Flapping Of Wings
Summary: Random bonus scenes from It Takes Two Wings To Fly, mostly from the moment Eren and Levi reunited onward. Fluff, fun, slight non graphic smut, occasional angst, short. Not in chronological order.
19. Tourists
"... I think we have the wrong town," a man holding a map said as he and his family got out of a car in the reforming Jägerstadt, looking around to find the imposing and very much should-be-noticeable Glass Tower that was the main attraction of the town.
"We followed the directions to the letter," argued the eldest son, a boy in his late teens.
"Maybe they ripped us off with the map," said his younger sister, causing the mother to sigh as she held onto an excitable five year old boy by the hand so he wouldn't run off somewhere on his own.
"Excuse me, can you help us?" The father asked a tall brunet passing by. The man paused, turning to face them with an eagle on his shoulder, a small smile on his lips that had the daughter swooning, especially when they saw his eyes.
"Yes?"
"Uhm, is this the old capital of the old Eldian Empire? We've been recommended it as a tourist spot some time ago and we finally decide to visit, but it's pretty hard to get here and there's no Glass Tower to guide the way like everyone says ... "
"Oh, yeah, it is. The Glass Tower, though, collapsed last year due to unforeseen circumstances that were out of our control."
"So ... what is there to see around here now?" Asked the teenaged son, crossing his arms, already looking bored out of his mind.
The brunet man hummed in thought. "Well, this place isn't really a tourist attraction anymore. I mean, half of the people here have decided to join in on the hunting and exploring the forest groups. If you're interested, I think they still do tours around the town and even some hunting grounds tours."
"Would you be our guide?" The daughter asked with stars in her eyes and the man shook his head.
"I'm not the best at such things and I was on my way to do something. If you still can't find a tour guide, then maybe later," he said with a shrug before smiling at them again and waving. "I really have to go. There's someone waiting for me and they don't like tardiness."
"Well, the locals seem friendly enough," the mother mused.
"And hot," cheered the daughter.
Her brother rolled his eyes. "So are we staying or are we driving back already?"
"But I want to see the Glass Tower!" Complained the youngest of the children, looking on the verge of a tantrum.
"It's not there anymore, sweetheart. We can't help it," consoled the mother. "It probably collapsed due to an earthquake or something. We can't see what's not there anymore."
"Actually, according to this," the father said as he pointed at a board standing near an inn not too far away from where they had parked. "The base of the tower still remains and there are, apparently, some newer attractions as well."
"But they said they were a hunting town, now," argued the boy. "Why would they get new attractions if they were going to focus on hunting?"
"Because we didn't immediately decide to stop the tourism after the day the Glass Tower fell," said a new voice and they all turned to a freckled local boy that was walking around with a huge hunting dog. "And, well, they're not really tourist attractions, more like memorials of what happened that day and of how our village was saved from a dangerous forest menace."
"Is this place dangerous?" The mother asked, suddenly very worried and trying to keep track of all three of her children at once.
The boy shrugged. "In general, it's no more dangerous than any other place in the middle of a huge forest, thanks to our Hunters. However, there can be bad days. Usually, we manage to keep the menaces out of town, but one or two have managed to get all the way to the borders. No worries, though! Even if it were to come to that during your stay, you won't be in danger as long as you follow instructions! We have evacuation plans and everything in place to ensure the safety of our citizens."
That didn't exactly reassure the mother but she nodded, anyway.
"Anyways, if you guys want to stay, I recommend that inn. They have the best hotpot in town and their cleanliness standards are through the roof," the boy said with amusement as he pointed to the inn where the board with the attractions is. "Just don't purposefully drag too much dirt in and don't flirt with the man with the undercut and you'll be fine."
"Why would we flirt with a man with an undercut?" Asked the eldest brother with a snort and the boy rolled his eyes.
"I guess you'll find out, but just remember to heed my warning. His partner has ... an explosive temper and anger issues to match. Anyways, I gotta go! Gotta return Mike from his wash and feed my mentor's other animals. I hope I'll see you around. And I seriously hope you don't flirt with the man with the undercut!" With that, he ran off, leaving the family with nothing better to do than go to the inn and ask around for a tour guide. Much to the daughter's disappointment, they didn't run into the brunet from earlier, but they did see all the new attractions and the remains of the Glass Tower. They had to admit that they were having a lot of fun and were glad to have come to the town, as they were still experts at tourism even if they were no longer actively doing only that. They had even booked a hunting tour for the next day, though the daughter wasn't as fond of the early hour they would have to wake up for it.
When they went back to the inn for dinner, they finally understood why the freckled boy had thought they'd want to flirt with the man with the undercut. The daughter was already swooning and even the mother had to agree he was handsome. The brunet from earlier had been, too, but this man had a sort of maturity to him despite how young his features made him look.
"Well, hot damn," muttered the son with a wolf-whistle, which drew the attention of the inn keeper and a few of the patrons present. They all either rolled their eyes or groaned in apparent misery as they realized what was happening. The freckled boy from earlier was with the man and facepalmed. "I wouldn't mind tapping that."
"Son, seriously-"
"Oh, really?" Someone asked in a dangerous tone and the room was suddenly filled with an unbearable tension, electricity practically breathable in the air.
"Heck yeah-" He agreed and turned to the speaker, only to freeze as he saw the brunet with the eagle from earlier, only he didn't have the bird of prey at the moment. He gulped as he took note of the terrifying glare on the taller, older man's face.
"Eren, stop bothering the tourists and sit your ass down, you shitty brat," the man with the undercut called, sounding exasperated. The man, Eren, didn't move, still glaring down at the older son. "Don't make me knock another tooth out." Eren gave one last glare but sneered at the teen son and complied, sitting next to the man with the undercut and slinging an arm around him in the most possessive manner the tourists had ever seen.
The daughter pouted as she realized both of the hot men were taken, and by each other, no less!
"Told you not to flirt with Mr Levi," the freckled boy said as they passed their table, looking pityingly at the teen who got the brunt of Eren's glare. The son huffed but hurriedly made his way past the table when he realized Eren was glaring at him. It was a tense dinning hour before Eren dragged the man with the undercut, Levi, up the stairs, probably to their room. No one batted an eyelash at this.
The next morning was even more awkward when they realized that the two hot men were the ones leading the Hunters into the woods and that they were the ones in charge of their safety throughout. The teenage son was already sweating nervously as Eren glared at him while Levi summarized their plans for today.
The teenage son fainted a few hours later when they suddenly encountered a ten meters tall bear-like creature and then Eren suddenly grew into a fifteen meter humanoid monster.
Needless to say, that was one of the last tourist visits Jägerstadt ever received.