What if? 4 Years with You? (Eremika)

3. Pride

The faces of the young deserters barely flinched at the artificial light from a lamppost coming through the window. They were fast asleep, completely dishevelled, not much different from the alternate dimension where they drank until they dropped. It wasn't morning yet, but it was close.

From a door, the ticket collector began to punch the tickets of each passenger. There weren't many, but it was Eren and Mikasa's turn, who were fast asleep.

"Your tickets, sirs," he announced, his bushy moustache twitching as he adjusted his cap. He repeated this several times, increasing the volume of his voice each time. Eventually, he cleared his throat, a sound that immediately woke them up.

"Your tickets, sirs! For the thousandth time!" People around them became curious and stared at the sleepy young couple. Eren began to rummage in his pockets, while Mikasa choked with nervousness and couldn't speak.

"Oh, no... I think someone stole our tickets..." The sleepiness of the dark-haired young man prevented the lie from coming out convincingly, making it sound more like sarcasm. This left the ticket collector impatient, and he shouted:

"GET OUT!"

The train started to slow down, and both understood that this would be their last stop. They began to put on their blazers.

Mikasa, still half-asleep, with her hair as messy as ever, felt some children laughing at her. This made her embarrassed. She tried to pick up her white hat, but her drowsiness caused her to drop it under the seat.

Cornered by the ticket collector, she struggled to pick up her hat, and it seemed to elude her every time her hand got close. But the ticket collector, who was getting nervous, shouted at her, "I said, GET OUT, before I get violent and lose control!" in a harsh and violent tone.

When Eren felt the threat against Mikasa, he lunged at the ticket collector, getting up aggressively and glaring at the man's face up close. "Try it, experiment, I'd like to see it."

All of Eren's drowsiness vanished, and Mikasa, during the confrontation between male egos, preferred to pick up her hat and put it on. She looked at the children again, the same ones who had teased her. They had fear in their faces, and the mothers held their small children in fear.

"Eren... Please... There are families and children here," she interjected to prevent violence. Families and children... Who would be dead in another dimension a year from now in the attack on Liberio.

He sighed and put on his hat with one hand. — "Alright..."

Mikasa apologised profusely. Her cunning had led her to believe they could be reported and discovered as Eldians, or worse, from Paradis. Mikasa's subtlety made the situation more complicated with her feminine touch. The ticket collector said he wouldn't report them, but they would have to pay a fine on the spot.

Mikasa looked at Eren with a proud smile, but he stared at the ground, disheartened by his impulsiveness. After all, it was basically the money they had left.

What Mikasa couldn't understand was the obligatory pride that Eren had to protect her, which ultimately led to a fiasco that she would have to resolve for him and ultimately protect him.

After both were expelled from the station in Marley, they noticed that the station was empty and quiet. There were few houses around. Without a word, without even a thought spoken out loud, they allowed the silence of the early morning to reign.

They didn't even discuss what to do next; Eren simply marched ahead on a road that seemed to lead to nowhere. Mikasa was confused but followed him.

They walked for about twenty minutes, the night slowly brightening as morning approached.