[A/N: I know, I'm super late, BUT I have a one-shot for you guys for Christmas! Hope you like it :) It's based off one of my favorite episodes of "Friends" (The One with All the Thanksgivings)]
(By the way, the clothes you see being described later were fashion trends from the early 2000s. I just wanted to make something to match how funny Ross and Chandler looked in that episode.)
Enjoy!
"Okay, okay. I've got a good one," Sasha's eyes narrowed as she smirked at her boyfriend, "Who remembers when Connie got that turkey stuck on his head?"
Connie's head dropped down in shame. He, along with five others, were currently talking about their worst Thanksgivings. It was fun at first, until his girlfriend had to open her big mouth.
Annie suddenly sat up from her spot in the armchair. Her eyes widened. "What?! Connie got a turkey stuck on his head," she chuckled.
"Hey, it's not as bad as it sounds."
"Oh, no, Connie. It's exactly how it sounds," his roommate, Eren, added.
A younger Sasha walks into what was then her and Mikasa's apartment just two years earlier.
"Hello," a muffled voice called.
Sasha looked around her apartment in bewilderment and grab the nearest object to use as a weapon, which happened to be an umbrella, as she slowly walked a short distance across the floor to the living room. "Hello?"
"Sasha?"
The brunette realized that the voice was coming from the bathroom and sighed in relief. "Connie?"
"I need some help."
She rolled her eyes. "Why? What did you do?"
The door to the bathroom opened slowly, and instead of seeing her friend's face...she saw a raw turkey replacing the head on a man's body.
She couldn't help it, she laughed hysterically.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want," the male waved his hand dismissively and crossed his arms.
She finally took a breath of air as she clutched her stomach. "Okay. Now, what happened?"
"Well, I put this on to scare Eren," she interrupted him with a 'mhm', "and now I can't get it off. Please help me out. It smells really bad in here," he whined.
"Well of course it smells bad, you have your head up a turkey's ass," she concluded, "But we can't let Mikasa see this or else she'll freak out and kill you."
There was suddenly a knock at the door. Sasha stiffened a bit, praying that it wasn't her raven-haired roommate. She looked through the peephole and saw a familiar pair of gray eyes. 'Aw shit,' she thought.
The brunette quickly grabbed Connie's shoulder, "Come on, Mikasa's here."
Connie placed his head on the table while Sasha opened the door.
"Hey," she greeted.
"Hey," Mikasa greeted back, "Did you get the turkey baste-Ahh!"
Mikasa quickly put her hands over her mouth so as not to disturb the neighbors. She pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled in annoyance. "Who is that?"
"It's Connie," the male stood up with his head low, hoping his friend wasn't angry.
"Get that off your head now. I have twenty people to feed tomorrow and they're not going to eat it off your head."
"He can't, Mik, it's stuck."
"Ugh, as if I wasn't already having a bad day," Mikasa seethed.
"Sasha, grab the turkey," her friend did as she was told as Mikasa grabbed the legs, "I'm going to spread these legs as wide as I can."
Connie started to chuckle. "Not the time!"
"Sorry," the male replied in a small voice.
Once she had her hands holding tightly to the legs of the turkey, Mikasa said, "Alright, on three. One, two... Three!"
Connie stumbled backwards, the turkey still on his head, until he was in front of the door. There was suddenly a knock, "Mika, you in there? I heard screaming, are you okay?"
Sasha watches as Mikasa makes a quick stride towards the front door to open it. "Hey, Eren," she welcomes.
Said brunet stands in the doorway holding a baseball bat in the air ready to swing. His turquoise eyes scanned the apartment for any intruders until the rest on the turkey-headed man standing in the middle of the room, and they widen in both bewilderment and confusion as he practically yells, "The hell is that?!"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Just Connie," Mikasa deadpans.
Eren sighs in relief and puts a hand on his chest, "Thank God, I thought I was having a nightmare."
Connie jumped and pointed in the direction of what he thought was his green-eyed friend and shouted, "Haha, that means I scared ya, right? I knew it, it worked!"
Despite his little celebration Eren couldn't help but chuckle at his almost child-like friend. Instead of pointing at him, the turkey-headed man was pointing at one of the chairs in the kitchen.
"Uh, I'm over here man."
Connie then makes a one-eighty, still not facing the intended direction. "Yeah, you are! I scared you," he laughs as he starts to dance.
Eren snickers when he plays back the memory in his mind. "You did look like an idiot."
Connie sighs in annoyance, "Yeah, well I wasn't the only one. Remember the time Armin tried to say 'butternut squash' and it came out," he begins to snort, "'squatternut buash?"
