Pairing: Eren/Mikasa
Setting: Current Arc; After Eren gets rescued cause c'mon, Isayama, you're killing me here
Rating: K
Words: 4598
Notes: I really loved this prompt because there really have been so many subtle changes in their relationship over the course of the series that it was fun to look at all of them. I did do something different, I look at those changes through the eyes of the others in the team who would have seen those changes too. It was a little hard because I had to remember who was around for what, and realized a lot of their moments and development happened when no one else was around haha But hey, I bet they could all see it anyway.
October 12th - Change
Things had changed, that was clear. Things changed the moment they formed their small squad under Levi, but things changed even more when Eren and Historia were brought back from being captured and it was noticeable.
Sasha always prided herself on her observation skills; she was a hunter born and raised and while, yeah, that was for animals, it wasn't like she couldn't see things in front of her face. It was hard not to notice Eren, Mikasa, and Armin from the moment they joined the military together, mainly because Mikasa excelled at everything and Eren's loud declarations of how he wanted to change the world with Armin always by their side. It was also pretty obvious Mikasa was always in love with Eren; it was pretty much as clear as day even though the girl may not have even realized it at the time.
Sasha also couldn't help but notice the amount of times Eren and Mikasa fought, granted she was pretty sure everyone knew that. Sasha had also always roomed with Mikasa them both being girls and Sasha heard Mikasa's quiet cries at night after those fights. Sasha saw that Eren cared about her but she wasn't sure if he was always aware of it, having his mind on other things especially after he discovered he was a shifter.
Sasha knew she wasn't the first person who noticed the distinct change, which probably went to Armin who was a lot closer to them then she was, but she did notice it when she returned to her squad and was stationed in the mountains. It was shocking at first, to see Eren openly being the one who was getting on Mikasa to rest and not push herself when she was hurt or Eren not even getting upset when Mikasa worried about him. She had no idea what happened but she knew it was something; it had to have been something. Maybe it was during the fight she had missed; they told her about it, about the others who left them but no one really mentioned Eren and Mikasa except he some trait now to control titans and she had gotten hurt. Sasha almost asked Armin at one point what was going on with them, but she realized it probably wasn't really her business.
If the changes between those two weren't obvious then, they sure as hell were now. Sasha was walking behind them through the woods, traveling to their next destination to launch their plans Levi and Hanji set up. While their long, dark cloaks covered most their bodies Sasha still saw the way every now and then their fingers would brush against each other, lingering a bit longer than a normal brush by would. They were talking in hushed tones, probably so Levi wouldn't turn around and yell at them to shut up, but Sasha still saw a distinct smile on Mikasa's face whenever she looked over to Eren something Sasha wasn't sure if she had ever seen before. It wasn't like a big toothy grin but a smile for Mikasa was something different and Sasha knew her for the past six years. Even Eren looked more relaxed as they walked; keeping up with whatever conversation he was having with Mikasa and not once looking disgruntled like Sasha knew he could be when it came to her.
Sasha couldn't keep a smile off her own lips. She wasn't sure what happened between them, but she was glad. They were still her friends and she wanted them to be happy while they still could be.
Connie never cared much to look too closely at the things around him. He was there to make his village, his family proud and do what he could to do his job in the Scouting Legion. It wasn't until what happened to his mom, when the realization hit him out in his village that Connie realized he should be paying more attention around him, to make sure what happened to them didn't happen to anyone else again.
While he was getting better at becoming a better solider, romance was still something that eluded him. He liked Sasha, and he liked all the girls he had trained with but romance? He was pretty sure fighting for their lives and the lives of all the soldiers and humanity itself did take a priority. It wasn't something that ever even crossed his mind, well, until he watched Historia go desperately for Ymir and how he watched her break when Ymir left her behind. He saw it in her eyes, the ache of losing the person who meant the world to you and Connie realized he saw it before. He saw it in Mikasa's eyes countless time. Granted, Connie just thought she was sad all the time, but it wasn't until later he realized she was sad all the time because she couldn't catch up to the one she loved.
