"My head feels like it's about to explode."
"How's that different from you on any day, Conny?" Annie asked.
Conny lifted his head from his hands to level Annie with a glare. This caused Annie to chuckle from the familiarity of the look if nothing else.
"I think I may have liked you better when you didn't talk to anyone," Conny said.
"I'm sure," Annie said as she leaned back in her seat. "Considering what I've had to say, I think a lot of people feel that way."
What had once been a sizable wine cellar now functioned as Annie's new residence. The house above had been abandoned; the second story was little more than a pile in the yard after the explosion that shook Stohess. The first story underwent light remodeling to be livable enough for a trio of guards to rotate Annie's surveillance. She was allowed above ground once a day to make the journey to check on the integrity of the crystalline-substance holding Bertholdt. Otherwise, Annie found many of her days quite dull. This wasn't to say there wasn't a bright side – she enjoyed having basic amenities and remaining unshackled from a wall.
Conny shifted as his seatmate on the couch leaned forward. Marco hummed and rubbed the back of his head.
"It's a lot to take in," Marco said. "You said all the Titans are just people … people like us. They lived their lives trapped behind a wall, and those who try to fight for a better life are transformed into monsters as punishment. All this time we've been murdering innocent people."
"Wrong."
Marco raised his head. The glimmer of doubt behind his eyes was something dangerous. Annie knew it needed to be snuffed out right away; any form of hesitation when facing a Titan could tip the balance between life and death.
"Becoming a Titan like that means you're no longer a person," Annie said. "You have no self-awareness, no memories, no feelings. You're basically a walking corpse."
"And there's no way to help them?" Conny asked. "There's no way to turn them back?"
"The only way a Titan can reclaim their humanity is to consume someone who carries the power of one of the Nine," Annie said. She shrugged in a half-hearted manner. "Aside from that, they can be helped by ending their pitiful existence."
Pain washed over Conny's face. He looked away.
"Annie," Marco said, his voice stern. It took Annie a beat to put the pieces together.
"That's right," Annie said, her voice taking on a gentler tone. "I'm sorry, Conny. I forgot about what happened to your village."
Conny took a deep breath. "At least … I have an answer now." The emotion drained from his face. "The not knowing … That part hurt a lot. I guess I can let go and move on."
Marco placed a hand on Conny's shoulder in an act of comfort. It went unacknowledged, Marco pulling away with a worried expression.
Conny's personality had shifted drastically in the few weeks since the Stohess attack. Annie found the boy sitting across from her to be practically a stranger compared to the kind and playful Conny she used to know. She was aware Conny had become the ward of the former Commander, but she had no idea spending enough time in Erwin's presence would result in a reflection of his stiff nature.
"How's your assignment going, Conny?" Annie asked, hoping a change of subject would lighten the mood. She propped her elbow on the arm of her chair to lean her head in her hand. "Marco visits often enough, but I don't know much about what you're up to."
Conny shrugged. "It's peaceful, I guess." The low, stone ceiling was regarded as he leaned back. "I read everything the Commander has delivered so I can give Erwin an abstract of the information. It was hard at first, since he doesn't like me just reading straight from the reports. He wants me to tell him the important parts then have me clarify on certain things he asks questions about. As much as it's a pain in the ass, I'm starting to actually understand a lot of stuff that flew over my head before. It's also nice having other things to think about than … What happened."
"I can understand wanting to keep busy," Marco said. "It can be good to have a distraction. I've been doing a fair amount of traveling between here and Trost which has helped. My partner and I get a lot of assignments handing out supplies for relief efforts and investigating leads on people still unaccounted for after the attack."
Marco's attention shifted to Annie. "I've actually been meaning to tell you: Boris and I found a lead on Marlo and Hitch."
Annie straightened, her eyes going wide. "Your tone makes me think they're not dead."
A genuine smile touched Marco's features. "No, they're not. We came across a vicar who said he married a couple matching their description about a week ago."
Annie would've fallen over had she not been sitting. The smile on Marco's face widened.
"Hitch hated him," Annie said, voice soft. "She would talk my ear off about how she couldn't stand Marlo. She always–" Annie paused as realization hit her. "Oh. Shit."
"Boris and I had a similar reaction," Marco said with a chuckle. "We also agreed to keep the information among ourselves and continue to label them as MIA."
