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daisynik7 · 2 years ago

Text

Rush

Chapter 3: After Party

Pairing: Eren Jaeger x f!reader

Rating: Explicit

cw: underaged drinking, cunnilingus, vaginal fingering, blowjob, daddy kink, cum eating, corruption kink

Summary: Alpha Tau and Sigma Nu Kappa volunteer together at the Trost District Food Bank. After the event, the brothers invite the sisters back to Mike’s house for a kickback, where you revisit a familiar room.

Notes: Chapter title inspired by “After Party” by Don Toliver

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Rush Series Masterlist

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A week after the first exchange of the semester, Alpha Tau hosts a volunteer event at the charity of their choice: the Trost District Food Bank. That Saturday morning, the sisters of Sigma Nu Kappa meet them at the front of their fraternity house, waiting for the charter bus to arrive.

Eren has tried all week not to think about what happened the night of the exchange. It was all just a casual hookup. Nothing major, no big deal. He even told her it would be a one-time kind of thing. He isn’t trying to get tied down by one girl, especially not one in Sigma Nu Kappa.

He won’t admit it out loud, but he cares to some degree about his reputation. Why would he hook up with a Sigma Nu Kappa when he could get an Eta Iota girl? Or a Delta Mu? They are the hottest girls on campus. Perfect for him to play around with and live out his frat boy dream.

He has caught himself a few times this week, jerking off in the shower, thinking about the way his fingers slid in and out of her pussy. The way she sucked him in and clenched around him, so tight and wet. How she fucked herself onto his fingers without him even telling her to. How she took his whole cock into her mouth, swallowing his load without complaint. For an innocent virgin, she sure acted like a freak. And that intrigues him. But he’s sure he’ll find another girl in the other sororities that is as eager and willing to indulge in his depraved fantasies.

No one else knows about what they did that night. Mikasa didn’t even bother searching for him or her roommate after getting caught up in a riveting game of beer pong against Hange. It seems like they both had a mutual understanding to keep their little rendezvous a secret.

Still, it’s in his mind to try and avoid her at today’s event. Just to save themselves from any awkwardness. Knowing how embarrassed she got over a simple Truth or Dare game, he assumes she’ll be extra fragile if she were to see him today.

Eren hangs out in the back of the crowd, next to Jean and Marco. Armin stands next to Erwin in the front, volunteering to help organize everyone into groups. Subconsciously, he gets on his tip toes to look at the SNK sisters, huddling together in their matching sorority letters. He spots her, standing beside Mikasa, arms linked together like two best friends. He wonders if she told Mikasa what happened between them, how his best friend would react knowing he’s corrupted her precious little roommate.

Remembering not to think about her, he shakes away his current thoughts and tries to engage in conversation with Jean and Marco to distract himself. They all start loading into the bus, sisters first. He’s the last passenger and takes the open seat at the very front, next to Hange, unfortunately.

It’s a 20-minute ride to the food bank, which feels like an hour to Eren as he desperately tries to avoid Hange’s invasive questions. “What’s your blood type?” “What’s your workout regimen?” “Have you ever broken any bones?”

When they’re finally there, they all exit the bus and gather in a warehouse, surrounded by pallets full of canned goods and prepackaged foods. The food bank coordinators greet them and explain their tasks for the day. When they’re done, Erwin and Armin go around, assigning each person to a group.

“Eren, you’ll be in the corner over there, where Reiner is,” Armin informs him.

He goes towards Reiner, who is already joined by Mike and eventually Erwin. They wait as the sisters of Sigma Nu Kappa get themselves organized. A few minutes later, three sisters walk towards them. Eren immediately recognizes Annie and Petra. When they get closer, he sees who their third member is.

It’s her. Mikasa’s roommate. The virgin.

Fuck.

~~~

You decide not to tell Mikasa about your little sex-capade with her childhood best friend. Not because you think she would react in some type of way, but because you feel embarrassed for even having that experience to begin with.

The whole week, you try your best not to think about Eren. You succeed at this, for the most part. His harsh words and blank expression are always at the forefront of your mind. But the memory of him fucking you with his fingers and calling you a good girl sneaks its way in and makes your pussy throb. Makes you want him, despite his asshole behavior.

Naturally, you feel nervous to see him at this volunteer event. No matter how much you remind yourself that Eren Jaeger is a dick, you still don’t trust yourself enough to keep your cool around him. At least you’ll be able to avoid him today. It’s just a volunteering event, there’s no way you’ll need mingle with him.

That’s what you think. Until you’re assigned to the same group.

You, Annie, and Petra are directed by Hange to join a group at one corner of the warehouse, sorting through some of the canned goods. As you make your way over, you see Eren, man bun and all, wearing the same type of joggers he wore a week ago. The same ones you shoved down his legs to suck his thick cock.

Pull it together, you think to yourself. He probably hasn’t thought about you since. He probably doesn’t even remember your name.

You hide behind your sisters, wanting to avoid seeing him as much as possible. Petra is her bubbly self as usual, introducing herself to a tall, blond brother who you didn’t see at last week’s party. His name is Reiner, and he wears a bored expression on his face the whole time as Petra talks animatedly to him.

When mingling time is done, you stick close to Annie, who has since apologized to you for what she did at the Truth or Dare game. There are three different pallets, each one holding a huge box filled with canned goods. Your task is to go through each one, check the expiration dates, and separate the vegetables from the fruits. After a few minutes of sorting through cans, chatting casually with Annie, Petra comes over to your side. “You two should mingle with the Alpha Tau brothers,” she suggests.

“How can we ‘mingle’ when we’re too busy sorting through these cans,” Annie says, sarcastically.

“Well, you two are chatting away with each other just fine, I expect you to do the same with the Alpha Tau brothers! That’s the whole point of this collab!”

With a roll of her eyes, Annie relents. “Fine. Who do you want me to talk to?”

“Well, that Reiner guys seems –”

“Not him. Anyone else, besides him.”

That’s right; you remember Annie mentioning her dislike for Reiner a few weeks ago.

“Then go talk to Mike. He’s nice.”

Annie takes her time walking to another box, leaving you with Petra. She looks at you with a kind smile. “So, think you can take two guys at once?”

“Huh?”

“Oops, didn’t mean to make that sound so dirty, ha ha! I mean, I’m going to have two of the brothers help you on this side. Eren and Reiner.” Before you can protest, Petra waves over in the distance, calling for them. You pretend to focus on two different cans of corn as they approach her.

“Okay, Eren and Reiner. This is my sorority sister.” Petra introduces you, then she skips away to join Erwin at his box. “Have fun, you three!”

You drop the cans to look at them. They both have blank expressions on their face. Eren crosses his arms over his chest, gaze on the ground. Holding your hand out to the blond, you greet, “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, sure,” he responds, giving you a half-assed handshake.

“Nice to see you again, Eren.”

He turns his head to you and nods. “Yeah, sure.”

Great. There’s two of them.

You scoot to one side of the box, trying your best focus on the task. Eren and Reiner stand beside each other, the blond closer to you, as they start sorting through the cans. It’s silent at first, until Reiner starts talking to his brother. You eavesdrop on their conversation.

“There’s another Eta Iota party tonight. Hopefully you can make it this time.”

“Yeah, I should be able to,” Eren replies.

“Dude, those chicks are wild. Hooked up with two girls last week. You’re fresh meat, so they’ll fucking love you.”

It takes all your willpower not to roll your eyes at what this creep is saying.

“Erwin is so fucking lame. He told me and Bertolt off for not attending the exchange last week. Fucking prick. Why should I attend a party with absolutely zero girls I’d like to fuck in there?”

Either he’s totally forgotten you exist, or he really doesn’t give a shit. Either way, you keep to yourself, wishing you had brought your headphones to drown out the bullshit. From the corner of your eye, you see Eren glance at you as his brother continues to berate your sorority. “The most boring, ugliest chicks on campus, and we’re the sad fuckers paired with them. What a fucking joke.”

“Reiner,” Eren starts, but before he can get a word in, you snap.

“Well, fuck you too, Reiner. I hope for your own sake, and for the sake of those poor girls that had to fuck you last week, you at least have a big cock to compensate for your shitty personality.”

He turns to you with a cocky smirk. “Maybe I do have a big cock. Bet you’d like to see it.”

“Only if I need to induce vomiting,” you retort.

“You wouldn’t even know what to do with it anyways. Everyone knows SNK girls are all prudes. Right, Eren?”

He focuses on the food in the box. Without looking up, he mutters, “Yeah.”

You should have expected this from him based on what he said to you last week. But you still can’t help yourself from feeling disappointed in his response. At least this will make it easier to forget about him and move on.

Unsure how to react, you turn your attention back to the canned goods, hoping you can block out Reiner and Eren for the next hour. You’re tempted to ask Petra to switch to a different group, but you don’t want to give Reiner the satisfaction of thinking he got under your skin, which he did. So, you just sort through the vegetables and fruits in silence.

A couple of minutes pass, then you hear Reiner say, “I gotta take a shit. I’ll be back.” He leaves toward the bathroom, leaving you and Eren alone.

~~~

When Reiner is out of earshot, Eren clears his throat. “Hey. Are you okay?”

She sorts through the cans, pretending not to hear him. Eren moves a little closer and repeats, “Are you okay?”

Without looking up, she responds, “Yeah, sure.”

He maintains his neutral expression, but inside, he can’t help but chuckle at her repeating the same “cool guy” response he gave to her earlier. He finds it amusing.

“Sorry about Reiner. He’s a dick.”

She scoffs but doesn’t say anything else. Taking the hint, he decides to stop talking about his big bro and ask, “So, how have you been?”

“Do you really care?”

He’s surprised by the venom in her voice. “Hey, I’m just trying to keep things cordial between us. Keep the peace,” he offers.

Finally, she looks up at him and says, “Well, I can’t just stand back and listen to some asshole talk shit about people I care about.”

“Yeah, I get it. I’m the same way.”

They stare at each other for a couple seconds, not speaking. Studying one another. Eren wishes he was a mind reader so he can tell what she’s thinking.

He makes small talk, asking her about her major and her hometown. He finds out she’s from Krolva District and majors in bioengineering. He reveals that he’s from Shinganshina and is doing philosophy.

“What do you want to do with your philosophy major?” she asks.

“I’m trying to get into law school, actually. I want to be a lawyer.”

“Oh nice. I can see you doing that.”

He smirks. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I can totally see you using some Jedi mind tricks to manipulate someone into doing something, like confessing.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“I guess it depends. You can use it to get whatever you want from people.”

For some reason, at those words, his mind goes back to last week.

Let me make you feel good.

Fuck yourself on my fingers. Just like that.

Suddenly, he blurts out, “Last week was fun, by the way.” Shit. He wasn’t planning to mention it, but he does. He rubs the back of his neck, a bit flustered by his admission.

She breaks eye contact and looks down at the ground. “Yeah, it was.”

Maybe we can do it again, he’s tempted to say. There he goes again, thinking with his dick and not his brain. He can’t help it. His mind is filled with the memory of her on top of him, a moaning mess, rubbing herself against his hand. His fingers covered in her shiny cum, so tantalizing he almost stuck it in his mouth to taste.

Why is his mind so occupied by this girl? He barely knows her. She’s not even his type. What about her is pulling him in? And how can he stop it?

With perfect timing, Reiner returns, taking the same spot in between them. “Damn, we’ve still got a whole hour left of this shit,” he grunts.

Eren glances over and sees her focus back on the canned goods. He wonders if she’s thinking about him the same way he’s thinking about her. Probably not. Even he can admit that he acted like a dick after their encounter.

As Reiner babbles on about stupid shit, Eren tries to avoid looking at her for the remainder of the time. Tonight, he’ll find a hot Eta Iota girl to fuck and forget about her. That’s what he needs to do to move on from the girl that has taken over his thoughts the past week. Simple and easy as that.

When the event is done, everyone gets into the bus to head back to campus. When it pulls into the front of the fraternity house, Levi stands up to speak.

“Alpha Tau brothers and Sigma Nu Kappa sisters. Thank for a successful volunteer event at the Trost District Food Bank. The coordinators are very pleased with our work and extend their gratitude. Also, Mike has another announcement he’d like to make.

Mike gets up and announces, “I’d like to invite you all over to my place again for a little kickback tonight. BYOB. I’ll order some pizzas and we can just chill.”

Mostly everyone is excited for that news, except Reiner and Bertolt, who maintain their stoic expressions. Eren tries to match their energy, knowing he’s going to be out partying with them tonight.

When they all exit the bus, Eren catches up with Mikasa and Armin, who he’s barely spoken to all day.

“Eren! How did it go with your group?” Armin asks.

“It was alright, I guess.”

Mikasa sighs. “I wish I was in either of your groups. I was stuck with Jean, and he kept trying to flirt with me.”

Armin laughs. “That’s Jean for you. Anyways, will you be going to Mike’s tonight, Mikasa?”

“Probably. We’ll ask Petra to buy some alcohol for us so we can bring something. You guys are gonna be there, right?”

“Yeah, of course!” Armin exclaims.

Eren doesn’t say anything until they both look at him, waiting for an answer.

“What?” he asks, playing dumb.

“You’re going to be at Mike’s tonight, right Eren?”

Nope, not this time. Armin and Mikasa will not guilt him again. “I’m going to an Eta Iota party with Reiner.”

“Eta Iota?!”

“Reiner?!”

“Look, I just want to check it out, okay? It’s not a big deal,” he explains.

His two friends stare at him for a few seconds. Mikasa’s eyebrows are furrowed, and a prominent frown is apparent on her face. Armin looks nervous and concerned.

Eren shrugs. “Seriously, it’s one party. I just want to meet some of the other people.”

After they exchange a few more concerned looks at each other, Armin relents. “Okay. Well, have fun.”

Mikasa remains silent and looks down at the ground.

It’s not like he needs the permission of his friends to do what he wants. But he’d rather be honest with them instead of sneaking around and lying about it. Soon enough, they’ll figure out that nothing will stop him from getting what he wants. And tonight, no one will stop him from going to this party.

“Hey, Mikasa. Ready for lunch?” Mikasa’s roommate walks towards them with a smile. Eren notices how she avoids his gaze.

“Yeah, I’m starving. Armin, want to come with us? We’re just going to the dining hall.”

“Sure.”

Eren, a little peeved, jokes, “Thanks for the invite.”

With narrowed eyes, Mikasa responds, “I thought you would be getting lunch with your big bro, Reiner.”

“It doesn’t suit you to be childish, Mikasa,” he responds.

“Whatever. Have fun at your Eta Iota party, I guess.”

“Maybe I’ll come by before to pre-game. We can hang out for a bit.” He looks at Mikasa’s roommate when he says this, trying to gauge her reaction. She just gazes down at the ground, avoiding eye contact.

Mikasa links arms with her and states, “Fine. We’re going to lunch now.” They start walking away towards the dining hall.

Before following the girls, Armin sticks around to warn, “Be careful, Eren. With Reiner.” His tone is serious.

“You worry too much. He’s my big bro. He’s cool.”

“I know you think that. But Annie has told me some stuff about him. You’re not like him, Eren. You shouldn’t try to be like him.”

“I don’t know what I’m like yet, Armin. That’s what I’m trying to figure it out. And you and Mikasa need to let me find that out on my own.” Why is everyone on his case? Why can’t they just let him be?

With one more concerned look, Armin waves goodbye and catches up with the girls, leaving Eren alone in front of the frat house.

~~~

After lunch, you and Mikasa head back to your dorm room to study and relax. Mike’s party isn’t till later in the night, so you take a much needed nap while Mikasa heads to the gym to work out.

You take a shower and get ready, opting to wear more comfortable clothes since it’s supposed to be a more low-key party compared to last week’s exchange. As you sit at the edge of your bed, waiting for Mikasa to change into her stylish athletic wear, she brings up Eren.

“I think Reiner is a bad influence on Eren.”

Mikasa hasn’t brought him up all week. The last she spoke of him was after the exchange, when the two of you were situated in your beds, recounting the night. She teased you for thinking he was the hottest guy in the room. She even apologized on his behalf for refusing to kiss you during the game, still completely unaware of what he did to you right after. So, the sudden mention of his name startles you.

You didn’t tell her what happened earlier today at the volunteer event. How Reiner said awful things about the sorority, how Eren blindly agreed with his big brother. It doesn’t seem important enough to report to her or to anyone else. A small part of you also doesn’t want to rat out Eren for his behavior. But it seems it’s already obvious to his closest friends.

Feigning ignorance, you ask, “What do you mean?”

“Annie said Reiner is a typical frat boy. I’m nervous that Eren is going to try to be like that.”

Mikasa also doesn’t know what Eren told you, only minutes after meeting you for the first time:

Guys join frats to party and fuck, and that’s what I intend to do.

She continues. “I know Eren isn’t like that. But today, he told me and Armin he’s going to an Eta Iota party with Reiner, and I just can’t help but worry.”

“What are you worried about?”

“That he’s going to make some bad decisions tonight, under the guidance of his big brother.”

What can you even say to Mikasa right now? Do you agree with her, knowing fully well that Eren is on a mission to be the biggest fuck boy on campus? It’s only going to make her worry more. Trying to calm her nerves, you reassure her. “You know Eren better than anyone. If you say he isn’t like that, then I’m sure you’re right. Besides, he’s a big boy. He can make his own decisions. It’s not your responsibility to look after him.”

Before she can respond, you add, “You’ve got to live your life too. You can’t spend every waking moment worrying about your friend.”

She frowns, still anxious but contemplating your advice. Eventually, she agrees, “Yeah, you’re right.” It’s unconvincing, but it seems enough to appease her for the time being.

Once you’re both ready, the two of you walk to the Sigma Nu Kappa house to meet the rest of your pledge class and Petra, who has kindly offered to provide the alcohol tonight for the underaged sisters. You all walk together to Mike’s off-campus house, carrying White Claws inconspicuously in tote bags.

When Petra knocks on the door, you’re all greeted happily by Mike, who ushers you in. “Welcome, ladies. Pizzas already here, so help yourselves.”

Most of the senior sisters are already here, including Hange and Nanabe. There are several Alpha Tau brothers in attendance, like Erwin and Levi, who currently stand in the kitchen conversing with each other. All the new brothers are in attendance, except for Eren. They are gathered on the couch, playing Mario Kart on the big screen. Overall, it’s less crowded than the exchange last week, but still lively.

You grab a box of pizza to bring to the couch and crack open a White Claw, watching Jean, Connie, Armin, and Marco race each other. Mikasa and Sasha sit beside you, grabbing a piece of pizza and sipping on their own hard seltzer. When one of the races is finished, Jean reaches over to grab a slice and say, “So, I heard Jaeger is going to an Eta Iota party tonight.”

“Who told you?” Mikasa questions.

“Armin mentioned it when I asked if he’s coming.”

“Are you jealous?”

“Jealous? I’d much rather be here with you.” He directs his smile at Mikasa, who blushes. You try to hide a grin behind your White Claw.

Sasha adds, “Annie’s roommate is in Eta Iota. Hitch Dreyse.”

“Is she hot?” Connie asks, joining in their conversation.

“Yeah, she’s cute. She was in my group during recruitment. Want me to introduce you to her?”

As Sasha slides next to Connie on the other side of the couch to inspect Hitch’s Instagram page, Armin takes the now empty spot next to you. “Hey Mikasa, have you heard anything from Eren? He did say he might come here to pre-game.”

In a quiet voice, Mikasa responds, “I haven’t heard anything.”

“Maybe I should text him. See where he is right now.”

In a more assertive voice, Mikasa says, “Armin, stop. We can’t keep worrying about Eren. Just…let him be.”

A few seconds pass before Armin sighs and agrees. “Yeah. Okay.”

Sensing the need to change the mood, you pat both of their hands and exclaim, “You know what will get your minds off Eren? A drinking game! Let’s go!”

You pull on their hands until they reluctantly get up, following you into the living room. A group of people, mostly the seniors, sit on the ground surrounding a ring of playing cards face down with a large beer mug in the middle.

“My little babies!” Hange exclaims. “We’re about to start King’s Cup! Come join us!”

After a brief explanation of the rules, the game starts. The oldest in the circle is elected to go first. Erwin draws a card and reveals a four of hearts. “Alright, ladies. Drink.”

“Wait, why? What does a four mean again?”

“C’mon, Erwin. You have to say it properly. Four is for whores. All you ladies drink.”

Erwin furrows his thick eyebrows. “I’m not going to say that about these lovely women.”

“It’s just for the game, idiot. Everyone knows we don’t mean it,” Levi clarifies, as he goes next. “Ahhh, a six. Drink up, dicks.”

Copious amounts of alcohol are consumed as more cards are drawn. Mikasa pulls out an ace, meaning everyone must drink until she stops. She ends up chugging her newly opened White Claw, making everyone else finish whatever alcohol they had in hand. Armin draws an eight, prompting him to choose you as his “mate”; you have to drink every time he does. Hange has to “bust a jive” when she reveals a five, to which she performs a sad attempt at twerking, resulting in Levi throwing a few ones at her from his pockets. When Mike draws another eight a few turns later, he strategically chooses Armin as his buddy, a naughty expression on his face. Feeling a little tipsy already, you groan, “So now every time Mike drinks, I also have to drink? What the fuck!”

Throughout the next hour, more asses are shaken, four different rounds of Never Have I Ever is played, three people pour a large amount of their liquor into the beer mug after drawing a king. And unfortunately for you, the chain of drinking buddies expands to Erwin and Levi, so whenever either of them drink, you have to as well.

A very drunk Armin pulls the last king from the cards. His name is chanted as he guzzles down the nasty looking beer mug like a champ, ending the game. Everyone gets up to disperse, either to get more alcohol in the kitchen or to walk off the drunkenness. As they pass, the Alpha Tau brothers pat Armin’s back as he gives them a goofy grin, eyes glazed over with intoxication.

On your way towards the kitchen, Mike walks besides you, giving you a playful nudge. “You were a trooper, having to deal with all your drinking mates.”

You poke your finger at his chest. “You’re the one who started it! I blame you for this.”

He smirks as he brushes a few hairs away from your forehead. “Don’t worry. You’re still cute when you’re drunk.”

Is he hitting on you? A senior? The Mike Zacharias?

For some reason, you think about Eren. What’s he doing right now? He’s probably flirting with some Eta Iota girl, maybe even fucking her at this very moment. Doing exactly what he wants to do. What’s stopping you from doing the same? Why can’t you flirt a little with someone else? It’s not like you and Eren are dating. You’re not even friends. Barely even acquaintances.

Why can’t you shake this lingering feeling of guilt?

You give Mike a polite smile and mutter a shy, “Thank you.”

“Do you have a boyfriend, princess?”

Your heart skips a beat when he calls you that. It’s sweet hearing him use a pet name like this. But something possesses you in this moment to lie. Not because you want to reject his advances. The reason has to do with Eren.

Eren, with his lazy man bun and bad boy attitude. Eren, who acts likes he doesn’t give a shit to impress his big brother Reiner. Eren, whose fingers have christened your body, making you feel pleasure you’ve never felt before in your life. Making you crave more of his touch. Making you wonder what other obscene things he can do to your virginal body.

There’s a twisted part of you that wants him to be the first to defile you. To ruin you.

So, you lie. “Yeah. I do,” you tell Mike.

He reacts kindly, putting his hands up in surrender with a grin. “Got it. I’m sorry.”

“I’m flattered. Really. You’re sweet.”

He keeps smiling at you when he says, “He’s a lucky guy. I hope he tells you how beautiful you are every day. I know I would.” He heads into the other room, leaving you alone in your thoughts.

God. It’s almost physically painful to watch him walk away. What the hell are you doing? Here’s this guy, older, mature, sweet, and you turn him away? Because of someone who doesn’t even try to pretend to give a shit about you. He’s already told you it was a one-time thing. You’re not interesting enough for him. Why are you still holding out hope? Where’s your self-respect?

Again, there’s that twisted part of your brain that makes excuses for him. Today at the volunteer event, when it was just the two of you, he made it a point to mention, Last week was fun, by the way. Why would he bring it up if it didn’t mean something?

You make your way to Mikasa, who leans on the counter in the kitchen chatting with Levi. Drunk and dizzy, you rest your head on her shoulder, face hot and breathing shallow.

“Is she okay?” You hear Levi ask her.

“She’s drunk. Here, drink some water,” she tells you, shoving a cup to your lips. You tip it into your mouth sloppily, dribbling on yourself.

“She should rest in the guest room upstairs,” Levi advises.

Taking his recommendation, Mikasa leads you upstairs into the bathroom to do your business and splash cold water onto your face. The two of you walk past Mike’s room and slip into the one you hid in last week. You flop onto the bed, still dizzy and antsy as she forces you to hydrate more.

She brushes a few hairs away to feel your face. “Geez, your cheeks are burning up. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, think I just need to take a quick nap.”

“You sure you’ll be okay in here? We’ll just be watching a movie a downstairs.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” you assure her. “Just come get me when you’re ready to leave.”

“Okay. Call me if you need anything. And finish the rest of that water.”

She gives you a small smile before closing the door behind her, leaving you in the dark. Moonlight shines dimly through the window. The bed feels cool against your burning skin. You sit up to drink more water, trying your best to sober up. You can already feel the effects of the alcohol wearing off as you continue to hydrate. Resting your head on the pillow, you close your eyes for a several minutes, using the distant sound of the party below as white noise. You can’t sleep, but the least you could do is try to rest.

After a while, you open your eyes again, suddenly aware of your current location. Being in this room makes you think about Eren. You can’t help it. This is where you had your first kiss. Your first sexual experience. You feel a sensation growing between your legs as you remember the dirty details of last week. His fingers disappearing in you, this thumb caressing your clit tenderly, his cock sliding in and out of your wet mouth, his cum shooting into the back of your throat.

Fuck. It’s too much. Too good. You reach down, fingers past the hem of your leggings and into your panties, where you feel yourself already wet from your arousal. With your middle finger, you gather up your slick and rub small circles around your clit. You let the pleasure build up before you start moaning louder, tapping away at your swelling bud. With your free hand, you slide your leggings and panties past your ass, leaving your pussy bare as you keep touching yourself.

You don’t think about getting caught in the act until you hear the bedroom door shut and a familiar silhouette walking towards you.

