Disclaimer: I don't own Guns and Roses or Domaine Romanée-Conti La Tâche. :)
A/N: Well, last chapter sure was confusing. It'll all clear up. I promise. This chapter though, all I can say is, FINALLY, SOME explanations!
xxxxx
When we last left off…
She sat on her couch in the meeting room while she fumbled with her hands waiting for Trunks to get there.
"Maybe he got lost." She mumbled to herself taking a look through the peep hole. "Or maybe he backed out." She took another look through the peep hole. "What if he's with Marron and they're making up." Another look. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Once more, another look. "It's 7 o' clock and he's still not here." Look. "Why am I so nervous?" Look. "I never get this nervous." Look. Pan stopped and began pondering to her self. Half way through her thoughts, the doorbell rang.
She forced herself to wait a couple of seconds before walking up casually to the door. She fixed her dress, moved her hair from her face, and took one hell of a deep breath.
xxxxx
With each lock she unlocked, she felt an extra ton of nervousness fall into her stomach. She grabbed her black clutch bag and slowly opened the door. In the hall stood Trunks with his hands behind his back and looking at Pan. Trunks dressed in a white long sleeved collared shirt, tucked in, dark charcoal slacks, and black dress shoes.
"Hey, you look amazing Pan." Trunks looked her over from head to toe remembering where every curve was, every dip, and every aspect that made him fall in love with her.
"Same goes to you. Look at you. You even tucked your shirt in." Pan smiled and stepped out into the hallway locking the door behind her.
"Yeah well," Trunks said blushing and chuckling.
Pan joined him and clasped her hands around her clutch bag in front of her. "So, ready?"
"Oh right, yeah of course. Right this way Miss." Trunks waved his arm in front of him showing Pan the way. Pan chuckled a bit and started walking towards the elevator.
Upon getting to the elevator, they were already laughing their hearts out. Trunks pushed the button to go down and waited while the elevator got to their floor.
"Oh man, I can't believe you remember that!" Pan laughed, wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye.
"How can I forget?! I mean, the way your face looked." Trunks made a funny face and pretended to fall forward. Pan laughed even harder.
"You made the perfect expression except you didn't do the part where my face ate the floor." Pan's laugh slowly became a chuckle as the elevator made the blink sound.
"I don't think I want to reenact that part. Down we go." Trunks chuckled and stepped into the elevator with Pan.
xxxxx
The car ride there was equally as amusing. Trunks remembered that Pan loved singing to 80s metal while being in the car. So he tapped a couple of buttons on his stereo system and "Welcome to the Jungle" started. Pan's eyes widened as did her smile.
"You remembered that I love to listen to this, didn't you?" Pan turned to ask Trunks, her smile widening as the opening guitar licks took over the silence.
"Yeah, you also scream to it." Trunks laughed loudly all of a sudden.
"Of course I do!" Pan started playing air drums as her hair flew everywhere. Trunks kept laughing while bobbing his head to the music.
"Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games, we got everything you want, honey we know the names, we are the people that can find, whatever you may need, if you got the money honey, we got your disease, in the jungle, welcome to the jungle, watch it bring it to your n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n knees, knees, I wanna watch you bleed." Trunks and Pan screamed to the loudness of the music trying to be louder than the car.
Trunks noticed how Pan stopped playing air guitars and her right hand gripped the door's handle. Pan kept singing but Trunks' brows wrinkled together. "Well we're here!"
Pan stopped singing and looked around noticing how they were in downtown Orange Star City. The lights shimmered all around her as skyscrapers rose above the rest. "Where are we going?"
Trunks found a parking spot and parallel parked by the curb. "You'll see."
Trunks turned the car off and got off running to Pan's door. He opened it and held his hand out to her to help her out of the car. Pan smiled and said thank you mocking the people damsels who said thank you in movies. Pan hooked her arm with Trunks' as they started walking down the walkway. Lights flashed around them as tourists took snapshots of buildings and each other.
"Orange Star is really busy with tourism this year isn't it?" Pan looked around and saw how the walkways were filled with people.
