This Valentine's Day I…
Author: Hikari-Kayko
Rated: Totally I/M. T for adult overtones (kissing mostly) and cursing… nothing more.
A/N: So I'm a bit late… nobodies perfect, but I was sitting around after missing the entire day of school due to an electrical fire, bored out of my effing mind and this story is the result. If reviews are civil and you like, I may have one again for you next year… enjoy.
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Marcus stood outside the Commander's quarters shifting from one foot to the other. The resolve he had found this morning upon waking was faltering fast. He held in his hand a white envelope sealed and stamped with a blood red heart crossed with an arrow.
Valentine's Day, the day he'd been planning for nearly a week now and he couldn't do it. "Bloody coward…" He cursed himself under his breath as he stuffed the envelope back in his cloak pocket. He stood a moment longer before the sound of footsteps met his ears.
Beating a hasty retreat Marcus turned the corner down the hall and was gone. So flustered with himself, he didn't notice the contents of his pocket flutter to the deck behind him.
Michael Garibaldi rounded the corner into the hall just in time to see the said ranger vanish at the other end. He stopped whistling his merry little tune and stood still for a moment. What could Marcus Cole possible have been doing in that hallway on this of all days? "Call me a radical," Michael said to himself with a mischievous grin as he picked up an envelope from the floor, "But I'm in to free-verse romance."
Garibaldi examined the letter as he rang the door chime to the Commander's quarters. "Enter," Ivanova answered over the com system and Michael complied. He walked in with a chipper "good morning" and was greeted with the usual scowl.
"Commander, thought I'd walk with you to the staff meeting, I actually got up early this morning, had some time to kill." Susan nodded curtly, gathered her link and exited the room in a stiff manner that Garibaldi didn't overlook.
"Have you seen Marcus this morning?" Michael asked giving Ivanova a curious sideways glance as they walked up to the conference rooms.
"No why?" Susan asked curtly sidestepping a crowd of people talking merrily and exchanging gossip. Garibaldi raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"What's the matter Commander, not a Valentine's kind 'a gal?"
"No, actually, I find the whole thing rather pointless. Balloons, cards, flowers everywhere… it's just one big distraction." Michael was silent in the wake of her explanation trying to believe his ears. Someone who didn't like Valentine's Day? That, in his book was the equivalent of not liking Mardi gras… it may be pointless in all its technical purposes, but it was still something to celebrate, something to look forward to.
"Not to mention the confetti, everywhere… it always ends up in my hair." Ivanova continued in all seriousness. Michael laughed at this which granted him another scowl.
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Ten minutes later Captain John Sheridan looked up from the file folder on the conference room table to see the command staff enter all together. Michael and Steven were laughing while Susan fumed over something.
"Morning folks, is there a problem, Commander?" John asked already finding the most obvious one.
"God damn it John, I thought we agreed, no confetti!" She said annoyed, shaking her long pony-tail to reveal a large quantity of pink, red, and white heart shaped confetti and glitter raining from its tresses.
"Well, yeah." John replied trying to suppress a grin, "We did, I never said anything about the rest of the station. Its not like I can ban all festivities, there'd be a riot." Ivanova dropped huffily into a chair across the table from him and gave another futile shake of her hair attempting to dislodge all festoons from it.
"What's wrong Ivanova? You don't like Valentine's Day or did you just not get a valentine this year?" Steven asked amused. Susan raised an eyebrow at her friend giving him a glare that implied her dearest wish to hurt him bodily at the moment.
"Na, that can't be it," Garibaldi cut in to the glaring match with a quick laugh, "Susan got a Valentine this morning." He pulled the almost forgotten envelope from his pocket and slid it across the table.
"From whom?" Susan asked skeptically taking the letter in her hands to examine it. It was obvious that great care had been used in the making of this letter apparent in the perfection in the folds and markings.
"I'll give you one guess," Michael teased as Ivanova read the addressing on the front. Her whole name, Susan Adriana Ivanova, Vaguely she wondered how they had found her middle name but quickly forgot.
"Marcus," Both Steven and John answered together.
"Bingo," Michael answered cheerfully. "I saw him outside your door this morning. It looked like he was going to do something, but he heard me coming and decided to hall ass before anyone saw him.
