Mikasa and Armin were huddling under the canopy, watching the sky as it started raining, little drops pelting down on the grass. Mikasa had wrapped herself in a bundle, usual scarf slung around her neck. Her hair was swinging over her face; it was growing to be too long. Armin was leaning on her, comfortingly patting her back with his hand. It'd been three days when they'd found Eren and Rivaille missing.
"Eren!" Armin swung down from the top bunk. "Eren! I have a plan-" He stopped short as he saw the empty bed, blankets pristine as if it'd never been slept on. "Eren?"
Mikasa had waken due to the noise, and was rubbing her eyes. "What is it, Armin?"
"Eren's gone!"
Mikasa stopped stretching and froze. "Eren?" She leapt down from her bed and ran over to where Armin was. True to the fact, there was no one in the bed.
Just as they were gathering their thoughts together, Zoe burst in. "The corporal is missing!"
Armin blinked. "But..Eren is missing too."
Mikasa gripped the fabric of her nightgown harder. "Did they leave us? Did Eren leave us?"
She started towards the closet, stripping her nightgown as she went. Armin was flabbergasted. "What are you doing, Mikasa?!"
She pulled on her pants and boots, strapped her swords on, and headed towards the entrance. "Finding Eren, of course." She shrugged like this was an everyday thing. Quickly, Zoe ran to where she was, blocking the door. "Mikasa, I'm sure that Eren and Rivaille are just out to find something in the forest or who knows what..Rivaille has his quirks, and I'm sure he just asked Eren to do something for him.."
Mikasa, who was tensing through most of this speech, relaxed visibly. "Maybe Eren just went to help him with something…right?" Her words sounded monotonic, true Mikasa style. But only Armin could tell that her voice was actually trembling, and for the first time, Mikasa was actually trying to reassure herself. The last time she'd lost Eren, she'd almost gone suicidal and gotten herself killed.
They all waited in their bedroom, Zoe bringing them food at regular intervals. Armin was reading his world book again, fingers shaking slightly as he worried about his friend. Mikasa was a stiff statue, leaning against a corner. Zoe was not her usual self, quiet and dull.
"It's been three hours." Mikasa murmured, drawing her sword out to inspect the blade.
Zoe shrugged from her place on the floor. "I'm sure Rivaille's doing something crazy..hahah…"
Armin just gripped his book harder and pressed it to his face so that the others couldn't see the start of his tears.
Armin paused there for a moment, head on the comforting warmth of Mikasa's shoulder. He thought, and I kept telling myself, over and over again, not to cry. I felt like if I cried, even the tiniest hope, would crumble to pieces. And even though I knew from the beginning that there was no "hope",
I could not come to grips with it.
I was filled with resentment, and remorse. Resentment that Eren would actually leave us, his friends, and remorse, I guess, because he's actually gone, maybe for good this time. Armin huddled into himself as the rain fell harder. I cried the whole time.
The once noisy and crowded dining hall was a quiet place now, the only sounds besides them eating the drips of water from the cracked ceiling. Zoe had tried her best to make lunch, which was a peanut butter sandwich. But she didn't have to try to hard, thought Armin as he took a bit of his sandwich. Because we won't taste it anyway.
Finally, halfway through their mock lunch, Mikasa snapped. She banged her hands on the table and stood up, eyes flashing. "I'm going after him."
Zoe stood up too, bracing herself. "I won't let you go." Mikasa glared at her, drawing her sword. Armin put a hand on her wrist, stopping the movement. "Mikasa! What are you doing?!"
Mikasa glared at Zoe. "Why won't you let me?"
Zoe sighed and relaxed her posture a little. "We need you, Mikasa. We already lost countless others, and now…Rivaille, and Eren." Her throat moved as she gulped. "That's why..without you, then it'll just be Armin and me. And that doesn't even classify as a 'legion'" her hands sketched quotation marks in the air.
Mikasa thought for a moment, then sat back down. "Eren's the only reason that I'm even here."
Zoe sighed and sank back onto the bench. "If..they did…run away..together, I'm sure that Rivaille's more than capable of taking care of him."
Armin gulped nervously as he saw Mikasa's expression. She was planning something.