"Yeah, it's good for business. More people, more money. That's what mom always says." Trunks looked at Pan as she smiled up at him. "Well this is the place."
Pan looked up at the restaurant and stared up at confusing. "Full Moon Melody?"
Trunks looked down at her again. "Yeah, don't you remember this place?"
"It… sounds so familiar. It's like… Was I here with you before?" Pan asked still not knowing where they were but the knot in her stomach was telling her otherwise.
"C'mon. Let's go inside. I'm betting that you'll remember once you see the inside." Trunks took her hand and led her to the front of the line. Behind them, the line began to complain. He walked right up to the front and told the guy in the tuxedo his name. The man quickly took 2 menus and led them inside.
"If you need anything, anything at all sir, just ask. Excuse me." The man excused himself. Trunks chuckled his thanks and led Pan to her side of the table. She sat down on the cushion and smiled when Trunks sat down in front of her.
Pan turned to look around the restaurant so maybe something could stand out that she recognized. They were escorted to one of the best, if not the best, booths in the restaurant. It was secluded and surrounded by green luscious plants. The rest of the booths and tables were scattered around the restaurant with enough personal space each. In the middle of the place was a red marble dragon fountain. The dragon was well over 11 feet tall and water cascaded from its mouth down to a pool with little colorful fish. The overall color effect was red, white, black, and gold giving it a very oriental look.
Pan and Trunks both picked up their menus and began roaming the selections.
"Since everything's on the house, maybe we could have ourselves a full sayian meal." Trunks said looking over his menu.
"You know, I was just thinking the exact same thing." Pan smirked and went back to choosing.
After a couple of minutes of browsing, the waiter came up to their table. The kid was in his late teens wearing a white button up shirt, red bow tie, and black slacks.
"May I ask what you would like to drink?"
Trunks pondered for a second. "Bring me a bottle of your best wine, please"
"Yes sir. Are you ready to order?" He jotted something on his little pad and looked at Trunks and Pan every second waiting for someone to speak up.
Trunks looked at Pan and she nodded. "We would like one of everything on your menu please."
The waiter jotted what Trunks asked and stopped in mid sentence. "I beg you pardon, sir. One of everything?"
"Yes, I and the lady will share." Trunks smirked as Pan stifled a laugh.
"Oh, right sir. I'll be right out with your bottle of wine. Excuse Me." The waiter loosened his bow tie a bit and walked off into the kitchen.
"Man, poor kid. I hope he's not new." Pan finally let her laugh out.
"Well, if he is, he'll know what to expect next time we come." Trunks looked around and smiled. "Do you remember where we are now?"
"I still don't remember. It's like I know I've been here before but that's all I remember." Pan said looking down at her hands as she fumbled with them again.
"You'll remember. I promise." Trunks smiled. "You know…" The waiter interrupted when he stopped by with an open wine bottled in a container of glass and 2 medium sized wine glasses.
"Here's you wine sir. It is a Domaine Romanée-Conti La Tâche '02. This burgundy comes from France and has deep aromas of cherry, raspberry, minerals and Asian spices. Enjoy. Your food will be right out." The waiter gave a half bow and proceeded into the kitchen again.
Trunks took the bottle and examined the label. "Wow, I'm very impressed. It's pretty rare to find one of these bottles. Shall we try it?" Trunks took hold of a glass while Pan grabbed the other one.
"Sure sir. Ha, that sounded funny." Pan giggled as Trunks filled her cup.
After a few minutes of "silence-filling" chat, a few waiters and waitresses came out with carts of food. The waiters stood by their table thinking on how they would fit all the food onto it.
"Oh don't worry about it. We'll just grab from here." Pan waved her hand as she went to get a plate. The waiters stood confused, not knowing whether to leave them or keep trying to find a way to put the food on their table.
Trunks grabbed a dish and waved them off too. "Yeah, we can handle it from here. Thanks." The waiters turned to look at each other and nodded. They gave a half bow and walked out of the room.
"So, ready to see what we got? I just randomly got something." Pan's hand went to the top of the lid ready to pull it off.
