Work Text:
"Such a scorching day today, isn't it?"
The Scout Regiment squad were all lazing around the current headquarter base due to such unbearable weather. Jean sat next to the open window to let the small breeze cool him off, his newly growing mullet waving along with the gentle air, Connie and Sasha were both sulking on their chairs out of overheating - or at least that's how they described it. Mikasa and Eren on the other hand, don't seem to be reacting much to the high temperatures at all; even if the Asian girl still had her worn out muffler wrapped around her neck. Eren was quietly lost in thought by himself in one corner of the room.
"The world must hate us 'cause we don't normally get days like this nearing winter." A defeated Sasha mumbled, humiliated by the rays of the sunshine.
"It's obvious that the air just got intensely warmer due to Armin practicing his new found Colossal Titan powers." Jean explained. "Once he's got the hand of it, things will surely die down."
"Yeah well I think I might die soon from burning in this hell." Connie comically complained. It was not intended, but it made his two friends chuckle a little.
"Speaking of Armin..." Eren started. "Where in fact is he right now?"
"He's off to a meeting with Captain Levi and Commander Hange right now." Mikasa informed her crush right next to her.
Since he was the one revived over the previous commander, the public have been concerned about the status of the Survey Corps, so the two veterans left had no option but to involve the young, distressed teen in their recent conferences for the future of humanity. While that was going on, everyone else was left to keep guard of the headquarters - but you already know it's hard to keep task in such unbearable weather conditions.
"Kind of a shame he has to go during his birthday, isn't it?" Sasha moodily replied.
(Oh, did I forget to mention that earlier? it was Armin's birthday that day.)
"I'd say it's kinda good in a sense." Jean replied back. "It is way too damn hot to throw a party or something."
Everyone in the room nodded in agreement; except for the moody Eren staring into space. In a sense, it's important for the Survey Corps to gather much intel as they can for their future goals to fight off their real enemies, but it feels different when it's on a close friend's special day. He also noticed all the pressure Armin had been going through since that faithful day, of course he didn't like witnessing him in such a state. After a moment of silence, the brunette stood up and placed his book aside.
"Eren. What is it?" Mikasa asked, she already knew that something was on his mind.
"The least we can do is try and help to take his mind off of our current situation, right?"
The other three look back at one another in confusion. That's an odd thing for Eren to say just out of the blue.
"Is there anything you have particularly in your mind right now? Connie asked - still confused.
"There is something. And it has to do with the ocean."
"Buuut... we all already saw the ocean months ago." Sasha quickly clarified. "I know you don't have an amazing memory sometimes, Eren but..."
"I do know that. But we all are familiar on how much it meant to Armin, don't we? And how much Armin sacrificed to finally see it? He was so close to never getting that chance, but he's still alive. So..." Eren stopped himself from continuing.
Everyone paused themselves. Flashbacks remain in their minds on how much Armin used to chat their ears off about his dream to see the watery substance outside the walls. How much that dream kept his hopes up and to brought a smile upon his face. "Okay. He's got us there." Connie admitted defeat.
"I take back what I said about you having a bad memory, Eren." Sasha spoke up, spreading a nervous grin.
Jean shrugged his shoulders and stood up from his seat. He pushed back his growing bangs from his sweaty face before talking directly at Mikasa and Eren on the opposite side of the room. "So what's the plan then? Aside from having to try and ask permission to get us back to the sea from the captain." It's always like him to bring up the drawbacks to almost any situation they find themselves in.
Both of his comrades looked at each other gladly - soft smiles appearing on their faces.
"Actually... me and Eren had something special planned for a while." Mikasa admitted. "We're going to have all of you to 'help' us with it."
"I'm kind of worried with the way you emphasized help, but sure."
Everyone in the room gathered around the chairs where Eren and Mikasa were sitting, intrigued but suspicious about what the two have planned for a simple birthday gift.
_________________________________________________________
The very next day, an exhausted, drowsy Armin rose up from his bed like an undead rising back to life (again), he could barely open his eyes due to overworking the previous day. He slowly turned his head clockwise to look out of the window, just as he stared outside, splashes of freezing water squirted right into his eyes. The blonde boy yelped loudly from the bitter feeling on his face, he turned the other way only to see two familiar faces staring right back at him with open smiles.
"Happy Birthday, Armin!"
"Huh? Eren? Mikasa? Why on earth did you do that?! And wasn't it my birthday yesterday?" Poor Armin felt like he could grab them both by their collars for such a brutal wake up call, but his limbs still felt too weary to do something so extreme.
"Sorry." Eren apologized with a grin. "But we couldn't think of a better way to wake you out of such a state."
"Hmmm." Armin grumbled, rubbing his eyes roughly to get the stinging water out of his eyes. "Why does this water sting in my eyes?"
"Well that's because it's not normal pump water that we normally get back at the headquarters." Mikasa replied softly.
The blonde boy paused. What did she mean by that? He took a moment until he realized the scent of the water in their bowl - that fishy yet salty smell to it was very familiar. Then it popped into his mind. He shot his head out of the window, only to see the recognizable shot of a vast blue landscape of sand and clear, wet substance, shining in the basking heat of the sun.
"Are you kidding me?!" Armin smile got brighter the more he gazed at the scenery. "We made it back to the sea?!"
"Surprised?" Eren asked, softly chuckling to himself (but Mikasa heard).
"Is that even a question?" Armin playfully asked back. He sounds like all the exhaustion got zapped right out of him the instant he sat his eyes on the open waters. "Come on, we have to get moving!"
"Armin, make sure to dress properly first." Mikasa assured her excitable friend. "You're still wearing your sweaty uniform."
"Huh? Oh. Did I fell asleep while studying again?"
"More like you passed out from overworking, pal." Eren responded shamefully - the thought of poor Armin having to push himself for the Scouts recently hit a slight nerve.
