written like during last summer for a fill on snkkink. the request was "friendship" between mikasa and armin.
Playdate
Armin and Mikasa never quite got a moment just to the two of them, without Eren. Usually, the glue between the two was the other boy himself, inviting both of them to play together and whatnot.
But today, Eren had to go with his father into town for some sort of check up on a long time patient of Dr. Jaeger.
Mikasa would've gone along, of course, but Eren begged her to stay with Armin for the day since they had promised to go to Armin's house together. The girl only ever listens to her adoptive brother, so she complied without a thought.
"I'm sorry about the mess," the blonde boy says, moving a stack of books off of a chair.
"It's alright." She said, taking a seat in the chair.
Armin grabbed a book off of the wooden desk, "Um, I have a new book I really wanted to show you, Grandfather said it'd be a good read to anyone."
Mikasa nodded, reaching out to receive the book.
It was obvious that neither of them really knew how to converse without the presence of their mutual friend. They had known each other for two or three months now, since the incident and Mikasa's becoming an addition to the Jaegar household, but this was their first time together by themselves, and neither one of the two were very talkative people. They got along and were alright with each other's presence, Mikasa being strong and protective, and Armin, smart and friendly to Eren.
They sat face to face on opposite sides of the room, each with a book in hand. To some extent, they enjoyed each other's company, even without many words exchanged, the companionship was enough.
Hours and hours of silence, with the occasional chuckle from Armin or the quick flipping of pages from Mikasa, ended faster than either would expect.
"Thank you for having me over," Mikasa said at the doorstep. The sun was setting.
"No, thank you for coming over." He gave her a sheepish, crooked smile. Armin's smile was lovely, one of the brightest Mikasa had ever seen. She liked it.
They exchanged goodbyes and soon enough, the girl found her way back to the Jaegar household. Eren arrived home soon after and asked, "How was hanging out with Armin?" but when she replied, he laughed and said "boring".
To some, the day would have been uneventful and unexciting, but the two knew that slowly but surely their friendship had strengthened, just a bit.