A/N: This is my very first IPS fanfic, written for the LiveJournal 1sentence community challenge, using the theme set Gamma, and inspired by the last scene of 'A Priest Walks Into A Bar…'. I have a feeling I am going to need to give Marshall a very big hug next season. Enjoy!
Ring
It's when Eleanor finally gets that damn engagement ring off of his finger, when Mary's placed it on the third finger of her left hand (where it rightfully belongs, he reminds himself with a pang), when they awkwardly toast and Stan and Eleanor turn Mary away from him and eagerly begin to discuss her upcoming wedding, that Marshall realizes exactly how much he hates Rafe.
Hero
Marshall thinks he's such a big damn hero, Mary curses as she rip his shirt off to get to the gunshot wound, trying to protect her when he knows she doesn't want it, or need it either (though she'll never admit to herself, or anyone else, just how much she likes it).
Memory
The way the sunlight catches Mary's hair, the way a smile occasionally flits over her face when she sees something that amuses her, the sarcastic tone she takes with most (okay, all) of their witnesses the day they enter the Albuquerque division of WITSC, he remembers it over and over again as they sit anxiously in the waiting room during her surgery.
Box
Although Mary isn't entirely sure what Brandi was thinking when she convinced Jinx to bring over the box filled with old vacation pamphlets and ads, she damn well knows that she's sending the Mexico one over to Marshall when her vacation is over.
Run
Marshall hasn't run away from anything he can – or can't – handle yet (being in Witness Protection requires some level of bravery), but when Stan enters the room and his confession is ruined, he has a feeling that he might want to start packing his bags.
Hurricane
Their relationship is like a hurricane, sometimes with fierce wind and rain; sometimes as calm as the eye of the storm before heating up again and yet somehow, somehow, they manage to make it work.
Wings
To Marshall, Mary looks like an angel missing her wings, lying in that hospital bed all too nice and peaceful with her blond hair curling over her shoulder; the first time she tackles a 'bad guy' after coming back to work he sees them clear as day.
Cold
A rare chill has come over Albuquerque, one that freezes them to the bone and nearly knocks out the heating in the building, and when Marshall gives Mary his jacket (Chivalrous today, aren't we? she gently teases), his brief touch fills her with more warmth than the actual piece of clothing.
Red
Mary looks damn good in red, Marshall often thinks when she wears the tantalizing color, but then he envisions her blood spattered across her body, spilling into the street, and suddenly hates it.
Drink
They've shared many drinks together, after finishing with their witnesses or during a particularly tough case, yet it's the first one they shared together that Mary recalls most fondly after all these years of partnership.
Midnight
He absolutely loves their midnight stakeouts, filling her head with useless information until she threatens to throw him out of the SUV, sharing crappy fast food and throwing the wrappers at each other during periods of boredom afterwards, watching the gentle breaths she takes as she sleeps, and he wishes they could stay here forever.
Temptation
They're their own version of temptation, often wake up breathless and sweating after they dream about exactly what they want to do to each other on Stan's desk, but their rules and Mary's stubbornness are wonderful roadblocks to anything actually happening.
View
"Enjoying the view?" he asks her suddenly when she's drifted off into space while staring at his desk, and with a shock she realizes exactly how much Marshall looks and acts (oh what the hell, is) like her boyfriend.
Music
They never agree on choice of music, which is why their car rides are more often filled with their banter than strains of melody from the radio, but he has to admit that seeing her dance to 'Uptown Girl' has to be the cutest thing he's ever seen.
Silk
The brief brush of skin he felt when he pressed his lips to her forehead felt like the softest silk; he wonders if he'll ever get to find out if the rest of her body feels the exact same way.
Cover
It's only a cover, Mary has to remind herself as they parade around the small Southern town acting like a newlywed couple in love, and she can only wish that nobody sees through them (no-one ever does).
Promise
Finding Mary's shooter is a promise he fulfills easily, with the unwilling help of the gangsters, but it's the holding back on the 'I am going to kill you for shooting the love of my life' part he can't stand.
Dream
It had always been a childhood dream of Mary's to have her father roar back into her life and never, ever leaving again; now she sometimes thinks that if he had come back, she would have never become a US Marshall and met her Marshall.
Candle
Absolutely no-one can hold a candle to his Mary, Marshall always thinks when he's watching her challenge her witness, interrogate a suspect, run through a shootout in order to protect a total stranger, because nobody shines as brightly as she.
Talent
When she's asked about Marshall's talents, none really flit across Mary's mind other than recalling useless information, irritating the heck out of her, and being a damn good partner, yet in her wildest dreams his tongue has a more interesting talent than recalling exactly why Robert Ford shot Jesse James.
Silence
As he watches Mary go inside Stan's office and ask for her vacation days, kissing his forehead as she does so, he figures his silence on the matter of the particular cowboy he was talking about might be what's best for them.
Journey
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step;" she can only smack him in the arm as she (reluctantly, oh-so-reluctantly) realizes that he's right.
Fire
Women do curious things to get the men they want, get drunk, play psychological games, keep chasing after them until they get what they want; with Mary she only has to accidentally brush against him and he is on fire.
Strength
He is her strength, her fortress, her solace, and without him Mary doesn't really know how she'll get through the day.
Mask
Marshall always has to put on a mask on when he sees Mary, whether it be by herself, with her family, or with someone else; the words he so desperately wants to say to her (I love you, I need you, please don't leave me hanging on) always have the urge to slip out of his mouth when he doesn't have his protective covering.
