Disclaimer: not mine, borrowed and nurtured. A/N: Set post s3, Kevin Volchok never watched the Sound of Music, so Marissa didn't stay. Marissa took the job as kitchen hand to work on the cruise ship with Jimmy Cooper and meets her soulmate. #LoveisLove
Honeymoon in Paradise
It was dusk judging by the gentle hues of pastels smothering the horizon. Alex lay on her stomach with her feet in the air, Vogue propped open beneath her folded arms – any hope of reading the article gone, as soft snores caught Marissa's attention.
The sun had been a gift that day – warmth she craved after days of monsoon.
California was known for its beaches: in rain or shine, surfers scattered the sand and waves, joggers competed along the coast and skateboards and bikes soared down the wharf jet-setting her into the past where relationships ended, and friendships began. Families shattered, and blended, and Marissa's life changed for the better.
Meeting Alex amidst the drama that was her life; gave her reason to breathe again.
What with her mother's marriage to Caleb Nichol, her dad's bankruptcy and Caitlin shipped to boarding school, Marissa barely recognised herself – she was no longer Marissa Cooper: Social Chair, but Marissa Cooper, daughter of Jimmy Cooper: thief.
Her relationship with Alex was a happy accident. It wasn't like she'd woken up one morning and decided to be gay, it was just something that felt right: Alex made her see the world clearer.
Being with her made Marissa brave.
It wasn't a phase – it was a necessity.
She'd moved in with Alex - a bold move considering who her mother was – but it brought independence. When push came to shove, Marissa could survive without her parents as long as she had support from her friends. She used pocket money for rent and sold things she didn't need like that Cartier watch her dad had given her for her 14th birthday.
Dating Alex was exciting, passionate and different, it made her feel alive!
They watched the tide change on their first date.
They held hands during Rachael Yamagata's concert.
Marissa met her friends, and Alex met her mum.
They shared a secret kiss and their souls.
Marissa had her heart, and Alex had Marissa's: it was true love from the start.
Living with Alex opened her eyes to new opportunities – like using a washing machine and accidently dying Alex's singlets pink – but hey, maybe she wouldn't even notice if she buried them at the back of their shared drawer? Washing dishes came as a shock because their apartment didn't have a dishwasher, and Marissa always used too much detergent, transforming the sink into a bubble bath.
The downside was missing her girlfriend when Alex worked double shifts and cleaning their unit – but in comparison to a mother who wanted to know every detail of her life, it wasn't bad, and it meant she didn't have to witness her mother and Caleb snuggling on the couch. It was bad enough she was now related to Seth Cohen, and what did that make her and Ryan?
But all these things were never concerns, not really, what had shaken their relationship had not been pink singlets or running out of detergent, but her friendship with Ryan, and Seth's meddling – Summer said he'd tried to rekindle a romance between her and Ryan which was long dead.
Getting stranded overnight in the mall had not helped, and Marissa should have told her girlfriend the truth, but stupidity and white lies, and thinking it wasn't a big deal, made things 100% worse.
Alex discovered she and Ryan camped in a tent – separate tents, mind you, but her insecurities and feeling she was losing Marissa to her ex, created a tear in what had been a stable relationship. On the night of the bonfire Alex brought two punks to beat up Ryan after he refused to stay away.
Things had been rocky for weeks, and it wasn't because Marissa didn't love Alex. This lifestyle she'd tasted just became stale – Marissa missed her house, shopping with Summer, school and the Cohens and yes, Ryan: they were family. Even pissing off her mother had grown old.
Dating Alex hadn't meant to isolate her from her world.
Their break up involved screaming over the crashing tide, with a chorus of Harbor students celebrating the burning of Troy, whilst her legs froze in the wind. Lack of sleep after days of calling volunteers and buying equipment online led to her raw emotions bursting from her lungs.
'Well, I didn't realize moving in with you meant giving up my life!'
'I didn't ask you to give up your life, all I ever wanted was to be a part of it!'
Marissa flung her arms out and stomped towards the bonfire, glaring at Alex.
She couldn't change who she was.
'Well, this is my life, okay! What do you think?'
A few seconds passed before Alex spoke.
'I think, this is your life, and I don't fit in. Pep rallies, cheerleaders, boys-'
'Nothing happened with Ryan,' Marissa pressed, sitting on a sand dune beside Alex.
