Chapter Text
You loved the colour red.
Some may argue that red resembled the gruesome gore in which we call blood, and that alone should make you despise the colour. In fact, those are all true, yet there you were sitting in your office glancing at your freshly red manicured nails, despite the heavy workload.
Granted you agreed with what they said; however, it was so much more than that. To you it represented the undying love someone had for their loved ones. You knew that it was cliche, but you couldn’t help but correspond red with love.
As a young child, you lost both of your parents due to the ways of the unjustly government. They tried their hardest to see what was beyond the sea and go on a ship, in hopes of seeing something other than Marley.
“Stay here, Y/N. We’ll signal you when it’s safe to come out.” you watched from afar, giggling at how your parents were being quiet- something so foreign to the three of you.
However, that giggling was abruptly stopped when you heard the blood shrieking scream you instantly recognized as your mother. Your eyes became frantic and you gripped the small red rose that your dad picked for you earlier that day.
A gun shot blasted through the sky and you covered your face with your small right hand, slightly peering to see the commotion. Ringing in your ears were the sounds of a gunshot and you saw one being directed at your mother. Thankfully, the man missed and the bullet merely grazed the skin of your mother. However, that was enough to inflict a great amount of pain. As your mom screamed in agony, she was distracted. She wasn’t able to see nor hear the speeding bullet.
In a flash your dad suddenly pushed your mom towards the ground. At that you pried your hand off of your face and took in the scenario. Your dad sacrificed his life for your mom, a faint smile plastered across his now paling skin. Too much for you to handle, you gripped the rose together, and you let out a muffled noise, wincing at the pain of thorns.
You watched your mom’s eyes widened as she realized what her idiotic husband has done, as she faltered to the ground hugging him. As she held her husband for the last time, she took notice of the rather huge wound embedded onto your father’s side.
Despite the aching pain she felt on her shoulder, she swiftly ripped a piece of her dress and applied pressure to your father’s wound, hoping to sustain the blood.
Her movements were sloppy and desperate, as she tried her hardest to bring life back to your dying father. However, her attempts were cut short when the warriors yanked her away from your father like she was nothing but a piece of wood.
“NO! LET GO OF ME!” yelled your mother, frantically moving around in hopes to run away, dragging you along.
Y/N she immedeityl tthougt, and her eyes scanned the area searching for you. There behind the wall you hid, and your mother took notice of your tear stained eyes, “Y/N, baby… run,” your mom pleaded, “... we’re so sorry,” you heard her say.
You were a smart child and were able to analyze some situations with a clear head- this being one of them.
You did not want to leave your matter in such a state; however, her plea was enough for you to run. With one look before fleeing, you took notice of your mom’s physical appearance before she immediately was shot in the head.
The blood on your moms clothing indicated the death of your father, and you were traumatized. However, a part of you felt happy because your dad died a hero- he protected your mother till his very last breath. The blood you saw only proved that. The love he held for the both of you was enough to overwhelm you and make you cry a river.
However, at that moment emotions were a weakness, so you didn’t dare cry, even though your heart ached at the sound of your mother’s voice. You were no disobedient daughter and therefore the least you could have done was follow your mom’s last order.
Long story short, your short legs only ran so far and you were caught by the military warriors, and were brought back to the government.
“I guess… your parents told you things they shouldn’t have,” said a man and you scrunch your nose in disgust, “don’t worry, we’ll educate you and teach you to become the best warrior known to Marley,”
Glancing back at the workload you let out an exasperated sigh as you stared at the instantaneous amount of files you had left over to review. You began overworking yourself and didn’t realize just how long you were sitting at your desk, until you looked at the window. When you began signing your papers the bright lights of the sun shone through your small window sill. Now however, you were enveloped in darkness, the only light coming from the small lamp above your desk
They didn’t even call me for dinner? You thought, as you heard your stomach growl due to the lack of food you had consumed that day.
Each file you laid in front of you required your signature in order to obtain the various new equipment meant for the warriors’ next battle. “Only a couple more minutes... and maybe I can eat.”
Despite it being late at night, you usually had your “dinner” past 10 o’clock at night. Although it was rather late, that did not stop you from barricading the kitchen quarters and consuming large amounts of food. Despite your small stature, you were quite fit and had a fast metabolism, even though you ate like a kid who hadn’t eaten in several days.
“It’s been years already...” zeke groaned out in frustration, walking into your office, unexpectedly.
