#jeanxoc

Veena was only a young teenager at the time of the attack on Shiganshina District. Living with her parents and older sister, she had a happy life living in the quaint yet busy district. Her parents owned a small shop around the corner where she often worked to pass time with her older sister, Olivia. Olivia had been the sweetheart of the district, captivating the hearts of men in Shiganshina and the surrounding districts. She is beautiful, ethereal, and has a way with her words that ensured the likeness of everyone she met. Those characteristics didn't pass well to Veena, however. Veena is pretty, but not beautiful. She's charismatic, but not as much as Olivia. She's well liked, but not as popular. In a way, Veena has always envied her older sister but ever since the fall of Shiganshina, the envy she held for her sister slowly diminished until it no longer existed.

Olivia and Veena were working in their parents shop when the Colossal and Armored Titans destroyed the wall. Veena was behind the counter counting the money they made so far in the day while Olivia was assisting the customers in the shop itself.

"Ven," Olivia called out. Looking up from the cash in her hands, Veena found her sister deeper in the store assisting a man, giving Veena a soft smile with a book in her hands. "Can you check him out? Give him the discount, please!" She asked while handing the book back to the customer, her smile growing larger.

Giving her a small smile back, she looks back down at the cash in her hands. Putting the cash in an envelope, she hears Olivia and the man exchange a few more words. The discount that Olivia gives out isn't much, really, only about 5% off, but she gives it out only to the nicer guys that hit on her. Their parents don't mind either, taking advantage of their daughter's good looks and personality to keep men coming back to the shop. Hearing the customer walk up the the small wooden counter, Veena glances up. Meeting his eyes, she gives him a smile while grabbing the book he handed out to her.

"Just the journal is going to b-"

Suddenly, a loud boom interrupted their conversation. Startled, Veena locks eyes with Olivia across the room, her eyes wide.

"Ven-" Screaming interrupted what Olivia was going to say to Veena. Veena's head snaps to the front windows of the store, breaking eye contact with her sister to see a mass of people running past the store. Now very much scared rather than concerned, Veena puts the book down on the counter and rounds the wooden counter to crosses the store to the set of windows, her gaze set on the chaos outside. Looking out to where the now even larger mass of people are running from, her fear only grows larger. As the smoke dissipates, Veena sees a large titan peering over the wall.

"There's no way..." Veena mutters to herself.

"No way, what? Veena!" Olivia screams at Veena, hearing Veena's muttering over the sound of screaming and shoes on pavement outside. Meeting Veena at the window, Olivia can feel her heart drop into her stomach as she sees the titan for the first time. "Is that...?" She mutters.

Their gaze is interrupted by another loud boom. Casting her eyes slightly downward from the large titan peering at them from behind the wall, Veena sees a large hole in the wall with titans now coming through into the district. Olivia must have seen the event too, quickly grabbing Veena's hand and squeezing it tightly. Veena was frozen in fear, not even wincing at the death grip that Olivia was giving her hand, while Olivia starting shaking in fear, feeling tears form in her eyes as she began to sob. After hearing her older sister's whimpers, Veena snaps out of her daze. Turning to face her sister, Veena grabs her attention.

"Olivia, we gotta go." Olivia's head snaps to meet Veena's gaze, her eyes wide as her heart starts to beat impossibly faster.

"Veena, are you crazy? We can't go out there, there are titans!"

"Are you kidding? We can't stay here, Liv." Veena observes the scene in front of the shop, trying to piece together a plan of what to do. Her mind was scrambling, her eyes fitting everywhere almost all at once, observing the people running by, the titans pooling into Shiganshina, and the large titan that continues to peer at the chaos it's caused.

"Crap." Veena jumps, surprised by the male voice behind her. She had completely forgotten about the customer in the shop. He's peering outside the windows with Veena and Olivia, his eyes wide and breathe hard and fast. This sisters watch as he rushes to the front door of the shop, forcing it open despite the large crowd of people running against the door. Immediately, he's knocked down as the rush of people push past him, no one caring about the grown man knocked to the ground being trampled on.

Olivia starts to sob harder, watching the man being trampled to death in front of her. Staring in horror, Veena struggles to think of a plan to get out of this situation. They need to leave immediately before the titans reach their location and they get eaten, but they can't leave through the front door or else they'll be killed by their own people during the chaos.