'-not yet, but what do you give it, a week? A Month?' Alex expressed.
'I really wanted this to work between us,' Marissa's lip trembled. 'Look, I'm sorry if I hurt you.'
Alex wiped her eyes on her jacket sleeves.
'Sorry, that I brought two skeezy ex-cons to your bonfire,' she joked.
'So, what happens now?' Marissa whispered.
'Who knows,' Alex shrugged. 'I think I might go back home, save some money, go back to school, actually looks kind of fun.'
'Yeah, from really far away,' Marissa laughed, catching Alex's smile.
They'd been so young then, so full of uncertainty of what the future held.
Marissa couldn't believe she'd graduated from Harbor with all her friends.
Last year, after Johnny's death, she'd become a stranger to her friends and family, dropping school, doing cocaine and sleeping with Volchok, anything to forget the heart wrenching guilt of Johnny's death being her fault – she'd written a letter explaining she didn't love him, and he'd drowned himself in tequila and fallen off a cliff in front of her, Caitlin and Ryan.
Her relationship with Ryan fell to pieces.
She found comfort with Kevin Volchok: talking about Johnny, and when she didn't want to talk, she could immerse herself in his darkness. Something happened at a party which changed everything – his friends drugged and raped a girl: it could have been her in that van. She moved out of the loft and returned to school – explaining she was Liesel, from the Sound of Music: naïve and caught up in lie: they were from two different worlds, and she wasn't ready to let go of her family or her dreams.
Was she cursed to be alone forever?
Despite losing her way, Summer, Seth, Ryan and Taylor fought for her return to Harbor – a move she didn't feel she deserved. After graduation, her friends were accepted into Brown, Berkley and Sorbonne colleges. An unexpected offer spurred her to leave Newport and become a kitchen hand on a cruise ship with her dad. It wasn't the best job in the world, but she had to start somewhere.
Caitlin and her mum dropped her off at the dock, with just one carry bag and a hair-straightener.
They had several Cooper hugs, and Marissa watched the waves lap against the hull of the cruise ship with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. 'It's not forever, and I'll always have university as an option down the track,' she promised.
Julie Cooper nodded and kissed her eldest on the forehead one last time.
'Oh, I almost forgot,' she said, pulling a black velvet case from her bag. 'Something to barter with the pirates, should you need to' she smiled amidst tears.
Marissa touched her pearl necklace, lost in thought.
Six months on a cruise ship, sailing to cities around the world had changed her life! Thankfully, Jimmy Cooper hadn't pissed off anyone in months, and his 4-star restaurant on board thrived. As kitchen-hand, she was forced out of her comfort zone, spent hours in the kitchen, and nights with her dad. He'd come a long way from burning toast in his tiny Newport apartment – his truffle fettucine: the signature dish now.
The staff were somewhat friendly, and Marissa spent her breaks in the pool. She kept to herself, bikini-clad, meditating and doing yoga whilst keeping up with her emails – Seth had adapted Atomic County to screen; Caitlin ruled Harbor with Luke's younger brothers; Summer was an eco-warrior at Brown; Taylor married then divorced her French husband; and Ryan pursued architecture at Berkley.
According to Caitlin, their mum divorced Summer's dad, went into business with Kirsten and swore off dating all men for a year. All Marissa needed was time – there was so much pressure to go to college at 18 and maybe it had been a goal once, but now she wanted to see the world – and maybe that's what she needed to get her life together?
She wasn't running scared, she was being brave and trying to find her destiny.
She didn't mention the time she almost cut her thumb slicing onions, or when she'd bartered her hair-straightener for tickets to a P!nk concert in London. She kept her replies to a few sentences, wishing them well and promised a postcard of her next destination.
She left the ship for the first time in a month to admire the markets in Barcelona, mindful to return in time for dinner. It was February 14th when she bumped into an old friend, Alex Kelly, back-packing through Europe: having signed up for a cruise along the Mediterranean. Cupid, unbeknown to the ex-lovers, had planned this day since Valentine's Day 2005 when they'd had their first date – it was inevitable they would meet again.
Alex's snores died down, ankles crossed on her striped towel.
Sunscreen glistened over her tanned body.
Surfers returned to their cars, wet-suits dripping.
