Summary: Pan Son has a job worth living for, a great best friend, and lived in a beautiful apartment, but there was something missing in her life. When she tries to find what she wants, she ends up finding something else: a friendship with the cold, emotionless Trunks Briefs. The more she gets to know him, the more she feels entranced by him. Will she help Trunks become whole again? Can she find what she's looking for?
Hi potential readers! Have I totally bored you yet? ( I guarantee that the story is a billion times better!) Well, if I haven't, please go ahead and read! And please be kind and review.
Oh, and the Postal Service is totally the soundtrack to this. I don't know why, it just is. I was listening to "The district sleeps alone tonight" on my CD player, and suddenly this idea popped into my head.. If you like it, I just might write more ;) Well, here goes nothing
Nothing stirred, not even the frost nipped leaves on the normally busy road of South Chestnut Avenue, where a big, old apartment building stood against the chilly wind of autumn. The stones from which it was made gave a charming look to it. It stood five stories tall, with balconies set under most of the windows. Just beyond the front door was a thicket of woods, with a small park to the right. It wasn't the most lavish place, but it was home to many. When lit, it looked cheery and welcoming.
At the moment, however, all the lights were out. It was late. Anyone who had any sense at all wouldn't be awake. Everyone was asleep—all except for one.
Pan Son sat fully awake in her bed, furiously typing down research she had spent all afternoon collecting. Being the ever hard working scientist she was, she often worked way past midnight. After all, if you didn't put all you had into what you loved, what was the point? Especially if you were working for one of the top companies in the world—Capsule Corporation.
She sighed as she placed the last bit of information on her new prototype down onto her laptop and looked at her bed side longingly.
He didn't show up again.
"This is the second night in a row. . . "she muttered to herself, brushing a dark black lock of hair behind her ear. She had recently gotten it cut about two inches under her chin with layers all around to make it look chunkier, and her boyfriend, well, didn't really appreciate it. Any of her old boyfriends would've found a way to say their disapproval in a constructive manner. But ooohhh no, Kyo was different. He expressed his opinion in another way. Pans sweet, pretty face became contorted with a look of pain as she remembered what exactly had come out of his mouth that day.
"What the hell did you do to your hair?" he snarled as she walked through the door, hands baring groceries.
" What does it look like, I got it cut," she said as she shut the door, "Why, you don't like it?"
" It looks like you got it butchered. How much did you pay to get that "piece of work" done?"
" Only about thirty dollars." she told him as she put down the bags on the nearest counter and grabbed a carton of eggs to put away.
" You have to be kidding me!" he yelled out, and Pan jumped In surprise. She turned to face him, a hand on her hip, the other holding the eggs.
" Excuse me, what do you waste your money on? Beer and partying with your friends, that's what. Why do you care, anyways, it's my hair, and my money." replied Pan coolly.
" It's my decision on what gets spent around here." He exclaimed angrily. She frowned.
" Since when?! When have you ever bought something that was worth anything? I make the money you spend, so I should have a say in it."
As soon as Pan had said that, Kyo got up and stomped over to her, grabbing her arm and turned her forcefully to face him. He looked quite dangerous with a deep scowl on his face. He said in a threatening voice, "You say that again. . . I'll make sure that you won't get up for a while. All I want is some DAMN RESPECT!"
He knocked the eggs out of her hands and pushed her against the wall.
" Never talk to me like that. Ever." He spat, and he left the apartment with a slam of the door. Pan, with a scared expression on her face, slowly sank to her knees to clean the mess.
Pan shuddered at the memory. Kyo had never shown a temperamental side before. Sure he was a little sensitive to the fact that Pan made a good living, and he could barely hold his job as a waiter down at the restaurant across the street. She knew that it would make him a little sore at her when she said that, but she didn't expect him to blow up on her. Lately, he had gone through some changes. He came home less frequently, and he always tried to find a reason to fight with her. He was turning into someone different. . .someone she didn't know. He wasn't the man Pan had fallen for.
Pan took of her reading glasses and placed it on her bedside table and tossed her laptop to the foot of her bed. Giving the vacant spot another look, she flopped down on her fluffy pillow, hugging it tightly, and quickly went into a tiresome sleep.
The next day, Pan was busy at Capsule Corp. trying to figure out the prototype that she designed last night. Her friend, Jessa, who was a short brunette with a soft, kind looking face, ran in and gave her a look up and down.
" What happened to you? You look awful." She said to Pan, who just rolled her eyes.
" Do you have my coffee?" Pan asked with a yawn.
