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He scatters Eren’s ashes at the sea. It takes him five months to get there, and he has to deal with dozens of Titans, but he made a promise to a dying man that he damn well intended to keep. Irwin offers to go with him, he turns him down; this is something he needs to do on his own. Armin understands, and doesn’t press him on it; he’s got more than enough on his mind, planning more than just one funeral.
(If Mikasa were…still around…he knows he’d never be able to stop her from joining him.)
He finds a stone on the beach, smooth and grey and something he imagines Eren would like, and he scratches words into it’s surface with a knife. He doesn’t bother with anything too fancy, just keeps it simple, Eren’s name and a date.
Then he sits, and sits, and closes his eyes and listens to waves breaking; loses himself in endless blue and white and grey; stares at a spot on the horizon until sea and sky become one, and the world seems to turn upside down.
Finally, he’s ready. He tips the box he’d brought with him, and watches as what’s left of Eren flutters it’s way into the water. He carefully places the makeshift grave marker on the beach. For once, he actually allows himself to cry for what he’s lost. He’s alone now, in more ways than one, and for a few moments, he thinks about joining Eren in the ocean.
Instead, he stands, wipes the tears from his eyes, turns around, away from the sea, and goes back to fulfill the second part of his promise.
