Year 854
"So... It was all your dream?" I ask as he looks at his reflection in the water of the canal of Shiganshina.
"Mmhm...All just a dream that I made up to fill a void..." Eren says as I cross my arms.
"And...What about the baby? Is it yours or Jean's? Or what about our supposed vowels?" I ask as he sighs.
"I just told you...Everything you saw was just a made-up dream I wanted to show you. The baby is Jean's and everything else was just made up... Well, now, I guess you can say that it's what I wanted," Eren said as I scoot closer to him on the grass.
"But...Why show it to me?" I ask as he shrugs.
"I just...I needed you to see how I wanted my life to go...Our life...What I wanted since I wouldn't be able to live it," Eren said as I look down with my brows furrowed with sadness.
"Just come back, Eren..." I say as he shakes his head.
"I would...I really would... But, I can't...You know this... If I did, no one would survive," Eren said as he looks up into the sky.
"Aren't I dead after this? Ymir said that she'd give me until all the chaos was over..." I say while looking at my ring.
"Ymir is really smart, hm..? After all of this chaos, the Ymir Curse will be broken... No more Titans, no more Titan fluid, no more bullshit keeping all of you from roaming free. That means when you're done here, you'll no longer have your life held by strings. She worded it off, but she wanted you, deep down, to keep moving on..." Eren said as my eyes widened.
"And you did all of this, for us?" I ask as he nods.
"Now, we have a debt to pay, hm?" I hum as he gives me a side smile.
"I'm sorry, (Y/n)," Eren says as I lift my brows.
"For pushing you all away...Calling you those names...Sliting your throat when I knew you couldn't heal...For hurting you...I was just so desperate to get away from all of you that I did everything I could. My body couldn't take the feeling of betrayal...For going against my own feelings...So I...I continued to still hold on to that love, just never admitted it to you," Eren says as my eyes widen.
"Is this it?" I ask as he looks at me.
"Hm?" He hums as I dig my face into my knees.
"What you wanted to tell me...When I kept pushing you away like you were nothing...Like your feelings were nothing...I want to know, Eren...I want to know what you've always wanted to say," I say as Eren gets up from the green grass.
"Hey! I thought-" I shout at him as I cut my sentence off when he held his hand out to me.
"Let's continue to talk, but I wanna show you things," Eren said as I hesitantly reached for his fingers.
*FLASH*
As our fingertips touched, the scenery behind him because dark. The sky wasn't visible, it was covered in dark, thick, smoke. There was hardly any light, just a bright orange radiant coming from below us. I look down to the dark ground, and as I stood up, flakes of, what seemed like ash, came drifting off my knees.
"Oh, wow...It's so...Hot," I say as I look over to a dense flow of hot, liquid fire.
"This is the closest representation of that liquid fire Armin talked about," Eren said as I walked over and bent down to the river of fire.
"Oh, speaking of Armin, I appreciate the apology and all but, Armin and Mikasa still need one, especially Mikasa," I say crossing my arms as kneels next to me.
"I already talked to Armin...But, I felt like you needed to be the last person I talked to," Eren said as the heat raised up to my face.
"And why is that?" I ask as he shrugs.
"I didn't want to feel rushed. Not like you're missing out on anything, remember, here goes back like a flash in the real world," Eren said as my curiosity got the best of me and I reached out to the hot liquid.
*FLASH*
When my fingertips hovered about the hot stuff, the scenery again changed. Instead of picking up the fire, I picked up snow.
"Ah! Hey!" I shout flinging the snow out of my hand.
"Well, don't touch it! You're that dumb, huh?!" Eren shouts at me as I furrow my brows.
"Am not!!!" I shout as he furrows his brows to me.
"Are too!!!" Eren shouted as I gasped and shunned him with my eyes closed.
I slowly peeked opened my eyes to the cold soft ground of snow. As I huffed, I saw my breath form into a cloud.
"Fields of ice," Eren said behind me while I finally looked forward to see mountains upon mountains of snow and ice and vast land of snow that ran on for forever.
