Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Eren could see them out of the corner of his eye, whispering to each other over a particular page in the program. It was going to hit the two next to him soon. Glancing down over the audience from their elevated seats, he couldn’t help but wish to be in the covert corner of the theater he normally found a space to occupy rather than the box seats usually taken by the rich and/or important. In this situation, however, he was the rich with his important guests and taking a seat down on the floor would not be nearly as conspicuous as it was with one person than it would be with six.

It would have been particularly difficult when two of those said people figured out why he’d chosen this showing on this specific night several cities away from home. Being discreet was an impossibility when the result of that discovery was one of the mentioned guests smacking him wherever she could reach, repeatedly, while the other tried to hold her back.

“Eren Yeager!” A swat hit the back of his head causing him to duck further away, but his mother followed, completely irate.

“Mom! Stop! People will notice.”

“Good! They should know what a terrible son their favorite artist is!”

“I’m their favorite, huh?” The smirk he gave at the statement turned into a scowl as she landed another hit on him.

“Carla, honey, I think he understands his error.” In an instant, Carla’s wrath shifted from her son to her husband, who pressed his lips together in preparation for her ire.

“He does not understand! Look at that smug expression. He’s your son. He gets this mischievousness from you, Grisha.” Yeah, he was feeling anything but smug, flinching as she moved to hit him again. Was it really that big a deal?

“Ma, you can-not be- stop it – that upset about this!” Eren’s cowering, his hands raised in defensiveness seemed to be enough to quell her apoplectic fit because, finally, his mom sat back. Thankfully, she didn’t notice Grisha discreetly placing an arm along the back of her seat in case she exploded again.

“I can and I am.” Carla’s sapphire earrings swung wildly with the angry back and forth of her head. “Years! For years I have waited for this! Since I carried you in my womb for nine months, endured a solid twelve and half hours of labor, clothed and fed you for eighteen years, paid for your college tuition so you could have a chance at a bright future only for it to be thrown away to start a band –”

“It was already started!”

“On some fools hope of being famous like every other person with a band out there –”

“Mom, it was not about being famous but if it weren’t for the fame, we wouldn’t be in these seats.”

“You’re right, son. We wouldn’t be, but maybe I didn’t want to be in these seats. Maybe I wanted to be closer to the stage to see but you didn’t consider that. I have been with you and supporting you every step of the way since you started this venture.”

“We.”

“Your father and I have been with you every step of the way, all your life, waiting for it to culminate into this moment and this – this,” she frantically waves the now wrinkled program booklet wildly in the air, “is how we find out that we’ve finally made it to this moment!”

“Find out you made it to what moment?” Eren let out a breath as the tense atmosphere rested for just a moment at Zeke’s appearance through the thick heavy curtain that hid the door to the box. He really didn’t expect her to be so upset about this.

“Your brother has dragged us all here under the pretense of having family time during the holidays when his real intention was for us to see Mikasa for the first time.”

“What?!” His eyes found the darkness of the ceiling, the dramatic gasp from behind reminding him of what he already knew. He didn’t have to see his mother’s indignant expression as she and his older brother commiserated over this egregious slight he done them. The two of them were thick as thieves. Of course, they’d feel the same way. Of course, they’d be on each other’s side. His view tilted sharply as Zeke got a lick in of his own.

“What the fuck, man!”

“You’re a terrible brother!”

“And son!”

“Quit hitting me!”

“Don’t hit your brother, Zeke.”

“I knew from the start that something was up. What other reason would there be to gather all of us to attend a ballet instead of just gifting tickets to anyone interested? I refrained from pressing the issue like I knew I should have. Your grandparents are going to be so upset they missed this. They’ve been waiting too after how much I’ve talked about you two!”

“So have Yelena and Xanson.”

“Where are they, by the way?” Grisha glanced towards the entry as the question left him.

“Unfortunately, Xanson was feeling a little under the weather, but I’m positive he would have bucked up knowing he’d meet his new aunt for the first time.”

“ZEKE!” Eren could feel his face burning with embarrassment, not at the thought of being married to Mikasa. That would never be an embarrassment. It was being so blatantly called out on it. Of all the ways to phrase it, that's what he went with?

“Look at how red he is,” his brother snickered, making his scowl deepen as he slouched further into his plush seat. “It’s like he’s going to prom for the first time all over again.”

“Which I was there for too! I have the pictures to prove it!”

“And you’re here for this, Mom! So, I didn’t tell you why, specifically, you’re here. I don’t think that warrants this kind of abuse.”

“Eren, you know how important meeting Mikasa is to your mother. And Zeke…And me – she’ll be our future daughter-in-law, after all,” of course, the old man couldn’t miss getting his teases in too. “But I agree that we should all settle down. The show will be starting any minute.” At his father’s meaningful look, they all righted themselves in their seats. A beat of silence settled over them before his mother reached over again, this time her hand settling over his.

“I’m sure this must be a big deal for you too. I maintain you should have said something, although I can admit that I overreacted. I’m sorry, sweetie.” Her gentle smile was like a balm soothing the nerves he’d been putting off for the evening. Mikasa, his girl, his love, would be meeting his family tonight. Bringing someone to greet his family or rather having his family come to be greeted was not something he’d ever done before. It was nothing he’d ever considered before her.

“I’m sorry for not mentioning it before.”

“At least you said something.” Zeke offered his own olive branch, but it had Eren’s shoulder haunching. “You…did say something about it, right?” Silence met his question. “If Eren didn’t say anything, how did you two find out?” A program was set in his lap, and he picked up on what Carla was saying immediately. “Really, Eren?” It was as dry as his throat felt after a long set, but it didn’t stop Zeke from picking the booklet up and flipping it open, eyes skimming.

 Just like before with their father, his mother pointed out a black and white picture that he couldn’t make out from his peripheral, the low lighting also not doing him any favors, but he knew it was Mikasa they were looking at. The low whistle from Zeke’s lips as he examined the photo and bio was confirmation enough. Eren felt his heart thundering in his chest as his older brother assessed the little information on the page.

“Isn’t she beautiful,” Carla gushed. “My son has quite the eye for pretty girls. When he said she was a dancer, I had no idea she was a ballerina. I thought he meant a back-up dancer or something in that capacity.”

“A principal dancer at that,” Grisha intoned, a certain level of admiration in his tone that had pride unfurling in Eren’s chest at the compliments they were paying Mikasa. Each one was well deserved, he knew, but the fact that his family realized it before meeting her in person made him feel a little lighter. “The Sugar Plum fairy is a very pivotal role when it comes to The Nutcracker. She must be very good at what she does.”

“She’s the best at what she does,” he found himself scoffing in response before he caught himself. “You’ll see,” he added, turning away from their knowing looks as his face heated again. Thankfully, they didn’t come for him again, the conversation switching topics which was just as well. He could sit back and calm himself before the performance began. It was something he always had to do before watching her appear on stage. Mikasa’s presence, when underneath bright lights, was simply overwhelming to Eren. She was so otherworldly up on stage. Being there when his family experienced the same for the first time had been a goal of his.

There was no doubt in his mind that had he told his mother what Mikasa’s profession was, she would have told his father. Of course, that meant letting Zeke know as well. Between the two of them, no stone would be left unturned until they found out exactly where she worked, seeing as how they already knew what city he spent most of his time in. His mother may have suspected they were here to meet her, but she never would have guessed like this, or Carla would have already been a regular patron at this theater, coming to see every show that Mikasa’s company put on.

A smile graced his lips at his mother’s complaint about not being close enough to the stage to see Mikasa clearly since he'd been thinking a similar thought previously. His reasoning was rebuffed by his guests upon receiving it.

“We could have sat separately, dear. It would have only been fair to let us sit up close.”

“Agreed. It seems like you’ve seen her perform several times. This is an injustice for our first time.”

“Exactly. I’ve been to a lot of her shows. I promise you won’t miss her. Mikasa really will be the best one up there. Wait and see!” Call it biased, call him an amateur critique, whatever. He didn’t have to know about ballet to make those statements. They were true and all he had to say on the matter which was perfect because the lights finally dimmed. They sat in a layer of darkness for mere seconds before the orchestra in the pit below began a slow, whimsical tune and the thick red curtains hiding the set behind it flew open. The show had begun.

It probably wasn’t cool that he didn’t pay the least bit of attention to the woman on stage in her flowing white dress, equally as pristine as the white ribbon that securely held loose strands away from the dancer’s face. While her skills were nothing to scoff at and she did, in fact, have skills, this girl, he knew wasn’t his girl. She was in the lead role, of course, one Mikasa had danced before during her exhausting days as a soloist, but there was something missing. The brilliant aura his girl possessed, the particular way she moved, this girl did not have it and they were not the same.

It wasn’t an unusual thing for Eren to witness. When she entered the stage in all of her shining glory, her smile dazzling the entire audience, the sound of his mother’s insistent “There she is! That’s her!” was drowned out as he faded back to the very first time, he saw that magnetizing entrance into the bright lights. He was completely out of his element, covertly buying a ticket and sneaking into the theater trying not to draw attention to himself.

The street clothes did him no favors surrounded by different dresses of varying materials and styles as well as suits of assorted cuts and colors; the main positive he remembered was that he’d been allowed to choose his seat. The tight little corner, not too close but not too far from the action, was where he’d always tried to seat himself once he’d made a habit of attending shows. The first time, however, he’d been more nervous than he cared to admit.

Eren told himself the strange feelings were because he was worried about being recognized. It was because he found himself in a theater, not for a musical performance but a ballet. A show all about dancing. If he were being honest, he wasn’t quite sure what had persuaded him there. At the time, he wasn’t quite ready to admit that it was Mikasa, that he was so disappointed when she said she was unavailable to meet him because she had to work.

Well, what she’d actually said was that they couldn’t have an entire weekend to themselves since she had two performances back to back. She had made time for him, and he was happy for it, but it seemed that it wasn’t enough. Begrudgingly, with all the excuses first, Eren could eventually admit he just wanted to see her. That was all. Sneaking off to both showings was sufficient, even with Armin’s full on wrath about silencing his phone and not letting anyone know where he was.

Sometimes, he felt like such an idiot for not realizing his feelings for Mikasa sooner. Thinking back, it was easy to see. It was so obvious…but how could you know what love was if you’d never truly been in love before? Yeah, he’d dated. There had been one serious relationship some years ago, but he hadn’t been ready for it to reach the level it had, and with his priority being his music, it ultimately came in between them. Giving her up, as shameful as it was to admit, had been easy in hindsight; It was something he now knew with surety after having to face possibly giving up Mikasa…a second time after having to experience life post having her a first time. There were definitely make or break times in life. He knew that for a fact since he’d encountered them enough times in his career, but rarely had they happened on such a personal level.

Eren couldn’t help but wonder, every now and then, how differently things might have turned out if he hadn’t pressed Mikasa that day. At night when she lay curled into him, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking what if he had let her go as she wanted, leaving nothing but tears, empty words, and the ghost of them in her wake. Taking risks and chances had never been a problem for Eren. At first, because he was a dumb kid, and later on because he grew more confident. With Mikasa…there were chances he found he couldn’t take with her, including the things he’d really, truly wanted.

The times that they were apart and he didn’t want to interrupt her sleep or daily routine, he’d involuntarily contemplate how he’d end up always sneaking into her performances, hiding his face from the people nearby not to protect his identity, but so they wouldn’t see the tears he never could keep from his eyes because the closest he’d ever get to her again was rows and rows back. If they hadn’t come to an understanding, he would have been a nameless, faceless silhouette, barely visible past the stage lights.

Not that it was a particularly common thing for him to watch, but Eren couldn’t consume any form of Peter Pan after that show. All he would think about was how far into the cushions of the arm rest his fingers sank, how his breath held in his chest, his eyes blown unblinkingly wide at seeing her again for the first time in months, flouncing on to the stage with a gorgeous smile for every single patron in the audience. There was realizing he truly loved her and there was realizing how deeply entrenched in the desperate longing he’d been holding inside.

That show was torturous like nothing he’d ever experienced, and masochism became a predominant trait that she brought out of him when he went to see every single showing afterwards just to get a glimpse of her, just to feel as if she were smiling at him again. How easily he would have found himself there for the rest of his life if he hadn’t taken that chance and just told her how he felt haunted Eren in a way he didn’t know how to exorcise.

There would be no objectively enjoying the show when her presence radiated from the stage, swallowing every inch of the cavernous space. There wouldn’t be that sense of pride that only he could have as her boyfriend when she showcased her undeniable skills, making complicated footwork and a thousand times practiced choreography look so effortless. The pure happiness that radiated from her as she flitted across the stage doing what she loved wouldn’t seep into him like it was. He wouldn’t be able to be the first one to his feet, palms beaten red underneath thunderous applause for her performance if things had gone differently. Perhaps the knowledge frequented him so he never took this path for granted.

There was something to be said when her pile of bouquets rivaled that of the girl who danced as Clara, eventually growing larger altogether. It definitely wasn’t the place to whoop and holler, but he wanted to, and it seemed his family was refraining themselves as well if their bright smiles and quaking lips threatening to let sound break free was any indication. That was his girl up there taking a bow, dipping so elegantly, lowering her head in demure thanks to the audience for their accolades and watching the performance, yet he couldn’t help but feel like they should be the ones thanking her.

Eren knew he had nothing to do with this or her achievement, but he was so proud of Mikasa, so fucking proud. He listened closely to patrons passing in the hallway, leaving their own boxes to make sure they were in the clear and all he could hear were good things. His sweetheart was the center of attention, he wanted to brag. His girl – his – lit up the stage tonight.

