Title: A Woman's Privacy

Rating: T

Summary: Mikasa's birthday is coming up and Eren and Jean are determined to find her the perfect present.

A/N: Written for Day Two (The Gift) of the second Rivamika Week on tumblr.

"You guys, this is a bad idea."

Armin stood stiffly at the door, frantically flicking his gaze up and down the hallway before turning back to the two boys in Mikasa's room. Jean tugged open a drawer from her desk and began rummaging through it's contents as Eren peered under her bed. They were determined, agitated, and blatantly ignoring him. Armin curled his hands into fists.

"You guys, she could be here any minute. Why don't you just ask her what she wants for her birthday?"

"Now isn't the time for these ridiculous suggestions, Armin." Eren reprimanded from underneath Mikasa's bed, the bottom half of his body wriggling as he struggled to reach something.

"I agree with Eren. I can't just go up to her and ask! She'll blow me off," Jean exclaimed, flipping through some loose papers he came across, only to shove them back into the drawer again. "And she won't be here for at least an hour. She's still out training with Levi."

Armin sighed and crossed his arms as he leant against the door frame. "You're both making this harder than it needs to be. Not to mention that this is a huge invasion of privacy."

Neither of them bothered to answer and Armin felt his patience wearing thin. It was a difficult feat to accomplish.

The blond massaged his temples from his festering irritation. What did they expect to find? Mikasa was incredibly reserved and didn't display much interest in activities that didn't involve protecting Eren. They were wasting time being in here. And knowing Mikasa, her revenge would involve something more than a little roughhousing if she ever found out they were rifling through all of her personal belongings. Armin fidgeted uncomfortably at the doorway.

"Can we please just go? I don't want Mikasa to be mad at us." The boy pleaded, a bead of sweat beginning to trickle down his temple.

"You should be helping us, Armin!" Eren's head popped out from under the bed, hair coated in dust. "I can't have Mikasa thinking I forgot her birthday." He coughed a few times before clambering to his feet.

"But that's exactly what happened." Armin muttered under his breath, surveying the hallway once again.

"Can it, Armin. How do you think she's going to feel when you don't have a present to give her?"

"Well that's not going to happen because I bought her something over a week ago."

The other two boys perked up at this, halting all their frantic movements as they stared wide eyed at the shorter boy. "What'd you get her?" Jean questioned desperately, gripping Armin's arms firmly as he shook him. "How did you know?" Eren chimed in, also trying to reach for the blond.

Armin stumbled over his words as his back hit the wall. "I-I-I just asked her. Sh-She told me to get her another journal."

Jean's grasp loosened as he turned his gaze to Eren. "Another? So the old one has to be here somewhere!" And with that, both boys jumped right back into their search. Armin slid his body down to the ground.

Mikasa was definitely going to kill them.

Nearly ten minutes later, Eren excitedly held a small leather journal in his hands. "I found it!" Armin managed to snatch it before they tore it open. "No. Mikasa's secrets are in here. I refuse to allow this to happen behind her ba—" Eren tackled him before he could finish his demand, and as soon as his back hit the floor, Jean swiped the journal from his hands and began flipping through it.

The longer Jean stared at Mikasa's diary, the more confused he appeared. "Eh!? Most of the pages are just hearts with the Captain's name in it!" Eren's brows knitted together as he pushed his dusty head in front of Jean to get a better look. "Levi…? Levi, Levi, Levi…" Jean's fingers fumbled each time he turned a page, easily ignoring Eren as he repeated their commanding officer's name over and over again.

"I thought she hated Levi!" Jean cried as he sank to his knees, dropping the journal in the process. "First Eren, now Levi. I can't compete with Levi. Aside from the height, he's perfect!"

Jean had a point about Mikasa loathing Levi. It seemed to be a feeling left unchanged since they all joined the Scouting Legion nearly three years ago. Then again, none of them had the chance to see them interact lately. They were always off training and when they returned they often avoided each other. Maybe they came to some sort of agreement? Mutual respect? Perhaps her opinion of him changed since he assigned her as his apprentice? Armin detested even wondering what the current status of their relationship was. It was absolutely none of his business.

Eren shot both boys a toothy grin. "How awesome is this! Humanity's strongest together. Can you imagine what their children would be like?" Shutting the journal, he stuck it back underneath the mattress. Standing up straight, Eren triumphantly placed his hands on his hips, his cheerful demeanor never diminishing.

"This is it, guys. I'm going to set them up for her birthday. I just need to figure out how…—Armin!" The boy in question merely blinked in response, still sitting on the solid stone floor. "You'll help me, right? You're great at strategizing."

"I-I guess I could…" the blond started hesitantly.

"Hey," Jean began, crossing his arms grumpily. "I want in too. I'm not that happy about it, and I need to see proof that she does, in fact, like him before we get down to business."

—

"Do you see them?" Eren questioned Jean for about the millionth time that day. His grubby hands reached for the telescope and Jean quickly swat them away.

"Would you stop? And don't touch me."

The three boys were currently hiding behind a bush near the stables donning their warmest clothing, with Jean scoping out the area, Eren complaining about the cold, and Armin continuing his futile attempts to persuade the two that this wasn't a good idea. They were keeping an eye out for Levi and Mikasa—who should be returning from their morning training session any minute now—to ensure that Mikasa had feelings for their superior and that the diary they found wasn't a decoy.

