[ Maruki drops the hand away from his face, exhales slower, steadier. Much steadier. Tips his head back against the couch and turns it sideways to watch Eren work through what he's saying in real time.
He still hasn't said those two words, but they're crystal clear beneath everything else he says.
The last hope for humanity. That's not someone who would be allowed to feel fear.
His mouth sets into a thin, sympathetic line for a moment before he speaks. ]
There's a certain strength in fear.
[ Hadn't he had a similar conversation with Jean down by the lake? Some things feel very far away from him now, and not just because of the way time stretched and warped around them in that awful forest. Akechi spitting the most vile truth of all with his hands wrapped around Maruki's throat will always be a dividing line in his time in Somnius now. ]
Whether one admits to it or not... Feeling that fear and continuing on in spite of it– or perhaps even because of it, using it as a driving force... That's true courage, I think.
[Eren looks at Maruki, expression muted, but somehow still complex. That sentiment could be true, he thinks, for someone like Armin; someone who charged ahead through the end of the world despite the greatest fear he'd ever known - and that goes for all of Eren's dear, dear friends.
[Eren was propelled forward by fear, too; desperation. Did it take courage to raze the world to nothing?
[Eren might be a coward.]
I'd say...that probably depends on the person.
[Eren stands up from the couch. He takes the camera; for a few moments, he looks aimless, holding it in his hands. He goes over to one of Maruki's bookshelves and starts pulling out volumes, stacking them on the table. He sets the camera on top. He looks to Maruki.]
There's a timer for ten seconds, and then it will snap a photo of us. Alright? I'll have to get going after that.
[ Maruki watches him setting up the camera, immediately cognizant of what he's doing, and it's like sunlight beginning to peek out through thick cloud cover. Weak rays forcing their way through, but warm all the same. He grins, laughs, starts trying to fix his permanently messy hair. ]
I'd like that. You'll let me take one too, right?
[ Just a few weeks ago, when he'd been so concerned that Kurogiri's wish at the crystal would alter him irreparably, he'd hooked an arm around him and pulled him in for a sweet, smiling photo. To remember his friend by, in case he changed forever.
Of me? [It's an idle question as he sets up the camera's timer.] Alright.
[The timer is set. Eren comes and takes a seat by Maruki; given the boy's newly subdued nature, it's a little funny to see him move just a bit urgently. There are still several seconds left to wait by the time he sits down. He recalls sitting for that smoking photo again...]
[ Just a quick correction before he drapes an arm over Eren's shoulders and smiles, wide and warm, for the camera's click.
The photo spits out slowly, and Maruki reaches into his pocket for his smartphone as Eren deals with it. ]
It may seem less... I don't know, meaningful, I guess? Than a real photo from a camera. But it's what I'm used to from home, so I like to take them this way.
[He leans back a bit, unsure of how he'll have to squeeze into the frame, but ready to do so. He doesn't smile (he didn't for the polaroid either), but he tries not to glare.
[ It's so utterly jarring to hear Eren Jaeger say the word selfie that Maruki immediately gets the giggles over it. ]
Like a selfie, yeah, exactly.
[ Ultimately, it's easy. And not up to Eren. Maruki does exactly what he did for Kurogiri: Pulls Eren in to lean their heads in close together as he lifts up the phone, grins hard enough to crinkle the corners of his eyes, and snaps the photo.
It takes only a few seconds, and then he lets Eren get his personal space back and swipes through to show him the photo.
His stoical face is perfect. It's good that he didn't try for anything else. He's just Eren, his friend, exactly as Maruki appreciates him. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
He still hasn't said those two words, but they're crystal clear beneath everything else he says.
The last hope for humanity. That's not someone who would be allowed to feel fear.
His mouth sets into a thin, sympathetic line for a moment before he speaks. ]
There's a certain strength in fear.
[ Hadn't he had a similar conversation with Jean down by the lake? Some things feel very far away from him now, and not just because of the way time stretched and warped around them in that awful forest. Akechi spitting the most vile truth of all with his hands wrapped around Maruki's throat will always be a dividing line in his time in Somnius now. ]
Whether one admits to it or not... Feeling that fear and continuing on in spite of it– or perhaps even because of it, using it as a driving force... That's true courage, I think.
no subject
[Eren was propelled forward by fear, too; desperation. Did it take courage to raze the world to nothing?
[Eren might be a coward.]
I'd say...that probably depends on the person.
[Eren stands up from the couch. He takes the camera; for a few moments, he looks aimless, holding it in his hands. He goes over to one of Maruki's bookshelves and starts pulling out volumes, stacking them on the table. He sets the camera on top. He looks to Maruki.]
There's a timer for ten seconds, and then it will snap a photo of us. Alright? I'll have to get going after that.
no subject
I'd like that. You'll let me take one too, right?
[ Just a few weeks ago, when he'd been so concerned that Kurogiri's wish at the crystal would alter him irreparably, he'd hooked an arm around him and pulled him in for a sweet, smiling photo. To remember his friend by, in case he changed forever.
He really ought to take more of those. ]
no subject
[The timer is set. Eren comes and takes a seat by Maruki; given the boy's newly subdued nature, it's a little funny to see him move just a bit urgently. There are still several seconds left to wait by the time he sits down. He recalls sitting for that smoking photo again...]
no subject
[ Just a quick correction before he drapes an arm over Eren's shoulders and smiles, wide and warm, for the camera's click.
The photo spits out slowly, and Maruki reaches into his pocket for his smartphone as Eren deals with it. ]
It may seem less... I don't know, meaningful, I guess? Than a real photo from a camera. But it's what I'm used to from home, so I like to take them this way.
no subject
[He leans back a bit, unsure of how he'll have to squeeze into the frame, but ready to do so. He doesn't smile (he didn't for the polaroid either), but he tries not to glare.
[He looks like the Eren Maruki knows.]
no subject
Like a selfie, yeah, exactly.
[ Ultimately, it's easy. And not up to Eren. Maruki does exactly what he did for Kurogiri: Pulls Eren in to lean their heads in close together as he lifts up the phone, grins hard enough to crinkle the corners of his eyes, and snaps the photo.
It takes only a few seconds, and then he lets Eren get his personal space back and swipes through to show him the photo.
His stoical face is perfect. It's good that he didn't try for anything else. He's just Eren, his friend, exactly as Maruki appreciates him. ]
Thanks. I'll treasure it.
[ He really will. ]