#[ i suppose this is what happens when i vanish. i return with a verbosity that cannot be quelled ]

[moltementi]

8) and 31) for the AC ask game!

( still accepting! ) - ...I Don't Know How To Shut Up: Part One of ???

SPOILERS ABOUND FOR ANYONE FOLLOWING WHO HAS SOMEHOW NOT PLAYED THE GAMES I TOY WITH

8 - Who is thine most endeared maestro of grandiose... er, rites?

Okay, endeared is a bit much for my choices, but... it probably says something really fuckin' hilarious about me that it ties between Cesare Borgia, and Reginald Birch. (They're from different rites, I win!)

See, I'm a sucker for complexity and motive, no matter if such is positive or negative. I also am a gleeful harlot for villainous side characters and want to pluck them up and shake them and figure out how they work. Explore what the game devs didn't give them and maybe make my own logic.

Now, while history has... theorised Cesare was syphilitic in his later years, we're going to go on the AC depiction and blame his bonkers bananas loose eggs on the Apple of Eden. (Though his rl death is fucking amazing, check it out sometime.)

At any rate, one must wonder what goes on in the mind of a man entirely willing to watch and enact and encourage such cruelties as claimed during his tenure. Whether done by himself, Micheletto, or Oliverotto (among others), Cesare is arguably not entirely an insane man. Er, at least by the definition he doesn't... whip out his jewels and yell 'pudding!'

Nor is he sane, pls do not come after my cabbages.

Do keep in mind, that Cesare Borgia is a man that watched his family and family allies systematically fall and die at the hands of Ezio Auditore when he was young. I believe around his first decade of life, if you match up timelines. So imagine this frothing, boiling hatred like Ezio held, just on the other side of the fence. (It has been a hot minute since I've played Brotherhood I admit, so if I am wrong, lemme know. XD)

Reginald Birch is admittedly, a favourite because of how I have developed him.

But I admit I was, once again, fascinated by a man that could sleuth his way into a family via excuse of wooing the daughter, then set up the murder of the father for a pamphlet (and only the father, I swear he could have avoided so much trouble if he just... lopped off the whole top) before conning the mother out of the son, and sending his previously established fiancé to Turkey on the worst vacation imaginable.

Before adopting said son as his.

This latter point is almost exclusively why I tend to go hog-wild with fanon and mark up Ubisoft's pretty lore with my own. I enjoy the thought of 'yearning for children resulting in extremely questionable life choices' not just being a woman thing. The fact it is is kinda weird to me.

Like okay. Sure, Dan. Let's basically slander a whole-ass gender and say that once they hit breeding age, they get a compulsive need to have goblins and will ruin others just to do so.

ANYWAY-

That, combined with influences of Isu artefacts and possible commands from on high, kinda snowball into making a greasy little man that remains greasy, while still being humanised (to a degree). Nothing in this world is black and white and I get thrills when you let me write a sort of warm relationship before stuff goes to shit.

Naturally as a result, Haytham Kenway gets an honourable mention.

31 - If I had an animus, who would I memory mine?

...I have absolutely no goddamn idea.

Maybe Mr. Rogers. I need to know how he kept his sanity and cool through the dumpster fire that was PBS.

[razzle-zazzle]

Five Times Cole was Hidden

...And the one time he wasn’t.

2781 Words; Naga AU; Pre series - Season 1

Cole had always been good at hiding.

It was a fact he had lived with as long as he could remember, some inexplicable trait about him that made him hard to find. He loved to surprise others, often waiting patiently for hours for the perfect moment to attack his mother with a hug.

But right now, Cole was hiding for a different reason.

He didn’t mean to smash the vase, it just happened to be there. On the counter. Which he wasn’t supposed to climb onto.

It looked like a nice vase, too, the kind that his grandparents would display on the shelves but never use. The kind his aunt would make and then sell to a store for a lot of money. And now it was in pieces across the kitchen floor, probably ruined forever.

