I knew my esteemed guest was here before he could even knock on the door. In fact, I could practically hear him coming up the way from the interior itself - but despite the racket he was making, I was excited. The only complaint I had, I suppose, was the concern that immediately engulfed my entire being because why was he making such a clatter?
I opened the door, only to see a very rowdy horse and a very confused Mason. Both beings were incredibly upset, that was clear, and it was obvious to me what was happening: his horse had been spooked by something, and Mason was doing all that he could do to calm her. Just as I stepped outside, the horse snorted and reared back, and I called for Mason to step back, to offer her some space.
Horses were flighty creatures, that was for sure. In my time with the scouts, I'd of course only had my steed, my dutiful boy Strider. I'd worked the stables, worked the horses, learned how to deal with them and knew right away that this was a situation I needed to diffuse, and quickly - yet calmly.
"Amaya," Mason said worriedly. "I don't... Uh... I think I need some..."
"Help? I can see that. Stay calm," I said, more to Mason than to the horse. I locked eyes with him, and knew within that moment that he had no idea how to help himself, nor his horse. "It'll be alright," I reassured him. "Loosen your hold on the reins, just a bit."
"Erm, that seems like the opposite of what I should do," he said, uncertainty clear in his voice.
"Just trust me," I said, approaching them slowly. The horse pawed the dirt anxiously, clearly eyeing something far over her head - chancing a glance over my shoulder, I caught sight of a large hawk perched on a tree branch. "Hold them in one hand, take away some of the control she's got."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure," I said, stopping just shy of reaching the mare in case she decided to buck or charge. "Can you circle her gently? See if you can't get her to stop focusing on what's scaring her."
"Uh, yeah," Mason said, doing as told, his movements unsure and unpracticed. Still, the horse seemed well-trained despite her scare, and circled around herself slowly, though she still seemed flighty, just a bit. "I think it's the bird," Mason provided, looking up at it - having to crane his neck this way and that as the horse continued to turn.
"Alright, ease up," I told him, and he did as told. "And that's no bird, that's a damn hawk."
There was no way for me to really expect him to understand the distinction between the two, but he seemed to take my word for it. "Well, whatever it is, it swooped down to attack me," he said. "I think it wanted my hat!"
Despite myself, and despite the situation, I couldn't help but laugh. Even though he was obviously still distressed, he still had his humor about him - and that, I could appreciate. Hell, it wasn't like I was any different - all of us that were raised in that city had to find ways to cope with the grim reality of our situations, and humor dark and dry and sometimes distasteful or misplaced seemed to be a common one.
"She's just a dainty lady of the court," I cooed, taking slow, measured steps towards the mare. She seemed somewhat hesitant, but reached out to nose my hand when I extended my palm towards her. "Isn't that right? You're too dignified for this country life, right sweetheart?" I redirected my focus to Mason, on his eyes, the pair paying careful attention to me. "You certainly made quite an entrance, Mason."
"Yes, well, I'm a performer at heart, you know that," he said cheekily. "Is she... Is she alright?"
"She'll be just fine," I told him, patting her neck. "Go ahead and dismount, I'll take her around back for you." Mason chanced a glance towards the house, then back to me.
"Actually, I think I'll take the walk with you," he offered.
I knew exactly where his hesitation was coming from, and it was so terribly cute that I couldn't help but smile. As I took hold of the horse's reins, up by the bit as Mason prepared to dismount. "What, don't want to go inside without me?"
Mason blanched a little. "Levi scares me, you know that."
I chuckled. "Still?"
"Even more now, actually," he said, dismounting carefully. I held the horse steady as he did, and once he was steady on his feet, I began leading us along the path leading around the house to the back.
"Oh, come now. Honestly?"
"Honestly," he affirmed.
"Why even more now, then? I understand he can be intimidating, sure, but-"
"If you dare say that he's secretly a teddy bear or something like that, I'm leaving right now," he threatened playfully.
"Alright then," I conceded. "I won't say it."
