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Birthday One Shot

Requested One Shot of Eren and his son celebrating their birthday. Mikasa wants to surprise Eren by having his friends surprise him, since they haven’t seen each other in a long time. I hope you like it :)

Mikasa POV

I look at the time, and nervously tap my finger to my side as I look around the decorations in the backyard. Today, is Eren’s and our son’s birthday. Eren could care less about his birthday, but our son and him share the same birthdate, so naturally I have to celebrate the day my little boy was brought into this world. 

I smile as I remember the day our son was born. The tears Eren shed as I handed him his baby boy and told him happy birthday. He had forgotten about his special day as we had been busy preparing to deliver the baby. I didn’t though, through all the pain, I had his birthday in the back of my head. 

After the baby was born, it is safe to say that I’ve been happy. We have lived a somewhat normal life in a decent home that overlooks the green fields. We moved out of Paradis, got a new life in a country that doesn’t know our story and have found peace in a place with no talks of war. 

I am nervous for today though. Our kid is turning 5 and he hasn’t met our survey corps friends. After what happened after the rumbling, Eren and I wanted to distance ourselves from anything that reminded us of it. I don’t know how Eren will take it. I really want to surprise him. 

“Where did he go?” I turn my head to Eren, who looks out of breath. “I just hope he’s not hanging from a tree again,” I say. I love our kid, I do, but combining a kid with my strength and Eren’s personality, is not a good thing. The words “No, stop that, get down from there! No fighting!” is a constant in my vocabulary nowadays, but hasn’t it always been?  

I eye Eren as he sits down and looks at me, “What are you doing?” 

“Thinking about how today is going to go.” Eren reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “Who’d you invite anyway? We should’ve kept it small, like always, you, me, and him.” 

I shake my head, “Can’t do, he wanted  something bigger, decorations, big cake with both of your names, and lots of ice-cream.” 

Eren leans his head back. “I can’t believe he wants me to celebrate my birthday too. Why’d you tell him we have the same birthday.” 

I smile as I look at him and kiss his cheek, “He wants you to enjoy your day, too.” My lips rest on his cheek, and he quickly moves his face so our lips can meet. 

We kiss and Eren deepens the kiss and holds my face in his hands, when we suddenly hear a loud Yuck! Followed by the sound of running feet. “Found him,” Eren says.  

Eren quickly chases him and I sit back as they continue their little game. I am about to go join them when the doorbell rings. I suck in a shaky breath and quietly tell myself that everything will be alright, and I make my way to open the door to the past. 

***

“There she is!” Connie is the first one to speak, and holds his hands out to hug me. He reaches for a young woman behind him. “Mikasa, this is my fiance.” The woman shyly reaches to shake my hand. “I’ve heard so many things about you,” she says. Uh, what sort of things, I wonder.

I let them in, and see that in the pathway Armin, Annie and Jean make their way. Armin smiles at me once our eyes meet. Jean’s expression is unreadable as he makes his way to the door. 

“We all decided to come together, but Connie started running to the door first,” Armin says. 

I smile as I see Historia and her daughter run to the door, “Hey you guys! Thanks for waiting!” Historia runs past everyone and crashes into me, hugging me tightly. I laugh.  

“You look great Mikasa!” she says. 

“Thanks, you too.” I say. 

“You let your hair grow.” Jean says quickly. I nod my head, and unconsciously touch my ponytail.  

Out of nowhere, I feel a small hand shove me to the side from behind. “He’s going to get me! I gotta get out of here!” 

Before he can get any farther, I grab a hold of his hand and carry him. “Don’t be rude, we have guests.” 

Armin looks at the boy and gasps, “I can’t believe it. He looks just like Eren, the pictures you sent me don’t do him justice.” I smile at Armin’s comment. 

It’s true. Our boy looks just like his father, same green eyes, same passion, just darker hair. My boy shyly hides his face behind my hair, and bites his lip. 

