Raindrops

Chapter 7: Handle With Care

A/N: I still feel super guilty about what happened with Goten and Trunks but I promise it might get better, for now, some T/M fluff (?) Also happy new years!

Marron watched the scene unfold in dismay, she wished she had stood up and yelled at the two of them. Perhaps then this confrontation would have been avoided...and they'd all be back in the bar together. Her eyes stuck onto Trunks, who held his jaw clenched tightly, a vein in his forehead threatening to pulse out. There was a silence between them after Goten exited, Trunks not even looking over in the blonde's direction. She wasn't sure whether it was from the embarrassing scene, the mess she was in, or out of his sheer sadness at having damaged his friendship with Goten over simple words.

Words, words, words. What weight could a word hold, if not an entire universe? You could get pummeled to near death, yet words hurt far more. Why do we use such instruments to purposely hurt the people we hold dear? Trunks head hung low as he took slow, shallow breaths. She's never seen him like this before, in such a vulnerable state. He blocked off the universe, tunnel-visioning to the drink he didn't finish.

The sad way the hybrid carried himself made Marron's maternal heart ache, but for just a moment. It seemed to her that a simple embrace could melt away what just occurred, and how much she wishes she could embrace them both, attempt reconciliation...but all she could do was feel the soft hot tears cascading down her cheek. Quietly watching as the fight erupted.

The small blonde slid off her chair, her heels clicking against the floor as she passively traced her hands against Trunks' back before she too headed out the door. But she didn't make it very far before Trunks caught up to her, like a child afraid of losing its mother. His hand gripping the nylon long-sleeve tightly, wordlessly.

Between the silence, Marron understood what the hybrid was asking for. She walked with him, for what seemed like an eternity, down the cement pavement and down the corners and turns she has learned like the back of her hand. They walked in a silence that hung over them like a rain cloud, the air felt humid in that same way.

As they reached the skyscraper they lived in, Trunks' enigmatic pools of dark blue met with Marron's lighter ones. Her chest tightened and she could feel the sadness tug at her heart and before she could part her pink, pouty lips she felt her breath get caught at the base of her throat as Trunks, very uncharacteristically, threw his arms around the blonde.

She struggled to comprehend just why this was happening, to her of all people but she could feel her tiny frame being absorbed into his muscular arms. For a moment, she too could feel the weight past arguments and pent-up emotions. She wearily raised her hands, afraid as though moving would disrupt the peace and patted him softly in the back.

Trunks, let her go just as quickly as he embraced her. "I'm-" Trunks choked on his words as he watched Marron's kind eyes blink softly, the thick tufts of black gently kissing the apples of her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

He was an idiot, what was he thinking?

"It's fine, Trunks," Marron finally managed out, her throat stinging at every word she croaked out. It took him long to finally noticed the wet lashes and flushed face to realize Marron was there, crying and neither of them bothered to stop.

"You needed a hug, I don't mind...really," Marron continued her cheeks hot.

Sweet, quiet and reserved Marron, Trunks thought as he watched her back into herself again. Almost shutting off any emotions, afraid they'd spill forth and overwhelm her. It reminded him of himself when he was a child and held back signs of weakness in attempts to impress his father, who undoubtedly would make a mockery of such a situation.

Trunks looked off to the side. "There's a point where you cross the line, I'm sure I crossed that tonight."

Marron stepped closer, her eyes still wide and curious as they hyper-analyzed the hybrid. "You know Trunks," Marron began, "we are friends...you hugged me. I don't see why you're taking it that way."

Trunks could only watch the blonde, a stoic expression resting on his face. But his eyes watched the orange lights of the nearby lamppost dance on her skin like some flame that won't be put out. The clear eyes that he could so often read perfectly replaced with something which he couldn't recognize. Perhaps he didn't want to know. A warm feeling pooled from the center of his chest and across the body much like warm syrup on a pancake, it soaked and stuck onto him. Watching the same two lips, now swollen slightly from her crying biting down.

Was she attracted to me? The question lingered on for a moment too long in Trunks' head. Wondering why she wouldn't look him in the eye in the same way or why that shade of pink tainted her lovely milky skin. Am I attracted to her?

That was the question that struck him before realizing the context of the situation was less than appropriate. His overwhelming sadness began to grab a hold and somehow he felt drowning himself in those clearwater eyes was the solution.

But it wasn't...and she deserves better than that.

