When Spring Came

Chapter 18: Bang it Up (Again)

Song of the Chapter: From the Start by Laufey

AN: This chapter is gonna start off pretty fluffy as we go down the winding road of angsty angst and just messy drunk antics

Trunks stood outside Marron's balcony, it had been the third, maybe fourth time that week he'd found himself at her home for dinner. If she wasn't the wiser she would have thought Trunks was there simply to raid her pantry and leave shortly after. Not that she minded the company, though she would admit she missed Bulla and their watch parties of Mr. Eligible.

As she sat outside she held a can of he-tap in her hand, an oversized white-button down and black short bodysuit being all she bothered to wear. A far cry from the usual apparel she would wear out and about. She watched the Saiyan pace back and forth as he took a swig out of his drink.

Trunks, on the other hand, donned his entire capsule corp suit get-up, though he did look quite handsome – Marron couldn't help but feel she was underdressed in her own home.

"Papaya Island?" Trunks' voice was sounding exasperated as he placed his phone on speaker, and tossed it on the glass table in front of Marron's lounge chair. His blue eyes flicked up to stare at the blonde who watched the phone unamused.

"Yeah, Papaya island man!" Goten's voice cut through the line, cheerful as usual and though Marron's eyes grew slightly wider at his excitement she quickly took another sip of her drink.

Trunks sighed, throwing his head a bit forward as he pressed the bridge of his nose. "Goten don't you think that's a bit…"

"Nah man, it'll be great–" Goten interrupted, "think about it we go to whatever my parents got planned then we dip and hop on a jet with the girls."

Marron's eyes grew wide as she stared up to Trunks in a panic, was he implying a weekend alone with Trunks, Goten and Valese? Marron couldn't handle the mere thought of being alone with Trunks for that long—let alone Valese and Goten too!

"The girls?" Trunks' voice grew shakier. "Are you talking about–"

"Valese and Marron, yes," Goten responded back. Trunks quickly checked on Marron's paling expression. Panic settled in both of their eyes as Marron shook her head vigorously signaling a no.

"Shit, well…" Trunks began his eyes looking about in an attempt to figure out a way to weasel out of this birthday trip. "I don't know if that'll work with Mar's schedule…"

"She can make it happen for an old friend, wouldn't she?"

Marron felt her heart skip a beat, as she glanced back over to Trunks. Trunks knitted his brows as he glanced back over to the city skyline. "I mean, we can make it work, I think I'll ask her first–"

"Awesome, let me know what she says!"

Soon after the phone clicked off and Trunks glanced down at the blonde woman, who leaned her head against the chair, utter desperation strewn across her face. "Do we really have to do this, Trunks?"

"It's up to you," Trunks sighed as he took the drink out of her hand taking a sip. "Will you be able to handle it–a weekend with them?"

Marron actually wasn't sure, the last time she saw Goten she couldn't help but feel so off…the feeling of dread was creeping up her spine and overtaking her senses. She couldn't help it though, forcing her hand to imagine Goten was becoming increasingly difficult.

Perhaps it was the lack of exposure to him that was causing such an uproar in her mind. She certainly shouldn't feel the way she was feeling…it was a betrayal to everything she'd ever known. But glancing up at Trunks, she felt a new sense of comfort.

Through these past few months, he'd been there along her side to comfort her and cheer her on…even if he didn't really want to at first. She'd felt that rather than a thorn at her side, he'd become a trusted companion (who also happened to casually kiss her.) The blonde watched as he handed the can of he-tap back to her.

"Why don't we actually eat out somewhere today?" Trunks asked, watching as Marron's eyes widened at the request. "I'll…pay, obviously," Trunks added, knowing it'd be unreasonable to expect her to pay for his appetite.

"I mean, sure–" Marron shrugged as she placed the can down on the glass. "I know a place," Marron said as she pulled her capsulegram scrolling down her feed.

Trunks glanced over to her shoulder as she typed in something and a colorful image showed up that triggered a loud growl to break the silence. "What is that?" Trunks was practically hovering over the phone triggering a small chuckle from the blonde.

"You really never had these?" Marron asked, watching as Trunks shook his head in response. "It's a gamja hot dog, it's like a corn dog on steroids," she could feel herself salivating over this damn picture. And without even a second thought, Trunks smirked, swooping the blonde up into his arms.

