What if? 4 Years with You? (Eremika)

1. What If?

Mikasa ran through the night, illuminated by the bright stars and scattered candles in the refugee tents. She could hear some background noise, but it was completely incomprehensible to Mikasa's language, and it was when she finally found him.

"Eren." She called. "Do you understand that you are the prime target of the enemies...? We've been searching for you..." But Eren continued to face away from the Asian woman, with tears in his eyes.

Crying in front of Mikasa was never a shame; in fact, he had always been a quick-to-tears boy, much like his friend Armin. For Eren, crying was like all his emotions exploding in the form of tears. Eren wiped his face and sniffled a bit, and Mikasa noticed that and tried to assess her surroundings. She looked in the same line of sight as Eren, and that was when a Middle Eastern family waved at them cheerfully.

Mikasa approached Eren and questioned, "It's the boy from the market, did something happen?" She finally waited for a response.

"Not yet," he replied sombrely, completely empty and dry.

Mikasa's gaze was puzzled by such a response. She tried to ask something more to understand what was really happening.

"How so? Where are we?"

"These people live here after losing their homes to the war."

Mikasa didn't respond immediately. There wasn't much to say. After all, she had lost her home to an undeclared war twice.

"Just like us. Normal lives were taken in a day. Everything was taken from us," Eren continued, always staring at the gathered families. "All the freedom... was taken from them."

Silence reigned for a few seconds. Mikasa didn't have much to say, and words were never really her strong suit.

"Mikasa," he interrupted the silence unexpectedly with an unexpected question. "Why do you care so much about me?"

The Asian girl was once again left without a response, only managing to utter a "Huh?" And then Eren looked into her eyes and asked her, very curious, "Is it because I saved you as a child? Or because I'm like family to you?"

With each question Eren asked, Mikasa's ability to respond shattered. She didn't answer anything, and Eren became increasingly urgent for answers. He asked several questions to get any kind of response, but Mikasa only replied with "Huh?"

Eren began to grow more anxious, his heart tightening with panic. "What am I to you?" Warmth and a blush overwhelmed Mikasa completely. She could feel her stomach churning. The so-called "butterflies in the stomach" that Armin had explained didn't exist; it was just a lack of blood in the stomach that occurred when one was nervous and anxious. Mikasa wasn't prepared for this question and never expected to answer it, never expected anything romantic from both sides. She never expected... And time went on.

Green eyes pierced every detail, every glance away of Mikasa's face. Whenever Mikasa looked away for comfort, he followed her gaze. "When did he start looking at me like this?" She wondered.

"You... You are... not just family," she confessed finally, looking him in the eyes as she declared it. It seemed much more difficult than killing 15 titans in a row by herself. Anything involving feelings was an internal battle that Mikasa faced.

She looked to the side, a man with a tray in hand offering them some drinks.

For a moment, Mikasa felt relieved as those green eyes were distracted by the man who had randomly appeared.

Eren could hear more people running towards them and decided to grab Mikasa's wrist and run, run far away from there. He didn't want to be interrupted.

"Eren! What are you doing?"

Eren didn't respond; he just kept running. When he felt they were far enough, he finally stopped, but didn't let go of her hand. "Mikasa, I want to leave the war. Isn't that what you've always asked of me? To forget about the idea of Survey? Even after my mother's death. You asked me that."

"I can't control your life," she asserted.

"Nor do I yours. I didn't ask you to risk your life for me. I have only 4 years of life left. What choice do I have?"

The weight of making the right choice always has many dimensions. For years, they had decided to lock away their feelings and their own freedom within the walls.

Mikasa felt the burden on her shoulders, having to choose. The decision she could make from that point on would determine not only Eren's future but her own, Armin's, the Survey's, Marley, the Azumabito, and more. She closed her eyes to think for a moment and decided to look at herself only. What did she want? A normal life like her parents had, happy living in the mountains.

"I don't know what the right choice is, but I wanted to live the 4 remaining years in peace. Just the two of us..."

She spoke as if she were the one dying, the last thing Eren wanted. He didn't want her choices to be based on him, but he accepted it. He pulled her arm again. "So, shall we?"

She nodded, her scarf covering part of her face. But her tear-soaked face and the blush visible in the starlight were evident. Her eyes, a mixture of tears of joy and insecurities about such a sensitive choice, shone and grew even more beautiful.

Eren and Mikasa fled without much concern, leaving all their friends and comrades behind. But all choices come with consequences, whether negative, positive, or neutral.