Eren waved at Rivaille once he'd turned back and noticed he was being stared at. Blushing, he turned around quickly enough to almost run into the doorframe, sidestepping with what he hoped was enough smoothness to make it unnoticeable. Judging by Armin's giggle and Mikasa's smirk, he hadn't quite managed… but that was a secondary issue for the moment.
"Hey Armin, are you pulling my leg or something?"
Armin's giggle slid into a confused expression. "Huh?"
"With the whole thing with Rivaille," Eren said, his cheeks blushing a little as he tried to avoid saying the word 'kiss'.
"No… why?" Armin asked, his brows furrowed.
"Rivaille said it was nothing…" Eren frowned. Mikasa raised her eyebrows.
"Figures the shorty would be so wasted as to not remember anything," she said. Armin shot her a glance.
"He wasn't nearly as trashed as Eren, though…" he said. "Even that aside, maybe it really wasn't a big thing. This is Rivaille, though…"
"Right, whatever," Eren interrupted. "Let's go, shall we?" he asked as he shoved all thoughts of Rivaille back to the back of his mind. The other two nodded, and they began their walk in companionable silence, following the metal-clad hallways in the direction of the main exit. Voices from around the corner steadily increased in volume, and soon Eren found himself face to face with Hanji.
"Hello, Hanji, hello, Moblit," Armin said, proffering a little wave to Hanji and the man standing at her shoulder, a 'done-with-everything' look on his face.
"Hi, Armin! What're you do- ooooh," she said, her eyes glinting as she spotted Eren and darted quickly over to where he was, taking one of his hands into her own. "Helloooo, Eren! So tell me, are you going birthday shopping?" Eren blinked once or twice at the sudden invasion of his personal space, taking a half-step back.
"Er… birthday shopping?"
"Yup! For Rivaille!" Hanji crowed happily.
"What?" Eren asked, confused.
"Well, his birthday's tomorrow, I just thought…"
"What? Tomorrow? But he never said any-"
"Oh, psh. Rivaille, say something about his own birthday? As if. I practically had to force it out of him, heh," Hanji said, looking inordinately pleased with herself. "But anyways, does this mean you will get him something?"
"I guess… I mean, yes, but what- what does he even like?!" Eren said, panicked.
"He likes cleaning supplies," Hanji said, finally exiting Eren's personal space in favor of placing a thoughtful hand over her chin. "Yeah."
"What."
"It's true! Anyways, I think-"
"Ms. Hanji," Moblit finally spoke up, his deceptively soft voice breaking through Hanji's babble. "You have a meeting with Commander Smith and Corporal Rivaille…"
"Right! Okay, so- Armin!" Armin started a bit as his name was called with vigor. "Bring him to my office after you guys come back! And her too! We have plans to make!"
"Uh, okay…?" Armin seemed dubious, and Eren was inclined to share the sentiment.
"Super! Bye! Come on, Moblit, we'll be late!" Hanji practically skipped down the rest of the way, leaving behind a sighing Moblit, who excused himself quietly before following.
"Uh…"
"Well," Mikasa announced. "That was certainly interesting."
"Is she always like this?" Eren asked Armin, still feeling somewhat overwhelmed. Cleaning products…?
Armin nodded solemnly. "Yup, always." He shrugged. "She's probably already got a plan already in place, too, knowing her…" he focused a worried gaze down the hall Hanji had taken.
"'Plan already in place' in a good sense or in a bad sense?" Mikasa asked sharply, beginning to walk forward again. Eren copied her as Armin shrugged again before moving.
"That's an excellent question, actually. No idea," he said.
"Hm," she replied, unconvinced, and Eren tried to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Tried.
"Come on, Mikasa, she's like, his best friend, I don't think she'd do anything mean to him or anything," he said, stepping forward to push the elevator down button.
"It's not him I'm worried about," Mikasa grumbled, shooting Eren a very pointed look. Eren groaned.
"Look, I can take care of my-"
"I don't think you've got too much to worry about, Hanji's actually very nice," Armin said in the tone of one who just-so-happened so speak his thoughts aloud. Mikasa and Eren snorted in sync; though, Eren thought, probably for different reasons.
"Very crazy, more like," Eren said, poking Armin in the ribs as they entered the elevator.
"Ow! Not any crazier than any of you guys! She's just very… uh, enthusiastic?"
