For each day that passed, you felt more and more like a part of his family. Early on your last full day there, you walked out the door breathing in the fresh morning air.
"I'm just going to head out to the market before he wakes up. There's a last minute thing I wanna get", you informed Louisa as you passed her in the garden. She was pulling out weeds from the ground, straightening up her crouched stance to look at you.
"Okay dear. Breakfast will be ready soon, so don't be out too long"
"I won't", you assured her with a smile and started heading in the direction of the town square.
It was Marco's birthday today; The big 18. Now the only ones left of your friends that hadn't turned 18 was Armin and Sasha. You scouted the square, trying to spot the stand you were looking for.
'Hopefully, she's open at this hour... There she is!'
"Hello again", the old lady greeted you happily. "Come to get another look?"
"Yes, I couldn't stop thinking about your work! I'm actually looking for something"
"Something for that young man that accompanied you last time?", she asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah", you answered sheepishly, eyeing everything that was on display.
"I think I have something quite fitting". She proceeded to pick up a pin version of the necklace you were looking at last time, even remembering what flower you were most intrigued by. "I couldn't help but overhear you are in the military. A pin should suffice; it won't get in the way or fall off accidentally". You took the pin out of her hand, inspecting it.
"This is... perfect, actually! I'll take it"
Content with your purchase, you made your way back with what felt like a permanent smile plastered on your lips. It was like nothing could ruin today's striking mood. The roads of Jinae were now like ingrained in your memory, even close to feeling more familiar than the ones you used to walk in Shiganshina.
~
"Happy birthday angel/Marco!", you and Louisa cheered simultaneously as she placed a homemade cake in front of him after dinner. He smiled while looking at the little candle placed in the middle of it, probably trying to figure out what he should wish for.
Finally, he blew out the flame and you started serving a slice each.
"I can't believe you two will be leaving tomorrow already. I've grown so used to having you around again", Louisa said with a sweet smile, visibly trying to hold back her sadness so she wouldn't ruin the mood. You returned the smile while Marco placed his hand on top of hers.
"I'm sure we'll be able to visit more often after we've reclaimed Wall Maria and the titan-situation is more under control", Marco said to her in an attempt to lift her spirits. She took a deep breath.
"I know... Just... Please be careful on that next mission. A lot of... things can happen out there", her voice faltered as her eyes got shiny. There it was. You had noticed there was something she had been avoiding mentioning the whole time you've been here. Something weighing her down; The fear of you or Marco dying during the next mission beyond the wall.
"Mom-", Marco seemed to be at a loss of words.
"Louisa, I won't let any harm come to your son. I promise. And I don't intend dying either... I still have too much to see and experience. Like the ocean". Everything Armin had ever told you about this supposed wonder called the ocean came to mind. You were more than excited to see this phenomenon for yourself.
"The ocean?"
"Yes, our friend Armin read about it in a book about the outside world. He's told us everything about it", Marco enlightened her, and her eyes just got wider by the mentioning of the outside world. Sure the book where Armin required this information was contraband, but no one ever seemed to care, the mentioning of the ocean attracting all the attention.
"What is this ocean then?"
"It's a vast body of water, so big you can't see the end of it; It reaches past the horizon. It contains so much salt, that merchants could spend the rest of their lives depleting it without it getting empty", you start explaining with the same drive Armin has whenever he talks about it.
"Wow... Sounds like quite the sight", Louisa said airy while trying to picture it in her head.
"After we reclaim our territory, I'll take you there to see it for yourself", Marco promised her with a smile. "We're so close". She took a deep, shaky breath, seemingly calming down looking at Marco's hopeful expression.
"I'd love that"
Your eyes lit up as you remembered something you had prepared for them. You shot up from your chair, the sudden movement startling the two, and quickly went to grab it from your room.
"Y/N?", you heard Marco ask confused from the other room.
