OUR JOURNEY | EREN JAEGER

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆

Porco stares down at you as you lay in his arms. "I love you." He blurts out randomly.

They were simply just laying there together and he had been waiting to say it for too long. He had been waiting to say it, so much to the point it hurt to keep it to himself.

You rose, looking him in the eyes. "You love me?" You questioned.

You've both been dating for two years, but considering that you're both so young, it scared them both to say something. Porco was 18 while you had just turned 16.

It was mid-November, the orange and red leaves falling from the trees.

In response, Porco nodded, raising his hand to push your hair back behind your ear. "I've been in love with you from the moment we slept in the back of my jeep to get away from my mom. You've always been there."

You nodded, a tear slipping from your cheek. "I love you too."

But he's quick to wipe it away. "And no matter what, I'll always love you. No matter if we break up in the future, or anything...you could break my heart over and over and I'd still be madly in love with you. We could spend many miles apart, but nothing could ever change the way I feel about you...I promise."

You wake up and throw the covers off of you.

Now that he's gone, it's all you think about to the point that even your dreams are related to him.

Never in a million years would you have expected him to come back into your life the way he did, just for him to be ripped away from you in the worst way possible.

"Good morning. I made breakfast." Eren comes into the room, sending you a smile.

You look at him before climbing out of bed and walking to the bathroom. "I'm not hungry, I'm sorry."

He watches you go into the bathroom and shut the door.

Today is the day of the funeral and you're dreading every moment of it. You find it kind of odd he's being buried here of all places. When you were both kids, he wished to be buried back home. Things are just different now.

After you get ready, you head into the kitchen where Eren is standing at the counter, eating.

"You're coming with me, right?" You ask him curiously. He had mentioned before he would go with you so you weren't alone.

He comes over to you while he nods. "Yeah. I'm going with you."

——

You're standing there, staring ahead as you cancel out everything else around you.

Porco will never know that you were going to stay working for him.

"It's a weird feeling isn't it?" A voice interrupts your thoughts.

Taking a glance around, you notice everyone has now parted, walking to their own vehicles.  Looking further back, you see Porco's dad coming up behind you.

You haven't seen him in years.

"I'll give you some time," Eren says, kissing your cheek and walking down the pathway down to the road.

"Yeah. It's very weird." You confess, letting out a soft laugh.

Porco's dad wraps his arms around you, and you do the same, closing your eyes and holding him close. "If he hadn't taken me to that meeting, he would still be alive."

"You can't be blaming yourself." Porco's dad says while he continues to hold you close.

It's hard not to.

Whenever you two pull away, you sniffle. "Did they tell you anything? Like what happened? They wouldn't tell me..."

He sighs. "Well, the footage they showed me shows that he stepped outside the car to smoke, which is unusual for him. I guess somebody came by asking him or one? Or something, and I'm assuming he said no, so they pulled out their gun and shot him. That's what the cops think happened as well. There's not really any witnesses."

"Oh." You say quietly.

A smile appears on his face. "Congratulations by the way."

Those words confuse you. "What do you mean?" You tilt your head as you ask.

"Porco told me that you're expecting. I know you'll be a great mother."

You stare at him before looking over to Porco's burial. He knew? "Thank you."

He puts a hand on your shoulder. "I should get going now, I have some stuff to do with the Palace today." He's referring to the company. "Here's this. Porco told me to give this to you after he passed."

"How would he have thought to do something like that?" You furrow your brows while you take the envelope from his hands, looking down at the messy writing that has your name on it.

Now he seems confused. "Porco was sick. Did he never tell you?"

"No, never." You frown, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry kid. Come see me whenever you can, okay? I'll be at the office." He walks away and you watch him.

Eren appears at your side again. "Are you ready to go?"

You nod as his arm wraps around you, and together you walk down to the car while you open the envelope.

When you get inside the car you begin to read it.

I should've told you I was sick, but when I wanted to, you were mad at me. Honestly, I'm scared. The doctors are still trying to figure out what's entirely wrong with me, and hopefully, I find out soon so I can get treated and you'll never have to read this. I don't want this to be too long but I've talked to my dad about it, you'll be next in charge of everything. I leave everything with you. Love, Porco.

You put the paper away and look out the window. "Eren, pull over."

——

MAY 23RD, WEDNESDAY