"Oh, fuck me…" Ivanova grumbled under her breath as she slit the letter open and pulled out the white sheet printed with an identical arrow crossed heart stamped in the top left hand corner of the page.
Ivanova scanned the letter quickly her expression becoming more confused and uncertain with every line she read. "So…" Steven probed after Susan had read the letter for the second time. "What's it say?"
"None of your damn business." Ivanova clipped out folding the paper up again and placing it face down on the table.
"Ouch, touchy," John replied looking at the over turned letter curiously. After an argument that lasted a surprisingly short thirty seconds Michael finally persuaded Ivanova to hand over the letter.
"Nosy little…" Susan grumbled some more as Michael opened the note, Steven and John both leaning in to read it as well.
"Aw, come on…" Michael protested, "That's no fair!" John took the note to examine it more closely while Steven looked from one to the next trying to find answers.
"What? What did it say?" He inquired as Sheridan slid the letter back across the table to its owner while Susan smirked at their disappointed expressions.
"It's in Russian." Michael informed the doctor. "Must be really good then…" Garibaldi scooted his chair away from the table in time to narrowly miss a file folder being swung at his face.
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Susan could hardly pay attention to the meeting afterwards. Her thoughts kept drifting off to the letter folded safely in her lap. Its contents running through her mind, first in Russian, the way it was on the paper, and then it's translation.
Я практикую все вещи что я смог сказать линия линией каждое слово я говорит сегодня смог быть день но every time я теряю мой нерв, котор вы смотрите меня я смотрю прочь меня хочу сказать вам я буду ощупыванием но я не умею как начать меня хочу сказать вас но теперь я испуган что вы могли сломать мое сердце oh почему что-нибыдь поэтому легко всегда для того чтобы быть поэтому крепко делать я хотят сказать вам я буду ощупыванием и сказать что я люблю вас
I practice all the things that I could say
Line by line
Every word
I tell myself today could be the day
But every time
I lose my nerve
You look at me
I look away
I want to tell you what I'm feeling but I don't know how to start
I want to tell you but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart
Oh why should anything so easy ever
Be so hard to do
I want to tell you what I'm feeling and to say that
I love you
How Marcus had even gotten his hands on the translations was anyone's guess, and when Ivanova sat down at her station in C & C half and hour later her mind was still reeling.
"What's the idea," Susan thought angrily to herself as she worked in auto pilot to get through her morning duties, "Not telling me in person…" I tell myself today could be the day but every time I lose my nerve… No, there must be some mistake. Marcus wasn't afraid of anything especially not her… was he? I want to tell you but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart…
By the time Susan's shift ended the thought of the letter was nagging at her so much she couldn't stand it. Entering her quarters she threw her uniform jacket onto the nearest surface and went straight to the com unit.
"Computer, access Earth music files and search for a song containing the lyrics…"
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Marcus walked through the Zocalo unaware of the events unfolding around him. He strode along the venders and people all cheery with the spirit of the holiday. He had finally shrugged off the morning's disappointments and moved into normal routine for the day.
"Marcus!" Someone called from the knot of people behind him. He slowed to allow the caller to catch up before continuing his walk. A woman dressed in ranger's garb came up alongside him with a huge grin on her face.
"Good afternoon Marcus, so how's your Valentine's Day going? Anything special happen?" Lila, a fellow human ranger from Marcus' trainee years walked briskly keeping along with him, though she was quiet a bit shorter.
"No…" Marcus gave her a sizing look from the corner of his eye. "What makes you ask?" Lila was a very loyal and sweet woman, but the habit of mischief making was etched into her very DNA sequence.
"Oh, nothing, I just heard a few rumors." She smiled impishly at her fellow ranger and went on. "Some of the guys in the station house seem to think you've been sending secret Valentine's." Marcus stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her astonished.
"Now why would they say a thing like that?" Marcus tried to cover as if everything were normal. Lila's smile grew wider and she raised an eyebrow in question.
"So it's true! Then is it also true when they say you gave one to Commander Ivanova?" Marcus' heart nearly leapt into his throat at the inquiry. Shoving his hand into his cloak pocket he found nothing but empty folds of cloth.
