Author Note
I started writing this fan fiction for someone who was very special to me. Since they no longer want anything to do with me, I highly doubt I'll be continuing this fan fiction at all.
Just so you're aware, this fan fiction is incredibly stupid. The core concept is really, really stupid. It was supposed to be stupid all round - a stupid concept with a story that doesn't take itself seriously. But while writing it became kinda serious in its execution, which means we now have a story that's somewhat serious but has an incredibly stupid concept. Funny how that sort of stuff happens.
Anyway, here's the fic:
A Pizza My Heart - Jean x Marco Fanfiction
Jean works at a pizza place. Marco gets a job at that same pizza place.
So - who ordered sausage?
Prologue
With his head pressed flat against the counter he gave a heavy sigh, tapping against the surface with his fingertip and thinking of all the fun things he could be doing if he were anywhere but here.
Jean Kristein had been an employee at the Pepperoni Palace for almost two years now, and every day he did the same thing - lie with his forehead pressed against the counter and tap his fingertip atop the surface. In that way, it was an easy job: being paid to sit around and do nothing all day. And the job paid well, too. But Jean couldn't help but feel something was missing.
Long before he had been born, the titans were mankind's greatest threat. They would roam around the walls and find ways to slip inside so they could stomp on the buildings and grab at the people. Those who had been unlucky enough to be caught by a titan would soon find themselves between its teeth, and then in its stomach. Armies were created to keep them away from the walls and fight those that entered. They were dark times indeed.
Until, of course, their one weakness was found - the titans loved pizza. Now, whenever a titan breaks through, an assortment of pizzas are made and a brave pizza delivery man or woman gets sent out to deliver them. Swinging from building to building with 3D maneuver gear, their aim was to drop the pizzas straight down the titan's throat. Sometimes it wasn't so easy - the titans would have to be fought if they started grabbing humans - but for the most part it solved the titan problem out-right.
When one is sighted within the walls, special operatives study the titan from afar and deduce what kind of pizza it was hungry for. Every titan had different tastes, and playing to those tastes is crucial. Once the order is discovered, the special operatives would call the Pizza Palace to place it. The pizzas would then be made and the delivery would begin. That's how titan-calls worked.
But titan-calls were rare. In the almost two years of Jean's employment, a grand total of 18 titan-calls had been made. That's roughly once every five weeks. The rest of the time the place was deserted, with human customers being once or twice a day if they were lucky.
Jean was bored. He closed his eyes and sighed again. "I wish something interesting would happen for once".
Chapter 1 - Can I Take Your Order?
A small gust of the night's cold air blew in as the door opened. The bell atop the door rang as a young man walked in and stood before the counter.
Jean slowly began to lift his head from the counter and sighed. "Welcome to the Pizza Palace" he mumbled in monotone, "can I take your order?"
The young man before him gently rubbed his nose and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I'm not here to place an order". Jean looked up at the man, and he felt something sharp in his chest.
Before him stood a blushing young boy with a cheery smile. He stood with his back straight and his head held high, and shaking ever so slightly. In his hands he fumbled some papers, before nervously jutting out his arms and offering them to Jean.
"I-I'm here to apply for a job" he stammered, "the one on the window".
Jean didn't respond. He hadn't even heard what the young man had said, being distracted by his beautiful brown eyes.
"Huh?" Jean blurted, shaking his head and snapping back to reality. He looked at the papers the young man was holding out to him. "Oh, uhh, the job? Right!". He took the papers and skimmed through the first handful of lines.
The young man shuffled his feet in place as Jean read his resume. He soon noticed a strange woman appear in the back, behind Jean. She had short black hair and wore a thick red scarf around her neck.
Jean looked up and noticed the young man's eyes peering over his shoulder. He turned his head, looking at the woman behind him.
"Oh, Mikasa. Uhh, it's not an order, he's here for a job".
Slowly she turned back around and returned to the back room in silence.
"Sorry, that's Mikasa. She makes the pizzas around here."
