I'm sorry this is late. And now, without further ado, the fic! Um, spoilers for the manga ahead. Sorry. I don't own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin/Giants Eating People.


If he could brush his fingers against the back of his neck, for probably the umpteenth time, he would.

He was, once again, restrained in his pen. The sun was setting and it was only a mere few hours ago that he had gone through training with Hanji.

He couldn't take his mind off of what the Scary Man and Hanji said.

"There was something... that looked like an arm."

"So... Marco's being controlled by just an arm?" Connie asked.

"No no no no!" Hanji said quickly. "With a shifter, a human is nestled in the back of the titan's neck to pilot the body. Even when they're outside the titan body, they still maintain some titan-like traits."

"Like when Eren grows back his limbs," Armin explained.

"Exactly!" Hanji said enthusiastically. "My theory is that, perhaps, Marco's body is healing on the inside. That's why Levi saw so little of him when he tried to retrieve Marco."

He nearly cheered at the top of his lungs right then and there. But he figured that would hurt everyone's ears so all he allowed himself to do was grin from ear-to-ear.

"Easy, Marco," Hanji said. "This is all just theory for now. We could see if you've healed a bit more but that would require us cutting you open again-"

He frantically shook his head, bringing a hand up to his neck. His eyes widened in worried and his lips pressed into a thin line.

"We're going to have to check eventually," Levi said. "Unless you pull yourself out."

He sighed in disappointment, his fingers still lingering at the base of his neck.

"Lost in thought, eh, Marco?" Reiner asked him teasingly.

Reiner and Bertholdt were on guard duty. It was one of Jean's brief breaks from having to watch him. Reiner was standing before him with a huge grin on his face. Bertholdt had moved up to stand beside him, but he was out of his sight.

He nodded at Reiner's question. The other put a hand under his chin in thought.

"Titans heal pretty fast," he mused. "Maybe you've already healed on the inside. It has been a few weeks since we found you."

He smiled at the attempt to comfort him. "Th...Thanks..."

"No! I'm serious! Eren's able to pull himself out. If you're completely healed, then why can't you? Have you even tried to yet?"

Now that Reiner mentioned it, he realized that he hadn't yet. But he was completely unsure of how to go about it and Eren's shift wasn't for another couple of days.

"I don't know about titan shifting but, uh... Maybe you could close your eyes first?"

He had nothing else to go on, so he immediately screwed his eyes shut. He hummed loudly, impatiently, waiting for his next instructions.

"Wow, easy, Marco. How about... Can you feel you body in there? Try to relax enough and see if you can."

He took a deep breathe and tried to relax his tense body. The more he tried, the more he was aware of little things around him. The feeling of the ropes against his skin. The hard ground he lay upon. The light of the sun striking his eyelids. The cool air around him.

The subtle sound of metal sliding against metal. The sound of someone drawing their blade.

He jolted and his eyes flew open. He instantly looked to Reiner, whose hands were still empty.

"What's wrong?" The blond's brow furrowed in confusion.

"...Nothing..." he answered hesitantly. Maybe he just imagined it.

He shut his eyes again and slipped back into uncomfortable hyper-awareness. He focused on what he remembered when he saw Eren emerge from his titan body. His mind wandered to the strange prickling in his neck that he had felt.

For a moment, he felt hot. Well, his body was always hot but right then he actually felt aware of the heat. Like it was surrounding him. Like a moist, suffocating prison.

Was this maybe...?

He snapped out of it when he felt the pressure of someone standing on his back.

He let out a startled cry and looked around. He couldn't see them. They were standing over his weak spot!

Reiner was looking toward him. His eyes were pointedly directed to the floor.

"He-Help!" he called out. "Help! Jean! Jeeaan!"

"Hey!" Reiner boomed. "Get away from him!"

He heard the sound of a blade going back into place. He felt the feet leave from his back.

"Get back here!" Bertholdt shouted.

Suddenly, Jean and Armin ran in. They were both of out of breath and had their blades at ready. A look of worry marred Jean's face.

"Marco! Are you alright? What happened?"

"Someone was just here," Bertholdt explained. "They... They tried to kill Marco."

"What?!" Jean snapped. "Who was it? How could you just let them get away?"

"We didn't even see him until Marco yelled, okay, Jean?" Reiner said with his hands up. "We're sorry..."

"We'll take over from here," Armin said. "Marco can fill us in on what happened."

"If you say so," Bertholdt said quietly.

When the taller soldiers walked off, he noticed the two of them whispering to each other, their lips barely moving.

He wasn't sure, but he thought they almost looked... guilty.

Ehehehe... Sorry not sorry?

Review, please.