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Gabi was leading them down a narrow alleyway full of rubble and further through a weathered wooden door. The room behind it was mostly empty, with worn floorboards and dusty windows, the smell of mold in the air. Under one of the windows lay a bulk of blankets. Next to it a jar of water and some bread and apples, undoubtedly placed there by Gabi.
The rest of their little rag tag group filed in and Annie felt them peaking over her shoulder at the sleeping man before them. She stepped closer, light on her feet, avoiding a loose floorboard. Gabi had stopped a few feet away from her cousin, looking up at her uncertainly. Annie crouched next to the sleeping figure and looked at her fellow warrior. He looked older. Much older than when she had last seen him. Titan marks were carving deep crevices into his pale face, there were dark circles under his eyes and he was spouting a beard.
He looked as tired as she felt. She heard the others shifting behind her, antsy and unsure how to proceed. Without further stalling she grabbed one end of the blanket that was covering the bulky body and removed it with one swift move.
“Wake up.“
Her voice sounded alien to her ears. Was it the years of disuse that made it so raspy? A loud gasp, the sudden movement of a big hand covering a broad chest, and she was staring into the unfocused eyes of her old teammate. The boy who had led her into hell and left her there.
“Annie?!“
His voice was laced with disbelief. He sat up, noticeably shivering from the sudden cold. For a moment, Annie just stared at his face, both familiar and not. A multitude of emotions flickered over his features. Shock. Disbelief. Relief. Then... his face fell.
“You‘re alive.“ His right arm made a jerky motion, as if he wanted to touch her, make sure she was real, but aborted it immediately. He knew she didn’t appreciate unwanted touches. He had remembered it.
“Yeah.“ Her throat was dry. “Zeke’s scream opened the crystal.“ His eyes fluttered closed, grief and guilt clouding his features.
“Galliard and Colt are dead. Zeke betrayed us to team up with Eren.“
“Didn’t seem to go as planned.“ He gave a humorless huff. Only then he seemed to notice the group of people standing behind her, his eyes widening in genuine terror and rage.
“YOU-“
Without thinking, she grabbed his shoulder. A glance backwards told her that Mikasa had put a hand on Connies chest, stopping him from further advancing. “They‘re gonna help us stop Eren.“ The words rang hollow in the dusty little room. Suddenly she felt very tired. All of it had been for naught; their sacrifices, the blood on their hands. The world would be trampled, and she would never see her father again.
“We didn’t want to leave you behind. Bertholdt and I- we fought to get you back.“ His sudden outburst caught her off-guard and she looked at him again. His eyes were wide and desperate, filled with so much genuine regret that it made her chest clench. Yes, she believed him. For all his misgivings, Reiner would have rather died than leave his teammates behind. His sentimentality had cost them dearly in the past, but so had her own actions. As easy as it had been to blame Reiner for their failed mission, their terrible deeds, she had come to accept the responsibility for her own actions. Those many years in that damned crystal had given her much time for self-reflection, at least. “I know.“
With a start she noticed that her hand was still on his shoulder and she moved to take it off, when Reiner‘s big and calloused one wrapped around it.
“I am so glad you are alive, Annie.“ The sound of her name made her heart squeeze painfully again. Four years of being talked to by people that despised her, without any way to defend herself. Years of being caged without any means to escape the thoughts, the guilt, the accusations of the Paradisian soldiers. No escape from Armin’s ever increasing horrible news of the outside world, the attack on Liberio, the uncertainty of her father’s fate. Of her fellow warriors fate. Of Reiner’s fate.
“Yeah.“ He squeezed her hand and, after a second, she squeezed back. I am glad you’re alive, too. And she meant it. She had missed him. Even after everything, he had been one of the very few people who truly knew her, accepted her without question.
Following a sudden impulse, she pulled his body to hers and hugged him. She could tell he was startled, but his big hands came to rest on the small of her back. It was awkward, with them both half kneeling and sitting on the floor, and the silent group of spectators in the back, but nice in its own way. Then she let him go, pushed herself against one of the walls and helped herself to one of the apples. She bit into it with vigor, the flavors filling her mouth, and a little noise of approval escaped her. "That beard looks stupid on you."
She caught Reiner‘s eyes, a familiar little smirk on his lips, his golden eyes gleaming in the afternoon sun. “So“, she looked to the others, who were silently observing Reiner gathering himself up from the floor, “where do we go from here?“