You laughed, your mood suddenly lifted.

Reiner's calm demeanour transformed into a sour frown as he realised you were laughing at his proposition. His eyebrow raised up with a scowl, crossing his muscular arms over his large chest.

"What?" His deep voice purred, "Why are you laughing?"

"Did you hit your head in that battle, Reiner?" You teased as the blonde began to regret talking to you at all, "You don't like me: not romantically, not even platonically. Why the hell would you want to be my boyfriend?"

"Relax, dumb-ass." Reiner frowned, "It's only to make Christa jealous. Think of it as a business deal," He began to explain his thought-out plan in a calm voice, "We tell people we're dating, and I get to show how devoting, attentive, and caring I am as a partner. Then, maybe, Christa will see me for who I am and we can end the deal with a staged break-up."

"She'll see you for who you are?" Your eyes rolled back, "By lying to her and everyone else? Nice plan."

"And if you don't want to do this, I can think of other ways you can repay me for saving your life." A sinister and prideful smirk stained his face as he leaned forward, "Ways you would like a lot less than this."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Believe me, sweetheart," Reiner's face was now just an inch from yours as you felt his breath against your lips with each word he spoke: "I would."

"God!" You snapped, your body tensing, "I hate you, Reiner. I genuinely despise you with all of my heart!"

"Womp. Womp." He stuck his thumb down, "Suck it up and deal with it."

You scrunched your nose, glancing around you as you realised a few of your fellow Cadets were staring in your direction: they had puzzled expressions as they attempted to justify why you and Reiner Braun would be talking. It was a known fact within your Regiment that you and Reiner loathed each other: although no one quite knew why.

"Why me?"

"Hm?" Reiners head tilted to the side as of surprised you would ask him.

"Why me of all people?"

"A few reasons." He began to confess as his broad shoulders shrugged, "For starters, dating someone I've hated so much will show that I'm emotionally mature - I'm ready for a relationship, and can forgive the past."

"That.. makes sense."

"Besides," The blonde carried on, "I won't deny that you're pretty, and popular too, having you by my side wouldn't be a bad look. This is about making her jealous, after all."

You couldn't believe you were genuinely considering his proposition: "I knew you could be stupid, but I never thought you could be so desperate."

"Just think about it? Promise me that." His soft voice spoke amongst the crackling flames as the fire began to slowly die out, "Not just for my benefit, but for yours as well. You have feelings for Eren, don't you?"

You flinched, your head shooting up with curiosity.

"Eren looks up to me - just imagine how jealous he could be when he sees us together," Reiner's soft smile returned once more as he realised you were beginning to see his side: "Men always want something they can't have."

"How long would we.. date?" You found yourself cringing just at the thought of having to play pretend with the man you'd loathed since the day you first met.

"Three months. Tops." He stated, "Unless, of course, my plan works sooner than that."

"Reiner!" A cold voice echoed from afar as you both turned, realising that Annie was calling his name, "We're leaving. Hurry."

Reiner gave her and Bertholdt a nod before turning back to you: "Just think about it." He ordered before returning to his friends, leaving the fire.

You lowered your head in shame, before feeling a hand against your shoulder once more: you jumped, before easing as you realised it was Jean.
"Easy, girl." Jean softly spoke in a mocking tone, "You've been so jumpy lately."

"Since that mission, I've been really on edge."

"I don't blame you," Jean nodded, "Let's head back, we should start packing our things to leave."

You nodded in response, letting your closest friend lead the way back towards the barracks to pack in preparation to leave for the Scouting Regiment.

His arm was tightly intertwined with yours. He protectively held you close as you wandered inside of the Barracks: you walked in a calm, comfortable silence. Neither of you spoke, but neither of you held it against each other either: following the fire and the death of your friend, silence felt right.

༺♰༻

The next morning was bleak: the air smelt metallic and damp as a gentle rain trickled down your window.

The bottom of your back ached deeply as you emptied your wardrobe, hearing the hallways become more perturbed by the second as your classmates collected their belongings from their dormitories.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of your classmates had decided to join the Garrison Regiment following the monstrosity of the Battle of Trost. However, your friends had followed in the footsteps of Eren Yaeger towards the Survey Corps.

You opened your next trunk, folding your shirt over your knee before meticulously placing it against the corner of your luggage. You folded another shirt; then the next, moving through different items of clothing with an almost mournful expression.

"Hey, Y/N?" You heard an excited voice call as you turned your shoulder, Sasha's cheeks flushed with fatigue as her body leant against your doorframe, "Are you ready to leave?"

"Almost. I'll be ready in about five minutes."

"Hurry!" She exclaimed with a contagious smile, "We're all waiting for you."

You felt home-sick despite not having left yet: "Got it, I'll be fast."

She beamed briefly before giddily racing off to catch up with Connie Springer.

