DID YOU NOTICE MY PEN NAME CHANGE? I WAS FEELING FESTIVE, AND MY NAME IS CANDICE...PEOPLE SHORTEN IT TO CANDY ALL THE TIME AND I USUALLY hate THAT...BUT. I don't know why I was typing in caps. I'm weird. Anyway, I changed it because best thing since cookies was boring me. I occasionally need change. Change is good.

Man in Black

Izzie didn't usually take special notice to peoples' wardrobe, but she did notice Mark's. He had taken to wearing black and she wanted to know why. It wasn't something that was always on her mind, but she was passably curious.

Of course, his infuriating looks and harrassment-worthy comments usually kept her distracted enough to forget about her curiosity.

"Dr. Stevens," Mark said briskly, holding out a five dollar bill, "I need caffeine. Stat."

Izzie ignored him. Every time she was on his service, he told her to get him coffee, and she refused every time. He treated it as a game.

When he continued to wave the money in front of her face, she neatly plucked it from his hand and stuffed it in the front pocket of her scrub shirt. "Thank you, Dr. Sloan. Now, who's the lucky patient?"

Instead of being offended, Mark was delighted by the reaction. He adored her audacity. Plus, when he pushed her enough, she got genuinely angry with him. She was sexy when she was angry. Most of the time, though, she pretended to be unaffected by him. Perhaps she actually was unaffected, but Mark didn't like to think such negative thoughts.

"Today, Dr. Stevens, I think we're going to spend the day learning about respect." He dipped his fingers into her breast pocket and fished his five dollar bill out with a wicked grin.

"Does sexual harrassment mean nothing to you?" Izzie looked dangerously close to kicking his ass.

Mark decided that, although it would probably be hot, he shouldn't push her any farther. "I'm just saying you should be more like Dr. Karev," Mark said, ignoring her righteous indignation. "I give him money and tell him to get me coffee, he does it. I'm an attending and you're an intern. I'm your superior." He crossed his arms over his chest and gave Izzie a self-satisfied smirk.

Izzie rolled her eyes. "You're my attending, yes, but that doesn't give you the right to order me to do things that gave nothing to do with learning or doctoring. And it definitely doesn't give you the right to fondle me." She crossed her arms over her chest and mimicked Mark's stance.

Mark stared at her for a few minutes before a wide grin spread across his face. "Okay," he conceded. "I have a patient for us. Don't stare. She's self-conscious about her nose..."

Izzie followed him, feeling satisfied with the turn of events. It wasn't until later that she remembered her question about his clothes.

That night, at Joe's, Izzie wasn't at all surprised to see Mark sitting at the end of the bar. He was not so subtly checking out the female clientele.

When his eyes met hers, a slow smile spread across his face and his eyes silently appraised her. He seemed to like what he saw.

Izzie was horrified when she felt herself blush. She cleared her throat and looked away. "Hey, guys," she said. "I'll see you back at the house, okay?"

Meredith and Derek were too involved in their playful banter to really pay attention so she silently left them. She had a feeling she wouldn't be seeing them and she was perfectly okay with that. Although, she wished the would be...quieter...when she was home.

When she approached Mark, he used his feet to slide the stool out from beneath the bar. "Dr. Stevens," Mark said with good humor. "My favorite intern."

Izzie ignored the comment as she sat down. From anyone else, it would have been a flattering comment. She suspected Mark had a lot of "favorites" and that they were all female. "Dr. Sloan," she acknowledged. Her eyes fell to his black button-down shirt. She remembered her question. "Why do you always wear black?"

Mark's smile faltered. "What?"

Izzie shrugged. "Every time I see you in your street clothes, you're wearing black. I was curious."

"Well," he said solemnly, "I wear black for all the death I see. It's sad and I had to release my pain and anguish somehow."

Izzie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're a regular Man in Black." She should have known better than to expect a straight answer from him.

Mark shook his head, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I constantly underestimate you, and you constantly surprise me."

Izzie turned to him with a confused look. She had no idea what he was talking about.

"Johnny Cash," he explained. "The Man in Black reference threw me a little."

Izzie decided that he was an idiot and probably a little drunk. "You know what? I should go."

Mark laid his hand on her arm and she glared at him. "I was joking earlier. I don't always wear black, but I do tend to wear it more than any other color because I hate doing laundry. It covers stains."

Izzie was caught between disgust at his true explanation and relief that he'd told her the truth. "Okay then." The neutral response was usually best.

They sat in silence for a while, Mark drinking copious amounts of alcohol and Izzie tossing beer nuts into a glass. "So." Mark turned to her with a lop-sided smile that she was ashamed to admit made her heart flutter. "Is there a chance that I'm getting lucky tonight?"

She knew she shouldn't have been surprised. "Not with me," she sputtered.

Mark gave her a grin that told her he was clearly inebriated. "Then you should probably vacate that barstool. There's a hot little blonde over there that has been staring at me all night." He looked over at a group of women and furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh no."

"What?" Izzie turned toward the group. The "hot little blonde" he'd been referring to was still staring at him. Izzie didn't see the problem.

"This is your fault," Mark sighed. "I've drank too much and now everyone's acquired a twin."

Izzie rolled her eyes. Of course he would blame it on her. "Well, good luck with the blonde. I'm sure she's going to love your drunkeness."

Mark had a solution and had no problems sharing it with Izzie. "I'll just get her as drunk as me. Then she won't notice."

Izzie left before he could elaborate.

The next morning, when Mark requested her as an intern, she talked louder than usual and slammed things around. And she couldn't help noticing a crusty stain by his third button.

The End

This was completely random. I was listening to Johnny Cash's Man in Black and this line popped into my head: "Yeah, you're a regular Man in Black." Then I had to lead up to it...then I couldn't resist Drunk!Mark. He's fun. So I noticed and am slightly (but not really) ashamed to admit that I only write Mer/Der when I'm focusing on another person/couple. I'm sorry if this offends people, but...they're boring. Oh, yeah. I'm going away for a week and I'm going to TRY (try being the key word here) to update Unlikely Love. That is all.