'That's a joke … isn't it? Reiner? … Bertholdt?'

Marco let out a gasp. He sat up, bed sheets sticking to his chest from where the sweat had seeped through the thin material. Overheating at night never used to be a problem, but for the past few days Marco awoke as if he'd gone for a midnight swim.

Oh man … I can't ask Miss Rebecca to change the sheets again … I should find the time to wash them myself.

Marco flung the soiled sheets aside and placed his feet on the hardwood floor. The cool wood against his burning skin was a relief. He rubbed the back of his head as his eyes drifted over a bedroom he was still getting used to. It was his, technically, but it still felt foreign. The biggest factor being he was alone.

Back in Jinae and Laurel, Marco had shared a room with his mother; in the Cadets, he'd slept in bunk beds alongside his classmates. This modestly decorated room with little more than a desk outfitted for his gear maintenance, and a wardrobe to hang his uniform, was in a practical sense all he could ask for. In an impractical sense, Marco wished he could ask for a roommate just to fall asleep to the sound of another person's breathing. He'd only voiced this to Jean, who was quick to tell Marco he should keep the sentiment to himself to avoid being labeled a pervert.

"It's not like that at all," Marco said, defending himself from his own thoughts.

Drenched undergarments were tossed aside and swapped with a fresh set. Marco splashed his face a few times with water from a bowl by the door before turning to his wardrobe. He slipped on his cadet uniform save for the ODM gear straps and jacket – soldiers weren't required to be in full uniform while they were on leave. It was an odd sensation which left Marco feeling somewhat exposed. Paranoia itched in the back of his brain. Things in Trost had seemed peaceful, too, before the Titans attacked.

Reiner turned his head. His features melted, blobs of tan and yellow falling and dripping down the sides of his tall boots into puddles of paint.

'If it comes down to it … I'll have to do something with my Titan …'

"Stop it."

Marco gripped the edge of the small table near the door. He squeezed his eyes shut until he saw stars.

"Stop it, Marco."

The sound of Marco's footsteps caused his mother, Rosie, to raise her head as he came down the stairs. She regarded Marco with a warm expression as he entered the kitchen.

"Perfect timing," Rosie said. She approached Marco to give him a peck on the cheek before returning to the counter. "The sweet rolls will be done in a minute. Rebecca also put together some apple porridge which came out lovely."

Rosie placed a bowl of hot porridge on the table. Marco picked up a spoon and began to eat despite having no appetite. The last thing Marco would ever want was for his mother to worry. Now, especially; the passage of nine days was a little premature for Marco to rejoice in the newfound family dynamic, but so far things were going better than he could have hoped.

Celine had accompanied Marco home from the courthouse over a week prior. It had come as a surprise she hadn't sent word to their father concerning her safety despite the passage of two days since the incident in Trost. Samuel had practically collapsed from relief when he'd seen her on his doorstep. Celine's apology had come in the form of sitting with her father and holding his hand tight for the remainder of that evening.

Over the past few days, Celine and Rosie had become partners in a delicate dance which Marco liked to think was leading them closer with every small step.

Yesterday afternoon, Marco had come home to find Suzy on Celine's knee as she'd bounced the baby and described the inner workings of the music box sitting on a high shelf. Rosie had been content to silently work on an intricate embroidery pattern from a comfy chair in the corner. The women tended to share little in terms of conversation, but a peaceful coexistence had been struck.

A part of this balance was due in part to Suzy; to everyone's surprise but Samuel's, Celine turned out to be quite fond of young children in general. Samuel claimed he knew the moment Celine were to come home again she'd fall in love with Suzy at first sight. The fact that Celine already voiced to him her desire to buy the baby a number of new dresses substantiated that opinion. There was a good round of laughter from Samuel when Marco and Rosie had exchanged dumbfounded expressions at the news.

"Dad is out?" Marco asked.

