Mikasa hadn't thought it'd escalate so much. Letting things go this far had been a mistake after all…
"Eren!" His mother was bent over the figure sulking at the table, trying to examine his cuts. "How did you get so hurt?" she questioned. When Eren remained silent, glowering at the wood, she turned to Mikasa. "Mikasa, how?"
"Eren tried to climb the tall tree outside of the town," she immediately replied.
At that, Eren shot up, slamming a hand on the tabletop. "Mikasa!"
She averted her eyes. It couldn't be helped. Ever since he'd seen her climbing from branch to branch with ease, searching for twigs to break off for firewood (how else could she leave everything on the ground for him?), he'd been determined to learn to do the same.
As Eren endured his mother's lecture, Mikasa wandered outside but didn't go far. She planted herself outside the door to wait for Eren to emerge. When he did, he stormed right past her.
"Are you going to try to climb the tree again?"
Without turning back, he said, "Of course! I'm still not able to reach the top." As he heard her footsteps begin to follow along behind him, he sped up. "Don't follow me!"
"Why are you mad?" she asked, easily keeping pace with him.
"Why'd you have to tell Mom?!" he demanded.
"She's worried about you."
"It's embarrassing," he mumbled as red dusted his cheeks.
"It's not embarrassing," she said. "I grew up around more trees than you so of course I'd be better at climbing them."
"Are you trying to make me feel better?" They'd reached the outskirts of the town. Eren headed straight for the tree.
Before he could approach it, Mikasa moved in front of him. "Let me help you."
"No." He tried to dodge around her.
She just shifted until she was between him and the tree again. "I'll help you."
"I don't need help," Eren insisted.
Mikasa reached out to grab his wrist and held it gently, loosely; he let her. "Don't be stubborn. You hurt your hand, didn't you? If you don't take care of yourself, your body won't last long enough to join the Scouting Legion."
"Wha—"
"I heard you and Armin talking about it," Mikasa admitted.
Eren glared at her. "And so? Are you going to tell on me? Laugh at me? Whatever you do, I'm not going to change my mind!"
"I won't tell. Let me help you climb the tree." It may have sounded like a threat but she couldn't have Eren collapsing because he was too prideful to accept assistance, now or ever. When he still didn't look convinced, she continued, "You're only making a fool of yourself if you can't ask for help when you need it. That's not strength. Look, I'll climb ahead and point out where you can place your hands and feet. Eventually you'll learn to recognize them on your own."
"…Fine," Eren said. "That's fine. Let go of my wrist."
Mikasa released him and together they approached the tree. With Mikasa pointing out what handholds to use and the footholds he couldn't trust, Eren proved to be quicker and more agile than he might have seemed from watching his earlier attempts. Within twenty minutes, they'd already reached the highest point possible for even Mikasa. It wasn't the very top, but it was close.
Zhiganshina spread out before them, and so did the wall, infinitely taller than any tree they could ever climb, so vast it felt like they were being shut in even from a distance. From beside her, Eren spoke. "One day, I won't have to rely on you to see this kind of scenery."
"I know," she replied. It's what I'm afraid of.