Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of its characters.

"Secrets"

By: Nova Starlight

Prologue: Got A Secret, Can You Keep It? Swear This One You'll Save…

An incessant beeping of his alarm woke Trunks from a fitful sleep. He looked around through his bleary gaze and attempted to get his bearings. As the memories of the night before came rushing back to him he realized that he was not in his own apartment. "Shit!" he cursed, running his fingers through his hair. He quickly extricated himself from the man wrapped around him, and began searching through the assorted piles of clothing on the floor. He glanced down at his watch again as he yanked his pants on and tried to consider his options for making it to work on time.

"Leaving so soon?" a husky voice drawled from the bed. Trunks looked up to meet his gaze and saw the smile plastered on the man's face.

He did not have time for this, he was running late. "Why did you let me fall asleep?" he demanded harshly.

"You looked so peaceful…I'm not used to seeing you that way," the man shot back, angry that his playful banter was unappreciated.

When Trunks spared a glance at the man, he was putting a cigarette to his lips. As he drew in a deep puff from the cigarette, Trunks could only watch him. This man was the one he had been spending his nights with, but they were not really lovers…he was not sure what they were. This game of evenings spent entwined in a passionate embrace, only to part so he could return to his own apartment to sleep, had gone on too long. He had to wonder if he felt the same way about it. His posture and faraway gaze seemed to indicate that he was, but any lingering doubt Trunks had was decimated quickly when he continued speaking.

"So who is Goten?" he asked in a voice that aimed for nonchalance, but was tinged with bitterness.

Trunks' heart sank into the pit of his stomach and he unconsciously sucked in a deep breath. "How do you know that name?" he asked.

"Simple," he responded with a sardonic smile. "Because that is the name you moaned out last night as you came."

He was speechless and his throat felt dry. It could not be true, he had always been so careful. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words were forthcoming. After he stood there silent for minute after minute with his mouth hanging open lamely, he managed, "What do you want me to say?"

He laughed and put out his cigarette in the ashtray that sat on the bedside table. "I would say the truth…but I'm not sure you are capable of that."

Now, Trunks was angry. "What do you mean by that? When have I ever lied to you?" He paused to pull his shirt over his head quickly. "I believe I told you when we started seeing each other that I was not looking for a commitment. I just wanted to have some fun. Were those not my exact words?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "But those words don't tell the whole story! Not looking for a commitment is a Hell of a long way from being in love with someone else!"

Trunks heard those words as he reached for his shoes and turned to snap back, "It's not my fault you wanted more than I offered!" As he exited the apartment, he heard the sound of shattering glass. "Most likely the ash tray?" he mused calmly. Then his sense of urgency returned as he caught sight of his watch. "Shit! I'm going to be late for work!"

…

Across town, Marron stood in the executive office of Trunks Briefs organizing his morning paperwork and reviewing his schedule for the day. He had meetings with various Capsule Corp. executives throughout the day, including one with his mother at nine that he was going to be late for if he did not hurry. She reached for the cell phone in the holster case on her hip and hit the speed dial. After a couple of rings, the voicemail answered. "You have reached the phone of Trunks Briefs, I am no-."

She disconnected the line and reached for the phone on Trunks' desk. As she dialed the number that she had memorized long ago, her eyes never strayed from hands on her platinum and diamond Rolex. It was a beautiful watch, an extravagant present from her "boyfriend" Trunks.

"Hai," she heard Goten's voice answer the line in his cubicle.

"Hey Goten, it's Marron. I am looking for Trunks, because it looks like he is running late…have you seen him?"

Goten sounded a little worried as he answered, "No, I have no idea. We went out for drinks last night but we were both out of the bar by eleven." She could hear the ringing and beeping of multiple office phones in the background. "I did not see him as I was coming in this morning either."

"It's probably nothing," she reassured quickly. "I will call you when he arrives."

Apparently calmed by her words, he continued. "Ok, thanks Marron. If I see him first I will have him call you."

As if it were on cue, while she replaced the phone receiver, she heard the whir of Trunks flying up to the large window behind his desk. She rushed to open the latch and let him in, he looked frazzled and rushed.

"Trying to clock your fastest time flying here from you apartment?" she asked with sarcasm evident in her tone.

