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“C-Colt, slow down!”
You didn’t like this, you didn’t like this at all.
“Hey, it’s alright. I promise. Trust me in this, okay?”
“But, Colt—”
A small frown appeared on your face as fear still creeped at the back of your mind. Your boyfriend surely knew that you were not a fan of impromptu meetings, not with the status that you had in this country. But it seemed like he had something specific in mind that he wanted to do.
You were already tucked into bed when a gentle, repeated knock could be heard from your windowpane. Turning your head, you found your boyfriend for the last two years waving his hand to greet you with the same tender smile that always plastered on his face.
He could be crazy sometimes, despite how he was that perfect man who would be the best son-in-law any parents wanted (especially since he was a warrior candidate who already secured a titan power) — Colt could be, well, a little bit rebellious sometimes when it came to you. “Colt, it’s already past midnight, if the guards see us—”
“They wouldn’t, trust me.” He turned his face towards you, one hand gripping tight around yours since he was afraid that you would fall from how fast the two of you ran in the middle of the night right now. “And if they caught us,” His pace slowed down a little, patting his left arm that was wrapped with a yellow armband. “You have nothing to worry about.”
A smile finally etched on your lips, brows no longer furrowed since you were reminded that he was one of the golden children in the Marleyan Military. Yes, there was nothing that you should be worried about, Colt must have a lot on his sleeves, a shout from the guard wouldn’t stop him.
You didn’t know where he was taking you, not when he was literally begging you to just come with him through the window, not even letting you change into proper attire. You just knew that he had a plan and, even though you were afraid, you blindly followed him as you put all of your trust on him.
“We are almost there.”
You and he had already ran past the gate that separated Liberio and the other city in Marley, and up until now, you still didn’t know where your boyfriend wanted to take you.
Your feet brushed overgrown grass, tickling you as it kept grazing on your skin. When you looked up, the moon became the only source of light that you could find, and you wondered when he would stop running.
As if on cue, he did. Without giving you any kind of sign, he suddenly stopped, making you stumble forward to his back. You wanted to curse at him, whining at why he didn’t tell you anything that the two of you already reached the destination.
But as you opened up your eyes, settling your gaze walked past him, all the words that you wanted to say stuck in your throat.
Thousands of fireflies overpowered the moonlight, leaving an abundance of luminescence in your vision. Your breath hitched as you were trying to take it all in, legs wobbled slightly from how long you were running, but you refused to fall down as you were graced by such beauty of nature.
Colt turned to take a look at you, smiling softly when he found the dumbstruck look at your face. He gently tugged your hand so you would follow him. But unlike before where he ran at a speed of light, now, each step that he took was calculated and gentle.
Your gaze never left the beautiful sight in front of you, though thankfully your body moved on its own as your boyfriend led you to another clearance where he found a space to lay down without losing the breathtaking view.
He sat down first, one hand dusting your clothes slowly as he helped you to sit down, not wanting to see any wrinkles on the fabric since he knew he would want to spend some time alone with you for the next few minutes — even better if he could reach an hour or two.
There was no obvious reason for why he brought you here today, but he knew that you would like to see this place so much. Perhaps it had been a month ever since he found this place. Not far from here, located a small yard where Zeke would ask him to play catch, and when he walked past here one day at nighttime, he knew that he needed to bring you here.
But with what happened for the last few weeks, he felt like there was almost no time for him to spend it with you alone. Duty called even though he was just a warrior candidate, then again, Zeke already appointed him to be the next inheritor of the beast titan, so it was not really that surprising anymore for him to be busy.
Actually, he didn’t even have time. He should be in bed right now since he had a meeting so early in the morning with General Magath. Tomorrow would be a big day for everyone in Marley, because for the first time in forever, an important event would be held in Liberio.
Yes, tomorrow, Willy Tybur, the only Eldian noble in Marley, would give a speech to people who were invited from across the world. He didn’t know what was going to happen tomorrow or what even the speech would be about, at least not the detail. But perhaps the morning meeting tomorrow was going to talk about the discourse.
He shook his head lightly, remembering where he was right now. Just for this time, he wanted to think about you and only you. At this moment, he was not Colt Grice who was the inheritor of the beast titan. Now, he was just Colt Grice, an eldian and your boyfriend that was loved so much.
Your lips are sealed ever since you laid down, and he could see from the pupil in your eyes how the fireflies glimmering inside your orbs like a twinkling star.
You were the most breathtaking creature that he ever met, and up until now, he wondered how come a woman like you would want to be with him. Surely there were a lot of handsome lads that wanted your hand in marriage. Hardworking, mature, still smiling despite the harsh world you were living in — he really thought that you were an angel reincarnate.
At first, you didn’t realise how a pair of warm hazel eyes were staring right into your soul. But as minutes went by, you started to notice how quiet it was.
Turning your head slightly to the side, you were caught off guard when your orbs locked with his in an instant, as if waiting for you to finally look at him. You swallowed a huge lump, still not used to the affectionate gaze that he always threw at you, and you just there, slowly nudging his hips to stop him from looking at you like that.
“What?”
“What do you mean what? Stop staring.”
You were joking, of course. It would be the biggest lie of the century if you said that you didn’t like when he decided to just stare at you. Colt always did that, every time you talked or rambled about a certain topic, he would listen and give you all of his attention, not even one sense of him wasn’t aware of your presence.
But surely you were embarrassed by now, you didn’t give him any attention back since you were too focused on the sight that he presented to you. You didn’t want to say out loud how beautiful the view was, somehow you could hear his voice where he said “Indeed.” while his eyes fell on you instead of the bright lights from the flickering insects.
