Platonic

2

Growing up, Trunks had quickly learned that his family was unconventional. The alien element aside, it was when he would go visit his best friend Goten that he really saw the difference. His mom was always busy with work, and his dad was always training. They respectively took breaks whenever they got hungry, and it didn't necessarily fit with conventional meal times. As a result, more often than not, Trunks' company at the dinner table had usually consisted of his grandparents and, later on, his little sister Bra. Picking up his parents' bad habit with time, Trunks was now used to eating by himself whenever he felt like it.

Dinner with Gohan's family felt… foreign to him. To think they got reunited like this every night, happily talking about their day as they ate the meal Videl and Gohan made together.

The parents were sitting at each end of the dinner table, with Mika and Mark on one side and Pan and Trunks on the other. Pan reached over to grab the mashed potatoes dish and help herself some – and Trunks found himself flushing deeply as her arm brushed his shoulder. She was so close that he could smell her natural scent and it was only making him more flustered.

He hated how much she affected him. He hated how much he liked it.

"So, Trunks," Videl started when the kids were done telling everything that happened to them today. "Gohan told me about the party you're planning. When will it be?"

"A party?" Mika said, her eyes lighting up. "Like Rain's birthday party last week? We had sooo much fun! Her parents got a whole zoo in their backyard, and there was a bouncy house and the cake was huuuge!"

"Not quite," Trunks replied, cracking a smile at the cute little girl. "But I like the cake idea. It has to be huge."

"What party?" Pan asked.

"For Goten and Marron," Gohan said simply.

"Oh, that's a great idea! Goten is lucky to have a best friend like you."

Damn. She was too pretty. Her smile was making him melt.

"It's in two weeks, at Capsule Corp. I figure it's more than enough to get everything ready."

"Why Capsule Corp?" Pan asked. "I mean, sure, it's big and convenient, but wouldn't it be better to pick out a more meaningful place to celebrate Goten and Marron's relationship?"

He raised an eyebrow. He hadn't thought of that – well, obviously. It was such a girl thing to think. "What do you suggest?"

"Hmm, let me think…"

She was killing him there… Pan had the most adorable thoughtful expression, her brow furrowed deeply as she held her chin in her hand and looked sideways.

"How about the beach?" Gohan suddenly piped up. "I mean, isn't that where they shared their first kiss?"

That… actually sounded perfect. Trunks blinked at the older halfling. "Now I feel silly for not thinking about it first," he said with a chuckle, running his hand through his lavender hair.

"Papa's just a big romantic at heart," Pan offered with a broad grin, causing her father to look down at his plate while a bright, crimson blush streaked across his face.

"I… Uh… It's just, Goten was so happy when he told me about it so I, um, I figured…"

Trunks snickered. Gohan had always been so fun to tease – some things never changed.

"Laugh all you want, but your boyfriend's got nothing on my husband," Videl teased playfully while she defended her man. "The other day your dad was flying home and he came back with some flowers he'd picked on his way, on a whim. Your boyfriend ever got you flowers?"

Pan rolled her eyes. "We're not like that. I don't really care for flowers anyway." She shrugged to further make her point. "Hey, could you pass the juice?" she asked Trunks with a dazzling smile.

The young man obliged right away and even filled her glass with the fruity beverage. He was rewarded with an ever brighter smile for his effort and, consequently, weird things started happening in his chest.

"Do you at least have long talks with him?" Videl inquired.

Trunks frowned. He didn't really like the turn the conversation was taking for some reason. It sounded like Videl was genuinely worried about Pan's relationship – like she didn't approve of it.

"Your dad and I still have those," she continued. "We have a real connection – we can talk about anything for hours, and, at the same time, we can stay silent together and just enjoy each other's company without feeling the need to speak."

Pan was starting to frown too. "Look, Mom, I know you don't like Emmet, but I do, and that's what matters."

"I just think you could do better," Videl said, leaning back on her chair and crossing her arms. "The time you brought him over, he barely paid you any attention and kept his eyes glued to the game the whole time."

"Well, it was a big baseball game. And I was watching too," Pan defended, glaring at her mother.

