Have some selkies on me. Not sure where this one came from, but basically Videl's a selkie on her mother's side of the family. (Like the Fae vignette but with selkies).
The "selkie gene" in this verse doesn't work like the saiyan gene, lessening with each generation that doesn't mate with a saiyan, it remains prevalent no matter who the gene carrier has children with, but it's more likely to be passed down to females than it is males. They can go for a time without a swim in their skin, but the compulsion is always there is mate be sated periodically, maybe every couple of weeks or every other month idk.
(For those of you that don't know, selkies are mythological creatures with the ability to shift between human form and an animal form, mainly seals but there are other kinds like the Swan Maiden, by shedding their skin. In most lore, if a female selkie's skin is found by a human and he chooses to keep it, she's bound to him until he returns it, or she finds where he's hidden it.)
If someone takes the skin from a selkie, in my verse, not only the selkie bound to them but they have a modicum of control over them.
However, if the selkie gives the seal skin to their S/O of their own volition, and that person returns it to them of their own volition, (maybe because they don't want to basically own the person they're in love with and want them to be with them of their own free will), the selkie won't be bound to them against their will. (It isn't explicitly mentioned, until later, but this is what happened with Gohan and Videl.)
CW: Non-Con touching and sexual assault (no r*pe but it is threatened), and physical abuse.
The precocious seal pup squeaked as she wriggled her way out of the surf and onto the sandy beach. Behind her, a larger, sleek dark brown seal followed her as she squirmed along.
Once they both were far enough from the water, the adult seal suddenly stood up and pulled her hide away, revealing a slender woman with wavy shoulder length black hair, lightly tanned skin, and wide periwinkle eyes. The woman draped the seal skin over her shoulders like a cape and looked down at the baby seal imploringly.
"Pan-chan," she admonished, an amused smile tugging at her pink lips, "are you stuck?"
The little seal squeaked in a decidedly disgruntled manner and squirmed a bit before finally emerging from her seal skin. A little girl, about six or seven years in age, with the same wavy hair as the woman, just as short, tanned skin, and big brown eyes stood on two shaky legs.
The woman stooped to grab Pan's discarded seal skin and wrapped it around her little shoulders, "come on, it's time to go home."
"But Mama…"
"Nope," Videl poked her daughter's snub nose gently, "we had our swim, your Papa will miss us if we stay longer." She kissed her forehead, "besides, it's naptime."
Pan pouted for a moment, but followed her mother when she took flight, headed inland towards the rural mountain area that they called home.
*S*S*S*S*
Videl guided her 16 year-old daughter to sit down on her bed and pulled her desk chair over so she could sit in front of her. Gohan sat on the edge of the bed next to their daughter. Pan frowned, wondering why her parents wanted to talk to her.
"I wanted to talk to you about this when you were a few years younger, but you didn't seem interested in anyone romantically so I decided to hold off for a bit," Videl smiled wanly, "but now… you know what I told you when you were younger, about your seal skin and your abilities?"
"I should be careful who I tell about what I am and I shouldn't show anyone my skin, or where I keep it unless I'm sure they can be trusted." Pan relayed monotonously, rolling her eyes, "I know that, but why?"
Videl and Gohan shared a loaded look before the former explained, "that part of the legend that says that someone stealing your skin binds you to them and allows them to control you until they return it or you find it again, it's true. I'm not saying you're gonna go out and fall in love with the first person you meet, but when you do find that special someone, you need to make sure you can trust them with your secrets; the selkie one andthe saiyan one," she smiled wryly at her husband, "before you take that leap."
"Well," Pan puffed up, "it's a good thing I don't like anyone enough to get married." She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her nose up in the air.
Gohan, having seen how the way his daughter looked at Trunks had changed after their year-long trip through space, bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Videl smirked, knowing where her husband's thoughts had gone, and patted her child's knee.
"Well, if you change your mind one day, you'll know to be wary."
*S*S*S*S*
Pan met Jett while she was away at Uni during her first year. She was studying pre-med and he was studying biomechanical engineering. He was charming, sweet, and a bit of a rebel, which was likely what drew her to him in the first place. The pair dated for a little under two years before the Son decided to bring him home to meet her family over break…
Videl's hackles rose the moment Pan led the dark haired boy into their home. Gohan, immediately sensing the shift in his wife, frowned suspiciously at the young man.
"Mama, Papa," Pan greeted them jubilantly, "this is the guy I've been telling you about. Jett, these are my parents, Gohan and Videl."
"Mr. and Mrs. Son," Videl was quick to amend, smile plasticky and not quite meeting her eyes, "nice to meet you, Jett." Her instincts screamed that he was nothing but bad news.
"Nice to meet ya, Mr. and Mrs. S." the blue eyed, shaggy haired boy tipped an imaginary hat at them.
Gohan bit back a disgruntled growl, smiling brightly, "I'm sure you kids are tired from the flight out from China; why don't you rest up? Dinner will be ready in an hour or so."
"Panny, can I talk to you for a second?" Videl jerked her head towards the kitchen, "Jett, the guest room's right down that hallway next to the staircase. It's the last door on the right." She pointed absently, her eyes only for her daughter.
Pan frowned in confusion and concern, "okay… I'll be right back, Jett-kun." She pecked him on the cheek.
"Sure thing, sweet cheeks." Jett swatted her butt before grabbing his bag and heading down the hallway Videl had directed him towards.
Gohan's eyes flashed teal, and his ki spiked just a bit. Both his wife and daughter briefly looked at him in concern, but he'd already settled back down on the couch with the book he'd been reading.
Videl grabbed her daughter's arm and dragged her through the kitchen, out the backdoor and onto the deck, ignoring her half-formed protests. She knew Pan was strong enough to pull away if she really wanted to, but she knew she wouldn't in this case.
"Panny…" Videl took a moment to breathe and get her thoughts in order, "Pan, is that really the guy you've been gushing about for the past two years?"
"Uh… yeah, Mama," Pan raised a single brow, confused, "… what's this about?" she took a moment to examine her mother's face and the emotions emanating from her ki, and realization dawned, "oh my Dende, you hate him. Mama, you just met him, at least get to know—"
"Does he know?"
"What?"
"Pan," Videl's voice was sharp, "does he know?"
Pan's cheeks flushed red and her eyes briefly darted to the left before meeting her mother's eyes again. The older woman pinched the bridge of her nose, "baby… please tell me you didn't show him your pelt."
"I… he asked about it when I told him, but I haven't… Mama, what's this about? You don't think he's…"
"I don't know," Videl whispered, "but the moment he walked in the door, something about him put me off." She told him that she's a selkie… and he believed her without physical proof?
"Mama, Jett isn't like that," Pan reached out to take her mother's hand, smiling reassuringly, "I know he hasn't made the best first impression, but d'you really think I would've brought him home if I didn't think you guys would approve? Give him a little time, you'll see."
"I hope so… Pan-chan, please think long and hard about it before you show him your pelt," the older woman grabbed both of her daughter's hands and squeezed, "please? I don't want to lose you."
"You know I will, Mama." The quarter saiyan soothed, "you're not gonna lose me, I promise."
"Really?" Videl raised a brow, "you, the most impulsive person I know?" She laughed softly when her daughter's cheeks flushed pink and wrapped her up in a hug, "it's good to have you home, baby girl."
"It's good to be home, Mama."
*S*S*S*S*
Later in the evening, Videl found herself on the back deck, nursing a glass of Moscato, her second one, before she turned in for the night. Gohan had already gone to bed, and she could sense Pan and Jett in the kitchen; they'd volunteered to take care of the dishes, but it seemed they were more concerned with canoodling than finishing their task.
Young love…
The selkie's ears caught the metallic squeal of the back screen door swinging open, and she turned to look at Jett curiously. He smiled sheepishly, "hey, Mrs. S, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. That was super inappropriate of me, and I'm sorry if I disrespected you and Mr. S."
"It's fine," she replied, shooting for pleasant but falling just a few notes short, "I highly suggest you don't do the whole butt slapping thing in front of Gohan again, though."
