Aw, the picture made my heart shatter...

*clears throat* Anyway, to the story~!

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A large silence fell over the entire mess hall. Nobody could bring themselves to start a conversation, and when they did it didn't last long. Only a few people was actually able to eat their food, while most of them only picked at it.

It's not weird no one had an appetite. They had lost most of their squad members and friends only the day before, anyway.

Armin couldn't even bring himself to look at his friends around him. You were all he could think about, and how he didn't save you when he thought he should've. The guilt was almost overwhelming, making him want to break down in tears and scream at himself at the same time.

The fact that a few pairs of eyes glared at him angrily wasn't exactly helping him with his guilt.

Armin brought his eyes up to see Jean and Connie glaring at him angrily, making Armin quickly bring his gaze back to his lap shamefully. That went on for a while, until Jean finally moved his gaze down to his plate as he picked on his soup.

"You should've saved her," Jean muttered, anger obvious in his voice as he continued picking on his food. Armin brought his gaze back up to look at Jean sadly.

"I know," he replied quietly, before bringing his gaze back down to his lap, fighting the urge to break down in tears.

"Then why didn't you?" Jean asked, his voice getting louder in anger. He had looked up from his plate to look over at the blonde across the table.

"I-I tried, but--"

"Trying isn't good enough," Jean spat, his glare at the sad blonde only growing colder as he gripped his spoon harder. Connie averted his gaze to Armin sympathetically, before turning towards Jean.

"It's easier said than done," Armin started, but was cut off by Jean's cold reply.

"I don't care!"

"Let it go, Jean," Connie said, before averting his gaze down to his food, resting his head on his palm sadly. "We all wanted to save her."

"No, I won't let it go!" Jean suddenly yelled, gripping his spoon so hard his palm was shaking as he glared angrily at Armin and Connie. "Armin should've saved her! He was in her freaking squad for crying out loud! Why should he be the only one to survive?!"

"Leave him alone, horseface," Eren spat, standing up and glaring at the angered Jean after seeing Armin's shaken-up state. It was bad enough that he was one of them to loose you, he was unfortunate enough to see your last moment. Or, what he thought was your last moment.

"What did you call me?!" Jean yelled, also standing up and glaring at the teal-eyed boy angrily.

"You heard me!" Jean growled before heading towards Eren, putting his fist up and getting ready to punch the brunette. Eren also got in a fighting position before the doors to the mess hall were slammed open, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and turn their attention to the trio in the doorway.

Everyone's eyes - especially the 104th and Hanji - widened, and were left in utter shock and disbelief. After a few moments of silence, a voice was heard from the doorway.

"Is everyone gonna stare or is someone gonna help us get to a nurse?"

Hanji shook her head to break herself out of her trance, instantly running towards a certain (H/C)-haired girl in the doorway with a wide smile — the kind you'd see Hanji with when she's around titans, just not as crazy.

She instantly wrapped her arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug as she let out chuckles of relief, happy to finally be with you. You instantly let out a pained hiss as you felt pain surge through your body, and Hanji quickly let go of you to not cause any more pain.

"Sorry about that," she apologized, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly and letting out a nervous chuckle before letting her arm drop to her side. She let her eyes roam your body, checking for any scratches or bruises concernly.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," Hanji said and pointed a finger at you, before picking you up and rushing away to find the medical wing before anyone had the chance to even blink. Kadence and Sierra followed shortly after, leaving the 104th still in utter shock.

--

"You can see her now," the nurse said to the group of people standing in front of her before walking away, letting the others walk in to see you laying on your bed all clean and bandaged up. Hanji was the only other one inside, who had stayed by your side while the nurse was fixing you up.

It didn't take longer than a second until the entire 104th were hugging you and saying how happy they were to see you alive, except for Bertholdt and Reiner, who stood farther behind since they hadn't exactly known you long, and Kadence had already had time to hug you all she wanted. Krista even cried a little, and Armin was about ready to break down in tears.

"Anyway, I think you owe all of us an explanation," Kadence said once everyone was finished having their little reunion with you. She crossed her arms and looked over at you stubbornly. "What happened?"

You thought back to when you woke up yesterday, before taking a breath and explaining.

"I woke up in the middle of the woods, far from the outskirts where you'd think I would wake up, without my 3DMG. And then the weirdest thing happened." A smile formed on your lips as you thought back to Alex. The others kept their gazes locked on you, listening intently as you explained.

"I came across a titan. But he wouldn't eat me... Anyway, long story short, the titan can communicate and his name is Alex," you continued. Hanji's eyes instantly widened and she grabbed a hold of your shoulders.

"A COMMUNICATING TITAN?!" She nearly screeched, shaking your shoulders. You let out a loud hiss as you felt pain surge through your body. Hanji let out a sheepish laugh and let go of you, letting you breathe out in relief.

"Yeah, a communicating titan," you replied, and Hanji's eyes seemed to light up.

"So it talked?!"

"Well, yeah, but he could only pronounce one syllable at a time," you explained, as Hanji averted her gaze and held her chin thoughtfully.

"This titan could be helpful..." She thought out loud, before averting her gaze back to you and letting her hand drop back to her side. "Why didn't he eat you, though?"

"I don't know," you answered truthfully. "It seemed more like he was...protecting me. He had ripped off my gear and carried me to some tree in the middle of the forest to keep me safe. He even carried me to the wall, where Kadence and Sierra found me."

"Please don't tell corporal Levi!" Kadence quickly exclaimed, looking over at Hanji pleadingly.

"Don't tell me what?" Kadence let out a squeak and jumped slightly, quickly turning around to see the corporal standing in the doorway as stern as always. Kadence instantly let out a nervous chuckle and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly.

"T-that... I skipped dinner...?" Kadence asked, more than said, tilting her head to the side in slight confusion. Levi averted his eyes to you, keeping his expression as stern and emotionless as always.

"What's this brat doing back?" He asked, causing a few boys to growl quietly. A smile stretched across Hanji's face as she neared the small corporal happily.

"A communicating titan saved her!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly. "He carried her to the wall where Kadence and Sierra found her and brought her back!"

"Cadet Kadence crossed the wall?" He asked sternly, averting his gaze to the chocolate-haired girl. Kadence let out another nervous laugh and hid slightly behind Sasha.

"O-only to find (Y/N), sir--"

"Cleaning duty for a week," the short corporal interrupted, causing Kadence to let out a small whimper as she averted her eyes to the floor beneath her.

"Yes, sir..." She replied quietly, obviously disappointed over her punishment.

"Anyway," Hanji started, looking back over at Levi. "Maybe we should prepare for another expedition?"

----

It's official! Levi needs more fluffy parts!

- Kate ⭐️