Chapter Five: Through Thick and Thin

Trunks stormed in growling and grumbling. Bra looked over from the couch, someone was sitting next to her but he didn’t notice them. "Stupid asshole!" He shook his head as he grumbled.

"What’s wrong, Trunks!? What happened? Where’s Pan? You didn’t run away again, did you?"

He glared at his sister and she yelped in fear. "Shut up... I’m going to kill dad!" he frowned.

Bra got up and walked over to him, putting her arm around his shoulder. He calmed down slightly. "Come on, what happened?"

Trunks looked up to see a distraught Goten watching him curiously. "Dad scared Pan off. He threatened to kill her, he doesn’t want us together."

Goten jumped up. "Why?"

Trunks laughed, "If I were you, I wouldn’t let Vegeta catch you here. He doesn’t want any of Kakkarotto’s family messing around with his kids."

Bra glared. "He won’t tell me what to do..." As she turned around she noticed that Goten was sneaking out the door. "GET BACK HERE GOTEN!!!" She ran after him.

Trunks slightly smiled at that. So maybe it wasn’t that Pan didn’t like him, they all just feared his father. And they had a good reason to. He sighed and went upstairs to his room. He plopped down on the bed looking at the blank ceiling; there were small holes where posters and pictures had once covered the walls and the ceiling. He sighed again and fell asleep dreaming of Pan.

~~~ Pan ~~~

She sat watching sadly as Trunks ran off. Finally, once he was out of sight, she got up and started to walk home forgetting about her things which she had left at the Briefs home.

She made it to her house and walked in. Videl saw her daughter in such a saddened state and walked over to her. "What’s the matter, sweetheart?"

Pan looked at her mom, her eyes welling with tears. "Nothing."

Videl frowned. "Don’t tell me nothing, spill it." She led her daughter into the kitchen and sat her down, getting something for her to drink. She then sat across the table from her.

"Mom, I like Trunks, and he finally likes me back, but his father hates it. He found out and now he's threatening to kill me if we start up a relationship."

Her father poked his head into the room ranting and raving, "NO WAY! You will not date Trunks! He’s WAY TO OLD FOR YOU!"

Videl glared at Gohan, "Get out of here! You're just making matters worse!"

Gohan protested, walking further in, "I will not leave! I will not have my 22 year old daughter even thinking of dating a 36 year old man!"

Pan growled, "I’ll do anything I wish! I am not a child!" She glared at him.

Gohan took a step back, surprised, then added, "You will do as I say as long as you live in this house!"

Pan screamed in anger, "THEN I’LL MOVE OUT!" With that, she turned and went upstairs to start packing.

Videl scowled. "Now look what you’ve done! You couldn’t stay out of it!" She turned and walked upstairs to try to talk Pan out of moving. Gohan stood stunned, his jaw open in surprise.

~~~ Pan’s Room ~~~

She stood crying in her room going from her closet to her bed and then to her drawers as Videl walked in. "Get out!"

Videl sighed. "I’m not leaving, just talk to me."

Pan looked up. "No one understands me! No one listens!"

Videl walked over, putting her hand on Pan’s shoulder, "I understand..." Pan stopped and cried on her mother’s shoulder. "I’m not against you and Trunks. Bulma and I have been thinking that you two would get together for some time, ever since you were children." She chuckled and rubbed Pan’s back, "Please don’t leave."

Pan looked at her mom. "I have to. You heard dad."

Videl shook her head. "I’ll talk to him."

Pan took a breath. "No. It's about time for me to get my own home, anyways."

Videl sighed, "Well then you have to come back and visit. Don’t let your father scare you off." Pan smiled and nodded as they both began packing up Pan’s room, Videl sadly helping. "Any idea where you plan on going?"

Pan shook her head. "No, not really. I’ll stay with Bra, I guess, until I find a place to call home."

Videl stopped. "What about Vegeta?"

Pan laughed. "Well, I’ll have Bulma there to protect me." They both started laughing and then continued packing. As Videl packed Pan called Bra. "Hey girl, you mind if I come for a LONG visit?"

Bra seemed confused. "Why? What happened?"

