Eren cleared his throat. Not even he himself could believe what was happening.
"Eren?"
Annie's voice took him out of his thoughts. Even though they had been smooching, Eren's head was elsewhere but there.
But he only remembered the reason he was there when he saw Annie's hand come out of his pants.
"Eh ..." he stuttered. She had a slight frown as she watched him closely, waiting for an answer.
"What's wrong? I thought you would get hard, but ..."
"I- I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking about. We can ... We can start again, if you want to."
Annie kissed him again, pushing him onto his back, her hands slipped back into Eren's trousers, but this time it wasn't enough to make him harden.
"Dammit. Wasn't this what you wanted, Eren?" she protested, notoriously angry when she pulled away. He looked confused. Eren was about to believe that he had entered into an alternate reality.
"I ... I don't really know what's happening with me."
You know it, dickhead.
Annie stood up from bed, about to be mad as hell. Eren felt guilty, trying to deny what was going through his head.
"Of course you know. What really happens is that you don't want to be with me, though." she replied, arms crossed against her chest.
"What? I... I don't-"
"Tell me, Eren: who the hell are you thinking about? There's another woman on your mind?"
Annie's back was toward him. Eren snorted.
"What? What the fuck are you talking about? Where do you get that from?" he asked aloud, annoyed. However, there was a tinge of nervousness in his voice, which fortunately Annie didn't notice.
"I don't know. You tell me. You avoided me for several weeks after your accident, and now you don't arouse while I kiss you."
Annie's words were coldly blatant.. That was the last straw. Eren stood up, doing his zip up; he was absolutely pissed off.
"Are you really telling me that I avoided you? Annie, you didn't visit me while I was in the hospital, and you didn't answer my calls after that either."
"They didn't let me in to see you there. And I never saw a call from you. I wasn't going to step on your house either; You know your mother hates me."
"Don't look for excuses! Neither you, nor Reiner, nor Bertholdt came to see me, not even when I returned home, and yet I decided to let you all be in."
"No, Eren, I think it's you the one looking for excuses to justify that you don't want me ... Or better I should say ... your dysfunction." Annie regretted saying that at the same time. But what's done, is done.
Eren's eyes widened in a bewildered grimace. Oh. He couldn't feel more humiliated when he realized the implication of Annie's words.
"I'm not ..." Eren's voice got caught in his throat. Then he snorted, making his way to the door. "It's okay. Think whatever the hell you want. Goodbye."
"Eren, don't go ... We have to talk ..." Annie said, walking behind him. She remembered Armin's words, convinced this was the right time to do so ...
But Eren didn't stop his way to look at her.
"Not this time, Annie. It's pointless."
A minute later, the BMW was moving away from the Leonhardt's house.
That relationship went from bad to worse, and Annie didn't know whether to feel relieved or frustrated.
She had to talk to Eren before it was too late.
Mikasa wouldn't go to Shiganshina this summer. It has been decided.
And less now that Levi had officially received Uncle Kenny in his own house.
She hated this. She really hated this.
And before arguing with his older brother for having made the biggest mistake of his life, she preferred not to see him.
"You're sure you can go alone, Mikasa? There are fifteen minutes until ten o'clock at night, and I don't like to know that you'll go on that motorcycle at this time."
Carla looked worried. But Mikasa made an effort not to roll her eyes; every night was the same. However, deep down she was pleased to know that this woman with two children and thousands of responsibilities also cared about her.
As her own mother would have done.
Faye had fallen asleep more than an hour ago, and Carla had just arrived home.
"Don't worry, Carla. This girl could knock me down with a single finger of hers. I'm sure nothing will happen to her."
Eren's sudden intervention as he went downstairs made his mother and the babysitter turn to look at him. When Mikasa's eyes met his, they both had to look away quickly from each other.
Carla just smiled to herself.
"You could drive her home, Eren." his mother suggested. Mikasa shook her head before he could give an answer.
"No. Don't bother, Mrs. Jager; that's not necessary. I'm serious when I say it's easier to go on my motorcycle than without it, and then have to come again and get it. Really, you don't need to worry."
"It's okay. But you must message me as soon as you arrive, okay?" Carla said, raising her index finger. Mikasa nodded with a light smile. "So, will you be able to continue working with us in the summer?"
