sangfroid | eren x reader

nine

later that night!

the corrupt visions in my mind replayed as I tried to indulge myself in siesta, the events of the night wearing me out as I met the sheets. however, even under my slumber, my body coursed the bed vigorously as I tried to push my restless mind aside. lightning bolts, people evacuating for their life and gruesome images overtook my conscious.

finally, as the sky had long since turned black, the door to my room bolted open causing me to stir and awaken. eren cautiously contorted his head around the frame, and entered upon deeming it convenient to do so.

"what time is it?" I managed to question despite my wearisome state, my voice coated in fatigue.

"around midnight, we should leave now to get there before sun to avoid titans." eren answered, although his voice too was for from lively and had a distinct monotone rasp to it. I nodded in agreement, albeit my body was begging to go back to bed. after I had ushered eren from the room, I was frantic to pull on my tight, black special ops uniform in order to maintain as much heat as possible. eren was thankfully still beside the door in the corridor once I had pried it open again, his eyes scanning the area before falling onto me.

"are we ready?" he queried once landing his eyes on me, nevertheless his body began to move further down the corridor in an attempt to gain some traction.

"I suppose." I shrugged, knowing that I am not as prepared physically as I should be. one a regular day, a dozen or so titans would be mediocre to deal with, however adventuring into shiganshina with a body and conscious that was exempt from sleep will prove troublesome.

"I want to thank you again," eren muttered lowly, the two of us still advancing through the palace maze however he began traversing a set of stairs. I followed him blind, too enervated to comprehend my wherabouts. we reached the base of the stairs, now on the first floor.

"we have been stuck here for over 100 years, I need answers just as much as you."

"this is dangerous, y/n."

"I know that, I risk my life being near you. the greatest repayment you can give me is answers." we consequently stepped foot in the foyer, the doors of the palace just before us.

"im not sure what I can promise you, or whether my father had the knowledge we need. I can promise you that no matter what happens out there, I will try my hardest to understand the titans. to understand myself - where I come from." eren had now halted his legs and faced me. from the absence of lights and the cover of dusk, I still witnessed how his eyes held contact with mine.

I nodded - "that's enough for me." instead of awaiting response, I proceeded towards the doors to began the rendezvous to the titan controlled land. eren slipped behind me, eager.

"where are you two going at this time." an unknown yet distant silhouette sounded from behind us, restricting both of our movements. due to the both of us frantically turning around, Levi stood with his arms positioned on his waist.

"to shiganshina." eren truthfully told his commander, making me mentally wince at his honesty. Levis face contorted into a frown, unimpressed.

"for?" he continued.

"answers." eren brought the key from below his t shirt and held it in the air, and Levis face relaxed in understanding but still stern.

"y/n, I can't stop you. but eren, you know how dangerous that is, as your commander I'm going to have to stop you." Levi took a few strides towards the boy in angst, however eren avoided his grip by pivoting.

"I'm going, Levi."

"very well, I know I can't stop you stubborn brats. however, to ensure my comrades safety, I will be joining." Levi commanded us, which although seemed futile, the reassurance Levi brought was like a breath of fresh air. there was no use in arguing, and so eren nodded slowly. Levi brought a set of odm gear from behind the stairs of the foyer, handing one to eren and myself once he had secured it.

"just in case." Levi affirmed, then silently pushed on towards the exit. myself and eren followed behind the commander, looking towards each other in apprehension. in his hand, Levi led three horses by their leashes and coerced me and eren to continue.

"if we do this, we do it my way. it is a long journey, and we have to reach the city before sunrise - which by my calculations is impossible. we stop in any nearby village tomorrow night and continue forth."

Levi hoisted himself onto the horse, motioning for us to do that same. once we had elevated off the ground, Levi kicked his horse to proceed into the dim city.

the sound of horses feet cascaded around us as I fell back behind the two, their hooves creating an obnoxiously thunderous sound in the ominously quiet street. once we were out of reach of the palace guards - or rather the military police - Levi picked up his pace causing me to follow in his footsteps. soon enough, we reached the gate of wall Sina. the night guard perceived our arrival beforehand, a plethora of men halted us in our tracks whilst simultaneously blocking the gate. Levi hopped down from his horse to greet the aforementioned. I sat stationary and mute whilst Levi conversed with them, his status being made known as they understandingly nodded their head in talk and eventually moved to pry open the wooden gate.

Levi repositioned on his horse, momentarily glancing behind himself towards me and eren.

"from here, I cannot garuntee anything. for now, stay behind me and do not lose your course." he instantly turned around and acted through the gate, the police cautiously watching us as we followed. much to our enjoyment, the area behind wall rose was much less occupied by cities and their people, meaning we extended through the fields peacefully. a single bird call was heard in the distance above the ruckus our horses created, the journey signalling the emergence of dawn. we traversed the landscape for hours, only reaching civilisation once the sky had become much clearer. an array of oranges and pinks cascaded throughout the once dark abyss. from where the earth sat, I could now see the tiresome look that etched Levis face, likely corresponding to mine and erens.

although the ride was peaceful and desolate, only seeing far away villages on the off chance, the day seemed to pass by too quickly.

"we will wait here until afternoon." Levi mentioned as the sight of a village emerged from the hills, seemingly quaint and lack of habitation. we all retreated from our horses once we reached a cobble pathed road, still the village was silent in slumber, subsequently tying them onto a close enough tree.

a man surfaced from the first house along the road due to the commotion. as his eyes landed on the three figures, they widened likely in shock as a result of our uniforms. after the fall of trost, wall rose was a rare adventure for the recruits. the attack on titans had halted years before with the destruction caused by the colossal titan, meaning the land unoccupied by life outside these walls were hard to breach.

"good heavens." the mean exasperatedly gasp, audible as we drew nearer. the man advanced back into the confines of his house, before a slightly less coherent call was heard - "come quick, they have returned!"

with his noise, a women materialised beside him as they removed themselves form the house again, her eyes just as wide as the man previously. all of us - bewildered - created a course towards them. once in reach, the woman took Levis hands into her own in honour.

"my soldiers! I would like to thank you for your service within these walls and out of it" she spoke quickly and excitedly. although Levis face deadpanned, a minute smile was shown.

"my family evacuated shiganshina five years back, all because of your great service they were able to survive." the man finally spoke, the look on his face a mix of perplexity and admiration.

i looked towards eren beside me, whose face remained stern at the mention of his hometown. little did they know, we headed towards the city aforementioned.

"it is our pleasure, and duty." Levi responded, pulling his hands away. from where I stood behind him, I noticed how he wiped them slyly on the back of his trousers.

the three of us coursed the town to devoid the time we had before the fall of day, not for too long before we rented an inn. there the three us caught up on rest, although eren seemed to be resentful towards the idea as I laid thankfully in the bed. as my eyes began to forcefully closed, I grimaced as his still body perched on the bed beside me, refusing to allow slumber and in deep thought. without a single acknowledgement from myself, I at length allowed sleep to overcome.