"What do you mean you aren't coming to Paradis Island with us?" Eren's face went ashen as he stared at a demoralized Pieck. "Quit joking around, of course you are coming with us." He waved his hand, believing that she was fooling around just to get a reaction from him. "Ha ha, you almost had me."
"It's not a joke." Pieck confessed, on the verge of tears as she stood by the front door of the Yeager household. "I wasn't selected for this mission."
"But we're leaving tomorrow!" The boy's eyes went wide when he noticed how distressed the girl was – he realized at that moment that there was no aura of jest about her; she was nearly inconsolable. And now he began to panic too, having assumed that the whole team would have been going together. "We need our Cart Titan with us, they can't do this! It must be a mistake, right?"
Zeke, having been leaning against the wall at the side of the house, shook his head. "It isn't a mistake Eren, the Marleyans are careful strategists, they have selected who they want to recover the Founding Titan. This mission was never a field trip for friends." He explained, understanding his sibling's frustration but it couldn't be changed, the die had been cast.
Livid, Eren flung a dismissive hand to everything he had just heard. "Bull crap, Pieck is just as valuable to retrieving the Founding Titan as any of us." He brought his focus to the girl and placed his hands to her smaller shoulders. "I'll fix this, alright? You'll be right there with us, just like we always talked about."
Sighing, Zeke folded his arms over his chest. "You are overestimating yourself Eren, the officers won't change the most important strategy of their lives just because you aren't happy with it."
"Then I won't go!"
"Don't be reckless in anger, they'll just kill you and choose someone else to take your place. We are their weapons, Eren, don't forget that. I'm not going either, nor is Porco, understandably. We all have to accept our duty. Everyone has a part to play, even if it isn't on the frontlines."
Eren closed his eyes, inhaling hard. He didn't like this. "Fine, then I'll just get the Founding Titan so damn fast that you won't even realize I've been gone." When he next looked at Pieck, he felt a swell of turmoil, he had never seen her upset before. It was new – it was startling. Somehow it threw his world into a state of disorder, he hadn't anticipated that. "Hey, look at it this way, you'll get a break from all of my whining for a while alright? It'll be like a vacation for you too."
"No, it won't." Pieck sniffled and eyed her feet. "I want to be beside you, that's all I ever want."
Even with so many years of obvious hints, Eren was still flabbergasted by those words. His expression lifted in surprise, before dropping in sadness immediately afterwards. Now that he thought about it, Pieck was always by his side, through the best and worst of times. One constant in his existence was that he would see her face whenever he looked over his shoulder. And tomorrow he would sail into a world where he didn't have that. He gulped, struggling to fix this, until he eyed Bertholdt and Reiner passing by. "Guys! Over here!" He urgently beckoned his best friends over.
They took the signal without missing a beat, Reiner held a new confidence now that he had reached his goal. His mother showered him with pride all morning and he thrived on it. "Eren, what's up?" He asked, but he lessened his joyous energy when he noticed that Pieck was visibly upset.
"Well," Eren grew uncomfortable, tipping his head to the girl, pointing out the obvious, "I'm trying to tell Pieck that she won't be missing out on much. Help me out here fellas."
Reiner nodded, knowing exactly what to do. He lugged his arm around Pieck's shoulder and dragged her into a half-hug. "Eren is right, hell, the officers had to keep you here because the mission would be too easy if you were with us, we at least want a challenge. Can't have you outshining us all." He gave a big grin and squeezed her to encourage her not to shed any more tears. "We've gotta show some mercy to those devils."
Bertholdt jumped aboard with Reiner's tactic and smiled kindly, taking a hold of Pieck's delicate hand. "You've got a much bigger job than us, Pieck, you have to keep our families safe while we are gone. There is nobody I'd rather have watching over all that we love than you."
'These fellas are the real geniuses,' Eren was in awe of how much better his companions were at handling this, he aspired to be like them and with any luck he would. He reinforced their positive flow and eagerly pinched Pieck's cheeks. "Yeah, I need you to look after my mom for me when I'm gone because she is the most important thing in my whole world." If he couldn't lift her spirits now, then he never would. "You can even have my room while I'm away but just don't break anything."
Pieck knew what the boys were doing, they always looked out for her which was another reason she didn't want to be separated from them. Eren repeatedly tried to lift her cheeks into a smile, but it wouldn't stick. "I'll miss you." She curled her fingers lightly against his shirt, making the most out of clinging to him now since she wouldn't be able to come tomorrow.
For one of the first times, Eren found himself trapped in a typhoon of uncertainty, he didn't know what he could possibly do or say to raise her deflated spirits. He wasn't used to seeing her so dejected. If he could have changed this, he would have done so in a heartbeat, but he wouldn't shun Zeke's advisory words. He wasn't in a position to demand any authority. "Let's not worry about this until we have to, alright? We need to make the most out of the rest of the day."
"Eren is right." Bertholdt agreed softly.
"Damn straight." Reiner concurred before he effortlessly whisked Pieck up so that she could sit on his shoulder. "Hey, you're probably so small that we could just sneak you aboard with us." He teased and started to walk. "Who's gonna know, right?"
Regardless of being dispirited, Pieck produced the tiniest smile even if it failed to reach her eyes. The happier these boys tried to make her, the harder it would be to let them go.
