Eren came out to his parents after being encouraged by Armin, Sasha, Connie, Marco and whether he liked to admit it or not, Jean too. In his mind, he thought of the smiling faces and hugs he would hopefully receive from his parents. Congratulating him and telling him they loved him. No Instead, he called the family down. Told his parents and sister/best friend Mikasa, nerves causing him to stutter. His mother sat still, Mikasa smiled and hugged him telling him that she always knew. He smiled at her and looked to his parents for their reaction. His father began shouting. His mother shouted back. Grisha took Eren upstairs, beat him up, threw him on the streets. The faint cries of his sister pleading for him to stop. He never did. So, now it was Eren's turn. And he would never stop fighting.
Eren gasped. His face was hot and wet with tears. His hand was clasped firmly around the key dangling from his neck. The cold metal dug into his skin. Beads of sweat rolled down his head from the horrific memory. His Mediterranean eyes scanned his surroundings before his back fell back onto the sheets realising it was just a dream. The alleyway was still dark but the sheets he was laying on were tousled and wet with fresh tears. He tucked the key chain into his shirt. It was useless trying to go back to sleep. He never could after these dreams anyway.
Eren pushed his body up off the grimy floor with his slim arms, tanned golden and strong. He looked up into the sky to see it dark blue and painted with stars, the moon hung low but full and round giving off a momentous amount of light. A sigh ran past his lips and turned away from the beautiful sight. He gathered up the bundle of sheets, his eyes jumped to the empty boxes scattered across the ground that had once held sticks of death.
His mother wouldn't let him leave them on the floor. Even if they were cigarettes. He smiled fondly at the faded picture taken in his mind, Eren gathered the boxes up and threw them into the pile of black bin bags with the other bits of rubbish.
Eren's sparkling golden eyes scanned the alleyway that had been his shelter for a week, his eyes glinting in the dark. A surge of sadness ran through his body as he remembered why he was here. His gaze hardened and he spun on his heel, sprinting effortlessly down the street. He realised with a horror that tears were rolling down his cheeks again, he brushed his mossy-green sleeve across his face, leaving his cheeks red but he didn't care. All he cared about was getting the haunting image of his friends and family out of his mind. 'I don't need this now. Please not now.'
Eren glanced at the sky peeking through the tall buildings. It looked pretty now. The sky was coloured a deep rich orange with various pastel colours painted across the sky in streaks of colour, the sun appearing slowly over the horizon like a blinding globe. Eren looked back at the neglected street in the city of Trost, people huddled in doorways and alleys. It was a city full of poverty, not as bad as Shiganshina-his hometown. Eren stole a glance at the sky again. 'What did I do?'
Eren was currently sitting in a small bar-Sina- abandoned and lonely except for Eren and Pixis-the bartender. Eren looked over at the old man who was illegally helping him. He was focusing the majority of his attention on cleaning a glass, occasionally locking eyes firmly with Eren before going back to wash another glass. Eren smoothed out his sheets and folded them neatly in his lap, his eyes staring out of the window but his mind, an endless train of thoughts.
Pixis' voice broke him out of his daydream. "You know, son, the Survey Corps are back in Trost."
Eren's gleaming green eyes flicked to the old man, raising his eyebrow. "What's that supposed to do with me. We're always careful." Eren stated, he grinned at the older man – a shiver ran down the man's spine. The old soldier slammed the glass down violently onto the table, locking eyes with the younger boy at his answer. "Listen boy, your little gang is extremely well known and many are terrified of you. Too many to count. I like you but I know you are dangerous. Now, my little bar is also well known and so am I. I am friends with a lot of people and higher ups. That includes the Survey Corps such as Erwin Smith, Captain Hanji and Corporal Ackerman." Eren perked up at this and his back straightened in surprise. "You mean the best soldier in the walls is coming back?" Pixis rolled his eyes. "Of course, Eren. That's exactly what I meant otherwise I wouldn't have said captain Levi!" The old man shouted, his voice raising.
