For as long as Marco Bodt could remember, he had always been surrounded by warmth of his mother's love; the warmth of his siblings; the warmth of always having food to eat and clothes that stopped him freezing and a pillow to lay his head on at night. He'd always had the warmth of his childhood friends back in Jinae as they ran around causing the adults trouble.
Even when there shouldn't have been warmth in Marco's life, he somehow still managed to find it and hang on with both hands. For example, when he first joined the military and left behind everything, everyone he'd ever known, he didn't think he'd still have that warmth he was used to. As he stood in line saluting, waiting for Shadis to single him out, not a single ounce of warmth was left. He tried not to shake in fear when Shadis approached the boy next to Marco, the one with the amber eyes and two-toned hair, who called himself Jean. When Jean happily told Shadis about his goal to join the Military Police, Marco felt like he'd met a kindred spirit, and had to hide his surprise when Shadis head-butted the poor guy, then moved on to Marco. He smiled through his fear, even when he had his goal thrown back in his face, though he counted himself lucky. At least Shadis didn't try smashing his skull in.
When the Titans attack Trost, shit hits the fan. Marco and Jean are initially in different squads, but the situation is so dire that formation is all but ignored. They fight tooth and nail to get their headquarters back, with Jean among the seven tasked to slaughter the seven Titans and Marco heading the group who blind them with their rifles. As they're filling up their gas tanks, Jean and Marco talk, but it's back to business as usual when they're all full.
Except it can hardly be called business as usual when one of their own turns out to be a Titan shifter, and it being Eren Jaeger at that. He's taken away by Garrison soldiers after going back to human form, with Armin and Mikasa going with him, but no one knows what's going to happen now. Trost has been evacuated, save for the soldiers, but Titans are still coming in, and no one thinks they can survive losing another district, let alone another wall.
But then Eren comes back with Commander Dot Pixis, and then there's Armin's plan to use Eren's Titan form to take back Trost. It's agreed that that will be the plan of attack, and they all take their places while hoping for the best.
Hoping being the key word in that sentence, since Marco had long since left his post on the wall in favour of helping out his fellow soldiers, both cadets and Garrison alike. As he was rounding the corner looking for someone who needed help, he spotted Connie and Annie on top of the wall. He landed by them and looked around, and after a moment, he finds Jean struggling with a dead soldier's 3DMG, a Titan fast approaching. Without a second thought, Marco leaps into action, Annie and Connie following closely behind, distracting the Titan in order for Jean to get the gear and escape.
Once Jean is free, the four of them begin to help Eren, who is moving the boulder they need to seal to gate. They keep any surrounding Titans distracted, and clear a path so Eren can do his job in this mission.
Somewhere between Eren sealing the breach in the wall and the effort to kill the Titans still in Trost, Marco and Jean get separated. Marco does the best he can not to notice, because he can't afford to be worried when he's here and Titans are everywhere, but it's staying in the back of his mind, and his attention slips. By the time he sees the giant hand it's already too late, it's already gotten hold of him, he can't move, he's-
Marco shot up, panting heavily. It wasn't the first time he'd had this dream, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last time, either.
Shaking away the remnants of fear from his nightmare, Marco stood, stretching. Judging from the sunlight streaming through the window, it wouldn't be long before the bell sounded to wake up the others, so Marco decided he might as well start getting ready.
Working on autopilot as he put on his 3DMG harnesses, Marco allowed himself to think about his dream. He didn't know why he kept having it, since it'd been just over five months since Trost, and he also didn't know why the dream kept ending with him being eaten by a Titan. That wasn't how Trost had played out. He'd survived, and he'd joined the Military Police like he'd always wanted to.
Marco didn't realize how deep in thought he was until there was a knock at his door, and he fumbled to open it. On the other side stood Jean, as he did every day, looking tired, as if he's just rolled out of bed. Marco mused that he probably had.
"Whoa, Marco, you okay?" Jean asked. He never failed to notice whenever Marco had had the nightmare, no matter how hard the freckled boy tried to hide it.
"Yeah, Jean, I'll be fine." This was all Marco needed to say before the two began down the stairs to wait for orders for the day. Jean knew about Marco's dream, had listened to explain every last detail, but even between the two of them, they couldn't decipher any possible meanings behind the nightmare.
