Chapter 8! Just some more interaction between the two. They go on a lunch date and comtemplate stuff. Next chapter, Annie's gonna try and kidnap Eren on the 57th expedition beyond the walls. Enjoy :)

Chapter 8:

Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie sat around a lamp that lit up the darkness of the night. They had snuck out of their respective quarters to discuss their next course of action.

"I think it's safe to say," Reiner said, arms crossed and looking serious as ever, "that Eren is the key that we've been searching for. Therefore, capturing him and bringing him back to our home should be our top priority."

Annie nodded. "He's too stubborn to be convinced to come quietly though, so we'll have to kidnap him."

"Right." Reiner agreed. "Now we know that in two days, the Scouts are embarking on an excursion beyond the walls. My squad leader briefed us on the plan. We'll be using commander Erwin's long-range scouting formation." Reiner picked up a stick and drew the formation to the best of his abilities. A semicircle, with different sections took shape.

Reiner drew an x near the left rear of the formation. "This is where Eren is supposed to be, according to my squad leader."

"That isn't where my squad leader said he'd be." Bertholdt interjected, furrowing his brow. "I was told he'd be closer to the front."

"Hm. This complicate things." Reiner looked up at Annie. "I can't use my titan because I need to maintain my cover. And obviously Bertholdt can't use his, because he'd be too slow. So you're going to have to be the one to grab Eren."

Annie nodded. She was ready to do whatever it took to make sure Eren was safe. She wasn't going to fail. She wouldn't allow herself to fail, not when Eren's life was on the line. "Whatever it takes." She muttered with determination.

Reiner looked at her. Annie couldn't tell what he was thinking. "You know, a lot of our old classmates are going to be on this trip. You're going to have to be prepared to kill them, you got it?"

Annie flashed back to Trost, and Marco's horrific death. A death she was responsible for. Just thinking about it made her sick, but she swallowed her nausea and looked back at Reiner, determined. "I can handle it."

Reiner closed his eyes. "Good." He drew another x, closer to the edge of the formation. "This is where I'll be. The info I received on Eren's position may not be completely true. If that's the situation, Armin is near my position. His intuition has never failed us before, and it probably won't fail us now. I'll subtly ask him about where he thinks Eren is, once shit hits the fan. Find me, and I'll carve the information into your titan's hand."

Annie nodded.

"Good." Reiner said, pausing. "We'll get him, Annie. When we do, we'll bring him back home, safe and sound."

Eren was sitting down under a tree, and Annie rested her head in her lap. He stroked her hair slowly, wondering what was going on in her head. She had long since joined the military police, and now that he himself was a Scout, the two had very little time to spend with each other. She seemed pleasantly surprised to see him when he visited her and asked her to spend the day with him before he went on his trip, so he was pretty sure things were okay between them, but he couldn't help but think that she seemed a little more distant than usual.

"You sure it's okay that you're not at work?" He asked.

Annie shrugged off the question. "It isn't like I do anything there anyways. The senior officers in the MP are all lazy slackers. They probably won't even notice I'm gone."

Eren shrugged. "If you say so." He looked down and met her blue-gray eyes with his own. He again thought to himself how lucky he was. Yeah, sure, on the outside, Annie was cold and apathetic, but deep down inside, she was a wonderful person. She genuinely cared about him, and he cared about her.

"What?" Annie asked. "You're giving me that stupid look again."

Eren realized that he had been smiling. "Sorry. I just missed you a lot, is all."

A smile tugged at the corner of Annie's mouth. "I missed you too."

Eren looked up. "I wonder what Commander Erwin is trying to accomplish with this excursion."

"You don't know, then?" Annie asked.

Eren shook his head. He had asked, but Erwin hadn't answered. "He's keeping quiet about his intentions. Says it's classified. Must be super important, I guess."

"Try not to worry about it that much. How about we go out for lunch?"

Eren looked back down at Annie. "I don't have any money to pay for us."

