One Simple Little Wish
by Pan no Ojousan

I let the cool air rush past me as I flew toward my apartment. I was completely engrossed in thought. Was he trying to tell me something? I hoped...I didn't know what to hope. Two parts of me were praying for two separate things. Whatever this little game of Trunks' was, it was surely confusing me. I didn't know what he was trying to get from me, but I might just get so dazed by the whole thing that I'd end up slipping up anyway. I just had to keep in mind that visiting Goten's house meant it was a trick. The whole thing would be a huge deception. He was already hurting my head from the way he seemed interested in me one moment, then the next he was treating me like little Panny again. How could I take that for too long? I'd have to eventually make a choice: either straight up tell him I love him, or back down and dump him. If he was even considered as being with me. How was I supposed to choose between those two when we weren't even a couple? My fate was inevitable: I'd have to somehow get him to tell me whether or not I was his 'girlfriend' in the fairly near future. I could ask Goten if he'd called and told him about me. But maybe that wasn't his plan. Too much planning was being put into this stupid relationship already! I didn't even know if it was real! Sunset was fading away, almost turning the cool air around me into cold. I was still nowhere near home. I was just aimlessly wandering the sky, thinking about my potential relationship and all the things I could do to either create it or destroy it. Creating a relationship had to come first. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something, so that he wouldn't have to tell Goten that he'd tricked me into going with him. Maybe I had to be the one to ask him out first. That would be a literal dream come true for me, especially if he said yes. And if he said no, then I'd know he wasn't actually planning anything against Uncle. I could spill and confess that the only reason I asked him was because Bra had this silly assumption about him...Then everything would be normal between us again. Newly determined, I set off toward home. I'd have to call Bra first, of course, and see what she had to say. I'd then call Uncle and find out what he thought. Dad would have to give me permission. Then tomorrow, I'd go see Trunks, and maybe (if I'd worked up enough courage) I'd ask him out. It was as simple as that. Who am I kidding? I wondered, quietly scoffing at myself. It was anything but simple. All I had to do was say a few stupid words that might put all my suspicions to rest. Then again, what if he'd say yes? If he agreed, I didn't know what to do. I'd have to live up to it and follow along with the plan until he got me to Goten's. But what if never did take me to Goten's? I could be his girlfriend forever...which wouldn't be entirely bad. But it would be a huge lie. I would spend every day with him expecting for him to slip up when, in reality, he might actually love me. I couldn't bear to do that to him. There was my apartment, off in the distance. The balcony was still open, just as I'd left it when I left. There was a soft light coming from inside the door. Funny...I don't remember leaving the light on... Panic welled up inside me, and I flew as quickly as I could to the balcony. My back was pressed against the adjacent wall, and I was totally prepared to fly to the police station to report a robbery or something. There was a slight rustling going on inside. I stepped in, glancing around nervously. The noises were coming from the kitchen. "Oh! Duh!" I yelled. There was a frightened shout from the kitchen, and a crash of a few glasses. Then Goten popped his head through the doorway. "Pan, you scared the hell out of me!" he scolded. "I broke some of your wonderful glasses. The ones with the flowers and stuff painted on them." "That's okay," I breathed, sinking down onto the couch. "I thought someone was robbing my apartment!" "No, just the kitchen," he said guiltily, leaving the already-sloppy room to come and sit near me. "News?" "I'm glad you're here," I said, somewhat relieved. "I was thinking...do you think I should ask him out? Instead of waiting for him to ask me?" Goten's jaw dropped. He sputtered some words, none of which made sense coming after each other. "What exactly is your motive behind this?" he asked carefully, sounding too much like my father. "No wonder this was Trunks' plan," I giggled. "The thought of him and me together really does freak you out." "No it doesn't. Now explain." I smiled. He was easy prey. "I thought it might make Trunks' plan easier to put into action if I made the first move, so to speak. You know, so that he could say that our 'relationship' was my idea?" "Aah," Goten murmured. "Decent plan. You doing it for sure?" "No, I have to call Dad first," I said. "He'd freak unless I told him the plan." "You're right," Goten confirmed, going back into the kitchen. I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed him. He was rummaging through the refrigerator again, pulling out random items of food. "You