Pairing: Eren/Mikasa

Setting: Post Series, years after Eren, Armin, and Mikasa left the military and moved far from the walls

Rating: K +

Words: 2469

Notes: This isn't really my headcanon for them but I couldn't resist writing these cutie pies all happy with babies. This is my headcanon for how Eren would be once they are able to live free and safe (shh shh I still think it will happen). I feel like he'd genuinely be very happy, and of course, always be with Mikasa.

November 14th - Family

Mikasa shook out one of her sheets as the warm breeze blew it around in her hands. She pinned one end to the line and walked over to make sure the other end got pinned tightly as well. The wind still blew at it, but it didn't seem like it would fly off into the woods so Mikasa was satisfied. She placed a hand on her swollen stomach as she bent over to grab the next piece of wet laundry from her basket nearby. She felt a nudge as she straightened back up. Mikasa smiled to herself as she gave the little one a few taps back in response.

A quick motion caught her eye from behind the laundry. Her eyes watched the small shadow, now moving incredibly slowly. Clearly her youngest wasn't the only one moving around today. Mikasa reached up to place the towel on the line, still watching the movement through the corner of her eye. She put the last clip on the towel, looking away from the now stationary shadow.

"Boo!" a familiar voice called out.

Mikasa placed her hand over her chest to at least look like she had been surprised. She glanced down at the small head of brown hair and tiny body popping out from underneath the sheet; the familiar turquoise eyes shining up at her. "Oh, Nicolas, you surprised me," she exclaimed but not without a smile.

"That's cause I snuck up on you. I'm sneaky," he said proudly, the sheet he was hiding behind still resting on his shoulders.

As Mikasa looked down at him she couldn't get the visions of a similar scene from a time long ago. She was older than the five year old by the time she had gone to live with Eren, but she was still watched him countless times sneak up on his mom when she was doing the laundry.

"What you are," she said, taking a moment to slowly crouch down to her son. "Is your father." She reached up to ruffle his already messy hair causing the boy to giggle and run off to the side of the basket. Nicolas was the spitting image of Eren, both in looks and personality which she knew was gonna bite her in the ass when he got to be a teenager but she could and would avoid thinking about that for quite some time.

"Why don't you help me finish the laundry? It's a little hard for me to bend over-"

"'Cause of the baby!" Nicolas said.

"Yes," she nodded, her hand pressed against her stomach. "So why don't you hand me the laundry so we can go do something fun?"

"Okay!" He stuck his hands into the basket and pulled out the biggest wad he could, which only happened to be one towel.

"Thank you," Mikasa said carefully taking the fabric from his hands to pin it on the line.

"Hey, Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"When's Daddy coming home?"

Mikasa's fingers hesitated over the clips for a moment. She hated that question; she hated asking it herself let alone her five year old. She looked over at him with a smile. "I'm not sure. Hopefully he's on his way right now." That didn't seem to help. She could see Nicolas' face drop, his eyes looking down at his hands.

"Why'd he have to go?"

It was impossible not to feel a tug at her heart; nothing felt right when Eren wasn't here, and clearly she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Mikasa moved away from the laundry and slowly sat herself down on the grass by Nicolas. She reached over and took the small boy into her arms and her lap. He curled up around her so his head laid on her shoulder, his legs over hers.

"He was asked to go into the city. You know, the one far across the plains, where the walls are higher than you could possibly imagine." She poked him in the stomach knowing how much he loved to hear stories from when Mikasa and Eren were kids. Well, as much as they were willing to tell a child.

"But why?"

"Because some of the people who are very high up in the military asked him to, and he said okay."

"I thought Daddy hadn't been in the military for a long, long time. That's what he told me."

"And it's the truth, but he still has friends who are, and they needed his help. So he was a good friend and travelled far away so he could help them."

Nicolas crossed his arms, his face scrunching in disapproval. "Why couldn't he take us with him? Uncle Armin too cause he'd be lonely without us."