"Olivia, we need to go, now." Veena emphasizes to her sister. Turning towards each other, Veena has problem focusing as she watches her sister crumbles to the ground and break down in front of her.

"We'll, um, yeah we'll leave through the back door into the alleyway and follow the crowd. The alleyway should be empty. I'm sure the Garrison is doing something about the crowd right now." Veena concludes out loud. "Liv, let's go." Grabbing her hand roughly, Veena pulls her sister up to her feet and starts to make for the back door on the opposite end of the shop. Pushing the door open, Veena pulls a sobbing Olivia into the alleyway. Looking at the open end of the alley, another large crowd of people are rushing by. "C'mon Olivia." Pulling her sister's hand hard, Veena and Olivia start running to the open end of the alley to the mass of chaos. Meeting the crowd, Veena pushes herself and Olivia into the swarm and beginning sprinting with the flow of people.

It's absolute chaos, the sounds of people's screams and cries are deafening as they run to who knows where. The sight of everything are traumatizing itself, lone children crying for anyone to listen, dead bodies already littering the streets, and destroyed homes.

As they continue to run, Veena can feel Olivia pulling back on her arm. "Ven, what about mom and dad?" She manages to say despite her sobbing and her being out of breath due to the running.

Veena's blood runs cold, forgetting completely about her parents during everything happening. Truthfully, she's doesn't know what to do. She's conflicted, because if she risks finding her parents, her and Olivia's lives are even more at risk than they are now. However, if they were to continue with their current plan, they may not even see their parents again. Veena realizes she has to decide quickly seeing as they're approaching the market where their parent's were shopping at during the time of the break on the wall.

"Fuck, okay," Veena hesitates, "we'll swing by since the market's close, but we're gonna be quick, okay? We can't risk wasting too much time." She concludes as she tells Olivia. She can hear Olivia hold in her sobs, grateful that Veena is taking over in this situation.

Olivia had always envied her sister. Veena had always been headstrong and quick to think and move. She's incredibly strong mentally, never allowing things to bother her, or at least if it does, she never shows it for the sake of those around her. Olivia wasn't dumb like many thought, she knows many girls of the district were jealous of her beauty and charisma and many men wanted her. She knows her reputation in Shiganshina, but never truly understood why her sister didn't have the same reputation alongside her.

Honestly, Olivia was scared. Her mind is racing with thoughts of what will happen, what did happen, and is happening. She desperately wanted her parents here to help them and to make sure they were safe. Olivia felt immensely guilty right now, having her younger sister take over and protect the both of them during a time like this.

Turning right, Veena continues to pull Olivia throughout Shiganshina, weaving themselves around people, rubble, and bodies. After a few more minutes, they reach the almost deserted market. The market was a large area filled with booths of vendors selling anything you need or can think of, however, now it was just an area of destruction. The usually large, empty, area was now littered with broken booths, produce, bloodied bodies, and stone from the now destroyed wall. With barely any people making their way through the area, it was easier for Veena and Olivia to look around.

"Remember, Liv, make it quick. Okay?" Veena tells Olivia. After Olivia makes her understanding known, they separate their hands. Veena and Olivia begin to look in every spot they can for anything to identify their parents with. They look under pieces of booths, around corners, and even under rocks in their desperate search for their parents.

Suddenly, Veena hears Olivia release a scream. Snapping her head in Olivia's direction, just a few feet to the right of her, Veena finds her older sister with her knees on the pavement, her shoulders shaking as she sobs. Veena feels her stomach drop, immediately running in the direction of her sister. Meeting her, Veena feels her heart break at the sight in front of her. Sinking to her knees next to her sister, she too starts to cry at the sight of their parents dead bodies. Veena couldn't believe, just a while ago her parents were leaving the shop with a smile and a wave, claiming they'd be back soon.

Olivia starts sobbing harder and hides behind her hands, not believing her eyes while Veena sits still, tears running down her cheeks as she's frozen, not being able to process what she's seeing. Closing her eyes, Veena leans her head back, facing the sky, and inhales deeply. After she lets out a breath, Veena brings her head back down looking one last time at her parents. As Olivia continues to sob, Veena reaches for her parents' hands and grabs their wedding rings. She pockets them after slipping them off of their fingers and moves to stand up. As she leans back, she feels the ground rumble. Alarmed, Veena looks up and around, trying to find the source of the noise. Wiping the tears from her blurry eyes, the sound continues. Veena attempts to find it while she stands up, getting ready to grab Olivia and run. The rumble gets louder each time it occurs. Footsteps, Veena realizes. Now very alarmed, Veena attempts to get the attention of her still sobbing sister.

