Disclaimer: Not mine.
Be life confident
Trunks Vegeta reread the letter he'd received from his sister's lawyer, and then let it fall atop the scatter of penciled drawings on his desk. His heart ached for Bura. He had so many wonderful memories of growing up as her big brother. They'd been close, he and Bura. And he'd always been extremely protective of her. Yet, when Braun Chestnut had come along, he'd stepped aside and let the love of his sister's life take over. He'd liked Braun. Had even come to think of him as the brother he'd never had. And now they both were gone.
Sadness prickled behind his eyelids, threatening to take the shape of tears. He sniffed and rubbed firm fingers across his jaw. He hadn't time to grieve. There were too many arrangements for the memorial service to attend to, too many phone calls that had to be made.
The sound of his mother's sobs came back to haunt him. With the condition his father was in, Trunks knew that there was no way his mother could leave him to fly back for Bura's memorial service. Trunks had tried to console his mother and finally convinced her that staying in Saturn with his dad was the best thing.
When his mother asked after the baby, Trunks had explained how Bura's best friend, Paresu, had called and offered to keep Ron until he could make arrangements for the memorial service. He needed to call his mother again sometime today.
He gazed down at the document that sat on top of the disorganized pile of articles in various stages of editing and he thought of his fourteen-month-old nephew. The memory of the child's wide-eyed frightened gaze had preyed on Trunks' mind – no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't exorcise the image if those huge, teary, blue-green eyes as Ron had called out longingly for his mother.
The lump of emotion that rose in Trunks' throat nearly choked him. He coughed, pushed himself to his feet and paced the room.
He wanted to do the right thing by Bura and Braun. Hell, that's why he'd worked so hard to quickly pull together a decent memorial service. Trunks had no idea why the two of them had stipulated that the service be held within such a short time period, but he'd done all he could to abide by their wishes.
Yes, he wanted to do the right thing by Bura and Braun. And little Ron. But Trunks had to admit, if to no one but himself, that there couldn't be a worse time for him to take on the responsibilities of a child.
He gazed over at the file cabinet and thought of the brand-new, multi-book contract he'd signed – a contract that called for new, never-before-published material. The next year was going to be very busy if he was going to create new material for a book and keep up with his daily syndication demands. How was he ever going to work and take care of Ron at the same time?
As he searched through his brains for possible solutions, he dragged his fingers through his hair and realized just how badly he needed it cut. He looked around his office at the messy piles of paper, research books, newspapers and empty coffee mugs. A blunt-tipped pencil sat forgotten on the floor in the corner of the room. A thick layer of dust covered the file cabinet. He wondered how long it had been since he'd cleaned the place. And then his stomach rumbled softly, alerting him to that he hadn't eaten since late yesterday.
"How can I possibly take care of a baby when I can't even remember to take care of myself?" The words were harsh and grated with self-disgust. He went to his desk and picked up a small, framed photograph of his nephew.
"Ron," he whispered to the picture, "you deserve better than what your Uncle Trunks has to offer."
As he stared down at the boy's image, he wondered how life could be so cruel to one so young. Ron's little bow-shaped mouth curled into a tiny smile so like his mother's. The child had gotten his flaming red hair and blue-green eyes from his father. Sadness and grief welled inside Trunks, making his chest tight, his breathing ragged. His vision became blurred with the moisture that gathered in his eyes. He blinked several times, hard, hen pressed his thumb and index finger against his closed lids.
He put the picture down and inhaled deeply. There had to be an answer to this time dilemma of his regarding his work and taking custody of his nephew.
Trunks had to confess that he'd been surprised when he'd received the letter informing him that he'd been named as Ron's guardian. He guessed Bura just wanted him to know that she loved him and was thinking of him. As a bachelor, Trunks spent very little time around children. In fact, his nephew had been the one and only child he'd ever been around. But he loved the boy. Loved to drop by unexpectedly to see what havoc the little fellow was wreaking on his sister and brother-in-law's household. So, realizing his lack of experience with children, he had been taken off guard to learn hat Bura wanted him to help raise her son.
But it was the co-guardianship that intrigued him. And he also realized that it was the co-guardianship that would be his saving grace. He wasn't going to be in this alone. And the fact that there was someone else who would be responsible for the baby along with himself might be the answer to his problem.
Although he hadn't had a chance to talk to her, Trunks knew that the other person named by his sister would be Paresu, the lady who was watching his nephew right now. Bura's best friend would be the perfect person to raise Ron. The woman was part of a strong and happy marriage, which was really an amazing feat in these days and times. And Bura was a wonderful mother with two adorable children of her own. He'd seen Paresu and her husband in parental action at Ron's first birthday party two months ago and they'd been wonderful wih their kids.
Hell, for all Trunks knew, Paresu and her husband could both be named as co-guardians along with him. Co didn't have to stop at two. It simply meant more than one.
He could explain his problem about his new book contract to Paresu and her husband. They'd understand. And they would work with him, he was certain.
But then again, he could be entirely wrong. He leaned his elbow on top of the dusty file cabinet, a deep frown planting itself on his brow. It could be that Bura and Braun didn't have Paresu in mind as the guardian of their son. Braun did have a sister...
Before the idea could even take shape in his mind, Trunks dismissed it. He thought back to Ron's christening day. Marron Chestnut had looked so ill at ease as she'd held the baby. Even now, Trunks found himself chuckling aloud at the memory despite his melancholy mood.
He easily recalled Marron's image: her pale blonde hair had been short and curly, her cute little nose upturned, and those large blue eyes so quick to flash in anger. She was young, in her mid-twenties, he guessed. But her serious nature made her seem years older. She was a career woman through and through. The very kind he loved to poke fun at in his work. A smile tugged at his mouth as he thought of how easy it had been to rile her. She hadn't liked him. She'd made that plain enough. And she'd told him his opinion pieces were a waste of good paper. Yes, he though, chuckling again, he'd had some good fun the day he'd spent with Marron Chestnut.
But his sister, Bura, had told him that Marron didn't have a maternal bone in her body. Bura would never consider her sister-in-law good mother material for Ron. And Marron's total lack of any sense of humor actually made him shudder.
No, Trunks was certain that Bura would choose Paresu over Marron any day of the week. Paresu was the sensible choice. Hell, she was the only choice as far as he could see. He was sure that Bura and Braun would feel the same. Besides that, Paresu was certain to be understanding where his work schedule was concerned. Things would work out just fine.
He heaved a great sigh. He was beginning to feel better about this whole situation.
Thank you all for the warm welcome ^^ I'm glad you liked Epuron's name XD And speaking of names, I just couldn't give Trunks the surname he usually has in fanfiction. It just sends me into fits of laughter lol
Ever since I read S.P.'s comments that she shed a tear, Katy Perry's Peacock song keeps playing in my head. And I would love to see a love song written by i won't tell lol There's a reason behind Marron's cold reaction, artemis road. But that will be in the next chapter. I'm going to the beach next week, so you'll just have to wait for two weeks HEEHEEHEE
I be evil.
~chocolateblood
