The Functional Arrangement

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Morgan knew she shouldn't enjoy spending time with Marcus like this - that her feelings for him had to remain platonic for the sake of their arrangement - but her heart just couldn't seem to listen. She had agreed to stay in his guest room while her apartment's wet carpet dried out, and while she knew in the back of her mind it was probably not the best idea, she just couldn't say no when he had been so insistent. Deep down, Morgan knew she didn't want to lose a chance of spending more time with him.

And she had to admit, eating Japanese takeout with him while drinking wine and watching Marvel movies on his big screen TV was a hell of a lot more fun than sitting in her wet apartment all alone tonight.

"...What are you talking about? Thor could absolutely beat Iron Man in a fight," Marcus insisted, gesturing toward his screen with his beer bottle. The Avengers were fighting against Loki in the final battle scene. "His hammer is indestructible - it was forged by the gods."

"Even so, The Hulk is at least as powerful as Thor's hammer," Morgan pointed out. "And he has his massive size on his side too."

"I guess that's true," Marcus agreed thoughtfully. "But maybe Doctor Strange would be the most powerful because he can bend space and time?"

"Well, that just seems unfair to everyone else," Morgan giggled, and Marcus laughed.

"That's true. Y'know, I had no idea you were such a big Marvel fan, Morgan," he said with a smile. "I kind of like that."

Morgan smiled, feeling a warm sensation fill her body at his words. Or perhaps it was just from the wine she was drinking. "Yeah, well, Marvel makes great movies. And how can a girl not like Chris Evans' muscled body in tight spandex?"

Marcus laughed. "To 'America's Ass'," he toasted, lifting his glass of wine, and Morgan laughed along with him, lifting her own glass of wine before taking a sip. "I'm also glad you discovered this Japanese restaurant. I have to say, their chicken yakitori is almost as good as my mom's."

"I'm glad I discovered it too," Morgan grinned, popping her last piece of chicken into her mouth. "I can understand why this is your favorite food - it's really tasty."

"Just imagine how good it is fresh off the grill."

The two of them continued to make small talk while the movie finished up, Koda dozing on the couch cushion between the two of them. Once the credits started to roll, Morgan yawned and stretched - she checked the time and realized it was getting pretty late.

"If you're tired, you can head off to bed right now," Marcus said, flipping the channel to TBS where Conan was giving a monologue. He turned the volume down so it was almost mute. "I'm just going to stay up and watch a little late night TV with Koda before turning in."

"I can stay up with you guys for a few more minutes," Morgan said, although she yawned again as she spoke. She snuggled down further into her seat, comfortably resting her head back on the couch cushion behind her. "What did you want to do tomorrow?"

"I don't know, I didn't really have anything special planned," Marcus said, looking thoughtful. "I was going to go for a jog in the morning, then afterwards run a few errands. I need to do some grocery shopping."

"I can help out with... *yawn*... grocery shopping..." Morgan said sleepily, her eyes sliding closed. The next moment, she was fast asleep.

She didn't see Marcus gazing at her, smiling with a tender expression on his face. After a few silent moments, he clicked off the television and got to his feet. Walking over to Morgan, he slid his hands underneath her curled-up body and lifted her up from the couch into his arms. Morgan let out a small sound in her sleep that might have been a protest, but she continued to sleep on.