Special and biggest thanks to Selena (a.k.a. Kaekiro), fellow writer and eremika shipper, for helping me out by checking all the English wording and grammar of this chapter~

LAWLESS


Chapter 12. Shiganshina (Part I)


Mikasa's head fell on his shoulder after a jolt caused by a bump in the road. Her soft hair stroked Eren's cheek and he sensed a pleasant, flowery and clean scent.

It had taken them about an hour to cover the distance between the Orvud district - where the Ackerman hideout was located - and that of Mitras. They should be close by. In Mitras, they had to board the riverboat that would take them to Shiganshina, three hours of sailing across the widest and most relevant river of Paradis, the Sina.

Mikasa had fallen asleep as soon as she took her place in the carriage, after dedicating him a weak and somewhat elusive good morning. Because of what happened during her last mission with Levi, it was clear she hadn't managed to get enough sleep despite the pain and emotional exhaustion she must be going through.

The speed of the carriage gradually diminished and the sleeping body of his companion slid forward. Eren put an arm around her shoulders and gently returned her to her initial spot. She opened her eyes as if her eyelids weighed a ton and looked at him with reddened sclera.

"Huh? Are we there yet?" her voice was slightly hoarse and lazy.

"Yes..." said Eren. "We need to talk fast about something before getting off, are you conscious enough?"

Mikasa rubbed her eyes and stretched a little.

"What is it?"

"We're going on a ferry and will be surrounded by a lot of people, so we must be careful with what we say and, you know, behave like a couple during the whole trip," Eren spoke quickly. "I think everything will be easier if you continue sleeping, if you want to. You can do what you did now - rest your head on my shoulder. I can hold you or something," he said with a nod while withdrawing his arm from Mikasa's shoulders.

She jerked upright and blood flowed furiously to her pale cheeks. "Sorry. I didn't realize."

"It's fine, it doesn't bother me," Eren offered her a friendly little smile. "So, do you agree with that?"

"Yes... but I don't know if I'm sleepy enough as to sleep an hour or two more," she stirred in her place. "We'll have to improvise, like at the beginning."

"Ah. In that case, you're going to have to help me because... you've already realized that I'm not as good at improvising as you are. Not with romantic things, at least."

Gottfried opened the carriage door a minute later, informing they had arrived at Mitras. He helped them to get off and to carry their luggage to the small pier where the riverboat would soon arrive. They both thanked the always anxious coachman for his help and said goodbye to him. There were few people waiting in the place. No one seemed to notice them, which was a relief. For Eren, it was a miracle when people minded their own businesses.

"It's not necessary for us to do much," Mikasa said in a low voice, at his side. She took his arm just like she used to do when they were in public. "I think holding hands or going like this while sitting, or hugging a little and laughing stupidly from time to time, is enough. And talk like this, as if we were flirting..." She slightly squeezed his arm and offered him one of her feigned smiles. Eren had learned to identify them perfectly now that he knew the true ones. Those fake smiles were so insipid that they made him feel nothing. "When we're talking like this you should also smile a bit, Eren."

Eren nodded and, after a pause, had an idea very unlike of him. He grimaced and showed all of his teeth in an exaggerated and hideous smile. He was sure he looked like a lunatic, like Kenny, or worse. His face hurt.

Mikasa raised her eyebrows and then frowned, confused. After a few moments, she shook her head and started to chuckle. She hit him on the chest with her free hand.

"What are you doing?" She complained between giggles. It was the second time he heard her laugh. Or the third, he wasn't sure anymore. "Stop."

"It was on purpose," he defended himself like a fool, feeling a sudden embarrassment at the ridiculousness of what he'd just done. Fighting against the sensation, he stroked the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. Really, what was that? "I guess it worked..." he cleared his throat. "Look at you. You're giggling like one of those flirtatious and in love girls I've seen out there."

Mikasa's laughter died down and her anxious eyes looked in every possible direction, except the one that included him. Eren didn't quite understand what he'd done wrong for her to change her attitude so suddenly. He doubted the stupid grimace had anything to do with it. It must've been something he'd said.

"I-I'm hungry. I'll go see what I can buy to eat during the trip," she said quickly, releasing his arm and distancing herself from him. "Do you want something?"

Puzzled, Eren took a step toward her.

"I'm going with you" he said, frowning.

She backed away. "No. No, you stay here and take care of our things. I won't take long."

Eren saw her walk away hurriedly and cross the street toward a bakery located on a corner. Mikasa didn't even wait for him to tell her what he'd like to eat. Concerned, he wondered if he had accidentally offended her with the comment he made about her laughter. Or if she had suddenly remembered the things that had affected her a couple of nights ago, during that mission that got complicated. Maybe it's been because of both things, or none of them. It could be due to a reason he'd not even thought about. In reality, he was certain he had no idea.

He ran a hand through his hair. This type of attitude from Mikasa confused him and even exasperated him a little. Sometimes he felt as if he were walking on eggshells. When things got uncomfortable between them, he never knew exactly why. Mikasa just tended to flinch, stay quiet and change her attitude all of a sudden.

Eren had to be more aware of what he said and did around her. It wouldn't be ideal if people saw this and began to realize the reality of their relationship, how little they knew about each other. Ironically, if they were supposed to be a couple then they must know each other much better than that. Than this.

