Valentine Misfortune

By: Hotaru

I think this is AU…yeah.

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Trunks sighed exasperatedly and crumpled up another failed attemp at a love letter. Valentines Day was drawing near and he still hadn’t told her his feelings. Who is her you ask? She is indeed a very special person that has always been close to his heart.

They’ve known each other since they were children, and as they both grew older, Trunks noticed a change in his feelings. It was no longer simply a brother/sister love, it had grown more than he could possibly have imagined. The ringing phone startled the purple haired saiyan.

"Hello?" he asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Hi there Trunks. How are you?"

It was her.

"Oh..hi Pan! How are you doing? I’m fine." Trunks said, becoming quite nervous.

"I’m okay, kinda bummed out though."

"Oh? Why is that? Too many people asking to be your Valentine?" Trunks teased before smacking himself in the head for being such a moron. Who would say such a thing to their crush?

"No silly! Mom and Dad are planning to go out for Valentines Day week and I’m going to be all alone. Hey! You wouldn’t be doing anything would you?" Pan asked, becoming very excited.

Trunks’ mouth became as dry as cotton. "Uh…uh…hold on a sec." Trunks ran into the bathroom and cupped some water in his hands. He took a gulp of it before splashing it onto his face. He ran back to the phone. "Sorry about that. Actually I’m totally free." He said.

"…You mean no one has asked you out or anything?" Pan asked incredously.

"I know, I know. I was surprised too." Trunks replied jokingly.

"Well…maybe you can come over and we could hang out or something. Would you like to?"

Trunks used all his mental capacity to refrain from screaming, "OH YES! THANK KAMI, YES!"

"Sounds great! I guess you can come over here unless you want me to go over there." Trunks said, slightly calm.

"Great! I’ll be over at your place around six thirty. Ja ne!"

"Ja naa!" Trunks placed the phone back on the receiver and pumped his fists into the air, before crumpling to the floor. "Oh no…that means I have to write a poem…an a good one at that! Shi~i~i~i~t!" Bra peeked through the cracked open door and grinned. "Hey Trunks! How goes it?" she asked.

Trunks looked up from his feeble position on the floor. "….hello." he said slowly. Bra smiled. "Hi." She turned and ran back to her room. /What the hell just happened?/ Trunks thought to himself. "Ah, let her be insane, I have to write a damn good poem!" Trunks sat back at his desk and racked his brain.

There was always a flower shop he could call and they’d put a poem on the three dozen roses he was planning to buy for a small fee. But this had to be special and from his heart, not some weird 45 year old lady who’s looking for romance through other people’s flowers.

Days to Valentines: 2

Capsule Corp was bustling as always, people scurrying around reaking havoc among the other employee’s. Trunks settled into his ‘president’s chair and sighed. A water cooler sat in the corner, in the other corner, a plant. In the opposite corners were file cabinets and papers. "President Trunks, we need those contracts signed a.s.a.p." A female employee nearly crashed through the door said breathlessly. "There right here." Trunks said, handing her a folder. She smiled and closed his door quietly.

/Still no poem. Dammit what am I going to do!?/ Trunks pondered. Apparantly, he pondered on that thought until seven thirty. He was finally out of his daze when Bulma whacked him over the head. "Trunks! What in kami’s name are you doing?! I’ve been calling up to your room for dinner for nearly two hours!" Bulma hollared. Trunks stood up and grabbed his briefcase. "…I was lost in thought." Trunks replied.

"All day?!"

Trunks nodded and shrugged. "Sorry! I’m sorry, I’ve just got a lot of things on my mind right now." He said as he climbed into Bulma’s car. "Oh, you mean that love poem you’ve been racking your brain on for days?" Bulma asked. /Bra you are so dead./ "Maybe…Mom what am I gonna do? I’ve got two,-- no one and a half days to write the most kick ass poem ever!" Trunks moaned.

"Well…just think about this girl and write what ever comes to mind. Poems don’t have to rhyme you know." Bulma replied. Trunks tapped his fingers on his briefcase and sighed. "But…every time I think about her…my mind goes blank." Bulma chuckled softly. "Aw, my little baby is love sick. Come on Trunks, what do you love about her?" she asked. Trunks rolled his eyes. "Everything! The way she looks, the way she smiles…"

Bulma smirked. "Put it into a poem. Trunks, it isn’t that hard. And even if it isn’t great, she’ll love it for your effort. Don’t worry your little purple head about it okay?" She said. Trunks nodded and sighed. /Maybe using that 45 year old woman would help./

Days until Valentines: ½

Trunks sat on his bed, staring into his closet. He had about six hours until Pan would arrive. The flowers were going to be cut at five, and the chocolate was sitting in the refrigerator. Now all he needed was a suit. "Tan..no…black…no…white? Maybe…" Trunks pulled out a white suit, black shirt and white tie. He put it on and examined himself in the mirror. "…This will have to do." He said, taking it off again.