Pan sighed. "Dad’s being a horse's ass so I’m moving out and, until I can find my own place, I need somewhere to stay."

Bra beamed on her end of the phone. "Yah, sure, I’ll ask mom. Wait...what about Dad?"

Pan looked puzzled. "How did you know?"

She heard Bra laughing. "Trunks came home all upset about it, so I heard a good majority of the story. Just come over when you want to, alright?"

Pan nodded. "Alright. I‘ll come over tomorrow, it‘s getting late here." They hung up and Pan finished packing.

~~~ The Next Day ~~~

Pan flew up to the Briefs house and rang the door bell. She heard the sound of someone running and then the door opened. It was Vegeta. "Get out of here, Brat!"

Bra shoved her father out of the way. "Go away, Dad. Pan is staying here for a while, like it or not!" She dragged Pan through the door and up the stairs.

"OH NO SHE’S NOT!" They heard him call from downstairs. "BULMA!!!"

They both started chuckling. Trunks poked his head out the door sleepily, "What the hell is..." then he spotted Pan. "Hi." He looked to Bra, "What’s going on? Why is dad screaming?"

Bra sighed. "I’ll tell you in a minute." She took Pan to the room where she would be staying to let her unpack and then went back to Trunks' room to tell him what had happened. "Gohan didn’t like what he heard and kicked her out, so she’s going to stay here till she finds a place to stay."

Trunks sighed. "Dad isn’t going to be happy."

Bra smirked. "You have your own place, let her stay with you..."

Trunk laughed. "Father would have a fit, he would destroy my house!"

Bra shrugged. "Alright, fine. It was just an idea." She left to help Pan finish unpacking and left Trunks on his own.

~~~ Trunks ~~~

He sat for a moment after Bra left and fell back on his bed to ponder. He could have Pan stay with him but would she want to? He debated with himself as Bulma came into his room. "Hello, hunny."

He looked up at his mom. "Hey mom, what do you want?"

She walked in, "Your father is going crazy about Pan staying here, he will not have it. Maybe she could stay with you for a while, just until he cools down."

Trunks sighed. "Mom, do you even know why he’s throwing a fit?"

Bulma nodded. "Yes, but it would get him out of the house. And if we don’t tell him where she’s staying it will be alright."

He sighed again. "What about ki detection?"

She shrugged. "Just behave and it won’t matter. Your house is far enough away that, unless he’s really trying to focus in on her, he won’t find her."

Everyone wanted her to come and stay with him. He really didn’t care. "It’s up to her..." He got up and followed his mother up to Pan’s room.

~~~ Decisions ~~~

Trunks and Bulma walked into the room, shutting the door and locking it. "Alright, Pan, Vegeta just won’t have you staying here. He absolutely refuses."

Pan frowned and started repacking. "Alright. Maybe I can stay with #18 and Krillin."

Bulma shook her head. "No..." She looked to Trunks.

"You can stay with me if you want..." Pan looked at Trunks with a scolding look. "It was their idea!"

"It would be a good place to stay. It's out of the normal ki detection range unless he goes looking for you...but I think that as long as you're out of the house he won’t just go off searching for you. Don’t spar in the house and you two should be fine."

Pan frowned, it was a good idea. "Alright." Trunks smiled and Pan resisted smiling. Everyone helped her pack up her room, which wasn’t very unpacked to begin with. "So, how are we going to do this without Vegeta finding out where I’m going?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I’ll make lunch and drive you to Trunks' house, meanwhile he can stay here. Trunks, you can go home tonight before dinner." Bulma said with a smirk. "That gives you time to settle in and, with dinner on the table, Vegeta won’t leave the house to follow either us or Trunks." she chuckled. "That man can only think about one thing when food is around." They all agreed on the plan and Bulma left to start lunch. Bra left to help.

A small smile spread across Pan’s face as they left. "Thank you, Trunks."

He walked over, softly hugging her and kissing her on the cheek. "Alright, I’m going to go before dad comes up here and throws a fit because our energy is too close." He smiled and left, Pan sat on the bed sighing and hoping that everything would work out.