“Where is he?” I hear Eren yell from inside. He runs to us, but stops when he sees our friends gathered at the door.  

“Happy Birthday!” they all shout. 

Eren’s eyes widen, “You guys…” He doesn’t move for what feels like forever. Then he slowly starts moving towards them. He hugs Armin first, surprising the blonde, “Armin…” he looks around at the rest of the gang. 

“I can’t believe you guys travelled so far to be here.” He looks around and smiles. He glances at me momentarily, as if to say, ‘you should’ve prepared me.’ 

Before Eren can get another word out, Connie pushes himself towards him, fiance in hand. “Eren, meet my fiance!” he says and shoves his fiance in front of Eren. She looks a bit frightened. Now… I wonder what stories Connie’s been telling her? “Honey, this is the guy that wanted to commit genocide.” 

“Connie…” Jean says sternly. Jean walks up to Eren and pulls him in for a hug, “Is it me or do you get more handsome as the years go by?” I smile at Jean’s comment. He’s right, Eren has gotten more and more handsome, but to be honest, I will love him no matter how he looks. 

Eren chuckles. “I’m glad you stopped looking like a horse, you’re not bad looking yourself.” 

“This is the horse man?” my son says. 

“So they’ve told you about me?” Jean says and he’s about to pinch his cheeks when he slaps his hands away. I scowl at the boy, while Eren tries to suppress his smile. 

I shake my head and apologize to Jean as I allow everyone to come inside. 

***

We all drink tea as we watch the kids play. “So how is your daughter?” I ask Historia. She smiles, “She’s the sweetest thing ever, she loves school and I couldn’t be happier! What about yours?” 

Eren and I look at each other. “He’s a bit of a brat” Eren says. 

“I wonder who he gets that from?” Jean says. “I wasn’t a brat” Eren says offended. 

“He barely started school and he’s gotten into two fights already” I say. 

“Hmm, yeah doesn’t sound like you at all,” Jean says, “this must be payback for all the times you fought me,” he says smugly. 

“Yeah, you might be right,” Eren says with a melancholic smile. 

“So, does this one at least win the fights?” Annie says, her expression unwavering. Eren stares at Annie, like he’s remembering their fights. 

“I do!” our boy says as he climbs on Eren’s lap, “Right dad!” 

Eren sighs and gives the boy a kiss on his forehead. “No more fighting, you’ll make mama mad.” 

To the surprise of everyone, my boy giggles and covers his face, “Mama loves me too much to stay mad at me.” Annie hides a smirk. I can already imagine what she’s thinking ‘Of course you can’t stay mad, he’s Eren’s replica, you’re used to this’.  

“I can’t wait to be a dad,” Connie says and looks at his blushing fiance. Suddenly, my little boy jumps off Eren’s lap and yells, “I want my cake!” 

“No. We still need to eat, you have to wait” Eren tells him, but our little boy frowns and repeats “I want my cake,” and is about to take off, but Eren grabs his small hand. My small boy pulls with all his might, but of course, he is no match for his father. 

When it seems that he calmed down, Eren lets go of his hand, and that’s when the little one makes his escape. He dashes through the hole in the fence Eren promised to fix after the two of them broke it during one of their many games. 

Both Eren and I run to the fence, because who knows what trouble that kid might get himself into. I swiftly climb the fence, with Eren following closely behind. Our guests left shocked at the sight they are witnessing. 

“Let’s help them,” I hear Armin say, “Wait Annie!” 

I turn back and see Annie jump over the fence and catch up to us. 

“You must love being kept on your toes, Mikasa,” she smirks. 

“He’s got a lot of energy, but it’s nothing we can’t handle,” I say. 

“I see.” she says back. 

“He must be overwhelmed, he’s not used to too many people at home,” Eren says straining to keep up with us.  

“Eren, he might be heading to town.” I say, Eren immediately hisses, “Let’s hurry.” 

“What does that mean?” Annie says. 

