When Spring Came

Chapter 8: Remind Me Again

AN: Tell a friend to tell a friend...she's baaaack sorry I've been gone. Work has been crazy and I've been sidetracked with life events. It's been a minute but I'm glad I'm pushing this update out. Hope you enjoy

Marron woke up to a panicked Saiyan wreaking havoc in her apartment. The blonde begrudgingly stared over to her nightstand to stare at the digital clock reading 8 AM. She grumbled as she turned her head over to the side, covering her head again with the comforter. Maybe if she ignored him, the sound would stop. Marron hoped that much anyway.

But Trunks was far too confused and hungover to care, and popped into her bedroom to find the small lump under the sheets of who he could only assume was the earthling. "I know you're there Marron, stop ignoring me," Trunks stated as he stood at the doorway. "Get up."

Marron huffed as she threw the covers off of her. Great way to start her Saturday morning. A shirtless cranky demi-Saiyan trotted around her apartment, making demands as if he was royalty. Granted, Trunks was royalty…but not anywhere she lived. "Trunks, it's eight in the morning on fucking Saturday. Can you have your crisis in about an hour?"

"No, actually," Trunks was practically oozing with passive aggressiveness as he marched over to the bed, showing her his phone. Images of the altercation were published across all social media. "Because you and I are screwed," Trunks gulped, "My dad…your mom…we are fucking toast."

Marron sprung up, her hands scrambled to grab the phone. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her skull at the inflammatory headlines. Although her name hasn't been released yet, her vague visage beside Trunks, and the speculations of their "highly sexual and profane relationship", made waves online. Marron wanted to hide. She was aptly aware of the monsters she'd have to face…she just didn't know which one was coming first.

"Holy crap…" Marron silently stated as she glanced over to Trunks, "this is all your fault."

Trunks opened his mouth to speak, but was rendered silent. She was right, if he hadn't lost his control, he wouldn't have gotten so blasted and could have exited the date unscathed. He stiffened up as he glanced into Marron's tired blue eyes. "I was trying to help," Trunks groaned as he held his hand to his forehead, wincing in pain.

"Help?!" Marron squeaked out watching as Trunks rubbed his eyes with his fists. "All you did was make things ten times harder for me!"

"Ugh," Trunks groaned as he rubbed his temples. Her voice was so grating that it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Not only was it early, but he was still recovering from his hangover…the last thing he needed was to hear Marron's banshee-like shrieking at this hour. "First of all Chestnut, I know how you get with drinking, and I was trying to save you from the embarrassment."

"Oho-ho, were you?" Marron scoffed out in disbelief as she now slipped herself out of bed to face him. What good could Trunks possibly do by getting obliterated? He is a public figure and tarnished both of their names. "Because I don't understand how it's possible for you to think anything of what you did would benefit either of us!"

Trunks felt another pang of pain, and his vision started to blur as he looked up at the blonde woman again. "Can you…keep it down?" he hushed, noticing her nostrils flare slightly as he sighed out. "I forgot how strong Earth wine is," Trunks sighed, "they kept serving glasses to you, so I kept drinking, not thinking anything of it, and—I admit— things got out of hand."

"You think?" Marron huffed, "you were practically telling the love of my life how I like to take it in the ass!"

Trunks cringed, that was something to be upset about, and there was not much he could do but agree with her. He breathed deeply and nodded as he closed his eyes. "I apologize for that, it was uncalled for. "To be fair, Goten was just as blasted…and I can clear the whole thing up with him…"

Trunks attempted to offer that solution, but Marron was not satisfied. Not only did he humiliate her, but it is also something that is now making headlines. If her identity ever got out…that would not bode well for her. "I know you are upset…and you have every right to be, Marron."

Like hell she did! "You need to figure this out, Trunks," Marron stated, pointing an accusatory finger toward his bare chest. "You humiliated me…I trusted you!" He could feel the venom seeping out of her with each lash of the tongue she released.

"I know and I will," Trunks said calmly as he grabbed the woman's forearms and caught her attention again. He looked her in the eyes and said with conviction, "I will definitely do it." Her eyes refocused on him as she stared directly into his disheveled lavender hair and equally tired blue eyes. "But I need you to focus."

Marron paused for a moment, her face looking bewildered and confused. She looked down at her arms and then at her clothes. She was still in her nightgown, and he had been looking at her this entire time!

She quickly snatched her comforter and wrapped it around herself, her face furiously red as she looked down. "God, you know I don't care about that," Trunks scoffed. It was a partial lie, she was still in all her obnoxiously bright, shimmery glory, and along with her stupidly plump lips and golden hair…she was like a demon disguised as an angel. "I'm talking about our parents…have you checked your phone?"