“Oh, this was so wonderful! She was so wonderful! Everything was so beautiful,” his mother gushed, and it only further swelled his chest with pride. Eren was so full from seeing Mikasa move and flow and dance and now he wanted to see her. The anticipation he’d felt at seeing her perform was one thing. Now there was also the anxiety of his family seeing her, of introducing them to her and vice versa. It had filled him with a nervousness all week, all night, but now all he could think about was her. That wasn’t too unusual; however, Eren couldn’t wait to shoo his parents off with his brother, citing that they’d meet them at the restaurant he’d reserved a table at and yes, he would be bringing Mikasa with him.

It felt like it took way too long for the theater to empty, for the parking lot to clear, for the staff to begin their exit. It was also very risky to find a parking space across the wide street from the performance hall once everything had died down. Anyone could happen upon him leaning against the hood of his car. Anyone could recognize him and snap a picture. Normally, he was so careful, but by that point, he just couldn’t care. After a long string of pre-recordings for holiday performances, he went home first to retrieve his parents when he really wanted to be here with her. Not that he didn’t want to spend time with family. It was just impossible not to miss her when on the road. He could never wait to see her again. After they’d confessed the truth of their feelings to one another, that still hadn’t changed.

Eren couldn’t get enough of Mikasa Ackerman and if he had it his way – which he sincerely hoped for in this regard – he never would.

As if Mikasa could sense his thoughts were reaching the peak of his desperate need for her, his rope finally nearing its end of not having seen her in nearly a month, only hearing her voice on the end of a receiver, only seeing her face on the other side of the screen, she appeared from the dimly lit doors, another figure not far behind. Yes, she was a bit far, but Eren just knew it was her. He’d know her anywhere. His body leapt to attention on its own as she said something to her company before slinging her bag over shoulder and quickly bounding down the steps, emerging into the nightlight, and getting ever closer to him.

He had time to take in her lithe form in a pair of sweats and he couldn’t smile any brighter at the black T-shirt, his t-shirt that she had tied into a knot underneath a thick cardigan. Despite the winter gear she wore, there was still a bright flush across her pale skin. The upwards curl of her lips came in and out of view through a curtain of her wavy midnight locks as she climbed down the stairs but when she finally made it to ground level, Mikasa looked up and their eyes met across eight lanes of highway. It was a moment he’d relived hundreds of times across many settings.

Meeting her again and again and again sometimes felt like his life’s purpose, his face tried to split further in half as if his lips could pull any wider. The little wave he gave her was completely stupid, but she returned it with one of her own. It was little things like that that made him feel less alone in the world, that reminded him that she was indeed his to keep as long as she would have him. The ‘hey’ he mouthed received a ‘hi’ in response and Eren could hear it as if she’d said it right into his ear.

He wanted to take off, to bolt across those lanes to her. What kept him at bay was Mikasa’s palm extending forward, that eyebrow quirk thing she did, the tilt of her head that told him she could see his antsiness to be over there where she was. Of course, she understood just how much he needed to be with her. Right now. Her laugh wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the passing cars when he gestured for her to hurry up, but the memory he kept of the sound filled it in. If she didn’t hurry, he was going to come get her; but the decision was made for him. His gaze followed her as she trotted over to the crosswalk and pressed at the button to cross the road.

It didn’t turn immediately to his disappointment. Hopping from one foot to the other Eren followed her down to the cross on his side, not cognizant of anyone else who could be nearby because only she mattered. Only Mikasa. The light turned yellow, and his knees bounced a little harder as she scooted closer to the edge of the sidewalk. Engines revved, brakes squealed, tires rolled over stray rocks as the second ticked on. Then finally, finally, the top light flashed red, a bright white icon of a person appeared on the signals and chirping could be heard. Locking his knees together was all he could do to remain in place as she sprinted through the stripped section of the road.

Somehow watching her run to him seemed to take an eternity. It must have been if he could make out each fleck in her steel gray eyes as she got closer, see the corners of her eyes fold over as her smile brightened for him, be able to start counting each speckle of glitter positioned across her lovely face. He had no idea why time was such a fickle thing that slowed down in the moments he least wanted it to and sped up in the ones he wanted to hold onto forever.

Mikasa was on him so suddenly, blinking from the midway point to throwing her bag to his feet and pressing tightly to him. The familiar floral scent of shampoo took over him and Eren’s hands were digging into her upper thighs, hoisting them to his was as he lifted her. The shriek she emitted was music to his ears and her laughter, this time so very much in front of him soothed the roiling that always came from being separated from her.

“Put me down! Anyone could see us.” Her face was so unserious looking at him like that and so were her arms wrapping tighter around his shoulders.

“Three and a half weeks, twenty-three days apart and that is the first thing she says to me. No ‘hello.’ No ‘how are you.’ No ‘I love you’ or ‘I missed you like crazy and thought I was so mean in that game of online Uno that I’d redact the win that was clearly a draw.’”

“You’re right, dear,” she cooed all sugary sweet. “I clearly would have had to go crazy to feel bad about beating you fair and square in that perfectly reasonable game of Uno. You should send in a complaint to the Hasbro development team about their UNO AI.” There was that sharp tongue of hers, that competitive streak a mile wide, and her refusal to cut him any slack.

Eren fucking loved this woman.

“For my troubles, I think I should at least get a – mgh!” And she read minds too. Mikasa’s lips slotted into his seamlessly. The smell of her let him know he was home, the taste of her poured on his tongue, reaching deep inside to connect back to that piece of her that she allowed him to always take with him. A sigh from small nostrils let warm breath tickle his cheek. His hands melded deeper into her flesh as she melted over him, her forehead meeting his as their lips moved in a synchronicity that would never cease to amaze Eren.

He wanted to let her deepen it, to let his tongue ghost between her lips, make it wet and sloppy just how she liked to be kissed. The warmth that passed between them, radiating on the street corner threatened to grow as it pushed the chill from the air and made his toes clench in his shiny black dress shoes, however they had to. Mikasa was quite cute, blinking down at him, then up at him after easing her to the ground and grabbing her bag.

“Someone might see us, remember,” he teased quietly, and she chuckled, tucking herself underneath his raised arm and circling her around his waist to begin their short walk to the car. He knew they should be more careful, but sometimes, he just didn’t care. Their steps were slow and measured on the wide walkway.

“Did you enjoy the show?” The hopeful undertones were not lost on Eren, but he had no need to pretend, effectively distracted by singing her praises, giving the highlights and reviews from those he’d heard in passing. “Okay, okay. While I’m not one to downplay my skills, it wasn’t that great. You’re sweet, though.”

“As a gumdrop.” He wanted to make her smile more.

“A gumdrop?! Are you finally admitting to being as cute as I think you are? It’s that kiddie face of yours.”

“Don’t let this little facial hair fool you.” The fingertips tickling at his chin made the mock scowl he wanted to give stand not a single chance against the light flitters. It didn’t stop him from reacting with a quickness, grabbing her smaller hand in his. It was a marvel to watch her lips part as his thumb stroked her palm, the motion causing her slender finger to fold over in relaxation. Eren smiled as she took a step back as he took one forward, so on and so forth until she trapped herself between him in the car.

He wondered if he did it on purpose, running from him just to be left with nowhere to go but back towards him. There was no escape for Mikasa as he lifted their linked appendages to press his mouth onto warm, smooth skin. Her attention was rapt when he made no move to stop there and caught the side of her hand next. Little wisps of uneven puffs shown from her lips in the cold air after he met the barest hint of her wrist. A small tug gave him access to her pulse and kissed it gently, lovingly, almost as his lips were on hers. In that short moment, his eyes never strayed from his love. Everything on the street strayed even further from his focus as he leaned in, their clasped hands pressing to his chest, then hers.

“Do you still think I’m cute, sweetheart?” Suggestiveness laced his tone, but the effort wasn’t enough to cure her obstinance on the matter.

“Yes,” she breathed, pupils blown wide at his touch, at their proximity. Mikasa loved to test him. It wasn’t something he had to wonder about. Eren just knew it because there was no way she didn’t know what came from pushing him by now. He fell for it every single time.

“Really?” His fingers were cold on her neck. Yet, he was sure the violent shiver wasn’t from this icy touch. These days, she was a lot freer in what she gave, which was something he didn’t even know until he knew. Yeah, there were still the little games and the purposeful resistance, but then there were moments such as this where her head sank back onto the top of his car openly gifting him access, gifting him permission to drag rough fingertips down the center of her neck, some dipping in and out the hallows, pressing into her collarbones beneath his shirt, tracing down the swells of her breast and disappearing into the deepest layers of her outerwear.

The skin underneath was warmer, toasty, the slightest bit damp from sweat. Whether from the layers or from the physical exertion of pushing her body so hard earlier, Eren didn’t know but it made his mind wander as he slipped past the waistband of her thick sweatpants, ignoring her wanting lips in favor of the corner of her mouth.

“You find this cute,” he murmured, feeling how tight the globes of her ass were in his hands.

“Mhm.” Smiling into her jaw, he moved up instead, leisurely teasing up the crease of her spine, the image of just how sexy it was to see when she was shaking her hips, throwing them back on his dick, how it deepened as her shoulder blades came together when she was feeling too much, when she was trying to keep her arms from giving in. Mikasa’s hands tugged at his suit jacket, pulling them closer together while she fought to stop herself from reacting. A pointless attempt. He could see her so plainly here.

“I think it’s cute when you try so hard to resist me, sweetheart.” The keen she failed to hold at bay when he bit into that sensitive spot on her neck proved his point. The momentary distraction allowed him to grab at the underside of her breasts with no opposition. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t try, though.

“E – Eren we’re in public.”

“I’m cute. I doubt anyone would really care if I was a little bit naughty.” A pinch at her nipple had her retaliating with a very weak stamp on his foot. He didn’t even think it was intentional. “It’s this kiddie face of mine.”

“Okay! Okay.” Vibrations from the slight whine in her voice had his lips curling further upwards as they continued to lock on to her soft skin. “Seriously, Eren. Stop teasing me. It’s been three and a half weeks. I cannot let you edge me in the middle of a public street.” The fact that she’d give in if he did continue remained unspoken. He picked up on it nonetheless.

In all honesty, just how far things had gone wouldn’t be obvious to any passersby. Their jackets would hide if he decided to feel down the toned muscles of her abdomen and slide back into her sweats. The drawstring held the scrunched waistline snuggly to her body, but the rest of the soft material was loose and baggy. Taking things far enough to tease the plush little cunt he knew was bare save for the sheer tights left on from before was something neither would put past him to do or her to allow. She wasn’t wrong. It had been three and a half long weeks.

No, this wasn’t the longest period of time they’d spent apart, but things were different now. They were so different that he now knew that something she was weak for other than sweets of the chocolate variety was him. It was something he could feel in her heavy breathing even though he’d done nothing besides touch her. Mikasa’s chest moved against his trying to get air in so she could send out his name in weak warning. The weakness shown in her inaction to stop his knee from wedging its way between the hard muscles of her thighs and feeling the heat it held through the cold night air and the layers meant to protect them from it.

Sure, it had been like this for a long time, but now he knew. Eren didn’t want to stop when he could delight in the experience of her fighting with that sense of propriety she was normally so strict about, rarely allowing things to go past a certain point, by grinding down on to his lower thigh. Not just anyone could get her like this with just a few touches and whispered words. There was no question or insecurity about it. Delving into her sweats again, taking in the curb of her, massaging at her mound was a testament to that. If he’d found his pussy ready to be touched or decided to press it into his thigh, let Mikasa wiggle her pelvis back and forth as she whispered meager protest, his point would be further proven.

 Eren would be too pleased to stop himself. He’d be too drunk on her and her reactions to him to worry about someone recognizing him on the sparsely populated sidewalk. He’d be too intoxicated on the paltry pleads of his name, unclear on if they were asking him to stop or wanting him to keep going, to care about whose Twitter or IG he might end up on while rubbing his cock into his girlfriend’s stomach. All that would matter in the end was pushing her into the back seat and being ever so grateful for the illegal tint on his windows because she wanted him as much as he wanted her. That point was close when words slipped from her lips all soft and sweet.

“I did miss you.” They told him the battle with herself was coming to an end. Did she think she put up a good fight?

“I know. I know you did.” That was another reason three and half weeks apart was so different. He knew that too. As much as he would like to get to their normal evening regiment, to be just the two of them wrapped in each other, he was reminded, again, that they couldn’t skip to the good part of this night together just yet. The inner lustrousness of knowing that she still longed for him by her side would have to be enough for. The reason for their missing each other had extra parts to it this time. His family. To his great pain, Eren detached himself from Mikasa, not quite feeling as cold as before but definitely missing the warmth already.

It was the only win he’d ever care about getting out of her.

When he saw her peering up at him through lidded eyes and shiny lips, he was tempted to just say fuck it, his family would be fine without them, but no. He could be responsible…even though skipping out would totally be worth another smack down from his mother. Guiding her over a few paces, he pulled open the passenger side door, hot air from the going heater spilling out. It was nice and cozy for them.

“I do love you.”

Mikasa’s voice tinkled when he quickly whirled towards her, hand going to his chest. The motion surely must have seemed like playful dramatics, but it never was no matter how many times he’d heard the words from her. Every time, he had to stop his heart from bursting from his chest because Mikasa loved him. Not fucking around, not having fun, she loved him. Months after hearing it and he still didn’t know if he would get used to it. Would it ever not feel like it was the first time he was hearing those words?

“You love me, sweetheart?”

“Yeah.” Adorable, beautiful, charming, dazzling. He couldn’t say enough about his girl with that smile he knew was just for him and the flush he was confident only he gave her. She may have been weak for him, but he, Eren Yeager, was absolutely fucking whipped for Mikasa Ackerman. Emotionally whipped, mentally whipped, pussy whipped, on his knees willing to do whatever whipped.