Connie cracks up as the room goes silent. "Yeah... That's the same thing," Annie says caustically.
Mikasa clears her throat, "Does anyone want to watch a movie," she asks, to which the other five murmur in agreement.
She goes to the bookshelf next to the TV set that's filled with the DVDs they'd collected over the years, and whilst rummaging through she finds a blank disk labeled "Thanksgiving 2003". The group was around twenty-nine years old, so 2003 would mean that they were around sixteen or seventeen.
The raven-haired woman looked at her five friends with furrowed eyebrows.
"What 'cha got there, Mik," Annie asks.
Mikasa shows them the DVD and Sasha's eyes widen. "Ooh! We should watch it," she exclaims.
Mikasa complies and puts the disk into the DVD player. She sits back on the couch when the TV shows the inside of the home she and Armin had grown up in.
Mikasa's mother, Hanako, held the video camera in the direction of the stairway waiting for her daughter to come down to join them for dinner. The door bell rings and Hanako yells, "Mikasa, hurry up! Annie's here."
Sixteen-year-old Mikasa runs the short distance down the stairs, red-faced and out of breath. "I'll get it," she pants.
Connie turns his attention away from the TV to glance at his raven-haired friend and says, "Oh my God, some girl ate Mikasa!"
Mikasa sighs in frustration, "Shut up! The camera adds ten pounds."
"Okay... So, how many cameras are there actually on you," Eren jokes as Mikasa flips him off.
"Mom, stop pointing the camera at me."
"Aw, why not honey? You look so beautiful."
Mikasa blushes slightly at her mother's comment while opening the door. "Happy Thanksgiving," she exclaims when she sees Annie.
Annie smiles a little, "Hey," she hugs Mikasa, "Happy Thanksgiving!"
Hanako walks up to the blonde, almost putting the camera in her face, "Annie, we have plenty of food, so eat as much as you like."
"Oh, I'm actually on a diet, so I won't be eating that much."
Hanako's voice falters. "Oh. That's fine, then."
The camera then turns to the kitchen and Armin's father comes into view.
"Armin is still bringing his friend over, right?"
"Yes, I think so," the man replies.
The door bell rings once again, and this time eighteen-year-old Armin and Eren show up in the doorway, Eren wearing a striped button-up shirt with the collar popped out and a visor turned sideways with puffy skate shoes, while Armin was wearing white shutter-shades with a blue and white shirt and matching sneakers.
Mikasa paused the video the video while everyone stared at the two males on the screen. Sasha and Connie were the first to burst out laughing while Eren's ears turned red from embarrassment and Armin buried his face in a pillow.
"What the hell were you wearing," Connie asks the two in between laughs.
"I-It was in style back then," Armin replied, muffled by the pillow.
"Geez, you look like you got dressed in the dark," Annie remarks.
"Oh really," Eren smirks, "Let's take a look at what you're wearing, then."
He grabs the remote from Mikasa and rewinds the DVD to show seventeen-year-old Annie wearing a dark-blue jersey dress and a pair of light brown Timbs.
Everyone turned to see the pale blonde girl's face, who was currently staring at the man with the remote with pursed lips, scary eyes and a red face. "You're dead, asshole."
Eren stuck his tongue out like a child just as Annie lunged and started hitting him with a pillow. Sasha had started to cry from laughing so hard while Mikasa and Armin were trying to pry Annie off of Eren, for the blonde woman was capable of overreacting (and possibly hurting someone) in these types of situations.
Armin grabbed Annie by the waist and forced her to sit in the armchair until she had finally calmed down. Mikasa sat back next to Eren and cupped his face in her hands to check for any sign of minor injury, "You okay," she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," the brunet sighed, staring into the raven's grey eyes and smiled.
Connie stared at the two with furrowed eyebrows and glanced at his girlfriend, who mirrored the same expression. "Am I...missing something," she asked the two.
Mikasa snapped back into reality and blushed slightly. She looked at the other four, whom each had a confused expression, "N-No, I'm just concerned," she stuttered as she slowly took her hands off the male's face and placed them back in her lap.
Eren cleared his throat and put a straight face. Inside his heart was pounding. Knowing how his friends were, there wouldn't be much time until at least one of them finds out about the secret relationship he's been having with Mikasa for the past few months. Every night they'd sneak in and out of each others apartments at the most ungodly hours just to spend some time alone together, being extremely careful not to make noise or leave any sign of evidence that the other was there. They wanted to tell their friends, who wouldn't? But they were also very afraid of a negative reaction from everyone, especially Armin, for she was Mikasa's brother and also very protective of her when it came to these types of things and might not even approve.