*FLASH*
As I ran my hand along the icy floor, everything became a bright neon light. As the flash settled down, I blinked a couple of times to adjust my vision. It was all a bit hazy, but it was clear that we were at the ocean. I looked down at my hand to see it full-grown and now a kids' size.
"I never thought I would ever experience such a feeling," Eren said quietly as I quickly looked back to see Eren back to his 19-year-old self.
"Huh?" I question as he stared out into the deep blue sea and horizon.
"Back when we first joined the Training Corps, year 847, two years after the first appearance of Betholdt's Colossal Titan. We all ran separate ways, I went towards my mom only to find her crushed under our house. And you went to your house. I told you...I told you we'd all meet up by the dock, but you never came," Eren said as I sat in the ocean, staring at him with wide eyes.
"I got anxious. I wondered if you were never coming. I wondered if it was too late...I wondered...If you were dead... I tried to go back for you, but with the current of people pushing against me and Mikasa holding my arm, I couldn't. Mikasa and Armin weren't wrong... I never really stopped looking...And for what?" Eren asked himself with a slight chuckle.
"Who knew if you were really gone... Two years of looking up and down and around, and there wasn't a trace. Then, it was time to sign into the Training Corps where my new life would begin as a soldier. It was our first day, and after...After Sasha got yelled at for eating a steamed potato, I heard a loud laugh...It sounded familiar, I hadn't heard it in a while so it hit deeper for me," Eren said as a breeze passed by, making his hair flow nicely.
"It was on the tip of my tongue and yet, I couldn't name who the hell it came from. My head ached throughout that entire thing. That's until we went into the Mess Hall. Armin, Mikasa, and I walked in to grab a tray full of shit food, only to be stopped by a girl, shorter than Armin at the time. I looked behind me and I saw (h/c) and I just knew...I just knew it was you," Eren said as he looked down at me with just his eyes.
"That's when the overwhelming feeling set in...No one in that moment felt how I felt...No...No one knows how it feels to look at someone and have everyone else not matter. It felt so weird yet so good...It would be a feeling that I would soon have to overlook for the sake of saving everyone," Eren continued as I noticed his eyes gloss over.
"When I told you that I asked myself, "Would I care if you died?". I never answered it because the answer would have been yes... I couldn't lie to that question so I pushed it away. That's why I kissed you the day of Annie's attack in Stohess...Because...Even if there was that slightest chance of one of us dying...I needed you to know how I felt...I wanted to share those feelings even if you didn't look at me the way I looked at you..." Eren sighed as I stood up from the water and walked over to him.
"Maybe it was because I couldn't find the words to express myself...So, from then on, I wanted to keep fighting...I wanted to fight for life...I wanted to fight...For you...So I could talk to you about my feelings without saying the word "love"...But, of course, there was always Jean there to come and sweep you away," Eren said with a little more anger in the last words.
"I want you happy...I want you to be free...I want you to live a life without chaos, just like the one you wanted...But I can't stand the thought of you being with another man... I hate it...I don't want to see you laughing, smiling, living with another man that isn't me...Because...All I wanted...And all I wished for...Was to be free...But with you," Eren said as I tear left his eye.
"I'll go with you, Eren! It doesn't really have to be the end," I shout as I grab his arm as he lifelessly looks out to the setting sun.
"You can't go...I won't allow it..." Eren says as I gasp while he looks down at me.
"You-! You just said that you wanted to be free with me, so come on, Eren!" I shout as he furrows bros with sadness.
"(Y/n), that's enough...You have a life out there...I don't," Eren says as I stop jerking on his arms.
"And how the hell do you know?" I ask as Eren places his cold hand against my cheek and lifts my head up.
"Because I saw it all...The day after the retake of Shiganshina... We have all rewarded our pendants...We were all required to kiss the hand of our queen, Historia...And as I did...I saw it all...(Y/n)... I saw you leading a beautiful life...But that life was with Jean and all tied together with rings on your fingers and with four children running free, much like Mikasa, Armin, you, and I...And I envied all of it...I wanted it to be me so badly that I was willing to risk everyone," Eren says as he brought our faces closer together.