“Sure, come on in? Ever heard of knocking?” You muttered quietly, “Not that I mind, Zeke- Actually, no I do mind, I’m hungry, but what the hell are you doing here this late at night?”
“... could they have died? No unlikely” He asked in bewilderment, completely ignoring your question “No… Marcel’s been a good leader since day 1, he wouldn’t have gotten them killed?”
Zeke continued to mutter theories regarding the four warriors: Annie, Bertholdt, Marcel and Reiner who the Marleyan government sent out to infiltrate Paradis Island a few years back.
Completely annoyed with Zeke ruining your peaceful environment and your desire to eat, you got up from your desk and slowly crept up behind him, smacking his head
Shocked and purely out of instinct, Zeke immediately attempted to shove you back, only to have you dodge his attack, as you crouched down and swiftly kicked his ankle, making him fall down to the ground.
“You do not just barge into my office at this ungodly hour just to mutter stupid theories regarding their whereabouts.” You stated. Your eyes just glanced down to the boy who was clenching his stomach on the floor, which only made you roll your eyes, as you extended your hand to him, pulling him up. “I didn’t even hit you that hard, shithead”
“Sorry...” Zeke said as he regained his composure, and coughed into his sleeve. He turned to you, only to avoid your eyes as he looked up at the ceiling, carefully choosing his next words
“What?” You stated “My eyes are down here.”
Zeke towered over your stature, standing at about 6 ft. He looked tired to say the least, his eyes were drooping, heavy dark circles underlined his bright green eyes, and you took notice of the slight grey hairs in his blonde hair.
“I meant what I said. I’m actually concerned about the warriors... their parents are getting relentless, constantly asking if the devils have taken their children. Do you not know how Tiring it is, providing them with a plastic smile and reassuring them? For all I know those four kids are nothing but titan shit right now. Not that they have a digestive system but you get my drift...”
“Cut to the chase Jaeger,” you said, growing impatient as you tapped your foot slightly.
“What's got you so riled up? You’re so moody today...” Zeke asked out of nowhere, suddenly changing the topic.
“When am I ever nice?” You manically laughed and then took a deep breath “Sorry. I’ve been reviewing those files all day. I was going to eat until someone barged into my office at 9:45 at night.”
Zeke only shrugged his shoulders and gave a cheeky smile, only his eyebrows furrowed together and his demeanor completely faltered as he realized why he came into your office in the first place.
“... I want to know if they’re actually dead or if they completed their mission. The people of Paradis should all be dead, if everything went according to plan. So why haven’t they returned.”
“Like you said, they're probably titan shit...” you muttered
“I refuse to believe that though. We all had potential at that age. I grew up with them... I know they couldn’t have died just like that. You know that too… you watched us grow into strong warrior candidates.” Zeke answered truthfully
“Where are you going with this?” You inquired not catching his drift, “It’s been years already and they have yet to come back. To put it bluntly, I’d say they’re dead. If you want to find their corpses, I’m sorry to say but they’ve probably decomposed by now.” You stated as a matter of fact.
“Like I said I don’t think they’re dead. Now that I’m old enough, I actually want to suggest a mission plan.”
“Why? They’re titan shit-”
“We don’t know that yet. . . But, I want to go infiltrate that island myself and kill the people of Paradis. But... I can’t do that just yet. I need to prepare myself and come up with a plan... we need a diversion.”
Not quite getting his drift you raised an eyebrow, to indicate your confusion
“Go into Paradis island and retrieve the four soldiers. I refuse to believe they’ve died and passed on their titan abilities... it just doesn’t seem possible. They would have transformed and killed off the mindless titans, no? So like I said, retrieve them. Once we obtain my comrades again and their titan abilities, all of us would be able to attack Paradis once and for all, as well as the rest of the world. No other military would stand a chance against ours, ” Zeke stated
“Why the hell am I doing it?” You seethed clearly annoyed that one of your subordinates was telling you what to do.
You liked Zeke, as he remained level headed and knew just how to use his titan abilities to the best of his effort. You were no titan, so you respected him greatly... after all he could have tried to kill you if he wanted to, not that you’d ever let that happen.
All it took was a shotgun and a bow and arrow, and Zeke wouldn’t have been able to live long enough to see the next day… Not that you’d ever dream of killing one of your students.
Y/N L/N fellow warrior of Marley and one of the greatest ones Marley has ever seen. After the death of your parents you were trained to become a warrior. Through all that pent up anger and trauma you were somehow able to excel in your training, and emotions never affected your abilities.
