Chapter 55: A Blonde's Tragedy

"So, it was a complete failure," Levi summed up as he read the results.

"Well, I wouldn't call it a complete failure," Hanji replied, trying to look on the bright side. "Annie was able to harden her entire body."

"But it didn't stick," the captain pointed out, slamming the notebook shut. "Four times with the same results. Without Leonhart inside, the Titan collapses."

Hanji hesitated to ask the question, but she needed to know. "You're not thinking of-."

"I'm not stupid, Hanji," he interrupted. "We need her alive, not trapped inside a crystal prison for the rest of her life."

She felt relief knowing that Levi wasn't considering that an option. It seemed that he really did manage to work through his issues. "Sounds like it's time for Eren to give the hardening a try."

"And how will the results be any different than hers?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Eren is the Coordinate, so… it might be different," she hoped before she quickly elaborated on something. "I'm not giving up on Annie. She's closer to figuring this out than he is. We just need to solve this problem."

Levi sighed in annoyance. "Keep working on them, Four-Eyes. If we're lucky, I won't have to tell Erwin tomorrow that the plan is a bust."

Hanji chuckled at that. "You might be surprised. By tomorrow, we'll be able to figure this whole thing out."

"In the meantime, it's high time we had a chat with Historia," Levi said. "Nick said she was the key to all this. Let's find out why."


There was never a more awkward moment than when the massive squad of Scouts ate together. With everything that's been going on with the government, and the spectacular failure of Annie's attempt to keep her crystalized Titan from disintegrating, morale had taken a plunge. It didn't help that Historia was placed at the head of table, ensuring that all eyes would be on her. Already, she could feel the weight of the world on her shoulders as the moment of truth approached. At long last, her friends would finally know who Historia Reiss really was.

Before anyone could ask a single question, the blonde began her story. "I was born on a small farmstead in the northern lands of Wall Rose. It was owned by the noble Reiss family. As long as I can remember, I've been helping on the farm." She could smell the fresh, clean air only a farm could provide. Sunburns on the back of her neck whenever she worked for hours. They were marks of a real worker, like badges. "But my mother always did the same thing: sit under a tree and read books. She didn't care to work and no one cared to make her. Most nights, someone would come for her in a carriage, and she'd go off into the city wearing fancy clothes. I was never able to go with her. She barely acknowledged my existence anyways." Every time she looked at her mother, the woman would have a look of disgust before turning away.

"For me, that was life as I knew it, but when I learned to read and write, I started picking up books to imitate my mother. It was the first time I was taught how alone I was. In every story I read, parents cared about their children. They talked to them, hugged them, scolded them, tucked them into bed, told them they were loved. I never experienced any of those things. One day, out of curiosity, I decided to try hugging my mother. I guess I just wanted to see what kind of face she'd make. I threw myself onto her, and she shoved me away." The ground came at her hard when she landed, fresh blood pouring from her nose as a result. "Aside from telling me what chores I had to do, it was first time she acknowledged me, so it actually made me happy. Then, she said that if she wasn't so cowardly, she would've killed it. That's what she saw me as: an it."

The majority of the cadets couldn't believe what they were hearing. It was hard to fathom the cheerful girl they knew in the Cadet Corps grew up in a loveless environment. To others, it made more sense when they viewed "Krista" as a mask. For a few, they were fantasizing killing Historia's mother above all else.

"The next morning, she packed up her bags and left. I didn't see her for a long time." Historia heaved a heavy sigh. "And then, five years ago, just a few days after Wall Maria fell, I finally met my father." She would never forget the shock she felt knowing that she was a child of the Noble Reiss family. So many questions were on her lips that day, but the desire for a real family was so great, she did whatever Rod asked her to. "Behind him, the mother I haven't seen in years looked horribly frightened, but that didn't matter to me. I was going to live with my father. Then, we were surrounded by men in dark clothes, and the cruelest man I've ever seen grabbed my mother to keep her from escaping. I begged them to let her go, and my mother immediately claimed she never knew me. They could do whatever they wanted to me as long as she was let go. The cruel man asked if my father knew us… and he said that we weren't in any way affiliated with him." Historia visibly shivered from the terror she felt day, but it was insignificant compared to what happened next. "My mother, then, wished that I was never born. Those were her last words before her throat was cut."

