𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 - 𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐑

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐧

I had to leave Eren as the afternoon approached for his Titan drills to help him improve his Titan skills; he wanted me to stay with him, but I had to decline due to my own obligations.

I was given the responsibility of assisting Petra with the horses in the stables, ensuring that they received food and drink to keep them healthy for upcoming missions. The horse I rode to come here is the one I previously claimed, and happily she warmed up to me right away. As the sun began to set, I quietly braided a portion of her mane while brushing her hair.

"That's so cute," Petra said from behind the stable, looking over at the small braid in the horse's hair.

"I know right," I said proudly as I tied a knot on the elastic at the braid's end.

Eren and the rest started approaching as they had finished his drills for the day.

"Y/N, you can head off now and do whatever; us higher-ups have to run some errands and will be back later."

"Oh, ok then," I said, leaving the stables and locking up the gate behind me.

I crossed the field to enter, breathing in the wind's crisp air. It felt good, and you can already feel the arrival of spring. I looked inside to check if Eren and the Hange team were there hanging out. I briefy acknowledged Eren's presence by making eye contact with him.

Me and Eren were left in the area after the scouts dispersed. Our time here consisted solely of cleaning and, in Eren's case, Titan training, so we decided to merely wander the area around the headquarters.

He ran off ahead like a child, happy, and a bright expression glittered in his eyes as he climbed up the hill ahead. This is the same guy who transformed into that titan, the one who killed about twenty people in just ten minutes, but beneath that terrifying titan was just a soft boy seeking freedom.

"Hey, don't be slacking off now." He yelled from the top of the hill, getting deja vu from that one night back in Shiganshina.

"Shut it, Titan boy," was met with merely an eye roll.

I made it up to the top of the hill, turning away from the trees ahead to the sunset behind us; the sun was setting behind the castle. I sat down next to Eren, who was already getting comfortable by the tree directly behind me.

"This takes me back to when we were younger." Eren said as we looked ahead at the setting sun. The sky was painted in a variety of orange and red hues. "That tree was full of memories." As memories began to flood his mind, he let out a soft laugh.

"Remember when you and Armin attempted to climb the tree and you thought you were giving Mikasa a heart attack? It shouldn't be funny, but it is." I burst out laughing, remembering Eren's expression as he landed on his bum.

"You had the best face." I kept laughing, only to be interrupted by Eren's half-hearted punch on my forearm.

"Shut up, you weren't any better," he said.

"It's you talking about how I would constantly fall while climbing up the hill. Just stop. "It's not funny."

"Your tiny little legs," he simply laughed, causing me to roll my eyes as I returned my gaze to the nearly rested sun.

"I wanted to stay like this," I blurted out, causing Eren to stop laughing completely and turn towards me with concern.

"What do you mean by that?" Eren questioned me, confused at what I was getting at.

"I want to stay in this serene, lovely state that you and I are in right now, despite how ugly the world actually is. I just want to safeguard and preserve the wonderful memories since we've only ever had one face-to-face contact with titans and it changed us so drastically that worse can only happen soon." I said only to receive a hit round the head by Eren