know how Bra's gonna handle this?" "Nope," I informed him, taking a seat at the table, which was still a complete mess. "It just occurred to me on the way home." "She's gonna say, 'I knew it! You have a thing for my brother!'" he said in a horrible imitation of her voice. I burst out giggling as he went on. "Then she'll get worried and yell at Trunks for dating a girl fourteen years younger than him, but she'll get over it. I mean, she'll know it's part of the plan." "Yeah," I agreed. "In fact, I was gonna call her." "Don't bother," Goten said, waving me off. "I'll call Bra, you worry about your dad. I'll also let Marron know." I bit my lip nervously, recalling our earlier conversation in the mall. "You think she was right? That I'll totally fall for him without even meaning to?" "Of course not," he said, surprised. "You're too strong-willed to do something like that. I mean, you're Panny." I smiled wryly, glad my uncle still possessed a bit of Grandpa's naïve nature. Even though he'd neglected to convince me of anything, I still felt a bit better about the situation. "You're right," I said, only trying to reassure him. Reassuring myself was no use. It could never happen. "I mean, he can't get to me like he did to Marron or any of those other girls, huh?" Goten squirmed uncomfortably, making me confident that he was worried about me. "Right." I laughed lightly. He did a pathetic job of comforting me. "I have to call my dad. Do you mind staying here, or would you rather go home?" "I'll go. I don't want to risk damaging my sensitive ears to your dad's yelling." "Okay. See you later, Uncle." "Bye, Panny." He hovered in the doorway for a moment, casting me a sideways glance. "You don't mind if I take some of this food with me, right?" I laughed at him. Goten would simply never change. "Not at all. I'm always willing to feed the entire Saiyan population." "Thank you," he said happily, thus leaving my apartment. And leaving me in thought again. I shoved the thoughts out of my mind, telling myself that I had to call my father before I could lose track of time again. I slowly reached over and lifted up the phone. This would definitely be the toughest conversation I'd ever have with my dad. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he'd do to me if I was serious. And what he'd do to poor Trunks...that kind of pain would be unbearable. I dialed the number and cautiously put the phone to my ear. Maybe he wasn't home...I frowned as I caught myself turning that thought into a hope. No such luck. My mother picked up the phone after only two rings. "Hello?" "Mom," I chirped, giggling nervously. "Hi! How are you?" "Panny?" Her tone crossed to that of worry. "What? Are you okay?" "I'm fine, Mom," I said. "I just...have to talk to Dad for a minute." "Okay," she said uneasily. "Whatever this is about, I'm sure he'll overreact if you're that nervous about it." "You can say that again," I mumbled as she passed the phone to my father. He didn't say anything, but I could practically feel his worry. "D-daddy?" "What?" he asked, voice filled with concern. "Did something happen to you?" "No, I just...have something to ask you," I said, trying to sound calm, but failing miserably. "You know the plan I had about Trunks and Goten and Marron?" There was a short silence. I knew he was fearing the absolute worst. "Yes." I squirmed under the pressure. If Goten had been there, he'd have been laughing his ass off at me. I was glad he left when he did. "I was...thinking..." "What did you tell him?" "I'm sorry, Daddy, don't take this the wrong way," I pleaded. "It means nothing, I don't expect any sort of relationship to build from it. But I was gonna ask him out." "What!?" my father screeched. "But the plan..." I couldn't help but laugh. His little girl was going to see if she could date a man fourteen years older than herself, and he was worried about messing up some stupid plan. "I'm keeping the plan in mind here," I reminded him. "I thought maybe it would be better for him if I was the one to make a move. Then, if he refuses me, I'll know for sure that it was just a theory and we can go back to being friends." "Okay," he said uneasily. "If that's what seems best." I was amazed. He wasn't angry at all? What alien had possessed my father this time? "Yeah, that's what I think is best." "Alright. Well, it's up to you. I'll see you soon, Panny." "Yeah..." "Goodbye." "Bye..." I stared at the phone, shocked at how...well that had gone. I placed it gently back into its cradle, then looked to the clock. It was just eight thirty. I could still call Trunks tonight. No, that would be stupid. I wanted to see his reaction. It would be...priceless. Nothing short of priceless. Then again, if I had to face him, it meant he'd be able to see me, too. I would be a nervous wreck. Maybe the phone call was the right thing to do... This situation was starting to become strenuous on my sanity, I realized as I ran my fingers through my hair. The bandana got in my way, and I accidentally knocked it off. I hadn't worn it for a while, and it felt so natural that I forgot I was wearing it. It