Two figures were waiting for Eren when he climbed up the worn steps. He lifted a hand to shade his eyes – the sunlight was a stark contrast to the oil lamps in the basement.

"Are you alright, Eren?" Armin asked. He sat with an arm propped on his knee, looking down on Eren from a nearby boulder. Mikasa had been delicately making her way through the wreckage at his back. She lifted up a metal frying pan, shaking the dirt loose.

"My dad had left a journal," Eren said. He paused for a moment to watch Mikasa pick through what had once been their childhood home.

"There wasn't much in it we didn't already know," Eren said, his gaze growing distant. "But it did really help me make sense of some things."

"That's good to hear," Armin said. He hopped down from the boulder to land at Eren's side. "You can always talk to us more about it when you want."

Eren nodded with a smile. "Thanks, Armin."

The house he grew up in had once stood atop a hill, Eren having a decent view of Shiganshina District's southern cityscape sprawling out below. The new barrier he'd put in place a few days past sparkled in the sunlight. Figures flitted over the wall and between the buildings. Reports were being penned concerning the current state of Shiganshina's soil, its water, and the general scope of repairs which will be needed. The main consensus made it sound like most of the buildings were going to be torn down and built anew. A few years from now could find Shiganshina being a thriving city again, although not one Eren would recognize.

"Did anyone come by with news about the survey outside the wall?" Eren asked.

"Not yet," Armin said. "The Captain said earlier he came across fewer Titans than expected. It makes sense to me, though; the Titans would've been drawn into Wall Maria's territory looking for humans. I don't think we can expect to find a lot more now that most of them within the wall are gone."

Eren nodded. "So, we're still set to head for the shore tomorrow?"

A light shone behind Armin's eyes. "Yeah! We'll be headed out with the advance team, a few of the others coming after that. I can't wait to see if the ocean is as wondrous as Annie described."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Eren said. He let out a deep exhale before turning his head. "Mikasa! Do you mind if I come back a little later to help you see what stuff is left? There's something I want to do before we leave in the morning."

"That's fine," Mikasa said. She had the head of a rake in hand when she straightened. "Would you like me to come with you?"

Eren smiled. He couldn't help but be reminded of Mikasa running down the front steps and tagging after him as kids. They would meet Armin on the porch and dash through the streets to play hide-and-seek or sit along the river with their toes dipped in the water.

I don't know what changed, Eren thought. But I'm grateful I can be back here and have memories that don't cause me pain.

"Nah, thanks – I'm fine on my own," Eren said. He waved as he began to walk away. "I made a promise a while back I have to keep. I'll see you guys in a bit."

A little over half an hour of asking around led Eren to Shiganshina's southeast borough. Clusters of Garrison soldiers collected soil samples in small vials along a riverbank and packed them into messenger bags. A pair of Military Police officers took notes as the Garrison soldiers reported to them with their findings.

"Sorry to interrupt," Eren said, causing the officers to turn. "I made a promise to show someone around my hometown some time ago, so I thought maybe I'd check in to see if now would be a good time."

"Eren," Marco said, regarding him in surprise. The smile on his face seemed forced. "That's right, isn't it? I'd forgotten about that. Thank you for the offer, but I'm currently on assignment."

The young officer with silver hair at Marco's side snatched the clipboard from his hands. "Get out of here," he said. "I can finish filling out the reports – I feel like I'm hardly doing anything right now as it is."

Marco's smile faltered. "Boris! You know I can't do that! We're working!"

"We're micromanaging," Boris corrected. "This is your friend Eren, right? The one you never stop talking about? I'm sure you're happy he's still alive after all that shit the Scouts went through. Go slack off for a change – it'll make me feel a little less guilty over my own work ethic."

Boris's stone-faced expression conveyed arguing wouldn't do any good. He received a pat on the shoulder as Marco sighed in defeat.

"I won't be gone for long," Marco said. "If Celine comes looking for me, can you tell her I'll find those inventory records she was searching for by this evening?"

"If your sister shows up, I'm running in the opposite direction," Boris said, his nose wrinkling. "She keeps badgering me to transfer to her department as her assistant. I'd rather bash my own skull in."

The hand on Boris's shoulder withdrew as Marco let out an embarrassed chuckle. "Sorry, my sister can be pretty tenacious when she has her mind set on something. I'll talk to her about it."

