#stormyink

The dog, or puppy maybe, woofs and Eren does, too, a goofy smile on his face. He reaches for a toy, a long purple octopus woven together out of different lengths of rope, and dangles it over the puppy’s head, retracting it just as the puppy jumps. The puppy whines, jumps again, and Eren lets it catch the toy this time to initiate a game of tug.

Mikasa glances around the room to find more toys, a harness, and a pair of Eren’s old flip-flops chewed up before the TV stand. Three weeks. She was gone for three weeks, and already it looked as if the dog had been living with them for ages.

“Eren.”

He startles, looking up at the sound of her voice and hastily dropping the toy octopus. Then, he smiles, lips spreading wide as he jumps to his feet, the dog weaving haphazardly through his legs. Eren crosses the distance between them in a few long strides, and before she can ask him about his new friend, he sweeps her into his arms; pulling her so close her toes barely graze the floor as he spins her, laughing heartily.

And Mikasa’s laughing, momentarily forgetting the dog and the messy state of the apartment as he kisses her, slow and languid, and filled with everything she’s missed since they parted in the airport. Her hands cup his cheeks and she feels him smile before Armin pointedly coughs behind them.

They break apart, Eren resting his forehead against hers, and Mikasa brushes his hair from his eyes. It’s gotten long, she notes with a grin; she likes it.

“Don’t worry, man,” Eren says, snaking his arm around her shoulder to pull her closer. “Your kiss’s coming next.”

“Pass,” Armin snorts.

Eren kisses her again before laughing, breathless and happy and completely at ease. “I thought you were getting home tomorrow.”

“I convinced them to let me go a day early,” she says.

“I’m glad.” His voice drops lower as he presses a kiss to her temple. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Mikasa watches Armin stand, taking care to step around the dog bed and blankets in front of the couch as he nears them. He nudges one of Eren’s arms, making just enough room to tug Mikasa into a hug.

Armin ruffles her hair, ignoring her muffled complaint against his chest as he pulls back, smiling brightly. “How was the trip?”

“It was fine. Long. A lot of paperwork.” She rolls her shoulders, wanting nothing more than to change out of her dress and crawl into bed with Eren. “But fine.” The dog yaps from somewhere in the room; Mikasa makes a face. She’d almost forgotten the thing. “Eren…”

Eren grins sheepishly. “Don’t say anything yet.” He drops to the floor, sitting cross-legged and patting his lap. The dog perks up and jumps from its bed, running across the room to settle in Eren’s lap, barking happily as Eren scratches behind its ears.

Mikasa looks to Armin for help. “How.”

Armin shakes his head, kneeling down to offer his hand to the dog to lick at. “We went with Ymir and Historia to visit Sasha at the shelter, what, two week ago?” He glances at Eren, who nods excitedly.

“Yeah. She told us not to get attached, but…”

“You got attached?” Mikasa finishes, her voice dull.

“Yeah!” The dog lies on its back in Eren’s lap, exposing its full white belly, (and sex to Mikasa,) and Eren automatically drops his hand to rub small circles on her chest. “I saw this pretty girl a couple hours after we got there, and ended up playing with her for the rest of the afternoon-”

“And ignoring his friends the entire time,” Armin interrupts.

Eren continues as if Armin hadn’t spoken. “And I fell head over heels for her.” He leans down to nuzzle his cheek against the dogs. “What was I supposed to do? Leave her there?”

Mikasa and Armin answer simultaneously, “yes.”

Eren pouts, pulling the puppy against his chest protectively. “She loves me, too.”

Mikasa sighs, tucking her dress underneath her as she sits across from Eren. His intense love and devotion was endearing for the most part, but this was starting to remind her of the day Eren brought home an injured squirrel when they were twelve. His mom helped him nurse it back to health, and her dad helped him build a little hut for it, but even after it gave him rabies, Eren told her he didn’t regret it.

The puppy tipped her head at Mikasa. “What’s her name?” Mikasa asks.

“Shira,” Eren answers proudly.

“Shira?” She repeats, testing the name on her tongue. She glances to Armin, but he only shrugs. “How’d you come up with that one?”

