Chapter Text
Not once had it crossed Mikasa’s mind that she’ll ever need to distinguish navy blue from cobalt blue. They both look the same to her - just darker shades of blue - so she couldn’t see the point in such visual exercise. But Eren has been nagging her for the past fifteen minutes to choose which color of shirt looks better on him.
"The one that will make me look responsible," he says.
That’s not something you can address with colors nor clothes, she wants to retort, but he’s been jumpy and tense the whole morning and she doesn’t want to add to his nerves, so she relents.
Mikasa points to the navy blue long-sleeved shirt, mainly because the darker hue did make his turquoise eyes brighten a little bit more, and partly because - maybe, probably - it did make him look a tiny bit responsible.
Eren drops the cobalt blue shirt and puts on her chosen piece of cloth. He’s been switching shirts the whole morning and Mikasa wants to snap. She’s been fully dressed for a while now.
“Did you get the whisky?” he calls out from their bedroom.
Mikasa hums from her seat in their small living room. She contemptuously eyes the elegant black box placed beside her. "Yes, but let me just put on record that I still can't believe you bought this criminally expensive liquor."
"It's Kenny's favorite. I'm sure Levi will love it too."
"Levi doesn't drink."
"Erwin told me he does sometimes, but only that specific brand. He got the habit from Kenny."
Did he bother his boss about this? Mikasa forgets all her disdain over the pricey drink, instead gushing over the fact that hardworking, dedicated Eren who never lets personal affairs affect his work even dared to ask his strict boss about a family matter. For her.
Eren’s also the most stubborn person Mikasa has ever met so it shouldn’t really come as a surprise, because Eren plans to suck up real bad to her grandfather and uncle - the only remaining members of her family, the only people who raised her since she was orphaned at the age of nine.
And also the only people in the world who can give their blessing on their engagement.
Mikasa strolls to their bedroom, where she finds Eren groaning at the mirror while taming the stray hairs in his ears.
“I should have had a haircut yesterday,” he stares mournfully at his long hair tied in a bun. “How will they believe that I can take care of you if I can’t even take care of my hair?”
She sneaks from behind him and loops her arms around his waist.
"Relax, Eren. You look handsome. Besides,” she bites her lip and hides her growing blush, “You know I like your hair this way."
He lets out a frustrated sigh, then turns to embrace her. Mikasa snuggles up to the crook of his neck.
"I just want them to like me."
She plants kisses along his jaw in an attempt to assuage his worries. "I don't know where you got the idea that they hate you."
Eren huffs. "Liar. The first time they met me, they looked at me with so much disappointment. The second time, Kenny asked me if I plan to break up with you soon, and the third time, Levi kicked me out of the house."
"Because you brought Scout with you! You know Levi hates dogs. Or at least their fur."
"Whatever," Mikasa feels Eren's lips on her temple. "I wish this was as easy as telling my parents."
Mikasa fully agrees. When they revealed to Eren’s family last week that they were getting married, they only had to handle Carla who burst into tears and couldn't stop crying for nearly an hour as she clung on to the engaged couple. Zeke, meanwhile, was sniggering nonstop as Grisha passed him a hundred bucks underneath the table.
"Dad bet that you'll be married next year. My bet was this year," Zeke grinned. "Here's my contribution to your engagement," he handed the bills to Eren, cackling.
If she was being honest with herself, Mikasa can't tell how Levi and Kenny feel about Eren. Her loud grandfather is unusually quiet regarding her long-time boyfriend, and Levi only likes to remind Eren about his rules on cleanliness whenever they're at the Ackerman family home. Aside from the usual conversations about work, politics, and the weather, they don’t talk much to him (or about him), which may or may not be a good sign.
But Mikasa couldn’t care less. No one can stop her from marrying the love of her life.
“Look, Eren. I told you. We don’t need to get their blessing. We can just go ahead and get married, and we’ll tell them to show up at the luncheon or something.”
“No way!” Eren leans back from their embrace, scandalized. “We’re only gonna do this once, so I’m gonna do this right, okay?”
Mikasa rolls her eyes and pulls him back in her arms. Whatever makes him happy, she thinks with fondness.
"But I can’t lose my limbs today,” Eren mutters again. “I’ve got a client presentation tomorrow and if it flops, Erwin will probably kill me, and I can’t afford to lose my job because we need to prepare for the wedding and we need to stock up on our savings and - "
Mikasa grabs her fiance's face and presses her lips on his.
“Everything will be fine,” she whispers against Eren’s mouth.
The dinner with Kenny and Levi wasn’t fine.
“What did you say?” her grandfather drops his table knife and fork.
Eren coughs. Sitting beside him, Mikasa reaches out for his hand under the table and gives it a squeeze. “I, uhm, I’d like to ask for, uh, Mikasa’s hand in, er, marriage.”
Kenny blinks, and Mikasa thinks he’s somewhat unsure of what he just heard. Across her, Levi stops eating and pats the corner of his mouth with a table napkin. No one speaks in the small dining room of the Ackermans, everyone seemingly frozen in their seats.
