I draw the main 104 Squad Kids + Pieck and the Galliard Twins. I multi-ship A LOT! So if you wanna see any of them doing certain things, drop me a message and I might whip something up!
She remembers falling. The sky blurred the figured above her to only a shadow, and she couldn’t make out their features, but she knew who it was.
“Fall, Annie.”
She clawed, trying to get away, it was after her. HE was after her. It was useless. She just wanted to go home that’s all she wanted.
Father...
She heard something crack, like thin ice being stepped on and splintering apart. She felt a pressure leave her body and realized she wasn’t able to move previously, but now, she could. The breath came back into her and she struggled to even open her eyes. The muffled voices around her sound familiar. Her brows creased and her eyes finally opened in a squint to see two large figures.
“..mmmbllmmm....mmmmnnllmmm....”
They were saying words, but she just couldn’t understand them. She just knew she was safe now. Her eyes grew heavy and soon she drifted off once more.
This time when consciousness beckoned her awake, her eyelids were light and she opened her icy blue eyes with ease.
Seagulls.
Her eyes went wide and she forced her weak body to sit up, putting weight back onto her elbows so she could take a good look around. She was in a sleeping bag, on top of a pure white floor. There was a rumble nearby.
Fwooooshhhhh
It was water. The Ocean. A sound caught her attention, someone noticed her. She dropped her head back and found her exceedingly tall colleague looking at her from a few feet away.
“Bertl...” She breathed out, relaxing herself and laying down. She rolled over onto her side as he approached. She couldn’t place the look on his face. He looked lost, maybe.
He sat down next to her and they viewed each other. He took in her breathing and her overall health, reaching down to gently take her hand and place his pointer and middle fingers on her wrist, checking her pulse. She gazed at him, entranced. The light reflected from the white surface below them and into his face, making it glow, especially his eyes.
Once he was content, he gave her hand back and told her. Told her what they did, that they finished it and rescued her. He looked deep into her eyes and she could see herself reflected in his forest green ones. Her face was blank, dead. They did it. He spoke again, apologizing for leaving her all alone, but admitting he was glad she didn’t have to participate more than she already had. A pained smile appeared on his face, and she knew he hated himself. In some ways, she was happy that she didn’t participate more, but, she had put such a burden on Bertholdt and.....
The ocean air was crisp and horribly cold whenever she breathed in and the boat was making her queezy. Reiner stood next to her, silently. They both watched the waves bob up and down. It was over. She thought of them and how they were in this together, but also that she couldn’t stand him, but also, how quiet he was and how...he didn’t seem to realize what he’d done. After what happened to Marco, after that “crack”, she pitied him. She wasn’t going to forgive him, but she wasn’t going to argue. He knew that at least, and so they silently stood, until she burped loudly, her stomach tightening, and he opted to take her inside to lie down before she vomited.
She vomited anyways.
He stood there. Shocked to see her. His baby girl, so much bigger. Of course she was still small in stature, but she was grown up. His baby girl.
Annie watched herself through his eyes, her eyes filling up with tears, streaming down her face. Her mirrored image in his eyes got bigger as he came closer to her and then he embraced her.
“Annie.”
His voice immediately broke.
“Father. I promised I’d come back.”
She wrapped her arms around him as he did her, holding him closely and never wanting to let go.
“Welcome home, my sweet Annie.”
He pulled back, to get a good look at her
and then, she fell back. She reached upwards towards the one who kicked her from the wall, her hand was skeletal, her arm was like her skin had been torn off.
The figure above her was blurred by the bright sky behind them, but she knew who it was.
In the early days inside the walls, she kept to herself and kept her head down, only knowing companionship in Bertholdt and Reiner. But now in the barracks, she’s forced to live with these....people. It’s testing her. It’s hard to look past what you’ve been told since you were a child and see them only as what they truly are. Just people.
Annie's Strengths and Weaknesses are about the same. Her strength is her ability to close off her heart and let few through. The less she lets in, the less people she will worry about when she eventually helps end those in the Walls.
Her weakness is also closing off her heart, but drowning in the pent up emotions that come from the actions she is forced to commit.
At the same time, she can let a few in. Just a few won’t matter. It’s enough to fend off the all-consuming boredom and loneliness. She’s strong and she can discard any feelings that those people hold over her, if and when they perish.
She’s strong, too strong. She built herself up and she won’t let emotions fully control her. She’ll get over it eventually, it won’t overcome her or her stance on the world.
Happy Holidays! Have some of my Modern Collage AU!
Pairing: JeanMarco (Jean Kirstein x Marco Bott)
Rating: T (teen) for swearing and suggestion of sexual situations (very minor)
World: Modern/Collage AU
enjoy!
The night air was crisp and cool, breathing it in felt like his throat was on fire. He hated that he actually took Ymir’s advice to bring Marco out to the “Lighting of the Tree”. It was something that happened every year, and since Jean had lived in this area all his life, he was well acquainted. The blonde didn’t even need to guess that Ymir knew about it only from Krista who also lived in the area all her life.
Marco, however, was a small town boy, not used to busy cities and how extravagant things can get around here, with each shop trying to out-do each other in decorations, suck-up staff and sales, Neighbors dedicating their entire days for the entirety of November and December to keep up their lawn decorations and lights that are guaranteed to blind everyone driving by, and how the City gets the biggest tree ever and decorates it to the nines and swears, “It’s the biggest tree you’ll ever see!!!”
Even if Jean had seen bigger, what mattered was that Marco hadn’t.
“Bring him out to the tree-event-thing.” Ymir elegantly put while sniffing the snot back up into her nostrils. Jean eyed her as she paced around her room. She dragged him in herself when Krista was away and when Marco was too busy decorating with Bertl to notice. “It’ll be great, Marco loves that kinda shit.”
“I mean...are you sure? Isn’t that too corny? Like, what do I do, hold his hand, dip him and kiss him and hope he kisses back...all because of a giant-ass shiny-ass stupid-ass tree lighting up?” Jean droned. He shouldn’t have gone to Ymir for advice in the first place.
