Defy Gravity | The Sequel | Eren x OC

Chapter 08: The Shoppe Girl and the Rumbling

⚠️TW: HEAVY MATURE SUBJECT MATTER, PLZ READ A/N SPECIFIC TW TAGS ⚠️

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Summer comes to the little city nestled into the mountains and surrounded by the sea. In your stone cottage, you grieve for Oliver, a true husband, teacher, and friend. You grieve for the life of a truly kind spirit, for a man who took you in at your lowest and showed you that you deserved a second chance at life. But you find your tears are shortened, your mourning spared by the birth of your son. You may cry but your heart can't help but soar when you hold your baby, when you feed him, when you gaze into his already green eyes, the same stunning green as Eren's.

Just like Eren, he too can't seem to sleep, can't seem to settle unless he's in your arms, cuddled into your chest. He'll sleep in his wicker basket during the day, happy to peacefully doze in the sunlight as you work in the garden, feed Caesar the horse, take care of everything that brought your husband joy. He'll nap and kick lightly, as if fighting something in his sleep, before waking and cooing playfully.

He already loves gazing up at the fluffy clouds, the bees buzzing around him, the white bird that circles above him protectively and calls out to him. But at night he'll scream furiously in his cradle as if he's had the worst kind of dream. He'll cry and whimper and kick furiously, already a fighter, until you go and pick him up and bring him back into bed with you. Just like Eren, he won't be satisfied until he's back in your arms.

You hold him as you sigh contently, kiss his dark tuft of brown hair that grows by the day. Your baby always nestles more into your chest, opens his mouth hungrily and whimpers for you. You can't fight it; you can't fight reality. He may have Oliver's name but he's Eren's through and through. But that hardly matters, you love him with all your being, your heart swelling every time you hear him, every time you call his name. You love him devotedly, with a love you thought you'd never show to anyone. You love him more than you could ever love anyone. You love him more than life itself...

A month passes after the birth of your son and one bright and sunny day, you walk him outside, cuddling his cheek as you do. You place him in his baby carriage, tucking his blanket around him, caressing his chubby little cheeks. "Who's my little lamb?" you coo softly before reaching up to adjust your wide-brimmed straw hat, tucking your red hair into it.

You kiss your horse goodbye, promising to ride him after supper before taking the carriage out for an afternoon stroll. You walk up the slopping street, people tipping their hats sympathetically to you as a war widow and new mother.

You show your son the city before heading further up to the hill with him. You beam and pick him up and point up to the Marleyan mountains, point to the plants and flowers, point up to a white bird that's been following you since you left home. Oliver's green eyes shine bright as he looks up at the bird, cries out to it before whimpering fearfully and nestling into your chest for security.

You walk back home in the afternoon and take him out of his carriage, talking to him, describing the day around you as you walk into your garden. You go up to a rose bush with Oliver laying in your arms and you lean in to smell the red and pink roses, marvelling at their beauty. You look down at your son, soothing him as he begins cooing, nestling your head into his when suddenly there's a quick flash before your eyes.

"Hear me, Subjects of Ymir..."

You blink as you look at your roses, Oliver stirring in your arms... he must have seen the flash too... and that voice, that voice in your head... your heart sinks to the ground, you'd recognize that voice anywhere...

You hardly have time for these rushes of thoughts when there's a longer flash. You're frozen in place, your son in your arms, as you're transported to a sandy wasteland, with a starry night sky and a tall ultrabright tree standing off in the distance. You stand in place, the both of you frozen as you take in the countless amount of people suddenly standing among you... so many people and you don't recognize a single one of them.