"Just a second". You scoured your room before finally finding what you were looking for and walked back out to your seat at the table. "Here", you stretched out your arms towards them, each hand holding a petite picture frame containing pictures you had drawn of the two of them together. Louisa let out a little gasp as she took a hold of the frame closest to her.
You figured being alone again after you and Marco leave would take a toll on her emotionally, and wanted her to have something that could act as a physical reminder of him to hold onto. For her you had drawn her and Marco laughing while they played a party of chess, something you had learned they used to do quite often when Marco grew up.
You also figured it would be hard for Marco as well, and drew a picture of them the evening you caught them napping against each other on the sofa. They looked so peaceful, both sloppily holding a book in their lap and Marco's head leaned against her shoulder. You could really see the resemblance between the two in that picture.
Marco looked up at you with a fond smile, his eyes telling you just how much he appreciated the gesture. Louisa had already failed keeping her tears at bay.
"Oh Y/N, these are beautiful", he voice quivered slightly as she reached out to squeeze your hand. "Thank you".
"It was truly no problem at all. I understand it's going to be hard going separate ways again... I just wanted to figure out a way to make it easier for the both of you". They smiled at you again, and a new kind of calmness settled in the room as you slowly got back to eating the cake and celebrate Marco's day.
~
"Hey Y/N", you could swear someone whispered in the darkness of your room, your groggy state not making it any easier to decide if you heard it correctly.
'Probably nothing'
"Y/N"
...
"Hey, Y/N, my love", something gently touching your face made you finally open your eyes long enough to adjust to the darkness.
"Marco?", you rubbed your eyes slightly, confused as to why he was here at this hour; He's usually fast asleep by now.
"I never though the day would come where you're harder to wake up than me", he softly chuckled, making sure to not make too much noise. You huffed, gently nudging him in his chest.
"What's going on?"
"I just had an idea, and couldn't sleep without at least checking if you were up for it"
"What idea?", you wondered. It was probably around one o'clock in the morning.
"I won't reveal it all, but it involves a late night trip to the forest". You looked at him for a moment, thinking hard if you even had the energy to move at this point in time. But after looking at his hopeful expression you knew you couldn't decline whatever offer this was.
"Okay Marco, I'll come", you smiled. He grinned and kissed your cheek before going to your dresser and pulling out a change of clothes- which he then put in a little bag you failed to notice before.
"What-"
"Don't think about it, I'll show you soon enough", he reassured you. "Change out of your nightgown and meet me outside", was the last thing he said before he walked out of your room.
'Just what is he planning?'
~
As the two of you walked through the vast field hand in hand, your mind was racing; trying to figure out where he was taking you. The night was warm, which was typical for summer within the walls. The temperature was a nightmare going to sleep to, but perfect for late night strolls such as this. The moon was shining so bright, you didn't even need to bring lanterns.
"You sure your mom won't get scared if she wakes up to find the house empty?", you asked unsure.
"She knows we're not leaving until tomorrow afternoon, and I think she's aware of the fact that we can protect ourselves should there be any danger. We're soldiers and a part of the highest ranked squad after all", he reassured you. "Besides, we'll be back before she wakes up. It's going to be completely fine Y/N". You nodded in response. It made sense. Thieves were nothing on two titan-fighting soldiers.
You had reached the forest from earlier this week. It had a totally different feel now that it was dark. Where the golden sun had peeped through the leaves and illuminated the green, the moonlight had now taken its place, tainting everything with a silver touch. It was darker in the woods than out in the field, but still not dark enough to pose a problem. Tiny fireflies glowing yellow specs of light were the only contrast to the otherwise silver woods.
'Is this what he wanted to show me? Why would I need to bring spare clothes?'
"Just a little further down here. There is a spot where the leaves and branches aren't as thick, giving us some more light", he pointed out the direction.
Once passing a pair of bushes, a little body of water revealed itself, the reflection of the shining full moon dancing in it.
