Rise and Shine
By Duran the Gladiator
Chapter 7: Warming up
It had been two months since Tora and Pan had gone into the Chamber of Spirit and Time, and Tora's French had become nearly perfect. Pan had also learnt him how to spar, to get some diversity into the otherwise boring days of learning. They were in the middle of a sparring session when Pan broke down into a cold fit, unfortunately right in the middle of a barrage of punches. Tora couldn't halt himself in time and ended up delivering a blow in her stomach, which made her spill the contents of her stomach over him.
"Pan-chan! Pan-chan, are you allright?", he said as she collapsed.
"C-c-cold… s-sick…" Tora then noticed the strange colour of her vomit (how could he NOT notice? – DtG) and asked her what she had eaten.
"Spaghetti… uhm… bad?", she stammered in between shivers. Tora picked her up and carried her to the bed after having removed his soiled shirt. He turned around, giving Pan the time to put on her PJs, and threw his shirt in the Laundromat. "B-blankets… warmth…", he heard her stammer, and he hurried to supply the needed items. Putting his hand on her forehead, he was shocked to find that her temperature had dropped considerately and was facing both a cold shock and a serious inner burn from throwing up. Guessing his thoughts, she pointed to one of the capsules. In it, Tora found a complete stock of medicines for anything from a cold to seizures. He took something to stop diarrhoea, to calm her stomach and a sleeping pill to let her sleep and heal up a bit. Pan dutifully took the pills, and she fell asleep while Tora revised his business French. As she fell asleep, Tora went to his sleeping bag as well, wanting to catch some shut-eye as well, but he found himself worrying about his companion all the time. She obviously had a nightmare, since she called out his name.
"Tora… they're too strong… you've gotta… no… you have to help… their hands… so cold… Toraaaaaa!"
Half asleep, he stood up and went to her, covering her with his sleeping bag as well. She didn't seem to notice, and the shivering continued. He then impulsively laid himself down beside her and put his hands on hers, still worried about her cold body and desperately trying to get some warmth into it again. It seemed to work: she calmed down enough to sleep peacefully, whispering his name once and a while in dreams.
When Tora woke up the next morning, he found her still asleep soundly. He carefully stood from her bed and went back to the table, making something nutritious for her, something she could digest in her current state. She awoke, still weary, but a bit more alive.
"Good morning Pan-chan… here, I made you breakfast! It's something I learnt to make back on Vegeta. Extremely healthy and easy to digest." Pan ate it without complaining, no doubt happy to get some new energy. She fell asleep again after dinner, while Tora started on his final day of business French.
Meanwhile, on the surface, Goku had become aware of Pan's absence.
"Gohan, do you happen to know where Pan is? I've tried to call her 4 times, and I've left a message and all, but she wasn't at home any of those times!"
"Huh? Pan isn't at home?"
"No… Should I let Goten check? He's in the neighbourhood anyway…"
"No, maybe she's taken a day off from learning with Tora. Besides, she could also be too busy to pay attention to her phone…" Gohan's ki flared from that comment, and Goku corrected himself. "I mean, too busy studying, Gohan!"
"She had better! If she didn't answer for some other reason, then I'll have her head, and I don't care if she's my daughter!"
The evening of that day, Tora found Pan in the next phase of food poisoning: extreme heat. He blushed a deep shade of scarlet as he saw she had kicked all blankets and quilts off her bed and was lying naked, tossing and turning in her sleep. Sweat glistened on her. She was calling out to him again, but this time not in an uneasy dream, it seemed.
"Tora… mmm… Tora-kun… Yeeeees…", she sighed as she obviously sought for his presence next to her. He felt the urge to go back, but he fought it with all his will. He would never forgive himself if she woke up with him next to her the next morning, thinking he had taken advantage of her in her weakness. Sleep washed over him, making him close his eyes.
He awoke with a very satisfying warmth near him. Still drowsy, he wanted to stretch but found his movements limited – he was lying in Pan's bed again, and they were a bit tangled in one of the blankets. He tried to get out without waking her up, but she slept too lightly and opened one eye.
"Morning, Tora-kun… won't you sleep a bit longer?…", she murmured before falling asleep again. He got up and made the both of them breakfast. Pan woke up when he was about to sit down and eat, sitting up in her bed, frantically searching for something to cover herself with.