She tried everything to get Jean to finally confess to Marco, and even though Jean would usually duck out before it would ever happen, the times he did try, he’d always clam up. She’s been trying for 4 years, never once giving up. Yes, she’d been frustrated with Jean’s inability to be anything but a total idiot around Marco, even if Jean could easily pull off the stud routine. It was just once Marco was there, Jean regressed completely into a shy, blithering moron.
“If you say ass one more time, Kirstein...” Ymir warned, halting her pacing to point a finger at Jean. “I will rub my face all over you and we’ll go with the ‘Marco needs to take care of poor baby Jean’ plan.”
Jean was quick to hush up. The last thing he wanted was too look weak in front of Marco.
“So...what do I do?” He lamented. Ymir sat beside him.
“You still got those leather jackets in your closet right?” She started.
“Those things are old and probably too small.” Jean answered.
“You bought them big, they used to engulf you. Even if they’re a bit short on the bottom, what I’m getting at is you take Marco for a ride on your motorcycle. That’ll raise your bad-ass levels a bunch.” She explained. “Just don’t pop a boner when he’s pressed up against you on it.” She grinned causing Jeans face to immediately flush.
“Piss off!” He yelled, standing and crossing his arms. She laughed.
“Almost done. Then you take him to the tree when they’re about to light it up, and if you hold his hand or kiss him or confess, I don’t fucking care.” She stood now, her tone becoming more serious. “Just, please, tell him how you feel. I don’t want to see someone else ask him and him saying yes.”
Ymir looked Jean in the eyes, and he felt them burn into him, his anger fading fast. He had been lucky. Marco had been asked out multiple times, and sometimes by the same people. He had always rejected them, however, turning them down, but always staying good friends. Marco always had that effect, he was too nice to not like.
Part of the reason for Jean not asking, and fearing it, was because of Marco’s unbroken string of rejections, and Jean was so afraid to join it. He loves Marco, and if he could, he’d just love staying with him as friends and not making it awkward. But it was getting harder. Jean wanted those soft touches, those kisses, those cuddles. Ymir knew all this and that’s why she was unstoppable in her pursuit in bringing them together.
She placed her hands onto Jean’s shoulders. “Listen. Marco loves all the Holiday garbage. The tree is gonna be the best thing ever. Just promise me you will AT LEAST hold his hand. That way you can brush it off if he responds badly. Just say you’re in the moment and remembered seeing it with your mom when you were young and you always held her hand or something, but just do it.”
Jean snorted, startling Ymir and painting a confused expression on her face.
“I’m sorry! I just thought of that Shia LeBouf meme.” He chocked out, laughing really hard now. Ymir easily joined him in his laughing fit. She knew that if a dumb meme that Connie showed him was making him laugh now, that he was a nervous wreck. She also knew that he was going to try his damnedest, though.
“Get out there. Reiner’s gonna be stealing the tall one too, so grab Marco before he insists on finishing the decorating on his own.” The brunette said, giving Jean a wink and a grin.
“Just give ‘em a second. They always say 5:30, but it’s always 2 or 3 minutes after that.” Jean explained, looking to the side at his companion. Marco had a huge grin on his face, it was obvious he was excited. Seeing the shear size of the tree had already impressed him. Jean couldn’t fight back the love-struck smile that spread over his lips.
“I can’t believe you never told me about this.” Marco said, still eyeing up the tree, unaware of the eyes on him. Jean used to be driven out a ways to go to school. He was friends with Connie and Sasha for the longest time, and when they both had to move from the area, all Jean wanted was to go too. Instead, his parents opted to put him in the same school as them, even if it was a drive and a half every day, at least Jean was happy. And that was also where he met Marco and the brunt of his current friends.
“Sorry. It was just a thing mom would drag me too. When your a kid, you’re all bratty and stuff and don’t appreciate anything. Heck, I haven’t bothered to see this tree for the past few years.” The blonde admitted. Marco looked to him then, an understanding look on his face.
“Thank you for going out of your way to bring me here then.” The freckled man’s voice was sweet and soft and sincere and every word made Jean melt. He wanted to kiss him so bad, to hug him, to tell him.
“ALRIGHT, FOLKS! THE TREE WILL BE LIGHTING UP IN 10....9....8...” an announcer jolted Jean from his thoughts and Marco as well, causing them both to look forward again. The small crowd cheered as they joined in the count down. Finally, the square lit up in glimmers of gold. It was mesmerizing. Jean gazed over to Marco, who was simply in awe. Ymir was right.
Jean took Marco’s hand in his own, and was surprised when Marco gently squeezed it back, firmly holding it. Jean looked down at their hands, and back up to Marco, who had turned his head slightly and was looking to Jean, almost expectantly. Jean’s throat ran dry and he opened his mouth. He looked to the ground.
“M-marco, I’ve loved you for a long fucking time, like, so long, and I was wondering....I just want wanted to ask...to know, if you wanted to be my boyfriend?” Jean peered back up hesitantly to view Marco’s reaction. The brunette initially looked taken aback and unsure. But in a few seconds, his face broke into a wide grin, his eyes lighting up.
“Yes.” He finally spoke. He then laughed. “I’m sorry Jean.” He began. Jean didn’t know if he should be relieved or panic more.
“I had to process what you had said, you just spoke wayyyyy too fast.” Marco giggled. Jean blushed, feeling dumb, but at least it didn’t drive Marco away. And then it hit him.
“Wha--Really!!??” Jean practically screamed. Heads turned to view them, but upon seeing the boys expressions, they soon turned away again, some happy to see a confession work out, and others deciding to mind their own business. Marco laughed again.
“Yes. I would love to be your boyfriend, Jean Kirstein.” He repeated.
Jean’s entire face lit up and before he knew it, he had crashed his face into Marco’s and they were kissing. Again, Marco’s reaction was delayed, but he soon pushed into the kiss himself, wrapping his arms around Jean’s neck while Jean slid his around Marco’s waist.
