[Hijikata's positive yet vague response didn't really prompt anything further from Eren, so the fact that he nevertheless elaborates, again offering an explanation and an apology, softens his expression.]
Eren. It's...
[He can't say "It's okay", can he? It really isn't okay. For a moment, he searches for other words, then finds them.]
It's good that you told Reiner the truth, even if it went... pretty off the rails. And for him to not hate you...
[Again he has to struggle. What can he say? That that's great? It certainly is a good outcome for Eren, who risked breaking apart everything he had with Reiner, but is it an appropriate reaction on Reiner's end? Does is matter? Who's he to say, anyway? Besides--]
...
I don't hate you either.
[Maybe that makes him an awful man and a worse policeman, but it's the truth. Eren hasn't done it yet, not in his timeline, he reminds himself, as if that justifies his feelings - and doesn't it, really?]
no subject
Eren. It's...
[He can't say "It's okay", can he? It really isn't okay. For a moment, he searches for other words, then finds them.]
It's good that you told Reiner the truth, even if it went... pretty off the rails. And for him to not hate you...
[Again he has to struggle. What can he say? That that's great? It certainly is a good outcome for Eren, who risked breaking apart everything he had with Reiner, but is it an appropriate reaction on Reiner's end? Does is matter? Who's he to say, anyway? Besides--]
...
I don't hate you either.
[Maybe that makes him an awful man and a worse policeman, but it's the truth. Eren hasn't done it yet, not in his timeline, he reminds himself, as if that justifies his feelings - and doesn't it, really?]