The air was thick and heavy, causing the blankets to cling to Marco's body like a wet leaf. Kicking the covers off he found it wasn't just the blankets that had constricted themselves around him. How did she even get into the male sleeping quarters? Sighing and running a tired hand through his hair, Marco peeled the arm away as he pulled himself from the bed.

Marco, careful to not wake her up, gently lifted the redhead and carried her back to the female quarters. Yawning, Marco slipped out of the room, making a mental note to ask her why she keeps sneaking in there. She'd started acting weird ever since they'd enlisted together. And she was weirdly aggressive towards Mina.

Going to one of the bathrooms, Marco splashed some cool water on his face. Summer nights had their good points, but the heat always got to Marco.

Wiping the extra water off on his pajama pants, Marco staggered outside. The gentle breeze felt refreshing. He yawned and leant his head against the wooden doorframe, closing his eyes. He was still very tired.

The sound of soft footsteps joining him caused him to crack an eye open to see who it was.

"Can't sleep, Armin?"

The blond jumped slightly before nodding, "I could ask you the same question."

Marco snickered once, shaking his head. "I'm not a fan of hot summer nights. What about you? Why can't you sleep?"

"I just… have a lot on my mind. Everything that's going on, you know?"

Marco nodded. It'd only been a handful of months since training started but everyone was on edge: snappish, tearful, and withdrawn. Some had even already left, unable to handle the level of strain put on them from training.

"…Can I ask you a question?"

Brown eyes flickered over to meet bright blue. Marco nodded.

"Did you mean what you said? About why you want into the Military Police?"

Marco let a sigh out through his nose, thinking over his answer. "Yes and no," he finally responded, "it's complicated. I do want to work there, that is my goal, but … I do know that branch has its flaws. Big flaws. Very, very big flaws." Marco couldn't put his finger on it but any time he was around a member of the Military Police, true he was star struck, but at the same time there was an inescapable sense of fear or dread that would almost paralyze him on the spot. He was on edge around them. "I want to get in there and see if there's something I can do, change it for the better." Marco ran a hand through his hair, not really caring if he messed it up any further than it already was.

Armin regarded Marco with a nod. "We both kind of want the same thing then. I mean I'm following Eren and Mikasa into the scouts, but we both want things changed for the better. I also … I don't want to hold them back, I rely on them a lot."

Marco tilted his head, "I don't know them as well as you do, but I'm sure they don't think that way of you."

"I guess. My last reason is that I want to see the outside world. I want to see an ocean for real."

"An ocean? Hm." Marco turned his head up to the sky, watching the stars momentarily before gazing back down at Armin. "That's a nice goal." He grinned. "Maybe after a while I'll come join you guys out there."

Armin nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, do!"

It wasn't long before Marco yawned again and gestured back inside with a jerk of his thumb. "I'm going to see if I can get back to sleep, you should too. Shadis will probably work us into the ground if he notices we're tired."

"Yeah, you're right…"

"C'mon, we can talk more tomorrow."

The boys trudged back inside to try and catch a little more sleep.