Pairing: Eren/Mikasa

Setting: Post Series; five years after the defeat of the titans

Rating: K

Words: 3700

Notes: A request from Sentinel07 who asked for others to come visit Eren's family that wasn't just Armin. This story really has like no plot, but it was still fun to write since I've really only had Armin visit Eren and Mikasa post series. It was both cute and sad, considering I finished this drabble with the spoiler images for chapter 62 fresh in my mind. The title is from "Gone Gone Gone" by Phillip Phillips.

I'll Love You Long After You're Gone

Eren was used to a quiet house. His home wasn't that big; just a living room, kitchen, a second floor with a bathroom and two bedrooms. Compared to his previous military conditions this place was more than enough, especially since he only shared it with one other person. Mikasa liked the quiet, like he did, keeping their home peaceful; well, mostly peaceful.

Which is why Eren nearly jumped out of his own skin when a loud knock rang through the house. He stared at the door from his spot in the kitchen, not quite sure what to do. Mikasa left for the market before he even woke up and she wouldn't need to knock, it was her house. The other villagers never came out this far from town, nor would they have reason to; both he and Mikasa preferred to keep to themselves.

The knock came again, a little softer this time and he also heard some bickering right outside the door. Eren cautiously walked across the room, his bare feet padding against the wooden floor. He thought for a moment he should grab some kind of weapon but if it was just some lost kids he didn't want to get the crazy man in the woods title. Besides, he was pretty sure he wouldn't need one if they were dangerous; he hadn't been away from the military for that long.

Eren slowly opened the door trying to see if he could tell who was there. The door wasn't even fully open when he felt arms around his neck, a body slamming against him.

"Eren!" the voice cried.

He barely made out the thick head of brown hair before the owner buried her face in his chest. "Uh," Eren looked up, his hands still extended out not touching her and wondering what the hell was going on but a familiar laugh brought the pieces together.

Armin was standing off to the side, his long hair pulled up into a ponytail and a sack over his shoulder. Jean was next to him, a little taller but as gruff as ever which would only make the girl gripping onto him one person.

Eren reached down to pat her back. "It's good to see you too, Sasha." His heart rate started to come back down as Armin walked over, Jean following behind.

"Sorry," Armin said with a smile that didn't look too sorry. "When they found out I was coming out here they begged me take them with him."

"Sasha begged," Jean clarified. "I just wanted time off from work."

She snorted, pulling herself off Eren. "He begged too, don't listen to him."

Jean opened his mouth to fight but Armin elbowed him in the ribs instead. Eren was suddenly aware of just who was bickering outside his door, his old friends. "Here, come in," he said holding the door open for him. "Sorry, you guys nearly gave me a heart attack." He let Sasha and Jean in before clasping an arm around Armin's shoulder. "I knew he was coming sometime soon but not you guys too, so please, make yourselves at home."

Jean sat himself down on the couch, placing the two bags he was holding off to the side but Sasha was still standing, looking around the house.

"Where's Mikasa?"

"She left this morning to go to the market; she'll be back soon I'm sure. Just try not to give her a heart attack too."

Sasha sat down next to Jean with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, it's just been so long since I've seen you two."

Eren shut the door as Armin plopped down in an armchair. "It's been what? Five years now?" While he might've been terrified of them at first, seeing Armin's grin, Sasha's bright eyes, even Jean's fake disinterested face made him realize how long they had been away from their friends who decided to stay in the military.

"Five years," Jean echoed. "It doesn't seem that long really."

"No, it doesn't." Eren stood by the couch as he tried to keep an eye on the window where he could see the path; all he needed was for Mikasa to get surprised too. "So tell me what have you guys been up to?"

"Don't you want to wait for Mikasa so they don't have to tell it twice?" Armin said.

"You just want to see her more than me don't you."

"She is better company."

Eren snorted turning towards the kitchen. "I don't have much at the moment but are you guys thirsty? Hungry?"

"Tired," Sasha said, her back hitting the couch. "You guys live in the middle of nowhere."

Eren leaned back against the counter. "That was kinda the point."

"Does anyone bother you out here?" Armin asked.

Eren shook his head. "Nah, no one in town recognizes us, at least not by face."

"Well, you aren't eighteen anymore either," Sasha shrugged. "So I think that's natural. Maybe if you still wore the uniform, but not anymore."

"I don't think his old one would fit him anymore," Armin laughed at the though. "He's a little taller than he used to be."

