sateenvartija | Jean Warrior AU; Annie version for @immobilized

How on the nose Jean is with that, she thinks. Regardless, they return to the groups cleaning out the corpses. Annie does her best to hold her guilt and apologies inside, biting them down until they're just another part of the cold that sits in her stomach.

She can almost convince herself she doesn't feel anything when she watches the pyre with Marco's body burn. The others seem like they're waiting for Jean to say something - but he doesn't. He picks something off of the ground, and whatever it is, she decides, he can have. If an unidentified bone brings him some kind of comfort, so be it.

When it comes time to declare their units, she is the first to walk away, towards the Military Police. She doesn't turn around to look at anyone else. She trusts that Jean will follow, as they planned.

Jean can feel the expectations of both Connie and Sasha, at least. That he would say something inspiring or right on this moment, like Marco had believed he would. In a way it feels like betrayal. But he was always meant to betray all of them.

During the selection Jean doesn't spare a glance at them, even if they look at him. Instead, he starts walking right after Annie, leaving everyone behind (Reiner and Bertholdt, too, as they did decide on Corps). The charred bones in his pocket feel heavier with every step, but he walks where the Military Police is waiting.

He and Annie are the only ones out of the 104th there. After they've confirmed they're part of the top ten, they're accepted to the unit, just as planned.

The Military Police barracks are all the way in Stohess. They spend one more night in the old barracks before leaving by horseback.

Jean doesn't say goodbye to anyone. Not even Reiner or Berholdt. They knew their roles.

She can see how surprised the Military Police representative is to only get two out of the top ten to ride back. They won't be the only one - there will be graduates from the other wings of the cadet corps - but they'll be the only ones from their section.

Annie doesn't sleep well that night, too haunted by the screams. It's probably obvious in the bags under her eyes when she mounts the horse she'll be riding to Stohess. She doesn't offer an explanation for it, though.

She doesn't say goodbye to anyone - not even Eren or Armin. It's a somber sendoff. It's a long ride, but it doesn't take longer than the length of the daylight to arrive in Stohess, the sun just starting to dip behind the walls as they arrive.

The MP member who rode with them lets them know where the barracks are, and which assignments they have. Annie's rooming with a girl named Hitch; it seems Jean is rooming with someone called Marlowe, a name so similar to Marco she almost hears it as that when they tell Jean. It makes her glance to him, despite her otherwise icy indifference the ride over.

The name definitely makes Jean freeze a little, since he also heard it wrong. Especially since it could have and should have been Marco rooming with him, not this random guy. He quickly snaps out of the shock and nods in confirmation, but his hand is definitely in a fist behind his back.

They're dismissed, free to go find their rooms at their own pace. Jean focuses his back mind on the mission mindset. Conceal don't feel.

"Once we've settled down for a while, should we meet up and share our thoughts?" Neutral term, as if they're just friends who want to share what their new places and roommates are like.

"Yeah. I'd like to know more about what's good around here." Like someone talking about the best places to drink or eat, and not their potential plan to kidnap a fellow shifter and take him away.

Oddly, instead of just turning away, she offers her fist, instead - the way some boys would bump knuckles as both a greeting and a goodbye, waiting for Jean to match the movement. Likely an attempt to seem like better friends for anyone watching.

It's definitely not something they usually do, but it makes sense in the context. So Jean bumps his knuckles against Annie's before parting ways. Even if it was to pretend, it still felt kind of nice to have something like that.

Some time goes by as they settle in. Jean finds Marlowe ridiculous with his sense of rightfulness and wanting to right the wrongs in the Military Police. In a way, it reminds him of how Marco would have probably been like. It doesn't help how he feels about Marlowe. It mostly twists a knife in the wound.

After a week has passed, Jean receives a letter from Bertholdt. It's not weird to get letters from your former classmates, after all. On the surface it looks like a normal 'how things are going in the corps letter', but Annie and Jean would know how to read the real meaning behind it.

They decide to meet up, somewhere private and quiet, so Jean can give her the letter.

"Bertholdt sent you well wishes, too. I think he was too shy to sent it straight to you."

Well, Jean had kept a connection to Reiner and Bertholdt, by hanging out with all the 104th guys occasionally, while Annie made a point not to interact with them much. So it made sense that way that the letter was addressed to Jean instead of Annie.

He did also get a letter from Connie and Sasha, but that hadn't been important.

Jean Warrior AU; Annie version for @immobilized

time skippy forward a bit

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