#marcus threads.

"tell me what you want. what you need... i can't work with silence."

"it's not my intention to make this complicated... i just think it's a little late to take it back now."

in some ways it felt like going back in time. walking these streets again, looking at them and spying the sly smile they used to wear when marcus had almost caught them staring. even the coffee tasted the same, the vanilla syrup one he'd only ever had here in this town. if he didn't notice the differences in himself so sharply, he could have gone back to that place, to the young, eager actor in his prime, offered too much by the world and powerless to resist. he could have slipped back into a love so deep that it swept him away, dulled by his bad habits until he'd ruined it, shrinking it down to something unrecognisable. still, he didn't want to go back there, not all the way. he wanted to live in the now, to offer his own small smile, grateful to be in their orbit once more, even if temporarily. "you're just as kind as i remember you, y'know." he offered quietly as they strolled through downtown, passing by shop windows and cafes. "i'm sure there's so much that's different after all this time, but there's just this thing about you, the way you hold yourself.'' he mused, his attempt at being poetic. "i remember how much i wanted you to like me when we met. i feel like that again." he laughed softly, a touch embarrassed at the admission.

asking to take his co-star to dinner was supposed to be a strategic move, an attempt to get ahead of the press that would likely make working together difficult if he let them. this was his third project after his recovery, but it still felt like people were waiting for him to fail. he couldn't read her, couldn't quite tell what she thought of him and this was his attempt to find that out. "you can ask me anything you want, you know. i'm an open book." plus, he'd booked out the whole restaurant, so he didn't have much to worry about.

"there some particular reason you wanna offer me this role? be honest."