Following Commander Erwin's death, Jean was promoted to a Squad Captain and tasked with leading the new recruits and taking out the titans in the Northern Quarter. As soon as the promotion was made official, you rush over to Utopia to congratulate him.
While you occasionally collaborated with Hange and Levi's squads, you haven't been able to spend much time with Jean as the two of you were stationed opposite from each other. Even while Jean was still part of the Levi Squad, Commander Erwin would have him come over and help him manage the recruits in the Northern Quarter, so he was practically always in the Utopia District.
You hug him and say, "Congrats on the promotion Jean-bo! I always knew you had it in you."
"I don't know if I should thank you or punch you in the gut." He says noting your comment.
"Come on now, don't say that... you're thinking of how proud your mom's gonna be when she finds out, aren't you?" You continue teasing him. "So, how are things with your squad?"
Jean responds, "Everyone's getting along just fine— oh except that pain in the ass Floch. I heard he punched you after we returned to Shiganshina... too bad I had to rush back, I would've paid to see that!"
You answer, "It wasn't that big of a deal. I mean... he was understandably frustrated and— speaking of which, where is he?"
"He went on about how he'll never follow anyone besides Commander Erwin and quit the Survey Corps. I heard they accepted him into the Military Police since they lost most of their members during the uprising; must be pretty desperate if they're letting people like him in." Jean explains.
"By the way... any secret admirers I should know about?" you ask.
"Huh? What are you getting at?" Jean asks.
You respond, "I mean... the 'recruits' are technically the same age as us, so they're fair game, right? I bet at least half of them are drooling over their hot new Captain!"
Jean says, "Why didn't I see that coming? For the millionth time... I've only got eyes for Mikasa!"
You sigh, "Listen... I admire your dedication but, you're seriously gonna miss out on a real keeper one of these days if you keep that attitude! What's it gonna take for you to move on?"
"I don't know. I mean... if she got it going with Eren, I could at least accept reality and give up. But the fact that she keeps calling him family and that bastard being dense as a rock just makes the whole prospect impossible, don't you think?" He asks.
"Hmm... you've got a point. That big 'what if' really messes with your mind, huh?" You respond.
You decide to stay and to join them on their first expedition with Jean as Captain the next day. You were impressed seeing how Jean had improved a lot since you last saw him in action.
While you were still better at using ODM in terms of speed and pulling off advanced maneuvers, Jean had better technique and was more efficient at conserving gas. In a battle of attrition, you wouldn't hold a candle to him.
After the expedition, you say goodbye and return to Shiganshina to resume your own expeditions to wipe out the considerably larger number of titans in the Southern Quarter.
Thanks to the effort of all four squads and your newest member, Bertolt; you manage to fully rid Wall Maria of titans by the next spring. As soon as the Survey Corps made the announcement official, the government started rebuilding Shiganshina and settling the refugees back in their hometowns.
❋❋❋
Having fully cleared Wall Maria of titans, you instruct your squad to take some time off. Petra heads off to catch up with Levi while Nifa does the same with Hange, although it results in her vacation getting cut off early by having to run errands for her. Hange was nearly overwhelmed by the workload without Moblit's assistance.
Bertolt joined Nifa as Hange wanted to study the Colossal Titan. Annie on the other hand decided to relax spent her time off with Hitch in Stohess. She was still recovering from the loss of Marlowe, so you figure having Annie there would help.
The recapture of Wall Maria was one of the basic requirements to prove the legitimacy of your plan. Having completed that, you still had to convince the government to give their approval. You head to the Military HQ in the Capital as Primer Zacchary summons you to discuss progress on the matter. As you walk through the door, you're surprised to find Queen Historia there as well.
Primer Zacchary asks, "I see you've made progress. Your plan is coming along well, I presume?"
"Yes Sir! We've fully rid Wall Maria of titans— ahead of schedule thanks to the Colossal Titan's involvement I must add. While our soldiers are taking some well deserved time off to rest, Commander Hange and I intend to make preparations for the next phase of our plan." You explain.