After breaking the kiss, Jean was quick to bury face into Marco’s shoulder. The brunette combed his fingers through blonde hair, content.
Happy Holidays! Have some of my Modern Collage AU!
Pairing(s): EreMika / EreMin / EreAni (Eren Yaeger x Mikasa Ackerman x Armin Arlert x Annie Leonhardt)
Rating: T (teen) for swearing
World: Modern/Collage AU
So I didn’t know who to put with who because I like all the possible pairings with these 4, so I just put them all into one thing. I couldn’t help myself after I drew Armin trying to help Eren skate, it just became a thing of it’s own.
I hope you enjoy!
Eren Yaeger was never a graceful person. All that mattered to him was he could do whatever he needed to, whether it was efficient or not, but when it came to ice skating, he simply couldn’t do it.
He had been dragged out in the afternoon by his so-called “friends” to go ice skating in the city square. They even bought him skates and everything, but that still didn’t make him too happy. He was pulled forward by Annie, reluctantly, towards the rink.
“Does this have to happen? And in public too?” He groaned. Armin snorted, but tried to cover his laughter as Annie smirked. Mikasa however laughed freely.
“Yes, you have to learn at some point.” The raven-haired woman answered. The reason this was important to her was the fact that throughout their childhood, Eren was never able to skate, even with his parent’s supporting him, heck, even with his older half-brother supporting him, the boy had zero balance. He would always just tell Mikasa to skate with her parents and just let him watch, and so she did, not knowing what else she could do.
But now she was older and a LOT stronger and she was determined to make this happen.
The three had slipped their skates on with no problem while Eren fumbled with his. Eventually Armin helped him.
“It’s gonna be fun, Eren, I promise!” The blonde encouraged. The brunette simply looked down to him while Armin was leaned over, tying the laces.
“It’ll be fun for you assholes, watching me fall over and shit....” Eren groused. He wasn’t having any of it. If it wasn’t for Mikasa explaining that she’d wanted to help him skate for literal years, he would have brushed it off entirely. But here he was.
“I’m sure even if we are laughing our asses off on the outside, we’re wincing on the inside.” Armin spoke back. Eren gave him a concerned expression that faded into a grumpy one.
“Don’t let me shatter my ass on the ice, please.” Eren said as Armin stood to help Eren to his feet. Already his balance was off and he felt his ankles were going to twist. “I’m gonna die today....” He mumbled under his breath, earning a chuckle from Armin as the two made their way to the edge of the rink.
At least Armin was big and strong now. He had caught up to Erens height and MAYBE he was a bit taller now, Eren would never let either of them be properly measured to find out. Mikasa hadn’t grown too much after middle school and was now the shortest of their trio. At least Annie was still a pinch shorter than her.
Eren thought of how this would work out if they had tried in middle-school. All of them scrawny and short. Armin wouldn’t be able to support him as he can now, it would just be Mikasa lugging him around and back then, that would be extremely embarrassing and would throw him off trying to skate forever.
“-ren. Eren!” A voice took him from his thoughts.
“Y-yeah?” He snapped back to the now.
“Are you ready, you bum?” Mikasa giggled, holding his hands as he stood on the very edge. Armin was right behind him, holding him still and Annie was on the ice, skating already. His gaze fixed back to Mikasa. She looked up at him, eagerly. He knew she was trying to make a good memory for him, especially since her family loved skating, and his family did too. He looked in her eyes and thought of how amazed his parents and Zeke would be, seeing him skate. Not even elegantly, but just skating without help, without holding the sides of the arena, and without falling.
He grinned.
“Let’s do this!”
The determination melted pretty quickly when he had actually gotten onto the ice. Mikasa held him from behind, holding him close to her and encouraging him to keep his skates strait and his hands out for balance, insisting he was doing phenomenally. He felt like a fish out of water. They slowly slid forward, not much of a skate at all. This was all about the balancing.
After a good amount of time, Mikasa handed Eren off to Armin who held him about an arms length away. Eren clutched the blondes hands, hoping and praying to no God in particular that he wouldn’t eat shit on the ice and pull Armin down with him. Armin also spoke encouragingly, reminding Eren every now and then to keep the skates strait. Eren was hunched right over, leaning into Armin as much as possible, eventually to the point where he was right against Armin’s chest with his butt sticking out. Armin couldn’t help but wheeze at how funny Eren looked.
“This would not happen in middle school.” He laughed. Eren tilted his head back to look up at him.
“I was thinking.... about .... that earlier.” He admitted, trying his best to concentrate. “You were way too scrawny. I would have crushed you by now.”
Arming laughed again.
“I wasn’t THAT feeble!” He defended.
Eventually Annie skated over and Eren was passed to her. Out of the three of his “instructors”, Annie was the most graceful on the ice. Still, she was smaller than Eren, and even if he knew for a fact that she could pick him up and carry him around with ease (heck, she carries Bert and Reiner around with no issue all the time), the brunette still feared for her safety.
“You’ve been doing really good so far. We don’t really expect you to be skating on your own yet.” Her icy blue eyes watched him. She had a content look on her face.
“It’s been okay...” Eren answered. Annie simply nodded and pulled Eren forwards, letting him float nice to her. She felt him squeeze her hand pretty firmly, but eventually relax. His free arm was stretched far out to keep balance, and, honestly, he wasn’t doing too bad. Sometimes he would have to grab her shoulder with his free hand to steady himself again, and she would slow right down and fully support him until he’d regain his bearings, but Eren was definitely getting the hang of it. Annie decided not to pester him with constant compliments, seeing as whenever Armin and Mikasa would skate by hand-in-hand, they would do that for her.
After about 20 minutes without a fall, Eren had let a big goofy grin form on his lips, to which Annie chuckled at.
“Having fun, Yaeger?” She spoke with a hint of teasing in her voice.
