Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki No Kyojin, nor the image. They belong to Isayama Hajime.
Author's Note: Hello! We're now on Day 2 of the Eremika Week! Before anything else, I want to thank everyone who reviewed this story yesterday! Thank you so much! And now, the truth is that I had no idea what to write for this prompt, but when I think of hardcore I think about Mikasa training, and one thing led to another, and it became an Eren-centric drabble about his thoughts about Mikasa. I hope you like it, though I promise that tomorrow's entry is way better. See ya!
Title: Steel
Prompt: Hardcore
Summary: Eren watches Mikasa while she trains. Drabble. After chapter 51.
He watches her, and he's mesmerized at the way she flexes the muscles of her arms.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
Fifty.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
Five hundred.
One thousand.
She puts down her weights and lies down on the floor, reading herself to do some crunches. He wants to stop her, to tell her she's still not ready to work out, that she's still hurt, but watching her being so dedicated stops him. He has never met someone so passionate about training like her. She can go on for hours and hours, whether it is raining or snowing outside, whether she's hurt or sick or healthy. Her routine would possibly killed anyone save for Levi. Sometimes, even he lacks that resolve to get stronger. But not her. Not Mikasa Ackerman. No matter what, she will continue training.
As she starts doing sit-ups, he wonders where does she get her resolve? What makes her want to be so strong? Suddenly, memories of that fateful day come to his mind, memories of her crying while thanking him, her cheeks turning red. The thought makes him all flustered, but it also gives him a strange sense of satisfaction.
Because, although Mikasa might be freakishly strong, Eren Jaeger knows that her muscles do not give her strength, there is something inside her heart only she knows ─something soft, and warm, and sweet─ that makes her stronger than anyone else. That something is also what makes her weak and vulnerable. Because, yes, Mikasa is steel, but she is also porcelain. And her one and only weakness, ironically, is exactly what gives her strength.
And now, Eren thinks, that he might be able to understand exactly what that something is.
Quietly, he turns away and leaves her to train, promising to himself that he too will become stronger, for he has found a new resolve, something worth protecting.
