Friend or Foe... (AoT Reader Insert)

Chapter 34: Before the Storm

"Zeke is here on the island...-"

"I already know."

"-and Ymir is the holder of the Jaw Titan."

"I already knew that, too."

In all of the ways this situation could have ended, it had to be this. Not only had Reiner and I come close to meeting death last night, but two more Titan shifters were just added to the mix. One a familiar face from home and the other was someone I'd never spoken more than ten words to. Not really the best combination if you asked me, but no one did.

Reiner stood beside me stiffly. It was a stark contrast to that of (Y/n), though her expression was something I'd never particularly associated with her. It was, despite our current situation, calmer than usual.

"What do you mean, 'you already knew'?" Reiner inquired, "if you already knew about Ymir and Zeke, why didn't you say anything to us sooner?"

"I never said that I knew for long." (Y/n) started, "I didn't particularly need you to tell me that Zeke was here on the island when I saw him with my own two eyes. And besides, there aren't many people I know that can bend Titans to their will."

"And Ymir?"

(Y/n)'s gaze waivered ever so slightly under Reiner's intense stare, though I don't think Reiner had intended to look at her that way.

"It's not as though Ymir came up to me one day and revealed that she was the Jaw Titan. I suppose the two of us had spent time together on rare occasions but how was I supposed to know that she was the one who-" (Y/n) stopped, her expression quickly snapping back to what it had been before. "Let's just say that hindsight is a wonderful thing."

Reiner opened his mouth to reply but ultimately said nothing.

It was quiet between the three of us; quieter than what I would've considered to be comfortable. Then again, I don't think speaking in this situation would've been all that comfortable either.

There was tension between the two. An unresolved issue that had begun to fester between both of them, yet neither spoke of it. Not in the ways they wanted to, at least. Stray glances and idle remarks could only go so far.

I didn't want to think that at a time like this I might have to take sides. Reiner was... well, is my best friend. At least, I liked to think of him as my best friend. The two of us had gone through so many things together. So many long training missions and so many hardships. It would only be right of me to call him my best friend after this.

But (Y/n)... she's always been someone I looked up to. She was passionate, kind and always managed to make me feel accepted. Not the person people wanted me to be or the Warrior Marley expected me to convey; me. It was some of only the many things I loved about her.

"You guys do trust me, don't you?" (Y/n) inquired.

Despite me wanting to reply without a second thought, it was ultimately Reiner who answered.

"Of course we trust you!" Reiner exclaimed, "why wouldn't I trust someone I've trained alongside for over two years?"

(Y/n) tilted her head at Reiner's strange tone but managed to snap out of it rather quickly. It was the kind of thing you only really expected to read in books, but I suppose (Y/n)'s always been a perceptive person.

"You said you had something to tell us too, right?" I suddenly interrupted. I felt my face beginning to warm under the girl's gaze. It was similar to that of a parent whose child acts strangely. Though, I suppose a better way to put it would've been acting out of the norm. I guess that's exactly what I was doing though; acting outside of my normal.