Chapter Eleven
Armin couldn't believe how quickly the week went by, and suddenly it was Saturday. His birthday. Grandfather woke him up with breakfast in bed. "Awwwe, you didn't have to, Grandfather." Armin beamed, looking at the pancakes shaped like the number 16.
"It's a tradition. I've done it every birthday for the past 10 years now." Grandfather ruffled Armin's hair. "Now eat up. Your friends are going to be here in T-minus 5 and a half hours, and we have some serious decorating to do." Armin just shook his head and dug into his breakfast.
Two hours later, Armin was standing on a ladder hanging up streamers when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" He called, hopping down and moving to open the door. "Good morning, Mikasa!" He grinned, stepping aside to let her in the house. "Where's Eren? Don't tell me he's still asleep." He said, closing the door behind her and checking his watch.
"No, he's awake. He's on his way to the mall."
Armin stared at her. "He forgot a present, didn't he?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face.
"Yes, he did."
Armin shook his head. "Typical Eren. Here, let me get your coat."
Mikasa pulled a small wrapped package out of her pocket before taking her coat off. "Happy Birthday, Armin!" she said, holding it out to him.
"Thank you, Mikasa." He said, leaning closer and kissing her softly.
Of course, the moment was ruined by the appearance of Grandfather. "Oh, Mikasa's here. Well, I'm putting you to work, young lady."
Mikasa took a step back and smiled. "I didn't expect anything else." Armin took the present and coat out of her hands before she followed Grandfather back to the kitchen. He quickly hung her coat up in the hall closet and put her present on the coffee table before returning to his streamers. Another hour passed before there was a knock on the door. Armin folded up the ladder and headed towards the door.
"Is that Eren?" Grandfather called from the kitchen.
"Presumably! I don't know who else would show up two hours early." He called back before opening the door. "Hey, Eren."
Eren smiled at him. "Hey, Armin." He turned and waved to a car parked on the curb.
Armin raised his own hand as the car window rolled down. "Hi, Mrs. Jaeger!"
"Happy birthday, Armin! I hope you have a fun party!" She called back from the car.
He smiled brightly at her. "Thank you!"
"And Eren has a present from Mr. Jaeger and me!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Jaeger. Say thank you to Mr. Jaeger for me!"
"I will! You kids have fun! Eren, I expect you home at some point tomorrow. You don't live at Armin's!"
"Yes, Mom. Bye Mom!" Eren huffed.
"Bye, Mrs. Jaeger." Armin waved. She rolled up the window and drove off. "She's driving in the opposite direction of your house."
"Yeah, she said she's having some Mommy time, which I assume means she's going to the salon or something." Eren shrugged as Armin stepped aside to let him in the house.
"I'll take these." Armin said, taking the presents from Eren. "Your coat can go in the closet."
"What about shoes?" Eren asked as he shrugged off his jacket.
"Haven't figured that out yet." Armin placed the presents on the coffee table next to Mikasa's. "Grandfather, where are we putting shoes?"
"Put them along the wall in the living room! They'll be out of the way, but still accessible."
"Right!"
"And hello, Eren!"
"Hello sir!" Eren called back, kicking off his shows in the designated spot. "I bet Mikasa still has her shoes on."
"100% . Come on, let's go upstairs. If I have to look at another streamer, I'm cancelling this party."
"Then, let's go." The two boys left the living room and took off upstairs.
"Where are you two going? You're not done down here!"
"I'm cleaning up my room!" he called back before leading the way into his bedroom.
"Oh, you actually need to clean up in here." Eren said, looking around.
"Yeah. I left it messy as an excuse to escape upstairs at some point." Armin replied, stooping down to collect some dirty laundry and put it in the hamper.
Eren crossed the room and set about collecting Armin's scattered school things and depositing them into his backpack. "You still don't have a desk in here?"
"I like doing my school work at the table. Easy access to the food." He shrugged as he stashed all of his shoes back in the closet. "And besides, it's not like having a desk in your room has magically increased your homework productivity."
"Did the two of you seriously ditch me downstairs so you could come up here and talk about homework?" Both boys whirled around to see Mikasa standing in the doorway.
"No." Armin said quickly.
"Yes." Eren said with a grin.
"Well, if anyone gets first dibs to slack off, it's me." Mikasa said, flopping onto Armin's bed. "Since I actually showed up on time instead of needing Mommy to take me shopping."
"Actually, I feel like I should get first dibs since I've been working since long before EITHER of you showed up." Armin shooed Mikasa off his bed so that he could make it.
"Yeah, but it's your house." Eren said as he dumped the last of Armin's wash into the hamper.
"It's also my birthday." Armin replied, taking one last look around the room. "Okay, we're done in here. Get out."
"How's the bathroom?" Mikasa asked as they all stepped into the hallway.
"That's fine. Grandfather cleaned it yesterday." Armin said before leading the way back downstairs.
Grandfather was waiting for them at the bottom. "Room clean?"
"Yes."
"Clean to my standards?"
"Yes. And if you're about to tell me to go hang streamers in there, I'm leaving Eren in the kitchen with you."
