"She's so beautiful I can't stand it!" Hange screamed. She fell to knees in the grass and tugged at her hair, tears streamed down her cheeks as a long wail in awe escaped her lips.

"Oi," Celine said, a fearful nature to her tone. "Cut it out; Ymir's threatened to bite my head off for much less."

The Titan turned its head to the side with a huff. Hange may have been exaggerating the nature of Ymir's new appearance, but to Celine this new form was certainly striking.

Ymir's overall Titan was the same stature and proportions as before, but it was now coated in gleaming bronze plates above deep red skin in a similar pattern to the former Armored Titan. The plate armor formed a mask over the upper portion of the Jaw Titan's face with the nose coming out at a point. The last change had been its brown eyes dilating and growing larger in size. All of this together reminded Celine of a golden eagle … if a golden eagle were to open its jaw and reveal an intimidating set of pointed, bronze teeth.

"I want … to polish it …" Hange said, reaching a shaking hand out. A yank to her collar brought her to her feet.

"Please control yourself, Commander," Moblit said with a sigh. "As I was trying to say before – our experiments have been unsuccessful with Ymir duplicating the hardening ability. We're not certain how Reiner was able to do it before, but whatever the secret was is unknown for now."

"Oh! That's alright," Hange said. "She's still pretty, hmm?"

"Uh … sure," Moblit said. His gaze shifted to the side. "Moving on to Eren's assessment, he's been able to duplicate the hardening ability after some practice. We're confident he'll be able to plug the hole in a similar speed and manner Annie would've been able to do."

"Go ahead, Eren!" Celine said, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Show Hange what we practiced!"

The Attack Titan threw his head back with a roar. Crystalline spikes spread across its skin until it was covered everywhere but its hands and face. It snapped into a fighting stance, the crystal cracking around its joints to allow movement. Fists remained raised for a few beats before the Attack Titan turned its head to take in Hange studying it with a frown.

"Eren doesn't look any different," Hange said. "Before he did the hardening ability, I mean."

"Were you hoping the information Annie gave us was wrong?" Celine said. "It stated a man can be the wielder of the Female Titan, but they wouldn't have access to its full capabilities. It's a pity – the ability to control any Titan's attention with a call would've been useful."

"And they both have built-in armor now," Moblit said with a smile. "It's made the work Celine and I have been doing over the past few months essentially useless." His smile along with the corner of his eye twitched. "Wonderful, isn't it?"

"Please don't remind me of that," Celine said, feeling like she might emulate Hange and burst into tears of her own.

"The work you two have put in has still been invaluable!" Hange said. She gave Moblit and Celine hearty slaps to the back. "It looks like we're going to be all set and ready to go in two short weeks. They keep pushing us down, but we're getting right back up."

Hange cupped her hands around her mouth in an energetic manner. "Alright, you two! Your final assessment is a resounding approval!"


"Are you headed back to headquarters, Unit Captain?"

Celine waited for Eren to catch up to her. She sized him up before continuing her stroll across the training yard.

A few minutes ago, Hange and Moblit had taken off for an equipment inspection. Wherever Ymir went for her free time was always a mystery since she never spoke to him about her personal matters. The way Celine was watching him made it seem as if it'd been expected that he would also wander off.

"That new foot-thing you have is really neat," Eren said as they walked. "You get around just like you did before."

"That's funny, because I feel a bit awkward," Celine said with a chuckle. "Thank you for that, all the same."

The headquarters building steadily grew larger. Eren could tell from the corner of his eye that Celine was regarding him with a questioning look. He couldn't work up the courage to look at her directly.

"So … where are you off to, Unit Captain?" Eren asked, trying to cut the tension.

"Levi had a health checkup earlier," Celine said. "I'm going to see how his shoulder is doing and determine if he'll be fine to go on the excursion. Eren – are you feeling alright?"

An embarrassed flush rose on Eren's cheeks. "I'm fine; don't worry." This claim was absorbed with a heavy level of doubt based on Celine's eyes narrowing.

