THIRTEEN • Eren Jaeger

CHAPTER 30: Loop Thirteen, V

The train rumbled beneath you, rhythmic clatter filling the dimly lit carriage. Outside the window, the countryside rushed by in a blur of dark forests and moonlit fields. Inside, the air smells faintly of coal and dust, mixed with the lingering scent of your borrowed perfume.

You sat close to Eren, hand clasped tightly in his. His hand was callused from all the years of military but never scarred because he was a Titan. He could get scars now.

You had both been silent for a while, lost in your thoughts, the weight of your decision pressing down on you like the heavy wool coats you were wearing. You glanced at him, his profile illuminated by the flickering light of the passing station, and your heart swelled with a mixture of fear and hope.

"Do you think they know?" you asked quietly, voice almost drowned out by the train's hum. You leaned in closer, your breath warm against his neck. "What we've done?"

Eren's jaw tightened. His dark hair was tousled, and his eyes, normally so bright, were shadowed with worry.

"By now, they do," he said. "They'll forgive and forget—we'll be fine."

His voice was steady, though the slight tremor in his hand betrayed his nerves.

You squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him as much as yourself. "Do you think we'll make it?"

"We'll make it," he replied firmly, turning to meet your eyes. "I promised you, didn't I?"

His smile was small but warm, and for a moment, it felt like the rest of the world had faded away, leaving only the two of you.

You leaned your head on his shoulder, the tension in your body beginning to melt. Outside, the night stretched on, endless and uncertain, but inside the train with Eren beside you, possibly forever, there was a small flicker of safety.

"I don't care where we go," you whispered. "As long as we're together."

Eren wrapped an arm around you, pulling you close. You had been impulsive, perhaps stupid and rash. But you listened to your heart instead of your head, and the heart wanted him. It wanted out of the hellhole you called war against Marley.

"We'll be together," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. "Always."

The world beyond the walls was cold and hostile, but in this moment, pressed against each other in the rattling carriage, you felt warmer than ever.

You were free.

-

Live.

Suffer.

Die.

Repeat.

A recurring nightmare.

You startled awake at an hour too late and dark to know what time it is, heart pounding against your ribcage.

Your perspiring hand came up to your shirt, feeling your heart thundering so loudly it felt as though your rib cage would explode.

The memory of the nightmare you woke up from clinged to your brain for a moment, slowly pulling away until you were left with flashes of Eren's face and a vague feeling of unease and fear.

Your hand came up to grasp at your shirt, heart thundering so loudly in your chest that you could feel it against your fist.

"[Name]," A soft, quiet voice speaks up, and you jerked your head up, still sweaty and nervous from the dredges of adrenaline the nightmare left you with. Eren was looking at you from beside you. The room was still rather bare. "Are you alright?"