Plot: Marcus Pike heads a highly efficient task force for many years now and his career is going up and up. She on the other hand is trying to organize her life from a trying ordeal when an unexpected event put her life on a spin again.

Character: Marcus Pike and female reader [For convenience's sake I gave her a name but feel free to change it]

AN: Marcus Pike is a guest character in the show The Mentalist. Here in if you create a story you need to find the relative category and The Mentalist is where he's at. He's found in that category.

If you don't like the character, okay. I get you. Don't read the story. I respect your opinion BUT this is MY story. FUCK OFF. Move on. Life is short. Do something to make people happy. I do not write the story for you. I write it for myself. Do not bring your negativity here. You will be blocked.

CHAPTER 5

SHELLSHOCK

Missing isn't the correct term though;

I feel darker without her, like there's a part of my being which only switches on in her presence.

-DB

Fuck.

It's a fascinating word…

It's been repeating in Marcus's head like an unholy mantra. He couldn't help it. But he likes it.

As soon as the door of the rental SUV slammed shut his brain compartmentalized….but that phone is…WTF! Getting irritated, he fished the noisy device from the computer bag, wondering what the hell was going on…. and he jaw dropped for a moment at the text message.

It's the Bureau; they sent him a text telling him to go to an address. Why? What the hell's happening? Even though he's had years of experience being exposed to stressful situations he suddenly felt apprehensive.

As he heads into the lunch time traffic the GPS voice was just a background noise in the rental SUV. He'd been there before. That was where he was yesterday. Why is he being called back in so soon?

Fine. If he was sent to the wrong address then someone's head is gonna roll in the bureau or in DC. Not his problem.

"Finally!" Maneuvering around a city this busy takes a lot of patience and street familiarity but it was with relief Marcus escaped from the traffic jam of one particularly problematic area. He leans back with a sigh, hands on the wheel, relaxing. He even begins to notice new things on the road; new shops, a new mall by the bay that's one of the biggest malls in the region. He'd like to explore it when and if he had the time. Most of all he's itching to arrive to his destination so lots of his questions could be answered.

Outwardly he looks calm and stoic when the SUV finally rolled into the well-guarded gate but inside he was a little taken aback.

"Indeed, you are expected, sir," Said the marine guard after checking the guest log book on a tablet. Marcus wonders how these guys stay cool and fresh in their uniforms in the tropics. "May I see some identification?" The kid looks impressed after seeing his badge, giving him a smart salute. "Welcome back, Director!" and the heavily guarded gate rumbled open.

The coffee he was politely offered sits on the glass side table quickly losing heat. He took one sip and never touched it again. Shit, that awful coffee is now in his palate and not Tessa's blend.

"Director Pike?" Marcus went alert at the voice of the receptionist. She smiles when he looks up. "Mr. Harper is ready for you now." The receptionist gave him a slow assessing look when he stands, her eyes warm. "You didn't finish your coffee." She sounds put off as she eyes the cup.

"Yeah, I just had coffee a few minutes ago. It was good, though." There, right words, right smile and she smiled.

"Follow me please." Like a model on a catwalk the receptionist swivels around but not before she looks back at him in the pretense to see if he follows her.

The polite 'thanks' was an automatic response as she ushers him inside an office. Her sultry 'you're welcome' was lost on him. She slowly closed the door so she could get a longer glimpse of him but she was ignored.

For a moment Marcus stands just inside the plush room. He remembers what he felt when he stood here yesterday.

Yesterday he was not that happy or excited. Proud. Yes, he was proud of himself on being invited. It's one of the highest honors that could be given to anyone. If he agrees, there would be a strong possibility this would be a part of his future. A future that is illustrious respected and venerated by his countrymen. No more hiding behind shadows of illusions and guise.

But he's way too invested in the bureau, the team and their mission. He loves his job. His people and their lives are on the line if the mission fails. The criminals need to be brought to justice.

But that was before yesterday. At this moment he became torn.

Fuck.

-o0o—

What the fuck did he do? Tessa jerked in response; blinking in her confusion.

Belatedly she noticed that Marcus was gone.

The screen door slammed close with a loud sound; it startled her but she was not the only one who got startled. Cleo whimpered and started crying. Tessa runs a hand on its small frame. "Hi." She whispers, running her hand on the cat. "Look at you! Hey, you're awake. You got startled, didn't you? No, it was just Marcus. He's off to work. Time for more food? Yeah?" Tessa fills the dropper halfway. Looking at the kitten licking that dropper like crazy made Tessa happy and totally relieved. She did not give a second dropper to let the feline get used to food first. "Yeah, you need to get stronger. Did you know Marcus stitched you up? Wasn't that awesome?"

