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theotherackerman · 2 years

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My Mind Turns Your Life Into Folklore

NOTES: So this chapter was fun. Enjoy some good old fashion angst.

Friday, February 12th

chapter thirty-three: still got scars in my back from your knives

The snow stopped on the day after Mikasa’s birthday.

Eren went with Levi to his therapy appointment the day after Mikasa’s birthday. He returned to the Jaeger house to get everything ready for the collaboration.

Friday night, The Restorationists were on their way towards the Ackerman house for the collaboration.

Snow was dumping on the city.

Thankfully, the Restorationists along with Armin, Connie, and Jean had already made their way to the Ackerman house.

The plan was to set up everything tonight.

Sound check tomorrow, do another rehearsal, and then go live.

The Restorationists were going to spend the night at Grisha’s house. Sleeping bags and an air mattress had been packed away in Zeke’s van along with all the instruments.

It was a perfect plan.

At least it was until the weather got a hold of it.

They had managed to get all the instruments into the house and were taking a break before moving the couch.

“I hate climate change,” Jean sighed as he sat down on the couch.

“Blame Rod Reiss, it’s what I do,” Ymir replied.

“Why are you blaming Rod Reiss?”

“I don’t know. Just seems like he’d be the type of person to pollute the world,” Ymir shrugged.

“You’re not wrong,” Historia answered.

Niccolo was trying his best not to look at Sasha but Ymir had caught him a couple times. He turned red and decided to sit on the couch a few seats away from Sasha.

The snow continued to fall down as Levi watched.

“So Porco and Marcel said there’s an accident so they turned around and went back. So no setting up the cameras tonight since they have all of our equipment,” Pieck huffed as she sat down on the couch.

BEEP!

Everyone’s phones went off.

Weather service has issued this alert.

The local government has declared a level three snow emergency in your area. Nonessential travel is prohibited as workers work to clean the road as conditions continue to grow more dangerous. Only police, medical, and emergency vehicles should be on the roads.

Five more inches of snow is possible.

Please stay indoors. Exposure to the cold could result in frostbite.

This has been a weather emergency alert.

“So we’re stuck here,” Jean said as he looked up from his phone.

“Looks like it,” Connie said as he put his phone back into his pocket.

Zeke looked over at Levi.

“What? They all practically live here anyway. It’s your band that has to figure out sleeping arrangements,” Levi remarked.

"We have got two sets of exes, what could possibly go wrong?" Zeke muttered under his breath but everyone heard it.

"I'll sleep with Ymir and someone can have my room," Historia offered.

"Pieck, you can stay with me," Annie offered.

"I'll bunk with you two, if that's okay," Armin said to Eren and Mikasa.

"Yeah, that's cool with me," Eren replied.

"Sasha, you sleep with Historia and me," Ymir added.

"Dibs on this couch," Niccolo called.

"Zeke, you should take my room," Historia offered.

"I could not possibly impose."

"Take it. She's got the best mattress in the house," Ymir replied.

"Jean and Connie can have my room," Sasha said.

"Great. Now let's all not try to kill one another until the weather warning passes," Ymir scoffed.

An awkward silence took over the room, everyone began fumbling with their phones.

“So power went out at Reiner’s,” Zeke said looking up from his phone.

“Same block as my apartment,” Pieck replied.

“Yes, I am trying to get a hold of Porco or Marcel again.”

“Where is Reiner headed?” Niccolo asked.

“They still own his aunt’s place. They are headed there.”

“Poor Gabi,” Pieck sighed.

“That kid has been through hell this year,” Niccolo said.

There were nods in agreement from Zeke and Pieck.

The silence took over once again.

“So, is no one going to address the elephant in the room that is Sasha and Niccolo or are we all just going to sit here and pretend nothing happened? I just want to know so I can act accordingly,” Ymir said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Zeke laughed while Niccolo sunk down in his seat.

“You’re all thinking about it!” Ymir said.

“Actually, I was kind of wondering what happened between Jean and Pieck,” Connie said as he looked up from his phone.

“Connie!” Jean yelled.

“Your friends are much more entertaining than mine,” Zeke told Eren.

