CHAPTER 12:
Compelled

Lasagna.

It was everything that Trunks needed right now. It was hearty, filling, warm, and packed with savory flavors and layers of textures that would roll off his tongue as they danced with the umami and sweet flavors of crushed tomatoes and creamy cheese, and all of the salty, tangy, thick and sweet simmered bolognese meat sauce that massaged his palate.

It was messy, and stringy, and full-bodied and sensual. Trunks just wanted to be filled with it. He was starving, and lasagna was all he could think about.

Ah gods, food…

Trunks kept trying to pay attention, but it was difficult. Lasagna was a hard image to discard from his heart. It wouldn't go away. It was only getting worse. His need for food was completely disorienting. He was weak. He was dying. He had never been this hungry before.

And now Trunks was standing in a hallway, before the same notorious lightning curtain that zapped both him and Giru.

The curtain was indeed the path to the Dragon Ball. But gods, couldn't have Pan have waited until later? Until after lasagna? Until after anything?!

He kept pulling himself out of his thoughts to be mindful and present. But every time he refocused on reality, he was again disabled by his hunger. He couldn't even think properly anymore. He was just so hungry that he was losing his mind.

When his mind wasn't daydreaming about food, Trunks reawakened to how he was standing by the lightning curtain next to Pan and Goku. Hikarroo was gesturing and explaining what to expect as their next steps. Trunks absently watched with unfocused eyes a little beyond Goku, realizing his own Saiyan heritage was biting him in the belly right now.

He was a zombie. He needed lasagna so badly.

He was already thinking again of the dish he was going to make for dinner. Thankfully, lasagna did not take too much time. It was an easy go-to dinner to think about - it was filling, and there was truly no way to mess it up. It was meant to be a multi-layered, stringy mess.

Ahhh, a lasagna would truly encapsulate the heart of what transpired today.

But it would have to wait. As usual, Pan did not consult Trunks about the timing of their next steps, and before he could offer to cook dinner, she had already confirmed with Hikarroo that they would go through the lightning curtain tonight to get the Dragon Ball so she could "zip up the day" and "burn it."

She might be able to burn the day somehow, but luckily it was almost impossible to burn lasagna. The more charred the edges, the better the flavor.

"Trunks, are you even listening?!"

"Ahh!" Trunks' cheeks flushed in embarrassment, realizing he was caught daydreaming again.

He shoved aside his mental image of lasagna, and spat out a generic answer, which was indicative enough that he had not , in fact, been listening: "Yes… we go in, and we'll come out with the Dragon Ball."

Pan sighed in exasperation, "Honestly, Trunks. I don't know how you ever paid attention in school."

"I didn't." Trunks grinned in amusement.

"No!" Pan at this point had gotten better at reading him, and rudely pointed at his face as she spouted, "No being funny."

Trunks broke out into a small chuckle and covered his mouth.

Pan continued in a pedantic tone, "For the dunce who was not paying attention - we go through the gate, we get naked , and after we meet our destiny , we get to consummate everything."

Consummate…

Trunks' grin dropped, and the hairs on his neck stood on end. "Wait, what…"

"Oh, now you're listening." Pan folded her arms.

"What…" Trunks swallowed. "Consummate?! Are you sure it's what you're thinking?"

All of his thoughts washed away in a torrential tide as he was flooded with a sense of panic. He had no idea that this was something that would be required. It literally had never even been a thought to enter his mind throughout the entire day.

Suddenly Trunks felt like an absolute fool.

His eyes darted back and forth along the ground as he jogged his memory of the day and tried to piece together what he had overlooked before.

Since the kiss was voluntary, Trunks had assumed that everything else had been too. But… but… this was a marriage. Trunks should have realized he had a duty to fulfill. Oh shit… oh shit… oh shit…

He wasn't ready! He wasn't ready for this…

As if to reassure Trunks, the little alien Hikarroo gave a small bow, and then twirl. "I shall repeat!"

Did he need to repeat it? What else did Trunks need to know?

"Yoo entwine your boodies to make it to the oother side," Hikarroo gestured to the lightning curtain, "And then reflection as yoo shed yoor clooth, then learn yoor destiny." He brought his small hand back and did another clockwise spin. "And then! Yoo coonsummate!"

