Yeah another ErenxMikasa story! Hope you enjoy the story! Leave me know what you think or not its cool :)

Note: I don't own and Attack on Titan characters -_-

Books and Love

Finding the love of your life can happen in the blink of an eye and it can occur in the most unexpected places. For Eren, it had to be in the one place in the world he would never go by choice. But at this moment it didn't matter, because he believed he had found the one. She had deep dark hair that matched the color of both of her irises. Her expression was still, but longing as if she was for waiting someone. He could go on and on about her appeal, but first he needed to ask for help from the only person that actually liked going to the bookstore.

"Hm, you mean Mikasa?" said Armin.

"So her name is Mikasa…" said Eren as he momentarily let that sink in. "So, what kind of person is she?"

"I don't know Eren, stalking is not considered acceptable by today's society."

"I-It's not stalking! I just want to know more about her."

"Well, have you tried talking to her?"

"I'm planning to, just need to prepare."

"Hm…so, in other words the 'I want to get as much info as I can, then I could pull the moves on her' is what you're trying to do, right?" Armin already had Eren figured out.

"Fine I get it, I'll talk to her…" Eren sighed, "I just hope I don't sound like an idiot."

Armin patted his best friend on the back; "You're already an idiot."

"Armin…" Eren growled at his friend, who finally decided to give Eren some help.

"All you need to know is that she loves books," said Armin smiling.

At the bookstore, Eren glanced around hoping that Mikasa was working today. After searching for a while, Eren was beginning to feel out of luck. But just before Eren decided to cut his losses, he took one last look at the back aisle of the bookstore and noticed someone there. It was a girl with black hair that shined underneath the luminescent lights of the store, as she placed one book after another on the nearby shelf; and though he had only saw the back of the head, he knew it was her.

"Mikasa, we need help at the cashier's desk," said the manager as he approached her from behind.

"Of course." Mikasa gave the remaining books to the manager and proceeded toward the counter. She passed Eren, who was finding the dictionary very interesting today. Still, Eren was glad to see that she was here and took a deep breath as he motioned toward the counter.

"Ow!" A small girl tumbled in front of Eren, as she tried to stop herself from hitting him.

"Oh…are you alright?" said Eren kneeling down making sure the toddler was fine. The following tears from her face indicated otherwise.

"WAAAAHH!"

Eren hastily looked around the store for help as he now found himself at the center of attention. The manager went and searched for the daughter's parents, and Mikasa continued tending to the customers, but still looked on curiously.

"Shh…it's okay, um please don't cry um…." Eren looked to his side and noticed a familiar book cover, "hey, you know, if you keep crying you won't get to know what's so great about this book."

The girl wiped her tears with her small hand as she asked,"w-why is it so great?"

"Well, it's a story about a knight who saves an entire kingdom from monsters." The girl's eyes grew wide as Eren continued, "And even though people thought he was weak, he still fought and fought until the monster's feared him. And the people of the kingdom embraced him as a hero."

"Wow! Was there a princess that he had to save too?" The girl pulled on Eren's arm waiting for his response.

"Uh well, yeah there was, and she was…"

"There you are Sophie! I thought I lost you." A very concerned mother made her way to her daughter, hugging and bringing her back up to her feet. The mother thanked Eren for keeping her safe, while Eren bowed in response. Then Sophie asked, "Can I have that book? I really want to read it! I want see how he gets stronger and I want to see how beautiful the princess is!"

Eren smiled, "Yeah, here you go."

The manager approached them and said, "Come with me ma'am, I'll gladly ring that up for you." The mother took Sophie by her hand as the girl waved good by to Eren, "Thank you Mr. Knight!"

Eren smiled jokingly as he waved goodbye to the girl; when she was out of sight, he sighed thinking he should probably go home. There was no way he could face Mikasa after she saw that; she probably would have thought that it was his fault the girl was crying.

"So, do you need any help finding a book, sir?" Eren turned around and saw Mikasa with hands behind her back, waiting for a response. He nearly jumbled his words as he said, "O-Oh uh yeah! I need help finding a book!"

"What's the name of the book?" said Mikasa.

Eren, of course, didn't come to find a book, so he improvised, "A-Actually, I wanted to find a new book to read…yeah that's it! I need a new book to read."

"I see, well, can you tell me what kind of books you like?" Mikasa began leading Eren toward a shelf of books. He was starting to get in more of a bind; after all he wasn't really interested in books.

"I guess something with action it?" His voice trailed off as he brought one of his hands behind his head.

Mikasa noticed this as she faced him, "You don't like books do you?"