Not a single person in the room felt an ounce of sadness for that wretched woman. To the bitter end, she was always a monster. For Historia to have gone through that at such a young age was baffling to say the least.

And yet, Historia still wasn't done. "Moments before I was killed, my father proposed an idea. If I was sent far away, if I lived a quiet life, I could be spared. That day, Krista Lenz was born, and a few years later, I met all of you. The rest is history."

An uncomfortable silence filled the void once her story had ended. Her comrades stared at her as if they were meeting her for the first time, which, in retrospect, they were. They would never be able to look at her the same way ever again.

Dillon was the first to break the silence. "Historia, I'm sorry you-"

"I don't want your pity," she interrupted, an edge in her tone.

Petra decided to take charge of the situation, standing up. "If it's alright with the captain, let's take a walk."

Levi nodded. "Keep your eyes and ears out, Petra."

"I will." She motioned the blonde to follow her.

Reluctantly, Historia followed her outside without sparing her friends any glances.

Once the two were gone, Jean spoke first. "Damn. How could anyone…?" He couldn't figure out what to say.

"That's why she clung onto Ymir so tightly," Sasha realized. "She was the only person that ever loved Historia."

Dillon let out a sigh, shaking his head. "No parent should ever hate their child. That's just… evil."

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Armin wondered.

The Psion shrugged. "Don't know, Armin. Scars like that run deep. If we manage to secure Ymir and bring her home, maybe that'll do something."

"We'll figure that out once we retake Wall Maria," Levi interjected. "I'll be heading to Karanes to update Erwin on what she told us in the morning. Hanji, get to work on Eren and see if he can succeed where Annie failed."

Hanji nodded in agreement. "Of course."

This was his chance. Eren knew it. Tomorrow, he would harden his skin, and be able to fix Wall Maria. He achieved the impossible before, and he would do it again.


Historia wrapped her arms around herself. The cold, nightly wind made her shiver, but she didn't voice her complaints. She just followed Petra towards the woods. Once they were far enough away, though still close enough to see the cabin, Petra opened up with a firm embrace.

Historia was taken aback. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"You needed a hug," she explained before releasing her. "Historia, it was never your fault. Your mother was a cruel, pathetic woman. You aren't to blame for what she said to you."

Historia stared at the ground, her voice carrying the same deadness when she told her story. "If I was never born, she would've been happier and… maybe she would've lived."

"She had an affair with a married man and couldn't take the consequences of her actions." Petra knelt down she could see her face. "She made you believe you were a mistake. You aren't. You never were."

"You're lying," Historia shot back, increasing the distance between them. "Just admit it. You hate me because I chose Ymir over all of you. I don't regret it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

The ginger quickly got up, though she didn't give chase just yet. She didn't want to scare her off. "Historia, I'm not going to pretend that I know what you went through, but I can at least understand the actions you took."

"You would have killed her if you had the chance," she accused.

"If she stood between me and saving Eren, I would have," Petra replied. "But we're not in the middle of a combat situation right now, and Ymir isn't with us anymore. You have to start thinking about what you're going to do now."

"It doesn't matter. I want to be left alone, but since I'm 'useful,' you can't even give me that," she said bitterly.

"And your friends? Are you okay with detaching yourself from them like this?"

"They were friends with Krista," Historia told her. "She never existed. She was just a mask I wore."

"The name is irrelevant, and you know it," Petra responded carefully. "Three years in the Cadet Corps isn't gonna go away just because you want it to. They still care about you, especially with everything you've gone through."

"Well, maybe I don't want them to!" The blonde finally snapped, glaring at Petra. "Maybe I'm fed up with all this bullshit, and I just want them to leave me alone. I don't care what any of you think of me anymore. Love me, hate me, I don't care."

Petra's face fell when she realized there was no getting through to her. She let out a sad sigh. "You let Ymir into your life, and she burned you by leaving you. It hurts to care, to let others into your life again, because of that risk. I can't fix it, Historia."

"I told you I want to be left alone," she replied with a scowl.

"You know I can't do that, not when you're a priority now."

