Work Text:
“What are you doing out here?” Mikasa started at the voice, coming from just a few feet behind her. She turned to look at her blonde roommate, pale lips pressed into her usual frown.
“Annie,” Mikasa smiled, despite herself. Annie returned the gesture with a halfhearted wave, settling into the grass beside Mikasa.
“Mind if I join you?”
Mikasa didn’t say anything. She watched Annie cross her legs, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jacket, before turning her eyes to the sky; Mikasa mimicked her movement.
“You didn’t answer my question.” Annie’s voice was sharp, cutting through the quiet night around them.
“I’m star gazing.” Mikasa explained, her eyes transfixed on a particular constellation.
“We have training tomorrow. It’s not like you to stay up so late.”
“It’s not like you to care so much.” Mikasa tore her gaze from the stars to look at Annie, startled to see icy blues staring back at her. Annie averted her stare, looking at the blades of grass beneath them, the faintest of blushes spreading on her face. She pulled her hand from its cloth confines to fist in the grass, tearing up clumps at a time.
The two stayed silent after that, the only sounds coming from nearby wildlife and Annie pulling the grass from its roots. After a while Annie folded her hands in her lap, apparently done torturing the ground.
“They remind me of home.” Mikasa said.
Annie looked at her, her expression quizzical.
“The stars,” she explained. “The skies were really clear where I used to live. My mom and I… we would make pictures out of them. Then my dad would draw them for us.”
“I’m assuming you don’t mean Jaeger’s parents?” Annie asked.
“No. My birth parents.”
“What happened to them?”
Mikasa bristled. She hadn’t told anyone about her parents – not even Armin. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Annie grew quiet. “I’m sorry,” she said eventually.
“It’s fine.” Mikasa wrapped a finger in the scarf around her neck, the worn material comforting her.
Annie hummed, changing the subject. “I didn’t get to see the night skies much where I lived. My dad was always training me, wanting me to be the best. I don’t think he really understood what he was getting me into.”
Mikasa looked at her friend. It was her turn to be quizzical. “What do you mean?” She asked.
Annie blanched. Her fists clenched on her knees, before she quickly hid them in her pockets again.
“I’m sorry,” Mikasa said. “Talking about families can be hard, I know… I’m sorry.”
”It’s not that.” Annie sighed, some of the tension in her shoulders relaxing. “It’s just… I can’t explain it. It’s hard to explain.”
Mikasa nodded, dropping the conversation. She didn’t want to make Annie any more uncomfortable than she already was.
“He loved me. He said this would make us great.”
“What –“
“Not now. I can’t explain it now.” Mikasa looked at Annie, the blonde now trembling where she sat.
“Annie? Are you okay?” She reached out, not knowing how to comfort but knowing she needed to do something.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Annie said, standing up. Her voice wavered as she shook, and she walked back into the barracks before Mikasa could say anything else.
-
“She’s still down there?” The guard nodded, his gaze nervous as Mikasa looked at him. “I want to see her.”
“I’m sorry ma’am, but we can’t let you do that.” The other guard, the not so nervous one, spoke up. The nervous guard looked over at him, his eyes widening.
“Are you going to stop me?” Mikasa used her glare as best she could – she knew she was intimidating.
“Uh,” the guard stumbled on his words. “It’s just that Commander Hanji has a very strict list of people who can visit the Female Titan, and –“
“So tell on me,” she said, shouldering past the guards and nearly skipping down the uneven steps. The lanterns flickered as she made her way past, growing sparse and infrequent the farther down she went. The air grew damp, and she needed to slow her movements to not slip.
Once she was walking at a normal pace, she noticed the eerie quiet that had fallen on the corridor. Not even the flickering lanterns seemed to make any noise. Condensation dripped from the ceiling and down the walls, creating little puddles beneath her feet.
How far below ground was she? She had to be deeper than the underground city, at least – they had taken the highest precautions with Annie.
The lanterns had stopped popping up as she reached the end of the corridor, nearly plunging her in complete darkness. The last lantern sat above a door, the wood rotted and splintering. Mikasa pushed it open with ease, the hinges creaking and groaning, threatening to come loose with each movement.
She tiptoed into the room, the otherworldly glow from Annie’s crystal illuminating her face. There was a single chair in the corner, coupled with a small table, a half burned candle standing there.
The crystal, and Annie herself, were chained up – to the wall, the ceiling, the floor – whatever would keep her in place. A rope net encircled Annie on top of the chains, a desperate attempt to keep her locked up should she manage to get free.
“Annie,” Mikasa addressed the crystal, sitting warily on the chair, afraid the legs would give out. When the wood stayed upright, she relaxed. “It’s been a while.”
She crossed her legs. “I’ve had… a lot of time to think, recently. About a lot of things.” She chewed at her lip, a nervous habit that she had picked up from Sasha. “I’m still mad you. I’m furious over all those lives you took.”
Mikasa uncrossed her legs before crossing them again. She was quiet. “But… Bertholdt said something. It didn’t strike me at the time, but ever since…” She trailed off. “It’s stuck with me.” She lightly kicked Annie’s crystal. “You didn’t kill all those people because you wanted to. It’s taken me a long time to understand that, and I admit I still can’t wrap my head around it at times but…”
She let voice trail off again. A familiar tightness grabbed at her throat, and her eyes prickled. “I don’t know if you can hear me in there, Annie. But if you can… I forgive you. You’re my friend.” She drew a deep breath, battling with her own emotions. “If you ever come out, let’s watch the stars again, okay?”
Mikasa got up to leave, her grip tight on the doorknob. Before she could go, however, she thought she saw the light from the crystal flicker, growing stronger before fading back to normal.
She turned her head, smiling at Annie’s frozen form. “You’re welcome.”