~~~

Eren arrives at the Eta Iota party already tipsy. Him, Reiner, and Bertolt pre-gamed in the Alpha Tau house before arriving to the off-campus party. When Reiner knocks on the door, a girl named Sandra greets them. “Hey Reiner, glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t miss it. I brought my little bro, Eren.”

“I should introduce him to Hitch. She’ll be excited to meet him.”

She leads them through the packed house. There are men from other fraternities gathered there, mingling with the other Eta Iota sisters. Eren doesn’t recognize anybody, making him feel out of place. They get a few curt looks from strangers as they pass by.

He’s surprised and confused to finally see a familiar face in the kitchen. Annie stands against the countertop next to girl with a light brown bob, both sipping on jungle juice. When Annie sees Eren, her eyes narrow. “What are you doing here, Jaeger?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Annie.”

“My roommate Hitch here forced me to go to this party, so I had no choice. I’m a bit disappointed to see you here with them.” She glares at Reiner and Bertolt, who are socializing with some men from another fraternity.

Eren shrugs. “They invited me, so I didn’t really have a choice either.”

Hitch introduces herself, then says, “I heard Alpha Tau is partnered with Sigma Nu Kappa this semester. How’s that going?”

Another shrug. “It’s alright, I guess.”

“I know most of the new girls in there. We all went through recruitment together. I almost joined SNK because of how much I got along with them.”

“But you didn’t.”

Embarrassed, she looks down at her side. “No, I didn’t.”

Annie continues to study Eren carefully. “Why does it seem like you have something against Sigma Nu Kappa? Are you letting that idiot convince you that we’re not cool enough?”

“I don’t let other people influence how I think or feel,” Eren states. He clenches his fist, feeling agitated that she would even suggest something like that.

“So, what is it then?”

“Maybe I just want to meet some new people. Explore my options.”

She laughs sarcastically. “You sound like a typical fuck boy.”

Having enough of whatever this is, Eren pours liquor into a cup and hangs out on the couch. He scans the room, observing the girls of Eta Iota. He doesn’t particularly feel drawn to any of them. And no one really approaches him all night, except for a few guys who try to start conversation. He’s been told that he comes off a little intense, maybe even intimidating. But he didn’t expect to be ignored by the Eta Iotas. That’s not what was promised to him by Reiner.

By midnight, he decides to leave. Reiner and Bertolt have been busy all night, playing beer pong and flirting with girls that don’t want anything to do with him. He doesn’t bother letting them know he’s heading out; they won’t care.

As he makes his way back on campus, he checks his phone. No texts from either Armin or Mikasa. It’s out of character for his friends. It must have finally gotten through to them to not bother him anymore. Still, he doesn’t mind hanging out, especially after a disappointing night.

He turns around and starts walking towards Mike’s house, where he knows they’ll be. When he knocks on the door, Connie answers, eyes bloodshot with a lazy smile plastered across his face. “Fucking finally.” He looks over his shoulder to yell out, “Eren’s here y’all!”

Stepping foot into the house, Eren sees a crowd of Alpha Tau brothers and SNK sisters gathered around the couch and floor, watching a movie. The lights are dimmed, pizza boxes stacked on one of the tables, and everyone has a drink in hand.

“Eren! You’re here!” Armin exclaims, currently cushioned between Jean and Mikasa on the couch.

“Look who decided to join us,” Mikasa remarks, with a slight smile.

“How was the Eta Iota party?” Jean asks.

Eren shrugs and answers, “It was okay.”

Levi yells out, “Jaeger, pull up a chair. We’re watching Twilight. Every time someone does something cringey, we drink.”

“Which is apparently every two minutes,” Petra adds.

“Yeah, sure. Let me use the bathroom first.”

Mikasa asks, “Since you’ll be up there, can you check on my roommate? She’s just upstairs in the spare bedroom, taking a nap.”

His ears perk up at this. So that’s where she is.

He agrees and walks upstairs, heading to the bathroom first. After he washes his hands, he studies his reflection in the mirror for a good minute, fixing any loose strands from his bun and swiping away any stray baby hairs from his forehead. Satisfied with his appearance, he steps quietly across the hall and presses his ear up to the guest bedroom door, listening for any sign that she’s still sleeping. There’s soft moaning coming from the other side of the door. It’s her moaning; there’s no mistaking it. He turns the handle slowly and creaks the door open just enough to peek inside.

Through the darkness, he sees her figure on the bed, on her back with thighs spread wide, bucking her hips against her fingers.

He doesn’t think. His body just moves. He enters the room and shuts the door behind him, sauntering towards her like a predator stalking its prey. When she finally notices him, he expects her to jump and retract her hand from her arousal, but she doesn’t. Instead, she stares at him, eyes locked on his as she continues to caress her clit.

“Eren.”

The way she moans out his name drives him crazy. He stands at the end of the bed, watching her, feeling incredibly aroused. Her pants aren’t even pulled all the way down. As if she couldn’t waste a second to start touching herself.

He strips her leggings and panties off her body then kneels on the bed, right in front of the show she’s putting on for him. In a low voice, he demands, “Show me how you fuck yourself.”

Obeying, she slips her middle finger inside her slit, pussy squelching with each thrust. With her wet finger, she starts massaging her clit. Filthy moans pour out of her lips as she continues to pleasure herself in front of him.

“Fuck,” he breathes out, palming his erection through his pants. He watches as her finger glistens with her own slick. Unable to deny it any longer, he grabs at her wrist and sticks it into his mouth, swirling his tongue over every inch skin. Finally tasting the alluring nectar that’s been on his mind all week. He savors how luscious it feels on his tongue. It’s immaculate. Chaste. Only for him.

Is it the alcohol? He didn’t even drink that much. He’s pretty much sober now. But he feels absolutely feral, giving in to every wicked desire he has in his fucked-up head. The one thing he wants more than anything is to dive in and devour her. To drink her up until this unbelievable thirst is quenched. He wants it. He needs it.

Positioning his face between her thighs, he teases her with the tip of his tongue. She jolts at the sensation, crying out, “Fuck!”

Smirking at her reaction, he leans in closer and coos, “Can I eat this pretty pussy out? It looks so fucking scrumptious. It’s making my mouth water.”

“Fuck, Eren. You’re so fucking nasty,” she whines.

“Yeah, I am. And so are you.” He rubs his middle finger up and down her folds, pressing against her clit each time he reaches it. “Finger fucking yourself like that in front of me. Shoving your cum coated fingers down my throat. Fucking nasty slut.”

She squirms above him, his face dangerously close to her arousal, spraying his saliva over her pussy with every filthy word he spits out to her. “You act all innocent and shy, but when you’re with me, you’re just a dirty, little slut, huh? Tell me you want my tongue on you. I need to hear you say it.”

“Fuck, Eren. Put your tongue on me. Eat me out.”

“That’s a good fucking girl,” he growls. He latches his lips around her clit and starts rubbing his tongue on it, side to side. Her little bud sticks out perfectly for him, puffy and swollen from stimulation as he gobbles her up. He slips his middle and index fingers into her slick entrance and fucks her, relishing the lewd sounds that she makes. She’s just as tight as she was a week ago. Still a pristine virgin for him. His cock twitches thinking about how he’ll ruin her. Not tonight. But soon.

He goes completely wild, slobbering all over her, making the nastiest noises. Her moans become whimpers as she loses herself in the intense pleasure. He reaches his free hand down to his stiff cock but uses all his strength to stop himself. If he jerks off right now, he knows he’ll come. He’s so fucking turned on from eating her out, he almost feels like he can come untouched.

He goes at it for several more minutes, not stopping even when her orgasm is palpable on his glistening fingers. He slides them out to slurp the cum flowing out of her. “Look at this. All for me,” he hums, alternating between licking her slit and sucking her clit with his wet lips.

“Fuck, Eren. Feels so fucking good,” she moans, overstimulated and spent from her climax.

“You’re such a good girl, just taking it like this. Coming all over my fucking mouth,” he praises.

“Fuck, daddy.”

Daddy. His fucking weakness.

He runs his tongue over her folds one last time before he releases her, getting off the bed to quickly slide out of his pants and underwear. His hard cock springs up against his abdomen as he stands, waiting.

“Come here. Let daddy fuck that filthy mouth of yours.”

She gets down on her knees in front of him, spreading her legs apart on the floor. She opens up wide, so fucking eager to receive his big cock. He guides it slowly past her lips and down her mouth until it hits the back of her throat, causing her to gag. He chuckles and he pulls back a bit. “Too big for you, huh? Don’t worry, we’ll practice. You’ll be able to take it without gagging soon enough.”

Mouth too full of his dick, she just nods obediently as he starts thrusting into her. He has both hands on the sides of her head, gently bobbing it onto his dick. Her hand reaches down between her legs, rubbing her clit as he fucks her.

“Fuck. You like getting used like this, don’t you?” he spits out.

She responds with another nod as she starts fingering herself again, still taking his cock like a good girl. Eren’s never been so turned on. He can’t think of anything more pornographic than the sight in front of him.

“Daddy’s ready to come,” he says, pulling her off.

Wiping the drool from her chin, she pleads, “Come in my mouth, daddy. Fill me up.” She sticks her tongue out for him, staring up at him with a fucked-out look on her face.

“Fuck,” he moans as he slaps the tip of his cock onto her tongue, a bead of precum sticking to her bottom lip, creating a salacious string between the space. It’s obscene. The way she kneels in front of him, thighs spread wide on the floor as she rubs her clit. Her tongue on full display, ready to receive his load.

Any efforts to try to forget and move on from her are washed away. He’ll never forget this. He doesn’t want to forget.

His stomach clenches as he comes for her, shooting his seed all over her tongue. He strokes himself until nothing else comes out, knees giving in slightly from his intense orgasm.

He hears her swallow before she lays back down on the bed, probably just as drained as he is.

Ignoring the temptation to cuddle up next to her, he puts his pants back on, remembering that his friends are waiting for him downstairs. They’re probably already wondering why he hasn’t come back yet.

She doesn’t say anything as she gets comfortable on the pillows, a blissful smile on her face. Before he makes his exit, he leans in close to her, brushing a few strands of hair away from her forehead. She opens her eyes to look at him.

“Next time we see each other, I’m going to fuck you. Gonna turn my sweet, little virgin into a slut.” He presses his lips against her ear and whispers, “You’ll be the nastiest slut on campus after I’m through with you.”

With a sloppy kiss, Eren gets up and leaves the room with a satisfied smirk on his face.

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niemernuet · 2 years ago

Note

ahhhh i want 18 for mauro and justin PLEASE

Siljaaa, nooo! After a day chock-full of Hirschersen-shenanigans you throw me into a vat of angst??? 😭 Why do you have to break me like that?

Anyway, hope you like it. 😘

prompt nr. 18: things you said when you were scared

I don't know

rating: T pairing: Justin Murisier/Mauro Caviezel characters: Justin Murisier, Mauro Caviezel, Gino Caviezel, Marco Odermatt length: 1'000 words

The smell of disinfectant got stronger with every step into the building. Justin did not know whether the walls were painted in a yellowish-white or if it was the light that let them appear the colour of pee. He followed the green line on the floor, counting the numbers on the doors until he found the right one. His mouth was dry, the direct opposite of his palms that were soaked in sweat. The messages Marco had sent all sounded hopeful, assuring Justin that things had not turned out as bad as it had looked, and yet he could not shake off the fear. It turned his intestines into knots and expanded in his chest, making him gasp for air. He wiped his hands on his trousers once more, and knocked. Only the bed next to the window was occupied. The blinds were closed, hiding the view of the blinking lights of Calgary in the night.

“You found it.” Marco stood up from his chair. He still wore his race suit, just like Gino, and though they both looked like a mess they smiled.

Justin nodded. He could not speak. He walked towards the bed, drawn to it like a magnet, unable to tear his eyes off Mauro. His nose was visibly broken, a deep gash between his eyes was held together with stitches, and there were some blood stains remaining around his lips and down to his chin. Slowly, he turned his head, and looked at Justin through heavy lids. Something between a laugh and a sob escaped Justin when Mauro’s lips turned into a smile, and he sank down on the edge of the bed. He wanted to hug him and kiss him and never let go of him again but all he dared was grab his hand between his for fear he might hurt him.

“Hey,” he rasped, and cleared his throat.

Mauro smiled. “Hey.”

“That sure was something.”

Mauro nodded, and looked down on the blanket spread over his legs. “Yeah.”

“The doctor says it could have been much worse,” Gino explained.

A laugh escaped Justin but he quickly caught himself. He had expected the worst, from the moment he had watched Mauro skid lifelessly over the icy slopes of Lake Louise. He had thought there was no way Mauro could survive this.

“He’s cleared for travels,” Marco added. “He can fly back with us. I mean, in a separate plane but like…at the same time.”

Justin nodded. He still could not take his eyes off Mauro. For a moment the room was completely silent before Gino spoke again.

“We’ll give you some space.”

Finally, Justin snapped back. “You don’t have to,” he hurried to say. “Stay!”

“It’s okay,” Gino answered. “To be honest, I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast.” He grabbed his jacket from the foot end of Mauro’s bed.

“I have,” Marco said, “but I’m still hungry.”

Justin chuckled. “Okay. Take your time.”

“Half an hour, tops,” Gino said. He leant over the bed, and grabbed Mauro’s free hand. “Should we bring you a sandwich?”

Mauro shook his head slowly. “No, thanks.”

“Eh, we’ll bring one anyway,” Marco said. “Maybe I’ll get hungry again later.”

The door scraped over the floor and the sickly light from outside spilled into the room before it disappeared again and took Gino and Marco with them.

Justin smiled, and walked around the bed to one of the now free chairs. Mauro returned the smile before he turned his attention back to the blanket. He seemed small and forlorn in the hospital bed, despite his large frame.

Justin tried to cut the heavy silence. “You know how he is, Marco. If I ate as much as him they’d have to sew three race suits together.”

Mauro kept staring at his hands. A few seconds passed before Justin realised that they quivered, and when he finally turned his head, new fear gripped him around the throat, more violent than before.

“I don’t,” Mauro whispered, and bit down on his trembling lips. Tears were swimming in his eyes. He looked…scared. Justin had never seen him like that before.

He tried to move but cold panic kept him locked in place. He could not breathe. “What?” he whispered.

Mauro took one deep breath after the other as he tried to keep control over himself., and one heave after the other, the truth spilled out of him. “I don’t know them. I don’t know who I am or why I’m here. I know what day it is, and I could read my name on the bracelet when I woke up…” He raised his arm weakly and dropped it again. “…but I don’t know who I am.” He looked at Justin again, full of desperation and fear. Tears were streaming freely down his cheeks now. “I know the…the other one…he is important. I know I must take care of him, and I mustn’t tell him that I don’t...I know he hates it when I call him short but I don’t know who he is.”

Numb, Justin sat in the chair, and watched Mauro sob. He was crying too, the tears pooling in his beard, and rolling down his throat.

“When you came in, I thought I knew we belong together,” Mauro continued. “I was so sure. But I don’t know you…I…” He could not go on.

Nothing broke the spell in Justin, it took everything in him to move, to shove the fear away, and close the gap between him and Mauro. He held him tightly, rocking him as he cried against his chest.

“We belong together,” Justin choked. “You’re right about that. It’ll be okay, you’ll see. I promise.” He did not know that, though. He should have alerted the doctors, should have called for help, most of all should not have lied to Mauro, but all he could do was stay glued by his side, his nose buried in Mauro’s hair.

“I will not leave you.”

#ask #answered #text #rpf #alpine skiing #thank you thank you thank you ❤❤❤

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steddiealltheway · 2 years ago

Text

Imagining Eddie stopping by Steve’s house while he’s doing laundry.

Eddie rushes in, having gotten an honorary key a while ago to let the kids in or just to hang out. “Steve! I have more on the Will and Mike situation!” Eddie yells out, putting his keys and wallet on the kitchen counter.

“In here!” Steve yells back, voice coming from a part of the house Eddie hasn’t been to before.

Eddie reluctantly goes down the hallway to the right of the kitchen. “Marco?” Eddie calls out.

“Polo!” Steve responds, voice coming from behind a closed door to Eddie’s left.

He knocks on the door.

“Come on in!”

Eddie opens the door and is hit with the overwhelming scent of fresh laundry. Then his eyes land on Steve who is currently bent over, stuffing clothes in the dryer. Eddie gets an eye full of Steve’s ass clad in blue short. He swallows.

Steve straightens up and turns around. “Hey, what were you saying about Will and Mike?” Steve asks, oblivious to Eddie’s internal turmoil as he reveals his full outfit - a blue sailors uniform.

Steve raises his eyebrows and glances down where Eddie is staring, jaw dropped. “Oh, yeah. This is my old scoops ahoy uniform. I ran out of clothes, and this was all I had left,” he explains with a shrug.

