Mr. Irresistible- Part 1/3
Pairing: Marcus Pike x Fem!/reader
Summary: All you needed was one kiss from any old stranger under the giant Christmas tree for the perfect holiday card. Maybe a certain charming FBI agent while be your perfect stranger.
Word Count: 3,789
Warnings: None? Family peer pressure, holiday fluff, marcus pike fluff
Ratings: M
Author’s Note: Making this either a two or three parter, hopefully finish this for new years??? That may be too of high hopes.
Part Two
It’s a week before Christmas and you’re in panic mode. Not because you haven’t bought presents, or because you don’t have anywhere to go for the holiday, but because you’ve been lying to you family about having a significant other. This year, their constant poking and probing of your love life finally got to you and broke you; lying to them over phone calls that you were finally happily in a relationship. You really weren’t of course; in actuality, you were perfectly content all on your own. You had been single for some time and had grown in the splendor of independence. Although the creep of loneliness was slowly coming on, you still resisted your family’s pressure as much as you could. But the last phone call from your mother sent you over the edge, and you just had to get her off your back. So, you lied. You had a boyfriend. But now you needed proof after getting a constant barrage of questions. How did you meet? What’s his job? Does he want kids? What does he look like? You had pushed the questions off for the most part, but that last one kept coming up. You needed proof of your new happiness and you needed it now.
Which leads to where you are now, downtown DC standing under the large Christmas tree watching shoppers and window gazers roam around. Unmoved by the amount of people rushing about, you and your friend Colleen are on the hunt. One nice, preferable single, and generous man was all you needed for your mission. One lovely but staged picture of two strangers, or lovers as far as your mother was concerned, kissing under the tree was the objective. You just needed one picture that even the Hallmark Channel would approve. And for that you needed Mr. Right…or maybe just Mr. Why the Hell Not would do.
“So are there any more criteria needed for this guy” Colleen asked as her eyes scanned the crowd, “Preferably cute and single are on the list I know.”
“Preferably not creepy. Let’s add that one too,” you muttered to her. You didn’t want any creepy, clingy types that would think it would be ok to cop a feel.
“Of course. Let’s see…what about him over there. He’s tall and clean shaven.” Colleen pointed to a man across the road.
“You know I like a man with a beard.”
“True. How about that beard?”
“Neck beard only? No thanks.”
“What about him, near the hot chocolate stand?”
“No, no, no. Look at his eyes. They’re so beady. See the way he’s staring at the hot chocolate. I want someone with gentle eyes.” You scrunched your nose at the man in question.
“Honey, we’re looking for someone to give you a peck on the lips for a photo, not the man of your dreams,” Colleen bumped your elbow with her own.
You groaned, “You’re right, I’ll be less picky.” Sighing out loud you spotted a decent looking man in a tweed jacket. Nice full beard, well-groomed hair, all around good enough to get the job done.
“I’ve got one, he doesn’t look too bad.”
“As good as they get, I suppose.” Colleen shrugged.
“Ok here I go,” You announced while jumping off your perch and striding away.
“I’ve got your back if he gets weird,” Colleen chimed in as she followed your lead.
You smiled at your friend’s remark. Walking closer to the man in question; you closed your eyes, steadied yourself, and put on a brave face. Thinking of a warm fireplace, sweet treats, and a warm pair of arms surrounding you, you mustered your most genuine and sweetest of smiles, hoping to win the heart of this complete stranger. As you began to just barely open your eyes, you felt the wind get knocked right out of you as something hard and firm slammed into you, thus knocking you off your feet.
“Shit, sorry sorry,” a voice above you spoke rapidly. Blinking and rubbing your now sore ass, you felt two strong and gentle hands take you by the shoulders to stand you up. Finally, back on your feet, you were met with a pair of sweet and concerned eyes colored in a golden mocha that you would love to just sip on for an entire evening or longer. The man was tall and broad in his well fit suit, but not in an intimidating way. His hair was slightly shaggy and ruffled from a busy day, while his beard softly sculpted his face, leaving two semi bald spots where your hands could perfectly fit for a smooch on the lips. A serene smile appeared on your face as the man, started running soothing circles into your shoulders.
“You ok ma’am? Are you hurt at all?” the man before you question as his eyes scanned you for any discomfort.
“I um, what? Am I ok? Yes, yes, yeah, I’m good. You?”
The man smiled back down at you, showering you with the sweetest dimple.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he replied, holding eye contact as his hands still held onto you.
“Hey, your guy is walking away,” Colleen poked at you, jarring you from the possessive stare of the mystery man in front of you.
“What guy,” you questioned your friend.