So now he lay coiled on the top shelf of the laundry room—another place the six-year-old wasn’t supposed to be in—quietly nibbling on a stolen cookie. His father was out running errands, and his mother was outside working the garden. It wouldn’t be much longer before she came inside and discovered the remains of the poor vase, so Cole had hid himself immediately.

It was sometimes hard to hear the rest of the house from the laundry room, but Cole could faintly make out the sound of his mother’s footsteps as she returned inside. He had to strain to hear her reaction to the shattered vase. She didn’t sound very happy.

Cole wiggled nervously.

“Cole?” his mother called out, voice even. “Do you mind explaining what happened here?”

Cole said nothing, listening as his mother’s footsteps made their way to his room, then down the hall, to his parents’ room, all over the house in search of her son. She kept calling out to him, sounding more worried each time.

Cole started to feel really bad. She sounded really scared. He began to make his way down from the shelf onto the dryer.

“I’m in here.” He said, dropping onto the dryer.

His mother appeared in the laundry room shortly, picking him up off the dryer. Cole’s tail curled around her arm as he situated himself.

“What were you doing in here?” Asha asked, carrying her son away from the laundry room. “You know the laundry room is off limits, Cole.”

Cole said nothing, burying his face in her shoulder.

Asha cooed softly. “Please don’t hide yourself like that again. I was so scared!”

Cole hmmed. “I’m sorry I broke the vase.” He said softly. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Oh, that?” Asha sounded surprised. “I was going to break it and send the pieces to my sister to use in one of her projects.”

“Oh.” Cole responded. So he wasn’t in trouble, then. He had been worried over nothing!

“But I did notice that someone got into the cookies while I was outside…”

+=+=+=+=+

If you asked Jay what he considered normal, he’d respond with a long-winded answer where he could have used only a few words.

Though, that was how he usually answered questions, being as voluble as he was.

But his verbosity was beside the point. The point being, of course, Sensei Wu’s new student.

Who was most certainly not normal.

Say what you will, but normal people didn’t have a scaled tail in place of legs. Normal people also didn’t have forked tongues, either.

It’s not that Jay particularly disliked snakes. He just didn’t really see the appeal. But Cole was, well—he was Cole.

And of course, as usual, Jay had no idea where Cole even was. He was always disappearing during free time—there was still that hole in the floor from when he’d been pulled out from under the floorboards, Cole was lucky that Wu intended to have those redone—so Jay still didn’t really know Cole. But that didn’t really matter to Jay, because he really didn’t think he’d ever really understand someone who could swallow a fish whole.

But Jay figured he might as well try, so here he was, trying to find where he’d hidden those components for the mini heater he was trying to make. Digging through their shared room had proved futile.

“Maybe I put them in the rec room…” Jay started making his way down the hall.

And then he tripped.

To Cole’s credit, he hadn’t really been trying to hide. Jay just wasn’t looking down. But Jay still glared at the naga all the same as he pried his face off the floor.

“Do you just phase in and out of existence as you please?”

Cole made a sheepish face. “I don’t think so…”

Jay resisted the urge to yell. He stood up. “Whatever, it’s fine, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Cole looked at him in concern for a moment before returning to his drawing.

+=+=+=+=+

“Cole?” Zane stepped outside, but he couldn’t see the naga anywhere among the training equipment.

Zane frowned. He hadn’t seen Cole since this morning. True, he didn’t know his new brothers very well, but he usually didn’t have this much trouble finding Cole.

“Something wrong?” Jay asked, coming up to stand beside Zane.

“I do not know where Cole is.” Zane stated, stepping outside.

Jay scoffed. “He’s always disappearing. It’s like he just phases in and out of existence as he pleases.”

Zane considered that. “Well, snakes are known ambush predators.”

Jay stared.

Zane felt he should elaborate. “They’re good at staying hidden until the time to strike.”

“Well, yeah,” Jay rolled his eyes, “I figured that much.” He stood before one of the training dummies. “But Cole’s practically on another level entirely!” He kicked the dummy, “You’d think someone so big would have more trouble, but,” Another blow, “he just—” another kick, “—up and vanishes, like it’s no big deal!”

