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luvbugs-blog · 1 year

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getting saved by the aot boys

including: eren, jean, marco, bertoldt, and reiner

warnings: none!!

author's note: struggling a little bit with school and figuring out when I will set aside writing time. but please please please send me your thoughts!

eren

is this how you were going to die? in the arms of a filthy titan? well in this world, how else were you supposed to die? of old age? you weren't that lucky…you were overwhelmed with the stench of impending death, the titan's giant hand squeezing you so hard you thought you were going to break in half.

how could you allow yourself to be grabbed? oh, yeah, you were trying to save another cadet. selfishly, you thought that if you knew this was the outcome to begin with, you would have never tried to save him. you didn't want to die. you were going to leave behind your friends, your family… eren.

the two of you had just started going out, despite liking each other since you were children. but eren was too stubborn to admit he fully liked you until the night he was admitted as a soldier. he was so happy he passed the balance test, he just blurted out his feelings, much to your delight.

how was eren going to respond to your death? not that it matters, as you won't be alive to see it. black started to crowd around the corner of your eyes, but you swear you saw lighting out in the distance.

then you heard an animalistic cry. eren. was he coming to save you? just as the titan was lowering you into his mouth, you were thrown into the sky, before being snatched up by armin. as you hold onto armin with desperation, you look behind you to see eren's titan stomping on the titan's neck. you weren't going to die. tears sprung to your eyes as you held tight onto your other childhood friend. you were alive. you are alive.

armin found a space on the ground far from any other titans, but you refused to let go.

"armin. i always knew i was going to die by a titan. but it was so scary." he sighed, a started petting your head.

"i know. you're ok."

armin loaded you onto the cart to be towed back inside the walls, as you can hardly stand by yourself. the day passes, but you can hardly remember it. nurses come and go, replacing bandages and ice packs on your stomach, feeding you, and tending to your bruises.

eventually, eren runs in, looking around for you. when he spots you, a relieved look passes over his face. he quickly makes his way over, ignoring the nurses' attempts to get him to stop. kneeling beside you, he fusses over all of the gauze, apologizing profusely for not intervening faster. you jut grabbed his hand.

"thank you." he smiled and placed a small kiss on your forehead.

"YEAGER!" he definitely was going to be lectured for turning into a titan without permission, but this time, he couldn't care less.

jean

this wasn't how the plan was supposed to go. they were supposed to take jean and armin. but somehow, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and taken with armin. you were only in the cart for three seconds to help secure armin's wig, and jean was standing near while mikasa, levi, and connie were helping him look like eren, much to his dismay. But before jean and you could switch places, the cart lurched forward, almost sending you and armin tumbling out. panicked, you look at armin, who urged you to stay with him. maybe the plan could still be salvaged. unfortunately, you didn't have any ODM gear on, no guns, or knives. nothing you could use to defend yourself.

"armin. the plan is going to fail! i don't look anything like eren!"

"it's fine. i'll think of something. don't worry." how can I not worry? after a few minutes, the cart seemed to slow, and two men came around the back with rope. they take a while to tie the two of you up, but after a while, they leave the two of you tied to chairs.

you don’t know where the men went, so you look at armin and try to speak with your eyes. what's going to happen? armin just gives you a reassuring glance, knowing that the others should be coming soon. it wasn't long before the men returned, one caressing armin's (fake) hair, the other advancing toward you.

"you don't fit the description of eren yeager," he said gripping your shoulder. "but you're too pretty to let go. Maybe little eren will come for you, and we can get our reward." his nasty hand begun to make its way down your body, which you tried to ignore. thankfully, before anything could happen, the windows break open, and mikasa throws the first man down. armin and you burst out of the restraints, looking around on where to help. the second man draws a gun at you, but is also quickly stopped when your boyfriend lands on him, after jumping in from the window.

with all of the kidnappers down, jean quickly runs up to you, as mikasa goes to check on armin. he draws you into a hug, which you gratefully return.

"had to take all my fun, huh?" you giggle at his little comment.

"glad a big strong man came to rescue me. thank you eren." jean's mouth gapes open. "HUH? i don’t look anything like that ugly guy!"

you just laugh and press a kiss on his lips. "thanks jean."

marco

panting, you slid between houses, trying to lose this titan on your tail, but it was fruitless. it seemed to sense you, no matter how many times you ran away. this might be it for you. you lost your remaining gas trying to save your squad, but that was unsuccessful too, and now your ODM gear is useless. you tried looking around for any other squads that might be around. nothing.

this isn't how you wanted to go. you at least wanted to be seen, to be remembered in some way. but it looks like you were going to die alone, for a random cadet to find your body when they were doing cleanup. a small tear trickled down your cheek at the thought of leaving your family behind. your friends. marco.

the two of you had gotten together shortly after training. you wonder if he'll know you are dead, or if he'll hold onto hope that you are still alive, just lost. you lean up against the wall of one house you were hiding out in, and try to catch your breath. peering out the window, you see the titan chasing you get held up by another cadet. eyes roaming around for any way out of this predicament, you see a fallen soldier, with their ODM gear in tact. maybe you could make it. holding your breath, you sprint out and quickly try to remove the gas tanks. you start to sweat, knowing you shouldn't be out in the open for so long.

it wasn’t long before you heard stomping heading in your direction. how stuck were these damn tanks? you quickly decide to abandon the tanks, and just run, hoping you can figure out another plan in a quick amount of time. you sprint between houses before you start slowing. the adrenaline was gone, and you were winded. the titan rounds the corner, eyeing you. you start sprinting again, but not before tripping on rubble left by the surrounding buildings. this is it. your legs were so heavy, and your arms too weak. you were tired of running. you hoped marco would forgive you for giving up. just as the titan, starts reaching for you, you hear feet. human feet.

"y/n!" connie jumps from on roof and distracts the titan from the front, when marco jumps from behind, slicing the neck.

you scramble out of the way to avoid the already disintegrating corpse. marco comes and scoops you up, while connie follows behind. once the three of you are safely atop of the walls. marco sets you down, but you don't let go of him. you’re shaking badly, and marco just sits with you until you calm down.

"i thought i was going to lose you," marco whispers. you turn to look at him, and there are tears in his eyes. "but you didn't," you say as you pull him closer. "thank you." you press a sweet kiss on his lips, happy the two of you are together and safe. "you saved my life." marco smiles and you two sit close together before you refill your gas.

too bad you couldn't return the favor in the future.

bertoldt

you glance behind you on your way to breakfast before training. another trainee is following you. the same cadet that has been bothering you for the last few weeks. he's been trying to drag you away from friends to hang out with you, trying to sit down at the table next to you, trying to help you put on the straps for your ODM gear. it was nice at first, to feel like somebody liked you. but now it's just creepy, and you have no idea what to do about it. you're afraid that if you go to a commander, they will think you are wasting their time. it's not like they’ve tried to hurt you.

your friends have noticed it too, and are slightly worried. eren won't let you go to the stables by yourself. mikasa always walks with you. reiner and bertholdt always sit beside you during meals. jean is always by your side at training. you feel a bit like a burden, because your friends have better, more important things to worry about.

today, you are walking by yourself, as mikasa is busy helping eren after he hurt himself. and this stalker seems to have noticed that you don't have your normal bodyguard with you.

the thought makes you a bit angry. does he not think you can take care of yourself? you are one of the top trainees. you can definitely kick his scrawny ass. despite that, you still got a chill up your spine, feeling uncomfortable, so you pick up your pace a little bit. you make it into the dining hall, and see reiner and bertholdt already seated. you take a seat next to berty, and exhale a little bit, trying to maintain your breathing. bertholdt leans over and asks, "are you ok?"

you crane your head to look up at him. "i'm fine. just my little buddy over there decided to follow me here." the two of you quickly glance behind you, and see that your follower had begrudgingly had sat by his friends. reiner leans over, listening to your conversation, "why didn’t mikasa come here with you?"

you scoff. "i can take care of myself, reiner."

"oh no doubt. but, I just don't trust that guy."

"me neither," bertholdt frowns. you smile. you've had a crush on him for a while, and suspect that he likes you back.

"you jealous, berty?" you say, while smirking. he blushes and turns away. "don't be a brat." you just laugh and lean your head against him, which makes him turn an even darker shade. after a hot second, you jump out of your seat.

"where are you going?"

"don't you worry your head off, bertholdt. i'm just going to the bathroom." he pouts a little bit, which you think is cute.

"you shouldn't go by yourself."

"i'll be just fine." you were not just fine. apparently, the cadet was watching you leave, and grabs you, pinning you against the wall.

"is he your little boyfriend now?"

"why does it matter to you?" you say, shoving him away. "you don't mean anything to me, you fucking creep." you try to walk away, but he grabs onto your arm.

"i am her boyfriend," a voice says behind you. "so please, let go of her." the cadet turns, looking at bertholdt, who looked so intimidating, towering over him. "now."

he immediately let go of your arm, and sprinted away.

"oh! are you ok?" you smile at him. "my hero," you say, hugging the literal tree trunk of his body. he places a small kiss to your head. "oh yeah?"

you tilt your head to make eye contact and smile. "yeah. boyfriend."

reiner

this was the first expedition with the scouts, so it was understandable to say you were a bit nervous. of course, you have fought titans before, but you had never been so exposed in terms of no trees and no surrounding buildings. you were riding for a while with a senior member of the scouts, and the two of you rode alongside each other quietly, occasionally breaking the silence for small questions about the mission. the two of you were pretty uneasy, after seeing multiple red flares, but no evidence that there was going to be a retreat.

"squad Leader?" you waited until you heard a small grunt that she had heard you before you continued. "why are we continuing? do you think erwin somehow didn't see our flares?"

"no, I think he saw them. But erwin has a bigger plan in mind."

"oh." That wasn't the answer you were hoping for. but you couldn't express your worries as another member joined you explaining that a flank had been completely wiped out. your partner jumped into action.

"I'll spread the word! y/n! stay here!" she quickly rode off to inform the other parts of the formation. after 5 minutes, you felt a chill down your spine.

you turn towards the member who joined you when you started hearing loud footsteps headed your way. that's impossible! there would have been warning flares if a titan breached the formation. oh wait. the flank has been wiped out.

the footsteps got closer, and soon, your partner is kicked into the air, blood spraying everywhere. time seemed to slow, and you know you have to do something if you want to live. you veer your horse to the right, nearly missing the titan's foot, but in doing that, you fall off, causing your horse to scatter. this is it.

you lay on the ground, not sure what to do next. you can't outrun a titan. there are no trees around for you to use your ODM gear. the titan turns to you, and you lift your head to see where the next attack will come from.

blond hair moves in the wind, and you realize, the titan has a striking resemblance to -

"y/n!" reiner scoops you up, the ends of his ODM gear on the titan's back. While reiner is saving you, jean tries to target the female titan's nape.

"jean!" armin yells. you miss what happens next, because you are tossed to the ground, reiner flying to rescue jean.

your eyes widen when you realize the titan grabbed your boyfriend. you scream his name, but your ODM gear busted when you hit the ground. you don't have time to fix it. you're going to watch him die. seconds seemed like hours as you screamed his name, tears pouring from your eyes. You try to run towards him, but jean was holding you back.

you close your eyes, trying to block out what is happening, when you hear jean gasp. you immediately open your eyes to see that reiner had broken free.

he lands on the ground, grabbing you and armin. you exhale, letting him carry you from the titan.

he's alive. you're alive.

reiner is such a rock in your life. you are so glad you can count on him, knowing he will be there to save you, that he will never betray you.

#eren jaeger x reader #eren x reader #jean kirschtein x reader #jean kirstein x reader #jean kirschstein x reader #marco bodt x reader #marco bott x reader #bertoldt hoover x reader #bertholdt hoover x reader #reiner x reader #reiner braun x reader #attack on titan x reader #aot #aot fanfiction #attack on titan #marco x reader #jean x reader #eren yeager x reader

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whats-her-quirk · 2 years

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secret oath chapter 4

last || m.list || next

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marco bott x fem!reader

18+ mdni

word count: 5k

warnings: masturbation, pining, sexual tension, a sexy game of chicken, dirty thoughts

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After karaoke night, you think about Marco constantly. In fact, it’s hard to stop thinking about him. With every wake up call, every meal, every evening campfire, your mind always wanders back to him, whether he’s nearby or not. It’s particularly bad during morning showers, since they’re the one blessed time when you’re truly alone with nothing but your thoughts.

As you rinse out your hair, eyes closed to keep the soap and water out, images drift into your head like dreams. You think of Marco’s bright smile and speckled cheeks. You paint his body in your mind—strong, broad shoulders, sunkissed olive skin. You picture him shirtless at the pool, your mind’s eye tracing his abs to the curve of his hips to the tan lines just below his waistband and on the tops of his thighs.

This time, when your hand slides between your legs, you don’t stop it.

It’s early. You got up before everyone else, before anyone even knocked on the cabin door for wake-up. No one else is showering, and the chances of a camper walking in are slim to none. You can be quiet, you know you can, so with your middle finger, you swirl over your clit, pressing against those little nerves of pleasure while you fantasize about Marco.

You imagine how he strips off wet swim trunks after he’s done at the pool. Your body tingles as you touch yourself the way you like, thinking about how large he is, how he looks when he’s soft vs. hard. You bet his cock is as pretty as the rest of him and almost moan, but instead let the sound out as a slow exhale.

It feels a little gross, almost creepy to think about him like this, but it feels too good. You’re paired up with him for small group today, and you’re not sure how you’ll face him, but fuck it. You can’t stop now—you don’t want to. You think of his big hand resting on your thigh, about the time he caught you by the elbow so you didn’t fall down. Fuck, you want his hands on you. You rub a little harder, a little faster, remembering almost against your will that if you rode him, you’d be his first pussy, maybe even the one that ruined him for anyone else…

With a gasp, the slow heat of orgasm rushes to your belly. It’s a small crest but enough to give you a rush during the comedown. You brace one hand against the wall as you slow your breathing, savoring the tremors inside you as water rolls down your back and shoulders. It feels good, your first real release in weeks, and even as the satisfaction slips away, you’re still thinking about Marco. You’re so fucking insatiable.

You rinse the trickle of slick off your thighs before turning the water off and reaching for your towel. When the shower sputters to a halt, you can suddenly hear someone carrying a tune on the other side of the cement block wall—in the guys’ showers.

Immediately, you’re embarrassed. You’re sure, positive even, that you didn’t moan out loud, right? There’s no way whoever is singing over there could have heard you over both your shower and theirs, but what if… No. They couldn’t have. But you can’t help but wonder who it is, if it’s Marco on the other side, just like the other night when you were 98% sure it was him humming your song in the cabin.

You don’t want to wait outside the door—that would actually be legitimately creepy. You take your time brushing your teeth at the sink and wrapping your head in a towel, lingering near the doorway, casually, until the singing gets louder. As quietly as you can in your shower flip flops, you take a few steps back, hoping you’re hidden behind the wall. After a tense few moments, Eren passes by outside, wearing a low-slung towel around his hips and singing what you can now recognize as a Celine Dion ballad. Apparently, now that he’s revealed his impressive pipes, he has no problem showing them off.

Frankly, you don’t really care what Eren thinks of you anyway, so there’s no use in hiding any longer. As you stroll out of the shower house, following him back to the cabin at a distance, you’re almost surprised he doesn’t drop his little brown towel when he wails, “Baby, baby, baby!” before disappearing into the boys’ cabin to a chorus of curse words.

–

You’re finishing the last dregs of your coffee on your way out of the mess hall when you feel a tug on your arm. Zofia, looking panicked, quickly blurts out that she forgot her sunglasses in the lodge yesterday. You’re supposed to head to the barn for a horseback ride with Hange this morning, but Zofia insists that she can’t ride without her glasses or else she’ll “probably lead the horse into a ditch.” You wouldn’t want that, so once you finish your head count, you flag down Marco.

This morning, he’s wearing loose dad jeans over gray New Balance tennis shoes—both of which he’s incredibly capable of pulling off. He’s rolled up the sleeves of his t-shirt, highlighting those shoulders you can’t get out of your head. He looks so good, it’s almost unfair.

“Hey, will you take my group with yours while I go grab something Zofia forgot?”

“No problem, see you in a sec.” He holds out a hand to Zofia. “Are you excited to see the horses?”

Just before you take off jogging toward the lodge, Zofia nods and wraps her little hands around Marco’s wrist, gluing herself to his side. You have to force yourself to leave before you get too distracted by how sweet it is.

The barn doors to the lodge are wide open, which is a bit odd this early in the day, but whatever. Zofia told you she couldn’t remember where she laid her sunglasses down, but she was positive the last place she had them was in here, so you start by checking all the tables, the windowsills, and the bookshelves. When they don’t turn up, you hit the deck to look under the couch, thinking they might have gotten kicked underneath by accident.

“Hey.”

Someone speaks so suddenly it makes you jump, and you bang your elbow on the bottom edge of the couch. While you rub your buzzing funny bone, you pop your head up to find a black-haired man in heavy work pants and thick boots. He has a jacket tied around his waist over a faded white t-shirt and a bandana sticking out of his pocket. You’ve never seen him before, but by the way he confidently leans against a push broom, you assume he must work here.

“Hi,” you reply, hopping up off the floor. “I’m looking for a little purple pair of sunglasses. Have you seen—?”

The man, who is shorter than you thought before you stood up, reaches into his pocket and pulls out Zofia’s sparkly purple glasses. “Found ‘em on the railing of the balcony this morning. Tell the kid to be more careful where they leave their stuff,” he says before slapping them in your outstretched hand.

“I will, thank you!” You’d stay and chat, but Hange is probably waiting for you to get started with the ride, so you take off toward the stable.

You’re a little winded when you get there, all the way on the other side of the mess hall, but Zofia gives you a big hug around your legs, so you know the jog was worth it. You pat her on the back and then quickly guide her around to where Hange is giving instructions along with the stable manager, Ness. The camp keeps an impressive number of horses on site, but even perpetually haggard Ness seems charmed by how eager all the campers are.

Some kids take to the horses immediately, but others are more hesitant, especially those who haven’t ridden before. But Ness trains his horses well, so they’re impressively docile while you get each camper situated and comfortable in their saddles.

Once all of the campers are lined up and ready, Ness takes the lead, trotting his own horse up to the front of the line. Hange says they’ll slide in somewhere in the middle, then asks you and Marco to stay at the end of the caravan. The trail you’re taking is a very clear, direct path through the woods with almost nowhere to stray, but it’s a good idea to make sure nobody gets lost or left behind.

Ness leads the group out at a walking pace, and the line accordions until everyone is moving. You leave a gap between the last camper and yourself. Marco’s horse sways side to side for a few steps before he guides her to walk beside yours.

“Have you ever ridden before?” you ask.

“Nope, first time.” Marco’s horse shakes her mane and drifts a bit to the left. “You?”

“Yeah, but only a few times, mostly in groups like this. You’re doing fine though, maybe hold the reins a little more firmly.”

Marco pulls up on his reins, and his horse settles into a straighter gait, falling into step with yours. Marco gives you a big grin. “I’ll be fine if you stay with me, then.”

Your cheeks feel incredibly warm suddenly, so you stare ahead at the trail. Ness has already disappeared into the trees, and Hange is leading the second leg of campers onto the trail proper now. Nobody’s horse has gone astray yet, though if you had known you were taking a forest trail, you could have told Zofia she wouldn’t really need her sunglasses. You live and learn.

Which reminds you to ask Marco, “Have you met all the staff yet? Because I ran into a guy this morning that I think is a groundskeeper, but I’ve never seen him before.”

“Hmm. Tall guy with a hat?”

“No, that’s Kenny. This guy was like, pretty short.”

Marco ponders. “I don’t think I’ve seen him. But you’ve been here longer than me, so if you don’t know him, he must be new?”

“Yeah, I guess he must be. I’ll have to ask around some more.”

For a few paces, you continue along side by side. The group has pulled ahead a bit, but you can still clearly see that none of the campers have taken their horses off track. Marco ducks under a low-hanging tree branch, bicep flexing as he pushes it up and out of your way.

“Thanks.” Seeing his toned arms on display brings back memories of earlier that morning, when you let your fantasies run away with you. Marco is so kind and thoughtful, but he’s also strong and athletic. It makes you wonder which he’d be in bed—rough or gentle. Or maybe he’s both.

