Y/n couldn't sleep through the night so she was up bright and early the next morning. Everyone was still asleep, so she went out to the kitchen and started making herself tea. She still wanted to talk with Hange-san, to apologize for the way she'd reacted the day before, but Hange still wasn't there. Right now, she had other problems at hand.
How the fuck does one act in a relationship?
She and Jean have always been close. They were okay with physical contact and they always fussed over each other. So what was the difference now? They knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with each other. That had always been a fact regardless. But beyond that? Sasha and Connie's accusations yesterday had given her a sleepless night.
Were they supposed to kiss? She'd never really imagined kissing someone. Well, maybe Jean when they were younger, but she hadn't really had time to think about that the past few years. And beyond kissing? Did he want to . . .? Did she? Why was this so complicated? She didn't want to think about that, they'd confessed to each other less than a week ago. They weren't in a rush, right? Other than that, would anything between them change? Was it still okay to tease him and make fun of him? He hasn't really teased her as much as he normally would, which was odd. He'd become even more worried about her now — though she wasn't sure whether it was because of her collision with the wall or because they were dating.
Wait.
Are we even dating? Jean never said anything and neither did she. They never made it official. Holy fuck, what were they?
''Good morning, Y/n.'' Mikasa's voice came from behind.
Y/n's head snapped to her. ''Mikasa!'' Y/n ran over to her, tea long forgotten, and put her hands on Mikasa's shoulders. ''Am I dating Jean?''
Mikasa's eyebrows shot up. ''Uh . . . I don't know. Shouldn't you know?''
''I thought so, too!'' Y/n said as she let go of the girl, who buried her face in her scarf in embarrassment. ''This is so confusing!''
''What's confusing?'' Sasha entered the room with a yawn. She still wore her sleeping attire, but when she spotted Y/n and Mikasa, her eyes widened. ''What's going on? Are we gossiping?''
''No, we have a dilemma,'' Mikasa said, pointing at Y/n, who was pacing up and down in front of the dining table. ''Are Y/n and Jean dating?''
Sasha's mouth formed an 'O' for a moment before she closed it. ''Hm. Didn't you confess back to him?''
Y/n stopped in front of Sasha and Mikasa, nodding. ''I did. But we never really said we were dating, you know?''
''Does he act like you're dating?'' Sasha asked, then she scratched her head. ''Actually, how does one act like you're dating?''
The three girls stood in silence, looking between each other as if the answer would fall from the roof. Neither had an answer. ''. . . I don't know,'' Mikasa finally said, playing with the end of her scarf.
Sasha shrugged. ''Yeah, me neither.'' She looked at Y/n.
''Maybe you should talk to Jean,'' Historia's voice suddenly spoke, causing the three girls to jump. She stood there with her arms crossed, her eyes still looking tired. She's been looking like that ever since Ymir went with Reiner and Bertoldt, barely talking with anyone. ''If you guys are in a relationship, you should be able to talk things through.''
Is she speaking from experience. Y/n gave her a smile. ''Thanks, Historia. I think I will.''
Historia nodded. ''Also, if you don't want anyone hearing this conversation, you should talk in a room next time,'' Historia said as she walked over to the kitchen isle and brought out a cup. ''Anyone could've walked in, you know.''
Sasha snorted. ''Imagine Connie had walked in and started giving you relationship advice.''
''Huh? What's that supposed to mean?'' Connie suddenly shrieked, appearing from the hallway. ''I can be great at advice!''
''Yeah, right! You advised me how to groom my horse two days ago and I ended up with a hove in the ribs,'' Sasha reminded him, causing Y/n to snort and Mikasa to chuckle in her scarf.
''Well, that was on purpose!''
Soon enough, everyone bar Eren and Captain Levi were present in the kitchen, chatting, cleaning and preparing breakfast. Y/n watched Jean, Sasha and Armin cook as she dusted, wondering when she should approach the subject.