"Do you wanna... eh, go for a swim?... With me?", he asked you, revealing his main motive while suddenly seeming a bit nervous as he awaited your reaction.
"Oh, I...", you felt your stomach drop, not able to shake away the embarrassed feeling making your cheeks heat up. You knew it would catch up to you one day; You had never gone for a proper swim a day in your life.
"Y-you don't have to say yes if you're uncomfortable, maybe I should have told you fir-"
"No, please, it's not that..."
"What is it then?", he bowed his head, trying to get a proper look at your face that was currently turned away from him.
'How do I tell him I'm an eighteen year old titan-slaying soldier who doesn't know how to fucking swim?!'
"Well, you see... I've never...". He seemed to catch on.
"You've never swum before?". You nodded slightly, still looking down at the ground.
"We didn't have any bodies of water like this that wasn't two hours away, so it was a hassle getting to it; especially with my parents working the whole day. The water canal going straight through Shiganshina were off limits for anything other than boats... Mom and dad were actually planning on taking me to the water and teach me how to swim, but they never got to do it in time". You finally looked up at him, meeting a pair of understanding eyes.
"Hey, no need to be embarrassed. I'll teach you if you want. This pool of water has a shallow and a deep end so it's the ideal spot to learn", he smiled while grabbing both your hands in his. You thought about it for a second, figuring you should take the opportunity now that it had presented itself.
"Okay"
"Great! Let's go then"
Marco walked over to the edge of the water before starting to strip of his clothes, leaving his underwear on. You took a deep breath before doing the same. Marco was already in the pool, the water reaching up to his chest on the shallow end. You sat down on the edge, letting your legs go in first. The water was a bit chilly but not unbearably so.
Marco moved closer to you until he were stood right in front of you. The light from the moon gave away the faint blush on his cheeks as he reached out to grab the bare skin on your waist, helping lowering you down into the water with him. You gripped onto his shoulders tightly, as the amount of time it took before you felt your feet hit the bottom made you nervous.
"Relax, love. I'm right here with you", he reassured you while looking deep into your eyes. You forced your fingers to relax, still not comfortable enough to let go of him fully yet, which he didn't seem to mind really.
"Let's just work on getting comfortable being in the water before we start anything else", he suggested, and so you did. You let yourself embrace the feeling of almost being submerged in it, finding the comfort needed to endure it from Marco's touch. Moving your hands slightly, you realized this was one of the few times you've ever seen him shirtless. You took the time to notice just how toned his body was after all these years of training.
"You ready to start the next phase?", he asked you, interrupting your train of thoughts appreciating his body.
"Oh.. Yeah", it almost felt like he caught you staring, which he in fact might have considering the slight smirk he had placed on his mouth.
"Okay, let's practice floating first. The most important thing is to be able to keep yourself afloat...". And so that continued for a while; Marco giving instructions and you following them as best as you could. He was never more than an arm's reach away, using his hands and arms to support you as you tried proper strokes and swimming motions. To your surprise, it was more fun than anything else. You often found yourself laughing- even when failing. You enjoyed his company and could swear even watching gras grow would be fun if Marco were there with you.
It took a couple of tries and a good amount of practise, but you ended up being able to swim for a good minute on your own before needing a brake.
"You're doing amazing", Marco praised into your ear as he pulled you into an embrace while leaned up against the stone edge. You wrapped your legs around his waist as well as your arms around his neck.
"Thank you for doing this Marco", you kissed his cheek before nuzzling into his neck.
"Of course", his fingers started caressing your lower back. You felt like staying like that forever, but the chilly water started becoming actually cold, the slight shaking of both of your bodies being an indication enough that it was time to get out.
"You wanna get out? We can sit on that rock over there while we dry up", Marco suggested, helping you out of the water.
Luckily, he brought towels as well and you wrapped yourself in it tightly. Marco sat down beside you, wrapping his arm around you along with his towel. You could already feel the temperature rising from you being huddled up together.