"Yes. I must stay in Trost for academic stuff, so... Yeah."
"All right. Faye will be more than happy. That means you can join us this weekend at our beach house, isn't it, Eren?"
Eren opened his eyes, surprised. He didn't expect his mother to ask him about that.
"Eh ... Well ..."
"Mrs. Jaeger ..."
"Mikasa, there are two things I want you to keep in mind; the first: don't call me missus. And the second: I don't want you to work that day; I just want you to come with us. That's all. Of course, unless you can't attend, but we would love to have you with us that weekend."
"Well ... Uh ... I ..." Mikasa stammered. But Carla looked at her with such insistence that it was hard to say no. "It's okay. I think ... I have nothing to do those days."
"You can take your friend with you; the girl you're living with." Carla suggested. The nanny shook her head.
"Well, I'd like it. But her father will come to pick her up and take her to Shiganshina to spend the summer there. So she can't come with me."
"All right. I wait for you on Saturday then. And please, don't come on your motorcycle; You don't know how nervous I get to see you running that thing." Carla warned, her hands on her forehead. Eren hold a mocking laugh as he went downstairs to the kitchen. Mikasa avoided looking at him, but her cheeks turned slightly scarlet when her eyes could catch a glimpse of that grin of his.
"Uh ... Yes." the girl stuttered. "I'll be here. I'll see you later, Mrs. Ja- I'm sorry, Carla." She said, almost tsking. Carla smiled at her. "Goodnight."
"Good night, daughter."
Mikasa went out and closed the door behind her. Eren left the kitchen a while later, biting a makeshift sandwich.
"Is she gone?" he asked, standing next to his mother, and looking towards the door. Carla nodded.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?"
"Who?"
His mother rolled her eyes.
"Mikasa."
Eren nearly choked on the bread he had bitten. But he swallowed hard and managed not to cough.
"I don't know. It's not like I'm aware of it." He said. And then he went up to his room before Carla made another comment like that.
"Liar." she murmured as he walked away, with a mocking smile on her lips.
"Ah, thank God you're here," Carla said when she saw Mikasa go through the Jaeger's gate without her motorcycle. "Come on, honey, get in the car, quickly. We're leaving now." she said, waving her hand while Eren opened the door of his car, and Grisha of his, so that his wife and daughter could get in. Mikasa and Eren opened their eyes widely, dropping their jaws a little. Faye ran to hug her babysitter, as always.
"What?" Both of them exclaimed at the same time. Mikasa's cheeks acquired a slightly red tinge.
"What what? Or are you all planning to come with us in the same car? We are three, you are two, so you must go with Mikasa, Eren. Oh, and Armin is missing too."
"No, mom. Armin won't come. He said he has to deliver a project next week-"
"All right." Carla interrupted. "More space for you. Come on, come on, don't stand there and get in."
"Mommy, can I go with Eren and Mikasa?" Faye asked, grabbing her nanny's checkered skirt. Carla shook her head.
"No. Mikasa didn't come to take care of you this time, so leave her alone for now."
"Carla, we're late. We must leave now or we will be stuck in the ten o'clock traffic." Grisha announced, from the other side of his Mercedes Benz. His wife nodded, reaching for Faye's.
"All right. There is no time to lose. Eren, don't drive so fast, please."
"I got it, Carla. You don't have to remind me of it." her son replied. But his mother had already gotten into the Mercedes with Faye when he finished the sentence. A little uncomfortable (and also nervous), Eren opened the passenger door for Mikasa.
She followed every movement of his with her eyes, somewhat reluctant. Actually, she couldn't believe her eyes.
And well, yeah. Eren could have been an asshole before, but he never forgot what his parents taught him: to be a gentleman with women ...
At least if he was on good terms with them.
"You're not getting in?"
"Eh ... Yes." Mikasa said, in a voice so low he could barely hear her. Eren's eyes went to that part of her body that the skirt didn't cover, and he thought the girl had beautiful legs.
And nice eyes.
And nice ass.
And beautiful curves.
And...
He swallowed hard, getting on his side of the car. It was 30 minutes from Stohess to the Jaegers' beach house.
And Eren couldn't believe that this girl next to him didn't utter a single word the whole trip.
