Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Holding On ❯ 22 ( Chapter 22 )

AN) Ok, there is a very little lemon in this chapter. Not really a lemon I don't think, it's not really hentai. It's cuter, and to the point I suppose. You can skip it if you want, it's at the end of the t/p part...you'll see when it's coming.

The two walked into the deserted house and turned on lights, suddenly the place didn't feel quite so lonely to Pan. Maybe she should ask him to stay. He couldn't go home with the Mirai situation...but he did have other places to be...he probably didn't want to even be here with her...he was just being nice, worrying about her.

They walked through the living room with a bunch of bags from the grocery store and set them on the kitchen floor. Trunks immediately started to put some away. Pan was beginning to wonder how she was going to eat all this food by herself, and was wondering why Trunks bought so much for himself only to put it in her cabinets.

She walked back into the living room and hit the button on the answering machine to delete the old messages, but there was one she hadn't heard yet so she let it play while she went into the kitchen with Trunks to put up the rest of the groceries.

From the other room she could clearly hear the masculine voice from the answering machine. And from the look of interest on Trunks's face, he heard it too.

"Hey Pan, it's me Tom, I was just wondering how you were doing. You weren't there the last day of school when I was visiting, and I sort of got worried about you. Hey, why don't you call me when you get this message? I'm going to be at a commercial shoot today and tomorrow, but maybe we can still go this weekend since summer is finally here. I'll talk to you soon!"

The answering machine clicked off and the computerized voice announced that there were no new messages.

Pan shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the counter where she stacked the several boxes of cereal. She noticed that Trunks was looking at her curiously and she arched an eyebrow.

"What was Tom Walkson doing calling here anyway? I didn't know you two knew each other. Didn't he graduate last year?

"Yes." Pan could have left it at that. The rest really wasn't Trunks's business. But his eyes questioned, he didn't even attempt to look politely uninterested.

"Tom offered to take me to the Beethoven symphony, then to dinner where we could talk and catch up." She explained. He just continued to stare, his eyes imploring for more information.

"Don't look at me like that, Trunks. Tom and I aren't dating. He and Jeremy were buddies. We're just friends."

He regarded her from beneath thick brows that had drawn together into a solid disapproving line. "Quite a guy, Tom Walkson. 19 years old and already a TV celebrity, rich, and cultural lover."

She smiled and shrugged, "I can't resist Beethoven."

"I'll have to remember that."

He was jealous, Pan realized, and wondered if she was to be treated to a cold shoulder or a fit of pique similar to what she sometimes got from boyfriends. Perhaps she should have made up some more innocent explanation for Tom's call.

She opened her eyes and caught Trunks looking at her with eyes that penetrated with unnerving clarity. "Shall I be perfectly honest?" she asked.

"About what?"

"About anything and everything?"

He shrugged. "Go ahead."

"Tom was more than an old acquaintance. He and I were close friends before Jeremy, and lately he's been pushing for a closer relationship. But I told him that I'm seeing someone else." She smiled wryly.

"You're seeing someone else?" Trunks was still back on that one sentence. "And who might that be?"

"It was a lie of course dum dum. First it was Jeremy, but now he thinks there's someone else.who doesn't actually exist. But there is a man I'm interested in..."

"I think he's one very lucky man."

"Well..." She tried to sound stern, but in the glow of his smile it was difficult. "He's not going to get lucky yet. I meant what I said last night. My life needs to settle down to where I can make rational sensible decisions."

Trunks shook his head, but he was still smiling. "Pan, my love. Haven't you learned yet that life rarely settles down? There is no such thing as normal. Things always intrude, good and bad, to get our minds in a whirl when we least want them to be in a whirl."

She looked at him doubtfully.

"When something good comes along, you've got to grab it while you can."

"And I bet you're that something good?"

"You bet I am. You can't hide yourself away because you discovered the hard way that life-and-love sometimes isn't what it's cracked up to be. And I'm just the guy with the persistence to yank you out of hiding."

Pan arched a cautious brow. "Do tell."

