Requested by the lovely 5324a_urora
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The Rumbling has begun. Yet all you can think about is him.
When Eren summons you and your companions back to the Paths once more, you fight your way forward to be at his side once more.
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SFW, angst/fluff
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I feel like this is a good mix between angst and fluff, but let me know if you'd like this request written differently lovely! Sorry it took me so long to get done 🤎
Amidst the rumbling of the flying boat's engine, broken cries and stuttered sniffles echoed off the metal walls of the cabin all around you.
You yourself did your best to wipe away the tears that stung your eyes and clear your dry throat, your knees brought up to your chest as you sat on the floor of the craft. Mikasa sat on the seat above you, a strong hand placed on your shoulder comfortingly as she silently grieved on her own.
None of you could scarcely believe it; Commander Hange was gone. And in their place now stood Armin, the fifteenth Commander of what remained of the Survey Corps.
Grief clouded your mind, ridding you of any other thought that had been plaguing you ever since this damn war had officially begun back in Marley. Well, all but one thought. It plagued you, day in and day out. Like a broken record left out to rust in the storm that had since become your life.
Why...Why do you always have to run so far away from us...from me? Eren...
Ever since his departure in Marley all those months ago, you'd begun to change. Something that hadn't gone unnoticed by your comrades.
You grew silent, speaking only when spoke to. Emotions scarcely showed on your face anymore, leaving you looking dull and lifeless.
But never did the flames of determination leave your eyes.
You were always the first up. The first to take action, reckless or not. The first to chase after him whenever he'd landed himself in enemy territory.
You'd been there at Eren's side, aiding him in taking on the War Hammer titan back in Marley. Time and time again you made your presence known at his side, aiding him in any way you knew how.
The last you'd seen him was back in Paradis, the shell of your former home. You'd raced after him down the streets as he ran; running towards his brother.
You'd screamed after him to stop, to wait for you. But your voice had fallen on deaf ears as a single gunshot rang out louder than any other sound in the broken city.
You'd never forget the dull look in Eren's eyes, looking up blankly towards the sky as his head separated from his body and came into contact with Zeke's outstretched hand.
You'd only barely survived the explosion that followed, lighting lit the sky for miles around. You'd been pulled away by Jean and Connie. The Founding titan emerged, and the rumbling had officially begun. Before you sprung a sight so horrendous, so monstrous, you could hardly believe it was Eren in there. Eren's Founding titan form.
Sighing, you rubbed your dirty hands over your sweaty face, heaving a shaky breath and clenching your fists in your lap.
Oh Eren...What have you done...What are you doing?
Slowly, what remained of your companions pulled themselves together enough to remain silent. It was eerie; the only sound to be heard was the engines and the occasional click of a button pressed by Onyankopon in the front of the flying boat, guiding you all towards your final destination across the cloudy skies.
One by one your friends began to break the silence with speech, voicing their thoughts of what was to come now that they were nearly 'leader-less'.
But their words fell on deaf ears to you. All you heard was the faint buzzing of conversation, watching their lips move soundlessly on either side of you. Your head ached as you clenched your eyes shut, and your hands shook...Just when would this all be over?
"Could it be...Eren wants us to stop him?"
The sudden comment snapped you out of your grief stricken haze, making your whip your gaze up to them in astonishment.
Could it be...?
Suddenly, the buzzing in your ears vanished; as well as every other sound bouncing around your subconscious. Snapping your eyes back down towards your feet, your knees gave out you and landed on the ground where you had previously been kneeling. Only, what had once been the metal floor of the plane, now resembled sand.
You shot to your feet with a silent gasp, snapping your gaze this way and that.
Overhead was a borealis of colors, reaching endlessly both upwards and outwards. Your surroundings were washed in a near blinding blue. Beneath your feet lay miles and miles of endless white sand, coating your boots and making your sink a couple of inches into its surface.
All around you stood your companions, looking just as confused and bewildered as you felt.
You were back.
Eren had summoned you all back to the Paths.
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Before you all formed a tree, shining with blinding white light and branching out over the 'sky', illuminating to you a small figure standing near the base, unmoving and unblinking.
Behind you, you briefly registered the voices of your friends.
Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Connie, Captain Levi...Even Reiner spoke out loud in earnest.
"Eren! Please hear me out! This is already enough!" Armin cried out, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"You don't have to kill any more people, the island will be okay now!"
"Eren, you don't have to keep committing genocide for our sakes!" Jean joined in, desperation in his tone.
"Please, Eren...Come back to us!" Mikasa choked out, tears pooling in her eyes.
"You heard them, brat. Do it now, and I'll let you off with just a swift kick in the ass." Levi scoffed, a furrow in his brow.
"Eren!" Connie and Reiner called out just behind you.
