Hate Me | Eren Yeager

14. Moving On

The cool wind blows through your hair as the orange and pink of the gentle sunrise crawls across the sky. Your fingers hover over the laptop as you sit in the padded chair on the patio of your new condo, occasionally pressing a few keys.

It's been two years since your sudden breakup, and you're doing better than you thought you would be. Occasionally you miss him, you wish you could have a piece of him back, but they're fleeting thoughts. Gone as quick as they came.

Now that you've finished your degree you can pursue your songwriting career full-time. Granted it's not the most stable or consistent way of making money, but that's why you picked up a part-time job at a local tea shop.

For the first time in your life, you're finally happy. You can breathe. Everything is going the way you wanted it to go. Well... almost.

Click!

You turn towards the door opening, Reiner must be here.

He walks towards you with a handful of cafe items and a complacent greeting smile on his face. Today he's wearing a simple light blue button-up and black pants, which compliments the light beard growing on his hardened face.

"Hey, did you remember to ask for hazelnut syrup in my latte this time?"

"Yeah, here. I got some cookies too."

He reaches the table and bends down to kiss your cheek before setting everything on the table and taking the seat next to you.

You've officially been dating him for about a couple months now, you met him at the liquor shop he works at that you often get drinks from.

You like Reiner a lot but... there's never been a defining spark, you say you love him but there's no meaning behind it, it's just a passing phrase at this point. But with Eren, saying it was something more sacred.

The truth is he's kind of boring, he's nice and polite but... it feels like he's hiding parts of himself, like there's more he could be showing you. Not to mention, he intimidates you sometimes, you find yourself holding your breath around him.

"How's your mom doing? You visited her for a while yesterday."

You take a deep breath, cup hesitating before your lips.

"... She's doing okay. Still smiling."

Everything in your life is almost perfect, except for the fact your mother suddenly developed cancer in the past two years, and she doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Luckily she has plenty of money to pay for treatment, but none of it seems to be working. It's almost like the universe is trying to tell you that your life is never going to be perfect. That there will always be something wrong. You try so hard to stay positive, but she gets worse every time you visit her. You're scared for the day she stops forcing a smile for you.

On the bright side, your friends are doing great. Sasha and Niccolo own a restaurant now that gets a lot of customers, Armin is excited to become a conservation scientist, Mikasa is a personal trainer, Jean is a slave to a business corporation but was recently promoted to a management position, and Connie works at Pizza Hut.

"I know it's hard to stay positive but... keep your chin up y/n, I'm sure she'll get better."

She won't.

"... yeah."

You sip from the warm latte, looking out at the bright morning sky, it's almost too bright. Everyone is going places in their lives, and you wonder what Eren's doing with his. Is he still managing his mother's bar? Is he back to working two part-time jobs? You don't know because no one talks about him around you, and while you're thankful for it, you sometimes wish you could check up on him.