One of his hands unconsciously slid into the pocket of his linen jacket and his fingers brushed the list made by his professor. He wasn't quite sure if he should bring it up and discuss it in detail with Mikasa right now. Each time he thought about it, the topic seemed to become more and more uncomfortable for him to deal with, let alone talk about putting it into practice. Despite this, he considered some of the suggestions to be quite good and reasonable, to the point where they would certainly improve the credibility of the supposed romance that existed between them.

Specific suggestions on how to look at each other, where to place one's hands and levels of physical closeness that denoted big mutual trust weren't a problem. In fact, he was grateful about these. It wasn't that the idea of kissing someone seemed very terrible nowadays for him either... What put him in a bind had to do with other types of suggestions to make sure the relationship was more "authentic", throwing away "complicity" and "intimacy" in the eyes of those who were the spectators. There was also that suggestion that, at times, both of them should be found to be behaving in ways that could be considered impulsive and even inadequate or immoral, that this would undoubtedly make sense for the supposed type of relationship they had. It was that and what came next which caused Eren anxiety, to the point his heartbeat accelerating.

When he received the list he didn't have time to read it completely. The little he got to see surprised him, of course. The matter only became overwhelming when he took the time to read it calmly later. It was a suggestion in particular that made him think his teacher couldn't be serious, that it almost had to be a joke, and yet Levi himself had given him the damn paper and had even warned him not to follow everything to the letter, otherwise...

I'll slice your balls

That. The result would be castration.

It wasn't as if Eren was willing to go to that extreme with Mikasa, how could it even occur to him? Obviously not. Of course not. And she surely wouldn't want… actually, he wasn't so sure.

What if she… if she took the list seriously?

He swallowed. No, it couldn't be.

At least castration isn't so terrible, compared to ending up turned into an eunuch.

Wait a minute! But what the…? Was he really relieved by the fact Levi mentioned he'd cut his balls and nothing else?

Moreover, why was he even considering the option of this happening? What was his damn problem?

"Eren, are you okay?" Mikasa asked, appearing out of nowhere in front of him and making his heart leap violently against his ribs. For a moment, he feared he'd been speculating about the fate of his poor genitals out loud. Luckily, he hadn't. "You look hot."

Yes, he felt heated. He realized then that he was even sweating a little. "Y-yeah, everything's fine. It's because of the sun."

The day was clear and the sun, though autumnal, warmed enough to blush someone's skin. His explanation seemed to be enough for Mikasa.

Because of his damn teacher, now Eren imagined... things.

"I bought some cookies and chocolate breads," Mikasa showed him a paper bag. "I hope you like them."

The pier was crowded with people waiting for the ferry, which arrived almost twenty minutes late. As the ticket vendor had announced, that riverboat had the Maria dock as its last stop on its route, from where the large ships ventured out to open sea.

Eren bought tickets for two seats in the most comfortable area, in which passengers who stood better economically used to travel. When he used the ferry on his own or with Armin, neither of them cared too much about comfort and preferred not to squander money. However, Eren didn't think it chivalrous or appropriate to take his "girlfriend" in the common area, where he'd only catch a seat with some luck or if there weren't too many passengers.

Once they boarded, they climbed the narrow ladders until they reached the second floor of the boat. Eren suggested for Mikasa to sit by the window, so she could enjoy the scenery during the trip. Maybe it would help her feel better in general and relax. Both had agreed to sit in the back row to have less public watching them, in case of anything.

Two of the men who worked on the ferry took their luggage and placed it on the metal grilles above their seats. Thanking them, Eren gave them a generous tip.

As the rest of the passengers settled down, one of them greeted him politely with a nod and a smile. Eren tried to respond to the greeting casually. A woman took the chance to throw curious glances at Mikasa.

"So, when you and Mikasa are at Stohess and Mitras, I'll accompany you from afar for a while and will keep an eye on your surroundings. I'll let you know if Rod sends someone to spy on you," Levi said the day before, after Eren told him the destinations and the itinerary he had in mind.

"I'm okay with that... that way we'll know how much he suspects me, because I get the impression that he must suspect something or that he will, at some point," Eren murmured.

Levi nodded.

The itinerary would begin with a short stay in Shiganshina to visit Armin for his birthday and some old friends or acquaintances of the district, which would be useful for him to practice all that thing about introducing Mikasa in society. In his native district, Eren could also treat some patients and fulfill Mikasa's desire to visit her old home. Then they'd have to move and spend about a week in Stohess, where he should visit well-off and extremely hypochondriac patients, as always, until Mikasa and him had to travel once more and stay for an indefinite time in Mitras, the capital. There at least he had his own apartment, a place he'd not set foot since the last time he saw Armin after the Reiss party.

"While you two play house, we'll continue to collaborate with the Legion," Levi explained. "I can't tell you exactly what we'll do and what's being planned, because I don't know certain details myself and there are many things at stake. The point is that Rod has to believe that you're still on his side, for as long as possible."

"I understand... but I don't want to be kept in the dark for too long," Eren said with a determined look. "Because I'm not so naive to believe that all this is just about revealing the lies of the Reiss family as an act of honor and public service," he clenched fists. "The only thing I ask for now and in exchange of my cooperation is that the Legion, the Ackerman and whoever is also involved, don't dare to put a single finger on Historia Reiss. She's my friend and she's innocent. Anyone who knows her origin could realize."

Levi seemed to weigh his words seriously before ending the long meeting they'd held.

