Marco was home at noon today, and Romeao gave us a small heads up that his ex-husband was coming for three. If it was my choice, I would have just told him to leave the shit on the porch and beat feet. Marco was too busy healing, and I wanted to protect him. But Marco didn’t like that idea. He said it was a prickly approach when Theo was only being nice. It annoyed me they didn’t give Marco a few days to relax at home before they came. 

“If you keep pacing like that, you will wake the baby or scare my new friend.” Marco chuckled. 

“Mochi really does like you, doesn’t he?” I chucked. “He’s slept on your side of the bed the whole time, too.”

Relaxing back on the couch beside Marco, he set his hand on my knee. 

“You don’t need to stress out about this. You’ve seen him before, and—-”

“I’m not stressed about me, Marco. I’m stressed on your behalf.”

“Well, don’t be. He will not want to stay long.”

“You hope.”

“He won’t. He hates this house and everything that happened.”

“As if this couldn’t be any more awkward.” I sighed. 

“He has moved on, and I am allowed that too.”

I leaned over, watching out for the cat and Marco’s wound, and pressed a kiss to his lips. 

“If he acts up, I’ll drag him out of the house.”

“Ambrose.”

“I’m being serious. You say the word and I’ll just pull him out and—-”

The alarm beeped. Before I could get up, Marco unlocked the door from his phone. They came inside, and they were quiet, but I could shake how uncomfortable I was. Marco leaned over, his voice low and soft. 

“No one is looking for a fight, so we should and will be on our best behaviours.”

“Understood.”

“We let ourselves in, the door was unlocked and I hope that—--” The man in the hallway paused and looked at me, tucked beside Marco on the couch, two men behind him. “I didn’t know you would have a guest.” 

I tried to put space between Marco and me, but he had his hand firmly planted on my knee. 

“I unlocked the door to let you in. Ambrose, Theo and his partners, Demitri and Luca.” Marco was petting Mochi, not even catching the mildly awkward vibes in the living room. 

“Nice to meet you.” Theo said, clearly checking me over. He came in, a bag in his hands, and set it on the coffee table. “Alessio packed all kinds of things for you. He included instructions in the bag as well, and some other things, in case the hospital didn’t give you much.”

Theo and I met eyes, and his eyes weren’t soft. I knew it wasn’t meant for me when they softened a moment later. They were meant for Marco.

“Can I get you guys anything? A coffee? Water?” I said politely. Marco let go of my knee and I stood up. 

“We will all have a coffee. I will lend you a hand.” Theo said politely, following me into the kitchen. 

While I was pulling down coffee cups, he spoke. 

“This has to be pretty awkward for you, too. Romeao, his boss, gave me a heads up. Marco had someone, but to see it is strange. I won’t lie, though. I worry about you. Marco is—-”

“Marco isn’t your concern. You still somewhere care for him, even if it’s because you wanted to make sure he was actually ok, but I’ve got this. You can focus on moving on and—--”

“Marco told you.” He said, mildly shocked. 

“Marco was honest about his past, and he told me everything. All the shitty things he did to you, and the abuse.”

“I’m glad he was honest with you. For Marco, being honest is a hard thing.”

“Marco is trying to better himself for his son.”

“Yes. He is, and he is making significant progress at that. He almost seems relaxed, and that’s a big thing. After this all blew up and Marco’s shit was exposed, it was rough for us all.”

“Even though he did what he did, you didn’t tell anyone about it. Why?”

“I loved him once. I wanted nothing bad to happen to him. I still don’t, but I still don’t forgive him either.” 

“Is it safe to leave Marco with your partners?”

“I hope so. I don’t want to see your bad side this soon. You’re not his normal type, and it’s refreshing. We are all going to bump into each other every now and again, and I just want everything to be normal. Or the most normal that it can be.”

“Marco removed you from his emergency information at the hospital.” I said, minding my tone, so I didn’t sound like I was rubbing it in. 