"My phone…" Marron began, her face contorted as she attempted to remember where she had left it. As her hand reached over to the nightstand, her eyes scanned the device. The majority of the texts were from friends, but hardly any of them seemed to realize that the blonde in the tabloids was her.

"So far, so good, Briefs," Marron sighed in relief. All the images were of such poor quality that it wasn't possible to make out who the mystery woman was, so they were safe for now. But the speculation would continue if they weren't careful. And–to both of their credit, neither party was interested in ripping the band-aid off anytime soon. "But that's a close call…too close."

Trunks felt like he could breathe just a bit easier with that revelation. "I know, it's my fault…" he began, slumping down on the side of her bed. His head pressed against the mattress as he glanced up at her. "Y'know, thinking about this further, it'd be a real shit show if my dad or your mom found out about this."

Marron snorted, "shit-show is putting it lightly." She could see it now, with her mom's ice-cold no-nonsense demeanor and Vegeta's unbridled rage, it would be a miracle to come out of the room alive. "Does your dad still refer to me as the toaster spawn?" Marron asked.

"I dunno, does your mom still brag about breaking my dad's arm?" Trunks replied, a smirk on his face as he looked down toward the ground. "Like c'mon that was almost 30 years ago," Trunks chuckled now, turning back to the blonde who had her head tilted slightly at the comment.

"My mom doesn't brag about it," Marron huffed, crossing her legs. "She just…is stating the facts," she said as she joined Trunks sliding down the side of her bed to sit beside him. There was a silence that hung in the air after that. Like a flurry of words that begged for more, but ultimately nothing came out.

She wanted to argue with him, nitpick something he may or may not have done, to remove the uncomfortable silence that followed shortly afterwards. He felt the same way, silence was worse than any lashing from Marron's tongue.

"Could you…remind me again?" Marron started, playing with the lace on the neckline of her nightgown. He could sense the sincerity and softness in her voice in her request, almost as if she wanted to tip-toe around him rather than face him head-on. "Why are we doing this again?"

Trunks turned to her, and noticed she wasn't looking him in the eye. Instead, she continued to fiddle with the fabric. "What do you mean?" He asked, unable to read her body language. "To help each other out," Trunks said as he looked up to the ceiling.

"Are we really helping each other, Trunks?" Marron responded, "I mean, where are the fruits of our labor?" She sighed as she gazed out toward the wall. "I feel like all this has done is drive a further wedge between Goten and I, not bring us any closer."

"I'll admit that's my fuck up," Trunks responded. There was a candid warmness in his admission. "As much as I'd like to say this isn't on me, there is no denying it…"

For once, Marron was surprised; he wasn't fighting her on it. No snarky retort, no sneering, not even a smirk to indicate that he indeed was insincere. Her mouth left agape for just a moment as she glanced over to the half-dressed Saiyan. "You may be surprised to know, Goten seemed a bit jealous in our last interaction…granted he may have been totally blasted…but progress is progress yeah?"

She frowned in frustration, "it's not working fast enough." She wasn't going to sit here and give him the credit she wanted, especially with all the problems she's faced thus far. "And I highly doubt he was jealous," Marron sighed as she pressed her hands to her face. "He was probably just acting a fool because he got drunk like you."

"Ye of little faith, Marron," Trunks chuckled as he snagged the blanket from her bed and covered himself with it. "You got to be a bit better about believing in the plan, it's only been a few weeks." He felt Marron's head fall on his shoulder, a turn he didn't expect her to make…leaning on him.

"So what now, master of plans?" Marron asked, her gaze downcast.

"I believe it's high time we went public with this information," Trunks said, looking at her for a moment before continuing in a soft voice. "I think it's the only way we can move forward with this plan."

"But what if this plan doesn't work out the way we want it to?" Marron huffed, "Wouldn't that make things awkward?" she as she sat back up staring at him.

"Of course not," Trunks chuckled, "it's not awkward for us because we know the truth. The only ones affected by this are the ones who don't know the whole story." If they don't make a big fuss about it, then what else is there to truly say?

"I'd rather deal with something we have fabricated than being constantly set up with daughters from other big companies for acquisition purposes. There's nothing but an empty husk of a relationship," Trunks flourished his hand as he pushed back his hair, "at least we can fake it on our own terms."

"Yeah, that's true," Marron replied. "But I'm also not a daughter from a wealthy family…".

