"Take that!!" Daehyun yelled as he swung through the air, spinning and swooping down to take a chunk out of the back of the titan’s neck, the titan yelling out as it’s weak spot was hit before falling with a ground shaking thud.

Smoke came off of the titan’s quickly decomposing body as Daehyun quickly flipped back before resting on the roof of a building, grinning as he brushed some of his hair to the side. He looked around and saw Youngjae standing on a nearby roof, a smile spreading on his lips when he saw Youngjae’s gaze directed at him already.

"Am I too beautiful in battle that you can’t take your eyes off of me?" He laughed when Youngjae flushed before flipping him off, not missing how the corner of Youngjae’s mouth twitched up ever so slightly.

"Tch, I was just about to tell you to cut out the flair. Another titan could have easily swooped in with the amount of time you spent spinning down, you’re only supposed to do that if you’re closer to the target already." Daehyun rolled his eyes at his best friend’s words.

"Does nothing please you? Besides, I knew there were no other titans nearby." He saw Youngjae huff cutely, his heart racing when he saw the pout on the younger man’s lips.

"Still, you can never be too careful! I yell at you because I care, idiot." Daehyun scoffed, but couldn’t help how his heart skipped a beat at the genuine words.

"I’m not a little kid anymore, Youngjae. It doesn’t have to be just you protecting me, I can protect you too, now. One day, I might even surpass you, and I’ll be the one doing all the saving!" Daehyun put his blades away and closed his eyes, stretching his back as the wind blew through his hair.

"I’d like to see that day co-" Daehyun’s eyes popped open when Youngjae suddenly cut off, but before he could register anything, he felt a body colliding into his, pushing him off the roof. Daehyun barely managed to regain himself and swing to another roof, a loud crash booming behind him. He turned around and felt his blood turn cold at the sight.

"YOUNGJAE!" Daehyun sprinted across the roof, his mind spinning when he saw a smaller titan clinging onto the side of a tower, a bloodied Youngjae between it’s teeth.

‘This isn’t happening… this can’t be happening…’

Daehyun quickly swung high enough to be able to dive down and strike the back of the titan’s neck, swinging down to catch Youngjae before he collided with the ground. There was rubble flying everywhere as the titan’s decaying body started to fall down but all Daehyun could think about was the injured boy in his arms. He lowered them to the ground, stumbling before falling down on his back, cradling Youngjae in his arms.

"…y-youngjae?" Daehyun’s voice was shaky as he began to panic.

"Yoo Youngjae, you brat, answer me right now!" Daehyun gently placed Youngjae on the ground, heaving a little when he saw all the deep gashes in his stomach and sides.

"T-there… an abnormal was flying towards you…" Daehyun shushed the other, his hair before attempting to try to cover the wounds so Youngjae would lose less blood. They both knew it was too late though, the ground already turning a sticky crimson from all the blood flowing out.

"M-maybe I can take you to a rooftop, t-then someone else might see us and help! You’ll be alright, Jae, y-you’ll be fine in a few hours-" Youngjae reached up and held Daehyun’s hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"We both know it’s not use…" Daehyun’s eyes widened before he began shaking his head rapidly, not wanting to accept what was happening.

"No!! You can’t leave me like this, you’re not going to die!!" Daehyun’s voice cracked as he screamed hysterically, tears flowing endlessly as he felt Youngjae’s hand become colder and colder.

"Y-you’ll make it, Jae! You’re strong, y-you’ll make it!! Yoo Youngjae!!" Daehyun shook Youngjae’s limp hand, laying his head on his bloodied torso as he heard Youngjae’s heartbeat slowly become softer. His shoulders shook violently as he continued to yell that they’d make it through this, that no matter how bad things became, they always made it through in the end.

"Y-you promised me, when we were kids you promised you wouldn’t die until we were both old and wrinkly, Jae, you p-promised!!" Daehyun couldn’t control his screams, his voice becoming scratchy, but he didn’t care; a world without his Youngjae wasn’t a world worth living in.

"I’m sorry, Daehyun… I can’t protect you anymore…" Daehyun screwed his eyes shut, a painful sob racking his entire body at the quiet, broken voice. He fisted Youngjae’s shirt, holding him close, wanting to believe that this was all just a horrible dream, that he’d wake up soon to Youngjae nagging at him to get out of bed already.

"I couldn’t keep my promise, b-but please promise me… promise me you’ll live…" Daehyun’s head snapped up, his eyes wide.

"Youngjae…"

"Daehyun, promise me!!" Youngjae coughed up more blood, making new tears spring in Daehyun’s eyes. Daehyun quickly moved up to place Youngjae’s head on his lap, his hair and shushing him.

