#troos

"Let me see if I understand this. You lost the Queen and three soldiers. The Queen who was only supposed to have sanctioned visitors, none coming from the boats of Marley. What are the people going to think when they don't see their queen?" Zackly asked as he rested his hands on his desk.

"Technically, they've seen their queen. It was just Armin in a dress," Connie spoke.

"Wonderful. You think they didn't notice the difference in height? They're not fifteen anymore."

"Exactly. They're not. We're not. Maybe Historia was doing what she thought was right," Armin added.

A member of the Military Police came running into the room. "The boat has been spotted again!"

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"This is the dumbest fucking thing you've ever done," Ymir said as she lay on the deck of the ship. She was beaten and bloody like the other four girls who laid close to her.

"You're welcome," Mikasa said as she kicked Ymir's foot.

"And you. I told you to go be selfish and live for yourself. What are you doing here?" Ymir asked as she looked over at the blonde on her side.

"Being selfish," Historia whispered.

"We're going to be in so much trouble," Sasha replied. "But it was worth it."

They saw the steam rising from the sea.

The Colossus Titan came into view.

"Hey Armin," Sasha said as she gave a wave.

"Wait. Since when is Armin…?" Ymir questioned.

"You've missed a lot," Historia answered.

The boat was lifted into the air.

The crew operating the boat screamed.

The girls did not.

They knew who it was lifting the boat into the air.

The crew jumped off as they had the previous time.

"You think they would realize it's Eren again," Sasha muttered.

"Maybe they're scared they're going to get hurt because they helped us," Historia countered.

The boat was sat down on land where it was swarmed immediately.

"Well, well. The brats have returned. Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" Levi asked them as he walked onto the deck of the boat.

"I'm guessing we're going into a jail cell," Sasha said as she lifted her head.

"You would think," Levi scoffed.

"Can't put me in jail. I'm the Queen," Historia said as she winced. She staggered to her feet, almost falling over. Ymir moved and caught her. The smoke was coming off of Ymir. Her titan powers were finally kicking in.

"Oh. No. You're not going to jail. You get to have a debriefing with Zackly, Pixis, and Hange. For hours. Enjoy," Levi said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Come on, Historia," Hange said as they moved towards the Queen.

Historia turned and looked at Ymir. She touched the taller girl's face. "Don't leave again," she pleaded.

The words caught in Ymir's throat. She couldn't speak.

"That's an order. As Queen, I order you to stay here," Historia said.

Ymir smirked and removed the hand from her face. She brought Historia's hand to mouth, kissing the top of it. "As you wish."

"Tch," Levi scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

Historia stepped away from Ymir and the others, making her way towards Hange.

"I guess she won't be marrying Eren after all," Connie said as he came aboard the ship. "I'm here to help escort the prisoners."

"Me too," Jean said as he came up behind Connie.

Armin was the last one to board the boat. His titan marks in full view of everyone.

"Welcome to the cursed club, Arlert. Ya hate it yet?" Ymir asked with a smirk.

"Yeah," he replied as he looked down.

"Good. It means you're still human."

Ymir offered her hand to Mikasa, pulling the other girl to her feet. "We had a deal, didn't we?"

"We did and I fulfilled it," Mikasa remarked as Ymir walked over to Sasha. Ymir helped Sasha to her feet.

"Weapons," Levi instructed.

Sasha handed over her rifle before her 3dm gear dropped to the ground. Mikasa followed suit and let hers fall to the ground too.

"Take them to the cells," Levi instructed Jean, Connie, and Armin.

Mikasa didn't allow her eyes to meet Eren's. He was standing on the rocks.  

She didn't want to know what he thought about her.

She didn't think he would understand even if she explained.

Historia would steal trashy romance novels from the destroyed towns. Then she and Ymir would give dramatic readings of them to the rest of the dorm.

"He loosened his pants to pull out a….what the fuck? I can't read this," Ymir fell over laughing.