"Fine. Whatever." Historia brought back the silence as she sat on a log with her back turned to her temporary bodyguard. It didn't matter if Petra was right. She was done trying to get people to like her. She was done trying to go out in a blaze of glory so that people would remember her fondly. If she was lucky, she would just wither and die while the world kept turning, but she knew that her life was a series of terrible misfortunes. She would never get what she wanted.


The next day, many of the group dispersed. Hanji and Levi's squads were sent on constant patrol, and half of the 104th were confined to the cabin for the time being. Naturally, Mikasa and Armin accompanied Eren for his experiments with Hanji while Annie and Dillon disappeared deep into the forest. It would be the first time the two were alone without being watched. Unfortunately for Historia, she was stuck at Levi's side to ensure her protection.

Naturally, all eyes were on the Rogue Titan, but it looked more deformed. It's body was skinny with its ribs poking out. It let out a pained roar before it collapsed to the ground with an impressive thud.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted fearfully.

"What's wrong, Eren? Get up!" Hanji ordered, staring down at him from atop a cliff. "The future of humanity depends on you, you lazy teenager. Come on."

Levi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Third time, and his Titan changed again. He's not even ten meters tall and his scrawny ass is sticking out."

The steam cleared a bit more, revealing the Eren's bottom half was indeed halfway out of the nape.

"I can see that," Hanji shot back with annoyance before shouting down at the Titan. "Think you can still move? Give us a signal or something, will you?"

Having enough of this, Mikasa leapt off her horse and dashed towards Eren. Jean's protests fell on deaf ears as usual.

Levi scoffed. "And, on cue, the brat goes to rescue him. She never learns."

"That's it. This experiment is over." Hanji grappled down the Titan with Moblit right behind her. She wrapped her arms around the unconscious teen and pulled. His head was still attached to the nape, and her skin was heating up. "Damn it, it's hot. Ease up on the steam a little."

"Be careful," Mikasa rebuked.

Part of Eren's face came free, and it nearly caused Mikasa to lose her lunch. His eyes were gone and his face looked like it was peeled off. His jaw was fully exposed, making him resemble his Titan form considerably.

Hanji squealed with delight. "Look at his face. Moblit, sketch it quickly!"

Moblit finally put his foot down. "Hanji, have you no sense of compassion!?"

Mikasa put in an end to the whole thing by slicing off the strands in a single swipe. Hanji and Eren fell backwards, the former coming to her senses.

"Uh, sorry about that," she said sheepishly.

"He's still not ready," Levi muttered, glancing at Armin behind him. "He exhausts himself too quickly, much less being able to harden. Best bet is to focus more on Annie if we even have a chance at sealing the wall."

The blond nodded in agreement. "There has to be a trick to the hardening, something we've overlooked. We find the missing component, we can pull it off without a hitch."

"Agreed. Go into the forest and retrieve the two immediately," the captain ordered. "We're falling back. And take a blindfold."

Armin raised an eyebrow. "A blindfold, sir?"

"They're horny teenagers with quite of bit of time on their hands. Put two and two together."

Armin's face flushed red as he ushered his horse into a gallop into the forest.

I don't care how it gets done. Levi thought to himself. Get Amsdale stabilized, and we'll have a good amount of power on our side.


Thinking fast, Dillon launched himself from the base of the tree just as a skinless foot smashed into it. A second slower, and it would take a scavenger hunt to find all the pieces. He propelled himself deeper into the forest with the Female Titan hot on his trail. Weaving around trees did little to slow her down, but a sharp right turn forced her to skid to brief stop before changing direction. The increased distance allowed for the Psion to turn around and go on the offensive.

His eyes turned silver, but instead of a mental attack, two blades flew out from his gear and cut off the fingers of a hand that reached to grab him. He circled towards her back and dug the blades he currently had attached into her spine. While the spinal cord wasn't severed, the deep gash slowed her down. However, Annie was far from out of the fight. As Dillon went for her again, she launched a kick at him, though she was surprised to see him duck under her foot, slashing away out of desperation. He fired a hook at a nearby tree so he could retreat, but the aim wasn't good enough as the hook bounced off. Eyes widening, he fired the other hook into the lower area of a different tree with success. With only one cable attached, he spiraled towards the ground, forcing him to use his powers to cushion the fall. While his body survived the impact with only a couple of bruises, his ODM gear broke into pieces. He lost.

