After some time had passed Marcus was stirred awake by a knock on the door. Groggily rising out of bed, Marcus slowly trudged his way to the door, yawning as he opened it.
Opening the door he was greeted by Kinsley and Luna standing side by side. In Luna's hand was a small, black jewelry box. And in Kinsley's hand, was a black bag.
Marcus took a few seconds to process what he was seeing. "Who are those for?" He asked as he wiped his eyes.
"Can we come in first?" Kinsley asked with a smirk.
Marcus nodded as he stepped back from the door. "Hey, I wanted to apologize about what happened earlier." He said sincerely, watching as Luna and Kinsley entered the room. "I was just, overwhelmed you know, and I just wanted to sleep when I got back, but I should've–"
"It's ok Marcus," Kinsley said with a chuckle as she closed the door and locked it. "I need to apologize too, but first your sister has something to give you."
Marcus raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Luna. She was smiling as she stood before him. She reached a hand up, handing Marcus the jewelry box.
Marcus was confused, but hesitantly accepted the box. The box was small enough to sit in the palm of his hand.
Opening it, Marcus was greeted with one earring. It was the dangle type, with two white spheres, a smaller one placed above the bottom bigger one.
Marcus studied the earring carefully, before looking down at Luna. "D-did you buy this?" He stammered.
Luna didn't have any money, and he certainly didn't remember giving her any.
Luna shook her head. "Kinsley paid for it, it was about 140 euros." She explained, "But I think it'll look good on you Marcus." Luna said proudly.
Marcus's eyes grew wide, "why?" He asked as he placed the earring back in its box. "I can't take this." He said as he handed the box to Kinsley.
Luna's smile faded, replaced by a frown.
Kinsley gently pushed the box away, keeping it in Marcus's hand. "Marcus it's yours, that's what a gift is," Kinsley said with a soft chuckle as she placed her bag on the bed.
Marcus shook his head. He knew how hard it was for college students, and even if the academies operated differently money should still be hard to come by for its students.
"You should save your money." Marcus explained, "Do you even have enough to spend like this?" He asked.
"Ouch." Kinsley said with a playful smile, "Well I get paid to play for this academy." She explained. "It's not on the level of the male athletes, but it's enough."
"How much?" Marcus asked curiously.
Kinsley's cheeks flushed. "F-fifteen thousand." She stammered shyly.
"A year!?" Marcus asked in surprise.
"A month." She corrected him.
Marcus couldn't believe his ears. Kinsley must've been loaded! "Just for playing football?" Marcus asked, how much do the guys make?"
Kinsley glanced up at the ceiling of her room, clearly in deep thought. "Uhm, I think it's around sixty thousand for the top athletes."
"S-sixty thousand?" Marcus asked in disbelief, his jaw-dropping.
Kinsley chuckled, "It's a part of our academy contracts." She explained, "It's fairly cheap to attend any academy, but if you excel at what you do, then the academy awards you with a contract."
Marcus nodded as he tapped his thumb on the box, digesting the information. "So then, you aren't broke?" Marcus asked.
Kinsley nodded. "I do well for myself." She said as she gestured towards the box in Marcus's hand. "Besides, Luna picked this earring out specifically, so I think you should accept it."
Marcus chuckled as he looked over to Luna, who looked up with a worried expression. "Are you going to keep it?" Luna asked.
Marcus nodded. "Hell yeah, I'm gonna keep it." Marcus said with a laugh, "This chick is rich, we're gonna milk her for all eternity!"
"Marcus," Kinsley said angrily, crossing her arms.
Marcus chuckled, "I'm kidding, that's a joke, people."
Kinsley smirked as she shook her head, she reached into the bag on her bed and pulled out a tracksuit.
It was black with silver trimmings.
"I got you this, to replace your ruined clothes from this morning," Kinsley explained as she handed him the clothes. "It's not much, but it's the same kind I wear so I know it's comfortable."
Marcus accepted the tracksuit with a smile. "Thank you, Kinsley."