“The boys that he fights live in town,” I say as we pick up the pace.  

***

We head to the boys’ hang out place, but I see nothing at all. 

“Armin?” I hear Eren say in surprise, and we see Armin, Jean, and Connie running towards something. Who knows how they got here, but we run after them. 

When we get there, I see Armin holding my son back. And to my worry, my son has a bloody nose. What if it’s broken? Jean holds an older looking boy back, while Connie tends to a beat up looking boy laying on the ground. 

“What’s going on?” Eren shouts. My boy looks at us in shock at first, then looks down in shame. I bend down and clean the blood off with my cardigan. I look at him gently. 

I see Eren’s neck vein strain and look at our boy, “You have a bloody face! He could’ve broken your nose! You can’t go around fighting like this! Why didn’t you get an adult?” he yells. 

Our boy looks at Eren and me, I can tell he’s holding back his tears. 

“What happened? I ask softly and try my best to smile at him. My son pouts and looks at me with teary eyes.  

“I was running away, when I saw that bully beating that kid up… I just couldn’t stand back and let it happen,” he says quietly. Eren and I look at the boy Connie tends to. 

“Connie, is that kid okay?” Eren asks. 

“He has lots of bruises,” Connie says. 

Eren looks at the bully with a frown. 

“Why did you beat that kid up?” the bully is intimidated by him immediately. 

“T-that kid is a weirdo,” the bully weakly spits. 

“Did you try talking to him instead?” Armin calmly addresses the bully. 

“No?” the bully spits angrily.

“I have an idea, why don’t we all go back to the party?” Jean suggests as he looks at us questioningly. 

“I don’t mind,” I say and look at Eren who seems to relax at the idea. He reaches down and extends his hand to our son, who hesitates to take it. He eventually does, and puts his other hand in mine. The three of us lead the way back home, while the others follow. 

*** 

When we get home, our son spends his time talking to Armin and the bully. I knew my son would like Armin. Armin has a simple way of speaking to kids, making it easy for kids to like him. 

Meanwhile, Eren laughs with Jean, probably insulting each other. Me and the girls talk and talk, about kids, relationships, and our new lives. 

I keep glancing at Eren and he does the same. I notice the sun is beginning to set, so I tell Annie and Historia that I must get the cake in the kitchen, and head on inside. 

I stand in the counter looking for a knife, when Eren enters the kitchen. He places his chin on my shoulder as he hugs me from behind and I feel his warm breath against my neck. I melt at the sensation and he tightens his grip on my waist.  

“What’s wrong?” I ask. 

 “They probably think that I’m a bad father that can’t control his kid,” he says quietly. I turn around and cup his face. 

“He’s a stubborn kid, but we are both trying our best, besides he loves you very much that he wants to be like you,” I tell him. He doesn’t say anything but instead looks at me with half lidded eyes and lowers his mouth to mine. 

“I thought you were getting the cake?” Annie says as she leans against the wall; Armin looks at us red faced. Eren and I break apart instantly, and my face gets red as I sputter a weak “I am.” Annie smirks as she eyes us. “Your bundle of joy is banging on the table yelling for cake,” she says. 

“He really reminds me of you Eren,” Armin says, “He’ll be fine, look at you, you seem well, as long as you have love for your family, your son will be good.” 

Eren smiles at Armin in thanks. “Armin… I- thanks, I needed to hear that,” Eren says. 

“Come on, let’s go outside… to our little bundle, how Annie says” I say and look at a smiling Annie. 

***

Eren carries the cake to the table, and I carry the candles for Eren’s and my little boy’s birthday. Everyone claps as the cake comes out. My little one’s face lights up, even the bully and the boy who now sit together smile. Jean is the first one to start singing the happy birthday song. 

