"Can I ask you a question?" Celine said.

"Of course," Marco replied, looking to the side with a smile. He slowed his gait to match Celine's pace.

The shadows along the cobblestone streets were growing long – most of the people within the windows of the nearly identical homes of tan brick and orderly gardens were sitting down for dinner. It had been a pleasant enough day; the heat had nearly worn off but there was just enough carryover to cause a ring of sweat to form beneath the collar of Marco's dress shirt. Despite knowing that removing his jacket would alleviate this problem, Marco remained in his full Cadet uniform. Tonight would be the last chance he'd ever have to wear it, after all.

Rosie had been losing the battle of holding back tears when she and Samuel had waved him off from the doorstep only minutes before. His mother had ensured he ate a snack; Celine insisted he drink plenty of water.

"You'll need to piss like a horse," she'd said, gazing out the kitchen window with a bored expression. "But at least you won't pass out in the middle of the graduation ceremony from dehydration."

"So," Celine said, bringing Marco's thoughts back to the present. "When did you start calling Papa, 'Dad?'"

Marco's eyes went wide. There was no change to Celine's amble or the neutral expression on her face as she continued to look forward. He wondered if there had been any sort of reaction earlier when Samuel had pulled Marco into a tight hug, expressing how proud he was of his son.

"Well," Marco said, scratching his cheek. "He said I could start calling him that after … after I found out. It felt a little strange. Also a bit funny, I guess. I'd been wanting to call him 'Dad' for as long as I could remember – I kept wishing all those times he'd come to Jinae that one day he'd decide to stay and we'd all become a family. For it to actually happen … for him to really be my father … I didn't know what to think. I felt more comfortable referring to him as 'Dad' after he and Mom got married."

"How was it?"

"Hmm?" Marco said. "How was what?"

Celine lowered her eyes. "The wedding."

"Oh!" Marco said. He chuckled. "Elaborate – even though Dad said by Stohess standards it wasn't much. Mom's dress was so long I kept stepping on it. There were a bunch of footprints all over the white cloth by the end of the day … I felt terrible, but Mom only laughed. She was really happy." Marco's smile dimmed. "Dad … I think he missed you, though. I did, too."

The pair walked in silence. This went on for over a block; Marco watching Celine from the corner of his eye as her fingers brushed over garden gates and trimmed hedges. He flinched when Celine suddenly spoke.

"That doesn't make sense … You don't make sense."

"Huh?" Marco said, pointing to himself. "Me?"

"Yeah you, Country Bumpkin," Celine said. She looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "You've been worshiping the ground I walk on since the moment we met. I don't get it – I've done nothing to earn your respect. I was a complete asshole to you, but you risked your life to save me. You wrote me letters for years. Even now, you told Papa and your mother it would be fine if they stayed home to make arrangements for dinner as long as I walked you to the graduation ceremony. I just … don't understand why."

"Because," Marco said, as if the answer were obvious. "You're my sister."

"That doesn't mean anything, though!" Celine said, growing frustrated. "Who cares if we're related? If anyone talked to me the way I'd talked to you, I would've kicked their ass. If not that … I'd still have no reason to reach out to them again."

Marco hummed. He looked ahead, frowning in thought. "Everything before Trost … you weren't a real person."

Celine came to a stop. Marco didn't need to see her to know she was staring at his retreating back like he'd lost his mind.

"I needed your approval because I couldn't get it from your mom," Marco said. He stopped and turned to face Celine. "She saved my life – to me, her death meant everything. I felt all I could do to repay her sacrifice was to make you proud. It was the closest I could get to making her proud. And when I realized you were probably stranded in Trost … I thought giving my life to save you would be the most meaningful thing I could do."

Marco's eyes grew dewy. He chuckled, lifting his forearm to cover the upper half of his face.

"But you wouldn't let me," Marco said. His hand formed into a fist. "When I tried to call that Titan away, you called it back. Even though you were weak. Even though you couldn't do anything other than throw shingles and call it names … you put your faith in a scenario where we both came out alive. You did something your mom didn't do; that I didn't do. If I had been like you that day, maybe your mom would still be here because I would've been brave enough to stand and fight even though I was weak."

A tear escaped the material of Marco's sleeve and dripped down his cheek. The tension in his hand subsided. Marco dropped his arm to his side, regarding his shadow as it began to melt into the others of the growing twilight. "You were real, after that."

A series of quick footfalls resulted in Celine standing before Marco. She roughly grabbed the material of his jacket, keeping her head lowered as her voice shook.

"You had really pissed me off when we first met," Celine said. Her grip on Marco's jacket strengthened. "It was enough to make me burn every letter you sent that made it to my doorstep. All I could imagine was that damn look on your face like you were possessed. You told me you were going to join the military and serve the King just like me. You looked at me like I wasn't really there ... like I was my mother. Just like everyone else."

Marco reached out to place his hands on Celine's shoulders. "Celine, I'm sor-"

Celine slipped away, retreating as quickly as she'd approached.

"What you said to me …" Celine said, voice soft. "… in Trost …"

Marco froze. Celine had lifted her head enough for him to see the cracks in her stoic expression. Her difficulty holding his gaze made his heart sink.

"When you called me brave," Celine said, voice breaking. "Was that really meant for me?"

The question was the last thing Marco expected. A laugh bubbled up from his gut despite his best efforts. The weight in his heart immedietly lifted as he wiped his face.

"What?" Celine said, her face growing flushed. She let out a silent curse and rubbed her sleeve against her eyes.

"You're the bravest person I've ever met," Marco said. He raised his chin with a cheery smile. "You're my sister: Celine Bodt. And you're unlike anyone else I know."

For a moment Celine appeared to have trouble settling on an emotion. She shook her head.

"Heh."

Celine finished wiping her face. She walked up to Marco and gave him a yank to the elbow as she urged him into a walk. "Come on. You'll be late, Mr. Seventh-in-his-class. What good am I if I can't even get my brother to his own graduation on time?"

"Your …?" Marco said, looking on in astonishment. "You've never called me that, before."

"Eh?" Celine said, sounding irritated. "I'm sure I have; get your ears checked."

The sound of Marco's laughter faded with the dwindling light. Two figures materialized from the shadows, following its source.