Why are her lips tingling? The back of her hand stops from wiping her lips. It fell limply to her lap. She didn't know why her lashes got heavy with unshed tears. Was it her imagination? What was that? Did THAT just happen? Why did he do that?

With a sigh she took Cleo from the container and set her back on the towel. Tears fall as she pulls the towel toward her, the cat safe in the circle of her arms. "I don't know what this is about, Cleo. I'm… I hope he doesn't think I'm flirting with him. I'm not." She gave the sleeping cat a kiss, pillowing her head on her arm, the top of the kitten's downy head touches her cheek. "Do you think I need to talk to him about it? Would that make it awkward?" roughly, she swipes away the tears from her eyes and cheeks, sniffling. "I'm so bad at confrontations." her lips pursed. "I'm sure I'll stammer and say blah-blah….oh, God." She gave a big shaky sigh which made the kitten twitch. "Shhh…sorry. When you get bigger we…I'll get you your own bed and a tower. You'll like that, won't you? Yeah. I like it too. I like that."

-o0o—

"Director Pike," The tall dark man came around from his desk.

Marcus grabs the extended hand partially relieved that the smile he was given was a good indication for the summons. "Mr. Ambassador."

"I will skip the pleasantries. I can see you're anxious."

"Yeah," Marcus dug his hands in his pockets. "Is everything okay?" he asks with a slight frown.

The dark man chuckles, "Why do you think that, Director?"

"I didn't expect to be called back so soon."

"That's true. But right now I need you to follow me." The ambassador waves him to the door.

"Okay. Where are we going, sir?" He follows the American out of the room, past the receptionist and to another double door room which is much bigger but much less plush than the ambassador's. It was a little darker inside too. There were a few people there manning computers and some equipment

"You have a meeting." They went past that and into a glass partitioned area with four plasma screens but only one displays a 20 second countdown.

"What's the meeting about?"

"Have a seat, please." The ambassador spoke at the intercom on the 10-seater conference table while Marcus took one of the plush executive chairs near the screen. "We're ready." The ambassador clicked the remote and a heavy black curtain rolled across the room shutting off the people from outside. Marcus realized that it is also a noise proof room when the ambient sound from the other room ceased. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to tell you."

Okay. He's used to that answer. "How many are we in the meeting here?"

"You're the solo attendee. I'll be outside until you are done with your communication."

"Okay. Understood." When the countdown began the ambassador left the room locking Marcus from the inside. He quickly grabbed a bottle of water when he still tasted the residue of that awful coffee Who the hell am I meeting with?

-o0o—

So Tessa cooked her own brunch on her own by design; toasted bread, omelet and ham paired with a lot of coffee. When Cleo finished the 1st batch it gave Tessa such a big relief. She had some starts and stops before she polished off the last of the weak formula then Cleo went back to sleep after she got cleaned. In her estimation the cat seemed to be getting stronger and feeding better. Cleo even did #1 and #2.

With the slumbering Cleo in her arms they left the cleaned up and tidied kitchen. As they head back to the room Tessa's not sure yet if she'd like to take a nap this early. It might mess up her sleep pattern; she has a class in the afternoon tomorrow. After she's done with class she must do some lesson evaluation for her students. It would be very late and sometimes takes her about two hours to finish all of it. She endeavors to finish all but if that's kind of impossible she has until 10 in the next morning to accomplish the rest.

"There we go…you sleep here." The cat and its container/bed sit on one of the stacked plastic bins at the edge of her bed. "And your food is over here." The cat's food is placed beside it for when Cleo gets hungry again.

As she turns on the computer she remembers how she jerked awake that morning concerned for her laptop. It was old but it has been with her for a long time and without it she would have to go to the main office to work and that's the furthest thing from her mind right now. She gave a big sigh of relief. It's back on her table. Even the Internet cables were connected….everything was tidy.

Marcus….how sweet….

Fuck!

Wide-eyed Tessa's head jerked towards the bed. How could she do that? Her face got so hot to the touch and tiny beads of sweat begin to gather on her forehead.

