(Untitled)

[ranger_alone]

Marcus was sitting under a tree, within view of the compound he had no intention of entering. He had been walking, pondering everything and nothing, when he realised that the island had taken his last real friend when it sent Teyla back to…where ever it was people went when they left. Everyone he had loved, with the exception of Evey, had gone.

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[vendettaevey]

Evey had gone into the compound to do laundry earlier that day. While the machines were running, she'd taken the opportunity to get another book or two from the shelf. It'd been in a mood, though, and had only presented her with books she couldn't read in languages she was quite sure were not from Earth. Finally, when one had appeared in English, she'd snatched it, which was probably exactly what the shelf had wanted her to do in the first place. It was a book about vampires, so it wasn't precisely great literature, but it would do.

She left the compound with the book in the pocked of her sundress and the laundry in its mesh bag and immediately spotted Marcus sitting under a tree, clearly thinking quite hard. She approached him obliquely, always careful not to sneak up on him even now.

"Penny for them?" she asked, looking down at him but not crowding him at all. He'd talk if he wished and if he didn't, she'd take the laundry back.

[vendettaevey]

"Well, then, there's your answer," she said firmly as they approached the last bend in the path before the waterfall.

It was always so peaceful and she'd always enjoyed it so much that she started tugging Marcus forward, which of course was utterly futile unless he decided to play along. She wasn't nearly tall or strong enough to drag him. He might look rather slim but she knew he was wiry with it.

[ranger_alone]

He resisted for just a moment, in play, and then let her hurry him along. "Patience is a virtue, Evey." he said, in lecturing tones. "Of course, that's what they tell me. I wouldn't know from personal experience."

Once they had reached the clearing they had used so often one might be able to call it 'theirs', Marcus set down the bag of laundry and pulled Evey into a kiss.

[vendettaevey]

"Virtues are occasionally overrated," she informed him pertly, and continued to drag him.

When they were both fully into the relatively quiet clearing, she had intended to dabble her feet in the water. Marcus apparently had other ideas, however, and she stretched up to return the kiss.

[ranger_alone]

Pulling away gently, Marcus made a big show of looking around. They seemed to have the waterfall to themselves.

"What would be appropriate payment for that bread, then?"

[vendettaevey]

Payment wasn't required and Marcus knew it, but at least he was joking a bit now, which was an improvement on his earlier mood.

"I think...fifteen minutes dabbling your feet in the water might be a good payment," she decided, partially because that was what she was planning to do.

[ranger_alone]

"Happy to oblige." Marcus said, sitting down near the waters edge to remove his footwear.

"I think we should set a date." It came out of nowhere. He had been thinking about it earlier, and meant to bring it up, but he didn't know until the words were actually out that he was going to bring it up at the first possible moment. "I mean, I there is some thinking behind that, I promise I'm not being completely random this time, but I think we should set a date."

[vendettaevey]

She removed her shoes and was swishing her feet back and forth when Marcus began speaking, at which point she stopped swishing her feet for a moment before resuming it.

"I was fairly certain you weren't being random," she said quietly, since it was just him and her. "And you're probably right. I just hadn't thought about things to that extent, really, and I'm not sure why."

[ranger_alone]

"I hadn't either, I suppose in a way I considered the deed done. I feel as if we are married-" Marcus grimaced.

"I mean in the good way, that we don't need the ceremony for affirmation, but it would be nice to make it official. Teyla's disappearance I think has made it seem more urgent."

[vendettaevey]

"Precisely," she agreed, realizing the spirit of what he meant if not the precise execution of it. "We live together and go about our daily lives as if we are married on a place that doesn't seem to be particularly concerned about the ceremonies anyway."

"It would be nice to make it official. It might also be more difficult if and when one of us disappears. That's not a good reason not to, though."

She'd have to see about finding a dress. That might be a challenge.

[ranger_alone]

"It might be more difficult," he agreed, although he couldn't imagine how anything could make that possibility harder to bear. "But it might also be a comfort, in, umm, that circumstance."

[vendettaevey]

"Well, I am certainly not opposed to setting a date, though I've no idea who would officiate...or what I would do about most of the details. I think I'm supposed to ask my mum these things, normally," she said matter-of-factly. It had been too long for her to really be too sad about that little detail, but occasionally she did miss her mum's guidance.

[ranger_alone]

Marcus considered that for a moment. "Perhaps we'll just have to muddle through ourselves. It's kind of liberating, in a way, to be able to actually have what we want. Weddings on the colony always seemed to be more about making everyone else happy." Not that he had been to many, but it was usually obvious that one, or both, of the wedding party was not entirely pleased.

[vendettaevey]

"Yes, it was the same in London," she agreed. "A few of my colleagues at the BTN got married and it always seemed to be a giant argument that lasted for several months followed by a large party in which everyone got drunk and said they forgave everyone else."

"I don't want any of that."

[ranger_alone]

"Agreed. What would you like? Generally, I mean. An Earth-style ceremony? Something else you might have seen here? Or something else?" The options were really limitless, with no legal requirements, which was a little daunting.

[vendettaevey]

She thought about that while she swished her feet in the water, occasionally tossing tiny splashes towards Marcus' feet just because she could.

"You know I don't believe in any particular deity, so I don't care about including any religion. There was a basic civil ceremony that we might be able to use, if the box will give us information on the proper wording," she mused. She didn't know the words, obviously, other than that they said something about there being no impediment to the marriage.