Grandfather let out a mock gasp. "You're a cruel grandson." He exclaimed, clutching his chest.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll be in the living room." Armin rolled his eyes before brushing past Grandfather and moving back down the hall and into the living room. Mikasa and Eren trailed behind.
"So, what's the plan in here?" Eren asked.
"Well, I'm trying to figure out how to arrange it. Grandfather has six folding chairs, so plus the arm chair, that's seven. Which leaves five people, who could all fit on the couch if we put the small people."
"So, you, Historia, Connie…" Mikasa's voice trailed off as she seemed lost in thought.
"Well, Historia will probably be on Ymir's lap." Eren added. "And then I guess one of us can sit on one of the arms."
"Or Armin could sit on your lap." Mikasa said. Both boys stared at her. Her expression didn't change, but there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
Armin's gaze flicked between Eren and Mikasa. They both just stared silently at each other. Finally, Eren spoke up. "We can work that out later."
"Wait, are you seriously considering it?" Armin stared at Eren, his mouth slightly agape.
"I said we'll work it out later." Eren repeated.
Armin just shook his head. "Help me push the couch back."
After moving the couch, Mikasa looked at him. "Do you want to move the arm chair?"
"Um, I think it's okay there." Armin ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of what all still needed to be done. "Okay, I gotta take the ladder downstairs to the basement, and bring the chairs up."
"Give it to me." Eren seized the ladder before Armin could even reach for it. His friends had developed a habit of seeing Armin as weak, and thinking him unable of doing things. He couldn't blame them. When he was little, he HAD been incredibly small and weak.
"I could have got it. It's not like I was the one who brought it upstairs in the first place or anything." He muttered as Eren vanished into the hall with the ladder.
"Just let him go." Mikasa said, coming over to stand beside him. "At least he's doing something."
Armin turned to look at her, a smile on his face. "Come on. Let's go get those chairs before Eren wrecks the basement and Grandfather strangles him."
They finished setting up without incident and after a couple of hours, other guests began to arrive. The first was Marco, which was in character for him. Armin could tell Grandfather liked Marco. Shortly after, Historia arrived with Ymir in tow. As Eren predicted, Ymir plopped down on the couch, with Historia half on her lap, half on the arm of the couch. It took another fifteen minutes for the next guest, Jean, to arrive. Then they started to come rapid fire. Connie, then Sasha. Reiner and Bertolt showed up together. Finally, Annie arrived at the door, seeming out of breath. "Sorry. Got off at the wrong bus stop." She said, stepping inside.
"It's fine. I can take your coat." Armin said.
"Oh, thanks." She shrugged it off and handed it to him.
"And who is this young lady?" Grandfather appeared behind Armin.
"This is Annie. Annie, this is my grandfather."
"Lovely to meet you, Annie." Grandfather said, taking the coat out of Armin's hands and opening up the hall closet. "All your friends are just through that doorway there."
"Where can I put this?" She asked, holding up a present.
"There's a table in there. You'll see all the others." Grandfather answered as he hung up her coat.
"Right. Thanks." Annie nodded her head and went into the living room.
"So, Armin, that's the girl who-"
"No. Shut up. We're not talking about this. Not right now. Not today." Armin cut Grandfather off. "But yes." He added quickly.
"Okay then. I have concerns about how you're going to fit 12 people in your bedroom, if that's still something you're planning."
"I'll manage." Armin said with a shrug. "I'm going into my party now."
"Alright. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. Dinner should be ready in about an hour."
"Right." Armin headed into the living room, trying to decide how he was going to keep them entertained until the food was ready. Upon entering, he noticed how everyone had arranged themselves. Reiner had claimed the arm chair for himself. Bertolt, Annie, Sasha, Connie, Marco, and Eren were all in the folding chairs. So much for sitting on Eren's lap. Ymir and Historia were how he had left them. Mikasa was on the other side of the couch, with Jean sitting next to her on the arm. This left the middle seat open. "Jean, you don't have to sit up there. Take the seat, I can sit on the arm."
"No, you don't. We had a discussion about this. It's your birthday, you get a real seat." Jean replied.
"I told you all that he'd argue." Eren chimed in.
"Just sit down, Armin." Mikasa patted the seat next to her.
As he sat down, Armin wondered if Mikasa had fought for that seat. "Okay, so what-"
"We thought you could open your presents." Historia chirped.
"I wasn't gone that long. How did you all manage to come to so many decisions?" He looked at them all incredulously.
"There actually wasn't much discussion." Marco started.
"Mikasa told us all what was happening and the rest of us were either too scared or too apathetic to argue." Reiner finished.
Armin just turned to look at her. It all made sense now. "So, are you in charge of this party, then?" He asked with a grin on his face.
"Yes." She answered simply.
"I'm okay with that." Armin said with a shrug of the shoulders. "Do you want to pick which present I open first?" He gestured to the pile on the coffee table. Armin had to admit, he was shocked but delighted at the amount of presents he had been given. He wasn't sure he had ever received so many presents for his birthday.
