Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own 'em.
Chapter 24: Proposal
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I've never liked hospitals. I know, not many people do, but I like them even less than most. Not entirely sure why, but I just hate the places. There's no reasoning, I mean, hospitals are places you go to when you need to get better. People work really, really hard to help you, but I just...hate the places. Maybe it's the antiseptic smell, or the bleak, white sterile-ness of it all.
But still, here I am, walking towards the reception with an extremely put out Marron slung over my shoulder, rolling my eyes and every so often reminding her through my teeth that she's making a scene.
"I don't give a damn whether I'm making a goddam scene, Trunks Vegeta Briefs!" the aforementioned girl screeched at me, wriggling and twisting her body to try and get me to drop her. This whole situation would have been so comical if it weren't for the confrontation that had happened beforehand.
"Put me the hell down! I do not need a fuckin' doctor, Trunks!" she growled at me, beating her fists rather uselessly on my back. "And I definitely don't need you playing your testosterone card and carrying me around, bastard!"
I shifted her weight, ignoring her for the time being, and trying to give the necessary details to the receptionist, who was regarding the spectacle with a raised eyebrow and an otherwise blank expression.
"Would you like some help for her, Sir?" she asked, nodding her head to a collection of wheelchairs stashed in the entranceway. Pretty stupid place to put them, if you ask me, don't hospitals have risk assessments?
Following the receptionist's gaze, Marron's face darkened (if that was at all possible), and she grabbed my wrist - which until then, I had managed to keep out of her reach - and dug her fingernails in as hard as she could. I gritted my teeth, striding over to the wheelchair stash and grabbing the first one that came to hand, then dumping her none too gently into the thing. She hissed in pain as her foot bumped against my leg, struggling to get up and make a limp for it. Wrist throbbing, I planted my hands on her shoulders and pinned her to the back of the chair.
"Jesus, Marron, calm down!" I scowled. "Look, I hate hospitals too, but you need stitches, and I'm not exactly medic of the century."
An entirely true statement. In First Aid Training, I'd been trying to put a sling on an 'injured' colleague, and nearly strangled the poor girl. So I highly doubted I was capable of helping Mar any.
"I will not calm down!" she cried angrily. "I can't stay in this place, Trunks! I mean it!"
"Why not?" I asked innocently. The fury that a moment ago had ben flashing in her eyes suddenly dulled, and she lowered her eyes, letting her hair fall in front of her face.
"Nothing."
I gave her a look. "Nothing? Let me take this opportunity to not believe you, Maz."
"Trunks...I..."
"Mar, it's not nothing if it got you acting this way."
She raised her head a little, speaking so quietly I had to lean forward to hear.
"My mother...she had a bad experience..."
"What sort of experience?" I asked, letting her shoulders go and kneeling in front of her. She didn't try to escape.
"Marron?"
She turned her face away. "It's private."
"Alright." I didn't press her any further. I know all too well about private family matters.
"But...it's something she never got over. And I just can't trust in doctors any more, Trunks, knowing what they tried to do to mom."
I watched her face for a long while, searching for anything that might clue me in as to what had happened. But Marron had pasted an emotionless expression on her face, so I straightened up, offering her my hand and smiling down at her.
"What?"
"Would the infirmary at home be okay with you?" I asked carefully. She nodded, hesitantly returning my smile, and as she took my hand, her eyes lingered on my wrist, now complete with four perfect curved nail marks, which had turned an angry red colour.
"I'm sorry." she muttered, tracing the marks with her thumb. "I completely flew off the handle earlier."
"It's okay." I assured her. "Besides, it got your mind off Aya for a while."
"Hm."
I pulled her up and out of the chair, supporting her weight, and together we shuffled through the double doors and out into the night.
"Why did Aya have to show up so soon?" Marron asked quietly as we waited for a taxi on the main street. I glanced around, over the glittering, lamp lit horizon, scanning for signs of any cars. No luck yet. I didn't answer her. I had a feeling that the question wasn't directed at me.
"I mean, me and you have only just..."
"I know."
"I know that I hurt Aya, but I just wanted to spend more time with you tonight, Trunks. When Aya showed up...I was sorta irritated. Oh God, that sounds so selfish. Does that sound selfish?"
"No, it's what I was thinking too..." I trailed off. "So...yeah, it must be selfish."
She laughed a little.
"Why'd you wait so long, again, Trunks?"
"Because I was scared." It wasn't as much of a blow on my pride to admit it right now.