Mikasa catches the twitch in her grandfather’s eyebrows, a sure sign that he’s going to burst anytime soon. Kenny’s eyes dart to the wall, where his prized collection hangs… ah, just twenty different kinds of knives, all kept in immaculate condition.
She tightens her hold on Eren, preparing herself for any sort of attack. Kenny is old, but he never lost the dexterity in hitting his target.
Thankfully, Levi breaks the suffocating silence, albeit with the coldest tone. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, Sir,” Eren responds right off the bat, trying to measure up to Levi’s piercing gaze. Mikasa feels proud of his fiancé, whose bravery never faltered tonight despite his crippling fear of the men in front of him.
“You’re too young,” Kenny quickly remarks, his eyes narrowed at the couple.
Eren opens his mouth to respond but Mikasa interrupts. “I’m 25. We’re 25. Perfectly of age to get married, and you can’t change our minds.” She glowers at her grandfather, who only observes her with a raised eyebrow.
She loves Kenny and Levi to the moon and back. Despite their unusual ways, they have poured into her the utmost love and affection they can offer to a daughter… which is why she knew that they would be difficult about this. She vividly remembers her high school years when they chased off her admirers with knives and brooms.
It was a miracle that they didn’t slash Eren when she introduced him in college.
Silly as it may sound, but she’s exasperated that they’re really living up to her expectations.
“Kenny’s right. I think you need to think things more thoroughly,” Levi asserts, his arms crossed against his chest. “Are you even prepared for this?”
Eren straightens himself, because he already memorized his spiel for this question. “Definitely, Sir. We both have stable jobs so we’ll manage our finances well—”
“That’s not my point,” Levi cuts him off, and Eren only blinks in confusion. “I meant emotionally. Mikasa’s your first girlfriend, right?”
“I, uhm, don’t see the point—”
Kenny interjects, “Let me put it this way, boy. How can we be sure that you’re not gonna fool around once you’re married, because you’ve been deprived of experience with other beautiful women?”
What the hell?
“This is ridiculous!” Mikasa spits, her irritation bubbling to the surface. “Eren is also my first boyfriend—!”
She suddenly feels Eren’s hand gently squeezing hers, his attempt in stopping her oncoming tirade. He draws a sharp breath, then fixes his gaze on Kenny.
“With all due respect, Sir. I am not blind, I have seen beautiful women,” he admits hesitantly, but Mikasa also detects the growing confidence in Eren’s voice.
“But no one compares to Mikasa. She’s the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” he whispers with a smile plastered on his face.
Eren turns to face her, and he stares at her like she is his home and his world, his beginning and his end, his now and his forever.
“And I swear on my life and limb, but I have never felt this way to anyone else. I want to grow old with her, to see her wrinkly with white hair, and by then she’ll still be the most beautiful woman.”
Mikasa savors the quiet warmth and contentment that envelops her. She thinks about their snuggles on the couch, their silly dances in the living room, their kisses every night, and she’ll be damned if she lets Kenny and Levi ruin her shot at happiness.
Mikasa stands up from the table, and Eren’s eyes widen in horror as she prepares to leave. “That’s it. You’re both unbelievable, interrogating Eren this way as if he’s a criminal. He tries his best to give you the respect he thought you deserved, and you repay him this way?”
“Calm down, brat,” Levi barks, matching Mikasa’s glare with his own. “We’re only making sure that you’re not rushing into this. Sit down.”
Eren pulls her down to her seat.
Kenny and Levi exchange meaningful glances. The oldest Ackerman then shifts in his seat, trying to reach something from his pocket, and for a hot second Mikasa thinks Kenny is pulling a weapon, and her Ackerman instincts are screaming at her to move -
- but instead, he places a small red box in Eren’s hand.
Her fiancé’s mouth slightly hangs open, startled at the object on his palm. He shoots a questioning look to Kenny, to Levi, then to Mikasa, who only frowns at him because at this point, she’s also terribly confused.
Eren swallows. Then, with his shaking fingers, he nimbly opens the box.
And cushioned inside are two golden rings shining under the warm light, looking brand new despite the little scratches Mikasa could spot, and they look like ordinary rings but Mikasa knows it’s not. Her hand flies over her mouth, her eyes beginning to well up in tears.
“I- I thought-,” she chokes, but she couldn’t seem to force herself to finish, no, this is too much.
Kenny’s lips curve into a cocky smile. “Yeah, well, those are the wedding rings of your Mom and Dad. We saved it for you. Thought you might want to use it.”
Levi’s face remains devoid of any emotion, but even behind her tears, Mikasa sees his features soften.
She scampers to the other side of the table, pulling the two Ackermans by the neck.
And she sobs. She sobs in gratitude, because she has the best grandpa and uncle, and she has Eren, and she will bring her parents’ memory with her as she builds a new family, and this is simply everything she could ask for.
Levi pats Mikasa on the back while Kenny struggles to break free from her power hug.
“By the way, we knew about the engagement. Carla called us last week, crying.”
Dammit, Carla.