"Are you alright?" Annie asked, kneeling close to him with blue eyes full of worry.

"I'm still alive," he answered, grunting as he sat up. "I really hate this place."

"You're lucky if you get a good environment for your gear," she pointed out. "If not, you have to improvise."

"I know." With a sigh, Dillon gathered the broken gear and set them into a neat pile. Levi was going to be pissed, but it was a small price to pay for training. Still, he couldn't quite figure out what went wrong. His aim with the gear was almost always on point, so why did he screw up now?

It was always easy for Annie to pick up on his frustrations, and she knew what was going on. "You lasted longer than I thought you would. You gave me a good fight."

The Psion paused as he processed that statement. When her foot came at him… "I panicked," he admitted, levitating the broken blades to add to the pile. He couldn't quite look at her yet. "If I just kept my wits about me, that wouldn't have happened."

"Maybe, but you are improving. You're not a stone's throw away of having a nervous breakdown." Despite pulling her punches somewhat, Annie wouldn't dare tell him how close she came to actually hitting him. It was like dancing with death, but if he was better prepared to fight Shifters in the future, that outcome would always outweigh the risks. "That being said, you're not using your abilities to their full advantage. Last I checked, you could attack minds."

"Annie, that's an attack you're prepared for now," he explained, splashing water on his face to wash the blood away. "This is something you didn't see coming, and neither will they. Besides, with one less block to deal with, I can experiment."

"Everyone knows I can harden my skin, but I'm not gonna give up a powerful defensive and offensive ability because of that," she told him. "Those attacks are your strong suit. Use them."

Dillon let out a sigh and finally gazed at his girlfriend. His mind caught up with the fact she wouldn't hurt him now that the adrenaline rush wore off. "Fair enough. I guess we'd better go again."

Annie shook her head. "We've done enough with combat training."

"Then why haven't you detached yourself from… right. For my benefit." He should've guessed this would finally happen. Last time they did this was after he almost killed her in his mind. With the adrenaline rush dying down, he hoped he could still stand being near her.

Adjusting herself so she was sitting down, the Female Titan laid her hand flat on the ground. Usually, she had no problems with just picking him up, but this time, he needed to have the choice if the healing was going to continue, especially after she attacked him.

Fortunately, it was easy for Dillon to step onto her hand. That part, he trusted her on. Once he was raised to face level, however, he couldn't help but ask, "Now what?"

"We talk about something," she answered. "Do you want to start, or should I?"

"I can start." It didn't take long for Dillon to come up with a topic. "We're gonna get the hardening thing figured out."

Immediately, she frowned. "Just had to go there first, didn't you?"

"I know it's been bothering you, and this training session of ours was a fantastic distraction from that," Dillon pointed out simply.

"You're not supposed to be this perceptive," Annie muttered in annoyance, but she knew she couldn't dodge the issue. "Dillon, I've seen people defy the impossible on so many occasions, but there's one thing that has never changed: in order for a Titan body to exist, a live human has to be its host. No exceptions. That goes for hardening, too."

"But fragments of your crystal stayed behind even after you returned to your human form," Dillon said.

"Fragments the size of your hand, not enough for you to cement over the hole and call it a day. Unless the Scouts want to sacrifice me just to seal one hole, it's not gonna happen."

Dillon let out a disappointed sigh. "I don't suppose you saw a couple of boulders on the way to the Walls, did you?"

She shook her head. "You got lucky in Trost."

"Figured as much." He was crestfallen that he couldn't make her feel better.

"Has Captain Levi pulled you off cleaning duty?" she wondered, changing the subject.

He shrugged. "Three days of constantly cleaning Headquarters seemed to satisfy him for now. As long as we don't… do what we did that day while we're on duty, we should be able to stay on his good side."

She let out a snort. "I doubt we can ever make it to his 'good' side."

"Maybe." And just like that, the awkward silence returned to infect the couple. "We're really bad at this."

"Small talk was never our thing from the start," she admitted. "Granted, it was my bad idea."

