A/N: Jaycee Lynn writes excellent stories about The Walking Dead and Chicago PD. Go on, and check them out !
" Well, its got a view that could top Azura, that's for sure. "
Marcus couldn't help but smile at Anya's assessment of the vista that surrounded their rural homestead, as they stood together on the front porch, taking it all in.
It wasn't much of a smile, to be honest, but a smile nonetheless.
" Can't argue with that.. "
Slowly, but without hesitation, he put his right arm around her shoulders.
" Anya, this place…its our home because we wanted it to be. Vectes, the CNV Sovereign….they weren't places to call home. They weren't much more than places to take refuge..".
There was conviction in his voice, the kind he was known for.
" That's you felt that way about that estate you used to live in, isn't it ?. "
Anya looked up at him. " Marcus…"
Her tone was far from accusing, though. It was a gentle, almost tentative reach into a certain part of his past…
Before the Locust horde had turned up and shot the hell out of it, the old Fenix Estate had been quite luxurious , which was fitting considering that one of the founding fathers of the COG had been from the Fenix family. Their name was synonymous with power and wealth..
The problem, though, was that magnificent mansion had felt more like a museum or government archive building than a house; virtually everything inside was either exquisitely expensive, historically significant, or both. What had really sucked the life out of it though, was the lack of a real family inside. Marcus had been an only child, and his parents, both high ranking researchers in direct service of the COG, were either never around much, or completley buried in their work.
Final nail in the coffin had been how they didn't show emotions the way anyone else did, or at least..they never seemed to sort out their problems like people should. In fact, there always seemed to be this.. emotional undercurrent in the house.
Marcus had never felt it was being lived in. It was all money, and no soul.
" You know me too well…", he replied, with complete honestly. There weren't many people, alive or dead, who could say they knew Marcus Fenix. Most Gears were familiar with the legacy of the Fenix name, or how Marcus had been a recipient of the Embry Star for fighting at Ashpho Fields. but out of all of them…Marcus could count the ones who could say they knew him across both hands.
One of them was sitting beside him right now.
Anya reached out, placing her palm on his thigh.
" Only becasue you let me. ", she told him gently.