From Across the Sea (Attack on Titan/OC) [ON HOLD]

Chapter 24

Two crossed roses on a gray shield.

The symbol of the Garrison was splashed across the back of his new uniform jacket. His commanding officer, Kitz Woermann handed James Gray his new uniform while gesturing for him to follow behind the older man. James was led through the hallways and various corridors of his new living quarters, the whole tour consisting of various statements of "This is your bunk" and "This is where you'll report to see your assigned duties every morning."

"And this is the mess hall." Woermann opened the door and led the young soldier through the entrance and towards a table containing several soldiers on their lunch break. Upon Kitz's arrival, every soldier stood and saluted to their superior officer. "At ease. This is your new teammate, James Gray, a transfer from the Survey Corps."

James could see the disdain clearly displayed across their faces at the mention of his previous regiment, all except for the short blonde woman wearing glasses, with the straps wrapped across the back of her head, similar to those worn by Section Commander Hanji Zoe.

"This is Rico Brzenska. You'll be under her command for the time being." Rico reached her hand out in a professional handshake, but her grip was tight around his own. James wondered how someone so small could be able to make him wince. Rico, in the short moments he'd spent in her company, reminded him of Angharad. He clenched his teeth, breathing slowly to retain his anger for his old Squad Leader. Woermann then made his leave, leaving him in the presence of what he assumed to be his new squad.

"Follow me." Rico ordered. She waved to those still sitting at the table and gestured for James to follow behind her. He did so silently, still griping his new uniform jacket in his hands. "I don't have any assignments for you today, so you'll start your duties tomorrow." James could tell that Rico was a woman who meant business, her voice was commanding and held no room for argument. "The rest of the day is yours to do with what you wish. I expect you to be on time bright and early for your assignments." James found himself standing with his new superior officer outside his room, his new bunkmates were missing, but he would just meet them when they finally came back later on in the evening.

Rico pointedly cleared her throat, gaining the taller man's attention. James stared down at her, suddenly wondering why she looked so angry at him.

"You know, Angharad is one of my oldest friends." Shit. "We were friends in our Cadet days, and we still send letters back and forth to this day." She stepped forward, not caring that she had to crane her neck to look up at him. "If you ever pull that kind of shit with me or anyone else on my team, I will have you reported to Premier Zackly faster than you can blink."

James nodded once, keeping his expression as neutral as possible. Rico stepped back and made to walk back down the hall the way they came. She paused after a few steps and looked back at him over her shoulder.

"Welcome to Trost." Then she was gone, and he was left standing alone. James Gray decided then that short, blonde women were going to cause the death of his sanity.

~

Jeremiah Gray sat on the edge of his bed as he stared at the other side of the room. James' side of the room. The empty bed and lack of personal items made his chest ache and his heart feel empty. He'd never been without his twin for more than a few hours. This felt...weird, like he was missing something.

He turned his head when a knock sounded on his open door. Layla stood leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed and her bright red hair hanging around her shoulders. Her black button up shirt folded up to her elbows.

"Feeling okay?" Her voice was soft as she regarded him with equally soft eyes. Jeremiah thought about lying but realized that she would see right through him. She always did. Layla knew him too well when it came to his emotions.

"I feel..." He started but found himself unable to finish.

"Like something is missing?" She finished for him. Jeremiah's eyes met hers, and he nodded in confirmation. "That's how I feel with Ilse. Other than Petra, she is-was- my best friend." She walked forward into the room to sit on the edge of his bed, reaching out to take his hand in hers. She leaned into his side and lied her head on his shoulder.

"Do you blame her too?" He sighed. "Do you feel the same way as James?" Jeremiah felt Layla shake her head against him.

"No." Her voice was quieter now. "James has every right to be emotional. He loved Ilse, and I know I would be devastated if it was you who didn't come back." She looked up at him as he continued to stare at James' side of the room. "Do you blame Angharad? Do you feel that Ilse's...death is her fault?" James was quiet for a moment before he shook his head.

"No. There was no way she could've known what would happen." He understood that as a Squad Leader, she had to make hard choices. Ilse's death was certainly unexpected and caught them all off guard. At first, Jeremiah wanted to be angry, but then he saw the look on Ang's face as she sat down in Ilse's seat at their table. How she fidgeted with her hands and looked evenly into James's eyes with shaky breaths while she delivered the news. And he knew he could never be angry at her. Ilse's death had affected her just as bad at the rest of them, maybe more. Ang had known Ilse the longest out of all of them, and she'd been the one to train her and coach her into the strong and resourceful woman she was when she died.

"I just hope she didn't suffer." Layla whispered from beside him. Jeremiah nodded in agreement.

"Me too, my love." Jeremiah looked down at her, waiting for Layla to meet his gaze before he leaned down and kissed her. Jeremiah felt her sigh into the kiss, and she reached up and gripped the side of his face to hold him against her a little longer. "I love you." He whispered against her soft lips.

"I love you too." She smiled at him softly. Jeremiah knew that despite the recent tragic and depressing events that had occurred in recent weeks, as long as he had Layla, he would be alright.

~

Auntie Ang,

I don't have a lot of time to write this, I'm trying to use any spare time I have to train so I can boost up my scores as much as possible, so I apologize if this letter isn't very long. I just wanted to take the time to say that I hope that you're still safe, and that you're doing okay.

Mikasa has been helping me, as have a few others that we've gotten close with. Jean is kind of annoying, but he's skilled in many areas, so I'll give him that. Connie and Sasha are total goofs, I think you'll like them, if you ever get to meet them. Reiner and Bertolt have been good friends too, they helped me early on when I was having trouble with the ODM gear. Another girl named Annie Leonhart is really talented as well. She's as skilled as Mikasa, and nobody can beat her in hand-to-hand combat. Believe me, my body aches for days after having to spar against her. I've tried to convince her to join the Scouts, but she's dead set on joining the Military Police, so that's a shame.

I miss you. I know you're probably really busy, being a Lieutenant, you probably have a lot of important things to take care of. After I graduate, I'll be able to join the Scouts and I'll be able to follow in your footsteps and fight alongside you. The titans will pay for what they did to our family. They won't see us coming. Us Jaegers are strong, and we'll take them all out in order to save humanity.

I hope I can make you proud. I want to show you that I can be strong and a capable soldier to the Scouts. I want you to finally show me what lies beyond the walls. You've told me about it so many times, no matter how many times I asked. You always indulged me, and you never stifled my curiosity about the outside world, and for that I thank you. I know my mother hated that you told me so many stories, but they give me something to hope for, to look forward to.

Armin, Mikasa, and I will be with you as soon as we graduate. Until then, I love you. Stay safe Auntie.

~Eren