That's What Friends Are For

By Lady Trunks

"Hi, Trunks-kun," Pan said happily as she came into the kitchen where he was standing holding a glass of coffee in his hand. He was dressed in a business suit because he had just gotten off work before coming to go over some plans with Gohan.

Trunks looked at her and smiled automatically. She was dressed in a black dress and had her shoulder length hair pulled into a twist on the top of her head. Trunks thought that she was looking even more beautiful than usual.

"Hi Panny. Got a date tonight?" He asked her, carefully keeping the jealousy out of his voice.

"Yep, Michael and I are going to a French restaurant to celebrate our one year anniversary." Trunks noticed the dreamy look in her eyes when she mentioned him and fought off a wave of jealousy.

"That's nice." He kept his voice as neutral as possible, but on the inside he was seething. He didn't trust that guy at all. In all the time that Pan had been going out with him, never once, at least in Trunks point of view, had he ever done anything that would show that he was worthy of dating her. He had always seemed self-centered and he had a huge ego. But because of Trunks friendship with Pan, he kept his opinion to his self.

"What are you doing here," She asked. Taking in his clothes she added, "Did you just get off of work?"

"Yeah. I wanted to go over the plans for the new project that the company is doing with Gohan. We have a meeting tomorrow, so I was making sure he's ready. He's in his office right now going over the plans."

"Oh, Michael's going to be here anytime, so I was going to tell him bye. I'll do it right before I go, so I won't disturb him."

"Well," Trunks glanced at the watch on his wrist. "I have got to get to home." As he was saying that, he walked towards the door with Pan following close behind. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Trunks-kun. Good luck at your meeting tomorrow." She reached up and hugged him. Then, before he had a chance to react she had pulled back. "See you later."

"Bye Panny." He called, walking to his car. As he left he noticed that she was still standing on the porch and waved at her.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

One week later….

Trunks was on his way to Gohan's to go over the adjustments to the project they had been working on. As he pulled his car into the driveway, he noticed a figure sitting on the porch. On closer inspection, he realized that it was Pan. She was sitting with her legs pulled up and her arms resting on top with her face buried in them.

As he walked towards her, he noticed that she was crying. He wasn't sure what to say to her, but seeing her like that made his heart ache.

"Panny," he whispered softly sitting down beside her, "are you okay?"

She looked up and her eyes were red from the tears that continued to run down her cheeks. She made a halfhearted attempt to wipe her eyes and then just gave up.

"He… He … broke…. up… wi... with …. me." She said between sobs. Trunks knew that she was talking about her and Michael, and fought between the joy of knowing that they had broke up and the sadness of seeing her in pain.

"Ahh, Panny," he said in a comforting voice, "it will be okay." He took her in his arms and sat there gently rocking her back and forth.

After a while her sobs faded, but he continued to rock her, gently rubbing her hair in a comforting gesture. "You want to tell me what happened?"

As if a dam had broke, the whole story spilled out. "Well, I went over to his house to visit him, and when I got there, there was no answer when I knocked. I opened the door to check and I saw him with some girl…." She paused there, but Trunks got the point. He felt an intense desire to go and show Michael Vegita's Big Bang Attack. It was only the realization that he would have to leave Pan to do it that stopped him.

"Panny, it will be all right. I promise. Pretty soon you'll forget all about him."

"I thought that he loved me… I thought that I loved him."

"I know, sweetie. He was an idiot that deserves to have his face and certain other parts of his anatomy smashed. Would you like me to do that for you? I'd enjoy it!"

She reluctantly smiled at that. "No, don't bother. If anyone was going to do any smashing, it would be me. But he's not worth it."

They were both silent for a while. Then suddenly Trunks broke the silence. "Let's go to a movie."

The request was so unexpected that for a moment it did not even register to Pan. When it finally did, her instinctive reaction was to say no. After all, the boy she thought she loved had just dumped her. Then she thought about it. She did not want to sit around alone just so she could cry more. No, the best thing to do would be to do something that would distract her.

"Okay, Trunks-kun. Just let me go get ready." She said gesturing to her tear-streaked face and red eyes.

"Okay, I'll wait here." He said, loosening his grip that had been around her waist.

She started to walk inside, but at the door she paused. "Thank you, Trunks."

He did not even try to pretend that he did not know what she was talking about, "No problem. You know you can always come to me with your problems. That's what friends are for."

