Alone [Eren Jaeger X Reader]

 Shiganshina District: Two years before the fall of Wall Maria

 Eren sat against a tree, his hands behind his head as he closed his eyes. It was only natural that he would be sleeping while you did the work for the both of your families. No matter how driven, Eren was still the laziest eight year old to ever grace Wall Maria.

 “Get up off your ass,” You said, nudging him with the toe of your boot. “I’m not doing all the work again.” Eren sighed, opening his eyes to glare up at you.

 “I don’t even understand why we even have to gather wood in the first place,” he muttered. You shrugged as he stood.

 “I don’t know…maybe to light fires?” You rolled your eyes at your friend, traversing through the tall grass for a sign of a small piece of wood.
 
 “When I grow up,” said Eren. “I won’t be around here to gather firewood. I’m going to join the Scouting Legion.”

 You froze, your hand clenched tightly around a piece of firewood. Had he just said…that he was going to join the Scouting Legion? The military branch that sends thousands of soldiers to their death, every year?

 Stalking over to him, you began whacking him with aforementioned piece of firewood. Despite his protests and struggles, your strikes never faltered in the least, ceasing only when Eren grabbed your wrist.

 “The hell was that?” he demanded, his eyes wide. Never, in all the years he had known you, had you deliberately attacked him for seemingly no reason.

 “You…you really want to join the Scouting Legion?” Your voice wavered slightly, and you hoped Eren hadn’t heard it. He nodded, a smile making its way onto his lips.

 “Worried about me, are you? Don’t worry, (Name), I can take care of myself.”

 “No, you can’t!” You yelled, wrenching your wrist from his grip. “You always get into fights, Eren, and if someone doesn’t break it up, you get beaten to a pulp! You’re too reckless to even think about joining the Scouting Legion!”

 “I don’t want to sit inside these walls like cattle for the rest of my life, (Name)! Don’t you think there’s something better out there?”

 “Titans! Titans are out there, Eren!” You dropped your firewood, stretching your arms out for emphasis. “Huge, scary, monstrous Titans!”

 “I thought at least you would respect my choices!” Eren shouted.

 “How can I respect them when they could get you killed?!” You wiped furiously at your eyes. No, you wouldn’t cry now. Not here, not in front of him. “I don’t want you to go outside the walls and not come back! I don’t want to hear from a soldier who barely even knew you that your body was somewhere in the stomach of a Titan!”

 “That’s not gonna happen!”

 “And how can you possibly know that?!”

 “Because I promise, that no matter what, I will come back to you!” You inhaled a sharp breath, your eyes shining with tears that you refused to let fall. “You’re one of my best friends, (Name).” His voice was softer now, much more gentle than it had been a few moments ago. “I won’t leave you alone. Ever.”

 You ran to Eren, wrapping your arms around his neck as you pulled him in for a hug. “You’re such an idiot,” you said into his shoulder, shaking your head. Eren smiled, wrapping his own arms around your frame.

 Pulling away from him, you smiled, tears streaming down your face in thin rivulets. “Who knows? Maybe in the future I’ll join the Scouting Legion, just to keep an eye on you!”


 Shiganshina District: The Fall of Wall Maria

 True to his word, he never left you alone. Even when Mikasa was always at his heels, he’d make sure to check up on you, just to make sure you were alright. You had a record of getting dangerously ill during the winter, so he always bundled you up in blankets, scarves, in jackets, no matter how much you protested that you were fine.

 But on that day, he had left you alone. Only for a moment. In a fit of anger, he stormed away from his house, not bothering to stop by yours, to check and see how you were doing. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. He was angry at his mother, at Mikasa, at all the people who preferred to stay inside the safety of the walls like livestock.

 And even as the Colossal Titan appeared, he hadn’t even thought to check on you. His first instinct was to run to his house, where his mother was buried under a heap of rubble and debris. Even then, you hadn’t crossed his mind. Of course, there were more important matters at hand, like his injured mother and the Titan that loomed over them.

 You had made your way into his thoughts as Hannes raced past what was once your home, Eren and Mikasa in his arms. Eren saw you, unconscious under a huge pile of wood and concrete. At least, he hoped you were unconscious.

 He shouted your name, over and over again, but you made no noise or movement. He yelled at Hannes to turn around; to go back and get your body, but the soldier simply shouted back to him that you were long gone. There was no chance of you surviving the collapsing of your house, considering that your health was always rather frail.

 Eren had lost two of the most important things in his life that day. And he would never, ever forgive himself for leaving you alone.