(Y/n) came out of her room two days later.
Eren, who had come running when he'd heard that (y/n) was actually eating breakfast in the kitchen, stopped in shock. Where she used to be tan from spending time outside in the village, she was now sickly pale, and the clothing she wore - a long-sleeved shirt and full length pants - did little to hide the lifelessness within her. Her eyes were dull, her nature far more reserved than she used to be. "(Y-y/n)," Eren stuttered, and she inclined her head slightly. "I-" That was about when Eren noticed her left eye - or rather, the absence of her left eye - concealed with a black eyepatch. He swallowed, trying to take everything in stride so he wouldn't hurt (y/n)'s feelings, but... "I'm glad to see you," he finally said, narrowly avoiding a casual How are you feeling? because he knew the answer wouldn't be anything anyone wanted to hear.

If she responded at all.

For now, she merely nodded and turned back to her plate, slowly navigating the spoon from the plate to her mouth first once, then again, but on the third spoonful, she hesitated and put the utensil down.

"You need to eat more," Levi commanded, demonstrating a healthy appetite as he quickly ate what remained on his plate before picking up (y/n)'s spoon. "Are you going to make me feed you?"

(Y/n) hung her head before reluctantly grabbing the spoon and continuing her progress, albeit notably slower.

Eren, feeling out of the loop, sat down. "What are you eating for breakfast, (y/n)?" Eren asked, forcing a smile and trying to make polite small talk.

Silence pressed down on the individuals in the room for a full five seconds before (y/n) turned and whispered something in Levi's ear. A few seconds later, he nodded, his eyes flicking over to Eren.

"She said she was eating scrambled eggs and toast with jam," he relayed succinctly.

Eren just nodded, feeling even more anxious. For the rest of the day, she rarely spoke, and when she did, it was only to whisper in Levi's ear, and Levi would nod and set about doing whatever she'd asked or relay her message.
Eren wasn't sure what to do. How were you supposed to help someone heal when the scars weren't just on the outside, weren't just on the inside, but are everywhere, from her very soul to the skins she sought to hide?
It hurt that she relied on Levi rather than him, but Eren knew that it was because they had experienced something horrible together. He wasn't part of the club of suffering, torture, and devastation, so like it or not, he was being excluded.

Even if the three of them were in a room together, they weren't together. Eren doubted if they'd ever be together again.

***

(Y/n) retreated back into the recesses of her room shortly thereafter, leaving Eren and Levi alone in the same room.

"So..." Eren said, once again trying to make filler noise to dissipate the looming silence.

Levi glared over at him. "So what?"

Eren coughed awkwardly. "I was just thinking...it's been a while since we've all been together." He smiled softly, remembering how things used to be.

Levi stared down at the ground, remembering as well, but Eren could tell when he snapped out the memories, because his face abruptly hardened, his eyes growing darker, shutting Eren out. "Yeah," he said shortly.

Seeing that small talk would get him nowhere, Eren took a deep breath and just asked the main question on his mind. "How did you guys end up in that situation?"

Levi tensed, and Eren prepared to be punched in the face, but then Levi exhaled, staring down at the ground again. "It's..." He sighed resting his elbows on his knees as he hunched over. "We got separated from you, right...we decided to head for the city to meet up with you eventually...but when we got there, the military wouldn't sign us on and we had no place to stay...but Annie...that sadistic blonde bitch...invited us to her torture mansion. She seemed nice...it seemed like we'd caught a lucky break...but then...(y/n) went missing one day. I told Annie I had to go and look for her, but Annie told me that she'd sent (y/n) on an errand. I bought into her lie for two days, but when Annie started trying to convince me to stay with her in the mansion, I told her I couldn't, not without making sure (y/n) was okay. She threw herself at me, desperate for...I don't know...male attention or a companion of some sort, perhaps a lover, but I pushed her away and said I had to find (y/n)...that's when she grew strange and said that if I wanted to see (y/n) so badly, she'd take me to her...And so she took me out to the warehouse...I was ambushed there, with three guards holding me down to prevent me from doing anything, and Annie..." Levi seemed to choke on his own words, the first time Eren had ever seen Levi truly unnerved. "Annie made me watch as she carved out (y/n)'s eye," he finished quietly, staring at the ground, horrified by both Annie's insanity and his own helplessness. "There were...other things..." he said softly, but he was too unstable to go into further detail. "She's a monster," he whispered after a second.

"Annie?" Eren asked sympathetically, clenching his fists as he remembered the motion he had used to chop her head off. Good riddance.

"Yes," Levi said, but he looked up, his haunted eyes meeting Eren's. "But not just her. (Y/n)...me...you...we're all monsters."

"We're all monsters," Levi repeated before standing up and leaving Eren alone.