Mikasa
America, the last place that Mikasa thought she'd set foot in again, was just where she was. She bore the excruciatingly long plane ride from quaint Kyoto to the overwhelming Orlando and now stood awkwardly within the terminal while clenching the handle to a moderate-sized suitcase.
Her dark brows were furrowed together as if she were confused, but she continued to walk out anyways. Her suitcase made clanking noises on the ground behind her and her pace quickened with every step; where were they?
Did they plan on having her sift through all of Orlando for their asses? It wasn't out of her ability but she surely had better things to do, and Armin definitely knew better.
She subconsciously fingered at one of the ends of her dark red scarf out of what seemed to be unease. It had been years after all since she last saw them face to face. Maybe they forgot? Their responses through text were extremely vague anyways and maybe she just misread something.
A soft sigh escaped her lips and she stopped walking, deciding that must be it. Mikasa sat on the nearest bench, careful to keep her dark skirt unwrinkled as she did so and reached into a knapsack that was straining on her back.
She pulled a light blue flip-phone out within moments and flipped it open. She was met with a picture of her fourth-grade class picture, the last year she spent in America. She smiled warmly for a split second, just as she always did when she saw it before going into her messages.
As always, Eren's texts were riddled with acronyms and shortened words, making it seem as though it was written by an illiterate while Armin's were well thought out and written as if by a scholar.
She brought her face down very close to the screen as if she was concentrating hard on Eren's messages, but-
"Mikasaaaa?" a yell came from the distance, and it took Mikasa less than a second to get to her feet, recognizing the voice instantly, and begin to sift through the crowds of people. The unease instantly faded as she sifted, which was good, but was replaced with a feeling of anxiousness.
She headed towards the entrance of the airport while agiley avoiding oncoming people. Most always she was a calm, level-headed individual but she couldn't seem to contain herself today; she wouldn't calm down until she saw their faces- the faces of her best friends.
It only took minutes before she met Armin who greeted her with a gentle hug. He was the same height as her which was abnormal, but she felt more than happy to accept the hug. They partook in very little small talk as they walked at a quick pace, Armin knowing full well that Mikasa direly wanted to see Eren; she hid her mouth in her scarf but she bit her lower lip as she even thought of him.
Eren jumped a bit when Armin set a hand on his shoulder, instantly ceasing his yelling. Him and Mikasa partook in a far more intense hug as they greeted while Armin took it upon himself to grab her suitcase.
"You're hurt," Mikasa stated as she eyed at a small cut on Eren's cheek and began pulling away from the hug.
"Ah, just wrestling horse-face again, I wouldn't worry," he responded with that stupid trouble-hungry grin while shrugging. Normally Mikasa would question him further but she couldn't help but giggle quietly under her breath; she's truly missed these guys.
"I'm not sure if Mikasa's really going to believe that," Armin added in as he headed ahead of them towards the doors with a small grin. Mikasa and Eren followed Armin closely as Eren began to explain exactly how the fight went down in order to prove himself.
Of course Mikasa was convinced that it was more along the lines of Eren picking a fight with some delinquent, but she grinned the entire time as he spoke. Everything seemed to be just as they once were, nothing ever changing.
Armin drove them all to the Jaeger household while they all exchanged stories of the years Mikasa was away; in short, Mikasa had a pretty meek time in Japan compared to Armin and Eren. They shared stories of hijinks and inside jokes while Mikasa only spoke of how she excelled greatly in her academics, but found some sort of passion in chorus.
"Why didn't you tell us you sing?" Eren asked, excitement suddenly sparking up as Armin pulled into the driveway.
"I bet you're really good," Armin added in agreement as he pulled the keys from the ignition and began to climb out.
"I guess it just wasn't important," she said but sounded a little flustered as she got out.
"Maybe you could be our lead singer," Eren said with a joking grin, as the group made their way around to the back of the house. That's right, in all of those jumbled texts Eren had mentioned something about a band but Mikasa never did catch it fully. Either way he was surely joking, not that Mikasa would be for it anyways.
Eren then continued to walk onto the patio and slide the door open. He stepped inside followed by Mikasa and to her surprise it was decently clean; well, she supposed that's what happens when Armin lives with you ninety percent of the time.