Trunks followed and they both lifted the lids only to have the delicious aroma of delicacy fill their nostrils. Without a second thought, both began to dig into the food not stopping to say a word.
30 minutes and 15 dishes later, they decided it was time for a break. "So, do you remember now?" Trunks asked as he reached for his glass to take a sip.
"Nope. Can you hand me that dish right there? It's just calling my name over and over." Pan chuckled as Trunks handed her the dish. She lifted the lid and noticed it was one of her favorite dishes, Grilled Kobe Rib Eye Steak. As soon as she laid eyes on it, her memories came rushing at her.
"Oh, Trunks. You shouldn't have!" Pan said delightfully after setting her eyes on a Grilled Kobe Rib Eye Steak.
"C'mon, I know how much you just love this dish. We couldn't leave until you at least tried it. Plus, now that you're eating for two, you're going to need all the food you can manage." Trunks beamed with happiness, making his eyes sparkle.
Pan's face turned from delighted to suddenly fearful. She sighed and put her knife and fork down. "Trunks, I don't know if I'm ready for this kid. I mean, I have so much to accomplish. I feel like there's more out there that I need to discover. I can become a more successful model. I just… I don't know… All I know is that I'm not ready for the baby. I mean we're not even married…"
Trunks reached into his pant pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "Then let me fix that, Pan." He stood up and kneeled right in front of her opening the little box. "I love you Pan. This baby is one of the best things to ever happen to me. Marry me Pan. Let's be a real family."
Pan eyes started to fill with unshed tears and she stood and took Trunks' hands to help him up. Trunks looked into her eyes and smiled even though he was still afraid she'd say no.
"Ok." Pan grinned and hugged him while hiding her face in his chest letting her tears of happiness fall. Trunks hugged her back tightly and then pulled away. He took the ring out and slipped onto Pan's ring finger. Pan looked at the ring and gasped. "Trunks, but this is… this is your mom's ring. I…"
Trunks put his finger against her lips and smiled. "She gave it to me about a year ago and told me that when I found the girl that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, to give her this ring. I think she knew you were that girl."
Pan smiled and wiped her cheeks of any tears. She sniffed and let out a small laugh. Trunks grabbed Pan's piña colada and handed it to her while he took his glass of rum and lifted it for a toast.
"To our new life soon beginning."
"To our new life."
"Pan… Pan… Hey… Are you daydreaming?" Trunks waved his hand in front of her face as Pan snapped back to reality.
"Oh, sorry. I just had a flashback and I know this place now. It's where we got engaged." Pan looked down at the engagement ring she was now wearing.
"Yeah, I know. I just felt that… Well, since we're going to settle some lingering things about us, I felt like we had to go back to one of our favorite places." Trunks looked into his wine glass before taking a sip. When Pan didn't look up or say anything, Trunks cleared his throat and continued. "That night it was one of the best… and worst days of my life up to now."
"Yeah, it has to be one of my worst days too." Pan looked up and met Trunks' eyes. When she saw them, so pain filled, she wished she hadn't looked up.
"It was my fault what happened that day. I shouldn't of…"
"No, it wasn't Trunks. I should have…" Pan interrupted only to be interrupted by Trunks.
"No, I should not have drank that much in the first place." Trunks looked down and took a deep breath.
"You're wrong. I didn't drink any alcohol that night. I should have taken the keys and driven." Pan touched her chest over her heart and felt pain coursing through it. Not physical pain but emotional pain.
"Pan, you can't blame yourself. We should have asked for a cab. The brakes were already in bad condition." Trunks gripped his hands over his knees and squeezed. People say pain helps with emotions. Well, it wasn't helping now. "When we crashed, all I thought about was you. I thought if you were ok then everything would be just fine."
"But then, I lost the baby." Pan's eyes filled with tears as she swallowed a sob. "I felt so bad, Trunks, so terribly bad. I was hurting that I lost the baby but somewhere deep inside said that it was my chance to escape. That another chance like this would never come. That I had to go into the world and fulfill my goals and wishes before being tied down."