Later during the day, Y/n, Jean, Sasha and Armin went out to chop wood — though, really, it was just Jean and Sasha chopping; Armin tried but he couldn't slice through and Jean wouldn't let Y/n chop — when Captain Levi and Hange came back to the house and a meeting was called in the main room.
''Huh? Come again?'' Levi asked.
Hange looked down. ''Pastor Nick is dead. He's been murdered. This morning, in the Trost District barracks. I knew that the Church would have it in for Nick after he agreed to help us. That's why I put him up in the barracks with a fake identity. I never expected them to send soldiers to execute him. I was too careless. It's entirely my fault.''
Y/n and Hange's eyes met in that moment. Was there a double meaning behind those words?
Levi took a sip of his tea, though no one else dared touch theirs.
''Did the Military Police torture Pastor Nick just to find out what he told us?'' Armin asked.
Y/n's stomach churned. She was about to join those kind of people? She felt sick.
''Most likely,'' Levi confirmed. ''But it was also the Interior Military Police, so there must be more to it. So how many of Nick's nails were torn off?''
His nails were torn off? Oh walls.
''Huh?'' Hange looked up.
''You saw, right? How many?''
''I only caught a glimpse of him, but from what I could see, all of them.''
Y/n wanted to throw up, but Levi didn't seem phased at all. ''People will either spill the beans after one, or hold out no matter how many nails you pull off. To be honest, I didn't think much of Pastor Nick. But he stood by his beliefs all the way to the end. That means they probably have no idea that we've learned about the Reiss family. But now we also know that someone is watching us from on high, and not for the friendly reasons.''
Great. Just great, the MPs are gonna want us dead now, right? Amazing!
''Captain Levi.'' A soldier entered the room, going over to Levi. ''There's a word from Commander Erwin.'' She handed Levi a paper. ''I meant to tell him about Pastor Nick, but he sent me right back with this.''
Levi took a single look at the paper before he looked up at his squad. ''Everyone out. We're not safe here. Leave no trace of our presence.''
Everyone let out light gasps in confusion, but didn't question. Y/n and Sasha quickly ran to their room, much like everyone else, grabbing the little belongings they had in their backpacks before going back to the kitchen to help clear out the food and dishes.
It wasn't long before they all stood atop a hill, watching down as MPs surrounded the house. ''That was close,'' Connie pointed out.
Each of them stood with a rifle in hand, in case they needed to use them. To use them against humans. Y/n shook her head. No, that won't be necessary. It's fine. ''Shame. I liked that house,'' Y/n commented as she stood next to Jean.
''What would have happened to us if we hadn't left immediately?'' Connie asked.
''But how did Commander Erwin . . .''
''New orders from the government.'' Levi cut Armin off. ''The Survey Corps are banned from venturing outside the wall.'' Everyone looked at Levi in confusion. ''And we're to hand over Eren and Historia.''
Huh?
''Immediately after he gave me that message, the Military Police arrested Commander Erwin,'' the soldier from earlier said.
''Why are they treating him like a criminal?'' Hange asked.
''Someone isn't working from the shadows anymore,'' Levi said. ''They don't care who sees anymore.''
''They must want to protect the walls' secrets at all costs,'' Hange said. ''But what could they want from Eren and Historia? I could see killing them, but why do they want them alive?''
It was then decided they would move to Trost District and hide there. According to Levi, it would be easier to slip in during the panic and they'd be able to use their ODM gear better if they were inside the city. They still didn't know who was behind everything. Hange and Moblit were to go after Erwin, and Eren handed them a note before they left.
———
They walked through the streets of Trost in a line, each of them dressed in a cloak. ''Don't walk too close together. We'll stand out.'' Yeah, because walking close to each other is our biggest giveaway. ''Eren and Historia, try to walk normally.''
''Jean, keep your head down,'' Y/n reminded him, nudging his arm with hers. ''We can't get recognized.''
''Right, sorry.'' Jean quickly followed as the two walked at the back of the group.
''Why is the royal family flag hanging everywhere?'' Connie asked.