Mikasa laughed lightly. "Well, it would be a very long trip and on horseback. You'd probably be bored out of your mind," she squeezed him. "And it would have been too hard for me and the baby. Daddy would have been worried about us to make it very far quickly. Uncle Armin offered to go with him, but Daddy said no. He didn't want us to get too lonely."

Her explanation didn't seem to help much at all, not that she thought it would. She knew words couldn't replace the person you missed most in the world.

"I miss Daddy, Mama." His voice was small; Mikasa could hear all his sadness in just those few words. She leaned her head down to his, placing a kiss on his forehead before resting hers against him.

"I miss him too." She felt a familiar feeling rush over her body; a little foot pressing forcibly against her stomach. She chuckled before taking Nicolas' hand and placing it over the spot on her stomach as was feeling the pressure. "I don't think you and me are the only ones who do." She saw a smile creep over his face.

He laid his head against her stomach. "You're gonna like Daddy, Baby. He's really silly, and he likes to play games especially outdoors games, and he takes us to the market to see all the animals, and he and Uncle Armin tell the bestest stories. You'll like Uncle Armin too. He travels a lot but then he has even more stories to tell us."

Mikasa smiled as she ran her fingers through Nicolas' hair while she listened to him talk. Years and years ago this had been just a faint dream in her head, an unattainable one, but here she was though, and she wouldn't change it for the world. She had her family.

"And Daddy likes to cook pancakes in the mornings, and he'll show you how to ride a horse when you are big enough. He told me I could ride the horses soon but you'll have to wait cause you'll be too tiny to even sit on the saddle. And he…"

Mikasa could see a figure walking a horse headed towards the front of the house. She waved her arm above her head to let Armin know they were in the back. He didn't live too far from them, just a little closer to the town whereas Eren preferred being far out in the country.

"And he likes to kiss Mama and he likes to tickle and always tells us he loves us and…"

"And he particularly likes surprises."

Mikasa's head shot up almost as fast as Nicolas was on his feet. Standing in her backyard was the one person who hadn't been there in months, the one face she knew better than her own.

She could hear Nicolas' ecstatic cries as she watched him bolt at Eren, who had crouched down to catch him in open arms. Mikasa tried to get herself up but her body seemed frozen in place. She wasn't expecting him home so early, not after how Eren had made it seem before he left. She watched Eren shower Nicolas with kisses and hugs; hearing her son's squeals of joy and her husband's laugh made her feel like melting.

All was right again.

Her eyes stayed on Eren until his gaze met hers. Nicolas didn't look like he was about to let go anytime soon, not that she blamed him, Eren shifted Nicolas in his arms giving himself one free arm. Eren was still dressed in that uniform she hadn't seen in years. She couldn't help but feel like she was fifteen for a moment, looking at the boy she had already loved for so long. Even after all this time, her heart still skipped and her breath hitched in her throat when she saw his smile directed at her, his body moving towards her.

Mikasa watched him as he extended his hand to her. She slipped hers into his, feeling the warm touch of his skin she had missed so much. She used his weight to help herself to her feet, his arm remaining steady so she didn't lose her balance. She didn't even get the chance to speak before Eren's hand was around her back, pulling her body into his, his lips on hers in an instant. Mikasa couldn't hold in her sigh as she pressed her hands against his chest, her mouth moving with his.

Eren made a noise of contentment before leaning his forehead against hers. "Oh, it's very good to be home." His hand was still pressed into her back, keeping her as close as she could get. Mikasa couldn't have fought off her smile even if she wanted to. She could feel the little one doing summersaults in her stomach, clearly happy at hearing her father's voice. He dipped his head back down to kiss her but Nicolas tugged on the collar of Eren's jacket.

"Daddy! Do you have stories to tell us?"