The home was a larger two story house and Eren's parents were most always gone. His dad was a doctor with a crazy schedule and his mom disappears for no reason at all on occasion.
This is where Mikasa would be staying until she could afford her own place; after all, she was sent here because her parents couldn't afford to keep raising her- she even raised money for her own plane ticket. She was on her own now financially.
Mikasa was given the guest room while Eren and Armin spent most of their time and slept in the basement. Mikasa joined them and wasn't away from them much before school would start.
They mostly talked and played video games, which Mikasa was surprisingly good at. Occasionally Jean and Marco would stop by too along with Sasha and Connie and things only continued to make Mikasa happy too. They had friendly arguments, maybe a fistfight or two broke out that Mikasa had to put a stop to, but she wouldn't have it any other way; she always went to bed exhausted, happy and filled with excitement for the next day.
Things, as far as most of her old friends, were the same still. She had been worried that things had drastically changed and she would be left in the dust, but that was definitely not the case.
About a week later before school would start Mikasa would get to finally witness Eren's band in action. Mikasa and Armin went out and bought snacks the previous day because rock stars apparently really need Doritos and Gatorade, but no one did any complaining.
The band consisted of Reiner, Eren, Marco and Jean, much to Mikasa's surprise.
"I think you got cuter," Reiner said jokingly, being the last to arrive as Mikasa answered the door for him. "Sorry I haven't been able to drop by and say hi; you know how Annie is." Reiner and Annie were half-siblings throughout most of elementary school but according to Armin their parents split in middle school. The two apparently still consider each other to be siblings and live together with Bert in an apartment ever since Reiner came out as being "not exactly straight" to his mom.
Mikasa merely grinned slightly and nodded. "I understand completely, but I'm glad I can see you now," she said softly as she lead him through the living room and to the basement.
"Hope you and her still don't have that rivalry thing going on," Reiner added with light teasing in his voice. Mikasa shrugged and pulled at her scarf due to mostly the extreme heat. At least, she hoped it was just the heat.
"We'll have to see I guess," she responded while trying to sound as lighthearted as possible. Annie had never slipped her mind; Mikasa had been completely dreading reuniting with her long time "rival", but she, despite how much she may have secretly enjoyed the challenge of "Leonhardt", wanted to be friends this go-around. At least she wanted to try, but Annie and her had a long and more relentless history than Eren and Jean ever did. It sort of worried her in general for Annie can and may very well be her downfall, but if it came down to it Mikasa would fight once more.
Reiner chuckled lowly and for a moment Mikasa thought he was going to ruffle her hair but instead they continued down the stairs. "Good to hear," he finally said with a hint of tease still lingering on his voice. Silently in the back of her mind she wondered if Reiner understood her train of thought but she chose to ignore such things as she gripped the doorknob to the main area.
The basement was all set up when they entered. The couches and chairs were moved a side, a deep red-colored drum set took the place of the t.v. and amplifiers and chords littered the scene.
Mikasa's bare toes met with the soft carpet instantly and she went to go sit by Armin who was casually reading on one of the couches that was shoved into the corner.
Reiner and the other guys instantly erupted in laughter and talking as the group began to set up further. Jean hastily plugged in wires while profoundly cursing every time Marco said his bass still wasn't working. However, Eren seemed to be no help anyways and merely spout off rifts a bit arrogantly while Reiner had the easiest job of sitting at the drum set with his sticks.
It took about fifteen minutes for things to be in working order which was followed by a few minutes of scolding Eren for doing nothing, but they seemed to laugh it off quickly. Jean stood at the microphone with a white beat-up telecaster in his hands soon after, a look that Mikasa had never seen on his face- One that she couldn't quite explain either. He yelled a countdown from three into the mic and they were off.
They did mainly covers of songs but Mikasa was mesmerized nevertheless, even if she didn't show it. Occasionally she'd glance over at Armin but he seemed too caught up in his book to even acknowledge the near overwhelming music.
They seemed to be in harmony and Mikasa would sometimes catch them making eye contact with each other, as if they were reading each other's minds. Never did she think that Eren would be working with Jean in such a way, but it gave her a flutter of hope. If he could make amends with Jean, maybe she could with Annie, though the chances with slim and facing her once more made her sick; their last meeting before Mikasa left for Japan consisted of Annie, for the first time since their little rivalry started, said "I hate you." It shouldn't have stuck with Mikasa, it really shouldn't have, but it did, and she knew why. She didn't hate Annie.
