Chapter Text
That stupid root, Mikasa thought bitterly. She was way more agile than this, her reflexes were superb. So why had she been knocked off her feet by one, stupid root? Moment of weakness, she supposed. It happened occasionally. Especially when Eren smiled so heartfelt and genuinely at her, laughing about something, and she hadn't heard him laugh in years. So maybe that was a good reason; maybe it was worth breaking her arm in the tumble down the rocky hill. But she still intended on cursing that root's existence for the duration of her recovery.
She cursed it all the more because she couldn't even wash her own hair. She couldn't lift her arm enough and dammit, it was so frustrating. She'd managed alright to wash the rest of herself, but the reaching up proved difficult.
What she hadn't expected was Eren to volunteer to help her out, namely, sit over her with her head hanging above a bucket, a towel wrapped around her shoulders. Her face was flushed as she looked up at him from this odd angle as he dipped her hair into the water, swishing it around with his hands.
"You don't have to do this…" she murmured, trying to keep her voice level to hide the fact that she was as red as an apple.
"It's no problem," Eren said nonchalantly, running his fingers through her hair. "How's your arm?"
Mikasa looked away, definitely not pouting. "It's fine…"
Eren snorted. "Yeah, right. You were bleeding all over the place, I doubt it's 'fine' two days later."
Mikasa sent a glare at him, which he actually smiled at. That alone lightened Mikasa's mood, honestly.
It was nice now, to have the threat of the titans behind them. They could move on, travel the world without that oppressive fear over them. It was better than nice. It was nigh bliss compared to the hell it had been. And Mikasa found herself feeling joyful, especially when Eren smiled so unprompted. When he went out of his way to help her, or just show her that he cared. Small things, mostly, but she couldn't help but think of all things she wanted to say to him. Or how she really wanted to kiss him every time he smiled like that.
So having him so close to her face like this, running his hands through her hair, it was making her restraint a bit more difficult.
Eren leaned down to the side, picking up a jar of lotion? Soap?
"What's that?" Mikasa asked, gesturing to it.
He sent her a questioning look. "Shampoo? It's for hair, right?"
Mikasa shrugged, wondering how he got his hands on something so expensive and extravagant. "I suppose. I usually just use soap."
"Oh," Eren replied, frowning at the jar. "I just grabbed it… I can go get soap, it you want."
"No, no, it's fine," Mikasa said, stopping him before he could leave. "I don't mind."
Eren nodded. "Okay then."
He lifted her head out of the cooling water, the rubbed the stuff into her hair. It bubbled up a lot more than soap did, so that was different.
"It smells nice," Eren said from above her, scrubbing his fingers into her roots, massaging it against her scalp.
"It does," Mikasa replied. The gentle fragrance of flowers reached her nose, and she was sure she would be able to smell it on her hair until the next time she washed.
It was quiet for a while as Eren washed her hair thoroughly. In fact, Mikasa found herself drifting, her eyes growing heavier. The water was still warm, and Eren's hands in her hair was strangely relaxing. Overall, a very pleasant experience. She resisted the urge to yawn as she let her head settle back, leaning more into Eren's steady hands.
"Don't fall asleep on me," Eren said with a chuckle.
"Mmm," she mumbled. "I can't promise that."
He laughed again, then she felt some water flicked at her face. She cracked her eyes open in a playful glare, but she couldn't hold it for long. Not with his face being so openly happy and her heart felt like it was going to melt, the sight warming her so. She smiled up at him, breathing contentedly.
"What're you smiling about?" Eren asked with his own smile.
Mikasa shook her head a bit. "It's just… it's nice to hear you laugh, that's all."
Eren's hands stilled for a moment before he began scrubbing again. "The same goes for you."
She looked up, confusion on her face. Eren shrugged. "I'm just saying, I swear I've never seen you smile so much since lately. Not even when we were kids. It's very…"
"Humanizing?" Mikasa asked, a lame attempt at a joke.
Eren rolled his eyes. "I was going to say very nice change. I like your smile."
Mikasa felt her face flush all over again and she looked away. "T-thank you…" she stuttered out, damn her.
"...No problem…" he murmured, and she glanced up to see him looking away, his own face rosy. Her brows furrowed. What was that response?
She swallowed. "I like your smile too. You've been smiling a lot more lately as well."
At that, he smirked, his face still reddened the same way hers was. "Okay okay, enough of this, geez," he muttered and Mikasa laughed.
"What? Too mushy for you?" Mikasa joked.
"Yeah, quit being dumb…" Eren said, flicking more water on her neck.
Mikasa scoffed. "You started that. It's your fault."
He blushed again. Really? "I wasn't… I- just lemmie finish, okay!?"
"Okay." Mikasa settled back against his hands, trying to hide the smile on her face.
It didn't take him long to finish, but he did seem to be taking his time about it. Mikasa didn't mind, it was nice to feel him run his fingers through the long locks. He picked up a smaller bucket of clean, warm water, pouring it slowly on her hair, rinsing the suds away. Mikasa closed her eyes, doing her best to ingrain this into her memory. The feeling of his hands, the sight of his blushing face above her, the floral fragrance of the shampoo.
"Alright, done," Eren said after a few more minutes.
Mikasa sat up, one-handedly squeezing the water out from her hair with the towel that had been draped around her shoulders.
"Thank you, Eren," she said softly, which he shrugged at.
"No problem," he replied, drying his hands off on his pants. "Ah, your hair's gotten longer, hasn't it?"
Mikasa looked down at her hair in a bit of confusion. It had been longer for a while now, reaching past her shoulders. "Yeah, I let it grow since we don't have to use the gear very much anymore."
"Right… do you, uh… want my help combing it?" Eren asked.
Mikasa blushed again, looking down again. "I think I can manage, but thank you."
"Oh okay," Eren nodded. "I'll clean this up then."
Mikasa stood up, moving to get changed into a dry shirt. As she walked past him, she patted his shoulder. He reached up, lightly touching her hand as if he were going to hold her there. He didn't, and she kept walking, but her heart felt like it was soaring into the clouds above.