Their voices became fainter and fainter as you began to shuffle forward, your eyes trained dead ahead.
"Eren..." you whispered, your hands itching to move from your sides and reach out to him despite the great distance separating you both.
You're here...I'm here...Please...
"The rumbling will not stop."
His voice echoed off the dunes, sending a shiver down your spine. All was eerily silent a moment longer before the voice of Eren continued to boom across the barren land.
"Nor will I leave Paradis Island's future to chance. I will keep moving forward."
You continued to shuffle towards him, as if in a daze. Faintly you heard the others calling out your name in warning, but you heeded them no mind. You simply couldn't right now, not with him being so close.
And yet so far.
"In order to obtain freedom, I will take freedom from the world. But I will not take anything from any of you. You all have freedom. You are free to protect the world's freedom. And I am free to keep moving forward."
As Eren's voice continued to boom over the land, a figure joined his childlike frame near the base of the tree. Your eyes widened in recognition of who, or what, this might be.
"Ymir..."
By now your friends began to chase after you, crying out and screaming to Eren. This propelled you to break into a sprint, gasping and heaving as your feet made uneven impressions in the sand rushing by under you.
"There is but one thing for us to do; Fight."
You could see him clearly. He appeared as a child; the same child you'd grown up with all those years ago in Shiganshina. He was so close...
"Then why...Why did you call us here?" Armin's voice broke your train of thought. You looked over your shoulder as you ran, seeing Armin and the others gaining on you now. You knew they wouldn't stop you. They wanted...no...needed answers. Just as you did.
"To discuss the fact that there's no need to have a discussion." Eren replied, his voice echoing from all directions at once.
"If you wish to stop me, make me draw my last breath. You have freedom."
"No...Eren!" You finally managed to scream out, hastening your pace tenfold. Your legs burned and your knees felt weak, but you pushed on.
After some time, you subconsciously recognized you no longer heard anyone behind you, and when you turned to look all you saw was sand. You stuttered in your run, nearly collapsing then and there. But you had to push on. You couldn't stop here.
Looking back in front of you, you gasped once more. Eren was gone, as well as Ymir.
You were completely alone in the paths.
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"Y/N."
You spun on your heel, looking for the source of the familiar voice.
Spotting him, you nearly cried in relief. You started to jog towards him, ignoring the ache in your legs.
"Eren!"
Finally, after what felt like years apart, you were reunited. He made no move to stop you as you ran forward and threw your arms around him, burying your face into the fabric of his overcoat. You registered the feeling of strong, slender hands raking delicately through your hair, and you sighed.
This is what you had been fighting for.
"Please...Please stop this. Stop the rumbling. Come home to us."
"Y/N," Eren repeated, his tone light as a whisper. "You know I can't do that. There are things at play here that cannot be stopped now."
"Then please...Please let me stay here. With you." You begged, tears stinging your eyes as you looked up at him.
Eren's arms snakes around your waist, holding you close to him. His entire demeanor had now changed. Instead of his booming voice and sharp tone, he softened up and spoke softly against the crown of your head.
"I cannot do that either. You are needed....Needed by the others. Away from me."
He paused with a forceful sigh, then squeezed you just a little tighter.
"Trust me, Y/N. If I could, you know I would have you at my side."
"You can!-" You protest fell on deaf ears when he cut you off.
"I don't have a choice. I only have so long to keep you here with me. I managed to let you stay after sending the others back."
You pulled away from his embrace, tears leaving your eyes. "And for that I am grateful. But I have a choice. And my choice is you! It always will be!"
Silence enveloped you both after your confession. Your cheeks dusted red was a stark contrast from the blue hues of the paths around you. A look of surprise flitted across Eren's face, before a small smile found its way to his lips. Something you hadn't seen in so, so long.
"I know. It always has been, hasn't it?" He asked softly, pulling you back into his arms. You collapsed against his chest with a muffled cry, both in relief and grief at what you both knew was inevitable.
"You may have to send me away again...But please...Just for a little while...Let me stay? Let me...let us...have one last moment like this." You whispered, tracing your fingers soothingly down his arm.
A hum of agreement rumbled in Eren's chest, and a smile you couldn't see shone warmly on his face.
"All those years I waited to hear a confession from you, and you chose now of all times to say it," He whispered humorously.
Chuckling, you wiped at your eyes as best you could from your squashed position between his strong arms. "Oh hush, you could have said something way before now too, you know."
"Well, for now at least...We can live in this moment. Together. It's all I can offer you now."
"That's all I ask, Eren. I just want to be with you. Right now, and forever."
You knew he would have to let you go eventually, and send you back to your comrades. But for the time being, you indulged yourself in the moment you'd pined so long for.
For now, in this space, you were at peace.
At peace with the man you loved.
I hope this met your expectations!
~Lynn