Eren combed a hand through his chocolate-brown locks, sighing, an intimidating expression plastered across his features. He pointed at his friend. "Listen old man, if Levi is coming here, me, Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt and Ymir will all behave ourselves and come home by dinnertime. How's that for you?" Sarcasm dripped from his voice, Eren watched the worry turn into frustration in his friend's warm brown eyes. He knew he was just worried but every time someone 'strong' came into town, they were never caught and they were being careful. Pixis shook his head and turned away, a string of colourful curse words evident.
The door of the bar flung open violently. Four people entering, most Eren's height. A chorus of happy chatter died down as the tension in the room weighed down on their shoulders. The girl at the front of the group was around 5'7. Her short blond hair was tied into a messy ponytail, waving in the slight breeze. Her nose angled and hooked, her skin was pale and her eyes an emotionless grey, her mouth set into a firm line like it had been carved into stone-Annie. The two men behind her were 6'0 and complete opposites yet obviously close from their body language. One had cropped blond hair cut close to his head and an olive tint to his skin, a strong sharp jawline and muscles sticking out through his thin white shirt-Reiner. The other man was thinner, and had dark brown hair sticking up in tufts. His face was long and narrow, eyes a sharp mossy-green-Berthold. The last woman stood behind them, looking around carefully before entering. She was the same height as the men and very slim. Her skin was tanned but looked grey and lifeless. Her hair was a chestnut colour and extremely short, strands ran down her narrow face-Ymir.
They looked from Eren to Pixis, to Eren to Pixis. Reiner was the first to speak up. "What the hell got onto your side of the bed this morning?" Eren sent a stony glare in his direction. "I didn't have a bed smartass." He mumbled. Annie's grey eyes flicked to his bright green ones. "Touché." Eren sent her a small smile, the girl sent back a warming look. Pixis grumbled a few words that Berthold somehow managed to hear. "Levi's back!" He shouted, his voice laced with shock and worry. Ymir immediately clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up. There are a lot of people on this street who would rat us out to get a decent hunk of money you idiot." Her voice low and threatening. Berthold looked in her eye and nodded desperately.
Annie strode over to Eren and slid into the seat across from him, placing her own bag of contents on the seat. Ymir stood menacingly by the door, her arms crossed and expression annoyed. Reiner and Berthold sat opposite Pixis. Annie rubbed her hands together, attempting to gain some form of warmth. "How's your days been? Ever since that little rat tried to dig us out, it was harder than ever to try and join up with you guys again without grabbing anyone's attention." Eren questioned to no one in particular. Ymir and Reiner looked up, Ymir answering first. "Mine wasn't too bad, I spent my time with a girl called Christa. Runaway or something. She wasn't the kind of person who ends up on the streets though, she came from a wealthy family." Eren shrugged in response.
Reiner's eyes skimmed over him. "What about you Eren? You always ask everyone else but never us." His voice was questioning and not offense yet Eren found it that way. His bright Mediterranean-coloured eyes darkened, glazing over with the memory, his expression sad. "I mostly move around and usually end up in some fight with some stroppy teen or something. Sometimes an older guy. Then I go find an alleyway, smoke a little, and think about. . .things." Reiner tensed at the word 'things.' Everyone knew what Eren meant and everyone knew what had happened. Eren bent his head, hair falling in front of his face. They didn't know it, they never knew the whole story.
Reiner and Berthold sent a small smile his way, telling him everything was alright, then continued to discuss things with Pixis – the old man still glancing at Eren, worried. Ymir locked eyes with Annie, both knowing Eren's story wasn't true. Ymir strode over and dragged a small wooden chair to the table, ignoring the cries it made as it was dragged along the ground. She sat in it and crossed her arms, leaning back in the chair. "Eren, what were you doing?" Eren shook his head and buried it deeper into his slim golden hands. Annie bent down, "Eren," He stood up and slammed his hands onto the table, his eyes were dark and seemed inhuman. His expression and stance told them he was not alright. Pixis, Reiner and Berthold looked over in surprise, the two younger men suddenly nervous.
