Chapter Eight
Pan rested her head on Trunks' bare shoulder, still struggling to catch her breath. Trunks smoothed her hair, murmuring endearments and pressing kisses to wherever he could reach.
"Are you okay?" he asked tenderly.
"No," she answered.
He tensed.
"I'm way better than okay," she clarified languidly. "I'm great. That was much better than I had thought it would be."
"Should I be insulted?" he said amusedly.
"Hmmmm," she grunted, closing her eyes.
He tucked the blankets around them and let her curl against him. She was asleep within seconds. He smiled to himself, as he ran a gentle finger down the side of her face. If someone had told him a year ago that he was find himself in this position, he would have laughed himself silly, but now, he couldn't imagine life without Pan. His heart swelled with the idea of spending forever with her and he didn't want to waste any more time than he already had. His mind whirled with the possiblities, but his eyes drifted shut before he could finish this thoughts. Before long, he was fast asleep.
Pan woke in the middle of the night to find Trunks sitting up in bed, watching her. She sat up, ignoring the fact that the blanket had slipped down to her waist, and kissed him.
"Why are you up?" she asked. "Didn't I tire you out?"
He grinned. "Yes, but some inner alarm went off and I nearly had a heart attack when I realized someone was lying next to me."
She laughed. "Has it been that long?"
"Not since...what was her name again?"
Pan looked at him suspiciously. "You honestly can't remember her name?"
He saw the worry in her eyes and kissed her forehead. "Because she wasn't important to me. Not like you. Besides, no one has ever spent the whole night with me. In this you're the first."
"I guess that makes us even," Pan muttered sarcastically, jealous of the unknown women Trunks had shared himself with.
Trunks grinned wickedly and kissed the tip of her nose. "Not quite, but I can always make it up to you."
Pan laughed.
He leaned back on the pillows, taking her down with him. She rested against him comfortably, just listening to his even breathing.
"Does anyone know you're here?" she asked.
"Everyone knows I'm looking for you, but no one knows I'm here."
"My dad wants your head on a platter."
"I know."
"He knows I still love you," she confessed before she could change her mind. She could no longer hold it back. "I love you."
Pan felt the weighted silence as she dropped her bombshell. She prayed that he didn't get up in disgust and shoot out of here.
"What a coincidence," he said coolly. "I love you, too."
Pan laughed, relieved, and turned so that she was lying on top of him. She kissed him deeply and thoroughly and felt him respond in kind. At first, she thought she had the upper hand, and then he turned the tables and took control.
"You're going to kill me," she muttered when they were able to speak again.
"Not if you kill me first," he said.
"Trunks," she said suddenly, lifting herself on one elbow. "What if I get pregnant?"
He closed his eyes and pulled her back down. "I took care of it. Don't worry."
"You're sure."
"Pretty sure." And then he surprised her by adding, "And if you do, so what? I'll take care of you, Pan. I swear it."
She smiled contentedly. "Why?"
"Why do you think?" he countered playfully.
"I want to hear you say it," she said.
"Because I love you. I'll always love you," he murmured tenderly.
"Forever," she whispered.
They spent another week on Pan's island, just relaxing and spending time together. They had been cut off from civilization, so was completely unaware that they were the hot topic on the news. When they finally flew back to Capsule Corp. HQ, Bulma met them with an amused smile.
"Ah, so the lovebirds return."
"What?" Trunks said.
"You made news, son," Bulma told him. "I'm just glad you picked the right girl."
Trunks and Pan exchanged a glance and blushed.
"Uh...how did you know, Mom?"
Bulma pulled them in and sat them down in the living room. She spread out a newspaper and pointed at an article. Trunks grabbed at it, his eyes widening.
President Of Capsule Corporation Seen At Hawaiian Hotel With Mystery Woman.
Trunks groaned and rubbed his eyes. Pan leaned against him as she read the headline. She chuckled.
"Why'd you have to give them your name?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Because they wouldn't have let me in and I didn't know what else to do. You were unconscious for godssakes!"
Bulma frowned. "Unconscious? Are you alright, Pan?"
"I'm fine, Bulma."
"She just hit Super Saiya-jin and passed out," Trunks said simply as if telling her of the weather. He had picked up the paper and began reading the article.
"Really?" Vegeta said, hearing the last part. "Great! Who else is going to turn Super Saiya-jin? Bura?!?"
"Calm down," Bulma chided.
"You know Gohan is out for blood, don't you?" Vegeta said, leaning against the wall with a smirk.
"I bet he is," Trunks said, putting down the paper. "I guess we'll just have to explain it to him."
"Explain what? You are together aren't you?" Bulma asked, starting to look worried.
"Yes," Pan said. She turned to Trunks. "I guess we have to go to my house."
Trunks held out his hand and she laid hers in it. They went back out the door.
"You mean it's true?" Vegeta demanded. "Trunks is with Kakarot's granddaughter?"
"He loves her," Bulma said.
"How do you know?" the Prince snorted.
"I'm his mother," she replied. "I see it in their faces. I think we should be getting ready for another wedding."
"I can't believe this," Vegeta muttered. "My blood is going to be mixing with Kakarot's. I can't take it."
Bulma looked amused. "You think they're going to have offspring? They just got together."
Vegeta scowled. "Well, I'm his father," he mimcked. "I see it in his face. They're together."
Bulma sighed, a sappy smile on her face. "That's so romantic."
Her husband snorted.
"Gohan, could you please put me down?" Trunks choked out.