"Yes, just for the morning," Rosie said. The smell of caramelized sugar drifted through the air as a tray of sweet buns was removed from the oven. There was a good chance Rosie had dipped into the precious butter stores for the treat. Rosie had been making such exceptions since Marco had returned home, Marco suspecting it was her own form of wholesome bribery to have him choose to stay in the house on a permanent basis instead of moving into the dorms.

"He and Celine went to the factory," Rosie continued as she waved a towel over the hot tray. "I think he's working on an update to the power looms he wanted your sister to look at; they should be back by midday for you and Celine to have lunch."

Marco's smile turned more natural; this was certainly something to look forward to.

There had been a shift between him and his older sister. Marco entertained for a moment Celine's newfound tolerance for him was a result of saving her from the Titan. That may've partially been true, but he was still missing pieces of the puzzle.

It was difficult to decipher why Celine was suddenly so interested in stories about his childhood and time in the Cadets. There was also the mystery of why she had a habit of looking like she'd smelled something sour whenever Jean was mentioned. This was especially humorous because the more time Marco spent with Celine, the more she reminded him of Jean. They both had a keen eye for how things worked – Jean's talent lying more with people while Celine's with machinery. Jean dwarfed Celine in exuberance, while she outdid him in tenacity, but they both shared their opinions in the same blunt manner bestowing them with a hefty level of confidence. Marco had a feeling their similarities would leave the pair getting along well, although chance had his best friend and sister otherwise preoccupied whenever the subject of them socializing came about.

I'll have to corner the two of them at some point, Marco thought. He rose from the table, clearing his dishes and bidding his mother goodbye before going on a morning jog.

Marco trotted along at a steady pace. Going fast wasn't the goal – it was going far.

To many citizens of Stohess, the vast park with a number of walking paths and lightly wooded trails was the closest they ever got to being in the wilderness. One of the highlights of the park was a wide meadow bordering a lake so clear it reflected images of the surrounding trees and wildflowers with the clarity of a mirror. In the summer months, it wasn't uncommon for the meadow to be dotted with an array of colors from the parasols and tents pitched to give visitors much needed protection from the heavy heat. This would be the scene in a few hours time; as of now, the meadow was currently only busy entertaining fog. Said fog rolled and coiled around Marco's ankles as he made his way down the path bordering the lake. When a fork appeared giving Marco the choice of following along the lake or heading off into the trees, he chose the former.

Circling the lake half a dozen or so times over wasn't very exciting. On the other hand, Marco couldn't force himself to take the path into the wooded area. Not alone, anyway. The woods were a completely different experience when Marco had his friends nearby. When he was alone, it only reminded him of the day he first saw a Titan – horror washing over him when he'd run through thickets to the sound of distant gunfire. Marco's mind would race with a number of images; one of him looking around a trunk and seeing nothing but a row of teeth before being enveloped in darkness. Another was an empty lot with all the horses having run away so he couldn't escape. The worst thought had been of his mother's corpse.

I'm pathetic … What would Jean say? Something about us all having things to work through, I think. He'd be smart enough to come up with a plan to help me through it.

The fork in the path was coming up ahead.

Celine would say …

Marco's smile grew uneasy. He rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, she'd say that."

Marco hooked to the left, taking the path snaking away from the lake and into the woods. The fog lifted enough here he could keep track of the rocks and roots underfoot. His vision may've been better, yet sound didn't travel as far; silence creeped in and enveloped Marco until the only noise he could make out was the pounding of his feet. His breaths started growing short despite him not running particularly fast.

It's fine. There's nothing out h–

Something snapped. Marco came to a halt and whipped about. Scanning the still forested area didn't reveal any movement. He strained his ears and picked up the sound of rhythmic thudding. A few seconds passed before he clutched the material of his shirt and dipped his head with a sigh.

"It's just my own heartbeat. I really need to get it together."

Marco turned and picked up the pace of his jog. Just because there was nothing to be afraid of didn't mean he wasn't itching to find where the wooded area ended. There was pride in facing his fears, yet Marco certainly felt he'd had enough of that for a day he was supposed to be relaxing.