The entire time I look at Eren and sing the song just for him. He looks at me and smiles and to my surprise leans down and gives me a kiss. Our moment is quickly interrupted when I feel little hands come between us as our little one fights its way to Eren with raised hands. Eren carries him, and the small boy kisses him and then me. He squeezes Eren’s cheeks and shouts at him, “Happy Birthday, Papa!” Eren grabs his face and plants a loud kiss on the giggling boy’s cheek. 

***

Everyone laughs, as the cheerful boy forces Eren to blow out the candles with him. I see Connie and Historia tear up a bit. Armin and Historia smiles while Jean looks pleased. I wonder if they’re feeling what I’m feeling. Happiness for the lives we are now allowed to live. 

Eren looks around and smiles, it seems that he’s fighting tears of his own. He clears his throat and speaks. “Thank you guys for joining us on this day… I really missed all of you, I missed this.” 

“Good, cuz we’re staying for the week,” Jean says. “At a hotel of course!” Armin quickly adds. 

Eren smiles at them, “I couldn’t ask for more on my birthday,” he says. He reaches for my hand, as he carries our son on the other, “I am really happy with my family… my life really,” he squeezes my hand as he says this. 

Connie starts to clap, but he is the only one. He walks up to us and hugs us, “Should I just move here? I miss you guys so much,” he cries. 

We all laugh and Eren and I hug him back, Eren quips, “We can build your home right next to ours.” 

“You think I won’t do it, I will!” he says as his fiance looks at him with her eyes wide open.  

***

We spent the rest of the evening talking, catching up on all the things a letter can’t convey. Eren speaking about what we should all do for the week, how maybe he can build them all houses next to ours, if they ever decided to move here. 

As I see him speak with our child on his lap, I can’t help but think how he looks like his old child self, full of hope, full of passion and determination for a brighter future. Our boy also looks at him with the same wide eyes as mine. Those same eyes filled with the same uncontainable love I have for both of them. In short, my boy looks full of happiness, a happiness his father and I fought so hard for. 

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 I dont need to say it again how much I loved it😉

In the End (ft. EreMika🖤)

Shout out to eremika-forever12 for suggesting the mini-series idea! (Don't worry, I'm still writing other requests) Aaaahhh how exciting!!! The idea behind it is that all the shifters lose their powers and only Eren develops severe memory loss. I was sent pretty much all the details to thread them together. Really hope you enjoy, please share and like if you do. Thanks❣️😬

"Eren? Can you hear me?" It happened again; a migraine attack so painful that it brought someone who tends to be exceedingly tough to his knees and took his breath away. Nonetheless, he could still hear her angelic voice trying to rescue him from the dark depths of his own mind. "Eren?"

"Maybe we should contact Hange?" He hears a second voice suggest over the ringing in his ears.

"No, she's busy tending to Levi. We can handle this. Besides, he always becomes more alert after the shock dissipates..." The comforting hand resting on his shoulder remains as Eren finally blinks his eyes open and hisses under his breath at the bright sun rise making his eyes throb in misery. And there she was surrounded by a seemingly heaven given glow, the admittedly stunning woman that has been with him since he woke up from his comatose state. She smiles sweetly and offers him a cold compress that was hurriedly prepared for those overly sensitive eyes. "You, um, mentioned that the cold compress helped last time." 

"Yeah," Eren mutters as he searches his strained mind to place where it recognizes her from. "Uh, thanks." He reaches for the washcloth in her hand and was surprised when he noticed a subtle blush arise on her cheeks as his fingers brushed against her skin, though he was even more surprised when the tips of his ears started to grow warm. Why do I get the feeling that she has made me feel this way before?

"At least it didn't happen outside this time. The last thing you need is to whack your head on the ground on top of all this." Armin sighs with relief as he retrieves a pillow off the chair beside them. "You may be here for a while, so you might as well be more comfortable, right?" He looks up at Mikasa and they exchange concerned expressions at Eren's groan of disapproval that he needs to move, undoubtedly because he knows it'll exacerbate his head splitting migraine. But he lifted his head sluggishly in the hopes of causing less nausea, making sure to keep his eyes closed the entire time while being guided back on a pillow. "Can we get you anything else?"