"Do I have stories to tell you?" Eren exclaimed in mock outrage. "You bet I do, kid." He poked Nicolas' stomach with the hand that was holding him, causing the boy to erupt in giggles. "You too." Eren moved his hand from Mikasa's back and placed it on her stomach. She could see his wide smile when she felt the baby kick right where his hand rested.

"We all missed you," Mikasa placed her hand on his face. Eren sighed and leaned his head into her touch.

"Can we hear stories now?" Nicolas was tugging at Eren's jacket once more.

"How about," Eren moved his head to bump lightly against Nicolas'. "I go take care of the horse while you go inside so I can find where I hid that present for you."

Nicolas' feet were on the ground before Eren even had the chance to put him down. He bolted to the back down and disappeared inside without a single look back. Mikasa laughed as she started to walk towards where Eren had left his horse. It's never a trip without a present; she knew it was something Eren had learned from his own father.

Before she could make it very far, Eren's hand grabbed onto her wrist. In a quick but careful motion Eren pulled her back to him, his arms circling around her. "Hang on just a sec," he said, his hands rubbing her lower back. Mikasa's fingers ran over his tan shirt, the thick straps against his chest, the ever familiar brown jacket. "You look like you're fifteen."

Eren rolled his eyes with a smile. "Yeah. They made me wear this old thing while I was out there. I don't know why they still have all these straps and riggings as part of the uniform. Only a few are still trained with the gear. I'm pretty sure Commander just wanted to make herself feel young again."

"And to get a laugh out of Lance Corporal?"

"That would be Serge now. Yeah, he found it particularly amusing. Which of course means he cracked a smile."

Mikasa tugged gently on his jacket, straightening his lapels. "He didn't like you calling him Serge, did he."

"Not even a little."

"I can only imagine his face," she laughed, her hands pressing against his chest.

Eren reached up to brush her hair from her face. "It was strange. Being there without you and Armin too, Having to sleep in the same places, wear this getup, be in the same building without seeing your face around every corner."

"You're home now." She reached up to hold his face in her hands.

"Thank God," he murmured before he leaned in once more to press his lips to hers. He moved his hands to rest on the sides of her stomach, his thumbs gently rubbing her skin through her dress. "Everything okay with my girls while I was gone?"

"Insisting it's a girl isn't going to change the gender one way or another, Er-" Mikasa tried to answer but Eren pushed his mouth to hers again.

"Yes," she chuckled against his lips. "Everything's fine."

Eren didn't even bother saying anything before kissing her again. Mikasa tightened her hands on him as she moved her mouth with his. Until she felt a very familiar force run into both her and Eren's legs.

"Daddy!" Nicolas whined, his fingers bawled up in the straps on Eren's leg and in Mikasa's dress. "Stop kissing Mama and come tell us stories! And presents!"

With a wide grin, Eren reached down and hoisted Nicolas back up to his arms. "I was just letting Mama know how much I missed her."

"Didja miss me too? Cause I missed you."

"What kinda question is that? Of course I did!"

Mikasa watched Nicolas squeal with laughed as Eren held him tight, Eren's hands tickling every part of his body. She couldn't count how many times she had thought she would never see Eren's smile again, that she would never see his face, hold him in her arms, but all of that was long over. They left their old world behind and started their new one, and Mikasa knew that not one day would ever be taken for granted.

Eren threw Nicolas up on his shoulders before holding his hand out to Mikasa. "Come on," he said.

She slipped her hand in his as Eren began to walk towards his horse and his packs.

"Do you have new stories about the military?" Nicolas asked, his body bouncing.

"Well, the military isn't what it's like in the stories I normally tell, not anymore but I've got some new ones."

"What about the angry short man? And the lady who could talk all night? And the guy who -"

"Oh yeah, I've always got stories about them, don't you worry."

I couldn't resist the sap. Just a small note, I named their son Nicolas because it means "People of Victory" and since he'd be a part of the first generation born free I figured it was appropriate ^^