"Uh...(Y..Y/N)..? W..wakey wakey..." I groaned as someone tapped me on the cheek, squishing my face down into the mattress.

Wait...this is too firm for a mattress...

Cracking an eye open, I realised my head was resting on a chest, and trailing further up, I met Marco's flustered face.
"Five more minutes..." I sighed, closing my eyes again, unphased that my entire body was laying atop his.
"B..but you'll be late for your expedition..." He tapped me again, and this time I propped myself up on my elbows.
"Do I have to?" I yawned, reaching out and flicking a few wild strands of black hair from his forehead.

"I'll walk you to the stables, i..if you want me to..." Marco offered, trying to gently force me to move off of him. "I don't want you to go...but I also don't want you to get in trouble..." Flopping down, I groaned into the scooped neck of his night shirt and peeled myself away, almost rolling off onto the floor if he hadn't grabbed me around the waist.

"Shit...Thanks, Marco." I chuckled, missing the intense flare on his cheeks. "I guess I really should get up..." The cadet pulled me up into a sitting position along with him, and we both crawled out of bed. The sun was barely starting to peek over the horizon, and I rubbed my (E/C) eyes, trying to force them to adjust to the darkness. Once they did, I focused on the bed on the other side of the small room.

Jean was sprawled out on his stomach; one arm limply dangling over the edge of his bunk, with his mouth popped open ever so slightly. His sheets were a messy tangle around his calves, and his entire pillow, along with his head, were dangerously close to falling over the edge.
"Yeah, he's a restless sleeper...Especially since graduation is in a few days...We both really want to be in the top ten so we can be interior policemen." Marco explained, hurrying to try and change his shirt before I could turn and see his bare chest.

So...I won't see you guys anymore...

"Are you kidding? Of course you two will be in the top ten. You're both natural leaders...anyone can see that." I responded, creeping closer to Jean's bed and crouching down by his upper half. "I'm gonna miss you when you go...Not so much this asshole...but still..." I trailed off, gently taking hold of the copperette's pillow and pushing it further onto his bed, carefully moving his head along too.

"I'll come and visit you as much as I can, I promise!" Marco insisted, hopping on one leg as he tugged on his boot. "I mean, I honestly feel like I should join the scouts...so I can look after you, and-"

"No." My voice was a little loud, and Jean stirred a little before resuming his faint snoring. Standing up, I refused to look my friend in the eyes as I turned to fetch my own boots. "It's suicide..."

God knows if I'll even come back from this little expedition...

"That's why I don't like this..." I heard him whisper, but I chose to ignore it, slipping on my boots and meeting him at the door.
"Oi..." I flinched a little when I heard that second voice, and turned to catch eyes with a sleepy Jean, who had his head propped up on his hand. "Try to come back, alright?"

Heh...

"Sure...I'm not finished pissing you off yet..." I stuck out my tongue, but a smile was curling my lips, and he mirrored my expression with a little less zest. Leaving the room with Marco by my side, we quickly stopped off at the women's living quarters so I could fetch my straps and gear, before heading towards the stables.

"So...What's the special operation squad like..? I've heard horror stories about that captain..." Marco visibly shuddered, and I shrugged my shoulders, pinching at a strap that tried to ride up my thigh.
"Eh, he's a little prick...but he seems to know what he's doing. I mean, he caught me, right?" I laughed, and he joined in.
"True, true...What about the others? Do they treat you well?"

Yeah...Eld treats me real damn well...

"Mmhmmm. Petra teaches me a bunch of girl stuff, which is a little much sometimes. Gunther can be strict, but he taught me some cool new blade tricks...Oluo...I guess Oluo is pretty neat...He always bites his tongue, though..." I paused, trying to think of a way I could describe Eld that wouldn't expose our strange relationship. "...and Eld...he's kind of doting? Plus he always let's me put flowers in his hair. They all kind of cancel out Levi's tyranny."

"I'm glad...As long as you're in good hands, I'll maybe be able to sleep at night..." When I glanced over at Marco, I noticed his deep frown. I didn't like it one bit.
"Hey..." I reached out and took his hand, which seemed to take him off guard. "...I'll be okay. We made a promise, right? I'll be back to stressing you out in no time!"

I wasn't the best at reassuring people, but it seemed to work a little bit. His larger hand squeezed mine tightly, and he smiled over at me.
"You never stress me out." He chuckled, tilting his head so the top of his raven undercut shifted to the side. "It's a solid promise."

"You're late, brat." I gritted my teeth upon hearing Levi's voice, and we both turned our attention to the man, who was compensating for his lack of height by sitting upon his large horse. Marco quickly pulled his hand out from mine and slammed it against his chest in a salute, straightening his posture so much I swore I head his back crack.
"My apologies, sir! I insisted I walk her here, and she was waiting on me, sir!"

