When Spring Came

Chapter 10: Bargain

AN: *boom sound effect from vine* another one. I hope you all enjoy :p

Vegeta stared down at his son, who continued to dodge his questions and punches with ease, even as he cranked the gravity in the chamber. "Are you truly entertaining mating with the Android spawn?"

That...rubbed Trunks the wrong way. Marron was a human like any other, and Eighteen seemed to have let go whatever feud they had going on, so why couldn't his dad. "I'm not..." Trunks panted as he threw a punch at him. Vegeta quickly caught his hand. "Marrying her."

"Good," Vegeta said as he paused, circling around him. "I wanted you to go to space to clear your head after that woman proved no fruits." Trunks cringed at the word choice. Harsh much? "You need to find a proper mate," Vegeta grit his teeth.

Trunks' breath became more labored as gravity began to weigh on him. His legs got heavier to move as his father's onslaught became unrelenting. "I will let you entertain her," Vegeta responded, his fist connecting with Trunks' face. The white room became fuzzier as another fist met with his gut. "You either make her fit, or replace her."

Trunks coughed out, a hit from Vegeta was not something that can be taken easily. Trunks almost stumbled at the sheer force, but remained barely stable. Trunks could tell, but his father was not satisfied with the lack of a reaction. "Hmph...we're done here..."

The buzz of a corporate building never failed to make Trunks feel trapped. It was the same when he was twenty-four, and it was now thirty-one. Trunks walked through the hallway of Capsule Corporation, straightening out his jacket as he boarded the glass elevator, followed by board members, peeking their heads over his shoulder.

"I will ride alone," he announced, his hand up, forcing the trio to stop dead in their tracks. As the elevator doors closed, he huffed out, looking down at his phone. "Fuck…" Trunks whispered as he watched a call appear on his phone. Just what he wanted, another leech.

"Soi!" Trunks exclaimed, a fake smile on his face as he watched the elevator arrive at his floor. "Didn't I tell you to go through my secretary going forward? "Try again," he said, clicking the red button before shoving the device back in his pocket. He truly would not entertain how that person even got his number.

"Mr. Briefs," a short-haired brunette woman announced, clearing her throat as she held her tablet. "You have ten minutes until the board meeting. Do you have any last-minute accommodations you would like?"

Trunks stared at his secretary, one eyebrow raised in response to her question. What was the reason for asking? Was his stunt the last board meeting too much? It was true he decided to change the refreshments from charcuterie boards to catered meals, but he's a Saiyan and he was hungry! "Well, now that you say that Denime…" Trunks began watching the woman's face pale, "no, I don't." A smirk pulled on his lips.

Her right eye twitched involuntarily, and Trunks noticed the slight change in her expression. But what enjoyment would he get if he wasn't having people run around at his beck and call? He paused — why hadn't he thought of it before? "Actually scratch that," Trunks said as he walked towards his office, "get me a list of top gifts for an obnoxious woman, I need to make a few purchases and they need to be sent out, I'll forward it over to you."

"On it, sir," Denime replied, watching as Trunks stepped inside his office and shut the door. She turned to the intern who was assisting her, "Obnoxious woman...? You think it's a girlfriend?"

"No, I know so," the younger intern responded as she pulled her phone up and pointed at the DMZ article of their boss. "Look, that blonde woman..." she pointed, "that's her, I'm sure of it."

Denime's eyes darted back and forth between Trunks' office and the cell phone. "I'm not sure," Denime chewed on her nail. "I know he was into that one girl for a while, and she looks nothing like her..."

"He's so handsome. Can you imagine going out with him?" The intern responded dreamily, her hands on her cheeks. "I bet he's packing too," she winked.

"That is unprofessional, Penci," Denime chided the younger woman, as Denime straightened out her own posture and continued to speak in a more professional tone. "And, no, there is nothing I wish less to occur to me."

"You're no fun," Penci stuck her tongue out as she stepped back to the desk, slouching over her computer. "Anyway...I have an idea," she sang out loud, making Denime give her a dreadful look. "Can you let me be responsible for the gifts?"

Denime contemplated, it sounded like a horrible idea given her track record. What was the worst that could happen? "Don't mess it up, Penci."

Marron was getting irritated at how often she was being pulled away from her work. But at approximately twenty minute intervals, the receptionist kept buzzing to try and get her in the lobby. Someone has been showering her in unnecessary gifts, and rumors buzzed about the building. She was working with one of the most important fashion designers in the Western Capital today. Did Trunks have to insist on sending these excessive things over?

