The Difference in Forever
Entry #9, by Chelsea

Pan sighed as she looked around the mall. Since it was the Christmas season, the mall was packed with people from wall to wall. And this made shopping none too easy,especially with people tackling each other over the last item on clearance racks in every store. She smirked. ::I wonder what would happen if Vegeta ever tried to shop in this mess?:: She shook her head. The site of Vegeta shopping was just disturbing. It figures he would have two professional shoppers, Bulma and Bra as his family.

Now back to business. She was out looking for a gift for Trunks. Usually this was an easy task, but this year she had something else in mind. After having years of friendship with Trunks, her crush had evolved into something more. And lately it seemed as though he had showing a little bit more interest in her as well. She wasn't sure if it was just her overactive imagination, or if that somehow, Trunks had finally managed to see Pan for who she was; a beautiful 21 year old woman. She had hoped it was the latter, but there was only one way to find out.

Her gift to Trunks this year would distinguish them as friends or maybe even more, depending on his reaction. Picking up the rest of her bags, she continued on to the last store.

Reaching the counter, she questioned the cashier.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Yes?"

"I'd like to pick up an order under the name Pan Son."

Searching through a back container, he pulled out a small package. Punching the code into the register, he came up with a total.

" That will be eight dollars and twenty-five cents."

Paying the man, she thanked him and left. Once back in her car she breathed a sigh of relief. ::Well, I'm through with the first part.::

***
Trunks drummed his fingers on his desk. Sighing, he looked around his room, the glanced back down at the paper in front of him. Pros and Cons of Dating Pan. So far it was exactly even, what with the factors of Gohan possibly tearing him to shreds, and his Mother being ecstatic at her son finally getting a steady girlfriend. This was taking it's toll on his stress level.

After Pan had come home from college on holiday break his brotherly concern had turned into a caring possessiveness. He knew Pan once had a crush on him, and he believed it was still there. Before she had left for college, he had struggled with the same emotions, thinking of asking her out and telling her he cared. But he had played it off as brotherly caring. It had worked for a while, but eventually he had come to face the truth. He seriously cared for Pan. Loved her? He wasn't sure yet, but he knew he cared and was definitely attracted to her. And that scared him. The girl he had once baby-sat, sparred with, and generally just joked around with, had become the woman he confided on, and wanted to hold in his arms.

::Why is this so hard?!:: Crumpling up his paper, he threw it in the trashcan,and decided to train to work of some stress.

***
Locking her apartment, Pan jumped into the air and took off in the direction of Capsule Corp. She had dropped her presents off at home, and had decided to see if Bra could help her with an outfit for the Christmas party. Now there was a scary though. She was willingly allowing her fashion to be decided by Bra. The one thing she had once vowed against, she was asking help with.::Boy, do the times change.::

She did a few loop-de-loops and spirals through the air. It felt great to be back home. A few stress free weeks without insane exams or deadlines. Well, there was that minor stress factor called Trunks, but she could deal with that. She could definitely deal with that. Too bad she couldn't spar with Bra, that would great right now. And it would take her mind off of Trunks.

Landing in front of the door to Capsule Corp. she poked her head inside.

"Hello? Bra-chan? Anybody home?"

Not receiving an answer, she walked in. The living room was empty.Well the next logical place to find a saiyan was the kitchen.

Vegeta was stuffing his face like there was no tomorrow. Big surprise there. Pan smirked.

"Hi Vegeta-sama." He grunted in return.

"Hn. The brat's in the gravity chamber."

"Bra's in the gravity chamber?!?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow.

"Feh. Trunks you baka. Bra's out shopping."

"Oh." She blinked.

"Vegeta! Be nice to Pan! She just came back from college!" Bulma walked into the room, reprimanding everyone's favorite Saiyan no Ouji.

"Woman, I do not see the point of spending insane amounts of money to send your kids to party, drink, and get laid."

"That's enough! College is very important to a person's education!Of course,if you knew anything, you'd know that." Vegeta growled.

"Woman!"

"Don't you 'woman' me, mister!"

Pan winced. Talk about a love-hate relationship. As she made her way towards the door, Bulma called out to her.

