AN: Wow it's been awhile since I actually wrote a fanfiction. And it's so short too... but oh well, finally got back to typing this up after a few weeks of leaving it around on paper. Enjoy?

Childhood

Childhood is a blessing.

So innocent.

So naïve.

Yet so much fun.

Eren waited impatiently beneath the tree, keeping a close eye out for his friends. He had told them the night before to meet him there, at the clearing by nine in the morning, but instead Eren was all alone. It was a beautiful sunny day, with a sky a light blue, and Eren didn't want to waste a second of it. Yet here he was, leaning on a tree, doing nothing. Perhaps he should have woken Mikasa before jumping out the window, on one of the rare days Eren had risen before the raven-haired girl.

It was your fault for getting up at six in the morning and telling them to come at nine.

"Shut up." Eren muttered to himself. "Idiot." Of course it was his fault he'd spent the past forever staring up at the sky – he couldn't really blame anyone else for his own folly. The young boy sighed, wondering what the time was. It could've been hours past nine, or perhaps there was still plenty of time before his friends came. Eren hadn't thought to bring anything to check the time, in his rush to get to the clearing first.

"Oi! Shorty! Who you talkin' to?" A familiar voice called out. A trio of boys ambled into the clearing, all bigger, older, and most likely stronger than Eren. He gave the ringleader, as Eren called him, or Phillip, a harsh glare, his silent message clear. Not now. Regardless, they paid him no heed. "Shorty! I asked you a question! You got me an answer or you gonna stay mute you lil freak? Oh and where's the miss? Not with your girlfriend today? Say, where is she? If you see her, can you ask her if we can 'borrow' her book? We need some cash, and rare books like that sell." Eren sighed.

Stay calm. Don't get into another fight, or mom'll scold you again.

"Phillip, Armin is male." He replied, grabbing a stick sturdy stick, weighing it in his hand to judge how hard it'd hit. "Not a good time guys, not a good time, even if we haven't seen each other in a month, I'd rather not see you at all. And I think it might be a good idea for you all to leave, before you get hurt." Eren gripped the stick like he did the knife the month prior, when he had killed two human beings, and tried to look threatening. Phillip, on the other hand, broke out laughing. His two buddies followed shortly after, echoing him. Eren couldn't tell if the pause was because they were actually somewhat afraid of what he could do, or if they were slow on the uptake.

"You think I'll get hurt? Ey shrimp, your head screwed on properly?" Phillip sneered, and gestured to his friends. "We got three people, three adults, and you're just you, a baby who gets into more trouble than he's worth. What can you do?" He gestured, beckoning Eren to come at him, to fight. Eren twitched.

Don't get into a fight. Whatever you do…

Phillip mooned Eren, waggling his bum at the younger boy. Eren blinked, uncertain of how to react to the scenario. He bit his lip, but remained silent, hoping the bullies would leave after getting bored enough. No luck, even after Phillip gave up on showing his bum to the younger boy, they continued tossing taunts and insults at him, his family, and Armin. Then Phillip, being the mature role-model child he was, stuck up a choice finger at Eren.

Up to this point, Eren had been tolerant. He had ignored the irritating temptation to go and beat them up. But Eren had reached the brink of his patience. He didn't care what the consequences were, or what the bullies might do to him. All Eren wanted to do, was go up to the offending boy, and punch him in the face. He knew the odds were stacked against him, since three to one is never a good scenario. Eren charged anyway, dashing towards the bigger boy with the stick held to his waist, prepared to stab it into the boy like he did to the beasts, but probably less lethal.

Eren's naïve assault had been expected though, and Phillip's two friends intercepted him easily. Blind in his anger, Eren got caught and shoved to the ground, pinned to the grassy roots of the tree. The stick flew out of his hands, lodging itself on a rock. Eren flailed, in a futile attempt to free himself, but to no avail. The two boys held him still, and were practically sitting on both sides of his body.

"Phillip! Coward, fight me fair and square and stop hiding behind your posse! You never do because you know that you'd lose." Eren taunted, voice unwavering. He was bruised and most likely bleeding in several places, but he paid no heed to the minor injuries. Phillip twitched at the provocation, but laughed. Eren commonly challenged him in this manner, but Phillip had yet to take it up. Despite being larger and stronger, perhaps he had known just how stubborn the young boy was. Maybe it was that which made Phillip hesitate, that made him afraid. But alone and outnumbered, Eren put up a pitiful fight, already pinned to the ground.

