Chapter Six: Decisions and Leavetakings

She was like an angel on a spring afternoon. Sunlight set her golden hair aflame, her bright blue eyes were deeper than the sky, and her smile… sweeter than anything he had ever seen before. So innocent and beautiful. She was still so young… at age eleven, she still had a little of that childish chubbiness in her face, yet her body was already showing the promises of the beautiful young woman she'd grow into. Marron did not know he was looking at her; she was smiling at his younger counterpart. And even though it was tearing his soul into pieces, he liked to keep it that way.

His heart was yearning for her. It was all he could do to keep from hugging her, and kissing her. It should have been enough to see her alive and breathing, but it wasn't. Of course it wasn't.

This young girl was not his love, though. He needed to remember that. She was destined to share a kiss with his younger counterpart and die a horrible death. Seeing her here in the sunlight made that seem very unreal.

Although flashes of the past (~rain and blood and pain, so much pain, please make it stop marron why did you not listen to me why aren't you still alive I love you so much…~) kept pestering him on a frequent basis, he fought back by trying to focus on the upcoming fight. Focus. Clear your mind. We won't let history repeat itself. He would do this… duty and love had kept him alive and sane so far, they would hold out a little longer.

"Are you ready to go, Trunks?" Bulma's voice intruded his thoughts.

He looked at her standing next to him and smiled. She was trying so hard to make him feel comfortable and at ease, he could not help feeling absurdly grateful. Smiling for her was the least he could do. For the past weeks, she had basically ensured his sanity: she was always there for him with a smile and a listening ear, a hug and some advice.

He was very glad she would join them on their trip. He had heard her argue about it with Vegeta; the Saiya-jin Prince had not wanted her to come along but she had argued that the ship needed a technician, and she had survived Namek as well, thank you very much! They had not spoken to each other for a few days, the atmosphere in Capsule Corp turning colder than the North Pole, but Bulma had waved it away with a smile. "He will give in, do not worry."

Vegeta had given in eventually indeed, although his mood was extremely dark the past few days. He did not like Bulma's idea at all, but the practical sides of the idea had made him admit she was right. They would roam Frieza's old empire for clues to the Silver Terror, while in the meantime making good use of the Gravity Room and training extensively, both in mind in spirit. The fact that they were in space would keep them focused, since the distractions on Earth would not be bothering them.

Vegeta had grunted he never let anything distract him, but Bulma had countered the others did, and that they needed him for the trip. 'Know thy enemy' she had thrown at his feet, and in the end that had been his defeat. Vegeta always prided himself in knowing the weaknesses of his enemies (and taunting them with it), and he needed this information.

Trunks was grateful that he wouldn't have to face Marron while in space. She would not join them on this journey, because it was unnecessary for her to come. While she was training to be a martial artist like her parents and doing extremely well, she was nowhere near the level of the Saiya-jins.

"Truuuuuuunks!" a young voice screeched. With an instinct that was as old as he remembered, he extended his arms and caught his young sister in a hug. It had been years since he had hugged his sister at all, yet the feeling of his arms around him felt oddly familiar. As if no time had passed at all… as if he were home. "What is it, Bra?" He said warmly, burying his face in his sister's hair. She smelled nice.

"Trunks, you tell them not to leave me alone! I want to come into space!"

"I don't think that's smart, little one," he answered, putting her down on the grass again. "If Father and Mother say it's too dangerous, then you should listen to them and stay with Grandma and Granddad."

"But Daddy says I am a princess. I have a right to come!"

"I know I'd be happy to have you here," he said thruthfully, "but I'm not one to make decisions here."

"To be honest, I'd rather take us with her, too," Bulma piped up next to him. "I'd hate to leave her alone without her family for an extended period of time." She frowned and looked intently at her daughter for a while. "I'll go talk to Vegeta."

Bra gave Trunks a jubilant look and hugged him once again. "I think I can come." Her eyes sparkled mischievously. It once again reminded him how he missed his own sister, and how easy it was to project all his affection for his sister at this younger girl. After all, they were the same, weren't they? Trunks remained silent for a bit, and sat down on the stairs leading to the spaceship. Bra sat down at his feet, her head resting contently on his knees. They observed the farewell party quietly, until Bra suddenly said: "Marron is pretty, isn't she."

"Yes, she is," he admitted, before realizing what he had said.

"You must miss your Marron," Bra mused. "Were you in love?"

He nodded mutely, and thankfully accepted the hug from his sister. Sometimes, he thought, Bra understood too much of the world around her. She had always been premature and extremely intelligent, but sometimes her insights were unsettling, to say the least. "Thank you, Bra," he sighed.

His sister responded with a tighter hug.

He really hoped Vegeta would let her come along.

***

Marron was having the greatest time with Goten and Trunks. She had pleaded with her father and mother if she could come, even if, as they had said, it was actually an adult party. Marron had protested that this would be the last time she'd see Trunks and Goten before they'd leave for space, and that she really wanted to have the chance to say her goodbyes. Eventually her father had taken her along. She was really happy her father had changed her mother's opinion and they had given their permission, otherwise she wouldn't be here in the sun, laughing at Goten!

Goten was secretly spiking the punch with something that looked like very strong alcohol, you see, and Marron and Trunks were supposed to cover for him. They were doing a lousy job of it, though, because they were too busy collapsing into an untidy heap of laughter.

"What's going on here?" an accusing voice asked behind them. Goten's mother!

