Pairing: Eren/Mikasa
Setting: Modern Day AU; Where they grew up together
Words: 2582
Rating: K
April 1st – First Date
It wasn't like Eren had never been on a first date before. He was seventeen years old for God's sake; he went on plenty of first dates. Granted they never amounted to much more than a handful of second dates, and a couple of third dates but still, first dates he knew, first dates he was good at. He never stood in front of his mom's mirror in yet another outfit staring blankly at himself feeling like he looked even more ridiculous than he did in the one before and he certainly never hit his head against said mirror in complete frustration in himself while his hands refused to stop shaking from his nerves.
"Why," he groaned against the mirror. This was the stupidest thing ever. He shouldn't be nervous. It was just a first date; he did it dozens of times. This was nothing new; except that it was new, this was different…this was very different because this time, he wanted nothing more than to completely impress the girl he was going out with as opposed to going just because he had a date.
"Any particular reason you're fogging up the mirror?"
Eren glanced over to the door to see his mom leaning up against her doorway, watching him with a very amused smile on her lips. "No," he grunted, but he also didn't make any move to step away from the mirror his head was still against.
His mom didn't buy it, not that he thought she would. She saw through him any time anyway and she was also aware of just what was transpiring tonight. He tried to not tell her, that look on her face being the main reason, but she got it out of him regardless. She stepped into the room, taking a seat on the neatly made bed. "Alright, come here before you give yourself a red mark on your forehead." She patted the seat next to her.
Eren really wasn't in the mood to hear anything from anyone, and he didn't have much time left. He glanced over to the digital clock on the dresser but that was a huge mistake. Considering his nerves now moved from shaking hands to feeling like he wanted to vomit he supposed maybe listening to his mom wouldn't be so bad. He trudged over to his parent's bed and sat down with a huff.
"What's going on? I don't think I've ever seen you change your clothes so much in one night in the entirety of your life."
Eren shrugged, feeling his cheeks heat up that she noticed. "I dunno."
"You dunno? Well, I think you do know." She paused for a moment looking over to him though Eren kept his eyes firmly on the floor. "It's okay to be nervous, Eren, there's no shame in that."
"Yeah, no shame maybe, but it's ridiculous," he mumbled. Ever since he asked her out yesterday he couldn't eat, he couldn't sit still, he couldn't even put on clothes. It was so stupid, but he couldn't stop himself.
"No, it's not even ridiculous." It sounded like she was trying not to laugh but it wasn't working very well.
Eren looked up to give her a glare but it did the complete opposite of what he intended as his mother decided now was the perfect time to burst into laughter. "I'm leaving," Eren said as he stood up to go back to his own room but she pulled him back down.
"Stop being dramatic," she said, traces of laughter still in her voice. "I'm sorry, it's just I don't think I've ever seen you come so undone over a date before. It's because of who it's with isn't it?"
Eren shrugged but he very well knew that was the truth. All the other girls he dated were because they had showed some kinda interest and he said why not, but this was very different. This wasn't just some girl at school or some girl he met somewhere. This wasn't just a whim he had; he planned it out and nearly backed down about ten times before he actually asked her.
"Eren." His mom's voice was softer this time. "It's just Mikasa, you've known her for years. There's no reason to be so nervous. You already know she likes you. She wouldn't have put up with you for nearly ten years if she didn't. She's already seen you at your worst…multiple times."
Yeah, like those thoughts were helping right now. "That's just it, Ma. There is no just Mikasa." He wiped the palms of his hands against his jeans. "She's not just some girl I don't care about. She's been one of my best friends since we were kids and she already knows everything about me."
"Shouldn't that be reassuring? She already knows you and she already likes you. If you don't believe that yet, trust me, she does. I've watched her pine after you until you opened up your eyes for years." It sounded like she was going to laugh again and Eren couldn't avoid the way his cheeks started to heat up.
"It isn't though," he grunted. "That makes it worse. She already knows everything about me, what're we supposed to talk about?"
"Eren, you act like you've never spent a single day with her alone before. There's been plenty of times it's been just you and her without Armin around. This is exactly the same, just maybe a bit more formal with different implications."
Well, that was true; it certainly wasn't the first time by a long shot it had just been the two of them. Was it the formality of it all that was making him nervous? After all, a first date was the first step to actually pursuing a romantic relationship. He knew that of course, he asked her out because he wanted that. He wanted this; he wanted to be with her more than he had ever wanted to be with another person before. It had terrified him when he first started to realize she was the one he had always wanted.
"I just…" Eren sighed, looking up to his mom. "Don't wanna screw it up."
There was a smile on his mom's face when he looked at her. "I've seen the way she looks at you, there're very few things you could do to screw it up. Just be yourself, that's who she fell for after all."
"Don't ask me why," he mumbled.
His mom did laugh this time. "Oh, I know why." She reached up to give him an affectionate ruffle of his hair though tried to swat her away. She stood up to her feet and headed back over to the doorway, but not before one last look back to Eren. "And try not to bring up that time you got gum in your hair and her mother had to shave your head."
"Ma," Eren groaned but she was already gone. With a sigh he walked back to his room and shut the door behind him. He did feel a little bit better as he pulled off the shirt he was wearing to grab the very first one he had put on that night but there was still an anxious buzz in his stomach. At least he stopped feeling like he was gonna throw up.
His mom was right, he knew Mikasa for years and years, they went through a lot together, and this was no different. Besides it was a good thing, it was what he wanted. It still didn't stop his hand from shaking when he grabbed his jacket off the bed.
It was probably a little bit early but he'd rather be early than late; Armin would probably never forgive him if Eren was late. He heard his mom and dad talking in the kitchen and Eren had every intention of not seeing them on his way out. "See you guys!" he called quickly when he reached the front door.