Eren really couldn’t stop himself from yanking her back into him and smashing his lip down to hers, that synchronization, no matter how sudden, appearing once again. He gripped her waist, fingers holding onto the layers she had on to keep her warm and hers cradled his face, weaving through the locks he’d made super neat for her show. Her body was even quicker to relax against him this time and –

“No. You’re really going to get me in trouble. We’ve got to get going and not stay here to be arrested about the not so suspicious rocking of my car. I’d never hear the end of it from Armin once the mugshot got out.”

“You wouldn’t hear the end of it from me either, if you got me arrested,” she laughed, going to dip into the open door but stopping at the flowers that lay on the seat.

“If I got you arrested? My love, there would be no fooling anyone that you were quite complicit in your state of undress and riding my dick in the backseat.”

“But I’m tired.” The large bouquet of bellflowers he specially ordered took her attention transitorily. He couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking as she stopped to stare at them, her eyes a bit far away. The soft smile she made at them didn’t fit well with her next words to him. “As great as I think you look, all red and moaning underneath me, my legs won’t be good for anything but opening up to let you between them, so I insist on bottoming this time. I’ve put in enough work for today. The flowers are beautiful. Thank you, dear.”

The phases his body drastically yoyo-ed through in the span of seconds was wild. On one hand, it wanted to make for the back seat again thinking of how she’d have to do nothing but put her face down and ass up. That intense moment was overtaken by the desire to wag his tail like a puppy when she smacked his cheek with a kiss following her words of gratitude. The things this girl did to him!

“You really were amazing. I kind of expected you to be carrying a floral shop out with you to be honest.”

“Sasha took them home with her, although something tells me she’ll probably leave them in her car to freeze instead of bringing them inside, so I can decorate the apartment with them.” Note to self, she liked flowers for decoration. “You paid for so many flowers that they couldn’t fit them all in one and had to put them in a second, smaller one?” Her tone was teasing as she smelled the second assortment.

“While not a bad idea because I should buy you flowers more often, those are from my parents and brother, whom I might add were also very impressed with –”

“I’m sorry, your who?” He really felt like he should know the expression frozen on her face.

“My parents and brother.” That was what he said right? He’s pretty sure that was what he’d said, so why was her face tilting at him in confusion like she didn’t understand. “Yeah, Yelena and Xanson were supposed to come too, but the tyke wasn’t feeling well so she stayed with him…uh – um – are you –”

“Your family came to tonight’s performance.”

“Yes.”

“With you.”

“Yes.”

“Your mother, Carla Yeager, Your father, Grisha Yeager, and your older half-brother, Zeke Yeager. Those three folks – potentially his family if his son was feeling better – all watched me perform tonight.”

“I mean my grandparents had to skip out too. It’s the Rummy championship in the old folks’ community. I told them it comes every year, and of course, they joked how this one might be their last. I didn’t invite Dad’s folks.”

“Your grandparents too?!” The choking sound she emitted was definitely not the good kind. His arm immediately wrapped around her shoulder, palms rubbing into her back.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but Eren, how could you invite your entire family without even telling me!” He frowned at the sharpness in her voice.

“Is…Is it bad that they came?” A shaky sighed slipped over her lips as she stared steadfastly at bouquets held tightly in her grasp like her entire life was flashing before her eyes. He couldn’t quite figure out how badly he seemed to have messed up here. This response was kind of a weird one.

“No, what I’m saying is that it would have been nice to know. They probably think I’m rude for not coming to greet them before the show.”

“I promise, they don’t. They were actually very impressed with your performance. All glowing reviews just like I knew there would be.”

“Imagine how amazed they’d have been if I’d known!” Her huff of disbelief was visible in the air.

“There’s no way you weren’t giving your all up there. They could feel that sweetheart, Everyone could. I mean it. My family said you were marvelous, stupendous, sensational.” The decorative paper around the flowers crunched between them as he pillowed her face in his palms, smoothing the worry from her features.

“Did they think I was marvelous, stupendous, and sensational enough to keep their son from them?” His brow furrowed.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they came all this way and you’re here with me instead of with them. I know Zeke doesn’t live as far as your parents, but I’m assuming they don’t know their way around here like you do. They don’t think I’m some bad girl who doesn’t have respect for her elders or family? They did come to see me perform and I didn’t meet them after the show either. I tried to hurry so you wouldn’t have to wait long for me, but I’m sure they’re long gone. Were they staying the night or going back home immediately? Maybe we can have an early breakfast together.” Shit, he had just calmed her. Judging by her reaction to them coming without her knowledge, this wouldn’t go over that well, but still he pressed on.

“Um…I was thinking dinner.”

“Dinner? You know my flight will leave before then. Why are you making that face?”

“Yeah, I meant dinner tonight and not tomorrow because you obviously have your flight – which is tomorrow –and they’re waiting for us at the restaurant I reserved a private room at – tonight as in right now. They’re waiting on us right now.”

“Eren Yeager!” Having already received more than a few licks for this whole affair, he was bracing himself to get more from his love when she quickly removed herself from his embrace, but after a few seconds of nothing, his eyes opened to see her staring stonily at him. Okay, this was looking a lot more serious than he initially thought it was.

“Mikasa –

“Just how long have you been planning this,” she demanded, and he couldn’t help but be taken back by the panic in her tone. “You said you bought your ticket – tickets to the show over two weeks ago which means you had to have at least told your family about it that long ago to get a count of how many you needed.”

“I – yeah. I gave them a week – wanted to make sure I could get enough before they sold out.”

“So you knew for that long and still didn’t tell me?” Perhaps he should have told her. Upsetting her had not been his intention in the slightest. “Not only that but you planned a whole dinner for us to sit down for a prolonged period of time to converse.”

“That’s what you do at dinners with people, Mikasa. Sit down for prolonged periods of time to converse and maybe eat in between. I get that I should have told you –”

“Yes, you should have.” Okay.

“But I don’t see why it’s upset you this much. It’s just my family. Just dinner. I swear they’re nice people.”

“Look at me, Eren. I'm wearing sweats and your t-shirt and have glitter all over my face and spray stiffened hair. Does it look like I’m ready to meet people, however nice I know they are, or like I’m ready to go home and elevate my feet?”

“I brought a dress for you and shoes. Sasha helped me out.”

“Of course, she did. No wonder she was being so weird packing up my bouquets.” Words of how much of a traitor her friend was grumbled from her lips as she tapped the flowers rhythmically against her leg in agitation. Eren had to fight his brain to get it to not pay attention to the potential in the sound.

“And you can rest your legs over mine, I’ll even massage them for you. I can’t help with the glitter or hair spray, but I can tell you that you don’t really need help in those departments because you still look beautiful.”

“Thank you, but that’s beside the point.”

“And what is the point, Mikasa? Help me because I am, clearly, missing it.” Despite his best attempts, irritation was beginning to make its way into his speech. He didn’t get why everyone was making a bigger deal of this than it was. It was important, he knew and felt that, but they’d be meeting plenty more times after this. Everyone knew that, didn’t they?

“The point is that I am not ready to meet your family!” Just as quickly as it reared its head, his ire was gone. The words had him freezing, clearly not what he was expecting to hear and calling into question the entire night he’d planned. A quiet shock blanketed the nervousness he’d felt at introducing his love to his precious family.

“Oh.” He kind of wished he was holding the flowers just to have something in his hands as he tried to laugh it off. “I guess it is a bit soon to be meeting each other’s families. I just thought we were at that point, the next natural step. My bad,” he finished lamely, suddenly unsure of what to do with himself or the tightness in his throat. Fuck. “I shouldn’t have assumed. That always gets us in trouble, doesn’t it.”

“I – I’m sorry, Eren.”

“No, no, don’t be. You’re allowed to feel the way you feel. I shouldn’t have pressured you with all this. It’s my mistake.” The parking meter flipped from green to red as he saw her moving from his peripheral, as he heard the cellophane paper rustling, before her hands, now chilled, pulled his attention from their surroundings to her.

“Hello.” The glitter she complained about twinkled on her skin in the streetlight and he felt his chest ease a little at her lopsided smile. His fingers easily circled the circumference of her wrists.

“Hey.”

“I’m sorry for snapping. You didn’t misinterpret things. It’s not too soon, I want to meet your family – I do. It’s just so sudden to me. You’ve given me no time to prepare.”

“That’s why I brought something for you to wear.”

“Prepare mentally. Emotionally. To think about what to say or how to answer any questions they’d ask me.”

“What do you think they’re going to ask you?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is they ask, I need to be ready to answer because it could make or break everything –”

“Make or break? Sweetheart, it’s not a job interview. It’s just my family.”

“It’s still their first impression of me. Yes, I’ve been given a leg up by them seeing the ballet. Dancing is one of the things I’m best at, but that was from afar.” His digits massaged into her wrists trying to understand her thinking.

“They weren’t watching you dance to see how skilled you were. It wasn’t some trial like in those dramas I like to watch.”

“I don’t know how you watch so much of that crap, but it’s based on something and that something is history and reality. Eren, I never thought this would happen. I can’t tell you how badly I’ve wanted this, hearing you talk about your parents and your nephew and everyone precious to you. In my head, it meant – it means that I am just as important to you.”

“You are!”

“I don’t doubt it, dear, but even you know love rarely prevails if the family doesn’t agree, drama or real life. I feel like I can’t even have some control over how they’ll perceive me and I – I just don’t know what I’ll do if they don’t like me, however small the chance, however little the possibility. It sounds stupid or crazy, but if they don’t like me – It is so, so important that they like me, and I can’t even feel confident going in because I haven’t been able to think of how to best present myself for the most optimal outcome to make sure no faults are found in me.” The floral scent she often used lingered on him as her fingers slipped down his face and smoothed to the edges of his shoulders. It filled his nostrils as she wilted, head catching on his chest. “Eren, I don’t even want to think about what that would mean for us if this doesn’t go well.”

Her voice was small, A despondent whisper, not unlike when she first voiced her dream of meeting his mother ‘because she always seemed so nice.’ Sometimes Eren felt really stupid for not getting things or understanding others. He was dense. He knew it because people used to tell him all the time when he was younger. It was something he hoped to have grown out of but guess not. This whole time he was excited that he was willingly bringing someone he loved to meet his other loved ones. Of course, he’d been worried. He’d been worried if she would like his family, worried that they would be too invasive or over the top or overwhelming with their enthusiasm because she’d fit right in. It was never a question in his mind.

Mikasa would be a perfect fit, so it never dawned on him that she would worry if they liked her. He didn’t think that it might mean losing him if they didn’t. His chest didn’t know whether to tighten at her insecurities and knowing he’d made them worse or to feel light at yet another confirmation that she was serious about being with him and genuinely feared something breaking them apart. If they were going to be together, which they were, then he’d have to be better. For Mikasa, he could be. Sighing deeply, Eren gathered her into his arms, hugging her tightly and softly stroking her shiny black hair.

“There is literally nothing they could ask that could make them see you in a lesser light. I promise they already love you. I’ve talked about you so much, that I’m sure they will embarrass the shit out of me by letting you know every single instance. This may be the first time they’re meeting you in person, but they already know you, Mikasa.”

“On some astronomical chance that they don’t like you for whatever bullshit reason your mind can conjure up, I’ll have at least twenty of why it makes no sense, on how there’s literally no way we don’t belong together, and how they can fucking eat it if they think they’re going to get in between us which I swear to you they don’t. It wouldn’t mean a damn thing for us if they did because I love you. You’re mine, not theirs but they’ll want you to be and treat you like you are and probably like you better than me. You’re just that amazing!”

“I’m sorry I sprung this on you, sweetheart. I didn’t think about what it could mean to you, just about keeping it from my mother’s ears. I can guarantee that she would have come to every show that wasn’t sold out, sat in the front row each time, and probably would have found some way to meet the amazing ballerina who played the sugar plum fairy because her son would give a sizable donation to the company since they cared for his mother’s happiness like it’s her money to give away or something.” She’d been silent throughout the whispered words, but finally there were the vibrations of laughter, however small, into his shirt.

“I can’t change anything, but if you really want to wait until morning just say the word and I’ll make up some excuse that they will totally see through, and we can call it a night. I can guarantee that they won’t see you any differently.”

“And if I decided to just get it over with tonight, come what may?”

“Then I’ll ask you to trust everything I’ve said to you to be the truth. The only way I could see things going badly was if my dad’s folks came. We rarely invite the crotchety old bastards to things anyway.”

“You shouldn’t say that about your grandparents no matter how much you dislike them.”

“So I hear, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are what they are, so I don’t understand pretending that they’re something they’re not. What do you say,” he asked, grabbing her hands from his upper body and swinging them in between them, smiling at the smile she was fighting as their bodies twisted in opposite direction. “Nothing can beat a team like us.”

“Let me see which dress Sasha chose first. If it’s not appropriate to meet my boyfriend’s parents then we are not going, and I mean it.” Yep, that was him. Eren Yeager: Mikasa Ackerman’s boyfriend.

“Yes ma’am!” Like that, all was right again in the world, their happiness back to spilling over as he pecked her temple, once, twice, thrice to the sounds of her giggles before giving in to his urges and showering her entire face.

“Come on, Eren! We need to get going. They’ve probably eaten without us by now!” Unwilling to let go just yet, he awkwardly shuffled them enough to open the rear passenger door and reveal a red dress fit for the season. “Well, she may be a sneaky friend, but at least she’s not a terrible one. And there are shoes too?” Eren pointed to a long box on the seat and watched her nod upon seeing it. “Let’s go. I’ll change in the car.”

