(A little fluff at the end of the chapter<3)
It took a couple of days before things went somewhat back to normal around HQ. Many people lost someone dear on the expedition and spent the first days back mourning and taking care of their belongings. Moral was still a bit low in mess hall as you sat and ate breakfast with your friends.
You were stirring your porridge with your spoon, not really eating it.
"If you're not gonna eat that, I can take it...", Sasha shoot her shot, following the motion of your spoon with her eyes. You let go of the spoon, starting to push the bowl over to her when Marco placed his hand in the way, preventing the bowl from inching any closer to Sasha.
"Hey!", Sasha exclaimed, looking at him.
"Y/N, you need the energy. You won't get to eat anything else before lunch in seven hours", Marco protested. You sighed.
'He's right though'
"Yeah, I guess... I'm just not really feeling the porridge today you know...", you excused yourself, dragging the bowl back to you.
"I know what you mean, this porridge is getting real old, real fast... In boot camp we at least had a few variations of dishes", Ymir agreed, letting go of her spoon, making it clink as it hit the bowl.
"Y/N, Eren", Levi's voice spoke from your right and you turned your head to face him. "We'll be having a meeting with Erwin during tea tonight. I have some paperwork to tend to so you're both excused from training today, although some self-training couldn't hurt, but that's up to you guys... Don't be late", he informed you, looking back and forth between the two of you.
"Yes sir!", Eren quickly said, you simply nodded.
"So, what's on the agenda for you guys?", you asked the rest, forcing yourself to eat a couple spoonful's of your food.
"We don't really have much training today, instead it's more of an endless list of chores", Connie whined, leaning his head dramatically on his arm resting on the table.
"Yeah, I got stable duty", Sasha complained.
"Oh, can you make sure you give Jean some extra food?", Connie asked her, and she nodded eagerly. The rest of you looked at him confused.
"Huh?", Jean said, staring at him.
"My horse; Jean", Connie answered like it was obvious. You started to catch on.
"Boy, I know you didn't call your horse Jean", you exclaimed, the bubbling feeling of a laugh starting to erupt from your chest. You gave up on holding it in once you saw the weird smirk Connie does when he's feeling mischievous.
"I sure did, Snorty!", he laughed.
"What?!", Jean said and looked from you back to Connie. Sasha, Eren and Marco had already joined in on your laugh, your sudden snort being the last straw for the rest of your friends who didn't laugh before. Jean was now leaning over to the other side of the table, holding Connie's collar in his hands as he shook him, scolding him for naming his horse after him.
"I should have thought of that!", Eren exclaimed, making Jean scowl at him.
"Shut up Yeager!". Jean let go of Connie, preparing to get up and go around the table to do the same to him. Marco grabbed a hold of Jean, yanking him back down again.
"Marco?!", Jean exclaimed, his tone betrayed. "You are supposed to back me up, man!". Marco chuckled a bit.
"You have my support, almost always anyways, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we have seen quite enough of you and Eren's fight's for one week", he told him calmly.
"Yes, please!", Ymir exclaimed, relieved someone finally told them to stop as she couldn't bother doing it herself. Jean seemed flustered.
"Whatever...", he muttered, receiving a couple of snickers in return from some of the others.
Once again your friends had successfully cheered you up, without even trying.
~
You and Eren spent the day following Levi's advice by training together on the training grounds. You decided to make it fun by rummaging the training-supply shed for any new equipment you don't usually use during the organized training sessions.
Eren settled for a dummy so he could practice his fighting technique for when he is a titan, while you found a variety of things you could use as targets to practice throwing the throwing knives you found stuffed away deep inside the shed.
It took some time to get used to, starting from scratch without anyone instructing you. However, with some trial and error, you found the technique that suited you the best.
"Dang Y/N, way to make yourself even more dangerous! When are you planning on putting this skill to use? Maybe if our dear Marco breaks your heart?", Reiner suddenly teased. You could hear he was joking, but you didn't like the way he threw Marco's name in there.