Trunks flashed a chagrined smile and tried to straighten up his suit and tie. "I would rather not discuss it," he countered.

"Since when has that ever stopped me?" she demanded playfully.

"Good Point," he conceded, but said nothing else. He picked up the itinerary lying on his desk and began reviewing it.

"I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that since you were running late, even with flying here, that maybe you actually spent the night with your secret loverboy?"

Trunks could not feel his body tensing at her words. Marron really was too astute for her own good. He did not have to say anything; his reaction was all the answer she needed.

"This is good!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad that you finally…" she trailed off as she realized that he was still silent. His back was ramrod straight and he remained facing away from her, with his gaze focused on the paper he held in his hands. "What happened?" she asked finally.

He sighed, "The same thing that always happens…none of them will ever be him."

Marron echoed with a sigh of her own as she approached her friend and placed her hands on his shoulders. There were words she could provide, simple encouragement that she had given many times before, but there was not really any point. Nothing she could say would ever change the situation. This scene had played out many times before and Trunks was never truly upset by these breakups. The only one that ever got any sort of emotional response from him was Goten.

Suddenly, Trunks reached for her, pulling her into his arms and pressing their lips together, as the door to the office burst open. Her body was quick to betray her, though her mind knew clearly that this was all an act for his benefit. She unconsciously wrapped her arms around Trunks' neck and reciprocated his kiss. When Goten cleared his throat a few seconds later, she felt Trunks break their kiss and gently push her away.

"Well…I guess I know why Marron did not call me back," he commented with a laugh. His face was tinged with embarrassment at catching them kiss, although it was certainly not the first time. A quick glance at Trunks and she felt invisible once again. It was extremely frustrating, even to her, just how innocent Goten Son seemed to be. Any reasonable person could probably guess Trunks true feelings as if they were written on his face in big bold letters, but Trunks had managed to keep him…and most everyone else for that matter…in the dark.

Trunks and Goten were discussing plans for lunch. She would be invited of course, but usually begged off. It was something that she knew Trunks appreciated; he got very little time that he could spend with Goten alone. Trunks had secured Goten a job in the advertising department of Capsule Corp. after he had finished college, and the pair ate lunch together almost every day. Then every night, Goten went home to his girlfriend Paris.

Marron walked away and began going through the papers on Trunks' desk again, until Goten made his exit. To his credit, Trunks look concerted when he turned to face her. "I really wish I was powerful enough to distinguish Kai signatures," she stated calmly. "Then I would be able to tell when you are going to kiss me."

Trunks' expression became even more ashamed. "I'm so-"

She cut him off. "Don't bother apologizing." Her eyes lit with blue fire as she continued. "I agreed to keep your secret and help you Trunks…but I need you to stop kissing me like that." He seemed unable to find the right words, his mouth hanging open for a few seconds before closing as he simply nodded in agreement. Before either of them could say anything else, the door to the office swung open again as Bulma Briefs entered for her nine o'clock meeting with her son.

As Bulma greeted the pair, Trunks listened as Marron made her excuses to leave. She told his mother that she needed to prepare the paperwork for the afternoon meetings. It was an obvious lie; Marron was always prepared and he had no doubt that she had been ready for days. He knew for a fact that many employees at the company, even his mother at first, believed he had hired her as his personal assistant simply because she was his "girlfriend." In truth, he had wanted her as his assistant because she was competent, dependable, and one of his closest friends.

Though his mother had started her proposal for the research and development department, his mind was a million miles away. In his mind, he was carefully considering the current situation and what he could do to remedy it. Ever since Marron had discovered his secret; that he was gay and in love with Goten, she had offered to keep it for him. She had even agreed to become his pretend girlfriend when Goten started dating Paris. It had been nothing but a benefit for him, but what about for her?

She had been only sixteen when she started pretending to be his girlfriend, that was ten years ago. In those ten years had she ever had a chance to really date anyone? If she had none of them had been serious enough to call off their faux romance. Normally, he would never have given this much thought to Marron's love life. She had been the one to offer herself as his pretend girlfriend all those years ago. He had always been confident that if she were ever unhappy she would call it off, but now he was not so sure.

"Trunks," his mother's voice broke through his thoughts. "Have you heard a word I have said?"

"Of course," he bluffed. "But you know your intuition as to what will be marketable for our company is always on point, so I don't see your need to continuously hash everything out with me."