As soon as the two teens reached the bottom of the staircase, then lined up among their fellow Military Police officers. Their commander stood near the front of the lineup, giving orders before dismissing his soldiers for breakfast, one by one. As he reached Jean and Marco, they both straightened up.
"Kirschstein, Bodt, you two will take the south end of the docks, as well as the surrounding houses and shops." When they both nodded, the commander dismissed them, and they scrambled into the lunch hall before all the food was gone.
Something Marco had noticed about the interior was how, even after five months, the temperatures hadn't changed. While back home, it would be starting to cool down with the autumn season about to start, the Interior maintained the same temperature as it had when Jean and Marco had first arrived. Not that either of them complained, since the temperature was at that perfect place where it was neither cold nor hot, but cool enough that the Military Police officers didn't overheat in their uniforms. Most days, Marco didn't even break a sweat unless he was being extremely active doing exerting tasks.
No one seemed to be overly concerned about the forever-consistent temperature, though. The other MP officers had told Marco and Jean they wouldn't need their winter gear for a while, if ever again, when they first arrived, and when Marco had made a comment about the weather to a local priest, he'd laughed and told Marco that was just how it worked in the Interior. Marco stopped talking about it after that, but it still stumped him.
As Marco walked down the docks with Jean, he kept his eye out for any boats they'd need to inspect. It was getting to be a bit late in the afternoon, so most of the boats had been inspected, with only one being cause for alarm, as they'd found stolen 3DMG onboard. Jean was currently going on about one thing or another, though Marco couldn't be sure of what. He'd long since zoned out, so he didn't blame Jean for pinching him near the nape of his neck, but it didn't stop him from being at least a tiny bit indignant about it.
"Just because I've zoned out doesn't mean you have to pinch me, Jean. You could've just poked me or something." Marco said, turning to Jean. As he did, he felt a sharp pain at his nape, and reached to put his hand there. Unfortunately, as he reached his hand up, he began to fall forward, unable to move. The world seemed to fade around him, and while Marco never felt himself hit the ground, he did feel the world swallow him whole.
Thinking back to the events from earlier that day, Jean decided he wasn't sure when his life had gone to shit. That morning had seemed normal enough when everyone was getting ready for the latest expedition into what used to be Wall Maria. Jean couldn't remember which expedition it was. 67th? 68th? He knew it was less than 70, but it was definitely in the late 60s.
As soon as they'd left Wall Rose, everything seemed fine. Formation stayed in place since few Titans were nearby, and the few they did encounter were disposed of. It was only once they reached forested land that things went sour.
From a ways ahead of Jean, Connie, and Sasha, a flare went off indicating the appearance of an Abnormal, then several more flares followed. The three of them headed in the direction of the flares, with Sasha firing another once the thing was in sight.
The Titan was the same height as Eren's Titan form, 15 meters, and it wasn't attacking anyone. It had a messy mop of dark hair on it's head, and it's skin wasn't pale, nor was it overly dark. It wasn't completely covered in skin, either. It's "eyebrows" were a series of small circular patches without skin, and a similar pattern could be found on the Titan's cheeks and down the sides of it's neck. There were also large patches of those skinless areas on the Titan's shoulders and along a few of it's ribs, not to mention it's legs were mostly skinless as well.
The Titan's eyes were a rich, chocolate brown colour, and the skin around them was much darker than the rest of it's body. Just underneath the Titan's eyes, for the first time anyone's ever seen on a Titan, there were freckles of all things.
Just as everyone nearby seemed to be watching the Titan, it was also watching them. Few dared to get too close to it, aside from Hanji, who was high up on a tree branch trying to get as near the Titan as they could while Moblit stood near the base of the tree, sweating more than Bertholdt. The Titan didn't even give Hanji a second glance, instead staring at the spot where Jean, Connie, and Sasha are now standing.
Before Jean had a chance to give the Titan too much thought, Armin walked up to him. In the five years Jean had known Armin, he hadn't grown much, and still had a bit of a feminine appearance. It also didn't help the manliness factor that Armin had started tying his hair back into a short ponytail most days.
"Hanji said they wanted to study it. They even started calling it the 'Gentle Titan'." Armin told Jean, who scowled.
"Hanji's gonna get themself killed someday," Jean said, "I don't suppose they're the one who found it?"