Trunks saw the spiral. He felt it. Everything about the spiral of his emotions was about to happen right now. But, he held his breath and caught the spiral before it began a tailspin.

Trunks tried to process everything through the lens of nonemotional logic. He quickly focused on each ingredient to his frustration that he had to process, and then put everything into his mental ramen bowl. But there was too much - the ramen was exploding. The bowl was cracking. The spiral was going to erupt.

Scratch the ramen bowl idea. Trunks couldn't contain it. This was beyond his mental ability. He was so hungry, he couldn't even control his thoughts.

Fuck, it was more of a lasagna. It was messy. So messy.

He shoved his mental mess into the oven, to do exactly what Pan wanted to do. Zip up the mess. Burn it.

He gave a giant mental middle finger to all of it. Burned.

Trunks breathed, and felt completely emotionally checked out.

He was so tired. He was so hungry. He just wanted everything to be over.

Trunks numbly sighed as he considered the little pink alien's words, about what he and Pan had to do tonight. Consummation…

Devoid of emotion, Trunks turned to look at the electric curtains behind him and shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever it takes, I guess."

That reaction was obviously not what Pan was looking for. She was livid. "What do you mean?! Whatever it takes?!"

"Whatever it takes to get the Dragon Ball." Trunks doubled-down and scowled at Pan.

Trunks fully knew what he was suggesting to her, and at this point he felt completely empty, mentally and physically. He was beaten down and broken. He burned his feelings about it all. At this point, he was willing to literally do whatever it took.

Five billion lives were on the line, including their families. If Gohan were going to kill him, at least he'd have enabled Gohan and Videl to live to see that day.

"Are.. are you saying…" Pan's eyes widened at her realization of what Trunks was implying. Her body grew tense.

"I'm saying let's go." Trunks was feeling bitter and impatient. He gestured to the portal more strongly. "You're the one that wanted to do this tonight."

Pan hesitated as she looked unsure. "But… consummation?!"

Goku chimed in innocently, "Sounds like there'll be some good food to consummate!"

Pan spun to Goku in a rage, "No Grandpa! That is not what consummate means!"

All of these reactions from Pan were weighing on Trunks, and he felt impatient.

Trunks reached out to try to take Pan's hand. "Let's not assume anything."

That was the last straw for Pan. She snapped.

In one split second, Pan powered up from zero to thirty million. From the depths of her frustration, Pan screamed at the top of her lungs, and shoved Trunks backward, with all her power.

"Wha- AAh!" Trunks was propelled backward by her force. With his arms extended in surprise, he grabbed her wrist to gain leverage.

But it was too late. As Trunks yanked Pan's arm in his backward fall, she fell straight right into him, and together, they tangled in shouts of confusion and startlement as Trunks hit the ground with monumental force. In the moon's light gravity, they both sprang upward in a bounce that parachuted their dresses outward, and their fabrics flew high and encapsulated and tangled among their flailing limbs.

Trunks tried to reach out to stop their tumble, but the fabrics were in their faces and blocking his arms, and as a flurry of fabrics, flailing limbs, and confused shouts, they continued to roll.

From their own inertia, they passed right through the lightning curtains without any resistance.

ZzzZZzz!

Trunks felt the impact of the portal the moment they slipped through.

The lightning curtains shocked Trunks' body like a scanner barrier, and he felt his wedding band burn in a quick heat. Within a split second, all of his nerves felt tingles of pain, which exploded like tiny fireworks into a tickling pleasure, which then mellowed out into a general sense of excitement throughout his core.

His heart was racing, unable to process it. What was tha-…

WHACK!

They came to a hard stop when Trunks felt his head and upper back smack against something hard and sturdy.

"AAGH ," Trunks groaned in shock at the impact.

Trunks was blinded and suffocating under Pan's fabrics and weight. Pan's pink dress was completely in his face, and her body was pinning him down.

"Gaah!" Trunks raised his hands to sooth the back of his head, as he now lay against some kind of stone column. Trunks' voice resonated and echoed several times.

Trunks flailed his arms and pushed up through the fabrics to try to get Pan off of him. His hands met equally wrestling arms as she was also trying to untangle and disengage from him.