Eddie’s heart races in his chest, and his mouth goes dry. His hand tightens around the laundry room doorknob, knuckles going white. He feels like he might combust if he’s trapped in this small room with Steve Harrington in a sailors uniform any longer.

“Eddie?” Steve asks, concern evident on his face. He makes his way closer to Eddie, and the room suddenly gets a lot warmer.

“I have to go,” Eddie says suddenly. Steve’s eyebrows furrow. “Yep, I need to go,” Eddie says again rushing out of the room and out of Steve’s house. He takes a few deep breaths outside, hoping the fresh air will help with his mini crisis. Jesus H. Christ.

His heart is still racing when he makes his way to his van. He realizes when he tries to open the door that he left his keys and wallet in Steve’s house. Shit.

He slowly, begrudgingly makes his way back inside. He tries not to make any noise as he opens the front door, hoping Steve won’t hear him and grace him with his presence again.

As he tiptoes to the kitchen, he overhears Steve on the phone. He freezes.

“Yes, Robin. I tried the uniform like you said. He just panicked and ran out. You already know the outfit didn’t work when we worked at Scoops. Now, operation seduce Eddie is off to a rough start thanks to your idea,” Steve says and finishes with a sigh.

“Operation what,” Eddie chokes out before he realizes what he’s done.

Steve’s head whips around. The blood drains from his face. “Robin, I’ll have to call you back,” Steve says, immediately hanging up untangling his other hand from the phone cord.

Steve and Eddie stare at each other for a few moments.

Eddie breaks the silence and asks, “You did this on purpose?”

Steve puts his hands on his hips and reasons, “Well, I did need to do my laundry, and this really is my laundry outfit. But usually I do it… when I know you won’t be coming over…”

Eddie drags a hand over his face. “You and Robin made a plan to seduce me instead of just asking me out like a normal person?”

Steve walks over to Eddie with a small smile. “Did it work?” He asks fiddling with the ascot of his uniform.

Eddie puts a hand over Steve’s on the ascot and pulls him in. “Damn you, it sure did,” Eddie mumbles out then kisses Steve.

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie ficlet

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dragoneyes618 · 2 years ago

Text

Skein of Scarlet

Based on @toaverse‘s kidnapped Isabela and Dolores AU.

Her daughter hated her.

Julieta twisted the dough around her fingers in the mixing bowl, punching it and pummeling it.

No. That wasn’t quite right.

Her daughter always sat at the opposite side of the table from her, and avoided looking at her, and when she did her glances were always brief, filled with fear, and she refused to be alone in the same room as her.

Her daughter was terrified of her.

After the chaos had died down, after everyone had realized who Bella and Lola were, after the crying (the parents), the screaming (Bella and Lola), and the hesitant confusion (the children) had been seen to, the adults had gathered in the living room to listen to Agustin’s semblance of an explanation. The girls had fallen asleep. The children had been sent upstairs. Luisa had paused, about to argue that she was seventeen, nearly grown up, and the oldest to boot, before a confused expression crossed her face as she realized that she wasn’t the oldest anymore. She had followed her sister and cousins upstairs without saying anything.

Julieta had sat next to Agustin, and Pepa had sat next to Felix, and Bruno had sat next to his mother, and their hushed voices made them all remember what it had been like trying to have private conversations in the year between Dolores receiving her gift and disappearing.

Slowly, with many starts and stops, Agustin had spoken. He told them of a chance encounter in Bogota, of two terrifyingly thin girls who flinched at every movement and clutched each other like they were the only thing on Earth, who casually mentioned instances of simple violence and cruelty like it was normal, who knew not the first thing about anything, of a decision to bring them home and find them somewhere safe to live, and of oblique references that he only understood now, now that he knew who they truly were.

“Their gifts,” he finished, his knuckles white around the handle of the untouched mug of tea in his hand. “They wanted them for their gifts.”

It was pouring now, rain drumming steadily on the roof. No one admonished Pepa.

Julieta was crying into her hands.

Alma’s eyes were closed, and she was whispering, “Pedro, Pedro, Pedro....”

Bruno was staring blankly into the distance.

Felix looked like he was either going to break down or start throwing things.

“They wanted them to use their gifts for them,” Agustin went on. “For Isabela to grow them things and Dolores to hear things for them. But they didn’t...They kept them locked up, and they hit them all the time, and they didn’t give them nearly enough food - “ He stopped, overcome. How could he explain this - even he didn’t know everything, the girls didn’t seem to understand what he meant when he’d asked them to explain how they’d been treated; it would have been difficult enough to explain the whole story to his family before, but now that he knew they were also his family - to know that his own flesh and blood had gone through this-

Felix had his head in his hands. Pepa’s face was buried in his shoulder as her own shoulders shook.

Felix looked up and asked Agustin, with mounting dread, “Her ear...”

“They said they tried to escape once before.” The words were drawn out of Agustin’s mouth, slowly, inexorably, seeing the way his family’s faces crumbled and closed off as he kept talking, but he couldn’t stop. “That was...that was her punishment.” He made a sort of slicing motion with his free hand, his fingers shaking.

Pepa began to audibly sob.

“Who?” Alma rasped, staring directly at Agustin. “Who did this, and where are they?”

“Still in Bogota,” he answered. “I never saw them. They didn’t find us. The girls said there were four of them, and their names were Cesar, Marco, Daniela, and Julio. I don’t know their last names. They said that Julio was the nicest one, and Cesar and Daniela were the cruelest.”

Felix stirred. “Cesar?”

“Si.”

Felix frowned.

“And, well...” Agustin turned to his wife and his brother-in-law. “They said now - you remember how they reacted when they saw you? They said that the two of you look just like this Daniela and Cesar.”

Felix stiffened.

“So they’re afraid of us,” Julieta whispered, her eyes red. “Because we look like them...”

“The worse ones,” Agustin agreed.

“So Cesar who had them this whole time...he looks like me?” Felix asked slowly.

“Apparently,” Agustin said. “I tried to explain to them that you’re not them, that you’re their parents, and I think they believed me, but they’ll still probably be afraid for a while. Their minds...They’ve spent thirteen years locked up in a house being beaten by those people, their minds don’t quite work normally. It would’ve been enough to drive anyone mad.”

“They were eating flowers,” Bruno said suddenly, sitting straight up. “Before. Isabela grew a flower right out of the carpet, and then she grew another one, and gave that one to Dolores, and they both sat right down and ate them. Stem and all.”

“That’s not...that’s not because their minds have been affected,” Agustin said. He had felt sick when he’d first seen Dolores chewing on a dead leaf, and he’d figured out why. He felt sick now. “It’s because....they had nothing else to eat.”

Sudden sharp, loud rattling noises on the roof announced the appearance of hail.

“Isabela,” Bella said slowly. “I like it.”

“Dolores.” Lola’s lips formed the word - the name - slowly, carefully, feeling the sounds on her tongue. It felt strange, but curiously, faintly familiar.

“I like it,” Bella said again. “It’s...elegant.”

Instead of answering, Lola turned to the door that led to the balcony they were sitting on. A few moments later four people came in - quietly, gently, uncertainly.

A tall girl, taller even than Agustin, with brown hair and wide hazel eyes.

A boy and girl of about the same age. The boy had curly brown hair and greenish eyes. The girl also had curly hair, but hers was black, and she wore round glasses.

The last one was a little boy who clung to the leg of the girl with glasses, peeking out at them from behind her with bright, curious eyes.

“Um,” the tall girl said. “I’m Luisa.”

New people. Introductions. Names. What had Agustin said? “We’re-”

“You’re Isabela and Dolores,” Luisa said.

They gasped in unison. “How did you know?”

“Um...” Luisa looked at the others. “Agustin told us.”

That seemed to satisfy them, so Luisa went on. “This is Mirabel, and this is Camilo, and this is Antonio.”

“Hi,” Camilo said.

Mirabel offered a little wave.

Antonio hid behind Mirabel.

“He’s just shy around people he doesn’t know,” Mirabel apologized.

“We’re you’re-” Luisa started, but then paused, and the three of them, sans Antonio, drew closer together and began whispering to each other.

“They said they’re our sisters and brothers but they’re not because some of them are our cousins and they shouldn’t say that because Agustin told them not to,” Lola told Bella.

They stared at her.

“Ohhh,” Camilo said. “You’re the one who could...” He wiggled his fingers by his ear. He and the other newcomers stared at the empty space where Lola’s other ear had used to be.

“I remember you,” Luisa said suddenly to Bella. “A little. I was four when you...disappeared. You and Dolores were six. Do you remember? We played in the nursery. You would grow pollen and petals for us to play with and throw at each other. But we couldn’t shout too loudly, because it would hurt Dolores’s ears.”

A nursery. They’d seen the nursery. A cozy room, with green walls and a carpet and bookshelves and beds and-

Pink petals, flying through the air

Another fistful thrown across the room, scattering on the carpet like pink jewels

Golden pollen drifting in the air

That hadn’t happened then-

A long time ago?

Faint memories, from long, long ago-

Bella and Lola did not cry. That had long been beaten out of them, because if they cried Daniela would give them something to cry about. But they were crying now, only a tiny bit, only a few drops in their eyes, even though they tried to stop, but Luisa and Camilo and Mirabel and Antonio noticed nonetheless, and they weren’t mad. They cried along with them, even Antonio, who didn’t know what he was crying about.

A man named Cesar, who looked just like him.

Felix stood on the veranda, staring at the sunset. Pink and orange and yellow and purple spilled out over the darkening blue sky.

Cesar, the worst of them, the one his daughter and niece most feared - they flinched simply to look at him. He had asked Agustin - begged Agustin to tell him everything he knew, he needed to know everything, every torment his daughter had been through in the past thirteen years, even as his soul shrank away in horror.

There was red in the sunset too. Streaks of scarlet, drifting through the golden-blue-pink sky like blood.

Cesar.

Felix clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

He leaned his head against the wall and sighed, closing his eyes.

“Right,” Cesar said as the four of them dismounted from the wagon they’d rented.. “Remember the plan. Get in, find them, and get out quick before anyone else sees us.”

“What if they don’t come with us?” Marco asked.

Cesar rolled his eyes. “Then you make them come with you, obviously. They’ve done whatever we’ve told them to for the last decade; a couple of months back home shouldn’t have changed all that. Oh, and also-” He hesitated for a brief moment. “I’ve been thinking. Their gifts aren’t really worth all this trouble, for this long.”

“So we’re not-” Julio started to ask hopefully.

Cesar glared at him. “So we stick to the plan. We find them and bring them back with us. But. There might be other kids with gifts, more useful gifts. Everyone in that family has gifts, and there were a couple of babies here last time, weren’t there?”

“I think so,” Daniela said. Marco shrugged. Julio remained motionless.

“So,” Cesar said. “Our priority is Bella and Lola. But if you happen to find another magical kid...well, see if you can take the kid too. We have rope in the wagon, and you all have your knives, right?” He patted his own pocket, were there was a small bulge. “Okay. Daniela and Marco, start from the west side of town. Julio, you come with me, we’re starting from the east.” He glared at Julio again; everyone knew that Cesar suspected Julio in helping the girls escape several months ago, or at least of turning a blind eye to them when they had.

“Um,” Marco said. “Wouldn’t they be in the main house? That’s where they were last time.”

“Yes, and the rest of the family will be there too,” Daniela pointed out. “And they won’t be too happy to see us. So we’re first seeing if we can find them outside somewhere, or maybe some other magical kid. We’ll try the house later.”

“Enough talking,” Cesar ordered. “Let’s go!”

It wasn’t like they could just ask random people for directions to Bella and Lola Madrigal, because then people would want to know who they were. And they were leaving the house for last. Besides, Bella and Lola would probably run away if they saw them. So they were left crouching behind trees and ducking behind stalls in the marketplace to peer furtively around when a little voice announced, around the height of Daniela’s knee, “You look like my tia!”

Daniela looked down to find a little curly-haired boy, about three years old, staring up at her. He had dark skin and dark eyes and a smile on his lips.

He looked a little like Cesar, actually.

“You look like my tia!” the little boy repeated, and then burst out laughing as though that was the funniest thing ever.

Daniela lifted her arm to shoo the boy away but then paused. She looked like his aunt?

“Tia?” A six-year-old Lola had asked her, confused and frightened, before Daniela had shoved her away and snapped, “Do what Cesar tells you! Listen harder!”

Daniela paused, then slowly knelt down so she was at eye level with the boy. “I look like your aunt?”

Marco, across the street, gave her a funny look. Daniela glared at him. She wasn’t good with children.

The boy nodded. “Yeah! Sort of. You look sort of...sort of...harder. Sort of. My tia’s not here right now. Usually she gives people food in the market but my mami’s not feeling well so my tia’s helping her.”

“And what does your tia do?”

“She fixes people!” The boy jumped up and down. “With food!”

Fixes people with food. That was one of the magical gifts of the adult members of the Madrigal family.

“Is that her magical talent?” Daniela asked.

The boy nodded.

“Do you have a magical talent?” It was so easy, getting information out of children. They trusted everyone and told them absolutely everything. Bella and Lola had been like that too, at first, long ago. A few days of fear and pain had cured them of that.

“Nope.” The boy shook his head. “Not yet. I’m gonna get one when I turn five! Then I’ll have the best gift ever!”

“When you turn five? And how old are you now?”

“Three!” He held up three fingers.

Daniela looked behind the boy at Marco. He nodded, knowing what she was thinking.

A three-year-old would be very easy to spirit away. They could probably just carry him the whole way. He wouldn’t even remember his family, eventually. He would have no fighting spirit, no rebellion, no desire to escape. All he would ever know was them, and that he had to do what they told him to or else. In less than two years he would get his own magic power, and hopefully it would be more useful than Bella and Lola’s was. Besides, a little brother or cousin or whatever he was to them - he would be useful in getting them to behave.

“Is your last name Madrigal?” she asked.

The boy nodded. “Yeah! How’d you know?”

She laughed, keeping the boy distracted as Marco crept up from behind him. “Well, your family is sort of famous, you know. And what’s your first name?”

The boy beamed up at her, white teeth shining. “Antonio!”

Lola ran.

She wasn’t very good at running. She kept stumbling over roots and rocks, almost tripping, almost falling.

But she didn’t. She couldn’t.

“When you turn five? And how old are you now?”

Pepa - Mamá - hadn’t been feeling well, so Tia Julieta Who Wasn’t Daniela had been making her some tea to drink, and then everybody had realized that they couldn’t find Antonio, so Lola had listened for Antonio and -

“Three!”

Her lungs burned. Breathing hurt. In, out, in, out, through her mouth. She gasped for breath. Her side was hurting, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.

“Is your last name Madrigal?”

The air pushed against her, blowing her hair in her face, like it was trying to push her back, away from Antonio - her hermano. Wind, it was called.

“Yeah! How’d you know?”

Out in the marketplace, brushing past people, and normally she would have cringed away from them, frozen up, gone to find Bella so they could sit quietly together, but not here, not now.

“Well, your family is sort of famous, you know. And what’s your first name?”

There.

She ran right between Daniela and Marco, snatched up Antonio, and ran.

Or tried to. Daniela caught her arm, her sleeve-

She yanked. She couldn’t get free-

Daniela was going to bring her back, she was going to bring her back to the house and the room and she would be punished and she wouldn’t see Bella ever again-

Her sleeve tore. She ran.

When a disheveled Dolores ran in clutching a confused Antonio, it only took a few moments of seeing how panicked and frightened she was, listening to her gabbled explanation, to figure out what had happened. But at that point it was already too late.

Luisa was standing at the door, feet planted as solid and immovable as trees; their blows bounced off of her. But then the thin mustached man, not the one who looked eerily like her uncle, and not the one who stood slightly behind them with a somber look on his face, grabbed a deck chair, and the one who looked like Tio Felix grabbed another, and they threw them at her just as the woman who looked like Mama was trying to force her way past her-

The chairs slammed into her, and she went down; she staggered up again only moments later, rubbing her head, but they were already inside.

The vision came on suddenly, as they often did, and Bruno barely had enough time to sit down in the sand before the pain in his head and flashing green images overtook him.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes, grimacing. The vision had been confusing, as they were too often.

He’d seen Dolores running, holding Antonio in her arms.

A man he didn’t know, bleeding on the floor.

Camilo and Mirabel, running.

Luisa, looking scared and angry like she never had before.

Standing up and stretching, he peered down at the emerald tablet that had appeared, hoping it would offer him some clarity.

It showed the dining room table, downstairs. The family gathered around it, but everyone looked apprehensive. Felix and Julieta were yelling....at Felix and Julieta? No, that wasn’t them-

He ran, taking the stairs two at a time.

The devils burst in (”Luisa!” Julieta shrieked), brandishing their knives, and Agustin shouted for the children to run upstairs, jumping forward with his arms outstretched and somehow tripping over the carpet, and thunder rumbled outside, but Felix barely noticed any of it.

It was him, indeed. The man who looked just like him, who had treated his daughter and niece so abominably.

Rage was building within him, setting his blood on fire. He shook with anger.

“Cesar!” he roared.

Cesar turned to him. “And if it isn’t the father of dear young Lola himself!” He laughed mockingly. “It’s been a long time, cousin!”

Agustin, who had just stood up, tripped and fell back down again. “Cousin?”

“You are no cousin of mine,” Felix spat. “Not anymore.”

They were second cousins, actually. Their mothers were cousins. Felix’s mother’s mother and Cesar’s mother’s father had been siblings. Felix’s grandmother and her husband had moved to the village that later became the Encanto several years before the attack, while Cesar’s grandfather and his family had remained in Bogota. Communication between the two branches had been sporadic in the years after the miracle - there’d been a war going on, after all - but eventually the families had reconnected.

On the occasion that Felix’s family had visited their Bogota cousins, it had always been a family joke, how he and Cesar looked so much alike. They could have been brothers. They’d laughed about it.

“No?” Cesar raised an eyebrow. “That’s not what you said in that letter of yours. Twenty years ago, you were so excited to be marrying the woman of your dreams, you wrote letters to every single distant family member you possessed, inviting us all to the wedding. Quite a stormy wedding, that was. Same thing six years later - you wrote all about how your firstborn had inherited the family magic, how she could hear absolutely everything-”

And if Felix hadn’t written his second cousin Cesar (and his other relatives Diego and Emilia and Carmelita and Carlos and Jorge and every single other person he even distantly shared blood with, he had been so excited, so happy, so elated to be marrying Pepa, but that was beside the point) then Cesar might not have known about the Encanto and the wondrous gifts its leaders possessed, may never have decided to take those gifts for his own, would never have taken Dolores and Isabela; if Felix hadn’t been so stupid -

Cartilage crunched.

Cesar staggered back, clutching his nose. His blood was warm on Felix’s fingers. Bella and Lola, half-crouched behind the table, looked surprised.

Cesar glared daggers at Felix. “Forget this,” he growled.

At that moment Pepa literally stormed in, her earlier headache and chills forgotten. “You stop right there,” she shouted, eyes crackling and thunder rumbling, and Felix had never been so glad to see his wife, had never thought her more beautiful.

Cesar simply turned and grabbed for-

No.

Antonio had wriggled out of Dolores’ arms before, because he was a three-year-old boy who wanted to know what all the fuss was about, and none of the children had gotten to the stairs, let alone him, and he was trying to hide behind a table leg, and Cesar simply picked him up.

No. Not another child. Not again.

“Put him down.” Another growl of thunder punctuated Pepa’s voice, but she wavered uncertainly. She could not risk striking Cesar while he held Antonio, and he knew it.

Cesar laughed, then turned to the last of the group of four, a weary-looking man who had not spoken so far, and who actually looked somewhat reluctant. “Julio, take him to the wagon and wait for us there.” He handed Antonio to him.

Time seemed to slow and stretch like honey. Julio’s focused narrowed. He heard nothing, he saw nothing, except for the little frightened boy in his arms, staring up at him with wide, scared eyes just like his sisters’.

To take this boy, and bring him back to the city, where they would use him and abuse him just like they had done with his sisters.

Bella and Lola, terrified of everything, snatching scraps of food off the table, dodging blows with ease borne of long practice - or not dodging blows because if they held still the beating would be over faster. Moving fast out of necessity, to weave out of the way of people and the near-certain strike they would bring. Nightmares.

This little boy couldn’t end up like them.

Julio whispered something that Dolores would later say had been “Lola, catch,” and threw the little boy across the room.

Lola caught him, and she whirled and ran out of the room with him. Bella followed instantly, vines trailing behind her.

“Traitor,” Cesar shouted at Julio, and he reached inside his pocket, took out a small pistol, and shot Julio in the chest. He staggered and fell.

Bruno ran down the stairs, praying not to fall. Down and down, round and round-

He barely had a moment to take in the scene at the bottom before he threw the emerald tablet on the table. It shattered instantly, sharp viridescent fragments shooting through the air. All around the room, a rain of green glass fell, Julieta’s and Felix’s faces twinkling from the different facets of the shards.

After that, everything happened at once.

Felix tried to punch Cesar again, but Cesar dodged. Alma hit him with her cane, and he staggered back again.

Luisa came running in from the entranceway, a terrible yell of rage roaring from inside her at these people who dared harm her family. She grabbed one of them, the mustache one who had thrown the first chair at her, dragged him to the corner, threw him to the floor, and sat on him. She wanted to help take down the other three - the other two, the last one was bleeding in another corner and appeared to be breathing his last - but she couldn’t risk the one she had escaping.

Bella and Lola barricaded themselves and Antonio inside a closet, Bella weaving a net of vines across it from the inside.

Mirabel and Camilo tried to run upstairs, but Daniela chased them into the kitchen with a knife.

