Caught in the Rain
"This doesn't look good," Eren mumbled to himself. His eyes remained fixed on the darkening sky. The thick, black clouds crept slowly towards him, casting an ominous shadow over the land below.
He and the other Survey Corps members were training with their horses on the outskirts of Wall Rose, and as far as he could tell, he was quite a distance away from the nearest person. They were learning some of the long distance scouting formations for the next mission, so naturally, they were pretty spread out.
"How am I supposed to know if we're retreating or not?" He thought aloud, looking around for a flare signal.
But apart from the approaching clouds, the sky was empty. Slowly, thick droplets of rain began to splatter against the ground sporadically.
"Shit,"
He jumped when he saw the lightning split through the clouds. A crack of thunder immediately followed, and then, it was pouring.
His horse bucked up frantically, screeching at the sudden shower. Evidently, it didn't like water very much.
"Hey!" Eren screamed. His grip on the reins tightened as he struggled to remain in control. "Calm down!"
But it was no use.
Through his panic, he was somewhat aware of the world spinning around him as he flew through the air. He landed flat on his back, his head flying backward and slamming forcefully against the ground. He cried out in pain when he felt something in his back crack.
For a moment, he couldn't bring himself to sit up. He wasn't even sure if he could. So he remained on his aching back, eyes closed as he listened to the fading sound of his horse trotting through the slush.
He groaned and reached up to brush his matted bangs away from his face. Slowly, he rolled onto his side so the rain wasn't pounding on his stomach and yelped as pain shot through his back. He couldn't feel anything broken, but it sure did hurt like hell. What he really needed was to find shelter.
Carefully, he pushed himself back up into a sitting position and examined his surroundings. He was currently in an open field, but a forest of trees sat just off to his left. On the right, he could just make out what appeared to be a shack of some kind. It may have been inhabited, but from a distance it appeared to be abandoned. He squinted through the thick sheets of rain, but it was no use. He couldn't make out anything but the shape.
Concluding that it was probably his best solution, he slowly pushed himself off of the ground, ignoring the pain in his back, neck, and now throbbing head. After all, if he didn't get out of this rain, he would be ill as well as injured.
He started off walking, but after adjusting to the soreness, he took off in a light jog.
As he neared the unidentified shelter, he couldn't help but wonder what the others were doing. He never had seen a flare signal go up to alert them of the oncoming storm. Then again, no one would be able to even see a signal through this rain.
The wind picked up, and he felt himself running against it. The rain continued to pound heavily into the solid ground, the mud splashing up every time his boots made contact with the grass, but he was almost to the shack now. Upon closer inspection, he presumed that it was, in all likelihood, unused and uninhabited. The faded brown wood of the structure was chipped and rotting, and several shingles were missing from the roof. Broken, jagged glass surrounded the empty window frame, and ripped curtains from the inside of the cabin blew violently with every gust of wind.
He stuttered to a stop in front of the large oak door. Cautiously, he pushed it open and peered inside. It appeared to be empty enough. Slowly, he stepped onto the wooden floor and gently closed it behind him.
The cabin was dark in the absence of sunlight. Eren could hardly make out the rotting wood of a small table and two smaller chairs in the corner of the room. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed the peeling brown wallpaper that swirled along the walls of what appeared to be the kitchen. A few rusted pans sat forgotten on the dusty wooden countertop, but other than that, the room was completely empty. The only sound was the dripping of the rain water rolling off his body.
Warily, he made his way through the eerie room, the floorboards moaning beneath his feet. The door into the next room was tilted open and broken at the hinges.
He breathed out a sigh of relief. As of now, he was alone and safe, and he had found a temporary shelter until the storms settled.
He tugged at the button of his cape and let it fall to the floor. He shoved off his jacket, which had been completely soaked through with rain, before entering the next room.
But as he reached down to pull off his muddy boots, his eye caught something moving in the corner. Immediately, he felt a sense of fear rush through him. As his eyes locked with a pair of familiar, smoky gray ones, he realized that he was most definitely not alone.
