Chapter 9: Tik Tok Here's The Watch
CreatorX-501: Tragedies happen all the time to these two in the actual show so why not have it happen here. And you are very correct on how I'm going to use that.
It'sMeHereAgain: Thank you. And it's not stressful for me to type these chapters. I really enjoy it and I love hearing what you guys say about them. Thanks for worrying about my well-being though :)
Nathan Matheny: Aww that's awesome man. I love hearing that I made people's day or nights just by having me type some words. It really brings joy to my heart to hear that.
This first part of this chapter will be happening at the same time that Eren was taking Mikasa home.
After Eren turned and walked away with Mikasa in his arms, Armin had the task with bringing Sasha home safely.
"Umm...Sasha? Do you want to tell me where your house is?" said Armin nervously trying to help Sasha walk without stumbling. "Yeah...Yeahhhh...Its...Uh…" Sasha stumbled over her words while giggling. She pointed down the street in between giggles. 'O-over there?" Armin said unsure.
Sasha nodded and they began to walk. "You know thank *hiccup* thank you, Armin. You're a really sweet boy." said Sasha as she rubbed Armin's arm. Armin blushed a little and got a little uncomfortable, "You're welcome."
Sasha giggled when she heard the nervousness in his voice. "You should be more confident. *hiccup* Girls like more confident guys." Sasha said smiling at Armin's face. Armin began to squirm under her eyes and could only nod not knowing how to respond to that.
They were heading down a residential area and in the middle of the street Sasha finally pointed towards a house. "That ones mine. Right there." she said waving her finger towards a blue little house. There were no cars parked outside. "Is there anyone home?" Armin said noticing that no lights were on either.
"Oh oh." Sasha started with a flame in her eyes, "If you're implying that you want to come in, then be my guest big guy."
Armin blushed madly at this and he said "No, no. It-it's not like that. I was just asking because I want to know if you'll be ok alone." He was now sweating from the uncomfortableness of the situation. "Haha, Ok if you say so. I'll be alright by myself, I'm allllllllll good." Sasha said with a toothy grin.
She then let go of Armin's arm and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "Thank you for the walk home. The offer is still on the table to come inside." she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Armin was as red as a tomato at this point, "It's fine Sasha, just uh...just get some rest." He then turned around and headed home trying to get away from the situation as fast as possible.
Sasha smiled as she opened the door and went to her room. Crashing on her bed and was probably going to forget how she got home in the morning, along with a headache.
XXXXX
"*cough cough* Hey Eren wake up my boy." said a very hoarse Pyxis. He tapped Eren on the shoulder as he suddenly had a coughing fit. Eren woke up to this and sat up when he saw Pyxis. "Oi! Pyxis, you alright there?" Eren asked as he rubbed his eyes.
"Yes, I'm fine my boy. Just a little cough. Merry Christmas Eve, Eren." Pyxis said with a big smile. He was holding a tiny little box. Eren was now fully awake as he stared at the box curiously. Pyxis finally said, "Go on. Take it, it is for you after all."
Eren took the box and slowly unwrapped it. He opened the box and saw a gold watch. It was beautiful, it seemed to be hand crafted and had a nice leather band. Eren looked up at Pyxis and said very gratefully, "Thank you Pyxis. This is beautiful. It must have costed you a fortune."
Pyxis chuckled and replied, "Actually it didn't cost me penny." Eren looked at him with an interested look and gave him a nod to let him explain. "It was my father's. He passed it down to me when he died. It's one of the few things that I have left from him." Eren looked at him wide eyed but before he could say anything Pyxis continued to talk, "His father made this by hand. It means a lot to my family and for tradition we have passed it down to our own sons. But for me not having kids and wanting to run an orphanage, well let's just say I didn't think I would ever get a chance to pass it down."
"I don't understand though. Why would you give it to me, and at this time?" Eren asked curiously. Pyxis again gave a little laugh, "Well, because my boy, you are like a son to me. And I want you to have this to remember that you do have a family, Me and the boys here, We are your family."
Eren felt a tear escape his eye and he hugged Pyxis tightly. Pyxis hugged him back but they soon broke apart as Pyxis had a coughing fit. "Do you need some water?" Eren asked worriedly. "Yes, please, I would very much appreciate that." Eren hurried out of the room towards the kitchen.
Pyxis coughs a little more but his coughing fit dies down and he hears the phone next to him ring. He picks it up and says, "Hello, Mr. Pyxis here." On the other line he heard a feminine voice, "Hello Mr. Pyxis, It's me Vere."
"Oh, why hello there Mrs. Ackerman. What do I owe the pleasure of this call to." Pyxis said in a cheerful voice. Vere laughed and said, "Well Mikasa and I were wondering if you and Eren would like to come over for a Christmas dinner. I think it would be a good experience for me to actually get to talk to the boy without having him running off."
