Disclaimer: I don't own this, but you already know that.
A/N: Here's the next chapter. I want to thank all you guys for reviewing I really appreciate it. Someone asked me if I was ever going to have them sleep next to each other again, wait till next chapter ^_~ I think this chapter is cute too. I hope it's not confusing. And I know you guys are going to be angry at me when you read it, I should have called it: 'Almost, almost and almost again' but you'll see. Don't be mad at me. Haha. So, here it is:
Budget Cuts and BAM
Pan opened her eyes and stretched in bed, wiping the sleep from her face. She yawned and kicked her feet over the side of the bed. She got up and turned her radio on, adjusting the station until she found something she wanted to hear, and then headed for her bathroom.
She soon stepped out of the shower, hair dripping wet, body wrapped in a towel, and began to brush her teeth. This was the condition Pan was in when Trunks knocked on the door and she called for him to enter. She spit the remaining toothpaste in the sink and rinsed her mouth, picking up the hairdryer and turning to him.
"Yes?" She asked, preparing to dry her hair. He swallowed and attempted to talk. His eyes couldn't help but travel over her body. They roamed from her hair, ebony and slightly wavy while wet, falling to below her shoulders. All the way down to her legs and painted toes. She had a beautiful form. And she looked more than desirable while wet.
"Trunks..." She looked at him blankly. "Did you want something?" He snapped out of the trance he had shown on his face, and looked at her eyes. Even they were engaging, he was finding it harder and harder not to act on his feelings.
"Yeah." He started, speaking slowly, letting the words slide lazily from his tongue. "We're doing budget cuts and they're due before the end of the month." He paused his eyes glowing as he looked at her. She nodded very slowly, shaking her head from side to side and wondering if he was ever going to get to the point. When he didn't continue, she snapped her fingers and rolled her eyes, using her free hand to wipe the water dripping down her face.
"Oh," He came back to the real world, blinking as if he just noticed she was there. Pan sighed and shifted her weight to the other foot. He was incredibly cute while he looked flustered, but she was wet and wanted to get dry. "Well, you know how busy it gets during that time of year…And I know how you hate to be here alone…I was just wondering if you would like to come and help me with the budget."
Pan cleared her throat and smiled, switching the dryer from one hand to the other. "Trunks, I have a lot of work to do with designing the outfits for Bra's wedding party. I don't think being here alone will bother me." He chuckled.
"I think you missed the pleading tone in my voice…I was only trying to make it seem as if I were being considerate. Really I need the help. A lot. And you already know the filing system and how budget cuts work, it would really help me out." He gave a weak smile.
"Trunks Briefs, are you begging?" Her lips pursed with a teasing smile.
"I was trying to avoid it being obvious." A pitiful look encumbered his face. Pan let a smile overtake her own and she had to bite her lip to keep from outright laughing.
"Say please." She commanded while grinning. He tilted his head to the side, as if saying she were crazy, and crossed his arms. She put the dryer on the counter and shifted the weight in her feet again, crossing her own arms. He didn't mind, he could stand there and stare at her all day while she was in nothing but a towel…dripping wet. But she, she was the one that had to get dry and warm. He smirked.
"Say please." She commanded again but he shook his head. She shrugged and picked up the dryer, plugging it in and turning it on. She began to blow-dry her hair as Trunks shifted back and forth on his feet.
"Pan!" He called, knowing she hadn't heard what he yelled, just that he yelled. She turned the dryer off and looked at him, expectantly.
"What did you say?" She teased.
"I'm not going to repeat it." He warned her, pretending he'd said 'please'.
"I didn't hear it so I'm not going to act like I did. Say please now or go to work."
"I'm going to be late." He informed her but she shook her head and turned back to the dryer. In desperation he called, "Please come by and help me this afternoon." Begrudgingly, he begged her, all his pride being shoved out the window.
"What was that?" She teased. "Please?" Her lips curved into a cunning smile.
