eren grinned and took y/n's hand in his. he stood up suddenly, pulling her up with him. as discreetly as possible, eren weaved through the tables with y/n in tow, who was having a hard time keeping up.
together they fled the room as soon as they entered it, retreating back to the ballroom.
as soon as they were through the doorway, their hands disconnected for eren to close the large double doors behind them with a loud bang that echoed through the room.
y/n pulled her mask off and over her head. she dropped it on the ground and exhaled deeply.
"i hate that thing," she scowled, staring down at it. "what's even the point of them?"
"i guess some scouts were worried that people would attack them for what we've done."
"it's all so dramatic," y/n sighed. "i'm glad i left the regiment."
eren walked towards her, dropping his mask as well.
"why did you leave? i can't imagine leaving free food and shelter just because you wanted to."
"rumors, mainly. when i joined, i was instantly assigned to levi's squad. being sixteen, everybody thought that... t-that i had sex with levi."
eren's eyes widened and he nearly choked on his own spit.
"well... did you?" he awkwardly asked.
y/n spun around to hit eren's arm with a glare.
"idiot! obviously, i didn't!" she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "i couldn't go anywhere without people calling me names and stuff. it got so bad to the point where my squad, aside from levi, tried to sabotage my gear and leave me outside the walls."
"they tried to kill you?!"
"i don't really know. i guess they were so angry that i could've gotten in without having to put in all the work that they tried to get rid of me. i'll be the first to admit that i was levi's favorite, so maybe that's what it was."
"that's why you left?"
"and because i hated sharing things with other people. i figured out early on that i'm better off alone anyway."
"how long has it been like that?" eren asked.
"about five years now. i can't change what happened, but i'm happy with how things turned out. people don't even remember my name now."
while y/n relished in her seemingly perfect situation, being unknown and alone, eren frowned at the idea. he didn't know how difficult it would've been for him. he couldn't even grasp the idea of choosing to be alone.
"doesn't it get lonely?"
"hange and levi visit me from time to time, so not really."
eren hummed and stared down at his feet.
y/n realized that he must have begun to sympathize for her, if she knew anything about his personality, and she rushed to reassure him.
"if you want, only if you want to... it'd be fine if you also visited me whenever you wanted to. i admit that it's been kind of boring."
eren smiled largely while y/n fidgeted with her fingers.
"whenever i want?"
"whenever you want," y/n assured. "ever danced before?"
"am i an idiot if i say no?"
y/n scoffed jokingly. "give me your hand."
eren held his hand out for her to hold. the warmness of both their hands surprised the other, but they refrained from commenting on it.
