"Eren!" cried a voice he was not prepared to hear again. "You're back!"
He fought the urge to wince. It was his first day back in school, just barely in the right state of mind and body to face the world again. His throat felt sore, his legs still weak after spending the weekend in bed. He'd been just a few feet away from the door to his homeroom: Ms. Zoe's Biology class, when Connie, chirper as usual, ran up and immediately embraced him in a rib crushing hug.
"Hey man," Eren managed to croak out, pangs of a deeper pain stinging in his chest.
Sasha and Connie had been the only couple he knew that seemed truly destined to be together forever. They gelled together like none he'd ever known; they both tolerated each other's obscene sense of humor, and Connie was more than willing to indulge Sasha's massive appetite. They deserved to be with each other until they grew wrinkled and old and passed away in their sleep, hand in hand.
Too bad fate wouldn't let them live out that dream.
Yet despite being robbed of that future, Connie, who should've been as devastated as Eren had been, managed to maintain a fairly positive attitude despite all he had gone through. Of course that didn't mean he hadn't been in pain in the first few days since her death. But after her funeral (which Eren had missed since he was still recovering at his hospital during his first, pre suicide attempt admission) whenever he hung out with him, Connie had slowly adjusted and no longer seemed so sad. If he'd ever held any bitterness towards Eren for being lucky enough to survive, he never showed it.
And that only made Eren's guilt even worse.
"You doing alright, man?" his friend asked as he released him from his crushing grip.
Eren nodded. "As well as I can be at the moment," he said weakly.
Connie gave him a wide smile. "Let's walk together, shall we?"
Eren was surprised to find that Connie's prescence by his side soothed the anxiety that had been building in him as his return to school approached, rather than amplifying it, being a living reminder of the accident and its consequences. Was he truly happy to see him? he wondered. Did he have so much as a pinch of bitterness toward him? And if so, was he trying his hardest to smother it in grins and friendly demeanors like Eren himself was trying to do? He was too afraid to ask. The two didn't speak at all as they made their way through the familiar glass front doors. After a week of not seeing or stepping through them, they seemed just as intimidating to him as they'd been on his first day as a freshman.
"Nobody's gonna mention anything about what happened, you know," Connie said suddenly. By then, they were only a few doors away from their homeroom. "Not if you don't want them to."
"It's okay," Eren said, shaking his head and forcing a smile. "You all don't have to treat me like I'm made of glass, you know." The door was open. From his view of the classroom, Eren noticed that Ms. Zoe wasn't at her usual position in front of her desk, preparing for the day's lesson.
"You sure? I'm warning you," Connie continued. They both entered the classroom together. "People are gonna constantly ask how you're doing, so don't act too annoyed even though it might ruin the-."
"SURPRISE!"
At that, Eren jumped, and the sight that greeted him made him feel as if his heart was about to burst.
The entire front row of desks was decorated, as it had been when he'd first gotten back from the hospital after the accident. A banner made of paper letter cut-outs attached to string, spelled WELCOME BACK, was taped on the whiteboard, which also had a big ginormous smiley face drawn on it in dry erase marker.
The entire class, including Ms. Zoe, had been hiding in the back corner of the room, where Eren would've be unable to see them as he walked in. Everyone in the room seemed to be beaming at his return. But Reiner, Bertholdt, Armin, Mikasa and Annie specifically were the only ones who ran up to embrace him in a massive group hug. Connie, who didn't seem at all shocked, and who Eren quickly realized was in on the surprise, joined in as well.
"G—glad to have you back, Eren," Bertholdt stuttered, as bashful and shy as Eren remembered.
"Gosh, we missed you, man," Reiner greeted with a smile.
"Now, now," Ms. Zoe said. "Everyone let him go. You're all going to squish him." So everyone quickly relinquished their hold on him.
"You hanging alright, Jaeger?" Annie greeted as punched him gently in the arm. Eren knew she was only being so gentle because she would have toppled him if she had done that with her normal strength, as was the way they would usually greet each other. He made a reminder to himself to thank Armin, who was probably the person who reminded her of that.
"Takes a lot to take me down." Eren smiled. "Congrats, by the way, with you and Armin." While he was at the hospital, Armin had apparently mustered up the courage to finally ask Annie out. They'd gotten closer after she started living with her grandmother, finally free from the years of abuse her father had inflicted upon her. "Was about time."
Eren fought the urge to chuckle at Annie while she had red blossoming on her cheeks. Then he would really get punched for sure, and given Annie had a black belt in karate, he did not want to be on the receiving end of one.
Then he noticed someone else in the class he'd almost forgotten was there. Their eyes met.
"Eren…" Jean said, waving hello. "It's good to see you." Clad in his usual varsity jacket, he didn't look too bad for someone whose best friend had passed away.
"Same to you," Eren said with a nod. "Leading the track team alright?"
"Doing my very best." Jean replied. "Your boundless energy and motivational speeches are sorely missed."
