wings of freedom | aot x reader

Friends At Dark Times

Chapter 9

    The ground trembles under your feet and you immediately stand up, cleaning the back of your now half torn pants. While you look up in hopes of getting a clue of what was happening on the other side, you notice a vast cloud of steam.

    You jog back to the rest of the group, their faces giving away how confused they felt. A ticklish feeling runs down your spine as you acknowledge a certain person staring profoundly at you, he averts gazes and once again starts facing Annie. You try going over to Bertholdt, wanting to give him a lesson for playing with your head and emotions, but a strong force keeps your feet glued to the ground.

    "What was that?" You whip your gaze to Christa who was resting, leaned onto Ymir.

    "No idea."

    "Maybe Eren went all Titan crazy again!" Connie exclaims, trying to playfully improve the gloomy state of the squad, who simply returned annoyed sighs.

    Again, your ears are filled with Armin's high tone as he rambled word after word, more desperate than ever. You drag a stool to sit close to Sasha and Connie, making sure to face your back to Jean and Bertholdt in the process.

    Impatiently tapping the tips of your fingers against a surface, you feel rather uneasy at what exactly will be happening in the next few minutes. Meanwhile, you remember Bertholdt's unusual self and fight the urge to look at his once calm face.

    Nevertheless, you also worry about the Trost district which is by now infested by copious groups of titans, while the Garrisons threaten to murder 'the trio' at any second. 'Don't they have something of more relevance to do at this moment?'

    Now resting your chin upon your backhand, an inevitable tiredness strikes your body but you fight sleep, and make sure to keep an attentive eye on Connie and Sasha. Deep in your thoughts, you groan as you come to the realization that the two lazy asses siting ahead of you, have become another factor to your burden list.

    'Maybe being rude is my only solution, this way I won't have to worry about the aftermath of my death. Nobody to live for.'

    You shake away the absurd thoughts, because caring more than you should about those around you was indeed one of the few specialties that you loathed. Looking far ahead, you scrutinize Jean as he wears a struggled expression, with your pouch still tightened around his fingers. He shifts positions, perhaps sharing the same worried feelings as every single cadet in this instant.

    Somewhat relieved to know that you were not the only overtly confused about what was happening, you start a swift conversation with the two friends in front of you. You notice how free-spirited they seemed to be, even in these moment of desperation, a sudden craving of wanting to be as carefree as they are starts getting inside you.

    Sasha starts giggling at Connie's stupendous joke, her cheeks covered with a layer of embarrassment. She starts rubbing his scalp, teasing playfully as they start laughing once again over such irrelevant things.

    "Oi, you two!" You say, catching their sudden attention.

    "What's up f/n?" Connie asks, trying to smack Sasha's head.

    "Don't what's up me, is there something between you two that I don't know of?" Both look at you cluelessly.

    "What do you mean?"

    "You know exactly what I mean." You snarl, standing up from the stool and taking a close look at the oblivious woman, in search of any suspicions, "It perhaps may be just me, but you both have been rather very touchy to each other."