The Passion of Lovers//Eremika

19. The Interlude

The trip to the airport went as planned.

Eren threw on black sweatpants and a System of a Down t-shirt, grabbed his bags, and headed out the door. He arrived at Mikasa's apartment at 4:25 and picked her up. She had a black collared shirt and off-shoulder green and black striped sweater and black jeans to match. "You know, you didn't need to dress so nice," Eren said when she got into the car. "I know, I just felt like dressing up," Mikasa responded. They arrived at the airport just in time for their flight.

The flight itself only lasted 2 hours. And throughout those 2 hours, Eren has never been more nervous in his life. He looked out the window, examining the clouds and every single thing in them. His foot kept tapping and his heart was beating faster than it should.

What if this goes wrong? What if something bad happens?

Why did he decide to fly knowing he's scared shitless of flying?

Mikasa on the other hand was more comfortable. She had a couple of songs downloaded on her IPod and was able to get some study time. She glanced over at Eren and recognized the immense fear on his face and quietly chuckled to herself.

After the flight, the two gathered their bags from reclaim and walked outside looking for their ride. "God, that was terrifying," Eren said, sighing with relief as he threw his backpack over his shoulder. Mikasa smiled and responded, "It was actually very relaxing. What flight did you fly?"

Eren rolled his eyes and Mikasa chuckled.

"So, is someone going to pick us up? Like a family member or something?" Mikasa asked as they walked out the airport and into the pickup area. Eren looked around for a while before saying, "Yeah, my brother said he was going to meet us just outside the terminal." While Zeke did say that, it was unclear where outside the terminal he was going to meet them. And due to this confusion, the couple spent almost an hour wondering where he was. It was 25 minutes after Zeke said that when Eren yanked his phone out of his pocket and dialed his brother.

The phone rang for a while, and then, "Yo?"

"Where the fuck are you?"

"I told you, I'm just outside the terminal."

"Where outside, dumbass? We've been outside the terminal for damn near 30 minutes!"

Zeke groaned and said, "Just go to the where ad for skincare is. I'm in the black Porsche."

"Got it," and with that Eren hung up the phone and told Mikasa where their ride was. He walked with haste and Mikasa followed. The hell's he's walking so fast for?, Mikasa thought to herself as she tried to catch up with him.

The couple continued walking until a car honked at them. Mikasa flinched and whipped around while Eren scowled. The car's window rolled down and revealed a blonde man with glasses and a neat beard.

Eren walked over and started talking angrily with him, but the conversation was too quiet for her to hear. Eren rolled his eyes and walked back over to Mikasa, saying, "Our ride's here." The look of annoyance was all over his face. She was worried, but nevertheless she took her bags and made her way to the car.

When Eren finished loading the baggage into the trunk, he walked over to the passengers side and got in, slamming the door. "Hey, don't break my fucking car," said Zeke. Immediately he covered his mouth and looked back at Mikasa, who was sitting in the back seat. "Sorry about that, sometimes this guy gets on my nerves."

"Oh no, you're good." Mikasa said politely. She wanted to say that she understood how he felt, but Eren seemed to be in a bad mood already so she kept it to herself. "I'm Zeke, by the way. Eren's older brother." "Half-brother," Eren said. Zeke sighed through his nose and started up the car.

For the first couple of minutes of the car ride, the atmosphere was tense. Eren looked out of his window while Zeke kept his eyes on the road, and Mikasa sat in the back uncomfortably. She picked at her nails while trying to think of a conversation topic that would at least get one of them talking. But before she could come up with one, Zeke already beat her to it. "So, how'd you meet Eren?" Both Eren and Mikasa cringed at the question. Eren gave his brother a side eye to which his brother did back.

"Well, I guess I first met him when I punched him at my parents' funeral," Mikasa said awkwardly. Eren slumped in his seat and held his face in his hands. Zeke burst out laughing so abruptly Mikasa jumped. "I remember that! Oh God, his face was bloody as all hell!" he said as wiped away tears.

Eren glanced at her and she glanced back. He shrugged his shoulders and she cut her eyes at him.

"Yeah, Eren hasn't always been the strongest," Zeke continued. He fumbled around in his pockets for a while before pulling a cigarette. "Dad told me a story of how when I was gone he broke his arm trying to fight a homeless guy."

Eren wished he could blow his brains out right then and there.

Mikasa stifled a laugh and covered her mouth. Out of all the dumb things Eren has done, this was funniest. She took a deep breath, and regained her composure. "Why were you gone?" she managed to ask while keeping herself from laughing at Eren. Zeke gave an awkward laugh, and simply shook his head. His mood changed drastically, becoming more disturbed and quiet.

Eren caught on to this, looking back at his brother. He was about to say something before...

"And here we are! Home sweet home..."