Hello there, all my chickens!
Been a while again, huh? Hey, anything's better than a few months, right?
First off, I'd like to thank everyone who gave my mom well wishes. She just got her medicine and things are really looking up as far as that goes. Other things have not gone so well lately, but I suppose those are best kept to the
interior.
Many thanks to all of the reviewers and the not-so-quick-to-reviewers. All support is appreciated.
Chapter XXXI - Of Contact Cement and Super Glue
The wedding was in two days.
Marron had always loved weddings: the people, the decor, the music, the love—well, maybe not so much love, at least, not for her.
She sat uncomfortably between Bura and Lena, watching with interest the glaring contest that was
occurring between Trunks and his younger sister and checking every once and a while to find that Lena was still oblivious to the whole situation. At least this wedding rehearsal was memorable.
Unfortunately, almost everyone who she knew was there, save her parents, previous
coworkers, children, and most of the older generation. Goku, was, of course, included because he was acting as Uubu's best man.
Luckily for them all, ChiChi had gone to socialize with her mother (Marron's
mother) and Bulma so it was pretty much like every Bulma-initiated gathering, except that the wedding party was in a huge recital hall, rather than the gardens behind the Capsule mansion. (*takes a deep breath* That a low-down, or what??)
Bura suddenly snapped her head to the left (facing Marron) and asked, "So Lena, now that you and my
dear brother are engaged, do you envision your wedding to be much like this one?"
Marron leaned back slightly to allow Lena to look Bura in the eye.
"I haven't really thought about it."
"Oh? That's interesting. I know if I were about to marry a multi-billionaire
(trillionaire?? Who knows??) I'd be planning the biggest bash this side of the
solar system has seen."
"Uhh Bura," Goten whispered, "you did plan and execute the biggest bash in this solar system and two over."
For which he was promptly kicked in the shin with Bura's heavy heels.
Marron was the only other person at the table who caught this, and let out a small giggle, for which she received a glare from Trunks, who thought she was laughing at Bura's last comment, and a fallen face from Lena, who obviously shared Trunks's train of thought. Marron coughed softly and drew her bottom lip into her mouth in order to deal out some punishment
to it for letting the offending laughter slip.
Bura, who turned her gaze from Goten and to the scene that was going on beside her, cleared her throat. "Have you given the subject any thought, Trunks?"
'Slay me now, Dende,' Marron prayed.
"You think he heard that?" Epica asked in a hushed tone.
"Well, he is omniscient, but he could have been in the bathroom. I doubt he's listening then."
"Ahh, the ignorance of optimism. I like it."
"Ahem," Dende cleared his throat, announcing his presence behind the two spirits.
They jerked around, trying to obscure Dende's view of the wedding party below.
"D-dende? Hi! We were just talking about you." Elese proclaimed in a slightly panicked tone.
"I know. I heard."
"Oh! You heard that, huh?"
"Ladies, I think we have a probl—"
"Den, you know, we don't get to talk enough." Epica went to his side and clapped
him on the back, turning him around and walking in the other direction. "It must be because you're all Godly and stuff. You know, you really picked a bad time to come down from lookout."
"Wha—?"
"I mean, with the dragon soon to be awakened and all—"
"Shenrong?"
"Yeah, Shen. Man, he's a cool guy. I heard that some weird cult that wants to send everyone on Earth to HFIL already has six of the d-balls."
"Oh?"
"Yep yep, Den-man. But, you knew that, right?"
"Well I, I had no idea that someone was seeking the dragonballs."
"Gee, doesn't that beat all: the guardian of Earth not vigilant of the planet's most precious treasures. You know, Dende, I think you've been letting this thing with Marron occupy far too much of your time. I mean, we can't have some morons wishing everyone to HFIL, can we?"
"Well I...suppose not."
"Of course not, Dende! You can't let this happen! You're Earth's only savior now. Goku's too old, and who really wants to entrust
our safety to Vegeta, the only warrior powerful enough who's still in training?"
Dende gulped. "There's...there's still Piccolo."
"Yeah, Pic's a good guy, but you know him. Besides, Piccolo's pretty popular. The cult will
probably wish him away befo—"
"I hate to interrupt, Epica, but I've really got to get a move on. I have to go to Lookout and
consult Piccolo and Popo!" That said, the guardian quickly vanished.
"Is there really a cult that wants to do that?"
Epica froze, her back to her questioning sister. "Well...there could be..."
Elese smacked her forehead. "Now Piccolo's going to be after us, too. Just great."
Glad to have that miserable rehearsal dinner over with, Marron went over to Rei and the dance group, who were just setting up.
"You know, Marron, I've done a lot of work as a dance coordinator, but I don't think I've ever done
expression sets for a wedding."
Marron shrugged and gave a small grin. "Well, the customer is always right; isn't that
what you
usually tell me?"
