Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ You Will Be Mine ❯ Should let the man set his own pace ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5

Should let the man set his own pace

Pan sat on the floor of the living room in Capsule Corps, leaning back against the big couch and not paying attention to the TV as she tried not to perspire.

It was hot. It was ridiculously hot for this time of the year. The black leather of the couch stuck to the skin of her upper arms and every now and then she pulled her arms away in irritation, only to lean back into the couch a few moments later. The very air in the tastefully decorated room simmered, despite the Briefs' expensive air conditioning system. An unexpected heat wave, the weather channel called it. Hell, Pan deemed. She had fled inside when she could not stand the assault of the sun anymore, but this did not prove to be much better.

Because of the heat wave, Bra had suggested Marron held her birthday at Capsule Corps. Marron had quickly agreed; this was the best place to stay with this weather, with its private pool and its huge, shady garden. They had come together to hang out, swim, eat and generally have fun until the night, when the real partying would begin.

Faint shouts and laughter penetrated the thick, dark windows from outside. Pan rolled her eyes - Bra and Marron were at it again. The girls had apparently decided to constantly remind their male friends that they were women, and attractive ones at that. They had been doing nothing but swimming, sunning and running around in ridiculously small outfits the whole day.

Pan shook her head and scoffed. That was her job, right? She was supposed to walk around looking sexy and shooting Trunks meaningful glances. She had meant to, had actually done so. She had made Trunks look embarrassed, awed and aggravated all at once, just by slowly climbing out of the pool. She had seen a look of pure lust on his face when she had cornered him in the hallway. She had teased him mercilessly, constantly reminding him that she was an attractive woman who wanted him. Badly. Now, however, it was simply too hot. She could not even imagine ever wanting to touch somebody again - accidentally touching her own body was enough to make her shiver with revulsion. What she really wanted to do was stand in an icecold shower and never step out of it again. That, or try to squeeze herself into the big Capsule Corps. refrigerator. She ought to just get back into the private swimming pool, but the water was not nearly cold enough for her liking and she just did not feel like enduring the girls' water games. There was only so much groping and glomping one could stand on a hot day and Pan had passed that limit by far.

A shiver went up and down her spine, despite the heat. It was Trunks' fault that she had passed that limit, ofcourse. There was something very enticing about touching in water, heat wave or not; The slippery feel of skin on skin, the ability to slide in and out of someone's arms so easily, the cool liquid around her hot body… She hadn't even needed to corner him in the swimming pool, he had come to her. She did not know if he had simply not thought about their bet or that he had intended a confrontation, but the moment he had pushed her under water, all in good fun, she had dragged him with her and pulled him up against herself. They had stared at each other through the clear water, their Saiyan eyes not bothered by something as mundane as chloride. Hitting the bottom with their feet they had simultaneously pushed up, bursting through the water surface still holding on to each other. She had been unable to look away from his deep blue eyes, marvelling at the look of pure desire in them. Had she awoken that in him? His face had come dangerously close to hers, his breath on her lips; but just as she leaned into him, he had pulled away, slicing through the water faster than humanly possible. She had guiltily glanced around to find their friends looking at them oddly -

"Pan?"

She opened her eyes to see a big white grin hover over her face. "Cheshire cat," she squeaked very girlishly and swatted at the face, but it moved out of her reach. She squinted her eyes against the still bright rays of the setting sun and finally made out light blue eyes and beach blond hair. Rolling her eyes, she waved for someone, anyone, to close the garden door. Marron breathed out and kicked the door close without looking.

"What are you doing here?" the blonde demanded, wiping her wet hair out of her eyes.

"Dying," Pan moaned dramatically.

Marron laughed and dropped down on the couch. "Well, get ready to die some more. We're off to the Viking in twenty minutes."

Pan stared at her with wide eyes. "You have got to be kidding me, it hasn't cooled down one bit!"

"Which is why we're not waiting any longer," Marron said, grinning at her friend.

Pan just looked at her and sighed deeply. "Do I really have to come along?"

Marron rolled her eyes. "Yes. I can't believe you even ask me that. Which part of 'I'm birthday girl, you have to be nice to me' don't you understand?"