"No, thanks."

"A cup of caffeinated tea might help some," Mikasa suggests as she turns her head towards the tiny cottage kitchen. "And I don't think you ate anything last night."

"He got sick afterwards and threw it up, unfortunately. So, you add about twenty-two hours without any sort of nourishment to a sudden loss of the founding titan's abilities -"

"Wait," Eren interrupts their discussion as he pulls the cloth from his eyes and hisses again at the bright star shining through the living room window. "Say that again."

The two friends look to each other.

"Uh, sudden loss of the founding titan's abilities?" Armin repeats, hopeful that what had been said may have jogged his best friend's lacking memory.

"No, not that. When Mikasa was telling me I hadn't eaten in a while. I feel like you've said that to me before."

"Too many times to count. I used to have to force you to eat sometimes."

"Good grief, I'm losing my fucking mind." Eren says as he covers his eyes with the cloth once more, already on the verge of throwing up from even moving his body. And to think this one is mild compared to the migraine attack he suffered just two days earlier, where the trio were simply eating lunch outside and he was suddenly overwhelmed with head pain.

"No, this is great news. Maybe it's a sign your brain is trying to heal." Armin says.

"Could you guys help me up? The room is fucking spinning."

"Well, we don't want you doing the stairs until the room stops spinning. Are you good with the couch for now instead of the floor?"

"Literally anything is better than the floor, Mikasa."

"Yeah, that's a good point." Mikasa says as she and Armin slowly assist their severely weakened friend to a seated position then to his feet, making sure that they give enough pause between so he wouldn't feel faint. They're even more careful when helping him to lie down on the couch because they both know how easy it would be for him to get sick if he moves too quickly. When the pair finally stood tall again and she noticed that all too familiar shit eating grin from Armin, Mikasa couldn't help but smile. It has been seen on a few occasions now since Eren woke up last week with that small recollection of what his friend's names were and nothing more, where the blonde will sometimes tease her about how the dynamic between her and Eren has clearly changed for the better. The last time she saw that face was when they were youngsters and Eren was completely oblivious to how she felt, but Armin and nearly everyone else could see. He could swear that he has actually witnessed Eren flirting with Mikasa a few times now. After everything that has happened, it was originally very difficult to believe that he couldn't recall what tragedies were committed just to protect his friends, the only family he had left. But it was that moment after suddenly rupturing from the nape of his titanic self's neck, when the two friends flew to his rescue on their gear while he was falling limp through the sky and were greeted with a genuinely remorseful face before he fell into some sort of comatose state that bordered almost two weeks. Nobody was certain of the young man's fate until that moment, but many truly wanted the best for him despite feeling so torn with how he was behaving at the time. Which would come first, their duties as soldiers, or his friends? In the end, the pair decided that whether he was always a cold person or not is ultimately irrelevant because they wouldn't dare leave their friend alone in the dark to sink into oblivion again. That's why they vowed to take care of him after everything was over and even searched for this little cottage in a reserved part of the woods so he can rest in peace amongst nature that they all loved growing up. "You sure you don't want to try some caffeine, Eren?" Mikasa asks softly as she looks down at the only man she has ever loved, who now lies motionless on the couch with his incredible eyes shielded under a cold compress.

"Yeah." He mumbles under his breath.

"I don't know if there's much caffeine in that tea anyhow, Mikasa." Armin states as they turn to each other, his arms crossed over his chest.

"It's better than nothing, right?"

"No, seriously, I'm just going to try and sleep this off."

"Well, okay," Mikasa concedes as she briefly looks down at the floor. "You know the usual, one of us will check on you every hour to make sure you're alright. We'll both be outside today since it's so nice out. Oh, and -"

"If you do the stairs while you're dizzy without any assistance, I'll personally kick your ass across the cottage." Eren's frown curves up into a little smirk, his eyes still shielded under the cold washcloth as he playfully mocks Mikasa's voice. "I know, I know."

