Annie woke to the sound of quiet voices and the smell of something that actually smelled good instead of the usual camp stew.
Her ankle was stiff and sore, but not as bad as she'd expected. The bandage was still snug around it, and she could feel that Jack had somehow managed to prop her foot up on his own blanket during the night without waking her.
He really did stay awake watching over me.
The three boys were already sitting around their small camping stove, eating what looked like actual bread and cooked meat except Jack, who was only eating a bare bread. Jack looked tired but satisfied, and Annie noticed his clothes were cleaner now, though there were still traces of dirt under his fingernails and what looked like fading scrapes on his arms.
"—told you, she twisted it pretty bad," Jack was saying in a low voice. "She needs to stay off of it today."
"She's not going to like that," Reiner replied, equally quiet, taking another bite of bread with meat.
"Then she won't like it. I'm not letting her make it worse by being stubborn."
Annie felt a flutter in her stomach at the determination in Jack's voice. He was being protective. Of her.
"Morning," she said, sitting up carefully, acting as if she hadn't heard anything.
All three boys turned to look at her. Jack immediately set down his bread and moved over to her bedroll.
"How's the ankle?" he asked, kneeling beside her.
"Fine. But Jack, what happened to your arms? Those look like scrapes."
"Just helped someone out this morning," he said, shrugging like it was nothing. "Mrs. Polt needed help moving some heavy stuff."
"Let me see your ankle first," Jack continued, deflecting. "Then I'll tell you about breakfast."
Sighing, Annie extended her foot. Jack carefully unwrapped the bandage, his fingers light as he examined the swelling. His touch still made her cheeks warm, but she tried to ignore it.
"Better," he said, sounding relieved. "Still swollen, but the color's good. How's the pain?"
"Manageable."
"That's not what I asked."
Annie looked at him, seeing genuine concern in his expression. Not the calculating assessment of whether she'd be useful that she was used to back at Marley, just... worry. About her.
"It hurts," she admitted quietly. "But it's really not that bad."
"Good to hear then. No walking today unless you absolutely have to, okay?" Jack started rewrapping her ankle with fresh bandages. "I'll get you anything you need."
Reiner's POV
Something's different.
Reiner watched Jack fuss over Annie's ankle and felt something twist in his chest. It wasn't jealousy really—he didn't like Annie, if anything he was scared of her. But Jack was looking at Annie the way Marcel used to look at all of them back in the training camp. Like her wellbeing was his responsibility and he needed to take care of them.
But there was something else there too. Annie was acting too weird. Now looking at it, Annie's cheeks flushed when Jack touched her ankle, and also the way Jack's voice unconsciously got softer when he talked to her...
Ohhh... poor Berthold.
"So what was it that you wanted to tell me?," Annie asked, flustered, obviously trying to change the subject.
"Jack helped Mrs. Volt move her entire storage by dawn," Bertholdt said, with a smile from ear to ear. "She paid him with bread and meat. He was gone before dawn and came back just before you woke up."
"Entire storage?" Annie looked at the fading scrapes on Jack's arms with new understanding. "How much stuff did you move?"
"Enough," Jack said, already reaching for a prepared piece of bread. "Took a few hours."
A few hours? Reiner thought, remembering how exhausted Jack had looked when he'd returned. That looked like he'd moved a mountain. And he did it all before we all woke up?
"Here." Jack handed Annie a piece of bread with what looked like 2 pieces of cooked meat on top. "Eat. You need to keep your strength up."
Annie stared at Jack pointing at the extra meat. "Jack, this is also your portion, isn't it?"
"I saved it for you," he said, which wasn't really an answer.
"Jack—"
"Annie, just eat it. Please?"
Haaaa... might as well say something Rainer thought. "Annie, listen to Jack. It's his choice in the end, if you decline it I doubt he'll eat it"
"... Fine" Annie grumbled but still accepted it in the end
Annie's POV
He gave me his portion of meat for me.
Annie stared at the generous portion of meat on her bread. It smelled incredible, and her stomach was already growling, but she could see Jack's breakfast was only bread.
When has anyone ever done that for me? Annie thought as she gave it a bite.
"This is really good, thank you Jack" Bertholdt said, finishing his portion, looking happier than Annie had seen him since they'd arrived.
"Don't worry about it Berthold" Jack said with a smile.
The bread was soft and warm, and the meat was perfectly seasoned. But Annie felt guilty enjoying it, knowing Jack had given her most of his share after working so hard to earn it.
"Jack," she said quietly. "Next time, don't give away your food. Not for me."
"Not for you?" Jack's brown eyes were serious. "If I don't do it for you then who am I supposed to do it for?"
Annie felt her cheeks get hot again and looked down at her bread. "You're still an idiot."
"So you keep telling me."
Bertholdt giggled, and even Reiner smiled a little. For a moment, their tent felt like a real family should feel like. Warm and safe, caring about each other.
"So," Jack said, settling back with his last bite of bread. "What should we do today? Since Annie's stuck being lazy."
"I am not lazy."
"You're right. Lazy people don't get to boss everyone around from their bedroll." Jack's grin was teasing. "Princess might be better."
Annie threw a small piece of bread at him in exasperation, which he caught with his mouth. "Princess? Really?"
"Well, you are giving us orders while lying there getting pampered."
"I didn't ask to be pampered!"
"No, but you're getting it anyway." Jack's voice went softer. "That's what families do."
The words settled over them like a warm blanket. Annie felt something tight in her chest loosen, and she could see the same feeling reflected in Reiner and Bertholdt's faces. For the first time since they'd lost Marcel, they felt like they belonged somewhere.
Nobody wanted to move. Nobody wanted to break the moment. The tent felt safe and warm, filled with the kind of contentment Annie had never thought she'd experience.
Family, she thought, looking around at the three boys who'd somehow become the most important people in her world. This is what family feels like.
Even knowing it couldn't last forever, she let herself sink into the feeling, memorizing every detail of this perfect morning.
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Author's Note:
Hey my people, just wanted to ask if you find any incongruencies, had 3 different ways originally that Jack got the food but was never satisfied with how it was and well as I wrote, it constantly got twisted kind of, so I'll gladly take any suggestions to improve it if so.