"Anyway," Mason said, looking out at the property owned by Levi and myself, at the grounds we allocated for the horses to graze in, bordered by the fence we built together and sitting in the shadow of a distant mountain range. "He's even scarier now because he's your husband."
I looked at Mason with a smile. So, he was nervous to be around my husband - very much like a doting older brother might want to leave a good impression on his sister's significant other. I suppose that's exactly how he felt - I certainly thought of him as a brother, and I certainly wanted them to get along. I guess I always assumed that they would, but I guess I gravely underestimated how scary Levi really could be and honestly, the two men could not be further apart, personality-wise.
At last, we reached the paddock, and Mason went ahead of us to pull the gate open. At the sound, my steed and Levi's mare both looked up. Into the paddock we went, but we did not release her just yet - instead, I brought her to a sectioned portion where she'd have room to graze but the horses could meet over the fence without direct contact.
"There now," I said, removing her saddle, then her bridle, once the inner gate was closed behind us. Strider, ever curious, started to slowly walk over. Levi's mare couldn't seem to bring herself to care about the newcomer, but Mason's horse - a dainty, dark brown mare - waited patiently for me to release her so she could relax. "Feel better now, sweetheart?"
The mare walked further into the paddock, finding a nice spot to graze. Mason and I stepped out, but lingered by the fence to watch her take in her new surroundings. For the next few days, this would be home for her. I could only hope, as I leaned against the fence with my elbows braced atop the topmost plank, that she would like it here.
"Sorry about all that," Mason said, mirroring my position. Only, he set his chin in his palm, letting out a huff. "I'm still new to... all of this."
"Don't apologize," I said to him. "It's just odd that they didn't provide you a carriage. Did they teach you to ride a horse?"
"Briefly, yes," he told me. "But doing it for such a long ride and... well, you know. It was hard."
"I'll write to Historia," I told him. "There's a reason I asked for a carriage for you. I wanted you to get here safely, and yet a hawk nearly took you both out."
"I got here, at any rate," he said, meeting my eyes with a smile of his own. "And I only got lost once."
I opened my mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of a loud wail from the house. Instinctually, I turned towards the sound, and Mason chuckled. "I think your little one misses you, Amaya."
"And I think she wants to meet you," I said, already pushing away from the fence to make my way towards the house. Noticing Mason's hesitance right away, I turned on my heel and gestured for him to follow. "Come on, then. You won't be spending the week outside, right?"
His trust for me and his excitement to visit quickly overpowered his nervousness and his anxiety, and soon he fell right into step alongside me. He actually started to overtake me then, but only to bound towards the house as quickly as he could to pull the screen door open for me. I thanked him as I passed by him and into the house, leading the way inside to where Levi was holding Emi, already trying to seek me out to soothe her.
—
Mason's chivalrousness, and his insistence to open doors for me, fetch anything I might ask for (and even those I didn't), was incredibly obvious and incredibly telling. He was as he had always been - so furthermore, he was dependable.
He was still the Mason I knew underground, but more full of life. If El had believed I was meant for a life on the surface and under the sun, then surely he'd have felt the same way about Mason, because his entire being seemed to be built for it.
Though perhaps it's more accurate to say that no one was built to live underground.
Well... maybe some.
Anyway.
Though most of Mason's kindness seemed natural for him, it seemed moreover that he was going a bit overboard, even by my standards - and I've been told I'm very selfless myself in more than a few instances and by more than a few people - and it seemed to be wearing on him.
I noticed a slight change in his gait on his very first evening with us. After dinner, he wanted to take a walk to catch up, and we did. So, after helping Levi clean up after dinner, I bundled Emiko up and we left Levi to likely catch up on paperwork, maybe clean a bit, and worry over me.
The walk was pleasant, incredibly so. We walked the dirt road leading away from my home, heading along it towards the Survey Corps base, as he requested. When we reached it, all was quiet in the base, but we walked the halls and I showed him the library, the offices, the barracks, the armory. He looked at everything with an attentiveness I hadn't anticipated, but it wasn't long after we left my office that he stumbled.
