About Damn Time
Disclaimer: I own nothing nor do I make any monies from this work of fiction.
Author's Note: This takes place after Gears of War 2 and after the novel Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant, I recommend reading it beforehand as some of the things mentioned are included in that novel, but it's not entirely necessary.
Marcus lay sprawled out on the grass near the beach. The sun was just setting and while everyone else was in the mess hall enjoying a dinner that's been a long time coming, he just needed to think. He gazed at the orange and pink reflecting across the water. It'd been years since he'd seen anything like this.
Maybe this little place will work after all, he thought to himself. Nobody had expected Vectes to be like this. To be this clean, this fertile, this beautiful and undisturbed by the Locust horde. Just those damned stranded.
Marcus's mind switched back to what had lingered in his head for the past few days. To what Dom had said to him in the mess hall that first night they went to eat there. Just as he had been about to answer him the base alarm blared alerting them to the fire that destroyed half of Jonty's farm.
The blaze had finally been subdued and as the Gears finished clearing out the place the townspeople came to collect Jonty's body.
Marcus stood aside on guard with Dom if the Stranded decided to make another move. They weren't saying much, just commenting on the situation, when a 'Dill pulled up and came to a stop next to the ruined farmhouse. The hatch open and out walked Anya with Col. Hoffman to survey the damage.
Dom glanced over at Marcus to see what he already expected; his eyes locked on Anya. Dom cleared his throat and gave Marcus a pointed look as Marcus slowly shifted his gaze to Dom.
"What?" he asked in that gruff voice.
"You know what." Dom replied while turning his gaze back to the commotion going on in front of him.
Marcus too turned his gaze back but instead his eyes went straight to Anya. She was talking with some of the locals and gesturing with her hands. She looked more like she was trying to calm them down. The local walked away and she put her head down then turned and looked over to see Marcus and Dom. She gave a small wave and Marcus pretended like he didn't see her.
***Back at Base***
Marcus and Dom finished their late, cold meal before heading back to the makeshift dorms. Prescott had said he was going to build apartments for everyone but everyone also knew that was a long time coming. So until then they had renovated the old dorms in the base for the Gears and set up makeshift housing for the Jacinto survivors. Marcus and Dom shared a room in the West Wing of the dorms.
Dom had decided that when they got settled he would continue his conversation with Marcus from the mess hall before the alarm had gone off. He had told himself he needed to have a sit down with Marcus and get him to open himself up a little. He didn't know how one person, even if it was Marcus, could keep so much inside to themselves after so long.
Marcus took the key from around his neck to unlock the door to their room. He stepped inside and turned on the lights before making a beeline to his side of the room. They had set up a makeshift divider with a sheet between the two beds to allow themselves some privacy towards each other. Dom could already hear the clanking of Marcus's armor as he started to remove it. Dom removed his own armor and waited for Marcus to get out of the bathroom so he could go wash up.
Marcus was relaxed on his bed when Dom got out. He sat down in the chair next to Marcus bed. Marcus opened one eye to see Dom staring at him.
"I know I can't convince you to do anything, but I really think you just need to tell her" Dom said.
Marcus replied with a grunt as he sat up a little and slid his doo-rag off his head. He ran a hand through his black hair.
"You guys dance on your tip toes around each other. You're not getting any younger Marcus. I know what would happen to you if you lost her; you almost thought you did once. You should do something before it's too late."
"Yeah", Marcus said quietly with a nod of his head. "I'll think about it".
"You think too much, man." Dom said as he stood up and went to his own bed.
Yeah, Marcus said again to himself. He turned off his light and rolled over to go to sleep.
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Anya walked through the square headed towards the beach. She knew she'd find him there. Always has to be alone, she thought to herself. She went around the wall of the East Wing to see him relaxed on the grass staring out into the water. She felt a small flutter in the pit of her stomach. 16 years and I still get butterflies when I see him,she thought to herself as she slowly started walking towards him. She came up quietly but she knew that he was aware she was there. She sat down with her legs crossed next to him and just stared out at the ocean. They were quiet for a few minutes before she spoke up.
"Deep in thought?" she asked, but she already knew the answer.
He just gave a little nod as an answer.
"Care to share?" she doubted he would.
She saw the muscles in jaw constrict and relax. Sometimes it was so hard to tell if she was just annoying him or if he enjoyed her company.
"Lot of things" he finally said.
She nodded, leaving it at that. It was always so simple with Marcus. She almost jumped when she heard him continue.