“The one you need to kiss…” Colleen smirked but looked directly at the now distracted man in front of you.
“Oh well maybe…” You began, as you eyed him as well, but were cut short.
“Agent Pike over here, we’ve got eyes,” another man in a suit clapped your mystery man’s back and nodded in a direction away from you.
“Right, let’s get moving,” he said glancing at the new man. He then turned to you with that dimpled smile, “I’ve got to go but sorry again for running into you ma’am. Glad you’re not hurt.” He gave your arm a firm squeeze before marching off with the other man.
You continued to stare in his direction, not sure if you should be running after him or not.
“Damn he would have looked really nice in a Halmark card,” Colleen said as she leaned into you.
You chuckled, “He would have looked nice against my lips.”
“That he would. So, about that other guy, he’s definitely gone.”
“Of course,” you sighed. “Well, back on the hunt again.”
You and Colleen returned to your perch near the giant Christmas tree to scan the crowds again. As Colleen picked out guy after guy from the crowd, you couldn’t help but keep your eye out for a certain handsome man.
Marcus begrudgingly left you in the dense crowd, running to catch up with his partner. He had truly accidently bumped into you even if he was very aware of your presence. As he was making his way through the crowd of shoppers, he happened to see you walking across his path. Instantly transfixed with the beautiful smile that graced your face, he couldn’t look away from the warmth and joy that radiated from you. Even with your eyes closed you seemed like you were beaming with comfort, and Marcus didn’t stop his feet from running right into you as he was blinded by your euphoria.
And he was glad for his moment of absent mind; he wouldn’t have seen the look of astonishment in your eyes when you finally opened them, a look he wanted to see again. He was sorry for bumping you straight to the ground like a sack of presents Santa had dropped from the chimney…but not too sorry. Really what he was sorry for was leaving you behind to get back to work. Even more so when he heard your friend say something about kissing some other guy.
Marcus shook these thoughts out of his head as he jogged his way down the street, Mr. Love-struck Fool had to wait a moment. Work needed to be done as Agent Pike followed his partner down the block to a store front covered in red and green light, glittering icicles, and a plastic Santa Clause that was almost decapitated from a rushed entry.
“The suspect made a run up the stairs,” Marcus’ partner stated as a few more agents appeared behind them.
“Right. The three of us will head up, take it slow, eyes open for trouble. You two stay here in case he makes a run for it back down here,” Marcus commanded as took the lead up the stairs.
The team had been following the trail of an art forger for the last month, and his trail had only heighted within the last few days as the team noticed his sudden spending spree, most likely from selling his forgeries. They had tracked him down to his greeting card shop near downtown DC, sprinting into a run as the suspect saw the agents making their way down the street towards him.
Taking the stairs two at a time, Marcus held his gun out, eyes constantly scanning. Clearing out the second story of the shop, he and the other agents made their last crusade to the attic of the store, where small squeaks of wood could be heard. Marcus eyed his partner to open the door as Marcus and the other agent rushed into the room, sweeping the area for signs of the suspect. Finding his attic to be the studio where he made his forgeries, the agents went further into the studio, taking notice of proof of forgery. Not seeing a sign of the suspect, the two agents tucked their guns away as Marcus crept further to the back of the studio, to a corner slightly obscured by a large unfinished portrait. Noticing a faint bit of light peaking from under the frame of the painting, Marcus also took note of the how the painting seemed out of place. Quietly, Marcus beckoned his team over to him as he pulled the portrait away from the corner.
As the frame of the portrait screeched against the wood floor, a loud howl and thud was heard as an open window was revealed to Marcus and his team. Staring straight out the window, Marcus eyed the forger who had caught himself in a nasty balancing act. The forger was caught in a frightful position of trying to escape by using Christmas lights hung on the roof of his shop to swing out of the window. But in his haste to escape, he under guessed the strength of the small rope of lights, catching himself half in the window and half out, hanging shamefully over the street and the two agents that had stayed on the first floor.
“Found him boss,” called one of the agents from bellow.
Marcus smirked as he grabbed the man by his coat and swung him back inside.
Cuffed and mortified, the forger was escorted back to the car by Marcus, leaving the rest of his team to collect more evidence of the forgeries. Many eyes were on the forger and on Marcus as he marched their way through the parting crowd. Your own eyes sprang out in shock as you watched your mystery man push the cuffed man into a cop car. Jabbing your fingers into Colleen’s side, you nodded your head towards the man commanding your, and everyone’s attention.
“Oh.”
“Yeah Oh.”
“Think he’s free now for a kiss?” Colleen smiled wide.
“You don’t think it’s weird to ask for a kiss after he’s just arrested someone?”