"You like it, Mason?"
"It's great," he told me, looking around at the portraits of all the commanders as we walked through the gallery leading towards the entrance hall.
"You've got this look in your eyes," I noted. "Like you're sad."
"It's not that I'm sad," he told me right away, redirecting his attention towards Emi, who was leading the way by crawling - working off some energy before bed. "Just... thinking about if I had... I don't know."
"Tell me," I pressed gently, and I noted right away as we passed by Erwin's portrait, but spoke nothing of it. I only locked eyes with him briefly, but did not let my eyes linger. Not now.
"I was just thinking that maybe if I was a fighter," he began, "then maybe I could have joined you, and your friends, and then..."
"And then?"
"Came to the surface with you," he provided uncertainly. "But that's silly, isn't it? I'm not a fighter, not really. Not like you guys."
"You're a fighter in your own right," I told him. "Don't sell yourself short, Mace." He met my eyes, but he was still upset, that was clear in his eyes and the frown tugging at his lips. "Don't tell me you forgot all the times you've protected me when people would run at us, trying to steal us. And you remember what happened in that pub, right?"
"I won't ever forget," he told me honestly. "I was so scared you were hurt, I..." He shook his head. "But Amaya, I... I feel like I owe you so much. And maybe if I hadn't been stuck underground, I could have paid some of that debt back, and-"
"Don't," I cut in gently. "Please, Mace."
"I was able to pay rent comfortably because of the money we made together," he continued. "I was inspired to write so many songs because of you and your kindness. I... I am only here now because you remembered me, and decided to grant me this most precious gift, and I... I don't know, songbird."
I could feel my heart fill with lead at his use of the nickname he had bestowed me when our friendship was still blossoming all that time ago. To think he'd been living like this, with this incredible burden on his shoulders...
He stumbled.
"Mason," I gasped, hurrying to his aid. He held his hands out to keep me away as he righted himself, then cleared his throat. "Mason, are you...?"
I uh... I'm alright," he said, not at all convincingly, and I think he knew that. "Just tired, I think." He then smiled brilliantly, dashing to Emi to scoop her up. In a flurry of giggles she beamed gummily at him, and despite how heavy my heart still was, I couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Besides, this little one here's bound to be exhausted, right? We should head back, yeah?"
"Yeah," I agreed, wondering how to return to the conversation we'd been having. But if the way he was babbling happily at Emi was any indication, something told me he didn't want to talk about it - not now, anyway.
At any rate, that was only the first stumble.
When we'd returned to my home, Levi and I put Emi to bed, then I showed Mason to what would be his room for the week, then at long last shut my bedroom door behind me and crossed the space to join Levi in bed. I told him about what I saw, not what was said, and Levi told me to keep an eye on it, but also that he might have only tripped.
I wasn't convinced.
I was worried, and as it turned out, I had every right to be.
But when I brought attention to it while we were walking together through Trost, he merely shrugged off my concern and pressed ever onwards, pointing out a pretty display of artwork. I could do nothing more in that moment than follow, because for the first time, I was faced with someone exactly like myself - and I had no idea how to help.
—
"You're thinking hard again," Levi noted, not even looking up from the paper he was reading. In his free hand was a cup of tea, and I realized with a start that I hadn't taken even a sip of my own. When I looked up and away from the grain of the table, I found that my breakfast was still half-eaten, too.
"Yeah, I guess so," I admitted, shaking my head and leaning back in my chair.
"Mind spilling it so you can get that dumb look off your face and I can read in peace?"
"You love me, really," I said offhandedly, trying to remember just what it was that I had been thinking about. When it came to me, I said, "Oh, it was about Mason."
At that, Levi lowered the paper and gave me his full attention. "Good things, no?"
It was a simple question, but it was a way for him to know if I wasn't just sinking back into my grief. Truth was, maybe that was the case, but I shook my head. "You have lots of good memories with him. Even up here."
"Even up here," I echoed in agreement. "I just still can't believe that his whole visit with us - the first one, you remember - he tried telling me that he hadn't been hurting. But he had."