Bulma sighed with a smile on her face, "Someday, you will have to deal with other people running the R&D team and those people will most likely not be as intelligent as your mother. Then you will have to be sure you actually pay attention to their proposals and deny the ones that are not marketable."

Trunks smiled at her explanation, and subsequently slipped back into his thoughts. He recalled how everything with Marron had begun. One evening in the summer before his junior year of high school, he and Goten had been discussing which girls they found attractive. Well it was more that Goten was talking about it and Trunks was trying to play along convincingly. They discussed the usual object of teenage boys' fantasies; celebrities or otherwise unattainable women. However, when Goten had mentioned Marron's name it had really upset him. Maybe it was just because unlike any of the celebrities or other girls that Goten had mentioned, with Marron it seemed like it could actually happen.

It had continued to nag him throughout the summer. When all of the families gathered together for picnics, usually at the Son home, he found himself watching the way Goten and Marron interacted with each other. He and Ubuu were both obviously flirting with her and would usually end up showing off for her attention. It was more painful than he could ever describe to sit idly by and watch, so he would always find some excuse to slip away.

One day, as he sat beside the stream that ran through the woods near the Son house, he could not hold back his tears. The snap of a twig alerted him that someone had approached him and without thinking he turned and said, "Goten?" There stood Marron, looking him over with obvious surprise. Had she seen his tears? Turning away quickly, he tried to brush any evidence of the tears from his face. He could not believe he had allowed anyone to catch him crying. "What do you want Marron?" he demanded coldly.

"I just saw you leave the party," she answered meekly. "I was wondering what was wrong…you looked upset."

"I don't want to talk about it," he had snapped at her. She visibly recoiled, but she looked sad, not angry, at his response.

"I was just worried about you," she continued.

"Why would you worry about me when you have Goten and Ubuu eating out of the palm of your hand?" he demanded.

"Is that what this is about?" she persisted.

"Damn! Will you just let it go!" he pleaded.

"Just tell me what the problem is, why are you so mad at me?"

At that point, he had not been able to control his emotion any longer. "I love him, all right?"

Marron had looked as shocked as he was at what he had just said; hers due to the content, and his that he had actually said those words aloud. "You love him? You mean Goten right?"

For all his bluster just seconds before, he found that he could not speak his response. With a nod, he then turned away from her again. What happened next was the last thing he would have ever expected. He felt Marron's arms wrap around him and embrace him in a gentle and reassuring hug. They stood like that for a long time, with Marron holding him from behind. "Does he know?" she asked.

"No!" he insisted. "And I don't ever want him to know. I don't ever want him to feel uncomfortable around me…or worse not want to be my friend anymore." It was as he said this that he turned around to face her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Promise me Marron…promise me you will never tell him."

Her eyes were serious as she met his gaze. "I promise."

At that moment, they were interrupted by Goten and Ubuu; both had been looking for Marron. Both of them look disheartened to see them standing there, with their arms wrapped around each other. From that moment on, he had someone to confide in, someone to share these uncontrollable feelings with, she had become his lifeline.

Trunks sighed at his memories and his mother noticed his distraction. "You had really better be more vigilant in your meetings with the other departments this afternoon," she chastised him. "I will go ahead and leave my proposal here for you to sign, and make sure Marron submits it to accounting ASAP."

"Of course," he agreed. Once his mother had left, he picked up the proposal she had been going over. He started to read it but did not make it past the first page, his heart was just not in it. He tossed it back on to his desk and glanced at the clock. It was only ten, today was going to be a long day.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes: So here it is another Truten fic rewrite. The story that this was rewritten from was entitled "Secrets" as well and was hosted here on FFN sometime in 2004. Obviously a lot in my writing style has changed since then and the original was lost somewhere in cyberspace a long time ago. The only thing I had to go by during this rewrite is what little I remembered from the original.

Like with my last Truten story Crush, I am using song lyrics as Chapter titles and all the titles for this story will come from one song, "Secret" by The Pierces.

BTW, anyone interested in fanfic challenges should check out my FFN profile page. I have decided to create some of my own fanfic challenges and give out awards to the winner. I have one posted for the month of July for the fandom Junjou Romantica. Check it out and as always…

Please Review!