Chapter Text
Marco couldn't believe how close he lived to Jean. It took ten minutes on the bus to get there, and Marco knew the area well enough to know that it would take him about twenty minutes to walk.
"Welcome, young Marco, to La Casa de Jean!" announced Connie, throwing the front door open dramatically.
"Make yourself at home!" added Sasha, skipping inside. Marco followed slowly, marvelling at his surroundings. Jean lived in a small, two-bedroom apartment, and it was a mess, but it was still really cool. Jean had a plaque hanging on the wall, and upon closer examination, Marco realized it was the plaque YouTube had sent him when he hit 1 million subscribers.
"So this is Jean's place," Marco said finally, containing his intense fanboy attack.
"Yep! Now let's record your first video, Marco!" Connie suggesting, "Jean's got a sick guest setup!"
Marco followed Connie into what he assumed was the guest bedroom. Connie was right; the setup was pretty sick. He sat down at one of the computers.
"So, what are we playing?" Sasha asked, bouncing over to her laptop, which was set up on the bed.
"One sec, lemme check Skype," Connie said, "Whoa! I'm popular! Reiner messaged me as soon as I got on!"
"What'd he say?!" Sasha prompted.
"He wants to know if we wanna record some TTT," Connie told.
"Ooh, sounds like fun!" Sasha exclaimed, "Do you know TTT, Marco?"
"Yeah, it's a Gmod gamemode. I play a lot on community servers," Marco explained.
"Right, TTT with Reiner and Co. it is!" Connie declared, "Reiner'll add us to the call in a minute. Marco, log into your Gmod account and get ready!"
Marco complied, opening Skype and Gmod and signing into his accounts. A few minutes later, he was added to the Skype call and answered almost instantly.
"Yo, dudes!" Connie shouted.
"What's up?" Reiner asked, "Ready to get rekt?"
"Ready to be the ones doing the wrecking," Sasha responded, grinning, "Oh, right introductions! Guys, meet Marco. Marco, meet Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie!"
"Hello, Marco. Nice to meet you," Bertholdt greeted warmly.
"Same," Marco said, smiling. Inside, he was dying. The number of famous people he had met that day was out of this world. Officially, Annie wasn't part of the Survey Team, but that was only because Levi was really picky about who got to join, and he never liked Annie for some reason.
"Okay, let's get started!" Sasha cheered.
After a few minutes of setting stuff up, they were all in the game.
"Okay, in three, two, one, what's up, dudes! Welcome back to more TTT!" Reiner announced.
"Trouble in Terrorist Town!" Connie sang out.
Marco picked up a pistol and a M16, which he was satisfied with. He crouched next to a window, waiting for the 'preparing' stage to be over.
"We've got a new face with us in Gmod today, don't we?" Sasha said.
"Yeah, hey everyone, I'm Marco! I'm just starting YouTube, and this is the first video I'm actually recording," Marco told nervously.
"I'm sure you'll do great," Bertholdt reassured.
The preparing stage ended, and Marco was shocked to see that he was the traitor first round, along with Annie. He knew her approach was to stay hidden and kill from the shadows, so if he sniped them from the tower he had spawned in, it would be a suitable distraction. Seeing Connie down below, he started shooting.
"Whoa! I'm being sniped!" Connie yelled.
"Where you at?" Sasha demanded.
"By the gray building!"
"All the buildings are gray!"
"Who's the detective?" Reiner asked.
"Meeee!" Sasha announced.
"Right, let's meet up in front of the office building, then whoever isn't there is the sniper," Reiner told.
"Guys, I'm still being-" Connie fell silent as Marco killed him. There was a rule where once you were dead, you couldn't talk.
"Connie? You alive?" Marco asked, feigning innocence and heading down towards the office building. He switched to his pistol so they wouldn't know he had another gun.
"I'll take that as a 'no'" Bertholdt said in response to Connie's silence, "Anyone see the body?"
Marco got to the office building, and the only people not present were Connie and Sasha. Marco checked the player list; Sasha was listed as 'Missing in Action.' Annie must have taken care of her.
"Okay, Connie and Sasha aren't here. Connie was murdered and Sasha's the detective, so two of us must be traitors," reasoned Annie.
"Connie could have fake died. He could be the traitor," Marco argued, wondering what her plan was.
"We need to find Connie's body," Reiner declared. They all headed off in different directions. Marco spotted Annie stealthily following Bertholdt. Leaving it to her, he headed over to where Connie's body was. Scrolling through the traitor menu, he bought the flare gun and quickly burned the body. That dealt with, he headed off in the direction he had seen Reiner heading.