"The part where being nice to you means unnecessary torture leading to a certain death," Pan said, but grinned at the other girl. "Twenty minutes, you said? I'll go.. brush my hair then." She made a face.

"You go do that, you look like a ceiling mop."

Pan glared at the blonde. "I prefer the term 'Saiyan'."

"Saiyan, ceiling mop, that's six of one and half a dozen of the other," Marron called airily as she stood up, ignoring Pan's dark look. "I'm going to change."

Pan frowned, confused. "What's wrong with what you're wearing now?"

"Oh please," Marron huffed, "as if I'd go clubbing in a T-shirt."

Pan shook her head, smiling to herself as Marron bounced out of the room. She liked her friends, definitely, but there were things about them she would just never understand.

*^*^*^*^*

The night club called to them from far away, with its flashing neon signs and big floodlights that swirled across the night sky. The club looked like it belonged in Vegas instead of Satan City, but Goten had assured that was part of its charm. He was the only one of them who had been here before and had convinced Marron to celebrate her birthday here. Pan did not know what was so special about this particular club, but she had never been much of a disco person and could not care less about what was hot and what wasn't. Apparently this night club was new, enormous and the place to be for the rich and famous, which was exactly why Bra and Marron wanted to go.

Huge bodyguards were standing next to the open doors, through which they could already faintly hear music. The men looked strong and dangerous, but Pan knew she could kill them with one snap of her fingers. She did not always like being a Saiyan, but she loved that it never failed to make her feel safe from anything a human would want to do to her. She was, next to Bra, probably the only girl alive who had never been warned to be careful in the dark and not go to places of dubious security.

She glanced at the huge signs and frowned. "You didn't tell me that this club was called 'the Naked Viking'," she said to Goten, who grinned sheepishly and shrugged his broad shoulders.

"The owner is said to be not quite sane," Bra said in conspiracy, leaning towards Pan and winking. "This mistress Icegaze, or however she calls herself…"

"It doesn't matter anyway," Marron piped in, "her club is a wild success, despite its odd name."

People under twenty-one were not allowed in this club, but either they all looked legal, or Trunks' fame and influence did their work even in the newest night club in town. Pan betted on the last, seeing that not even Bra and she looked their age, let alone Goten and Trunks. The older they got, the more their looks differed with their true age. Saiyans are doomed to be asked for their ID all their lives, she grinned to herself, unless they happen to be with the almighty president of Capsule Corps. Surely, after one look at Trunks' lavender hair, the doormen ushered them in without questions.

Marron was practically bouncing off the ceiling, Pan noted and grinned. When she was twenty-five the blonde had declared that she was now too old to go clubbing, with her birthday as the only exception. It had resulted in numerous violations of that rule and her being hyper every time she set foot in a club: Marron was and would always be a party girl.

Her mouth fell open when they stepped through the huge doors and into the first hall. The club was indeed gigantic. At the far end of the room there was a stage on which a DJ (famous, no doubt, although she had no clue to who was hot and happening in the clubbing world) was playing records. In front of the stage was an enormous dance floor stuffed with people dancing and jumping to the beat and surrounding the dance floor were galleries on various levels and staircases leading to them. Everywhere in the club were doors leading to other rooms. The sheer volume of the music was overwhelming and she had to force herself not to put her hands over her ears and run out of the club screaming. Night clubs always did take some adjusting to for her. On top of that, she felt some kind of awkward nervousness gnawing at her insides. She could not point out what exactly was bothering her, but she was not completely at ease this night.

She glanced at her friends. Bra, like Marron, was ridiculously happy just to be here. They were talking, their heads close, bright blue contrasting wonderfully with golden blond. She bit back the pang of jealousy she felt at the sight and breathed in deeply. Despite the age difference between Marron and Bra and the fact that Pan and Bra had been friends since childhood, Pan often felt that Marron was a better friend to Bra than she could ever be. There was something that connected the two girls, something that went beyond age, beyond race. Maybe it was something as simple as their interests - after all, Bra and Marron had much more in common than Pan would ever have with either one of them.