"I apologize to interrupt, Ms. Chestnut, you have another delivery," the short haired bowed her head, almost trying to hide from the unrelenting gaze of Trousa - the aforementioned fashion designer, who sat across from Marron with his legs crossed.

"Are you serious?" Marron's face paled, as she glanced over to Trousa's gray eyes, who essentially dismissed her with a wave of a hand.

She straightened out her pink tweed skirt and matching cropped jacket. The high-waisted skirt stopped at her mid thigh and was adorned with gold buttons down the side. She paired the outfit with some square-toed white Mary Janes and white ruffled socks. She usually didn't want to wear her dressier clothes in the building, but meeting with Trousa was a big deal to her, and Opal Essence.

As she made it to the ground, she found a ridiculous amount of red roses inundating the lobby. More deliveries are swamping the poor receptionist, all with letters from Capsule Corporation. Marron could feel her eye twitch at the sight.

"Trunks..." Marron muttered under her breath as she stood in the lobby, utterly speechless.

"Wow," a snide voice came from behind the blonde. She knew exactly who it was from the banshee-like nature of the woman's voice. "Marron, who is trying to impress you of all people."

Marron sneered, "Oh Camie, I could smell you from a mile away!" Camie stood by the elevator, arms crossed over her chest as she watched as the delivery man finished with his delivery. "It's actually from my boyfriend," Marron could hardly get the words out. There was silent satisfaction in shooting down Camie, but it was just as difficult to relish the victory when it was Trunks of all people...

Camie walked over to the letter atop one of the deliveries, grabbing and opening the letter accompanying the box. "For Marron," Camie read haughtily as she glanced down to the signature on the card, "...Trunks Briefs..." Camie's green eyes looked up to Marron, a brow quirked. "How?"

Marron wanted to soak it all in, but her face was red from embarrassment. How could he do this to her?! This was beyond embarrassing for her- wasn't it enough that he made a public appearance? "This is a bit much, even for him," Marron said as she approached the bundles of roses. "I don't...even like roses..."

"Really?!" The woman nearly shrieked Marron's head off at the statement. "A man floods your workplace with flowers, and you don't like them?!"

Exactly that, actually. To Marron, it was a shallow attempt to seem romantic, for what? Appearances? Why did she care? It wasn't like he was actually dating her. She huffed as she pushed her hair back. Trunks was being inconsiderate, really. This was interrupting her work, and not only that, it is adding excessive hassle to her daily life to take these flowers home with her.

Marron walked over to the frazzled receptionist, who seemed to have her head spinning from the disorder, "Could you phone Almon for me real quick?" The receptionist nodded at her request and handed Marron the phone. "Hey Almon, I am having a...flowery emergency. Could you take care of Mr. Trousa while I deal with this?"

"Of course, girl, I got you!" Marron let out a sigh of relief, thanking her colleague as she handed the phone back to the receptionist. She was going to let Trunks know exactly what she had in mind, and not hold back on this utter ridiculousness. As she stormed out the building, Marron hailed a taxi to the Aquarius district.

Fortunately, the drive from where she was was not too far, and as soon as she was dropped off, the woman stormed straight into the building's ground floor. She was met with some muscle heads blocking the elevator, which...what a joke, Trunks did not need security. "Woah there missy," they said looking down to the prim and proper looking Marron, "what business do you have here?"

"Tell Trunks...Marron is here," she said with a sickeningly sweet grin.

"What makes you think you could storm straight into Capsule Corp and ask to meet with the CEO, who even are you?" the receptionist there asked from the desk, a restrained chuckle in her voice. Marron tossed a stare back to her, what is with people not respecting her today, Trunks, Camie, Trousa and now this bitch?

"Alright hon, I don't want to hurt any feelings, but if you don't get that idiot down here, heads are gonna start rolling," Marron replied, smiling as she looked the woman up and down, Frizzy short bob, with an ill fitting skirt and a crumpled shirt. Trunks needs to check who he hires.

She wasn't sure what had her so riled, but her ki began to spike at the blatant disrespect. With that, Trunks on the top floor got the small twinge of her energy. He instinctively stood up from his seat, his hands slammed against the desk. "Denime!" Trunks shouted from his office, summoning the woman in.

"Yes sir?" Denime replied quickly.

"Why the fuck..." Trunks said as he took off his glasses, pinching between his eyes, "is Marron rampaging in my lobby?" It was a simple question that a competent secretary should answer. Wasn't it? So why was it that Trunks wasn't receiving an answer from his subordinate? "What did you do?"