"Dad! Put him down!" Pan shrieked.
Gohan glared murderously at Trunks. Trunks looked down at his one-time friend and smiled shakily.
"I can't breathe," he gasped, the smile still on his face, but his color was starting to worry Pan.
Pan shook her father's arm, but he didn't even budge. She would have laughed if this wasn't happening to her, for they did create a rather comical picture. Gohan was holding Trunks more than a foot off the ground by his neck, and Pan was hanging onto the same arm, but Gohan wasn't even breaking into a sweat.
"MOM!!!"
Videl rushed down the stairs at the sound of her daughter's voice. She gasped when she saw what Gohan was doing.
"Gohan! Put him down!" she admonished.
Gohan let go of Trunks none too gently, making the younger man fall right on his butt. Pan helped him up, and didn't let go of his arm as her father pinned them with a furious look. Trunks nervously straightened his rumpled blue t-shirt. He was just glad he hadn't been wearing a tie. He didn't even want to think about what Gohan would have done with it.
"Gohan, it's not what you think," Trunks stuttered.
"Then what is it?" Gohan countered.
"Pan passed out," Trunks explained. "I had to take her somewhere. She finally reached Super Saiya-jin."
Gohan's eyes widened, then settled proudly on his daughter. A smile grew on his lips. "Really? That's good." Then, he saw Pan's fingers twine with Trunks'. He scowled. "But that doesn't explain why you were gone for a week," he said to Trunks.
Pan felt Trunks' hand tremble. "Dad, I showed him around Hawaii. That's all," she explained.
"That is not all! Don't lie to me, young lady!"
Trunks and Pan glanced at each other. She could see him grasping for ideas. For his part, Trunks believed that there was only one way to fix this. It was an idea that had been forming in his head the past week, and he found that he could think of nothing else. His jaw set, he turned back to Gohan.
"I asked Pan to marry me, Gohan," he said. "She hasn't given me an answer because she wanted your permission first."
Videl let out a cry and rushed to embrace her daughter. Gohan was shocked speechless. Pan returned her mother's hug mechanically. She couldn't believe he'd said that.
"What do you say?" Trunks asked nervously.
"Yes," Gohan and Pan said in unison.
"You're what?!?" Chichi cried.
"We're getting married," Trunks said, his face reddening as he felt the weight of what felt like a million stares. Pan had pressed herself against his side, willing them to look at him and not at her.
The entire gang had gathered at Chichi's house for dinner so that Pan and Trunks could announce their engagement. Marron stared at them, her mouth open. Bura and Goten exchanged satisfied glances. Bulma clung to Vegeta, smiling foolishly. Vegeta, instead of pushing her off, had something that was almost a smile on his face. Yamcha, Krilin, and #18 sang out their congratulations. Chichi launched herself at Trunks and Pan, weeping.
"Oh, what a happy day," she sobbed.
Pan and Trunks exchanged an amused glance. They extracted Chichi gently and handed her over to Videl. They sat back down, everyone still staring at them. Underneath the table, Pan laced her fingers through Trunks'.
"So, when's the big day?" Goten asked, grinning.
"We were thinking maybe in the summertime," Pan answered.
"I thought we were going to have it in the autumn," Trunks countered.
"Were we?" Pan said innocently.
Trunks gave her a look. She smiled.
"We're still thinking about it," she said to Goten.
She looked down the table and into Marron's shocked blue eyes. Marron glared at her. Pan winced. Bura glanced from one to the other, understanding what was going on. Trunks squeezed Pan's hand and when she met his eyes, he could see that he wanted her to talk to Marron.
Pan waited until the table was cleared and everyone retreated to their corners before pulling Marron aside. Bura followed them. They walked outside the house, silent.
"Marron, I don't know what to say," Pan sighed.
"You don't have to say anything," Marron replied coolly. "You don't need to explain. You won him fair and square."
"It wasn't a game," Pan said.
"I know," Marron said. She stopped walking. "I guess I was just surprised. I didn't expect it."
"That's cause she never told us," Bura said with a smile. "Goten and I suspected it, but why didn't you tell us, Pan?"
"Because I thought you would laugh at me," Pan replied, looking down. "He's so much older than me, and I thought you would tell me that I had no chance. I thought that if I kept it a secret, I would have a chance."
Bura put an arm around her shoulders. "You were right in thinking that. I didn't expect this at all. I'm happy for you."
"So am I," Marron muttered. "I'm just jealous. I always thought I'd be the first one to get married."
"So, are you okay about Trunks and me?" Pan questioned.
"Yeah," Marron said. "I shouldn't have kissed him. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't have worked out."
Pan hugged Marron. Bura put her arms around both of them.
"I love you guys," Pan said, close to tears.
"Pan?"
They looked towards the voice and saw Trunks emerge from the shadows of the trees. He held a single white rose in his hand. Something gleamed on its stem. Bura and Marron gasped and made some excuse about having to go back in the house. Pan could hear them giggling.
Trunks held out a hand. She put hers in it. He slid the ring off the rose and put it on her finger. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Pan smiled at him and looked down at the ring. It was silver, with a blue diamond winking up at her from a circlet of small white diamonds. She gasped.
"Trunks, it's beautiful," she exclaimed. "But you shouldn't have…"
He grinned knowingly. She felt a reluctant smile creep across her face.
"Well..."
"Just say thank you," he prompted.
"Thank you."
He pursed his lips and closed his eyes. Pan chuckled and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his.
