Hanji clapped her hands together and rubbed them, her eyes darting between Marco and Jean. She flicked between the notes which she had scrawled, almost illegible to anybody else except herself. Hanji's glasses gleamed with enthusiasm and excitement as she prepared to tell the pair what her fantastic idea was.
"Alright! Marco, do you remember any time you spent in military training?"
Marco racked his titan brain for any scrap of a memory that he could muster. Thinking was harder nowadays. Unsuccessful, he shook his head apologetically.
"Ah. Well, I could get someone to demonstrate for you. Wait – is that Eren? Perfect! Eren! I need you over here to show the boys something, do you have time?"
Eren's puzzled face slightly relaxed as he made his way over to the confused titan.
"Right, you two trained together and practised hand to hand combat, yes? Can you show Marco how it was done again?"
Jean grew more and more suspicious about the inner workings of the titan enthusiast's mind. He faced a determined Eren and raised his fists, ready for battle. Eren made the first move daringly and charged towards Jean, who deflected the incoming shifter with a smooth block by his forearm. After about thirty seconds or so of sparring, Eren reigned victorious, pinpointing Jean in a checkmate position. Hanji applauded their cooperation and called on Eren to stay here as she saw him make his leave.
"Does that spark something in that big titan brain of yours, Marco?"
Marco's hand wavered to indicate that he sort of remembered, but it wasn't clear.
"Good enough. Now, we want to take what you just saw, to a bigger scale!" Hanji cheered.
Jean and Marco just stood there, mouths hanging open...at least Jean's was.
"That's right. Marco, we want you to start coming on expeditions with us! Since we'll be moving around a lot, we don't want to leave you behind! So, I had a chat with Levi and he approved of this little project as long as we do it a considerable distance away from the rest of the soldiers. We need you to get used to two things – moving around with us and fighting off any titans which stand in our way. For now, we'll be practicing fighting off titans, you'll get used to moving with us pretty quickly." Hanji started to ramble.
Marco tilted his head in curiosity. This didn't put off the chatty scientist.
"The idea of this whole project is for you and Eren in his titan form to practice sparring with each other to get ready for any deviant titans which could threaten us. Think of what you just saw Jean and Eren do, but instead of trapping them in a vulnerable position with your hand or whatever it is, the way you win is by managing to get your mouth above their neck. Don't go anywhere near the neck, just close enough to acknowledge that you've won. The referee will be yours truly. Are you interested, Marco?"
Marco looked down at Jean for any advice. Jean returned the glance with concern, only telling the titan that it was his choice to make. Marco shifted his gaze from his best friend to the scientist waiting in suspense for her answer. He thought about it for a few more seconds before nodding slowly, unsure if he would regret this decision.
"Excellent! Now, there is something else which I need to know. Clearly, you are a deviant titan yourself. You're a reincarnation of a human who possesses some form of intelligence! According to my hypothesis, you could have some sort of special ability to accompany your new form! For example, Eren's titan form has exceptional strength for a titan of his class. To see if I'm correct, I'll need to run a few tests with you. We need to know exactly what you're capable of for the safety of the troops, we can't let a deviant titan run around unrestrained without knowing what it can do, I hope you understand."
Marco and Jean were led to a series of boulders a good couple hundred metres away from the castle by Hanji. She carried a clipboard clutched tightly in her arms and she cleared her throat, glasses glimmering in the morning sunlight.
"The first test is a test of strength. You could have an abnormal strength compared to other titans I've studied. Can you lift up these boulders, starting from the leftmost one?"
Marco shuffled his way towards the first boulder, making sure Jean was a safe distance away before gripping his hands around the rough surface. Spreading his legs apart and bending his knees, he started to lift the monstrously sized boulder, the base starting to leave the ground. Groaning under the weight, Marco's knees buckled as he came crashing to the ground, tossing the boulder to cause an earth-breaking boom. Jean and Hanji collapsed to the ground from the shockwave of the collision, much to Marco's dismay as he tried to help Jean up with a gentle, yet shaking hand. Hanji adjusted her glasses and scrambled to find her clipboard and pencil before furiously scribbling down the results, her eyes burning with passion.
"...well, Marco. The results are that you are extraordinarily weak compared to the other titans. We'll leave the lifting to Eren, okay?" Hanji reported, a little flustered.
Marco rubbed the back of his neck, very embarrassed by the whole situation.
Hanji lead them to the next test, where she pointed out a long clearing with a broken wagon a good distance away. A dead marked their current position.
"Okay, the next test is a test of speed. I will be down near that tree with a pocket watch. Jean, take this spare one, it's synchronised to mine. Wait until the second hand reaches twelve and tell Marco to start running towards the tree as fast as he possibly can. I'll time him and compare him with some other titans I've noted over the years. You get all that? So go over near the wagon and Marco can wave me down when you're ready. Starting positions everyone!" Hanji announced as her voice faded away from the gallops of the horse leading her away to the dead tree.
Marco and Jean headed over to the wagon. After setting Jean down on top of the wagon, Marco waved Hanji down then waited for the second hand to strike twelve.
Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...
Marco grew nervous and crouched down, ready to start.
Four...three...two...
"GO!" Jean shouted, his voice almost breaking.
The force of the titan's sudden takeoff almost blew Jean off the wagon, only to regain his balance at the edge. Hanji grew more and more excited as she saw the giant speeding towards the tree, only breaking contact with it to check the time on her watch. A great gust of wind knocked her off her feet, not even then taking her eyes off the watch. After hopping back on her feet, she turned to a curious Marco waiting for his results.
