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“Should I cut my hair?” Mikasa asked, her voice startling Eren due to them sitting in the quite for so long. That afternoon, they had been studying for their next test at Mikasa’s house. She had started to notice the length, it was starting to get a little too long for her liking.
The black, straight hair stopped just a little below her chest, which usually bothered Mikasa.
Eren looked up from his notebook, seeing that Mikasa had let her hair free from their twin tails. He hadn’t seen her hair down in so long that it almost felt odd. He had been captivated by the way it curved along her shoulders.
“Jean complimented it today. He said it was beautiful and that he liked how long it was.” She added, smiling slightly at the complement.
Eren felt his mood drop almost immediately, slightly scowling at the thought of Jean, but he had masked his annoyance with a shrug. “Yeah, I think you should cut it.”
After the words had left his mouth, he mentally kicked himself. He loved how long it was and how it fell so perfectly. If only Jean knew how to keep his damn mouth shut.
“How short should I go?” She asked again, picking up a pair of scissors and snipping them in her hands.
Eren squinted a little, trying to find a reasonable length. “Shoulders. You should cut it to your shoulders.”
Mikasa smiled, grabbing one of his hands as she stood from her bed. “Okay, let’s go ask Hange what they’re doing.” She had dragged him from the room, running down the stairs to find her uncles partner working on a painting.
Eren always knew how peculiar Mikasa’s family had been. A five foot two uncle who was an absolute clean freak, an aunt who wore an eyepatch and was always found doing random things around the house, and her, who was the goth of the school. He knew they were weird, but he still loved them anyway.
“Hange, can you help me cut my hair?”
Hange had looked up from their painting, smiling widely. “Well of course, dear. How short do you want it?”
“To my shoulders.” Mikasa responded with a smile.
Hange took the scissors in their hands, pulling over a stool for Mikasa to sit on. Hange had combed through her hair, pulling it all back into a ponytail.
Eren watched, grabbing another stool and sitting right in front of Mikasa. He sat his head in his hands and watched curiously. He watched as the scissors snipped and hair fell to the floor.
Levi had walked through the door, holding a few sacks in his hands. “What the hell are you doing to her?”
They both laughed, Hange taking a second to step away from the pile of hair to greet Levi with a soft kiss on the cheek. “She wanted her hair cut, so I helped her.”
Levi sighed, shaking his head as he sat the bags on the counter, glancing down at Eren who avoided all eye contact with the man.
The glare that sat upon Levi’s face was enough to scare any younger child into tears and teenagers to cower in fear where they sat. Mikasa shot a look towards the man, her eyes telling him not to say anything rude. Levi rolled his eyes, giving into Mikasa’s silent plea.
“Did you finish your homework, Mikasa?” Levi asked instead of pestering the young boy.
“Almost, me and Eren decided to take a break from studying.” She replied, feeling Hange take another snip at her hair.
“Was studying the only thing you two were doing?” He asked, shooting another glare at Eren who’s eyes widened and cheeks turn crimson.
Mikasa buried her face in her hands, groaning very loudly. “No, Uncle Levi! Just studying… right Eren?”
Eren than looked over to her, his eyes still wide. “Yes, of course! We’re just friends, Mr. Ackerman!”
Levi gave them an unimpressed look, crossing his arms. “I’m not dumb, I was a teenager not too long ago.”
“Just leave them alone, Levi. I was here the whole time.” Hange said, crossing their arms as well. “You don’t have to be so overprotective, Eren’s a good kid after all.”
Eren and Mikasa glanced at each other for a second, both knowing full well that that’s a lie. They both snickered behind their hands as both Levi and Hange had been distracted.
Finally, after almost an hour later, Mikasa’s hair was cut to her shoulders, the large pile of the severed hair now being swept into dustpan.
Hange and Levi both grabbed their coats, all dressed up for a night on the town. Friday had always been their annual date night since they started going out roughly around the time Levi had gained custody of Mikasa when she was nine years old. Mikasa hugged Hange goodbye while Levi stared daggers at Eren.
“No funny business, Got it, Yeager?” He said, raising a stern eyebrow.
Eren sighed, nodding his head as a blush crept upon his face once again. “Yes, Mr. Ackerman.”