"I know, but to my mom, you're like family," Trunks replied, "which is why I think us coming forward about our relationship would be perfectly fine." The truth is he already knew her reaction and was waiting for the right time to tell his dad. "The real question, Mare-bear, is who are we going to tell first."

That's the million-dollar question. "My family first," Marron sighed, as she put her hands to her face, "just know…my dad can be…a bit much–"

"Like my dad and Bulla?" Trunks asked, a knowing smirk on his face. "I've seen the daddy's princess shtick enough times to recognize it from a mile away."

Marron quickly glanced over to Trunks, her face lighting up with a mischievous grin. It was an incredibly irritating thing to say, but she couldn't help but find the humor in it and laugh just a little. He wasn't wrong, but doesn't every girl play in her favor to be the favorite? "Yeah, it's exactly that."

"You girls are all the same," Trunks joked, "but trust me, it's not Krillin I'm worried about." Granted, Marron's mother did not hold a grudge against Vegeta, but against him. She, like Krillin, was protective over their daughter. No amount of justification will make the idea that the boy who loved to pull pranks on her daughter is now "dating" her pride and joy.

"Oh... I know," Marron hummed as she stood up and stretched her arms behind her head. "But it's nice to pretend that was all we needed to worry about, hm?" Marron wasn't dumb. But she feels she could pull at her mom's heartstrings to get where she needed…Vegeta, however…was a challenge she wasn't ready for.

Marron turned around, extending an arm to help the Saiyan up. "Let's get some grub."

Trunks always kept a spare outfit in a capsule, just in case he ever destroyed his clothes in a drunken rage, like he did the night before. He sported matching gray sweatpants and a baggy hoodie, paired with sunglasses and a ball cap. The perfect outfit that screams "I'm hungover!"

Opting for something laxer than her usual attire, Marron still kept with her obsession of the color pink with a pair of salmon leggings that hugged her waist and flared out at the end. She threw on some tall, white chunky sneakers. So tall that Trunks, of course, needed to comment that she was "compensating for something" in terms of her height. Pairing off the outfit with a white zip-up hoodie and a pair of thick sunglasses in hopes of not being recognized by anyone she may know,

The two walked into what Trunks referred to as a "hippie tree-hugger" coffee shop, to which Marron took offense. It was her favorite spot to work aside from the park, so Trunks' words struck her as somewhat offensive, but she decided not to pay any mind to it. "What are you getting?" Marron asked as she stepped up to the counter, pulling out her wallet.

Trunks glanced over to the blonde, swatting her hand gently to keep her from grabbing the aforementioned item. "What are you getting?"

"Um..." Marron lowered her sunglasses down her nose so she could better see the menu. "I think…a matcha latte…and a croissant…" Her words slowed as she continued to read the menu, "but I'm paying so."

"No, you're not," Trunks grumbled as he put his card on the counter and slid it over to the barista. "I'll just get what you get, and um," he looked at the menu more intently. So many sandwiches and pastries to list off, he was getting buyer's paralysis, trying to differentiate ham and Swiss from bacon and gouda. "Just get me one of everything and I'll figure it out," Trunks swatted his hand, "and y'know what…just black coffee, no sugar."

Marron stared at him for a long moment, before finally whispering, "Psycho…". Who gets just straight coffee? She glanced at the card on the counter, watching as the barista swiped it, defeat in her eyes. She didn't want him to pay for her, isn't that embarrassing?

Trunks took the receipt and a table number, turning to Marron, who had a steady pout on her lips. "Why the long face, princess?" He said with a smirk. "You should be grateful your boyfriend can actually foot the bill for things."

"It's humiliating, I'm not broke," Marron harrumphed as she sat down by the window and crossed her arms. "I can afford to spend some cash."

Trunks sat down in his seat and leaned towards Marron, a grin forming on his lips. "Aw, babe, I can't have you pay for my appetite," his voice dripping in fake sweetness. "Your little meal is nothing..." Trunks looked around and lowered his sunglasses. "You forget I'm Trunks fucking Briefs."

"How could I forget?" Marron rolled her eyes, "I'm inde—"

"Yeah, yeah...Independent," Trunks said, swatting his hand in the air dismissively, "but can we just stop with the hashtag girlboss crap?" He continued, taking his sunglasses off. "End of day — during our…arrangement, you need to get used to being spoiled. What would our family think if I didn't spend exorbitant amounts of cash on you?"

Marron was taken aback. She had totally failed to realize that portion of the arrangement, and could in theory let him give her as much money as she desired. As he so aptly put it, he isTrunks fucking Briefs: CEO of Capsule Corporation, technically a prince in some sense. He's got more money than she could ever dream of, and there's nothing stopping him from giving her as much as she wants.

