Raindrops

Chapter 18: Frozen

A/N: Happy 2020! I've been very busy and haven't been able to update ;-; But here is the next chapter, after 4 months...

15 Years In The Past

A pudgy young girl ran barefoot across the sugar-white sand, feeling as the cool azure water crashed against her feet. She glanced upwards to see two young boys floating high up near the palms. She huffed as she sat down on the sand watching with jealousy radiating off of her.

She wished she could fly, more than anything. Her stubby legs lay flat on the sand as she felt the ocean tide softly graze beneath her. Her pink dress got wet as she rolled away from the water. "Gah!" Now she was toast, her mother would kill her if she found out her dress got soiled. She tried to dust off the sand from her dress but to no avail, it was stuck due to the water. As she ran away from the water the two boys floated down, beach ball in hand.

"Marron?" The younger one piped out, bending slightly to her level. "You okay?"

The five-year-old shook her head furiously, her high pigtails whipping about.

"Goten, c'mon did you have to stop the game for this?" The older one questioned, exasperated. "Marron always does this; it's a bit annoying, don't ya think?" The lavender-haired boy balanced the beach ball on his hip, looking down at the shorter girl.

The blonde tilted her head. "Trunks you're a meanie!"

Goten stepped beside Marron, crossing his arms. "Yeah, Trunks, why'd you have to call her annoying!"

Trunks rolled his eyes, dropping the ball on the floor. "Because she is!" He exclaimed, "Now the game is ruined 'cause she had to go and start crying." Trunks turned over to Goten, cocking his head, "and you, you're a softie and always wanna help her!"

Trunks inched closer to the blonde, yanking her scrunchie off her hair. "And your hair looks stupid," he stated tossing the pink hair tie to the side.

Like clockwork, the five-year old's face began to grow red. Her face scrunching up, she breathed in deeply...before releasing an incredibly alarming wail. Her neck stinging in immense pain as she cried, sobbing horrendously.

"Now look what you did, Trunks!" Goten whined, "You made her cry!"

The young hybrid quickly shifted the weight between his legs, immediately feeling a sense of regret. He went too far again. Trunks was prone to pinning the blame on the young girl, but he never thought it'd make her cry. He watched as his best friend attempted to calm the crying girl.

However, before she could be neutralized, Lazuli walked out with Bulma, and Bulma's eyes narrowed down on Trunks. "Trunks...what did you do?" She asked after seeing the wailing girl.

Trunks guiltily looked up to his mother, before switching his vision to Marron's mother whose eyes were sticking icy daggers straight into his chest. "I...I didn't-"

Lazuli coolly walked over to the pink scrunchie on the sand and glanced at her daughter's loose strands. "You pulled Marron's hair?" Her voice was dripped in acid as she stared at the young boy. It was official...she did not want him to be around Marron.

Trunks looked down, avoiding eye contact with his mother and Lazuli. "Yes…but she was ruining-"

"But nothing Trunks!" Bulma snapped. "You don't pull on people's hair, especially friends."

Trunks harrumphed. Friends with this big baby crying toddler was not the words he'd choose to define their relationship.

The bluenette turned around, embarrassment was strewn across her face. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him…"

Lazuli simply stared at him blankly, before looking at Bulma. "It's okay, but I suggest you don't let him do it again."

Whilst embracing his mother, Trunks had been silently crying into his mother's arms. All while his phone kept buzzing crazily on the table. Bulma released him, noticing how persistent the caller was. "You should probably answer that, hon."

Trunks broke out of his disorientation, his cheeks flushed from his sudden outburst of emotions. He grabbed his phone and glanced at the caller ID, "Goten?" Trunks croaked out in curiosity, his eyes flicking back from his mom to his cellphone. What could he possibly want? He hasn't spoken to the guy since they had the huge spat at the bar... Trunks sighed, pursing his lips together before biting the bullet and answering the call.

"You finally answered!" The other end of the line screamed out. "Why the fuck is it so hard to get a hold of you?"

Trunks winced in pain from the sudden loud burst. In a bad mood from how Goten decided to start the call. "What do you want, Goten?" Trunks sighed out, pinching his nose in frustration. "If this is how you want to start a conversation with me after months of-"

"No," Trunks heard sirens on the other end of the line, "It's Marron."

Suddenly, he felt his blood go cold. That sense of relief prior replaced with a newfound sense of dread, and lo and behold, when Trunks searched for Marron's ki...it was faltering... He felt a knot begin to grow in his throat, the inability to speak overtaking him as he felt the grip on his phone loosen. "It was a hit and run, she was just crossing the street," Trunks couldn't register what the hybrid was saying. His mind was clouded by a foreign feeling, one he could simply not place a finger on. He could hear the paramedics speaking in some jargon that wasn't familiar to him, only aiming in ramping up his anxiety further.

"What hospital are-" He felt his voice fail him. "What hospital?"

Goten paused, hearing muffled voices through the line, "West City General Hospital," Goten responded.

"I'm on my way," Trunks stated hanging up the phone, turning to his mother whose head was tilted curiously.