Zane watched Jay train with slight amusement. Though most of the social cues his brothers used were beyond him, Zane liked to think he could read them well enough.

But still, where was Cole?

Zane resumed his search, returning inside to search the halls. He checked everywhere—even opening the trapdoor leading to under the floorboards. But Cole was, so far, nowhere to be found.

Once again, Zane found himself outside. Jay was still there. “Have you seen Cole?”

Jay paused what he was doing. “Uhhh, no? Not since last night. Why?”

This was becoming concerning. It was already midday, and neither Zane nor Jay had seen Cole all morning. Zane voiced these concerns, but Jay didn’t seem very bothered.

“Cole is Cole.” Jay asserted. “He can take care of himself, and he’s probably just somewhere you haven’t looked yet.”

“Somewhere I haven’t looked yet…” Zane mused, thinking. Where hadn’t he looked? He’d checked everywhere in the monastery…

“Oh!” Zane clasped his hands together. That was it! He’d checked everywhere in the monastery, and that was the problem! “I think I know where Cole is! Thank you!”

Jay shrugged. “Okay then.” He returned to the course.

Meanwhile, Zane surveyed the walls, searching for a way up onto the roof. He found what he was looking for, and made his way up.

And there was Cole, lying on his back with a blissed out expression, scales glittering in the sunlight.

“Cole!” Zane moved over to him. “Why were you up here?”

Cole rolled over, yawning as he pushed himself up into a standing position. “Sunning.”

Zane nodded. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Cole blinked. “How long was I asleep?”

“Long enough, I think.”

+=+=+=+=+

Kai didn’t get it.

Okay, so there were a lot of things Kai didn’t get. But this? Having to train to be a ninja to rescue his sister from a dark lord? Alongside these idiots? It made no sense, yet it was seemingly his life now.

He also didn’t get what the deal was with Snake Boy over there. Who the heck had a scaled tail in place of legs?

Cole, apparently.

Whatever, it didn’t matter. What mattered was rescuing Nya. Then Kai could return to his parents’ shop and put this whole mess behind him.

Okay, so maybe Kai had grown a little fond of these idiots. But he had a sister to take care of! He had no time for this ninja stuff!

Speaking of ninjas, the others were sometimes hard to find.

Cole especially.

“Hey, Kai?” Jay asked, breaking Kai from his musings.

Kai glared, “Yeah?”

“Have you seen Cole?”

Kai shook his head. “Why would I know where that bag of scales is?”

“I dunno, he seems to like you a lot.” Jay pointed out. “He’s a lot friendlier with you than he was with me or Zane when we first met.”

“And that means I know where he is why?”

Jay shrugged. “Again, I dunno.” He started to walk away, presumably to ask Zane. “Just figured I should ask.”

Kai watched Jay go, not saying anything in response. In all honesty, he had no idea where Cole was. The boy—snake—whatever was always disappearing somewhere. It was annoying, but nothing that Kai found worrying. Cole could take care of himself, after all.

Kai was startled from his thoughts by the sounds of bones rattling. Standing up only confirmed his fears—the Skulkin were back!

“Again?” He heard Jay shout—from much further off than he expected.

Dodging away from a knife meant for his face, Kai kicked himself up into his spinjitzu, taking out Skulkin left and right. If he could group up with the others, then they could flee—not Kai’s favorite strategy, but it would have to do for now.

And that’s when Kai tripped.

His balance thrown off, Kai tumbled to the ground. He was very quickly beset upon by a swarm of the boneheads, pinning him.

But just when things were getting desperate, something came barreling out of the bushes, knocking Kai’s foes away.

With a start, Kai realized it was Cole, coiling around one Skulkin to swing the hapless foe at another.

Within moments, the two had cleared out the Skulkin enough to regroup with the others and make their getaway.

Once they had a moment to breathe, Cole turned to Kai. “You okay?”

Kai nodded. “Thanks for the help.”

