May Flowers Always Come Back

bonus fluff to heal the soul :)

(This takes place while they're all still 104th cadets :)

"-Ow! Eren, be more careful! That hurt like a bitch!"

"Shut the hell up, I'm trying to concentrate!"

"-OW! Pull my hair one more time, see what happens!"

"Do you want my help on not, you damn brat?"

You cross your arms in a huff, choosing to bite your tongue and remain silent so that Eren continues to help you. You really do need his help, but he could still be nicer about it! That being said, you understand that he's only trying to help and that he can't really control how much he tugs at your hair in his attempts to assist you. You continue to grip the grass that you're sitting on with both of your hands in an attempt to fight through the pain, occasionally pulling some out of the dirt with a quick yank. Today has quickly become an absolute nightmare for you.

For the past twenty minutes or so, Eren has been helping you untangle your hair from your ODM gear without much luck. By the way it sounds (and feels), it's tangled up pretty good, much to your disdain. You're not even completely sure how it happened. One minute, you're in training learning the basics about the gear and practicing basic maneuvers, and the next your hair is being painfully yanked by the reel mechanism of your gear. Fuck the reel mechanism.

Of course, the moment instructor Shadis saw you and your predicament, you were mercilessly scolded and told to get yourself unstuck or else "I'll cut off your hair and shove it down your throat where it can't get tangled!"

Eren found you sometime later at the barracks, choking back frustrated tears as you tried your best to free yourself from your ODM gear. Much to your surprise, he instantly started trying to help you out, sitting down in the grass behind you as he fiddled with your hair. (You made sure that he wasn't just going to cut you loose with scissors before you let him help you)

Of course, he wasn't going to do so without giving you a piece of his mind in classic Eren fashion.

 "I told you the first week we arrived that you should get a haircut before training started, and now look at you! Why don't you just chop it off already?"

You try and adamantly shake your head, but stop yourself before you yank your hair out of Eren's hands.

 "Because! I just can't, okay?"

Once again, Eren is starting to get on your nerves. How many people are gonna tell you to chop off all your hair today? You can't quite bring yourself to give him the actual reason why you can't cut your hair. The reason is kind of embarrassing, but you can't help the way you feel about it.

All of your sisters and even your mother all have long, flowing, gorgeous hair, and you think it's the most beautiful thing in the world. You've always wanted to be just like them. Over the years you've convinced yourself that if you cut your hair, you'll never be beautiful like them. Other girls can look beautiful with short hair, just not you. 

Your harsh grip on the grass softens a bit as you think of your family that you left behind, smiling a little bit at the thought before Eren gives your hair another yank. You hope that he's made progress, but you learned to stop asking about it after the first ten minutes.

"Mikasa cut her hair before training started and she hasn't had any trouble with it at all."

You have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes at the mention of Eren's sister, arguably the prettiest girl in the whole group. It isn't fair to compare the two of you! She could do anything with her hair and still have Jean and many others chasing after her.