"Olivia, we need to go right now." Veena emphasizes, reaching down to grab her sister's shoulders, still searching for the source of the footsteps.

"Ven," Olivia manages to choke out, "I don't think I can go." Her hands still holding her head, covering her eyes.

Veena snaps her head to the back of her sister's, "Olivia, you're kidding me right? We can't stay here, let's go." Veena's grip on Olivia's shoulder's tighten as she attempts to pull her sister up to her feet. Olivia struggles, wanting nothing more than to be with her parents right now.

Veena's eyes sting with fresh tears, "Liv, please, we need to go."

"I can't leave them, Ven!" Olivia for the first time since finding their parents lifts her head from her hands and locks eyes with her sister's. Veena's heart aches more, if that were possible, as she looks at her sister with red eyes and tears threatening to spill out, but trying her hardest to hide it for her older sister's sake.

"Olivia, please, I can't lose you too. Let's go before-" Suddenly, Veena realizes the footsteps are much, much closer than just a minute ago. The thuds becoming louder and louder with each passing second.

"Hey!" Veena whips her head behind her to the sound of the deep voice calling out to them to find two Garrison soldiers running their way. "What are you guys doing? Get to the boats!" One screams as they make their way to Veena and Olivia.

A loud thud distracts Veena however, bringing her gaze to the area before her, locking eyes with a titan standing at the opposite end of the market. Her breathe hitches and her adrenaline rushes through her, her blood turning cold with panic at the sight of a titan just mere meters in front of them. Olivia either doesn't notice or fails to care, continuing to grieve their parents' deaths with her head buried in her hands.

The Garrison soldiers arrive to the sisters, noticing the titan standing just in front of them. "Shit," one of them mutters, "Smith, grab her and run before that titan decides to move for us, alright?"

The other soldier swallows thickly and nods, moving to grab Olivia's elbows to pull her up from the pavement. The soldier that spoke grabs Veena's shoulder, spinning her around and taking her frozen gaze from the titan that still hasn't moved.

"Are you okay? You both need to get to the boats immediately. Let's go." He says to her as he pushes her in the direction the soldiers came from on the opposite end of the market from the titan that continues to stare at them.

"Wait-" Veena tries to reason, not wanting to be separated from her sister.

"No, you need to leave now. Understood? The boats are waiting, you know where they are. We'll deal with her. Just focus on your safety right now." The Garrison soldier interrupted.

Veena knew he was right, in times like this you need to be selfish and think for yourself, no one else. However, Veena had already lost her parents and didn't want to lose her sister too. Veena's mind was racing with what to do, either she stays and risks her life, or she leaves and risks never seeing her sister again, whether that be death or being separated wherever they end up as refugees. She felt herself finally break down. Veena always prided herself in keeping her stress and fear hidden from others, in knowing when to step up and be there for everyone else. But she was tired. As the seconds ticked by, she felt her resolve dwindle little by little until she could barely hold herself up. She felt her eyes stinging with tears, threatening to slip out at any moment. Veena felt sick with herself. She's ashamed that the one thing she prided herself in is failing. She's ashamed that she can't support her sister who needs her right now more than ever, that all she wants to do is run and never look back.

"Liv, please, let's go." Veena pleaded with her older sister as her tears finally slipped out, staining her cheeks. She stood just a meter behind Olivia, watching as Olivia shook her head no. In a way, Veena was mad. She was extremely frustrated at her sister, her collected façade finally fading away at her sister's constant denial to save herself and her sister. Veena felt herself get angrier as the seconds ticked by. Why is her older sister acting like this, a child? Veena shouldn't be the one calling the shots, being the comforting hand in a time like this. She's only so old, being 15 years young and having to save her older sister's life as well as her own.

Veena sense movement in front of her, noticing the titan beginning to move slowly toward the group.

"Shit, Olivia, get your ass up and let's go the boats, now." Veena demanded with her sister one last time, her patience stretching thin as the situation gets worse and her stress level rises.