"Look who's talking. Remember when you were the shortest of us three?"

"Well, Mikasa hasn't grown all that much since then has she?" Jean asked.

"She's still around the same height, same build as when she was eighteen but I doubt she'd get into it right now."

Armin arched an eyebrow. "Whys that?"

Dammit. This was a really stupid conversation to get cornered into. He couldn't just keep quiet now but Mikasa would also kill him if he let it slip with her not here. "She's gained a little bit of weight." Jesus, she was still gonna kill him.

"Eren," Sasha exclaimed. "You can't just say stuff like that about your girlfriend, nor would I recommend it about Mikasa in general."

Oh thank God, Armin didn't tell them yet; at least he could get out of this hole without much more future pain. "Wife you mean."

"What?" Sasha's forehead was furrowed as she looked at him.

"You said girlfriend, Mikasa's my wife." Eren held up his hand, the plain gold band in clear sight before Sasha could accuse him of lying. Instead, she turned on Armin.

"You never told us that!"

"I figured you'd assume, plus you never asked," Armin said, catching the pillow Sasha threw at him.

"How long?" Jean asked. He was still acting disinterested but Eren could tell that was the case.

"About five years." Eren could see a figure walking up the path, a basket full of various market goods on her arm. He pushed himself off the counter and headed towards the front door to give her a quick heads up about their surprise guests but the door swung open before he even got there.

"G'morning!"

Eren dropped his eyes from Mikasa still walking up the path to the brown haired boy who was running inside the house. "Good morning to you too, kid." Eren leaned down to grab the small boy who ran right into his arms. He stood back up taking Nicolas with him. "Did you find something good at the market?"

"Yeah," he said, holding out a bright red apple towards Eren's face. "I picked this one for you."

"Well, thank you." Eren leaned his head down to where his son was holding the apple. He took a bite out of fruit causing Nicolas to erupt into a fit of laughter. "That's delicious; you've got a good eye. I hope you helped Mama picked out all the best fruit."

Nicolas nodded furiously as Eren pressed a kiss against his forehead before turning back to his visitors.

"I don't think I even have to ask," Jean said with a shake of his head but for once there was a slight smile on his lips. "He's like a smaller version of you, Jaeger."

"Let's hope not, I don't think even I could handle me as a kid."

"Armin!" Sasha stood up to her feet, clearly upset with the blond again. "Why didn't you tell us they were married and had a baby!"

Armin was on his feet too but not because he was paying attention to Sasha. "Why didn't you," he pointed his finger at Eren. "Tell me you were having another one!"

"Because some people like surprises," Mikasa's amused voice came from the doorway. She had one hand on her basket but the other was resting on her swollen stomach. "Though I think you might win on surprises, Armin." She placed her hand over her mouth at the sight of both Jean and Sasha in her house.

Armin carefully took her basket for her before he pulled her into a hug. "Those two where just tag alongs who wouldn't shut up until I let them come with me but this..." Armin gave her stomach a rub. "Is much more exciting."

Eren felt Nicolas burry his face into Eren's neck. "What? You gonna be shy now?" He glanced down but the boy was not moving from his spot. "You know your uncle, it hasn't been that long."

Armin reached out to scratch at Nicolas' side as he walked by to put the food in the kitchen causing the boy to squirm and laugh against Eren.

"Mikasa," Sasha said, though she sounded more like she was about to cry than anything which Eren understood, they were the only girls left from their training class. He wasn't sure if it was because Mikasa already had a child and another on the way, or if it was just because it was the way she always was but he couldn't help but notice how much she looked like a mom when she opened her arms to Sasha.

"How old is the little guy?" Jean asked from his new spot leaning against the couch near Eren.

He shook his arms a bit to get Nicolas to come out of hiding. "Hey, Jean asked you how old you are. You gonna tell him?" Eren watched Nicolas's green eyes moved from Eren to Jean and back to Eren again. The boy shook his head and tried to hide his face again.

"C'mon," Eren moved one of his hands holding Nicolas and tickled his side causing him to cry out in laughter as he tried to move away from Eren's hands, the apple falling to the floor long forgotten. "This is Jean; he was in the Scouting Legion with me, Uncle Armin, and Mama. He's a friend."

Nicolas's eyes lit up at "Scouting Legion" like Eren though they would; Nicolas sat up in Eren's arms as the boy looked at Jean with much more interest. "I'm five," Nicolas said holding one hand up to show he meant five.

