promise | e. jaeger

XV. Outsiders

a/n: season 4 time 😩 also I had to change my ao3 and wattpad usernames because my BROTHER found me??? he was literally reading this story last night but at this point idc so if you're here bro hi but also wtf 🤨🤨🤨

"Excuse me, Commander, I have some...troubling news," Captain Ducat said, entering your office without so much as knocking. It had taken her a while to be comfortable enough to do such a thing, but you were serious when you told her you wanted to be her friend, not just her superior. She was older than you, anyways.

"What's the matter?" you said, putting down your pen and looking up at her. The woman was completely unflappable, so for her to say something was troubling meant that there really was a problem.

"There have been reports of ships being sighted coming towards our coasts. Almost undoubtedly, they are Marleyan," she said. You frowned at this. She had been right — this was worrying.

"Does Hisu know?" you said.

"Not yet," Captain Ducat said, not bothering to correct you for your informal way of referring to the queen.

"We should tell her then, though I expect the Survey Corps will be the ones to handle this. Eren and Armin's titans should be enough to destroy any approaching ships. Still, it's only fair that she knows about what's going on," you said, standing and stretching before walking past Captain Ducat to leave your office. The brunette woman followed after you as you made your way towards Historia's office.

"Do you really think the Survey Corps can handle this?" she said.

"I do. My friends are skilled soldiers, and like I said, they have two titans, one of which is the Colossal Titan and the other which is experienced in combat. They'll be perfectly alright, though I expect that we'll be sent to supervise," you said.

"At this rate, they should just rename the First Interior Squad to the Queen's Errand Boys," Captain Ducat said dryly. You snorted.

"Well, that is what our job is supposed to be, if you think about it. Not like there's any secrets that the royal government is hiding anymore that we have to protect, so we're just the royal family's representatives now," you said.

"Yeah, I was only joking. It's a nice job, to be honest. Good perks, at least," she said.

"That's the privilege of your Commander being close with the Queen. You get away with a lot more," you said, winking cheekily at her. She shook her head in amusement, though she knew you were right.

"Historia? Can we come in?" you said, knocking on the door.

"Yes! Yes, of course," Historia called. You heard drawers banging and, entering the office, raised your eyebrow at the state of disarray her desk was in. A well-worn piece of paper had fallen to the floor and apprehensively, you picked it up. It was the letter that Reiner had delivered to her from Ymir. She flushed a bright red and took it from you.

"Sorry about that," she muttered, tucking it away in her breast pocket.

"No need to worry. Have you heard about the ships coming up on the coast?" you said.

"I have. Hange took the Survey Corps to handle it," she said with a sigh.

"That's good," you said. Captain Ducat looked uneasy still.

"Are you certain we shouldn't go check on them? I just have an ill feeling about this," she said. Historia looked at you, her blue eyes wide.

"What do you think, Y/N?" she said.

"I trust my comrades in the Survey Corps, but I also trust Captain Ducat's instincts. If she thinks we should go to check on them, then we should go check on them. Worst comes to worst, she's wrong and we went for nothing. In that case, we'll still get the chance to see everyone. It's been a while since I got to be with Eren, Mikasa, Tullia, and Jean, so I wouldn't complain either way," you said with a shrug.