Tessa almost plasters her face in front of one of her portable fans as it fights to cool her down. Her mind continue to race and she couldn't control her galloping heartbeat. "Oh shit…" Tessa gasps in her hands. First day at the job and I sleep with the landlord! "Damn it!" Still mildly disturbed she went to her bathroom and splashes some cool water on her face. "Marcus is not like that." She tells her reflection. Yeah but he did steal a kiss from you…" Oh, shut up! Keep busy. Keep busy!" You can still hear me….he-he-he….

Maybe she could grab an hour or two to watch a new movie or her favorite TV shows. She's so far behind in so many things.

While she waits for her laptop to fire up she turns to the task of putting away some of the extra paraphernalia for her lessons, personal hygiene items that need to go into the bathroom and a few books she decided to keep out for reading. Keep busy.

She looks around, there are other things she wanted to do but she has run out of chores. Sometimes she's too efficient for her own good.

'You're impressively efficient…' that voice…deep and silky…

Oh no…get up! Take a shower….it will cool us down…Keep busy!

20 minutes after, totally cleaned and marginally cooled down Tessa checks up on Cleo as she dries her hair. The cat's breathing is still a little fast, Tessa thought, as she looks on at the twitching feline. Is she dreaming? I hope she pulls through. She gave the animal a gentle stroke and sat in front of her laptop rousing it up from electronic sleep hoping she could chat with Ashley…and….

Ashley: Hey Tessa, Is everything okay there? Are you okay?

Oh, the time stamp shows it was sent early this morning. What's more, Ashley s online!

Tessa: Hello Ashley! I guess it's okay. I'm okay. [the ellipses would continue and then stop]

Ashley: Can you tell me what happened?

Tessa: It's a little complicated…..

Ashley: Why? What did Marcus do?

Tessa: [How do I write this? Tessa gnaws on the nail of her thumb then stops. Oh, this is hard.] I think he was kinda undecided if he wanted me here or not….but that's just what I felt from him, okay?

Ashley: I see. [more ellipses, longer delay this time then…] I hope he wasn't rude to you.

Tessa: No. I think he was just kinda shocked to find me here.

Ashley: Oh gods! We emailed him sooo many times when we were planning on hiring a caretaker and then we emailed him one last time but he's always out of reach!

Tessa: What's his job, if I may ask?

Ashley: [ellipses….] He works for an offshore company connected to call centers.

Tessa: Oh, that's cool! I used to work for one.

Ashley: It's okay to ask him these questions, Tessa. He wouldn't mind.

Tessa: Oh okay. I will when Marcus comes back. Maybe.

Ashley: Isn't he there now?

Tessa: No, he was in a hurry to leave today. He left before lunch. By the way, I wanna tell you I have a cat!

Ashley: A cat?

Tessa: A kitten.

Ashley: Oh dear…Marcus doesn't like cats.

Tessa: Really? I didn't know that. She was bitten by another animal at the garage but Marcus stitched her up.

Ashley: He did? How is the kitten? How old?

Tessa: Well, she's maybe two weeks old, very weak. I'm feeding her some milk.

Ashley: Use Jake's formula. There's some leftover in the fridge.

Tessa: I did use it. Sorry.

Ashley: Hey, the milk is just going to spoil after a month anyway so it's okay. What name did you give her?

Tessa: I named her Cleo.

Ashley: Cute. Mike says 'hi' and Jake's shouting your name again. When we get settled in we'll do a video call. Is that okay?

Tessa: That would be great. [Should I tell them? Should I tell them? I don't know…]

Ashley: Are you okay there, Tessa? Like I said the last time we talked you can text or call me anytime. I apologize if you're in that awkward position right now. We honestly didn't think he'll just appear out of nowhere. But that's Marcus.

Tessa: I understand. Marcus and I managed to talk last night and he agreed to let me stay.

Ashley: 'Let you stay?' Did he say that?

Tessa: He said as the owner of the house he decided that I can stay.

Ashley: Oh, okay. He told you. I'm glad he said that. It was good you got to talk. How was it?

Tessa: I was so out of my comfort zone. I'm not the confrontational kind of person…

Ashley: Yes, I felt that when I met you. Hey, Marcus is a sweetie. He's just the quiet type. Did you know half of Jake's toys come from Marcus? He spoils this little man so much. Jake adores him.

Tessa: Yeah, he's surprising. But he's kinda hard to pin down.

Ashley: What makes you say that?

Tessa: I can make a guess about people's character after a few minutes of meeting them.