Cole smiled, hissing slightly. “Of course! Anything for a friend!”

As he slithered away to bother Jay, Kai couldn’t help but stare.

Maybe he would have some time for ninjaing after this whole debacle…

+=+=+=+=+

Nya was usually good at problem solving.

She had to be, being raised by her older brother, who, for all of his love and dedication, was, undoubtedly, a complete idiot.

Being good at solving problems also helped a lot when it came to building things, a skill that Nya prided herself on. Her current project would be one to behold once it was finished—but she had to finish it first, which meant working out all the kinks.

This, however, was a bit different.

It was well known throughout the team by this point that Cole was hard to find. It was also well known—at least, to Nya it seemed obvious, she wasn’t sure if the boys realized—that Cole took to hiding when he was stressed.

And given how she hadn’t seen hide nor tail of him since Jay’s parents showed up, Nya presumed Cole was pretty stressed.

So Nya had taken it upon herself to find him and work through the problem. It shouldn’t be hard.

At least, that’s what she thought more than an hour ago.

Jay’s parents had yet to leave, still chattering away with their equally verbose son. The others had given the group some privacy, and Nya had set off on her search.

“I’ve practically turned the Bounty upside down by this point, there’s nowhere left to hide.” She mused, trying to sort through the problem. Where hadn’t she looked?

“Oh!” Of course! She hadn’t looked outside! It hadn’t occurred to her, but she might as well check.

Of course, Cole being Cole, knowing where to look didn’t automatically make him easy to spot. Which, given that he was a violet-scaled naga and these were pale desert sands, was fairly ridiculous.

Not that it took much longer to find him, half-buried in the sands just outside the Bounty. Of course. Of course he’d be hard to spot if he was under the sand. But, she had found him.

“Hey, Cole?”

Cole startled at her voice, snapping up to attention. When he saw it was her, he relaxed.

“Hey, Nya.” He smiled. “Did you need me for something?”

Nya sat down, smiling in return. “No, not really. I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

Cole shrunk back a little. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you usually hide when something’s bothering you.” She stated, as if it was obvious.

“Do I?” Cole shrunk back a little further. “It’s not like I’m stressed every time I hide, you know.”

Nya shrugged. “I don’t know, you seem pretty stressed right now.” Her gaze softened. “It’s okay, Cole, we’re friends, you can talk to me.”

Cole seemed to relax at that. “I just figured, that since Jay’s parents were here, I should try and stay out of the way.”

“Why?”

Cole grimaced. “Most people I’ve met usually don’t take well to—well, just look at me.”

Nya considered that. “Yeah, but you’ve also met all of us.”

Cole blinked owlishly. “I guess…” He sounded uncertain.

Nya took Cole’s hands in her own. “C’mon.” She prompted, “I’ll be right there if something goes wrong.”

Cole pushed himself up. “Alright.”

+=+=+=+=+

Lloyd stifled a giggle as he prepared his next prank. This one was going to be good, he was certain.

“And what are you doing?”

Lloyd startled, dropping the bucket. Turning around, he found himself face to face with Cole, who didn’t look very happy.

Lloyd giggled nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He started to back away.

Cole heaved a long-suffering sigh, grabbing Lloyd and hoisting the kid over his shoulder. Lloyd shouted his protests, but to no avail.

“Come on. Let’s do something more productive with your time.” He carried Lloyd as if he was nothing, slithering away into another room without a care.

“Here.” Cole sat Lloyd down in his coils. He turned to a nearby table and grabbed some paper and pencil. “Instead of setting up pranks, maybe put this paper to good use and draw a bit.”

Lloyd took the offered supplies, glaring.

Cole laid down to get some drawing done himself, giving Lloyd an opportunity. He just had to get away from the naga, then he was home free.

The fact that he was quite literally surrounded by several feet of scaled muscle was hardly a problem. Lloyd just had to climb on over.

“No you don’t.” Cole said, pushing Lloyd back in easily.