"Yes, please." He nodded his head while lowering it in shame. She giggled and shrugged.
"I just can't Trunks. I'm too busy." He shot his head up, eyes wide, and made a step towards her. She backed away slowly, her smile huge.
"You made me say please and you aren't even going to come?" He questioned, stepping dangerously close to her. She kept backing up but he kept moving forward. She nodded as answer to his question and tried to hold back a laugh. Soon, she felt her back hit her bathroom wall but Trunks didn't cease in approaching her. He was only centimeters away, a playful expression on his face, and getting closer.
"Trunks, go to work. I still have to dry my hair and get dressed." He shrugged and shook his head, moving closer still until his body was slightly brushing against hers.
"Say please." He commanded with a smirk. She 'humphed' and tried to cross her arms, he was too close, even for that.
"No way." She informed him, attempting to push him out of the way. With him being so close she was sure he could feel her heartbeat pounding throughout her body. The chemistry they always seemed to have together was testing her self-restraint at that moment, and she wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around his neck and see what he would do.
But that road could lead to tons of embarrassment, a risk she wasn't willing to take just yet. Though the way her hands shook when he was near her, and the look in his eyes as he stared down at her, told her he wouldn't mind that much, her common sense had to come in to play. He was just being typical Trunks. That's who he was, a tease, a heartbreaker. She wasn't special, just the only person around that he had to flirt with. But one question kept gnawing at the back of her mind; if he were such a ladies man, why wasn't he with someone right now? She hadn't seen him with a date since he came back…there was something wrong with that.
She suddenly became aware of how close his breathing was to her face and noticed that he was leaning farther down, his mouth slightly open. Her head tilted in anticipation and before she knew what she was doing, she…(A/N: wouldn't it be mean if I ended this chapter right here? ^-^)
"Trunks?" She heard her voice speak, but that was the only indication her mind had that it was actually her talking. What was wrong with her? He was that close to reciprocating all of her feelings and here she was interrupting the moment. If he weren't standing right in front of her, awaiting farther communication, she might have smacked her own self.
"Yeah?" He spoke softly, stepping back slightly but never lifting his head.
"Why don't you have a girlfriend?" He exhaled and lifted his head, laughing quietly.
"That's what you wanted to ask me?" He seemed semi-annoyed, yet relieved at the same time. Pan found herself wondering what he thought she was going to ask. He chuckled and shook his head. "What made you think of that?"
"I don't know. I was just wondering." She shrugged and relaxed her shoulders, not realizing until then that she was so tensed.
"Well, maybe one day I'll explain." He smirked and started walking out of her bathroom. "But honestly, I think you know why."
"Yes," She found herself calling after him. He paused and turned back to her a wide smile on his face.
"Yes?" He lifted his eyebrows, waiting for her to explain.
"I'll help you with the budget cuts." She walked back over to the counter and turned on the dryer. He nodded and walked out of the bathroom a sad expression on his face. He'd hoped that she was going to say she understood why he was 'single'. He'd also hoped that she wouldn't interrupt his 'moment' back there. He was really interested in finding out what was going to happen; she was, after all, only in a towel. Who could blame him? Not to mention, he was beginning to feel that she was ready for a relationship.
But she still had questions, now wasn't the time. That wasn't the moment. He was becoming more and more annoyed with this perfect timing thing, but he honestly believed that when he did finally move on his feelings it would be when she had no confusion as to how he felt. He sighed and headed out the door, happy that she was at least going to spend the day with him.
Pan walked into Trunks' office nearly thirty minutes after he left the house. She was already dressed in something comfortable and baggy and her hair was dry, pulled back into a bun. She smiled as she saw his head, facing the desk, hands on forehead, staring helplessly at all the papers. He looked up as if he felt her presence and nearly jumped out of his desk.
