THE BEAUTY OF GETTING TO KNOW YOU (TAG: mARINA)

[mooshi]

Rodney closed the driver’s side door of his red land rover jeep. It wasn’t that anything happened to his yellow 1990 stingray corvette, but spending a weekend with Marina at a lake house that was completely empty of everything that they would need meant you had to have a larger form of transportation to carry everything. He had to spend a weekend with his rents to switch the cars out, but it wasn’t that bad. Rodney wasn’t surprised that they hadn’t even asked him why he was going to the lake house this weekend. It would have been nice for them to at least acknowledge that he was actually going with a woman who he cared about quite a lot, but they didn’t’ seem at all interested so Rodney didn’t even bother. He would rather not have to explain it to them anyway. He was still trying to figure it out himself.

Rodney quickly walked around the back of the jeep stumbling over something small in his path. It was already dark outside, but the light shining down from the beauty of the house made the pine cone visible. Rodney ignored it as he moved along the jeep to Marina’s door. He took a deep breath and let it out with a smile before opening the passenger side door for Marina. First thing was first. Get her in the house. He would take care of the luggage and everything later. Right now he had a surprise for Marina. He had come up that same weekend he visited his parents, so that he could set up a bit for this special time with Marina. Rodney had debated on what to do for her. He figured rose petals and champagne or something, but very quickly he realized how cliché that would be. So, he decided to cover almost every surface in the three story lake house with post it notes of a traits that Marina had that he loved about her. He was actually quite proud of this idea. He just hoped she would like it. ”So, here we are,” Rodney said smiling in at her. ”This was my second home when I was a kid.”

[Marina Anne Sinclaire]

Sitting back in the jeep Mari marveled at the beauty that was in front of her. She'd packed light as far as personal objects for her. Most of what she had were gifts for Rodney so he could know a bit more about her. Watching him go around the side of the car she undid her seat belt and turned when he opened the door. Scooting forward a bit she put her hands on his shoulders while he put his hands around her waist to help her get down. The steps for most jeeps were just too high for her and in the dark it was easier to just let him help her. Smiling softly she took a moment to hug him in thanks. A happy smile on her face before she took his arm and walked the path to the house. It was well lit but her depth perception sucked and it was easier to walk with him over the unfamiliar ground. Her sun dress swished in the evening light and she visibly seemed to perk up the closer they got to the home as she admired the view.

"Oh Its beautiful, Rodney! You were so lucky growing up here with all this around you." she looked about the area and beamed at him, "Everything is so grand. My parents didn't have anything close to this when I was younger. We lived in a barrio back then. But this this is just amazing." When the door was opened and the lights thrown she blinked and looked about her seeing the post it notes she blinked and looked at one. Reading it she blushed scarlet and read another to make sure what she was seeing. "You did all this for me?" she said as she turned and smiled at him, happy tears welling up in her eyes. Her voice caught in her throat and she hugged him tightly, "I love it so much. No one has ever done anything so fantastic for me ever." she laughed happily and looked into his eyes, "You're so amazing and wonderful Rodney. I don't know wether to run around the house like a kid at Christmas or just keep hugging you." she beamed at him and kissed him warmly, letting him determine how long the kiss lasted, not knowing if there was anything else he wanted to do. "You make me feel like the luckiest woman in the world." she said when the kiss finally broke. She glanced about her and a grin split her face wide, "This had to have taken you hours." she hugged him again, "This is so beautiful. I love you so much!" And it was true. She wasn't ashamed to say it. she wouldn't be a very good cupid if she'd hid such things from herself or him. Maybe he'd freak out but at least he would know what she already had known since that day in the hospital when he'd stood up to her father and not let himself get bullied. The fact that he stood up when he could have looked the other way. That he'd always treated her like he wanted others to treat her had touched her heart. He wasn't the type of man to say she should act one way with him and another with others. There wasn't a double standard.