“At least they’re not talking about us,” Eren leaned over and told Mikasa, who’s hand he was holding. He knew the snow storm would bring up all sorts of feelings for Mikasa. He squeezed her hand three times, getting her attention away from looking out the window.

“For once,” Mikasa finally said before squeezing Eren’s hand.

“There’s nothing to talk about. Johnny over there has a new girl,” Pieck replied.

“Is this what we’re like?” Mikasa asked Eren.

“Not nearly this bad, I hope,” Eren replied.

“Oh, but you are,” Ymir replied.

“Why do I suddenly feel like popcorn?” Sasha asked.

“It is like the soap operas my grandma used to watch,” Zeke remarked.

“I second the popcorn,” Annie said.

“Are we voting on popcorn? Because I’ll take some too,” Armin said.

Sasha stood up and headed in the direction of the kitchen.

“You broke up WITH me,” Jean argued.

“Well I didn’t know you would jump into bed with someone immediately afterwards!” Pieck argued.

“My mom set me up on a blind date,” Jean confessed.

“Why didn’t you just tell her you’re already seeing someone?” Connie asked.

“Because she said it was just sex!”

“Don’t blame this on me! You approached me.”

The microwave went off.

“You’re the one who returned my advances.”

“Who says advances?” Niccolo asked.

“Apparently, Jean does,” Connie replied.

Sasha walked in with a bag of popcorn.

“To be fair, Pieck, you did tell me the same thing,” Zeke pointed out.

“I guess it was when it started,” Pieck sighed as she sat back down.

“But now?” Jean asked as he stood up.

“It doesn’t matter. You have a girlfriend.”

Sasha took a handful of popcorn and then passed it to Annie.

“I told you I love you and you left! You said you didn’t love me! You said it was just sex! You don’t get to make me the bad guy!” Jean yelled.

“Is there a reason why you’re yelling in my house?” Levi asked as he entered from the kitchen.

Jean sat back down. “No, sir. I’m sorry. Won’t happen again.”

Levi raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Zeke.

“They are fucking insane and it is like a fucking soap opera in here,” Zeke answered. “I am going to go have a smoke.”

He stood up and walked outside to the back porch.

Pieck ended up following him.

Levi crossed his arms across his chest and sighed.

“Alright then, anyway, what are we going to do about dinner?” Ymir asked the group.

Sasha looked over at Niccolo before standing up and leaving the group.

“Eren is not cooking. He’ll burn the house down,” Armin teased.

“I did fine with the cookies!” Eren argued.

“That’s baking. It’s different than cooking,” Annie argued.

Niccolo got up and went into the kitchen.

“You think they’re talking or murdering one another?” Annie asked after Niccolo left.

Historia stood up and went to the kitchen. “Neither. They’re cooking,” she said as she sat back down.

------------

Zeke was smoking as Pieck just stood there.

“You do not have to be out here. It is cold,” Zeke replied.

Pieck just shook her head.

She wanted to cry.

She felt like she was dying inside.

It was all her fault.

She knew it.

She shouldn’t have pushed him away.

She shouldn’t have denied that she loved him. She should have told him. But the fear of ending up like her mother and father was too scary. Her mom didn’t love her dad. She knew that. She didn’t know how her dad did it. He knew too that his wife did not love him.

A loveless marriage.

Zeke’s hand was on her shoulder.

Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

She hadn’t noticed until Zeke touched her.

“It is valid. Whatever you are feeling is valid,” he reassured her.

“I thought you said you didn’t analyze your friends,” she said as she wiped her eyes.

“I am not. I am simply seeing my best friend in pain and worried about her. You handled it wrong but your feelings now, they are valid. You are strong, Pieck. You have been there for your dad, me, Eren, Reiner, Porco, Marcel, and hell, even Eren’s friends. You are there for everyone but you never let us in. You do not have to be strong all the time, you know that, right?”

Pieck looked up at her much taller friend.

Zeke sighed before he stomped the cigarette out. He then hugged Zeke, a gesture that Pieck quickly returned.

“I love you, even if you are an idiot with commitment issues,” Zeke said.

“And I love you, even though you have the same commitment issues,” Pieck replied.

