Pairing: Eren/Mikasa

Setting: Hey remember that time they all lived in a cabin together? Cause I always will.

Rating: K

Words: 2226

Notes: An anon on tumblr requested a holiday fic with lots of fluff and cuddling to help get in the holiday mood. I was more than happy to oblige! I have some super holiday fics for them coming up in December but here's an early holiday one to start with :3 I'm pretty sure most everyone knows what song the title is referencing but in case the full line is "Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas" and it sure is here in OH where its full of cold and snow. I think you can understand why I went this route for the story right now haha

It's Beginning to Look

If Eren thought it got cold in Shiganshina in the winter, the mountains were nothing in comparison. Even in the bedroom he shared with three other bodies, under a blanket, his long sleeved shirt and long pants, and his already naturally higher body temperature Eren thought his limbs were going to freeze off over night. He arched his neck to look up at the one window in the room; the moon high in the sky and snow still piling up on the windowsill outside. At this point, Eren didn't even know if they could leave the cabin if they needed to just because of the amount of snow that had been falling all day.

He groaned and tried to roll over in his bed, pulling his blanket tighter around him. Everyone else looked asleep if not a bit cold too. Armin's side was rising and falling, the blanket completely over his head and it looked like Connie had crawled into Jean's bed, his body bundled up in a blanket next to Jean.

This was ridiculous; there had to be a better way to keep warm than this. Eren pulled his blanket over his shoulders as he sat up in bed. He placed one barefoot down on the freezing wooden floor before the other and pushed himself to his feet. Quickly but quietly he walked to the door and slipped outside. It wasn't any better out in the hallway but maybe downstairs it would be a little better; Eren didn't have much hope but it couldn't be any worse than feeling like his toes were gonna fall off in his room.

Before he reached the stairs he took a quick turn down the other side of the hallway and popped his head in the first door by the stairs. Sasha's bed was empty but Eren easily found her as another bundled lump in Mikasa's bed. She seemed to be okay, the blanket tucked all around her, and her scarf pulled up to her ears. He shut the door quietly and continued back downstairs; at least that old thing still came in handy.

Downstairs wasn't much better but it was a little less biting. There wasn't much to offer warmth, save for the couch and maybe the fireplace. Eren had to double take at the old fireplace completely forgetting it was there. He nearly ran to it, falling to his knees on the stone that surrounded the small area. Levi would probably murder him, the smoke from a fire in the night air probably a shining beacon to where they were but if anyone was out there right now looking for them? They'd probably freeze to death before they could ever get here.

There wasn't any wood and kindling in but Eren vaguely remembered Sasha bringing some in to light the stove in the kitchen. His feet were starting to go numb again walking against the cold floor but it was worth it when he found plenty of wood to help build a fire, even matches Levi brought with their supplies. Eren heaved everything back in to the fireplace, remembering all the times he used to set the fire in his own house on the cold nights.

"Levi might kill you if he wakes up," a voice Eren would know anywhere called from behind him.

He turned his head to see Mikasa standing near the couch in just her sleep clothes and her scarf; she had to be even colder than he was.

"It'll be worth it to survive the night without frost bite." Eren tossed the flickering match into the fireplace, and poked at the logs until there was warm heat defrosting his body. "Much better," he sighed before turned over to Mikasa and gestured for her to come over. "C'mon, I thought you were asleep."

Mikasa pushed the couch till it was nearly touching the stone of the fireplace and took a seat, holding her hands out to let the heat run over her too. "I wasn't. I saw you when you were closing the door, so I thought I'd come see what you were up to."

Eren sat down on the couch next to her, his blanket still around his shoulders, though the flickering fire was helping significantly. "There was no way I was going to fall asleep freezing like that. I have no idea how the others managed it."

"I nodded off and woke up with Sasha curled up next to me," she laughed lightly, though Eren could see a shiver go down her spine.

Eren propped his leg up behind her and opened his blanket, gesturing for her to come closer. She seemed to hesitate for a moment as she watched him, pulling her scarf over her nose. "Get over here, it's not like it's the first time we started a fire in the middle of the night to stay warm."

Despite the scarf over her mouth, Eren still saw a smile pulling on her lips in her eyes. She slowly slid over until her back was against his chest, and her legs pulled up onto the couch. He curled his other leg in front of her, and draped his arms and the blanket over both their bodies.

"Jesus, you're freezing." It wasn't an understatement; Eren felt her cold skin through her clothes and through his. Her let go of the blanket, the thick fabric staying over them as he moved to place his hands over her arms, rubbing to get some warmth back in her. "How were you even surviving up there?"

She shrugged though her head fell back against his shoulder. "I just was trying not to think about it."

"Well, clearly it wasn't working." He moved to take one of her hands in his, using his own body heat to get the ice cold feeling out of her fingers.

"We did used to do this, didn't we," she said, her voice tainted with a bit of nostalgia that brought a small smile to his face.

