She twisted her long hair around her wrist, with a single slash of the knife, the hair was cut. Returning back to shorter hair barely reaching her chin. She grabbed the sink and tried to collect her thoughts. This only led to her remembering the horrors she was whisked away from, instead, she took in a deep breath and composed herself.
Leaving the bathroom she went back to the kitchen. There he sat, using a knife to peel an apple. He also kept shrugging his head to the side as his hair kept following over his eyes. He had taken off the black jacket, revealing the faded green shirt hugging his body. He delicately peeled the apple, gathering the remains on the plate set next to the basket filled with more. The little movement caused the muscles in his arms to contract and moved in coordination.
She took the free chair in front of him, as the sunshine continued to doze them in its warmth. She quietly sat observing his work, feeling the entire experience to be 'weird'. She never could have imagined him just nonchalantly sitting and peeling a damn apple. But here he was doing exactly that and it was amusing.
He looked up and was a little taken back by her gaze. This followed by noticing how she had clipped her hair off and how she had rolled up the sleeves of the white button-down.
"Your hair?" He studied the rough cut.
She pinched few strands between her fingers. "Maybe I will let it grow out when I am at peace." She abstractly stated, if anything she had just grown fond of her new look.
"It looks good on you," he blurted out more to his surprise, as he didn't bother to filter out his thoughts.
"Thank you," she added nearly self-conscious.
She rarely ever care about what others thought of her looks, and they rarely ever commented on it. Mostly she just went with whatever was comfortable for her, but now she realized her desire to know what he thought. They sat like that for a bit, each engulfed in their own variation of thoughts.
"I didn't know you knew how to do this," she pointed at his hands, still continuing the process.
"A person would have to be extra stupid if they can't even peel an apple," he grumbled, once again engrossed in his work. He stopped to draw back a strand of his hair behind his ear.
She supported her elbow on the table and leaned her face on her fist. "I mean, do it so cleanly." She elaborated looking at the remains.
"Oh this," he picked up the clean peeled red skin. "I was tasked with cleaning after the Levi squad, which meant I did everything: cooking, cleaning, dusting, fixing and more cleaning." He counted each on his fingers.
"How much did that result in captain Levi kicking you?" She found herself wanting to know more, they rarely ever talked about the past as it brought back memories of those who devoted their hearts and died.
"Only once," he said with slight smugness. "He did often compliment my window cleaning."
"The shorty had made you his personal maid, now I remember," she didn't hide her jab at his pride.
His eyebrow twitched. "You just don't understand the gravity of his compliments."
Once the entire apple was peeled, he sliced it into pieces and placed one on his tongue. It tasted sweet and he opted to take another one to enjoy the flavour.
"Hand me some," she said eyeing the slices.
Instead of moving the plate towards her, he picked up a piece and stretched out his arm. He tried his best to look as calm as possible as if this was a completely normal thing to do. He had averted his gaze back to the plate, yet he kept looking up slightly with the hope she'd just take it. The alternative was too awkward.
She stared at the piece close to her mouth and looked at him, it was obvious what he was trying to do. But even then he held the piece at an awkwardly high angle, if he aimed to have her eat it then slight adjustments were needed.
She grabbed his wrist and brought the slice to her mouth. Taking a bite she took in the flavour and went for another, resulting in her lips brushing over his fingertips. She didn't notice it, but he clearly felt that as his eyes lingered at her lips. Once done she allowed his hand lose, it hovered near her for a second before he retreated and crossed his arms. He was still trying his hardest to not make eye contact.
"Are you going to eat the rest?" She eyed the plate, she was aware of the change in the atmosphere but figured it was better she didn't comment on it.
"Help yourself," he muttered. And she did, as he continued to peel another apple.
Authors note; maybe it's my own bias but I always saw Mikasa as the dominant one, but she's passive in nature. Meaning Eren would take the initiative, but due to his nature he'd haphazardly manage it and then Mikasa would take control. Or she goes complete moe aaaa. Honestly, that's the energy I'm trying to channel here xD
PS. Any guess as to why the title is My Home ~