...Admitting...
You and Eren crouched down by the edge of the walls, pulling up some crates.
"So now I guess we're both considered dangerous."
"Yeah. You're a titan and I'm, well, I don't even know what I am. I'm not a titan, am I? I've gotten hurt before, bled from my head and everything. Nothing happened."
"I don't think so. If you were one, then your injuries would've healed themselves."
"You know, I was actually real excited when that priest said that I'm half Ackerman. But then he just had to ruin things by saying that my other birthright's going to be the end of the world or something."
"Not exactly that. He said only to the walls."
"Sure, but what would a goddamn wall cultist want a 16-year-old girl dead so bad for? I don't think it's because of my 'sins' on my criminal record either."
"Son of a bitch," muttered Reiner from behind you guys. Bertholdt was busy comforting him.
"You okay?" asked Eren.
"A titan almost gnawed my arm off," he said, referring to the sling on his arm. "Pathetic. All I could think was 'this is how I go.'"
You raised an eyebrow. "Then maybe you should talk a little less and rest up a bit." Why does he sound like he rehearsed that damn sentence? You peered down. "Oh hey, Armin."
Eren pulled him back up. "Y/n, why don't you go meet up with Mikasa. The boys are going to catch up for a bit."
You snorted. "The boys," you echoed with a mocking tone, leaving them.
You checked up with Mikasa and Sasha who were helping Connie up. When everything there was fine, you headed over to Historia who hadn't left Ymir's side.
She glanced up and smiled. "Hi, Y/n."
"Hey." You sat down. "So we heard from this wall cultist that you're actually more important than you let yourself off as."
Her face struck with slight surprise. "Oh, I see."
"You know what else though?" You pointed to yourself. "Apparently, I'm related to you by blood."
She gasped and smiled. "Really?"
"And I'm half an Ackerman too. Wild day for me."
"Wow. So you're related to me, Mikasa, and Captain Levi?"
"Yeah. It's a little weird, learning that there were people by your side who shared the same blood this entire time after years of thinking you were basically all alone in this world. Up until I got my friends, of course."
"It must be overwhelming," she said. "But I'm happy we're technically family now. Even if we don't know each other that well."
"We will," you said. "So, uh, do you know anything about our bloodline?"
She shook her head. "My mother wasn't very special. But my father, well, he was-"
Hange called you both over. Hannes climbed up on the wall and said that there were no holes in Wall Rose. It had never been breached, and no signs of titans either.
Later, you all headed the other way, but Eren was called by Reiner and Bertholdt to talk. "Go, I'll be fine," he told you.
But not even a few steps down, you heard Reiner say, "I'm the Armored Titan. And he's the Colossal Titan."
You halted in your tracks and dropped your jaw. And then you fast-walked to Hange. "I think I just heard Reiner and Bertholdt admit they're the Armored and Colossal Titans."
She gave a quick look to Moblit who nodded, whistling for the other Scouts' attention.
Suddenly, a triple lightning struck, and all of you were blown back by a vicious gust of wind. Half of a Colossal Titan was perched on top of the wall. The Armored Titan and Eren's Titan were on the ground.
While the rest of them dealt with Reiner, you were with Hange, attacking the Colossal Titan. Its massive size slowed it down, but once you all neared the nape, it released huge puffs of hot steam, keeping you all away.
Deciding this was a lost cause, you swung over the wall and met up with Mikasa. "What's happening with Eren? Why's he getting pounded?"
"His attacks aren't landing! Reiner's titan is barely flinching! It's like his skin is made of armor!"
"Well a little birdie actually told me that it might be called the Armored Titan, but I'm not so sure."
"Not the damn time, Y/n!"
Eren's titan suddenly got sent a whole street's length back by a single punch. You and Mikasa wasted no time in swinging down for Reiner. She went for the ankles and you went for his head, but it only chipped your blades and didn't do a damn thing. As Eren rose from the ground like rising from the dead, the two of you landed on a tree together.
You cupped your mouth, yelling, "Go, Eren! Beat his ass!" His ass got beat instead. He was sent a second street's length away. You sighed. "Mikasa, you and I would've been better titans than he could ever be."
"Definitely."
"Eren! You can't beat him in a fistfight!" shouted Armin, hanging from the walls with the others. "Mikasa! Y/n! Get him to make a break for the wall!"