"Eh, not bad. You're not the fastest titan I've seen, but you're above the average. I guess that's because you put all of your energy into it, huh?" Hanji reported.
Marco turned his head to look back at Jean, who made himself comfortable on the wagon, looking up at the clouds. After giving into the begging of Hanji, Marco hoisted her up onto his shoulder and began to return to where Jean was relaxing. Marco turned his head as far as he could to look at Hanji and put his finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. Hanji looked onto what the titan was doing, interested in his motives. Marco silently approached Jean, who was dozing off in the morning sun, and began to tickle him, startling the soldier and jolting him awake with roaring laughter. Hanji's eyes lit up with an epiphany and began to scrawl on her clipboard maniacally.
"Marco!" Hanji exclaimed, "Your stealth is exceptional! He didn't even notice you coming, even I couldn't hear your footsteps! But there is one more test that you have to do, but you won't like it. We need to test your regeneration speed."
Marco's heart sank.
"Levi! You ready?" Hanji shouted to a short little soldier posed above the dead tree, hiding in its entanglement of branches and twigs.
He nodded and looked over at Jean.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill him. If we're going to test his regeneration speed, we're going to need to cut him up a little." Levi reassured.
Marco whimpered and stared at the captain with fearful, cold eyes.
"I'm not going to kill you...Marco, is it? You could be a valuable asset to humanity. We can't afford to lose such a unique case."
The soldier turned into a green blur as his 3DMG plunged into Marco's shoulder, the titan's cries of pain filling the clearing. The blur glistened with silver and red as he sliced Marco's flesh deep, the blood of the titan sending off clouds of steam with each drop. After an agonising thirty seconds of flesh being sliced and diced, Levi landed swiftly next to Hanji and peered over into her clipboard.
"Now we wait." Hanji mumbled to herself while staring at her watch while Levi carefully analysed the giant's wounds.
Marco continued to whimper and wince with pain, his hand next to Jean. The soldier sat by it and rubbed it dearly, cooing the giant to calm down, soothing its cries. Their time together in peace was shattered by the cheers of amazement from Hanji.
"Marco! This is amazing! Your wounds have healed in record time, they were almost instantaneous! I think that's all the testing that we need to do, really. Your strength and speed aren't a real threat to us since it's about the same or even less than the average titan which is easily killed, but your stealth could prove very useful with us. Thanks for doing these tests, Marco." Hanji congratulated.
Marco looked at Jean happily, trying to hold back a huge grin.
"If you want to cheer, Marco, go ahead. We'll block our ears." Jean assured.
A great cheer erupted from the titan as his fist pierced the air in relief and high spirits. Hanji, Levi and Jean all glanced up at the celebrating giant, ears firmly covered. After Marco had calmed down, Jean hopped into the titan's hand and sat on his shoulder.
"Alright!" Hanji cheered along, "There is still one thing that I have to see from you."
Marco inquisitively peered down at Hanji.
"I need to see...whether you can effectively fight off a titan! Sure, you may have saved Jean earlier, but that was out of impulse and in a clearing. That was also with a regular titan, not a deviant. We need to see whether you can do it in a closed environment under simulated conditions. You will be practicing this by sparring with Eren in a sectioned off area in the forest of giant trees. We'll start that tomorrow, okay?" Hanji explained.
Later that night, Jean scooped up his dinner from the table and power-walked to the door outside, where an unrestrained Marco was peacefully sitting cross-legged, looking up at the stars. His head snapped down towards the door when he heard the familiar creaking and pitter-patter of Jean's boots on the stone. Marco's hand lay outstretched, lifting Jean carefully up to Marco's shoulder. Jean found a comfortable spot, leaning up against Marco's neck as he ate his dinner, growing sleepy from the warmth of Marco's body. Carelessly tossing the bowl and spoon off Marco's shoulder, landing in the grass with a soft thud, Jean stretched his arms before sinking in between muscles in Marco's neck, creating a reclined pose. He sat upright at the feeling of movement, watching the ground grow closer to him. Marco carefully removed Jean from his shoulder and set him down on the grass while the deviant titan laid himself out onto the grass. Marco's hand was still open for Jean to climb onto, fingers slightly trembling from muscle twitches. Jean took the invitation and ventured up the titan's arm to find himself on the moving chest, escalating up and down with the titan's breathing. Jean's eyes grew heavy with the comforting warmth and the soothing rocking of Marco's slow, calm breaths. Taking off his cloak, Jean laid down just underneath Marco's collar bones and fell asleep within minutes. Marco, feeling the chill of the night air fall upon them, picked up Jean's minuscule cloak and draped it around the exhausted human as a blanket. Stroking him lovingly, Marco himself closed his eyes and listened to the shrill sound of the crickets. Deciding that the cloak wasn't enough, Marco hovered his hand over Jean and softly cupped his hand around him. Smiling to himself, Marco could truly begin another night with his best friend.
He didn't care about the fact that he was a titan, a monstrosity to humankind anymore. All that mattered to him was that he was with Jean once more.
If only he had a way to tell Jean.
With that thought, he sighed, tilted his head back and let his mouth hang open slightly, enjoying the crisp and beautifully clear night.
[Wow, that was double the length of my last chapters, eh? Thanks for reading once again, I was away on a study camp so I'm sorry for anything that I may have missed in the last week. This chapter is particularly long because I felt like it didn't have enough fluff at the end, and everybody likes fluff! :D]