That was the conclusion he came to, not wanting to face his emotions a moment longer. "I'm going to bed..." he stated finally breaking the silence, "thank you Marron, and..." there was silence again, Marron's eyes shining brightly from the tears that were left in her eyes, "I'm sorry for tonight."

Goten blasted far from the scene, arriving in an area a few miles off from his home. People always considered Goten as the other peaceful Son, serene in the way he carried himself but right now his blood boiled furiously. He was livid and damaged beyond repair. He simply couldn't understand Trunks or the reasons why he eschewed the help he continuously offered. It was as if he wanted to waste away into nothingness.

Was it that much of a sin, to wish your best friend came back? He missed the late night misadventures, the sparring and going out to just have fun. Now he simply ditched him at any given opportunity to go back to work.

What is he working so hard for anyway? To keep up some sort of legacy? Goten was fuming, he believed his best friend could be more than what Capsule Corp is. His heart was never in anything he has done for the damn company, yet he spends every given moment cooped up in an office, for what? So Bulma wouldn't get upset that Trunks was ruining the legacy.

Goten's mind momentarily changed to Marron, remembering the pained expression struck on her face as she watched the behemoth of an argument unfold before her. Goten felt a sense of guilt string his heart the moment he remembered that they both drug someone who has nothing to do with the situation along. Not only that but it was Marron, sweet Marron who would cry at someone hurting a fish.

She sobbed violently in attempts to stop them both from arguing before but all she could do now is watch as her heart broke.

Goten felt the ire rise under his skin, the energy pulsating around him as he conjured and released an extremely volatile blast out of his palms, and with it a visceral scream. The Saiyan hybrid watched as the ki blast kissed the mountain ahead exploding brilliantly into dust. His chest heaved, feeling as his arms dropped weakly to his side, landing softly on the soft grass.

It made sense when he was on the battlefield, everything including life's most burning questions. Right then and there, Goten knew what he had to do...and though he knew the situation at hand was risky...it was necessary.

Trunks laid in his bed wide awake. It isn't an uncommon sight, but tonight it was due to uncommon circumstances. "What a strange day," Trunks thought. Goten's fiasco at the bar was definitely rubbing Trunks the wrong way as soon as he was able to escape his mind and look at it from an outside perspective. The entire scene felt... strange. He didn't understand what Goten even meant by him not being there. He was there, physically and emotionally...perhaps not the same way he used to be, but Trunks felt it was selfish to assume anything more.

His friendship with Goten surely would recover, Trunks believed. They were too close to stay away long, though Goten wanted to help...his help wasn't the one Trunks' needed. He cursed his friend for not understanding the proper time to party and when someone just needs to relax. Trunks heaved a sigh, resting his chin on his bare chest as he watched the door to his bedroom. It was wide open and bothering him, but the hybrid made no effort to stand up and close it. Rather like the lazy cretin he is, he remained in bed staring at the vast emptiness of his apartment.

Trunks' mind quickly returned to the image of Marron, her puffy lidded eyes staring at him in the utmost sincerity. For a moment his mind dared to recall how nicely her small frame was against his, the short blonde barely reached his chin and oddly enough he, for a moment, found it endearing. All of that changed the moment he snapped back to the reality of things that she was likely hurting too, that she somehow felt uncomfortable that he had embraced her so suddenly without as much as a warning. The Saiyan hybrid looked at his clock, 3 AM.

Fantastic.

He stayed up until the hints of sunrise thinking of ways to reconcile what he had lost with his friends instead of sleeping for work. Trunks had already been accustomed to the monotonous schedule, day-in-day-out he worked relentlessly to make his mother proud. Something Goten would never understand, he basks under the shadow of his brother and holds freedom in his hand...toys it in front of him like some toy a child got at a corner store. Will Trunks ever stop being jealous of other's lives? No.

Trunks held his hands to his face rubbing it as he decided what to do.

The morning came and Goten found himself at capsule corp, somewhere Trunks wouldn't even expect him to be. He crept about the house, watching the bots cook breakfast unperturbed by Goten's presence. As the half-breed slumped down on the couch, he found Bulla staring at him from above the staircase. A deadpan expression on her face. Despite being her brother's best friend, Goten never paid much attention to the girl. It was an unspoken kind of friendship - if you could even call it that.