Jean looked up to Eren with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that," Eren rolled his eyes; though he could hear Armin laughing in the kitchen. "I asked Mikasa to marry me before we found out she was pregnant."

"Were you really in the military too?" Nicholas asked, his wide eyes still on Jean.

"Yeah, I still am actually. So is Sasha." Jean pointed over to the girl who was still talking to Mikasa.

"Do you have stories?"

"Of course, we have stories," Sasha exclaimed, probably hearing her name triggering her attention to them. "And we'll tell you all the stories you want…provide they pass your mom and dad's approval."

"They don't like it when you tell Nic stories of when they used to get in trouble," Armin snorted. "Trust me."

"That's because he has a long way to go before he reaches those years," Mikasa said, walking to meet Armin in the kitchen but Eren put a hand on her arm to stop her as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Are you guys hungry at all?" Mikasa asked turning to face the others.

"Already have it under control." Armin waved a cucumber he was slicing over his head.

"Armin, you're a guest, get out of there. I can handle it." Mikasa didn't really look annoyed, more amused than anything.

"And you didn't tell me you were pregnant again. Go sit down and relax, I can cook."

Mikasa looked like she was going to fight again, and she probably would have until Armin sat down put Eren put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her out of the kitchen. "You've been out all morning, sit down to relax and let Armin have his way." Eren hoisted Nicolas up who had been falling down in his arms and walked over to the other couch in the room to sit down. Eren adjusted the boy so his legs were kicked across Eren's legs, Nicolas' head still on Eren's shoulder signaling Nicolas didn't want to move at all while Mikasa sat down next to them.

"I'd ask what you've been up to," Sasha said, and grin on her face and taking her seat back on the couch with Jean following suit. "But I think that's pretty obvious."

Eren snorted. "We have a bit more free time than we did in the military and sometimes this…" Eren shook his arms a bit causing Nicolas to whine as he reached up to rub his eyes, his head falling against Eren's shoulder. "Is what happens."

"Like that ever stopped you before," Armin said from the kitchen.

Jean groaned. "Jesus, can we change the subject. There are about a thousand more things I'd rather think about."

Sasha elbowed him in the arm. "This is exciting, moron. A new generation that has no fear of what we grew up fearing." She looked back to Mikasa. "How much longer do you have?"

"Around four months," she answered, her fingers lightly tapping on her stomach.

"Bets on the gender?" Jean asked, leaning back into his seat on the couch.

"A girl," Eren said earning a light hit on his arm from Mikasa. "What? He asked my opinion and that's what it is."

"It's only because you've always insisted on it being a girl." Mikasa was still smiling though.

"Well, if I'm right, I'm right." He reached over to rub his hand over her stomach; it only took a moment to feel the familiar feeling of a foot kicking against his hand. "I think she agrees."

Mikasa rolled her eyes as she looked back to the others. "What about you? How's the military been treating you?"

Eren expected Nicolas to jump up at the word "military" but when Eren glanced down, the boy's eyes were already closed, his breathing steady against Eren's neck.

"Same old, same old," Sasha waved off the question. "Well, not exactly same old because we don't fight Tit-" she cut off with a glance to Nicolas. "How much does he know?"

Mikasa reached down to brush some of Nicolas' hair out of his sleeping face. "He knows some. He knows we were in the Scouting Legion and that we lived within the walls. He knows we fought for humanity but we haven't had the heart to tell him just what we were fighting." She leaned back and placed a hand on her stomach again. "No need to scare him over the past."

"There's a school down in town and next year he'll be old enough to go so he'll have to learn eventually because I'm sure they'll teach the students about the world we used to live in. I'll tell him before then but for now he's happy with the stories we tell him," Eren said. Him and Mikasa had talked for many nights about how they should tell their son about the hell they lived through but it could wait. The past was done and over with.

"Oh my God," Sasha said, her eyes shining. "You're such parents. It's hard to believe you're the same people in our training class.

"They're the same people," Armin said, sitting back down in the armchair. "Just a little older and wiser now."

"Older maybe, not wiser," Eren snorted. "But seriously, enough about us. What's going on with you guys and everyone else?"

