☮ - friendship headcanon
If anyone were to ask Marcus if he is closer to Roy or Lyra, he would likely tell you to fuck off. He doesn’t see his friendships with them as comparable. He has the friendship with them as a unit, the three of them their own trifecta, that they never let anyone inside, although Juliette was included more than anyone else that has come into their lives. But it’s always been the three of them.
But there’s also the individual friendships and Marcus sees them as completely separate and impossible to compare.
With Roy, it’s a brotherhood, almost. The two have known each other most of their lives, and have always been attached at the hip. Marcus is closer to Roy, than his own brother and they have finished each other’s sentences for years. They never remotely fought until after they left Hogwarts, and Marcus knows a lot of that was on him. He made the decision when he and Juliette moved away and Marcus fell into bad habits, to shut Roy out to keep himself from disappointing Roy with who he had become. It had taken over a decade but after losing Juliette the first time, Marcus had shown up on Roy’s doorstep, expecting a punch in the face or to be told to go away and he was met with sarcasm and a hug. He’s learning to let Roy into the parts of his life that are harder. Their biggest obstacle was the Lyra thing. Marcus disapproved of the two doing anything romantically, because it would mess up their dynamic and then when Lyra got her heart broken, Marcus got very upset with him. It was also unbeknwownst to Roy, because Lyra and Marcus had come very close to being together, but Marcus’ bad decisions had put a stop to it. But their friendship is heading in the right direction and Marcus still genuinely sees Roy as his brother.
With Lyra, she has been many different things in his life. She is his best friend. Roy is his best friend too, but Marcus and Lyra click like no one ever has, and finish each other’s sentences and know what the other is thinking. There is no one that believes in the other one more and they have always been a huge source of comfort and strength for each other. When Marcus went down a dark road, Lyra was the one who pulled him back, more than once, with minimal judgment. Their relationship has evolved but that friendship has grown into something more. They don’t compromise that friendship for their relationship. They are best friends, before they are lovers, before they are engaged, and above all. She is his his greatest strength, and he is her greatest comfort. They work well romantically, because they work perfectly as best friends.
But, if anyone asked Marcus who he is closer to, he would refuse to choose. They are his best friend and he has different relationships with them both.