Naive and Damned

Chapter 5: Something Akin to Hope

Eren

Eren had not been expecting to see Falco again quite so soon.

It was the early morning. Eren had awoken before sunrise as he always did (a strict habit that had remained since he was twelve), getting himself ready and resisting the urge to shave – he seriously hated the stubble – for another day of meandering.

Upon opening the curtains, however, he'd spotted Falco sitting on the ground by the bench they sat at, by the large, bare tree. His back was turned to him, and he seemed to be looking down at something in his lap. He looked up at the bench for a moment, before his head ducked back down.

Confused, Eren grabbed his crutch. 'Shit, did something happen?' he questioned, 'how long has he been there? Did he not feel safe at home? That bastard... did he do something?'

The familiar thump, clack, thump, clack of his crutch kept him company as he walked over, lamenting the slow pace it forced upon him. Falco didn't notice him immediately, seemingly too absorbed in whatever he was doing, only turning to peer at him when he was already close enough that Falco had to crane his neck a fair amount to look at him.

He held a pencil in his left hand and on his lap was a little book.

"Morning, Falco." Eren greeted, amused at Falco seemingly realising how out of place he looked.

"Morning, Mr Kruger," Falco chirped whilst offering a small smile, suddenly looking his age as he peered up at him, his expression unburdened, unlike the stress than usually ran bellow it.

Eren felt something lighten in his chest, and he breathed a little deeper than he'd been previously able to.

"... Is everything alright?" Falco asked, peering at him with his eyebrows drawn together.

"I was going to ask you that," Eren said, stopping besides him and peering down at the book. Although too far to see it clearly, he could make out a sketch of the scene in front of them – the bench and tree framed by the brick wall with the sunrise peeking over.

Noticing his gaze, Falco draped his arm over the book in an attempt to conceal it.

"Eh? Ah, hum, I was just drawing. I thought it was kinda scenic, so..." he looked sheepish, a hand rubbing at his neck.

"You like drawing?"

"Yeah, it's nice. I did it in the trenches a lot to pass the time. There wasn't much to draw there, though, so I mostly drew people, or made things up... it's nice to have things to actually sketch now."

Eren nodded along. "Mind if I take a look? It's probably not as bad as you're thinking."

Falco hesitated for a second, before getting up and holding out his sketchbook for him to see. Eren noticed just how worn it was, the edges creased and cover bent, obviously having been used for quite some time. "Just keep your expectations low, Mr Kruger..."

Eren peered at the drawing with his good eye. It was half done, an overall picture mapped out without much detail. Well done in terms of proportions, the care put into it radiating off the page. The bench and grass hand been done in far more detail, the grass at the bottom of the page done individuality, and the detail faded as it went up. The bench looked slightly lopsided, and he could tell Falco had also noticed from the amount of lines trying to correct it, which was what had drawn his attention to it in the first place.

Falco shifted on his feet, withdrawing Eren from his observation.

"That's impressive. The grass looks really nice." Falco shuffled his feet some more at the praise, retracting the book.