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Of all the days to be put on patrolling duty in the Survey Corps, snowy days were among the worst. You had to trudge through slushy white mush the entire way, and if you weren’t wearing socks that were at least somewhat thermal, your toes could say a hearty hello to frostbite. That’s to say nothing of the cold in the air, which was made worse on windy days.
Unfortunately for Eren and Mikasa, it just so happened that today was one of those nipping, windy winter days.
Eren prided himself in being a strong soldier. He’d seen horrors the likes of which most people in the inner walls had only heard stories about. He’d been caught in innumerable, horrifying situations, witnessed countless people die, and even nearly died himself a few times along the way. It had hardened him to the horrors of the outside world and the ruthless, bloodthirsty titans that inhabited it.
So why couldn’t he stand this little bit of cold? Dammit, he’d been eaten by a titan, literally became a titan, and had so many other gruesome encounters he couldn’t keep track of anymore. This was just inconvenient weather.
Still, he couldn’t seem to get his body to stop shaking. It was getting to the point where he was overexerting himself, weighed down by his 3DM gear and slowed by his recurrent shivers. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself, and though it provided some relief, it still wasn’t enough.
It was never enough. They never had enough to stop the titans, not entirely anyways. Somehow, they always ended up being underprepared for some unforeseen circumstance, always ended up falling short. He couldn’t keep letting that happen. It was a slippery slope; one second, he’d be so cold he could hardly move, and the next there’d be a titan right on top of him, and he wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it because he was frozen. He couldn’t allow something like that to happen, he couldn’t let the titans win, it was his destiny to defeat them, and he’d be damned if some stupid cold was going to be what cut his life short before he got to fulfill his ultimate purpose in the war against the titans-
“Eren,” Mikasa calmly addressed her companion.
Snapping back to the present moment, Eren shook himself and turned to address Mikasa. She’d been walking silently beside him for their entire patrol, watching him space out.
“You’re not having obtrusive thoughts about titans again, are you?” Mikasa tilted her head at him, earnestly trying to decipher his expression.
“Uh…no,” Eren lied, shaking himself again to solidify the present moment. “It’s just cold out here. It’s breaking my concentration.”
Though Mikasa suspected he wasn’t telling the truth about thinking of titans, she did believe Eren was struggling with the cold. He’d been in a daze for quite a while, and even before that she’d glanced towards him and noticed him shivering under his cloak.
It was certainly no secret that she cared deeply for Eren; after going through the sort of trauma they had even before they’d trained to be soldiers, they had a bond that would last for life. Back when they were kids, they’d protected each other from those deranged kidnappers, and in doing so forged an unspoken pact to keep protecting each other. That scarf Eren had put on her solidified that pact, and she’d worn it ever since.
Mikasa’s hand rose to clutch the fabric of her ever-present red scarf. No matter what action she took, however grand or live-saving, nothing ever felt sufficient to convey her gratitude to Eren.
Maybe she didn’t need something grand or live-saving; maybe a simple gesture would do.
Loosening the knot of her scarf, Mikasa unwound the red cloth from around her neck layer by layer. She could already feel the cold seeping in, but she didn’t care. She’d had her turn to be warm.
“Mikasa, your scarf!” Eren cried in surprise. He couldn’t recall ever seeing her without it, and to see her removing it was beyond shocking.
“Here,” Mikasa ignored him, positioning the untied scarf around his neck and wrapping it around him.
Caught off-guard, Eren froze and stood in place, staring at Mikasa with startled, jade eyes. He was too flabbergasted to do anything to stop her as she circled the scarf around his neck, carelessly tossing the loose end over the top of his head. That loose end slowly slipped and slid down to his shoulder.
Staring down at himself, Eren was at a loss for words. He hadn’t worn this scarf since…that night he’d given it to Mikasa. He’d forgotten just how warm it really was, and even after only seconds of wearing it, he could already feel a significant difference in his body temperature.
“That ought to keep you warm, right?” Mikasa asked, recalling with pristine clarity the same words Eren had given her the night of her kidnapping.
Eyes widening as he recognized the words, Eren pulled the scarf up a little higher, hoping to hide the blush that was creeping up his face. Taking a shaky breath, he exhaled, “I think so.”
It wasn’t particularly common to see Mikasa smile, but she couldn’t hide a grin when Eren repeated back her own words from so long ago. There wasn’t much of anything else to say, so they wordlessly stumbled back to patrolling.
They only made it a few feet further before Eren abruptly asked, “Y-you’re not giving this back to me, are you?”
The worry in his voice made Mikasa eager to dispel his fear. “No. I’d like it back after we’re done patrolling.”
The relief in Eren’s half-hidden face was evident. The last thing he’d want from Mikasa was for her to return the meaningful gift after all that they’d been through.
As the pair continued their patrol, Eren walked on free of obtrusive thoughts about titans. But other obtrusive thoughts began to take their place, born from upwelling affection for the girl confidently ambling along to his right. He was no stranger to these thoughts, but with her distinct smell enveloping him from her scarf and the girl in question so close to his side, there was no escaping them.
For once, though…he was alright with letting his guard down. If it meant having a moment of shared tenderness in their chaotic lives, however short, he would take it.
Thus ends the nineteenth day of Christmas.