Chapter 14: Beneath The Pale Moon
Trunks was growing absolutely panicked. It had been one hour, and he hadn't found so much as a trace of Kari's whereabouts. Cursing, he realized that it was time to meet with Goten. He turned and flew towards the party.
On his way back he was staring, lost in deep thought, at the ground when Goten suddenly popped in front of him, nearly causing him to plummet from the high in the sky. "Don't do that!" Trunks yelled as he regained his composure. "I haven't found anything out here and I'm starting to think this is taking too long. Maybe we should..."
"I found her," the younger Saiyan interrupted. "She's in pretty bad shape, but I found her.
"Your guess was right," he added grimly. Trunks felt his stomach turn, his heart leaping to his throat.
"But that means..." Trunks started, then exploded. "What happened?! Is she okay? Where the hell is he? If I get my hands on that guy..."
"Hey, calm down! I'll tell you what happened," Goten assured him. He then proceeded to impart the events of the past few hours, ending with his search to find Trunks. "She's pretty shaken up, and I think you should talk to her. Right now, she's feeling like the only one who cares about her in the whole world is herself. Please prove her wrong," he pleaded. Before Trunks could respond, though, Goten took off to return to the party and inform Bulma of what had happened. He needed to find Kari a medic.
"Prove her wrong..." Trunks whispered to himself. He looked towards the balcony glowing softly in the distance.
* * * *
Kari was sitting on the cold stone bench where Goten had last left her with her hands covering her face and her elbows on her knees. She felt as if she was drowning in a sea of fear, disgust, and betrayal, and no one was there to save her from slipping beneath the pounding waves. Goten had comforted her and she knew he cared for her but he had left well over ten minutes ago, once again leaving her feeling completely and utterly alone. She continued to shake as she sobbed, the salty tears rolling off her cheeks and running down her trembling hands and arms, when suddenly a pair of strong hands pulled hers from her face and wrapped themselves around her. Startled, she opened her eyes and found herself gazing into a pair of warm cobalt eyes.
Trunks.
"I'm so sorry, Kari," he began. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, and I'm sorry that I hurt you the way I did. I didn't have any part in that kiss, but that doesn't excuse it. All I can do is hope that you'll find it in your heart to forgive me," Trunks implored, his eyes glowing with sincerity.
She turned her head away. Why should I even talk to him? she thought bitterly.
But then she glanced into his eyes, those eyes that were as deep and shimmering as the ocean and which seemed to be filled with something else, and she knew... "I forgive you, Trunks. I'm very grateful to know the truth. Arigatou," Kari replied softly. Looking into his eyes once more, her heart caught in her throat as all her love for him came surging back in waves that were almost uncontrollable. Her feelings were beating at the walls of the prisons, and she knew she had to tell him or she would die trying to keep them locked inside.
The mind remembers the pain of betrayal, but the heart still forges its own path through life despite the injuries it has been dealt. I guess mine will never learn its lesson.
Trunks was overjoyed at her forgiveness, but he was not able to comprehend her thoughts so long as the depths of her violet gaze held his. He didn't know how much longer he could contain his feelings under the heat of that stare, seeing as how only a few months of containment had nearly driven him mad. He moved to wrap his arms around her once again, but she stopped him with her hand. "Trunks, before anything else is said, there's something I have to tell you," Kari began. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and her palms were growing increasingly clammy; she didn't know if she could bring herself to say those words that she had been longing to utter for what seemed like ages. " I...," she whispered, frozen as his cobalt gaze held her where she sat.
Trunks recognized the look in her eyes, the one which he had been praying would only be turned upon him, and knew what she was going to say even before she had opened her mouth to form the words. A small, loving smile played upon his lips: he felt exactly the same way. " I...that is." she stumbled once again.
" I know," he breathed and kissed her.
Kari closed her eyes as his lips took hers, savoring every second of it as if she would suddenly wake up to find it all a dream. His arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her up from the bench towards him, and his grip on her tightened as the kiss deepened. As the two parted and leaned their foreheads against one another's, she felt all of her previous fear and anxiety melting away with his tender touch.
With her eyes still closed she whispered, "I love you." He greeted this affirmation of love with another gentle kiss and whispered, "And I you, until forever ends." With that, he wrapped his arms possessively around her slim waist, wanting her closer to him.
A soft melody could be heard wafting through the open windows from the building, and he began to rock back and forth with his arms still around her waist. She moved to wrap her arms around him and leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing in perfect content. This was their first real dance together, and she wanted to absorb every movement, every whispered word of it and imprint it upon her memory for all the years to come.