Zeke and Pieck returned inside, both smelling of cigarettes.

Pieck took a seat on the far end of the couch, away from Jean.

“So, Zeke, have you ever been involved with our shitty tv watching?” Ymir asked.

“I do not believe so,” he answered.

“Well, we’re about to blow your mind then,” Ymir smiled as she picked up the remote and turned on the tv.

----

Pasta was simple enough.

Water.

Salt.

Butter.

Boil.

It didn’t require thinking or to realize how utterly pissed she was at the man working with her in the kitchen.

“All these ER doctors are going to need therapy after this,” Zeke’s voice echoed from the living room. “Why would you put a shampoo bottle there?”

Niccolo was doing his own thing while Sasha prepared her dish.

Could Annie have shrimp?

Something about seafood had been on that list the doctor had given Annie.

She shouldn’t prepare it just to be safe.

There went the idea of a shrimp scampi.

But Niccolo was already working on something in the sauce pan, Sasha realized.

“Annie’s pregnant,” she reminded him.

“I remembered,” he said as he continued to stir.

There was an awkward silence that fell over them again.

The only thing that made noise was the wooden spoon that Niccolo was using to stir whatever he was making.

Sasha didn’t know what to do.

She hadn’t been in this situation before.

With Connie, they hadn’t fought much.

When they did, they both got over it fairly quickly.

Their friendship was first over their relationship.

Maybe Sasha should have stayed with Connie.

No.

It wouldn’t have worked.

They were far too similar.

Not to mention, their long term goals were different.

Connie eventually wanted a life of complete stability.

That was not something Sasha could promise.

The band gigs were few and far between.

The farm’s success was partially in the hands of the weather.

Either way, there was never a set plan.

So that had ended their relationship.

Once again, the thought that Sasha had found her equal in Niccolo floated into her head. He got it.

He understood music and cooking. He didn’t seem to be in a rush to settle down.

Maybe that was the problem.

“What are you making?” she asked as she watched him bring the sauce to a simmer before pulling vegetables out of the fridge.

“Ratatouille pasta,” he said as he washed off the eggplant and began to cut it up.

“Oh,” was all she could say.

She watched him cook. She knew he was skilled at it but the truth was, they hadn’t spent a ton of time alone together. It had mostly been over the phone or the computer. She had been so awkward around him at first.

“I’ve got this,” Niccolo said, not looking up.

Sasha left the kitchen.

-------------

This was a level of hell Zeke did not understand.

Niccolo was irritable all of dinner.

Pieck looked like she was on the verge of tears….again.

Jean refused to make eye contact with anyone.

Niccolo was staring at the ceiling.

And they were all snowed in here.

Until the roads were clear.

Levi gave him a look from the other side of the room. A look Zeke understood as it was clear that Levi was thinking the same thing.

Historia was cuddling Sawney while Bean was resting next to Levi's feet.

Dinner had been just as awkward as this.

Zeke found himself very glad that he was not involved in a relationship anymore.

Eren and Mikasa sat next to each other on the couch, talking with everyone.

Well everyone but Niccolo, Jean, Pieck, and Sasha. They all seemed to be in their own hell too.

"Well it certainly can't get any worse," Zeke muttered to himself.

One should never say that.

Because it can always get worse.

And it did.

Not moments later, the power went out.

Zeke sighed to himself.

Damn him and his big mouth.

“We’re going to freeze to death and die!” Connie said dramatically as he sank down into the couch.

“We’ll be fine,” Levi replied before he rolled his eyes.

There was a pounding on the front door.

“I thought all the roads were closed,” Sasha said.

“They are,” Levi said as he crossed to the front door.

He peered out of the hole before he opened the door.

Hange stood there, bundled up in multiple layers.

“I got stuck…” Hange said as they entered the house.

“I’m glad you made it,” Levi said with a smile.

“It’s already starting to get cold here,” Ymir observed.

Levi walked over to the fireplace. “There’s some spare wood from the summer out back.”

“I’ll grab it,” Zeke said as he stood up. “Anything to get out of this,” he motioned to the group.