"She won't listen – but thanks for the gesture," Boris said. "Now get going before a captain comes along."

Marco trailed after Eren as they put their back to the river and headed up a gentle slope. Many of the houses in the neighborhoods here hadn't sustained much damage. An absence of overgrown weeds would make some of the homes appear lived in. Oddly enough, it was these homes which made Eren's heart sink the most. They reminded him of his own childhood home which he'd hoped would also be waiting patiently for his return. He, Armin, and Mikasa had found little more than rubble.

"It's … sort of nice around here, isn't it?" Marco said.

Eren glanced over his shoulder. "The neighborhoods here always used to be really quiet," he said, meeting Marco's sheepish expression. "This area was more detached from the main road and the watermill. My mom used to talk about moving to a home here when Dad retired. Where we used to live was convenient for Dad because it was pretty close to the heart of the district. The down side was hearing wagons go by at all hours and drunks from the pub down the street passing out in the garden. They stopped doing that after a while when Mom lost her cool and started whacking them with a broom handle."

The awkward nature floating around Marco like a cloud dissipated as he laughed. He caught up to Eren, the strained feeling between them relaxing. "It sounds a bit like where I was in Laurel," Marco said. "My mom and I lived in a house on the same property as my dad's factory. I had to stuff wool in my ears the night before if I wanted to sleep past six in the morning. The looms sounded like a team of horses running right outside my window."

"That explains a lot," Eren said with a grin. He indicated for them to turn a corner, the row of houses up ahead coming to the stop on the side of a grassy hill.

"You were always the heaviest sleeper in the Cadets," Eren said. "Conny dropped a boot on your face once and you didn't even flinch."

The startled nature to Marco's features caused Eren to chuckle.

"When did this happen?" Marco asked.

"I'm not sure – sometime when Conny was bunking above you," Eren said. "There was another time when Armin spilled hot soup on his hand. He screamed so loud that a few of the girls from the cabin over came to check if we were alright, and you just slept through the whole thing."

"Now I feel a little self-conscious …" Marco said. He came to a stop at the edge of the hill. A large oak tree was at its crest, leaves shifting in color from orange to yellow among the far-reaching branches. Clusters of tiny golden flowers dotted the hillside, their heads bobbing in the gentle breeze.

"It's a nice spot, right?" Eren said. He gestured for Marco to follow as he headed up the hill. "Mikasa, Armin, and I met here all the time. I used to get in trouble for coming home late when I'd fall asleep at the foot of the tree."

"This place is pretty relaxing – I wouldn't blame you for taking a nap here," Marco said. He came to a stop at Eren's side when they reached the tree, admiring the hill and its surrounding meadow with a smile. "It's like this area was untouched. I'm glad a place so special to you is still here for you to enjoy it."

"Me too," Eren said. He regarded Marco from the corner of his eye. "We haven't had a chance to talk much since the last Scouting expedition. Have you been alright?"

"A-Ah, fine," Marco said, looking away. "Sorry about that – Celine and I were assigned close to the Interior for a while since no one else was willing to look after Bertholdt until recently."

Eren nodded in understanding. "I've heard. I was called into a meeting with Premier Pyxis and the Commanders about the possibility of me encasing Bertholdt back in crystal."

"You were?!" Marco said, whipping his head around as his eyes grew wide.

"I told them I wouldn't do it," Eren said with a shrug. "I don't know what control I really have over the hardening ability; I could kill him by accident. There was also the report you submitted saying he could be reasoned with. That alone was enough to sway my opinion."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Eren said. "You have a good judgment of character, remember?"

A doubtful sound accompanied Marco rubbing the back of his head. "It's funny – Captain Levi told me the same thing. Although, I'm not so sure if you two are right. A lot of bad things would've never happened if I hadn't put my faith in Reiner. Everything that went down in Stohess that day was because I was too naïve."

Eren narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "You know better than to say stuff like that. If you're going to shift the blame for his actions, then you could reason Wall Maria being breached five years ago was my fault, too. I was the one Reiner and the others were looking for."

For a moment it looked like Marco was about to protest. A defeated smile grew in the face of Eren's stubborn glare. "You're right, Eren. I know better than to think that way. What happened in Stohess was no more my fault than what had happened here. If I can't blame you, then there's no excuse for me to blame myself."