"H-Hey!" She stammered as her eyes flew open. Before she could settle onto his face, the moonlight and city lights sat perfectly across his features. Curse his beautiful face, Marron thought to herself. "Put me down–" Marron whispered as she looked away from him, a sudden blush creeping on her cheeks.

This isn't the first close encounter she'd had with him this week. Since that night, Trunks' actions felt bolder. "Let me think about it—" Trunks began, an impish grin laced on his lips."Nah—" his words were cut short by a force of wind pushing them both up into the air.

Marron let out an ear piercing shriek, which was quickly followed by a sense of silence as she felt Trunks' arms grip her waist, holding her tightly to him. "Relax I'm not dropping you–"

"Last time you said that you did so…" Marron's eyes uneasily tracked the cars blitzing by, and back to Trunks' face. It was not the most pleasant memory, but it wasn't like he meant to drop Marron when running away from a bunch of crazy cell jrs. Besides, he was eight!

"Never letting me live that down?" Trunks grumbled as his eyes flickered over to the blonde, her hair floating in the wind in one of the most ethereal looks he'd ever seen.

"Nope!" Marron exclaimed, sticking a tongue out as her arms wrapped a bit tighter around his neck. The feeling of her fingertips grazing against the small sliver of skin exposed on his neck.

The soft touch sent a sudden chill down his back, as he hoisted her body tighter to him. "Y'know…you didn't mind flying all that much when you were with Saiyaman X1…" Trunks' voice had a hint of a childish glee. It was long since he threw that name around, but it certainly brought back memories to a preteen Marron, gushing over her new favorite superhero.

Marron's face dropped as she looked back up to Trunks, that was a memory she'd long since buried. "Because I didn't know it was you, at the time," Marron grumbled, "you know–I love superheroes so totally not fair to bring Saiyaman X1!"

"Still, I remember how head over heels you were with him," Trunks snickered, "putting that crush with Goten to shame."

Marron's eyes flicked up to glance at Trunks, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at the accusation. She did have a crush on Saiyaman X1 but she also had crushes on all superheroes. "Oh shut up, let's get down to the damn hot dogs," Marron grumbled.

Trunks' emitted a throaty chuckle, she was certainly very grumpy and she wasn't going to hide it from him. It was a bit endearing to the hybrid. "Mhm…denial is the longest river in Egypt y'know," Trunks' voice dripped in obnoxious glee.

"Actually you know what, after hearing that—" Marron began, her facial features dropping into a catatonic state, "drop me, please."

"Careful what you wish for," Trunks looked down to Marron, smirking deviously as he let his hands loosen his grip. There was a slight fearful thrill of feeling as Marron slipped out of his arms and a panic struck her plain expression.

Her blue eyes widening in pure terror, "Trunks what the fuck–"

Her verbal onslaught was quickly cut short by Trunks swiftly catching her yet again, feeling as her body shook like a leaf in fear. "Come on Marron, you think I'm dumb enough to let the same thing happen twice?"

Marron could feel as her heart leapt in her throat, doing summersaults from the pits on her stomach. She could kill him right now. But, rather than do that, she watched his expression grow more amused.

"Trunks that was not okay," Marron screamed, her fist pounding against his chest.

"You asked me to drop you!" Trunks replied nonchalantly, gripping the woman tighter than before, to the point he could feel just how hard her heart was rattling in her chest.

"It was a joke!" Marron retorted, unamused from his interpretation.

Trunks smiled softly now as the two slowly descended down towards the pavement. "You know I'd never let anything happen to you," Trunks began leaning his face just a bit closer to the blonde, enough that she could smell the cologne that stuck to his tan skin.

Marron's heart was beating at a deafening decibel, watching as the moonlight kissed his face and pale lavender hair that floated majestically in the wind.

Stupid charming face, stupid idiot looks good in a stupid suit, Marron's thoughts were rather jumbled and confused but before long she was welcomed by a long line of delicious corndogs to gorge her face with.

Even here, under the city lights in a parking lot of West City, Marron found herself at ease with Trunks by her side. Even after he almost dropped her, she wasn't scared nor nervous. Something just a few months ago would have seemed ludicrous. She wondered if this was how it felt to actually date someone with no expectations of sex.

