Note: Contains spoilers for SnK 105/manga.

A/N: Someone asked for a fic where Falco doesn't reach Gabi in time.

It used to be a game. They would race each other to the top of the hill and whoever arrived first could lord it over the rest of them. There were times where he would win, sometimes even Udo or even Zofia, but it was usually Gabi who made it to the top first. Back then it was just a game. Now it's a test to see who was worthy of inheriting the power of a Titan and Gabi won every time.

Falco becomes used to chasing her shadow. He pumps his arms and legs, hoping to catch up to her, but always finds too far away from her in the end. By the time he's made it to the top of the hill, Gabi is there with a triumphant smirk on her face.

Every time he collapses once he's made it to the top, his lungs bursting and desperate for air. He looks at Gabi, smug and happy that she's defeated him once again, and he vows that someday he'll catch up to her. He just needs to be fast enough.

"You know you'll never be as fast as me," Gabi hums happily. Her strength and endurance tests are impressive, especially for a girl her age, but it's not the final assessment. He still has time to catch up. "You should give up, Falco."

But he can't. He can't compete with Udo or Zofia. While they may not have the same strengths that Gabi has, they have other abilities that have pretty much solidified their inheritance of the Jaw and Cart Titan. If he can't inherit the Armored Titan, he has no chance of protecting Gabi at all.

"Never," Falco replies fiercely.

Perhaps he couldn't surpass her now, but he'll do it soon enough. He'll become faster and stronger and beat her someday soon.

The day he beats her at racing, she spits at the ground at his feet, a sullen look on her face. He doesn't even care about her sour expression or that his lungs hurt and his muscles ache. He just grins widely, proud to have finally surpassed her after spending so many years behind her shadow.

"It's only just this one time," Gabi huffs, still breathing heavily after their run. "It doesn't mean anything."

It means nothing to her, but he knows this little victory is a sign that he's one step closer to saving her.

He's seen what the Titan's power has done to those who have inherited it. He's seen the Warriors come home from battle – battered, bloody, bruised – and watched them return to the battlefield again the next day. He's seen them all – Commander Jaeger's vacant stares into something far away, Mr. Galliard and Ms. Pieck being carried home because their bodies had been worn out, and Vice Commander Braun's lonely form hunched over in the corner of the room because he prefers the company of his shadow more than the presence of others who can never understand him – and he decides that this is not the fate that Gabi will suffer.

"I'll save Gabi," he tells Vice Commander Braun. "I will inherit the Armored Titan."

The voice of the young boy seems to snap the Warrior out from his eternal daze and something flickers in his eyes, something like hope. "You will be the one to save her?" Mr. Braun asks quietly.

"I…I can try," Falco says, faltering under the intense gaze of the man.

He takes Falco violently by the shoulders, gripping onto the child so hard that he's sure to leave bruises. "It isn't enough to try," the Warrior growls. He's usually so quiet, so far away, but now he is present and clinging to Falco because this child is the only one left he can rely on. "You have to be the one to take the Armored Titan from me. You're the only one who can do it."

There's a lump of doubt in the back of his throat, but he swallows it down. He can't be uncertain of his ability to do this, not when Gabi's life is on the line. He just needs to do everything in his ability to make it happen.

Looking up at the broken man, Falco stares back at him, a fire in his eyes. "I will save her," he promises.

He remembers the promise he made as he watches Gabi fly up to the sky, determined to get onto the air ship. He remembers the promise as he runs onto her, clinging onto the body of a dead man just so that she will not be alone, so that she will have someone to protect her, when she finally meets their enemies. He remembers the promise as he clambers onto the air ship just in time to hear a gunshot and look up to see Gabi with a surprised look on her face while the Paridis soldiers stare in shock at their fallen comrade. And he remembers the promise as he runs to her, desperate to get her away from the soldiers and their angry guns, only to reach out too late because he wasn't fast enough.

The loud crack of a gun rattles his ears and he watches as Gabi crumples to the ground, her blood spilling across the floor and painting it red. When he reaches out to touch her, wake her from this nightmare, his hands become stained as well.

"Gabi," Falco says, his voice trembling. Warriors shouldn't cry, shouldn't shed tears in front of their enemies, shouldn't leave themselves vulnerable, but he can't stop the tears from falling. "Gabi…we need to…get up…"

He looks helplessly at the enemies that surround them. Some soldiers point their guns at them, but a bearded man holds up a hand to stop them. He's the only one to take a step closer, the only one who doesn't look on edge. He looks exhausted, wary, like he's seen this all happen before. Falco thinks maybe the man understands how he feels right now.

"I…I couldn't save her," Falco whispers, holding desperately onto Gabi's limp hand.

"We never can," the man replies quietly. "We can't save anyone."

A/N: Thank you again for reading and reviewing! I'll be sure to write something about the Jaegerbros at some point ^^ They have a rather interesting relationship~

Word Count: 1028