Chapter Text
Eren hastily placed the book in his bag. It came with a bottle of water, a notebook and a pen.
He was headed for the beach.
Keeping all his thoughts inside was unbearable, and it seemed like the only way to deal with the situation.
Patting the horse on the neck, Eren hopped deftly on it and galloped away before anyone could notice his absence. It was a deep night in the courtyard, everyone was asleep, and even if there were any Titans on the island he wouldn’t have to kill them. Although, Eren was still equipped in ODM gear which he'd hastily grabbed from the warehouse just in case.
After a few minutes of fast running the horse started snorting loudly and Eren was a little exhausted. The last time he rode this fast was during the battle in Shiganshina which took place more than a year ago. And the last few months had consumed him with a frightening silence that was eating him alive from the inside.
When he reached his destination, Eren caught a glimpse of the beautiful scenery - the full moon reflected in the waves of the calm sea. The glare was so bright that it was a little blinding to his eyes.
Eren hung the lantern on his saddle and removed his bag from the saddle, heading toward the shore. He didn't immediately notice the dark object to his right, but after it moved, Eren, to his embarrassment, didn't hold back a squeak.
“Shit!” An unknown shadow shouted.
“Floch?!” Eren asked loudly, recognizing the impertinent voice a little.
Floch Forster took a few steps forward, letting the glare of the moon from the waves illuminate his displeased face. “Eren. Haven't you seen enough of this miserable beach for the first time?” Floch grinned rudely. “Why are you here without your pet blond? Or is he hiding somewhere?” He waved his hand towards the big stones.
Eren could barely contain his growl, anger and rage running through his bones. Who the hell was that redhead to point anything out to Eren? A pathetic, cowardly rookie who only joined the scouts just because it was growing in popularity. “You better shut up before I knock your teeth out, asshole!” Eren hissed, picking up his bag.
Floch didn't seem impressed by the threat. After standing in tense silence for a while, he kicked one of the pebbles in the sand and snorted. “So what are you doing here?” Floch asked again softening his voice a little but still sounding as if the person he was talking to had once killed his favorite kitten.
“None of your damn business, get lost.” Eren sat down and spread the things from his bag on the sand and realized he'd been stupid to leave the lantern on the horse.
“Come to paint landscapes for your friend while he's shaking in his closet?” Floch almost chanted as he stared at Eren's book.
Eren realized that was the last straw. Swinging with all the strength he had in the deep night Eren punched Floch in the stomach. The force of the blow was enough to make Floch fall to the sand, crossing his arms over his stomach. Without fully getting up Eren crawled on top of the guy, swinging for another punch, as suddenly Floch raised his torso sharply and hitting Eren with his forehead. It was a rash move, because it hurt both of them and Eren had the advantage of being a shifter. But on the other hand Yeager still instinctively pressed his hands to his forehead squirming in unpleasant pain. The world before his eyes became unstable and dizzy. Floch took advantage of the situation and threw the boy into the water.
Eren struck another blow at Floch without aiming exactly anywhere but seemingly hitting him in the jaw. Forster knew he was losing, and his only option was to grab sand in his fist and throw it in Yeager's face.
“Piece of shit! You bastard!”Eren hissed, trying to shake the sand from his eyes with one hand and blindly striking what he thought was Floch with the other. He only hit the air.
Floch, growling aggressively, grabbed Eren by the shoulders and pulled his head under the water. He put pressure on Eren’s neck to make sure he strangled him.
But Eren was able to stab him in the groin, for a second getting out to the air. “'You won’t kill me.” Eren grinned spitting salt water. His eyes tingled terribly.
To amuse his ego a little Floch dipped Yeager under the water again holding him there a little longer than the first time. After a little enjoying of Eren's efforts to get out of the water Floch let the boy go and stepped back a fair distance.
Eren sat up, trying to catch his breath.
“You wee bastard, Forster” Eren grunted rubbing his eyes which were constantly tearful and terribly painful.
“You started it.” Floch replied trying unsuccessfully to shake off the wet sand.