"Don't you dare, Eren Jaeger," his mother called, stopping him right as he was opening the door.
"C'mon," he groaned turning around to see both his mom and dad standing in the hallway. "Please don't make this more embarrassing."
"There's nothing embarrassing about it, son," His dad said, his arms across his chest and a grin on his face. "It's very natural. She's always been a lovely girl."
"Be sure to bring her home on time too. I'm sure her father would appreciate it," his mom said but the amused smile on her face wasn't making him feel better.
"I'm leaving now," Eren said shutting the door despite a few protests from his parents. He took a deep breath of the cool spring air to try and get rid of the buzzing in his head now. Okay, his parents were dealt with, only one set left before it was just him and Mikasa for the rest of the night. The thought of her parents though had dread dripping back into his stomach. He could close the door on his parents but not hers.
The lights were on in the house right across as Eren slowly made the familiar walk from his yard to Mikasa's yard. Her parents had always liked Eren well enough, as much as they could like their daughter's hyper, loud mouthed best friend. He wasn't quite sure how they felt about him asking her out though; he hadn't talked to Mikasa since he had asked. He swallowed hard as he raised his hand to knock on the brown door.
Please be Mrs. A, please be Mrs. A, please be Mrs. A, Eren chanted in his head, shifting his weight from his spot on the door step when he heard steps walking towards the door. It opened, spilling light onto Eren and it was pretty clear the shorter Asian woman was not the one to answer the door but the police chief instead.
"Hello, Mr. A," Eren greeted trying not to choke as he reached one hand up to scratch behind his head. It was a possibility Mikasa didn't tell her parents he asked her out on an actual date which would make this situation a lot less awkward. "Is Mikasa home?"
"Hey, Eren, come in she's just upstairs." Mr. A stepped aside to let Eren in before closing the door behind him.
"Hello, Mrs. A," Eren waved seeing Mikasa's mom sitting on the couch with a book in her lap. "How are you?"
"Very well, thank you," she smiled back at him. The look on her face was familiar but Eren couldn't quite place it, he was too busy focused on the way his blood was pounding in his ears.
Mr. A leaned up against the railing his eyes watching Eren. "Mikasa," he called up the stairs. "Your date is here."
Eren couldn't hold in the groan that fell from his lips. "Not you guys too," he said as both of her parents started to laugh. That's why Mrs. A's look was familiar, it was the same one his mom had on.
"Knock it off, you two promised." Mikasa's familiar voice sent a jolt down Eren's spine.
He looked up to the stairs to see Mikasa quickly making her way down. She really didn't look much different than she did any other day save for she had traded out her jeans and t-shirt for a casual dress and leggings and she looked as gorgeous as she always did. His heart started to race again but this time for a different reason.
If her parents started hassling him he didn't hear them not when her eyes met his. She rolled her eyes as she stepped down on the last step, her small smile on her lips. "They were too nosey I had to tell them," she said but her voice wasn't quite as firm as usual.
"Yeah, I know the feeling," he murmured still in a bit of a daze as she stopped in front of him. This was real; this was actually happening. He felt a smile pulling at his lips as she watched him. Yeah, his hands were still sweating but it seemed a little better now that she was standing in front of him.
Mr. A clearing his throat nearly had Eren jump out of his skin though. "Well, go on," Mr. A said though there was knowing grin on his lips. "Just be back by midnight please."
Mikasa turned to look at her dad, her eyebrow arched slightly. "That's later than usual."
"Yeah, that's cause I know where this one lives."
"Dad." Mikasa didn't quite sound as amused as her father looked.
"I've known him since he thought pulling your hair was a good way to show that he liked you, you know I trust him."
"I quickly learned that it wasn't," Eren said, feeling a bit more relaxed now that he knew Mr. A wasn't going to pull out his shot gun any time soon. "I'm pretty sure I still have the scars from her to prove it."
Mikasa elbowed him in the side but there was a smile on her lips again. "Okay, we're leaving now. Goodbye," she said grabbing a hold of Eren's arm to pull him out the door.
"Have fun!" Mrs. A called after them. It looked like Mr. A was about to say something too but the door was already closed.
"Sorry," Mikasa breathed when the door was closed. "You should have seen how they teased when I told them."
"I'm pretty sure I can imagine pretty well," Eren said gesturing to his own house across the street. He even thought he saw his mom peering out of one of the windows.
Mikasa laughed and it was impossible not to smile. "Yeah."
There was a silence that settled over them but it was awkward like Eren was expecting, no, it was actually quite normal. Maybe this wasn't so different after all; yeah, it was putting their relationship in a different category but she was still Mikasa.
"I'm sorry we have to cross the street to get back to my car," Eren said, leading the way across her yard.
"It's okay," she said. "I just might have to deduct first date points."
Eren arched an eyebrow at her. "You're deducting points already? I haven't even gotten a chance yet."
Mikasa was smiling when he looked over to her. "Maybe you should've driven across the street so your date didn't have to walk."
"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be huh. Okay." Eren close d the small distance between them, putting one hand around her back and the other under knees and pulled her up off the ground.
"What're you doing?" she laughed, swatting at his shoulder as he started to cross the street.
"Making up for having you walk to my car and get my first date points back."
"I think you skipped a few steps."
Eren glanced down at her about to ask what she meant but seeing her rested in his arms made him realize she was referring to the way he was carrying her bridal style across the road. "We've already been together for a long time. I think we can skip a few steps here and there."
Mikasa laughed again but this time she rested her head against his should.
He suddenly didn't care if his parents or her parents were still watching them; it was just him and Mikasa. He didn't feel all that nervous anymore.