Once the door had been shut and the sound of their car driving away could be heard, Mikasa turned to Eren with a bright smile. “So, what do you want to do? I really don’t feel like studying.”
Eren shrugged, looking over to a cabinet that consisted of board games. A record player sat on top of the cabinet, collecting dust due to it not being touched in so long. Next to it sat many records. The Smiths, David Bowie, Radiohead, and The Cure all sat beside it collecting dust as well.
“We can listen to music and play board games?” He suggested, waiting for Mikasa’s reply.
“Sure, I’ll totally kick your ass in Monopoly, though.” She smiled, pulling out her phone to play something on Spotify but Eren stopped her.
“Not music on your phone.” He looked back over to the records than back to her. “On the record player?”
Mikasa looked at him for a second, surprised by his suggestion. “The record player? We haven’t used that in so long…” She said, walking over to it and wiping away some of the dust. “I’m surprised Uncle Levi hasn’t gotten to it yet.”
Eren chuckled. “You’re uncle doesn’t like me for some reason.”
Mikasa cracked another smile. “He doesn’t like anyone, not even Armin. The only ones he actually likes are Hange and I.”
“Yeah, but he has a special hatred towards me.” Eren replied, watching Mikasa pull out The Smiths record. She pulled it out of the package, placing it down on the record player gently and dropped the needle. A soft tune started to play as she dug in the cabinet for the old game of Monopoly.
Eren leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing one leg over the other.
“He doesn’t like you simply because you’re a boy and you’re my friend. He likes Sasha and Annie, but not you and Armin.” She said, unfolding the board and placing it on the table.
Eren raised an eyebrow, seeing why Levi might see him as a threat. After all, he did have feelings for Mikasa and he tried a little too hard to try and hide them that it’s obvious to everyone except the girl. “But Armin isn’t even remotely attracted to you? Yeah, he thinks you’re pretty but he’s more into Annie.”
Mikasa playfully rolled her eyes, turning to look back at Eren. “Tell me about it. I’ve tried telling him that multiple times but he doesn’t listen.” She chuckled, running a hand through her freshly cut hair. “Just because guys think I’m pretty automatically means they want to date me.”
Eren didn’t respond to her comment because he was, in fact, one of the guys who thought she was pretty and wanted to date her.
Mikasa stood quietly as well, playing with one of the game pieces that flipped between her fingers as a question lingered on the tip of her tongue. The Queen played in the background as both teens had no idea what to say next.
Eren played with the sleeve of his blue flannel, looking down to his old, beat up converse and ripped jeans. On his neck was a chain with a key and a ring dangling from it. The key he had gotten from his father and the ring from Mikasa. He usually fiddled with the charms when nervous or stressed.
Mikasa chose not to ask the question, thinking it was silly but it still bothered her. Did he think she was pretty? She was dying to know.
They both took a seat at the kitchen table, choosing their game pieces. Mikasa chose the iron while Eren picked up the top hat. As they played and talked, they had completely drowned out the music until a specific song started to play that caused Eren to perk up like a dog.
Mikasa had noticed his expression upon hearing the song. His favorite band had always been The Smiths, ever since he was a kid. She even knew his top three favorite songs by them. Third was “Asleep”, second was “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”, and first was “There is a light that never goes out”.
“I love this song.” He said, a shy smile pulling his lips. Mikasa pulled all of her attention towards the game to pay more attention to him. She noticed how he tapped his finger against the table to the beat of the song with the softest smile he could ever pull.
So, Mikasa stood up, holding out her hand. Eren looked up at her very confused. “What?”
“Dance with me.” Mikasa replied, taking his hand in hers.
“Hey, I’m supposed to ask you that.” He said, standing up and lacing their fingers together.
“Well you were taking too long and I got impatient.” Mikasa responded, watching as Eren lifted her arm up and spun her around. She laughed as she felt her black skirt twirl around her legs. Eren wrapped his free arm around her waist and brought her body closer to his, swaying side to side with the gentle melody of the song.
If anybody who didn’t know them were to see them dancing like this, they would surely be mistaken as a married couple.
But to the people who did know them, knew that they had been very close friends.
A little too close.
They both wore the brightest smiles that not even the sun could compare. Their socks slid against the freshly polished wooden floors, being a big help for Eren every time he spun her around.
