#*marcus: cora warren 003*

[thearcherbrothersx]

Closed starter for @nottheemuse / Declan, Marcus & Cora

Marcus and Declan been behind closed doors for hours, shuttered in the office since Marcus had shown up. Lily was on a playdate, which meant, aiming to take advantage of her absence, that Declan had promised Cora some time for them this afternoon, something he didn't often set aside time for during the week - especially the past couple of months. So Cora was off elsewhere - reading in the library, if Declan had to guess, but he hadn't checked up on her. Whenever she was home, safe and sound within the walls of their home, he never really felt a need for that.

By the time Declan and Marcus emerged from the office, it was dinnertime - so Declan merely shot her a text, letting her know that the chef - Andreas - had dinner ready, and that he'd like her to join him and Marcus in the dining room. Then the brothers made their way down there, chatting loosely about Lily's progress with her Chinese tutor on the way.

[thearcherbrothersx]

Declan didn't even acknowledge her reaction at first - not her silence, not her gaze. He just chewed his mouthful of food, contemplating the current situation. Always analysing, evaluating. Marcus saw it too, studied his brother's perfectly relaxed features for a split second, and then looked to Cora as she spoke - cutting in before Declan had finished chewing. Declan directed his gaze to Cora as he sank his food, then reached out and lifted his glass of wine off the table. "You may be," he remarked calmly in reply to her statement that she may be confused, even if it didn't require a response. And then he brought his wine to his lips. He took a sip of the red liquid, then lowered it carefully back onto the table as she finished speaking.

Declan's sharp gaze lingered on Cora, his features calm as ever in the face of her fury. "First: It's not any number at all. You know that." He'd never enforced the rules of their D/s dynamic in a situation like this one; just as she could always speak freely if any of the rules didn't suit her in some way. "Second: There is nothing for me to explain away. I have business dinners and various events throughout the year that I must either host or attend. That is nothing new to you. It can't possibly be, since I've told you about each and every one. You've never asked to come with me." He arched a brow - like she was being a little silly for overreacting. "Would you like a compiled list of all the women in attendance at said events? I can promise you, I've spent time with all of them at one point or another as well as at least the same amount of men."

Now, if you'd known Declan for as many years as Marcus had, you'd know that this was the perfect time to get the fuck out of dodge. So Marcus cleared his throat and made a point of dropping his cutlery onto his plate, before sliding out of his chair. "Aaand I think that's my cue to leave." He smiled, clearly entirely without blame. "Thanks for dinner, D." Declan gave a nod towards Marcus (he'd talk to him later), while Marcus looked to Cora next. "Later, gorgeous." And then he was leaving the room.

Cora had to physically stop herself from rolling her eyes at him commenting on her slip up. And that was the moment she knew she was in a mood, feeling some type of way. Had she been smarter, she would have excused herself then, claimed cramps or something and gone back to the library. But instead, she just said, “Yes, Sir.” and made a mental note to add this to her list of infractions. Over it, she kept her tone light, assuring Marcus, “I know you’re not my brother, but you are my favorite brother at the moment.” Even if she was happy with Caleb, she was still mad at him for how he’d treated Declan, for making her life harder (even if it was marginal and ultimately unimportant). 

Maybe it was foolish on her end - easing into the humor of those moments, letting herself get comfortable with the two of them. And then Marcus was saying the words “Those boring fucking models” and Declan, who controlled himself in every sense, glanced up at his brother in acknowledgement. And maybe no one else would have noticed that, but since she'd moved in, since she'd been here more, she'd started to pick up on patterns. How he dispensed his attention was one of those. And all of that combined, and for a second all Cora could hear was a ringing in her ears. It was like the room went quiet. And then all at once there was the overwhelming sound and feeling over her fury nearly drowning her. Externally all they got was a quizzical look, a blink, processing. Inside she was on fire.

“I’m sorry, what?” She did that thing that southern women did so well - acting nice when they wanted to strangle somebody, her words edged with a little humor and politeness. Her brow furrowed, head tilting, studying Marcus’s face. Slowly, she turned to look to Declan, her eyes narrowing. Remember, she trusted Marcus. He wouldn’t lie about that. He might be full of shit, but Marcus didn’t strike her to cause problems for them just for fun. “I’m sorry, Declan, maybe I’m confused.” Spoken like a woman who most certainly wasn’t confused, who was figuring it all out in real time, those words clicking into place, sinking in quickly. Her politeness was slipping too. “But is your brother," Who was still in the room, but Cora ignored, "saying that I’ve been sitting here on my own missing you while you’ve been out with other women?” 

