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kaekiro · 6 years ago

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Open Mind, Open Heart

Pairing: Eren/Mikasa II Rating: T (?) II Words: 3095 II [AO3] Warnings: tidbits of soft porn don't look at me A/N: This is for a request I received from AO3 user TheMoonThatKissedTheSun almost (and I am very ashamed to admit this) two years ago, asking for a sequel to chapter 24, "Foolish." I'm so sorry that it took me so long to come around. If by any chance you're still in the fandom and you see this, I hope you can forgive me and that you like what I wrote. It's the longest thing I've written in a while sjdfljd. This is for EreMika White Day: Non Traditional/Free I’m not sure if I’m early or late lol

—

Shaking fingers trace his script as she looks over the letter one more time, the usual steady drum of her heart taking on a loud, sporadic rhythm when she reads, ‘I’m coming home by the way.’ At first, she half-snorted at the sentence as if it were another one of his tasteless jokes before she paused, using the wobbly mailbox for support as she strung each word together and actually processed their meaning. How very Eren of him to deliver the news so casually, to end his letter with the very words she’s longed to see ever since she found out he was accepting a job that would take him away.

A sudden thought has her turning on her heal, feet stumbling over each other in her hurry to tell Carla the news, but something at the very bottom of the page anchors her step, has her adjusting the sheet to make sure she’s not seeing imaginary things. She brings the paper closer for inspection, wondering how she almost missed the tiniest of arrows pointing at the bottom corner. Curious, she turns the page over, finding another message that had been hidden within the back folds of the letter.

I can’t wait to marry you.

—

“Mikasa,” he mumbles against her mouth, and then he’s chuckling, the sound deep and so rich that she ignores the rushed murmur of her name and pulls him close again, fingers unintentionally ruining the hair he’s tied back. Though his voice has taken a new depth and his hair a longer length, she finds that not much has changed in his absence. She took relief in it, having missed his weak, silly attempts at making her laugh, the conversations that could keep them up all night, his summer-like presence. And in his own way, he lets her know that he’s missed her exactly the same.

His hands are restless, pushing her arms up and helping adjust them securely around his neck, weakly grasping the fabric at her lower back, smoothing over the pleated skirt bunched at her knees until they press against her cheeks in another attempt to get her attention. He’s barely gotten out the first syllable of her name before she boldly pushes her tongue past his lips the moment they part, satisfied at the strangled noise she draws out.

“S-stop, wait a minute,”

She listens this time, pulling back and fixing her gaze on his rudy blush as their sighs mingle into one warm breath, filling the space between them.

“You want me to stop?”

“No. Yes. I mean,” a frustrated groan softly rasps from his throat before he clears it, frowning at her teasing smile. “I have something for you.”

She respires slow and heavily, blinking away the haze from her eyes. “For me?”

He hums, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Give me a second.”

He doesn’t leave any more room for question, already standing at his full height and as his footsteps recede, she slumps back on her bed (or rather what used to be his old one), dizzy from the attention he’s lavishing her with. Each breath she takes cools her skin from his heated touch, the muscles in her face aching and not used to all the smiles. In fact, she’s not used to any of it; loving and being loved like this. She keeps discovering new things about him, about herself and though the unfamiliarity of their intimacy makes her nervous, it also sparks an excitement that ignites the desire for more.

She doesn’t remember closing her eyes, only realizing that she’s fallen half asleep when Eren tugs at her sleeve, pushing aside the bangs that are tangled in her lashes. Her arms push her upright, the mattress dipping as he sits. “Eren? What… where did you go?”

His cheeks redden. “I, uh, was having trouble finding what I was looking for. Sorry I took so long.” Again, he adds in an afterthought, snorting. She huffs in their mutual amusement, shaking her head.

“It’s okay,” she says softly, the small package in his hand catching her attention. “What’s that?”

He snaps into a straight posture like he’s already forgotten about the item, quickly shoving it onto her lap. Settling against the headboard, she carefully undoes the simple knot binding the box, looking at him one last time before lifting the cover. Inside is a key, unique in shape and she holds it between her fingers, unsure how to react and shrinking somewhat under his expectant eyes. Is it a souvenir of sorts? What is it supposed to mean?

“Um…” she laughs a little, thinking herself dumb for her next question. “What’s this for?”

He gladly elaborates, taking the hand holding the key into his own. “While I was away, I found this really nice house… and well, that the key to that house. It could definitely use some work, but since we’re starting a new chapter of our lives, I thought it’d be nice to… what?”

“You… bought another house?”

“Yeah…?” he slowly ascertains, as if he’s trying to guess the right answer. “Well, I didn’t exactly buy it. I put down some money on it, and I’m going to pay it off in installments.”

“When? What about this house? What about Carla? Why didn’t you talk to me first before buying it? Where -”

“Woah, wait Mikasa one question at a time. I just…” he winces, slow and confused. “I wanted to surprise you with something nice.”

Inside, she softens at his sincerity in his voice, can see the good intention behind it, but -- “Eren, you can’t just make big decisions like that without asking. Does Carla even know?”