Jean continued to read the resume but soon found his thoughts making it difficult to process the words he was reading. Confusion began to set in - on a normal day Jean would have been quick to flirt with Mikasa. He would have said something like "come to keep me company?" or "miss me?". He wouldn't have handled it as professionally as he had. So why did he? Was he trying to make a good first impression? He had never cared about such things before, so why now?
His heart began to race as new feelings flooded in. He quickly glanced toward the name at the top.
"Marco Bott" Jean whispered under his breath.
"Yes, that's me!" Marco smiled. "I hope to hear back from you soon!"
He turned around and started to make his way to the shop's door, before Jean stopped him.
"H-Hey, wait!". Marco turned around, looking puzzled. "Well uhh, we are pretty desperate for staff, and the boss is in the back right now. Maybe you could already have your interview?"
A heavy blush ran over Marco's freckled face. He hadn't prepared for the interview, but didn't want to turn down the offer. "T-That'd be great!" he said, forcing another smile.
"Cool, I'll be back in one second!". Jean got up and walked to the back. He knocked on the door and then opened it partway, peering inside. "Levi? There's a guy here looking for a job. If you're not busy, maybe we could interview him right now?"
Levi stood up from his chair and put his book down neatly on his desk. He pushed his chair to the desk and walked to the door.
Jean lead his boss to the counter where Marco stood shaking, trying ever so hard to hide how nervous he was.
"This is Marco," Jean began. "He's got a good resume and he's eager to start".
Levi ignored what Jean had said and didn't even bat an eye to Marco. Instead, he peered around the shop floor, his face turning from his usual blank expression to one of disgust.
"Jean," he spoke softly. "It is fucking disgusting in here".
Both of the young men froze in place. Jean had forgotten to clean the shop for what must have been a month now. Pizza grease coated the counters, the waiting seats were covered in dust, and a dried cola spill was still on the floor from last week. He and Marco exchanged a worried glance.
Levi's breath began to get heavy. Audibly heavy. Even still, not wanting to scare off a potential new employee, he did his best to speak slowly and calmly.
"Jean", he said, holding back his anger. "I have some cleaning to do. Take him to the back room and interview him. Get his name, his number and his available hours. If you need to ask me something," he paused briefly, taking in a deep breath. "Don't."
Marco's knees wabbled with fright. He followed Jean slowly in silence past the counter and to the back room. Mikasa sat in the corner, not bothering to take her eyes off of her book.
The two young men sat down at opposite sides of a table near the back of the room.
Jean began with an apology. "Sorry," he said. "He gets pretty upset when I forget to clean. He's a real clean freak". He chuckled slightly, trying to diffuse the tension Levi had created.
Shuffling Marco's resume in his hands, he cleared his throat and began the interview. "So," he started, looking up and smiling at the young man. "What brings you to Pizza Palace?"
"Oh!" Marco replied, cheerily. "I'm really eager to work, I love the smell of pizza and I always thought delivering pizzas to titans was such a commendable job!". A good answer, certainly for someone who wasn't prepared for the interview in the first place. But sadly his words fell on deaf ears, as Jean found himself once again distracted by the young man's eyes, and the beautiful tone of his voice.
"And, I guess, on a more personal level…" Marco gulped. He cleared his throat and tried to look confident. "On a more personal level, I really want to prove I can be just as useful as anyone else, even with my disabilities!"
Jean's daze broke as he recognised the last word. "Disabilities...?"
Marco didn't reply. He kept his eyes on Jean's as he sat in silence. Jean looked on in confusion. What disabilities?
And then, he noticed. He had spent so much time lost in Marco's eyes that he hadn't even realized the young man only had one eye. A dark black eyepatch was strung over his right eye, with some hefty scarring poking out in all directions from under the seams.
Jean made a mental note to kick himself later. How had he not noticed? In hindsight, it was incredibly noticeable. Even then, it took him another couple seconds to notice Marco was also missing his right arm, and his sleeve was pinned up to his shoulder.
