"Uh...(YN)..? You look...dead..."

I didn't even bother to lift my head from the table when I heard Marco's comment. It was now dinner time, and I had spent the entire day being whipped into shape by the devilish dwarf. My shoulder hurt, my lungs hurt, heck, even my eyelashes seemed to hurt.

"M'fine..." I mumbled, but I quickly turned on my defences when I heard more than one person set their trays down.
"You look like you need some more food! That'll fix you right up!" I managed to look up after feeling crumbs spray out over the crown of my head, and I came face to face with not only Marco, but five other people. The one who had assaulted me with glutenous spitfire was a girl with long, brown hair, tied up in a ponytail. I knew that because she was the only one to have a full mouth. Next to her sat a shaven boy, then beside him sat Reiner. A taller, timid looking ravonette sat on his left, and beside him, much to my dismay, was Jean.

"She's probably just sore from having that captain's head lodged so far up her ass..." The undercut asswipe muttered, and he yelped as Marco delivered a swift kick to his shin beneath the table.
"Be nice!" He snapped before giving me a nervous smile. "Uh, don't take his insults to heart, (Y/N)...he's a good guy, I swear..."

Yeah, no...I know what kind of guy he is...

"I hope you don't mind us tagging along with Marco today. I guess we thought you could get to know some more of us." Reiner smiled as he took a bite of his food; nudging the black-haired guy in the ribs.
"Oh...uh...I'm Bertholdt...Nice to meet you..." He said nervously, glancing between me and his friend.
"I'm Connie! You've probably heard of me. I'm kind of a genius." The shaven guy took his chance to be noticed, but I just gave him a weak nod. "And this guts ache is Sasha..." I moved my attention back to the only other girl, and she still had her cheeks filled with food.

God, I wish I wasn't here right now.

"Um...hey..." I murmured; unknowingly shifting a little closer to Marco's side. Their chatter was making me uncomfortable, as I just didn't fit in. I didn't know anything about what they were talking about, nor did I want to be roped in and made a fool of, even if they didn't intend it. That was...until a topic I was all too familiar with was brought up.

"...and there was this boar my father has been trying to catch for years! It's not huge, but it just doesn't seem to go for any of the bait he sets out!" Sasha was finally speaking without a full mouth, and I meekly looked up at her and took a deep breath.
"Sweet corn..." Of course, I shied away when everyone at the table turned their attention to me, but Sasha's was the most intense pair of eyes out of the lot.

"Wait? Corn? You know hunting?!" I could tell she was about to jump up from her seat, and that was a terrifying thought. The whole mess hall would be gawking at us then.
"Y..yeah...It's how I survived out...um...yeah...You soak sweet corn for a few days...I know it's not easy to get these days...but...when it sours, it lures them right in..."

I wasn't sure why I grabbed onto Marco's sleeve when Sasha launched herself over the table, but it didn't really matter once the three of us fell backwards and onto the floor. My stomach was in my throat as I looked up at the girl, who was now straddling me and grinning like some kind of crazed fanatic.

"You're so smart! I'm gonna write to him about it as soon as possible! Thank you so much, (Y/N)! Finally, someone else to talk hunting with!" Marco sat up and gave her a glare, but of course, she ignored it. She was just too excited.

"Come on, Sasha...get off of her..." He grumbled; rubbing his head with the back of his hand. The second she climbed off me I was on my feet and retreating towards the doors.
"Uh...I gotta...go...bye..." I could hear Marco scolding the girl before I finally left the largely populated room, and my chest felt tight. It wasn't that I didn't want to be able to get along with people. I just couldn't. So many years of isolation just destroyed whatever small amount of hope I had to be fully functional in the social department.

I was better with the Levi Squad, but that was likely due to the fact that I knew I was going to be stuck with them until I died. Then again, that was only if their proposal to have me join their ranks was accepted by that Zachary guy. I wasn't sure what to think about that. As much as I didn't want to be forced under the command of that little gremlin, I didn't exactly want to be trapped in a cell for the rest of my days, or worse, returned to my so called 'family'.

I retired to my quarters for a while, but I was just being eaten from the inside out, so, once I was sure everybody else had hit the sack, I snuck out to the one place where I knew I could at least breathe. The stables were definitely not as quiet as I had hoped, thanks to the obnoxious yelling and aggressive roaring I knew all too well.
"Quit being such a dickhead, you stupid bastard!" I didn't have to worry about being noticed as I walked up the stable corridor, as the less appealing half of the noise was far too busy getting snapped at by my stallion. "Just let me put this shit in your feed bag and I'll gladly fuck right off!" It was Jean, and boy, was he losing the battle.

Deciding I'd rather save my horse from any further stress, I blew a low, yet loud whistle, and Boy immediately ceased his ruckus. Jean's head snapped around to look at me, though he was still in an almost laughable defensive stance. I didn't even aknowledge the chestnut-haired man as I walked past him and jumped the stall gate; welcoming an affectionate nuzzle.
"Was he calling you mean names, Boy?" I cooed, feeling daggers being hurled into the back of my head. Yeah, I was being petty, but I wasn't wrong about it.

"He started it! He bit me! The bastard hates my guts for no reason! He kicked me right in the dick last time!" Jean barked his complaints as I continued to cuddle up to my big friendly creature.
"Then that's an even better reason to not like you..." I muttered; throwing him a sharp look over my shoulder. He looked beyond offended, but I could see he was holding his tongue by the way he clenched his jaw.

"L..look...I know we got off on the wrong foot..." He started; choosing to lean against the opposite stall door, where a bay gelding was tucking into his sack of feed. "I say a lot of shit without thinking and it gets under peoples skin...so I'm sorry...I don't wanna have this...I dunno...whatever this issue is between us..."

