The Shifter Titan (Annie Leonhart x Male Reader)

6: Cook off

"Y/N, come down 'ere!" An old man yelled from the downstairs.

The orange-haired boy groaned as he got up and put his history book down on his bed. He had to study for the test he had the next morning, which would determine which Warrior Candidates would stay in the group and which would be discharged.

"What is it?" Y/N asked as he walked down the stairs. The voice had come from the kitchen, so the boy made his way there.

Standing in front of the countertop was his grandfather with a frustrated look. There were tons of ingredients, like flour, eggs, honey, etc. placed on the countertop, but there had been no evidence of any utensils used. Everything was clear, which made the 10-year-old Y/N confused as to why his grandfather was in such a bad mood.

"The store needs to make more money." The old man began speaking, turning around to face his grandson. "Since our family's reputation is in the dirt, fewer people are coming to buy our products. We need to make people come back, meaning that we have to begin doing your father's recipes."

Y/N raised his eyebrow. "What?"

"You remember the pastries he used to do? The ones from his homeland?" At the nod of the young child, the old man continued. "Nobody else in Liberio has those recipes, so we can be the only store to sell those pastries, which will bring us customers!"

"But-but those were only meant to be shared with family..." The orange-haired kid muttered with his eyebrows furrowed.

HIs grandfather sighed. "I know that they're special to you, but if we don't sacrifice trivial things like that, we will end up without a roof over our heads. I don't want you nor Elena to go through any more hardships...losing your parents is already enough.

Y/N closed his eyes and crossed his arms, trying to look intimidating despite his small stature. "Can I do it later? I have to keep studying."

"You can study after you help the family business." The old man walked towards the orange-haired kid and put an arm behind him. "Just bake a couple of those pastries and you can continue with your studies."

The boy sighed. "Fine, but please leave me alone while I do it."

"At least let me help."

"No, I need to do this on my own." Y/N insisted. He remembered being a little kid and his father being affectionate, a rare sight. Baking the pastries were one of the few things that brought them together that didn't bring any pain and suffering. Maybe it was because his father was teaching him a family recipe and not shaping him into a fighting machine, but the reasons weren't really important. The pastries brought them together, and he would honor his memory through them. "Go to sleep grandpa. They'll be ready when you wake up."

The old man narrowed his eyes but decided that fighting the child would be pointless. With a small smile, the old man hugged Y/N and kissed the top of his head. "Good night Y/N, and thank you for the greatest grandson an old man like me could ask for."

Some time had passed since he injured Christa Lenz in training, giving her a big scar and successfully ending any suspicions he had about the blonde being the Founding Titan. Ymir had been furious for about a week, but after seeing Christa joke around with Y/N, she decided to let the incident slide.

The ginger-without-freckles ran towards the tallest cadet in training. It was one of the few instances where the tall sweaty teenager was not besides his best friend and comrade, Reiner Braun.

"Bertholdt!" Y/N yelled as he ran towards the boy. Upon hearing his name, the warrior turned around to face the orange-haired boy, who had stopped in front of him. "Glad I could catch up to you. Listen, do you have a group for the exercise?"