Fabrics flew around their outfits. Pan's bustle had come undone, and the train of her dress was like a pink river that fell down on them as it settled, now encasing them in another sheet they were trying to escape.

In a desperate effort to free herself, Pan rolled off of Trunks, dragging all her fabrics with her as she heaved, and landed beside him on the cold stone ground, with her face covered in her dress. And then she flailed again, trying to find the exit from her fabrics as she struggled to get fresh air.

Pan found the edge of the fabric train, and as she caught her breath, she pushed it down to look like she was under blankets.

They both lay on their backs, panting and watching the cavernous ceiling above them. Their eyes watched as green ribbons of light danced among the rocks.

Their breath came out as puffs of condensation as they lay next to each other and processed what just happened. Both their hearts were racing audibly.

Trunks turned his head to see that Pan's cheeks were bright red as she watched the cavern's ceiling.

Seeing her flushed face triggered a… feeling within Trunks. He never saw her blushing like this, and his instincts kicked in before he knew it.

The emotion inside him welled and exploded in a manifested surge of energy. And, like a fast-paced domino effect, Trunks crumbled under the humor of it all, and he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I think we just consummated the marriage!" Trunks joked, and then he broke into unabated laughter, which echoed in the cavern.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Pan groaned as her cheeks flared a shade of pasta sauce. She was at the end of her rope with the jokes. She squeezed her eyes and clawed her face, "Pervert!" It echoed "pervert! …vert! vert! vert!"

The echo made it even funnier. Trunks laughed harder on the rocky floor, lying with his back on the floor, with his turned head watching her.

Pan, meanwhile, scrambled to her feet, gathering her dress in several huffs. She palmed her stray hairs down with a pout on her lips, and then proceeded to look around to take in the sight.

"Hehehe…" Following Pan's example, Trunks then proceeded to prop himself up on his elbows with a grin, and then he slowly stood, careful to not rip the delicate fabric of his own dress. He rubbed his arms in the chilly air, and then he turned his body to examine their surroundings.

Strangely enough, the "reflection room" - if it could even be considered a room - was far different than what Trunks had imagined.

Instead of being at the temple, they had somehow rolled into a musky, rectangular semi-outdoor cave, which had a dark pool of water that ran almost the entire length of the cavern.

The ceiling split into two parts - covered, and uncovered.

In the far end, the cave was open to the night sky. The green planet overhead filled the cavern with ambient greenish light. Trunks and Pan were standing in the covered part of the cave, and its ceiling was a sea of massive dripping stalactites, which were matched by stalagmites that formed throughout the rocky ground. Some of the rocky spikes had merged over time into mineral columns.

Carvings decorated almost all the stone within the cave, with runes engraved from generations of newlyweds who had passed through this same path. Symbols were also etched along the bottom borders of the cave walls, where they met the rocky floor.

Trunks and Pan were currently standing on a stone threshold which was a medium-sized rocky platform on their side of the reflection pool.

A few paces to their left, there were two places to rest. The first was a symbol-covered pi-shaped bench that had been carved out of a massive boulder. Beside the bench were a couple red baskets.

Next to the stone bench, along the back wall, there was a bed, or at least a place to lie down. The bed was built into divet in the ground - a carved circular impression within the rock. Within the round depressed area were stuffed pillows, and multiple blankets and sheets that came in multiple shades of color which all looked gray and black in the dim greenish light.

For just a split second, Trunks thought of the purpose of that bed. The mental image ignited a fiery shade of red on Trunks' cheeks. He glanced at Pan, whose eyes were also on the bed, and Trunks could sense from her body language that she was not pleased.

For a moment, Trunks allowed himself to consider Pan's thought process. He had never known a woman to not want him. The whole concept felt strange to him. He was used to fighting off most women's touches. And many women tried to touch him.

As Pan shifted her eyes to view the reflection pool, Trunks watched her with a mild fascination. He considered how it strangely comforted him that her thoughts had already shifted away from that bed. She had no expectations from him, and that thought gave Trunks a sense of ease and safety that he rarely felt around a female. It felt like a breath of fresh air.

With a deep inhalation of the chilly air, Trunks followed Pan's eyeline to view and scrutinize the body of water that separated them from the other side of the cave.