"Smith, bring this one to the boats," motioning towards Veena, frozen in fear as she watches the titan slowly but surely make its way towards them, "I'll carry that one to the boats. Move now!" the Garrison soldier ordered to the other. Immediately, Smith sits up and makes his way to Veena, grabbing her elbow and pulling her with him to the boats. Veena wants to struggle, wants to stay with her sister, but she can't find herself doing so, allowing the Garrison soldier to pull her in the direction of the boats. After taking a final glance at her older sister, Veena turns around and runs to the boats with the soldier, making a silent final goodbye to her family.

Veena was sitting on the soft grass outside, basking in the cool air of the autumn season as she looked at the calming scenery in front of her. She was enjoying the view when she heard footsteps behind her, the sound of flattening grass causing her to turn her head as she observed who had decided to interrupt her intended time alone that she sets time for everyday. The bright sun behind Veena had blinded her momentarily as she shifted her gaze to the intruder, quickly covering her eyes to protect them from the bright sunlight. She curses, turning her gaze back around to the view of the small town below her from the hill. Veena heard a deep chuckle resonate from behind, the person coming to interrupt her peace and quiet now just inches behind her. Immediately, she scoffs, knowing exactly who is now taking their seat next to her on the grass to join her.

She rolls her eyes, "Shut up, Marco."

He fully laughs this time, always amused by way of conversation. "Oh please, Fischer. You're a dumbass, I can't help it."

She felt herself crack a smile at that, "You're such a fucking smartass, Marco. Now leave me alone, you know 5pm is my alone hour." Out of everyone in the 104th Training Corps, Veena was closest to Marco. After the fall of Shiganshina, she had been alone for years, her witty and quick to engage attitude long gone. Veena never looking anyone in the eye, never stood up for herself, and never bothered to befriend anyone. In a way, Veena did this to punish herself. She greatly regretted what she did to her only sister, Olivia, leaving her to die in order to save herself. Veena had always hated selfish people, but had turned into one even with family involved. Her life had no direction during those years, only living to survive. Granted, there wasn't much she could do as a refugee. She constantly felt like a burden to those around her and the locals made sure the refugees knew that with either their words or their actions. Veena felt empty during those years, at some points just waiting to die, the loneliness and guilt eating at her constantly. Everyday, she wished to go back and do things differently on that day in Shiganshina.

She finally started to feel like less of a burden and more of a person when she joined the 104th Training Corps. Seeing it as a way out of being a refugee, Veena reluctantly signed up and started her training. As the days went by however, she started to actually enjoy herself. She made friends with those training alongside her and felt her burdens slowly lift off her shoulders.

Veena began actually looking forward to being a soldier, getting the opportunity make up for her sins and protect others rather than herself. She trained hard everyday, never backing down without a fight, in hopes to make it to the Military Police to live a quiet and comfortable life. Granted, it would be more rewarding for her to join the Survey Corps or even the Garrison, but even after the fall of her home district, she was still a selfish person on the inside now matter how much she hated it. Veena definitely wasn't the best cadet out there, far from it really, but her dedication to improve had caught the eyes of her superiors and fellow cadets to where she was seen as a respectable soldier, despite her skills. However, she wasn't as skilled as she had hoped, choosing to join the Survey Corps after failing to make the top 10 cadets during her training.

Veena felt Marco place his hand on her shoulder from beside her, giving it a small squeeze as he said, "Yeah, well, dinner's ready. I thought I should be a good person and grab you before all the food ran out and you just got the scraps."

Feeling herself scoff, she muttered out, "Fucking Sascha. I swear, she hasn't gotten better about this food thing after all these years, even with everyone beating her ass about it everyday." Looking to her right, she sees Marco pull a large grin, silently agreeing with her.

"She is crazy, that's for sure." He agreed. "Eat with me, we haven't eaten together ever since our first day of training."

Veena felt her blood boil, getting annoyed with what Marco was requesting despite knowing how his bestfriends act around each other. "Marco, you know I can't do that. Meals are Jean's time with you." She reasoned with him. She loves Marco, she really does, but she would definitely rather spend less time with him if it meant she could avoid Jean.