"His enlarged, ginormous throbbing….." Historia read with a completely straight face.

"Stop!!!...it does not say throbbing. How can it be throbbing? Is his heart in his dick?" Sasha asked before tossing a pillow at Historia. The pillow missed.

"It does say throbbing," Ymir replied as she chucked the pillow back at Sasha.

"That's the unrealistic part for you? Not that they've stopped to have sex while they're being chased by titans?" Annie said as her head hung over the side of the bed.

"I mean....guess last moments on," Ymir shrugged.

"I guess. Still dumb though," Sasha shrugged.

"Okay. Skip that, get to the good part," Ymir replied as she looked over at Historia.

"He was her better half. The one who the stars aligned to make for her. Her soulmate. He was everything she never knew she needed. He was the balance to her.  But what she didn't know was that he felt the same as her. Due to fighting back against the titans, they never had time to properly express their feelings. But for him, it was her who hung the stars in the sky. She was his last thought as his life was taken. It didn't matter that he died, as long as she survived."

"Well that was depressing," Sasha replied.

"I wonder what it's like to love someone like that," Annie mused out loud.

It was Mikasa who caught the look between Ymir and Historia. Yet Mikasa continued to be silent through it all.

Just like she would be silent when Ymir snuck out with Historia that night.

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Mikasa had gone to bed early on the night of the wedding of Eren and Historia had been announced. She was still trying to process what had happened.

There was a pounding on her door. 

She opened the door. Historia rushed into the room after closing the door behind her.

“I can’t marry him. I can’t. I won’t. I can’t do that to you. I can’t do that to myself. I don’t...love him,” Historia cried.

The Queen was sobbing.

“I don’t want this,” Historia said between sobs.

Mikasa moved to hug her friend but Historia rushed into Mikasa’s arms. So they just held one another while Historia cried.

After Historia ran out of tears to cry, she pulled away and wiped her tears. “I’m sorry,” Historia said as she looked down.

“It’s fine,” Mikasa replied before sitting down on her bed.

The blonde girl reached into her jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She began to unfold it.

The door opened behind them. Sasha came in.

“Everything okay?” the girl asked as she closed the door behind her.

“No. The meeting...Historia doesn’t want to marry Eren,” Mikasa explained.

Sasha nodded before sitting down on her bed. “I don’t see how they can just force you to get married. What do you have there, Historia?”

“It’s a letter. Ymir gave it to Reiner to give to me. I haven’t read it since last time...I just...I need her right now,” Historia explained as she unfolded the letter.

“Oh...what does it say?” Sasha asked.

“My dearest….”Historia’s eyes went wide.

Sasha and Mikasa looked at one another.

“Everything okay?” Sasha asked again.

“She’s alive. She’s alive,” Historia whispered. “She’s in a cell. I can see her. Ymir is alive.”

“What?” Sasha asked as she stood from the bed.

“I thought you said they would...make someone inherit her titan,” Mikasa said as she stood up.

“They should have. But no. I could see her. I could see her sitting in her cell. We have to rescue her...maybe...maybe I can marry any titan,” Historia looked to her two friends as she folded the letter back up and put it into her inner pocket. ”I’ll have to figure out a plan.”

“Wait. You can’t just rush into Marley alone. Historia, you’ll need back up. If they catch you….”Mikasa trailed off.

“I know. I know it’s risky. It’s crazy but I can’t sit around having my whole future decided for me. I can’t marry Eren when one of my only friends is in love with him. Ymir...Ymir is my Eren, Mikasa. What would you do?”

Mikasa gulped.

“I’m going with you. Ymir is my friend too,” Sasha said as she moved towards the other two.

“A three person formation would be better than just two. What we’re doing...it’s treason,” Mikasa said as she stood up.

“Is it treason if the Queen does it?” Historia asked. “Who do you think the third should be?”

“Me. I said it was treason. I didn’t say I wasn’t going,” Mikasa said.