~X~
It was close to midnight, and Armin couldn't sleep. The chirps of cicadas seemed to be louder than ever, and the moon was so bright, it seemed like the sun to him. He buried his face in his pillow, groaning quietly. What the hell was Eren thinking? "He promised he would never leave us.."
Armin flipped over again, staring at the ceiling, which was riddled with countless cracks. Amusing himself by looking for animals and shapes in the fixtures, he didn't notice the quiet shadow creeping towards him. "Armin!"
"AAAAHHHHHmmmpphhh!" Mikasa covered his hand with her mouth, putting a finger to her lips. "Shhhh, come with me. Get dressed." She motioned to her scouting outfit. Armin looked suspicious. "Mikasa! You can't possibly be planning-"
She pushed a hand over his mouth again. "You know I can't leave Eren out there all alone in the wild by himself."
"..he's not alone. He's with-"
She shook her head and tossed his pants at him, which landed on his face. "Get dressed." She hissed. Armin hurriedly complied, yanking on his pants and strapping on his maneuver gear. She quietly pushed open the door, which opened with a gentle creak. They went out onto the grass, not knowing that this, in fact, was the exact place where Eren stood, four days ago while waiting for Rivaille. "Are you sure about this? We'll be leaving Zoe alone!" Armin whimpered.
Mikasa nodded and bit her lip slightly. "I'm sure. Zoe will be fine. Commander Irvin's still out there somewhere."
Armin shook his head and looked back. "But-"
"Armin." Mikasa went to him and looked him head on. "This is for Eren. Think of how much he's done for us. Are we just going to let him get kidnapped?"
"I don't think he was kidnapped.."
"Why else would Eren leave, then?" There was a hint of desperation in Mikasa's eyes, frantically trying to reassure herself against the ugly truth.
"Ah..they could've been..um.." Armin didn't finish the thought, and Mikasa didn't inquire.
"Let's go."
"But we need a map, food, supplies-"
"I already got all of that."
"..oh. Okay." Armin hoisted his pack up a little higher and followed Mikasa, who seemed to be relying on her senses alone, heading towards the forest. "..Are you sure this is where they've gone?"
Mikasa shrugged, pointing to sloped footsteps. "You tell me."
Armin shook his head and smiled. True Mikasa fashion. Even though the rain had washed away most of the footsteps, Mikasa could still see everything.
"You're amazing."
Mikasa stopped and looked back at him, expression same as always. "Thank you."
Armin nodded and followed her up the forest hill. "I wonder what he's doing now.." he mumbled to himself.
Eren..we're coming.
~X~
"Ugh.." Eren looked up as Rivaille came, the substance filling his mouth. He was surprised at how much there was, so he swallowed accidently, wincing at the taste. It was salty and a little bitter, not tasteless like he'd originally thought. Rivaille placed a hand on his chin and drew Eren closer, kissing him deeply. Eren returned the kiss, hands snaking around Rivaille's thin waist.
"What time is it?" Rivaille quietly asked Eren. Eren shrugged, licking and biting Rivaille's neck, leaving a dark bruise there. "It's sometime around midnight."
Rivaille pushed Eren off and stood up, wincing as he saw how much dirtier he'd become.
"Sand." He simply said, looking at the grits in distaste.
"How long until we're out of this desert?" Eren asked him, stretching and wiping his mouth.
"Soon, I suppose. It's not that big, so if we start traveling now, we should be out soon."
"I haven't seen any titans. You?"
"I doubt that I would see one if you didn't. They don't exactly hide, do they?"
Rivaille snickered, pulling on his boots and normal clothes while tossing Eren's nightshirt off. "We'd better get going."
"Why so late?"
Rivaille re-strapped on his swords, wincing as his fingers got caught in one of the straps. "It's just this weird feeling..but I feel like someone's following us." Eren blinked. "…"
Rivaille whipped back at him and glared. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"
"N-no way!" Eren gulped, remembering the time he was terrified of the corporal. He would shake every time he was around him in fear that he would cut him down or castrate him after he found him masturbrating in his room.
Rivaille sighed and shook his head. "Whatever the case, we're going."