"O-oh, of course," his cheeks flushed pink, "I was just… really nervous about meeting you guys, sorry for being an ass. I… um," he bit his lip, "I have some… some questions. Pan told me about her… her heritage and I was wondering…"
Videl's eyes narrowed with suspicion, "if she told you about her heritage there isn't much I can tell you that she hasn't told you already."
"So she's really a… I mean, it's not that I didn't believe her, it's just… she didn't show me her um… her pelt or anything." Jett raked a hand through his dark shaggy locks, clearly anxious.
"That's between you and Pan, Jett." Videl's voice hardened, "if it's all the same to you, I'd like to finish my drink in peace."
"I completely overstepped, didn't I," the young man smacked himself in the forehead, "I'm so sorry Mrs. S, I just wanted some clarity, that's all. I'll leave you alone." He turned on his heel and headed back into the house.
Videl knocked the rest of her wine back in one swallow and let her head hang for a moment. She took a measured inhale through her mouth and let it go in a noisy puff from her nose before returning to the house. Time to go to bed…
The next morning, their conversation was forgotten and remained that way for the rest of the couple's stay. Jett never approached Videl with the subject again.
By the end the break, Jett's behavior had improved substantially, and Gohan and Videl found themselves, somewhat begrudgingly, approving of Pan's choice. Nonetheless, that sense of unease lingered at the back of the concerned mother's mind throughout Jett's stay, and she made sure to issue another warning to her daughter before they returned to China to resume their schooling.
*S*S*S*S*
*Two Years Later*
Pan burst into her apartment, cell phone tucked between her shoulder and her ear, arms full of groceries and other necessities. She kicked the door shut with her foot and ambled over to the kitchen area to set her things down.
"It's been too long since I last swam," she chirped into the phone, "I'm gonna put these groceries up and then I'm headed down to the coast, Papa."
"Alright, Pan-chan," Gohan's voice was warm, "have fun, I'll talk to you later. Make sure you find some place secluded to—"
"I know, Papa," Pan chided gently, "Mama made sure of it. I love you, bye."
"Love you too, bye."
Pan ended the call and set the phone to the side and used her ki to expedite the process of putting her groceries away. Once that was done, she did the same with her necessities in her bedroom and went to her hiding place. The cupboard under the sink in the bathroom had a false bottom, which was where she chose to keep her pelt when she wasn't using it.
Humming happily, the quarter saiyan selkie pulled the doors open and swiped her fingers along the edge of the wooden base until she found the lip and pulled it up…
The humming stopped.
Pan felt a cold ball of dread form in her gut when, instead of her pelt, she found an empty crawl space. She shook her head in disbelief, mumbling "no, no, no," feverishly under her breath. Moving faster than the speed of sound, she darted through the small apartment, tearing it apart from the floor up in search of her seal skin. Her ki spiked higher with desperation and fear as her search proved fruitless.
In the midst of her furor, Pan hadn't noticed the ki approaching, concerned by her state, until someone had grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides. She jerked and whipped around in their hold, turning to face… Trunks?
"Trunks, what the hell are you doing here?" Pan squirmed away from her friend, tamping the flutter of warmth in her chest down, "I can't talk right now, I have to find it!" her brown eyes darted to and fro over the mess she'd made, trying to gauge where to start searching again.
"Pan-chan, your ki's all over the place," Trunks grabbed her again before she could start tearing her apartment apart again, "you're lucky the others didn't come out here… What are you looking for? Maybe I can help."
Pan froze, wondering if she should tell him. No one outside of her immediate family, her grandparents on both sides, and Uncle G knew about her and her mother being selkies.
I don't have a choice; I HAVE to find my pelt!
As she opened her mouth to explain, the front door swung open and Jett, her boyfriend of four years now, entered casually. His blue eyes flickered casually over the mess she'd made, but Pan didn't notice, too focused on the dark brown furry object in his hands.
Her pelt.
"Kami," Jett whistled, "looks like a tornado blew through here, Pancake."
"Jett…"
"What happened, Pan-chan?" his eyes flashed with mirth while his voice went syrupy with faux-concern, "didja lose something?"
"Jett," she whispered, voice shaking, "please… give it back." She held out a hand imploringly, eyes glued on the pelt.
"What? Oh, this?" he raised the sealskin up, "I don't think I will. It's a really nice skin, I think I'll have a hat made out of it or something." A wicked smirk spread over his lips.
Pan's lips parted in horror, "you… you can't be serious, Jett. You know what it'll do to me, please, just give it back. I'm begging, please."
Trunks' eyes narrowed, "Dude, just give it back to her. You're her boyfriend, can't you see how much you're upsetting her?" a burst of jealousy began to burn hot in his chest; Pan deserved far better than this asshole.
Jett smiled wickedly at the lavender haired demi saiyan, "You don't think I know how you feel about my girl, Briefs? The way you're always staring at her at the parties and shit when you think no one's looking. She's mine," his eyes glowed with smugness, "this is just… insurance."
Pan lunged at him in an attempt to snatch the pelt, but he only smiled wider and said, "stop, Pan."
The quarter saiyan froze, not even a centimeter away from him, fingers hovering over the chocolate brown fur of her pelt. Jett crowed with glee, "holy shit, it actually works!"
Trunks frowned in confusion, wondering why Pan had frozen so suddenly. His eyes narrowed as he readied himself to attack Jett. The human noticed him and murmured, "Don't let him attack me, Pan. Knock him out so we can leave."
"Jett, please don't make me—"
"Now, Pan."
Crying bitterly, she phased out and, before the saiyan royal could strike, pinched the nerve at the base of his neck. He crumpled to the floor in a heap, and Pan sobbed softly, crouching down to check him over. Her heart ached in her chest just looking at his slack, handsome face.
"Leave him, Panny, it's time to go."
"I thought you loved me," she hissed, walking over to him against her will, "this isn't love, Jett."
"You never loved me, not the way I wanted you to," he responded, "no, you love him that way, though," he scowled at the unconscious saiyan Prince, "not that it matters," he smirked, "this way, you'll finally love me the way I want you to. Come on, we're gonna go somewhere nice and private and you're going to make sure your family won't be able to find us with one of those nifty ki shields of yours."
"Jett, please don't do this," Pan pleaded, desperation leaking into her voice, "please, if my family finds out about this, they'll kill you. Just let me go with my skin and I'll just tell them we broke up or something. Please."
"But they won't find out, will they? I'm gonna give you an address and you're gonna fly us there and then you're going to conceal our presence with a ki shield. Let's go."
*S*S*S*S*
Trunks groaned, head throbbing as he came to. He pressed a hand to his forehead as sat up, frowning at his surroundings. What the hell was he doing in Pan's apartment…? As he gathered his bearings and got his feet back under him, he cast his sixth sense out, searching for his friend's ki. To his concern, he found no trace of her anywhere on the planet.
The memories started coming back slowly then, trickling in like a dripping faucet. He'd sensed Pan's agitated, fearful ki and gone to see what the problem was. It hadn't piqued her family's interest yet, seeing as he didn't run into any of the Sons on his way over.
When he'd entered the apartment, Pan had been tearing the floorboards up, brown eyes crazed as she searched fruitlessly for something. He'd grabbed her and she'd looked at him as if she hadn't known who he was before awareness settled in.
"I can't talk, I have to find it!"
She'd been about to explain, and then her smarmy asswipe of a boyfriend showed up with that weird furry skin and Pan had gone quiet, her eyes glued to the thing as Jett nonchalantly entered the place as if his girlfriend hadn't just been tearing it to shreds. He couldn't understand why everyone seemed to sing Jett's praises when the asshole had been nothing but borderline hostile to him whenever Pan wasn't around.
Pan had tried to take the fur back by force when he wouldn't return it, despite her begging him to in a manner he'd never heard from her before and had frozen not even an inch away from him when he'd told her to stop. What the hell was up with that?
And then, just when Trunks been getting ready to get the pelt back for Pan, she'd turned to him, face contorted in anguish and wet with tears, and phased out. She'd appeared behind him, and he heard her whisper, "I'm so sorry Trunks-kun," before she hit him at the base of his neck and knocked him out cold. He hadn't even gotten the chance to power up.
