Eren wasn't sure how long they have been in this goddamn hand but it certainly felt like forever.
After that little breakdown, Annie refused to make eye contact with him, creating a rather awkward atmosphere.
Shifting his sleeping position a bit, Eren tried to fall back to his peaceful slumber but he felt her eyes staring at the back of his head.
He wasn't that stupid, he sensed her desire to say something but the words wouldn't fall out of her mouth.
Frustrated but still a bit uncertain about this entire situation, he waited for her to use her voice.
Nothing.
There was no way he would be able to sleep through this.
Finally, he jerked himself up and whipped his head back to face her, but almost instantly, her eyes flickered towards her hands instead.
Groaning internally, the boy frowned, uncomfortably trying to adjust his bound hands.
Damn, the strip of cloth that held them together was biting into his skin; a burning sensation digging itself deep into his bones.
"Hey, can you untie me?" he asked, trying to loosen them as best as he could.
"No."
It was a very straightforward answer that for a second Eren was taken aback.
"U-Um, why?" he snapped, trying to recover from his minor surprise.
"You'll escape." She blinked, her gaze still on her fingers.
Eren stayed silent.
Yeah, he would probably shift if he had the chance…
There weren't any objections there.
"Then where are we going?"
Slowly, those familiar pool of blue orbs rested on his face.
He swallowed, his heart pounding against his chest.
Something about that look sent chills down his spine.
"Home."
Silence.
Huh?
Home?
"What?" he growled. "Stop playing with me."
"Playing?" Annie suddenly hissed, her tone slicing through the air. "Do you think this is a game?"
"I-I never said…that…" he mumbled.
Dammit.
He was stuttering again.
For a split second her expression softened but the coldness in her eyes didn't fade.
Tucking a lock of her golden hair behind her ear, she shot him another glare before averting her eyes back to her nails.
Another moment of silence.
And then,
"Forget what you saw."
Eren's eyes snapped open before processing her words.
"Huh? Forget what?"
His eyes tried to peer through her curtain of hair that was doing a pretty good job at veiling her face.
He noticed her gently bite her lower lip as she carefully raised her head to look at him, those golden threads swishing around her ears.
"Never mind."
Eren took a moment to realize what she meant.
"Ah," he blinked, nodding his head. "Yeah, I'll forget about that little…meltdown."
"Don't call it a meltdown." she snapped, narrowing her eyes.
"Y-You just lost self-control! T-That's normal! Kind of…"
He saw a flash of anger run across her face and he immediately regretted his poor choice of words.
"U-Uh, w-what I meant to say was," he began, a smile awkwardly tugging at his lips. "I-I'll forget it. I won't ever mention it again and I won't tell anyone either…"
She looked at him with an expression that Eren couldn't quite put his finger on.
Another gentle shiver crawled down his back.
"Is that so…?" she whispered.
He said nothing.
A few more minutes seemed to have passed.
And then,
"Eren I'm going to ask you a question."
He mentally flinched.
"What is it?" he asked, his voice a bit higher than usual.
"Can I…" she trailed off before exhaling.
Gently she rested her head against the fingers of Vadil's titan body before letting her shoulders relax, her expression softened, and her eyes slowly began to close.
"Can I sleep…?"
There was another meaning to that wasn't there?
Eren knew there was another meaning to that sentence.
Can I lower my guard enough to sleep?
Can I leave myself in a vulnerable position?
That was what she was asking…
In a simpler term, it would probably be the question
Can I trust you?
It was kind of ironic.
She was the murderer here.
She was the monster here.
She was the traitor.
While he was the victim.
He was the one who was kidnapped by her, betrayed by her, manipulated by her…
She was the one who took him away from his friends and family.
And yet, she was asking him if she could trust him?
He couldn't even trust her.
But could she trust him?
Could a murderer trust a victim?
No.
Logically speaking, the predator can't trust the prey.
What if the prey became the predator?
But this was a special case.
Annie was a special case.
Eren was a special case.
And so, with a deep sigh and tired eyes, he massaged his forehead before mumbling, "Yeah…sleep, Annie."
Silence.
He glanced up and blinked.
She was already asleep.
He watched her, holding his breath as she softly shifted herself against the meat walls.
Sighing in relief, Eren slumped against the 'floor' before letting exhaustion settle over him once more.
He glanced over at Annie once more, making sure that she was really drifted off to dreamland.
Her breathing was slow and deep and her hair that was usually in a bun was untied, shimmering like real gold. That intimidating look that was always on her face seemed to have been melted away by the soothing whispers of sleep.
Eren blinked, a strange feeling enveloping him.
For a second, for a split very short second, Annie actually looked kind of…
Pretty.
Instantly, he aggressively shook his head, anger and confusion washing over him once more.
What the hell was he thinking?!
At a time like this he was staring at some girl?!
And this girl just so happened to be a traitor to humanity!
This girl just so happened to be a freakin shifter who killed countless people!
And here he was letting his hormones rage.
Irritated, he rested his head against the pathetic excuse for a floor and closed his eyes.
For now, he'll let his guard down too…
But that didn't mean that he trusted her!
Yeah…
He would never trust her…
He would never trust her again…
Even if his life depended on it.