Lloyd huffed. Okay, so maybe it was a little bit of a problem. He’d just have to wait when Cole lowered his guard.

“I can feel when you try and climb over me, you know.” Cole said lazily, after Lloyd’s third attempt.

“Oh.” Lloyd poked Cole’s tail. “Can you feel this?”

“Yes.” Cole hissed. “Stop that.”

Lloyd continued poking. “Why do you have a tail anyway? Shouldn’t you have legs?”

Cole gave Lloyd a look. “Should you?” He asked, pushing Lloyd back to the center of the circle.

Lloyd scoffed. “Well, obviously.” He looked Cole over. “But what even are you?”

Cole hmmed. “I don’t think that’s your business.” He rolled over, returning to his drawing. “Besides, you’re not fully human yourself.”

Lloyd crossed his arms. “Yeah but at least I look like one.”

Cole said nothing.

Lloyd sulked.

The silence stretched on.

Still sulking, Lloyd returned to his paper. Well, if he was stuck here, then he might as well plan out his next prank. He’d have to hide the plans—

Jay burst into the room, holding a half-filled bucket. “What is this?”

Shit. There was no way Lloyd was getting out of this. Cole would tell on him—

“I dunno.” Cole flicked the tip of his tail. “Lloyd and I have been in here all day.”

Lloyd paused. Cole was… covering for him?

Suddenly, being surrounded by Cole’s coils felt safer than not.

Jay bristled. “Why do I not believe that?”

“It’s the truth.” Lloyd interjected. “I’ve been stuck here all day with him.” He fake gagged. “Not my choice.”

Cole hissed. “Well, someone has to keep an eye on you, you brat.”

“Okay, okay!” Jay set the bucket down. “I’ll be going, then, since you clearly don’t need me here.”

After he left, Lloyd blew a raspberry at the door. “Good riddance.”

Cole snorted. He turned back to Lloyd. “C’mon, you little gremlin.

“Let’s see if there’s any snacks in the kitchen.”

[gingermemequeen]

A Moonlit Walk (Eremika Week Day 5)

Summary: Armin has noticed that Eren and Mikasa have been acting weird around each other lately, and he has the perfect plan to see where these emotions lead.

Rating: K+ | Words: 1856 | Read on AO3  FF.net

A/N: Post-Chapter 50 (or Season 2 finale of the anime) during some point where shit isn't going down (cause there is never any down time in this series honestly). Also you can sure as hell bet Armin would do something like this, precious child.

A Moonlit Walk:

Armin had noticed a change in Eren and Mikasa’s behavior toward each other for a while. Both would speak quickly to each other, avert their eyes, and go the other way. But at dinner time, when everyone was gathered together, he would watch Eren’s eyes drift toward Mikasa, and he’d watch her eyes drift toward Eren.

Armin knew of Mikasa’s affections toward Eren for quite some time. They were blatantly obvious to everyone except Eren. But for the first time, Armin swore he could notice some affection on Eren’s part.

A devious plan began to grow in Armin’s mind. He spent the morning speaking to his colleagues about the possibility of a moonlit walk that night and what he hoped would occur.

“I don’t understand,” Historia complained over her breakfast. “You want us to say we’re going on the walk but…not come?”

“Oi! Who says you get to decide who Mikasa dates?” Jean challenged.

“Can we at least spy on them?” Sasha begged.

Armin did his best to explain the plan in secret to the others until eventually, everyone seemed to be on his side. But of course, not everything could go as planned. He now had a group of friends hoping to watch the scene unfold in hiding.

As the sun’s golden rays began to vanish at the end of the day, and the sky turned to a shade of indigo blue, the plan was set to begin. Armin rested his hand against the window and sighed, hoping the others wouldn’t screw this up. He hoped not, for they seemed as excited as he was (except for Jean, of course).

Before the stars fully began to shine, Armin snuck out.