Annie sat up and brushed the dirt off herself. "I do. Comes with being an MP, we get a decent amount of pay."

Eren looked away, bringing a hand up to his cheek. "I don't want you paying for me, Annie."

"Eren, do you want food or not?"

He did, so he reluctantly agreed. They walked around the district, looking for places to eat. Eren was a little surprised to see the quality of food. There were cuts of meat, cheese, and what looked to be those pastries that Eren had always heard about, but never even seen before.

"What do you want?" Annie asked.

"Whatever you're having is fine," Eren replied, trying to sound nonchalant. He wanted to try everything, but he also didn't want to be greedy with Annie's money. He already felt insecure that she was paying for him. He had never had a lot of money in his life, and being fed from money out of other people's pockets was not something he was comfortable with.

"Two sandwiches, two flasks of orange juice, and two pastries." Annie told a merchant, counting out coins in her hand. The vendor placed the food in a leather sack and held it out in one hand, and extended his other hand, palm out. Annie placed the coins in his hand and took the bag from him. Eren watched the transaction, feeling slightly guilty.

"Where do you want to eat?" Annie asked.

"Oh," Eren said, "I've got an idea."

Eren had seen the area on his way into the main city, and had been wanting to take Annie there at some point. It was right by a small river, with an elegant yet simple wooden bridge spanning the water. Off to the side was a small circular wooden gazebo, close enough to hear the soft trickling of the water running. Eren led her there, and they walked in silence, hand in hand.

The couple sat down on the gazebo floor and began to unpack their food. Eren passed Annie a sandwich, a flask of juice, and one of the pastries. "I'm sorry you had to pay for me," he said.

"Don't worry about it, Eren." Annie reassured him. "I don't mind. Besides, you're about to go on an expedition, it's the least I can do."

Annie's expression darkened at the mention of the excursion. Eren figured she was worried about him. going outside the walls like they he was about to do was, after all, very dangerous. It was only natural that she would be upset at the prospect of him leaving.

"Hey," Eren said, lifting her chin so that their faces were close, "don't worry, Annie. Everything's going to be fine. I'm going to come back to you, okay?"

"I know..." Annie said, but she didn't seem convinced. "It's just... I worry, Eren."

"Well, don't." Eren said. He put on a brave smile for her. "I promise I'll kill a whole bunch of titans for you."

Annie sighed, and kissed him on the cheek. "If you say so."

Eren took a bite of the sandwich. It was good. It had lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and some meat he was unfamiliar with, but enjoyed nonetheless. All the ingredients were fresh, and the bread was soft, unlike the hard loaves that were available for soldiers and the lower class. It was the first time he had ever tasted something this refined, this high-class. He savored every bite and was grateful Sasha wasn't around. She'd be able to sniff the sandwich from miles away, and would probably beat Eren up for it.

Eren took the glass flask and looked inside at the liquid inside. Orange juice, he had remembered Annie call it. Well, it was orange, and it was juice, but it couldn't be juice from actual oranges, could it? Those were only grown in the far interior and were super expensive. He took a sip. Sweet, delicious, and ever so slightly tart.

The pastry though, was the best part. It looked like sugary bread with an indent in the middle, which had been filled with fruit jam. Eren took a bite. And then, surprised by its delicious flavor and texture, took another, and another.

"Annie?" Eren asked, mouth full of food.

"What?" Annie replied.

"Thanks for lunch."

"Don't mention it."

"I love you, Annie."

Annie sighed again. "Well, you're an idiot." She placed her head on his shoulder anyways. "But I love you too."

Annie was grateful that Eren decided to walk her back to the station. It wasn't that she was scared or anything, she just preferred his company. It again struck her as odd that she had become so close with him. Under normal circumstances, she would have wanted to be left alone. Eren though, Eren was special. He was the only person whose company she didn't tire of after twenty seconds.