Levi clicked his tongue, setting his cup down and crossing his arms over his chest. "Remind you of anyone, brat? You seem to have that exact same problem."
"Then, how should I have... do you think I ever got through to him?" Not heeding his words, I decided to focus on how I could have helped him - because if anyone would know the answer to that, it would be Levi, he who had helped me, right?
"Beats me," Levi said dryly. "I still can't get you to openly admit to any of that shit."
"Yeah, but..." I huffed. "Well... whatever. I just can't imagine the burden he put on himself, thinking that he owed me back for what I did for him. I mean, the money we made that let him pay rent, it paid mine too. It wasn't like everything I did was entirely selfless, because there was gain in it for me, too. And bringing him to the surface... I knew he needed to see the world. That entire city shouldn't even have people living in it but him especially, I... What?"
Levi was looking at me, looking incredibly unamused and incredibly annoyed.
"And how are the burdens you put on yourself, you brat?"
"Huh? I don't-"
"Thinking you owe your father for giving you a good life," he stated simply, and I opened my mouth to retort, but Levi continued and I snapped my jaw shut. "Wanting to pay me back for all the times I've saved you. Believing you owe me back for loving you. Should I go on?"
"I don't think that's-"
"The debt you think you owe Hange for letting you keep your position, whining about how you never got to repay Erwin for his kindness and for the house and for that damned blanket and-"
"Ok, ok," I cut in. "I get it." Mirroring him, I crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't like when you're right."
Levi picked his paper up again and took a long, slow sip of tea. "Tough," he finally said. "But whenever you come up with an idea on how you could have gotten through to Mason, let me know. I'll try it on you, see if it works."
I looked away embarrassedly. "Asshole."
"Mm-hm." After turning his page, he chanced another glance towards me. "Eat," he instructed. "Don't think I can't see that you're still thinking hard. Knock it off."
"Sorry," I said absently. "But now I'm thinking of all he hadn't gotten to see..."
"What, like us killing Titans?"
"No, I mean all of this," I said, gesturing to the absurd grandeur of the dining hall we were seated in for breakfast this morning. GIlded walls, tiled floors obscured by plush carpet, intricate sculptures and detailed paintings lining the halls and filling the alcoves.
Levi met my eyes surely. "Fine," he said, "but think of all you allowed him to see."
Alright, true. I hadn't considered that, not at this moment.
"You let him see the sun, something he gave up hope seeing as a child," Levi reminded me. "Be content with that, for now. And when you kick the bucket you can tell him all about everything you've seen here."
I smiled. "Yeah? And suddenly you know what life after death is like?"
"No," he said, "but I just so happen you like to think we'll reunite with everyone we've lost. And I also know that if that's not the truth, you'll complain and fight and kick your feet until it gets changed."
I laughed lightly. "True, true. So, I'll see you in the afterlife, my love."
Levi rolled his eyes. "Looking forward to it."
—
Our travels in Marley took us all over the continent on our way to where the international forum was to take place; with only a few weeks to explore what the outside world had to offer, it meant we were traveling by boat, by train, and by car all over the place until it was time for the forum to begin and we would sneak in, silent ambassadors of Paradis. But until then, when Kiyomi said that we were going to get a full experience of the real world, she meant it.
Our activities here ranged from nightly social dances where we learned new genres and danced with strangers to learning to play baseball day by day, which seemed to be a popular sport among the children of Marley. It was fun, but it was obvious that none of us were used to pitching a ball or swinging a bat, much less wearing a glove to catch.
We all looked like clumsy children, but even the children playing were far better than we were. That didn't stop us from having fun, and we improved each day as we played in the sun. Levi and Eren didn't play, and of course Emi didn't either, but what we lacked in numbers the regular children that played more than made up for it.
Some evenings, we went to see stage plays, while on others we walked the streets and window shopped. One afternoon, we packed up and took a riverboat to a different part of Marley. We passed through an older-style town, one that almost reminded me of home. We didn't spend long there, instead following the river once more along a tributary that headed towards the coast.