Relieved to have fixed his blunder and put Mikasa at ease about things, he managed to pry himself away to follow her command only to stop short in confusion upon seeing her crawl into the backseat. Backtracking slightly, his form hunched over, ducking down between the door and car body.

“Um, what are you doing back there? You’ve got shot gun.”

“I want to make it to the restaurant alive and looking like I haven’t been debauched in the confined space of a car. There’s no way I’m taking my clothes off sitting next to you.” She patted his face, looking at him pityingly. “You’re a little too horny for your own good, dear.”

“Me? Moi? This coming from the woman who would not let me watch The Office in peace? Who just took my virginity in the street over there?” He thumbed vaguely in the direction of the crosswalk they’d met at enjoying the way she rolled her eyes at him. “Baby, if I’m too horny, what does that make you?”

“The one between us with enough brain cells to not test the limits of our self-restraint.” Mikasa leaned forward to brush her lips against his, giving a not kiss that left him wanting. “Go drive.” The light bump to his shoulder urged him back into motion, the door shutting as soon as he was clear of it. The tint was too dark to see inside, but Eren knew she’d probably already started removing her layers, exposing the blushing skin and fortified muscles he was always so keen to feel in his touch. Having to use his imagination and memory to fill in for reality on many occasions, it was not a difficult task to picture exactly what he couldn’t see through the dark window. Maybe he was too horny for his own good.

Wiping the thought from his head with a sharp shake, he was bounding to the other side of the car and pulling open the driver door. So what, if he was. Could anyone really blame him when his girlfriend was who she was? Mikasa was hot, accomplished, and could eat an entire two layer, twelve-inch chocolate cake in six minutes flat. They timed it. What a horrifying marvel it was to watch. He held her hair while she puked out her guts and swore to never do it again. It was during her off season when she was as rigid with her diet, but Eren ate “properly” with her the rest of his weeklong stay. They were a unit, after all. A couple. Like a serious one.

Fuck, the thought never failed to make him happy. His excitement began an upward descent, returning full force as he pulled into traffic. She was right. Tonight was further proof that they were serious about each other and being together. It would no longer be just the two of them in their bubble. He could certainly live with that! Stepping out of it opened up vast amounts of possibilities and opportunities and new situations for them to explore alongside one another.

“What are you smiling so hard at?” Having her in the back seat shook things up. Normally Eren was prepared to drive fast, grip the steering wheel hard, and steadfastly resist the feel of her gaze telling him to fuck her from passenger seat. At best, he would glance over quickly, knowing he shouldn’t linger if he wanted them to get to whatever the destination in one piece. Mikasa herself was so fucking distracting on his best day and distracting as fuck on his worst.

If not for the switch up, he would’ve been prepared for enticement. It also might’ve been that they were on their way to meet his parents and not to take pleasure in each other at a hotel. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, not this time.

 The darkness of the vehicle was no match for the city lighting and his eyes pulled from the road in a quick double-take, the familiar dips and curves of her silhouette as she changed snatching his attention exactly as they knew it would. The foreknowledge did nothing to stop him from swallowing thickly at the sight. The blaring of a horn forced his eyes back on the road, gaze jumping away as the steering wheel swiftly eased the car back into the center lane.

“Well?” His eyes flicked quickly to the mirror again, the smirk she wore telling him she knew exactly what was happening and why. Embarrassment heated his cheeks as he shifted in his seat. Or maybe it was arousal. It didn’t matter either.

“Well, what?” Mikasa continued to move about and huff in the limited space as he pressed on the gas pedal a little more, refusing to relent and take another glance.

“I asked what you were smiling at before.” Responding to her verbally was absolutely his intention but he was taught to look at people when speaking with them. Eren’s eyes wandered to the rearview mirror again, to Mikasa again, was pure reflex. Any response he planned to furnish didn’t make it out, the blessed view of her immaculate breasts dropping free from a sports bra taking precedence.

They rocked gently with the momentum of the car, not at all how they jumped and bounced when he was buried in her sopping heat, but that didn’t mean the special gift kept in his mind wasn’t catapulted to the forefront. Despite the many women he’d been with, Eren had never encountered tits as flawless as Mikasa’s. They were perfect in their proportions, how they hung from her chest, how they fit exactly into his palms, the flesh soft and malleable spilling in between his fingers.

How was he so enraptured from simply glancing. How was he held captive watching their jiggling as she leant forward to step into her dress, the dusky nipples that love to be in between his teeth tilting outward when her hips lifted to slide the material further up. It was a spike of anxiety that told him he was still in motion, still driving. It informed him that it’s been too long since he looked at the road, demanding his return.

Mikasa cried out, thrown forward by Eren’s sudden braking, the car coming to a sharp stop at a set of glowing red lights, metal creaking when the vehicle rocked back forcefully. This time he turned around to look upon her instead of catching a glimpse through a mirror.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but I thought I said I wanted to make it there in one piece.”

“I’m sorry. Really. It’s just…” Gaze drifting down to what was giving so much trouble, she immediately caught his drift and yanked the dress the rest of the way up, shoving her harms through the sleeves and giving him the most pointed looked as she did. “Oh, come on. You wouldn’t be distracted if I had my tits out,” he questioned, sheepishly.

“Hold this,” she snorted, shoving the shoe box into his arms. It was luck that he avoided blowing the horn, fumbling the long box out of the way so she could make quick work of climbing into the passenger seat and plucking the shoes from his hold as quickly as she placed them. “Thank you. Green light.” Sure enough, it had changed colors. With one last wistful look at her now covered chest, they were moving again, quickly nearing their destination.

Eren couldn’t help but smile after she physically reached over and turned his head back to the road before switching legs to boot her other foot and bring the material up over her knee. He couldn’t stop himself from sneaking glances while she was covered in orangey light, smoothing at her hair and coloring her lips. It was an established fact that he’d never not want her, fully clothed, completely naked, shining on stage, puking her guts out, or nervously passing over her makeup a third time as if she were any less beautiful in the few seconds between the previous pass.

“Eren,” she groaned softly as he reached across to secure her closest hand from going over herself a fifth time.

“We’re here.” Attention snapping from the mirror to the window as he turned onto the restaurant property. Her fingers gripped his tighter as he put the park gear on in front of the entrance. “Let me zip you up.” Gently, her fingers slipped from his, her body readjusting to let him close her dress. It should have taken but half a second, but of course, he wasn’t going to let her go without leaning over to press his lips to her skin and leave butterfly kisses up to the base of her neck that mimicked the ones she probably had in her stomach.

“How do I look?” Switching her direction again, Mikasa sat as upright as possible to give him the best view.

“Do you want the long answer complete with epic sonnets of your beauty or the short answer that I might manage to pare down to haiku length?”

“I’ll take the short one.” Her laughter tinkled, reaching back for the little purse Sasha hung on his shoulder when he met her after the show.

“Okay. Give me a second to think of some words that rhyme with –”

“Although, I’m sure I could use the hype, I’ll take something even shorter, but first…” A short, twisting gold chain emerged from the bag between her fingers. “Put this on for me.” Fastening the bracelet on her wrist, Eren felt the stiff fibers underneath his thumb. Although he didn’t see it often, he still remembered the Valentine’s Day he’d given it to her.

A belated birthday present, a congratulatory gift, something to celebrate the holiday with. All the excuses in the world were said upon giving this gift. Perhaps, excuse was a strong word, but he didn’t say that he just really wanted to give her something nice nor did he say that he loved her and wanted to see her wearing something from him. How things had changed since then.

“Lovely. You’re lovely.” Silence hung between them for a moment, before Mikasa’s chin was tilting upward in a motion he knew well and he met her in the middle for a few long seconds, holding her neck, stroking her jaw, caressing her cheek. “You won’t regret this.”

“I trust you.” He pecked her lips with gratitude.

“Then let’s do this.” The valet that had been getting a bit impatient outside the car stumbled backward when the driver door came open, narrowly missing being hit. Eren didn’t take the time to be concerned, quickly making his way over to assist Mikasa out, face angled just a little bit awkwardly to avoid the kid’s squinting stare. It would have been very easy to hide behind Mikasa and her fluffy black coat to avoid unwanted attention, but distracted was his picture in the dictionary tonight. Would it have been easier if he'd parked himself?

"Do I know you,” the valet questioned upon getting a full, close up view of his face.

"No, you don't." And hopefully the bills slipping between their hands with the keys would keep him from knowing him. Not sticking around to find out, he ushered his girlfriend inside and to the right after a nod to the maître d' where he knew his family was waiting. Seconds before entering the private room, Eren felt the urge to stop Mikasa and apologize for what she was likely about to walk into, but she was a step ahead of him, not picking up his hesitancy and sliding open the door next to the name card that read Yeager before he could act on the impulse.

At the sight of them, his mother's voice was a higher pitch than he'd ever heard it.

The thought crossed his mind that she was waiting on the other side for their arrival considering how quickly she was upon them. He wouldn't put it past her, but it fell away at the sight of Mikasa being engulfed in her arms. It was a fraction of an inch, but Eren could see the tightness in her back and shoulders relax a bit at the warm welcome; the hug, however, was the beginning of his mom’s visible excitement. The swaying and twisting soon became bouncing and jumping. Mikasa had no option but to follow. He was positive she didn’t mind.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you,” she raved after pulling away. “Oh, you're gorgeous. Isn't she gorgeous, Grisha?"

“Exquisite." He couldn't see her face from where he stood, but Eren knew it was rubescent watching his father come around the table, Zeke a pace behind him. “It’s a pleasure, Mikasa.”

“Mine as well.” He wondered about the way she bent forward slightly, the graceful dip to her head. Was it something she did purposefully or subconsciously? Her radiant smile widened under his father’s ginger pats before stepping out of the way for Zeke. What does his dramatic ass brother do? Kiss her!

“Yes, we’re glad to finally make your acquaintance.” He kissed the back of her hands. No, he didn’t make it something weird or inappropriate by lingering longer than necessary but still! What was this, the 1800s?

“And that’s enough of that.” None to discreetly he removed his love’s hand from his brother’s, taking care to wipe them on his sleeve. “Really? Now you chose to be a weirdo?”

“It’s fine, Eren,” Mikasa laughed. “He was just saying hello. Thank you for having me. I’ve been wanting to meet you all as well!”

“Not like that he wasn’t.”

“Relax, I’m not going to steal your girlfriend.” The dip between his eyebrows deepened at Zeke’s teasing smile.

“As if you could.”

“He never was good at sharing,” Zeke mock whispered to Mikasa.

“Well, he’s going to have to be because Mikasa is sitting next to me. You’ll have to fight it out amongst yourselves who gets the other side. Over here, Mikasa.”

“I don’t think we need to fight about.”

“Wait a minute!” Carla paid her son no mind, guiding the night’s guest to where she wanted her to sit.

“I agree, Dad. Obviously, the person who’ll sit on Mikasa’s other side is –”

“Me. I’m sitting next to my girlfriend and you’re sitting in between those two empty chairs over there.”

“Harsh, man.”

“Xanson is sick, and Yelena is with him. I didn't say they were dead.”

“Eren, your brother’s just teasing.”

“And he has to do this now? Tonight?” Mikasa took his hand as soon as he sat next to her, lips wide at their antics, and he didn’t miss the way his mother’s eyes lit up at the action.

“You’re embarrassing us, Eren,” she chastised before whispering non-conspicuously to Mikasa. “Please ignore his behavior. While he’s normally like this, I’d hoped he wouldn’t show it until much later. At least, we could be sure to have you for a while.” Her delighted laughter dazed him for a second. A few seconds! The fact that she was laughing with his mom inflamed the brewing satisfaction of living this specific moment as it yearned to all evening. He didn’t let it keep him forever because he just had to know.

“Why are you all being like this?”

“I’m being perfectly normal, son.”

“Thanks, pops. I appreciate your normalness.”

“Sure, son.”

“And you two?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sweetie.”

“Me either.”

“Mikasa, I ordered all the shareables on the menu, so help yourself to whatever! It’s still hot. Had I at least been given the opportunity to ask you what kind of food you liked ahead of time, I could have chosen more sparingly. Apparently, foreknowledge is unthinkable to the boy who will be paying the bill.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” he murmured, eyes rolling to the ceiling at Carla’s pointed stare. Mikasa being upset about him not saying anything was understandable. His mother who insisted she’d been dreaming of this day far longer than him, not so much.

“Am I missing something?” Mikasa smiled uncertainly, looking around the Yeager family, eyes lingering on him who was clearly exasperated, but what could he do against his mother? Especially when Zeke was there to back her up. If not for present company being so obnoxious, he’d be reassuring her in the most affectionate way he could think of. She’d probably see right through him and demand to know but that was neither here nor there.

“Not at all!” His mother’s false cheer maintained as did her stare.

“Um, okay.”

“It’s just that we’ve been dying to meet you,” Zeke intoned, interrupting the sticky silence and prompting Carla into speaking whatever it was that she was going to hold back.

“For years! We’ve been dying to meet you for years, Mikasa.”

“You’re all still alive.” Of course, he was paid no mind.

“Ever since learning that Eren had fallen in love, which I will point out we knew before he did. My son is good at a fair number of things, feelings is not one of them, unfortunately. On and on he went about this girl. It was really entertaining, watching him mope and pine if I’m being honest.”

“Mom, come on…” He should have known that they would say all the things that made him look categorically uncool in front of Mikasa. The bashful glow from knowing that she was the girl in question whom her boyfriend did not mope and pine for on questionable levels before he was her boyfriend might’ve been worth it. “See. I told you they would embarrass me,” he whispered in her ear.

“Embarrassed of me, dear?” She grinned at him, merriment sparkling over her.

“Me embarrassed of you, sweetheart? Never.”