"Hey ..." he said. There were five minutes to arrive. "I know we hate each other and all that, but ... Is it necessary to make it so uncomfortable?"
Mikasa took a while to respond. Although she didn't look away from the window, her chin resting on her hand.
"I don't hate you. But I don't think we have much to talk about."
"You don't hate me? Well, I must call that into question. You've punched me three times already."
"Because you deserved it."
Eren sighed.
"Fuck. Could you pretend at least? I don't know ... I'm not used to go with someone in my car and not talking ... It feels weird, it's uncomfortable. And you're the most absurdly complicated person I've met in my damn life."
This time, Mikasa didn't respond immediately either.
"I'm not good at pretending."
Eren let out a whistle.
"Aren't you a fucking Slytherin? You should be able to do it well."
"I'm not that kind of ..." Mikasa stopped, then turned her head towards him, somewhat upset. "Why do you all assume that I must be a hypocrite or something like that just for being a Slytherin?"
"Because the end justifies the means, or that is what you guys think." Eren looked ahead, slowing down.
"What the...? No. It's not always like that. See why we will never get along? Gryffindors and Slytherins are natural enemies."
"It's possible. But Snape and Lily were friends until she started dating Potter."
"You're hella wrong. That wasn't until he called her mudblood. You should read better."
Mikasa spoke with such seriousness that Eren wanted to tease her a little.
But he thought it better and knew that couldn't be a good idea.
"I prefer the movies." Eren replied, with a giggle of satisfaction. Mikasa looked at him scornfully.
"Shame on you."
"I don't care. At least I made you talk. We're here." he warned her, with the same shit-eating grin on his face. Mikasa, in turn, felt a strange and unknown tingling in her stomach.
The car stopped in front of a beautiful beach house with a blue facade overlooking the sea and huge windows, with a balcony on the second floor and a Mediterranean touch. The girl was almost open-mouthed; but Faye pulled her out of her astonishment when she came out of nowhere and took her hand, pulling her into the house.
"Come! Come with me, I want you to see everything!" the little girl cried excitedly, while Carla laughed, getting out of Grisha's car. Mikasa couldn't help it: Faye showed her each and every one of the house corners, from top to bottom, from right to left, and even took her to wet her feet at the seashore. Dealing with children was exhausting, but the babysitter had to admit that Faye was a different and very special thing.
And she was relieved to know that now Eren was behaving better with his younger sister. That reminded her of Levi, and of her childhood, and how happy she had been, long ago.
And she smiled to herself, though there was sadness and nostalgia in her smile, while Carla thought about ordering something to eat.
"I can cook, Mrs. Ja ... Carla. If you want me to."
The offer took the woman a little by surprise. Mikasa was standing behind her, at the kitchen's threshold.
Carla smiled broadly, setting the phone down.
"Well, I didn't bring you here to do such things, Mikasa. I don't want you to bother ..."
"It's not a big deal. It's just that I hate when I have nothing to do."
"I thought Faye had you caught in one of her doll games."
"Not really. She and your son are upstairs with the play station."
"And they didn't invite you to play?" Carla asked, somewhat surprised. Her huge turquoise eyes, just like Eren's, opened as she spoke. Mikasa shook her head.
"Yes," Mikasa lied." But it's not that I like those games very much." she lied again. Actually, Mikasa could spend hours with Sasha, in front of a TV, breaking her own record in auto racing and all these versions of Mortal Kombat.
But Eren wasn't going to invite her to play. They didn't have enough confidence to do so.
"All right. Grisha is sunbathing, and I was going to call a restaurant, but ... I wouldn't mind trying something of yours. Do you want me to help you?" Mikasa nodded. Carla took out two aprons from a cabinet, handing her one. "You only order. I am all ears."
And the girl smiled, with that modest smile of hers. And Carla wondered why this girl so young and beautiful never smiled broadly, just like other teens her age.
She had never heard Mikasa's laughter. To be a 19 year old girl, she was quite serious, reserved, calm and sober (the opposite of Eren); and that was good, up to a point. But it was intriguing as well.
Carla Jaeger wanted to know her past, and the reason why she seemed to be sad all the time.
She also wanted to give her a hug, in case she needed it; but that would have been inappropriate.
