Anime Shelter

True Colours

A/N: Pan: 18 (I'm not sure if I already said she was however many years in the fic, and it's late so I'll just put the proper ages here.)
Trunks: 25
I'm not sure of the real ages of either of them, or the age difference

Pan sat beside her bed, letting her head rest in her hands on the side of the mattress. The sheets were damp with the many tears she had cried. All because of that one man. She couldn't do this anymore, she just couldn't. She looked up and seen a picture of herself and him when they were young. The young boy with lavender hair sat on a bench, with Pan right behind him, holding a bucket of freezing cold water over his head. She remembered that day well; it was on of pure joy.

She sniffed as the memories came flooding back to her. In the picture she had been so innocent and had loved the other child as a best friend, but that love had grown over the years, and now she couldn't stand being away from him. And it hurt her so much when she seen him with another woman.

She remembered earlier on that night, here and Bra had been watching the T.V. when Goten and he had come into the room. They both had ice in their hands and sneaked up on the two unsuspecting females. At the last minute Pan had seen him and her uncle Goten, she jumped up and launched some crisps at them.

Startled, the two men flung the ice at them hard. A cube hit Bra on the shoulder and she whimpered slightly in pain, it didn't really hurt that much, but she acted as though it did. She would get more attention afterwards if she seemed to be in more pain.

Pan on the other hand, dodged the ice quickly and dropped to the ground to trip either one of the young men. Her foot caught him round the ankle and he fell backwards hitting his head off the couch as he went down.

Pan stopped instantly to see if he was hurt, but he did his best to act and waited until she was over beside him until spilling the jug that held the flowers down onto her back. She leapt upwards swiftly as the cold liquid ran down her back and seeped into the material of her top and trousers.

Her ki flared at being so stupid and she lunged at him again. They fought for a couple of minutes and soon Bra and Goten had joined in the wrestling. Crisps littered the floor with the rapidly melting ice cubes; magazines, video boxes, and feathers from the pillows also joined the great mess on the floor.

Everyone immediately stopped, frozen in their tracks when they heard Vegeta's angry voice from the next room. The four of them took one look around and one by one all struggled to get out. Goten and him blasted off quickly, Pan helped Bra to her feet and the two of them scooted out in the same direction as the boys. They stood silently in the garden and heard Vegeta mumbling something from inside.

Soon it was quiet and the four of them burst into laughter. The boys were laughing at the two females with crisps stuck in their hair and shoes missing. Goten laughed more at Bra when he seen a crisp attached to her ear, and the others joined in the laughter.

But soon the three of them were laughing at Pan as she sat shivering in a corner. The water from the plant's vase was starting to chill her and she was wringing out her bandana with her fists. She looked up and saw him laughing at her the most. Tears formed in her eyes, but were unnoticed in all the laughter.

"Aww?" she heard his voice and instantly looked up. "Poor, poor Panny. All washed up and no towel to dry." His childish taunt hit her heart more than anyone would have intended it to. She quickly got up and ran a few steps before raising her ki to fly off. The other three looked at her go and then Bra and Goten turned to their other friend.

"That wasn't very nice, pal," Goten said.

"Yeah," Bra spoke up while digging the rest of the crisps out of her hair. "You really hurt her feelings Trunks." He simply shrugged and shot off to the window up stairs.

"She'll get over it. And right now I'm going to get a shower and catch some sleep before dad finds us." He opened the window quietly and slid in. "Seeya!" he called from his room.

Bra and Goten looked at each other. Both of them knowing how much Trunk's words would have hurt Pan.

Pan sniffed and grabbed a tissue from the box that lay next to her. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose before getting up. 'I'll take a shower and then I'll be all right.' She thought as she made her way to the bathroom. She started the water and turned on the small radio that sat next to the bath tub. She quickly got undressed and flung her clothes into a pile in the corner, then stepped into the shower and let the warm water cleanse her mind and body at the same time.

She soon started the water in the bathtub, so she could have a bath and a shower at the same time. She lay down and let the water engulf her as the showerhead sprinkled nice drops onto her bare body. The music was quiet, so she turned it up a bit and shut her eyes.

You with the sad heart,
Don't be discouraged,
No one realises it's hard to take courage,
In a world full of people,
You can lose sight of it,
In the darkness growing inside,
Make you feel so small.

But I see your true colours shining through,
I see your true colours, that's why I love you,
So don't be afraid to let them show,
Your true colours, true colours,
Are beautiful like a rainbow.

Pan sat up quickly and turned off the water, she had fallen asleep and woken with a start when she suddenly found water in her mouth. She spat out the liquid and leaped out. Grabbing a towel she wrapped it around her small form and flung a few more on the ground to soak up the water that had spilled over.