It made her feel safe. That was a hard thing for anyone to make her feel. With Trent she could be herself but she always knew he was tempted to drain her. She also knew he was as possessive and territorial like her father. And while she loved that he tried desperately not to be so with her it still hurt that he had to be someone different with her than he was with everyone else. In her experience people that lived two lives rarely did well at either. The dichotomy always caught up to you. It did with Philip and it might with Trent. Jyo had made her sit down and think long and hard about what would be expected of her. It wasn't that she didn't care for Trent she just didn't want him losing respect because of her. She was the weak link with him and Diana and it hurt her that folks saw her as such. There was just so much politics. With Rodney what you saw was what you got. And it was so different than anything she had known before. She never had to wonder if he'd spent hours perfecting some line in a mirror or if he'd said the same thing a hundred times. Rodney was too spontaneous for that and she loved that about him.

[mooshi]

Rodney helped Marina out of the car, and smiled when she mentioned how beautiful it was out here. It was very nice. It was the most serene place he’d ever been before. He could understand completely why his parents had decided to buy a lake house on Lake Upper Klamath in Oregon. It was the largest lake in Oregon, and it wasn’t that far from their home. ”A barrio huh? I really didn’t expect that at all.” Rodney quickly added. ”Not that there is anything wrong with a barrio, a just had no idea.” He smiled. ”We haven’t even been on this little vacation long, and I already feel like I know you better than before. It’s nice.” Not only was this barrio news very new to him but also that she didn’t care about keeping the windows down when they drove together. She wasn’t like other girls who gave a crap what happened to their hair. Just the feeling of the wind on her face blowing her hair everywhere was amazing to her. Also he found out that she also enjoyed oldies and jazz. He couldn’t wait to find out more. It had only been one full day together, and he was already having such a special time with her.

Rodney hugged Marina back, and when she pulled away, he took her hand in his and they walked towards the house together. ”Yeah we’d come out here a lot for dad’s job just so he could have a relaxing environment to do what he needed to do. I mean most of the time Bentley and I would go play out back either in the water or just down the paths made in the woods while mom spent most of her time on the phone with work and dad sat outside trying to go through paperwork. We may have come down here as a family, but seriously most of the time we were all doing our own thing.” It wasn’t meant to sound all sad and depressing, but it came out that way. Really Rodney didn’t care about it anymore. When he was younger, he hated how much time his parents didn’t spend with him or Bentley, but he started to become accustomed to it. Most of the people he knew back then dealt with the same thing he did. Parents who spent money instead of time with people.

Rodney headed up the few stairs leading to the front door. He let go of Marina’s hand, unlocked the door and pushed it open. He smiled to himself as he turned on the light right next to the door. He couldn’t wait to see her reaction. Rodney wasn’t getting a response from her right away as she stared around just the front room. Rodney closed the door behind them and walked up next to her. After a few second she finally turned to him tears in her eyes. He chuckled. ”Don’t cry.” He hugged her back, and when she pulled away, she told him how no one had ever done anything like that before. ”That’s a shame because you really deserve nothing less of this. You need someone to tell you every day how amazing you are because you are, Marina.” Rodney stared at her brushing the hair that had fallen along her face to the side. With that, she moved forward kissing him. But she didn’t stop, and he didn’t either. He didn’t want to. Right now this whole weekend was supposed to be alone time for them. Whatever happened would happen, and he wasn’t going to stop it from doing so.

When Marina finally pulled away, He wasn’t expecting the words that slipped out of her mouth. Marina came right out and told him that she loved him. And after those two seconds of being surprised, he didn’t hesitate to smile and tell her right back that he loved her too. ”I love you too, Marina. And….and I think I have for a while now.” He chuckled nervously. Why was he so nervous? Well, it was because he really did love her, and now she knew that. But he also knew that the feeling was mutual which meant that what they had was for real. Did that mean they were an actual item? Just because you loved someone didn’t mean you were an actual item. But it was good to finally get that out, and know that he definitely wasn’t the only one feeling what they were sharing together. ”Um….so did ya want to keep looking around? I’ll bring in the stuff a bit later.”

[Marina Anne Sinclaire]

She nodded, "I feel the same about you. I was born in Lowell, Massachusetts but we moved to Riverside because it was close to the Children's Hospital of Orange County and they could work on my legs. My dad didn't have a lot of money, lot of alimony checks from previous wives and my surgeries cost a lot of money so we were kinda poor for a long time." she shrugged as they walked and smiled up at him, "I brought some things for you from where I lived. I wanted you to get a better feel for it all."

