"Yeah," she says, monotone. "Four years. Give or take."
The face—faces—that Annie is used to seeing him wear are iterations of the one he eventually settles into while fidgeting with his drink: some form of reflective consideration, whether it's serious, careful, soft, or strained. This... is the serious sort. The guilty sort.
In her head, she can hear some iteration of Reiner's words, too. Fuck that. She's going to stick to her own. Annie believes what she told Bertolt; they're safe to talk here, and safer in general than anywhere they'd ever been on Paradis. This isn't enemy territory. They aren't at war, and they aren't neck deep in a mission to exterminate an entire society. Annie is far from fully acclimating, herself, but she's had at least some time.
It matters to her that he's hurting, and that he feels responsible for the suffering she endured. But it wasn't his fault. Not even a little. She made her own damning mistakes—and their mission was a farce to begin with.
The main issue is that she has plenty more difficult and intense things to reveal. Though she's just going to have to trust that he can handle hearing it. At the very least, Bertolt isn't mentally fragile the same way Reiner is. And it's not like she needs to tell him everything all at once; that wouldn't even be practical.
"That whole time..." she she begins, then pauses. It was hell, but— "I wasn't alone, at least. Armin actually came to talk to me more than a few times, and so did my old roommate. They kept me up to speed on certain things. I know that you, Reiner, Zeke and Pieck ended up in an all-or-nothing battle with Eren and the Survey Corps."
And I know what happens to you. The tips of Annie's fingers tremble, and she flexes her hand under the table. Otherwise she stays composed, and is able to keep holding his eye.
"That's what you're talking about, right?" she says. Her logic and intuition are pointing in a single direction. "You thought you could end it there? Made that promise to Reiner or something?" She closes her eyes for a beat and shakes her head, two short tilts of her chin. "That's not what happens. Sorry. I can tell you what else I know, but it's not good."
no subject
The face—faces—that Annie is used to seeing him wear are iterations of the one he eventually settles into while fidgeting with his drink: some form of reflective consideration, whether it's serious, careful, soft, or strained. This... is the serious sort. The guilty sort.
In her head, she can hear some iteration of Reiner's words, too. Fuck that. She's going to stick to her own. Annie believes what she told Bertolt; they're safe to talk here, and safer in general than anywhere they'd ever been on Paradis. This isn't enemy territory. They aren't at war, and they aren't neck deep in a mission to exterminate an entire society. Annie is far from fully acclimating, herself, but she's had at least some time.
It matters to her that he's hurting, and that he feels responsible for the suffering she endured. But it wasn't his fault. Not even a little. She made her own damning mistakes—and their mission was a farce to begin with.
The main issue is that she has plenty more difficult and intense things to reveal. Though she's just going to have to trust that he can handle hearing it. At the very least, Bertolt isn't mentally fragile the same way Reiner is. And it's not like she needs to tell him everything all at once; that wouldn't even be practical.
"That whole time..." she she begins, then pauses. It was hell, but— "I wasn't alone, at least. Armin actually came to talk to me more than a few times, and so did my old roommate. They kept me up to speed on certain things. I know that you, Reiner, Zeke and Pieck ended up in an all-or-nothing battle with Eren and the Survey Corps."
And I know what happens to you. The tips of Annie's fingers tremble, and she flexes her hand under the table. Otherwise she stays composed, and is able to keep holding his eye.
"That's what you're talking about, right?" she says. Her logic and intuition are pointing in a single direction. "You thought you could end it there? Made that promise to Reiner or something?" She closes her eyes for a beat and shakes her head, two short tilts of her chin. "That's not what happens. Sorry. I can tell you what else I know, but it's not good."