Pyxis chuckled but then started coughing again, "I may not be able to do it but I believe Eren will be free." Vere then said, "Are you sure? I would love to meet you in person."
"Yea. I'm not as young as I used to be." Pyxis said with a small smile. Eren then walked into the room with a small glass of water. "So what time would you like him there?" Pyxis said on the phone. Vere answered, "6 would be wonderful." "Alright, 6 it is. I'll inform him." Pyxis said looking at Eren with a smile.
"Alright, goodbye Mr. Pyxis." Vere said as she hung up the phone. "Who was that?" asked Eren as he handed the drink to Pyxis. Pyxis took a gulp of it and then answered, "You are going to go to have dinner with the Ackermans tonight." Eren was shocked and then finally replied, "What?! Why?! I don't want to. What if I have plans for tonight, huh."
Pyxis gave him a laugh at how shook up Eren was about this, "Because I said so and what plans do you have other than spending all day coped up in this tiny room." Eren tried to think of something to say but Pyxis cut him off, "Just...just do it for me please." Pyxis had softer eyes and a warm smile. Eren sighed and said, "Fine. I'll go but I'm not going to enjoy it."
Pyxis smiled and got up. He left the room and headed down to where all the rest of the kids were. Eren smiled as the old man left and he went and grabbed the box with the watch in it. He put it on. Pyxis on the outside of the door was moving slower than ever. He's glad that he gave Eren that. And he's also glad that Eren didn't understand why he gave him it, it will be easier if he just didn't know.
XXXXX
Eren had gotten dressed in the best clothes he could fine. He then said bye to Armin and Pyxis as he exited the door. He was very nervous and a little excited even though he would never admit that to anyone.
Meanwhile at the Ackerman household
Mikasa was helping her mom with setting the table. "Mom, why did you have to invite Eren to our Christmas Eve dinner?" Mikasa said annoyed. "Because, sweetie, he was a very nice boy when I met him. And I want to talk to him more." Vere said smirking. Mikasa had woken up this morning with a headache and not remembering how she got home that well. Mikasa put the silverware on to the table.
Mikasa was confused by what her mom had just said, "What do you mean, 'when I met him'?" Vere gave a slight laugh and simply replied, "Because he brought you home last night after you got into a little 'trouble'." Mikasa's jaw dropped as the memories of Eren punching the guy at the bar and then taking her home.
Vere saw the look on Mikasa's face and was very amused, "So I'm guessing you are just now remembering what happened?" Mikasa slowly nodded and expected her mom to scold her but her mom simply said as she put some plates on the table., "You're lucky that he brought you home, you know. He seems to care about you a lot instead of taking advantage of you when you were in that vulnerable state."
"MOM!" Mikasa yelled embarrassed. "Stop whining and put this on the middle of the table." Vere had made pasta with garlic bread for dinner. Mikasa put all the food on the table. When they heard a knock on the door. "Mikasa go get it. It's probably Eren." Vere said as she dusted herself off.
Mikasa made her way to the door and opened it and was met by a very nervous looking Eren. She examined how he looked. He was dressed in slacks, with a button up long-sleeve shirt and had nice black shoes. Eren gave a slight cough, "Um...Is it okay if I come in?" Eren was looking too because he saw that she was wearing the scarf.
Mikasa then realized that she was staring for quite a while and said, "Yeah. Sure come on in." Eren walked in and said, "Sorry if this is a little over doing it, It's the only nice clothes I have." Vere looked at him and said with a smile, "That's fine dear. You look wonderful. Here, take a seat." She pulled out a chair and had him sit down.
They began to eat having a little conversation for about 20 or so minutes. Vere sensed tension in the room between the two 17 year olds, they haven't talked directly to one another without Vere starting the conversation. What she didn't know was that those two haven't had any closure with the whole roof thing with Annie. Vere tried to break the tension. "So Eren. Have you thought about college or your future?" Vere said taking a sip of water from her glass.
Eren swallowed the piece of pasta he was eating and replied, "I was thinking of staying with Pyxis and help him run the place." Vere then replied with a smile, "Wow, isn't that just wonderful of you to do that." Mikasa sat there not sure what they were talking about. She noticed that Eren seemed to be more cryptic about the topic and her mom didn't seem to notice that he didn't want to discuss it.
"You know Mikasa here, wants to be a teacher when she grows up." Vere said pleasantly. Eren looked at Mikasa with a cocked eyebrow. Mikasa then butted in, "Mom. I haven't wanted to be a teacher since middle school. I actually haven't thought of what I would want to be."
