Marches woke up with a start, sweating profusely under the covers. It had happened again. Even though it had been a long time since both he and Oreldo had decided to trust Corporal Oland’s loyalty to the Pumpkin Scissors unit, Marches had the same nightmare this week about the classified tank incident in the Weapons department.  

Well, maybe nightmare was the wrong word. Marches remembered clearly how terrified he had been, seeing the tank coming right for him. Oland had scooped him up, firefighter style, and held on to him while he fought the tank at the expense of his own body. Oland’s eyes had been ruthless, single-mindedly focused on disposing of the threat. 

His clear bloodlust had been burned into Marches’ brain. Of course he had been having nightmares. At least, that’s what he had been telling himself. 

Yet, why was it that that incident couldn’t leave his mind? More than the tank or the mortal danger that Oland had posed, his “nightmares” had focused heavily on the feeling of being hoisted. Carried. Pinned, unable to move, under Oland’s grip. Right on the edge of danger, yet safe in Oland’s arms. 

No. Definitely not. He refused to explore that point any further. He felt like he was losing his mind. Poor innocent Randel would probably cry if he knew that Marches was having those kinds of thoughts about him. This definitely didn’t mean anything. 

He sighed, turning over in his bed. He just needed to go back to sleep. 

It was probably only his curiosity getting the best of him. Marches knew he was small, but he never thought he was so light as to be easily carried by another human being. Right, he was just in awe of Oland’s strength. Not the fact that he maybe liked the feeling a little bit. 

After coming to a conclusion that satisfied him, he fell asleep again, this time peacefully. 

+++

The next morning, Marches arrived at the Section 3 office at his usual time. Captain Hunks and Stecchin were already there, at their usual desks. Breathing a sigh of relief, he went to go make them all a pot of coffee. 

Stecchin noticed Marches, and gave him a bright “Good morning!” 

“Morning” Marches replied.

Stecchin looked at him, confused about his current demeanor. The poor Warrant Officer looked like he hadn’t slept much last night, and something was clearly on his mind. She glanced at Hunks, who met her gaze. He nodded. Go cheer him up , was what she chose to interpret it as. 

“Marches-san! I can make the coffee, it’s fine!” She said as she approached the young officer. 

Marches smiled. “It’s okay Stecchin, I should get coffee duty at least some of the time.” 

They chatted amicably about the amount of paperwork that had piled up in the unit, and about a cute cat that Stecchin had spotted not far from the building. As they spoke, Marches seemed to relax. 

They both finally sat down at their respective desks, ready to start work, when Lt. Malvin entered the office, followed by Oland and Oreldo. 

“Hey man, morning!” Oreldo said, sitting in his usual seat. Marches stiffened again; rather than greeting him as usual, Marches replied with a simple “Hey”. 

Oreldo looked at his friend suspiciously, then glanced at the Captain. Hunks shrugged. I have no idea what’s wrong with him . 

Oland looked on, politely worried, but he kept it to himself. 

“Look alive people! We have another assignment for today!” Alice said. Oreldo groaned. 

+++

The rest of the day went by quickly; it always did when they were out in the field, distributing supplies or doing inspections of the city. Surprisingly, nothing extraordinary happened today, and everything went smoothly as planned. 

Marches was driving them back, while staying uncharacteristically quiet. He felt like he had been jumpy around Corporal Oland, and he earnestly felt guilty for that. There was even a moment where Oland had reached past him for a box, and he startled immediately, backing away in surprise. 

Like this, it felt like Marches was back at square one. He knew that in his heart, he didn’t distrust or even dislike his coworker. But his actions made it seem that way, and explaining to the rest of the team what was on his mind was just not an option right now. 

What was he supposed to tell them? I had a dream last night, and maybe I liked the thought of being manhandled by another man? Ugh. When he woke up this morning, he already came to the correct conclusion, but didn’t want to admit it to himself, instead moping about, making trouble for the others. He would apologize to Oland later. 

Outwardly, Marches scowled at himself. Even Alice had noticed that Marches was acting weird, and decided to put an end to this nonsense. 

“Marches! What is going on with you today!” She said boldly. 

Oreldo blanched; he knew that when Marches got into one of his moods, it was better to just leave it alone. The guy eventually found himself a way out of the maze in his mind. 

Marches, stunned out of his stupor, turned to look at the Lieutenant briefly. “Sorry Lt., I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night; I was thinking about something that kept me up.” 

“Like what?” Alice asked. 

Marches blushed. “I…I don’t think I want to talk about it. It’s not related to work anyways.” 

“Hmph.” Alice crossed her arms. Annoyed as she was, she didn’t really want to press him any further. 

However, Marches reaction piqued Oreldo’s interest. He could practically smell the secret that his friend was hiding, and he would get it out of him the way only a best friend could. 

+++

Oreldo managed to successfully bully Marches into coming drinking with him, and Marches greatly regretted it. He knew he was about to be grilled for information, so he kept telling himself that he just needed to keep this one thing a secret from the other man. And to stop drinking before he puked again.

“Geez, why are you so insistent that I come drinking with you!” Marches said, feigning ignorance. 

Oreldo chuckled. “What, and go bar hopping by myself? That’s just too boring. You need to relax anyway.”

“I don’t consider drinking excessive amounts of alcohol to be relaxing” Marches countered, but he still followed Oreldo. 

The two of them entered a bar they frequented, however, it was completely packed with all the seats taken save for two stools next to the counter. 

“Damn it’s busy tonight.” Oreldo said. Marches sighed.

They took their seats at the counter, and ordered beers to start. They drank, and chatted happily. Oreldo wouldn’t shut up about whatever new girl he met the other night, and Marches nodded, used to the types of stories that Oreldo told. A couple beers in, Marches felt that signature dizziness that came with being buzzed, and accidentally leaned back. 