Ice
After she comes back from Mexico, Marshall looks at her differently, as if she's done something wrong and he refuses to tell her or figures she just won't listen; Mary absolutely despises the frosty atmosphere between their desks and constantly fights the urge to walk over there and either smack him or kiss him.
Fall
If one of them trips and falls, either literally or figuratively they catch them and make sure they're okay; neither of them expected the 'in love with you' part to ever come into fruition.
Forgotten
Marshall has the unique ability to awaken ideas long forgotten; a house with a white picket fence and a dog and kids and happiness, but she always tucks them away into her tiny speck of imagination before they can plant seeds of hope and curiosity in her mind.
Dance
Marshall always regrets not asking Mary to dance at Treena's wedding, but it was his own damn fault (okay, Treena had some influence too) that he convinced her to chase after Rafe.
Body
Mary has the most perfect body in the world: proportional, muscular yet still womanly, and when he imagines that body in his bed, quaking and shivering, it's all he can do to not take her against the wall of their office.
Sacred
Their relationship with each other is a sacred thing, one that has its own balance and needs, so who is she to ruin what they already have with a suggestion to take it to the next level (not realizing that it would only make them grow stronger).
Farewell
Mary's already had too many farewells in her young life, her father, her childhood, various boyfriends, so it's a very comforting thing knowing that Marshall would never leave her.
World
Marshall would give her the world, and so much more if she only asked for it, because she somehow always has been the center of his goddamn universe and always will be.
Formal
"I hate these events," Mary grumbles to herself as she wriggles into a dress for the annual Christmas formal, but the idea of getting to see Marshall in a hopefully expensive rented tux makes the whole thing somehow a little more appealing.
Fever
She catches a fever from Brandi, naturally, and Marshall immediately rushes over when he finds out she's taken a sick day with chicken soup and packets of puzzles and activities, and despite her illness Mary can't help but think it's the most fun she's ever had.
Laugh
They can't stop laughing at the other's drunkenness, stumbling out of the bar in each other's arms and attempting to hail a taxi, yet they're sober enough to realize that the clichéd make-out that is supposed to happen next would be a bad, bad idea.
Lies
He constantly has to lie to himself, to her, to everyone, when the only thing he wants to do is the run to the top of the nearest mountain and loudly declare his love for her for all of Albuquerque to hear.
Forever
Mary isn't one to promise forever, but when she looks at Marshall she thinks that it's already happened, and she's quite happy about that fact too.
Overwhelmed
The intensity of his gaze while he's telling her to go find a cowboy leaves her overwhelmed, now, while she's sitting in Gabe's bar with her favorite drink in hand, she wonders whether or not Marshall was implying that he was the cowboy she needed to go get.
Whisper
It's barely more than a whisper when Mary says his name right before they have another shoot-out with the mob, but to Marshall, he could hear it loud and clear even if he were fifty miles away.
Wait
Marshall swore that he would always wait for her, that he would patiently sit on the sidelines until she was ready and would come to him; unfortunately the chances of that happening sometime in the near future has basically dropped to zero, and he can't help but wish he was a little less in love with her because it hurts.
Talk
They seem to talk a lot less after he finds out she's engaged to Rafe, and Mary misses the old banter that filled the office (not to mention their private chats in the car or her home) before things got really damn awkward.
Search
When Marshall sees her for the first time, temper flaring and bangs flying, it's as if something he's been searching for his whole life is standing in front of him, all five-foot-seven-inches of her calling out to him like a siren song and his heart and soul responding (I've finally found you, you've always been here) in turn.
Hope
Mary doesn't want to thing that Marshall is her 'only hope' (she really hates Star Wars), but while she's handcuffed in that basement and trying to convince the drug dealers not to shoot her, she begins to think that yes, maybe he is (in more ways than getting her out of this mess alive and keeping Brandi and Jinx safe).
Eclipse
Their quasi-crazy, terribly unbalanced, equally dominant relationship has eclipsed his entire life, and now is the time that Marshall has to decide whether that's a good thing, stay, and have his heart broken into even more pieces than it is, or that's a bad thing, leave, and always regret not taking a chance with Mary.
Gravity
They have a pull to each other, like gravity, that is stronger than most partnerships he's ever seen before, Stan usually notices; when Mary is shot and Marshall is the first one there, it's the last piece of the puzzle that he needs in order to put it all together and realize that the young agent has slid down the slippery slope known as 'falling in love with someone you work with.'
Highway
It's a highway, a long, twisting journey that their relationship takes before Marshall finally (drunkenly) professes his love for her and allows his lips to brush against her soft ones; when he pulls back, waiting for the slap, he's more than pleasantly surprised that Mary's lips are back on his and by the time he's realized she's straddling his lap, he's too happy to even care she's in a fully committed relationship.
Unknown
Mary's always had a very slight fear of the unknown, whether it be work, her family, or relationships, yet Marshall has always had the very interesting ability to assure her that no matter what happens, everything will turn out okay in the end.
Lock
Mary's always been a tight person, keeping everything locked away, Jinx ponders as she looks at her oldest daughter, and silently sends a prayer to whatever deity is out there for sending the key known as Marshall Mann and unlocking her and letting her true side rage free.
Breathe
It's moments like these, staring each other in silence, mutely contemplating each other, tension growing so incredibly thick between them that they fear it'll cause them to just snap and do everything they've wanted to do to each other for all the years they've been partners and they finally remind themselves to breathe, fully knowing that one day they'll forget and the tension will just be too much for them and 'the inevitable' will finally happen and, per department policy, Stan will have to break them up, but yes, it will be so incredibly worth it.