She seemed satisfied with that answer, tightening her grip on me and giving a soft sigh. Neither of us spoke after that, and all the way through the journey to Capsule Corp, I was silent, resting my chin on my fist and staring at the leather head rest in front of me. Marron and I still had some talking to do. But it could wait a while. I'd talk to her later on.
After sneaking into the infirmary and finding my grandfather there working on some modifications for the cappuccino machine he'd built ten years ago and never used - why he was working on it in the infirmary is beyond me, but hey - we got Marron's foot fixed up and headed back to mine.
And though there were a million things I wanted to discuss with her, we ended up getting side-tracked by a re-run of some cop movie that Marron loved. And afterwards we talked and talked, but not about us. About other things. And just as it got light, we fell asleep on the sofa together under Goten's white blanket he used in winter, Marron huddled in my arms trying to keep warm.
We were woken up mid-morning by an extremely noisy and excited Goten rushing around the place, rambling, making a row, and also making next to no sense.
"Ten, slow down!" Marron laughed, grabbing Goten's shoulder as he brushed past her, breathless and smiling.
"What's up?" I asked, trying to smooth down my tousled hair and get my neck to stop aching from being in the same awkward position all morning.
"I didn't exactly mean to, I just said it!" he cried, grinning like a fool. "And then I thought that she'd tell me to slow down, for sure, but she didn't!"
He rushed up to me, face flushed, grabbing my shoulders.
"She didn't!" he sang happily.
"Didn't what?"
"Didn't say no! She said yes, Trunks, holy fuck, she said YES!"
I yawned, rubbing one eye sleepily.
"Who?"
'Ten slapped me round the back of my head lightly, still grinning.
"You moron! Who do you think? Paresu!" he blurted out. "So you'd better get started on a speech, T, cause you're gonna be the best man!"
"Using the term loosely." Marron noted with a smirk. I narrowed my eyes at her in mock-annoyance.
"So you and 'Su are getting married?" I asked finally. Goten's beaming face said it all.
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A/N: Thanks for all the birthday greetings everyone! And I love you brilliant people who left me a review, you do know that, right? Do I avoid the DBZ related torture, M.K? ^^ Hmm, although having Goten in my mouth doesn't sound all that bad... *wicked grin* Hee. Only kidding. Well, I'm feeling almost entirely de-stressed right now, last week I was terrified - exam results. It looks like I needn't have worried though. *smile* Anyway, I'd best be going, until next time!
Chapter 24: Proposal
I've never liked hospitals. I know, not many people do, but I like them even less than most. Not entirely sure why, but I just hate the places. There's no reasoning, I mean, hospitals are places you go to when you need to get better. People work really, really hard to help you, but I just...hate the places. Maybe it's the antiseptic smell, or the bleak, white sterile-ness of it all.
But still, here I am, walking towards the reception with an extremely put out Marron slung over my shoulder, rolling my eyes and every so often reminding her through my teeth that she's making a scene.
"I don't give a damn whether I'm making a goddam scene, Trunks Vegeta Briefs!" the aforementioned girl screeched at me, wriggling and twisting her body to try and get me to drop her. This whole situation would have been so comical if it weren't for the confrontation that had happened beforehand.
"Put me the hell down! I do not need a fuckin' doctor, Trunks!" she growled at me, beating her fists rather uselessly on my back. "And I definitely don't need you playing your testosterone card and carrying me around, bastard!"
I shifted her weight, ignoring her for the time being, and trying to give the necessary details to the receptionist, who was regarding the spectacle with a raised eyebrow and an otherwise blank expression.
"Would you like some help for her, Sir?" she asked, nodding her head to a collection of wheelchairs stashed in the entranceway. Pretty stupid place to put them, if you ask me, don't hospitals have risk assessments?
Following the receptionist's gaze, Marron's face darkened (if that was at all possible), and she grabbed my wrist - which until then, I had managed to keep out of her reach - and dug her fingernails in as hard as she could. I gritted my teeth, striding over to the wheelchair stash and grabbing the first one that came to hand, then dumping her none too gently into the thing. She hissed in pain as her foot bumped against my leg, struggling to get up and make a limp for it. Wrist throbbing, I planted my hands on her shoulders and pinned her to the back of the chair.
"Jesus, Marron, calm down!" I scowled. "Look, I hate hospitals too, but you need stitches, and I'm not exactly medic of the century."
An entirely true statement. In First Aid Training, I'd been trying to put a sling on an 'injured' colleague, and nearly strangled the poor girl. So I highly doubted I was capable of helping Mar any.
"I will not calm down!" she cried angrily. "I can't stay in this place, Trunks! I mean it!"
