Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Stargazing ❯ The Saiyan-Ouji Reborn ( Chapter 5 )

Stargazing
Chapter 5: The Saiyan-Ouji Reborn

Trunks drummed his fingers absently on the surface of the dining table, trying - and failing miserably - to hide his anger.

Pan was out with Charles tonight.

That was explanation enough. That and the fact that he had just about had a nosebleed at the sight of her walking down the stairs to meet Charles, gorgeous in a designer black evening gown that left little to the imagination. Just thinking about how the dress had clung to her sensually made his blood boil.

Charles was a lucky bastard who didn't deserve her.

But it wasn't his place to tell Pan who she could and could not date. In fact, it wasn't any of his business at all. Judging by her cool attitude towards him ever since she got back, they were barely acquaintances, let alone best friends. He was, therefore, in no place to confront her about her relationship with his vice-president. He didn't want to risk her wrath, after all.

So why in Dende was he sitting here at his kitchen table at one in the morning, waiting for her to come back?

'Because,' an annoying little voice in his head wheedled, 'she is coming back. She promised to come straight over and tell Bra all about it afterwards, remember?'

"Shut up," he snapped to himself, but he couldn't help but admit it was true. His internal pondering was interrupted, however, when a voice called out to him sardonically.

"Talking to yourself now? And I thought you could sink no lower."

Trunks whirled around, a scowl affixed on his face.

Vegita smirked.

"Don't look at me like that, boy, your insanity comes from your mother's side of the family. If anything, go blame her."

Trunks ignored the remark, miffed that his father had caught him in such a pathetic-looking situation.

"Why aren't you upstairs?" he asked quickly, changing the subject.

Vegita smirked evilly. "Because your idiotic mate-to-be is in my room with your mother, making plans for your 'eternal union' with her," he sneered. "Needless to say, my tolerance for that irritating voice is wearing dangerously thin," he finished mockingly.

Trunks' jaw twitched, insulted and angry.

"Oh, I'm sorry, father," he replied sarcastically, "excuse me while I go shut her up for you."

"You do that," Vegita returned, not missing a beat, "and while you're at it why don't you throw her out the window for me as well? This house could definitely use some cleaning."

Trunks shot out of his seat, ready for a fight. Vegita only cackled amusedly and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Come now, boy! Do you really think you can take me in your present state, with absolutely no training under your belt, and when you haven't even thought about fighting for three straight years?"

Trunks hesitated.

Vegita smiled maliciously.

"I dare you to make the first move."

Defeated, Trunks lowered his head in submission and exhaled tiredly, thus unconsciously acknowledging his father's superiority. Noticing this, Vegita scowled fiercely, looking down on his son with an expression of utmost disappointment on his face.

"How pitiful," he scoffed, obviously disgusted at his son's willing surrender. "Three years ago you would have thrown yourself at me wholeheartedly after I made that first remark." His brow furrowed even more deeply, if possible. Trunks kept his eyes fixed on the floor, not daring to look his father in the eye.

They were both silent for a long, awkward moment.

"You disappoint me," Vegita declared suddenly. Trunks only just kept himself from wincing. "You dare call yourself the Saiyan-ouji? Our race would never have tolerated having such a weak and useless prince," Vegita growled angrily.

Trunks' swallowed with difficulty, stunned. Was he really hearing what he thought he just heard?

Vegita's expression darkened, and he reigned in his temper before stating coolly, "You are not worthy of the title of prince. You are not even worthy to be called a Saiyan."

And with those harsh words he turned around and walked out of the room, heading for the GR. Trunks was left alone in the kitchen, hurt and ashamed.

His father had just hit home the issue that he had been trying to avoid for years. Where was his pride? The Saiyan urge to fight and be the strongest? How had he lost sight of the darker, more feral side of his heritage? When had he, the powerful and feared son of the great Saiyan-ouji, been transformed into nothing but an easily shot-down human weakling?

He had forgotten what blood flowed in his veins.

And it had all started in his teenage years, when he had first started officially dating Marron. They were in high school, and he was proud - arrogant, in fact - with the knowledge that he was the heir of Vegita the Saiyan-ouji, the prince of the most powerful race that had ever lived. He reveled in the fact that he was strong enough to destroy entire planets with his mere fingers, and he loved the excitement and thrill he felt when caught in the middle of battle. He was Trunks-ouji, a Super Saiyan, and a warrior prince.

But then that had all changed.

Why? Thinking hard, it hit him.

It had been because of her.

Marron had first caught his eye because she was different - she wasn't just another girl who was after his money or one who was easily conquered by his charm and good looks. She was the daughter of a Z-Fighter and an android, someone who understood his unique power and respected him not because of it, but for the inner strength that came with it. She didn't idolize him or cling to him unbearably - in fact, at first he had been the one to actually woo her in order to convince her to be his girlfriend - but rather she was casual and friendly in his presence, someone he could really rely on and eventually learned to love.

She had been absolutely perfect.

...Or so he had thought.