In truth, Marron's past relationships were a mess after mess of men who only really wanted her for one thing to begin with. Perhaps that's why she felt so swept up in her feelings for Goten? He would never be the kind of man to hurt her…right? Marron looked up at Trunks, watching as he feasted on the food, visibly seeming he was enjoying the sugary goodness a bit too much.

Would Trunks…hurt her…had she actually been interested in him? Was she interested in him? She certainly thought about him a lot more than she'd like, and to add to that, Trunks seemed to be around her a lot more as of late. Like he willingly wanted to spend time with her.

Even if he was callous with her as a friend and hell, even her feelings for Goten… he seemed to never direct anything at her. She was so lost in her own thoughts she hadn't noticed he'd finished his food. "Hey," Trunks began, poking her in the forehead capturing her bluebell eyes. "What's got your gears turning in there, you've hardly touched your food."

"Are we being…too friendly?" Marron mumbled as she glanced at the corndog.

"No," Trunks snorted as he took a sip out of his drink. "We're dating or whatever."

"You keep saying that," Marron looked up, her brows knitted from that very statement. Couldn't he see? That was the problem!

"What?" Trunks asked, his head tilting as he put his corn dog down.

"That we're dating…you don't even try to separate the fact that it's fake…" Marron pointed out, a small pout framing her full lips.

"Ah–" A sense of panic took hold, she wasn't wrong. Either through delusions of grandeur or the truth of his emotions something was different for the hybrid Saiyan. "Gotta fake it till you make it right?"

"Dude, it's just us," Marron replied, as she took a bite out of her food. "You know you don't have to BS it with me,"

"I–" Trunks started, as he blinked at her. "Do you want me to make it more obvious, Mar?"

"I mean now that we um–kissed and all…" Marron said, pushing her side of fries with a chopstick. Her eyes failed to meet him from the embarrassment of the situation. "It would help me to know where your head's at."

"Do you think I'm gonna fall in love with you from a kiss!" Trunks scoffed incredulously. His lips still held the same lazy smile with a blush that crept across his cheeks.

That couldn't be it.

"Um, no, not necessarily…" Marron replied sheepishly, "but I think you're giving mixed signals!"

He's giving mixed signals?! What about her, she is the one who can't seem to know where she is standing half the time! Trunks chose to not wedge a knife further between them, it wasn't like they were kissing all the time. Since that morning he hadn't dared to do such a thing again, though in the back of his mind he seemed to desperately want to.

And who wouldn't? She was gorgeous.

Marron knew she was probably being the confusing one–afraid of admitting to herself the truth of her own thoughts. What good does suffocating her feelings ever get her? "I'm sorry I'm just worried with this trip now…"

Right…it all seems to go back to Goten. The center of Marron's damned universe, it seemed much to Trunks' annoyance. "You will be fine, Goten's relationship is not doing great…you will get your guy, and we can put this whole thing behind us."

"Trunks I'm just nervous is all…"

"We'll figure it out," Trunks sighed reluctantly, "we have to."

Goten's birthday was not a laughing matter, Chi-Chi may not be as rich as Bulma, but she certainly had the skills of a hostess, and she intended her youngest child would be surrounded by friends and family for the party.

But, of course, being upstaged is never something that was on her radar, by any means.

"Holy shit…" Pan whispered to Bulla as everyone turned their head to the arrival of Trunks and Marron.

Of course, Marron was prim and proper as it was expected of a woman in the fashion industry. Though she never did quite lose the playful nature of her clothes, Wearing a white button-up to cover up her arms from the biting chill of the fall beneath a knit baby pink argyle sweater vest and matching form-fitting skirt. Her legs were covered by the white thigh-high socks and pink knee high boots.

Trunks, on the other hand, was hardly dressed for the occasion opting for the most lax look he could muster. Why take shine away from Marron– at least that's what he told himself to make up for the lack of fashion sense that plagued him.

To the surprise of everyone, Trunks walked into the room with an arm slung over Marron's shoulder and– it seemed for once– they were getting along. No kiss in sight but Pan noticed the look in Trunks' eyes as he looked at the shorter blonde who shined too brilliantly to ignore.