Eren looks away, a hint of red dusting his dark cheeks. “Sasha needed a name on the adoption form and it was the first one I could think of.” She tries to picture it: Eren determinedly holding onto Shira as Armin and Historia try to talk him out of buying the dog without at least calling Mikasa, and Sasha cheerfully going through the adoption process with a giant grin on her face. Mikasa would bet that Ymir had pictures.

“Her breed?”

“They actually had no idea,” Eren says as Shira stands from his lap, trotting around the room and starting to chew on a rawhide bone. “Sasha told me they found her in an alley, no tags or owners to be found; a messy and dangerously skinny thing. She thinks there might be some beagle in there, though.” He meets Mikasa’s gaze, looking more than a little sad. “I couldn’t just leave her there, Mik.”

“I know you couldn’t, Eren, but you should have called me first.” She tucks some hair behind her ear as Armin sits next to her. “That way I wouldn’t have been so floored walking through the door.” Shira suddenly perks up, eyes trained on the front door, where the sound of their mailbox being opened and then shut could barely be heard. Mikasa scowls. “Or have the chance to talk you out of it. Do your parents know about her?”

“Oh yeah! Mom, dad, and your parents came to meet her a few days ago.” He shoots her a smug look. “They loved her.”

Shira runs for the door, barking madly and yelping as she jumps, trying to see through the small windows on either side of the door. She scratches at the doorframe, her yelps turning into high-pitched yowls, and Mikasa wonders how such a small dog could have such powerful lungs.

Eren jumps up after Shira, scooping her into his arms mid-jump. “Hey! Didn’t I say no barking?” She barely reaches across his chest, her body squirming in his hold to try and catch a glimpse of the mailman.

She turns to face Armin, leaning back slightly on her hands. “Aren’t beagles the ones that-?”

“Bark a lot and loudly?” Armin finishes, offering her a weak smile. He looks far too used to the dog for her liking. “Yes. We’ve taken her to a few training classes, but not barking has been the hardest for her to learn.”

“She knows how to sit, stay, and roll over, though!” Eren says after finally getting Shira to calm down. “Little girlie should be all set in a couple months!” He sits back on the floor, cradling Shira against his chest and scratching her ears. Shira’s tongue lolls out of her mouth as she pants happily.

Mikasa makes a face. “Eren, you know I like cats better.”

“I know.” Now he has the decency to look properly embarrassed. “But we never really talked about it or decided which one we were going to get and Shira had just been rescued a few days before I met her.” He lifts Shira until their cheeks were pressed up against each other facing her, and pouts. When it doesn’t work right away, he tries again, “give her a week. If you still hate her, we’ll take her back to the shelter, okay?”

Mikasa sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose and staring at the ceiling. He was right; they’d been talking about getting a pet before she’d been called out of town, but she thought she’d have more say in it. When she looks at Eren, nuzzling his nose against Shira’s, she finds she doesn’t hate the idea of having Shira around. Mikasa doesn’t hate dogs, and as long as the dog doesn’t tear their house apart, she figures it wouldn’t be a problem.

“Okay.”

Eren’s grin is blinding as he scrambles to his knees to reach her and press a sloppy, fast kiss to her cheek. “Thanks babe!” Her nose scrunches. “No babe; got it. But you’re going to love Shira, I promise!” He puts the dog right in Mikasa’s lap, leaning over to get in Armin’s personal space. “Armin, she said-!”

“I’m sitting right here- Eren!”

Mikasa winces as Shira’s nails dig into her skin, and the dog sits up, tilting her head at Mikasa curiously. Shira sniffs at her wrist. Mikasa scratches Shira’s head, the fur soft and silky beneath her fingers and she thinks she could get used to having another energetic fluff ball around, just as Shira bites her wrist hard enough to draw blood.

“You bit-!”

Eren grabs Shira just as Armin pinches Mikasa’s cheek to stop her swear in its tracks before taking her hand to inspect it. “It’s not bad,” he tells her. She huffs, chin against her other hand as she glares at the dog, happily nestled in Eren’s arms. “You’ll want a bandage, though.”