Now he was awake, it was dark out which meant he'd been out for hours, Pan and the asshole were gone, and he couldn't sense her anywhere.
Trunks flared his ki markedly, drawing the attention of both his family and the Sons. Within seconds, he could feel their ki's approaching and settled back for the relatively short wait.
Where the hell are you, Pan-chan?
*S*S*S*S*
By the time everyone; Goku, Gohan and Videl, Goten and Bra, Uub, and Vegeta, had arrived, and Trunks had recanted the afternoon's events, Videl had gone pale. Ignoring everyone, she'd picked her way through the mess Pan had made of the apartment and headed to the bathroom to check the hiding place Pan used even though she knew she wouldn't find what she was looking for.
When she saw the broken cupboard doors and the false bottom tossed carelessly to the side, Videl growled an expletive and buried her fist in the wall. Tears blurred her vision as she spread her sixth sense out, searching desperately for Pan's sunny ki signature. She felt her husband come up behind her and jerked away from him before he could touch her.
"Vi—"
"No," she growled vehemently, "no, no, no, she can't be—not my baby," she shook her head desperately, tears spilling over, "Gohan, she can't be…"
"Videl…"
"Gohan, no…" Videl's arms went limp as her husband pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly as she sobbed.
"We'll find her," Gohan murmured soothingly, "and when we do, I'm going to kill him." His voice dropped a few octaves and his eyes flashed teal, burning with rage.
"I can't believe we trusted him," Videl mumbled, voice muffled by Gohan's shirt, "I thought…" she trailed off, mind miles away as a murky memory from their first meeting with Jett surfaced and pushed to the forefront of her mind. She could've kicked herself for pushing it aside…
"O-oh, of course," Jett's cheeks flushed pink, "I was just… really nervous about meeting you guys, sorry for being an ass. I… um," he bit his lip, "I have some… some questions. Pan told me about her… her heritage and I was wondering…"
Videl's eyes narrowed with suspicion, "if she told you about her heritage there isn't much I can tell you that she hasn't told you already."
"So she's really a… I mean, it's not that I didn't believe her, it's just… she didn't show me her um… her pelt or anything." Jett raked a hand through his dark shaggy locks, clearly anxious.
"That's between you and Pan, Jett." Videl's voice hardened, "if it's all the same to you, I'd like to finish my drink in peace."
Videl pulled away from Gohan to look up at him, eyes wide, "d'you remember that night when we first met him? You went to bed early, and I decided to have another glass of wine before I went down," she growled angrily, "I shouldn't have had that damn wine, maybe I wouldn't have forgotten…"
"Videl, what is it?"
"He asked me about her pelt, Gohan," she whispered, "and I forgot the conversation because of the wine." She hung her head, ashamed, "I could've warned her. I could've stopped this from happening."
Gohan kissed her forehead, "don't blame yourself, you couldn't have known he was going to do something like this two years later. He had all of us fooled."
"I'm gonna have to tell them," Videl whispered, "the others about me and Pan-chan. It's the only way they'll understand what's at stake."
"I can do it if you don't feel up to it," the Son readily offered, "it's up to you, love."
"Thanks goober, but I can manage." Videl took a moment to wipe her face, "just give me a few minutes, I'll be in there once I've got my emotions back under control."
*S*S*S*S*
"There's something that some of you," Videl spared a look at her father in-law and brother in-law, "don't know about my side of the family. I'm not entirely human, and neither is Pan. Well, Pan's not only saiyan but she's something else. Are any of you familiar with the legends involving selkies?"
"They're shapeshifters," Bra piped up, "mainly women, they can shift back and forth between human and animal form by shedding their animal skin. The most common mythos say that their animal form is a seal…" her blue eyes widened, "Videl, are you saying…?"
"I'm a selkie, yeah," she nodded once, "my mother was one, and so is Pan."
"But what does that have to do with what happened here?" Uub inquired, mildly confused. At his side, Trunks' thoughts raced as he began to connect the dots.
"If a human finds a selkie's pelt and chooses to keep it, the selkie is bound to them against their will and under their control… to an extent. So long as they have the pelt on their person, the selkie has no choice but to do as they say and remain by their side," Videl swallowed back tears, "if they separate from it and the selkie finds it, she'll be free from that compulsion and can go as she pleases."
"So that furry thing he had, her pelt," Trunks looked vaguely ill, "he used it to control her? I wondered why she stopped so suddenly when she'd been so close to taking it from him."
"He's done his research, I'll give him that," Videl grumbled, "and since he knows about her other abilities from her saiyan blood and ki, I'm guessing that's why we can't sense her." She pressed her face into her hands, "this is gonna be harder than we thought."
"The girl is clever," Vegeta spoke up gruffly, voice strangely soft, "if anyone could find a way out of this situation, it's her."
*S*S*S*S*
"I've been studying you for a while," Jett smiled warmly, "on both ends of the spectrum, selkie and saiyan. I wanted to figure out the best way to keep you with me. You're powerful and your skin can only do so much to keep you from running away… so I made a few things."
He uncapsulated a few objects; a set of silver metal bracelets with round red stones set into them and a grey metal box about the size of a toaster oven with a projector-like protrusion on top, and smirked at the scowling quarter saiyan sitting across the table from him.
"Well," he teased, "don't you wanna know what they are?" Pan's scowl deepened but she remained silent.
"I picked your Aunt Bulma's brain during my internship at Capsule Corp and, since I was your boyfriend, she didn't think twice about telling me about some of the things Vegeta liked to use while he trained. Even showed me the blueprints," he smirked, "the bracelets are ki dampeners, apparently Vegeta uses them as a form of resistance training. They'll force your ki down and weaken you, so I won't have to worry about you killing me in my sleep or your family finding you should you get out of the range of my next little present."
"This box is an artificial ki shield generator, so I won't have to worry about you tiring yourself out maintaining the ki shield," he sighed happily, "now," he grabbed the pelt, "give me your wrists so I can put the dampeners on."
Pan shook her head vehemently, offering her hands to him unwillingly, "Jett, why are you doing this?" She still was reeling over the day's events, as well as the realization that her boyfriend had been playing her, possibly from the beginning.
"Because I want you to love me the way you love that purple haired freak," he hissed, "you only dated me because you were trying to get over him and at first I didn't mind, I figured you'd get over it in time, but you never did," he laughed mirthlessly, "and you know what the funny part is? He loves you too. You were just too blind to see it and he was too stupid to make the first move. Not like it matters," he shrugged dismissively, blue eyes shining with a crazed light, "you and I are gonna live a nice long life together, Pancake. Just you and me."
Pan felt her heart sink as Jett snapped the bracelets into place and tapped the red stones, making them glow. Her ki began to leach away and, before she could lose her hold on the ki shield, he activated the generator before either of their ki signatures could be unveiled.
"Don't cry, Pan-chan," Jett reached out to brush the tears she hadn't noticed were falling away, "you'll get over him soon enough, and then you'll finally love me the way I do you. You just need more time, and we'll have plenty."
How the hell am I gonna escape him?
*S*S*S*S*
*Three Months Later*
"It's been three Kami-damned months," Videl paced the length of her living room, "we've been searching all over the globe and we haven't found shit. Dende can't see her, wherever she is thanks to the ki shield…"
"He interned with my mom for a while earlier this year," Trunks spoke up, regret coloring his words, "she showed him the blueprints for a few things. Namely ki dampener bracelets and ki shield generators, just to name a few things. If she'd had any idea, she never would've shown him that stuff."
Gohan grabbed his wife's fist before she could bury it in the living room wall, using his grip to pull her into a hug. Videl squirmed in his hold, "Gohan, this is terrible," she cried, "even if she could get away from him, how the hell are we gonna find her if she can't even raise her ki?!"
"Wait, she can't just leave?"
"The pelt would compel her to stay," Videl explained tiredly, "she can't leave him while he has it, the only way she could leave is if she got it away from him. He's a smart kid, he definitely won't slip up there."