She glared at him, all the softness she’d put out for him earlier reeled back in, wearing an expression she’d never given him before. He’d seen her mad, sure, but Declan had never seen her like this. She was all hardness. It was anger but more than that it was hurt. Because since the first time she’d laid eyes on him, she’d known he was too good for her. He exuded that energy to everyone, at least from her perspective, so she’d never taken it personally. But now it seemed clear that everyone knew it. That she was some dirty little secret. And given the aforementioned mood, she didn’t hold herself back, didn’t contain herself like she’d been doing for weeks, letting tears roll down her cheeks while she looked him in his eyes, "I'm sure this is a five," What was the punishment for snapping? Did she care? Nope. Not right now. A sardonic little smile on her face, she laughed, her accent crawling out with her anger, drawling, "but, fuck it... I can't wait to hear how you explain this away."

[thearcherbrothersx]

"Okay." It was as simple as that; no muss, no fuss. Just acceptance. She wasn't ready, or she didn't want it - either way, Declan's answer was the same. When she thanked him though, both Declan's brows shifted a little higher on his forehead, and he gave her an entirely unimpressed look, coupled with a calmly spoken, "That's one." It was a system he'd set in place for her; it wasn't always possible to address her slip-ups or misbehaviour immediately, so he'd started assigning them points on a scale of 1 to 5, depending on the severity. In the playroom now hung a board that counted her infractions, and her own hand had jotted down every single line - under careful supervision of course. When a punishment had been meted out, he'd allow her to cross out the corresponding number of lines on the board. It also meant she never knew when he might choose to address any one of those point.

Declan was giving her a smile a moment later though, the issue dealt with, and emitted a brief chuckle at her little jab. Marcus spoke up before Declan did though, only just glancing at her to shoot her a cocky little smile. "Yes, but unlike some brothers, at least I'm a joy to have around." Was he making a joke at Declan's expense, or Caleb's? Maybe one, maybe both. Marcus didn't let on - he just shoved another forkful of food into his mouth, while Declan gave a low snort. "Just shut up and eat you food," he told his brother, tone somewhere between playful and dismissive, which only mad Marcus chuckle to himself.

At Cora's reply to his question, Marcus laughed, laying his cutlery down on the now empty plate. "Well fuck, you two really know how to make a guy feel welcome. You should host the next Archer Inc. event together - it'd really make a splash." He looked over at Declan, "then you could stop dragging all those boring fucking models along, too. Everybody's happy." The second he said those words, Declan's gaze shifted from his fork to this brother, who looked perfectly unsuspecting. Unsuspecting, that is, if you didn't know that Declan told his brother everything, including the fact that Cora didn't know about those boring fucking models, as Marcus so eloquently put it. It was Declan's only reaction though, before he moved on to putting that bite of food into his mouth.

And of course he knew he was interrupting; Marcus knew Declan's daily schedule almost as well as Declan's PA did, but something had come up, and given that he generally didn't really think it was his place to judge whether or not Declan should prioritise one thing over the other, he'd directed his brother's attention to the issue. Now, was it his fault that Declan would always choose business over pleasure? No. Was it his fault that he was dropping an atomic bomb into their relationship this very moment? Well, that depended on your point of view.

The truth was, since everything had happened she’d been scared to go anywhere on her own. For a woman who had slept in more airports than she could count, she was suddenly wary about being out in public. It’d taken a couple of weeks before she’d managed to do something as simple as go out to get coffee. And maybe that was an overreaction - she wasn’t sure. But she’d been feeling the same way she had, growing up with her dad. Like she was always waiting for someone to be right there, ready to hurt her. And of course, Declan hadn’t said one word to her about it, had let her move at her own pace. He’d been so incredibly supportive, so thoughtful. Cora tried to keep that front and center when he offered her Gwen’s number. Trying to remind herself that she hadn’t taken too long, she hadn’t been a burden to him. At least she hoped not. 