"I was looking, ok?" Eren's voice was low and dangerous, his hair fell around his face like a curtain. "I was looking for my family, ok? Because if I know anything, Mikasa would be running around wasting her time looking for her worthless weak brother. Armin would be running around helping her, blaming himself for every single thing that his useless dumb friend did. My mother wouldn't do anything and my father would be a drunk-dead alcoholic. In short, they would be convincing themselves I was worth something. But let me tell you this, I am not. I was trying to find them to see if they were alive. And if they were I would stop them, they move on quickly, they all do. Did you know, as I was dragged from the house, you know what I heard my mother saying?" His voice became quiet, dangerously quiet. Then he screamed. "I heard her saying she should care! She never freaking cared! Mikasa was trying to stop them but my mother held her back! They would probably care for a week and then convince themselves they should! But they never cared." He fell back in his chair, his eyes knitted together tightly and his beautiful teal eyes glazed with unfallen tears.
The room was draped into a heavy silence, like a sheet hung in the air. obvious enough that you could see it by the tension of everyone's body language. Annie got up first, her expression unreadable. "I think we should get going." Reiner and Berthold nodded and thanked Pixis, "Just look after that kid, yeah? He's had a tougher time than most of you combined." They nodded. Ymir pushed the chair away and rubbed Eren's shoulder. Eren gathered his sheets in one hand and pushed them all into a small bag. He slid out of the cubicle and slung the bag over his shoulder. He looked up at them, his eyes green with gold flecked across the iris. "Let's get going then. Thanks, Pixis." The older man nodded and leaned on the counter watching them leave.
The cold breeze swallowed Eren as he left the small pub. He looked to the sky and noticed it was a wallowing empty grey. He looked away and walked around the corner of the street. "Do we have a new place to go?" he questioned. Reiner smiled. "Yeah, found a small abandoned apartment near the walls. We can stay there for a bit until we got to find another place." Eren hummed in response.
Annie jogged a little to catch up with his strong stride. "Eren?" He hummed. Her voice and expression remained placid. "If the survey corps are back, in Trost especially, we should be careful trying to find Mikasa." Eren paused in the street, the dawn casting a golden shadow over his face. He looked up, his teal eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. The other three paused to look at the strong gaze between the friends. "You mean you would help me?" Disguised hope and gratitude dripped from his voice. Annie shrugged her shoulders, "Of course, you've done so many things for us. You bailed us out, you helped us all get past our troubles and kept your own to yourself. It's pretty obvious you aren't telling us something. Let us help you Eren" Eren's eyes flicked to the others to see them with sad smiles plastered across their faces, except Ymir and Annie who had placid looks carved into their faces. Eren nodded, trying to push away the smile that was threatening to make its way onto his face. "Thank you so much." Annie nodded in return.
The group of five continued walking down the street to their new hideout, swallowed in each other's company. Eren's eyes caught sight of the tall concrete walls stretching far into the sky. They were on a street with tall buildings, although, half of them missing windows or doors. One near the end of street had shattered windows and bricks lying dead by the side. Eren hummed, "Ooh, nice. Five stars." Ymir stifled a snort.
Reiner and Berthold soon began leading the way to the end of the street. Eren, Annie and Ymir telling each other jokes about the buildings and Reiner's ability to find houses, ignoring when Reiner sent them frustrated glances that just caused them to laugh more. Their excited talk died down when Berthold pointed to a building and everyone stopped. "That's it." Eren craned his neck to look and saw that it was one of the better buildings on the street. The windows were still there and the majority of fallen bricks had been taken away. Eren pushed open the chipped wooden door and looked around the hallway. The stairs stood strongly but were dressed in rubbish and crap. Eren shrugged. "Not bad."
The dangerous gang stalked up the groaning stairs. Their hands slid along the cold banister, their fingers icy and gripping onto the side. The only sound present being the whistling of wind through the abandoned neglected building. A laugh came from somewhere upstairs, Eren paused, causing Annie and Berthold to bump into him followed by a colourful string of curse words. Reiner and Ymir looked behind at the small noise. "Eren, what is it?" Reiner asked. Eren's eyes lifted to meet his. "Masks, you idiots. We need masks!" he hissed, his eyes narrowed. Ymir's grey eyes largened and she began scrambling around her bag desperately. "You're right, we need to be careful." She passed everyone black hat-masks. Eren slipped his on so only his gleaming teal eyes were evident.
