(Pairings: Reader x Eren, Reader x Armin, Reader x Jean, Reader x Reiner)
The mess hall was louder than usual.
Nobody had enough energy to be loud, really. It was the kind of noise that came from exhausted people who had been running on bad food, sore muscles, and spite since sunrise.
Boots scraped against the floor. Tin cups knocked against tables. Someone near the kitchen was arguing about whose turn it was to clean the dishes.
Y/N barely heard any of it.
Her shoulders were killing her.
She dropped into the seat at the end of the table and stared at the bowl in front of her.
Jean dropped into the chair across from her.
Jean was rubbing his shoulder with one hand, his hair a mess from training.
He reached for the bread.
Y/N moved the basket away before he could.
She pushed the basket back.
He grabbed another piece.
“You're going to complain about being sick tomorrow.”
“You complained for twenty minutes about your shoulder.”
Y/N smiled and returned to her stew.
Across the table, Eren dropped into his seat hard enough to make the cups jump.
“I'm going to kill that bastard.”
Jean didn't even look up.
“Because he kept getting in my way.”
“You mean during the exercise where we were supposed to work together?”
“He wasn't working together.”
“He was literally doing what the instructor told him.”
“He was slowing me down.”
“Because you weren't following the formation.”
Y/N didn't raise her voice.
Both of them looked at her.
“Can you two wait until after I've eaten before you start trying to kill each other?”
“I wasn't trying to kill him.”
“I was trying to make a point.”
Jean grumbled something under his breath.
Y/N reached for the bread basket and tossed a piece at him.
“That's not how bread works.”
Jean stared at her for a second.
Eren's expression softened by half an inch.
She'd learned that arguing with Eren when he was already angry only made things worse.
He needed somewhere else for the anger to go.
Mocking Jean worked surprisingly often.
Silence worked when nothing else did.
Tonight, though, Eren was still wound tight.
“Everyone acting like I'm the problem.”
“I did what I was supposed to do. I took the lead. I got there first. I would've finished the exercise if Reiner hadn't—”
His hand slammed against the table.
Armin's fingers had stopped moving.
His eyes were fixed on the table.
He'd been quiet since they sat down.
Y/N nudged his cup toward him.
Y/N reached for the sugar bowl and slid it toward him.
“You always use two after training.”
Across the table, Eren was still talking.
“—and then he has the nerve to tell me I need to learn teamwork. I know how to work with people.”
“Because you said you know how to work with people.”
Jean looked around the table.
“Name three people you haven't pissed off this week.”
Eren's chair scraped backward.
Armin immediately started talking.
His voice got caught halfway.
Eren and Jean were already facing each other.
“Why are you taking his side?”
Y/N pointed at his chair.
For a moment, it looked like he might argue.
Y/N exhaled and rubbed her forehead.
A few seats away, someone laughed.
Y/N didn't even look at him.
“Because you're angry, exhausted, and running on three hours of sleep.”
“How do you know I only slept three hours?”
“You were awake when I got water.”
His smile faded a little.
“Why are you apologizing?”
His knee was bouncing beneath the table.
She reached under the table and tapped her boot against his.
She went back to her food.
At least, that's what she thought.
Later, when most of the regiment had left, Y/N was still at the table.
Jean had gone to complain to someone about his shoulder.
Eren had been dragged away by Reiner.
Armin was gathering the cups.
“You've already done enough.”
“You're terrible at lying too.”
“Apparently it's contagious.”
They collected the dishes together.
For a few minutes, neither spoke.
“You would've calmed down eventually.”
He put another cup on the stack.
“I don't know how you do that.”
“Does anyone do that for you?”
Then she picked up another cup.
She could have answered honestly.
Y/N carried the dishes toward the kitchen.
Behind her, Armin watched.
He almost said something.
But someone called his name from the hallway.
His expression changed immediately.
Y/N stood alone in the mess hall.
She looked at the empty chairs...
Then picked up the last cup.
She repeated it under her breath.
The lie sounded convincing enough.
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