"What happened," Bulma asked, her eyes scanning her son's for some answers. Her voice laced with a sudden sense of urgency as she could sense the anxiety emanating from him. "Is everything okay?"

Trunks looked down, his eyes darkened as his mind ran through a thousand thoughts. A futile attempt to make sense of what happened in mere seconds. "I'm sorry, I need to go," Trunks responded, grabbing his suit jacket from the rickety iron chair, folding it over his arm. "Marron...I...I need to... Krillin and Lazuli-" He ran his hand through his hair, his throat felt as though it's been trapped in barbed wire...barely able to let out a croak.

Bulma stood up from her chair and was walking over to the panicked hybrid, "Woah, Woah?" Bulma urged Trunks to relax, urging him to sit down. "What happened to Marron?" Bulma asked.

His head was spinning, as he managed to sit back down Taking in deep breaths, as he attempted to stabilize himself again. "She- She got hit by a car, she's in critical condition -" His voice continued to cut out. His palms running through his tufts of lavender hair. "Shit!" He growled out as he sunk deeper into his palms.

Clearly there was something she was not aware of, Bulma had never noticed her son caring so much about his childhood friend. But the panicked look in his face gave her the impression there was more that he wasn't letting on...but it wasn't time to pry. She decided it was something she could relay to the Chestnuts, rather than her son. "Don't worry about her parents, just go..."

Trunks turned his head towards his mother, as she nodded. "I'll take care of it, just...text me the name of the hospital, okay?"

He nodded, mouthing a soft thank you to his mom. Getting up from the chair once more, embracing her tightly. A gentle manicured hand laid gently on his back. "Everything will be okay," Bulma cooed.

Trunks looked into his mother's eyes, giving her a weak nod as he ran down the greenhouse and back out to the cold. He filled his chest with the cold air, keeping his eyes from welling up as he blasted into the sky, using all of his ki. How could he have been so stupid? He put off saying what he truly felt for months. For a moment in time, he had allowed himself to feel and it was bliss, he wanted to keep Marron by his side, even as a friend. The fact of the matter was that Trunks Briefs knew that he was in love with Marron Chestnut.

There was no more hesitation. When she wakes up, his heart will be utterly open to her. Whatever she decides will be up to her, but that will mean he won't live with the regret of never telling her the truth...of how she has changed his life in such a short time. What those long nights where they just chatted and drank a beer truly meant to him. The loneliness ate at him, what made him think pushing Goten and Marron away was a good idea? Trunks was a procrastinator, in truth, he skirted around fixing his relationship with Goten, making him lose his best friend...

And he did the same with Marron.

He was done. He will fix this.

The room was shrouded in a thick silence, with only the heartbeat monitor giving the room any noise. Goten sat across the room, glancing at Marron's tattered body hooked up to machines. He wondered...what was thinking about? He had been calling out to her from their designated meet up spot, with no reaction. Her expression seemed so empty.

Almost immediately, the door swung open with a disheveled Trunks bursting in through the door causing the other hybrid to jump in surprise, with a couple of nurses attempting to coax him. Goten has never seen Trunks this way, he yanked himself off of their grasps as he forced his way to Marron, who laid unconscious on the gurney. He grit his teeth, then turned his head towards Goten who was extremely quiet.

"I need answers," Trunks stated quietly, "I need them now."

Goten was paralyzed in his seat. Where was this sudden fervor coming from? Surely, Trunks wasn't completely in love with their childhood friend?

"Goten," Trunks said as he cleared his throat. "What happened to her?"

The question lingered in the hybrid's mind for a moment too long, because before the onyx haired man could utter out an answer. Trunks picked him up by his shirt, desperate for some sort of answer. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER, GOTEN!" He screamed out, pushing him against the wall. Goten pried off Trunks' hands from him, shooting a cold glare.

"What's wrong with you, relax," Goten huffed out, straightening out his white long sleeve. Trunks' eyes went ablaze.

"Relax?" Trunks questioned, "RELAX? The fuck do you mean relax?"

Goten sighed as he looked at his ex-best friend. He needed to be neutralized. "Trunks, there is nothing we can do now, please just...calm down," Goten ushered the Saiyan to a chair. As Trunks begrudgingly sat down, Goten breathed in deeply. "Did you get everything out of your system?" Goten questioned, not really waiting for a response from Trunks. "Good." He promptly responded, clearing out his throat. "Marron and I were going to meet up for lunch, I was calling out to her when I saw her crossing and-"

Trunks raised a brow looking at Goten's strange expression. What was he thinking about that could have caused such a sudden shift? Did he do something that Trunks' would get upset at? "-and the car hit her dead on, no regard for the red light...damn it..." Goten suddenly felt a wave of regret. He was a Saiyan...he could have simply gotten her out of there, yet he froze.

The realization clicked in Trunks' brain shortly after he noticed Goten's expression. "This..." he quietly began, "this is all your fucking fault."

Goten furrowed his brows, "bold for you to say that, where have you been these past few weeks?" Goten questioned, "I didn't see that coming, you can't fucking blame me for that shit...it was the bastard who ran that red who you should be pinning the blame on."

