Chapter 6: Sparks Fly
As winter melts into spring, going out for coffee became a regular occurance between Mikasa and Eren. Their chats range from talking about how full Dr. Smith's eyebrows were to in depth conversations about their families. Mikasa tells Eren all about Levi and his wife and how interesting she thinks their jobs are. She tells him she had briefly considered becoming a journalist, too, but ultimately followed in her father's footsteps to become a lawyer. She doesn't tell him how terrified she is of law school or how nervous she is about the looming acceptance (or denial) letters that she should be receiving anytime now. Eren, in turn, tells her about Zeke and his father and how he decided to follow in their footsteps. He tells her about his mother's restaurant and how he worked there in high school, which nearly led him to culinary school. He says he still picks up shifts on occasion if his mom needs him and that he misses working there all the time, as much as he enjoys the coffee shop (and the convenience of it being only a few minutes from his apartment). They swap stories about their roommates and Mikasa learns all about the blonde haired boy that works in the coffee shop with Eren. His name is Armin and he's been Eren's best friend since kindergarten. Likewise, Mikasa tells him more stories about Sasha's antics growing up and now. She tells him about the time she and Connie nearly got arrested at senior prom, which is when Eren pieces together that his friend Connie and her friend Connie are the same troublemaker, resulting in many more swapped stories about various things Connie has gotten up to.
Mikasa laughs and sets her empty coffee cup on the table between them. The coffee shop is warm today despite the freezing temperatures outside as the sun sinks below the horizon. Luckily, it's not cold enough for the falling raindrops to turn into snow. Mikasa can't be thankful enough for that. The polar vortex only reaffirmed her hatred for winter lasting beyond December. It's fun when there's Christmas lights illuminating the freshly fallen snow and love in each cup of hot chocolate. After that? The world is an unnecessary frozen tundra that Mikasa wants to personally fight. She pulls her eyes away from the window and back to Eren, only to catch him watching her.
"What?" she asks, a smile tugging at her lips. She can't say she dislikes the attention.
He shakes his head, cheeks colored by a light blush. "Nothing," he says.
She raises her eyebrows, but leaves him be. She pushes the empty coffee cup around between her hands. "So, you said your dad and brother are at Trost Med?"
Eren nods, "Yeah. I think I'd like to end up there, too. But I kind of want to do my own thing, you know?" He shrugs, "I can't imagine leaving mom though."
Mikasa feels another smile on her face. How sweet is that? He doesn't want to leave the city because of his mom. "You still would have a few years here with med school though, right? I'm guessing you applied to Trost U's med school."
"I did, yeah."
"What kind of surgeons are they?"
"Well, Zeke is planning to go into ortho. My dad is in cardio, but he doesn't do surgery as much as he'd like. He's the Chief of Surgery."
Mikasa tilts her head, thinking. "That's… I think that our dad might know each other, then. Does the chief deal with legal matters?"
"Yeah, I've heard him complain about some things in the past. Has your dad represented Trost Med before?"
Mikasa laughs, "He's the main lawyer for Trost Med. It's not all he does, but I know that he's there pretty often."
"Holy shit," Eren says, surprise reflecting in his eyes, "that's crazy. I feel like we should've met way sooner then. Didn't you ever go to any of those awful dinner banquet things?"
Mikasa nearly snorts, "Yes. They were terrible. I didn't go to all of them with my parents though. Maybe two or three?"
"So I guess it makes sense we didn't run into each other, but still. Seems unfair. I could've gotten a head start."
"Oh?" Mikasa leans forward, resting her folded arms on the table. "A head start on what, exactly?"
Eren, Mikasa has realized, is not one to back away from a challenge. "Oh, you know, a head start on us. Whatever we're trying to be."
She rolls her eyes. "Do you think you would've been able to lure me in as easily without the temptation of free coffee?"
"Hm, I suppose not," he says, "but that probably wouldn't have stopped me from trying."
"You don't even know what I looked like in high school. What if I was super ugly?"
"For one, there's no way you could look ugly. Two, why are you assuming I didn't facebook stalk you or scroll a little too far down on your instagram?"
Mikasa's cheeks are starting to hurt from all of the smiling she's doing. "So you're admitting to stalking me?"
