You Are My Sunshine (Marcus Pike)

Chapter 6

A/N - Yay! More angst and then fluff.

Things had been tense between Marcus and Willow after their small fight in her office. Willow felt bad for snapping at Marcus, but she always became defensive when it came to her brother. It came from years of having to defend him from bullies, despite being the younger sister.

She even distanced herself from her family and her brother, because she was just so angry at everyone. Marcus and his comments were bringing up things she'd shoved deep down. All the resentment she felt. All the anger of having to push her own issues aside to help others. She spent more time at the office and avoided going home.

Marcus entered her office and sighed. "Willow, you need to go home. You've slept in the office three times already this week." He put a hand on her shoulder and she snapped.

She'd been close to exploding, but the gentle touch just pushed her over the edge. She shot out of her chair and batted his hand away. "Don't touch me!"

"Willow, I don't understand what's going on."

"What's going on? What's going on! You just waltzed into my life and screwed it all up! I was totally fine until you came along making me feel things I haven't felt in years and it isn't fair!"

Willow calmed down and said, "You see past my mask in a way my family can't and I hate that. Maybe it's because we've agreed not to profile each other, but I've gotten so good at hiding what I'm really feeling that they can't see the hurt anymore. But you do. You don't see me as Spencer Reid's little sister. You just see me and that's hard for me to come to grips with."

Marcus hadn't just chipped away at her walls, he'd knocked them down with a sledgehammer without knowing it. Marcus cautiously reached out and put his hands on her arms. "Willow, I think you're one of the most amazing women I've ever met, but you need to give yourself some credit. You deserve to be happy and I think you've spent the past few years not being happy. You want to be seen as your own person? Then show them there's more to you than your brother."

"I just don't want anyone upset with me." Tears started to fill Willow's eyes.

"Oh sweetheart." Marcus wrapped his arms around her as she started to cry. Willow felt ashamed to be crying in her boss' arms, but Marcus held her tightly and stroked her hair.

Normally she was the one providing the comfort, not the other way around. She was the one people came to with their problems and she couldn't do it anymore.

"No one will be upset at you," Marcus reassured her, "If they love you, they'll want you to do what makes you happy."

"And what if I don't know what makes me happy?"

"You have all the time in the world to figure that out."

"Thanks Marcus." Willow pulled away and even though her nose was running and her cheeks were flushed, Marcus still thought she was the most gorgeous thing he'd ever seen.

He once again resisted the urge to take her face in his hands and kiss her.

Willow wiped at her face with her sleeves. "I'm sorry for completely breaking down on you."

"Never apologize for crying. It's okay to let it out every once and a while. Want me to take you home?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"It's no problem at all."

Willow grabbed her things and followed Marcus out to his car.

The car ride was silent, classical music once again playing in the background.

"Can we listen to something else?" Willow asked, the classical music reminding her of her brother.

"Sure." Marcus fiddled with the dials and settled on an 80's station.

A pop-ballad was playing. "But you can say baby/Baby, can I hold you tonight?/Maybe if I told you the right words/Ooh, at the right time you'd be mine."

Marcus blushed and went to change the station.

Willow grabbed his hand, silently telling him to leave it. As the song played, Willow let herself imagine slow dancing with Marcus in his apartment (which she hadn't been to yet). Maybe when the song ended she would have let him kiss her.

Marcus was indulging in a similar fantasy. He imagined waking up next to her in the morning. He'd kiss her and tell her those words he vowed to never say first again.