Healing Takes Time

Chapter 8

We were both panting when he stopped struggling. My hands were on his wrists, and his back was against the dock. The sound was that of the wind, the waves, and our breathing. We were so close that I could count all of his freckles.

He blinked and looked up at me shyly, and God dammit, it melted my heart. I didn't move a muscle when he started to lean forward. My eyes slid shut, and I felt his breath fanning across my face. Butterflies erupted in my stomach at the thought of what he was going to do. He may have been pinned against the dock, but I was the one that was captured.

His lips tapped my nose right when the dock started to shake from people running on it. I was immediately snapped out of my stupor. I jumped backward with a gasp. We locked eyes. Neither of us said anything.

"Hey, Horsefa--"

I turned away and started climbing the nearest ladder as fast as I could. "Leave me alone, Eren," I growled. I stomped away, still flustered from what could have happened.

* * *

"Woah, what...?" Eren said mostly to himself as he watched his older brother storm away. He furrowed his eyebrows. He hadn't seen Jean this upset in a long time.

"Hey, Marco."

Marco looked up from where he was in the water, staring at the surface. "Hm?"

"What happened?" Eren already knew what had happened. He had run ahead of the rest of his family to the lake, so he was the only one that saw. He would never tell Jean this, but he actually thought that it was kind of cute.

He saw Marco's neck and ears flush before the rest of his face turned red. "I don't really know myself. It just kind of... happened."

Eren sat down on the deck, criss cross applesauce. Both of them looked out on the shining surface of the water. "Do you think he hates me?" Marco asked finally, breaking the silence.

Eren thought about it for a moment before he answered. "No," he said carefully. "I don't think he hates you. Knowing my brother, he probably hates himself."

"Why?"

He sighed. "He doesn't like to open up to people, you know? It's hard for him to let others know what he's feeling. Just in the past 24 hours it seems like he's opened up quite a bit to you. I think that he just realized it and got scared."

"Okay." Silence. "And what about you? Are you okay that I... did that?"

"I think that Jean is too moody and needs somebody to help him be happier. You seem like a person that could do that. You look like you balance each other out."

"But... I'm a guy."

Eren shrugged. "So what? Gay marriage is legal in all of the states now. I personally think that you guys like each other, then go for it."

Marco sputtered. "Marriage? It was just a little... something. I don't know. Just... I-- Nobody's getting married!"

Eren grinned. "You know what I mean." He could see why Jean liked this guy, even if he didn't realize it yet. "To answer your earlier question more directly, I think that he hates himself right now because he allowed himself to become vulnerable. Needless to say, he doesn't handle that very well."

Marco nodded. "Well, what do I do?"

Eren shrugged. "Beats me, but you might wanna catch up to him before he locks himself in the cabin."

Marco barely hesitated before he used the ladder to get onto the dock. He went to grab his things, and Eren saw that Jean had run off without his own stuff.