“Nope, think of it as a good job kiss.”
“How about something more than a good job kiss. Like a damn, can you put those cuffs on me kiss?”
Colleen laughed “Honey, you and I both want to give him that kiss.”
Smirking and raising an eyebrow at the man of interest, you watched as he gave out a few more orders to his team, before he nodded them away to deal with their remaining tasks. Now alone, Marcus ran a hand through his hair, enticing you to dream of how soft it probably was to the touch. Would he let you run your fingers through it? Maybe give his scalp a gentle scratch or even a small tug as you fitted your lips to his under a brightly lit Christmas tree? Maybe a small moan would come from his lips as…
“Wave you creep, he sees you staring,” Colleen elbowed you as you were suddenly taken from your dream.
Now back in reality, you caught sight of mystery man giving you a soft smile and small wave. Returning it through sheer embarrassment and stupidity, you quickly turned away from him and looked back out to the rest of the crowd, making sure not to make eye contact with mystery man again. Flustered with yourself, you stepped off your perch and hid further into the crowd as Colleen shouted your name.
Marcus’ smile dropped as you disappeared. Well, that was abrupt. Maybe he misread you from earlier, maybe those warm eyes of mirth weren’t for him. You could have just been making light of an awkward situation, besides your friend had mentioned something about kissing some guy. Maybe that was it, off to your real love and not jumping into his fantasy lead head. Marcus scoffed at himself for getting caught up with some stranger he probably would never see again. He really needed to get out of his own head, if anything his failed marriage and failed engagement should have clued him in one of life's biggest secrets, romance was dead, and fairytales were just words of a page.
But he still lingered, maybe his logic was calling for him to get back into the car and go to work, but his eyes were loyal to his heart. There was such a loving hope in them, glazed and sugared in sweet caramel. So, he lingered, just for a bit. Colleen lingered as well; she just couldn’t help but watch.
You should have gone home, should be in bed wrapped up in blankets, snug up with a book or movie. But you were still here, in the market hunting. No, it was more like wasting away. The sun had set, a few shoppers still hung around, but the day was ending and soon you needed to head for the airport, bound for your parents’ home. No one compared to him, your mystery man. Other men seemed too short, too tall, too skinny, or too muscular compared to him. Who else had that boyish smile that graced his face when you were rendered speechless? Nope there was no one else, it all seemed so silly now that you had that image of him plaguing your mind. Colleen had enough of your sorrow and went home after giving you a pat on your back. I’m sure you find the right one sooner or later, she had said as she walked away with a smirk. So here you were in your own self-made isolation, only daydreams of broad-shouldered agents keeping you warm yet still lonely.
You could see him now; he was so vivid in your hazy eyes. Hair tousled from a busy day. Bread slightly scruffy but handsome under his prominent nose. Those soft and patent eyes watching you as his large hand gently yet confidently holds you. A dimple pronounced on his face as honeyed words flow out of his mouth. A crinkle on his skin would appear as his eyebrows hitched up in worry.
“Excuse me ma’am? You all right?” Marcus asked you for the second time today.
You blinked rapidly. Oh no, this was no daydream of yours, this was real. You were staring him down like a creep as he walked up to you. Wait he walked up to you? He was here. Really here. For you? Maybe for you? Maybe shopping or work? Either way he was here in front of you. Worried? Wait he was now worried. Oh duh. Cause you’ve been talking to yourself and now you don’t just look like a creep but a loser, what a winning combination.
Shaking your head and laughing “Sorry I’m so caught up in my own thoughts. I’m not great at paying attention to what’s going on around me.”
Marcus relaxed, “Oh good, for a minute there I thought you had a concussion from me knocking you down earlier.”
“No, no,” you laughed. “Really I’m alright. No harm done!”
“That's good,” Marcus’ smile flattered slightly. “So why are you still here? Did last minute shopping drag the energy out of you? Too tired to go home?”
“Oh, it’s not that. It's a silly idea really. You'll think I’m crazy for it.” You looked frustrated with yourself. You would sound so ridiculous asking this generous and sweet man for a pathetic holiday kiss.
Sensing your hesitation, Marcus continued, “Let me guess, you’re an ex-Christmas caroler out for revenge against the group who booted you out?”
“No that’s not it,” you laughed.
Marcus pouted and raised an eyebrow, “Alright how about this, you’re a wanted thief on the run for not only forging holiday cards, but for also decapitating Santa, and also damaging public property while escaping on swinging Christmas lights.”
“Oddly specific, and completely wrong.”
“No? Thought I had you on that one. Maybe this,” Marcus grinned as he had you laughing. “You're a fallen angel waiting for a lift.” He waited intently for your reply.