Gohan cleared his throat. "Sweetie, maybe we ought to let Pan make her own choices?" he croaked tentatively.

Videl's eyes softened when she turned to her husband. She sighed in dejection. "I guess…"

The young woman on Trunks' left let out a deep, relieved breath, her shoulders slumping, as though she felt utterly exhausted all of a sudden. "Thanks, Papa…"

"Well, for what it's worth, I kinda agree with your mom," Gohan said with a broad grin and playful eyes. "I'm not a big fan of Emmet, but hey, I don't really know him, and I do trust your judgment."

She beamed at her father. Trunks felt a pang in his chest, inexplicably. He swallowed the big lump in his throat, or tried to anyway.

He didn't like this. From the sound of it, Pan's boyfriend wasn't treating her right. Neither Gohan nor Videl looked too happy about their daughter's choice for the man in her life. If it were him, Trunks would be showering Pan with flowers and gifts every day, he would treasure her with all of his heart, he would treat her like the queen she was.

His fingers trembled slightly as he tore his gaze away from the beautiful young woman sitting beside him and focused on his plate.

If it were him…?

What the hell was wrong with him? It couldn't, it shouldn't ever be him. Pan was only twenty years old, for crying out loud – a mere few years ago, being with her romantically would have been illegal.

This was fucked up. He was messed up in the head. He shouldn't ever think of little Panny in this way, let alone imagine himself in a romantic way with her. He was a thirty-four-year-old grown-ass man, for god's sake – and she was just a kid!

He felt disgusted with himself. To think he was attracted to a kid… He had never been one to date young women, not since he passed the thirty years old thresholds at least. The youngest woman he had been with as of late had been twenty-eight. He was by no means attracted to teenagers.

But that was the thing – Pan may only be twenty years old, but she looked like a grown woman. And she was drop-dead gorgeous to boot. And adorable, and sweet, and cute, and delightfully awkward, and fun, and she had the most stunning smile.

Why did this have to happen? He wanted so hard to just have platonic feelings for Pan – but there was no denying it anymore, was there? He was attracted to her – madly attracted to her, to be honest.

This was bad. It wasn't any attraction, either. Trunks felt something else – the beginning of something more. The beginning of something real.

His hand closed tightly around his fork – so much so that the silverware bent under his strength.

"Trunks? You okay?" asked Gohan, his voice laced with concern.

What would he think of him if Gohan knew was he was thinking about? If Gohan knew how he saw his beloved daughter? How would he react if he knew what was going through his head right now?

"Yeah, sorry about the fork…" Trunks forced a grin as he straightened the fork as best he could. It wasn't perfect, but at least now it was usable again. "Sometimes we just can't tell our own strength, right?"

Easily gullible, Gohan grinned back and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I feel you. You do a better job at fixing up your mess than I do, for that matter," he added with a chuckle.

Unknown to them, Videl was watching their guest with hawk-like eyes. She saw every reaction, every change of expression; every blush, every nervous smile, every glazed-over look, every trickle of sweat forming on Trunks' forehead as her daughter's mere presence affected him in ways that she knew all too well and easily recognized.

As she had clearly shown earlier, she did not approve of Pan's boyfriend. In her book, Emmet was a dickhead and her daughter deserved so much better than some guy who barely showed her affection.

Trunks, on the other hand… Yes, so the age gap may be a little off-putting, but that wouldn't have stopped Videl, had Gohan been fourteen years older than her. She would have gone for it head first, just like she had all those years ago, right after they saved the universe from Majin Buu. That threat had been a sore reminder that life was just too short to waste time overthinking stuff instead of taking action.

And so, Videl went for it. After she was done calling him names and hitting his chest and berating him for making her so worried; after she calmed down and as she dried her tears, Gohan looked at her with that stunning smile on his face as he held her shoulders. His voice was gentle and reassuring as he said, "Hey, everything's back to normal now, right? That's what matters, isn't it?"

She sniffed and kept trying to dry her face, but she just couldn't stop the tears. Gohan brushed away a tear on her cheek with the back of his fingers; his tender touch made her chest ache, and her throat tightened.

Their eyes locked then. Videl's breath had hitched. And then she grabbed his hand firmly and looked deep into his beautiful coal eyes.

