sangfroid | eren x reader

eleven

"eren. apologise to yumiru." historia sent daggers into the mans direction, who stood beside the fireplace talking to armin.

"fine." eren sighed, sauntering over to the angry looking girl and took yumiru from her hip. he cradled her in his arms, causing the little child to giggle hysterically. he tickled her stomach, until she begged him to stop in between chortles.

"yumiru, i am sorry. sorry for when the titans eat you." eren grinned as he set the girl down, instantly chasing after her and rounding up the children, who all screamed in terror to run away. he followed them into the backyard, their laughs and calls still heard from our position. historia held a smile widely on her face but shook her head.

"who's caused this mess." levi looked disapprovingly at the imprints of tiny shoes that left mud on the floorboards. in his hand he held a mop and the other a cloth.

"eren, i'll make sure he cleans it." i simpered courteously, to which levi scoffed and exited the room. proceeding to the backyard to retrieve eren, i stood in the doorway in awe as he played heartily with the children. if someone told me the boy who cried the first time i saw him in a irate fit over titans during training would be this content, i would laugh in their face. my mind wandered as i watched the scene for a while, until eren eventually caught my stare.

"make the most of it." eren snapped me from my trance as he advanced towards me, leaving the kids to independently play. he too leaned against the doorframe beside me, looking out into the expansive garden.

"i wish we could stay like this forever." i sighed in deep joy, knowing what met us behind the walls was much more gruesome.

"we retook wall maria, we can soon clear out the island, i promised you one thing, and that was to keep historia safe." eren tried to reassure me, but my wandering eyes proved my discomfort. i turned to face him as he looked down upon me, noticing in the afternoon light how intense his eyes had become. the lively teal they once were became a tired, destructive emerald. he had also began growing his hair out, a few strands blowing idly in wind as it passed.

"whatever's beyond it scares me." i confessed, allowing my most vulnerable secret to be shared. despite our differences, i felt safe around eren, as though i could tell him anything and he would find a way to destroy my worries.

"i wish i could tell you something to make you feel better, but i'm not sure myself." he shrugged, even from where my eyes fixated on the distant hills, i felt his stare upon my face.

"i feel as though it's always one sided. but eren, i promise to always fight alongside you."

"i have no trouble believing you wouldn't." eren chuckled, to which i allowed myself to do the same as i looked up at him.

"i hope you're on the right side of humanity, eren." my face contorted into a serious expression. despite him doing everything i asked, the secrets of the wall and his power were still prevalent.

"i'm on whatever side my heart tells me to be on." he admitted, despite how little comfort that brought me - "although i felt trapped, like a bird, within these walls they still served as home. the people within them- you - will always be a priority."

"and if the other side happens to be right?" i questioned his morals, to which his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"in what world is trapping a population inside walls to live like cattle and forcing a percentage to their death right?"

"i was just asking." i allowed a smile to coat my distressed face at the boys response, to which he returned. the air grew silent between us as the noises of children playing flooded our ears in its absence.it was awfully serene, the bittersweet reality of how we lived forever etched into my mind. in the distance, a singular crow was airborne amidst the darkening blue of the sky. it lowered closer to the ground, landing on a desolate tree in the middle of a field behind the orphanage. for a second, it began to look around at the atmosphere. in that second, rain began to cascade down from the skies, breaking its serenity. it released a deafening squeak and retreated back into the skies in an attempt for shelter provided better than the falling leaves.