"I will tell, thank you very much. I'll tell you that you're the best thing that's walked into my life since I was born. I'll tell you that the thought of seeing you makes me glad to get out of bed in the morning. Being with you makes the things I love more beautiful, more wondrous, and makes the ordinary parts of my life take on a new gleam. Before I became closer to you, I never realized what I was missing by going through life alone."

A glow started inside Pan. Her heart picked up its pace, and she couldn't keep a smile from her lips. She tried to caution herself that this was just talk. A line. A come-on. But Trunks didn't look as though he were sprouting a line. The words resounded from his heart, and they surrounded her with a warmth that was impossible to ignore.

"Trunks..." She briefly brought her hands to her face, as if she could hide behind them, but then she dropped them back to the table to grip her coffee cup with white-knuckled intensity. "I've told myself since Jeremy died...I don't need a man. I don't need anyone."

"That's bullshit. Everyone needs someone. If we don't have someone, we just plaster over the hole in our lives and hope to fool ourselves along with everybody else. I don't want to chain you Pan. I don't want to change you, or limit you, or make you pretend to be someone you're not. But as long as we're being honest with each other here, I'll confess that I am plotting to become an important part of your life."

Half of her longed to throw herself into Trunks Briefs' open arms and bury her face in the warm flannel of his shirt. The other half quibbled that it was too soon, and she was driving into the emotional deep end without so much as a pair of water floaties.

"I am-I am..." She stuttered. She was what? In love? In lust? Incapable of asking him to stay at the same time, as she was unwilling to ask him to leave?

All of that, she concluded.

"You are...?" he prompted. A twinkle lit his lavender eyes, and the grave set of his face started to relax.

She should insist that he go, even though a few minutes before she'd been groping for an excuse for him to stay. But she did need time, not to mention the safety of distance, to relieve her of the mix of adolescent excitement and womanly longing his presence created. She couldn't let him know how just a look from him, or a smile, or a word, could thaw her resolve.

Pan opened her mouth on an excuse-any excuse-when once again the need for honesty tweaked her. She didn't want games, and she didn't want to dance about trying to save face.

Biting her lip she met his eyes openly. "I'm confused Trunks. You muddle my senses."

He grinned. "Glad to hear it."

"I don't know whether I'm in love with you, or simply longing for a strong anchor in a stormy sea."

"There's nothing wrong with a strong anchor. It's a good beginning."

"You sound as though you want more than a beginning."

"Everything starts with a beginning. Beginnings don't bother me. What I want is something that doesn't have an end."

Pan grew cold with a moment of absolute panic. Trunks eyes flicked over her face, and he smiled ruefully.

"If the idea of endless love scares you, I'd settle for being really, really good friends. Intimately good friends. Endlessly, of course."

Pan smiled. "You know me too well Trunks."

He got up and came over to where she sat, sitting himself on his heels in front of her chair. She didn't resist when he reached out and took both her hands in his.

"I'm going to stay here tonight, Pan."

Her heart thumped erratically.

"All other considerations aside, you shouldn't be staying here alone, especially with everything going on."

"No, Trunks. You can't. Don't take advantage of what I've told you. I know I feel alone here and all but..."

"I'm not going to take advantage of anything. I'll stay in the guest room if you want. "

Like hell he would, he knew that she would cave in. They both knew.

"Trunks, there is really no need-" She sighed and extracted her hands from his hold despite the warm comfort of them being there.

"Just indulge me here Pan. Think of me as a playful pet to keep you company. I'll even buy my own groceries. Fact is, I already have. You wanted time to get to know me better. This is it. When all is done and settled, I'll move back out. And you can have your independence back, if you want it."

But what about her heart? Pan thought desperately. Could she have her heart back as well? Or perhaps her heart had already been sacrificed, because through the sense of panic and indignation, a peculiar glee was rising to the surface of her soul.

She got up and started pacing, driven by a need to put a bit of distance between them. "You can't make me let you stay."

"Sure I can. You're too softhearted to make me camp out in my car in the front of your house."

"I don't like this macho shit." She warned.