Eren looked at her, the grin widening.
“Yeah! I’m really glad you guys did this!” He began, “I wanna come back out a few more times at least.” Annie gave him a warm smile, ecstatic at Eren’s current mood.
“Mikasa is so proud of you, I know it.” The blond said. And she was too, though, she wouldn’t admit it. Well, not yet at least.
As they were finishing up, Annie encouraged Eren to try and skate without her. She would be right beside him, but not holding his hand. He accepted, wanting to attempt, at least, and seeing as he had not fallen today, he figured it was a lucky day. That changed when he picked up a bit too much speed and momentarily forgot how to stop himself. Annie was right there and she grabbed his hands to keep him up, but Eren fell strait back onto his butt, taking Annie with him.
She landed on top of him, unharmed. Eren sat up immediately, asking Annie if she was okay and apologizing profusely for pulling her down and then shifting to anger. He was mad that he fell, he’d been doing so good and he ruined it. Annie simply laughed watching Eren from a feet feet away. She had given him space to rant on, but honestly, the way he was sitting and his arms crossed over his chest and the pout he gave her were hilarious.
Still, she didn’t want to ruin his day further, so she kept an even smile on her face.
“You done?” She asked. Eren nodded. He was done. More than done. Definitely done.
Armin and Mikasa came by, obviously stifling laughter, to guide Annie to the edge of the rink. She held Eren over her shoulder to get him off the ice quickly and without anymore slips. Eren glared at the two behind her.
“Wincing on the inside.” Armin reminded before braking out into a laughing fit.
Happy Holidays! Have some of my Modern Collage AU!
Pairing: YumiKuri / YumiHisu (Ymir x Krista Lenz / Historia Reiss)
Rating: T (Teen) for swearing
World: Modern/Collage AU
enjoy!
The light was blinding, even with the care put in to raise them slowly. Being sick sucked. Ymir sniffled from under the covers, peeking out with a grimace on her face. She could hear quieted voices nearby, and if the blinds were open, that meant she probably had to take meds or something again. A small “thank you” was all she heard when the door closed back over.
“I’m sorry, Ymir, but you have to eat something and Sasha just brought you up some fresh soup.” She heard a sweet voice speak to her. She folded back the blanket near her face so she could stare down her own form to view the one in front of the door. Two pastel blue eyes gazed upon her, lovingly. Golden hair wrapped over one shoulder, but it was already starting to fall to her back.
Krista simply waited for a response, knowing that her girlfriend was sufficiently out of it.
“Is okay, babe. ‘Snot that nasty canned shit, right?” She mumbled. Her throat was full of phlegm and her nose was stuffed to the brim, her head was on fire, and her body was sweaty. It really sucked a lot, being sick.
“Ohh, no! She went and cooked it fresh!” Krista spoke, excitement in her voice. “Also the canned stuff isn’t nasty, you just have too refined of a pallet.” She added.
“No, it tastes like garbage when I’m sick.” Ymir corrected. She thought for a moment, processing. “Sash went and cooked it herself, damn, it’s probably amazing then.” She sat up, slowly. She felt a bit weak, mostly from not eating as the virus coursed through her, and seeing as Sasha was the one to make it, she also knew it would be hearty and perfect.
Krista stepped around the edge of the bed, bringing the soup up to Ymir.
“Did you want me to feed you?” She asked kindly. She was always sweetest to Ymir, and only this extra sweet when Ymir wasn’t in a good spot. Ymir loved her spunkiness and when Krista would put on a front around the assholes of society and break them down with her charm, only to rag on and on about how disgusting they are to Ymir behind closed doors. She loved it, loved seeing a side to her girlfriend that wasn’t just a “perfect angel”.
“Nah, I got this one, babe.” The freckled woman responded, a small smile on her lips. “Remind me to actually thank Sash for this, the smell of it is healing me already.” She chuckled. Krista laughed as well.
“Can do.”
Ymir ate the food at a good pace, savoring it. It was SOOOOO GOOOOOOD! She knew that she’d have to get a better present than some chocolates for Sasha now, but she’d think of that later. Krista busied herself with flipping through netflix while sat on the edge of the bed, trying to find something, ANYTHING that hadn’t been watched that Ymir would also agree to.
“It’s funny every time you watch it though....” the blonde trailed off.
“I’ve seen Elf, like, 50 times. Yes, it’s still funny, but I’ve watched it 4 times in the last month with various people, I don’t want it ruined for me anymore than it has been.” The brunette retorted.
“I mean....maybe we can what something that’s not a Christmas movie?” Krista turned her head slightly, look to Ymir.
“I honestly don’t care, just something funny, please.”
Krista nodded, searching through comedies again. Ymir took a big swig of the broth from the edge of the bowl. It was heavenly. It took her no time to drink it all down and she did it with ease.
“That was so good, you have no idea.” Ymir groaned happily, stomach full, appetite satiated. Krista grinned, sitting up a bit and turning her head fully to her girlfriend.
“Feel a bit better now?” She questioned, taking in the fact that Ymir actually looked more awake and was a bit less pale.
“Hell yeah! That’s the good shit right there!” Ymir responded, a big grin plastered on her face. Krista giggled.
“I’m so glad!”
Krista went around and stole all the pillows around the house excluding Marcel’s, of course, as he was fast asleep recovering from his own cold. She knew Porco had been up a few times to check, so all Marcel needed now was some sleep. Ymir finally found a movie that worked for both of them and they decided to make a pillow pile and lie on the floor to enjoy it.
The blonde returned from her final walk around the house with two more pillows and an extra blanket.
“I think we’re all set!” She proclaimed, adding the new spoils to the pile.
“Come sit and I’ll get this movie going.” Ymir spoke. Krista did as instructed, sitting herself behind Ymir so that the brunette could lean back onto her chest and so Krista could snuggle with her freckled girlfriend without getting all germ-y.
“You’re sounding a lot better now, too.” Krista complimented, hearing the raspiness fading from Ymir’s voice over time.
