A/N- So, here's how this chapter works. Marco has been at the "party" (or whatever you want to call it) the entire time, and nothing has happened between Jean and Armin. Everything else is pretty much the same.
Hope everyone enjoys :)
Seven Minutes in Heaven
Bonus Chapter 1
"Spin, Marco." Hanji peered over her glasses at the brunet, who had been declining for the last five minutes. "There's no need to be shy. We're all friends here."
Marco sighed quietly. It wasn't that he didn't want to participate; he was just afraid of the bottle landing on someone that may be uncomfortable going into the closet with him. But, he realized that not spinning might as well be considered as letting the group down, and that was the last thing he wanted, so he reluctantly extended his arm out towards the bottle.
"He doesn't have to," Armin spoke up suddenly, causing Marco to freeze- hand hovering over the bottle. "It won't be fun for him if he feels forced." Armin crossed his arms, eyeing Eren for support.
Eren huffed before pushing himself upright into a sitting position. He combed his fingers through his hair before tossing Hanji a sheepish grin. "Yea, Armin's right." He let his hand fall to his side and prepared to fall back onto the carpet beside Levi but a strained throat clearing from Armin had Eren rolling his eyes and turning to face Hanji once again. "If he doesn't wanna play, then he shouldn't have to."
"It's fine," Marco jumped in, waving his hands in front of his face. He shot Armin then Eren a thankful smile then grabbed the bottle, twisting his wrist then releasing- brown eyes focused on each spin.
Jean studied the brunet sitting across from him. He watched as a single drop of sweat dripped down Marco's temple. He noted how the brunet's brows were furrowed and dropped his gaze to see the brunet's shoulders hunched, and then he allowed his eyes to rest on the brunet's trembling hands. Jean knew these actions well; he and Marco were best friends after all, so he could always tell when said boy was nervous.
Jean finally shifted his eyes back up just in time to see Marco's eyes widening. He quickly brought his attention to the bottle, watching as it slowly passed him and was preparing to stop on Ymir. He mumbled a string of curses as he suddenly realized he didn't want to witness his best friend going into some closet for seven minutes with Ymir of all people, so he did the first thing that came to mind. He threw his arms into the air and let out a loud, exaggerated yawn then fell onto his side, collapsing onto the carpet right in front of Ymir just as the bottle stopped.
Jean looked at the bottle that was practically touching his nose before peering up at Marco, offering a slight nod upon noticing the thankful look in said boy's eyes. Marco did so much for him whether he asked for it or not, so it wouldn't hurt him to do something nice for his friend every now and then.
"Well, Jean and Marco, looks like you two are up," Hanji laughed as she watched Jean knock the bottle away from his face. "I don't think you two will give me any problems, right?"
"Nope," Jean mumbled before hopping up onto his feet. He walked across the circle, stopping before Marco. "Let's get this over with," he sighed while offering Marco his hand, pulling his friend to his feet.
The two walked into the closet- Marco allowing Jean to go in before him so he could close the door, confining the two for the next seven minutes.
"That was nice of Jean," Armin pointed out as he peered over his shoulder at the closet door.
"Tch, Jean was just jealous," Ymir muttered while crossing her arms.
"Well, would you and Marco have done anything?" Connie questioned, following the conversation closely.
"Nah," Ymir laughed as she draped her arm across Christa's shoulders. "I have more than enough right here."
"Ymir," Christa attempted to sound mad but failed to stop the blush creeping up her cheeks.
Connie, watching the two girls, made a fake gagging noise before turning to Hanji. "Didn't you just buy some new karaoke game last week?"
"As a matter of fact," Hanji began, only to be cut off by an incredibly loud groan that erupted from the dark-haired boy lounging fairly close to her.
"No," Levi grumbled, rolling onto his side to bury his face into Eren's neck. "Your singing is awful," he mumbled against Eren's warm skin.
Hanji allowed her jaw to drop as she breathed in a noisy gasp. She placed one hand over her heart while she moved the other to cover her mouth to muffle her exaggerated sobs. She shot a piercing glare towards her dark-haired friend, who refused to lift his head from Eren's neck.
After a few awkward moments of her shooting daggers with her eyes towards Levi, Hanji shook her head, clearing her mind before hopping up off the floor, promptly returning to her usual, enthusiastic self. "So, who would like to go first?" She questioned, ignoring the continuous sighs from Levi as she reached under her entertainment system for her microphones.
"We do!" Connie hopped up, pulling Sasha with him.
Sasha threw her head back, filling the room with laughter before nodding excitedly as she allowed Connie to lead her over to the karaoke machine.
"What the hell are they laughing about?" Jean muttered quietly as he ran his hand along one wall until he felt an empty spot to lean against.