Eren let out a weary sigh. There were too many things to worry about and it burdened him. He returned his full attention to the present moment, which was what he'd ought to focus on for now, and noticed that some passengers were turning around to give him and his companion brazen glances. Someone must have mentioned his name aloud, starting a generalized gossip.

Mikasa gazed absently at the landscape, nibbling on chocolate bread. Eren put a hand on one of her knees to get her attention, motioning for her to come closer as he leaned toward her too.

"We have a few priers spying on us," he whispered in her ear, pretending a smile to make it look like he was telling her who knows what. "And I guess we unintentionally ignored each other for longer than we should have."

Soon, a fake smile also began to form on Mikasa's lips.

"I'm sorry. I got distracted thinking about a lot of things," she answered in a whisper. "But it's fine, let's keep talking like this for a while and smiling. Just remember to try and not look like a lunatic."

Eren winced.

"Right. Don't remind me," he groaned, squeezing her knee a little. He released her as soon as he realized he'd kept his hand there all this time. That is, for longer than necessary. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Eren. Real couples touch each other casually," she said in a thin voice, taking his hand and turning her attention to the landscape through the window, which until now were only a lot of houses and mountains that could be seen in the distance, whose summits were covered by a morning mist.

Eren's gaze dropped to their intertwined hands, which rested on his thigh and contrasted with his dark trousers. Mikasa had feminine and stylized hands, with long fingers and well-groomed nails that had a precise length so as not to break them during training or after wielding her hands to give some idiot a deserved punch. Her skin was soft to a large extent, except for her knuckles, where he could feel it rough and hardened. He thought of the battered sandbags in the Ackerman's lair, mended countless times and covered in patches.

"Is there something wrong with my hand?" she asked, feigning great curiosity.

Eren swore he would've heard her say the word "doctor" at the end of her question, but she didn't say it and he felt an absurd trace of disappointment.

"On the contrary," he said, raising their intertwined hands to pretend he was examining it with more attention. "Mmm... Your hands are fine. In fact, they are perfect. Congratulations."

Mikasa snorted, amused.

"It's the first time someone flatter my hands," she commented quietly after a few seconds of silence.

Eren had no need to fake a smile. On impulse, he leaned closer to her and his nose almost brushed her ear.

"Well, they say there's always a first time for everything," he whispered, and perhaps he did it very close to her, invading her personal space too much, because Mikasa suddenly became rigid and glanced away. Again. "Hey... did I say or do something wrong?"

She shook her head.

"I-it's not that..."

"So what is it? I need to know so I don't keep on messing things up," he insisted. "Like when you went to buy cookies this morning. Just before that I had said something, and you got weird and didn't let me go with you."

"Seriously, it's not your fault," she said. "It's me who... is messing things up..."

Eren blinked, bewildered.

"How?"

"This isn't the time for this kind of conversation, Eren," Mikasa muttered, in her voice an evident tone of disheartenment, weariness, and something else. She'd released his hand and a curtain of black threads hid half of her face from his inquisitive gaze. Eren was about to pull her hair back so he could see her expression clearly and know what the hell was going on with her, until she spoke again. "Maybe... later on... maybe one day I could tell you. Who knows… but not now, let alone here."

He pursed his lips and remained silent. He didn't want to force her to tell him whatever was going on in her head and complicate it, but on the other hand, he didn't want any person who saw them to question the veracity or the continuity of their supposed relationship, given her withdrawn attitude. Eren knew that couples didn't always behave lovey-dovey and that, sometimes, they even argued a little over everyday things - his parents did from what he remembered. The problem was that this situation was starting to put him in a bad mood.

Did that mean he was angry with Mikasa? Not quite. What bothered him was that almost always he said or did something spontaneous, she ended up acting in a strange way.

As much as she told him it wasn't his fault, Eren was sure he was at least a little to blame. What pissed him off the most was the lack of certainty. Not only with Mikasa, but with absolutely everything, and he had no choice but to appeal to patience. Once, or rather a few times, his father told him that patience was a cultivated virtue. Or something like that and, well, apparently that's what the case was now. It had been like that since he'd met Mikasa, the rest of the Ackermans and then, the Legion.

The answers would come, he just had to wait a bit, right?

Instead of letting out a grunt, his stomach roared.

"Oh, Eren! I forgot to offer you cookies," Mikasa said apologetically, showing him the inside of a paper bag. "Take as many as you want."

Patience had never been his thing, but there was no doubt that through the years and thanks to his job, he'd had learned to apply it. And above all, he was taught tolerance. He'd learned to quell the urge to strangle or pummel certain clients and standoffish men as well, but that was another issue.

"Thank you," he said curtly, taking out a cookie. He glanced at her sideways. "I thought you bought chocolate bread..."

"A-ah, yes," Mikasa confirmed, seeming a bit embarrassed. Just a little. "The only one left is... this one." Hesitant, she showed him the delicious treat she held in her other hand. "I... I was eating it now."

Eren raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly. "You didn't even leave me one?"

Mikasa shrank a little in the seat, took a quick nervous glance around and then approached him.

"Eren, they're watching us," she warned with an uncomfortable little smile.

"I don't care, they've done it the whole trip. Don't change the topic." He pointed out the chocolate bread. "It's your chance to redeem yourself as a decent girlfriend. Give it to me."

She held the bread to her chest, covering it with both hands before she sent an incredulous look in his direction. "Wait... are you serious?"

"Yes."

On the verge of making a pout, Mikasa looked at the dough filled with chocolate inside and then looked back at Eren.