We found ourselves in a more progressive part of Marley, in a small beachfront town where many young people lived. As such, it was... strange, to say the least. It was interesting to see the slight differences between towns here in Marley when back on Paradis, everything was mostly uniform unless we traveled to the capital.
But with this town, Onyankopon had the foresight to warn us that things were a bit more relaxed. The kids around here were having a sort of cultural revolution, in which they did things as they wanted, and not what was expected of young professionals like them.
Though strange at first, I began to see the charm.
But I could barely focus on it because we began to see less and less of Eren with each passing day. The kids did their best to hide their unease, but it wasn't as though he was running around to cause trouble, he just disappeared for some time only to reappear later. As such, we all began keeping a closer eye on him, collectively and silently, but it didn't matter, because he always managed to slip away unnoticed.
When Levi, Hange, and I spoke to him about his behavior, he looked aloof and distant. It was unsettling but worked to prove that the Eren we'd met all those years ago was gone. He'd been cursed with knowledge of some kind, what with our discoveries in his father's basement, and it was destroying him. I wasn't sure what else to do but offer support when he was around.
While in that progressive seaside town, Onyankopon was excited to show off a recent development of Marley. The thing was, we'd smelled it before we got a chance to see it.
"Oh, jeez," Sasha muttered as we walked, wrinkling her nose in disgust. We all turned to look back at her, wondering what she was suddenly so disgusted by. It was a beautiful day out, clear skies and warm sun accompanying a cool breeze. "What's that smell?"
I was sure that we all looked horribly dumb in that moment because we all lifted our chins slightly, taking deep inhales to try to smell what she had. I couldn't, not until a strong breeze blew through, bringing on the air a very chemical-heavy smell.
"Ah," Onyankopon smiled, looking at her. "That'd be the pool."
"Pool?" Jean asked.
"I'll take you to see it," Onyankopon said. "It's where we swim."
"We swim too," Connie muttered. "We have water on Paradis too, you know."
"Connie," I said in warning, a reminder not to go calling out where we were from. He uttered a small "oops" but didn't seem all too concerned about it. He was lucky there was no one around right now.
It was just us, our odd little fellowship on the path as our guide led us through the area we'd be staying in. It was, apparently, a resort of sorts, at least that's what he said. He compared it to our pubs and inns but claimed that the ones in this portside town were more... luxurious, made for travelers and tourists.
"Our water doesn't smell like that," Sasha said.
"It smells like one of the runt's cleaning supplies," Mikasa, who was walking next to me, said under her breath.
I couldn't help the snort that left me. Levi, walking ahead of us, Emi holding his hand, turned his head to glare at me, as if knowing that I'd been laughing at his expense. When he turned back around, Mikasa allowed herself to smile and glance at me. I met her devilish look with one of my own.
Onyankopon shrugged as he led us down a stone path. "The water is treated with chemicals to keep it clean," he explained. "That's what the smell is. But it's safe."
Other visitors dashed by, scantily clothed, excited sounds leaving them as they ran by. "Their escorts get to work early," I said.
That made Onyankopon laugh openly. He glanced back at me. "They're not escorts, captain. They're headed to the pool to swim."
"They're wearing underwear," Armin protested. "Won't they get burnt? A-And isn't that indecent?"
"Not for swimming," he answered. "These people are on vacation, looking to have fun. And sure, they could get burnt, but we've got salve to help with that. There's a lotion that makes it so you won't get burnt."
"Lotion to help with burns," I said incredulously. "Just how far behind are we, exactly?"
"If you guys want to, we can spend the afternoon at the pool," Onyankopon offered. "Your luggage was taken ahead of us, so all we'd have to do is bring you to get bathing suits. There's a hut by the pool that sells them."
"That sounds fun," Connie said. "Spending time in the sun with foreign babes sounds like a fun time, eh, Jean?" The kids began talking rapidly, excitedly.
