The Turquoise Cure (Eren X Reader)

Chapter 44: Welcome Home

    The two of you were silent, nothing but the sounds of your breaths escaping your lips being heard. "Well," you said after several minutes, Eren's rapid breath escalating again, "I think I can choose for myself who I want to hurt me or not." Eren's lips curled into a small smile, tears still dripping from his cheeks to the wooden table below. "You never give up, do you?" he asked, a small chuckle escaping his chest; it seemed to be the first time he had laughed in a long time. "I will if you really want me to," you said, staring into his eyes but fumbling with your chapped nails all the same, "but I don't think you do." 

    Eren stared down into the empty cup again, his eyes becoming less glassy. "You know too much," he said, looking up at you with a smile. You hadn't expected his words to affect you the way they did. You froze, looking at him blankly. "We leave pretty soon," Eren said, noticing your lapse, "so we should probably go back to bed." "Um, yeah," you said, embarrassed as you quickly stood to exit. "One more thing," Eren said, his voice rushed and more desperate than he had likely intended. "Yeah?" you asked, turning around to face him. "Please be careful tomorrow." You smiled an in-genuine smile, biting your lower lip as you pried the door open. "Aren't I always?" He bid you goodnight before you dashed back to your dorm, Mikasa sitting on her bunk waiting for you. "Oh, hey," you said, awkwardly rubbing your neck, "thanks for putting me back on my bed." "No problem," she said, her eyes scrutinizing. "Where did you go?" "I went to get a little late dinner," you said, curling back up in your bed, "you know- big day tomorrow." "Yeah," she said, sensing that you weren't telling the full truth, "see you in a few hours, then." 

The morning of the expedition to retake Shiganshina District...

    The time to wake seemed all too soon. You had laid awake staring at the bottom of Mikasa's bunk, analyzing the cracks and canyons in it as you felt time drag on and on. The knock on your door made you jump, slamming your head on the bottom of Mikasa's bed, inherently waking her up as well. "Be in the lobby in fifteen minutes," the dark voice said. You swung the door open once you'd put on adequate clothing, but the voice was gone. Sliding on your boots and adjusting your belt, you felt the anxiety for what was to come washing over you. Mikasa seemed to notice as she cleaned a spot on the toe of her boot. "Historia told me to tell you to stay safe," she said, her voice as smooth as a flowing stream, unfazed by nerves. 

    "I'll have to thank her when we come back," you said, looking up at Mikasa with a small smirk. "Well, then you'd probably better not die, dumbass," Mikasa said with a giggle, throwing your pillow from your bed and smacking you in the face with it. "You bitch!" you said, picking it up from the floor and throwing it back at her. Within seconds, the two of you were wrestling each other playfully, swinging pillows until the feathers were flung out, streaming onto the floor and under the door, making a total mess. "FIVE MINUTES!" a loud voice that could only be Commander Erwin's rang out, jolting the two of you from your play. "We'll have to finish when we come back," Mikasa said, her smile real, but her eyes dark. 

    You were with Levi, Hange, and Moblit as you traveled on horseback. The sky was completely black, flecks of violet and navy blue illuminating it as the stars were speckled across like powder. It was hard for you to drag yourself away from such a beautiful sky, especially with your nerves as fried as they were. Can Eren pull this off? You looked back up to the stars, a shooting stream of light rushing across the sky. But what about my vision? The stars sparkled as brightly as you'd ever seen them as you were pulled away. Screams and shouts were heard from the front as horses tumbled and tripped. Erwin halted the procession, silencing everyone, in effect. 

    "There is a titan ahead!" his voice called. The whisperings and withdrawals of blades could be heard, as well as horses anxiously jostling in the forestry. "It seems not to be moving, so we have no reason to waste our resources attacking it!" Although whisperings could be heard, nobody dared go against the commander. The procession slowly started back up, everyone hurrying as they had to pass by the titan. It looked almost like a baby, its skin smooth and its eyes big and dumb-looking. You glared at the ugly thing, then continued on your way.