The construction of shelters was even harder than collecting materials. The boys were exhausted after chopping the wood down, for the entire morning and the girls weren't strong enough to build the cottages all by themselves.
Eren was sitting in the grove, contemplating about the build. It should be at least two huts, with enough space inside to place several beds in each of them. The grove itself was a good area for the settlement. The trees would shelter them from most of the natural phenomena and the soil was soft enough to dig into.
"Excuse me" he heard suddenly from above.
The dark-haired boy looked up to see a familiar blonde girl.
"Eren" Historia spoke shyly "I was thinking you might be hungry, so…"
He noticed the broken half of a coconut in her hands. Smiling, he reached for the fruit…
"Augh…!" He expressed in pain, upon touching the rough exterior of the coconut.
Eren retreated his hands to look at them. Both of them were covered in tiny cuts and blisters, from all the work he had done while chopping the trees down.
"Sorry, should've thought about that…" Historia said, before sitting by his side.
She took the coconut in her small hands and brought it near his mouth.
The simple act startled the boy. A tint of red appeared on his cheeks as he realized what this situation might look like to others.
"Eat" Historia said, bringing the half closer, touching his mouth.
The boy complied.
Slowly he ate the flesh of the coconut presented to him by the girl. In a way, it felt almost familiar, kind of like when his mother used to feed him. But something else was happening between them as she fed him the fruit. Something wild and unknown…
"Thanks" Eren said, after eating a great chunk of the coconut.
"You guys worked so hard" Historia replied, looking elsewhere "in comparison to you, gathering some vines doesn't sound nearly as tough…"
"Everyone has a job" the boy argued "all of them are important. We were the only ones that could chop the trees down, anyway…"
"If you say so" the girl said.
Then, she did another thing that startled Eren.
She brought the coconut to her mouth and started eating. The same one she had given him just a moment ago…
Eren didn't know if the thought of sharing the same meal with this girl repelled him or made him happy. He had shared many meals throughout his life, but all those other times, it was with other guys. Sharing a meal with a girl like that, though, really made him wonder…
How did it look to everyone around? Did they seem like a husband and wife?
He glanced around, nervously. Most of the boys were eating by themselves in peace, not caring about anything that transpired around them. Out of them all, Armin was eyeing him strangely. The girls on the other hand were chatting around with the exception of Mikasa. The oriental-looking girl was watching Historia, with an unreadable expression.
Either way, it looked like they hadn't been noticed by most.
"Everything okay?" Historia asked him while tilting her head to the side "you seem troubled."
"I'm fine" Eren said, ceasing all his weird thoughts "it's just… I don't know how to build those…"
The blonde looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?" She asked, with a dumbfounded expression.
The dark-haired boy sighed at her antics. How was he supposed to tell her?
"I've never built a hut before" he said, while looking down at the grass "definitely not one this big… We're all exhausted and none of us will be able to do anything for the rest of the day… It was my plan, once again and…"
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm. He looked up to see that it belonged to Historia.
"You're overthinking this" she spoke, before standing up.
He looked up at the girl. Then, the girl extended her hand towards him.
"Come with me" she said with a small smile.
As he took her hand, he felt the redness on his cheeks appear once again. Historia smiled at that and started leading him away.
They left the grove and walked onto the beach. At first, he thought she would bring him just here, but when he looked to see if they were at their destination, she continued walking along the coastline.
Following her, he noticed that the sandy beach that they initially encountered, changed into a rocky shore the farther they went. Soon, the gentle plateau changed into a cliff and both of them walked onto the stone.
Finally, she sat down and turned around to motion for him to do the same.
Eren had to admit. This place was beautiful. The soft sound of the waves hitting the cliff, the cloudless sky that shone with light hue of blue, the squishy moss that covered the place he sat in…
And of course, there was his companion. The girl with shiny, blonde hair and a smile that could melt the heart of anyone who had seen it.
"Stop worrying so much" she spoke at last, breaking the silence.
"We need those shelters" he said, trying to look away, towards the sea.
It seemed so calm…
"We can build those tomorrow" the girl continued "you guys really need some rest…"
"I…"
"You need rest, Eren."
This statement made his mind go blank. He's been worrying so much, lately that he never even considered slowing down.
"For the last two days, you've been doing nothing but trying to maintain our hopes" Historia continued "but you deserve some time off, too…"
"But…"
"…and you really need to take a few deep breaths. It's slowly making you crazy."
At that, Eren closed his eyes and reclined to the ground.
"This adventure is nothing like I imagined it to be" he spoke after a few moments "I thought this was the freedom I have always wanted…"
Historia just looked at him in wonder. It was unclear what exactly was going through her mind.
"Maybe…" she expressed after a few moments "…maybe the real adventure is yet to begin?"
He thought about it for a while. So far, the only things they had done, were to ensure their survival here. It didn't seem like an adventure at all. However, when all those things were actually done, all those necessities fulfilled, maybe there was something to look out to.
Just when he wanted to stand up, he felt a hand tug at his sleeve. While he wasn't looking, his blonde companion sat down next to him and now was trying to hold him down.
"Let's stay here" she spoke, softly "for a minute longer, at least…"
Not being the one to refuse, the dark-haired boy complied and soon, the duo was staring at the sky, together.
"It feels nice, doesn't it?" He asked after a while.
The girl simply grinned at him, before looking up once again.
"Back home, they wouldn't let me leave the estate" she said "the only thing I could do to pass time was to look at clouds…"
Eren produced a confused expression at that.
"There are no clouds here" he said, trying to figure out what she was talking about.
But Historia simply laughed at his statement.
"Yeah, that's quite obvious, isn't it?"
It's been a long time since the sun had passed its zenith. Slowly, it was inching down more and more, towards the horizon. The sky turned yellow, then orange, purple and finally settled on the strong hue of red.
Eren looked towards Historia. The girl was peacefully watching the sky. Well over a minute had passed and now, it was starting to get late. But looking at her, he felt that disturbing such peace would truly be a crime.
"We should probably head back to the grove" he spoke after gathering enough courage.
"Yeah, you're probably right" she responded, before sitting up and dusting her dress off.
This moment somehow made Eren a lot more confident about their future. Maybe the true answer to the question of what their group should do, was to take it slow and adjust?
The sun gently touched the horizon as the couple made their way towards the grove…