Dangerous Territory

Rosh Hashanah

Eren returned to the city, but rather than going to his room, he went out to drink alone. He thought about how he left Louise. Her family would be glad to have the German soldiers off their property, whereas she would cry, maybe even be angry with her grandfather for chasing Eren away.

Surely, her grandfather knew that. He was also the only man in that family who could safely threaten Eren in such a way. He was gambling on an assumption that Eren was honorable and would obey an old German veteran. He willingly risked it all for his granddaughter.

What a strong man! The old generation really were amazing.

A soldier sat next to him, and when Eren glanced over, he saw Oliver.

"Oh! Good evening."

"Out drinking alone the day after your wedding? Surely she's not that bad of a wife."

Eren laughed awkwardly. "No, I ... I took her back to her parents today. They live a little outside of the city. I figured she'd be safer there."

Oliver nodded and ordered a beer. They sat quietly for a moment with the rest of the beer hall boisterous with soldiers and civilians. Looking around, one would never know they were just days away from a fierce battle. They were living life to the fullest while they could.

"You know," Oliver said, staring off with his beer stein, "three times I've written letters to my wife, asking her to come to whatever city I was stationed in, bring the children, that way I can see them growing up. All three times, I tore up those letters. I realized, as nice as it would be to have my family with me, they would never be safe being anywhere near me, not during this war. It's hard, perhaps impossible, to fully focus on our duty as soldiers when we have a wife right there with us, worrying for her safety all the time. I know I would rather protect the house she lives in at the cost of losing a thousand men, and that's why I know, she can't be in the same city as me. I miss my wife and children a lot, I write to them every week, but my duty comes first. When I return to Dresden, she'll be waiting there with our boys. That is when I get to be a father. For now, I'm a soldier."

Eren hummed and nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'm a soldier first."

He patted Eren's shoulder. "At least you'll see her on weekends, right?"

"Probably not. Her family doesn't exactly like me, and I don't like the idea of being that far away from my men. We promised to write, though."

"That's nice. You know, I think my wife and I get along better through letters than standing around the kitchen arguing," he said with a light laugh.

Eren chuckled as well. "You know, her grandfather served in the Kaiserliche Marine."

"Really! An old vet, huh? Greiz said something about her being German. It's a good thing you married her, then. You should send her to Germany."

"I told her to go to my family's estate. It's up in Cuxhaven."

"Is that near Hamburg?" asked Oliver, and Eren nodded. "I always wanted to see the ocean. I was born and raised in Dresden, never got to travel before I joined the Heer, never got stationed anywhere close to the sea. Now all I want is to go back home and never leave."

They passed the rest of the night sipping beer and talking about life back in Germany. It was wistful to think about home. Although he had told Louise that she could escape to his family's estate if things went bad, after meeting her parents, Eren doubted they would let her. That final goodbye through the car door would likely be the last time he saw her.

And he was okay with that.

As he walked back to the hotel, he wondered if Levi felt the same way with his sudden departure. Was he okay with it? Did he feel it was best to leave without a proper goodbye? Of course, between him and Levi, they had a promise to meet in New York. It was not really a final farewell, just a see you later.