017. Brown

"You know, I used to have serious self image issues." It's a simple statement, something not to be taken too deeply. He thinks on it for a moment, then pinches her cheek, leaning on his arm to peer at her. The sun shining through the leaves creates large patches of gold on her face, and her eyes shine like amber.

"Did you?" He chuckles a little, because she's attempting to touch her tongue to her nose, and it's cute and quirky, and sort of turns him on a little.

Ah, Marlene.

"Uh huh." She's done, failed in her actions, but she'll resume later and conquer it. She wins everything, and if she doesn't win, it wasn't worth wining. "I mean honestly, my father doesn't look me nor does my mother. When I was little, I was so confused."

Again, a light statement. A part of him wonders if she's ever deep, if she's ever heavy and serious and meaningful. He figures that she probably tells the girls her deep stuff. Lily is a good listener, and Alice gives good advice, and Emmeline is stern enough to make everything make sense.

He thinks of her parents. Her mother is beautiful, high cheekbones and a thin figure. All angles, like Marlene. Skin dark as the deepest chocolate, the same color of Marlene's eyes. Her father is the quintessential Scotsman. Big, rough and burly with the accent to match. Cream colored with green eyes and a bit of freckles. Marlene's freckles.

He counted them once, and he found just a few, compared to him at least. His are all over, fainter than his sisters, but very Irish and redhead none the less. Good thing sometimes he actually looks like a redhead.

"I can understand that."

She snorts and looks up at him. He stares, and she blinks once then returns to twirling her blade of grass. When had she gotten so occupied?

"What of your sisters though? They're the same color as you."

"But so many other differences. Audrina has paps green eyes, and Brene's hair is coarse like moms and Zoë's hair is the same color as yours." She pulls at one of his auburn curls and he focuses his eyes on her spiny fingers, causing his eyes to cross and a laugh to escape her lips. He wants to drink it up and have it fill him but instead he takes her hand and encircles it within his.

"You are certain in your identity now, then?" a deep question, he thinks, and he hopes she'll give a deep answer, so he can feel special, like Lily, or Emmeline, or Alice.

"Yes." She squeezes his hand with her too thing fingers and he brings it up to his lips to kiss.

"That's very good, then ." He says, rocking towards her. The man in him wants her closer still, but he'll not ruin the moment.

"Yes." She says lightly. "Yes."

Author's Note: So, I had this for a while, but I wanted to see if people were interested. I got a review asking me to update, and since these are drabbles, I figured I would. This one is a bit longer than the other two, and a bit less angsty. Some Marlene/Gideon almost love. *Sigh* Gideon is so sprung on her...