Eren nodded, pulling his pack back on and following the other man.
As they walked along, Eren started talking. "Isn't it amazing, how you can discover new lands and things that people have forgotten about before and actually see them for yourself?"
Rivaille looked dryly at him. "Please tell me you're not going to get an erection just by talking about landforms."
Eren flushed a dark red and shook his head frantically. "What gave you that idea?"
Rivaille shrugged. "Something about your enthusiasm?"
Eren spluttered. "No. But-" He continued with his charade. "I could name this the Eren Desert and it would be okay!"
Rivaille scoffed. "No one would ever go to this desert if it was called the Eren desert. Trust me on this one."
Eren let out a grunt and turned away from him. "I could always name that cactus Maria and it would be mine!"
"..You have a twisted mind, you know that?"
Rivaille playfully punched Eren's shoulder. Eren rolled his eyes and leaned back into him, slinging an arm around his neck.
"You know you love me."
Eren felt Rivaille freeze. "What?"
Eren frowned and repeated the words. "You know you love me."
Instantly, Rivaille slapped his hand away, "You're sick."
Eren raised his hands in defense. "It was a joke! A joke! An expression!"
Rivaille looked at him in suspicion, then shrugged it off; it was nothing. "Keep moving."
Eren followed him, grumbling something about how he took everything way too sersiouly.
But the reason Rivaille actually was surprised, was that when Eren said it, he actually didn't know weather it was true or not. Days ago, he would've instantly said, "no."
Now..he just wasn't sure anymore.
Back when mom died..he thought. Sometimes, I would wake up crying. I didn't know anymore weather I was sad or not-the memory was too dim to remember. Because I wished that dreams were reality, and this reality was a dream, maybe that was the reason. But it wasn't because I was sad, I think. When you return from a happy dream to a desperate reality,
there's a chasm that you have to step across, one that you can't cross without shedding tears.
Rivaille sighed, sinking the soles of his feet into the sand. Living..is such a scary thing to do.
"Do you believe in the afterlife?" He asked Eren, musing about what the boy would say. Eren paused for a moment, then continued walking. "I've..never actually thought about it."
"but if you did, what would you think?" Rivaille pressured.
"Well…I don't believe in it." Eren affirmed. "It seems to be something created by humans out of wishful thinking."
Rivaille nodded, thinking about his answer. "But if a lot of the people you loved died, would you wish there was an afterlife?"
Eren thought for a moment. "Yeah, I do. What about you?"
Rivaille breathed out. "Same." Even though the action was minute, he could feel Eren's hand brushing against his gently, the presence reassuring and there.
Whew..this was actually a slow update-ish….D: I'm going to try to update sooner! Whoo! Can't wait to go to YellowStone too! Thank you seraphineheartfilia for giving me the awesome idea of including Mikasa and Armin! I actually would love to hear more plot suggestions and other things from all of you! What would you like to see more of in this story? *holds out mike*
Anyway…because all you people are so awesome, I'm going to give you an omake! (I know you want it.) XD
Omake-"Armin." Mikasa went to him and looked him head on. "This is for Eren. Think of how much he's done for us. Are we just going to let him get kidnapped?"
"I don't think he was kidnapped.."
"Why else would Eren leave, then?" There was a hint of desperation in Mikasa's eyes, frantically trying to reassure herself against the ugly truth.
"Ah..they could've been..um.." Mikasa pressed on. "What?"
Armin exploded, waving his arms around. "They could've been horny for each other and had wild animal sex!"
Mikasa stopped. "…Is that even possible?'
Armin, who was flaming red in the face, nodded "Yeah..don't you know how gay sex works?"
"…What is sex?"
Armin gaped at the girl. "Have you.."
"never had an interest in whatever people talk about in their spare time."
"Okay..well..sex is..erm…"
I regret nothing.
So, yeah.
Until next time! Ja ne~!
K.K
If you have any suggestions or things you want to see in the story, please tell me! Or any omake requests? Those are fun to do.
Reviews will make Eren and Rivaille horny (well, they already kinda are) hornier for each other. YES REVIEWS CAUSE SMUT. HHAHAAH (so sorry Rivaille)