"Thank you so much, Pan!" He grinned and stood up, pulling her over to the side of his office where more papers were stacked. "All I need you to do right now is-"
"Place each of these in their separate stacks. Then put each different type of employee in each different pile and put up the ones that don't need to be dealt with today. File the rest. I know." She nodded and sat down on the couch in his large office. She pulled a pile closer to her and began to shuffle through the papers, stacking them in different places and shoving them in different folders.
"You're a life savor!" Trunks exclaimed and headed back to his desk. "Really, I love you for this, Pan." He grinned as she paused in her work, looking up at his face. But he hadn't noticed, his head was already back on the papers at his desk. She sighed; he shouldn't say things like that to her. Her heart had done flips and her throat constricted. She quickly looked down and continued her filing, knowing not to take his words out of context. He was merely expressing his gratitude, not his undying affection. He didn't love her. But still she couldn't help but smile, at least she had heard him say those three words to her, even if the words 'for this' followed.
Pan was still stacking and folding two hours later, Trunks had even come over to help for a while. Her hand was moving mechanically to each different stack, putting the papers where they needed to be. She wasn't even looking down anymore, neither was he. Their hands met and each paused in their work, as Trunks softly wrapped his fingers around hers. She looked up, into his eyes, and for a second, time seemed to stop. Her fingers intertwined with his, as if giving him the green light, and automatically both their heads tilted. A buzz interrupted their train of thought as his secretaries voice flowed through the room. (A/N: aren't I evil? ^-^)
"Excuse me, Mr. Briefs?" He let go of Pan's hand and walked over to his desk, clicking the button and responding to her.
"Yes, Ms. Jenkins?" He asked with an annoyed tone in his voice. Pan really couldn't blame him for being annoyed, he was under a lot of pressure and there was so much to do in such a little amount of time. Tomorrow was the last day of March. Not to mention the moment his damn secretary had just interrupted. Pan wasn't about to ask a question that time, she wanted to know if he was really going to kiss her. It seemed plausible. But she wasn't sure what would have happened in those next two seconds, he might have laughed and said he thought they needed a break.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir. But your mother is on her way, so if you were planning any 'disappearing acts' you might want to hold off." Trunks chuckled.
"Thanks for the warning. But I'm not going anywhere." He smiled and then disconnected her. Pan shook her head and 'tsked'.
"She seems to think you were going to sneak away from the office. You mean to tell me that you've done that since you've been back?" He blushed slightly and shrugged.
"Only once or twice. But sometimes this place can be so stuffy. And I have that huge window...A window I can fly out of..." Pan laughed as the door was flung open.
"That was quick." She heard Trunks mumble while his mother looked around the room as if she expected Trunks to be gone. Then she spotted them and smiled.
"Oh, Pan!" She seemed more than delighted to see her. "You're here." She grinned. "I'm glad Trunks has found someone to help him out." A devious grin was on Bulma's face and Pan couldn't help but eye her curiously.
"Did you want something, mother?" Trunks asked, walking up to her with a smile.
"Yes, I was just going to tell you not to sneak out. If you want lunch, take an hour break. But after that, don't leave this office until all those papers are filed." She gave him a warning glance and then looked back at Pan. "You know, I read the article in the Tokyo Journal and I must say, I was quite amused." Pan growled and gave Bulma a forced smile.
"Why was that?"
"Well, she seemed to have you two pinned so well. That Leslie is something else." Bulma chuckled but just as Pan started to interrupt her with the correct rendition of what happened, Bulma started talking again. "Vegita acted indifferent to the whole thing when I showed him, but I'm sure he was pleased." Bulma nodded. "It'll be good to see my son finally settling down, especially with someone I trust." She winked at her son who blushed and gave his mother an angry expression. "Don't wait too long, I don't want to be really old before I get grandkids."
"Mom, Bra's the one getting married, not me and Pan. If you want grand children I'm sure she's the one who'll give them to you." Trunks frowned, trying to get the subject off of him and Pan.
"Bra's not having children. Only cats and dogs. She's my baby girl." Bulma crossed her arms and shot a death glare at Trunks. "You're going to give me all the grandkids, and it sure is taking you a long enough time to go about it."
