fiddlestick | IC Contact

[ baby steps back to normal? you mean titan steps.

the sooner he gets things out of the way for good, the better. eren didn’t like to dawdle, or dance around the fire. pull the problem weed right out, roots and all. trimming it would just give it time to grow back. he’s swinging a flashlight in one hand and flipping through his own playlist with his other, wireless earbuds blasting some . . .

you thought i’d say metal. it’s actually violin.

he sees the bus and movement before he actually hears elliot approaching, letting the buds now hang from his neck. honestly— his heart skips when he sees that head of ginger hair getting off at the bus stop, feeling antsy jumbles in his stomach. this . . . felt slightly familiar. if only they still had a sky full of stars.

there’s a wash of immense relief in eren when he realizes he really did come, and he can’t help it; he smiles. he missed him. it was different from the other times life got busy, the gap could be felt and it hurt. it wouldn’t hurt anymore. he’s already made up his mind about this, he’s already accepted this— and in the end, the top priority for his drive hadn’t been self drawn, as a matter of pride, or maybe to help save the world and make a difference. it was because of elliot.

eren meets him halfway, careful not to shine the light in the other’s face and pocketing his phone, but letting a song play at max volume. once he’s in front of him— hah, the tummy be making flips. ]

Hey.

[ after a pause, eren holds his hand out to him, but— enough awkward. they weren’t strangers, they loved each other more than anything. giving him an extra second more, eren pulls him into an embrace. they needed space before, but more than ever do they probably need their closeness too. eren wasn’t upset at him for what he felt, and if he wants to turn the page, he has to show there is one. he’s confident in his hold. he’s everything he wasn’t just a week ago, when all he wanted to do was cry and hide himself away. ]

[ As he gets closer, his ears pick up on what Eren's playing on his phone. He's so used to Eren always playing metal, that he's surprised to hear that it's violin music. What more, it's a melody he recognized. A song that he insisted on learning after going to see that movie about half a dozen times (and crying each time). Just hearing that ... it really hits home just how much Eren must've missed him, and how much he had missed Eren.

When they are close enough? Elliot only briefly takes that hand, before he goes right to embracing him- arms around his waist with his head against his shoulder. The hug was different than the last one they had. The terror wasn't fresh anymore, they both weren't lost and confused. Was the fear completely gone? No, not yet. But it took a backseat to just how much he missed this man. ]

I've missed you.

[ he knew it was from the movie he insisted on taking elliot as many times as he wanted, john would hook them up— but the real reason he was listening to this one in particular was because he heard it in a dream. he’s not sure when, but, he remembers elliot played it for him.

(what a dream)

his embrace grows tighter around elliot as he squeezes him with nothing but affection and longing, face buried into the side of his neck in return, inhaling the smell of his hair, his skin, everything about him, because he missed everything. he really wasn’t made for this distance thing, and he wants to tear it down more than ever. just hearing him say i’ve missed you makes his chest flutter and his throat go a little tight with emotion, because he did too, a lot, giving a quiet laugh into the collar of his clothing. ]

I know— Everything’s shitty without you, Elliot.

Edited 2018-01-31 19:59 (UTC)

Eheh, right back at you.

[While Eren is taking everything about him in, Elliot is doing the same. The smell of his shirt, his skin, the sound of his heart beat, the rising and falling of his chest, the squeeze of Eren's arms. It's like a fine dream, this moment. He wants to bask in it.

It takes a full few moments for him to finally speak up again]

So you have something to show me?

[Eren didn't explicitly say that, but he could guess. Why else would he call him out here?]

[ hah. right to the point too, he sees. but he doesn’t mind just holding him for those few extra moments, almost reluctant to even let go before he actually does, arms falling to his sides and taking elliot’s hand in one of them. feeling his fingers weave into his again felt like he finally found a fire out in the cold to warm up with.

well, time to start trekking. he reaches down to hook his bag of goods up his arm while he leads the way with his flashlight. ]

It’s my week’s worth of work with John and Dave. We don’t even need to go too far in this time.

