"Wait, you're kidding, right? That's ridiculous!"

Connie smacked his fist down upon the wooden table, sending a grilled fish fillet flying. Sasha caught it mid-air, which came as no surprise, stuffing it into her mouth alongside whatever else she had shovelled in there.

"That's what I said! Concerns about stability, apparently! How the hell can anything be stable in times like these?!" I was pissed off in every sense of the term, and after Connie's outburst we had attracted the attention of the others, who gravitated over from where Niccolo was being 'forced' to cook.

"Uh, what's ridiculous?" Armin asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. Turning to him, I was sure my face was as sour as my mood.
"Apparently I need to have a man co-sign the papers as legal father if I want to adopt Odette! What the hell is wrong with single parents, anyway?! Nothing! It's stupid, but they won't budge!"

I had finally made up my mind about wanting to take the spunky little girl in. Sure, I wasn't confident that I'd make a great parent, but the bond we had formed was far too strong for me to ignore. Each time I visited, it became more and more difficult to tear myself away.

"Oh, you're adopting a child? Congratulations, (Y/N)." Mikasa nodded to me, and I heaved a sigh, dropping my head and clunking it down onto the tabletop.
"Thanks, but it doesn't look like it'll happen...I can't ask Kristoria, because she's not around to ask...and the bitch at the orphanage wants to make my life a living hell, apparently..."

Connie banged the table again, and I felt it straight through my skull from my point of contact.
"I say you just take her home with you!" He declared, and we all stared at him blankly.
"Yeah, no...Pretty sure she'd be charged with kidnapping..." Floch pointed out, and Connie sat himself back down slowly, sounding his realisation.

Groaning, I picked up a half shell from one of the plates, knocking it back into my mouth and chewing. I never even considered that things living in the ocean could be edible. Sucking up my bitter mood, I swivelled in my seat.
"Niccolo, Sasha's right. This is incredible. You're an amazing cook." I complimented, watching him flinch at my words, averting his eyes.

"Uh...yeah...thanks, I guess..." It was progress. I hadn't personally spoken to him since the night of his capture, but now that we had let him out and about, he had stopped being so vicious. Standing up, I moved between Mikasa and Jean, stretching my arms above my head.
"Well, I'm heading back to Shiganshina to check on repairs. Anyone coming?"

I knew Sasha was a hard no. She hadn't stopped sobbing from the moment she tasted the meal before her.
"I'll stay here and make sure she doesn't choke to death." Connie snorted, not willing to reach for any food in fear of having his hand mistaken for a piece of meat.

"Hange wants most of us on standby, and Mikasa is waiting on Eren and Levi." Armin explained, but Jean quickly raised his hand.
"I'm free. Besides, I need to meet with Pyxis regarding some defence upgrades."

Shooting him a thumbs up, I began to head towards the hitching posts, but as I passed the cooking station a cough caused me to pause.
"You...were trying to be kind to me that night...weren't you..?" Niccolo's voice was small, but I heard him loud and clear, giving him my full attention.

"Well, yeah, I was. No hard feelings though. When I was caught I pretty much did the same thing, so don't worry about it." I explained, shrugging my shoulders and offering a partially forced smile. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to the guy, but I just wasn't in the mood to be all that cheery.

"Wait...caught..?" I began to walk off as Niccolo sounded his confusion, but I just waved over my shoulder, Jean in tow.
"Long story. Thanks for the food, Nicco. You've got talent."

I was relatively surprised when Jean stayed quiet on the trip, his face pulled somewhat tight as though he were deep in thought. I didn't hate the silence, but it was strange since he typically tried to strike up conversation.

"What's on your mind, Jean-Boy?" I found myself initiating, pulling a little closer to his side. He seemed to snap out of his own mind once he realised I was speaking to him and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh, uh...just thinking about something..."

Wow, vague much?

"Care to elaborate? Or do you mean, like, inconceivably erotic horny man thoughts that would make me wanna tear my ears off and burn them kinda thinking..?" Jean's cheeks lit up and I snickered, dodging his hand as he jokingly batted at my arm.

"N..no! Nothing like that! It's just..." He met my eyes for a brief moment before tearing them away, quickly swivelling his head so he was facing the opposite direction. "...Words are hard sometimes..."

Whatever it was, he seemed to be concerned about mentioning it, which lead me to believe it could only be about one thing.
"I know I'm taking a long time to come to a, well, decision, but right now it's just-"

"No, I'm not thinking about that. Not right now, anyway..." He hesitated, pinching the reins tightly between his fingers. "I just know that however I word this, it's gonna come off really weird, or creepy..."

He really had my attention now, and I slowed my mount a little, eyeing him curiously. It would have been a lie to say that I wasn't at least a little concerned about what was going to come out of his mouth.
"Just spit it out. It can't be that bad, can it?"

Pulling to a stop, with me following suit, Jean chewed on his lip, shifting a bit so he could face me at least somewhat properly.
"You said you'd need a man to co-sign on Odette's adoption, right? Well...I'm a man...and I know how much you care about her, s..so it wouldn't be any trouble..."

He can't possibly be serious..?

My stunned silence caused Jean's panic to set in, and he began to ramble on.
"I..I know, it's a big offer, but, well, y'know, I love you and I want you to be happy...B..But I swear, this isn't some huge thing I'd hold over your head to make you choose me! I mean it! Shit, I've pissed you off, haven't I? Crap, I didn't mean to-"

His blabbering cut off into a shrieking honk when I launched myself across the gap between our horses, knocking him out of the saddle and onto the ground below. My arms curled tightly around his neck, and I couldn't contain my excitement.

"You better not be joking with me right now, Jean! Do you actually mean it?!" I pulled back and met his eyes, uncaring that we were both now covered in dust and grit. His hand, warm and familiar, moved to pluck stray blades of grass from my hair as he nodded.
"Of course I mean it. I've seen you with her, and you're her mother."

I had been planning this for a while now. Whilst it was true that things were only getting busier, and likely more dangerous, especially in my line of work, I felt as though I owed it to the little girl.

Verena had jumped on the idea when I first mentioned it to her, insisting that she would take her in whenever I was unable to be there, as a granddaughter. That woman had welcomed me into her heart and her home without question, and now she was willing to do the same for Odette. I didn't deserve her.

"Thank you..." Throwing myself against Jean again, I hid my teary eyes in the collar of his jacket. I wasn't just emotional due to his selfless offer of assistance, but because of the guilt I harboured. It had been months of stringing both him and Levi along, yet they both continued to care for me. To wait for me. I didn't deserve them, either.

Once I managed to pull myself together, we remounted and set off again, but now we had a different destination in mind. It was still so strange, riding through the open ranges without fearing the titans, our instincts not yet recovered from years of honing.

"So, little Odette (L/N). It's cute. Unless you're thinking about taking, uh, the Comman-....Your father's name..?" Jean spoke up after a while, and I pondered the possibilities.
"Well, I want to distance myself as far from my family name as possible, but taking his just...I don't know. I really didn't think that far ahead..."

(L/N), Smith...Kirstein, Ackerman...Jinn...

"You could always choose your own? I'm sure Hange wouldn't mind helping you out with what it takes to change it." The copperet suggested, and it was definitely something to consider.
"Maybe. That's an issue for whenever we come to it..." I turned to smile at him, gathering the reigns higher from my mount's neck.

"Last one there has to shovel horse shit for a week?"

"You're on..!"

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***Sorry for making y'all wait like a year for filler 🤣

Considering rewriting earlier chapters, but in saying that, it's a lot of effort and between child, work and a bazillion health issues, I don't know if I can be bothered xD

Next Time: Traitorous Bitch***