[ Maruki's brows crease in brief, mild confusion – it's simply factual that they are both special, it's not as if normal people can manipulate reality at will – but then again, he gets it. Or he thinks he does, anyway. How many people has he told that he's a normal, regular man, even after they've seen what he can do? In the end, he wants to be treated the same as anyone else.
Still, though... ]
Whether or not either of us are special, you're still special to me. That's all I meant.
[ He thinks he should say something more, falters, squeezes one of Eren's arms instead. ]
[ It isn't the first time Eren has told him that. It is the first time since his return, though.
Quite honestly, Maruki never expected to hear it again, and he could live with that. It's the same as not needing to see Eren smile or laugh to know when he feels like he wants to – he's never doubted his friend's love for him. Not since the night they broke away from a festival to sit in a circle of flickering lantern light and share the greatest pains of this power; certainly not since Eren kept his promise and came back.
So to hear it now, of all times–
It's painful, isn't it? Like rubbing antiseptic into a wound. Healing as it hurts. It shouldn't be possible for Maruki to be loved without reservation or condition and not lose it in the end. It shouldn't have taken a false reality to prove otherwise. Yet here they are.
He won't lose Eren. He'll return to the true reality, he'll have nothing, but he still won't lose Eren. There's always the next life.
Maruki reaches out, pulls his best friend into him. Tucks his head against his chest, a mirror of what Eren did for him earlier. Hugs him tight, tighter. ]
I believe you.
[ Which is a bigger thing than he can put into words. He thinks Eren knows, though.
Face tucked down to bury into Eren's hair, muffled, quiet: ]
It's the same for me. I love you, exactly as you are.
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Still, though... ]
Whether or not either of us are special, you're still special to me. That's all I meant.
[ He thinks he should say something more, falters, squeezes one of Eren's arms instead. ]
You're enough, too.
apropos of our conversation last night--
[All...Eren's thought about lately, with Maruki more than anyone, is his mother...
[Perhaps there are only two people who have ever truly loved Eren without condition. He grieves that. It feels...unfair.
[Who loves Maruki unconditionally?
[At least one person.]
I love you. Just like this.
pain.jpg
Quite honestly, Maruki never expected to hear it again, and he could live with that. It's the same as not needing to see Eren smile or laugh to know when he feels like he wants to – he's never doubted his friend's love for him. Not since the night they broke away from a festival to sit in a circle of flickering lantern light and share the greatest pains of this power; certainly not since Eren kept his promise and came back.
So to hear it now, of all times–
It's painful, isn't it? Like rubbing antiseptic into a wound. Healing as it hurts. It shouldn't be possible for Maruki to be loved without reservation or condition and not lose it in the end. It shouldn't have taken a false reality to prove otherwise. Yet here they are.
He won't lose Eren. He'll return to the true reality, he'll have nothing, but he still won't lose Eren. There's always the next life.
Maruki reaches out, pulls his best friend into him. Tucks his head against his chest, a mirror of what Eren did for him earlier. Hugs him tight, tighter. ]
I believe you.
[ Which is a bigger thing than he can put into words. He thinks Eren knows, though.
Face tucked down to bury into Eren's hair, muffled, quiet: ]
It's the same for me. I love you, exactly as you are.
[ Don't change. Don't leave. ]
WE CAN. WRAP HERE. IF YOU WANT....
[And it isn't a laugh.
[Because Eren doesn't laugh.
[But it is a breath.
[And it's fond.
['I believe you,' he says...
[Eren nods. His voice comes out tight.]
I believe you.