"D-don’t exert yourself, m-maybe help can come in time a-and you’ll survive-"

"Daehyun…" Youngjae used whatever strength he had left to take a hold of Daehyun’s hand and kissed it. He closed his eyes, barely breathing against Daehyun’s palm.

"Youngjae!!! Please open your eyes, please stay awake!!" Daehyun wailed. He didn’t care if a titan found him and devoured him anymore.

"Please… stay alive for the both of us. Live a long, happy life with a wife and children, like you’ve always wanted-"

"B-but I wanted that life to be with you! I’ve always w-wanted it to be with you!! It’s always been you, Youngjae!!" Youngjae peaked his eyes open at the words, confusion quickly passing through them before realization set in.

"Daehyun… haha, I’m so glad…" Youngjae’s smile, despite his words, was broken. He kissed Daehyun’s hand firmly, a long sigh escaping his bloody, parted lips.

"Now I can finally rest in peace…" Daehyun’s heart stopped at the words before shattering, wanting to cry out more but no longer having the strength to.

"No… no no no, please no…" He bent down to place kisses all over Youngjae’s face, whispering that everything will be okay and that they’ll live a happy life together. He finally pressed a gentle kiss on Youngjae’s lips, trembling as he tried to hold onto his last bits of sanity.

"Don’t leave me alone…"

"I wouldn’t if I had a choice…"

"I can’t live without you, Youngjae…" Youngjae’s eyes opened one more time to gaze into Daehyun’s, tears forming in his eyes for the first time.

"Live for me, live long for the both of us…" Youngjae’s eyes slipped close as his final breath left him, Daehyun’s eyes shutting tightly before he let out a wild cry that echoed through the streets.

~~~~

"I’m so sorry we couldn’t fine you guys earlier…" Daehyun closed his eyes and let his head fall, his hair hanging over his eyes.

"It was none of your fault, it was mine for being so careless. If I was more alert, if I had my damn eyes open, I could’ve seen the abnormal titan flying towards me…" Daehyun felt Armin’s hand on his shoulder, biting his lip and closing his eyes as he held back more tears. He could hear Sasha crying wildly with Jongup and Zelo in the back, feeling his heart break more as he heard the two boys crying out for their Youngjae hyung.

‘Not only have I let you down, I’ve let them down…’

Daehyun felt a tissue on his face, and looked up to see Mikasa holding a tissue up to him. He didn’t even realize he was crying, and bowed in thanks before taking the tissue and wiping his tears.

"T-thank you guys, for coming with me here…" Daehyun’s voice was weak, and he hated it, but ever since Youngjae’s death he hasn’t felt strong in any way.

"Don’t give up. He would have wanted you to fight. To fight for yourself, and now for him." Daehyun nodded. He knew it would take time, but he had to stay strong for the both of them. He looked to the side and saw tear streaks on Yongguk’s cheeks while Himchan’s eyes were puffy and red. Yongguk sniffed as he looked at the tombstone before turning to Daehyun.

"He loved you."

"I know."

"Did you ever say the words ‘I love you’ to him?" A silence fell over the group as Daehyun bit his lip before turning away from Yongguk to look at the tombstone again. He knelt in front of the grave and placed a single rose on the grave, his eyes closed.

‘Those words… those three simple words are so dangerous in the world we live in…

Not yet, I haven’t said them to him just yet, but…

I’ll say them the day I meet him again in the stars, after fighting to the end for the both for us.’

____

Cheesy ending is cheesy because idk how to poetic OTL

I hope you enjoyed~ This actually really helped since I was in a bit of a rut since I wasn’t used to writing anymore ^^ I want to thank ninya unnie so much for helping me with this~

This was the convo that led to this LOL:

Ninya: “sobs then youngjae would be a combination of mikasa + levi + armin omg he’s nearly invincible except dae is his weakness ;AAAA; nuuu why do you have to tell me that omg the feels TuT who do you think will be the most likely to die (between daejae)?"

Me: “i feel like even if dae is the more reckless one probably, youngjae would die since he’d be trying to protect dae ;~~; like dae would be fighting a titan and would manage to kill it and would be bragging to much to notice like an abnormal one flying towards him and then like youngjae would push dae out of the way and would get bitten ;~~; and like dae would collect himself enough to kill the titan so that it’ll die and drop jae from it’s mouth but it’s too late and jae has lost and is losing too much blood to survive anymore and like dae’s yelling at jae to stay away and that help will come but they both know it’s too late ;~~; and like jae’s telling dae to be happy and to get married once this is all over and to live happily and to survive for both of them ;~~;