"I wanted to change it...So I thought...So I thought that if I slept with your first...You would be with me and we'd run away from everything... That's what you saw...You saw what would've happened if we ran free of everything...No rules...No people to split us...Nothing would get in our way...It'd just be us..." Eren's voice shook as I grabbed his face.
"Eren, we can have that," I say as he places his forehead on mine and shook his head.
"I refuse to rob you of such a life...I pushed you all away...And this is the debt I have to pay...It's not your fault I ruin everything...And it's not your fault I can't be what you need...But...Angels like you can't fly down hell with me..." Eren said as I felt a cold tear drip on my cheek.
"Eren...Don't go..." I say as I felt his hand relax on my stomach.
"(Y/n)...Name that child from someone you love," Eren said as I left his lips hover close to mine.
*FLASH*
"(Y/n)..?" I heard Mikasa say as I jerked with my head up.
"Are you...Crying?" Mikasa asked as I looked down to see Eren's head in her arms.
"Hm? Huh?" I hum as I touch my face and felt the constant stream of tears coming from my eyes.
"Mikasa? (Y/n)?" I heard Armin's voice come from the thick steam.
I looked up to my right to see Armin walking over to the two of us. Armin looked down into Mikasa's arms and gasped.
"Your memories have returned too, haven't they Armin? Memories of that day when Eren came to visit us," Mikasa said as Armin flew into our arms and hugged everyone, including Eren.
"Yeah... I heard all bout it...That the result of the choice that you caused...Will wipe out the Power of the Titans from this world," Armin said as I gasped.
"Wait...But that means..." I say as I look behind me with my eyes widened.
I shoot my head around to see crowds of people all on the floor, holding their heads. I got up from the dirt to stand on my feet. As I started to walk over to the crowd of people, I see Levi placed up against a rock.
"Gabi!!!!!" I heard Falco shout, running past me as I smile.
"Heya guys..." I heard Levi mumble to himself as I decided to change my direction towards him.
"Were you all watching that?" He asked himself as I tilt my head.
"Levi... Who are you talking to?" I ask as he said nothing but looked up.
*WOOSH*
A chilling breeze picked up the steam in front of my face, blocking my view of Levi. I shielded my face with my hands and arms from any rocks that may have passed by. As the wind died down, I slowly uncovered my face and looked forward once again. My eyes widened with tears flowing from them and my mouth was slightly parted to the sight of every member of the Survey corps joined in a group in front of me.
"W-What?" I ask myself as they all placed their balled fist on their heart.
I looked around and saw Hange smiling at me, Moblit by her side of course. Erwin looking down on me with a soft look and Miche by his side with his squad. All of Levi's past squad, and Shadis standing in the background. But as I looked around, I saw two unfamiliar guests. One of them had a funny cut, pale brown hair with blue eyes, and a shorter girl by his side, smiling really bright with maroon hair. As I backed up, Hange took a step forward to me. She adjusted her glasses and pointed behind me.
"Hm?" I hummed and turned around.
I gasped as I scanned two bodies up. It was Sasha, smiling with her eyes closed. I looked to the left of her and saw a taller man with a sweet smile that burned my heart.
"Marco..." I sigh as he waved with a silent giggle.
Sasha let down her hand, she opened her eyes and walked towards me. She held out her hand and with warmth, I grabbed hers. My hand immediately broke her figure down back to dust., and so did Marco. I looked down at the dust the replaced them with other figures. It happened right in front of my eyes, two older people formed. A man with short brown hair with (e/c) eyes his hand balled on his chest, and a woman with (h/c) hair and pale gray eyes.
"Hm? Who...Who are you two?" I ask as the woman raised her skinny hand and pointed at her ring finger.
I raised my left hand and noticed, that the stone on my ring had completely vanished. I gasped as I realized, that the two old couple that stood in front of me were my parents. My dad laughed with my mom as I pouted.