She remembered what she had dreamt. Herself, Bra and Goten and him, all down at the beach. Just like old times. Having fun as four friends. Before she had grown up to become the young woman she was now. Another tear slid down her face as she remembered the dream, it was so vivid and she could swear she could taste the salty water in her mouth. Then she realised she could only taste the tears that ran down from her eyes.

She listened to the song as she slid down the wall. To sit on the cold tile covered floor, she didn't care how cold it was. She just didn't care anymore.

Show me a smile then,
Don't be unhappy,
Can't remember when I,
Last saw you laugh,
If this world makes you crazy, you've taken all you can then,
You call me up,
Because you know I'll be there.

Pan got up once again, and walked back into her room. She had a towel around her waist and another around her shoulders. She quickly went to the cupboard and got out her pyjamas and nightgown.

She got changed and rubbed at her hair for a few minutes and then picked up the phone. She was aware of the time, but she didn't care how late it was. She picked up the receiver and called her best friend's house.

"Who is it!?!?!" a grumpy voice, demanded down the phone. 'Typical Vegeta', Pan thought as she plucked up enough courage to speak to the saiyan prince.

"It's Pan. Can I speak with Bra please?" she said, trying not to let the fear of her seeing Vegeta suddenly flying through the window for phoning the house in the middle of the night.

"Kakkarot's grad brat? What are you doing calling my house at this time of night!?!" he demanded again.

"It's alright dad. I'll take the call." Pan heard Bra's voice in the background. Vegeta mumbled something to his daughter before handing her the phone and heading back to his gravity chamber. "Hello, Pan? Are you all right?" Bra asked hurriedly, as she picked the phone up off the desk and carried it to her room.

"I'm fine. I?I just needed someone to talk to I guess." Bra heard Pan sniffing in the background.

"Well, do you want to talk about what happened earlier?" Bra asked carefully, she didn't want her friend to wake up the whole neighbourhood with her cries.

"No, not just now." Pan replied quickly.

"Ok. What do you want to talk about?" Bra asked.

"I don't know." Pan choked out between sobs. "I really don't know." She cried the tears she had held back once again. She kicked herself mentally. 'You promised yourself you wouldn't cry Pan. What are you doing!?!' her mind voice called out to her. She didn't hear much of Bra's comforting for the loud sobs that escaped her mouth. She tried to calm down as best she could, dashing the tears away with the back of her hand.

"Sshh. Pan, listen to me." Bra tried her best to comfort her friend through the phone line. But it was hard when she couldn't see her face and tell just how unhappy she really was. "Everything'll turn out all right. I promise. Please calm down; I know why you're crying. I've known it for weeks, so had Goten. My brother's the only one that hasn't figured it out. I swear he'll come to his senses and see it soon." Bra's door was flung open, and her brother stood in the doorway.

"What are you saying about me?" he asked her, quietly, so as not to wake their mother. Bra turned quickly and motioned for him to get out. He was reluctant but left.

"Who was that?" Pan asked after a minute of silence from her friend.

"It was just my dad telling me to hurry up and get off the phone." Bra lied as best as she could. Pan accepted it.

"I'd better go anyway. Knowing that I'm calling his house might somehow make me feel worse." Pan began to cry a little again, and neither her nor Bra heard the other line being picked up.

"No, please don't," begged Bra. "You need someone to talk to. If you don't talk to someone about this you're going to end up making the big mistake of k?" she stopped in mid sentence, not wanting to finish it.

"Make the mistake of doing what, Bra? Killing myself!?!" Pan didn't care how much noise she made. "I already considered that a while back, and now that you mention it, it might not be such a bad idea. No one would miss me anyway. And especially him! He definitely wouldn't! Kami! He doesn't even know I exist!"

"Give him a chance Pan. He is my brother, do you expect him to pick up on every little detail. Come on, this is Trunks we're talking about!" Bra spoke almost as loud as Pan, but she tried to restrain the amount of noise.

"What!?!" another voice entered the conversation. Pan took in a sharp breath on realising who it was.

"Trunks," she said, barely a whisper. Her face started to go a bright crimson in colour as she realised he could have been listening to what she had just said.

"I'll leave you two to talk." Bra said as she hung up the phone.

"Bra, no?" Pan pleaded, but her friend had already hung up. She racked her brain to think of something to say. 'What can I tell him? What am I going to do!?!' She was still thinking when Trunks spoke.

"Pan? Are you all right?" he said in a normal tone after what he had heard. Pan gulped loudly and started to speak. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"Hi, Trunks." She thought furiously of what to say next. "Um? weird game Bra thought up, huh?" 'What the hell was that!?!' her mind screamed at her. As though to show that her mind really thought terribly of her decision, rain suddenly started noisily outside her window. She jumped at the sudden racket.