The doorbell rings and Eren moves to answer it, Shira barking madly in his arms. “That must be Sasha and the others with the pizzas.” Shira’s barking suddenly mixes with Sasha and Connie’s screaming as they fight to be the first one through the door as Jean holds the pizzas above their heads and curses at them to be quiet. “Also,” Eren calls back as he closes the door behind Annie. “Shira might have peed on a pair of your heels.”

“Which ones?” Mikasa asks as Armin wraps her wrist, feeling more tired than when she stepped off the plane. She could handle losing any pair except-

“The black ones!”

“Damn it!”

---

Mikasa wakes up to an ass in her face.

In all the years she’s known Eren and Armin, and all the times they slept at each other’s houses or napped in the same bed, she’s never woken up to an ass. She’s dealt with Armin’s foot, Eren’s elbow, a knee, and even Eren’s finger in her ear, but never a dog’s butt.

She sits up, scooting as far to the edge of the bed as she can and running a hand over her face. It’s early, earlier than she thought she’d be waking after everyone left last night, and she thinks about getting a few more hours of sleep, but the dog’s in her favorite spot- head nestled against Eren’s shoulder- and she’s already up.

She pushes herself from the bed and changes into her running clothes, tying up her hair before pausing. She glances at Eren, tangled messily in his half of the sheets, with one arm tucked beneath his head and the other touching the space she’d recently left. Mikasa missed him terribly while she was away, and she wished they could spend the day together, but Eren had his own job as a cop to do. Her company had given her the day off, however, so she’d be home when he was done.

Mikasa traces his cheek; feather light strokes of her fingertips over his brow and nose, a small smile playing on her lips. She presses a kiss to his forehead, smoothing her hand over his hair as Shira growls out a warning, but doesn’t move.

Mikasa sticks her tongue out at the dog as she leaves.

Upon her return, Mikasa finds a note from Eren tucked awkwardly under a glass, his familiar scrawl messier than usual, and she figures he must’ve been in a hurry. Pushing sweaty strands of hair from her face, she pours herself a glass of water before reading the note- her nose scrunching in irritation before even getting halfway through.

Mikasa, I’m really late. Can you walk Shira? Once around the block- her leash is hanging by the door and there’s poop bags in the basket with her harness. I’ll see you tonight. Love you!

She sees Shira sitting by the front door, tail thumping lazily against the floor as she tilts her head at Mikasa. Mikasa makes a face, but she knew she had to take the dog out, otherwise Shira would make a mess on the floor somewhere, and it wasn’t fair to the dog.

Deciding to wait on a shower, Mikasa leashes up Shira and stuck a few bags into the strap of her sports bra as she opens the door, immediately getting yanked forward by Shira. Mikasa holds her back though; lengthening her strides so Shira has to slow down- she doesn’t want to accidentally let go of the leash.

However, Shira tugs harshly on the lease, jerking Mikasa to both sides of the sidewalk as she sniffs at a flower, then darts over to sniff, bite, or bark at something else. Mikasa tries to keep her straight, to move her along, but Shira doesn’t want to listen as she nearly runs into the street to bark at another dog, or tries to chase someone away, or stays rooted underneath a tree, barking at a squirrel.

They make it back to their street, though it takes far longer than Mikasa figures it does when Eren walks the dog, but soon they’ll be home and Shira can do whatever it is she does during the day.

Mikasa’s unlocking the front door, Shira’s leash wrapped around her palm, when Shira starts barking again. Mikasa ignores it, fumbling with her house key as the dog starts pulling at the leash, barking even louder, and then bolts from the steps, the leash flailing behind her.

“Shira!” Mikasa calls, tearing down the front walk, a cold panic sinking like a stone in her chest. Eren adored Shira, if she…

There were no cars on the street, but who knew what would happen if one did come, if Shira veered from her path into the street; if a driver didn’t see her in time.

Mikasa screams for her again, her legs beginning to ache as she follows the dog up the sidewalk, dozens of scenarios, (each worse than the last,) playing through her head. Mikasa’s beginning to worry she won’t catch her when Shira stops in front of someone, running into their legs in her haste and wagging her tail happily.