“Keep talking like that Zeke and we’ll think you don’t like us,” Pieck smirked.

“I don’t really like you right now!”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night!”

“What did I walk into?” Hange asked.

“A soap opera,” Levi scoffed as he sat back down in his chair.

Zeke began bringing logs in from outside. He threw the keys to his van to Eren.

“Get the sleeping bags out and the blow up mattress. Hange and Levi can use it,” Zeke said as he placed a few of the logs into the fireplace.

Eren nodded.

------------

After the fireplace was lit, Mikasa, Historia, and Sasha began grabbing blankets. The sleeping arrangements had changed from the rooms into everyone downstairs.

It was awkward to say the least.

Wrapped in blankets, Eren and Zeke began playing their guitars, it wasn’t long before Ymir and Annie joined in. Pieck just watched for a while.She didn’t feel like playing.

Ymir looked over at her before giving her a nod. It was clear that she wanted Pieck to join in.

But Pieck couldn’t. Not right now.

Not with Jean being right there.

Music put her at her most vulnerable.

Mikasa draped more blankets on Eren and Zeke. Historia and Sasha moved around the room doing the same. Then Historia sat down next to Pieck.

“How are you?” she asked.

“I’m okay. I’ve...been better,” Pieck said as she pulled the blanket Historia draped around her closer.

“I fucked up too, you know. With Ymir. I...never made it clear what we were. I dated whoever to make my dad happy. I never really saw why it was important to declare what Ymir and I were.….I almost lost her, you know? She got sick of waiting around. She pushed me away because I wouldn’t say what we were. Now...now we’re good. Well, minus her stealing all the blankets, though she’ll swear it’s me,” Historia laughed.

“I don’t think the same can be said for this situation,” Pieck sighed.

“Maybe not but...don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re not the only one who has issues with love. I love love. I do. The idea of it seems so beautiful. But the truth is my dad never loved my mom. My mom never loved me. But these people?” Historia gestured to the room. “They love me. No matter what. You and Jean both have this too. With us. We don’t think you’re weird, Pieck. You fit in here fine.”

“I think I just vomited in my mouth,” Connie remarked. “No, but seriously, Pieck, stick around. Shut his dumbass out but not us.”

“They’re right,” Jean muttered. “We all would have stayed friends with Jaeger and Mikasa too. Eren just shut us out. They had a worse situation than us.”

Pieck nodded, quickly looking away from Jean.

Zeke abruptly stopped playing, causing the other three to stop too.

“Is this the part where I reveal that Historia and I are cousins?” Zeke asked.

“Wait, what?” Ymir said as she looked between the two of them.

“My mother’s name is Dina Fritz,” Zeke stated simply.

“Why do I know that name?” Historia said as she ranked her brain.

“She was the last surviving Fritz. Our great grandparents were siblings. Your great grandmother and my great grandfather were siblings,” Zeke explained.

“No, it’s not just from that. I swear I heard my uncle...one of the few times he came to the house speak of her. I heard my dad mention her several times as someone who should be watched.”

“That would make sense. She did keep in touch with Uri Reiss.”

“But isn’t Fritz Pharmaceuticals supposed to stay in the Fritz family and only defaulted to the Reiss family because there weren’t any living Fritz's? At least that’s what my dad said.”

“Correct but Dina had been disowned. She did not want it anyway. She did not want anything to do with that family. She did give me the name as my middle name. So if you wish to get any revenge on your family, there is something. Your father knows who I am.”

“So if Historia and Zeke are cousins, does that mean you’re related to Eren?” Connie asked.

“No, it’s through Zeke’s mom, not his dad,” Levi said as he rolled his eyes.

“Frieda will probably be watching when we collaborate. She still stalks my social media. If nothing else, it’s a stab to my dad that I still have a biological family member since he wanted to take them all away.”

“Rod Reiss is such a trash human being,” Ymir sighed.

Historia kissed Ymir on the cheek. “That’s why I’m glad to have you.”

“Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me,” Ymir said as she kissed her.

“Get a room!” Annie called as she and Armin walked into the room.

Ymir flipped her off as she pulled away.

Historia was blushing.

“Is this just confession time?” Niccolo asked.