You swallowed, arching your neck up to look at the ceiling above you: the same ceiling you'd stared at each night for the past few years of your life. The bulb was cracked and dim, barely shedding any light onto your dorm; the old, malting walls looked like they were about collapse on you at any moment.

After packing the last of your belongings, your palms clasped around the cuffs of your luggage, dragging them off of your mattress.

You stepped towards the door, turning your head to wish your Cadet-dorm your last goodbyes.

Your friends greeted you with a smile and pat on the back as you all followed Shadis down the hallway. Your heart raced so fiercely that it hurt your chest.

You walked out of the building hurriedly, Shadis wishing you all good luck before saying a final goodbye. Armin and Mikasa's hands clasped around yours to help you board the carriage that would escort you to the Scouting regiment Barracks.

You sat yourself at the edge of the carriage, instantly feeling a wave of fatigue take over your entire body as you perked your head out of the open window.

The stars twinkled above you, deepening each feature of you face as your eyes glowed with silver highlights.

You heard a man fiercely call out something you couldn't quite understand, before the horses swiftly began to trot along the plains.

Your head slowly sunk against the wall beside you, your eyes tiredly closing as you tried to imagine what it would be like becoming a Scout and knowing that Marco wasn't apart of the Interior.

You tried to distract yourself and look on the bright side of life. You would be reunited with your father and his Comrades in just a few hours.

༺♰༻

Your body flinched as the carriages came to a sudden halt, hearing people yell orders at eachover.

Golden light barely seeped through the window besides your head, waking you up from a deep sleep.

Your eyes lit up as you realised that you were finally beginning to arrive at your new home, your head peaking out of the window with curiousity in your eyes.

You slowly inhaled the rich, sweet morning air, feeling your body stir inside of the carriage that rumbled on the dirt floor.

"We're almost there." Armin calmly spoke, beginning to wake up from a sleep, "How are you all feeling?"

"Glad that we're finally getting off the roads," Bertholdt replied, leaning forward to stare out of the window, "How long was that ride? Six hours? Seven?"

"I can't believe this is really it." Reiner sighed, barely loud enough for you to hear, "We're really doing this."

You felt the carriage finally stop moving.

You breathed out slowly, your chest having a tightness that seized each breath. Your E/C eyes slowly drifted shut as you heard your closest friends began to smile with glee that you had all made it. They practically sprinted out of the carriage.

You breathed in once again, this time slower than the last to try and cure your racing heart.

"Y/N!" You finally heard a voice call out from outside as your eyes immediately lit up, "Over here!"

You inhaled a short gasp, forgetting your luggage as you sprinted towards the doors, your eyes scanning the area before finally meeting with Hange. Your fingers clasped around your lips in shock, shielding your smile as they waved at you with a grin against their teeth.

"Hange!" You called out, feeling as the familiar Scout instantly collapsed into your open arms. You laughed aloud, your body overcome with joy as you tightly held onto their body.

They ran their fingers to the back of your neck, pulling you harshly against their figure, "I missed you so much."

Hange's body slowly slipped away from yours, their fingers clasping around yours as they held onto you tightly.

"It's been too long." You chuckled, feeling the carriage-driver hand you your luggage as Hange took one of your bags.

The Barracks looked the exact same as the last time you had visited with your father; the same, verdant flags above the ivy covered bricks that illustrated the 'Survey Corps' symbol. There was a wooden, hazel stable beside the large building: tanned horses neighed as different people groomed their manes. A fiery dust lingered all around, intoxicating the air around you; the aroma of cigarette dust filled your lungs as you deeply breathed in.

Hange dragged you through the main entrance, rambling carelessly about the recent happenings involving your father and his Comrades; Hange had been a figure in your life since before you could walk - someone who you'd always found yourself admiring for the positivity they seemed radiate in any given circumstance.

Their grip tightened around your hands as you turned a tight corner, a smile staining your teeth.

You turned yet another corner, however, was caught of guard as a large body stood in your way: arms stiffly crossed over his chest, looming over you both before you watched a grin slowly plaster against his teeth as he realised who he was faced with.

Erwin's face instantly relaxed, his arms opening towards you and wrapping around you softly. You buried your face in his jacket, hearing him let out a warm chuckle.

"Y/N, my Angel." Erwin spoke, holding you at arms length.

"Dad," You whispered back to him, slowly letting go as the Commander sighed through his nose, "It's so good to see you."

"The same goes to you, Y/N; I'm glad you're home." He placed his hand firmly against your head, "And not to mention you're safe." Erwin lifted your chin with his index finger as his piercing, sky-blue eyes deeply analysed your face, "You've grown, too."

You lowered your head, your fingers rubbing against the back of your neck, "Home. That feels a little strange to hear."

"Well, you'd better get used to it soon." Hange's palms placed against your shoulders, squeezing gently, "Come on, let's go catch-up."