“I mean… I was getting around to telling her -”

She scoffs, the sound almost inaudible yet his ears manage to pick up on it and just like that, both of their moods turn sour. They spend the next hour pacing around the room and around each other as they argue. It ends when they stay silent for a few minutes too long and Eren wordlessly leaves the room, going somewhere to blow off steam she’s sure. A part of her wishes to call out as he walks away, to tell him and come back so they can make up for the time he’s been gone, just like they were earlier. But by the time she’s willing to put her pride aside, he’s already gone. She stares at the key they set aside on her dresser, and without much reason, she puts it back inside its box and fixes it the same way it was given to her.

—

In the morning when she wakes, Eren isn’t home.

It’s Carla who tells her of his whereabouts after she asks; even if she’s upset with him, it doesn’t ever stop her from worrying.

“All he told me is that he’s going to be gone for a few hours, maybe longer. He wasn’t sure. I couldn’t even ask where he was off to! He was already walking out.”

Her face falls, fingers wrapping tighter around her cup. “I see.”

Sensing something off, Carla sits across from her, reaching over the small table to squeeze her wrist. “Dear, what’s wrong? What happened between you two?”

Talking about it was probably one of the last things she wanted at the moment, but if anyone could understand, it’s Auntie. She goes on to explain the argument she had with Eren, and as she relays the heated words he threw at her and she at him, something like guilt and regret starts to coil in her gut, the look on Carla’s face anything but reassuring.

“You know,” she starts after a minute, taking a sip of her drink, “When I married Eren’s father, we had hardly been together for a year, but I knew I loved him and at the moment it just felt right. Back then, my mistake was thinking that marriage would be easy. Grisha and I disagreed and argued about a lot of things. Having Eren made things harder because it was no longer just about me and his father, we had to think about him too. We almost split when Eren was still a toddler. It wasn’t what I wanted, though. Not for me, and most certainly not for our son.”

The short story comes as a shock to her because as long as she has known the Yeagers, they never seemed to have any issues of the sort. It makes her wonder if her own parents had something similar happen to them. “How did you fix it?”

Carla smiles sadly, sighing a sigh that spoke her grief for the husband that vanished without any explanation. She comforts her this time, resting a hand on Carla’s worn one. “It didn’t happen right away. But eventually, we learned to work together and compromise, set boundaries that were not to be crossed. We still had our disagreements here and there, but it’s like that with every type of relationship. The point of this, Mikasa, is to tell you what I wished someone would have told me when I was about to get married: disagreements and arguments will and are bound to happen between you and Eren. Part of being together means that you have to learn how to communicate and work as a team instead of against each other.”

She contemplates this and reflects on last night, taking a lot of fault for the situation turning into an argument when they could’ve talked it out. Reacting the way she did though... she wasn’t sure it could’ve been helped.

“Eren is like me when I was his age. He’s still a bit carefree and sometimes does things on a whim, though I’m sure you already know that. I think what he did, getting that house, was him being spontaneous and trying to make you happy.” Amber eyes don’t miss her melancholic reaction, so she continues. “That doesn’t mean that he did it the right way, though. Like you said, he should’ve talked to you first. You both are going to make mistakes in the future and as you work through them, you learn something and become better. Just talk to him, Mikasa. These things take a lot of patience and understanding, but if it’s you two… it will be alright. Eren may not make the wisest decisions all the time, but I think one of his best ones is choosing to marry you.”

—

Later at night, when everything is still and she’s certain Carla is asleep, she tiptoes to her old room, pushing the door open until she can fit through and then closing it behind her. If he’s awake she isn’t sure, but she walks over nonetheless, tucking some hair behind his ear and leaning down to kiss his cheek. She doesn’t pull away entirely when he stirs, watching as foggy eyes open halfway and peer up into hers.

“Mikasa?”

She hums, lips brushing against his temple. “I’m not dreaming?” Smiling against his skin, she shakes her head.

“No, you aren’t.”

Lifting the blanket, she motions for him to make room and sighs as she settles against the heat of his body, palm smoothing over his chest. He is stiff and audibly swallows before his arm cautiously pulls her close, fingers curling around her shoulder. They stay like that for a bit, his gentle touches and her kisses conveying their apologies until the tension leaves their muscles and they sink comfortably into the bed.

“I left earlier to find that seller and tell him I wasn’t going to keep that house.”

He sounds sad as he tells her, and she scolds herself for getting upset and thinking only about her feelings. Sure, she would’ve liked to know beforehand, but Carla’s advice echoes in her ears, making her mindful of her selfishness. He is adventurous, always looking for the next new thing and always so eager to give. She knew this, saw how happy he looked at the thought of starting their life somewhere new. And yet she gave in to her own fear of change and made him go through all that trouble. Eren breathes out, clearly tired.

“It was hard, but in the end, he understood. What I forgot, though, was to bring the key with me to hand back,” he laughs emptily. “You think you could give me the key tomorrow? I need to return it as soon as possible.”

