Wings : Attack on Titan x Reader Scenarios / Imagines ▼

[That Day :: Eren]

(F I V E  Y E A R S  B E F O R E)

You'd managed to find the boy you'd seen yesterday - though, to be fair, it wasn't all that hard. He and some of his friends had happened to be sitting on the stairs you passed every day to make your way home from school. You recognized the girl, since she had been there with him, but the boy with the blonde hair was unfamiliar to you.

Plopping yourself down on the stairs behind them, you began with, "You're Eren, the kid who was yelling at those Garrison members the other day."

All three turned to face you. A bead of sweat formed on the boy known as Eren's head, but the girl, whose name you don't think you'd ever been told, nodded. "Yes."

"Mikasa, why did you-?!" Eren's jaw dropped, and he glared at her. His nervousness was evident from the faint reddish hue that had dashed his cheeks and the way his eyebrows crunched down over his turquoise eyes.

You smiled a little. "I was just wondering. I saw you."

"Oh."

"Who are you?" The unfamiliar boy asked before quickly putting in, "I'm Armin."

"[Y/n]," you replied and started to move so as to sit down on the same stairs that the trio was, but a sudden rumbling cut you off. It was deep, and loud, like a guttural growl from beneath the earth, causing you to jump a bit. Your fingernails dug into the cement as you fought for a grip. The noise, however, was gone, just as fast as it had come.

Before anyone had enough time to regain their bearings, all four of you were launched into the air by that same force, earning a collection of screams and anxious yelps from both you and your new friends. Your back hit the stairs with a harsh crack. Pain jolted up your spine, but it was gone soon enough, and you looked over to check on the others.

"What...?" Armin rose to his feet after steadying himself, whipping around to see what was going on. You and the others followed suit. A tower of smoke rose like a tornado up into the sky, and everyone else in plain sight was just staring, on edge, up at the sky. "An explosion?"

As civilians ran towards one another, exchanging snippets of information, Armin dashed off.

"Hey, Armin!" Eren shouted, reaching out for his friend as though to pull him back. He shared a quick nod with Mikasa before running off after his friend.

Mikasa followed him. "Come on," she murmured to you.

The four of you raced down the winding stone pathways of the alleys and strips of dirt and grass between buildings, tracing the steps of the crowd ahead, coming to a sudden stop once you had joined the mass of people.

"What's happening?" Your voice was shaky as you spotted Armin. He was standing stiff as a board, eyes wide and pupils significantly small, trembling.

Eren darted between the two of you. "What can you see?" he demanded, clenching his fists at his side as he turned on the tips of his toes to try and catch what had gotten Armin transfixed. Your gaze followed his, and your breathing stopped.

Your voice was nothing more than a squeak. "N...no...."

All of your rationality abandoned you. Your senses disappeared into the thin air, leaving nothing but a slim trace of previous existence. The yelling of the civilians melded into the pounding of the earth, the forceful shaking of the ground fell away, and your surroundings seemed just a fraction of what they had once been. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa were no longer in your mind.

It was only you and the creature that loomed over the walls.

Red and muscular, it was emitting smoke so thick that it took you a moment to see through it...through the smoke, and into the paralyzing eyes of a titan. The monster placed a gargantuan hand on the interior of the walls.

"No," someone echoed from behind you, and, in the moment, you didn't particularly care who it had been.

There was no way in hell that this was happening.

It was exactly what you'd suspected: a titan. And yet...it couldn't have been. It was far too tall. Too large. Too...too much for you to handle. So much more than what you'd been told as a child.

Oh, how you longed for the comfort of your parents, or siblings, or anyone who could've convinced you things would be okay beside you. You would've preferred anything to the terrifying sight that laid in front of you. Just as you turned to face your friends, an enormous amount of sheer power blasted you forwards, slamming your body against the nearest building as boulders began to fall from the sky like raindrops.

An older man from somewhere nearby shouted, "It's broken through the walls!"
"Run!"

"This is it...this is the end...!"

"We need to hurry," Armin cried, "get out of here! Come on!" By the time you'd turned to see him, he had already started to move, being carried away by the sea of people that now ran towards the gates to Wall Rose. The impeccable fear you felt within yourself was reflected on his face.

Before you had the chance to follow him, however, Eren's trembling voice flooded your ears. "Mom...! Mom is back there! Mikasa, we have to go!"

His sister gave a frantic nod and darted off, with you stumbling along at her heels.

"[Y/n]!" Both Eren and Armin barked your name at the same time.

You shoved your way through the crowd, towards Eren. "I'm coming with you!" you wailed. Anything to help a friend. Anything to take your mind off of the steady flow of titans that were now entering Wall Maria. You didn't know what to do; nobody did. But you weren't doing anything alone.

Eren kept racing after Mikasa, and you quickly caught up, only to be pushed back by the teal-eyed boy. "No, [y/n]! You need to go with Armin! I - I have to get my mom...it's not safe!"

"I'm coming with you!" Tears threatened to spill over your lower eyelids. You wouldn't let Eren or Mikasa go alone, not straight towards the danger, especially not when their mother might need help. You weren't going to let them run to their deaths like this!

Your new friend looked almost as pained as you did. "Go! You need to get out of here!"

You shook your head and plowed forwards, lips quivering. This wasn't how it was going to end. No.

It wasn't until Eren placed his hands on your shoulders and sent you stumbling back with all of his might condensed into a single jab that you began to lose hope. "Armin, take her!" he shouted, staring wildly into your eyes.

A tug on your shirt from the blonde boy pulled you back. "Eren! You're going to kill yourself!"

"He has to go, [y/n]! It's his mom!"

You kicked Armin off of you and tried to keep mushing forwards. "I have to go, Armin! He's my friend!"

"Please," Mikasa's voice resonated from somewhere farther ahead, "go with him!"

Eren took off after his sister, but not before sending you a last, lost, trepid glance. His eyes were filled to the brim with fear. You wanted to call after him, tell him how dumb he was being, tell him that you would come and help and that Armin would do the same, and that you all would make it to safety, but he was already gone. Your friend's body was now indistinguishable from the wave of frightened civilians.

Armin kept dragging you back until you, out of nothing but pure defeat, began to walk away yourself. Your body was ravaged with quick, airy inhales, and sobbing, teary exhales.

You couldn't begin to comprehend all that was going on. You might have lost your parents yourself. You might not make it out alive.

But knowing that the same sentences could be applied to your new friends just made everything worse.