A/N: Sorry this one took so long. School starting up, switching jobs, general lack of motivation. Also me being an uninspired hack :P In my stories and roleplays, I tend not to scene build very well. I'm going to try and fix that with this chapter. If it goes wrong, well, I'll know not to do it again.

Luc is based on Lovro from Assassination Classroom and Leon from The Professional.


Adjusting

Annie awoke with a start at the sound of a carriage outside. She almost had another moment of panic until she remembered where she was. She rubbed her eyes and leaned forward in the chair before looking to the window. It was later in the day if the lack of light was anything to go by. Letting out a sigh, she stood up and was surprised to see a blanket drop to her feet. Picking it up, she noticed also that a new table had replaced the old shattered one. The only thing on the new table was a plate with some bread and a note. So. He managed to wrap me in a blanket, get a new table, and get me food while I slept. Either he's gotten gentler or I was really dog tired. She thought. Bastard should have just stayed away. She added angrily, although the venom surprised. Why does he have to be so conflicting?

It still confused her just why he even bothered, but given the growling in her belly, she didn't really have time to consider it. With a sigh, she tossed the blanket on the chair and begrudgingly grabbed the bread, giving the note a look before rolling her eyes.

'Try not to break this one! :D'

She sat back down in the chair as she looked around the house. Standard home, two stories, small and compact. Waist high cabinet by the door with a strange plant on top with candles on either side, sitting by the window to get some light. Speaking of the door. Taking another bite of the bread, she stood and went over, sighing as she found it locked from the outside.

Knowing there was nothing upstairs except the room she woke up in, she instead walked towards the back of the house, which she soon found to be the kitchen as expected. A small wood stove and a sink with some cupboards were the only things in the room, the cupboards painted plain white. Bland. She commented as she finished her bit of bread. Wondering if he had anything else, she searched the cupboards only to be slightly annoyed to find them bare. Seeing two more doors after she finished slamming the cupboards closed, she checked the one on the right. It led out back, and once more was locked from the outside. The other door was also locked and probably went downstairs. "Locked doors everywhere. And I thought he wanted me out of a prison." She snarked to herself, though she was truly getting a mite frustrated.

Walking back into the dining room, she looked around once more. The walls were the same white as the cupboards, the only thing not the same shade of 'bleh' being the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The thing that really caught her eye on this second look, though, was the pictures on the wall. She recognized none of the people in them, but she realized that instead of the pictures that they had in Marley and other parts of the world, these seemed to be drawn. But they were done with such detail they looked almost lifelike. One thing she noticed above the others, however… "He's not in any of them."

"Hard to draw yourself." Came a voice from behind her. She whirled around and instinctively went for her ring, growling when she didn't find it. Before her was an older man with round glasses and a wool hat, a long grown beard on his face. He was dressed in a long dark gray trench coat that went down to his ankles. It was buttoned up the front save for the top, through which she could see a brown sweater over a dark blue button up. He wore brown leather gloves, one hand in his pocket while the other was at his side. Her training told her that he was armed, if the imprints along his belt were anything to go by. "Hello." He said with a small bow, his voice tinged with an accent that suggested Trost. "You must be Annie Leonhart."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who are you and how do you know me?"

He raised his hands as he began walking around the table towards the small tree. She circled with him, wanting to keep her distance. "My name is Luc. I am a friend of John's. Well, more like an adoptive father." He explained, coming up to the plant and examining it. He sighed softly and picked it up. "I'll be out of your hair soon. I just came to get Arbor."

"Arbor?"

He indicated to the small tree. "Arbor. My last one was destroyed when some asshole MPs decided they didn't like my interfering with their drug trade. John got me this one from one of the new Asian shops that have opened."

"Asian?" She asked, eyes widening slightly. "Hizuru is here?"

"Oh? You—" He shook his head. "Never mind. Of course you know." He began moving towards the backdoor and she moved with him, standing in his way. "My dear, I have a… thing about fighting women. Please move."

"You said your John's adoptive father right?"

"Yes. I found him in Trost."