Trunks threw his suit jacket on the chair, feeling the anger rise in his chest. "You...are a SAIYAN," Trunks stated plainly, "you should have DONE SOMETHING!"

"I did what I could," Goten replied dryly as he watched the other hybrid on the brink of tears - what was up with him, he didn't break down so easily...

"Yeah, you just stood there and watched...just like you did when your mom died at the hands of-"

Trunks' words were cut off, and a fist collided with his cheek, sending the hybrid flying across the room. The blood rushed into Trunks' taste buds. He definitely touched a nerve. Goten stepped on the shocked hybrid's chest, leaning close as he pulled him up to his face. "Don't you...ever bring that up again..."

Trunks shoved him off, tired of the sudden high and mighty act that the other half-breed was putting on. "Seems like I touched a nerve...care to take this outside?"

Goten scoffed incredulously. "Are you forgetting why you are here? Goten questioned. "Look at her, Trunks."

Trunks hadn't taken the time to really look at Marron, he couldn't bring himself to. Fearful of what feelings may ignite from the sight. But as he turned his head, he grimaced at the sight of the tattered woman. Her face was unrecognizable, with black and blue swollen splotches covering her beautiful face. Blood stained her iridescent blonde hair which he remembered used to smell like strawberries. Tubes and needles poking into different places he hadn't wanted to see.

"What good does fighting me do?" He pressed. "Somehow...despite everything that's happened, you've managed to make this about yourself."

Trunks' eyes were set on Marron, his gaze hard with an emotion Goten couldn't decipher. Perhaps, he was being too harsh on Trunks. He recognized the fragile ego his old friend carried, but he'd never seen him explode in such a manner before. What was she to him anyway?

A silence hung over the two, leaving them to sit with their thoughts. It was the first time they could stand side by side peacefully, in months."The bastard was going 80 in a residential zone..." Goten chimed in, finally breaking the silence. "Had it not been for the fact she knew ki manipulation, she'd be dead."

Goten watched as Trunks tensed up making his way beside the blonde's side. "I'm sorry," Trunks stammered. His breath shallow and uneasy as he faintly ran a thumb over her bruised hands.

It was so strange to see him be so tactile with another person. For as long as Goten has known Trunks, he rejected the notion of being held, or to show affection the way he was now...he always assumed that it had something to do with Vegeta.

He remembered very vividly the moments before Trunks' father sacrificed himself, in a last ditch effort against Majin Buu. It was the first time Trunks was held by him, and how so swiftly, he slipped away. In a way, their perception of life, death and love (familial and romantic) were warped by the events of Majin Buu's terror.

At least, Goten believed this to be true about himself...and he knew it infuriated Trunks to never have been able to speak on it to someone outside of the Z-warriors. The fact he had to bite his tongue because no one recalled what happened.

What outlet does one have for that kind of trauma? To lose loved ones in a matter of minutes?

Why hadn't Trunks foreseen this? Was it that he was so blissfully ignorant to anything happening to her? Too afraid to acknowledge people, and humans more specifically, were delicate creatures who can die in mere seconds? Was it perhaps due to the fact she knew about his past, or that she led a life like Goten and him...shrouded with the memories of battle. She'd not been affected the way the two hybrids have been, but regardless... the trauma of remembering Majin Buu lingered in her brain. Trunks turned his head towards Goten. "I'm sorry."

Goten's breath suddenly became stifled. "I'm sorry," Goten sighed out. "I never noticed what you needed, I only saw what was working for me...I was selfish."

"I was selfish too..." Trunks tragically chuckled, "I pushed everyone I've ever cared about away...and broke friendships that didn't need to be broken." His breath hitched as he turned his head towards Marron. "I'm in love with her"

There. He said it. He didn't have to keep it locked up any longer. The relief that someone knows, and not caring what the consequences were was all he needed. "I'm in love with Marron Chestnut." He noticed Goten had been quiet. Trunks' eyes trailed up to his face, eyes wide with a staggered stance. He tilted his head before he turned around to see Krillin and Lazuli standing at the doorway, mouths agape at Trunks' declaration.

There's a thick silence before a nurse shuffles into the room. "Just here to take..." Her voice drawled on for a second too long before she noticed the famed CEO of Capsule Corp kneeling by the gurney and the awkward silence that filled the room, "her vitals..."

Shit.

A/N: Was planning on this being A LOT longer, but I like keeping my chapters at 2-4k words. There was a lot in this chapter and I do feel pretty rusty. But if there's anything that this Virus has done...it's fuel my creativity LOL. Thanks to all the reviewers last chapter: Gingacookie03, SimpleG, Sunshine Spray, TBOSSK, AsunaMK8, Music Chick, CocoaEyes & Tiffany! Also THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 100 reviews! I am so happy to hit this milestone with this fic, which I hold so near and dear to me!

If you liked it, please let me know. I love talking to ALL my reviewers (and heck follow me on twitter to chat too the same name as here - warning I do get political on there LOL)