And they talked about many things while cooking. Mikasa showed her a family recipe, and Carla gave her the secret so that the pudding was well baked. They set the table together, and Carla called the others to eat. And Mikasa wanted to cry for a second, because she had forgotten this was how it felt to have a family.
Carla's breath caught in her throat, because her biggest wish was to see her family always together.
It wasn't even obvious that Eren and Grisha hadn't spoken to each other for a few weeks.
"Love, where did you get this recipe? This is delicious." the doctor asked while they ate. The midday sun lighted up the entire dining room.
"Oh, I didn't, but Mikasa. The credit is all hers. I only helped." Carla answered. Eren looked at the girl, amazed. She wanted to hide her face somewhere, but her eyes could only stay locked on the plate, blood rising to her cheeks.
"You know how to cook?" Eren exclaimed, as if it were the most extraordinary thing in the world.
Shit, Annie has never done that.
"Well, I must say that you have talent, daughter," continued Grisha. "This is truly delicious."
"Even Faye has eaten all her veggies. And she hates them." Carla intervened. Faye wrinkled her face immediately.
"Did I eat veggies? Agh, shit, and I swallowed them all!"
"Faye!" Carla yelled. No one could ignore the language of a seven-year-old girl.
"Faye, no swearing on the table, okay?" her father scold her, frowning.
"And off the table?" the girl asked, with a mischievous grimace. Eren had to hold back a laugh, and Mikasa pressed her lips together to keep from giggling.
Eren looked at her, and Mikasa at him.
The blush was evident in both of them. Those two seconds seemed heavenly eternal.
Mikasa wondered why she felt something flutter in her stomach as she watched that liquid emerald color in that boy's eyes.
"Not on the table, nor outside, nor anywhere. Finish your dish." Grisha warned his daughter. Carla couldn't believe it; it seemed like ages since the last time they could eat peacefully, all at the same table, without seeing a hell breaking loose at the end of the evening.
That's why she knew she couldn't mention anything about his older son's true calling. She had been tempted to talk about it, saying that Eren made the best Crème brûlée of all Paradi, but that would have been the same as summoning hell on earth, or, to be more specific, to provoke Grisha's anger and make everything go to waste.
It was better to leave things as they were. For the moment.
It wasn't good to ruin the moment of peace that had cost her so much work. Nor did she want to spoil Mikasa's day, who at least then seemed in a better mood.
When evening came, Eren wanted to go out to smoke at the seashore behind Carla's back, or she would have ruined his cigarette in a single slap. Fortunately, she was asleep, like Faye, while Grisha watched television to fall asleep a while later too, probably.
When Eren came out, Mikasa was sitting on a towel, watching the skyline, with arms wrapped around her knees. Eren stopped beside her, not sitting, but leaning his back on the palm tree nearby.
"Nice sunset, isn't it?" He commented, making Mikasa startle. She looked at him, but she didn't change her position. She didn't answer either. "It looks like a movie."
There was silence. Eren decided to sit down, a meter away from the girl.
"It's a nasty habit, you know."
He turned his head towards her when he heard her voice. Then he blinked several times, almost unable to believe she uttered a word.
"What are you talking about?"
"Smoking. It damages your lungs, but I think you should already know that. You're an idiot, but ... Not so much as to ignore that you're killing yourself slowly."
Eren raised an eyebrow. He didn't know whether to laugh or feel outraged.
"Well, are you trying to give me some advice, or did you just use that as an excuse to insult me?" the boy asked; something like a modest smile stretched the girl's mouth, and Eren noticed.
And he stared at her profile and also her lips.
For a moment, Eren was tempted to bite a fresh peach.
A peach, or ...
"Both of them." she replied. He let out a whistle.
"Hey, I think it's been enough, right? I apologized to you. You should be less rude now. Or is it that you like my rough side the most?"
Mikasa shook her head. Eren realized that she was trying not to smile.
"It's okay. I'll try. As long as you don't send your friends back to kidnap Faye, or something like that. You know, that was hella pathetic."
Eren clenched his teeth. It had been a long time since the last he felt that embarrassed.
"I was upset, ok? I wasn't thinking clearly. I should have gone and hit you by myself."
Mikasa didn't know at first if Eren was joking or not, until she saw him let out a laugh.