When the visions around you Bring tears to your eyes And all that surround you Are secrets and lies
I'll be your strength I'll give you hope Keeping your faith when it's gone The one you should call Was standing here all along
And I will take you in my arms And hold you right where you belong 'Til the day my life is through This I promise you This I promise you
I've loved you forever In lifetimes before And I promise you never Will you hurt anymore
I give you my word I give you my heart This is a battle we've won And with this vow Forever has now begun
Just close your eyes Each lovin' day And know this feeling won't go away 'Til the day my life is through This I promise you This I promise you
Over and over I fall When I hear you call Without you in my life, baby I just wouldn't be living at all
And I will take you in my arms And hold you right where you belong 'Til the day my life is through This I promise you, baby
Just close your eyes Each lovin' day And know this feeling won't go away Every word I say is true This I promise you Every word I say is true This I promise you I promise you © *NSYNC, 2000
About halfway through their beautiful dance, however, Kari sensed several pairs of eyes scrutinizing their every move. Trunks looked down at her, experiencing the same feeling, and they both slowly turned their heads towards the door leading out to the balcony.
The whole group was standing outside, watching them dance together. Vegita included.
They were all nodding in approval, even Vegita, and some of the women were even crying. "I guess this wouldn't be the time to ask if you need that doctor," Goten cracked as he smiled at the two. They both turned their heads away, blushing furiously, but Goten came over and insisted on congratulating, or torturing, them.
"Well it's about damn time," he laughed as he looked at the couple. "I was beginning to think we'd have to ask Shenlong to add another 100 years to our lives before you two finally hooked up! Congratulations," he said as he slapped Trunks on the back. "You have a fine woman here, and you better take care of her."
"I told you he cared, didn't I?" he chastised lightly as he hugged Kari.
"Arigatou, Goten," Kari smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best."
"And you don't have to worry, I'll take good care of her," Trunks promised as he smiled at Kari, sliding his arm around her slender waist.
"I guess we better head back in," Goten turned and announced to the group, who all retreated back inside. "You coming?" he asked, turning to the couple before heading inside.
"I guess we'll have to finish our dance another time," Trunks whispered as he bent down to kiss her again, wrapping her in his arms.
As the two parted and began to walk inside hand in hand, Kari gazed up at the night sky and saw a silver streak caress the black velvet. She whispered, almost to herself, "I don't mind. It gives us something to look forward to."
Trunks was growing absolutely panicked. It had been one hour, and he hadn't found so much as a trace of Kari's whereabouts. Cursing, he realized that it was time to meet with Goten. He turned and flew towards the party.
On his way back he was staring, lost in deep thought, at the ground when Goten suddenly popped in front of him, nearly causing him to plummet from the high in the sky. "Don't do that!" Trunks yelled as he regained his composure. "I haven't found anything out here and I'm starting to think this is taking too long. Maybe we should..."
"I found her," the younger Saiyan interrupted. "She's in pretty bad shape, but I found her.
"Your guess was right," he added grimly. Trunks felt his stomach turn, his heart leaping to his throat.
"But that means..." Trunks started, then exploded. "What happened?! Is she okay? Where the hell is he? If I get my hands on that guy..."
"Hey, calm down! I'll tell you what happened," Goten assured him. He then proceeded to impart the events of the past few hours, ending with his search to find Trunks. "She's pretty shaken up, and I think you should talk to her. Right now, she's feeling like the only one who cares about her in the whole world is herself. Please prove her wrong," he pleaded. Before Trunks could respond, though, Goten took off to return to the party and inform Bulma of what had happened. He needed to find Kari a medic.
"Prove her wrong..." Trunks whispered to himself. He looked towards the balcony glowing softly in the distance.
* * * *
Kari was sitting on the cold stone bench where Goten had last left her with her hands covering her face and her elbows on her knees. She felt as if she was drowning in a sea of fear, disgust, and betrayal, and no one was there to save her from slipping beneath the pounding waves. Goten had comforted her and she knew he cared for her but he had left well over ten minutes ago, once again leaving her feeling completely and utterly alone. She continued to shake as she sobbed, the salty tears rolling off her cheeks and running down her trembling hands and arms, when suddenly a pair of strong hands pulled hers from her face and wrapped themselves around her. Startled, she opened her eyes and found herself gazing into a pair of warm cobalt eyes.
Trunks.
"I'm so sorry, Kari," he began. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, and I'm sorry that I hurt you the way I did. I didn't have any part in that kiss, but that doesn't excuse it. All I can do is hope that you'll find it in your heart to forgive me," Trunks implored, his eyes glowing with sincerity.
She turned her head away. Why should I even talk to him? she thought bitterly.
