TITANS. aot

FRIEND | [manga character]

     she just don't know why she's hurting now, of all times when she just wants to support you.

     sighing, she nodded and smiled as bright as she could. "is that even a question? i'm your friend," she felt her heart clench, "i'll help you."

     you laughed in joy, throwing your arms around her and pulling her to a tight hug. "thank you, pieck, i swear i'll make it up to you!"

     hugging back with a small blush on her cheeks, pieck nuzzled her face on your shoulder. "it's fine, you don't have to." she pulled away and grabbed a hold of your wrist, "now come on. i already have some ideas."

     before the two of you could leave, you were both stopped short by porco. he had his hands hidden inside the pockets of his jacket and wore a boredom-striken face, "are you two leaving? commander magath needs to talk to you for a quick second, y/n."

     you pouted at this; you just wanted to end the day with a precise plan with your confession but someone just had to ruin it and delay your time. not that you could verbally complain about it, though. so with a sigh, you excused yourself from the two and ran off to the commander's office.

     pieck watched you run off to a corner, her once bright eyes finally projecting the real emotions she decided to hide. porco noticed the sudden change of aura and sighed, "i heard she's planning to confess. how are you holding up?"

     the black-haired woman merely shrugged at this, "it's... fine with me. i don't have any problems with it." she forced herself to say, each lies she said left a bitter aftertaste on her tongue.

     porco knew better than to believe whatever she was saying, considering he was her close friend and knew her true feelings towards you.

     "are you sure that's what you want?" he asked, "what about your feelings?"

     pieck remained silent for a few seconds before slowly turning to the blond with a smile, "she and zeke looks good together, don't you think so?"

— ❂ —

     the sun was bright and hopeful when pieck woke up, the rays storming through her windows and giving her room a joyous glow.

     despite the atmosphere, pieck couldn't find herself to feel as happy as the sun wanted her to be. she was tired and it felt like a huge pound of iron was dragging her heart down into a pit of sadness. she couldn't even get herself out of her bed to head to headquarters, she was already late at that point, so why should she bother coming?

     pieck cursed at herself as memories of yesterday came rushing in like a wave; why the fuck did she agree on helping you out and crying about it the next day?

     she couldn't complain about it now. she had to go to headquarters today and check up if you did what you were planning to do. checking the time, she concluded hat you probably already did your thoughtful plan.

     pieck wouldn't be surprised if she finds out the two of you are together as soon as she steps inside the building. she gave her insights and thoughts, even planned most of it to make sure that you'd really capture his heart.

     with a heavy feeling in her chest and slow dragged of steps, she made her way to the headquarters.

     "pieck, there you are!" the said woman stepped inside the headquarters with an arched brow, finding porco in the other side with his eyebrows meeting together and a frown across his face. "this is the first time you're late..."

     "sorry, i overslept." pieck explained plainly, "is something wrong? what happened?"

     "y/n happened," was his only reply. "i'm sure you could guess what happened next."

     with dread, she said, "they're together now?"

     porco blinked and wore a face of disgust, shaking his head, "i'm pretty sure they aren't if she looked like she was going to cry."

     so she was rejected? pieck found herself frowning instead of cheering. you've liked zeke for a long time, and she knew just how head over heels you were. pieck knew how painful it would be to have someone you like not return their feelings, and she felt sad that you had to experience such.

     "where is she now?"

     pieck couldn't care about anyone else but you, worried that you'd be crying your hearts out because of rejection. she was ready to comfort you and make you forget about zeke momentarily.

     that's what friends do, after all.

     pieck jogged behind the building, a bit out of breath by the time she found you wiping your tears away.

     you hid yourself away from the woman upon seeing her, a bit embarrassed to be seen in such a state. you wouldn't be surprised if she started laughing; just how silly were you to think that he'd like you back when he never showed any attraction towards you? pieck would know that, she was close to both of you.

     pieck didn't say anything about your appearance. instead, she sat down beside you with a respectable space between the two of you. she leaned her back against the wall, knees pushed up to her chest.

     she let you wallow in silence and heartbreak, but her presence was a huge wave of comfort. it felt right, like a home you could always go to and you were glad.

     "he... didn't like me back." you finally spoke up after minutes of silence, "i guess i was too stupid to hope that he would."

     pieck chewed on her lower lips before saying, "don't say that. it's normal to hope that they'd like you back." she explained, turning her head to face you with a smile.

      "i know... i just... i was too blinded by love to notice that he doesn't love me back." you pursed your lips together and tried to keep your tears in, "have you felt that before? when you like someone so much and hope that they'd like you back just as much as you do..."

     the black-haired woman felt her heart skip at that, a ghost of a frown crossing her face. how funny that she relates a lot to you, but you'd never know the truth. "yeah, i understand how you feel." she answered seconds later, "but we can't do anything about it."

     was it weird that she badly wanted to tell the truth about her feelings? her insides were screaming for her to tell the truth, but she didn't want to make you uncomfortable all of a sudden. that, and she didn't want to know that you really don't like her just the way zeke does.

     but... what if?

     taking a deep breath, pieck turned to face you with a sudden air of confidence. she was ready to lay it all out, but you cut her off before she could.

     "thank you for being a good friend, pieck." you told the woman, your smile bright as the day. the sadness in your eyes had disappeared and you were thankful that pieck had lifted your mood up, even for a little bit.

     pieck stared at your glowing face with a small frown, before finally smiling back.

     maybe it wasn't the right time. maybe you can be her girlfriend later on.

     "that's what friends are for, right?"

                                                                                             
                                                                                             
a/n: hi! i'm sorry for the late updates. school started and you know what that means... i'll try my best to update as much as i can, for now, enjoy!