The long reflection pool was unlit, and was filled with slightly murky water that reflected the light of the green planet from the rays that entered in the second half of the cave. The water shifted with small ripples from drops that fell from the stalactites above, and reflected the ribbons of green light that danced throughout the cave.

The water was bordered on either side by smooth rock walls. It appeared to be easily swimmable, or possibly flown over if they wanted to dodge pointy spikes from the ceiling. It also appeared to be warmer than the chilly evening air, as slight wisps of steamy condensation evaporated from its gently rippling surface.

"There!" Pan pointed across the cavern.

Her voice jarred Trunks back to his senses, and his eyes followed the direction of her finger.

Another lightning portal was at the far end of the water, on a small rocky platform.

It was the way out.

It looked simple enough to get to, but Trunks was suspicious. Nothing like this was ever easy.

Finding it easier to concentrate, now that he burned his mental lasagna, Trunks tried to review the words in his mind - the ones that Hikarroo had said they should expect.

So far, they had entangled themselves, as had been foretold. But, now they were faced with a need to be naked for some reason. But why would they…

His thoughts trailed off as he looked down, and realized the reason was quite clear.

"Alright, here goes!" Pan's shout pulled him from his thoughts.

Trunks turned his head just in time to register that Pan had taken several steps back, and then began to take long strides in a run toward the water.

Alarm bells rang in Trunks' mind as he saw her movement, and he instinctively tried to reach for her, "Wait!"

His fingers grazed her, but he could not grasp her arm as she sped by him in a WHOOSH of pink fabric.

In the moon's gravity, she BOUNDED upward in a giant leap …

… and then she SMACKED into the cavernous ceiling, cracking an entire spine of stalactites. They all crashed down like icicles into the water, along with Pan.

The massive splash from her impact into the water sucked all the water from the edges of the pool and created a giant wave that rolled back and crashed throughout the entire cavern. Even Trunks got splashed, and the bottom of his soggy gown was suddenly bogged down and dripping with its water weight.

After the splash into the dark waters, Pan was gone.

Trunks only could stare in disbelief.

He felt his heart beat one fraction of a pulse, and then his mind erupted.

Every ounce of his mind and body was filled with a terror, a NEED that wretched him from all thought and hacked his brain and body, and COMPELLED him. He had only one thought. One wish.

Save Pan.

Trunks struggled to breathe. His rasps were loud, ragged breaths as he stumbled forward, compelled to jump into the water to save her.

No. No. No. No. Trunks choked, and realized his own demise if he did that. No, jumping was death. He needed something to save her. Save Pan. Save her. Save her.

He dry heaved as he resisted the compulsion to dive in. No. No. No.

Save Pan.

"Fuck!" Trunks realized her danger. "FUCK!" He tried to tear his dress off of him, but the second he tried to power up his strength, it all got sucked out from him for some reason. He tried again to raise his ki, and it again was sucked away.

What was wrong with his ki? Why couldn't he use it here? He had no time to think! Fuck. Fuck. No!

"Pan!" Trunks screamed as continued to tear at his dress, not knowing how to remove it, and he couldn't reach the back where the strings that stitched his fabrics together all converged.

He couldn't get the gown off. He had to think of something else, quickly. Trunks sweated, and dry heaved as his mind raced to find a solution - quick. Fast. Desperate.

Save Pan. His eyes raced around, and spotted the multitudes of sheets and blankets on the bed, and dove for them, snatching them as he desperately tied a knot around the pi-shaped bench.

With trembling hands and fast breaths, Trunks moaned in agony as he knotted the sheets and blankets together to make a long train-like makeshift rope.

As he quickly worked, he saw only bubbles come up from the water where Pan had sunk into the pool. He saw her hot pink dress as a splotch of color under the rippling waves, but she was not coming up.

The voice in his head was stronger, more compelling. It had only been under a minute, but he couldn't wait anymore. He would have to die trying to save her.

Save Pan.

The voice echoed and resounded in his head. His wedding band burned like a raging fire.

With a tug, Trunks ensured that the knotted blanket rope was secure enough, and then started to secure himself to it. He hadn't had the ability or knowledge for how to debustle his fabric train, so he instead tied it tightly to the back of his dress and hoped for the best.