He sighed. "So, now what?"

The Female Titan thought it over for a moment. Bogging each other down with serious issues wasn't going to help in this case, Titan form or otherwise. Trying to force regular conversations on each other only made things weird.

Her thoughts stuck on that one word: weird. There was one thing that helped Dillon loosen up around her Titan form, even if he never admitted it to her. She had to force herself to keep the smirk off her face to keep from giving her intentions away. If this idea worked, the rest would take care of themselves and give her quite the entertaining show in the process. If not, it would still be worth it. "Dillon, I need you to close your eyes for a moment."

He eyed her suspiciously. "Are you gonna drop me in the lake again?"

"No, I'm not. Just trust me on this, okay?"

Dillon snorted with barely-concealed annoyance, but he did as she asked. Nothing was happening until he felt himself getting pressed against her in some sort of hug as she sat down. Well, these gestures were always nice. The softness and warmth her body contained was always something to admire about Annie.

Suddenly, he furrowed his brows. Something was different about this hug. The place she had him on was soft, yet firm at the same time. For a second, her couldn't place the familiarity of this area. Then, his mind drifted to a particular encounter he had with her days ago. An intimate moment beside a lake with a lot of kissing, touching, and other things. The touch came to him first as he began to realize what was going on.

Dillon's eyes popped open, flabbergasted that his suspicions were correct. Annie had him pinned against her breasts. Okay, technically one of them, but still. He was close enough to really visualize the details for the first time. It was pink consisting of several, red lines evenly spaced across it. Part of him wondered if the pink was actually skin, but he was more hung up on the fact that it was bigger than his freaking body!

He finally looked up at the Female Titan, who was sporting one hell of a grin. "A-Annie!" he sputtered out at last.

"Took you long enough to figure it out." Her voice was dripping with pure, unadulterated smugness.

Dillon's face was about the same color as the pink parts of her body. "Wha-what-what is this!?"

"It's called a breast, Dillon," Annie answered, clearly enjoying his embarrassment. "You see, the females of our species have-"

"I know what a breast is, smartass," Dillon interrupted with a glare. "Why am I up against yours?"

"There's so much you don't know about me. I felt it was high time to educate you." It was hard to fathom that she was the same girl that thought she was too ugly to pull off a honeytrap scheme within the walls. While she was with Dillon, she couldn't help but feel just a bit more confident with him, knowing how he looked at her. That confidence was now pushing her beyond even what she would normally do. Why the hell not? "My current size is B860-W660-H860 in case you want to know. Finding that out was… awkward. I suppose everyone has their own curious stage."

"Alright, you've had your fun. Now, let me go." Dillon tried to push away from her massive mound, though from her vantage point, it looked like he was trying to do a push-up. His efforts were in vain since a human couldn't naturally lift a Titan's hand.

"Careful," Annie warned in a playful tone. "I may be a Titan, but I am also a woman. I should hope you remember how sensitive that area is."

He looked so mortified, freezing in place. "No. No, you mean you can feel… pleasure in this form?" The way he was talking, one would think she just confessed her plans for world domination.

"Oh, yes, but we are alone, now that I think about it. What do you think, Dillon? Care to satisfy some curiosities of yours?"

And just like that, his ability to speak was scattered to the winds. He couldn't process the words that just left her mouth and settled for just staring with an open mouth. Forget having to deal with Ymir's Titan form. This was the real Hell. A giant, pink Hell.

Her chest rumbled a bit as foreign sounds escaped her. A glance at her mirth-filled face explained everything: she was laughing at him for the first time. "Oh, my God, this was better than I ever imagined it could be."

Any other situation, he would've found her laughter to be warming to his heart, but since he was the butt of her joke, he was fixated on that. "Ha ha. Very funny, Annie."

Annie gained control of herself quickly, smiling down at him. "I couldn't help it. The opportunity was too good to pass up."

"Does that mean you'll let me go now?" he hoped.

"Not a chance."

"Ugh," Dillon groaned. "Why not?"

"Because I want to help you," she answered seriously. "I know the part of you that's afraid of me still exists, but I also know there's another part that's attracted to me when I'm in this form."