"Heh, hey, I think I said it a little nicer than that.."

"Ah, this is music to my ears." Armin smiles and completely ignores the daggers being thrown from Mikasa's death glare as he happily strolls by to leave for the beautiful, titan free world. Honestly, nobody ever thought they'd live to see the day.

"Sleep, Eren." Mikasa commands with delight to her voice and blushes softly at their exchange. She smiles when she turns to follow after their friend and closes the door behind her carefully so the young man inside has silence needed to rest.

"So," Armin smiles and raises an eyebrow as they slowly stroll to the bench surrounded by the overgrown front yard. "You mind telling me what that was all about?" He leans forward on his knees when they sit down and glances back at her with a knowing look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, come on, we both know he was picking on you again."

"Oh, that.." Mikasa looks the opposite direction and smiles wide as her rosy cheeks grow warmer, still trying to process what just happened. "I really don't know to be honest. It went from him knowing our names to remembering little things and now..I'm not sure."

"Well, this is what you've always wanted anyway, right?"

"Yeah, but not like this. Not if he isn't himself."

"I was actually just thinking about how long it's been since I've heard him pick on you like that. Probably long before the war even started."

"So?"

"So, he's getting there, but it'll take a while." Armin explains, looking down at his hands as he cracks his knuckles. "Unfortunately, it's also possible that Eren won't be exactly the same, but he'll be close enough. You have to admit you thought that little back and forth you guys had was entertaining, I saw the look on your face."

"Yeah," She smiles slightly as she tucks her hair behind her ears. "I just don't want to get my hopes up."

"I think you should be fine as long as you let whatever you two are progress naturally."

"I don't know what else I can do. It's just weird to get used to, you know? Especially after the explosive past we've had."

"I know, but it looks like Eren will actually be more receptive this time. Hey, did you hear that thud?" Armin looks over his shoulder at her once more with a raised eyebrow.

"I did, and it didn't sound good." Mikasa says as they stand together and make a run for the cottage. But when she opened the front door to find Eren lying on the living room floor in a fetal position clutching his head in both hands, her heart leapt into her throat and she bolted to his side. "Eren?! What happened? Did you fall off the couch?"

"I feel fucking awful. All I wanted was to make it darker over my eyes with an extra pillow, but I ended up falling off the couch. It seemed like my damn legs stopped working."

"Alright, now can I get on the horse and go find Hange?" Armin asks from the doorway leading into the cottage. "He obviously needs to be seen by a doctor, Mikasa, look at him!"

"What? Uh, y-yeah, you go and I'll stay here."

"I'll return as soon as possible." Armin nods to her and they share a concerned expression as he throws on his jacket then carefully closes the door behind him in an effort to make smallest amount of noise possible.

"Hey, it's okay.." Mikasa breathes as she gently touches the back of her hand to his forehead. "I know you're probably tired of me asking you this, but can I perhaps get you anything?" She frowns when she registers a minor fever and was surprised that he didn't squirm away from her touch like he would have done in the past. A few strands of chocolate hair have fallen loose from the small bun at the nape of his neck and she briefly toys with pushing them away from his face. She sighs softly as she places her hand in her lap, ultimately deciding that it would be pushing the boundaries of their technically new friendship. He's still so handsome, even with his eyes closed.

"No, I'm just going to lie here until the worst of the pain goes away." He mumbles to the carpet.

"And if that's not a quick process?"

"I don't know." Eren groans in discomfort as his migraine throbs, lifting his head up slowly in the hopes that it won't trigger more pain. "But I do know one thing." He blinks his eyes open to see her sitting beside him looking just as concerned as she did in the dream he has been having for the last two nights in a row.

"What's that?"

"I could never get tired of your voice."