And still, they were her best friends. She had other friends of course, but no one was as close to her as this little group. They had been through so much together, so much tied them to each other - blood, battle, history…

Someone poked her in her side, none too gently. "Pan? You still awake?"

Pan glared at the offender, who turned out to be Goten. Her uncle smiled at her so contagiously that before long, she was grinning back at him. "All awake," she smiled, "just off in Lala Land."

"You're insane, Pan, why would you go to Lalaland when you're in disco heaven?" Bra asked rhetorically, shaking her head.

Pan could not answer her because Marron grabbed her arm and dragged her away to the bar. "You," she called, looking intently at her friend, "need alcohol. Lots of it."

"I do?" Pan asked dryly, keeping her face blank.

Marron nodded. She pushed Pan on a stool, leaned on the bar and winked at the bar tender, a young and undoubtly cute man. Pan could not hear what the two yelled in each other's ears, but before long the bartender put two drinks in front of them, seemingly without Marron paying for it.

"You sly dog, you," Pan laughed at the blonde. Marron just smirked, took her glass and downed it at a draught. Pan carefully took a sip. "What is this?" she asked. The other girl shrugged her slim shoulders and grinned. Pan shook her head and drank the rest of her drink at one swallow as well. There was no reason to not wash away the building nervousness in her system with a good lot of booze, was there?

*^*^*^*^*

A good lot of drinks later Pan found herself on the dance floor, dancing like crazy. "I'm not like this," she muttered in a moment of self reflection, and stopped dead as the song changed from an upbeat Latin mix to a slow love song.

"Yes you are," said a voice in her ear. She glanced over shoulder and saw Trunks standing there, smirking. "You can be a lot of things, Pan, as you have proven this past week."

Yeah, Pan thought, enticing, attractive, tempting… "Drunk?" she suggested from under lowered eyelids, trying to keep the growing nervousness under control.

"Not nearly, Pan." He smiled languidly and the danger of him made her knees wobbly. What was it about him that made her so weak?

"You can't tell me you do not love dancing," he continued. "It's too much like fighting."

She just looked at him, trying not to clench her fists in frustration. He suddenly pulled her up against his body. "You must at least like dancing like this," he smirked at her.

He was too close and at the same time not close enough by far. Her nails dug into the flesh of her hands and she pushed against his chest with her fists. "Trunks, you're drunk."

He cocked his head, smiling oddly at her. "Not nearly, Pan."

"Then what has gotten into you?" she demanded, agitated.

"What has gotten into you?" he retaliated, leaning in closer, his lips almost on her ear. "I thought you wanted this, but you are pushing me away." His warm cheek against hers and his breath on her earlobe made her nearly dizzy. She unclenched her fists, instead clawing her hands in his shirt, his shoulders to keep upright.

"Since when do you let somebody win?" she whispered.

He lifted his head, looking into her eyes. "Since when do you let opportunities like this slip?" he countered, wiping some dark hair behind her ear. She shivered at the simple gesture and inwardly slapped herself. You're acting like a bitch in heat, Panny-girl, she scolded.

"Since there has to be a catch," she answered and shook her head, looking away from his intense gaze. She flattened her hands on his shoulders and again tried to push him away, but he would not let go.

Instead he sighed and his face became unreadable, as if he had shut a door behind his eyes. "I'm sorry, Pan," he said, softly. "Let's just forget this, okay? Let's dance."

She silently concurred, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head against his shoulder. She did not know what on earth he was thinking, what had gotten into him to provoke her like this, and she did not trust him - not in these matters. However, she could not help but feeling absolutely safe in his arms. How could he invoke such contradicting emotions in her? She had known him all her life, had been attracted to him since puberty; but only these past few days he seemed to be turning her world upside down.

They danced until the song switched to a fast dance hit. Then they just stood, caught in the moment. She stared up to his face, caressing his sharp features with her gaze. Her eyes settled on his and she found herself unable to look away - there was something in his eyes that she could not understand, something else than lust, amusement, disdain; something that she did not know, not like this.

She tore her gaze away from his, pushed him away and fled to the ladies' room.