"It's not-" Denime began to sweat. She knew she shouldn't have put Penci up for the job...but she begged to do so, and now it's biting her in the ass, as she had no clue what the hell the girl wound up doing.

"It's not what Denime..." Trunks retorted back as he walked over to her. He was like a shark surrounding his prey, and Denime was about to crack before a voice came through the intercom. The receptionist from the ground floor managed to phone him...how on earth was that even possible?

"Mr. Briefs, there is a madwoman requesting to see you. She says her name is...what was your name again... The pause felt more menacing than the actual message, "Marron Chestnut?"

Trunks approached the phone, clicking the button. "Bring her up, and careful with the goods...that's my woman." Trunks smirked as he hung up. Oh he was sure Marron heard that too, what better way to get her more fired up at him? He may as well get some entertainment, right?

She was admittedly quick as Penci ran up to Denime and pulled her back as Marron came tunneling through and straight into the executive's office, slamming the door behind her. "Oh my gosh, that's her..." Penci whispered in Denime's ear.

"She's definitely...firey..." Denime replied, not being able to get a good look at her face.

"And gorgeous, Mr. Briefs has good taste," the younger woman replied cheerfully, "do you think...they are being dirty in there?" she winked, nudging the older woman in the arm.

"Absolutely not."

Marron stood at the door, her blue eyes set ablaze with rage as she stared Trunks down. The hybrid saiyan stared her down, his body resting against the desk, his suit jacket behind his chair and sleeves rolled up. He looked put together today, unlike other instances. "What the fuck?" Marron asked as she walked up to him, her arms out open.

"Hello to you too...?" Trunks asked, his head tilted. Her outfit was far different than her usual attire, she was so put together, and frankly...kind of cute. Her hair was down fully and silky straight, and despite the boxy appearance of her jacket, her skirt hugged her hips well. "So you gonna tell me what's got your panties in such a twist, sweetheart?"

She was flabbergasted. He had the audacity...to act stupid? And to call her sweetheart of all things...not going to fly with her. "Don't act like you don't know," Marron said as she paced the office. Her brows knitted together whilst doing so.

"I don't, that's the problem," Trunks said as he tracked her energy bouncing off the walls at every enraged step. Anyone from a ten mile radius could feel the aura radiating off of her. "So, do you want to be a mature adult about this and talk to me?"

Marron stopped dead in her tracks, a bewildered expression triggered by his statement. "The food, the stupid chocolates, and inundating my job with roses?" Marron asked almost totally enraged at this point, as she grabbed him by the tie and pulled him down to her level. "Explain?"

"Have I told you you look adorable today?" Trunks replied, a smirk on his lips, causing Marron to flush with heat before tightening her grip on his tie. She was not playing around today. "I'm actually not sure," he continued, "and, with how close you are to my face, I must ask...are you trying to kiss me or something?"

The blonde quickly dropped the tie and took a step back realizing how close she was to him. That was not her intention. "It's excessive and honestly inconsiderate of me," Marron sighed as she folded her arms over her chest. "I mean seriously , the lobby is full of roses, and I do not like roses."

Trunks' eyes were wide at that. How much did that cost him? "I had my secretary send you something, I don't know what you like, so I told her to do something generic...but that's just..."

"Excessive, yes," Marron flourished her hand. "By the way, your receptionist downstairs, totally unprofessional, dresses extremely shabby - at least your staff up here is more sensible," she said as she sat down on the couch.

"O goddess of fashion, grant me your wisdom, how do clothes dictate ability?" Trunks snickered as he watched Marron. Has she ever been so put together, not even at their date with Goten and Valese, was she this prim and proper?

Marron rolled her eyes at his question. "It's about appearance, she's the first person you see when you come into the building, and that sour attitude isn't doing her any favors."

"I'll consider that," Trunks responded, "so why are you really here?"

"Because you have thrown my important day off the damn rails with an important designer," Marron gritted her teeth, "so I'm here to let you know to cut the shit."

She was straight to the point, at least. She wasn't sugar coating or trying to speak in roundabout ways. Trunks appreciated that. "Ok, so then tell me what you like?" Trunks said as he approached her, kneeling to her eye level.

Marron eyed him, "for you to leave me alone would be best!"

"Ouch," he replied, his eyes now not tearing from her, "I'm afraid I cannot do that, so it's best you comply sweetheart."