Armin trembled when a few drops of rainwater from the trees fell on top of his head. He blew into his hands in an effort to warm them up, all to no avail. "Couldn't we do this inside? I'm getting soaked." Armin fussed, rubbing his arms as his breath fogged out in front of him.

"There isn't a good view from the inside. And we probably wouldn't have been able to hear them anyway." Eren murmured tiredly, stretching his limbs until they popped before curling back into a ball again.

"What are you guys doing?" A stranger's voice suddenly called out. All three boys froze at the sudden confrontation, but upon realizing that it was Hanji they visibly relaxed. Eren shushed her and tugged her behind the bush.

"We're spying on Levi and Mikasa." Eren started excitedly. Before he could utter another word, Jean hushed him. "They're coming!"

The pair appeared to be holding civil conversation as they escorted their horses to the stables. It was nothing completely out of the ordinary, except for the fact that Levi's cloak was draped over Mikasa's shoulders. They could only guess that it was his; the upper half of his body was only adorned with a simple white button up with the sleeves rolled up and his cravat surprisingly loosened. There was also a torn up green cloak thrown half-hazardly on the back of Mikasa's horse.

Hanji chuckled knowingly. "Oh she's got it bad."

Jean scoffed and clenched his jaw. He lowered his voice as much as possible, but his tone remained icy. "What are you going on about? They're just talking."

"Her face may appear apathetic, but her eyes are singing a different tune. Trust me, Kirschtein. My job involves many forms of specimen observation. You can see it in her eyes… and in the way she's holding onto his cloak like it's a goddamn lifeline."

The four stared at the pair with intrigue. They could barely hear anything spoken, only watching intently as Mikasa began to shrug off the forest green garment to hand it back to its owner. Levi held his hands up to stop her, scarcely catching something along the lines of, "After you wash it." So it is his, Armin thought bemusedly.

And then the moment came where Hanji's statement finally held truth.

As soon as Levi turned to leave, they witnessed the smallest of smiles grace her lips, her cheeks coloring to a light shade of pink before she followed the Captain inside.

"Dammit!" Jean cursed and pounded his fist into the muddy ground, the damp dirt caking on his skin, the murky water seeping into his jacket sleeve before he retracted his hand back onto his lap.

The sandy haired man took a deep breath, fighting the pang of jealousy coursing through him, and eyed his three comrades with an unpleasant grimace.

"Fine…" He sighed. "Let's do this."

—

It's the evening of Mikasa's birthday and the woman herself finds herself retiring to her quarters earlier than usual. Having never been a fan of parties nor enjoying being at the center of attention, she bids her comrades goodnight before retreating to her bedroom, ignoring their protests as she passed them by.

Tucked underneath one arm was a brand new leather-bound journal Armin gave her, and in her hands, she interchangeably inspected and played around with the switchblade Sasha and Connie gifted her. A rare smile lifts onto her lips, but as soon as it appears it vanishes when she recalls three familiar faces absent from her party.

Eren, Jean and, dare she say, Levi.

A minuscule frown replaces her smile.

They could've at least wished her a happy birthday. Was that so hard to ask?

Mikasa enters her bedroom and clicks the lock into place. Before she can get settled, a series of frantic knocks sound at the entrance to the room. She reluctantly stands to open the door with a resigned sigh, not in the mood for company at all.

"What is—!" A person was thrust through the open door before she could finish her question, causing them to barrel into the birthday girl herself before landing both of them in an awkward heap on the stone floor.

That person, she realized with a painful swallow, was none other than Levi.

"Happy birthday, Mikasa!" She recognized the voices belonging to Eren and Jean come from outside the door, the sound of the pair scurrying away following soon after.

It was then that she realized what the two goons have been up to the day they insisted she stayed out longer with the Captain. The oriental woman balled her hands into fists, determined to carry out her revenge as soon as she laid her eyes on their two stupid faces.

All thoughts on retribution flew out the window as the Captain gradually stood up to dust himself off.

"Did you put them up to this?" His tone was sharp, steel blue eyes burning with indignation.

Her cheeks heated and she suddenly began to feel feverish. "I-I… They… No sir…"

Of course she had to transform into sheepish, incoherent mess right now. And in front of him, no less. It was just perfect really.

Apparently her inability to form a straight sentence worried him, because he lifted a hand and touched it to her forehead. "Are you feeling okay? You're really warm." His comment only further embarrassed her, blush coloring into a deeper red.

"I'm fine," she replied hoarsely.

Levi huffed, seemingly annoyed when he folded his arms across his chest. A calculated grin appeared instead of his customary frown and Mikasa knew that he was aware of what exactly it was that was making her all hot and bothered. "You're a terrible liar, Mikasa."

"I am not, you jerk! I'll get back at you and those two id—wait, did you just…?"

When she realized her first name fell off his lips instead of her last, her heart nearly burst out of her chest. The flustered woman was too stunned to speak, studying him in silence as her hand was dragged up to his lips, a chaste kiss pressed to her soft skin.

"Meet me in my office tomorrow evening around six for your real birthday present. I promise it'll be worth your while."

And then he left her, the bewildered mess that she was, attempting to make sense of what just occurred between them… and of what he promised the following day.

A shy grin finally crept onto her lips.

She'll have to thank Eren and Jean later.

A/N: I just really wanted to write Eren, Jean, and Armin shenanigans.