things got real quiet real fast

Freddie allowed himself to be tugged along towards his couch by Marcia's warm fingers, and once she had settled he sat close beside her with one arm around her shoulders. His other hand took hers where she had laid it in her lap, and he slowly traced his thumb over her skin as she spoke. He felt glad at her reassurance that 'the kids' - as he had so easily referred to them, as if he had always been part of their lives - would take the news well. Freddie had grown to love them, too. Every moment he spent with the Reyes family felt like it erased a painful one spent with his own in the distant past, and he could hardly wait to be an official member.

Marcia had been faced with a daunting task when she’d received the news about her parents. Of course, she’d come right home and stepped into the role of caretaker for her siblings, but there had always been the looming threat that child protective services would show up unannounced and decide she wasn’t doing a good enough job. All she’d wanted was to keep her family together, and thanks largely to Freddie’s help, she’d achieved that. Her parents were doing what they could from Brazil to come back to the states, but until they could, Marcia and her siblings had fallen into a routine that worked for them. Dante was working full time at the garage and taking night classes at a technical college, Jules was graduating from high school with a scholarship paving the way to a bright future, and even Catia had found solid footing after her world was flipped upside down. She had grown the closest to Freddie, seeing a father figure in him that she desperately needed, and Marcia couldn’t even express how grateful she was that he stepped into that role for her without even hesitating. 

“Maybe. But I’m glad I didn’t have to,” She acknowledged, knowing it would’ve been far messier if she’d truly been on her own. His dark eyed gaze made her chest ache, feeling how much he loved her from one single look; it was the stuff songs were written about, like the notebook she had shoved behind some books at home. Falling for Freddie had proven to be pivotal to her songwriting, even though she knew it’d be impossible to try and articulate everything she felt for the man. When he moved to his room, she sat and waited with a slightly arched brow, but the moment her dark brown eyes locked in on the ring box, it was like the world came screeching to a stop. His words made tears spring to her eyes, knowing how earnest he was in telling her all of this made her heart swell in her chest, and all she could do was nod rapidly. “Oh no, it’s an engagement ring. Get on your knee,” Marcia finally replied with a giggle once she’d found her voice, her fingers trembling as he put the ring on. “I can’t think of anything better than spending the rest of my life with you,” She murmured, gazing up at him with a smile so wide it made her eyes crinkle at the edges. “I’m gonna marry you, Freddie Jules,” 

His first time around, he’d done it the traditional way. A younger, more naive Freddie had bought a ring (his grandmother, still alive at the time, had worn the one he currently presented to Marcia every day), sought parental permission, planned a trip to a beauty spot at sunset, and went down on one knee. She’d said yes, but as the weeks passed and the novelty wore off, so had her certainty. It wasn’t long before the relationship died it’s final death, and for a time Freddie had lost faith in romance and love. It took several years before he began to hope again. Then, when Marcia entered his life, she showed him that love really was real, and in a whole new way than he had experienced before. With the new life she had shown him, he had dispensed with the traditions and just went with how he felt, a kind of honesty that only she brought out in him.

Even so, he had to obey when he heard her magical laugh and command to kneel. Looking up at her made his heart swell and a lump form in his throat as he thought how incredibly beautiful and full of life she was, and as he slid the ring onto her finger he could feel tears pricking in the corners of his eyes. “You make it beautiful, and it means so much more now that you’re wearing it,” he said in a husky voice as he admired the opal against her skin. 

There was no way Marcia could’ve envisioned her life a year ago, when she’d come home from Chicago with the weight of the world on her shoulders and kids depending on a sister they barely knew. Slowly but surely, thanks to the help of a small town and the man sitting in front of her, she had not only kept her head above water, she felt confident enough to say that the kids were alright. Her brother had managed to stay out of trouble and even begun taking some night classes at the local technical college, her sisters were doing well and counting down the days until summer vacation, and the smallest Silva kid was finishing up his first year of preschool. Time was flying, and as badly as Marcia missed her parents, she knew they were proud of all of their children. It would’ve been completely impossible without Freddie, the brunette knew that without a doubt. He’d stepped up in so many ways, not just for her, but for the entire family, and they all adored him. “I love you, you know that? You handsome, amazing man,” She remarked thoughtfully, a warm smile illuminating her features. He was as if all of her favorite love songs came to life in a person- her person.

“Well, when you put it like that- although you left out kiss your girlfriend,” She hummed softly, standing and helping him rinse the dishes before leaning over and kissing his cheek. The smell of his soap and his laundry had become like home to her, as well as the smell of oil and grease from his job. When she could sneak a minute, she’d bring him a coffee while he was at the garage, sitting on a stool for a bit and chatting with him. It was just easy, and with everything that Marcia had been through, easy was welcome. “I’m figuring things out. It helps that Tomas is older, those terrible twos were something else,” The brunette replied with an exaggerated shudder, wrapping her arms around Freddie and standing on tiptoes to be eye to eye with the handsome man. “You’ve taken so much off my shoulders since I came back to town, do you have any idea how lost I’d still be if you hadn’t helped me that first night?” Marcia murmured, cradling his face in her hands. “You stepped up in such a big way when you had absolutely no duty to, and it only made me fall that much more in love with you,” 

To Freddie, it seemed an impossibility that he had found Marcia, found love again with so little effort - he hadn’t even had to go searching for her. He remembered well the fateful night she had come to him for help, and in his mind the memory glowed with the joy that had grown from it. The light shone through in his smile as she told him she loved him, three words that always swelled his heart and he thought he’d never tire of hearing from her lips. “I do know that. And I also know I’m the luckiest person in the world to be the guy you say it to. I love you too,” he replied, gazing intensely into her bewitching brown eyes as he spoke, almost disbelieving that she was there in front of him and so willing to share the depth of her feelings. He covered her smaller hands with his own as she touched his face, his thumb tracing over the calluses from her guitar, and dragged her fingers to his lips to press light kisses against her skin.

