[Wait, acknowledgment shouldn’t be part of the memory.]

[The face Eren sees, for that moment, is one of quiet shock—someone who’s just seen a ghost, been talked to by a ghost, but the reaction’s still suppressed.]

[Eren says her name again. He just… doesn’t know how to be quiet, does he? But any irritation dissipates immediately when Aubrey hears his choked, childish voice; and then he tries to get up.]

Hey, don’t— [Her hands hover over his back and chest, a wordless offer of support (and threat, to push him back if he keeps straining)—but the moment’s over almost as it’s started, and she tries to at least guide him back in his slump.]

[Is he still bleeding? Are the bandages clean? Aubrey studies those, because god if the tears in Eren’s eyes don’t threaten to crush her.] Easy....