"Eren," Celine said, drawing his name out in a way that reminded him of the tone Mikasa would take when she was upset. "You're too straight-forward of a person to play at being coy. If you want to ask me about how Marco's doing, just say so."

Eren dropped his gaze. Grass turned to dirt underfoot as they entered the footpath leading to Trost Headquarters' main entrance. "Sorry," he said. "Is Marco doing alright?"

"Ask him yourself."

Eren snapped his head up. He watched as Celine held the door open for him. His gaze roved over her in a dubious manner before he slowly passed her by.

"Marco says you don't want to see him," Celine said. She strolled past him down the hall, glancing over her shoulder. "Which obviously isn't true."

"I thought he didn't want to see me," Eren said. He caught up to Celine, shooting her side glances. "Did he tell you about what happened?"

"I'm nosy, so I certainly tried to get him to talk about it," Celine said. She approached a wide staircase, pausing to look down at Eren after going up a few steps. "He never told me what happened between you two, and I guess it isn't really my business."

She indicated the upstairs landing with her chin. "Anyway, I'm headed this way. I'd assume you can find Marco at his desk since he's started coming back in recently. I'm tired of seeing him so gloomy, so please do your best to make up. Be well, Eren."

Eren watched Celine disappear up the steps. Although he'd come to feel slightly more comfortable approaching Celine than he had before, he still wouldn't say talking to her felt extremely comfortable. She was straightforward, which was nice, although her tendency not to pull any punches left him feeling slightly bruised after every conversation.

With a shake to his head, Eren continued down the hall. A few turns led him to the door of the room Marco shared as an office with three other members of the Military Police. He schooled his features and opened the door. It came as a relief when he took in that three of the four desks were empty; Marco being the only person present.

Marco looked up from a form he was filling out, his face immediately going pale.

"Uh … hey," Eren said. He slowly closed the door behind him. "I wanted to see how you were doing. You know, about Annie and Conny. I know I'm … not doing too great."

There wasn't a moment of hesitation as Marco rose from his desk. He pulled out a chair from a nearby table and set it across from where he'd been seated. "Take a seat, Eren. If … you want to stay. You don't have to."

"I should ask if you want me to stay," Eren said with a weak chuckle. "I know how I acted last time … the look on your face was really–"

"I shouldn't have done that," Marco said, cutting Eren short. "I'm sorry, Eren. I wasn't thinking. I just … I don't want you to hate me."

Eren laughed. He crossed the room to sit in the chair Marco had provided. "I don't think I could ever hate you if I tried, Marco."

A flush rose beneath Marco's freckles. He quickly averted his gaze as he took a seat. "I've been … alright," Marco said. He deflated. "I saw Annie and Conny a lot while the rest of you were gone on your training mission. There was even a time the three of us hung out together. Them not being around anymore still doesn't feel real."

"I know what you mean," Eren said. Like with his sister a few minutes before, Eren found himself unable to look Marco in the eye. "Do you know what I did, Marco?"

A memory flashed through Eren's mind - Annie's limp figure sprawled in his palm. The mouth of his Titan form had opened as if on impulse. And when it was done, when he'd felt Annie's body slide down his throat, a part of him had felt as if he'd satisfied some basic instinct. That thought alone haunted him enough to ward away sleep for most days since.

"Don't blame yourself," Marco said, leaning forward in his seat. "That had been the plan all along, hadn't it? If one of you were fatally injured, another would … you know."

"I know that," Eren said. He put his head in his hands. "I know that. I just never imagined it actually happening. And Annie … I didn't want to do it, Marco. I didn't even have a way to fight Captain Levi, but I tried to. I tried so hard to fight. Then Annie … then she smiled at me."

Marco made to rise from his seat. He stopped himself, hands curling into fists as he sat back down. "You did the right thing, Eren. You made the decision that's going to help humanity. It was also what Annie wanted."

