A/N: Hellooooo! Thanks for all those reviews! I'm glad to know that you guys are no longer pissed at Eren haha ;P I know this chapter is super short (and has nothing to do with the plot, heheh oops ~) But in my defence- it's just a filler ch. that helps to transition from the last chapter that was really sad and depressing to the next one which will be filled with fun and Riren! :D
(PS: I know I made Mikasa super duper OOC but honestly, I like her more like this lol ^_^)
Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Shingeki no Kyojin! *breaks down crying and runs away*
Chapter 6. Advil and Chocolate: My Drugs of Choice
Eren jerked awake to the sound of thunder and ashen morning light coursing through the blinds, slipping out of bed and hobbling as quickly and as quietly as he could to the nearest bathroom when he felt the telltale churning in his stomach. The ocean eyed boy carefully kneeled on the cold floor and held his head over the open toilet until he felt the crashing wave of nausea pass. Ohhhh God. He thought with a low groan. My head is gonna freakin' explode.
He grabbed the sink countertop and heaved himself up, resting his burning forehead against the cool glass of the mirror. His brain seemed to pulsate to the beat of his heart and his mouth felt parched and dusty. I'm starting to wish it would explode, probably couldn't hurt worse than this. Eren's skull felt like it was slowly being drilled into with a dull jackhammer and it throbbed sharply every time he moved his head. He gave the empty toilet- completely free of bile or throw up of any kind- a tired but triumphant glance before shutting his eyes tightly.
Medicine... Medicine... I need to get myself into a pleasant drug-induced stupor before I can even think of facing Mikasa. With eyes still lidded against the severe bathroom light, he clumsily felt for the drawer that held his holy grail. Come on, come... on...Come to... daddy! His fingers skimmed the cabinets until he felt the rightmost handle, and pulled it eagerly. He cracked open a grit-filled eye and grabbed a white bottle with a navy blue cap.
The brunette shook out two dull green pills and leaned down, careful not to jostle his head or make any sudden movements, and promptly filled his dry mouth with chilly water from the sink and gulped it down greedily. After he swallowed the Advil and splashed some water on his heated face, he decided that he felt much less like the walking dead and more like a normal and functioning human being. Eren rested a bit against the open doorway and tried to wade through his muddled memories of the night before. There had been a drinking game, he had met some guy named Nick, angry gray eyes had glared at him, and... He felt his eyes widen.
And he had hit Levi.
The brunette exhaled harshly when he recalled the insults that had made him lose control and slap his boss in the face. Oops. He snickered a bit and tried to remember the rest of the night. The car ride home had been extremely awkward at first, both of them still a bit pissed by what the other had done, but after a few minutes of empty streets and the soft humming of the sedan's engine; the tension settled and they rode in comfortable silence. He's not so bad. Eren had thought as he looked at the older man's handsome profile. Levi's attention had been completely focused on driving and maneuvering his car through the slippery icy roads- allowing Eren a lot of time to observe him discreetly. He apologized to me and he's even driving me home...
The teal eyed boy sighed, snapping back to reality, and shut the cabinet door. All in all, it had been a more or less decent welcoming party- all insults and drama aside. Eren stepped out into the hallway and tiptoed as quietly as he could to Mikasa's room. Her door was already ajar and he nudged it open a bit wider with his foot. Huh. The room was completely dark and he could barely make out the bed that was bare of any blankets and the pillows that were randomly strewn across the floor. The missing blankets on the bed were weird enough, but even stranger was the fact that it was lacking his sister's sleeping form.
Random flashes of lightning erratically lit up the space and Eren looked around the dim room once more before glancing at the digital watch on his wrist. 9:30 am. Where is she? And what the hell happened to her bed? Mikasa doesn't get up before ten on her days off… The brunette turned and walked towards the kitchen, hoping to find her there. He passed the small front hall and stuttered to a halt in the sepulchral passage when he saw Titan streak out from the living room, hair standing up to a point and claws clacking noisily against the hardwood floors. The cat skittered past him with a yelp, scurrying away as fast as he could with his crooked tail trembling and twitching as he went.
Curiouser and curiouser...