And then she said it–

"Never leave me again, okay? I… I want to stay by your side, Gohan."

His brow had furrowed ever so slightly, as though he wasn't quite sure what she meant. Her cheeks had flushed brightly as she forced herself to be more clear, gathering her courage. With someone as dense as Gohan, she couldn't be subtle about that kind of thing, could she?

But just as she opened her mouth to confess her feelings to him in a more obvious way, Gohan cupped her face between his palms and leaned in, pressing his lips on her forehead.

"Okay," he murmured, looking down at her with everything she had hoped to see and more. He smiled, and his hands trembled against her cheeks as he continued, his voice hoarse and full of emotion. "I won't leave your side again, ever."

And that was that.

Videl imagined a scenario where, for instance, Gohan had been her teacher and was much older than her. Somehow, she couldn't picture it going any differently even if it had gone like that. He would still have played the superhero, she would still have figured him out in two seconds the very first time "the Great Saiyaman" showed up before her, and she would've still blackmailed him to teach her how to fly and to enter the tournament – so what if he was a teacher? That wouldn't have stopped her from getting what she wanted. And then she would have fallen in love with him as he taught her about ki, and she would have still confessed her feelings to him in the very same way, on Dende's Lookout, right after they defeated Majin Buu.

Gohan may have had some reservations at first, given their age difference and the fact that he was her teacher – but none of that would have mattered in the long run. They were in love, and nothing could've stopped them from being together. They were like two poles of a magnet, irreversibly attracted to one another no matter what you put in between them.

So if Trunks was serious about Pan, the rest shouldn't matter. It certainly didn't bother Videl. She adored Trunks like a little brother, and she would love for Pan to get together with someone like him. So what if he was older? That just meant he was reliable, responsible, mature – those were all great qualities; things that were definitely a plus in a potential son-in-law.

"So, the party would take place in two weeks on the beach Goten and Marron shared their first kiss, right?" she summarized, getting back to their initial subject.

"I guess so," Trunks shrugged.

"What beach was it exactly?" Pan asked, tilting her head to the side. "I mean, it wasn't on Kame House's island, was it? That wouldn't leave a lot of room for a big party."

"No, it was in Satan City," Gohan corrected her. He shot them a grin. "Yep, my brother tells me everything."

"He's just a blabbermouth," Trunks waved him off. "He tells me everything too."

Mark looked up from his plate at that moment, as he had been too focused on his dinner until now to take part in the conversation. Not that it had been that interesting until now.

He grinned, his face smudged all over with sauce and rice crumbs. "He told me too!"

Mika's head jerked up next and she raised her hand. "Me too! Me too!" Her face was just as much of a mess as her brother's.

Trunks gave Gohan a pointed look, showing his very own kids with a wave of the hand. "See? They just proved my point."

"Yeah, well, I bet he didn't tell you who kissed who first, did he?" Gohan countered with a smirk.

Trunks paused, putting down his fork. He narrowed his eyes at his best friend's brother. "What do you mean?"

The older man grinned in triumph, leaning back on his chair and crossing his arms. "See? Goten tells me everything. To you guys, he just gives the headlines."

"Wait…" Pan cut in, looking at her father with deep interest. "Who kissed who first? Now I want to know!"

"Me too!" exclaimed both Mark and Mika as they stared expectantly at their father.

Gohan shrugged his shoulders and raised his palms upwards, as if to say his hands were tied. "I can't help you, kiddos, I'm bound to secrecy by the bro code."

"That is so not what the bro code meant," Trunks couldn't help but snicker at Gohan's silliness.

The family man simply shrugged again. "Either way, if Goten didn't tell you, I ain't gonna spill."

"You told me, though," Videl grinned playfully.

"What? Not fair!" complained all three of their kids.

"You're my wife, that's different," Gohan mumbled, looking down with a bright blush on his face. He scratched his hair uneasily.

"True. You have to tell me everything. It was in our vows," Videl grinned, her eyes shining with mirth.

"Funny, I don't remember that part," Trunks said, tapping his chin, as though he was trying to recall that particular bit of Gohan and Videl's wedding ceremony.

