The Return of Marco Bodt (Titan!Marco)

Chapter 23

Jean's point of view

It had been almost two years since Marco escaped. Every day since then agonizingly long. Days seemed to last years. Nights seemed to last eternities. I sometimes caught myself pushing my food around my plate wondering where Marco was right now and if he was doing well. Of course, he wasn't. Thoughts like these are what kept me up at night. These thoughts tortured me day and night. What could Marco have been thinking? What went through his mind during his time here?

At times I thought he truly was better off dead. When he came out of the titan he endured nothing but pain for his enthusiasm to serve the scouts. He had been damaged beyond repair by them. They had taken away the Marco I knew and replaced him with something foreign.

On all the expeditions since Marco left, a small part of me always hoped that I might catch a glimpse of him. A bigger part of me hoped that he wasn't in his titan anymore. That he had been welcomed into a village and was being well cared for. But nowadays that was too much to ask.

I was sitting at my table in the mess hall when a scout came rushing towards me. "Jean, there's someone who wants to see you," they announced. Anyone that heard what the scout had said turned in my direction and stared. No one ever visited headquarters. I don't think visitors were even allowed.

I got up abandoning my food at the table and walked to the headquarters entrance. Much to my surprise, the scout didn't follow me. I peeked through the door to get a good look at whoever wanted to see me. I didn't want to open the door and alert them to my presence if they weren't worth my time. Parted black hair that glinted slightly in the afternoon sunlight. A scar that covered the right side of his face.

I threw the door open and threw my arms around Marco. He returned my embrace without hesitation. "I missed you too, Jean," He whispered softly in my ear. My shock and happiness at seeing Marco again were quickly replaced with panic.

"What are you doing here?! A scout saw you! They remember you and what you did! What were you thinking coming back here?!" I cried.

"Well. I can't live forever and my time is running out so I thought what better way to spend it than with you," Marco replied, a smile crossed his face but it didn't exactly reach his eyes.

"Wait... What do you mean by your time is running out?!" I panicked, taking a step back from Marco to get a better look at him when I realized how weak he looked. He had lost a lot of weight since I last saw him and he looked extremely unhealthy. What stood out to me the most was the dark red stain that was spreading across his light gray shirt. "Marco?! Is that blood...?" I pieced two and two together on my own. The scout had stabbed Marco.

"I was going to die soon anyway. I noticed that I've just been getting weaker and weaker every day. It was only a matter of time before my body gave out," He said softly. I pulled Marco into another hug not worrying about the blood that was probably staining my uniform. Tears steadily flowed down my face against my will.

"I'm so glad we got to be friends," Marco said. "Thank you for warming up to me. I wouldn't change the time we spent together for the world," He said before falling silent.

When I noticed that Marco's heart was no longer beating I didn't lose it. I didn't cry any harder than I already was. I laid him down on the ground, blades of grass brushing against his face. I plucked a wildflower with beautiful purple petals and laid it by his head.

"Goodbye, Marco."

The end