Using the blanket rope as a lifeline, he dove into the pool to follow Pan into the depths. The moment he hit the water, he felt his dress take on weight and drag him downward. Almost immediately, his legs became useless as he tried to kick within the heavy fabric, and he had to pull himself through the water with his arm strength.

The water temperature was warm, but the lack of light made it almost impossible to see from the murk. He heard the sounds of a struggle, and swam in the direction of where he had seen Pan fall. But as he reached out to find her, he was suddenly tugged back. He had reached the end of his makeshift rope.

He shouted underwater, and bubbles erupted around him in his desperation. He realized he lost air, and he was losing precious time.

Fuck. Fuck! Trunks struggled to reach into the darkness to find Pan, and his fingers brushed against fabric that slipped past his fingertips. The cloth teased and lured him, just beyond his grasp.

Save Pan.

The hammering need to save her pulsed through his body again and supercharged him. In a desperate act, Trunks welled whatever power he could from within him, and pushed his limits to transform. Mental images of her struggle underwater ignited an explosion of ki within him that burst past his floodgates. The impact of his transformation underwater triggered a massive shock wave that BOOMED underwater, rocking the entire pool.

The moment he transformed, his hair stiffened and glowed as a bright blonde. His ki lit the water for just a split moment - long enough to confirm Pan was tangled among in her fabrics which weighed her down in the water. Her arms were flailing under the heavy cloth that trapped her.

Then, just as fast as Trunks was able to transform into a Super Saiyan, a rush happened just as quickly, as all of his ki was sucked out of him as if the water were a vacuum. His energy evaporated into the water as thousands of hot bubbles, which obscured his vision as he desperately reached out for Pan.

He had no time to think. The aftershock within the water made Pan's dress plume outward, and from a glowing light source on his hand, Trunks faintly saw the fabric of her long train come close in the murky water.

There was no time or mental space to process what just happened, or what was happening. All he knew was his driving need to save Pan. It was his one and only imperative.

Trunks reflexively grabbed her dress and yanked her toward him. There was immense resistance with the weight and drag of her dress, but he pulled hard. The dress was a tether to her life, and he needed to save her.

After several pulls, he finally felt her body in the dark waters, and he roughly grabbed her by the waist.

He had her.

He was overjoyed and hysterical. His lungs were burning in pain and aching for air, and the first thing he felt as he held her against him was that Pan had no struggle; she had gone limp.

He had no time to waste with her. The voice in his head was more desperate, and pinged harder and faster. Save Pan.

His own lungs burned as he pulled against the makeshift blanket rope, guiding him to the surface. Save Pan.

When he broke through, he gasped for air and pulled Pan's head up above the water, breathing hard as his rasps and wheezes echoed in the cavern, along with the splashes of water.

He heard his breaths, but not hers.

Trunks felt another wave of panic when she didn't immediately breathe.

"Pan!" Trunks pulled the blanket rope to get them closer to the edge as he struggled to kick his feet in his dress, but his legs were useless to propel them. "Pan! Wake up!"

The compulsion within his body and mind was so loud and strong that he felt his head was being torn apart, and the pressure of his need was so immense that everything felt like it was caving in on him. He could barely think. He could barely breathe. He was losing his mind.

He tugged at the blanket rope with urgency, guiding them and their heavy dress fabrics back to the edge. Propelled by a rush of adrenaline, Trunks held onto the edge with his left hand, and then hoisted Pan up from the pool with his right. Her dress was just so big that it was immediately in his face, and he couldn't properly push her completely out of the water.

Time was ticking and Trunks' head was resounding with alarm bells and mental compulsions within him. He had no time or energy to even push her aside as he pulled himself up, climbing on top of her as their legs were still in the pool.

"Pan!" Trunks realized he was crushing her, and rolled off of her with his wet, waterlogged dress in tow. The sheer weight of his dress made it almost impossible to pull out from the water. His legs were completely useless under the fabrics, so he used his upper body strength to pull up to her, and sat up as he shook her. "Pan! Wake up! Pan!"

She wasn't breathing. Save her.

Fuck. Trunks had no idea how to resuscitate her. In all of his life's training for how to deliver a solid knockout punch, he never learned how to save a life when someone was drowning. But, by the gods, Trunks would figure it out. He knew he had to get air into her lungs.