I feel like I've been more on edge over the past few days than I was during the attack on Trost. Why is that? Was it–?

"Marco."

Marco skid to a stop, pebbles sliding underfoot. He crossed his arms in front of him on instinct and lowered himself into a defensive stance.

"Your reaction time needs improvement," Annie said.

"Annie!" Marco said. He dipped his head and exhaled in relief.

Annie watched Marco with a bored expression as she stood with one hand on her hip. Her outfit gave the impression she was on a morning run just as he was, although she seemed to have the wherewithal to acquire exercise clothing in the form of a short-sleeved green shirt and tan pants as opposed to soiling her uniform. Forward thinking was a nature of hers Marco admired.

"Sorry about that," Marco said as he rubbed at his scalp. "My thoughts were elsewhere and I didn't hear you come up behind me."

A line formed between Annie's brows. "Is your injury still bothering you?"

"Oh!" Marco said, dropping his hand. He stood up straight. "No, not really. Sorry to make you worry."

"It's nothing to be sorry for," Annie said. "I didn't mean to startle you. I thought you would've heard me coming."

Marco chuckled. "Right. You would … ah … I didn't know you were staying in Stohess."

The look on Annie's face made it known how obvious the deflection was. She shrugged. "I'm planning on joining the Military Police; I figured there's no harm in becoming familiar with the territory."

"Ah," Marco said, his smile growing more genuine. "That makes sense. It really is a very different place than Rose. I've visited here a few times and I'm still getting used to it."

"What do you think of it?"

There was a moment of hesitation.

"I like it!" Marco said. "It's great! Although, I figure I'd be happy just about anywhere my family is around."

Annie acknowledged the answer with a nod before looking away. Marco's stomach sank like a stone when he recalled Annie losing her own family during the fall of Wall Maria five years prior. He opened his mouth but Annie cut him off.

"How've you been doing?" she asked.

Another pause prompted Annie's tired stare to meet Marco's wide-eyed expression. Marco quickly looked away.

"Fine," Marco said. "I've been fine. I have nothing to complain about. I guess I'm a little nervous about the graduation ceremony. And it was nice to hear Eren is doing alright, right?"

"Yes," Annie said. "It's a good thing Eren wasn't executed, although I heard from Armin he made a dramatic scene at his trial."

"Yeah, I heard that, too," Marco said.

The topic of discussion moving away from his own wellbeing left Marco more comfortable. He placed his hands on his hips, his expression growing brighter. "But that's just like Eren, huh? He always says what's in his heart. That's why I know we can believe him when he says he has humanity's best interests in mind."

"You think so?" Annie said with a slow blink. "I'm not so sure; I can't say I know him particularly well."

"That's not true!" Marco said. "You've been around Eren about as much as I have, and I would call him a close comrade. Everyone in our class is well acquainted by now. We're like family – we went through a lot of hardship and have strong bonds holding us together. It was … it was really rough hearing about those who didn't make it after Trost. I know it doesn't make sense, but I can't help but think there was something I could've done; a different decision I could've made. I heard Franz and Hanna were found on Sunmire street … Our squad had been right in that area, remember? I can't help but think if I'd just looked over at the right time, maybe I could've helped."

"You're putting yourself through unnecessary pain," Annie said.

The fog began to vanish as sunlight peeked through the haze. The light highlighted features on Annie's face which revealed more pity than Marco had seen her show before.

"Thinking about scenarios that don't exist helps no one," Annie said. "You don't know if you getting involved would've only made things worse. You may not have come out alive if anything had gone differently."

"That's true," Marco said. He looked up to admire the shimmering shades of green among the leaves. The forest really was much nicer when he wasn't alone.

"I don't think I would mind not being here, though," Marco said. "Just as long as my death meant something; as long as I was protecting someone." A thought struck him as he looked back at Annie. "I've been meaning to thank you. You standing by me when I made my case to storm HQ meant a lot. That whole situation was bad enough … It was really nice having others by my side."

