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Chapter VI"The Satin Dress"

"Where's the man that could ease the heart

like a satin gown?"

~Dorothy Parker

The following week was crazy; Renai had never been this busy in her entire life. Together with Mrs. Briefs, Krillin and 18 she made preparations for the big party. There was food to buy and drinks, decorations and music. They had to write and send out invitations to their friends and make up a theme. They all decided that a masked ball was too overdone, a lot of people did it. It had to be something new, something magical. They knew that Marron loved fairytales but that would come closer to a costume party. Finally they decided something in between; a nocturnal ball, magical, enchanting, like a full moon. You could dress up in clothes that looked magical, in colours of the night; dark blue, purple, black or silver.

They used one of Capsule Corps biggest rooms, and decorated it with dark marine blue paper. Little lamps where hid on the walls and ceiling, that would shine like stars in the night. But the day before the return of Bulma, Vegeta and little Trunks and before the party, Renai realized that there was still one important thing missing: her dress! In the busy uproar she had completely forgotten about it. She had only one day to find a new dress that matched the ball's theme and that was cheap enough for her to buy. She was near tears when Mrs. Briefs told her that the shops were closed today.

There were a few alternative options left, but only because she had no other choice.

1: she could borrow a dress from Bulma and hope it would fit.

2: she could make a dress and hope it would be finished in time.

3: she could not go to the ball and hope no one would miss her.

But number 2 and number 3 where out of the question, she didn't have the right materials to make a dress and she definitely wanted to go to the ball. But Bulma had only one dress that fit the description and she needed it herself.

She grabbed her hair and groaned, "oh, I don't have another choice!" She sighed deeply, "I have to find Trunks and ask for my lavender dress, and hope that he still has it."

'It's the only way,' she tried to convince herself, 'it's not that I use it as an excuse to see him.' She hung her head and sweat drops appeared on her forehead, 'oh great, I forgot. I told him I never wanted to see him! I can't just walk up to him, saying thanks for the dress, can I have it back? And then walk away again…'

"Aaarrghh! Why is it so complicated?" She was out on her balcony again, her favourite spot when she was frustrated. She scanned the area (including the air) for a sign of Trunks, but he was nowhere to be found. She couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, but quickly repressed that feeling. She stepped forward and leaned on the railing. "Oh, I wish I had that dress back… I guess I can't go to the ball then, I mean… Rules are rules…" She sighed deeply, "I better help Mrs. Briefs with the snacks for tomorrow night." She looked up at the sky once more, than she went back into the house.

After the snacks were done and they had dinner, Renai had a talk with Mrs. Briefs, about her problem with finding a dress. Mrs. Briefs showed her a little room stuffed with materials in different colours and showed her equipment for sewing clothes. Renai was grateful to her and hugged her tightly, and then she went down to business. She found a satin piece of cloth, black; it was perfect for a dress for the ball. She worked the whole evening and a part of the night before she fell asleep on the table.

It was midday when Mrs. Briefs found Renai sleeping in the knit and sew room, she woke her up and asked her if the dress was finished.

"The dress!" Renai exclaimed, immediately awake, she jumped up and grabbed the dress from the table. "I finished and fell asleep here…" She laughed, but then her smile froze when she discovered something dreadful. As she turned the dress around she realized that it wasn't black at all, it was brown! The colours of the night and the weird lamplight had fooled her!

"All that work for nothing!" She cried, throwing the dress on the floor, "now I'll never shine at the magical ball!" Mrs. Briefs just smiled, there was definitely something she was hiding from the girl, but Renai was too upset to notice it.

"Don't fret, dear, I have the solution right here."

"What?" Renai snapped out of her bad mood and turned quickly towards Mrs. Briefs.

"Taadaa!" She sung, holding a brown package in her hands, "it came this morning while you were sleeping, it's for you!"

"The solution is in here, how do you know?"

"A woman's intuition," she giggled, not telling her that Trunks had personally delivered the package to her house. And she wiggled away, back to the kitchen. "I'll make some coffee…"

Renai stared at the brown package in her hands, 'who could have sent it to her?'

"Only one way to find out…" She tore the brown paper off and discovered a white box. A small note was taped onto the top, she opened it and read:

Dear Renai,

Love is only complicated when you think to much,

Follow your heart and you will be happy.

May this satin dress be the key!

Enjoy the ball,

Love,

Trunks

She removed the top of the box and saw the lavender dress that he bought for her. She couldn't believe her eyes and also couldn't prevent the tears from flowing. The fact that he did this for her, after all she had said to him… It meant so much to her.

She couldn't deny that she loved him, she had always loved him; from the moment they first met. But the fact that he never looked her up once, even when he was nearby, still existed and it prevented her from sharing her love with him.

A big bang released her from her deep thoughts, she quickly brought the dress to her room, and headed towards the kitchen. Mrs. Briefs wasn't there though, and she hurried down to the lab. But there was no sign of Mr. Briefs either!

"Renai!" She heard someone yelling her name, from outside the building; she quickly ran towards the sound and discovered where the commotion was from.