"Wait, actually?" She smiles as she remembers back to the day that everyone finally made it to the mainland, when Eren had wandered away from the group in search of a thieving child and she later discovered him in a camp where good people had lost their homes to war. When he looked into her eyes and asked in a most emotionally agonizing way exactly what their relationship meant to her. And she was totally blindsided by him behaving so out of character, that she fumbled her words and couldn't think of what to say other than to call him what she has always referred to him as; family. But that's not the whole truth. She has been crazy about him since they were young kids.

"Definitely."

"Heh, well, thank you.."

"Hey, can I ask you something just for clarification?" He asks with hints of being in pain to his voice.

"Absolutely, go for it."

"Did we - you, me, and Armin - meet when we were little? I keep having these, like, I guess you could call them flashbacks. And sometimes it's the three of us as little kids running through a town."

"Uh, well, we grew up in Shiganshina, it's a nice big town. You and I met under very unfortunate circumstances, and that's a drastic understatement. Then you met Armin when he was getting badly bullied in the streets and stood up for him."

"Unfortunate circumstances? What do you mean?"

"I-I.." Mikasa stammers and bites her lip as she looks away. She knew that he would eventually ask her about this. "We were awfully young, about nine years old. I'm not sure how much you remember about your father, but he was a doctor and my mother was heavily pregnant. Three truly horrible people found out that my mother and I are of Asian decent, so they broke into our home with intentions of murdering my father and selling us. But my mother fought like hell, so, they murdered her too..." She takes a deep breath and sighs sorrowfully as she finally looks into his eyes again. "Then you showed up at the door and saved my life by killing two of them, then you untied me. But there was a third guy that you weren't expecting who ended up trying to choke you out, and I killed him to save your life."

"Wow. Terrifying doesn't even begin to describe how that day must have been for you. I'm so sorry about your family." Eren grows silent for a moment simply trying to imagine what it would be like to lose everything all at once. He sifts through the memories flooding back into his mind. "I think you kind of sparked my memory, because in my head I remember walking somewhere with who I now assume to be my dad and hearing that your family was hurt. He wouldn't let me go ahead because it was clearly dangerous, but I honestly don't think I cared. All I could think about was helping whoever was inside."

"You haven't mentioned this before."

"I didn't think it would matter that much to you since you were already safe and that was my goal. Fuck!" Eren growls at a sudden sharp jolt of pain in his head as he snaps his eyes shut. This is certainly much more difficult to ignore than the dull ache he had this entire time.

"Oh my god, Eren! What is it!?" Mikasa panics and immediately sits up in order to cradle the back of his head with her hand, protecting it from bumping against one of the couch legs. It breaks her heart when his head hurts this much because she knows there isn't anything she can do to make it better.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" He assures her, even though anyone with a brain could see how miserable he is. Eyes shut and shielded behind his forearm for extra darkness would be a major indicator. Hell, she gets headaches too. Eren groans in discomfort as he struggles with opening his eyes to hers once more, wincing noticeably with pain. "Mikasa?" He asks with plenty of unintended agony to his voice, trying desperately to ignore the sharp jolt behind his eyes for keeping them open against what his body wants.

"What is it? I'm here." She frowns that he's in so much pain, wanting nothing more than to hold his head in her lap.

"I think I remember you."

Im tired of seeing people say mikasa can only have characters developed if she puts eren down like a dog, then marries another man(we all know who are the only two options the fandom gives her. Couldn't imagine why 🙄) and gives him a ton of babies.

People get pissed saying her stoy is tied to eren, she should learn to fight for herself, she needs to be independent etc but then they immediately have to tie her happiness to another man.

Hi! I'm sorry, since I'm new to the fandom I don't have a detailed request, but can you write something for AOT where Eren is sick and Mikasa is worried? No emeto please :) Thank you so much, you're such a good writer

This is set vaguely post-series, with Eren and Mikasa grown up and married, but with no spoilers. Enjoy!