You shake your head, trying to clear your mind. Now’s not the time. But that does remind you of something else you’ve been wanting to say to him.

“Hey, about the past few nights…”

Marco, reins held taut, slows his horse down. “Uh huh?”

You feel comfortable with the distance between the two of you and the last camper—he’s talking to the person in front of him anyway—but just to be safe, you try to keep your voice low. “I’m sorry that nobody will leave you alone since the sex stuff came up. We’re kind of used to having no boundaries. But if it makes you uncomfortable, I can say something to everybody.”

Marco snort-laughs a little. “Thanks. It was a little embarrassing at first, but actually, I’m kind of glad, in a weird way.”

“You are?”

“Yeah, it’s like…” He thinks for a moment. “I’ve never really felt comfortable talking about this kind of stuff with anyone. But with everyone being so open about it, I don’t know. I don’t feel judged. I can tell the teasing is well-intentioned.”

You can’t help but clutch your heart. “Aw, Marco. That’s actually so sweet. But I'm serious, if you need me to like, gag Ymir with my socks, just say the word.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I, uh…” Marco’s horse shakes her head, and he chokes up on the reins again. “I feel very safe around you.”

You’re surprised that he’d choose that word—safe—after knowing you for only a few short weeks. It feels special, something you aren’t quite sure how you earned, but you’re thankful for it either way. Your heart aches softly, sharing his vulnerability. “Thanks. I feel the same with you.”

Marco looks down, pink blooming in his cheeks. “Cool.”

Somehow he always knows the cutest, dorkiest thing to say.

–

Since nobody got lost on the horseback ride, your spirits are high at lunch and going into free time. After checking in with your campers, Jean runs up and shakes you by the shoulders.

“The blob is finally blown up.”

You slap your info binder on your legs. “Shut up, really?”

“I am so effing serious.” Jean is getting much better at watching his mouth when there are children present. Even if it’s abundantly clear what he’s censoring, he’s blurting the words out less often.

You grab Jean by the wrists. “We have to get everybody to go to the lake today. We HAVE to.”

“Pardon?” Marco asks. “The what is what, now?”

Your mouth drops. “You don’t know what the blob is?”

“Uh, no. Should I?”

Your head swivels back to Jean, eyebrows raised. “We need to educate this poor child.”

“Did you say it was something that blew up?”

Jean puts a hand on Marco’s chest. “It’s an inflatable, not an explosive, I assure you. Just put on your swimsuit and come to the lake with us. You’ll see.”

On his other side, you link arms with Marco and lead him toward the counselor cabin. “Just wait. You’ll love it.”

After you’re changed into your suits, you tromp down to the bottom of the hill, below the lodge. Word has obviously gotten around, because just about everyone is at the lake, and a line has already formed at the diving dock. At the end of the 10 ft. wooden platform is the blob: a giant, primary-color-striped inflatable roughly the shape of a big body pillow.

“I see where it gets its name,” Marco says. “But what does it do?”

“Just watch.” You hang onto his arm, excited for him to see it for the first time.

Marcel, the lake lifeguard, climbs up the steps to his chair. Once he’s seated with his rescue float in his lap, he blows his whistle. “Ok,” he announces. “One at a time.”

Only campers who have taken the swimming test already are allowed in the lake, so the vast majority of them already know what they’re doing. First in line is Falco, who scrambles up the ladder to the diving platform. With excellent form, he hops off the edge, landing on his butt in the center of the blob, his legs out straight in front of him. Once the wobbling inflatable settles, he scoots himself out to the red stripe near the edge of the blob.

Then Reiner climbs the ladder.

“Wait, is he going to—” Marco starts to ask.

With a loud whoop, Reiner leaps into the air. When he lands in the center, Falco is catapulted off the edge of the float, limbs flailing wildly at least fifteen feet in the air. Falco tucks into a cannonball just in time to hit the water, and by the time he surfaces again, Marco is laughing so hard he’s crying.

“Oh my god,” he gasps, doubling over into your side. “That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Told ya.” And because he doesn’t pull away, you wrap one arm around his waist, letting him lean against you while you find places in line.

One of the bigger fifth graders jumps next, but because of the weight difference, Reiner doesn’t get much air. He more so somersaults off the edge of the blob into the water.

Marcel tweets his whistle. “No flips.”

Reiner waves at him as he paddles to shore. “Sorry, dude!”

Because the campers are smart enough to know that they get flung the farthest by an adult, Marco is elected to go next. You can tell he’s excited regardless by the way he rockets up the ladder. At the top, he winds himself up and then jumps, and even from several feet back, you can hear him cackling as the camper shoots into the air with a screech of delight.

Gabi goes next, meaning Marco has to basically crawl off the blob on his own, but all the while, he’s beaming. Once she’s ready, Gabi shouts for Bertholdt to launch her. He just can’t seem to escape her, no matter how hard he tries. Bert tiptoes off the edge, letting himself land as gingerly as possible, but it doesn’t make much difference. She goes flying, and you hear her squeal, “Yeet!” before the big splash.

“Hey, hey!” You turn away from the main event long enough to see Miche coming down the hill with Zeke, Eren, and Mikasa in tow.

Campers actually scream, and you get it. To them, Miche and Zeke are higher-level adults than you, which makes them infinitely more entertaining to bother. And in the case of the blob, they’re ready to throw themselves at Miche’s feet for the privilege of being flung by him.

Miche strolls right up to you and nudges you harmlessly off balance with his elbow. After you stumble, you look up at Marcel, conspicuously pointing at Miche.

“Is this allowed?”

Marcel just rolls his neck and ignores you. Figures.

Miche snickers and nudges you again. “Shut up. The blob is my calling.”

“You’re like 200 pounds of pure muscle. These kids should have to sign a waiver before you launch them into orbit.” You know you’re only stroking his ego, to which he crosses his arms and looks up smugly, but you can’t help it. It’s too fun to razz him.

“And what am I, chopped liver?” Zeke tucks his chin over Miche’s shoulder, which he’s just tall enough to reach on his tiptoes, before Miche shrugs him off.

You give Zeke a good-natured eye roll. “Well go on, then. The kids are waiting.”

Zeke slaps Miche on the back, which makes Miche grimace, but the two of them head over to wait their turn by the platform.

Mikasa joins you while Eren spreads out a beach towel by the shoreline. “What’s with him?” you ask.

She cracks a smile. “He can’t swim.”

Jean practically shoves you out of the way. “You’re kidding. Jaeger can’t swim?”

Mikasa shakes her head before glancing over her shoulder. “Sinks like a rock, for some reason.”

With his hands on his hips, Jean hoots with laughter. “Oh my god. This day keeps getting better. Hey, Eren, do you want us to get you some floaties?”

Eren sits up on his towel, scowling behind dark sunglasses, and lifts his hand as if to flip Jean off before pounding his fist into the marshy sand beside him.

You swat at Jean. “Be nice, dummy.”

He scoffs. “To Jaeger? No way.”

Freshly dripping from the lake, Zeke flicks Jean in the back of the head as he walks by. “Leave him alone,” he warns. Jean scowls after him, rubbing his head before falling into a conversation with Mikasa.

A hand slides into yours, pulling you a few paces backward. It’s Hitch, wearing a mischievous smile. You try to ask her what she’s up to, but before you can, she physically points you toward where Zeke is drying his face on a towel.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to ask you,” whispers Hitch, “but don’t you think Zeke looks so good with his hair grown out?”

Last summer, Zeke’s hair was much shorter in the back, but he’s sporting a small bun more often than not this year. Not that you spend much time thinking about him, but, “Yeah, it looks good honestly. I thought you were going after Erwin though.”

“I am. But it doesn’t mean I can’t…” You watch Hitch’s eyes shamelessly rake up and down Zeke’s figure. “Go window shopping,” she concludes.

You snort and mumble back. “His abs are ripped, I’ll give him that.”

“He’s hotter than any gym teacher I ever had in school.”

Hitch gasps when Zeke takes half a step in your direction and smirks, giggling and hiding her face in an incredibly obvious way.

“I don’t know what to do with her,” you tell Zeke, feeling a little embarrassed yourself, but you should know better than letting Hitch talk about men when they’re within earshot. These are cabin-only conversations.

Historia and Ymir arrive in time to watch more blob action—mostly the boys taking turns jumping in until all the kids have gotten sufficient air time. Not all of the campers disperse, but a lot of them get tired of jumping and climbing after a while and go to splash in the shallow water or play on the inflatable trampoline before they need to go shower off for dinner.

Even Porco shows up, waving to his brother and asking if he needs any help keeping an eye on things. “I closed the pool early since everyone was down here anyway,” he says, crossing his arms and leaning against the lifeguard chair.

When you hear a shrill laugh behind you, you don’t expect it to be coming from Mikasa. Jean has lifted her over his shoulder and is walking into the water. She laughs and kicks her feet until he drops her in the waist-high depth with a splash, and you’re not sure you’ve ever seen her express such pure joy before.

He might actually be getting somewhere with her after all, you think.

“Ladies, ladies. None of you are even wet yet.” Reiner motions to the dock ladder. “Who’s up?”

“Me!” Hitch volunteers. You worry a bit for her string bikini, which is technically not to camp dress code, but she’s smart enough to hold her boobs when Reiner pops her into the air. She lands in an elegant pencil dive and surfaces with her swimsuit intact.

“Someone who can actually fling him should go next,” Ymir points out. Miche and Bertholdt play rock, paper, scissors for the honor, and Bertholdt wins. The weight difference still isn’t quite pronounced enough to even faze Reiner, but he gets a good five feet of air.

When Bert starts to roll himself off the side of the blob, Marcel blows the whistle at him. “Gotta wait, bud,” Marcel calls out, and you swear you see him smirking. Bert sighs, then waits for Zeke to give him a little bounce into the lake.

Mikasa goes next, seemingly expecting Jean to follow after her. She screams when she sees Miche climbing the platform, and despite her fit build, she still rockets at least ten feet straight up before splashing down.

It wouldn’t matter who went next—aside from maybe Erwin, nobody could launch Miche, and Erwin doesn’t come to the lake anymore. Not after fully losing his swim trunks after a dive early last summer. He was so embarrassed that, to your knowledge, he has refused to swim at camp ever since.

Marco’s warm hand slides over your shoulder. “How about you go next?”

“That depends. Do you want to follow me?”

He laughs. “Yeah, I wanna see you go flying.”

You stick your tongue out at him. “Do your worst.”

Once you’re up on the platform, Miche watches you over his shoulder. “Bounce me, bounce me!” he cheers like he’s ten and not almost thirty. You roll your eyes dramatically before he faces forward like he’s supposed to for safety. You take a couple steps back for a running start, but even with the highest jump you can manage, Miche still merely flops off the front of the blob like a dead fish.

After crawling to the launch spot, you cross your arms over your chest, not wanting a wardrobe malfunction of your own. Behind you, Marco counts down his own jump. “Three… two…”

He never hits one—you just feel yourself lift into the air. He jumped early just to scare you, and it works. You scream involuntarily, flailing until you land with a splash.

Water rushes up around you, and your foot actually touches the bottom of the lake. You kick off the wet sand, propelling yourself back to the surface.

“Marco!” you scold playfully, wiping water from your eyes. All you get in return is a big, thousand-watt grin in response before Jean bounces him in after you.

When Marco resurfaces, he shakes out his floppy, wet hair like a golden retriever, then looks side to side. His face lights up when he finds you, and for a moment, you forget everything else. You forget that there are people watching, that you’re not the only two people swimming in a secluded lagoon in some kind of romance novel scenario. Because the way he looks at you, so joyful and eager, is nearly overwhelming.

You open your arms as Marco swims toward you, and without so much as a moment of hesitation, he scoops you up, tucking you into his side as you cling around his shoulders and wrap your legs around his waist. His bangs drip on your arm as you try to keep yourself from shaking with excitement.

He carries you to the shallow-ish water near the shore, where most of the staff members are splashing around. You let go of Marco, a little embarrassed that people saw you wrap yourself around him, but he stays close to your side, and it’s comforting.

Historia squeals when Ymir dips under the water and lifts her up on her shoulders. Ymir confidently spins around, holding tight to Historia’s legs. “Who wants to play chicken?”

“Me, oh my god. Me!” Hitch grabs for Bert’s arm. “Be my partner. Pleeeeease!”

Bert shrugs away. “I don’t wanna play. Besides, I'm way taller than everyone, it's such an unfair advantage.”

“Oh, how modest of you,” Hitch says, splashing him for good measure. “Where’s Reiner, he’ll—”

You point to where he’s leaning against the lifeguard chair, talking to the Galliards, but Hitch can only pout for a second before Zeke wades up to her.

“Hop on.”

Hitch is quick to oblige. Zeke lifts her out of the water, hands wrapped around her thighs, and they start the first chicken fight. Hitch and Historia lock fingers almost immediately, both of them giggling as they wrestle, trying to knock the other off balance. While Zeke mostly anchors himself down in one spot, Ymir has a more active strategy, moving and twisting until she helps Historia, who you know to be deceptively strong, finally pushes Hitch backwards, toppling her and Zeke together.

Ymir flexes her biceps in the air, her girlfriend perched daintily on her shoulders.“Who’s next?”

“Us!” Reiner charges back into the water, dragging Porco behind him by the wrist.

“Oh, this is about to be good,” you murmur to Marco.

“Top or bottom?” Reiner asks. Ymir barks out a laugh, but Porco just rolls his eyes before diving under Reiner’s legs, lifting the larger man with ease before flipping his wet hair back out of his face. Though Porco is the shorter of the two, he’s strong and sturdy. You suspect his choice is less strategy and more about showing off for Reiner, who seems only concerned with flexing his muscles for Historia.

Jean swims up beside you and shakes his head. “What a mess.”

“Do you think we should tell him about Historia and Ymir?” you ask. Even if Ymir doesn’t want him to know, you’re starting to feel kind of bad for him.

“Nah,” Jean says. “He’ll figure it out when he realizes Porco has a crush on him.”

“Ok, but do you guys actually know if either of them likes guys?” Marco asks. “Just an honest question.”

“Porco is gay, he flat out told me,” says Jean. “I’m not sure Reiner knows what he likes.”

“If you ask me, it seems like someone is getting jealous.” The three of you look on as Reiner reaches for Historia’s waist and manages to tip her over. Ymir glares at him, and something tells you that it’s not just because she lost the game. You won’t be surprised if she gives up on her own charade soon.

Jean pairs up with Mikasa for the next round because Eren won’t even get his feet wet. Even though Reiner is twice her size, Mikasa is able to push him over after a short struggle. Practically everyone in the lake is cheering for you to go next, though you need no convincing, and neither does Marco.

When he lifts you up on his shoulders, you can barely think about the game. You’re not concerned with winning—all you care about is the fact that it’s Marco’s big hands resting on the tops of your thighs, his head between your legs. When Mikasa grapples your hands with hers, your muscles tense, thighs squeezing against the sides of Marco’s neck to try and keep yourself from falling. You hold out as long as you can, stomach swirling with the filthy thoughts of other things you’d like him to do between your legs until your arms finally give out.

WIth a splash, you and Marco hit the water together, making Jean and Mikasa the champions of the chicken tournament. It’s getting close to dinner time, and everyone wants a shower after swimming in the lake, so you wrap yourselves in your towels and trudge back up the hill together.

You stick close to Marco’s side so your arm can brush his, reluctant not to be touching him. Now that you’ve started, it’s hard to stop. Maybe it’s obvious that you want to be near to him, but when he reaches out and holds your hand, you smile and decide that you don’t really care.

➷➷➷➷➷

#marco bott x reader #marco bodt x reader #attack on titan fanfiction #junes fics #junes secret oath #snk

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shingeki-no-alena · 9 months

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Lost Promises (Chapter 3)

Marco Bodt x Fem!reader

Genre: Angst, fluff, Cannon AU

Warnings: Blood, injuries, future gore, future spoilers, future character deaths, cheesy moments, reader is Levi’s sister so she’s got some baggage (I’ll add more as they appear!).

Summary: After years of constant pressing, Levi has finally agreed to let his little sister, y/n, join the scouts. On the condition that she goes through the extra training of the cadet corps first, in hopes that it would help make her change her mind.

Chapter 2 || Masterlist || Chapter 4

About a year has passed since Y/n began her training with the cadets. Over that amount of time, she has made friends with most of the girls in her barracks. When she is not hanging out with Marco, she is usually with some of the girls. She has also grown very fond of Sasha and Connie, them usually being able to convince her to have more fun.

As for her and Marco… well, she is completely smitten. After a year of denying and denying, she can now admit to herself that she’s developing feelings for the sweet, freckled boy. Feelings that are not just platonic. She would never tell, though. Just because she has accepted her own feelings doesn’t mean she is anywhere willing to act on them. She needs to focus her mind on her goals so she can get back to her family in the scouts.

Currently, Y/n sat under a tree that stood at the top of a hill. It was a ways walk away from the training grounds. Y/n had discovered this spot on one of her long nature walks she used to calm herself from a stressful day. The only other person that knew about this spot was Marco. She would invite him sometimes since she enjoys his company, and overall calm nature.

Since she has been with the cadets, Y/n has been sending letters back to Levi, Hange, and Erwin, giving them updates and reminders that she is doing fine. That is exactly what she was doing right now. Her pen scribbles against the parchment as the early afternoon breeze flies through her freshly washed hair.

To My Family,

I’ve been doing well lately. I am missing you all deeply still, but I have made friends to keep me company while I work to come back home. My closest friend right now is Marco. I mentioned him before, right? Before you start to freak out, Levi, he’s just a friend and a comrade. I know what I’m here for and I have been working really hard. Besides, he plans to go into a different branch, unsurprisingly. No, Erwin, I do not think I could convince him otherwise. There is, however, another friend I made who has centered his whole goal around joining the scouts. Him and his two childhood friends. He’s so passionate about it, in fact, that it’s almost worrisome. Oh! I have been taking a lot of nature walks. I even found this really peaceful spot no one knows about. It’s a tree on top of a hill. I’m sitting there as I write this. Also, tell Hange that I will be writing her soon in regards to her latest hypothesis.

Alright, well I have to get back soon, so one more thing. Send my love to the rest of Levi squad. Tell them I miss them, and I even miss Ouro’s smartass remarks.

That’s all for now.

Love, Y/n

Y/n smiled as she finished up her letter, imagining them reading it and smiling too. She proceeded to fold up the parchment, tucking it into an envelope, before gathering her belongings and heading back to the training grounds.

It was the cadets’ day off, so the training grounds were practically empty. Before Y/n could open the door to the sleeping quarters she shared with the other girls, the door had already swung open, revealing Hannah. She was one of the girls that Y/n had become friends with. Hannah brightened up seeing Y/n at the door.

“Y/n!” She chimed, grabbing Y/n by the hand, and pulling her inside the barracks. “I was just about to go look for you! Some of the other girls and I were about to use my new tea set.”

She led Y/n to where the group of girls sat around Hannah’s bunk. It was Mina, Mikasa, and Annie. Annie was one of the girls Y/n hadn’t talked to that much. Annie was quiet and very reserved. Y/n was honestly surprised she was joining them. She just assumed Annie was a big tea fan. Y/n took the open spot, next to said girl.

“Great! Now that we are all here, let’s talk about the boys,” Hannah said, mischievously, wiggling her eyebrows at everyone. Oh, good. A trap. At this, Mina grew excited and clapped her hands together, bouncing up and down in her spot. Mikasa reached out to pour a cup of tea for Y/n. Handing it to Y/n, Y/n took it graciously, thanking her.

“That sounds like fun! But you know Hannah, we have to start with Franz,” Mina started, smirking. Hannah blushed, immediately going quiet. “You two are so cute together!”

Hannah hid her face behind her hand, the other waving frantically at Mina. “Stop! I’m so embarrassed!” She squealed, playfully pushing Mina.

Y/n started to feel a bit out of place. Living with a bunch of traumatized soldiers, you don’t have such giggly moments with friends. She would joke around with the rest of her brother’s squad, but it was never like this.

Looking at either side of her, she noticed Mikasa and Annie, both with expressions of disinterest. Y/n felt a sense of relief, realizing she may not be the only one that feels this way. Before she could deviate a plan to escape, Y/n was brought into the conversation.