“Might as well,” Sasha said as she picked up Sawney and held him close.

“Alright, who else has something to confess?” Ymir asked.

“I’m pregnant. That’s all I’ve got,” Annie remarked as she sat back on the couch.

“I’m the father,” Armin replied.

“Doesn’t count as a confession if we already know,” Ymir rolled her eyes.

“I put Sasha’s cabbage patch kid in a blender,” Connie confessed.

“I knew it was you!” Sasha said as she pointed towards him.

“I’m sorry!”

Niccole scoffed.

“You have something to say?” Connie said as he turned towards Niccolo.

“Nothing at all,” Niccolo scoffed.

“What the fuck is your problem, Niccolo?” Jean asked.

“He’s my problem. Fucking around with his ex girlfriend,” Niccolo replied as he pointed to Connie as he stood up.

“I know you’re not talking about Sasha,” Connie said as he stood up and he took a step towards Niccolo.

“Who else would I be talking about?”

“I have a girlfriend!”

“Oh! So you’re both che….oWW!”

Zeke had grabbed Niccolo by the ear.

“We are not doing this. Sasha did not cheat on you. If anyone cheated, you went out with the intent to find someone else. You made that choice. Not Sasha. Now apologize to Connie and fucking drop it or I will call your mother. I am not playing with you, Niccolo,” Zeke commanded.

“And neither am I,” Levi said as he stood up.

Niccolo swallowed.

“I am sorry, Connie,” Niccolo apologized.

“I’ve been there. You’ve got issues from your past but I wouldn’t do that. Not that kind of man. I forgive you.”

Connie held his hand out to Niccolo and Niccolo took it. They shook hands and then stepped back from one another.

“Well, I don’t forgive you. I’m not a piece of meat or anything to be fought over,” Sasha remarked as she held Sawney close. “And you’re the one who did this, Niccolo. Not me.”

“I am aware,” Niccolo said as he set his jaw.

“Now it’s awkward again,” Ymir groaned.

Mikasa looked around the room before standing up.

“Where’s she going?” Ymir asked.

The answer came pretty quickly as music from the piano began to flood the room.

“Oh! She got the new music I sent her!” Historia proclaimed.

“Should we go then?” Ymir asked.

“No, leave her be. She clearly wants distance from this,” Historia gestured to the group.

Ymir nodded.

The room was still tense.

Sasha sighed.

Hange looked around the room and then looked over at Levi who was busy using a bicycle pump to air up the mattress.

Zeke looked over at Levi’s empty recliner.

“Take the seat and go to sleep, Zeke,” Levi called as he finished airing up the mattress. He pulled a blanket around him and Hange.

“Best suggestion I’ve heard all day,” Zeke muttered as he moved to Levi’s chair and pulled his blanket over himself.

Historia curled into Ymir.

Eren rose and joined Mikasa in the sun room.

-----------

The music from the piano continued.

Mikasa and Eren didn’t really speak. Instead, Mikasa was focused on the lyrics she wrote on the page. She’d occasionally ask for him to sing something or to play something on the guitar.

Mikasa was in the writing zone. No one would be able to break that, not even Eren.

After a while, Mikasa began to get cold. There was only so much that they could do to starve off the cold in a room with so many windows.

Ymir and Historia had fallen asleep together on the couch next to Sasha, who had also curled into Ymir.

Annie was sound asleep next to Sasha. Annie’s head rested on Armin’s chest. Connie was sound asleep on the other side of Armin with Niccolo on the other side of him asleep. Niccolo’s head was resting on Connie’s arm.

It was strange. Just a few hours ago, the two had been at each other’s throat but now they slept next to one another.

Pieck sat on the very end of the couch, sketching in her sketchbook.

Jean sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, reading a textbook.

Eren and Mikasa decided to sleep in the space next to Niccolo. They both seemed to fall asleep rather quickly, leaving only Pieck and Jean to think they were the only ones awake.

Neither of them made any move to talk to one another.

What else was there even to speak about if they did?

Jean stoked the fire when it went low. Pieck would occasionally rip a page out of her sketchbook and throw it into the fireplace.