"What if we just… reported her missing?" Bra piped up, "she's the heiress of Hercule Satan, if you were to report her missing and name Jett the culprit, the entire globe would pitch in for the search. Going high with Dende didn't work, how about we go low with the authorities?"
"They'd ask why we waited three months to report it," Gohan bit his lip, "and we cleaned up her apartment, so we can't use that as proof that he kidnapped her."
"It's worth a shot," Videl responded, voice soft, "what do we have to lose? In the meantime, ask your Dad to go see King Kai, maybe he can locate her."
Trunks stood up and headed for the door, drawing Videl's attention, "Trunks, where're you going?"
"To keep looking," he replied firmly, "I'll swing by later on this evening." He opened the door and calmly shut it behind himself before launching into flight. Videl and Gohan exchanged a look.
Bra noticed at once and laughed, "oh yeah, he's head over heels in love with Panny. Has been for years, I don't know why he never did anything about it."
"Probably because he didn't think she felt the same way," Goten shrugged, "and then she went off to school and came home with Jett." He rolled his eyes derisively.
"If something finally gives, he might get the chance to."
*S*S*S*S*
Jett pulled away from Pan's neck, where he'd been nibbling and kissing the sensitive skin, and frowned at her as she sobbed, "what's the matter, sweetness?" he frowned, "you used to love when I kissed your neck like this."
"I don't want you touching me," she cried, voice garbled with tears, "you already took my freedom, please don't take my right to choose."
"I didn't take anything from you," he hissed, "you did this to yourself, all you had to do was love me right, Pan."
"Well, now I don't love you at all," she snapped, glowering at him, "if you didn't have my damn pelt, I'd be miles away by now." She gasped when he grabbed her by the chin, forcing their mouths together. Pan bit down on his bottom lip as hard as she could, tasting the coppery flavor of blood in her mouth.
Jett roared in pain and reared back, punching her square in the cheek. Pan gasped in pain and raised a hand to cup her cheek. She hadn't expected it to hurt. Damned ki dampeners!
"Fucking bitch," he seethed, blood dripping from the tip of his chin, "why the hell is this so hard for you? I loveyou!" he climbed off of the bed and rooted around on the floor for something.
"This isn't how you show love, you psychotic freak," Pan shot back, "you don't force someone to bend to your will and make them do things they wouldn't do on their own if you really love them! I—"
"Shut. Up," Jett held the sealskin so tightly his knuckles turned white, "just shut up, Pan. You will love me," he growled, "as long as I have this," he smiled wickedly, holding the pelt up so she could see it, "you will love me."
Pan glared up at him, no longer able to speak due to his gag order. He smirked down at her, "I'll let it slide this once, but I won't next time." He left the room, slamming the door behind him. The moment the door slammed, the lump in her throat dissolved.
I can't believe I ever felt anything romantic towards him, Pan thought, feeling ill, I wish I'd never met him…
Pan climbed out of the bed and walked over to the window, peering out at the woods surrounding their cabin. They were in a two bedroom cabin somewhere in northern Vermont, completely isolated in the middle of nowhere. She wasn't allowed to leave the house, only Jett left to get food and other things… and he always took her pelt with him. It was always with him, whether he was in the house or not, and she was beginning to lose hope.
It'd been about four months since her last swim in her skin, and the compulsion was rising to a nearly unbearable level.
During the first month or so, he'd been respectful and kept his distance, even though the fact that he was holding her against her will completely negated this. Before long, he started kissing her, touching her and acting like he did before he stole her skin. This was the first time he'd used the pelt to force her to submit to him so he could kiss and touch her at his leisure. She dreaded the day he decided to use it to take things further…
Pan poked her head out of the bedroom, eyeing the ki shield generator on the table in the kitchenette area. It wouldn't mean a damn thing for her if she broke it, Jett's ki signature was one in a couple billion of other low human ki levels. If she couldn't find a way to get these damn bracelets off, she'd never escape him.
She examined them closely every day, searching for any kind of latch or hidden release, but the damn things seemed to seal all the way around… which made no sense since he'd snapped them around her wrists in the first place.
Maybe I should've gone for biomechanical engineering instead of pre-med…
She'd been the one, with her father's help, to get Jett the internship at Capsule Corp under Bulma's tutelage, and she'd been kicking herself for it for the past three months.
"I can't give up," Pan murmured, closing the door and leaning against it, "there's a way out. I just have to find it."
*S*S*S*S*
*One Week Later*
"Pan," Jett called out, his voice tight with irritation, "come here, sweetness." His fist clenched tight around the pelt. Pan approached, compelled by his hold, stopping a few feet away.
"What," he hissed, "the hell is this?" he jabbed a finger at the news report on the TV. Pan turned to look at it, tamping down the well of joy she felt when she saw her mother and Grampa Hercule on the television, speaking to a crowd of reporters. On the other half of the screen was a picture of her and one of Jett.
'PAN SON, HEIRESS OF HERCULE SATAN MISSING: BOYFRIEND JETT MIZAKI CONSIDERED THE MAIN SUSPECT.'
"You kidnapped me," she muttered, annoyed, "and you're shocked that my family… wants me back. Damn," she lowered her voice even further, "you really have lost it."
"I was out at the store when I saw this shit on the TV," he hissed, "every news station all over the damn world is reporting on this… this bullshit. You're mine," he snarled, "they can't have you back. Kiss me."
Pan swallowed back bile, leaning in and kissing him as he'd asked. He wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her in closer, "if they find us, you're going to tell them that I didn't kidnap you," he cut off her protest by holding up her seal skin, "you're going to tell them you ran away… and eloped with me. Tell them your mother is lying."
"They won't be the ones to find me," she replied sharply, "this is a ruse to root you out. My family will be the ones that find you, not the authorities."
'Pan? Is that you?'
Pan barely kept her head from jerking up towards the ceiling when that familiar 'voice' popped into her head, 'Grampa Goku, how are you… you can't sense my ki, how are you communicating with me?'
'Oh, I'm with King Kai, he helped me establish a link with you. Can you tell me where you are? He can find your mind but he says your location is… muddled or something…'
'I'm in a cabin somewhere in northern Vermont, it's isolated—'
She was dragged out of the telepathic conversation by a hand colliding with her cheek. Not expecting the slap, Pan hit the floor with a pained cry. She pressed a hand to her cheek and glared up at her captor.
Jett scowled down at her, "stop daydreaming and listen to me!"
"I'd listen if you had something worthwhile to say." she replied scathingly, inwardly relieved that her family now knew where to begin searching for her.
"I hate hurting you," Jett whispered, leaning down to touch her sore cheek, "this would be easier if you weren't so stubborn."
"You told me you liked that about me," Pan murmured, leaning away from his touch, "when we first started dating." It was an odd feeling, hating him so much while feeling so nostalgic for the days when he wasn't… likethis. Yes, she hadn't felt for him nearly as strongly as she did Trunks, but she'd tried her best to hide it from him, to let her Prince go and move on with him… apparently she hadn't done as good as job as she'd thought.
"I did… now it's a problem." Jett snapped, rising to his feet and walking away.
"My mother warned me about you," she called out, stopping him in his tracks, "the first day I brought you home to meet them, she didn't like you from the moment you walked in the door. I wish I'd listened to her and dumped your ass then."
"And you didn't," Jett replied coolly, "so who's the dumb one in that scenario?" she growled under her breath, wishing she didn't have these damn dampeners on so she could kill him.
Pan rolled onto her knees and rose to her feet. One of the side effects of the dampeners was that she couldn't sense ki, so she'd have to wait until her family was kicking the door down.
I hope Papa kills him slow…
*S*S*S*S*
Goku appeared in his eldest son's living room via Instant Transmission. Gohan and Videl exchanged a look and put aside their activities. Bra, Goten, Uub, Marron, and Trunks did the same, ready to hear what he'd found.
"King Kai wasn't able to locate Pan but he was able to help me forge a link with her telepathically," the Son announced, smiling brightly, "she says she's somewhere in a place called Vermont," he scratched his head sheepishly, "I've never heard of it, but she told me she's in the northern part in a cabin, somewhere isolated."
