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Slight!Spoiler Warning: Chapter 50 onwards

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The rain continued to pour from the sky at a rapid rate of never ending downpours. You kept the hood of your cloak drawn high over your head, not for the sake of keeping yourself sheltered from the constant onslaught of chilling liquid, yet for the sake of not to bring any more attention than necessary and also to keep your identity a secret from the town's people.

“This is where the two of you grew up, right, [Name]?” the pony-tailed brunette whispered. You didn't turn to her, for the sake of keeping your sad expression hidden, and you nodded.

The distant voice broke out from behind you, as the tall silhouette of the bi-colored haired teen shadowed over you. “Yeah. This is Trost,” he answered in your place. Wistful [e/c] irises slowly trailed up his body, lingering there, completely transfixed by the way his brows furrowed over shaken honey-colored eyes.

Your body came to a halt as the sole of your shoes rolled over a thick concrete slab, the same tarnished gray color as the buildings. ”Or, what used to be of it,” Jean continued hoarsely, more distraught lingering in his voice than you ever witnessed, not since the day of “Humanity's First Victory”.

Hidden under the guise of merchant workers, the three of you scouted out the town. Sasha had lost track of herself throughout the crowds, and not long after that, you and Jean separated as well, both of you seemingly lost in the rubble of what used to be Trost.

Steadily strolling down the hill, you made your way through the crowds of disgruntled and poverty stricken residents of the once prosperous merchant city that you had known in your prepubescent days. You took careful incentive not to trip over any of the rotted debris and hobble of rocks that accumulated throughout the walkways due to the Titan's invasion of the city when you just graduated from the academy.

You came to a stop in front of a winding alley. The memories of your childhood came flooding back to you. The route was imprinted in your bones; that houses lied just beyond this road near the edge of the river. You could vaguely remember cutting through this path on the way home, with a spring in your step and a smile on your face while your best friend, calling out for you to wait, chased tirelessly after you between the buildings and to your home.

As you made your way closer to the alleyway, you faintly recall Corporal Levi warning the three of you not to make any detours on this quick inspection of your current hideout. Yet, you found yourself walking down the familiar path. Once you made your way up the steps and to the outskirts of the district, you realized that nothing remained.

The houses were dilapidated and falling apart. To your dissatisfaction, this included your childhood home which, despite being in better condition than some parts of the city, was on the near verge of collapsing upon itself. Once lively and beautiful, now moldy and rotten. Cautiously you pressed your hand to the door, applying the minimum amount of force to push it open.

Dust immediately filled your nose and lungs, and the view of cobwebs clinging to the ceiling and broken pottery polluting the floor. You slowly explored the house, stepping over a fallen support beam, while searching for nothing in particular.

Your feet led you to the dining room, where a small table big enough to sit four stood in the middle. You ran your hand across the dusty surface of the table, making your way around the humid room. The backdoor was blown clean off, leaving a trail of light flooding into the dining room undisturbed.
Curious, you walked to the backyard, hoping for just a little piece of your old life to still be left intact. The grass was still growing and the flowers were starting to bloom once again; however, large imprints of where titans had traveled through the grass remained, but any blood left by them were long washed away with the rain and time, and the way you viewed your world did too, yet one thing did still remain standing tall.

The most prominent feature you remembered was a large apple tree that grew in the center. You walked up to the tree, looking up at the deep green leaves curiously. This is where you used to have your birthday parties, this is where you used to play hide n' seek with Jean when you were young, and this is where you used to pick apples with your parents every fall.

Now, this was all that was left intact, you thought sadly.

“You're feeling homesick too, huh?” the familiar voice from earlier before called out to you throughout the roaring drops of the rain. You turned around, vivid [e/c] eyes meeting placid golden ones.

Jean moved towards you, staring up at the tree with the same feeling nostalgia that had plagued your thoughts. He remembered too, you thought. Despite the tranquil look on his face, there was nothing but tension and rigidness in the way he walked towards you, everything about Jean seemed stressed and burdened lately, a tidbit of guilt hidden under his usual cocky facade.

“Is that where you disappeared too?” you asked between the moment of silence, glancing back towards your friend. He clenched his fist to his sides.

“Turns out I don't have a home anymore. Not that it matters," he explained through gritted teeth, "It's not like we can stay here, with the military police hunting us down.”

“Yeah. It's hard to recognize if this is even home," you sighed sadly, “So, much has changed since when we were kids, playing hide in seek in the backyard and running through the crowded markets, without any concern or real plan for where we were going or what we were planning to do that day.”

Only the sound of rain broke through the silence followed once again by his voice. “Heh, I remember this tree, when you fell out of it that is.” He smirked coyly, pressing his hand against the bark of the tree, as if he was remembering that day when you had made a bet of who could climb the fastest, and you had fell out.
You immediately flushed red at the memory. “S-Shut up,” you barked out at him."You were the one who made the stupid bet anyway!" Crossing your arms over your chest, you turned away from him with a huff.

He laughed lowly. “Huh? What's this?" your ears seemed to perk up at those words, when it suddenly dawned on you what he must've noticed. "I don't remember anything being written here.” he thought allowed, squinting to see what was sloppily etched out in the worn-out bark.

You squeaked suddenly, flailing your arms around in a failed attempt to hide you silly little note you had long ago carved and forgot. The faint outlining of a heart was still deeply engraved in the wood along with three words. “T-That's nothing!”

“[Name] and Jean,” he read out loud, causing your face to burn brighter shades of red with each syllable. He smirked, a snort leaving his mouth. “Ha! I knew you used to like me!”

“S-Shut up, stupid! It's not like I had a choice of anyone else to like, you were the only kid in the district who'd play with me. So, of course, I USED to have a crush on you before you became a jerk when we signed up for the cadet corps.

His amused grin immediately descended back into a disheartened scowl. Jean ran his hand through his wet locks. “Was I really that bad?” he seemed to ask himself, and overall he seemed slightly hurt by your comment. You hoped you hadn't hurt his feelings, you thought.

“Yeah, but I like you the way you are, even when you were arrogant... At least, you were you. You're always honest with yourself and I don't think you should be so hard on yourself. You're a great soldier and a good friend.” When his widened eyes fell on you, along with the faint blush on his cheeks, whether or not induced from the rain or embarrassment, you could feel yourself smile. The first time you remember smiling since graduating the cadet corps.

“It's just with all that's happened and with the coup d'état...” you continued, unsure what to say. You turned back to your tree; the memories of your childhood still fresh in your mind, and the thoughts of what future, if any, you may have playing out. “This is all that's ever going to be left, isn't it?”

Suddenly, you felt the faint warmth of skin gently wrapping around your fingers, covering them from the freezing chill of the rain. “It's okay, [Name].” Your eyes locked onto his damp features. His golden hair clinging to his forehead and his eyes looking off into the distance. You blinked momentarily. “We'll come back and make new memories once this is all over.”

You smiled faintly, resting your head on his shoulder. “You promise?”

“I swear.”