Note-I'm back with the second chapter of 'Memories, From the corners of our minds'. I know it took me a long time to get this finished, so for this I'm sorry. Please enjoy.
Disclaimer- I don't own shingeki no kyojin or the characters.
Thin streams of light flooded in from the small window in the room. Eventually a ray of sunlight met the brunettes closed eyes and made the young boy stir from his slumber. Eren slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He realized he was in the spare bedroom of his house. He found this odd until he was reminded of last night by the weight on his right shoulder. Eren looked over to see Mikasa still asleep and smiled at how peaceful she looked. Because of this, Eren decided to not wake the girl from her sleep and he would just wait for her to wake on her own.
Five minutes passed until the sun light finally made Mikasa stir awake also. Eren watched Mikasa's eyes flutter open ever so gently. The girl then noticed that she was leaning on something. So without picking up her head from his shoulder, she looked to her left to see a smiling Eren. Eren thought this was somewhat cute and in response said. "Morning sleepy head." After it sunk into Mikasa's head that Eren was next to her, she lifted her head up quickly and stuttered. "E-Eren"
"Yeah, what is it Mikasa?" He asked. "Eren, why are you in my bed." Mikasa asked in a curious tone. "You don't remember, well I wanted to go back to my bed but some one didn't want me to leave and then thought it was a good idea to use me as a pillow. Ring any bells?" Eren teased while he smirked. To this, Mikasa just flushed red and looked away. Eren, satisfied with her reaction, chuckled while he stood up and stretched. "Man my shoulder is sore."
Mikasa looked down feeling guilty for not letting the brunette sleep comfortably. Eren looked back to her and spotted her sad expression. He mentally scolded himself and quickly reassured the girl. "I mean- it was worth it, you know, as long as you got to sleep peacefully." Eren's comment made Mikasa perk up a bit and erased any guilt she had. There was a short silence until Eren decided to change the subject.
"Hey Mikasa, is it just me or do you smell breakfast cooking." Eren asked with a grin. Mikasa nodded quickly in agreement. "Alright then, I'm gonna go get dressed, see you down stairs. Eren said as he dashed out of the room to his own bedroom.
After both the children were dressed, they went down stairs to be greeted by Carla who was fast at work preparing breakfast. "Morning kids" Carla said happily without taking her eyes off the frying pan full of eggs that was cooking on the stove.
Mikasa gave a quite "Good morning" while Eren greeted his mother in a louder, more enthusiastic tone. They both took a seat next to each other at the table and waited patiently for breakfast. After five minutes Carla served breakfast and they all began to eat in relative quiet. After a few minutes in, Eren glanced around the room and then asked. "Hey mom, where's dad at?"
"Your father already went to work, he wanted to get done a little earlier so he can stop by the markets before they close." Eren hummed in agreement and then scooped the last forkful of food in his mouth before asking. "Say mom, do you have any chores for-ow!" Eren was cut short when Mikasa reached over and smacked him on the back of his head.
"What was that for?" The brunette whined. "You shouldn't talk with your mouth full." Mikasa stated simply. Carla giggled softly at the two children and then answered. "No honey I don't have anything for you to do today. I figured it would be nice of you to show Mikasa around and relax a little."
To this, Eren, who was pouting, changed his expression to a wide grin. "Thanks mom, I was thinking about introducing Mikasa to Armin today."
"Oh I think that would be a great idea, Armin is such a sweet boy." Carla said as she got up from the table and started to pick up all the dishes. Eren and Mikasa said their thanks to Carla and Eren ran out the door with a shout "Come on Mikasa!"
But instead of following him, she turned to Carla and asked. "Would you like help with the dishes Mrs.Jäger?" To this, Carla just smiled and said. "No thanks sweetie, I appreciate it, but I think it would be good idea for you to explore the town with Eren and Armin, try to have fun and just be kids, Okay?"
Mikasa gave a small smile and nodded in agreement before she went outside, chasing after Eren. Carla watched them from the window and smiled to herself and thought of how cute the pair was together. Eren was waiting by the bottom of the steps for Mikasa to catch up. When she reached him, he motioned for her to follow as they began to walk down the cobblestone street.
They walked for a few minutes, all the while Eren was leading while Mikasa followed closely behind, as she took in all of her surroundings. When they arrived in the district last night, it was hard to see just how big and crowded the buildings were together. After they walked a little longer they finally came to the main corner of town that led to the long road that was filled with shops and market stands.
It was about 10 o' clock, so to say the road was jam packed with people would have been an understatement. Mikasa had never seen so many people in one place in her whole life. Though she didn't show it, she was quickly overwhelmed and becoming scared of getting lost.
The brunette began to walk out in the street but stopped when he glanced back and saw the ravenette hesitate. The reassurance that the young girl needed came in the form of Eren. Who gripped her right hand like he did last night, so she would feel safe and be assured that they wouldn't get separated.
Normally Eren would be embarrassed to hold someones hand in front of a lot of people, but it was different now, now he only cared about protecting Mikasa. So they started out in the street, hand in hand, Eren leading Mikasa along the right side, flowing with the crowd that moved along the stands and shops.