wrapped around my wrist when I pulled my hand back, tugging slightly at my hair. I sighed, frustrated, and began untying the knot with my free hand. What if he said yes? Sure, it had always been a dream of mine to go out with Trunks. Anything that remotely resembled a date had been a cherished thought in my mind. I never thought of asking him out, though, because I didn't think he'd like me back. Not just simple 'like,' I recalled. I was actually in love with Trunks for a while. I still had that feeling buried inside, and I didn't want to revive it, especially as a lie. This whole relationship would be a lie because I was only doing it for the dumb plan. I should never have brought myself into this... "I didn't bring me into this," I reminded myself. "He did. It was his fault." I could just see it: He was probably at home, laughing at my gullible nature. I barely knew him anymore; I only thought I did. Bulma had said that he'd lost interest in fighting. If that had changed, who knew what else was different about him? True, his looks remained the same. But his personality already seemed faintly different. I hadn't talked to him about anything with actual substance. Only my job and some fleeting memories of too long ago. We didn't speak a word to each other at dinner. I mostly only talked to his mother. He probably knew I still expected him to be a fighter. That must have been why he didn't bring it up. I was glad, though, that he hadn't seen my horrible excuse for a spar against Vegeta. Or maybe he had...he must have felt my ki rise. He may have stopped to watch me get beat into the dirt before Bulma sent him to get food. Or maybe he wasn't there at all, being as I didn't see him at all before we ate. I kept thinking about what a fool I was being. I shouldn't have invited him to lunch yesterday. I shouldn't have seen him at all. But what was I supposed to do, never see any of them again? I couldn't do that! I could never distance myself away from the Briefs for so long...then again, I had done it for eight years. The rest of my life may have proven a little difficult. I'd have missed Bra too much to stay away for that long. I would have missed Trunks horribly, but I never would have admitted it to anyone, including myself. I silently cursed myself. All those feelings I'd worked so hard to suppress were back. The little infatuation I used to have was burning inside me once again, only much more intensely. This was a bad situation to be in with that kind of attitude. I was supposed to be playing with his heart, not trying to win it! That would be determined tomorrow, when I worked up enough courage to call him. If he would turn me down, I could go back to being normal. My rediscovered love probably wouldn't subside so easily, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about being used by one of my best friends. What possessed him to do this to Goten anyway? Last I knew, they were as close as Bra and me. I mean, the only thing I could figure that would make him hate Goten instead of Marron would be if Marron was cheating on Trunks with Goten. But that couldn't be it, right? I mean, Goten was too much like Grandpa. He'd never do anything like that. Unless Marron never told him she was with Trunks in the first place. But Goten told me that she'd dumped Trunks. So he had to know about it. Goten wouldn't do anything like that. Would he? Great, now you've got yourself all worked up about Uncle's commitment issues, I laughed at myself. That wasn't part of the picture at all. Wait a minute. Of course that had something to do with it! If Marron was cheating on Trunks, then he was the one I should be helping in his plot of revenge! I had to call Goten back and find out. But I'd have to make it look like I didn't get that idea on my own; like Trunks said something to me. But he still might lie about it. I sighed, frustrated. There was no way to do this right. I'd undoubtedly end up hurting someone I wasn't supposed to hurt. Maybe Bra would be able to tell me truthfully. "Stupid, stupid girl," I chided myself. "Look what you've gotten yourself into. It's too bad you couldn't just mind your business and leave Trunks and Goten to fight over Marron." Marron...she seemed to know a lot about Trunks. I could run to her for help. After all, she knew the plan. Mostly everyone knew about the dumb plan. We didn't even know if it was real! It seemed like the whole world against Trunks, and Trunks against Goten. He didn't know about any of this. Maybe I should tell him. "No," I reminded myself aloud again. "That's not the plan. Stupid plan." Defeated, I returned to my bedroom once more. This was a stupid idea. I only needed some sleep... I wrapped myself up in the blankets, realizing that the lack of sleep from the night before had actually gotten me pretty tired. Yawning, I let my eyes fall closed and tried to dream of more pleasant things than ripping out the heart of a friend I held dear for so long. * * * * * The alarm, once again, rudely awakened me with a sharp buzz. It took a lot of my willpower not to just blast the stupid thing into a few thousand