Page 20 of Holding the Line

Eli grinned.“Sexy.”

Marsh rolled his eyes.“You actually interested or just trying to distract me?”

“A little bit of both,” Eli said.“But mostly interested.The distraction’s just a perk.”

Maybe he could do this.

Maybe this was what healing looked like.

“How many languages can your comms project translate?”Eli asked.

Marsh grinned.“Thirty-two, last count.Full dialect range, including regional slang and inflection.The system learns—so the more exposure it gets, the better it gets.Right now, we’re field-ready for most major conflict zones.”

Eli whistled.“That’s impressive.Any it can’t translate yet?”

“Sure,” Marsh shrugged, a little puffed-up with pride, “but only the ones I haven’t taught it yet.But I’m adding new ones when I can.”

Eli tilted his head, that impish gleam in his eyes again.“Engari ki ou whakaaro, ka taea e ia te marama ki ahau?”

Marsh blinked.“What the hell was that?”

Eli smiled.“It’s nice to know you don’t know everything.”

Marsh leaned forward, grinning.“Challenge accepted.I’ll figure it out, program it in.You’ve clearly got a knack for it.Might as well make use of that mouth for something good.”

Eli raised an eyebrow.“That a tech joke or a flirt?”

Marsh grinned wider.“A little bit of both.”

They laughed, the room lighter now, and for the first time in a long while, Marsh felt a little less broken and a lot more alive.

Then Eli shifted gears.“What do you miss the most?”

Marsh blinked.“What?”

“From before.What do you miss?”

Marsh didn’t answer right away.His fingers fidgeted in his lap, twisting the hem of his sleeve.

“Running,” he said finally.“Fast.Full-out sprinting.Used to run five miles a day.Felt like flying.”

Eli nodded.“What do you feel now?”

Marsh’s jaw tensed.“Heavy.”He stared down at the floor, voice low.“Like I’m dragging my whole past behind me, and every step just makes it heavier.”

Eli let the silence stretch again, soft and open.

“I think you’ve been dragging more than your past,” he said gently.

Marsh looked up.“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I think you’re carrying everyone’s grief.Yours.The team’s.Like you think if you suffer enough, it’ll balance the scales.I think you feel like you’ve let the team down”

Marsh’s throat worked.“You don’t know me.”

“No,” Eli said.“But I see you.”

That cracked something.Marsh leaned forward, elbows on knees, head in his hands.“I don’t want to be broken.”