"Let's just watch the movie," Eren says as he grabs the remote and fast-forwards it to the part they were last on.
The video camera zoomed in a little on Eren and Armin as they walked in and took off their shoes at the edge of the door. Armin took off his shutter shades, "Hey, everyone. Uh, this is Eren," he gestures towards the brunet, "He's my roommate down at NYU."
Hanako was the first to hug the blond after she puts the camera down on a small table. She then walks up to Eren and says, "Welcome! We have plenty of food so don't be shy-"
"Actually, Mom, Eren doesn't like to eat Thanksgiving food."
Hanako made an irritated face, "Well, I'm so glad you brought him here, then," she replies monotonically.
Mikasa walks up to the two while blushing as she holds out her hand to Eren. "H-Hi...I'm Mikasa, Armin's little sister."
Eren looks at her up and down, disbelieving that she was his friend's little sister. "Okay," he chuckles.
"Um, if you want, I can make you some mac 'n cheese for dinner."
"Well, as long as the pilgrims didn't eat it," Eren jokes.
Mikasa giggles but suddenly snorts and covers her mouth, 'Dammit! Way to go, stupid,' she thinks as she nervously grins at the boy and retreats to the kitchen as Annie follows her.
Hanako comes into the view of the camera, picks it up and follows the two to the kitchen. She stood behind the wall as she recorded the them. Mikasa was currently grating the cheese while Annie sat next to the counter and watched her. "Aw, does little Mikasa have a crush," Annie teases.
"Annie, stop. It's not like that."
"Oh, come on, Mika. You were blushing, stuttering, do I need to go on?"
Mikasa blushed once again. "Well, yeah, maybe," the raven turns around, "But look at me! I'm not his type."
"What are you talking about? What's not to like? You're cute, you're sweet, you're funny-"
"Annie, I'd appreciate it if we didn't talk about this, okay?"
Annie sighs, "Alright."
About a half an hour later, dinner was over. The video camera was currently facing the back of the couch. The back of Eren's head was seen as he ate a slice of pumpkin pie while leaning against the armrest. Mikasa then sits on the other side of the couch, her weight making Eren's side rise up a little as if they were on a seesaw.
Mikasa clears her throat, "So, Eren, did you like the mac 'n cheese?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah it was great. You should be a chef."
"Okay," Mikasa replies eagerly.
Eren goes into the kitchen to help Armin out with the dishes while Mikasa stays on the couch staring at her hands in her lap. She wanted to slap herself for acting like such a dork over someone she didn't even know. Annie then sits next to her and puts a hand on her shoulder. "You know, I think you should go talk to him. Maybe ask him out?"
Mikasa looks at her friend with hopeful eyes. "Really? A-Are you sure? What if he rejects me?"
"Mika, you're overthinking it. You'll never know until you try."
Mikasa nods in agreement and gets up to walk to the kitchen. Her mother then picks up the camera and tails behind her daughter, who was currently waiting behind the wall next to the doorway of the kitchen, trying to find the right moment to walk in (preferably when Armin wasn't there). Her mother stood behind her with the camera zoomed in on Mikasa's face.
"Now watch closely, everyone. Something monumental is about to happen! Mikasa's going to ask out a boy!"
Mikasa looked at her mother, embarrassed, and rolled her eyes. "Mom," she whined.
Mikasa's eyes widened. She looked at her roommate, who was holding the same expression. Her memory of that day came back to her, and she knew this wasn't going to end well, especially for Eren. She glanced at his face, seeing a perplexed expression and she wonders if he remembers what he did to her that day as well.
"I don't think we should watch this anymore," she says as she grabs the remote.
"Why not," Sasha asks.
Connie then puts a teasing face, "Is our little Mikasa embarrassed?"
Mikasa had to resist the urge to throw the remote at his head. "N-No! I just don't think we should watch this anymore," she points at Eren, "especially you."
"Why, what happened," he asks.
Mikasa and Annie looked at him as if he had grown two heads. "So... You don't remember," the blond asks.
The male shakes his head and shrugs, "Nope."
Annie chuckles, "Oh, this should be fun."
She takes the remote from Mikasa's hands, and the raven gets up to go to her room, "Fine," she shrugs, "I'm not watching it, though."
The bedroom door shuts. "I don't get it, what's so bad about this part," Armin questions.
"You'll see," Annie replies vaguely.
The boy's heads come into view from behind the wall, their conversation being heard by both the camera and the two women. "You know, I'm thinking of asking Annie out later, so if she says yes we might be out for a while, hope you're okay with that," Armin informs the brunet.
Eren looks at his friend with an almost panicked expression, "Dude, don't do that to me."