pieces. I couldn't, I had to get up for work. I groaned and rolled out of my bed, instantly feeling a slight chill. It was a cold morning, probably designed specially to match my grim outlook. Today would be interesting, to say the least. A thousand other emotions would probably be swimming in my head by the end of the day, but that wasn't what I had to worry about right now. I had to get my lazy butt out of bed and ready for work. Before long, I was stuck in a traffic mess between my apartment and Satan City. Growling to myself, I turned up the music and lost myself in it. Better than thinking about my stupid situation with Trunks again. I'd rather do anything but think of him right now. "Hey!" I snapped my head around and turned down the stereo a bit. "Excuse me?" I said incredulously. No one had ever yelled at me for blaring the music before, especially not a guy like the one I found myself facing. He looked a lot like my uncle, only his hair was a little shorter and his eyes weren't so huge and perceptive-looking. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing, listening to music like that?" Normally I would have blasted him off the face of the planet, but because he looked so much like my uncle and he didn't try to add a sexy purr to his voice, I let him live. "I'm frustrated at the damn traffic," I said plainly. "Plus, I've landed myself into a huge mess that I don't quite know how to get out of." "Oh," he said, sounding less confused. He really did remind me of Goten; not only in his appearance, but in his attitude. He seemed safe enough, so I didn't protest when he spoke again. "What kind of a situation are you in?" "A huge romantic crisis," I said. So it was a bit of exaggeration...so what? "I don't know if I'm doing the right thing here at all." He nodded knowingly. "Been there. Your boyfriend's too attached to you, right?" "No, that's not it at all," I replied. "In fact, he's not even my boyfriend right now. I don't know if he wants to be and it's driving me insane." "Why don't you just ask him?" "Well, it's a lot of things. See, his sister thinks that he's trying to use me to get my Uncle Goten angry, because he's so protective over me. So we all just took that assumption and figured it to be true, but I'm wondering if it really is." This guy was good to talk to. He didn't seem to follow my predicament at all, but he listened to me. That was all I needed. "Maybe you should just pull yourself out of the situation altogether," he suggested. "What, was there a car accident or something?" I snarled under my breath, straining to see up ahead. Too many huge trucks around for me to be able to see anything important. But we hadn't moved an inch. Sighing, I turned back to the guy. "I wish it was that simple. He's actually my best friend, or one of them, at least. I haven't seen him for eight years He's also my uncle's best friend, but a girl got between them. That's what Bra thinks the motive is." The guy looked confused for a moment. "I think I'm starting to get this. You haven't seen this guy or his sister for eight years. During those eight years, the guy was with some girl. They recently broke up and the girl went for the guy's best friend, who happened to be your overprotective uncle. Then you saw him and he thought, 'Hey, maybe I can get her uncle mad by going out with her!' But he hasn't done anything because he doesn't want his plan to be revealed yet?" I was astonished. "That's pretty much it," I said numbly. "Okay. I wasn't sure about that. I didn't catch your name, by the way...?" "I didn't offer it in the first place," I said coldly. He looked slightly offended. "Kidding. I'm Pan. Nice to meet you." "Taylor, and likewise. Pan, you may want to move your car in the near future. Traffic's starting to actually go somewhere." "Oh. Thanks." I looked up ahead, and sure enough, the stream of cars was inching forward. "You should come to lunch with me today," I suggested mildly as the movement grew closer and closer. "Sure," he replied. "Where do you work?" "Z TV. Call there and ask for Pan Son, or punch extension two-two-seven." "Okay, cool. See you at lunch." Those were the last words he could squeeze in, because we started to move shortly after. I lost him in the sea of other cars. It took me forty minutes to get to work that morning, whereas normally it took fifteen. I was angry, but hey, what could I do? Not a major crisis anyway. At least I met someone who might serve as a good counselor at lunch. Taylor could probably convince me that calling Trunks that afternoon was a stupid thing to do. I'd talk to him before lunch, too, to make sure we got the same break. Hopefully we did. I didn't know why, but I felt a lot better after I talked to him. It probably had something to do with the fact that he looked just like Goten. They say everyone has a twin in the world. Maybe Taylor was Goten's. Immediately upon entering the building, I was swamped with questions about my lunch today. Would I be going out with Trunks again? Nope. No one could believe that I'd turn down the very rich and hot guy that I'd been with yesterday. I was