Before I Leave You

under the tree

"There's really no need for that, you know," Eren tells you quietly, sliding his gaze over his shoulder to the gun you have pointed to his head before stealing a glance at you. "How are you feeling?"

Your scowl deepens. "I suggest you not test my patience unless you want me to bury you here under this tree with my bare hands."

Seeing how on edge you are, Eren makes no sudden moves—wise enough not to agitate you any further. But the look of fear you usually expect from someone whose life is being held at gunpoint remains absent from his face. It's as if he's fully confident you're not going to pull the trigger on him despite your murderous tendencies.

"You have every reason to be upset. I know that," he says in a low tranquil voice before his face twists down in anguish. "But I couldn't just leave you there with them after the way you collapsed like that..." He shakes his head. "Besides, they wouldn't have believed me. And you were so adamant on them not knowing... So I did as you asked and brought you here instead. To rest."

You pause.

What I asked?

You recall the exact words you told Eren in your father's office. You will not say a word to Historia or Mikasa, or any of them, about anything because there is nothing to tell. Is that clear?

You scour the area with hawk-like eyes from where you sit on the hill. There's no sign of anyone else nearby except you and him, and you don't know whether that should comfort you or give you further reason to be more suspicions of him. The terrain is much too open for your liking. If there's any sign of enemies nearby, you'll spot them easily enough, but the lack of buildings and woodland offers you no protection or shelter from an attack.

You drag your eyes back to Eren, voice low and dangerous. "You're telling me... no one knows where we are right now?"

Eren averts your gaze. Hearing the weight of your words out loud seems to have finally hit him with the reality of what he's done, but he seems less worried about what that might entail and more concerned with your reaction and how that might effect your view towards him.

You clench your jaw. "Since when?"

Eren swallows, hesitant. "Since this morning."

You close your eyes with a groan and lie back on the ground miserably, throwing an arm over your face, already imagining everyone's reactions. "Levi is going to murder you for this."

Eren, noticing the gun you were using to threaten him is now lying on the ground next to you, momentarily discarded, says to you gently, "I don't think you'll let that happen."

You remove your arm from your face to raise an eyebrow at him. "That's one hell of a wager."

He smiles faintly. "Is it?"

But he's looking at you with eyes full of trust and possibility that the sight of it unsettles you. He really believes you'll protect him, enough that he's willing to stake his life on it. And that blind faith he has in you is what makes him dangerous. Because for the first time in a long while, you've found yourself in unfamiliar territory. In the hands of someone you can't read and whom you know little about. You know better than to let down your guard around someone like that, but for some reason you don't feel threatened by him at all. In fact, you've never felt more at peace.

Still, you turn away. "Just because I haven't killed you yet, doesn't mean I won't get to it eventually. Or that I won't let anyone else have a go at it for that matter."

Eren merely draws his legs to his chest and wraps his arms around them to rest his chin on his knees. "I've only done as you've asked," he sulks beside you. "Or would you rather I have left you there for Mikasa and all them to find —"