"Then he trusts you. Almost implicitly. Right?" She asked, looking him over.

"My dear, if you're worried about me telling someone, don't." He said flatly, shaking his head. "I've only seen you once, and if John is correct, I probably won't again any time soon." He then chuckled. "Besides, I'm a very wanted man. Even if I traded you in, I'd be in for a lifetime of hard labor. Which is to say, not very long."

"Fair." She muttered. "Can I at least ask some questions before you go?"

He pursed his lips in thought before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a pocket watch. He gave it a look and tilted his head a bit as if considering. Finally, he closed it and set the plant down, leaning against the stove. "You may ask. I have a few moments to spare."

"Where am I?" She demanded first.

"Utopia. Although the name is very misleading."

"What year is it? I have an idea, but I want to confirm." She had heard Armin and Hitch enough to know the basics of what was going on. But some things still eluded her.

"852. You were trapped for two years, from what I understand."

"You said Asians. Hizuru is back in contact?"

"Yes. Apparently, one of the Scouts is some sort of member of a royal family, so they made friends with us real quick."

"Mikasa." She muttered.

"That's the one."

"What's changed? If Hizuru is here, that means the Titans must all be dead."

"Indeed. Using that Jaeger kids Titan or something, the military made some sort of weapon that killed the Titans in Wall Rose. Then they journeyed outside."

"And Marley? Are they still a threat?"

"From what I hear, Marlay or whatever they call themselves isn't particularly nice to anyone. They're already at war with a buncha other countries, the Eastern something. Doesn't stop them from sending people to kill us, though. Ships here and there, though I hear that the captured soldiers are adjusting pretty well. The Eastern idiots are too focused on Marley to bother with our island, thankfully. Hizuru is apparently the only country that don't hate us."

"You seem to know a lot." She pointed out rather suspiciously.

"While killing is my job, information is its currency." He said, shrugging.

"So what's your price?"

"This one's free. Consider it a housewarming gift. A lot more permanent than anything else I could give you."

She raised an eyebrow at that. Before she could ask what that meant, the back door opened. She was so distracted by the man she'd failed to realize he had to come in some way. Damn it, there goes my chance to get out. Whirling around, she came face to face with John, who just blinked as he looked between the two. "Luc." He said with a nod, giving him a quizzical look. "Little early for you to be coming back isn't it?" He tossed the bag in his hand onto the floor.

"Job finished a day before deadline." The older man said, standing straight and grabbing his plant. "Your girlfriend here was asking me a few questions." That statement made Annie half blush and half glare. John, meanwhile, just rolled his eyes. "Anyway. I figured I'd grab Arbor before I lost him forever. Don't want to miss the opportunity."

"Eh, fair enough." John said with a shrug. "Still going to Stohess?"

"Nah, after that letter goes through, I'm going to be target number two after you and Trey. I'm going to move to the far north outside the walls." Letter? Annie wondered, though she didn't voice her confusion. There were still too many variables here for her to get into with the stranger, especially now that John was here.

"Right. Know what Mr. Treybin's going to do?" John asked, sounding… worried? Annie couldn't tell. He still had the mask on.

"From what I hear, retire. Liquidate everything, leave what he doesn't need to his friends, and find a nice, secluded spot on a beach somewhere. Preferably away from the fighting."

John nodded. "Makes sense." He said, picking up the bag. "Did you bring your key, too, or?"

Luc took out a small ring with a few brass keys on it and tossed it on the stove. "Thanks for reminding me. While I wouldn't be opposed to keeping them, there's really no reason to. Especially since you added the new lock. I had to pick that one."

"Well, I mainly wanted one for her." The younger man said, indicating to the blonde. "For the time being, house is a house."

"Fair." He walked past the two, whispering something in John's ear that Annie couldn't hear. Once he was done, he went to the door and opened it. He gave a wave and a small bow. "Have a good life, Johnathan. It's been fun. I know there aren't words to sum up exactly how we feel, or if there are we can't say them. But all the same… thank you."

John turned fully and gave him a stiff nod. "Stay safe, eagle."