“Yeah, and you almost killed humanity's only hope, according to Erwin” Eren grinned deliberately pressing on what he suspected was Floch's weak spot. “Though it would be more accurate to say the hope of Paradise.” Eren muttered, for a second recalling the memory that had come over him after he'd kissed Historia's hand.
“The only hope was Erwin himself, everyone understands that except you and your little girly friend! Although no.. Even little Armin knows that he was the wrong choice!” Floch raised his voice while spreading his arms out to his sides.
Eren responded with a blank look.
As he stood up, he realized that the ODM was completely waterlogged. He tapped the device trying to get it to work.
This action was interrupted by a rustle coming from the trees nearby.
Eren met his gaze with Floch who had no ODM or even a gun with him. What the fuck was he doing here, anyway?
“Stand behind me.” Eren ordered preparing blades that were functional no matter what.
Floch was visibly hesitant - after the fight he had just had a minute ago he clearly wasn't going to trust his life to the so-called enemy.
“You want to live, don't you?!” Eren hissed.
For some reason this question stumped the redhead and he stayed stupidly still forcing Eren to approach himself.
Logically if it was a titan it wouldn't be too hard to deal with given the time of day. But such rustling was uncharacteristic of a titan. Abnormal, maybe? It was a few steps to the forest and Eren gripped his blades tighter listening for the rustling.
Suddenly, a huge palm swept in front of his face barely touching him. He was saved from the blow by Floch's hands grabbing him by the waist and pulling him back. Both of them collapsed in the sand from the sudden movement.
“Fuck! Where'd it come from?!” Floch yelled right into Eren's ear.
“How should I know? Let me go!” Eren hissed breaking free of the peculiar embrace and in a leap cut off the titan's arm in two deft moves. Luckily, it was a two-meter little one. The second arm was soon severed and the titan became essentially helpless.
“Kill it!” Floch shouted.
“No!” Eren screamed cutting off the titan's right leg.
The titan fell unable to move. Eren ran up to Floch who had already risen from the sand. “Jesus!” Eren exhaled not knowing whether to thank the redhead for, in fact, saving him from a facial injury or worse. Not that it mattered with regard to his abilities. Fortunately for him Floch clearly wasn't expecting any words in his direction. Throwing one last glance in the titan's direction, he exhaled and turned away from Eren.
“Thanks, I guess. If you hadn't come, I probably would have died.” Forster mumbled reluctantly.
“Y-You could have run away on a horse.” Eren stammered feeling the shock of gratitude though it was peculiar.
Floch didn't answer and stared dumbly toward the shore. Eren stood to the left of the guy awkwardly peering into his face expecting to see hatred or fear there. But instead all he could see was the reflection of the moonlight on his skin as if it were made of crystal. Floch's face seemed to shine, his eyes gleaming in the rhythm of the unhurried waves of the night. Before Eren had a chance to realize what the sight was making him feel he noticed a looming bruise on the guy's jaw. Spontaneously, some sort of concern entered his head as to whether he had accidentally broken something. Maybe that's why he's remain silent..?
“Stop staring.” Floch muttered turning his head toward Eren.
Eren turned his head so sharply in the opposite direction that his neck crunched a little causing a prick of dull but well-deserved pain.
Floch grinned and headed for his horse.
Eren coughed gustily, drawing the boy's attention. “Um... You saw that there were still titans left, so.. Maybe we should go together?” Eren suggested awkwardly rubbing his sore neck.
“And what about your confidence that I could easily outrun a titan on a horse?” Floch raised his eyebrows, sneering.
Eren frowned.
“Suit yourself, I was going to stay a while longer anyway.” Eren muttered as he walked over to his horse and took the lantern off it.
He didn't see Floch shrug, but he heard the stomp of hooves. Floch rode away.
Walking back to the bag, Eren placed the lantern next to his hip and sat down with a rumble, glancing furtively at the titan who had no ability to move from now on. It wasn't for long, but Eren held the sword tightly in his hands, just in case it regenerated.
Opening his notebook with his left hand, Eren was painfully aware that nothing but Floch's face reflecting the moonlight came to his mind.
///
On the next day, the cafeteria was unusually loud.