"Mikasa?" He squinted through the dark. He let out the breath he had been holding and reached up to slick his wet hair back out of his face. "Christ you scared me!"
"Yeah," she stumbled, a blush rising to her cheeks. "You scared me too."
It only took him a second to realize why she was blushing. Her clothes, like his, were soaking wet and scattered across the wooden floor. Her boots, crusted with dried dirt, lay forgotten in a puddle. Her cape, jacket, and scarf were piled together just a few feet away. Her white button up shirt had also been removed and was now clenched tightly in her right hand and dripping steadily onto the floor. Apart from the black bra, her upper torso was completely exposed. The raindrops from her damp black hair fell and slid down the perfectly white skin of her back and stomach. Even in the darkness of the room, the wet porcelain skin shimmered, and it took every ounce of his willpower to tear his eyes away from the beautiful, half-naked woman in front of him.
"Shit," he murmured. His right hand flew up to cover his eyes as he whipped around. Despite being soaked through and freezing, he could still feel the heat rising to his cheeks. "God, Mikasa, I'm so sorry! I didn't-"
"No it's fine, Eren!" She interrupted quickly. "Really! I work out in this all the time so…"
Well, that was true. Granted, this time, he hadn't really been expecting to walk in on the girl he had known since childhood taking off her shirt. During training, at least he knew beforehand that some of the girls would only be wearing sports bras.
"Yeah," he shook his head, "I guess you're right."
"You should take yours off too," she suggested. He noticed the way her eyes fell downward as she reached up to run a hand through her short damp hair.
"Wha…what?" He stuttered. His eyes fell back down to the exposed skin of her torso; the creamy whiteness of her skin, the way her stomach was perfectly flat, and those abs. Good hell, those abs were perfect. She was perfect.
"Your shirt! It's soaking wet," she insisted. "You'll catch a cold."
"Oh, right," he nodded, understanding now what she had meant. He reached down and pulled off the clingy, wet shirt and tossed it carelessly on the floor next to his previously abandoned clothes. Then, he reached down to tug off his boots and socks, which the rain had soaked through completely.
He looked back up at Mikasa, whose face now matched the rosy pink tint of her perfectly full lips. Her eyes were pointed down and away from him, and strands of her dripping hair covered parts of her face.
He sighed and slid down on the ground next to the wall. "I'm guessing you lost your horse too?"
"Mmhmm," she hummed, sliding down next to him on the cold wooden floor. "I think she's afraid of thunder. She got scared when it started storming, so I got off to try to calm her down. I lost control, and she ran away."
He nodded understanding, feeling his lips curl upward into a smirk. This whole situation was ridiculous after all.
"That's better than what happened to me," he chuckled. "My horse just bucked me off. I think I cracked everything crackable in my back and I smacked my head against the dirt."
"Eren!" She gasped. "Oh my god, are you okay?"
Gently, she pushed him away from the wall to get a better look at his back, and he winced in pain at the sudden movement.
"Eren," she whispered. From the concern in her voice, it must not have looked good. He hissed in pain when her hands grazed along his shoulder blades and down his spine.
"Tell me," he grunted through clenched teeth, "how bad is it?"
"Bad," she whispered softly. He arched his back in pain as she gently rubbed the aching skin. "It's red in some parts, but most of it's covered in deep, purple and black bruises."
"Oh," he winced. That sounded about right.
"Does your head hurt?" She asked. She retracted her hand from his back and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"Like hell," he muttered. He knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, and normally, he might have lied to her, but the throbbing of his head was too painful for him to pretend it didn't exist.
"You could lie down," she suggested.
"Nah, I'm fine," he insisted, leaning back against the wall. He winced at the sudden contact and the feeling of the peeling wallpaper itching against the bare skin of his bruised back.
For a minute, the two teens sat in silence, listening to the rain beat down on the roof and the thunder roaring overhead. Bits of rainwater leaked through the ceiling and dripped rhythmically against the floor.