quick to explain that I didn't turn him down, and that we just didn't make any plans for today. I spoke too soon. My phone rang almost a half hour into my day, in the midst of the interrogation I was being put through. I automatically assumed it was Taylor, calling out of boredom. I wasted no time in picking it up. "Taylor?" I said casually, smirking at the mob of angry, jealous women. "Um, no," the voice on the other end said. My eyes widened. "Trunks! What are you doing? Why are you calling? Did I leave something at your house—" A chorus of cheers erupted from the group. I'd obviously inadvertently implied something I really didn't mean to. I sneered at them and silently pleaded Janet to get them to shut up. She shrugged, signifying that there was nothing she could do. "No, nothing like that," he chuckled. "I see you're quite popular right now." "Yeah," I sighed. The women instantly hushed, straining to hear what was being said. I glared at them. "Why don't you just wire the damn phone to the intercom?" "Don't say that!" Trunks yelled at me. "They might actually do it!" "Oops," I whispered. "They aren't moving, anyway." "Whatever. Just don't give them ideas." His tone switched to that of concern, laced with an awkward tense feeling. "If you don't mind my asking, who's Taylor?" "A guy I met in a traffic jam today," I explained. "He helped me with a small problem I managed to land myself in." "Oh. That was nice. Why were you expecting him to call?" This one was a little harder to illustrate. I didn't want to make myself seem unattainable, did I? Duh. Of course I did. "I asked him if he wanted to go to lunch today," I said coolly. "He's just like Goten. I thought maybe he could help me further in this little dilemma of mine." "And I couldn't?" "I didn't say that." "Oh." There was a short silence. "I was calling to see if you wanted to do something today, but if you already have plans..." "I'll cancel them," I said quickly. "I mean, I like Taylor and everything, but I'd rather talk to someone I actually know for an hour." "Okay," he said, sounding more cheerful. "You want to make all those girls in your office really jealous?" "Why, sure," I said, surprised that he would offer such a thing. "What do you suggest?" "Don't worry about that just yet," he said slyly. I was forced to think the worst. "I'll be at Z TV at one. Make sure you're already downstairs and there are a bunch of people following you." "What are you planning?" I asked suspiciously. "You'll see," he said teasingly. "Be patient, Panny. Jeez." I sighed, frustrated. There were still a whole slew of people, waiting to attack me with questions when I hung up. "Okay. I'm forced to be satisfied with that." A smirk crossed my face, glancing at the women in the area. "See you at lunch, love." "What!? Oh..." Trunks laughed over the phone. "You're starting to get the hang of this. See you then." "Bye." I smiled, hanging up the phone. "Why did you just say the word 'love' in association to Trunks Briefs?" Janet questioned, eyes wide. "Janet, you of all people should leave me alone about this," I said, smiling to myself. "I'll fill you in later, I promise. Right now, everyone leave." To my utter and complete shock, they did as I said. All except my brunette friend, who was still gaping at me as if I had gone Super Saiyan right in front of her. "What was that all about?" she asked carefully. "Let's put it this way," I said, smirking in my best Vegeta-like way. "Trunks is coming here again. We're going out again." My smirk faded to an upset frown. "I have to make up something to tell Taylor. I hope he doesn't get mad...I mean, he is just like Goten..." "Goten?" Janet repeated. "Past boyfriend?" "No!" I yelled, disgusted. "That's my dad's brother! I'd never...that's just..." "Sorry, my mistake," she laughed. "I expect nothing but the dirt from you, Pan. You won't disappoint me with details about you and Trunks, will you?" "Of course not," I said. "Even though there won't be many details to give." "Don't even try that 'we're just friends' crap again." "Why not? It's true." "Then why did you call him 'love?'" "For the response," I explained. "That's not all I'm doing for response. I don't know exactly what he has planned, but I'm sure it's gonna be good." She gave me a sideways glance. "For you, or for the audience?" My expression wavered for a moment before I answered. "Both," I admitted finally, another smirk gracing my lips. Her eyes lit up and she nodded, eager to see what Trunks was up to. I was a bit anxious, but that was hours away yet. I had a lot of work to do, no doubt... I filed a lot of papers, with a question about Trunks in every office I visited. I didn't give them any direct answers, because I didn't know exactly what was up. I had a pretty strong feeling, though, and I was looking very forward to his visit that day. At around ten o'clock, I received another phone call, this time from Taylor. "Hey," he greeted cheerfully when I picked up. "You still up for lunch, or did your Mystery Date call and beg for you to come back to him?" I smiled. "Yep, that happened. Almost. I'm going out