Overprotective: AOT/KNB Crossover [Reader x Eren]

Chapter 11: Guilt

~from Hanji's POV~
By the time (y/n) was done explaining, her voice was almost nonexistent, and her tears had long since stopped, although her eyes were focused in on the ground as though she didn't know what to do with them otherwise. It seemed as though she hadn't told anyone what had happened to her, besides her "only real friend," as she referred to him as.
Wait, is that the guy she met up with? I wondered, but the details could come later. For now, (y/n) needed a shoulder to lean on, and what do you know? I have two perfectly fine shoulders to offer.
***
When she regained herself for the most part, I leaned back. Now it was question time!
"So you have HIV?" I asked, watching her face for signs of emotional stress, but now she just looked tired.
"Yeah." She nodded, and her hair fell into her eyes, obscuring them from my sight. "It hasn't gone into AIDS yet, but..." She sighed, blowing her bangs back to the side. "The doctor says it's only a matter of time. From there..." She exhaled slowly. "From there, I just wait until I have no more time left."
"So the guy with you the other day..."
She looked at me sadly. "You really were spying on me, huh?" She sighed. "He's my older brother."
I nearly choked. "What? That looked nothing like Levi!"
She shook her head. "Not Levi. My dad...he's the reason my family broke up, if you really get down to it. He was having an affair with another woman before I was even born and spending time between two families. Eventually, Mom found out, but she couldn't take both of us, so..." She shrugged. "I went with my dad. We had our own apartment, but he wasn't home very often. One day, Himuro just showed up. I guess he figured it out pretty early, and when he heard that he had a step-sister, he came to see me. He probably thought he'd hate me and blame me for his own family failures, but he took care of me after that. I didn't really have any friends, but he helped give me the courage to make some. Not that it mattered," she said softly. "They didn't believe me. They didn't trust me." She looked up at me with dead eyes. "And now you don't trust me either."
I hugged her aggressively. "That's not it at all, (y/n)! I believe in you! I don't know who those girls were, but they're not me, okay! And the same goes for Sasha! We're here for you, (y/n)!"
"That's what you say now..." she murmured softly, gently pushing me away. "I'm sorry. I need time alone."
Without saying another word, she got up on weak legs and left the room.
How did I manage to screw things up so badly?!
Just then, she popped her head back in the doorway. "Hanji?"
"Yeah?" I responded immediately, hoping she'd just forgive me for spying on her personal life and we could go back to being friends like before, but even I could see how shallow my thinking was. I'm the one who broke it, I thought to myself, but I still looked up, hoping (y/n) would say the words I craved to hear.
"You can't tell anyone else, not Levi, not Sasha, not Eren," she said, and then she was gone and I was all alone wondering how much punishment I deserved for ruining everything.

~from (y/n)'s POV~
You understood Hanji's thinking; you were lying to her, and she couldn't think of you as a friend anymore.
You understood, and that's why it hurt. You knew that you couldn't be friends with her anymore. She'd just look at you - with pity, with sympathy, with that small look people got when they were just glad it hadn't happened to them.
That's what they had all done.
They had stared.
You couldn't take it. You didn't even know why you had said a word to her in the first place. Maybe you just wanted to see if she would react differently than everyone else.
But they were all the same.
Except for him, you remembered, fingering the cell phone that you'd put in your pocket ever since he told you to have it on you more often. You ducked into the girls' bathroom and speed-dialed 1.
"Hey. Yeah. I'm sorry, but..." Somehow, tears fell down your face. "Yeah, I'm okay. Do you think that you could pick me up?"
(his response)
"Mm-hmm."
(his response)
"No, nothing happened at school."
(his response)
"I don't know...I'll tell you about it when I see you, okay?"
(his response)
"I promise."
(his response)
"Okay, thanks. Love you. Bye."
You shut the phone and leaned against the wall for a second before gathering up what was left of yourself and slipping out of the school.

~from Levi's POV~
"Where is that brat?" I snapped, standing up from the bench in front of the school. I've been waiting twenty minutes, but I haven't seen her at all. "Did she leave already? Was she even here today?"
Hanji looked at me strangely. "Yeah, she was. Remember? You guys walked together."
I shrugged defensively. "So what? Like I'm supposed to remember walking next to that freak?"
Surprisingly, Hanji punched me in the shoulder, no longer smiling. "Stop treating her so horribly! You have no idea-" She cut off suddenly, turning away.
"Whatever," I muttered, facing my back towards her and scanning the crowd a final time. "Look, she's not here. I'm leaving." I tried to break away and shove Hanji off me, but she desperately clung to my shirt sleeve.
"But Levi, I'm worried about her!" Hanji said, and I tugged my shirt from her grasp only to turn and see that she was...crying?
"Hanji? What's wrong, freak?" I asked, unnerved. What's bothering her to this extent? Whatever. It's not my business...Turning away, I patted her on the head. "I'll let you come over to my apartment, okay? So shut up and stop crying. It's annoying."
Hanji sniffled and nodded before walking alongside me.