In the next six hours, he would set up candles—not too many, just some here and there. He’d have dinner on the table, the roses and chocolates in his arms for when she walked through the door. Bulma and Vegeta were going somewhere and Bra no doubt was going out with her usual fifteen guys.

By six ten, Trunks was out of the shower and in his tuxedo. He spent nearly fifteen minutes trying to get his hair just right. The doorbell would be ringing anytime now and he’d leap down the stairs, fling open the door and exclaim "I love you!"

The candles were lit and Trunks was leaning against the wall. The minutes ticked by, still no Pan. Trunks tapped his foot. Six forty five. He walked to the phone and dialed Pan’s number. "Hello Son residence." Videl said cheerfully. /Guess they didn’t leave yet./ "Hi, it’s Trunks. Um, is Pan there?" Trunks asked. "No sweetie, she left about…fifteen minutes ago. Do you want me to leave a message?" Videl asked. Trunk bit his lower lip. "No thanks."

He sat on the couch and sighed shakily. It could have been traffic, or maybe she had to stop by the store or something. By seven, he was very worried. Pan was never really late. Trunks stood up to go to his car. He would drive around in attempt to find Pan. Sure, it was a stupid idea but he was worried. The phone rang. Trunks walked over to the kitchen slowly.

On the fifth ring, he picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked.

"T-Trunks…Pan…"

"W-What happened Videl-san? Is she alright?!" Trunks asked.

"She…she’s in the hospital…"

Trunks dropped the phone and stumbled backwards. "I’ll be right there." He said, slamming the phone back into place.

At the hospital, The Son family was waiting by the ER. "What happened?" Trunks asked worridly. Videl was crying in Gohan’s arms and Goten was staring at the floor. "She…she was on her way over to your place and…I-I guess the roads were too slippery or something…" Goten said quietly. Trunks slumped into a chair.

/She’ll be okay…won’t she? It’s only a small accident. She’s tough and she’ll make it./ Minutes passed like hours and hours passed like days. Finally, they were done operating. "Mr and Ms Son? We’d like a word with you." A doctor said, emerging from the ER. Goten stared at his shoes, as did Trunks. "Have you seen her?" Trunks asked.

Goten shook his head. "They’ve been operating on her since she got here. We don’t know anything yet." He said meekly. "You can see her now." The doctor said as per his returning with Videl and Gohan. The four solemn friends walked to Pan’s room. She layed in a bed, an IV attached to her arm. She was breathing with the help of a machine.

"Oh..my baby…" Videl sobbed, taking Pan’s hand. Gohan put his arm around Videl and sighed. "It’ll be okay. Pan’s strong. She’ll make it out okay." Trunks wasn’t sure however. Pan was a strong girl, he’d admit that, but she looked so…weak and feeble laying in that hospital bed. Her face was pale, and she barely looked alive. They sat there, watching her, waiting for her to wake up.

Eventually, Gohan had to return to work to pay the bills and for that he needed Videl’s help. Goten needed to return to school, so Trunks stayed by her side. After hearing what happened, Bulma gave him as much time off as necessary. When no one was in the room, Trunks would talk to Pan, in hopes that she might wake up. Her hand would twitch or her eyes would flutter every now and then, but that’s all.

"I don’t know what’s going to happen Pan…the doctors don’t know either. So we’re all counting on you to pull through and be allright. Once you get better, we can go out and have our Valentines Day fun in stead of misfortune. Please be okay Pan…you can’t die. Not now, not ever. Not until you’ve lived your life to the best it could be lived…I still need you now."

A few weeks after she’d been in the coma, doctors were mentioning pulling the plug. Of course, everyone rejected. "You can’t kill my daughter! Gohan…tell them they can’t!" Videl cried. "She’s only suffering. She can hardly breathe and the chances…are slim." The doctor said regretfully. One night, Trunks was sitting by her side, holding her hands and gently whispering in her ear. Pan’s body shifted, and Trunks jumped up.

"Pan? Are you awake?!" Trunks whispered. Pan’s eyes opened slightly and she turned her head. "I’m sorry I wasn’t a good Valentine." And those were the last words she spoke.

At the funeral, a short while later, Trunks brought a flower, from the original three dozen that he had saved. After the funeral was over, he stood by Pan’s grave stone. "I was finally able to write a poem for you." He whispered quietly, placing the flower and small note down on a flower bed.

Roses are red,

violets are blue,

You love me

And I love you too.

I’ll pick you a flower

And place it on your grave

Hoping that in heaven,

It in your heart, you will save.

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Hotaru