with him again, but that doesn't mean I don't like you so don't take it the wrong way." "I'm not," he assured me. "Maybe some other time." "Yeah, I want you to meet my uncle," I said, excited. "You and him are, like, the same person. You look the same and even think...well...now that I think of it..." "What? He's smarter than me, huh?" "No, just the opposite." He laughed. "Okay, I'd like to meet your Uncle Goten. And maybe your boyfriend's sister." It was my turn to laugh. "I'm sure she'd be glad to. You're closer to my age, right?" "I should think so. I'm almost twenty-seven." "Good! Bra's that age now. I think she has a crush on Goten, so since you look like him you should be pretty well off with her." "Are you setting me up?" he asked suspiciously. "Me?" I chirped. "Of course not!" "What does she look like?" he asked, suddenly serious again. I thought a moment. "Have you ever seen Bulma Briefs, the former president of Capsule Corp.?" "Yes, I have. Does she look like her?" "Yeah, she's her daughter. Trunks is the president, Bra's the VP." "You're going out with Mister Businessman himself?" Taylor inquired. "Interesting. I could be going out with Miss Businesswoman!" I laughed again. "Yep. I'll warn you, though; Vegeta's a little weird. You may have to get past him before you're allowed to see Bra at all." "Vegeta? Her dad or something?" "Exactly, and he's very protective over his little princess's well-being," I cautioned. "He's also one of the strongest men on the planet, so I advise you not to mess with him too much." "Okay. I have to get back to work now." "All right," I said, somewhat disappointed. Taylor was very easy to talk to, and a lot like Goten in personality. The fact that I had such connections didn't even seem to phase him. "When I said not to mess with Vegeta too much, I meant not to mess with him at all." "No problem," he laughed. As though I wasn't serious. I was about to clarify how important this point was, but he started talking again. "I'll call you again later today, and you can give me the details. Maybe arrange a double-date type thing. I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you could be the one to introduce me." "Sure," I said, somewhat surprised. "I'll talk to Trunks, then I'll get back to you. First we have to make a little scene..." I snickered. "You're evil," he said. "Talk to you later." "See ya," I smiled and hung up the phone. That was interesting, and kind of nice. I was glad that Taylor didn't turn out to be some jerk. He looked an awful lot like my uncle, so I didn't write him off immediately as I would have done with just about everyone else. Maybe he even liked to fight...then again, Bra wouldn't care much. I glanced at the clock. Ten twenty-three. I groaned, realizing that there was way too much time between ten thirty and one. I'd have to find some way to occupy myself until then... Running things over again in my mind, I realized I'd be forced to ask Trunks out now. But I could play it off as a favor for a friend who was interested in his sister and wanted me there as moral support. He might buy it... There was every chance... I frowned. Who was I kidding? He'd never buy that one, even if it was true. I made a mental note to ask Trunks about his new attitude toward fighting. I hoped it wasn't true, what Bulma had said. Maybe we could skip lunch today and spar instead. Things could be normal between us, for now. I could just act like this was a normal relationship, and not worry about plots and revenge and all that junk that Bra had imposed upon me. I didn't care that much about it, anyway. If Trunks only wanted to use me for a childish act of revenge...then I'd just have to change his attitude. No, I wasn't a little girl anymore. I was a grown woman, perfectly capable of handling things alone. This was one of those things. I knew what kind of girl Trunks wanted, and I could definitely make myself into her. And even if I couldn't, I could always try some friendly persuasion. Either way, I was convinced that I could find a way to get Trunks to fall in love with me. Why wouldn't there be? I was in love with him for so long, there was no reason that I couldn't use some mind games and make him mine. I silently thanked my father for making me sign up for that psychology class in college. But all this would only be a last resort...I didn't really want to deceive Trunks at all. But if he brought up Goten one time, I'd have to make sure there was no way I'd end up hurt. I sighed, filling out some papers. There was every possibility, still, that Trunks only thought of me as a friend, and nothing more. If that was the case, I'd be perfectly content to leave it that way. Any romantic interests that I had were welcome to be reciprocated, but if he didn't feel that way, then he didn't feel that way. Unless one day I found myself desperate and was reduced to using one of those horrible psychology tricks. "Pan!" Janet shouted, making me jump in surprise. "It's almost one! You've been aimlessly writing on that paper for an hour now!" "WHAT!?" I cried, staring at the paper. I shot a glance at the clock