Disclaimer- I do not own The OC. Josh Schwartz deserves all credit for creating these amazing characters. This is a complete AU story. This story is MC.*
Marissa and Ryan- Five years later
Marissa storms into the kitchen eyes searching frantically for him. Realizing he isn't in there she heads towards the pool house, his hide away from the world; in hindsight she thinks; hers too. She whips the door open to find him sitting on the bed, head hanging low in his hands."What, so you're gonna be mad now!?" She fumes at him. Closing the door behind her.When he looks up at her, she can tell something is wrong. She sees a Ryan she hasn't seen in a long time, her Ryan. He stands from the bed, emotion evident in his eyes. "You're damn right I get to be mad Marissa! You hid him from me! How am I supposed to look past that? We have been through a lot, possibly everything imaginable, but this?.. I don't know what you want from me."She stares back at him in disbelief, how can he say these things? His eyes seem to contradict what his mouth is saying. There she sees the hurt, the betrayal, but more so than anything, she sees the boy she once loved. But something that catches her attention is the way he speaks. He only speaks to her this way when she says or does things that reminds him of his past. Then it clicks in her mind... his mother. Still she presses on, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I wanted to just come home? Maybe I wanted the father of my child to have the chance to get to know his son? I'm not your mother Ryan! I'm not running away from my problems anymore. I'm facing them head on...For James and for you. I'm not giving up on you." Her voice cracks a bit at the end, despite her best efforts. Ryan takes a hesitant step towards her. She blinks a few times, noticing that he has gotten closer to her. Willing herself not to bolt out the door. Taking a deep breath, she continues, "Look, I know what I did was wrong ok? But, I needed to prove to myself that I could stand on my own two feet and take care of him. And yeah ok, so that took longer than the year it originally started out as, but I'm here now. I came back." Her eyes burning into his as she confesses this. Ryan closes his eyes as he hears the last part, cutting off their connection that was surely building, needing to think about all that she had just said. Realizing that she was right. Out of everyone who has left him in his life, she is the only one who has returned to him. Wanting to make amends, not just act like the problems never existed in the first place. Marissa can't believe how much she is saying to him at this point. Talking to each other before was always tough for them. But now that it's not just the two of them anymore, she needs to share all of the things that have been weighing on her mind all this time. She knows that he'll understand... in time, at least she hopes. Breathing hard now, they stare at each other. Taking in the others presence, something they haven't done in 5 years. It's oddly comforting almost as if they were supposed to be here, now, together again. His eyes narrow, "How am I even supposed to believe he's mine?" Marissa raises her eyebrows and tilts her head to the side then chuckles hollowly to herself, signifying that she is becoming infuriated. Marissa glares at him, "How dare you..." Ryan interrupts her "...Oh come on, don't pull that Riss. We both know how things were back then, when you were with...him. For all I know James could be his...Great choice by the way." He mutters under his breath, but she hears him. She takes a step toward him, she's so close that she can see the small flecks of grey in his brilliant blue eyes. Looking up into his eyes, she says calmly, "You don't get to judge the way I chose to repair my heart. You made your choice, and I made mine. But we're not those people anymore Ry." She let out a shaky breath, "The high school us graduated."