"About that article, Bulma." Pan finally found her voice in the conversation. "That reported exaggerated to complete extremes. Nothing is going on between Trunks and I. I had to explain the same thing to my dad." Pan gave her another forced smile, angry that even her family and friends believed those lies.
"Yeah, riiight..." Bulma dismissed Pan's plea and changed the subject. "I sure Gohan must have blown up when he read that article. His baby girl and my son." Bulma laughed. "Did he yell at you and tell you to come home?"
"Yeah, and I had to remind him that I'm starting school in five weeks. So I couldn't come home. Then he sent me a check and said 'find another apartment'." Pan laughed as Trunks shot her an angry look.
"You didn't tell me that." He pouted. Pan shrugged.
"I sent it back. There's no where else to go." Pan seemed annoyed as she said the last part. "Then I promised I would move out as soon as possible." Trunks clenched his teeth together and narrowed his eyes at her.
"You didn't tell me that part either." He rolled his eyes and turned back to his mother. "If you want me to be done with these papers before I go home then I'm going to have to get to work. Stop distracting Pan, I need her to work as much as she can while she's here, or else they'll be too much to do when she leaves."
"Pan will stay with you until the work is finished, won't you sweetheart?" Bulma smiled at her with a look of innocence. Pan sighed and nodded her head.
"Of course."
"You don't have to do that, Pan." Trunks told her while glaring at his mother.
"She doesn't mind. I'm sure you two enjoy each others' company." Bulma smirked and lifted her eyebrows up suggestively. Pan was about to object but Bulma walked out of the office before she could get a word in. Pan grumbled and began to separate the papers again.
"That one is something else." She mumbled, referring to Bulma.
"I think she wants us to get married." Trunks mused as he knelt beside a stack of papers and also began to separate.
"You think?" Pan asked sarcastically and laughed.
"Okay, I think that's the last of the lab workers." Pan smiled and picked up the four huge folders that were stuffed with papers and walked over to a drawer and dumped them in. The folders made a loud clang as they hit the bottom of the drawer and dust flew up into Pan's eyes. She coughed and swatted the dust away, wrinkling her nose. Trunks laughed at her. He was sitting at his desk again, looking over more paperwork. Pan shot a glare at him, coughed one more time, and headed back over to the stacks of paper on the floor.
"How's that filing coming along?" He teased her.
"It's not funny, Trunks. I'm going to be here all night. Bra's going to kill me." Trunks lifted an eyebrow up and down, smiling at her.
"All night, huh?" He teased. She threw daggers at him with her eyes, still looking over the papers and putting them in different stacks.
"You know, you guys should hire people to go over these files and put them up." She complained. Trunks laughed.
"But why would we do that when you're working for free?" He teased.
"I'm serious, Trunks." Pan whined. "This is so boring." She wrinkled her brow and threw the next paper in a manila folder with vengeance.
"Do you want to take a break, Panny?" He tilted his head, pausing in his work to look at her.
"No, then I'll just have to come back and make up for lost time." He sighed.
"I've already told you, you don't have to stay." She nodded her head.
"I know, but I can't leave you here. The stacks of paper might eat you alive." She grinned up at him and made wiggling motions with her hands, shaping them into claws.
"I'm so scared!" He exclaimed with a laugh. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine on my own." Pan rolled her eyes.
-Yeah, right- She thought, stacking more paper.
"Don't 'yeah right' me Pan, I'm fine." He was already looking down at his paper work again, so he didn't notice he'd responded to her thoughts. -I just wanted to spend time with you.-
"Why?" She asked, started, looking down at the papers in front of her and wondering why she wasn't sure if she'd spoken her 'yeah right' out loud.
"Because it's smart allelicy." He responded without thinking twice about it.
"It's smart allelicy to spend time with me?" She shook her head. "You're not making any sense, Trunks."