Rei smirked. "So it seems. Are they ready to do the ballroom rehearsal?"
"I think so. We already took care of the ceremony, the walkout, reception performance, the dinner." She checked off a few things that were on the wedding-planner's list. The lady was really nice, but she was busy having a baby at current, so Bura, Marron, and Rei had taken over. "We just have left performance I, ballroom, performance II, Bride and Groom Exit, and performance III with additions."
"Yeah, what fun, entertaining drunk and otherwise lingering guests while the people who are having the party head off on their honeymoon."
"Well, it is your job," Marron chuckled.
"And from which innocent victim are you deriving your entertainment now?" Trunks asked sternly.
Marron dropped her now-broad smile and took a second to gather herself before turning to him. She wasn't sure how she was
supposed to answer that. Should she just set him straight, or let him think what he wanted?
Luckily for Marron, she didn't have to suffer this dilemma for too long, as Rei stepped between the two and leveled Trunks with
an indignant gaze. "I don't think that's any of
your business, Mr. Briefs."
He kept his eyes on Marron. "It is when she's insulting my future wife."
"Well I'll tell you what, Mr. Briefs, you go use your big bad money lineage and get a warrant from one of the local judges. Present that warrant to Ms. Chestnut, and she'll be happy to answer the questions specified."
Trunks blinked. "And who are you, her attorney now?"
"Just a friend looking out for a friend, Mr. Briefs. Now if you don't mind, we have work to do. We are
crucial to the well-going of this wedding, whereas you, are not." She turned quickly, bringing Marron towards another
part of the room with her.
"Thanks, Rei. I'm not in the mood to handle him today."
"Yeah, well, what are friends for?"
Marron smiled again. 'She and Epica would really get along.' "So, that thing about the warrant, I thought you didn't need one for interrogation."
Rei grinned back. "You don't, but either he didn't know that, or he just didn't want to mess with the two of us today."
"How did I get stuck with such a moron of a brother? Maybe Daddy started his training too early..."
"I heard that." Trunks came up behind his sister.
Bura turned to meet his now-so-common frown and propped her fists onto her hips. "Well good, then. I won't have to repeat it twice."
"I'm the one who should be angry with you, Bura. How dare you bait my fiancée like that?"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't blame me for just trying to bring a light to the truth. Lena's a nice girl, but she just seems like too nice a girl to allow such a quick engagement to ensue without not having any ulterior motives."
"I can't believe you're instigating such a thing."
"I can't believe that you can't believe it. We're from money, Trunks. How many men and women have the two of us gone through, knowing all the time that they were only in the relationship with us for the money?" She paused, hoping it would sink in. "If she's not like the others, that's great. Marry her, if you are sure of that fact and of your love for her; you'll have my full support, but you hardly know her right now."
"Bura, I know her better than you think."
"Okay then, at least wait until you no longer have feelings for another woman."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about you and Marron. Anyone can see that neither of you are fully over the other—even Goten." (I couldn't resist...)
"How many times are we going to have this discussion?"
"As many as it takes to get the Fates off their butts," she murmured.
"Why can't you just go stick your nose in someone else's business for a while?"
"Because the two people, who I care about the most, besides Goten and my son, are falling over themselves to deny their desire for each other. If you want to get over Marron, then I suggest you confront her and get things worked out because you'll never be able to fully love someone else if you don't." She gave him a curt nod to emphasize her point and turned on her heel, heading in Rei's direction in order to get some much-needed advice.
Trunks stood there in a semi-dumbfounded state. "Damn," he said finally, "she won again."
"You know, it's a good thing that Bura's on our side."
"Amen," Epica agreed.
"How much time do you think we have left?"
"Hmm, Dende searching the entire Earth, that should take a couple of days."
"What about Piccolo?"
"Ahh, I already took care of him."
Elese raised an eyebrow and faced her sister. "And just how did you manage that?"
Epica frowned and looked back to the scene below her.
"Epica..." Elese grated, becoming ever so suspicious of her sister's unusually quiet manner. When that failed to receive a reaction, the gentler spirit growled, "What did you do?"
"Well," she began hesitantly, "it seems our favorite Namek and you have an awful lot in common, and since we're soon to be in a not-so-divine form, I thought it might be a good pairing."
Elese cut her eyes in a very unlike herself manner, "There is no way."
"What? Why?!"
"Because...because...WE'RE NOT EVEN THE SAME SPECIES! That's why!"
"It never mattered to you before," Epica sang.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know, your not-so-innocent relationship with King Ko—"
Elese sealed her sister's mouth with a snap of her fingers. "That was for research purposes only, your job, mind you, and you promised never to mention that."
Epica clapped, undoing Elese's magic. "Promises don't count after death!"
She grabbed the front of her sister's gui. "What do you mean they don't count?!"