“Wow, it’s like we’re not even in the room.” Zeke’s voice cut through the shroud they suddenly found themselves in, breaking them out as quickly.

“Oh!” The smooch he was going to use to prove his point missed which was just as well. He really had forgotten they weren’t alone. Abasement was clear in both their features. “How inappropriate. My apologies.”

“Don’t concern yourself. It’s delightful to see you and Eren be one of those kinds of couples.” That again? “You remember when we were like that, Darling?”

“Were?” Carla winked at her husband, bolstering a light color to his cheeks. Eren kind of wanted to gag a little bit, but he supposed he had no room to talk. His fingers tightened around Mikasa's, hoping to put her back at ease.

“Although Eren has always been entertaining in his cluelessness, I’ve gotta say I much prefer this to then so please don’t fret. Who doesn’t like seeing their innocent younger brother finally experience the splendor of love!”

“Stop being weird, Zeke. I’m begging you.”

“I’m afraid I can’t boast being any less clueless as him, unfortunately,” Mikasa spoke out, stopping any possible back and forth that could kick up. “We were both a little stupid when it came to…us. It seems I’ve also made you wait too. Although, I will say I prefer this too,” she finished bashfully, grays avoiding him to not get pulled into another moment with just the two of them. Eren could relate.

Thinking back, the moment that held them together was just as clear in his head as he was sure it was in hers. When they became an us, when they both realized they were just being stupid, when they realized all they had now, they could have had years ago. There was so much time to make up for even though they had spent said time together, even though they would have so much more with one another. Would he ever get close to feeling like they’d had enough?

“She’s so sweet. How did you land her?” His dumb brother sniffed, dabbling at his eyes. The dramatics going on around this table, he swore. Still…

“I got really lucky. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” In a quick move, his arm was thrown around her shoulders, their joined fingers pulling her arm across her chest, so they sat even closer. Her free hand blocked his lips from meeting her cheek, her expression that was all bossiness coming into play exactly as he intended. Anything to keep her relaxed.

“No more flirting at the table, dear.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He kissed her hand anyway and she rolled her eyes.

“And you already have him trained, Good job, little sis.”

“Shut up, Zeke.”

“You see how mean he is to us. All this time we’ve been waiting to meet you and witness this when all he’s been trying to do was keep us apart and when he finally, finally, allows us to be in the same room he doesn’t even tell us!” Eren fought a winced, not missing the way his girl perked up or the obstinate gleam returning to his mother’s eyes before she’d been distracted.

“What do you mean he didn’t tell you?”

“Oh, just that we had no idea tonight would be when our years-long wait had come to an end, and we would be meeting the love of my son’s ever-shortening life. Sure, it was already strange that he was trying to wrangle everyone up to a ballet of all places, but that could simply be trying to spend time together after a string of shows in a festive way. Nope! How do we find out? Via the program, which has a stunning picture of one Mikasa Ackerman who I so happened to know was a dancer.”

Okay, so maybe Eren could admit to having a vague perspective on why his family might be a little upset, but clearly it was not the same! How upset could they truly be if Mikasa didn’t like them? The thought probably wasn’t even on their radar like it had been hers…they were just eager to bring her into their family circle. He could appreciate that, he did appreciate it, but was it really that big a deal to them when or how it happened? They were all here and –

“You too?” Mikasa laughed, incredulously. “None of us knew this was happening tonight besides this lug right here and the restaurant because they had to record the reservation?” She twisted toward him, amusement and indignation warring with one another. “If he could walk in and get a private room without the reservation it likely would’ve been a revelation to them too, wouldn’t it, Dearest?” Oh, dearest? He might like that one regardless of the offense meant.

“Eren…” His father’s disapproving tone led him to thinking it was maybe a bad idea to have them meet whatsoever. All eyes at the table were on him. Eren was confident Mikasa wouldn’t be taking his side with this one as she had minutes ago.

“How do we all put up with him,” she griped, albeit good-naturedly, but it cemented the betrayal of his love as his family voiced their agreement. He slouched back in his seat as if he’d been physically shoved, hand slipping out of its hold of hers.

“In short bursts of time. It was a lot less stressful once the band formed; the guys could be his full-time babysitters instead of me.”

“Damn. Tell me how you really feel, Zeke.”

“By forcing him on literally anyone else.”

“Wow, Dad. Father of the year right there.”

“Your guess is as good as mine. Twenty-something years I raised this boy, and I still don’t know where I went wrong. Nine months, I carried him! Thirty hours of labor I endured!”

“The number changes so frequently, I’m starting to question how well you remember, Ma.” Crazy how they merely listened to him when it was something they wanted to hear.

“Only for him to turn around and repay you in this way.” His jaw fell open, betrayal made a thousand times worse at Mikasa’s commiseration with the same damn guilt trip his mother used on him since he started getting into trouble. Sure, the age was young, but that wasn’t the point.

“Exactly! That's exactly, my point!” His mom snatched up his girl’s hand, a weepy look taking the place of offense. “I just knew you’d understand. Oh, you’re such a good girl.”

“Is everyone done taking shots at me or is there anything else we’d like to get off our chests here?”

“I didn’t get to take my shot at you, dear.” Mikasa was mischievousness personified, her grin stretching wider as his pout deepened, eyes twinkling as he sank further down in his seat. Even when she was bullying and ganging up on him with his family as her little henchmen, she was still such a breathtaking sight to behold. He didn’t blame his family, honestly. If he were on the opposite end, he’d follow her blindly too.

“I don’t think my heart could take it.”

“Oh, I think it could take it just fine.” His eyes rolled at her little no matter how true it was. “But I suppose I’ll spare your feeble heart. I can’t say how I put up with you.” Her eyes cut to the side, cheeks heating the slightest bit.

“Oh.” Couldn’t say or didn’t want to say in front of the present company?

“Oh shush, you. I know we all put up with you and your specific brand of chaos because we love you.” Demeanor changing instantly, Eren popped up from his brooding slouch, face getting so close to Mikasa’s that she sat back.

“Repeat that for me.”

“I said we, as in everyone at the table, loves you. Or at least that was my assumption. Please, don’t let me speak for you.”

“Well since you’ve opened the floor up –”

“I don’t care if they love me, I only care if you love me.”

“Who’s telling who how they really feel,” someone sniveled, but he wasn’t concerned in the least, Mikasa’s delight at his antics making itself known in her mirthful answer.

“You know I love you, Eren.” How many times was that in one night, already?

“Then I’ll find it in myself to get over this betrayal. Although it might help if you kiss it better.”

“Go lick your wounds alone.”

“She says she loves me but treats me like this.”

“You wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Damn straight.” They grinned at one another.

“My goodness you two are so cute,” Carla fussed, hand covering her face as she looked away with overwhelment. Eren reached under the table to pull Mikasa’s legs over his lap like he promised before they’d arrived while his mother got a hold of her brimming emotions. “However, we all got here aside, we’re overjoyed in getting to know you. I can’t tell you how long I, specifically, have been waiting for my son to get his head screwed on when it came to you and love how much happier he, we, and the other boys are for it. We’re truly so happy to have you, Mikasa.”

“Second,” Zeke said absently looking over the dishes on the table with interest.

“Thank you. I…I can’t say how nervous I was on the way over, kind of freaked out a bit at the suddenness, but you’ve all been very warm and welcome. The stories I’ve heard from Eren are only the tip of the iceberg, I’m learning. I hope to keep learning.”

“I want to echo my wife’s sentiments. It is sincerely a comfort that Eren has found someone important to him, whom he can have a confidant in. With the profession he’s chosen and subsequent lifestyle, getting close to others is a challenge. It can be hard to connect with someone when you’re never sure of their earnest intentions; so, it’s a relief, if I may be so bold, that Eren has found someone he wants to spend his life with. A piece of advice, since you’re quite stubborn my boy, she’s always right even when she’s not.”

Laughs sounded off around the table at his father’s finishing advice, but the previous sentiment had him thinking of how true they were, how different things were for him before he and Mikasa became sort of exclusive and regular. It wasn’t bad but lonely at times.

He didn’t realize how lonely he could feel when he was always surrounded by people until she’d become a semi-permanent fixture in his life. Peeping over at her and seeing her happiness, the worry from earlier nowhere in sight. Eren found himself unable to describe the level of euphoria threatening to overtake him knowing his family loved her just as much as he knew they would.

“I feel like we should have a toast after that.”

“Why not.”

“To Mikasa,” Eren said, his free hand tangled in hers as his glass lifted.

“And Eren,” she chimed back.

“Cheers!” Their glasses raised, they clinked together briefly before taking a swig.

“Why don’t we eat? There’s plenty to go around. I’m sure our guest is starved after her breathtaking performance tonight.”

“Oh, thank you! I’m happy you enjoyed the show, Dr. Yeager.”

“Please, Grisha. Is fine.”

“Or Dad.”

“Mom.”

“Just a suggestion, but really Mikasa. You were amazing! So beautiful and talented. Eren only told us you were a dancer, but not what kind. I never would have assumed you were a ballerina!”

“Wow, we’re really all on a need-to-know basis, with him, aren’t we?” He got a bit of side-eye as she passed a plate of well garnished fries to him, but the argument wasn’t kicked up again. “I’ve been dancing since I was two and have been with the company since I was fifteen.”

“Fifteen? That’s a long time. The program said you were a Principal Dancer?”

“Yes, I was promoted to Principal Dancer nearly two years ago now.”

“And where does that fall in the line of positions?”

“A Principal is essentially the highest position one can be given besides Prima. Although Prima is a title rarely given out.”

“Oh wow, very impressive! You’re only…twenty-five?”

“Soon to be twenty-six in just under two months.”

“That’s plenty of time to achieve that final promotion if you wanted. I’m sure they’ll recognize your hard work and loyalty.”

“Thank you. It would certainly be the crowning achievement of my career if I did.”

“I want to ask you so many things, since Eren doesn’t have the right mind to brag on every single thing you do, but I want to let you eat too. You should eat, Mikasa.”

“I don’t mind answering any questions you have.”

“They’ll have questions after you eat too, so might as well eat.” The suggestion was punctuated by his setting a small hors d’oeuvre plate of garlicky green beans in front of her. “It’s already cooling.”

“Please eat. Now that you’re here, we’ll have plenty more opportunities to torment lover boy over there.”

“Yelena will protect me from you.”

“Not likely.”

“Xanson likes me better than you.” Zeke’s head tilted back and forth contemplatively.

“He’ll grow out of that.” Eren would make it his personal mission to make sure that never happened.

“How about a summary. Tell us about yourself, Mikasa.” His father’s words were innocuous enough, nothing particularly…anything really about them, but if he hadn’t glanced at Mikasa on his right to see if she needed anything else on her plate, he would have missed the visible but subtle change in her demeanor. As soon as the invitation was in the air, her shoulders were pushed back, chin tilted up, head to a slight downward angle, the easygoing smile she previously replaced with one of serenity. It was as if a sleeper agent had activated within her. Agent for who or what, he didn’t know, but the customer service smile they were being hit with was kind of scary. Should he ask if she was okay?

“Although I introduce myself as Mikasa Ackerman, I am a direct descendant of the Azumabito Clan on my mother’s side. To honor my prestigious heritage, my surname is actually hyphenated as Mikasa Azumabito – Ackerman but that’s quite the mouthful, so I tend to stick to Ackerman.”

“For real?!” How the hell did he not know that? Actually, why would he know that? Well, wait, it was about Mikasa, so Eren felt he should have known that even if a situation had never caused the information to come to light.

“Yes, it is! As we are a founding clan of our great nation and of direct lineage to the emperor and royal family, our family has strong ties and heavy influence in our home country. Although I didn’t grow up in the motherland, I’ve spent many seasons there, and am well educated in our histories and culture, as well as fluent in the formal, informal, and imperial tongues.”

”Oh, so you’re bilingual?”

“Multilingual! She speaks four languages,” Eren bragged.

“Really?! How impressive!”

“What languages? You can’t say that and not tell us which ones.”

“Japanese, Chinese, and Italian. I actually can speak a little bit of French and Spanish as well given how they are in the same family as Italian. The same with Filipino. I’m very well-traveled to keep them all up to standard. My travels also allowed me to grow my badge collection while I was a girl scout.”

“You were a girl scout? And I don’t remember those languages being mentioned when I first asked which ones you spoke.”

“Of course. It was great for developing leadership and life skills as well as allowing for many community service hours. To answer your other question, I’m not fluent in them like I am the other three and didn’t feel they were worth mentioning. Besides, I was telling you about my other talents.”

“Other talents?” Zeke asked, the slight grin, let Eren know that he knew exactly what she meant by that, but his parents did not, both of them leaning in to hear the answer. Mikasa’s widened smile, showing the slightest bit of teeth.

“You all are already familiar with my talent with ballet, but I specialize in classical ballet and have won many competitions over the course of my career. I am also an accomplished pianist, having also been presented with accolades in various competitions before putting all of my focus in pursuit of dance as a profession.” Eren blinked. “Although I did not attend university in person, I double majored in –”

“Back up before we get into me also not knowing you attended university –”

“Online university.”

“Same difference.”

“Not really.”

“They both give you secondary education and a degree. Close enough. You never mentioned you played piano. Or any instrument.” She shrugged.

“It never came up.”

“Really, never? Are you sure because I’m a musician and it makes sense that it would come up if you were a musician too.”

“Musician is a strong word.”

“If you play an instrument well enough to win awards, you’re a musician.”

“Touché, darling.”

“Anything else I should know? Is piano the only instrument you play? Do you sing too? Do you have an extra toe somewhere that you’ve somehow managed to hide from me? Extra arm in the middle or your back? Third eye hiding in your scalp.” The absurdity of his accusations made Mikasa snort loudly, the sound shocking enough to slap a hand over her mouth, but it didn’t stop the laughter that tumbled out.

