Tinted Scarlet

Wall Maria, 845

"Welcome home, dear," Mikasa greeted him warmly. "I made your favorite kind of soup and knitted you a brand new scarf today."

The two ten-year-olds along with their friend, Armin, were playing in an open meadow just outside of Wall Maria. The sun shone down brightly through the wispy, white clouds gently floating in the sky. It really was the perfect day for the three of them to play house.

Mikasa loved the feeling of the untrimmed grass tickling her bare ankles and the way her long white sundress fluttered in the gentle spring breeze.

"I brought you these," Eren handed her a bouquet of handpicked wildflowers from the meadow. Even though she knew that they were only pretending, she couldn't help but feel her heart speed up and her knees go weak.

"They're lovely," she noted honestly. Carefully, she reached out to accept them. "Thank you, Eren."

She turned away, feeling a blush creep up into her cheeks. She hoped that he wouldn't notice, and knowing Eren, he probably wouldn't. He had never been very good at reading her feelings.

"And where is our son?" He looked around.

Armin, who had been lying down in the grass that was his "bedroom," stood up and made is way into the pretend kitchen.

"Welcome home, dad," Armin smiled at his friend. "How was work?"

"Busy," he shook his head and sighed. He sat down around the piece of wood that was the table and waited for Mikasa to serve them soup. "I had so many patients to see today. I'm just glad that it's time for dinner now."

Armin laughed, looking up at the sky. "Speaking of dinner, I better get going," he stood up. "I told my grandfather I'd be on time today."

"But Armin," Eren pouted, "we can't play house without you!" He crossed his arms in a childlike manner and shot his friend a look of disappointment.

"Sure you can!" Armin shrugged. "Parents must do something when their kids grow up and move away!"

He shot them one last smile before turning to walk back toward Shiganshina. "See you guys later!" He shouted back at them. Mikasa watched him run until he vanished into the trees.

The two of them stood still for a moment, eyes still fixated on the spot where Armin had disappeared.

"They grow up so fast," Eren sighed. He reached up to wipe away a fake tear before turning to go back inside their imaginary home.

Mikasa followed him, and the two sat back down in front of the log.

"So," she began after a brief moment of silence, "what do parents do when their kids grow up and leave anyway?"

"Hmmm," he thought for a moment, "I'm not really quite sure. Though, I do remember my dad telling me that parents get depressed once they are all alone again," he suggested. He leaned back with a sigh, sprawling out across the brightly colored green grass and closing his eyes.

"Really?" She asked. She spread out on the ground beside him and closed her eyes as well, taking in the warm sunlight against her skin and the breeze dancing through her hair.

"Yeah," she heard him reply, "it's a real thing! It has a name and everything."

"I see," she nodded to herself. The song of the birds singing and leaves rustling in the wind lulled her into a state of relaxation. She could stay like this, lying comfortably on the soft, grassy earth, forever. She wanted to right next to him like this for the rest of her life.

"Hey, Eren?" She spoke after a minute. She opened her eyes and titled her head to look at him.

"Yeah?" He murmured sleepily. His eyes remained closed, yet she couldn't help but notice how peaceful he looked. She almost felt bad for disturbing him.

"Are you…" she drifted off. It was such a strange question, but she couldn't fight back her curiosity, "are you planning on ever having real kids someday?"

"Oh," he answered. She cringed at the surprise in his voice. Maybe it had been a silly question after all.

He opened his eyes and titled his head to face her. She could feel those beautiful green eyes, filled with thought and confusion, lock with her own eyes. Feeling a sudden wave of embarrassment rush to her cheeks, she pulled the tattered red scarf up to cover her face, her eyes falling downward.

"No, I don't think so," he answered, breaking the awkward silence with an answer she hadn't really expected. "At least not while we're still stuck inside these walls."

"Oh," she mumbled shyly. She flipped onto her back once more and closed her eyes, pretending that the conversation hadn't even happened. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment at his answer, but she wasn't entirely sure why she cared in the first place.

"Come on," he interrupted her thoughts, "I think we should go back too. Dinner will probably be ready soon."

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, and he held out a hand to help her stand up. Then, her eyes fell on the flowers he had given her earlier. The beautiful shades of red, yellow, and blue contrasted against the dark brown log she had set them on. They were truly gorgeous. She didn't want to just leave them there.

Noticing that she had been staring them, Eren reached over to pick them up.

"We can take these back with us," he smiled softly. It was almost like he had read her mind.

"Here," he said, removing a bright red daisy from the bunch. Gently, he pushed it into her hair before pulling back to get a good look at her.

"It looks great," he smiled. He reached for her hand and tugged her along behind him. "Red looks good on you."

And she thought to herself that it was a good thing he couldn't see her face. At this point, it was probably about the same shade of scarlet as the flower in her hair.

XX

Sorry this one is a day late. I just finished up finals week and moved out of my dorm, so I have been so busy! I was actually going to write more to this one, but I couldn't find the time, so it feels a little incomplete. I'm not really happy with this, but I do like my Day 3 prompt, which will be posted shortly after this one!

Thanks for reading!

-Erernika