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When most people think of unrequited love they think of romantic love but that isn’t always the case something Marco knew all too well.
For him it was love at first sight but some may argue it wasn’t even that because he didn’t fall in love with Allie when she started at Avalon High and they wound up in some of the same classes. He fell for her the minute he knew who she was or rather who she had been, King Arthur. Though it was more devotion than love if one was being perfectly honest. In his eyes he couldn’t be anything other than devoted to Allie, protecting her became his purpose in life since he took up his father’s legacy as a member of the Order of the Bear even if he didn’t know it then.
He took his role seriously if he didn’t he wouldn’t have tried to gain Mr. Moore’s trust in the first place. Yes he had been just as convinced as everyone who knew about the prophecy that the reincarnation of King Arthur was going to be his step-brother Will. But Marco was relieved with everyone so convinced it ended up working out for the best in a sense, after all with everyone focused on Will those that wished to interfere with the good the reincarnation of King Arthur was supposed to bring into the world were directing their energies on the wrong target.
It hadn’t even really been that first night that he had fallen either though he wasn’t far from it but rather it was the moment she had invited him to join them, the start of what would become a legendary friendship.
It felt inevitable that Marco would fall in love with Allie; she was smart, kind, strong and brave. She made the world a little brighter and a little better by just being in it and she brightened his corner of it even more. Yet he wasn’t in love with her the way Will was and Marco if he was being honest preferred it that way.
Though that friendship nearly got off to a very rocky start. There had been an unspoken mutual agreement to leave the past in the past, both had made assumptions that turned out to be unfounded and neither desired it to be the foundation on which to build a new path forward.
No what nearly killed Allie and Marco’s friendship before it could really begin was his protective instinct. See Marco still felt an obligation to act as a protector, the threat from Mordred may have been neutralized but as far as he was concerned there were no doubt other threats still out there.
Allie on the other hand thought he was being over concerned the last thing she wanted was to live her life in a bubble of fear. Also she could take of herself thank you very much; something that she felt was proven sufficiently when she’d successfully held her own against Mr. Moore.
In Marco’s defense it wasn’t that he thought he was the only one who was capable of watching Allie’s back but rather that that circle of trust was rather small. It consisted of himself, Will and Miles, Lance and Jen could probably work in a pinch he supposed but they were too wrapped up in each other to be very reliable.
Marco felt better if at least one of that trusted circle was around in between the time when Allie left her house in the morning and when she returned to it at the end of the day. The mornings generally weren’t a problem as Will would pick her up most days now that they were officially together and the few occasions he couldn’t Marco could easily do it himself more often than not with Miles in tow. Allie was always appreciative of the thought and didn’t mind too much.
The end of the day wasn’t a problem most of the time either. Track and football practice ended around the same time more often than not so Allie and Will tended to be together afterwards plus she often had plans with Miles. Not to mention the days where the four of them would hang out together.
The very rare days that no one else was available it was easy enough for Marco to come up with something to do and conveniently be available to give her a ride. If Allie saw through his excuses she was kind enough to not say a thing.
To say that Allie was being extremely patient and accepting of Marco’s over protective presence in her life would be an understatement. Most of the time she didn’t care, she was happy to spend time with her friends and boyfriend, she was after all still basking in being able to have them at all.
The problem is that Allie loved to run and while she didn’t mind having company on them occasionally that didn’t mean she always wanted someone tagging along. This is was the biggest point of contention between Allie and Marco.
At first it wasn’t so bad Allie ran with Will on a regular basis but she still ran plenty on her own. The first few times that Marco asked to go with her went smoothly. On very rare occasions she ran with either Jen or Lance, sometimes both and sometimes everyone would join her except Miles. Miles never joined; at most he would hang out in the park waiting for his friends to stop running. It wasn’t something he would do for most of them on their own but if Allie was involved he made an exception.
Asking rather too often is where Marco went wrong. See running was one of the few things Allie was able to do no matter where she moved. In a world where very little stayed the same running became one of the few things that gave her anything resembling roots.
So when Marco essentially barged into the space she created for herself Allie was not pleased. Marco hadn’t been subtle about it, hadn’t even been trying for subtle though even if he had he would have failed. Sharing that space with a friend when she chose to was one thing but Allie wasn’t about to let Marco take up a permanent residency there.
The last thing Allie wanted to do was command Marco to stop, she was aware that she could and that he would follow her order but in her opinion it was no way to treat a friend.
They clashed about it repeatedly and often neither willing back down. Eventually they reached a compromise Marco was absolutely not allowed to run with her every time but he was allowed to accompany her to the park or running track. Allie for her part agreed to let Marco know when she was looking for a new place to run and they would run the new route together until Allie was familiar enough with it that she could tell him where she was if she needed help.
The compromise allowed their friendship to grow from a tumultuous battle of wills into something better and far stronger. Fiery clashes settled into smaller occasional showers of sparks tempering their friendship into something that could withstand the test of time.
And as they steadily grew closer that once unrequited love gradually became mutual deeply rooted in trust and respect. It grew into a beautiful tapestry of their own making until Allie loved Marco just as much as she loved Miles and Will.
When Allie transferred to Avalon High she hadn’t expected to make such strong connections. She had found a loving charming knight in Will, a sarcastic sorcerer in Miles and against all odds a devoted protector in Marco and she wouldn’t have it any other way.