For Fanfic100 at Livejournal, I have to do 100 Marcus/Susan-centric fics based on prompts.
Title: Moral Scruples
Prompt: 'Not Enough'
It has been said, in regards to people, to human nature, that they often stumble upon the greatest things on accident. Every man in this universe is hurdling along towards their ambitions, they keep their eyes on that single golden star that changes for each of them; and so often, they are too blind to everything else to see what is really there.
Sometimes the universe allows them to continue on their ill-founded quest of madness. Sometimes the universe throws a kink in the line, instead, and watches, and says, 'ah, that's better now... you're finally on track again, you stupid bloke.'
Marcus thinks about this as he sits and waits for guard duty in another hour, covering for Stephen, on a sad little excuse of a planet called Mars. He wonders if the universe really knew what it was doing. After all, maybe he wasn't happy on Arisia, but... he had a girl, an amazingly successful business to run, and a hell of a lot of money.
Now he has nothing, really. A few dreams that make him want to cry because of their pitifulness. A retractable stick, some clothes, a pin, an honest living. He thinks about these things in a derogatory fashion for a moment, just to make himself feel better. He'll wait a while after that and then convince himself it's all for the good and the better and the light and all that, and in this way he balances out his emotions.
Cry first, get all serene later. His Mum was awfully good at that.
After he is done with this little pity routine, Marcus turns his thoughts to other things:
1.), he hopes nobody has a party at the Station and mugs people in his absence, and all that;
2.), Susan;
3.), the rent on his room is going to be a week late again, and he wonders how much longer his manager will stand the excuse 'I was out rescuing our universe' before he drags him out by his testicles;
4.), Susan;
5.), his closest friend has not nearly the moral scruples of himself, due to him having fun with that pretty blonde Ranger One without so much of a let's-go-have-tea-first.
Why can't he be a normal man like Stephen, lacking in the reasoning section of the brain? Why can't he just go home- yes, that's what he calls it, now- sweep her off her feet, kiss her, tell her he wants her to have his children, etc, etc?
He tries not to laugh at this thought. Too loud.
Marcus is not one to lie to himself. He could vow to change his ways and become less sexually obscure, but he knows he never would. There is a part of him that is extremely feminine- in an entirely masculine way, of course. He's a Romantic; descended from a long line of Romantics who were taunted and called sissies by the Norwegians and Muslims and Romans and Nazis and all that. Even the French. He has to say, being called a 'sissy' by one of them truly completes the insult.
All the same, with a life like his, he has to believe that something's gonna give. It will probably be him, especially if Stephen keeps yelling like that.
Marcus looks for a room with thicker walls.