the (he)art of a titan || Eremika || ✔️

Part IV

Mikasa yawned and hummed against his neck. "I'm not going to sleep, Eren."

Making a strange tittering noise that she had never heard on a Titan before, Eren turned his head to try and get a look at her, his eyes full of mirth as if to challenge her. "Yeah right, Mikasa," he seemed to say.

She yawned again. "I'm not going to bed until you are."

The sun was getting low in the sky, but there was enough light from the lampposts the Survey Corps members had set up before and the little fireflies that started to drift in, which added a warm glow to their scene.

She needed a distraction; something to keep her awake to challenge Eren's stubbornness and refusal to rest. That was when she noticed the beautiful flowers in the trees, many of which had fallen with Eren's tantrums.

On Eren's shoulders, she was at the perfect height to reach out to the vibrant flowers and viridian leaves, and she began to pluck them and place them on her lap.

At Eren's curious hum, she answered, "I'm making flower crowns. Remember how I used to make them when we were kids?"

Eren made a little motion with his shoulders, which Mikasa took as a "Yes."

"Well," she said, getting to work on her craft, "I think I remember the basics."

In order to accommodate her, Eren moved his body so Mikasa was in a position where there were the most flowers within arm's reach. While she picked the best looking flowers off of the branches, she couldn't help but reminisce about the past.

***

The last time she had made flower crowns was when she and Eren were playing on that special hill of theirs. A month or so had passed since her parents died and Mikasa was finally adjusting to her new home with the Yeager family.

Eren wanted to play 'Let's Kill Titans' and Mikasa simply wanted to play with Eren so she agreed. The two of them had run around chasing each other and while Mikasa played the Titan most of the time, sometimes Eren let her be the soldier and he was Titan she was supposed to kill.

After the two of them rolled down the hill for the nth time, all dirtied and worn out, they decided to stop by the stream and rest. Eren continually mumbled about how his mom was gonna yell at him for getting Mikasa all dirty, so Mikasa splashed into the cool water of the stream and tried to wash the dirt off.

"Oi, Mikasa!" Eren yelled out, startled by Mikasa's actions. "I didn't mean you had to jump into the river!" He rolled his pant legs up as far as he could and stumbled clumsily into the stream to get close to her.

Mikasa giggled. "It's fun, Eren!" She sent a splash of water his way and he looked at her appalled.

Eren scowled in that childish way he usually did before dropping all pretenses and wading closer to her, letting his clothing get wet as he fully immersed himself in the water. "You better tell mom this was your idea."

She giggled again and splashed him. "Okay, Eren."

This time, Eren splashed her back and the two of them had a water battle to which they both claimed to have won. In the end, Mikasa let Eren claim his victory, just to see that giant grin on his face.

When they had their fun in the stream, they waded out and started to ring out their clothing to release the excess water. Then they sat on the large rocks nearby to dry off in the midday sun.

Before he realized, Eren drifted off into sleep leaning back against the smooth warm rock, and didn't notice that Mikasa had shuffled off to explore on her own. An hour and a half later, he woke up to Mikasa's soft prodding and looked at what she held in her hands.

"I- I made this for you," she said shyly. She had a soft blush on her face and held out her gift with both hands, shuffling back-and-forth awkwardly on the balls of her feet.

"Huh?" Eren asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"It's a flower crown," she explained, still holding it out for him. But before Eren could protest that flowers were for girls, Mikasa continued quietly, "Mom and I used to make them together."

Eren continued to stare at her, not making a move, and Mikasa took it as a sign that he did not want her gift. She lowered her hands dejectedly, but then let out a small gasp of surprise when Eren grabbed the crown from her hands and placed it on his head.

"If it's a crown, then I'm the King of the Titan Killers!" he announced proudly. Then he looked at Mikasa and asked, "Where's your crown? The Queen of the Titan Killers needs a crown too."