The few newcomers were loudly discussing the disappearance of one of the ODMs as if it were something impressive and terribly interesting.
Eren chewed modestly on his stale piece of bread, not wanting to admit that the loss of the device was his fault. It was only now that he thought about it, that it was foolish to throw away a non-working device somewhere in the middle of the field. Firstly, it could still be repaired, and secondly, by this action he increases the already high chance of being detected. If this situation became even more public, the ODM would be found quickly, and sooner or later they would realize that it could only have been Eren.
Mikasa of course didn't know that he was missing that night, because she wouldn't have let him go so easily. But as he walked down the corridor, Eren did across a few gawkers on their way to the bathroom or drink some water.
But what surprised Eren most was Floch's silence. Ginger knew exactly whose fault it was that the device was missing, but he remained meekly silent, not even touching his food. Sure, all his friends were dead and he was sort of a loner, but in the past Floch would have told the situation aloud without even thinking in order to draw attention to his overindulging nature.
Once again, Eren was faced with the fact that everything had changed dramatically. Although one particular detail was still unclear…
“Eren?” Armin called, poking his friend gently in the side.
“Huh?" Eren came to his senses, realizing that all this time he had been looking at Floch that turned out to be staring back at him. Eren turned his head as sharply as he had yesterday. “Agh.. excuse me, I was just thinking ‘bout stuff.”
“Do you think it's Forster?” Armin asked, alluding to the missing ODM gear.
Eren’s heartbeat accelerated his regimen; how could he be so careless?!
“Are you okay?” Mikasa interjected herself into the conversation.
“Yeah. And no, I don't think Floch is... - Eren squeaked out, staring at the bowl of soup that had long since gone cold. He had no appetite.
“Are ya goin’ to eat soup or not??” Sasha Braus smiled hopefully.
Eren silently moved his plate to her, receiving a joyful squeak in response.
“I wonder how does she manage to keep in shape…” Connie wondered.
“Well, we work out all day and night.” Jean answered, arching an eyebrow.
“Yeah... But we haven't been doing anything lately. Hanje and Levi are silent.” Springer exhaled.
Eren was unpleasantly stung by this fact. Indeed, even after all they'd been through, there were still secrets lurking from them. It was infuriating.
“So who could it be? Any ideas, Armin?” Jean changed the subject.
Armin's gaze on Eren didn't go unnoticed, lasting only a fraction of a second.
“No idea, I don't think it's as important as the others are trying to make it out to be.” Armin exhaled, rising from his seat. "Dinner's over, right?”
“Yeah. Let's go do nothing” Jean said with feigned joy.
“Yoo-hoo!!!” Connie imitated joy, raising his hands to the ceiling.
“Sh-sh-stop!!! H-haven't finish’ eating!” Sasha shouted through the food.
While the light and familiar dialogue began again between the others, Eren was immersed in his own thoughts.
Spotty recollection of the future flashed through his mind. He looked at Sasha, vaguely recalling her last words.
It made him nauseous. Why were those last words? Was she going to die?
Eren asked himself these questions as he stood up from the table as if in slow motion, leaving his friends anxious.
“Eren!” Mikasa called, rising from her seat.
“Don’t follow me!” said Eren, rushing out of the room.
He anxiously looked for a place to be alone. The weight of knowledge took over him again. Eren didn't know if he should cry, or if whatever he did would prove pointless anyway, and no one and nothing could ever help him. He panicked.
The most deserted place turned out to be the small patio. They were now in one of the southernmost headquarters, which made the sun burn harder than usual.
Eren sat down under the wall of the main building, and dropped his head in his hands.
He was not alone with his thoughts for long when he heard the sound of footsteps. Eren held back an annoyed groan and looked up to see Forster in front of him.
“Why aren't you hiding in your room?” Floch asked straightforwardly, stopping in front of him.
“Don’t know…” - whispered Eren, dropping his head back, unable to keep it straight.
Floch evidently took pity on the wistful lad and did not answer caustically. Instead, he gingerly settled down beside him. “It's my place, you know.” He hummed.