Your laugh died down as you bit your lip and shook your head no.
“Not an angel,” he exclaimed as his eyes went wide but a solid grin pulled his face. “Well, you could have fooled me. Would you actually tell me if you were?”
You contemplated his question for a moment, “Yes, but just not to a stranger.”
Marcus smiled and held out his hand, “Marcus Pike.”
You gave him your name back, holding his hand a moment too long for normal.
“You’re an agent though right,” you asked. “If you really want to know why I’m still here, then let’s make a deal. You tell me why you came back. Was it work related?”
“Not work related. Although my partner got a tip that a person of interest was still down here.”
“Person of interest?”
“Well, you do seem very interesting so far,” he teased.
You blushed, “Where did this tip come from?”
“Sorry ma'am that’s confidential, but" he leaned forward to whisper, “The source did say they were close to this person of interest.”
You rolled your eyes at your friend’s meddling; Colleen will have to explain this later.
“Now you,” Marcus nodded.
“Well, I’m on the search for the perfect Halmark card kiss to send to my parents. One photo of one kiss under this tree,” you said as you pointed to the large overbearing Christmas tree. “One fake photo and my family will stop fussing over my relationship-less life. I just need a willing partner.”
Marcus’ smile went wild, his own heart raced at the picturesque idea.
“Yes.”
“Yes? Really?”
“Really! You're a beautiful and brave woman, I’d be a fool not to step in and help.”
You couldn't believe your ears, but you didn’t wait a moment for this to suddenly be untrue.
Rushing forward, dragging Marcus by the hand, you quickly went to work instructing him on what poses the two of you could make.
“Ok so I was thinking about the classic half hug kiss, or the chaste but sweet kiss on the cheek, or maybe full-frontal kiss and done? Is your arm long? Of course it’s long. Can you take the picture, or maybe someone nice can?” Rambling on you failed to notice that Marcus had gently taken your phone out of your hand and handed it to a strange who agreed to take the photo.
“How about this pose?” Marcus held one hand to your waist and wrapped the other around your back, dipping you down and around in a twisting motion. Now held in the air and facing the sky, you gasped at the sight of Marcus over you. His eyes crinkled as he stared down at your wide-eyed look.
“Ready,” he questioned with a smile.
“Yes,” you smiled back.
You felt his smile as his lips slowly drew against yours. Gently hovering over you, a small puff of his breath fanned over your lips just as he placed a small tentative kiss to you. A rush of air went through you then, letting out the tiniest whimper that even you could barely hear. But Marcus did and held you even firmer to him. Slowly his lips slotted perfectly to yours as he tilted his head at the right angle to yours. Nudging his tongue to your closed lips, you gave him entry to what you both had daydreamed of earlier in the day. Tongues now slowing investigating each other, you drew your own hands up his arms and squeezed at his muscles. Marcus drew his arm firmly around you as the other hand went to tangle itself in your hair, deepening the kiss. You two were so impossibly close that you could feel his heart beating rapidly as one of your own hands slowly skimmed its way from his arm to his soon to be tousled hair.
“Got it!” the exclamation shocked the two of you from each other. The old man who had taken the picked handed the phone back to you, “I took a couple, you two together will look great on a holiday card,” he said with a smile and a waved as he strolled away.
Looking through the pictures, you noticed he was right. One photo was just the right moment in the kiss for a perfect holiday card, the later photos seemed a bit to steamy for that. But they were still good photos to keep…for later.
Marcus cleared his throat as he looked over you shoulder.
“Well one of those photos will work, right?”
“Oh yeah, they're perfect,” you smiled at Marcus.
He smiled back, “Listen there’s a small diner near by, I know it’s getting late, but I would love to take you…”
“Wait shit, what time is it?”
“10 till 9.”
“Shit! I’ve got to go! My flight leaves in an hour,” you yelled as you started sprinting in the direction of your car. You stopped suddenly though, whipping around back to Marcus. A huge breathtaking smile was across your face as you jumped back into Marcus’ arms and gave him another kiss. Pulling back to look him in the eyes, you saw a wild smile on his face as well.
“I’m gone for a week. Diner After?”
“Yeah, diner after.”
You jumped down from his arms and ran quickly to your car.
Marcus watched you go and walked slowly back to own his car, whistling his joy out for the world to hear. His feet made their way along as his mind flew to different fantasies. Maybe pancakes at the diner. A picnic in the park. A walk through the museum. A night out dancing and singing. He had so many dates to start planning. He would start simple, text you a “safe travels" when he got home and then maybe tomorrow…he…would…text…you. Wait.
“Shit.”
Part Two
