He came in, pulled off his boots and dumped them down and flopped on Jean with a loud whine.
All air knocked out of his lungs and he grunted, arms wrapping around Marcoâs waist instinctively, holding him close.
"Rough day?" He hummed, stroking his back mindlessly and getting accustomed to shallow breaths now with Marcoâs weight on top of him.
Marco just nodded against him, still staring down at their hands and stroking the back of Jeanâs knuckles without thinking very much. He had a knot in his chest and it was tight still and he had to bite his lip hard to swallow down his emotions.
âD-did you see anyone today?â he asked, scrabbling for anything to keep him talking.
"Mmm, as in who?" He asked unsure what Marco meant by that. He saw many people in the garrison but nothing out of ordinary.
âAnyone? I just want you to talk, pleaseâŠâ He willed Jean to understand, just notice he needed distraction until he could let go of what was hurting and bothering him. He whined lowly and curled his free hand into a fist, nails digging into his palm to clear his head.
"MarcoâŠ" He started, frowning in worry and squeezed him a little, holding him close. But then he decided against pressing him for answers and rubbed his back soothingly.
"I chatted with Connie some. He was told to kick my butt from Sasha for not visiting lately." He started talking instead, just all the little things from his day.
âHavenât seen them in a while,â he agreed with a mumble into his shirt collar. It was helping. Slowly and he rubbed the heel of his hand into his eyes roughly to stop the stinging there. It was stupid. Stupid. he needed to stop being a child.
âMaybe we should have them over for dinner. You promised to cook next time.â He risked a glance up, trying hard to snap out if it. It wasnât fair of him to come home like this.Â