After you dried up, you both changed back into your change of clothes, the soft fabric feeling heavenly and warm after bathing in such chilly water.
"Did you bring your notebook?", he asked you after a while.
"Uh, yeah. I always bring it with me wherever I go. Why?"
"Just wanted to look through it with you if that's okay. I love your drawings, and it's been a while since I've seen them". You smiled at him, getting up to get your notebook from beside your pile of wet clothes. You have a separate strap that you fasten to your thigh, designed by Hange as a way to carry your notebook when you are out on missions and such. Since its easy and keeps you from having to carry it around you still use it even when off duty.
You sat back down, opening the book at a random page. You heart sank a bit as you saw who was pictured; Miche and Nanaba.
"I drew this of them taking a break from their paperwork. They wanted to tell me about all their drunken stories from the drinking evenings. Their stories mostly evolved around Gelgar making an absolute fool out of himself", you huffed with a smile. "They always talked about how fun it would be once I turned eighteen and could join them to see for myself... Of course fate had other plans". You started sniffling a bit, but refused to break down in tears once more. You missed them terribly, but this was a happy memory, and you didn't want to taint it with anything negative. Marco carefully caressed your back again, leaning his head on your shoulder as an act of comfort.
With a deep breath you started flipping the pages once more. You discussed a picture of Sasha devouring a meal, one of Levi sleeping with a book on his face, as well as one of Moblit and Hange. You had just turned the page from a drawing of Armin, Mikasa and Eren laughing, over to one of Eren by himself. Marco huffed slightly.
"What?"
"Oh nothing, just thought of something...", he said nonchalantly.
"Okay, now you have to tell me", you insisted, turning to face him fully.
"Ahh, okay, sure. It's stupid though...", he suddenly seemed kind of flustered. You awaited his response, and he finally caved in once he understood you weren't going to back down.
"I used to think you and Eren had a thing back during training camp... At least for the whole of the first year", he said sheepishly with a slight chuckle, scratching his neck.
'.... Wait, hold on-'
"Me and Eren?! Are you serious?", you asked wide eyed with a baffled smile. Never had it even once occurred to you to consider Eren anything else than a friend. He was more like your annoying but awesome 'little' brother than anything else. Your reaction didn't help with Marco's confidence.
"Yeah... At the time it felt kind of obvious. You know, you two would always go train together in private and the way you would act around each other; well, you just seemed so close". You didn't know what to respond.
"Did anyone else think that?"
"I'm not too sure honestly. I asked Jean if he thought the same, but he laughed and assured me that he's, and I quote, seen more sparks fly between Sasha and Commandant Sadies", Marco chuckled and you laughed, knowing full well that both you and Sasha feared that man with every fibre of your beings. "I guess it was just my young teenage brain jumping to conclusions.. I stopped believing that towards the end of the first year of training though". You leaned forward to kiss his nose.
"Good, because I never want to hear my name and Eren's name together in a romantic context ever again", you laughed again, huddling closer together with Marco once more. He flipped the pages a few more times, stopping once he saw one of him and Jean.
"I wish there were one of the two of us..."
"Oh you don't even know how many times I've wished to be included in my pictures. I want to be a part of the memory too", you smiled.
"Maybe Jean can draw us sometime?", he thought out loud before smiling at you.
"Wait, you know about that?". You remembered just how secretive Jean was with his drawings just half a year ago.
"Yes", he chuckled. "I've known about it since Boot camp, but he recently busted himself by forgetting to hide the notebook... Connie found it"
"How did he take it?"
"Just fine. I guess he finally realised drawing isn't something to be ashamed about at all. Connie's only reaction was to mock Jean for being stupid and going through all the trouble of keeping it hidden all these years when there was no reason for it at all", he laughed.
"Good. He needed that extra push", you smiled content. Jean was a great artist, it was about time he got to share it.
"Thank you once again for the pictures of me and my mom. It's the best present I could have asked for", he slowly nuzzled against your cheek with his nose.