The children walked passed many stands that were selling all kinds of candy and toys. Eren was enjoying himself but quickly became worried when he looked behind him to see a overwhelmed Mikasa. Even though she felt secure with Eren holding her hand, she still became nervous by all the moving people.
Who could blame her, she came from a home in the mountains that had few other people living near by, of course she would feel overwhelmed by this drastic change. Eren frowned and looked down in shame. 'How could I be so stupid! She's probably terrified on the inside, dammit! I promised to protect her' Eren thought to himself.
"Hey Mikasa, I want you to answer me truthfully on this." Eren spoke up, making Mikasa stop her frantic glancing in every direction. She then looked at the brunette, signaling for him to continue.
"Do you feel nervous by being around all these people?" Eren asked in the most sincere and gentlest voice he has ever used. Mikasa looked down in embarrassment and answered with a meek nod up and down. While Eren worried about Mikasa being uncomfortable, Mikasa worried about trying not to ruin Eren's fun in any way. You see, while Eren promised to comfort Mikasa in any way possible. Mikasa had made her own silent promise, which was to not be a burden on Eren or the Jäger's and to protect them.
So for Mikasa to be frightened in the hustle and bustle of the city, made the poor girl embarrassed that she is making Eren change his activities that he found enjoyable, just to suit her. However, in Eren's mind, this could be the furthest thing from the truth. All the boy wanted to do was to provide comfort and make Mikasa's new life in shinganshina as stress free as possible.
Eren thought for a moment and a great idea came to mind. "I got it! I know the perfect place where we can go to get away from everybody." Eren exclaimed. Before Mikasa had time to tell Eren to not worry about her and to lead her wherever he wanted in the city streets, the brunette had tugged her along excitedly down a alley way.
They walked a couple blocks until they reached a street that was a lot more void of people. Eren turned back towards Mikasa with a grin on his face. "Hey, you know that perfect place I mentioned?" Mikasa nodded. "Well I want it to be a surprise so could you keep your eyes closed until we get there?"
Mikasa was hesitant about the request. Eren sensed this and said. "Don't worry, I'll hold your hand the whole way so we don't get separated." Mikasa was still a little hesitant. Eren raised his hand with his pinky finger pointing out and said. "Pinky promise." Mikasa flushed red a bit, raised her hand next to Eren's and intertwined her pinky with his.
Eren gave her a big smile, which she returned with a tiny one. Then he grabbed her hand again and led her further down the street, away from the city. Mikasa kept her promise and closed her eyes because she knew Eren wouldn't break his end of the deal.
So she was blindly pulled alley through alley way, she couldn't even sense where they were going. She became nervous of being without her sense of sight, but Eren was there to gently squeeze her hand in reassurance that she was safe. This kept Mikasa following him anywhere he was going without so much as a peep.
They finally reached their destination, Eren turned to Mikasa and smiled at the cute sight of Mikasa still holding her eyes closed and firmly gripping onto his hand. "Okay, here we are, you can open your eyes."
Mikasa's eyes fluttered open and she was taken aback at the large field that surrounded the hill they were now standing on. Green, lush grass covered every inch of the field and there was white, fluffy clouds dotting the baby blue sky above them. This place was simply beautiful.
Eren watched Mikasa's expression to see if she liked the place or not and he was relieved when she spoke up. "Your right Eren, it is perfect. It seems so...peaceful." Mikasa looked at Eren with a small smile painting her face.
"Well good...I'm glad." Eren said as he turned around and walked towards an oak tree that until now, Mikasa hadn't noticed that they were standing in front of. She too spun around and watched as Eren walked over to the trunk and sat down, leaning his back against it.
Eren notice Mikasa gaping at the size of the giant tree and spoke up. "It's pretty big huh?" Mikasa nodded, her eyes following the massive trunk until they reached the top. "It's been here ever since I found this place when I was eight and probably forty to fifty years before that. It's nice that it's out here, standing all alone. It's a wonder someone hasn't cut it down for lumber." There was a slight pause as Eren wiggled around, making himself comfortable.
"Any way, I'll say it provides a relaxing place to rest under some shade. This is where I take most of my naps." Eren motioned for Mikasa to sit next to him, she did and he scooted over to make some room for her. They sat there in peaceful silence as a gentle breeze ever so lightly dusted over the sea of green grass; swaying the blades to the left and then right.
Eren let out a yawn and Mikasa did the same. The soft grass mixed with the quietness and the soft breeze made a combination that lulled both of them into a calm sleep. Mikasa's head had slid towards Eren, while his head did the same, until they were leaning against each other. And there they sat, boy and girl, slumbering in the warm, early October air.
After four hours had past, filled with peaceful tranquility. Mikasa was the first to awake and she slowly picked her head up, leaning back against the bark. She noticed that Eren was still asleep and had a slight stream of drool trailing down his cheek. She giggled a little when the small boy snored as loud as a full grown man would.
