#travis and teresa | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

something-tofightfor · 1 year ago

Text

The Truth Is Out There: The Truth

Pairing: Marcus Pike x Female Art Conservator/Restoration Specialist FBI Agent

Word Count: 3,515

Chapter Rating: M (language, unintentional drug use, rehashing relationship issues)

Series Warnings: Sex Pollen (with a twist), no use of Y/N, female reader insert, Reader works for the FBI in art restoration/conservation and has a nickname that is used often by Marcus. In this house we cannot stand Teresa and Jane and that is reflected in this story.

Summary: Being stuck in a closed room with Marcus while the DEA figures out what the blue powder is means there’s plenty of time to bring up the past ... and how it relates to the present.

Author’s Note: I’m having a lot of fun with this one, and I’m glad you all seem to be, too. Thank you for reading - and thank you for your interaction. I love seeing all of it!

i’m playing fast and loose with a lot of things: mainly the way the FBI operates and what other agencies they closely interact with. Also the idea of sex pollen in general Forgive me if the details aren’t 100% accurate.

Inbox is open, as always. Thank you for reading!

Masterlist / Unrequited / One Breath

“Hey you two, I’m Scott and I’m here to help. How are you feeling?” The man’s voice was upbeat, though it was slightly distorted thanks to the head covering he wore. Well he’s fucking cheerful. “You look like you want to get out of there. And I’m here to make sure that happens as quickly as possible, alright? We’re going to come in and do some tests and take some samples, and as soon as we know what’s going on, we’ll be able to let you know what your next steps are. How does that sound?”

As he spoke, you were overcome with a wave of irritation - both at his cheery tone and at the presence of the dark-haired woman. But mostly because of her. You pushed to your feet before hopping up onto the counter.

“Sounds peachy.” Startling yourself with the tone you used, you continued to speak, keeping an eye on the man in the safety suit. “Of course we want to get out of here. Wouldn’t you?” You used one hand to wave at the room. “This isn’t exactly a place I want to spend the rest of the day in. And I’m sure Agent Pike and Mrs. Jane want to get back to whatever conversation they were having before I interrupted them.” Where the fuck did that come from?

You felt the temperature in the room drop as you spat the words out, Marcus scrambling to his feet and stepping in front of you, his nostrils flaring. “Don’t.” He shook his head. “This isn’t the right place to do this.” He spoke quietly, leaning closer. “Say what you need to to me, but I don’t want you to -”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do.” You were fighting back tears along with trying to bite back everything you’d wanted to tell Marcus but hadn’t. Even though he’s right and this isn’t the right place. “And you agreed to meet her, so you obviously wanted something to -”

“Alright, we’re coming in.” Scott’s voice interrupted your tirade, and only moments later, you and Marcus turned your attention to the open door. Three people in protective gear walked in, each one carrying a different type of field kit. “It’ll go faster if you each let one of us take care of you, is that alright?”

You didn’t even look at Marcus as you got off the counter and brushed past him, heading immediately for Scott and giving him a bright smile. Perfect. “Please do whatever you need to do to get me the fuck out of here as soon as you possibly can, alright?”

“That’s my job, ma’am.” He gestured to one of the chairs, which had been pulled away from the table and set closer to the wall of windows facing the hallway. “Take a seat. Deanna’s going to get some samples from the room that can immediately be tested, and while she’s doing that, Travis and I will get what we need from you and Agent Pike.”

“Thank you.” You sat on the chair, looking up at the man. “I’m sorry I snapped at you, I just -”

“No need to apologize. You’ve got a lot going on right now.” He waved you off, setting the kit down on one countertop and opening it as Travis did the same while Marcus settled onto his chair. During the set up, you kept an eye on the other people in the room, watching what was going on intently, even though Scott tried to keep your focus on him. “I’m going to start with taking your blood pressure, alright?”

Fifteen minutes later, Deanna was gone and Scott and Travis were finished with you and Marcus, the men repackaging their equipment wordlessly.

They’d gone through what basically amounted to a quick physical - along with taking blood samples and checking your reflexes. But the biggest update was that they’d permitted both of you to clean the skin of your faces and necks off along with wiping the dust from your hair, the used cloth towels going into evidence bags along with everything else.

“We’ll need your clothes, too, as soon as you can change into new ones. We’re working on setting up a closed chamber in the hallway right now to give you some privacy to do that, and that shouldn’t take much longer.”

