The local inn - or more like a pub - was busy at this time of the day. Usually, Y/N would avoid such crowds, but given the circumstances, it was perfect.
Everyone was either too busy or drunk to care who was there. And those too busy had to deal with those that were drunk. It was a whole cacophony of laughs, shouts, and slurred singing. Y/N was just thankful the Scout uniform deterred anyone from approaching.
"Hey." Of course, it wouldn't deter other Scouts.
Y/N had to give a double-take to his fellow Scout. It was an older woman, someone who had a few years on him with short, blonde hair and brown roots. To say she looked familiar was an understatement.
"There aren't any other seats." She hummed. "You mind?"
"No." Sometimes Y/N cursed himself. He wanted to say no but avoided her reaction. She seemed like someone who would throw quite a fuss.
"Nanaba." She introduced herself.
Nanaba. The coward. Y/N recalled the member of Mike's squad from Lina's letter. To say whether Lina's words were true or not wasn't something Y/N could tell at first glance.
"Not much of a talker, hm?" She asked. "That's fine."
At least you understand.
"You ever come here?" She asked in a hushed tone.
"No."
"Hmm." Nanaba watched as a head of brown hair navigated the pub; practically speeding toward them. "It's the uniform. Don't let them get to you."
Don't let them get to me?
Y/N wasn't sure what she meant. Usually, the Wings of Freedom were enough of a reminder to pick your battles carefully, but that seemingly changed in Trost.
"Hello!" A young woman had to raise her voice through all the chaos. "Tell me, what'll you fancy?"
It was rare to hear a southern accent within the walls. Or it used to be. Y/N could understand why someone like her now worked here.
"An ale and today's stew." Nanaba said. Her words may have been laced with disinterest, but Y/N knew it to be power and authority.
"The meat pie and a mug of ale." Y/N rushed out. The young woman's eyes, although bright and an entrancing brown, only served to make him uncomfortable.
"Sure. Sit tight." Her energy hadn't missed a beat as she sauntered away.
"A meat pie." Nanaba sounded surprised. "You must get better pay than the rest of us."
"I get by." Y/N's reply was quiet as he dusted off the wooden table of unseen dirt.
"Two ales!" The waitress returned with their drinks.
The wooden rim and body sported small, dark marks of spilled ale. Not that Y/N minded. He certainly wasn't going to complain about the rushed service.
"Anything else come to mind?" She asked. She stood a little too close to Y/N, making him stifle a reaction.
"No, we're fine." Nanaba spoke a little too firmly, chasing away the young woman with a nervous grin.
"You alright?" Nanaba couldn't help but ask. Y/N only gave her a small glance in reply.
"It's the uniform, like I said." She sighed into her mug before sipping the fragrant alcohol. "Anything to get free housing and a stable life, I guess."
Y/N engrossed himself with his drink and stared out a nearby window, leaving just him and the faint moonlight touching the cobbled roads.
"Nanaba." Another voice joined the fold. This time Y/N didn't need to look to know it was Mike.
"Am I disturbing you two?" He asked out of politeness.
"No." Nanaba waved to the open chair. "We just ordered."
"Mm." Mike grunted and took a seat. "The others said they'll be here shortly."
"We've got the room."
Y/N wasn't sure how to feel about Mike and his squad. Lina's words were still fresh in his mind, painting them in a sour light. But the group was anything but bad company.
Gelgar, Henning, Thomas, and Lynne. Mike managed to keep them in place even when they were two mugs deep in their seats. And Gelgar, fueled by ale, tried sparking up small talk while begging for a slice of pie.
"Come on. It's a whole pie! L-lemme have a slice." The Scout leaned into Y/N's shoulder, undeterred by the arm keeping him at bay or the unpleasant glare pointed his way.
"Gelgar." Mike said his name a few decibels above his normal voice.
"Fine." Gelgar nearly sobered up from his leader's voice alone.
Lynne was a nice enough person to pull him away. And while he didn't show it in any way, Y/N appreciated it.
Henning and Thomas were quiet individuals. Their voices were never above a calm tone, a tone that reflected their relaxed demeanors and subtle expressions. They were like Lynne, never bothering to talk or prod at Y/N. Again, he appreciated it.
I guess some people do get hints.
The small, circular table began to pile with empty mugs, plates, and dirtied utensils. For the number of times the poor waitress had to run back and forth, Y/N only managed to cross eyes with her once.
"You see the way she's looking at you?" Gelgar whispered.
"Gelgar." Lynne clicked her tongue and yanked him away, nearly tossing him off his seat altogether.
"You've had a little too much." Thomas sighed. "Time to call it a night."
Y/N figured it was about time he did as well. He felt a mild heat on his cheeks from the ale and the pie made the thought of his bed alluring.
"Heading back?" Mike asked when he stood.
"Yeah." Y/N only spared him a glance before he was out the door.
It wasn't the quiet and reserved dinner as he had hoped, but it was still hot food and a refreshing drink, so in an obscure way it was a victory.
The roads were coated in snow. Each step packed the powder down, making sheens of ice someone would be scraping off in the morning.