*^*^*^*^*

Pan leaned heavily on the marble sink and pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the mirror. Some women were giving her strange looks, but she ignored them.

What was wrong with her?

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. No, she was not the problem. What was wrong with Trunks? Why did he practically offer himself to her? He had to be playing at something, but she did not know what. Was the man just trying to get her off balance? This did feel like that little trick that kids use when playing around - two kids pushing against each other, trying to push the other over; and when they had a stalemate one would suddenly give in and step aside as the person still pushing fell over.

Was that what Trunks was doing? Seemingly giving in, so she would stumble and fall? She scowled at her reflection. That would not work. The guy was somehow tricking her, no doubt. She would just have to be very careful.

Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder and she twirled around to find Bra standing behind her.

"Pan?" her best friend asked, looking her over carefully.

Pan glanced at her. "Bra," she said, almost formally, and looked back at her reflection.

Bra stared at her in the mirror. "Are you finally going to tell me about what's happening between you and Trunks?" she asked. Pan could not really define the look on her face - was it tired confusion or indignant resignation?

"There is nothing to tell," she said silently, still not moving.

Bra narrowed her eyes. "Pan, cut that out. There is something, I can see it. I just don't know what. You two get all weird when you're around eachother, you act like you're a couple, and I haven't seen either of you act normal after an encounter - you seem either scarily gleeful or frustrated and angry. Just look at you, you only danced with him and you're hiding in here, looking all troubled."

Pan twirled around to look at her, horrified, Bra's other comments not even registering. "We do not act like we're a couple!"

Bra snorted disparagingly. "Yes, you do. You act like my parents."

Pan just stared at her friend, her mouth slightly open.

The blue-haired girl raised her eyebrows. "What? You are. You fight, then suddenly act all close, shout at eachother again and then…" She looked at the other girl intently. "What was that dancing about, really?"

"Bra," Pan started and shook her head, looking away. "It's nothing. It's a stupid game. We're just messing around."

Her friend sighed and crossed her arms. "Fine, don't tell me. But I have to warn you, Pan."

Pan raised her head in alarm. "Warn?.." she echoed.

"I know my brother," Bra continued, still looking at the other girl. "He can be too much like my dad sometimes. Playing games with him is dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Pan looked away from those piercing blue eyes and stared at the floor. "Why would I get hurt?" she silently asked.

"He does not know the power he holds over you," Bra whispered, touching Pan's shoulder. "I think you don't even know."

Pan shook her head again and pulled herself away from Bra's hand, all but running out of the ladies' room.

What was Bra getting at? Pan's childhood crush on Trunks was common knowledge between them, like Bra's childhood crush on Goten. The girl was, however, implying much more than that.

Trunks, holding power over her? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

She scowled and stalked to the big dancefloor, locating her friends' ki. If Trunks held any power over her, she held just as much power over him. She did not doubt the lust she had read in his eyes, so many times already. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was attracted to her. Perhaps not as much as she was to him, but her actions of late had at least succesfully captured his attention.

She spotted him standing next to the dance floor, surrounded by their friends. He was casually leaning against a fence when their eyes met and their gazes locked. Without a word he separated himself from the little group and squeezed himself through the crowd towards her. She smiled lazily and turned around, not even bothering to look over her shoulder and see if he was following her.

He caught her between the dancefloor and a bar, grabbing her shoulder and softly turning her around. A shiver went down her spine at the feel of his strong fingers and she breathed in, closing her eyes briefly before looking at him.

"Pan," he said, not quite looking at her. "I just wanted to -" He broke off and looked at her helplessly.

She grinned, pushing the inner turmoil down and spread her hands, looking at him expectantly. "What?"

"I," Trunks started. It was incredibly funny to see his facial expression shift from confused to frustrated to angry to - what was that, nervousness?

She smiled at him affably and wiped her dark hair from her face. Apparently she was not the only one feeling awkward tonight, and that made her feel a whole lot better.

"Just say it, Trunks," she grinned and stepped a little closer to him. She could hear him mumble under his breath. Being a Saiyan had its advantages; superior hearing was definitely one of them.