"I never said anything about spending time with you..." He paused and looked up at her, remembering the 'bond'. But they hadn't heard each others' thoughts in a while, he thought it had stopped already. She looked up at him, too.
"Yes, you did. I think we're both out of it. I don't remember saying 'yeah right' out loud either, but-"
"That's because you didn't." Trunks realized as Pan gave him one of those, 'you're crazy' looks.
"Then how do you explain responding if I didn't even say it?" She challenged him.
"Pan, I...Well, I think we...." He paused and exhaled slowly, as if ready to make some big confession. She wasn't sure whether to grin or frown. She was sure she had him now, he was just trying to make her think she was crazy again. Like when before when everyone made it seem as if they hadn't heard Trunks talking. But she was sure he said it, she'd heard it for Dende's sake. "Pan," He started again. "I think that you and I-" The door to his office swung open and he turned to see a very angry Bra. Trunks clenched his fists. Just two more words. Are bonded. Just two more words. He hopelessly shook his head.
"Pan, you are supposed to be working on designs for my wedding party. Not helping my brother do his job. Just because he's got 'big blue eyes and a lady killer smile' doesn't mean you should pick him over me. I mean, even if you li-"
"Bra!" Pan yelled rolling her eyes in frustration. "We've already talked about that, I do not!" She looked for a pillow to throw at the girl.
"Don't you ever knock?" Trunks asked with frustration. That was the third time he'd been interrupted before something important happened. Damn the blue haired women.
"I was going to say, live with him." Bra rolled her eyes. "And, yes, I do knock when back stabbing brothers aren't stealing best friends."
"You're stealing mine for life, I'd say we're even." He narrowed his eyes and sighed, walking back to his desk with a frustrated frown.
"What's gotten in to you? Did I interrupt something?" She finally asked.
"Well..." Pan looked to Trunks for a response. "What were you going to say?" But the moment was over. He glanced at his sister with vengeance.
"Just that I think we do need to take that lunch break. I'm starved, it must be making me delirious." Pan nodded and stacked one last piece of paper.
"What about my wedding dress?" Bra pouted.
"Tomorrow, Bra. Tomorrow." Pan promised.
Pan eased out of bed with a grin on her face. Last night's task had been complete. She giggled as she remembered, glad that she and Trunks had to stay up the last two nights in a row to finish budget cuts. When they came home he was far too tired to stay up and find out what she was doing. But she wasn't that tired….
Today was the beginning of a new month and she was going to start it off with a bang. She laughed, covering her hands with her mouth and trying to calm herself down. She couldn't go down stairs grinning, and risk him being awake. Then he'd know something was up and she would be to blame. She had to wait until he had absolutely no time left. She figured he'd oversleep and take the first outfit that came into his hands.
But if she went down the stairs and he was up and he saw her grinning from ear to ear, he would suspect. Then he'd start looking around for something and probably run across the clothes she hid. No, she couldn't risk it. She cleared her face, making sure it was void of all expression, before she walked down the stairs. Lucky for her, he wasn't up yet.
She walked into the kitchen and paused at the table, looking at the assortment of flowers he'd left for her. There was a cute teddy bear sitting by the flowers and a card. She smiled, almost feeling bad for what she had planned today, and then picked up the card.
Thank you for helping with budget cuts. I know you had more important things to do.
She sighed and placed the card on the table, looking around herself, thinking. Should she be nice and pull out the clothes she'd hidden? He had given her these flowers. And the teddy bear was so adorable. She bit her lips, her conscience eating at her. She raked her fingers through her hair and then let her memory slide back to the cookies he had devoured. She made those cookies. Suddenly her eyes narrowed as the memory became fresh on mind. He was going to have to suffer a bit. She smiled and walked over to the bottom cabinet, pulling out the dog food.
She filled Knuckles' bowl and, as if on cue, the dog came running out of the laundry room and right up to his plate. She laughed, he was definitely a Son. He devoured the food and then ran over to his water bowl, happily sapping up the water. Then she walked over to the refrigerator and began to pull out eggs and pancake mix. As long as she was going to pay him back, she might as well make him breakfast to compensate.