Armin paused. Now it made sense on why to him on why to bring him back to the one place he always dreamed of his whole life. Of course Eren and Mikasa noticed all the hardships he's been putting up with for the past year, and they would make sure that he gets a long break that he deserved. After changing into something cooler, all three of them made their way down towards the ocean.
They made it right down to the tides of the waves moving in and out, soaking the sand beneath their feet. Armin could still visualize his first time feeling the sand and sea inside his head - the very thought brought up the joyful smile to his face which he hadn't made for months. Eren and Mikasa behind him could sense how happy their friend is right now, they walked up to him simultaneously until each of them is at each of his sides.
"You know..." Eren started, nudging Armin's shoulder lightly. "You know the ocean itself isn't really the birthday surprise, right?"
"Oh I know we've already seen it earlier this year, but it seems more beautiful today than it did then." Armin softly replied while turning his head towards him.
"Very well." Mikasa sarcastically sighed. "Guess you won't be interested in the real surprise then."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Nah, don't bother. Just splash around in the water and collect seashells by the shore like you did last time." Eren playfully played along with Mikasa's odd acting. (he was no better)
"Come on, guys. Now you're just being mean." Armin slightly pouted - he could tell they were teasing him from all the times they would do this to him when they were children, and doesn't like it one bit.
"Alright, alright. You win. Come with us this way."
Mikasa pulled out her red scarf from around her neck and used it to cover up Armin's eyes. Armin froze for a moment before being guided across the beach by his two friends. With a few stumbles and wonky steps, the trio came to a halt. They asked Armin if he's ready for the big reveal, which he replied 'yes' and so they removed the scarf from his face. The blonde boy was flabbergasted from the big surprise right in front of him.
It looked like a small house; only it was made of light wood. It had a carving of Armin's name right on top of the door, which was left open so he could see a small desk and chair on the inside, complete with a titan crystal light hanging from the ceiling. Not to mention that there were seashells neatly placed right around the area of the house, of unique shapes and sizes as well. Armin couldn't stop staring at every single detail of the beautifully thought out gift - even if he had no idea what it is.
"Guys..." He paused. "What in the walls is this?!"
"From what I've learned... uh... somewhere, it's what's called a beach hut. It's what people have if they spend some time near the ocean apparently. Eren quietly explained, trying not to mention about the past memories he experienced.
"We both know how much stress you've been under recently, and that's when Eren told me about this. I agreed with him that this is something you deserve for some time away."
Armin was moved by both their words and the gift. He turned around to face them and failed to hide the tears building in his eyes. Out of nowhere, but expected, he hugged both of them tightly.
"Thank you so much, you guys. I love it." Joy can be heard in his voice, and one tear slid down one of his cheeks. "You really didn't have to, all that matters to me is that you care about me. That's enough.
"Okay, okay. Why don't you go check inside and stop with the corny comments already." Eren expressed without showing annoyance. Both Armin and Mikasa rolled their eyes before heading on inside the hut themselves, discussing about how this gift all came together nicely.
Before Eren could follow them, he took once last lookout towards the ocean. The view brought him back to their first time seeing this horizon themselves, only for one of his father's memories to then flash in his mind - the one of seeing the Owl's Attack Titan for the first and only time. He could hear their conversation ringing in his ears, the visual of the tired old man right in front of him, and the fact that their enemy is still out there across the sea stayed with him. Eren's smile disappeared at the thought, and he quietly thought back to what he said - 'If we destroy our enemy, will we finally be free?'
'NO! Get those thoughts out of your head, Eren.' the brunette told himself off, shaking his head aggressively. 'Yes, it's important to know that the real enemy is not so far from us, but you have to think about Armin first. It was his day yesterday and you put your whole back into making a gift for him last night with Mikasa, that's what really matters now dammit.'
A disappointed Eren started to make his way inside the hut, when at that moment he could hear distant yelling. He thought they were more faint voices from his memories and tried to shake them out, but it got louder like it was from right behind him. The brunette turned around curiously, in the distance he spotted familiar faces; who appear to not look happy in the slightest.
"EREN!! THERE YOU ARE, YOU BASTARD!"
"YOU TOLD US TO DISTRACT LEVI AND HANGE THEN MEET YOU TWO AT THE SEA LATER! BUT YOU ALREADY DID EVERYTHING WITHOUT US!"
"YOU'RE SUCH A BIG OL' LIAR! I'LL NEVER SHARE MY LUNCH WITH YOU AGAIN!"
'Crap.' Guess Armin really did matter a lot to Eren after all. He was so caught up on making his best friend feel better, he forgot about the other guys' were part in the plan as well. Without hesitation, Eren dashed right across the sandy beach in seconds. The other trio were closing onto him though, surprisingly being able to catch up to him despite them complaining about the scorching heatwaves the day before. The two left, Armin and Mikasa, caught ear of the whole commotion and rushed right outside the door. The blonde took quick notice of all four teens sprinting around the sands like rampaging abnormals.
"Oh. I guess you two invited Jean and the others to the sea as well." He commented gleefully. "But should we allow them to keep playing like that? They'll be too exhausted for cake later."
(Oh yeah, there was a cake left inside.)
Mikasa shook her head nervously. "No, they'll be fine." She didn't want to admit that she too forgot about waiting for them. "If you like, we can join in with them."
"Huh? But you know that I'm not the best runner. You can go, I'll be staying inside my new hut for a while."
Mikasa gave a smile at him, and off she ran to save Eren from the clutches of their frustrated, left out friends. Armin sat down on the steps of the hut and looked upon the ocean view, he reached into his pocket and took out the seashell he found the last time he was there. The fresh breeze and the sounds of the waves assured him that this is going to be the most relaxing week away from work of his life.