The Empire of Titans

'Here's Kenny'

' At some point in the night, Annie realized that she could no longer stand the sound of her bedsheets rustling, as she kept switching from side to side atop her mattress, unable to get some proper sleep.

She had specifically avoided drinking any coffee that Warchief Zeke had made for them in the afternoon, his snide remark about her being "as cold as he had always known her to be" falling on deaf ears.

Ever since Annie had last seen her father, she had been having trouble sleeping. The last time she got a proper shut-eye was when she slept in Pieck's home when she had invited her.

Despite her bed feeling slightly cramped for her – yes, she hadn't grown that taller, unlike the way Bertholdt, Reiner, and, to a lesser extent, Porco shot up, but she was definitely bigger than she used to be – slumber easily claimed her drained body when her nose was met with the refreshing smell of clean sheets. A piece of home she had dreamed about for years.

Yet, it didn't help ease her into sleep for the following weeks. She desperately tried to hang onto the sense of contentment that had engulfed her on those memorable hours a month ago in an attempt to quell her rising anxiety and the dread that settled in the pit of her stomach whenever she thought about the looming war and the people she would have to kill to protect the one who's dear to her, to no avail.

She couldn't stop thinking about it despite how much she tried.

No matter how much she wanted, she couldn't turn off her brain and just sleep.

She briefly debated whether or not she should reach for the bottle of red wine sitting underneath her desk. She had swiped the spirits' bottle some days ago from some high-ranking officers' dinner table when they weren't paying attention. It had earned her a raised eyebrow from Porco, but he said nothing about it. He hadn't brought it up later, neither.

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she swung her legs over the edge of the mattress before she stalked toward her desk in order to retrieve the required item.

For some reason, Annie was struck with the realization that she didn't want to be alone now, let alone drink on her own. So, she pondered which one of her warrior colleagues she could share with a drink or two.

A quick look at the clock hung on the wall told her that none of her peers would be awake at two in the morning except for one.

Reiner.

No.

He was most likely awake at this hour of the night. Annie believed he would be since he was the only one whose tired expression and dark bags under his eyes mirrored hers, but she didn't want to drink with him or talk to him. They had never been that close anyway, for reasons she didn't want to think about now, lest she got even angrier and hyper-agitated, thus making her chances to get some rest switch from slim to none.

Plus, she doubted Reiner would accept her offer anyway, not to her, not to anyone, not even to Bertholdt.

The latter was also out of the equation because he would be out like a light at this hour.

Porco, well, they weren't close, and she had never taken a liking to his brash personality. He was Marcel's brother, but they were nothing alike.

That left her with Pieck.

Pieck could be asleep, but for some reason, Annie couldn't grasp it; she doubted her only friend would tell her to go away. Pieck always cared for her, always telling her what to eat. Sometimes, it was annoying, but Annie secretly enjoyed how much Pieck cared for her, something her father failed to do. The way she would smile at her, her beautiful smile, always managed to make Annie feel funny, something that never happened with anyone else.