Chapter Text
It was a warm day, in the middle of August. The sun was shining brightly at the citizens of Shiganshina. People were sitting outside cafes, drinking coffee amd catching up with some old friends. Parents were on walks with their children in strollers, and those who could walk, were playing hopscotch, tag, and other children's games out in the sun. Some kids were even splashing around in the nearby water fountain. Meanwhile, Eren was serving customers while his mother baked in the back
Once the rush was over, a small sigh came from Eren out of relief. He began cleaning up the typical lunch-rush mess consisting of coffee grounds, which were spilled on the counter, crumbs, and some spilled milk and empty milk cartons which were thrown into the bin, but missed and left on the ground. Eren was deep in his thoughts while cleaning up some spilled milk under the counter, that he didnt even hear the next customer coming in
"Good morning" A voice came from above. That same, angelic and gentle voice... Eren got startled and accidentally hit his head on the counter while he was getting up and let out a groan. The girl gasped, and quickly peeked over the counter to see Eren holding his head. "Oh my goodness, Eren, are you okay?"
"Yeah... yeah I'm alright.. what can I get you today, Mikasa?" He said as he stood up to look at her. He was holding the top of his head awkwardly with a slight red tint on his cheeks from embarrassment
"Goodness... well, as long as you're alright... I'll take three lattes please" She smiled. Eren was captivated. The blush on his cheeks deepened as he saw the smile that could brighten an entire room. Her teeth were slightly stained. They weren't yellow, but had a healthy tint to them, they were slightly uneven, and she had a chipped canine on the right. Some say those are imperfections, but for Eren, those were the things that made her even more beautiful. He couldnt quite put a word on it; natural? charming? more... human? And not like those edited pictures of models on magazines? Perfect imperfections, perhaps
Eren nodded and got to work. Mikasa was looking around, admiring the decor of the cafe. She looked at Eren, and asked
"Do you own this cafe?"
The young man looked at her, and shook with head with a charming smile, "No, my mom owns this place. She got this place before I was even born"
"I see... and how did she like the flowers, by the way?" She slightly tilted her head
"She loved them, thank you so much again for them" Eren smiled
Just then, Carla came out from the back with a fresh tray of Danish pastries. When she saw Mikasa, she put the tray down, and took her gloves offas she walked closer to her
"Oh, you must be Mikasa! Eren told me how you brought your flowers. Oh my gosh, you're so pretty!" Carla chuckled softly as she looked Mikasa up and down. MIkasa smiled back, she was turning sightly red from the praise and compliments
"Thank you. I must say, Mrs. Yeager, you dont look a day over 30 yourself" She giggled, as she took Carla's hands
A bit of back and forth went on between Carla and Mikasa. Eren smiled to himself, until he finished the coffees and placed them in a cardboard carry tray. Carla noticed this, and quickly walked behind the counter and put some pastries in a bag and put them next to the coffees "Here you go, sweetheart, on the house"
"Oh my... I'm sorry, I can't accept such generosity. I have already got free coffee the last time I came..." Mikasa said, with a confident tone
"Nonsense, dont worry about it and take it" Carla insisted
Mikasa pouted, before taking out her wallet and unzipping it. She took out ten dollars, and placed it into a tip jar. "If I wont pay for the coffee, let me at least pay for your generosity" She said. Before Carla could protest, Mikasa already had the coffee and pastry in her hands and was out the door
"What a sweet girl..." Carla sighed with a smile
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A week later, a young man with blond hair, and blue eyes walked into the cafe. He smiled once he saw Eren behind the counter
"Armin, my man" Eren cheerfully exclaimed before walking up to him, and greeted him with a tight hug "Woah, Eren, its been a while" Armin chuckled as he patted his back with his hand
"What are you doing back in Shiganshina? Didn't college start up again for you?" Eren pulled away, and firmly slapped Armin's back
"Yeah, but I got the week off. Apparently my professors got sick and had to cancel the lectures" Armin replied
"Right. The usual?" Eren said with his eyebrow raised and a playful smirk on his lips, "White chocolate mocha, with oat milk?"
"You know me so well" Armin laughed
Just then, the door opened. A woman of short statue came in. She had platinum blonde hair, which was tied in a bun and had some strands falling onto her face, blue eyes, and a hooked nose. She was wearing white jeans, along with a white hoodie. She had a rather sour look on her face, but it softened a little as soon as she saw Armin and Eren in the store
"An espresso, please" She asked, as she placed a 5 dollar bill on the counter
"Sure thing, ill get your change in a minute" Eren said, but was cut off "No need, keep it" She said, before sitting down at the chair and pulled out a book while she waited
Armin had a slight red tint on his cheeks once he saw her. He just couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. However, his eyes sparkled as soon as she saw the book the young girl was reading; Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
He gave Eren a quick look. Due to their long-lasting friendship since diapers, they basically knew how to communicate without speaking. Eren smirked at him as he made the coffee and slightly tilted his head, signalling him to talk to the beauty sitting just a mere 2 meters away from him
Armin nodded, before walking up
"May I join you?" He asked, as he pulled up a chair, waiting for her approval
"Go ahead" She said blankly, as she continued to read
He sat down in front of her, just on the opposite side of the table and gave her a warm smile, "I love that book too"
Her eyes slightly widened as she looked up from the book "You do?"
