Okay, so, this was a request from my friend; sorry if it's totally off base
"Eren?" The voice is soft, maybe a tad worried? It comes through hazy like its being whispered through a wall.
"Eren, you need to wake up now." The voice continues. It's clearer this time.
"What's wrong, Eren?" The voice is coming from right above him. He imagines there's someone leaning over him, whispering to him. A guardian angel? That would be nice. His guardian angel here to protect him from the bad dreams.
"Eren, why are you crying? Eren, we need to go home now. Eren, Eren, Eren…"
The boy opens his eyes, peering up blearily at the girl leaning over him, the ends of her long black hair tickling his cheeks; she looks relieved that he's finally awake. "Your mom will be mad if we get home late again," Mikasa sighs. She smells like books and bubblegum and mint and faintly of smoke, although the smoke-y scent is probably from her scarf. His scarf. Their scarf.
"Yeah, yeah. I know." The boy, Eren, runs a hand over his hair as he props himself up. He fell asleep under a tree in the park again; summer vacation is within his reach, and the urge to laze about in the shade is occasionally too much for the boy to resist on the walk home from school. "Hurry up." Mikasa pulls him to his feet, handing him his backpack he was using as a pillow, and starts walking away while Eren follows slowly behind.
He doesn't know why he's crying. Well, was. One look at Mikasa's face and he wouldn't dare to show weakness. She might try to be all comforting again- and that was not a pretty sight. Her bear hug was like a constricting Death Grip of Doom. "So, why were you crying, Eren?" Mikasa looks back at him, tilting her head to the side in confusion, brown eyes wide with concern.
You know, if she didn't go all psycho-demon-spawn sometimes, she'd totally be crush worthy. Plus, if she wasn't like a sister to me and whatever. That'd be cool.
Eren shakes off the dumb thought: Mikasa without psycho mode is just a fantasy. "I SO WAS NOT CRYING!"
Mikasa sighs, shakes her head slightly, and continues walking. She grips the straps of her backpack tightly, obviously upset with his response. Don't let her make you feel bad, don't let her make you feel bad, don't let her- oh, damn it; just apologize like the weakling you are. "Mikasa, I'm sorry I snapped at you," he grumbles out. She nods but doesn't say anything.
They continue to walk in silence, so Eren switches to observing their surroundings like one of the ninjas in his favorite manga; his head swivels back and forth and his eyes rove the landscape.
The streets are cluttered with students and the occasional adult that doesn't have a 9 to 5 job. Bright banners and huge signs advertise the multitude of shops, restaurants, et cetera crammed on either side of the road; a few buses grind to a halt at the stop before trundling down the cobblestone street. The only cars are haphazardly parallel parked beside the sidewalks so that only half the amount of cars that should fit do fit.
Their town, Shiganshina, is one of those historical, do-not-change-at-all towns where everything is styled to look old-timey and quaint. Although, to be quite honest, everything really just looks like it's in need of some serious cleaning and fixing up.
"Eren," Mikasa's voice snaps him from his thoughts and she tugs him out of the way just as a kid on a bike zooms past, calling back some choice words a stomp on the foot keeps Eren from returning. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings."
"I totally was! That guy came out of nowhere!" he whines. Mikasa drags him along, keeping a firm grip on his arm in case she needs to save him- again. Maybe the whole guardian angel thing isn't so far off; she has saved him enough for that, although he'd never admit it.
Their apartment building- that looks run down and shabby beside a pretty, shiny new comic book store to its left and a squat McDonald's to its right- looms in front of them, entirely out of place on Main Street. There aren't many apartment buildings in Shinganshina; most residents prefer the cozy houses out in the subdivisions. Eren's best friend- and only friend, besides Mikasa, but she doesn't really count- Armin lives with his grandpa in an old two story house, which is a lot nicer than their dumb old apartment.
"Mrs. Jaeger, we're home." Mikasa calls softly while Eren stomps off to his bedroom, flopping gracelessly on his bed and starting the newest edition of Naruto. "Oh, good. Dinner will be ready soon." The smell of meat and garlic wafts from the kitchen and Eren's mouth waters and his stomach growls; his newfound hunger makes it hard to concentrate on the manga, so he tosses it aside in favor of playing a racing game on his Xbox.
~Later that evening~
"Hey there, son." Mr. Jaeger smiles at Eren, who Mikasa is forcibly restraining because the idiot wants to break the TV because he lost another round of some B-rated fighting game to Mikasa. "Having fun?"
Eren huffs and continues trying to break Mikasa's hold. "Mikasa, stop, I won't break anything, I just wanna play~" he whines, green eyes pleading with her. "That's what you said last time before you broke your PSP." She replies.
Mr. Jaeger- er, Dr. Jaeger, although he doesn't insist on the doctor part in informal situations- sidles into the kitchen where his wife is humming and washing the dishes. "I set aside some leftovers for you," she gestures to the table where a plate of still-hot food awaits him. "Ah, thank you, dearest." He plants a half kiss on her neck before shrugging off his coat and settling into the chair. Eren and Mikasa continue arguing- Eren loudly, Mikasa softly- and Mr. Jaeger can hear his wife's soft chuckles at the sight. "Such sweet children," she murmurs.
"Hm, sweet might be a little far, but they sure are some of the liveliest kids I've seen." Mr. Jaeger laughs.
Mrs. Jaeger merely smiles in response, continuing to hum an unfamiliar tune. After drying the last of the dishes and returning them to the cabinets, she turns to her husband, running her fingers through his messy hair, long enough now that he keeps it back in a ponytail. "Can you handle watching the kids while I make a quick run to the store? Eren's been begging for that new zombie game and I think he deserves a little something for his first no-failed-classes semester in years." Even though that's probably more thanks to Mikasa forcing him to study.
"Of course. Be careful, my love." He presses a single chaste kiss on her lips. "Always, Grisha." She ties her long, wavy brown hair up into a messy knot and grabs her purse and the car keys, carefully maneuvering around the fighting ten-year-olds, and disappearing out of the apartment.
Grisha finishes his dinner, eyeing a picture of the four of them contentedly; even though Mikasa's reasons for joining the family were tragic, it's been nice with her there. The girl is timid and quiet and closed off, but she fits easily with Eren, and Grisha doesn't have to worry about them so much. He knows they will take care of each other.
His eyes meander to his wife's face, pulling his lips into a tired smile. Even after all these years, she's still beautiful. Long, glossy brown waves that tumble messily down her back, light golden-brown eyes that are always full of happiness and laughter, pale unblemished skin, a pert nose he can't resist kissing every night before they go to bed, and the soft, kind smile that always seems to adorn her lips. Kalura is- and always will be- the most dazzling woman Grisha has ever seen.
An hour passes- maybe two- and Grisha alternates between playing video games with Eren and Mikasa and reading a new novel penned by an author that he's been following dutifully for years. Then the phone rings its shrill, annoying ring. Grisha glances at the kids: Eren is sitting cross-legged, pounding on the controller, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth, hair mussed and spiky from being pulled at when he gets frustrated; Mikasa is calmly pressing buttons, readjusting her scarf, face devoid of emotion. No reason for him not to get off his lazy butt and pick up the phone.
"Hello? Is this Mr. Jaeger?"
"Yes, Dr. Jaeger, actually."
"Dr. Jaeger, I hate to inform you, but your wife has been in an accident."
And then Grisha's perfect family is smashed to smithereens.
A/N: okay, so, I promise this won't be all sad and depressing forever but it might have it's sad parts; I plan to make it have some silly parts too. Comments are welcome!