Deep down, you hoped that he would understand why you were so entranced. Your daily life was rounding around working on the bar that paid just enough for you to support your parents. Every day, you had to face many perverted drunken men, listening to your colleagues who did nothing but complain, and you would just tuck yourself at night after work, hoping that someday it would change.
You seek freedom, perhaps, for the Eldians to live a better life. Despite how you knew it would be a dream that far too stretched out, you couldn’t help but wishing for it every night.
And he knew, even though you never say it out loud, Colt knew how you longed for a better life for your race.
“What’s on your mind, love?”
He asked, whispering it in your ear since he didn’t want to scare the fireflies.
“Just freedom.” You answered, as simple as that. “Nothing much, I just envied how the fireflies could just fly around, showing the world how beautiful they are, you know?”
The blonde answered your statement with a low hum, just enough for you to know that he heard you loud and clear. “You know that, right, Colt? You are almost there.” Your voice became lower and lower as you said that, mind fleeting back and forth from the yellow light in front of you and the same yellow tone that you found on your boyfriend’s arm.
“Is that what you want?” Raising one of your eyebrows, you were trying to understand where he was trying to bring this conversation to. “To be free, to maybe, you know, get a better life?”
“Huh?” You blurted it out without thinking. “I-I mean, of course. Isn’t that what everyone wants? To have a better life every day they wake up?”
“Yeah, I guess you are right, since I am the same.”
“I know that.” You know how he wanted to clear his family name. “And like what I said before, you are almost there. You already secured your name, Colt. Soon enough, everyone will know that the Grice family are honorary Marleyans.” Turning your head slightly, you gave a reassurance smile to the man that you put your heart to for the last couple of years. “And you will be free.”
Colt's heart skipped a beat when he heard your words. It seemed like you always knew how his mind worked, knowing exactly what to say to ease his heart from all the things that he overthink. Yes, to be an honorary Marleyan was his goal from the start, to repaint the history of Grice, replacing it with something greater.
And along the way as he met you, as he started to be in a steady relationship with someone that he wanted to spend his forever to, truthfully, his dream turned into something bigger.
Because now, he didn’t want to be the only one who had his arm wrapped with a red band.
“I wondered how to be like you though.” You suddenly speak up. “It’s too late for me to enroll in the military, to be a warrior candidate, to be an honorary Marleyan.” There was a melancholic tone in your voice, and it made his heart crack a little.
Yeah, when he thought about it, there was no other way to be an honorary Marleyan except giving up your life as you gave it to the country. No other occupation, no other chances. It was either killed in the war as an Eldian Soldier, or died in thirteen years as a Warrior. The only other way for someone to get the red armband was of course if they had a family—
Abruptly, he sat up straight, as if the deity whispered him an answer to his prayer. You wanted to ask what happened or what was bothering his mind at this moment. But before you could say anything, he suddenly turned around to face you with a wide grin plastered on his face.
“Colt,”
“You don’t have to do anything.” He cutted you off, not patient enough to let you say anything else. “I know, love, I know how to give you freedom.”
Your pupils dilated from his sudden confession, lips still parted as you were too in awe. There was nothing that you could do, you know that, and somehow you could only let out a small chuckle to answer his statement.
“Colt, goodness.” You sat up too, levelling your gaze with him. “How? I am asking you now. There is no other way, don’t start a joke, Colt.”
“No, no.” His eyebrows furrowed, not liking how you seemed to not trust him. “Why would I joke around about something like this?” But he couldn’t blame you after all.
“Then what?” You whispered out, voice so soft as you were trying to indulge him too. “What’s inside that brilliant mind of yours, hm, my dear Colt?”
“Marry me.”
“What?”
“Marry me.” He stood up, dusting his slightly wrinkled pants before getting down on his knee, taking your hand that was still frozen in place as you couldn’t believe what you heard just now. “You were the one who said it, right? Soon, I will be an honorary Marleyan. Soon, I can give that better life for you.”
You were flabbergasted, never once the two of you thought about marriage life since he knew that there would be no distant future for the relationship that you had with him. He always lived in the moment, thinking that it was the best choice in life since at the end, he could never be there for a long time.
But this proposition, the hazel orbs that looked back at you with such certainty, he didn’t joke around.
“W-Why?” You couldn’t help it, you needed to ask. “I thought you are not a fan of marriage, I thought you—”
“I always loved the idea of marriage though.” He smiled softly, thumb circling around the back of your hand. “I love the idea of getting married, to you.” Then he fixed his sentence, making your heart beat a thousand times faster by now. “I-I know that I only have thirteen years to be alive once I inherit the beast titan. But at least,”
Taking a long deep breath, he tried to control himself so he didn’t rush his words, wanting to stretch this moment for a little longer. “At least once I am gone, you would live a better life as an Eldian with the red armband.”
He thought about it, he actually thought everything about it. Even though he knew he could never have a long life and play with his children or grandkids, he still thought about you. That perhaps you deserved it, albeit how he would no longer be there to share the freedom that he brought.
You didn’t want to accept it at first, it felt like you were just using him for something that he tried so hard to achieve. But as you locked your gaze with him, his warm eyes showed you nothing but sincerity and fondness.
Your vision started to blur as you let his words sink in. Colt, your boyfriend, the best man that you ever met in Liberio, just asked you to be his as long as he could give. There was no forever for the two of you in this world, and he knew that, you knew that. And yet he wanted to pull you even closer to his heart despite knowing that a happy ending was something that only happened in children’s books.
But maybe, that was the only thing you needed. A few years with him, feeling a little bit of freedom and a better life that you could spend with the man who owned your heart.
“Colt, you should have known it from the start.”
That little time — you were sure would be enough if it was shared with him.
“My answer would be yes.”