#marc0

Marc0 sat curled up on the bed in Kaedyn's room, his knees close to his chest as tears began to well in his eyes. Out in the hallway, he could hear Kaedyn and Sav fighting about him. About the shit he had done to Sav. To Garen. He hadn't meant to listen in, it had just ended up happening. 

"How do you know he's not going to stab you in the back!?"

His breath hitched in his throat as Sav spat the accusation out. It was no question he was trying to move on from what he had done in the past. He knew that Sav probably wouldn't ever forgive him. It still didn't make him regret it any less.

His tears finally fell when Sav's question was met with silence from Kaedyn.

No....No, she was wrong. He'd never hurt Kaedyn. He'd never betray that trust. She knew that. Kaedyn knew that. .....Right?

He unintentionally flinched as a door slammed shut, which was followed by a "Fuck!" from Kaedyn.

Kaedyn gently knocked on the door to her room before opening it and walking inside. A frustrated sigh left her as she shut the door behind her. She pinched the bridge of her nose before she glanced over at Marc0.

"You okay?"

Marc0 simply nodded, quickly wiping his eyes and sitting up straight. The less vulnerable Kaedyn saw him, the better. Before he could speak though, Kaedyn was over at his side, sitting down on the bed next to him and taking his hand.

She saw a stray tear roll down his cheek and gently wiped it away. "Sorry you had to hear that."

"It. .....it's fine...Really."

"No it's not." 

Marc0 sighed and let out a shaky breath as Kaedyn wrapped an arm around him. He hesitated for a moment before leaning into her. "I really am trying, Kaedyn. I'm trying to improve from my past..."

Kaedyn looked up at him before hugging him with her other arm as well, just holding the AI close. 

"I know you are. I'm sure Sav does too. ...Just give her some time. She might not forgive you but she'll still understand..."

Marc0 shuddered and buried his head into her shoulder. "Kade, I......" A quiet sob left him as he lowered his voice. "You know I would never do anything to hurt you...Right?"

He silently begged for an answer. Even a "no" would be better than complete silence again.

Kaedyn smiled just a bit and held him tighter.

"After all the shit we've been through? There's no way in Hell you would." She felt Marc0 instantly relax at that and let go for a moment. 

She brushed away a few more tears, cupped his cheek gently, and kissed him to prove her point.

Marc0 held her in his arms as he kissed her right back. He couldn't be more grateful at that moment. A small smile appeared on his lips once they parted.

"I'm really glad....I can't imagine what I'd do without you."

Kaedyn smiled in return and kissed his forehead.

"Well, lucky for you, I'm not going anywhere."

Marc0's smiled faded just a bit at that.  "What about everything with Sav?"

"I'm giving her some time to calm down before she and I properly talk about this." Kaedyn kissed him again, softer this time. "But I made a promise to you. And I'm going to keep it." Another soft kiss before she hugged him tight.

Kaedyn had been relaxing in the living room when she heard the training simulation start up. It wasn't super out of the ordinary to hear either Marc0 or Sango training at night; Except for the fact that it was almost 2 in the morning. She began growing concerned as she got up and went to investigate.

Marc0 was well into the simulation when she walked in, throwing punch after punch against the hologram. He was almost about to finish it off when it suddenly vanished, Marc0 nearly losing his balance. He shot a glance over towards the door. Kadeyn stood there, a concerned look on her face. He sighed and straightened.

"What are you doing down here?"

Kaedyn crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing, it's 2 AM. You should be asleep."

"You should, too. I'll be fine." He glanced away as his partner walked over to him. "Kaedyn, I said I'm fine."

She sighed and carefully took his hand in hers, her concern only growing when she realized how tense he actually was. "....Nightmare?"

He glanced down at her, sighing through his nose and looking away again, almost ashamed. "What of it?"

Kaedyn gently squeezed his hand before taking his other hand. "Why don't you come sleep in my room tonight?"

".............Alright...."

The duo walked out of the training room and upstairs to Kaedyn's room. Kaedyn went over to turn on her salt lamp before climbing into the bed next to Marc0.

She put an arm around Marc0, blinking a bit in surprise as he leaned into her. "You need to vent about it at all?"

Marc0 hesitated for a while before hugging her, accidentally clinging as if she'd disappear at any moment.

"I was alone....It was just dark and...I called out for you so many times, hell I even tried to call out for Sango but. Neither of you came..."

Kaedyn nodded and brought him closer. She planted a soft kiss on his forehead and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "Just remember that it was only a nightmare. You're here. You're okay."

Marc0 just nodded and shut his eyes. "Okay...Okay..." He let out a sigh before looking back at her. 

Kaedyn gave him a soft smile and kissed him gently. "Listen, darling. No matter what happens, I promise I will never abandon you." She reached up and cupped his cheek. "Okay?"

Marc0 kissed her back and sighed, letting a bit of the tension drop. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

She gave a bit of a smirk at that. "I think I've got a pretty good idea."

The two sat there in silence for a while, Kaedyn eventually speaking up. "Do you want to try and sleep again?"

Marc0 nodded and moved to lay down, smirking just a little as he brought Kaedyn down with him. "As long as you stay with me."