"I know, Pan, I knew you felt that way. But when you left me, I was so angry at myself. I felt that if we had just used protection on top of birth control then we would still be together. When you left, I kept thinking to myself that you would come back and we would get married. But you never came back. Then I find out you got engaged to someone else…"
"I'm sorry Trunks. I really am. I'm sorry that it didn't work out between us. We both wanted two completely different things. It wouldn't have worked out." Pan ran her fingers over her engagement ring and looked down at it.
"What about now? Would it still work out now?" Trunks said his hands gripping each other until they started turning white.
"No, I'm engaged, you and Marron are together…"
"We're not together…" Trunks said with a little anger in his voice. Pan looked down and cursed at her self for being so careless. "You know what? Let's just have fun for the rest of the week. After you get married, who knows when we'll be able to hang out, just the two of us." Trunks smiled and reached out to her.
Pan took his hands and smiled. "Ok."
xxxxx
After driving, screaming, singing, and playing air guitar and drums for 30 minutes, they got to a field where lights glimmered and danced all around them. Hundreds of people gather around the tents of food and games while others lined up to ride the rollercoaster. On the other end was a huge white and red tent with flags decorating the top of the tent. They arrived at the world famous Antelope Bros. Circus and Carnival.
Pan gasped and watched the lights glow by as Trunks looked for a parking spot. "It's a circus!" She squealed with glee.
"Yes, it's a circus and don't forget carnival too." Trunks finally found a small spot and parked his small 350Z in it.
Pan got out and cursed her heels. Heels and gravel just don't mix very well. She grasped onto Trunks arm hoping she wouldn't twist her ankle and fall face flat on the floor. Slowly but surely, they got to the entrance without an accident. Trunks paid for 2 adult admissions and in they went.
Pan thanked the floor loudly when gravel turned to concrete. "Next time, you should give me a heads up so I won't wear spikes."
Trunks chuckled and nodded. "Well, at least the surprise worked as planned although the gravel gave it such an… exquisite touch." He kissed his fingers as if saying voila and avoided Pan's punch. "Watch it. That one was a pretty fast one. You wouldn't want people staring now would you?"
Pan gave a "hmph" and crossed her arms. "Maybe a trip to the gravity room will teach you."
"Bring on little lady." Trunks bowed with arms stretched out but jumped back before Pan's knee collided with his jaw. "Now that would've hurt although it was worth it. I saw a glimpse of a little lace under that dress."
Pan gasped and stomped towards the huge tent where the main show would begin shortly. Trunks ran to her and stepped in front of her. "Oh c'mon Pan. I was just kidding. I've seen a lot more than lace before." Pan gasped again, closed her eyes, and side stepped around him still walking to the tent crossing her arms.
Trunks started running after her again but instead of making another remark he yelled. "Pan! Watch out!"
Pan opened her eyes and stopped short of crashing into a moving roller coaster. Pan took a couple of deep breaths to calm her pounding heart and slowly backed away from the ride. Trunks came up behind her and grabbed her arm pulling her away faster while sweat slowly beaded around his brows.
"You scared the crap out of me. I thought your face would get blown away." Trunks gave her a small hug and let her go before it got to the "more than friendly" point. Pan gave him a small smile and nodded towards the tent. Trunks grinned and took her by the hand as they walked to the entrance.
xxxxx
Upon getting to the VIP seats, they sit down next to a family of 4 and waited for the show to begin. They didn't have to wait long before 2 clowns came out dressed as chefs. The pounded, tripped, hit, and yelled making everyone laugh out loud. Soon afterwards, the lights went out and a single spotlight turned to the ring master.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Antelope Bros. Circus and Carnival where your eyes will see things not meant to be witnessed, where you will feel like you're in a different world, another time. Sit back and enjoy the show." Pan smiled at Trunks and crossed her legs while he slouched a bit getting comfortable. Somehow, they knew the show would be good.
After a few shows of acrobats, silk floaters, elephants, lion tamers, and more clowns, the last act came on stage. The hooded person came out snakes trailing behind and bringing gasps from the audience. The ringmaster came up behind him almost entranced and brought the microphone to his lips. His short white hair was waving around his head slightly.