[ he’s sure to give elliot’s hand a reassuring and firm hold. ]

[Well hey, the sooner they get through this, this sooner they can go back to things being how they were. Elliot wanted that more than anything. To get past this, and not have to be afraid anymore.

He lets his hand be held while they trek. His own bag is on his shoulder, with his staff inside. Just in case, but he's hoping he won't need it.]

John and Dave, huh? I figured you were working on it... [Eren was never one to give up, to back away from a challenge. It's a relief to know he wasn't alone out here though]

Were they helpful?

Besides Dave being nasty, [ he gives a little grimace, because god that was still weird, he’ll never forgive him for the implantation of that imagery— ] yeah. They helped out a lot.

[ holding a branch up out of the way, eren spots and emptier spot up ahead and tugs elliot along. ]

We figured some pretty important things out. It probably would’ve taken a lot longer without them.

[ he doesn’t know everything, far from that, and to be honest, elliot probably still knows more from the spell than he did. but at least he’s got the basic mechanisms down. he can start worrying about the cheat codes and combo sequences later. ]

Eheh, well that's Dave for you. [There is no filter on that guy's mouth. Still a good guy!! ]

Oh yeah? What kind of stuff?

[I mean, you could always ask Elliot what he read in the spell, just saying. But he'll follow along to that clearing.]

[ maybe once they get this emotional barrier out of the way. anything that involves talking about that day had been . . . tense. while it’s relatively quiet, eren offers his flashlight to elliot instead, then shrugging off his bag and leaving its strings hanging from a low branch. he’ll have to let his hand go for this, seeming to only shuffle around with his pockets (putting the phone and headphones in one of the bag’s outer pockets, turning on the phone’s light to know where the bag is).

it’s still dark, so it’s not entirely clear what eren’s doing with his back to elliot. it’s with a click that eren begins turning back to him, pocketing the tiny switch blade he had just run through his closed palm, leaving a slice against skin and now hanging by his side. biting would make it too alarming, and while cutting himself was equally so, a knife was so swift that it’s hard to notice right away. ]

Pain and a clear goal. That’s how it works. [ it’ll just derail if he’s uncertain, or afraid– as much as he knows, at least. ] . . . It’s almost like driving something that’s got its own energy.

[ there was something he always did feel in the titan: fight. carry on. move forward. freedom. ]

[He'll hold onto that flashlight, easier than having to dig out his own, and hold it in a direction so both of them can see what Eren's doing properly. He makes no comment about Eren removing all his stuff. He thought he heard a click of something, but he couldn't tell what exactly.

Pain and a clear goal... He listens, though he can't help but feel a growing sense of nerves about it.]

Like the biting... [He still remembers how much Eren had bitten up his hand last month. He'd piece that much together when talking to Akira. But the last part makes sense- no wonder he didn't transform when they fought the train. ] That explains why you were so focused on the barrier before. T-Taking it down was our goal...

[ . . . huh. he actually hadn’t thought about the barrier that way and still wondered. his memory from before the initial shift was really hazy, a mix of what it felt like to sleep plus what he was thinking beforehand. everything jumbled up and he’s not sure what’s what. ]

I didn’t . . . Realize that. [ but he’s gotten a bit of realization over his features. it just snapped together in a way he didn’t notice. well. he was going to prolong it, but maybe it’s better make this get into gear. he sees elliot’s tension and tries his best to reassure him with his eyes alone as he begins to step away from him. ]

Cover your ears when you see the light. [ . . . ] Everything’s going to be fine.

[Didn't realize that...oh, that's reassuring. But he guesses his memory was hazy of that night.

Oh, it's getting time for it to happen. He takes a deep breath and gives a little nod, trying his hardest to believe in the assurances. It'll be okay, Eren wouldn't ask him out here unless he was POSITIVE it'd be fine. It'll be okay...

He gives a shaky little nod. Clearly nervous as heck]

O-Okay...

