Perhaps, Love

004.

It's the day of the festival and those busy weeks were worth it. Mikasa smiled as she saw her fellow schoolmates enjoying various stalls and games. Some class did horror house, some did a museum, and currently, the marriage booth is going haywire.

Mikasa walked alone, looking for some food to feed her hungry stomach. She was with Annie earlier, but before they could talk about their plans, Annie was dragged away by Reiner wearing a priest costume. From afar, she could see Armin getting dragged by Pieck towards where the marriage booth is.

"Be careful with that, Falco." She knew that voice from anywhere.

A few stall away from where she's seating, she saw Eren wearing a chef's costume, greeting some schoolmates and outsiders as he handed out the burgers their class is making.

After their talk a few weeks ago, she never got to see Eren that often. They would see each other during lunch, but Eren goes straight to where his friends are seating and completely ignores her.

Then again, why is she so bothered? She wanted this. After their talk, it was like as if he knew the situation and adjusted. So, why is she bothered that the younger boy isn't talking to her anymore?

Mikasa groaned before stuffing her mouth with the takoyaki she just bought. She subtly watched Eren as he walked out of the stall as a new classmate filed in. She watched as he asked a middle schooler about the burger.

The corner of her lips curved upwards as the two middle schoolers laughed at something Eren said. The boy was from earlier, named Falco and beside him is a girl with brown hair.

The girl pointed towards her that got Eren to briefly look at her smiling face. The boy shook his head before giving the kids some free chips.

Mikasa looked down as she saw Eren walking towards her table, finding the half eaten takoyaki amusing. She could feel him coming closer and before she knew it, he is seated in front of her.

"Hey."

"Hey." She replied. Wasn't he the one who's ignoring her, why is he here? Mikasa questioned.

Eren watched as Mikasa finished her takoyaki. Without wasting any more time, the moment Mikasa wiped her mouth with a tissue, Eren grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her up.

Still holding her in his grasp, they walked and walked until they're in front of some stalls with games.

"Let's have fun." Eren said, looking at her with a small smile.

Mikasa didn't say anything and let Eren drag her to where he finds interesting.

They went from stall to stall, Eren didn't even gave her the chance to catch her breathe. As they went to the last game, which is hitting the plastic bottles with a BB gun, Mikasa released her grip from Eren's hand.

Eren looked at her with confusion.

"Something wrong?"

Mikasa shook her head before offering him a small smile.

"It's just that... This is so sudden."

Eren smiled back and walked towards Mikasa, holding her hand as he gazed into her brown orbs.

"You need this. With all the stress you've been through, you deserve to try all of these." With that, Eren dragged her to the last stall.

"I'll win you that teddy bear." Eren said while smiling smugly. He paid the student supervising the stall and got into position.

Three bullets went in between, not hitting even a single bottle no matter how focused Eren is. Once the bullets ran out, Eren faced Mikasa and smiled sheepishly.

"Again."

Mikasa playfully rolled her eyes and gently pushed Eren aside, paying for her turn in the game. The student handed her the gun and Mikasa nonchalantly stood in position. It was so relaxed that Eren thought she's playing a joke.

One swift push of the trigger, the first bottle tumbled down to the floor. Reloading her gun, Mikasa aimed recklessly and another bottle fell to the floor. Both the student and Eren looked at each other with a shocked face.

Mikasa faced Eren and winked at him, pushing the trigger once again, the third bottle went to the floor. Eren's eyes went wide as Mikasa finished her 'No look' stunt.

Eren faced the student, also sporting a shocked expression. "Yo, have you seen her!?? That's the SC President right there!" Eren cheered, green orbs glistening with pride.

The student gave Mikasa the teddy bear, who gave it to Eren. Still shocked at Mikasa's competitive side, Eren hesitantly accepted the toy.

"That was epic, Ackerman." Eren exclaimed for the nth time as they walk towards where the ferris wheel is. Their school went all out with the festival, Principal Erwin is truly a man with words.

Mikasa smiled, "Shocking, huh?"

Eren nodded vigorously, Mikasa laughed at how Eren looked like a child while holding the teddy bear in his arms.

Once they stood in line, a couple of students began to look at them. Together, they are eye-catching. Simply because both of them are attractive individuals, once put together it's like a match made in heaven.

Eren saw the distorted look on Mikasa's face and held her hand between his. Caressing it softly with his thumb, Eren looked at Mikasa with a knowing look.

As Eren broke their eye contact, Mikasa felt relaxed beside him. Almost forgetting about the students whispering to themselves.

The ferris wheel started to move slowly. Both ot them are in awe at how the ferris wheel is so similar to the ones they find at amusement parks, though this version in their school is kinda medium-sized.

Seated beside each other, Eren looked at Mikasa.

"About today.." Eren started. Mikasa faced him with an anticipating look, urging him to continue. "Sorry I haven't been talking to you for a couple of weeks. I just thought you needed a little time to breathe. The look on your face was an answer that all you ever care about is those students."

Eren sighed. Hands intertwined, Eren's grip tightened.

"Mikasa. Don't let others dictate yourself. Their opinions about you doesn't matter, so what if the ever so poised and elegant SC president is hanging out with someone like me? So what if you're having fun and enjoying your last year in high school?"

Eren turned his body towards Mikasa and held both of her hands. His gaze is a bit too much for Mikasa's liking, but she stared at him nonetheless.

"What matters is you enjoyed your life. Having fun with friends, being a crazy teenager, being competitive. It doesn't make you less of a human if you do all of that. Who cares about their opinions? The only thing that matters is your own. You do you." Eren finished. He gave her a warm smile, the one where his eyes turned into thin slits and his teeth are all shown. Mikasa reciprocated the action.

"Don't let them hinder you from doing what you want to do." He added.

Mikasa swallowed the lump in her throat. She never knew she needed those kind of words. The ever so noisy and rowdy of a troublemaker Eren is, with those words, he gave her the warmth, the assurance, and the boost that she never knew she was longing for.

Mikasa scooted closer, lifting herself up from her seat to kiss Eren on the cheeks. The boy stayed rooted at the spot as Mikasa's lips lingered in his left cheek, the feeling leaving him in a daze.

After the long silence, both of them laughed uncontrollably till their tummies started to hurt.

As they gave each other that knowing smile, the both of them bask in the afternoon sky as they held each other's hand.