A/N: Hey everyone- hope you like my new work! Updates for the other fics should be coming out soon too. The song is Siúil A Rún (Walk My Love) by Celtic Woman and it plays a pretty important role to this fic.
A storm raged outside, and Eren sighed, ducking into a nearby shop for shelter. Fat raindrops pounded into the roofs of buildings and onto the ground, flooding the streets just enough to make it next to impossible to go anywhere, but not bad enough for the little seaside town to evacuate. The door of the small cafe banged shut behind him, and the soft chime of its bell alerted the servers behind the bar that he was there. Because apparently the door swinging back against the doorframe wasn't loud enough. He chuckled at the thought for no reason other than that it had crossed his mind when he was tired.
There were two people working, as far as the brunet could tell, and the freckled man behind the counter gave Eren a wide grin and a 'good afternoon' before going back to what he'd been working on. It was cozy, the smell of brewing espresso and cinnamon making his mouth water as he walked over to an empty back booth. The brunet had not had a chance to eat yet, and his stomach growled at the delicious aroma. Pulling out his wallet with a frown, Eren checked to make sure he had enough before walking back over to the bar.
"I'll be with you in a moment, Sir."
Eren nodded, briefly glancing from the menu to the freckled man. He looked closer to his age than the brunet had initially thought, probably in his early twenties, and he forced a smile onto his face to try and stay polite. It wasn't the other man's fault Eren was in such a bad mood. And he seemed nice enough. Friendly, even.
"Have you decided yet or do you need another minute?"
The brunet stared at the board for another moment before shaking his head. The pastries all sounded great, and after the week he'd had, he would have gladly bought out the place if only he'd had the money. But sadly, that was not the case. Eren barely had enough to buy something small if he wanted groceries for the next couple of weeks. "Um, one croissant and a small hot chocolate. Please." The last word was tacked on as an afterthought, but if the man noticed, he didn't make it known. Eren looked anywhere but directly at the man as he rang up the order and grabbed a mug to make his drink.
"So are you new to the area? I'm Marco, by the way." His co-worker, a guy with some weird two toned undercut and a long face snorted, and Eren glared at him before answering.
He hadn't been able to sleep again the night before, and it was coming back to bite him in the ass. His words came out harsher than he intended. "My name is Eren. And yeah, I just moved into the old lighthouse. My friends and I are starting classes at Trost next Monday."
Marco beamed, ignoring the tone of his voice and grabbed the brunet's croissant. "Really? Me and Jean are too..." His face fell for a second, confusion leaving almost as fast as it came. If Eren hadn't been focused on him, he probably wouldn't have caught it. "You wouldn't be meaning the old lighthouse by the cove, would you? The light blue one?"
So it was supposed to be blue? With as dingy as the paint job was, the brunet wouldn't have guessed it. He huffed. "I didn't realize there was another abandoned lighthouse, but yeah. Why?"
"Oh, no reason. I- uh- was just curious." The smile Marco gave him seemed forced, but Eren was too tired to really care. Maybe he'd ask later, if they bumped into each other at school. The freckled barista wasn't the first one in the town to get uncomfortable when the house was brought up in conversation after all. Something had to be wrong.
"I thought they shut that trash heap down. Condemned it or some shit." Eren rolled my eyes at the other worker's comment, shrugging his shoulders in response. He'd had the same reaction when Armin had first brought up the idea. The lighthouse was a wreck, and Eren had been sure it would collapse on top of them the second they ripped the 'For Sale' sign out of the front yard.
"Jean! Don't mind him Eren, he's just kidding." Marco shot his co-worker a dirty look, finishing up Eren's drink with a light dust of cinnamon and powdered chocolate. He handed the brunet his order, and turned back to give him a sympathetic smile at Jean's behavior. "Here you go. Just put the dishes on the bar when you're done."
"Thanks..." Nodding slowly, Eren frowned and headed back to his seat. It didn't take anyone with eyes to know that the horse faced ass was right, but it wasn't like he really had a choice. Eren couldn't afford to live in the dorms because they were too expensive, and the lighthouse was the cheapest piece of property in Trost. Mikasa and Armin had even chosen to stay there with him instead of taking up the school's offer so that he could manage that much.
The brunet sat down with a groan, sipping the hot liquid and smiling. The level of sugar was perfect. Its warmth settled nicely in his stomach. Eren pulled out his laptop out of the messenger bag slung around his shoulder after warming his hands on the coffee mug for a moment or two, and Marco brought out his pastry while it was booting up. Closing his eyes, Eren took a bite of the flaky bread and moaned softly when it melted in his mouth. It was buttery and paired nicely with his drink. When the laptop was ready to go, and he'd finished his treat and was nice and comfortable, Eren settled into his seat to get to work.