The group continued making their way up the stairs, no one passed them. Reiner stopped on one floor, instead of walking up to the next level, walked onto the floor owning one door. Eren looked at the window sitting on the wall. The only view visible from it at this angle was wall Maria stretching high into the sky. Ymir kicked her foot against the door, causing it to hit the wall violently. Everyone pulled off their masks. The group bent their head to look in their new hiding spot, the hallway was too dark to see anything so they decided to go in. Tried to anyway. They marched forward to go into the small doorway, only to realise everyone else had the same idea. Annie raised her eyebrows before a chorus of 'you first, no you' 's broke out. Everyone nodded and moved forward again, once again to realise they were going to be stuck in the same position. Everyone moved backwards to try and get out realising they had the same problem getting out of the tight chipped doorway. Eren and Berthold stifled a laugh and quickly squeezed out to watch Annie, Ymir and Reiner struggling. Reiner's muscly frame too up most of the space however Ymir and Annie were stuck on either side attempting to untangle themselves from the confusion. A loud laugh ran past Berthold's lips and the three looked at the other two rolling on the floor with a gaze of steel. "Are you kidding me?"
Eren and Berthold were shoved into the apartment first to inspect it for stowaways. Eren pushed his hand against the wall, his fingers met with rough peeling paint. He looked at his hand to see a new blanket of dirt. The hallway was long and doors led off from it. Berthold leaned his head into one and shook his head. Nothing was in there, as Eren walked past a cold sensation spread over his body. Instead of looking Berthold walked into the next room hesitantly but Eren walked past and caught sight of mattresses and tables. They were old. Eren's feet trudging down the hallway was the only sound evident at this point and the other three were still watching like hawks. The next room was a kitchen with cupboards and a stove. Eren walked in and kicked it but was only met with a sharp clang that ran through the hallway.
Eren left the room and ran a hand through his hair, focusing on one strand, pulling and twirling the dark brown lock. He walked swiftly to the last room, hoping there wouldn't be anyone there. He placed his hand on the cold doorknob and twisted. The door swung open with a sad creak and Eren stepped in. The room was bare, litter scattered across the floor and the window pushed open, letting in a cold breeze that submerged Eren. He shivered and looked around. The wall was bare and plain, the only thing defying that being the window. There was another mattress on the floor, the edges rough and when Eren touched it, felt as if cardboard met his fingers. A few boxes lay on the ground but a sudden sound of footsteps and hushed voices ripped through the serenity and quiet. Eren twisted his head quickly only to see his friends at the door watching eagerly. Annie waved a hand for him to continue. He rolled his eyes in response.
Kneeling down, Eren lifted the lid of the box and looked inside. The key dangled from his neck. He shrugged to his friends. Empty. He pushed the box to the side and pulled in the next one, doing the same routine but still, nothing. Pulling in the final box, a chill ran down Eren's spine like it was ice cold fingertips. The box was heavy, there was something in there. But not just something, something metal, the small clang told Eren that. He lifted off the lid hesitantly and saw a bag lying there lifelessly. He lifted it up and his hands became cold. In the bag was another box with words stating to be careful. He pushed it to his friends, telling them to open it while he went through the bag. He watched his friends politely forcing each other to go. Eren smiled and rolled his eyes. "Just one of you go, ok? No one knew we were going to be here so it's not going to be anything worse than the bag." Annie leaned down and lifted the box of the lid carefully. Eren looked over and froze along with everyone else. 3D maneuverer gear was carefully put into the box. Eren counted in his head. Seven. There was enough with two spares. A small grin began showing on Eren's face along with everyone else, even Annie who looked satisfied. "Sweet." Reiner mumbled.
After the last time, someone attempted to report them, they had to leave their gear behind. Eren shuddered visibly at the memory.
Eren began fishing through the bag. Two cold metal objects brushed his fingertips. He pulled out two guns and pushed them across the floor, causing a squeak of metal against metal to echo in the room. One small object lay in the pit of the bag, his fingers wrapped around it and he froze, his friends watched him, worry painted across their faces. Eren pulled the cold cylinder out of the bag and stared for a few seconds before tossing it across the room and nestling his head deep into his arms, trying not to beckon old memories to come back.
