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Carter shook his head. “She doesn’t even know I’m back in the States. She’s got her own life, and she’s doing good without a reminder of her fucked up childhood.”

Marco wasn’t so sure about that, but he didn’t think it was his place to correct Carter. He was spared having to come up with something when he heard the doorbell. Leaving his phone on the chair, he went to retrieve the food. When he came back, Carter was staring at him with a frown.

“What?” Marco asked, opening the bag to pull out the containers.

“I can’t believe they actually delivered. It’s almost two in the morning.”

Marco snorted. “I told you. Since moving here, I’ve ordered from that place at least once, if not twice a week. Well, it doesn’t hurt that I probably spoil the delivery people with tips, but they deserve it for legging it over here at god-awful hours of the night.”

“You live in a good neighborhood,” Carter said.

“You make that sound like an accusation,” Marco told him as he spread the food between them on the table.

Carter shrugged, eyeing the food. “Not really, but you do.”

“Yeah, it’s nice to be able to go outside without worrying if I’m going to get mugged,” Marco told him. “I make enough money that I can make sure that meandmy dad don’t have to live with iron bars in our windows or find drunk people pissing on our building.”

“I think you’ll find that wherever you go,” Carter said, taking one of the containers Marco handed him.

“Yeah,” Marco admitted, shoveling food into his mouth. “But now it’s classy drunk people. With suits and ties.”

“Very classy,” Carter said as Marco talked with his mouth full.

Marco jabbed a spoon at the dish. “Eat, and you’ll see why I’m addicted to it.”

Carter rolled his eyes but did as he was told. He paused after the first spoonful, chewing slowly. Marco watched him cock his head before digging out another portion to put into his mouth.

“Told you,” Marco said with a smirk.

That earned him another scowl, but that one looked half-hearted as Carter began to chew more enthusiastically. There wasn’t much talking after that, and Marco was content to settle into his seat as he devoured the food. There was plenty of it, and they both ate to their heart’s content, and Marco noted there would be some left over as well.

“Fuck, that was a lot of food,” Carter murmured, flopping back against the couch and closing his eyes.

“I order with my stomach,” Marco admitted.

“You’ve got a bigger stomach than I thought,” Carter said.

“Oh yeah?” Marco asked with a laugh as he gathered up the leftovers.

“You eat like me or my guys. But you aren’t exactly, uh, doing the same shit we are.”

“Aw, that was a nice way of you telling me I’m not a badass in the military.”

“I just meant you take care of yourself.”

Marco patted his knee gently with a soft laugh. “Thank you for noticing.”

Carter scowled though he kept his eyes closed. “You serious about letting me crash here?”

“Make yourself comfortable,” Marco told him as he walked to the kitchen to put the food away.

It took him a few minutes to stack the containers in the fridge and throw the trash away. When he returned, he stopped as he spotted Carter slumped over, head on the armrest. He watched the steady rise and fall of the man’s chest and sighed.

“Military men, I swear to god,” Marco said with a chuckle.

He lowered the lights and gently spread a blanket over the sleeping man. It didn’t surprise him that Carter somehow managed to scowl in his sleep. He took a moment to pull out a pad of paper and jot down a message for him, setting it on the table directly across from Carter. With that done, he quietly made his way up to the loft, turned on the bedside lamp, and got ready for bed.

He also grabbed a book. Because, unlikesomepeople, he needed to unwind before passing out.