"You didn't want me when I was a guy but I can be a girl? I have a girl's body."

"...Chris, you're a sweetheart, but you're a kid." 

He curls in on himself.

"...oh. Okay. Sorry."

"Hey, it's okay." He puts a hand on Chris's back. "You're okay." 

Marlo is touching him!

"...I want you to be proud of me."

"I am proud of you." It's true; he wouldn't say it if it wasn't. "Let's get you cleaned up?" 

"Okay."

It sounds like he's saying "yes, sir."

He is going to deal with that later, when there are fewer additional things happening. 

He brings Chris into the bathroom and wets a washcloth and says "Close your eyes" and very gently wipes the makeup off his face. 

On the short list of advantages to Chris's anatomy is the fact that it isn't obvious how much he's enjoying this.

"You can open your eyes again," he says when he's done, and brings Chris back out to the main room and sits him down and sits down next to him and says "What was this about?" 

"I... want you to like me and be proud of me and want to talk to me? And I'm really good at giving head and taking it in the ass and, and I haven't done vaginal sex much but I can do that too."

"...sweetness, even if I were straight, you're a kid, and I like you and I'm proud of you without that." 

Sweetness!

"You're not straight?"

"I'm not straight," he agrees. "— and you're still a kid." 

Sweetness!

"And you like me. --I did what Sasha said you'd want me to do."

"I do like you. What did Sasha tell you I'd want?" 

Sweetness!

"Get my GED. Get an STI test. Stop fucking older guys. Stop doing sex work. Stop doing drugs."

Marlo hugs him. 

That's okay, Chris wasn't using his brain for anything anyway.

"Good job," he says quietly, and, "I'm proud of you," and he doesn't stop hugging him.

Marlo gives good hugs. 

He's so happy. 

It's all worth it.

"Are there other things you want me to do?"

"Have you been eating enough and do you have somewhere to stay?" 

"Rachel and I have been staying at Asher's apartment. I think he forgot we're there."

"...I'm glad the two of you are safe." 

"Once I'm eighteen Rachel and I were planning to get an apartment and then she can work inside and I can punch people when they're dicks. And I was going to work too but I guess, uh, I'd have to work for SHIELD instead? --Rachel's my girlfriend."