After years of waking up early, waking up at dawn is a habit that is deeply ingrained in Mikasa, as natural to her as protecting Eren. She stirs as the first rays of the sun trickle through the curtains, instantly alert as soon as she opens her eyes. Beside her, Eren sleeps soundly, burrowed deep under the covers.

She smiles fondly at his peaceful expression, kissing his forehead and brushing a lock of hair out of his face. Eren’s lips twitch up slightly, but he doesn’t wake up. Mikasa reluctantly pushes back the covers, padding silently out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Eren always sleeps in later than she does; he’d never been overly fond of the training schedule, even when he achieved his dream of being in the survey corps.

She busies herself in the kitchen, boiling the water for coffee. It always takes Eren a while to shake off his grogginess in the morning-a cup of coffee can help with that. When the coffee is ready, she pours herself a cup and watches the sun rise, casually reading from a book that Armin lent her. It’s hard to believe that she can be this relaxed, that the morning is this peaceful; the titans just a bad memory, a nightmare banished by the early morning light.

For a long time as a child, after her parents were killed, Mikasa had thought that she would never be at peace again.

Speaking of peace, Eren is still asleep when she returns to the bedroom to get dressed. She considers the contents of her closet-it still surprises her that she actually has different opinions of clothing now-and selects a loose-fitting dress that reminds her of her mother.

Eren is still asleep when she finishes getting ready, and Mikasa snags her book from the kitchen and joins him once again in the bed. The bright light streaming through the curtains is more than enough to read by. A ray of sun shines directly in Eren’s face, and he stirs slightly, grumbling in his sleep. He mumbles something unintelligible into his pillow before finally opening his eyes.

Slivers of bright green meet wide-awake grey. “Morning,” Eren says hoarsely.

“Good morning,” Mikasa replies, frowning. “Did you sleep well?”

Eren shakes his head, yawning blearily. “Not really,” he mumbles. “I’m still tired.” Fully awake, Eren would never admit to any of this, but he tends to be a lot more honest when he’s still half asleep.

Mikasa has known Eren long enough to know that his colds or any other illnesses always start off with a rough voice and fatigue. She presses a gentle hand to his cheek, then moving it to his forehead for confirmation. Yep, just as she suspected. She’d thought his forehead felt warmer than usual earlier. “You’re running a fever.”

“Oh,” Eren says, blinking in confusion. He doesn’t really seem to understand what she’s saying. “Don’t we have to train today?” he mumbles, trying to sit up. The effort only succeeds in sending him plummeting into a coughing fit. “Don’t want to disappoint Captain Levi,” he finishes when he catches his breath again.

“No, there’s no training today.” Mikasa presses him back to the bed, gently, propping the pillows behind him so he can sit up a little. Eren’s illnesses are always quick-onset and take a lot out of him; possibly a trade-off with his otherwise advanced healing abilities. “You’re sick and you’re going to rest, okay? I’ll make you porridge like your mom used to make.”

Green eyes look at her stubbornly for a moment before relenting. “Alright,” Eren agrees, the fever making him much more pliable and docile. Although Eren’s infamous anger had been somewhat tempered by age and his victory over the titans, he definitely was never going to be the calm type. But that’s alright.

Mikasa would miss his spirit too much.

Before making breakfast, she makes a quick detour to the bathroom, where she wets a washcloth that she brings to Eren, gently placing it to his forehead. He complains at the chilly sensation and clutches the blankets closer, but doesn’t throw it off.

The grumbling lessens the tension bubbling in her gut. If Eren still feels up to complaining, then he can’t be too bad off. “Try to get some rest,” she instructs, squeezing his hand.

Upon returning to the kitchen, Mikasa forces herself to focus on making the porridge. The thought of sickness still sends a chill down her spine, stirs memories of epidemics and huddling together for warmth in the midst of the bitterly cold winter.

Things are different now, Mikasa reminds herself. They’re safe from the titans, no longer in the military, no longer starving on the streets. And this is just a cold; it’ll soon pass.

Eren is going to be just fine.