in the middle of the chaos | jean kirstein x fem!reader

14 | in the middle of the reappearance of the colossal titan

''What's the first thing you wanna eat when we get there?'' Y/n asked as she carried two wooden crates. She wasn't sure what they contained, but, frankly, she also didn't care.

Jean hummed. He carried three boxes, though Y/n felt like he was just trying to show off. ''I don't know. I'm really craving an omelette.''

''Your mom won't suddenly appear in the interior to make you an omelette, Jean.''

''I know that!'' Jean said as he put the boxes down; Y/n put hers on top of his. ''I was thinking of going over to see her today. Before we leave.''

''Walls, Jean, you're going to willingly see your mom?'' Y/n wiped an invisible tear from her eye. ''I'm so proud of you. You're so grown now!''

Jean scoffed and moved away. ''Shut up. We've got more work to do.''

Y/n laughed and jogged up to him. ''Fine, fine, don't be mad now! I was also thinking of going home for a bit, honestly. I wanted to see Leo again, he's going to the Cadet Corps soon!''

Jean picked up two more boxes. ''So he's actually going through with that?''

''So he says,'' Y/n said as she picked up the last one. ''But he's not going to outmatch me — he's gonna be in seventh place in the ranking, you'll see.''

''Tch, what's wrong with seventh place?''

''Oh!'' Y/n looked away oh-so-innocently. ''Nothing, really. It's just that it's not sixth place.'' Jean huffed, but didn't say anything.

Tomorrow, she and Jean, along with Marco, Connie and Sasha, as well as Annie, Reiner and Bertoldt, were going to the interior. Tomorrow, their new, lavish, relaxing lives began. She would spend the rest of her life just like this, working alongside her best friends, bantering with Jean, joking around with Sasha, bullying Connie and—

A loud explosion echoed through the city of Trost, causing Y/n to drop her boxes and cover her ears. Jean's boxes fell on the ground, too, as he wrapped his arms around Y/n's shoulders, bringing them both down.

''Fuck!'' Y/n breathed heavily, looking at Jean. ''Shit, Jean, what—''

The two of them looked back at the same time. The two of them saw the Colossal Titan peeking over the walls of Trost at the same time. The two of them watched as a hole in the gates was kicked at the same time, leaving their hometown vulnerable.

''Jean . . .'' Y/n trailed off, her eyes stuck on the skinless titan in front of her. Her hands gripped Jean's arms tightly, as if they were her lifeline. This was what the people of Shiganshina saw before they were attacked and most killed off?

This was terrifying.

''Y/n, we gotta go.'' Jean's voice was faint, even though he was next to her ear. Y/n's body was frozen, her eyes stuck wide and unable to look away from the titan. She could see small figures moving across the wall — wasn't that where Sasha, Connie and Eren were stationed? ''Y/n!''

Her head snapped to him. ''Jean . . . Jean, the—''

''Y/n, I know, I know.'' He put his hands to the sides of her head. ''We have to regroup, we gotta get to HQ. We have to wait for orders. It's going to be okay, yeah? I won't . . . I won't let anything happen to you, okay?''

Y/n didn't speak, nor did Jean wait for a response. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, running in the direction of the military headquarters. Y/n looked back as they ran, watching as figures flew around the Colossal Titan before he disappeared entirely. ''Jean! He's gone!''

Jean stopped running, causing Y/n to bump into him. He held her by the arms, both of them watching the, now empty, skyline above the wall. Jean shook his head. ''This isn't over, he breached the wall. We'll . . . have more company soon if we don't seal it fast.''