"So what do you think?" Jean asked into the mic while eyeing Mikasa after about an hour and snapping her out of her trance. A bead of sweat trailed down his forehead and he panted lightly but otherwise he seemed energized. "We're pretty good, right?" Arrogant as always.
Mikasa grinned slightly and nodded. "Better than expected."
"Tch." Jean's left eye twitched lightly but it quickly faded. "Disregarding that, I propose a rager, Jaeger." He then averted his gaze towards Eren who was leaning against his amp and sipping water.
Eren raised an unsure eyebrow towards him as he set the water bottle down. "Y'know, last one of the summer and to welcome Mikasa back," Jean quickly added before Eren could question.
"I guess we could, but we can't go overboard like your "beginning of summer festival"." Eren sounded a bit sarcastic but it was followed with a smile; for the most part he seemed to be pretty open to it. Jean threw his fist into the air about instantly and near cheer before turning towards Marco.
"We gotta go get new threads." Jean wildly grinned and Marco merely grinned softly. Jean then reached into his back pocket, pulling out a ratty-looking wallet and opening it. "Yeah! I just got paid yesterday too. Cigarettes are on me this time."
"Alright, well I guess we're out for now. See you guys on...?" Marco said slowly while slowly eyeing at Eren.
"U-Uh, how about this Friday? Invite everyone you know," Eren slightly sputtered out while choking on some water and eyeing Armin. By this time Armin's book was closed and he easily caught Eren's gaze which was followed by a quick nod of the head.
"Will do!" Jean responded with vigor as he and Marco began packing up and they were gone within minutes but left sort of a mess in their wake.
Those who remained got to cleaning up the mess, including Armin and Mikasa. "Gonna have to go through dad's stash again," Eren sighed under his breath as he wound chords up messily and set them on shelves. Mikasa eyed him through the corner of her eye as she helped Reiner move his drums to the other side of the room.
Eren worried her more than any other and for proper reasons too. He was bull-headed sometimes, impulsive and his parents have a habit of not being there, but now she was there again. She would look out for him no matter what. Sure, others had their problems but Eren was special to her; special in a way that she couldn't describe.
Days passed from then and within those days Mikasa mostly job-hunted while becoming acquainted with Americaonce more. She encouraged Eren to do the same, Armin already having one at the grocer down the street, but he openly refused, claiming that his band will provide all the money he'll ever need. They were good admittedly but Mikasa only hoped that they were good enough, and she could tell that Eren hoped for the same.
To no one's real surprise, most jobs wanted Mikasa, especially after interviewing her. She considered all of them but eventually settled for a more than decent-paying movie theater. She'd be starting next Friday and would be working the late night shifts but she didn't really mind.
When Friday came around Mikasa was more or less excited. In Japan she hadn't made many friends so she'd never really experienced "high school"; rather she hadn't experienced all of the hormones, alcohol and recklessness that came with it. Of course, tonight she didn't plan on partaking in any of that. She only wished to have a nice time and make sure that no one gets killed. Normally this'd be considered being a killjoy but by no one it's almost always implied that she means Eren and only Eren.
She dressed casually for the event for she knew this party was bound to make a mess. She pulled on dark tights and a short dark skirt while her shirt was a mere light green loose-fitting tank top with, of course, her scarf. After she dressed she didn't even glance at herself in the mirror before heading downstairs which was already cranking music loud enough to hurt her ears; just thank God Eren had decent taste in music. Nevertheless, she hoped for a great night with her friends.
When she reached the main floor the party was just hardly getting started from what she could see. Jean, Marco and Thomas were all standing around the cooler of booze and chatting relentlessly. Eren and Armin sat next to each other on a couch facing the window in the living room but seemed to be holding entirely different conversations; Eren was talking a bit flirtatiously with two girls who Mikasa had never seen before while Armin spoke in a more peaceful tone towards what looked to be petite blonde girl who could only be described as Christa.
Mikasa eyed the two girls with something that could only be described as malice; they gave her a bad feeling in her gut even if she wouldn't admit it. The feeling lingered so much it took a moment of prying her gaze from the girls she decided it'd be best to go by Christa and see how she's been doing.