"So," Trunks said as he watched the food arrive at the table, his eyes not tearing from the multiple plates of food. "What does Marron Chestnut want to do with this new power?"

The answer was simple. "Nothing," Marron answered. She didn't want to think it to be true, but Trunks could be the type of guy to throw everything back into her face. She didn't want to end up indebted to him, especially financially. "I want absolutely nothing from you."

Trunks grabbed his pastry, looking at Marron in disbelief. Maybe she didn't hear him right...there was no way she was this insane? "What do you mean nothing, Marron?"

"I mean, I couldn't be less interested, there's nothing you have that will make me even remotely satisfied," Marron replied with a venom-filled smile as she dug into her croissant.

Trunks' brow arched with curiosity, he took that as a challenge. "Nothing?"

"Gross," Marron said flatly as she grabbed her latte, "you know I didn't mean it like that."

Trunks chuckled a bit, he enjoyed messing with her, especially when small comments flustered her like his. Marron was easy to get riled up, and she always gave him the answer he was looking for. "Well, I guarantee my assets will be more than enough for you," Trunks replied as he took a sip of his drink.

Marron smacked the side of his arm, the idea that he would even make any kind of sexual joke towards her made the bile bubble up into her throat. "Gross man, stop making it sound like that."

"You're the only one reading it that way," he teased, before taking a bite out of the other plate, "anyway, you don't have a choice…this is part of the ruse." Marron pouted, her mouth open to protest, before Trunks cut her off again, "suck it up buttercup."

"This is ridiculous," Marron scoffed as she leaned back on her chair and huffed. She watched her "boyfriend" stuff his face with food and continued, "if your money can get me Goten, that'd be ideal."

Trunks stopped talking for a moment, before asking, "Do you want me to pay him to date you?" It wasn't a completely outlandish request, but Trunks couldn't understand what benefit he would get from it.

"No," she groaned, "I want something real with him." The fact that he suggested such a thing shows how out of touch he was with dating. In fact, what did Trunks do all that time in space? Did he sleep around with alien women? Did he keep to himself when out in space?

"Speaking of something real," Trunks began, as he swallowed the last plate of food, "how are we going to tell our parents we are…um…together?" There was a hesitant nature to his voice, barely being able to say the words "dating" because that wasn't what this was.

Marron swung her feet from the tall stool, tilting her head to the side as she glanced at the Saiyan. "Well," she began as her eyes diverted to the side, "we could tell them now."

Trunks' face paled. Does she want to tell them now? As he's hung over?! She wants 18 to kill him… "Are you going to wear a rubber before you fuck me over?"

"Ouch, Trunksie," Marron feigned hurt as she placed a hand over her heart. "That foul language won't impress my mother, I suggest you get an attitude readjustment."

"I'm hung over and smell like women's perfume, I don't think today is the best time," Trunks huffed, "I mean could you at least give me some time?" he groaned as he pinched his brow.

Marron rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault, he forgot to pack cologne in his stupid capsule. Also, why does he carry capsules for almost any occasion? Doesn't he see how psychotic that is? Who does that?

"I'll give you a day," Marron replied. She gave in just a little, as annoying as Trunks was... his puppy dog eyes got to her. She couldn't say no, and that's a problem. For some reason, her mind went back to Monster Island again, their almost-kiss. She had managed to snuff that thought, or so she thought. But even as they shared a meal platonically, it came to mind like a mosquito buzzing behind your ear. "Only because you buttered me up so much last night," Marron giggled, knowing well this would plant a seed of curiosity in his brain.

"W-What…" Trunks scrambled quickly, trying to get a hold of Marron, "wait, what did I do?" He asked, and he could sense the delight in the blonde's face by his frantic disposition.

"Oh come on Trunks," she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as she placed a hand on his, "you professed your undying love for me!"

"Fuck off, no, I didn't," Trunks replied with a half-hearted chuckle, "I thought I did something bad and didn't remember."

"I dunno, I think it was pretty bad," Marron grinned as she held back the knowledge. "I mean, you literally said I was pretty and you liked me."

"Only one of these things is true," Trunks rolled his eyes, "and even that's a stretch." Marron, in fact, had a case of ugly-duckling syndrome. She was a rambunctious child, a ball of energy, and her teenage years were more awkward, as she was still growing her nose in - something most people didn't expect in the first place.

By the time he returned to Earth, Marron was fully grown into her own skin. Maybe it was the lens of not seeing her every day, or perhaps it was the fact that he – even if for a moment – saw her as a woman, rather than just part of the trio. She was gorgeous and funny, and obnoxious, but Trunks would never admit such a thought.

