[It strikes him more deeply than he would have guessed it might. Maruki still sees Eren, the friend he met in a dream. He's different now, but so is Maruki, without four years time to credit. Eren feels like he could cry, and that feeling is so familiar, that he surely must be the same person. He still watches the sky. He still wants his mother.]

It doesn't matter.

[Eren's voice is tight. His hand reaches up and tangles with the one Maruki has in his hair. He brings it down between them, grip pulsing.]

They haven't let go. They won't. Even when I wanted them to.

So, it doesn't matter.

[This isn't about them, anyway.]

We don't have to talk about it anymore. You're here...

It makes sense...you'd see me clearer than anyone.