Pairing: Eren/Mikasa

Setting: Somewhere current time in canon

Words: 2203

Rating: K

Notes: Anon requested Eren trying to calm Mikasa down after a nightmare and ending up breaking down himself until Armin comes in to tell them a story so they could sleep. You know I love my Brot3 so how could I possibly resist? The title is from "Goodnight" by Evanescence.

Because We Said Goodnight and Not Goodbye

It was the crying that woke Eren up first but it was the screaming that came shortly after had him sitting up in bed. Instinctively he turned towards Mikasa who was supposed to be sleeping next to him, but judging by the tears on her face, the way her face was contorted in fear, and the cries falling from her lips there wasn't much sleeping going on.

"Hey, hey," he said, reaching his hands for her face to try and get her out of her nightmares. "Mikasa, it's only a dream. Everything's okay, it's just a dream."

Her body stopped twitching but she was still crying and her eyes sealed shut.

"Mikasa," Eren called again, shaking her a little bit this time. "It's just a dream, there's nothing to be afraid of. I promise you."

Her eyes snapped open and Eren breathed a small breath of relieve. Mikasa looked around the room still in a panic from her dream, like she was trying to pick up what was real from whatever her head was tormenting her over. Her eyes landed on him. "Eren?" she asked, her voice so soft and so broken that his own heart nearly broke at the site of her.

"Yeah, I'm right here."

Tears filled up Mikasa's eyes again as she started to cry again.

Eren didn't know what was haunting her tonight, though there was enough to go around he was sure, but it really didn't matter. He reached down to pull her into his arms as he laid back down on the bed. "You're okay, Mikasa. It's okay, it was just a dream."

Her fingers curled into his shirt as she rolled into his touch, her head falling against his shoulder as she cried. "You were dead," she choked. "I watched you die."

"I'm right here." He reached one hand up to the back of her head, holding her against him. "It was just a dream. I'm right here, I haven't gone anywhere." He understood, there were plenty of nights it was him instead of her, dreaming of the past, of the future he never wanted to come. He couldn't count how many times he watched her die in his dreams.

A shiver went down his spine; he knew all too well how haunting those images were. "It was just a dream," he said again, rubbing his hand against her back trying to get her to calm down. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I can't lose you," she cried. "Please, Eren, I can't."

Her words were so simple but they cut straight through him. Her voice was so filled with a desperate emotion, one he didn't see from her very often, one that broke his heart. Mikasa lost so much in her life, including him once when they thought he was dead; he never wanted her to feel that again, to live through that again. He shut his eyes as his own tears started to well up in his eyes.

"I know, I know," he said softly, tucking his head against hers and pulling her closer to him. "I can't lose you either."

She shook her head against him but if she was trying to talk no words were coming out.

Why were they born into this world? It just wasn't fair. Sure, they made the choice to put their lives in danger every day for the betterment of humanity, but the fact they had to make that choice just didn't seem fair. All Eren wanted was a world where he could see Mikasa smile every day, where she didn't have to be afraid of nightmares every night, where the horrors of the past and the uncertainty of the future didn't loom over her. It just wasn't fair. The tears he felt rolling down his cheeks weren't for him, they were for the one person he wanted to be happy but the one person who because of his choices might never get to have that chance.

Eren cracked his eyes open when he heard the distinct crack of his door opening. Even through his blurry sight and the darkness of the room, he could tell Armin's form just about as well as Mikasa's.

Armin didn't say anything as he entered the room, he just sat down on the edge of the bed; his room wasn't too far away, he probably heard Mikasa.

Her cries were getting quieter, starting to be more like whimpers than anything. Eren wasn't sure if she heard Armin come in or if she was just calming down on her own.

"What's up, buddy?" Eren asked, trying to clear his throat from being choked up with emotions.

"I thought you might be having trouble sleeping," Armin said very casually though Eren very well knew if Armin heard Mikasa there was no "thinking" they couldn't sleep. "And I thought you might wanna hear a story to help."

Eren reached up to wipe his face and he couldn't hold back a small smile. Leave it to Armin to remember how he used to put Eren and Mikasa to sleep when they were kids. "What do you think?" Eren asked looking down to Mikasa, who still had her face pressed up into his shoulder. "Wanna hear a story?"

She nodded against Eren.

"Alright," he said. "We're all ears."

Armin nodded and pulled up his legs onto the bed so was facing them. "Once upon a time," he started like all of his stories did. "There was a faraway country. It was a large land, full of lush forests, bright gardens, sparkling blue water, prosperous fields, and a beautiful kingdom where all the people who lived were happy till the end of their days. Despite the glory of this kingdom though, there was the outskirts of the land where the poorest of poor lived. No one in the kingdom ever paid any attention to the people of this part of the land and never gave them anything but the rejects of their crops and their old torn up clothing.

"The people of the outskits never dreamed of being able to live in the kingdom and never bothered with fantasies of seeing themselves there; they just continued their sad lives until they died. That was with the exception of three young children, two boys and one girl."

