Violets (Mikannie)

5 - Residence

This chapter is solely plot. No real character interactions, but I promise that there will be like, three whole chapters just of them cuddling.

Longer A/N at the end of the chapter.
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It was well dark when Mikasa got home. She had shot her mum a text earlier saying that she was staying late to study for the exams next term, and her mother accepted it with little question. Her mother was under the impression that she and Armin were secretly an item. Mikasa didn't feel like telling her mother the truth, that she had a crush on a formerly comatose mass murderer.

Her house was a big old place in the quieter parts of town, where the streets were wide and lined with trees. Sure, Armin lived in a quiet neighbourhood as well, but it was newer and less rich than hers. This branch of the Ackerman family was directly descended from historic war veterans, and they all had high-paying jobs, so the whole family was rich.

Mikasa opened the front door and entered the house. There were lights and talking coming from the kitchen; her parents probably had fancy guests over. Since they both had high-ranking positions in some big-name business, fancy guests weren't a rarity. Mikasa supposed she should just do what she usually did when her parents had fancy guests over, and hide in her room until they left, but she hadn't eaten anything for at least six hours. She cringed and braced herself for guest confrontation.

"Oh, you're home!" Her mother called out when Mikasa pushed the dining room door open. "Get lots of 'studying' done?" Her mother tried to wink subtly, but it was about as subtle as an elephant. Ah. So she'd been drinking. Mikasa looked at the three other people at the table. One was her dad, who looked incredibly uncomfortable. Two was a man she had never met, presumably the guest. And three was... Eren? He was sitting at the table, as uncomfortable as her dad.

"Yeah. Lots of studying," Mikasa said. "Why is Eren here?"

Eren stood up. "Kitchen," he said. He and Mikasa walked into the kitchen and closed the door so the adults couldn't hear them.

"Why are you here?" Mikasa asked again.

"Your mum decided that I was better off here than with my mum," he said. Mikasa gave a nod of agreement. Amelie wasn't known for being a supportive mother. "And what were you and Armin doing all day? He wouldn't tell me anything. You weren't... Watching her, were you?"

Mikasa couldn't lie. "Yes."

"She's not going to wake up," Eren said quietly. Mikasa decided not to tell him the truth.

"Okay, anyway, who's that out there?" She asked in reference to the unfamiliar man in the kitchen.

Eren shrugged. "A rep from some company your folks work with. I think he's actually an Ackerman too, but I don't think he's related to us."

"Alright then." The teens exited the kitchen and came back into the adults' conversation.

"And so, I told her that Sammy was cheating, and she said - oh, hi sweetie! Need anything?" Her mother asked. Her dad and the unfamiliar man were half listening to her tipsy story.

"No, Mum. Just getting a snack then I'm going to bed."

"Okay, honey. Oh yeah, an' Eren's staying for a couple days. 'Till Ames quits bein' a jerk."

"Well, goodnight," Mikasa said.

She couldn't sleep that night. She kept thinking of Annie, and the way she had clung to her.

Eventually, she fell into a deep sleep that wasn't quite dreamless. A surreal dream, that involved Annie, and the fancy guest, and other faces from her past. And, she and Annie stood, embracing each other one final time.

The nightmare woke her up, but she fell asleep again, with no dream this time.

--

At the same time, the Ackermans' mystery guest finally escaped the house. He shrugged on his jacket to brace against the night chill. He walked down the street, then stopped, illuminated by a street lamp. He pulled out his phone and clicked on his top contact. He held it to his ear, impatient.

"What do you want, Damien?" The voice on the other end of the line was tired. It was eleven PM, after all. "Couldn't this wait until morning?"

"You know you love me," Damien teased. He could practically see Rowena rolling her eyes and pouring a glass of wine. In a more serious tone: "I finished meeting with the other branch." Internally, Damien cringed at the memories of Mr and Mrs Ackerman's dinner entertainment.

"And?" Rowena asked.

"As suspected, the girl on surveillance was their daughter."

"Finally, one of my team is actually capable. Was the subject with her?"

"No, ma'am."

"Of course, it's with the boy. Place a tracker on the girl, and put some effort into identifying the boy. Don't call me until you have him."

"Okay, goodb-" Rowena had already hung up. Damien huffed. God, he hated his sister sometimes. His whole family did, with the exception of their father. No, Daddy had left his whole fortune and company to his eldest daughter. Damien and his other siblings got some of the share, but they were all stuck working for Rowena and roped into her crazy master plan.

Damien went back into his contact list and called one of his most trusted employees.

"Hello!" She answered the phone jovialy, as if she wasn't tired. Damien wasn't even going to bother asking her what she was doing up this late.

"I need you to identify the boy in the footage," Damien said. "Sooner rather than later."

"Hmm. I can do that, just give me some time." Damien heard his contact's spinny chair spinning and her getting up to do something on her house.

"Cool bananas." Damien hung up and stuffed his phone in his pocket. He walked out of the light and towards the bus stop. Because his company was 'eco-friendly' and 'didn't create excess carbon,' everybody took the bus. Which sucked if you were attending a party in the middle of the night.

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Hah wow so today was my first day of year 11

Anyways, I'm at a crossroads, and I need the help of you, the readers. I have two endings planned, and I need your help to decide which one gets written. Without giving too much away, the endings are:

A. Tragic ending. I don't really want to write it, but it would make more sense as it doesn't ask for any unexplained lucky plot devices.

B. Ambiguous ending. This one isn't quite as tragic, and leaves some room for hope, but doesn't make as much sense as the tragic ending.

The reason why I need help deciding on the ending is because it will also impact the climax of the story. Please vote on which ending you'd prefer, and have a good day!