Eren sighed, breaking the silence between them. "What should we do?"
"I…I don't know," she shrugged in reply. "I guess we just stay here until the storm dies down."
"I want it to stop you know," he whispered quietly. "I just want this all to be over with so I can get on living."
"Eren, it's just a little rain," she answered. By the tone of her voice, he could tell she was slightly annoyed. "It'll go away in a couple of-"
"I'm not talking about rain, Mikasa," he interrupted harshly. "I meant this," he motioned to the half of his uniform that remained, wet and clinging to his body. "Training, fighting, watching people die," he spat angrily. "I'm sick of it. I'm sick of it all."
A deafening crack of thunder boomed directly above them, and a bolt of lightning illuminated the empty room. Then, everything fell silent once more, and the drone of the rain on the rooftop settled back in.
"Oh," she murmured knowingly. "I understand."
He sighed, tilting his head up toward the ceiling. She of all people would understand exactly what he was talking about.
"If this ever does end," he began, "and we do defeat the titans, what would you do?" He asked. He turned his head to face her again, catching the glint of surprise in her eyes. Maybe it was a strange question to ask. "What would you want next?"
"Well," she hesitated for a moment. He had always noticed the way her teeth tugged at her bottom lip when she was nervous or thinking hard about something. In this case, he wondered if the nerves or the thought was the culprit. Maybe it was both. "I guess I want the same thing everyone else wants," she shrugged.
She pulled her legs tighter against her chest, tilted her head back against the wall, and closed her eyes. "I want to fall in love, settle down somewhere, and maybe have a couple of kids," she smiled sadly. "That's it. That's all I want."
He nodded, humming in agreement. He studied her face while her eyes remained closed, trying to understanding what she was feeling.
"I can't think about any of that now though," she added quietly. "Obviously, none of those things are going to happen anytime soon. I mean," her voice dropped to barely above a whisper, "at least not the last two anyway."
Eren felt his face twist in confusion. Not the last two? What did she mean? What was the first thing she said again? What was she trying to…
Oh. Oh.
"Wait," he held up a hand. "Wait, what?!"
"I…I just meant-," she stuttered. He noticed the rosy pink tint returning to her normally creamy white cheeks.
"You're in love with somebody?!" He shouted. He knew he shouldn't yell at her, but he couldn't help the feeling of anger that began to brew in the bottom of his stomach. "What the hell, Mikasa?! This isn't the time for that! We're soldiers! This world is shit! There isn't time for-"
"Eren! Wait!" Her voice rose defensively. "I never said-"
"What's his name?" He interrupted. He wasn't buying that shit. Mikasa was beautiful after all. Ever since they'd been children, she'd always been the prettiest girl in his life.
"Eren, I really don't think you understand what I meant!"
"What's his name, Mikasa? What squad is he in?" He pressed. Somehow, he didn't think the frustration and rage shooting through him had anything to do with the fact that she was in love. Suddenly, the broken pieces of confusion and hurt fell together, and he realized why he was truly upset.
It wasn't because she was in love. It was because she was in love with someone else.
He felt his shoulders slack as the anger boiling within him sizzled out. Instead, everything just felt numb.
He ignored the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. She clearly wasn't ready to tell him, but he needed to know who this person was. He had to know.
"Who is he?" He asked one more time. Despite the slight wavering, his voice was now quiet and sincere. "I need to know," he pressed. "Who is he? What does he have that I don't?
She sighed, her head falling into her hands. "You're a damn idiot."
"Eren," she spoke his name softly. Slowly, she lifted her head to look him in the eye. "I'm in love with you."
Oh. Suddenly, everything else…the raging storm outside, the eerie room they sat in, the training they were supposed to be doing…slipped from his mind, and the only thing in his life was her.