With one last nod, Luc took his leave. John sighed as he turned to Annie. For the first time she could recall, she saw sullenness on his features. Whatever is going on here has to be serious. I need to know, especially since it obviously concerns me. But before she could ask the pressing questions, she blurted out, "Are you ok?"

"Hm?" He responded, looking at her and blinking. Something seemed to click in his head as he put on a smile. "Oh, yeah, fine!" He was obviously lying.

She sighed. "John. You want me to be safe. Right?"

"Yes?"

"And how can I feel safe if I can't even trust you to tell me the truth?" Before he could lie again, she held up a finger. "He's getting his plant because he doesn't want to lose it forever." A second finger. "He's saying goodbye to you and acting like it's forever." A third. "And your employer, that old guy I heard you talking to earlier, is selling everything and flat out leaving." She put her hand down and crossed her arms. "All of this on top of some 'letter' that's been written, combined with the fact that I'm a wanted criminal now, means that you're probably planning on running. Not that I blame you. But what I do blame you for is not telling me. And a lie by omission is still a lie. So, please. Tell me the truth."

He took a breath and let it out slowly, letting the smile drop as his face turned serious. "End of the week, we're leaving Utopia."

"For where?"

"Either Orvud or to the far north of Maria."

Her eyes widened at the mention of Orvud. "You want to go further into the center?! Towards the MPs?"

"They wouldn't expect it. Especially if we go to the Underground. It's shitty, but cash is king and I have enough for it."

"That's so astronomically stupid." She stated flatly, glaring at him.

"People have done far stupider. Like Stohess." He shot back, causing her to flinch slightly. "Look, sometimes stupid and unexpected is what you want. In the letter, I state we're in Trost and that if they try to send anyone in, I'll… shift." He looked away at that.

"But you're not a shifter." She pointed out. "Although, I doubt they know that."

"For all they know, I am. Told them I was something stupid like 'The Berserker Titan'." He groaned and shrugged. "Look. All eyes will be on Trost. They'll be looking for us there and further south, even outside the wall. They won't expect us to not only be still inside the walls, but in the center wall."

"And when they don't find us out there, they'll come back. Not to mention they're not going to leave the capital completely unguarded. Plus, they know me. I won't be that easy to hide."

"That's why I brought some things to help with that." He said, jiggling the bag. "Hair dye, some make up. You won't look like you."

"So, let me get this straight." She began, glaring into his eyes. "Your plan for keeping me, enemy number one in the walls, away from the MPs that want to kill or capture me, AND you for helping me, is to blackmail them into thinking that not only are you a Titan shifter, but one that's willing to destroy an entire city to rescue me. And then you want to go deeper into their territory by living in perhaps what is the wealthiest district outside of the capital city. The district that probably has more MP presence than any other district." She crossed her arms and leaned in. "Do I even need to tell you?"

"No." He said quietly. "But I'm desperate here, Annie. I don't know what else I could do. Can't run to Marley, can't go to Hizuru, and those are the only ones that'd bother letting us live…. What would you rather me do?"

She let out a long breath as she rubbed her eyes. "I don't know what's worse. The fact that this stupid plan is the best you could come up with. Or the fact that I'm actually considering it."

"Well, the plan is to run regardless." He reminded her. "We have some time to figure out specifics. But I've already gone through the trouble of getting papers for us both and I have a blacksmith friend who's going to help me disguise you."

"You see where I might have a problem with this plan now that you tell me there's a third person who knows about me?"

"He knows he's coming to help with something." He corrected. "He doesn't know it's you."

"That's even WORSE, John."

"It'll be fine, Annie." He assured, tossing the bag into her chest where she caught it. "Got a few things to choose from in there. Take your time and pick."

Her eye lids dropped as she looked at him unamused, shoving the bag back. "I haven't even agreed to anything yet."

That caused him to actually look shocked. "And what does that mean?"

"It means that even if my father is dead, I might be able to go home and live a better life than I would here. For what little time I have left. Maybe I'll just let them capture me and feed me to someone. Maybe I could work out a deal." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're not my only option, John. I don't even know if you're my best. I honestly don't even know what I want anymore."