"I thought I'd-" he started again and then scowled at her. "Don't laugh at me," he said, indignant.

Pan grinned and looked at him wide-eyed. "Me, laughing at you? Never."

He rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to say,-" he began once again, but stopped and stared at her. She had snuck her way up to him, edging nearer and somehow making it seem only natural, as if it was just the people pushing and pulling around them that forced her closer to him.

They were standing toe to toe, staring into each other's eyes. She could see him swallow, his eyebrows shooting up before he frowned darkly. He stepped back as well as he could but she followed suit, keeping her body centimetres from his. He slammed into a bar and she could see him wince. Resisting the urge to apologise, she brought her body flush to his. He was still scowling at her, but she could see the wild storm of emotions behind his eyes. His body did not want her to stop, oh no, and perhaps even a part of his mind didn't. But Trunks was proud, like his father, like her, and he would not lose this bet over something as simple as desire.

Not like she was going to give him a choice.

She stared into his dark blue eyes, wishing she knew what exactly he was thinking. How much did he want her? How much did he care about the bet?

How far would he let her go?

Her heart was galloping through her chest, pounding so loud that she could swear he could hear it. She could feel him against her whole body, burning like fire, his hot breath on her lips. He was staring back at her, his face frighteningly emotionless, and she knew it was a mask. He was an emotional mess, like her, perhaps even more torn up because his feelings were contradicting so much. For a split second she knew what he was thinking - yes, no, yes, no -, despite the mask. She laid a hand in his neck, much gentler than she had thought she would, and pulled his head down. Her lips brushed his and for a moment she was sure he would push her away. Then his hands were on her back, pulling her closer to him, and he kissed her with a passion rivalling hers. The world was reduced to lips and hands and making sure that as much of their bodies was touching as possible.

She would have liked to think that she was able to keep her head cool in any situation, but she was sorely proven wrong. Nothing mattered but his mouth on hers and the way he pressed her tight against his body. She felt that she would never have been able to let go of him, if it had not been for the clumsy girl that bumped into them and spilled her cold drink all over their bodies.

They jumped apart, bewildered. She was breathing irregularly and tried to stop her hands from shaking as he stared at her, his eyes wide and his face very pale, save for two red spots on his cheekbones. She could read the sheer confusion on his face and knew it was mirrored on hers. She hated this moment, those few seconds just after a kiss that moved the earth, that time in which she had absolutely no clue what her next move should be. Before she could decide on anything, however, the muscles in his face tensed and then relaxed and his eyes caught on a blank stare, and he turned away from her without saying a word. She stared after him, struck dumb, until she realised just what he had done. Rage boiled up in her and she stormed off, fighting her way through the crowds, pushing and elbowing and ignoring indignant shouts until she had made her way outside and felt the cool night air on her heated skin. Instead of calming her, though, it only seemed to fuel the fire and she blasted off, forgetting all about acting human and not drawing attention to herself, and made herself disappear in the night.

~*^*#$#*^*~

AN: I got a review saying that Pan and Trunks acted a little different from there normal selves. Well - how could we know? As I said before: this is a DBZ-based fanfiction, so we only know that Trunks is a spoiled and arrogant brat and that Pan is a happy girl who likes to fight. There's nothing more to tell. I never saw much of GT and I didn't like what they did in there, so screw that. Also, I'd like to point out that Trunks is a softy under there, he's just shocked beyond reason by Pan's actions and falls back in his arrogant behaviour because that's the only way he knows to react; and Pan is a daring girl, why does everybody assume that she isn't in love business when she is in everything else?

Also, that kiss was impossible to write. I'm sorry that you had to wait so long on this chapter, but I've worked weeks and weeks just on that kiss scene. That and the fact that I just started out in a new school caused the delay. Sorry! You can beat me with anything that doesn't do too much damage!

And, and, and, our infamous mistress Icegaze does have that club, I stole it from her. Shame on me!

Once again betaed by the Noseless Wonder (fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=8376). Check out her fics, they're amazing!

…Geesh, long AN. Well, it's a long chapter too, so thh *grin*