"You flatter me, Briefs," Marron giggled mischievously as she leaned towards him, "Keep telling me, what else do you think about me?"

Trunks leaned his arm on the table and leaned towards her, a smirk on his lips. "How about you tell me what you think about me?" He asked, watching as she licked her teeth.

She thought about how to choose her words. She had to carefully craft her words so that they would come off as backhanded as his comment. "I think you are a conventionally attractive man for your age–" Marron began, before being interrupted quickly by the hybrid.

"You think I'm old?" Trunks scoffed, "I'm only five years older than you."

Marron resisted her laughter as she continued to press him. "That's half a decade, which basically makes you ancient compared to me," she teased.

Trunks was quick to defend himself on the subject, maybe he gets it from his mother? Then his mind quickly went to Goten, there was no way she could think he was so old when she pined after Goten, who is only a year younger than him. "So you must be jailbait for Goten then, huh?"

Marron's cocky expression fell apart. "Don't ever say that again," she warned. She took that personally.

"Yeesh," Trunks replied, as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Tough crowd."

Marron rolled her eyes in annoyance, before noticing a text message appear on her phone screen from Valese. "Oh..." Marron began as she picked up the device, "that's interesting..." she mumbled.

"What?" Trunks asked, trying to peek at her phone, did someone figure them out?

Marron quickly hid the phone from his view, her head tilted to the side as she eyed the hybrid up and down with a look of suspicion. Why was he so interested in her business today? "I got a text from Valese, she wants me to stop by and check out a shoot she is doing."

"Since when were you chummy with Goten's girlfriend?" Trunks asked, now getting up from the seat, Marron following suit. He remembered that Marron had a particular distaste for the woman's so-called "ethereal beauty". Granted, she is a model, so he shouldn't be surprised she'd be catty...however, that was a development he didn't expect.

"Oh, around the time you and Goten decided it would be a great idea to get totally wasted," Marron snipped back. The truth is, they only got to chat in the bathroom for a moment before they had to break up the drunken disaster that were their dates for the evening. Marron still hadn't had the time to process Valese's intentions with inviting her, but for some inexplicable reason, she decided to go along with it. She was a sweet girl at first glance...

"Fair enough, I guess I missed it," Trunks responded as he walked in front of Marron before walking out of the bistro. As they stepped foot outside the bistro, there was a flash of a camera...it was instantaneous. Trunks' eyes squinted, before realizing both Marron and him were completely surrounded by paparazzi no less.

Marron was understandably mortified, they thought they could dodge the media that easily? They were both fools for believing they were that elusive. "Shit...Trunks..." Marron whispered as she hid behind Trunks, "make them go away."

Trunks responded, "I can't do that. You give them a scandal, and they'll sniff it out till they get to the source." Trunks did feel some guilt. It was undeniably true that he had roped Marron into this, and he didn't even have the opportunity to fix the predicament he created. He watched the panic spread across her face as he quickly threw an arm over her shoulder and pulled her to his right side, blocking her from view.

Trunks leaned close to Marron's ear and sighed heavily, his grip tightening on her shoulder. "Well, I guess our parents will find out about us sooner rather than later," Trunks responded with a half-hearted chuckle, "c'est la vie, am I right?"

The small gesture surprised Marron as she slowly looked up to the focused hybrid as he maneuvered through the crowd to worm his way out from sight. She didn't have time to process anything, he said. She was practically paralyzed, caught in his arms as they turned into an alley. Her cheeks and tips of her ears grew hot, and Marron couldn't identify why. Was she blushing or embarrassed? It didn't matter, they both needed to get out as soon as possible!

He held her away from him and stared down at her. He asked her softly if she was okay, his eyes searching her face for any indication that she was upset. Marron's face turned an even deeper shade of red as she nodded in agreement. It was evident that she was shaken up from the entire ordeal. "I think we need to leave, like, now." He said as he pressed her back against him. She could feel the urgency in his voice. "Are you ready?"

"Mhm..." Marron agreed, holding onto his neck tightly as she screwed her eyes shut. "Just...make it quick."

Trunks took a small pause, a smile tugging on the corner of his lip as he linked his arm around her waist. He would take what he can get, because he knew that once she calmed, there would be a long, treacherous conversation between them...and their families.

AN: hehe, you know I love some indenial.. I know y'all...they are torturing me too, but I promise the will-they/wont-they will end soon...but it wont be a slow burn without torture. let me know ur thoughts :)