Chapter Text
Eren x Mikasa -
The wind whispered through the branches of the old tree, its leaves casting dappled shadows on the earth below. Summer was giving way to fall, the warmth fading from the air, replaced by a chill that clung to skin and memory alike.
Mikasa sat at the base of the tree 'his tree', knees drawn to her chest, scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. The stone before her was simple. No embellishments. Just his name.
‘Eren Jeager’
She hadn’t said a word in hours. She rarely did anymore.
Birds called from the trees. The world had moved on. Peace was growing slowly in the soil they had bled to protect. And yet… she remained. Tethered.
- - - - - - - - - -
The sun dipped lower, gold spilling across the horizon. Her eyelids grew heavy. She didn’t fight the sleep. She never did anymore, not since the dreams began.
She opened her eyes to the sound of soft rain tapping on the roof.
The air smelled like tea and woodsmoke. Light filtered through gauzy curtains. Mikasa sat up slowly, finding herself tucked into a small bed with worn quilts and familiar warmth. Her hand reached out and brushed against another.
Eren.
He stood beside the bed, hair a little longer, pulled back loosely. His expression was gentle, his eyes softer than she remembered. He held out a mug of tea without a word. She took it.
“You’re late,” he said with a crooked smile.
Mikasa blinked. “I’m dreaming.”
“Yeah,” he said. “But it’s a nice one, isn’t it?”
- - - - - - - - - -
Days passed like pages in a book too good to put down.
They lived simply, waking to birdsong, walking through fields, cooking quiet meals together. Eren laughed often here. He asked her to dance once in the rain, and though she refused at first, eventually she let herself be pulled into the moment. She could never truly say no to him.
He never mentioned Titans. Or war. Or death.
Neither did she.
But every time she returned, the dreams felt more vivid, like they were being stitched from a life that could’ve been. Should’ve been.
One evening, as orange bled into the sky, Mikasa sat on the porch steps, scarf tugged loose. Eren joined her, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“You don’t have to keep coming back,” he said quietly.
“I want to.”
“I know. But this isn’t where you live anymore.”
Silence stretched between them.
“I don’t want to leave you,” she whispered.
“You never did.”
He turned her face gently toward his, eyes searching hers. “But it’s time.”
The wind rustled through the tall grass. He reached up and wrapped the scarf around her neck, just like he had when they were kids.
“Thank you,” she said, voice breaking.
He smiled faintly. “Live, Mikasa.”
And then he kissed her, soft and slow, like the end of a long winter.
She relished the moment until it started to fade. The feeling of his lips on her ghostly.
- - - - - - - - - -
She woke beneath the tree.
The wind had picked up. A leaf drifted down and caught in her scarf. Her hands trembled.
The world was the same. But something inside her had shifted.
She stood slowly, brushing off the dirt. The grave remained, but the weight pressing on her chest had eased, just enough to breathe.
Turning from the tree, Mikasa looked toward the horizon, scarf fluttering behind her like a memory.
For the first time, she began to walk, not toward the past, but forward.
Somewhere between seasons, between dreams and reality, she had found him again.
And now, she was ready to live.
For him, again.