So, I decided to write again because this haunted me quite a bit. Listen to Colbie Caillat's "I Never Told You" for some background music.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Mary isn't/wasn't pregnant here
- Mexico with Faber never happened
- Abby is a pain in the butt here
Enjoy, it's my first writing in a while :)
Watching as a clear sky gave way to pouring rain, Mary realized just how much days like this made her cringe and want to crawl into a ball and hide from the world. It was the rare downpours in San Diego that still had their way of trapping air in her body, refusing to let her breathe without a sob of tears escaping. She'd chosen San Diego for a reason; it was rarely ever rainy here, and that's exactly what she needed after leaving Albuquerque. The rainy days reminded her of him, and her heart still hurt every time she let herself dwell on the past. The few times it rained in New Mexico had brought out the worst in her, and yet she couldn't seem to regret anything.
2 years ago after on the way back from a witness transfer
She knew she was being a raging bitch, but the cold Utah offered in the early fall made her hands ache and her knees burn to the point of no return. Marshall knew this of course, but for some reason was being purposely dense today.
"Hey asshat! Think you could turn up the hot air before my ass freezes to the seat? It's like we never left that craptastic motel in the first place" she snapped, rubbing her gloved hands as he made no move toward the heater.
"As I've told you, oh so demanding one, it's broken and there's nothing I can do until we get back home. Despite your lovely disposition, there's nothing I can do about that particular problem" he huffed, irritated with her constant complaining more so than usual. He was cold and ached too, but refused to be subjected to her ridicule for the lack of something better to do.
"Well isn't that just great? I'm stuck with you in who knows where, it's cold as fuck, and it's starting to rain. Congratulations Doofus, even I couldn't have gotten us into a worse situation"
She gasped and swore as he jerked the car onto the side of the empty highway, killing the engine and jumping out of the car, slamming the door with so much force that she actually flinched. She knew she was even being impossible for her, especially after their run in with Faber due to their detour into Colorado and it seemed to be unraveling him at the seams. She remembered their 'messy' conversation, but just didn't have it in her to yet again explain to him that she'd gone to Mexico alone. Jumping out of the truck and into the drizzling rain, she walked angrily after him, watching him walk away from the truck, only to pace a few yards in front of her when she stopped. She watched as his stride became agitated and long before her, showing her just how much things were really getting to him. She knew she should feel some compassion, but he was in one of his rare introverted moods that kept her out of his head. She stood as the rain fell harder, soaking her leather jacket and jeans to her frame, his shirt soaked through and his jeans plastered to his legs.
"Why the fuck did you jump out of the car like a maniac! It's cold, raining, and we're freakin' soaked Marshall, so you'd better tell me why the hell I'm out here bound to catch pneumonia" she ranted angrily, her gloves on her seat in the truck and flexing her fingers in a vain attempt to get blood flowing.
He wheeled around to her and stared at her in blatant hostility, and she took a step back to lean against the hood of the truck for support. He stalked towards her this time, slow measured strides as she panicked for a moment before he stood directly in her personal space. He closed in on her, taking advantage of her flat boots and his height as he loomed over her, her rapidly breathing torso matching his breath for breath. He stood and continued to stare at her with his angry, heated gaze before he leant towards her, her hands instinctively coming to rest on his chest. His eyes lost their hostility, but morphed into this dark stormy indigo as her hands gripped his wet shirt reflexively, and she let out a gaps as he caged her body between his and the hood of the truck. The rain was killing them, but neither moved as their eyes watched the other's reactions.
Mary knew this wasn't like their other disagreements, but his silence was frightening her more than Marshall ever really could himself. She slid her hands up and onto his shoulders as she gained his full attention, his pupils dilated as he watched her lips move.
"What the hell happened cowboy?" she whispered, surprised that he could hear her over the rain. He looked angry momentarily before focusing on her softened gaze.
"I saw the way he was watching you and making those passive aggressive comments about how much more you would have enjoyed Mexico if he'd come along as planned" he whispered back, hurt creeping into his voice as he watched her eyes fill with recognition and guilt that she hadn't pieced it all together sooner.