Jean and Veena used to get along, them two with Marco making an iconic trio. However, Veena and Jean's friendship ended suddenly, for reasons both of them couldn't identify. Now, it's a mutual hatred, both competing for Marco's attention. Granted, Veena knows she doesn't need to prove her friendship with Marco to Jean, very confident that her friendship with Marco is strong. Normally, she would find this type of behavior childish, wanting nothing to do with it. But for a reason unknown to her, Jean frustrates her to no end, to the point of her participating in his childish competition.

Looking to her right, she sees Marco frown, still looking at the scenery of the small town in front of him. "Yeah, I know." He mutters to his friend to his left.

She leaves it at that, feeling Marco's obvious disappointment but not wanting to get into it, knowing her attitude would get the best of her. Jean and Veena's constant competing has affected Marco the most, no doubt. Constantly being called to one of the two while the other is present, having no choice but to be in the middle of whatever their trying to prove to each other. It was hard on him, his usual nice and friendly demeaner running thin when the two of them are together. Veena obviously senses this, so she tries her hardest to either avoid Jean or ignore him, for the sake of her and Marco's sanity. Jean makes it hard to do so, however, loving how he can rile her up and see what reactions he can get out of Veena.

Veena moves to stand up, Marco's hand sliding off her shoulder at the movement. Brushing the dirt off of her pants, she holds her hand out for Marco to grab. After reaching his own to her, Veena helps him up. "C'mon, let's go eat before Sascha gets a chance at the food."

They make their way back to the Mess Hall, the sun now setting behind them. "I'll stop by your dorm after dinner for a little, I promise." Veena says, peering up at the tall man next to her. His happy eyes fit to hers, giving her a warm smile at the promise.

"Good," he says, turning his gaze back to the Mess Hall, "I miss you, Fischer, we don't hang out anymore." He informs her, the pair getting closer to the doors of the cafeteria.

Veena scoffs, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Marco interrupts her before she can say anything, "I don't wanna hear it, Fischer, I know. It's always Jean. Why can't you guys just get along? Like old times?" Marco asks Veena, he voice softening. He really did miss his best friends getting along.

Veena sighs at that, not wanting to continue the conversation. "I don't know Marco, ask him." She stops the conversation at that. Arriving at the doors of the Mess Hall, Veena gives Marco a small wave and smile as she opens the doors and walks in, "I'll see you after dinner, I promise!"

Marco gives her a small smile back, following behind her and making his way to sit with Jean, Sascha, and Conny. He takes a seat next to Jean, saying his hello's and settling into the conversation at the table. Sascha and Conny are complaining adamantly about training tomorrow, not looking forward to the hand-to-hand combat that was scheduled for the cadets. Jean was listening to the two friends complain, saying things here and there, but never saying too much in the fear that their captain, Levi, will hear, who will not hesitate to enforce the harshest of punishments on his scouts.

"I cannot be paired up with Mikasa again this time." Sascha emphasized to their group, remembering Mikasa landing Sascha on her back every time they re-matched. "She's insane, I was sore for a week after that."

Conny nodded enthusiastically, "She really did beat your ass over and over again, it was impressive you didn't die from embarrassment, honestly." At that, Sascha smacks Conny's arm next to her, "Ow!" He exclaims, rubbing his somewhat sore arm.

"Annie's insanely good, too." Marco butts in, remembering her spar with Ymir just last week.

"Fischer's really good too, definitely not on the same level as Annie or Mikasa, but definitely a good fight." Conny commented, watching her spar last week with Christa. Granted, Christa wasn't much of a fight, but Veena made very good technical points.

Jean scoffed at this, "Please, I could take Veena in a fight." Glancing to a table a few meters in front of him, where Veena sat eating with Reiner and Bertoldt. This made Conny and Sascha laugh hysterically, eyes wide at the claim.

"Jean, you're hilarious! There's no way you'd win in a fight against Fischer, but I'd definitely pay to see you try." Conny managed to let out in between his laughs, his mouth set in a wide grin as he looked at Jean. However, Jean had his hard gaze already fixed on Veena, planning to prove his friends wrong by beating her at training tomorrow. Jean pushes up off the table suddenly, standing up and beginning to make his way to Veena.

"Oi! Jean, where are you going?" Conny calls out to him but Jean ignores him, already close to the table Veena resides at with Reiner and Bertholdt.

"Hey." Veena jumps, startled at the sudden intrusion that interrupted her conversation with her friends. Looking up, she sees none other than Jean making his way to her table. Instantly, her mood sours.