Eren's phone started to buzz. "Oh sorry about that. It's just Armin, I'll call him back later." Eren declined the call and put the phone in his pocket. "You know Armin? That kid is one of the smartest people I know." Mikasa said finally talking directly to Eren." Eren smiled and replied, "Yea the kid is a nice kid. Very innocent and kind."
Eren then felt his phone buzz again. He checked it and it was a text from Armin. It said 'Pick up your phone. It's an emergency.' Eren looked at the phone perplexed and then looked to Vere, "Do you mind if I answer this actually?" Vere smiled and said, "No not at all."
Eren then called Armin back and Armin answered immediately. "EREN! Where are you?!" Armin yelled into the phone. "I told you I was going out for dinner. Why? What's wrong?" Eren asked concerned. There was sobbing on the other side of the call. Armin then finally answered, "It-It's Mr. Pyxis. H-He's in the hospital. He just collapsed on the floor and we called 911. The ambulance took him about 5 minutes ago. They wouldn't let any of us come with."
Eren froze. Fear filling his eyes. Mikasa and her mom noticed this and shared a worried look. "I'll be right there at the hospital." Eren said emotionless. He hung up and stood from his seat. He looked at Vere and said, "Pyxis is in the hospital. I-I have to go."
Vere covered her mouth in surprise. Eren was about to run out the door but Vere stopped him, "Let me give you a ride to the hospital. It will be quicker." Eren nodded and they got ready to leave. Mikaa wasn't sure what was happening because she still didn't know who Pyxis was to Eren.
They got into the car and sped there way to the hospital. Eren quickly hopped out of the car and made a run to the entrance. Mikasa saw him take off and then looked to her mother as she soon followed. "Mom, Who's this Pyxis guy?" Mikasa asked as she followed her mother into the building.
"It's the guy that runs Eren's orphanage." Vere said in between breaths as they chased Eren. Mikasa looked at her mom with a shocked expression, "Wait. Eren's a...an orphan?" Vere gave her a look and said, "You didn't know that? He never told you?" Mikasa looked at her surprised, "Whenever I would try to talk about his parents to him, he would change the subject." Vere nodded not knowing if she should have told her that.
They made it to the front counter where Eren was yelling at the front desk lady. "What room is Pyxis in?!" Eren screamed hysterically at the poor nice lady. "Calm down sir, give me a second to pull it up...It's room 201 on your left." Eren bolted towards the room as Mikasa followed. "Wait kid you need to sign in!" the lady said from the desk. Vere went over to her to take care of it as Mikasa continued to follow Eren.
Mikasa caught up with Eren and they were running side by side together to the room. Eren opened up the room to see a doctor hooking up tubes to Pyxis' arm. "Hello is there something that I can do for you?" the doctor asked as he saw the two kids. "Is he going to be alright? What's wrong with him?" Eren asked hysterically.
"Hey kid. Calm down. He's unconscious right now. He had a mini heart attack from a blood clot in his main artery leading to his heart. We will need to do surgery to give some relief to his heart. But were filled on operating rooms. So the best thing we can do is to shrink the clot with some blood thinners." the doctor explained to Eren.
Eren nodded taking in all the information. He then looked at the watch on his wrist. It all made sense now. He told me that the watch was given to each one of their sons when the father has died. He gave me it basically telling me that I was a son to him and that he wasn't going to be around long...
"Here, I'll leave you two alone." the doctor said as he left, closing the door behind him. Eren went to the side of his bed. He gripped his hand and let a tear escape. Mikasa didn't know what exactly to do so she went to Eren's side and grabbed his free hand and put it in hers.
Vere then walked in and saw this from the door. She was going to go comfort him but saw her daughter already trying. She wanted her daughter to rebuild her connection with Eren. So she left knowing that she could trust Eren with her daughter and that she will be safe with him. Plus she knows he needs someone.
Eren faced Mikasa with tears in his eyes. He was in pain, Mikasa saw this. Mikasa then spoke softly, "I'm sorry Eren. For what Annie said, It wasn't true. I just want to say...thank you for giving me this scarf and bringing me home last night. I care about you and I want you to know that I'm here for you." Eren didn't hold the tears back when he heard her say this. He didn't care anymore if he didn't believe her or not. He needed a friend right now. He needed someone to hold.
He went and wrapped his arms around her. He brought her into full embrace. She hugged him back and they both stayed like that for what seemed like hours. It was as if they were never apart. As if they were two pieces that fit perfectly together.
Wow this was one of my favorite chapters to type. I had the key points planned for a while but wasn't sure how I was going to execute it. I like how this turned out and I hope you guys do to. See you guys in the next chapter which will probably be posted this weekend because I am going to be so busy with school and work. Also can someone please tell me how the communities work because I would love to put this story on one.