football imagines [requests open]

marcus rashford.

ineluctable

He wandered around his place trying to find Y/N. Peeking into different rooms, calling out their name in a space of empty. It wasn't an easy task. Marcus had left them alone some time ago, letting Y/N cherish some sense of individuality in a place where the two were always together. Because when they were together, it was Marcus and Y/N activities rather than either of their own. So alone—or simply apart—the couple would drift towards their personal interests and hobbies.

He should have known where they were from the time he went searching for them. It was a wonder as to where they were until it wasn't.

Leaning on the glass door, he watched Y/N out in the back garden, well, gardening. A hum in the air now and then as they busied themself, making the act of boredom (to Marcus) appear kinda fun. It was something that the two were able to bond over even if that bond could never live itself out; it would never exist. Y/N enjoyed the act of doing while Marcus preferred the act of watching. He couldn't do his garden justice like his partner did.

They shooed a bee away if it got too close for their likings, tending to every plant—every stem, every branch—with care and meaning like they were their kids. And maybe the plants were. Y/N personally brought up everything that lived in the garden. From when one was only a seed to now thriving nature.

Hearing steps from afar, Y/N pulled up their sun hat a bit. "You finally decided to come outside!" Gardening was a pass-time of their own, but an invitation for Marcus to join them was always available; he just turned them down for the most part. They gestured to the plants they were working on, smiling. "You wanna help your fav?"

Marcus leaned down to their height. He clasped his fingers together, sighing. "I would but--"

"I'm messy with you," they closed their eyes, humming as Marcus kissed them. "You'll only make things worse than better." Gardening wasn't a forté of Marcus. He dealt with soil and dirt like a child; he would create a mess that needed an explanation to justify.

"You sure about that?" Marcus folded his arms. "I think I'm a great help."

"You can be sometimes." Y/N gasped softly when they noticed a weak stem under his foot. "You would be a great help if you weren't stepping on my plants!" Upon shooing him away, they huffed when they saw the state of the flower stem. Now stiff and bent. "I've been growing it for a while, you know."

"I'm sorry, Y/N. I didn't mean to ruin your progress." And he meant it. Marcus couldn't fake an apology, to Y/N at least. He took his place on the grass beyond their gardening perimeter. "Let me just watch, at least?" He laughed to himself when they didn't respond. They weren't ignoring him (or maybe they were out of annoyance). But rather, they were so focused on fixing what Marcus ruined that they, unintentionally, blocked him out.

This was something Marcus came to recognise himself with. Spending time with Y/N, even if he contributed to nothing, was perfect for him. They didn't mind for the most part. It became habit for him. He would watch them in their space of gardening. Caring for their plants on the regular, removing an insect from a plant with care, contemplating on whether they should get more gardening tools. He found it amusing and cute. But he never said anything, allowing them to be in their space, a place where Y/N was comforted by the progress and beauty of a flourishing garden.

There was enjoyment in being around Y/N. From the beginning of their days, Marcus always held the want to be by their side. He would sit back, let Y/N work their wonders in his garden and participate in the act of observing and appreciating his partner at their personal best. It fascinated him how his garden went from an area of grass to something so much more. For that, and many other reasons, he had to keep them in mind all the time.

Even if he tried (which was never), they never left his mind. You must be so connected to someone—physically, emotionally, mentally—that you were inescapable from one another. And that was Marcus for Y/N. They were his thoughts, his prompt to do better, his reason to maybe slow down when he was overworking himself. They were around when they really weren't. The two were close in times when they were far apart. All of Marcus was Y/N, and all of Y/N was Marcus.

And even when they were his thoughts, they were far too hard to resist. The personality, the figure, the purpose of an individual. He was so attracted to all of that, to all of Y/N, and he refused to move away from it all. Why would he in the first place? Why refuse, even reject, everything that was all for you? They were the person he was falling all in every day.

Like he couldn't look away. I mean, he didn't want to look away. The appearance, the dress sense, the varied looks—it was all too appealing and simply handsome. They were everything one could be. And if not, everything someone else could never be. To reach their ankles in any way, shape or form, in Marcus' eyes was almost impossible for others. That was the result of being truly unique.

And all of this never dialled down during the act of gardening.

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For ellalf70. This one is a bit all over the place so forgive me with this one.