Eren sang along to every word of the song as if the lyrics had been tattooed on the back of his hand for his entire life. The Smiths were his favorite, and after that night Mikasa already knew she’d grow a little more fonder of the classical band.
As Eren spun her around one last time, pulling her in just a little closer than before, he looked at her straight in the eyes and had the sudden urge to kiss her.
“If a double decker bus,
crashes into us
to die by your side
is such a heavenly way to die”
As Mikasa stared back up at him, Her eyes sparkling, she too had that sudden urge to kiss him.
Eren shook the thought from his mind shaking away any anxiety that lingered in his body. At first he had been hesitant on touching Mikasa due to her not being so fond of physical touch, but she had seemed to be enjoying it by the way she laughed and smiled.
Eren had started to think that this was all a dream, a movie, maybe from the way she looked at him.
In that moment he finally realized.
Friends don’t look at each other that way.
He knew he couldn’t keep that question from rolling off his tongue, no matter how hard he bit down it just slipped out as he looked enchantedly at her lips.
“Can I kiss you?”
Her answer was quite shocking to him, making him loose all thoughts and control over his own mind.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
And their lips locked, under the florescent lighting, right beside the kitchen table where the untouched game sat. Eren’s arm was still wrapped around her waist as he pulled her even closer to him.
Mikasa tilted her head, making the kiss deeper. Her hands crept up to caress his cheeks, sending shivers down Eren’s spine.
He enjoyed the taste of the strawberry gum she had been chewing. He felt her black lipstick smear against his lips but couldn’t care less about it.
Just as they pulled away, the song had ended and they were greeted with the sound of the door slamming along with a little clap. Waking up from their trance, Eren and Mikasa had turned their heads to see Levi and Hange standing by the door.
Eren’s heart sunk to his stomach upon seeing the short man look at him with the eyes of a killer. His jaw clenched along with his fists while his eyebrows drooped so low that he looked like a cartoon.
Hange stood beside him, smiling softly at them.
“Uncle Levi-“ Mikasa began but Levi held up a hand, shutting her up quickly.
“No… I’ve seen enough. Eren, I think it’s about time I have a small talk with you.”
Eren turned his head quickly to look back at Mikasa, his eyes expressing pure fear and terror. Mikasa looked at him with the same amount of fear as he walked with Levi to a different room.
Levi had sat in one of the recliners while Eren sat uncomfortably on the couch across from him. Eren looked down the entire time, fixating on a scuff mark that had been scrapped across the floor.
Levi crossed his arms over his chest, a deep scowl plastering his face. “What are your intentions with Mikasa?” He asked after moments of awkward silence.
“N-no bad intentions, Mr. Ackerman. The kiss was an accident and… I’m sorry.” Eren tried to explain, making Levi raise an eyebrow.
“Do you regret kissing her?” He asked, shrugging his shoulders.
Eren had been taken aback by the question. Of course he didn’t regret it, in fact he loved every second their lips had been connected and every second her hands caressed his face. He shook his head quickly. “No… I don’t regret it at all.”
“Do you love her?” Levi asked. “Cause you don’t just kiss someone and not have any feelings towards them.”
Eren’s mouth hung open for a minute, pausing upon the second question. His eyes trailed away from Levi as he continued to play with his hands. “Yes… I’ve been in love with Mikasa since freshman year.”
Levi stayed quiet for a moment, his expression going softer. “She’s loved you since middle school.” A small, hardly there smile spread his lips. “She thought I didn’t know, but I guess she never noticed me standing in the doorway when she’d talk to Hange and say everything she loved about you.”
Eren perked up, his expression going from absolutely terrified to shocked. “She loves me?”
Levi nodded. “Yeah? I just told you that.”
Eren smiled, running his hands through his hair. Levi wanted to compare him to a kid in a candy store from how his face lit up with so much joy.
After a minute, they sat in silence. Levi watched as Eren’s smile never faded or got dull. He wanted to scoff but chose not to. He understood the euphoria and giddiness bubbling within him. Levi knew what it was like to be in love.
“When I first met Hange’s family, their brother beat the shit out of me.” Levi said, his arms unfolding and resting them against the arm rests. “He told me he didn’t like my smug smile and salty attitude, then he punched me. I didn’t want to fight back and look bad in front of their father and mother, so I took it. No matter how pissed off it made me.”