"Elese, calm down. We might miss something important."
Marron hummed softly to herself as she sat in the sound room of the building and programmed the huge system...again. All rehearsing was completed aside for a second run-through for the dance crew. Most people had left, including the soon to be bride and groom, who had gotten a ride with Goten and Vegeta Jr. Bura was still busy helping Rei and Lena finish putting up the decorations while Marron worked with the dancers, who were warming up for the second round.
She heard him come up behind her and let out a soft groan. 'What now?'
"Marron," Trunks began, "I think we ought to talk."
"That's nice to know, Trunks, but as you can see, I'm busy doing my job right now," she responded, keeping her back to him.
"We need to talk."
"We are talking Trunks. Now, why don't you go help the ladies with the decorations and cleaning?" She received no reply and thought that he had gone away, but was proven wrong, as he dropped onto the bench beside her, facing the opposite direction.
"I can't believe I made such a fool out of myself that you're no longer speaking to me."
Marron sighed and stopped pressing the buttons in front of her. "I'm the one who made the fool out of you, Trunks."
"How are we ever going to work through this?" he asked in the most innocent way she had ever heard.
"There's no need to bother with it. Just...leave it all alone."
"Bura says it will never go away if we do that."
"Bura's a meddler."
"True," he nodded in agreement, "but she may actually be right this time." Marron didn't say anything, and he took this as a bad sign. "But if it hurts too much for you to talk with me, then we'll leave things the way they are."
"I'm working right now, Trunks."
He stood and started towards the exit of the sound compartment.
"But if you want, we can meet after I finish up with the dancers."
Epica and Elese looked on with extreme interest, so they weren't prepared to be pushed over the balcony.
"Ahhhh!" They both dematerialized and reappeared back up on the balcony. "Hey! What's the big—?"
Elese put a hand over her sister's mouth. "Hi, Piccolo. How've you been?"
"Elese," he nodded, then growled looking at her counterpart, "Epica."
"Hiya, Pic!" Epica shouted, ducking from her sister's hand. "You're a little early. Didn't we schedule your date with Elese for later?"
The Namek instantly reddened. "That's not why I'm here, Epica. I heard you had an interesting discussion with Dende this afternoon. Something about trouble with the dragonballs, I believe."
"Oh? You heard about that? Well, it's like this, Pic, we can't work with Den breathing down our necks all the time."
"Well, lying isn't a good way of solving the problem. Besides, he's the guardian, not an idiot."
"A highly gullible guardian, Piccolo. Don't worry. We'll get our job done, and until then, you'll keep Dende busy. You just stay up there, and the two of you can search for the 'cult.'"
"Fine, Epica, but no more lies."
"Yeah, yeah, Pic. You do your job, I'll do mine."
The alien nodded again and shot up into the air.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Epica didn't receive the expected reply and turned to her sister. "Elese? Hello, Cosmos to Elese. Come in, Elese."
She blinked. "Wow, he's cuter than I remembered."
Epica shook her head. "We've got work to do."
Bura smiled slyly and climbed down from the ladder. "Just one corner left."
"Yep."
Rei also smiled, as she folded the ladder and moved it to a different corner. "So Lena, what made you decide to agree to Trunks's proposal?"
Slightly bewildered by the sudden question, Lena replied slowly, "Well, when it's love, it's love, you know?"
"Unfortunately, I don't. Say Bura, how long had you known Goten before you guys got engaged?"
Bura giggled. "We've known each other our entire lives, but once we actually started going out, it was at least two years, and then we were engaged for quite some time after that."
"Well you two certainly have the real thing. How about Canary and Uubu?"
"Oh, they worked together for over a year on the Africa project, and have been engaged for seven months now," Lena commented quietly.
"Isn't that interesting, Bura?"
"Indeed. So you and Trunks are getting married in two months?"
"Yes, well, we didn't want to steal my sister and her fiancée's thunder."
"Oh, of course not."
"I suppose that would still make this a rather short time frame for engagement. What's the rush?" Bura asked.
"Rush? We aren't rushing. Trunks set the date."
"Yes, Trunks. I suppose he would."
"You do?"
"Trunks is big on spontaneity. I mean, it wasn't so long ago that he picked up and moved all the way to Iceland for quite some time."
"Oh yes, Trunks told me about that. He wanted to study some of the events that had recently gone on in his life."
"Events?"
"Oh, she means Marron."
"Marron?"
"Yeah, I always thought Trunks and Marron were made for each other," Bura said.
"They do make a great couple. Too bad things didn't work out."
"Wait, you mean Trunks and Marron, the dance instructor, were involved romantically?"
"Oh very much so, though they may not have considered it so much an 'involvement' at the time."
"From what I hear, they had a lot of issues, but never tried to work through them together."