Armin nodded. "Moblit fired the flare because Hanji was too excited. By the time I got here, Moblit was trying to hold them back." Armin wasn't very far behind the Survey Corps' resident kook in the formation, so Jean could see he'd be among the first to get there after the flares were fired.
Looking over, Jean and Armin could see how the so-called "gentle" Titan was trying to stay away from the over-enthusiastic squad leader, though it was through evasion rather than by violent force. The damn thing looked almost scared of the human trying to approach it, which was something they'd only ever seen with Eren before.
For whatever reason, Armin took a step towards the Titan, and Jean grabbed his arm, holding him back.
"Don't go near it, Armin. That thing is dangerous." Jean warned, but Armin tore away, running towards the Titan. "Armin!" Jean called, chasing after him.
They seemed to have drawn the Titan's attention while running over, because when Jean finally got Armin to stop, it was smiling at them. The Titan was fucking smiling at them, and god, that smile looked- fuck no .
Every memory Jean had buried after Trost two years prior suddenly came flooding back in. Every smile, every laugh, every single moment flashed before Jean's eyes in a split second. He wasn't sure if it had been himself or Armin who said Marco's name, but as soon as it's spoken he flew into action. He unsheathed his swords, and he was flying through the trees on his 3DMG and the Wings of Freedom flew across his back as he landed a hook into the Titan's back, near the nape of it's neck. He barely heard the voices screaming at him not to harm the Titan before he brought his blades down, cleanly slicing out the nape before jumping away from the falling beast.
As soon as the carcass hit the dirt, Hanji ran over to inspect it before it evaporated into nothing. Jean was vaguely aware of them screaming something before Armin ran over as well, and not a moment later Sasha and Connie were dragging him there too. Sasha even managed to get Jean back to the real world with a smack to the back of his head.
The moment they stopped, Jean realized why Hanji was yelling. Among the mass of steaming muscles, there was someone laying face down, long black hair and a freckle covered arm the only visible features. A shifter, Jean thought. He'd almost killed a shifter.
Jean decided to make himself useful and help Armin and Connie to lift the person out of the decaying Titan body. It's evident they'd been in there a while just due to how light they were, and it's made even more clear when they turned the person onto their back and saw the remains of a partly-singed beard. Probably a man, then.
The man in question was bone thin, with pale skin and some freckles smattered over most of his skin, as far as they could tell. His long hair went down to his shoulders in uneven, split-ended black locks, and what was left unsinged of his beard was almost as long. Despite his ragged appearance, which makes it impossible to tell if he's anyone they know, Jean couldn't help but feel he'd seen the man before. He refused to think about why the man might be familiar, but unfortunately for him, Connie also seemed to make the connection.
"Is that... Is that Marco?" Connie stutters. Armin nods.
"Yeah, Connie, I think it is."
As it turned out, by the time Jean had decided to try and slay the Gentle Titan, everyone was there to see it. Within moments of Connie asking whether the shifter was Marco or not, the former members of the 104th Training Squad were all gathered around, trying to see if it was true. Even after Armin voiced his thoughts that it might have been Marco, many still turned to Jean for confirmation. He'd known Marco better than anyone else, after all. That didn't mean Jean was going to say anything, though.
"Is that really Marco?" Someone asked. Jean wasn't sure who it was, though he thought it may have been Bertholdt.
He must have taken too long to answer, because Jaeger's voice snapped at him next. "Well, is it Marco, or isn't it?"
This time, Jean responded. "How the hell should I know," he bit back a less-than-appropriate name aimed specifically at Eren, "he didn't exactly have long hair and a beard last time we saw him." It remains unspoken that the last time Jean saw Marco, he'd been bitten in half before being cremated with countless other lost soldiers, but everyone still hears it.
Luckily for Jean, Levi, who had shown up among the people trying to stop Jean from killing the Titan, decided he'd had enough of the former 104th trainees' bullshit, and interrupted.
"Do you brats plan on yapping all day, or are we going to get moving?" That did get everyone moving, and soon, everyone was back in formation. Erwin had given the order to head back towards the base while they were all gathered around the shifter, so as everyone was getting ready to leave, Reiner hoisted the unconscious man up and into a cart, binding his wrists and ankles with a spare bit of rope.
