sure! here’s a little Drabble:

“Ethan?” Mark called, clambering down the stairs, “You down here?”

Ethan cleared his throat and called back, “I’m in the living room!”

Mark found him soon enough, greeting the younger man with the usual goofy smile, if a little faltering. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Ethan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Everybody’s wondering what’s taking you so long,” Mark said with a chuckle.

“Oh,” Ethan looked back down at his phone, frantically trying to think up an excuse. And, shit— his phone. He quickly turned it off, hoping Mark hadn’t seen the image Ethan had spent the last eight minutes staring at.

But, of course, this was Mark. Nothing was ever easy.

“Hey,” Mark said, in the soft and caring kind of voice he reserved only for when someone was upset, “Something wrong?”

Ethan bit his lip, desperately trying to hold back tears as Mark sat beside him and— oh, Christ— placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m just...super tired,” Ethan tried with another small smile, rubbing his eyes for emphasis. “Lost track of time.”

Mark was still smiling, but his gaze was determined. “If you don’t tell me what’s wrong in the next three seconds, I’m taking away Chica privileges.”

Ethan snorted. “You’re not that mean.”

Mark’s smile faded, and his gaze hardened. “One.”

Ethan’s eyes widened.

“Two.”

“Okay! Jesus, you’re a terrifying person.”

Mark only grinned in reply, looking at him expectantly.

Ethan exhaled deeply. “It’s embarrassing.”

Without any indication from Mark, Ethan plowed onwards.

“It’s. Okay, I don’t...I don’t know how to put it. Do you remember when your university friend was here a few days back?”

Mark nodded in recognition. “Eddy, yeah. What’s that have to do with anything?”

“You and him were, you know,” Ethan tried, with no dice, before continuing, “Kind of soulmates. And him being here for two days straight, just like gazing into your eyes the whole time—“

“Ethan, are you jealous of Eddy?”

The abruptness stopped Ethan in his tracks. He blinked uselessly for a moment, two, before he finally stammered out, “What?! No, obviously not, I’m not—“

“Ethan!” Mark teased, almost amused, “You’re jealous.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am— ok, a little.”

Mark’s triumphant grinned widened, just before his face softened and he outstretched his arms. “C’mere.”

“What?” Ethan asked, feeling as though he had whiplash from the sudden change in demeanor.

“Come here,” Mark repeated, impatiently drawing Ethan into his arms and giving the smaller boy a squeeze.

“You know I’d never replace you, right?” Mark said, voice that special kind of soft again.

“I- I know. Yknow, I wasn’t even worried about it,” Ethan was cut off.

“Bullshit,” Mark said, readjusting Ethan to get closer. He rested his head atop Ethan’s. “You’re our blue boy, that’s totally unique to you.”

“You sap,” Ethan teased, shamelessly nuzzling Mark’s neck nonetheless.

Ask and you shall receive!

• Mark and Ethan are Adult Friends™️, and Mark trusts Ethan. Except also Mark is 8 years older and as much as he acts like he doesn’t care, he is literally so protective deep down. Whenever Ethan is doing dumb shit around an open fire or a sharp thing Mark’s heart starts palpitating and occasionally he can’t help but physically pull Ethan away from the Danger. Or he’ll actually say “Careful!!” all panicky, but throw a mean name in there so it seems chill.

- Additional Accidentally Protective Mark: Offering Ethan sodas and La Croix even after Ethan turns 21 because he’s baby. Mark getting a little too defensive whenever anyone but him makes fun of Ethan’s gaming skills. Mark letting Ethan win just so he can see a stupid smile and hear a victorious laugh. Mark dealing with rude servers or fans in public very aggressively because he’s worried about Ethan.

• Mark just has like. An urge to kiss Ethan’s head or smooch him on the cheek always. Whenever they finish a late night working on a project, the two always end up exhausted on a couch together and Mark inevitably, without fail, throws an arm around Eth. Snugglin ensues and Mark smooches his hair when he thinks Ethan is too tired to notice.