Wow, That Sucks

12. Distance: An amount of space between two things or people.

A/N: Just FYI, parts five and six were actually supposed to be one chapter on archive of our own, but it was literally so long that A. it wouldn't publish without glitching and crashing and B. I had it 3/4 of the way done after two months, so I decided just to chop it roughly in half and publish them separately. 

* * *

Nobody said anything about how long I was gone. Thankfully, my face wasn't puffy, and my eyes weren't red. I'd gone on a long ass drive after running away from Marco. Thoughts ran rampant the whole time. Turmoil was a pretty good term for it. I honest to god wanted to die for a few moments just to make the thoughts and feelings go away .

Eren was laying on the couch with his feet propped up on Armin's lap, dozing while Armin was doing something on his phone. Historia was sitting on the floor next to them and looked up when I came in. She gave me a concerned look. I just smiled weakly at her.

Mikasa poked her head around the corner when she heard the door open and gestured for me to follow her. I did, and once we were in the kitchen, she leaned back and gave me a steady look--a far cry from last night. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Right. The bond. "No," I sighed. "But I can deal."

She raised her eyebrows a little. "Whenever you're ready."

I nodded and gravitated toward the coffee machine. "Maybe later. I can't do it right now."

She was silent for a moment, thinking. "Okay." Before heading out, she rubbed my back for a moment and patted it. Then she was gone.

The next twenty minutes were a bit of a blur. I remember that I got coffee for the second time that morning, and I remember sitting on the floor to watch TV with Historia, but I don't remember actually doing it. It was sort of a smear in time if I'm being honest.

I was startled out of my daze by a knock on the door. Levi answered it, and there were two people standing on the other side. It was a guy and a girl. The guy was really tall with dark hair and olive skin, and he looked really nervous. The girl was almost as short as Historia with platinum blonde hair, a hooked nose, and icy blue eyes. I was immediately wary of her.

Actually, my internal hackles went up. I wanted to keep Eren safe--he was the injured one, and the weak always had to be protected--especially when the both of them looked at Eren the moment they entered the house.

"That's him?" the blonde chick asked Levi.

Levi nodded. "His name is Eren."

Her eyes flicked up and down over me. "Who are you?"

I tilted my chin up minutely. "I'm Jean. I'm his friend, and if you hurt him, I'll hunt you down."

Like Levi, she didn't show much emotion past her resting bitch face, but I could tell she was amused. "If you insist, young one."

My brows furrowed. Before I could say anything, Levi cut in. It was probably for the best, honestly. "Jean, these are the mates I told you about earlier today." His pointed look said to be respectful to them or he'd wax my eyebrows off in my sleep.

I nodded but didn't say anything.

Through this whole thing, Armin and Historia were watching quietly, and Eren was sleeping. Now, Armin shook Eren's foot, and Eren rubbed his eyes with a groan. "What?"

Erwin strolled in and gave the two werewolves an easy smile. "Annie, Bertholdt! Thank you for coming on such short notice. Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee, tea, milk, lemonade?"

"Water, please," the guy--Bertholdt, I guess--said. "And Annie wants lemonade."

"Whoa," Eren said, blinking owlishly at the guests. "You seem different. Are you...?"