Marissa scrolled through her phone, she craved pizza - good thing she had the app for Rozzini's: she didn't even have to move. She ordered a Pepperoni pizza and used her wages to pay, smiling at the estimated 5-minute delivery time. Her plan was in motion.
Being with Alex these last 5-months had been a blessing.
They spoke over email, sometimes phone or text when the reception worked, and when Marissa's contract finished, they'd found each other in Orange County, California. The sun set, deflecting off the portholes of the Topaz Princess leaving them behind. She and Alex planned to spend the next 6-months in Barcelona, Greece and Italy – but first Marissa had to ask one simple question.
She unpacked her fine china – yes, she'd bought wine glasses from the gift shop for the occasion – they even had happy valentine's day on them! One glitch, Valentine's day was 5 months ago, but it was the symbolism which counted. She smuggled a bottle of Rose from the cruise ship – a gift from her boss, The Bullet: the billionaire who owned Newport after Caleb's death.
Alex must have been exhausted because she slept through the pizza delivery, and Marissa had to put up with the delivery boy asking whether her girlfriend was dead. She shooed him away after his tip, set up the wine, and rummaged through her carry on for the black box she'd picked up in Monaco.
Sea gulls settled into the sand dunes for the night.
Marissa pulled on a daisy dress and cardigan over her bikini to fend off the ocean breeze. At risk of the pizza going cold and Alex freezing to death – and pure excitement bursting from her chest, she shook her girlfriend awake under the glow of her phone torch.
'Wake up sleepy head, dinner is served!'
'What time is it?' Alex groaned, wiping saliva from her arm, and closing the magazine.
'7pm,' Marissa said, passing Alex her clothes.
'Why didn't you wake me earlier?' Alex groaned, rubbing her eyes.
'Because then I couldn't have surprised you, silly!' Marissa grinned.
Alex just noticed the wine glasses, the pizza and the little black box.
Her jaw dropped the way, Marissa had hoped.
'Is that…' Alex pulled her arms through her camisole.
This spot on the beach had sentimental value, and as the waves rolled up the sand-dunes towards their picnic rug, Marissa knew exactly what to say – as if Cupid had whispered the words in passing.
'You'll just have to open it,' Marissa brushed a strand of Alex's natural brown hair behind her ear. 'I love you, Alex Kelly, and these last few months together has made me realize that with you in my life, I could achieve anything because you make me brave. You give my life clarity, and I accept all responsibilities to love and cherish you, in sickness and in health until the day I die.'
Alex opened the small box, only to stare in wonder at the diamond confronting her.
Her hands shook as she lifted the ring from its padding, wearing it on her pointer finger.
'Marry me in front of our family and friends,' Marissa whispered, cupping Alex's tanned cheeks.
Alex melted against their warmth, sucking in the salty air.
She pictured Marissa in Barcelona, wearing her bikini beneath a maxi dress, her beaming smile rocked her world when their eyes met for the first time since their break-up.
'You had me in Barcelona when you squeezed the air from my lungs in that bear hug. There's something about you Marissa Cooper: I think we were destined to find each other again.'
Marissa beamed and caressed Alex's cheeks, catching her tears in her palm.
Alex smiled, sniffing back tears, and nodded.
'Of course, I'll marry you, I've loved you since that day you turned up on my door and confessed your love to me in the pouring rain. You told your mum about us because you wanted what we had to be real – well, Marissa Cooper: I've never had a connection with anyone else, as real as I have with you. I can't wait to be your wife.'
Marissa couldn't wait any longer, the urge to kiss her fiancé had grown too strong.
She collected Alex's lips with hers, hands lost in her girlfriend's hair.
Alex chuckled as they toppled into the cold sand, missing the edge of the picnic rug.
Marissa's heated kisses tasted Alex's cherry chapstick.
Alex wrapped her arms around her fiancé, happiness pulsing through her veins.
'Now we can have our honeymoon in paradise,' Marissa whispered.
'Whatever you want, wife,' and Alex rolled them over, stealing a slice of pizza.
A/N: Dedicated to one of my best friends, Nat emisonheaven on Twitter who challenged me to a one-shot based on a photo of the beach, wine glasses, a pizza and my couple of choice. I've been binging #TheOC, so this came naturally. Haven't written a fic so fast in ages – hopefully my muse has decided to stay for good. Hope you all enjoyed this x