The blonde groaned, as she crossed her leg, her eyes flicking between the glass windows surrounding the office and his stone-like eyes. "Okay, I like practical things, abundant actions like this rose stunt are not my cup of tea," Marron replied as she folded her arms, "something I can use is best."

"Do you just want money then?" Trunks replied, his head tilted curiously, causing Marron to furiously shake her head.

"Absolutely not," Marron protested, "that will look like you are trying to buy me," the blonde replied.

Trunks smirked, as he gingerly picked up her hand, placing his lips against the back of her knuckles. "Isn't that what I'm doing?" he asked, feeling as Marron snatched her hand away from him.

Yuck. Did he have to try and be romantic? He doesn't need to play this up in private. "One, never do that again," Marron said, recoiling from the touch, "two, I don't want to look like a gold digger."

Trunks enjoyed Marron's distaste a bit too much. This small hot-tempered beauty was staring him down in his office...alone...had it been another woman, maybe he would have pounced at the chance, but it's just Marron. A woman, who albeit strikingly beautiful in her own right, was not someone he was interested in pursuing.

That is what he told himself over and over. But in truth, he enjoyed this strange game of cat and mouse with her, even if it's all fake. Even if neither held any inkling of romantic feelings, Trunks entertained the ridiculousness about the situation he'd put himself in.

"Okay, Marron," Trunks replied, as he inched close to her face, watching her expression change to a panicked expression from his proximity. "I'm set on winning at everything I do, and since you are making this so difficult," Trunks said as his fingers tipped her face up, her pouty lip quivering. "I'm going to learn everything about you..." he stated, "I'm going to be the best fake boyfriend you've ever had, got it?"

What is up with him? "Get real," Marron scoffed, trying to call his bluff, "you wouldn't scratch the surface on what that begins to mean." He's been so forward with her, had she not known any better, she would have thought he was trying to make him fall for her. Because...what kind of declaration was that?

Trunks stood up, scratching the side of his face. So this is the game she wanted to play with him? He could play along then. "Okay, so how about it? Have dinner with me," he said, "tonight, we'll go somewhere nice-"

Marron stood up and held her hand up. "You can't just tell me to disregard all my plans and tell me to go to dinner with you. This is what I mean with you being inconsiderate," Marron snapped back as the frustration reached a tipping point. "I have an extremely busy day ahead of me, and your complete and total disregard is-"

"Okay princess ," Trunks growled as he approached her, "then tell me what you want ?" He was done trying to rip his hairs out to figure this woman out. Marron was infuriatingly stubborn, this was not new information. But he was not going to sit around and play a guessing game with her. "You want me to figure out what you want, I am not a psychic."

Marron bit her lip. She pushed him too far… He'd worked himself up to the point where she wasn't sure what was going through his head. Quite frankly, she felt off from his lofty declaration just mere moments ago. "Can you let me figure that out?" she asked gently. "I'll get back to you, I promise."

"Okay," Trunks sighed as he rubbed his face, "that works."

Marron approached him, her fingers barely touching his forearm as her eyes met his again. She hesitated before asking, "Could you...ask your secretaries to stop?"

Trunks wasn't sure why, but the feeling of her fingertips grazing against his bare skin made chills go down his spine. He wondered if it was from disgust or curiosity. "Yeah...sure," he seemed more confused from his thoughts running through his head. "Let me walk you out," Trunks said as he opened the door to his office, allowing Marron to step out, following her to the elevator.

His throat felt like it was going dry. He didn't want her to leave. There was a second where he actually wanted her to stick around. "I'll be looking forward to a call," Trunks said as he stuffed a hand into his pocket, his eyes not tearing off of her. "Right?"

"Sooner rather than later, you're so eager..." Marron chuckled as the two wouldn't tear their eyes from one another. She wondered what on Earth was going through in that mind of his, how was she able to disarm him that quickly? He knew this eye-contact was just a ruse...right?

As the elevator arrived, Marron held her breath as Trunks' eyes looked up. "That's your ride," he announced as she boarded. As the door shut to the elevator, sending Marron on her descent, Trunks felt strange, like he was under some hypnosis and was finally free.

Marron Chestnut was so strange.

"You're whipped, Mr. Briefs," Penci chimed gleefully. "You couldn't keep your eyes off her." Trunks' face contorted momentarily, he wanted to be disgusted, but she was right. He couldn't. Worst of all, Trunks couldn't tell why.

"Do not send any more gifts, that's an order...and I don't want to even know what ungodly amount of cash you spent on those ridiculous gifts." Trunks retreated back into his office, leaving the two women blinking utterly lost.

