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The turbulence echoes through the plane for the fifth time during this three hour flight to DC. You white knuckle grip the armrest next to you, trying to calm your nerves.
You’ve never liked flying and are a bit perturbed with yourself that you’d pick a job where flying across the country was a requirement.
The only thing that made the whole “flying” thing even remotely bearable, was your partner. Who was currently sitting next to you doing his best to calm you down.
The hand resting on top of yours was warm and comforting as you tried not to work yourself up more than you already were.
You were trying to do some breathing exercises you learned about for anxiety but as soon as the “fasten seatbelts” sign came on, all that went out the window.
The captain comes on the intercom and lets you know the turbulence will continue for a while, but not to worry.
You make a small whimper noise when there’s a very abrupt jump of the plane. You feel the hand not currently holding yours, cup your cheek and turn your face towards him.
The rich mocha eyes staring back at you are filled with concern as his thumb strokes your cheek.
“Hey, we’re going to be ok, kid. It’s just normal turbulence. Nothing to worry about, the seatbelts are just a precaution.”
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Marcus Pike. Your partner of four years. The sweetest man on the planet. Your best friend. The only one you would want in this situation with you. He knew exactly what to say at any given time. And if he didn’t, he would tell a corny joke to make you laugh and forget why you were so upset in the first place.
So of course you’ve completely fallen in love with him. It didn’t happen right away though. It wasn’t like you see in the movies where it’s love at first sight. This love was gradual. It also helped that he had just gone through a somewhat messy divorce and wasn’t looking for anything right away. You were content with just being his friend.
It started with you two hanging out after a long night working on a case, you suggested going to your favorite 24-hour diner to get pancakes for dinner. Your shared love of breakfast foods for dinner solidified the friendship before you even got into the topic of movies.
When you discovered that both of your favorite movies were Casablanca, it was like everything just clicked into place.
It wasn’t until you were called in to team up with Agent Abbott’s team on an art theft turned murder, did you realize how in love you were with Marcus. When you saw him interacting with Teresa Lisbon, the pain in your chest was evident there was something more there than you had expected.
You had tried to be happy for him, really you did. But the ache you felt was hard to ignore as you watched him with her while you worked on the case. When he told you he had proposed to her only after a couple of weeks, you knew it was time you moved on.
As much as it hurt, you asked for a transfer to DC and left before you could complete the case. You and Marcus had fallen out of contact for awhile; you were trying to get used to the new job, and last you had heard, he was going undercover for a big case.
For almost a year you had no contact with your best friend. When he finally showed back up in the real world, it was at your office in DC. His operation coming to a close with an impressive amount of arrests, and he had his pick of where he wanted to go. You didn’t find out till later that he inquired about where you had ended up and chose accordingly.
The unexpected arrival of your best friend and the man you were hopelessly in love with was a hard pill to swallow. It took a bit, but you finally found your way back to each other.
Now, two months later, it was like there wasn’t a whole year of your friendship missing. You were back to your old ways, movies and late night pancakes at a local diner you had discovered while he was gone. You didn’t push, but listened when he eventually told you about how it ended with Lisbon.
You honestly had no idea how someone could pass up an opportunity to be with the amazing man before you. As much as you wanted to hate her, you got it. If you had a chance to be with the person you loved, you would take the chance.
Of course, you told yourself it couldn’t be Marcus, not wanting to hurt your relationship or yourself by the inevitable rejection. You knew it would have to be life or death before you admitted your feelings for him.
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Which led you back to this moment. In a metal tube in the sky, wondering if you were going to make it home alive. (You could be a little bit dramatic at times.)
“Marcus.”
You swallow hard as you squeeze his hand, another bump of the plane jostling the thoughts in your head.
“Yeah, kid?”
“There’s something I need to tell you. You know I’m not bold, and I never want to cross a line with you, but if we crash in this plane tonight I want you to know this.”
Marcus looks at you, his hand still cupping your cheek.
“Hey, we’re not going to crash. It’s just a few bumps.”
You shake your head reaching your free hand up and to cover the hand placed on your cheek.
“I don’t want to say something wrong, or make this weird, but I need to tell you this in case there is an accident and I don’t get the chance.”
Marcus looks at you, confusion and concern etched across his face.
“Ok, I’m listening.”
Ok, this is too scary…maybe I should say something else? I can’t just come right out and say I love him. Can I? Maybe I should have done this when I was on solid ground. Or maybe when we went and got pancakes last night—
“Kid?”
You realize you’ve been inner monologuing and you finally look up into his eyes.
“I want to eat pancakes for dinner.” You blurt out and scrunch your face in confusion. That’s not exactly what you wanted to say but you can’t stop the word vomit from coming out as you continue, your thoughts getting jumbled yet again by a sharp bump of the plane. “I want to know everything you’re thinking, even the small mundane things. I want to watch a tv show together and if one of us is sick, we could watch it in bed.”
You take a deep breath as you continue, Marcus just staring at you. Not wanting to interrupt this crazy string of thoughts.
“I want to go out with you on the weekends. I want to get all dressed up, just to get undressed. I never thought I’d be brave enough to say this, so please please stop me before I do if you’re still in love with her.”
You pause and look up into his eyes, looking for any indication that he would stop you. His eyes have widened with each word you spoke, you berate yourself when you see the look on his face. A m I really brave enough to say this? Will he even feel the same way? Please let him feel the same way and say it first.
“Marcus, I—”
Before you can even finish that thought, the hand holding your face slides down behind your head and pulls you forward. Your lips meet his as he kisses you, his tongue asking for permission before you open up to him. He goes to deepen the kiss when the plane bounces so hard you both jump in your seats.
You break apart and look up into the eyes of your best friend.
“I love you too, kid. I always have. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here, I just didn’t want to destroy the friendship we had. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you from my life.The past year alone was evidence enough I can’t live without you in my life.”
You look at him with tears in your eyes.
“You’ve always known? It took me forever to figure it out. When did you know?”
“I’ve loved you from the first time you asked: ‘do you want to get pancakes for dinner?’”
You laughed and reached up to cup his face, bringing it closer so you could kiss him again.
“I love you Marcus.”
“Here’s looking at you kid.”
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