Annie shrugged and looked away. "I saw you speaking to a blonde woman after we made it to the warehouse. Was that your sister?"

"Yeah," Marco said. His smile widened. "Her name is Celine. I'll introduce you at the graduation ceremony; I think you guys will get along."

"You think that about everyone."

Whether the statement was meant to be a joke or not didn't stop Marco from laughing. It made him feel a lot more normal. Annie was still gazing into the trees, but the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.

"I suppose you're right," Marco said as he caught his breath. "Sometimes I forget how observant you are, Annie. No one can hide anything from you."

Annie didn't seem to share Marco's mirth. She kept her eyes averted as her expression darkened.

Marco's smile fell. "Are you alright?"

Her weight shifted from one side to the other as Annie stared at the ground. A moment passed before her gaze drifted up to meet Marco's perplexed expression.

"Reiner and Bertholdt," Annie said. "They've been acting strange. I suspect something is going on with them."

There was no hiding Marco's surprise. He looked away and rubbed the back of his head. "I think … I think they were a little rattled by what happened – we all were. I can't blame them for acting differently. Even Conny was a lot quieter the last time I saw him."

"But you agree?" Annie said. "You agree something strange is going on with them. I get the feeling the two of them are up to something."

Marco froze. He turned to Annie with a firm expression.

"They're our comrades," Marco said. His hands formed into fists. "They're our friends. You know Reiner and Bertholdt would never do anything to hurt us or anyone else. I've seen the looks on their faces since what happened … I know they're grieving just like the rest of us. Unless you have proof of something, I don't want to hear you make any sort of accusations against them."

Annie regarded Marco with a slight tilt to her head. "What makes you think I meant they were planning to hurt anyone?"

The breath caught in Marco's chest. He stared at Annie until she sighed.

"You're too easy to mess with," she said. "I was just kidding. I've wasted enough of your time – I'll see you around."

Annie turned. She took a step, coming to a stop when Marco's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Annie," Marco said. "I'm sorry for my tone. I didn't mean brush you off. Although … that was kind of a mean joke."

Marco's hand fell away as Annie turned to look up at him. "It's fine. Just forget about what I said."

A thoughtful hum escaped Marco as he looked Annie up and down. "You know, I never asked you how you were doing. Sorry about that."

"You apologize too much," Annie said. She turned away. "And like I said, I'm fine. I'll see you ar–"

"How about we jog together?" Marco asked. "You can tell me about the parts of Stohess you've seen so far, and I'll share with you the spots I've been to. Yesterday my sister took me to a watermill that uses a water wheel to grind wheat. It's massive! The wheel has to be at least two meters high. It's like a man made waterfall – I've never seen anything like it."

Marco was regarded with a blank expression. "That sounds terrible," Annie said.

The statement caused Marco's shoulders to slump. Annie closed her eyes for a moment before speaking again.

"We can jog together if you talk about anything else."

A smile returned to Marco's face as Annie trotted past. He quickly caught up and matched her stride along the winding trail through the trees. Having Annie at his side made Marco's steps feel lighter; even though they'd been on the same squad, it was a rare occurrence for them to run together.

Annie had a habit of keeping to herself; back in the Cadets, Marco was an earlier riser, yet he had still found Annie nearly done with her morning warm-up when he'd head out. Outside of squad assignments, Marco used to spot her practicing sparring moves against a dummy or on occasion reading a book. He'd asked her once what she was reading, and the response had been, "something ridiculous they call history," before Annie had gotten up and walked away without another word on the subject.

Marco recalled Annie being alone more often than not. He had done his best to incorporate her into the group after they became a squad, but Annie had appeared to have little interest. Today's chance encounter was probably the longest conversation they'd ever had, and Marco was over the moon to finally be bonding with his squad mate … even though their squad was getting dissolved sooner than later.

Annie appeared content to stay silent as they ran. The occasional nod indicated she was listening as Marco talked about his experiences within Wall Sina. He explained how he thought the people of the area seemed cold at first, but found they warmed up when spoken to in a manner they were familiar with.