Marron and Trunks spun around as one and immediately tried to put up their most innocent faces, while Goten was mostly busy trying to get rid of the empty bottle.

"Nothing!" Marron chirped innocently, smiling her sweetest smile.

"Yeah, nothing at all," Trunks and Goten added in unison. They were also coloring similar shades of crimson.

Boys! Marron laughed inwardly, and took care of business, telling Chi-Chi how Trunks had just told them a funny joke. Goten's mother seemed to be satisfied with that, thankfully. She turned away to talk to Gohan, which was a good thing, Marron decided, because her friends looked like they were more than ready to explode with laughter and shame.

"Thanks Marron!" laughed Trunks, touching her shoulder. "You really saved our ass there."

"No problem," she blushed, melting inwardly. Trunks was so wonderful! He had the most gorgeous blue eyes, and he was so smart and strong! She was really honored he wanted to hang out with her.

Goten laughed, too, and he gave her a playful poke. "Yeah Marron, as a reward you can take the first sip of the punch!"

"Yeah right! What if I fall over? I've never had alcohol before!" As she half-turned to return that poke to Goten, she suddenly locked eyes with another pair of blue eyes. It caused her immediately to fall silent. It was the other Trunks, the older one from the future. Bra was holding him in a sisterly embrace (she had told Marron that her future brother had seen a lot of terrible things, and that he needed lots of hugs and understanding), and looked at her too.

For one moment, Marron almost understood what was going on… but then the moment ended, and Goten had changed the subject, daring Trunks to drink the punch. And so the eye contact broke, and the painful moment shattered… but this was not something she'd forget easily. There was something with that future Trunks no one had told her about.

She supposed she should ask him that one day. Maybe after they returned from the space trip? Somehow, she was afraid of the answer.

***

The day was hesitantly giving in to the night. As the sun was setting, Bulma found herself lighting candles on some of the picnic tables. The cheery mood of the party had dampened a bit; her friends were sitting in small groups, talking softly among themselves, creating some memories to remember for when the space travelers would be gone. And they would be gone for a long time. It all depended on how things went out there, but they'd probably be gone for a year or something.

She'd miss everyone when they would be in space, Bulma mused, looking at her friends all scattered throughout the garden. Of course, all the Saiya-jins were coming. Videl had wanted to come, too, but Gohan had quickly taken her aside and Bulma had seen his worried looks. He had talked long and intensely, and in the end Videl had resigned. She had told Bulma that she had to stay home for Pan, but she had not been happy about it at all. She hated to be home alone with a child. Bulma had advised her to move in with Chi-Chi for that time, and the young woman had taken a liking to that idea. This way, neither of them would be lonely.

Bulma was glad she would be taking her own children with her on the trip. It had been so long that she had gone out on an adventure; she was all excited about it. She looked at her daughter, who was sitting under one of the picnic tables with Pan, playing with some shimmery and brightly colored marbles. Vegeta hadn't wanted to take her along at first, but Bulma had insisted. Besides the fact that she didn't want to leave her little girl all home alone with her grandparents (sweet as they might be) because she might miss her, Bra also seemed to do wonders for Future Trunks' state of being. It was as if Bra was soothing his pain with merely her presence. Strangely enough, Vegeta seemed to have noticed the same thing. He grumbled that if Future Trunks was going to do mental training, he was going to need all the soothing he could get. He also added a remark about weaklings soon after, but somehow it sounded halfheartedly. Bulma had been wise enough not to comment on it, and kept her ideas to herself.

Mental training… yes, things were going to be interesting in the spaceship. Not only were the Saiya-jin warriors going to spar and train, but Piccolo, who would join the travellers, was going to introduce them into some deeper aspects of meditation and mental training. This would probably the first time that the Saiya-jin warriors were going to train as a group, learning from each other, sparring with each other. All old grieves and battles aside, Bulma noticed that some true respect was growing the past few years between the warriors. Seems like we're all growing older and wiser. Maybe we've really grown up, she thought with a smile.

Although, one look at her son, Goten and Marron, who were drunk on their own spiked punch and desperately trying to hide it from their parents, seemed to contradict that idea. Bulma knew what they were doing, of course. The bottle of rum had come out of her own collection; she had noticed it being stolen earlier this morning. She'd let Trunks have his fun now, and would get him later. Maybe she'd play really loud music in the morning… or maybe do something with really bright light? He'd learn… he'd notice her ignoring of the matter, and she would not offer him any relief on his headache. Oh well, it was a good day to get tipsy for the first time. Maybe he was a little young, but he was at home where she could keep an eye on him.

She smiled. Starting off a journey into space with a hangover would probably be just what Trunks needed to keep away from alcohol until he was of legal age.

***

"We're going into space, we're going into space!" Bra sing-songed, bouncing around the controlroom. It was 10 am and one by one the travelers arrived, bringing their luggage, and sitting down on the chairs that Bulma had reserved for them. It would be quite the group that would depart, so Bra had already been bouncing for quite a while, annoying the crap out of everyone who was taking care of business before they could leave.

She jumped upon Piccolo's lap and chirped to him: "Aren't you happy?"

The Namek just glared at her and grumbled: "Sit down, squirt, otherwise you'll be so tired that you sleep through the take-off."

"Why are you sitting so quietly all the time?" she inquired.

"I'm meditating."

"What's that?"

Piccolo was just about to explain when the Sons announced themselves cheerily.

Bulma greeted them with a sense of relief in her voice. "Hello boys. Now that you're here, we're ready to leave."

At last…