Thinking fast on his feat, Jean stammered out a reply.
"W-Well, I'm sure your disabilities won't get in the way at all! You seem just as capable as anyone else! Hell, I'm sure you're much more capable than I am!"
Marco smiled and let out a small giggle. Jean felt his heart melt inside his chest. He couldn't help but smile widely.
Peering over Marco's shoulder he noticed Mikasa with her head raised from her book. She was looking straight toward him, and was quietly laughing to herself. Jean blushed hard. How embarrassing: the girl he liked just saw him smiling goofily at the guy he liked.
… Wait, what? That's not what he meant to think, but the thought came to him anyway. Could he really be having feelings for this guy? No, no. It can't be. He felt so conflicted.
Jean didn't know how to feel. He clenched his fist and straightened his back.
"R-Right, so uhh, what's your availability?"
"Oh, um, I can do any days but Saturdays, and I'm ready to start whenever!"
Jean smiled again, trying his best to keep it under control before Mikasa noticed again.
"Well, how about tomorrow? We could do some general training and you can meet some of the other staff."
Marco blushed. Which made Jean blush.
"T-That'd be good for me!" he smiled.
"Cool! So I guess we'll see you tomorrow then!"
Looking past Marco's shoulder again, Jean looked to Mikasa. She was grinning and laughing to herself, and had her hands held up with her fingers making the sign of a heart. From her view, she positioned the heart so as to encase the two boys inside it.
Jean's face turned bright red. It was one thing for him to be having these feelings in the first place, but now it was noticeable? What if Marco had noticed? Oh, god.
The two boys stood up and began to make their way to the front of the store. As they passed Mikasa, she spoke up for the first time that day.
"Marco?"
The two stopped and turned to Mikasa. Her face was once more back to her book, and her expression was blank.
"Oh, uhh, yes?" he replied, still a bit red from his interview with Jean.
"Are you single?"
Mikasa's words struck deep. Why would she ask that, of all things? It wasn't just Marco who was taken aback by her question - Jean too felt the question pierce through him. Why was she asking that? Could it be that she was interested in Marco? But she's just not that kind of girl, she- Wait. Did she ask that question… For Jean?
Marco's jaw hung open. Of all the question he could have been asked from the moment he opened the door, that was not one he was expecting. Not in the slightest.
"I-I, uhh, I am…" he whispered. His knees felt like they were about to give out on him. "B-But I…"
Mikasa flicked an eye from her book up to his crimson face. He swallowed and tried to avoid eye contact.
"B-But I'm not really i-into g-girls…"
Jean's heart skipped a beat. A couple beats, actually. A substantial amount of beats, even. Any more and he would have dropped to the floor.
Mikasa flicked her eyes to Jean briefly, then turned her attention back to her book and tried to contain her smile. "Alright." she said, calmly.
The two boys walked out to the shop floor as Jean hoped silently in his head that Mikasa's question hadn't scared away Marco.
"Soooo…. See you tomorrow, yeah?" Jean said, breaking the tension with a friendly smile.
"Y-Yeah…" Marco shyly replied. "I can't wait!"
With a big smile, he opened the door and walked right out.
Jean sighed and laid his head back against the window. Is he really having feelings for him? The way he felt was unmistakable, yet he couldn't help but deny it to himself. Of course he doesn't have feelings for Marco. He hardly knew the guy, after all. Unless, maybe… If Marco had felt the same way in return? Maybe then, yeah. I guess then he'd have feelings for him. Maybe.
He let out a big sigh as he returned to his seat. He thought back to earlier, when he had been so stupid he hadn't even noticed Marco's disabilities. Was it really because he was too busy thinking about him? Nah. Must have been some other reason.
Jean then proceeded to spend the rest of his shift thinking about him so much that it took him a full hour to notice the shop floor was now spotless. Typical.
