𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮↳ 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙯.

Epilogue: See You After a While

It's been two years since Hange died, and also since you all stopped the Rumbling. Eren, of course, died by Mikasa's hand to which she sliced off his head. Armin almost got eaten, everyone almost died more than once, Levi officially lost his ability to fight (let alone walk) so he had to be pushed around in a wheelchair. You can't imagine how embarrassing that must be for him.

A few months after the Rumbling ended, Pieck and Gertrude finally started going out. You knew from first glance those two had some chemistry. Eventually you started sticking around Armin as Eren had so nicely requested of you. Hange had appointed Armin commander just before they died, so it was kind of like sticking around Hange, but at the same time, it was nothing like that. In fact, the two being Commander is the only similarity, but nothing was the same. Talking to Oliver wasn't the same, because Hange had always found a way to butt into your conversations, now there's no one to do any of that. Even doing so much as waking up wasn't the same, because there's no Hange to do their same opening, "Good morning, darling." All that was gone, memories now.

Two years went by extremely slow for you, everything was boring. You didn't have the energy to do anything except wallow over a ghost which Hange told you not to, but that just seemed too much to ask from you. Hange was the first one to make you all warm and giddy inside– to make you feel like an actual human for once and not just some trained killer.

"Y/n, please get out for a little bit. It's been four months since the last time you've been out," Armin pleaded after knocking on your door. "It's not healthy."

You didn't care, all you wanted to do was sleep so you could keep having dreams of Hange for the rest of your life. It's the only way you'd get some sense of happiness, even if it isn't real. "No."

"Please? The others haven't seen you in forever, everyone's worried about you."

"No."

Armin sighed before finally twisting the knob and slowly entering the room to find you lying flat on your back with your hands intertwined and resting on your chest. For the past two years you've kept the same expression on your face; Armin didn't really know what to call it, but he thought it was rude to give an expression on someone's face a name.

His lips parted at the sight; you haven't left your bed all week, the only exception is to go to the bathroom but even then you come right back. It's like you aren't even Y/n anymore, just a blank shell.

He wanted to drag you out of bed, and to get you back out into the public and give life another chance, but that sounded disrespectful now that he's thinking about it. Sure, people should respect other people's wishes, but this is just downright unhealthy. You haven't eaten or drank anything in god knows how long, you switch from sleeping all day to staying up for days on end, and your curtains are always closed, so your room's always dark. One day when Oliver came over to talk to you, you'd gotten up for the first time that day (which was at 9 in the evening) to simply lock your door. Oliver suggested that you were playing memories of you and Hange in your head until you went to sleep, and then start over the next day. Armin thought it was a bit rude, but he was thinking the same thing as well.

"...Do you want to go get a pastry? Or maybe even a coffee–"

"No."

"Y/n, it's been 2 years since Hange-san died. You can't grieve forever, you'll have to move on eventually."

Finally, you glanced at Armin and saw him standing next to your bookshelf that was full of, well, books, that were collecting dust since the first time Armin put them there in hopes of giving you some entertainment. Armin finally got a good look at your face that he hasn't seen in forever. "I can't move on, Armin."