Chapter Text
After the coronation of queen, the town square was festive, bustling with civilians and military personnel alike. It was after dark already, but excitement and music was in the air as the people danced in the firelight.
Eren watched with tired eyes as he sat on the steps leading uptown, looking down over the courtyard. It was hard to feel uplifted though, despite the happiness and rejoicing going on around him. These people… they didn't know what had been done to save them. They didn't know who had stained their hands with blood to ensure their security. They didn't know how that beast had appeared. They didn't know what their queen would have become had she made a different choice.
His shoulders slumped as he tried to push away those thoughts. The rest of his squad had been with him, as subdued as he was, probably all of them just ready to turn in for the night. That is, until Sasha had stood up, a wide smile on her face, although her eyes were wide with anything but.
"Let's dance, you guys," she'd said to them.
"Stop talking nonsense, will ya?" Connie replied, and Sasha shook her head.
"No, let's just dance tonight, okay? Cry, scream, sleep later. We won, and that doesn't happen as often as we wish and fight for it. So let's dance in our victory, with these people we saved."
They all stared up at her blankly, but most likely, each of them would be lying if they said her little speech hadn't moved them at least the tiniest bit.
With a sigh, Mikasa had stood and walked over to Sasha.
"Let's dance," she said softly and Sasha had beamed.
So now, each of them were dancing out with the civilians. Connie was clinging to Sasha's hand, tears streaming down his face as she led him through the weaving dancers. Mikasa and Armin were with Jean, somehow caught up in a ring of children. Despite everything, he could see smiles on their faces, even the tiniest of smiles gracing Mikasa's mouth.
Eren had refrained. He couldn't stop thinking about how he hadn't saved these people. He hadn't done anything but get kidnapped again… And he'd only cried through that instead of actually doing anything useful. His team, his friends, they'd killed numerous people, sacrificed that part of themselves he'd lost long ago to save him. Always, he needed saving. Maybe it would've been better if Historia had eaten him. Then at least this power could go to someone who could actually be useful with it.
He knew why that couldn't be, but still, it was hard not to think about.
The music was slower now, and the hectic movements calmed into easy dancing, swaying to and fro. It had almost become lethargic. He was so caught up in it that it took him a few moments to realize Mikasa was standing over him.
"Mikasa?"
She didn't say anything, just held out her hand. Eren stared at her, then away. "Look, I just-"
Mikasa bent down and gripped both of his hands in hers, startling him into silence.
"We're all hurting, Eren," she murmured quietly, her eyes boring into his. "Please dance."
Eren blinked, then relented. "Alright."
Without letting go of his hand, she led him into the courtyard, making their way through the bodies of people moving to the music until she stopped, pulling him lightly to stand in front of her. When they stopped, it dawned on Eren that he really had no idea how to dance.
"Mikasa, I don't-"
She shook her head, clasping the fingers of her hands with both of his, holding him before her as she swayed. It was simple. Easy.
They fell into rhythm without another word, barely moving their feet as they looked each other in the eye. There was something calming there, in the touch of her hands, in the light of her eyes. A softness he rarely saw. That smile was back, but so was the shining layer of moisture threatening to overflow. Just like when they'd thought they were going to die in those fields, the words they'd said, but then they hadn't died, and everything just continued to get worse.
Eren breathed out a long breath, releasing one of her hands to wrap around her back, similar to how the other dancing couples were. Her eyes widened for a moment, then she settled, placing her hand on the back of his shoulder.
They didn't say a word. Not a single one. But even so, Eren had never really felt closer to her. It was comfortable. It was relieving to dance to the melody that drifted gently through the air. He didn't need her to speak to know what she was trying to say, nor he to her. They didn't always have that, much of the time arguing or tense about one misunderstanding or another. This moment was different. In this moment as they danced, watching each other intently, he knew her wholly and completely, and she him. It was a strange feeling, and the thoughts of it seemed to conceal his worries for the time being.
Mikasa opened her mouth to say something, and Eren internally begged her not to. Don't bring us back to reality yet , he pleaded. Don't take us from this moment.
Instead of speaking, she closed her eyes, bowing her head until it rested against his shoulder, her hair brushing his face. He continued to sway them to and fro, Mikasa following where he moved his feet. He didn't really know what he was doing, but he knew that whatever the proper way was like, he wasn't doing it. But that didn't matter.
All too soon, the music changed, picking up into the quicker-paced, high energy celebration once more. Eren was reluctant to release her, and she seemed just as reluctant to pull away from him. For a few moments, the excited dancers wound around them as they stood stationary, and though Eren knew it couldn't last forever, he almost believed it could if they continued to hold onto each other while the rest moved around them.
Then a careless shoulder bumped into him, and the spell was broken. His heart ached as the world turned back to it's normal, bitter clarity, the hazy magic woven around them fading. Mikasa moved back, looking up at him, her stormy eyes illuminated by the shining torchlight. There were questions there, questions he didn't know the answers to because he couldn't guess what the questions were.
He should say something, he knew, but he couldn't think of a word.
Slowly, she squeezed his hand gently, then untangled herself from him as she glanced around the courtyard. "I think I'm ready to return to the base," she said softly, and Eren could see as the stress and fatigue settled over her once more. Hell, he probably looked about the same.
He wasn't ready to return.
"Do you want to take a walk, actually? It's not too late yet," he said quietly, and it was nice to watch the pleasantly surprised look cross her face.
"Okay," she replied softly.
He grasped her hand tighter, leading her out of the bustle of festivities, into the peaceful darkness of the city streets.