SNK rAMDOMM

Shame [part two]

"Hey, ____, what was that for? Wait, did he ask you about the Titan thing?!"

"Uh... Yeah, Zoë. Why?"

Hange practically broke down and started wailing after that.

"My little ones! I miss them!! ...a-and I'm a bit sleepy," she announced.

"Then go to bed. I'm heading up to the girls dormitory anyway; care to join me?"

•••

Long after you escorted a worn-out Hange into her quarters, you stayed up in bed reading a book. To be specific, "Journey To the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne. You found it in some rubbish after the fall of Wall Maria and soon fell into deep interest. Jules Verne sounded like an amazing person--it astounded you as to how much imagination one's mind contained! It also made you think about the outside of the walls... what was out there, anyway?

It was almost midnight, but you didn't dare put the book down. With very little candle to burn left, you hoped to finish the few remaining pages soon. You were determined to.

Then you heard a shuffle at the door.

"ShiT!" you cursed under your breath. Hoping nobody saw you, you extinguished the candle on the stand (with a solemn feeling that you probably wouldn't finish the book tonight), ruffled your hair, and put the covers over parts of your body.

Silence... it was all you could hear. Or not hear, for that matter (besides Sasha's obnoxious snores).

45 seconds...
3 minutes...
7 minutes...
15 minutes.

Slowly, you turned around in your bed with eyes barely squinted, as a precaution if there were some person at the door. You never know, it could happen. In the case that it did, the other person would just believe you were just moving around in your sleep.

It failed.

"____(l/n), you're not that good at pretending, you know," a voice whispered sternly into your ear.

There was no point, you decided. You sat up in bed and crossed your arms. It was Bertholdt. His face was hovering right in front of yours (the only reason you could actually see him was because he was on his knees). However, his presence did nothing to arouse or amuse you. In fact, it only annoyed you that he managed to get into the girl's dorms--how did he even manage?

You sighed. "I don't even want to know how you passed curfew... and you do know this is an offense, right? Sneaking into here and all? I could report you to Captain Levi, you know. Dish duty for a few months..." you said slyly.

"Trivial punishment, ____. You don't faze me."

You rolled your eyes. "What is it, Hoover?"

The 6'3 figure stood up in his gray pajamas and scratched the nape of his neck. "Come with me," he gestured, extended his arm out for you.

Paranoid, you asked, "Where?"

Hoover looked thoughtful. "The upper roof, maybe? I know of a staircase that hasn't been used in a while," he said quietly, not to wake the others. "It leads up there. I kind of need to tell you something, too."

That caught your attention. You were known as the one who excelled at everything you did. Think of Mikasa, just a toned down version of her "coldness". Hopefully, others thought of you as approachable compared to her. But you were always willing to help a friend out emotionally or mentally. Many believed it was one of your most prominent traits.

You considered the consequences.

"Bertholdt, this better not take long."