and sighed. "You liar." "Well, maybe it's not almost one," she admitted, laughing dryly, "but you have been scribbling on that paper for a while. I thought you'd appreciate it if I snapped you out of it." "Well, I don't," I said, scowling. "I'd much rather sit here and daydream about Trunks, thank you." "Ooh, please spill," she prodded, taking a seat near mine. I considered for a moment. What harm could it do? At least it would pass time more quickly. All I would have to do is leave out the parts about Saiyans and Androids and various other alien races. Other than that, she'd know everything about my relationship with Trunks. Granted, that was a big chunk of it. I was willing to explain. One o'clock would come a lot faster that way. "Well, it all started the day I was born..." * * * * * Just as was expected, there were a mob of girls that followed me down to the lobby to wait for Trunks. Throughout the morning, rumors had been flying about the two of us, and I was anxious to see what he was going to do about them. Janet now understood just the way I felt for him, and she was eagerly awaiting his arrival, as well. One thing was certain: he wouldn't disappoint all these people. I casually spoke with Janet while I waited. We were talking about something to do with copy machines...neither of us truly knew what we were talking about. Our eyes constantly darted to the doorway, expecting to see a certain lavender-haired man show up there any second. He showed up at one o'clock, down to the second. I couldn't have been happier. Janet instantly excused herself to go mingle with the gathered people. Trunks came right in and waved at all the people waiting there for him. "Perfect timing," I said quietly. "I noticed," he laughed. "All these people are jealous of you?" "Yep," I said smugly, poking a finger at his chest. "You really are a coveted prize around here, buddy." "I am, huh?" "Obviously." A twinge of guilt flickered in his eyes for a moment. "I...really, really hope you don't take this the wrong way..." "What?" I asked, slightly alarmed. "Just don't hate me, okay?" I would have responded, but I hadn't the time (or the breath, for that matter). He leaned down and kissed me gently, then pulled back right away. There was only a hint of a blush on his face. My face? That was about as red as it could get. He laughed at me for a second. "Sorry. But it worked." "Wha...what...w-worked?" I asked after getting my mouth to function again. He gave a slight nod in the direction of the crowd, and I turned to see what looked like hundreds of people, all awestruck at what they'd just witnessed. Could little Panny really be dating the richest guy in the world? I smirked. Yep. "Go now?" he offered, holding out his arm. "Please," I smiled, taking it. I waved to Janet (who was the only one not shocked by what she'd seen) and the rest all immediately surrounded her, demanding to know what was really up. Trunks and I took the opportunity to leave the Z TV building. "Where to today?" he asked. "I don't know. I was thinking maybe we could just go somewhere and talk for the whole hour instead of eat." "What was that? A Son requesting to skip a meal!?" I laughed. "That's right. If only Grandma ChiChi were here to see it..." "She'd be so proud..." "Then she'd demand that Grandpa take after his grandchildren more and learn not to devour everything in the world before it's even cooked properly." Trunks shrugged. "Maybe." "There," I said, pointing. "There's a park over there. I just want to talk to you for a while..." "Uh oh. This isn't gonna be a normal talk, is it?" "You might say that," I mumbled, pulling him into the park. I practically dragged him over to a tree and sat down under it, motioning for him to do the same. "Now, I have a small request to make...just to help someone out..." His features grew suspicious. "What?" I took a deep breath. Now or never, girl... "You know that Taylor guy I was expecting a phone call from this morning?" "Yes," he said tersely. "Um, he was kind of...interested in seeing your sister." "Oh," he said, rolling his eyes. "I thought...nevermind." I eyed him suspiciously, but shrugged it off. "Now to the part that I'm requesting of you. Would you mind horribly if you and I went out on a sort of double date with them? I'm gonna set them up no matter what, because he's just like Goten only so much younger, and he requested that you and I be there because he already knows me and it wouldn't be quite so awkward on him." I said the whole thing in one breath, for fear I wouldn't get the courage to go on if I stopped. I took a second to catch my breath while he considered. "I don't see why not," Trunks reasoned. "I mean, it's a favor for a friend..." "And Bra would probably like him," I added. "He looks exactly like Uncle Goten, only a little different." "That makes him exactly the same?" "Of course." He laughed lightly. "Sure, then. When are we going?" "I'm thinking tomorrow night," I told him. "For dinner or something. I haven't talked to Bra about it yet, but I'm sure she'd be glad to." "Okay, it's settled. Heh, hear that? You and me are going