"What's wrong? I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't mind you staying here for a while."
"It's not that, I just don't want to be stuck here all night with your fat sister."
Hanako gasped and the camera turned to Mikasa, who looked as if her heart stopped. "Honey? Are you okay," she asked, knowing full well that her daughter wasn't fine.
"Hey. Calm down, it's not that bad."
"Sorry, but it's the truth."
Now Mikasa's eyes were practically filled to the brim with tears. She ran up the stairs to her room with Annie tailing behind her. Mikasa's mother came up to her husband and gave him the camera. "What's wrong," he asked.
"Nothing, Mikasa's not feeling well."
The man followed his wife up the staircase to where Annie can be seen sitting next to the door of Mikasa's room. "You can't go in?"
The blond shook her head. "No, she locked it."
Hanako knocked softly, "Mikasa? Please come out, dear."
"No," Mikasa sniffled from the other side.
Annie put her head in her hands. Her heart ached for her friend. If only she hadn't told her to go talk to that stupid guy. "Mika, I'm so sorry," she shook her head, the sound of the raven sobbing just broke her heart.
Mikasa's mother hunched down and placed her hand on Annie's shoulder. "Maybe you should go home. I'm sure she'll be fine in the morning."
Annie nodded and did as she was told. She walked down the stairs just as the two boys were walking out of the kitchen. She glared at the brunet when she saw him, using all of her willpower not to at least punch the guy in the face.
Eren dragged his hands across his face. He called her fat? Why was it that he couldn't remember?
"I can't believe you called her fat, man. How could you," Connie accused.
"Not only that, she was so depressed that she wouldn't come out of her room for days. She barely ate anything either," Annie added.
"Annie, stop," Mikasa commanded from behind the door.
"What," she turned to sneer at the brunet, "'It's the truth', isn't it," she repeated the words his eighteen-year-old self had stated in the home video.
Eren still had his hands covering his face, his green eyes peeking out between his fingers. He suddenly felt pain being inflicted on the back of his head so he turned around only to see Sasha glaring down at him with her hand raised.
He got up and walked to his girlfriend's room, quickly shutting the door behind him. The raven was currently laying on the foot of her bed with her nose in a book. She looked up at him, a little concerned about his reaction.
"I called you fat," he asks, though his question sounded more like a statement. Mikasa only nods in response and sits up silently.
He sits next to her, hugging his knees, and they stay in silence. That video explained so much. No wonder Mikasa and Armin's parents never invited him over after that. No wonder Annie disliked him so much in the beginning.
He sighs, "I'm so sorry."
Mikasa chortled. "Eren, it was ten years ago-"
"Well, yeah, it may be the case now. But what about back then? I mean, you must have at least hated me or something... I was a huge idiot back then. I am so, so sorry."
"Eren, again, it was over ten years ago. It's not that big of a deal," she kissed his cheek, "You're still coming over tonight, right?'
He smiled a little, "Of course."
Eren tiptoes across the hallway, clad in only his pajama bottoms and a bathrobe. He fumbled with the doorknob, seeing as it was unlocked he went inside. During the first two months of their relationship he wasn't too fond of sneaking around, it made him feel silly. Now he'd grown used to it.
He started to think about the conversation they had a few hours ago. She said she was fine with it, but was she really? He practically humiliated her.
Suddenly feeling hungry he went to the fridge to get a snack. He opened the door, and on the third shelf there was a raw turkey wrapped in plastic wrap. Mikasa was probably going to kill him for this, but it was worth a shot.
He knocked on his girlfriend's door. He was hoping to make this quick, his neck felt like it was going to be broken from all the weight. How did Connie do this?
Eren hears the door open followed by a gasp coming the girl in front of him. She sighs, slightly annoyed, "What are you doing?"
"Wait," he replies.
He takes out a pair of big yellow sunglasses and places them on the turkey's shoulders. "Eren-"
"Wait, look," he interrupts. He then starts dancing rather awkwardly, hoping for Mikasa to see where he's getting at.
He feels a small beam of accomplishment when he hears her laugh. "Oh, my God, you're such an idiot," she jokes, "I love you."
He stops. They'd been friends for years, now lovers, but they've mentioned the "L" word to one another.
Her laughter stops, "O-Oh, God," she panics, "Sorry, I-I didn't mean to scare you-"
"I love you too," he interrupts her once again, "I'd like to kiss you, but," he gestures towards the turkey on his head.
She sighs in relief. "Right... Okay. Do you need help?"
"Nah, I got it."
He goes to the kitchen only to come back two minutes later with the turkey still in the same place.
"Mik?"
"Yeah?"
"... It's stuck."