Village of Smoke (Connie x Fem Reader)

Chapter 12; The Ceremony

You still felt dazed by yesterday's sudden memory attacking, but opted to leave your room regardless, much to the surprise of the others. They were certain you'd skip breakfast and stay in your room, Connie even prepared to bring back a plate for you. That's until he spotted your ever so slightly slumped form wandering towards their table, carefully taking a seat beside Armin. They all gave you a subtle look, before continuing the conversation like normal. They knew all too well that talking about matters such as those, needed to happen on your own terms.

You honestly surprised yourself when you got dressed in the shirt, pants and green coat, even putting up with the struggle of pulling on the tight-fitting knee high boots. It was like you were in a trance, but at least it was something. The four walls of the tiny, single room started to feel more and more suffocating. You simply couldn't stay there any longer than you had to.

You stared down at the tabletop with tired eyes. Something had changed after last night. You used to sleep through all hours of the day without any problem, seeking refuge in your dreams; using it as some kind of drug that would ease the pain of living. Now you couldn't even bat an eye, staring out into the darkness until the streaks of the morning sun lit up the room.

"Aren't you gonna get something to eat?", Connie asked you from across the table, his speech limited because of the mouthful of bread he just bit into. Your eyes flickered up to meet him in his curious state; his cheeks stuffed like a squirrel, not looking like he would be chewing until you answered.

"Oh, yeah, sorry", you shook your head gingerly, getting up from the table. He eyed you as you wandered over to the food station, swallowing the bread in his mouth.

"What do you guys think I should do?", he asked them lowly. "I know she's just mourning everything that's happened, but still..."

The others thought about it, stealing glances as you scooped some vegetable soup into a bowl. Armin sighed. "I don't know honestly. We don't really know her that well yet, so we can't speak on what's normal behaviour and what's normal grieving behaviour for her specifically"

"That's just it... she seemed normal before I told her about Ragako, which makes sense. But all this is confusing me. Not to mention I've never seen her having to grieve before... this is a first..."

"Just keep watching her behavioural pattern, and maybe talk to Hange. I know Y/N's visiting her lab for some testing later today. Might be useful for her to know about any changes of her person, you know, -after she obtained the Colossal Titan's powers", Armin continued with a shrug. Connie just nodded, deep in thought, putting on a smile as you sat back down.

You looked at him suspiciously. "What?", you asked with your eyes narrowed, and a slight smirk playing at your lips. His eyes widened.

"What do you mean what?"

"Come on Connie, you only smile like that when you're trying to keep something on the down-low", you teased, taking a spoonful of soup in your mouth.

"Wha— I do not— How come you've never told me you've noticed that then?", he asked slightly shocked.

"Now why would I tell you something that helped me decide if you were completely truthful or not?", you challenged, and Armin snickered.

"So Connie's been keeping secrets too, huh? Like what?", Jean asked you sly. Connie nudged  him in his side.

"Dude—"

"Well, there was this one time he broke my grandma's vase at my house when no one was inside. I had left for just a moment to check the mailbox. I didn't notice at first, but he smiled like that when I came inside. So when he did that to my mom too, I knew something was up", you laughed, shaking your head. "My little brother Felix unwillingly took the fall for that one", you added, kicking Connie's leg lightly with the tip of your boot underneath the table. He huffed. The others looked at Connie accusingly, amused smiles tugging at the corner of their lips.