"Yeah, it's kind of a shame they didn't make it, but my brother has you now," Bura turned to Lena, but instead of finding the orange-haired girl's polite face, she only saw a retreating figure stomping out to the courtyard, the last place she had seen Trunks. "Nice job," she gave Rei a high-five.
"You too, but I kind of have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach."
"Oh, that's just the guilt. You get used to it after a while."
Marron padded softly out to the courtyard, admiring the serene gardens. She took her time getting to the fountain, where she was to meet Trunks. Once she arrived, she watched him for a bit. He was sitting on the side of the water fountain in the moonlight, with his folded hands between his parted knees and his head down. She was surprised to see that he appeared to be relieved, and they hadn't even talked yet. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Are you going to come sit or stand there all night?" he asked without moving.
'Damn his ability to sense ki.' She moved away from the bush that had served as her camouflage and walked onto the brick path that surrounded the fountain.
"Have a seat."
"I think I'd rather stand."
He looked up at her. "Suit yourself." He dropped his head again.
"Is this a bad time or something? We can do this some other—"
"Lena doesn't want to marry me anymore," he interrupted.
"Oh? What happened?"
"She somehow found out about the two of us and has gotten it in her head that we're made for each other. She says she won't be used so that we can both continue to deny our feelings."
"And...and what did you say to her?"
"I told her what really happened between us."
She hesitated. "And...?"
"She said we were both idiots, and that she couldn't think of any two people more suited for each other."
"Well, I'll go talk to her. We can set things straight."
"No, Marron. She was my last chance, and she's gone now. And to think, I used to excel in the woman department, and now I can't even get one to commit to me."
"Don't think like that, Trunks. You'll get Lena back, and if not, you'll find someone else. You could get any woman."
"Just not the ones I want?"
She knelt down in front of him. "Any woman would be lucky to have you. You're smart, funny, kind, strong, good with children, not to mention loaded; you're the man I always dreamt of marrying."
"I am?" He caught her gaze.
"I-I mean, the kind of man. The man I used to dream of."
They were quiet for a few minutes. Then Trunks swallowed, "Who do you dream of now?"
"I don't dream anymore."
"Me either. I haven't dreamed since that night on the beach."
Marron closed her eyes and remembered for a moment. "I never meant to hurt you, Trunks. I was just being selfish. I didn't think it could hurt you. I didn't think. I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing."
"I can't, Trunks. Not until I make things right."
"Then just tell me the truth for once. Stop holding back and stop trying to do what's best for me."
"Trunks, I-I..." she faltered, trying to figure it all out for herself.
He cupped her face. "I still love you, Marron," he stated softly.
She only had to say four words...
And to find out which words those will be, you will have to tune in to the next and FINALLY last chapter of SI. Yep, you can hate me. And don't be too cruel about the sappy scene. You knew it was coming. :oÞ
TO THE REVIEWERS:
Wow, been a while, ehh??
leelee - Marron can be kind of a baka, huh?? Update soon!
Blue Rose - Wow, that went by fast for you?? Well, I guess it did for me too, now that I think about it. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.
Goten-luvr-Mechy - Thank you very much; I will, and I hope your holidays were good as well.
aqua-illusion - I'm glad you like it! And, aren't I so evil to these characters. Ahh, I'm kinda gonna miss it all. *tear* Thanks!
Star-Gazer - You're welcome. :o) Hope your holidays were great also. Thanks!
Foxy-Cleo - Interesting name. Thanks. I hope this chapter hasn't disappointed you.
Legolas Luver - Uhh, LL, they did 60, but thanks anyway for the encouragement. AND congrats on your engagement!
Bluefire - College is definitely a pain, and annoying too. Glad you can find the time to read it, though. Hope you had a great Christmas too!
marron-chan - Well, you know what they say, forever it a long time. Thanks!
AGalaxiaGoddess - Well, you didn't have to be patient for as long as last time, right?
Raidne the Silent Siren - Well, it was probably underneath the other hundreds of DBZ fics out there. Hehheh...I'm bad when it comes to updating. Glad you like, though. Didn't Casey Jones have a hocked stick?? You know, you could always get a pitchfork.
Burned Vamp - Oh?? Did I forget?? Whoops. But you know, punishing poor, defenseless GT Trunks isn't going to solve anything. And when did I say anything about Tenchi?? I like No Need For Tenchi and Universe, when it comes to the anime, and Ryoko and Minagi are my favorites...
Reviewer 100 - Hey Vie! I was shocked as well, but sometimes these things happen.
Asanra - Thanks! And, who's maz??s
Pink Rabbit - LMAO! I loved the reviews! Be sweet to Diana. *Turles looks longingly at the gray kitten* and give Sephy and Cloud a kiss for me. Whoops...I hope you know who didn't hear that.
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Everyone gets a a slice of pizza. Don't like pizza?? Tough. Go get a salad from the salad bar.
See you soon!