Defy Gravity | The Sequel | Eren x OC

*Chapter 45: Aishitemasu Rose

When I feel alone
I reach for you, and you bring me home
When I'm lost at sea
I hear your voice, and it carries me

'Heaven is a Place on Earth' - by Belinda Carlisle

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The days and weeks that follow your dream go by in a blur and the weeks of May are spent reflecting on that long sleep, that long sleep that expanded over the course of 3 years of a life for you. It wasn't the most glamorous, adventurous life but that was the point; it didn't have to be. It was a life where you were married, where your children were alive and well, where you were all together and happy.

For the first week or so, you walk around in a daze of sadness. You write about your dream in your journal, sniffling as you do. You write about how you and Eren killed your would-be murderer, you write about your therapy sessions and how you came to a place where you were healing from your trauma. You write about Oliver and how he loved trucks and trains and drawing Spiderman, how he had the makings of a bad temper but had a kind and sensitive soul. You write about Lily and how she loved Disney princesses and Sailor Moon and acted spoiled but had a gentle spirit and a deep love for her family, especially her father.

One morning in mid-May as Eren sleeps after a late night of clubbing, you head over to your piano and sit in front of it for minutes. You hear the sounds of your children laughing and chatting. You can see them running around your garden with Luna as you and Eren watched from the porch steps, drinking your beers, and laughing together. You close your eyes, and you can see them so clearly and as you do, you begin to play a soft and sad lullaby.

You compose one from your broken heart, letting the lullaby play out as slow and tragic. It's soft and soothing and yet the sadness behind it is completely unmistakable. You write it down on your old sheet music and play it again, playing it over and over again until it's ingrained in your memory. It's a soft lullaby but it's also a requiem; a requiem for the memory and the life they never had.

Eren wakes up to the sound of you playing and walks over to your second bedroom to quietly listen to you. You sniffle and tear a bit as you do but you keep your composure, playing regardless, wanting to remember this melody even after you forget his face and forget theirs.

"It's May 18th Eren..." you say quietly as you play.

Eren looks at you before he nods and his eyes lower. "I know... just a little over six months to go Eury..."

You nod and finish your lullaby and get up to go to your bathroom, Eren turning to follow you as you do. You numbly look at yourself in the mirror, and without a word, you create a pair shears and begin cutting your hair. You cut your long locks of red hair, breathing calmly as you do. You don't know why but cutting your pride and joy, your favourite feature, it feels good, it feels cathartic, almost cleansing. You keep cutting until your feet are surrounded by a layer of red curls and your hair only reaches down to just past the nape of your neck.

You turn to Eren and you both smile at each other solemnly. Before you know it, he grabs the shears himself, pulls out his hair tie and begins cutting his own hair.

"No, Eren..." you murmur, your eyes widening slowly. "Not your hair too..."

"Shhh,"he says as he watches himself cut his own long locks. "I wanna do this with you love..."

You watch as he cuts it off until his hair is short, as short as it was at the cabin, and he looks himself over as he inspects it. "You're not in this alone Eury, I'm here with you. Don't suffer this alone, okay?"

He turns to you and smiles sadly as you reach up and caress him. You two look at each other quietly before giving each other a long and sad embrace. You don't have any family here in this foreign city, you don't have your children here, but at least you have each other. You two will be alright as long as you have each other.