For All Eternity ...

Mikasa was constantly looking around, stealing glances at her surroundings.

Today was the day Eren had promised to bring her out for a meal. She was so excited about it that she stayed up the whole night.

She had changed her clothes so many times that she lost count of it. This was the first time Eren intentionally had asked to bring her out, to celebrate her birthday.

To her, it was the biggest day of her life.

She could still recall vividly the moment when Eren actually told her about it before they left Trost with the survey corps to embark on their expedition.

It meant incredibly a lot to her, someone who had rarely experienced the warmth of family.

Since young, she grew up facing the harsh realities of a cruel world and went through a very sad childhood for the most part.

"Finally, he's here" Mikasa murmured to herself as she caught sight of a figure running clumsily in her direction.

"S..orry I'm late Mikasa." Eren tried to squeeze out the words while still panting.

"mHm, it's fine!" Mikasa shook her head and gently replied. Even if she had to wait another hour, she would gladly do it.

As long as he showed up.

Her red scarf was fluttering in the air as a cool breeze blew across.

She could tell from the state of Eren's messy hair that he had obviously overslept.

What she didn't know though, was that the real reason Eren had overslept was because of her.

He was so nervous all night, that he couldn't sleep for a good portion of it. He didn't even know the reason why himself, it was just a simple birthday treat, he just wanted to be nice to her sister, why was he feeling so anxious about it?

Now he needed to bring her to the restaurant right?

How should he do it? Wait… was he actually asking how to bring a girl somewhere? Eren couldn't think straight at all.

"Armin told me to hold her hand, but this is... JUST TOO EMBARRASSING. What should I do? I can't just say let's hold hands right?" Eren's mind meanwhile was all jumbled up and confused. He just didn't know how to act.

"Hey Mikasa, ah urm urm... look-k-k at that ! " Eren said as he pointed towards somewhere at random.

"Ah?"

It was .... a rock?

Just as she turned her head. She felt someone tugging at her hands, and a familiar warmth, before being pulled in a direction.

Eren was holding her hand and looking straight, pulling her along with him. His cheeks were a little red and he was trying to keep a composed face. But that made him look even more silly.

"Eren… " A warm smile broke out as she allowed herself to be led by him.

=====

"So… how did you find the grilled fish? " Eren asked.

Mikasa and Eren had finished their meal. Right now they were just waiting for the drinks to be served.

"mHm, it was good." Mikasa nodded her head.

It better be. Eren thought. The restaurant literally cost him two-thirds of his salary. He would have to starve a little until his next payday. But he didn't mind.

"You know, I haven't seen you so happy in a long time. I'm glad that you liked it"

Mikasa's head dropped a little, she didn't know what to say.

"Actually I'm really glad as well… I finally got to celebrate my sister's birthday for the first time. Ever since Shiganshina, I don't feel like we've ever caught a break. This feels like such a breath of fresh air. " Eren continued as he looked down.

Sister? Is that still how you see me as...? Eren...? She thought to herself as she reached out across the table and touched Eren's right hand.

"It still hurts… doesn't it Eren? What happened that day." Mikasa softly said.

"It probably hurts even more for you right?" Eren thought to himself.

He knew what Mikasa had been through. She was kidnapped by bandits when she was young, and lost both her parents at an age far earlier than him before he rescued her.

Her life was just so tragic, after being taken in by his parents, she lost them again.

Just how painful must it be? To go through the cycle of losing your family twice. He lost his family only once and it already… hurt so much.

"Close your eyes," Eren told Mikasa as he placed his left hand on top of the gentle warmth he was feeling on his right one.

The world turned silent for a moment.

She could hear Eren's breathing drawing closer and closer. Is he going to ….? Mikasa thought as she readied herself, and couldn't stop herself from blushing.

"Thud" a soft sound could be heard.

"You can open your eyes now." Eren's voice came.

A wave of disappointment overcame Mikasa as what she wanted… errr expected didn't happen.

As she opened her eyes, she saw an old, worn-out box in front of her on the table.

"Open it" Eren urged.

Mikasa reached her hands across toward it, slowly she lifted the cover.

"This …? "

"A Hairpin, it's… your birthday gift!" Eren said while looking away. His face was turning red. Doing things like that still felt unnatural to him.

"It looks… so beautiful… Why is it shaped like a bird though?" She quizzed.

"That's because I will always be watching over you like a bird in the sky no matter what happens! Even if I'm not around and ... far away heh". Eren replied with a grin. Appearing very satisfied that Mikasa found it to her liking.

A birthday gift? Mikasa could hardly contain her happiness! That was the first time anyone had given her something like that.

"T...h..ank you . Eren. ". It took everything for her to squeeze out the words. She reached out for the hairpin and brought it close to her chest.

Tears were slowly welling up in her eyes and starting to roll down her cheeks.

It was the first time someone had celebrated her birthday. The first time Eren gave her something on her special day.

She would treasure it for all eternity.

Eren stood up, walking over to where she was sitting, he sat beside her.

"It's alright now." Gently placing his hands against her cheeks, he wiped away the tears that were falling.

After that, he brushed Mikasa's hair with one of his hands, and slowly removed the hairpin from her hands with the other.

"You really have beautiful hair ..." Eren looked at her, as their gazes met.

"A...H … tha..nks" Mikasa replied, her words stuttering along with her heartbeat.

He slowly brushed her hair again, lifting a small part of it before putting the hair clip on.

"There you go, it looks perfect on you." A wide grin breaking out once more on Eren's face.

Mikasa gently lifted her left hand, touching where the hair clip was.

"Happy Birthday … Mikasa." He whispered into her ears.

What did…. Ereh just do….? Did he …? She never felt so much joy in her whole life before.

Was this really… Eren?

She slowly tilted her head, leaning her head against Eren's shoulder.

At that moment, she simply blanked her mind, she was just happy that he was here, by her side. Nothing else mattered.

She closed her eyes.