Mendings {Marcus and & Sydney}
Marcus left the bar, glad it was only a few blocks from their hideout. He wasn't drunk, not by any means, but he was terrified; he was too anxious to keep his hands steady enough to hot wire a car. The ex-Alchemist had been carefully avoiding Sydney ever since she'd been out of re-education, a fact he wasn't very proud of. It was a cowardly move, but he had never been great at comforting people or dealing with others in pain. Sure, he could hug someone if they were crying, and he could help distressed Alchemists open their eyes to the truth, but Sydney wasn't just another Alchemist.
She was his sister, and he was a pretty lousy excuse for a brother, something his father had never failed to remind him. "If you'd behave, she wouldn't have to be trained," his father had once said. If Marcus had behaved, Sydney would've never been an Alchemist, and she would've never been sent to re-education. Perhaps it was that alone that made him so afraid to see her; he wasn't avoiding her as much he was avoiding the agonizing guilt he knew might cripple him.
He pushed open the door to the small apartment they were hold up in, and let out a weary sigh. Summoning what strength he could, he searched for the same inner drive that had helped him break free of the Alchemists, and hoped that it would help him once again. He knocked softly on the bedroom door, and Amelia stepped out. The bags under her eyes had grown more pronounced and he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Get some rest," he told her. "I'll look after Sydney for a while." Amelia looked relived, and gave him a sympathetic look, which Marcus tried to ignore. He hated pity. Swallowing as much of his fear as he could, he opened the door to Sydney's room and stepped inside.
She looked better than she had when they'd rescued her, but that was only because Amelia had helped her clean up. Her eyes still wore that fearful, haunted, look and as they grazed over Marcus he felt his heart plummeting to the very bottom of his chest. Did she even know who he was at all? Did she even remember their time together in Palm Springs?
"Hey, gorgeous," he said, as nonchalantly as he could manage. Perhaps a dose of normality would be good for her.