" Have I ever failed you before?" she asked holding out a fresh cup, and Pan took it gratefully, "Late night?"
" You could say that. Kyo didn't come home again; I was so worried abo--"
" Oh, hell no," said Jessa with a groan, "I know you didn't wait up for him again. Pan, would you listen to me? Kyo is not a nice guy, he's a total jerk to you. I have a feeling he's doing something. . . not so honest."
" Not this again, Jes!" yelled Pan, running a hand through her hair in frustration, "I'm tiered of you saying this to me! I've heard it all before. He just works late, that's all."
The two stood in silence for a moment, Pan messing with the hem of her shirt while Jessa looked at her feet, then at Pan's laptop. Deciding to end the silence by walking over, she looked at the plans intriguingly.
" What do you have here?" questioned Jessa. Pan, relieved the tension between them had left, looked at her screen with a frustrated smile.
" It's a new prototype I'm working on. It's supposed to help make the control system more error proof, but there's something wrong. It won't fit into the grid. You know last month when someone hacked into the data base and put that horrible, but rather amusing, picture of Jeremy doing a lap dance for the new kid in his department?" Jessa nodded her head, covering her mouth with her hand trying to hold back the snort that came through her nose, "Well, Mr. Briefs had asked me to make something to help up the level of the security module when I could find the time, and let's face it; I had a lot of that last night."
Jessa gave a reproachful cluck, but proceeded to look at the laptop. Her brows knitted as she tried to find an error with Pan's work, but couldn't find anything.
" Pan, this is brilliant. I can't understand what's wrong with it." Raved Jessa, "The scripture is amazing. I can't even read it. You need to get someone trained to--"
"Excuse me," Said someone behind the two, "Could I be of help?"
The pair turned around to see a person they didn't expect. There stood the most gorgeous man alive, and conveniently enough, he was Pan's boss. Pan stared at him with an astounded look. Mr. Trunks Briefs hardly ever came to help smaller projects, he was the president of Capsule Corps, he didn't have time for it. Pan had only worked with him a few times, and from what she gathered after the time she spent, he didn't like people much.
"Mr. Briefs, I-I. . ." started Pan, but Mr. Briefs didn't answer. He went to look over Pan's work, his face scrunched up in a concentrated look.
" Is this the new prototype I asked you to work on?" he asked in a curious yet distant tone. His blue eyes racked over the screen, trying to find the problem. They had a look about them; a look that Pan couldn't quite place. Was it sadness? Mr. Briefs normally didn't show any emotion. He never laughed; he didn't even smile. For the most part, he avoided people all together. After a moment, Pan had realized that he asked a question and she hadn't replied yet.
" Y-yes, I started it last night. I don't expect it to be anything special, there's something that won't allow it to—"
" Here, look at this." He interrupted, pointing to the screen, " You see that? That's what's causing the problem. That character isn't plausible to our system, and it's regarded as part of a foreign program of some sort, so it's automatically considered a threat. There's an alternative character. . .here." he said, dragging his finger to the keyboard and made the necessary change. Pan looked at the screen. Most any admirable scientist would've looked over that small detail.
" If that's all, I'd best be going." He said formally, standing up from his hunched over position, "Have a good day, Miss Arvy, Miss Son." and turned around without another word.
Just as he was about to leave, Pan called out, "Wait!" He paused for a moment, lifting a brow in interest. She took a breath in.
" Thank you. I really appreciate the help, I would've never found it on my own." She said at last. He nodded his head in response, but Pan could have sworn she saw a smile flicker onto his face. But it left as soon as it came, and he walked quickly out of the room.
After a moment of staring, Jessa let out a low whistle.
" Wow, is he gorgeous or what?" she asked Pan, who turned to face Jessa with a frown.
" He's our boss, he can't be "gorgeous". Just because everyone else swoons over him doesn't mean I will." She exclaimed defensively. Jessa held her hands up in peace.
" Look, I was just expressing an opinion. You don't have to go all psycho on me, god."
Pan shrugged and looked over her new and improved information, giving out a sigh. Jessa went to go work over in her station as well, and all that was heard after that was the furious typing on her part.
Pan wondered how Trunks Briefs could see something so small. She had only worked on a few projects with the man, and what she saw of him was that he was extremely intelligent. Not only that, but he was gorgeous. (Not like she'd ever tell Jessa. ( Ah, the embarrassment!) Pan also didn't know anything about him. For the most part, he stayed in his office working on all the boss-man stuff.
But why? Why would a man with his talent waste his skills by just filling out paper work? Well, it didn't matter, she really didn't know him so she didn't really care. But she had to hand it to him. Spotting that impossible error. . .