Soon the room was filled with the smell of breakfast, and she could hear the water running in his room. She smiled and scooped the eggs and pancakes on a plate, setting the on a table. She heard his door creak open and he poked his head around the corner, a pitiful look on his face.
"That smells good." He smiled as she looked at him. She lifted an eyebrow and smiled back.
"Morning to you, too, sunshine." He scratched the back of his head and laughed.
"Good morning? It's still morning outside?"
"You're going to be late for work." She pointed to the clock, though he couldn't see it from his view.
"That's fine." He shrugged and yawned, scratching his chest as he walked out of the room. He was only wearing sweat pants…She rolled her eyes to the top of her head and turned around forcing herself not to look. "Have you seen my white clothes?" He asked, heading over to the laundry room.
"I made you breakfast." She changed the subject, trying to detract his attention. She walked over to the stove and poured more pancake mix onto the pan.
"Really?" He walked back into the kitchen and placed his arms around her waist, chin on her shoulder, looking down at the pancake. "Thank you." He answered shortly, letting his breath fall onto her neck. She tried to fight against it, but her body disobeyed and she shivered. "But I asked if you had seen my white laundry."
"It's sitting right there, on a plate." She tried to redirect him over to the kitchen table.
"My clothes are not sitting on that table, on a plate." He looked, as if checking to make sure. She giggled and pushed him away from her.
"Could you let Knuckles out, he's scratching on the door."
"No, he's not. He has a doggy door." Trunks wrinkled his brow and looked at Pan, as if he were searching her soul. He stared deeply at her face.
"What?" She asked, flipping the pancake.
"You're beautiful in the morning." He smiled as she narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn't sure why but she didn't know how to respond to that. Was he mocking her? Her hair was certainly all over her head, she was wearing baggy pajamas and still had sleep in her eyes. She 'humphed' and placed the pancake on her plate.
"But you're a terrible liar." He concluded when she didn't answer him. "Where are my clothes, Pan?"
"I don't know what you're talking about Trunks. I haven't lied this morning, unlike you." She rolled her eyes and shoved the pancake in her mouth, chewing slowly.
"I haven't lied." He slowly approached her and she, just as slowly, backed away.
She responded with a jumble of syllables that he couldn't make out, her mouth was full of food. Some of it fell out of the sides of her mouth and he laughed.
"I didn't understand a word of that." He shook his head with a grin. "But you know where my clothes are." She swallowed her and cleared her throat.
"I never said I didn't. What I did just say was, you came into the kitchen lying, talking about I'm 'beautiful in the morning'. Look at me. I look a mess. Don't try and sweet talk me just cause you don't know where your clothes are."
"Where did you put them, Pan?" He was still walking closer to her and her back had met a wall. Why did she always find herself in these positions?
"Trunks," She began, cornered by his accusations. "I didn't put your white clothes anywhere. They're wherever you left them last. Since you're missing all of them, I suggest you look in the laundry room like you were going to." He placed on arm above her head, leaning down so that both their faces were level, and stared into her eyes. He didn't believe her.
"How do you know all of them are missing?" He countered. "I didn't tell you that." She sighed.
"No, but you did ask me if I had seen your 'white' clothes. I assume you're missing all of them. Since you didn't ask for a 'white' shirt or a 'white' sock. But your 'white clothes'." She rolled her eyes, trying to push him away from her and get away from his accusing eye. If this kept up she was going to break. Either into a fit of giggles or the truth. And that would ruin everything.
"Fine. I will look in the laundry room." He slowly stepped away from her and she exhaled. He walked into the laundry room and she heard the 'click' of the dryer door and knew he'd opened it. She drew in her breath and slowly crept back over to the stove, shoving the rest of her food in her mouth. She winced in anticipation, as he hadn't said anything yet, and then she heard him scream.