"Good to know," Eren nodded as he sat at his table. Despite his friendly nature, Jean still seemed to only hold Eren at a distance. It didn't surprise Eren. Marco's death had hit him hard about as hard as Sasha's had hit Connie. Eren had his suspicions why, even though Jean had never admitted it. But he had always been able to read like an open book.
"Everyone" Ms. Zoe began some time later, when everyone had returned to their seats. "I'd like to announce that we're about to gain a new addition to our class. You might recognize her by her last name, but I ask that you please be polite and treat her as any other student."
Eren's eyes widened with surprise. He turned to his left to face Armin, who also looked surprised. They both stared at each other knowingly.
The sound of footsteps came from the hallway, growing louder and louder until Hanji turned to face the door. "And I believe here she is!"
"Um, this is Biology one-oh-two, correct?" asked a familiar voice.
Eren could recognize it anywhere.
Historia looked much cleaner and less tired than the last time they had seen each other. She had finally gotten a good night's sleep. Although she wore the same navy jeans she wore when she first arrived at his home, this time they appeared to have been freshly laundered. What was new was that she also wore a grey zip up hoodie paired with a black Dark of the Moon band shirt.
Eren couldn't help but grin at that. He'd recommended the album to her back at camp, when they had discussed interests that they did and didn't share. He'd bemoaned her lack of cultured music taste, and so he was pleased to have been able to finally convert her to the cult of Floyd.
"Historia?" Everyone's eyes suddenly trained onto him. "What a surprise."
"Eren!" Historia gasped, her eyes widened with surprise. "You're in this class too?"
"Just our luck, right?" he grinned, immediately feeling happier than he did all morning. Seeing her again, safe and away from any harm and in much better shape than she was when they'd reunited, lightened the weight he didn't know he was carrying in his chest.
"…Yeah." Historia blushed, looking alat her toes as if they were suddenly very important.
"So you both already know each other, I see." Hanji remarked.
Eren nodded. "We went to a music camp together. We became pretty good friends..." a slight understatement.
"She's going to need a guide around the school. Perhaps you'd like to take some time to take her around for, let's see, fifteen to twenty minutes?" Hanji said. "We're just doing some review today, and you've caught up with your work so I think it's alright if you take some time away. Historia, you can put your backpack down there." She pointed at the only empty desk in the room.
Eren nodded, as did Historia, who walked over to the desk and put her backpack down, then immediately followed him out the door.
"So..." he began as they walked down the hall. "I guess we can start with the swimming pool on the roof."
"What?" Historia turned to him as they passed a trophy case in the main hallway"Is it open now?"
Eren laughed. "It doesn't actually exist. People just like to pretend that it does to mess with their friends every once in a while. You'd be surprised how many people fall for it, even if they've been at the school for years."
Historia rolled her eyes. "I'm disappointed. Because back at my old school-"
"Oh wow, you totally had a pool on the roof, didn't you? Gonna have to get used to the downgrade over here, rich girl."
"I was kidding," Historia said. "I don't miss my old school at all. Everybody was secretly at each other's necks, whether it was because of grades or whatever bullshit we thought was the only thing important in life. Your school isn't as fancy or as clean but it has this warmth I've never felt before. No pretentiousness. Though it's a bit noisier than I'm used to, it's not a deal-breaker."
Eren nodded. Historia had told him many details of her extremely difficult time as a student and a daughter to a man who burdened her with lofty expectations. He tried to not dwell on the possibility that she might resent him for taking her away from all of that.
"C'mon, I'll show you the second floor first." He made his way towards the stairwell, and was close to the very first steps before realizing that he couldn't hear Historia's footsteps.
He turned around. She had stopped by the last door in the hallway staring at her feet, rubbing her arm nervously.
"Hey," he said, walking back to her. "Is something wrong?"
Historia fiddled her fingers, gulping loudly before saying: "Did you tell your friends yet? The ones that aren't Mikasa and Armin?"
"No," Eren said firmly. "We don't have to tell them at all. But unless you want people to find out when you start showing…"
Historia shook her head. "No, you have a point. We can do that today, actually. But how should we do so?"
"During lunch," Eren decided. "We all sit at the same table. And if you're concerned about privacy, no one really listens in to our conversations around here. But if you still don't like that idea…"
"That's not what I'm worried about," Historia said. "W-What will they think of me? Am I going to be wearing a Scarlet Letter on my back for the rest of the school year?"
Eren grinned, smiling. "Nah, they're not like that. You made a good impression on them," he assured. He would have known if she hadn't. They trusted him, and because he had shown he and Historia were on friendly terms, he was sure that their collective opinion on Rod Reiss did not carry over to his daughter. "And they won't judge based on who your dickwad dad is, that's not their style," He put a hand on her shoulder. "If they don't, well, nothing a metal kick to the groin won't fix."
He pointed to his prosthetic, making Historia giggle.
"Positive?"
Eren nodded. Historia smiled. And for the rest of their tour, it was as if she'd never been anxious at all.