A/N- As requested, a sequel to my Eremika Fluff Week Day 4 submission "Push and Pull." This one is told through Armin's point of view because we all know he ships it.
XX
A Glimmer in the Distance
"Eren! Mikasa!" Armin called out frantically.
He, along with the rest of the group, had awakened that morning to find the two of them missing. No one had heard them leave the night before, and no one had a clue as to where they might have gone. Ever since dawn, they had searched individually for their missing comrades.
Armin let out a sigh of exhaustion and ignored the irritating feeling of the loose sand moving in his boots. Even though it was 7:00 am and he honestly just wanted to go back to sleep, he was somewhat thankful for peaceful morning walk. If his two best friends hadn't been missing, he never would have gotten to see the sun rising above the ocean.
The sight was breathtaking. The pink and golden light from the rising sun glimmered across the shimmering body of water. The light reflected off the calm morning ripples, dancing in every direction. The cerulean water swirled calmly and peacefully as if it too had just awakened.
Armin stopped walking for a moment and closed his eyes, allowing the morning birds' song and the steady sound of the waves crashing against the shore to lull him into relaxation. He breathed in the scent of the salty ocean water that was carried in the breeze, and he felt his muscles relax at the feeling of the warm sunlight hitting his face. In that moment, he swore he could stay by the ocean forever and be completely content.
He opened his eyes and tore them away from the magnificent sight. Right now, he needed to focus on finding Eren and Mikasa. Then, he could sit down and admire the sunrise.
"Those two lovesick idiots," he mumbled to himself. Still, he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh a little at the two of them. Even if they couldn't, he had always seen that Eren and Mikasa's feelings for each other ran deeper than they understood. After all these years, he was sick of watching them dance around their emotions. So, a few days prior, he had given Eren a slight push in the right direction in hopes that he and Mikasa would finally just admit their undying love for each other.
He shook his head as he trudged through the sand. His boots sunk down with every step, making it somewhat difficult to walk quickly.
"Eren!" He called out again. "Mikasa!"
A large rock formation on the shore was slightly ahead of him. Maybe the two of them were camped out behind it.
Cautiously, he approached the thick, gray slabs of rock and peered around the side. They still weren't completely sure what kind of animals lived out by the ocean, and he most definitely didn't come all this way to get eaten by some creature.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his two friends curled up together on the sand. Eren's back was pressed firmly against the stone and his eyes were closed. From the gentle rise and fall of his chest, Armin could tell that he was still completely asleep. He refrained from laughing at the sight of his best friend's hair sticking out in all directions and the drool trailing from his slightly opened mouth.
Armin's eyes fell to the girl who was tucked in his arms. Her head rested on his torso, and her midnight black hair was splayed across his chest. Her closed eyes fluttered slightly with every slow, gentle breath she took. Armin concluded that she was still asleep as well.
He rolled his eyes, smiling to himself. From the way they were tangled together, it looked like they had finally figured some things out. Maybe they weren't so dense after all.
In any case, the three of them needed to return back to camp immediately. Surely, everyone was growing worried at this point.
"Eren," Armin spoke softly. He tugged at the arm that wasn't wrapped securely around Mikasa and nudged him gently in the shoulder.
"Mmm," Eren moaned, pulling his arm away from Armin.
"Eren!" He called out a little louder. He shook his friend harder.
"Armin," he groaned. He blinked his eyes open and squinted in the morning sunlight. "What's going on? Where am I?"
Armin chuckled slightly as he friend looked around. He retracted the arm that had been around young woman and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Mikasa stirred at the sudden motion and lifted herself up off of him. Groggily, she opened her eyes and looked around with confusion.
"I don't know, Eren," he shrugged, "you two ran off sometime last night, we've been looking for you all morning, and now I've just found you," the young man could feel a smile tugging at his lips. He was going to squeeze every last drop out of this. His two best friends were never going to hear the end of it. "You tell me how you got here. I have no idea."
"Oh," Eren mumbled. His voice was heavy with sleep. "Oh," he repeated when he saw Mikasa lying next to him. His eyes lit up with realization, and Armin could only assume that he was remembering the details of whatever had happened last night.
"We woke up this morning and both of you were gone," Armin explained. "So naturally, we sent out a search party immediately. To be honest, we were all a little worried about you."
"Sorry Armin," Mikasa apologized. She pushed herself up off of the ground and brushed the sand from her dress. "I took a late night walk last night because I couldn't sleep, and I fully intended to come back, but then Eren came and we-"
"Spare the details," Armin interrupted. He held his hands out, trying to hide the knowing smile that was spreading across his face. "I don't even wanna know. I'm just glad I found you both fully clothed to be honest."
"Armin!"
He laughed, reaching a hand down to help his friend stand up. Both of them were blushing, and though he was amused, Armin couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret for making them feel so embarrassed.
Yet, he couldn't help but feel like something between them was different now.
XX
"So are you going to tell me what happened, or am I going to have to make assumptions?" Armin asked as the three of them walked along the shore on their way back to camp.
"I thought you didn't even wanna know," Eren shot back grumpily. For as long as Armin could remember, his best friend had never been a morning person.
