𝙿𝚞𝚣𝚣𝚕𝚎𝚜

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸

Eren found you in the kitchen early that morning. The sun was still soft as it shone through the window, just bright enough to decorate the kitchen in a golden hue. How you were already bounding around on the tips of your toes at dawn was bewildering to Eren, but he kept to himself and soaked in the moment.

What was even more impressive was that there were already fresh groceries along the counter. But you couldn't take credit for that.

When you first stepped downstairs, you were under the impression you were the only person awake. It wasn't until you heard crinkling that you spotted Mikasa in the kitchen. She was setting brown paper bags down when she greeted you with a smile.

"I thought a quick trip to the store was needed if we wanted everyone to make it home tomorrow in one piece," she said.

You grinned. "Good idea."

You met her at the counter and started to help her put everything away. When you unwittingly picked up a box of pancake mix, you gave it a quick lookover and asked, "Should I make these for breakfast today?"

"Duh," she joked rather obviously. When she noticed that you didn't understand her implication, she added, "Do you not remember what you said the first night we were here?"

The first night we were here. Oh, yeah – the night you got beyond plastered.

You sat the box down with a groan. "What did I say?"

You didn't really want to know, but you couldn't let a comment like that go. Your curiosity got the best of you, and it was only piqued when Mikasa started to chuckle endearingly.

She reminded you of your wonderful and drunken speech about pancakes. Apparently, you went on and on about all the different kinds of pancakes and which you liked the best (Sasha was really rubbing off on you).

That was why Mikasa thought of you when she saw the pancake fixings at the store, and why she bought you the ingredients to make both chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes.

"I should have gotten you a soapbox," she jested.

"God, I am so sorry," you said with a pathetic laugh. "Here, I'll put the rest of the groceries away. Think of it as a thank you for the pancakes and also for listening to my drunk TedTalk."

Mikasa gave you another passing laugh. She started to head back to her room, but she briefly turned around before leaving you be.

"Hey, you know I'm not really one to pry, and you don't have to tell me the details but..." She had this look on her face, and you couldn't tell if it was hesitancy or if she was only pausing to cushion her voice. "Did you talk with Eren?"

Sasha must have filled her in on yesterday's plan. Sasha can boss around people like Connie, and they would never question a single thing. But then there were people like Mikasa. She wasn't one to just on blind faith alone, especially if it involved Eren.

"I did," you said. "It went well."

Keeping her promise of not asking for the details, all she said back was, "I'm glad."

Mikasa started to leave again, but you called out her name just in time. She looked over her shoulder to see the gentle expression you wore as you said, "Thank you."

With a nod of her head, Mikasa shot you another smile and left.

And that was how you ended up here, frolicking around the kitchen as you flipped pancake after pancake. As much as you wanted to say you were making breakfast for everyone out of nothing more than the kindness of your heart, you really just wanted some pancakes.