Title: The Pelican Also Thinks It Was Eren’s Fault
Characters: Eren, Mikasa, Armin
Syn: A trip to the beach holds plenty of opportunities for things to fuck up. (Modern AU)
Eren squinted against the brightness above him.
“You ever think about how pelicans have, like, jaw sacks?”
Armin turned to his best friend, looking only somewhat horrified.
She didn’t even bother to open her eyes. “I definitely don’t.”
“Well….do you think they could eat a person?”
Armin returned his distressed gaze to Eren once more.
“Then why is that one watching us like that?” Eren contested, pointing off to their left. Sure enough, perched on the pier was an unusually interested pelican, jaw-sack wobbling at the ready.
“It’s probably hoping we don’t steal its catch.”
“I’m thinking we’re its catch.”
“Being friends with you is so stressful,” Mikasa sighed.
“And when I save us all from the goddamn top predator of the ocean, you’ll be sorry you said it.”
“‘Kay,” exhaled his friends in unison. Nevertheless, Eren, brave and steadfast, did not relinquish his vigilance over the threat.
When sunbathing became boring, Armin and Eren went combing for shells, the former spewing fact after fact about the creature each abandoned shell may have belonged to, as well as the ones that were, in fact, current residents. Eventually, Mikasa caught up with them- mainly concerned that, with all the prodding he was doing, Eren was going to end up on the wrong side of some poor critter’s temper.
The tide came forward, lapping at their ankles. Their fellow beach-goers drifted away, one by one, until they had the shore all to themselves. Eren, in a lull of conversation, stole a glance at Mikasa, who returned his gaze suspiciously. Then, with a grin, he shoved his body into hers, shouting, “Beach tag!” before darting towards the pier.
Mikasa rose from the sand, dusted herself off, and shot off after him at a speed that could cut bullets. Beneath his growing sunburn, goosebumps rose on Armin’s arms.
He watched as she all but drop-kicked the now-screaming Eren, sending them both tumbling into the sand.
“Beach tag!” she declared, running back towards Armin. Breathless, yet still relentless as ever, Eren got to his feet and chased after her.
They danced in circles around their best friend, Mikasa teasing, Eren trying to outsmart her, outrun her, out anything her- and failing. Finally, to Armin’s relief, she led him to the water, where they stomped awkwardly as it rose to their ankles, and then their thighs. Eventually, once it had reached their stomachs, Mikasa submerged herself and began to swim away- at a speed that, naturally, would make a torpedo jealous.
Eren, never one to give up, swam after her. Armin simply watched, in utter awe of how one human being could move so quickly, and how the other could deny such obvious defeat for so long.
He then dropped his eyes down to his sand-caked toes, where little creatures sat in their homes, musing over the fact that, where Mikasa had the athletic ability of an Olympian and Eren had the persistence of a door-to-door salesman, his only real skill was knowing the proper name for each kind of shell they’d all come across. Remarkable, granted, but not very handy, and therefore not very impressive, he supposed.
Something slammed into him, and he swore he flew for a moment before landing in the wet sand, a beach crab scuttling back into its hole as his face landed before it.
“Beach tag!” called Eren and Mikasa in unison, giggling. Their laughter died, however, when Armin didn’t get up.
Eren bent over him, concerned. “Armin? You okay?”
“I need a moment,” Armin murmured, still in shock from the sudden impact.
“We don’t have a moment,” Eren objected. He grabbed him by the arm, pulling him to his feet. “Daylight’s burning, and we’ve got to make the most of our day. Let’s see how deep we can go into the water.”
“Eren-” Armin stammered as he was pulled towards the water. “You know I can’t swim.”
“You’ll be fine,” he assured him. “Just hold onto me when dog paddling doesn’t work anymore, okay?”
With the kind of trust that can only exist between people like them, Armin relented.
Playing in the ocean could be fun, Armin realized. Not because fighting the frivolous physics of water was any fun in and of itself, but because clinging to Eren as he jumped wave after wave was, unexpectedly, quite the rush.
“That one was easy!” he exclaimed, laughing. They’d hardly hopped before the wave had passed.
“I think the ocean’s scared,” Eren agreed.
“Poseidon quivers before us!” Armin shouted.