The bar stools didn’t have a back, so Marches promptly fell backwards, unable to grab hold of the counter. Oreldo didn’t notice Marches falling until it was too late, but fortunately, the bar was packed. Another customer seated at a table behind them managed to see Marches, and got up quickly, catching him before he hit the floor. Currently, the officer was leaning against this stranger's chest, while the man supported his back in a sort of standing princess carry. 

Marches was dazed, but realized what had happened. He immediately scrambled out of the other man’s arms, thoroughly mortified. “I’m sorry about that!” He said, before he even saw the other man’s face. His face had grown beet red as he stared at the floor. Oreldo watched, in slight shock as to what had just happened.

The other man laughed. “Haha don’t worry about it sonny! I didn’t know they let damsels become officers in the army too!” The man's other friends also chuckled, and went back to their conversation. 

Marches went back to his seat, and sighed again. Oreldo scowled, and leaned in close. “Hey, want me to go punch him for you?” He whispered. 

Marches gave Oreldo a resigned smile, and shook his head. “Nah, just forget about it.” 

Oreldo didn’t miss the fact that Marches’ face was still flushed, more than the usual amount when he got buzzed or drunk. He raised his eyebrow, but decided that they could talk later, when they weren’t surrounded by drunkards in a busy bar. 

+++

Not long after, both Oreldo and Marches decided that they had enough fun, and that it was time to go home. They paid for their drinks, and started the short walk home in the cool night air. The light breeze felt like it would do a good job sobering them up before they got back to the barracks.  

“Hey man, what’s really been going on with you?” Oreldo asked pointedly. 

Surprised, Marches missed seeing a rather large pebble on the road and stepped awkwardly, tripping forward. This time, Oreldo was close enough to catch him, supporting him by the waist. 

“Really, why are you tripping all over yourself like this? Clearly there’s something bothering you.” said Oreldo in a huff. Before he could let go like normal, Marches pushed him away forcefully. 

“Huh?” 

“Shut up! I don’t know why everyone needs to know about something that’s only my business!” Marches said, panting. He couldn’t believe that he had to be caught twice today, just like in his cursed dreams. Being reminded of his nighttime thoughts, he blushed again. “Just leave me alone! I’m sure I’ll get over this eventually!” He said, clutching his body, as if to reassure himself. 

He wanted to run away. He didn’t want to have this conversation, especially not with Oreldo. Not with his best friend. He turned around, ready to sprint, but Oreldo caught his arm before could even take another step. 

Marches glanced back, seeing Oreldo looking supremely pissed. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re so distracted right now that you would put all of us in danger during a real mission! And you won’t even ask for help!” 

Marches couldn’t meet Oreldo’s eyes, but he calmed down, no longer looking so flighty. He even had the sense to look a little ashamed about his childish behavior. 

“I…” he trailed off. There was no way he was getting out of this without spilling the beans, he just hoped that Oreldo wouldn’t walk away disgusted afterwards. “If I told you… I dunno if you’d want to be friends anymore.” 

Oreldo let go of Marches arm, and crossed his own. “C’mon man, it can’t be that bad.”

The shorter man sighed. “Well… I’ve been having these weird dreams lately.. And I think I might not be as straight as I thought I was?” 

Oreldo stood there with a neutral expression on his face. “Just because of a couple of dreams?”

Marches nodded. “I thought they were nightmares at first honestly. I..uh.. Don’t really wanna get into the details.” 

Oreldo frowned. “If they’re nightmares, then why would you think…” 

Marches covered his face. “Ugh fine I’ll tell you. But promise not to laugh.”

Oreldo knew he wouldn’t be able to keep the promise. “Yeah, go ahead.”

Without removing his hands, Marches started talking. “Remember how I almost got run over by that one tank in the weapons department?”

“Yeah.” 

“Well, remember how Oland had to save me by carrying me? A lot of my dreams have featured…. That sort of thing… recently.” Marches felt so defeated, he squatted on the sidewalk. 

Oreldo started to chuckle, before laughing in earnest. Marches faced him in anger. “You promised you wouldn’t laugh!” 

“S-so what you’re telling me is.. That Corporal Randel Oland turned you gay? Ahahaha” 

Marches grabbed Oreldo’s collar and shook him. “Shut up! I still like women!” 

Oreldo attempted to wipe the tears of laughter away, meeting his friend’s gaze. “And you were moping about your new found attraction to men?” Oreldo said, trying to keep the giggles under control now. 

Marches let go, and stormed off. Oreldo followed behind. As Oreldo got closer, Marches attempted to walk faster and put more distance between them. 

“Marches! Wait!” Oreldo said. Marches stopped, but didn’t look back at him. His shoulders were hunched, and he was clasping one arm over his other elbow. 

Oreldo walked until he was in front of Marches, and could clearly see his face. The other man’s expression was twisted with despair and hurt. 

Oreldo felt bad about his reaction, but he didn’t know if he could say anything to make the other man feel better. Instead, he smothered Marches in a bear hug. 

“Wha-” 

“Look, I’m sorry. I don’t really care who you like, we’ll still be friends.” Oreldo patted his back while maintaining a firm grip.

Marches tried to push away, but couldn’t this time, due the weird position of his arms. He relaxed the tension in his arms, and briefly returned the hug. 

After a moment, Oreldo let go of the hug. He then proceeded to ruffle Marches’ hair. “All this means is that you’re doubly a virgin now!” 

Marches, eyes glassy and face flushed, cracked a smile. He really wanted to call the other man out for being an asshole, but he could only look at him and reply, “Thanks Oreldo.” 

Briefly, Oreldo felt his heart squeeze just a little, leaving a pang in his chest.