Part 2: Older? yes. Wiser? ...maybe.
Since becoming partners, both Mary and Marshall had been in more than their fair share of fist fights. Usually in defense of a witness, but on other nights, nights like tonight, it was entirely because they were partners. Sometimes Marshall regretted the fact that partners were supposed to back each other up, no matter what. Especially given he was almost always backup for Mary when she said or did something that caused those around her to desire her head on a platter.
Tonight was only special because Marshall had been running late. It was all Alice Water's fault. Marshall had his coat on and was just following Mary out of the sunshine building and into the warm April night when his cell phone chirped. He checked the display, sighed audibly and flipped the phone open.
"Marshall." He tried to convey that he was too busy to be bothered in the terse greeting, I didn't work.
Five minutes later Alice was still talking and Mary was beginning to pace. Marshall inserted an "uh huh," to ensure his witness that he was listening to her tale of woe before pulling the phone away from his ear and covering the mouth piece with one hand. "This is going to take a while, meet you there?"
Mary nodded and in less than a minute she'd started the probe and disappeared, leaving only a trail of acrid black exhaust in her wake.
Marshall leaned against the grill of his SUV and listened with endless patience as Alice complained about her neighbor's (crack dealers, she was sure of it), her job (a monkey could do it, in fact they hired a monkey named Earl just last week and are paying him twice what I make just because he graduated from some fancy university) , the weather (you could fry an egg on the sidewalk in the afternoon but by eight it's cold enough to freeze your nose right off), and a dozen other things that had nothing to do with her safety or security and for which Marshall had no solution. When she finished her rant Marshall reminded her that the ABQ PD had already checked out the neighbours (full time foster parents who grew their own vegetables, not crack dealers) and offered to help her search for a more interesting job. This set her off again, this time on five minutes of gushing praise mostly garbled by the fact she was crying and then she hung up.
Reluctantly, Marshall re-entered the sunshine building and filled out a report about the call before he finally climbed behind the wheel of his SUV and drove to the Two Fools Tavern where Mary was waiting.
Two Fools Tavern was Mary's favorite bar in ABQ, and not just because of the name. It was dark and cozy with high quality alcohol and a steady stream of interesting characters. It was also one of the bars that Jinx had never frequented. Marshall knew she frequently came without him. He didn't usually worry about it, Mary could take care of herself better than anyone else he knew. But despite that knowledge, the scene that met his eyes when he pushed open the heavy oak door brought him to an abrupt halt.
Mary stood by the bar, clearly trying to extricate herself from the tall blonde man Marshall had never seen before who held one of her arms in a tight grip.
Marshall was upon them in seconds. "Mary?" he asked, alternating between glaring at the stranger and checking to make sure Mary was ok.
"Marshall!" Her smile was too wide, clearly she had had more than the three empty shots lined up on the bar before her. "Matt was just leaving." Even tipsy and smiling, her meaning was clear.
"Hey now!" Matt piped up, from his steady stance and unwavering glower in Marshall's direction, Marshall assumed the man was relatively sober. "That's no way to treat a man who has been buying you shots for the last hour!"
"No." Mary said pointing an unsteadying finger in Matt's direction. "Drinks. No sex."
"Don't be such a tease."
Marshall grit his teeth. When she sobered up he owed Mary the song, he'd told her a dozen times that just because she could get men to buy her endless free drinks without putting out didn't mean they weren't expecting her to. "The lady said no."
Mary made a rude noise, probably in reference to Marshall daring to call her a lady but thankfully kept any other thoughts to herself.
Matt glared at Marshall, "Back off old man, this is none of your business."
"Like hell it isn't," Marshall said in a dangerously quiet voice, "that's my partner you're groping. Now fuck off."
With a final glare Matt dropped Mary's arm and turned away, only to whip back around, a well aimed fist hitting Marshall squarely in the jaw.
Unprepared for the hit, Marshall staggered back several steps, knocking Mary back with him. When he got his feet under him he lunged for Matt. With surprising amount of strength Marshall grabbed Matt by the front of his shirt, lifted him a few inches off the ground and slammed him back against the bar. After that it was a quick flurry of punches and kicks. Marshall got Matt's nose, Matt's steel toed boots found their mark in Marshall's groin and Mary managed to get a bloody nose and a split lip trying to 'help'.
Eventually the bartender and one of his regulars managed to separate the three and expel them from the restaurant. The cool evening air brought Marshall back to his sense and he grabbed Mary with both hands, restraining her form further attempts at combat, and guided her towards his truck.
To ensure she wouldn't run back to finish what Matt had started he sat her in the backseat with the child locks engaged and buckled the seat belt for her despite the slightly slurred, "I can do it!" One he was sure she was securely fastened in and couldn't leap out of the SUV he climbed behind the wheel. Without really thinking, Marshall navigated the mostly empty streets between the tavern and his apartment. Mary kept up a stream of drunken exclamations, but he didn't bother to respond. There was no point trying to explain to her why a man who spent money on her might expect some physical show of appreciation afterwards, at least not until the morning when her head ached and she lacked the strength to do much more than nod and tell him to shut up.