"You weren't there for it."

Videl's smirk was full of innuendo, so much that Trunks couldn't help looking down at his plate, nor could he stop the blush forming on his cheeks.

"Moooom!" Pan complained with a grimace. She put her hands over her ears. "Geez! I did not need to know that."

Mark and Mika shared a look, obviously not getting why Pan was getting so worked up. Then they both shrugged and returned to their dinner. While the adults were busy talking, it was easier to snatch what was left on the table.

Videl laughed heartily, and Gohan grinned sheepishly through his blush as he looked lovingly at his wife. She shook her head.

"Anyway," she started once again. "I just thought of something. How about you help Trunks organizing the party for Goten and Marron, Pan? Your midterms are over now so you've got a lot of free time on your hands, don't you?"

"Oh, I'd love to!" Pan perked up and turned to Trunks excitedly. "That's okay with you, right?" And then, without waiting for his reply, "Oh, this is going so much fun!"

The young man wouldn't have been able to respond anything anyway, for he was utterly and completely frozen on the spot. The piece of meat on his uneven fork dropped back on his plate as he stared at the young woman on his left.

This was a joke, right? The higher powers were pulling a prank on him, weren't they? That had to be it. Why else would they purposely get that devilish idea into Pan's head?

Speaking of devilish ideas – was Videl trying to kill him? Why would she suggest such a thing? He was fine planning that party on his own, thank you very much! It wouldn't be his first, that was for sure, and his banquets or balls or even bachelor bashes were always a big success! He didn't need help – and he certainly didn't need a twenty-year-old temptress breathing on his neck while he tried to do something nice for his two best friends.

A worried line creased Pan's youthful brow. "It is okay with you, isn't it, Trunks?"

His throat tightened. Damn it, he had lost the battle before he could even throw the first punch.

Damn her and her adorable pout. That girl was going to be the end of him.

ooOoo

"I was thinking of setting up a big tent for the party. It would be much nicer than getting sunburnt, right?"

Trunks sipped his cold drink and nodded his head distractedly, making a point not to look at the gorgeous young woman sitting across from him.

It was the next day, and they were sitting together at the terrace of a café to talk about the upcoming party. A broad canopy offered much-welcomed shade in this hot day. Pan was wearing a tiny tube top that didn't even cover her navel along with a pair of denim shorts and flip flops.

Trunks cursed the hot weather. Pan was showing way too much skin for his sanity.

"Sounds good," he said. Despite his reluctance to work with Pan, he still very much wanted to throw that party for Goten and Marron, so he couldn't let his feelings get in the way of the initial plan.

"What kind of decorations are you thinking of?" Pan immediately followed up. "Do you have a theme?"

"I haven't thought of the details yet," Trunks admitted with a shrug. "I just decided to throw a party for them."

Pan grinned. His heart stung. "Fair enough. I wish Dad would give me more details about how they got together and all, it would sure help to come up with a more personal theme."

Trunks rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't worry about it, I've got all the details we need." He smirked. "I called Goten last night and grilled him until he told me everything that happened between him and Marron."

She laughed with her hand over her mouth. "Ah! That's perfect." Then she leaned over the table and stared at him with an inquisitive glint in her eyes. "Tell me everything."

He chuckled. Well, maybe planning the party with Pan wasn't such a bad idea after all. She certainly offered an interesting point of view. Besides, it wasn't like he couldn't control himself; he wasn't an animal and could very well behave in the presence of the twenty-year-old temptress. Yes, okay, so he had feelings for Pan. He wasn't denying it anymore. But it was just a little crush, and it would pass eventually. He had just been a little stunned by the beautiful woman Pan had become, which was more than understandable.

And he liked hanging out with her. She was fun. A part of him was glad, in fact, that she was planning this party with him.

ooOoo

He was walking her home. Pan lived in the university dorms and shared her room with a friend. They were talking and laughing together as they got closer to her door, so enraptured by each other than they didn't notice the young man leaning against the doorframe.

Emmet narrowed his eyes as he watched his girlfriend talk animatedly with an extremely attractive man. Then his brow furrowed. That guy looked oddly familiar…

"Oh! Emmet!" Pan perked up when she saw him. "Were you waiting for me? Isn't Betty in to let you wait inside?"

