Great Descendant || Attack on Titan x Reader

56 || Grim Reminder

You didn't shed any tears. Each time your assembled blades slashed through the Yeagerist, or when you stomped them all underneath your gigantic feet, there was no sign of remorse. You stepped out from your titan form as if you hadn't annihilated hundreds of soldiers in a span of minutes, at the same time, protecting the alliance with shields and offensive weaponries.

It was as if you were not the same person, not the Tybur that Jean had grown accustomed to for about seven years ever since he met you in the Cadet Corps.

Your lips were shaped into thin lines the entire time they all boarded the ship. Perhaps a second, your eyes glossed for a second when everyone could see that the General had sacrificed himself to detonate the Marleyan Cruiser. But only for a moment before you got inside the bridge, still nothing to say.

Jean thought you would be so emotional since Armin went unconscious because of the shots he received. He remembered the time when they had to fight with the First Interior Squad under the Reiss chapel. You were using your own body to shield them, looking so invincible as you dashed to each column and shot them.

What a reckless woman you were when it came to those who you loved. That was why he didn't believe you when you said you didn't care about any of the Yeagerist on the port. You knew them. Maybe you were not as attached, but they were all the same soldiers who once swarmed all over you back then in the Cadet Corps.

You trained with them, having the same meal under one roof for three years. With how genuine you were as you talked to them, with how much you gave your time for those on the Island of Paradis — he doubted you didn't feel any heartache.

People changed, yes. He was aware of that. They would grow as time passed by, depending on the environment and the society surrounding them. But a character would stick. It was something that someone carried ever since they were born. And even though you tried to mask yours, he could see right through you.

You were alone on the primary deck, eyes overlooking the blue ocean. The others were resting after the emotional battle a few hours ago, waiting for the ship to arrive at Odiha so they could just end this nightmare once and for all.

He was debating the whole time. After last night, he didn't know how to approach you. The feeling of his boots knocking you right at your ribcage, the crack and the blood that splattered out of your mouth, haunted him to sleep. Even though he was angry since you never said anything, he knew you had your reason.

With what Reiner said, it was visible that you were not keen on the idea of killing Marco. You had your blades ready towards the Warriors, betraying them from just that simple act, and yet still failed to protect one of your best friends you made on the island of Paradis.

The burden you carried on your shoulders, add that with the heaviness of your name — if it was another person, they might as well have gone crazy in the first few years.

Now he knew how it felt to be a traitor as he shot those Yeagerist right in the middle of their head. His hand was shaking, sweat covering his skin as each trigger he pulled made him want to throw up out of guilt. And for you to do that over and over again, changing one side to another, cherishing and trying to keep them all alive despite the waging war, it was a miracle itself in the form of you.

So, even though he needed time to forgive Reiner and Annie, it wasn't like that with you. Whether because he believed you already redeemed that part of your sin, or because he just loved you so, he was uncertain. Then again, maybe a mix of both.

"Just join me, Kirstein." He jolted, not expecting you to call out for him, knowing he was around.

"Hey," After all this time, he thought he was the only one who could sense it when you were within a close radius. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I am just going to get some fresh air, that's all." But when you discovered him hiding in the shadows, the power was perhaps mutual.