It was pretty obvious once Connie realized that Mikasa had always been in love with Eren and why she always seemed so upset about it. Eren didn't exactly seem to always want her around, always fighting with her, always getting mad at her, always running off to do whatever he wanted to do when Connie thought Mikasa just wanted to be with him. Connie was pretty sure Eren didn't mean the way he acted towards her, and he was very sure that was the case when he saw the way Eren carried her out of the battlefield, the way he stayed by her side until she got medical help on the wall.
Maybe Eren was kinda like him, always having too much else on the mind until something jarred him enough to see what was in front of him. They never really talked about what happened out there but something changed between them after that. They were softer towards each other; no more harsh words, no more fights. Even when Eren was missing Mikasa took it a lot better than Connie had seen her take it, but he saw that sadness back in her eyes, the same kind he saw in Historia as he walked next to her in the woods.
Connie glanced behind him, Eren and Mikasa walking a little distance back with Sasha and Hanji keeping up the rear. Mikasa was looking off at the woods, checking to see if anyone was following them Connie was sure, while Eren probably should've been doing it too, he wasn't; he was looking at Mikasa instead. She didn't seem to notice but Connie saw it easily; it wasn't sadness, it wasn't anger, it was relief. They all worried about Mikasa when Eren was missing, wondering what she would do without him but Connie didn't even know if anyone thought how Eren would feel being in danger and being a part from her also not knowing if she was alive or dead. A few years ago, Connie probably wouldn't have even thought about it but he was there when they got to Eren. Connie saw the way Eren looked in that moment, like Mikasa was the only person in the room which was the same way he was looking at her now.
Connie looked back a head, feeling like he was imposing on something that really wasn't meant for him to see. He still wasn't sure about romance himself, not in this world at least, but if they could find happiness before the end of it all how could he ever blame them?
Jean always knew; from their first day in training he knew, and it had irritated him ever since. Mikasa was the prettiest girl he ever saw with gorgeous black hair like no one he knew but of course, one word from Jaeger and since then Mikasa kept her hair short. That was enough to tell him what kind of relationship they had. He tried a few times to talk to Mikasa again, to really talk to her but she was always with Eren; no matter where he went, she followed.
It was infuriating that she wouldn't even give him a chance; she only had eyes for Jaeger even though he only had eyes for everything else that wasn't her. Jean couldn't count how many times he picked a fight with Eren just because he was angry with how he treated her. Here Eren had this beautiful and strong girl who would do everything for him and all he did was just get annoyed that she cared about him. How blind could you be? Maybe he just took Mikasa for granted, always thinking she'd be there to come after him, always there by his side.
Jean supposed Eren could've been frustrated that he wasn't the one who ever seemed to be able to save her, that she protected him when he wanted to be the one to protect her. Jean probably wouldn't have liked it much either to be honest when he would have wanted to be the one to take care of her but Mikasa could take care of herself and everyone around her just fine. He liked a strong woman, but he'd want to be able to look after her too. Jean didn't want to give Eren too much credit though because, seriously, he could learn to treat her a lot better than he had.
It was always a light hope that Mikasa would get sick of how Eren did treat her, always pushing her and her feelings aside, and give up on her affections but after six years and nothing had changed Jean was beginning to know better. Well, he couldn't say nothing had changed, because it had, just not in the way he wanted it to. Jean was the one to save Mikasa when she was about to get eaten, it was him not Eren. Granted Eren was tied up by two former comrades and had no way of getting to her even if he wanted to but that was beside the point. Jean was there for her for once.
It didn't quite work out for him when he woke up on Armin's horse and almost immediately saw a change between them. Eren, who carried her off his horse and straight to the medics, didn't leave her for a second until he knew she was okay. Even when he finally did, there was something different about him. Jean even tried to goad him into getting a rise out of him by telling him Jean was the one who saved Eren's beloved Mikasa thinking he'd get mad or furiously deny it. Eren didn't though; he told Jean he was right and thanked him instead, something to which even Jean didn't know what to say.