Mary came out of the SUV and up the stairs to Marshall's door much more peacefully than he was used to. The last time he'd dragged her out of a bar and let her crash on his couch she'd tried at least three times to run back to the SUV to rejoin the fun he'd dragged her from, but tonight she led the way. Marshall unlocked the door and let her enter first, locking the dead bolt and sliding a rarely used chain across the door before turning to face his partner.
Mary's nose wasn't swollen and the active bleeding seemed to have stopped, but there was a trail of crusted red blood starting at her nose and ending in a red-brown splotch at the collar of her shirt. His own face felt like it was swelling in a few different places.
He shepherded her towards the bathroom. Once she was seated on the edge of the bathtub he soaked a cloth in warm water and used it to gently clean away the dried blood. It was not an easy task as Mary kept trying to pull off her dirty shirt. When he was finished with her he quickly wiped the blood off his own face and probed bone around his left eye which was already starting to swell. Nothing appeared broken, but he would have a hell of a shiner in the morning even if he iced it immediately.
"Shower!" Mary announced, once again pulling at her blood stained shirt in an attempt to slide it off.
Marshall stilled her movement with one hand. "I have a better idea."
One hand on the small of her back he guided her into his bedroom. In a matter of minutes he had a clean t-shirt and a pair of shorts with a drawstring. He set the clothing beside her. "You change into these, I'll make us some coffee."
Mary smiled and sat primly on the edge of his bed. There was an unfamiliar glint in her eye and Marshall hesitated before finally walking to the kitchen where he set to work brewing a strong 12 cup pot of Mary's favorite coffee and a plate of crackers to soak up the alcohol in her stomach. Five minutes later he reentered the bedroom carrying two mugs of black coffee in one hand and the crackers in the other. He was two steps into the room when he saw Mary.
There was a tremendous clatter as the two coffee mugs and plate of crackers hit the floor, each rolling a little before coming to a halt in the middle of a small lake of coffee peppered with soda-cracker rafts. Marshall ignored it all, his eyes were glued to Mary's naked form standing in the middle of the room.
"M-Mary, wh-what are you doing?" he stammered.
The glint was still in her eyes as she moved towards him, this time he named it: predatory. Marshall hurriedly stepped further into the room and grabbed the t-shirt from his bed, holding it out like a shield between them.
Mary plucked the t-shirt from his fingers with surprising dexterity considering how much alcohol she had consumed earlier that night and tossed in on the ground. "s'not what I want."
She was so close now Marshall could feel the heat of her body. "You don't want this, Mary." He kept his voice gentle, soothing, like he was talking to a wild animal. She was between him and the door, and he didn't trust himself to touch her to move her out of his way. "Now why don't you put on a shirt and we will have some nice coffee."
Mary shook her head and took another step towards him.
"Come on Mare. You just had too much to drink." Marshall backed up until his back met the wall.
She brought one hand up and ran her finger tips lightly across his face, starting at his hair line, dancing across his cheek bone and ending against his neck. "Beautiful," she whispered.
Marshall swallowed. "Mare…" he pleaded helplessly as she closed the distance between them, pressing her naked body against him.
Marshall's heart pounded in his chest and he could feel the tightening of arousal in his scrotum. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine anything that would stop him from grabbing his willing partner and fucking her against his bedroom wall. Her lips brushed his Adams apple and he came up empty.
Tongue and teeth joined lips teasing, and caressing his throat and Marshall surrendered. He would regret it in the morning, they both would, but in that moment, with her breasts brushing against the fabric of his shirt and her mouth suckling at the tender skin of his throat, he couldn't care about tomorrow.
Powered by something greater than thought, his hands rose to her breasts. He cupped them first, gently taking their weight in his palms thumbs gently running over the velvety skin. Mary gasped when the rough pad of his thumb flicked over her nipples. When he began to gently knead her breasts, circling her nipples with is thumb she arched against him, pressing her body against his growing erection.
Marshall released one breast and let his hand drop to her ass. He dug his fingers into her warm flesh, pressing her firmly against him and forced his knee between her thighs. Mary rocked against him and used both hands in his hair to pull him into a deep kiss. She tasted like tequila and strawberries and Marshall plunged his tongue into her mouth. He pinched her nipple to feel her gasp in pleasure.
He guided them towards the bed, pressing forward until Mary's legs hit the edge of the bed and she sank down onto it. She slid up to the pillows at the top and gazed up at him with eager lust darkened eyes.
The space between them lifted the fog from Marshall's brain and he realized what he was about to do. He hesitated. If he went through with this he would be just another notch in her bedpost, another convenient cowboy for her to ride. He didn't want that.
"I'm sorry, Mare." He whispered stepping quickly back towards the door, "I need more." Before she realized what he was doing, Marshall was out of the room and the door was firmly shut. He rested his head against the cool wood of the closed door and held the handle tightly to stop any attempt Mary might make of coming into the rest of the house.
He didn't know how long he stood there, holding the door shut, willing his body to cool off and his brain to return to logic. When he finally straightened up and stepped back there was silence from his room. Cautiously, he cracked open the door and peaked in.
Mary was sprawled half under the blankets, wearing the t-shirt he had pulled out for her, sound asleep. Quietly, so he wouldn't wake her, Marshall tiptoed into the room and pulled the blankets the rest of the way up. He pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead and grabbed the second pillow before retreating to the living room. Tonight he would sleep on the couch. Maybe an icepack on his eye would help.