Ryan's body deflates, he knows she is right. He looked back up at her and; for just a moment; he saw the girl he used to know. The feelings he has for her; ones that he had pushed down all these years, come rushing back full force. Seeing her again, being near her; he feels like he can let himself just be. It feels good, right even. Before he can comprehend what he is doing, he is across the room facing away from her. He had to breathe fresh air, away from her intoxicating scent that he has so missed. "Riss.." He says breathless. As soon as she hears his nickname for her come out, she knows they are getting somewhere. With that hope in her heart, she crosses the room too, to stay close to him. She tentatively places her hand on his back, silently letting him know that she was still there. "Ryan...?" He decides that he can't keep his feelings at bay any longer and spins around and grabs her hand, pulling her into him. Closing his eyes and leaning in, he kisses her, strong and firm. He feels her lips on his, she pulls her hand free of his grip and pulls away. When he opens his eyes he searches hers, sees her lips are still puckered, a confused knowing look on her face. Before he knows it, his hand is on the nape of her neck pulling her lips back to his. He kisses her this time with more passion and purpose. He feels her hands on his shoulders, gripping them, his hands find their familiar place on her hips, which he uses to pull her flush against his body. When he feels her whimper into his mouth, he progresses; picking her up slightly and walking them backwards towards the bed. He lets her fall gently onto the bed first, he opens his eyes to see her, to gauge the situation. Then he sees it, the unwaveringly sexy little glimmer in her eyes, oh how he had missed that look. Sitting up, her hand blindly comes up to find his shirt and bunches it into her fist and she pulls him so that he is laying on top of her, moving them back to the middle of the bed. She allows herself to feel him, all of him. Running her hands up and down his torso the way she knows drives him crazy. Feeling the muscles of his back, ones that she once had memorized. Raking her nails down his back, stopping just above his waistband of his briefs, causing him to lose his breath. His lips leave hers and settle on her collarbone, nipping and sucking at the skin of her chest. She bites her lip and tries to hold in a moan, but it comes to no use and comes out anyway. Hearing that sends Ryan into overdrive, he pushes his hips into hers and elicits his own pleasure, Marissa arches her back and throws her head back in anticipation. He pulls away to see if she's sure; their eyes meet; she nods. Her legs find their way around his waist letting him know that it's ok, not to stop. She takes his head in her hands and she guided his mouth back to hers, missing the sensations his lips invoked within her. As they continue to kiss hungrily, his hand slides up and down her body, greedily grabbing at her, as if reclaiming her as his own. Marissa feels this and releases a throaty groan, and revels in it a bit, taking advantage of his newly exposed shoulder area. She leans forward to kiss his earlobe, biting it gently and moving her lips to his neck, slowly kissing her way down towards the area that sets Ryan off, if she remembers correctly. She reaches where his neck and shoulder connect and bites down, closing her lips around the pulsing muscle, sucking on it just a little, moaning into it, making the area vibrate. She feels him shudder above her and she knows she hit the right spot. She smiles into him. Skimming her hands down to the bottom of his shirt, she slips her hands underneath it, reacquainting herself with his body. Ryan feels her hands making their way up his back, so he lifts himself up using one of his legs, as he moves, he hits a sensitive spot causing her to lose a bit of her control and dig her nails into him in pleasure, letting out another satisfied moan. Overwhelmed with sensations, she pulls him down, so he is on her once more. Ryan pushes back up, and smirks at her; remembering that when she bites, she is very turned on, and removes his shirt. When Marissa feels Ryan move back up, everything around them seems to go in slow motion. All she can see is his upper body, sure she's seen it before; but now, with everything going on, she finds herself almost drooling. She decides that she needs more of him and now. Lifting her legs higher on his body, squeezing and pulling on him to let him know that they are not stopping. Ryan barely registers her legs moving up on him as he moves his hand back down to remove her top. Feeling the electricity between them and the heat that is created through their touches like this, it's almost too much. Marissa sits up to help him in the shedding of her top, kissing every inch of his exposed skin that she can reach in the process. She feels him groan and chuckle, making her giggle against him. Enjoying feeling the effect she used to have on him again. She feels him harden even more at the sound of her giggle. She stops him suddenly placing her hand on his chest, catching his attention. "Wait, wait." He kisses her again, distracting her train of thought," Mmm...If we have learned anything after all this time... Make sure the door is locked and the blinds are down...?" She giggles after the fact, knowing the last thing they need right now is to get caught.Ryan disentangles himself from her, quickly making his way over to lock the door. Marissa sits up, removing her shoes and taking a good long look at him, her eyes settle on his current condition and she can't help but blush and smirk at him. "I've missed this... you...so much." She says in a laced voice. Ryan turns around and notices where her eyes are focused, and coyly responds, "You have no idea how hard it has been to be around you and NOT do this." He says at length.Crawling back over to her, he pulls back, "You're sure...? I mean I don't want to pressure yo—" His words are stopped by her placing her index finger on his lips, silencing him, "Ryan, you have never pressured me. I want this. I want you. Now, stop thinking and just do what you want." She almost pleads. She leans up and kisses