She rolls her eyes, "What do you want, Kirstein?" She asks, fitting her gaze onto his.

"Pair up with me tomorrow."

Her eyes widen, amusement starting to settle in as her lips start to curl into a smile. "Are you serious right now?"

This infuriates Jean, seeing her amusement in her eyes.

"Um, Jean, no offense, but I really don't think that's a good idea." Bertholdt butts in, sitting to Veena's left.

Jean scoffs, "What's that supposed to mean?" He accuses.

"Jean, listen, we don't mean to be rude to you when we say she would easily put your ass on the ground." Reiner points out from across the table, causing Veena's smile to turn into a grin.

She meets Jean's eyes again, "Why would you even want to pair up with me Kirstein?" She asks him, confused by his request.

"Well, Veena, everyone seems to think you're good at hand-to-hand combat." Her smirk grows at this, "But," he continues, "I disagree, you're average, at best."

Immediately, her smirk vanishes and her eyes narrow at him. At this, Jean wears his own smirk, satisfied with her reaction.

"Excuse me?" She asks him, offended. She can't believe his words, her ego definitely wounded as he insults the one of her defining features as a scout. They have the attention of the whole cafeteria now, everyone watching the scene unfold, nervous as to what's going to happen next. Veena and Jean are known to get aggressive with each other, constantly bickering, with some of their arguments almost reaching physical. This sort of thing was common for the group, Jean and Veena always finding something to argue about.

Veena chuckles darkly, standing up from her seat and leaning onto her hands that sit on the table in front of her, eyes set firmly on the man in front of him. Their eyes narrow at each other, trying to figure the other one out. Veena rounds the table, making her way to stand in front of Jean, never breaking eye contact with him.

"Y'know what, Kirstein, why even wait for tomorrow? We can find out right now if my 'skills are average, at best.'" She challenges, blood boiling and adrenaline running. They step closer to each other, challenging each other with their eyes as they continue to stare, eyes never fitting anywhere else. Veena can hear someone stand, the sound interrupting the silence that had fallen throughout the Mess Hall, shoes hitting the wooden floor as whoever it is comes closer to the pair. Eren put his hands on Veena and Jean's shoulders in an attempt to calm the situation.

"Guys," Eren said to the pair, "break it up before Captain gets here."

"Shut the fuck up, Jeager."

"Stay out of this, Eren." Veena and Jean snap at Eren at once. Eren backs off, removing his hands from their shoulders and huffs out a sigh, returning to his table with Mikasa and Armin.

"I'll take you up on that offer, Veena." Jean mutters to Veena, his voice quiet and deep.

Ignoring how he called her by her first name, Veena's eyes widen slightly at the sound of his voice, a shiver running down her spine and her body warming up, not expecting it to sound so deep. She's startled at how she reacted to his voice, realizing that she sort of liked hearing him say her name like that. Scoffing, she rolls her eyes, annoyed with herself.

Jean notices the actions. Thinking her attitude was a result of what he said, he feels his annoyance at the girl grow. He takes another step closer to her, watching as she instinctively takes a step back at his intrusion.

"Watch yourself, Kirstein, don't cross a line with me." Veena warns him, feeling uncomfortable with how close he's gotten to her, not enjoying how her body is reacting to him being so close.

Jean, of course, is unfazed by her warning, staying where he is. If he's being honest, Jean is worried. His body is on fire being this close to Veena and he doesn't understand why. He's never been this close to her, even when they were good friends, and a small part of him doesn't mind being this close to her. However, the majority of him had sirens going off in his head, telling him to back away before he did something dumb.

Before he was able to, though, the doors of the Mess Hall slammed open, revealing Captain Levi alongside a nervous-looking scout. His eyes fall on Jean and Veena immediately. "You two," his voice booms in the quiet Mess Hall, grabbing everyone's attentions immediately. Jean and Veena salute him, turning away from each other and facing their captain. Veena can finally feel like she can breath, the situation far too tense for her liking. "Come with me," Levi orders, turning on his heel and walking outside.

Nervously, the pair follow. After meeting Levi outside, he stares at them for an uncomfortably long period of time.