[ there’s only so much reassurance he can give before he has to let actions do the talking for him. eren has to let him go and keep walking, looking over his shoulder and measuring the distance.

and once it feels right, eren takes a deep breath in. he’s got his hand, and he’s got solid determination for what he wants to do. it’ll sap his energy, but it’s necessary and worth it. without further ado, there’s a spark, and following that spark comes a massive bolt from somewhere up above. it crashes down like lightning would, and makes the same ear-splitting sound as it hits eren—

the rest is fast, but like an unseen hand painting a picture. first comes the structure of bone, then comes flesh, eren disappearing into the nape, tendons, ligaments, extra muscle until skin is the last to creep over blood red. behold, the meat mecha.

he refrains from roaring, that’s not a way he should be saying “hi”, but the beginnings of one get strangled in his throat. freedom cry, you shall stay quiet today. it takes a minute to get a handle of his space and where everything stands, using the lights as landmarks. then, once he’s found him, he stares down (menacingly?? it’s dark and he looks predatory) at a very tiny elliot. for now, that’s all he does.

please don’t run. he needs him still before going to step two. ]

[Elliot can practically feel his nerves eating away at him. If it was anyone else but Eren, he'd probably be real tempted to run or at least ready his weapon. Because this is crazy right? Exposing himself to a titan in the second time in a month is crazy.

But, he stays. As soon as he sees that bolt, he covers his ears. Being able to use lightning magic himself makes it easier to accept lightning coming down from the sky. And what comes after? It reminds him of the memory of Zoro-Agruga coming to life, except with added muscles and flesh being added to the bones. It's both worth awe, and terror.

When it's all done, that same Titan from the other day is once again in front of him. He holds up the flashlight to try to get a good look- but the flashlight's beam is far from adequate to see all of him.

Elliot's terrified, and it shows on his face. But, he doesn't run. If anything, he's frozen in place. He's really praying this is gonna go how Eren hoped it'd go]

E-Eren...?

[ he sees how afraid he is, probably smells it, and if elliot’s come this far without turning heel, it’s because— he really trusts his word. he can’t let him down. eren takes a step, but makes no vocal sound, making sure to hold some distance so he wouldn’t spook him too much. at least he’s in better view of the flashlight. during this, the earth takes his impact tremor with his step, until he kneels down with one leg, just enough to get a much better look down at him.

he’s probably looking scary right now, really scary, but hang in there.

he wanted to say something; his throat make a low sounding roll that wasn’t dissimilar to a growl, which is instantly cut off. no growling either. he has to think for a few seconds, eyes looking down and sideways as he does. one thing is much more apparent than the last time, the lost titan that had went after the dome acted rather primal. this titan has actions directly human.

after that thought, slowly, eren offers his hand out to elliot, palm up and arm extended. elliot would have to come the rest of the way that was left, but that was the whole point. to present himself even less as a threat, coupled with the concerned but hopeful furrow of brows: he makes the most unthreatening sound a giant can make, a cross between a coo (the one and only time elliot would ever hear eren remotely coo) and a purr. ]

[Yeah let's just say it's very good that Elliot had the foresight to empty his bladder before coming here. Even if Eren is trying to be as not scary as possible, this is still pretty scary. The earth tremors from Eren's movements make Elliot stumble a little, but he manages not to fall over. Through his mind, the memories of all the giant beasts he's face fly through, reminding him of the danger.

But through his own fear, he can tell that the Titan is behaving different than before. There's more focus in those eyes, and more control over his movements. There's a consciousness to his size as well, meaning Elliot doesn't have to keep jumping out of the way from being crushed. Eren really is trying to be as non-threatening as possible - it's not hard for Elliot to pick up on that.

Then, he offers the hand to Elliot. The gesture, it reminds him of all the times Eren would offer his hand to him. Each time, he would take it, most of the time without thinking. His mind also wanders back to that conversation in the snow he remembers. When Rean insisted he could be a danger to them all and they accepted him anyway.