“You wouldn’t be lost. You’re the strongest person I know, and you love the kids so much,” Freddie replied, voice confident. “You’d have found a way without me. But, Marcia…” he paused to smile dreamily at her again,” …I am so glad that you let me help you. Because... after that first night, I don’t think it would have been easy to let you go. You really got under my skin, you know?” He could feel his heart flip at the truth of his words, and made a decision. It would be even more difficult to let her go now, impossible even. Freddie returned Marcia’s hands to her sides and walked backwards towards his bedroom, speaking as he went. “I... want you to know that I’ll always be here for you and the kids,” he began, disappearing behind the door and moving quickly to his bedside cabinet where he grabbed the small velvet box from its hiding place. 

There were times, every now and then, when Marcia would look at old pictures or scroll through her social media feed filled with pictures of her old friends; attending various concerts, traveling to other countries, showing off bold and daring fashion- and it felt as if that was an entire other life she’d lived. When she’d first moved home, she could barely make oatmeal, and she’d dreamed of the day where she could hand over her ‘mom’ duties and resume her real life back in Chicago. Now, a year later, she couldn’t ever imagine leaving Saltlight, and a large part of that because of Freddie. She no longer missed the noise and chaos of the big city- she got enough of that at home. The brunette had found herself appreciating the stillness of the shore at night, and the cotton candy skies at sunrise when her littlest brother refused to sleep. It wasn’t the life she’d ever envisioned for herself, but it’d turned out to be exactly what she needed. “I really don’t think I would let you let me go. You’re stuck with me and all my crazy,” Marcia replied with a grin, dark eyes softening as she held his gaze, feeling the all too familiar tummy flips when he smiled at her.

As they finished their breakfast, she marveled at how relaxing it was to eat without having a thousand places to go and a million things to do. Sure, there was a to-do list waiting for her on the fridge at home, but for now, they were the only two people in the world. “He’d love that. The park is his favorite place, besides the beach,” Marcia smiled, recognizing and appreciating how connected Freddie was to all of her siblings, but especially Tomas. With their parents gone, Marcia was the only parent the little boy really knew, and Freddie had stepped gracefully into one of those spots as a placeholder. “That’d be great, but you don’t have to, if you have other stuff to do,” She was quick to agree, but also to reassure him. She recognized it was hard, dating someone who had a household of kids to care for, and the young woman never wanted him to feel as if he never got a break from her family’s chaos.

Throughout most of his life, Freddie felt he had been waiting for two things he wanted most in the world - love, and family. Those two things had combined over the years, and the man had realised that what he had been missing, and the thing he truly wished for, was a place to belong. That was why he moved towns so quickly after breakups, making his way slowly down the East coast as though the change of scenery would mask the acute pain of each failure, and the background ache of never finding that place where he belonged. In Saltlight, he had found it. Marcia’s siblings had replaced any feelings of alienation and rejection left from his own relatives with unconditional love and support. In Marcia herself, Freddie experienced a deeper and more loving connection than ever before. As he looked at her over the everyday clutter of his table, his chest swelled in amazement at how lucky he was to be called hers. “Crazy?” he repeated with a chuckle. “If that’s what you want to call it, bring it on.” His voice was filled with the confidence he felt whenever he was in her presence, a surety that this was it.

Wren was beginning to wonder if the other detectives had met Sienna and passed on the security detail due to how unfiltered the young woman was; not that she minded, since the two of them had been getting along well, at least so far. “If you’re lucky, I’ll make my enchiladas. They’re definitely the white person version, but they’re really good, if I do say so myself,” Wren laughed, taking her phone back and avoiding the other’s glance after the wink left her feeling oddly unsettled. A few taps of her finger and their food order was placed, with a thirty minute wait ahead of them for the delivery. One thing was for sure, Sienna’s smile positively lit up the room, and it was one of those smiles that made Wren smile almost as big. “Let’s call it both. I like to think I’m a good detective, but also, it’d be weird to not know anything about you if we’re roommates for the next few weeks,” She retorted with a chuckle, sitting back on the couch and pulling the soft blanket from behind her to drape over her lap, offering the other half to Sienna. Listening intently, Wren wondered if the trial and everything Sienna had seen would effect her bright, sunny personality, and she hoped it wouldn’t. There were too few people like Sienna in the world, and Wren would do everything in her power to keep her safe and smiling. “You know, I can’t remember the last time anyone asked me that? I spend almost all my time at work, free time is rare,” She chuckled, pausing to think for a moment. “I cook, and, uh, I paint,” Came her answer a moment later, knowing that her art was a hobby long left on the shelf. 

“True. And you already know the most traumatic thing about my life, so I think we’re about on the level of childhood friends already,” Sienna replied in a dry tone, as though witnessing a murder was an everyday occurrence for her. She never liked to take things too seriously if she could avoid it, and the young woman was painfully aware that she would have to do so on the witness stand - so, for now, she made jokes. She hoped Wren would help her with her testimony in their time together, but had decided that wasn’t a conversation to have so soon. A friendly evening with a snuggly blanket, however, seemed perfect. Sienna gladly took the velvety fabric and tucked her feet up underneath her on the couch, resisting the urge to tuck into Wren’s side as well. She was normally very affectionate, even with those she didn’t know well, but already suspected the blonde was considerably more reserved than herself.