Cracked Glass | AOT x Male Reader

Chapter 8 - Graduation

_-{Year 850: The Second Ceremony}-_

It had been three years since F/N walked the streets of Trost, and well, there wasn't much for him to miss. The city was unremarkable as ever, just another cluster of grey brick houses and red tiled roofs, surrounded by an aegis of walls. They had no stand out local cuisine, or special traders and shops. F/N had asked Jean what his favorite food here was, and he said omelets. Seriously? An omelet? Who picks that?

But there was one thing that made the city special, and that was the fact it was positioned in the south, where the largest concentration of titans would swarm. As a result, all the people that lived here were either families too poor to leave, too proud, or companies that supplied metal and other goods to the garrison. The last of those was in no short supply.

There was a healthy amount of people that filled the streets, and despite how dull this city was, it had an air of calm, that others didn't. F/N walked alongside his fellow graduates, humming some made up tune under the warm sun. His hands tapped alongside the rhythm, striking his sides, until someone called out to him.

"Hey, young man, mind if I borrow you for a second?" A small elderly man called out, from behind his stand. "I hope I could interest a smiling kid such as yourself in what I have to offer."

F/N stopped in his stride, turning his head to the rest of the cadets, still marching on, then back to the man with a gentle smile. "Sure, what have you got. I have nothing in the way of coin however, I'm graduating from basic training this week." He rose his hands plainly, leaning against the vendor's wood stall. The man hummed happily in response and began scouring his collection of goods for something befitting. 

"Oh my son is a member of the cadet's as well! His name's Kauffman, and I'm Jamieson." He continued to search while talking. "Do you know him?"

F/N tapped his fingers on the stall, and squinted his eyes. He wasn't well acquainted with the rest of the cadets now that he thoughts about it. He was friends with Jean, Connie, Marco, and Sasha, that was really it. Maybe Annie on a good day, and Reiner too. Although it didn't matter much since none of the people he didn't know would be joining him in the interior.  "No, I'm afraid not. Kauffman huh. In any case, it's nice to meet you, Jamieson. My name is F/N."

"A pleasure, F/N. Well, let me not waste anymore of your time. I have something I think a gentleman like you would enjoy." He turned around gingerly, his frail fingers wrapped around a folded cloth. "Here, what do you think?" He wiped a coat of dust off the rugged wood and set down his prize.

"Oh, wow." F/N carefully caressed the embroidered handkerchief, gliding his fingers ever so slightly as if he might ruin it. "It certainly looks extravagant. Although charming, it's much out of my pay, sir." He sighed.

"Is it now?" Jamieson frowned, creasing his withered face. "How about this, when you graduate, you come back here, and pay me proper. Keep it."

F/N almost choaked. "No no, I couldn't." He waved his hands bashfully. "I'll come back once I'm an MP. Then I'll buy it from you, fair?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, scooping up that cloth and walking around the wooden separator. He grabbed the boy's hands and clasped them firmly around it. "No, a kind young man like you needs a handkerchief. All proper men do. Take it."

"Do they?" F/N chuckled and nodded. He certainly was a sweet guy, but F/N couldn't help but cringe at his naivete. Seems around these parts trust is in no short supply. Well, it's not he wouldn't keep his end of the bargain. If he was going to be an MP, hell he could pay a little old man his debt. "Alright, alright, I promise I'll be back then, sir."