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Five Months Later

Trunks was in his office sitting at his desk. He was finishing up on his paper work when the secretary buzzed him. "Mr. Vegita, there's someone here to see you."

Trunks looked at the pile of paper work on his desk and sighed. Would all this work ever end? he thought to himself in disgust. He pushed the button on the phone. "Ms. Haruna, I'm kind of busy now. Could you please ask who ever it is to make an appointment and come back later?"

He released the button and sat for a moment. The intercom buzzed again. "I'm sorry Mr. Vegita, but the young lady insists that it's urgent."

Trunks let out a sigh of annoyance and grumbled to himself, "I hope it's not another of those stupid teeny boppers." Then he pressed the button and spoke to the secretary. "Ms. Haruna, could you please ask the lady what her name is?"

For a second the room was silent and Trunks leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Before he had a chance to enjoy the silence, the secretary was back on. "She says her name is a Ms. Pan Son. Would you like me to tell her to make an appointment?"

At the mention of the name, he sat up straight. A smile automatically appeared on his face, then faded as he recalled what his secretary had said. She had said that it was urgent. It wasn't like Pan to interrupt him while he was at work, so it must be something really important.

Trunks then realized that while he had been fretting, he had left her standing out there. Mentally laughing at himself for his hysteria, he pushed the button and told the secretary to send her in. He was still smiling at his own nervousness when Pan came in. His face lost its smile when he noticed the look on her face.

Her face was pale and her eyes seemed to be too large for her face. As she stood there, he immediately sensed that something was seriously wrong. He hurried over to her side and wrapped his arms around her.

At his touch, tears began to pool in her eyes. "Oh, Trunks!" she sobbed into his shirt. "How could I have been so dumb?! I thought that he loved me, so I trusted him. Why didn't I think about something like this? I never thought that it could happen to me! What am I going to tell my parents?"

Trunks was confused by her words, and tried to make some sense out of them. "What, Pan? What's wrong?" Then some of her words registered, and he pulled back to look in her eyes in shock. "Are you pregnant?"

He was waiting for the harsh rebuttal, but was shocked when it didn't come. In fact, what she said was even more shocking. "I wish it was that simple," she said it with a harsh laugh, and for the life of him, Trunks couldn't figure out what was going on.

He felt like he was looking on from a distance trying to make sense out of the senseless. What was going on here? There was only one way to find out. "Okay Pan, calm down. Tell me exactly what's wrong. Start at the beginning."

Pan took a deep and tried to calm herself down, though it was hard. Slowly, she began to tell him. "Well, I haven't been feeling very well for awhile." She held her hand up to stop him from asking the question that she knew he wanted to ask. "I didn't tell anyone, because I thought it was just the flu or something. I was feeling really tired and weak for a couple of months now, so I finally made an appointment with the doctor." The story was coming faster now, as if she was in a hurry to get it over with. "I went to the doctor today and he said…. He said…." The tears were falling again and she wasn't fighting them anymore. "He said I'm dying!" The last was said on a sob and she sunk into the couch behind her.

Trunks felt as if someone had hit him in the stomach as hard as they could. The wind was sucked from his lungs and it felt as though his heart had quit beating. He shook his head back in forth and fought desperately to find an explanation for this. The only one he could think of was that Pan was playing a joke on him, but one look at her face told him that it was no joke.

"What do you mean you're dying?" he asked her, trying to force his voice to come out normally, but wound up sounding a little high pitched. "What's wrong with you?"

She looked down at the carpet and her hair fell forward covering her face. "I have AIDS Trunks." She said it softly, as if she had a slight hope that he wouldn't hear her.

"What do you mean, you have AIDS?? How? Where? Who?" he said it all in a rush.

"Michael," she said the name even softer.

"WHAT?!" Trunks shouted at her. "You mean you and him??" At her very slight nod, he started pacing the room. "Pan, how could you have been so stupid?! Didn't you even stop to think that something like this might happen?" His back was turned to her, and he couldn't tell if she was agreeing or not.

He spun around but the site of her brought him up short. He saw Pan's shoulders shacking from the force of her sobs and suddenly felt an overwhelming guilt. Here she was experiencing what had to be the worst news in her life, and he was yelling at her.