Marron sat in the dressing room, watching as Valese took a bite out of her salad. Excitable at everything, as per Valese's nature. Marron finally decided to take the woman up on the offer after multiple invites to her shoots. She watched the woman as she avoided messing up her lipstick in a robe with her hair in rollers, somehow she was still impeccable as ever.

"Oh Trousa, I've worked with him," Valese groaned, blowing a raspberry. "Total d-bag, difficult too."

Marron sighed as she melted into her seat, taking a sip from the green smoothie; a mixture of some vegetables and fruits, Marron guessed it was a model diet fad. "He called my outfit cheeky, like...I'm sorry sir– I'm not all mauve and tan, and…I'm not a snooze fest," she grumbled as she whipped out her tablet, " look at these illustrations, are these what you would consider bad?"

"Far from it!" Valese said as she covered her mouth as she chewed, "these are so expressive, you know how to bring the clothes to life!" Valese offered a kind smile in response, warming Marron's heart.

Marron appreciated having another fashion lover and someone who worked in the industry to validate her emotions, that was the least she could ask for. However, despite it...it still felt strange to be in the same room as Valese, eating lunch with her and chatting as if Marron wasn't in love with her boyfriend.

"How's Goten?" Marron forced herself to ask, "have you two made the move?" she asked, watching the brunette's eyes widen. That immediately read as a No to Marron, a small part of her wishes she'd start saying something negative about the relationship…hoping Kami would throw her some kind of bone.

"Oh, well," Valese tapped her fingers on the table, her hand on her chin. "Not yet, I'm looking forward to it. It's a difficult step to take...what with all the planning that goes into it," she giggled. "How did we end up with such great men?"

That question threw Marron off. She was referring to Trunks and Goten, of course, but the thought of Trunks and great man did not necessarily go well together in Marron's mind. "Haha, no...Trunks is trouble," Marron giggled as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

Valese tilted her head as she drank some water from a straw, curiosity embedded into her eyes. "How so?"

Marron sighed, looking off to the side. "He's just...very excessive , it's a bit uncomfortable for me," the blonde replied, chewing on her nail. How would she phrase it without sounding ungrateful? "He basically flooded my workplace with roses while I was in my meeting with Trousa," Marron groaned, "which is like... super inconsiderate of me, given I have to take that home."

"Oh my gosh," Valese swooned, as expected. A simple girl like her would love such a grand romantic gesture. "How could you get mad at him for it? That is so romantic!"

There wasn't a lot to Valese. She was a simple girl, with an easy to please taste. Easy going...she was so much of what Marron wanted to be. She seemed to take things at face value, rather than look too deeply into how things are cloaked. Why couldn't she be like that?

"I don't know what to do with all those roses in the first place," Marron grumbled as she stared down to the floor, "it's so many, it's a bit ridiculous."

Valese tapped her foot against the floor, her head tilted as she was lost in thought, "maybe we could use them for the shoot?" Valese asked, "What do you think? I'm sure if I brought it up to the photographer, he wouldn't be against it!"

Why was Valese so eager to help her?

Marron looked at the collection, behind Valese in racks. The clothes were monochrome, so it wasn't far-fetched to use roses as a backdrop. "Good idea!" Marron chimed in as she looked back to Valese a smile forming on her lips.

She found it harder and harder to find a reason to hate her, especially when it seemed they got along so well. It's a shame she was with Goten...and not someone like, say, Trunks. That would be perfect, actually, Marron could actually have her cake and eat it too. Part of her is scared to lose the bond she formed of her.

But Marron was jealous, she had what she wanted. She had Goten. She knew what it felt like to wake up beside him, she knew what he felt like under a loving gaze...a loving touch... a loving kiss. Marron hoped and prayed Trunks' plan worked, but as the days passed and how preoccupied she'd become in the new fake relationship, she'd found herself having trouble concentrating on Goten.

Stupid Trunks. He infiltrated her thoughts of her pure unadulterated love, infecting her with his image at any given turn. It made her sick, why couldn't he leave her mind!

"Awesome, I'll ask, get your people in the ready," Valese winked as she walked off to the dressing room.

Trunks got back home, after traversing through the impossible after work traffic of West City, which was a feat of its own merit. He found himself barely making it past the door before the chaos began, bots malfunctioning, an angry Saiyan stampeding across the premises and an even angrier Bulma following suit.

He didn't want to even begin to think about what could have transpired between his parents, his limited brain power was far too precious of a resource. Trunks trudged him way up the stairs and found his sister's bedroom door open, and as he approached he knocked gently on the door getting the bluenette's attention from her cell phone.

