"Eren" the boy in question heard his father say "when I get home, I'll show you what I've been keeping in the basement…"

After that, Grisha tucked the key back into his jacket.

Something was wrong. Eren was sure that this was his family's home, but he couldn't see anything outside the door. Also, there seemed to be an unknown presence around.

The young boy desperately tried to look outside. It was all he had ever desired, really. To get to the outside. But now, there was only white light coming from there. Suddenly, he saw a familiar person standing next to his dad. Could it be…?

"Wake up, knucklehead!"

Momentarily, Eren fell to the ground with a loud thud. As he looked up, he saw that the perpetrator that threw him off the bed was standing tall above him.

"Ymir…" the boy exclaimed groggily as pain from the fall was radiating around his body.

"And here I thought, you were never getting up" the freckled girl responded flashing him with a wide smile.

There was something else in her eyes. Something he didn't get to see every day. As a plan to utilize the girl's newfound weakness, formed in his head, Eren made a silly grin.

"Oh, were you really that much worried about me, huh?" He said with a sneer.

For a brief moment he could swear he saw genuine hurt in her eyes. Ymir quickly turned around with a huff.

"Forget it, loser" she said as she strode away and out of the room in anger.

Eren was flabbergasted. Did he really say something he was not supposed to say? The two often bickered, especially around Historia, but ever since their first interaction, he never did anything to actually hurt her.

Their first interaction…

He could still remember it very vividly. Her soft lips on his, her hands clutching his attire, all the emotion that she accidentally pushed into the kiss that was not supposed to happen. The boy remembered her lithe body on his, her tongue that for a single moment brushed against the opening of his mouth, her heavy breathing that only accelerated his excitement…

The crimson sprawled all around his face when he recalled all that. It certainly didn't help that he had just woken up and soon, Eren found himself darting off towards the bathroom.

'What's gotten into her' the young boy thought, after he relieved himself.

He was sure that he had said something wrong. The freckled female always had a tough character to put up with, but this time, he could feel that something about her behaviour was off.

"Hey, Eren" he suddenly heard from behind.

Upon turning around he saw that Historia was right next to him.

"Hey…" the boy responded slowly.

"You were spacing out, just now" the blonde spoke with worry, bringing her hand to his forehead "are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Eren responded, trying to sound more composed than he was right now "hey, uhm…"

The girl looked him directly in the eyes.

"What is it?" Historia asked.

"Do you know what I should do if a girl is acting in a weird way?"

His question puzzled the blonde. Eren didn't really want to admit that he was thinking about Ymir, so he had to be vague.

"And the weird way means, what exactly?" The girl asked slowly.

The boy thought for a moment. What was the best way to describe this behaviour?

"I don't know" he responded "like… If a girl seems to be angry for no reason…"

"Oh" the girl beamed at his curiosity "I get what you mean. You should definitely, try showing affection. I like that a lot…"

"Really?" Eren interjected "thank you!"

And then, he ran off to search for Ymir. He never suspected that his could be so easy. If being a little affectionate was what it would take for the freckled girl to stop being such a puzzle, then he didn't have any time to waste.

Eren didn't to have to look for long. In the palace, there were only a handful of places that the girl could be in and thankfully, the boy nailed the spot on the first try.

As he walked around the garden, he saw the familiar figure sitting near the pond.

The young boy thought about his relationship with the freckled girl. Ever since they've met, they had a silent understanding. Some kind of weird connection naturally spurted between them, and he was never able to fully identify why it happened. This was odd, because they didn't have that much in common.

Where he was selfless, she mostly thought about herself. Where he acted like a show off, she was always humbler. Where he displayed bravery, she was the one with a cool head and natural reservation.

Yet even though this was how Ymir normally presented herself, all of his characteristics could still be found within her. Could it be that the girl only projected such an image to make others think less of her?

But Eren never thought like this about Ymir. He couldn't. The sheer admiration he had for the older girl always overwhelmed any doubts he had about her character.

The boy slowly snuck up on her.

In a single instance, he lunged right at her, embracing the freckled girl from behind.

"What…" Ymir exclaimed upon the sudden action.

"I'm sorry for earlier!" Eren cried out, preparing himself for a violent reaction from her.

And then, nothing happened.

After a few moments, he noticed that he was still embracing the older girl and said female was eyeing him with curiosity.

"It's okay" she spoke casually "I'm not angry."

This was all good news for Eren. He smiled happily upon her words.

"You know, you can let go of me now" Ymir added.

All those previous thoughts combined with the sudden realization of closeness with the person of his admiration, made Eren's face go crimson.

"Sorry" the boy grunted as he removed himself from the girl's back.

Ymir turned around to face him. Seeing his embarrassment, a smile crept onto her face. But this time, it was a happy one.

"Hahaha" she laughed at the redness of his cheeks "say, Eren…"

"Yes?" He said, trying to avert her gaze.

"You really like me, don't you?"

This single question seemed to have shattered any little self-confidence that the boy had for this conversation. The redness on his face reached an entire new shade as he slowly turned his head to face the freckled girl.

Just when he expected to be made fun of, Ymir only appeared to be slightly amused.

"Well," she spoke again, this time with a way more playful tone "if there's something you'd like to do, now's your chance to ask me…"

Now was his chance… But what exactly did he want to do? He knew that Ymir wasn't really fond of boys, but maybe…

"Can we kiss?"

Out of all the possibilities, the freckled girl certainly did not expect this. Her eyes went wide with surprise and her mouth opened slightly.

Now, he's done it. The girl won't talk to him again and this time, it was all his fault. He looked away in shame.

"Why?" Was her only question.

"I actually liked that kiss we had before" Eren confessed, while closing his eyes "even if it was accidental. I know you're not into boys and to be fair I'm not even sure if I understand what it really means, but…"

"Yeah, I can kiss you."

This, he didn't expect. He was prepared for her rejection, but to hear the older girl actually say yes…

"Ugh?" The young boy could only express.

Ymir sighed upon that and placed an assuring hand atop his head.

"Since you're so cute" she said, looking him straight in the eyes "I will do it. Just remember, this is a one-time opportunity."

Eren never managed to register her words. As her face slowly approached his, he could only think about how close they were to each other.

Once her lips closed in on his, the boy's mind shut itself. The softness of her mouth, the humidity of her breaths, even the rapid pulse of her heart, it all spoke to him.

The last time, their kiss had been accidental. This one though, had every single bit of intention that a proper kiss needed. Without a second thought, Eren put his arms and legs around the taller female. Encouraged by his action, Ymir pulled him onto her lap and brought him closer.

The boy could feel the warmth of her body radiate all around him. The feeling of closeness was overwhelming his mind as he placed one hand behind the freckled girl's head, deepening the kiss.

Suddenly, he felt her tongue ask for entrance. Without any regret, he granted it the access it needed and soon, their tongues started wiggling and wrapping around each other, locked in an affectionate dance.

Truly, this could possibly be the best thing ever. All the unknown emotions flooded his mind, rendering him completely indecisive for the time being.

Right now, the only thing Eren wanted was for that kiss to last forever.