Ashley: Oh really? That's a cool skill.

Tessa: My students get freaked out but many love it. I use it as an ice breaker in my classes. I get about 80% right.

Ashley: Amazing!

Tessa: I accepted this gig because of you guys. You and Mike are good people….and I fell in love with Jake! Such a cutie!

Ashley: Oh, thank you for saying that Tessa! I think Jake fell in love with you too! Speaking of the little man, Jake's getting cranky. Can Mike chat with you while I take care of Jake?

Tessa: [surprised but…] Oh, sure. Hey, kiss Jake for me!

Ashley: I will!

Mike: Hi Tessa! Mike here.

Tessa: Hi Mike. How are you doing? [she peeked at Cleo while she waited about 5 minutes before a reply popped on the chat box]

Mike: I'm still not feeling well but the battery of tests from the hospital has started. It's quite tiring. I'll take this time to formally welcome you as the caretaker of the house. I hope that as much as you have helped us it helps you too.

Tessa: I really appreciate you for saying that, Mike. While I'm here I will make sure to take care of the house until you all return.

Mike: I gather that the 1st meeting with Marcus was kinda strange.

Tessa: It was actually scary. I thought I was all alone here and then he was just right there! I thought he was a burglar. I was totally scared.

Mike: I'm really sorry you had that scare. I could just imagine what you felt that time. Wait! That was just yesterday, right?

Tessa: Yeah, it was but you also did not know he's coming over. It's no one's fault.

Mike: Sorry for my slow typing. I hate this. My hand sometimes shakes from my meds. They're kinda strong.

Tessa: It's fine. Don't worry about me and you mustn't tire yourself.

Mike: I just want to reassure you that Marcus is a nice guy and I've known him for years. He's a gentleman and you're safe with him.

Tessa: Thanks Mike. I have seen that myself. [Liar…he-he-he. Stolen kiss….]

Mike: He'd be out of your hair once he gets a call from work then he'd be off somewhere not to be seen for a long time again. That's his life. Hate to cut this short Tessa, but you are right, I'm getting kinda tired. But do not ever hesitate to send us a DM anytime, alright?

Tessa: Alright. Get some rest and thanks for the welcome. Bye, Mike. Get well soon!

-o0o—

"Say that again?" The table creaked as Marcus leans both his arms on it.

"I'm sorry to just drop this on you, Director, but you're our only contact over there from the Bureau. Your rank is also important. With this new issue we are facing, and according to our analysts this issue will get big, we need someone to hold the reins there in the interim."

Marcus straightened. Stunned. Of course they know where he is, they always do; only his people were kept in the dark but hearing it was still in kind of a shock. "What will happen to my own team? We have a big mission that is unfolding just now. It's also big, and serious."

"Yes. We know about that too but I'm afraid that you would need to let another handle them for now…"

"Shit." Marcus stands up, raking his hair. "I can handle two task forces. Don't make me abandon my team. Not at this time."

"We understand why you are reluctant, Director. your team is well-known but you need complete focus on this matter. They may ask you for guidance but 90% of your attention should be over there. However, we will let you decide." The three people on the other side of the screen watch him pace the room.

They didn't have to wait long. Marcus came to a stop at the end of the conference table. The director's jaw is tense but he looks resigned, "Fine. I understand the seriousness but I want to recommend someone and I will not accept any other." He looks up at the screen.

The bespectacled man nodded, "Who do you have in mind?"

"Agent Paul Brisse. He's been my right hand for 3 years. He knows the law and the operation top to bottom." The three people shuffle some file folders. Marcus frowns and points, "Are those our files….my team's files?"

"And yours as well, Director." The man held up a thick file sitting in front of him.

Fuck.

"We know that you have been offered a post there at the embassy."

"Okay…" Of course they know. Nothing goes past them.

"We created that position."

"What?" he leaned heavily on the conference table, "Is this a joke?"

"I know what you're thinking but I can explain."

"Sure," Leaning back, Marcus crosses his arms, "Make it a good one."

-o0o—

"What are you doing here?" Tessa asks with a surprised laugh. She was about to watch a movie when she got a call: someone's at the gate. She stopped the movie player and ran barefoot to the screen door.

"Surprise!" Jun toed the stand of the motorbike down as Tessa puts on the garden slippers outside the door.

"What's this?" She pushes the gate open as he was opening the top box from his bike where he took out a plastic bag from it. "This is a lot!" she gasped after peeking inside the bag.

