Shingeki no Oneshot

XII. Zero Gravity Prompt (Jeanmarco)

written on — 20 oct 2014

inspiration — it's jeanmarco week guys! guess who's super pumped for this (not me... i lied it's totally me)  

words — 1,000

JEANMARCO WEEK DAY ONE: ZERO GRAVITY

Jean didn't ask for this to happen. 

He never wanted to get into a car accident with his boyfriend, only to have himself live through it with minor injuries. He never bothered to check the air bags before they left the concert venue that night. He never did a lot of things that could have prevented the issue, but it was too late, anyways.

But that was all besides the point. Marco was gone. It was kind of interesting, in a twisted way, how getting into a car accident can change everything.

"Dinner's ready!" At the sound of his mother's voice, Jean pulled himself out of bed against his will, trudging down the stairs to sit with both of his parents. Dinner was late that night; his mother finished her shift at work at 8 so they were eating at 9. No one complained. Jean picked at his food for most of the dinner; his father simply ignored his state and his mother looked on, worried about the sickly pallour and dead gaze of her son. "Sweetie, it's been almost a week. No one is expecting you to get over this any time soon." 

"It's not like I can," Jean muttered. "He was a giant part of my life, mom. This isn't something that can vanish without inflicting damage on my entire being."  

It was normal for him to be overdramatic, and Mrs. Kirschtein knew that. For once, however, she didn't call her son out on it. She knew there was no need because he was already prepared to blow a fuse at the slightest mishap. "Maybe you should go over there. Talk to his parents and his sister — give them some comfort, too." 

"Yeah," Jean agreed. "Yeah, that sounds good." He stood up from the table, only eating half of his steak and none of his vegetables. No one said anything to stop him as he walked out of the house and turned on the ignition. 

In the car, Jean blasted Marco's favourite album — Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires of the City. It wasn't his fault that his boyfriend's music taste had rubbed off on him, especially when they had been together for so long. The song Unbelievers came on at a red light and Jean began to sing along, stopping after the first chorus and looking at the passenger's seat subconsciously, only to be disappointed with a lack of freckles beside him. 

Without really meaning to, Jean ended up parking in front of Trost's own graveyard. He walked over to Marco's tombstone which, as if some sort of sign, was under one of the only streetlamps in the cemetery. He sat down in front of it, cross-legged, staring at the Rest In Peace, Marco Bodt — an unforgettable partner, son, and friend engraving in the granite. He wasn't sure how long he sat there for. All he remembers by the end was that he was sobbing and the man taking the earlier night shift escorted him back to his car. The stranger was probably the most comforting man this week, Jean thought, because he didn't speak or ask me any questions. 

When Jean parked in the driveway, he didn't have the energy to get out and slip into bed. He decided to sleep in the car. 

Floating. 

Jean Kirschtein was floating through an open abyss, an empty space of nothingness. Little spots of light dotted his vision and the blackness around him, leading him to wonder where he was exactly. 

"Jean?" 

The boy's head turned instantly at the voice he hadn't heard in so long. "Marco? Is that—"  

The dark, freckled brunet gave him no time to complete his sentence. His arms latched around Jean's neck in a way that would have suffocated him had they both been alive. 

Wait...alive? 

Jean wrapped his arms around Marco's waist, somewhat worried that he could see his deceased boyfriend. Something about that didn't seem right. "Wait, Marco... Why are you here? Why can I hold you and talk to you?" 

"You're dreaming, Jean." Marco pulled away from the hug and smiled. "It may seem crazy, but you're up in space with me. Souls don't really go anywhere after death, just into the zero gravity zone." 

Jean looked around. The harder he looked, the more he realized that he was surrounded by millions of dying stars. "It's beautiful up here," he whispered. He focused his attention on Marco once more. "Does this mean I can visit you whenever I want?" 

"Only when your mind says so," Marco explained. "It's kind of strange, but I'm still here. I still see you, Jean." His eyes began to water despite already being dead and merely a soul. "Please don't be sad over me. I helped you back to the car tonight. I want you to live as happily as you can, okay?" 

Jean blinked in disbelief. "You're...that was you?' 

Marco nodded. 

"Why didn't you say anything?" 

"I know that wasn't what you needed." 

Jean lunged for another hug. He never wanted to let go of Marco, not in a million years and not after a million years would end. "I don't want to wake up if it means you're here." 

"Just try looking for me everywhere," Marco said. He pulled out a thin red string — from where, Jean wasn't sure — and tied it around Jean's wrist. He slipped one of his hands into Jean's. "You did it already with Vampire Weekend." 

"I'll see what I can do." Jean was going to cry again; his eyes were already filling up with tears. "I'll miss you." 

"I'm still here, you dumbass." Marco rolled his eyes. "Just come visit sometime. I'm here." 

"Okay." 

Jean woke with a start. That was, most definitely, one of the strangest dreams he had ever dreamt. A part of him, though, didn't believe it to be just a dream. He clenched and unclenched the hand Marco had felt. It was all too real to be a stupid dream. 

On his other wrist was his proof: the red string Marco tied around his wrist was there. And Jean refused to ever take it off.