She decided to let him sleep, due to him sleeping in a uncomfortable position last night, to which she still felt a little bad about. She was snapped out of her thoughts when off in the distance, she heard someone call out. Mikasa looked around for the source of the voice, and soon spotted somebody coming out of the tree line that surrounded the other side of the field.
Mikasa strained her eyes, the far distance between them making it hard to see who the intruder was. As the person came closer, she realized it was a boy that looked about her age, he had golden, shoulder length hair that gleamed in the sunlight. He wore brown trousers and a light blue cardigan that was lighter than his dark blue eyes. Mikasa also noticed the boy was carrying something in his hands but couldn't tell what.
The boy continued to come closer, he seemed like he didn't see her, probably because she was sitting down and the hill that the big oak was sitting on blocked his view. He continued to yell out while looking around, searching for something or someone. But only until he got half way to the tree did she hear what he was saying.
"Eren! Hey Eren are you around here!?" Mikasa realized this and nudged the boy in question on the shoulder, waking him. Eren's bleary eyes shot open and he looked around, still somewhat drowsy. "What did ya wake me for Mikasa?" Eren whined.
"Their is some kid yelling your name." She simply replied. Before Eren could say anything further, the blond boy yelled out again. "Eren!" Said boy quickly recognized the voice, stood up with a smile on his face and happily exclaimed to Mikasa. "It's Armin!" Mikasa remembered Eren telling her last night that Armin was his best friend and just nodded in agreement.
As Armin finally reached the base of the hill that the oak tree sat on, Eren realized that Armin didn't know the situation with Mikasa yet. And being the curious kid that he was, he would surely ask why she is living with him all of the sudden. Eren would feel awful if Mikasa was reminded of the tragic events of last night. Thus making her become filled with more grief than she was already experiencing.
"Ah, uh, you stay here Mikasa...I need to tell Armin something real quick. Okay?" Eren sputtered out.
Mikasa flashed him a quick look that showed her concern of him leaving her side. "Don't worry I'm just going right over there to tell him something, I'll be back in a second." Eren reassured before quickly turning around and running towards Armin, who stood at the base of the hill.
"Hey Armin hold on a second." Eren yelled before he reached his friend. Mikasa watched the conversation between the two of them but they spoke in a low tone that prevented her from hearing what they were saying.
After a moment Eren gripped Armin by the shoulders as his expression became deadly serious. Mikasa noticed that Eren looked at her before continuing to speak to Armin. Mikasa figured that Eren was telling him who she is and the whole situation. She looked down at the grass and her expression was emotionless as she was given a slight reminder of why she was here and her parents murder.
However, she thought to herself that she was grateful of Eren for trying to do what he was doing. After another moment, she looked back to the two boys. After Eren was finished explaining, Armin looked at her briefly with a look of pity and sorrow before turning back to Eren to give him a nod of agreement.
After this, the two boys started to climb the hill together to regroup at the tree where Mikasa still sat.
Mikasa decided to not say anything about their conversation and just nodded to Eren as he returned to his seat next to her against the tree. Armin sat cross legged a few feet away, facing towards them. "So Mikasa this is Armin." Eren introduced. "Nice to meet you." Armin spoke sweetly. "Likewise." Mikasa answered emotionlessly.
There was a few moments of silence before Armin spoke up. "You know Eren, we were suppose to meet up by the river don't you?" Eren scratched his head and sheepishly grinned. "Yeah, sorry about that Armin. I showed Mikasa around town and then we came here and we accidentally fell asleep."
Armin was quick to forgive and chuckled as he said to himself. "Yep, same old Eren." Eren pouted a little as he replied. "What could I do, it's so nice out and you know I need my mid afternoon nap." This made Armin start to laugh and Eren began to smile and laugh as well, even Mikasa cracked a small smile.
After the laughter died down, Eren asked Armin. "So how did you know where to find us anyway?"
"Well first I went to the river, you weren't there, so then I went to your house. Your mom told me you weren't in, so then I checked the only other place you go to, which his here and here you are."
Eren just replied with a short "Oh" He then looked to Mikasa to see her eyeing the book that Armin had brought with him. "I told you I hardly ever see him without a book in hand." Eren said as Mikasa nodded in agreement.
This comment caught the attention of Armin. "Do you guys want me to read it?" He asked excitedly. "Sure." Mikasa and Eren said simultaneously.
"Okay, well it's about a far off land where a princess lives trapped in a castle thats guarded by a fierce, fire breathing dragon. And the only way for her to escape is by being rescued by a noble knight. So the story starts out like this-"
There the three children sat, enjoying each others company and reveling in the glory of being mere kids. For now they dream and laugh, without knowing that their bond will only strengthen with time, eventually becoming unbreakable.
The end
End note- Well there it is, I'm sorry it was so long but I had a lot of things I wanted to include into this chapter and once I got rolling, I couldn't stop. Haha. Anyway, I just want to say that if anybody has any ideas for future chapters that they want included. Send me a message and I will try to incorporate them in. I have plenty of my own ideas but I want to consider others as well. If you could give me your thoughts of this chapter in a review, I would truly appreciate it. Well until we meet again.
-see you on the flip side