He looked her over for a moment before he shrugged. "I can't tell you that, Annie. It's been a long while since I really knew you. Only thing I know about you is what kind of person you used to be." He then gave what she noticed to be the first genuine smile she'd seen from him. "And that no matter what, if you want peace, I'll do whatever it takes to get it for you."

There was something about the look on his face she couldn't describe. She knew how absolutely naïve such a sentiment was, and she knew he had to as well. But in spite of this, his words and his expression hit upon something in her and made her feel… Safe? She didn't. Happy? She really didn't. Inspired? Maybe. He has an uncanny ability to make people trust him. She let out a groan and closed her eyes. Damn it, this is going to go wrong, I just know it. Finally, she snatched the bag out of his hand and went to the dining room, heading for the stairs. "I'll be down when I've 'changed'. But I'm keeping my sweater."

He shrugged, although he knew she couldn't see it. "I'm downstairs, just knock!" With a sigh, he pulled out a key and unlocked the basement door, heading down to his bedroom. He made sure to lock the door behind him.


She didn't know what was more embarrassing. That she, Annie Leonhart, had agreed to such a stupid plan, or that she was actually looking between the various dyes and cosmetics with a discerning gaze. Maybe I should paint myself like a clown. Everyone ignores the clowns. She thought, the idea of getting under John's skin appealing. But she let out a grunt as she realized that not only wouldn't that be possible (he didn't have any weird colors) but it'd just make their situation more tense. Finally making a decision, she grabbed the brown dye for her hair. I can powder and apply lipstick when I leave the house. No need otherwise.

Moving to the door, she opened it to yell for a mirror and some water, but there was already a bucket waiting with a small silver mirror. It must have been put there while she had napped. A small smiley face was drawn in water on the mirror. With an exasperated sigh, she retrieved the mirror and bucket before slamming the door. "He's going to piss me off." She growled. Setting up the mirror, she took off her jacket and sweater, not wanting to stain them. She undid her hair and fluffed it a bit, gathering some water and going through the pain staking process of making sure no blonde shown through. After an hour, her hair was a dark earthy brown, and she honestly thought she looked hideous. Then again, not like I'm trying to seduce anyone. She reasoned with a shrug as she began stripping.

Why am I like this with him? She questioned herself as she tossed her jacket aside. Why do I let him get under my skin? Out of everyone in the world, why is he the only one that makes me feel different? That makes me feel… normal? She didn't act like herself around him. She knew it. But as she took off her hoodie and her shirt, she couldn't help but question why that was. Honestly, I feel like if he told me we were moving to the sun, I'd do it. She mused sadly, taking off her boots and sliding down her pants. He's such an idealist. I think he's where I became fascinated by the idea of someone dying for a cause. But why does he still make me so angry?

Sighing, she put on the new clothes he bought her and stuck the others in the sack. Is it because he never lies? Or is it just because he makes me feel like I'm a normal person after everything? She shook her head and hesitated when it came time to toss her MP jacket, giving it a look. After a few moments consideration, she tossed it on the bed next to her sweater. I'm not a normal person. I'm a soldier. And yet… The rest of the clothes, and the materials she didn't use, she put in the bag and tossed it down the steps. Putting her hoodie back on, she made her way downstairs. Figure it out later. She told herself as she got to the ground floor.

John was sitting at the new table, apparently drawing something. It didn't look as neat as the items on the wall, but it wasn't too bad. Looked like a bird of some sort. She held back a scoff. Acts big. But draws birds for fun. I don't know if he's a really good actor or just a wimp. She sat down across from him and put her feet on the table, looking at him expectantly. However, he didn't looked up from his drawing. Some things never change. She thought wryly, although she couldn't help but smile at it. Maybe that's a good thing. Putting her feet down, she leaned over the table and stared for a few moments. Still no response from him. Sighing, she kicked his leg, causing him to jerk.

"Hey! You could've ruined it!" He protested, looking up at her before blinking. "Brown. Not a bad choice. Looks good."

