Chapter Text
As soon as Mikasa pushed the front door open, she knew they were in trouble.
The house had what appeared to be a small living room, with small but well-placed windows, a nice television, and a cozy, carpeted floor. However, the room was crammed full of mis-matched furniture (much of which did not seem to belong in a living room at all), decorations, and chip bags in varying states of emptiness. A small forest of houseplants all but blocked the television from view. What appeared to be a bathroom sink was stashed in the corner, unconnected to any water source.
Along the walls, cabinets and bookshelves were lined with liquor bottles and collectible figurines. With the stagnant summer heat, the smell of unwashed bodies, weed, and neglect hung in the air.
A chalkboard balanced on the back of a couch read:
HOUSE RULES:
- BE YOURSELF
- DON’T BE BERTHOLDT
Mikasa sighed.
“Oh!” A tall man with a sensitive, thoughtful face was tending to the houseplants. Finally noticing Mikasa, he stood up, and extended a hand, which was covered in dirt. “Are you - “
“Where’s Eren.” Mikasa demanded, flatly. The man’s mouth hung slackly, and he pointed to the first room on the left.
Mikasa kicked the door open. Inside, Eren sprawled on a mattress, which lay directly on the floor with no bedframe or cushion. The moment he saw her, he cast his video game controller aside.
“Mikasa!” he cried, jumping up to embrace her. She gave him a strong squeeze back, feeling a rush of relief and gratitude to finally see him in person, to be able to wrap her arms around him and hold him tight.
They sat on the mattress together, catching up and exchanging light kisses. Mikasa bit back her reprimands and interrogatories about his schoolwork. For all her disappointment upon seeing the living room, she wasn’t surprised.
“It’s great to see you again,” Eren told her, filling Mikasa with a happy warmth. “I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone! Well, you met Reiner before.”
“Will you give me a tour?” Mikasa asked, smiling, knowing that Eren would be excited to show her around.
Eren showed her the bathroom, which, thankfully, was cleaner than the living room. However, the kitchen brought back the feeling of churning trepidation to Mikasa’s stomach. Several half-eaten food items were left out, some seeming fairly fresh and others...less so. A steady stream of ants marched from a hole in the wall, to a sticky spot near the trash can. The recycling bin was overflowing with beer bottles, with additional bottles stacked next to it.
“It’s good you’re recycling,” said Mikasa, searching for a positive note.
The countertops were covered with various items, including expected items like a microwave and toasters (but why did they have three toasters?), but also miscellany like a wrench, an unmarked glass vial, and a crumpled sweatshirt
Eren caught Mikasa’s eye and laughed nervously. “It’s not usually like this,” he said. “Bertholdt just tried one of his crazy recipes. He gets really down if they don’t turn out.”
“I see,” said Mikasa doubtfully, scanning the countertops. “So,” she said, to change the subject. “Which are everyone’s rooms?”
Eren had told her about his housemates. Reiner, she’d met before. He was several years older than Eren and served as something of a mentor, helping Eren pursue his dream of starting his own business. If Mikasa remembered correctly, Eren and Reiner met at a student event about business leadership. Reiner seemed like a put-together, stand-up guy. His clothes were always perfectly ironed. Mikasa hadn’t imagined him living in a dump like this.
The other two, Mikasa had never met, though she had heard they were both friends of Reiner’s. Bertholdt and Annie.
“Reiner has the largest bedroom. Then, this is Bertholdt’s room,” announced Eren, gesturing at a corner of the living room that seemed to be a nest of blankets, pillows, and clothing. There was no discernable shape or orientation to it. “He pays reduced rent because, you know, no privacy.”
“Makes sense,” said Mikasa. “Does he take care of the plants?”
“Yep!” said Eren cheerily. “Oh, so you saw him earlier?”
“Just for a second,” confirmed Mikasa. “He seems nice.”
“He is very nice,” said Eren. “He really makes the house a home.” At that, Mikasa glanced around at the piles of clutter, nonsensical objects, and general state of uncleanliness.
“And this,” said Eren. “Is Annie’s room.” Annie’s door was closed and unmarked. Mikasa couldn’t tell if she was home or not. “Annie’s cool, but...it’s hard to get to know her,” whispered Eren.
A lot of things about Eren’s new house bothered Mikasa, but the fact that he was living with another woman was not one of them. In the five years they had been together, Eren was consistently loyal and mindful. Sure, he had some crushes, but they were innocent, a mix of attraction and admiration that Mikasa found almost endearing.
It was one of the many things that made Mikasa feel proud of their relationship. Unlike other couples, they were not jealous, and rarely had serious fights. She never doubted Eren’s loyalty. Things were straightforward.
That was what kept them together for so long, when others doubted whether a long-distance relationship would survive. Mikasa’s job in disaster relief took her all across the state, wherever and whenever emergencies struck, so she and Eren were unable to see each other regularly, or even to always know when they would next meet. But their love and trust was so consistent and reliable as to make up for the logistical uncertainties.
However, Eren was not quite so dedicated to everything else.
“Hey, Eren?” said Mikasa, as they walked to the grocery store for a few things. “Are you ready for school to start?”
“Oh, yeah!” said Eren. It sounded more like “I forgot” than “I’m ready”.
“It’s in a couple of weeks, right?” asked Mikasa, although she had already looked up Eren’s school calendar online.
“Yep!” said Eren cheerily. “Only one more semester! I’m gonna crush it!”
Eren was already a year late to graduate. He only had two classes left to finish, but he couldn’t seem to put it all together to pass. At first, it was understandable mistakes with class planning, a last-minute change in his major, and then one truly overwhelming semester playing catch-up. But now, Mikasa suspected that Eren was just too passionate about everything else in his life.
“Does that one professor still teach it?”
“Yeah, Professor Zoe,” said Eren. “I think we started getting along better last time.”
“What did they say to you? If you fuck around in my class again, I swear to God I’ll end you? ”
“Yeah!” said Eren, laughing. “They’re so funny.”
Mikasa bit her lip to quell the worries swirling in her head, and bought Eren an oversized stock of pantry staples instead.