ErenxReader - Reincarnation!AU - Again - Part II

    You'd never kicked a male in the groin before, but the reaction wasn't good, or even satisfying (despite that he totally deserved it).

    The boy let out a gasp, in pain, and then looked at you, in horror.

    "What the hell is wrong with you people!" you shouted, glancing from the regretful boy moaning on the floor to Armin who looked guiltily and freaked out. You then looked at the girl, who looked at you with a melancholy.

    The door flew open again to reveal Hange, holding sandwiches they'd gotten for themselves and you for lunch. The smile on their face vanished as they took in the situation.

    Hange put the sandwiches down on the counter and began to help the boy up, Armin moved to her aid instantly, as did the girl who'd entered with him.

    "Armin, Mikasa: Take Eren out of here. He should be fine, just make sure," Hange instructed looked to you, "We're just very excited to have you, he overreacted."

    "Well, Eren should get a fuc–" you cut yourself off and eyed Hange, they would probably not want an employee cussing in their store.

    "He should get a freaking hold of himself," you muttered, moving out of the way as Armin and the girl, evidently Mikasa, picked up their friend's limp, moaning body and took him out.

    The door's bell rang softly as they left, and Hange sighed.

    For not the first time, Hange gave you a long sorrowful look and went back to the back room, presumably doing something productive.

    You felt a twinge of guilt in your chest as you resumed checking inventory.

    You may have overreacted, but he had certainly violated your personal space and overstepped obvious boundaries.

    After finishing inventory, you sat at the counter and munched on your sandwich before asking for another assignment from Hange who waved you off and told you to "man the counter" and just try not to hit anyone else.

    A few tourists wandered in and one bought a keychain, but none of them gave you odd looks or attempted to show fondness.

    The sun was beginning to set and you wondered when Hange closed, and where you'd go to paint the next day, a Tuesday and a day Hange had ordered you to produce paintings for their store.

    As the orange and red stained the sky shone through the large windows at the display windows of the shop, the door opened again and a large group of people entered.

    You recognized Armin in the front next to a boy with an undercut and two toned hair and a small smirk. Behind them was a pair with grins on their faces, one a bald boy and the other a girl with reddish brown hair and a ponytail, the latter munching on some chips. Behind them was the girl, Mikasa, and Eren, looking better then how'd you last left him.

    Armin marched up to the counter,

    "Thought I'd introduce you to some of the other kids our age around here. This is Jean," he said pointing to undercut boy.

    Jean offered his hand, the first reasonable introduction you'd had since arriving.

    You shook it vigorously.

    "Nice to meet you," Jean gave you a smile.

    "Pleasure's mine," you replied. The bald kid made choking noises behind Jean, and as you looked to him, you noticed Eren glance away as your gaze passed over him.

    Ah, poor guy.

    "I'm Sasha," the red ponytail girl said, chewing chips but sounding fairly understandable. She gave a wave, and then resumed eating.

    Bald guy slammed a hand on the counter so suddenly you jumped back a bit, and he grinned at your reaction.

    "Connie, Connie Springer. Hange warned me about you!"

    You smiled awkwardly, warned? What kind opinion did Hange have that they warned Connie?

    "Uh, it's n–" you began but were cut off.

    "HMM," Connie stroked his chin, "Actually, Hange just told me about you, Eren warned me. Well, not explicitly, but the moaning was warning enough."

    You turned to Eren, who wasn't meeting your eyes, but after a moment of stares from the rest of the group looked towards you.

    He cleared his throat but you held up a hand to stop him.

    "I apologize for causing you such extreme pain, kicking you in that spot was more of a punishment than you deserved. However," you leaned over the counter towards him, "This by no means absolves your actions for they were highly inappropriate."

    "I'm sorry!" Eren blurted as you finished, "I didn't mean to be so forward, I just was too energized. I regret that and I hope we could start on a better note."

    You blinked, well, that was a good response. You nodded and Eren extends his hand,

    "I'm Eren Jaeger. I'm glad to meet you."

    "_____ ______."

    You smiled at the group as the black haired girl who'd been with Eren moves in front of him,

    "I'm Mikasa."

    "Oh! Good to meet you!" you yelped, you had almost forgotten that one!

    "So, _____," Armin started, "Since we're the only kids in town this age, we usually have dinner together. We came to invite you, we'd all love to know you better, Hange only had good things to say."

    "Oh wow, I'd love to!" you answered, "Hange provided my dinner though, so I'm not sure if I'd be able to pay myself."

    Precisely as you uttered that, Hange walked out from the back room.

    "_____, _____, I wouldn't force you to eat with Levi and I every day! You're allowed to eat out twice a week, and you'll get reimbursed. Any more and it's out of your own pocket," Hange put a hand on your shoulder, "Eren, you alright?"

    Eren gave a nod and Hange looks at the gang of teenagers around their counter,

    "Goodness I've missed you all's faces around here."