Useless.

Eren fumed silently. Again, they had decided he was nothing, that he was useless. And they'd proved it to him, easily neutralizing his futile attack. And now they were laughing at him, laughing!. Eren ground his teeth. He knew that he couldn't well move while two people were on him, and Phillip leaning over him, but he would have to try. Not that he hadn't tried earlier, but they were bound to let up their guard sooner or later, weren't they? Not everyone has the time to sit on a younger boy for the whole day. Besides, Armin and Mikasa were coming, hopefully soon.

A flicker of movement caught the corner of Eren's eye, a flash of black fabric in the air. He knew that fabric, he knew it! It took Eren a moment to tell where he knew it from before he saw Mikasa come to a stop, her clothes unusually disheveled, reminiscent of how she looked back when Eren first met her. It looked like she ran straight here, right out of bed, her hair a tangled mess. Her scarf hadn't been wrapped properly around her neck like his mother taught her, rather it was carelessly tossed on. Mikasa carried a basket with her in one hand, and Eren realized it was probably the food he forgot to bring.

"Got another girlfriend Eren? Didn't know you were so popular with the ladies." Phillip smarted, smiling innocently. "Say, I haven't seen you around before, are you new here? You look a little odd." Mikasa frowned.

"Ah, another?" Mikasa questioned, seeming genuinely curious. She turned to Eren, her dark eyes staring him down. "Umm… Eren, what's he talking about?" Eren, still underneath two butts, grimaced.

"Nothing! Just a bunch o' animals here, no need to pay them any heed really, they'll probably just go away after you swat them." Eren remarked, as if talking about an insect, rather than a few larger, older people literally sitting on him.

"What?" Phillip's eye twitched, Eren smirking at his immediate response.

"You heard me, you're a-" Eren was rudely cut short when Phillip punched him on the head, sending Eren's skull into the damp soil.

"Shut up." Phillip hissed into his ear. Eren heard a loud thump, sounding like wood on wood, but Eren couldn't quite see what it was, since after the punch, Phillip had come uncomfortably close to Eren's face. But then he wasn't. One moment Phillip had been leaning over him, maybe a few centimeters away, the next he was gone. Eren blinked. That was when he heard a cry of pain. Phillip had tumbled down the hill. Mikasa had tackled him.

Phillip, being the nice friend he was, had been fortunate enough to catch one of this friends while flailing down the hill, both of them tumbling. Eren kneed the remaining boy in the crotch, and after a moment, Mikasa stood next to him, offering a hand to help him up. Eren ignored it, and stumbled to his feet. Phillip did the same, apparently not having learned his lesson the first time.

Eren attempted to punch the bully, but Mikasa, being Mikasa, got to him first, with a kick square in the rib. She spun 180 degrees, and elbowed another one of the bullies, leaving him off-balance, tripping on the stick Eren had dropped. The third boy had yet to rise, still bent over on the ground, and obviously, the kick had been too much for him. Or perhaps that particular spot was 'sensitive', as some put it.

Eren stared Phillip down once more; like they had on occasion many a time over the past few years, yet the older boy ignored his gaze. Phillip watched Mikasa apprehensively, most likely out of fear, and had clearly forgotten about Eren. Eren's eyes narrowed. This was something he should've taken care of by himself; he shouldn't have needed help to take care of these animals. Eren watched moodily as they fled, half wishing they'd come back so he could trounce them. Mikasa smiled at Eren, unaware of his inner strife, and went to retrieve a fallen wooden basket, which Eren assumed was the thump from earlier.

Now they'll look down on me even more, because I couldn't handle them myself.

"Hmm… Are you alright now?" Mikasa inquired innocently, examining the spot where Phillip had hit him. She rubbed it, not quite sure what to do about it. A visible bump had formed in the area, but Eren angrily brushed her hand off.

"No! You shouldn't have helped, that was my fight!" Eren shouted venomously. Mikasa flinched. "You had no right to butt in! Why? Why would you do this to me?"

"I-I was trying to hel-"

"Well don't!" Eren snapped. "Go away. I'm not your child, nor do you need to protect me!" Mikasa stepped back, shocked by his words. Eren sighed, turning away from Mikasa and examining his arm, which had also been bruised. He was astonished to hear a whimper, least of all from Mikasa, who had just fought off several bullies with relative ease. Eren spun on the spot, to see the girl crying, hot salty tears trickling down her face.