Chapter 2 - First Day on the Job
Jean stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He picked up his toothbrush, applied toothpaste to it, and began to brush his teeth, watching himself in the mirror as thoughts of the night before entered his head.
Marco, the cheery young boy who had been clouding Jean's mind the whole night, would be coming in for his first day at work today. They hit it off pretty well, even if Jean had embarrassed himself a bit, and today they'd most likely be spending hours alone together on the shop floor, waiting for customers that aren't likely to come, and talking together to pass the time.
But what could they talk about? Jean didn't have many friends or interests, and in his two years of working at the Pizza Palace he had amounted a maximum of about twenty minutes worth of stories to tell - not nearly enough to fill eight hours of customer-less work.
Ah, but maybe they could talk about Marco. Jean was eager to know more about him: his interests, his hobbies, his ambitions. Would it be rude to ask about his disabilities? Maybe that'd be a bit too forward for their first date- Ahem, sorry, their first day at work together.
Jean spat into the sink and rinsed his mouth. He dried himself off and slipped into his work uniform - a green shirt with a brown jacket, modeled after the old army uniforms the titan fighters used to wear before the whole pizza thing came into place.
Making his way to work, he felt the sun bare down on his forehead and the heat dry his mouth. It was a warm summer day, and the uniform's mandatory jacket made it even harder to keep cool. "Whatever," he thought to himself. "I'll just freshen up in the bathroom when I arrive."
Looking at his watch, he noticed he'd be arriving early. Work started at 3pm, and ran until 11pm. The biggest benefit of the job was how late it started - no one wants a pizza at ten in the morning, so there was no point to open the store until later, which meant Jean could have a nice lie in every morning before coming in. The thing is, though, that no one wants a pizza at three in the afternoon either. Or five. Or Seven. Not when it's this hot out. It'd be yet another day with no customers, which did make work easy, but oh-so boring at the same time.
Ah, but today would be different! Because today there would be a new staff member. Someone to keep Jean company. Mikasa would always keep to herself, reading her books and only coming out to the shop floor when an order had been placed. Annie would keep to the warehouse next door, where they practiced with the 3DMG. Connie and Sasha would keep to each other, which is something Jean wanted to keep well away from. And Levi, well, after what happened the day before I think it's pretty clear why Jean wouldn't want to try and get to know him better.
So finally, a chance for Jean to have someone he can talk to. Someone to keep him company and keep him from dying from boredom. And that someone's name was-
"Marco?"
As he turned the corner to the shop entrance, he noticed the young man from the night before already waiting outside. He hadn't expected Marco to turn up so early.
"Oh, hi! I'm Marco, from the night before?" he smiled, raising his hand and giving a little wave.
Jean chuckled. "Yeah, I remember you, don't worry." He had almost forgotten how cute Marco was in person. Wait, did I say cute? I guess I mean handsome. Yeah, handsome. It's normal for two bros to call each other that, right? That's just being observational.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I ever got your name?"
"Huh? Oh, right!" Jean kicked himself on the inside again. Marco had been at the shop the night before for close to an hour, and he hadn't mentioned his name that whole time? God, he's so stupid!
"Uhh, Jean." he stammered. "Jean Kristein."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Jean Kristein!" the freckled young man smiled. Jean was never too fond of his name, but he kinda liked the way Marco said it.
The two looked at one another. Marco to Jean's eyes, and Jean to Marco's eye. They smiled softly in silence, before Mikasa slipped right between them and to the front door. She pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door, then walked inside. The two boys followed in after her.
Mikasa headed straight to the back room, leaving the two alone on the shop floor. Marco looked around a bit, with a goofy smile on his face. He seemed happy to finally be employed. Jean remembered that feeling from way back when he had his own first day - the excitement of working in a new place, and learning new things. It lasts for about a week, then you get bored. But hey, let him enjoy it while he can, right?
