Made with Memories

Mikasa sighed, staring blankly up at the ceiling from her spot on the stiff mattress. The room was dark, and the heavy breathing coming from Sasha and Historia told her that she was the only one still awake.

But she couldn't help it. She just couldn't fall asleep. No matter how hard she tried, her mind kept drifting back to a certain titan boy who had seemed even more depressed than usual this past week, and Mikasa had an idea why.

Tomorrow marked the six year anniversary of the fall of Wall Maria and his mother's death. She wanted so badly to say something…anything…to make him smile again, but she didn't have the words. All she could manage to do was tell him that he needed to eat, but even her nagging didn't anger him. His eyes remained dead and distant, and he would reply with a simple "I'm just not hungry."

She yawned, rolling over onto her side. She understood why he was so upset. His mother had been a wonderful woman. Suddenly, it dawned on her how terribly she missed Carla. If she missed her that much, she couldn't even imagine how much Eren missed her.

Her mind drifted back to the first time she met Carla seven years ago. Mikasa had shown up on her doorstep with Eren and Grisha tired, dirty, and covered in blood, and without even questioning anything, she had taken her in instantly. She had hurried her inside the house and cleaned her up before tucking her in to a nice warm bed in a comfortable new home.

Her life had literally been over the moment her mother's body dropped to the ground. Those men would have sold her into the sex trade. She would have been beaten, raped, and abused for the rest of her life. But by some chance of fate, she didn't end up with that life. Instead, she ended up with the Jaegers, and they were truly the best thing that had ever happened to her.

There were so many things she had loved about Carla Jaeger- her smile, her kind, motherly aura, the way she teased and doted on her son, and Carla had always made the best cherry pies. She smiled sadly at the memory. Those cherry pies had been Eren's absolute favorite. And she had to agree, they were extremely delicious! Carla had even gone out of her way to teach Mikasa how to make it once, and she had managed to bake Eren's birthday treat all by herself.

She would do anything to go back to those days. What she would give to get a taste of that cherry pie once more.

Suddenly, the idea hit her. "That's it!" She whispered, shooting up into a sitting position.

Currently, Squad Levi was on a mission to settle some military issues in Stohess and help repair some of the damages caused by the fight between Eren and Annie awhile back. Surely she could find the ingredients she needed to bake that pie here. She had a little bit of money she'd been saving up for something important. She was sure she could find a way to slip away from her duties around town tomorrow and find the time to buy what she needed at the market.

It was brilliant! Surely, this would cheer him up.

She dropped back down onto the bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. Operation "Make Eren Smile" was officially a go.

XX

"Okay," Mikasa said to herself. She dropped the paper bag on the floor of her shared bedroom. "I think I have everything I need."

It had been easier than she had expected to sneak away from her military duties for the day to run to the Stohess market. She had changed into her civilian clothes, allowing her to blend in with the crowd of people on the busy city streets. Now, she had returned to the military quarters with everything she needed to bake the pie.

She pulled the ingredients out of the bag to double check she had everything she needed. Her memory was a bit rusty, but she was pretty sure she remembered the basics that Carla had taught her. She knew what ingredients she needed, but the measurements might be a tad off. She just hoped it would taste good all the same.

The next part of her plan was a bit more challenging. Somehow, she needed to sneak into the kitchen area to throw everything together and use the oven.

Slowly, she put the items back in the bag and lifted it into her arms. She cautiously poked her head out the door to make sure no one else was in the hallway before tiptoeing toward the kitchen, which was strictly off limits to the Survey Corps members staying there. However, getting caught was a risk Mikasa was willing to take.

"I can't bear to see him like that for much longer," she grimaced. She pictured those sad, lightless eyes. Eyes that had once held so much life and happiness. He was so incredibly handsome when he smiled, but Eren's smile was most visible through his eyes. She pictured the way those beautiful green eyes sparkled when he was truly happy. That was her Eren. That was the Eren she wanted to see.