“Armin!” Mikasa realizes she’s crying, purely out of frustration, when she reaches Armin and Shira. He’s kneeling in front of the dog, petting her head with her leash held in hand.

Shira wiggles excitedly, barking at her friend as Armin stands and swipes his thumb under Mikasa’s eye, brushing away her tears. “Hi Mikky.”

“She got away,” Mikasa mutters as they start back to the house, pointedly looking away from him. She crosses her arms under her breasts, blowing at the stray hairs falling across her face.

“I see.”

“Armin, what if something had happened?”

Armin takes her keys, scooping Shira into his arms before unlocking the door. “Nothing happened.”

“But-”

He knocks his shoulder against hers, offering a kind smile as she worries her bottom lip. “You just have to be a little more careful next time, make sure her leash is wrapped around your wrist and held in hand.” Mikasa nods, not quite meeting his eyes. “Hey. The day Eren brought her home, he lost her under the couch.”

Mikasa snorts. “Really?”

“Really.” Armin unhooks Shira’s leash, letting her free in the apartment. “He thought she’d get stuck or hurt under there, but he got her out, and he’s gotten better with her. You’re going to do just fine.”

He pulls her into a one-armed hug, rubbing her shoulder with an open, warm palm. She leans into him, despite the lingering sweat from her morning, briefly wondering if he’d had plans to stop by or if Shira’s appearance on the street had brought him over. “Thank you,” she murmurs into his sleeve.

Armin nods as Shira comes bounding back to them, dropping one of her toys at Armin’s feet. He pushes Mikasa further into the house before reaching for the toy. “Go shower. Have you eaten anything yet?”

“No.” She kicks off her shoes.

“I’ll make some breakfast.” Armin tosses the toy through the hall, and Shira chases it madly, a growl building behind her teeth. As Mikasa collects her things, she hears him say, “I just hope he doesn’t lose your damn baby under the couch.” Mikasa throws a hairbrush at him. She misses, but his laugh echoes after she closes the door to the bathroom.

And that night, when Eren gets home to see Mikasa and Shira sitting as far apart as possible from each other on the couch with Armin grinning between them, he makes the right choice not to ask.

---

They stumble in late one night, their movements a little sluggish from the drinks at Ymir and Historia’s engagement party. Eren’s hands are hot on her hips as he pulls her into their home, her nails clutching his forearms as she manages to kick the door closed behind them.

Mikasa nearly trips as she nudges off her shoes, but Eren holds her steady with strong hands on her shoulders. “How much did you drink?”

She isn’t sure if he’s actually slurring his words or if she imagined it. “I don’t know,” she admits. At least her head’s not spinning as much as before. “Ymir kept bringing them to me. I lost count after five.”

“Hm.” Eren kisses her forehead, guiding her to their bedroom. His voice takes on a singsong quality as he kisses along her nape, his lips a pleasant warmth on her heated skin. “I think she likes you.”

“How will I break the news to Historia?”

“I’ll help.” He unzips her dress and unhooks her bra before tugging one of his sweatshirts over her head, mussing her hair in the process. After helping her into bed, Eren disappears from the room to take Shira out, turning off lights and locking doors and windows on his way back. She buries her face into the collar of his sweatshirt.

“Eren.”

“Yes?” Placing a glass of water on her side table, Eren tosses his suit jacket onto the dresser, followed by his shirt.

Mikasa doesn’t answer at first, her tongue weighing heavily as she shuffles until her feet are hanging off the end of her bed, her weight supported on her shaky forearms. He’s been in that suit for too damn long. She waits until he turns before raising her leg to push her foot against his crotch, grinning victoriously. Her plan worked perfectly.

Or maybe not so much, as Eren’s got his eyebrows raised and looks as if he’s trying not to laugh at her. “Mikasa?” He asks after a minute, taking her foot from where she’d managed to kick his knee.

She decides to ignore that minor setback, shaking her hair out of her face. “I want you.”