“You’re so lame!”

“You still laughed.” Mikasa shook her head, her eyes rolling at him, knowing he was right. As quickly as its head reared, the agent in her settled back to sleep. Did she know that she did that? He’d have to bring it up later.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m so amazed at all you’ve done and at such a young age! You parents must be so proud of an accomplished daughter like you!” To their surprise, Carla began tearing up at the table. Perhaps the interactions between the two of them earlier had been a lot for her. “I couldn’t ask for a better match for my son. You’re perfect, Mikasa.”

“I’m flattered you think so, but I have to deny it. Please don’t cry.” His mom dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief from his dad’s pocket.

“I don’t mean without fault, I just mean you’re so well rounded, and from a seemingly high-class family, but you’re still so down to earth and hardworking and you make my son happy and I’m very sure he makes you happy and that just makes me happy. I can’t help the tears. I’m just so grateful. I hope we’ll get to keep you. I at least have to thank your parents for raising you so well.”

“I’m sure my mother and grandmother would love to hear that. Papa would be bashful, but proud too.” As Carla had done earlier, Mikasa took up one of her hands in hers.

“I couldn’t be more grateful myself. Thank you for accepting me as part of Eren’s life and into yours. All of you.”

The affectionate atmosphere maintained as dinner went on with Mikasa detailing her family’s plan for Christmas and the subsequent disappointment of his family. The lack of forewarning was, once again, thrown around, this time in regard to being unable to schedule a joint gathering between their two families, but Eren shut the idea down for the simple fact that he had not met her family yet. It was probably best they didn’t know her family didn’t even know about him yet.

The appetizers were more than enough to fill everyone at the table, the dishes long cooled between conversation and laughter from funny stories they all had to tell. By the end of the night, Mikasa knew much more about his adolescent years then he would have ever had her know if it were his choice. That said, if it meant having more moments like these, Eren supposed he could get over Mikasa knowing about the rash, his six-year-old self received because of the beloved Spider-Man underwear he wore for a week straight. He didn’t remember the outrageous tantrums he threw whenever his mom tried to get them off for a bath, but she was adamant about it, leaving no room for argument.

The restaurant was closed by the time they bid Zeke a good night to go their separate ways, just outside its doors. While the four of them would be bunking at a hotel for the night, he would be taking the four-hour drive home to his family. Eren and Mikasa stood back as Carla and Grisha fussed over him instructing him to call them if anything happened at all, to make sure he let Yelena know as soon as he was on the road, to let them know as soon as he made it home because they would wait up to make sure he got there, so he needed stay alert, and avoid speeding, and follow literally any other precaution they could think to give him.

The exchange was watched and taken in with amusement from the younger parties. After reassurances that their instructions would be followed to the letter, his older brother turned to the two of them first embracing Mikasa then clapping his hand on Eren’s shoulder much harder than necessary.

“It was wonderful meeting you, Mikasa.”

“The pleasure was all mine. Hopefully, next time I can meet Yelena and Xanson too.”

“They’ll definitely be disappointed to know they missed you. Especially Xanson, his favorite uncle bringing him a new aunt would absolutely rock his world.” Both he and Mikasa flushed at the words, the insinuation was not lost on them.

“Oh, go home!”

“My little brother hates me and is always trying to get rid of me. You’ll miss me once I’m really gone.”

“Not likely. I don’t even know why I invited you.”

“Eren…”

“Don’t worry, Mikasa. He’s only mean to me because he lovvvvveeessss me.”

“I’m starting to question that too. Really, leave. It’s late.”

“Even his concern comes out mean.” Zeke shook his head. “See you all soon. Nice to meet you again, Mikasa.”

“Sorry about him,” Eren murmured, lukewarm lips pressing into her hairline as they watched him walk away.

“Don’t be. He meant well and it’s nice to be on the receiving end of an older sibling since I’m always teasing and doting on Shiro. Besides, I don’t exactly mind being the new aunt Xanson’s favorite uncle brings around.” When he normally pleaded with her on things she shouldn’t say to him, it was always a means of keeping some semblance of control over his carnal desires for hurt. In this instance, he didn’t know if the heat in his chest was something he could control. Was it something he wanted to control?

“Don’t tempt me.” Mikasa shifted slightly, looking up softly through dark lashes, her tone curious when asking,

“Tempt you to what?”

“Tempt me to m –”

“Shall we head to the hotel? You’ve got a flight to catch tomorrow and I’m sure you must be exhausted, Mikasa.” Right, she was. Conversation forgotten, Eren wasted no time bundling her, coat and all, into the car, waiting just long enough for his parents’ vehicle to start before pulling out. The ride was quick and silent but easy and comfortable in the mostly empty streets. In no time, they were at their usual hotel. The valet had already retired for the night which was just fine.

They separated, his grip leaving her thigh to make a quick exit from the car with her belongings, but she was holding onto his arm the second he was available, head dipping to his shoulder as they met his parents at the entrance. Mikasa’s tired eyes lit up as they entered the lobby, its elegant interior transformed into a winter wonderland, complete with snow, large candy canes, gingerbread men and women, and of course tensile, garland, and mistletoe.

Caught up in wonder, she didn’t notice they’d walked right underneath a bundle until Eren was moving quickly, his lips meeting hers before she could protest the inappropriateness of such a gesture in front of his parents. The way she melted into him, lips falling open in surrender, told Eren everything he needed to know about the state she was in and the one she’d be in once they made it up to their room. Scant consciousness or daylong weariness, both meant a compliant Mikasa. Getting her to bed should be a piece of cake!

“What was that for?” Her eyes were dazed as he pointed above them, wide when she remembered his parents waiting off to the side for them, narrowed at him when they began moving again. The display made her more aware of him than their surroundings, her hand blocking him when he tried again at the next piece of mistletoe they passed under. “You cannot kiss me like that with your parents in front of us,” she hissed.

“Why not? Their backs are turned.”

“Until they notice we’re no longer behind them again.” The hand he’d slid down to her hip was instantly lifted back to her waist.

“Sweetheart, they know exactly how this relationship started.”

“Just because they know doesn’t mean we have to show them or let them know that we know that they know.”

“What?”

“Just like I would not want my parents to know the details of my sex life, I don’t want yours to know them either.”

“It’s just a kiss, babe.”

“Mhm and how many hangings of mistletoe have we passed now? I’m sure you have no intention of them remaining “just kisses” after stopping under each one. Don’t give me that look. I know you, Eren Yeager. Because you are who you are, it’s better for everyone if we just make our way from such an open area, however empty it currently is. We don’t want to be seen or have our picture taken by someone we didn’t know was there.” Eren sighed. Why did there have to be a sensible one between the two of them…

“Yeah, I know. It’s just that you’ll be leaving for Switzerland tomorrow, and I’ll be here by myself after seeing you for only one night, which was shared by my family. I’m not complaining about that at all. I just normally get to kiss you a lot more.”

“There will be plenty of time to kiss me in the privacy of our room. We’re nearly there.” They crossed the threshold into the area where the elevators were, his parents getting there first, already waiting in a car to speed down and meet them. It was quite a missed opportunity. Mistletoes were literally everywhere. Everywhere. If it had been just the two of them at the hotel that night, surely, they would have spent their first pre-Christmas together playing risky games of finding and kissing under every single bunch in the hotel.

However, the best he could do was yank the one down above an elevator car and stuff it in his pocket. It would only get the slightest bit of use in the morning. He would be making sure Mikasa got to sleep as soon as they were in for the night. In the meantime, he just looked on wistfully at the pieces in the elevator foyer of their floor and all down the hallway as they made the semi-long trek to rooms one-thirty-eight and one-thirty-seven.

“I’ll come by and make sure you’re up in the morning, Mikasa. What time were you needing to leave?”

“Oh, you really don’t have to do that, Mrs. –”

“Carla.”

“Carla. You really don’t have to do that. I’m sure you both will be waiting up late to make sure Zeke gets home. You both should rest.”

“Yeah, mom, I got that handled. You and dad can sleep in.”

“Maybe we wanted to have breakfast before she leaves. Perhaps with some foreknowledge we could have arranged for both our families to meet for the holidays, but –”

“Darling, there will be plenty of time for that. I’m sure Eren and Mikasa wished to spend the holiday together too.”

“Didn’t want to spring your boyfriend on your family, Mikasa?” They both chuckled nervously.

“My family is big and so chaotic; it was more to save him from them.”

“They can’t be more chaotic than us. Just wait until you see us all together.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I feel they could give any family a run for their money. It’s different from your typical chaos, I will say that.”

“Then we should all get along splendidly, I’m sure. We’ll have to plan something! Oh, now I’m excited. Come here.” Eren watched Mikasa laugh as his mom hugged her tightly again. Then his father, who was a lot calmer.

“We can’t wait to see you again.”

“Eren will give you my number if you ever want to call.”

“Mom.”

“No pressure, though. Inside with the both of you. Don’t keep her up too late.”

“Mom!” Carla only laughed at their blushing faces.

“Now he wants to be modest and embarrassed, honey.”

“Thank goodness our room is across the hall.” And once his dad started getting in on the jokes, Eren knew it was truly time to take their leave.

“Goodnight!”

“Goodnight.” His mother gave a cheeky wave as he ushered Mikasa inside, making sure they saw the downward turn to his lips before the door closed behind them.

“Omg, they totally know.” His sweetheart’s face was steaming behind her hands, awkward laughter breaking off as the slid away, her gray eyes peering up at him.

“I told you they knew. Sorry about that though. They think they’re so funny.” They walked towards the bedroom together, their little slice of paradise the same as it always was.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m sure I’d think it was funny if it wasn’t about us. Besides…” She came to a stop near the bed, and he followed suit, dropping her bag to the floor as he turned to face her.

“Besides, what?”

“I like your parents. A lot.”

“They like you more than a lot. Probably better than me.” Hand settling on her neck, Eren dipped down, pulling her lips to his with a gentle caress of her check with his thumb. “I probably like you better than me too.”

“Then we’re even. I might like you better than I like me,” she whispered back, their grins blinding one another.

“Let's get you into bed. It’s going to be a long day for you tomorrow.” He pecked her forehead, before snatching her bag back up to toss onto the bed. “You can have the bathroom first.”

“First? We can save time and water if we take a shower together.” Snickers tumbled from his lips as he glanced back to where she hadn’t moved but continued to dig out the necessities for a shower.

“Normally we’re so good at that but I likely won’t be able to keep my hands to myself if we do.”

“Yes, that was kind of the point in suggesting it since I’m not sure why you’re trying to keep your hands to yourself. The touchiness downstairs left me expecting.” The words had him pausing, turning to her anticipatory form slowly closing the short distance.

“But you’re tired,” he murmured once she was near enough to step back into his embrace.

“Never too tired for you.” Her arms wrapped around his waist as his nostrils took in the delicate scent he associated only with her. Cradling Mikasa’s head he thumbed at an errant speck of glitter that sparkled even brighter because it was on her. He let his heart rate pick up as it did only in her presence, let the joy from having her get along so awesomely with his family truly take hold of him, let the fact that she was never too tired for him lift up the corners of his lips. He could stare at her for the rest of his life just like this and never need another thing.

“What is it?” He shook his head, needing a few seconds to be overwhelmed. Things had changed so much, so drastically, and it had only been a few months. There were times Eren still couldn’t believe Mikasa was truly his, that he was special to her, that she went out of her way for him and not because of him. The way she looked at him, her features opening even more so he could really see that she understood him, that her love for him rivaled that of his for her…

As her chin tilted up easily, magnetizing his lips down to her own, Eren no longer wondered if these feelings would ever calm, would never not threaten to strip him of everything he was, leaving nothing but a man who lived for Mikasa Ackerman alone. Their kissing was disruptive to the still air of the room where the tv would normally provide background noise or music would be infecting their bodies or they were occupied with one another.

The sounds of their lips moving in sync was both loud and mild, her gentle inhales, and his quick exhales helping all thought leave his body save for the ones made up of her. They alone grounded him until his lungs burned so much there was no choice but to let her breathe too.

“We don’t have to do anything,” Eren panted, pressing his forehead to hers. “Being together is enough. Now that – since things are different now, we don’t need excuses to just be together.” Her arms tightened around his waist, candy rock eyes peeling open.

“I know, but I had every intention of you getting laid no matter how tired I was.”

“Of me getting laid,” he laughed, her smile making him fight between wanting to let more laughter shake from his throat and staring at the pretty expression.

“Yes, you.”

“Nothing in it for you, then?”

“Hmm, it could be, but it was more for you. I know we agreed we wouldn’t do gifts since we’ll be apart, but I was hoping you wouldn’t mind unwrapping me.”

“Unwrapping you?” She nodded, expression turning playful, almost impish.

“You see, in anticipation of you coming over, I might have picked up some super fun lingerie complete with bows to untie in…strategic places.”

“You have my interest.”

“I thought we could have our own little celebration at home but we’re here, so I’m afraid there’s nothing to unwrap, sir. My scheming friend wasn’t privy to the ultra special gift just for you.” Eren blinked, processing the information. With compulsion to kick himself overbearing, the pout on his face said it all.

“If you describe the set in very great detail, I can close my eyes and imagine while still unwrapping you.”

“I don’t know. It just wouldn’t be the same, y’know? Luckily Christmas comes every year.” She shrugged carelessly. Obviously, he was being played.

“So you’re telling me about it as punishment even though I meant well tonight?” Releasing her, he ran a hand over his brown strands. “Agreeing with my mother wasn’t enough, now I have to be tortured with the knowledge that my gift has been left under the tree? I have to wait for it to gather dust for an entire year. What about Christmas in July? I can hold on for six months. Maybe.”