“Is it safe for us to be in here? We’re still breathing in the -” Marcus jabbed a finger back at the worktable. “Whatever that is. You have your suits, but we have nothing. Shouldn’t -”

“Agent Pike.” Scott held up a hand, looking at the man and pressing his lips together. “We’re doing our best. We still need some time to finish the testing and analysis. But with all of the information we’ve collected from both of you and some intuition based on past cases, I’m confident in saying that you both will be fine spending a few more minutes in this room. We don’t want to move you around more than we need to, or risk contaminating other areas of the building.”

Fantastic. “Basically, we’re already breathing it in, so whatever is going to happen is going to happen, right?” Your words were tinged with anger, body language matching as you crossed your arms and tossed your head.

“Agent.” Scott said your name, waiting until you’d turned your head to look at him to continue. “We’re doing everything we can to help you both. I promise.” Sure. of course you are. “There’s no reason to -”

“It’s easy for you to say that when you’re in a protective suit, hmm? Try being completely exposed to whatever the hell this is with a man that you got into a fight with because -” Eyes going wide, you clapped a hand over your mouth, forcing yourself to stop. What the fuck is wrong with me?

Scott didn’t even flinch, the man’s eyes moving from you to Marcus, his shoulders shifting as he took a deep breath. “Would you like me to stay in here with you until it’s time to go? Or -”

“No you can both leave” Marcus rubbed at his face with one hand. “We’ll be OK. Are you staying in the hallway?”

Scott nodded, assuring Marcus that they’d be close even if you couldn’t see them. Then the door opened and the two stepped through it, their suits squeaking as they stepped into covered tunnel leading away from the windows. We’re so close. We’re almost out of here, and …

“Marcus?” You barely bit back a growl at the sound of Teresa’s voice, forcing yourself to stay in place as she continued. “Is there anyone you want me to call? Do you want me to go back to your place and get it ready for -”

“I don’t think I’ll be going home tonight, Teresa, so there’s no point.” He spun to face her and at that, you turned, too, keeping an eye on him. “And no, there’s no one I want you to call. I don’t think my parents would be too happy to hear from you after what you did to me.” She winced but stood her ground, and you saw a brief look of confusion cross Marcus’ features at his words. He’s never spoken about her like that before. Not even when he first told me what happened.

You sat back down on the chair, covering your face with both hands - and took a deep breath. Get it together.

You were warm, the uncomfortable feeling spreading over your entire body. It wasn’t quite to the point that it was unmanageable, but you could feel it - heat radiating from your palms and your clothes becoming just a little sticky. It’s because we’re stuck in here and they turned the AC off. I’ll be fine once I’m out.

“I’m going to let my boss know I won’t be at the conference tomorrow, yeah? I should stay here and keep you company once you’re out. Just to make sure -”

“Why?” Your head snapped up at the sound of his voice, and you watched as Marcus stepped closer to the wall of windows, both hands on his hips. “Why would you stay now? You didn’t stay when we were together and you just expected me to understand, Teresa. But this is a whole new … what the fuck is wrong with me? Why am I saying this?” Marcus’ head turned toward you, and you saw fear in his eyes. “Why am I making you listen to this?” Me? You’re worried about me?

“Don’t stop on my account.” You grinned, sitting up straight and holding out both hands, palms forward. “You should have said all of this to her months ago.” Shit. Sucking in a breath, you clamped your teeth together. “Marcus, I’m sorry. I don’t -” You had no idea where your filter had gone - or what was causing Marcus’ attitude and honesty. But if it’s both of us, then maybe…

You glanced back at the table and the re-closed crates of paintings, a deep frown on your face. It couldn’t be. “What? What are you looking at?” Marcus moved to stand next to you, his attention diverted from the woman on the other side of the glass and focused entirely on you. “What do you see?”

“Nothing.” Swallowing hard, you looked up at him. “I’m just thinking, Marcus. About what might be -”

“Hey.” You both turned, the sight of Teresa with her arms crossed - wedding and engagement bands visible on her finger - reigniting the irritation in your belly. He tensed next to you but stayed quiet, and you watched as the woman shook her head, anger evident in her expression. “If you have something to say to me about what happened with Patrick, Marcus, then you should just say it. It’s been two years, and you’ve never tried to -”

“Oh, I did try.” He scoffed, stepping back toward the glass. “I tried to call you for a month straight after Florida, Teresa, and you never answered. You ended our engagement with a fucking voicemail, and then months later, when I saw you again, you had nothing to say to me and couldn’t get out of the room fast enough.” His voice cracked multiple times and it took everything in you to stay seated, letting him say what he needed to. I want to be there for him. I want to comfort him. I want to … he sounds so sad.

