COMRADES • Eren Jaeger

CHAPTER 2: Trost

GRADUATION DAY WAS EMOTIONAL. The cadets celebrated graduation in a small cafeteria, drinking and laughing as you ate together as a whole for one last time. These people were your family for three whole years, and now it was time to say goodbye before the 104th Cadet Corps disbanded into their separate regiments. You exchanged tight hugs, kisses on cheeks.

You'd made the Top Ten, just below Annie. Not bad. You were sure that once you'd see Levi, he would be proud of you — or as proud as he could show, anyway. Perhaps he'd give you a Tsk, of course, you had it in you.

You packed your bags and left the bunk. Maybe one day, if you become a leader, you could come back here as a veteran. For now, you'd lift your cups to your friends and drink to them for surviving. Somehow, you didn't feel grown up at all. To no one's surprise, Eren began another long rant about the Titans and why they ought to be eradicated from the earth. You drank to that, too.

Annie slid into the seat beside you. You had told her that you were dead set on joining the Survey Corps, and she explained her decision to be in the Military Police. The reason was easy enough: I don't want to die. She toasted to you, telling you not to feel bad and to stay safe. If someone had to ask, you would even dare to say that she was something like your best friend.

"To be honest, I wish I could be like you, Annie," you confessed, filling up a glass of dark-red juice from a jug. "You're effortless. You've been trained before."

"Hm? Weren't you trained before entering the Cadet Corps too?" asked Annie. "I must say I'm honored that you trusted me to keep your secret about being trained by the legendary Captain Levi."

"Yeah, well, my hand-to-hand combat sessions with him were always poor," you admitted, taking a few slow sips of the sweet juice. "Your father's techniques are absolutely flawless. Are you making plans to see to him soon?"

Annie's eyes turned expressionless. "Yeah. It won't be long before I go home."

You hummed in response, nodding your head. "I'd like to see the home where my best friend grew up in one of these days. Meet the man who taught her everything she knew."

"I could say the same about you, Y/N," said Annie, raising her eyebrows. "I know Beaurlin's been ransacked, but Captain Levi's still waiting for you in the Scouting Regiment. Do you think I might meet him?"

"Well," you said slyly, setting your glass down. "If you sign up for the Survey Corps tomorrow, maybe you will."

Annie snorted. "No thanks. Sorry, Y/N, but I'm no noble soldier like you. Why don't you join me at the Military Police? We can serve and do our work together—we might even be allowed to continue sharing a living space. You'll be safe. What do you say?"

"Tempting, but I have to pass," you said. "I heard that the smaller the walls are, the harder it is to breathe. Or maybe I just don't want to work for snotty, elitist priests. They might force me to kiss the concrete of Wall Sina."

She shrugged indifferently and took a swig of her juice. "Well, it was worth a shot. I guess our bunkmate-ship ends tonight."

Your fingers curled on the handle of your glass, staring at the remnants of the red beverage. "I'll miss you, Annie."

Annie turned her bangs over so that they framed her face in a way that you couldn't see the look on her face. "Yeah... I'll miss you too. Have fun with Eren."

"You too with Jean and Connie and the others," you replied, looking down at your lap. "The Military Police will be great."

"Just think it through," she added. "I know you're a capable soldier, so I'm trusting you can handle those Titans soon. But tomorrow might change your mind."