He doesn’t respond, setting her foot back on the bed before climbing over her, his knees on either side of her hips as she lies down. Mikasa curls a hand into his hair, tugging his mouth to hers; his lips warm as she kisses him. Hooking a leg around his waist, his sweatshirt riding up her stomach, she reaches down, fingers barely brushing the waistband of his boxers before Eren takes her hand and holds it above her head.

“You’re drunk.” Eren kisses the tip of her nose.

“Drunk,” she complains, pulling her lips into a pout. Eren snorts, nudging her leg away from his hip. She realizes her mistake too late. “I’m not. Drunk.”

“Yeah, okay Yoda.”

Mikasa tugs on his hair, kissing him again and trying to pull him closer, but he breaks the kiss with a laugh to press his lips to her forehead and cheeks. He cards his fingers through her hair, gently working through the knots as she sighs contently, the routine strokes of his fingers working to calm her. Mikasa reaches for his free hand, linking their fingers just before Shira jumps onto the bed and barges between them, barking happily in Eren’s face. Mikasa resists the urge to groan.

“I thought we agreed no dog in the bed.” Her head is still just fuzzy enough to allow her thoughts to slip into words.

“We’re not sleeping, yet.” Eren says, gathering the dog in a smothering hug. “Hey girlie!” Shira laps at his nose and cheek, her tail thumping wildly against the bed.

Mikasa throws an arm over her eyes, this time actually groaning. “I hate that dog.”

She feels Eren freeze next to her, murmuring to Shira in an attempt to quiet her. “Mikasa…”

“She’s in the way all the time, and she peed on my favorite shoes.” She’s well aware that she’s whining, but she can’t stop the words from spilling, falling between them as empty weight. “She scratches me when you aren’t looking, and I know she’s been hiding my keys. And she sheds. A lot.”

Eren is silent, scratching loudly at Shira’s head before he sighs and lies on his back next to her, Shira still perched on his chest. “A week.” She manages to turn her head, meeting his gaze as he does the same, his bright eyes searching hers dejectedly. “You promised a week, Mikasa.”

“I know-”

“There’s still three days left in the week.” Eren sits up, still cradling Shira against his chest. “I’m sure you’ll find something about her to like.” He takes Shira back to the living room, and Mikasa hears him latch her crate before he returns, dropping his slacks next to the bed and tossing the covers over them, running his fingers through her hair as Mikasa shoves her face into his chest.

“I’m sorry.”

Eren laughs, quietly and not unkindly, lifts her chin to catch her eyes. “Don’t be. I kind of had a feeling it would be like this.”

Mikasa pauses, her words caught on her tongue before she finally says, “I don’t hate Shira.”

“I know.”

“Eren?” He hums in acknowledgement. “I love you.”

He pulls her closer, pressing a kiss to her head. “I love you, too.”

---

Mikasa hates Eren’s late night shifts on the force; she hates how the house feels even colder when he isn’t around, and especially hates the little bundle of nerves that she can’t seem to shake for the two nights he works late. She’s always afraid that he’ll get caught in a bad scuffle with a criminal, or hit in the crossfire, or targeted by someone and instead of him at the door, it’ll be Chief Hannes with his hat pressed against his chest and bad news burning his throat.

Eren always tells her not to wait up- he knows how her mind works, especially when she stays up, stressed and worried and too wired to sleep, but she hasn’t followed his advice yet. It makes the early hours of her job harder, but she thinks it’s worth it to see him get home, safe and without harm.

Pulling a thin throw blanket from the back of the couch over her shoulders, Mikasa tucks her legs beneath her, seeking a little more warmth while she reads through her current case study. Levi sprung it on her at the last minute, setting the meeting for two days from now, and though she sometimes hated working with her cousin, (his crude humor and perpetual apathy didn’t make for such great teamwork,) he always managed to give her some of the most interesting cases.

Her vision’s just beginning to blur, the words on the paper merging together when Shira jumps onto the couch next to her, plopping her chin on Mikasa’s thigh. Mikasa tosses the study onto the coffee table, rubbing her palms against her eyes as Shira fixed herself into a more comfortable position, staring at Mikasa with her big, brown eyes.