Marco proceeded to tell Annie that he could walk up to just about anyone in the central courtyard and start a conversation ranging from the royal family, to the military, or to the weather. It was more common to find others with strong opinions and outgoing personalities than not within the populace of the interior. Marco found their passion and involvement in everything going on around them fascinating.

"You'll do well in the Military Police," Marco said. There was a gap in the trees which grew wider as they approached. "You have a great memory, and you don't hesitate to share your opinion. The people here will like you a lot."

Marco and Annie stepped into the sunlight. They squinted at the dirt trail as it flowed into a brick path snaking through a number of trimmed hedges and flowerbeds. A handful of gardeners were at work and offered a glance their way before going back to their tasks. Marco wished them a good morning as he and Annie jogged past.

"I'll do well because I don't care about standing out," Annie said. "They like people who will follow orders without question. That seems to be the kind of thing they appreciate in the Military Police. Out of the two of us, I could see you having more of a problem."

Annie glanced at Marco from the corner of her eye. She didn't react to the disheartened look on his face.

"I've also heard things about them I'm not too pleased with," Marco said. "But that's why it's good you'll be joining, Annie. They're going to need more people like you who really serve the King and his people. And despite what you say, you do stand out – in a good way."

"You talk as if you won't be joining yourself," Annie said as she looked ahead. "There's a reason you were chosen to lead our squad. You're not like me – you have what it takes to make a difference."

Marco didn't respond. They jogged in silence between beds of roses and peonies until the brick beneath their feet widened to meet a large two-tiered fountain.

A marble statue of a woman was atop the fountain; her naked body covered by long hair as she reached skyward, water flowing from her upturned palm. Marco had inquired about the fountain the first time he'd seen it while on a stroll with Celine. The answer he had received was that most believed the statue to be a representation of Sina. Celine had disagreed with the common notion, thinking the woman looked too powerful to be Sina. She'd only responded with a shrug when Marco had asked who she thought the woman actually was.

"About joining the Military Police …"

"What?" Annie said. They came to a stop next to the fountain, the sound of gushing water easily drowning out Marco's soft remark.

"Ah!" Marco said. He put up his hands in a placating manner. "Nothing! I, uh … I think the path to the left goes toward the lake if you want to head back there."

"No," Annie said with a shake to her head. "I'm heading out the entrance right over there – I'm staying just a few blocks that way."

"Oh!" Marco said. "Great! Well … I liked being able to talk to you on our run. I'll see you at graduation!"

"See you."

Annie turned away. There was a pause as she remained still. She tilted her head, hair falling in front of her eyes as she regarded Marco over her shoulder. "You should do what feels right to you. You'll be a lot happier if the path you take moving forward is one you chose for yourself."

Marco tracked Annie's movement as a few quick strides left her circling to the other side of the fountain. The blob of green and yellow making up her retreating form through the curtain of water soon faded. Marco smiled, resuming his jog along the path toward the lake.

Marco entered his parent's house in a scramble. It wasn't until he'd passed by a post clock on his way home did he realize how much time he'd spent during his morning run with Annie. The time being shown had urged him into a sprint as he'd begun to panic over getting cleaned up and changed in time to meet Celine for lunch. He'd had a feeling his sister would react poorly if under the assumption she was overlooked.

"Mom!" Marco called as he walked down the hallway. "Mom, are Dad and Celine–?"

Rosie was still in the kitchen, although now she wasn't alone. Her husband sat at the table with his head in one hand and a glass of port in the other. He received a pat on the back from Rosie as he sighed and took a drink.

"Is everything alright?" Marco asked.

"No."

Samuel didn't bother to raise his head until he downed the rest of his wine in a single gulp. He leveled Marco with a steady expression. "Celine won't be coming over today."

Marco fought back the sinking feeling of dread.

"Your idiot of a sister …" Samuel said, looking up over the rim of his glasses. "... got herself court-martialed."