A/N: Hey people! This is my first AoT/SnK fanfic and I am so pumped and ready to get this project going!
Yes, this is a modern-day AU. Yes, some scenes will be at a high school. However, most of the chapters will take place at their homes, and this is a character-driven story so there won't be a real plot. Anything goes. I've even decided that I'll be doing a 'Information we can share so far' segment at the very end to clear some things up.
Don't expect lots of drama or romance: this story will have that, but to a certain limit. I really want to focus on friendship, family, humor, and heart-felt moments. I already have some planned and I've made myself cry at the thought of it.
Now, no more stalling. Here it is! Enjoy!
Mikasa sighed as she looked out the window, the scenery flashing before her eyes. She hadn't been happy as she boarded that plane the night before, and she wasn't happy to be in a crammed taxi with a driver who was driving too fast and wouldn't even bother to shut the windows now.
Her mother must have read her expression because she smiled reassuringly and soothed, "You'll fit in quickly, just you wait. The neighborhood is very big and when I video-chatted with the lady who lives upstairs during the tour, she told me that there are lots of kids your age living there too."
"That doesn't make me feel any better," Mikasa replied, rolling her eyes in the process. She could tell from the slight decrease in speed that they were closing in on their destination.
"It'll be great, don't worry about it," her father tried convincing her as well. "The upstairs neighbors have a son, and he goes to your new school, so he can teach you the ropes."
"And what if this guy turns out to be a complete jerk? I wouldn't want a guy like that teaching me 'the ropes,'" she countered, air quotes at the ready.
Her mother sighed and patted her head, "I'm sure he won't be."
"We're here!" the driver announced, slowing down to a stop in front of a thin, yet tall, building with two doors at the front. It wasn't anything special in appearance, just a few windows and yellow all over. The garden was budding with flowers on one side, but the grass was rotting on the other. It didn't take long for Mikasa to guess that the grass belonged to them.
"It looks more charming in person, doesn't it?" Mikasa's mother got out of the car first, contemplating the yard.
Mikasa herself got out afterwards, observing her surroundings. The house resided in a closed end street, which was great because it meant there were little chances of getting run over. The neighborhood itself looked nice enough.
Just then, one of the doors opened and a tall woman with long black hair and a lovely smile came out, holding a plate of cookies.
"I heard the truck and got these on a plate as fast as I could," she said, walking instinctively towards her mother.
"Mrs. Jeager! Glad to see you again!" my mother greeted her as if she was an old friend, not as if she had only met her once through the internet.
"Please, call me Carla," she told her. Then, her gaze veered away and landed on Mikasa and her dad who were staring awkwardly at the two.
"You must be Mikasa and Mr. Ackerman!" she grinned. She shook her father's hand and then Mikasa's before whispering, "Don't worry, Eren will be down after I insist for the twelfth time. I'll go get him!"
Mrs. Jeager left to retrieve her son and the moving truck arrived soon after with all their possessions in tow.
"You should go inside and check it out for yourself," her father encouraged. "Your mother and I will direct the movers on our own."
Mikasa nodded begrudgingly and was about to go inside when something caught her eye. A girl around her age and directly across the street was staring at her with hungry eyes. She had dark brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail, and she wore simple jeans with a Cookie Monster t-shirt.
Mikasa decided to ignore her, but then the girl yelled so high that she could hear from the other side of the street, "Connie! Get down here! Someone moved in!"
A boy with a ridiculous buzz cut and a large hoodie stuck his head out the window and shouted, "Coming!"
Mikasa quickly made her way over to the door and closed it behind it. She didn't need any freaks coming after her.
She looked around. Completely empty and fairly simple. It was smaller than their old home, but there were only three of them so it didn't pose much of a problem. The kitchen was nice and so was the dining room. The living room was big enough for all of them, and the hallway even had a closet to store jackets and such. The bathroom was clean.
Mikasa peeked into a room, saw that it wasn't hers, then walked into the room next to it. She could immediately tell it was hers, which meant the remaining door lead down to the basement.
Her room was big enough for her bed, a desk and a few drawers plus walking space. She had a window all to herself, so she took the liberty of looking out of it to see what the view was like. Big mistake.
"Oh, hey there." The girl she had seen earlier was perched on the boy's back and had been looking into her room, and now at a bewildered Mikasa. "We came to say hi."
"Don't listen to her. She just came for the cookies," the boy grunted. "You should see her around potatoes..."
"Shut up, Connie!" the girl pounded the boy with her foot.
"Ow!" he yelped. "Do you want me to break my back? Do you want me to be a hunchback? I'm short enough as it is!"
The girl ignored him and smiled back at Mikasa, who had said nothing up to that point. "I'm Sasha and the one down there is Connie. We live in front of you guys now. I'm downstairs, Connie's upstairs."
"Um... hi," Mikasa half-heartedly waved.
"This is sort of awkward, but can we come in?"
"Uh, sure, I guess."
"Cool! Connie, push me up!"
"No way! This is as far as I go!" he pushed upwards and she fell clumsily on the grass below. "I'm using the front door like normal people."
In a blink of an eye, they were both gone. In another blink, the doorbell rang. Mikasa reluctantly walked to the front door and found that the door was already open and that Connie, Sasha, and yet another strange boy with short black hair, green eyes, and sporting sweats were already inside. The movers must have already begun and left the door open. The cookies on the table also informed her that her mother had gone inside as well.