"Pan!" He yelled, calling her name rather loudly. Her shoulders hunched up and she shoved more food in her mouth, chewing slower so she couldn't respond. "PAN!" He yelled again, pieces of the house shaking as he called for her. She made an attempt to respond, so that he'd know she was trying to answer but couldn't.
Then she heard his footsteps as he stomped over to the kitchen and she knew she was in for it. She wanted to take off running but she knew if she did that he'd know she was guilty. She was going to play innocent, so she wiped the knowing look off her face.
She swallowed hard as he came into the room and smiled. "What's wrong, Trunks?" She put on her best impression of confusion.
"You know what's wrong." He yelled at her through clenched teeth.
"I'm no mind reader. If you don't tell me I can't possibly know."
"You'd know if you planned it."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She shook her head and reached for a piece of bread.
"Oh, no you don't." He quickly grabbed her hand before she could shove the food in it. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. And if you don't, come here. Let me show you." He yanked her arm and forced her feet to follow him as he led her to the laundry room. Then he let her go, opened the dryer and pulled out each item, one by one.
Everything that was supposed to be white was pink. Everything. And the last item he pulled out was a red sock, stuck to the back of the dryer. She bit her lip to keep the laughter from spilling out as he angrily glared at her.
"What am I supposed to do with pink business shirts?"
"Speaking of business, you're late for work." She lifted her arm up so that he could see her watch. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes, keeping them closed for a few seconds, in an attempt to calm down.
"Do you think this is funny, Pan?" He asked slowly, calmly, with his eyes still closed. She nodded her head and then responded.
"Honestly, yes. I think it's very funny." She broke into a wide smile. "You don't know how to wash clothes, and you're…how old? Twenty-two?" His eyes snapped open.
"I know you did this. And I'm going to prove it."
"How? You have to go to work." He sighed. "What are you going to tell your mother?" She challenged him with a smile. "You know how she can be."
"I'll tell her what I usually do." He smirked and Pan wondered if she should ask him what that was. She had a feeling it wasn't good but curiosity got the best of her.
"And what's that?"
"We were too busy practicing for those grandchildren of hers and lost track of time." Pan gasped and put and indignant look on her face, reaching her hands out to strike him.
"You don't tell your mother that!" She yelled in disbelief.
"Hey, it gets me off the hook." He shrugged with an amused laugh.
"Trunks, I'm going to kill you!" She screamed, her face flushed with embarrassment. She couldn't believe he'd say something like that to his mother. No wonder Bulma believed the damn newspapers. She narrowed her eyes and punched him again, he was laughing at her attempts. But she knew they hurt him.
"That doesn't change the fact that all my business shirts are pink. I'll have to find another shirt to wear to work. And I'm still going to prove you did it." She snorted and walked back into the kitchen, at a lost for anything else to say to him. Now she was glad she'd done it. Self righteous jerk, using an excuse like that to get out of trouble.
After nearly twenty minutes of searching for another shirt to wear, Trunks came stomping into the living room, glaring at Pan. She looked up at him, a cookie in her hands about to meet with her mouth. He placed his hands on his hips and waited for her to talk. She tilted her head and waited for him as well. They stared at each other for more than thirty seconds before Trunks broke the intense contest.
"Where are the rest of my clothes, Pan?"
"I don't know." She answered shortly.
"Yes you do." She shrugged and put the entire cookie in her mouth, chewing with pleasure. "I need my clothes, Pan!" He looked frantically at the clock, his mother was going to be so mad at him.
"Sounds like a personal problem." She mused and scratched her head.
"Mom's going to flip." He said under his breath and stomped back to his room, looking into his dressers again.
"Serves you right for telling her that lie!" She called after him as she heard him slam a drawer closed. He was laughing, she knew he was. But it wasn't funny to her. His mother must think she was some kind of common whore. Practicing for grandchildren. She wouldn't do that kind of practicing with him if he paid her…well…maybe that was a lie, but even so. His mother didn't need to know that.
