Night Shadows- Chapter 2

by Tanyaneko

Disclaimer: Due to the fact that I'm feeling lazy today, you still get the same old disclaimer as before. I don't own Dragon Ball Z/GT or any of the characters. I don't make any money off of this, either. I just write because it's fun... (And it's something to do when I can't sleep.)



A/N: Thanks to my prereader, Kira, for reading over this for me. Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter. This chapter is from Trunks' point of view, and starts at right before Pan calls him.

****************************************

Trunks picked up his cell phone, about to dial some blond he felt like having fun with that night, when it started ringing. He stared at it for a moment before pressing 'Talk.'

"Hey, Trunks here."

He frowned. The girl- no, woman, he corrected himself, since it was true- on the other end didn't sound happy. "Sorry, Panny. I didn't know it was you. Are you mad at me?"

He smiled, knowing she couldn't see it, but he couldn't help it. "Wonderful, because I'd die a thousand deaths rather than have you angry with me," he joked. He heard her beautiful laugh, and in his mind he saw her bright smile just as if she were standing in front of him.

"What? You're cooking? No, I don't want to die! My mom cooks badly enough without you adding extra poison to my system." His blue eyes were full of mischief, the way they always were when he teased her.

"Well, I can't come," he said, remembering the blond and trying to think of an excuse that wouldn't hurt her feelings.

"I'm having dinner with my family," he explained. It was true enough. He was supposed to have dinner with them that night, but he was canceling for his date with the blond. Not that Pan needed to know that. He really didn't understand why he was uncomfortable with telling her about dates with other girls, but he shrugged it off, not wanting to think about it.

"I'm sorry, Pan," he apologized. "I'll make it up to you, I promise. You're not too disappointed, are you?" He heard her tell him no, she wasn't, and he felt like a jerk because he knew she was lying.

"You'll be at work tomorrow, though, right?"

"Just making sure. I didn't mean any offense by it. Work just gets really boring when you don't stop in and make things interesting." He laughed, remembering the time Pan placed about a million sheets of metal on his window so he couldn't escape, and then spent the whole day playing games on his computer. "Well, anyway, bye Panny. See you tomorrow."

He then hung up and dialed the blonde's number, wondering why he felt guilty about it. He didn't have a girlfriend, he could see whomever he felt like seeing. But he just couldn't shake the feeling.

"Hey, Cookie? You wanna... never mind." He hung up on her, and stared at the phone, wondering why on earth he'd blown his date. Dende, what's wrong with me?

**********************
"Ha! You're so dense!" The namek screamed from Kami's Lookout. "Figure it out yourself!"
**********************

Then he went home and actually ate dinner with his family. He just couldn't lie to Pan. For some reason, it was just... wrong.

"What's eating you, Brat?" Vegeta demanded to know.

"You're taking an interest in my well being. I'm shocked."

"No, it's just that you're still holding the spoon for the mashed potatoes, and I want some."

Trunks immediately dropped the spoon and watched as his father grabbed the bowl.

"Hmph." Vegeta continued. "I know what's happened with you anyway." He paused to glare at Bulma.

She just smiled. "I love you too. Now finish your dinner."

"Don't tell me what to do, woman." But he continued to eat his food in the ravenous way that only saiya-jins can.

"What's going on will Trunks, Daddy?" Bra asked sweetly, interested.

"You know. You and that brat of Kakarott's."

Bra smiled. She and Goten had been together for awhile already, and Vegeta hadn't even tried to kill him once. Not seriously, at least... "Yay, Trunks! Finally!"

"Then ask that brat of Kakarott's oldest brat." The Prince's tone signaled the end of the conversation.


Trunks lay on his bed, trying to understand what his father had meant by telling him to ask Pan. I guess... I guess the only thing to do is to go ask Pan.

Not noticing what time of night it was, he jumped out his window and flew to her apartment. He reached the building and circled the complex until he found her distinct blue cloud curtains. He knew for a fact that the entire motif of her bedroom was blue clouds. Bra had given him a tour of Pan's entire apartment after she'd decorated it. He grinned and knocked on her window, suddenly realizing how cold it was.

Cursing himself for not bringing a jacket, he knocked again. Dende, where is she? Maybe she's asleep.

****************
"No, really! Other people need to sleep, too!" Dende screamed. "Stop bugging me with useless questions!"
****************

He knocked harder. Okay, this is starting to become not fun. He banged on the window really hard and then smiled as he saw Pan pulling open the curtains, Pan smiling back at him, Pan reaching out to unlatch the window, Pan pulling him in, Pan in her really... short... nightshirt...

He shook his head to clear his head of any of _those_ kinds of thoughts, and listened to her ask, "Why'd you come here, Trunks?" her amusement evident. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Uh..." he looked at her bedside clock. "1:34."

"Exactly. So why are you here?"

"I came to ask you just that."

Pan cocked an eyebrow at him, her facial expression quizzical. "You came to ask me why you came?"

He sighed. "Not just that. I came to ask you why everyone seems to know something I don't, why I can't talk to you about other girls I'm seeing anymore, why I can't lie to you, why my father told me to ask you. What's going on, Pan?"

She just grinned mischievously at him. "I can't tell you. But you'll find out soon enough."





So what did you think?

~ Tanyaneko/N-chan