Eren’s heart once again sank to his stomach. “Are you going to kick my ass, too?”
Levi shook his head. “Depends. If you fuck up and hurt her, than I definitely will.”
Eren laughed nervously, looking over to see a faint smile on Levi’s lips as well. “So… you’re okay with me dating Mikasa?”
Levi paused, chewing his cheeks as he thought about the question. “I don’t like you, Eren. You dress like a stoner and I can’t help but think you are one, you make horrible grades, you’re so scrawny that a small gust of wind would blow you away, and you’re always getting into fights.”
Eren’s eyebrows dipped, looking down to the bruises on his arms and wrists. “I don’t get into fights, sir. I only argue with Jean but that’s it.” Levi could tell he was lying through his teeth, which caused his smile to drop along with his eyebrows.
“Than how do you get those bruises?”
Eren paused, his eyes now glued to the floor, unable to look up at the man sitting before him.
“Eren, how do you get those bruises?” Levi asked again.
“I tend to trip a lot, Mr. Ackerman.” Eren kept his eyes on the ground. Levi had always questioned why Eren would turn up at their house at strange times in the night along with a black eye and ripped clothing. Never considered any other reasons that didn’t involve him getting into a fight with another boy. Levi continued to stare at the bruises in the shape of finger prints that lined up and down his arm, he even noticed the faint hand mark on his cheek.
Than it hit him. Levi only dropped his cold expression for a moment upon the realization. He felt a sudden wave of empathy wash over him as Eren refused to look him in the eye.
“You need to take better care of yourself, you know? Stop letting yourself get beat up.” Levi finally said, finally making Eren raise his head.
“What can I say? I’m just a person that people love to pick on.” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
Levi nodded, knowing that excuse all too well. “I’m okay with you dating Mikasa. If it makes her happy, who the hell am I to stop her?”
Eren smiled, standing up from his seat. Levi repeated the action, reaching his hand out for a hand shake. Once their hands made contact, Levi pulled him into a hug.
“You’re always welcome here, kid. I want you to know that my house is a safe place for anyone, including dirtbags like you.”
Levi had pulled away almost as soon as he pulled him into the hug. Eren felt a lump well up in the back of his throat as he felt his eyes suddenly burn. He was able to stop any tears that threatened to trickle down his cheeks. Instead he smiled very sadly. “Thank you, Mr. Ackerman.”
Levi nodded, patting his back as they both left the room.
“I swear if he embarrasses me, Hange, I will kick his ass.” Mikasa said, crossing her arms and dramatically throwing herself onto the couch. Hange sat beside her, wrapping their arms around Mikasa’s shoulders and pulling her into a hug.
“Levi isn’t the one to embarrass people.” They tried to comfort, making Mikasa groan.
“How do you know that?” Mikasa said, resting her head on Hange’s shoulders.
“I’m married to him.” Hange replied, holding up their hand and showing off their diamond ring. Mikasa remembered the day Levi had bought the ring. It had been right after she moved in and got settled. He had showed it to her and told her that it was a secret between him and her. She kept the secret, never speaking of it until the day he finally popped the question. The memory would play in Mikasa’s head from time to time and she’d smile.
But this time she wasn’t smiling, instead she had a deep frown. “Well yeah but that doesn’t mean he won’t go off and tell Eren that I like him.”
Hange chuckled, playing with the ring on their finger. “Yeah, but I know Levi very well, so don’t sweat it. He’s probably lecturing him anyway.”
Mikasa huffed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. “We kissed, that’s all that happened.”
Hange smiled. “He’s just looking out for you, he is your uncle after all.”
Mikasa sighed, rolling her eyes once again. “I’m not that scared little nine year old anymore, Hange. I’m going to be seventeen in three months for gods sake. He doesn’t need to worry about me with boys, especially Eren.”
“Sweetheart, he worries about you because you and me are the only family he has left. You’re the only blood family he has and he doesn’t want to loose you too, even if that means being a little over protective.” Hange said, their voice so soft and gentle Mikasa feared it might break with tears. “Levi has been through so much shit, and he’s just… scared.”
