I'm baaaack! This was written really on the spot, and I'm not sure if anyone will read it because it's an unconventional pair that most people probably don't approve of. But my friend and I sort of accidentally fell into this pairing and I can't stop shipping it. Like I think they'd be really cute idk.

Anyway, this is based on the OST "Decretum" from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, hence the title. I was listening to it this morning and this story sort of popped into my head.

"Hey, Historia."

The petite blonde girl turned at the sound of the familiar voice, plastering the best smile she could muster on her face. "Hey, Eren. Do you need something?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

She blinked, the smile dropping from her face. "What do you mean?" Eren bit his lip, glancing away from her. "Well," He started, his voice unsure. "I've noticed you've been acting…different. I figure it's because of Ymir, but, see, I was starting to get worried. Are you okay?"

She nodded, taken aback by his concern. Eren was so aggressive and brash, it was always a shock to see his gentle side expressed toward anyone but Mikasa and Armin. "Yes," Historia replied. "I'm fine."

"Ah. Good. But, um,"Eren reached into his pocket, retrieving a small, circular, blue object that she couldn't quite identify. "I think you should keep this. It's…well, my mom gave it to me, when I was a kid. It's a…well, it's kind of silly, actually. But it's kind of comforting. Or, I think it is. You probably need it more than I do." He placed the object in her hand gently, smiling at her as he did so. It was too large for her to enclose her hand around it, but small enough to fit in her palm. She studied it closer.

"A music box?"

"Yeah," Eren rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Like I said, a bit silly, but the music it plays is nice. It reminds me of a better time," He laughed awkwardly. "You don't have to keep it if you don't like it…"

Historia shook her head. "No! I like it, really. Thank you, Eren. This means a lot." Eren grinned. "Great! I'm glad you like it."

They parted ways quietly, Historia eyeing the music box as she walked down the hallway. She and Eren had been friends for three years, but he wasn't the one she had expected to be there for her in her time of need, nor would she have thought he would be the one to notice her change in behavior after Ymir left with Bertholdt and Reiner. She wound up the music box, smiling softly as it opened to reveal a small girl wearing a blue dress and a white cape, her sword poised in her hand, pointing gracefully toward the sky. A warrior, rather than the typical princess in a music box. The music played, like Eren said, was a quiet, soothing ballad of sorts. Comforting, just like he said. It appeared as if Eren was more gentle than he liked to let people know.

The water lapped around her feet as she stared blankly ahead. She herself had never dreamed of seeing the ocean, or seeing anything really, but her friends insisted on bringing her. Well, what was left of her friends.

Or, maybe, she was going for his sake. He would have wanted to see it. He would have wanted her to come with.

Historia Reiss was nineteen now. It had been four years since she and the others had graduated, since they joined the Scouting Leigon, since Annie, Bertholdt and Reiner betrayed them, since everything. When they were fifteen, after becoming Captain Levi's new squad, Ymir, Bertholdt, and Reiner had disappeared. They were found a year later, and executed. Historia had been crushed by Ymir's demise, but somehow, her dear friend hadn't been the same. When they spoke the night before the execution, Ymir seemed distant, as if some strange new person had taken her place. Bertholdt and Reiner were the same, but even so, their friends were not left unaffected. Historia had cried for days over Ymir. She wouldn't sleep, she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't speak. She had nearly cried herself to death, it seemed. But her friends were there, and they saved her from that. Annie remained comatose, and resided in her crystal still. She was just about dead, Hanji told them. They gave up on hoping she'd come back. That was three years ago. It seemed nothing had changed.

After that, it was simply a battle for their lives against regular titans, a battle in which they succeeded somehow. But not without casualties. Sasha died just after Ymir, Bertholdt, and Reiner's execution. Jean, about a year later. It was devastating, but the two of them wouldn't have wanted their friends to dwell too much.

…Or, the three of them wouldn't have wanted that.

Historia watched as her friends tried to have fun in the water. They had all made a plan, before they even graduated, that they'd travel the world together. They'd see the ocean, like Eren and Armin wanted. There were supposed to be twelve young adults splashing around, laughing, smiling, teasing each other. Instead, Armin and Mikasa waded up to their knees, speaking in hushed voices. Connie hadn't even bothered to get in the water; instead he wandered aimlessly along the shoreline, kicking at rocks and picking up seashells, only to drop them after a cursory glance and mutter something about "Sasha wouldn't like that one." Historia stood with only her feet submerged, staring off into space and thinking of better days.