The Psion winced in embarrassment. He wanted to deny the accusation, but he was an open book to her. "I, uh, didn't want to talk about it."

"Why not?"

"I mean… this is a Titan, for God's sake," he pointed out.

"Congratulations. Your eyes are still working," she deadpanned.

"You know what I mean," Dillon shot back. He wanted to slam his head against something in frustration, but considering the position he was in, it was probably in his best interests to avoid performing said action.

"You think you're the only one that's ever been attracted to a Titan's body? There have been countless moments in history of men and women fawning over the physical attributes of Titan Shifters." She chose to leave out the part where Marleyans were punished severely if they openly found their enemy attractive. "How many women do you think would find Eren's Titan form good-looking?"

Dillon furrowed his brows and thought it over. It was true the Rogue Titan's body was incredibly fit, something most men would kill for a body like that. Take away the Titan aspect and the rage that could burn down Districts… "It's possible there might be some," he conceded, though a thought occurred to him. "Annie, are you one of those women?"

"We're getting off the subject," she answered quickly.

"You are, aren't you?" Dillon accused.

"And you don't find your unclad, perky mentor easy on the eyes?" Annie questioned.

"...Touché."

"Dillon, it means a lot to me that you find me attractive, even when I'm like this," she said softly. "I can't ask you to forget what I've done, but… does this help you?"

Slowly but surely, Dillon started to take the Titan aspect out of this situation. As she liked to remind him, this was still Annie. He could even hear her heartbeat underneath all that flesh, a soothing rhythm to aide in her endeavors. "It does," he finally answered. Then, a thought soured the experience. "You're really good at helping me, Annie, so why can't I-?"

"This helps me, Dillon," she interrupted, instinctively pressing him a bit more against her chest. "Stop fretting over it and just relax."

If that didn't raise a red flag, he didn't know what could. She was dodging him, trying to distract him from the issue. "Okay, that's enough for a moment. Please lift me to your face," he requested.

Annoyed, Annie curled one of her hands around him and plopped him into her open palm before raising him up. "What?" she questioned.

"You're lying to me," he stated, crossing his arms.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you say to me?"

This time, he didn't flinch. "I may not be a genius like Armin is, but I do have a good memory. Remember when you tore me a new one when I was going through hell?"

"Of course I do, and I apologized for that," she answered, sounding defensive.

"But you were honest with how you really felt," Dillon pointed out. "You told me how much the world has taken out of you, how much I took out of you. And ever since then, you've been bending over backwards to keep my sanity in check while I've been twiddling my thumbs around your issues."

"You were mentally unstable, Dillon. You couldn't even help yourself, let alone other people." Even when she didn't mean to, Annie could still be cruel.

"And who's been helping you, Annie?" Dillon asked. "Who's been talking things out with you?"

"You, you damn idiot," Annie responded with clear frustration. "You saved my life, we hashed things out so many times-"

"Twice, Annie," he interrupted, holding two fingers. "Once after I almost killed you, and after I came back from healing my mother."

"Will you just get to the fucking point before I go find a lake to throw you in?"

"You're not letting me into your issues because you hate yourself."

The Female Titan froze, her eyes widening at his declaration. She opened her mouth to say something, but since she couldn't think of something to refute his words, and the fact that she was awful at speaking in Titan form, nothing came out.

He pressed his point further. "You keep pushing your problems aside because of how they affect me, especially when you cause them. You would do nearly anything to bring me out from drowning, damage control as you put it, but you sacrifice your own problems to fix mine. It's hurting you, Annie. You told me that, yet you keep pressing on with it because of all the guilt you feel. I never said anything because… let's face it. I'm a submissive bastard who likes Titan hugs. I fell into that trap, and it wasn't fair to you."

"Don't!" She sounded furious, but there was an incredible weight of grief in her tone. "Don't you EVER talk to me about fair. Fair is a slow and painful death for my crimes. I should be fed a Titan and still be alive long enough to dissolve in its stomach. Or even burned at the stake by every single person in these Walls. Marley, Eldia, it's all the same. I cause nothing but suffering and death. And I enjoyed it!" Just like before with Eren, giant tears were falling. "I broke you," she whispered. "It's my fault you ended up the way you are."

