[Is she scared of him? In another timeline, sure. But the fear is different, in this one—she’s afraid for him. For what this distress could drive him to; for what he could become.

[Aubrey hates to see him like this. Even more, however, she hates the thought of losing him.]

[And so whether he’d “save” her… it rings strangely hollow. Maybe in another context, that would’ve meant the world. As-is…] I know you would.

[But… does she?]

[”My kin and my kin alone.”
Everything for his friends, after all.]

[If Eren’s paying attention, he’ll notice, for the first time since entry, her eyes leave his face—to his hands, instead, which for the moment her grip stiffens on. It could just as easily feel like a squeeze. But inside, her blood runs cold.]

[How silently gutting, to mourn someone whose pulse is in her palm.]