“Why talk about me and Franz when we could talk about the new couple in town? I hear Y/n and Marco always sneak off somewhere together!” Hannah teased. Y/n froze. Where did she hear that from? Mina gasped as everyone’s eyes landed on Y/n. Y/n heated up, taking a gulp of her tea. She hoped the tea would sooth her sudden dry mouth that developed from her nerves.

“Tell us, Y/n! What’s up with you and Marco? And where have you two been sneaking away to?” Mina interrogated, leaning forward in interest.

“We are just friends… W-We hang out a lot because he’s nice company and we just go for walks and stuff.” Y/n answered, quickly. She hoped they would just leave it at that and move on. Clearly, her “acting” was not good enough for the two insatiable girls because they surely did not leave the conversation at that.

“You are such a liar! Friends do not treat each other the way you two do. Trust me, Y/n, and I promise I am not making fun. I acted the same way with Franz before I realized that life is too short to just keep denying feelings that will not go away. And I tried. I was scared that he didn’t feel the way I did, but now I’m so happy that I took that chance.” Hannah said, reaching out to rest a hand on Y/n’s knee. Y/n pondered on what Hannah said for a moment before quickly shaking her head.

“Even if I did have feelings for Marco… We are going into two different regiments.” Y/n retorted. This was Y/n’s big defense for something that truly has a deeper explanation.

“Listen to me, Y/n. You have two years to love someone and be happy. When the time comes that you have to leave each other, that doesn’t have to mean it’s over. Even if it’s not every day, you could still see each other. And if you didn’t, at least you could say you had fun. I think it would be worth it, don’t you? If you spend your whole life focused on your future, then you’ll miss such beautiful opportunities like this one.” At Hannah’s words, Y/n felt herself grow a little conflicted. Most girls dream of falling in love and, up till now, Y/n did not care about any of that. She had goals of her own. But now, she doesn’t know what to feel because in a way, Hannah was right.

“But, what if I fall in love? A-And he doesn’t feel the same? Or, he leaves and I get hurt?” Y/n asked, feeling herself starting to get choked up, “I’ve never felt this way before. It’s scary because I know what it’s like to lose the people I love…”

The girls grew quiet. And, for a moment, Y/n regretted even saying anything. Until Mikasa piped in.

“Y/n… I understand how you feel… I have lost people I love too, and it is hard to meet new people for the fear that I will grow attached and lose them. Because of this, I feel so desperate to protect the family I do have left. The world is cruel like that. But, you know what? It’s also beautiful. I truly believe that if you don’t give this a chance, you will regret it way more than you will if it doesn’t work out.” She spoke. The girls all looked at her in shock. This was the most Mikasa had really talked, let alone pour her heart out. Y/n assumed she had been referring to Eren when she spoke about her protectiveness. She was always right by his side.

Y/n took some time to think about everything the girls have said. She still was not too sure. She decided that she would wait until she received on more sign.

“What do you think, Annie? Should Y/n go for it?” Mina asked, bringing Annie out of her silent thoughts.

“If she thinks it would make her happy, then she should.” Annie mumbled, giving Y/n her final sign. Y/n sighed and looked up at all of their hopeful faces.

