He Lies Within the Sea (eremika)

Chapter Five

The bitter air was repelled by the warm jacket that Mikasa was wearing as Eren and she walked along the empty road next to the twisted, tangled, and bare trees in the winter. There weren't many words being exchanged between them and it was a bit awkward, but Eren was wearing a jacket because Mikasa grabbed one of her father's spares in the light house. Even if mermaids are entirely okay with the cold, it just makes him look suspicious in case there are others who know such things. It's better to be safe than sorry, she thought.

There was minimal wind, and as Mikasa walked, she felt a bit happy. She had a friend by her side which she could share secrets with. Of course, she had other friends, but for some reason, she felt that sharing such things would be too much. They'd not known each other for long, so the thought intimidated her, and in the end, she wouldn't say a thing. They often called her a mysterious character because of such things.

Eren was a bit irritated with wearing her father's coat since it made him a bit more warm than he would have liked, but he kept silent and continued walking.  There was no point in denying a gesture that was done for him. He appreciated her going to such lengths, but he could easy have said he's an idiot who likes to freeze. After all, the people on the surface, as far as he knew, were not aware of the mermaids being completely okay with the cold. Even so, he did not tell her and continued walking along the empty, quiet street.

The town that they lived in was undoubtedly located next to the ocean, but it wasn't super large. Yes, it was about twenty five thousand people, but it was definitely not New York City or Chicago.  It was certainly nowhere near that population, but it was certainly not as small as a town with merely a few hundred citizens.  Mikasa just so happened to live near the outskirts, which were quieter. The school there had fewer students, but there was one with many more located more in the downtown area.

They continued their silent stroll along the road until they reached where the buildings were located. A few houses sat silently next to each other in a small neighborhood, and not a single person was wandering outside except for Mikasa and Eren. Eren recognized the small neighborhood they were in as he had been there before because a friend lived in the biggest house on a street.

Mikasa, on the other hand, had only been to the neighborhood on walks. She didn't know anybody that lived in town both in the outskirts or downtown area. Well, she knew Sasha and Krista and such, but she wasn't entirely sure where they lived. After all, it'd only been a few months since they had met.

Step by step they continued until Mikasa stopped walking at a small, empty playground with a couple swings and a few pitiful slides. Her head turned to Eren and she stared into his beautiful eyes. "Would you like to use the swings?" she inquired.

"Am I a child?" he snapped.

She replied, "That's not what I was intending. Besides, you don't need to be a child to use the swings, Eren. It's quite fun." Without waiting for a response, she wandered over to where the lonely swings sat and placed her behind on one and began moving her legs to lift it in motion. Eren watched for a moment as her hair swung back and forth along with her body, and quickly gave in and joined her.

The two of them went back and forth on the slides together with little conversation for about ten minutes, just feeling the bitter air against their faces as they went forward towards the sky, only to fall back once again. The same pattern repeated until Mikasa allowed her swing to slow and sighed.

"Weekends are really boring," she muttered, staring at her shoes as she made little circles in the ground with her feet.

"Don't you hang out with those friends of yours on weekends?" he questioned innocently.