The kitchen was Julieta’s place. The kitchen was safe. The kitchen was a place of healing.

Mirabel and Camilo ran behind Julieta - “Mami,” Mirabel shrieked, and it was easy to see why. A woman coming after her with a long sharp serrated knife, she’d shriek to.

“You,” Julieta snarled. This was her. This was the woman who looked so much like her that her Isabela was terrified to even look at her. This was the woman who had treated her daughter so horribly. And now she threatened Julieta’s other daughter and nephew as well.

She had no weapons. Nothing to protect herself with.

Well, she was in the kitchen, which of course had multiple knives, but of course they were all on the rack on the opposite side of the room. She was by the stove, and the only thing in the only pot on the stove was a spoon.

“Now, look,” Daniela said calmly. “Do this the smart way, and no one will get hurt. I want them two-” She nodded at Camilo and Mirabel, both of whom Julieta could hear breathing fast and errativally as they shrank against her for protection, “-to come with me.”

Julieta’s fist closed around the pot on the stove. “Never,” she snarled, and threw it.

It was full of oil, near-boiling oil. She’d been about to start on dinner.

Daniela threw her arms up in time to protect her face, dropping her knife, but the pot hit her in the head, and the oil spilled out over her arms, her head, in between her fingers, as the pot fell and hit her in the foot. Her scream was agonized, terrible to hear, coming from a voice so like Julieta’s own.

Daniela gingerly lowered her hands, and Julieta marched across the room. “Listen to me,” she growled, as Daniela looked up just in time to see Julieta snatch a carving knife from the rack. “You get out of here right now and never hurt my family again - never come near my family again, or you will get ten times worse. You hear me?”

Daniela nodded wordlessly.

“Go!” Julieta barked.

The woman fled.

Back at the main entrance, Felix was giving Cesar a similar speech.

“I don’t care that we share blood,” he growled. “I don’t care that we’re kin. If you try to harm my family again, if you so much as come within a mile of here, I will kill you. Understand?”

“Yes.” Cesar spat blood from between his teeth. Felix’s second punch had taken him in the jaw. His gun was gone, smashed under Felix’s foot. He glared balefully at him. Felix knew that if he encountered Cesar again, he might not make it out alive.

But this was in his house, with his family, in his town. He had the advantage here, and it was much harder to beat up a man of approximately the same size and weight than it was to beat up two small, malnourished girls.

“So go,” Felix ordered.

Cesar went.

Luisa carried her captive over to the window and literally threw him out. He lay there bruised and groaning for a bit, but finally got up and hobbled away, most likely encouraged by Agustin and Pepa standing on the front steps glaring at him.

Everyone was alive and uninjured, somehow.

Bella and Lola knelt by Julio, whispering to him as he breathed his last breaths. Agustin hovered just behind them. Alma sat with Antonio on her lap. Bruno had ordered Julieta to sit down while he attempted to cook. Pepa and Felix were talking quietly in the corner. Luisa was stretched out on the floor while Camilo and Mirabel used her as a pillow.

They were all alive, and safe, and for now, that was enough.

And if three lightning bolts struck three disgruntled would-be abductors as they made their way through the mountains surrounding the Encanto in the dead of night, well....no one would ever know, would they?

Also posted on Archive of our Own.

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marshmallow-rainbow139 · 3 years ago

Text

My Dirty Hands (Armin Arlet x Annie Leonhart)

Summary: Armin notices something is bothering Annie

Genre: Angst, Hurt with comfort, fluff

Trigger warning: Pregnancy and mention of death

Pairing: Armin Arlert x Annie Leonhart

Word Count: 3,182

“Do you have a pad?” Pieck asked.

“No.” Annie answered.

The question triggered something in Annie’s mind.

She quickly did the math.

“You look white. Like this piece of paper.” Pieck commented holding up a piece of paper.

Annie opened her mouth to reply but she couldn’t get any words out.

“Annie.” Pieck started, calmly. “When was your last period?”

“Hum…” Annie swallowed hard. “Two months ago.” After saying that outloud, Annie put her face agaist her hands and let out a mubled, “Fuck!”

…

Armin and Annie talked about what they wanted in life the moment they started dating, now that they didn't have to worry about the curse of Ymir. Their goal in life was simple: to preserve the peace and keep the Eldians safe.

When they got to the subject of family and having children, there was some hesitation. When they inherit their Titans, they accept the fact that they will never be able to have a family or live a normal life due to their short lifespan. Now that they are curse-free, they have all the time in the world to do whatever they want, but they must contend with how unpredictable things can be and a world that still despises them.

They mutually decided against having children. Armin made his decision because he was concerned about potential danger and retribution. Annie's was due to the guilt she felt for taking so many lives. Of the blood that she still feels clinging to her hands.

Annie and Armin married one another and promised to devote their lives to one another. They are happy. They are a team. And they are content to be alone in their large apartment, drinking the finest wine they have on hand and slow dancing to the music from phonograph.

But... the human being still wants more. Still yearns for more.

Annie could tell that Armin was having doubts about his decision to not have children. She notices that when he looks at other children of various ages. When he tenderly holds Jean and Mikasa’s son. When he kneels in front of a child and patiently explains to them what this is and what that is.

When he noticed Annie looking at him when he did those things, his gentle smile would disappear. He would blush and look away, embarrassed.

Every time she saw that, she felt her heart get heavier with guilt.

Guilt because she felt like she was taking something from Armin. Stealing his youth. Stealing the years he could have had with someone who actually wanted what he wanted. Because Annie knew that to despise whatever fear and anxieties he had, he would find a way to make things better. He is the first ray of light that hits the dark day.

He’s just not saying anything because he respects her choice. He was the first man who let her make decisions for herself and her own life.

There was a moment in the middle of their love making when, right before he inserts himself on her, he stops and goes for the drawer where the condoms are. She wanted to grab his wrist and stop him. She wanted to look into his eyes and say: “Do me raw. Put a baby in me.”

But she didn’t do anything because she was a coward and she felt unworthy. She clutched the sheets in order to restrain herself and closed her eyes. And she kept her eyes closed throughout their love-making session, but she still clung to him like she always did in their intimate moments.

The nightmare she had that night reminded her of her sins.

Once again, Marco Bodt’s voice came back to remind her of her wrong doings. She'd met a lot of people in her life, but the look on his face is one she'll never forget, no matter how hard she tries. She will remember his freckled cheeks covered in tears and his pleas for help.

She woke up screaming. Armin pulled her to his chest.

“It’s okay!” He said, rocking her like she was a baby. “You’re safe. I’m here.”

She sobbed and fell asleep with tears still running down her face.

Armin didn’t try to pry any information from her. He just offered his shoulder to cry on. He too had his fair share of nightmares that he didn’t want to talk about.

…

She left the office earlier after asking Pieck to make some excuse and promising that she wouldn’t tell anyone, especially Armin, about their conversation.

Pieck just gave her a sympathising look and agreed.

If she had been thinking straight, she would have gone directly to a doctor's office to confirm her suspicion. She’s an ambassador, and she has priority and contacts. But her mind was so full of anxiety that she decided to go home.

When she got home, she sat on the couch and did nothing.

She kept thinking about how this happened. When was she so careless? When were they so careless?

That day on the beach.

Annie groaned at the memory. Of her in a new bikini. Going for a swim. And putting herself on top of Armin and making love to him under the hot sun that, along with Armin’s hot skin, warmed her wet and cold body.

20 minutes of pleasure and 2 months later, a huge headache.

…

During dinner time, she lets Armin guide the conversation for the night.

She half listened. Something about a meeting.

She’s waiting for him to make a comment about her silence or about how she left work earlier. But he doesn’t, probably to stress about work. That makes her relieved and irritated at the same time.

After dinner, she took a quick shower, and it was when the hot water rained down her body that she started to notice the differences. Her breasts look fuller and her nipples feel sensitive. With the sponge going over her body, she could feel the curve of a bump. It was small, but it felt big. She didn’t look down. She just kept staring forward, too ashamed and in denial to look down.

In bed, Armin tries to get intimate with her. But she quickly rejects him by saying she just took a shower. He, being the gentleman that he is, respects that and kisses her forehead.

“Night, Annie Bear.” He says that before turning off the light and pulling the covers up.

That stupid nickname, the one that made her threaten him with torture and death if he ever said that in front of their friends, made her smile for the first time today.

When she is sure he has fallen asleep, she moves the covers down to her waist and lifts her nightgown just enough to expose her belly. Gingerly, she lifts her hand and runs her fingers through her belly, as if she were a child petting a cat after being told to do it gently.

With the sponge, she couldn’t feel anything, but now with her bare hands, she can feel a hard bump. The kind of one that she would feel a week before her period starts or when she eats too much.

She doesn’t know how long she's been feeling her belly, but when she sees Armin’s arm appear on top of it, she almost lets out a yelp. She looks at him and is relieved to see him still asleep peacefully, oblivious to his wife’s anxiety and worries.

She looks down again and sees his hand is placed next to the bump. If she turned on her side, he could cup it entirely in his hand. Annie kind of wants to do it and know what it feels like.

She lets out a heavy sigh and carefully removes Armin’s arm from her. She slowly gets up from the bed and tip-toes her way to the bathroom.

She sits on the toilet in the bathroom and quietly sobs. She grabs her face in order to muffle her sobs. Her entire body trembles. Her nails dig into her face's skin. She takes deep breaths through her nose. She'd never felt so terrified in her life. She'd never felt so scared and confused in her life.

Because no matter what she thinks and what her decisions are, she wants this baby. She wants the thing she was denied by Marley. She wants a family with the man she loves.

But how can she be a mother after all the horrendous things she has done.

How could she hold her child with her blood-covered hands?

How is she going to look her child in the eyes and explain the horrible things she's done after they've discovered what a monster their mother is?

She goes back to bed after an hour. Armin is still sleeping, facing away from her. She crawls under the covers and embraces him from behind. She buries her nose in his back and inhales his scent.

"I love you." She whispers into the dark.

…

For a week, Armin started noticing that something was different with Annie.

She seemed more closed than before. She was always the quiet one in their relationship. Usually letting Armin rant non-stop and only letting out a few quips here and there, lately she doesn’t say anything. She just stays quiet and looks like she’s stuck in her own little world.

Armin tried to ask if everything was alright, but she always said she was tired or distracted, but Armin knew she was hiding something and she wasn’t ready to tell him.

One day, he tried to ask Pieck if she knew what was making Annie so distant.

The former Cart Titan user only looked at him with a sort of amused look and said to him. “It’s not up to me to say what’s happening to Annie; it’s her.” That left Armin more confused and a little frustrated, now knowing that Annie was definitely hiding something from him.

He decided to ask her one more time, in the most calm and gentle way possible.

Armin managed to leave work early, and before he got home, he passed by a florist and bought a small bouquet of baby breaths. He knew Annie would blush a little bit because of the gift.

“I’m home.” He said when he opened the door.

“Welcome back,” Annie said from the kitchen.

Armin went inside the kitchen. Annie was sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea.

“Hey, you're home early.”

“Yeah! I wanted to surprise you. Here! This is for you!” Armin said, presenting Annie with the flower bouquet, and just as he predicted, Annie looked away and blushed.

“Thank you.”

She got up from her seat and grabbed the bouquet.

She went to the kitchen counter and started preparing a glass of water so that the flowers wouldn’t die quickly.

“So… I talked to Pieck today.” Armin started.

“Oh? What were you talking about?” Annie said she was not looking at him; she was more focused on adjusting the flowers in the glass of water.

Armin approached Annie and stood behind her, but he was an arm's length away from her so that she wouldn’t feel that he was invading her private space.

“We talked about you.”

That made Annie tense up and pause her hands.

She looked over his shoulder and gave Armin a look that years ago would have made him feel intimidated and scared.

“What did she tell you?” She asked.

Armin stood tall and held his head high.

“I asked her if everything was alright with you.”

“What makes you think something is wrong about me?”

“You seemed more distant and colder.”

“I was always like this.”

“I mean more than usual.”

Annie looked away from him and went back to adjusting the flowers.

Armin let out a sigh and approached her. He circled his arms around her waist and rested his cheek against her head.

“I just want you to know that I’m here to help you with whatever is bothering you.”

“Yeah?” She asked.

“Yeah. Isn’t that what husbands and wives do?” While he said that Armin’s palm rested against Annie’s stomach, that action made something inside Annie snap.

“Don't touch me there!” She shouted and released herself from Armin’s arms and got out of the kitchen.

Armin was shocked by her reaction and immediately felt bad for crossing the line.

“Annie! I’m sorry!” Armin said, rushing out of the kitchen to go to her.

He stepped into the hallway where Annie was there as well, standing still.

“Annie? Please tell me what’s wrong.” Armin begged. “I want to help. That’s what partners do.”

Annie looked over her shoulder and the look in her eyes was different than before. There was no coldness in her eyes; there was only confusion, fear, and anxiety.

“Do you want to know what’s wrong with me?” She said, fully turning herself towards him.

Armin nodded.

“Since when are you blind, Armin?” She started. “Did you not notice that I have been nauseous? That I barely have any appetite? That I look more pale than usual? That I've been wearing clothes that are two sizes too big? That my boobs are getting bigger? Or that I stopped being intimate with you in the past week?”

Armin was confused but after he started putting the pieces together, his eyes widened.

“Are you… pregnant?” Armin asked, his voice shaking.

Annie was shaking, her lip was quivering, and she looked away from him. That was enough confirmation for him.

Carefully, like she was a frightened animal, he approached her.

“Don’t come near me.” She whispered and still refused to look at him.

He ignored her. He put his arms around her and brought her to him. She tried to fight him, but at the same time, she wanted his warmth and comfort. She gave up her pathetic fight and buried her face in his chest and started crying.

“I’m sorry.” She whipped.

Armin shook his head and rubbed her back.

“No, it’s okay. You did nothing wrong.” He assured her.

How many times did he fantasize about having children with her?

How many times did he picture every child that he encountered as their own?

How many times did he scold himself for having those thoughts and planning on telling her that they should try for one after she specifically said she didn’t want to?

He wants to be happy with this news but how can he feel any positive feeling when she’s crying in his arms?

“Annie…” He started but couldn't say anything.

“I want it.” She started. I want this baby. Because it’s yours and I want to have the family that I have always wanted. But how can I?” She gripped his shirt tighter. “How can I hold my child with these hands?”

She pulled her face away from his chest and looked at him and Armin could feel his heart break because of her expression.

“How can I hold our baby after everything I have done?” She sniffed. Tears decorated her face, and her cheeks were red. “Tell me, Armin. Tell me how I’m going to hold our baby with my dirty hands.”

Armin was speechless.

The last time he had seen her look so defeated was when Commander Hange told her that Liberio was probably destroyed because of the rumbling.

Annie, feeling frustrated with Armin’s lack of response, almost dropped to her knees. Armin quickly grabbed and carried her bridal style to their bedroom.

He laid her down but when he started pulling away she gripped his shirt and pulled him to her.

“Don’t leave me, please!” She begged.

Armin laid beside her.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”

He let her cry until she fell asleep due to exhaustion. He carefully detached himself from her and started removing her slippers. After doing the same thing to himself, he sat on the bed. He looked at her face and gently brushed the hair that was stuck to her forehead and kissed it.

He laid beside her and watched her sleep. After a while, his eyes start drifting to her stomach. Carefully, he pulled her shirt up to reveal her stomach. He could see a slight curve. He touched it and enjoyed the warm feeling of Annie’s skin.

He let out a heavy sigh and put his face near her stomach and kissed her bump.

“I’m sorry.” He said it. To his wife and unborn child.

The world was still a dangerous place, and they were bringing another soul into this unpredictable place. He put her shirt down and laid beside her once again. He put his hand underneath her shirt and put his palm flat against her stomach.

Armin fell into a dreamless sleep. When he woke up, it was already night and he still felt tired. His hand never left Annie’s stomach. He rubbed it with his thumb slowly.

He did that for a few minutes until he felt Annie touching his hand. That startled him, and he immediately removed his hands, remembering Annie didn’t react well the last time he touched it.

“Sorry.” He said.

Annie grabbed his hand and put it back against her stomach. “It’s okay, I want you to touch it. It makes me feel… relieved.”

They laid there in silence.

“How far along are you?” He asked, daring to break it.

“Around 11 weeks I think.”

Armin tries to remember everything he learned about pregnancy. 11 weeks is the first trimester, and if he remembers correctly, the baby is probably the size of a fig.

“Do you really want to keep it?” He asked her.

“Yeah. I really want to.” She takes a deep breath. “Only if you promise to never leave me and stay with me until the very end of it.”

He pulled her closer to him.

“For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

Annie smiled. He was reciting their wedding vows.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He swore.

She hugged and held him tightly.

“We’re having a baby.” She said.

Armin smiled and kissed her head.

“We’re having a baby.” He repeated. “It’s going to be a girl.”

That last comment made Annie pull away from him and stare with an incredulous look.

“It barely has fingers and you already think you know the gender.”

Armin blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

“I don’t know. It’s just a gut feeling. Maybe I want a daughter as beautiful as you.”

“Hopefully she has your personality.”

“She’ll know how to throw a kick and read at the age of 7.”

“I’ll make sure that Reiner is the dummy for practice.”

“We’re going to have to tell the others soon.”

“Reiner will want to be the Godfather.”

“Mikasa will be the Godmother.”

Annie put her hand against his face.

“I love you.” She whispered.

“I love you too.” He said and kissed her.

They know that their road to parenthood is going to be difficult, but they will go through it together.

#aruani #aruannie #fluff #angst #aot #aot scenarios #annie leonhart #armin arlert

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softrozene · 4 years ago

Text

Reacting to Reader’s Braces Headcanons

I took a break from my event to create this extremely self-indulgent and rushed headcanons since I finally got my braces off! I have a very strong dislike for my retainer now but it will grow on me :’) Anyway this is comfort for me since my mouth is in pain lol.

One Piece Characters Reacting to Reader getting braces vs. getting them off!

One Piece Characters x Reader (Gender-Neutral/Nonbinary)

*I just did the Straw Hats, Law, Marco, Ace, and Thatch for this! (I did not add Jinbei as a straw hat since I am still not all the way caught up)

Warnings: This is long, Fluff- The characters reacting can be considered platonic/romantic- I will have any romantic (kissing) headcanons in bold. Except Chopper. He is strictly platonic because he is baby.

This is their normal One Piece world since I was a bit curious how they would react since I imagine that if there are dentists/orthodontists in their world it would be rare or only in like huge cities like Water 7.

FLAKSDSA Honestly just imagine Reader leaves the crew once in a while to go get their adjustments done or something lmfao. We ignore logic for this one. Only care about the reactions XD

Words: 2,343

Monkey D. Luffy:

When he firsts sees the metal in your mouth he is curious!

He will be in utter awe or laugh if he thinks they look funny (which of course makes Reader’s confidence plummet lol unless you laugh with him)

May call you a robot

He wants to know why they are shaped around your teeth- It is not like the gold or silver teeth that other pirates have that accompany missing teeth

This is weird for him since your teeth seem to be trying to look straight?

When you explain the reasoning of braces to him he is even more puzzled but excited for you!

He is not sure you really need them since he likes your smile regardless but he is happy if you are happy!

As for when you get them off- He is in awe that the braces did their job! And now you get to wear this weird plastic thing in your mouth

How the heck did you even get it in there?

He has no clue what a dentist/orthodontist is so he will just call them mouth doctor and think Chopper is the one helping you lol

Kissing with them on is also a weird experience for him! (I really hate to say it but he will love if you do not clean them very well. It makes him surprised but happy if he tastes food on them alfdjaslkf I HATE THIS lol)

He likes the way the metal feels when he explores your mouth but hopefully he is not a harsh kisser- You fear something will break if he really wanted to flakdfa

When you get your braces off he is in even more shock! That is so cool! Your smile is straight now! But now you got this weird plastic thing in your mouth... He does not mind he is just forgets you wear it since it is clear!

Luffy honestly does not care what you look like smile wise from before or after. He has no preference. He only cares that you are happy with your smile!

Roronoa Zoro:

“What the hell is in your mouth?”

THIS MAN BATHES ONCE A WEEK SO I WOULD ASSUME THAT IS THE SAME WITH HIS DENTAL HYGIENE?! I really hope not. I hope he cares for his mouth and will pretend he does now falksdfja

Anyway, he sees the metal and he is confused but once you explain it, he really does not care anymore

“Oh, cool, I guess.”

If you are partners though- He will be intrigued how kissing you would be. He takes the chance and decides it is an experience for sure tasting the metal in your mouth. (May remind of blood so he pretty cool with it alfdjalk)

Speaking of blood- If something ends up poking him or cutting him... He will enjoy it to the max tbh however if it is you that is hurt he will cease all kissing and only go for pecks until later

When you get them off I think he would miss tasting the metal

When you get your braces off he does not notice at first... It takes a few smiles before he goes... “Wait a minute...”

Then it hits him!

He will smile and be happy if he notices that being braceless brings you confidence with your new smile!