He responds, "Good! Her majesty and myself discussed this matter over the past few days and have come to an agreement to support you. However, we'll have to get the rest of the council to agree before we can approve it. It'll take a while longer, but it shouldn't be a problem if you keep up the good work."
You're surprised that the Queen was on board with your plan. It was the last thing you expected when you walked in there. You express your gratitude to her, but at the same time ask her what it was that convinced her.
Queen Historia answers, "Ymir trusted Reiner and the others, so I believe it's only right that we follow her example and do whatever we can for our people across the ocean. It is where she originally came from after all."
Primer Zacchary continues, "Anyway, what I wanted to discuss was about the port. You mentioned how taking control of it would prevent Marley from unleashing more titans here, right?"
You answer, "Yes Sir! I originally planned to do it right before moving onto the last phase of our plan. But for some reason, we haven't seen many titans approach Wall Maria from the south in a while. Commander Hange theorized that Marley might've stopped coming to Paradis since their defeat. It's yet to be confirmed, but if it is the case, I believe it's safe to capture the port while they're away."
❋❋❋
After the meeting with Primer Zacchary and the Queen, you decide to head to Karanese to discuss your immediate plans with Hange. But since you were in the inner walls, you figured you may as well stop by Stohess to check on Annie on the way.
You felt oddly fulfilled just seeing her face as she greeted you. You had gotten used to seeing her every day as your barracks were right across from each other at the HQ. But since she left on her vacation, it was the first time you saw her in two weeks.
When you point it out, Annie says, "Yeah, me too... it was a welcome change of scenery, but I'd be lying if I say I didn't miss you."
"What do you mean by a welcome change of scenery? I thought you didn't like how crowded Stohess was." You ask.
"I don't. What I meant was the fact that it was Hitch's place and not a Military Barracks. After six years, I think I'm a little fed up with communal living." She clarifies.
You respond, "I see... you were with the refugees before joining the Cadet Corps, right? I get it. Umm... what do you say we get a house in Shiganshina?"
Annie hesitantly asks, "You mean... together? Are we even old enough to—"
You giggle as you were amused seeing Annie look all nervous like that. It didn't suit her character at all, but it was cute nonetheless.
"No, we're both turning seventeen this year, so not yet. But you do realize they're barely paying us over minimum wage in the Survey Corps, right? If we start saving now, we'll be at least twenty by the time we can afford something decent." You explain.
The payroll in the Survey Corps wasn't even a fraction as that of the Military Police and the fact that you were risking your lives during expeditions made it difficult to get loans. All things considered, it wasn't as easy for Annie to get a place like Hitch did, so you figured it'd be easier if you saved up to get a place together.
Annie responds, "Thinking ahead as always, huh? Fine, I guess I'll put up with it for a while longer. At least it's not as bad as it was in camp since it's just four of us in the women's quarters."
Afterwards, you check on Hitch and how she was doing before kissing Annie goodbye as you set off. You reach Karanese by nightfall and discuss what to do next with Hange.
You ask, "How do we approach the titans outside the Walls, Hange-san?"
"Hmm... I honestly don't think there's many left out there. Since they're attracted to large concentrations of people, I figured most of them would've made it inside Wall Maria before you and Annie sealed the breach in Shiganshina. We barely ran into any titans on our way to Ambush the warriors, remember?" She points out.
"You're right. In that case, why don't we focus on capturing the port? Primer Zacchary actually brought it up when I met him earlier." You suggest.
Hange responds, "Alright. You and Levi take care of the port. Jean and I should be able to handle the rest of the titans in Paradis."
With that, you set your next objective to take control of the port, which would allow the Survey Corps to start taking out the titans outside the walls without having to worry that Marley will just create more. Having a port also meant that you could begin trading with other nations if the opportunity ever comes up.