"No sign of the body," Annie reported. Marco checked the player list; Bertholdt was dead. Just Reiner left now.
"Me neither," Reiner said, "Bertl? How bout you?"
Silence.
"Marco?"
Marco stayed silent, pretending to be dead.
"Is it just you and me, Annie?" Reiner asked cautiously.
"Yes," she confirmed, playing along with Marco's charade. Since he had bought the flare gun, he didn't have enough points to buy the radar, so he resigned himself to running around and looking for Reiner.
"Reiner," Connie whispered in imitation of a ghost, "This is the ghost of Connie! Don't go that way!"
"Nooo," Sasha argued in the same voice, "Go that way!"
Marco spotted Reiner in the hallway ahead of him. He switched back to his M16.
"How bout neither way?" he suggested, then started shooting. He got in a few head shots from behind, and Reiner never stood a chance.
TRAITORS WIN
"You weren't dead?!" Reiner exclaimed incredulously.
"Nope," Marco confirmed, grinning.
"Nice play," Annie congratulated.
"Thanks for going along with it," Marco said.
The round ended, and the next round started, going into the preparing phase. Marco had 30 seconds to get a gun and to get away from people so he wouldn't get insta-killed. He picked up a H.U.G.E. and instantly discarded it. That was probably the worst gun in the game. He picked up a MAC10, which wasn't much better then a H.U.G.E., and a Deagle, which was the second-best gun. If you got a headshot, it was a one-hit kill.
The round ended, and this time, Marco was innocent.
"Alright, I'm the detective, no one kill me!" Connie announced.
Marco saw Connie on the ground below the roof he was perched on, and accidentally ran off the roof and landed in front of him.
"Whoa, dude! I saw that!" Connie laughed.
"What-" Annie started, probably asking what happened, but then fell silent.
"I'm at 49 health, can you put down a health station?" Marco asked, blushing embarrassedly.
"Yeah, no problem," Connie agreed, throwing down the health station. Marco returned to full health, then stood in front of Connie.
"I'll be your bodyguard," offered Marco.
"Okay! You wouldn't be the traitor two rounds in a row, so I trust you!"
Marco suddenly grew suspicious, "Sasha?"
No response.
"Reiner?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm alive. Annie? You there?"
Nothing.
"Bertholdt?" Marco asked.
"Oh, wait, there's a body in here!" Reiner said.
Reindeer found the body of The Colossal One. They were a traitor!
"Bert was a traitor! And Sasha and Annie are dead, which means that- Marco, Reiner's kill on sight!" Connie yelled.
Marco heard something from the building behind them and the pieces clicked together.
"C4! There's C4!" he shouted, but it was too late as it exploded, taking both him and Connie out.
TRAITORS WIN
---
They played for a few hours after that. From what Marco understood, when it came to Gmod, they recorded for about three hours a session, and posted it as twenty minute episodes over the course of the next month or so. Eventually, Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie logged off, and they moved on to playing some Hunger Games on the Nexus.
"GG, Marco! You're, like, the next Jean!" Sasha told.
"I'm not that good," Marco denied.
"Yeah, you so are," Connie agreed, "Ooh! Levi just messaged me! Anyone up to play The Building Game?"
"Count me in," Marco responded.
"Yeah, me too!" Sasha chirped.
"With us three, that's seven! They're already all set up, so we just gotta join the server and the call!" Connie told Marco the IP, and the three of them logged onto Erwin's private server. A moment later, they were added to the call.
"Heyyyya!" Hanji greeted.
"Yo!" Connie said, "Okay, more introductions, get it out of the way. Everyone, Marco. Marco, Erwin, Petra, Hanji, and Levi.
"Marco! You're the one from the Hunger Games, right? Freckles?" Hanji asked brightly.
"Yeah, that's me," Marco confirmed. He was a bit embarrassed about the nickname. Jean had called him that, probably because of his username, and apparently Hanji picked up the habit.
"Nice to meet you, Marco!" Petra said.
"Let's just start," Levi grumbled.
"Okay, in 3, 2, 1, hello, everyone. Erwin here for another Building Game! Today I'm playing with Levi, Hanji, Petra, Connie, Sasha, and Marco."
"Let's get this thing started!" Sasha cheered. Marco thought for a few moments, then used an anvil to rename the piece of paper in his inventory to 'Horse god.' Completely random, but it could be funny.
