Shivers and Stolen Breaths

As soon as he stepped outside, the cold air hit his face. It sent shivers down his spine and stole his breath. Instinctively, he reached up to adjust the red scarf that was wrapped securely around his neck.

It was just another typical Tuesday morning for Eren Jaeger, a young student of sixteen. As always, he had managed to sleep through his alarm clock and was now running extremely late.

The young teen glanced at his watch, and seeing that he had less than fifteen minutes, he picked up the pace.

"Damn," he whispered, the cold air burning inside his lungs as strode through the city, the gentle white snow crunching beneath his feet.

And as he walked, his mind drifted back to the dream he had been having. What had it been about again? It was so long. Though he struggled to remember the details of the it, the feelings it had created were very real. Whatever it had been about, it couldn't have had a happy ending. Feelings of anger and fear, sadness and uncertainty lingered within him. Yet, there was something else he could feel burning deep inside of him. Unlike the cold, unwelcoming feelings, this one was soft…and warm, and in the midst of all the pain he felt, it comforted him.

Eren shook his head and cursed the forgotten dream. It was the reason he was going to be late after all. It was probably best all together if he just forgot about it entirely. After all, it was just a dream. It wasn't real.

Stuffing his dry, cracked hands in his coat pockets, the young boy sighed, readjusting his backpack as he made his way across the bustling city streets.

Suddenly, he felt something very cold against his hand. Eren felt his fingers wrap around the object as he slowly pulled it out and glanced down at the small metal item in his hands.

A key.

He felt his world spinning around him as his reality was replaced with blurred images. Bits and pieces of broken words, pictures…memories?

A key, the basement, a mission, a terrifying, inevitable truth…

Secrets, blood, death, terror…

Tears, a promise…a scarf.

Eren jumped, the familiar city scene settling back into his vision.

What had just happened? Was that what the dream had been about?

He shook his head and scoffed, shoving his house key back into his pocket.

It was just a key for heaven's sake.

But still…he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something…missing something…it had to do with that dream. Eren knew it. He could feel it. The terrible, depressing, agonizing feelings left behind from it.

He felt his world blur once more, and losing his balance, he felt himself tumble into the person he had been walking past.

He heard the clunk of books falling onto the frozen concrete followed by a soft feminine grunt.

The next thing he knew, the only thing separating his body from the sidewalk was the teenage girl he had fallen on top of.

"I…I'm so sorry!" He stuttered as he hurried to get off of her. He could feel his cheeks heating up with embarrassment. "I wasn't paying any attention!"

He hurried to pick up her books, the girl's back still facing him.

"I'm really really sorry!" He apologized again as she turned around to look at him. "Are you okay, miss?" His own eyes were still focused on the books, but Eren could feel her staring at him, and he felt as if she could see into his very soul.

And then finally, she spoke. "I'm fine," she said, and he felt his head snap up at the sound of her voice. "But…why are you crying?"

That…voice…

And when his eyes met hers, he felt the entire world come crashing down on him. Just like the wind had that morning, she sent shivers down his spine and stole his breath. And suddenly the details of that dream came so easily to him.

Three walls built to keep out titans. The Survey Corps, trained to fight and kill titans. A clever, blonde-haired boy and a strong, ebony-haired girl with a red scarf. The promises he had made to her.

Flashes of nights spent together…crying, comforting, dreaming together. Memories of his lips against her neck, whispers of worn, broken promises…

The image of her lying next to him in a pool of blood…dying next to him…

Bits and pieces of spoken words.

"I love you…"

"Maybe in another life, we could have been together…"

"See you later, Eren."

See you later.

And when he looked into her eyes, those lingering feelings left over from his dream multiplied by ten, and everything made sense.

The feelings surged through him like electricity…anger, fear, sadness, uncertainty, and, clearly and unquestionably, love.

That warmth in the cold…the light in the dark…the bit of happy in the terrifying, depressing memories had been her. This girl standing in front of him right now was that feeling of warmth. The burning sensation inside his heart.

She was love.

Slowly, he reached his hand up to his cheek and felt the wetness there, realizing that he was, indeed, crying.

He smiled a little when he realized that she too was crying, and she looked at him just like she had in the dream; with more love and admiration than he had ever seen before.

Before he could stop himself, he had scooped her up in his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. He felt his own tears dripping onto her cheek, and he was well aware of the passage of time.

But he didn't care. She was in his arms, and that was the only thing that had ever mattered.

"Eren," she whispered, and he felt her breath against his neck as she breathed his name.

"Eren…Eren…Eren…"

"Mik…asa.." he choked out, repressing the sobs. "Mikasa,"

Finally, he pulled away from her, smiling gently as he wiped away both his tears and hers.

Realizing they were both still kneeling in the snow, he pushed himself up off the ground and held out his hand to her.

It was so soft and warm…

He pulled her in for another embrace, and he held on tight, afraid that if he let go, she would disappear from his world forever.

He felt the wetness of the snow on her clothes, and slowly, he unraveled the scarf from his own neck and wrapped it gently around hers.

"I think," he spoke quietly, his voice threatening to crack once more, "I think this looks better on you."

"It's…warm…" she smiled back at him, her eyes glistening with pure happiness and love.

Forgetting wherever it was he had been going, he gently grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.

"I think we have a lot to catch up on," he explained, tugging her along, "so let's go home, okay?"

He looked back to see fresh tears trailing down her cheeks. "Okay," she agreed, "let's go home," she repeated, following him as he led her into a new life.

XX

A/N I'm not a huge fan of the reincarnation AU, but for some reason I really wanted to write one. I actually think it turned out alright...better than I thought it would at least. Anyway, Thank you all for reading and happy holidays!

OI98