There was an eeriness to the weather. How it glowed before lit lanterns or the orange glows from late-night candles behind drapes brought Y/N peace.
The misty exhales leaving his lips clung to his face in the form of ice just a couple of millimeters away. Even the small stubble he accrued over the past month of walking laid victim to the frigid winter.
His calm breaths turned to shaky gasps as his shoulders shook from the blistering cold. Even then, he stood outside the Garrison HQ for a moment longer to soak in the view.
Sitting beside Lina's old squad was a terrible wake-up call. Her final words were harsh, maybe even too much, but Mike and the others trudged on.
That served the ultimate question that had been broiling in his chest since he saw the frozen pair.
What the hell am I gonna do?
He had no duty to this island or its king. He wanted to separate himself from them and build as much distance from them as physically possible. So why is it he feels a sense of duty to two strangers?
Lina and Felix were among those Erwin commanded to help clear a path. Two souls in a mix of possibly dozens. He carried her letter and their gear back, and now it came back as terrible reminders in the form of easy-going comrades and sore muscles.
He knew it the moment he stepped inside. He wasn't going to sleep tonight.
The door to the basement creaked open and closed with a heavy but softened clash of metal. Not only was privacy preferable, but it was also required.
"Just the man I've been looking for!"
Y/N flinched at the voice within the darkness. Even if it was Hange, he didn't dare turn around.
Maybe it isn't too late to leave.
"Gimme a hand with this, would you kindly?"
A part of him wondered if she knew he couldn't say no to her. Not when she used such a voice, anyway.
With a quiet sigh, he descended the stairs with a lit candle flickering in his hand.
He wanted to ask why she was sitting in the dark, but that could unfold a whole world he didn't want to discover.
He held a joint for her as she tightened it, completing one of the four attachments to the prototype harness.
"Couldn't sleep?" She asked. "Me neither. I had an idea and couldn't let it go to waste."
Y/N got to work on the small and many mechanisms within the ODM's handles. Fine-tuning the handles and triggers was half of it. He'd have to wait for Levi to wake up for the other half.
"Were you drinking?" Hange sniffed the air; somehow finding the ale in a mix of metal and oil.
"Mhm." Y/N hummed tiredly.
"Honestly. I don't see the appeal." She huffed, blowing a bang of hair out of her face. "Is it fun?"
"I like the taste and feeling." He replied bluntly.
"Understandable. I feel the same way about Titans. Did I ever tell you how I got into this work? No? Well, one day I kicked a Titan's head and—!"
"You did tell me." Y/N needed to raise his voice for a moment for her to hear him. "Twice now."
"Did I?" She held her chin. "Hmm. I don't recall."
It was the first thing she ever said to him. She spilled something so personal upon meeting him that it made his head spin. She talked and talked for perhaps ten whole minutes before he found the opportunity to leave and for the conversation to be directed to Moblit.
"Tell me, what got you interested in all of this?"
She propped an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm. Her eyes, wide and energetic, were honed in on his face just a breath's length away.
She studied him like an anomaly, or like a researcher who found something that would change their view forever.
"My..." He paused for a moment as he pondered his next word. When he continued, Hange found his choice of word interesting. "Mom said it was good-paying, honest work."
"Your mom." She softened her voice before pushing her goggles up to her head. "She sounds like a smart woman."
"She was." He left it at that, giving even Hange the hint that he didn't want to talk about her. "I learned how to take a rifle apart, clean it, put it back together, then shoot it. Soon enough I'm scrapping ODM gear for parts and learning to repair them."
"Hmm." Hange didn't question the legality of his upbringing. She actually found it quite interesting. "She's the one who taught you, isn't it?"
His small and meticulous movement halted before resuming, making her smile.
"She taught me everything." He quietly lamented.
"Yvonne Brennen." The moment the name left her mouth, a distant but warm light shone within his tired eyes. "She was a Scout."
"Yeah." He gave a small sigh before continuing his work. "How'd you know?"
"She was the only one listed as a family member. Erwin thought he had to deliver the bad news about your supposed passing."
"Thankfully not." He said both in a focused and solemn murmur.
"Is it too much to ask that she's the reason you're a Scout now?" She knew that her asking implied he would have lied to her, but her curiosity drove her forward.
"The last thing she would've wanted is me crawling through Titan-infested lands. So no, she isn't."
He looked at her in the corner of his eyes to see the candlelight touching her face; illuminating the pleasant smile she held as well as the attentive brown irises glowing with a warmth only matched by the orange wick.
"My my...~" The sudden change in her voice gave him pause. He didn't realize he had been staring, or rather, sharing in her long and tender gaze for so long.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you came down here for something else other than work."
Y/N wasn't sure how to respond to that. He knew he was too considerate to deny it. And even if he did, his thrumming heart and rise in nerves would make it sound like he did.
"I'm going to have to take a rain check." She whispered before suddenly lowering her goggles and getting back to work.
-Author's Notes-
Sorry for the absurdly long delay. I just wrapped up my other story and finished a short one. Right now I got back to this as well as another book. So yeah, I won't be getting bored any time soon, I can tell you that much.
Have a good one <3