PSL / MEME CONTINUATION

[thecoordinate]

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[thecoordinate]

[He briefly follows her gaze to his hands. They're as smooth and pristine as ever. The wound from earlier is long gone. All that remains is some dried blood.]

The transformation, you mean.

[He says it more like a statement than a question.]

[headhooligan]

[The connection does not fully register to Aubrey (transformation of what, the thing or…? Her eyes on his hands is more incidental than anything), but it’s not like she hasn’t noticed his ritual un/clenching. So she nods.]

[thecoordinate]

[As if on cue, Eren flexes his hand - clenching, unclenching, just like she's seen a million times now.]

Self-injury and intention trigger the transformation. What you saw was my Titan.

[He doesn't have the Founder's power here; no way to accomplish that without Zeke. Luckily, that didn't affect his ability to utilize the Attack and Warhammer Titans.]

[headhooligan]

[Self-injury.]

[Aubrey saw a lot, sees the blood dried on his hands (whose?), but that detail stands out like the red streaks down his eyes. Maybe they’ve faded by now. She hasn’t met his eyes since sitting up.]

Why. [That’s all, really.]

[thecoordinate]

[The streaks on his eyes are slightly duller than they were before, but still present, running deep grooves in his skin.]

I was saving your life.

[As if to punctuate this, he lifts her shirt just slightly - just enough to expose the wound - and then, he starts wrapping the bandages gently around her torso, hands careful and precise.]

You should be thanking me.

[headhooligan]

[A retort rises and dies in her throat.]

[His voice, as expected—not gentle. His hands, the wrapping—]

Why.

[More insistent. She doesn’t move.]

[thecoordinate]

[Silently, he wraps her wound. It takes several minutes to do it properly - pin the bandages in place, ensure they're wrapped tightly enough, adjusting here and there for comfort. He doesn't speak the entire time.

[Finally, he pulls his hands away, begins putting things back into Grisha's bag. He doesn't look at her.]

I don't know.

[headhooligan]

[It’s a long silence.]

[Aubrey wants to be somewhere else. The bandaging, adjusting, binds her here.]

[She doesn’t respond. Just breathing. Eren’s. Hers.]

[“I don’t know.”

[What a joke.]

Does that scare you?

[She doesn’t look at him, either.]

[thecoordinate]

[There's another pause, significant. He closes his father's bag.]

Does it scare you?

[headhooligan]

[Very, very funny. Eren might catch a faint, quick expression cross Aubrey’s face; it’s not fear.]

I asked first.

[And if (and only if) he hesitates, or starts to deflect again:] Answer me.

[thecoordinate]

[At the "answer me", Eren's gaze sharpens into a glare.]

You don't get to tell me what to do.

Am I afraid of you? Not by a long shot. I could tear you to pieces if I wanted to. I know you're well aware of that now.

[And yet he's still! Deflecting!]

[headhooligan]

[She meets his glare. No irritation; not amused.]

You won’t.

[thecoordinate]

Don't bet on that.

[headhooligan]

Hm.

I don’t care. Answer me.

[thecoordinate]

I have answered you.

[He can do this all day.]

[headhooligan]

[Game on.]

Why would I ever think you’re afraid of me. [Come on.]

[thecoordinate]

Tell me what you're asking, then.

I spared your life. What does that have to do with fear? Be grateful I didn't let you die.

[headhooligan]

Kh. “Spared.”

[She doesn’t have the energy to taunt him proper, but she can talk now. She can talk juuuust fine.]

Don’t be stupid, Jaeger. You say you don’t know why you did that. Does that scare you?

an apt icon for how he's feeling rn

[thecoordinate]

It isn't that serious.

[aubrey voice] i won’t hesitate, bitch

[headhooligan]

[Aubrey doesn’t know if she should feel smug or pissed. Good thing she’s getting better at staying blank-faced, huh?]

You’re still not answering me.

[thecoordinate]

No. It doesn't.

[A lie? Possibly.]

I saw that you were in danger and took action. I'm a sold-- [He cuts himself off sharp.]

I did what my instincts told me to. That's all.

[Which is why he caught her when she fell, spoke to her in soft tones, gently laid her on her back, brought her to a safe place, tenderly wrapped her bandage...

[Even he thinks he's full of shit.]

Next time I'll let that thing tear you to shreds.

[headhooligan]

Mhm.

[The self-cutoff is interesting, at least. It got a raised eyebrow, while it lasted.]

Sure you will.

[She debates answering his return question for a moment. But that wold require appreciating the extra care he’s shown, and… does she? Does she really?]
[Absolutely. A lot. In the moment. It’s passed now, though, and she’s not dwelling on it.]

You got weird instincts. [Some emotion returns to her voice at that—albeit that of someone who’s annoyed beyond all hell.]

[thecoordinate]

[Dimissively:]

I joined the military when I was twelve. I know when to act.

[headhooligan]

[There’s a moment where Aubrey has to decide if that makes her feel bad for him or not. It is objectively awful. He is (she still thinks) an objectively awful person. And the time for sympathy over eaten mothers… well, that particular moment has also passed.]

[She lands on this:] That normal for your military?

[Still trying to sound distant, even judgmental—but Eren might’ve caught the thought on her face, if he was paying attention. Not that it lasted, and not that she’s letting too much curiosity show now. But it gave her pause, and the distance is ever so tentatively lowered.]

[thecoordinate]

[It's strange. Eren doesn't catch much more about Aubrey's tone than that it's just a bit more casual-sounding, and he's...bizarrely grateful for that. Perhaps the previous conversation flustered him more than he'd like to admit; perhaps the rescue did too. He doesn't allow himself to dwell on that thought for too long.

[It scares him.]

It is.

Cadet training takes a minimum of three years. If you don't start early, what's the point?

[See, Aubrey? It's not so bad. They're only cadets at twelve so they can be frontline soldiers by fifteen.]