As she made her way over people seemed to come pouring through both the front and back doors. The noises around Mikasa intensified greatly and she found it was becoming harder to walk. Eventually though she made it to Christa who greeted her with a sweet hug almost instantly. "How've you been!" Christa asked cheerfully over the music as they both sat down. "I don't normally come to parties but I heard you were back!"
"I've been well," Mikasa responded, also over the music, but in a calmer tone. They continued to converse this way and Armin joined in as well. When Ymir arrived however Mikasa was slightly surprised at how physical she was with Christa with the constant nuzzling, light nibbles and squeezing on Ymir's part. Despite, Armin acted as if this was normal and continued to converse normally, so Mikasa did as well.
Christa constantly blushed and squirmed while occasionally whimpering, "Ymir.. Not here." in-between words as they all spoke which was met with Ymir only becoming more and more playful and rough with her actions as well as they conversed.
Eventually Mikasa excused herself politely, finding it appropriate as Ymir was near on top of Christa at this point and explicitly whispering into her ear. Even though it was whispering, Mikasa was uncomfortable and looked apologetically towards Armin before heading towards the stairs.
At this point the party was worthy of "rager". Drunk teenagers had invaded every inch of the downstairs and were either dancing, kissing or drinking and Mikasa silently thanked herself for stowing anything that was breakable away.
She continued to walk and as she passed by the door, as though it were fate, it opened, causing Mikasa to stop in her tracks and wince slightly at the light even though she was halfway across the room.
Her eyes turned towards the door and were instantly met with stone-cold blue orbs that contrasted so greatly with her soft brown ones that it almost hurt. Even if she was across the room she knew who they belonged to- Annie; it was impossible for her to forget a look like that. Mikasa's stomach dropped as she felt Annie's eyes piercing hers; she wasn't prepared for this. No, not yet. She had hoped that it'd be at school and they'd be paired for a project of something, causing them to be "bffs" forever.
For Mikasa this was about impossible and the scene played out similar to how it was in the movies. Time stopped seemingly, the room darkened around them and to Mikasa it felt as though they were the only two in the room, but certainly not because Annie was "the one", opposed to movies. Why was she even here? She could almost hear the unease in her own thoughts.
Mikasa felt the tension instantly raise but her expression remained unchanged, as did Annie's. But as soon as she could Mikasa turned away and continued walk-
"Hey Mikasa!" a voice bellowed over everything else. There was no mistaking who it was. Reiner, what are you doing? Mikasa silently thought to herself as she instantly stopped and turned her head back towards the direction that Annie was in.
Reiner and Bertholdt stood behind her like towers and Mikasa chided herself for not noticing them. The three of them seemed to be heading towards her at an alarming speed through the crowd from Mikasa's perspective. Bert looked a bit uneasy but grinned, Reiner sported the largest grin imaginable and Annie remained emotionless. Their eyes met once more as they neared as well but Mikasa was quick to flicker them away as quickly as possible.
"Where were you going?" Reiner questioned as they came to a stop in front of her. "Don't tell me you were running away from us." The edges of Mikasa's mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly in a half-hearted smile. She shook her head, her fingers gingerly toying with her scarf while being careful to only look at the two towering teenagers.
"Bathroom." She lied as promptly as she could, but thankfully she was hard to read in the first place.
"Well, we'll let you go then but we'll be here when you get back," Reiner said slowly while staring down at her. Mikasa worried that he could read her from the way he responded but she continued to grin anyways. "So hurry back, alright?" He then smiled in that same teasing manner and that's when she knew. She gave an inward sigh and nodded, glancing down for a moment. Foolishly, she glanced at Annie and she felt herself tense further, even if she was seemingly focusing on something across the room.
"Okay, thank you." Her eyes quickly averted back towards Reiner who seemed to look a little apologetic at this point. She then quickly sidestepped, glancing back towards the group as she did so and found Bertholdt near gawking at Anni, but was quick to snap her gaze away.
That's right, Mikasa thought to herself as she calmly headed towards the stairs. For some reason the sight calmed her, as if it gave Annie an air of humanity. Bertholdt likes Annie, he's always liked her.
