Prompt: Eremika Fluff Week Day 1 – A Kiss on the _.

Pairing: Eremika

Setting: Canon universe, post-series

Rating: K

There was nothing in the world, Eren had long since decided, more beautiful than watching Mikasa interact with their daughter. The girl was dark-haired and china-skinned, the spitting image of her mother in all but her eyes, which held the vivid shade of green on her father's. The Mikasa that was his wife and the mother of his daughter, was not the same Mikasa that had once been his protector. That girl was cold and stoic, resting the weight to the world on her shoulders.

Four years after the war, she was hardly the same person. Shortly after the gates to Wall Maria were open, this time for good, Mikasa and Eren had settled down in the mountains and their life had been peaceful ever since then. The Mikasa Eren knew now was kind and emotional, almost always happy, and maybe a bit more likely to banter with him. But, still, even after that, there were some things about their life as soldiers that would never fully go away.

"Mama," the little girl whined as Mikasa gently sat her down in her bed. "I'm not tired." Mikasa gave her a warm smile, as Eren silently watched from the doorway.

"Would a story help?" For a moment, the stubborn child contemplated the question.

"Yes," she finally told her mother. "Tell me the one about the little girl again." Mikasa leaned in and kissed the girl on her forehead.

"That one is my favorite." For a moment, her black eyes shifted to Eren. "I think Daddy likes this one, too." Eren shrugged.

"I think your mother likes to make a big deal out of this one." Mikasa ignored him and turned back to her daughter.

"Once upon a time," she said softly, her voice purposefully trying to lull the child to sleep, "there was a little girl. She lived with her parents, and they were very, very happy together." The raven-haired girl laid down, resting her head against the bed. "They didn't have a lot, but they had each other, and they were as close as family could be," Mikasa continued. Eren's gaze left his daughter's, and instead focused on Mikasa for a moment. Her storm-cloud eyes were distant, lost in her own memories of whatever kind of life she had once lived with own parents. That was one part of her life that, even after all these years, Mikasa rarely spoke about. It still pained her to think about it.

"But then one night, the girl's parents left her." Mikasa kept her face composed for the sake of the child. "She waited and waited, but they never came back. She was very scared, very lonely, and very cold." Mikasa's daughter just smiled at her, because she knew how the story ended.

"And then her hero came," she added. Mikasa smiled at her.

"Yes. He came, and gave her a home. He made her feel loved and warmed again. And from that day on, the boy and the girl were always together, because they loved each other very much." Now, the child closed her vivid green eyes, a smile on her face as she slowly started to close consciousness. Mikasa gave her daughter one last kiss, before she and Eren both backed out of the dark bedroom and closed the door.

"A hero, huh?" Eren asked her. "I seem to recall that hero being a bit of a monster at times." Quickly, he hands went around her hip and he pulled Mikasa into a hug. Eren leaned forward and placed a kiss just under Mikasa's left eye, where she still bore a scar of the day that 'hero' attacked her.

"Maybe to some people, she told him softly, "but that girl never saw him as a monster."