"Now, you are about to witness our newest of acts. He calls himself Frozen as a snake's prey freezes before their eyes. Now, we need a lovely assistant to help us." The ringmaster's gray eyes scanned the front row and landed on Pan. He smiled and brought his hand out. Pan nervously shifted in her seat as she looked from the hand to Trunks and back to the hand. Trunks nodded towards the ringmaster and Pan nodded back. Everyone started to clap as she stood and took his hand while he pulled her gently towards the arena.
A male assistant dressed in all black brought a small chair out and placed it in front of the hooded person carefully avoiding stepping on the snakes. As soon as he stepped back, he rubbed his arms and sprinted away from the arena. Pan gulped and licked her suddenly dry lips as she was led to the chair. She sat down and looked behind her at Trunks who only smiled giving her an "it's going to be okay" look.
The ringmaster stepped away and bowed at the hooded person. "Now, what you will witness is a rare snake whisperer. Our lovely assistant will hold a snake while Frozen talks to it. Be aware that the lady is in no danger and that Frozen is a professional."
Pan looked down at the snakes and noticed that there were albino ball pythons, colorful king snakes, a couple of rattlesnakes, and some vipers. How the hell did I end up here?! This guy better not mess up. Frozen bent down and picked up a 7 foot snake that hid in its cloak by his feet. The black and tan King Cobra moved its head from side to side, tongue flicking as it smelled and saw its surroundings. Pan's arms covered in goosebumps as Frozen bent down to place it in her hands. She shivered slightly as the cobra started to wind around her arm, head facing Frozen. Pan leaned away from the cobra as she took deep breaths trying to calm her heart down. She did not want to give the snake a reason to notice her.
Frozen moved his hand from one side to the other. Pan inwardly gasped. His hand, it's… white. Red eyes appeared from the blackness of the hood as they stared into Pan's. Pan stared a little more into the darkness and found him smiling as she could only see his eyes and teeth.
Frozen's mouth began to move as he whispered loud enough for Pan's sayian hearing. "Child, tell your grandfather and Vegeta that I'm coming back. Tell them that this time I will be victorious." He moved his hand to one side and quickly to the next as the cobra lashed out to strike him. He chuckled softly and started to whisper again. "Also, mention to them that there will not be anymore sayian breeding. I will kill you, all of you."
He brought both his hands in front of the cobra's head and spread them. As soon as he did, the cobra's head flared and Pan caught herself staring into the cobra's back. The back was a yin and yang sign. The yin side was black the dot silver and the yang side was white with a swirl of brown and silver. As she kept staring into it, the snake turned its head and stared into Pan's eyes with its own red eyes. Pan started to feel light and sleepy as her lids started to close.
"Remember this, I will come in 5 days. You will not remember this until the day before. it will be your responsibility to convince them of the danger they are in." Frozen started to turn around and took one last glance at Pan. Pan's arm started to lower as she couldn't concentrate on keeping it up and staying awake. "5 days, Freeza is coming." With that said, the snake exploded into a gust of smoke leaving Pan and the audience coughing.
The ringmaster walked up to Pan and leaned into her. "What are you doing here?" He whispered into her ear.
Pan looked around noticed that she was not sitting in her seat next to Trunks anymore. "I… don't remember." She frowned and looked around her. The audience was looking around their seats, face lost.
The ringmaster took her hand and raised it. "Let's here it for our lovely… assistant!" The audience started to clap softly but then erupted into a loud noisy clap. The ringmaster looked down at Pan and motioned her to her seat.
As Pan sat down, Trunks leaned into her and looked at her intently. "So why were you up there? I don't remember a single thing."
Pan smiled and mocked his look. "Would you believe me if I told you I don't remember either?"
Trunks crossed his arms and pouted. Pan pointed and laughed while the ringmaster finished the show with a dance of all the members of that night's show. Everyone started to slowly get out of the tent, each wondering what had happened before the finale.
xxxxx
As Trunks and Pan walked around the carnival, Pan was deep in thought.
"What's up, Pan? You're so serious." Trunks looked over at her.