Nami:

SHE NOTICES THEM IMMEDIATELY AND SHE LIKES THEM

Nami is huge on hygiene so I think she would love to know more about dental hygiene and the concept of braces

She is understanding with your diet restrictions and will scold anyone who gives you weird looks or tries to get you to eat something you should not

She is your go-to for this since she also wants to see the end result as perfect

She is tad worried in the kissing department- Not wanting to mess your braces up since she knows how much effort goes into them but she also worried about her safety and if a wire or lose bracket will poke her or worse you. So she sticks to gentle kisses until they are off

She actually goes with you to your orthodontist to see how they take them off and to be there for you

She is happy with and for you upon seeing the end result!

and now her kisses can be harder >///<

Usopp:

As a tinkerer he will notice and also be intrigued. He has never seen braces (like Luffy and Zoro) and has never heard of them

He asks so many questions

Luffy, Zoro, and him are the ones who forget your diet restrictions which causes much irritation on your side. You will constantly glare at them for offering foods or drinks you can’t have

Usopp will eventually start remembering and be considerate on your behalf

When he kisses you he is soft and gentle- Not wanting to hurt you or himself. If he tastes blood he will pass out in fear just because he will blame himself and think he hurt you. He is too sweet :’)

As soon as your braces are off he will ask SO MANY QUESTIONS about the retainer like how was it made and such? Does it feel weird?

He is just so intrigued by it and of course- It makes you smile even more.

Sanji:

Tbh I feel like he would have had them as a kid or wanted them if his dad cared enough aldfjakl

Also notices them immediately

He will actually cater to your diet needs/restrictions because he knows how much they mean to you if you are going through such a time consuming thing to get your teeth fixed

Besides that he is just a friend you can go to if you are in mouth pain- He will make something soft for you every time you go for an adjustment or tea to help sooth your mouth

If you are kissing on the other hand- If homeboy does not pass out first he will be so gentle. He is terrified of hurting you or making you uncomfortable with your braces on (and lowkey is the same way even if you get them off- You will have to be the one to make the first move)

When you get them off- It is a food celebration! Whatever you missed eating or that you could not eat he will make it all for you!

He does notice if you are smile more and if you are more confident with your new smile! : )

Tony Tony Chopper:

HE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND DURING YOUR BRACES TIME.

He will constantly worry about any mouth pains and since he is a doctor is intrigued how someone labeled as a doctor for teeth does their jobs

He will asks questions constantly and write about your journey with this

10/10 cutie and best buddy for this

Make sure he is stocked on simple pain meds for you

Nico Robin:

She notices them but does not say anything or ask questions unless you want to talk about

She is sweet and looks out for you

Makes sure Sanji helps with your diet restrictions

Besides that she does not notice much or ask much

She is just happy that you are doing this for yourself

Her kisses concerning this are always gentle. She refuses to risk anything with you until after your braces are gone. Only then will she let herself become more heated with kisses.

After your braces she will always compliment your smile (and tell you it was beautiful before too but notes how confident you are)

Cyborg Franky:

“WHOA THAT IS SUPPPPPERRRR!”

He likes them.

That is all.

Okay but seriously. As a man who completely turned himself into a machine in the front he has mad respect for you for putting metal in your mouth. Like that concept is wild to him since the mouth is so sensitive (yet he also can blow flames out his mouth due to working on it aldfjal)

He will refuse to kiss you since he knows how is strength and hard kisses can damage your brackets/wires so he refuses anything until after they are safely off.

Besides that after your braces are off and you have your retainer on (He honestly didn’t notice the retainer lol) He will go “You have a SUPERRRR smile!”

Brook:

Brook honestly does notice them at first but he does not say anything until you do

Cue his jokes: “I NOTICE THE METAL IN YOUR TEETH WITH MY EYES BUT WAIT I DO NOT HAVE ANY EYES YOHOHOHO”

Besides that he is not that interested in them

For kissing though he also refuses to do so since he is straight up a skeleton. He does not want to risk his bone breaking ANYTHING. Though he will peck your cheek. Even after you get them off he is hesitant since he is a skeleton- That does not mean he will not try. If you ask he will get flustered and be gentle for you

When you get your braces off- Brook may tease you and say your teeth are almost as straight as his! And remind you constantly that he is a skeleton adlfjakl

Trafalgar Law:

Is just a king- I should stop all headcanons here alfdkaldks

He knows what braces are and is not that interested in the work only because he prefers his medicinal studies that are more morbid than the mouth

However, he is very observational still and notes how you care for them and what your diet is

For kissing- He acts like he does not care but he is gentle and careful when things gets heated. He is actually a big softie so he will do everything to avoid ruining your braces that would involve a setback.

After you get your braces off he also notices how much more confident you are. How much brighter your smile is because of that

Besides that- He does not make a big deal out of it

Marco the Phoenix:

He and the Whitebeard pirates have been nearly everywhere and met all kinds of people so he is not that surprised when he notices that you have braces

He has seen them before so not a big deal

Much like Law, Marco will not make a big deal out of it

However, if you both are close to each other he may tease you whenever you develop a lisp or when are embarrassed after an adjustment.

Either way he means it with a good heart

God- Kisses with Marco when you have braces are so, so, so, gentle. He is the king of kisses no matter what. He is careful but he sure as hell will not let the metal win when you both get heated. So he knows how to maneuver around your mouth with his tongue >///<

When you get your braces off- It is a celebration with the whole crew. Marco helps plan it and of course takes photos of your smile afterwards since you have every right to be proud of your smile

He will always comment on how your smile is brighter

Portgas D. Ace:

Also with Marco (and Thatch) he is rather used to seeing different kinds of people with different situations so he is not surprised to see metal in your mouth

However when you get close to him he does ask questions and get intrigued

He only teases you when you have some trouble speaking a few words but besides that- He is also respectful and does not think much of the braces

Though since he is one that eats all the time he tries to be considerate for you since he knows that it can be frustrating with your diet restrictions

If you are in a relationship with him he actually is not confident in kissing you with your braces. It is because he cares so much about you and because of his self-loathing- He would HATE if he messed up your braces so he is cautious and tries not to push anything until after you get your braces off

When your braces comes off homeboy is going to dine-and-dash with you EVERYWHERE

Thatch-

Like the other two- Thatch is used to this kind of thing so he is not surprised

Since he is the culinary chef for the Whitebeard Pirates you bet your butt he will have better foods for you to suit your needs

He is also teasing like the others and may take it a far sometimes but he will remind you that you are good with or without braces!

He constantly makes sure you are doing fine though since he is aware of how the other whitebeard pirates may not be as considerate as he is

Kisses with Thatch are gentle but I think if it gets too heated he may forget that he is supposed to be gentle. He definitely ends up tearing up his tongue on the metal if this is the case and he feels bad if you feel bad- If not he will laugh it off and continue if you want

After you get your braces off- He will check with what you want to celebrate! What kind foods you have to eat first and you get the honor of taking the first bite!

OKAY LAST BUT NOT LEAST HERE IS A LIST ON WHO WOULD MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY WEAR YOUR RETAINER :’):

Would forget you you wear a retainer so they would not be helpful as a reminder: Luffy, Zoro, Franky, Brook, Ace

Remembers then forgets after a while: Usopp and Thatch

Makes you wear your retainer as instructed and will give you a death glare (out of love of course) if you are not doing so: Nami, Robin, Sanji, Chopper, and Marco

Will make sure you wear your retainer even though he says he does not care, and will murder your soul if you do not do so (out of love but he will lie about it): Law

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unknownwriting · 3 years ago

Note

Congrats on nearing the end of your school term 🎉 I still got a couple more weeks to go myself, haha… :')

May I request Thatch with a fem. s/o?

S/o overheard Blackbeard's plan to kill Thatch and tried to warn him about it, but Thatch just waved it off as her being paranoid, overly stressed or had a nightmare. Which is understandable given that he known Teach longer than he had known her. So s/o decided to play along with that she was just overthinking, and instead opt to keep an eye out on Teach. The night of the supposed incident, Thatch had his back turned to the approaching attack, unaware, until s/o leapt out from the shadows and took the hit for him. Thatch turned around just in time to see s/o fall to the ground, and standing not too far away was Teach, holding a bloodied blade. Having lost the much needed element of surprise, Teach stood with a growing look of nervousness.

What's Thatch going to do in this scenario? …with your knowledge that Teach is absolutely going to lose, and the plot won't head down the way it's supposed to. *cough* Marineford *cough*

Also, is it alright if I request for two alternate endings: one where s/o dies, and another where s/o barely made it through after a few days spent in critical condition and comatose?

♡ Summary- fem! s/o tries her best to stop the assassination of Thatch however she finds it doesn’t go how she plans

♡ Character- Thatch

♡ Warnings- angst, major character death, blood

♡ Damn, you really choose angst. Are you ok?? 😭 but hear me out of Thatch never dies then marineford never happens and that makes me happy :)) so I can so get behind this. Also this is longer than I thought but I hope you enjoy it 💕

Unedited

- you knew about the whole thing, the devil fruit they found, the plan that Teach had and just what he would do to get it. You knew about it all. And it scared you. It scared you so much. The fact that Teach’s greed is so strong that he would kill his crew mate, his family

- for a while you just kept it to yourself, although you heard about it you didn’t know much about it or the context behind it. And you didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so for a while you just kept it to yourself until you had solid proof. But that didn’t seem to work.

- as time went on, nightmares slowly began to appear. And they didn’t stop. It was almost every night you would wake up in cold sweat, gasping for air and at the verge of tears. You couldn’t even be in the same room as Teach you always had to leave. It’s just gotten to the point where you had to tell someone, anyone. So you thought it would be best to go to the one whose in the biggest danger: Thatch.

- you and Thatch have been dating for a while now, so thought that when you had told him what your over heard that he would take your word for you. You haven’t done anything to lose his trust the only part you really had to worry about was the fact that he had known Teach longer but you went to tell him anyways only to have you immediately shoo away the thought.

- you didn’t even get to explain yourself at all before Thatch had shot you down. He didn’t even take the time to listen to you anymore. When you tried to get him to at least listen, he just continued to push you away claiming you were paranoid, not sleeping well and that you just didn’t like Teach.

- At least you had you answer now: if you can’t tell your boyfriend then there’s no way you can tell anyone else and you figured that was gonna be the case. You were new to the crew so of course everyone was gonna take Teach’s side. He was there the longest. But now that you have your answer, it was up to you to protect Thatch and anyone else.

- of course you couldn’t do anything until you learned more about it, so you spent a few nights spying around trying to figure out what exactly Teach was planning. It took a while but luckily he had a big mouth and you were able to figure out when it would happen. And so you made sure to prepare.

- now during this whole thing, both you and Thatch had began to distance yourself from each other. And y’all had your reasons. You really weren’t to upset that he had called you paranoid or anything you just need time to prepare and collect your thought. but Thatch on the other hand was upset that you would accuse him family of something like that. So although the was still mad gonna take a few days and calm down before he confronted you.

- but when he decided too, it was already to late. On the night Teach was gonna attack and you ready. Thatch on the other hand was ready to confront you and ask you about your suspicion, but when he was making your way to your fav room on the ship, Teach was quick to spring into action. Attacking Thatch in one quick movement. However, you were quicker.

- you meant to just block his attack with one of your own, however with the weird way he was swinging it was hard to counter it. So instead of clashing swords, you ended up taking the stab right into your chest. Thatch finally learn that you were right, and as soon as he heard you fall to the floor his world had shattered. He didn’t even pay any mind to Teach, who stood there panicked and frustrated, Thatch just needed to make sure you were ok first.

1st ending- s/o dies

- the guilt had already began to consume Thatch as he saw you lay on the floor soaked in your own blood and barely breathing. He just felt empty. His love of his life was just laying on the floor

- Thatch just feel speechless. He couldn’t muster a word or even a grunt. The only thing he could do was fall to the ground and crawl over to you. His emotions were a mess, he wanted to scream and cry yet her couldn’t. He was to shocked to do anything. The only thing he could do instead of looking at his lover is look at the guilty: Blackbeard

- his whole world has crashing down around him as he placed his hand on his lovers slowing heartbeat. He couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t cry, scream or even react. You were dying and all because of Thatch’s stubbornness. The only time that he was able to react was when you reached your bloody hand up to his cheek, grabbing his attention, and giving a weak smile as if to say, ‘at least your safe’

- that’s when his ear piercing scream echoed through the ship. Now grabbing everyone’s attention but none of that matter. He didn’t care if the next island heard him, none of that matter anymore now that your dead. His lover was dead due to his stubbornness.

- after the others had come to get you and Thatch and arrest Blackbeard, Thatch can’t remember what happened much after that and it didn’t matter. With you gone everything was so different. Nothing felt the same anymore.

- it didn’t take long of Thatch to fall into a deep depression. He did just watch his lover die right in front of him and the one who killed her was someone he called family. It was all his fault and there’s no changing that. If he had just listen to you none of thing would’ve happen.

2nd Ending- s/o survives but is badly injured

- once you were stabbed it was a good thing you landed with a heavy impact bc that sound was able to alert some of the others that were up and near y’all at the time. Thatch on the other hand just froze, as soon as you crashed to the floor he followed in suit frozen. Luckily the others were quick to see what happen and quick to jump into action when they saw your body covered in blood.

- Marco the first to be informed about any of this, so he could began treating you right away. They all carried you to the med bay and began to do all they could to save you. And while they were doing all this Thatch just ended up following like a mindless robot. He was still in shock with it all. He was fully aware what was going on his mind just didn’t process.

- it wasn’t until Marco had approach him did Thatch had finally processed it all and within a span of 5 seconds he was on the floor crying, screaming, cursing at himself. He was blind, way to blind. He couldn’t even see that you were trying to save him. And all bc of that you were forced into a coma nobody knows when you’ll wake up from

- at least you were still alive and Blackbeard was captured. Although Thatch still hate how he can’t see your smile or hear your laugh or feel your warmth close to him, at least you were alive. And with the Thatch was with you every second of the day, not even looking away from you.

- As if to make up for his blindness, Thatch is there to take care of you when your unconscious. Although Thatch really hated this, he was happy that you ha saved him even when he pushed you away you cotuined to protect him. It just proves how lucky he is to have you and to show how much he appreciates you, he’ll sit here and say till you wake up. No matter how long it would take. At that Thatch has to do it wait, wait till he gets to see your smile and feel your love again.

#one piece #one piece x reader #one piece headcanons #op thatch #thatch #thatch x reader

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asciendo · 4 years ago

Text

Apology

Make it Right Series Chapter 5

Jean was the cocky bastard that walked around like he owned the place. Y/N couldn’t stand so when the time came that you were his sparring partner, you couldn’t wait to teach him a lesson.

Little did the both of you know, that sparring match would be the start of your unexpected relationship with Jean Kirschtein, that will change your life, and the

rest of the Scout Regiment forever.

Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Chapter 3/Chapter 4/Chapter 6/Chapter 7/Chapter 8/Chapter 9/Chapter 10/Chapter 11/Chapter 12/Chapter 13/Chapter 14/Chapter 15/Chapter 16/Chapter 17/Chapter 18/Chapter 19/Chapter 20/Chapter 21

Hope you guys are enjoying!

Feel free to leave any comments or tips hehe!

You've been fooling around with Jean for weeks now. Whenever training would get tough, you'd find him waiting for you in your room at night. The days when him and Eren would get into an argument, Jean was more aggressive in the sack, which you didn't mind.

Lately, Jean's been acting different around that caught his best friend Marco's attention. When it was dinner time, Jean would set aside a loaf of bread for you, in combat training, Jean would glare at whoever was your sparring partner that day and when the cadets would walk around the town, Jean would walk next to you to make sure carts wouldn't go towards your way and would direct you on where to go.

There was a festival within the walls and the cadets were allowed one day off to explore.

Jean and Marco were walking together as you and Sasha were admiring the wooden sculptures in one of the booths.

"J-Jean?"

"Uhm...Jean?" Marco has been trying to get Jean's attention for the last 10 minutes but he was busy watching you and Sasha browse through the sculptures.

"What?!" Jean snapped at Marco suddenly as his trance was disrupted. "Uhm...I've been meaning to ask you something..." Marco said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of neck. "What is it?" Jean rolled his eyes as Marco was taking too long to speak.

"Is there anything going on with you and Y/N?" Jean's eyes widened as his cheeks started to blush. He started thinking of all the scenarios on how Marco would know about you two. Would he catch Jean sneaking out? Was Jean's collar too low that Marco could see the marks you left on him.

"W-what do you mean going on with me and Y/N?!" Jean began to walk faster as Marco trailed behind. "It's just...you've been acting weird when she's there...like you always save her a seat in the dining hall, you get annoyed when you aren't paired with her for combat training—"

"NO! There's nothing going on!" Jean snapped which made Marco stop in his tracks. "Oh..sorry..." Marco laughed nervously. Suddenly, Jean's head snapped to your direction as he heard you raise your voice in the stall.

"I said I'm NOT interested!" The clerk at the sculpture stall was trying to hit on you, by trying, you mean not letting you leave until you accepted his invitation for a date.

"Come on, I'll make it fun I promise." The clerk winked and you wanted to slap his sly smirk off of his face. Fully aware about the rules as cadet of not being allowed to harm civilians, you clenched your fists to try to control the urge to hit him.

"I said no." You rolled your eyes as you attempted to leave the stall but he blocked you as Sasha threw a potato at him saying it was an accident. "How 'bout one kiss, then I'll let you go." The clerk was about to lean in and you lost your patience, this was worth the punishment you were about to get back in the training facility but suddenly, the clerk was on the ground.

Shocked, you turned around to see Jean with his fist clenched and breathing heavily. "JEAN!" You yelled as Jean continued to kick the clerk on the ground.

"Jean, STOP it!" You tried to hold him back but he kept going. "JEAN PLEASE!" Sasha yelled as she ended up squishing the potato she had in her hands.

"WHAT IS GOING ON." You all froze as the voice of Keith Shadis boomed into your ears. "KIRSCHTEIN, Y/L/N, BRAUS. BACK TO THE TRAINGING GROUNDS, NOW!" Shadis' face was red in anger and the three of you quickly made your way back to camp.

"Look what you did!" You snapped at Jean who stared back at you in surprise. "ME?! I was helping you!"

"I could have handled it!" You shot back as Jean rolled his eyes but continued to follow you. "What did you want me to do? Watch while that perv was hitting on you?!" Jean caught up with you and grabbed your arm for you to face him.

"I was handling it myself!"

"You seriously can't be mad at me for punching that jerk?!" Jean's eyes were a mix of anger and confusion, he had no idea why were you mad at him.

"Jean, why do you care?" The two of you froze and turned to Sasha who was munching on a potato. "Uh-uhm...I don't." Jean quickly let go of your arm and the both of you were bright red.

You were all silent as you made your way back to camp and the three of you were assigned to stable duty for the next month.

You and Jean were ignoring each other for the next two weeks. As time went by, you weren't sure of why you were angry anymore. He was trying to help and you blew up, but what bothered you was the fact that your friends with benefits situation was getting a little too complicated.

Jean on the other hand, was in the worst mood ever. He'd pick fights with Eren on a daily basis, and without you to take out his frustrations on, his sparring partner always got the bad end.

You were walking with Krista near the archery training field and Sasha was up. Sasha had the best aim when it comes to archery training but whenever the smell of food was in the air, she completely loses it.

Unluckily for you, the smell of soup being made was spread across the field as you and Krista were at the border of the shooting lane.

As soon as the scent hit Sasha's nose, she lost control of her grip and her arrow was heading straight towards you. Before you could react you were pushed to the side and you heard a scream of pain.

Lying on the ground, you noticed a body hovering above you and blood dripping from his arms. "J-jean?!" You breathed out as Jean stared directly in your eyes. Shifting your gaze to his arm, you saw a wide cut and blood dripping down. The arrow just grazed him, but it still left a deep cut.

"Agh." Jean grunted in pain as he rolled off your body and Reiner rushed to help him up. "Jean?" You said softly as he just looked at you while Reiner snaked his body under Jean's to help him stand.

"I'll take him to the infirmary." Reiner announced and you were left there speechless. Sasha on the other hand was panicking and explaining that they shouldn't cook the food near the archery field. Marco soon followed Reiner and Jean with a confused but worried look on his face.

The whole day your mind was revolved around Jean. He was always the cocky one, the one who only cared about himself which is why he was joining the Military Police. You never knew he cared about anyone else, and it was puzzling you how much your actions affected him.

You began to make your way to the infirmary when you saw Marco.

"H-hey, is Jean still in there?" You asked hesitantly, Marco gave a knowing smile and chuckled. It was obvious Marco knew there was something between you and Jean but you brushed it off. "No, he's back in his room. It wasn't a bad cut, but he'll take a few days off to rest."

"Oh...thanks." You smiled and left.

That night, you were finding it too hard to sleep. You caught yourself wondering if Jean was okay or if he was in pain. You were tossing in turning for hours and gave up. "Fucking horse-face." You grunted and left your bed.

Quietly making your way through the boys' dorm, you opened Jean's door and slipped inside. He was in a deep sleep with his healthy arm resting under his head, and his injured arm in a sling.

You slowly sat next to his body and placed your hand on his cheek. His eyes shot open and his healthy arm grabbed your wrist.

"I-it's me." You whispered and his eyes softened. "What are you doing here?"

"I just...I wanted to say—" you stammered, you weren't the best in expressing your emotions and your cheeks were heating up.

"Look, if it's about the archery field, don't worry about it." He sighed then turned to his side. Your eyebrows scrunched up in confusion at his cold response, then you realized how hurt he must have been when you ignored him after he tried to protect you. It wasn't in your nature to get close to people and it scared you when he shows somewhat that he does care about you.

"I'm sorry..." You began and his eyes suddenly flickered to your direction. "I'm sorry for being an asshole...I know you were just trying to help..."

Jean turned to look at you and smirked as he knew you were turning red despite the darkness of his room. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" Jean laughed as you began to stand up but he grabbed your arm and pulled you back to the bed. "Stop looking at me!" you giggled and he laughed as well. "That's it? That's your apology?"

"I hate you."