"Well," Sasha looked up in thought as if trying to recall things that would be interesting. "The military branches are still the same. The Stationary Corps still take care of the walls and also was tasked with the rebuilding of the destroyed areas. The Military Police still handle the people through they're working on relocating people who want to leave the walls or just move to another section for more room. Us at the Scouting Legion are off mapping and checking out the new areas as I'm sure, thanks to Armin, you're well aware of. We're getting a lot more members now that the death toll has shrunk incredibly."

"We've been out on a few missions over the years and the mapping process has grown incredibly, but that's mainly due to Armin," Jean said to which the blond waved him off. "Hanji is still the Commander, running almost all the different sections of the Scouting Legion where Levi is right under her but he mainly takes care of the missions outside the walls and pushing our territory farther."

While Eren was glad that things were progressing good to take back the outside world for humanity, there was something he had wanted to know, something that was hard to ignore now that two of the remaining and still active 104th training corps was sitting in front of him. "Any luck with finding the others?"

Jean glanced over to Sasha who glanced down at her hands. Clearly there was no good answer here.

"There been no trace of Reiner and Bertholdt since the last time we saw them around six years ago," Armin said, leaning forward in the chair. "Where they went or if they are even still alive is a mystery. The same would go for Ymir and Annie."

"That's not entirely true," Sasha said, looking back up. "We thought we had a trail left by Annie at one point."

"Well, that was a little complicated," Armin said not looking too believing himself. "Just because a distant seemingly blonde figure led your lost squad out of the woods doesn't mean it was her. The world is very vast now; I don't know if we'll ever know what happened to them."

Eren felt the way the mood in the room dropped significantly speaking about their old comrades; they weren't the only ones, but the others they at least knew what happened to. As long ago as it was, it was hard to forget the things they saw, the people they lost. It really only made Eren want to make sure his family had the most normal life imaginable, something both he and Mikasa never had.

"I think your water is boiling, Armin," Mikasa said, gesturing to the steam coming from the kitchen with a small smile.

Armin jumped up to his feet, rushing over to the lunch that was momentarily forgotten.

"Hey, Eren," Sasha asked, her voice a little more hesitant than it had been. "Can I ask you something personal?"

"Yeah, go ahead." His forehead furrowed though, he wasn't quite sure what Sasha would have to ask about first before just asking him.

"Do you ever wonder if…" she gestured to the sleeping boy in Eren's arms. "Is gonna take more after you in certain regards?"

Which Eren knew she was delicately asking if he thought being a shifter was hereditary. "It's something I thought about the entire time Mikasa was pregnant. I was terrified it was. I'd never want to subject my children to that." He felt a warm hand on his leg which he recognized as Mikasa's without having to look.

"We had Hanji come out when he was born and she couldn't see anything abnormal," Mikasa explained. "She told us to keep an eye out but nothing out of place for a growing boy. Hanji thought because Eren was injected with it, that he couldn't pass it on."

"Lunch is just about set if you guys want to move in here," Armin called, stirring something in a pot but Eren couldn't exactly tell what it was; not that he was gonna question it, Armin was always a better cook than him and Mikasa.

"How long are you two planning on staying?" Mikasa asked, pushing herself up to her feet.

"We're down at an inn in town so maybe a week or so," Sasha said, her face looking bright again.

"A week at the least, I need my vacation." Jean was already headed over to the kitchen, Armin handing him plates to put on the table.

Eren hoisted Nicolas back up in his arms as he stood up, the boy not waking even a little bit. He moved Nic up so his head rested on Eren's shoulder as he headed for the stairs to put his son in bed before going to eat whatever Armin made up. A laugh caught his attention though; he turned around from his spot on the first step of the stairs to see Jean telling Sasha something that made her laugh, Mikasa's laugh followed shortly as she set a few things on the table. Armin made a comment too but Eren didn't hear what it was, he only saw the kids they used to be years and years ago.

It was bittersweet, knowing this room should be filled with so many more laughs. A smile pulled at his lips; he could almost hear Reiner's deep voice laughing, Bertholdt would make sure he was the one setting the table while Annie sat down trying to look like she didn't care. Connie would be making everyone laugh even harder with some goofy face; Nicolas would've loved him. Ymir would've been snarky but underneath it she would've been happy as long as Historia was happy, and she would've helped Armin cooking in the kitchen.

Sasha ushered Mikasa into a chair, taking whatever was in her hands from her before passing them to Jean to place them. He gave some exasperated exclamation but Armin just waved his mixing spoon telling him to listen to the women.

At the same time, it was just good to hear the ones that were still here.