Abby Griffin did not understand how she always ended up in Marcus Kane's quarters.
It was always the same journey. She would be running off her feet in Medical, or debating with the Councillors over another late night meeting that executing Pike (who was still locked up in prison, relentless about giving up his mission to annihilate the Grounders) was not an option; when she would feel exhaustion drain her body. She would begin to pack up and make the sleepy, sluggish trip back to her quarters.
And end up in Marcus's room instead.
Abby took in a rattling breath as her eyes scanned his room. She examined the pictures on the walls, the empty glasses of water collecting grime and dust on his coffee table, the clothes folded neatly in his cubby hole, and the dint in his pillow case and the faint creases in his bed sheets that outlined Marcus's previous restless sleeps.
It was all too familiar to Abby. Visiting his room after a long night at Medical, and all but collapsing onto his couch in exhaustion, where he'd have a cup of tea waiting for her. Dropping by his room to give him a snack before he left for his late night patrol. Or just sitting on his couch as she he went over some paperwork, chatting and watching him work until she'd drift off to sleep on his couch.
Abby knew that she should leave. The memories were too painful, clawing in her stomach until she felt sick, and clenching onto her heart. But instead Abby swallowed back the pain and went to sit on the edge of his bed. She ran her hands over the cool, crisp sheets (yet another reminder that they hadn't been slept on for weeks), and fought the urge to crawl under the covers and burry herself in his smell.
Abby closed her eyes and as she always did, let the memories of Marcus Kane take her away. She remembered their kiss. It had lit her skin aflame and sent her heart galloping and world spinning, exploding feelings within her chest that she didn't know she had harvested towards Marcus for all these months.
Abby brushed her fingers over her lips, tears constricting in her chest. She missed him. There was no other way to put him. Her skin burned for his touch. Her lips hungered for his lips. Her heart ached for his love. He had woven his way deep into her heart like delicate thread intertwining through canvas, and his departure had torn the stitches apart, leaving a gaping hole in her bleeding heart.
It had been a week since Pike had been overthrown and Abby was elected as Chancellor. A week since Commander Luna had ascended to power and stopped the war just in time.
Yet Marcus Kane had not returned.
And with each passing day without him, Abby found herself walking back into his quarters, numb and unresponsive. It was as if an invisible force was tugging at her heartstrings. As if she wished to imprint their memories that they shared in his room deep into her mind. As if she didn't want to forget him. It was as if he was-
NO.
Abby shook her head, squeezing her eyes. He wasn't dead. But those thoughts didn't stop the knot from tightening her chest. Again Abby found herself fighting the urge to crawl under his covers and sob into his pillowcase.
So instead she stood up to leave when she spotted one of his shirts lying crumpled on the floor. Puzzlement pinched her eyebrows. It was odd to see any of Marcus's clothes not folded neatly into his cubbyhole, tidy and organised. Clearly he was in a rush that morning when he was getting dressed. Abby went to pick the shirt up, wanting to fold it and place it with the other clothes.
Yet she hesitated.
Abby brought the shirt up to her nose, breathing in the scent. Unlike Marcus's bed, the shirt was still warm. It smelt like forest; like musk and dirt. Like him. She inhaled deeply this time, as if she was taking her first breath of air since her life on the Ark. She closed her eyes, letting his smell consume her senses. She smelt rain water, and images of Marcus showing up in her tent dripping wet after patrolling in the rain flashed in her mind. She smelt smoke, and her mind was flooded with memories of Marcus Kane around the campfire; flashing her a smile, passing her a glass of moonshine to warm her bones, or walking over to place a blanket around her shoulders when it got too cold. She smelt crisp leaves and salt and something so uniquely him. She smelt him.
The tears choked her throat, building quickly in her chest. Her hands trembled. But she managed to unbutton her top anyway and slip off the denim material. Then she was slipping on Marcus's shirt, feeling the soft cotton fabric brush against her skin. She closed her eyes. If she imagined it hard enough, it was almost like it was Marcus's arms embracing her, his chest pushed up against hers so closely like they did when he had kissed her, so close to her that she was drowning in his smell and touch.