"Aww its sad that your folks didn't spend time with you." she hugged him tightly then smiled softly, "You have a brother that likes you. I think that's so great.I can't imagine having a brother that I actually felt safe around. The closest to a real brother I've got is my cousin on my mom's side Cruise Webster and he's just outrageous. I love him to pieces. He's the most irresponsible total manwhore out there on two legs, but he protected me from my brothers when we were growing up. He's a bartender at LA Fever." she beamed at Rodney, "You might see him sometime. He's constantly teasing me but its really good natured and he totally doesn't mind if I tease him right back." she looked up at him and smiled, "He'd like you. I'm sure he'll give you the big brother warning but don't let that scare you off."

"You deserve it too, Rodney. I know I get like super mushy around you but you're so special to me in so many ways. I just want you to always know that too. I mean I know your past wasn't too happy from the sound of it, but I want you to be happy because you deserve it as well. To go through that and still be so nice to everyone is just amazing to me. So many people wouldn't care or they'd blow their folks money to make up for it, but you actually stand on your own and are a good person and that's what I love about you." she ran a hand down his chest lightly as she looked up at him. When his lips met hers she sighed happily and pressed against him, feeling happy and loved as she stood there in the living room surrounded by post it notes.

"I've loved you since you stood up to my dad in the hospital. I mean I didn't want you to get hurt but no one has ever stood up to my dad before. Even Trent is very polite to him and diffident towards him. I loved that you weren't intimidated by him and that you stood up for what you felt was right." she admitted with a blush on her cheeks and a happy smile, she hugged him and snuggled into his arms a bit more, feeling more confident she would be accepted.

"Sure. This place is so nice. I'm going to be collecting a lot of post it notes from the looks of it." she said as she glanced around and grinned at him, happy to go on the post it note scavenger hunt with him, "I brought a couple of things for you plus my guitar and violin so just let me know when you want to get stuff and I'll help you with what I can." she said as she looked back to him and then began walking with him further into the house. She pushed her glasses further on her nose and smiled over at him as she walked over to a batch of post it notes and pulled a few off to read.

[mooshi]

Rodney listened to Marina talk. This was so nice, just….talking to her, getting to know her. He’d been waiting for this for a long time. When she mentioned the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Rodney wondered how many hours a day she had to visit that hospital. How many surgeries did she really have to go through? It probably took a very strong person to be able to go through what she must have gone through in her upbringing. And as she explained, it just added on to what Rodney already knew about her. That he had a lot of respect for Marina. The conversation jumped to her discussing her cousin, Cruise, who apparently was a complete man whore which Rodney had no problem with, especially if he watched out for Marina when it came to her brothers. But when she said that he’d see him sometime probably in LA Fever, Rodney chuckled. ”Yeah, me and bars and clubs just done mix well. I don’t drink at all, and I’m definitely not a good dancer. But I’d love to meet him. He sounds like a real hoot.” Rodney smiled at Marina. Yeah meeting Diana and Luke was a bit strange, but he loved Marina, so he’d meet anyone she wanted him to meet.

Rodney had no problem believing anything he was hearing. It was obvious the love was there, but for how long was what surprised him. He could remember every single thing that happened the night he stood up to her dad. He wasn’t thinking at all about the consequences in doing so or how it would affect anyone, he just wanted to keep her safe. And he was angry that Reginald was the one who was making that a problem. When he walked out of that hospital room, he knew right then and there that he would do anything to protect her. He decided right then and there that Reginald had to die. But now that Marina was away from her father and staying with Diana and Luke, things were looking up for her, and he loved it. So, when did Rodney really start to love Marina? Rodney was a very open minded person, but love at first site was never something he could wrap his head around….until maybe now. There wasn’t a specific moment that he knew he loved her because….of, well, he just knew all along in a way. Rodney wasn’t good with accepting compliments. It played a lot on his socially awkward side. Rodney wasn’t the type that needed praise to do what he needed to to help others. So, when Marina moved closer to him to snuggle him, he just did the same wrapping her in his arms again.

As Marina pulled away from him to scope out the post it notes, he watched with a smile on his face. He had never done this before for someone because he had never really felt this way for anyone before. And with the expression on Marina’s face, it seemed that she liked this which made him happy. Rodney nodded when Marina told him that she had brought him something. Rodney slid his hands into his pants pockets. ”I can’t wait to see them.” This was going to be a very nice weekend.