"Why were you sleeping next to me just now?", she asked him. He blushed.
"Well, I fell asleep in my sleeping bag and woke up next to you, maybe I sleepwalked…"
"Yes, could be it…", she said between two spoons of Tora's porridge. They ate in silence, then Pan remarked: "You're an excellent caretaker. I feel so much better this morning!"
"Yes, but don't get over-confident. You'll be as good as new tomorrow, so we can continue my business English, which I'll start today, and informatics. That, plus I'm looking forward to sparring again. Studying is just boring! Well, without you encouraging me to go on, it is…", he said as she raised an eyebrow. The two of them ate their breakfast, then Pan returned to her bed, picking up a book on the way.
The months passed in the Chamber, and Tora learnt business English, revised both new languages, and started informatics. He was about to start on p.r. basics when he suddenly collapsed. Pan dragged him to the bed and tried to put him on it. He came to his senses when she tucked him in.
"Huh…wha…?", he murmured. Pan silenced him by putting a finger on his mouth.
"You need some sleep… poor guy, you just sleep and get some rest. We can start tomorrow. In fact, we're ahead of my schedule, so we can stop here if you like…"
"No, tomorrow's fine… goodnight…" Tora fell asleep as sudden as he had collapsed, and suddenly Pan realised she had to sleep on the floor in Tora's sleeping bag – and he was lying on her PJs… She sighed, knowing she'd just have to deal. Something inside of her said she should just go and lie down beside him, but she ignored it and read her book until she was in need of sleep as well. With a quick glance over to Tora, to see if he wasn't awake, she stripped down to her T-shirt and shorts and settled in for the night.
Tora was a bit surprised to wake up the next morning holding his friend. She seemed to be fast asleep and pretty happy in his arms, so he decided to wait until she woke up and would get out herself – admitting to himself that he, too, was happy holding her. He closed his eyes and relished the moment while it lasted. Pan woke up after him, obviously startled.
"Sleepwalking?", he asked without opening his eyes.
"I'm starting to doubt it – seriously", she answered.
"Me too… how many days do we have left?"
"About forty… p.r.?"
"P.R. it is…", said Pan while preparing breakfast. They ate in silence: both knew the other had enjoyed it, but didn't dare admit that they had liked it themselves. The tension was beginning to grow to an unbearably heavy atmosphere, nearly visible. The next forty days were spent in a grave mood. Tora got the hang of p.r. quickly and was about to start with advanced economics when Mister Popo opened the door and told them the day was up. Tora capsulated all their stuff and went outside, followed by Pan. They flew down quickly.
Pan arrived in chaos. Her mailbox was full, she had five messages on her answering machine and she had to go to her coiffeur badly. Tora was friendly enough to make her a snack and check her mail as she checked the messages on the tape. The first one was from Fern.
"Hey Pan, and Tora… Seventeen told me to call you. Doctor Briefs told me you can have Monday morning off for some reason I wasn't supposed to tell you… Anyway, have fun with whatever it is you two are doing!"
"Hey Panny," this was obviously Goku, "Bulma's arriving tomorrow evening and we're throwing a big welcoming party at Capsule Corp. You and Tora are happily invited. Oh, and Gary has agreed to give you half of the next day off, so you can go to work well rested. Call me back Panny, your dad's probably a bit worried. You two have been studying for three days now!"
"Pan! I just wanted to call to tell you some urgent business has come up for me and the other researchers. I'm flying to North City tomorrow morning, don't know when I'll be back, but I'll keep in touch. Well, have fun with Tora!"
Pan sighed. Her best friend had gone and she hadn't even seen her off! Not to mention there was a party that evening… Then it hit Pan. A party? That evening?! She grabbed her purse, took Tora by the arm and ran outside. She was going party-shopping with him.
AN: Yes, another chapter… I hope I didn't rush this TOO much. Anyway, about the food poisoning: it's based on my own experiences. I was sick for a week, but considering Pan is Saiyan, I decided to shorten it a bit. Oh, just so you know, the next chapter will probably contain the infamous lemon. I'm looking forward to it a bit… Greetings, y'all!