Eren stammered a bit as he responded, "What? No, I like books." He quickly realized that Mikasa had caught him. He sighed, "Yeah you got, I'm not that really interested in books."

Eren felt horrible, he figured he had lost his chance with Mikasa. After all, there was no way she would like someone who didn't like books.

"It's fine, let's see if we can find something you might like," said Mikasa as she searched on a nearby shelf.

Eren had a quizzical expression on his face as he asked; "You want to find a book for me anyways?"

Mikasa faced him once more, "Yes, you might think you might not find enthusiasm in books, but I can see that you like them." He wasn't sure if this girl was messing with him, or if she was serious. Regardless, a loud beating arose from his chest as he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Here, what about this book?" Mikasa handed the piece of literature towards him.

Eren grabbed it from her hands and said, "'Beyond the Walls' what's it about?"

"It's about a boy who wants to protect his home, even though the people in it despise him." His ears perked up as he let her continue, "He is weak at first, but he gets stronger, so strong that he ends up becoming a symbol for all of them."

Mikasa suddenly looked at him with a smile, "It's kind of like the book you showed the girl, right?"

Eren was surprised that Mikasa had heard that conversation. He held the book tightly as a past memory brought about a familiar feeling, "I read that book when I was a kid…actually my mother read it to me." Eren's voice faded a bit, "I used to have it, but I lost it after she…"

His face grew somber; Mikasa looked at him as she began to feel pain resonating from him.

"I guess that's why I don't like books, it reminds me of something hurtful." Eren put on a fake smile, but she immediately noticed this.

"You don't have to put on a fake smile, and…I'm sorry about pressing you."

"Oh! It's fine, it was a long time ago…Anyways, tell me more about this book, I think I'm starting to like it."

Mikasa nodded with a smile, as she proceeded to talk about the book.

"By the way, I'm Eren."

"Mikasa," replied the raven-haired girl.

The two had talked for hours; and even though she was supposed to be working, Mikasa's manager noticed she was enjoying herself, so he left her alone with Eren. Eventually though, Mikasa noticed the time, "Oh, wow, the store is going to close soon."

Eren also couldn't believe it as well, more so on the fact that he completely forgot about being here initially for Mikasa, but instead was focused on the stories she was describing. It was not just one book, Mikasa kept showing him others to the point where was trying to see if he could even find the time to finish them all.

"I guess I better get back then," said Mikasa appearing to be hesitant to walk away; moving slowly as if she was waiting for him to stop her.

Eren didn't want it to end, "Wait! I really had fun talking about books…wow; I never thought I would say that." Mikasa waited patiently as she let him continue, "So, if you don't mind," he held his gaze towards her as Mikasa's eyes widened, "would you like to keep talking about? After you're free from work, I mean."

For a second, Mikasa thought he was going to ask her out; which would have made her very happy. Still, she felt warmth as she responded, "Yes, I would like that very much." Mikasa smiled at him and it made Eren's heart skip a beat. She waved back to him as she went back to her manager, apologizing for being absent.

Eren headed outside and waited in the cold air, then all of a sudden, he grabbed his head in anger. "What the hell, Eren! 'You want to keep talking about it?' Man, why didn't I just ask her out? I mean that was my chance wasn't it…"

Meanwhile, Mikasa looked outside the window and saw Eren's little display. All she could do was laugh, loud enough for her coworkers to be astonished by her sudden display of emotion.

When the store closed, Mikasa ran outside to look for Eren who was standing motionless. She tapped his shoulder and said, "So, where do you want to talk about it?"

"Before that," Eren took a deep breath, "Mikasa!"

Mikasa was a bit shocked at Eren's sudden outburst, but she stood still listening to what he had to say.

"What I actually meant to say before was…would you go out with me?"

"Yes! I mean, I would like to go out with you," said Mikasa as she was a bit embarrassed about the rushed response.

"Really?"

"Yes." She found it a little hard to meet his strong gaze, but was still strong enough to see his emerald eyes. Eren didn't say another word; all that came out of him, was happiness and a smile that made Mikasa wonder how she ever lived without him.

"That's a beautiful scarf by the way," Eren pointed out, "where did you get it?"

Mikasa held her red scarf and blushed, "My grandmother gave it to me, but she got it from my grandfather, a long time ago."

We spend our whole lives hoping to find the other end of the string. Some of us find it by searching everywhere and others find it by chance. However way you discover it, it is a feeling that you will never let go.

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate some feedback, but more importantly I hope you guys liked it. Check my profile for updates! See ya later :D