golden / someone's ugly daughter

IV. she

two years have passed since that night on the steps of your house with your father, and having your kiss with eren. since then, much has changed, and it changed quickly as well. you and eren fell in love fast and hard despite your father's wishes. he hated the relationship, but he wanted to remain civil, so he kept his opinions mostly to himself sometimes. that was one thing you could be thankful for. besides that, the military has become much stronger with the added help of the anti-marley volunteers and alliances with other countries. paradis, which was once a barren landscape, now was decorated with trains, ships, aircrafts, and more. what was once your home hidden away by the titans has now changed in a better way—in hopes of a new future. even though the changes were good and happened fast, it all came down to the price of war. for almost four years there has been discussion of war with the enemy, marley.

you were already fighting your own war—the personal one between you and your father. ever since that night on those steps, things have never been the same. memories of that night haunted you. you never let levi touch you ever again. his attempts at reconciliation failed over and over again. it hurt your soul, and it hurt his. it was a war that was never going to end, even if one of you wound up dead. and from that night too, levi's headaches have only gotten worse and more frequent. he was in pain for you and because of you. but you couldn't hide and run away from him forever. not only was he your father, but he was your captain. and at one point a few months ago, levi stopped trying anymore. he was no longer your father, but your captain. and he only did this because he didn't want to hurt you anymore. he didn't want to damage the relationship anymore. at this point, levi fully believed everything was his fault. and whenever you looked him in the eye, you could see his pain oh so clearly in those sad, grey orbs.

your life has entered a new age now. two days ago you just got off the boat and placed two feet onto marley soil. two days ago you were having the time of your life with your closest friends, drunk, in enemy territory. two days later, you are lying awake in the azumabito estate feeling distressed. the thought of war lingered on your mind, and how eren was at the forefront of it all. he was the only man who could win it, and nobody else. that thought was scary to you. it had disturbed your night's rest so badly that you woke up before the sun had even begun to rise. outside was still so very dark and cold. the open window proved so as the wind came by and you felt a chill run up your arms and down your back. you turned to lay on your side and face the window. a tree branch hung close enough you could see its leaves and shadows. it looked sad.

a sudden groan came from the other side of the bed, and you felt the bed shake a little as eren also turned from one side to another. you didn't move until he wrapped an arm around you and brought you up to his warm body. you couldn't help but hum at the feeling of his warmth.

"you awake?" eren asked in a raspy voice.

"i've been up for a while now," you said, turning around to face him. you rested your head against his chest and looked up at him through your lashes. his eyes were still closed with a relaxed look on his face. he looked so peaceful, and his hair had grown just a bit longer now that it covered some parts of his face when he slept. he was stronger and looked more masculine than ever—because you were both nineteen now. no more do you see that curious boy, but a man soon to be war-ridden.

you reached your hand up to start brushing some of his strands away from his face, and in return, he scrunched his nose and moved his head a little. eren grabbed your hand and moved it away. "stop, it's annoying..." he muttered tiredly.

"you're annoying," you joked as a reply, smiling.

he scoffed before nudging you off of him a little so he could lay on his back. you watched as he finally parted his eyelids and moved the blanket down a little. eren let out a sigh at the thought of the long day ahead of him. he was tired, and you could tell, so you reached a hand out and placed it on his chest, bringing yourself closer to him again. he placed his hand on top of yours and intertwined your fingers with his. you smiled at the gesture.