There had been one gigantic flaw in their relationship: she cared too much about being "normal". He had been convinced that he loved her, that they were perfect for each other, and that they would end up spending the rest of their lives together as they were, but that wasn't good enough for Marron. She was adamant about concealing their "freakish" pasts, their special abilities, and their superhuman strengths, and he was never allowed to court her in the way that he had wanted to - by flying through the clouds with her in her arms, but promising that he would protect her as his mate for the rest of eternity, by sparring with her until their bodies collapsed to the ground in a heap - but she hadn't understood his "strange" Saiyan urges. She hadn't even tried to...

He jumped up in realization -

She had taken his Saiyan blood and drained it out of him, leaving behind nothing but the human President of Capsule Corp she had always desired. She had been blinded by the importance she placed on living a normal life; so much so that she had even killed a bit of him just so she would forever remain living in a semblance of normalcy. She didn't train, she didn't fight, she didn't share stories with the rest of the Z-senshi... she just flat out didn't care.

That wasn't all. She didn't care about his heritage, either.

And so she had suffocated him.

If he couldn't even be himself around her, how the hell were they supposed to get married now? "Dende," he breathed in frustration.

And then his eyes shot open in realization.

The worse thing wasn't that she had molded him into what she had wanted him to be; it was that he had let her control him.

Trunks sighed, sat down at the dinner table, and held his head in his hands. --Thank you, Father-- he said to Vegita telepathically. --I needed that.--

The only reply was a telepathic snort informing him of his father's acceptance of the message. Trunks smiled. No matter what it looked like, Vegita cared about him more than he did about anyone else - except maybe for his mother and sister.

He certainly was perceptive.

And now it was time for him to get his messed-up relationship back on track.

In the GR, Vegita stopped in the middle of a pushup for a moment and shook his head in defeat. "Idiot boy," he muttered under his breath before resuming his harsh training.

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"What are you doing?"

Trunks jumped up from his chair, startled.

"Huh?" he said dumbly, looking around in confusion. His eyes were met by a very amused Pan walking in the front door, clearly just back from her date. She was still in formal dress and was looking at him with poorly concealed curiosity.

He exhaled at the sight of her and stopped himself from reacting, only to remember just exactly who she had been out with. His good mood was shot down like a rocket.

"Oh, it's you," he muttered coldly.

She frowned, but didn't comment. After a brief pause, she continued. "Well? Are you going to answer me or not?" she demanded in her usual haughty manner.

He breathed in wearily but conceded. His poor, aching head really couldn't handle any more arguing and thinking at the moment. It was already far too overloaded, almost to the point of bursting. He debated on how to answer.

Silence.

"TRUNKS!"

"Alright, alright," he placated, clearly at a loss of words. He began slowly. "I was just thinking about the wedding," he said slowly, unsure of why he was telling her this. He stared at his hands in embarrassment, and thus missed the deep scowl that now adorned her face.

Pan paused. "What about it?" She tried to keep her voice devoid of all emotion.

Trunks sighed and ran his hand through his hair like he always did when he was exasperated. "I don't know, I guess I'm just thinking some things over." He peeked at the young woman sitting next to him, waiting for her reaction.

She simply nodded in acceptance and bothered him no further. Making as if to rise and stretching lazily, Pan took her leave and turned towards the foot of the stairs.

And ran straight into Marron.

"Oh hello, Pan, how was your date?" she asked the taller woman cheerfully.

"It was fine," was the neutral answer. "I'm going to tell Bra about it now, just like I promised - you're welcome to join us if you want," she offered bluntly and a tad awkwardly.

Marron looked pleased and grateful for what she correctly recognized as a real effort on Pan's part to befriend her.

"I'd love to," she accepted graciously. "I'll be up in five. I have to talk to Trunks first, okay?"

Pan simply shrugged and trudged up the stairs, apparently itching to get out of that dress.

Trunks looked up from where he was sitting as Marron cleared her throat. "You needed something?" he asked her, trying desperately to shove away his mixed feelings about her.

"Yea, I was thinking that since tomorrow's your day off we could spend the day preparing for the wedding. I've scheduled meetings with a florist and a caterer, and of course there's the appointment with the designer Bulma recommended, and oh yes - I almost forgot, we need to find a decent photographer." Trunks restrained a growl as she continued babbling. "I've got a timetable set up for us both, I've written it down here somewhere, and your mother made some really interesting suggestions I think we should think through -"

"I'm not going."

Marron's head snapped up in shock. "Excuse me?" she asked, bewildered.

"I said I'm not going."

Her blond eyebrows furrowed in rising anger. "And why not?" she hissed.

"I'm going to train with my father all day. I won't have time to go shopping or visiting florists or whatever," he stated flatly.

"Training?" she exclaimed furiously. "You expect me to pass off this perfectly good opportunity to get things done for our wedding because you want to train? Don't be silly, Trunks, we've got more important things to do," she waved her hand dismissively.

Trunks growled menacingly. "I said I was going to train. Is there something wrong with that?" His voice lowered threateningly.

