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They had made it. The ocean was right in front of them, stretching as far as their eyes could see.
And all Eren could do was cry.
Cry because of the sacrifices they had to do and the lives they lost, because of the years his people had been trapped inside a cage, because of the knowledge that it wasn't over yet, because of how close they all had been to not making it this far. Because of the beautiful scenery in front of him.
Mikasa was at his side in an instant, but he just smiled at her between the tears and adjusted her muffler so it wouldn’t get wet. It had came undone in her rush, and that definitely wouldn’t do. She needed to enjoy the experience and nothing, not even a wet piece of clothing would ruin the moment and put a damper in her joy.
She returned the smile and kept exploring, preferring to not get involved with the three idiots pushing each other into the water nor with Hanji’s inspection of the weird animal they had managed to capture and that Levi kept ordering them to throw back into the ocean or at least to stop licking.
He took a deep breath to calm himself, focusing on the fresh water at his feet and the salty breeze that was so different to anything he had experienced before. The books didn’t do the ocean justice, and it made him think about the other things they described and how beautiful they must be in reality. He hoped they all would get to experience them one day, he would do his best to make it possible.
“Hey…” Armin touched his shoulder, his other hand holding something Eren didn’t have a single idea what it was “Look at this”
It kind of looked like a rock, but the shape was weird and the color was unusual. Whatever it was though, Armin was pretty excited about it “Isn’t it cool?”
“It is…” he replied, glad Armin didn’t point out that he hadn’t stopped crying. He just kept touching the thing, even going as far as to stick a finger into the gap. It… didn’t seemed like a safe thing to do, what if it had spikes inside? Or maybe it was poisonous? He frowned, could inanimate objects be poisonous? But then again, why was he assuming it was dead? “You should be careful with that,” he warned, getting closer to him just in case “what if it is alive?”
“It doesn’t look like it is” Armin reassured “I think this is some kind of ocean rock”
He wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but he knew Armin could take care of himself so he rubbed his eyes and did his best to dry his face (he was so tired of crying), choosing to distract himself with the ocean and all the wonderful things it could offer.
After giving two steps, however, he immediately stopped. Something had touched his foot.
Doing his best to keep his clothes dry, he lowered himself and looked for the thing he had touched. It didn’t take long before he saw it, finding two of them that he grabbed to get a closer look at. The longer one was flat and about the size of his middle finger, with an irregular form and a harsh texture that made him think that yes, it was a rock; but when he flipped it the texture was so much softer and the color whiter. So maybe it wasn’t a rock?
He sighed, confused and yet intrigued by the world they were beginning to discover. Flipping the thing again he tried to find some sort of pattern, but it seemed like it was not even the same material in some parts. The hypothesis about it being a rock could wait though, because the other thing he had found definitely wasn’t one. It was almost circular, soft, and with lines so perfect there was no way it wasn’t something carved in the outside world that somehow had made its way there.
Armin needed to see this.
Almost as if he had summoned him, Armin walked towards him, hands carrying the object he had found and another one that was pretty similar. The sight of him holding knowledge that he couldn’t wait to share with him took him back to the days of their childhood, and it was in that moment that he realized no matter who stood in his way, he would fight them and protect the ones he loved. No one would take his happiness away, not again.
“I think this is something artificially made” he said, showing Armin what he had found.
He quickly swapped objects with him, his eager eyes taking into the thing and all of its details “It could be… maybe it’s some sort of jewelry or decoration” he theorized, his careful fingers rubbing the object with reverence. “It’s so pretty” he whispered in awe, beaming with a joy that made him seem ethereal, like he belonged to the ocean with the other precious things only nature could create.
Eren agreed. It was such a beautiful view.
Later that night, after they had set up camp and everyone went to their tents, Eren put the things he had found into his bag. He was thinking about making a necklace with the smaller one and give it to Armin as a gift; a part of him told him to wait for a special occasion, but the other part couldn’t possibly wait the five months until Armin’s birthday, much less the nine it would take to celebrate their first anniversary.
His heart skipped a beat when he thought about the time they had been dating, and how happy he was to finally love Armin the way he had wanted for so long. They were keeping it a secret for the time being, it was more because there hadn’t been an adequate moment than because they feared judgment or something. Of course, Mikasa was the only one that knew (though they suspected Levi knew too), in fact, they didn’t even had to tell her. She just approached them the day after they started dating to congratulate them.
Armin suspected she had heard them when they were confessing their feelings, but he couldn’t prove anything.
Speaking of Armin, it looked like he had finished getting ready to sleep, if the comfy clothes and the aura of ‘I’m ready for cuddles’ he emanated as he sat next to him was anything to go by. “I have something to show you” he whispered, mindful of the people sleeping in the other tents “but you have to close your eyes”
He obeyed right away.
He didn’t know what he had been waiting for (maybe a kiss), but something pressing against his ear was not it. Much less the sound that came after.
The ocean. He could hear the ocean.
His eyes opened immediately, almost expecting to find himself inside the water again, but the only thing he could see with the faint light provided by the candle was Armin, lovely, bright Armin holding one of the objects he had found in the ocean against his ear “What… what is…?”
He chuckled as he took the thing away “I don’t know. But did you hear it, Eren? Could you hear it too?”
Nodding, he could feel himself smile so hard it was beginning to hurt. It was amazing how something so tiny could recreate the peaceful sound of the ocean, almost as if the ocean itself was inside it. How could something like that happen? How could the world be so perfect and beautiful?
Armin smiled too, and he kissed his cheek while his hands carefully put the ocean object in his “I want you to have it, so that you can always have a part of the ocean with you”
His eyes, those eyes he now knew were the same color of the ocean, gleamed with a beauty he still found unbeatable and that he was certain would forever stay that way. Placing aside his gift, he cupped Armin’s face with his hands and caressed his cheeks with his thumbs “I already have one”