Communication Error (Eremin)

Chapter Twelve • Obvious

"I'm having trouble with this, Mikasa," Armin explained. He looked at her on his computer screen and puffed his cheeks. "It's soon going to be three months that I've been doing this. My grandpa has been on to my case lately. I think he's aware that I'm not spending much time on schoolwork once I'm home."
    Mikasa nodded, but said nothing.
    "I've been meaning to get it done, I really have. Now there's so much of it." He sighed. "What do I do?"
    "Tell him," she suggested.
    "But he'll keep me from learning signs until I'm caught up!"
    "Then work harder to get it done."
    "I won't be able to see you guys on Wednesday evenings," he mumbled sadly.
    Mikasa adjusted her posture. "Armin. Okay. It's not the end of the world. You'll be fine."
    "It's not 'okay'," he informed. "I've been working hard on signing! I don't want to be behind on that too!"
    "You should've considered that before you stopped doing your homework."
    Armin furrowed his eyebrows and looked crossly at Mikasa. He knew she was right. His expression softened. "I know," he mumbled. "You're right, you're right." He frowned. "I'll tell him."
    Mikasa seemed a bit relieved. "Good. And maybe he'll still let you see us on Wednesday evenings."
    Armin shrugged. "Maybe."
    "So when will you tell him?"
    "Tomorrow, when I'm home from school."
    "Promise?"
    He nodded. "Yes, I promise."
    "Good."

