Eremika drabble #3

Title: Right Beside You

Rated: K

Summary: Eren fell sick and Mikasa stayed by his side all night. Kid Eremika

Notes: Carla and Mikasa's dialogue was inspired by Anorable's drabble "Mother Always Knows". Thanks for the inspiration!


A single light from the candle flickered slightly, illuminating the shape of two individuals in the room. A boy was lying down on his bed, his eyes closed, while a girl sat firmly beside his bed, fidgeting. Her black eyes never left the boy's face, her fingers softly entangled with his, filling in the empty space between each. Moving carefully so that she wouldn't wake him up, she picked up the damp cloth on his forehead, dipped it in the cold water basin, and squeezed out the remaining water in the cloth before putting it again on the boy's forehead. With a sigh of relief she felt his temperature had begun to go down, though he was still feverish nonetheless.

"Mikasa," she could hear the gentle voice calling out her name and she turned. Carla Yeager was eyeing her from the open door, her look was full of motherly concern. "Why are you still up? You should get some sleep. Eren will be fine."

"It's fine," she said quickly, "I, uhm..," her eyes shied away from the older woman's. "Eren was sick because of me, if I hadn't forgotten to bring an umbrella, he wouldn't have to lend me his jacket to shelter me from rain, so…" She eyed the tip of her toes, blushing slightly inside at her excuses. That wasn't the real reason she had chosen to stay. She didn't sleep because she simply didn't want to leave him.

Carla tried to hide her smile. She had been aware of Mikasa's feelings for her son, though the said son seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact. It was obvious, the way Mikasa always looked at her son, the way her gaze lingered on him when he wasn't looking and how she always blushed slightly when Eren held her hand. She had watched them from time to time, often smiling inside, imagining both of them growing up and her son gradually seeing his childhood friend as more than a friend – as a woman. Already Carla could imagine Eren, coming up to her and asking for motherly advice of what to do when the feeling of mutual kindness finally turned into love. And she smiled at the thought. She couldn't wait for that time to come.

"Allright, but don't force yourself," she finally said. "If you are tired, you should go to sleep. OK?" Mikasa nodded and Carla left the room, closing the door quietly. Mikasa leapt to Eren's side, her hand quickly slipping into his.

I'll be here, Eren, she pressed his hand to her cheek, feeling his fever burn against her cold skin. I'll be here all night. So that when you wake up, you'll find me.


Eren slowly opened his eyes when the light of the morning sun touched his face. For a while he wondered what he had been doing, and why it felt like such a long sleep. He reached to his forehead, and felt a piece of cloth there. He pulled it and stared blankly at the white cloth for a while, then he finally remembered what happened. Yesterday he insisted on running back home during a heavy downpour, without an umbrella or anything to shelter him, not caring that he had had a fever. Right after he got home his fever worsened, and he collapsed right on the front door. He didn't know what happened after that, or how long he had been asleep.

Eren tried to get up, but he felt something firm holding his hand in place. He turned and his gaze immediately fell on Mikasa. She sat on the floor, her upper body crouched on the edge of his bed. Her head lay on top of one hand she used as a pillow, while the other hand was holding his. Her eyes closed and her breath was steady. She was sleeping. Eren's eyes went wide as he realized what happened.

She was here all the time? he thought, guilt surged inside him as he thought of her image, being by his bed all night, waiting for him to come to. He reached his hand and stroked several strands of stray hair falling to her face, tucking them back behind her ear. He was silent for a moment, then he heard himself saying, in a voice softer than what he thought he could ever use.

"Thank you, Mikasa…"