Word Count: 1,199
The mer hadn't always been the vile seductresses they're known for being today, they say. Some say that they had been mere mortal girls a long, long time ago, cursed by some other power to become the lurking creatures of the deep that they have become.
Eren doesn't know if those legends are true. He knows he doesn't want for them to be true. After all, when you've dedicated your entire life to hunting down every last one of said creatures for want of revenge for your deceased mother, it's so much easier to have peace of mind killing a creature with an expressive human face when you tell yourself they are nothing but sinful meat sacks, lower than the scum on the bottom of the boat.
Being face-to-face with one now, he's suddenly not so sure.
He's not sure what force in the universe compelled him to freeze, leaving the tip of his harpoon just centimeters away from the unblinking girl's face, but now that he's looked into her dull, grey eyes, he's not sure what force in the universe can compel him to unfreeze.
He trembles, a feeling of mixed awe, fear, and infatuation growing in his chest, as she blinks slowly at him, the dullness present in her eyes fading away to something more curious, intelligent. Affectionate?
"Jaeger!" a voice calls from a ways away, breaking the spell. With a yelp, Eren drops his harpoon, where it falls harmlessly into the empty ocean, and spins around to see his crewmate Jean Kirschstein approaching with his arms crossed.
"Fucking hell, Jaeger, what were you doing just now? We're in siren territory; you should know by now that it's double up or else risk getting dragged into the abyss," he says. "Captain's gonna be pissed as hell when he finds out that you've lost that harpoon." Eren opens up his mouth to protest but Jean cuts him off. "Don't go around feeding me those lies; I saw you drop it in the ocean. There's no denying it."
"Why are you concerned about whether or not a siren takes me anyway? We hate each other," he replies, a tinge of irritation in his voice. "I'm pretty sure if we were partners you'd toss me over the second you got the chance," he mutters under his breath.
Jean rolls his eyes. "Because Marco would never forgive me."
Eren huffs and crosses his arms confrontationally. "What do you want, Kirschstein?"
"Your partner is looking for you. He wants to go study those 'beauties of the deep' before it gets too dark. You guys are childhood friends, right? You should tell him to stop studying them and start hunting them; if he keeps this up, he's going to be pulled under, partner or not."
Eren grunts. "He's too smart for that, you and I both know."
"Whatever, just keep him alive. We can't afford to keep losing crew members to these things." With that, Jean decides to stalk off. Eren knows he should be following, but he's once again strangely compelled to look back before he does.
Two onyx eyes stare back at him for the briefest of seconds before vanishing into the deep, and he's left scratching his head as to whether or not he imagined it.
The stars are out, hardly a cloud smudging the beautiful night sky, and for some reason, Eren can't sleep. Perhaps it's because they're in siren territory. The uneasiness is hard to ignore, yet he's the only one awake. Everyone else in his cabin is fast asleep, from the muscle man Reiner sounding like ten bulldozers at fortissimo to the similarly silent sleeper Bertholt sleeping with all his limbs tangled into knots.
The boat rocks back and forth, bobbing gently with the waves as they lap against the hull. Normally, it's a calming lullaby; tonight, it's irritating at best. The eerie, echoing melody of the mer floating in through the windows and haunting the halls of the boat doesn't help, either. Exhausted but restless, Eren slides out of bed, hoping to silence one or two of the voices.
He hardly looks over the side of the boat when he sees that one specific mermaid again, the one with the black hair and eyes, and the china pale skin. She blinks at him, her eyes wide and doe-like, and he hesitates with his harpoon once again. She beckons him to drop it, and he obeys, leaning over the rail to observe the creature which has him so enchanted.
"What's your name?" he whispers and finds he sincerely wants to know.
She gestures to her throat, likely indicating that she can't talk above the water, so he leans in closer still so that he may still hear her should she talk from underwater.
It's a mistake.
The second he's within range, she seizes him by the face and pulls him under the water with her. His shriek hasn't even the time to pierce the air; he's silenced by the ocean and the song she sings.
It's hauntingly beautiful; he'd have stopped screaming regardless of whether or not it would have kept him from dying from the way it makes him feel. He finds himself relaxing as the mer drags them both down farther and farther into the depths of the ocean, their faces drawing closer and closer together.
At some point, his eyes close, but that does not mean he cannot still feel the kiss she presses upon his lips. Chills run down his spine as his breath leaves his lungs in bubbles and she whispers into his ear, "Mikasa." And suddenly, his chest is on fire.
His eyes shoot open once more, not even realizing that they are no longer descending from the black spots dancing before his eyes, and his brain screams for the precious air he has just let out hundreds of feet beneath the surface of the ocean. In a panic, he wraps his arm around the waist of the now strangely still mer and kicks with all his might towards the sweet, sweet surface.
It's a long and terrifying few seconds, made a dozen times worse by the dead weight he's dragging with him, but the moonlight is clearer now, he can almost see the stars above him, or perhaps they are just dancing before his eyes? His mind is a blur; he can no longer tell. The surface is so near.
The mermaid Mikasa stirs by his side, and in his addled state, it finally registers in his mind that she has been transformed into a human, drowning just as he is. Or perhaps he simply thinks such is true; it's hard to tell when all your senses are dulling into nothingness.
He can feel the overwhelming sympathy for her in his situation, finding that he can perhaps even forgive her for dooming them like this.
For such is the sound of forgiveness: screaming, then silence.
author's note x: wow literally just scraping my self imposed limit on how long a drabble can be (1.2k). anyway g'morning y'all happy eremika week sorry for just killing them both in this one. i think i wanted to make this one a full 5k oneshot but then i got lazy and i have a big project to work on. anyway, reviews/follows/faves are appreciated as always, if that's what you're into, and as always, have a greaaaaat daaaaay~~~