A Diamond with Scars

Laughter Heals Wounds

Several days later...

Mark was finally discharged. His family had come to support him, his brother even brought his car. All the nurses and therapists came as well. Anya rushed in, worried she had missed his farewell. She was happy to see he had waited for her. The night he had confessed, Mark had given her his phone number and they had begun to text. With those messages, Mark got to know her even more.

"Sorry I'm late." she said in a hushed tone as he came up to her. "There was an accident by my apartment and I couldn't get out." she caught her breath.

"No worries, I knew you would come." Mark brushed a strand of her hair from her face. "Can I see you this evening?" He questioned.

Anya felt her face heat up and people began to notice their soft whispers to each other. "Tonight?" He nodded to her. "O-okay." her stomach did a flip as she agreed to go out with him. She hoped she never stopped feeling this gitty around him, it made her too happy.

"I will pick you up. Send me the address." Mark turned to head back to his family. As much as it pained him to do it, it was going to take time to sell his condo. He really didn't want to go back there, but in the same notion, he really did not want to stay with his parents. Not if he really wanted to have private time with her, even if they were not going to be intimate just yet. As much as he wanted to. Mark wanted to handle her with the utmost care and respect, because she deserved nothing less.

Anya paced her apartment after work, racking her brain on what to do and what to wear. He hadn't given much indication on where he was planning on taking her. Why did it seem like dates always went this way? No idea what to expect, because the guy wanted to be spontaneous and fun. Since he didn't seem like the type to go somewhere fancy, Anya decided to go with a pair of shorts and a flowy tank top. Rooting through her panty drawer she also made sure to match a cute pair of lace underwear and a black bra that gave her a good amount of cleavage. Amaya had always said it made her boobs look good whenever they went out on the weekends. It was a time like now she really wished her roommate hadn't gone and gotten married and moved out. But after her accident it had been hard for her to stay in the apartment. Anya left her hair down long to keep some of the scars on her shoulders from peaking through. Despite what Mark said, she was still a little embarrassed about them.

Not giving her a moment to second guess her choice of outfits, there was a loud knock on the door. "I'm coming!" Anya called out as she slipped on her flip flops.

"If I have anything to do with it, you will be." Mark joked as she opened the door.

"OH YOU!" Anya playfully punched his arm and smiled. She really enjoyed his humor. It was nice to see him acting more like himself as time had gone on. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Anya suddenly felt a little nervous. Her eyes started at his feet and went up to meet his eyes. Even having a prosthetic, he looked damn good. It honestly made him that much hotter. At least in her opinion. It was the way he carried himself.

Mark was dressed in a pair of dark grey cargo shorts and a black Sabaton band shirt. Casual was the way to go. Mark smirked and pulled her to him. "Hello beautiful." he kissed her breathlessly.

"Hi." Anya gave him a hazy look. The way he kissed her made her feel almost high. The scent of him was intoxicating. He smelled crisp and manly. She was not sure how to describe his scent. Just him.

"Ready to go?" Mark tipped her chin up to gaze down into her eyes, then traveled lower. He liked seeing her in casual clothing. He really liked the shorts she had decided to wear. With how active her job was, despite having a very curvy body, her legs and arms were well toned. Mark couldn't wait to see what hid beneath.

How was it that he went so long living across the street from her and never once saw her? Anya showed him her apartment. It was older compared to his, but was homey. "Wait a second..." Mark looked around. "Do you know Amaya?" He questioned. "She lived over here."

Opening the door she glanced back, "Yea, she was my roommate...she got married to a cop recently. How do you know Ama?"

Mark ran a hand through his hair, "I work with Zane!" Small world. "I had no idea you were her roommate."

"Oh wow...." Anya laughed.

"I was actually the one who found her location...when she was kidnapped."

Anya's eyes widened as he told her how he found her from a live stream video the cult had posted on social media. "That's amazing, Mark. You seriously saved one of my best friends." That deepened her appreciation for him all the more.

"Nah...that was all Zane running in there guns ablazing." Mark laughed at the images of Zane rushing in like a knight in swat gear. A dark part of him was a bit envious now. There would be no missions like that for him anymore.

"Mark?" Anya placed a small hand on his cheek and looked up at him. He still got that cloudy look in his eyes from time to time. It was something she understood, there were days when she got it as well.

"I have a special place I am taking you tonight." Mark said, shaking off the negative plague that threatened him.

Mark took Anya to a small little hole in the wall place that he had discovered while he was still in high school. He swore they had the best burgers he ever had, and during the evening they had live shows and stand up. He was happy when Anya was all for it. Even more happy when he found out that she knew of his favorite band, Sabaton. Swedish power metal. The woman was full of surprises, especially when she started to sing along to prove to him she knew who they were. Lori never appreciated his taste in music, thought music was just a waste of time.

Anya was beyond happy the entire time, they spent the evening at the burger joint, listening to a local comedian doing his skit. Mark couldn't keep his eyes off of her, and how big her smile was the whole night. She had one mixed drink, and had gotten all bubbly and happy. He was starting to realize just how boring his life had been while he was with Lori. It also pissed him off that he kept thinking about her, no matter that it was negative. Mark used to have fun and go out, but that slowly started to stop after he got engaged. Which reminded him, he needed to return that ring he had spent a small fortune on. Add that to the list of shit he needed to get done sooner rather than later.

As the show came to a close Anya rested her head on Mark's shoulder and let out a happy sigh from all the laughter she had produced. "That was great." her hand interlaced with his. She hadn't had this much fun in awhile, work had engulfed her, and with Amaya out of the apartment she didn't really have anyone to sit and make random plans with.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." He kissed the top of her head.

"I've been on a few dates, but nothing this fun." Anya giggled a bit, thinking about the comedian again. "It's getting late. Do you want to go back to my place?" she didn't look up at him, just kind of trailed her thumb over the top of his hand. She didn't want to part ways with him just yet. 

*~If ya'll have never heard Sabaton, you should totally listen to them. Their music is really cool, very different type of metal. Their music tells historic stories*~