"Jean...?" Marco whispered after climbing up the ladder to Jean's bunk bed, careful not to wake Armin who was sleeping in the bunk underneath. Jena slowly opened his eyes, having heard his name being called. He slowly sat up, squinting his eyes at Marco.
"...Yeah?" Jean mumbled, rubbing his eyes. As his vision became more clear he noticed the look on Marco's face. He looked worried... almost frightened.
"Marco? What's wrong?" He whispered, motioning him to climb onto the bed rather than remaining on the ladder. The freckled boy nodded, slowly pulling himself up and sitting down across from Jean, avoiding his eyes.
"Marco... tell me." Jean leaned in closer, worried about him. Marco remained silent for a few seconds, swallowing,
"...D-do you mind if I sleep with you today?" Marco asked timidly, not in the usually shy, embarrassed way, but upset.
"Yeah, of course." Jean replied, his eyes not leaving the boy as he let him climb under the covers. Jean laid back down, pulling Marco into an embrace, Marco's face nuzzled into his chest.
"Please tell me..." Jean insisted. He suddenly felt tears soaking his shirt.
"Marco..." He gently released him to look at the boy's face, eyes slightly red from crying. Marco still refused to make eye contact. Jean softly pressed his lips to Marco's, cupping his cheek and caressing it with his thumb. Jean pulled away reluctantly, but now expecting any answer from Marco.
"It's nothing..." Marco replied, wiping a few tears and taking a deep breath.
"It's clearly not." Jean sighed. "Just tell me."
"It's just a nightmare I've been having. It's been the same one, all week..." He swallowed, his voice slowly cracking.
"In the dream... I find you on the ground... and you're badly hurt but there's no one else around to help..." Marco's hands were now gripping Jean's shirt slightly.
"But I still keep calling out for help yet no one comes... a-and... and then you j-just... stop breathing..." Marco finished, pressing his face to Jean's chest.
"And I k-know it's just a dream... but I don't ever want to lose you..." Marco mumbled into Jean's chest, still holding tightly onto his shirt. Jean gently stroked a hand through his hair.
"You won't. I'm right here and I won't leave you." Jean said softly, wrapping his other arm around the freckled boy.
"I'll never let that happen." He slowly took Marco's arms from around him and lowered himself slightly, so he could lean in and press another kiss on Marco's lips. He brought a hand to gently wipe off any remaining tears, afterwards letting his hand linger on his jawline. His lips were so soft, he wanted the kiss to last forever. As he reluctantly pulled away, he looked into Marco's eyes and smiled.
"Even if something happened to me, I would still remain beside you." Jean said softly. Marco nodded, choking up again.
"I love you, Marco..." Jean brought the boy back into an embrace, letting him hide his face in his chest with his arms wrapped around his torso.
"I love you, too." He whispered into his shirt, loud enough for only him to hear.