The Guardian's Tale (AOT fanfiction)

-From One Hand To Another-

"No way...you beat her ?!" I exclaimed as I placed my hand on the boy's head and ruffled his hair. "Congrats Falco ! I'm so proud of you ! Huh...has your hair gotten longer ?"

"Mrs. Wolfhart...that's not my head." The boy laughed. "That's Mr. Kruger's."

My mouth gaped open in surprise before I quickly pulled my hand away. As I sat back down on the bench, Eren let out a small laugh and I froze. It had been so long since I'd heard that sound...but this one was fake, I could hear it clearly, as if it was hollow.

"Nice work, Falco." Eren congratulated the boy.

"It's all thanks to you guys." Falco countered. "But at this point, I honestly doubt I can pass up Gabi. Even so, I'm gonna keep moving forward."

"That's the spirit." I said gently as I threw my head back. "See ? You're not weak after all."

"I see...I'm the one who should be thanking you though." Eren spoke up. "I'm grateful you've been sending all my letters. You've been a big help."

"Yeah..." The boy responded awkwardly. "Did your family send you that ?" He asked, referring to a glove sitting next to Eren.

"They though it'd make hospital life less boring. Hard to do much in this shape though...and I can't exactly do anything with Angel being blind. But I need to move forward too. When the festival's over, I'm going back to my hometown."

"Back home huh ?" I repeated, close to a whisper. "Yeah...that'd be nice."

"I see..." Suddenly, the boy let out a small gasp. "A doctor's coming. I'll get going !" He exclaimed before I heard the pitter patter of his feet get further and further.

"May I sit next to you ?" An older voice asked before Eren agreed. "I appreciate it. I'm Yeager, a physician for the zone. I come here to drink tea sometimes."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kruger and this is Wolfhart." The emerald eyed man answered, unfazed by the man's name. 

"Nice to meet you two. You seem to get along with that boy." The man remarked before I nodded. "I see. I think I could get along with him too. I sit here on this bench looking for people to talk to. His uncle was a leader of the Eldian Restorationists. Restorationists are sent to Paradise and not even their family is spared. To protect their family, he and his brother trained to be Warriors, and when his brother was chosen to inherit the Beast Titan, the Grice family knew they were finally safe."

Eren, confused and suspicious, asked the man why he was telling him this and the man's answer shocked me. He demanded Eren stopped asking favors from him because if he came under suspicion, all of their efforts would have been for nothing. He then told him to go back to his family if he was truly healthy because one day we wouldn't see them anymore and my heart tightened. Family...but we didn't have that.

After a bit of silence, Eren asked the man if he had regrets about his own family and I slightly turned my head to him. That's right...I'd never heard of Eren's grandparents before. The man then reminisced about the day Grisha brought his little sister outside of the zone and blamed it on the fact that he was too strict about him becoming a doctor. Suddenly, just as the past seemed to be getting the best of him, 2 pairs of footsteps approached and took him away.

"Hey Kruger..." I called out. "Are we really going back home ? I wonder...if they're doing alright."

Suddenly, I remembered something and pat the space next to Eren. Surely enough, I came in contact with the glove and picked up the ball inside it.

"I don't think this is a good idea..." I pointed out, tossing the ball up. "Contacting Zeke...is a gamble, especially associating yourself so deeply with him...you're gambling with all our lives Kruger...I wonder...what are you thinking ?" 

(........)

I leaned against the wall, one foot against it as Eren sat calmly on his chair. I had asked him what we were doing here but he'd refused to tell me no matter how much I asked. Suddenly, he pulled down my hood and released my hair. 

"E-Eren...what are you d-"

"Shh." He shushed me, cutting me off. "Just trust me."

After a few minutes, I heard the door in front of us open and heard the familiar pitter patter of Falco's small feet...accompanied by some heavier, less familiar ones.

"I brought him !" Falco excitedly announced to Eren.

"Hey...It's been four years...Reiner." The green eyed male spoke up.

"Reiner...?!" I exclaimed, confused, scared and excited. 

"Eren.....Yuki..." Reiner's familiar voice spoke up. 

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I pushed off of the wall and started healing my eyes. Could it...really be him ? Could it really be the man I'd waited for, for 4 whole years ? I hesitantly extended my left hand to him and...

TO BE CONTINUED !