Jean and Veena stare back, too scared to move or say anything. After a few more long minutes, Jean begins to speak, "Um, Captain-"

"No," Levi cuts him off. "You'll speak when I allow it. Now, one of you, tell me why I just had a scout interrupt my meeting with the Commander so I can make my way over here to break up a potentially physical altercation, which, as I saw when I arrived, was very close to being violent." He orders at the pair, his eyes flickering between Veena and Jean, waiting for an answer.

Veena's heart starts racing, trying to get a grip to give her superior an answer before Jean ruins it by opening his mouth. "I apologize sir," she starts, her eyes meeting Levi's, "Our argument got out of hand, it won't happen again, sir." She apologizes, starting to feel ashamed she let Jean get to her and for things to get so far.

Levi is not satisfied with her apology, he will not condone behavior like this from his squad. "I will administer your punishments tomorrow," Levi informs, "now, finish your dinners and don't let this happen again. You're supposed to work with each other, not kill each other," He warns, "If you desperately want to fight each other, do so during training." He finishes, leaving the pair as he returns to his office.

"You're a dumbass, Jean." Veena breathes out after the Captain is a good distance away. She's exhausted from everything that has occurred in the past 15 minutes, feeling a headache take over. She turns, intending to walk back into the Mess Hall to finish her dinner before bed, seeing as she needs to shower and chat with Marco before heading back to her own dorm for the night.

"Fuck you." Jean counters, saying the first thing that can come to his mind as he trails behind her. She ignores him, and continues to her table. She plops back down on her seat, her elbows resting on the table in front of her. Veena brings her head into her hands, shielding her eyes from the views of everyone and massaging her temples.

"Are you okay, Fischer? What happened out there with Levi?" Reiner asks her, moving across the bench to sit in front of her.

She lifts her head looks at him, "He's deciding our punishments for tomorrow. I just have a major headache right now. I think I'm gonna leave dinner early and head the showers, I'll see you guys tomorrow, yeah?" She says to the two, standing from her seat.

"Yeah, see you. Let us know if you need anything." Reiner ensures, sliding her dinner his way to finish. She smiles at that, appreciating that the food won't be going to waste due to her loss in appetite. She waves them a goodbye, turning around and entering the hallway to head to her dorm to prepare for her shower.

Veena's mind is racing, if she's being honest, not quite used to her reaction to Jean being so close to her. She hates him, that fact is obvious, and the way her body started heating up at his deep voice and close proximity made her feel sick. She decided to ignore this for the time being, pushing it to the back of her mind. Arriving to the room she shares with Christa, Veena walks to her side and begins rummaging through her dresser. Finding her pajamas and grabbing a towel, she begins her trek to the showers. After her shower, she arrives back to her shared room, finding Christa also getting ready for her shower.

"Veena! Oh my god, are you okay? You seemed really stressed out after talking to Levi." Christa expressed her concern, wanting to make sure her roommate wasn't hurt as Levi is known to be harsh with his punishments.

Veena smiled at this, looking at her roommate, "Don't worry, Christa, I'm fine. He's telling us our punishments tomorrow. I'm just exhausted, is all. Jean infuriates me too much. Also, you know-"

"Yeah, yeah, 'Only call me by my last name,' whatever." Christa rolls her eyes. "But Jean can be a pain," Christa agreed, "be sure not to let him get you too worked up, okay? I'm worried about you."

Veena laughs at this, genuinely happy that she has someone to look after her. "Thanks Christa, but don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She promises to her roommate. After getting dressed, Veena turns her attention to Christa, watching as she grabs what she needs to freshen up before bed. "I'm going to chat with Marco for a bit, so don't wait up!" Veena says to Christa as she opens the door, heading out into the hallway. After hearing Christa throw out a, 'See ya!', Veena shuts the door behind her and begins her walk to the other side of the dorms that house the boy's rooms. After walking only a short few minutes, she arrives at Marco's door, giving it a knock. After a minute of waiting, the door swings open to Jean with his shower supplies being carried under his arm.

At the sight of Veena standing outside his door, Jean lets out an annoyed huff, turning his head to Marco, who was sitting on his bed reading a book, already having taken his shower. "You didn't tell me she was coming over, dude. Warn me next time so I can be out of here before I have to look at her."

Veena scoffs at Jean's annoyance, shouldering him to push into the shared dorm room. "Shut it, Kirstein, I'll only be a minute." She says, making her way to sit on Marco's bed with him.