“Okay… I will tell him how I feel.”

~~~

The boys sat around in their barracks, talking casually as the sun went down on their final day off for the week. Marco, Jean, Connie, Reiner, Bertolt, Eren, and Armin, all sat together in a corner of the sleeping quarters. They were having their own conversation about cadet life so far and things they would like to do before they graduate.

“I mean it would be nice if I could get to her, but it’s practically impossible with Ymir around. I can’t even get a word in.” Reiner groaned, complaining about his failed attempts at trying to talk to Christa. The sweet, blonde girl everyone refers to as a “goddess” for the fact that she spreads infectious kindness to everyone she meets. Ymir was a much taller girl, with tomboy tendencies, that is always attached to Christa at the hip.

“Yeah, you’re gonna need good luck for that one, big guy,” Jean laughed, throwing his arm over his knee. “At least you’re trying. Right, Marco? But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would ya?”

Everyone glanced at Marco with knowing looks. He was easily found out about his feelings for Y/n by the other boys, simply for the fact that he would not shut up about her. If he wasn’t talking about her, he was lost in his own thoughts that consisted of her. During the last year, Marco was quick to figure out how he feels about Y/n. It was obvious with how he always wanted to see her and hang out with her. How he looked at her way differently than the rest. He just knew that it wasn’t an option for him as she only ever showed care for her future. He also hadn’t told the guys about this fear yet, fearing they would tease him, or maybe even tell her for him.

“It’s complicated, Jean. She’s going back to the scouts in two years, and I will be going to the interior.” Marco diverted, pouting at Jean for always bringing this up.

“Exactly! That is two whole years you could spend with her. You could even see her while you’re in the MPs. Mikasa said she’s going to the scouts and that hasn’t stopped me.” Jean remarked, avoiding Eren’s dirty look.

“Marco’s old enough to know what’s good for him, Jean. He’s not doing anything wrong.” Eren hissed.

“All I’m saying is that Marco obviously has feelings for her, but he’s gonna miss his chance if he keeps making excuses for his fear.” Jean defended, furrowing his brows to match Eren’s glare.

“Let’s not fight, guys! It’s really not a big deal! I just don’t want to give Y/n any stress, that’s all!” Marco pleaded, trying to disperse the growing tension.

“’I just don’t wanna give Y/n any stress, that’s all!’” Connie mocked, rolling his eyes, “Marco, you obviously like her a lot. Go for it, man. There’s no way she’ll say no. Hey, even if she did, she’d do it in the nicest way possible so it won’t hurt as bad.”

Marco deadpanned. “Gee thanks, Connie! That makes me feel so much better!” He said, sarcastically. Connie shrugged, leaning back on one of the bed posts.

“Ignoring the terrible execution of Connie, Jean, and Eren’s support, I think you should tell Y/n how you feel,” Armin cut in. “If you don’t, then you might continue to hide it for so long that it could affect your guys’ relationship negatively without you even having given yourself a chance. Wouldn’t you rather take a chance then feel sad, knowing you never tried?”

Marco looked down, knowing Armin was right. “What do you guys think?” Marco asked, motioning towards Reiner and Bertolt.

“I agree with Armin, personally. But I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, either.” Bertolt admitted, shrugging. Reiner nodded, “I think you should, if you care about her so much. And you obviously do.”

“Alright then, I’ll give it a try.”

A/N: We’re on a roll now… Here’s Chapter 3!

#aot #aot x reader #attack on titan #marco bodt x reader #marco bott x reader #series #snk #shingeki no kyojin

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lue-arlert · 2 years

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Summary: Your family is life-long servants to the noble Bott family—a servitude full of respect and friendship. But, with this, comes rules and boundaries that you must abide by. One of them, being nothing more than friendship. So when you and the eldest son Marco realize you love each other while he’s in the process of being married off to an even wealthier family, you try to find a way to be together. Though hardships come with secrets, you’re bound and determined to find a way to make things work and convince your families—though different races and classes—that love should come before all else.

WC: 2.3k

Chapter content warnings: Fantasy au, mild pining, mentions of marriage

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Violet Blue

For your kind, it was customary for your clothing to be backless, accommodating for the thin but powerful wings that sat between your shoulder blades. The dress you wore for your father’s 47th name day dinner was no different, the straps sitting firmly on your shoulders and fitting to your torso before billowing out at your hips, flowing down your legs and stopping to brush your toes.

Your wings were currently rolled up tight into your back, making it easier for you to get ready without having them draping down and getting in the way. Your hair was being brushed by your mother, who was humming your childhood lullaby to you while you fiddled with your sandals.

“Do you want a braid or a pony, my dear?” She asked in a low, sugary voice, her own wings akin to yours fluttering against her back.

“Neither,” you replied, slipping your foot into your shoe and wiggling your freshly polished toes with a smile. “It’s still cool enough out that I want it to keep my back warm.”

“Alright, sweetheart.” She pulled back the front of your hair away from your face and began to add a small braid, pinning it back with a faux silver clip shaped like a butterfly. “How about this?”

“That’s fine.” You smiled at her through the vanity mirror, reaching to the trinket box that sat upon it and digging out a necklace. “Can I wear your emerald?”

“Yes,” she smiled and kissed the back of your head before standing and stepping around you to pluck open a small drawer in a separate trinket box. Without another word, she carefully tucked your hair behind your pointed ears, one at a time, while placing delicate jewels on the holes in your lobes, dangling along the back of your jaw.

Your smile widened and you stood when she finished, her necklace laying against your chest and shimmering in the lighting of her room.

She kissed your cheek and wandered to the other side of the room, pulling open a drawer from her armoire and carrying a small, colorfully wrapped package to you. “Your father doesn’t know I’ve made him this.”

“What is it?” You asked curiously, glancing to her hands with a small smile.

“You’ll see.” She winked at you and took your hand, dragging you out of her bedroom and through your home, to the grand dining hall of the noble family of whom you served.

They allowed you usage of the room for the celebration, due to needing the space for extended family. While you had your own dining area in your own home connected to theirs on the west side of the dwelling, it was only enough to seat your immediate family.

You entered the room, finding your cousins and kin readying the table and buffet stations with the food they prepared, and decorating the room with fresh florals and foliage of the season.

Yourself and your mother helped finish, then waited patiently for your father to arrive, just right on time with your brother by his side.

He greeted everyone, kissing you and your mother on the cheek before taking his seat at the head of the table.

The hall was filled with laughter and the clinking of glasses and dishes, and the vague shimmering echoes of the wings of your female family members.

You smiled and chatted with them, enjoying the food and blueberry wine that was served.

As your plate grew emptier, the doors to the hall opened, mostly unnoticed by your family, but you being part of the family that served the Bott family, you were always attentive to the goings-on of the property.

You turned, chewing the bite of food you had in your mouth and watched as the eldest son shyly crept in, staying close to the wall as he wandered through the room, his midnight hair slicked back over his undercut. You made quick eye contact with him, nodding with a ghost of a smirk while knowing he wanted to sneak some of the food back to his room. You knew he could smell it all the way from his chambers, his heightened senses making it difficult for him to not want to investigate.

After turning back to your meal, you continued a conversation with a cousin, comparing the colors of the magic that danced around each of your fingertips.

Later that night, after finishing cleaning the dining hall, you wandered out into the garden to spend some time to yourself before bed with your moon flowers, your favorite part of your garden.

You wandered through the dirt paths slowly, admiring the herbs, vegetables, and flowers along the way, until you came to the gazebo that your great-grandparents built when they first came on to serve the Bott family. It was surrounded by your moon flowers, wrapping along its posts and fluffing out around it as if it had grown between the blooms itself.

With a smile on your face, you pulled the skirt of your dress up a bit so you had room to stretch your legs as you trotted excitedly up the path to the gazebo, your bare feet pittering along the dirt.

You decided to let your wings out, and they unraveled behind you, bouncing softly against your lower back, little sparkles and shimmers dancing off the tips as you hopped along. Once you reached your destination, you stood on one of the steps leading into it and leaned over to touch your fingers beneath a leaf of the flower, smiling gently at it. Soon, the moon would reveal herself and let them bloom.

As you stepped up again, you noticed someone approaching through the opposite side of the gazebo, and smiled at the sight of the slicked back hair and freckles that surrounded gentle brown eyes.

“Hi, Marco,” you chirped pleasantly, taking a seat on the bench with your wings tucked and folded behind you.

He sat across from you and leaned on his elbows, returning a smile to you. “Hi,” your name rolled gently off his tongue. “You out to look at the moon flowers too?”

You nodded and leaned back against the wooden wall behind you, crossing a knee over the other. “Yeah, finally had a night where I didn’t have to clean up after your little brother.”

Marco chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, he’s out with Mother. They went to find more books to add to the library.”

“Ah,” you nodded in reply. “That explains why only you and your father popped in to sneak food.” An eyebrow of yours quirked up with your teasing smirk and Marco laughed again, sitting back with his hands on his knees.

“Yeah, I guess Father had the same idea.” He turned to look out of the gazebo when moonlight shown through, the clouds in the sky drifting away to expose the soft lighting.

You turned quickly to look at one of the vines of flowers that twisted up a pole behind you, smiling widely as the petals began to unfurl and grow towards the moon. Your chest tingled with excitement as it bloomed and you felt Marco approach and stand beside you, looking at the same flower.

“Your flowers are my favorite part of the garden.” His voice was soft as he gazed at the plant, one hand in his pocket and the other reaching over you to touch the soft petals.

“Really?” You looked up at him, craning your neck to see him at his expansive height. Your friend was tall, and was quite intimidating if one didn’t know how gentle of a person he truly was. His broad shoulders and chest indicated his great strength, and those who knew him as part of the clan of werewolves in Jinae understood the true power he held within him.

“Yeah.” His smile was gentle as he looked down at you, voice still quiet and soothing. “Mother and I sneak out sometimes to admire them. You did a great job with them.”

A blush crossed your cheeks, unaware of the effect the flowers you had planted for you making an impact on those you served.

Your heart began to pound as Marco looked down at you. He was your truest friend, having grown up together since you were both very small. Being that your family served his for generations, it was inevitable that friendships would develop. However, you hadn’t anticipated other feelings to develop for him, until your late teens. He had snuck you out after dinner one night to show you a large lizard he found out by the pond in the garden. It was the first time you’d really seen him under moonlight, just days after the full cycle.

He had shorter hair then, and wasn’t as burly or tall, and he was crouched by the pond stones, pointing at the lizard with a wide grin. The way his eyes crinkled with his smile, filled with joy and excitement, had stirred a feeling in your gut that you weren’t familiar with.

From that night on, you were cautious around him, finding that fluttering in your belly coming back every so often, until one day you heard two women in town discussing something similar. This was close to a year after that night, and when you realized that it was love you felt for Marco, you locked yourself away in your room and cried, knowing you would never be able to declare your feelings to him.

Realizing your gaze was locked on his chin, you blinked your eyes a few times and glanced away, looking at a petal that took its time opening up beneath the bright moonlight.

You both were in silence together, only the sound of the nearby pond and its frogs echoing through the garden.

“Hey,” you heard him say your name gently and looked up at him again, feeling your wings fluttering against your back at the sound of his voice.

Marco carefully sat next to you, resting his elbows on his knees and looking down at his clasped hands. “The moon cycle is coming up,” he said plainly, to which you nodded.

“Yes, I’m aware.” You paused, hoping he would elaborate with more information. When he didn’t, you raised an eyebrow curiously and nudged him with your elbow. “And?”

He sighed and sat back, looking to the ceiling of the gazebo and blinking slowly. “It’s the May moon cycle. Summer is coming.”

You realized now what he was going on about. Back in the autumn months, it was announced that after the last moon cycle leading into summer, there would be festivals dedicated to finding Marco a wealthy spouse. It was time for him to be married off, to join families of nobility and possibly royalty.

You’d forgotten all about it. You knew your family was preparing for a festival, making new decorations and meal menus and finding sources of entertainment, but it didn’t occur to you that it was for this reason. Perhaps you were purposefully forgetting that detail.

“Oh,” was all you responded, nodding carefully as you watched him.

Marco sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, his feet fidgeting over the wooden floor. “I don’t know who all is coming yet. Mother and Father won’t tell me.” He turned to you with a soft, almost saddened smile. “You’ll be there, won’t you?”

A quick, sharp chuckle escaped your throat and you nodded. “Well, yes, of course I will be. I have to serve you and your guests, don’t I?”

“Yeah,” he forced a laugh, looking down at his lap. He was quiet for a moment before turning to look at you again. The moonlight only hit the left side of his face, illuminating just a small portion of his freckles and leaving a shining gleam in his tawny iris. “But you’ll be there all night?”

“Of course I will, Marco.” You furrowed your brows in confusion and reached your hand up, hooking it behind him on his shoulder. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

He shrugged gently and brought his hand across him to rest it on yours. “I don’t wanna be there without my best friend around, I guess.” There was a small, pathetic chuckle in his throat. “It’s… gonna be a big night for me. I know technically your opinion won’t matter in the long run with my family, but I want all your feedback to help me figure out who my new spouse should be.”

His hurting smile left a pang in your chest. The idea of watching him get married off to keep money circulating in the family hurt you as well, but… this was just the way of things. You couldn’t intervene, couldn’t talk to his parents, couldn’t do anything to change this from happening.

With a nod, you forced a smile of your own and nudged your shoulder into his before dropping your hand back to your lap. One of your wings fluttered around behind him comfortingly, cupping around his lower back. “Of course I’ll help you choose.”

The two of you sat together for a while longer, the subject changing to your father’s dinner earlier that night. He wanted to pay compliments for the food he snuck, and you assured him that you would pass the information along.

Once it was time for both of you to head to bed, you escorted each other inside, parting in the hall to wander quietly to each of your home sections of the large mansion.

You had changed for bed, a simple satin nightgown over your body, wings curled into your exposed back as you settled into your comforters. Outside, you could hear rain starting to come down.

With a sigh, you reached over to your bedside table and grabbed the music box Madame Bott gifted you for your ninth name day and cranked it until the knob stopped, then sat it back in its place before curling up into your down pillow, sighing at the racing thoughts of Marco’s hand in another’s, soon drifting to sleep in dreams of his smile along to the little tune playing at your side.

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Taglist: @seriouslyprongsies @coffeeforday @lavenderdaisyhoney @sinnerofthewalls @fierydiamond @porcoqalliard @reiner69er @loitering-in-levis-tea-shop @vabthehobbit @paradisdementor @pockcock @killerbananas

#marco bott #marco bott aot #marco bott x reader #marco bott fanfic #aot fanfiction #PWYC

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minx-scribbles · 1 year

Text

all apologies (part two)

warning: nsfw 18+, suggestive language, drug use, alcohol use

pairing: rock band au! college au! armin arlet x fem!reader

synopsis: Y/N meets the band and enjoys a little pregame with Sasha and Connie. But that blondie keeps looking at you...

tags: tequila...

notes: pregaming losers, we love it. i think the next part will be my absolute favorite. tehe

word count: 2.3k

part one | part two | part three coming soon

The drive to The Rocks seemed like it went by in less than a minute when in reality, the drive was fifteen, plus having to stop at the gas station to get Jean his energy drink. Sasha ushered you in, and you picked out a snack to chew on so you wouldn’t get bored at the bar since it was so early and no one would be there for another hour.

The high was still messing with your brain and you didn’t want the panic to rise while you were in public so you didn’t make any eye contact with the cashier, even though your brain was telling you that they one hundred percent know you are higher than a kite right now. Sasha was pretty good at being a trip-sitter, which is a good thing since you are a lightweight with anything.

Once all four of you arrive in the back parking lot of the bar, you all launch yourselves out of the crowded vehicle. You were excited about the fact that you were going to be seeing a live show, and from what Jean and Connie were saying, they all got special back-stage passes. But you knew that they were being sarcastic.

Connie wraps his arm around you and Sasha’s shoulders while Jean leads the way into the back door. The alleyway was surprisingly clean with only a few weeds peeking out from the foundation of the other buildings. The large black door that read, “Employees Only!” in red sent a warning to solicitors.

Jean opens the door and holds it for the three of you and with the dim lighting. The backroom that you were led into is what you guessed was the breakroom for employees. It was lit up softly with multicolored LED lights and decorated with comfy leather seating that you could literally sink into. There were three different doors with different signs that read, “Stage”, “Dressing Rooms”, and “Exit to Club”. Actually being in the building was giving you butterflies; you were nervous to meet the rest of the group. Will they like me? Will they think I am weird? You felt yourself rubbing your hands together nervously.

Sasha knocks you out of it, “Hey, do you need something to drink.” Her golden gaze looked worrisome, “Connie, I knew you letting her take a hit was going to make her sick.” Her eyes stare daggers into the tall man between you two.

Connie doesn’t respond but does roll his eyes at her and leads the group over to one of the inviting couches. You all plop onto the couch with Connie’s arm still wrapped around the both of you; and to be honest, it was grounding you.

Now that you were seated and not as overwhelmed with the new environment, you could hear some music coming from the door that read “Stage”. You notice Jean was on the phone pacing around the room, chattering to someone about how they are late or something. He sighs as he puts his phone in his pocket, “Well that was Floch and he said he won’t be here for another 40 minutes since he has to do something with his girlfriend.”

You finally had the balls - probably the weed - to ask Jean who this person was, “Who’s this Floch dude?”

Connie speaks up this time with an annoyed look, “He’s a douche that doesn’t care about this band. He always puts his wants before the band’s needs and I’ll give it to him, he’s fucking killer as a DJ and a producer so they can’t really risk losing him at all.”

All you can think about is how can they risk losing him if they go to a university full of talented musicians and artists. Like hell, you’d do it if you knew what the hell all those buttons meant.

Jean continues Connie’s explanation, “Floch is amazing, and we have tried to see what other producers go to MIA but not many have the same vision as us. They like their own things and so do we, and Floch seems to genuinely enjoy our music. That’s the main reason why we haven’t thrown him to the side. Plus, we get more people to come when they see that Floch is the DJ while we play.” Makes sense.

Sasha joins in, “Yea, I mean, if he wouldn’t slack all the time I really feel like he would get somewhere with producing. But he’s always with his numerous girlfriends being a man-whore.” Numerous? Damn.

Jean shrugs and walks over to the stage door, “Whatever, he will only be a couple minutes late so it’s better than most times.” He almost leaves all the way before pushing his head back in, “if you guys wanna come watch, you definitely can.”

That makes you perk up and you look at Connie and Sasha with excited eyes. Connie notices and stands up, taking you with him by the hand, “Sure, let’s go see.” The three of you that were on the couch follow the tall man through the door.

Stepping into a small dark entryway - you assume the wing - that leads two ways, you almost trip from something on the ground. You look down to see long black cords connected to the large machines to your sides leading out to the stage to your right. The left led to backstage. You tried your hardest to not step on any of the big black cords laying everywhere. Jean continues to the right towards the stage.

The dance floor inside the club was massive. Two bars sit on opposite sides of the room with the stage sitting in between them in the back of the building. The stage wasn’t disappointing either. It was huge, big enough to hold all of the scattered band equipment that was littering the floor. The band equipment looked picturesque and it was impressive to see such expensive machines owned by university students. But with how Jean bragged about his band, it seems like a reasonable investment.

The musicians on the stage left you breathless. How come this school has such attractive students? The four of them all notice the group and put down their instruments to greet Jean, Sasha, and Connie.

The tallest one with dark, almost black, brown hair and light brown eyes seems to brighten up when he sees Jean. He softly smiles at Jean as they give each other an intimate hug. After they pull away, you notice that the boy has style. He was wearing a mesh jacket that left the eyes wandering over his exposed tan skin. His black ripped jeans were held up with a black belt with silver accents, with black combat boots to complete the look. He had silver wire bracelets and a chain that laid nicely on his chest. His chest was also painted with multiple freckles, along with his face. Noticing his face, you saw he put on the prettiest shimmering highlight and a smokey eye. Jean’s boyfriend was so beautiful, it made you jealous of him.

The other person who had the perfect smokey eye was a girl that was originally at the microphone at the head of the stage. Her black pixie-cut hair was styled to look like a mess but it looked too good on her. Her pale skin had no blemishes other than a cool scar that illustrates her left cheekbone and pretty dark eyes. Her petite, but jacked, figure was emphasized by the sheer thigh-highs and short lace-decorated skirt. Her tall leather-buckled boots fit perfectly with her leather jacket. Black leather garters hook onto the thigh-highs, making her thighs look even better. She seemed shy but nice, giving you a small smile.

The man who had his arm around her shoulder fit her whole aesthetic. He had a longer leather jacket on, and like Jean’s boyfriend, that left little to the imagination from having no shirt on. His lightly tanned skin was a portrait. Tattoos that were so close together, there seemed to be barely any room for more tattoos. A silver chain dusted his broad chest along with one singular black bracelet and black nail polish to pull it all together. His baggy jeans covered his pointed leather boots. He had multiple ear piercings, including a bar on his right. He also had a cool black septum piercing, making his light green eyes pronounced. He seemed cool, but a little smug. The smirk that he was wearing kind of wanted to make you slap him, but he was too pretty for that.

The last one looked the prettiest to you. With layered blonde hair with brown roots and a matching scruff on his jaw. His bright blue eyes looked shaded, but his pink lips spread to give you a kind, bright smile. He didn’t have any piercing other than a pair of silver diamonds. His pretty pale skin was covered by a tight-fitted black tank top that stretched on his broad shoulders. His loose fitted, worn-out jeans hug low on his narrow hips. His hands had small tattoos with multiple silver and black rings. Black combat boots peek from the hem of the jeans. This man stood out among the other darker-aesthetic people in the room.

Sasha took the liberty of introducing you to all of her friends, “Guys this is Y/N, be nice or I’ll beat the shit out all of you.” Everyone smiles but the tall boy holding onto the pretty girl rolls his eyes. Sasha continues her introductions, “the one that is loving up on Jean is his boyfriend Marco, and that couple is Mikasa and her douchebag boyfriend Eren. This blondie is Armin.”

Everyone crowds around you like you're a new puppy, asking you questions about what your major is and where you originally lived. You don’t mind too much, everyone was just too attractive, oops. “Well I used to live in a smaller sized city, it isn’t too far from here. I realized I wanted to do something bigger with my art so I decided to come here to study.”

Marco asks if you have liked MIA, “So far, I’ve loved it. Seeing all these creative ass people helps me let loose and destress.”

Eren quips, “Plus you will be letting loose in a few minutes when we start playing. Trust, it’ll help, especially since we have the best singers at MIA.” His arm pulls Mikasa in closer and a light pink blush dusts her face. Marco also gives Eren a small smile.

From what you have seen, you wouldn’t doubt it. Their set-up just looked veteran level and their outfits look so effortlessly perfect on the group. The black drum set, although it had the best shine you've ever seen, had white paint splattered on the sides and black lettering with the band name Embers and Stones on the front. The guitars and bass were similar but had different phrases and stickers littered all over them. Even their large speakers in the corners had multiple stickers on them; some of them with memes and some with band names.

Armin speaks up, “Speaking of playing, we should probably start preparing for a crowd. The bar opens in like 20 minutes.” All the members agree and they give their goodbyes to you, Connie, and Sasha. Connie leads the three of you off stage to the bar to start off with the pregaming.

Once at one of the bars with three bartenders who seem to be preparing for a large party, Sasha orders shots, “A round of three tequila shots, please.” The bartender gives a nod and walks away to start cutting limes.

Your stomach churns at the thought of tequila, “Damn Sasha, tequila this early? It’s only like 8:45.” You internally shed a small tear.

Connie and Sasha give each other a look and smirk at you. “Oh, this is just the beginning sweetheart,” Connie says to you while putting his hand on your shoulder. “Sasha and I know how to start a party, and end a party.” He pulls away to grab his phone from his pocket, getting a text.

Sasha nods, “Yea, once it starts it doesn’t end until one of us blacks out.” That was hopefully sarcastic, but we’ll see.

In three minutes of Sasha and you talking about the best types of liquor to take shots of and Connie stressfully texting, the bartender arrives with three blue translucent shot glasses full with salt and lime hanging onto the rim.

Sasha gets so excited that it reminds you of a toddler seeing its favorite toy. But Sasha quickly turns over to Connie and grabs onto his phone, “Stop texting her, she’s obviously still being a bitch and treating you like shit. Let loose man.”

Connie looks at his empty hands and back at Sasha with a mock-shocked look, “Sasha it’s not like that anymore. She’s just… going through it right now.” You just sit there witnessing the confusing argument.

“Since when have you had a night where you weren’t there to comfort her while you were OUT. Like at a PARTY. With your FRIENDS. She doesn’t let you do shit with your friends ever. She just wants you to be obsessed with her 24/7,” Sasha states back while holding out his shot. “Take the shot and I’m holding onto your phone for the night. Hitch can come later.”