Eren, in turn, yelled, “Fuck off!”- assumedly to Poseidon himself.
They soon found that the ocean wasn’t too fond of obscenities.
“That’s…..a big one,” Armin warned, pointing to the oncoming wave.
“We can take it,” Eren assured him. “Just hold your breath, just in case.”
“Alright.” He tightened his grip on his back. Eren tensed, gathering a breath, trying to time it with the wave’s arrival.
“On the count of three, Ar. One….two…...th- OH SHI-”
The wave slammed into them with the force of a giant. Armin instantly lost his grip on Eren, and he began to flail in panic, trying to discern up from down so he could at least get his head above water.
Eren, who’d managed to get a gasp of air between the current’s constant shoves, forced himself upward in a lull of waves, spotted his best friend, and made a beeline toward him, submerging himself once more.
Armin watched with stinging eyes as a figure took hold of him and hauled him upward. They broke the surface, gasping, and Eren struggled to sling Armin’s arm across his shoulders.
The two had just managed to stabilize themselves when they heard low roaring.
Armin looked to his right and nearly froze.
Eren looked to his left and began to drone nervously.
“......hhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeyyyy, Armin?”
“We’re…..really far from shore.”
“That’s the least of our worries.”
“It’s already scaring me, and we’ve at least got a half-minute before it gets to us.”
“Can….can lifeguards see us out this far?”
“MIKASA!!!” they screeched. “MIKASAAAAAAAA!!!”
Amidst their screams, a shadow fell over them. Armin turned back and squeaked, fingers digging into Eren’s shoulder.
Eren only managed to get out a quick, “IMFUCKINGSORRYPOSEIDON-” Before they were thrown underwater once more.
As Armin struggled to move in the direction he supposed to be upwards, he passively wondered if this is how he would go out. In the goddamn ocean, in the 21st century, likely not a mile from the shore. What an unbelievably stupid death.
He was all but ready to start demanding a better reincarnation when someone grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him up.
It was none other than the goddess herself, Mikasa Ackerman.
“Are you alright?” she asked him, draping his arm over her shoulders.
Struggling to do anything but breathe, Armin simply nodded.
“Good,” she sighed. “Because, once we get to shore, I’m kicking your ass.”
“Eren is getting back to land on a boogie board. Alone.”
Mid-sentence, Armin realized how calm the water had actually become. Flabbergasted, he turned back to Mikasa, who had already begun to head to shore.
Even Poseidon feared the Ackermans, he guessed.
A few minutes after they’d managed to reach land, Eren washed up at the water’s edge, heaving breaths as sand soaked his cheeks.
Having already regained her composure, Mikasa shot a searing glance at him from above her sunglasses.
“I hate the ocean,” Eren croaked. He pointed an accusing finger at her. “And you are the cruelest being known to mankind. I can hardly fucking move my legs.”
Reasonably, that shut him up. Mikasa relaxed into her chair, adjusting her sunglasses.
“We leave in fifteen minutes, by the way.”
Eren and Armin shared a glance. “Good,” they chorused.
From atop the pier, the same pelican from hours before took notice. Eren, who swore he could hear it laughing at them, flipped it the proverbial bird.
“Nothing like a good meal after a near-death experience.”
“Oh, please,” Mikasa scoffed. “You two would’ve been perfectly fine.”
“I don’t know, Mikasa.” Armin swallowed his bite, covering his mouth with one hand as he spoke. “If you hadn’t gotten to us in time, there’s no telling how long we might’ve lasted.”
“Speaking of which, Eren?”
She pointed at him. “You’re paying. For all of us.”
His shoulders slumped. “Oh, come on!” he complained. “I already had to boogie board myself back to shore, after almost drowning! I mean- Armin was there, too!”
“And who dragged him there?” Armin mused.
“Hey,” Eren argued, “you never said no.”
“Unenthusiastic consent is not consent, Eren.”
“He’s right,” Mikasa agreed. “This was your fault. You’re paying meals and gas money the rest of the way home.”
“Fine,” Eren conceded. “Under one condition.”
“My mom never hears about this.”
Mikasa squinted. “We’ll see,” she said, sipping her tea.
AN: My very first Fix for Fix!! @the-eren-plush-blog , thank you so much for the ko-fis!! I hope this was what you had in mind. <333
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