"But..." she bit her lower lip and whispered: "Right. It's okay. I'll give you the other end."

"Are you saying that because of the spittle?" he asked mockingly. "I don't care. I'm not germophobic."

She narrowed her eyes for a second and then, with a defeated sigh, she brought Eren what was left of the popular treat that she'd been devouring without any qualms, without the idea of sharing it crossing her mind. And so, Eren had just learned something new about Mikasa Ackerman and the blessed chocolate breads. It was like being in front of a little girl, but one addicted to sweets. Or perhaps to chocolate.

"Do you want some?" she offered in a normal voice with more volume, so that anyone who was attentive or close to them could listen to her. Her fake honey tone tried to disguise her obvious reluctance to share the food.

Eren snatched the bread from her hands in one bite. It wasn't necessary for Mikasa to pretend to be surprised and offended by the action, because she obviously was. She opened both her eyes and her mouth formed a funny "o" shape, and Eren couldn't contain his own laughter. He almost choked on what he had left to chew of the stolen chocolate bread in the name of justice, and hunger.

It had been too long since something had seemed so funny to him. He didn't even remember when it had been the last time he'd cracked up.

Mikasa looked at him, stunned, indignant, and Eren did what he could to try to control the tremor caused by his own laughter, but it was difficult.

"Are you angry, Margot?" He asked in a sarcastic whisper once he managed to calm down enough to talk.

She crossed her arms. She must have suffered a big loss, because the bread tasted great.

"You only had to give it a bite," Mikasa answered between clenched teeth. "That's more flirty, you know?"

"Ah... I'm sorry. I'm terrible with these things," Eren feigned a distressed tone, although he had no way to contain his annoying smirk. "But I was hungry and it was the only thing left after someone scarfed everything down."

Mikasa shook one hand, downplaying it.

"It's alright. We actually don't need to try so hard right now," she said as she covered her mouth in the middle of a yawn, purposely ignoring half of what Eren had said.

Eren watched her while she rubbed her eyes, folded the paper bag - with some miserable cookies inside - and left it in her lap. Unlike the times she'd gone out in his company, Mikasa wasn't wearing one of those pretty dirndls she liked to wear so much, but instead she wore a simple white blouse tucked into a light brown skirt with a dark red wool shawl, which had slipped down to her elbows. Without thinking, Eren pulled the shawl up to her shoulders. The urge to bother her was gone.

Mikasa remained motionless for a few seconds and, without looking at him, she timidly thanked him for the gesture.

"If you want to sleep," Eren began as he gave her a small smile, "you can lean on me, you know."

After a prolonged silence, Mikasa dropped her head on his shoulder for the second time that morning.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Mikasa had thought she'd feel like crying as soon as she got off the ferry and stepped on that district she'd left a decade ago, but it wasn't like that. Nothing in that side of Shiganshina was familiar or inspired her nostalgia. She only knew the outskirts. In her memory, there were only trees, small orchards, mountains, and the occasional cabin far away from hers. Unfortunately, the closest one was always abandoned.

When they needed something specific, it was her father who went down to the urban area while she stayed with Mom. At that time, she didn't understand why it had to be like that. Sometimes she whimpered because Dad didn't take her with him on his trips to the center of the district she was so eager to see.

Eren's warm hand entwined with hers and gave her a little tug.

"Armin's house is about twenty minutes of walk from here," he said, looking around with eyes narrowed by the glow of the pleasant autumn sun.

It must be noon already. The sky was completely clear. If it weren't for the few yellow leaves left in the treetops, the light cold breeze and the dense dark clouds approaching from the south, Mikasa would swear they were in the middle of spring.

She allowed herself to be guided by Eren through the cobblestone road while she scanned the houses, each one similar in style and so homely. They were smaller compared to those seen in districts such as Stohess and Trost. Most of the windows of these were wide open, making the most of the good weather. In some alleys, she could see freshly laundered clothes lying on strings that ran from one window to another, or between two houses. In the noisiest streets were small warehouses, butcher shops, vegetable or fish stands, as well as places to eat and drink with menus of the day written in chalk on a small black slate attached to the wall. There was an interesting aromatic mix of all kinds of foods. In other alleys, there were workshops of all kinds, offering their products and services as well as apothecaries that Eren had to be a regular customer of. People came and went, doing their shopping, greeting their acquaintances and chatting willingly.

As they moved away from the center of the city, walking parallel to the river, there were fewer and fewer people moving in the streets, except for the occasional noise of horse hooves pulling a carriage or carrying a lone horseman.

Mikasa noticed a small group of young women talking on the riverbank. One of them held a baby, the other held the hand of a two-year-old boy who pointed to the current of water and babbled, ecstatic, while the third woman rubbed her huge pregnant belly and laughed. This was the only one who stared back at her for a few seconds until her attention leapt to Eren, as she seemed to recognize him. The woman pointed at him in a not very subtle way to notify the others, so they would see what she was seeing.

"How well-known are you in Shiganshina?" Mikasa asked.

Eren gave her a sidelong glance without stopping walking.

"A lot of people know me. I think I'm still the only doctor who comes here to tend for free, why?"

"Some mothers are pointing you out. I think they want to talk to you... oh. The pregnant one is gesturing at me and she looks very happy."

As to avoid looking at the group of mothers, Eren squeezed her hand and hurried his step.

"Then we have to get to Armin's place fast. We have about five minutes to go."