Connie looks defeated as he takes the small glass, “Fine but if she goes berserk, that’s not on me.”

Sasha shrugs and puts his phone in her tiny purse that barely holds her necessities. She grabs the remaining two shots and hands one to you, “To a stellar night!”

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angelsdevils · 4 months

Text

A Titan's Heartache: Marcel x Reader Master List

key: ♡ sfw // ☆ nsfw // ♤ Pay attention to titles // ☁ angst//🖤depression mentions

Disclaimer: All characters featured in the story have been aged up for the purpose of the narrative. In the original Attack on Titan (AOT) series, characters, including the main cast, stair their military at the age of 12. However, in this fanfiction, the characters are older individuals. The decision to age up the characters was made to ensure that the events and themes explored in the story align with a more mature and responsible context.

For reference, in the original Attack on Titan storyline, the year 845 is when the story begins, and Marcel for example is approximately 12 years old when he dies. But in this fanfiction, in the year 845 Marcel is 18 before the main story starts. When the main story starts Marcel is 20 years old (2 year time skip) from the prologue.

WARNING: Keep in mind there are gonna be some spoilers in this story if you aren't caught up then let me know and I will remove you from the tag list. The tag list is also from people who wanted to be tagged in my previous AOT stories.

Plot: Marcel Galliard, a former accomplice in breaking Wall Maria, meets the reader during the 104th Regiment Corps training. Despite falling in love, Marcel bears the burden of leading a secret mission that could harm his new connections. As their romance blossoms, Marcel faces internal conflict between duty and love. He is now faced with consequences of his past actions, and there is a chance that it could ruin the love he has and the friends he created.

If you wanna be tagged, let me know <3

Tag List: @missmadness123 @galactict3a @pseudophyllus @staymoarmyzen @black0pirate0cat @rl800 @reiners-milkbiddies @bobateasilverpearl @sapphire-gemm @beansofskittles @cockonoi @mochalate @sunaraii

Master List | Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 |

©[@angelsdevils] all rights reserved. none of my posts or stories should be modified, reposted, etc. I do not own the character or the fanart, but I own the plots of these stories. All fanart goes to their appropriate owners.

#AOT #marcel galliard #Marcel x reader #Marcel Galliard x Reader #Eren Yeager #Mikasa Ackernman #Levi Ackerman #Porco Galliard #Reiner Braun #annie leonhart #armin arlert #bertholdt hoover #Attack on Titan #Jean Kirstein #Marco Bott #A Titan's Heartache #angelsdevils

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sugarreiner · 2 years

Text

Comforting Jean || Jean Kirstein x Reader Headcanons

Jean is always needy for your attention when you’re around, so it’s easy for you to understand that’s something’s wrong when he’s not

It always breaks your heart when you find him all alone in your bedroom, eyes closed with his hands on his ears.

Seeing his pretty face without his beautiful smile hurts so bad that you always take him in your arms and he’s always so thankful to you for this

« I’m okay baby, don’t worry… »

But he’s not okay

Marco’s death still haunts him…

« I’m here Jean… I’m here for you… »

He always wraps his arms around you and pulls you as close to him as possible, nuzzling his face in the crook of your neck as you caress his long soft hair

« Let it go Jean… Just let it go »

And your words are always enough…

You can never prevent yourself from crying too when he burst in tears in your arms, holding you tight

His sobs and his trembling shoulders break your heart into a thousand of pieces

His pain is also yours

You’ll never get used to see him cry like this

« I miss him so much… »

« I know Jean… I miss him too… »

« Never leave me Y/n… I wouldn’t survive… »

Feeling his tears running down your neck is the most painful sensation to you… you love him so much…

« I’m here Jean… and I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never leave you… »

« I love you so much »

You spend the next hour babying him, kissing his forehead, caressing his hair and his back to comfort him until his calms down and eventually falls asleep in your arms

You’re always happy when he finally sleeps, lying on your chest with your arms around him

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crazychaoticizzy · 12 days

Text

TRACK 2: The Bends

Following their high school careers, the original five in the band Heart Attack begin rising through the ranks. Despite their slow ascent to success, they make it in the end. Even with everything that went wrong.

EREN X READER X JEAN

CONTENT: multipart fic, rock band au, slow burn (I mean it), love triangle, angst, mentions of drinking, violence, blood, mentions of guns, major character death

WORD COUNT: 11.6k

series masterlist

AOT masterlist

<< previous part

EREN: I brought it up in my mom’s garage when we were all freshmen, I think. We were all playing a game together and Mikasa came in. I wanted to do it then because all of us were there, and it had been forever since we’d all been in the same spot so when would we get that chance again?

Armin, I remember, seemed super reluctant. I don’t know if money was a problem though, or if he genuinely didn’t want to do it. I never found out, either.

ARMIN: Yeah, I wanted to do it, it sounded fun. But as a hobby. I didn’t want to do it often. Eren wanted to turn it into a career, and . . . I just couldn’t do that.

JEAN: The problem with the idea was we were all dirt poor. Eren was the only one living with a family that wasn’t working their asses off to make ends meet or living paycheck to paycheck because his dad was a doctor.

ARMIN: We brought that up. I told him, “Not everyone can do what they want on a whim.” It was the end of that conversation, but on my sixteenth birthday a week later, Eren had rented me an acoustic guitar.

CONNIE: After that, we all knew that we were doing this, whether we wanted to or not.

Armin groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. He hated this. He hated coming to Eren’s house every single day when he could be working and trying to help his grandfather get out of debt.

Eren was explaining how to play the chords to him (since when did he know how to play?), but Armin wasn’t listening. He stared at Eren’s hands with an absent expression as they moved, switching dates he could work around in his head and running through the long list of assignments due in his mind.

He swore he was going to die of stress before he even turned eighteen.

“Dude, if I’m boring you just say that.”

Armin hummed, moving his gaze to Eren’s face and the teasing smile that played on his lips. “What?”

“You’re spacing out. Didn’t know I was that uninteresting.”

Armin took a moment to process Eren’s words before shaking his head. “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Oh.” Eren dropped his hands from the guitar’s neck. “Something wrong?”

Armin shook his head, running a hand over his face and through his hair. “Just tired.”

The day before had been one of the rare days where Armin didn’t need to be at Eren’s house. He’d worked the entire afternoon, switching jobs at about 6:30 before going home after midnight.

But after he returned home he remembered the pile of class work he needed to catch up on and ended up passing out at his desk without making a dent in it.

His days had started blurring together. He couldn’t remember anything taught in class and his reaction time to things was getting slower and slower the longer he went without sleep.

He hated everything.

“Do you need help with your work? I could do it for you.” Eren put the guitar to the side, leaning closer to Armin.

Armin took a second to respond before shaking his head. “No. I don’t want your failing ass to tarnish my perfect grade.”

“Well that perfect grade is gonna get bad at the rate you’re doing things anyway.” Eren paused. “Sorry.”

Armin waved him off. “It’s fine. It’s whatever.” He groaned and laid back on the concrete floor. It was cold, and Armin thought this must have been the best thing to ever happen to him.

He let his eyes close for a minute. Or two. He wanted to sleep, and at that moment nothing could have felt more comfortable than the hard floor beneath him.

Eren shoved Armin’s arm, making him hum in irritation and open his eyes. Armin turned his head, finding that Eren was now lying beside him.

“What?”

“I’m serious, Armin. Do you need help? Even if I’m not the one to do it, I’m sure one of the guys would be happy to.”

Armin shook his head, waving Eren off. “It’s fine. I’ve been thinking about dropping out anyway.”

“What?” Eren sat up, hands squeezing his knees as he looked down at Armin. “Why?”

“It’s just too much. My grandpa’s behind on payments and he got an eviction notice the other day. He tried hiding it, but you know him.”

Eren nodded. He knew that Thomas Arlert was holding onto the last strands of health he had for Armin’s sake. The old man tended to have things slip from his mind easily, so what likely happened was that Thomas hid the eviction notice and forgot where he’d placed it, making him ask Armin without thinking.

“We can help you guys out.”

Armin shakes his head. “We’re fine, Eren. I have it under control.”

What Eren wanted to tell Armin was that he shouldn’t need to have it under control. He wanted to tell Armin that he should be living, not struggling to scrape by. He wanted to tell Armin that he didn’t need to do everything by himself.

But Eren had said all those things before, in one way or another. Some of them he had said more than once. But every single time, Armin shot him down. It was clear to Eren that Armin didn’t want help.

That never stopped him from offering, though.

“Okay. But if you ever need help you know we’ll help you.”

Armin hummed in acknowledgement, closing his eyes again. Eren didn’t say anything else. Instead, he got up to put the guitar back in its box and left Armin on the floor. Eren walked into his house to retrieve a thin blanket, walking back out to gently place it over Armin’s sleeping form.

Eren walked back into his house, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he propped open the garage door and sat at the dining room table. He could see Armin’s golden hair from where he sat, and he held his phone up to his ear as it rings.

“Yeah?”

“Hey, Armin’s thinking about dropping out.”

Jean was silent on the other line. “What?”

Eren made a sound of affirmation. “He said he and his grandpa are about to get evicted.”

Eren heard Jean silently curse. He heard the rustling of blankets and another questioning voice that sounded suspiciously like Marco. “Is he seriously thinking about doing that? What about wanting to be valedictorian?”

Eren shrugged as if Jean could see him. “I don’t know, Jean. But he’s on the brink of failing anyway, so I don’t think he’d reach that goal even if he stayed in school.”

Jean huffed. Eren heard more rustling and the soft clanking of metal. “Alright. I’ll call Connie. See if we can scrape something together to help out.”

Eren nodded. He didn’t say anything else for a moment, just listening to the soft shuffling around coming from Jean’s end. Again, he heard a voice that sounded a lot like Marco’s, but he didn't comment on it. Something inside of him always said they were more than friends.

Jean’s voice finally came through again. “Okay, I’ll call Connie now.”

“Okay.”

The call fell silent. Eren expected Jean to hang up, but when he didn’t, he lowered his phone to press the red button before Jean spoke again.

“Armin’s gonna be okay, okay? We’re all gonna be okay.”

Eren nodded. “I hope so.”

Another moment of silence followed before it became so suffocating Eren had to hang up. He sighed, standing up from the table and walking up the stairs to retrieve his headphones from his room.

He got a text from Marco moments later. Marco had sent multiple photos of his schoolwork for Eren to copy down onto Armin’s papers. After digging through his bag, Eren found the assignments organized neatly in a folder and started copying everything down.

While he was at it, he tried to improve his own grades.

—

Armin dropped out two months later

He didn’t tell anyone. He simply stopped showing up to school. He stopped going over to Eren’s house, and he tried his absolute best to avoid everyone.

He didn’t want them to be disappointed, especially after they had done so much to help him.

The Arlert’s finances were better. They were no longer living paycheck to paycheck or were behind on any payments, but at what cost? Armin spent all of his free time working, picking up whatever hours he could at his three jobs and accepting the occasional offer of whatever people needed him to do in exchange for money. He had no more social life and no time for himself. When he wasn’t working, he was sleeping.

It seemed like he had completely abandoned his friends. But one day, a warm Tuesday in the summer when his schedules aligned perfectly and he didn’t have work, he walked to Eren’s house. He followed the sound of music playing and found that there were people gathered around the open garage.

Connie, as excited and energetic as ever, smacked his wooden sticks against the drums, keeping the time by tapping his foot against the floor. Marco’s hands moved across the keyboard, occasionally switching a couple knobs at the top to change the sound. Armin watched Jean’s fingers move across the fingerboard of his guitar with ease, and he watched Eren’s lips move centimeters from the microphone.

They sounded good. Maybe not hit material, like The Beatles or Queen, but they had the right sound. They kept the same consistent, obvious beat and overlaid their own tracks over it. They were in tune, and surprisingly were all working well together.

Armin stayed to the side. He stood behind most of those gathered around and just listened to the music flooding down the street, so loud you could probably hear it a few blocks over.

When they finally stopped, they were all sweating. Eren smiled out at the people watching and bowed dramatically as sweat dripped from his chin. Jean heaved heavy breaths beside him, turning to Marco to flash his teeth with a look that said, We can actually do this.

Armin couldn’t help the soft smile that stretched across his lips. He clapped with everyone else, watching as his friends began unplugging the amps and speakers and everyone else began to walk away one by one, a few dropping coins or bills into an open guitar case.

When Eren finally noticed Armin standing there, a wide grin crossed his face. He let go of the mic, which would have fallen to the ground if Jean hadn’t caught it by the stand, and sprinted across the driveway to Armin. Eren knocked into him with so much force it almost pushed them to the ground, but he didn’t care because it felt like Eren hadn’t seen Armin in forever.

They stayed like that for a moment. Eren practically squeezed the life out of Armin before Jean yelled, “Get a move on, loser. You’re not the only one that missed Armin.”

“Fuck off, Jean.” Eren gave one last squeeze before releasing the blond. Eren flashed him one last smile before he went back up the driveway. Armin followed suit, looking around at the set up they had.

There were actual drums now. It was no longer just boxes placed on sticks for Connie to practice hitting, there were drums. The guitars were different, too. Jean had a sleek black bass with a dark red strap instead of the acoustic guitar he shared with Armin, and Marco had a proper set up for his keyboard.

Armin’s lips tilted up. He liked seeing this. He liked seeing that even if he wasn’t there, everyone still continued with what they wanted.

He was glad to know his absence wouldn’t be an obstacle, because he was sure he would never be able to join them.

Armin turned his head when Connie held something out to him, his lips curved up in a smile that showed all of his teeth. When Armin looked down at his hand, he saw that Connie was holding out an instrument case.

Armin’s brows furrowed as Connie bent over to leave it at Armin’s feet. Armin kneeled beside Connie and unlatched the locks, opening the case to reveal a vintage Gibson SG. Armin’s jaw fell open, and he stared at the cherry stain of the wood.

“We found it at a thrift store,” Marco said. He walked over, kneeling down beside Connie. “It was a crazy markdown. Only like thirty bucks, I think. We looked online and found a lot for over a thousand dollars. Isn’t that crazy?”

Armin nodded. He closed his mouth and looked up at Marco. “Who’s it for?”

“It’s for you.”

Armin blinked, registering Marco’s words. “What? No, I-I’m not part of this. This is all you guys.”

“You want to be in the band with us though, right?” Connie asked. He sat with his legs crossed, leaning forward. “You can't be in the band if you don’t play an instrument or something, and everyone knows you can’t sing.”

Armin let out a soft chuckle. “I can’t, guys. You know how busy I am.”

“We aren’t doing this without you.” Eren plopped himself on the ground beside Armin, aggressively hitting Armin’s shoulder. “This is all of our thing. We do this together. Right, Jean?”

“Huh?” Jean looked up from his phone, still tapping at it as he looked at where everyone was gathered on the floor. “What?”

“Just say yes.”

“Last time I said yes I was pinned to the floor and Connie drew two dicks pointing at each other like guns on my forehead. With Sharpie.”

They laughed, and Armin felt out of place. He didn’t remember that happening, so it must have been recently.

“The point is”—Eren turned his attention back to Armin—“you’re part of this. We started this with you and we’ll be damned if you aren’t there with us when we keep going.”

Eren took Armin by the hand, intertwining their fingers and giving it a firm squeeze. And then Connie took Armin’s other hand, doing the same thing. And then Marco reached over and squeezed Armin’s knee. Jean, of course, was not paying attention until Eren threw a stray pen at his head and forced him to kneel beside them and squeeze Armin’s shoulder.

“It’s the five of us, guys.” Connie smiled, looking up to meet each of their gazes. “Now, until we’re too old to be jumping around on stage, promise?”

Eren squeezed Armin’s hand tighter, as if doing so would pass the unspoken message along to Connie. “Promise. We’re Heart Attack, right?”

That was new, too. Last Armin knew, the band didn’t have a designated name. It had barely been two months since he stopped showing up and already it felt like so much had changed.

Jean squeezed Armin’s shoulder tighter, reaching over with his other hand to squeeze Marco’s. “We’re gonna be the best fucking rock band in the world. The best of the century.”

If only it were that easy.

—

CONNIE: Man, I could not tell you what happened those last few years before we moved. I don’t think anyone can, actually. I just remember that it was stressful as hell.

JEAN: We didn’t really do much. We were still in school and starting tog eat our first jobs, so we were mostly trying to balance everything out without looking like zombies.

EREN: We moved to Berlin almost right out of high school. It probably wasn’t the best idea, but I don’t regret any of it.

“Do you guys really think we’ll make it?” Jean asked, laying back on the hotel bed with his arms crossed behind his head. “I mean, we’ve been living in this hotel for like a week and a half.”

“It’ll come,” Eren said. He scrolled through the different channels on the TV, eventually stopping on an American program. “We just need time. We need to find jobs that’ll keep us afloat for a bit. And then we’ll start our gigs up again.”

“Well if we don’t find somewhere soon our instruments are gonna get ruined in the van.”

They fell silent, the only sound being the water from the shower head in the bathroom.

Eren looked around for spots where they could put their instruments and equipment, but didn’t find a single empty space. The room was too crowded with all of their suitcases, and even if they didn’t have their own luggage there was no space big enough to put much.

“We’ll find a place,” Marco said. “We can start looking tomorrow. Surely there’s an apartment or something available for rent, right?”

Jean blew air out from his mouth. “I hope so.”

They were silent the rest of the night. They took their turns showering after Connie and started winding down. The TV still silently played, though the channel had been changed as each person took control of the remote.

It was half past midnight when Armin came into the room, his hair disheveled and his eyes tired from work. His black polo was untucked and one of his pockets turned out when he reached in it to grab something.

He brought out a piece of paper so folded it took him a moment to open it. When he did, he walked between the beds, careful not to step on Eren, and flicked on a light.

“Dude, it is past midnight. Turn that off,” Jean complained, pulling the blankets over his head.

“You weren’t sleeping anyway.” Armin whispered, careful not to wake Connie or Marco up. He kicked off his shoes and sat on the other bed with his legs crossed. “But look at this.”

He held the paper out. Jean stared at Armin with dead eyes before Eren reached up from his place on the floor and yanked it out of his hold. Eren held it up as he read it, holding it in the light so he could see.

“Live music performances?” Eren looked up at Armin as he nodded. “At Quasimodo? I thought they only did booked gigs with bigger artists.”

“They want to try something different. Apparently a few record companies approached them and asked them to do this,” Armin explained. He stood up from the bed and walked across the room to his suitcase, kneeling down to grab a change of clothes. “From what I overheard, these labels are looking for the next big thing. They want something new because people are getting tired of hearing the same music. It’s in a month or so, but they want to start getting people now.”

Eren nodded as Armin grabbed a bag and his glasses and stepped into the bathroom. The sound of water hitting the wall soon filled the room as Eren sat up and leaned against the bed.

“This is a terrible idea,” Jean said. Eren looked up from the paper. “I mean, yeah it’ll give us more recognition, but Quasimodo is a jazz bar or something like that. People don’t go there to hear what we do.”

“But if it’s an open night then people should be expecting all kinds of music anyway,” Eren countered. He set the paper to the side, laying back down. “People will give us a chance. We just have to take it.”

Jean exhaled, closing his eyes and turning over. “Whatever,” he mumbled.

It was completely silent moments later, save for the muffled sound of Armin’s shower.

Eren couldn’t take it. He put his AirPods back in his ears and laid back down, pressing play on his phone before closing his eyes and trying to drift off.

When Armin walked back into the room, his hair damp and falling in his eyes, everyone had fallen asleep. He tiptoed around Eren, cautious not to make any noise, and slipped under the covers beside Connie. He reached over to flick off the light, checking his phone once more before turning over and going to sleep.

Thomas hadn’t texted or called since Armin moved. Of course, Carla checked in on him daily and gave Armin updates, but it wasn’t the same. He wanted to hear from his grandfather himself that he was doing fine.

Armin fell asleep hours later, his mind haunted with thoughts of how his grandfather was doing.

—

You joined Heart Attack in Berlin early on. Did they ask you to?

MIKASA: No, actually. Well, some of them wanted me to come along if I wanted, but I remember Eren called me one night and said very clearly, “You shouldn’t throw your life away just to follow us. There are better things for you in Shiganshina.” He kind of put a lot of emphasis on the fact that he didn’t really want me to follow, even if he didn’t explicitly say it.

I thought about it a lot. I talked to my mom about it and she just told me to do what I wanted. She said she had the store under control and that I didn’t need to worry about keeping it afloat, because that was the reason I had been so hesitant. A couple weeks after they had moved, I followed.

When Mikasa knocked on the door, Armin was the one that answered.

He wore a white T-shirt and blue pajama pants that made Mikasa think he had just gotten out of bed. His blond hair was touseled and he wore his glasses. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he greeted Mikasa, not quite registering who it was until she pushed her bangs out of her face.

“Mikasa? I thought you were staying in Shiganshina.” Armin leaned against the doorframe, resting his head against it and crossing his arms.

Mikasa shrugged. She shifted her weight and crossed her arms as well, fidgeting with one of her backpack straps. “Well, I never really decided, but I wanted to come here with you guys.”

Armin slowly nodded. He glanced over Mikasa, taking in her pulled back hair and the way she kept shifting her weight like she had done something she wasn’t supposed to.

He thought about Eren for a moment, and how he might react when he saw that Mikasa had traveled the two hours from Shiganshina to join them. He knew that Eren wanted her to stay in Shiganshina—he claimed it was because Mikasa would have a better life there, but Armin thought it was more for his own benefit.

He straightened himself, opening the door wider. “Sorry. I’ve just been standing here. Uhm, do you want to come in?”

Mikasa nodded, quietly thanking Armin as she grabbed her suitcase by the handle and stepped into the apartment.

She looked around as Armin closed the door behind her. It seemed like he was the only one home, based on how quiet it was.

There was no furniture. Well, there was, but the only pieces were a table and three chairs. Majority of the space was taken up by Connie’s drums and Marco’s keyboard. Jean and Armin’s instruments were packed away in their cases and set to the side.

Mikasa raised an eyebrow in question and looked at Armin, who was locking the door. “No furniture?”

Armin hummed, looking at her and then their living room. “Yeah, we, uh, we can’t really afford a lot. But we have a table? You can put your stuff there.”

Mikasa slowly nodded, letting out a soft laugh. She moved her suitcase beside the table leg and shrugged off her backpack.

“Are you hungry or something? We have cereal, probably.” As Armin spoke he moved around the table and started opening cabinets and the fridge, listing off a few items. “I can make you a sandwich, or leftover pizza. A salad, maybe? I don’t know what we have.”

Mikasa shook her head. “No, I’m alright. Where’s everyone else?”

Armin shut the fridge door and leaned against it. “Work. They all have morning or day shifts.”

Mikasa nodded again. The two of them exchanged awkward questions that only required a short answer for five minutes before they finally got back into their old groove. By the time Jean, the first to get off his shift, had come home, Armin and Mikasa were seated at the dinghy wooden table and laughing.

Jean was followed by Marco an hour later, and Connie thirty minutes after that. They moved to the floor where the five of them sat in a circle with cold leftover pizza from the fridge until Eren came home.

And when he did, the wave of annoyance that washed over him was clear.

It wasn’t obvious or boisterous, but the way his grip tightened on the doorknob when he saw Mikasa told her all she needed to know. He walked further into the apartment with heavy steps and closed the door behind him with more force than necessary.

The five of them quieted, watching as Eren stalked across the living room and disappeared down a hallway. No one dared speak a word even while Eren came back out, already changed into a new set of clothes, and began moving around the apartment like no one was there.

Eren eventually looked up at them after he’d made himself a bowl of greek yogurt and blueberries. He held eye contact with each one of them for at least five seconds before furrowing his eyebrows and shrugging. “What? Can I not eat?”

Jean cleared his throat, making Marco glare at him. The tension in the room steadily builds until Connie couldn’t take it cracked a stupid joke that got him teased by Jean and Armin. Mikasa softly laughed along, eyeing Eren as he settles between Armin and Connie.

When he looked up at her, she averted her gaze. Instead of looking at him, she looked at the door. The wall. Marco. Anywhere but Eren.

Her gaze caught on a piece of paper haphazardly taped to the wall. Mikasa squinted to read the blocky text on it.

“What’s going on at Quasimodo?” she asked, looking around the circle. She couldn’t read the finer text below the large letters that spelled out OPEN NIGHT.

Armin hummed in question, looking over at the piece of paper. “Oh, they’re having a night where small artists can go and play for free. It’s gonna last a couple days. We’re gonna be performing on the nineteenth.”

Mikasa hummed as Armin looked at the clock—the only other item decorating the apartment. He stood up and dusted off his pants before excusing himself and going down the same hall Eren had earlier. When he came back, he wore a black polo with the restaurant’s logo above his left breast. He grabbed his keys before saying goodbye to everyone and leaving.

Mikasa assumed Armin must have been the middle friend between her and everyone else because when he left she felt like the four others were staring at her, waiting for her to say something.

“So . . .” Mikasa drew the word out, thinking of what to say. “How has everything been going?”

Jean blew out a breath, leaning back against the wall. “Good enough. We have the space to practice but nowhere to play.”

“That’s just because we haven’t been looking in the right places,” Eren said. He turned his gaze to Jean, one of his eyebrows slightly raised. “We just need to get our name out there. Then people will pay attention to us.”

“People won’t pay attention to us if they don’t know who we are, dipshit.” Jean rolled his eyes. Eren shot him a glare that made it seem like he might kill him later.

Silence fell over the room again. In those few moments, Mikasa’s thoughts wandered to the Instagram page she’d started for her mom’s business and how online sales had shot up.