"I don't know where your lack of confidence comes from," Eren said. He crossed his arms, looking out over the scenery and the wall along the horizon. "You're pretty great, Marco. I wish you'd acknowledge that more."

Eren watched Marco look down to his feet in his peripheral vision. "Thanks, Eren." Marco's hands closed into fists. "Eren – after my sister's wedding, I said some things to you I should've worded better. I was just trying to keep us both from getting hurt … but … I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry."

"I'm not going to lie," Eren said, meeting Marco's gaze when his companion raised his head. "You acted like a coward, Marco. You did everything you could to avoid me instead of just allowing us to talk. If I hadn't made it back from the last expedition, things would've ended that way. It was a really shitty feeling to carry around on top of me questioning everything about who I thought I was."

Marco lowered his face into his hand. He took a choppy breath. "I'm sorry, Eren. I'm so sorry. There was so much happening, I just didn't– no, that's no excuse. You were dealing with all the same losses I was. For you it was even worse. You're right about me being a coward; I justified my actions as doing the right thing … in reality it was because I'd convinced myself you would never care about me in that way if it wasn't for Annie. I was certain talking to you again would only confirm it."

The hand fell away as Marco fought to hold Eren's stare. "The look you had on your face when I told you the memory you had was Annie's should've been enough for me to drop everything else and help you. Questioning everything you feel and remember … and not knowing what part of that is really yourself … that must've been terrifying."

"It was," Eren said. "I was lucky to have Armin and Mikasa to help talk me through it. Especially when I got slammed with all my dad's memories. It was a lot to sort out, and I'm still not totally certain on some things. But I do know you're not entirely to blame for what happened."

Eren held up a hand as Marco opened his mouth. "I'm not finished – just listen. I want to change my answer for the question you asked me when we were walking home after your sister's wedding."

Marco frowned in apprehension. "What question?"

"You asked me something along the lines of when I knew I thought of you differently than everybody else," Eren said. "I think Annie's memory was the first thing that came to mind because it was an easy answer. When I had to really think about what my answer was, it was a bit harder." He hummed, running a hand through his hair as he looked away. "Do you remember that time in the Cadets when Historia got kidnapped by those bandits?"

"Of course," Marco said. "It was during a training exercise – those bandits also took our gear. Thank goodness help arrived when it did; we succeeded in stopping our gear from being stolen, but Historia was in a really perilous situation until Mikasa and Annie showed up."

"Yeah, it was really stressful," Eren said. "I was worked up over it for a while – I hated that feeling of helplessness when we weren't able to stop her life from being in danger. The second we got back to the cadet training area, I took off to be on my own to wallow in my own self-pity."

Marco chuckled. "Is that really how it was? I remember going out to find you when you didn't show up for dinner. They were stingy about me taking food, but they were alright with me grabbing mugs of hot tea. I figured that was better than nothing."

"It was definitely appreciated," Eren said, brightening. "I was hanging out on one of the lookout towers. You gave me the tea and said you shouldn't have been the team leader for that mission. You said something about Jean being better suited for it, instead. Even back then you had too little confidence in yourself."

"You thought so even in the Cadets?" Marco said, seeming embarrassed. "I know I should stop doubting my abilities, but I'll still argue Jean has better leadership qualities than I do."

Eren sighed. "I'll only agree with that because I've witnessed Jean rallying people together in a way I never could. Tell him I said that, and I'll never speak to you again."

Marco's laugh seemed to escape him against his will. "Alright, I won't."

"Anyway," Eren said, getting back on track. "You then said something about wondering how everyone was going to turn out as soldiers. You had this really hopeful look on your face like you were just so happy to have us around."

"Well … I was," Marco said, looking as if he were having trouble determining what Eren was trying to convey.

"And then we stood up on the lookout tower just talking for the next few hours," Eren said. He turned away, no longer able to face Marco as the tips of his ears grew warm.

"I remember analyzing the rescue mission and how proud you were of our friends. Then we talked about our families; your sister sounded like she was an asshole back then, but you still sent her letters because you wouldn't give up on her. Part of me looked down on you for that since you seemed to let her get away with treating you like shit."