Armin nodded "One of my favourites. Its so well-written, despite the author being 18 years old when she wrote it"
And thats how it started. For the next two hours, Armin and the young woman talked about their favourite books and novels whilst sipping on their coffee. The young woman took a look at the watch on her wrist and said her farewell to Armin before leaving
Once they were done, Armin excitedly walked up to Eren
"So?" Eren raised an eyebrow
"Her name is Annie. Annie Leonhart. And she likes the same books at me!" He cheered "I already asked her to go on a date sometime"
"Damn, already? Well, someone wants some action then..." Eren teased, and Armin punched him in the arm
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The next day, Eren had a day off. So, he decided to visit Mikasa in her shop instead. He was wearing his casual clothes as he walked inside. There, he saw the same black-haired beauty, arranging a bouquet of flowers at the counter. Her eyes lit up once she saw Eren
"Eren! How are you?" She smiled
"Not too bad.. I have the day off" He said, as she looked around the shop "I see you're working though, but I just wanted to visit you, instead of you visiting me" He smiled, as he leaned on the counter
"Oh, I just dont have anything to do today... So I just came into work today" She shrugged
Eren stayed silent for a bit as he looked at Mikasa
"Do you want to do something together then?" He asked with a warm smile on his face
Mikasa's eyes widened "Really?"
"Of course. We can go grab an ice cream together, or some food if you want" Eren replied with a smight chuckle escaping his lips
Her pale cheels suddenly turned a slight shade of pink, which made Eren smile more "I'd love to... if thats okay with you"
Mikasa cleared her throat "Let me just get changed, and I'll tell my parents..." She said, before walking to the back. Eren could hear some talking between her and her father before silence filled his ears again. A tall man walked out. He had dirty blond hair and a slight stubble on his chin and jawline
"So you're Eren, huh?" He asked, as he leaned against the counter with his arms crossed
"Yes sir... Its nice to meet you" Eren smiled sheepishly before extending his hand to shake "Eren Yeager"
"...Arthur Ackerman..." He replied, as he shook Erens hand. He couldnt help but notice his rough, calloused hands, which squeezed his "You've got soft hands, son. Definitely not worker hands" He chuckled lowly
"No sir, not really. I work in the cafe next door" He replied
"I see... and what are your intentions with my daughter?" His face changed from kind, to intimidating in a second. Eren gulped
"Arthur, dont interrogate the poor boy..." A woman interrupted. She must've been Mikasa's mother, since they looked almost identical
"I'm sorry, dear. But I can't just let our only daughter go out with some stranger. I must know if he's good enough for our girl" Mr. Ackerman pouted
Mikasa's mother giggled "Dont worry about him, honey. He can be overprotective about Mikasa. You must be Eren, I'm Anne, her mother" She shook his hand "I must say, Mikasa talks quite a lot about you" She giggled again
Eren's eyes widen a little at her words. Just then, Mikasa walks out from the back in a new dress
"Mama! Papa!" She exclaimed, with a red face. She was clearly embarrassed by her mothers statement
"What? I'm just stating a fact" Her mom replied to her with a warm smile on her face
Mikasa pouted, and her father laughed loudly "Oh, my sweet girl, we're just making sure you're not going out with a creep. You're our only child afterall" He said, as he ruffled her hair
He his expression turned serious again as he looked at Eren "If you hurt my little girl, I will rip your legs out of your ass"
Eren gulped, as he nervously played with his fingers "I wont, I promise"
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After about an hour of walking around and talking, Eren noticed an ice cream stand nearby. He gently nudged Mikasa with his elbow, and tilted his head to signal her
"Oh.. sure, let me get my purse..." She said, as she took her bag off her shoulder, but was quickly stopped by Eren "Don't worry, its my treat"
"Oh, Eren, are you sure?"
"Positive"
He went over to the stand, and bought two swirled ice creams in a cone. They were milky white, so it mustve been the classic milk flavour. He handed one to Mikasa with a smile
Mikasa looked at the ice cream for a little before she spoke up "Ive never actually had ice cream before"
Eren's eyes widened mid lick "What? How have you never had ice cream before?"
"Well, when I was a kid, we were pretty poor... and we weren't able to buy stuff like this. So I never had it" She shrugged
Eren blinked a couple times "Well, I guess there's a first for everything. Go ahead and try it" He smiled
Mikasa noticed how a bit was dripping down the side. It was melting. He licked up the melted ice cream, all the way to the tip of the swirl. Her eyes glistened and she let out a happy giggle
"Its so good! So sweet..." She continued to lick the ice cream, eating it happily. Eren couldnt help but smile at the sight. He found it adorable. While she was eating the cone, he used this thumb to wipe off the bit of ice cream left over on the corner of her cheek
"Oh dear... am I really dirty?" She said, completely flustered
"Nah, just that little bit there..."
Another two hours pass. They were a reasonable distance from both of their establishments and were talking on a bench nearby, getting to know each other. It seemed as if time had slowed down, and it was just them two in the world. Eren talked about how he has a brother, studying abroad and about his family, which included his childhood and the memories. Mikasa also talked about her childhood. Not in great detail like Eren, but still happily talked about her parents. She revealed how she had a baby brother, which unfortunately died when he was just an infant. Eren was looking at Mikasa with sympathy, since she was only 8 when it happened. He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly at her
Just as he was about to speak, a water droplet fell on Mikasa's nose. He looked up, and saw how it was about to rain
He quickly took his jacket off, and put it over Mikasa's shoulders, making her heart skip a beat and her stomach doing flips before running to their shops. They waved to each other as they parted ways
Mikasa ran inside the shop and sighed, keeping the jacket wrapped around her. Thanks to Eren, she barely got wet from the rain...
Eren ran into his room and quickly closed the door. He leaned against it and sighed. He placed his hand on his mouth, but couldn't help but notice how hot his cheeks were
"Mikasa... what are you doing to me...?" He muttered to himself