''Oh! Today must be the anniversary of the monarchy's establishment,'' Sasha pointed out.
''Woah, Sasha, didn't know you were that good in history,'' Y/n commented from the back.
Sasha looked back, nodding. ''Of course! They give out special rations for it every year.''
Y/n's face dropped. ''Oh. Well, that explains it.''
''We'll begin distributing rations shortly!'' a voice boomed over the crowd and their whole group stopped, watching as two MPs stood atop a podium. ''King Fritz has heard of Trost District's hardship and will donate the royal family's reserves! There's enough for everyone, so form an orderly line!''
''Thank goodness!''
''Long live King Fritz!''
''Now that's generosity befitting a king!'' Sasha pointed out.
''It just means he has that much to spare,'' Levi added. ''People are too easily swayed by food.''
Y/n agreed. She watched over the ground, seeing people she recognized from her childhood. As she made her way to the left of the crowd, her eyes fell on two familiar figures. At the same time, Stella looked away from the podium and right back to where the Levi Squad was.
Stella's eyes widened. Her mouth opened — fuck, she was about to scream. Y/n quickly put a finger over her lips, causing Stella's lips to close immediately. Stella looked up at their mother for a moment, pointing up at her. Y/n rapidly shook her head and Stella nodded. For a moment, Y/n thought she'd understood, but Stella seemed to understand her own thing — she snuck out from next to her mother and quickly made her way over.
''Y/n, what's wrong?'' Eren suddenly asked and Y/n looked at him.
She was about to start explaining when Stella's body suddenly collided with hers. ''Y/n—''
''Shush!'' Y/n said, quickly covering her mouth. ''Be quiet, Stella.''
''Who is that?'' Armin asked. Everyone was looking at Y/n now, causing her to burn up in embarrassment.
''Aw, Y/n, is that your sister?'' Sasha skipped over, patting Stella on the head. ''Hey, I'm Sasha! You're so cute!''
''Tch, did you all forget we're on a mission?'' Levi's voice was low as he spoke, causing a chill to run down Y/n's spine. ''Deal with the situation and catch up. We have no time to waste. Kirstein, stay with her. I trust neither of you will get lost since you're from here.''
Jean nodded. ''Yes, sir.''
Levi and the Squad took off and Y/n quickly looked down at her sister, a frown on her face. ''Telling you to be quiet doesn't mean you have to yell once you get to me, you know?''
Stella stepped back and looked down. ''Sorry.''
Y/n sighed. ''It's fine. Listen, we're on a mission, okay? You have to pretend you never saw us, okay? And you can't tell Mom you saw us either.''
Stella's eyes lit up. ''Oh, a secret mission? That's so cool!''
Y/n's eyes widened. ''Stella, shush!'' Y/n whisper-yelled as she put a hand over her sister's mouth. She felt her lick the inside of her hand, causing her to grimace but she couldn't pull it away. The stakes were too high. ''Go back to Mom and pretend this never happened, okay? Please? This is really, really important.'' Stella nodded rapidly. ''Okay. When I let go, you will turn around quietly and go back to Mom and won't say a word, alright?'' Stella nodded again.
Y/n let go of her sister and stepped back. Stella quickly gave Jean a hug, too, causing Jean to chuckle before she quietly walked away and rejoined her mothers' side. She looked back one last time and gave them a wave before she looked back ahead.
''Walls,'' Y/n let out a relief sigh, then remembered the saliva on her hand. ''She fucking licked my hand.'' Y/n quickly wiped her hand from her jacket.
''So you weren't lying when you said licking hands is a common thing for siblings,'' Jean said as they picked up the pace to catch up to the rest of the group.
''See! They're pests, I'm telling you,'' Y/n said, looking at the ground. ''Leo wasn't with them. He's probably in the Training Corps now.''
Jean wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. ''He's tough, he'll pull through. Don't worry about him.''
Y/n nodded. ''Yeah, you're right.''
What they should've worried about in that moment was the one person looking at them in interest.