Dillon wrapped his arms around her face the best way he could. Granted, his clothes were stained thanks to her crying, but it was a small price to pay. Almost three weeks of pain, emotional agony, and nightmares were behind him. His future would always be tainted with those things, but there was something he could do that would make it less, and it was out of love, compassion, and mercy that allowed him to speak the three most important words he ever spoke. "I forgive you."

Annie stiffened, reaching up as if to pull him away. "Dillon, don't. Please," she begged. "Don't pretend for my sake."

"It's not a lie; it's the truth." He gazed into her big, silver-blue eyes. "There's nothing you, me, or anybody in this world that can take it all away, so stop trying. It's fruitless. There's only so much we can do. You are still the person I fell in love with, and if it takes the rest of my life, I will prove it to you."

Annie covered her face in a feeble attempt to hide her sorrow. She was so beside herself, she didn't know what to do. "You damn idiot," she cried. "It's not… I don't deserve this."

"That hasn't stopped me before and it won't now," he said seriously. "You need to let me help you, Annie. It can't be one-sided. Please, tell me how I can do that."

"I don't know!" The words came out in a wail, something Dillon didn't expect. "If I knew, I would tell you now, but I have no fucking clue. I don't…" There was nothing she could say.

Despite her face still covered, her mouth was free, which Dillon decided to kiss. "Then let's take the time to figure it out together, okay?"

Slowly, Annie lowered her hand, staring at the man she loved so dearly. "You are so stupid… and I wouldn't trade it for anything." The proof came in the form of giant lips on his face.

Once they were done with the kissing, Dillon said, "If you need me to, I can go back to your chest now."

"Oh, big sacrifice," the Female Titan responded with a roll of her eyes. "For my sake, your going back to the place all men adore. What a hero."

He chuckled, feeling slightly relaxed about the situation. "Thanks to you, it's my favorite place I wouldn't mind going back to a lot." Points for being brave enough to admit something like that for one. Progress.

"I definitely won't mind that." Annie brought him back down, a small, content smile appearing as she placed him against her breast. She kept her hand on him to keep him close to her.

"Hey, Annie?" he asked after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"That whole 'feeling pleasure as a Titan' thing was a joke, right?" he wondered with trepidation.

Her boyfriend was the gift that kept on giving. "No, it's completely true," she assured matter-of-factly. "I overheard my parents talk about it when they thought I was asleep. I haven't… tested it out myself, but now that I have you in a good spot-"

"They're pillows, okay!?" His shyness along with his high-octave voice was always a treat. "There's absolutely NOTHING sexual about pillows!"

The Female Titan let out a chuckle. Some things never changed. "If you insist, you dork. Oh, but before I forget…" Her tone rose to a stern level. "You even allude to Hanji that I can feel pleasure, and Titan or human, no boobs for life. Deal?"

"Deal," he promised

For once, she could feel like she could relax. Be together with Dillon in this moment of tranquility. She only hoped more of these moments would come no matter what came their way. Her eyes closed, leaning against a sturdy tree. For a time, there would be peace, and, for once, a sliver of hope filled Annie's head that she would continue to find it.


AN: So… I have some explaining to do, don't I?

Before you all come at me with flaming hatchets, let me say in terms of Dillon x Female Titan, this is as intimate as they will get in this story. I hope that relieves some of you, and to those that are disappointed that I've finally drawn the line, I'm sure you can find Titan lemons somewhere on the internet. Is the scene fanservice? Yes, it is. One hell of a risk I took in this story in my opinion, but the reasons for its existence are more important than the fact that Dillon gets one hell of a hug. Humor and heartwarming is what I hoped to accomplish. Annie's minor breakdown was also necessary, which I hoped showed how far the two have come since Day 1. She has her issues, and they need to be talked about.

I enjoyed giving Petra some screen time and I hope the role she was in was a good one. I know everyone else seems to be just standing around, but there's so many characters, some end up just existing. I'm doing my best to make sure other characters get the spotlight and not just Dillon and Annie. It's extremely tough, but I hope I can pull it off in this arc, even if the two are the main characters.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I will be VERY interested in hearing what you all have to say, and I'll see you in the next one.