"Sooooo…." Jean said, heading over to his chair behind the counter. He began to take off his jacket. The heat was killing him, and it was hotter inside the shop than outside. It took him a split second to notice the large sweat patches around his armpits, and he decided to keep the jacket on. He'd rather die from heat exhaustion than embarrass himself like that in front of Marco.
"So where do we start?" Marco said, smiling. Marco always had a smile on his face, in case you hadn't noticed.
"Right, well, uhhh…" Jean looked around the room. "This is the counter. We stand behind the counter and take orders if someone comes in. It's usually pretty quiet, though."
"What kind of pizzas do we do?"
"Huh? Pizza?" For a split second, Jean had forgotten that he worked at a pizza place. Orders were so rare nowadays that the shop didn't even smell like pizza anymore. "Right, the pizza! Uhh, well we do all sorts of pizza. Small, medium, large, thick crust, thin crust, about twenty different toppings…"
Jean reached under the counter and pulled out a small slip of laminated paper, blew the dust off of it, and started to skim the page.
"Ham, pepperoni, anchovy, mushroom, chicken strips, bacon bits, diced peppers…"
"What about sausage?"
"I'll do your sausage", Jean thought to himself. A thought that came to him without warning and without reason. He felt ever so grateful he hadn't accidentally said it out loud.
"Uhhh, yeah, we do sausage." He replied, keeping his eyes glued to the paper.
"Nice. What's your favourite kind of pizza?" Marco asked.
The question hit Jean in a number of different ways. His first thought: was Marco making small talk? Asking about pizza in a pizza place during training is pretty standard stuff, but asking for his own person opinion? Maybe he was flirting. Nah, what kind of a flirt is that? Unless… Marco was planning to buy him a pizza. And then they could share it - together - at a candle lit table!
Jean snapped out of his day dream and started to consider the actual question. What was his favourite kind of pizza? He never really thought about it. He had been working at the Pizza Palace for so long that pizza didn't even occur to him anymore when he was looking for a quick bite to eat. He wasn't even sure he liked pizza.
"Uhhh… Ham and, uhh, sausage I think".
"Oh, nice! I like mine with pepperoni and sausage!"
Okay Jean, this is it. You're making small talk. Your chance to get to know Marco more is here. This is your shot. Don't blow it.
"Haha, nice. What kind of burgers do you like?"
Marco seemed puzzled. "Burgers? Do we do burgers here too?"
Well done Jean, ya' blew it. Burgers? Really? What kind of a question is that? I expected better from you. Well go on, try to save yourself.
"Uhh no, we don't do burgers. Just pizza. I just, uhh, usually go across the street and get a burger for lunch."
"Ah, I see. You'll have to show me where some time!"
Jean's heart started to pump faster. Did he just get asked on a date? No, no, of course not. Now you're just being silly. But he did just get asked to lunch, right? It's pretty fair to assume that's what just happened.
"Y-Yeah, sure! That'd be fun!" Jean smiled another goofy-looking smile. Thank god Mikasa wasn't here to see it this time.
A small ringing noise echoed around the shop floor. The door had been opened, and a customer had come inside. A man in his late forties, a bit overweight and balding.
"Uhhh… Welcome to the Pizza Palace, can I take your order?" Jean stammered quickly.
"W-Welcome, sir!" Marco quickly followed with.
The man scratched his back and looked at the menu board that hung over the counter. He coughed against his fist, then cleared his throat. "Yeah, my kid's havin' a birthday party 'nd I need some pizzas."
"No problem sir, what would you like?" Jean said, opening a notepad in front of him and grabbing a pen.
"Uhhh let me see…" The man wipes his nose against his arm. "I'll have two, uhh, small cheese pizzas 'fur the yunguns', 'nd uhh… 'fur the parents I'll get uhh… A large 'alf 'nd 'alf pizza with one side mushroom 'nd the other side anchovy."
Jean scribbled down the order. Two small cheese pizzas and a large half… And… Half…? Half and half? Is that some sick joke at Marco's expense? That bastard.