“Good, that’s not my job. He has you for that now. I have enough sleepless nights with my two.”

He took two cups of coffee for his partners and I took my cup and his and set them on the table. 

“Marco, did you want something?” I asked him before sitting down.

“No, Thanks though.”

Marco gave me a look, as if he wanted to know what took so long. Theo looked at me and I smiled lightly. Marco spoke.

“Everything alright?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” I said.

It was one of Theo’s partners this time. 

“We didn’t hear you throwing down in the kitchen, and we all seemed a little concerned. That is all.”

“No, we were just having a nice and peaceful conversation about Marco, but that’s to be expected.” Theo said. 

Marco tensed, and I reached over, setting my hand on his knee, like he did to me before, with only him in mind. I wanted to comfort him. 

“We were discussing moving on, open and honest.”

Marco nodded, and you could tell he was uncomfortable with this conversation still. 

“It was mostly good things.” Theo said, sipping his coffee. 

“I doubt that.” Marco said softly and truthfully. 

“Actually, it was. I was going to warn Ambrose about your past, but it seems you already did that. The good, the bad and the worst.”

“I was open and honest with Ambrose about my past. I even tried to push him away for his own safety.” Marco said. 

“You need someone to be open and honest with, Marco. Someone you can trust with your life and your needs, and that was never me. Just with Ambrose being here, this house doesn’t feel so dark and lonely.” Theo said. 

“Nothing like what it was last year.” His one partner agreed with him. 

In the doorway as they were leaving, Theo spoke. 

“If you two get serious and to where you get married, I want to be there. I don’t hate you Marco, not anymore. Neither of us have time for that. I want to see you happy, as your friend. I want nothing more than to see you actually happy.”

Marco was standing up, leaned against the wall, in some pain. 

“Thanks. I don’t deserve that from you.” He said.

“Ambrose, make sure he gets back to the couch and stays relaxed. These mafia men never know when enough is enough.” Theo said before closing the door behind him, and Marco groaned. 

“I thought he would never leave. He has such a different vibe and makes my skin crawl.” 

“Marco!”

“What it does! I don’t know how either of us thought it was a good idea to get married.”

“That’s called being in love, and it’s not with you.” I sighed. 

“Good. I don’t want him to be in love with me. But on another matter, could you help me back to the couch?”

“Yes, then I’m going to wake the baby.”

“Thank you. For everything you’ve done for me.”

“Don’t get all mushy on me, Marco.” I chuckled as I wrapped my hand around his shoulders to help him back to the couch. 

“I feel better, at least a little, that Theo is happy and building a new life with his partners and his daughter.”

“I told him you weren’t his concern anymore, and that we took him off your health as emergency contact and he said it was my job now to care for you.”

“Oh. That’s good. At least he knows he doesn’t have to worry about my health and—-”

“He said he was happy to see you almost relaxed, and he was pleased that you had been open with me about your past. Mostly, everything he said in the kitchen was good.”

“I don’t deserve his good words.”

I set Marco on the couch and crossed my arms. 

“You also don’t deserve your bad ones. If you are going to move on completely, you need to let go of this. Theo no longer hates you, he said so himself. He doesn’t forgive you, but he wants you to move on.”

“Maybe, just maybe, I can allow myself that.” Marco said, his eyes meeting mine. 

Breaking the silence, I spoke. “What did he mean by I wasn’t your usual type?”

“He said that to you?”

“Yes, and he said it was refreshing.”

“I went for a type of person who, unlike yourself, only cared about money and appearance, less about the fact I was married and had a partner at home. They were never around longer than I needed them and never would have lifted a finger to help me, emotionally or otherwise.”

“Oh. Christ Marco, no wonder you think you deserve nothing.”

I set my hand on his cheek. 

“Never again, ok. When you need something, emotionally, physically or even mentally, just ask, and I will do my very best to make sure you get that.”