What a weird way to relieve yourself, she silently thought as she climbed the stairs. She shrugged it off and came to the guest room, assuming that it was better to not question.
As she opened the door to the guest room she was instantly met with an "Oh shit!", along with the strong scent of cigarette smoke that near made her eyes water. Mikasa's eyes widened; it was Jean's voice, and.. She only caught a glance but she definitely knew what Jean was doing in there.
Almost instantly she slammed the door shut while inhaling sharply. Mikasa looked as though she'd seen a ghost and she might as well have. Though she couldn't see who was... Below him, it was still embarrassing nevertheless, especially for someone who was as coy as Mikasa when it came to intimacy.
She let out a shaky sigh and leaned against the door for a moment. Mikasa was quick to collect herself and quickly glanced over at the floor below. Reiner, Bert and Annie were all standing casually in the same spot with drinks in their hands but was joined by Connie.
Mikasa was thankful that it was too loud for them to notice her and so she continued to the bathroom down the hall. However when she reached the door she thought it'd be within her better judgement to not go in; she could hear the gurgling and sputtering of someone vomiting from yards away.
Mentally she sighed and decided to head back down. All of the bathrooms were probably vomit-filled and she didn't particularly feel like dealing with that.
"JAEGER'S GONE APESHIT!" A voice yelled over the crowd as Mikasa made her way back down the stairs. Her head turned towards the voice but it was lost in a sea of teenagers. She assumed this was merely a joke of some sort and continued back towards Reiner and them, but was careful to keep an ear out. Right now all she had to do was get through this night with Annie, this night with the Annie that hates her. She swallowed hard at the thought.
"Ohhh man, someone's gonna get wrecked," a different voice came just as she was about to reach Reiner. Now she was thoroughly convinced something was wrong as her eyebrows furrowed together and she chided herself once more; how much trouble has Eren gotten himself into? She turned sharply and found that most of the people in the room were flooding out the back door while all saying similar things about Eren. She cursed under her breath and turned herself fully, forgetting Eren.
"Mikasa!" a voice yelled from behind just as she was about to start shoving people out of her way. She turned towards the voice and found a frantic-looking Armin who was near panting by the time he reached her. "Stop Eren!"
Mikasa didn't have to be told twice. The two shoved their way through the crowd while Mikasa constantly attempted to see over people's heads but to no avail, which only caused her to pursue more violently.
As she neared the end of the porch her arm was grabbed and she looked back to see what Armin really thought was so important in a situation like this. But no; it wasn't Armin. Their eyes clashed as opposites do, the piercing sensation returning; instead stood Annie who looked more unhappy than usual.
Their eyes remained locked for several moments and Mikasa's previous unease was replaced with the same spark that had lead the two to become rivals in the first place. "Let Jaeger fight his own battles." Despite the loud music she could hear Annie perfectly fine somehow, and she sounded as though it was far from a suggestion. This was a demand, and Mikasa was far from accepting such a thing from her.
Mikasa seemingly ignored her and tore away from her, only to be grabbed by the wrist with a more violent grip. This caused Mikasa to slowly turn back towards Annie while trying to convey that she had no time for bullshit. As she turned, Annie looked thoroughly irritated as their eyes locked once more.
"I mean it, Ackerman," Annie demanded once more in a threatening tone. "You're no different than before; always stepping in for Eren. That's why he's weak." Mikasa silently wondered why Annie wanted for her to leave him alone this badly; even in their younger days Annie only said such things unless it was she who was fighting Eren. Could that be it? Is this Annie's doing? The thought infuriated her to no end so once more Mikasa pulled away and this time she made sure to step away quickly before pausing.
"Don't talk about Eren. Don't touch him. Don't look at him." Mikasa's voice was vicious like a rabid dog but Annie seemed unfathomed. Annie merely stood there but her expression remained unchanged as Mikasa then continued into the crowd of people. And with that, all hope for befriending Annie faded for Mikasa; things would always be the same between them. What Bert saw in her exactly, she couldn't tell.
Mikasa ran through the people swiftly and very quickly made it to the railing of the porch. She looked over the edge and found people littering the backyard, but there was an opening in the middle. She could easily make out all who were present in the opening; Eren was standing a bit lopsidedly on the western with what looked to be a kitchen knife in his hand. Mikasa noted a trail of blood leading down from the top of his head while on the eastern side stood three older-looking guys. Two seemed to be of.. Japanese descent? While one bore close-cropped blonde hair.