“Why don’t you get an Instagram?” she suggested. “Or like, Twitter or TikTok or whatever. Some kind of social media to promote yourselves.”

Mikasa felt like shrinking in on herself with the way their eyes turn to her. She felt like their gazes were scrutinizing her, almost judging her for speaking out.

She knew they would never. She only started feeling that way after no one spoke for what feels like hours.

“That’s a good idea,” Marco said. He switched his gaze to meet Eren’s. “Lots of people use it to promote themselves, why don’t we?”

He held Eren’s gaze for a moment. It seemed as though the two were having an argument in their thoughts until finally, Eren exhaled.

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

The topic changed after that. To what, Mikasa didn’t know. What she did know was that she had been indirectly designated to create and (probably) manage the new account, and then later asked directly by Connie since, as he put it, “You’re the only one with the divine, God-given level of intellect and marketing skills to do a fantastic job at managing us.”

She put little effort into it. She’d gone to the bathroom while the remaining four talked about going to bed and as she stood at the sink after washing her hands, made the account heartattack5 on both Instagram and TikTok. She made the profile picture a silly photo she had taken years ago of the five of them on Halloween. In it, they held their hands out and had their eyes closed as if doing an exorcism of sorts. On the floor in front of them was a drawing of a zodiac from a show Mikasa had long forgotten about.

Maybe it wasn’t the best profile picture, but it worked until she could get a better one.

heartattack5 also wasn’t the best username, but she came up with it in the spur of the moment. She knew no one else would have better ideas, so she just went with it. As she was leaving the bathroom she began finding everyone’s profiles and following them.

On her way out of the bathroom, she bumped into Eren.

By that point, the light in the living room was turned off and the only thing brightening the hallway were the slivers that came from beneath two of the bedroom doors and a weak night light that was plugged into the wall.

They stared at each other for a moment. Eren’s piercing green gaze sliced through her, reading her every thought and learning her darkest secrets.

“I told you not to follow us,” he said. He spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the others that had already retreated to their rooms.

“You don’t tell me what to do.” Mikasa slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. She shifted her weight to one of her legs and crossed her arms. “I came here of my own volition, not because of you.”

“And yet this was the first place you came. You didn’t even go to wherever you’re staying first to drop off your bags.”

“Well.” She ended it there. She had tried coming with a defense to whatever Eren might throw at her while she was driving, but her efforts had proven fruitless. Instead of retaliating, she shrugged.

Eren sighed, running a hand through his hair. It had grown out a bit, the ends now resting at his jaw. “Please go home. I don’t want to drag you down with us if we aren’t successful. You have something guaranteed at home.”

“It’s not home without you guys,” she said, though it sounded like she had added guys as an after thought. There was an awkward pause between the final two words, and hearing it made Eren pause.

He looked at her, pressing his lips together. He knew Mikasa tended to lean towards people’s whims and do what they wanted, but goddamn she could be stubborn as hell when she wanted something. She stood in front of him, her feet planted so firmly in place Eren didn’t think a tornado could move her.

He finally exhaled and breathed out, averting his gaze to the seam where the hallway ceiling met the wall. “Fine. Whatever.”

Mikasa bit the inner corner of her lip to keep from smiling. She gave a soft nod, tilting her head down so Eren didn’t see the look of triumph on her face.

She moved to walk around him and gather her things, ready to get out of their hair for the night and sleep in her car or find a hotel, but Eren gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She could feel its warmth through her sweater, and she turned her head.

“Just stay. You’re already here.”

“I don’t want to impose,” she whispered, though after she said it she realized how useless it was to say it. She had already come by completely unannounced and likely overstayed her visit by a few hours.

“It doesn’t matter. You can sleep with me in my room.”

Mikasa stared at him, and for a moment it seemed like she was the one reading Eren’s thoughts and learning his secrets. She gave a soft nod, turning to follow Eren as he opened his bedroom door and flicked on the light.

Unsurprisingly, it was bare. There was nothing up on the walls and two of Eren’s suitcases are open with clothes pouring out of them. There was a pile of boxes in one corner, and in the opposite was a mattress without a frame.

Mikasa held back a chuckle. Eren closed the door behind her, leaving it open a finger’s width, before going to lie down on the bed.

Mikasa awkwardly stood for a moment before joining him. In her mind she made a barrier that neither she nor Eren were to cross that night, and was adamant about keeping it. She laid on her stomach and turned her head away from him, her arms beneath the pillow. Eren laid on his back, staring at the ceiling and thinking, This is why those fuckers gave me the biggest room for myself.

—

In the following days, heartattack5 had gained almost two thousand followers.

Mikasa tried posting consistently. She stayed up at all hours of the day filming content with her phone and then editing the clips in the late hours of the night.

She’d changed the profile picture to one where Connie sat at his drums, Eren sitting in front of them while the other three leaned against Connie. She tried to get video of all of them playing their respective instruments and nicely framed photos to post.

She’d made a routine. She would wake up at the crack of dawn, around the time Armin returned home from his shift, and shower. She’d eat breakfast and spend a couple minutes each morning either pacing around the empty living room or laying on the floor and staring at the ceiling or scrolling on her phone. When the first person woke up—Marco, usually—she would chat with them for a bit before she began recording and taking pictures.

As the others woke up she would record them, too. She found that people enjoyed short slice of life videos alongside the more planned ones, so some days she would just record an exchange between all of them for hours.

Then, she had dinner in the room she shared with Eren. She sat crisscross on the floor and sifted through the video she’d taken while she ate. She had a pile of drafts saved up in both Instagram and TikTok, and she was always adding more.

Then, later in the night when she came out from the room to bid Armin a good shift and talked at the dinghy table with everyone else, she finally put her phone down. She’d leave it in the room on the charger and tried her best to push follows and views and likes and comments from her mind while she talked to her friends.

When they would start going to bed one by one, Eren was always the last to leave. He stayed awake with her until she was ready to go to bed, even if his eyes were dropping and he kept jerking awake. She’d finally laugh and say she’s going to bed even if she wasn’t tired, just so Eren could get the sleep he needed.

And at night, when Eren was snoring so loudly it practically shook the walls, Mikasa unlocked her phone and checked the account. When the numbers of new people were low, it left a harsh blow to her self esteem.

She would finally put her phone facedown on the wood floor and close her eyes, trying not to let the numbers or new ideas to get more people flood her mind.

The barricade she’d mentally made that first day she slept in the same bed as Eren was always there, but every night it was knocked down. Every morning she woke up with some part of Eren tied up in her, whether it be their arms pressed together or his hands on her waist or her head tucked into his chest.

In the morning when she found out where they had let their guard fall, she felt at peace.

—

“Come see us at Quasimodo tonight!”

In the video, Eren screamed at Mikasa’s phone before she panned over to Connie, who had his tongue out and his pointer and pinky finger on one hand up. It was short and ended there, but Mikasa had added a soft overlay of Heart Attack’s song “The Bends” to the background.

It was the best performing video she’d made, and it had only been posted at ten that morning.

Mikasa smiled with pride every time she checked her phone and the numbers skyrocketed. It started at 50, and then 100, and then seemingly out of nowhere shot up to 2,000 somewhere between eleven and noon. By the time the band was at Quasimodo getting ready for their gig, she was beaming at the white 37,000 in the bottom left corner, a number that went up every time she refreshed the page.

She didn’t know what it was about this one that did so well, but she wasn’t complaining.

Mikasa sat by herself at a table close to the stage. She could barely see whoever was playing beyond the bodies crowded together in front of her, but when she heard Eren’s voice she would move.

She kept her phone face up on the table, reading every single notification that came up on her phone.

Eren, peeking through the curtain during an intermission while the drums were being set up, watched Mikasa obsess over her phone. He noticed the way her eyes seemed to sparkle at the growing numbers, and some part of him thought to talk to her about it later.

But he moved his gaze around, and at a table at the back of the club spotted a blond man sitting with one other person. Eren didn’t recognize the brown-haired woman, but he knew who the blond was immediately.

“Guys.” Eren turned toward the others, the faintest grin on his face. “Erwin fucking Smith is here.”

Connie’s eyes practically popped out of his head with how much he had widened them. “Are you being serious right now?” he asked in disbelief.

“The Erwin Smith? Owner of Scout Records?”

Eren nodded. Jean lowly whistled and straightened himself. Armin ran a hand through his hair, letting out a breath that fell somewhere between a chuckle and a gasp of disbelief.

Marco, who had been drinking water, set the plastic bottle down. He put a hand on Jean’s and Eren’s shoulders, gently squeezing. When Eren turned his head, Marco had a vibrant smile on his face.

“This is our chance guys. We can finally break through and get on the radio or something.”

“That’s if he likes our music,” Armin pointed out. Everyone turned to him. “If he doesn’t then there’s no chance.”

“Which is why we make him like it.” Back to Eren. “We play the best we’ve ever played. We aren’t in Mom’s garage anymore. We put our hearts and souls into this.”

A moment of hesitance passed. Eren met everyone’s gaze, holding each of them for ten seconds. His piercing green eyes seemed to look into their minds, reading every desire they’ve ever had.

Finally, they all slowly nodded. An agreement passed between them and they exchanged a smile. When the stagehand called to them to say they were ready, Jean began lazily playing a quiet tune on his bass.

Eren was the first out. He grabbed the microphone and scanned the crowd. He noticed Mikasa walk closer to where the band stood to take pictures, and his smile widened when he met Erwin Smith’s gaze.

“This is Heart Attack.” Eren flashed his straight teeth again, winking at one of the girls closer to the front, before Connie started the upbeat tune to their debut song, Armin joining in soon after.

Eren tried his best not to let his gaze wander to the booth Erwin sat at. He tried to keep his stare on the wall or the people at their tables, but he always found his eyes moving back to Erwin.

Not knowing what to do every time they made eye contact, Eren winked at him. Erwin had no reaction except a subtle eyebrow raise, and Eren immediately regretted his decision.

After they had bowed and strolled off, Eren ran a hand over his face and groaned. The group of them found Mikasa on the ground floor and walked to the table she’d reserved. Eren pressed his forehead against the wood and began tapping his foot against the floor.

“Dude, what is wrong?” Connie asked. He had ordered a glass that had some caramel colored liquid Eren couldn’t identify and was playing with the straw between his fingers. “You are like, stressing. Which is understandable since Erwin Smith is here, but-”

“I winked at him.” Eren lifted his head. From the corner of his eye he would see Jean lifting his glass to his lips.

“Huh? Who?”

“Erwin Smith.”

Jean laughed, lowering his glass and covering his mouth with a fist. He cleared his throat to cover his laugh and looked away. Eren shot him a glare.

“Why did you wink at Erwin Smith?” Jean teased.

“I don’t know. It just . . . happened.”

“How do you just happen to wink at someone?” Armin asked. He smiled, teasing Eren, “Was there something in your eye?”

“No! It just . . . I don’t know! But I’m scared. What if he’s homophobic, man? What if that’s the only reason he won’t talk to us is because he thinks I’m gay?”

Marco tensed, but the subtle way he straightened his shoulders and tightened his grip on his cup went unnoticed by everyone except Jean.

Jean’s eyes moved to look at him. He didn’t turn his head, but when he saw the fake smile on Marco’s face as he made a comment Jean didn’t hear, he gently squeezed Marco’s knee.

A soft guitar melody filled the air, a stark contrast to the harsh music that had previously filled the club. Marco turned his head to the stage where a girl in a short cream dress, her hair tied out of her face with a red ribbon, sat on a stool and strummed her guitar. He watched for a moment before turning back to the table.

“I genuinely think I might die,” Eren said. He was leaned back in his chair now, his legs splayed so far out beneath the table that they hit Connie in the shins.

“Sit up right.” Connie playfully kicked Eren’s legs. “Your legs are too damn long for you to relax like that.”

The group laughed. When Armin turned his head to watch the girl on the stage, his gaze instead caught on Erwin Smith, who was standing up from his table.

His eyes followed the man, watching as he bowed to the woman sitting with him and shrugged on his coat. The woman smiled and waved at Erwin as he left the booth, and Armin’s eyes widened as he realized that Erwin Smith was walking towards them.

Armin turned his head to face the table so quickly he thought he pulled a muscle. He coughed to catch the table’s attention, and when they turned to him he quietly said, “Erwin Smith is walking this way.”

Eren’s eyes slightly widened. He craned his neck to see around Armin and immediately straightened when he saw that his friend was telling the truth. He slapped his hand against the table as of warning Jean and Connie to stop bickering.

He cracked a stupid joke right as Erwin began passed behind him. No one even understood what he had said, which earned him questioning glances from everyone at the table before Erwin positioned himself between Eren and a Mikasa’s chairs.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said. He placed a hand on the back of Erin’s chair, making sure his presence was noticed.

As if anyone wouldn’t notice if Erwin fucking Smith was looking directly at them.

“Nah, you’re fine,” Eren said. He regretted it immediately because who talks to a celebrity like that? He cleared his throat, trying to put up a front that said he knew what he was doing here. “Can I help you?”

Erwin opened his coat, reaching into a pocket that must have been inside and pulled out a business card. He held it out to Eren. “I’m the owner of Scout Records. I really enjoyed what you boys did tonight. I’d like you to sign with the company, if it interests you.”

Eren, who had been looking up at Erwin as he spoke, moved his gaze to the business card. It had a sleek design, one single dark green line moving across the entire card underneath the words Scout Records. Beneath all of that was his name and basic information, including an email and phone number to contact.

“Of course, I’ll contact you again at a later date if you haven’t decided, but this is your choice.” Erwin moves his gaze from Eren’s and meets that of everyone else around the table. “All of you.” His stare paused on Mikasa. “We can even find a spot for your publicist.”

Mikasa’s heart skipped a beat as Eren nodded. Publicist. She didn’t consider herself that, but the title had a nice ring to it.

Erwin bowed his head, bidding the group goodbye before turning and walking out of the jazz club.

The group waited until the door had closed behind Erwin before they started cheering. This was it. This was their shot.

Maybe they really did have a chance in this industry.

—

When they returned to their apartment that night, they popped open a cheap bottle of wine and drank from plastic cups to celebrate. They spilled the liquid haphazardly on the floor and counters, but didn’t bother to clean it up. Even Mikasa had set her phone to the side and allowed her head to become buzzed.

She regretted it the next morning, of course, because she was a lightweight and the headache she woke up with felt as if it was splitting her skull apart. She knew she woke up much later than she normally did because Eren wasn’t beside her in the bed and she could hear voices coming through the wall from the living room.

She stood and stretched, pulling a hoodie on over her tank top before opening the bedroom door.

“No, if we call him right now we’ll seem desperate.”

“Aren’t you the one that has been praying we’d get noticed for years? And when we finally do you don’t want to jump on that opportunity?”

“I’m playing smart here, Jean. If we contact them too early then we’ll seem excitable and naïve.”

“Please, Eren. He offered us. We won’t look pathetic if we call and say we accept his offer.”

Eren exhaled. Mikasa saw him press his lips into a thin line. “We have to play the long game-“

“If we play the long game then we’re gonna get dropped-“

“What would you know about this shit anyway? It’s not like you have a fucking degree in-”

“And you know anything more than I do?”

Their voices continued raising and they continued talking over each other. The pain in Mikasa’s head became so evident she could feel it in her fingers. Her ears were ringing, and she had one finger pressed to the inner cartilage of her ear as she aggressively grabbed Eren by she shoulder.

“Shut up,” she said, letting him go. “It’s too early for the two of you to be arguing, and I’m pretty sure everyone else is still sleeping.”

Mikasa walked over to the fridge and opened it, taking out the carton of eggs. She grabbed a cup from the cabinet. She pulled two eggs from the carton and spilled both of them into the cup. After throwing the shells away, she grabbed hold of the cup before taking a deep breath and downing its contents in one go.

Her face scrunched and her eyes closed. She held the last but in her mouth, reluctant to swallow before gulping it down. When she opened her eyes, she saw that both Eren and Jean were looking at her with the most horrified expressions me she had ever seen.

Mikasa gulped one more time, trying to get the taste out of her mouth, before washing the glass and saying, “What?”

Eren blinked. Jean ran a hand through his hair.

“You just drank two raw eggs,” Eren said.

Mikasa shrugged, setting the glass down in the sink and turning around. “So?”

Eren blinked again, though this time it was more aggressive. He put his hands on the edge of the faux marble counter. “You just drank. Two raw eggs,” he repeated.

“What the hell is wrong with you.” Jean jokes, though it seemed as though some part of him was genuinely bewildered about what could possibly make Mikasa drink raw eggs.

“Yeah.” Mikasa leaned against the sink behind her and crossed her arms and ankles in front of her. “It’s a remedy for hangovers. My mom used to do it when she had one, and that one time I came back from a night of drinking she gave it to me. It worked, so.” She shrugged again.

Eren blinked a few more times before shaking his head and straightening. Jean, however, still looked baffled at Mikasa’s actions, but he eventually shook it off and continued eating the bowl of cereal in front of him.

Mikasa blinked a couple more times in confusion before shaking her head and continuing about her day. She took a seat at the dinghy table and stared at the grain in the wood. She wondered for a moment how her parents were doing, but when she reached for her phone to text them, she realized that she had no idea where her phone was.

It wasn’t in her room. If it was then it would have been the first thing she checked in the morning. She scanned the table and didn’t find it there either.

Panic began settling in as her gaze frantically traveled around the room. She didn’t want to tell anyone because a phone isn’t all that when you really think about it. Except for her it is. That’s her life. Her job. Her livelihood, if she loses her phone then she loses her memory card and she’ll never get it back.

Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck.

“Are you looking for this?” Jean came up beside her and held something in front of her, the familiar polaroid of Mikasa and Eren at their eleventh grade prom catching her eye.

She looked up at Jean as she gently took it from his hands and nodded. “Yeah. Thank you.”

Instinctively, she checked the time. 11:34. It was so much later in the day than she thought.

Jean returned her nod. “Yup.”

He put his hands in the pockets of his sweats, awkwardly standing beside her. Neither of them said anything. Mikasa wanted to break the silence, but she didn’t know how.

“How’s it going with Marco?” she decided to ask. Jean and Marco had never officially came out, but they were obvious enough that the band knew about it—or that something was there, at least. No one was sure if they were officially together or not. Not to mention the way they look at each other when the other isn’t paying attention.

Jean nodded. “Yeah. It’s going good.”

Silence enveloped the room again. It was Mikasa’s fault, really. She shouldn’t have asked such a dry question.

Jean began drumming his fingers against the edge of the counter, the consistent noise driving Mikasa crazy. Her still present headache was not helping.

“I think you guys should call Erwin.” She couldn’t take the silence anymore. Or the tapping. “He’s the one that offered. He wants you guys with his studio.”

Jean blew out a breath. “Yeah. Tell that shit to Eren. That asshole won’t let up.” He crossed his arms and looks up, staring out the window. “He thinks playing the long game will better our chances of going big. You know what’ll help us go big? Accepting the offers we fucking get.”

Fantastic. Mikasa had led Jean on a spiel. At least it was better than his insistent tapping.

“Not to mention it’d better your chance of making it, too. Prove to him that you don’t have to be at home to be successful or happy.”

Jean and Mikasa held each other’s gazes. She always treaded carefully around him, especially with the history of feelings they had. She didn’t quite know if he had gotten over her completely, but his situation with Marco must mean something.

“You should tell him,” Mikasa said. They both know who she was talking about.

“He knows,” Jean replied. “He just . . . I think he’s scared.”

Mikasa nodded. She understood. Maybe not entirely, but she got it. She knew how it felt to pine after your best friend for years, but she didn’t know how it felt to feel that way about a girl. Especially when your family is as religious as Marco’s.

“It’ll be okay,” she said. “Let him figure it out.”

“I know. I’m trying to. I am, but . . . You know me.”

She did. Jean Kirschtein was loud about the love he had and who it was for. He was the love interest in cheesy rom coms that did grand gestures for no reason just to declare his love. He was the one that would run into the airport minutes before your flight to win you back. He was the one that would travel halfway across the world just to give you flowers. He was the one that would somehow gather his graduating class to orchestrate a dance just to ask you to the prom.

He was the one that was being forced into silence to give his love time.

“It just sucks.”

Mikasa offered a soft smile, though it was clear that it did nothing to help. “I know.”

They sit in silence for a bit. It’s not as suffocating and choking as the one before, but there is still that air of tension about it. Jean leaves the main room after he drops his cereal bowl in the sink, the fake ceramic clinking against its metal walls. Mikasa watched him go, waiting until she heard his bedroom door close to pull out her phone.

She pops open the case. Eren had given her Erwin Smith’s business card before they had all started drinking. He said she would keep it safe, and she did.

She flipped it over, copying the number into her phone and holding it up to her ear. She listened as it dialed, biting her nail as she waited. It felt like she sat there forever, and she pulled the phone away to hang up when she was sure no one would answer.

“Erwin Smith’s office. How may I help you?”

Mikasa’s lips stretched into a wide smile as she quickly brought the phone back up to her ear. “Hi, I’m Mikasa Ackerman. I’m calling to talk to Erwin Smith about the offer he extended to the band Heart Attack last night. At Quasimodo.”

She heard shuffling on the other line, before a couple clicks. “Yes, of course. He told me to keep an eye out for your band. I’ll schedule a time for him to contact you. Expect a call at around 2:45, alright?”

Mikasa nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

The woman on the other line gave Mikasa a few more details, such as what number to expect the call from. She made sure to say that Mikasa would not receive a text or email, that it would be a call only from a number Mikasa had to write down to remember.

Two hours later, Mikasa sat in the bathroom hiding from everyone, on the phone with Erwin Smith himself.

—

“You did not,” Eren said after they had received a package. He looked up at Mikasa, who was sitting at the table and eating a bowl of pomegranate seeds.

“What?” She looked up from her phone, hiding a smile. She had seen the box earlier in the day, and only brought it inside for someone else to open and be surprised by.

Eren carried the box over to the table and dropped it, ripping the tape with his keys and opening the cardboard flaps. He revealed emerald green tissue paper wrapped around something else, an envelope with the band name written in gold sitting on top.

In the top corner of the envelope, Scout Records was stamped in capital letters.

Mikasa gasped, feigning surprise as she set her phone down and stood up. She walked next to Eren, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Congratulations!” she said, though it wasn’t convincing. She wasn’t a very good actor, and this situation was no exception.

Eren looked at her, his gaze piercing. “You called them.”

Mikasa nodded. She held Eren’s stare, refusing to back down and apologize. She watched the gears in his head turn before he turned his head, facing the wooden table as he laughed.

He slapped his hand on the table, catching Mikasa by surprise when he also wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

“Thank you so much, Mikasa.” Without thinking, Eren kissed the top of her head. “I think I genuinely love you.”

Mikasa’s cheeks burned. She managed a soft smile as she pulled away enough to look up at Eren’s face. He was beaming, his smile so wide it showed all his teeth and so bright Mikasa swore the room had lit up.

Mikasa’s own smile widened. “Well if we had gone with your timeline then they would have forgotten about the offer. I have a meeting with him in a little bit about terms and conditions and stuff like that.”

“You’re meeting with him?”

Mikasa nodded. “I’m your publicist, aren’t I?”

Eren laughed again—a soft, breathy laugh that made Mikasa’s heart beat so loud she couldn’t hear anything else.

Eren let her go after saying something she didn’t catch. He woke up Jean (who had been sleeping on the couch while watching women’s boxing. Mikasa was positive he just turned something on for background noise) before going down the hall to bother Connie, Armin and Marco.

Their exclamations of happiness soon filled the apartment, and while they were yelling and jumping around, Mikasa slipped into the bedroom she shared with Eren and changed into something more presentable.

She switched her T-shirt and shorts for a black dress that had puffy sleeves. She put striped black tights on beneath it and spent too long deciding whether or not to wear a jacket over everything.

She decided not to, instead throwing it on her side of the bed and looking herself over in the mirror. She flattened stray hairs and fixed a bit of makeup, finally grabbing her bag before walking back out into the main room.

“And would you look at that! Annie Leonhart wins her first ever match fresh out of the Warrior program.”

Mikasa walked to the front door as she looked at the TV. She began slipping on her shoes, tying the laces up as she watched the blonde girl on the screen lift her fists in triumph as she walked around the rink. There were red stripes down her cheeks, ones so bright that Mikasa thought she was bleeding before realizing it was makeup.

“Now, we know that the Marleyan Warriors produce fantastic athletes, but I think this is the most potential we’ve seen in one. Don’t you think, Keith?”

“Absolutely. Annie Leonhart lives up to her title of the Female Titan. She comes in with such a loud presence and makes sure you know she’s there.”

The blonde girl bowed, the camera following as she steps out of the rink and down the walkway. The commentators—Theo Magath and Keith Shadis, Mikasa reads off the screen—continued talking about her performance, replaying clips from her match against a much stockier woman. It was a wonder that Annie won, they were saying.

“What are you watching?” Mikasa asked. She stayed by the door, but spoke loud enough so Jean could hear her from his spot on the couch.