"Would you be able to hit a woman?" she asked, somewhat alarmed. He shook his head.
"I've never done that. But let's say that with you I feel an ... unhealthy curiosity to try and see if I can beat you down."
"You wanna try?" Mikasa pronounced, stretching her legs now, as if she was about to stand up. Eren's eyes were about to pop out of their sockets when he saw her closing her fists, so he waved his arms in her direction.
"Of course not. Do you want Carla to kill me?"
"No, if I kill you first."
"You would go to jail for that."
"It would be worth it."
Their eyes met again. This time, it was her teasing him. Mikasa let out a shy smile, and Eren's laugh sounded a little nervous.
"You are creepy. I don't get how your boyfriend deals with you."
The girl frowned. Her gesture was not the kindest and Eren raised an eyebrow.
"I don't have a boyfriend."
"Oh don't you? And this horse-fac- This guy who went to visit you the other night? I thought ... There was something between you guys." Eren didn't know if his words had been a guess, or a trick question.
Mikasa shook her head immediately.
"We are nothing. It's just someone struggling to understand certain things."
Eren whistled again in amazement. Mikasa looked back at the sunset.
"Whoah. Poor guy; Have they told you that you are cruel as fuck?"
Mikasa sighed.
"If you ask my best friend for a word to describe me, it is exactly that one."
"Ok. I start to understand better why you are a Slytherin."
She didn't answer. Eren had also understood that her sister's nanny was one of those people who find it hard to hold a chat.
Was it just him, or did the girl's cheeks burn like embers?
Ok, it must be the heat.
Yes. That was it.
"Hey ... you're good at cooking."
"Eh?" Apparently, Mikasa had been distracted thinking of several things at once, forgetting that Eren was there.
What the hell are you thinking about?
"It's just ... You cook well." Damn, why are you so hard to try?
Mikasa blushed again.
"Eh ... Well, yes. Thank you, I guess …" she was going to be quiet, but she knew she couldn't do it. Eren was doing his best, and she also had to play her part. "And ... you ... Your mother told me that you like cooking too."
"Surely you remember it for that argument you heard that time between them …" Eren said. There was no storm in his voice like other times; he looked more like ... Downcast, embarrassed, for the second time that day.
"No. Not really. Truth be told, I don't remember anything from that day, except for what you said later ..." she replied. Eren was aware of the bitterness in the girl's voice.
"Hey, I told you I was sorry. I had no intention to ..." as Eren guessed, it was better to change the topic of their conversation."Yes. I'd like to be a pastry chef, but you know that already. My father wants me to be a doctor, and ... I think that forcing me to study medicine is a way to get revenge on me for what happened to my grandfather ..."
Eren sighed. Those gray eyes like liquid silver looked at him again, with interest and warmth. But Mikasa wasn't able to hold her gaze for more than a second, when she found herself with those eyes filled with an emerald bonfire."
"I don't think a father wants to get revenge on their children in any way. That's-"
"Nonsense, yeah. But Grisha thinks I was the one responsible for my grandfather's accident. And probably he is right. I was somewhat older than Faye, and they forbade me to go out that day ... I didn't obey, and I threw myself into the avenue to run away from home ... A car was approaching at that moment and my grandfather pushed me to avoid the car will hit me ... Since then, he can't walk."
There was silence again.
The breeze hit them in the face, and the sound of breaking sea waves filled their ears.
Mikasa sighed.
"My brother says that ... No one is guilty of anything, except fate, because nobody knows the outcome of things. He would say that you were a child and you couldn't know the result of your actions; You made the decision to leave, and your grandfather to rescue you, so the responsibility is for your grandfather, because he was the adult, and I'm sure he doesn't blame you for anything. Neither should you do it with yourself. Self-compassion will always be useless."
Eren was a little stunned. Among his friends, only Armin knew how to give him such honest and wise answers. In fact, Mikasa looked a little like him; only less talkative, and with a little less machiavellian mind.
"I guess so."
"And with regards to your father ... I would try to talk to him instead if I was yours, if possible."
"No. It's not." Eren stated plainly.
"You tried?"
"No."
"Then don't say it's not possible, until you've tried."