"Covering up a defection is serious," Conny said, his gaze hardening. "That seems unlike you, Marco."
Marco looked away, lacing his fingers together in his lap. "I don't … blame them. I think if I saw Marlo and Hitch, I would ask them to reconsider, but I don't think the solution would be dragging them back if they've lost the will to fight. And … Boris thinks the two of them probably acted on an impulse out of fear. He figures they'll come back soon enough to return to duty and … get a divorce."
"Boris always had the most sense of the three," Annie said. "I'd put my money on him being correct."
Annie's chest grew warm as Marco laughed. It was the first time she'd caught a glimmer of his usual, cheerful demeanor since the attack. Every smile she'd seen up until today felt forced. It hadn't simply been the loss of his mother – there'd been something beneath the surface fighting to get out, creating ripples in a still pond before being forced back to the depths. It hurt to think Marco still felt he had to keep his true emotions hidden for the sake of not causing her to worry. Putting on that sort of mask was an act Annie was more familiar with than she would ever like to admit.
"You make me want to believe you, Annie."
Marco's laughter fell away as he turned to regard Conny. His seatmate watched Annie with a grim expression.
"How you're acting now makes me want to believe you're really on our side," Conny continued. "Even if what you're going to say is a lie, I still need to ask what you'll do if you ever see Reiner."
The smile fell from Annie's face. "When it comes to that coward, I honestly don't care whether he lives or dies."
Conny grit his teeth. He rose from his seat, shooting Annie a look of contempt before turning his back to stalk away.
"However," Annie said. She watched Conny come to a stop.
"I still consider myself a soldier. If I'm ordered to kill Reiner, I won't hesitate. When something must be done, it must be done no matter what."
The level of satisfaction Conny received from this answer went unknown as he continued toward the other end of the room. He climbed a short set of stairs, knocking on the door at the top and waiting patiently for the guard on the other side to open the heavy lock. His head turned slightly as if to look over his shoulder. Conny appeared to second-guess the decision, slipping through the door the moment it swung open.
"Are you alright?" Annie asked, noting the furrow to Marco's brow.
Marco let out a sigh as he turned from the door. "I'm concerned. I don't think the way Conny is acting right now is something Sasha would want."
Annie nodded. "Yeah … I think you're right. But as dimwitted as Conny comes off sometimes, I think he's smart enough to come to that conclusion himself."
The couch creaked as Marco leaned forward. He put his head in his hand and rubbed his eyes. It was a gesture that would mean little if it were done by almost anyone else; to Annie it was a reflection of Marco allowing his outward appearance to slip. That wall had been crumbling little by little since the day Annie had been taken into custody. She'd been watching patiently since then to catch glimpses of what was on the other side.
"I'm glad you're here, Annie."
A sudden pounding sensation overtook Annie's throat. She swallowed it down, looking away when Marco raised his head. "Oh?"
"I have no idea what to say to Conny," Marco said. The smile which wasn't really a smile returned. "Sasha was like a sister to him, and he lost his entire family on top of that. Conny has it so much worse than I do … I don't know how to relate."
"Don't undermine the shitty things that've happened to you, too," Annie said. She fought the urge to fidget under Marco's dubious gaze. "It's not something stupid like a contest. Just be around to talk to him."
Marco shifted his weight. "Will that really help?"
"It helped me." Annie grew still, taking in every aspect as the smile on Marco's face shifted into something less forced. It was like sunlight peeking through heavy clouds. Annie savored the warmth.
"Just being there for someone can mean everything," Annie said. She was certain the smile she offered Marco in return was nothing to marvel at, but the feeling behind it was genuine. "Which is why you can talk to me if you need to."
Marco looked away, the spark of any cheer behind his gaze sinking down like a stone in murky water. "I'm alright; really. With everything else going on, the last thing I want is for anyone to have to worry about me. Losing my mom was hard, but I still have Dad and–"
The long pause as Marco stared into the near distance caused a furrow to Annie's brow. She leaned forward in her seat. "Your sister?"
"Yeah."
Marco got to his feet. He hit Annie with a broad smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I still have my sister. Anyway– I should get going. I'll be around again to visit soon, okay? Probably the day after tomorrow."
"Alright."
Annie returned Marco's cheery wave with one of far less vigor. The second he was gone, Annie fell back into her seat. Her eyelids drooped.
"I'll be here."