"Is this the reuniting you guys wanted?" I ask the two as they turned to me.
My mom smiled once again and took my shoulders and turned me around.
"Ah!" I shouted as I bumped into a chest.
"Welp, definitely not Levi, chest is too high," I say rubbing my head as the person grabbed my left hand.
"(Y/n), open your goddamn eyes," He said as I opened them up with pain as I saw Jean standing in front of me.
"Jean!" I shouted as I tacked him into the dirt.
He smiled as I buried myself into his chest and clung to dear life. I cried into his shirt as he wrapped his arms around my torso.
"Thank god you're not just dust!" I shouted and laughed out of relief as he pulled away.
As he still held onto my left hand, I stood up and looked around.
"Oh, please tell me Connie is fine," I say as I scanned the area.
"(Y/n)," Jean said as he took the empty ring from my finger.
"Oh! Gabi! She should be fine, Falco basically tackled her, so," I say as Jean sighed.
"(Y/n)!" Jean shouted as I furrow my brows.
"What?!" I shouted back as I swung my head to see Jean kneeling on one knee.
"Oh..." I said quietly as he smiled.
"You know, I'm still waiting on your answer...But, I'd like to simplify my statement...(Y/n)...Will you marry me?" Jean said as my eyes widened.
"Uh..." I exhaled as his smile sorta faded.
"Jean..." I say as he looked away from me.
"Maybe...Maybe it was too soon-," Jean says as I took my hand from him and grabbed his face.
"Yes...That was always going to be my answer," I say as he shot up to his feet with a smile and placed his lips against mine.
"And with what permission?" I heard Levi grumble as I looked behind me.
"Hey!" I shout as Levi lets out a little laugh with a full smile.
"I'm messing around...Well...Maybe not...But, what did I tell you...You're lucky to love, (y/n)...Embrace it," Levi said with a smile as my eyes widened before I smiled as well.
"Please listen, Chief Mulle! Eren Yeager is dead. The power of the Titans has also been eliminated from this world! We're all just humans now!" A man yelled across the land as Jean and I picked Levi up.
"Can you prove it? Right here and now?" Mulle asks as we walk towards the debate.
"If it's a blood test you want-," The man spoke out as Mulle raised his hand.
"Right here!! Right now!!" Mulle shouted as I noticed a man dropped his ODM gear and pushing towards the argument.
"If there was anyone left with the power of the TItan, we'd be using that power to protect ourselves right now! Instead, even after having guns pointed at our heads, we're still powerless humans! This is above all the proof you need that we are just humans!" Armin shouted as Mulle relaxed his arm.
"And who are you?" Mulla asked Armin as Armin stood face to face with him.
"I am Armin Arlert, an Eldian of Paradise Island! I am the one who killed the Attack Titan, Eren Yeager!!!" Armin shouted as Jean and I looked at each other and smiled.
------------------------------------
'It's been three years since the rumbling...Or the day we now call, "The Battle of Heaven and Earth". The people who have faced tremendous loss in life and yet survived must be suffering from scars that will never heal. As the world mourns its losses amidst anxiety and uneasiness, the Nation of Eldia has formed an Army under the Yeager fraction and is focusing on strengthening its military forces. Fearing the retaliation of remnants of the humans who survived on the other side of the ocean, the people of the Island raised their voices in unison...'
'If we win, we live...If we lose, we die...If we don't fight, we can't win...'
'This fight won't end until either the Eldians or the rest of the world is wiped out. Maybe what you said was right... Even so, you entrusted is with the future of this world as we live now.'
"(Y/n)? Why are you always writing letters? Who do they even go to?" Pieck asks as I jerk my head up.
"O-Oh it's nothing...It doesn't go to anyone...I just...I don't know, like to write?" I say with a questioning tone as Reiner snatches from my hands.
*SNIFF*
"Uh-," I exhale as Reiner practically stuck the whole thing up his nose.
"Your handwriting is so beautiful, I can't even bear to not look at it, it even smells expensive!" Reiner mumbles to himself as Armin snatched the letter.