"I don't know. I feel like I have something to tell you but I don't remember what. I feel like it's something important too. Don't you hate it when that happens?"
"Yep. If it was a life or death important thing, then it would be a problem. Since it isn't, there's nothing to worry about, right?"
Pan frowned but shrugged it off with a smile. "Right. If you guys were in danger, I would most definitely tell you!" Trunks and Pan laughed and kept walking side by side.
Trunks pointed to a booth and started pulling pan towards it. "It's not fair leaving the carnival without the guy winning a bear for his date right?"
Pan laughed and pointed at the bottles. "Are you sure you can topple those with a softball?"
Trunks looked at a bowl that contained the balls and gave his Vegeta smirk. "I bet I can topple a stack of 10 bottles with that golf ball."
"Prove it."
"Fine, I will." Trunks wave his hand to catch the man in the bowler hat's attention. when the man came over he adjusted his tie and wiggled his fake mustache.
"So, care to try to topple our bottles sir? How many bottles would you like, 3, 6, or 10?" The bowler hat man started taking bottles from the shelf and stacking them behind him.
"I'm feeling lucky. Let's go with 10." Trunks leaned against the rail and tried to give his cocky pose.
The bowler hat man smirked and stacked 10 bottles. "Now pick your ball. If you knock them down with a softball, you get this little dog. If you do it with a baseball, you get this medium sized dog and with a golf ball, you get either the large dog or bear. But we have a special tonight. If you knock down 10 bottles with a golf ball on your first try, we'll give you two jumbo sized stuffed animals. How 'bout it? Care to try with the golf ball?"
Trunks' smirk grew even wider. "I'll take the golf ball, oh, and only one. I'm feeling really lucky tonight."
Pan stifled a laugh. "Show off." She mumbled softly.
"I heard that." He said while he picked up the golf ball. He aimed it quickly and shot it forward toppling all the bottles. "Yep, my lucky gut feeling never fails me."
"You little cheater. You knew the extra strength would be enough to make them fall." Pan whispered as he shook wiped his hands.
"Well, I only showed the guy up. I put enough force behind that pitch to send them flying but only managed to topple them. Those bottles are filled with sand." Trunks nodded at the fallen bottles. The bowler hat man recovered from his shock and clapped his hands together.
"Outstanding young man! Outstanding! Pick your prizes."
"Yeah, well couldn't you of done it a different way? You almost gave the guy a permanent shock." Pan whispered through her smile Trunks picked the two bears that he won.
"Well, maybe they shouldn't cheat people out of their money." Trunks whispered back through his own grin. He got hold of the oversized bears and managed to say a thank you through all the fur. Pan got a hold of one of them as they started to walk back to the car.
xxxxx
After the drive back, Trunks and Pan get to the apartment complex and head up to Pan's floor. Upon getting to the front of her door, Trunks hands her the other bear and steps back to give Pan some moving room.
"Well, I had fun, lots of fun actually." Pan smiled and Trunks from in between the bears.
"Yeah, me too. You should come to Orange Star City more often so we can hang out more." Trunks clasped his hands behind his back and gave her a small smile.
"I wish. I have to travel a lot with modeling and all. It gets hard sometimes you know. Enough about that though." Pan grinned and looked at the knob. She looked down and noticed that the lights were on. She then remembered that Uub had the keys to her condo.
"Well, I'll see you later, right?" Trunks asked taking a step forward.
"Of course." Pan replied turning to look at Trunks. "Good night." She said with a warm smile.
Trunks leaned in and gave her a small kiss on her forehead and smiled. "Good night." With that said he started to walk away.
Pan took in a breath and wondered if Uub would get mad about her being out with a GUY friend. There's only one way to find out. She shrugged it off but prepared herself, just in case, as she unlocked her door.
xxxxx
A/N: Well this chapter is definitely longer than what I first planned, but I'm content with it. I'll start writing the next chapter hopefully during this week although there is a lot of schoolwork to be done. But now that I have a laptop (Yey! Macbook!), my writing could be done practically anywhere! Review please. Tell me what you like, what you don't like, what you would like to see, everything and everything to make this story even better!