Off Record [Ereri/Riren] ✓

60 ⚕︎Justice ✍︎

Off Record
Chapter 60
⚕︎Justice ✍︎
Eren

jus·tice

/ˈjəstəs/

noun

just behavior or treatment

We've been curled up in the corner of our room since the second we woke up. The voices are incredibly loud and negative today and we do our best to ignore them but it's hard. It's hard to believe we're going to win this thing.

We hear the door open and look up anxiously.

Levi walks in, wearing his suit. He pushes his glasses up before sitting by us. "How are you feeling?"

We instantly lean against him. "Nervous. You look really good, though."

"Thank you," he responds, playing with our hair. "We can do this. You'll be home soon."

"We trust you." We tell him. "Is it time to go?"

"Yeah. Just about." Levi lays out our clothes.

We stand and make our way over, stripping naked before pulling on the suit we'd picked out with Levi. "Nothing feels real."

"Well, it is." Levi plays with his thumbs.

"How's it look?" I turn towards Levi, leaving my tie undone since I still don't know how to tie it.

"Fantastic." Levi smiles softly and does our tie before kissing us. "Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." we answer.

Levi hands us a package of Pop Tarts once we get in the work van, Ryder driving as Levi watches over us. Xander is at our house, watching Isabel.

We tear into the poptarts, not bothering to check what flavor they are. We eat them with one hand while the other holds Levi's hand.

"You look nice, Ryder. I'm sorry that Xander isn't here with you," Levi says, leaning his head on our shoulder.

"Thanks, you guys look good too." Ryder smiles. "And I'll live without him. Someone's gotta watch Izzy." He makes eye contact with me through the mirror. "I'm so proud of you, Eren. You and Titan both."

"As am I," Levi whispers, burying his face in our neck.

"Thank you," we whisper.

The drive isn't as long as we would've hoped, and soon we're being helped down out of the van and into the courtroom. Levi sits us down at a table between him and Mckenzie.

Our hands are shaking so bad we have to clasp them together. Titan has us search the room, checking every face and analyzing every possible threat. We see Grisha at the other table and tense, resisting the urge to bolt. He's here, in the flesh. It isn't just an illusion this time. That is my father, my torturer.

"Eren, we're at the questioning bench," Levi says under his breath.

"O-Okay."

McKenzie makes eye contact with me while angled in a way so that the jury can see our every expression. She has us place our hand on the Bible and recite some lines before leading us to the stand so we can begin the questioning. "What is your name? Speak loudly so that the courtroom can hear you."

We steel ourselves. "My name is Eren Jaeger."

"Where do you currently reside?"

"I currently live at the Whane Mental Asylum." We answer, hearing Grisha stifle a laugh.