Trunks pulled himself up more and tilted her head to clear any water in her mouth, and as he straightened her head again, he felt another wave of compulsion before he could even think about what he was doing. Save her.

He brought his face to hers. He cupped her mouth to bring his own mouth to hers.

"BBLALAAGGH!"

Trunks was met with an erupting geyser.

"Aahhhhh!" Trunks jerked back in shock and recoiled with his hands to his face as Pan spewed a lungful of water in his face, and coughed hard, and roughly, expelling more water.

"CAAOUGHHH!" Pan wheezed, "COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!" She turned on her side facing Trunks, and spat out the water in her mouth as she coughed, gasped and rasped as she struggled to intake air.

Trunks reacted with a physical compulsion of anguish. His head was so far gone at this point that he didn't even care what felt normal or not. He was elated, overjoyed, and in an eruptive state of bliss as he grabbed her again with his arms and held her close and tight, leaning his forehead against hers.

Waves of relief coursed through him and rocked him as he completely lost his composure. His body racked sobs into her wet hair, and his chest heaved as he thought of how he almost lost her.

He felt her move against him, and it was like sunlight to his darkness. His world felt bright and colorful and purposeful and joyous. She was alive. She was safe. He saved her.

The voices in his head had calmed. Everything was better. He could breathe again. She could breathe again.

His thoughts were still clouded by the adrenaline that coursed through him. He could feel his hands and body tremoring, recovering from the emotional rush, and also from the chill in the air.

For a long moment, neither of them said anything as they caught their breath through hard panting, trying to understand what just happened. Trunks spasmed a bit as he held her, and his emotions calmed like the lapping pool water that had settled into gentle ripples again as the stalactites continued to drip downward.

"Well…" Pan broke the silence as she looked up to the cavern ceiling where the green ribbons of light were once again dancing, "... that didn't go as planned."

The pain of Trunks' anguish had ebbed into a twisted form of relief. Despite the fact that he did not think it was funny at all, his body started to laugh.

"Hehehaha…" Trunks couldn't help his body spasming in laughter, "hahahahahahah!"

"What's so funny?" Pan continued to catch her breath and turned her head to him.

"What plan?!" Trunks brought his hand back to his face as he chuckled, "You always do this!"

"What do you mean?" Pan frowned.

Trunks waved a hand to the ceiling, still looking up from his back. "You literally jump into things before talking about it." Trunks breathed in and laughed in relief again.

It still wasn't humorous, but gods, his body was spasming on its own as he recovered from their existential scare.

"Well…" Pan seemed abashed and looked down and away, "...I thought I could make it."

There was another long pause as they both caught their breath and reflected on what had just transpired.

Their bodies still steamed slightly from the residual warmth of the water evaporating into the cold air. The longer they lay there, though, the air seemed colder as their bodies cooled off.

Trunks breathed, and acknowledged the chill was finally starting to affect him, and he was uncomfortably soaked.

Trunks sat up, brushing his wet bangs from his face as he looked down at Pan. As his eyes lingered on her, he finally was able to reflect on the panic that he had felt.

He wanted to ask himself what happened, but he knew. It was his wedding vow. It was intense, and deep, and soul-shaking. It was… the bond.

It was almost impossible to find the right words to describe how imperative the bond had been. It had manifested as a physical, visceral need to save her. It had set blinders on him, almost completely overriding thought and logic. Every bone in his body was compelled to protect her, and his muscles had moved on their own.

He had never felt any kind of impulse like what he had just gone through. He had lost control over his actions. It was dangerously compelling, into a madness. He was just one blanket knot away from being unable to reach her, and then they both would surely have drowned.

He remembered the burning feeling from his wedding band. His eyes shifted to his left hand, and he held up his ring finger to scrutinize the artifact he wore. Despite how his hand was cold, the ring emitted slight warmth. It also still appeared an orange color, despite the only light source in the room being a shade of green.

He remembered how the ring glowed. He remembered his wedding vow had been a wish …

… And that wish had almost killed both of them.

Actually, on second thought, Pan almost killed them. Again. Trunks realized that if he hadn't been quick to think of a clever rescue maneuver, they'd both be dead.