With a sigh of self-disgust Trunks walked over and sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her once more. He started rocking her and had an intense feeling of de ja vu. Only this time it was even worse.

He did his best to comfort her, and gently wiped the tears from her face. "Oh, Panny." He whispered to her. "Please don't cry. We'll find away to work it out…. I don't know how, but we will."

Her sobs slowly receded, still there, but not as strong. "Shh... Now tell me what the doctor said."

"He said that I have Aids. And because of my unique blood type, being one-forth saiyan, it's unusually strong. He said that I don't have a lot of time left only a couple of months. It's almost completely overtaken my body and my Immune system is practically nonexistent." She started to sob again.

Trunks felt an ache fill his chest at her words. He was not sure what he had expected her to say, but that was not it. Only a couple months left? It was as if his whole world was spinning out of control, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He did not know what to say to her. What could he say? Nothing that could make it any better. So he did the only thing he could do. Hold her so she would know that she was not alone.

"How am I going tell my family?" She asked on a sob.

Trunks was surprised at her question. He had not even thought about that. He knew that Gohan and Videl would both be devastated by the news. She was their only child and they loved her deeply. Then there was Goten, who was like a brother to her, and ChiChi, who was even more over-protective since Goku had left. This was going to be horrible for them and for Pan to tell them.

"Well," he said gently, "I guess the best thing to do would to be to just tell them all at once. Just get it over with."

Pan nodded her head, but he could tell that she was dreading the ordeal. "We should do it soon." Pan looked up at his words in surprise. "You didn't think I would let you go through this alone did you?" Seeing her look, he smiled sadly. "I'll stand beside you Pan. You should know that. That's what friends are for."

She hesitated for a moment, recalling when she had heard him say those words before and gave a wistful smile. She then whispered sadly, "Yeah, that's what friends are for."

* * * * * * *

Later that Day

Trunks stood beside Pan and stared at all the familiar faces that surrounded him. Pan's family was there as well as his own and Kuririn's. Pan had decided it was best to just tell everyone at once, because she didn't want to have to go through it again. Looking at the strained smile on her face, he wasn't sure that that had been the best idea.

Everyone stood around and chatted, all without a clue as to why they were there. They were all smiling, happy to be with old friends again after such a long time with out seeing everyone together. To Trunks their smiles seemed inappropriate, but they didn't realize why they were all there. He wished with all his heart that this was really a happy occasion, and that this had all been a dream. He wondered if he would ever laugh with the same abandonment as they were again.

He was staring into space thinking when a hand on his shoulder broke into his thoughts. "Trunks," a soft voice asked him, "what's wrong?" He turned around to look into the concerned gaze of Marron. He wanted to say that nothing was wrong, and just let everyone continue to have a good time as long as possible. But they had been friends for a long time now, and he didn't want to lie to her. So instead he didn't say anything and continued to watch Pan.

At his lack of response, Marron pulled her hand away and went to sit down, a worried expression on her face. Pan looked up and made eye contact with Trunks. He saw the look on her face and knew that now was the time.

"Excuse, but I have some news that I would like to tell everyone." At her words, everyone fell silent and took a seat. They all gazed at her expectantly. Trunks walked over and stood behind her chair resting his hand on her shoulder in a silent show of support. Unconsciously, she reached up and laced her fingers through his.

Suddenly Goten broke the silence that had fallen over the room. "Hey, I know what it is. You two finally hooked up." At his words, chaos filled the room as everyone started talking at once. Pan looked on helplessly, feeling the additional pain from the comment that seemed unintentionally harsh. Silent tears rose to her eyes and started falling. Soon everyone in the room grew quiet, not really sure what was happening.

Trunks gently pulled Pan up and wrapped his arms around her and sank back into the chair cradling her in his arms. Pan buried her face in her hands and cried as Trunks silently glared at Goten who had a guilty expression on his face, though he didn't know what he was guilty of.

Finally Pan forced her self to stop crying and in a slightly hoarse voice began explaining, "The reason I asked you all here," she said with a poise that both amazed and made Trunks proud, "was to inform you all that I have some bad news." She didn't want to make them worry before she told them, but she didn't want to just drop it on them either. But she realized that it was best to just get it over with. "I thought you all should know that I'm dying."

The room was completely quiet. Even the normally sarcastic Vegita remained silent. It was as if everyone was waiting for more, some kind of explanation. Something that would make it seem real. So Pan told them what she had told Trunks.