Once everyone had placed their paper in the dispensers, Marco was teleported into the building area. He checked the dispenser; he was to build 'frecKLES!!!!' Well, he knew who he was following. Hanji really was obsessed with that nickname. Marco picked his blocks; white, pink, brown, and black stained clay, and he started to build.
"Just to be clear, for those of you wondering, Marco isn't part of the Survey Team, nor will he be any time soon," Levi said.
"Way to be mean, Levi!" Sasha shouted.
"Yeah, Marco's great! Don't be mean to him!" Connie added.
"Guys, it's fine. Levi's right, if we don't clarify that, everyone will be asking in the comments. I'm not joining the Survey Team, I'm just a friend of Connie and Sasha's and they invited me to play," said Marco.
"A lot of people play with us who aren't part of the Survey Team, and that's perfectly fine. You're welcome to play with us any time, Marco," Petra reassured.
"Thanks, Petra," Marco said, "I think if you guys don't mind, I'll be a regular face soon enough."
"No way would we mind!" Hanji exclaimed, "You're great, Freckles!"
It didn't take long to complete his build; it was simple, a face with a lot of freckles, an arrow pointing to the freckles.
"Alright, time's up, everyone," Erwin announced.
"Nooo!! I'm not done!!" wailed Sasha, but it was too late. Erwin had already teleported everyone to the next stage, guessing what the person they were following had built.
Marco frowned as he looked at the... incredibly complicated and detailed build in front of him. It was obviously meant to be Sauron's tower in Mordor from Lord of the Rings. Hanji really was an incredible builder.
"Hanji, how'd you have time to build all this?" he marvelled.
"Ah, ah, ah! No talking about the builds!" Hanji said, "Ask me later!"
Marco renamed the paper to 'Sauron's tower' and placed it in the dispenser.
The rounds moved pretty quickly, Marco completing a mediocre build each time, following Hanji and their insanely good builds. Soon enough, they were done.
"Well, thanks for watching, everyone! See you next time!" Petra outroed, and Marco stopped his recording.
"Well," Connie said, yawning, "It's late here in sunny Sani Diego, so we'll be going."
Marco looked at the clock; it was almost midnight. Whoa. It had gotten late without him realizing it.
"Adios, amigos!" Sasha shouted, then the three of them left the call. Marco logged out of the guest computer and stretched his arms above his head.
"Well, Freckles, we've got this room, so you can take Jean's room, if you want," told Connie.
"Oh, no, I couldn't invade Jean's privacy," Marco protested, "I think I'll just sleep on the couch."
"Okay! Well, night!" Sasha said. Marco left the room, closing the door behind him, and settled down on the couch. It was summer in San Diego, so he didn't need a blanket, and he propped his head up with one of the couch pillows. Soon enough, he drifted off to sleep.
---
"Rise and shine, Freckles!" Sasha shouted, waking him up.
"What time is it?" Marco mumbled.
"It's almost 8AM!" Connie told.
"Too early." Marco shoved his face under the pillow and tried to go back to sleep.
"Nope! Not happening!" Sasha pulled the pillow away, and, despite Marco's best efforts, the two pushed him off the couch.
"Alright, alright, I'm up," Marco yawned, "So, why did you wake me up?"
"Do you know about the Survey Team event next month?" Sasha questioned.
"No, I don't. Is there one?" Marco asked, genuinely surprised.
"Well, there is one, and everyone's flying in for it. Some people aren't coming till, like, the week of the event, but some people, like us, are flying in now and spending some time in Cali!" Connie explained, "So, we've got to fetch Ymir and Christa from the airport!"
Marco nodded, "Alright, I'll come along. Do you have a car?"
"Ehh..." Sasha mumbled.
"We didn't think that far ahead," Connie admitted.
"That's alright, I've got the spare key to Mina's car. We can borrow it," said Marco, "She lives just around the corner from my place, so let's go."
"Yay, Freckles!" cheered Sasha.
The two followed him out the door and down the street towards his apartment. Mina lived in the apartment building two blocks down, and they all had designated parking spots in an underground parkade, which is where they were headed. Marco paused outside her car to shoot her a text, knowing she wouldn't be awake to argue this early.
Marco
btw we borrowed your car <3
Marco unlocked the car, and they all got in. It was about a twenty minute drive to the airport, throughout which Connie and Sasha continuously poked him and asked him if they were there yet. Marco was thoroughly exhausted when they finally got to the airport.