Jean watches her pull herself onto Marco's bed, leaning her back against the wall next to him. "Whatever," he says, "Just be sure you're out of here before I get back." He finishes, heading out the door and shutting it behind him.

Jean couldn't help but feel annoyed. He hated how she was everywhere, whether that be in the same area as him, hearing her name slip out of other people's mouths, or now, even in his head. He hadn't thought of her like this until recently, tonight's events at dinner riling him up. Jean wasn't sure if it was due to annoyance or something else, but his body reacted to her in a way he didn't want to happen again, embarrassed by how caught up in the moment he got. Yes, he likes to push her buttons to see how far he can push her before she cracks (he honestly couldn't believe he almost got her to crack tonight), but tries to restrain himself from going too far, before things get physical or things are said that can't be taken back.

Veena misses hanging out with Marco, this fact becoming much more present as they talk on his bed. They were laughing, Marco bringing up what his friends were talking about at dinner tonight, specifically about what made Jean snap and challenge Veena. She was laughing hard as Marco recounted what Conny and Sascha had said of Jean when he left the table to find her. The door to Marco and Jean's dorm swings open suddenly, causing Veena to halt her laughter and snap her gaze to the front, startled by the sudden intrusion. In walks a topless Jean, his towel hanging around his hips and his hair still dripping with water. Veena's eyes widen an embarrassing amount, her eyes glued to Jean as he steps in the room. Holy shit, Veena thinks, her cheeks starting to burn. Immediately, Veena whips her head to the side, taking her eyes off of the man in the doorway as she shuts her eyes, Ew, she thinks to herself, disgusted that she had this kind of reaction to Jean.

"Fuck dude, put some clothes on next time, yeah?" She shouts angrily at him, her head turning back around to face him, eyes concentrating on his as she glares at him.

Jean scoffs, turning away from her as he rummages through his drawer to find some clothes to change into. "Shut it, Veena, I thought I told you to be gone by the time I got back. Plus, this is my room, don't overstep." He warns her, annoyance creeping up on him. It was embarrassing enough to have to walk around the halls in nothing but his towel, and now he really didn't want to be reminded that the reason he had to do that in the first place was due to Veena's presence. He had completely forgotten about his change of clothes, for some reason his mind wiping clean when he opened his door to her small figure waiting on the other side.

Veena rolls her eyes as she jumps off Marco's bed, smoothing out her clothes after her feet land on the wooden floor beneath her. "Alright, whatever, I'm leaving now." She announces to the pair, turning her body back in Marco's direction behind her. "See ya tomorrow, Marco." She says to him, giving a wave. She makes her way to the door, "Later, asswipe. By the way, stop calling me by my name, you know it pisses me off." She calls out to Jean as she opens their door, continuing through the doorway as she hears him respond with, "Yeah, whatever."

After pulling on his clothes, Jean climbs onto his bed on the opposite wall of Marco's, leaning his back against the wall. He looks at Marco, who pulled his book back out after Veena had made her leave.

"You still like her, don't you?" Jean asks Marco. Pulling his eyes from his book, Marco cracks a smile as he looks back at Jean.

"Oh please, Jean, that was ages ago, I'm over it. You never got over your crush for her, huh?" Marco cracks a smile, the memories of those years ago resurfacing as he turns his attention back to the book in his hand. Marco had always thought about this, assuming the reason Jean had changed his attitude with Veena was because of some dumb crush, but as the days turned into months and the months now turned into years, Marco isn't confident in his theory anymore.

Jean doesn't even hesitate as he scoffs, "I never liked her like that, Marco, you know that. She pisses me off too much."

Marco knows Jean is lying, "I really don't believe you, Jean. You know, it's okay to like her, she's cute, you gotta admit." Marco teases, enjoying this (one-sided) playful banter.

Jean is really annoyed now, "I'm not talking about this right now."

"Life for us is short, Jean, don't waste too much of it with petty arguments and being in denial, yeah?" Marco lectures. Jean lays down now, pulling the covers over intending to go to sleep soon. He can hear Marco sigh, putting his book on the nightstand next to him. As Marco puts out the oil lamp, hiding their room in darkness, Jean can't help but replay Marco's words in his head over and over again, annoyed knowing Marco is right about having a short life in this world.