"Captains, Commander?" Onyankopon pressed. "I'm just the guide. You three are technically still in charge of them." Suddenly, several sets of eyes were aimed at me.
"I have no problem with it," I said, bringing smiles to their faces. "My only question is how we're going to buy the suits."
"Ms. Kiyomi was nice enough to replenish some money in the budget for extra fun," he said. "We can use that and still have enough left over."
"Perfect, then," Hange said, grinning. "Let's do it!" A short trek through the grounds later, and Onyankopon opened a gate, gesturing for us to go through. The large, fenced area was taken up mostly by a large hole in the ground, filled with crystal clear water and happy, swimming folks. The area was huge. Surrounding the pool was a deck, covered with chairs, tables with umbrellas, and there was even what looked to be a bar.
"Wow," I said, taking it all in.
There was a band playing upbeat music somewhere, and a pair of young teens ran by, hand-in-hand, giggling all the way. There was so much happening at once, it was tough to see it all. Still, I tried, leaning this way and that, wanting to join in on the fun.
There were some women wearing what looked like just a bra and underwear as they lounged in the chairs, chatting happily. Some kids were in the water by the stairs leading in, tossing a ball to each other. A man was wading through the water with a woman sitting on his shoulders. A young boy got a running start and leapt into the water headfirst, reemerging only a few seconds later, a wide smile on his face.
Onyankopon led us through the pool area towards the far end. There was a hut pressed to the back fence, a small storefront manned by a friendly looking woman. Onyankopon explained that we were all in need of suits and some sunblock, which I took to mean the salve he'd mentioned earlier.
The woman was more than happy to oblige, a male assistant helping the boys, and the woman working with us few ladies in the group. She helped us pick our sizes and led us to a separate hut where we could change. She also gave us, free of charge, a bag we could use to store what we didn't need.
The suits we were given were all each a solid color and one piece. They weren't fancy or decorated in any way, which I supposed made me feel better, but I still felt terribly exposed. My legs were left completely bare, as were my arms, something that I'd never considered doing if I ever went out in public.
And the thing was skin-tight, revealing my every curve and muscle. As if noticing my trepidation as I gazed at myself in a full-length mirror, Hange grinned and threw her arms around my shoulders, meeting my eyes through the reflection.
"You look great, Amaya! Levi's not gonna be able to keep his eyes off you!"
Her words managed to make me smile. "Not that there aren't plenty of other men around that you can't replace him with," Mikasa deadpanned, tugging at one of the straps over her shoulder.
"Come on, come on, let's go find a table!" Sasha chimed, grabbing me and Mikasa both by the arms and dragging us out of the hut. Mikasa had the wherewithal to grab our bag before she did, and I managed to scoop up Emi in my arm, and all too soon we found ourselves back in the hot sun, Hange following us.
It was a cloudless day, leaving nothing for the sun to duck behind. We were out before the boys, surprisingly enough, because with a quick look around the pool area, they were nowhere to be found. Sasha kept a firm hold on our arms as she led us bravely forth, towards an empty table she'd seen. On the walk over, Sasha slowed, just as a group of three men – all tall, dark, and gorgeous – walked by. They slowed too, and my mouth dropped open at the sight of their... everything.
"What a beautiful set of brothers," Sasha said, clearly ogling the men. One of them caught my gaze, and he smiled warmly at me. I was torn suddenly from Sasha's grasp, and I let out a noise of surprise as someone forcefully grabbed my hand to drag me past the men.
I turned my head to see Levi, a nasty glare on his face as he looked back at the trio of men. I could hear Sasha giggle as the three girls jogged to catch up with Levi's speedy pace. We set up at the table, the other members of our group joining us after a moment. They were all wearing loose swim shorts of varying colors and patterns.
"This is a good spot to set up," Onyankopon said. "I have the sunblock, who wants it first?"
Armin, ever ready to learn, took the bottle from him. He read over the label as I looked up at the closed umbrella. I leaned over the table, trying to figure out how to open it. There was a crank on the pole of the umbrella, and I began to rotate it, grinning as the umbrella slowly unfurled. Levi wasted no time in sitting down in the shade at one of the chairs, taking Emi into his lap.
