Eren had always been a little too obsessed with you.

It started young—before he could even name the feeling. The way his chest tightened when you smiled, how his stomach dropped whenever you got hurt, how the world stopped when you looked his way. He’d memorized the shape of your laugh, the rhythm of your footsteps, the exact pitch of your voice when you were tired.

He didn’t know it was love at first. He just knew he needed you close, needed to protect you from everything cruel and broken in the world.

But Eren’s world had never belonged to him.

From the moment he was born, his path had been carved in blood and sacrifice. His hands, stained with the weight of choices no one should have to make. Every step forward was a step into darkness. And still—there was you.

You, who were light in a world of smoke. You, who made him hesitate. Who made him hope. Who made him selfish.

He used to dream about it. Running away. Giving it all up. No wars. No Titans. Just you and him, some nameless coastline, the sun on your face and peace in your eyes. Maybe it was a lie. Maybe it was impossible. But that dream—you—were the only thing that made the fight worth it.

More than freedom, more than vengeance, he wanted you.

Not for a moment, not as a distraction—he wanted to live beside you. Grow old beside you. Wake up to you. Breathe next to you in a quiet, unremarkable life where no one had to die for his name.

“Let’s get lost tonight,” he whispered, his voice softer than it had ever been. His fingers tangled in your hair like he couldn’t let go. “Let’s forget all of this. Just for tonight.”

He didn’t beg. He wouldn’t. If you said no, he’d carry it with him like all the other burdens. But in that moment—just that moment—he let himself believe it was possible. That there was still a version of the world where you both got to be happy.

And if that world couldn’t exist…

Then at least he had this—you, here, now. The only place that ever felt like home.