"Shut up Reiner or I might mistake you for that dummy over there", you laughed, throwing your knife demonstratively, piercing the dummy straight in between where its eyebrows would be. Reiner theatrically put his hands up in front of him while whistling.
"Duly noted", he said smugly and smiled. "I have to get back to cleaning the shower-quarters. See you two later!", he said and waved you and Eren goodbye.
"Bye Reiner!", you waved with your hands full of knives.
~
"Shit! Why is it that I'm always late when I have to be somewhere with you?!", you exclaimed exhausted as you and Eren sprinted through the halls towards mess hall. You had a firm grasp around his wrist, scared he would slow you down if you didn't yank him along.
"Chill Y/N, it's just two minutes past!", Eren answered you, bewildered as to when you became so punctual over the afternoon tea. You didn't answer him as you burst in through the vast doors of mess hall. Levi sat alone with his back facing you.
"Sorry we're-", you started apologizing.
"It's fine, it's just three minutes past", Levi assured you. You noticed two cups already filled with tea were placed on your's and Eren's spot on the table.
"See Y/N, that's what I was sa-", Eren started saying in a what-did-I-say voice, but Levi interrupted him.
"You could learn a thing or two from Y/N's respect for punctuality, Eren", Levi told him firmly, Eren's previous boasting demeanour sinking like someone poked a hole in him.
"Yes Captain Levi", he said beat, taking a seat at the table. You did the same, giggling amused by the state of Eren after receiving the little lecture from Levi.
You all sat there, sipping your tea in silence, only talking a bit about what you did for training today. Levi seemed surprised when you mentioned the throwing knives, but you could swear he looked a little proud when you told him how many precise hit's you got.
"Erwin and the rest are keeping us waiting... The MP escorts will come here before they do", Levi said after a while of you three just sitting there. You had finished your tea a long time ago, the only thing keeping you all here was that meeting.
"Wait a minute, MP escorts?", you asked confused.
"That's kind of what we are going to discuss, so just wait with the questions until Erwin arrives", Levi answered you, playing gently with his teacup on the table. You nodded and it went silent again.
"He's probably constipated and having a rough day", Levi continued talking annoyed to himself.
'What's with him and concluding that everyone is shitting every time they are late, it's actually quite funny when you notice how often he does that'
You smirked to yourself while Eren let out a nervous hint of a laugh.
"You're talking a lot today, Captain", he said carefully.
"Don't be stupid. I always talk a lot", Levi claimed determined, caving in and filling up his cup once more. The movement made him whimper slightly, and you noticed him hold his leg. His ankle was probably still hurting a lot. Eren seemed bothered, most likely feeling guilty for indirectly putting him in this situation.
"I'm sorry. Back then, if I hadn't made the wrong choice... This never would have happened", Eren apologised, gripping nervously onto his knees.
"I told you; No one ever knows how things will turn out", Levi said as the door creaked. You all turned your attention towards the noise.
"Sorry to keep you waiting", Erwin said calm, both you and Eren stood up from your seats in respect for the Commander.
"Not at all sir-", Eren stopped talking as four more people came in behind Erwin, stopping to stand beside him. Three of them were Jean, Mikasa and Armin.
'What are they doing here?'
"Please sit down", Erwin said and you both complied. Jean joined you by your side as Mikasa and Armin instinctively placed themselves beside Eren.
"We have identified a person of interest who may be the Female Titan", Erwin announced as you and Eren made the same expression of confusion. "This time, we won't let her escape", he then said determined. He rolled out a map of Stohess District with red markings on it.
"Eren, along with me and some other authorities who were in charge of planning the last expedition, are being summoned to the capital in two days. The rout we will be taking goes through Stohess District, which is where our operation will take place. This is our first and last chance.", Erwin explained intensely.