Jean shrugged, muting the TV and standing up. He stretched his arms above his head and groaned. “I just turned something on. It’s women’s boxing, though. I think.”

Mikasa nodded, reaching over to the rack beside the door to grab her keys and wallet. “Okay. I’ll be back. I have a meeting with Erwin, but I’ll bring food later, so don’t eat anything.”

Jean smiled, turning off the TV and looking over at her. “Thank you.”

The corners of Mikasa’s lips tilted up, and she gave another soft nod before opening the door and leaving.

—

Connie’s scream of excitement was so piercing it had a little girl across the street covering her ears, mustering the harshest glare she could towards him.

“Connie, shut the fuck up,” Jean said, swinging an arm around the drummer. “We’re gonna get kicked off the streets.”

“Jean.” Connie gripped Jean’s opposite shoulder, the popsicle in his hand millimeters from falling off its stick and onto the floor. “Not only did we get offered a spot at Scout Records, but Mikasa also called to confirm we still have it. And we do! So now tell me, why shouldn’t I be screaming at the top of my lungs about this?”

Jean rolled his eyes, but a wide smile spread across his face as the two of them found a table to sit at. Marco, Eren, and Armin were still in the store looking for something to eat, so Jean and Connie slid onto the benches across from each other as they waited for a few minutes.

Jean opened his mouth to say something when they settled in, but he saw the rest of the band practically bouncing out of the convenience store with bright smiles on their faces. They were whooping and hollering, careful not to drop their ice creams or popsicles as they jumped around.

Connie joined them, hopping up from his seat and grabbing Marco’s and Eren’s hands. He shook them, his poorly made spongebob popsicle forgotten on the table. It was mostly finished anyway, the only remnants of it being a small pool of flavored water, so Jean picked it up and threw it away.

Someone jumped on him from the side, making Jean lose his balance for a moment. He wrapped his hand around the bar of the trash can before looking over at Marco.

The smile on his face was so wide it showed his dimples. His eyes were shining and his grip around Jean was tight. He was radiant—absolutely perfect in Jean’s eyes.

“We made it,” Marco said breathlessly. There was still the disbelief he had when Eren had originally told them about their record deal in his eyes. “Oh my god, we fucking made it.”

That’s how Jean knew how ecstatic Marco was. He never cursed. Never in a million years did a word as light as crap even leave his lips.

Jean couldn’t help but try and mirror Marco’s smile, but the attempt was fruitless. Nothing could ever shine as bright as this boy he loved so dearly.

“Hell yeah we did.” Jean wrapped his arms around Marco, holding him impossibly closer. “We fucking did it!”

Jean kissed Marco on the cheek in an action that could be passed as chaste, however it was anything but to Jean. Marco hugged Jean impossibly tighter, smiling at him with the soft grin that made Jean fall in love in the first place.

The others pounded on them after that—first Eren with a tackle so aggressive Jean and Marco almost fell over, and then Connie and Armin with pushes that rivaled Eren’s.

They caught themselves before losing their balance, and their laughs rang through the air so loudly that the same little girl Jean had seen glared at them again, this time along with her mother.

They began walking as they separated, Eren and Connie both walking backwards so they could talk without creating an obnoxious line of people.

“Alright guys, let’s talk first studio album. What are we thinking?” Connie held his hands out, welcoming ideas. “Personally, I think we should do the opening track about how birds are government property and are spying on us.”

Eren scrunched his face as Armin chuckled. “What the fuck?” Eren said. “The birds are watching us?”

“Well yeah.” Connie shrugged his shoulders, as if his revelation about birds was as common as grass. “Why don’t you see them in the rain?”

“Because they hide from the rain like any other being with instinct,” Jean said, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Connie pointed at him. “False. It’s actually because the birds are robots, and if they get wet then they sizzle and fucking die.” He tutted. “The government can’t have that.”

Jean and Marco laughed. They stood close together, their hands brushing every now and then.

“We are not making an album about robot birds, Connie,” Eren said. “That is so stupid.”

“Well what do you propose we make it about? Because the only other thing that’s good to write about is love, and I remember you saying very explicitly, ‘Love is a bullshit idea that makes soft sound.’”

Eren gasped dramatically. “I said no such thing.”

“We literally said you should write a song about Mikasa and you went on a whole rant,” Armin said.

Eren rolled his eyes. “I do not want to write sappy love songs. That’s cheesy and none of us have anyone anyway.”

Jean didn’t comment, but he glanced over at Marco. Marco kept his gaze ahead, fondly smiling and switching his gaze to whoever decided to tease Eren about his thing with Mikasa.

That’s when he saw it. A sleek, bright red sports car speeding on the street. The windows were blacked out, but someone’s arm was hanging out of one. Jean squinted, trying to see what they were holding.

The person started to climb out, tightening their grip on the object in their hand. Jean couldn’t recognize any significant features about them except the pale yellow hoodie they wore and the red smeared across their cheeks.

They held the object up, fumbling a bit to keep it in their hand as the car sped around. They howled when they almost dropped it, and lifted it.

It was a gun. The light glinted off the metal of the barrel as they haphazardly pulled the trigger, hitting a spot in the grass.

Jean wrapped his hand around Marco’s elbow. Marco turned his head, about to inquire about what Jean needed just as the bassist was about to tell them they needed to go.

But he didn’t get the chance. His words got caught in his throat as another gunshot sounded and Marco stumbled against him.

Jean held him up, trying to steady him with Armin’s help as Connie and Eren looked around. Eren fumbled with his phone as he tried calling the police after he spotted the car. When Jean pulled his hand away to readjust his hold, bright red blood, warm and sticky, stared up at him.

BANG!

JEAN: We all watched him die. He just crumbled against us and . . .

ARMIN: Blood was coming out of his mouth. He was choking on it trying to talk and I- [sniff] There was nothing any of us could do. We just stood there trying to help but we couldn’t.

EREN: I think about it, sometimes. Especially when I’m alone at night. I think that if I had been faster with my phone then the police would have been there faster, and maybe we could have saved them.

JEAN: The only thing I saw when I looked up was blonde hair. Whoever shot Marco had already gotten back in the car while it was speeding away.

CONNIE: Marco was . . . He was everything to us. Heart Attack lost their heart that day. [wipes tears] It was fucking hard after that.

EREN: We spent a long time not doing anything. It would have been longer if Erwin hadn’t threatened us with losing our record deal. We came up with “Holiday.”

ARMIN: Marco wrote the keyboard track for that. Before he died. It was the last song of ours he had something to do with.

JEAN: [voice cracking] I need a minute.

sorry this is so late life got unexpectedly busy 😭

anyways hope you guys have a fantastic rest of your day <3

TAGLIST: @arlerts-angel @conniesrockstargf @fvckingeetar @pluckyduxck @hoejosblindfold @beaniebaby12 if you's like to join the taglist please comment or DM to let me know!

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tuliptyper · 2 years

Text

Unique Features; AOT Men

quick lil hcs for what unique (and attractive) features i think the aot men have while i avoid my family lmao

let me know if you guys want different characters (including any of the girls)! thnx for reading and please leave a comment/reblog!

implied modern au setting

includes; Connie, Eren, Jean, Armin, Marco + Reiner

✾ Connie:

- acne scars on mostly his cheeks leading down to his jaw line <3

- probably gap teeth! <3

- grey hair (canon), i like to think that its a genetic thing and almost everyone/every guy in his family greys super young

- related to the grey hair thing, light eyebrows!

✾ Eren:

- big ass forehead <33

- long lashes + big, upturned eyes; his lashes are less pronounced because of his lighter hair color

✾ Armin:

- natural pout/heart-shaped lips <33 hes super hydrated to so you know theyre not chapped!

- bushier brows; not as thick as Erwins but he does have to maintain them and its very cute to watch because he gets super in the zone hehe

- thin hair; ik people typically hate having thin hair because it tends to be fragile, i like petting/stroking thinner hair because its so soft and easy to tossle about lmaoo (i have really fucking thick hair, my scalp gets so hot, not to mention i need to get it THINNED like every 2-3 months bc it gets so heavy)

✾ Reiner:

- higher body fat% / tummy chub! while he is muscular, he has a lovely layer of fat that adds to his frame and its just *chefs kiss*. men ESP with a little tummy pudge are so FIINNEEE

- stretch marks; more concentrated at the back of his knees, hips, shoulders and lower back. they're lighter than his skin tone and look like lighting bolts fr, they are so cool and gorgeous too

- shnoz bump (canon); i loooveeee bumpy, big, hooked, droopy, pointed, generally shapely noses! they're not only a display of cool heritage but also hot as fuck. i said my piece. (also imagine him telling you his embarrassing stories of getting into fights/knocking into walls that caused the bump while he bashfully rubs it WAAAA)

- boney, thinner fingers; 100% projection because i have boney (not skinny) fingers and i dont like how weirdly masculine my hands are. he probably has to get all his rings extended and gets shy when you play with them absentmindedly

✾ Marco:

- beauty spots/marks/moles; hes a moley boyy! has 13 and counting, probably. definitely searched up the meaning of each placement and felt so enlightened LMAO

- dennie-morgan folds/eczema wrinkles; hes got cute little wrinkles on his eyes that basically destroyed his aegyo sal (idk what it would be called in english other than under eye bags? puffy under eyes??) and made his eyelids more wrinkly

- yellow tinted/unbuffed nails, since he wears nail polish without a base coat and they get stained. but also theyre very strong since they haven't been buffed/thinned out!

✾ Jean:

- wavy/type 2 hair that only ever showed when he started growing out his mullet. very french, very cute, 11/10

- amber eyes. his stare is intense but not intimidating <3 hes the only neurotypical man i would give eye contact to 💅

742 notes · View notes

whxre4hange · 2 years

Text

aot characters at uni headcanons :) (because i am miserable at uni and wanna romanticise things)

eren

how did this guy get to uni? i guess we’ll never know. i guess we’ll never know

if it’s zoom, he’s most definitely causing chaos

i’m talking spamming the chat for whatever reason

“haha funny meme”

pretending he’s frozen when the prof (levi) calls on him

“jaeger, i can still see you blinking.” “IM NOT BLINKING ITS JUST A GLITCH- oh- shi-“ *goes back to silence and ‘frozen’ state*

and if it’s in perso, he’s still causing chaos.

“PROFESSOR CAN I ASK A QUESTION?” “yes, you can.” “where’s joe?” “who’s joe?” “JOE MAMA!!!!!!!” “10% off your first assessment.”

im wheezing

*corrects the spelling mistakes on the slides like the petty girlboss he is*

his major? probably something really really really vague

is there a bachelor of edginess?

no? okay well probably studying something in humanities / science

does he study?

lmaoooo…..do pigs fly?

but does he somehow get a perfect gpa?

yeah

cause hes the main character, duh

if you don’t count the 10% professor levi deducted because of the joe mama joke

i dont really have anything else to say about him

but i would hate to have him in my class

mikasa

you know that really well dressed, quiet girl that always catches your eye in your lectures?

ladies, bros, and non-binary hoes, may i introduce mikasa ackerman?

she picks her electives so they match up with eren’s 🥺

and in those classes

hoooo boy

she’s basically a mum

or a dog mum

keeping eren on a leash, if you will

honestly i see her doing a liberal arts degree, with a major in literary studies (i headcanon her as a lit student im sorry ahh she just has that vibe)

like eren, she has a perfect/almost perfect grades

and that’s because she actually STUDIES

like i said, shes really quiet and reserved & basically talks to no one except eren

but damn is she a boy magnet

*cough* JEAN *splutter*

armin

he’s most definitely a geography student. dont @ me. i dont take constructive criticism. nor do i take criticism in general.

he’s either the teacher’s pet or hated by the teacher because he keeps correcting them

there is no in between

like mikasa, studies 24/7

unlike mikasa, either does realllly really well or really really bad

he’s a polarising figure okay

and maybe his results are cause he doodles in his textbooks half the time

it’s not even a textbook at this point it’s a fkn sketchbook (lmao my partner’s maths book in high school was filled with the most amazing intricate doodles and basically no maths but he somehow got high 80s so uh) but yeah thats how i see it

daydreamer :D

especially in grades

wears a cardigan

soft boi incarnate

goes out of his way to help confused freshmen

cause he’s wholesome like that

#welovearminclub

sasha

FOOD SCIENCE MAJOR I REPEAT FOOD SCIENCE MAJOR

“i study food. and by study, i mean eat.”

mediocre grades at best

im sorry T_T i love her but i can’t see her being bothered at uni

messes around with connie half the time

or tries to at least

poor connie is trying to study

she is that one kid who brings a whole ass meal into class and eats it very loudly

“okay so if we look at the chemical structure of ca-“ *slurp slurp, BITCH*

there are food stains all over her textbooks and the notes connie forced her to take

connie

okay but he had no idea what he wanted to do in uni

so he just did what sasha was doing

food science buddies :D

much to sasha’s chagrin, his grades are better than hers

because he’s actually STUDYING

and idk NOT EATING DURING CLASS

they aren’t perfect grades but they’re good

he’s pretty quiet in class

he’s just tryna pass

and control sasha

idk which one’s harder

i envy the man tho

jean

commerce. major. or smth to do with business

he is so goddamn cocky im sorry it drives me insane

well dressed rich boi vibes

to his credit, he studies really hard and his grades are really good :)

he chooses electives so that they measure up with marco’s :D

i dont have much to say about him

simps for mikasa and mikasa only

loyal frat boi ig???

marco

music major PLSSS

i see him either being the nerdy boy wearing sweaters that plays ukelele/ acoustic guitar on the stairs (surrounded by fangirls)

or the boy with the kazoo that won’t quit (still surround by fangirls cause who doesnt love a kazoo?)

or both :D

when he sees jean sadly listening to ‘glimpse of us’ while thinking about mikasa

he decides to jump in w a little bit of musical zang. cause he’s supportive

please see https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g82qI-jdRw4 for reference

you won’t regret it

it isn’t a rick roll i promise

like armin, a vvv sweet boy

will help any of his classmates in need :D

basically stuck to jean like glue

historia

she’s a double major of law and political science

we love a girlboss academic queen

QUEEN? did ya see what i did there???

cmonnn laugh

SUCH a model student and shes so helpful and sweet aaa

everyone loves her

its impossible to hate her

soft girl mixed w light academia aesthetic :D

she is an angel incarnate

perfect grades perfect social life perfect everything

also a perfect girlfriend

*stares pointedly at ymir*

ymir

studying criminology because it has similar units to law

and someone in particular is doing law

you catch my drift?

she really doesn’t wanna go to class but will go if historia is going

*historia*ns will say theyre just friends

but we all know better :D

she doesn’t talk to anyone unless its historia

and shes got such a resting bitch face that no one dares approach her

even the professor is scared to call on her

she gets mediocre grades, but they improve when historia forces her to study

hanji

hanji my beloved <333

she’s a professor

the crackhead professor everyone likes

probably chemistry / physics / human bio

something sciency

100% will use her students for her experiments

with consent ofc

it’s the 21st century after all

veryyyyy disorganised

will 1000000% forget she had class

turns up 15 minutes late and fuming at the lack of organisation

“WHO THE FUCK IS RUNNING THIS CLASS?”

“you are, professor”

“oh.”

i love her sm

i hate all sciences but i would study it if she was teaching it

levi

you know shota aizawa from mha?

yeah

that. he’s that guy

he does not fucking want to be there

what does he teach? probably politics or something to do w humanities

he calls his students ‘brats’

but affectionately

right?????? RIGHT????

his dead eyes scares all of the students so much that no one dares say anything

even when he’s asking them questions

all silent

except for eren

who he tells to shut up 24/7

“class is cancelled because i don’t want to be here. go home, brats.”

if you dare fail his class…just write your will okay?

erwin

10000% a history teacher aHHHH

(totally not biased because i love history)

he’s so passionate about what he does!

he definitely does re-enactments of battles with help from his students

kinda like rengoku’s spin on a history teacher

is really enthusiastic!

all of the students love him

some love him a lil toooo much

cmon, you see it too right?

takes students under his wing

just

a ball of sunshine

best professor ever

ahhhh it makes me so happy thinking about it

reiner

first, i would like to establish that we love reiner in this household

and if you don’t agree, LEAVE

seriously tho the guy needs a hug, therapy and cookies

i headcanon him as a humanities and psychology student!

he just wants to learn about the world and make it a better place okay ):

i could also see him as training to be a psychologist

the therapist-type of psychologist that is (clinical psychologist for all you fancy smartpants out there)

studies very very hard!

he throws himself into his work 100000%

all or nothing

speaking of which

he’s all about taking care of his education and his physical fitness too!

soft gymbro reiner

the nice gymbro that drinks respect women juice daily

yeah we stan him :D

probably really popular amongst the ladies and the gays but is too clueless to recognise it

annie

okay first, she’s definitely doing criminology

with the aim of going into the police force

(where i live, you have to do a degree in crim before working as a police - i think :D)

cmon she is canonically in the military police

there is no way she wouldn’t do it in uni

she never ever ever turns up to class

she just doesn’t like people okay

she would much rather be curled up in her dorm with her noise-cancelling headphones

doing her classes online

but if she’s on zoom

camera off, mike off

catch berty dragging her grumpy ass to exams

“ANNIE, YOU HAVE TO ATTEND EXAMS IN PERSON”

*camera cuts to annie who isn’t even planning to do exams at all*

she doesn’t study much

she’s really passive about uni and she doesn’t really care

but she does really well, she has a talent for crim :’)

girlboss incarnate

bertholdt

he is doing a very very very broad humanities degree

our aimless lil boi :’(

managed to do a few crim units to match with annie

( a simp)

always shows up to class

perfect attendance

10/10

but thats only because he hopes that annie will be there

which she never is

really quiet but sweet

mediocre to good grades but nothing out of the ordinary

he’s kinda the boy next door vibes

always wears the same blue sweater

pieck

mommy

mommy? i mean sorry mommy

sorry it just keeps slipping out

thats what she said

aNYWAYS

she is a very homely and sweet honours student!

like reiner, probably a psych student

cottagecore aesthetic. i dont make the rules.

shes still a student but everyone thinks she’s a professor cause she’s so talented and smart and- adulty?

she has her life together, on the surface

but uh

yeahhhhhhh if you catch her in her natural habitat, her hair is all askew, notes are everywhere and shes crouched on all fours scribbling away at her work

porco

immediate rich daddy boy’s vibes im sorry

“MY FATHER SHALL HEAR ABOUT THIS!” - porco malfoy 2k22

most definitely studying humanities w/ a major in international law and political science

gee i sure hope he doesn’t run into reiner in the humanities building

THAT would make for some drama

and we don’t like drama in this household!

no, that isn’t popcorn in my hands you see

100% the chaddiest chad to ever chad at the university of chad

IM SORRY OKAY I DONT KNOW HOW TO FEEL ABOUT PORCO

TAKE THIS HEADCANON OR LEAVE IT

BECAUSE I SURE AINT TAKING CRITICISM

zeke

i wanna put a forewarning that i have a thing against zeke so proceed w warning

he just gives me bad vibes okay ;-;

he is that professor who wears a trench coat to every single class

even if it’s summer

black. trenchcoat.

his response to every criticism aimed at him? “no bitches?”

i cant fault him for that

like i said, he’s a professor

of political science probs

very very charismatic

the classes he teachers are like a cult fr

they really realllly admire him

alot

like alot alot

okay i think that’s all i can do :’) cause the only other marley person i know well enough to headcanon is colt and im still sad about how he died :(

i hope you enjoyed ! likes/reblogs/shares/comments are appreciated :) lemme know who you want me to do next in the replies xx

might do a part two hehe! i hope you enjoyed :) reblogs (w credit), likes and comments appreciated and encouraged x

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luvbugs-blog · 1 year

Text

underrated character deaths from aot (m version):

marco b.

moblit b.

marlo f.

miche z.

#moblit berner x reader #hange x moblit #moblit berner #aot moblit #marco x reader #marco bott x reader #marco bodt x reader #marco bodt #marco bott #marlo freudenberg #marlo attack on titan #marlo #miche zacharias #miche aot #aot #attack on titan thoughts #attack on titan

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medowlarken · 2 years

Text

[ao3]

tagged 🔞 are 18+ ONLY, minors will be blocked

Jean Kirstein / Reader

Rated Explicit 🔞 (canonverse, sexual content, violence)

[ao3 link]

Jean Kirstein / Marco Bott

Rated Explicit 🔞 (underaged drinking, sexual content)

[ao3 link] [tumblr link]

Connie Springer / Reader

Rated Explicit 🔞 (post-canon, sexual content, unhealthy coping mechanisms)

[ao3 link]

Drabbles:

Jean “borrows” his mom’s car (school caste au - Rated T)

Jean finally lets you do his makeup (modern au - Rated T)

Headcanon Posts:

random 104th headcanons (x)

104th headcanons but it’s about relationships (x)

nsfw aot headcanons 🔞 (x)

nsfw headcanons: Armin, Eren, Mikasa, and Jean 🔞 (x)

#attack on titan #aot #shingeki no kyojin #snk #aot fanfiction #snk fanfiction #jean kirstein #marco bott #jeanmarco #connie springer #connie springer x reader #connie springer smut #masterlist #jean kirstein x reader #jean kirstein smut

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shingeki-no-alena · 9 months

Text

Lost Promises (Chapter 2)

Marco Bodt x Fem!reader

Genre: Angst, fluff, Cannon AU

Warnings: Blood, injuries, future gore, future spoilers, future character deaths, cheesy moments, reader is Levi’s sister so she’s got some baggage (I’ll add more as they appear!).

Chapter 1 || Masterlist || Chapter 3

It’s been about a week since orientation day. Everything was going well, with classes and all. Y/n had been hanging around Marco and Jean, mostly. Occasionally sitting with Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. It was surprisingly easy to get along with Jean. Y/n had to occasionally put him in his place, but it was all light-hearted.

Today was going to be the first day of ODM training and the first day of physical training in general. Everything up to this point has just been classes teaching the basics of titan culture and the history of their bloodlust. Y/n got up in the morning, bright and early, ready to finally start working on her skills. Although, there’s not much training for her anyway. After self-defense, ODM was the first thing Levi trained her on. Because of this, her first day was more of a support role for the other cadets.

Y/n finished getting dressed in her scouts uniform before heading out the door, to the mess hall. Once she arrived, she grabbed her breakfast and began her search for a table.

“Y/n! Over here!”

Y/n looked towards the sound of the voice, eyes meeting Marco, arm in the air with a sweet smile. Y/n smiled back and walked over, taking a seat next to him. “Hey,” She said. She looked across the table to see Jean stifling a smirk at Marco.

“Hi, Jean.” Y/n said, beginning to eat her breakfast.

“Hello there. Glad you’re finally here. Marco can calm down.” Jean replied, taking a swig out of his mug. “Jean! That’s not true…” Marco complained, looking in disbelief at the boy he called his best friend.

“Yeah, okay. Maybe I exaggerated a bit, heh. You know what’s funny? I didn’t think I’d ever become friends with a scout.” Jean confessed, bluntly. Y/n shrugged. “Well, I never thought I’d become friends with a future MP, so I guess we’re both surprised. Don’t dismiss me by my choice of career, dear Jean-boy, my reputation very well speaks for itself if you ever want to question me.” She remarked, watching for Jean’s reaction. He physically cringed from the nickname, giving a slight glare. The nickname, Y/n learned, was one that his mom gives him. Boy, does he hate it. Marco sweat dropped, holding his breath.

“Relax! I’m just teasing! Jean, you can have whatever opinion you want of me. I won’t hold it against you. It just gives me more of a reason to prove you wrong.” Y/n shrugged, returning to her smile. Marco relaxed, laughing a bit.

“Okay, you’re pretty confident. If you don’t mind me asking, why did you decide to join the scouts? And don’t tell me it’s because of your brother. You might lose my respect.” Jean said, leaning forward in interest.

“No, but living with a bunch of scouts for most of my life had a big impact. Commander Erwin told me these theories when I was younger. Sure, they’re just myths, but it gave me a goal to find out the truth about the world. About the outside world. That might make me sound like a naïve child, but everyone needs a sense of purpose. Some kind of motivation to give them a reason to keep moving forward.” Y/n explained. Ever since Erwin took them in, Y/n was close with the commander. He treated her like his own daughter, even though she’s just some unwanted kid from the Underground. Same with the other authority figures in the Scout Regiment. The scouts are her family, no matter what anyone says about them.

“That’s amazing. I think you’re amazing,” Marco spoke, without thinking. “I mean you’re reasoning! You’re very wise!” Marco frantically tried to cover up what he had said, face becoming red once again. Jean busted out laughing.

“Nice save, Marco,” Jean sighed, collecting himself. “Well, glad to know you did it for yourself.” Y/n nodded at his comment, now focusing on her breakfast.

Once the bell rang, it was time for ODM training. Before the cadets could actually use the gear, they had to be able to pass the balance test. If they couldn’t pass, they would have to leave.

“Ackerman will be demonstrating how this will work today!” Shades yelled to the rows of cadets. Y/n stood at the tall structure, attaching her belt to the wires that hung down. Shades walked over to the crank and continued to explain the process. As the wires pulled to lift her up, Y/n remained still. To her, this is the easiest test. Her feet now hovering above the ground, she looked relaxed and unbothered. The cadets observed in awe, muttering to each other about how easy she made it look.

Shades lowered Y/n back down to the ground, finishing up his explanation. He broke everyone up in their groups, officially starting the training. Y/n began to walk around, looking for a place she could be to help out. The last thing Y/n wanted to do was just sit and watch. She was not arrogant about her skills.

For the most part, everyone seemed to be doing well. Some were very wobbly when trying to balance on the wires, and some weren’t. Y/n looked over to Mikasa, whom was perfectly still and relaxed, just as Y/n had been. Mikasa Ackerman, huh? Interesting…

Y/n continued to scan down the aisle of tall ODM structures, eyes encountering the sight of Eren. He was hanging upside down on the wires. Y/n immediately headed in his direction.

“Eren! Are you okay?” Y/n asked, quickly helping him up.

“This can’t be happening…” Eren mumbled, seemingly dazed. Y/n put her hands on his shoulders, “Hey, It’s okay! Let’s try again, yeah? I’ll help you.” Eren nodded, standing up straight again.

“Okay, try focusing on keeping your weight balanced evenly between your left and right side. Just relax. You don’t need to be tense because that’ll just make it harder for you,” Y/n directed. “You ready?” At this point, Y/n noticed that Shades was observing. She was glad that she had made it to Eren first. Eren let out a breath, his determination retaking him. He curtly nodded to Y/n, who signaled for the volunteer to lift Eren back up.

As Eren was lifted back off the ground, Y/n observed his movements. Eren was doing exactly what Y/n had said, staying up for a good five seconds before faltering. Before Y/n could process, Eren had flew forward, head hitting the ground hard. Y/n gasped, helping him up.

“Enough, Jaeger! Ackerman, take him to the infirmary! You get one more chance tomorrow! Fail and it’s back to the fields!” Shades commanded. Mikasa ran over, holding Eren up while Y/n unhooked his belt from the wires. Once he was free, both girls slung Eren’s arms over their shoulders and dragged him off to the infirmary.

~~~

The rest of the day went by pretty uneventfully. Y/n stayed with Eren and Mikasa for a bit, Armin eventually joining, to make sure everything was okay. Now, Y/n was walking around the training grounds to get some peace before dinner time. She looked over to the horizon, sun starting to get lower and lower. Branches of the tall trees in the forest rustling in the breeze. She heard footsteps walking towards her and then felt a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around to find Marco standing there, trying to catch his breath as if he had jogged over to her.

“Freckles!” Y/n cheered, smile gracing here face at the sight of her friend. Marco blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Freckles?” He asked, bashfully.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have asked first. I just love your freckles… They’re cute.” Y/n replied, immediately regretting the last part. God, Y/n! What happened to you!? A week ago you wouldn’t even be bothered by a boy… Y/n thought. Marco looked away, face completely red.

“T-T-Thanks… Um, I-I love your smile!” Marco stuttered. He was flustered and embarrassed. Not because of Y/n, but because of his own response. He meant what he said, he did. But should he have said it? Was he going too far? He was so lost in his internal conflict that he didn’t realize that Y/n was leaning forward. Before he could process it, she left a sweet kiss upon his cheek.

“You’re sweet. Did you mean that?” She asked, looking straight up into his eyes. Marco found himself lost, staring back into her doe eyes.

“O-Of course! I actually wanted to ask you if you maybe wanted to sit with me and Jean again at dinner. I want to get to know you better.” Marco explained. Y/n nodded, “I would love to. I like talking to you too.” This made Marco smile, relieved that he hadn’t scared her off.

“OOOH, MARCOOO!!!” Y/n suddenly heard from a distance. Both her and Marco turned to the voice to find Sasha and Connie running over. Y/n had talked to them on occasion, the two usually always together. Both of them had made fools of themselves at orientation. Connie had saluted from the wrong side, and Sasha had been eating a potato. Sasha got punished to run for the rest of the day, but that didn’t bother her as much as being told she lost food privileges for the first three days. It wasn’t long before people started referring to her as “Potato Girl”. Y/n had really gotten to know the food-lover during their time staying in the barracks. She completely adored her.

The two finally reached Y/n and Marco, panting with their hands on their knees. “Didn’t know you had it in you, man.” Connie huffed, smirking up at Marco. Sasha joined in, “Yeah, and Y/n is so out of everyone’s league!”

Y/n’s face heated up a bit. She wondered what they were talking about. Marco started to get flustered again. “What are you guys talking about?” He asked, innocently. Connie and Sasha looked at each other mischievously. Marco started to regret even saying anything.

“Oh, I see. So, you’re not asking Y/n out?” Connie responded, wiggling his eyebrows at Marco. Marco practically burst into flames.

“No! That’s not it at all! We’ve only known each other for a week! We’re just friends!” Marco blabbered out, waving his hands in front of him. Y/n nodded in agreement. She wasn’t sure why she felt so differently around him compared to the others, but she just blamed it on the fact he was her first real friend she had met in such a new environment. Besides, she knew why she was here, and she didn’t want to risk everything she has worked so hard for just to get distracted.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. I just came here to tell you that Jean is looking for you. C’mon.” Connie said, turning to walk in the other direction. Marco sighed in relief, saying bye to Y/n and Sasha before following after Connie.

With the boys having left, Sasha turns to Y/n.

“Do you believe Marco? Connie tells me that he talks about you all the time in the barracks.” Sasha informed, nudging Y/n with her elbow. Y/n was shocked. Does he?... She wondered, almost forgetting to answer Sasha.

“Does he really?” Y/n asked, looking into the other girls’ eyes. Sasha looked back at her, incredulously.

“Huh? I thought you’d be smarter than that, Y/n.” She said, hands on her hips with an eyebrow raised in question. Y/n rolled her eyes at Sasha’s dramatics. To her, it didn’t really matter that Marco was talking about her. That is what friends do, right? It just means he enjoys having her as a friend and Y/n was perfectly okay with that.

Coming out of her train of thought, Y/n spoke, “Whatever. Let’s just head back. Dinner is soon.” At the mention of food, Sasha immediately dismissed what they had been in the middle of discussing, grabbing Y/n by the arm to drag her to the mess hall.

A/N: Very long overdue update, but here’s Chapter 2! Also, I went back and did some very needed editing. I realized I had an OC’s name all through Chapter 1 that I forgot to change.

#aot #aot x reader #attack on titan #marco bodt x reader #marco bott x reader #series #snk #shingeki no kyojin

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levieske · 2 years

Text

𝟏.𝟑 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

previous - masterlist - next

The next morning, Cora remembered waking up sore because of the position she had been reading in for hours the previous night. She stretched and massaged her shoulder blades, finding momentary comfort. Getting the covers out of her way, Cora got out of her bed before checking her phone. Mikasa had sent her a text.

Meeks

Springer’s café as usual?

Cora quickly typed an affirmative reply. Finals were approaching and Connie’s mother’s bookstore-café was the perfect place to study and drink good tea. The ambience was quiet and cozy, and the owner was a nice woman who happened to be a friend’s mother. Many other students in town went there for the very same reason.

Checking the hour, she realized she had plenty of time to get ready at a normal pace. After taking clothes from her wardrobe, she walked into the bathroom outside her tiny room. Cora took a quick body shower and changed her comfortable home clothes for the beige hoodie and the ripped black jeans she had grabbed. She untangled her dyed honey blond hair, leaving her straight locks in a loose ponytail to wash her freckled, sand skin. Cora did her characteristic waterline eyeliner and applied mascara on her lashes. Back in her room, she put on her combat boots and rushed to the kitchen to munch some cookies. On the counter her parents had left her some money, knowing it was very likely she would spend the morning studying at the café. She picked the money and put it in her wallet, placing it back inside her messenger bag. Taking her ring binder and her literature textbook along with her pencil case, Cora put them inside her bag. Her eyes laid on the journal and she paused, deciding to take it too with her.

After brushing her teeth and combing her hair, undoing the ponytail in the process, Cora put on her denim jacket. She hung her black bag on her shoulder and texted Mikasa that she was on her way before placing her phone in her pocket. She got out of her apartment building and walked to her parked bike.

After the ten-minute ride to the café, Cora found her goth best friend already sitting in their usual spot. Mrs. Springer waved at her once she passed the threshold. She was a blond, short woman who resembled her child, Connie. She was very kind and always wore an apron with cute, cheesy lines. She had inherited the shop after Connie’s grandfather’s passing and, after some renovations, she turned the old library into a bookstore-café.

It wasn’t a big store but it wasn’t claustrophobic either. By the entrance stood the counter, where Mrs. Springer had displayed sweets and baked goods. Forward the entry, there were tall wooden bookcases filled with all kinds of books, including first-editions Mrs. Springer had inherited. Everything was in good condition, much to Cora’s surprise the first time she had gone to check them out alongside Armin. To her right were the café seating arrangement, illuminated by the huge windows that had let her see Mikasa inside.

After giving Connie’s mother her order, Cora turned right and sat on the leather chair, taking her bag and jacket off and hanging it on its backrest. Mikasa smiled at her briefly, lifting her eyes from her notebook and laying her pen down.

“So, tell me, how was the journal?”

Cora eyes’ shone. She smiled back and started taking her things out of her bag, including the journal. Mikasa snorted at the sight of it, shaking her head. Her tiny pigtails, earrings and necklace followed her movements, mockingly.

“It’s quite good really. I stayed up quite late yesterday reading it.” The blonde answered, tapping the journal. “I really like his writing, so deep. A truly tormented mind.”

“Don’t tell me you’re yearning for a dead old man.”

Cora gasped at her friend’s accusation, shaking furiously her head.

“I’m not yearning.” She stated, proceeding to defend herself. “All I said was that I liked his writing.”

“What does he even talk about?”

“Well, he wrote about his life in Trost and the shady deals he made.” This irked some interest in Mikasa, making her tilt her head. “The last entry I read said he was being forced to join the military.”

“So, he was a thug and then a soldier.” The black-haired teen affirmed. “How depressing.”

Cora shrugged and put the journal back inside her bag, deciding to read it after she had neatly written out her literature notes. After opening her textbook, she took some pieces of paper out of her ring binder and started writing down the highlighted text, comparing the information with the notes the teacher had given them. In front of her, Mikasa started doing her calculus homework. Not too long after they began working, Ms. Springer got to their table with Cora’s mint tea in hand.

Cora thanked her, enjoying the cool smell the tea emanated. Mrs. Springer smiled and then looked at the entrance.

“Hello, mom!”

Connie Springer, her son and Mikasa’s calculus classmate, burst into the otherwise quiet café. He stuck out his buzz-cut, announcing his arrival. He was shushed by a client, who happened to be Annie from PE, and he mumbled some apologies. Exaggeratedly, he walked in a sneaky way to her mom, who only shook her head at his shenanigans. She smiled warmly at him, giving the same smile to his friends who tailed behind him. Jean and Marco, two best friends who she shared literature with. Also, close friends with her too.

Cora couldn’t stop her head from turning around and watch them approach her table. Marco’s black hair messily parted over his forehead, revealing his freckled-skin and his sweet, honey eyes. He smiled kindly at her before focusing his attention on Connie’s mother. He greeted her and Jean did as well. Cora turned her gaze to her textbook, away from his handsome face and strong chest hidden under the blue hoodie he was wearing.

She blinked a few times, trying to stop thinking about him and get her attention to the task at hand. Unfortunately for her, it seemed the world didn’t want her to study literature right now.

The chair next to her moved, making an annoying creaking sound, and she saw Connie sitting down. A few tables away, Annie scowled at the buzz cut maniac that had just arrived, irritated by his presence. Cora looked at him with a raised brow.

“You don’t mind us sitting here, right?” Connie assumed.

“You’re supposed to ask before you sit, Connie.” Marco, the forever gentleman, reprimanded him.

Cora looked at Mikasa, who shrugged and kept working.

I’ll take it as a yes then.

“It’s okay, guys.” She assured, staring at Marco’s warm eyes. “We don’t mind.”

He sat down on her other side, at the end of the table, and started taking things out of his backpack. Connie mirrored his actions, although Cora was more than 100% sure he wouldn’t do anything other than crack jokes and distract them. Previous study sessions had proven that.

“We weren’t really going to sit anywhere else, though.” Jean plopped on the spot next to Mikasa, who was sitting on a sofa, across from Cora.

Cora rolled her eyes at her ash-brown-haired friend. Jean took his laptop from the bag he had been carrying, setting it on the table. He adjusted on his seat, conveniently getting a bit closer to Mikasa. His movements shook the earring he had recently got done on his left ear. It was a silver cross hoop that stood out, all thanks to his undercut fringe hairstyle.

Cora’s goth friend didn’t react to his closeness at all. She kept solving her homework and Cora sent Jean a raised eyebrow look. He just winked at her and turned on his laptop. She rolled her eyes and continued writing literature notes. Although she was scribbling them down, her mind wandered to her interaction with Jean. She still couldn’t believe her friend was being serious when he confided in her that he had harbored a little crush on Mikasa. The two of them barely interacted at all, mainly because of having picked different classes. When they did speak it was usually because Cora was there and, even then, they only had exchanged a few words. Cora wished it was just Jean wanting to hookup with her, since the rejection would hurt much less in that case.

After all, Mikasa had always liked girls.

Marco’s voice drew Cora out of her dazed state.

“You’re studying literature?” His eyes went from her notes to her, already knowing the answer to his question. Still, the blonde nodded, waiting for him to continue. “Do you want us to study together?”

“Yes!” Her eager tone caused a teasing smile to appear on Mikasa’s lips. Cora kicked her subtly under the table before looking back at her honey-eyed boy. “Of course, if you don’t mind…”

“I am asking you, aren’t I?” Marco laughed, infecting her with his cute smile.

On the other side of the table, Jean pouted.

“Marco, you never ask me to study with you.”

Marco gave his friend a look Cora couldn’t decipher and Jean raised his hands in a surrendering manner. He let it be, starting to type again on his computer with a foreign smile. Connie’s gaze went from Marco to Jean, letting his pen down before he chipped in.

“Don’t worry, Jean,” he patted his friend on the shoulder, “no one wants to study with me either.”

“That’s because you’re annoying.”

Cora would have expected it to be Jean the one to reply to him with such a sassy remark, only to be surprised when she recognized Annie’s voice. She had gotten up from her seat, passing by on her way out, white hoodie in hand and all. Her icy blue eyes scrutinized Connie’s crouching form, as a vague attempt to hide from her.

She was both an athlete and a good student, usually silent and quite moody. Her study session seemed to have been put on an abrupt stop, all because of their chatting. Thankfully, it was Connie the one to concentrate her wrath.

“Sorry!” He quickly stuttered, almost knocking Cora over as he kept pressing against her.

“Whatever.”

Annie walked off, putting her hoodie on before nodding at Mrs. Springer and leaving her store. Jean chuckled once the blonde was out of sight, while Marco shook his head and Cora snorted. Mikasa just silently watched the exchange.

“At this point you’re going to leave your mother without clients.”

Cora openly laughed at Jean’s comment and Connie frowned at both of them.

“Oh, shut up!”

Their laughs died down a bit later and Connie’s mother got to their table, their orders in hand. She set the beverages and baked goods in front of the respective clients, and gently slapped Connie on the nape.

“You have to quiet down a bit. I can’t lose one of my usuals.” She reprimanded her son, who nodded, crossing his arms.

His mother moved back to the counter and Jean snickered. Under the table, his buzz cut friend kicked him and huffed. Jean scowled, caressing his hurt leg. After that, all of them went back to doing their schoolwork. From time to time, they had to ignore Connie’s awful jokes and try to focus back. Cora and Marco worked together, sharing their notes and solving each other’s doubts.

Some hours went by and it was already lunchtime when they started collecting their belongings. Cora put her ring binder, textbook and pencil case back inside her messenger bag, briefly looking at the journal. She didn’t have the chance to read it, too engrossed in Marco to even think about it. She made a mental note about continuing it after lunch.

“So… Are you doing something next week?” Jean asked, the question being directed to Mikasa and Cora as his eyes went from one to another.

“Study?” Cora guessed, looking at her close friend with an arched dark eyebrow.

“My mother’s going on a little vacation out of town with her boyfriend.” Jean explained. “I thought you all could come to my house on Saturday and have a movie night.”

“Sounds good to me.” Cora nodded. It wasn’t like she would be spending the entire day studying, after all. She turned her head to look at her best friend. “Meeks?”

The black-haired girl lifted her eyes from her phone, nodding to her.

“I’ll go too.” Her response made a smile appear on Jean’s mouth. “Who is coming too?”

“Aside from us, Ymir and Historia.” Marco replied, adjusting the bag on his back. “Eren and Armin… I’m not sure.”

“I’ll convince Armin.” Cora quickly assured him, getting a blond strand of her hair out of her shoulder. “He’s probably worrying about not having revised enough. Eren will probably go too.”

The black-haired teen gave her a kind smile, which she returned.

“See you on Monday, then.”

Cora couldn’t hide the heat on her cheeks. Her eyes clung to Marco’s retreating figure, the shy smile she had on her lips getting bigger. On her left, Mikasa spared her with a knowing look, adjusting the straps of her bag. She didn’t open her mouth until both Jean and Marco had left their sight and Connie had gotten back inside his mother’s shop. Probably going to annoy her further.

“Just tell him already.”

The black-haired girl chuckled as she started removing the chain that held her bike in place. Cora stepped next to her, mirroring her actions with her own bike. She looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow, her smile twisting into a pout.

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Cora.” Mikasa moved her bike to the road, the blond following suit. The goth looked at her from the corner of her eye. “I already know you like him, there’s no point in hiding it now.”

“Yes, I like him, but I can't just tell him!” She huffed, hopping on her bicycle. Biting her lip, she turned around to her friend. “He doesn’t know, right?”

Mikasa just shook her head, snorting.

“I’m just teasing you, you’re fine.” The blond almost exhaled at ease. “He’s still oblivious to your flirting.”

“I’m not flirting.”

“Right. You can barely talk to him without blushing and giving him ogling eyes.” The goth batted her eyelashes, mimicking Cora’s supposed actions.

The aforementioned softly hit her friend’s arm, laughing away the embarrassment that had blossomed inside her.

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