Chapter Text
"Bye Dillon!" Julian yelled.
"See you tomorrow Julian!"
Julian nodded, stepped through the gate to his house and waved at his friend.
Walking away with a grin, Dillon gave a wave back. Julian smiled back
Julian knocked on the door to his family home. His face shifted - it looked worried.
'Tap tap tap tap, tap tap'
Looking left and right, he shifted on his feet.
He heard footsteps.
The door swung open.
His mother cut quite the intimidating figure.
"Julian! You're late. Again."
"Uh - m-me and Dillon were just st-studying late again!" He stammered.
She sighed, "Mhmm. Just like the time before. And the time before. And the--"
He ran his hand through his hair. Not this again.
"Alright, I get it." He mumbled, pushing past to get inside. "Just let me in."
"Your freezing cold dinner is on the table."
He heard the door click shut behind him.
Sighing, he slipped his bag off his shoulders, dumped it in the hallway and walked into the kitchen. What did mum cook up today? He could smell it - whatever it was, it smelled good, that's for sure.
He dragged his hands against the wall. Was it always this coarse? It felt as though someone had slashed at it with a knife or bashed at it with a hammer.
He opened the kitchen door. His dad was slowly shovelling large mouthfuls of dinner into his gob while scrolling through the news on his phone. Franz smith cut a large figure at the table, even while sitting down. His knees were uncomfortably jammed against it - he tended to look cramped in just about any space. After all, he stood at a massive 6"6, his lanky form standing head and shoulders above most. He had thick, blond hair slicked back messily with dark circles under his eyes. Julian hoped he himself would age more gracefully. His father put it down to stress.
"Out studying again?" He smirked
"Sh-shut uuupp."
"It's your mother's curry tonight." He said as he pointed at his almost empty plate with his fork, "It's great. You should have gotten it when it was fresh."
"Smells great too."
"Yup. Better go warm it up yules."
He nodded.
"Where is it?"
"In the microwave." His mother shouted through the wall.
"Aight!"
Franz just smiled and slicked his hair back with his fingers.
He jogged around the table. The currys were always delicious. He pressed the microwave door opener, and ducked his head under to get another smell. It was fantastic. He slammed the microwave door shut.
He set the time to 2 minutes. Enough to be warm, but not burn his mouth and dry the curry up.
The microwave whired and buzzed. He gazed into the window. It got louder. He was transfixed by the spinning wheel inside.
It just made him all the more hungry.
1 minute.
He heard his father clear his throat from behind.
"Did you know your uncle - my brother - Erwin, is coming around tomorrow"
He shook his head. This was news to him.
Did your mother not tell you?" He said, scratching the back of his head, "I wouldn't want to be late when he comes - you might miss him - he's with his scout agency from Japan."
Uncle Erwin's coming? Maybe he'll bring some of the scouts with him - he always wanted their autographs. Not that he was particularly interested in heroes. They weren't too much of a thing here in England. Less so in his tiny village. But the scouts - they were a different thing entirely. An underground agency of heroes who specialised in the swift takedown of villains out of the sight of civilians. Maybe Levi will come. He'd heard stories from his uncle about him.
"Is he going to bring Levi with him?"
"He didn't say. I'll ask him on the phone later if you like."
"That sounds great!"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The curry had been warmed up.
It was the end.
Crack!
He heard the thunder. It always came first.
Boom!
Then the explosion. The yellow blast flooded his eyesight.
He felt the floor vibrate. Again and again.
Witnessing the sight of the mangled corpse of his father made him throw up. Again. An arm was missing. Again. It was always his right arm. His best arm.
Blood oozed and dripped across the walls. The calluses in them were filled with red gunk. There were bits of flesh layered across the floor.
He zoned out his mother's screams as he cried from within a fleshy husk.
"Why!" She would repeat. "Why?"
He wondered the same. It would echo inside his head, never to leave his mind.
He heard the wails. They were a reminder of something he could never answer. He barely understood anything himself.
The ceiling had caved in - the floor was littered with crumbs of what used to lie above. Dust was in the air. He couldn't think. He pulled strands of fibres from his face. What was this? Everything steamed. There was no fire. Only steam. Had he done this?
Beep. Beep. Beep.
He shot up.
He wasn't at home. He was in Japan. With Erwin. He was at the headquarters.
He placed his head in his hands. He screamed into his covers, tears falling like raindrops down his covers. He could barely get his bearings straight. It happened 3 years ago. Why had his mind brought it up now? Why today? Why can't he just forget?
He weeped into his pillow silently. He didn't want to wake up his uncle in the other room. He knew he wouldn't be angry - he was a very understanding man. He just didn't want to admit he was still having nightmares to him. He knew how Erwin got when he was worried. His uncle was usually a very determined man.
The exhaustion of the memories fatigued him. He slipped back to sleep.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
This time there was no dream. He was relieved. The nightmare still played on his mind. He felt his body still quaking underneath the covers.
Barely conscious, he rubbed his eyes with one hand and switched his phone alarm off with the other. He cursed and scratched his head ferociously. Dark circles always surrounded his eyes - he felt just about ready to drop off again. He hadn't had a lick of sleep in days.
He turned over, covered himself and dropped right back into sleep.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The vibrations of his phones reverberated throughout his bed.
"Why did I set so many bloody alarms!" He growled to himself groggily.
Bang!
Julian jumped.
His door had been forced open.
Click!
Light swarmed into his room. His eyes hurt. A figure blurred into focus.
"Up Julian! How many alarms do you need to set?" He said with vigor, "Do you want to be late for your first day at UA?"
"Uncle Erwin…" Julian moaned, "I - w-wait!"
He quickly ducked down and checked his phone. He couldn't be late! Not on his first day.
What's the time what's the time what's the time…
His phone flickered. 8 am. 25 minutes to get there.
"Shit, shit shit shit." He thought.
"You're lucky I didn't have any reconnaissance scheduled for today otherwise you would have been late. Have a shower and I'll drop you off."
"Thanks." He mumbled, still a little dazed.
"Mhm."
He heard the door click shut.
He sighed and got onto his feet. It was going to be a very long day.
Filled with nerves, he headed for the bathroom.
As he got to the bathroom he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror: Dark circles around his eyes; Messily slicked back blond hair.
He really did look like his father. Julian sighed. He really had hoped he would age more gracefully than his father.
He placed a hand on his reflection.
"I'm so sorry dad." He said, closing his eyes, "I'll make it up to you and mum, I promise."