"Marron!" Bulla's voice rang through the party as she dragged Pan by the hand over to the couple.

"I'm here too guys…" Trunks grumbled, noticing as the two girls surrounded the blonde in excitement.

"Yeah, okay Trunks, no one asked—" Bulla began rolling her eyes as she looked down at her phone before Trunks flicked her in the forehead. Bulla's mouth hung open agape as she wiped the dirt from her shoes on his tan sneakers.

"Hey!" Trunks snapped, "these were expensive!"

"Bulla, Trunks, be nice to each other," Marron snapped, standing between the two hybrids who were almost immediately brought back down from their hyperactive state.

"I'm only going to be nice if you are the one telling me that," Bulla said as she cast a glance over to the blonde, her arms folded over her chest.

Pan's eyes shifted between the blonde and lavender haired man. "So you guys are actually dating?" She interrogated as she stood on the tips of her toes observing Marron's shifty gaze at her question. "I find that very hard to believe," she said with a smirk.

Trunks landed a peck on Marron's temple causing the blonde's face to erupt in a furious flush. She knew he warned her of this exact thing, but she wasn't expecting it so soon. "Believe it," Trunks smirked.

"Okay, so kiss…right now…" Pan said pointing her finger at the two.

Bulla glared at Pan. "Isn't that like kind of uncomfortable—"

"Why would it be if they are dating?" Pan swiveled around to meet the bluenette dead in the eye.

"Because…it's not like you can just ask someone to just kiss and be totally fine with it!" Bulla exclaimed, the two teenage girls so engrossed in their own bickering they failed to notice as the couple slipped away from their line of sight.

As the two managed to escape, the two girls, another group came…this time to whisk Marron away from him.

"My my…" Videl circled around the blonde, two glasses of rose in her hand, "if it isn't West City's hottest new couple…mind if we steal Mar for a sec?" Her eyes shifted up towards Trunks' who slowly let Marron go.

"Oh…um, sure?" Trunks replied softly, his eyes following Marron as she got pulled by an excitable Videl.

"Hook line and sinker, am I right Mar?" Videl nudged Marron as she brought her to the circle of wives who all glanced at her with wide smiles.

"Oh stop it, you'll embarrass my future daughter in law," Bulma giggled, playfully tapping Marron's arm as she leaned a bit closer to her ear, "we are on track aren't we?"

"Well um—" Marron interjected but quickly interrupted by her mother.

"Shouldn't we let them decide that?" Lazuli replied, with a reassuring glance Marron's way. Leave it to her mother to save the day from awkward interrogations by Chi-Chi and Bulma.

"Of course, of course— I just think it's such a shame my Goten is still having troubles…you're so lucky, Bulma," Chi-Chi sighed as she sipped her drink, her eyes watching Marron who nervously played with the neck of her drink. "You would have made the perfect girl for my Goten," Chi-Chi sighed, her hand on the blonde's shoulder.

And somehow, the statement stunned Marron into silence. Bulma and Lazuli watched her as she emotionally retreated from the conversation. Her mother, knew better than to press the topic of the man she'd been pining after for years. But of course, Chi-Chi knew no better…

"You snooze you loose," Bulma chuckled, trying to cut the awkward silence that filled the air.

"I just think…that if he had just opened his eyes sooner…he wouldn't have gotten with a city slicker hussy," Chi-Chi continued as she sipped her drink. The statement did rub Marron the wrong way, but she held her tongue knowing that there was nothing she could do nor say to get Chi-Chi to think anything otherwise.

Marron's expression soon soured, as she soon became lost in the conversation between the other four women, her eyes falling towards the mahogany floor of the Son House.

…

Trunks had found himself wedged into a conversation with Yamcha of all people, his eyes not necessarily paying attention to the scarred bandit, but rather the pink gem that stood in the midsts of the housewife brigade.

"So yeah, that's how I made some money on forex…so y'know…I could like teach you if you're interested, Trunks–" Yamcha continued to prattle on.

Though to be honest, Trunks really wasn't interested in what scheme the man wanted to talk to him about. He was more interested in the crestfallen expression Marron suddenly had. He took a deep breath, his hand on Yamcha's arm as he looked him in the eye. "Hey man, we can talk about this later…yeah?"

