𝗮𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀

43 | flinching in an argument

happy friday peeps! this chapter is a request that comes from LeviAckerman_ilysm, who requested a scenario where you flinch while the two of you are fighting as a result of a misunderstanding, and it branches out from there. 

there is implied abuse / bad relationship stuff in here. i did my best to not romanticize any of it by mostly having the outcome basically be that 'just because the character said they're sorry doesn't make the trauma go away and it's going to a subject to talk about in the near future'. but if you've went through this stuff before and think it's harmful, then please tell me so i can change it :0 other than that i hope you all enjoy. and thank you for requesting!

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Eren:

Eren is a little confused at first, but your reaction to him simply raising his hand changes his emotions completely. It was like the two of you hadn't just been fighting. After his initial reaction of confusion, he then goes into complete silence. In his head, he puts two and two together, and then takes a deep breath. "Did you think I was going to..." he inhaled, a little worried if you were going to say yes, "did you think I was going to hit you, Y/N?" And when you finally respond with a nod of his head, his tone doesn't change. With a frustrated sigh, Eren scratches his head and looks the other way. The argument the two of you just had is still lingering on his mind, but he doesn't want that to get in the way of the bigger problem. He comes up to you and apologizes, saying that he would never do such a thing. However, he doesn't ask who would have done that to you. He'll let you open up about that when you're ready.

Mikasa:

Mikasa had pointed her hand sternly to you, but didn't expect you to act as if she had hurt you with it. However, with the nervous expression you had made, your body almost backing up into the wall, you had averted her expectations. It makes Mikasa more scared than you are. She ends up putting her hand down and then asking "what happened?" to which you just shake your head and take a deep breath. You reply that your body just freaked out for a little bit. Though Mikasa knows the obvious truth - you flinching while she put her hand out was no coincidence. "What makes you think I would ever?" She asks, walking toward you and putting a hand on your back. She realizes the answer to her own question, and then cuts herself off. "I'm sorry," she whispers in your ear. A tremendous feeling of guilt starts to flood her heart. "I can promise that won't happen again."

Armin:

"This is ridiculous!" Armin threw his hands up in the air, letting go of an annoyed sigh. "Listen, there's only one way to- Y/N?" He stops what he's doing, watching your eyes widen in shock. It's as if you had just been hurt, physically...and of course, Armin is quick to link the cause and effect. But this is his first time handling a situation like this between the two of you, so the tone of his words only puts you on edge with how panicky they are. "Oh geez," his breathing starts to speed up a little as he talks, "I...I'm sorry, Y/N." He puts a hand to his head. "But...time out." It seems as if he's forgotten about the argument, the anger in his eyes suddenly switching over to curiosity. "Who did that to you?" You reply with the obvious - that it's not the right time to talk about it - and the look in his eyes change again. This time, to defeat. However, it's not like he doesn't know who one of the suspects might be...

Levi:

"You know what?" Levi puts his anger into his actions rather than his words, swinging his arm and practically bringing the door down as he swung the knob to open it. "I'm done here." He starts to walk out the door, giving you one last glance of cold resentment. Until that softens - but not with forgiveness. Instead, it's frustration. The captain turns around to you again and then takes in all of your expression, watching you flinch once more as he tries to approach you. "What?" He asks, scanning your body up and down, looking for some sort of clue. Then he realizes that he's seen it before - that look of pure fear and dread. He's seen it where he grew up, the underground. And without any hesitation, he swallows thickly and reaches out his hand. This time, in apology. "I would never," he admits, putting his head in one of his hands. While he's composed on the outside, he's ashamed for what he's done. However, his guilt doesn't weigh out the need to get back at the potential someone who had done these things to you before.

Erwin:

Erwin raises his index finger to your face as a sign that he wants you to be quiet. While you shut your trap, the effect is something much more worrying. In response, your shoulders and legs tense and you end up shielding yourself from your own boyfriend, hands covering your face. Erwin takes your them off and puts them at your side, giving them a gentle squeeze. "What seems to be the matter?" He says. his eyes trying and succeeding at reading the cause of your fear. When you only give out a stuttering mess of a response, saying that it wasn't him that was the problem, he understands. Then he moves his hands and cups your face with them. The familiar feeling calms you, but Erwin knows you're still on edge. "I'm thinking that it's not a good time to talk about this," Erwin sighs. "Listen, dear. I'm sorry - we shouldn't be fighting like this...and you don't deserve to be treated that way." You nod in response, giving your own sigh. However, it's in relief, having a little bit of assurance that Erwin would never harm you.

Hange:

"That's wrong!" Hange grabs you by the shoulders and holds onto them, only for you to push yourself away and slam your body into a nearby bookcase, some of the dusty editions falling to the floor and covering you with a screen of dust. Though Hange is fond of their books, there's nothing that matters more than you. They take off their glasses and put them to the side, giving themselves time to cool off a tad before talking again. "What did you do that for?" Hange asks, looking at you with their arms folded, a look of worry on their face. It takes a moment to realize that you're not going to respond, and after that, they rush to your side. You hiss at them, pleading to not hurt you, and Hange's pupils shrink. "Hurt you?" They look around. "Y/N, I know that I might have grabbed you a little...oh." They put a hand to their mouth. "Ohhhhh," they exclaim. Not knowing what else to do, Hange lays a reassuring hand on your back and sits with you. "I'm sorry," are the only other words they whisper - and while it's obviously not enough to undo the damage, it's the start to repairing it.

Mike:

In an attempt to release his anger, Mike slammed his fist on the table. Along with all of the decor, you had jumped up a little in response. You instinctively shielded your face with your hands and back away, daring to look him in the eye. Mike always used his facial expressions and body language to communicate things, and you really hoped this didn't mean what you thought it did. And you had hoped right. Mike lifted his bangs from his face and stared at you, taking in all your expression and reading you, understanding parts of your situation you had never even told him before. "I wouldn't," he said, as if the two of you had been using telepathy to speak (which you sort of had been). His voice still sounded as if he was angry from the fight, but you had been with him enough to tell that it was genuine. "Never in a million years," he shook his head, and watched as your expression calmed down a bit. Mike for sure understood that there was more to this situation than you were telling him, but the time for that would have to wait. Right now, you knew his focus was on making sure that you were okay.