Back in the formation, Jean was once again stuck with Sasha and Connie, and the two were currently trying to whisper to each other despite the distance of almost three meters between them.
"If you two want to talk, go ahead and talk." Jean told them. They almost immediately shut up, which told Jean they were discussing something they didn't think he'd like hearing. Knowing Sasha and Connie, there was about a ninety-five percent chance he wouldn't give a shit, or that he'd actually want to join in, so he saw few reasons for them to be worried. If he actually didn't like what they were talking about, the worst he'd do would be to tell them to shut up.
It seemed like maybe neither of them would speak again, so it came as a surprise when Sasha spoke again, this time addressing Jean instead of Connie.
"Do you think that guy might be Marco?" Sasha voiced the question with a soft voice and incredible finesse. Jean didn't get as mad as he should that she'd asked the question; he wasn't mad at all, in fact, though he also didn't feel like answering.
Sighing, Jean decided he may as well voice his thoughts. "I really don't know, Sasha. We'll probably have to wait and see if he wakes up before we can find out who he is."
"D-don't you mean when?" Connie stuttered. Jean shook his head.
"Connie, we all saw that guy after he came out of that Titan. Shifter or not, he'll die if he doesn't wake up soon, and given the state he's in, he might not wake up at all." It pained Jean to say that, because even if it wasn't Marco, that guy would have had to have been in Titan form for a while, given how small he looked. He wouldn't last the week if he didn't wake up within at least twenty four hours, and judging by Eren's experiences, that might not be the case.
As soon as they got back to base, Erwin had the Titan Shifter moved to the basement, where Eren used to sleep. There was an area down there with some cells, and the shifter was place in the one the furthest from the basement stairs as a safety precaution, even if it was beyond clear the guy probably wouldn't wake up, let alone be able to walk on his own. Luckily enough, the cell Erwin had the shifter placed in not only had a decent bed, but also restraints, so the shifter could be bound, just in case.
Before the Survey Corps had even arrived back at base, Hanji had declared that they would stand guard over the Titan Shifter, in the hopes of questioning him when -or if - he woke up. Erwin had also decided that since the shifter bore such a strong resemblance to one of their own, former members of the 104 th Training Squad would take their turns guarding him alongside Hanji.
Eren was given first watch, as he was also a Titan Shifter, and he stood dutifully until the end of his shift at 2200 hours, a full eight hours after they'd arrived back. Eren was replaced by Reiner, and the next morning Bertholdt took third watch. Jean was told he'll be taking over once Bertl's done, and when 14 o'clock rolls around, Jean treks downstairs to relieve the colossal man of his duties.
Even though Hanji had only slept in brief, half hour long bouts throughout the night, they're just as energetic as ever when Jean joined them, talking non-stop about experiments they'd like to try when 'Gabriel' woke up, which confused Jean.
"Who's Gabriel?" He asked. Hanji smiled at him.
"The Titan Shifter. Since no one is sure of his identity, I've decided to call him Gabriel for the time being." Hanji explained. "When I was in training, a girl I knew told me a story that her family had passed down for generations.
"The story was about two lovers who were separated on their wedding day, and sent to different parts of a large, far off land. They couldn't bear to be apart, and spent 40 years looking for each other, until they ended up accidentally running into each other when Gabriel, one of the two lovers, got sick."
Jean didn't know why, but Hanji's story made a chill run up his spine. It wasn't the story itself that unsettled him, not even how Hanji had told the story. He really didn't know why he felt so unsettled, but he did.
For most of the remainder of Jean's shift, everything was quiet. Neither Jean nor Hanji said anything, and the shifter didn't say anything since he hadn't woken up yet, so it surprised Jean when he heard the sound of fabric rubbing against fabric. Turning around to see what was making the sound, he was surprised to see the shifter had turned over in his sleep. Maybe he'd wake up after all.
Over the course of the next eight hours, everything seemed fine. Hanji and Jean would send bits of conversation back and forth, but for the most part, it was quiet. The Titan Shifter in the cell behind them had also moved around a bit more in his sleep, but it still seemed unlikely that he'd wake up.
It was when Krista had trekked downstairs to take over from Jean that the pieces finally fell into place, and the scratchy-yet-familiar voice penetrated the silence.
"Jean?"