"Why would you want to start training again after all these years anyway? As far as I can see, it's just a waste of your time. You could be solving more pressing problems, like helping me plan our wedding, for one. You can train some other time, just not tomorrow."

"No."

"Trunks, I swear -" Marron began angrily.

Trunks snapped.

"Don't you dare swear to me about what you couldn't even begin to understand!" he snarled viciously. "I've given up my entire heritage just to be with you, and this is how you treat me back in return? By shoving aside my needs and desires like they are nothing?" He paused and glared at her heatedly. "I'm human," he stated flatly, "but I'm also a Saiyan - a prince. You can't ever take that part of me away, no matter how hard you try, and if I say I'm going to train, then I'm going to train. End of discussion!" he spat.

He stormed out of the room, leaving a shocked and teary Marron alone in the room.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the silence.

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Bra and I were holed up in her room sitting on her bed in our pajamas, gossiping like we were both giggling teenage girls and nothing more. It felt good to let loose for once, especially since I had actually never done this when I was in high school, and I was beginning to really enjoy myself when I felt Trunks' ki spike sharply.

My head snapped up and I was immediately at attention.

"What is it?" Bra asked me, confused. "Is something wrong?"

I frowned slightly, my carefree and cheerful mood long since gone. "It's Trunks. Something's happened."

Bra opened her mouth to say something no doubt dismissing my seriousness as paranoia, but whatever she was about to say I never got to find out. We were interrupted as the door of her room swung open suddenly, revealing behind it an extremely sorry looking Marron.

Dende...

She looked...

So sad...

Bra was immediately on her feet, playing the part of the concerned, soothing friend, albeit with a little too much enthusiasm. "What's wrong, honey?" she asked Marron, putting a comforting arm around the blond's shoulders and leading her to the bed. "Sit down, it's okay, we're here for you. There, there, don't cry. Tell us what's wrong?" she wheedled. She rubbed Marron's back in support of the sobbing girl and looked at me expectantly.

Ugh. Tell me she didn't expect me to do the same. I wasn't very good at that sentimental shit, never had been.

Bra glared at me threateningly, reminding me eerily of Bulma's fierce, piercing gaze. Something which, if I remembered correctly, I never could say no to. It was just way too intimidating.

She glared again.

I gave up.

"It's Trunks, isn't it?" I asked Marron softly, in a voice so gentle that it even surprised me. Why the hell was I being so nice? I never acted like this... ever!

She looked at me pitifully, her blue eyes sparkling with tears, and nodded.

I sighed resignedly. "I knew it - I felt his ki rise a second before you came in here." I paused. Dende, I can't believe I was actually saying this stuff... "So," I swallowed, a bit uncomfortable, "you feel like talking about it?" I fully expected - in fact I was counting on it - that she was going to shake her head or say no.

The last thing I expected was for her to throw herself into my arms, hugging me tightly.

"Um, Marron? Are you alright?" I asked in a bewildered voice as I patted her on the head awkwardly, trying desperately not to throw her off of me in an instant reflex.

She sniffed and stopped crying for a moment. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I guess I lost control for a moment." Bra instantly switched back from Woman-With-the-Evil-Eye to Girl-Helping-a-Friend-in-Need.

Wow. Talk about mercurial.

Marron sighed, dried her tears delicately, and began to talk. "Trunks and I had a fight -" she began.

"Over what?" Bra interrupted. I glared at her bad manners, but it went unnoticed.

" - because I was selfish and forgot that it takes two to make a relationship work."

I perked up. Selfish, eh? This should be interesting...

"Trunks wanted to start training again tomorrow with Vegita" - I nearly fell over on Bra's bed, I was so surprised - "but I kind of blew up on him and basically told him no." She sighed again sadly, and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "Needless to say, he wasn't happy about that, and I did some thinking." She sniffled and paused. "Dende, how could I have been so stupid?" she exclaimed to no one in particular.

'So he's angry at her, is he?' I thought to myself. I felt my heart begin to thud faster with hope - a long forgotten and totally unexpected emotion that showed me clearly that my feelings for Trunks had still not diminished.

`No.' I thought firmly. 'I will not fall for him again, not when he can hurt me so badly.' I clenched my hands into fists and gritted my teeth, willing my heart to stop quickening, my face to stop reddening. My heart rate didn't slow down. 'Just look at Marron,' I thought desperately, 'look at how she cries because of him. Do you want to feel that same pain again? That same heartbreak? The earth-shattering feeling that comes with being completely and utterly rejected by the one you love?'

No.

It wasn't going to happen - I wouldn't allow it.

I'd come too far to lose it all again.

"You need to talk to him," I said suddenly, startling Marron and Bra by shattering the silence. "You need to fix things now, before it's too late."

Before I fell for him again, and everything I had built myself to be in the past three years was lost.

I didn't love him. Not when I had Charles.

'Yea, right,' the same annoying voice in my head laughed sarcastically. 'Sure you don't.'

'Shut up.'

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