out." I inwardly squealed with delight at that statement. Outside, I just smiled faintly. "Yeah. Never thought I'd see the day." "Did you want to see the day?" I froze. I'm sure a panicked look crossed my face, I only hoped he didn't notice it. What was I supposed to say to this? I studied his expression carefully, wondering what he was expecting me to respond. He looked so solemn and curious. I just couldn't lie to that. "I'll admit, Mister Nosy, I did have a crush on you a while back," I said, trying to sound exasperated with the question. In reality, I was scared. Terrified. He didn't look convinced. I took a deep breath and went on, more nervously this time. "And...I might still have...a teeny little strand of remaining feelings..." He smiled, serious expression softened. "Just like I thought. Then you didn't mind too much that I kissed you back there?" "No, not at all," I said, too quickly. He laughed at me for longer than I wanted him to. "Hey, shut up. You didn't seem too annoyed, either." Pan, my mind screamed, you're falling straight into it! It's the trap! My heart was telling me just the opposite. How could he be so relaxed if this was all a set up? He was laughing at me, true, but he wasn't keeping me in the corner of his eye at all times. Just laughing the fact that I admitted I wanted to kiss him. But it was the way Bra said it would be. He'd seem totally innocent, then the next thing I knew—BAM! I'd be another head on the wall. "Just to warn you," he said after he recovered, "I'm doing it again. When we go back. There should be a nice crowd gathered, and I'm sure you'd appreciate the notoriety." "Not a problem," I said, trying to act nonchalant. I don't think he bought it at all. "There was another thing I wanted to know about you before our time's up." "You've got plenty of time to ask it," he said, checking his watch. "We have almost the whole hour still." I rolled my eyes. "More like forty-five minutes." "Still though...ask away." I inspected his face carefully, seeing the trace of worry appear on it when I did so. "I was talking to your mother yesterday," I began carefully, "and she said you'd lost interest in fighting. Is that true?" "Lost interest?" he echoed. "I...well, you know...with work..." "Excuses," I smirked, repeating Vegeta's retort from the night before. "Maybe," he mumbled, looking away. "Way to treat me like dirt right after you ask me out." Blushing slightly, I lay completely on the grass. "I wanted to know. Sorry for asking." We were silent for a long while. I stared up at the green leaves of the tree, filtering the sunlight out of my eyes. Trunks sat next to me, and I have no idea what he was staring at for the whole silence. I probably wouldn't like to, either. We finally started talking again, but about stupid things, like when we were younger. There weren't all too many memories I could share with him when he was a child, but we had plenty of embarrassing memories of me. We spent the whole remaining forty-five minutes humiliating me. It felt...good, somehow. Our time was finally up, and he had to take me back to work. We approached the building, and we could already see the crowd that had formed inside. "Looks like your fan club's here." "Yeah," he confirmed. "They'll soon find out that I'm unattainable. Okay?" "Okay," I giggled. This would be...fun, I thought, grinning mischievously. To say the very least, fun. Trunks and I stopped outside the building, purposely to build suspense inside. He looked down at me, an evil gleam in his eye. I'm sure I was reciprocating the exact expression. Pausing just long enough to ensure that we had everyone's attention, he wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled brightly. Yes, this would be fun. I leaned up until our lips finally met. What started out as a light kiss quickly became very deep. It would have been passionate, had it meant something. I couldn't help but feel betrayed that this kiss was meant only to make people jealous and envious. I really wanted for it to mean something—anything—when I kissed him. But it didn't, and there was nothing I could have done to help that. We finally broke apart, both anxious to see my co-workers' reactions to that. Just as I expected, they were totally shocked and motionless. Trunks laughed lightly, pulling back a bit. "I think that went well." "You could say that," I said, blushing slightly. He eyed me for a moment. I saw something strange in his eyes...something familiar. Something much like the gleam I'd received in the market the other day. He pulled himself away slowly, my hand still in his. "I'll see you tonight, okay?" "Yes," I said, almost breathlessly. He finally let me go and started to walk away, back to a secluded spot where he could safely take to the sky. I turned back to my Z TV building once he was out if sight. Everyone was still staring at me, shocked, but I wasn't ready to go back there yet. I only wanted to pray that Trunks had no 'plan.' Because he'd finally gotten me with a fake kiss. I'd completely fallen for him, head over heels. And he knew it. Chapter 4 FanFic Main Back Home E-Mail Me