He watched the two of them sitting down on the forest ground, backs against a tree. Jean was sitting across from them, with Connie and Sasha chatting quietly near him. Though Jean's eyes were on both Mikasa and Eren they never even looked up. They didn't look like they were saying anything, just sitting there, her knees up against her chest though they were leaning slightly against Eren's legs. Mikasa had taken Eren missing far better than Jean thought she would but by the way they were inseparable since Eren had come back it was clear how much she had missed him, and even more annoyingly, it was clear how much Eren missed her too.
Jean scoffed looking away from them. It looked like someone finally got damn some sense knocked into his head.
Hanji had always liked Eren, and not just because he could shift into a titan and provided endless experiments and new discoveries; it was because Eren was a good kid, he always had been. A little hot headed and reckless, yes, but he had a good heart. Eren was just always lucky he had Mikasa there to go after him or keep him in line. He'd be long dead without her around. Hanji was fond of Mikasa too; she liked the girl's strength, of course, but she liked her heart even more. Mikasa loved with no restraint which was mostly why Eren was still alive today.
It seemed like just yesterday those youngins walked into the Scouting Legion and she was grateful for their presence. Both of them were giving humanity a chance again with Mikasa's fighting almost on par with the strongest of the Scouting Legion and Eren being able to control his shifter abilities much better than when he first started. They still were kids though, something Hanji had to remind herself of on a regular basis do to their situations at hand; Eren was fifteen when she met him, Armin and Mikasa both the same age.
It was strange thinking about the first time she met Eren, back when he was on trial to see if the Scouting Legion would get him or if he would be executed. Yeah, he was a shifter something that was completely unknown up until then but still, he was a kid and a kid who risked his life to seal that hole in the wall. How could they execute him for that? Hanji was aware of how young he looked tied up to that pole in the center of the room, having insults and death threats thrown at him from all sides. She was impressed how well he took it overall; he looked a little scared, a little confused but he was still taking everything in stride as if he was trying to work it all out with himself as well. That was until the first time Hanji saw Mikasa.
Hanji wasn't even really aware of the girl beforehand but when the court mentioned that Eren had attacked a girl by the name of Mikasa Ackerman, Hanji followed Eren's horrified eyes across the court to the black haired girl. It was clear right away with the way she moved her hair to cover her scar, the way Eren looked like he couldn't even believe he'd do such a thing that they had a different type of bond. It became a little more clear when the court brought up their past, two nine years olds killing three grown men. So they had been childhood friends that made more sense but Hanji was caught off guard one more time when the court started to go after the girl, stating that she might be a monster like Eren and to execute her as well. The so far calm Eren snapped in front of Hanji's eyes to come to Mikasa's defense, calling himself a monster but not her, never her.
It was clear they had a very special bond and one that Hanji only watched grow the more she was around them. They were always inseparable, only being a being a part for mission tactics and if Eren was taken away by the people they were fighting. Hanji easily saw that same fire in Mikasa's eyes Hanji saw in Eren's eyes in that courtroom when she told Levi and his team she had a clue to where Eren and Historia was, telling Hanji just how much Mikasa wanted to be back with him.
They had a moment of peace now, peace that wouldn't last long granted, but as she walked towards the head of the now resting caravan to talk to Levi she couldn't help but smile when she saw Mikasa and Eren huddled up near Armin on the forest floor. It was a good feeling to be able to have the one you loved back.
Historia hadn't always been jealous of Mikasa and Eren, in fact she had felt bad for them. It was painfully obvious the both of them had deep passion for each other, so deep Historia was sure they didn't even really know it themselves for years. The closer Historia got to Ymir though, the more she saw between Eren and Mikasa, and the more Historia fell in love with Ymir, the more she could tell they were in love with each other too, which is why Historia felt bad for them.