“Noice!” Ymir responded.
The movie began and already they had both laughed a few times. Krista lent over Ymir as Ymir burred her her back into Kirstas chest, perfectly content with the snuggles she was receiving. It was always nice, getting alone time with her girlfriend. The two of them tried to take classes in a way where they would have plenty of time to spend together, but with such a big house and so many others living with them, it didn’t work out all the time.
But it was still nice, having people to chat with all the time, even if they couldn’t with each other because sharing the same room and passing out on the same bed with still good enough. They’d always get a chat in if it was important, but they were both extremely happy with their relationship to not be glued to each other 24/7.
Even so, these times together were cherished and always welcomed, and in a bit of a cruel way, Ymir half-hoped that Krista would catch this cold so that she could take care of her and spend even more time together. But the thought quickly left her and all she wished for was Krista’s continued good health and happiness because that’s all that mattered.
Happy Holidays! Have some of my Modern Collage AU!
Pairing: PikkuPokko / PickPocket (Pieck x Porco Galliard)
Rating: T (Teen) for swearing
World: Modern/Collage AU
enjoy!
Porco never thought too much of the holidays, it was just a time where he was “obligated” to go and visit all the relatives he didn’t remember from the previous years and pretend he was someone he wasn’t. That was, up until collage, when he had the excuse of being exhausted by classes to finally be allowed to stay at home. He didn’t care much about the presents either, he would ALWAYS make sure to get a good amount of things for Marcel, and Marcel would do the same. The two would spoil themselves with candies and new games and toys. That was the only good thing for him.
After making sure Marcel ate the soup Sasha had cooked up and getting his sick older brother comfortable in his upstairs room, Porco came back down with Sasha. He thanked her for all the work she put into the soup and for helping dim the room so Marcel could sleep off his cold. She looked surprised by his very kind and light tone, but smiled and said it was all fine.
“Pokko, what a cute face you’re making!” came a voice from the other end of the hallway.
Pieck leaned in the archway, a sweet smile on her face. Porco eyed her up for a second, a look of mild embarrassment adorning his features.
“I’ve never heard you sound so sincere too! Thank you Sasha, for making him sooooo happy!” She said, a hint of teasing in her voice. Porco’s face flared up, tinting it red. He was far too proud to admit that even seeing Marcel’s face light up at the sight of the fresh soup was enough to warm his heart and hush his worries. But Pieck knew. She could read him like a book.
Sasha covered her mouth, trying to not let a laugh escape when she gazed upon Porco’s rosey face. He was quick to leave the hall, heading to the living room. He heard faint giggling and hushed talking, they were probably teasing him, but whatever. He’s allowed to care for his brother, his older brother that guided him through his hectic life and kept him on the right path.
Whatever.
Pieck entered the living room, spotting Porco unraveling the coloured lights. She sighed happily, glad that he had still decided to help her finish up the decorating.
“Hows that coming along?” She asked. He twitched and turned to peer at her; probably didn’t hear her come in.
“You done making fun of me?” He snapped back. There was only little salt in his tone, he knew that Pieck spoke to him in a certain way, and it was fine, she was more than tolerable.
“Pokko! I’d never make fun of you! I was just teasing!” She answered. He rolled his eyes dramatically, to which she stifled a snicker.
“Yeah yeah, sure....even though those are the same thing...” He said under his breath. Pieck made a little noise, so he knew she heard him. She began digging through one of the boxes that was left on the floor. Apparently Bertholdt and Marco were supposed to decorate the front of the house and were in the middle of doing so until they were dragged out by Reiner and Jean, respectively. Pieck knew exactly why. Porco just figured they were lazy asses.
Letting out a deep sigh, Porco held up the now unraveled lights, gaining Piecks attention.
“Help me hang these up?” He asked. He got a nod and a smile in return.
I was times like these where he wished he was tall like Bert. Getting the lights up the giant tree was an absolute pain. There was a few more feet of it left to get up to the top and neither of them were reaching that. Porco stopped for a second, looking to the tree, and then to Pieck.
“Here, hold on-” He began and he scooped Pieck off her feet and held her bridal style. “Do me a favor and use me to climb up.”
Pieck, without hesitation did just that, to Porco’s surprise. Of course she wouldn’t stare at him and start blushing, or comment on his strength, or kiss him. nOT LIKE HE WANTED THAT TO HAPPEN EITHER BUT....She situated herself on his shoulders and he held her legs firmly. It didn’t take too long to finish wrapping the full length of cord around the tree, covering the whole thing in lights. Porco knelt down slowly and placed Pieck’s feet onto the floor for her. She quickly turned in place and helped him up.
“Thank you! That went way better than I thought it would.” She look up at their handy work, proud of this accomplishment.
“Yeah, at least Bert and Marco got the fuzzy plastic crap on there already.” Porco remarked.
They dug through the boxes, hanging up the many ornaments everyone had brought together. The tree would be covered head to toe by the time they were done, and there would STILL be left over ornaments.
The sound of shoes hitting the floor and the front door swinging open alerted them to Connie’s return from the store, but what Porco was most worried about was all of the warm air going strait outside.
“CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR-”“WELCOME BACK, CONNIE!”
Porco was interrupted by Pieck leaning on his shoulders to greet Connie. When he replied back, Pieck tapped Porco’s shoulders and went back to her designated box. He glared at her.
After finding the box that held the “fuzzy plastic crap”, as Porco claimed it was called, the two of them stopped what they were doing and brought it over to sit on the mantle of the fireplace. Porco took the clock down for a moment so it wouldn’t get knocked off and slid the “fuzzy plastic crap” back against the bricks, replacing the clock when Pieck had done the same to the other side.
“Looks nice.” She complimented.
“Looks like a waste of time.” Porco added. Pieck looked at him, and when he met her gaze he corrected himself, “It just looks fake and dumb, we shoulda gone and got the green stuff that looks like pine needles or something....”
