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"HEY, you heroes of the walls," Hitch greeted as she approached the Scouts waiting for the ceremony to begin, a kind smile on her face. There was a faint buzz in the hall of conversation, and Margot stood by Connie and Sasha, needing their amusing company to ease her nervousness. Not for the ceremony itself, but because she knew she was being constantly scrutinised. She couldn't be as lax as she usually was. "I just came to see you guys receive your medals."
"I see." Jean looked down at his feet, something clearly eating away at him. "Marlo was... brave all the way to the end. Right, Floch? Tell her."
Hitch and Marlo had been close, and the latter had been amongst those killed by the Beast Titan in Shiganshina District. Margot hadn't spoken to either of them that much, as their paths never really crossed once their cadet training finished.
"Sure...Marlo was an urgent recruit, just like me, but he managed to bring us recruits together," Floch nodded, clearly holding back his words. "The situation was hopeless and the Scouts were on the verge of ruin. We thought all was lost and we were stricken with fear. But he only inspired us. He was an amazing person."
"I know. That's why..." Hitch lowered her gaze, sadness clouding her vision. "That's probably why he never listened to me."
"But in the end... I'm sure he regretted being there." Never had Margot wanted to slap someone so hard. Floch's words were poorly chosen for a girl grieving the loss of someone close to her.
Hitch blanched, her large light green eyes glazed over with tears. She was probably imagining the fear and regret Marlo felt in his final moments now, her hands trembling as she tried to keep herself together. In the end she turned away from them all, her head bowed.
"Thanks," she spoke quietly, her voice shaken. "I'll laugh if you screw up the ceremony."
As soon as she was out of earshot, Margot raised her hand and slapped the back of Floch's head. She would have slapped him harder, but she knew her hits caused a lot of damage. Besides, she was already on thin ice. He rubbed the spot, glaring at her.
"Hey! Why did you do that?" Jean snapped at Floch.
"Because someone has to tell the truth!" Floch answered, not a hint of regret in his tone. His eyes then shifted over to Armin, holding it there with a hint of animosity seeping through. Armin shifted uncomfortably.
"I know how desperate you were to revive Commander Erwin-" Armin had tried to be understanding, but Floch wasn't having any of it. He immediately stalked over to the blonde; his fists clenched.
"It should have been the commander, not you," Floch coldly stated. "I'm not the only one who thinks that. We all do. Everyone who read the report thinks the same thing: why wasn't Erwin the one that was picked?"
This sparked an argument over whether Levi had made the right decision to save Armin, or whether it was purely down to emotion attachment. In all honesty, Margot was tired of the arguing. It was also the wrong place to argue about such a thing, considering it was a funeral for their fallen comrades. It was too late to argue over what had already been done.
"Hey, brats," Levi called, drawing their attention. "It's time. Line up."
Margot felt a hand land on her shoulder, Jean looking down at her with concern. He had noticed she had detached herself from the previous conversation, but hadn't wanted to draw attention to it while the others were around. She placed her hand on top of his.
Looking up at Jean, she began to fully process how much they had gone through together. They had known each other before either of them could even fully talk, and now they were receiving their Scout medals. They had lost a lot on the way, but she was grateful to still have him. Before he could question her lack of response, she smiled up at him.
"It's alright, Jean," Margot reassured him, smiling as she held his hand and gave it a soft pat. "Let's go. I'm right behind you."
Armin, Mikasa, Eren, Levi and Hanji knelt down on the top step while Floch, Sasha, Connie, Jean and Margot knelt on the second step. At the very top stood Queen Historia, adorned in her regal attire from head to toe. One by one, she gave each of the ten scouts their medals. When she stopped in front of Margot, she carefully placed the medal over her head and around her neck before tightening it securely. Margot placed a kiss on her knuckle when Historia held out her hand, just as the others had done.
When Historia came round to Eren, his body froze as he kissed her knuckle. Margot watched, concerned as a horror-stricken expression took over his features. He also had yet to let go of Historia, his eyes wide as he began to shake.
"Eren?" Historia spoke gently, her eyes travelling over to Margot as if to ask for some assistance. Seeing that as permission to move from her spot, Margot walked over to where Eren was knelt down, placing a hand on his shoulder. He quite abruptly snapped out of his stupor, releasing Historia's hand before turning to Margot. She could see tears in his eyes, glazing over the teal colour as he stared at her. But even then, he didn't seem present. Not mentally. He said nothing.
It took a minute to convince Eren to step outside with her, his head bowed. Margot lowered him down to the ground and sat him down beside her, his head resting on her shoulder. He hadn't said a word, still, and she was growing even more worried. What had happened to him?
"Eren." She spoke in a soft tone, her fingers brushing through his hair. There were a few moments of silence before she felt a tear drop on her shoulder, followed by a few very quiet sobs. Margot said nothing else, instead wrapping her arms around him and allowing him to cry silently into her shoulder.
He never did tell her what he saw.
word count : 1044
·̩͙✧ AUTHOR'S NOTE ! ━━━
sorry this is short i wanted to split this chapter from the time skip in the next chapter.
just one more chapter to go before season 4/volume 4. there will be some changes to the time skips so it won't be the same as the show (shorter time skips). just to avoid any confusion i just thought i'd mention it beforehand.
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