To put it bluntly, you looked like a sleep-deprived zombie addicted to work. The bags under your eyes only proved that. However, the eye bags under your eyes and your zombie-like state didn’t interfere with your beauty. You were pretty, and many of your comrades took note of that, not that you gave a damn.
To Marley, you were a devoted leader with exceptional combat/defense skills, an intelligent indvidual and self-less. These qualities made you stand out and you eventually became Captain, training other people. Zeke being one of them.
“I need time. Pieck and I need to come up with a viable plan that won’t let any of our warriors get killed. You’re the strongest warrior- i know you retired from going out on missions on a daily due to the crazy amount of paperwork, but please-” Zeke begged, something he never did even as a child “You would easily blend in with the crowd too if you were to go in the walls, I mean you aren’t an eyesore…you could get in pretty easily.”
“Zeke if this is your attempt at flirting, it’s actual shit,” you teased Zeke, making the tips of his ear crimson. “I’m joking. But how the hell does that have to do with anything?” crossing your arms you stared at him, awaiting for a reply.
“If they were to take a prisoner, they aren’t likely to kill someone who looks adequate, even if you are an old hag.”
“28 is not old,” you said glaring at him, and you whacked him in the head lightly “karma’s a bitch.”
“Yeah yeah…” said Zeke as he rubbed the back of his head, “But seriously, think about it. If there’s one person that we know we could trust, it’s you Y/N.”
“Thank you?” you said slightly confused, “Even if I do agree with your bizarre plan, Paradis is basically titan territory, is it not? I don’t want to become titan shit. Granted, I could kill them, but multiple titans at once? My shotgun and arrows could only last so much. What were to happen if I encountered a shit load of them?” You asked with an eyebrow raised
Zeke didn’t say anything but walked past you and pulled out something from your shelf. A large box, gently laying it on your desk.
“Don’t dirty my workspace Jaeger,” you said, as you didn’t like the sight of dirt near you. It was vital that you kept your workspace immaculate. Call it a habit you picked up when you were younger, constantly cleaning and washing her dolls from a young age. By your teenage years, you have found a passion for cleaning, plus the fact that you were allergic to dust did not help your situation.
Zeke only rolled his eyes at your statement and blew on the box.
The small specs of dust floating around floated around his vision and he coughed furiously into his sleeves, as he inhaled the dust particles.
As the dust began to fade from his vision, he lifted the box up and pulled out tanks?
“What the hell is that?” you asked as you eyed the thing suspiciously
“They used it to kill titans. I saw someone use it, they were able to shoot shit out of this thing and swiftly kill the titan using blades. . . Unfortunately, I don’t have the blades. But I’m pretty sure this device runs on some gas that is only available within the walls. There is still some gas leftover.” Zeke said as he handed you the device, “Learn how to use it… you’re a quick learner y/n.”
“How the hell did you even get this?”
“I was bored?” Zeke said as he scratched the back of his head, possibly debating on whether or not he should fully state the truth or come up with a liable lie.
“You got this because you were bored? Jaeger you clearly are a damn good warrior and inheritor of the beast titan meaning you got a shit load of work to do, so you mean to tell me you abandoned your workload to take a leisurely stroll?” You asked incredulously
“Shut up, l/n It was only be-” he began until he realized who he was talking to. If you wanted to, you could have ended this man’s life right here and now with or without his titan abilities. “-sorry, I mean I needed to see the area of Paradis and the forests outside the wall.”
You only nodded in agreement, and nodded your head indicating Zeke to continue his story.
“I transformed into a titan, because I needed to cool off some air and like I said I was bored. Either way, I began walking to the surrounding area of Paradis and I caught sight of this man in a leather coat. He was killing off all the titans until I plucked that weird ass device out of his reach… After that, he became a midnight snack.”
You slowly processed his story and still you had no idea what Zeke had planned out, “Ok, so how does this concern me and this crap?” crossing your arms together as you looked up at him.
“You can pretend to be the owner of that junk. Become a titan killer or whatever the fuck that brown leather wearing boy was and determine what happened to those four kids. When the time is right, Pieck and I will come back for the five of you, and we can for once and for all end the devils of Paradis.”
“Who else knows about your plans?”
“No one, other than you and Pieck. But once you agree, I can talk to them about it. They’ll be on board with the plan, I’m pretty sure. We need our titan abilities back anyways, in order to enhance our military.”
You only nodded in agreement, as you stared at the gear in front of you, wondering how the hell you were to work this thing and get inside the wall.