    Connie grinned, "We've missed you too, Captain Hange!"

    The room goes quiet. Everyone looked to Connie, panicked.

    You glanced around, confused, "What's wrong? Isn't that a nickname?"

    Everyone looked to you then, and you shrunk back from all the stares. Was 'Captain' offensive? Sounded like a nickname. Maybe it was offensive some places. You resisted the urge to get your phone and look at Urban Dictionary's entry for the word.

    Mikasa broke the tension, "Yes. It is."

    The group seemed to snap out of whatever had them frozen and all nodded, some smiling.

    "Uh, cool," you said, puzzled by the many weird behaviors you'd observed.

    "The d-dinner will be in a hour!" Eren said awkwardly loudly, tripping over his words as he looked at you anxiously.

    "Okay, should I meet you all or–"

    "We'll come get you!" Eren practically yelled. Everything he said was loud, like he had a million things bottled up inside of him and he just screamed normal things to cope.

    "Inside voice, Eren, you're going to hurt my ears," you said, gently, and he appeared to calm slightly.

    As you spoke, the Sasha made a sound that sounded almost like a whimper, but it might have been the chip chewing. You looked to her but she turned her head and seemed to be fascinated by a painting on the wall.

    "Well, I'll guess I'll see you later then?" you proposed, and the teenagers assembled nodded and shouts various farewells to Hange before leaving.

    With them gone it was quiet, and less crowded, but something about their presence had been comforting. It was odd.

    You'd never had many friends, not because you weren't friendly or a good person to be around, but because you didn't click with anyone.

    You had people you always did projects with and sat with at lunch and who you always talked to. But none of them you really cared about to the point where they're being in your life added something you couldn't be happy without.

    You could switch out every one of your friends and you probably wouldn't mind. As long as someone was willing to put up with you and give you a reasonable amount of company, who they were didn't matter.

    Although you always felt so lonely, so out of place, even with people who would call you a friend.

    You'd explained this to a chill and uncaring cousin, who shrugged and suggested to lower your criteria of only caring about people who were somehow platonic soulmates and just have fun with people around you.

    It was good advice, and following it did make life at school and happier.

    And yet...

    Something was still missing, and you couldn't be sure, but standing with all those other teens in the little shop had given you a sense of wholeness. Even being around Hange, the people in the town made you feel like what was missing wasn't missing, whatever it was.

    "Did you finish that inventory?" Hange said in a soft voice, trying not to jolt you too harshly out of your thoughts.

    "Oh! Yes!" you nodded, handing over the ledgers. Hange smiled and took them,

    "For now just man the counter and offer to help if anyone comes in, alright?"

    "Yes!"

    Hange turned and went back to the back room and you stared towards the door, imagining the backs of the other teenagers as they left. Unconsciously, your hand reached up towards the place over your heart and gripped the fabric of your shirt. It took you moment to process what you had just done, but you shook your head and patted your cheeks.

    No more unconscious motions, no more déjà vu—just repose and relaxation and painting and possibly befriending some kids your age.

    So you sat, looking to the door, waiting for some customers.

    (At least, the customers are who you told yourself you were waiting for.)

 

    It was about two hours later when the door opened and you saw Eren enter.

    A handful of customers had come in and out, a few buying various useless knick-knacks and charms.

    But the sun had gone down and it had to seven or eight o'clock, and the end of your shift.

    You looked to Eren, up from the back of a receipt you'd been doodling on, and gave him a small smile.

    He gave one back as he approached the counter,

    "So, uh, are you ready?"

    "I thought you all were going to come pick me up," you commented as you have a nod, reaching for a little cross body purse with your wallet and phone in it and slinging it on.

Eren looked incredibly nervous at the question, well, nervous in general,

    "We had to get a b-big table! But the restaurant wouldn't let us push two together since some family was using their only big table! So they sent me to get you while everyone else argued with the owners to get things situated!" he mostly shouted.

    You gave a small smile as you replied, "You don't have to yell, but yeah, that's fine. And when I agreed we should start over, I meant it. You don't have to be nervous, or feel awkward."

    Eren stared at you a moment, then his whole body seemed to relax, "Thanks for that, I needed a bit of a reminder. Ready?"

    With a nod you grinned, "Lead the way!"

 

    The restaurant Eren led you to was on a pier, and lots of lights were hung between tall wooden poles, kind of reminding you of Christmas lights. Eren and you walked in silence, but comfortable silence, with Eren occasionally saying which way to turn or lightly touching your arm (even though he seemed a lot more chill, his hands shook when he reached out). The silence faded in the hum of people eating dinner as you walked past tables along the wooden platform.

    "There we are," Eren said as you saw the people you'd started to call "the gang" in your head, silly though it sounded.