Eren was already back in his fight with Reiner, but it was clear that he was blinded by only rage now. Exactly what Levi didn't want him to be doing .
"Eren! Come with us back to the walls!" you yelled. You could tell that his titan had heard you because he froze in place, but still didn't acknowledge you.
"Eren! Stop ignoring us! You can't beat him like this!" yelled Mikasa.
"Stop being a fucking dumbass! Be smart for once! Like us!" You scoffed. "This isn't working. He's not listening, so his dumb titan's probably taken over his mind."
"I have an idea. Y/n, tell him you'd give him a kiss if he followed you."
"What?!"
"Just do it!"
"Fuck no! Stop being weird again!"
"He's clearly not in his right state of mind! If you shock him with something you say, his 'dumb titan' might just listen!"
You scoffed and cupped your mouth. "Eren, you fucker! If you follow us, I'll give you a kiss!"
Eren's titan flinched and turned to you.
You gasped. "No way that actually worked!"
Mikasa groaned. "When are you ever going to get the hint?"
The two of you swung back in the directions of the walls, with Eren actually following behind. Once you all arrived at the walls, Hange landed on his shoulder once he cooled down to tell him the plan.
"Mikasa! Y/n! Take my blades, you two will need it," said Armin, splitting his spare ones in half to you both. "So how'd you manage to get him to listen to us?"
"Y/n said that she'd give him a-"
"No, no, Mikasa! No!"
"What did you say you'd give him?"
"No! Armin, no!" You were frantically shaking your head to the point where you were getting dizzy.
"I'll tell you later, Armin," said Mikasa.
"Alright."
"No, you will not!"
Hange landed by you. "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but save that anger for the Armored Titan. When Eren's got him down in his hold, you and Mikasa are going for Reiner's weak spots. You see those red parts in his skin? Those are muscles, not armor. Go for there!"
"Yes, ma'am," you both answered.
"Fantastic, Ackermans always know how to get it done!" Then she swung up.
"I like the sound of that," you told Mikasa. Eren and Reiner landed on the ground with a thud. "That's our cue! Talk to you later, Armin!"
You and Mikasa ran horizontally across the walls and swung down for Reiner. She went for the back of his knees and you went for the insides of his elbows. Immediately, his legs went slack and his arms fell to his sides. You both landed by the nearby trees as Eren squeezed the life out of him.
Armin's screams intercepted your attention. From up above, the Colossal Titan plunged down. Jaw open, aiming right for Eren and Reiner.
The sudden explosion sent the both of you flying back. Mikasa grabbed ahold of your hand, clawing her nails into the ground. Through the bright blasts, you watched as Reiner bit into Eren's nape. Then she lost her grip and sent the two of you back, colliding into the trees, washing your world dark.
* . * .
You were shaken awake by Mikasa who had this look of terror, clutching your shoulders. "They took Eren! They took him!"
"What?" you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. And then it clicked. "What?!" You clutched her shoulders too. "What did you say?!"
"Reiner and Bertholdt abducted him! With Ymir!"
You glanced around. It was daytime, and you were back on the wall. All the other scouts were all still resting.
"Y/n, don't move too much," said Armin. "You both took a pretty bad hit against that tree, so-"
You rushed for the edge of the walls. Peering over it, there was a huge dent in the dirt left by Eren and Reiner's fight. What remained were two pure titans who stared back up at you. "What are you looking at, uglies?! Fuck off! Go drown yourself in dirt or something!"
Armin put a hand on your shoulder. "Y/n, calm down. We have to wait for Commander Erwin and the reinforcements. That's all we can do for now."
"Wait? They want us to wait?!"
"That's what I said too, but we don't have enough Scouts with us to pursue them," said Mikasa.
"Why do we need enough? Mikasa and I are like a two-woman army just by ourselves! We could go after them without a problem!"
"Y/n, are you hearing yourself right now? You're being illogical." Before you could object, Armin continued, "I'm only saying that because you're not usually like this. When everyone had thought that Eren was dead back in the Battle of Trost, you were the only one who stayed calm and believed that he was alive. Well now it's like the same situation. So go easy on yourself a little. He's not dead yet."
You backed away from the edge, letting the rage slowly flow out of your body. "You're right, Armin. I'm being stupid."
