Kenny Ackerman was striding through the dark streets of the underground. One of his contacts told him about some nosy MP trying to get information on the king, and Kenny felt obliged to deal with him personally. After all, that was what he had been famous for. It was really ironic that he ended up serving in the military police.
'Crazy times we're livin' in' he thought as he walked in silence.
One day he would hunt some military policemen, the other he would sit with them at one table, drinking along. Recently there had been an unrest regarding the Yeager kid and his trial and so, Kenny was working day and night.
'I wonder if this is really, what Uri had in mind…'
He stopped abruptly. His instincts taught him, that it was wise to be careful when following someone, especially when he couldn't hear any footsteps. His target had stopped, probably because he noticed he was being followed. Kenny looked around. This was a deserted part of the town.
'No need to worry 'bout the noise…'
He stood in front of some dark alley.
"Alright, kid" the tall man exclaimed loud and clear "I know you're here. Come out, now and let's get this over wi-…"
Suddenly an explosion ripped through the air, and just as quickly, a giant clawed hand grabbed at Kenny.
"Arghh!" The man wailed as he was squeezed by the large claws.
From the fumes coming out of the alley, a brown-haired boy emerged. He was connected to the scarce body that was holding Kenny.
"Wait, kid!" Kenny pleaded as the unfamiliar feeling of fear washed over him "I was just playin' with you, we don't need to…"
"Kenny the reaper" the boy exclaimed as he looked him over "just the man I wanted to talk to. I have a few questions."
Looks like the boy wasn't just a dumb, nosy MP. Kenny cursed under his nose. He had been played.
"Who is the real king?" He asked.
"The hell you're talkin' 'bout?" The tall man replied trying to sound convincing "the king is pretty well-…"
"Arghh!" He yelled as he had been squeezed even harder.
"Wrong answer" the boy said "it's in your eyes. This isn't the first time you're seeing this kind of power, is it?"
"It's Rod Reiss, okay?" Kenny wailed as he felt the pain of his ribs being crushed "now, put me down!"
"Rod Reiss" the young MP acknowledged "but he isn't in possession of the founding titan, is he?"
"…The hell you-…"
"Arghh!" The tall man cried out once again as he heard sounds of few of his bones cracking "…no…!"
"Who took it?"
"…Some guy...! He had a power of his own…!"
"Thank you" the boy exclaimed as he relieved the pressure.
Kenny fell to the ground, struggling to breathe.
"…You think you can just run from this…?!" He yelled as he desperately tried to stand up.
"Well," the boy replied "you don't look like you're going anywhere, so…"
"…You're dead, you lil' shit…!" Kenny cried out "every MP will go looking for…"
"I don't think so."
"Huh?" The tall man looked up.
"You've just betrayed your superior" the brown-haired boy explained "in any case, you're the one who's dead."
Kenny looked down with an angry grimace.
"I think I have a pretty good idea of what kind of man you are" the young MP said, "you'd rather comply with someone you hate, than let yourself be crushed by him."
In his mind, Kenny knew the boy was correct. Yet, he didn't want to show it.
"Bullshit…!" He spoke "how can you be sure I won't talk?!"
"You value your own life" the boy said.
In that moment, Kenny stopped trying to stand up. He fell to his knees, angry at his inability to do anything.
"I know someone" the MP continued "who would rather be killed than comply with someone stronger. And let me tell you, you're nothing like him."
"This is the last thing he said on his deathbed…" Levi said as he finished the story.
It has already been a few days since the coronation. The scouts, along some high-ranked officers were having a special meeting with the queen.
"We must assume the enemy knows about Eren possessing the power of the founding titan" Erwin concluded.
The boy in question once again thought about his role. He was supposed to be the beacon of hope, yet he couldn't use the power which could save his people.
"What he told you" Hange stated as she looked at the small box from Kenny "confirms much what Dina had told us before."
"I never had any reason to lie…" said woman interjected with annoyance in her voice.
"It doesn't confirm everything you said" Armin spoke coldly.
"Anyway" Hange continued "we have to decide on what to do with all the information we have."
That caused some commotion among the officers. The truth was the very thing they wanted to achieve with the coup, but nobody could predict what the people would think about the new regime, when presented with ground-breaking information, supported with little evidence.
"If you asked me" Pixis started "I would just release it to the press."
"Actually" Armin suddenly said, "I have an idea."
Everyone looked towards the blonde boy.
"What if we released it in lesser newspapers as speculations and theories?" He proposed "this way the people wouldn't consider it another lie from the government, and we could make good grounds for the actual evidence."
Eren liked this idea. The people would learn the truth and not think ill of the queen.
"This is a brilliant idea" Historia exclaimed "Armin, would you like to be in charge of that?"
Said boy spurted a blush at that.
"Yes, of course" he exclaimed as he looked down.
Eren glanced at the queen. Each passing day, she was becoming brighter and prettier in his eyes. He never felt like this before. Ever since the day she saved him in the chapel, he began to admire Historia more and more.
One of her first decisions was to create an orphanage for the kids from the interior. Surprisingly, the person who supported her the most with this idea was captain Levi. And so, Historia would spend some of her days on the farm, taking care of the orphans.
Eren watched the queen as she played with the children. Usually, he would train the hardening with Dina, but this was one of his free days. He looked around and noticed none of his friends were here. Armin along with Sasha and Connie, were still helping with distributing the news to the lesser newspapers. Mikasa decided to help with recruiting new soldiers for the incoming wall Maria recovery operation. Jean, being himself, couldn't pass on the occasion to spend some alone time with the dark-haired girl and tagged along.
He wondered if his friends somehow knew what was coming.
"Eren" Historia called for him "could you help me with something?"
She motioned for him to go into a barn.
"Can you help me with the straw?" The girl said while handing him a pitchfork.
As they were working together, Eren once again, thought about what happened between them.
"Did you really mean it?" He asked her suddenly.
Historia stopped in her tracks to look at him.
"What?" She asked.
"The things you said in the Reiss chapel."
The blonde girl looked down. Eren swore he could see a hint of blush on her cheeks.
"Oh" she exclaimed "that…"
The boy put down the pitchfork and walked over to her.
'This is it. Now or never.'
"You know, I didn't really…" Before she could finish, Eren closed her lips with his own.
In this moment, the time seemed to have stopped. It seemed as if there wasn't anything else on this world other than the two young adults.
Eren reached behind the girl, to pull her closer. When their bodies touched, Historia put her small hands on the sides of his face. The soft, caring fingers were sending tingles of electricity down the boy's spine.
After what seemed to be hours, the two separated. Breathing heavily, they were looking into each other's eyes.
"So" Eren started "did you really mean all that?"
"Yes" Historia replied with a dreamy voice.
The two sat at the entrance to the barn. The sun was setting, and an orange hue tinted the sky.
"We should tell our friends" the blonde girl said slowly.
Eren thought about that for a second.
"Not yet" he responded, "not before we take back wall Maria."
The girl looked down.
"What is it?" Eren asked.
"All of a sudden, I don't want you to go…" Historia replied "I became the queen because I knew you would help me, but if something happened to you…"
"Historia" the boy exclaimed "I have to go. Nobody else can seal the hole in Shiganshina."
"Maybe Dina…"
"It has to be me" he interjected "this was my home… I have to do it myself."
The blonde looked towards the setting sun, with sadness in her eyes. Suddenly, she turned to face him.
"Could you at least stay until tomorrow?" She asked "here. With me. Please…"
Eren leaned over and kissed her for the second time.
"I'd like that" he said with a smile "I think I really would."