"I doubt that the ladies give you the desperate reach. If the pregnant one runs for too long, she'd end up giving birth halfway."

"Mothers always have too many questions to ask about their children's health. Now we don't have time for that. I'll see them tomorrow or something. The pregnant woman may want to ask me to assist her in childbirth and, to be honest, I prefer to do other things. That's what midwives are for and-" they heard women shout his name to get his attention. "Shit. Come on, Mikasa, faster... stop looking at them!"

She just wanted to see if the pregnant woman would run after them or not. Even if Mikasa wanted to, she couldn't greet her back because of the suitcase she was carrying in her other hand.

They reached a narrow two-story corner house, very similar to the others she'd seen on the road, with white walls and dark wood details. After several of Eren's insistent and almost desperate knocks on the door, Armin appeared behind it, surprised to see them.

"Eren...! Mika-!"

"Margot," Eren immediately corrected him while moving Armin aside with his free hand, doing so in order to enter and close the door behind them. He breathed a sigh of relief, left his suitcase and his medical bag on the floor, and shook Armin in an effusive hug that thundered the bones of his back, "Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday, Armin," Mikasa repeated, leaving her suitcase aside.

Armin, without speaking, looked at them as if he still didn't believe they were there.

"My house is a mess!" He complained suddenly. Frantic, he began to pick up some cups with traces of coffee, sheets of paper, notebooks and books scattered on the floor. "If I had known you would come, Eren. I mean, that you two would come..." he corrected himself, giving Mikasa an embarrassed look. "I'd have arranged and cleaned before. I'm sorry you have to see this disgusting thing. I swear I'm not this messy, really. I had too much work this week and things to study and-"

"It's okay. We'll help you with all this," Eren said, grabbing the cups and taking them to where the kitchen seemed to be.

After helping him sort and clean enough, they sat down quietly to drink some tea. Mikasa let the old friends chat while she looked around. On the first floor was the old kitchen, the dining room and the living room. The longest wall was filled with books of different thicknesses and notebooks arranged on the shelves, for which Armin had a specific order. There was a cupboard under the staircase that led to the second floor. The worn-out sofa on which she'd sat seemed to be the householder's favorite. It received the best daylight, which made it a perfect place to read.

Even though it was his birthday, Armin didn't seem to have prepared anything to celebrate. He would have lived this day as if it was any other if it wasn't for her and Eren's company.

"I received Historia's gifts yesterday," she heard Armin say. "That huge book that I have on the table, a nice birthday note and a bicycle."

"A bicycle?" Mikasa asked.

"Oh, you've never seen one? I'll show you, Mikasa. We can take a ride after lunch," he suggested, lively. "What do you say, Eren?"

"It's your birthday. We'll do what you want," he replied, nonchalant.

Armin looked at him with a mixture of surprise and skepticism. "I hope that you remember what you just said later."

"Don't make me regret it," Eren threatened with a half-smile while standing up.

Mikasa saw him go to where he'd left his medical bag, open it and put away his watch. Then he grimaced, as if he'd just remembered something, and pulled out a square of paper from his jacket to stow away inside his bag.

A list of things to buy at an apothecary, perhaps?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

They had lunch at Armin's favorite little cozy homemade food stall, where they chatted about everyday things. Mikasa devoted herself to listening than anything, aside from making some comments and asking some questions so that he and his friend delved into the topics of conversation.

It seemed to Eren that Mikasa was having a good time, but maybe she still didn't feel confident to participate more. She was a shy girl, after all. Another possibility was that she continued to be more concerned about her own affairs than anything else. It was good news that he'd seen her smile a bit on certain occasions, especially now that Armin had been determined to tell details of their childhood together.

"Eren was what adults, especially teachers, classify as a "difficult child." He was terribly impulsive and, well, he did have a shitty temper at times," Armin said, grinning. He drank his last sip of red wine. "When we were nine years old..." He grimaced and turned to Eren, "it was when we were nine, right?"

Eren shrugged as he pricked a piece of roast beef with his fork.

"No idea about what you want to tell," he said, unconcerned.

"The attack with the book in literature class," Armin clarified.

"Oh, that... did I do it only once?"

"Yes," Armin frowned slightly. "As far as I know."

"Then let's say yeah, we were nine," he didn't think that detail was so relevant.

Eyes shining with evil, Armin turned to Mikasa and continued with the story of Eren's misadventures.

"Well, at age nine Eren stuttered several times while reading aloud a tongue-twister, and one of our classmates made fun of him and then imitated him with a stupid voice." Thanks to Armin's story, Eren visualized that situation again. He'd almost forgotten it. "Eren despised it when someone messed with him, in any way. So his face turned completely red... not because of shame, but because of fury! I still remember his look of infinite hatred and how his jaw tensed after closing the book at once. I can never forget him stomping his way to Otto's desk, ignoring the calls of our teacher. The whole class gasped when Eren screamed and slammed the book in his face with all his might."

Eren noticed Mikasa glanced at him sideways and pursed her lips, as if she was refusing to smile. Then she refocused her attention on Armin, who seemed to be enjoying himself too much while being the narrator of his past as an irritable child. Whatever, he would allow him to tell what he wanted and laugh at his expense just because it was his birthday and Eren had missed him.

"They scolded him a lot after that, right?" Mikasa asked.

His friend chuckled.

"Of course. They grounded him because he almost broke poor Otto's nose."