Mutual disgust?

"Marco told you to apologise after dinner, didn't he..?" I cocked a brow, and he didn't need to respond for me to know I was spot on the money.
"Well...he did...but that's not the point! I was going to anyway!" He insisted in a huff. "Besides...I didn't come here to talk to you...This is my punishment for getting into another brawl with Yaeger..."

Yaeger? Wait...I think that's that kid who keeps proclaiming his undying hatred for Titans...The one who has those two pretty girls following him around like lost puppies...

"I'd hardly call feeding these beauties a punishment..." I hummed; somehow speaking easier thanks to being around my special Boy. "Your mouth gets you into a lot of trouble, doesn't it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Jean took a step towards me and Boy blew out a loud snort; ears flattening against his head in warning.
"That, right there." I reached my hand out to the man and nodded to the bag of feed he was holding. "I'll sort my horse out. You can go to bed." Reluctantly, he handed it over. Boy seemed to grow restless, even after Jean had stepped back, so, out of curiosity, I decided to sniff my palm.

"Uh...what the hell are you doing..?" Irking, Jean cocked a brow at my odd behaviour, and I quickly turned away to fill the feed back, and so he couldn't see my embarrassment.
"You use rubbing alcohol to treat the splits on your knuckles, don't you..?" I questioned him whilst my horse took a small step away from me.
"Yeah? Why? There a problem with that?"

Well duh...

"That's why he doesn't like you. The horses around here are probably used to the smell, but Boy was raised outside of the walls...away from all people but me...He hates the smell, and it upsets him. You reek of it, so that's probably why he has a go at you..." I explained quietly; worried that my knowing that fact would earn me more taunts and teases. Jean hummed to himself, and I braced for verbal impact.

"I see...I guess that makes sense..." He mumbled, which kind of surprised me. I still wasn't used to people just accepting that I knew things and wasn't just some dumb girl. Even at dinner, I had been nervous to mention the baiting technique to Sasha, but it had just come out. Perhaps it had just been my own family who had had those views of a woman's worth.

"If you want him to stop hating you...bring him some apple pieces when you aren't doused in spirits...They're his favourite..." I murmured as I turned around and began to comb my fingers through Boy's mane. "They're mine too, for the record..."

Wait...why the fuck did I say that?!

"Noted..." Jean mumbled before coughing into his hand and sweeping it through the longer strands of his hair. "Look...it's late...and you're a girl...so...uh...I'm gonna walk you back to your side of the barracks, okay?" The way he phrased it didn't really sit well with me, nor did the fact that everyone; Levi, Reiner, and now Jean, kept thinking that I would be helpless walking that short distance on my own. I would have at least expected him to realise I was more than capable after beating him the day before.

"I'm fine on my own..." I muttered as I lifted my head and stared straight into his eyes with shaded (E/C). "...or do you doubt that?" For a moment he looked startled, but quickly covered it up with a click of his tongue as he turned and began to walk away.
"Whatever...Have it your way..."

Yeah...I will, for once...

I waited a decent while before I also left; giving plenty of kisses and nose rubs to Boy before I wandered out of the stable. The night was quiet and pleasantly cool, but I wasn't oblivious. I knew I was being followed, and I definitely knew that it was Jean who was trying to stay quiet somewhere behind me in the shadows.

Have it my way my ass...

Despite knowing that he was on my tail, I didn't turn around and confront him. I just wasn't in the mood to talk more than I already had that evening, and if it would help the asshole sleep better, then it was fine by me. Humming to myself; a tune I wasn't even sure ever existed, I continued along and began to think of my future to avoid getting too ticked off at the stubborn undercut bastard.

One month...and I'll be a Scout..? Well, that's if that Zachary guy doesn't decide to throw me to the wolves...Will it be that bad? Wait, what am I saying? Of course it will be...I'll have to take orders from Levi fucking Ackerman..! He makes me feel small...which is an accomplishment for someone so short...Plus...my chest gets all tight when he gets so close...He really needs to work on personal space...

When I began to think about that feeling in my chest, I began to realise it hadn't just been him that triggered it. It had happened with Eld before, as well as Reiner and, dare I even imagine it, Jean. Heck, even Marco set it off once before. Was I just that weak that I let these guys scare me so much?

No...It isn't exactly fear...It's something else...but I can't put my finger on it...

Before I knew it, I had reached the entryway to the women's barracks, and before I stepped through and closed the door, I turned around and peered into the darkness. It was a cakewalk spotting the toe of Jean's scuffed boot poking out from behind a stack of crates a few yards away, and I let out a long sigh before I cleared my throat.

"Goodnight, Jean...Next time don't stand upwind. I could smell the alcohol on you." With that, I entered the safety of the barracks, only just catching the splutter Jean made before the door closed with a light thud.

One month, huh..? Guess I have to just focus on that...

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***Okay, I just want to point out that this fic will still follow the basic plotline of AoT, but it will have original stuff out of my shitty brain thrown in, because I just think it's so damn droll to follow it to the tee. Also, there will be multiple love interests and, yes, multiple lemons/limes/smexy situations. I'm a hoe, you should know this by now. Common knowledge to my earlier followers and readers, really. Anyway, tell me...
WHO DO YOU WANT TO END UP WITH?!
This story will likely only have ONE ending. I made the mistake of promising alternate endings for one of my other stories (Irascible, a BNHA x Reader) and I regret it more than I regret being born, which is a lot. So, I'm curious. Comment who you'd like to see yourself end up with once we reach the closing point.
Also, I can only apologise for the chapter title. I couldn't think of one...and stable...and horses...and 'horseface'...I just...yeah...my bad...***