"I just know it. He won't allow me to study what I want because I would dishonor the Jaeger surname; that's all ..." Eren clenched his fists and teeth. He cleared his throat before his voice broke, but that didn't stop his eyes from flooding with tears. "Sometimes I would like to change my name and forget about this family ... Sometimes I wish I had no father."
"No. Don't say that again. Never again ... You don't know how terrible it feels."
A gust of wind ruffled Mikasa's hair. She shrugged her legs again, wrapping her arms around her knees.
Eren watched her for a few seconds, and ran his eyes down each line of her profile.
Then he had the feeling of having been there before, with her.
A déjà vu.
"Yeah. I'm sorry ... I think I was just ranting ... If you want to talk to me about something-"
"No. I don't want to talk about my parents."
Mikasa's voice was enough to make Eren understand that the subject was taboo.
When Eren looked ahead, it was she who stopped to stare at him. This boy had all the fury and passion of a lion; his jaw made him look imposing, capable of wiping out the entire world, even though deep down he was nothing more than a scared puppy. This disheveled wild hair he let himself grow a little and made him look fiercer, gave the girl a strange desire to touch him.
And then there was this god awful beard that he didn't want to remove.
She laughed up her sleeves.
"What's your favorite dessert?" Eren asked a while later, wanting to dispel the tension settled over them.
Mikasa no longer seemed so arrogant and mean.
Eren didn't seem to be the same douchebag and reckless boy anymore.
"Pudding."
The question seemed to cheer the girl up.
"Chocolate pudding, right?"
"Yeah. How do you know that?"
"Faye told me. She talks so much about you that my ears hurt." Eren said between laughs. Mikasa also laughed, though her smile was always a modest one, while her face turned red again. "It's so cute what you do ..."
"Eh?"
"That thing you do with your nose when you laugh ..."
Damnit, Eren. You and your damn big mouth.
Mikasa was all scarlet-faced.
And to hide her exaggerated blush, she looked at her watch.
"It's almost time for dinner." she commented. "I'll go to..."
"Don't worry about it. I called a restaurant to ask for dinner. Carla wouldn't let you cook again."
Nevertheless, Mikasa stood up, shaking the sand from her skirt and legs.
Yes. She has beautiful legs.
"I'm going inside. It's getting dark."
Eren nodded, taking a poof of the cigarrete he had already forgotten, thanks to the face of an angel with black hair.
"Ackerman." He called her, right before she got in the house.
She turned around.
"Yes?"
"...Friends?"
Mikasa smiled again.
"No. Not yet."
Mikasa and the Jaegers returned to Trost the next day. Carla asked Eren to take the girl to the university building, and he didn't hesitate this time. However, Mikasa was asleep when Eren turned onto Ehrmich Street. He didn't want to wake her up, so he thought it would be a good idea to carry her to her apartment on his arms ...
Until Mikasa, who had a rather light sleep, felt his arms beneath her, and pulled away as fast as she could.
Eren apologized as many times as possible, while she insisted that everything was fine.
Mikasa had never blushed so many times in less than 24 hours.
Eren had never felt more overwhelmed about a girl.
But they couldn't deny this weekend had been quite satisfactory.
Well, I think this has been the longest chapter by far. More than 5000 words LOL.
I think you've already noticed what the purpose is with so many references to Harry Potter, right? As reading bonds people together, this could be a good reason why our lovebirds begin to see each other in a different way. I believe that a good friendship begins with a good book, and a good courtship with a good friendship, thanks to the book xD.
Ok, the mother-daughter relationship between Carla and Mikasa is one of my favorites. God, I put all my soul on it; but I think it was the hardest thing to write until now. Actually I don't want to make their relationship all of a sudden, but tender and adorable, just like in canon. I hope I have achieved my goal.
And yes, it is obvious at this point that Eren and Mikasa begin to like each other, but don't rush. I won't do it and they won't either, ha ha ha. There are still things to be solved. And don't despair about Annie; soon we will know what happens to her.
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing. Leave your reviews, we fanfickers really appreciate your opinion, especially the constructive criticism. A single comment of encouragement can make us smile on a bad day. And for my english readers, please, I beg you to remember I'm not a native english speaker. Im working with my beta reader so I'll fix my mistakes as soon as I can. Thanks in advance.
See you next chapter.