Eren looked to his feet, watching a yellow flower sway in the breeze. "But … I also admired your ability to feel as much compassion for others as you do. Caring about anyone you're not close to was a totally foreign concept to me. I thought you were crazy for even saying you felt bad for the bandits we apprehended. I learned a lot about you then; I think that was the first time we spent time together with just the two of us."

A weak smile grew on Eren's face. "And as always, you were responsible and made sure we left in time to meet curfew. I remember watching your back as we went down the steps and feeling … sad. I was disappointed our time together was over."

The confusion etched across Marco's face was accented with a blush to his cheeks. "You know, Eren … you could have just asked to spend time with me. I didn't feel the same about you back then as I did after I got to know you a little better, but I still enjoyed being in your company. Well, when you and Jean weren't fighting."

"That was part of the problem," Eren said, irritation saturating his tone. "That horse-face stuck to you like glue. It only added another reason for me to dislike the guy since trying to talk to you during mealtimes meant having to put up with his conceited attitude."

"You guys are really like oil and water, huh?" Marco said. He laughed quietly to himself. "It's funny, because you two share qualities which I think you'd admire if you just tried to get along."

Eren huffed. "I don't want to talk about Jean – that's not the point I'm trying to get at. What I'm trying to say is I honestly don't know how much of what I feel toward you is Annie or myself. I've reached the conclusion that I don't give a shit. I know enough to be certain that it was never all just her influence, and that's good enough for me. I'll make it clear I can't stand here and promise how I feel isn't going to change someday. However, that goes for a lot of people, doesn't it? Plus for me, I …"

The silence stretched on. Eren looked away when Marco took a step forward to try and meet his gaze.

"Eren?" Marco said, worry in his tone.

"There was a section of Annie's report which had been classified until after I completed the mission closing up the holes in the wall," Eren said. He didn't have to look at Marco to know his companion was completely lost on this new train of thought.

"Ymir and I are the only ones other than the higher ups who know about it," Eren continued. "I was really pissed they kept it from us; they said it was to keep morale up until the mission was over. Maybe someday I'll see it from their point of view … and I guess they could've kept it from us entirely if they wanted, so I have to give it to them for fessing up."

Eren turned to face Marco. Any sign of mirth on his face had drained away. "It turns out there's a major downside to becoming one of the Nine Titans … You only get to live for thirteen years after it happens. I became a Titan five years ago, so I just have around eight years left until I die."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. Marco reached out, hesitating for a moment before placing a hand on Eren's shoulder. "Eren, are you certain? Would Annie have really known that for sure?"

"I think so," Eren said. He reached up, second guessed himself, then placed his hand atop Marco's. Relief washed through him when Marco didn't remove his hand. "She'd have no reason to lie about it. It sounds like Marley's Warrior program was made up of generations of soldiers training to inherit the Titans' power. We're going to have to start up something like that, too, for when Ymir and I come up to the deadline."

Eren found himself pulled into a tight embrace. He could feel Marco's tears dribbling through his hair.

"Don't say that, Eren," Marco said, voice shaking. "Don't talk like that! Annie could've been wrong … and we're different from the people who live outside the walls. Maybe it doesn't affect your lifespan like it would theirs? Maybe having multiple Titans cancels it out? We don't know, Eren, so please don't say things as if it's set in stone."

Eren's expression grew soft. He reached out to return the embrace. "I wanted to tell you this for a reason. I didn't want you to be blindsided if it does happen. Whether I have eight or eighty years left in me, at this moment all I can think about is how I want to spend them with you. I want to have that feeling like what I experienced on the lookout tower and make it last for as long as I can. It's like … I have a future to look forward to; a good one. That sort of bright future you're able to see that I can't, Marco … I guess I want you to guide me to it."

A few minutes passed of Marco weeping into Eren's shoulder. He held onto Eren with the strength of someone afraid he'd drift away without anything to anchor him in place.

"I'll stay," Marco whispered. He took a deep breath. "Even if staying with you meant we'd only be together for eight minutes, nothing would ever make me happier than that."

"Same here," Eren said. He closed his eyes, doing everything to commit the moment to memory. If there were to be anything passed on to the inheritor of his Titans in the future, Eren wanted to be certain this moment would be among those never lost.