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Marcus heard her voice and turned to look at her with a polite smile. She wasn't late so he wasn't worried. "No, I was early. My meetings finished and I was excited to do anything besides sit in a chair and talk about procedures." He was trying to put her at ease by making sure she knew he wasn't holding this over her, or that this was formal. If she couldn't loosen up then she would have trouble learning. He could tell by her manner that she was formal, and he needed her to be able to be authoritative with him in the ring, not submissive.

She'd need it as a guardsmen. He held out his hand to lead to toward and open area for them to train. He knew working with him could be intimidating for a cadet, but he hoped she could try to shake out of that--though he also figured she might need to get tossed around once or twice before she could. Sadly, it also meant more people would be watching her, which could make her nervous.

Marcus held up his hand to stop her, and he walked a few feet from her before turning to look at her. For a moment he only looked at her face, and how with her hair back she looked adorable. Then he smiled, and mentally shook himself out of that--and he was worried about her? "Alright, I am a thief." He told her and held out his hands. "Arrest me."

She seemed pleased with the idea, and he nodded his head to show they were in agreement. "Come in training clothes." He told her as they would be sparing and she could do that better without the uniform hindering her. Besides, he didn't want to wear his, and they might as well be in comfortable clothes. She then bid him goodbye and left. Before he could follow her out, however she was back. He watched her grab her bad and scurry out once more with the most adorable yet slightly embarrassed smile on her face.

He stood there and waited for a moment, smiling at the door way before shaking his head and going on. The cleared it with her instructor, who tried to apologize for letting her take up his time; but Marcus make sure he was aware that he had offered to do this and she had not.

Marcus got there a few minutes early, and had on his training pants and shirt. He put a reusable bottle down by his bag and moved to do some stretched while waiting for her. It had been a while since he had been in here to do more then workout enough to stay in shape. Today would be fun.

She told him that if he was trying to woo her that he was working. "Good, because I plan to keep it up tonight." He told her, while she opened her gift. The look on her face was worth what he had to spend to get it. He had known she would like it, and knowing how intelligent she was he knew that she would either know each object, or enjoy looking them up to learn about them. She moved to hug him, and Marcus bent to make it easier for her. He would give her Earth if he could.

As she pulled away she held out her wrist and asked him to put it. "I will, but I warn you my goals will be to make you tell me to take it off later, along with everything else." He teased her as he fastened it around her tiny wrist, before lifting it to place a kiss on the inside of her wrist. She was small, but she wasn't delicate. She was warm, and alive, and strong. He loved it. He loved her. "I wanted to have a talk with you tonight . . . . about us." He explained, "Because I wanted to tell you--I wanted to tell you that I know it is not always easy to with me." He wasn't the easiest person to be around sometimes. "But that I have come to value your efforts more then any one else."

He paused for a moment, not out of doubt but because he had never had to express himself like this before. "Callie, I'm in love you." He told her, meaning the words. He had never told anyone by his mother that he loved them. She was the first. "And that while this is the first year we have been together, that I hope it is only the first of so very many."

"Thank you," She told him, before teasing him. "I would say always the charmer, but you have your moments," He smiled an actual smile this time, not hurt by her words at all. "Perhaps tonight will not be one of them." He told her, as tonight he wasn't planning on touching on any of the subjects that could but them at odds--even playful odds. He would be on his best behavior.

Marcus was a stubborn man, and very sure in what he felt was best for the Ark, and for himself. Which was why tonight was about her, more then him. It was about how he felt. Reaching in his pocket he pulled out the long box, and held it out to her. "For you, for putting up with my moments." He teased. Inside was a bracelet, and hanging from random places around it was different items. Each of them where places on Earth. Some of them he knew, some of them he didn't. It was one of the things that had come from Earth. Rare and expensive they where. While some might think a year was too soon for such a gift, this was the longest Marcus had ever been with someone, and it was the first time he knew for sure he was in love. He had not told her yet, but he would. "And for making the other moments better." Tonight.

She said she wanted to be something more then adequate. She wanted to excel. Marcus watched her face and thought about that for an moment, letting her continue by asking him for any advice or direction. He couldn't tell her anything at the moment, because he didn't know anything about her skills. She was asking for help and he couldn't give it. Or could he? He might enjoy taking a break form his new stressful job and work on an easier task of helping someone.

Besides, it wasn't everyone who would go to their superior and admit they needed help. He found himself curious about her. "Without knowing anything about what you already know there is not much I can do to help you." He started by explaining, "However why don't to meet me in the training arena tomorrow evening. Say 1900 hours?" It would make it late in the afternoon, but that was the only time he was free. "I will clear it with your training officer, and see what I can help you with." This way he could help her, and enjoy some exercise of his own.

Marcus watched her as she not only said she agreed with him, but explained why and offered her own ideas. This! This was why he liked working with her. She didn't just mindless agree with him in hopes of getting prompted, and she didn't just explain the issue and wait for orders on how to fix it. She came ready to work, ready to give her own ideas and was willing to make suggestions about how best to move forward. He nodded his head once and paused to think before speaking to her. "Why don't you build a list of recommended people we can use. Find ones who have the reputation for the best work, and who might agree to reduce prices in return for us using their name. If we can make it easier for the people to get the work done, we can push this in easier." She would have her tablet near by that she could work on.

"We can build the proposal and you can present the idea tomorrow during the meeting." Because this was the topic they had agreed to tackle tomorrow. Some though they needed more clothing made so that the lower class could have thicker clothing to protect them from the cold nights--however he thought they wouldn't need that so much as mending, and patch work. It was why they were debating it. "If you rather work on this from home, I understand, though if you do not mind a late night I can order us something from the mess hall to be brought here." He knew she was married but also knew that she was took her job seriously. Besides, he didn't want to work alone tonight. "My treat."

Marcus walked out of the council chamber and turned to stride down the hall. As normal footsteps fell into step by him. There was always someone falling in step beside him, because there was always someone needing something. He worked the longest hours, and was almost never off duty where he could not be reached. He felt that has the head of the guard, and as the vice chancellor, that he should always be ready for whatever the Ark needed. 'Sir, there was theft from one of the--' "Not tonight commander." Marcus told him, without faulting or slowing his stride. 'Sir?'

"You heard me. Not tonight. Handle it without me, and only come find me if there is a major--and I stress the word major--issue arises. You're the commander. You don't need my approval for every step." Pausing he turned to look at the man, and reached out to pat his arm in a friendly but dismissing manner. "I will read your report in the morning." Then he turned and kept walking quickly down the hall.

Tonight he was off duty. He was unavailable. Marcus stopped by his place to change shirts and wash up some, before putting the long rectangle box in his pocket and walking out toward Callie's place. When he got their, he ran a hand through his hair before knowing. When she opened the door, his greeting fell short of coming out of his mouth.

When he first met her, he had thought her adorable. Tonight that was too mild of a word. She was beautiful, and in a way he would never know how to express. After a few seconds pause to take in the sight of her, he smiled crookedly and stepped in, pulling the door shut behind him without looking away from her. Then he lifted his hands to gently cup her face before moving forward to kiss her. It was a lingering but light kiss, one that spoke of how much she had come to mean to him, and how much he valued her in his life. Dropping his hands to her arms he smiled softly down at her, "You look exquisite tonight." He told her.