"We met your new buddy on the way here," Sasha explained.
The boy scratched the back of his neck with one hand and stretched out his other one, "I'm Eren, I live upstairs."
Mikasa shook his hand and introduced herself as well, "I'm Mikasa Ackerman."
"That was what I forgot to ask!" Sasha bonked herself playfully on the head.
"Face it; when food is involved, you can't remember anything," Connie snickered.
"Whatever." Instead of paying attention to her friend, she was being more attentive towards the cookies.
"Help yourself," Mikasa motioned towards the plate.
"Woohoo!" Sasha and Connie both cried in unison, practically throwing themselves at the food.
"See? You're making friends already!" Mikasa hadn't noticed her mother approaching them, carrying a cardboard box which she recognized as hers.
"Mom..." Mikasa groaned. Not by any means were these people her 'friends' unless she was willing to admit that she was best buddies with a pipsqueak, a girl with eating problems, and a socially awkward boy that she knew nothing about.
"Eren, right?" her mother didn't listen to her daughter. Then, turning towards the rest, she giggled and said, "You two seem to be enjoying yourselves."
"Connie Springer, ma'am!" he saluted before continuing eating.
"Huh?" Sasha didn't understand what was going on since she had been too distracted with the sweets. Connie nudged his head towards Mrs. Ackerman and realization struck. "Oh! I'm Sasha Blaus! Thanks for letting us partake in Mrs. Jeager's delicious baking!"
"You'll regret this," Eren warned. "Once they've eaten at your house, they'll never stop coming."
"That's not a problem! You're welcome at any time! Just leave one for me, will you?"
"Of course!" Connie grinned widely and gave her a thumbs up. "And thanks!"
"You're already God in my eyes," Sasha added adoringly.
Totally not creepy...
"Never heard that one before," Mrs. Ackerman raised an eyebrow although she was still smiling. "Well, either way, I'll be going now." Mikasa's mom passed the box over to Mikasa. "You're the one who knows where to put it."
Mikasa nodded and walked off to her room once more. Eren stopped her halfway though, taking the box out of her arms. "I'll help," he simply stated.
Mikasa didn't complain. The box was filled with all of her books, and it was pretty heavy. Even if she didn't mind carrying it herself, if he was so willing, then why not?
"Where should I put it?" Eren asked once they were in her room.
"Anywhere for now. I'm gonna remodel this place like five times before I'm satisfied anyway."
"Okay." Eren dropped it in the middle of the room and rolled his shoulders.
As they were walking back to the living room (Sasha and Connie had made themselves comfortable and were taking a nap on a couch that had been recently put there), Mikasa questioned, "How come you're so eager to help?"
He shrugged, "I might as well. I mean, we're gonna become best friends in the end either way, so might as well get on your good side while I can."
"What makes you say that?" Mikasa immediately shot back. It came out as aggressive, but Eren didn't take it personally.
"It's like an unspoken rule around here," Eren claimed. "My best friend lived here before you did, you've already seen Sasha and Connie, Reiner and Bertholtd have been inseparable since they met, and even Marco became Horse Face's only friend when he moved next-door. I can give you some more examples, but that would be listing the whole community."
"So you're saying it's inevitable?" Mikasa still didn't believe him.
"Pretty much."
The two sat on the carpeted floor, leaning on the couches that were being occupied.
"What happened to your friend?" Mikasa wondered aloud. "The one who moved."
"Oh, it wasn't that big of a deal, really," Eren answered. "His name's Armin. He lived here for about four or five years, then his dad decided that he didn't want to live with so many people and distractions since he's an author. They didn't move far; just a few blocks downhill. He still goes to the same school and he visits often so it's not much of a difference, but I do miss his dad's video game collection. He had some really cool ones too..."
"That's it?"
"Yup. Oh, and also, well, I just hope you're a heavy sleeper," Eren's face turned a light shade of red and refused to make any more eye contact until it was back to normal.
"Connie! Get your lazy ass over here! You haven't even started on your homework for break and there are only a few days left! Oh, and Sasha's father said to drag her along too!"
Mikasa jumped a little as the harsh voice rang around the room. Mikasa turned towards the door and saw a small, middle-aged lady with short brown hair and a frustrated expression on her face standing there with her arms crossed over her chest.
Connie was off the couch and out the door in less than a second, carrying a still slumbering Sasha on his back. It was a surprise that he could handle her weight, but Mikasa didn't worry about that little detail too much.
"Sorry about that, dear," Connie's assumed mother changed personalities once he was out of sight. "Welcome!" She left right after.
"I'm gonna leave too," Eren announced. "See ya around."
Mikasa bid him farewell and helped her parents and the movers with the rest of the stuff.
That night, as she was reading a book on her newly made bed, and was preparing to go to sleep soon, she picked up her journal and decided to write in one of the blank pages.
Welcome to 104A Kyojin Drive.
Information We Can Share So Far:
Kyojin Drive is a community where people pay rent to the landowner. The whole street is made up of two-story buildings in which two different families reside, one on the top floor and one on the bottom floor.
That is why there are two doors. One leads directly to the first level, and the other opens up to a narrow set of stairs to get upstairs, separated from the first floor by a wall.
The yards and driveway are split into two sides, but neighbors normally get along so well that they are welcome to share.