"Thank Kami," Videl stood up at once, "let's go," she checked the time difference, "it'll be nighttime there, we can go now." Gohan stood up and headed for the door, beyond ready to get his daughter back.
"I'm game," Trunks jumped up, "let's go."
*S*S*S*S*
Pan lay in bed, trying to find her happy place as Jett's hands roved over her skin. It was oddly funny that, not too long ago she'd let him touch her and kiss her, and had been pleased to do so, but now his touch was revolting and unwanted. She closed her eyes tightly as he slid his hands under the sleep shorts she wore, turning her head on the pillow.
The sensation of his teeth on her skin, nibbling at her thigh made her flinch. Her brown eyes snapped open and, to her surprise, she spotted her pelt. It was lying next to her right hip on the bed… and Jett was stillholding onto it. If she could distract him enough to let it go and focus on her, maybe she could snatch it and run for it. It wasn't ideal, the last thing she wanted was to let him think she actually wanted this, but at this point she was beyond desperate.
Besides, with any luck, her family would be searching the area soon… if they weren't already.
The Son took a deep breath, steeling herself, and let herself imagine that it was months ago when she'd still desired for his touch. Jett responded readily, and they moved together, kissing and moaning. Pan kept glancing down at her pelt when he was distracted, waiting for that moment…
She tossed her head back with a moan as he suckled at her neck, smiling when she felt both of his hands rest on her hips. Pan kept up the charade for a bit longer, wanting him to be sufficiently distracted… and drove her knee right into his family jewels as hard as she could manage. If she'd had access to her ki, she probably would've killed him.
Jett's eyes went crossed with the pain, and Pan hurriedly shoved him off of her and grabbed the pelt. Forcing the wave of rightness she felt, as well as the intensified desire to put it on and dive beneath the ocean's waves out of her mind, she ran from the room. Her bare feet slapped against the wooden flooring as she hurried over to the back door… only to find it locked.
Fuck!
Knowing the front door would also be locked, and not wanting to waste time searching for a key, Pan swung the pelt over her shoulders like a cape, grabbed the ki shield generator off of the table and hauled it through the nearest window. The sound of the glass shattering was music to her ears, and she hurriedly clambered over the sill, ignoring the warm slice of glass biting into her skin.
As she lowered her foot to the grass, she heard Jett shout angrily from across the cabin. Pan threw herself the rest of the way out of the window, tucked and rolled, and took off at full speed into the trees, seal skin flailing behind her. Another angry shout echoed through the trees as she got further and further away.
A jubilant laugh spilled over her lips as she sprinted, I'm finally free…
*S*S*S*S*
*Meanwhile*
Trunks flew low over the trees, eyes sharp for any cabins. He'd come across two so far, but both of them had been empty. Vermont wasn't a terribly large state but it was still a lot of ground to cover. Luckily they had the numbers and the speed to cover it all in a fairly short amount of time.
Where the hell are you, Pan-chan…
He spotted another cabin and sensed someone's ki not far from it, getting further away by the minute. He landed behind it and frowned when he noticed the state it was in. The back door was left ajar, one of the back windows had been shattered, and there was blood on some of the glass. He followed the path of the glass until his eyes alighted on a dark grey metal cube thing with a projector-like bulb on one side.
Ki shield generator!
Trunks flared his ki twice to draw everyone's attention and took off after the ki heading deeper into the woods. It wasn't Pan's, but he had a good idea who he'd find when he caught up.
The demi saiyan followed the frankly pathetic ki until he happened upon a livid Jett, stomping through the underbrush, calling Pan's name and cursing her all in the same breath. He grabbed the pathetic piece of shit and pinned him against a tree with his forearm over his throat before he could even blink.
"You either have balls of steel or are just that much of an idiot to think you would've gotten away with this shit for very long," Trunks growled, "where's Pan?"
Jett began to laugh, completely ignorant of the danger he now faced, "of course it's you, come to be her knight in shining armor," he chortled, "what's so great about you," he sneered, "all you do is fuck every woman that so much as glances your way, why the hell does she love you so damn much?"
"You're a sad human being," the saiyan royal replied coolly, not feeling the need to defend himself to this cretin, "if this is how you treat the woman you supposedly love. If you have to use something sacred to her to force her to love you, then maybe you don't love her as much as you think you do—"
"I DO LOVE HER!" Jett roared, spittle flying from his lips, "I love her more than anything and it isn't enough! Every damn time," he spat, "every party, every reunion, every barbecue I went with her to, she was alwayswatching you and you were always watching her, it was maddening. Do you know how it feels," he cried, "to love someone so completely and know that they'll never return the favor, at least not entirely. She loved me, yes, but she always loved you more."
Trunks, while reeling inside from the deluge, started dragging him back the way he'd come, "I don't give a damn what your excuse was, you fucked with the wrong family, asshole."
He didn't notice the petite form shadowing him.
*S*S*S*S*
Gohan landed near the cabin where Trunks had signaled them from, Videl only moments behind him, and walked over to the cabin. He spotted the ki shield generator out of the corner of his eye as he approached. There were small bloody footprints in the grass, accompanied by the glass from the window, and the back door swung open freely, the light breeze making it move back and forth on its hinges.
A quick search revealed that Pan's pelt wasn't anywhere on the premises. The Son wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing, considering Pan and Jett were nowhere to be found.
While he was surveying the cabin, the rest of their friends and family arrived, and Trunks broke through the tree line with a kicking and thrashing Jett in his hold. He didn't have her pelt either.
"So," the CC President spoke up, "we can't kill him since we went for the media blitz approach, it'd be too publicized," he smiled apologetically at Gohan and Videl, "we can turn him over to the authorities back home. The police force owes a lot to you guys and Panny; he'll get a steep sentence for sure."
Videl strode over to them, ignoring Gohan's attempts to call her back. Trunks got Jett upright just in time for the enraged mother to drive her fist into his face. There was a muffled crunch and a howl of pain as his nose broke.
"My daughter trusted you," she sneered, "with one of her deepest secrets and you betrayed her and used it against her to hurt and manipulate her. You're damn lucky we can't kill you because I'd be first in fucking line to do it."
Gohan, having followed his wife across the yard, sent a chilling look at Jett over Videl's shoulder before addressing Trunks, "did you find Pan?"
"I found him a few miles that way, I'm guessing he was following her when she ran," the saiyan jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "but I didn't see her. I still can't sense her; she must have the ki dampeners on."
Gohan muttered a curse under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Finding Pan with the ki dampeners on would be like finding a needle in a haystack… except the needle was pretty muchinvisible.
As he was bemoaning the search ahead, Gohan's sharp ears picked up soft, labored breathing and the crunch of leaves underneath someone's feet, and his head snapped back up, alert. Videl looked up at him in surprise, "Gohan?"
"I hear someone coming." he replied quickly, looking around to trace the source of the noise.
"I hear it too," Goten reported, eyes closed to better focus his hearing, "I bet it's Pan-chan!"
Trunks passed Jett over to a reluctant Vegeta, also hearing the person approaching. Now that he was focusing on it, he realized that there wasn't a ki signature approaching and the noise was coming from the way he'd came.
The noises got louder and the bushes at the tree line rustled before a bedraggled Pan broke through them, hair full of branches and leaves, one cheek bruised, dressed in a pair of sleep shorts and a thin tank top, with blood and dirt all over her arms and bare legs. She limped from under the tree cover and into the moonlight, squinting at them. Draped over her shoulders like a cape, her pelt hung freely.
Videl released a joyous cry and closed the distance between them at a sprint, sweeping her baby girl up into a tight hug. Pan froze for a moment before returning the favor, tucking her face in the crook of her mother's neck. Her shoulders shook minutely as she began to weep.
Vegeta fished an odd silver tool from his pocket and passed it to Trunks, "for the ki dampeners. I'll take this human filth back to our home and surrender him to the proper authorities."
"Make sure he arrives in one piece, Dad."
"No promises."
"Dad."