“What was there to say?” She was speaking quietly, her eyes darting to the side and then forward, though she never looked directly at Marcus. “You knew how I felt about Jane the entire time we were together. You knew that I was conflicted. None of it was a secret. And you still proposed, Marcus. You asked me to come here with you. You were moving at a hundred miles an hour, and I was just trying to keep up.” She’s still making excuses. Unbelievable.

“You know,” Marcus chuckled, his head tilted downward. “Jane is the only one out of the two of you that actually apologized to me? And as much as I can’t stand that smug bastard, I think he meant it.” He raised a hand, rubbing at his chin. “He really was sorry. At least part of him was, anyway. But you?” He leaned closer, and despite yourself, you shifted on the chair, trying to get a better view of the woman’s face over his shoulder. “You’ve had two years to apologize to me for anything you did, and you haven’t even come close. I know you weren’t in love with me, but did I actually mean that little to you, Teresa?”

It was quiet, and for a few seconds as his words hung in the air, you wondered if anyone was going to view the recording of what was being said in the room later on. Hopefully Marcus won’t want to watch, because he’s going to hate seeing and hearing himself like this. He’s going to … “What would an apology have done? I thought you understood. Why would -”

“Because it’s the decent fucking thing to do, you asshole.” Her head whipped in your direction and Marcus spun on his heel, his eyes widening at your outburst. “This man loved you enough to propose to you and ask you to move across the country with him even though he knew you weren’t all in. You did nothing but string him along for months, Teresa, until the person you’d been too stubborn to admit you had feelings for finally made a move after you’d already accepted another man’s marriage proposal… and then you decided that that’s who you wanted. I’m pretty sure that warrants some sort of goddamn apology.”

You’d had the thoughts ever since Marcus confided to you what happened with the woman. You’d wanted to give her a piece of your mind and had been hoping for the chance to do it. But I never thought it would happen like this. Or that I’d actually be this candid, but … fuck it. He said your name in warning and shook his head minutely, but you caught the look in his eyes - one of admiration and appreciation, along with a slight tremble of his lower lip. “Don’t. It isn’t worth -”

“No, Marcus. To me? It is worth it. You are worth it.” Finally, you stood, stepping closer to where he was standing. “We don’t know what the fuck it is going to happen to us, so if this is the only chance I have to say this to one of the women that was too fucking stupid to realize what a catch you are, I’m going to take it.” You paused. “And I guess since you’re stuck in here with me, you get to hear it, too.”

As you spoke, you realized that the heat was still building, the warmth climbing to a slow boil inside of you. I’m sort of itchy, too. It feels like … Your mouth was dry, and even though you were angry, the attraction you felt toward Marcus was front and center in your mind, the truth of what you were saying compounded by the fact that he was right there next to you and could hear the sincerity in your words. I can usually ignore it, but … “You’re going to let her talk to me like that?”

“I can talk to you any damn way I want to, Teresa. Marcus doesn’t get to decide how I speak to people.” You laughed. “And to be honest, I really don’t care what you think of me after the shit you think it’s acceptable to have put him through.” You pointed at Marcus with one finger, though you stayed behind him. “So I -”

“Scully.” Marcus twisted toward you, an arm outstretched so that he could press his palm to your lower back. “As much as I love hearing you stick up for me like this, you don’t have to fight this battle for me.” He stroked along your spine slowly, and at the contact - even through your shirt, you felt a surge of electricity, the shock of his touch urging you closer to him.

And he moved, too - a half step toward you before he took a deep breath and shook his head, confusion deepening the line between his brows. But there’s something else there, too. He’s never looked at me like this before. Except … Your lips parted as you remembered the night he’d put a stop to things between you - tearing himself out of your arms and pulling your shirt back into place even as he’d apologized, the want in his expression almost tangible. It’s been a year, though. And he … we …

Blinking quickly, you backed away from him, noticing that Marcus’ breathing had quickened, too. And he’s sweating. It’s not that hot in here, but … “Teresa.” He said her name and then wet his lips, turning away from you and back toward the windows. “I changed my mind. I don’t want an apology from you because I shouldn’t have had to ask for one.” He straightened his shoulders. “I don’t want anything from you. The only reason that I agreed to see you today was so that I could say goodbye.” Really?