"Pan, Trunks is training in the gravity chamber. I'm sure he's love a sparring partner. There's an extra training suit up in his room if you want it."

"Thanks Bulma-san."

Making her way towards Trunks' room, she grinned. Spandex training suit, eh? This should be interesting.

***
Trunks gathered energy on his hand. Time to test out his strength. He threw the ki-ball at the wall, only to have it reflected back at him. Tightening his stance, he took the blast head on, falling face first onto the floor. Pushing up on his hands, he breathed fitfully.

"Getting up close and personal with the floor? Looks like fun."

Trunks snapped his head up, only to see Pan leaning against the door frame clad in only a spandex training suit. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch. That looked way too good on her. More so than he liked to admit.

"Hey Pan. Feel like getting beaten into the ground?"

"Hey yourself." She smirked."And yeah, I'd love to beat you into the ground."

He smirked back at her and dropped down into a defensive stance.

"Bring it on."

***
Three hours later, the door to the gravity chamber opened to reveal two battered and bruised saiyans. Except Pan was grinning widely.

"Man Trunks. Seems like that office job is a little cushy, eh?" Trunks grimaced.

"Yeah well, if you think that doing stupid paperwork twelve hours a day is easy, then I'd like to see you try. And anyways, I was a little distracted."

"Oh really. By what?"

" That stupid training suit." He growled.

"What?" Pan blinked. Had she just heard him right?

Trunks kicked himself mentally. Idiot!

"Nothing. You hungry?"

"You bet! Let's go!"

Grabbing his arm, she pulled him all the way into the kitchen, laughing the entire time.

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

Two days later, Pan stood in front of Bra's mirror, admiring her reflection.

"Wow Bra. You outdid yourself this time. I look great!"

"Hey, when ya got it, ya got it."

Pan turned and smirked at her friend, then glanced back at her reflection. Her dress was simple; a deep royal blue, scoop neck with a slit up one side, and sleeveless. Her hair tumbled softly around her shoulders, slightly curled.

Her makeup was light; a white eyeshadow, a little blush, and tinted lipgloss. Pan was very adamant about her makeup. She didn't want to overdo-it, although Bra begged and pleaded for a complete makeover.

"Well, you ready Bra?"

"Yep. Let's go knock the boys' socks off."

Pan smirked. She sure hoped so.

***
"Kakkarot! Would you stop whining! It's giving me a headache!"

"But Vegeta! I'm so hungry!"

"Feh. We all are, but we have to wait for the brats to come down."

"But can't I just have a taste?"

Vegeta growled.:: If they aren't down here in five seconds, I'll go up and get them myself. I'm hungry too, but I'll die before I'm reduced to whining like that idiot Kakkarot.::

Hearing them approach on the stairs, he smirked.::Finally.::

Trunks, Goten, Ubuu, and Marron all looked up at the pair on the stairs. Trunks' and Goten blinked repeatedly, Ubuu smiled, and Marron cheered.

"Wow you guys! You look awesome!"

Pan blushed. "You really think so?"

Trunks blinked again."Wow.....Pan you look beautiful."

Pan smiled. "Thanks trunks."

"Hey! What am I, invisible?!" Bra stuck her hands on her hips indignantly.

Goten whistled. "Bra, you a knockout." Now it was Bra's turn to blush.

"Really? Thanks a lot Goten."

"Hey! That's my sister, Goten!"

"Well what about what you said to my niece?"

"Well nothing!"

"Well nothing my foot! I saw the way you were looking at her!"

"You mean like the way you were looking at my sister?"

"Yea-NO! That's not what I meant!"

Trunks and Goten growled at eachother. Ubuu and Marron smiled at each other. Bra and Pan just stared. Marron and Ubuu pushed Trunks and Goten towards the dining room, with Bra and Pan in tow.

"Come on you guys! Let's go eat!" Marron cheered.

"Yeah, Christmas dinner!Let's go!"Ubuu added.

Shrugging, Pan , Trunks,Goten, and Bra all raced for the table. Marron shook her head and smiled.

"Saiyans."