"I'll say… anyways, but, guys, what am I supposed to even get for Rivaille for his birthday?!" Eren bit his bottom lip, thinking. He'd drifted with Rivaille, and he still didn't know what to get him… and then there was the fact that Rivaille hadn't even so much as hinted that his birthday was even coming up.
"Well… you could always go with what Hanji said and get him some soap or whatever," Armin suggested.
"Yeah, don't adults like stuff like that?" Mikasa chimed in.
"Mikasa you can't say that! We're almost adults! Well, 'cept Armin, cause he's small," Eren said with a chuckle, earning himself a well-placed elbow to the stomach. "Oof."
"I act more adult-like than either of you two!" Armin said, drawing a sniff haughtily, tilting his head imperiously away from Eren. Which, of course, meant he couldn't see the offensive tickle attack Eren promptly launched. By the time their elevator dinged and swished open, all three were laughing, Armin having been tickled to the point of laughing tears.
Eren sighed contentedly, warmth suffusing his chest at the thought of his sister and best friend. He gazed around a bit at the station; there were several other elevators along the shatterdome wall, and across the open platform, a small train which connected the shatterdome with the inner districts of Trost waited for passengers, a large countdown clock above it beeping with the numbers of seconds until departure. Which, speaking of- "Shit, guys! RUN!" Eren shouted, breaking into a sprint in the train's direction, Mikasa and Armin following his example seconds later as they, too, understood the situation.
They jumped on the train with exactly zero seconds left until departure, winded but grinning.
"Inner-city train departing now," said a mechanical voice, and the train lurched forward, Eren grabbing at one of the many handles running along the roof of the train in order to keep his balance. The trains were by no means new, and it creaked a bit as it began to pick up speed, but if the money went into funding machines such as Freedom Wing instead of repairing the trains, Eren decided he couldn't really be angry. The train took another curve as they entered Trost proper.
The city had grown a lot just in the last year. After the fall of Wall Maria, there hadn't been many people willing to live on the wall towns anymore, but as that calamity faded slowly in people's memories, Trost was returning to a bustling metropolis. The outer districts were all high-rise buildings, the most daring of which equaled the height of the walls, but continuing inwards, the buildings became more old-fashioned, their half-timbered patterns colorfully decorated with red and green patterns.
"Hey, I completely forgot! It's the solstice celebration still, isn't it?" Eren asked, turning away from the window. Armin nodded.
"Yeah, tonight's the final night. Maybe we'll even be able to catch the bonfire before we have to head back!"
"We're supposed to be back by dinnertime though, that's at 19 hours. Will they really light the bonfire before then? It'll barely be dark…" Mikasa said.
"Hm…"
"Well, we can hope, huh?" Eren said, moving towards the train's door as it began to slow down with a loud screech of the brakes. He waited impatiently until the door opened, then leapt out, swearing as a gust of cold wind caught him in its crosshairs. "Geez it's fucking cold here," he said, turning back to watch Mikasa and Armin disembark. Mikasa pulled her scarf up a little higher, and Armin, of course, had had the foresight to bring a jacket with him. Eren stuck his tongue out.
"The temperature's dropped quite a bit recently," Armin mused, looking around for a moment before leading the way to the exit. Mikasa made the motion of giving Eren her scarf, to which he shook his head, thinking that he'd prefer to tough it out.
On the whole, that turned out to be a bad idea, as they window shopped and the wind didn't stop for a single moment the whole time that they were walking down the streets. By the time Armin pointed out a likely-looking store and they stepped inside, Eren was sure his fingers were about to fall off. He tried surreptitiously rubbing them together in an effort to un-freeze them, but Mikasa's "what did I tell you" look made him stop out of sheer stubbornness to prove her wrong.
"Please, take your time looking around!" said the shopkeeper, appearing from behind a stack of elaborately-decorate boxes. "Let me know if you want to sample anything!"
"Alright, thank you!" Armin said cheerfully, already reading the labels on various products. Eren began to inspect the little boxes as well.
"'Vanilla Joy'? What is this, a freaking-"
"This one smells like peaches. Does he like peaches, Eren?" Mikasa asked, sniffing an orange-and-cream package.
"Like I know!" Eren answered, feeling a touch overwhelmed. What does he like, what would he like, I don't-
"Hey, check out this one! It's… it's man-goh scented!"
"Armin, what the hell is a man-goh?"
"I'm not sure, but it smells nice. Here, catch," Armin said, throwing the small wrapped bar of soap to Eren, who fumbled once before securing it in his hands. He brought it up to his nose, taking a whiff.