“We’ll need a plan. We’ll need a boat, weapons.”

“Oh! The cute Marley guy. The chef! He’ll help us out. Well... at least me!” Sasha added.

So they began to craft their plan.

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A boat had gone missing in the harbor, along with a crew. Interestingly enough, Yelena had been left behind. Yelena must have taken the ship to return to Zeke had been the first thought Hange and Levi had.

Yet she was instead found tied up and gagged.

“Historia, Mikasa, and Sasha are missing,” Jean informed the Captain and the Commander.

Eren didn’t want to believe it.

Where would Mikasa go?

They told each other almost everything.

He hadn’t told her what he had seen when he kissed Historia’s hand but that was for her own sanity, right?

It had to be.

Eren had one focus in life. Protect Armin and Mikasa.

He still loved his other friends, Jean, Connie, and Sasha.

But Mikasa and Armin were just a little bit more special.

Armin had been his first friend.

And Mikasa?

Mikasa was everything. She had been everything since that day he found her in that cabin. Maybe he had been too dumb to realize it. Maybe now it was too late.

For the longest time, Eren didn’t understand why Jean’s crush on Mikasa annoyed him so much. He just wanted to punch Jean in the face and tell him that Mikasa was his.

But she wasn’t.

She was a free individual.

He could still remember Jean telling Mikasa her hair was beautiful.

Her hair was beautiful. Everything about Mikasa was beautiful. But what if it caught up in the 3DM Gear? She could seriously hurt. So he had told her to cut it.

It had only been because of safety, right?

In the meadow...the way she had been looking at him...he realized. In that moment, he realized that maybe Mikasa wasn’t just his friend. He had feelings for her.

Not just feelings, he was head over heels in love with her and had been too dumb to realize it.

Eren and Armin search Sasha and Mikasa’s quarters.

They found a note.

Look for our ship. We’ll be back from Marley in time. Do not come looking for us. You’ll only jeopardize our mission.

Mikasa, Sasha, and Historia.

They handed the note over to Levi and Hange.

“What do we do?” Hange asked as they sat down.

“Armin, what size dress do you wear now?” Levi asked before he sat down next to Hange.  

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Mikasa stood there in front of Eren.

How could she answer this question?

He was staring at her expectantly.

Her words stuck in her throat.

Her mind was running a thousand miles a moment.

What was she supposed to say to that?

What was Eren?

What was Eren Jaeger to Mikasa Ackerman?

She thought back to the trashy romance novels that Historia had read to them.

Eren Jaeger was everything to Mikasa.

He had hung the stars in the sky. She had been so in love with him from the moment he had wrapped that scarf around her. Her heart was beating out of her chest.

Her most beloved, her most dear. Her best friend. Her soulmate. Her other half. Her everything. Eren was so much to her.

Why was he asking her this?

Why did he want to know?

“You’re….you’re…” she choked on her words but the way Eren was looking at her.

Why did it seem like his heart was breaking?

Was he worried about her?

Wait.

Was this like the trash romance novels where the man finally realized his feelings for her?

Was this Eren finally realizing that maybe….?

“Why?” she finally spoke. “What am I to you?”

Eren reeled back. It was clear that Eren had not expected the question to be thrown back to him.

“I asked you first,” he countered.

“But why did you ask me?”

“That doesn’t matter….”

“I don’t know how to answer because I don’t know what you’re asking.”

Eren threw his hands up in frustration. “Forget it,” he said as he started to walk away.

“Eren...please…”she reached for his arm, grabbing it.

He stopped in his tracks.

“Eren…”

“It’s fine, Mikasa. Just let go…” he sighed.

“No, it’s not. I’ve known you since we were nine. I know when you’re upset. Just...tell me what you’re asking,” Mikasa said as she held onto his hand.

“I’ve got four years left, Mikasa. You know that, right?” he asked her as turned and looked at her.