Marc0 rested on the sofa, the lamp on behind him and a book in his hand. However, he wasn't focusing on the words. He figured if he distracted himself long enough sleep would finally come to him. The stairwell light suddenly turning on certainly wasn't going to help, though. He glanced up as he heard footsteps coming down, Kaedyn soon visible, then Sango, their hands intertwined.

He raised an eyebrow as the duo finished their descent. Sango seemed off, staying close to Kaedyn as he noticed her just barely shaking. "What's with you?"

Sango leaned into Kaedyn some, their partner putting an arm around her. "Nightmare...What about you?"

He sighed and closed his book, sitting up. "Can't sleep." He looked over to the two and began to stand. "I'll go try to crash in my room if you two want down here."

"Actually, I was gonna make us some hot chocolate and have us relax in the blanket fort." Kaedyn looked at Sango. "Is it okay if Marc0 joined us?"

Sango glanced between the two before looking away. "Sure...Extra company won't hurt I guess..."

Marc0 hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I don't mind if she doesn't, I suppose."

-------------------------------

The trio soon made their way to the blanket fort, hot chocolate in hand. Kaedyn sat in the middle of the two, draping an extra blanket over the both of them.

Sango chuckled just a bit and took a sip of her drink. "Thanks for this, Kaedyn. You didn't have to do this.."

Kaedyn smiled softly and kissed her cheek. "Hey, this isn't any issue at all. I love you guys."

Marc0 smirked and ruffled Kaedyn's hair. "We love you too." He then leaned over and glanced at Sango. "How're you holding up?"

Sango sighed after taking another sip. "Better. Honestly this is helping a lot."

"Good." Kaedyn set down her mug and put an arm around Sango. "That should get you both to sleep in no time."

Marc0 chuckled and kissed the top of Kaedyn's head. "You're too good to us, you know that?"

Kaedyn smirked. "Well, if I couldn't help out my partners when they need it, then what kind of a girlfriend would I be?"

The trio spent the next short while relaxing, mostly talking about mundane things that happened during the day, or the occasional nonsense, before Sango finally set down her mug, letting out a yawn.

Kaedyn looked over and smiled softly. "You ready to try and sleep again?"

Sango nodded, leaning into Kaedyn and closing her eyes. "I think so, yeah."

Kaedyn chuckled and carefully laid her down, draping another blanket over her and kissing her softly. "Goodnight, my raven."

Marc0 moved to set their mugs on the nearby coffee table. "We should get to sleep as well." Kaedyn nodded and laid down in between the two. Marc0 rested one arm under his head and the other around Kaedyn, Kaedyn holding his hand as she carefully brought Sango close to her. He smiled softly and kissed Kaedyn's cheek. "Sweet dreams, my love."

It'd been some time since Marc0 had "gone rouge", though he was still working on processing his sentience. Sav had been helping him manage the best she could, and her friend Kaedyn had been over quite a bit to help as well. Today was another of those days. Marc0 was having a rougher day than normal, which didn't help when Sav had to leave to take care of something, leaving Marc0 and Kaedyn by themselves. He didn't mind it too much. The duo had grown close overtime.

But this new emotion he had been feeling lately. It was strange. He felt different when he saw Kaedyn, not in a bad way. At least he didn't think so. Regardless, he hated it.

Marc0 sat on Sav's bed as Kaedyn was on the floor, typing something on her laptop. She glanced up at the AI and tilted her head a bit.

"You doing okay?"

Marc0 looked over to her for a moment before staring back down at the floor. "I...I'm not sure..."

Kaedyn nodded and moved her laptop aside, standing up and walking over to him. "Holding everything in doesn’t help, you know. If you need to bitch, you can tell me." He gave her a confused look and she shrugged. "You know, vent, talk it out, just scream into the void."

He simply nodded and glanced around the room, avoiding eye contact as he tried to think of the words to say. Kaedyn smiled at him.

"Take you time, Marc0. I'm here."

It was another minute or so before Marc0 finally spoke up. "If...If you don’t hug me right now I think I might fall apart.”

Kaedyn definitely wasn't expecting that. Marc0 noticed her expression and looked away.

"Sorry. That was out of line."

"No, it's fine. Do you want me to hug you?"

Marc0 hesitated again before nodding. "Please..."

Kaedyn smiled softly and sat down next to him, putting an arm around him and bringing him close. "How's this?"

"It's fine..." He let out a breath and shut his eyes for a moment. "I don't understand any of this still. I don't mind being sentient, at least I don't think so, but..."

She just nodded and wrapped her other arm around him. "Take your time." Marc0 started to hug her back, hesitating for a moment before cursing under his breath and completing the hug, unintentionally clinging to the human. "I hate these emotions. How do you humans handle them?"

Kaedyn let out a chuckle at that. "Honestly, we aren't always able to." She looked at him and gave him a small smile. "But it's okay that you can't right now. You weren't exactly meant to. But you have them. And Sav and I are going to help you through them as much as we can. I promise." She held him close and began running her hand through his hair. It was a tactic that she had used in the past to help calm him down.

The AI took a few deep, staggering breaths before nodding, shutting his eyes again and rested his head on Kaedyn's shoulder, trying to focus on her actions to try and keep him grounded. "Thank you for this, Kaedyn. You and Sav." She smiled softly and held him tight. "Hey, it isn't any problem at all. We care a lot about you."