With some help, Jean managed to make it out the door with Marco, the man resting his hand on his smooth back reassuringly. He led his horse down the three steps outside of the barracks, ignoring the fact that Jean barely made it down one before he collapsed and slid the rest of the way down.

The rest of the group came out onto the porch with Marco, standing in a semi-circle around him as he pressed his palm against his face.

"Alright, Jean. We have some work to do, don't we?" As he tilted his head up, his fingers ran down his face until they were pinched at the bridge of his nose. He sighed deeply, taking a deep breath before making his way off the porch and towards a scrambling Jean.

"Don't worry about them," said Marco, obviously talking to Jean. It didn't mean that he thought that Jean could understand him, per say; it was just to reassure him.

Jean wondered what Marco would think if he knew that the klutzy horse he was walking to the stable was actually his friend.

"You know, you kind of remind me of someone," Marco said, scratching the back of his neck as he laughed awkwardly. "Your namesake, actually." Marco shook his head.

"I must've really gone crazy. I'm talking to a HORSE just because he happens to remind me of my missing friend." Jean didn't think it was crazy, pressing his muzzle against Marco's hand reassuringly. "I hope he's okay..."

Jean's heart pounded in his chest at this and he bowed his head, still unsure as to how a blush would show up on his face. He smiled internally, walking calmly beside Marco. He placed his hand on Jean's back again, smiling sadly down at the horse.

The two walked in comfortable silence towards the stable, Jean glancing surreptitiously up at Marco every few seconds. He remarked internally at how pretty he looked in the moonlight; the way the light shined off his calm face, deep in thought. Jean sincerely wished he were human at that moment, wanting to hug Marco tightly and let him know that he was alright.

By the time they'd gotten to the stable, Jean had mostly gotten used to walking. His feet still slip-slided against the loose ground right outside, but he wasn't in danger of falling anymore. He watched calmly as Marco opened the door to the nearest empty stable stall. He yawned deeply.

"Damn... I can't believe Eren had to wake us up at four because of this... I'm so tired..." Marco's eyes drooped slightly, and he walked Jean into the stall. Jean turned, laying down on the floor at Marco's feet. He closed the stall, leaning heavily on the door.

"I hope Jean comes back in the morning. I miss him..." he muttered to Jean, scratching behind his horse's ears. He smiled and laughed as his horse sneezed, looking up at him embarrassedly.

"You know, I worry sometimes. He's just... he's kind of an airhead a lot of the time," he laughed at this, and Jean didn't even comprehend what he said. He was too busy staring, enraptured by the beauty of Marco's face when he laughed. Marco petted Jean's muzzle again, looking down at him.

"I mean, I wonder... I wonder if I'll ever actually get to tell him..." Jean's ears perked up, intent on hearing what Marco was going to say.

"Well, anyways, goodnight..." Marco turned around but Jean shot up, such an incredibly human-like gesture it made Marco frown and laugh awkwardly. Jean sat back down, giving him a 'please, go on' kind of look.

"Uhh..." Marco scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Well, Jean and I met as trainees in the 104th. It was strange; the moment I saw him, I immediately wanted to know him. He was—is, just that kind of person." Marco huffed, resting his cheek on his left palm and leaning back against the door. Jean remembered that day well. He'd felt a similar interest towards Marco as well. However, unsure about it, he'd started to hit on Mikasa, trying to see if the strange feeling would go away.

It didn't.

"We started talking, and immediately, I liked him. He was fairly simple-minded, and his ideals were strange, but I feel like a lot of that has changed since then. We hit it off immediately, becoming fast friends." Marco frowned.

"But... there was something strange there as well. Like, something unspoken. I don't really know how to describe it. The way he would smile at me." Marco blushed.

"It made me all giddy inside. I'd never had someone smile at me like that before, you know? I was always seen as the useless, dumb kid back in my village, and people always treated me like shit. Jean was... different, and at first, I didn't want to admit how much I liked it," he said, yawning lightly again.

"I feel like that's probably why it hurt when he started flirting with Mikasa. His smile had made me feel special, but... what if that's just his way of being nice? What if he does it to everyone?" Marco sighed deeply, sadness filling his eyes. Jean's heart suddenly started to hurt in his chest, pounding lightly against his ribs.

"I don't know. I wanted to be his friend, but whenever I saw him smile, I would always tell myself that it meant nothing. That he didn't actually care. I think that's what made me try harder. I complimented him. Smiled at him. Hung around him a lot. Now that I think about it, it was kind of stalker-y..." he laughed, but there was no humor in it.

"And he would still smile. Treat me like a friend. As soon as I realized this, I started to wonder if maybe I didn't want to be his friend. Maybe I... maybe I wanted something more. I had gotten attached; I suppose I still am, actually, but that doesn't affect the way I feel about him." Marco stood, walking towards the barracks again.

"I hope he comes back. I don't know how I would feel if I died without him knowing how much I truly love him." He then disappeared into the darkness, leaving Jean alone in the stable with those last words ringing around in his head.

Jean's whole body shook, and strange tears formed in his eyes. His pounding heart ached, skipping beats and just generally annoying the hell out of him, but there was something comforting about it as well. Something... warm, happy. Jean didn't think he'd ever felt it before, but immediately decided he liked it.

It made him feel... whole. Something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Before Marco had spoken to him, Jean hadn't known how he felt. What this consistent pain was, why his chest ached around him. He didn't understand any of it.

Now it all made perfect sense.

Jean smiled internally, allowing the tears to fall down his cheeks.

He was... happy. So, incredibly happy.

And, in that dirty horse's stable, Jean had one of the craziest and most important epiphanies of his life.

The way he felt around Marco...

It was because he loved him.