"You're not going to swim?" I asked, though I felt I already knew the answer.
"No," he said simply.
I waited patiently at his side as the kids passed the bottle around, and finally it was passed to me. I squirted some onto my palm, surprised at how cool it was. As I began rubbing some onto my arms, I glanced up across the pool at a couple. The woman was lying on her stomach, the man rubbing the lotion into her back. Levi looked up at me, noticing my movements slow slightly, then followed my gaze across the pool.
"Hey, Levi," I began to say.
"No, brat," he said quickly.
"Oh," I said. "Well, someone has to get my back." I gestured to the kids who were busy helping each other spread the sunblock on their backs. I crouched down in front of his chair, looking back at him. A quiet moment passed, but eventually, he gave in.
"Fine," he muttered.
I grinned and lifted my hair out of the way so he could lather the lotion on my back, or at least, what skin of my back was exposed. His hands were warm, I could tell even though the coolness of the lotion. I could only hope that it was at least fully lathered on my back because Sasha grabbed my hand, yanking me from Levi and leading me to the steps leading down into the pool.
I began to laugh at her excitement but as she pulled me down the first few steps I yelped, jumping back up the steps when I felt how cold the water was. Hange turned and grabbed my hand with both of hers, pulling me with more force now.
Without any other choice I let her pull me in, giving me no time to get used to the temperature of the water. Once standing hip-deep in the water Hange let go of me, only to set her hands on her hips to look at the others still standing around the table.
"You cowards! Get in here!"
Well, at her clear challenge, they did. Sasha, Jean, and Connie ran, despite the signs around the area explicitly telling people not to run. Armin and Mikasa trailed after them, slower, though looking around curiously at everything going on. Onyankopon and Eren, because he'd decided to join us today, didn't follow them, however, instead choosing to sit at the table with Levi and Emi.
I was about to call out to Eren to have him join us but there was suddenly somebody on top of me, clinging to my back. I looked up to see Sasha, who had I supposed just invited herself to a piggy-back ride on me. The sudden force of it had me tipping over and we fell into the water. We emerged at the same time, wide smiles on our faces. The water had been freezing, but compared to the overbearing heat of the sun, it felt great.
"Try not to get us kicked out right away," Onyankopon called out.
"No promises," Hange called back.
"Ooh," Connie said, pointing towards the other side of the pool. There were people paired off, some people sitting on the shoulders of their partners. It looked like they were wrestling, almost. They were pushing against each other, trying to knock the others off balance and into the water. "Let's try that!"
"That looks fun," I said. "Let's pair up!"
"We don't have an even number," Hange mumbled. "Ah, that's alright. I'll watch!"
Sasha and Connie were already up to their antics, Sasha trying to force Connie under to climb onto his shoulders. Armin approached Mikasa, so that left me with Jean. He stood next to me, smiling down at me. "Ready, captain?"
"Sure," I said. He sank down onto his knees. With his height, he could still peek up out of the water, and I wondered about how best to do this. With my height, I couldn't quite hop up onto his shoulders. "Oh, hold on. Back it up."
He followed as I waded back towards the stairs. From that height, then, I could lower myself gently onto his shoulders. He reached his hands up and I took them, helping stabilize us both as he carefully got to his feet.
"Oh, god," I said as we swayed slightly. A breeze rolled through and I nearly shivered. The water rolling down my body didn't quite help, but I was warmed quickly by the sun.
"You alright up there, Amaya?"
"Yeah," I said with a smile, looking around. "So, this is what it's like to be tall, huh?"
"It's pretty fun," Jean teased. "You should try it sometime."
"I am," I said. "Right now, actually. I think I quite like it."
Jean took a few tentative steps forward, nice and slow and easy. I focused solely on not being the reason we didn't fall over. Thankfully, years of working with the maneuvering gear ensured that we were very good at balancing, and we very quickly got the hang of it. Sasha was finally on Connie's shoulders, waiting for us to begin. With a splash, Mikasa was able to get Armin on her shoulders.