"O-Oh really?!" Yamcha's voice was laced in opportunistic glee. "Cool man, cool…"

Trunks made his way over to the blonde, trying to tune into the conversation that the other women were having. He didn't know what he should have expected when he realized that the subject was about Goten of all people.

Trunks watched as Marron took a heavy swig out of her drink and before she do another one to finish it, he was there to take the glass out of her hands from behind. Marron quickly turned on her heel to find Trunks of all people standing directly behind her.

Before she had time to react, he did the most embarrassing thing possible and quickly kissed her, silencing the other women as their attention quickly diverted to the couple. "Y'know you can't handle your liquor, Mar," Trunks chided. He kept his outward expression calm and collected but internally he was about to combust from the embarrassment that overcame him.

"It's that honeymoon phase," Videl sang out as Bulma watched, surprised.

She'd always suspected there was some scheme behind their relationship–she wasn't called the genius of the century for no reason…but, his acts seemed candid, and the gentle nature he treated her with was nothing short of heartwarming.

It'd been years…since she saw him that way.

"Goten!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, pulling the attention back to the party boy. "Come say hi to Trunks and Marron!"

As the other hybrid turned, Marron could feel her heart rattle in her chest as he approached and Trunks could feel the death grip that suddenly took hold on his hand as Goten approached the two. "Man, when did you get here guys?!" Goten exclaimed.

Marron's face flushed at Goten's gentle smile, his warm lips brushing against her cheeks triggered her heart to beat at lightning speed. His fingers playing with the ends of her blonde tresses "You look pretty, Marron."

Marron's eyes were wide as she glanced up into his onyx eyes. Her senses of doubt melted away momentarily. Yes, this feeling of nerves was precisely what she recalled. A feeling she almost dared to forget, but Goten came right around to remind her of exactly what she'd always known.

She was in love with Goten. His soft eyes and gentle smile, that was all Marron needed to bring her ease.

So why didn't she feel at ease?

Why did she grip onto Trunks' hands tighter as Goten approached her, searching for support from the one person she shouldn't.

"Hey, 'ten…I think Val's flagging you down…why don't you go check on her," Trunks replied wryly. Watching as Goten's eyes shifted to his best friend who was currently drilling daggers into him. He couldn't help it as much as he wanted to play the role Marron asked of him–he found himself getting lost in the script.

Marron's glossy lips opened slightly as she turned her head over to Trunks who's hand felt like it was just mere seconds from crushing Marron's. Her eyes looked down to his hand and back up to him, her fingers gently pushing the fuming Saiyan's face to look over to her.

"...Hey babe?" Marron could feel her stomach churn at the forced use of the word.

Trunks' eyes widened, almost forgetting himself for a moment in a jealous haze. "Babe?" he whispered, leaning a bit closer to her.

Marron's eyes flicked away from him mumbling a small thank you, as she pulled him to a less visible spot. Marron almost felt like she was going to throw up from the dizzying near proximity to the other man.

"Marron what the hell was that," Trunks whispered to the blonde.

"I-I don't–" Marron was stammering, her hands gripping onto Trunks' arm. She needed to keep him here, right beside her. If he wasn't she thought she'd lose herself in doubt. "I'm not sure…"

Trunks sighed, shaking his head as he tipped her face up to him. "Where is the Marron I know when Goten's around?" Her eyes pierced into his, pulling at his heartstrings yet again. How badly he wished to disregard everything and kiss her yet again. But the sheer panic and confusion on her face told Trunks something else.

"She literally disappeared," Trunks pressed, his grip tightening, finding Marron's eyes welling up, as he pulled her closer. It is crazy just how different she became when it came to Goten, and when he was the subject of the conversation.

Marron's self doubt, and dimmed light was like watching the sky on a cloudy day. How brilliantly dull the sun could be, when you knew just how bright the light shines.

"I-I need to—be alone…" She said as she turned around, her mind and heart feeling as if it were about to rip in two.

After some time, he decided to search for the blonde, which in the Son home wasn't hard. Trunks sighed, the one thing he was hoping to avoid was finding Marron in this state for a second time.

"Oolong, why did you let the poor girl drink so much?" Trunks snipped as the pig shrugged.

"She asked, and I provided!" Oolong snickered as he hobbled away into the next room.