"Once we pass that point, Eren will be remanded to the capital. Our pursuit of those who seek to destroy the walls will become fraught with difficulty.", he added, and you noticed everyone looked stressed out, the outcome being catastrophic should this fail. You didn't feel too confident either, scared of losing Eren to those stuck up douchebags in the capital who didn't know anything about what Eren was good for.
'Those cowards...'
"We will stake everything on this plan". Erwin sounded determined and serious, setting the tone for the rest of you. You all nodded in agreement. Erwin pointed at the map.
"Eren will act as a decoy when we pass through Stohess, and lead the suspect to an underground tunnel. If we can get her to the lowest level, given the tunnel's size and structural integrity, we can immobilize her even if she chooses to transform", he explained. You looked over at Armin who looked like he was going to bust from the pressure, his eyes staring holes into the table.
"But if she transform before then... Eren, we will need your help", he informed you further, and Eren jerked in surprise, quickly composing himself.
"Yes, sir", he said as steady as he could.
"Sir, if I may ask... Who is the subject in question? Are we sure she is in Stohess?", you asked. It looked like everyone but you, Levi and Eren knew, and by the looks of him, Armin must have been a central piece in pointing her out.
"Yes, our target is a member of the Military Police", Erwin started answering.
"The Military Police?", Eren asked shocked.
"It was Armin who arrived at that conclusion", Erwin revealed.
'I knew it!'
You both looked over at him as Erwin continued speaking.
"He believes the target also killed the two captured titans". You gaped slightly.
"Sawney and Bean?", you whispered, more so stating than asking.
"Indeed Y/N. She may be a former trainee from the 104th, the same as you". Eren managed to look even more shocked, almost betrayed as he stared intently at Erwin.
"W-wait a second... The 104th?", Eren asked in disbelief. You struggled to grasp the idea that someone you knew might be this vicious killer. You waited intently for Erwin to reveal the name, not able to connect the dots before he let her identity be known.
"The name of the girl we believe to be the person of interest is Annie Leonhart", Erwin revealed, and the room went silent.
You didn't really believe you heard him correctly, and by the looks of it, Eren didn't either.
"Annie is the Female Titan?!", he exclaimed, still in disbelief. "Why do you think that Armin?", everyone's focus now aimed at Armin again. Armin was quiet for a second, gathering his thought before he explained.
"From the start, the Female Titan knew what you looked like. And she reacted to Jean's nickname for you; 'suicidal bastard'. We know only those closest to us from the Cadet Corps has ever heard Jean say that", Armin started, and you looked at Jean in the corner of your eye.
'I guess that makes sense, it isn't a thing anyone outside the southern cadet corps has ever heard Jean say'
"And the biggest reason for my suspicions that Annie killed the test subjects, Sawney and Bean,-". Jean suddenly grabbed a hold of your hand, like he knew something Armin was going to say would upset you. You looked at him confused, but he just looked at Armin with furrowed brows. "-is that only a very skilled person could have done that undetected, and Annie is a very stealthy soldier. Also they would have to have been using their own ODM gear, which they are accustomed to-".
"Then it can't be her, they would have detected her when they checked everyone's gear!", Eren interrupted.
"She turned in someone else's gear Eren...", Armin said, and peeped over at you before saying the next part. "More specifically, Marco's gear. I recognised the dent on the side of it.", he explained. Your heart stopped for a second.
"Wait, how? What do you mean? Marco said he lost it, I know because I found him", you said fast, becoming more frantic as you spoke your thoughts out loud. Your mind was a haze, trying to make sense of this.
"Y/N... we suspect Annie took it from him somehow...", Jean said quietly.