He turns his head towards her, waiting for an answer. She puts a finger to her chin for a moment, feigning deep thought before settling against his shoulder once more. “No, I don’t think I can give it back.”

She can sense his eyes on her and she resumes tracing his collarbone, trying to calm the slight tremble of her fingers. “Wha… what do you mean you can’t?”

“I don’t want you to give the house away.”

He shifts, leaning on a forearm to look down at her. “But you said -”

“Nevermind what I said. I was wrong. I know how much this means to you, so we’re keeping it.”

“Mikasa,” he whispers, pushing aside her bangs. “If that’s how you feel now, then why do you look scared?”

“Because I am,” she admits, almost unwillingly. “I’ve lived in this town all my life, it’s all I’ve known. And - I know I’ve only been here at this house for a few years, but…” her words trail off and she shyly looks up at him, immediately noticing the concern creasing his face and trying to smooth it out with her thumbs. She shakes off the thought, firming her words. “I wouldn’t mind starting our life somewhere new. If it’s with you, I think I can do it.”

Though it’s unexpected in the seriousness of the moment, she welcomes the ferocity of his kiss by tugging him closer, bodies shuffling and tangling until she feels his weight settle between her thighs.

“Eren,” she whispers harshly, pushing at his arms yet tilting her head back as his lips traverse the length of her throat. “Your mother is down the h-” Her moan escapes her lips in muffled fragments as he grinds his body against hers, calloused hands squeezing her bare thighs when they move to bunch her gown at her hips.

“I’m - serious,” she manages to gasp out, gripping his hands and pulling them from beneath her clothes, breathless with how quick things are escalating. “Wait a minute…!”

He licks his lips, the glint in his eyes mischevious. “You want me to stop?” She raises a brow at his mocking tone, and it takes only a moment for her to remember saying the same thing to him the day before. She buries her face in her hands, unresponsive to her name and turning bright red. She eventually looks at him between the gaps of her fingers, answering his question with an annoyed yes.

“Fine,” he sighs, slumping next to her, playfully disappointed. “I’ll wait till our wedding night then.” How shameless, she thinks, throwing a pillow over her face and ignoring his laughter.

“Hey Mikasa?”

She lowers the pillow when he tugs at her arm, peaking an eye out.

“I can’t wait to marry you.”

—

There’s a different kind of buzz in the air on the morning of her wedding, all the women she knows coming to the house and fussing over her appearance. Though she wants to be annoyed (because really, it’s only a small ceremony), she learns to appreciate the help, knowing that there was no way she’d be able to do all of this on her own. The local seamstress puts the final touches on her gown, making her tear up at the small mentions of her mother, how much they look alike and how proud she insists her mother would be of her today. Sasha puts on some light makeup, adding color to her otherwise pale skin as Carla does her hair, weaving the long strands into intricate braids and bringing them together in a neat bun. When the last of many small flowers are placed in her hair and Auntie finishes adjusting the veil, all the women in the room step back and shower her in compliments, making her face and the inside of her chest warm.

“Wow,” a familiar voice whistles, “You look so beautiful, Mikasa. How did someone like Eren get you to marry him?”

“I’m still not sure myself, Armin,” Auntie jokes, laughing.

She shakes her head and smiles, moving through the small crowd to reach one of her best friends. “Thank you, Armin. I’m so glad you came to see me before the ceremony.”

“Of course,” he grins, embracing her.

“It feels like it was just yesterday the three of you were half my height and chasing each other around my yard,” Carla sniffles, looking over them fondly. “Stop growing up so fast, I can’t keep up.” They both pull her into their embrace, swept up in their shared nostalgia.

“Mikasa,” a woman calls from the door, grabbing everyone’s attention. “The officiator is here. Are you ready?”

The room fills with excited murmurs and she swallows, fiddling with her ring anxiously. This is it. Carla grabs her shoulder lightly, her gaze soft and knowing and she nods, both at Auntie and the woman. “Yes, I’m ready.”

—

It takes quite a bit for her to be moved to tears and even more to make her laugh, but she finds herself caught in both acts as he stutters over his vows, mouthing an explicative and doing his best to ignore the embarrassment and vulnerability he feels. She squeezes his fingers reassuringly, understandingly, and it’s enough to help him finish before she takes her turn. After a single, shaky breath, she repeats the words she’s rehearsed so many times, the rough yet gentle swipe of his thumbs over her skin comforting, inspiring more confidence in her. His smile reaches his eyes, making them so bright and warm that she melts into his hand, punctuating her promises with a kiss to the center of it.

And though she had told him that she wanted Carla’s ring and nothing else, he surprises her with another one anyway, the piece of jewelry bearing stones with cuts she’s never seen before, nearly every edge of it glittering as he slips it above the simple band she’s grown attached to. It’s far too beautiful for it to belong to her and she whispers as much, but he simply tells her to shut up, twining his fingers between the braids in her hair and kissing her, making everyone around them cheer and whoop wildly.

#eremika #eremika art #writing #requests #emwhiteday #i'll probably post the other oneshot tuesday #fingers crossed #kaleidoscopes

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