"Hn," the saiyan Prince grunted, "you act as if you weren't thinking it. It was your woman he hurt, after all." Trunks opened his mouth to refute his claim that Pan was his, but was cowed by the very telling look his father gave him before he launched into flight.
Bra stepped forward, "I'll make sure he doesn't "accidentally" kill him, don't worry. Tell Panny I'm glad she's back," and took off in a burst of blue-white ki. Goku, Goten, Uub, and Marron followed her example.
Trunks smiled gratefully and made a slow, cautious approach towards the newly reunited family.
*S*S*S*S*
Videl pressed her lips against Pan's forehead, "are you okay? Do you need a senzu bean or to go see Dende?" she looked down at Pan's muddied feet, "Kami, you're filthy, honey."
Pan's only response was to tuck herself back into her mother's arms, having missed her warmth and love. Gohan wrapped his family up in his arms and kissed the top of Pan's head, "we'll swing by the Lookout and then we're going home."
Trunks cleared his throat softly, and Gohan whipped around protectively, not expecting or sensing his approach. The demi saiyan smiled apologetically and offered the silver device, "it's to remove the bracelets."
Videl took the silver device and smiled gratefully, "thank you so much Trunks." She turned back to Pan, who was still clinging to her, and murmured in her ear. The young woman extricated herself and let her mother remove the bracelets.
There was a collective sigh of relief as Pan's ki, fraught with a mixture of residual fear, longing, from the months without a swim in her seal skin, and relief washed over their senses. The quarter saiyan looked up at Trunks and smiled wanly, "thanks, Trunks."
Trunks smiled in return, "you're always welcome, Pan-chan. C'mon," he crouched down, "I'll fly you to the Lookout if you want."
Pan bit her lip, "if it's all the same to you, I'd rather fly on my own. I haven't used my ki in three months and," she sighed, "I've missed it. A lot."
"We'll go at your pace, Panny." Gohan smiled warmly.
"Do you wanna go for a swim after Dende heals you or would you rather just head home?" Videl inquired softly, touching her pelt, "I know it's been a while. If you want, I can come with you."
"I think I can wait a while," Pan murmured, "I just wanna sleep in my own bed." She took her pelt from around her shoulders and hugged it to her chest. Going so long without it had left her feeling vulnerable and naked.
"Let's get out of here."
*S*S*S*S*
"You really think you got away, huh? That's so cute. There's nowhere you can go where I won't find you, Pancake. You're MINE!"
"NO!"
Pan sat up in bed, a cry dying on her lips as she clambered out of bed, getting tangled up in her sheets as she scrambled for her hiding place. Ignoring her parents bursting into her room, she threw her closet door open and fell on her knees. She lifted the loose floorboards and lowered her hand into the space beneath until she felt the coarse brown fur under her palm. Still there.
She knelt there for a long while, breathing slowing as the tension leached out of her body. A warm hand fell on her shoulder, and it took everything in her to keep from flinching away from her father's touch.
"J-just making sure," she whispered, finally finding her voice, "I'm sorry I woke you."
"Pan-chan, you don't have to apologize," Gohan murmured, rubbing her back soothingly, "we know you've been through something awful, it's alright. I had terrible nightmares after I defeated Cell."
Pan swallowed thickly, "you know, he only did it because I'm in love with Trunks." It was the first time she'd ever admitted to it aloud, where others could hear.
"I couldn't let it go," she murmured, "couldn't let him go, not even for Jett. I thought I'd hidden it so well. I didn't even realize the feelings were still there, I'd buried them so deep but he could always see it. And then I told him I was a selkie, explained the whole thing with my skin and then I showed it to him and gave him a key to my apartment. I got him that internship with Aunt Bulma. I asked for this to happen."
"Baby," Videl took a seat on Pan's other side, "you didn't ask for this, you didn't make him do any of this. He chose to take the secret you trusted him with and turn it into a weapon, that isn't your fault."
"You warned me," she whispered, "when I brought him here, you told me you didn't feel right about him and I laughed it off," she laughed bitterly, "I wish I'd just listened to you when you told me to be wary and think it over. I really thought I knew him."
"Well, he asked me outright about your pelt," Videl bit back a swell of guilt, "and I forgot about it because I had one glass of wine too many that night. If you're guilty, then so am I."
"And I helped you get him the internship with Bulma," Gohan chimed in, "so I'm a little guilty, too."
Pan blinked owlishly at her parents in turn, "B-but… that isn't either of your fault—"
"Then neither is what he did to you," Videl shot back, "see? Problem solved." She leaned in and kissed her daughter on the cheek, "c'mon, your Dad's gonna make us some of his famous hot cocoa, and we're gonna sit up until you feel like going back to sleep."
Pan looked down at her pelt, still a comforting presence under her hand. A part of her didn't want to leave it, even though she knew it was safe here. It was "safe" in your apartment, too…
"Panny?"
She turned to look at her parents, who were standing in the doorway waiting for her. The quarter saiyan took a deep breath and held it, letting it go slowly through her nose. Then, she lifted her hand from the fur and slid the wooden board back into place.
I'll be right downstairs… it'll be fine.
*S*S*S*S*
The surf crashing against the sandy shore was a hypnotic sight to behold. Pan followed her mother along the water's edge, pelt around her shoulders like she wore it when she was a little girl. They were headed to their secret cove, where they always went for their monthly swims.
Her skin itched, begging for the shift. It'd been four months since her last, and she was hungry for the feel of the silky water flowing over her aquatic form.
"Almost there, Pan-chan," Videl called over her shoulder, "I know you're ready for it, just hang in there." A large part of Pan wanted to throw all caution to the wind, slip into her skin and dive deep for hours, but she could be patient. She'd waited this long after all.
Finally, they reached their destination, and Pan hurriedly stripped out of her clothing, folding it neatly and putting it somewhere where it wouldn't get wet or sandy. She padded down to the water's edge, letting the sun-warmed surf wash over her feet before stepping into her pelt and drawing it up over her head.
The shift was quick, barely lasting a second.
One second Pan was standing up right, the next she was on her belly, all sleek, only slightly blubbery, streamline and covered in short, coarse brown fur. She barked to her mother, who was making her way over. Her mother's seal form looked a lot like hers, only her fur was a darker shade of brown, almost black.
The pair bumped noses before wriggling out far enough for the surf to take them. Pan made a pleased noise before swimming off into the beautiful blue abyss, letting the silken caress of the waves carry her along.
It was pure bliss.
*S*S*S*S*
Videl looked up when Gohan landed on the soft sand next her and took a seat. She leaned her head against his shoulder as the pinkish red beams of sunset glinted off of the blue water. A soft smile formed on her lips when she felt his lips on her hair.
"She's still out there?"
"Yep," she murmured, "it was a long three months. It takes time to sate the sea longing."
"Mm."
The couple sat together in comfortable silence, watching the foamy white surf wash over the sand as the sun sank further below the horizon. Just as the very last sliver of light sank beyond the waves, a familiar brown seal head popped up from the water.
"There she is." Gohan chuckled softly, watching his daughter glide inland. She wriggled her way up onto the sand and stood up on two legs, wet pelt wrapped around her naked form. Her brown eyes were wild and bright with exhilaration.
"I really needed that." she breathed, padding over to her clothing. Gohan respectfully looked away while she flared her ki to dry herself and her pelt before laying it to the side so she could dress. Once she was decent, the quarter saiyan made herself comfortable on her father's other side.
"Had fun?"
"Mmhmm."
Before long, soft snores began to emit from Gohan's right side, and he snickered softly and shifted so his arm was wrapped around his daughter's shoulders, "I think it's time to head home, Vi."
That night, Pan slept soundly.
*S*S*S*S*
After much debate, Pan decided to take some time off from her schooling to recover from the trauma she'd suffered, mental, physical, and emotional. She put the apartment on the market, as she was unable to step foot in the door without succumbing to an anxiety attack, and moved back home to Japan on a permanent basis.
The legal proceedings with Jett were dealt with easily enough, due to Hercule's influence no doubt, and he'd be going away for quite some time, as well as spending some time in a psychiatric ward after making bizarre claims that Pan and Videl could turn into seals.