Abby hugged her torso, drawing her shoulders together almost protectively. She looked at Marcus's bed and didn't even bother fighting it anymore. She slipped off her boots and jeans and crawled right in. Abby drew her knees to her chest and wept.
She wept for Marcus's return. She wept for lost time. All the mornings they could have spent waking up in this bed together, and all the nights of passion they could have had under these covers. She wept for all those missed opportunities that had come and gone, moments she had to tell him what he meant to her.
Abby Griffin wept for her dying hope.
Her sobs shook her body, her cries long and aching and growing progressively louder. And perhaps that was why she didn't hear the door click open.
"Abby".
Abby inhaled sharply, her tears ceasing. But her quaky sobs continued to rumble throughout her chest. She closed her eyes, refusing to turn around and address the noise.
"Abby".
The familiar whisper was heavenly in her ears and melted warm into her heart. Abby closed her eyes, sure that she was hallucinating; sure that she had finally lost the plot. But she couldn't resist that voice. Slowly, she rolled around to her side, her breath stopping short when she saw him.
"Marcus," the whisper fell from her lips, cracked and broken.
His lips tilted into a hint of a smile. God how she missed that smile.
Abby quickly scrambled up from his bed as he approached her. It took every fibre in her being not to run towards him and jump on him in a tight embrace. Instead the two of them met in the middle, her hand reaching out to his shoulder, and the other tracing down his cheek.
"You're back," Abby finally managed to utter. "I-I thought you were dead," Abby swallowed back a sob, but the tears shook in her chest anyway.
Marcus's eyes softened, concerned lines crinkling his features. "I'm sorry. We tried to get back sooner, but Ontari had escaped with her people and had set up camp near us. It was too risky to leave our cover. We had no choice but to wait for her army to pass before we could leave".
Abby shook her head, not wanting to waste another precious minute talking about Ontari or Grounders or anything that could threaten them now. "It doesn't matter, you're here now".
She reached for his cheeks, gentle fingers ghosting over his forehead and down the slope of his nose, running over his cheeks once more, familiarising herself with his skin, his face. Reminding herself that he was here, alive, and with her.
Marcus reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. "Abby, I'm right here".
Abby nodded, as if to reassure herself too. But Marcus sensed the sobs building in her chest. "Abby," he tried again.
Suddenly Abby was burying her face into his chest, the tears trickling from her eyes. Marcus wrapped his arms around her frame, drawing her closer to him.
"Abby," he murmured into her hair.
"I thought you were dead," she sobbed into his chest, her arms tightening around him. "I had lost hope Marcus. I stopped believing that you would return. And I just can't…I can't do this alone. I can't do this without you".
"Abby," her name cracked in his throat. "Abby, I'm right here. I'm with you. You'll never have to do this alone again".
Abby lifted her head up, her face tracked with tears. She met his tender eyes, and felt the knot in her chest slowly ease. "I know," she finally whispered. "I'm sorry. It's just been hard without you".
"I know," Marcus whispered, his fingers brushing away her tears.
It was then that Marcus allowed himself to truly take her in. Her honey brown curls that were usually tied back or braided to the side, now tumbled around her frame in a messy tousle of curls. Heavy bags usually outlined Abby's eyes from her lack of sleep, but now they were swollen from tears and red from exhaustion. And her clothes…Marcus glanced at the shirt that swallowed her tiny frame, falling just over her thighs. His eyes drifted over to her clothes next to his bed.
Abby followed his gaze, her eyes widening when she remembered that she was wearing his shirt. Marcus returned his gaze back to her, an amused twinkle touching his eye. "It looks better on you anyway".
Abby dipped her head down, a blush rising in her cheeks. "I missed you," she said softly, as if hoping to explain herself.
Marcus felt his heart catch in his throat and he mirrored her words, bringing a smile to her lips. His hands went to her waist, his fingers toying with the material of her shirt (well his shirt). When he met Abby's gaze again, he saw something darker stir within them. Desire. They blazed in her eyes like a black fire, sending his heart pounding and desire crashing through his body.
Abby's hands slid up the slope of his shoulder and curled around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair. Marcus swallowed a small groan.
"Abby," her name came out a little huskier than he had intended.
