The Turquoise Cure (Eren X Reader)

Chapter 55: Framed

    "Hey," you slowly sat up, your sleepless night catching up with you as you laid in the bed in your dorm. Hitch wasn't there- she hadn't been coming around much anymore. Instead, Mikasa was positioned standing above you awkwardly, her dark bangs clouding her eyes; if you could see them, though, you were sure that they would have been filled with wariness. 

    "Hey," you said solemnly, your ego not recovers from the previous accusations. "We're heading out," she said, smoothing her hands over her long, green cloak. "Am I going?" you asked, running a hand through your (h/c) hair, tangled with the tosses and turns from the night before. "Yeah," she said, nervously smoothing back her choppy hair as she refused to make eye contact. "Okay then," you said, tossing the thin blanket off of your thighs, exposing the toned muscles and achy morning joints. "Uniform?" you asked, facing away from Mikasa as she hovered in the doorway while you changed. "Um, I don't think we'll need them," she said. Although you couldn't see her face, you were sure that she was fiddling with her sleeves. 

    "I said-" Mikasa began as you slid your legs through the silly black gear and uniform. "Yeah, I heard you," you said, fastening the belts around your waist and thighs. "Okay," Mikasa said, exasperated. Tying your long, green cloak around your waist, you turned to leave your room. Mikasa looked tearful as she leaned against the door, still unable to look at you. "It's fine," you said, not looking at her either. "I'm sorry that I thought-" she began. "Yeah, don't worry about it," you sighed, slipping past her and into the hallway. 

    "So where are we going again?" you asked as you made it to the lobby, everyone avoiding your gaze. "Um, we're going to see Niccolo to ask him some questions about the volunteers," Armin said, his expression almost identical to Mikasa's. You peered around towards Jean and Connie, but they simply stared at their feet, eager to refuse eye contact. "Well alright then," you said, slinking over towards a far corner of the room. 

    Despite everything, you'd never become especially close with most of the new members of the Corps., and many of those that you had familiarized yourself with were now either dead or deflected to Eren's cause. Now, standing in this room that was usually so full of people, but now was left only to those that had been there since the beginning, you felt dwarfed somehow. You felt uncomfortable not standing with your people, with your friends that you'd spent so many years loving and looking out for. You all but jumped for joy when Commander Hange quietly and unenthusiastically called for the few troops summoned to accompany them out the door. 

    The trip to Niccolo's restaurant felt like it took an ungodly length of time. Nobody spoke much on the way over, Mikasa and Armin and Connie and Jean occasionally exchanging meaningful glances as you hung back, slightly behind them. How could this have happened? We used to trust each other so blindly, now they don't even act like they know me... 

timeskip to arriving at piccolo's restaurant

    "Looks like some other people are here," Hange said, adjusting their glasses as they more tightly secured their hair. "That looks like Sasha's family's horse," Connie said, speaking more now than he had in ages. You pretended not to notice, but even as angry and betrayed as you felt, you couldn't help but feel happy that Connie was speaking again. 

    As Hange pulled on the door handle, the overwhelming sounds of conversation and dialect flooded your ears. Sasha's name caught your attention first. As your eyes adjusted to the lighting in the restaurant, you noticed that Connie was right: before you sat Sasha's mother and father around a table with three children, Niccolo standing slightly to the left with a white apron on. "Hope we're not intruding?" Hange asked, as the room turned to look at the entrance of your group. "I-" Niccolo had begun, but he was drowned out as Hange pressed forward anyways, the rest of you following suit.