"Good morning," Armin greeted to Eren and Mikasa, putting his signing into play.
Mikasa returned the greeting verbally, while Eren excitedly signed right back.
"You're still gonna tell him when you're home?" Mikasa asked seriously. She looked him in the eye.
He nodded. "Yeah. That's the plan."
She seemed pleased.
A few minutes later, she couldn't see Armin beside her, so she turned around and saw him signing to Eren. The two of them appeared to be enjoying their conversation, despite Armin having to ask for Eren to dumb down what he was trying to communicate every so often.
"Close to three months," Armin signed, answering Eren's question about how long he'd been teaching himself signs.
"Really?" Eren's eyes widened in surprise. "By yourself the whole time?"
Armin nodded. "Yes. Mikasa . . . Helped me," he signed slowly.
Eren smiled. "Good job."
"Thank you." Armin smiled in return, a bit embarrassed.
Mikasa was happy for Armin. His practice paid off, and he was finally able to talk to Eren. The time spent learning wasn't in vain. However, she realized, he may not be able to learn more for some time after he tells his grandfather. She felt bad for him, though she knew that he'd be eager to get his work caught up if it meant doing so enabled him to pick up on signing lessons again.
"Mikasa!" Armin called.
She turned around and saw him smiling from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"I was talki—uh . . . Signing to Eren! We actually had a conversation this time!" he exclaimed. "I told him I've been teaching myself for a while, and he asked for how long. I told him, and he said 'good job.'"
"I saw. I'm happy for you." She ruffled his hair a little bit. "You did great."
"Thank you! I'm glad you think so." He fixed his ruffled hair immediately. "I didn't expect to be able to actually have a whole conversation with him yet."
"Didn't you say you wanted to be able to have conversations after one month of practice?" She blinked.
"Well, yes," he admitted quietly. "But I knew that was a stretch. I didn't think I'd actually be good enough by then."
"Hm. At least you can do it now," she encouraged.
"Yeah." He smiled softly.
"Why don't you talk to him some more? We'll be parting ways soon."
Armin's eyes widened. "Alright." He looked at Mikasa, then fell back beside Eren, whom he apologized to and began asking questions.
Eren gladly answered every question he could, and he patiently repeated everything that Armin didn't understand right away.
    "Is Mikasa your sister?" Armin asked.
    "No," Eren answered with a solid expression on his face. "She just lives with us."
    "Kind of like . . ." Armin paused, having a difficult time finding the right sign. Eventually he just stuck to spelling out 'foster care.' He looked at Eren quizzically.
    Eren simply shrugged. "My parents are just her legal guardians," he explained.
    "What—" Armin began, cutting himself off after realizing it wouldn't be smart to continue his question. "Never mind. Is it fun to live with her?"
    "Sometimes. She's annoying."
    "Annoying?"
    "Yes. She acts like a mom a lot." He frowned. "Which is stupid, because I have a mom around already."
    Armin smiled. "I can understand that being annoying."
    "It makes me so mad," Eren signed sharply.
    "Yeah."
    "But she's the only person my age that actually spends time with me." He looked at Armin and smiled softly. "Except for you, of course."
Armin's eyes widened as they met Eren's. "But I spend more time with Mikasa," he pointed out.
"Yes," Eren began, never losing the softness in his expression, "but you are still around a lot more than most people. And you're learning to sign." His eyes reflected mischief. "You aren't learning sign language because you want to sign to Mikasa, are you?"
Armin avoided Eren's eyes for a moment. The feeling that Eren was getting on to him was awkward. Or was he just cracking a joke? Maybe he wasn't trying to imply any . . . Affections, he suggested to himself. He looked back at Eren and tilted his head. "No," he signed. "I wanted to be your friend."
"Wanted?" Eren repeated. "You don't still want to be?"
"That's not what I meant!" Armin hastily signed back with an embarrassed air.
Eren smiled again. "I know."
"Time to go," Mikasa signed out of the blue after placing her hand on Eren's shoulder.
"Okay." Eren signed a goodbye to Armin, which was returned a second later.
"See you later, Armin," Mikasa parted vocally before walking off with Eren.
I wonder what Eren's school looks like. Armin gripped his backpack straps and watched them go. "See you." He waited for them to be a ways off before heading down the sidewalk to the front of his school building. He recapped his signed conversation with Eren, feeling quite proud of himself. His pride was twisted with embarrassment when he recalled what Eren had mentioned. So he knows I'm signing for him. Great. He blinked. Not like it isn't obvious. I mean, his parents and Mikasa are hearing people. How did it never occur that he'd notice?
He pulled his backpack off one shoulder and placed it beside him as he sat down. Try as he might to concentrate on his surroundings, he always wound up focusing on his conversation with Eren. This led him to wonder how he was going to keep learning if his grandfather was to take away his privileges to Wednesday night lessons and online courses.
The rest of the day was a mixture of paying attention to class and figuring out different ways to continue learning to sign. Each choice he considered was thought through in detail, with every "what if" being answered accordingly. It was almost stressful, thinking about this organized mess in his mind. But he continued to let it play out despite that, until finally, at the end of the school day, he decided he'd suffer any consequences given to him. He deserved them anyway. There was no use in stressing over ways around his punishment. Especially if doing so would only worsen it.
He passed by Mikasa on his way out of the school building. He greeted her, then stopped her in the hall. "Are you going to pick Eren up?" he asked.
"In a minute, yes."
"Can I go with you?"
Mikasa looked at him curiously.
"I want to see what Eren's school looks like," he admitted.
"Oh. Yeah, I don't see why you can't tag along. Give me a second, though."
Armin nodded and stood against the wall behind him as he watched Mikasa walk off.
    He didn't wait long before Mikasa came back into sight and signaled for him to follow her. The two of them headed out the heavy front doors and exited the school building. They made their way off the school grounds and down the street beside it.
    "So, what'd you and Eren talk about?" Mikasa asked casually.
    "Well, first I asked him if you two were siblings. He said no. Then I asked him if it he enjoys you living with him, to which he said he sometimes does."
    "Just sometimes?"
    "Yeah. He said you can be annoying. A lot."
    Mikasa's eyes narrowed, though Armin could tell she was amused. "Like he has the right to say such a thing. He's not too much fun to live with either."
    Armin smiled. "He's annoying, you think?"
    "If he could speak, he'd be the loudest moron I know. And let me tell you, he doesn't lack in dumb arguments and backtalk." She dipped her head, then went on, "He lets you know what he wants and when he wants it."
    Armin was a bit shocked. "Really?"
    Mikasa nodded. "Mhm. He has some attitude." She looked at Armin and softened her tension. "Anyways, with that being said, I don't think you finished what you were saying."
    "Oh, yes. Uh . . . What was I saying?"
    "You asked Eren if I was fun to live with, he said no, and that I'm annoying."
    "Yeah . . . Yeah! So, after that, he said that you're the only person his age that really spends time with him. Then he said, 'except for you.' I told him that I spend more time with you. He said that that's true, but that I still spend a lot more time with him than most people." Armin adjusted the straps on his backpack awkwardly. "He asked me after that, 'you're not learning to sign because you want to use it with Mikasa, right?'"
    He took a pause after that.
    Mikasa blinked. "Interesting."
    "About that . . . It's silly, but I didn't think he'd notice that. I mean, uh, I thought he'd just . . . Think I was learning it because I could. You know?"
    "You didn't think he'd pick up that you're learning it for him," Mikasa voiced thoughtfully.
    "Yeah." He sighed quietly. "It's weird. Weirder than I really anticipated." After a hesitant moment, his eyes widened and he grew anxious. "Do you think he's trying to pry my feelings open?!"
    Surprised and confused, Mikasa looked back at Armin with wide eyes. "What . . . ?"
    "Do you think he's trying to pry my feelings open?" Armin repeated while looking Mikasa right in the eyes. "Do you think he's aware of my feelings, and he just wants me to admit that I have them?!"
    Mikasa calmed down not even a second later. "That's a stretch, Armin," she stated firmly. "I'm sure he's just flattered by you learning to sign simply because you want to be his friend."
    Armin's anxiousness ebbed. Now he looked a bit concerned.
    "I think," she went on, "your feelings affected how you interpreted Eren's words."
    "Oh. I see." He relaxed. "That makes a lot of sense."
    Mikasa smiled kindly. "You need to be careful. Your feelings are deceiving things."
    Armin smiled gratefully in return. "Right. Thank you." His smile grew. "I'd be in a big mess if you weren't around."
    "I doubt that. You're welcome anyway."

___________________Author's Note____________________

I sincerely apologize for not having published a new chapter in a few weeks. With it being the Holidays, everything's been quite hectic.
That being said, I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a spectacular New Years!