"Only a little. Or a lot. I'm not telling you which."
"That's okay," she shrugs as she leans back into her seat, "I've definitely stalked you a little. Or a lot. I won't tell you which either."
He laughs. "Okay, well, should I walk you back to campus to get your car?" he asks, "I hate to end this, but it's not raining right now and if I remember right, you said you have a shit ton of homework."
She sighs, "Yeah, I do have a shit ton. Midterms are here and I'm suffering."
He cracks a smile. "Don't go dying on me now, Ackerman. I think I might like you a little bit." He doesn't give her a chance to respond to that one. He snags both of their long empty coffee cups and swiftly crosses the shop to throw them away. She thinks her brain may be malfunctioning a little bit, but she manages to pull her coat back on. Eren returns, pulling on his own coat. "Ready?"
"Yeah," she says, standing up. "Thanks for the coffee."
"Always," he says and holds the door open for her.
"Oh fuck," she says quietly as the cold air his her. She crosses her arms tightly over her chest in an attempt to keep her warmth in. She feels Eren looking at her, so she glances his way. "What?" she asks, "It's still so cold!"
He reaches his hand out and stops her from walking any further. She wants to protest because, again it's so cold and now that the sun is long gone and the sky is dark, there's nothing to keep her warm. But she stops anyways, keeping her mouth shut. He studies her for a few moments and does the same to him. The streetlights cast shadows across his face and make his eyes glow. If she wasn't frozen in place (almost quite literally), she would reach out and kiss him. His hand leaves her arm and tugs at his scarf, unwinding it from around his neck. Mikasa doesn't really comprehend that he's now pulling the scarf around her neck, tucking it into her coat. "It'll keep you warm."
She blinks at him and opens her mouth to say thank you but is promptly interrupted by the onslaught of a rainstorm.
The both stare at each other for another moment before bursting out laughing. There wasn't anything funny, but something about the pouring rain pulls it out of them.
Eren grabs hold of Mikasa's hand and pulls her down the street, their feet splashing puddles of water all around. He pulls her into the first safe spot he find, which happens to be a decommissioned phone booth lacking a door. They stand together watching the rain pour down with no other sound than their breath and rain thrumming as it hits the ground. Mikasa rests her back against the booth, eyes focusing on Eren instead.
It takes a moment for him to notice, but soon her turns to meet her gaze.
"It wasn't nothing, earlier in the cafe," he says when he finally speaks.
"What was it?" Mikasa asks. The rain is still pouring down only inches away from them, but it sounds distant now. Far away. All she can focus on is how close Eren is and the dangerously fast beating of her own heart.
"I wanted to tell you how stunning you are," he breathes. His face is inches from hers and his hands settle on her hips. "You're beautiful," he whispers, "you're intelligent, you're hilarious. You're perfect, Mikasa."
She doesn't quite register how it all happens, but her hands are in his hair and he's wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in close. Their bodies are flush against each other and Mikasa can't believe that she's ever felt the cold in her life because everything right now is warm and she swears that her skin is burning under Eren's touch despite the clothes that separate them. His lips move against hers and she can't believe, in this moment, that she has ever kissed any other person. Nothing has ever felt like this before. It's like the entire world is in color now; before, it was blacks, whites, and greys, waiting for the right person to come along and light her up. Everything about them in this moment fits together perfectly.
They stay like that for a long time. The rain eventually turns to a light drizzle and they hold hands and dance down the street as they head towards campus.
Mikasa is on cloud nine as she opens the door to her apartment. Of course, this is put on pause when she walks in to find a very flustered Sasha and Connie half dressed on the couch.
Connie apologizes and high tails it to Sasha's room, as if Mikasa hasn't walked in on them doing much worse. Sasha, uncaring about the situation, raises her eyebrows. "New scarf?" she asks.
Mikasa shrugs, but the smile gives it away. "New to me," she says, crossing the living room. She pauses with her hand resting on her doorknob, "I can put my earbuds in."
Sasha laughs out a thanks as Mikasa closes the door behind herself. She stands in the entrance of her room, her hands touching the scarf. Eren wore this everyday. It feels special and important as she runs her fingers across the well loved fabric.
The moment is short lived when she receives a reminder that she needs to put her earbuds in sooner rather than later.