"What's up with dad?" Trunks asked as his head laid pressed against the door frame. She'd clearly gotten comfortable sporting a red hoodie and sweatpants, her hair thrown into a bun and a paper face mask spread evenly across her face.

Bulla shifted herself in the bed, as she put the phone on the bed. "Mom invited Marron's family to come over to dinner tomorrow and Dad pulled a Dad," Bulla rolled her eyes, "y'know he'll be fine."

Trunks nodded, understanding the situation with further clarity. "Makes sense, they'll probably be over it in t-minus…" Trunks began looking down to his watch, "two hours…give or take…?"

"I missed having you around, Trunks," Bulla said with a smile on her lips as she patted the end of her bed, "at least you were able to make sense of the craziness."

Trunks took a seat on Bulla's bed flopping his back on the bed with an excessive groan, making him sound like an elderly man who finally was able to take a seat. "Really?" Trunks asked looking at his younger sister returning the smile, "that's sweet of you."

Bulla landed a soft punch on his chest, "don't look too deep into it, yeah?" She meant it, she did miss Trunks during his absence, but that didn't mean she was begging for him to come back either.

"Got it," Trunks replied, giving the girl a thumbs up. Bulla carried herself with the same emotional stubborness as Vegeta, unwilling to admit their emotions and getting flustered at the sight of weakness. Something Trunks himself struggled with for quite some time.

"I'm being for real!" Bulla groaned as she crossed her legs looking down at her brother. "What's up with you," she pointed out, poking her finger into his cheek, "you don't come into my room for no reason…"

Trunks rolled his eyes, she was clever as always. "I…need your help with something," Trunks could barely get the sentence out, it was a challenge to ask her of all people for assistance, but what can you do in this situation?

Bulla's eyes lit up with excitement as she sat up straight. "Trunks Briefs has come to me, his younger sister, for help?!" Bulla squealed as she erupted into a fit of laughter, "Whoo man…what kind of sitch did you get in that you felt you needed my help?"

"The female kind," Trunks grumbled as he stared at the ceiling, visibly annoyed at Bulla's arrogance at his request. She looked so smug, he almost regretted asking for her help at all.

Bulla twirled her loose blue strands around her finger, "alright, what's up?"

"Marron hated my gifts that I got her," Trunks groaned as he covered his face, "so I told her I'd figure out everything about her…but I realized that was going to take forever…"

"So you want me to tell you what Marron likes?" Bulla asked, tilting her head, "Okay…weird, because as her boyfriend don't you think you should know…every woman is different." Did Trunks think there was a one type solution to a woman's heart…no wonder he had so much trouble with Marron in the past.

The statement she made was certainly true, if they were dating in truth this would definitely be a real problem. But given their circumstance, that simply just wasn't the case. "Don't you think I know that," Trunks replied, somewhat defeated.

Bulla took pity on him, really she did. And, a part of her wanted to help in some fashion, given she wanted Marron to stay with Trunks, how else would she become her sister in law? Bulla huffed as she took one sad look at her older brother, and patted him in the arm. "I will help you… but I need you to help me in return," Bulla replied, a smirk forming on her lips.

Did he think he was getting out of this without a catch? Trunks held an inquisitive expression as he analyzed the teen. What could she possibly want…money? Clothes? The seat as president of Capsule Corp? "You will help me get a picture of you and Marron kissing, deal?"

Trunks' face paled, his stomach almost churned. Kiss Marron? Although they have had a close encounter, that was not nearly the same thing. Let alone doing such an intimate act around others, the mere thought was uncomfortable for the Saiyan hybrid to even fathom.

Sure Marron had some of the most kissable lips he's ever laid eyes on but that doesn't mean he's going to do that. "On the lips?"

Bulla nodded a devious smirk continuing to hang on her lips. "On the lips."

Trunks gulped, talking to Bulla was like making a deal with the devil. She knew how to manipulate any situation to her advantage, it wouldn't surprise him if she managed to somehow take the reign of Capsule Corp from directly under him. "You drive a hard bargain."

"You gonna do it or not?" Bulla said as she squinted her eyes at him.

Trunks sighed, rubbing his face, exasperated. "Fine, my only stipulation, you have to help me with the gift crap first."

"Deal."

AN: okaaayyy things are developing, this slow burn is finally having the damn stove top turn on. I'd LOVE to know y'alls thoughts, any and all feedback is welcome !