"About you, about what Dom said, about what you said", he mumbled quietly.
She didn't know if this was a bad thing. A few days ago she had basically straight out told him she still had feelings for him and all she got was a nod from that. She replied to him with a slow okay.
"I think I'm done", he said as he stood up and brushed himself off.
Anya didn't know what he meant by that at all. She felt confused, and more than a little hurt. I blew it, I shouldn't have told him, were the thoughts running through her head. She stared intently at the water willing the tears she could slowly feel gathering to go away. She didn't want him to see her like this.
He had walked a few steps when he stopped and turned towards her. Great here it comes, she thought.
"You coming?" his gravelly voice rang in her ears.
What? She was beyond confused now. She slowly rose to her feet and fell into step behind him. He started walking across the square towards the dorms. What? Why? Where? So many questions were running through her mind now but she just followed him to wherever he was going.
Marcus had his own thoughts running through his head. It's now or never, he thought. He was surprised to find his thoughts turning more to words of encouragement, almost as if he was convincing himself he could go through with it.
He led her through the dorms to his room. He knew Dom wouldn't be there. He had told him not to be. Dom had just given him a sly smirk and slap to the back and with a Good Luck had left. As he turned the corner he glanced a peek to see Anya following, him her eyes on the floor with a slightly confused look on her face.
Don't worry, you'll know soon enough. He reached his door and stopped. He heard Anya come to a quick halt behind him and realized she hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Anya realized at once where he was taking her. This is his room, she had never been here and she didn't know why he would take her here now. He was holding the door open for her and she stepped inside. He closed the door and locked it behind her. She took in the atmosphere of the room. One side was in disarray, bed made in a hurry, a few clothes strewn about and one side was perfect, everything in its place with a sheet dividing the two halves. She realized the perfect side had to be Marcus'.
He walked over to his bed and motioned for her to sit down. Okay Marcus, just tell her. It's not that hard. Just open your mouth and let the words come out. But Marcus was finding it difficult to even open his mouth. He was raised to keep his emotions in check and knew if he hadn't, he would've done something about Anya a long time ago.
She broke the silence by commenting on his room. She was sitting at the very edge of the bed, hands in her lap. She looked uncomfortable. He interrupted her rant about running water in the showers.
"Anya I'm done fighting." He said.
She stopped and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He could tell she was still confused about what he was talking about. His jaw muscles clenched as he struggled to find the easiest way to say what he needed to say.
He thought about what Dom had told him.
"I'm not getting any younger, and I can't stand it anymore. I thought you were gone after Jacinto had flooded. I don't want to fight what I feel for you anymore. There isn't one day that has gone by that I haven't wondered if you were safe, if I'll hear your voice again the next day." He paused for a minute, collecting his thoughts.
"I've been denying myself since I met you, telling myself I don't deserve you and that you'd never want me anyways. But when you said what you did the other day and with Dom constantly on my ass, I don't want to pretend with you anymore", he looked up at her to see her staring at him, her mouth slightly open, with silent tears running down her face. Shit, I can't even talk to her without making her cry.
Anya hadn't been expecting this. She hadn't been expecting to cry either but she could feel the tears sliding down her face. She was in shock. Marcus Fenix had just opened himself up to her and let it all spill out. Then she felt that fluttering in her stomach again, but it was stronger and more urgent. It was a while before she said anything and she saw his expression start to change to one of rejection.
"I…I don't know what…" she trailed off.
He scooted closer to her on the bed and took her face in his hands, he slowly brought his mouth to hers and their lips met briefly. He pulled back to look in her eyes. His hand reached over to wipe the tears off her face.
"I love you Anya, I always have", he whispered before bringing his mouth back to hers and kissing her passionately.
Her hands wrapped behind his head as she eagerly returned the kiss. She reached up and slid the doo-rag he constantly wore off his head, running her fingers through his hair. He made a small noise in the back of his throat and she felt her stomach flip.
He broke from the kiss and ran his mouth down her neck as he grabbed her hips and pulled her to sit on his lap. His hands reached down to caress her bottom as hers reached to grab the hem of his shirt. He pulled away from a moment.
"We don't have to do this now Anya", he said quietly, though his body was screaming the opposite at him.