The feelings of relief quickly manifested into frustration and anger as he thought back to what had just happened. Pan had no idea what torment Trunks had just gone through for her.

His feelings shifted to become dark and bitter. Knowing her, she'd be ungrateful.

"You're welcome, by the way." Trunks quipped in a curt tone.

Pan met his eyes and sat up, facing him, "For what?"

"For-?" Trunks blinked at her, also confused, and gestured to the water. "What do you mean for what?!" He pointed to where she fell in, "You almost drowned!"

"No I didn't," Pan stood, pulling the rest of her dress from the pool, and re-rippling the water.

Trunks' patience wore thin. "I could have died trying to save you!"

"I don't need to be saved!" Pan continued to collect her wet dress, "I was just fine, in the process of ripping my dress off."

"Don't pull that with me," Trunks' mood blackened, and all of his memories of Pan's arrogance flooded back to him. He gestured to her dress pointedly, "You didn't even manage to make one rip ."

"Well," Pan stumbled on her words, "I was in the process."

Trunks felt exasperated as he realized she was still the same brat as always. "Damn it, Pan, is it really that hard just to thank me?!"

"Well, I would, if you weren't on your high horse already!" Pan mocked Trunks as she put her hands on her hips, quoting him and adding a tone and accent that aggravated him, "Yuur welcm by-the waaay."

"I saved your life." Trunks seethed.

"And I didn't need saving."

"Yes you did!" Trunks wasn't going to let her off from this, "You lost consciousness in the water."

Pan's face was flushed, and Trunks could see she was fighting some internal dialogue. It didn't matter to him. He wanted the acknowledgement that he almost died for, and he was putting his foot down about it.

Trunks verbally nudged her, "Just say 'thank you'."

Pan pouted, and looked to the side, saying nothing.

There was just silence, and her pouting. Her appreciation was not coming.

It became clear that Pan was not ready to acquiesce to Trunks' request, and Trunks felt moderate anguish about it, but at the same time, he felt emotionally drained. The feeling was nothing new.

Up until the last couple days, her words would have triggered Trunks into spouting a long lecture at her for a multitude of reasons, and he would have tried to make her regret her actions and apologize for her reckless jump that put them both in danger.

Now, however, Trunks was honestly burnt out.

He was hungry, and tired, and cold, and aggravated, and now bonded to this ungrateful girl. And on top of everything else, the bond was terrifying. It incapacitated him.

It was already insane how much it impacted Trunks by a placid pool; he could only begin to imagine the horror of the compulsion on the battlefield. Pan had no idea how strong that bond would be. If Trunks were in danger, it would also compel Pan to rush into the line of danger too.

Gods, Pan would be the death of him. Or he'd certainly face death trying to save her.

Trunks began to tremble at the thought, until he realized his shaking was actually a shiver from the cold.

He looked down to his dress, seeing that it was still submerged along the edge of the pool. Following Pan's lead, he pulled the rest of it out of the water, and realized just how much there was of it. The layers of fabric were still tightly sewed together. It had taken three hours for the moonlanders to sew all of the material onto him, with twelve people working at once.

Trunks decided to drop the subject of thanks. Pan would one day appreciate him. Just not today. And gods, it upset him, but he somewhat understood. He had learned the hard way that she wasn't into his jackass humor, and they both needed time to reset themselves in each other's eyes.

Hearing a shuddering sound, Trunks looked up to the source to see that Pan was also shivering.

"We need to get these off," Trunks stood, dragging his wet outfit up with him, "Come on."

Trunks shuffled over to the depressed bed area, and sat down on the pi-shaped bench next to it. The makeshift blanket rope from earlier was still tied onto it, and Trunks felt more secure keeping it that way, in case either of them tripped into the water again.

The remaining pile of blankets that had not been converted into a rope were splayed by his feet, and he picked one up to wipe his face and roughly dry his hair.

He sensed Pan sitting down next to him to follow suit with another blanket, which she used like a giant towel, to wrap her wet hair into the shape of an enormous turban. It was oversized and made her head look like a mushroom top. It was very funny to look at.

Every time she ever pissed him off, she always did something that got him to grin again, even if it was completely unintentional. He could never stay mad at her.

