[ ah. ah, why the fuck are you making his heart hurt like this RC, i’m calling you out like directly, i’m so offended but i also want you to continue stepping on me.

he wants to apologize for acting like he didn’t know anything, but— his nerves are calmed. crow had to come about it on his own time, and how he’d deal with it was completely up to his feelings. eren wouldn’t know. but he knows now, and listens far more than any time he’s sat down with crow.

It reminds him so much of things that tear at his own heart, no matter how many times he concludes past is past. crow says it hurts, and eren’s expression is not one of pity nor mercy when he inhales and looks for words. they’re features of mutual understanding. ]

Sometimes we say and do things because there’s no other way to do them. [ a beat. ] You had things to do, and you had priorities you couldn’t just, [ he gestures ] leave. In situations like that— they’re better off hating you than standing by you. Right? They’d survive that way.

It doesn’t mean that you didn’t care about them. It means the opposite.

[ that’s what eren tells himself, at least, even when he’s in the dark about how he worked in the past. ]

You were just a victim to circumstance.