"Bulma!" She cheered, "Trunksie and Vegeta!" You guys are back! She ran to her friends and hugged them. They had changed quite a lot, Trunks was about eight now and Bulma her hair was awfully long. Vegeta still looked the same though.

They all went inside and Mrs. Briefs brought them food and drinks, they had a lot to talk about.

Bulma had gone to the planet Frixx, which was a 2 months travel. She went there because they had great technology and they could teach her a lot. Vegeta went along with her, because he also heard that because of that great technology there were many new ways to train. Of course Trunks went along with his parents, to study a bit but mainly to train with his father (if he could keep up).

When they were done talking, Renai told them there was a party for both them and Marron, of course they were happy to come.

Finally the evening fell, and the guests arrived, the party started after they all toasted to Marron her birthday and the arrival of their friends. The music started and so did the dancing.

Renai was happy with the result, and got a lot of compliments from the guests, not only about the party but also about her dress.

She danced with Goku, Gohan, Bulma, little Trunks and even Mr. Briefs, the black cat that always said on his shoulder was smiling.

After a few hours, Goku took her apart from the rest; there was something he had to talk to her about. They walked over to a corner of the room, where the music wasn't so loud and where there weren't many people.

"What's so important Goku?" He had been acting really mysterious.

"Listen Renai, even though I was told to shut up about this, I think you should know."

"Know what?" She had a feeling it was very important.

"The night that your parents died, and you ran away from home, you were attacked by bandits, right?"

She nodded, "they were relatives of the bandits Trunks had killed three years before that, yes. But you saved me, that was what Bulma told me, and you brought me to Capsule Corps."

"But that's not what really happened…"

"What you mean?" Her heart began to beat louder…

Goku sighed deeply, scratching his head, clearly he had trouble finding the right words. "It wasn't me that rescued you from those bandits… It was Trunks."

Renai couldn't believe her ears, "Trunks?"

Goku nodded, "yes Trunks. He went looking for you and found out from the butlers what happened to your parents, and that you ran off. He saw you were being attacked by bandits again, but as soon as he reached them, they had knocked you unconscious. He killed them, once and for all, and then he took you to Capsule Corps. I was there with the rest and he asked us not to tell you that he had rescued you. He knew that you would want to try and look for him, but it would be too dangerous. He had to train to help kill Cell and after that he had to help the people in his own dimension."

"But couldn't he at least say hello or something?"

"That's what Bulma said too, but he told us that he promised you that when he had come back, he would always be with you. I guess he wanted to stick to that promise."

"But eight years, Goku? That's a lot of time…"

"It was an accident…" A familiar voice sounded behind her, Goku and Renai turned around and discovered it was Trunks who had spoken.

"Well, I better go dance with Chi Chi." Goku said quickly, and he walked towards the dance floor.

"An accident?" Renai repeated Trunks.

"Yes, Renai. I wanted to come to you sooner, but something went wrong with the timeline. I ended up 3 years later than I planned!"

"Oh, Trunks…" She didn't know what to say. Was it true? Was her life of loneliness and agony all based on an accident? Oh, the bitter truth…

He saw the doubt in her eyes and took her hands in his, his eyes holding her look. "I know we have both been through a lot, and I know we never properly dated… I know I have hurt you a lot, caused you a lot of pain and grieve and believe me, the thought of that hurts more than any physical or mental pain I ever felt… But the thought of losing you hurts even more, and I know that I want you with me, in my life, wherever we live it! Remember the note I sent you with the dress?" She nodded. "my love is like that satin dress… beautiful, soft, pure and perfect for you." He held her head in his hands and kissed her soft, warm lips. She immediately answered his kiss and wrapped her hands around his neck, his arms around her waist.

"Oh Trunks, if only I knew…" She closed her eyes and melted away under the touch of his lips and his body. "But…" That small word made Trunks his heart stop, he let go of her and looked at her with big eyes.

"I don't like the sound of that word…" He whispered.

"But…" She continued, "there is so much that had happened, and even though I can finally accept the past and embrace it, my heart is wounded and I don't think I am ready for a commitment…"

"There you go again," Trunks said angrily, "think, think, think! You think too much, love isn't logical; love isn't just a word and concepts. It's a feeling!"

"A feeling…" Renai repeated softly, her eyes watering. Trunks grabbed her hand and placed it on her heart.

"Yes, Renai, a feeling! Tell me, what do you feel? What does your heart feel? What do you really want the most? I want you to figure out, not think, but feel, what is best for you." He let go of her hand, "tomorrow night, I will visit you once again and ask you that question for the last time. So I want you to be completely honest, whatever the answer is, I will deal with it. If you want me to leave, I will… I will return to my own dimension and never bother you again. But," he grabbed her face and looked at her with an intense look in his eyes, "I do whatever is best for you because I love you, not because I want it. Because what I want, is to be with you!" He kissed her on her lightly on her lips. "Remember the note I sent you with the dress?" She nodded. "my love is like that satin dress… beautiful, soft, pure and perfect for you." With these words he turned away from her and left the party…

"Trunks…" She whispered, a tear rolled down her cheek, "I don't know how to listen to my heart…"

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