Marco, sweetie...please don't stick your head up his ass...

Levi clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes at the overly polite boy, before my attention was captured by Boy, who was nipping and snorting at a frustrated Oluo.
"Here, I'll take him!" I bounded over, immediately calming the steed by placing a hand against his neck.
"Damned thing needs to learn some respect..."

Petra approached me, holding a bundle of clothing in her arms.
"(Y/N), look! We finally got your uniform!" She cheered, almost throwing it into my face. Raising a sceptical brow, I studied the material closely. It was rather similar to their own patriotic uniforms, except the colour scheme consisted of blacks and greys.

"Thanks. I hate it." I irked, yipping as Gunther gave me a strong push towards the stables.
"Quit complaining so much and go put it on. Nobody will walk in." He smirked at my resistant glare, but I did what I was told. As I entered the stable, I met Eld in the walkway, leading out his own horse.
"Good morning, kiddo!~" He chimed, giving me a slight nudge with his elbow as I passed him slowly.
"What's so good about it?" I grumbled in return, stalking into one of the empty stalls.

Fuck every single wall, this sucks..!

I looked down at myself after changing and groaned loudly. Everything felt so tight and restricting in comparison to my usual choice of larger clothing. All that was left was the cropped jacket and creepy hooded cape, and I ran my hand over the scout insignia on the back.
"Wings of freedom, huh..? Nothing free about any of this bullshit..."

"Aye aye, looking good!" Petra wolf whistled as I stormed out, still halfway through yanking on the stupid jacket, and I shot her a death glare.
"To reiterate...Thanks. I absolutely fucking hate it." I growled, shrinking down under Gunther's huge hand as it messed my (H/C) hair.

"Hurry it up. We're behind as it is..." Levi snarked, pacing his horse back and forth a little ways away from where we stood. The others mounted their horses immediately, but I had one more thing to do. I quickly raced over to Marco and threw my arms around him, knocking him back several paces.
"I'll miss you, Marco..." I whined, rubbing my nose against his cheek. "I'll try my absolute bestest to get home in time to watch you rank number one!"

Squeezing me back, so tightly yet not at all uncomfortable, he laughed quietly, setting me down on the ground.
"Don't put that much faith in me...but, yeah, I hope you make it back by then..." He sighed, almost regretfully pulling back. "Stay safe, okay? Don't let the captain put you in danger..."

Is..is he going to cry?! No, no, don't cry, precious baby boy!

"I won't! He ain't the boss of me!" I promised, nodding my head and forcing myself to tear away from him. "Could you...uh, maybe look after these for me? If I leave them here somebody will steal them..." I bent down and picked up my old clothes; a tunic, pants and a grey material belt, holding them out. Marco accepted with a smile, and agreed without hesitation. A brief glance over to Eld confirmed that he was, indeed, excrutiatingly jealous, but there was nothing to be concerned about. Marco was my brother, in every way but blood. Mounting Boy; bareback and without reins, I started off towards where my squad had gathered.

"W..wait! (Y/N)..!" I halted Boy and swivelled a little, surprised to see Marco racing to catch up to me. When he reached my side, he held something out to me in an enclosed fist. "I..I want you to take this..."
"Uh...okay..?" I let him drop whatever it was into my hand, and I pulled it up to take a closer look. It seemed to be some sort of bracelet, made from leather and waxed cotton.

"It's...uh...good luck..." Marco explained timidly, stepping awag and rubbing the back of his neck. "I've had it since forever...and it got me this far...I want you to take it with you..."

Fuck, I'm going to cry...

Before I had been thrown from Wall Maria, the only kindness I had received had been from my late brother. Since returning, Marco had been my rock, and parting ways with him, even for such a short time, was difficult.
"Thank you, Marco...I love ya..." I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, trying not to burst out crying in front of both him and the squad.

"I..I love you, too..." Marco murmured, taking a few more steps back and forcing on a bright, cheerful grin. "Now, hurry up so you can come back!" Nothing else needed to be said, and I nodded once to him as I kicked off and joined the others, who immediately began heading towards the outer entrance.

It might only be a trip within Wall Maria...but this is real...Maybe I can actually do this...I've got people I need to come back to...and I have someone here with me, as well...Yeah...I made a damn promise..! I'll be back!

I turned as we cantered down the dusty path, feeling my heart lurch in my chest as I saw Marco waving us goodbye.

Yeah...I'll definitely be back..!

(All the fucking glow. Screw you, internet, for ruining my emotional picture ugh)

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***Marco deserves the entire fucking solar system, and I know you don't want to change my mind***