His eyes fell to the tears slowly sliding down her flushed cheeks. Her watery gray eyes remained focus on him, and her lips began to quiver slightly. It had all just been a misunderstanding, yet, here they were fighting again. This time, he had pushed her too far. He made her cry again.
"Oh god, Mikasa I…." He stuttered, "I didn't mean to-"
"No, it's fine," she interrupted him. She laughed a little, smiling sadly through the tears. "This isn't really how I wanted to tell you, but it just kind of slipped out. I didn't think you'd think anything of it, and I certainly didn't think you'd get all jealous on me," she chuckled. "I've been in love with you every since we were little kids, Eren. Ever since the day you saved my life."
"God, I'm such an idiot," he shook his head. "I just…I didn't know that's how you felt about me, and it took me until just now to realize how I felt about you. I mean…I always kind of knew, it just really hit me, and I," he struggled to find the words he needed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."
"It's okay," she wiped the tears off of her chin, "really. It was just a misunderstanding."
He breathed out, thankful that she forgave him for his outburst. He didn't think he deserved it, and he definitely didn't think he deserved her love.
Slowly, he reached out and pulled her into his arms. Her head rolled onto his shoulder, and he felt her relax against him. Her bare skin was soft and warm against his own, and he could feel her heart beating against his chest. Her arms tightened around him, and in that moment, all he wanted to do was hold her like this forever.
Gently, he reached down and titled her chin up to face him. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, feeling her warm, sporadic breathing against his cheek. Then, he closed the distance between them, and their lips melted into a kiss.
"By the way," he pulled back, interrupting the kiss, "In case you haven't figured this out, I'm in love with you too."
Her lips arched upward into a genuine rare smile, and Eren couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was. Slowly, he leaned back down to kiss her again.
And as their lips moved together, he couldn't help but hope he could make her smile like that for the rest of their lives.
Epilogue
Armin sighed and pushed open the door to the abandoned cabin. Ever since the rain had stopped, the rest of the group had been looking frantically for Eren and Mikasa. After Jean found their horses, Armin assumed that his two best friends had just gotten caught in the rain.
"Eren! Mikasa!" He called out into the cabin. Slowly, he walked through the creepy abandoned kitchen area and peeked into the next room to spot his two best friends on the floor.
"There you two are!" He sighed with relief. "We've been looking everywhere for-"
Armin's eyes fell on the two teenagers, who were half-naked and tangled together on the floor. Judging by the proximity of their faces and the horrified look in their eyes, they hadn't just been cuddling together for warmth. Armin then noticed the trail of clothes strewn about on the floor leading up to where the two of them were.
"Armin," Eren gulped, "it's great to…uh…see you man!" He stumbled around and pushed himself up off of the young girl beneath him. "Listen," he began, reaching up to scratch the back of his head, "this totally isn't what it looks like."
"Mmhmm," Armin nodded. "I'm sure it's not." A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He clearly was not convinced.
"I mean…it is…but it isn't," Eren tried and failed to explain the situation to his friend. "You see, the clothes have been off this whole time, but we just…no…wait…that's not what I-"
"Yeeeeah," Armin replied sarcastically. His eyebrows arched upward as he shot them a knowing smile. "I'll just be leaving now. I'll tie your horses up outside. Just meet us back at the base in an hour," he gave them a short wave before closing the door and leaving them to whatever it was they were doing before.
The blonde shook his head and laughed to himself. "It's about damn time Eren."
XX
A/N- Here is Day 7 a few days late! Sorry about that! I was busy finishing up college stuff (all done with the year! Yay!) and family stuff and hanging out with friends. Anyhow, this concludes Eremika Fluff Week, but I would like your opinion. Would you like me to continue this oneshot collection? If so, I would really like some ideas from you guys on what you would like me to write. So far, I have one request.
Also, I'd love for you to tell me which one of these oneshots you've liked the best so far so I can figure out what people like to read the most and write accordingly.
Again, thank you all so much for reading, and thank you for your kind feedback! I hope you enjoyed Eremika Fluff Week.
-Eremika