Closed little starter for @nottheemuse / Marcus & The Warrens
Marcus knew his brother. In fact, he probably knew his brother better than he knew himself, which is exactly the reason he'd dropped that little nugget at dinner the other night. Declan was never going to let Cora in if she didn't start making those demands, and she wouldn't start making those demands until it dawned on her that she'd have to. That Declan wouldn't open up his life to her of his own accord. So Marcus - against all common sense and usual instincts - had meddled. Taken a calculated risk. But Cora had ended up leaving and Declan was being a stubborn bastard about the whole thing, which meant his mood had been an ugly fucking thing for days now. Most people wouldn't notice, but Marcus sure as hell did, and he was sick of it.
So Marcus had considered calling Cora to sort a few things out. Declan had told him enough for him to put the pieces together, which also meant he knew Cora probably hadn't gotten what she needed out of that whole interaction. He wasn't going there though; Declan could work out his own shit or be a miserable prick about it. But then Lily'd asked about Cora, where she was, why she'd left, when she was coming back, and given that he - for once in his life - hadn't had an answer for her, he'd decided to take care of that problem by getting on a damned plane to fucking Kentucky.
With only one way in - not Marcus' favourite thing in the world, but whatever - he drove his rented SUV down the gravel road to Cora's childhood home, and pulled up far enough down the road to avoid immediate notice. Habit, probably, but Marcus never went in blind, so he got out and took his time getting the lay of the land, so to speak.
The first one to detect Marcus' presence would be Roo. And then, primarily because Marcus had slipped around the back and positioned himself calmly within view of the windows, hands in the pockets of his black jeans, ankles crossed as he leaned against the trunk of a tree. Features uncharacteristically serious as he watched for movement inside the house, dark eyes falling calmly on Cora's as she spotted him. Then his lips curled into a wry smile.