“What are you trying to draw over there?” Jean finally asked as he placed his dead phone onto the couch.

“Uh…a bigfoot. They all end up looking like Zeke,” Pieck muttered as she pulled another page out of the sketchbook and threw it into the fireplace.

Jean choked back a laugh which made Pieck look up at him.

The moment Pieck was looking at him, Jean was torn apart.

There was so much pain and hurt in her eyes.

“Why bigfoot?” he asked as he looked away.

“Commission,” she lied. They both knew it but Jean didn’t push it. “Do you even like her?”

Jean shrugged, “she’s fine…”

“I thought you hated being called by anything other than your name,” Pieck said as she looked back down at the page.

“I do. Eren’s the only one who’s allowed to call me horse face. It’s just easier to let her,” Jean rubbed the back of his neck.

He didn’t think she would be talking to him about this. It was strange.

“Do you regret it?” he asked after a moment.

“Regret what?”

“Us.”

Pieck sighed as she stopped drawing. “I….I don’t.”

“Do you regret leaving?”

The words hung heavy in the air.

They just stared at one another.

They both knew the answer.

They also both knew once Pieck answered, it wouldn’t change anything. Jean wasn’t ready to get out of this relationship with Marie. No matter how fucked up that was, he needed Marie to numb the pain.

It was shitty.

But Jean had never said he was a good person.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Jean swallowed.

Pieck looked away.

It changed nothing.

“Pieck, do you love me?”

There was another question that they both knew the answer to but it would change everything if Pieck spoke those words.

It would put her so much more vulnerable than ever before.

There was a screeching noise that came from somewhere in the house that woke everyone up. The power had come back on.

Zeke jumped up out of the chair.

“It’s the gas detector. If there’s a gas leak, it goes off. It’s fine. It happens,” Mikasa explained from her sleeping spot on the couch.

Zeke nodded before he sank back into the chair.

“Get some sleep, Pieck,” Jean muttered before shutting the lights that had turned back on, off.

Little did Pieck and Jean know that Eren and Mikasa had heard the entire conversation.

“We have to help them,” Eren whispered to Mikasa.

She nodded. “How?”

“I….I have no idea. Maybe we just keep doing this? Sooner or later, it has to work out, right?”

“I’m worried about his drinking.”

“I am too. I don’t want him to end up like me.”

“I’ve been telling you for years you’re both similar.”

Eren scoffed.

“But not exactly. You both just have the same anger issues and bad habits,” Mikasa reassured.

“I don’t smoke.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes. “You have unhealthy drinking habits.”

“So what do we do?”

“Intervention? Maybe you, Connie, Marco, Sasha, and Armin can sit him down.”

“May need Reiner for that too in case Jean tries to run.”

“Someone has to call him out. What he’s doing to that girl isn’t right either.”

“I agree. I’ll talk with everyone else about it. What about Niccolo and Sasha?”

“It’s Niccolo’s fault.”

“It is.”

“It’s not like Jean and Pieck where both of them are in the wrong.”

“Mikasa and Eren are going to be in the wrong if they do not shut the fuck up,” Zeke hissed from Levi’s chair.

“You know we’re still awake, right?” Jean whispered back. “Why they fuck do I need an intervention?”

“Because you’re using sex and alcohol to deal with your problems,” Pieck said.

“And what are you using?”

“Art. Much healthier,” Pieck replied simply.

“Clearly, you’re over there drawing bigfoots,” Jean scoffed.

“At least I’m not leading someone on,” Pieck hissed.

“Like you did with me for months?”

“I told you from the beginning.”

“You two argue like an old married couple already,” Eren scoffed.

“Shut up, Jaeger,” Jean muttered.

“I am not old,” Pieck argued.

“Could have fooled me,” Eren muttered.

Pieck launched one of her pillows at Eren which hit Mikasa in the case.

“OH! MIKASA! I’m so sorry!” Pieck apologized.

“What the fuck is going on?” a sleepy Ymir asked.

“Nothing, go back to sleep,” Historia yawned.

“All of you go the fuck to sleep!” Levi said from the air mattress.

This time, they listened.

#mmtylif #my writing

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