Marron's eyes glazed over as she stared at the drink that was condensing from the heat of her breath. Her glassy eyes caught sight of something. Though she knew she was staring at someone–His visage didn't seem too clear.

"Ten?" Marron's voice slurred slightly as she lifted her cheek from the table.

Trunks looked down at the pitiful blonde, clicking his tongue as he attempted to lift her face to meet him at eye level. This scene seemed familiar.

"Go-Ten. Go-For-Ten," Marron giggled as she drew circles on the table. "Your name's funny 'Ten."

Marron drank her worries away yet again... but why?

"H-Hey, I need to tell you something," she giggled into a shush, her eyes clearly unfocused but seemingly staring directly into Trunks' orbs. "You ready for this?"

Trunks' eyes shifted as he held the blonde at arms distance. "Marron, I'm not…"

"Goten shh...be quiet…" Marron sang out her fingers pressed against his lips, "it's a secret"

"A secret?" Trunks replied, somewhat amused at her ridiculous nature, as she stood on her tiptoes, cupping her hand against his ear.

"Mhm…me and Trunks…we aren't dating…" she whispered, and the soft brush of her breath against his skin was enough to send electricity down his spine.

As she pulled away, she grinned brilliantly. "We were doin' it cause I wanted you to get Jelly~!"

"Yeah I know…" Trunks replied, his finger pressed against her forehead watching as she grew slowly surprised from the touch. Talk about slow reaction time…

Marron batted her eyes at him, "Well are you jelly?"

He'd indulge her, for now. Trunks sighed, leaning a bit closer to her, his hand on his cheek as he held back a pout on his lips, "...yeah."

Jealous of what? The fact that she was so deeply in love with his best friend? The fact that even now, she still pined after him and craved his attention? Somehow, it didn't feel right.

Marron sighed in relief, "well good because I was thinkin' I did this for nothin'..." she giggled. Trunks lifted his gaze watching as she ran circles on his hand. If it weren't for the loud music and chatter, he swore Marron could probably hear his heartbeat. "Can I let you in on another secret?"

"And what might that be?" Trunks chuckled watching as Marron's flushed cheeks turned into a deeper shade of red.

"I think…I'm like…I like Trunks…b-but don't tell him!" She exclaimed, as she covered her lips into a chuckle. "H-He's not so bad…too bad I think he hates me…"

"Oh yeah?" Trunks chuckled, "I don't think Trunks hates you all that much."

"Yeah—but like, um—" Marron paused as she tilted her head, her eyes squinting as she failed to recognize the visage of the very person she was talking to. "I think it's more than a friend like…y'know?"

Trunks' eyes widened at her declaration, her fit of giggles taking over as she leaned herself against him. His face flushed in a state he'd never experienced before. Just what was it with Marron and confessing her feelings when she was drunk? And to him again no less.

"It feels so good to talk about it, I've been freaking out trying to figure out how I could feel things for two guys…ugh…" Marron groaned as she planted her face on the counter directly, "Doesn't help that both of 'ya are… like smokin…y'know?"

Trunks would love to grind her further on this, but right now he was simply just trying to stop himself from reacting to anything the blonde had to say. Though it was interesting to know just how attractive she thought he was. "Yeah but like, Trunks is way hotter than me…right?" Would he be shooting himself on the foot asking this?

"Oh yeah like a million times more, sorry 'Ten," Marron exclaimed. "I mean you're like way nicer though–"

He was certainly getting a kick out of this, but before she did anything stupid—Trunks should definitely try to get her back to normal. "Marron…why don't we step outside for a sec and just you sobered up a bit, yeah?"

"I'm not drunk 'Ten…I'm perfectly sober," Marron hiccuped, her unfocused baby blue eyes staring down at the floor.

"If you weren't drunk, then you wouldn't have been calling me 'Ten," Trunks pinched his nose. "C'mon, let's go…"

"Wait, get Trunks…he needs to–"

"Marron, I'm right here!" Trunks said, his calloused and rough hands cradling Marron's face like a precious tear-stained jewel, as if he made the wrong move she'd shatter like glass. Her arms wrapped around his neck, as she was pulled close.

"Trunks," she mouthed softly, "where did you come from?"