"No you don't." Jean smiled and you rolled your eyes. "I'm sorry for ignoring you and for being a bitch, when you were right, and trying to protect me. Happy?"

"And?" Jean wiggled his eyebrows at you. "And thank you for taking Sasha's arrow for me."

"And?" Jean had that devilish grin on his face which meant he was expecting something in return. "And what?"

"How are you going to make it up to me?" Jean's voice turned husky as he sat up to face you. You smirked and pushed him back down on the bed. Suddenly, you lowered your face towards his crotch and began to undo his pants. "Forgive me?" you looked up at him and you could tell he was turning red. "Jean...if you forgive me...I'll..." you continued to pull down his underwear and place your mouth next to his member.

"I-I forgive you." He said through breaths and you began to show him how thankful you were.

Marco always had a hard time sleeping. He had a lot of nightmares as a kid which is why he left his door open. Another thing was, Marco was also a light sleeper.

The sound of footsteps woke him up and he sat lazily from his bed. He could have sworn he saw a figure, that looked like yours enter Jean's room in the middle of the night but went back to sleep anyways.

Smiling to himself, he knew Jean was going to be in a better mood when they wake up.

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suituuup · 4 years ago

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pieces - chapter ten

Five years ago, Chloe dropped off the face of the Earth. Beca didn’t expect to see her again dancing in a strip club, out of all places.

rated: E (drug use and emotional abuse in early chapters)

ao3 link

The knock at the door made Chloe jolt.

Aubrey was here, and Chloe was a nervous wreck. Even if Aubrey had shown nothing but support in the texts they had exchanged over the last couple of months, Chloe was bracing herself for judgment. It had become her default setting over the last couple of years, to always expect people to think the worst of her.

It turned out Aubrey couldn’t make it for dinner that weekend and instead offered lunch on the following Monday, so Beca was currently at work. Meeting her alone made Chloe even more nervous; Beca had become her rock, her lifeline over the past couple of months, and someone Chloe actually trusted, and she would have been more comfortable with her being present.

She wiped her hands on her apron and padded to the door, sucking in one last deep breath before pulling it open. Her friend looked the same as Chloe remembered her, except for her hairstyle, which evolved into a neat bob and matched the lawyer persona well.

“Hey Chlo,” Aubrey greeted softly, eyes soft and smile shy.

“Hi,” Chloe breathed out when she remembered she should say something, blinking.

Before Chloe could step aside, Aubrey stepped forward and pulled Chloe into a loose hug. Chloe’s first reaction was to tense for a brief moment, eventually wrapping her arms around Aubrey’s back, in turn, her shoulders relaxing as she exhaled.

“Thanks for having me over,” Aubrey said as she backed away.

Chloe nodded with a small smile and took a step back to let Aubrey through. “Come on in. I uh-- I made chicken pasta. Do you still like that?”

Cooking had been one of the activities Chloe had rekindled with since finishing rehab. Following a recipe was a good distraction from her cravings.

“I do. Sounds yummy.”

“You-- you’ve been here before, I imagine?” Chloe asked as she shut and locked the door behind them, leading Aubrey to the main room.

Aubrey shrugged off her jacket. “A few times, yes. I think the last time was for Beca’s birthday last September.”

Chloe nodded once more, then remembered her manners. “Can I offer you anything to drink?” She asked as she padded to the fridge. “We have water, flat or sparkling, coke and fanta.”

“Sparkling water is good,” Aubrey said as she perched herself on a stool, resting her chin over her propped-up hand. “How’s it been living with Beca?”

“Good,” Chloe replied as she reached for two water glasses in the cupboards, the water bottle in her other hand. “She’s been really amazing with trying to make me feel at home. It’s weird though because I can’t pay rent or groceries. I still feel like I’m taking advantage of her generosity.”

Aubrey hummed. “I get that. But you’re not. Beca wouldn’t offer all those things if she felt like you were taking advantage. And we all know you’re not. You’re getting back on your feet and could use all the help you can get, which I’m sure Beca is happy to give.”

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded. She uncapped the bottle and poured some water into both drinks.

“How have you been feeling otherwise?” Aubrey questioned then.

Chloe shrugged, breaking eye-contact. “It’s been a real rollercoaster, to be honest. Somedays I feel fine, other days it feels like I’m drowning. If it weren’t for Beca’s support or--” The baby, which she had yet to tell Aubrey about. She swallowed, forcing herself to meet her friend’s gaze. “A few days before the end of rehab, I found out that I was pregnant.”

Aubrey blinked twice in slow succession, much like Beca had done. “You are? I mean--”

“I’m keeping it,” Chloe cleared up before Aubrey could attempt to reword her question. “I know it probably sounds crazy and irresponsible given my situation and who the father is, I--”

“I think you’re going to make an amazing mom, Chlo,” Aubrey murmured before Chloe could finish. “And yes, your situation is tricky right now, but it won’t forever be that way. And the father might be a dick whose balls should be fed to wolves, but you and I both know that a baby sharing your genes can’t be evil.” She tilted her head to the side. “Are you going to tell him?”

Chloe froze. She hadn’t dared broach the subject with her therapist for fear of her telling a judge, and she didn’t know what she was allowed or not allowed to do. “Do I… have to? I mean, legally?”

Aubrey shook her head. “No, you don’t have any obligations to. The father’s name on the birth certificate can be left blank, and that means Marco will have no rights over the child.”

Chloe nibbled on her bottom lip as she processed that information. “What if he finds out? Can he get custody?”

“He’ll have to submit a petition to the court through a lawyer in order to have a DNA test done,” Aubrey explained. “After that, a judge decides if he has the right to have custody, but I really don’t see how he could, given his track record. I had a friend at the precinct look him up, and he’s been convicted several times for drug dealing and violence.”

Relief swept over Chloe upon hearing that. The thought of Marco having any influence on that child gave her nightmares. “Okay. Good.” She cleared her throat when her brain caught up with the rest of Aubrey’s sentence. “I didn’t know he was a criminal.” But she wasn’t surprised, now. “I wouldn’t have-- he was really good to me at the beginning, and by the time his true personality surfaced, I had nowhere to go.”

“He was toxic,” Aubrey said as she nodded. “A manipulator. He probably loved the hell out of you at first, bombarded you with sweet messages and calls and flattery? And little by little, the connection faded and you started to feel meaningless? Unworthy?”

Chloe could only nod faintly, because Aubrey had just put into words what her relationship with Marco felt like, without Chloe telling her any of that stuff.

“I come across so many people with the same profile in my job, and the victims, men or women, always blame themselves. But they shouldn’t. You shouldn’t.”

Her therapist had already told Chloe that many times, but Chloe’s default thinking made it hard to grasp that. Being with Marco felt like chaos reigned in her head, her emotions, her body, her life, and he found a way to make her believe it was her own fault.

Chloe mustered a soft smile, feeling more than ready to stop talking about that for now. “Should we eat?”

The conversation thankfully transitioned to easier subjects. Chloe caught up on the last six years of Aubrey’s life, feeling a little lighter and more at ease around her friend now that it was clear Aubrey held no grudge or judgment towards Chloe for cutting her out of her life. They found themselves reminiscing about their college days, two hours zipping by without Chloe once thinking about her cravings.

“I’m just a call away, alright?” Aubrey said as she slid her jacket back on. “And if you ever want to come to Boston for a weekend, I have two guest bedrooms.”

A genuine smile spread across Chloe’s lips as she nodded. “I’d love that.” Chloe was the one to initiate the hug this time, letting it linger. “Thank you for coming down, Bree.”

Aubrey smiled back. “It was my pleasure. See you soon, Chloe.”

Bean’s thirteen-week-check-up took place the following day. Chloe was set on having as many tests done as possible at this stage, with an NT scan to help assess the baby’s risk of having complications such as Down syndrome, other chromosomal abnormalities, and major congenital heart problems, as well as full blood work to rule out cystic fibrosis and Tay-Sachs.

Bean passed their scan with flying colors, much to her relief. The heartbeat was strong, and

Bean’s features were unmistakably human this time around; Chloe could make out Bean’s head and their nose and the round belly and tiny feet.

She went home with three pictures, and Beca insisted one should go up on the fridge.

The following month was punctuated with more therapy, NA meetings, and the visit to Oregon. Chloe felt more at home in Beca’s apartment with each passing day, though she tried her best to stay out of the way whenever Sarah was over.

On the day of their departure, Chloe was beyond grateful Beca agreed to come with her, as telling her parents the truth felt incredibly daunting.

They landed in Portland a little after four that Thursday, renting a car to drive the two hours to Newport, where Chloe’s childhood home was located. As Beca parked the car in her parents’ driveway, Chloe was rooted to her seat with nerves.

Beca’s hand on her leg snapped her out of it. “Hey.” Chloe turned her head to the left, meeting Beca’s soft eyes. “Breathe. In and out.”

Nodding, Chloe inhaled deeply through her nose and released the air through her mouth, closing her eyes. She reached for the door handle next and stepped out, swallowing thickly as she let her leaned legs carry her to the front door. She pressed the doorbell and stepped back, instinctively reaching for Beca’s hand.

Her mom appeared on the other side a handful of seconds later, and she engulfed Chloe into a hug before Chloe could even utter anything.

“Hi mom,” she croaked out, her eyes fluttering shut as she released Beca’s hand to hug her back tightly, basking into the instant comfort being in her mom’s arms brought her.

Alice pulled away but kept Chloe at arms’ length, her gaze sweeping over her features. “It’s so good to see you, baby.” Her focus shifted to Beca, and she embraced her next, keeping it a bit shorter. They had met each other before when her parents flew to Atlanta for Chloe’s graduation. “Welcome to our home, Beca.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Beale.”

Chloe’s mom glared playfully, tutting. “It’s Alice to you. Come on inside.”

They stepped into the house, a smell Chloe knew well drifting from the kitchen: her dad’s famous lasagna, Chloe’s favorite.

“Hey Chlobear,” her dad greeted as soon as they rounded the corner, smile bright and eyes sparkling as he sat in his electric wheelchair by the couch.

Tears pricked behind Chloe’s eyes, and she crossed the distance between them, bending down to hug him. His working arm drifted up to snake around her back. “Hi, Dad,” she whispered, emotions trapping her voice in her throat. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Me too, sweetheart,” he murmured, his own voice wavering. “I made your favorite. Well, your mom made your favorite under my supervision, ‘cause she would have messed it up otherwise.”

“Hey,” Chloe’s mom objected, drawing a chuckle from both Chloe and her dad.

Chloe straightened, hitching her thumb over her shoulder. “You remember Beca, right?”

“Of course I do,” Mike confirmed as he made his chair go forward, then extended his hand. “How are you, Beca?”

“Hello Mr. Beale,” Beca greeted, shaking his head. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“You, too. And it’s Mike. No Mr. Beale around this house.”

Beca laughed, nodding. “Got it, Mike.”

“I hope you guys are hungry, we’ve made enough food to last us until next month,” Mike commented as he moved towards the table.

After freshening up, she and Beca sat at the table just as Alice pulled the lasagna out from the oven, then grabbed the salad and the wine bottle from the counter.

“Wine, Beca?” She asked, holding up the bottle.

“I’m good, thanks, though.”

Chloe glanced at her. “You can have some if you want.”

Beca shook her head, smiling softly as she unfolded her napkin and draped it across her lap. “I’m okay, I promise. Water’s fine.”

Chloe caught her parents sharing a confused look over the exchange, and she cleared her throat, knowing it was probably best to get this over with. “Mom, you should probably sit down.”

Concern creased a frown on Alice’s forehead as she set the bottle down and lowered herself next to Chloe’s dad. “What’s going on, Chloe?”

Chloe took a deep breath, and she felt Beca’s hand cover her own under the table. She flipped hers over and wrapped her fingers around Beca’s, grateful for the grounding contact. “I um--” she swallowed, unable to figure out where to start even though she had practiced her speech countless times leading up to their visit.

Shame and guilt rushed through her, digging their claws into her heart and lungs, making it harder to breathe.

“Chloe,” her mother’s voice pierced through the buzzing in Chloe’s ears. Chloe looked up from her plate, finding soft eyes. “Whatever it is, you can tell us.”

Chloe closed her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath, forcing herself to own up to her situation by looking at her parents while she spoke. “I have a drug problem. Had. I’m--I’m in recovery. I got out of rehab a couple of months ago.”

A heavy silence settled over the room as Mike and Alice processed the news. Chloe felt like bolting out of the house as she watched her dad swallow thickly, and her mom’s jaw-dropping. She felt a squeeze to her hand and remembered to breathe.

“Oh Chloe,” her mom whispered and got up to sit in the vacant chair on the other side of Chloe, taking her other hand as she tilted her head to the side. “How long have you been struggling?”

Chloe cleared her throat. “About five years. I never-- I never graduated from vet school. I dropped out.”

Her father frowned, his mouth moving wordlessly for a few beats. “But-- the money you gave us for my treatment every month?”

“I was a stripper,” Chloe admitted quietly. “That’s how I got introduced to cocaine. How I met Marco. How I... made so much money.” She was hit by an array of emotions -- shame, fear, and somehow, relief -- right then, and a sob burst out from her throat before she could reign it in. “I’m s-sorry I lied to you for so long.” She released Beca’s hand to cover her mouth, her body shaking as she crumbled under the weight of her feelings.

She didn’t fight it when her mom pulled her into her arms, rubbing her back in slow circles and whispering reassuring words into her ear. “It’s okay, sweetie. Breathe. We love you. No matter what.”

It took a few minutes for Chloe to be able to get her breathing under control, straightening when she did and taking the tissue Beca offered her.

“You must have a lot of questions,” she murmured, licking her dry lips. She still had the baby bomb to drop, but one thing at a time. Thankfully she wasn’t showing that much yet, and her large hoodie kept her small bump concealed.

“Thank you for telling us,” her father murmured, and Chloe saw him wipe a tear away when she looked up. “I can’t imagine how hard that must be, as for deciding to seek help.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t do it before. I was ashamed and lost and--” she shrugged. “I wasn’t myself.”

“How are you feeling now?” Her mom asked softly, pushing Chloe’s hair behind her ear. “You said it’s been two months since rehab?”

Chloe nodded, sniffling. “Ups and downs. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Beca. She’s the one who encouraged me to get help, who paid for rehab, continued paying for your treatment, and I’ve been staying at her place while I get back on my feet.”

Both her parents’ focus shifted to Beca, gratitude swirling in their eyes.

“She’s been incredibly strong and responsible,” Beca said, smiling softly. “Hasn’t missed a therapy session or NA meeting since getting out of rehab.”

“And this Marco…” her dad trailed off in a questioning tone.

“He’s out of my life. He wasn’t a good person, but I failed to realize that.”

“More like he hid it well,” Beca corrected gently. Chloe met her eyes. “Remember what Aubrey and your therapist said about how you didn’t have to blame yourself for that?”

Chloe nodded. “Right.”

“Did he… hurt you?” Mike asked next, a tremor in his voice as he seemed to brace himself for the answer.

“Not physically.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but Chloe didn’t think that slap was worth mentioning. “Just… emotionally. He knew how to get into my head, and the drugs didn’t help. They have this funny way of having you believe whatever it wants you to. Logic and reason no longer existed for me when I was at my lowest. I was ashamed of lying to you every time we spoke on the phone, but the paranoia over you not wanting to talk to me again if I told you was stronger.”

She was sure her dad had a lot more questions and probably wondered if his treatment and their financial problems pushed Chloe into taking that job, but he remained silent, clearly mulling everything over.

“We could tell you looked tired every time we called, but we never…” Alice trailed off, shaking her head as a few tears rolled down her cheeks when she blinked. “I’m so sorry.”

“No,” Chloe croaked out, having feared this: her parents blaming themselves. Her heart felt incredibly heavy as she sandwiched her mom’s hand between her own, glancing at her dad briefly. “I don’t want you guys to feel guilty and think that you should have noticed. I hid it well, especially the first few years. Then it sort of derailed, that’s why I stopped visiting. Please don’t apologize.”

“Did you take that job because you felt like you had to help us?” Her dad asked, just as Chloe had predicted. “With my treatment?”

Chloe took a deep breath. “I took it because NYC was expensive and I was struggling a bit with rent. And when your health worsened, I asked for more shifts to help out.” She didn’t want to get into what she was asked to do for more money. She couldn’t. Her dad would be eaten away by guilt if he knew how much of a toll working in the VIP room took on her. The whole truth would hurt him more than a small lie. “It’s when I started doing drugs that everything fell apart. It’s not on you, dad. I promise.”

Mike swallowed and ran his hand over his face as he visibly tried to keep a hold on his emotions. “You’re my daughter, you shouldn’t have had to provide for me, or to put yourself first.”

“Dad, please,” Chloe whispered, feeling her throat shrinking. “I wanted to help. I just… made bad choices and met the wrong people. It’s not your fault.” Her eyes found her dad’s. “Please tell me you believe that?”

Her father remained silent for a stretch as he stared at her. He eventually offered a faint nod, but Chloe wasn’t sure if he was being honest.

Her mom reached up to wipe her tears away, sniffling. “What… what can we do to help you through your recovery?”

“Being part of my support system, like you unknowingly have since I got out of rehab,” Chloe murmured with a small smile. “And dealing with more of my visits,” she added, knowing they would both be all for that.

“You are always welcome to move back here, Chlo. For as long as you want,” she offered.

“I…” she cleared the rising lump in her throat as she briefly glanced down to her lap. “There’s something else that I need to tell you.” Another deep breath. “I’m four months pregnant. With Marco’s baby. But he’s not going to be involved. I’m going to raise them on my own.”

There. Everything she was ready to share was out there in the open, and Chloe felt incredibly lighter, despite her heartbeat picking up as her parents once again fell silent. She really couldn’t blame them, after everything she had just dumped on them.

“I know it’s a lot,” she added, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I know my decision to keep it might come across as strange, but I couldn’t get rid of it, and this baby is giving my life purpose again because I want to be a better person for them.”

“I think you are incredibly brave,” Alice said after a little while, reaching out to catch a tear falling on Chloe’s cheek with the side of her pointer finger. “And I’m failing to find words to express how proud of you I am.”

Chloe sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand as her gaze met her dad’s once more. She could tell he needed more time to work through everything, and maybe they could talk about it some more the next day, once he had slept over it.

“That kid is going to be the most spoiled grandchild of all Newport,” he joked with a soft smile, his words loosening the nerves in Chloe’s stomach.

Chloe released a watery giggle. “I love you guys.”

“We love you, too, Chlobear,” her dad murmured, and after embracing her mom tightly, Chloe stood up and rounded the table to hug her dad.

They eventually dug into dinner, the conversation shifting to the baby, whether it was okay, what the risks there were, when was her due date... Her parents offered to turn the office into a nursery if Chloe wanted to move back in with them, to which Chloe answered that she would think about it. She had been concerned about how much the pregnancy and having a newborn baby around would affect Beca’s life and her relationship with Sarah, and this would be another alternative to which Chloe needed to give some serious thought.

Chloe and Beca headed upstairs shortly after dinner, both feeling exhausted as their mind and body were three hours ahead. After showing Beca to the guest room, Chloe changed into her pajamas and washed up for bed, knocking on Beca’s door on her way back to her own bedroom.

She pushed it open upon hearing a soft come in, finding Beca lying on top of the comforter, already changed in her sleeping wear.

“You okay?” She asked, smiling as Chloe sat down on the edge of the mattress. “That went pretty well.”

“Yeah, I…” she swallowed, shaking her head in leftover awe. “I have amazing parents. I didn’t think they would be so understanding.”

“Of course they’re amazing. They raised you.”

Chloe bowed her head as blush bloomed in her cheeks. She cleared her throat. “I think my dad is a bit shaken up and part of him feels to blame, but I’m hoping he and I can talk some more tomorrow.”

Beca nodded. “Yeah. I think that’s a good idea.”

Chloe let out a small sigh, and she reached out to squeeze Beca’s hand. “Thanks again for coming here with me.”

“Not a problem. I’m hoping you’ll show me around the town at some point, take me to your favorite spots.”

“We can definitely do that tomorrow,” Chloe agreed, her smile genuine. “Goodnight, Bec.”

“Night Chloe. Night Bean.”

#bechloe #beca mitchell #chloe beale #pieces

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lilyofthestyx · 4 years ago

Text

Fighting for Tomorrow: Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I haven’t bought AOT or a few characters would still be alive/not in mental anguish

Reiner x Fem!Reader, eventual Captain Levi x Fem!Reader, Sasha x Sister!Reader

Word Count: 8.8k

TW: gore/blood/violence/death, adult language/swearing, slight PTSD, reader woke up and chose violence

You can read parts one, two, three, and four just by tapping the lovely numbers!

Stumbling down the street towards the alley, I grip my thigh. As I round the corner into an alley, I slam my back up against the brick and risk a peek. The Abnormal stomps away- not even looking over at me.

What the Hell just happened?

A hiss leaves my mouth as the wound opens up more and weeps blood onto my palm.

Whatever happened doesn’t matter- if I don’t get some medical equipment soon I’ll pass out on the street. My eyes dart to the roof just above me. If I can get up there, I’ll be easier to spot and can get help faster. But it puts me more at risk at getting snatched… again.

But if I stay down here and wait for help, I can bleed out.

Taking a deep breath, I look to the clouds in the sky. If I get out of here, I’m going to watch those clouds with Reiner and the others.

I can hear his voice.

‘When,’ he says gently, firmly. ‘When you get out of here’.

‘What a big lug,’ I tell him mentally, getting to my feet again. ‘Always the motivator, though.’

