So I was avoiding Trunks for the second time in less than a year. Good friendship, huh? And to top off what a good person I was being, I hadn't told 'Ten about our little balcony encounter. In fact, I hadn't told anyone. Go me.
You don't know how many times I involuntarily picked up the phone and started to punch out Capsule Corps.' number. How many times I sat there thinking to myself, 'Oh man, Trunks is going to freak when he hears this.' Or even how many times I made excuses not to hang out with Bra for fear I'd run into him. I lived a sad, sad life for the next week or two. But not to worry. Dende decided to spice up our lives.
It was practically August that day; the weather was hot and humid as 'Ten and I sat down to eat dinner.
"I was thinking. Maybe we should go out to dinner this week," he commented through mouthfuls of steak and potatoes.
I raised an eyebrow. "Fancy or casual?" I passed him the bowl of potatoes.
He scooped more food onto his plate. "Fancy. How 'bout dressing up this weekend babe?"
"Sure. We haven't done that in a while," I said. But an idea was forming in my head. It wasn't an idea that 'Ten would love, but it was an idea that really made sense. "Hey sweetie? I have to run some errands after dinner, and I probably won't get back until late. That's fine with you, right?"
"Yeah, sure. Should I wait up for you? I got beat pretty bad by Gohan today, and I just wanna sleep for hours and hours." He shoved a final piece of steak into his mouth and walked his plate to the sink.
"Oh, no. You get some rest and we'll hang out tomorrow and make dinner plans." And the idea had turned into a plan.
~
It was close to eight as I walked down the streets of Orange Star City. I could've drove, but I didn't drive since the accident. Even though where I was going was three towns away, the long walk would definitely do me some good.
I couldn't help but smile at the familiar "landmarks" I passed: Orange Star High, Satan City General, that old pizza place on the corner of Sixth and Main, and even Capsule Corp. Avenue, the home of a place that had been a second (or third) home to me practically all my life.
But I wasn't heading to any of those places. In fact, those places weren't even in the right town as the place I was going. And as I reached the correct town of my destination, Gingertown, I was greeted by the beautiful scene of the sunset.
Ironic, though, that scene. It was absolutely sublime, that sky, the type of image I would have loved to share with Goten. But here I was, walking down the main stretch of Gingertown by myself.
One minute, I had been staring at that sky, and the next, I was where I had intended to be. I knocked on the door nervously and somehow convinced myself to stay instead of taking off.
The door opened and he stared at me in complete silence. I didn't say a word, but bit my lip and found a sudden interest in my shoes. He took a step back, inviting me in wordlessly and led me to the living room where he motioned for me to sit next to him on the couch.
Silence.
Living on a freakin' deserted island for twenty-two years, you'd think peace and quiet was my thing. I had to say something soon, or I'd pull all the hair out of my head.
"Do you still love me?" I blurted out.
Trunks' eyes widened. "It--it doesn't matter if I do or not Ron. I couldn't admit to anything now. Come on, how could I do something like that to 'Ten?"
"You already kissed me," I retorted.
"I know, I know. That was wrong of me. But you shouldn't even be here---"
I cut him off. "Do you love me?"
"Yes. I love you, Marron."
Seriously, honestly, and truly, I had absolutely no control over what my body did. It was like someone had a giant remote control and they were in charge. Because the next thing I knew, I was on top of Trunks.
~
When I woke up, I had no idea where I was. It was still dark, and a clock next to me said it was two thirty. And when I turned to my right, I saw lavender hair sweeping across the pillow. Not black. Lavender. And I knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life.
What the hell could have possibly possessed me to do something so terrible, so--so bad, I couldn't even think of a word for it. If only when I had formed that plan in my head I had known what would happen, I would have stayed home and watched TV. With 'Ten. Oh Dende, god of all gods, Goten. What was I supposed to tell Goten?
Quietly, I got out of bed and searched around for my clothes. I got dressed and gave Trunks a kiss on the forehead before heading out into the night. The moon and the stars shone overhead, lighting my way through the city streets.
I had no idea what I just did. What kind of person, what kind of fiancé, goes and sleeps with their best friend? Their fiancé's best friend? And I thought kissing Trunks was bad enough.
I tiptoed into our apartment and carefully got into bed next to 'Ten. Slowly, I wrapped his arms around me and cried. I just laid there and sobbed, like some helpless little girl. And I felt like I was. I had probably just done something that could totally and completely ruin our marriage, and all I could to was cry.
What was I going to tell him in the morning? How was that conversation supposed to go? "Good morning Mar, how was your night?" "Oh it was wonderful. I just slept with your best friend, but otherwise, things were just lovely." I couldn't tell him that. It had to be a time when I could explain myself, and at that moment, I couldn't. I had no freaking idea why I had sex with Trunks. No idea.
It wasn't that Goten wasn't what I wanted. No, that definitely wasn't the reason. 'Ten was the love of my life; there was no denying that. Trunks and I once shared something I thought was love, but that didn't even come close to what I felt for Goten. It wasn't lust, because I had no attraction to Trunks whatsoever. Sure, Trunks is gorgeous, but when you see the inside of a person and what they can do other people, physical attraction kind of fades away. So there was just no logical reason for doing what I did.
But maybe… maybe it was instinct. I mean, when someone tells you they love with the emotion Trunks did, what else do you do? So it's no excuse, but I made a promise right there to myself that I would tell 'Ten, no matter how hard it was. Eventually. I had to think of exactly what to say.