“Hi, girlie,” Mikasa says, trying out Eren’s favorite nickname. She starts to gently scratch behind Shira’s ears, tilting her head at the way Shira whines, low in her belly. “Hm, one day left, huh? What are we going to do with you?”

The week Mikasa had promised Eren was up tomorrow afternoon, and she’d have to decide whether or not they’d keep Shira. Mikasa didn’t hate the dog, in fact she’d come to love their morning runs, the warmth Shira emanated when curled next to Mikasa’s leg, and the unyielding energy that reminded Mikasa of Eren. But in the course of the week, Shira had torn through one of Mikasa’s skirts, peed twice on the rug, shed on everything, and barked so much Mikasa wasn’t sure she’d ever forget the sound.

The only question was: did the bad outweigh the good?

Shira whines again, a long, pitiful sound that immediately worries Mikasa. She stops scratching Shira’s head, listening to the dog’s sporadic breathing, her rapid panting, and the way Shira can’t seem to raise her head from Mikasa’s thigh. Normally, Shira’s bouncing with energy until she tuckers herself out, but that’s certainly not the case tonight.

“Hey.” Mikasa shifts, the blanket falling from her shoulders as she carefully pulls Shira into her lap, stroking her fingers along Shira’s belly. “What’s wrong?” Mikasa isn’t expecting an answer, but Shira’s constant whining is beginning to sound like crying, and Mikasa can feel her worry shifting into a panic.

Mikasa takes Shira’s face into her hands, and feels her heart stop at the little bumps that have begun to spread across Shira’s mouth and throat.

“Oh no.”

In a blur, Mikasa has a jacket and a pair of boots on, her cell phone pressed to her ear as she waits for Eren to pick up. Shira watches, sprawled out and short of breath on the couch, while Mikasa paces around the room.

“Hey, Mikasa! What’re you doing up-?”

“Something’s wrong,” she interrupts, her voice rising in panic.

Eren shouts something to a coworker, and then it’s quiet on his end before he asks, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t- I’m not sure.” Mikasa groans, tugging a hand through her hair. Her chest clenches at another pitiful whine from Shira. “Her throat… She- Shira, she can’t breathe, I-”

“Mikasa. Mikasa, calm down.” He pauses, probably waiting to make sure she’s listening before he continues. “Over by the strip mall, about a block away from the high school- you know the place?”

“Yes.”

“Three blocks north, there’s a twenty-four hour animal hospital.” Eren’s speaking too quickly, something he does when he’s scared or unsure. “It’s where I took Shira for her shots- Trost Animal Hospital. Armin can give you directions if you need them, Mikasa. Get Shira there. I’ll meet you as soon as I can, okay?”

“Okay. Eren-”

“Go.”

Mikasa stuffs the phone into her pocket before gathering Shira into one of her blankets, holding Shira against her chest as she runs for the car. She knows where the animal hospital is, she visited once with Eren’s dad when she’d thought of being a vet, and the traffic is light enough at 2am that she gets there with no trouble.

At the reception area, with Shira crying into her neck, Mikasa explains the situation, the strange bumps she saw, how lethargic Shira had seemed. The woman, a tall, young looking redhead with kind eyes and a patient smile takes down all the information Mikasa was telling, somehow understanding her broken sentences. She has Mikasa quickly fill out a form before carefully taking Shira into her own arms.

“You can follow me into the office.” The woman places Shira on the table in a small room, unfolding the blanket and resting Shira’s chin on her front paws. At the opposite side of the room there was a door that Mikasa figured led to where they did any operations, but it seemed they’d be staying in the small room as the woman began examining Shira.

Mikasa stood in the corner, worrying her thumbnail between her teeth and choosing to ignore the chairs to shift her weight from one foot to the other. It felt like an eternity was passing as slowly as possible when a loud bang from the reception area made her jump. She heard Eren’s voice, loud and frantic as he argued with a man at the front counter.

She glances out of the room, and once he’d finished signing something, she gestures with her arm to join her. He’s still in his police uniform, but she notices that he’d ditched his hat and gun as he slips an arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Mikasa hears his breathing hitch when he sees Shira, lying on her side on the table.

