Under the moonlight

- Year 852 - Summer - The Lighthouse - Paradise Island

Mikasa had been awake for a while by that point. She had a few thoughts on her mind that wouldn't leave her. It was the middle of the night: the full moon was high up in the sky, shining across their balcony. She didn't enjoy watching Armin sleeping; he always had a sad expression, or a painful one. Mikasa knew something wasn't right, but she respected him and hoped that he would share his nightmares with her someday.

She was looking up to the moon and listening to the waves. It was peaceful. She wondered how beautiful the world must be, and how long would take for them to finally see it. Armin promised her they would. Mikasa stood up, deciding that night wasn't going to be for sleeping, and she wanted to look for something.

As she moved away from the bed and closer to the closet, she heard faint giggles from the crib. She changed her direction and moved closer to it.

"Why are you awake?" She smiled at her son.

Azzy was enjoying the sound of the waves too, and the moonlight. His big blue eyes were fixed on the crib's mobile, watching as the wind swirled the small starfishes and seashells in it. He seemed fascinated by it. Until he noticed some movement; the small baby got all excited, expecting someone to grab him and take him out of his crib. Even for a four month old baby, being trapped behind those cute bars was still a prison. Despite them being for his own protection, he wanted out. So as soon as he saw his mother, the young trickster raised up his hands and put on the biggest smile.

"I just fed you Azzy, and you went to sleep. You were supposed to be asleep, baby boy." Mikasa held his small hand and played with him a little. She picked her baby up, as it was clear he wasn't going to fall asleep on his own, alone in that crib. She knew it. That's just how babies are.

"Here, have some company," Mikasa whispered as she gently placed Azzy on her side of the bed.

Armin was in that darkness again. He knew it was all in his head; it was just a dream, a very bad dream, but he couldn't escape it. He just wished he would forget all about it in the morning. It was claustrophobic and very dark, and he could only see a faint flame very far away, but the flame was slowly extinguishing itself. He wanted to shout but he had no voice. He was alone, completely alone. The pain was unimaginable: he couldn't move, he could barely breathe, and even that was painful. He knew he was living a life that wasn't his own, he wanted to get out of it, but he was chained to it all. He couldn't even cry, he had no strength for that. He gave up, he just gave up on his own life...

All of a sudden, he felt a small pinch on his nose and some sweet strokes all over his face. He started to hear the sounds of the ocean, as his brain slowly woke up. There was no better relief than that moment. He opened his eyes, and Azzy started to giggle softly. He was still stroking Armin's face, hoping his father would wake up. He realised he was successful, once he saw his father's eyes and smile.

"How did you get here?" Armin whispered at the boy, pulling Azzy closer to hold him. He closed his eyes again as if to go back to sleep.

"Why are you messing with my side of the closet?" he asked then with a muffled voice, as he put his face against the pillow.

"You are not even looking," Mikasa unaffectedly called from the other side of the room.

"And she just confirmed it." He smiled and pinched Azzy's nose. The boy was giggling loudly now. Mikasa started to laugh too, in the other room.

"Why does he think my voice is funny?" Armin couldn't understand.

"Because you made a funny voice," Mikasa tried to explain.

"This is my real voice," he called back, and Azzy laughed even more.

"How are you so awake?" Armin held the boy up to question him, as Azzy was trying to reach for his hair. "You can't be hungry, besides, if you are..." He moved closer to the baby's ear, "...I can't feed you," he said jokingly.