"I Love You... Good Bye"
Oh my goodness.. I'm alive! Wouldja lookit that. Yes, I'm going to get back to writing. I need some sort of creative thing to do with all these weird moods I've been in lately. Expect new stories, and for me to finish up a few that I've had going for a long time. This will be the last chapter of this particular story. Thanks for staying tuned, all!
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters.
Chapter 23: Surprisingly.. Life Goes On
"Hey.. Marron? You awake over there?" Trunks ruffled Marron's hair slightly to rouse her from her stupor. She startled at his touch and regained complete consciousness. She looked up at him and smiled the empty smile she'd been using ever since Goten's death. Trunks sighed slightly – not enough for her to notice – and reached for her hand to pull her up to her feet. She looked away for a second, as though she were still deep in thought. "Sorry for disturbing you, then." Trunks began to walk away, but Marron jumped up suddenly and hugged him from behind.
"Trunks.. why do you put up with me anymore?" Marron tried hard not to cry. It was a hard thing for her to not cry whenever she was even remotely regarding Goten's death. She couldn't help but feel responsible. Hell, he'd told her she was the reason he wanted to kill himself. And then he had the nerve to tell her to have a happy life with Trunks! She heard Trunks sigh again. She'd asked the same question several times since Goten's death.
"Because I love you. How can I not 'put up with you'? I wouldn't call it putting up with you. I just.. love you. Always have, always will. No matter what." Marron smiled her empty smile again. Trunks hated that smile. She wasn't facing him, and he couldn't see her. But he knew that if he did turn around to look at her, the same smile would be plastered across her face. He began to wonder if it'd ever fade. If that smile would forever haunt their relationship. He couldn't stand the thought of it, so he pulled away from her and grabbed her bags.
"I love you, too. Trunks.. I really love you." She looked down at her feet, clasping her hands tightly behind her back. "But.. can we really do this? Can we be 'normal'? Our best friend is gone now. Because of us. Mostly me, I know, but.. well.. I really don't know what I'm saying, I guess. I'm being stupid again, aren't I? I guess the child in me will never leave. Yeah.." She trailed off as she often did nowadays. She would make excuses for herself whenever she began to attempt to justify what had happened. Trunks wanted to yell at her, scream that there was no justification for what happened. What happened, happened, and there was nothing either of them could do.
"Yeah.. we'll do fine. Why don't you stop doubting us and start cheering it on? The more you think something can't happen, the worse the chances of it actually succeeding are. Stop being so pessimistic about everything and help me make this into something that the both of us can be proud of." He hadn't meant for it to sound antagonizing, but the way she'd been acting lately just got him so riled, he couldn't help but be a little harsh with her.
Marron nodded and picked up the bag that Trunks hadn't yet picked up himself. She was supposed to be moving in with Trunks in an apartment near Capsule Corp. Bulma had insisted they remain close-by. Trunks knew that her definition of 'close-by' would've been inside the Capsule Corp. grounds, but he wanted to get Marron and himself as far away from there as possible. There were too many things that would remind the two of them of Goten. Trunks was trying his hardest to forget about Goten and what happened. It was proving difficult, but he still trudged on.
Marron narrowed her eyes slightly knowing that she had disappointed Trunks yet again with the mention of Goten. She scrunched up her nose in thought of what she might be able to do to make up for it. She smiled when she got the idea. She quietly set the bag down she had been carrying and walked over to Trunks.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed the small of his back lightly. Trunks put the bags he was carrying down and turned around to face her. She smiled up at him. It startled him, and at first she couldn't tell why. But then she realized.. she had smiled at Trunks with her old smile. The smile that Trunks loved so much.
Trunks' eyes widened, and he smiled himself. Literally bursting with joy, Trunks picked Marron up into his arms and twirled her around while she giggled hysterically. "I love you! I love you so much! You're all mine, mine, mine!" He slowly brought her down to the ground and engaged her in a very deep, and passionate kiss. As if he'd suddenly remembered something important, Trunks broke away with a sudden "Oh!"
Trunks began fumbling in his pocket for something, and Marron, perplexed, watched in anticipation. He smiled triumphantly as he pulled out a little black, velvet box. Marron felt her stomach lurch as she watched him get on one knee. She gulped back the lump forming in her throat as best she could as he opened the box to reveal a stunningly beautiful diamond ring.
"Marron.. will you-,"
"YES!" Marron blushed crimson. She'd said the word without even having let him finish the question. Although it was obvious what it was, she still felt it had been rude to interrupt him. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked away, embarrassed. Trunks smiled widely and got back up. He took the hand from her face and slipped the ring onto her finger.
"Good."