"You like wimps? You're going to love it when I start whining out there in the cold, especially if it starts raining again."

Pan paced, keeping her eyes on the floor in front of her. Looking up at Trunks would do her in for sure. When she turned and bumped up against him, she was unprepared for the shock of their sudden contact. She jumped backward and found the refrigerator at her back. Trunks took instant advantage, making his body into a barrier and caving her with a hand on either side of her head.

"Is it a deal?" he demanded. Pan could scarcely breath. Up close and personal he was impressively broad and intimidatingly tall. The heat from his body was rapidly melting what little reserve was left to her, and suddenly she wondered why she was fighting so hard against something that might be so very good. Was she so easily chased onto the sidelines to watch the rest of the world compete in games she was afraid to play?

"You're making it very hard to say no," she whispered up into his smile.

"Aren't I though?"

She gave into the need to slip her arms around his waist. He was firm muscle, a pillar of physical strength, not so unlike the solid anchor she'd mentioned earlier. He leaned into her and she closed her eyes, surrendering to the bliss. Touching him felt so right. Holding him seemed to loosen all the knots that had kinked her stomach over the past days.

"Trunks, you know if you stay here it won't be in the guest room."

"I know"

"You know entirely too much about me, about all the holes in my defenses."

"I do," he whispered, his mouth so close that his lips brushed her ear. "Because I love you, Pan. How's that for letting down defenses?"

Before she could answer, he slipped an arm behind her knees and lifted her onto his arms.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you a ride into the bedroom."

"You know I don't go in..."

"For this macho shit," he finished. "But this seemed the surest way to get you there."

Once in the bedroom, he swung her easily to her feet and kicked the door shut with his foot.

"Now." He took her hands and placed them in their former position on his waist. "Where were we?"

Pan surrendered to a smile, exasperated, aroused, and amused at the same time. She didn't know whether to rip into him for his high handedness, or to kiss him for the endearingly boyish hint of mischief in his voice.

"Do you always get your way?"

"Nearly always." He fingered aside a tumble of hair and kissed the tip of her ear. "I'm a very stubborn person."

A current that was both icy and hot shivered through Pan's nerves as his mouth traveled the column of her neck and thence downward. The breath she'd been unconsciously holding seemed to shudder when she finally exhaled.

"Someone should..." She gasped as some of the buttons on her shirt popped open. "Someone should put you in your place."

"Someone should." He agreed. His big, blunt fingered hands were warm against her cold flesh as he peeled away her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders. A swift wave of desire arrowed through her as he splayed his fingers over her bare ribs and ran his thumbs beneath the elastic of her bra. His eyes captured hers. "Do you know where my place is, Pan?"

"W...where?"

"Right here with you. Better yet," he said in a voice growing husky. "Inside of you."

Pans insides turned to liquid and her mind melted to mush. When Trunks guided her to the bed she sank down to the mattress with him, past resistance, past regret, caution or modesty. Their clothes came off in a hurry, but the rest of the encounter was slow and deliberate. They explored and caressed, toyed and tempted, teasing, feeding a desire that devoured them both. When they could take no more, they came together in a joining that sent them beyond need and desire, to a place where physical boundaries dissolved, leaving them with one soul, one joy, and one beating heart.

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Mirai set Marron down in the chair. She looked around and smiled. Apparently while she was talking with Bulma, Goten, and Bra, Mirai had set up the balcony with candles and a table with portions of a delicate cuisine for each of them. He really went all out, cooking the food himself.

While she talked to Bulma earlier, they had decided to send Goten and Bra back to retrieve the disk. It would be too risky to send Trunks and Pan, in case Mirai saw Trunks in the vicinity of Capsule Corps. Goten and Bra had tried not to laugh when they heard about Marron's predicament with Mirai, but it didn't take long before their giggles couldn't be concealed. She tried to take offense, but in truth she thought she would probably find the whole thing funny if it was happening to someone else.

They still didn't know where the Capsule was, but they had a feeling that Trunks and Pan had it, for whatever reason. The most likely one would be to keep it safe and out of the way in case Mirai had woken up to crave destruction and wanted to use the Time machine to reap that destruction.