Pan hadn't seen Trunks since the night they found her in Vermont and she knew that, at some point, they would need to talk…
*Four Months Later*
Trunks looked up in surprise, not expecting to see Pan in the doorway of his office. The 22 year-old smiled brightly, making her way into the room. She was dressed in an orange midriff-baring t-shirt, a pair of low slung, well-worn light wash capris and a pair of red and black combat boots. If her hair had been shorter and she'd worn her bandana and fingerless gloves, she'd look exactly like she did when she was fourteen.
"Hey," she murmured, "this is a terrible time so… do you wanna get lunch sometime this week?"
"It's been ages since we hung out, huh?"
"Yep," she looked down at her shoes awkwardly, "I was busy with school and… and Jett."
Trunks hummed thoughtfully, "you know what? Why don't we go now?" Pan's eyes darted up towards his face, brows furrowed in confusion.
"Um… aren't you on the clock?"
"Panny," he drawled, smiling mischievously, "when has that ever stopped me before?" he stood up and removed his tie and his jacket before walking over to his secret window and popping it open, "after you, milady."
Pan giggled softly, "always the charmer," and sauntered over, launching herself out of the window and into flight. Trunks followed and the pair took to the skies, gliding up and over the clouds.
"So," the quarter saiyan inquired, "where to?"
"An old classic?" the saiyan royal offered, "Slurpee's?"
Pan groaned, mouth already starting to water, "oh my kami, I can't remember the last time I had one of their Gut Busters. Yes, let's go."
*S*S*S*S*
The two saiyans had a booth to themselves at the back of the restaurant, the table practically screaming from the sheer weight of the massive amount of food piled on top. Pan had already tucked away three Gut Busters, three large fries, some onion rings, and a large vanilla malt, and was currently working on a fourth, while Trunks was on his eighth.
"So," Trunks paused to swallow, "you wanted to talk?" a part of him was filled anxiety over what she wanted to talk about, but the majority wanted to get it all out in the open so they could deal with it.
"I DO LOVE HER!" Jett roared, spittle flying from his lips, "I love her more than anything and it isn't enough! Every damn time," he spat, "every party, every reunion, every barbecue I went with her to, she was always watching you and you were always watching her, it was maddening. Do you know how it feels," he cried, "to love someone so completely and know that they'll never return the favor, at least not entirely. She loved me, yes, but she always loved you more."
Pan froze, a fry hanging from her bottom lip. She sucked the fry into her mouth and chewed slowly, getting her thoughts in order.
"I… I never apologized," she smiled weakly, "for knocking you out before…"
"You did, I heard you," Trunks smiled, "regardless, no hard feelings. I know you couldn't help it, he had your um, your seal skin." He pursed his lips thoughtfully, "can I ask why you never told the rest of us about you being a selkie?"
"It never seemed important enough to share," Pan surmised, "I mean, we all share the whole saiyan secret because it effects most, if not all of us. Me and my mom being selkies is just our thing. It didn't become a need-to-know thing until I fucked up and let Jett in on it."
"Panny…"
"No, I know I shouldn't blame myself," she held up a hand, "but it's still hard not to. It still kinda feels like it's myfault. Like I should've known better."
"Well, he had almost everyone fooled," Trunks offered, "my mom, Bra and Marron, your folks… he was… pretty convincing." When he wasn't around you is another story…
"I did love him," she admitted, "I was in love with him, but…" I always loved you more, wanted to be with you more, I just wanted you… She'd told herself that she'd go off to school in China, meet someone and finally put the crush, which totally wasn't a crush, to bed. Lo and behold, all she did was bury it so deep down once she met Jett, she'd been sure she'd just moved on.
Denial. That's what it was. Denial.
And she'd strung Jett along in the process of basking in her denial. She might not be responsible for his actions but hers hadn't helped in the slightest.
Had she really even loved him or had she just been in love with the idea of moving on to someone else since Trunks was so far out of her league?
The guilt and confusion made Pan's stomach twist with nausea and she put her half-eaten burger down and pushed it away. Trunks frowned in concern, reaching out to touch her hand. She jerked away from him on instinct, not expecting the touch.
"Sorry," he murmured, "you were really far away just now."
"It's okay, I just… I think I'm a terrible person…" she looked down at the table, forlorn, "I wanted to talk about… about us, but I think I just need some time to sort through this cesspool in my head."
"That's okay," Trunks smiled encouragingly, "I understand."
"I do," she murmured, flushing pink, "love you, there's just… other things that need to be dealt with before I can…" trust myself to commit to you for the right reasons and to trust you with all of me. Even though she knew Trunks was nothing like Jett, her subconscious was filling her mind with visions of him taking her pelt away and forcing her to be with him.
"I love you too, Panny," he whispered, "and I'll wait for as long as you need me to."
Pan's eyes prickled with tears, and she smiled at him and murmured, "thank you."
*S*S*S*S*
Time passed. Pan took the time she needed to cry, yell, and unpack many of the things she struggled to overcome after her three months as Jett's hostage. She got back in touch with her friends, Bra and Marron, having grown a bit distant since she started college. She opened up to Trunks about her fears and worries instead of letting them fester and rot inside her head.
Trunks listened and, as he'd promised, remained patient and waited.
*S*S*S*S*
*Five Months Later*
"I think I need to go see Jett," Pan spoke into the phone, "I need to know if I really stringed him along or not."
"Pan-chan, are you sure?" Trunks inquired worriedly, "if you are, I'll come with you to the prison if you want, but I want to make sure you're certain."
"I'm sure."
S~S~S~S
Pan sank into the chair and grabbed the phone, meeting the blue eyes on the other side of the glass warily. She raised the phone to her ear slowly, never breaking eye contact.
"I'm shocked you came to see me."
"Oh, I am too," she responded lightly, "believe me."
"You look good," he observed, "lighter somehow."
"I want to know something," she murmured, cutting straight to the chase, "when we were… when we were dating, did I really… was I really stringing you along?"
"… no," Jett muttered, "you loved me, I know that now," he looked down, "you loved me as much as you could manage, it's just that most of your heart, if not all of it, was taken. You didn't have much of it left to give to me but you tried anyway."
"I hated him before I even knew who he was," Jett laughed mirthlessly, "this mystery guy that had your heart before I ever came into the picture. I knew I didn't have a chance but I stayed and tried to make you love me anyway. When you told me about your… heritage and the pelt, it was like I'd finally found a way to make your heart mine. I never should've taken it, I should've just broken up with you and moved on but… it seemed like the perfect opportunity, but all I did was make you hate me and hurt you so badly. Pan," he met her gaze, "I know it won't help, but I am so sorry for the pain I caused you. Truly I am."
"I had nightmares for months after that," she whispered, a nauseating mixture of anguish and rage roiling in her gut, "I still do. I had to sell my apartment because I couldn't walk in the door without having a meltdown. I still haven't decided when I'm going back to school. I'm constantly checking to see if my pelt's still where I hid it. I'm… I trusted you with that secret, with that knowledge, and you abused it and used it to hurt me." Tears flooded her vision, leaving it blurry.
"I appreciate that you're sorry and you're better now, but I don't think I can forgive you. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you. I'm sorry," she whispered, "for making you feel that way, but I need to make it clear that, while I wasn't capable of loving you fully, it wasn't my fault that you did the things you did because of that. I didn't make you do those things to me. You CHOSE to do those things to me."
"I love Trunks and he loves me, and I'm trying to get better so we can be together but I still can't trust him with all of me, and a lot of that is because of you and what you did with my deepest secret." Pan took a deep breath, "this helps, but it won't fix what you broke."
"He'd never do what I did to you, Pan," Jett spoke firmly, "he loves you; he really does. I know I broke your trust, but he'd never do that to you. You can trust him."
"I know I can," she murmured, "in my head, but my heart's another story."
*S*S*S*S*
*One Year Later*
Trunks looked up from the paperwork he was filling out and smiled brightly, "you know you don't have to hang in the doorway, Panny. Mi casa es su casa and all that."