"Well, I didn't say that."
"You don't need to. I can feel the stupidity crawling in and out my brain. Sorry for how I acted."
"It's alright, Mikasa pretty much acted the same way when she first woke up."
After receiving some water, the three of you settled back down, sitting in a triangle.
"He always does this," said Mikasa. "Leaving. It's like it's so easy for him. He's always somewhere we're not."
"Yeah, it's always been happening," said Armin. "Ever since we were kids, Eren just liked to run off on his own. And then he'd leave us worried sick. When most of the time, he just sneaked off to the orphanage to see Y/n."
"He did?" you asked, genuinely surprised.
Mikasa snorted. "I remember those times. He'd tell us he'd be back shortly and then end up spending the entire day just to talk to you from outside the orphanage gates. He never could leave you alone."
"Oh." Then there was this flutter inside your stomach, warm and fuzzy. "I guess that's true. Wherever I go, he goes. Even when I was doing something fucked up for a kid, he was right with me. Like this one time, I was trying to shoot down a bird with rocks that shit on Carla's fresh laundry. She didn't really know how to react at first, but when Eren went and got more rocks for me, that made her really mad." You rested your cheek on your knees. "I've always kind of wondered why he was willing to do everything for me, anything, following me everywhere."
"That's because you're special to him," said Armin.
"So are all of you. The L/n Quartet. Friends for life."
"We're not talking about 'friends' right now," said Mikasa. "We're talking about you and him."
You groaned. "Everyone has something to say about 'me and him.' And I think they should get their eyes checked."
"You know what I think? I think it's about damn time you confronted your own feelings, Y/n. I bet it's not even fun hiding it from yourself. And it certainly isn't any more fun for me and Armin watching your dense ass."
"What, you saying that I like him or something? Have 'feelings' for him?"
"Exactly."
You hugged your knees tight, feeling the heat creeping into your cheeks. "But if I confront myself, then what's next? I confess to him or something? Then what? We've been best friends for years. I bet he'd be weirded out."
Armin started laughing. "Oh Y/n, you're so funny sometimes." Then he pulled his face straight as a pin. "Confess. And watch what happens. Trust us on thisâwe've been watching the two of you for literally years. Y/n, in case you haven't noticed by now, he will never deny you. It's like you're the only god he believes in and serves, and thinks that whatever you do is righteous."
"Very poetic, Armin."
"So are you going to finally admit it?" asked Mikasa. "At least start with us."
You closed your eyes. "Yeah," you mumbled. "I think I have feelings for him." I "think?" No, I do for sure.
Armin let out a relaxing sigh. "Finally I can cross that off my life list. The next one is to see you guys get together."
"Too fast, Armin."
"It is not. You've been practically together for years!"
"Who's been together for years?" asked Hannes, joining the group, making a square.
"No one," you quickly said. "You heard nothing."
He chuckled and tossed you all some bars of field rations that tasted like dirt and hay. "Really? 'Cause I was thinking about you and Eren."
"Ugh, you too, Hannes?"
"I've been suspecting that since the years back in Shiganshina. My old coworkers and I used to place bets on when the two of you'd get together. Speaking of the good ol' days, you three's been running damage control for that little hothead since forever."
"He could never stay away from trouble," said Armin.
"Neither can Y/n. Even though you're smart enough to either win or always get yourself out of it. Though I never saw Eren win a single fight, he never backed down either. So he'll be fine. He's got fire in him."
"Yeah, he does," you agreed.
"Y/n confessed to us her feelings for him just now," announced Mikasa.
"Mikasa, shut up!"
"He's been there since the beginning. He deserves to be let in on some details too."
"Oh, I've been there since it was the very beginning, with only just the two of them. I knew this was bound to happen from the day you beat up those bullies while he was cheering you on from the sidelines, passing you sticks to hit them with."
"That's a bit...messed up," commented Armin, concerningly. "But expected."
Hannes chuckled. "Ah Armin, I've still got a whole lot of their 'messed up stories.' See, there was this other time where..."
You zoned out as Hannes talked, looking out of Wall Rose. Into Wall Maria. Armin was rightâas long as you stayed calm, logical, and had faith like the way you always do, then everything was going to turn out fine. It had to.
*
ty guys for 1k reads!
as always love u silent mfs