"Goten?" the blue-haired girl asked as her eyes curiously wandered about the room searching for the sliver of a chance that her brother may be there too.

That was unnecessary, Goten thought as he watched her land softly on the white rug.

"Just what are you doing here?" Bulla questioned. She circled around him, her curious blue eyes sending icy daggers at the man. "You know Trunks doesn't live here anymore."

Goten rolled his eyes as he ate sweets off the coffee table. "Chill out B, I'm here to see your dad," Goten expressed nonchalantly, draping his arm over the headrest of the couch. "When he wakes up that is."

"Trust me, he's awake," Bulla stated matter-of-factly looking up the railing. She truly didn't want to imagine what was going on in that room. In the most Vegeta-like fashion, the girl folded her arms over the pink shirt she sported. "Just tell me what you need to say and you can be on your way out that door."

In truth, it was better for the both of them. She knew Bulma wouldn't be happy, especially since the last argument that erupted between Trunks and their mother. For Bulla it was sad to witness, she relied on Trunks for more than she was ever willing to admit. But she was about to leave for college in about a year, and yet the prospect of her older brother not being there to see her off was infuriating.

As tempting as that sounded for Goten, what he needed was to speak to Vegeta as quickly as possible and knowing Bulla, she'd simply interfere in whatever affairs held getting Trunks into trouble. Goten responded to the bluenette with a simple shake of the head and the girl rolled her eyes.

"Fine, Goten, since you want to be that way," she stated smugly before drawing in a deep breath. Goten knew exactly where this was headed, and like a bullhorn, the Bulma lookalike released the loudest "Daddy!" She could muster prompting Vegeta out of the door and heading down the stairs in the most annoyed face possible.

"What are you yelling about so early in th-" Vegeta stated before staring at the hybrid. "I see, what do you want brat."

"It's about Trunks."

The phone buzzed, repetitively. Trunks knew he had slept well past his alarm but it wasn't like that even mattered, he definitely was going to stay after hours working on whatever crazy scheme the engineers decided to make. But glancing over to the buzzing block he called a phone he saw a multitude of texts from his younger sister. Which was odd, Bulla only ever texted him for favors nowadays.

9:45 AM Trunks it's Bulla!

9:47 AM Goten is here I don't know why but he's talking to dad.

9:50 AM I think Imma eavesdrop, I'm pretty sure he's talking smack

10:00 AM Okay, call me when you can, please

Through hazy squinted eyes, the hybrid read the texts becoming alarmed with every word of what the actual hell Goten was doing. All that went through his mind was: why? Trunks hardly managed to compose himself as he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

Glancing at the messy reflection that he dared to call his own, Trunks splashed his face with cold water until he felt like a semi-functioning member of society. He bit the bullet and called his sister, surely whatever she had to say was important. He listened carefully for each ring, his anxiety rising with each ring the phone emitted before finally, his sister deemed him worthy enough to answer the phone.

"Okay," Trunks began, "what did you need to tell me." He listened intently, nothing but breathing from the other side, he heard a quickened pace of footsteps before he heard the lock of a door. " Hello?"

"Sorry, they were around me!" The hybrid princess exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "Goten came over this morning and I was like...no way what is he doing here 'cause you know ever since the fight between you and mom, Goten hasn't come around that often." A hint of sadness laced at her voice at the end of the sentence, Trunks attempted to pretend like he didn't hear Bulla just admit to longing for his best friend.

Trunks tapped his foot impatiently. "Okay? Get on with it, what did he talk about with Dad?" Trunks urged.

"Well," Bulla began doing it again, beating around the bush. "He uh...told dad that you haven't been training and that..." Trunks clung on to Bulla's every word still waiting for the end, "that you're hung up on some weak human girl, I think Mai is her name?" Bulla asked gently. "From what I heard, I think he said dad was going to hunt you down and have a word with you."

Trunks froze in disbelief, disturbed that Goten would bring his family into their affairs. For what? So he could prove some sort of point? He managed to bite out a goodbye to his sister. He could feel the same irrational ire boiling up in his blood before slamming his phone on the ground in frustration. "SON OF A BITCH!"

There was an anger that awakened inside him, for Goten, and for the situation he allowed to ensue. There was not a chance in hell he wasn't going to pick another bone with Goten soon enough, of that Trunks is sure.

A/N: Ah truten! Just kiss already will ya'. No but I promise Trunks and Marron will have more interactions soon enough.