Sasha checked her phone, "Right! They landed, like, twenty minutes ago! They're hanging at the food court!"
Marco led the way through the airport, and when they got to the food court, they spotted Ymir and Christa holding hands while eating fast food of some form.
"Ramona Flowers, I'm in lesbians with you!" Connie jokingly called from across the food court. When the two of them (and everyone else within 50 feet) turned, Sasha and Connie both grinned and waved like idiots. Ymir visibly facepalmed before grabbing both her and Christa's bags and walking over to them.
"Really?!" Ymir said once they were close enough, "You're gonna pull out the Scott Pilgrim reference insanely loudly in the middle of the food court at the fucking airport?!"
"Bingo!" confirmed Connie, flashing a thumbs-up.
Ymir sighed, "You know what, whatever. I don't even care. Do whatever."
"Are you possibly Marco?" Christa asked, trying to relieve the tension.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Marco answered.
"Well, your username is frecklednotch, and you have a lot of freckles." Christa smiled warmly, and Marco couldn't stop himself from smiling as well. Christa seemed to have that effect on people.
"Yeah, we call him Freckles!" Connie told.
"So, where are you guys staying?" Sasha asked brightly.
"Eh, we figured we'd just stay with Jean," Ymir told.
"Uh oh! Problem!" Connie shouted.
"Connie and Sasha are staying with Jean," Marco explained.
"Shit!" Ymir cursed.
"It's okay, Ymir, we can just stay in a hotel," Christa reasoned.
"I don't want to stay in some hotel with shitty internet and bedbugs for a month!" Ymir argued, "There has to be another option."
"Umm... you two could stay with me for a bit," Marco offered, "I mean, there's an extra room at my apartment, and I don't mind."
"That would be fantastic! Thanks so much, Marco!" Christa said, beaming.
"Yeah, thanks, Freckles," Ymir added. Great. The nickname was spreading. Was it his destiny to be known as Freckles? Just because of some spots on his face and a username he thought was creative? Oh well. It could be worse.
"Alright, everyone, to Marco's friend's car!" cheered Sasha, running ahead.
"Hey! No fair!" Connie shouted, chasing after her.
Marco sighed, "Are they always like this?"
"Yeah," Ymir responded.
"Oh! I can carry something, if you want," he offered.
"Yeah, thanks," Ymir said, handing him one of the several suitcases she was carrying. He accepted the bag, and they made their way to Mina's car.
Marco facepalmed, "I'm an idiot! There's only four seats in the car! Thomas took one out last time he was here for 'science' and never put it back."
"It's fine, Christa can sit on my lap," Ymir told.
"Alright," Marco agreed somewhat reluctantly, "Hitch and Marlow should be done by now, so we'll head back to my place."
"Yay!!" Sasha cheered.
"Onwards!" Connie shouted, "To Marco's apartment!"
Once again, it was a short and uneventful ride. The only thing that had changed was the pair of girls being all couple-y and making out the entire way. Marco shipped Christa and Ymir so much, and they hadn't told the fans they were dating yet. It took all the self-control Marco had to not scream in happiness at his ship.
They got to Mina's place and dropped off her car. Marco could feel his phone buzzing. He knew it was Mina with questions, so he ignored her for now.
"Right! We'll head back to Jean's now!" Connie chirped.
"See you later, my lovely queers!" Sasha said, then the two of them ran away, pushing each other and racing.
"Is that all we are now?" Marco joked.
"They're just jealous of our mystical homosexual powers," Ymir answered, cracking a smile.
"Totally. They'll go be boring while we barf rainbows," Marco said, grinning.
"Just to be sure, Marco, are you gay? I mean, you're hinting at it, but-" Christa asked nervously.
"Yep, I'm full homo. Always have been, always will be," Marco confirmed, "So, my place is just around the corner. Follow me."
Marco picked up a couple of the bags, and Ymir grabbed the rest. They headed up the street and around the corner to Marco's apartment. Once they were inside, Marco showed them to the guest room, depositing the bags on the bed.
"Thanks again for letting us stay, Freckles," Ymir said again.
"It's really no trouble." Marco smiled, "If you need me, I'm the door directly to your left. See you later."
Marco left the room and returned to his own, popping his headphones over his ears. He would probably mess around on Mineplex for awhile, get some solo stuff recorded before jumping into some more games with the Survey Team. He joined Mineplex and began to play.