…

Eren stood at the edge of the forest, flipping a stone with his foot. His hands were slipped in his pockets, and he grumbled angrily as he waited. Armin had bailed last minute to work on research and Connie had expressed an immense desire for some sleep. Jean had dropped out too, not that Eren minded. He couldn’t stand that horse-faced bastard half the time anyway. He only hoped Mikasa would arrive with some more company.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Eren turned his head to find Mikasa coming up the path. She, too, was alone.

Not too worry, I’m sure the others are close behind her, he thought, grinning to himself.

Mikasa came to a halt beside Eren and glanced around.

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“They backed out. Are Sasha and Historia behind you?” Eren questioned.

Mikasa shook her head. “They both had last minute chores.”

“So…it’s just us?” Eren realized.

Mikasa found herself blushing. “We can just call it quits.”

“No, it’s fine,” Eren convinced himself. “Who needs them anyway? We can enjoy the night together.”

“Y-yes, of course,” Mikasa stammered.

“Um…I guess we can get going then,” Eren said, beginning to walk up the trail. Mikasa quickly ran to his side and began walking beside him.

Silence settled between them. The sound of croaking frogs and singing crickets filled the air. A cold breeze swept through the trees while the bright stars glimmered down below.

Both Eren and Mikasa found the silence unsettling. They were often verbose in conversation with each other, especially when they were arguing. Mikasa could not remember the last time Eren had been this quiet. Each time she glanced at him, his eyes were averted from her and focused on the trail ahead.

“Um, it’s pretty clear out tonight,” Mikasa observed.

“Oh, yeah. I guess so,” Eren responded.

“We can go back at any time if you want,” Mikasa suggested. “You’re probably tired and—”

“It’ll be fine,” Eren responded. “Just got this steep hill and we’ll be at the lookout.”

“Oh,” Mikasa responded quietly.

They trudged together up the steep hill, rocks and dust slipping beneath their feet with each step. Even though both were in pretty good shape, the steep angle took the breath out of both of them, and when they finally reached flat ground, both paused for a moment, catching their breath.

Eren moved forward to get closer to the lookout point while Mikasa paused with her hands on her knees to get enough oxygen back in her body again.

“I guess we can--huff--rest for a second,” Eren suggested. He took a seat on a large, rounded rock near the edge of the cliff.

Mikasa sat down next to him, looking forward. She inhaled as she took in the sights around her. The moon created a pale glow on the tall trees. She watched as leaves swirled in the wind and the constellations glimmered.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw a view like this,” she muttered.

“Me too,” Eren replied. “We’ve been kind of busy, haven’t we?”

Mikasa nodded quietly and wrapped hugged her waist. The temperature had dropped the higher they climbed. Eren glanced down at his shivering friend and frowned.

“You want my jacket?” he asked.

“No, it’s fine. I already have mine on, and you’ll be cold,” Mikasa assured him.

Nevertheless, the jacket was draped around her shoulders. She moved it so that it lay on Eren’s shoulders as well. The two were forced to squeeze closer together so that their legs and shoulders connected. Immediately, a warmth settled over them, and they fell silent.

This silence was not as awkward, but comforting almost. They had not shared an intimate moment together in quite some time, and taking in the scenery brought peace to both of them.

After several minutes of sitting and admiring the view, Mikasa let out a large yawn, and Eren did the same.

“We should probably go back,” Mikasa suggested. Her hands were beginning to get cold now, and even Eren’s jacket wasn’t enough to keep both of them comfy and warm.

“You’re right,” Eren said. He slowly moved the jacket away from her and stood up.

Mikasa slid off the edge of the rock, though as she lowered herself to the ground, the tip of her foot collided with the edge of a tree branch, and she stumbled into Eren.

Eren quickly caught ahold of her arms, balancing her. Mikasa was incredibly close, her face inches away from his chest. She glanced up, about to thank him, when their eyes locked.

…

A snicker came from the bushes.

“Do you think they’ll kiss?” Sasha whispered.

“I doubt it. Neither of them has showed any interest. I don’t even know why I came out here,” Jean complained.

“Shush!” Armin hissed, and the crew fell silent.