"How about this one?" She grabbed the one nearest to her and handed it to him.
Armin read the card attached. "This one is from Historia and Ymir, which I think means Ymir pitched in money and then had no further dealings with it." He looked over at the two girls sitting next to him.
"You would be correct.' Ymir snapped her fingers and shot him finger guns. That made Armin laugh.
"Open it!" Historia giggled. "I hope you like it."
Armin unwrapped the paper to find a box. He opened that to find a dark grey sweater, neatly folded up. "Thank you, Historia!"
"Happy birthday, Armin!" She smiled, leaning over and hugging him.
"Yeah, happy birthday, kid." Ymir said, punching him lightly on the shoulder after Historia pulled away.
"Thanks, Ymir." He smiled at her.
Mikasa had picked up the wrapping paper and handed it to Jean, who had apparently been put in charge of the garbage. "Give me that, and you take this." Mikasa took the box with the sweater and handed him a present in a bag.
"This one is from Jean." Armin said, reading the card.
"Hang on. That's too nicely wrapped for Jean. Did your mommy wrap it?" Eren asked.
"No!" Jean exclaimed. Everyone looked at him and he looked down at the floor before saying in a soft voice, "The lady at the store did." That had everyone cracking up. Armin felt a pang of sympathy as he watched the other boy's face flush red. He decided to help him out a little bit.
"You know, Eren, the wrapping on your present if awfully similar to the wrapping on the one from your mom." Eren's mouth dropped open as the room erupted in laughter.
"That was a good one. High five." Ymir proclaimed, holding up her hand. Armin gave her a high five.
"Why don't you open the present?" Mikasa asked.
"Leave it to Mikasa to try and get us back on track." Connie smirked. It faded quickly as Mikasa shot him one of her cold looks.
Armin decided it was best to open the present before someone got smacked. He pulled the tissue paper out, which Mikasa promptly took. He reached into the bag and pulled out a book on the ocean, full of illustrations an photographs. "Thank you, Jean!" He said, looking up at Jean and beaming.
Jean leaned around Mikasa and ruffled Armin's hair. "Happy birthday."
Armin settled into opening presents. A fountain pen from Bertolt. A fancy notebook from Marco. A day planner from Sasha. A DND related shirt from Connie. A video game from Eren. A novel from Reiner. A hat and gloves set from the Jaegers. The next present Mikasa gave him, he set off to the side. "What's wrong with that one?" Historia asked, watching him closely.
"Oh, it's from my grandfather. I'll open it later." Armin tried to shrug it off. Grandfather had a habit of giving him really sentimental things, and Armin wasn't trying to cry in front of all of his friends. He focused his attention on Mikasa, who seemed to be deciding if she wanted her own or Annie's present to be opened last. Evidently she decided on her own as she grabbed Annie's present next and handed it to him. "This one's from Annie." He said, before unwrapping it to find a mug inside. "Thanks, Annie."
"Of course. Happy birthday." She smiled at him.
Armin felt Mikasa shift next to him. She didn't seem to like how Annie was looking at him. He decided to cut off that tension. "One more present. I wonder who it could be from." He smirked at Mikasa as he leaned forward and grabbed it. She seemed to settle down as he unwrapped it. "A new watch. Thank you, Mikasa." He gave her a bright smile, which she returned.
Just then, Grandfather walked into the room. "Food is ready in the kitchen if any of you are hungry."
Immediately, everyone's eyes shot to Sasha, who was already standing. "Which way is the kitchen?"
"I'll lead the way." Eren said, standing up. He walked out of the room with Sasha and Connie behind him.
"We'd better get in there if we want any food." Reiner smirked, rising to his feet. Annie, Bertolt, Marco, and Jean all followed him out of the room. Historia climbed to her feet, allowing Ymir to get up. The tiny blonde seemed like she wanted to stay, but her girlfriend pulled her from the room.
Mikasa reached over and pulled the watch out of the box. "Read the back."
Armin took it and flipped it over. Inscribed on the back were the words, 'To a best friend who dreams of the sea. May we journey there together. -M' He looked up at her. "I don't even know what to say."
"Put it on."
Armin quickly took off his old watch and put on the new one. "I should open Grandfather's present." As he reached down for it, he saw Mikasa put his old watch on her wrist. He couldn't help but smile. He unwrapped the present to find a picture frame. Inside it was a photo Armin had never seen before, though he recognized the people in it immediately. Standing in front of this very house was his mother, young and beautiful, and his father, strong and full of life. And there in his father's arms, was tiny Armin himself.
"Oh." Mikasa said softly.
"I took that the last time you three came to visit." Grandfather said.
Armin set the photo down, rose to his feet and hugged Grandfather tightly. "Thank you." He whispered.
"Awwwe." Historia exclaimed from the doorway.
"Alright. Moment's ruined. I'm going to get food now. Come on, Mikasa." Armin said, pulling away. He playfully grabbed Historia by the shoulders and spun her around. "You move it."
Historia just giggled. "You're so cute with your grandfather!"
"Just move it!" he playfully pushed her forward towards the kitchen.