If she hadn't been determined before, she certainly was now. She stopped outside of the darkened kitchen area and froze when she noticed that the door, which should have been locked and closed, was slightly cracked open, and she could hear a strange noise coming from inside.

"What the hell," she mouthed, setting the bag down on the tiled floor. That noise wasn't normal. Slowly, she pushed open the door and slide through, squinting to see through the darkness.

She breathed in a sigh of relief when she realized that the darkened figure hastily shoving food into its mouth was just Sasha. Really, she shouldn't have been surprised at all.

"Sasha," she whispered urgently.

The brunette whipped her head up in alarm. Her eyes were wide with fear and a piece of meat hung out of her mouth. Her features softened when she realized it was just Mikasa who had caught her stealing from the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Mikasa asked even though she already knew the answer.

Sasha reached up to take the meat out of her mouth. "Because I'm sick of soup, Mikasa!" She looked up at her with sad eyes. "I just wanted a good meal is all! Oh please don't tell anyone!"

"I won't," she responded quickly, "I just-"

"Wait," Sasha paused, "why are you here? In case you were going to ask, I'm not sharing my meat with you."

"Shh," Mikasa hushed her, "try to keep it down! I'm here because," she hesitated for a moment. How was she going to explain this without explaining everything? "Well, long story short I'm trying to bake Eren a pie."

"A pie!" Sasha's face lit up. "Oh please let me have some too, Mikasa! I love pie! Pie is my favorite!"

"Shhh! No!" Mikasa whispered. "It's for Eren! He's been…depressed lately, and I'm just trying to make him feel better, so please don't tell anyone. I just," she paused, looking for the right words, "I just want to see him smile again. That's all."

"Ohhh I get it," Sasha smirked, biting into a raw potato. "You love him!"

"Wha…what?!" Mikasa felt a blush creeping up into her cheeks. She shook her head, "Sasha, could you please just…leave for an hour? That's all I need! I can…ummm…" she rattled her brain for some method of bribery, "bring you some more food when I leave! Okay?"

"Deal!" Sasha spat through a mouthful of potato. She stood up to leave. "I hope your boyfriend likes the pie!" She shouted back into the kitchen before closing the door behind her.

"He's not my-" she tried, but Sasha was already gone.

Mikasa shook her head and tried to focus on the task at hand; baking the pie without letting anyone know that she was here.

"Okay," she spoke quietly to herself. She walked over to the dusty wooden cupboards and found a bowl that appeared to be clean enough before taking the ingredients out of the bag. "Flour, sugar, cherries…"

XX

She closed the bedroom door behind her and slid down against it, clutching the paper bag containing the now completed pie. She let out a long, slow sigh of relief before taking the pie out of the bag to get a better look at it.

It had been nearing the dinner hour, so as soon as the pie had finished baking, she had thrown all of her stuff back into the bag and slipped quickly out of the darkened kitchen. She hadn't really gotten to take a good look at the dessert she had made.

It smelled delicious! And it looked edible…she was a little unsure on the amount of flour she put in, but it had to taste better than the soup they were constantly fed for every meal of the day.

At least it was something. She just hoped it would be enough to lift his spirit, even if only a little.

She jumped when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the boys' room. She could hear their voices…

"Man I'm tired,"

"Connie, you didn't even do anything! You just goofed off the entire time!"

Mikasa recognized Jean's voice. She pressed her ear against the wooden door to hear more.

"Come on guys," she heard Armin interrupt, "quit fighting!"

Armin was there too…Eren had to be with them. Carefully, she creaked open her door and peaked out into the hallway. She watched Connie and Jean walk by, closely followed by Armin. Then, she saw him, trailing a few steps behind everyone else and looking absolutely exhausted.

Quickly, she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, grabbing onto his sleeve and tugging to get his attention.

He turned to face her, and the sight nearly killed her.

