So, seeing what was coming, I've archive-binged the comic over the past few days, and. . . well, looking back at it, there's been a lot of plot points building up to Marten deciding to grow a pair of non-gender-specific balls and go for it with Claire.
I mean, there's the Claire storyline, yeah, with Claire coming out as trans to him, the wedding, the growing friendship, etc. etc., but there's also been the side stories.
There's Dora and Tai, which cut off his lingering relationship with his ex and made it very clear to him that relationship was over.
There was Padma, where Marten pretty much learned not to fret so much about the future you miss the good things in front of you right now.
There was Dee, where Marten figured out that one-night-stands and casual sex-only relationships weren't for him, and he needed something deeper.
There was Emily, who helped him break down the taboos he might have held about dating interns. . . or, at least, Tai bringing up the subject really made him think about it and wonder what really would be so morally wrong about it. . .
And then there's the whole drama with Angus, Faye, and Sven, which is pretty much the whole, "lying and hiding your real feelings will make you feel miserable, but forcing your feelings on someone who isn't ready for it is just as douchebaggy."
Then there's his mother planting the seed of, "If it feels right, just go for it no matter how little common sense it might seem to make."
What I'm trying to say is that our depressed emo indie brat has been getting idea after idea planted in his head over the last few story arcs all pointing to, "ACT LIKE A GODDAMN MAN FOR ONCE."
. . . and watch, after all this warm feelings and sunshine, Jeff is going to pull the rug out from under all of us by having Marten die in a car accident on the way home or some fucking shit, God Forbid.