It was dark by the time the rain died down and the winds were to the point of not knocking things over. Eren had given up on working on his stories a half an hour into getting there, choosing instead to procrastinate and doodle in his notebook. Marco and Jean had disappeared into the back a while ago, so he didn't bother saying goodbye.
Eren stopped by the store on the way home, grabbing a couple of frozen dinners and some sodas for the few days he had to wait for his friends to arrive. Fallen leaves and branches were strewn along the road, mixing in with wet paper and other trash, and he grimaced as the puddles soaked through his shoes. He could see despite the fact that the sun had already set, and even though it was a bit unnerving, the brunet was thankful that he wasn't having to maneuver past debris in the complete dark.
Overcast skies had always been Eren's favorite type of weather, and the cool breeze that had settled in from the storm felt nice as he walked the distance from cafe to the lighthouse. His new home, and Armin's and Mikasa's once they got enough together to move up here, was quite a bit away from the rest of the town, removed from the main beach where the citizens and tourists hung out during summer. It was almost like its own bubble within the town, cut off from the rest of civilization. He really needed to figure what had everyone's panties in a twist.
When he finally made it to his new home, Eren looked up at the old building. The light in the lighthouse had long since stopped working, a project that Armin had happily decided to work on between classes, and the exterior paint was whitewashed and peeling from age. The patio steps creaked as he made my way to the front door, the wood splintered and bent, and the brunet shook his head when he had to jimmy the knob to make it open.
After stepping inside, he set the grocery bags on the table and walked to his bedroom to shed his clothes and change into something dry. It was eerie being there by himself, especially since it was so large, and he shivered as he walked up to the second floor. The creaking of the house was unsettling with how empty it felt, but Eren pushed the uneasiness away and focused on getting dressed. It was a slow process, but he managed to wiggle out of his clothes after a while struggling.
He was pulling on a clean t-shirt when his phone rang; it startled Eren more that he would have liked, his heart beating fast enough that he thought it would break through his chest, and he may or may not have screamed like a little girl before fumbling around to press talk. He panted, trying to calm down as he answered the phone. "Fuck, Armin!" You scared the shit out of me." He shook his head and made his way back downstairs to deal with the thawing food on the kitchen counter. "How are you and Mikasa doing? You guys have everything ready?"
Armin chuckled on the other end of the phone. "Everything's fine. I was just calling to let you know the moving truck should be there around one tomorrow. We should be leaving Shinganshina with everything else by Wednesday. The brunet could hear his sister's voice faintly and he rolled his eyes when his friend sighed. "Mikasa wants to know if you're eating enough and taking your medicine. Are you getting enough sleep?"
Eren grabbed the nearest frozen dinner and stuck it into the freezer. "Frozen dinners until you two make it up here, but I'll live. And I just picked up my refills yesterday." The brunet ignored Armin's question about his sleeping habits, and that gave him his answer. There was a pause as the blond relayed his message to Mikasa, and when he finished his friend sighed again.
"Are you sure you don't want us to leave early? You know how you get when you're left alone, and-."
"No, Armin. I can handle a couple days by myself. You two take your time wrapping up things with the house. Mom would want things done right." Eren could still tell Armin was tense, and he tried to hide his frustration. As much as the brunet appreciated Armin and Mikasa looking out for him, being babied was another matter entirely. "I'm serious. I'll be fine. You guys can fuss over me plenty when you get up here later."
Mentioning his mother was probably a little overboard, but it got his point across, and Armin didn't push him again."Okay. If you insist. But I swear to god Eren, if we get up there and you're sick, I'll kill you before Mikasa gets the chance. You've got to sleep."
"Will do after I eat something." Eren smiled, triumphant. He had just opened the last frozen dinner and without even bothering to look at what it was, he grabbed a knife from a drawer and stabbed it a couple of times through the cellophane before sticking it in the oven. "Now if you'll excuse me, Blondie, I have a hot dinner date with myself to get ready for. I'll talk to you later."
Eren could practically see the pout on his friend's face despite being so far away. Both boys hung up, and the brunet groaned when he realized that he had nothing to do while he waited for his food to cook. He wasn't in the mood to write, and his eyes had been open for so long they burned. Maybe he'd go and try to take a nap?