He shrugged and smiled. "I didn't knock. Just felt like seeing you."

Pan beamed. She moved closed and took his hand. "By the way, this is Trunks. He's best friends with my uncle, and we're planning a party together for my uncle and his new girlfriend."

"They're both my best friends," Trunks cut in with an amicable smile. "We basically grew up together."

"That's nice," Emmet replied. He probably had nothing to worry about, but that guy's presence made him uncomfortable; this Trunks was way too good looking. It was unnerving.

Pan would never cheat on him, though. That was something he liked a lot about their relationship: he trusted his girlfriend completely. Pan was too pure, too kind to do anything that vile.

Nonetheless, Emmet held her hand firmly, as if to affirm his place as Pan's boyfriend.

"So you're Emmet, huh?" Trunks said casually as the trio got inside Pan's dorm room. "How long have you been together?"

"About six months."

"Seven, actually," Pan corrected good-naturedly as she sat on her bed. Emmet rolled his eyes. He sat beside her.

"You're such a girl."

Trunks felt out of place, like the third wheel. He figured he shouldn't impose on the young couple for much longer. Although, he was curious to watch them interact, to see if there was any good reason for Videl and Gohan's disapproval of this guy.

"You guys hungry? I don't mean to impose," he added quickly, "but I wouldn't mind a snack and the company. I'm paying."

Pan was up in a flash, her eyes sparkling with an excited glint as she raised her fists close to her chest in a leaning-over position. "You mean it?"

Trunks grinned, a faint blush on his face – she was just too cute for words. "Sure. You know I can afford anything you'd order."

Emmet's eyes suddenly widened as he stared at the older man. He hit his palm with the side of his fist. "That's it! You're Doctor Trunks Briefs! That's why you looked so familiar!"

Trunks cracked a cocky smirk. "That's right."

Then Emmet stared at his girlfriend. "You never told me you knew the Briefs!"

Trunks frowned deeply. That sounded like a reproach. Could he really blame Pan for not wanting to flaunt her connections? She was already Mr. Satan's granddaughter, which wasn't an easy shadow to step out of, so of course she wouldn't want to attract any more ill-intentioned people in her life. It was hard enough filtered through the fakes who pretended to want to be her friend just to get closer to her grampa.

Pan simply shrugged, like she honestly couldn't care less that her boyfriend was upset about this. Trunks couldn't help the smirk tugging at his lips.

That girl was simply too awesome.

"He's my uncle's best friend, and I haven't seen him in years until yesterday. It's not like I was going to randomly mention him in a conversation."

Emmet crossed his arms and his face scrunched up in distate, clearly still upset that his girlfriend kept that little tidbit of information from him despite her very legitimate explanation.

Trunks scowled, glaring at the boyfriend. Now he got it. Videl and Gohan were absolutely right not to approve of that guy. What did Pan see in him anyway? He may have only just met him, but Trunks didn't need to spend any more time with this guy to see that Emmet was a dickhead.

He needed to have a serious talk with Pan. It didn't make any sense that such an amazing girl like her could only get a complete moron for a boyfriend. Couldn't she sense the bad vibes in his ki?

There had to be more to the story, right? There had to be reason for Pan to have taken a liking to this Emmet.

That, or she simply had the most terrible taste in guys.

At least that meant she shouldn't ever fall for him, Trunks thought dryly. He tried to convince himself that that was a good thing, but his chest tightened painfully without his consent.

Shit. He had it worse than he'd thought…

Goddamn it, why did he have to get that stupid crush on her, out of all the girls he could have? Why Pan, the one woman he could never ever get?

Harden, heart, he commanded his troubled organ. This couldn't be happening. He didn't want to acknowledge it. He didn't want to even think about it.

He wasn't falling for Pan. He wasn't. He couldn't. He shouldn't. He wouldn't. He wasn't allowed to.

And he wasn't. Pan was just a friend. Their relationship could only ever be platonic.

Platonic, he repeated in his head.

Platonic, and nothing more. Never more.

Ever.

But then, why was his heart screaming in hopeless outrage?