"Poor Otto?" Eren snorted. "The guy was a pain in the ass. Some classmates even thanked me for what I did. I was a hero," he said with a smirk.

Armin shook his head, clearly in a good mood.

"Whatever. The thing is that Uncle Grisha had to check the child that Eren left all bruised. He and Aunt Carla lectured Eren a thousand times more than the professor himself." Oh, yes. That was something Eren remembered in great detail. "He was held under house arrest. He only had permission to go to school. When he returned home, he couldn't go out to play or anything. For two full weeks he had to dedicate himself to just doing homework, studying and looking out the window, sighing like a helpless prince waiting for his rescue."

Eren clasped him on the arm and shook his head.

"What the hell are you talking about? I escaped about four times while I was grounded," Eren corrected him, proud as he crossed his arms.

After lunch, they returned to Armin's house to see the bicycle Historia had given him. It was painted light blue and had plenty of space between the seat and the handlebar. Armin explained to Mikasa that the bicycle was a means of transportation that had been invented a few years ago. It had gotten some modifications recently and was more comfortable and practical to ride, so some rich people had begun to buy it.

According to what Eren remembered, the Arlerts had also built a bicycle model many, many years ago, just out of curiosity. It was similar to the one that Historia gave to Armin now, however, the goal of Armin's parents was always to try to fly. They had a workshop in which they fixed, restored, and produced all kinds of mechanical things. They were also one of the first to build an artisan hot air balloon on the island, the same hot air balloon where they would later die due to an accident some time later, leaving behind a son who'd just turned eleven.

Armin took the bicycle to the street and showed them the way it was maneuvered. Eren tried to ride it, but at first he found it difficult to keep his balance. His friend had to help him holding the seat as he ran behind him. After a few attempts, Eren was finally able to move without help. It was still a bit hard for him to turn left though.

When it was Mikasa's turn, she refused to attempt to ride it.

"I prefer to see you this time," she said, excusing herself.

Armin looked very happy as he settled back on the bicycle.

"Do you want to take a ride?" He asked Mikasa, pointing to the metal tube between the seat and the handlebar. "You can sit here and I'll drive you around the block. We'll pass by the riverbank."

Eren watched as the girl struggled for a few seconds, until she nodded and approached his friend and sat on the tube with both legs hanging on one side. She picked up her skirt to prevent it from catching on the chains or pedals and clung to the tube in the middle of the handlebar. Armin had to open his legs more to be able to pedal without kneeing her. Without much more preamble, he rode the bicycle and they left.

They returned some minutes later, laughing softly. Mikasa was laughing. She was smiling and her face was rosy, as was Armin's.

Eren felt a strange shift of his stomach, as if a weight had been added to it. Seeing Mikasa so cheerful seemed great to him. The thing was that she wasn't smiling at him like that, but at Armin, and they were both laughing as if they had a secret of which he wasn't part of, and it gave him a bitter feeling.

Why was he feeling this way? His friends were just having a good time. Armin was enjoying his special day and Mikasa looked happy. His best friend and his new friend got along. This was a source of joy, not of sudden and unnecessary negative feelings.

Armin stopped laughing when he met his gaze. He even looked down at the ground, apparently ashamed, like someone who's been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing. This reaction ended up confusing Eren even more.

"I almost ran over a man who was crossing the street," he began to say. "I really wouldn't have managed to do it. His scream was so dramatic and funny when he saw that, from laughing so much with Mik-Margot, we almost fell down. We've not stopped chuckling since then."

"Oh..." was all Eren managed to say, his lips curled in an uncomfortable and forced way.

A hand settled on his arm. It was Mikasa, who was looking at him somewhat worried.

"Are you okay? Did something happen while we weren't here?"

"No, nothing." He stroked his stomach, frowning. "The food fell a little heavy on my stomach I think, but nothing terrible."

Avoiding Armin's questioning gaze, Eren focused his attention on the bicycle.

"Hey," he said suddenly, addressing Mikasa, "do you want to... take a ride with me now?"

After a few seconds that seemed eternal to him, she nodded shyly.

"Eren," Armin called him, "I don't think it's safe to give her a ride around if you just learned to use the bicycle less than an hour ago. I've practiced since last night, and years ago I'd already learned to ride one, although it was too big for me. Do you remember when I told you that?"

Eren frowned.

"Yeah. Fine. You're right." No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hide his sudden irritation. "I'll give a couple of laps on my own. When I feel safe and able to maneuver this thing, then I'll ride a few meters with her too, alright?"

His friend sighed. "Fine."

He got on the bike and started pedaling. Maintaining balance was easier for him when he added more speed. As he gained confidence in his ability, he pedaled faster. The handlebar shivered under his hands. The wind cleared his face and dried his eyes a little. He practiced turning from one side to the other. Instead of going around the block twice, he gave three laps and even practiced zigzagging. The few people on the street were watching the bicycle with amused curiosity. This was a children's game. Eren was more than ready to take Mikasa for a ride on it.

But when he returned to the starting point, Armin suggested that instead of taking her around the block, it would be better if he took her across the clear path between the river and the houses.

"If you move on a straight road there is less chance of you having an accident."

Eren decided to listen to him. He didn't want Mikasa to get hurt because of him, neither for them to make fools of themselves by falling down on the street in front of passers-by. His level of stubbornness wasn't above his ability to analyze certain situations.