She blinked, a new expression washing over her face until she nodded, agreeing. “Maybe next year.”
And it was quiet. Except for the sound of voices coming from the kitchen, but that was fine. Porco sighed. He didn’t hate decorating or anything, he was just mad because everyone else pretty much left him there to decorate. He’d have to make sure to get back at Reiner and Jean for stealing the two people who loved doing this stuff.
He wanted to take her out. A nice dinner, a nice walk, a nice skate, something.... But, Marcel was sick and he had to take care of him, and then the other’s ditched, so he had to take care of the decorations, and decorating pissed him off because a date isn’t doing some stupid chores when they could be eating or walking or skating...or SOMETHING.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and craned his head to look over his shoulder.
“So we’re running out of room, but I like these clean, clear ones. I wish I found them sooner, but I can fit about one more on the tree I think, but which one?” Pieck asked, holding a golden ball and a green ball in her hands. Porco looked between the two. they were just normal ornaments, nothing special about them, really. The were polished, but other than that, nothing amazing.
“Uhh, gold looks good.” He answered. She looked at them both and hummed, lowering the green one and stretching her arm up to place the golden ball onto the tree by it’s hook.
“You know, as long as you’re having fun with someone, I’d still call it a good date.”
Porco froze. The red tint came back to his face. He stood and pivoted in place, facing Pieck as she faced him, her hands in front of her.
“It’s kinda obvious because you’ve been huffing and stomping around all night, especially after everyone else left and also, because you told Marcel, who then asked for advice from Krista and Bertholdt, and then Ymir heard about it and told me....” Pieck trailed off. It took him a second to realize.
“I...uh...nnn...” He stumbled on his words. He was really never good at speaking when it came to such topics. He cleared his throat as Pieck’s patient, understanding eyes watched him. “I just wanted a normal date, not this shit-show, chore bullshit.” He admitted.
She made her way towards him and cupped his hands in her own.
“It’s been nice. It really has.” She looked up at him, a small blush on her cheeks. “Just spending time has been nice. And you, lifting me up to reach the top of the tree, I almost melted in your arms.”
If it was even possible, Porco’s face became even redder.
“So, don’t worry. This has been a beautiful night with you. It’s been quiet, and I rather stay here, close to Marcel to make sure he’s okay.” She said, knowing that was also the reason Porco would be adamant to stay.
“It’s really okay...?” He questioned.
“Yes!” was the response.
He calmed a bit, letting a tiny smile pull at his lips.
They got a lot done in the time they’d been together this evening, both in working on the house and working on building their relationship. Porco had never had such a fun time decorating before.
Happy Holidays! Have some of my Modern Collage AU!
Pairing: Springles (Sasha Blouse x Connie Springer)
Rating: G (General Audiences)
World: Modern/Collage AU
enjoy!
It was only 5:49pm and it was already pitch black outside. The wonders of Winter. Sasha stared out the kitchen window aimlessly; watching the snow fall, gazing at passersby walking down the side walk, peering up when she spotted headlights, but quickly leaned back onto the windowsill again when she could see the vehicle and that it wasn’t the one she was looking for. She played with the band around her wrist, and then switched to play with her hair that she had taken down to shower earlier that day.
She was waiting for Connie to get back to their shared dorm home. They rented it with their giant group of friends, seeing as it could fit all of them snugly with the absurd number of rooms and space held within. It was nice having a big house to goof around in and a bunch of cool people to hang out with. It was rare that no one was home, so you were guaranteed to having someone there to bug.
Lost in thought a bit, Sasha barely noticed the headlights in the driveway go off, but the change was enough to have her sit fully up from her lean and smoosh her face up against the chilly glass to get a better look. When she saw the figure digging out bags from the trunk, she knew it was Connie that had come back. More than half the house had gone out somewhere, and the other half were either decorating, or sick, or taking care of the sick.
Sasha broke into a mad sprint to the front door, swinging it open with ease. She started making her way down the walkway. After locking his car, Connie looked up at the form approaching him.
“Hey Sash! It’s freezing out here, go back in, I’m good!” he called with a big smile adoring his face.
She ignored him and continued to make her way forward. Once reaching him, she smiled brightly.
“Gimme half! I can at least help a little!” She demanded in a jolly tone.
Seeing as Marcel and Ymir were sick, Sasha opted to make them some nice soup while Connie left to shop for a few things. She felt bad not accompanying him, but the look of delight on Marcel’s face and the wonky, but genuine smile on Ymirs face with the soup offering was more than worth it. That and Porco thanking her as well in such a heartfelt way. It was nice and then funny when Pieck pointed out how sappy he looked so he retreated back into the living-room (stomped back, more like it) to continue decorating.
Connie relented and gave her about half the bags to which she happily took them, taking big strides back to the house, leaving Connie’s warnings of slowing down and not slipping as well as his comment on how he’d be in the house by now on deaf ears.
Once inside, they were greeted with Porco yelling to “close the damn door” and Pieck welcoming Connie back from the living-room. Connie greeted them both back as he knocked his boot against the outside trim before making his way in. He kicked his boots off, like Sasha did, and dropped his half of the bags off onto the counter. Sasha was already unloading them and placing food into the fridge or freezer or cupboard or wherever they needed to go.
“Ohh! Thanks for the measuring stuff, Reiner still couldn’t find that spoon set that he swore he had. Plus we really needed some big measuring cups.” She exclaimed. Connie grinned back at her in response as he unloaded the bags before him. Placing the bags of chips in the counter top, Connie peered over to Sasha who had collected a number of things and was lining them up on the island.
“Wait, you wanna make the cookies now?” he asked, eyeing up all the ingredients needed for Gingerbread.
“YES! This is what I’ve been waiting for!” She exclaimed, overjoyed.