"I'm sorry Marshall, Faber's a douchebag that's upset he didn't get laid. It's nothing you should worry about"
"But I am worried Mare, he said someone had to show you a good time if I wasn't going to grow a pair and do it myself" he replied, his voice gradually getting lower with every word. He could see her eyes light with fire at him being called out for no reason, and wanted to do something that's take the painful look off his face. Instinctively, she slid her hand into his hair and pulled him gently to her as she kissed him softly, her wet lips sliding against his before breaking away. He stared at her slack jawed as she slipped under him and to the side of the truck, smiling gently as she got back in. He smiled in return and got back behind the wheel, smiling as he watched her fall into a restful sleep.
She shook her head at the memory, remembering how everything went back to normal after that, and being disappointed because she realized that she wanted more than just that kiss from Marshall. She'd gotten a taste of him and curiosity and desire burned to see if he still felt something for her. She never got the chance with the return of Shelly Winkle and their random dates that grated on her nerves more than she cared to admit. She let that train of thought go as she focused on her current problem; Abigail. She knew Texas cheerleader cared for him enough, but if his own mother couldn't stand her, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that they were getting anywhere close to getting serious…
2 months ago
Making her way to Marshall's front door, she couldn't have been prepared for what met her and thinks it ranks as one of those moments that she'd treasure forever. In the doorway was a distressed looking Abby as Mrs. and Mr. Mann looked her over, his mother's eyes distrustful until they landed on Mary coming up the walkway. Her face lit up with a smile as she brushed past Abby to greet Mary, gushing over how nice it was to meet "The Mary". She blushed and politely accepted the compliment and said hello to his father as they made their way inside, him giving her a brief hug that shocked everyone. As they made their way to the dinner table, Mrs. Mann's blatant favoritism towards Mary should have been the first sign that it was going to be a trying night.
As they all sat at the table for dessert, Marshall felt for his girlfriend that couldn't seem to catch his parents attention for two seconds in between their questions on stories he'd told them over the years about Mary. Mary was having a ball when his mother brought out a baby picture, but Abby looked miserable as she sipped on her third glass of wine. Marshall tried to subtly suggest she slow down, but he could see the alcohol kick in as Abby made a move towards Mary with her glass.
"Mary, isn't there somewhere you have to be?" she asked rudely, interrupting the story behind the picture of Marshall at age four in his father's work boots. She turned to look at Abby and saw that glassy quality her eyes had taken on. Marshall had his head propped up on one hand, the other running through his hair before it came to rest on Abby's arm.
"Honey, honestly-"
"No sugarplum, why is she here anyway? She's not your girlfriend so I don't understand who's bright idea it was to invite her anyway" she rambled on, wincing in unison with Mary as both of his parents straightened in their chairs. Mrs. Mann stood, followed by her husband as they made their way to the door, him rushing after them, Mary right behind him as Abby trailed along after them.
"Mom Dad, I swear tonight was supposed to go better than this" he tried to explain as his mother threw his girlfriend an angry look.
"Sweetheart, everything was just fine before she decided to rudely interrupt one of my favorite stories. I think your father and I will just go back to the hotel and see you in the morning-"
"Nice seeing you!" Abby slurred, making all of them wince at her presence still there.
"No, mom, please stay. I'll just be a little bit as I take Abby home. You can stay and talk to Mary, if that's ok with you" he directed the last part at Mary, who nodded agreeing with him wordlessly.
"Fine son, but you'd better make it quick" his father said gruffly as Abby started to hang on Marshall for support. One hour later and everyone but Mary had left. His parents were in an amazingly good mood when he returned and made promises to meet Mary again before they had to return home. They now stood in his doorway as she put her leather jacket back on, getting ready to leave as well. Marshall looked at her with shinning eyes as he stared at her in amazement, her eyes amused as he leant in to give her a hug. He held onto her tighter than he ever had before and she held on just as much, looping her arms around his neck as he leaned back briefly to look at her.
"Thank you for putting up with her tonight" he said as his grip around her waist tightened imperceptibly.
"Your mom was kickass, so I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You're drunk cheerleader on the other hand…" she trailed off, knowing he understood what she meant.
"Abby's never like that, I don't understand why she had to do that in front of my parents"
"Who knows? Your mom was pissed, but we ended up having a nice time after you left" she said smiling softly.
They continued to stare at each other as tension surrounded them, their arms still locked around each other. She cleared her throat and gave him a smile that made him weak in the knees before she made a sound.