"Why not?" I asked innocently. The fury that a moment ago had ben flashing in her eyes suddenly dulled, and she lowered her eyes, letting her hair fall in front of her face.
"Nothing."
I gave her a look. "Nothing? Let me take this opportunity to not believe you, Maz."
"Trunks...I..."
"Mar, it's not nothing if it got you acting this way."
She raised her head a little, speaking so quietly I had to lean forward to hear.
"My mother...she had a bad experience..."
"What sort of experience?" I asked, letting her shoulders go and kneeling in front of her. She didn't try to escape.
"Marron?"
She turned her face away. "It's private."
"Alright." I didn't press her any further. I know all too well about private family matters.
"But...it's something she never got over. And I just can't trust in doctors any more, Trunks, knowing what they tried to do to mom."
I watched her face for a long while, searching for anything that might clue me in as to what had happened. But Marron had pasted an emotionless expression on her face, so I straightened up, offering her my hand and smiling down at her.
"What?"
"Would the infirmary at home be okay with you?" I asked carefully. She nodded, hesitantly returning my smile, and as she took my hand, her eyes lingered on my wrist, now complete with four perfect curved nail marks, which had turned an angry red colour.
"I'm sorry." she muttered, tracing the marks with her thumb. "I completely flew off the handle earlier."
"It's okay." I assured her. "Besides, it got your mind off Aya for a while."
"Hm."
I pulled her up and out of the chair, supporting her weight, and together we shuffled through the double doors and out into the night.
"Why did Aya have to show up so soon?" Marron asked quietly as we waited for a taxi on the main street. I glanced around, over the glittering, lamp lit horizon, scanning for signs of any cars. No luck yet. I didn't answer her. I had a feeling that the question wasn't directed at me.
"I mean, me and you have only just..."
"I know."
"I know that I hurt Aya, but I just wanted to spend more time with you tonight, Trunks. When Aya showed up...I was sorta irritated. Oh God, that sounds so selfish. Does that sound selfish?"
"No, it's what I was thinking too..." I trailed off. "So...yeah, it must be selfish."
She laughed a little.
"Why'd you wait so long, again, Trunks?"
"Because I was scared." It wasn't as much of a blow on my pride to admit it right now.
She seemed satisfied with that answer, tightening her grip on me and giving a soft sigh. Neither of us spoke after that, and all the way through the journey to Capsule Corp, I was silent, resting my chin on my fist and staring at the leather head rest in front of me. Marron and I still had some talking to do. But it could wait a while. I'd talk to her later on.
After sneaking into the infirmary and finding my grandfather there working on some modifications for the cappuccino machine he'd built ten years ago and never used - why he was working on it in the infirmary is beyond me, but hey - we got Marron's foot fixed up and headed back to mine.
And though there were a million things I wanted to discuss with her, we ended up getting side-tracked by a re-run of some cop movie that Marron loved. And afterwards we talked and talked, but not about us. About other things. And just as it got light, we fell asleep on the sofa together under Goten's white blanket he used in winter, Marron huddled in my arms trying to keep warm.
We were woken up mid-morning by an extremely noisy and excited Goten rushing around the place, rambling, making a row, and also making next to no sense.
"Ten, slow down!" Marron laughed, grabbing Goten's shoulder as he brushed past her, breathless and smiling.
"What's up?" I asked, trying to smooth down my tousled hair and get my neck to stop aching from being in the same awkward position all morning.
"I didn't exactly mean to, I just said it!" he cried, grinning like a fool. "And then I thought that she'd tell me to slow down, for sure, but she didn't!"
He rushed up to me, face flushed, grabbing my shoulders.
"She didn't!" he sang happily.
"Didn't what?"
"Didn't say no! She said yes, Trunks, holy fuck, she said YES!"
I yawned, rubbing one eye sleepily.
"Who?"
'Ten slapped me round the back of my head lightly, still grinning.
"You moron! Who do you think? Paresu!" he blurted out. "So you'd better get started on a speech, T, cause you're gonna be the best man!"
"Using the term loosely." Marron noted with a smirk. I narrowed my eyes at her in mock-annoyance.
"So you and 'Su are getting married?" I asked finally. Goten's beaming face said it all.
A/N: Thanks for all the birthday greetings everyone! And I love you brilliant people who left me a review, you do know that, right? Do I avoid the DBZ related torture, M.K? ^^ Hmm, although having Goten in my mouth doesn't sound all that bad... *wicked grin* Hee. Only kidding. Well, I'm feeling almost entirely de-stressed right now, last week I was terrified - exam results. It looks like I needn't have worried though. *smile* Anyway, I'd best be going, until next time!