This was her favorite part of the holidays, making deserts, but especially making Gingerbread cookies. She still couldn’t drive a vehicle herself and had to rely on others taking her out or getting stuff for her, but seeing as everyone was so busy this time of year, she hadn’t been able to go and get all the baking supplies she needed this year. It had her feeling mildly depressed, so when Connie finally asked what she needed that morning, she teared up.
“Okay, okay! Wash your hands and we’ll get started.” He lamented.
She nodded, turning to the sink, before she stopped to tie her hair up into a high pony tale. Connie took this time to wash his hands, and when she began to wash hers, he noticed how much the sweater she wore hung off her shoulders.
“Soooooo, what happened to the sweater?” He asked.
She snorted and started drying her hands.
“I stretched it out a bit too much to make it comfy.” She began, a big grin on her face, ”And then I washed it and the hole was even bigger, so now I gotta go out and buy Bert a new one altogether.”
A lot of them decided to dig into Bertholdt’s sweater collection and steal whatever fit, which, everything fit everyone and then some. Bert didn’t pay any mind, he thought it was cute and happily allowed the sweaters to be borrowed. Key word is: Borrow. So Sasha very much did need to buy the guy a new sweater, but she knew Bert wouldn’t really care much, he’d appreciate her going out of her way to get him a new one.
“So where do we start?” Connie spoke. He’d never made Gingerbread himself, only bought the pre-made stuff at the store to decorate. Sasha looked up at him, a gleam in her eyes and a giant smile on her lips.
She began taking him through the steps: dry mix, wet ingredients, mixing, rolling, all with excitement. At his question as to why she had a sad look about her at points, she told him it was something she and her Grandma would do every Holiday season. She loved it so much and it was always her favorite thing, spending time with her Grandma. She didn’t say much after that and Connie viewed her with understanding. He wouldn’t push what didn’t need to be pushed.
“Well, if you want, we can make this a yearly thing between us.” He started, causing Sasha to stop and look up at him. He folded the dough again and pressed down. “You can teach me, just like your Grandmother taught you, and we can make these every single year!” He finished, grinning and looking to her. She gave a sweet smile back to him and nodded.
“I’d love that, Connie.”
After cutting out all the cookies into people and filling the trays, Sasha popped them into the pre-heated oven where it would take a time before they were done. The two washed their hands again.
“It feels so oo-y goo-y, but it’s kinda cool after a while.” He spoke, a bit grossed out at how the remnants of dough fell from his fingers in little gloops while under the water. It was kinda nasty, but it reminded him of silly puddy and just being a little kid in general.
“You’ll get used to it. Over time, you start to love it and can’t wait for it.” Sasha spoke, obviously remembering over time how she felt about folding the dough.
“Thick doughs feel a lot different from thin ones and wet ones, those are sticky and get EVERYWHERE.” She laughed.
“Yeesh, maybe we can work our way up to that then.” He said in response, wincing a bit.
“Yes, of course!” She agreed.
They started cleaning up after turning some music on to get them into the mood. Cleaning was never the fun part, but it had to be done. They moved around each other seamlessly, almost dancing. When they’d bump into each other they would laugh and giggle quick apologies, before going back into the rhythm. It didn’t take to long to scrub the islands counter and throw away the tiny pieces that didn’t make it and were too small to do anything with, even together. They hand washed the bowls and measuring cups and spoons and utensils, and through idle chatter they found the cookies to be done.
Sasha took them out wearing her oven mitts and put the trays onto the stove top to cool off.
“Kay, so now we get the frosting and stuff ready to decorate!” She began, gathering up the various coloured frostings from the counter to place onto the island.
“Should we use some paper towel or something so we don’t have to clean much again?” Connie interjected.
The strawberry brunette shook her head, yes, and grabbed something from one of the pull-out drawers.
“Parchment paper.” She spoke. “It’ll keep everything clean as we decorate. When we finish a cookie we can just put it back onto the trays for now, since the icing would then need time to set.”
She ripped some of the paper off of the roll and placed it onto the island with the icing.
“Perfect!” Connie exclaimed. “Also, I’ll be back, potty break.” He quickly said before he left the kitchen.
He returned to Sasha touching the cookies lightly. She looked back at him and stated they were cool enough to decorate now. He helped her bring the trays into the island where they could reach things better and the two began their decorating.
Sasha decided to make her cookies look like their housemates. She asked Connie ahead of time to make sure he got black icing to which he had asked if it even existed. After looking to her cookies now and then, he realized why and thought it was cute.
Connie went a different way. He wasn’t so good at piping, nor was he going to bother with filling, so, he just drew squiggles and swirls. He made a face on each one, at least, but the most important thing was having a steady hand with the letters. On the chest of everyone one of his Gingerbread people was a letter. Even if Sasha looked over, she may think that Connie just didn’t know what to fill the space with, so he’d just put a letter there, but she was fully engrossed in what he was doing to pay much attention to him.
When the two had finished they looked over their tiny Gingerbread friends.
“Wow, Sash, thats super cool!” Connie expressed with joy as he looked over the cookies Sasha had worked hard on. “Also, where are the giant muscles on Gingerbread Me?” He joked, earning him a laugh and a tiny shove, which he snickered at.
“No, but, honestly...These are amazing, they’ll love ‘em.” He complimented.
“Thanks, I’m sure everyone’ll have a fun time eating themselves.” She grinned. “So, let me see what you’ve got.” She peered up at him expectantly.
It took him a few seconds of just nervously gazing at her, to move his body away from what he had been covering up.
The Gingerbread people had been placed in a way where the letters on their chests could spell something. It took Sasha a moment of genuinely loving what Connie had done with all the Gingerbread people to spell out what was written.
“...U...Wanna Date...?” She said out loud. It then clicked in. She turned her head to Connie who had the biggest blush she’d ever seen on him, and that alone lit her own face up. She looked back to the cookies, reading it in her head again and then back to Connie who looked a bit more worried than before.
She snorted and then began to laugh whole-heartedly, a sweet look on her face. Connie was a bit taken aback, but when Sasha turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck, and then leaned in to kiss him, he knew it was okay. They both smiled into the kiss and they both broke it to laugh. Sasha held him close, to which he responded by wrapping his arms around her waist.