…

“S-sorry, I guess I should’ve…” Her quiet voice trailed off. Eren’s hands were still linked around her arms.

“Mikasa,” Eren breathed.

She let out a whimper as Eren’s lips met her own. They were soft and warm. A shiver ran through her body as she returned the action with the same passion. Eren’s hands slid down her arms and gripped her hands. Mikasa squeezed his warm hands in return.

What am I doing? they both thought.

Mikasa broke away first, catching her breath. Her eyes were half closed, and she leaned forward, resting her forehead against Eren’s.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

Mikasa broke him off with another touch of their lips until the sound of ecstatic cheering came from the bushes nearby.

“It’s about time!”

Both let out shocked gasps and broke apart as their closest friends emerged from the bushes.

“Hey! What’s going on?! What’s all this about? Weren’t you all busy tonight?” Eren shouted. Mikasa stood to the side, too embarrassed to speak.

“Yeah, busy spying on you,” Connie teased.

Eren turned to Jean. “Was this your idea of some joke?” he asked.

Sasha giggled. “It was all Armin’s idea.”

Eren’s body began to release tension. He turned to his best friend and glanced at him in confusion.

“I suppose I didn’t mean for it to get this out of hand,” Armin explained. “Everyone coming to spy wasn’t exactly part of the plan.”

“Why did you do it?” Mikasa asked at last.

“Please, the sexual tension between you two overpowers the room,” Jean complained.

Both their faces turned a deep shade of red.

Armin cleared his throat. “Um, well, I’ve been catching you two exchanging glances and acting nervous around each other. It’s been driving all of us mad. So this was my plan.”

“To set us up?” Eren asked.

Armin nodded.

“Well, you all got your results, so, why are you all still here?” Eren growled.

“Perhaps this wasn’t the best plan. Let’s um, all leave Eren to cool down a bit,” Armin suggested. Quietly, the others made their descent down the hill, snickering and laughing to each other.

Mikasa still stood apart from Eren in silence as the voices of the others faded away.

“Can you believe them?” Eren muttered.

“They were just having some fun,” Mikasa replied. “Eren, let’s go back too. It’s cold.”

“Oh, right,” Eren replied. He felt like something else should’ve happened, that they should’ve had more to say, but perhaps they were all tired.

They slowly made their way down the hill, their feet sliding across the ground. At one point, Mikasa nearly slipped, and Eren held out his hand.

“Here. Grab on for balance,” he suggested.

She hesitated then nodded. When they did finally make it to the bottom, her hand was still grasped to his, and neither dared to let go. They were quiet for the remainder of the walk back home and paused a few feet away from the door, at which point, Eren finally let his hand fall from Mikasa’s.

“Look about tonight—what they did--”

“I’m not mad at you, Eren,” Mikasa replied. “I’m not mad at them either.”

“What?”

“They were just having their fun. I had a nice night,” Mikasa explained, averting her eyes from his gaze.

“You’re not upset with me?”

“Of course not,” she replied, glancing up at him again. Their eyes locked one more, and Eren gazed at her.

“Mikasa, I-I want to kiss you again…if that’s okay…”

She nodded, and his lips pressed hers again, creating warmth in the cold. She grinned against his mouth then reached forward to graze her hand against his cheek.

“I’m going to bed,” Mikasa said. “We can talk tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” Eren replied, still in a trance. He followed her inside and kept his eyes on her until they parted ways.

…

Armin sat on his bed, candlelight filling the room. The others had grown nervous that Eren was upset, but Armin only grinned to himself. He knew better. He knew Eren had enjoyed that kiss, and Mikasa had too.

The door slowly opened, and Eren stepped inside. He was quiet and got ready for bed quickly until he crawled into his own bed.

Armin found his silence unsettling, but went along with it, not sure what Eren was feeling.

Once Eren’s head rested against the pillow, Armin blew out the candle, and darkness filled the room. Armin sunk into his bed, laying his head against his own pillow when Eren finally spoke.

“Thank you, Armin.”

A grin spread across Armin’s face. “You’re welcome.”