....

With a deep breath, he carefully steps towards the hand. When he gets close enough, instead of climbing on it, he'll reach out with his hand and rest it on top of his fingertips. He tries to reassure himself with the sound of the giant cooing. Right, nothing to be afraid of...]

H-Hey there...

[ it’s too bad he can’t even smile like this. no lips. but elliot’s hand on one of his fingers was already the biggest step, he wasn’t expecting him to just. jump onto his palm when he’s still shaking up an internal. in this case, he’s alright with smaller steps. with all those times he did hold his hand out the same way to elliot, and he would take it. he stations his kneel, and carefully, with his sensibility on turbo, eren brings his thumb over the top of elliot’s hand on his finger, resembling a hold. it takes a lot of to find the right balance, to make sure he isn’t crushing or squeezing too hard. looks like he’s got it.

he’s still nervous as heck though, and eren still can’t blame him. he’s patient, and he’s got an entire hour to break some ice.

elliot of all people probably knew how much eren was straight up rough and tumble— but he had always been gentle with him. firm when he needed to be, but elliot received a softness that eren didn’t show to others, and he wouldn’t make it an exception here just because he was a dozen more meters taller and beating vin diesel by a landslide in the RIPPED department.

it’s not just endearment he’s trying to pass on— it’s an extra step to reassurance, the immense amount of control and sense he has when his other hand shifts over to elliot, bringing just a fingertip to his face and brushing his hair out of the way, stroking his cheek. it might as well rival the touch of a feather. he might not have the same pretty face and bright blue eyes, but he’s still eren, down to his core. ]

[As that thumb goes over his hand, he's bracing for his hand to get crushed. It takes all his will not to snatch it away. But when it touches his hand? It's surprisingly gentle, with just enough weight put into it to make sure his hand doesn't get hurt....

That level of control, that's not nothing. There's no real way Eren could've pulled that off unless he was in complete control.

The reassurance does work, if that's what Eren's trying. As for when he brings that fingertip to brush Elliot's cheek. He won't flinch much or pull away. He'll even let out a little laugh at the awkwardness of the gesture. ]

Aha, okay. I get it. It's you.

[ it’s weird to see something so big be so delicate!! like he was. playing house or something, but no, this is from the heart. if elliot needed him, as a titan— how could he trust him if he’s afraid of him? the barrier has to come down, and inside that flesh, eren finds his actual lips pulling up.

that little rumble from his throat right now might sound like . . . a deep chuckle as he gives his cheek one last playful poke (with his pinky, to emphasize on his funny looking movements). he brings his hands back to him afterwards, briefly. eren takes both hands now, cupping them, before holding back to elliot and setting them down against the grass for stability.

now he wants to give him a lift. his pointed ears fold back subtly, before sounding a short and soft grunt, eyes pointing upwards before falling back down to him. he wants to take him somewhere, it seems. ]

[Eren's not wrong there. There may be a chance in the future where they'll need Eren's power. It was better to get Elliot acclimated to it now than expect him to do so at a dire moment.

That rumble...it did sound a bit like a chuckle. He guesses it's not possible for Eren to really talk in that form. But the body language alone is enough to make Elliot recognize who it is.

And speaking of body language, he moves to cup his hands- making a clear indication of what he wants Elliot to do. Climb up into those hands. He gulps a little.]

Ohhh boy.

[Right. Should've expected this to come. But, Elliot isn't going to back down now. Carefully, he lifts himself up and climbs onto the hand. It is beyond weird to climb onto a giant pair of hands, but it is what it is. He kneels down and leans on his hands against the skin of Eren's palm for balance. ]

N-Now I get how small animals feel...