"Care to explain why your mother described me as a gorgeous, loyal human being with a caring heart…?" his ears burned and turned pink as she smirked, enjoying his reaction.
"I may have said a thing or two…"
"Seriously? She said she'd rather move to Alaska than bet that Abigail and you would outlast you and me. What did she mean by that anyway?"
"She uh, has always been a 'Mary' fan. She always thought we'd end up together," he whispered, getting ready to untangle himself from her before she caused him harm. Instead, she froze and stared at him, eyes wide and dilated as they bother remembered their kiss from a couple of years ago. This time, it was Marshall who grabbed her chin and tipped her head back so he could kiss her, slipping his hand back and into her hair. She moaned as she leaned on the door for support, her hands running through his hair as pulled on her hair just hard enough to get to gasp, taking the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. She fought back just as hard, giving as good as she was getting until he broke away from her mouth and lifted her jacket off of her shoulders and onto the floor before picking her up and resting her against the door. She clawed at his shirt before she was able to push it off his shoulders, he nails digging and scratching into his back and he pressed her into the door harder.
He slid his lips over the column of her throat, leaving a trail of wet kisses before biting at her pulse point and soothing it with his tongue. The bite was hard enough to jerk her back to reality and drop to the floor, Marshall's awareness following hers almost immediately. She looked at the guilt all over his face and did what she did best; she ran. It poured on her must like last time, but this time it drowned out his voice that begged her to come back.
She turned n her two week notice to Stan, giving him vague details and telling him of her move to California, choosing to take some vacation time rather than stay and face Marshall again. Stan understood what she wasn't saying and told her to watch herself and to call him whenever she wanted. She'd called twice in those two months, and both were almost always exclusively Marshall.
She unknowingly rubbed where she later had a hickey on her neck, it being long gone by now. She always hated the rain because it was cold and wet, but now she hated it for entirely different reasons. It made her miss Marshall immensely, and she knew she hadn't heard from him in almost a month for a reason. Stan was tight lipped, and all she knew was that Marshall was planning on talking to her soon, of that much he was sure.
She stared out longingly at the rain, wishing it would just clear up so she could enjoy her weekend off, rather than wallow in self-pity. Just as she was about to leave her room, her cell phone rang and she almost cried at the name that flashed across the screen. She opened it and said hello, not sure as to what he's have to say.
"Hey cowboy"
"It's raining," he stated, and she could here the rain in the background. She knew he sometimes like to be outside in the cold weather, so it wasn't nearly as odd as it should have been.
"Yeah, here too. How are you?"
"I sent you something in the mail, did you get it yet?" he asked abruptly, causing her to make a strange face that he couldn't see.
"Nope, can't say that I have" she replied perplexed, making her way downstairs.
"Are you sure? Have you checked your mail today?" he asked in a teasing tone, making he smile even at the oddness of the entire encounter.
"Nope, 'bout to go do that now"
"Well, call me when you do ok? Bye."
He hung up on her, and it took all of her willpower not to throw her phone. She knew the after would be weird for them, but this was a little much, even for him. As she swung the door open, she nearly fell flat on her ass at her partner standing on her doorstep, soaked and smiling like a deranged idiot. Her smile matched his as she threw herself into his arms, sending them both tumbling onto her lawn, them both being drenched in the cold rain and laughing before Marshall rolled on top of her, looking at her smiling eyes.
"I transferred to San Diego Mare, and Abby went back home"
She was shocked to say the least, but couldn't manage a forced apology when he was smiling so wide. His smile was contagious, hell, he was contagious.
"Marshall, I-"
"I love you Mare, rainy days and all. I missed my girl," he said huskily, his voice sending shivers down her spine that had nothing to do with being cold. She looked up into those honest blue eyes and couldn't help herself; later she'd blame it on the rain, but they both knew it was more than water and dirt and more the fact that they finally found their way to each other.
"I missed you too Doofus, so shut up and kiss me already" he smiled and kissed her, but it didn't last long before he broke their kiss and leaned away from her to sneeze. He looked at her with wide eyes, and she just about died laughing. Once she calmed down, she told him exactly what they were both thinking,
"I said I was bound to get pneumonia, if you stole my disease I'm gonna kick your scrawny ass"
Like it? I thought it was hilarious and that could be just me, who knows? Hope it was worth the read, reviews are always welcome, but never required.