"That's great sir, will that be all?" Marco chirped with a pleasant smile. Maybe Jean overreacted…
"Yeah, that's good. Send it on over to this address when it's done." The man said, handing over a small slip of torn paper with an address sloppily written on it.
"That'll be $46.34, do you want to pay now or on deliver?" Jean said, finishing writing down the order.
"Ehh I'll pay on delivery." The man replied, turning around and leaving the store.
Jean ripped the note from the notepad and turned behind him, facing Mikasa who had come to collect the order when she heard the bell ring. Without a word, she took the note from Jean's hand and walked to the kitchen to begin preparing the pizzas.
Marco bounced up and down in place. "That was great! We did well, right?"
Jean smiled seeing Marco so happy. "Yeah, we did fine. Mikasa will make the pizzas and Annie will deliver them."
"You were super good at taking the order," Marco started, surprising Jean slightly. He had never received a compliment before. "Are you a manager?"
"Huh? Oh, no, I'm not" Jean scratched the side of his head and looked away. "Mikasa is the only manager we have, which is why she had the key. I'm not exactly management material."
"Really?" Marco sounded confused, and placed his and on Jean's shoulder - something that made Jean feel pretty warm inside. "I think you'd be a great manager!"
"You think so?" Jean replied. Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to doubt himself.
With the order placed and the pizzas being prepared, Marco and Jean returned to making small talk between them. They shared laughs and opinions on all sorts of things, and got along great.
It wasn't long, however, until the bell rang again, and Levi walked in.
Chapter 3 - Fun, Isn't It?
Levi walked in through the front door and walked straight past the two boys, heading to his office in the back of the shop. When he reached the door, he turned around to Jean.
"Jean." He said in his usual, monotone voice which, thankfully, didn't have any aggression behind it. "Take him next door and teach him how to use the maneuver gear."
"Wait, already?" Jean looked a bit confused. He had been working at the Pizza Palace for well over a month when he began his own 3DMG training, so it was a little surprising to see Levi so eager to train Marco so soon.
"Yes, already. We're looking for a delivery boy, so we need someone who can use 3DMG. Go next door and train him - if there are any customers, Mikasa or I will take care of them."
Given how intimidating Mikasa and Levi could be, Jean wasn't so sure about leaving them in charge of taking care of customers. But hey, the place rarely gets customers as it is and they had already had a customer that day, so it was unlikely anyone would come in anyway.
Jean and Marco left the store and went to the warehouse beside it. Most people assumed the Pizza Palace was just the small pizza place beside the warehouse, but really the warehouse was a part of it too - it's where the delivery boys and delivery girls would go to test their 3DMG and get suited up for deliveries. All pizza is delivered by 3DMG, even the ones that weren't titan-calls. It was just faster that way, and kept the employees used to using 3DMG.
"Um…" Marco spoke, surprising Jean. "If I'm a delivery boy… Does that mean I won't be seeing you much?"
Jean's heart fluttered. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with Marco, and it was reassuring to see Marco might want the same.
"Don't worry about it!" Jean replied happily, "we don't usually get orders anyway, so you'll spend most of your shifts sitting around in the shop with me!"
His response made Marco smile.
The two boys walked into the warehouse to find someone already there - Annie was strapped into her gear and practicing her maneuvers by swinging around the rafters. Marco's jaw dropped in awe to see 3DMG in action - it was nothing like he had seen before, and was excited to begin.
Annie landed a couple feet in front of the two, brushing her hair to the side and cracking her neck.
"I'm busy," She said sternly, "what do you want?"
"Uhhh, this is Marco, here's our new delivery boy. Levi wanted me to bring him here for training."
Marco smiled and stuck his hand out eagerly. "Pleased to meet you!"
Annie stared at the hand stretched out before her, but decided to ignore it. "Tell Levi I'm too busy to train some newbie right now."
Marco pulled his hand back and looked disappointed. Jean felt his heart crush inside his chest.