I can see his head fall back with laughter- the sound of it reverberating around me and wrapping me in its embrace. Strong and something that shakes his whole body from the stomach out. Each laugh like he’s never laughed a day in his life.

‘Just get on the roof already, darling,’ he says. I can feel his always-warm hand wrapped around mine, his fingers aligning with mine on the triggers.

My body shoots up and I release the triggers- allowing myself to fall back to the earth. The collision forces my feet from under me and I fall forward, breathless. Coughing, I roll onto my back. ‘That sucked,’ I tell him.

‘Didn’t look fun,’ I can hear him say as I stare up at the clouds. ‘But when you’re back, I’ll give you a massage.’

I scoff and roll back onto my stomach, tucking my foot under me and pushing me to my feet. ‘I just want to get back.’

‘You will.’

I’m panting now as I hold my thigh. The streets are emptied completely, only debris and bodies scattered on the cobblestone. Titan heads bob over houses- too far away to notice me. My eyes strain even more to hopefully catch a glimpse of any of my comrades.

“Oiii!” Someone yells, much too light-heartedly.

I turn to the voice as two people land on the roof behind me. They’re both tall- one only slightly taller than the other. The man has perfectly-styled hair and presses his mouth into a thin line. The other has long brown hair hastily thrown up into a bun and glasses strapped to their face.

“What’re ya doing down here?” The shorter one of the two squawks before a long drawn-out gasp comes from their mouth. “Did you just fight that Abnormal?!” they ask, hands holding either side of their blushing face.

Blinking slowly, I consider my options. I can’t be honest with them. I’d be locked in a mental institution for the rest of my life if I did. “...kinda,” I wince, gesturing to my leg. “I didn’t fight it as much as it tried to rip me apart.”

The man hurries to me and examines my leg. “...did you make this yourself?” He asks, looking up at me as he gestures to the contraption wrapped around my leg.

I nod. “Just outta some stuff from that store over there,” I mumble, using my blade to gesture to the crumbling building.

Shocks of pain shoot up from my leg as the man prods at my thigh. “Sorry!” He blurts, jerking his hand away from the wound.

The other person hums, eyes flicking behind their glasses as they examine my wound. “Bit of a nasty one there… You’ll bleed out soon… And we can’t have our best piece of evidence go to waste!” They grab my arm and pull me to their side, tucking an arm around my waist. “Hold on tight- we’ll get ya back to the wall and stitch you back up- and then you can tell me all about that Titan!”

Did this nutcase just call me ‘evidence’?

“I’ve heard you’re a bit of a reckless one,” the medic mutters as he wraps my leg with bandages.

I chuckle and hide my blushing face in my shoulder. “How’d ya guess?”

The medic gestures over his shoulder to the town below us. “My boyfriend was one of the ones in that lift in HQ. Told me about you jumping off the lift and charging a Titan head-on without gear.”

“...ah…” I laugh again, feeling my face heat up even more.

“Don’t worry,” the medic chuckles as he puts his tools into a medkit. “He told me how you and some other basically saved their asses, too.”

“At least I’m a reckless nutjob instead of a reckless brat.”

The medic laughs and gets to his feet. “Don’t expect to use that leg any time soon, alright?”

I nod and the medic walks away from me. Sighing, I look up to the clouds.

Gods, I hope they all made it okay. I hope Eren plugged- or plugs- the wall. I hope this all can just… be over. I want it to be over with. One day. Just one day of rest. That’s all I want. I don’t even want to rest. If I can have one day to breathe- I’ll shut my mouth and do whatever’s asked of me for the rest of my short life.

But I guess this will have to do for the time being.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath in.

“__________!”

My eyes shoot back open and my head lolls to the side. Connie, Marco, Jean, and Annie run to me. A smile crosses my face as I wave them over. “Glad t’see you’re alright,” I laugh as they slide to the floor beside me. “Surprised Freckles here hasn’t chided your ears off.” I tease, looking up at one pink-faced Marco.

“Not for lack of trying, eh, Annie?” Connie laughs, elbowing Annie’s arm.

Her lips turn softly into a smile behind her gold curtain of hair. Jean nudges Marco as Marco’s face continues to grow in redness. “She’s not wrong.”

Marco rolls his eyes and gestures down to my leg. “I’m just surprised you haven’t gotten yourself killed.”

The group turns to face him- shock very plainly on our faces. Marco’s ears suddenly grow even more red as he tries to backtrack over his words. “...would ya look at that!” I laugh, “Kid’s got jokes!”

The group chuckles. “So…” Connie says, poking the bandage wrapped around my thigh. “How’d ya get this one?”

“And how are you explaining it to Reiner?” Annie adds, a small smile on her lips.

I groan. “...I’d rather take my chances with another Abnormal.”

“‘Another’?” Marco asks, eyebrows furrowing. “You fought an Abnormal?”

Flashes of that grocery store play in my eyes. The arm reaching in, grabbing my leg and dragging me out into the street. The mouth- the eyes. Red. I can see it clearly now. Red. And glowing.

“Well?” Jean presses, arms crossed over his chest and an eyebrow raised. “Did you?”

It put me down. It listened to me and put me down- and then it walked away.

“I just…,” I stop and shrug. “I got my ass beat by one. Does that count?”

“I can see that,” Connie mutters as he stares at the various wrappings around my body. “What’d it do to you-”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” I interrupt, flicking the back of Connie’s head. “Now, don’t you kids have some orders to fulfill?”

“Yeah,” Marco says, tapping a finger on his gas canister. “We had to fill up. Now that we’re done, we should get back and help with… everything.”

“So nonchalantly stopping to talk to me while everyone’s down there dying was just…” I shrug, “Like passing an old friend in the market?”

They all pale in color in front of me.

“That’s what I thought,” I snap, gesturing towards the town just past the soles of my shoes. “Now get your asses down there.”

“Cadet Braus!”

My whole body jerks as I shoot up, clutching my shirt. Colors and shapes merge together as I frantically try to find the voice.

When did I fall asleep? How long was I even asleep?

“Aye, sir!” I yell, sleep still clouding my vision. Where did the voice come from…? My eyes lazily slide around for the voice as my fist is planted against my chest. No sign of Connie, Marco, Annie, or Jean. Did I dream that? Are they still… Are they still down there?

A soldier- clothed in a Military Police uniform- stands in front of me with a folded piece of paper in his hand. “A message,” he states, handing it to me. “From Squad Leader Hange Zoë.”

The soldier leaves without so much as another word. I look down at the paper, running my fingers over the edges of the folds. Hange Zoë? The scientist?

Slowly, I unwrap the paper. Memories of that day in ODM training flash in my vision. The pair of strangers in the back of the crowd observing us- the taller one, wasn’t that Hange?

Scrambled handwriting is hurried along across the page, like the hand was too eager to get the words out the poor pen couldn’t keep up. Every letter is connected in unsteady lines.

Cadet Braus,

Upon your recovery- partial or otherwise- you are to be interviewed by me on the topic of your engagement with an Abnormal.

-Hange Zoë

PS: we’ll be accompanied by Captain Levi- don’t let him intimidate you :)

The Captain Levi?

Gods, as if my day couldn’t get any worse.

Folding the paper back up, I tuck it into my bra. I’m now to be put through two wonderful events. Go see Reiner first and get a new asshole and then go see Hange Zoë and try to explain to them how I had my entire body slammed against a roof multiple times.

I’m too tired for this. With the amount of blood I’ve lost in the past few hours, I should be chained to a hospital bed for days- which I can only hope to be the case. A pit begins to eat away in my stomach as I stare out at Trost just below me.

I should’ve died.

My fingers brush against the familiar fabric of bandages around my torso.

This… This wound alone should have killed me.

Why… why didn’t it?

And then the roof? My skull should’ve split- my body shouldn’t have been able to move at all, much less end up here. Why did I…?

And then the Titan. Abnormal or not- it should have killed me. I should not be alive. Why did it put me down? Why did it walk away? It was going to eat me and I wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing about it.

So why didn’t it? Why am I still here?

Why did I get lucky so many times when my comrades are dying for much more insignificant reasons?

I turn my gaze from the hellfire below me to the cloudy heavens above me.

I need to talk to Reiner about this. He’ll understand- he can help.

I hope.

“You need t’get some sleep,” I say quietly, my hand resting against Rei’s face. “You look exhausted.”

“...I am,” he chuckles coldly. The movement causes the prickle of stubble to graze against my palm.

“You also need t’shave,” I tease, “Or are you finally gonna try out that rugged stubble look that I’ve been begging you to try?”

Reiner rolls his eyes and scoffs, “Never.” His hand comes up from his lap and rubs against his jaw in thought. “...I’ll shave later.”

My lips turn downwards into a pout. “Boo… Maybe one day?”

“...nope.”

The room goes quiet. I can see him clutching his thigh and the way his eyes keep drifting to the various instruments surrounding me- the blood bag oozing blood down into my arm, the bag of saline beside it. His hands twitch in his lap again. The soft-green room smells too much like metal. And it’s freezing. Reiner’s eyes finally settle on me. His golden gaze is just that; glimmering and seemingly hard but soft in all reality.

“How is it out there?”

“...it smells like death everywhere you go,” he says quietly, his face sinking deeper into my palm. “There’s so many… so many dead.”

“Have you found him yet?” I ask gently, praying he says… I don’t know. I don’t want him to say yes. I don’t want him to say no. I just… I need to know where he is.

“Marco’s still missing.”

My lip trembles as he speaks. Taking a sharp inhale in, I look to the ceiling and close my eyes. There’s still hope. It’s only been a day- there’s still hope. I can still see him. He’s going to be okay.

Slowly, I nod. “...okay. Okay. Just… keep me updated, please?”

“As soon as we find him, you’ll know.”

I sigh. “I’m glad everyone else is okay,” I mumble, “I’m glad you’re okay.” Reiner’s eyes dart to my body again. Taking his face into both of my hands, I duck into his gaze. “Don’t do that. Don’t you dare.”

“__________, if I had been there-”

“If you had been there…” I trail off, remembering the shape I was in. “...I don’t know what would’ve happened- but it wouldn’t have been much better.”

“You could’ve died.”

“I know. I know but… listen to me- I’m… I’m not dead. I’m here. I’m alive. I… I don’t know how but I am, okay?,”

“So you can stop gripping your knees to stop yourself from touching me- I’m not glass.”

Reiner’s hands come up and wrap around my wrists gently. “__________… I need to tell you something… if anything were to happen to you and you didn’t know- I don’t know…”

Softly, I press my lips to his and rest my forehead against his. “You can tell me anything... and when you’re done… I have something to tell you, too.” I chuckle lightly, “And I need you to keep an open mind about it, alright?”

Reiner’s eyebrows furrow, “...okay… but only if you do the same for me.”

A smile crosses my lips as I pull away, letting my hands trail down his face, his neck, his chest before resting on the bed. His hand follows after mine, wrapping it over mine. “I can do that,” I mumble. My eyes flick up to his, “As long as you aren’t gonna confess something like ‘I’m your classmate that stalked you for years and then blackmailed you into marriage’.”

“Damn,” Reiner mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. “Took the words right outta my mouth.”

I scoff and punch his shoulder, “Shuddup ‘nd tell me.”

Reiner’s smile quickly fades- breaking down into something crooked and broken before disappearing completely. Something in the depths of my gut tells me whatever it is isn’t good. I brace myself as Reiner opens his mouth to speak.

“Cadet Braus?”

My eyes tear away from Reiner’s face to the group that walks into my hospital room. The two Scouts from the rooftop are in the doorway- accompanied with a sharply-dressed, shorter man with no expression. The way he carries himself, the way he looks up and down the walls in disdain- his arms crossed and hands tucked under his biceps- without a doubt, he’s Captain Levi.

And he’s… surprisingly underwhelming. Even in memories, he was always tall. Tall and broad-shouldered and with a commanding aura. Maybe I’m thinking of Commander Erwin. Or Reiner when he’s tired of mine and the others’ shit.

“Yes, sir.” I state, placing my fist over my heart.

Reiner gets off his seat and goes into a salute, only to be eyed up and down by Captain Levi.

“Who’s the extra brat?” He mutters, arching an eyebrow.

Something flares up in my stomach as Captain Levi continues eyeing Reiner like he was something he stepped in. Fists clutching my blanket, I breathe in slowly. It’s just intimidation. It’s always just intimidation. It’s fine.

“Cadet Reiner Braun, sir,” Reiner says firmly, his chest slightly puffed and shoulders taut. He’s nervous. He always goes rigid when he’s nervous.

“Relation?” Captain Levi asks, eyes drifting between the two of us.

“We’re uh…” Reiner trails off, looking back over his shoulder at me. “Romantically… involved.”

Hange laughs, grabbing my attention from the encounter between Captain Levi and Reiner. They tug a chair that leaned against the wall. They sit down on it and scoot it closer to my bed, looking at me with unadulterated glee.

...I can see where the ‘Mad Scientist’ jokes came from.

“...are you going to stay?” The man from the roof asks Reiner.

Reiner looks back at me, worry very obviously etched into his face. His jaw clenches before his mouth opens. I cut him off. “You’ve been here with me for way too long… Go get something to eat. Maybe go take a nap. I’ll be okay.”

Reiner’s mouth opens again. I beat him to the punch again. “That’s an order, Cadet Braun.” He caves without another word. Slipping past the man in the doorway, Reiner offers one last smile- before disappearing down the hallway.

My attention is quickly grabbed by Squad Leader Hange. They squeal, grasping my arm and running their fingers along the length of the plastic tube pumping blood into me. “How fascinating!” They hum with a smile on their face. “Moblit- gimme my notepad.”

The man from the doorway dashes forward into action, pulling a beaten notepad from thin air. Captain Levi silently sits in a chair in the corner of the room. I notice he doesn’t lean up against the wall- he doesn’t even touch the wall, actually. He sits just far enough away from the wall that he doesn’t touch it but not far away enough that he’s in the center of the room.

What a strange man.

“Eh?” Hange looks up at me, pushing their glasses further up their face. Their eyes flick between me and Captain Levi before a laugh passes their lips. “Oh, don’t mind Shortie over there. He’s only here to make sure I don’t… overwhelm you.” Their eyes turn back down to their notepad as they hurriedly scribble something down. “I’ve been known to… get carried away…,”

“Moblit!” They suddenly squawk- sending the already-frazzled man into a hurried pace to the Squad Leader’s side. “Hand me Cadet Braus’ file.” Moblit nods once and lifts his coat to reveal a… rather thick file with various papers jutting out.

Is that… is that really only about me? I haven’t gotten into that much trouble, have I?

Hange hums to themself as they open the file and scan through the pages before flipping to another page. Their eyes meet mine as I stare worriedly down at the file. “Oh, don’t worry!” They laugh, “I take the liberty of delving into my subjects- interviewees! Interviewees. My... interviewees’ backgrounds.”

Slowly, I nod. This person is obviously a tiny bit unhinged. But there’s something about them that sparks some morbid interest in me. Besides- aren’t all Scouts a bit unhinged?

Hange sighs happily and plucks a paper out from the file. “I’ve another interview so I’m a tad pressed for time- with your boss’ son, actually! So we’ll just get into it, yeah?” They ask with a smile.

“You’re seeing Eren?” I ask, excitement bubbling in my throat. “He’s alive? He’s okay?” Hange goes silent, their mouth pressing into a thin line. “He stands trial today,” Captain Levi answers from his corner- all flat and emotionless. “To see what’s going to be done about him.”

‘What’s going to be done about him’...?

They wouldn’t… kill Eren, would they?

He sealed the wall- he saved Trost, why would they?

“Shall we begin?” Hange asks, peering at me over their glasses. I nod silently and Hange hums. Adjusting their glasses, they scan the paper. “You’re __________ Braus of the 104th Cadet Corps… age twenty-one years… Sister, Sasha Braus...,” Hange stops and looks up at me. “You were living in Shiganshina when it fell?”

“Yes.”

“...but you previously lived in Wall Rose? Until you were…,” Hange stops, flipping through the papers before settling on one. “Fifteen?”

“Yes.”

Hange nods and marks something down on their notebook. “...and you’re romantically involved with Cadet Reiner Braun,” they ask, not taking their eyes off the paper.

“Yes.”

“...Squad Leader of Squad Thirty-Two with members… Floch Forster, Franz Kefka, Hanna Diamant, and Gordon Bov.”

“...just Floch and Gordon now.” I answer quietly.

Hange’s eyes flick up over the top of the file. Their voice is softer now, “Oh… I’ll… I’ll be sure to note that.” They start to write something down- much less hurried and with more care. I take a slow breath in, forcing the memories of Hanna and Franz back down into my gut instead of at the back of my throat.

“Um… what was I…? Ah, yes,” Hange clears their throat and leans forward. “The good part,” they whisper, raising their eyebrows with a small smile. “What happened that caused you to be separated from your squad? Your commanding officers had told me that you were reassigned to a new squad with new members- your sister being one of them.”

“We had just led a ten-meter towards the wall,” I start, remembering the scene. “We were heading back out towards the middle of town- someone in our squad had seen a Titan roaming around near the shopping district.”

I sigh and shake my head, “Nobody knew it was an Abnormal… We all just thought it was a fifteen-meter.” My eyes widen as I see it pounce forward- its jaws snapping shut and crushing our Squad Leader. “...I remember seeing it jump and decapitate our Squad Leader… his head… his head landed at my feet,”

“...I gave the order to retreat to the wall almost immediately. It was just us five Cadets- we couldn’t have taken an Abnormal on by ourselves. As we were making our way to the wall, the Abnormal- it waited until I shot my ODM wires out and grabbed them… and it didn’t even pull me into its mouth,” I mumble, eyebrows furrowing. “It just… It just grabbed my wires and used them to slam against a rooftop. Over. And over. And over again.” My fingers subconsciously rub the bandages around my thigh as my eyes turn from Hange. I focus on the bedsheets covering my wounds, remembering each detail.

“When it finally let me go, I rolled off the roof, shot myself into a window and took cover in a store… I made that brace and wrapped myself with whatever I could when…” I can hear the crackling of wood and shattering of stone and glass as the hand reaches towards me.

“When what?” Hange asks, excitement plainly in their voice. The grip on their pen makes it tremble in their fist.

“...it came back,” I mumble, “It dragged me out into the street and then it-” My eyebrows unfurrow, face dropping as I remember. It lifted me up, opened its mouth and when I screamed at it- it just… put me down. Walked away. And its eyes. Its eyes were glowing.

“It… it put me down.”

Hange’s head snaps up from their notepad. “It what?”

“It… put me down?” I laugh breathlessly, running a hand through my hair. “I dunno either; I just remember it was opening its mouth and then it just… put me down and left.”

Hange can barely hold still as they hurriedly scribble down my words onto their paper. “And what then? Did it even look at you after? Or did you immediately go to the rooftop where you were found? Oh, what am I saying- of course you went to the rooftop. Did you get a look into its mouth? Or! Did you see its eyes? Any of its facial features? Anything at all worth noting?!”

“Oi, oi, oi, oi,” Captain Levi speaks up from the corner of the room. “Four-eyes, calm down. You’ll scare the shit outta this brat if you keep it up.”

Hange takes a deep breath in and steadies their hands. “Shortie’s right,” they mutter, adjusting their glasses. “I got carried away… can you tell me anything about the Abnormal?”

Red eyes- they glowed only after I started yelling at it. They glowed and it put me down. It. Put. Me. Down.

No, no. I just imagined it.

“Just that its eyes were brown.”

I was picked up and put back down but its eyes were normal.

“And that its breath smelled like shit.”

Nothing else happened.

“I was pretty out of it.”

Nothing.

“I had lost a lot of blood when you found me.”

Else.

“I’m just glad you did.”

Happened.

“__________, please,” Sasha pleads as I stumble down the hallway.

Tugging my new Cadets jacket tighter over my shoulders, I keep moving forward. “I’m not taking up a hospital room when others need it more,” I mutter, scanning each doorway plaque as we walk down the hall. “Besides, if I was going to stay in that sterile nightmare any longer, I was gonna attack someone.”

“You’re still healing, the doctor hasn’t-!” “I’m perfectly capable of diagnosing myself,” I laugh quietly, “Doctor Yaeger taught me well.” Sasha groans behind me. “Oh- quit your whining. You act like you’ve never acted like this.”

“I haven’t!”

“Lies- the winter before you turned six, you got sick with a cold. Had to have Mom basically drug you so Dad and I could go hunting.”

“I wasn’t even six!”

My eyes catch the plaque I had been looking for. “Shuddup, we’re here,” I mutter, grabbing the handle of the door and pushing it open slightly. “You comin’ with?”

Sasha sighs and shakes her head. “I’ve got… I’ve got body duty.”

I let go of the door handle and take her into my arms, squeezing her slightly. She returns the hug with a shuddering sigh. “...we can talk about it after you get back, okay?” I suggest softly, running my fingers up her back. “And when we’re all free, we can go sneak down to our lake and go for a swim- alright?”

Sasha pulls away and nods. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Bye, love.”

Sasha heads back down the hall before calling over her shoulder, “Don’t pop anymore stitches!” and disappearing out the door.

What a brat.

I turn back to the door and knock gently. “It’s __________, Eren,” I call softly. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Pushing the door open, I step in and immediately gasp. Eren’s bloodied and bruised- covered in gashes and cuts. “What the Hell did they-” I stop, noticing the other presences in the room. Captain Levi stands against the wall opposite Eren, arms crossed over his chest. He eyes me up and down coolly before returning his gaze to Eren.

