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It's early morning, but Jean can barely remember what day it is anymore. He can also barely step out of his bed without grabbing onto either the headboard or the side table, the process would be easier if he were to get himself a pair of glasses like his husband, but he would always refuse. After a bit of struggling, he manages to stand up as straight as he can, and starts to reach for his regular day clothing over his chair - his dark grey pants, his buttoned shirt and a black coat.
Even on days where he doesn't feel like going out, he still likes to dress up fancy anyway. Jean takes a quick look in the mirror first before heading downstairs; I say quick because even the smallest glance at his gray hair can still put a sour feeling in his chest. Carefully, Jean makes small steps down the creaky staircase of his house, it hasn't been in the best shape for a few years now but Jean and his husband don't feel necessarily ready to move into a retirement home just yet. He makes a left turn towards the living room which is connected to the kitchen, only to suddenly notice the lack of light in the room - only faint rays of sunlight breaking through the curtains.
When Jean flicks the light switch on the wall, there he sees his husband Marco casually sitting on his big, soft armchair on the opposite side of the room, with his cane in hand. From behind the bigger couch appears two very happy children; a boy of light brown hair at 12 years and a girl of jet black hair at 11 years. Their happiness spreads across the whole room along with their party poppers in their hands and shouts of joy.
"SURPRISE!!"
If Jean were any older, the sudden surprise would give him a heart attack. But how can he possibly react too hard to the sound of party poppers when he sees his beloved grandchildren who he hasn't seen in a long while. Although he quietly thinks to himself: 'Why are my grandchildren here? I thought Rosie was going to take them into the town today. Some kind of big news or something?' Thoughts aside, he steps in closer to give each grandchild the biggest but softest hugs he can.
"Sorry if they shocked you, dear." His husband Marco apologizes, still smiling and sitting straight in his armchair. "They told me that they really wanted to surprise you with their visit."
Visit? Well that's very sweet of them to. Jean lets go of his granddaughter from his hug and walks over to Marco, he asks "If you knew that they're here to visit, then why didn't you tell me their change of plans yesterday?"
Marco gives a pretty croaky laugh - no matter how old and shaky the freckled boy's voice gets, his laughter will always sound like music to Jean's ears. "Did you forget?"
As soon as he says the word 'forget' Jean automatically knew that it's some important event that his stupid elderly brain just put right at the back of his mind. Jean gives out a rough sigh, this already happens too many times due to his age so he's kinda use to it now. "What did I miss out now?"
"It's your birthday, Granddad." The young boy, who couldn't keep it a secret any longer, speaks aloud for everyone in the room to hear.
With shocked eyes, Jean lets out a 'huh?' and takes turns looking at his husband and his grandchildren. Everything just plops right back into place in his elderly mind; the poppers alongside Marco not telling him about the unexpected visitors make sense now. But... god, he really feels ashamed about his age now that he's beginning to forget his own birthday. Jean takes a moment to process, then plasters on a smile while patting his grandson's hair. "Well... it really was a big surprise for me. Thank you."
Both children laugh so joyfully, satisfied with making their granddad happy. Marco gives another radiant smile back at them; and finally decides to stand up from his armchair. A bit wobbly at first, Jean insists that he should not get up but Marco ignores him as he keeps tight grips on both the chair and his cane. He looks up at Jean sweetly as he reaches into his pocket for what sounds like the clinging of metal on his fingernails. Jean peaks down to have a look, at that moment, Marco pulls out what appears to be a medal; an old fashioned Survey Corps medal. Jean stares right at the rusty piece of metal that he had not seen in decades.
"Where did you get this?" Jean asks in a whisper, confuse of how Marco was able to get such a rare item with how rarely he leaves the house.
"Armin gave it to me months ago. Said he found it while he was clearing out his office after his retirement." Marco replies while struggling to remember how to put the medal onto his husband. Jean manages to help him by loosening the string and putting it around his neck. Marco smiles again while analyzing it. "Hm, it still looks good on you."
"Really? If it still looks good on me now as it did back then, I must have been born with astonishing good looks." Jean attempts to joke, which works cause Marco gives out another croaky giggle that beams straight to his husband's heart.
"Jean, you really haven't changed much at all. Even after all we witnessed, it still feels like we're in the Cadet Corps."
"What's a Cadet Corp, grandpa?" Oh yeah, they almost forgot that they were here too. The old couple turn over to see that their grandchildren have just walked back into the room, carrying wrapped presents and a card for Jean, and they managed to hear their conversation about their youth days. The girl walks closer to them both with curiosity printed on her expression, the card still in hand. "Is it like a school?"
Marco steadily bends to look down at his granddaughter and places a hand on her shoulder. "Well, sweetie. That story goes back to when me and your granddad were still teenagers. Would you like to hear a few of my favorite stories?"
"Yes please!" She cheerfully expresses, while her brother sprints up to his grandparents as well. "I'd like to hear them too, Grandpa!"
"Okay. Both of you can sit right beside Granddad." So the two kids rush right next to jean's chair and cross their legs on the floor; Jean himself shakes his head at Marco before carefully sitting down himself. If there is one thing Jean can still remember at this age is ever since the two of them started their own family, Marco can never resist bragging about their golden years together. He's like an unstoppable force if someone were to either ask them about how they met or when the smallest something cracks open a memory deep inside Marco's brain. But it can't be help that it's one of the many things Jean likes about him.