'Oh shit- the present!'
You quickly got up, grabbing the pin you had bought earlier, hiding it between the palms of your hands behind your back. He looked up at you with a puzzled expression.
"I actually got you something else as the main gift.. I just wanted to give it to you once we got the chance to be alone", you sat down on both your knees in front of Marco.
"Here you go", you presented the gift by holding your hand out in front of you, the pin placed in the middle of your palm. Marco's eyes widened for a second, before he started laughing slightly. Your brows furrowed.
'He doesn't like it, or?'
"It's scary just how much we think alike sometimes", he chuckled, leaning back to reach for something from his bag. He turned back to you with a sweet smile, in the palm of his hands now laid a pin identical to yours.
"I wanted to buy the necklace you looked at, but the lady advised me that a pin would be smarter for someone in our profession. So of course I went with that since I don't want my gift to be the reason you wind up hurt"
"Same here", you giggled softly, eyeing his movement as he leaned towards you to fasten the pin to your chest. You took the opportunity to fasten yours to his as well. You examined it as the moonlight reflected off of it.
'It's perfect'
You almost lost your breath as Marco wrapped his arms around you and roughly leaned backwards, pulling you down with him.
"Here's to always remembering each other... No matter what happens", he said softly, your faces inches apart.
"Always", you promised with a smile. "Marco, I don't think I'm physically able to ever forget you. Your face is like ingrained in my memory". You rested your head against his chest.
He caressed the side of your face while looking up at the starry sky.
"You and me both then"
It was silent for a moment, before he decided to speak again.
"Hey Y/N..."
"Mhmm?"
"Tell me about your parents". You tensed up for a second, before relaxing.
"My parents? What do you want to know?", you asked, propping up on your elbows to be able to look at him properly. His hands moved down to rest on your hips.
"I don't know, like... w-would they have liked me?", he spoke in a whisper. He had a very innocent look on his face; this must have been on his mind for a while. You smiled, kind of flattered in a sense that he cared so much about what your parents would think of him even though they died long before you met him.
"I think they would have absolutely adored you Marco"
"Really?". His eyes lit up as he tried to suppress just how happy hearing that made him. You were surprised that even came as a surprise to him. He was picture perfect.
"Really. I think you're everything they value in a good person; your relentless kindness, your wits as well as your compassion and sense of justice for everyone. Much of which is the same reasons I fell for you", you said, feeling your heart flutter as you watched his cheeks grow crimson.
He kept his gaze at you, staring deeply and fondly into your eyes while caressing your cheek so gently, you'd almost think he was scared of breaking you.
"I love you". The words rolled off his tongue as soft as the green moss beneath you and as airy as the warm evening breeze flowing through the woods. A new wave of butterflies released inside your stomach and your heart was fluttering as fast as their wings.
He said it. He really said it. The words you had been dying to say for ages now, but in the end being too scared to go through with.
"I- I love you!", you replied in a tone as excited as your heart. "More than anything, more than my life- I love you". You interrupted his reply by claiming his lip's attention to be on your own, rather than talking. He chuckled lightly in surprise, the sound muffled against your lips. Hands once resting by your hips travelled up your back until they reached your shoulder blades. There they stopped to wrap themselves around you protectively, wanting to keep your bodies as close as possible.
"I would say the same, but you are my life, so it wouldn't make sense", he eventually said out of breath with a cheeky smile. You huffed before genuinely giggling. No matter how corny, his words made your face heat up and your skin tingle.
"You're so cheesy sometimes"
"I try, love", he smiled and kissed your forehead gently.
Y/N's drawings:
(Ignore the fact that Jean has the Cadet Corps emblem on the jacket<3 And my god does this picture make me happy but so sad at the same time. I miss them together</3)
_____________________________
A/N:
The 'I love you'-s has been exchanged, and for real this time<33 Ahh, the feels<3
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed it!
Until next time; have a great day!<3
~Jen