[ It's not what he first wanted to hear when he arrived here, no–
It's better.
Maruki tips his cheek down into Eren's hand, rests heavily against it, eyes fixed forward on the mess of cushions and blankets and pillows that is the loft of the windmill. The true weight of those words settles over both of them slowly, and it's such a beautiful thing, so sacred between just the two of them – Eren would stay alive for him. For no one else but him. When everything else is gone but the two of them, Eren will still have a reason to live...
His throat feels tight, heat rising up the back of it. ]
I realize that now. It's... [ He turns his cheek ever so slightly to brush his nose against Eren's palm, then a kiss. With anyone else, he'd force himself to find the words, but with his Other– ] I don't know what to say.
[ And that's okay.
A bit of dampness catches on his lashes. Eren has seen him cry more than anyone else in this reality by far, so he already knows that when Maruki's tears come, they aren't loud. They don't make a sound.
With his back pressed against Eren's chest to rest in his arms like this, the only clues that he might be tearing up are the slightest of hitch in his breath and the short, choked breath of a laugh when he apologizes. ]
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It's better.
Maruki tips his cheek down into Eren's hand, rests heavily against it, eyes fixed forward on the mess of cushions and blankets and pillows that is the loft of the windmill. The true weight of those words settles over both of them slowly, and it's such a beautiful thing, so sacred between just the two of them – Eren would stay alive for him. For no one else but him. When everything else is gone but the two of them, Eren will still have a reason to live...
His throat feels tight, heat rising up the back of it. ]
I realize that now. It's... [ He turns his cheek ever so slightly to brush his nose against Eren's palm, then a kiss. With anyone else, he'd force himself to find the words, but with his Other– ] I don't know what to say.
[ And that's okay.
A bit of dampness catches on his lashes. Eren has seen him cry more than anyone else in this reality by far, so he already knows that when Maruki's tears come, they aren't loud. They don't make a sound.
With his back pressed against Eren's chest to rest in his arms like this, the only clues that he might be tearing up are the slightest of hitch in his breath and the short, choked breath of a laugh when he apologizes. ]
Sorry...