She often found her mind on the small blue music box Eren had given her four years before. It was the first time the two of them had a conversation about something aside from battle strategies or the mindless banter of their training days. She saw a new side of him, a gentle, kind side she hadn't been aware of, a calm fire that hid beneath the raging flames she was accustomed to. Historia found that she liked that side of him, and that she liked the other side of him as well, even if it worried her, because she knew it stemmed from a kindness he kept hidden. It was something not many people saw in him, something she thought she was blessed to have seen. After Ymir's disappearance, Eren became her best friend, her confidante. Eventually, she came to love him, something she hadn't expected to do. But Eren accepted her feelings, and even returned them. And when Ymir died, he was the one who stood by her as she fell apart, wiped her tears and helped her to remember why she was alive. What she was fighting for. He told her he wouldn't leave. "I can't speak for everyone else," He said. "But I'll stay with you. I'll be here for you, from now on."

So when she saw him die, her heart stopped.

It happened so quickly. They had been so sure they'd all make it out alive, but as Eren swung dangerously close to a titan's mouth, it's teeth clamped around his waist and proved them wrong. Blood rained down as the ominous thump of a body hitting the ground rang, unnaturally loud, through the chorus of earsplitting screams that followed. Historia couldn't even hear her own voice. Mikasa's eyes flooded with tears as she charged the titan, killing it with one swift swing.

It was the last one.

Historia whimpered, unable to pry her glassy blue eyes away from Eren's cold, hollow green ones. No sound came from her mouth, no matter how hard she tried to speak. The child in her wanted to shake him, to scream at him to wake up, but the puddle of blood, his blood, beneath her, seeping into the ground, caressing her clothes and painting them crimson, told her it was of no use. So she simply stroked his hair and kissed his forehead, tears streaming from her eyes, secretly hoping that it was a dream and she would wake up to him shaking her and asking if she was having a nightmare.

He never woke her up.

The first time she lost her best friend, Ymir's execution, Eren had been there, holding her until the sorrow faded into a dull ache. When Jean and Sasha died, it was the same. But this time, even with her friends around her, she felt as if she had no shoulder to cry on. Her best friend, the boy she loved, was dead. The world was empty.

Choking back tears at the memory, Historia took a seat in the sand, retrieving the small blue music box from her pocket. It was her prized possession, all she had left of the boy she loved. She stared with a sort of longing, as if it would bring him back, bring them all back and make things right again. But she knew that wasn't true. So instead, she wound it up and let the quiet music play.

The first time she heard it, she had thought of it as a soothing sound, something that reminded her of a more peaceful time, as Eren had said. But now, it was simply bittersweet. Historia no longer heard the peaceful ballad of the little warrior girl in the blue dress, but a tragic story of a best friend lost, a family torn apart, a love disappeared and forgotten, never to return.

She hated it. But how could she get rid of it? It was all she had left of him. The tears she had been holding back finally spilled over, leaving a trail of stains behind on her pale cheeks. She felt the warm water engulf her feet once more, and held the music box close to her heart. "Here it is, Eren," She thought. "The ocean. Isn't it beautiful?"

She could only hope he would hear.

I'm sorry I made that kinda sad wow. Idk. Well, anyway, just an explanation: the song playing in the music box is supposed to be the ost from Puella Magi that I mentioned in the beginning, and since it's actually Sayaka's theme, the figure inside of the music box is supposed to be her. I'm not sure how many of you have watched Puella Magi (I just started it like a little over a week ago, it's so heartbreaking but so good), but that's what it was supposed to be.

Also, update on the fic "Sleep Deprived," (my most popular fic to date *throws confetti*) it was only supposed to be two chapters, but due to popular demand I'll eventually be doing a third. I'm not sure when that will be, but I promise it'll happen,. However, that's as far as it'll go. There's no way I could think of a fourth chapter, and it was originally supposed to be a one shot, so you know. Anyway, thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated!