Gangsta's Paradise | EreMika AU

Chapter 27: Mama Said...

      Comfort through the eyes of the Devil. A thought that must be so truly horrifying it would make the lowest demons of Hell ill. Just what could possibly calm Hell's ruler, evil incarnate.

Eren hadn't spent his life plaguing himself with such thoughts. His time wasn't free and his activities left him busier than he would prefer. His hours of enjoyment were still working hours. His free time was short and was spent wisely in a way that connected him to his work.

He savoured his moments of ecstasy. Sex, drugs, alcohol. A dangerous yet entertaining list. The word 'no' was a word most people assumed wasn't in his vocabulary as he so very rarely used it. Eren was up for anything all the time, regardless of the consequences and risks.

For near half of his life, Eren had thrown himself into less than child-friendly activities, uncaring about what everyone else would say. His say in what he wanted to do didn't matter as the old man had told him what to do. His orders ranged from 'kill the prick' to 'bang that chick'.

Because Eren had been thrusted into a new world with new people, he hadn't been able to explore his own life and his own hobbies. The people he knew were hand-picked for him. The same for the women he slept with and the friends he trusted.

Those dark memories, as painful as they were, weren't important. For the first time in a long time, Eren felt at peace. Without sex or the use of drugs entering his system relieving his stress while also killing his brain cells, Eren assumed bliss wasn't something he was capable of achieving.

Mikasa was asleep, lying peacefully in the large yet thin hospital bed below her. The covers were pulled up to her collar where Eren saw hints of the blue hospital gown sticking out like moles in the morning green grass.

He watched her sleep, paying attention to the rising of her chest as she breathed in and the flattening of her torso as she exhaled. The repeating cycle had the capacity to drive some to insanity, but not for Eren. Perhaps it was selfish and a bit creepy, but Eren was never going to forget this.

The feeling in his chest was a thrilling sensation he'd never experienced before. His past history of bliss was an amazing one, one to drove many to jealousy, including Eren sometimes.

He'd never been able to wonder just what else would he enjoy. He didn't have a deep passion for music nor was he a TV type of individual. His chances of being good at knitting or pottery were slim and he didn't have any secret talent that would aid him in sports, acting, martial arts, and more.

He was surprised, to say the least. Watching Mikasa sleep, seeing the peacefulness spread across her face was a high he didn't believe he was able to come down from. The rising and falling of her chest were captivating as it told him she was alive and on the road to getting better.

Her life was difficult and her job was as dangerous as his. He had already wound up in the hospital and now it was her turn. Both had been shot by the same man just to wind up in the same hospital.

Eren's and Mikasa's lives had been wound together for far too long. Meeting her was pure luck and the tragedy that happened to the Ackerman family only drove them closer to one another. Despite going down different paths in life, both of them had been reunited by a force they couldn't see. Everywhere he looked, she was there and he was sure she felt the same way.

A higher power was playing a game of chess with their lives but Eren didn't mind as long as he got to enjoy moments like this.

All those years of torture and pain no longer existed in his mind. This room was a sanctuary for him. The outside world could continue to suffer from disaster after disaster, but Eren refused to care. The world outside that door, outside that window, wasn't his anymore. She was his world, and she was as beautiful as the clear days' sky was blue.