"How many times should I tell you to stop lusting over married women?! You even do this with Historia!" Armin shouts and places the letter back in my possession.
"You know how long it took me to get him to stop touching my wife?" Jean says entering the ship room.
"Finally done fixing your hair?" I ask as he walks over and rests against my chair.
"Couple of drinks here and there too," Jean says as I roll my eyes.
"Really, (y/n), you should get a break... Your kid and that man are a handful I bet," Pieck takes my hand as I laugh.
"I couldn't, how do you think he's not alcoholic?" I ask her as she shrugs.
"Hm, fair game," She says as Annie walks into the room as well.
"Paradise is within sight now. Armin, you really think things will go well? To think that the same group who destroyed the walls, betrayed Paradise, killed Eren, and the same group whom the Edlians revered would serve as the ambassadors of peace negotiations between them and the allied nations..."Armin says as Pieck rests her chin in her hand.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to sink this ship," Pieck jokes as Connie looks away from the window.
"Guys, have some trust in Historia, the Queen. Who without hesitation took Jean's family under her protection, will surely protect us too," Connie says as I stand up and let Annie sit next to Armin.
"Or in our weakened state might just-," Annie says as Armin interrupts her.
"Annie, the conflict between people will never end. But, if they see us together like this, everyone would surely want to know...What we experienced, is why the very same people who were at each other's throats not so ago are now coming together to paradise, to appeal for peace...We must tell them the truth of that story...The one that unfolded in front of our very eyes," Armin said as I walked towards the door of the room.
"And where are you going?" Jean asked as I turned back and raised up my letter.
"No where too far, just finishing up a piece of paper," I say as I walk out into the long hall of the ship.
'After the rumbling, I cried for a week straight...Tissues over tissue, I don't know why...Maybe the grief of everyone...But...'
'After everything, we had decided, on part of Historia and me that we wouldn't have walls anymore, there was no more reason for them. We took them and used them for concrete for roads and buildings, all put to good use. Since I share the blood of Ymir, that means I am still considered royalty. I make decisions and Historia listens and accepts or denies. I decided that since there was no need for three military branches, we'd just make one big one.'
'I requested a hall of the past. This means, their HQ had the faces of all past commanders of every branch. From Keith Shadis to Armin Arlert. All of which had an identical painting of them. It was about a year's work, but we did it. I worked in the Military as a Section Commander until I had my son which put me out of commission. Getting to see new recruits was really weird. Maybe because I ran into a few that reminded me of past people.'
'But enough Military talk, gets boring...After the rumbling, about two months later, Jean and I got officially married in a garden full of as many flowers as we could. It was truly amazing. Five months later, I had my first son...I did as you said, Eren...I named him after someone I love. And finally, within that year, Levi and I signed an adoption agreement. Even though I don't need a guardian, Levi insisted, what an old man. Historia saved Jean and I a home in Central and told us she filled a cabinet full of the finest wine.'
'I told her not to, but she insisted. She told me that I could live there at no expense. My bloodline covers it. Gabi and Falco are fine, I can't tell if they're dating... Is that why Falco has been asking about relationship things? I helped Levi open up a tea shop with Onyakopon and Niccolo. They deliver fresh loaves and tea every Tuesday. Everyone here on the ship is fine. Annie and Armin have officially announced they're dating, how nice, hm?'
'Mikasa...Well...She...I don't know, shouldn't ask me...She mostly keeps to herself as much as possible and lives in a cabin. My next due date should be somewhere in two more months, if a girl, I'll name her Ymir. If a boy, I'll name him Shota. Oh! Speaking of babies, it was proven that Historia's kid was in fact that farmers...Sorry...She named her sweet girl Frieda.'
'Everything is great...Or...That's what I want to believe...It's not the same with everyone gone. Truly... Historia wanted me to announce my royalty publicly but I refused. I didn't want to be treated differently...That being said, I keep. low profile besides the whole being involved with saving the world...I miss-'
"Mommy!" My son shouted as I jumped.