"Oh, shit!" Marcus looked around suddenly as if he was in grave danger and Lila laughed allowed. "I have to go," He told her hastily turning back in the direction he'd been walking from and hurrying away.
"Don't worry so much Marcus!" Lila called after him barely controlling her laughter. "From what I hear the Commander's not completely bent on murdering you." This only seemed to make Marcus walk faster.
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"So far so good." Marcus thought as he rounded another corner cautiously on his way through the habitat area. He made his way down one hallway after another until finally the door to his own quarters was in site. "Home free," He congratulated himself on his good fortunes and was just entering the key card to open the door when he heard someone call his name.
"Marcus," He turned on the spot to see Susan Ivanova marching down the hall towards him. "We need to talk." She stated fiercely.
"Actually, I was just…" Marcus tried feebly for an excuse pointing to the door that had just slid open in front of him.
"Good," Ivanova interrupted shortly. "We can talk in private then." She grabbed him by the arm and steered him through the door which shut smartly behind them.
"Marcus, what the hell is this?" Susan asked as soon as the room was sealed. He looked up to see the Valentine he had unknowingly delivered hours before clutched in her hand.
"Oh," He said trying very hard to find a credible excuse, "right, about that…"
"No, you know what, I don't want an excuse I want the truth." She interrupted him demanding justice.
"The truth," Marcus asked uncertainly. She nodded sharply and he exhaled in preparation. "The truth is that I found the best words to describe it and I thought I might give it a shot, unfortunately I was to bloody scared to do it when it got down to the nitty gritty part, so I ran, as usual."
"Describe what?" Susan demanded again, softer this time. The look he gave her made Susan suddenly wish she were anywhere else. She couldn't breathe as she braced herself to hear what she already knew.
"How hard it is to say I love you." He answered quietly almost as if he were afraid to divulge such a secret.
"Why…" Susan cleared her throat to get ride of the waver in her voice. "Why didn't you just tell me?" Marcus shrugged like a child being interrogated and looked down to the floor.
"Is it…" Susan felt completely awkward asking but if this was going to happen she might as well do it right, "because I'm a total bitch all the time, or am I just that unapproachable?"
She couldn't see what he was thinking because he was still looking at the floor and waited apprehensively for the answer. She began to move closed to him but stopped when he laughed a split second later.
"Definitely the latter." He stated uncomfortable. Susan bit her lip slightly.
"I guess being the exemplary officer comes across like that, though I think that was the idea. I tried so long to step into the uniform that it's a little hard to step out again now." She hesitated for a second then slowly she let her hair down from its tight knot atop her head and shook it out a bit. "Better?" She asked. Marcus nodded slightly not quiet knowing what to do.
Continuing to close the distance a little at a time Susan asked, "Anything else I should do?" Marcus looked up for the first time in minutes that seemed to last centuries.
"I wouldn't change a thing about you for the world Susan. You're perfect the way you are." A hot blush invaded her face as she smiled. Closing the last few feet between them Susan looked up into his intense green eyes and smiled again.
Reaching up suddenly without warning she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him squarely on the lips. Marcus would have gasped in surprise, had his lips been free to do so. When Susan broke the connecting Marcus looked at her with extreme confusion and she laughed freely at him.
"That was the right answer in case you were wondering." Slowly he smiled back. Marcus initiated the kiss this time, slowly, simply, but powerfully, running his fingers through her soft wavy hair.
"By the way," She said once they'd parted again, "How did you translate those lyrics?" Marcus laughed amused and took the letter still clutched in her hand.
"I hope you appreciated that, it took me nearly three days to find the translations and then another to figure out how to write it down!" Susan laughed again taking the letter from him and tossing it to the side.
"It was very sweet." She complemented between kisses. "Oh, and Marcus?"
"Hum?" He inquired between another few kisses. He could feel Susan smiling as she kissed him again and again.
"Happy Valentine's Day."
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A/N: well that's a little cheesier than I thought it would originally be. Oh well, it was worth a try anyways. Just another tribute to the I/M fluffy fandom! Hope you enjoyed it, pleaz review to your hearts content, good, bad or otherwise, just click the little button if you'd pleaz.
Thanx a bunches,
HIKARi