"Okay, kids," Hange said, "and Amaya, I guess... I want a good, clean fight! And by fight, I mean... whatever this is. Don't actually hurt each other, got it? Ready?"
"Ready!" We all called out. And then, Hange gave the order.
Connie charged forward, right for us, but Jean was quick to sidestep out of the way. I watched as Connie struggled to slow his momentum and stop, but while I was watching them, Mikasa and Armin picked that moment to strike.
"Captain," Jean cried out. I looked up just in time, meeting Armin's grapple. Our hands clasped, we pushed against each other, Jean and Mikasa doing their best to stabilize us. And then suddenly, Connie and Sasha were behind us.
"Jean," I said, doing my best to control both Armin's grapple and Sasha's rapid swipes.
"We got it, don't worry," Jean said confidently, sidestepping again and turning so I could face them head-on.
We were all smiling and laughing and having a great time, and with a final push from me, Armin was falling from Mikasa's shoulders with a shocked yell. He fell into the water, Mikasa looking back at him to make sure he was okay. He surfaced, but once again, I was paying too much attention to someone that wasn't a threat to me, because the next thing I knew, Sasha was beside us, trying to push me off. As Sasha and I grappled, Jean let go of my thighs and pushed Connie.
"Hey," Connie cried out, a big smile on his face. They began grappling too, and with triumphant cries from both of us, Sasha and Connie toppled over.
"Jean and Amaya take this round," Hange called happily. "Congrats!"
"We did it" I cheered.
"No fair," Connie muttered as he surfaced, spitting out the water he'd taken in.
"No fair?" Jean mocked. "Sounds like something only a sore loser would say."
"Oh yeah?" Connie smirked.
And then he was charging at us, hopping up to push my shoulder back, sending me off balance, and in turn, Jean. In my attempt to rebalance, I grabbed onto Jean's head, my hands accidentally covering his eyes. He began backing up as I scrambled to stay on his shoulders, though that was probably not the best course of action to take.
"Captain! I can't-"
Those were the last words I heard before all other noise was muffled as we fell back into the water. The water, oddly enough, was much deeper here where we fell. Odd. When I surfaced, I had to tread water, and I looked down for an explanation. I hadn't realized the water even went deeper. At the very least, I hadn't realized we were that close.
"What happened?" I asked Jean.
"I slipped on the dip," he grumbled. "I didn't even see it."
I smiled at him. "Still, we won."
"And you only almost clawed my head off."
"Alright, sure, but we won."
There was a call from a few feet away. "Alright," Hange said. "Who's ready for Round Two?
—
The rest of the afternoon had been spent playing in the water with my comrades. At some point, Levi had called me up, noticing my skin was getting red, and so he had helped reapply the sunblock. The rest of the kids came out to reapply too, and then were all back in the water.
I'd stayed up for a few more minutes to talk with the boys and Emi, who was very content to nap in the warmth in her father's arms under the shade of the umbrella. I'd taken her with me into the water for a bit, letting her splash around in the shallow end with me.
By the time Levi had called me back out and toweled her off, she was fast asleep against his chest, wrapped in a towel, a thumb in her mouth. Levi had grabbed some food for us, and so we ate together. At some point I'd taken Eren's wrist, dragging him to the edge of the deck under the guise of wanting to show him something. He hadn't been expecting me to push him in, but I wasn't about to apologize for it, either. I'd stolen his seat, and once in the water he'd seemed to lighten up, at least a bit.
For as much fun as we'd been having here in Marley so far, Eren just seemed so far away, so distant. I'd noticed him gradually closing himself off more and more as time went on, but it was to a worrying extent now. And to disappear like he did now, I was worried. So, so worried. All I wanted was for him to have a good time, to relax and enjoy this time with his friends while we had it.
At this rate, though... we were losing our Eren, and I didn't like it.
But I feared more than anything else that it was already far too late to pull him back.