Eren

While he couldn't be with his friends, he could be with her. That's why he was here with her today. His friends were accompanying the new volunteers on the island but he wasn't allowed to come into contact with them.

He could be training but he opted against it. He'd rather be helping Historia out. That's why he asked her to assign him as her guard at the orphanage. So now they were alone, along with the orphanage kids.

Lugging stuff around and doing menial labor wasn't boring as long as he was around her. It's always so easy to make conversation with her, to talk about their lives, to talk about their interests, to talk about anything. Other times they would just walk in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company without a word to be said. He always felt at ease around the queen.

They were walking around, carrying and moving crates containing food for the orphans into one of the houses. The children were laughing, chasing each other, having the time of their lives. He smiled softly as he watched the kids from the underground brighten up the whole orphanage with their energy.

"Hey Eren?"

"Yeah?" He replied.

"I want to thank you for helping me out. The kids are much happier around you. They look up to you as their hero. You know?" Eren didn't think himself to be a hero. He was just a normal boy given special powers. While the words of his mother and the girl next to him made him feel special, he never considered himself to be special.

"I think you're more of a hero to them than I could ever be Historia. You've helped to create a home for them, you helped take care of them whenever you can, and you've shown them more kindness by taking them in from poverty in one day than they've experienced their entire lives." Eren said with a soft smile as he stared at the kids playing on top of a hill in the distance. In his eyes, she would always be his hero. If only the kids had known what happened in the cave, they would respect her even more.

No reply came from Historia which made him feel awkward until they dropped their crates at a checkpoint. He wondered if he said something wrong.

"Hey Eren?" The Titan shifter looked at the blonde queen who stared at him with an expression he couldn't quite decipher.

"Yeah?" He asked, slightly nervous. Was she mad at him?

"Lean down please." She requested with a calm tone, sounding almost emotionless. Eren leaned down wondering if he somehow pissed her off, causing him to instinctively close his eyes, awaiting a slap from her. He then felt something soft pressed upon his left cheek. What the hell was that? Wasn't she mad at him?

When he opened his eyes, he noticed Historia's face was burning red. Why was she so embarrassed?

"Come on, let's keep going." With that, Historia turned and walked quickly away from him.

As if being controlled, his left hand moved to touch the spot where he felt that soft feeling. Whatever that feeling was, he liked it.

His lips curled into a goofy smile as he ran to catch up to her.