Everyone continued to be silent after she had dropped her bombshell and then mass hysteria had broken out. It was a rush between all the females, with the exception of Videl, to comfort her. But Pan's mother remained sitting on the couch, a shocked expression on her face. Beside her, with a similar expression, sat Gohan.

Pan carefully shrugged off the arms that were holding her and walked over to her parents. She wasn't sure what she could say that would make it easier. But in the end words were unnecessary. Gohan opened his arms to her and she sat on the couch with her parents cradled in her parents' arms. They comforted each other while they all cried for what had been and for what would never be.

* * * * * * *

Later that Day

Pan stood outside while everyone else was still inside talking. It seemed that the news had caused them all to start reminiscing about the past. They had all taken it well, considering the news, but it was hard for her to be around them. To know that they knew what she had done was bad enough. But the fact that they were being so understanding about it made her feel her feel even worse.

Everyone was watching her in concern, wanting to keep an eye on her. It was the first time in her life that people had treated her like an invalid, and she hated the feeling. Always asking if she felt okay, if she needed anything. Pan hated it. But the worst part of all was knowing that later on, as the disease progressed, she was going to be an invalid. And the thought scared her.

All her life Pan had been strong, able to do anything. But now, she was being brought low not by an opponent, but by a virus. She didn't want people to remember her as a week invalid that had to be waited on. She wanted to be remembered as strong, something she had always taken pride in being. With these thoughts came the urge to get away from it all.

Pan gathered her ki and started flying through the sky. The feeling of soaring through the air refreshed her, and made her feel alive. She silently wondered if there was going to be a time when she would no longer be able to do this simple thing. When she would be too weak to even get out of bed. The thought seemed ludicrous at the moment, when she felt so alive.

But then Pan started to notice something. Where normally flying was effortless to her, she now began to feel tired. The sign of weakness made her even more determined to keep flying. She began to go faster, trying to put all thoughts of her illness out of her mind. Pan wanted everything to be the way it was. To return to the worries that had seemed important then, but seemed so trivial compared to what was happening now. She wanted a second chance at life. To take pleasure in the simple things that she had never even stopped to wonder about before. The feel of the air rushing by as you fly at top speed. The warm sun shining down as you fight with one of your best friends. The way you feel when you're with the person you love.

She shoved that thought out of her mind. Why now? she thought to herself. Why do you wait until now to realize you love him. You know that you can't do a thing about it. Just stop thinking like that, she ordered herself. As Pan was thinking these thoughts, she began pushing herself even harder, flying as fast as she could. She just wanted to forget everything that was happening.

Suddenly she started to feel dizzy. The exertion started to have its effect on her weekend body and she felt her head spinning. She could no longer control herself as she began plummeting to the ground. Right before she impact, she was caught in a pair of strong arms.

When Pan's eyes were back in focus she looked into the beautiful blue eyes of Trunks. She noticed the concerned and loving look in them and wanted to cry again. It just wasn't fair.

"Panny," he said, the concern evident in his voice, "what do you think you're doing?"

"I just needed to get away." Her voice came out breathlessly and Pan hated herself for her weakness. As Trunks held her in his arms, Pan thought how nice of a habit it was becoming. The feelings that had changed towards him since that day five months ago, and kept growing and getting stronger. And to Pan, it made everything seem even worse.

"I think I had better go home now," she said, forcing herself out of his embrace.

She was walking away when his words stopped her in her tracks. "You know Panny, you're not going to be able to shut us out." He said it matter-of-factly, as if he knew just what she had been thinking. "We won't let you! I won't let you! We love you too much. Besides, we're friends. We stick together through the good times and the bad. Remember? That's what friends are for."

Pan stood there with her back to him. There was so many conflicting emotions going through her at that moment. Sorrow, for what would never be. Anger at life for being so unfair. And relief, knowing that she wouldn't have to face this alone. And joy at knowing that there were people who loved her that much. Pan decided to give in to the last two. Slowly she turned around and faced him.

Seeing the acceptance on her face, and the slight smile that curved her lips, Trunks walked towards her. "So, Panny. What do you say we go home?" At her nod of acceptance he swept her up in his arms and took off through the sky with her.

Pan just held on and enjoyed the flight. She knew that it was going to be hard times ahead, but as long as she was with her friends and family, they would be okay.