“I’m not there yet.” Needing Gwen’s info. It would be easier, sure. Less of a wait. But Cora needed to maintain at least a little bit of independence. Not everything could be tied up in him. “But thank you, darlin’.” The term of endearment just slipped out, her cheeks going pink. Ignoring it, she decided to tease instead, “Brothers typically do that, don’t they? Just show up and ruin your plans sometimes?” A subtle joke about Caleb’s visit, while shooting Marcus a pointed a look. 

Because here’s the thing - she could get it. She could understand why Declan was so busy, and she couldn’t see herself pushing too hard about it. But Marcus being here, especially when she’d hardly seen Declan lately was such an annoying brother thing to do. While  he might be charming, he wasn’t immune to her attitude. “I’d rather miss you another time, if I”m bein’ honest, but also always.” Laughing while she shook her head, Cora finally put her fork down, certain she was done with her food, and not wanting to play with it.

Sure, they never hung out one on one, never went looking for each other, but she liked him. Call it a trauma bond, but she trusted him. And maybe because of the news about Caleb and Gabby, she could feel a little more tender toward someone who created brotherly feelings, wanting somewhere to put that energy. Motioning to her plate she offered, “I’m done with this if you want any of it.” Having dealt with food insecurity, she always hated wasting anything, and she knew he could eat. And because, maybe just maybe a small part of her was annoyed with Declan about all of this too, about feeling a little bit optional for him when he was a requirement for her, Cora ignored him, keeping her attention on Marcus. “But no, it’s been a minute, you been doin’ okay?”

[thearcherbrothersx]

There was a low hum of acknowledgement, a hint of contemplation tinting the sound. "Sounds like a good idea, you getting back into working." It felt like progress. Declan's thumb traced over Cora's knuckles, his sharp gaze lingering attentively on her features though. "I still have Gwen's phone number ready for you, whenever you want it." Gwen, one of the people in his PR team, used to work in publishing - something Declan had told Cora about a while ago. She could definitely help drum up business. Given everything going on with her, including this whole thing with her brother, Declan couldn't help but be a little extra on edge in general though. So he took note of the way she'd barely even looked at her food when they sat down, and the way her voice tilted slightly with uncertainty now.

He gave a gentle squeeze back when she turned their hands, and out of the corner of his eye, caught the way Marcus glanced at the two of them, one brow raised pointedly while he chewed his food. Declan ignored him though. "I didn't mean to keep you on standby this long," he admitted. "Marcus has terrible timing." The last part held just a hint of humour. He appreciated the fact that she didn't complain though, didn't complicate his life by making a big deal out of the constraints on his time. He didn't say anything more than that, mostly because of Marcus' presence.

Marcus let out a grunt at Declan's deflection to him, then looked up from his food to Cora. He chewed the latest bite of his food, taking a second to consider what was left on the plate. Declan's, sensing a change in direction, let go of Cora's hand and picked up his own fork, interrupting the conversation to gesture to Cora's plate with a softly spoken "Eat" before he went in on his own food.

Marcus swallowed in the meantime, full lips then forming a wry smile. "Why?" He teased right back, grabbing his beer. "Miss me?" Not that Marcus made a habit of dropping in to see Cora. More like he dropped by to see Lily, and Cora oftentimes happened to be there too.

Andreas was talented, and Cora had never been one to shy away from his food, but tonight she hardly even looked at her plate. She wasn’t interested in food, her appetite off, a slight current of nausea settling in over her over the past few days. That, and the fatigue she’d felt today, wasn’t unheard of when her cycle was coming; she ignored it, just like she ignored the food now. Instead, her attention went to Declan’s hand on hers, letting herself get a little distracted by the feeling of his touch. Like tension was unwinding inside of her, she could relax a little. It felt silly, missing him while he’d been busy. That was a feeling she wasn’t used to. 