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[Marina Anne Sinclaire]

"Good! I'll see if we can meet up for lunch or something. He's pretty casual so burgers and fries would work for him. You don't have to dress up or anything." she said with a huge smile on her face as she leaned against him lightly and savored being close to him. She leaned into him and relaxed content to just savor the feeling of being held and not having to worry about being caught or in trouble for it.

"I'm just so happy! I can't wait. This is the first time we've had that we could be together without watching our backs." she admitted, "I hope you like the things I brought."

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It was early in the morning when she padded to the bathroom for a shower. Her robe was tied securely and she'd just finished doing her morning workout and prayer. Some people thought it was odd that she was up at dawn but it was the time of day when she knew her dad would be dead asleep and she didn't have to worry about him.

Ever since Michael had approached her about Samael she'd taken to praying for guidance and taking time to look at any visions he gave her every morning for an hour then working out for an hour. That meant that roughly around 7 she was hitting the showers and done by about 8. She didn't know if Rodney was a morning person or not but if he wasn't it would let her work on some paperwork for her foundation. Walking down the hall to the bathroom she hummed to herself, her hair down loose and flowing as she moved in her white robe to the bathroom.

[mooshi]

Rodney’s hand lifted to twist off the warm water that had been hitting his skin for the past twenty minutes. Yes, he took his time when he bathed. So what? Was there really a problem with wanting to make sure you were clean and enjoying the feeling of scalding water sliding down your body? Rodney didn’t think so at all, although there were multiple times that Axel mentioned how girly it was that he took so long to prepare himself for the day. But he was on vacation, so he definitely wouldn’t be hearing that from Axel today or Marina actually. Marina was probably still sleeping. Not many women he knew of woke up this early in the morning. Mandy could sleep until 3 in the afternoon if you let her, which Rodney totally didn’t. But this was good. He could have his shower done , breakfast made, and the day planned already for them by the time Marina woke up.

Rodney reached out from behind the glass doors of the shower and grabbed his towel bringing it back in with him. He slid the glass doors all the way open and stepped out onto the mat in front of the shower. Starting with his legs, Rodney began to dry himself lastly making it to his hair. As he dried his hair with the towel, he walked towards the sink. Once he was satisfied with the drying of his hair, Rodney hung the towel on the bar next to the sink and then reached into the drawer next to the sink where he had put his deodorant when they had unpacked last night. He stood in front of the sink as he applied the deodorant to his underarms counting aloud and watching himself in the mirror above the sink. He could see the door behind him through the mirror, and he had left it open which was normal for him when he knew he was the only one awake anyways. He enjoyed hot water which unfortunately made a bathroom steamy and completely unbearable once out of the shower. So, letting cool air in never hurt anyone….until now.

[Marina Anne Sinclaire]

Marina continued to pad over to the bathroom and then blinked when she ran into Rodney. The steam made her vision a bit blurred but there was nothing to obscure the sight that was Rodney naked and putting on deoderant, Lord was he...Quick as anything she spun, her robe fluffing out a bit as she turned her gaze away, "Ummm sorry! Sorry didn't mean to walk in on you all naked and steamy...I didn't know you were a morning person...." she coughed as she tried to duck her head and avoid looking at him, hiding her face a bit with her hand as she blushed scarlet, "I umm gee well ummm yeah I'll just be walking out now since you probably need some alone time to get things in hand...uhhh I didn't mean it like that I just ummm yeah your privates...ummmm private time sorry yeah I should be going now before I dig myself any deeper a hole.Not that you need to be thinking about holes in your current state or anything... Oh its hot in here and I really need to go cause its just ummm too hot for me...yeah yeah..."

She staggered back and stumbled. Falling on her butt in the process as she tried not to look at his junk as she stared up at the ceiling. "Don't worry I'm fine. I fell on my butt its okay its padded. I mean its okay I can get up..." she tried to get up and realized that her robe was making things interesting for her as well with how it tended to want to move.

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The days seemed to go by in a blur. Moments that would stay in the memories of the pair for the rest of their lives. This was the pinnacle of joy for Mari and she embraced it fully thinking that finally her life was starting to approach something normal.

As they headed home a shadowy form slipped back into his car. Hiding his emotions behind an outward calm Reginald made a few calls, "Its time to set the plan in motion." he murmured before hanging up and heading home.