Chapter Text
Chapter 1
For years you’ve been training alongside of other warriors candidates like yourself; Annie, Pieck, Reiner, Marcel and the others, although you failed to be selected for a titan shifter that didn't stop you from continuing to fight alongside those that did get selected.
You still remember your youth, you where competing against Annie for the female titan but she beat you by a longshot, her fighting skills were better than yours and her instincts where sharper. At least you weren't the only one who failed to be selected, Porco didn't receive a titan, and alongside you, he also continued to fight.
When the warriors were sent on their mission to Paradise it was only you and Porco for a while. Reiner Marcel, Annie, and Bertold had their mission to infiltrate Paradis while Pieck had been sent to get used to her titan form and get to know those she would be working with. Just you and Porco, Zeke was around but he kept his distance doing other stuff, the two of you continued to fight and protect your country through battle victories while the others did who knows what on that wretched Island full of Eldian devils.
The years passed and you got closer to those who stayed, Pieck was pleasant to be around on the rare occasions she was out of her Titan and you hardly talked to Zeke though he wasn’t an unpleasant guy, he was a smoker and you didn’t really care for it. The only person you really formed any sort of bond was with Porco. It was natural that you two got close, you spent a majority of your time together from fighting wars to training, even to eating you two would be found in similar areas, sometimes even talking. It was actually when you two were eating that you both got ahold of huge news, the warriors were coming back.
After 5 long years they came back home… Eventually you found out that only one warrior who was sent to the island came back. Reiner.
Out of all the warriors it was Reiner that managed to come back… the others viewed him as a hero for managing to come back partially unscathed from that filthy island but you held a distaste, he was a pathetic guy who failed to protect the others.
Porco took the news hard, his brother Marcel was on that mission, when he got the news of what happened he blamed Reiner. The only thing Reiner brought back was a woman called Ymir, she held the titan ability that once belonged to Porco’s brother, naturally being a trained warrior and Marcels brother, he was set to inherit the jaw titan that was stolen.
As children, Reiner was picked on by Porco for lacking behind, you would simply observe all this happen. You didn’t particularly like Reiner either but you kept those emotions hidden and only went up to him after Marcel would drag Porco away in an attempt to comfort the boy, but he would hardly talk to you. Now you watch Reiner taking the same abuse he went through as a child as an adult.
Porco left Reiner standing alone after his berating, out of habit you went up to him, not because you cared about how Reiner feels but because it's a decent thing to check up on people and because you've gotten used to helping others out.
“Hello Braun.” You watch as he looks up to look at you, his eyes showing a pathetically sad expression that turns into confusion quickly before he looks away.
“Don’t tell me you have forgotten who I am?” He turned his face to look at you again, this time you watch as he stared, the gears turning in his mind, his eyes narrowing before finally he remembered.
“L/N?” he finally said quietly, “L/N is that you?” You watched as his expression relaxed, his face looking softer but sadder at the same time “I didn’t think you were ali- I- I didn’t recognize you” he finally said.
“Yeah well here I am, alive and well” Wish I could say the same about the others, you wanted to spit out but controlled yourself. Here stood someone that you started to despise since his arrival but he didn't know that. To him you were someone that always tried talking to him as a kid and even now doing it after he's finally home.
“You look so different” he said “older and more mature then when I left”
“Yeah that's what years of military training will do to you,” You shrugged. “I could say the same about you.” He definitely didn't look like the little kid from all those years ago.
You continued to talk to Reiner without knowing that from a distance Porco was watching, wondering why you were talking to someone he thought you both mutually disliked, but he remembered even as children you talked to Reiner out of what he believed to be pity. He scoffed before turning his back on you two and walked away.