"Mm, that's smells nice but… too fruity for him? I think?"
Armin shrugged. "I don't know, you know him better than either of us," he said, gesturing to Mikasa, who was comparing two soaps in her hand. She looked up at the attention.
"Here, try this one," she said, likewise tossing to Eren. Catching it properly this time, Eren glanced at the label before moving to sniff it.
"'Sweet Seduction'?" Armin choked on a laugh, Eren shooting him a baleful glare. "Really, Mikasa?" She shrugged.
"I dunno, I thought that was your thing."
"Mikasa!" Just as Eren was about to lob the soap back (totally not pointedly aiming for Mikasa's face- he was way too mature for that), the shop's owner peeped around the corner.
"Sorry about that! I had to put those extra stocks in the back! Anyways, how can I help you three?" He'd brought his hands together so that the tips of his fingers rested just under his chin, eyes flicking between them expectantly. Armin and Mikasa both looked at Eren, waiting for him to say something.
"Er, right, uh… well, I'm looking for… for a birthday present. For, uh, someone who... likes to clean a lot?" Eren winced a bit at his own delivery. The shopkeeper, on the other hand, was nodding slowly.
"Mmhm, mmhm… I assume this is a male?"
"Ah… yes."
"Mmhm…" the shopkeeper nodded along quietly to himself, clearly lost in thought, as Eren shot Armin a glance. Armin shrugged, raising his eyebrows. "Right!" the shopkeeper suddenly exclaimed. "I know just the thing! Come along, come along, this way!" he said, bustling about and weaving through different aisles and around a corner. "Ah, here we go. Try this one!" He held out a lilac package, topped with a silky purple ribbon. Eren took it, not bothering to read the label before sniffing.
"Oh, this is actually really nice," he said, mildly surprised. He turned, passing it to Armin, who made an appreciative humming noise before handing it off to Mikasa. "What is it?" Eren asked.
"Lavender!" said the shopkeeper. "We had unusually plentiful growth of lavender this year, so I was able to make some soaps as well! It's a very unique scent, I'm sure he'll love it."
"Mmhm…" Eren sniffed it again, doubt chasing itself around his mind. On the one hand, Hanji'd said Rivaille liked cleaning, and Eren had stumbled across him disinfecting the entire locker room bathrooms… but on the other hand, did people even give soap for birthdays? What if Rivaille hated it? Was it even worth buying? Eren could always get Rivaille… coffee? Where did one even go about buying coffee? What if-
"Earth to Eren," Armin said, waving a hand in front of Eren's face. Eren blinked. "You should get it- Hanji seemed pretty serious when she said you should get him a cleaning product, so…"
"That was serious?" Mikasa asked. Armin made a face.
"For her, yeah."
"Alright then…"
Eren cleared his throat self-consciously, then told the shopkeeper he'd take this one. The shopkeeper, looking delighted, led him to the counter, ringing up the purchase as Eren pulled out his wallet. As a member of the military, he got a small monthly pension, but as he never really used any of it, he had quite a bit saved up. He handed his cashcard to the shopkeeper, who handed it back after a swipe.
"Thank you for shopping!" he said.
"You're welcome," Eren said as he took the small bag that had been placed on the counter and turned to leave, earning himself a smack on the shoulder from Armin.
"What he means is thank you for the soap," Armin said to the shopkeeper, who just smiled as waved as the three exited back into cold wind.
"Ugh, it's freezing," Eren said, not minding what Mikasa would have to say. "Can we go find a place to grab lunch or something? Preferably indoors?"
"I know a place," Armin offered, taking the lead. It was a few blocks away, but all in all a cozy café that also served sandwiches. Eren ordered two, and hot tea besides.
They chose a small corner table, pulling up another chair to accommodate all three of them. Mikasa set their little number tag in the middle, crossing her legs and loosening her scarf as she sat down.
"Oh, yeah!" Armin began as they waited for their order to arrive. "I meant to ask you- how's things with Annie?"
Mikasa leaned back in her chair, tilting it on two legs. "Well, I mean, she's nice enough… but kind of… aloof? Even when we're drifting, it's as if there were these… these walls she's brought up. I never know what she's thinking outside of the immediate range. It's weird."