"But why would she do that, he would have died!", you exclaimed loud. Jean shrugged weakly, they didn't know her reasoning for taking it. "H-he almost died, I... If I had been one second too slow he wouldn't be here still, are you telling me Annie tried to kill him?!". You weren't able to keep your cool, this revelation hitting you hard. They all looked at you with sympathy. "But I asked him! I asked him why he didn't have his gear, why didn't he tell me?", you continued questioning, taking your frustration out on your poor friends. Jean put his arm around you to comfort you as your eyes started to sting from the tears starting to pile up. You wondered why he wasn't reacting much to the news as well, coming to the conclusion that he was already informed before coming here, you missing his initial reaction. You could see in his eyes that this was hurting him though. You took a few breaths, trying to calm yourself down. There is no use in scolding your friends for something they had no control over.
"W-why don't we just ask him? Maybe Annie just picked up his gear after he lost it?", you tried to reason.
"I don't think we should ask him Y/N... There must be a reason as to why he kept quiet about it. Do you remember how weird he acted right after the battle? Like he knew something we didn't? He might have figured out who she was, making him a target. It might be wise to leave him out of it as much as possible until she's caught", Jean explained. You sighed, thinking about it for a minute.
"Yeah, you're probably right", you said, sinking in your seat. This was a lot to take in.
'Oh poor Marco, why did you have to carry this all alone'
Now you were certain Marco is the most selfless human inside these walls. He has been going through all this without anyone knowing, and still only cared about keeping you safe and happy. What did you do to deserve someone like him?
"Do you have any other proof?", Levi suddenly asked, breaking his silence for the first time since the others joined you.
"I think the Female Titan resembles Annie", Mikasa pitched in, Eren abruptly standing up as she said so.
"Huh? That isn't evidence-", he started voicing out, but you interrupted him.
"She recognised me", you said quietly to yourself mostly as something inside your brain clicked.
"W-what?", Eren asked you. You stood up with your hands on the table.
"She recognised me! She killed everyone else without a second thought, but me- no. She looked at me for a long time before making a move, eyeing me up and down, and all I could think of was that she looked like she knew who I was! And when she finally attacked, she smacked me as lightly as she could; Hard enough to stop me, however light enough to not kill me...", you said, now looking up at Eren. "Think about it Eren. We both saw the way she killed Oruo mid-air", your voice started to shake as you described his death. You didn't dare look in Levi's direction. "What other reason can explain her not doing the same thing to me? She hesitated. She hesitated because we were friends, at least on my end. If not that, since we were comrades, roommates, sparring-partners...", you explained to him.
"That sounds like what she did to me as well. She looked like she hesitated whenever she saw my face", Armin chimed in, Eren starting to breathe heavier.
"But that's still just suspicions.... theories! There are no evidence in what you guys are presenting, and you still want to go through with this?", Eren asked stressed. "What if it isn't her?".
"Then we'll know she's innocent. That's all", Mikasa said calm.
"And then I'll feel bad for Annie", Armin then said. "However, if we don't do something, you'll end up being sacrificed to the people of the Capital!".
"You're crazy to think Annie's a titan...", Eren said, turning away.
"Eren, now that you know we suspect her, isn't it ringing any bells?", she asked him, both of them had obviously noticed something about the Female Titan that you others hadn't.
"You fought the Female Titan. Didn't you notice Annie's distinctive combat style?", Mikasa continued questioning, and you could see on Eren's face that he had noticed exactly that.
He sat down, defeated.
~
After that intense meeting you couldn't think of anything other than Marco. Event though you agreed not to talk about your suspicion of what Annie did with him, you had to see him. To hold him. To indirectly comfort him after going through something even more traumatic that just almost being eaten.
You ran towards the boy's corridor, trying to remember where his room was. The meeting had lasted a long time as you had to go over every detail of the plan after you were done discussing Annie's role in this. It was now dark outside, most of the soldiers already in their rooms for the evening. You didn't bother knock as you turned the doorknob, gently opening the door. Marco was laying in his bunk, the bottom one to the left, reading a book, while Connie laid in the bottom bunk of the bunkbed to the right, throwing a little ball up in the air, trying to catch it before it hit his face.
