Annie Leonhardt x Reader

Please Be... Alive [part 3 - final]

"Yuh-huh," is what comes out instead.

Shifting nervously in your seat is an obvious tell, but it's so oppressively uncomfortable that you physically can't sit still. You scratch your cheek and push your hair back behind an ear.

"Ohh-kay, moving on then..." "During the Scouting Expedition, did you have any close contact with the Female-form Titan?"

"No, not really. I saw it, but only from a distance."

"Her," Hanji corrects, "not it."

Your blood grows cold. She couldn't be suggesting what was growing increasingly obvious with every moment. It feels like you can't breathe – do you even want to?

"You... you think that Annie–?"

"One of your comrades has said the Titan physically resembles Leonhardt. Can you speak to this, as her... uhm, close friend?"

Something clicks into place that makes you go entirely rigid. It... did. Even beyond the outward monstrous traits and visible muscle, your brain suddenly makes sense of certain details that just didn't fit. Why HAD the Female Titan looked so familiar? Why did you feel like you recognized the way it held itself up, or the way it moved while it ran?

No, this was Annie you're talking about. You knew her. You LOVED her. If she was caught up in this somehow, it had to be a mistake. You wish that you could talk to her... It would make you feel a lot less conflicted if you could get her side of the story here. You're hesitant to say anything that might get her in more trouble than she was already in.

Finally, you answer. "Well, Annie has blonde hair, too?" you squeak. It's weak, and both of you know it.

In return, you get a dead-eyed glare. "I see... That's really all you have to say about that?"

You want so badly to be able to trust Annie. If you could find her and ask her to explain all this evidence, to explain her weird and sketchy behavior, maybe it would make some sense. Maybe you could help her, or at the very least figure out what to tell the military for them to take her into captivity peacefully...

You feel yourself starting to shake. "Just that — it's not her," you mutter, "it can't be her. She wouldn't do this."

Hanji looks up at you, glasses glinting in the firelight. They give you an odd look, one of pity.

"All the evidence is pointing in another direction," they explain. Although their intention is to convey seriousness, the harshness in their voice makes you shrink away. "Either you didn't know her as well as you think you do, or you're hiding something too. I want to let you know that if you're in league with those who wish to bring harm to–"

"–No!" you interrupt, "I would never do that. Never!" Immediately you cover your mouth, but Hanji still gives you a stern look.

"I'm sorry..." you say, and curse yourself for how much it sounds like an afterthought.

They don't acknowledge it anyway. Another few moments are filled with the sound of pen on paper, then they flip a page.

"If there's something you know, you need to tell me now. The longer you keep this information to yourself, the less trustworthy you seem. I want to be able to talk to you freely, Y/N. The next step from here is a jail cell."

You're sweating, but a chill runs down your spine. This was very quickly getting a lot more serious than you thought was possible. "You can trust me... I really think that you're wrong about Annie, though. She's not as heartless as everyone else thinks."

You're getting increasingly shrill, but Hanji is surprisingly listening intently. They nod, then close the file and set the pen down on top of it.

Now, they approach you on a personal level. "You care about her, right?" they ask.