"Huh, that's kind of what it's like with Rivaille. With the walls thing. Last time they were… 'lower', I guess? Yeah, so I dunno, maybe that's 'cause we've drifted a lot recently," Eren said, quickly distracted once food arrived. Eren vaguely heard Armin addressing Mikasa, but he was lost in thought, both over the delicious sandwiches as well as the little lilac package that rested in his pocket. Maybe I should just go get him coffee anyways…? But then again, Hanji said she had a plan, so I guess if the soap doesn't work, then I'll just sneak some coffee from the machine and say it's a present…? Argh, but I can't do that, that's too sleazy!
"Eren, you okay?" Mikasa asked, watching Eren with an eyebrow raised. Eren removed his hand from where it was threaded into his hair.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm just… nervous, I guess."
"About the present?" Armin asked. Eren nodded, swallowing thickly. Armin chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, worst comes to worst, it's still a useful present, right? So Rivaille can't possibly hate it."
"Yeah… I guess," Eren said, unconvinced. Then he shook his head, ruffling up his hair a bit. "Whatever. These sandwiches are really good, though."
"Ditto," Mikasa said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Armin smiled.
"I told you guys this place was good!"
"Yeah, yeah, stuff it with that sandwich of yours before I eat it," Eren replied, taking the final bite of his own sandwich, eyeing Armin's.
"Haha, no," Armin said, taking a large bite and promptly choking as Eren made a face at him. Mikasa patted Armin's back, giving Eren a disapproving look.
"What, it's funny!" he grumbled.
"Is not," Armin wheezed, reaching for his drink and gulping down a fair amount, before returning to his sandwich, albeit with significantly smaller bites. Once he finished and the three paid, they decided collectively that the solstice bonfire was probably not worth the chilly wait, and decided instead to take the next train back to the shatterdome, a fact for which Eren was extremely grateful.
Eren, at Mikasa's behest, had double-checked his pockets before getting off the train to ensure that the soap was still there. Assured that it was indeed still safely nestled in Eren's pocket, they entered the shatterdome, taking the elevator back up to the main levels.
"Let's go find Hanji, I guess?" Armin asked. When Eren shrugged a yes, Armin began to lead the way to Hanji's office, Eren and Mikasa tailing behind him. Hanji's office, they discovered upon entry, was actually more a laboratory than anything else. "Hello?" Armin called, peering around a giant tank on a cart that was in the middle of the path.
"Ah, Armin! Hello." Moblit appeared from behind the tank, holding something vaguely tubular and definitely slimy in his gloved hands. "I'll go tell Ms. Hanji you've all arrived," he said, disappearing once more. Eren shifted nervously as he realized that the thing inside the tank was an eyeball, attached nerves and all.
"So, uh, what now?" he asked.
"Now we wait and see whatever Hanji's got in store for us," Armin said calmly, not appearing bothered at all by the giant kaiju eye that was looking at them.
"That thing's creepy," Mikasa said, glaring at the eye.
"Tell me about it," Eren muttered.
"Oh, wonderful!" exclaimed a voice from off to the left, and the three turned to see Hanji clapping her hands excitedly. "Let's get started then, shall we?"
((((((((((((((((*****************))))))))))))))
Full title: "Birthday Shopping, or: the many scents of soap"
HEY OKAY SO THIS TOOK LONGER THAN EXPECTED, mostly because I got sidetracked by this one winmin fic I started writing on the spur of the moment, ehehe... ^^; winmin ftw But I can promise you the next chapter will be up sometime on Christmas! Because it's Rivaille's birthday. (Yeah, I realize it's the 24th already right now...)
Also, speaking of Rivaille's birthday- I tried to make it as clear as I could, but basically the festival that's going on in Trost right now is the winter solstice festival, which lasts three days during which the sun is at its lowest point (22-23-24, in this case). And then the 25th is the first day after that, which blah blah some pagan theology thing I read a while ago, LEVI'S BIRTHDAY. Anyways, yeah. "Winter solstice festival". Then they have a summer version as well. Or something.
Also, yeah, I know nothing about soaps, only that lavender smells really fucking good and is used in a shitton of cleaning products OTL.
Also, Moblit is going to continue to be called Moblit for now, despite the fact that that's his first name... I dunno, new name translations mess things up. Watch Levi get a last name. Can you imagine how much fic would be obsolete then. CAN YOU.
Also, yeah, in case you were curious/didn't know this yet/forgot/whatever: I track "freedom wing", "nagisachansan", and "nagisa chan san", in case you'd like to contact me somehow/complain about my shitty writing skills. Whoo! :D
Sorry for my incoherent author's notes ramblings I am vury sorry.