"Y/N?", Connie asked, losing his focus upon seeing you in their room, causing the ball to hit him right on the nose. "Ouch!", he exclaimed, holding his hands on his nose. Marco looked up from the book and quickly got out of the bed once he saw you standing by the entrance. He was wearing a white tee and a pair of light blue, loose shorts. He looked so handsome dressed down so casually. He quickly closed the distance between you and took a hold of your hands.
"Hey, is everything okay?", he asked softly, slightly bowing his head to be able to meet your gaze. Everything in you fought to hold back the tears as you stopped yourself from asking him if what they said about Annie was true. His expression grew worried as you didn't answer him. He moved his hand up to cup your cheek. "Hey..", he tried again, keeping his tone light. You threw your arms around him, holding him close being the only way to stop yourself from talking about it.
'You can't ask. You might put his life at risk'
"Okay, now you are really worrying me... Talk to me Y/N. Please", he pleaded into your shoulder. You let a few tears fall, and realised Connie had a clear view of your face from where he was sitting. He looked at you confused and worried as he noticed the tears. You decided you had to try and talk about something else, the silence seeming to suspicious to keep up.
"I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to worry you. I just felt a bit needy tonight", you lied slightly, making sure not to look Connie in the eyes as he would make you spill the beans the second you did. "Is it okay if I stay?", you asked sheepishly, pulling away from Marco's embrace. He looked at you for a second, and you tried to keep you emotions in check, praying he wouldn't see right through your act. He seemed suspicious for just a second, before kissing you softly.
"It's fine by me. Connie?", he asked, turning to your bald friend who had resumed throwing the ball.
"Sure thing, just keep it down", he teased, and your face heated up. He looked over at you with a smug expression, wanting to see how flustered he made you with his comment. He laughed, looking back at the ball.
"No need to worry about that...", you managed to say embarrassed, as Marco lead you over to his bed. You removed your jacket and boots, and pulled your shirt out of your pants, so everything hung a bit looser. Marco held up his sheet so you could climb in next to him. You felt your skin tingling as your heart fluttered. Although you both had been cuddling up during breaks multiple times, it felt more intimate doing it under the sheets. You laid your head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around you, running his fingers through you hair. You relaxed fully at his touch, using your finger to softly draw random patterns on his chest. After a little while you heard the sound of the ball being thrown stop, and Connie's snores rung out. You giggled quietly, Marco knowing exactly what prompted your laughter.
"Every. Single. Night", he whispered dramatically, emphasizing every word. You giggled some more, hearing his heart pick up the pace. "I love your laugh", Marco cooed softly into your hair. You nuzzled your face into his chest, hiding. "Hey, take it with pride, remember?", he whispered in a clever tone. You looked up at him, his face now inches from yours. You quietly closed the distance as you kissed without a sound. It was softer than ever, both making sure to be quiet and not disturb Connie, although it seemed like nothing could wake him up the way he was sleeping. Marco's hand found the side of your face, his fingers gripping a hold of the back of your head, intertwining with your hair, as his thumb caressed you by your ear.
"We should get some sleep", Marco said breathlessly leaning his forehead against yours. You could feel your eyelids turning heavy, and couldn't help but wonder if Marco noticed it first, that being why he broke of the kiss.
'He cares so much for me, even noticing what my body needs before I do'
"Okay", you yawned, getting comfortable in his embrace. "Is this okay?", you asked, not wanting him to be uncomfortable.
"This is perfect", he answered lovingly, making you heart flutter again. "Goodnight Y/N", he kissed your forehead.
"Goodnight Marco".
A while after you could hear footsteps approaching the room, probably Jean and Armin finally returning. As you heard the door open in your half-sleep state, you could hear the footsteps abruptly stop and felt a pair of gazes your way. A couple of seconds later they resumed what they were doing, and you felt the bed shake as Jean made his way up to the top bunk over Marco's.
_______________________________________________
A/N:
Aww, we love us some cuddling with Marco<3
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Have a great day!
~Jen