In this shitty world, Historia had someone who she could trust and lean on, someone she loved being around more than anyone else, someone she was in love with and someone she knew at one point loved her too. Eren and Mikasa, they had that bond, that trust, that love, they just refused to admit it to themselves let alone others. While Mikasa was always a little more obvious than Eren on how she felt, Historia easily saw the same look in Eren's eyes when he looked at Mikasa that Historia had seen in Ymir's eyes before. Everything was there for them; they just wouldn't let themselves have it.
Maybe it was they really didn't know it, or maybe they were afraid to let themselves have each other only to have one of them be ripped away never to be seen again causing a pain that was unlike any other; a pain Historia knew too well. It wasn't until she was left alone missing the person she wanted to see most in the world that she started to feel the bites of jealousy. She had no idea what happened in that field, having her own problems to work through but she did notice it wasn't just Mikasa that followed Eren all around but he started following her all around too.
Even when they were captured together, Eren never really talked about Mikasa and Historia thought it might have been a bit why she never talked about Ymir; it would just hurt too much. She saw his face when Mikasa and the others came busting into that room and her heart nearly broke just to see their faces and knowing there was no one coming to help her who would look at her like that. While it was a fight to get out, they managed it and between whatever had happened before with Eren and Mikasa and this last separation it just seemed like neither of them ever intended to let each other out of their sight again.
Historia heard Levi's distinct call to let them know they were moving again. She went to push herself up to her feet to take her spot next to Armin when she saw Eren already at his feet. He reached his hand down to help Mikasa to her feet though Historia was pretty sure Mikasa didn't need any help. She didn't seem to care though, slipping her hand into his as he gave her a tug to help her up. Eren must have tugged too hard because she stumbled just bit, falling a little closer to him than either expected. Historia couldn't tell if they were talking or not but she did see Mikasa's eyes look up to Eren's, probably wondering when he got taller than her. Seeing them together like that, it was obvious that Eren wasn't the fifteen year old boy he used to be when they joined the Scouting Legion.
She turned away to walk to her spot, her heart already aching. Historia hadn't always been jealous of them but things changed, more than she ever expected.
Levi didn't know when he became the only father figure to all these brats, but he knew it wasn't what he signed up for when he took his position. Granted, most kids their age died before they ever got this far so this group was an exception. Sure they could all mange to survive, some more so than others, but he wasn't always a fan of toting them around all over the damn interiors for this fight, well, with the exception of two.
He had known who and what Mikasa was almost from the moment he knew her name; there were too many coincidences, she had to be exactly who he thought she was. Then there was Jaeger, impulsive, uncontrollable and passionate Eren Jaeger. Him and Mikasa were quite a match, her quiet strength and his raw power. It didn't surprise him at all, as much as it made him want to roll his eyes at them.
He hadn't paid much attention to her in the trial aside from her name being passed around and it getting a rise out of Eren, which gave Levi an opening to follow through with what he needed to have happen in that court. It wasn't until she abandoned her own post to chase after the female titan who took Eren that Levi noticed her, and her abilities; also that she clearly couldn't think of anything else but Eren. He remembered her from the trial then, Eren's childhood friend, and things clicked there. Even though because of her one weakness Levi was the one who ended up hurt and the brat getting eaten but easily able to heal himself, the situation gave Levi insights to the two soldiers now under his control.
First being able to see Mikasa's particular talents up close, talents he himself had at her age and talents that made her nearly unstoppable against any foe or multiple foes. Second being she had one large weakness and that being none other than Eren; judging by the way she had avoided Levi's question asking about their relationship, it was less about their past history and more about how she felt about him. Third being because of the connections Levi made between their past and the trial and the way Eren reacted in the trial when she was in potential danger showed him that Eren had one big weakness as well. Levi almost pitied the being that got in Eren's way when he realized that Mikasa was his weakness too.