She rolled her eyes. "If you say so. Aside from looking in order, I've never really cared. I suppose that's going to have to change now." She sighed. "I honestly don't know why the hell I'm agreeing to this."

"I mean. I'd say something but I don't want you to try and kill me." He muttered. Receiving a glare, he relented. "Look, my opinion? After everything you've done to survive and try to get home, I don't think you're the type to just roll over."

"I'm not. You're right. That still doesn't mean I like your plan."

"Do you have to, as long as it works?" He retorted, going back to his drawing.

We're just going to get into a loop again. She noted internally, shaking her head. Changing the subject, she indicated to the picture. "What's up with the drawing?"

"Like it? I developed this as a hobby when I wasn't breaking kneecaps or crushing fingers. Helps distract people. And explains my income for anyone interested."

"Speaking of. How'd you get wrapped up in the life of a petty thug? I assume it has something to do with 'The Eagle'. What's with that name anyway?"

"Snake eagles are common around here. He kills people who welched or went back on their deals. So, snakes. Plus, he likes striking from above from the direction of the sun. Like Eagles do."

She shook her head. "That's one of the worst aliases I've heard."

"It works." He shot back, shrugging. "I didn't come up with it. He didn't either."

"Well, whoever did is an idiot."

"Maybe." He agreed. "But doubt it matters much now. He'll probably go by something different after today."

She pursed her lips in thought. "You obviously sent the letter under an alias. Right?"

"Of course."

"So why do they have to hide from their association with you?"

"You really think that alias is going to hold out forever?" He set the now finished drawing down and slid it over to her. "They're hunting down the Female Titan. As far as I know, the Queen might honestly allow them to go back to the bad old days of corruption just to find you."

"So. You uproot your life, your 'fathers' life, and your employers life. All for me. You can still imagine why I'm more than a little suspicious of you."

"Are we really going back to this?" He groaned, leaning back in the chair.

"No." She said with a sigh. "I'm… sorry, John. It's been a long time. You've changed. I've changed. Everything has changed. I'm still adjusting. And it doesn't help that it's you of all people."

"Me of all people? What, don't like me?" He said, smirking.

"You know, I forgot how annoying you could be." She glared at his smirk, causing him to relent. "You're probably one of the only people in this world I still care about that doesn't hate me or isn't in Marley. And for the life of me, I can't figure out the first part."

"Well, since you want me to tell the truth, I see no point in hiding it. I like you, Annie. Always have. Cute, strong, and your cold attitude has its own attraction."

"Not cute." She corrected. "And my cold attitude exists for a reason."

"Yet not really when you're with me." He shot back. "Why?"

"I'm asking myself that." She muttered. "If I had to guess, you're just the only one who ever gave a damn. No matter what."

"You can chalk that up to me liking you. Love at first sight."

She rolled her eyes at that. Doubt anyone could love me after 10 years, much less one glance. "So who's this friend of yours?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Blacksmith. He'll get you outfitted with some jewelry and glasses."

"I don't wear those things."

"That's why it's perfect."

"John. I'm not going to be a porcelain doll." She protested quietly.

"I know that, Annie. But I banked on Orvud already. And like you said, they know you. So you have to look as little like you as possible."

Criminal 101. Can't find you if the you they know doesn't exist. She reasoned internally. "Alright." She said with a sigh. "But I want him to know who I am first.

"He will once you get here. He should be here in an hour or so."

"Hope he's trustworthy."

"He is, Annie."

"... John, I think I know the answer, but tell me something: if I tried to continue my mission-"

"I'd kill you in a heartbeat." He said without hesitation, giving her a cold glare.

"That's what I thought." She said with a sigh. "I suppose I should thank you. Not just for freeing me, but not actually hurting me. Other people wouldn't have been so kind."

"I'm not other people." He reminded her.

With a small, genuine smile, she nodded. "You're right. You're not."


A/N: Well, that's that for chapter 3. Again, sorry it took so long. Something just didn't feel right about it, but I feel better about it now. If you guys think Annie's out of character, let me know, please!