Eren redirected his steps and made his way to the shadowed living room, trying his best to ignore that little niggling voice in the back of his head telling him to turn back and stay in the safety of his bedroom. A clap of thunder made him jump and then wince when his head throbbed painfully in response. Stop being such a wimp, it's just thunder... He edged his way closer to the living room and tried to ignore his pounding heart. You are not creeped out, not at all. Mikasa was not kidnapped and you are not about to be attacked by the scary shadows on the wall that are totally not following you...The young boy walked inside, frantically humming Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to distract himself from his rapidly spiraling thoughts, but all humming came to an abrupt halt when a panicked gasp lodged itself in his throat.
On the couch, a bulky figure sat heaving raspy breaths and wheezing thickly into the gloom. Eren's ocean eyes widened to saucer-like proportions and he let out an embarrassing squeak. He watched in frozen horror as the figure turned, its sallow arm creeping out from the surrounding shadows and reached out to a gray square object beside it. Pale, long fingers tugged and brought the wispy material to where the brunette assumed its head must be and Eren watched in horror as the pale gauze fluttered when the ghoul exhaled heavily. The hunched shadow took a rattling breath and-
erupted into a flurry of sneezes before sniffing and letting out a low scratchy groan.
...Wait... What the hell?
Eren fumbled with a nearby lamp and turned the small button. The yellow light illuminated the living room and the tall male turned to look back at the couch. A mountain of blankets was clustered in piles around the stooped form of Mikasa and she squinted at him through the suddenly bright living room with a shiver.
"Oh my god, Mikasa, you scared the shit out of me. What are you doing here? Are you okay?"
She sniffled and grabbed another tissue from the Kleenex box next to her. "I'm sick." She said nasally before erupting into coughs.
Eren padded towards the couch and sat down next to her. "Yeah I can see that." His own hangover was quickly forgotten as he rubbed soothing circles on his sister's back and gently pulled her dark hair away from her sweat-slicked face. "You had me worried. I looked inside your room but you weren't there... Why are you on the couch instead of in bed?"
"The storm woke me up... And then I wanted tea, I think..." Her eyebrows pulled up in momentary confusion before smoothing back down with a wet sniff. "So I decided to make some cause my throat hurt but I got sleepy and my room was too far away..." Mikasa tugged the blankets closer around her and shut her eyes wearily. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
He chuckled. "I'm sure it did." He stood up and stretched, mentally snorting at himself for being so freaked out before. Way to keep your cool, Eren. Dumbass... He placed a kiss on Mikasa's damp brow and strode to the kitchen. "I'm gonna grab you some medicine and I'll make you that tea, yeah?" She nodded and leaned her head back with a small groan, too tired to even think of complaining about being taken care of.
XxXxXx
Fifteen minutes later, Eren walked back to the living room with two steaming mugs, some cold medicine, and a light blue electric thermometer in hand. He handed Mikasa one of the mugs and watched her red nose twitch in disgust.
"Chocolate?"
The younger male clinked his cup against hers. "Not just chocolate- hot chocolate."
She scowled as she took a small sip of the excessively sweet drink but sighed contentedly when it soothed her aching throat. "I thought you were making me tea."
"Yeah, I was, but all we had left was that really gross lemon tea." He stuck out his tongue at her and winked. "I'll go out later and buy some of the good stuff."
He picked up the thermometer and put the plastic end piece on it. Eren positioned it in Mikasa's ear carefully and pressed the center button. It beeped and Eren looked at the tiny screen. "Babe, you've got a fever but luckily it's not too high. He handed her a few pills and told her to swallow. "If you're still feeling bad in a few hours you'll take some more, 'kay?"
She hummed in acquiesce and curled up on the couch, tucking her legs in front of her and cradling her warm mug between her hands. "How was the party?" She peered at her brother and noted that he didn't even look hung-over. Then again, she thought to herself, Eren doesn't really get hung-over. A headache is all he ever gets, lucky bastard. Unlike herself, her brother could hold his alcohol and was rarely ever reduced to a puking mess in the mornings.
Eren took a gulp of the scalding liquid and made himself comfortable. "Well... It was fun but I also kinda sorta got in a tiny fight with my boss..."
Mikasa's dark eyes narrowed. "How 'tiny' was this fight?"
He hesitated. Mikasa could always tell when he was lying, and knowing her, she wouldn't rest until she knew anything and everything that had happened. "Ummm..." His green eyes darted around the room before he blurted out, "He started it!"