"I changed my mind," Armin answered. "I was really just teasing you to be honest."
From the way Eren's hand shot up to scratch the back of his neck and the way his gaze fell downward, Armin could tell he was withholding something.
"Why do you have to make this so difficult, Eren?" He thought to himself. "It really doesn't have to be…maybe I just need to be more direct with my questions."
He glanced back at his two friends, who were now walking side by side a few steps behind him. Evidently, they weren't in any hurry to get back. Or they were just avoiding answering his question.
"Listen," he tried again. He stopped walking and turned around to face them, "have you two confessed your feelings for each other or not? Because if you haven't, I'm going to confess your feelings for each other right here and now."
If he wasn't so frustrated, he might have laughed at their faces. They both looked so startled. Mikasa's face was tinted almost the exact same shade of red as the scarf she was now pulling up over her face, and Eren's was now buried in his hands. For a moment, no one said a word.
"Well Armin," Mikasa muttered quietly, "I guess you should be the first to know anyway."
"We're…umm…we're getting married." Eren stumbled, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck again.
"Hmm," Armin hummed happily, "I'm glad to hear it." He trudged over to give his two best friends a pat on the back before pulling them into a group hug. "Congratulations guys. I'm so happy for you! And I'm thrilled that you've finally realized how you feel about each other," he continued. "I mean, I've just been waiting years for you two to finally just-"
"Armin," Eren interrupted. The young blonde man smirked at the embarrassment shimmering in his friend's blue-green eyes.
"Okay, okay," he laughed, "I'll stop teasing now. I promise. But honestly there's no reason to be so embarrassed."
"Well you're the one who made it so embarrassing, Armin," Eren snapped.
"It's still so new," Mikasa added quietly, "and to be honestly, I don't really want everyone to make a big deal out of it."
"Mikasa," Armin laughed, "you're gonna have to tell everyone eventually, and you know they're gonna make a big deal out it!" He shook his head. The three turned a corner, and their camp came into view. "I say you just get it out there now and get it over with."
It appeared that their friends had caught sight of them as they were frantically pointing and running toward them.
"Look! It's Eren and Mikasa!"
"Thank God! They're okay!"
"Armin found them!"
"Oh god," Eren muttered under his breath. "I think I'd rather take on the titans right now."
"Eren," Armin whispered, shoving his shoulder. "Just explain everything now and get it over with."
The three of them were now face to face with the rest of their former squad. Jean, Sasha, Connie, Historia, and Levi were all in front of them and panting slightly from the run over to them.
"Where have you been?!" Sasha asked frantically. "We've been looking for you guys all morning!"
"Yes, Eren," Levi prompted. He pushed his way in front of the others and folded his arms across his chest. "Do tell us where you and Miss Ackerman have been."
"Well…" he began hesitantly.
Armin sighed and rolled his eyes. Eren and Mikasa had been hiding behind him since they had reached their beach. Forcefully, he shoved the two of them in front of him and gave them both an encouraging pat on the back.
Eren took in a deep breath. "I woke up last night and realized Mikasa was gone, so I went on a little midnight walk to find her, and we ended up talking and…stuff."
"Stuff?" Jean scowled.
"Wait! No…we just-"
"I swear to God, Jaeger," Levi interrupted, "if you get her pregnant on this trip I will make it a personal goal of mine to rip off your-"
"No! Wait!" he shouted. Armin watched in amusement as Eren threw his hands up in defense. It shouldn't have been funny to watch his best friend struggle like this, but somehow, it was. Surely, Eren would look back on this and laugh in a few years anyway.
"What I am trying to say," he breathed out shakily, "is that Mikasa and I have decided to get married."
Immediately, the small group, apart from Jean and Levi, broke out into cheers.
"Yay!"Sasha threw her arms around Mikasa's neck.
"Congratulations guys! I'm so happy for you!" Historia smiled.
"So…" Connie began, "she is pregnant then?"
"No!"
Armin smiled as he quietly backed away from the lively group. It felt amazing to see everyone so happy and carefree, but now that his job was done, he just wanted to slip away from the excitement and catch that gorgeous sunrise.
He pulled off his boots before plopping down on the soft white sand and gazing out across the water.
This was all so crazy. A few months ago, this had all just seemed like a glimmer in the distance. Like the rising sunlight shimmering on the horizon, it seemed so out of reach. Yet, now here they were. Standing alongside the ocean and filled with happiness and love. It certainly was a nice change.
He closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of his friends chatting excitingly about wedding plans. Something that seemed so trivial compared to everything they've been through. Considering what they had to do to make it this far, considering what they had seen, Armin wasn't even quite sure if they deserved this kind of happiness. Yet, he was more than willing to push those thoughts away if it meant living like this for the rest of his life.
"No! No one is pregnant Connie!" Someone, probably Eren, yelled in the distance.
"Yeah," Armin smiled, "I could get used to this."
XX
Sorry if this one's really cheesy. There is literally no way to do this prompt without it being a little bit cheesy. Though it seems like the overly fluffy/happy stories seem to be you guys' favorites.
Thank you all for reading and for your feedback!
-Eremika