"Hey, I'll bring you back a souvenir from those island devils." Eren chimed in as he fell into step with Reiner and Bertholdt, eyes only on Pieck. "Who knows what sort of wacky stuff they've got over the walls, maybe they've got fire-breathing cats with three heads."
"…you will find out soon enough." Zeke muttered under his breath as he observed the group of friends becoming distant figures. Their mission wasn't going to be a holiday to enjoy new sights and wonders, it was tactical reconnaissance and recovery – and if they were caught they would be killed. His brother was in greater danger now than he had ever faced before, he wished he could be by his side, but if wasn't their fate for now.
This was how it had to be.
The following morning…
Chants and cheers swarmed the docks as Liberio readied to give its selected warriors a fond send-off. Eren found it peculiar that he was saying farewell to his mother, he had never been so far from her before. He didn't like leaving her when she had endured a difficult year, telling her about Grisha's death had nearly been enough to make Eren faint at the time – even though Zeke had been the one doing all of the talking. It was a mess. However, nothing could jeopardize the love Carla had for Eren, above all else, not even the horrific revelation that he had devoured his father to inherit the Attack Titan.
"Be careful while I'm gone, alright?" Eren stood in front of his only remaining parent, holding onto her wrist gently.
"You are telling me to be careful?" Carla smiled fondly at her son and combed her fingers through his hair. "Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you? How did I ever let you get involved in this?"
"You didn't, you just knew that you wouldn't be able to stop me. I'm doing this for us, mom. I'll make you proud."
"I'm already proud of you Eren, you don't have to travel to a new world to accomplish that." Carla sighed softly and set her hands onto her son's shoulders. "Promise me that you will stick close to your friends."
"I will, I promise. We're a team. We'll bring back the Founding Titan's head if we have to."
"Just bring yourselves back alive, that will make me happier."
"You've got it mom." Eren tossed his arms around Carla and dragged her into a firm hug. Even now he was overcome by a welt of sadness, she was the one person he could never let go of. It took immeasurable strength on his part not to break down, he didn't want to embarrass himself among the crowds. "Mom, I need you to promise me something too…"
"Anything."
"Look after Pieck for me while I'm gone."
"I will. I won't take my eyes off her for a second." Carla was the first one to lean back, she cupped Eren's cheeks and admired his face while she could. "Look at you, you are becoming more of a man every day."
"No, I'm not becoming a man. I just want us to be free." Eren glanced beyond his mother's shoulder and his eyes lifted when he noticed that Pieck had finally arrived. Carla patted his arm, encouraging him to go and see her, so he did. The boy ignored the praise from any of the mob surrounding him and raced to the girl. "Hey, you're here, for a second I thought you were gonna end up sleeping in." He joked, until he noticed that Pieck looked more tired than normal, he was guessing that she hadn't slept at all, ironically.
Pieck glanced at her shoes, lost for what she wanted to say. She wasn't a big talker as it was, but she wanted to try. "It's a big boat."
Well, at least it was something.
And Eren wouldn't have expected anything less, he grinned sweetly and scratched the back of his head. "It is. Let's just hope I don't get seasick."
"You won't. You're strong." Pieck chewed on the inside of her cheek, eyebrows pulling together. "I don't want you to go, but I'll wait for you."
"You won't be waiting long." For once Eren draped his arms around the girl and brought her in, catching her by surprise. "We'll be back before you even know that we're gone. The sooner I'm back with you and my mom, the better."
"Promise?"
"Cross my heart." Eren gave Pieck a gentle squeeze after she buried her face against his chest. He could tell that she was upset without having to look at her, it wasn't difficult to feel the front of his shirt become damp from her tears, but for her sake he kept her close, not wanting the whole of the internment zone to see her cry. His composure was challenged when she lifted her chin and pushed a tiny kiss to his cheek. Eren's face filled scarlet, and he swallowed a dry lump in his throat. When he glanced down, he saw that Pieck's cheeks were sporting a shade of pink too, though much less noticeable. His lips parted, he wanted to say something, but he hadn't exactly strung any formulated words. Needless to say, he lost his chance when the horn of the ship blared in the backdrop, summoning the chosen warriors aboard.
Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie and Marcel were already walking to the ramp, he needed to join them.
"I'll be back soon." Eren assured Pieck and gave her shoulders one last comforting squeeze before he had to wriggle out of her arms to join his companions. As he jogged, he gave one look back and noticed that she had tried to follow him, although luckily his mother had been able to prevent that.
Carla stood behind Pieck and wrapped her arms around her, resting her chin gently on the top of her head. "He'll come back to us Pieck, they all will. This isn't a goodbye."
"It feels like one…" Pieck commented quietly as she saw her friends board the ship.
They would be gone within the hour and nobody knew when they would return.
Author's note: Wow, this story has nearly 100 follows already?! AMAZING! Thank you all so much! I'm loving reading your feedback and responses to this fic, and I'm taking note of everything that has been mentioned in regards to all of the other characters and whatnot. It's gonna be interesting to see how things play out when Eren and co arrive at Paradis Island! Next chapter will be coming soon! Until then have an awesome weekend and stay safe! :D