brave soldier boy // eremin

Brave Soldier Boy

Erens boots crunched against the loose gravel on the path, whilst his eyes were staring straight foreword. The light breeze ruffled his hair, swaying the small bag that was hanging over his shoulder. The sun was setting, causing the sky to be a bright orange-yellow color, simmering like oil in a pan. Eren turned around to admire the sky, smiling. After a few minutes he turned around and kept walking.

Finally, Eren stopped in front of a large cherry blossom tree. He kneeled down in the soft grass, and pulled the bag in front of him. First he pulled out a small blade, resting it against the trunk of the tree. He then pulled out a handful of small purple flowers, and set those next to the blade, on the right. Next came a small blue sweater, that he folded up neatly and set on the left of the blade. Lastly was a large leather book, which he placed in front of him. He stared at those objects for a while, before closing his eyes and taking in a shaky breath.

"Hey, Armin"

His voice sounded croakier than he wanted it to. He cleared his throat.

"Well, I haven't seen you in a while"

And it's true, the last time he came here was 4 months ago

"Nothing's really changed here. Commander Erwin changed up our formation a bit, but besides that, it's all the same."

He sighed, then continued
"Everyone misses you. Especially Mikasa. We don't have our brains anymore."

He gave a short laugh

"But anyways, I brought some stuff with me today!"

He the picked up the blade, running his thumb over the smooth steel.

"This was your last blade. It took me a while to get it from your maneuver gear, but I found it. It was a little dirty, but I managed to get it clean, with help from Mikasa"

He set it back down carefully, then picked up the sweater.

"Remember this? You used to wear this all the time when we were kids. It was kinda big on you then, but it never really mattered."

He gently set it back down, smoothing the wrinkles. He then turned to the flowers, picking one up.

"And these? When we first started going out, you told me you really liked these. So every morning, I'd place one on your pillow, and you'd blush and giggle and tell me that I'm stupid."

He smiled ever so slightly, while placing the flower back down. He then picked up the book and set it on his lap. He could feel the tears he'd been holding in swell in his eyes.

"And this? This is the book you found that had knowledge of the world beyond the walls. And we would read it everyday, about flaming water and land made of ice, and fields of sand! We would talk about how we would see this world. Together."

He set the book back down, and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"So, Happy Birthday!"

Eren allows a few tears roll down his cheeks. He looked down to his lap.

"If only I could have helped you." He murmured. He took another shaky breath.
"Would you mind if I sang, Armin?"

Taking the slight breeze to his ear as a yes, he closed his eyes and started to sing

Leaves from the vine,
Falling so slow,
Like tiny little shells;
Drifting in the foam

He let out a small sob, his heart throbbing, but he continued

Little soldier boy
Come marching home

He put his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands, allowing his tears go run freely, but left his mouth uncovered so he could finish.

Brave soldier boy

He looked up, his teary eyes staring at the objects. He put his head back in his hands, barley choking out the last line.

c-come marching h-h-home