"Eh? Ah, I-I'm sorry!" Eren frantically blurted out. To his dismay, the rushed apology did nothing to calm down the dejected young girl.

Oh crap. Mom's gonna kill me… What to do, what to do…

In a hasty movement, Eren wrapped his arms around Mikasa's neck, gripping the girl's thin frame tightly. Mikasa's eyes widened, and after moments her tears ceased flowing. Eren felt his cheeks grow hot, and he suspected he might look similar to a tomato, but at least Mikasa couldn't see it from where she was.

"M-mom did this for me when I was little." Eren explained hesitantly. "A-are you done crying?" Mikasa nodded, her long hair scratching his neck, making the young boy shiver. Eren detached himself from Mikasa abruptly, turning away to hide his blush.

"Hmm… that was awkward…" Eren muttered. Mikasa tilted her head, curious.

"One more time?" The raven-haired girl asked eagerly.

"Wh-what?" Eren yelped, whipping his head back, mouth wide open. "N-no! Why should I? You've stopped crying, haven't you?" Immediately after, tears streamed out of Mikasa's eyes once more, pouring down her face like a leaky faucet.

"Oh come on! Really?" Eren asked indignantly. Mikasa made no indication of having heard him, and sobbed silently. "O-okay okay! J-just one more time!" The crocodile tears immediately ceased their flow, but Eren knew Mikasa would start up at any given moment. Eren wrapped his arms around her neck once more, resting his head on her shoulder.

"You're so warm…" Mikasa murmured, a smile spreading across her face. Eren's eyes widened, and his face grew redder for every second that passed.

"A-am I?" Eren wondered. Mikasa stumbled back under Eren's weight, slipping on the stick Eren dropped. They lurched towards the ground, arms still wrapped around each other, as they fell harmlessly onto the grass.

…

Armin jogged into the clearing, a little out of breath from the physical activity, and waved. He clenched his grandfather's book in one arm, as he'd wanted to show it to Mikasa, despite not having met the raven-haired girl. If she was anything like Armin and Eren, she would find it fascinating, the fact that their whole world within the walls was really just a small part of the whole wide world. The rivers of lava, the ocean in all its beauty, the book was really amazing. And maybe illegal, but who knows.

When Armin had visited the Yeager household earlier, he had only come minutes too late to catch Mikasa, and Carla had told him that Eren left hours earlier. But rather than leaving immediately, Grisha had explained to him what happened between the two, and even if Armin hadn't met her, he was glad that Eren had another friend now. A few key words from Grisha's story clung to his mind, and Armin wondered what his only friend's relationship was like with the girl.

Didn't hesitate to throw his life away to try to save her…

Was blushing lightly, I found that odd…

First girl friend, glad he's branching out and becoming more social…

"Ah! Eren! Mikasa!" Armin called out, seeing Eren's messy head of hair. That's when he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widening at the scene before him. Armin felt his face flush red, as he saw Eren push himself off of Mikasa, who was underneath him, for whatever reason. Armin's breathing became rapid, and he suddenly felt the urge to fiddle with the hem of his shirt.

Whaaaaaaaat the heck was going on here?

"You Armin, you're late!" Eren exclaimed, greeting the blonde boy, while still, for the most part, on top of the raven-haired girl.

"Armin." Mikasa echoed faintly, looking every bit as odd as Grisha had said, with narrower eyes, ink black hair, and a peculiar facial structure. Regardless, Armin was curious about the two's relationship. He decided to approach the question in the most tactful way he could think off.

"Y-yeah. E-Eren! Y-you know, I think there's supposed to be some order to this thing you're doing with Mikasa… and… we're still kids! Don't you think you're taking things a bit too fast?" Armin asked, rushing his words.

"What are you talking about?" Eren responded innocently, while laying on top of Mikasa. Armin's eyes widened, unsure how to reply. "Anyway Armin, aren't you going to show Mikasa the book?"

Armin smiled faintly, releasing the tension in his arms and dropping the book to the ground beside the tangled pair. Eren rolled off of Mikasa, and the trio gazed at the attractive pictures of the outside world. As always, they were astonished by how diverse the world was, and how little humans had explored. Like this, calmly flipping through pages, the three stayed for quite some time, the peaceful environment only later to be interrupted by Eren's stomach. The trio would soon after become almost inseparable.

But that's another story, for another time.

Also, this is based off an image set (mostly the part with huggings), but I don't think I can put links here, so I'm not 100% sure...