Levi didn't have to wonder for all that long though. While he hadn't been there when Eren's ability to control titans had manifested, he made Eren tell him the story multiple times to see what they could learn from the situation. Eren could recite a good majority of it but there were times when he hesitated or tried to downplay what exactly happened in that field, and Levi very well knew it was because Mikasa was there with him. With the way her and Eren relaxed around each other for once, Levi assumed something was said, something came out into the open. Eren just said the power manifested because he had to do something so he and Mikasa wouldn't get eaten by the same titan who killed his mother so he threw himself at the titan, and the other titans behind him flew over under Eren's control.
Levi highly suspected it wasn't just that; Mikasa was injured more than he ever saw her, not even being able to walk. He had a feeling that Eren finally realized that she was a human like anyone else, someone who could be hurt or killed in front of his eyes and Eren wasn't having it. It was his turn to look after her because Eren's weakness wasn't just the back of his neck and like Mikasa, when that weakness was threatened he did everything he could to protect her, thus the power emerging.
Levi did have to scoff. Of course, Eren was always in control of everything in situations where he felt that undying passion of his; the complete opposite of Mikasa. Levi glanced behind him to make sure everyone was keeping up. Historia and Armin were there, keeping their eyes out on the woods as were Hanji and Sasha towards the back but leave it to Mikasa and Eren not to be paying attention to anyone but each other. Levi looked back a head at the path. They were even more inseparable since Eren joined their squad again, if that was possible; it was disgusting. Though it was about time that brat got it right.
Armin wasn't surprised, not at all. He saw it coming for years, since the day he met Mikasa. Armin knew Eren better than anyone, save for maybe his mom, they had been friends since they were toddlers after all. Armin knew Eren better than he knew himself and when Eren brought Mikasa to meet Armin, for the first time since he knew Eren, Armin was surprised. It was so unlike him to just take to another person like that; Armin was Eren's only friend for a reason, mainly because he just didn't get along with anyone else, ever, boys or girls. Yet here was Mikasa, who followed him around like a little puppy and whom Eren never once minded her presence. Since the day Armin met her, Mikasa and Eren were inseparable, and that's when Armin knew.
He watched them grow up, go through loss, take comfort in each other, protect each other, and never lose that inseparable bond they had formed with one another. Even when they joined the military, even when they fought, even when Eren snapped at her, when he pushed her away, made her cry and even when Mikasa annoyed Eren to no end, when she never gave him the chance to grow, to learn to better himself, and give him the opportunity to protect her to show how much he cared, that bond between them never broke. Armin would always say it was because despite all their horrible communication skills and constant misunderstandings, it was never enough to separate them. They both loved each other too much.
It was always clear to Armin, only getting clearer the older they got; also getting more frustrating when he was constantly stuck in the middle. He wanted to just tell them to tell each other how they were really feeling or he would himself but that wasn't how it was supposed to be. They'd have to realize it themselves; Armin just hoped it wasn't too late when they did.
It almost was the first time when they nearly died together in those fields. While Armin wasn't there but Eren did tell him what happened afterward, none of which surprised Armin at all. He always knew Mikasa wouldn't be able to die without letting Eren know how much he meant to her. The tension had finally left the two of them, leaving them more like when they were kids, just happy to still be together. The second time they had no idea where Eren even was for what seemed like months to the people who missed him sorely, not even knowing if they would see him again. Mikasa took it better than she had in the past; finally trusting Eren to take care of himself, to come back to her unharmed and he did, relatively unharmed. Armin couldn't remember a time he saw Mikasa's small smile as much as he had in the past few days. This time after they were reunited, the tension came back between them, but it was a little bit different type of tension then before, one that came from them wanting to be near each other too much and not the other way around.
Armin heard them talking softly behind him, but about what he wasn't sure and even though they were his best friends in the world it probably wasn't any of his business. He turned his head regardless, but the sight really wasn't surprising. It was like they weren't traveling with anyone else, just each other with the way they were looking; their green cloaks hung low on their bodies but Armin still saw Eren holding on tightly to her hand as they walked.
Armin turned back ahead with a smile. No, it wasn't a surprise to him at all.