"I'm not sure," Marco responded. "But, it sounds like they are having a lot of fun," he added while looking at the closet door, trying to mentally picture what his friends could possibly be doing to cause such an amused-sounding laugh from the other side.
"Connie probably did something stupid," Jean noted, knowing full and well that Connie had ways of making even the most stubborn of people laugh.
"Yeah," Marco laughed quietly before falling back against the wall opposite of Jean. "Hey, thank you for what you did," he said suddenly, remembering the events that happened just moments ago.
"Ah, don't worry about it." Jean said as he propped one foot up against the wall. "I can't have Ymir eating you alive. Who would help me with my History homework?" Jean meant that as a rhetorical question, but he knew that Marco would respond anyway- said boy always did.
"You don't need help in History, Jean." Marco said skeptically. "You are making an A in History, as well as in all of your other classes."
"Haha, yea well," Jean rubbed at the back of his neck as he tried to hide the guilt in his eyes by forcing out a nervous laugh. "A little extra help doesn't hurt."
"That's true," Marco agreed. "And, I like studying with you." He watched as Jean's hand fell back to his side and noticed how said boy's head tilted ever so slightly to the right as he raised his eyebrows.
"Is that so?" Jean questioned-curiosity dripping off of his voice.
"Well, yes," Marco answered through a light laugh. "I like spending time with you."
Jean's narrowed eyes widened as he replayed Marco's words in his head. Maybe he was overthinking things, but he couldn't shake this strange feeling that there was a hidden meaning in his friend's words- just a guess, but maybe, Jean thought, Marco was trying to subtly say that he liked him. And, Jean found himself hoping that that was what his friend truly meant. So, he took a step towards his friend while asking, "You do?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Marco asked, cocking his eyebrows at the slowly approaching boy. "You're my friend."
"Is that all I am?" Jean asked, biting down on his lip as soon as the words left his mouth. He didn't fully understand why he was acting in such a sketchy way towards Marco, but this overwhelming feeling to be with the boy had Jean talking as if he was hitting on him.
"Are you okay, Jean?" Marco pressed his back closer to the wall as Jean closed the distance between them. "You are acting kind of strange. Did I say something wrong?" Marco shuddered as he studied the brunet before him, gasping quietly as he realized that Jean was eyeing him from head to toe.
Jean stopped before Marco, leaning forward until their noses were touching at the tips. He met Marco's chocolate eyes and prepared to move his lips towards said boy's lips but stopped upon catching a glimpse of the many freckles that littered Marco's cheeks. He felt a chuckle building up and soon allowed it pass through his lips as he rested his head on Marco's shoulder. "You and those damn freckles," he breathed out in between laughs, turning his head to look up at his friend.
Marco let out a few nervous giggles while he looked down at his friend, who was laughing into his shoulder. "What's wrong with them?" He questioned after Jean grew quiet.
"Nothing," Jean lifted his head up and smiled at his friend. "They suit you, I guess."
"You guess?" Marco raised his eyebrows, laughing a more comfortable laugh this time. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he was thankful that Jean had stepped back because he was afraid of his friend feeling his racing heart. This, he knew, wasn't like Jean, but he found himself a bit sad that Jean had stopped whatever he was about to do to laugh at his freckles instead. So, he decided to try and encourage Jean to do whatever he was planning to do again by doing the only thing he knew would have an impact on said boy- that thing being his ability to speak bluntly without offending anyone.
"I like you!" Marco blurted out- never once tearing his eyes away from Jean's.
"… You do?" Even though it was dark, Jean could make out the bright red blush covering Marco's freckles.
Marco sighed. Jean was always asking questions that forced him to repeat what he stated moments before. So, instead of repeating it, he decided to just show him what he meant.
Reaching both hands out to rest gently on Jean's shoulders, Marco leaned forward, pressing his trembling lips ever so carefully against Jean's cheek.
"I see," Jean muttered, extending one arm to wrap around Marco's waist while he used his free hand to cup Marco's chin before said boy could pull his head away. He pulled Marco's face to face his own and let out a breathy laugh before pressing his lips firmly against Marco's shaking ones.
Outside of the closet, Connie and Sasha hammered their fists against the plush carpet after they finished their "beautiful", as Connie put it, rendition of 'Wrecking Ball'. The two had collapsed from laughter about half way through the song- the sole reason being that Connie had been running from side to side in an attempt to look like he was swinging on a wrecking ball. They just barely managed to finish the song before they completely gave in to the laughing fit.
"Well, that sounded like crap," Ymir spit out as she stood, yanking the microphone away from Connie. "Let me and Christa show you how it's done," she smirked before looking back to see the blonde approaching Sasha.
"I thought it was cute," Christa chimed in as she accepted the microphone being handed to her by Sasha.