"Don't worry Annie, I'll train him. We won't bother you." Jean said confidently.
Marco's face perked up a bit, but Annie's changed to a look of doubt.
"You want to train him? How long has it been since you had even worn the maneuver gear?" she said with a particular distaste.
Jean placed his hand on Marco's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, I know my stuff."
Annie looked unimpressed, but shrugged it off. "Fine. Just don't get in my way. He can use that set there."
She pointed to an old, dusty set of 3DMG in the corner of the room.
"No, Annie." a voice said from the warehouse entrance. Mikasa stood there holding three pizza boxes in her arms - two small, and one large. "He can use the one we bought last week."
Annie's hand crunched into a fist, and she looked visibly angry.
"The new model? No. No way. He's not gonna get the new model while I'm still stuck with this ancient thing."
"Your 3D maneuver gear works fine." She replied. Annie's temper could scare the skin off a cat, but it never even phases Mikasa. "You have a delivery to make. Three pizzas to this address. Get to it."
Annie left in a huff, without another word to the other three. She grabbed the pizzas and walked out the door, swinging into the distance.
Mikasa turned to Jean "Alright, begin the training."
"Gotcha, no problem."
Marco smiled widely, excited for his first time using the gear. Mikasa left to go back to reading her book and Jean began the training session.
"Over here is the showers," he said, pointing to a small sectioned off area in the warehouse. "If you want a shower after a delivery, it's all your's."
Jean picked up Marco's new maneuver gear. He could see why Annie was upset - this thing was state of the art, and looked beautiful. Marco was lucky to have it.
Grabbing the straps of the gear, he began to show Marco how to put it on. He had a little difficulty at first and had to have Jean help tighten certain areas. This was the first time the two had gotten so much physical contact together, and by the end they were both blushing wildly.
"Okay, draw your blades!" Jean said, looking proudly at the young man wearing his gear for the first time.
Marco drew his left blade with his left hand. He looked at Jean for a moment before the realization struck. "Oh…" he said, disappointingly. "I can't hold both of them…"
Jean shook his head and patted Marco on the back. "Don't worry about it! The blades have two triggers - one for each cable. It doesn't matter if you can only hold one, you can still swing just as well as anyone else!"
That was exactly what marco needed to hear. His confidence came back, and he was eager to begin zipping through the air.
Jean finished fitting his own gear on and began the lesson. He taught Marco how to aim and fire the cables, and the two of them went through some basic pulls, swings and jumps. Marco was loving every second of it - he would yell as he zipped through the air, and sometimes he'd strike a pose as he landed. He was a real natural, too.
A warm feeling of proudness fell over Jean as he watched his new friend zip and zoom around. By now, his feelings for Marco were so strong even he was having difficulty denying them. He still did, of course. But it wasn't easy.
The two practiced the 3DMG for hours and hours. By nightfall, Marco was already impressively skilled. It was the most exercise Jean had gotten in months, and he loved every second of it.
Worn out from all the practice, the two of them landed on a rafter and talked for a bit, relaxing.
"So, what d'you think?" Jean said, happily patting Marco on the back.
"That was amazing! This is the best job ever!" He smiled, closed his eyes, and gently rested his head on Jean's shoulder. Jean blushed, wanting the moment to last forever.
The two of them headed down and began taking their maneuver gear off (with a little help from one another). They put their gear away and Jean felt ambitious.
"So…" Jean put his hand behind his head. "D'you wanna hit the showers?"
Marco blushed, looking down at his feet. "I-I think I'm just gonna take a shower at home…"
Jean kicked himself on the inside. That was far too forward. Far too forward.
"Ah, no worries!" he said happily, trying to pass it off like it was nothing. He hoped that maybe Marco would forget he even asked that.
Walking back into the shop, Jean found Mikasa sitting behind the counter in his usual place, reading her book.
"How was he?" she asked, not taking her eyes away from her novel.
"He's a natural!" Jean said happily. Marco blushed.