Eren snorted but Armin gave him a look that stopped Eren from making a comment.

"These three," Armin continued, though not without a roll of his eyes and a smile. "Were the best of friends since they were little kids. The boys had known each other longer than they knew the girl, but they loved her like they had known her just as long. Despite hardships they faced, one of the boys and the girl having already lost their parents, they loved to dream about living in the kingdom. The first boy wanted to be a knight, and protect the people and the land from beasts and attackers. The second boy wanted to explore the land and see everything he could to see. The girl wanted to be a beautiful maiden and so the first boy would notice her how she longed for him to.

"Aside from being from the outskirts, the three friends faced other issues when it came to their dreams. The first boy was too brash and hot headed; he got into fights with the enforcers in town, as opposed to getting their favor. The second boy was too meek and fearful to leave his home and travel into the unknown. The girl was to shy and embarrassed to tell the first boy how she felt."

Eren looked down when he felt Mikasa's body shake, hoping she wasn't crying again but her face was turned towards Armin, a small smile on her face; she was laughing. Eren rolled over a bit in bed, still keeping on arm around her but giving her a little bit more room to watch Armin. "So how'd they get out?" Eren asked.

"I'll tell you if you're patient," Armin gave his usual response; it made Eren smile, reminded him of a simpler time. "As you might've guessed, the three did leave the outskirts, their dreams were big enough to do so but it took many years until they were of age in the kingdom. The first boy was the first one to leave when a group of knights came by to recruit more people; he left with them proud that he was finally going to serve the country. The second boy was next when an explorer's guild stopped at the store he worked at and asked the boy to come as an apprentice. The girl was last when a group of women from the king's court happened to notice her sweeping outside and took her to be a maiden of the court."

"So they all got what they wanted?" Mikasa asked, her voice a little hoarse still, but she seemed much more relaxed now, her head leaning against Eren.

"They did and they were very happy about it after all their dreams were coming true."

"But…?" Eren prompted.

"But," Armin agreed with a small laugh. "Not everything was as it seemed. The first boy became a full-fledged knight, the second boy a seasoned explorer, and the girl the most beautiful maiden in the kingdom and at first everything did seem wonderful but they slowly began to see where their wishes led them.

"The Knight was in the castle one day, checking in for his next assignment when he noticed his old friend, the Maiden sitting in the King's courtroom. He was at first relieved to see that she was safe in the kingdom, feeling guilty of his choice to leave her alone in the outskirts and second, he was almost instantly in love. The Knight always had a soft spot for the Maiden though he never told her; now they were grown and she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. The Maiden was of course overjoyed to see the Knight. Despite the fact wealthy suitors from all around had come to ask the Maiden's hand in marriage, her heart always belonged to the Knight. They quickly fell in love but it wasn't as happy as they would've wanted.

"You see, Knights couldn't marry so they wouldn't lose focus on their duty and the Knight knew this. The King also didn't have a daughter, and wanted the Maiden to marry and become the princess of the country; she knew he would never let her be with the Knight even if she asked. They suddenly found themselves at a crossroads. Did they chose their dreams, or chose each other?

"The Explorer wasn't quite having the time that he thought he would either. As much as he loved seeing the kingdom and wandering through all these new places, he missed his old friends more than anything and just wanted to see their faces. He decided to take a trip to the castle to visit, knowing the both of them were there. They were happy to see the Explorer and he was more than happy to see them but it was quite clear when they were together that something was wrong. Both the Knight and the Maiden explained their dilemma to which the Explorer spoke about how lonely he was without them. Their dreams had come true, but they now found themselves longing for their outskirts where they could just be happy together."

"Did they run away?" Mikasa asked, though Eren noticed her voice was a lot softer, her eyes half lidded.

"Nearly," Armin nodded. "The Knight resigned, telling his Captain there was someone more important than fighting monsters and attackers. The explorer told his guild he was going back to write a book of his explorations. The Maiden was the one who couldn't get out that easily, not under the clutches of the king and the suitors who wanted her. The Explorer cut her long hair off, and the Knight dirtied her face and dress still thinking she was just a beautiful as ever. They took her all the way back to the outskirts they had so longed to get rid of but now, nothing felt more right to the three friends. The end."

Eren let the silence sit for a moment. "The moral being you don't always know what you have till it's gone?"

"Well, yeah," Armin agreed with a laugh. "But I was really just trying to get her to fall asleep."

Eren looked down to Mikasa and sure enough, she was sound asleep against him. "It worked," he yawned, adjusting his arm so it wouldn't fall asleep under her.

"Worked on you too." Armin pushed himself up to his feet, heading back to the door.

"Hey, Armin."

He turned back around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Armin smiled again, but this time it was a little different; there was a little more brightness to his eyes. "Anything for the Maiden and the Knight."

"I'm gonna get you back for that hot headed comment."

"Eren, you're just proving my point."

He chuckled, resting his head back against the pillow near Mikasa. "Goodnight, buddy."

Armin waved back as he turned to shut the door behind him. "Night."