    The scene was an amusing one. Armin was talking to someone who appeared to either work at or run the restaurant an appeasing expression, while holding out a hand in front of Jean to evidently restrain him. Behind them Mikasa was trying to discreetly move tables together, while Sasha and Connie stood between Mikasa and Jean and Armin as a wall to hide the beautiful girl from the vision of the owner.

    "See, we wanted to show the new girl, _____, the town and where else we would choose to get her dinner? So, just pushing tables together can't–. Eren! And _____! Oh thank goodness, Eren hold Jean. See this was the girl I mentioned, Mr. Shadis, _____?" Armin blabbered on.

    You smiled, "Uh hello, Mr. Shadis. I'm sorry if we caused trouble."

    The man's eyes had been narrowed but as they moved to you, his eyes softened for half a second before returning to the determined expression.

    "You aren't going to quit are you, Arlert?" Shadis demanded, and Armkn have a mischievous smile was tacit agreement.

    The man shook his head, "Do it, it's certainly not worth the headache you've given me. If you so much as scratch one table in moving them though you'll never eat here again."

    "Yes sir," Armin nodded, and the man turned around with a grunt.

    Eren, who had been holding an angry Jean back, let him go and the boy scowled,

    "I can't believe Shadis, that fucker! All we wanted to do was move like two pieces of furniture!" he whispered furiously.

    "It's cause he saw ____," Eren noted and Armin nodded,

    "He felt bad turning you down, _____."

    "Because I'm new?" you asked, and Armin looked slightly taken aback before nodding vigorously,

    "Yes of course that's why!"

    "Maybe he was charmed by your good looks, _____," Jean suggested, giving you a flirtatious glance. You balked and blushed as Eren elbowed him,

    "Shut up."

    Armin just looked away, and turned around to where Sasha and Connie had began to help Mikasa.

    "They're ready," Armin said softly and melancholically as he walked over. Jean's eyes fluttered to him, looking a little confused, but walked over too.

    You recovered from Jean's not-so-subtle flirting quickly enough to notice Armin's strange tone and gave a questioning look to Eren who gave you a "I'll explain later" look in reply before following Armin.

 

    The dinner when pretty well, Armin got happier after eating some food (what went on with him?) and Connie and Sasha told very bad puns that still made you smile. Eren spoke to you politely and carefully, like you were a piece of glass he was holding with slippery fingers. Since he so obviously regretted what he done, you felt bad for him and kept giving him comforting smiles, trying to say "it's okay you know" without actually saying it. By the end of the dinner he had seemed to relaxed a lot, which was better. Mikasa was a beautiful as she was funny, with some of the best deadpan humor you'd ever witnessed (you almost choked on your fish [the menu of this place was 80% fish, are all port towns like that?] when Mikasa made a fart joke about Sasha in the most monotone voice you'd ever heard).

    However, she kept eyeing you with some disdain, so you asked her, "Mikasa, do you not like me? Did I do something wrong?"

    She looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and shook her head, quietly looking at her food for a moment. She then looked over to Eren for a moment, to you, and spoke,

    "You and Eren–. I–. Well, let's just say I'm a little protective of Eren, so I–"

    "Oh goodness, I'm sorry!" you said, "That makes sense, I'd be mad too if someone hurt my close friend."

    Mikasa stared a you a moment, as if she was going to add something, but then just nodded,

    "I shouldn't have held it against you. Eren was out of line."

    "Ah, no, don't worry about it, I wa a little out of line too. So... Are we friends?"

    "Yes, even before this conversation we were friends."

    You grinned, and Mikasa gave you a wide smile (her smile was something to marvel).

    As dinner went on, you only felt more and more comfortable. As everyone paid up (you put it on a tab for Hange), Eren offered to walk you home.

    At that point, you'd put all the strangeness of Eren's initial reaction to you behind. Good god was he trying to make it up to you, so you accepted.

    As he walked you home, he pointed out little things about the town. The place where he first met Armin. The well Jean fell down (Eren pushed him but did not seem guilty at all, more satisfied). Where Mina broke her foot went she ran into a tree (the details were quit vague around this). Where he first fell in love with the town.

    When you arrived at your little cottage, Eren had to remind you that you were home.

    Laughing, you spoke,

    "Thanks Eren. Dinner and hanging out with you and your little gang has been really... Fun. I feel so... I don't why, but I feel like we all mesh together so well. I fit in well."

    Eren smiled, "Yeah, we all really like you, you know. I–. You know, everyone, we're glad you're here."

    You smiled, and felt color coming into your cheeks. All these kids are too sweet.

    "Thank you."

    "No problem, g'night!" Eren said, waving his hand as he walked away. You waved back and just as you opened the door you heard a shout from down the road,

    "Hey _____!" Eren yelled.

    "Yeah?"

    "I li–. I–. I am glad you're here!" he said, then sprinted down the road into the darkness.

    You smiled. As you laid on your bed, the warm feeling in your chest sealed the deal. You loved it here.

    You rolled over, the feeling...

    Home.