Five

[m_benitez]

A/N: A continuation of a certain entry in the Charloft. In which Ida has to find a way to break to Mark a certain bit of news.

Five

"So what will it be---a blue or a pink blanket?"

Mark looked up from the program he was writing. "Blue of course. Or whatever Neil wants."

Ida laughed and shook her head. "Not for Neil," she said, moving to sit on the

Comments

[jeza_jezaro]

Mark's reaction is just precious :D And their banter is really interesting to watch - it made me smile :)

[m_benitez]

Mark is hilarious; he's so tactless and has a habit of saying so many wrong things.

It's evident that those two have been married for some time, and have gone through quite a bit of everyday grit together.

[jeza_jezaro]

I think he did good here :)

It`s certainly evident that they are very close. I also noticed that they moved very fast to the practical side of things.

[m_benitez]

He's learned his lesson from way too many nights of sleeping on the sofa.

Well for them, there's no point in going too emotional on the subject. I set it at a rather hard time in their lives; they just moved to a new town for the sake of their eldest daughter, who was being bullied very badly in school.

[jeza_jezaro]

Ouch :D What did the poor guy do?

Wouldn`t have it been easier to switch schools?

[m_benitez]

Well he's such a typical guy in the sense he hates housework and can be TOO brutally honest (not good if one is living with Ida). Sometimes their fights can be really petty but hilarious.

They had to move because of the fact that their eldest daughter Nina is actually the illegitimate child of Jace, Mark's longtime rival who is still living in their hometown. Society still gives some trouble about that. Mark and Ida wanted Nina and the kids to be able to start over in a town where no one would necessarily have to know their past. Besides, Ida and Mark had job offers in the city, and they wanted to be closer to their friends and away from their overbearing parents.

[jeza_jezaro]

I think I like him. Does Ida learn to handle brutal honesty better?

Oh, that. In that case yes. Doesn`t society have better things to do than peek through people's windows'? If anything Mark and Ida did the right thing.

[m_benitez]

Eventually. But there are still a few triggers there like her own mental illness as a teenager.

[jeza_jezaro]

There are some things you can`t overcome, I guess. But as you said he learns to be gentler?

[m_benitez]

To a point. He's capable of still fighting dirty with Jace, but he does temper his mean side around Ida and the kids. Mark learns the hard way how bad it can get when he pushes Ida to the edge. Their first fight as a couple happens in a rather embarrassingly public location, and results in five days of torment for both of them.

[jeza_jezaro]

But he loves her! Why would he push her so cruelly? O.o

[m_benitez]

It happened while they were joking around, and Mark basically overstepped some boundaries, thinking Ida would still find it funny. How was he supposed to know that daring her to dance or rough house would nearly result in an injury? Well they ended up in a screaming match after that, and Ida walking out before anyone could do anything.

[jeza_jezaro]

Ahhh Things can get so complicated with all of the emotions and personal issues involved

[m_benitez]

Oh it is. Ida is a tormented soul, and so is Mark. In the early days of their relationship, they don't understand each other and it does cause a lot of conflict. It doesn't help that they tend to fight in front of their friends in their youth group, and sometimes people take sides.

[jeza_jezaro]

That should only make things worse - do people try to give them ideas and set them against each other?

[m_benitez]

Some mean-spirited friends do that initially. But then more people insist that they would rather have a peaceful hangout with less drama and more convivial conversation and fellowship going on. That helps stop the fights.

What also helps is Ida and Mark also growing up and taking on other responsibilities in their respective college programs (they are also involved with professional organizations). Mark becomes the president of the org for electronics and communications engineering students, while Ida becomes the executive vice president for the psychology org. This puts them in the eye of student politics, and forces them to team up as a power couple in addition to being a romantic pair.