I immediately go into a salute, slamming my fist against my chest. “I- I’m sorry, Captain- I didn’t-”

He waves me off without a word. His eyes are trained on Eren- the steel grey hard and immovable from Eren’s form across the room. There is something… ancient in the Captain’s eyes. Like a primordial guardian. Something that has seen ages past- and awaits for the next twist.

Something twitches deep in my stomach.

Why am I staring so intensely at this man- why am I so intrigued with this man?

I tear my eyes away from the deceptively youthful face before me. They instead settle on Eren, who huddles against the wall with his legs pressed to his chest. Blood is pouring from his nose- which sits jaggedly on his face. There’s various bruises and cuts that slice through his skin. Purple and blue, this poor kid...

Rushing over, I start to poke and prod his face. “What the hell happened to you?” I hiss, forcing one of his eyes to open as I examine the damage to his actual eye. Eren is silent, only mildly twitching in pain away from my fingers.

I growl. I didn’t bring my medical bag. Why would I have?! It was a hearing- not a goddamn boxing match.

“Who did this to you?” I ask firmly, staring deep into Eren’s eyes. Eren shakes his head. Sighing, my eyebrows furrow as I look at his broken nose. “I bet it was those Military Police jackasses, wasn’t it?”

“__________…”

I scoff, “It was, wasn’t it? Those sick assholes- thinking they can shit on us because they deemed us ‘less worthy’... makes me sick-”

“__________-” Eren hisses.

I shake my head, allowing the spew of words to slice past my lips. “Which one’a them was it? You point them out next time and I’ll swing, I swear. Cut for cut, hit for hit- they’ll get it back-”

“__________!” Eren snaps, eyes locked onto me.

“What?” I snap back, eyebrows furrowing even more as I stare up at him. Eren’s eyes widen and then narrow back to their original shape before he glances across the room. I squint in thought before turning around.

Captain Levi is still reclined against the wall- portraying a false sense of relaxation. His eyes are still fixated on Eren but… from this angle I can see the way the hardness in his eyes blends with determined ferocity. And an absolute lack of remorse.

I turn back to Eren, fists clutching the leather straps around my thighs. “...did he do this to you…?” I ask quietly- not even a whisper.

“It was for my own good-”

With that, I’m standing back up and whirling around to face Captain Levi. He’s impassively staring up at me as I lunge forward- fist tightened and cocked back. Eren’s off his seat and grabbing at my arm, “__________! Calm down, would ya?!”

A growl bubbles up from my throat as I let my fist fly forward. Eren yells my name again, grabbing my forearm and pulling it back. I struggle against him for a moment- chest heaving with breath as I stare unblinkingly at Captain Levi. Strands of hair fall onto my face, now free from the messy updo I had it in as I walked out of the hospital.

The door swings open.

The three of us turn towards the noise. Hange is standing in the doorway, medical supplies in their hands. Their eyes dart from each person in the room before an awkward smile crosses their face. They hold the medical supplies up, “...I’m back?”

Commander Erwin stands back up, walking to my side. I bristle as he nears me- having allowed one of his highest-ranking officers to beat the living shit outta my kid doesn’t exactly sit right with me. My eyes are locked on said officer as he pushes himself off the wall and plops down beside Eren. Something churns in my stomach as I watch Eren’s eyes light up.

He had worshipped Commander Erwin and Captain Levi. Would go on and on about them- even as a kid living in Shiganshina. Even I had come to appreciate their efforts for the advancement of humanity. But now-

“I take it you’re Cadet Braus,” Commander Erwin comments from beside me.

“Yes sir,” I say curtly, not taking my eyes off of Captain Levi and Eren as the two talk quietly.

Commander Erwin chuckles, “Hange mentioned your past with him.” He gestures to Eren with his hand. I note the various patches and slices of lighter, tougher skin on the back of his hand.

Even the Commander himself has not gone unscathed when it comes to Titans.

“I worked under his father- his mother was like one to me in a time where I needed a mother to guide me,” I explain quietly, “...I spent years looking after him. Him and a few others.”

Commander Erwin nods solemnly beside me. “...I admire your ferocity.”

My eyebrows furrow and I finally tear my eyes off Captain Levi. Almost attacking a senior officer isn’t something I would think gets rewarded in the Scouts. “Sir?”

“Not everyone would be so willing to charge Humanity’s Strongest Soldier,” he explains, blue eyes staring down at me with slight amusement. “It speaks for your character, Cadet.”

A sudden blush rises in my cheeks at his words. Admiration? By Commander Erwin himself? I swallow quickly and slam my fist over my heart. “Thank you, sir.”

Hange walks up to us, smiling widely. “I just ran out of supplies for Eren and thought I’d take you along to help me carry some things,” they suggest, grabbing my arm and tugging me out of my salute. “You don’t mind, do you Erwin?” Erwin shakes his head, “Cadet Braus and I had just finished talking.” Hange lets out an ecstatic squeal and tugs me outside. I turn back to look at Eren, only to note the Commander’s eyes still locked on me as Hange pulls me out of the doorway.

The door clicks shut behind us. Hange lets out a long sigh and runs a hand down their face. “Whew!” They exclaim as they lead us down the hallway. “Heard ya almost attacked Shortie,” they giggle and sigh. “I’d love to see that fight.”

I scoff a bit, “I’d end up dead- that’s for sure.”

Hange’s head snaps towards me. My eyes widen as I realise I spoke out of turn. Feeling the heat in my face, I open my mouth to speak- but instead get cut off by their raucous laughter. They clutch their sides and wipe a tear that streams down their soft skin. “Finally!,” they yell triumphantly, “A Cadet with a sense of humor.” They sigh happily and continue leading us down the hallway. “It’s so much like talking to scared cats sometimes... Boring answers from boring Cadets.”

A warm feeling starts to seep under my skin. Pride. Pride and joy. I was becoming close to a Scout- a veteran. Smiling, I puff out my chest slightly. “I’m glad to be of service.”

We round the corner. Hange continues their rambling- somehow enrapturing me with their tales of Titan experiments and expeditions outside the walls. My eyes remain focused on them as we continue down the hallway. They’re so animated, so passionate. It’s truly a breath of fresh air. I was honestly so, so, so goddamned tired of being surrounded by straight-laced soldiers.

Minus Jean, Marco, Connie, and Sasha. Soldiers, yes. Straight-laced, no.

My lips quirk upwards as I remember their collective habit of running around in the woods at night, giggling like little kids. Marco even would go- as serious he is at times. He’d be more hesitant, more quiet but eventually he’d warm up to the idea. ‘I’m already out here,’ he would say, ‘Might as well make it so the punishment’s worth it.’

I miss that kid.

“Oh?” Hange asks, turning to face me. “Did I bore you?”

I shake my head and laugh, “I don’t think that’s possible, Squad Leader.”

Hange’s oak-colored eyes narrow as they scan me. Not in suspicion. Concern. Finally, they nod to themself and continue discussing the possibility of experimenting on two new Titans their squad had found on their last expedition. I’m clinging to their words, their plans. As they glance over at me from time to time, it becomes obvious they’re making sure they haven’t lost me to boredom or indifference.

It’s plainly obvious there’s not many interested (or willing) listeners in their acquaintance.

“Hange!” Someone behind us yells, boot-heavy footsteps clunking down the hallway. “Squad Leader Hange!”

Hange stops their rambling and turns, pushing their glasses up their nose. “Eh? What is it, Eld?”

Eld?

I spin around, smile widening at the sight. Eld stops just in front of us. “Hange, Captain Levi asked me to find you.”

“What is it Shortie wants?”

“Eren’s…” Eld trails off, his eyes flicking over to me. His face visibly turns pink as Hange’s eyes narrow- shifting between Eld and I. “Eren’s Titan… T-Titan powers… They’re… uhm…”

I arch an eyebrow, smile turning into an amused smirk as I watch him keep himself together. How he managed to become some big-shot Titan slayer handpicked by Captain Jackass is beyond me. He’s always been some skittish pup with his tail tucked between his legs. To see him in any other light is… Unnatural.

Eld notices my smirk and turns even more pink. “They’re healing him!” Eld finally blurts, shoulders and back rigid.

“Oh?” Hange taps their chin with their finger in thought. They mutter to themselves under their breath before turning back to us. “Take us back, then! If you can find your way, of course.” They smirk mischievously, eliciting a stifled laugh from myself.

Eld nods once, turning on his heel to lead us back down the hallway. I can still see the blush reaching his ears. As we walk through the winding hallways, Hange leans down and whispers in my ear. “I had no idea where the medical supplies were,” they admit with a small giggle, “It was simply an excuse to get you out of that room.”

“I appreciate it,” I sigh, remembering I’ll have to be in the same room as Captain Jackass again.

“So…,” they hum, arching an eyebrow, “What’s the deal between you and Ponytail?”

‘Ponytail’. I’ll have to remember that one. “...he helped me out a couple years after Shiganshina fell,” I mumble with a small smile, “It had been a rough time and he… Eld gave me a place to sleep, helped me get into the Cadets program.”

I had prayed he would be alive.

I can only hope my prayers are enough for Marco.

“Has he always been this…?” Hange trails off, gesturing vaguely to the man just a few steps ahead of us.

I nod, “He’s always been flustered.” Hange’s eyebrows furrow as they ‘hmph’ in thought. I turn to look at them. “...is he not…?” Hange shakes their head. “Not normally…”

…?

We come back to the room and I take a deep breath. Hopefully, Captain Jackass has left. As I take a step into the room, something at the pit of my stomach tells me otherwise. Commander Erwin is standing beside a wall, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes are on Eren- and Captain Levi, who sits beside Eren. Arm slung over the back of the chair, Captain Levi looks over his shoulder at us.

“About time.”

My fists tighten as I will myself to not attack Humanity’s Favorite Jackass. A deep breath is taken once more as I walk to stand at the window. I cross my arms over my chest and stare daggers at the group as Hange excitedly pulls something from their pocket. Eld stands beside me, still blushing.

Something strange creeps under my skin.

Is he really only like this around me?

How could I not have noticed?

We watch as Eren opens his mouth, allowing Hange to peek inside. Hange’s eyebrows furrow as they look. They reach out and grab Eren’s chin and turn it downwards to get a better look. In buzzing excitement, they tug a notebook out of their coat and frantically scribble down something. My eyes drift from their work to Captain Levi- who’s already glaring at me.

My eyes narrow in response. Only slightly, not enough to be classified as insubordination. But enough. He turns away, back towards Hange.

Gods, if I didn’t have to worry about insubordination, I’d have already swung.

It was late. Way late. Too late, even for me. ‘Night owl’ was a badge I wore with pride but tonight? Tonight all I wanted was sleep. Deep sleep, dreamless sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep. Those nights in the hospital- plagued with nightmares of Hanna, of Franz, of the Red-Eyed Titan. Cold and cruel and filled with the pained moaning of my comrades; both in sleep and in wake. I didn’t get much sleep there.

All I wanted was to curl up in my bed with my favorite blanket and my favorite brawny blond bastard.

I stumble down the hallways, passing by dimly-lit rooms and muffled snores. My eyes are lead-heavy and blinking is an ungodly chore. My footsteps are shuffled as they echo down the hall. I’m too exhausted to pick them up completely with each step.

All I want is sleep.

Finally, finally, finally, I come to my door. I can hear Sasha’s snoring from the other side. A warm feeling smooths itself over my skin and deep into my chest. Home. Wherever she is- it’s home. Limp, my hand lands on the doorknob and I lean into the door to open it. It squeaks open slightly and casts a ray of light onto the bunk bed across the room. Mikasa’s mouth hangs slightly open- her black hair fanned out over her pillow.

A small smile crosses my lips. I’m glad she didn’t wait up for me. She needs rest.

Something clatters behind me.

I turn around. My head swivels as the exhaustion fades away. It’s replaced with that buzz again. Adrenaline. Eyes darting down the empty hallway, they settle on a slightly open door. Voices echo down towards me- too distorted from the walls to be heard properly. Someone passes by the doorway. Blond hair and golden eyes as they shut the door again.

Reiner.

I had hoped he had gone to bed, too, but…

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “Gods,” I mutter, “I am going to rip him a new asshole.”

With another huff, I walk down the hall and grip the handle- only for the door to crack open on its own. Bertholdt and Annie are in there, arms crossed and eyes hard. What are they all doing up? It’s nearly morning and by the bags and circles under their eyes, they haven’t slept yet. Weren’t they all out on city cleanup today? They should be-

“You can’t tell her,” Bertholdt hisses, eyes widening in disbelief. “You want to put her in that position?”

“I know her- she’d… she’d understand!” Reiner shoots back. He’s on the other side of the door- I can’t see him but I can hear him perfectly. “__________’s good like that.”

“You really think she’d understand?” Annie asks, an eyebrow arched as she tucks a piece of hair back. “Are you absolutely sure?”

Reiner sighs. I can picture him running a hand down his face- his eyes pinched closed. “...I can’t keep... lying to her.”

Lying…?

“You can’t just… tell her!” Bertholdt’s voice raises before his eyes dart to the door. I tuck back into the shadows in response and pray he didn’t see me. His eyes turn back to the inside of the room. “...how do you know she’ll react the way you think?”

My brain feels like it’s being pulled fourteen different ways- up and down and backwards and forwards and upside-down and inside-out and-

What are they talking about? What has Reiner been lying to me about? Why are they all talking about it like this? How bad is it?

I shake my head. No, no, no, no. Reiner’s my… He’s my other half. Fight and flow- that’s what we are. He… he wouldn’t lie to me if it wasn’t necessary… Right? He’s just… keeping me safe Just like he always does. He keeps me safe…?

“Look,” Annie says, eyes gliding to Reiner from behind her bangs. “If you do tell her, make sure you know what her response is gonna be, got it?”

I can hear Reiner sigh again. Much heavier, much more broken. “...fine.” A long pause filled only with small yawns from Annie and Bertholdt. “I’ll wait.”

Footsteps start heading for the door. I should stay- I should talk to him, talk to them. If there’s any time for this to be a reasonable conversation, it’s now.

But I panic. I scurry back down the hallway and spin into our room- closing the door behind me. I press my ear against the floor, watching the shadows slink past the door. Swallowing thickly, I watch as one shadow stops in front of my door.

It gets closer.

I get up and grip my clothes. I’m still in my uniform-

The doorknob starts to turn.

Fisting the fabric, I lift it over my head as the door swings open.

“Woah-” Reiner’s voice comes from behind me. “I thought you were still in the hospital?”

I swallow my fear and turn to face him. “I… signed myself out.” Reiner’s eyebrows start to furrow- I cut him off before he can tell me off for anything. “Lucky you’re you,” I laugh quietly, “I would’a punched your lights out if you weren’t.”

“I sure am lucky,” he chuckles, letting his eyes run up and down my body. His features relax and become more and more enraptured with me.

I shudder.

Not in pleasure.

I have never shuddered like that with him before. And Reiner notices. “...is something wrong?” he asks gently, eyes softening.

Get the words out. Just say them. Let them be said.

“...I thought you were already asleep,” I mumble, “Why are you still up?”

Reiner shakes his head and smiles softly. “Had a talk with Annie and Bertholdt about today.”

“...are you okay?” I ask gently, staring up at him in the darkness. “Do you want to talk to me about it?”

Reiner shakes his head again and wraps his arms around my back, tugging me into his chest. “Not yet.”

As I stand there, basking in his warmth, the thoughts overflow within me.

Maybe it was just a bad day.

Maybe he’s having another one of his… days.

Maybe he’s lying about his mental state for my sake.

Maybe he’s keeping me safe.

Maybe he had to make a tough call in the field.

Maybe he did something that got someone hurt.

Maybe he can’t forgive himself for it.

Maybe he’s just scared.

“You can tell me anything,” I whisper, “Whenever you want to talk, love, I’ll be here.”

My grip on him tightens. My anchor, my rock, my foundation. I cling to him like he’s my tether to sanity. And it’s true. Sasha, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Connie, Marco- I am their anchor. Their rock. Their foundation.

But who is to be mine except him?

“I’ll always be right here.”

“Cadet Braus!”

Sasha and I straighten up, going into a tight salute. The officer eyes us both- his already-narrow eyes narrowing further as he takes in our appearances. “...Cadet __________ Braus?”

“That’s me, sir.” I say, tightening up my back even more.

He seems to smirk to himself, a huffing laugh passing his lips. “Squad Leader Hange has requested you join the experiments scheduled for later this evening.”

“It would be my pleasure, sir.”

The officer nods once and walks away, grumbling to himself as he stares at the clipboard in his grubby hand. Sasha and I relax and turn back down to our food. “So…” she mumbles, taking a bite of food and staring up at me through her lashes. “You tell Reiner you almost killed Captain Levi yesterday?”

I scoff, poking the remnants of congealed porridge. “No. Why should I?” My eyes turn from the globs of oats to Reiner- who sits with Annie and Bertholdt with his head in his hands. “...he’s going through enough without me piling more shit on him.”

Sasha sighs, pushing her bowl away. My ears perk up and I turn to face her. Whatever’s bothering her must be important. It’s not like her to just push food away. “What is it?” I ask softly.

“...Jean, Reiner, Annie, Bertholdt, and I have clean-up duty today.”

“Again? You had it yesterday- why aren’t they-” I stop. I know exactly why they aren’t letting them rest. This- the hurry to do away with the bodies- it’s to prevent a pandemic. A ��secondary disaster’ as I remember. The amount of sickness festering within the fallen bodies of our comrades- it’d wipe the remaining soldiers and civilians out faster than any Titan. And we couldn’t fight it with blades and ODM gear.

All our resources as a society are focused on military strength. If we can’t fight it with our cannons and blades, there’s little chance we can fight it at all.

I sigh and grab her hand, running my thumb along her knuckles. “We can talk about it tonight,” I whisper, “I know I said that last night but… it was a long day for us all.”

Sasha nods and a faint smile plays her lips. “...sounds good.”

“I’ll even see if I can sneak something out from the cafeteria,” I tease, smiling.

Sasha’s eyes brighten and her smile widens. “Sounds great!”

“__________!”

I don’t even have time to completely turn around as Hange charges straight for me. “Aren’t they beautiful?!” They cry, wrapping an arm over my shoulders and spinning me to face the two Titans. They’re chained to the floor- nails and spikes driven into their hands, legs, and feet to prevent them from moving. I can, however, see Hange’s persuasion in action. The chains wrapped around their necks, while still tight, are loose enough to allow for some movement.

“They’re… quite something,” I mumble, uneasiness settling at the pit of my stomach. I knew they were Titans, real Titans, but it’s just… strange. Seeing them so chained up and docile. The way their glazed eyes stare up towards the sky or the way their digits twitch under the steel of the nails or even the way their wounds give off steam- it’s so underwhelmingly calm when it comes to Titans. I’m only used to fast-paced training and battle, not so much the cerebral calm that Hange seems to specialise in.

“Here! I have to introduce you!” Hange lets out an excited squeal and tugs me closer to the blond Titan on the left. “This! Is Sawney! Say ‘hi’, Sawney!” Sawney does nothing, simply blinks slowly as it looks down at us. Tutting their tongue, Hange shrugs. “Sawney’s a bit shy. Not good at expression, ya know. But Beane!”

Hange tugs me to the other Titan. “Beane here is much more expressive! Say ‘hello’, Beane!” Beane- a brunet Titan with dark brown eyes- is chained lying down. Its eyes slowly glide to look at us before a long exhale passes its lips. A low groan echoes around the sectioned-off area. Hange jumps up excitedly before gripping my shoulders again. “He likes you!”

Moblit runs up behind us, “Squad Leader! You’re too close!”

“Tch,” Hange rolls their eyes, “__________ ‘nd I are fine! Beane even said hello to her!”

Moblit runs a hand down his face, “Please, take a few steps back. If you’re too close-”

“No great steps are ever made without risk,” Hange cuts in. “But fine. Seeing as Cadet Braus is with me.”

The three of us walk away from the Titans. Peeking over my shoulder, I watch as the Titans watch us. Glazed eyes- dead eyes- but they just… watch. Emptily. Soullessly.

I remember red eyes.

“Squad Leader Hange?” I ask quietly as we turn to face the Titans again.

“Always with the formalities,” Hange hums, the touch of a joke playing their tongue. “Just call me Hange.”

“Hange… have you… ever encountered a Titan with… abnormal eye colors?”

“Eh?” Hange turns to face me, “No… I don’t think I have. Why? Did you see something?!”

I swallow and fake a smile, “No, no… I just… I noticed the Titans always have eye colors like ours. Their basic anatomy is like ours, down to the most minute detail- eye color included! I just wondered if maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

My eyes glide over to them. Their eyes are glistening with excitement and their whole body seems to tremble with adrenaline. “...maybe Titans have some sort of… biological connection… with humans?”

Hange lets out a triumphant scream and takes me into a tight hug. Jumping up and down, Hange continues to yell. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! An intellectual! A genius! A visionary hiding among the ranks of Cadets!” They sigh happily, panting as they stop jumping. “You’re joining the Scouts, yeah? You’ll be within reach?”

“Yes, Hange,” I smile awkwardly. “I’ve wanted to join since I was-”

Another scream. “And a dedicated Cadet! ...the Choosing ceremony! You’ll be choosing…” They trail off, eyes pinched closed as they mumble to themself in an attempt to remember when the ceremony is.

“I think it’s next week-”

“Perfect! Next week, you and Eren will be within reach at all times!” Hange continues rambling to themself about all the possibilities now in store.

My eyes turn from them to the Titans. If someone as invested and experienced in Titans as Hange hasn’t seen a Titan with red eyes before then…

Why did I?

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