Eren slams into a nearby roof, the skin of his palm grinding against the harsh tiles. It burns and stings, but he ignores the pain, looking over his shoulder at what remains of Shiganshina. Buildings have been smashed in the fight and he can see the smoke from his titan form creeping over the rooftops like an omen of death. He doesn't know how many of them are remaining, and how many of those are still fighting. He thinks it's useless now. That their efforts are going to be for nothing.
He grits his teeth and lets out a scoff. Despite the impossibility of humanity's success in this war, he can't help feeling like he's failed. That if he had been quicker, stronger, then maybe humanity would still have a chance. A tear runs down his face and he's surprised he hadn't noticed he was crying. He hurriedly wipes away the tears because he can't cry. He's pathetic enough already. The raw skin on his palm stings as it absorbs the salinity, but right now he doesn't care.
He looks out across the city, over what he can see of it, looking for any sign of anybody. But he finds none. His chest tightens and his heart constricts, wrapping around his throat and squeezing tight. He suddenly can't breathe, can't think. His friends, his comrades — everyone is probably dead by now. The war is over. The titans have won.
He falls to his knees and slams his hands on the tiles, feeling the impact shake his bones. He lets out a scream and feels the tears return, quicker this time. More pathetic. His body shakes with his sobs and he's so overwhelmed with a feeling of emptiness he isn't sure he's actually feeling anything. He aches and burns and stings and throbs and it's absolute agony. Everything hurts, all at once, as harshly as it can.
"Eren?" a familiar voice calls out and he looks over his shoulder in disbelief. It can't be . . .
He lands on the roof more gracefully than Eren had, blond hair blowing softly in the breeze. Ocean eyes are dark and stormy, but as they land on him, they calm ever so slightly. "Eren," he breathes, rushing over to him and Eren rises to his feet. He stops before him, seeming as though he isn't quite sure what to do. He reaches his hand out and firmly places it on Eren's shoulder and he feels something again, if only for a moment. Something happy and wonderful in the midst of all this hell. "Armin," he smiles and feels another tear run down his face, his voice quivering horribly. "Eren, the others, they . . . ," he begins gently, but he doesn't have to finish because Eren already knows. "We're the only ones left."
He grimaces and Eren's heart shatters. It's just them, standing here on the edge of nothing, knowing that tomorrow will probably never come. He never thought it would come down to this. "Armin, I'm sorry," he sobs and the blond takes his other shoulder. "Hey," he says with an attempt at a smile, but his voice trembles. "Don't say that. You have no reason to be sorry."
"I-I'm sorry I . . . couldn't do this for y-you."
"Do what for me?"
"This," he says, gesturing vaguely at the rubble around them. "I couldn't win this war f-for you."
"Eren," he mumbles, losing the rest of his sentence and letting it fall. "I was only fighting th-this damn thing to get our freedom b-back. So we c-could see the outside world."
Ocean eyes are soft as they look at him and Eren feels his heart ache. "I'm so s-sorry, Armin. If it had been another time, a-another world, maybe we could've been happy out there."
"Eren," he says again and he gets the feeling he should stop talking so he does. Armin gives him a fragile smile before leaning his head up and pressing their lips together. The touch is gentle and Eren's heart melts, his mind going completely clear. His hand comes up to soft blond hair as Armin's cups his face, capturing his lips in another soft kiss. When he pulls away, Eren sees tears shimmering in his eyes, but still he continues to smile. "I d-didn't have to see the outside world to be happy. Not as long as I had you by my side."
Eren lets out a breath, giving his best attempt at a grin. It's easier than he expects it to be. "Armin," he mutters, clasping his hand over the one at his cheek. He leans their foreheads together and he sees Armin swallow, his lips parting softly on a breath. "I'm scared, Eren," he says, his voice wavering. Eren gives his hand a gentle squeeze. "Me too, Armin."
He hears Armin let out a quiet sob and squeezes his eyes tightly shut. "Me too."
"Promise me," the blond says, pulling away enough to look at him. Tears are pouring from his eyes like waterfalls now. "Promise m-me you won't leave. No matter wh-what happens. Stay by my s-side."
He lets out something between a laugh and a sob. "Of course I will," he says and Armin's face crumples with sorrow before Eren rushes forwards and kisses him again. He throws his arms around Eren's neck, pulling him as close as he possibly can. Their lips seem to fit together perfectly and Eren wishes he had done this sooner. Before they were staring death straight in the eyes. They pull away reluctantly and are suddenly overcome in shadow and when Eren looks, he sees a titan looming over them with blood-stained teeth. He gulps, feeling fearful of what's about to happen to them. Though he's also somehow at peace. He knows he's too weak to shift and even if he did and he managed to get them both out of there alive, what kind of life would they be living? A life of fear. A life of pain. Maybe it was better this way.
He looks back to Armin who shows so much emotion in those ocean eyes Eren loves so much. He suddenly doesn't want to die. He doesn't want to leave things like this. He doesn't want to see the fear and pain written on Armin's face before things fade to black. He wishes they could've gotten to the outside world. He wishes they had seen the ocean and he could see that look of wonder in Armin's eyes once more. He wishes they could've lived a long, happy life together somewhere far from this place. Far from the titans.
"I love you," he sobs, clutching Armin's shoulders tightly. A tear rolls down his cheek and he sniffles. "I l-love you too," he gasps. He manages to give him one last kiss before they're being picked up and brought towards open jaws. Eren looks into his eyes and tries to get lost there as he has so many times before because maybe it'll distract him from what's about to happen to them. They continue to stare at each other as they enter the titans mouth and as its teeth sink into their flesh and the world goes black.