But then she glanced into his eyes, those eyes that were as deep and shimmering as the ocean and which seemed to be filled with something else, and she knew... "I forgive you, Trunks. I'm very grateful to know the truth. Arigatou," Kari replied softly. Looking into his eyes once more, her heart caught in her throat as all her love for him came surging back in waves that were almost uncontrollable. Her feelings were beating at the walls of the prisons, and she knew she had to tell him or she would die trying to keep them locked inside.
The mind remembers the pain of betrayal, but the heart still forges its own path through life despite the injuries it has been dealt. I guess mine will never learn its lesson.
Trunks was overjoyed at her forgiveness, but he was not able to comprehend her thoughts so long as the depths of her violet gaze held his. He didn't know how much longer he could contain his feelings under the heat of that stare, seeing as how only a few months of containment had nearly driven him mad. He moved to wrap his arms around her once again, but she stopped him with her hand. "Trunks, before anything else is said, there's something I have to tell you," Kari began. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and her palms were growing increasingly clammy; she didn't know if she could bring herself to say those words that she had been longing to utter for what seemed like ages. " I...," she whispered, frozen as his cobalt gaze held her where she sat.
Trunks recognized the look in her eyes, the one which he had been praying would only be turned upon him, and knew what she was going to say even before she had opened her mouth to form the words. A small, loving smile played upon his lips: he felt exactly the same way. " I...that is." she stumbled once again.
" I know," he breathed and kissed her.
Kari closed her eyes as his lips took hers, savoring every second of it as if she would suddenly wake up to find it all a dream. His arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her up from the bench towards him, and his grip on her tightened as the kiss deepened. As the two parted and leaned their foreheads against one another's, she felt all of her previous fear and anxiety melting away with his tender touch.
With her eyes still closed she whispered, "I love you." He greeted this affirmation of love with another gentle kiss and whispered, "And I you, until forever ends." With that, he wrapped his arms possessively around her slim waist, wanting her closer to him.
A soft melody could be heard wafting through the open windows from the building, and he began to rock back and forth with his arms still around her waist. She moved to wrap her arms around him and leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing in perfect content. This was their first real dance together, and she wanted to absorb every movement, every whispered word of it and imprint it upon her memory for all the years to come.
When the visions around you Bring tears to your eyes And all that surround you Are secrets and lies
I'll be your strength I'll give you hope Keeping your faith when it's gone The one you should call Was standing here all along
And I will take you in my arms And hold you right where you belong 'Til the day my life is through This I promise you This I promise you
I've loved you forever In lifetimes before And I promise you never Will you hurt anymore
I give you my word I give you my heart This is a battle we've won And with this vow Forever has now begun
Just close your eyes Each lovin' day And know this feeling won't go away 'Til the day my life is through This I promise you This I promise you
Over and over I fall When I hear you call Without you in my life, baby I just wouldn't be living at all
And I will take you in my arms And hold you right where you belong 'Til the day my life is through This I promise you, baby
Just close your eyes Each lovin' day And know this feeling won't go away Every word I say is true This I promise you Every word I say is true This I promise you I promise you © *NSYNC, 2000
About halfway through their beautiful dance, however, Kari sensed several pairs of eyes scrutinizing their every move. Trunks looked down at her, experiencing the same feeling, and they both slowly turned their heads towards the door leading out to the balcony.
The whole group was standing outside, watching them dance together. Vegita included.
They were all nodding in approval, even Vegita, and some of the women were even crying. "I guess this wouldn't be the time to ask if you need that doctor," Goten cracked as he smiled at the two. They both turned their heads away, blushing furiously, but Goten came over and insisted on congratulating, or torturing, them.
"Well it's about damn time," he laughed as he looked at the couple. "I was beginning to think we'd have to ask Shenlong to add another 100 years to our lives before you two finally hooked up! Congratulations," he said as he slapped Trunks on the back. "You have a fine woman here, and you better take care of her."
"I told you he cared, didn't I?" he chastised lightly as he hugged Kari.
"Arigatou, Goten," Kari smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. "You're the best."
"And you don't have to worry, I'll take good care of her," Trunks promised as he smiled at Kari, sliding his arm around her slender waist.
"I guess we better head back in," Goten turned and announced to the group, who all retreated back inside. "You coming?" he asked, turning to the couple before heading inside.
"I guess we'll have to finish our dance another time," Trunks whispered as he bent down to kiss her again, wrapping her in his arms.
As the two parted and began to walk inside hand in hand, Kari gazed up at the night sky and saw a silver streak caress the black velvet. She whispered, almost to herself, "I don't mind. It gives us something to look forward to."