“It was fine.” She shrugged a shoulder as she said it. “I submitted some samples to some journals, so we’ll see what happens.” Since she’d graduated and gotten her first job, she hadn’t really stopped like this, and her insecurity over the break showed in her voice. She felt guilty, though, leaning so much on him, needing so much from him. Plus, she missed traveling, had started feeling that itch again. “Did some reading, the usual.”  She was nothing but soft to him - had been nothing but soft since really giving in and acknowledging her feelings. Her hand flipped under his, squeezing his fingers gently as she smiled and admitted, “I didn’t wanna get too caught up in anything in case I got the chance to see you.” And she meant it, there wasn’t any attitude behind her words. Because sure, she wanted him to be free, wanted to be with him, but she got it - he was busy. That was part of the deal, and she wouldn’t hold that against him. Not wanting to be rude to Marcus, she shifted her gaze to him, teasing, “I get why I haven’t seen Declan, but I don’t get why I haven’t seen you. Too good for me all of a sudden?”

[thearcherbrothersx]

He had noticed a change in her. Somehow wrapping up the issue of her contract had breathed a little more life into Cora. And despite his absence, the demands on his business these past few months, the countless business trips taking him away for days at a time, he'd been adamant about getting that handled as soon as possible. It'd given her the closure she needed, so he'd prioritised it - not that he'd been very vocal about that. No, he'd shielded her from most of it, including the fact that Jackson had suddenly started to find his luck turning - quite significantly. His face ruined from a particularly nasty meeting with Marcus, no more acting jobs offered, all his revenue streams had frozen over. And he'd started getting mysteriously paranoid, his behaviour increasingly erratic. Though keeping a close eye on that particular progress, Declan was not clueing Cora in on any of it.

Declan and Marcus were still talking, waiting for Cora to make an appearance, when she entered the room and they both paused, turning their attention to her almost in tandem. Marcus returned her grin with a cocky smile of his own, while Declan gave her a gentle once-over, assessing her the way he almost always did - especially after being apart from her for a while. He'd been home for hours and after he'd barely seen her at all in days, he hadn't even had time to give her a proper kiss. So yes, he was gauging her current state.

So when she pecked his cheek, he caught a hold of her elbow, keeping her with him long enough to brush his lips against hers, before releasing her, watching her interact with Marcus. Marcus, for his part, gave Cora a squeeze with a charming Hey Gorgeous.

Then the men followed suit, sitting down at the table already set with three plates of food. Marcus didn't hesitate to dig in (his plate was piled high with food, as Andreas knew his guests), his body almost always in need of sustenance, while Declan reached over and took Cora's hand, his thumb tracing over the back of it. "How was your day, darling?" A lame question considering what he should be saying was sorry I broke my promise - again, but it was better than nothing. And at least those words could almost be interpreted by the current look on his face, the gentle touch of a smile on his lips.

Cora had been pleasantly surprised when Declan had told her he’d have some extra time for her. At first it had been hard, acclimating to his schedule, learning when she could/should/would expect to see him, and what that meant for them. She also wouldn’t be surprised if his plans changed, though, so she went about her day loosely - Submitting a few writing samples for certain travel journals, finally feeling up to working again now that the fallout between her and Jackson’s publisher had been settled. It was another process that she’d kept herself out of, trying to stay away from the trauma, simply forwarding any and all communication she got about it to Declan and Marcus to do with it what they would. Then she’d read, finishing a book she’d started a couple of days earlier, and starting it again to add her notations. Nothing important, nothing that couldn’t be put down as soon as he was ready for her. And for a different man, acting that way would have Cora hating herself. But she’d do anything for him, cancel any plan small or large. Days like this day were getting easier for her. 

Her phone lit up, on silent, but in her peripheral, set to ‘do not disturb’ except for Declan and Caleb - this message from the former. She didn’t rush, finishing her notes on her current page, closing her book and leaving it on the side table. Cora hadn’t made it too much of a habit, leaving traces of herself around the house. That was one issue she still had - this place feeling like it was hers. But in the library, where she felt most comfortable, she was starting. Slipping her house shoes back on, she was relaxed as she walked to the dining room. A grin lit up her face as soon as she saw Marcus. It was silly, she knew it, and she knew that she probably liked him way more than he’d ever like her, but after what he’d done for her, Cora was in. Loyal to a fault. Of course, she greeted Declan first, softer, a little more reserved, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. Then she moved to his brother, giving him a quick hug, trying not to laugh at her standard, “Hey beautiful” greeting before settling down at her normal spot at the table.