“What do you mean?” Eren asked, his voice muffled.
“Well... This is usually where I hide out.” Floch admitted.
"This place is surprisingly unpopular with the cadets.”
Eren tilted his head with interest, one eye on the annoying redhead sitting next to him. This time, his face was beautifully framed by the rays of the sun instead of the moon, which made Eren strangely irritated.
“A lot of coincidences lately, don't you think? Everywhere I go, it's you!” Eren grumbled, being down in the dumps.
“I'm not happy about it either, you know!” Floch answered glumly. “I feel like you're stalking me. Yesterday you came to kick my ass on the fucking beach, today you've been staring at me all lunchtime, and now this! I've been coming here for a whole fucking month and it's after all this you decide to came here!Of all the days possible!” Floch scowled, waving his hands vigorously, emphasizing his displeasure.
“Bitch, how the fuck should I know why you're sticking to me like a fucking glue!” Eren replied, finally straightening up.
“It's a question of who's stuck to who!” Floch hissed, squatting down in preparation for the fight.
Eren exhaled. His fists itched to punch the redhead, but on the other hand, he figured the company might not be so bad now.
“Let's just sit in silence then.” Eren suggested, meeting his gaze with Floch who looked shocked at the suggestion.
“Whatever you say, I didn't come here to fight, after all.” He replied, staring somewhere else.
Eren couldn't help but remember the future, however paradoxical it might sound. He saw scraps with Floch, who seemed to be smiling back at him. The hairstyle was different, completely unlike his current one, which made Eren take a long time to believe the reality of these memories.
The fact that at some point in time they would begin to communicate as if they were good friends... intrigued Eren.
He didn’t know what was going to happen to stop Floch from being so arrogant. And what Floch would have to do to make Eren stop seeing him as just an annoying newcomer.
The second point was much easier to answer, though, when the person in question, though being terribly annoying, still as a magnet attracted to himself rays of the sun that reflected so delightfully from his amber eyes, and his hair, giving in to the glow, shone in that rare golden.
“You're staring like a freak again." Floch exhaled, turning his eyes on Eren.
Eren didn't know what to answer, and his neck was already sore enough to twist it sharply once more. Coming to terms with his strange behavior, Eren brushed it all off on their future collaboration, hence camaraderie, and just smiled.
Floch arched an eyebrow, looking incredulous. “Um... Something on my face?” He asked, putting a hand to one of his cheeks.
“No, it's just…” Eren didn't know what to say without sounding strange. “Your hair style is unusual. I can't figure out how you do it, or why you do it.” He finally managed to wriggle out of it, holding back a chuckle.
Floch, surprisingly, blushed a little.
“Well... I don't style my hair, it's just... It’s just the way it is…” Floch was embarrassed, letting him know there was more to it than that.
Eren, intrigued, leaned over slightly and took a closer look at the boy's hair.
“I thought all redheads had freckles, but... you don't seem to have any.” Eren hummed, noticing the boy's jaw, where a faint bruise had blossomed. He felt a very faint prick of guilt. But more upsetting to him was the fact that Floch didn't have any friends who could worry about him or even ask about the bruise.
“And I thought all men of the famous Survey Corps were capable of thinking and making informed decisions, but, as you can see, the world is a cruel place.” Floch grinned.
Eren once again fell for this simple trick and felt a surge of anger.
“Armin is my friend, I wasn't thinking rationally.” He muttered, not realizing the heavy gravity of his words. “After all, it was Levi who made that choice, so go and argue with him if you so need to voice your displeasure!”
Floch didn't answer for a long time.
Eren knew that ginger felt angry and thought that Levi's choice unfair, but found the courage to argue only with Eren or Armin, afraid to confront Ackerman directly.
Eren could imagine the pain Floch is going through, but it is no different than the pain that Armin, Mikasa, Levi, Eren himself and any other soldier goes through as well.
Everyone suffered from this war, and Floch just hasn't gotten over it yet.
Everything will come with time.
“Well, it was a pleasure sitting with you.” Floch quipped, getting up from his seat and walking into the building without turning around.
Once again Eren felt abandoned.