About three meters from the river's edge, Eren got on the bike and waited for Mikasa to settle in front of him. She didn't hesitate to do so. She trusted him and this made him smile.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Yes." She said, returning the smile before looking forward.

Eren left one foot on the ground and supported the other on the pedal, giving himself the impulse to put the bicycle in motion. The extra weight made starting off difficult, but he soon managed to keep going and moving forward without major complications. The breeze caressed his hair and face. Mikasa's hair whirled in front of him and tickled his cheeks. The sky was almost completely covered by the gray clouds that came from the south.

Towards the end of the route they had defined, Eren turned to go back. He had to put his foot back on the ground to prevent a fall and pulled it off, successfully. He made his way back to Armin, who was waiting for them a hundred meters away. He saw him in the distance saluting with one hand up.

Mikasa turned to Eren. Her eyes sparkled and her smile was so open and sweet that it surprised him. His stomach reacted strangely and something stopped working in his brain. Stunned, he lost track of what he was doing. He stopped paying attention to the road to hold Mikasa's gaze. Everything else, except for her, disappeared. He kept pedaling by inertia, but he'd long forgotten he was riding a bicycle. All Eren knew was that Mikasa should smile like that more often. It suited her. She looked good, prettier than ever and...

Eren widened his eyes.

What was this? What the hell was going on?

Since he couldn't slap himself for having his hands full, Eren shook his head in a desperate attempt to get his brain back to normal functioning. Then he heard Armin screaming something in the distance, and also Mikasa's startled gasp.

"Eren, we're going to-!"

But she didn't get to finish giving him the warning before the front wheel suddenly leaned down.

Shit! Had they fallen into a hole?

They continued falling. They slid down a short, bumpy slope full of rocks until water splashed. Lots of water. They had just fallen into the river because of him and he'd not even managed to use the brake.

Mikasa gave a short shriek when her body came into contact with the icy water, still in his arms. Eren had held her in a hug in an automatic and clumsy attempt to protect her. They both ended up submerged underwater. Disentangling himself from the bicycle, Eren pressed both feet on the riverbed and stood up, not letting go of Mikasa, who was so stiff she seemed frozen.

The water reached to his chest and it almost covered Mikasa's shoulders.

Armin suddenly appeared in front of them, breathing hard. He extended a hand from the shore to help them out of the river.

"Help Mikasa," Eren said, gently pushing the girl for her to reach his friend.

It was then he realized that the bicycle should be at the bottom of the river and being carried by the current. He couldn't see it clearly from the outside, so he submerged and opened his eyes under the water. He spotted Armin's birthday present a few meters away from him, descending more and more down the muddy slope of the river and slowly being swept away by the current. If he didn't try to take it out now, he would lose it.

He came up to the surface to take a breath and, with a kick, dived with skill worthy of a good swimmer. He managed to grab the bicycle from the rear wheel, though he couldn't move it much. The front wheel and one side of the handlebar were buried in the mud and made the task difficult.

Before leaving to breathe again, Eren heard a splash and saw a lot of bubbles beside him. Armin had jumped into the water to help him.

"Ow! It's frozen!" he complained with his blond hair soaked and stuck to his head and face, like a bronze helmet.

"We have to pull the bicycle at the same time." Eren said.

His poor friend now was also wet and getting cold because of him.

"Right. At the count of three," Armin nodded, "one... two... three!"

Both inspired all the air they could hold in their lungs and sank into the water. They were able to grab the rear wheel and drag the bike through the mud more successfully than Eren had tried to do on his own. When their heads emerged to catch their breath, neither of them had let go of it. They had managed to save the precious gift.

Upon leaving the river, they noticed Mikasa was waiting for them hugging herself and shivering. Her hair fell on both sides of her face like black, glossy tentacles. The white shirt stuck to her shoulders and arms, just as her skirt stuck to her legs. Beneath her, a pool of water had formed on the ground, water dripping from her clothes, and all because Eren hadn't done what he had to do.

"I'm so sorry," he said, addressing both her and Armin, who was holding the bike by his side.

Mikasa shrugged and said something unintelligible.

"What? I didn't understand you."

"Nothing. It's okay..." she said while rubbing her arms.

Armin gave Eren a friendly pat on the back.

"Yes. Everything's alright, Eren. Nobody drowned and I doubt that we'll get hypothermia," he said with trembling voice. "Besides, we managed to save my second best birthday present."

Eren didn't feel like asking which one was the best one. "Let's go back before we get more cold. We have to change clothes soon, dry off and drink something hot."

He approached Mikasa and took her hand, without thinking too much and without even taking into account the scarce public they had at that time. Her skin was so cold Eren couldn't do anything but put his other hand on hers to give her some more heat. Soon, all of that seemed stupid to him and he just hugged her. It was the best way to warm her up.

They walked almost all the way back in silence, until a few steps from the house Armin began to laugh and Eren and Mikasa looked at him as if he'd just lost his mind.

From one moment to other, Armin was bursting with laughter. He held his stomach with both hands, which apparently already hurt him from laughing so much. He was even crying. Eren started to laugh too. Timidly, Mikasa also joined the generalized laughter and the three entered the house soaked, but in a very good mood. Armin lost his balance twice and stumbled, but Mikasa managed to hold him so he didn't get to fall with his bicycle and everything.

"Thank you!" He said, exhilarated. "Guys, I had a lot of fun! People looked at us like we were crazy people who purposely threw themselves into the river." His blue eyes casted a mischievous glance in Eren's direction. "Oh... but if there was someone who needed a bath of cold water, it was Eren."