“So what does that mean?” He questioned was a love struck look. She looked up at him, giving him a quick peck on the lips.
“It means, as long as we eat those now, so no one else thinks you’re asking them out, I’ll date you.” She answered.
It was Connies turn to burst out laughing now. He loved her, so very much.
I saw the request post and I think maybe a fanart of Pieck comforting/hugging Porco after hearing about Marcel's death would be a good one ;) hope u r doing fine !!
To live in a world where he thinks he can’t cry is disheartening. Our names are spat out, our existence is scrutinized, our lives are a smear to them; not worth living our way and only for their needs. I don’t blame him in thinking he wasn’t even allowed to cry, to break that and cry anyways….He loved him, loved his brother so much. He has been waiting so long, just to find out his brother died years ago. Years of now knowing. He can’t aid in anyway, can’t find him, can’t so anything. Marcel is gone. He saw that woman too. So please, cry, cry just to get it out, to show your love, it’s okay, I’ll protect you from their disapproval.
This was a fun, cute prompt! I treated it as a hair swap kinda thing, and I think they both look really cute! (Pieck’s hair would always be a mess though)
Waking up to the smell of freshly baked goods, his husband wearing the cute apron/panty set the he’d bought for him, and the sweetest voice telling him “Happy Birthday” was the best thing Reiner could ever ask for.
And on your right we have a modern AU where Reiner isn’t miserable or in the clutches of death and surrounded by people who either don’t care at all, are using him, hate him and want him dead, or are neutral with his existence and Bert’s alive and with him and they’re married C:
It’s so noisy. I can’t think, I can’t breath, I can’t move. It hurts, it hurts so much.
Where are you? Where......where am I? Is this real? I hate....I HATE! It hurts.
Do devils bleed? No. We are fighting people. I’m fighting people. Brainwashing.
She looks right past me, her eyes narrow, sizing me up. Mom. Do you hate me? I want you to be happy...but am I not allowed to be happy too? I want you and Dad to be happy. Can you be happy, together? With me?
When will it end, this curse, the death, the games, the screaming. I’m so tired. Where are you? Did you leave me? No...I abandoned you. You saved me.
I Hate... I love you. It was so hard to say before. I can’t find you now though... I can’t breath. The blood keeps flowing. I’m so tired, I wanna leave. I wanna sleep.
Shouting. Screaming.... Dad. A smile once I’ve fully devoted myself to them, the ones who have control. So supportive now....Mom.
I’ve always been a coward. I’ve always wanted to be a hero. Hero’s aren’t real. People who go out their way to help others are the closest thing. But hero’s don’t exist. I love you. I hate myself. I left you.
This isn’t a home. This is a house. There is no love. Manipulation. Judgement.
Ringing. Muffled sounds. I want to sleep, I’m so close to dreaming of you. I can’t stop thinking about you, about missed opportunities, my selfishness, my fears....
COWARD!
I don’t deserve love or happiness or forgiveness.
I abandoned him. I ignored him, I told him he wasn’t reliable when he did so much for me. I’m pathetic. I hate this. He deserves better. He....
I love you. I love you. I love you Ilove you I loveyo u I lo vey ou lov e yo u I love
The sheets are soft and warm to the touch.There’s a gentle breeze coming through the open window. I can smell the flowers we planted outside, you know, the bright orange ones you love? You were so excited. I love seeing you happy. Rolling out of bed in the morning and hearing my back pop and my joints click into place.........Why do I feel so old?
The sound is back again. The screaming. I’m fighting again, in the middle of battle. I’m not moving....? Ohh. The blood is pouring. I’m tired. I keep thinking of you. Where are you? I miss you. I love you. I’m tired.
My vision is blurry. My blood is everywhere. I can’t heal anymore. I’ve lost... Bertholdt. Where are you?
My body was so heavy. It slumped down. I blacked out, but. I never woke up. Nothingness.
You reach your hand out like you always do. The tears have welled up and start streaming down my face. That soft smile of yours is breath-taking.
When did you die? I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Bertholdt! I’m sorry sorry sor ry s orr yso r ry s or
Bertholdt....Bertholdt we don’t have a home...
....
Bertholdt. You are home...Let’s sleep and dream together. Forever.
A message from Reiner to Bertholdt as Reiner succumbs to the wounds of his final battle. Perhaps Bertholdt’s words did reach him in the end?
Do you ever think of how the Universe is endless? Of how there may be more than one Universe? Do you think of all the possibilities, all the things just one other you has and will accomplish?
Do you ever regret?
Do you wish you could go back and do it again? That you weren’t good enough then, but maybe you are now? Do you miss me? Do I matter to you still?
Do you feel lonely?
I miss you. Miss you so much. I hope you’re sleeping well, I hope you're eating. I hope it doesn’t hurt anymore, that the sting is gone. Don’t miss me. I’m always here. I will always be here.
Do you think of every other Universe and how many times I fell in love with you? Do you love me? Even if you don’t love me, I know we’ll always meet. We always do. We always will.
Do you hurt? Does a world without me hurt you?
Do you know I’m gone?
Do you know I love you and I always will?
No matter where we are, no matter when we are, this string of fate will always be there, to connect us. To bring us together as soulmates.
I love you.
Will we be acquaintances, classmates, roommates, boyfriends, spouses?
I want to see all the possibilities with you, I want all of them, I want your love, your happiness, your kindness. I want to help you through the bad and only bring good. I want you to have peace. Live the best you can for now. Never regret. I love you. Please rest, please dream, please eat, please drink, please smile.
I love you.
Please live for me and find happiness, just in case there is no other Universe for us. Find me when your dreams are endless and you never wake.
We can dream forever in nothingness together.
I’ll love you. Forevermore.
A poem from Bertholdt to Reiner as Bertholdt floats in nothingness...Waiting...