***
"Hey! Come on in everyone! It's time to open presents."

Bulma pulled everyone into the living room, by the tree. Pan bit her lip nervously.::How will he react? Will he laugh? Or will he take me seriously? And what if says no? And even more, what if he says yes??::

"Ok Pan, you go ahead and give your presents out."

Nodding, she handed them out one by one. A new laptop for her father, a silk dress for her mother, a new cellphone for Goten, new shoes for Bra, a shopping certificate for Marron, triple-eyed sunglasses for Tien, a new hat for Chaotzu, a travel size tv for Master Roshi, a dating guide for Yamcha, a new cooking set for her grandmother ChiChi, tools for Bulma, weights for Ubuu, a new training gi for her grandpa Goku, and a t-shirt for Vegeta with the words "Bow to the Prince" monogrammed on the front. She paused in front of Trunks, blushing slightly.

"Open this in private, ok?"

He raised an eyebrow in question, but nodded silently.::Wonder what my gift is?::He thought silently as she walked away. After giving out his presents, Trunks paused in front of Pan, much the same as she has done to himself.

"Your gift isn't wrapped yet, so I'll have to give it to you a bit later. Alright?"

She smiled, making his heart beat slightly faster. He held up the gift she had given him.

"Now I'm gonna go se what this is all about."

She blushed, raising questions in his mind. Racing up the stairs towards his room , he closed the door behind him, turned on the light and sat on his bed. Unwrapping the gift, he found a picture frame, and a letter fell from the wrapping onto the floor. Turning the frame over, he saw a picture taking during the search for the blackstar dragonballs. After Trunks had narrowly saved Pan from some monster, she had rushed over and kissed him, making him blush. Goku, being the clown that he was, had snapped a picture of it. Trunks blinked. Inscribed on top of the photo was one word : Forever. ::Forever?What's that supposed to mean?:: He bent down and picked the letter up off the floor, setting the picture off to the side. As he read the letter his eyes widened.

-Dear Trunks,

First off, Merry Christmas! I know your probably confused about my gift, so let me explain. I've had a crush on you ever since our search for the blackstar dragonballs with grandpa Goku. But lately it seems my crush has turned into more. I think about you a lot, and wonder if maybe we could have a relationship more than friends, and I can't help but hope that you feel the same. But one thing is for sure, whether as friends or more, we'll always have forever together. So please tell me what you'd rather have- friends forever, or forever and more? I can't just wonder anymore. Either way, I'll always be here. And one more thing to add to your list of Pros and Cons of Dating Pan- here's a pro- she loves you.

-Pan

Trunks gasped."She saw my paper? How?!?" He fingered the necklace in his pocket.

"Time for me to give her my Christmas present."

***
Pan sat in a chair facing the dancefloor. Marron and Ubuu , Bra and Goten , and all the other couples were dancing together. She sighed.::How will he react? Oh Dende,please help me through this.::

"May I have this dance?"

Pan jerked her head up, only to see Trunks offering his hand to her."Wha-what did you say?"

"Would you like to dance?"Pan smiled.

"Of course."

He lead her onto the dance floor amidst the other couples, ignoring the questioning glance of Gohan. Wrapping his arms around her, he heard her sigh in contentment,and he grinned.

"Hey Pan?"

"Yeah?" She looked up warily.

"I think I like 'Forever and more' better."

"Really?"she breathed.

"Definitely. Feel like taking a walk?"

"Sure."

Taking her hand, he steered her towards the back porch in to the night. Stopping her, he grinned.

"Close your eyes."

Arching an eyebrow, she complied. Sweeping the hair off her neck,she shivered slightly as he clasped a necklace around her neck.

Her eyes widening in surprise, she looked at the charm.

"Oh Trunks! It's a silver orchid!"

"It's for silent beauty. Like you."

"You charmer, you."She punched him playfully in the arm."It's beautiful. Thanks Trunks."

He grinned then tilted her head up slightly, feeling her pulse quicken.

"I like my next present more though,"he whispered.

Bending over slightly, he kissed her softly. Pulling away, he saw happiness in her eyes.

"One question though. How in the world did you find out about my Pros and Cons of Dating Pan paper?!?"

She grinned mischievously. "I have my sources." She pulled him down for another kiss. ::Forever should be fun.::