“I know,” she muttered as she looked down. She hated talking about this. She didn’t want to think about the curse but she knew it was hanging over all of their heads.

“I don’t want to have regrets. I just need to know….what your feelings for me are. Am I just family?”

She looked up at him.

“Why?” Mikasa asked again.

Eren ripped his hand out of her hand before he walked away.

“Oh come on, Mikasa. You’re not stupid. You know why,” he said as he turned and looked at her.

“I don’t. I wouldn’t be asking you if I did.”

“Really? You don’t know why I pick fights with Jean after he talks to you? I constantly tell you to stop thinking of me as a little brother or your kid. You don’t understand why I punched a titan for you? Do you not understand why I got so scared after that? Why I was worried about you when your ribs had been crushed? Or why is it always your voice that always brings me back? Do you not know why I promised to wrap that scarf around you forever? You don’t know why I’ve been going out of my head with worry since you left?  I wanted to come after you. I wanted to go to Marley and tear it apart for you. But if you don’t know, I’ve got my answer then,” Eren moved to push past her but Mikasa grabbed his arm.

“Eren….” she started to say.

“It’s fine. I’m glad you’re back. I’m glad you’re safe. Let’s just….let’s just go, okay?” he didn’t look at her.

It wasn’t okay.

She knew it wasn’t okay.

She knew his heart was breaking like her heart was breaking.

“Don’t. Don’t leave mad at me.”

“I’m not mad, Mikasa,” he sighed before running his free hand through his hair.

“Eren, you’re…”

“It’s okay. It’s fine. We should get back. You need to eat.”

In those trashy romance novels, what did the person always do to get the other to understand when they wouldn’t?

The answer struck Mikasa.

“Eren,” she stepped in front of him, letting go of his hand.

“Let’s just…”

Eren’s words were cut off by Mikasa’s lips meeting his own.

It was a toss up between who was more surprised between Eren and Mikasa.

Mikasa had surprised herself by doing such a thing but it was more surprising when Eren kissed her back.

It was awkward and clumsy but neither of them seemed to care. This had been years of build up, of worrying that the other didn’t feel the same way.

They broke apart, both of them turning red.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“No, don’t be sorry. I...you feel the same?” he asked, still unsure of her feelings.

She nodded. “I thought you knew. Everyone teased me about it..”

“I just thought...I don’t know. I didn’t think you felt the same.”

“I only have four years,” he reminded her.

“I know.”

“I’m being selfish by even asking you how you feel...”

“I’m glad you did,” she replied. "We’ll...figure it out.”

“The curse…” Eren started to speak but Mikasa shook her head.

“Just...today…”

Eren took her into his arms. He had missed her more than he could explain. It felt good to have her wrap her arms around him.

He never thought that she felt the same.

The idea had crossed his mind a few times but the way she always disputed it, the way she always called him family, told him she didn’t.

But she had kissed him.

Mikasa had kissed Eren.

It was so hard for him to wrap his head around that.

But for right now, having her in his arms was enough.

“You need to eat. We should go have lunch,” Eren reminded her.

“Okay but can we just stay like this for a bit longer?” Mikasa asked.

“Yeah, we can.”

So they stayed like that.

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“So you told them Marley only had four titans?” Ymir asked as she dressed into her new uniform.

Historia helped Ymir straighten her bolo tie.

“Yeah, that’s right, isn’t it?” Historia asked as she smiled at Ymir.

“No, they have the ninth. They have five titans. It’s been in a family since….I don’t know how long. I don’t know much about it. I only heard about it in passing. It’s called the War Hammer.”

“What does it do?”

“Nothing good. The way they talk...the only thing more powerful is the Founding.”

“If it’s so powerful, why didn’t they send it over here?” Historia asked as she sat down on her bed.

“Because the family is like royalty. I think….I think if we really want to take Marley on and the rest of the world….we’re going to need all four titans that we have in our power. We’re going to either need to convince Annie to our side....”

“Or?”