"Christa! This game has our song!" Ymir spun around to face the blonde, who had flinched at the sudden shouts from the brunette. She walked over to Connie, crouching down and placing her index finger gently on said boy's chin to tilt his head up so she could meet his eyes. "We are going to triple your score," she whispered before flicking him in the head.
Connie knocked Ymir's hand away, narrowing his eyes as he huffed. "Christa could triple our score, but your crappy voice will just bring her down."
"What was that?" Ymir, who had been making her way back to Christa, asked, glancing over her shoulder at Connie.
"Ya heard me," Connie cocked his brows and crossed his arms, shooting Ymir a look that caused said girl to tense.
"You want your ass kicked, squirt?" Ymir turned on her heel and began making her way to Connie, who was on his feet in a matter of seconds. The brunette reached to grab at Connie's shirt collar but halted her hand at the sudden, quiet "Ymir" followed by a sigh from Christa. "You lucked out this time," Ymir mumbled into Connie's ear before spinning around, flashing a toothy grin to Christa as she approached the blonde.
"Be nice," Christa spoke in a warning tone to her taller friend. "He isn't aware of your amazing voice," she added in a lighter tone.
The brunette laughed as she welcomed the blush that crept up to her tan cheeks. "Let's show them." That being said, Ymir scrolled through the songs, stopping on the song 'Royals' then pressing play, allowing Christa to take the first verse.
Jean pulled his lips away from Marco and matched the skeptical look that said boy was wearing. "Is that… Ymir?" He questioned as he stared at the closet door. "She sings?"
"Hmm," Marco tapped his chin with his index finger. "I think I remember Christa saying that she and Ymir go to karaoke all the time."
"Wow," Jean gasped out. "That's so unlike her, but I guess if it involves Christa in any way…"
"Yeah," Marco responded, knowing exactly what Jean meant. He turned his attention away from the door and back to his friend standing in front of him, who was still watching the door in shock as he listened to the barely audible singing creeping in. Marco carefully smoothed his finger across his trembling lips as he tried to figure out how Jean was so calm about all of this. Here he was practically sweating bullets while Jean just stood there, acting as if what happened was an everyday occurrence. He cleared his throat after a few seconds, catching Jean's attention.
"Ah, where were we?" Jean asked as he leaned in, preparing to plant his lips against Marco's yet again.
"Wait." Marco placed his hand on Jean's chest, lightly pushing so said boy would back away. "So, does this mean you like me?"
"Geeze, Marco," Jean breathed out through a small laugh. "It's not like I walk around kissing anybody." He carefully wrapped his fingers around Marco's wrist, lifting said boy's hand away from his chest so he could move closer to him. Again, he leaned in to kiss his friend, only to stop when he watched Marco jerk his head to the side. "What is it, Marco?"
"Well, I trust that you do like me, but I was wondering…" Marco bit his bottom lip while slightly turning his head to meet eyes with Jean. "Could you say it?"
Jean sighed. Normally, he was the one who needed constant reassurance from Marco, so it was weird seeing said boy in such a vulnerable, for better lack of words, state. He gently placed on hand on the side of Marco's neck while using his free hand to guide Marco's face towards his with his index finger. Once Marco was facing him, Jean leaned in and claimed the boy's lips once more- just for a brief moment before pulling away. "I…" He muttered before moving forward to place his lips against Marco's again. "Like…" He whispered as he pulled away, leaning in to press his lips against Marco's yet again as soon as the word left his mouth. "You…" He mumbled against Marco's lips.
Marco felt the corners of his lips pulling upward into a smile. "Thank you," he muttered against Jean's lips before returning the kiss.
Jean pressed his lips harder against Marco's, urging him to part his lips then acting quickly as soon as the boy obliged. He slid one hand down to Marco's waist while the other rested gently on his cheek.
Marco lifted one hand to tug playfully at Jean's hair while he let the other grasp at said boy's shirt. He let out a light moan as Jean pressed his body against his. He welcomed the warmth from the boy and thought that in that moment, he wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world but here in this dark closet, kissing the boy he's had a crush on for years.
"Holy shit," Eren cursed aloud as soon as the two girls had finished singing. "That was really fucking good!"
"Of course it was," Ymir smirked before gesturing towards the score, which was three times higher than Connie and Sasha's score. "Told ya," she laughed as she met eyes with Connie, who appeared to be sulking and thus, refused to greet Ymir's gaze.
"Yea, okay. You win." Connie grumbled. He didn't want to admit out loud that he had been in awe by their performance. This was just another reason showing that he shouldn't easily underestimate Ymir.
"Damn right we did," Ymir draped her arm across Christa's shoulders.
Christa wasn't too fond of Ymir's arrogance but chose to keep her mouth shut because she felt that that was the best performance she and Ymir had ever given, so she figured, why not let her friend be a little cocky every once in a while?