"Oh, I see." He said plainly.

Well, I gotta go. See ya tomorrow, Trunks." Pan said hurriedly.

"No, Pan. Don't hang up!" Trunks shouted down the line, but Pan was already gone. Trunks hung up the phone hesitantly and then sat for a few minutes.

And I see your true colours shining through,
I see your true colours, that's why I love you,
So don't be afraid to let them show,
Your true colours, your true colours,
Are beautiful like a rainbow.

Pan sat in the middle of her room, crying again. 'And here I thought I would never be able to cry again. Guess I have more tears than the average person.' She smiled slightly, but the smile soon diminished. She sat silently for a few minutes, then she decided she had better get to bed after looking at the wrist watch Bra had given her a few days back.

She stood up and turned round and almost had a heart attack. She flung a hand up to her mouth when she seen Trunks outside her window. His shirt clinging tightly to his body, and his matted hair fell lose and stuck to his forehead and across his eyes.

They just stared at each other for ten minutes. Then Pan suddenly realised what was going on. She ran to the window and opened it, Trunks climbed in and stood beside her. Pan ran into the bathroom and got him a towel, but by the time she came back he had already dried himself by raising his ki just enough to give off heat.

She used the towel on her own face. She stayed put, in front of the bathroom door. Scared to talk to him. She looked at the ground as the tears ran down her cheek and onto the floor. Leaving a few centimetres of the carpet wet.

Suddenly a hand came up and tilted her head towards another face. Pan wiped her eyes and was surprised again to see Trunk's ice blue eyes staring straight back at her. She went to move away, but he held her tight with just one hand.

"Why are you trying to run? Why didn't you tell me you felt this way?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"What way. I told you that was a joke on the phone. It was a game Bra made up. I?"

"You know talking to your sister helps once in a while." Trunks stated before Pan could go on. She just sighed and fell to the floor, the tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Why? Why? Because I was afraid Trunks. Afraid!" she put her hand to her face.

"Afraid of what?" he asked quietly as he put his arm around her shoulder to embrace her and try to comfort her.

"Afraid of what you would say! I always thought you thought that I was just Gohan's daughter, just Goten's niece, just Bra's best friend, just one of your friend's." she cried and covered her face up again. Trunks pulled her closer and she turned to rest her head on his shoulder. She clutched onto his shoulder as if she were just about to wake up from a dream and find out none of this was real. Pan was surprised to find him holding her just as close, and stroking her hair with one hand.

'What am I doing?' Trunks asked himself, he was going to pull away but somewhere inside he knew this was right, he knew he had to do this. He pulled her away from his shoulder once her sobs had calmed down. He smiled at her as he seen her tear stained face looking at his.

Can't remember when I
Last saw you laugh
If this world makes you crazy, you've taken all you can then
You call me up,
Because you know I'll be there

'I hope I don't regret this.' He thought before he titled her head and kissed her. He felt her tense as he held her close, but soon she let go of her fear and kissed him back.

'What's going on?' Pan asked her brain. But no reply came; she just wished she wouldn't wake up now.

Trunks stopped the kiss and looked Pan in the eyes. There was evidence of new tears, but somehow he could almost hear her think and he knew they were tears of happiness. Suddenly Pan lunged forward and hugged his waist, Trunks wasn't about to let go, he put his arms around her shoulders and held her tight. Trunks heard her mumbling something to him and put his head closer to hers.

"I love you so much Trunks." He heard her that time and put his forehead on the top of her head. He felt her grip loosen and he tilted her back slightly. She was asleep. He lifted her up and lay her down on the bed and pulled the sheets over her. He made sure she was completely covered and turned around.

'I'd better get home.' He thought to himself. He turned around to say goodnight to Pan's sleeping form, but when he seen her again he knew he couldn't leave. He shut the window over and drew the curtains. He went over to the bathroom and shut out the bright light that came from inside, then he walked back over to the bed and lay down silently next to her. He left her the covers and closed his eyes. He opened them slightly when he felt her stirring in her sleep.

"I love you too, Pan," he said. he watched as smile appeared on her lips. Then he closed his eyes again and put a hand on her waist. He fell asleep in a few minutes thinking about what on Earth their parents would reply to this situation he had gotten into. The last thoughts that went through his mind were that he didn't really care what they thought.

And I see your true colours shining through
I see your true colours, that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show,
Your true colours, true colours
True colours are shining through
I see your true colours and that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
True colours, true colours
Are beautiful like a rainbow

Author's email - spyug_chivas.hotmail.com

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