"Uh...Sorry...I know you're in the middle of writing but...He couldn't help it," Jean said as I swing around in my chair and pick up my son.
"Mommy! We're gonna be home any minute!! Come look!" Our son shouted as Jean and I laughed.
"Does this mean I'll see aunt Mmm- Mmm- Mekasaw," Our son said as I walked to Jean with a smile.
"Yes, she'll be waiting for us," I say as Jean opens the door where I see everyone heading for the deck.
"What's everyone gathered for?" I ask Jean as he takes our son from my arms.
"Well, it's a big moment!" Jean says as Armin waits for me by the railing.
I walked up the stairs to the deck and looked out to see Armin, Annie, Pieck, Reiner, and Connie looking out towards Paradise. As I took one step out, the floorboard beneath me creaked which drew attention towards us. Armin gave me a faint smile as he held his hand out. I walked up to the group of them and took Armin's hand.
"Home...Is over there," Armin says as he points out to the ocean.
"Mom? I have a question that dad won't answer," Our son comes waddling forward as Armin picks him up and sets him on the railing.
"Hm?" I hum as he looks down, kicking his little feet back and forth.
"Erm...How did you choose my name?" He asks as my eyes widen.
"Well...Even though your dad argued with me, I won him over...I named you after a man of my past, Eren," I say as a bird came flying down right next to him.
"Who's Eren?" He asks as I noticed Armin's face sadden.
"He...He's a man I cared for," I say as he looks at me in awe.
~Eren Yeager's POV~
'I look over (y/n) and her child from now on along with every one of Paradise. Since I can't be there, I made a point to make sure she's safe...But...If there was something I forgot to mention...It was that I didn't care if that child was mine or not...I would've cared for it like it was my own...'
"Eren?" I heard someone call out my name as everyone around (y/n) cleaned except for Armin.
"Hm?" I hum looking behind me.
"It's time to come home," My mom, Carla, says with my father right next to her as I look back to (y/n).
"One moment," I say as (y/n) started to reach out to the bird.
'One more thing I forgot to say...I was so caught up in how to express my feelings towards (y/n)...That...I forgot to say...'
"I..." As she reached out for the bird I reached for her hand.
*ZAP*
~(Y/n)'s POV~
As my fingers brushed against the birds' wings, I got a spark of electricity, something I haven't gotten in a while. As I blinked my eyes to readjust, I saw a faint, gray, hand matching up to mine. I gasped and traced the arm all the way up to the face. I saw Eren standing next to me saying something that left his tongue on the roof of his mouth, almost like he mouthed the letter "L".
*GRIP*
"(Y/n)? Are you all right?" Armin held my arm as I jumped.
"I-... I'm fine, just...I'm just tired," I say as Eren faded away along with the bird flying away.
"You saw him...Didn't you," Armin said as my eyes widened.
"N-No," I say as Armin sighed.
"It's okay, (y/n)...I see him too..." Armin said as I relaxed my tense shoulders and turned back around to Armin.
"It was the first time in a while..." I say as Armin looks down with his eyebrows furrowed.
"(Y/n)...Did you actually ever...Did you ever truly love, Eren?" Armin asked as I leaned against the railing with my arms and smiled.
"It...It was all just stupid, young, love...I know you know what that feels like, hm?" I ask as he shrugs.
"I bet that's not what Eren would say..." Armin said as I place my hand on Armin's back.
"Hey..." We heard a voice call out from the door of the deck.
"Guess who I finally got to sleep?" Jean asks as I smile and let go of the railing.
"Armin...I know...But...We all have a life to live thanks to him...So, take advantage," I say as Jean takes my hand.
*WOOSH*
A small gust of wind hit my face as I look up at a bird circling our ship that picked up my hair and my dress.
"Heh," I giggle as I look up into the blue sky filled with clouds.
'Well...There you have it, dad...'
'I...'
'Stayed...'
'Alive...'
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(A/n): The End.
September 27th, 2020- May 11, 2021.