Dian wasn’t sure how long she stayed there, caught between exhaustion and something rawer, something unfamiliar. The warmth of König’s arms was steady and grounding, and it also made her feel exposed in a way that terrified her.
She had spent years keeping her emotions locked away, hidden beneath layers of control. And now, in the space of a few moments, all of it had unraveled.
She hated it.
But more than that, she hated how good it felt to stop pretending.
Eventually, König shifted slightly, his voice quiet when he spoke. “You don’t have to be ashamed of this, Dian.”
She tensed, pulling back just enough to look at him. His blue eyes were steady, patient. He wasn’t judging her. He never did.
But that didn’t mean she knew what to do with this.
Dian quickly wiped at her face with the sleeve of her jacket, as if that would somehow erase what had just happened. She took a slow, measured breath, forcing herself to steel her expression.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she muttered.
König tilted his head slightly, studying her. “Doesn’t it?”
Dian clenched her jaw. She wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him that she was still in control, that she was fine. But she wasn’t sure she could lie to him anymore.
She swallowed hard, shifting her gaze away. “I don’t know how to do this,” she admitted, voice barely above a whisper.
König’s shoulders relaxed slightly, as if he had been waiting for her to say it. “No one expects you to,” he said simply.
Dian frowned. “That’s the problem.”
König exhaled, running a gloved hand over his face before looking back at her. “Dian, I am not expecting you to suddenly know how to—” he gestured vaguely, “—process this. But you cannot keep burying it.”
Dian scoffed. “Watch me.”
König sighed but didn’t argue. Instead, he shifted, rising to his feet before offering her a hand. “Come on.”
She stared at it for a long moment before finally taking it.
He pulled her up easily, his grip firm but not forceful.
As soon as she was standing, Dian took a step back, wrapping her arms around herself. The moment between them had passed, and the weight of what had just happened was quickly settling in her chest.
She had let König see too much. Again.
She needed to get her head straight.
König seemed to sense her shift because he didn’t push. Instead, he simply nodded toward the base. “Let’s go.”
Dian hesitated. “Go where?”
König gave her a pointed look. “To eat.”
Dian blinked. “What?”
“You haven’t eaten today,” he reminded her.
She scowled. “I don’t need you monitoring my meals.”
König crossed his arms, unimpressed. “Then start taking care of yourself so I don’t have to.”
Dian huffed but didn’t argue.
She didn’t have the energy to.
---
By the time they reached the mess hall, it was mostly empty, save for a few scattered soldiers finishing their meals. The scent of food lingered in the air, though Dian didn’t particularly feel hungry.
Still, she sat down across from König at one of the smaller tables, absently picking at the plate of food he had all but forced on her.
She could feel his eyes on her, waiting. Watching.
“You don’t have to hover,” she muttered, stabbing a piece of food with her fork.
König leaned back in his seat, arms crossed. “I’m not hovering.”
“You are.”
He didn’t deny it.
Dian sighed, shaking her head before finally taking a small bite. It didn’t taste like much, but at least it got König off her back.
After a moment, König broke the silence. “The others are worried about you.”
Dian froze briefly before forcing herself to keep eating. “They shouldn’t be.”
König exhaled, shaking his head. “That’s not how this works, Dian.”
She set her fork down with a quiet clink. “I didn’t ask them to worry about me.”
“No,” König agreed. “But they do. Because they care.”
Dian clenched her fists in her lap.
She wasn’t used to this.
The concern. The attachment.
It was suffocating and grounding all at once.
After a long pause, she finally muttered, “I don’t know how to be part of this.”
König studied her, his expression unreadable.
Then, quietly, “Then let us show you.”
Dian swallowed hard.
She didn’t have an answer for that.
And maybe, for the first time, she didn’t need one.
---
Later that night, Dian found herself lying awake, staring at the ceiling of her quarters.
The base was quiet, the hum of distant machines the only sound.
She turned the small rabbit charm over between her fingers, the metal warm from where she had been holding it.
She thought about König. About the way he had caught her when she fell. About the way he never pushed too far, never forced her into something she wasn’t ready for.
And she thought about what Roze had said.
You don’t get to decide who gives a damn about you.
Dian sighed, pressing the charm into her palm.
Maybe she didn’t know how to be part of this yet.
Maybe she didn’t know how to let people in.
But she was still here.
And for now, that was enough.
YOU ARE READING
She Was Just A Child (PART 2)
Fanfic⭐[DISCLAIMER: I DO THIS JUST FOR FUN!!! I GOT THE IDEA FOR THIS STORY FROM C.AI AND USED CHAT GPT TO HELP ME CREATE A FULL STORY!!!]⭐ Dian's world spirals further into chaos as she unexpectedly encounters a mysterious soldier named Zero One. Emergin...