Eren ignored his comment on his way to the kitchen. He filled a metal teapot with water and took it to the living room, where Armin was lighting the fireplace and Mikasa was taking her boots off. He handed the teapot to Armin, who hung it from a metal arm over the flames that were slowly fueling.

"Come, Mikasa," Eren called her, "I'll take your suitcase to one of the rooms. You can change your clothes up there. We'll change downstairs."

"Wait. I have to go get my clothes before she starts changing." Armin said, still in high spirits, running upstairs.

Once they were all changed and dry, Eren gave a cup of hot chocolate to Armin and Mikasa, who had sat on the floor by the fire. After drinking the contents of his own cup, Eren announced he'd go out to buy something for dinner, since he didn't feel like cooking. They also needed a birthday cake.

The rest of the afternoon flew by, quite calm and lazy after the disaster of the bicycle ride. The three enjoyed the food and the company. It drizzled outside.

"Thanks for coming, guys, I wasn't expecting it. Thanks to you two, I had a great day." Armin said, sprawled on his favorite sofa with a pleased expression. He set aside the plate with his third piece of half-eaten cake. He had a patch of cream on his cheek.

"I'm glad you've had a good time despite everything." Eren said with a wince, looking sideways at Mikasa, who was at his side.

"Eren, come on, I told you already. The fall to the river was the best part," Armin smiled. "I've had such a good time that I even feel the pleasant fatigue that you can only feel when you've had a great day. Like when we spent all day on the beach... do you know that feeling, Mikasa?"

Mikasa had been silent almost all this time. It was nice of Armin to try to include her in conversations whenever he could.

"I don't know..." she replied, "I may be getting to know it. I also feel tired... but it's a bit different compared to other times."

"It seems you've also had a lot of fun today." Eren's lips stretched in a half-smile. "I never heard you laugh so much before."

"Y-Yeah, it's been fun."

"Except the fall to the river, right? I'm really sorry. You looked... annoyed, or scared."

Mikasa giggled.

"It was because of the shock. The water was very cold." Then she continued in a low voice, as if embarrassed of her next words, "besides, I don't know how to swim."

Eren and Armin gasped in surprise.

"I thought the Ackermans knew how to do everything." Eren murmured. "Nobody has taught you? Have you ever been interested in learning to swim?"

"I don't know... I think Kenny knows how to swim. Levi... I'm not sure, because to him everything is disgusting. I remember he once told me he hates beach sand because it smells funny, it's annoying, it gets everywhere and it's hard to clean, and the sea has 'who knows what kind of crap.'" she shook her head, amused. "I've only seen the sea from afar, so I've never stepped on the sand on its beaches."

"That's it. We're going to have to take you to some lake and then to the beach," Armin said, straightening on the couch. "In spring or summer, of course. Not now. The sea is very aggressive and ice cold at this time of the year."

"Yeah. We can teach you, if you want."

Mikasa nodded. She seemed a little uncomfortable with all the attention turned towards her. They remained silent for a while, until Armin spoke again.

"As we're all tired, it's time to decide where each of us will sleep," he said with a smirk that seemed suspicious to Eren. "You two can sleep in my bed."

"I can sleep in this couch," Mikasa said immediately, her face red.

Eren objected.

"No. I'll sleep in the couch. Armin will sleep in his own bed and you can sleep on the bed in Armin's grandfather's old room," he said, glancing at the house owner to corroborate that it wasn't a bad idea. At Armin's nod, Eren continued. "That's what we're doing then."

"You can also sleep with me, Eren," Armin said, "like back in the old days. I have a big bed now, that's why I was offering it to you and Mikasa. You wouldn't have to sleep glued to each other or anything like that... I mean, if that's not what you want," he added in a low voice and looked away, as inconspicuously as possible.

Eren could feel the brief weight of the gaze Mikasa gave him, and for an obvious reason, he remembered the damn list again...

The list!

He was flabbergasted thinking that it had spoiled after he fell into the river. That at this point the list must have been undone between his soaked clothes and its ink, run, but soon he remembered he'd kept it in his briefcase before leaving for lunch. An ironic sigh of relief almost escaped his lips. Almost, because it wasn't that the whole subject was too relieving.


A/N: this is the longest chapter I've published til now, over 9k words long. And aw, shit, you've no idea how glad I am of finally "getting rid" of it xD and to give you lots of eremika... since it's very necessary in this dark times *ahem, snk 112, ahem* Just as I wrote on Tumblr, it seemed ironic and funny to me that my chapter 12 is so "nice" compared to the manga's 112.

Most of what I wrote here are things I've been thinking about for a long while and, in fact, this chapter's draft has been done since late November. Just on December 15th I finally managed to finish editing it.

Thanks so much to the only four (4) people that reviewed past chapter: Shofishof26, chicken2222, ajanji14 and Jungianca6!

* I wasn't going to continue translating my fic into English because of the scarce support received in past chapter, but after snk 112 I thought people that still reads this fic deserved something nice anyway, especially the people that did review! I also dedicate this update to everyone that suffered because of the manga and that despite everything are still firm with eremika. Now I ship it in a more hardcore way than before (which is lmao bc I even spent some months without shipping anything in SnK)

I hope you guys enjoyed this update and I wish you say something about it in a review. You don't need to write a review in English if you think you can't express yourself properly. You can write a review using your mother tongue as well, I can always translate!