Trunks flashed a small grin to her as he brought his blanket down, and then he looked down to their dresses. He scrutinized the fabric that had been sewn and woven, looking for edges where he could pry apart threads with his fingers. His fingers fumbled and felt uncoordinated. The weave was masterfully made, and the knots were impossible to find in the dim light.

For all the genius that he was, Trunks was the first to admit he knew nothing about fabric, and had no idea what he was doing.

He looked up to Pan again, this time with pleading eyes. She didn't see it, since she was focusing on how to untie her own dress.

Trunks made an audible moan, "I can't figure out how to get it off."

Pan looked up to him, eyed his dress, then met his eyes, and then smirked. "Oh?"

Trunks felt very sorry for himself. "I need help."

"Ohhhh?" Pan's lips curved even higher as her eyes glinted, "The great Mr. Trunks Briefs needs my help?!"

Trunks anguished inside at how Pan was thinking she was getting him back for something. "Don't go off on your own high horse now. But yes."

"What if I say no?" Pan grinned.

"Pan," Trunks' tone was stern as his feelings started to convert into frustration. He was shivering and cold, and he was not in the mood for her games. He started to feel the chill against his jaw, and he had to consciously focus to prevent his teeth from chattering. "Help me."

"Oh fine." Pan's grin was steadfast. "Turn around, I want to see your back."

Grateful that she did not put up more of a needless fight, Trunks turned so she could see the knotting along the back of his gown.

As Pan's fingers started to prod the fabric, she continually touched along his spine. The feeling of it sent shivers throughout his back and body; he was not used to having anyone touch him like this, and he was not sure how he felt about it. He knew he sensed his general discomfort, but there were other strange and unrelated feelings mixed in, such as anticipation, thrill, attachment… and… trust…

The last feeling made Trunks' head spin a bit, because it was not a feeling he ever had with her before. He may not always trust her actions, but he realized he did trust her intentions… He knew her mind was not veering toward anything perverted. And that… made him feel really safe.

However, he was also feeling really cold.

She was taking too long prodding his fabrics. His jaw was starting to hurt from how much he was clenching it to prevent it from chattering. He started to moan a little under his breath, and tried to think of something pleasant. All he wanted was a warm, hearty lasagna…

"Okay, I think I figured it out," Pan spoke from behind him as her hands came to a stop midway down his back. "There's a red string that connects to all the rest of them. I think if I can untie the string, the rest of the back will open… like a lotus flower!"

"Ok-k-kay," Trunks still faced away from Pan, trying to will away the chill that had permeated through him at this point. "P-please t-take it off."

Pan's fingers continued to pull the at strings along his back. "You know Trunks, this is funny."

"Wh-What?" Trunks had no idea what she was talking about.

"You've been reduced to a blubbering child."

"HAH!" Trunks spouted out a laugh, but then remembered how cold he was, and it was painful to laugh as his core was shivering.

With a grin on his chattering lips, Trunks stared ahead to the cave as he focused on her fingers. "So wh-what at age am I now?"

"Oh, this time you're twenty-seven for sure. You're a grown-ass man and couldn't figure out your dress."

"HAAAHAHA!" Trunks laughed deeply, and winced with each shiver. His breaths were rapid shudders and settled into quivering chuckles.

"Y-you know," Trunks grinned as he felt the fabric of his back blossom as it opened to her, "Th-this g-grown ass man is going to have to figure out y-your dress."

Pan slid back on the bench with a guttural exclamation of realization, "Noooo!"

"Hehehehaha," Trunks stood, and felt the rest of his soggy gown fall to his hips as he wrestled his arms free of their sleeve shackles, "Hehehahaha!" He shoved the rest of the garment downward, and finally past his hips.

And then in one smooth motion, Trunks leapt out of the dress.

"AHA!" Trunks raised and spread his arms, feeling his blood surge and pump life back into his body in his excitement. "Aaahahahah!" He spun and jumped into a wide-spread pose of joy. "I'm FREE!"

"You're NAKED!" Pan screamed as all the blood rushed to her face and she spun on the bench away from him, shoving her face into her hands.

Trunks felt alive again! He felt his vigor again!

And his eyes glinted as he looked at her shying figure and he grinned and mischievously teased, "Your turn."

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–A: 11/26/23–

–F: 7/23/24–