"Shut up", was her answer as she leaned down and captured his lips once more. She was still pulling on his shirt and he broke the kiss briefly to pull it over his head. She hesitated, staring down at his massive chest. Her hands traced over the muscles and the scars. She'd never seen him without his shirt and she was hypnotized. She finally met his gaze and reached down to unbutton her blouse. She took the constricting garment off and his hands slid up her sides to her back to the clasp of her bra. It took him a minute but he finally got it undone and she let the bra slip down, revealing her breasts to him. He slowly cupped one in his hand as his head dipped down to lick at the pert, rosy nipple.
So many feelings were coursing through her body at once. Her hands came up to run through his hair again. He brought his head up and moved her off his lap to stand. He reached for the zipper on her skirt, slowly bringing it down as he admired her.
"It's rude to stare, Marcus" she playfully quipped.
"You're beautiful" he replied as her skirt fell to the ground. She quickly threw off her shoes as he started to pull on her underwear. Now she was completely nude in front of him and as he stared at her body she started to feel self conscious.
She could see his obvious erection in his pants and leaned down to push him back on the bed. She crawled over him and started to undo his belt. He kicked off his boots as her hands undid the fastens on his pants and slowly brought them down. He was wearing no underwear and she was a little surprised at the size of him.
Will that even fit? She thought to herself. She ran her hand over his member and heard him make that growl in the back of his throat again. She loved his voice. His eyes fluttered closed and she reached down to slowly lick the length of him. His eyes snapped open as he watched her take him into her mouth. Just the sight of her doing that to him made him want to cum. It'd been over 15 years since he had been with a woman and he was afraid he wasn't going to last long. Anya kept at it though, sucking him and sliding her tongue around him.
"Anya stop, you're going to make me cum" he told her in that raspy voice she loved.
But she didn't stop. If anything she brought it up a notch. She took his entire length into her mouth and he felt his eyes roll back.
"Anya I'm going to-"he cut off with a deep groan as he felt himself explode into her mouth.
She licked him clean and slithered up his body with a satisfied smile on her face. He looked at her through half closed eyes, breathing heavily. He grabbed her arms and quickly flipped her onto her back on the bed.
"I told you to stop", he grumbled as he leaned down to lick her nipples.
"Stop complaining Marcus" she whimpered.
"Who says I'm complaining?" he looked up at her and actually had a smirk on his face.
He made his way down her body, kissing her randomly along her torso. His hand reached down to gently caress her mound. She moaned softly as his fingers slid between her slit and brushed against her clit.
When his head reached the small mass of soft curls he nuzzled her with his nose. His hands were still moving against her and her eyes had closed as she arched her back to get closer to him. She felt his tongue quickly dart out to taste her. He started to suckle and lap at her. Her hips bucked and he held them down with one hand as he allowed himself to enter two fingers into her with his other hand.
He softly pumped into her, continuing the assault with his tongue on her clit. She was coming undone and he could feel her legs shaking. Her soft moans filled the room and he felt himself stirring again.
When she came, his name rolled off her lips and her hands gripped his hair.
He could tell she was tired, but he wasn't done with her yet. She felt him rubbing his engorged member across her and knew what he wanted. She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him as she reached between their bodies to line him up with her center. He entered her quickly and the look of surprise and pleasure on her face made him swell with satisfaction.
He waited a moment to let her adjust to him, and to calm himself. As he began to move in and out of her, her head rolled back and her eyes closed. He let his eyes close as well and savored the feeling of her. She was warm and slick. Why did I wait? He thought to himself. He leaned down to capture her mouth once more as he felt the familiar stirring once more. He pulled back and looked into her eyes.
"I love you Anya" he whispered to her.
"I love you Marcus" she said back as she reached up and connected their lips.
Marcus gave a few last thrusts before he let himself go inside of her. He grunted low in his throat and put his head in the cranny of her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. He rolled over to her side and pulled her to lay on top of him. She pulled the blankets up and covered them both as they drifted off to sleep.
***
Dom had been at the bar for a couple hours when he decided to head back. He walked through the dorm and pulled out his key to unlock the door. As he turned on the light he saw Marcus already asleep in his bed. Then he saw the little blonde head poking up underneath the covers. Dom smiled as he turned off the lights and walked back into the hallway. About damn time Marcus. Maria would be proud. He locked the door as he made his way down to Cole's room.
A/N: This is a story I wrote several years ago and posted on . I have since learned there's more to Marcus and Anya's relationship than what I wrote here but I think it still kind of fits. Please review, I read them all. I've recently gotten re-hooked to GOW with the upcoming Judgement releasing next month and have written some more story ideas that I will hopefully be writing soon.