“I’ll think about it,” Mikasa laughed merrily. “But that’s six whole months away, possibly twelve.” His shoulders slumped. “Right now, all I want for Christmas is yooooouuuu.” The crisp notes of her voice took Eren by surprise, the sweetness washing over his ears.

“So you can sing.” His wide-eyed stare had her skin shading pink underneath it.

“I can hold a note.”

“Hold a note,” he scoffed. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Plenty!” He regarded her, a smile playing his features as he stepped back into her personal space.

“I guess I should’ve known.”

“And how would you have known?”

“Because there are these little sounds you make.” Her brows came together in the slightest bit. An idea, a desire, was obliged by the strategic placement of his hands at the small of her back and neck.

“Right…tell me more about these little sounds I supposedly make.”

”Well…” His hand slithered down, palm filling with her ass and giving it a tight squeeze. His grin lifted further at the noise that sounded in her chest, so low it was barely anything at all. “There was a note right there.” Left at a loss for words when he yanked her in, Eren crushed her body to his, gaining him a higher pitched reaction from her throat. “And there was another note.” He could feel himself warming from the heat radiating between them, her gazing up at him through a thick dusting of lashes making it permeate to his farthest corners.

Usually, Eren found himself in a hurry to have her, to sate the ever-present need for Mikasa; but here and now, he found it in himself to refrain, to bask in her keenness for his playfulness. Movements measured, his face crept closer to hers, his lips teasing a kiss just as she’d done earlier from the backseat, leaving her wanting as she had him. No, he needed her mouth unhindered to feel her shaking breaths as he found her cheek instead. He needed to discern the sighs with his senses as his teeth scraped along her earlobe.

“Silent note,” He murmured before dipping lower to locate that spot on her neck just below her jaw, giving no preamble before bringing it into his mouth and sucking.

“Mmm.” His tongue found the sensitive skin, the tilting of her head, making it insanely easy, giving him more sweet skin to taste. “Haa – mmh – mgh!” Teeth sinking into her skin, Eren felt her squirm against him, hands gripping at the sudden pain, breaths coming out a mix or air and whimpers and moans as he brushes a clothed nipple, pebbling peaks teasing him through the thicker material of her dress. This time, there was no worry of who might see or potentially arrest them for public indecency.

“Music. You make such pretty music, baby. Of course, you can sing.” The best part was that he got this from the barest effort. The concerts she gave while in throes of pleasure and passion wrought from this luscious –

“L – Let me freshen up.” The whisper floated into his ear, lighting up the nerve endings in his brain specifically for her. Eren ignored the slight nudging against his chest uninterested in letting go. His continued efforts inclined Mikasa to persuade him to her Will again. “Give me a few minutes then I’ll really sing for you, maybe give you some inspiration.” If only she knew. He held closer still, feeling a full body shiver at his flagrant palming of her breast. “Eren.”

“Yeah?”

“Five minutes. Just five minutes then you can come into the bathroom and bend me over the vanity if it takes any longer than that.”

“Fuck, Mikasa stop saying shit like that!” The coat that was already hanging from her arms, hit the floor at his ambition to bend her over right there. Fingers running up the back zipper of her dress, he had every intention of it meeting the same fate.

“Th – three minutes. Eren, please.” He toyed with the catch, wanting to indulge her because he knew she cared after a long day and hours on stage but truly not giving a fuck. A few strokes and he’d be ready. Hell, getting this dress off would make him ready. Blood was already rushing south, stiffening his cock. A sedate piece was no longer in the cards. He should’ve known trying for such a thing led to failing more often than not.

“I bet you’re already wet for me.”

“I bet I – I’ll still be wet after two minutes in the bathroom.” She tugged at his suit jacket, not in a way that would lead to getting it off, he noticed. “Please. I’ll leave the door unlocked once you’ve gone so crazy you can’t wait anymore.”

“I’m gonna go crazy in two minutes?”

“Must be if you can’t give me five.” He huffed.

“Fine…Four minutes!” Hands raised above his head Eren took two steps back, his beautiful, breathless girl coming into full view. The sight of her pupils blown wide almost made him go back in, but he abstained.

“Hmm, maybe I should get a cop outfit.”

“Three minutes.” Taking the warning for exactly what it was, Mikasa scooped up her bag and skittered to the bathroom, the door closing behind her as he fell onto the bed, the action making him all too aware of the burgeoning erection he sported. Thus began the longest twelve minutes of his life. They would argue about this later on, her insisting it was eight minutes, him putting his foot down saying it twelve before bringing it to both their awarenesses that either way, it was still longer than the five, three, and two minutes she insisted on as well as the four he allowed.

Still he waited, however impatiently; occasionally readjusting his pants, knowing that his good behavior (and not barging in to just bend her) would pay off.

Alrighty, sir! I am at your disposal.” Mikasa beamed as she emerged, the fleece lined socks and long plaid shirt making her an adorably sexy holiday picture. There was only one thing that could improve her image and he had that exact item on his person. “Have your wicked way with me, Mr. Grinch!”

“Mr. Grinch?” Eren popped up from the bed, meeting her halfway, not hesitating to pull her close to his chest where she belonged. “If there’s a Grinch between the two of us, it’s definitely you, miss. I’ve got all the Christmas spirit.”

“Do you now?” To answer her question, the stolen decoration was whipped from his pocket and dangled overhead. He grinned proudly as she blinked, her expression crumpled into giggles seconds later.

“Dear, you’re the one who’s stolen Christmas décor. I think this proves my point instead of yours.”

“It would if I had stolen all of it and if I did it because I didn’t want anyone to celebrate the holiday. Obviously, I nabbed this single piece because my girlfriend was not in the mood for Christmas cheer.”

“In front of your parents.”

“I don’t see them here now,” he answered with another wiggle of the ribboned greenery. “C’mon. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is kissing your boyfriend enough so all can hear.”

“I am one hundred percent sure that is not how that line goes.” Despite the disagreement, Mikasa gave in anyway. His heart fluttered as she yanked his lapels, their mouths slotting with enough force to leave him feeling heady. Mikasa took charge with a harsh tugging of his lips between her teeth, the teasing skin of her tongue along the bottom one making him lean in further, the sucking out of his soul through his mouth, making him weak. “I don’t hear you, Mr. Grinch?” Her warm breath caressed his face. “Is it because your heart is growing three sizes bigger.”

“Mmm, I do feel a throbbing.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.  Pretty sure the only thing growing three sizes bigger is my dick.” Mikasa’s head fell back, cackling so suddenly she nearly bit the dust if not for his grasp.

“You’re such a cornball,” she snorted. “Your sense of humor…help!” Her devolving into more laughter left him waiting for it to fizzle out. Eren couldn’t find it in himself to be insulted in the slightest when she eventually calmed. “But I love you anyway.” And that was why. The kiss she bestowed upon him next undeniably had his blood flowing again, her hand sliding up then down his arms, tracing all the way to his on her hips.

For the third time that night, his body was ready for action; but he was starting to question Mikasa’s stated intentions of getting him laid when he was decidedly empty handed and no longer being kissed for this life. Blinking rapidly in an attempt to gather his unwanted bearings, the sly smile she sported incited his curiosity… Until he saw the mistletoe between her fingers. He’d been played again.

“Don’t take away my fun, Mika,” Eren pouted, trying to nab it back but missing as she dodged him.

“So, I was thinking…”

“About?” Turning, his sightline kept her captured as she sat on the bed, scooting just far back enough to keep her socked feet from swaying over the edge.

“Mistletoe. It hangs over people’s heads so they kiss on the lips, probably, but what if it were…other places.”

“Other places?”

“Other places.” The motion of sliding the décor from her thigh, up the length of her body to dangle just above her breast was all the enlightenment he needed.

“You know, I wasn’t one for experiments in science class. All those instructions were a lot to follow.”

“Rest assured, this experiment will be fairly simple. There are two easy steps to follow, technically one.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Follow the directions and leave a kiss.”

“That does sound pretty painless.” He inched closer to the bed. “But I also got paired with crappy group mates. It rarely led to much success.”

“I guarantee you I am very committed to the success of our scientific foray.” They shared another smile as the bed dipped underneath his weight, his knees forcing hers open in accommodation.

“No panties, Mrs. Grinch?” The expanse of skin exposed with the riding up of her long shirt had Eren’s attention, his weight shifting to follow the warm skin underneath and confirm his suspicions.

“At your disposal, Mr. Grinch.” Heart pounding at the sight of her, he reveled in how she clung to him as he forced her to fall back, hair creating a halo for him to admire.

“Awaiting instructions, Mrs. Grinch. I’m very eager to do well on this assignment. I’m positive the results will shake the scientific community to its core.” The results, obviously, would have been completely dismissed by the scientific community, not expressly for the subject matter but for the lack of the experiment’s integrity. So many variables went undiscussed, thus did not have the consistency necessary for reliable results. Despite being told exactly what needed to be done, Eren took plenty of liberties, tongue and teeth following the softness of his lips and leaving marks behind wherever the mistletoe went.

Mikasa’s plaid shirt left her body nearly as soon as he attacked her neck, the little mewls from her throat spurring him to leave as many hickeys as possible at the point that always made her cunt clench up and literally everywhere else he could reach. Doing that through a shirt just wasn’t going to work for him, yet he’d later leave her socks be, face nuzzling up to the fluffy material that kept her calves warm. The, clearly, data would be all off.

Kissing every inch of skin he had access to meant taking detours from where Mikasa led him, her conveyance of instruction lessening at each pinch and roll of her hard nipples. Eren loved to see her struggle, her thought processes is impeded on by the pleasure her body received. The bliss he got from watching her squirm, from feeling the material of his dress slacks stick to his thigh more and more, her pussy seeking release, grinding away into his leg as he slobbered all over the tit he wasn’t groping and fondling enthusiastically. If science class had been like this in school, his diligence in the subject would know no bounds.

So committed to doing a stellar job, he barely noticed that she’d finally caught on to her need to direct him to some other stretch of sensitive skin until he was being prodded away. It didn’t stop his showing of devotion, adoring every inch of her he touched, but it did give him pause. The itch in his muscles compelling him to feel how aroused she was with his fingers, to go ahead and lose his pants so he could experience her wet heat on his bare leg or better yet, his cock was a temptation like no other. He resisted with every ounce of willpower he possessed.                    

Peering up at his loves overcome face, he waited with bated breath to see what she’d do after forcing him away from tender red peaks. A smile, pleased as punch, was drawn from him as she kept going, still wanting to play. The bushel of greenery added the skin of her undulating abdomen to his collection, persuaded him to blow a raspberry or two into her belly button until finally making it to the apex of her milky thighs. He noticed a slight twitch when it tickled at her bare mound.

What was to come next was evident, but he wasn’t always so generous with her wants. At least not until she verbally told him exactly what was wanted from him, but Mikasa knew that by now.

“Kiss my pussy.” Eren did as he was commanded to, generously granting affection, not once, not twice, but thrice, feeling the soft fat of her labia’s sinking in, indenting under his lips. After admiring the cunt he craved like nothing else on earth, he basked in its dew and smoothness. The slick that glistened, shined like a sliver of light beckoning to him from within dark depths, glossed his lips in a taste that was all Mikasa, a glimpse of what was to come if only she –

“More…”

“You want more kisses, sweetheart?” Smugness radiated from his as he leaned towards her thigh, loving the muscles under silk skin.

“No…Eren, come on.” Abdomen caving as she pushed up to her elbows, Mikasa gave him a look, the kind of look that encapsulated everything he wanted her to say out loud.

“Come on, what baby? I haven’t missed a single spot.” Gaze holding hers, he turned slightly, drying lips grazing at her thigh. “Even found a few extra.” The confused mix of indignation and arousal had him unable to keep in his laughter. “I knew you were too tired. Let’s get you to bed.”

“Before I cum?” So fucking cute.

“Ohh, so you want to cum?”

“You’re such a freaking tease, Eren,” Mikasa cried, the mistletoe they’d been playing with bouncing off his head. “Just eat me already. I’m wet. I want you. Please, eat me.” Said so directly and demandingly, that tinge of frustration layered on top made him want to play with her just a little more, but Eren found himself giving in the slightest bit, a single finger tracing ever so lightly down a moist labium and watching her lips slacken.

“Eat you, baby,” he murmured between more kisses on the very tender flesh.

“Yesss…”

“Eat this pretty cunt until you fall asleep?”

“Please. Eren, please.” Just as he’d done at every other place his lips had touch, his teeth followed, nipping at the fat of her cunt before the explosion of flavors that was all her met his taste buds for the nth time. It didn’t matter how many times he’d done or would do this; it was always both like new and like having that favorite meal he’d reminisce with an intense fondness.

This practiced ritual of delighting in his spoils and the quiet huffs she admitted as he bred more was something Eren, more often than not, found the continence and patience to savor. When it came to his girl, savoring always led to greed. Indulgence, without fail, wanted to over-satisfy itself on the syrupy arousal that met his mouth. It wanted to catch every single sound she made.

A melody that was all her own clung to his ears as his tongue dug between her thighs flicking in and out of sweltering folds. Eren quickly became high on the sweet taste of Mikasa’s cunt, his nostrils overtaken with the smell of her. His fingers dug deeper into the muscles of her quivering thighs, lips sucking up the slick that poured through them as her pelvis began finding a rhythm on its own, tilting and tucking and trying to feel the fibers of his taste buds. His baby wanted some friction.

