COMRADES • Eren Jaeger

CHAPTER 4: Ambition

ONE AFTERNOON, as you left him to his private drills, Eren said, "Why don't you come with me?" His voice was a little strained, like he was nervous. The air, which had been so familiar, suddenly felt stifling. So you said yes.

It was the quiet hours of the late afternoon torpor, when the heat of the sun rendered everybody drowsy. The squad sprawled inside and outside the castle walls, and to your delight, Petra told you that since all the higher-ups were busy running errands, you had the afternoon to yourselves.

You'd made company of individuals plenty of times, but this was your first time doing so with Eren out of work hours. His face was calm and blank, for once not frowning with effort. He ran up the hill and waited for you to follow. You could almost see the Titans he'd fight, ten, twenty of them, advancing on all sides. This scruffy boy would swing at them all, tough as stone and harder than obsidian. They would die by his hand, his command.

But, you had to remind yourself, this was still Eren. He couldn't possibly ever want to hurt you.

"Don't start slacking off now," he taunted, watching as you climbed the hill. "Come on, we don't have all day."

"Sorry, Titan boy," you taunted back. "Not all of us have a physiological fallback in case we roll off."

"I used to play on a hill, when I was younger," said Eren. He turned to the east, where the sun was making its way back to the earth. "There was a nice tree. I used to fall asleep there when Mikasa and I would gather wood for our fires."

"In Wall Maria?" you asked. He nodded. "But then you would never be able to see what the horizon looks like."

"True, but at least I can try to imagine what it'd be like if they didn't exist. I prefer it when you're my guard. The others don't trust me."

"They'll warm up eventually," you said dismissively. You reached the top of the hill, grabbing his shoulder to steady yourself from the vertigo. "So, what did you want to do?"

"Just be with you."

You raised your eyebrows, and Eren shrugged innocently. You sat on the grass and looked down upon the world beneath it like the earth was yours to rule over. Brilliant sunlight shining amid infinite hues of white, the clouds ruffling in ripples above you. You pointed at birds flying by. Finches, starlings, sparrows. You were by no means a hobbyist in that aspect, but you knew enough about the world to identify what was what.

You didn't know if Eren was even listening, but he nodded at your words, anyway. You identified the flowers growing in clumps nearby. All wild, but beautiful nonetheless.

"They're pretty, but I wouldn't know," you said. "It's not as though I grew up seeing fancy flowers in the street. I could never afford them. It's more of a Wall Sina thing."

"I see," Eren said. "So you observe flowers?"

"I like to observe birds because they're so free," you mused, eyes following the flapping wings as the pair took off together. "Those tiny little things can just take off in any direction and fly away to wherever they want to go."

"And nobody could stop them. The very opposite of our rough situation," added Eren flatly, and you simply shrugged at him. You couldn't deny his words, because you one hundred percent agreed with the statement.

"Let's just play pretend for now," you insisted half-heartedly, taking your eyes off the birds to gaze at him. "It can't hurt."

"Well then, I hope you're not too bored of me, Y/N," said Eren as the two of you walked away from the trees and into the grassy field. "We're just walking around the field. Not much I can do for you other than maybe carry you back to the castle if your legs get tired."