He looked awful. Apart from just looking physically tired, he looked mentally exhausted as well. The dark bags under his eyes told her that he hadn't been sleeping well either. His eyelids drooped down with fatigue over his now dull sea green eyes.

"Eren," she spoke softly, her voice filled with concern.

"I'm fine," he shook her off, "I promise. I'm gonna eat dinner and try to get better sleep tonight, so you don't have to worry about me, Mikasa."

Yet, he didn't sound angry with her. In fact, it almost seemed like he was trying to convince himself that he was alright. Rather than argue with him, she decided he needed his gift now.

"Hey," she answered gently. She reached out to pull him back toward her room, "I have something I want to give you."

She tugged him into her bedroom and closed the door behind them. She was pleased to see a confused look plastered across his attractive boyish face. At least he didn't look tired and emotionless anymore.

She bent down to pick the warm, freshly baked dessert off of the wooden bedroom floor and turned to give it to him.

"Here," she held it out for him to take. She didn't really know what else to say or how to explain, so she simply went with what felt right; the truth. "I've noticed that you've been really down this last week, and I know why, so I thought maybe this would cheer you up a little. I hate seeing you like this, Eren."

Her eyes, which had fallen downward sometime during her explanation, found their way back up to his face. The look of confusion had been replaced by one of total surprise and disbelief. She was slightly alarmed when she noticed the tears pooling in his eyes and trickling down his cheeks. He reached out to take the dessert from her.

"Mikasa," he murmured softly, "how did you…I can't believe this…"

"Your mom," she swallowed, "well…she taught me how, and I just…I knew it was your favorite and I thought maybe, if I made it, it would remind you that she's still here," her voice shook. Slowly, she raised her right hand and rested it over the place where his heart was.

"I thought that maybe…" she drifted off. She struggled a moment before finding the right words. "I thought maybe it would make you happy, but instead, I made you cry."

She closed her eyes and felt her own tears spill over and slide down her cheeks. What had she been thinking? Of course this would only bring back painful memories for him. She'd only managed to hurt him even more.

"Mikasa," she felt his hand tilt her chin upward, "look at me."

With tears still caught in her damp eyelashes, her eyes fluttered open and came to focus on his smiling face. She felt her heart speed up at the sight.

She could tell he wasn't faking it for her sake either. It was a rare, genuine smile that spread upward into his cheek bones and lit up those wonderful eyes of his, and for a moment, she saw the boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago.

"I just can't believe that you remembered," he sniffed. He smiled through the tears. "After all these years…you still remembered."

He bent down to set the pie on the ground before pulling her into a tight, warm hug. Instinctively, she nuzzled her head into his shoulder and just let him hold her.

"I think that you caring so much and showing me that her memory lives on in us," he continued, "I think that's why I'm so happy right now."

She smiled against him, silently praying that he would hold her like this for just a little bit longer.

"Thank you, Mikasa," he hummed against her ear, "thank you so much."

Then, he pulled back and wiped the tears away with his sleeve, laughing a bit at his own over-emotional state.

"You know she loved you too, right?" He asked after a moment.

"Yes, of course," she nodded with a sad smile.

He let out a sigh of exhaustion, but she couldn't help but realize that he looked so much better than he had when she had caught him in the hallway. Maybe operation "Make Eren Smile" hadn't gone so badly after all.

"Come on," Eren plopped down on the ground and motioned for her to sit down next to him. "I'm not gonna eat this all by myself."

She smiled and sat down next to him, folding her legs up against her chest.

"Yeah," she thought happily to herself, "this turned out alright."

XX

I've always thought that Eren wouldn't handle the anniversary of his mother's death very well, so it was fun to write this one out! Now to get started on tomorrow's prompt, which hopefully will be done in time!

Again, thank you all for reading and thanks for your feedback! Please let me know if you have any ideas that you would like me to write out. I have one request right now to add a sequel to yesterday's prompt.

Thanks again,

-Eremika