[ he’s tried while conscious a few times during training week and . . . unless they wanted another spit shower, his jaws stay closed. period. it was also really embarrassing and prone to misinterpretation.

eren lets elliot feel more secure in one of the hands, still against the ground, then after a moment’s pause, takes the free hand away to drag his finger across the ground. drawing? writing? writing. he squints a little and uses the best of the lighting to make it coherent, before the hand cups back against his occupied hand.

it’s . . . different to see elliot so small, to see everything so small, and that was for lack of better wording without falling straight into weird, but he’s trying to get used to it. at least temporarily. his fingers curl to protect elliot from tipping out, and very slowly does he stand. going up! halfway up. and, before he actually does straighten up entirely, he makes a sound and points back to the earth below with a cock of his chin. you might need to shine the flashlight down, but it reads:

I won’t let you fall ]

[Yeah it took forever to wash all the drool off last time, so he appreciates the jaws staying closed tyvm.

He watches the actions with interest as he tries to get used to being in a giant's hand. This entire situation is new and different. Sure, still little scary, but at least he's calming down more and more. It gets even weirder when Eren starts standing and lifting up the hand. Like some strange ride at a carnival- minus any sort of actual seats or seatbelts.

Good thing that among the long list of things he's scared of, height somehow did not make the list.

When Eren indicates he wants him to look at the ground? He'll carefully move over to the edge of his hand, keeping his pace slow and trying to breath even. Right. He had been drawing something in the dirt. When he can look over (while holding onto one of Eren's fingers like a railing, he'll carefully shine a flashlight on what the message could be.

....Aw.]

I-I know. I trust you.

[ eren exhales, relieved to hear it and keep hearing it. it gives his an extra bounce in what to keep doing. another purr scratches the inside of his neck as he further stands, now straight and above some of the trees. most of the trees, cupped hands are held as close to him as possible while he starts stepping, cradling elliot in one once he feels he’s got him, pulling it to his upper chest and curling the outer fingers in to keep that railing effect.

he’s got a heart right where he holds elliot, probably his size and beating easy, steadily. like a bass drum. once he finds the view he wanted (making an oh sound). luckily, he’s not uncomfortably hot with the skin on. he’s comfortably warm, even, perfect for winter.

eren doesn’t have the sky to show him just how much closer they are to it, and he does look up to give a short hiss at the dome to verbalize his distaste, but there’s a bundle of lights that lead to the roads, and even more that lead to the city. the city’s nice when you can see all of it, really nice— it almost looks like that time on the hood of his car, except there were no moon or stars. at least it was still beautiful. ]

[He'll keep holding onto those fingers, not wanting to let go. Partly it's out of caution because while he trusts Eren not to drop him- he doesn't want to risk falling out either. And it's partly because well, it's the best view here.

But he can hear that heartbeat. It's much louder than the one he'd often hear from Eren, but it reminds him of it all the same. Comforting, in a way.

As for the view...]

Wow....

[Its beautiful. Even with the dome there, seeing the city all light up with small lights. It does remind him of that night on the car, or the few times he's been on a plane. Having the sky too would be better, but it's still beautiful]

Eheh, not many people get to see a view like this...

[ eren stares out toward the city with him, agreeing and making some more quaint sounding murrs, as if he were still talking to him. like a gentle dragon friend (might as well be part lizard too), staying completely silent sucked anyway— eren was communicative.

hands come up closer to eren’s face so he can see elliot on the same eye level. he doesn’t know what the dome’s for and he doesn’t know what’s to come— he just knows that he’s got a power that he can use for good now, and any fear he had of monster storms or the like slightly teeters. he shouldn’t really get too over his head, he isn’t an experienced shifter— but he’s made progress, and he’ll do what his past father told him. he’ll control this to protect what was important to him. if it depended solely on eren, he wouldn’t let anything remotely frightening get near the young man in his hands. it’s brief, but as the murring gives sequence, he shields one hand elliot’s on with his other to gesture that. he’s completely protected.

his face hovers closer to him, enough to come in contact with elliot. it’s a brush with his nose that caresses into his cheekbone. that is a giant sized cuddle you have earned. still on the same level, he offers his shoulder, broad enough to give him space from any edge. plus, his hair’s long enough to anchor onto without any problems. he wants to talk to him better. ]

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