Annie flinched and tensed herself, her and Ymir walked over to the instrument now laying on the floor. Annie picked it up and stared in confusion while Ymir looked at Eren. "Eren, what's so terrifying about a vial?" Reiner and Berthold looked from Eren to Annie, confusion plastered across their faces. Eren shook his head, one to say no and two to shake the memories from his mind. He whimpered, a small sound which soon turned into a blood-curdling scream. The memories rushing into his mind now. His friends stared in shock as Eren turned around and began hitting his head against the wall, a scream still tearing from his throat.
Berthold quickly ran over to Eren and forced him away from the wall with Reiner holding his arms and Ymir holding his legs. He thrashed around in their tight grip. Annie walked over, the vial still clasped in her hand. Eren froze when he saw it, all sound dying away leaving his throat raw. Annie looked from Eren to the object in her hand, her grey eyes switching. "Eren," She said softly, "What's so bad about a vial?" Eren shook his head. "Memories, memories," He murmured the word softly, repeating it. Focusing on that instead of his mind.
The other four locked eyes with each other, questioning what they should do. Ymir spoke first, "Eren, what happened? Was it recently?" Eren laughed. "It was years ago. Can we just go out though please? I don't want to dwell on memories I have repressed for so many years." Eren locked eyes with Ymir's dull grey ones. "Please?" Reiner sighed and nodded. "Let's go test this gear then." They let go of Eren whom inhaled a few deep breaths before stating a sentence. "But remember, we need to behave and be home by dinnertime or else Pixis will tell us off!" Annie scoffed at that and a smile crawled onto everyone's face.
Everyone slipped a long silver dagger into the waistband of their jeans and adjusted the gear on their waist. Eren tightened it to fit his waist, again. Annie looked over as he yanked the belt. "You need to eat more Eren." His eyes met her own, a trace of concern evident in her emotionless eyes. "I'm sorry." Ymir walked over and tightened his belt for him. "She isn't angry with you Eren, just worried, we all are after today." Eren smiled at her, "Thanks." She nodded in return. Eren tucked the key chain into his shirt again, the metal resting against his bare chest.
Reiner looked over, "Everyone ready?" The breeze ruffled his blond hair. Everyone nodded. He stretched an arm out. "Eren's going first considering how good he is at this blasted device." Eren grinned, showing his pearly-white teeth and waved his hand. "Continue, continue!" That earned a laugh from Berthold. Annie rolled her eyes. Eren grinned at them and knelt on the windowsill, his moss-green shirt waved against his chest in the breeze. "You follow me." Everyone nodded and immediately Eren jumped into the air, hooked onto a building, pulled himself away with the breeze hitting his face.
He cheered as the adrenaline rushed through his veins, the whirring of the gear rushing past his ears with his surroundings a blur. He reached the building and landed on two feet. He turned around, a grin stretched across his face. His friends landed not a few seconds after. Reiner's eyebrows were knitted tightly together. "We haven't got much gas, we need to go and get some from Pixis." Eren lolled his head to the side. "But in the meantime, let's have fun trying to get there. Sound good?" Everyone nodded. Eren grinned and pulled the bag resting on his shoulders off. He pulled out a few masks and contacts, handing them round. Eren slipped on his black mask, stretching it over his face. He quickly slipped gold contacts in over his teal green eyes and looked around. Everyone had done the same. "Let's get going then!"
The group began sprinting to the edge of the roof, Eren letting a cry of delight run past his lips as he did so, muffled by the mask. They were submerged into the cold air. Eren grinned under his mask and looked at the tall buildings standing high, the orange sky lying above. Eren let out a cry of delight again but Reiner shouted a few words in response. "Be quiet. Dammit, they've seen us anyway!" Eren looked down to see the gate pulled open and a sea of horses carrying people in green cloaks pouring into Trost. Eren's eyes widened. The Survey Corps are officially back.
Authors note:
I do not own attack on titan or any characters - y'know. if I did, I probably wouldn't write fanfiction about it. I mean, if I was Hajime then I would be plotting ways to kill everyone off in the most incredible way possible. Except, I'm not Hajime so bye dreams.
*gasp* first chapter. I have been writing this for a while now and I think we are far enough along to upload one chapter. I do realise I focus on the story instead of grammar and it has been pointed out. If there are any mistakes, solutions or constructive criticism, I will gladly take it :) I thank you all for reading my fanfiction, buddies, I hope you have a great day!