𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑴𝑬𝑹 | a. arlert

007 | a long awaited reunion

the surface you were resting your head on began to move, gradually pulling you from sleep's grasp. it wasn't until it completely vanished and your head began to drop that you awoke, shoulders being held up by surprisingly strong arms.

"armin?" you questioned, weary eyes opening to see the blonde looking down at you, face plastered with a look of guilt.

"sorry to wake you." he said, voice quiet as if to not disturb you. "we're here."

it was then that you realised you had fallen asleep on his shoulder, surprisingly for the whole journey. the sun was beginning to set, sky filled with hues of orange and red, indicating that it was now late afternoon.

you sat up on the horse, stretching your stiff arms in an attempt to regain control of your limbs which felt like they were still asleep. looking around, you noticed you were under the shade of a tree - which the horse was tied to, and not far from a small, old castle, which had been damaged to the point of now resembling a pile of ruins.

several figures were huddled together, all wearing the survey corps uniform, while others zipped through the air, slaying the remaining titans in the area with strange gear which seemed to be made up of two long blades.

in the distance a short, blonde girl was running alongside what appeared to be a stretcher, desperately trying to cling on to it in an attempt to talk to the injured person. she was causing quite the commotion, shouting at the top of her lungs, voice hoarse from crying. you couldn't help but wonder if her friend was gravely injured, or even dead.

everywhere was in chaos, and it was hard to think over the yelling, screams and thuds coming from titans collapsing to the ground; which would soon be no more than a steaming corpse.

glancing across at armin, you were surprised to see how calm he appeared. perhaps he was freaking out internally; his trembling eyes were a dead giveaway, as well as his clenched fists which were frozen at his sides.

you had seen many people like that in the warriors unit; recruits who were desperate to be rewarded the 'privilege' of having a titan to bring honour to their families, and also those who weren't given a choice in the matter - parents and relatives so broken by the abuse they received that they would do anything to make it stop, even offer up one of their own.

even annie had been like that once; the day you met her was still fresh in your mind, a warm spring day with a refreshing breeze. the two of you were fresh meat, some of the youngest in the unit and also the weakest. you had found annie sat on the ground, palms buried into her face in a feeble attempt to hide her tear stained cheeks. instead of comforting her with words, you placed a gentle hand on her back and the two of you sat together in a comfortable silence for what felt like hours.

reiner was even worse - a fragile boy who hid his emotions behind a facade, feigning strength right up until the day he left for paradis. you doubted he would last long, sure that he would come running back to marley, begging for forgiveness. the day zeke received a letter from him had been a real shock for you; though you never got to read it yourself, from what your supervisor had said he was a changed man.

as for you, admittedly your reasons weren't as noble as the others; coming from a well respected and wealthy family, your childhood had been quite ideal, excluding the fact that you were eldian. though it had been thoroughly drilled into your head, you had never quite grasped the reason why your race was so hated. deep down you knew that there was more to the story than marley had told you - perhaps the true enemy was humanity itself, and it's inability to exist peacefully.

dealing with your complex-ridden sister lara was your main reason for joining the warrior unit. her personality had always clashed with yours, and to be honest you saw her as no more than a brainwashed authoritarian, obeying every marlean she came across.

a shrill yell pierced through your subconscious, preventing you from reliving past memories any longer. shaking your head slightly to try and clear your mind, you looked ahead to see a boy with a buzz-cut jumping around happily by the castle ruins. he was accompanied by a brunette who was acting just as joyful, laughing and trying to fling her arms around him.

hange was stood a few meters behind them, engaged in conversation with a much shorter man with an undercut and very tense demeanour. though you couldn't see their faces, from their body language the two seemed to be discussing a serious topic, one which you could only assumed involved the short haired boy.

a twig snapped at your side and you turned to see armin adjusting his footing slightly. he was following your gaze, staring at the back of the raven-haired man with an uneasy expression.

"that's connie." he spoke, nodding at sparsely haired boy who was now chatting to jean. "he's the one from the same village as you, that i thought you'd know."

you shook your head again, blinking hard. "hate to say i've never seen him before." you answered, voice laced with traces of sarcasm that had unintentionally slipped into your tone.

just as you were about to correct yourself, two more figures emerged from behind the building, ones that as your vision focused, you realised were familiar.

you seemed to forget how to breathe as you realised just who they were, and you blinked a few times, certain that each time your eyes reopened they would be gone, nothing more than figments of your imagination, but they were still there; reiner and bertholdt stood just metres away, clear as day.

armin was talking, but you paid no attention, mind flooded with ancient memories of your old friends. you didn't realise that the blonde had now left, walking off to join a group of his friends when you failed to answer him.

though you were frozen in disbelief, your senses were overloading, and you could feel everything: your racing heart, the wind hitting your ears and the tears that were running down your cheeks.

as if time had started again, your legs began to work and before you could process what was happening, you were running in their direction, tunnel visioned from the rest of your surroundings.

you collided with reiner, wrapping your arms around him as you began to sob into his chest. he tensed up immediately, and it was obvious he didn't recognise you, but you lacked the strength to speak or even lift your head to look at him.

it was bertholdt who spoke first; uncertainty in his voice as he spoke your name. his hand reached your shoulder at the same time you processed his words, and you cried even harder, overjoyed that he remembered you. releasing your grasp on reiner, you halfheartedly dried your tears and looked up, gaze flickering between your two friends.

a stupid grin was covering your face, which quickly disappeared as you took in the boy's expressions - features consisting of tired eyes and permanent frowns.