[ Thorfinn isn't sure what he believes. He hasn't heard of anyone disappearing and coming back years later, so…in a way, that lends credence to what Maruki had said then and Eren says now.
But if he could choose to be here, why can't they all choose to leave?
Thorfinn doesn't entirely want to leave, but that's not really the point. He has to go home and finish what he started, even though the taste of revenge is no longer a good one. ]
There's a lot lots of people don't know.
[ He's a little defensive, but he doesn't seek out information the way some people do. He doesn't care about all of that. That's for smart people. He knows he's not all that smart, but it doesn't matter. He's a capable warrior, and what else would there ever be? ]
But I believe you. I guess. That you won't leave unless you want to. Tell me before you do.
[ He would never ask Eren to stay, even if he wants to. He can't go that far. But he can at least ask for a damn warning. ]
[It will all depend on so much. Whatever actions he ends up taking against those in charge, at this point, he'll guarantee that his loved ones are safe, but there's no guaranteeing that this reality will stay intact. He's not quite ready to pass that information along. He doesn't think Thorfinn would understand what he's trying to do. They made a promise to defeat Vaeros together, yes, and that can still be true, but there are very few that Eren has entrusted with deeper intentions. All that being said, there's no scenario in which Thorfinn wouldn't be informed that something would be about to happen.]
I will. [Voice quiet, steady. He pulls away enough to look at Thorfinn, arms still around him.]
For the time being...you don't have to worry about that.
[ Thorfinn could probably never understand all of Eren's goals, the things he had done and why he'd done them. Thorfinn didn't have anything to protect until coming here, and who would agree with decimating the entire world anyway? As for Somnius, Thorfinn hesitates to make this place disappear if it means that people who are alive here would be dead again.
Dolph. Eren. They can't be the only ones.
But he can't stay here, either. Though something in him feels twisted up when he thinks about Askeladd dying, that's still the only thing he has ever lived for. He promised not to let go of that revenge, and he hasn't, even half-knowing that on the other side of it is hollow and blank.
But defeating Vaeros, getting answers? Of course he still wants that. ]
Okay.
[ He holds on for a moment longer, but he's never been the clingy type. He doesn't know how to channel his grief and his anger and his loneliness into anything. So he lets go and shoves a little, something easier to do, not quite playful. ]
[Eren is shoved. It makes him want to pick Thorfinn up and carry him inside.
[He doesn't. He doesn't mess around like that anymore. Things are taken too seriously. He's forgotten how to act like a friend, a partner, someone worth calling family.
[He steps away and tucks his hands into the pockets of his coat, looking down at Thorfinn.]
Kanoa asked me the same question. I don't have to explain that legs grow to you, do I?
[ Thorfinn notices there's some difference in Eren. He chalks it up to four years passing, to war. He knows how war can change things.
(He has no idea what happened to Eren, how off he is.) ]
I know legs grow! Whatever. In four years I'll be taller than you anyway.
[ He sounds like a petulant child about it. He's longed to be tall like his father, refusing to accept that he can't be. But ultimately it's a deflection from everything else, from Eren's disappearance, from his reappearance and his changed demeanour. ]
I will be. [Quiet; tired, maybe. He turns back to Thorfinn and takes his hand - fiddles with the fingers.
[He leans in to take a kiss - seems to remember halfway through what kissing someone he loves feels like, then takes Thorfinn's face in both of his hands and deepens that kiss.
[Eren's love never dies, never diminishes. It only grows more terrible.
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no subject
But if he could choose to be here, why can't they all choose to leave?
Thorfinn doesn't entirely want to leave, but that's not really the point. He has to go home and finish what he started, even though the taste of revenge is no longer a good one. ]
There's a lot lots of people don't know.
[ He's a little defensive, but he doesn't seek out information the way some people do. He doesn't care about all of that. That's for smart people. He knows he's not all that smart, but it doesn't matter. He's a capable warrior, and what else would there ever be? ]
But I believe you. I guess. That you won't leave unless you want to. Tell me before you do.
[ He would never ask Eren to stay, even if he wants to. He can't go that far. But he can at least ask for a damn warning. ]
no subject
I will. [Voice quiet, steady. He pulls away enough to look at Thorfinn, arms still around him.]
For the time being...you don't have to worry about that.
no subject
Dolph. Eren. They can't be the only ones.
But he can't stay here, either. Though something in him feels twisted up when he thinks about Askeladd dying, that's still the only thing he has ever lived for. He promised not to let go of that revenge, and he hasn't, even half-knowing that on the other side of it is hollow and blank.
But defeating Vaeros, getting answers? Of course he still wants that. ]
Okay.
[ He holds on for a moment longer, but he's never been the clingy type. He doesn't know how to channel his grief and his anger and his loneliness into anything. So he lets go and shoves a little, something easier to do, not quite playful. ]
Why do you keep getting taller.
no subject
[He doesn't. He doesn't mess around like that anymore. Things are taken too seriously. He's forgotten how to act like a friend, a partner, someone worth calling family.
[He steps away and tucks his hands into the pockets of his coat, looking down at Thorfinn.]
Kanoa asked me the same question. I don't have to explain that legs grow to you, do I?
no subject
(He has no idea what happened to Eren, how off he is.) ]
I know legs grow! Whatever. In four years I'll be taller than you anyway.
[ He sounds like a petulant child about it. He's longed to be tall like his father, refusing to accept that he can't be. But ultimately it's a deflection from everything else, from Eren's disappearance, from his reappearance and his changed demeanour. ]
no subject
Thorfinn...
[He turns back to face the man.]
I'll have to go for a while. I'll see you later, won't I?
no subject
Yeah. As long as we're both still here, you'll see me.
hehe we can wrap on yours <3
[He leans in to take a kiss - seems to remember halfway through what kissing someone he loves feels like, then takes Thorfinn's face in both of his hands and deepens that kiss.
[Eren's love never dies, never diminishes. It only grows more terrible.
[When they break:]
Tonight, then.