"That's what everyone tells me," Eren said. He let out a deep exhale, running a hand through his hair. "And I have no reason to doubt it. Ymir and I have talked a little about it over the past few weeks. She mentioned she sometimes gets … 'echoes' … of thoughts and feelings that she knows aren't hers. I know what she means – I've had stuff like that for a while. I think it's the reason why I've been forcing myself to feel guilty. I know I should be, but I'm not. Then not feeling guilty makes me feel guilty. I've just been trying to sort things out in a way that doesn't make my head explode."

His companion nodded in agreement. Marco brought his hands together, squeezing them tight. "I know it's not exactly the same," he said. "But I can understand how you feel. I've also been trying to sort some things out. There are so few of us left now, Eren. I don't want to lose anyone else if I can help it. I especially don't want to lose you as a friend."

"I told you that won't happen."

"I know, and I appreciate it," Marco said. He put on a smile just shy of being genuine. "I just want you to know you can forget about what happened the night before you left for Calaneth."

Eren's face hardened. "What if I don't want to?"

The ticking of the grandfather clock in a far corner became the only sound cutting through dead silence. Marco's face became a kaleidoscope of emotions before finally settling on confusion. "Eren … I don't understand."

"I don't, either," Eren said. "I just did a lot of thinking over the past few weeks. One of the things I thought about was how Annie and Conny's lives were taken away so suddenly. There's a lot of things they never got to experience; a lot of things they never will. I wondered about that in relation to myself."

Eren dropped his gaze. He roughly ran a hand through his hair. He could feel the heat of his ears, having a feeling that the tips were turning pink.

"I never thought about a lot of that stuff," Eren said, feeling his embarrassment rising. "I was always just so pissed off at one thing or another I didn't have time for anything else. Then you … reminded me I could be a regular person; that I didn't have to always be angry all the time. I was finally able to break free. Hanging around with you is like … flying."

The flushed feeling moved from Eren's ears to include his cheeks. He slowly turned his head to lock eyes with Marco. His mouth drew into a thin line. The only thing potentially rivaling his embarrassment was the person sitting approximately four feet away.

"You've always …" Marco said. He trailed off as if trying to grasp the right words. "You make me feel like I can be myself. I don't have to worry about you judging me for not putting my best face forward. And I admire your confidence; when you're around, you shine brighter than anyone else. I want to be like you, but also, I just want to be near you. I always just … want to be near you."

Eren rose from his seat. He rounded the desk in a few steps to stand over Marco. A moment of hesitation followed before Eren offered his hand. "I, uh … don't really know what I'm doing."

The comment made Marco chuckle. He accepted Eren's hand and was pulled to his feet. They stood like that for a beat as they took in the other's warmth through their palms. Eren had never taken much stock in the fact that Marco was slightly taller than he was, and how it made it easy for him to study the light brown color of Marco's eyes and how they reflected the sun coming in through the window in glimmers of gold.

"I don't … really know what I'm doing, either," Marco said. "I just … made a guess about one thing."

Marco leaned forward. Eren felt compelled to do the same, his eyes sliding closed as warm breath brushed over his cheeks.

"Marco!"

The door opened wide, Eren's eyes snapping open as he caught Celine offering a gentle wave.

"Hey! I wanted to–"

Celine frowned as Marco and Eren practically fell to the floor in their scramble to back away from the other.

"You two seem busy, so this'll only take a second," Celine said.

Eren's mind was still reeling enough for him to make no effort to appear anything but alarmed. Marco made a better effort at appearing collected as he leaned against his desk.

"Ah, Celine!" Marco said, a waiver to his usual cheer. "It's no bother at all! Do you want to take a seat?!"

The offer received a sunny expression. "No, I really will need to pop out in a moment," Celine said. "I just wanted to let Eren know there won't be any training three days from now, so make sure to keep that day totally clear. You too, Marco – I'm going to have a chat with Nile about it to ensure you're free. Oh! Pass that along to everyone on the Special Operations Squad, too, in case I miss them."

"Sure," Marco said. He shared a glance with Eren, conveying that he also seemed grateful Celine wasn't remarking on anything she may've witnessed. "What's going on?"

Celine covered her mouth as she giggled. "Something a bit impulsive I assume you're going to try and talk me out of."