"He's a genius." She stated at last. Jessa looked up from her computer in surprise.
"Who?" she asked stupidly. Pan rolled her eyes.
"Trunks Briefs, you twit. Anyways, I just can't believe he doesn't do more inventions. Did you see the look on his face when he was working on this?" she asked, pointing to her computer. Jessa just shook her head, "His eyes looked excited, almost longingly. . . like he wished that he could be in our place instead."
"You read into things too much, Pan. He's one of the richest men in the world. Why would he be unhappy?"
She looked at the screen once more, "I don't know. He seemed a little cold, didn't he?"
"I've noticed that. People tell me that he wasn't always like that, he just became distant one day."
"I wonder why. . ." Pan said after a moment. Jessa just waved a hand dismissively.
"Don't trouble yourself with him, Pan, he's just some rich jerk who only cares for himself." said Jessa.
"Oh, really? Is that so? We've only been working here about six months, and you don't know the guy, so how can you tell?" Pan asked indignantly.
"Well, neither do you. Why are you defending him?" she retorted back. Pan shrugged a little.
"I just think that it's none of our business. He's a little formal, so what?"
"Exactly," Jessa said in a rushed tone, as if they were going to get caught, "Why would he be all formal and stuff? He's just snobby and rich. He won't mingle with us "lower class" citizens."
Pan decided to give up with an, "I guess."
' He doesn't seem all that snobby to me,' Pan thought to herself, ' Just a little. . .mistrusting.'
After Pan got home from work, she found Kyo on the couch watching TV. She threw her keys on the counter and took off her coat and walked to the fridge.
" I'm glad to see you home safe and sound." She said sarcastically. He didn't even look up. Pan sighed and decided to make a sandwich.
Getting out the ingredients, Pan noticed that there were a few empty bottles on the counter that once contained beer. She hated alcohol and Kyo knew it.
" I thought you said you were going to cut back on the drinking." She called out from the kitchen.
" And I thought I said for you to stop hasslin' me." He yelled back with slurred speech.
" Oh, please don't tell me you're drunk. I am so sick and tiered of this, Kyo!" She responded in frustration. Kyo got up off of the couch and went to grab another beer. He opened it with a "phhiz" and drank it defiantly.
" God, I wish you didn't do that." She said quietly. She made to walk away, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her close. Setting down his bottle, he used his free hand to stroke her face. Leaning in, he gave Pan a quick kiss.
" You're so beautiful, Pan. . .so sweet. . ." he told her, giving her another kiss, but this time deepening it. This was the most romantic gesture that he had done in weeks, but Pan couldn't help to overlook the fact that his mouth tasted like Guinness. It overwhelmed Pan's senses, making her want to gag. She had to break away from him, or she would throw up. She turned away and steadied herself.
" Can we do this another time? I'm really tiered. It's been a long day." She said quietly. His face screwed up with anger.
" What the hell, Pan? What's your problem now? Do I disgust you or something?" he yelled at her. She gripped at the counter.
" Well, right now, I have to say you do. You're drunk off your ass, and I'm not planning on getting intimate with you while you're intoxicated!"
Kyo turned red now, his face turned up in a scowl. He grabbed her wrists and pushed her against the counter, forcing his mouth over hers. She struggled against him, jerking as much as possibly to get him away from her. What was wrong with him?
She finally succeeded getting Kyo off, and her prize was a hit to the jaw. Kyo knocked Pan to the floor with such force that the whole kitchen shook. Pan sat up and winced at the pain. Blood dripped on the corner of her mouth. She looked up at him with a mix of shock and fear. Kyo, her Kyo had hit her. She would have never thought it possible.
Pan didn't know how she found the strength to stand, but she did. She stared into Kyo's eyes, which seemed a little too cool for comfort, and ran a calm hand over her chin. She then opened her mouth to speak.
"Hit me again. . . and you'll be finding yourself a new place to live." and with surprising composure, she turned and walked out of the door.
Pan didn't care where she was running to, as long as she was as far away from Kyo as possible. All the composure she had was gone now, replaced with a painful tear that streaked down her face.
' He hit me, he hit me. . .'
Her feet went at a rocky pace, running down the hall of her floor. And just some useful information, running in heals is a tricky business. If only Pan had known that. As she ran, a heel broke off of her shoe, causing her to trip and fall. And just when she thought that things couldn't get worse, she discovered that she had landed on someone.
" S-sorry," she choked out, and made a rush to help the person grab their groceries.
" Miss Son?" a deep voice asked unsurely. Pan froze immediately. What the HELL was he doing here?!