Marron looked around the balcony, it was getting dark now and the stars were visible in the night sky. The table was covered with a white tablecloth and two burning candles. It was very romantic.

Marron looked across from her to see Mirai studying her with a smile on his lips. She blushed and looked down at her plate.

"I didn't know you could cook." She said, somewhat surprised. She hoped that he didn't think he'd cooked for her before.

"I'm full of surprises."

"Yes you are." She agreed softly after sipping some wine. She returned her gaze to find him still looking at her.

She noticed his food was untouched as he wasn't exactly paying attention to his hunger as he watched her over the rim of his wine glass.

"Not hungry?" she asked jokingly. It was amazing, He had a human's portion of food on his plate, and he hadn't even touched it.

"No." He kept his answers short so she'd do most of the talking. She looked really beautiful, he mused. Her blonde hair falling just so across her shoulders, still a little wet from her previous bath. He ached to run his hands through her hair, to kiss her soft pink lips.

Marron was puzzled now. "Did you already eat?" she asked cautiously, watching as the gorgeous lavender haired god shook his head no. (An: well his is a gorgeous lavender haired god you know!!!!)

"Big lunch?" she asked hopefully. Pleading in her mind that this wasn't what she thought it was.

"No, small lunch actually."

Marron frowned. This was bad. The second stage of the disease already hitting. His loss of appetite...the timing was just horrible.

"Want to dance?" he asked out of nowhere, sensing the change in her mood and wanting to make this as romantic as possible.

Marron smiled confused. "There's no music..."

"We don't need music...you're ankle doesn't still hurt does it?"

Marron looked confused, "Well...just a little..."

They were back to the silence. It was odd; their conversation was choppy and precise.

Mirai seemed not to mind, but Marron was getting rather uncomfortable under his gaze. It was then, she decided, to learn more about `their past.'

"How did you fall in love with me?" she asked thoughtfully, resting the side of her head against her hand. It was his turn to speak, and he was definitely surprised by the question.

"I suppose it just feels like I've always been in love with you..."

"Yeah, but weren't. We were friends for a long time. What made it all change?"

Mirai smiled. "I guess it was when Pan broke up with me and you were there." He continued speaking, not knowing that Marron was choking at the sound of Pan's name. "I just thought about it, and afterwards realized that I was hopeless with out you. I couldn't live with out you...I felt so stupid those first few months not knowing how you felt. But it just made so much sense. Then that night after the party when you...seduced me." He saw her look of surprise and quickly amended his words. "Not that I resisted or anything. That was six weeks ago...that we got together."

"We've only been engaged for 6 weeks." She murmured thoughtfully. That was even out there for her! She remembered then that they probably got engaged when they found out she was pregnant. She seduced him? Oh I bet her father had a...great...reaction to that in Mirai's `world'.

Mirai heard her wrong, and thought that she was having second thoughts.

"It's just that...it feels like it's been so long." She recovered, relieved to see him smile.

"Yeah it does...Marron? Are you sure about this? About getting married, and spending the rest of your life with me?" he asked quietly, his eyes gazed into hers as he prayed that she would answer to the affirmative.

It took Marron a moment to think. If she said no...it would put her on safer ground and give them more time to get everything set up...but he would probably get depressed and lose his will to fight whatever was taking a hold of him. A tiny voice inside her yelled at her to just tell him the truth. No more lies. And that's exactly what she did. She told him the truth.

"I can't imagine myself ever being happy with anyone other than you. I...I love you."

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AN) Ok...so Marron finally fell of the deep end and is now completely in love with Mirai...the only problem is...will he feel the same way whenever he wakes up? And what about Trunks and Pan? I know he said he loved her...but I didn't hear her return those words...and what about Goten and Bra? How are they going to deal with going to a dimension in chaos where everything is destroyed and dead?

Review! I dare you again to review!! I am holding the next chapter hostage...ok no I'm not. I will probably still post it even if you hate the story! ^_^ Have a nice weekend guys! Or at least what's left of it!