Abby's lips tilted into a playful smile and she leaned up, bringing her lips to his. Their kiss was soft and tender, but sent her heart fluttering wildly. Marcus responded instantly, his hands curling around her waist and pulling her towards him, her body pressing against his. His tongue soon slipped through her parted lips as he deepened the kiss, kissing her slowly as if he wanted to savour her taste, to memorise the feel of her lips on his.
It wasn't long before Marcus pulled back, his teeth grazing her lower lip as he did so. He searched her intense gaze with lustrous eyes, as if searching for a confirmation. But Abby was already running her hands down his torso, desire building quickly within her.
Marcus parted his lips, perhaps to object or hesitate, but Abby quickly kissed him, taking him by surprise. "I think we've waited long enough, don't you think?"
She didn't miss the flames fluming in his eyes. His lips crashed back onto hers, his fingers slipping under her shirt and ghosting down her sides, sending a shiver up her spine. Abby moaned into his mouth when she felt his hands squeezing her arse, and tugged onto his hair, pulling him closer to her.
She gasped when she felt him lift her into the air, and quickly wrapped her legs around his waist. Her forehead dipped down to meet his as she repressed a bubbly chuckle at the romantic gesture. Yet again, she couldn't help but think about how very un-Kane this was, scooping her up and carrying her to the bed. But it was very much Marcus Kane, the softer, and more affectionate man, who followed his heart as well as his head, and who Abby was suddenly learning may be a bit of a romantic deep inside too.
Marcus kicked of his boots as Abby fell back onto the bed. She watched and waited for him with hungry eyes and baited breath as he stripped off his shirt and boots. She reached out for his hand and pulled him down on top of her. Marcus straddled her waist, dipping his head down to capture her lips in a slow and passionate kiss. His fingers slipped under her shirt and explored her sides, tracing patterns down her ribs. Abby squirmed under his fingertips, ticklish, before chuckling into his lips.
Marcus pulled back and stared down at her with tender and adoration, her smiles from her previous laughter crinkling her features. Abby reached for his cheek, her eyes mirroring his tender and warmth. Marcus leaned further into her touch.
"God I'm in love with your laugh".
Abby bit her lip, repressing another breathy chuckle. "Really Marcus, my laugh?"
No. He was just in love with her.
But he didn't tell her that. Instead he crashed his lips onto hers. He placed hot kisses down her jaw, behind the tender spot behind her ear, before burying his face into her neck, his beard tickling her skin and stirring a few giggles from her chest. Her laughter quickly turned into moans as Marcus slipped his hand under her shirt to envelop her breast, his lips travelling south.
Abby arched her back into his hand and quickly helped him to shed off her shirt and bra. Marcus kissed a pathway down the valley between her breasts and over her stomach, his fingers roaming her naked body, intent of exploring every inch of Abby Griffin. Abby moaned from above him, her fingers raking down his back and entangling through his hair, guiding him further down to where she wanted him most.
But Marcus went to capture her lips in a biting kiss once more, his hands threading through her curls as his warm eyes met hers, melting her heart to goo.
"God I missed you," he whispered into her lips, his forehead dipping down to meet hers.
Abby's breath caught in her throat. "So did I," she murmured. She closed her eyes, her heart hammering in her chest. "I love you Marcus".
Marcus's heart skipped a beat. He lifted his head up to search her eyes, his lips mirroring her smile.
"I love you," she whispered again. "I love you. I-"
Marcus swallowed her cries in another passionate kiss, drinking in her lips as if they were his only source of oxygen. When they broke apart he breathed, "And I love you too".
He didn't miss the way her breath hitched in her throat and her features melted with warmth and affection. He kissed her lips again, murmuring "I love you". Then Marcus continued to kiss every inch of Abby Griffin as if she was a Goddess for his lips to worship, marking his confessions of love into her skin, making her moan and come undone beneath him.
Then Marcus's body covered hers and they lose themselves to each other, their bodies' moving slowly together in equal rhythm, melting as one.
It seemed that the darkest hour had ticked by and a new dawn was rising outside their city walls. But in this room there were only Marcus and Abby and their confessions of love, two souls surrendering themselves to their hearts' desires.
I love you
I love you
I love you
…