endure | e. jaeger & a. arlert

IV. Fall

a/n: me when i lie 😧 anyways i know i wasn't going to update this until tomorrow but i'm kinda busy tomorrow so i figured i would upload this while i have time. it's definitely one of if not THE shortest chapter so apologies for that

8/30/21: edited to fix some formatting issues lol

"Eren, wake up," you said, shaking the boy, who had been napping underneath his favorite tree for the past few hours. He blinked sleepily, furrowing his brow at you and reaching out to take a piece of hair in between his fingers.

"Y/N, did you cut your hair again?" he murmured, tugging on the curl and watching it spring up. You gave him a confused look, helping him stand.

"No, I haven't cut it in a few weeks. Were you asleep for so long that your brain turned to mush?" you said, beginning to walk back towards the town of Shiganshina itself.

"Well, I just had a really long dream...but I can't seem to remember what it was about," he said. You turned back and looked at him before cocking your head.

"Why were you crying?" you said, reaching out to wipe the traces of his tears from his cheeks. He seemed as surprised as you were at the fact.

"I...don't know. I didn't even realize I was crying," he said.

"You should ask your dad to look at that. What if you have a problem?" you said in worry as he collected his meager stack of firewood. He snorted in amusement at that.

"I don't have a problem. It was probably just a sad dream or something," he said.

"Oh, that's true, it could be. But there's nothing to be sad about in real life, so cheer up!" you said.

"Nothing to be sad about? We're trapped in these walls like cattle in a pen! I'd say that's something to be sad about!" he said.

"If you choose to look at it that way, sure, but what can you do? We can't enlist in the military until we're twelve, and besides, you know Mikasa and our parents will never let us," you said. The Ackerman girl had latched on quite fiercely to both you and Eren in the year after her rescue, and wherever you went, it was almost certain that either she or Eren himself would be watching over you, like some sort of guardian angels.

"Whatever. And Mikasa can't tell me what to do! She's not the boss of me," he said, "As for you, maybe you shouldn't become a Scout. It's dangerous."

"Eren, wherever you go, I will follow, because we're friends, and that's what friends do," you said, "You can't convince me otherwise if you try, so don't even think about it. I'm going to see that damn sea with you, and that's final."

"We'll see. Mr. Hannes, are you drunk again?" Eren shouted as you passed the gates to see the members of the Garrison partying as usual. Mr. Orion was noticeably absent; he had mentioned that his cousin, who was in the Cadet Corps, was visiting him for the week, so he had taken off to spend time with her.

"EREN!" Mr. Hannes said in glee, ruffling the boy's hair before frowning when he noticed the dried tear tracks still present on his face. The blond man glanced between the two of you rapidly, drawing some conclusion as you stared at him patiently.

"What?" Eren said.

"You were crying? Did Y/N reject you or something?" he said. Eren turned bright red and shook his head vehemently.

"No! I wasn't crying! It was just raining earlier!" he said.

"I didn't feel any rain," Mr. Max, another Garrison captain and a friend of Mr. Orion's, said.

"I don't think it rained earlier," Mr. Hannes agreed.

"It was where we were gathering firewood," you said smoothly, to save Eren from further embarrassment, "Now come on, Eren. You have to get the wood to your parents, and I need to go babysit my brother."