"Grandma's been cooking early this morning. She nagged at me to get my bike going."

"Are you sure the brake's been fixed?" Tessa eyes the 3 year old Yamaha scooter suspiciously.

"Yeah, they replaced a disk. It's as good as new." Jun smiles as Tessa gave him a half hug.

"Come inside and have some food." She kept an arm around his waist. "My goodness, stop growing!" she looks up at her very tall nephew.

"You're just short, auntie. Ow!" He laughs as he grabs his side where Tessa pinched him.

"Oh, really? Come here!"

"No, I didn't mean it!" he avoids the second pinch, laughing. Tessa looks at her nephew fondly as Jun goes to the fridge and pop open one of her sparkling non-alcoholic drinks.

"Hey, how's your dad?" Tessa puts down the bag of containers of food on the table, they're still warm.

Jun sits in one of the chairs, chugging the beverage. "The same. He's going to travel in two days' time in the south, I guess."

"Why don't you go and work for him, instead?"

"Nah, I get enough nagging from him at home."

"I guess so." Tessa smells one of the food containers. "Oh, I missed this one! Hey, there's rice! Let's eat!"

"You eat. I already ate at grandma's…aunt Ess? What's that? Aunt Ess?" The young man is bewildered when Tessa grabs his hand and takes him with her.

-o0o—

"Shit. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. My sentiments when I heard about it too. So you see why we need you?"

Marcus went back in his seat, "I need to meet with my people first."

"Of course. Would you like to meet with them from your location?"

"If this is a secure area, yes."

"It is. Give us an hour to inform and gather them. Meanwhile we will need to confer with the ambassador. Kindly usher him in."

The screen went back to the countdown mode. Marcus opens the door to see the ambassador seated in one of the desks. The man stood and joins Marcus in the room. He explains what will happen next. The representative looks at him shaking his head. "They will talk to you next."

Marcus left the man in the room and sat in one of the plush couches near the door, his back to the embassy staff. The people in the room didn't spare him a glance for which he was glad. Goosebumps flares all over his arms and the back of the neck at the magnitude of what he learned because he has never encountered something like this in his life. What he needs to do is to plot a plan not only for his job but for other areas as well.

His eyes fell on one of the magazines on the coffee table in front of him; an architectural digest. For some reason the house on the cover reminds him of someone.

Marcus got his phone out and scrolled up the images file. There were three of them….and one video. Scrolling at the images he felt his face warm up and himself stiffen. There was an immediate pang of guilt and being drawn, of yearning and angst.

Why did I do it? He asks himself as his thumb hovers to one of the images. He taps the 3rd picture, enlarging it. He felt the void of his life when he took this picture…when he stole this picture, he takes a deep breath. That emotion is back again.

All of a sudden.

His thumb waits for him to make a decision like a Shakespearean question.

"Director Pike?" Marcus turns and looks back.

It is not to be.

-o0o—

Marcus parks on the side of the road right outside the house. His hands fall on his lap after he killed the engine. A wave of immense fatigue made him lean in the softness of the seat as it cradles his weary back. He replays what happened this afternoon. Everything was rushed, his people had to be placated and assured, questions answered and contingencies had been tentatively mapped out. Things got a little heated but he doused the flame before it went out of control. When everything died down for a moment they all look at each other with various expressions and emotion on each face. Disbelief. Shock. A little fear. Anger.

After he dismissed them all he was kind of glad that it was late when he got out of the embassy. He drove almost leisurely, relishing the moderately quiet road. The streets were almost bare of motorists and the chaotic traffic jam was over which was great because right now he didn't want to have to wrestle and lose his patience with idiotic drivers.

There were still many people on the streets, though, he noted, as pedestrians cross at he stops at the red light. There are a lot of tourists wandering the streets looking for fun and local businesses are still open almost 24/7. Marcus used to come here a lot in the beginning until he got wind of better places to go where there's a lot of sunshine and ocean breeze.

Fuck! He grounded through tense jaw as the light turns green. If they only knew….

His feet felt heavy as he got out of the car. He grabs his laptop bag, slinging it on his shoulder. He left the carryall in the SUV for now. As he locks the car he observes the street and he notices the house is strangely dark when he got out of the car; there's no garage light or porch light on. He's still not worried as he opens the gate…until alarm bells ring in his head when the gate moves as he was reaching for the lock; it's not bolted.