"I wanna take a turn."
The room fell silent as all heads turned to face the bulky blond.
"You do?" Ymir questioned but handed the microphone over anyway. She had no intentions of stopping the blond because she wanted to hurry and get her phone out so she could record him, smiling as she imagined her teammates' reactions to his performance.
"Yea. I noticed a song on there that Bertholdt loves." Reiner answered as he arrowed through the songs.
Bertholdt could feel the sweat accumulating on his forehead. He knew exactly what song the blond was going to and was embarrassed that the boy announced to the whole group that he liked the song. "Reiner, you don't have to…" He called out weakly.
"I want to," Reiner laughed as he waved away Bertholdt's quiet protests. "Now, where is it?" He continued scrolling through the song list until he found it. "There you are," he mumbled as he clicked on the song. "Now ladies and gentleman," he spoke into the microphone while the song loaded. "I present to you Bertholdt's favorite song. 'What Does The Fox Say?'"
Levi's eyes widened upon hearing the song title. He jolted upright into a sitting position and stared at Reiner in horror as the background music began to play. "Oh god," he whispered. "Eren, go make this stop right now." He shot said boy a rare, pleading look.
"Levi, what's wrong?" Eren looked at the shorter boy with genuine concern. He's never seen or even heard of Levi act like this before.
"Just hurry up before it gets to the chorus," Levi hissed into Eren's ear. He watched as the brunet looked up at Reiner singing, and then back to him.
"L-Levi…?" Eren could see the boy's whole body tensing.
"Dammit, Eren." Levi cursed before hopping up to his feet in one, swift motion. "I'll do it myself," he muttered under his breath as he quickly maneuvered around his friends watching Reiner until he reached the karaoke machine plug, yanking on the chord until the machine cut off. He sighed in relief as he realized he made it with just a second to spare.
"What gives, Levi?" Hanji called out to her friend, who was ignoring the questioning glances from everyone as he made his way back to Eren.
"Yea," Reiner pushed his lips into a pout. "I was just about to get to the best part, too."
"Isn't it time to let those two idiots out of the closet?" Levi asked, dodging all questions. "Go let them out, Armin."
Armin looked around at all the confused faces before nodding. He slowly stood up and walked over to the closet door, politely giving a warning knock before pulling the door open.
Jean had just managed to trace a third shape using Marco's freckles when he heard the knock on the door. He quickly stepped back just as the door was pulled open. "Hey," he said to Armin before walking out of the closet.
"Hi," Armin greeted Jean. He waited a few moments, brows furrowing when he noticed Marco still hadn't emerged. "Marco?" He called out into the closet.
"C-coming!" Marco shuffled out of the closet, nodding towards Armin before hurrying to catch up with Jean, who had motioned for Marco to take the empty space beside him in the circle.
"Don't look so suspicious," Jean mumbled to Marco as said boy sat down beside him.
"Well, don't you two look a bit suspicious," Ymir pointed out, laughing at the defeated sigh that slipped past Jean's lips.
"I think what's really suspicious here is your hidden singing talent," Jean countered, guiding everyone's attention to the brunette.
"It's just something I enjoy doing with Christa, right?" Ymir turned and winked at the blonde, who covered her mouth to muffle her giggles while nodding.
"Well, I think what is truly suspicious is Levi's actions just now," Hanji chimed in as she pointed at Levi. "Explain yourself."
"I just don't like that song," Levi griped before falling back onto the carpet, pulling Eren down with him.
As if on cue, Bertholdt's phone began to ring, blaring the chorus of 'What Does The Fox Say'. He quickly reached into his pocket, desperately trying to silence the phone.
Levi draped one arm over his eyes as he let out a very loud string of curses- not giving a single care at what the other's thought. They were going to have to deal with his sour mood now that the song he despised was on an unwanted replay in his mind.
Marco looked around the room at all of his friends, aside from Levi, laughing and singing along to the ringtone that had yet to be silenced. He found his eyes moving to sneak a glance at Jean, only to gasp when he locked eyes with said boy, who had been watching him carefully the whole time. He smiled and carefully slid his hand over to Jean's, lacing fingers with said boy's fingers. He gave Jean's hand a tight squeeze as he joined in on the singing.
Once the singing had died down- a lot of that reason being because of Levi's growing curses-, Hanji nudged the bottle back into the center of the circle. "So, who's next?"
A/N- So, I never realized how hard it would be to type Jean and Marco. Obviously, I've typed Jean multiple times but never with Marco (well, I've never even typed Marco before), so this proved to be a hell of a lot harder than I had expected, so I'm sorry if it seems OOC.
Anyway, sorry in advanced for any grammar errors, and
I hope everyone enjoyed :)