She blushed. "You're welcome."
"Can we put the earring on now Marcus?" Luna asked impatiently, a wide smile returning to her lips.
Marcus nodded. "Ok, ok." Marcus said as he sat on the bed, "Since you only bought one earring, I assume you know I only have one piercing?"
Luna nodded. "Yes." She said excitedly as she climbed onto the bed beside Marcus.
She then took the jewelry box and opened it. Taking out the earring, and gently guided it into Marcus's ear.
Luna then climbed down from the bed and stepped back. The smile on her lips grew as she studied him.
"What's with the smile?" Marcus asked playfully.
Luna shook her head. "It's nothing, you just look very handsome Marcus." She said playfully as she crossed her arms. Her gaze never wavered from him.
Marcus chuckled as he turned to look at Kinsley, "What do you think?" He asked with a grin, slowly moving his head back and forth so that the earring moved along with his head.
Kingsley chuckled. "Don't do that!" She said, covering her mouth as she laughed.
Marcus obliged, his playing grin never leaving his lips.
Kinsley finally stopped laughing and looked down at Marcus with a gentle smile. "You like nice Marcus." She then paused, her smile fading slightly. "About earlier, I'm sorry for getting angry with you, it wasn't my intention to make you angry or upset."
Marcus signed as he crossed his arms. "No, you were right to ask questions." Marcus began. "I can't show up like that and expect you not to ask questions."
He then looked up to Kinsley. "I won't tell you what I do, but I will try my best to answer any questions you might have." He said earnestly. "And if you want, I'll let you examine my body next time too, so you can see that I'm not hurt."
Kinsley's cheeks turned a shade of pink as she averted her gaze. "Examine your body?" She said softly as she fumbled with her fingers. "What do you mean by that?"
Marcus began to remove his shirt. Realizing it was better to show her what he was talking about.
"M-Marcus." Kinsley stammered, "Your sister is still in her." She said in desperation, her cheeks burning hot.
Marcus nodded, "it's fine." He replied as he approached Kinsley. "Look," he said as he gestured towards his chest. "No cuts, no bruises, no pain." He explained.
Kinsley hurriedly nodded as she averted her gaze. "I-I see Marcus, I'm glad you're okay." She said softly.
Marcus shook his head, the advice Dr. Fletcher gave him still swirling in his mind. He needed to be open with Kinsley, otherwise more arguments could form in the future.
Marcus grew closer to Kinsley.
Luna watched with an oblivious smile, either not seeing the tension, or being perfectly fine with it.
Kinsley closed her eyes as she took a step back. "Marcus your sister is still in here, we can't–"
Marcus grabbed Kinsley's hand. He could feel her heart racing, her hand was hot to the touch. Marcus was worried Kinsley may have been sick and that's probably why she was so hesitant.
"It's fine." Marcus explained, "Nothing will happen."
He then placed Kinsley's hand on his chest. Her grip immediately tightened, squeezing Marcus' skin and muscle in her hand.
Marcus chuckled. "Go crazy." He suggested, "Touch or punch anywhere, and you'll see."
Kinsley's face was a mixture of embarrassment and anxiety. She lowered her gaze to his chest and reluctantly allowed her hand to explore. As her hand rubbed around his chest, a small smile grew on her lips.
"See." Marcus said with a proud grin, "perfectly fine, as I said before."
Kinsley nodded as she pulled her hand away. "Thank you, Marcus." She said softly, "That's all I cared about."
"As I told you before," Luna said with a triumphant expression. "He's always fine, nothing hurts Marcus."
Marcus chuckled as he looked down at Luna, her picked her up and cradled her. Luna giggled as she looked up at Marcus. "Thanks for sticking up for me." He said, before kissing Luna's cheek.
"Always," Luna confirmed with a nod.
Kinsley silently nodded. "Uhm, I have practice today, so I should probably shower now." She explained, her cheeks still red.
Luna and Marcus stared at her curiously. "But hasn't your team already started?" Luna asked. "You'll be late."