“Eren…” The roots of his hair stretched, the grip of her long fingers tightening as she whined his name, voice not quite begging just yet. The effort was enough to get her excited, to make her breath uneven, to make her legs fall open wider, but not so much to bring her closer to cumming all over his face. Eren wanted to devour Mikasa, eat her pussy whole, effete lips, fluttering walls and all, but a trait he’ll never be rid of, his hearing her beg for him, kept him restrained.

That need to know she was his, still his, even though he no longer had a reason to doubt, a need to dream, a pretext to wonder. “Mmh…”

He needed to hear the insistence in her voice before he could make sure she was in no condition to form words. Tongue, dipping in and out of her hole slowly, deliberately, licking up the velvety skin that was his pussy, he’d bet his girl looked so enticing wriggling, trying to grind her needy self into his face. The more he pecked, sampled, and relished, the antsier Mikasa got.

Breathing became a struggle as she keened out a soft cry in tandem with the stripe he licked up her seam, the engorged clit he’d been doing his best to avoid getting the barest hint of a touch. How sensitive she’d become.

The knowledge was enough to make Eren ache, to remind him of how his cock strained against the material of his boxers, tenting his slacks, gurgling ample precum to soak into the material. Stains were sure to form, but he wasn’t concerned. The yearning for Mikasa, to take her, to be inside her, to be consumed by her overtook any other matter.

Fighting to keep his own hips from rolling into nothingness in search of relief, he nipped at her clit, loving the jolting of her body. Another one and he could feel socked heels pressing the muscles of his shoulder blades through his dark jacket. “Ha – haa…”

Respiration, he determined, was unnecessary. All access to air cut off when his nose pressed deep into her sex, lips sealing around her sensitive bundle. He nibbled the slightest bit, taking gentle sips.

“P-Please, just wanna c - cum.” Until she got frustrated enough to tell him she wanted it!

“Mh – make me c -um, for you Erre – MGH!” The feeling he got knowing he didn’t even need to ask anymore, didn’t even need to make her say…The exhilaration of knowing it was never a necessity and having it proven every single time… Middle and ring fingers twisting in his cunt, he panted centimeters away from her dewiness just listening to the mixture of sounds, getting lost in everything that was her and feeling how it spurred the tightening of his balls, the tension all throughout his body… Her pleasure alone was enough for Eren. It was more than enough.

“Make you cum? For me, sweetheart?” What a bewitching thought. The quaking of her walls around his fingers confirmed her moan of affirmation, the ‘for you’ as tender as his mouth pressing against plump skin, tongue seeking her flavors again. This time it went right for her sensitive little pearl, tracing over it, pressing it away only to seal dirty lips around it and feel her quiver as his third finger worked its way inside.

“Eren…mmh – Ren.” It was so easy to get lost in how Mikasa called for him. Slick poured from within, gushing out with each thrust of his fingers into the heat of her clenching hole, and he drank it up like the nectar it was. If she wanted to give all this to him, then Eren would take it with each curl of his fingers, forcing deep, “Ughhhhh…” every time they found a sensitive place within.

Each roll of her pelvis into his face, hairs straining to stay attached to his scalp as delicate fingers held fast, he sought after intensely.

“‘M close. Ha - I wanna – na –

The only answer was to let his sweetheart have exactly what she wanted, sucking long and hard on her clitoris until his hand was suddenly soaked in cum rushing to escape her flushed cunt. His dick yearned for the same release, jumping and twitching in the constraints of his pants. If not for needing both hands to keep her bucking hips firmly in place, Eren could have worked himself up more, stroking at his blood-thickened cock while swallowing up Mikasa’s ecstasy.

Lapping at her pussy had to be enough for now. Feeling his face a mess as he worked her into orgasm, through it, out the other side and then some, to feel her hips buck harder, hear her cries carry on as his hungry mouth assaulted her cunt was his own ecstasy. It was his to have as much as he wanted. And Eren wanted.

“Anh – ah – mgh – eh – E – ren.” How easily did he make her incoherent? “Too – mh – much. It’s – ahhh.” Not for him, he wanted to say. Weeks had gone by since he’d gotten to dive into this pussy.

“Wanted to cum didn’t you,” was what he puffed, likely too hurried for her to actually catch, in his determination to not let up, to experience the shocks convulsing from her to him, to enjoy how her feet tried push him away from his haven.

Every single noise he could draw out, Eren did. The wailing and whimpering and crying only fueled his vigor, fueled his intent to slurp up every drop of juice offered, tongue flicking furiously. He was in so deep, enamored by each little squirt shooting into his mouth that Mikasa managed to surprise him.

His sweetheart tried to get away from him, tried to twist onto her stomach and crawl away. Thoroughly surprised by the disconnect, she almost managed to escape him, her trembling legs barely succeeding in clearing his head as she rolled onto her belly. The mess of slick and cum was all too obvious in the way it covered the back of her thighs, rolling down with the help of gravity to sit between pert asscheeks.

With Mikasa’s flavors over his tongue, Eren scrambled on to the bed, gripping at her socked calves, trapping her thighs under the weight of his torso so she couldn’t make off before he was done with her.

“Running from me?”

“Mh…i – it’s too m – much.” If he could see her face, he’d confirm the tears in her eyes and the redness of her nose. “Ren…I – I…please.” She wiggled again, the glistening of juices coating full moons catching his attention as she tried to get him to understand. Eren did, really, but she sought to run instead of taking it like she should have, like she knew she was supposed to. His kiss to her bum was gentle, pointed nose dimpling the flesh, feeling the muscle underneath.

“Mikasa,” he sighed, “I told you, you were tired.” Lips meeting the other shuddery cheek, slick smeared along his jawline as he gave it a nuzzle. “But you insisted. You wanted me to make you cum.”

“I – I…mmm.” Another was bestowed closer to her sex.

“Now you’re too tired to give me my pussy.” It was pure teasing the way he blew on red, huddled together lips.

“Ahh…ha – Eren…”

“I’m going to have what’s mine, sweetheart.” Mikasa’s feet flailed behind him, toes curling up, kicking wildly as he dived back in, tongue parting her seam, the bed covers muffling keens of sensitivity. Pressing further, his mouth covered her cunt whole, so pleased to have its favorite taste once again. She was a meal for the senses, the feel of her, the flavoring, the vision of what her face must look like, the sound of her moans reaching pitches they only ever made when he pushed her to this point.

Eren was in love, and he ate his cunt with the fervor it imbued him with, doing everything he could to make her spill inside him again. His body writhed nearly as much as hers with the way his hips rutted into the bedding, cock desperate to get inside her but having to make do with the abrasive material scraping at his inflamed skin. His mouth needed its fill first.

Mikasa sobbed from her chest as he lapped her up, cries coming out incoherent gibberish, body convulsing underneath him as his endeavors were rewarded with yet another orgasm. What a filthy sight she was when he finally pulled back from the sticky mess, strings of cum clinging to his lips, begging them not to go as he, at last, gave in to the call of his lungs.

Pushing himself up to sit on her thighs, Eren looked at his girl while shrugging off his suit jacket. He took in the wreck he’d made of her, adoring the little shocks and spasms shooting through her, enamored at the slight sheen of sweat coating her naked body save for her socked lower legs. The crease running the length of her back beckoned to him. His fingers itched to follow its path as he was wont to do when fucking her from behind.

But Eren kept focus, undoing his already dirtied cuffs and rolling up his sleeves. Loosening his tie, he pulled it from his shirt collar and tossed it in a direction he had no care for. Leaning over her and moving away the black curtain hiding her face, her own mess of sticky fluids smudged over her cheek as viscid digits caressed skin just as rose-tinted at the top as it was at the bottom.

Mikasa’s movements were sluggish when adjusting slightly to look at him. Droplets clung to the thick, dark lashes floating over hazy gray eyes. This was one of his favorite ways to see her only because he knew it was his doing, because she let him do it to her. His girl, naturally so sharp and present, was laid to waste by him. Eren treasured every single second of it.

The angle he kissed her from was awkward as he hovered above her. If not for the state she was in, for her arousal and cum layered on his nose, cheeks, and chin, it might have been sweet given its chasteness and the few short pecks that followed. Her lips were slow to reciprocate; but she tried. She wanted to and that was all that mattered to him.

“All worn out, sweetheart,” he whispered, receiving a hum and slight nod. “Tapping out on me?” At the second question, she hesitated, eyes becoming the slightest bit more alert at its implication. He could see the internal war going on inside her head, fighting between asking for total respite and letting him have all of her as she’d originally intended. The decision she’d come to, Eren already knew, but he pretended to give her time to think by kissing her shoulder and feeling up the fleshy hints of side boob he could grab at before murmuring exactly where they would have ended up either way. “You don’t have to do anything else. Let me handle the rest. Just lay down and take it, baby.”

Not waiting for a response, a pillow was snatched from the head of the bed, the weight of her hips easy to lift despite how limp they were. Her lower body propped up like an offering furthered his excitement. Eren knew he was too keyed up to last long, his body already too spun tight that he feared bursting only from being inside her. Still, that worry didn’t slow the hurry to get his belt undone or his pants down enough to free his sensitive dick, angry at being neglected so long. There was no need to feel at its bulging veins or massage at the bulbous tip. Nothing less than sinking into his cunt would get him right.

Just as he told her, Eren handled it. Wasting no time, he thumbed her round cheeks apart just enough to reveal what he needed. To stay her squirming, he pressed her hips down, smearing their cum along his head as his cock pressed its way home. As much as he loved the sight, there was no way he could watch her cunt be forced open around him, feeling such searing heat engulfing his dick, slowly swallowing it, making space for him to fit and not have it stagger him each and every time it happened. The hiss that whistled through clenched teeth was a shaky demonstration of his barely holding it together.

In the back of his mind, he knew he needed to give Mikasa a moment to adjust to having his cock crowded in her sloppy cunt; and he tried. He tried so hard, the pads of his fingers digging ditches in her ass, forcing prints into her skin, but the quakes he’d seen her going through on the outside were even stronger inside the scorching oasis of sodden folds. His collar was hot at how she held him, the thrumming of her velvet walls at the same pace as his heart had him pushing deeper, forcing her voice to keep working before sliding back out as far as he could just to spear right through her again.

Pleasing her body was nothing he had to think about because his own knew so well by now. Even as he chased his own high, feeling how her walls gripped and massaged his cock as it packed in deep, hips smacking soundly, rhythmically into the plushness of her rear, Eren was angled exactly as she liked. Mikasa sung to him, the arch in her spine from the pressure of his weight forcing her into the mattress doing nothing to hinder her honeyed voice. Her muscles were constricting around him in no time at all.

“Shit…” His groans were nothing when listening to hers. They were nothing when committing the sound of slick flooding out with each plunge into his memory, recording over the audio from their previous duet, the jingling of his belt tapping against both him and her in its flailing a new, added effect. “Haa – fuck!” Drunk and high and bordering on wrecked, Eren was ready to give in to the tugging in his lower abdomen, the straining of his scrotum as it smeared about their mess while fucking her into just one more orgasm and out through his own. The pressure was almost enough, his chasing hips almost at the finish line.

His pace stuttered, but not from being close. Mikasa’s hand reached back, searching; It was only for a moment his drumming tempo was interrupted by the unexpected contact, and it quickly resumed after batting her hand in another direction.

“Fuckfuckfuck!” A trill raced up his spine, forcing his eyes shut again just as her fingers brushed his arm and forced them back open. Thinking she was trying to push him away, get space he just couldn’t relinquish at this point, reprieve from the rigor with which he fucked her, had Eren both annoyed and amused. A growled sounded from his chest as he clasped her wrist in his fist and folded it against her back as gently as he could. Still her fingers danced, moving but not trying to get away. His lust addled brain couldn’t pick up what she wanted, unable to find anything in her wordless cries, too consumed with the fevered tempo he was using to meld with her, disconcerted by the pressure that was making it so incredibly hard to breathe.

Then they stayed, slipping with each hard thrust, but returning to their awkward positioning, barely touching the back of his hand.

It was then that Eren got it. The adjustment was slight, fingers slipping over her sweaty palm to entangle with his love’s, but he managed. Mikasa held on tightly, too overstimulated to do anything else but not let their clasped fingers slip away from one another. This was why she was his. His girl, his love, his life, his number one, two, and three. The sun rose with her. The moon languished with her. She was every dream he never knew he had and then some, all because she was irrevocably his just as his sole ownership belonged to her. It left no room for pretense or games or condoms.

There was nothing between them when his seed burst forth, the tension in his body finally snapping, fulfilling its desire to cover every inch of her walls, to pack so tightly into her happy and willing cunt until overflow. For long moments, Eren knew nothing but the tremendous amount of euphoria that spark in his brain, spreading throughout his body. It blinded him. Deafened him. There was nothing but pleasure overriding his every single ability to function beyond satisfying such a base desire. Well, nothing but her fingers between his.

He couldn’t let go even after coming to, his body weight barely managing to avoid collapsing before untwisting her arm. The wish that he’d removed more of his clothes pressed at his mind when he was unable to feel her damp skin against his own besides where they still lay connected, softening cock likely to slip from her grasp in the next few minutes.

“Mi…kasa. Mika?”

“Mh?”

“You should…use the bathroom.” She didn’t move, but neither did he from atop her, the scent of her hair filling his nostrils as his muscles eased to better fit around hers. They weren’t always the best when it came to cleaning up afterwards, but coming from a medically inclined family, Eren knew they had to be a little more mindful now that he’d made a habit of cumming in her every chance he got. Still…perhaps it would be fine to let it be for now. Mikasa would be getting an early start anyway. A few hours of dreaming something might take root wouldn’t cause too much harm.

His thumb lazily swept back and forth over her knuckles before stilling altogether. This being a new holiday tradition for them was something Eren could one-hundred percent get behind. Happy holidays to them, then.