“Are you okay?” He asks, humming the words against her hair, squeezing her waist.

“Yes.”

Eren walks to Shira’s side, petting her back as the woman gives her a shot and turns back to the computer beside the table to fill out some information. “All set,” the woman says.

“She’ll be okay?” Eren scratches Shira’s ears. Shira’s stilly lying almost motionless on the table, but as Mikasa nears them she can see the dog’s breathing slowly returning to normal.

The woman nods, printing out a sheet of paper and handing it to Eren. “She’ll be just fine. She had an allergic reaction to something. Have you changed any brands lately?”

“Yes,” Eren says, folding the paper into his breast pocket. Mikasa leans against the table, trailing her fingers along one of Shira’s paws. “We just switched her treats a few days ago.”

“Go back to the old treats, but give her a few days to recover.” The woman wraps a blue bandana around Shira’s neck, ruffling her fur with a big smile. “If the bumps don’t go away or her energy doesn’t return by the end of the week, come back and we’ll take care of her, okay?”

“Okay.” Eren takes Shira into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder as Mikasa folds the blanket over her arm. They’re silent as the woman leads them from the room and they pass the front desk again, where two men with a turtle were speaking. In the parking lot, as Mikasa directs them where she’d parked the car, Eren finally breaks the silence with a long, relieved sigh, and a question over the top of the car. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I am.” She scratches at the back of her wrist, a habit she’d picked up as a young child. Her stomach clenches as she glances at Shira. It had just been allergies, but to Mikasa, it felt as if she’d almost lost Shira. “Oh, Eren, the insurance- I didn’t hav-”

“I had the card with me.” Mikasa nods idly, her hands shaking and making her miss the keyhole on the car door. “Hey.” Eren rounds the front of the car, waving with his shoulder for her to join him. They lean against the car, Shira sleeping against Eren’s chest as Mikasa pulls her jacket tighter around her frame, suddenly missing her scarf as she leans against Eren’s side.

Finally, Mikasa sighs. “I was afraid,” she says, when it becomes obvious that he’s waiting for her to feel ready enough to speak, whispering the words into Eren’s sleeve. “I thought… I thought something awful had happened, that she wouldn’t be okay.”

“She’s okay.” Eren shifts Shira into one arm to wrap the other around Mikasa’s shoulders. “She’s okay, and so are you. You did everything right, and Shira’s just fine.”

Her chest still aches, lingering wisps of panic floating pricking her mind. But she’s breathing easier now- as is Shira, and Mikasa knows what she wants to do.

Mikasa scratches the top of Shira’s head, a tired smile pulling at her lips. “I want to keep her.”

Eren perks up next to her. “Yeah?”

“Yes.”

He kisses the top of her head, smiling so widely she thinks it will split his cheeks. “Thank you,” he breathes, shuffling Shira into Mikasa’s arms and offering to drive them back. She lets herself doze on the way home, one hand intertwined with Eren’s and the other drowsily stroking Shira’s nape.

---

It used to be rare that Eren and Mikasa were both home early enough to have a proper dinner, but since Eren’s schedule at the department had settled and become normal, they found themselves with a little more time together. Enough time to sit together at their chipped table, takeout or something Eren made spaced between them and Shira sitting patiently at their feet, waiting for scraps to fall.

Tonight, they’ve already finished talking about their respective days at work, finished finalizing the plans to visit their parents at the end of the next month, and Mikasa is just beginning to suggest they find some ice cream and put on a movie when Eren’s uncharacteristic silence has her trailing off.

“Eren?” Mikasa asks, nudging his knee with her toes. She feeds Shira, perched in her lap, a small scrap and watches as Eren startles, glancing at her, then Shira, then back to her. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah,” he says with a laugh that was meant to be reassuring, but only makes Mikasa worry. He runs his hands down his face with a smile she can’t quite place. “Just… ah, fuck it.”

“What are you-?”

“Will you marry me?”

