Nest & Wings (Annie Leonhardt x Male Reader)

Chapter 44: The Next Phase

Following Commander Erwin's death, Jean was promoted to a Squad Captain and tasked with leading the new recruits and taking out the titans in the Northern Quarter. As soon as the promotion was made official, you rush over to Utopia to congratulate him.

While you occasionally collaborated with Hange and Levi's squads, you haven't been able to spend much time with Jean as the two of you were stationed opposite from each other. Even while Jean was still part of the Levi Squad, Commander Erwin would have him come over and help him manage the recruits in the Northern Quarter, so he was practically always in the Utopia District.

You hug him and say, "Congrats on the promotion Jean-bo! I always knew you had it in you."

"I don't know if I should thank you or punch you in the gut." He says noting your comment.

"Come on now, don't say that... you're thinking of how proud your mom's gonna be when she finds out, aren't you?" You continue teasing him. "So, how are things with your squad?"

Jean responds, "Everyone's getting along just fine— oh except that pain in the ass Floch. I heard he punched you after we returned to Shiganshina... too bad I had to rush back, I would've paid to see that!"

You answer, "It wasn't that big of a deal. I mean... he was understandably frustrated and— speaking of which, where is he?"

"He went on about how he'll never follow anyone besides Commander Erwin and quit the Survey Corps. I heard they accepted him into the Military Police since they lost most of their members during the uprising; must be pretty desperate if they're letting people like him in." Jean explains.

"By the way... any secret admirers I should know about?" you ask.

"Huh? What are you getting at?" Jean asks.

You respond, "I mean... the 'recruits' are technically the same age as us, so they're fair game, right? I bet at least half of them are drooling over their hot new Captain!"

Jean says, "Why didn't I see that coming? For the millionth time... I've only got eyes for Mikasa!"

You sigh, "Listen... I admire your dedication but, you're seriously gonna miss out on a real keeper one of these days if you keep that attitude! What's it gonna take for you to move on?"

"I don't know. I mean... if she got it going with Eren, I could at least accept reality and give up. But the fact that she keeps calling him family and that bastard being dense as a rock just makes the whole prospect impossible, don't you think?" He asks.

"Hmm... you've got a point. That big 'what if' really messes with your mind, huh?" You respond.

You decide to stay and to join them on their first expedition with Jean as Captain the next day. You were impressed seeing how Jean had improved a lot since you last saw him in action.

While you were still better at using ODM in terms of speed and pulling off advanced maneuvers, Jean had better technique and was more efficient at conserving gas. In a battle of attrition, you wouldn't hold a candle to him.

After the expedition, you say goodbye and return to Shiganshina to resume your own expeditions to wipe out the considerably larger number of titans in the Southern Quarter.

Thanks to the effort of all four squads and your newest member, Bertolt; you manage to fully rid Wall Maria of titans by the next spring. As soon as the Survey Corps made the announcement official, the government started rebuilding Shiganshina and settling the refugees back in their hometowns.

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Having fully cleared Wall Maria of titans, you instruct your squad to take some time off. Petra heads off to catch up with Levi while Nifa does the same with Hange, although it results in her vacation getting cut off early by having to run errands for her. Hange was nearly overwhelmed by the workload without Moblit's assistance.