Though in the middle of it all.. There stood Armin, his arms out and Mikasa could tell that he was trying to stop whatever was going on. As expected the crowd was against this and often shouted profanities at Armin in their drunken stupors, but Mikasa knew that Armin was only stalling for her to show up.
Without hesitation Mikasa leaped from the porch and landed in the crowd of people. She easily shoved all who got in her way aside and made it to the opening where she could coherently hear everything that was going on.
"F.. Fuck you!" Eren screeched like a psychopath. "I'll kill you!"
"Eren, please calm down," Armin suggested cautiously. "You're drunk and these guys only stopped by to have some fun with us, right?" His eyes turned towards the three guys distraughtly.
"We actually came here for Jaeger," the blonde one stated bluntly with a heavy accent of some sort as he slowly pulled his shirt up, revealing what looked to be a glock. Mikasa bit her bottom lip and tried to think quickly; depending on who these guys were, Eren and Armin could very well die.
"There's no need for that!" Armin insisted as his actions grew more and more impulsive.
"Eh, 'ja? So Jaeger can beat a man half dead but we can't?" The blonde seemed to be growing impatient as he gripped the gun and whipped it out, pointing it directly towards Eren.
"I'm sure that-" Armin winced as he was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a bottle being smashed over the blonde guy's head. Alcohol exploded over his head and he instantly collapsed, leaving his counterparts just as shocked as everyone else.
The two others that were left quickly snapped out of it and jumped at Mikasa simultaneously. Mikasa jumped at least three feet into the air as the two collided as if by some sort of magic, followed by her feet planting into their skulls and shoving their faces into the dirt.
"If you all don't leave right now, I'm calling the police!" Mikasa didn't hesitate and was yelling the second she landed on their heads. She held up a phone as she did so, one that she'd pried from some drunken guy, and the crowd seemed to understand the severity of her words; "police" seemed to be the only thing that drunken people can understand, or maybe it was her showcase that convinced them.
"Psycho bitch!" Mikasa heard someone yell, but it didn't bother her; she was actually relieved because people instantly began flooding out of the backyard as well as the house.
As people ran by in blurs Mikasa went to Eren and helped Armin bring him back to the house while weaving through people. The second they stepped inside they were met with a blubbering Jean with his shirt half tucked into his pants.
"I-Uh. Mikasa it wasn't what it-" Jean incoherently spat out before Marco grabbed ahold of him.
"We'll get out of here, and welcome back Mikasa," Marco butted-in, but it was in the sweetest tone before he began to take Jean out the back. Mikasa said a quiet thank you but was more preoccupied with bringing Eren to the basement.
Thankfully it was basically untouched, having previously locked the door to the main room. Mikasa set Eren down on one of the couches while Armin scrambled to get a first aid kit. Mikasa continued to take Eren's shirt off, though he wasn't any help at all for he seemed to have gone unconscious while they were walking.
Mikasa could tell that he would be beaten for bruises littered his abdomen as if he was kicked repeatedly. Wounds littered his face as well but Mikasa was mostly worried about possible broken bones or internal bleeding.
Armin came back in minutes and Mikasa allowed him to take care of things while watching from a distance. She silently wondered if all parties of Eren's ended like this, and it was certainly worrying.
Mikasa continued to wait silently and stared up at the ceiling until she heard the footsteps cease, signifying that everyone had finally left. Her mind drifted from then; how could she have been so careless? She was meant to look after him and she could hardly help him escape death from what it looked like. If only she wasn't so caught up on Annie. If she had never come, if she never distracted her then maybe..
"It's rare that Annie shows up to these things," Armin abruptly stated as he worked arduously to dress Eren's wounds. It was as if he was reading her mind but for Armin that wouldn't be too much of a surprise. She glanced down at him almost instantly as he spoke and he looked towards her eventually as well.
"She came for you I think, though I don't really know why.." Armin trailed off slowly before turning back towards Eren. Mikasa remained expressionless and chose to not respond as she glanced back up towards the ceiling. For me? She silently asked herself. The one who you hate?
A/N: OTP. Once I submit this to AON I may take it down here.