The World She Saw | Attack on Titan x Reader Fanfiction |

The Defeated: The 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls (5)

With Eren in your custody, you return to the main unit, where the first actions to recover the bodies and to determine the route back to the wall are already underway.

As expected, the mood was utterly depressed. Things were not looking good at all for the survey corps. The operation to capture the Female Titan had failed, countless soldiers had lost their lives and you almost even lost Eren. At least you were able to prevent that, but your friends and comrades from the Special Operations Squad suffered... Were you doomed to watch every mission you were involved in go disastrously wrong? It was just cruel.

"(Y/n)!!"

"He, Eren, wait!"

You turn around when you hear your name, followed by Hanji's voice. 

Eren ran directly towards you while Hanji tried to hold him back. He had been unconscious until now, so you were surprised to see that he was not only awake but also on his feet.

Your eyes widened slightly when Eren didn't slow down but came at full speed, immediately hugging you tightly as you two collided. "Thank goodness you're okay. For a moment, I thought..."

Eren didn't finish his sentence, you could only feel him hugging you tighter as a sob escaped his lips.

Out of reflex, you almost pushed him away because you were so caught off guard by the hug and usually you try to avoid physical contact. But right now you just accepted it and let Eren embrace you. Your own heart tightened when you realized how hard he was crying. You stood stiff as a board, not knowing what to do or say.

"I'm sorry..." you said in a weak voice, after moments of silence. For a moment you think that things could have been different if you hadn't gone your own way again. It was stupid. And in the end, it didn't even achieve anything. No, you should have been there at the time.

"Don't tell me you're sorry... You didn't do anything wrong."

You sighed when Eren said that. It was ironic. Before your mission, you were the one who told him not to think about what-if scenarios because it wouldn't achieve anything. But now you were doing the same. You didn't want Petra and the others to be dead. You just couldn't accept it. You were comrades. Friends. And now there was almost no one left from the Special Operations Squad. "I don't know... It just felt right to say it."

"Don't." he began. Eren's voice was quiet and serious. "It's not your fault."

"I know... It's the fault of the Female Titan. But still..."

At your reply, Eren hums in affirmation. He understands what you mean. "There's no point in thinking about what-if questions. It just drives us mad." Eren said the words to you that you had said to him previously.

"Stop using my own words against me."

"Why? They're good words," he says. "Not my fault they apply to you too."

You sigh as you suddenly feel Eren's grip on you weaken before he sinks to his knees. You grab him before he can fall. "Eren?"

No answer. He lost consciousness again.

Suddenly, someone approached you quickly from the side. It was Mikasa. "What's wrong with Eren? Why is he here? Is he all right?"

"He just lost consciousness again," you said, "Let's get him back to the cart." 

Mikasa nodded in agreement before hoisting Eren onto her shoulders and carrying him back piggyback.

"Is he unconscious again?" Hanji, who had taken care of Eren when you brought him back from the Female Titan, asked.