Apart from Mina that is. Annie's mind took her again to that street in Trost, after Eren had sealed the gate. The corpse that she had seen, gear broken, head bitten half-off, but otherwise intact. Intact enough, that is, for her to recognize the hairstyle. Long, dark hair tied in two short pigtails at her shoulders.

"I'm sorry..." She remembered telling the body of her best, probably only, friend. She knew that she was responsible for her death, or at the very minimum, involved.

"Sorry for what?" Eren asked.

Annie realized she had spoken out loud. "Oh. Nothing." She said, turning her head back down to the ground as they continued to walk. "I was just thinking about someone."

"It's Mina, isn't it?" Eren said, voice low.

Annie nodded. "How did you know?"

"Because she was your best friend." Eren replied. Annie saw him furrow his brow. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her."

Annie felt bad. Eren blamed himself for Mina's death, for all of their deaths, even though he wasn't the one involved with the group responsible. She was. "It wasn't your fault." She said.

"If I hadn't stupidly gone to kill that titan, they wouldn't have followed me." Eren brooded. "My choice killed them. Their blood is on my hands. I'm not going to let it happen again."

"Let's not focus on that right now." Annie said, to which Eren nodded. Annie wished she could tell him everything, that it wasn't his fault but she knew she couldn't. Not yet at least.

"I just wish this world would be over. I want to be with you, peacefully, quietly, away from this. The titans, the needless death, everything." Eren said. "I don't want to live in a world where we're caged like animals, at the mercy of those damn titans.

They stopped in front of a wooden door with the insignia of the Military Police. "This is goodbye, I guess. At least, until I get back from the expedition."

Annie turned and grabbed Eren's shirt, pulling him down to her height, and kissed him softly. She savored the feeling of his lips on hers; she knew that it wasn't likely they'd do so again, at least for a long time. Even if she did succeed in her mission, and she brought him home with him, he would find out what was going on. There was no telling how he would react.

She pulled away from his lips and looked down, avoiding his gaze. "Good luck." She said. With that, she turned and stepped into Military Police headquarters and closed the door.

Hitch, Annie's roommate, was waiting for her inside. "I was wondering when you'd show up." She chided. "Is he the reason you skipped out on work today? Ooh, is he your boyfriend?"

Annie walked past Hitch without glancing at her. "That's none of your business." She didn't like Hitch much. She would always tease Annie in an effort to provoke a reaction, much to Annie's annoyance.

Hitch giggled. "Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I went and had a little fun with him."

Annie turned and snarled. "Touch him and I'll break all of your fingers and toes." She hated the idea of anybody trying to make a move on Eren. She knew Eren would never cheat on her, but didn't anybody respect the sanctity of a romantic relationship?

"So he is your boyfriend." Hitch teased. "Shame. He's cute. You'd better keep him close, or else I might wind up in his pants. How is he in bed?"

Annie suppressed the urge to grab the nearest blunt object and beat Hitch over the head with it. She began walking up the stairs to their shared room, dreading tomorrow.

Why did Eren love her? What was there to love? Annie had always regarded herself as a person unworthy of any care or affection, much less love. But Eren said that he loved her, and he meant it. She had figured out that when he was lying or hiding something, his ears flushed slightly red, and they never did when he said those words. Why? What did he see in her? She knew exactly what she saw in him. His drive, passion, dedication to his ideals... Annie found it inspiring, and was a trait she herself had. His compassion, and loyalty, other traits that she found attractive in him. He never gave up either, no matter what happened he continued to fight. For God's sake, he was more or less killed, and even that didn't stop him. But she didn't believe she had any redeeming qualities.

Which begged the question, would he continue to love her after tomorrow? Somehow, she doubted it. If they succeeded and brought him back home, they would have to explain everything eventually, and he was more likely to hate her.

The thought of Eren hating her opened up a hollow void in Annie's chest. But the thought of him dying with everyone else inside the walls made her feel even worse.

It's okay if he hates me for the rest of our lives Annie thought, as long as he's alive, I can put up with it.