"Great. The two of you can leave early, then."
Jean was excited to walk home with Marco, but sadly it didn't last long. The two of them lived in opposite directions, so they had to say their farewells at the store and take different paths.
Before leaving, Marco felt he had to thank Jean.
"Today was a lot of fun…" He avoided eye contact, but had a hard time avoiding smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
"Of course!" Jean couldn't wait for the next day to start. "See ya then!"
And with that, the two headed off to their homes for the night, excited for another day of work together to follow.
Chapter 4 - It's All My Fault!
Weeks passed. Marco and Jean had been working together for little over a month, and had gotten to know each other pretty well. Jean had wanted to tell Marco about his feelings for him since the start, but still couldn't bring himself to do it.
He knocked his forehead against the shower door, the water running over his neck and down his back. "Why can't I tell him?" he thought to himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep sigh. "If I don't tell him soon… Well, what if somebody else comes along?". That was his biggest worry. Marco certainly seemed to like Jean, so if he could just ask him out his chances getting the response he wanted would probably be pretty high. But the longer he waited, the more likely it would be that Marco's eye would look to someone else. Someone smarter, or funnier, or better looking. It'd break Jean's heart.
"So I'll tell him!" Jean said aloud, standing up straight and having a brief moment of confidence. "I'll tell him today. No excuses."
The moment of confidence left quickly. "But what if he doesn't feel the same way… What if he doesn't want to be with someone like me? I wouldn't be surprised…"
That was Jean's other big worry. What if he spilled his heart out - told Marco exactly how he felt - and Marco just didn't feel the same way in return? That'd break his heart too. And it's not a nice feeling.
Jean sighed again, reaching for the shower tap and turning it off. He walked out and wrapped a towel around his waist. Looking out of the window into the sunny day outside, he tried again to build up his confidence.
"I'll tell him." he said, figuring it'd be better to ask now and take his chances rather than keep on worrying and lose him to someone else. "I'll tell him today, and if he doesn't feel like I do… Well, we can still be friends!"
Inside, he knew he was lying. If Marco didn't feel the same way, Jean would understand. And he'd be nice about it. But it'd still kill him on the inside, and he would never really be able to be just a friend without still having feelings for him. That was hard to think about.
Jean did his best to ignore it. He zipped up his pants and slipped into his shirt. Today would be the day he would tell him. No excuses and no more waiting.
Arriving a bit late, Jean opened the door to the Pizza Palace and noticed Marco's seat was empty. He went to the back room where Mikasa was sat reading.
"Is Marco in today?"
"No," she replied, turning a page in her book. "We fired him last night."
Jean's heart sunk. He hadn't been in the day before because he doesn't work Tuesdays, and in that time Marco had been fired? What if he never saw him again? He couldn't even bare to think about-
"I'm kidding." She looked up from her book and at Jean. "He called in earlier and said he had a doctor's appointment. He'll be in around six."
Jean returned to the shop floor and grabbed a napkin from under the desk, wiping away the sweat on his forehead. "Stupid Mikasa…" he thought to himself, "that really wasn't funny. Don't joke about that stuff…"
He lay the side of his face against the counter and looked at the wall, wishing Marco was already here. He would have told him, definately. And now he has to wait, and the more he waited the more likely he would be to talk himself out of it.
No. Today was the day - he had promised himself. As soon as Marco came through the door Jean would tell him.
The hours passed and Jean sat at the counter bored out of his mind. It really dawned on him just how much more enjoyable Marco made the job. With Marco here, the hours would fly past and it didn't even feel like working.
Soon a small sound interrupted his daze - the door had been opened, and the bell above it had been rung. Jean lift his head up quickly, and before him stood his smiling coworker.
"Sorry I'm late!" he smiled, sitting down on the chair beside Jean. "Did you miss me?"
Jean's heart began to race. This was it. This was when he'd ask. He was ready.
Marco tilted his head to one side, looking into Jean's eyes. "Everything okay?"