Kinsley nodded, "Practice lasts about three hours, I'm sure it's fine if I'm a little late."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Marcus asked, "I would've let you go earlier if you had."
Kinsley chuckled as she walked towards the door. "Because I wasn't going today, but now, I uhm, I need a distraction for a bit." She explained before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind herself.
Marcus observed the door for a few seconds before shrugging. He then looked down at Luna. "I sent the report back to Dr. Fletcher." He said, "And I'll be meeting with Mayflower again tomorrow."
Luna nodded. "That's good, if you ever need any help just say the word Marcus."
Marcus smirked. "Of course."
— — —
The next morning, Marcus sat outside the bar where Paul wanted to meet yesterday.
Marcus's morning was uneventful. He woke up before Kinsley showered, and cleaned. He got dressed in the tracksuit Kinsley had got him, along with the earrings Luna gave him.
Speaking of Luna, he left her Kinsley again. This time it wasn't as emotional as before, just a quick kiss on the forehead and a hug.
While Marcus was lost in thought, Paul had parked his car by the curb. He then lowered his window and stuck his hand out the window. He tapped the roof of his car twice. "Lad, ya just gonna stand there?" He asked with a grin as he looked back at Marcus.
Marcus looked over to Paul and smirked. "Sorry, just thinking about someone." He explained as he approached Paul's car.
As Marcus opened the door to slip inside, Paul said something that sent a shiver down his spine.
"You mean that cute lass at that academy?" Paul asked with a toothy grin. "She quite that looker, a bit too muscular for my taste though."
Marcus paused, his blood running cold. Marcus narrowed his eyes as she stepped back from Paul's car. "H-how do you.."
Paul sighed, "Don't get your panties in a twist lad, it's my job to find things out." Paul explained, "Wouldn't be much of an informant if I didn't do my research, now would I?"
"How do you know about her?" Marcus asked coldly, his fist tightening. Marcus didn't know the consequences, but he was 100% willing to kill Paul right then and there.
Paul raised his hands in surrender. "Relax kid, I'm not threatening you or anything, I'm just letting you know that you weren't exactly secretive about her existence." He explained, "If you seriously care about her, then you should be more careful with how you approach things, that's all."
Marcus frowned. "I don't think I should be taking lessons from my enemies." He replied, "especially when you look into my business."
Paul sighed. "Two things you need to learn." He said, raising two fingers. "First, always keep your enemies close." Paul then lowered a finger, "Second, keep the people you care for, separate from work."
Paul then stared at Marcus directly. "You failed at both of those tasks." He said coldly, "So you can ignore my advice, but trust me, you don't wanna learn this lesson the hard way."
Marcus sighed as he lowered his defense. He could sense a strange sense of loss from Paul as if he himself had learned this lesson the hard way.
"Alright…" Marcus said as he slipped into Paul's car. Settling into the passenger seat, Marcus reached for his seatbelt.
Strapping himself in Marcus asked Paul a question. "So, what would you suggest?" He asked.
"About keeping your girl safe?" Paul asked, pulling off from the curb and merging back onto the streets.
"Y-yea." Marcus stammered.
"For starters, stop walking around like you just fought off a bear lad." He answered, "If you can't keep your clothes clean, then take them off before a fight." He suggested.
Marcus nodded.
"I'd also recommend hiding your face, doesn't have to be anything crazy, a simple mask would do, one that covers your mouth and nose," Paul explained.
Marcus raised an eyebrow, "wouldn't that draw more attention?"
"You don't wear it outside of work dumbass," Paul explained. "Just during your missions, when you could run into people who want to hurt ya, in any way possible."
Marcus nodded as he crossed his arms. It seemed every day he was learning another lesson about this new world he decided to join. If he had known how much trouble it would have caused him, he'd have declined that offer from Elissa.
But it was too late now.
"But enough about that," Paul said with a sigh, tapping his thumb against the steering wheel. "I think it's time we discuss that favor I need from you."