I know. [Jean is Marco's best friend, and he cares about him more than just about anyone else, but Marco is realistic about what Jean's real intentions were that day. He knows what they were, and it doesn't matter.] But you saved me too. You saved a lot of us.
[Marco is honestly a little shocked that Jean is letting him hold his hands like this. It's a natural gesture to Marco, one he's learned from growing up with siblings and a loving family, but he knows that Jean tends to shy away from affection. It's not that he doesn't like it--that he doesn't need it--but that it makes him uncomfortable. Shy, almost. But here Jean is not just letting Marco hold his hands, but holding them back, actively taking part in it, and the sensation of Jean's thumb across his knuckles sends a chill up Marco's spine.]
[He really has changed.]
[Marco has a lot to process right now: ending up on some sandy strip of land in the middle of nowhere, Jean being older and taller than he is, and most of all, the knowledge of his own upcoming death. That's the hardest one to grapple with, and so Marco does what he's often done in the past: he compartmentalizes, and shoves those sticky, difficult emotions aside, so he can focus on Jean.]
I'm here now. [Marco tries to smile, and though it takes him a few seconds, he eventually gets there.] Wherever here is?
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[Marco is honestly a little shocked that Jean is letting him hold his hands like this. It's a natural gesture to Marco, one he's learned from growing up with siblings and a loving family, but he knows that Jean tends to shy away from affection. It's not that he doesn't like it--that he doesn't need it--but that it makes him uncomfortable. Shy, almost. But here Jean is not just letting Marco hold his hands, but holding them back, actively taking part in it, and the sensation of Jean's thumb across his knuckles sends a chill up Marco's spine.]
[He really has changed.]
[Marco has a lot to process right now: ending up on some sandy strip of land in the middle of nowhere, Jean being older and taller than he is, and most of all, the knowledge of his own upcoming death. That's the hardest one to grapple with, and so Marco does what he's often done in the past: he compartmentalizes, and shoves those sticky, difficult emotions aside, so he can focus on Jean.]
I'm here now. [Marco tries to smile, and though it takes him a few seconds, he eventually gets there.] Wherever here is?