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Two Month Later

Trunks stood outside the door to Pan's hospital room, gathering his strength to step inside. He wasn't sure why, but for some reason, it seemed like every time he went to see her it kept getting harder and harder. He knew that sooner or later, she was going to die, but subconsciously, he kept the hope that she would some how miraculously recover and everything would be great. But, he knew in his heart that she was going to die, and probably soon. It was this that scared him, and the knowledge that when she died, a piece of his heart would to.

He took a deep breath and forced a smile. In the last couple of months, he had spent even more time with her, as had everyone on her family. They had made many memories that would be a comfort to them all when she was gone… and also make it even harder to let her go. She had seemed healthy in the weeks following her announcement until a couple days ago when she had fallen ill. They had rushed her to the hospital, and had been shocked when they had realized how sick she actually was, and when the doctor had insisted she remain in the hospital. It had made them all realize that they didn't have very much time left. Trunks knew that he had to tell her his feelings now, while he still had the chance.

Gathering his courage, he stepped inside and went to her bedside. Trunks was relieve to see that he was the only one there with her, since usually at least one of her parents were by her bedside .He glanced down at her and felt fear as well as tenderness. Pan looked so small and fragile lying in the hospital bed. She also looked extremely pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn't slept very well.

Trunks remained silent, not wanting to disturb her slumber, but as if she sensed him beside her, she opened her eyes and looked at him. She gave him a tired smile, "Hi, Trunks-kun. What are you doing here?" She asked the same question everyday, even though the answer was always the same.

"I've come to see you of course, Panny-chan."

"Because that's what friends are for," the statement was common enough, one that he had said many times to her, but for some reason it angered him when she said it.

"No," he said sharply, "not because we're friends." She looked at him with a blank expression on her face, and Trunks immediately regretted his sharp tone. "I don't come and visit you because we're friends, I come and visit you because I love you. I have for so long, and I just want to be with you whenever I can."

Trunks wasn't sure how he expected Pan to act, shocked most likely. But what ever he was expecting, it wasn't the smile she gave him. "I know," she whispered softly. This threw him a little. He had never said anything to her about it, but somehow she knew. Then she continued to say something even more shocking. "I love you too."

"Oh, Panny." He said, pain evident in his voice. "How could I have been so stupid? Why did I have to wait so long to say something?" He took her hand and gently held it in his. Then he said softly to her, "It isn't fair. I thought that we would have forever. And now, we hardly have anytime to be together… It's just not fair. Why us? Why now?"

She grasped his hand and whispered "Trunks," she said gently, "I know what you mean. But there have been enough what ifs and questions in my life about what could or should have been. Life's confusing and there are no answers. I'm just glad that we can be together for as long as possible."

He gently placed a kiss on her lips. "I love you Pan."

"I love you too Trunks. And because of my love for you, I want you to be happy. To have a happy life when I'm gone. And remember that I'll always be looking out for you. After all that's what friends are for, right?" She said it with a grin, and Trunks smiled back. This time, it didn't upset him at all.

"Right, Panny. That's what friends are for."

"I love you," Pan vowed, her voice wavering slightly. She seemed to be saying goodbye with that statement.

"And I love you," Trunks promised. And as Trunks felt Pan's body relax as her spirit left her body, he whispered to himself, "Always."

It seemed so simple,
To just give in,
Never thinking about the consequences,
Until the pain began.

He said that there was nothing to worry about,
That you have no reason to fear,
But you should know by now,
You can't believe everything you hear.

But your health is fading,
And now you know.
But whom can you turn to,
Where can you go?

You know there is no cure,
And getting better is only a hope,
Your bloods turned against you,
And now all you can do is cope.

So you look for a reason,
An answer at least,
All you're left with our questions,
And the hope for peace.

So you make a decision,
The only thing you can do,
Is cherish each moment,
Until that time, when life is through.

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I wanted to try something different with this one. It was meant to be a sob story… I always wanted to write a story that could make someone cry. Like Mianoe's, Without Him/Without Her/The End and Yasai-chan's Domo. I don't know if it worked, but I would love to hear any comments… I know that the ending was a little abrupt, but that was the best I could do. Was it even a little sad? Well, email me at lady_trunks@hotmail.com. BTW, that was a poem I wrote for an English assignment.