"Yeah, because my mom and dad were ice creatures who never got cold, leaving us to freeze in our rooms." God, it seemed like ages ago that he would go get Mikasa from her room and drag her down the stairs to start a fire in the fire place. "We'd never make it back upstairs though. My mom always woke us up in the morning still asleep in front of the fireplace." He heard her laugh lightly when he moved to take her other hand in his.

"She'd always try to be angry that we started a fire without supervision, but she'd always just give up when you said it was just because we were cold."

Eren snorted. "It was worse when they would put the Christmas tree near the fireplace, and we almost caught the tree on fire one night."

"We? I'm pretty sure that was just you."

Eren jabbed her in the stomach with his elbow making her laugh aloud this time. If it had been a long time since they used to stay warm by the fire together it seemed like even longer since he heard her laugh. "I wonder what month it even is now, I feel like I've completely lost track of time."

"It's late November, early December," Mikasa said, her eyes on the fire in front of them. "I've been vaguely keeping track but it's hard to say exactly."

Eren dropped her other hand feeling satisfied that she was a bit warmer against him now. He wasn't exactly sure where to put his hands now. He didn't think he ever really thought about it when they were kids, cause they were kids but they definitely weren't anymore and Eren was becoming increasingly aware of that by the second.

He always thought Mikasa was beautiful and anyone who thought otherwise must've been a moron. It wasn't until he realized other people, especially other guys, thought she was too that he knew he had a problem. Eren always thought he'd lose her, to someone who treated her better than he ever had, treated her the way she deserved, but she was still here like she always was. He placed his hands tentatively on her waist, unsure if that was okay. She didn't seem to mind too much though causing him to wrap his arms around her, pulling her back against him while he leaned in to place his chin on her shoulder.

He let out a small sigh as the particular type of comfort that only Mikasa brought him washed over his body. "I wonder if it's close to Christmas at all."

"Probably still a little bit away," she said, though Eren could hear a slight hitch in her breath. "But it's the right season at least."

"Think Levi will let us have a Christmas tree here?"

Mikasa laughed again. "I doubt it."

Eren couldn't even remember the last time they had a Christmas tree; maybe when the three of them were working in the fields before they joined the military. Armin set one up to try and celebrate Christmas, but no one really felt any holiday spirit. Ever since then, it just never seemed important.

Now, he didn't even know if they'd live to see the next Christmas.

"How would you celebrate Christmas?" Eren asked, glancing over to Mikasa. "If, you know, we actually could."

"Oh, um." She seemed surprised by his question. "I dunno, I guess something small with you and Armin. A Christmas tree of course, decorations, and presents."

"What would you get us?"

She eyed him, but there was a smile pulling at her lips. "I don't know, something the both of you liked."

"And what would you want?"

Mikasa looked back over the fireplace for a moment before she looked back to him. "I would've already been given what I wanted."

Eren was gonna ask what that was, but he realized he didn't need to. This was Mikasa, the one who never wanted to join the military, who would've been happy finding some little house to live in somewhere, the one who wanted a home, a family most in this world. He still felt the constant guilt of being the reason she was here, and for being the one who caused her pain more than any injury from a Titan ever could.

"One day, we'll have a Christmas like that." He wasn't sure it was something he could promise, or even something he knew would happen, but if anything, after all of this was said in done, she deserved even the smallest of her wishes.

She leaned her head back against him again, her hands falling over his. The fire was still blazing in front of them, sending warm waves over heat all over the blanket and Eren's face; the thoughts of shivering up in his bed long forgotten. His eyes were starting to get heavy, his sleepless night catching up to him under the warmth of the fire and comfort of the girl sitting in front of him.

Eren wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he knew when he was being woken up. He blinked his eyes open, the flickering fire still burning in front of him, Mikasa's warm body still bundled next to him; he half expected to see his mom looking over them but he knew that was a dream from another time.

"You should probably go upstairs before Levi gets up," Hanji said, kneeling in front of the couch. "I'll take the blame for the fire, it was smart though. The cabin feels a bit warmer all over now."

Eren yawned with a nod before reaching underneath Mikasa's body to pick the still sound asleep girl up with him.

"You got her okay?" Hanji asked standing up with him.

"Always."

It was still dark as he carefully carried her up the steps, but it was clear sunrise was coming up soon. At least Hanji was right, the floor wasn't quite as cold, the upstairs hall not quite as drafty. He nudged open the girl's door, both beds empty as opposed to the first time he went up there. Sasha must have gotten up or the day or went to huddle in the boy's room once Mikasa was gone.

Eren placed Mikasa down on her bed still tangled up in his blanket and still sound asleep. Eren couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips when he looked down at her; it wasn't often he saw her at such peace. He reached down to bush her bangs out of her face and turned to leave but her hand caught his before he could.

When he looked back, her eyes were still closed, every other sign of her being asleep, it was just her hand holding onto his. Well, the boy's room was probably more than a little full right now. He pulled back his blanket away from her and laid down in the bed, tossing the still warm covers over him too. She curled into him just like she used to then they were much smaller than they were now; some things never change.

He rested his head against hers, his eyes shutting to get a little bit more sleep before Levi woke them all up. "In case the day comes and goes," he murmured into her hair. "Merry Christmas, Mikasa."