" Mr. Briefs, I'm sorry. I didn't see you." she said, not looking at him. She continued to grab things and shove them messily into his bag.
" No, it's quite alright. . ." he began, but stopped himself when he noticed the little droplets of blood collecting at the tip of her chin, "Are you ok? I didn't realize that I ran into you so hard. Here, let me help you up."
Pan was about to protest, but she felt two hands grasp her behind her elbows and he pulled her to her feet.
" You didn't, I was already bleeding." She blurted before she could stop herself. He froze for a moment as he let the information set in.
" So it was intentional? What happened? Did someone hit you?" he asked with genuine concern. She had never heard him talking other than his usual monotone voice. It was. . .different.
However, she didn't put too much thought into that, for he did ask her a question. What was she supposed to tell him? That her jerk of a boyfriend hit her? That she was afraid to go back to her own apartment? No, she had a better idea. Taking in a big breath. . .
She began to run again.
Pan staggered to the end of the hall and sank to the floor. She couldn't run another step, her heart hurt so much. Kyo had hit her. And now her boss knew something was up. Would he bring it up at work? Would he make her tell him who punched her? Oh god, she hoped not.
Pan was too caught up in her own little world that she didn't even notice Mr. Briefs squat down next to her, pulling something out of his pocket.
" Tissue?" he asked casually, and she looked up wide eyed. He placed his hanky onto her mouth and wiped it clean, and then he inspected her jaw line.
" Your face should feel a little tender for a few days." He continued, as if trying to get her to say something, but all she could manage at the moment was a weak nod, but soon stooped because it hurt to do so. He placed the tissue in her hand and she applied it to her mouth again.
" Would it be asking too much if I questioned about what happened?" he tried, and she just stared at the floor blankly, "Ok then. . . how about I make a guess? Um, you got into a fight with someone? No, uh. . . you ran into something? Not it either, huh? How about you bit your lip? Oh, that's dumb . . .sorry, I'm not good at guessing--"
" . . .My boyfriend hit me. . .ok?" she said quietly, trying to get up to leave, "It's no great mystery. He got mad, hit me, and I left. I tripped and fell on my boss. I ran away, and now I'm here, making even more of a fool of myself in front of you. Now I'm going to walk back to my apartment to see if the jerk is still there, and if he is, I'm going to shove my dumb, broken shoe up his—"
" Ok! I get the point. It was a dumb question to ask." He told her, getting up as well, "Miss Son, look, I don't know the situation very well, and I won't try to butt in, but if this man hits you, he won't stop."
" Mr. Briefs," she said, her tone slightly angered, "This was the first time he had ever hit me. I know my own boyfriend. He was just a little dru--," she reddened as she let that slip, but continued anyway, ". . .a little angry. It won't happen again, and he knows that I won't take it from him. Now If you excuse me, I'm going to go on a walk. Good day to you." and she walked away without another word. Trunks Briefs just stood there a moment, wondering what had just happened.
Pan crossed her arms to warm herself from the chill of the night air. Oh, what a sight she must have been at that moment! A broken heel and no coat, mascara running everywhere. . .
She shivered madly. She would have to go back soon, or she'd get sick. But she wasn't ready to go back, not yet at least. Kyo was just going through a phase. He had to be! Kyo was normally sweet and caring and loved her unconditionally.
Well, sort of. The sweet part was a little exaggerated, oh, and the loving her thing was a little off too. He really didn't tell her that he loved her all that much. In fact, Pan couldn't remember the last time he said anything remotely like "love". Maybe that was it. Maybe he just didn't love her anymore. . .
" Stop it," she told her self loathingly, "you're acting stupid. You're stronger than this."
' Or at least you were.' A voice said in the back of her mind. Was Kyo taking away her confidence? What was he doing to her? Well, whatever it was, she didn't like it.
Soon Pan looked around to where she had subconsciously walked. She had found herself at her favorite park, which wasn't but half a block away from her home. She sat down absent mindedly on her favorite swing, which was tied to a tree. Using her feet to push, it creaked as she rocked back and forth, thinking deeply. What would happen if she left Kyo? What if Mr. Briefs was right? Would Kyo hit her again? She took her head in her hands and gave a great sigh. She couldn't just give up. She had put so much into the relationship, it'd be foolish just to pull away now.
" I'll give it a few weeks," she said aloud, as if to help convince herself that she had made the right decision, "and if it doesn't improve, well. . ." she looked back at her apartment building, which stood out amongst the trees. She smiled a bit.
" Then it's over."
So, do you like? If you do, than review!