Fuck.

There could be a handful of explanations why the house is dark, the gate unbolted and a handful of reasons it happened and these scenarios were all not good.

Muscles tense as the gate creaked when pushed open a little wider. He listens then moves after 5 seconds had passed before he squeezed in between the gap.

As he approaches the quiet house he slowly reaches in the pocket of the laptop bag until his fingertip brushes the comforting solid object but it stays there. He heads to the garage as quietly as possible. The view at the kitchen window shows a dark interior. Things look 'normal'. As he goes back to the main door he notes in passing the blood on the cement had been scrubbed and cleaned up.

Marcus reaches for the screen door handle and slowly pulls it away from the frame. Thank goodness it's not bolted. After he secured the mosquito screen door open he tried the doorknob.

It's locked.

He continues to move slow and deliberate as he reaches for his keys from his pocket and manages to insert the key in the lock without jiggling the rest. The knob turns…

Marcus blinks in total darkness; only a very pale slice of light reaches the base of the door. It wasn't enough to illuminate a clear path into the house but he steps forward. This time he slides his hand inside the laptop pocket and wraps it around his service weapon. Even if he didn't have any light with him he moves forward. The more he stays in the dark the more his eyes adjust until he could faintly see the living and the dining area. Frowning, Marcus went back by the door and flicked the light switch.

"Tessa?" Marcus whispers not wanting to scare her again like the last few times. As he goes to Tessa he places the laptop bag on one of the chairs. "Tessa?" he calls louder this time and pats the hand nearest to him.

"Marcus?" Tessa stirs and raises her head from her arm, blinking from the bright light. She winces as she straightens up. 'You're back."

"Why are you sleeping here?"

"I ... I was just trying to rest. Sorry…" she yawns.

"Did you…did you wash my clothes?" he peers into the basket of his freshly smelling and tidily folded clothing.

"Yeah."

"You didn't have to but thanks." Marcus shakes his head. "I forgot I left it here."

"You went out like a bat out of hell and then…" Tell him about the kiss! She looks up at him with a face that is about to warm up.

"And then…?"

She blinks. "Uh, nothing. What time is it? Oh…." She said when she looks at her phone. "So late…"

"Tessa," Marcus stares at the table. "Is everything okay? " she shook her head. "Where's Cleo?"

"She's gone." Tessa said in a small voice as her eyes smarts with tears.

Fuck.

"When?"

"This afternoon…we took her to a vet by the mall but…she's gone." She sniffs as she wipes her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Marcus pulls up a chair and sits closely beside her. "Who's 'we'?"

"Jun was here…thanks." Her voice sounds thick from crying as she accepts his handkerchief.

"Who's Jun?"

"Oh, my nephew."

"You have a nephew?"

"Yeah, my brother's son."

"You don't look like you have a nephew."

She snorts, "He's my only nephew. He's kinda like my son."

"Tessa, what did the vet say?"

"Nothing. The clinic's closed." She cries quietly as tears roll down. "She died on the way there."

"I don't know what to say. Where is she?" he thumbs the empty ice cream tub.

"Jun took her; he'll bury her in their garden. I don't want to just roll her in newspaper and let the garbage truck dispose….sorry." she blows her nose in Marcus' handkerchief. "That way I can visit her at my brother's." she ended with a clear-sounding sniff.

"I wanna meet your family." He was surprised at himself.

Fuck!

Tessa pauses as she wipes her eyes and cheeks with the nice smelling hanky. "Sure, but it's quite far…."

"Can we go there tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" she frowns and shakes her head. "No. I have classes, Marcus."

"Oh yeah." He sighs, scratching his brow with his thumbnail."I forgot."

"Uh well…" she glances at him.

"What?" Smiling, Marcus tilts his head.

"Sometimes students drop out and I close the slot so I can have some time to rest." She chuckles softly and did that cute shrug again.

"That's a shot in the dark. Well, how about next weekend?"

Tessa shrugs, "We'll go then. I've nothing planned." She almost blushes at the smile he gave her. "Oh! Jun brought some of my mom's cooking. One of them is rice cake. Wanna try it?"

"Yeah, sure." As Tessa almost jumped out of her chair he follows her with gentle eyes. He chuckles; he's happy that she's happy. He wants to make her happy. Even if she makes him eat that famous revolting duck's egg to make her happy, he would.

Fuck!

-o0o—