Mikasa chuckled, shaking her head. “Levi and scared shouldn’t exist in a sentence except if you’re saying ‘you should be scared of Levi’.”
Hange laughed at the small joke just as the two boys stepped from the room. To say Hange was shocked by Eren’s smile was an understatement. They had expected Eren to walk out with a face of a traumatized child, but instead… he was smiling.
“Are you ready to leave, Hange?” Levi asked, slinging the keys around his finger. Hange, still baffled, nodded and stood from the couch.
Once the door had been shut and Levi and Hange had sat in the car, Levi wrapped his hand around Hange’s fingers. “I love you.” His voice had been gentle and sincere. They smiled softly at him as they watched him bring their hand up and kiss the worn knuckles.
“You haven’t said that since our wedding day… are you sick?” Hange laughed, feeling like a giddy teenager all over again.
“I know I don’t say it often but I do love you.” He said, not meeting their eye. His voice was really low, a pitch higher than a whisper as if he were speaking a forbidden language.
Hange leaned over the console, their face a few inches away from his. “I love you too, Levi.”
Levi had made the move that locked their lips together, his hand met Hange’s cheeks, making the kiss taste a lot more sweeter.
They heard a tapping on one of the windows, forcing them to separate. Once they had turned their heads, they saw Mikasa and Eren standing outside, shaking their heads. Hange laughed as they rolled down the window, watching Mikasa frown.
“Oh, so you can kiss Hange but I can’t kiss Eren?” She said, her voice sounding sarcastically upset. Eren’s eyes widened as a dark blush settled upon his cheeks.
“I’m married to Hange.” Levi said, rolling his eyes with a smile.
“Fine than, guess I’ll just marry Eren.” Mikasa argued, only making Eren blush even more.
Both Hange and Levi rolled their eyes, Hange rolling up the window slowly. “Get your asses back inside before you catch a your death, we’ve gotta go!”
Mikasa shivered as she watched them pull out of the drive way once again, making sure that they were gone for the night. Eren noticed the little shiver, stripping off his blue flannel and draping it over her shoulders. “We should get inside before we get sick.”
Once they entered the house, they left the record player and board game abandoned as they made the walk up the stairs to Mikasa’s room.
Once the door had been opened and Mikasa had made it to her bed, she threw herself down dramatically and groaned into her pillows. Eren sat beside her, resting his hands on top of his thighs as a sudden warm feeling started to take hold of him. The house that he lived in couldn’t ever feel like a home, not with his family.
But the house that he spent most of his evenings and weekends at with the girl he loved more than anything and her strange family certainly felt more like a home, even when Levi gave him dirty looks every time he walked through the door, Hange never failed to make him feel welcome.
The warm feeling he had been feeling had been the feeling of need and want. The feeling of having a family when he hadn’t had one for such a long time. His own family had died along with his mother when he was only ten years old.
And he was perfectly fine with belonging with another family.
The smell of incense sticks had filled his nose with comfort. Lavender and Jasmine had been the smell of home, not cigarettes and beer. The warmness of Mikasa’s room had been a different kind of comfort he had felt.
“Did Levi say anything embarrassing?” Mikasa asked once she sat up, startling Eren from his thoughts.
“No, not really.” He answered, shrugging. “He only told me how long you’ve been in love with me.”
Mikasa’s eyes widened as her cheeks heated up. She had been at a loss of words, not knowing what the hell to say. She threw her head in her hands and groaned.
Eren chuckled, turning to face her. “Hey, that’s not embarrassing,” He took her hands from her face, holding each wrist gently. A smile had stretched his lips, one so wide and genuine that it had started to hurt his face. “Considering that I like you too.”
“You do?” She asked, the gentle touch of his soft fingers on her skin giving her goosebumps.
“I wouldn’t have kissed you back if I didn’t.” He replied. Mikasa smiled shyly, her cheeks still a light shade of pink.
“What else did Levi tell you?” Mikasa asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
“He gave me permission to… I don’t know… date you? If you… want to do that?” He said, now it was his turn to go pink.
Mikasa nodded. “I’d love that.” She leaned forward, cupping his cheeks in her hands and pulling him into another kiss, this time with no interruption. They both smiled weakly into the kiss, happy that after all this time, they were together.