“But you -” She shook her head. “Marcus, we’re friends, I thought -”

“Friends don’t do what you did to me to each other.” He swiped a palm over the back of his head and your eyes were drawn to the way each digit curled slightly to curve against his skull, skin pulled tight over the bones and tendons on the back of his hand. He’s got a freckle on his wrist. I’ve never noticed that before. And there’s another one by his knuckle and …

“You thought that you could leave me for him and then just come back whenever you needed some sort of… validation? You can’t. I’m done. I’ve wasted too much of my time on you, and I need to …” He swore, taking a deep breath. “I need to focus on what’s waiting for me, not what’s already happened.”

You were proud of him, that emotion rising to the center of your chest and lingering there as he faced the woman that had been the source of his anguish for as long as you’d known him. Good for you, Marcus. It’s about time. “Are you serious?” She scoffed. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Marcus. Maybe if you’d been like this before, I wouldn’t have -”

“Don’t you dare.” You snarled at her, pushing past Marcus to stand right against the window, your fingers curled into tight fists. “You’re lucky I can’t leave this room right now, or -” Teresa’s attention went to the right, and then yours and Marcus’ did, too as the door opened again and Scott stepped back into the room. Wait a minute. “You’re not in a suit. Does that mean -”

The man was no longer in the protective covering, though he was wearing a mask and gloves, his feet encased in booties. “I have some good news and I have some bad news.” Marcus stepped next to you, the man’s arms hanging loosely at his sides. “The good news is that what you’ve ingested is not toxic to the extent that your lives are in danger.”

You deflated at the admission, your hand rising to cover your face as your shoulders slumped. OK, that’s good. That’s really good. “But what’s the bad news?” Marcus’ hand moved idly as he spoke, his wrist flexing back and forth as he curled and uncurled his fingers. “Because -”

“The bad news is that we don’t know more than the basics about the drug that you found in those paintings, because it’s really new.” Scott looked between the two of you. “So we’re going to get you out of here and into separate rooms that are more comfortable, and then we can explain what we do know.”

“No.” Marcus gave a firm shake of his head. “No, I want to stay with her. I want to make sure she’s alright.” The DEA agent’s eyes widened above his mask, but Marcus continued. “If you separate us all I’m going to do tonight is worry.”

“That probably isn’t all you’ll be doing tonight.” Scott sighed but nodded in agreement, glancing up at the ceiling. “But alright. Your SSA let me know that you’ve got a couple rooms on retainer at the hotel across the street, so we’ll transfer you there, I’ll explain what we’re dealing with and then you can decide what you want to do.” Why would that have any bearing on … it makes no sense. “But we need to move quickly, because we don’t have much time.” Much time before what?

The man gestured toward the door, and you and Marcus followed. As you walked, you glanced up at the windows - but Teresa was nowhere to be seen. Good. She left.

You felt relief when you stepped into the sealed tent that they’d set up in the hallway. Before you’d taken more than a few steps, Scott turned back to look at you, holding up one hand. “What? Why are -”

“There are a few sets of scrubs here for you to change into.” He pointed at sealed bags that were sitting on a small cart. “I wish we could wait until you get into the hotel room, but changing now is better. You’ll want to shower as soon as possible, but there’s nothing we can do about that here.” Marcus nodded, spinning back to face the door you’d just exited through.

“Go ahead and change. I’ll wait.” He cleared his throat. “Hurry up, we should do what he says.”

“I’ll leave you two alone.” Scott gestured between you. “Leave your old clothes on the floor - all of them - and then when you’re done, just come on out. Ill be waiting.” He disappeared through the rustling plastic, and then you and Marcus were alone for the first time, the man’s broad back all you could focus on.

—

tag list reblog coming soon!

#marcus pike #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x female reader #pedro pascal character #pedro pascal #the mentalist #the mentalist fic #the truth is out there #ttiot #pedro pascal masterlist #marcus pike masterlist #the truth is out there masterlist

121 notes · View notes