"Where did you put the rest of my shirts!" He yelled. There wasn't another shirt anywhere in his sight. Not a green one or a purple one. Nothing Not even a t-shirt. She had hidden them all and he knew it. He was going to have to go to work wearing one of those pink things.
"It's not so bad, Trunks." She smiled. "Pink is in again." He growled as he walked back into the living room. He still wasn't wearing a shirt, and his chest caught her eye as he stood there, huffing.
"I'm not going to work like this." He stated angrily.
"Well, I hope not. You have to put a shirt and tie on." She smiled innocently at him.
"You know what I mean, Pan. I'll call in sick first."
"It's the first of the month, Trunks. You have to go to work." She stood up and pinched one of his cheeks. "Besides I heard you Briefs men liked pink shirts." His cheeks reddened slightly as he glared at her, remembering the story of Vegita and his future self, and their first meeting.
"That was cold." He spoke in a low tone as he headed to the laundry room to get dressed.
"If I were you," Pan called while he was buttoning the shirt. "I'd hurry up and leave. You see, Bra and Marron are coming over so I can measure them and then we're going to pick out the material for the dresses. Which reminds me, I have to take your measurements soon, too. I already did Goten's." Trunks groaned and ran into his room to pull on his shoes.
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? So I could have left."
"Because, like I told you a couple of weeks ago. One day, BAM!" She made a swift punching motion with her hands as he looked on, confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, for one, today is April first. You know what that means?" She smiled wickedly. "Now, you wearing that pink shirt all day is your 'April fools' but this, Bra coming by with a camera so everyone will always remember. No, that's payback." He was still confused as she pointed to the kitchen. His eyes followed hers and she grinned even more.
"You sat in your room and ate all my cookies. Cookies I made. And you just ate them, didn't even save me one. Well that's all right Trunks. Cause like I told you, one day when you weren't expecting it. BAM! Payback. Isn't it sweet?" She laughed and racked her hands through her hair again.
"You sure can hold a grudge, Panny." He chuckled. "I love you for it." He rolled his eyes to the top of his head and grabbed the coat that was supposed to go with his suit. Pink shirt and all. Pan was eyeing him with distaste, that was the second time he'd done that in the last three days. He loved her, but she had to keep reminding herself that he didn't love her. He looked up, noticing her confusion and smiled.
"You don't like it when I do that, do you?" He mused. She shook her head, wanting to ask him what he meant but 'do that'. What was it that he did? He couldn't possibly know that she hated it when he referenced to 'loving' her, for that would suggest that he knew why. And she had been careful that he didn't know she was in love him. But before she got the chance, the door was being flung open and flashes were invading her eyes. Bra was taking pictures of the pink shirt. Trunks groaned and covered his face.
"I know there's a sign out there that says 'no paparazzi within five feet of the premises'." Trunks complained as Bra, Marron, and Pan laughed. "I've had enough of this ridicule. I'm going to work."
"It'll only get worse once you get there." Pan reminded him.
"And mom's going to furious at how late you are."
"Pan and I know the excuse to use to get out of that one." He winked at Pan, then turned around, waving his hands to dismiss the thought. Pan's nostrils flared as he walked out of the house.
"You're going to burn in hell for telling such a lie!" She called after him but he'd already closed the door. Bra and Marron gave her questioning glances, but she ignored them and ushered them into the living room to be measured.
A/N: I'm going to thank all you guys in the next chapter. So review again if you want to. Don't if you don't I already have 211 reviews so I won't be sore. I never expected to get that many. Oh, and I told you that you wouldn't like all of the 'almost' encounters in this chapter. Remember, you're not allowed to kill me. And, yes, I did mean to put 'maid of honor' in the last chapter. Sometimes my mind doesn't work. Sorry. Today was my parents' anniversary so I would have updated earlier but I was out. I don't think I have anything else to say…I can't think of anything but I'm probably leaving something out. -shrugs-