming as she thought of Trunks and Pan together. She was so adorable, trying to get up and frustrated when he pulled her back down. The more angry she got, the higher her ki rose, and the closer he pulled her to him. And she couldn't even figure out why. He'd even said he didn't want to let her go. Bulma couldn't wait until they were together, she'd been dying for Trunks to mend his broken heart. Narissa had been so wrong to him, using him for his money. She remembered how surprised she was when he called and told her he might be getting married. And how sad she felt when he told her that Narissa wasn't the one. That foolish girl, she'd never paid attention to Trunks at all. She knew nothing about him, not even something as simple as how he drank his coffee; with milk and two spoons of sugar. She shrugged off the thoughts, put the water on the nightstand, and climbed into bed. Vegita was already pulling her to him.
A/N: I'll try and update soon. By the way: I think it was Murphy's law (anything that could go wrong, would)…but I could be wrong…I don't know so don't yell if I'm an idiot. Leave a review if you want. Some constructive criticism/advice. So requests or disappointments. I can't fix it if you don't tell me I did it wrong…and aoao, Trunks is going to talk about why he never called her one day (but I haven't written that part yet and I'm already on like chapter 7 so…just be patient). Thank you guys for reading this!
~WitchyPrincess~