him hard, causing him to fall on the bed, taking her with him. Ryan reaches behind her back to unhook her bra, loving the feeling of her arching her back to allow him to have better access. Removing the offending material, he takes a moment to take in the sight before him, a topless, very aroused, Marissa Cooper. "So beautiful..." he murmured. Marissa feels tears start to prick in the back of her eyes, overcome with the emotion of it all. Looking up at him she knows he can see them, so she tries to blink them away. She flips them over so she's on top of him, straddling his waist. She sits up on him, moving her hips, creating a delicious friction between them both. When she feels his hands on the underside of her breasts, she quivers at the scorching touch. Her eyebrows knit together in pleasure. She forgot how good they were together. She lets out a content sigh, then she places her hands on top of his.Shaking and slightly panting, her hands fall on his chest, she lets her head fall back. Simply enjoying the connection between them that she once thought was gone. She picks her head back up and finds his eyes, bending down to kiss him hard, opening his mouth with hers and letting her tongue find his. Her hands rest on either side of his head to steady herself over him. She drops one away to get closer to him, placing her free hand on his cheek. His arms encircle her body, feeling the soft skin of her back. "Do you...umm...do you have a...?" She asks him almost innocently, mid-kiss. This question makes Ryan stop short, he realizes he doesn't have any condoms. "Umm... I, I don't. I'll understand if you want to stop." He looks up at her nervously but is relieved to see a naughty grin on her face. "Oh, ok... I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we didn't use one. In fact..." She kisses him deeply. "I prefer not using one. It feels better." She's toying with his self-control now and she knows it. He feels it slipping and sighs, quickly moving so he can sit up, keeping her in his lap. He lowers his hands to her legs, taking each one and moving them so she is sitting fully on him. Making sure that she can feel him the entire time, rocking her back and forth. He is testing her self-control too. Suddenly, Ryan's brain is having trouble concentrating, he knows he should tell her. But he can't seem to stop kissing her, touching her. She feels like a breath of fresh air to him. Like he's finally where he belongs, with her. Marissa notices a change in his demeanor, she can tell that Ryan is debating something in his mind. His head is settled between her boobs. "What's wrong?" She asks after a minute. "Nothing..." she hears him say, slightly muffled, feeling him continue to kiss her neck. She is still amazed at how well she can read him. "Nope, not buying it. Talk to me." She says a little forcefully, shaking her head. Ryan leans back, his arms still around her. Looking up at her with a strange look on his face, one that she can't read. She leans their foreheads together, showing him that she is there, and she is listening. She runs her hand through his hair. A calming gesture she knows he responds to. "I'm with someone..." she finally hears him say. Her mouth falls agape, shock written all over her face. She is off him within seconds, instantly looking for her discarded clothing. She finds his shirt and throws it over her exposed body. She's about to run out the door, but she stops herself, wanting to be stronger than she was in high school; so instead she turns to face him. "You decide to tell me that now?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" She questions, hurt in her eyes. Ryan climbs off the bed and stands up but rooted in his spot. "I know, I know. But I can't think with you here. Especially when THAT was happening, you knew that." He defends. She stares at him incredibly, "You were the one who started THAT!" She points to the bed as she says this, still trying to recover from the moments of euphoria from a few minutes ago."Who is she?" She asks. Ryan looks down in defeat, "Taylor." He answers. Marissa leans forward in shock, "As in Townsend...And you love her?" Ryan stares hopelessly at her, letting out a short breath, "I will never be in love with anyone but you." He tells her truthfully. Marissa drops her shoulders back and lets out an empty laugh. "So, what do we do now?" She asks, running a hand through her hair. Ryan walks over to her, trying to take her hands in his, but she pulls her them away, afraid to get close to him again. "I had to get over you somehow ok? I had to close off what I felt—feel for you to just get by. You left Marissa. How was I supposed to know when you'd come back?" He tried to reason with her. Marissa says breathless, "I know Ryan, but then, what does this mean? Because for me, I need you." She lets her words fill the space between them. "I am not Theresa...Do not make me the other woman." she says in finality. Ryan hangs his head, "You have to trust me on this. Having you back in my life again... it's hard. I'll end it with her...ok?" He offers. "Promise?" She says with hope in her eyes, tears brimming. Ryan takes her head in his hands, relieved that she doesn't pull away this time, he moves a piece of her hair back behind her ear and says, "I promise you." He leans his head in, his forehead on hers. Ryan looks at her and she lets out the breath that she didn't know she was holding, smiling at him faintly. She leans farther in to kiss him again, as if sealing the promise they just made. They step together, taking the other in their arms. Simply holding each other. Marissa is the first to pull out of the hug, "I love you...but I have to go." Ryan lets her step away, "Why...?" He asks, slight confusion in his eyes. Marissa's eyes drop to the floor, "Because, you have someone else, and I don't. I'll see you at New Year's ok?" She asks in a hopeful tone; a small smile graces her lips. Ryan nods but says nothing. Her heart ached for him, but she timidly nods back to let him know she understood. With that, she turns to leave. The brimming tears from before finally falling once she's out of the room. Ryan stares at the door, blinking his own emotions back. He has a choice to make.