THE OTHER SIDE. aa

achtzehn.

     WHEN MORNING CAME, armin was already up and about inside his home. his grandfather was still fast asleep so he took the chance to cook some huge breakfast to surprise his grandfather.

     after staying up late talking to you and falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning by the time he gets back, he now wakes up in the afternoon, leaving his grandpa to cook and clean the dishes while he catches up on his missed sleep.

     and so, he managed to cook up a nice big breakfast in less than an hour. he placed the food on the decorated table and waited for his grandpa to wake up while he reads the newspaper for any interesting stories or news in their kingdom that he may have missed.

     a few minutes in and the door of his grandpa's room opened, revealing a very grumpy and tired old mermaid. the blond smiled excitedly and placed the newspaper on the table, swimming his way over to his grandpa to lead him towards the table where the food was still steaming hot and delicious. "good morning, grandpa! i made breakfast, hope you like it!"

     his grandpa smiled and laughed heartily, messing with the blond's hair as he took a seat across from him. "this looks delicious, thank you, armin."

     soon after, they merrily ate the breakfast armin poured his heart into. he and his grandfather talked about random things their minds could think of. science, art, gossips, and the like. armin loved this kind of morning, where he and his grandpa would eat together and talk about random things without a care in the world. if only he could talk about meeting with humans, get their curiosity up and rising, talk for days end...

     ah, he couldn't. who knows what his grandfather would do? he could easily give him to the palace to have his head decapitated for going against the law. the rules he made sure armin would always follow.

     just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.

     after breakfast, his grandpa ordered him to buy some ingredients and items in the market while he offered to wash the dishes. with a salute and a charming smile, he left their humble abode and started his journey to the crowded market. 

     the blond mermaid greeted some of the mermaids he knew on his way, stopping for a minute to talk for a bit before continuing his way to the market. it was unusually dark for a good morning and when armin looked up, no signs of the sun were present in the ceiling of the cave. the only light source (that wasn't doing much good) was the lampposts on each street. 

     it was weird to see such a dark morning but he should've expected it sometime later. it's not like the weather up there was always bright and sunny.

     when he reached the capital, multiple vendors were already calling out to him. he pulled out a list of the ingredients he was supposed to buy from his basket and began searching and buying among the colorful stalls. he was too concentrated on checking out one item when he didn't notice eren calling out to him from behind, baskets of food and ingredients in hand. he only heard them when mikasa swam over and placed a hand on his shoulder, startling him.

     after shopping for food with eren and mikasa who joined him, they headed to the familiar seaweed area for a quick rest before they get home and to hang out for a bit. knowing eren, this would be his chance of asking the blond about the human he has been meeting with. armin sat down on a small boulder, placing his basket beside him as he stared at the buzzing mermaids from afar. eren and mikasa sat down beside him, letting the silence hang over their head comfortably.

     eren glanced at armin who was enjoying the peacefulness, taking his chance, before opening his mouth to speak, "so, how are you and your human friend?" he asked with curiosity, arms behind his head in a lax manner while he stares out ahead.