"So..." Marco began. "To answer your question, the Cadet Corps was like a boot camp for young soldiers to train into becoming strong enough to protect their homes and defeat the titans. If you can recall, you told us that you've been learning about those in school."
"Yes. They were like giants that broke through the walls and ate people, right?" The grandson asks, raising up his hand as if he were in school.
Marco gives a nod. "That's correct. Me and your granddad here were in one of many training divisions, and that's where we met for the first time." He clears his throat before continuing. "Although, back then we both had the dream of joining the Military Police; for different reason of course but it's what got us both talking to one another. I wanted to have the honor of serving the king, while your granddad just wanted to have a relaxing life inside the interior."
The two children quickly look at their granddad behind them. They openly look surprise, and Jean can never feel more embarrass about his ignorant teenage self. "Really? After all you did for the world?" One of them asks. "I never thought Granddad was the 'lazy' type from what Mom said."
"H-Hey, don't interrupt Grandpa while he's telling you stories." Jean bluntly tries to change the subject, still looking a bit red in his cheeks. The two turn back towards Marco, mumbling to himself 'where was I?'
"Anyway, that's how we got started. For three years, we trained under the same roof along with all our other friends. We barely spent a day apart from each other, we knew we have great chemistry. Even during the rough times when we saved Historia from bandits." Marco realizes what he just said, and quickly covers his mouth. The two kids were so in shock, that they didn't notice Jean hand signalling his husband to stop.
"You saved the queen?!" They shouted in unison. The granddaughter speaks up. "Nobody ever told us that, not even Mom."
Now that it has been let out, Marco has no other choice but to tell them the story - leaving out the intense details of course. "Well, it's not a big of a deal compare to everything else we went through, but it's still something worth telling. First, me and your granddad were assigned into a training exercise, along with our friends. We camped for the night, until we were ambushed by a group of bandits. They kidnapped Historia and took away all of our gear; but your granddad was brave enough to go after them alongside Eren to save her."
'I wouldn't say I was brave, just tired of Eren always running into obvious danger by himself.' Jean thinks to himself.
"I myself went along too. Through clever planning, we manged to get our gear back and use them to rescue Historia. Oh, and you should've seen your Granddad, he was amazing." Marco smiles once more; while Jean blushes once more.
"Okay, I get it. You thought I was dreamy." He states, making both of the grandkids laugh.
"No, I meant you were amazing on what a good leader you were. With both combat and supporting the group."
"As I recall, I barely did anything."
The grandkids giggle a lot louder. They love watching how their grandparents can be so lovey dovey with one another one minute, and argue among each other the next. It's a lot more watchable then when their parents argue, even when they try to keep it at a minimum.
"Anyway, we've done a lot together through our trainee days. Even after the day we graduated, when Trost was invaded by titans, we stayed by each other's side. Our relationship began to grow more after he saved my life that day.
Once again, the grandkids are surprise by the information. But before one of them can ask about how that actually happened, Jean interrupts by placing his wrinkly hands on the childrens' heads. "Uh... how about we stop there for now. We can talk more later at lunch." The disappointment on their faces are like two arrows into Jean's heart.
"But we want to know how you saved Grandpa." The granddaughter sighed.
"Also, I want to hear more about how you were friends with Eren the devil."
Those words that came out of their grandson's mouth, is like taking a full cannonball to both the brain and the heart.They cannot understand, not at this age anyway. Jean opens his mouth as to say something but Marco goes first.
"Sorry, but that's a story I'll have to tell you when you're a bit older." Jean gives a soft nod, as to say 'nice safe.'
A few minutes later, after Jean opening his card that's drawn by his granddaughter, and receiving his present of yet another bottle of rich, blissful wine that he loves so much, (he has too much already) there goes a knock on the door. The door opens and soft footsteps tap across the wooden floor; who walks in but their daughter carrying bags of food and comfy clothes.
"Hi Mom!" The grandchildren greet at once.
"Hey children." Rosie smiles, placing the heavy bags down next to the living room door. "Have you been good to Granddad on his birthday?"
They both nod. "Yes. You should've heard the story Grandpa told us about him."
"Oh really. Well you can fill me in at lunchtime, okay?" Rosie bends down to pick up the heavier bag and walks over to Jean. Her fathers keep their eyes on their beloved daughter, as she hands over a nicely woven indigo sweater from the bag. Her smile matches Marco's in every way imaginable, definitely picked it up from him. "Happy birthday, Father. Hope you like it."
Jean returns the joyful smile back to her. Marco can be seen smiling also. In moments like this, only peace and love exists. Jean is so lucky to have met Marco all those years ago - he's glad to have form a friendship with him, he's glad that he saved him back at Trost, to have fought alongside him, to have married him and most of all... to have started a family with him. He knows that Marco feels the same way too, he knows him too well by now. He's happy that Marco shares these stories about them with their family, it reminds him of what a journey they had together to make it this far; It's something that he will definitely remember for the remaining years of his life.
That is a promise.