She snorted. "Sure, sure." Mikasa tilted her head towards the TV. "Put on a movie and tell me everything."
XxXxXx
They were halfway through The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey when Mikasa's fever had gone down enough that she no longer felt the need of being buried under mounds of blankets. She kicked one off of her and glanced at the brunette who had his green-blue eyes glued to the screen.
"You know," she said as she plucked a tissue from the box, and thought back to their earlier conversation. "Levi shouldn't have been so harsh and I'm glad you slapped him- I would've done the same thing; but Eren you've got to admit that he was kind of right. You've slept around a lot and now you have to face the consequences of doing so. I'm not trying to be mean or condescending because I know what you've been through, but-"
A warm hand covered her mouth and a warm flush began creeping up the young boy's neck. "Mikasa, trust me, I know. I know there's gonna be issues but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." He looked away and let out a soft breath. "I want an actual relationship. It's about time I forgot about Thomas and- and about my past... I want someone I can call my own..." He finished softly.
Eren peered up at her through his bangs and held her serious gaze. There were a few seconds of silence before Mikasa gave a decisive nod. "Ok." She smiled a bit to herself and turned back to watch the movie. "Ok."
They sat in companionable silence until the ending credits rolled across the screen.
The older girl nudged him with her foot. "Go put on the next one. I wanna see Gandalf save everybody's ass again."
He chuckled and went to scan the shelf containing their movie collection. "I agree, Gandalf is awesome but I think Legolas takes the cake."
Mikasa scoffed. "You're just saying that 'cause you've had a crush on him since before you even knew you were gay."
Teal eyes sparkled in amusement and he bowed his head in agreement. "You know me too well, sister dear." He slid The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug into the DVD player and hit play. They snuggled on the couch and set their now empty mugs on the side table. Mikasa hummed noncommittally and laid her head against her brother's shoulder. "Did you know Gandalf means 'wand elf' in Old Norse?"
"Really? That's awesome, do you think J.R.R Tolkien named him that on purpose?"
"Mhhhm of course Gandalf was named on purpose you doofus, it's not a happy coincidence. And do you know what my name means?"
Eren laughed at her disgruntled tone. "No I don't. Why don't you enlighten me?"
She sighed dramatically and her usual stoic face transformed into one of fake wistfulness. "My freaking name means 'my house' in Spanish. Isn't that absolutely horrible? Hi nice to meet you, my name is 'my house' Ackerman but you can just call me 'my house'." She snorted in derision when her brother giggled. "Don't laugh, it's the reason I took French instead of Spanish in high school."
Eren laughed even harder and tickled her ribs. "You're being ridiculous. Plus, your name doesn't even have the same spelling as 'mi casa'."
The black haired girl frowned at him and swatted his hand away. "No but its close enough." She said with a grumble before blowing her nose.
"Ugh, shut up and watch the movie or I'll go get Titan and make him watch it with us."
She gave him a dirty glare at his low move but said nothing more. After half an hour of silence and wet sniffs, Mikasa tugged the red scarf that had been hidden beneath her cocoon of blankets up to her mouth and closed her eyes sleepily. "Thank you for taking care of me." She said softly. "And thank you for the gross hot chocolate even though I wanted tea."
The younger male chuckled in a low baritone. "Don't forget the Advil and fever medicine."
"Right, that too. Thanks for the Advil and the chocolate; my drugs of choice."
Her black hair was parted to the side, revealing pale satin-soft skin, and pink lips placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "You're welcome, 'my house'." An elbow dug into his ribs and he wheezed, "Just kidding, just kidding!" Eren patted her tenderly on the head and laughed quietly. After a few steady breaths he said,
"Love you, Mikasa. Sleep well."
But the ebony haired girl was already fast asleep in her brother's arms and didn't hear his gently spoken words.
A/N: Awwwww! I loved writing this chappie! I found writing a brotherly Eren so fun XD
Sorry there was no Levi :( You'll see him him next ch I swear! Also... do you guys remember that Hanji has a small popsicle obsession? I did that for a reason you know... lol you'll see why next time (gosh I'm laughing as I write the next chappie) :P don't forget to follow/fave/REVIEW !