Pan meandered into the office quietly, hands clasped behind her back. She wore a white sundress with thin straps, a slightly flared skirt, and a row of buttons down the center of the bodice, and her hair was pulled up in a messy bun. The tattoo she'd gotten on her clavicle, a depiction of the ocean waves she loved so much, was clearly visible.
The saiyan royal watched her for a moment, curious. Normally when she came to visit, she was talking a mile a minute. She was going back to school come Fall, she'd told him the last time she'd visited. She was registered for classes at a local college.
The quarter saiyan took a deep breath and rounded Trunks' desk purposefully, coming to a stop next to his chair. He looked up at her in concern, "Pan-chan, what is—"
Pan drew the object she'd been hiding behind her back out into the open and pushed it into his hands. Her heart was in her throat, and cold sweat began to bead up along her hairline and trickle down her back.
Trunks frowned at the coarse, furry brown… thing Pan had foisted onto him. What was it? He looked up at Pan to ask her, and came up short when he took her in. She was pale and shaking slightly, and he could see sweat glistening on her brow. Her beautiful brown eyes were wild and full of a myriad of emotions. Fear, anticipation, wariness, love…
Oh.
"Is this your…?"
"It's my pelt," she nodded jerkily, "I'm giving it to you because I t-trust you. I love you and I know you'd never use it to hurt me."
Trunks felt his heart fill with dizzying warmth as it began to race in his chest. A lump formed in his throat as he was moved by the simple, yet powerfully symbolic action. He knew how hard it must've been for Pan to work up the courage to come here and hand her pelt to him on her own. However…
"Panny," he murmured, rising from his chair, "I…" she gazed at him, eyes wide and shiny with unshed tears. Please… please let me be right to trust you…
"I can't take this from you," he murmured, holding the seal skin out to her, "I know you want me to understand that you trust me, but I… I don't want to hold this power over you. I love you and I know you love me; you don't have to give me your skin to prove that to me."
"But…"
"Does Gohan have your mom's pelt?"
"No," Pan shook her head, insulted by the implication, "Papa wouldn't take it when she tried to give it to him… he said he didn't want her to be with him because of the pelt, but because she loved him." Realization dawned, and Pan slowly took her pelt back.
"So tell me," Trunks stepped a little closer, "do you wanna be with me, Pan-chan?" He waggled his brows and wrapped his arms around her waist. Pan rolled her eyes and placed her pelt on the desk, wrapping her arms around the saiyan royal's neck.
"I dunno…" she hummed thoughtfully, "do I?" Trunks growled playfully and she giggled as he drew her flush to his front and peppered her cheeks with kisses.
"Since you won't let me give you my pelt," she murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his chin, "then there's something I need to show you."
"Panny…"
"After work," she extricated herself from his arms and picked her seal skin back up, "no skipping out, Aunt Bulma will be mad if I keep kidnapping you. When you're off the clock, come over to my place." She blew him a kiss and sashayed out of his office before he could protest any further.
The CC President flopped back into his chair with a groan, "the things I do for love." A bright smile spread over his lips and he threw himself back into his paperwork with gusto.
*S*S*S*S*
Videl smiled coyly as she opened the front door to let Trunks inside, "about time. She's just about bouncing off the walls up there."
"AM NOT!" Pan yelled from the top of the stairs. She whizzed down and grabbed his hand, "come with me," and pretty much dragged him back up the stairs with her. He briefly saw Videl waving sarcastically before he lost sight of her.
They entered Pan's bedroom, and she shut the door behind him before whirling around to face him. Trunks chuckled softly and cupped her face affectionately. She leaned into the touch, all the tension leaching out of her body.
"I told Mama and Papa about me trying to give you the pelt," she murmured, turning her head to kiss his palm, "and they got upset," she snickered softly, "but they calmed down when I told them you wouldn't take it from me. Now," she clasped her hands together, "come here."
Pan led him over to her open closet and crouched down, gesturing that he do the same, to fiddle with a loose floorboard. The board came loose and she put it to the side, reached into the opening and pulled out her pelt.
"You won't take it," she looked at him lovingly, "so I'm showing you where I hide it when I'm not wearing it. The only other people who know are Mama and Papa."
"Pan-chan," Trunks implored, "you know you didn't have to show me this." He placed a hand on the knee closest to him.
"I know," she leaned over to kiss his cheek, "I wanted to. One day," she took a measured breath, "I'll let you watch me shift, but not yet. Soon, though."
"I'd be honored."
*S*S*S*S*
*Nine Years Later*
Trunks stood on the bow of the anchored ship, dressed in a pair of board shorts with a pair of shades perched on his nose. A wide smile spread over his cheeks when he spotted three dark shapes, one larger than the other two, gliding around the ship. He tracked them to the rear of the yacht and made his way to the back, hurrying along so he'd be there in time to greet them.
The saiyan Prince walked down the steps to reach the stern just a sleek chocolate brown seal and two seal pups, one with lighter brown fur dappled with darker brown spots, and the other a solid dark brown almost black, slid onboard the ship.
"Had a nice swim?"
The adult seal rose on two shapely, tanned legs, lowering the "hood" of her pelt to reveal Pan's wet wavy locks and wild brown eyes. She smiled brightly and crouched down, gently poking the pair of seal pups with her fingers.
"C'mon you two," she admonished, "don't tell me you're stuck." She scratched each of them under their chins indulgently.
After a few seconds, the pups stood up and from beneath their pelts emerged two four year-old girls. One of them had soft lavender hair, and the other black. Both of them had Pan's brown eyes… and Pan's everything feature-wise, come to think of it. The Son genes were strong.
"Kiseki, Mazemi," Trunks called out, holding two piles of small clothing, "time to get dressed."
There were two high pitched squeals before a pair of streakers darted through his legs and scurried into the depth of the ship. The amused father watched them go before setting the clothing aside and turning to face his wife. The twins would tire themselves out eventually, and then they'd dress them.
"I don't know why you even bother," Pan teased, padding up to him, "you know they're practically allergic to clothing."
"Well, they'll have to learn if we're ever gonna let them out in public," he pulled her in for a kiss, ignorant of the excess water soaking into his shorts, "you always look so damn beautiful when you come back from a swim."
"Mm," Pan hummed against his lips, "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Kami," she griped, "why can't we just stay out at sea forever?" she gazed longingly out over the blue water, and Trunks swore for a second that she was about to put her skin back on and jump overboard.
"Because I have a company to run and you have a residency program to finish, Dr. Briefs."
"I would've finished it last year if someone hadn't knocked me up four years ago."
"Isn't it five years?" Trunks inquired cheekily, eyes dancing with mirth, "y'know, from conception to – ack!" he rubbed the center of his chest, where his wife had just thumped him.
"I didn't ask for logistics," Pan chided, "now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go wrangle our two wild children into the bathtub." She grimaced at the monumental task ahead of her.
"Ooo…" Trunks cringed sympathetically, "Good luck. I'll try to corner them for you."
"We can get them in the damn ocean no problem, but a bathtub… you'd think we were about to put them through the Spanish Inquisition." The quarter saiyan shook her head bemusedly and grabbed his hand, "c'mon, the sooner we catch them and get them bathed, the sooner they'll go down for a nap."
"Then we can have ourselves some alone time?"
"That's the plan, Trunks-kun."
Hand in hand, the couple made their way into the depths of the ship, eyes dancing with love and contentment. Pan laid her head against her husband's shoulder with a happy sigh, and Trunks leaned down to kiss the top of her head. A pair of high pitched giggles piqued their ears, and the parents exchanged a mischievous grin before darting towards the source.
"Ready or not, here we come!"
I don't like the ending. There's quite a few things I don't like about it, but more that I do. TBF I wrote this in under 24 hours, but gah… I glossed over a lot of the meaty parts of this, specifically Pan dealing with her trauma because I'm terrible at it and I need to work on it. I'm toying with the idea of taking each section, stretching it out, adding a few more for the grey areas and time skips, and posting it as a chaptered fic, but only time will tell.
*~*CloudSpires1295*~*