Mikasa’s breath catches in her throat, eyes wide as Eren smiles sheepishly. Truthfully, she’d imagined being married to him several times over, but she’d never been able to picture the day one of them asked. She hadn’t thought it would be like this, but she didn’t think any other way could be more perfect for them.

“You know,” Mikasa says, voice thick with tears that haven’t yet fallen. Eren takes her hands, urging her to let Shira down and stand before he takes a knee and pulls a small velvet box from his pocket. “Most girls dream of a big fancy proposal.”

“I tried to plan one,” Eren laughs. “Nothing felt good enough for you. I think Armin’s hair’s started graying with how long I agonized to him over this. Remember that surprise party for Ymir? How we celebrated a month early? Yeah, well…” Still holding one of her hands, Eren kisses each of her fingers before continuing, his striking green eyes never straying from hers. “I love you, Mikasa, I have since we were kids. I love how dedicated you are, your strength, the way you love so fully and with all of your heart, and even the way you put your cold toes on my legs at night,” Mikasa chokes out a laugh, crying in earnest now. “I’ve loved everything about you for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Mikasa can’t quite find her voice. “Eren…”

“Will you do me the incredible honor, and marry me?” Eren opens the box, revealing a small silver band with a small diamond sitting in the middle, and a tiny red band winding through the ring. It’s perfect.

“Yes.” Mikasa says without any hesitation, the word barely intelligible through her tears. “Yes, Eren, yes. Of course I’ll marry you.”

He slips the ring onto her finger, kissing her palm before she’s tugging him up by his collar and kissing him fully, mouth moving against his as she grips his shoulders. Eren breaks the kiss with a laugh, wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb. Their food lays forgotten on the table, Shira barking beneath their feet, and Mikasa can’t remember a time she felt happier. She couldn’t wait to tell everybody; her parents and even her coworkers, and especially couldn’t wait for the moment they were married.

Eren kisses her forehead. “I love you, Mikasa.”

Resting her cheek against his chest, she listens to the steady beat of his heart. “I love you, too.”

Then, at the same time, “I can’t wait to tell mom.”

Shira yaps again at their feet and Eren scoops her up into his arms, keeping close to Mikasa as he kisses her cheek and lets Shira licks the other. She was so glad Shira joined their family.

---

Mikasa’s favorite nights were ones like these, when a storm of snow or rain raged outside, but she was curled against Eren on the couch, covered with a thick throw blanket and using his arm as a pillow. Shira was nestled atop their legs, sleeping in a circle, sometimes jerking awake to find a more comfortable position.

They had the fireplace going, the familiar crackle and Shira and Eren’s deep, even breathing the only sounds in the room. She’ll have to get up to put out the fire soon, but for now she doesn’t intend to move.

Mikasa looks away from the window, just beginning to frost over, to turn on her side to face Eren. Their six-month anniversary was coming up within the week, but Armin had told them not to plan anything, said he’d take care of it, had said he wanted to make up for laughing for nearly an hour when they told him how Eren proposed. She twirled her wedding rings on her finger, smiling to herself; sometimes she still couldn’t believe it.

Now she has a surprise of her own, something she’d confirmed almost two weeks ago but hadn’t found the right moment to spill.

She trails her fingers over his cheek, pressing her lips to his forehead, his nose, and his eyelids. “Eren.”

“’M awake.” Eren says, taking her hand from where she was poking his ear. He kisses her palm, opening his eyes with a yawn. “What’s up?”

“I have news.”

He looks instantly more alert, worry flashing through his vibrant eyes as he props himself on an elbow. “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Mikasa says, feeling the beginning of tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. “No, Eren- I’m pregnant.”

His voice was barely above a whisper. “You’re…?”

She makes a noise between a snort and a laugh. “Yeah.”

“We’re…?” Eren grins, splitting the quiet air with a huge laugh.

“Yeah.”

“You’re going to be a mom?” Mikasa nods, unable to find her words. “And I’m going to be a dad? Holy shit. Holy shit, yes!” He kisses her so swiftly; crushing her to him so quickly they accidentally dispel Shira onto the floor. Shira jumps onto his back, though, barking excitedly as Eren kisses her again and again, whispering “I love you’s” against her nose.