"I am fine," he answered her question. The awkwardness in his voice had gone, and his calm had returned.
But then a silence, like an intangible substance, started to form between them. Eren had no plan to speak about anything else. She had come here to ask about his health, and it was good, so as a fellow comrade, he also asked about her health—or at least, that was what he forced himself to believe.
But for Mikasa, his asking this meant something entirely else. For her, it simply meant he still cares for her and all his talk before was just talk. She had learned the hard way, from the previous time when he said that he hate her and she thanked God that this time she hadn't believed his words.
For her, Eren was just upset and sad. She understood him better than anyone; even when he cried in the past, he always requested her not to tell anyone else. If she were from the twenty-first century, she would have known the perfect word for him—a male tsundere—but it was generations too early for her to know this.
Maybe in her ancestral lands she could identify Eren's behavior, but not now. Still, she felt a little wronged. Who does that—leaving someone to despair for years without a single word?
"Why did you do that?" she asked. Her voice held a question, and her eyes were looking into his like she was gazing into his soul.
Eren, who was just pondering what to do in this situation of a quarters raid, looked at her and tilted his head, as if saying: Lady, I don't get what you are asking. Can you use some vocabulary or something?
"I mean, why did you do that?" This time she spoke properly but just forgot to add the important details that would be used to understand what she was asking.
Eren, this time not wanting to hear another repetition, spoke clearly, "Can you say what I did that you are asking about?"
While saying this, he started to ponder the philosophy of girls. People do say that girls will tell you something that contains no actual information about the topic they are talking about, but they will expect you to understand exactly what level they are at. So, Mikasa's questions were just like that for Eren.
But for Mikasa, they were completely normal. She was asking about the decisions he had made for her without even asking her—well, the reason she thought he would understand that, maybe only she will know.
But she is little special than other girls, So Unlike other girls, her face didn't show a visible dissatisfaction, but he still heard a light snort come from her nostrils before she spoke again.
"I mean, why did you do that? Why did you make decisions for us—for me—without asking if we even want that or not?" She had always wanted to say that. Why was he making all the decisions for them? Did he even care about their opinions?
If the original Eren could heared her thoughts he would had died again, what you mean care about your opinion, maybe his answer could be, I presented my head to you.
"You did the Rumbling because of us, didn't you?"
But Mikasa wasn't finished yet; who knows where the blushing girl had disappeared. Mikasa was just the same as the one who punched Eren when he was throwing a tantrum at Armin at the refugee camp and shoved a piece of bread into his mouth. But the thing was, even if Mikasa was the same, he was not that Eren.
"So, wait, wait. Hold it."
"When you came, did you see the walls? I mean, Wall Rose."
She felt a little wronged when he cut off her voice and started an entirely separate topic, not letting her finish, but she still nodded, answering his question.
"So, you saw the walls. So you should also know that the Rumbling has not started."
She understood what he was saying, but she was not talking about that. Eren continued anyway.
"So, if the Rumbling wasn't done, there is no point in talking about it, is there?"
She was good at fighting, not with words. The most she could say were facts and rational thoughts. Now that he said all those things have nothing to do with the present, she didn't know what to say.
"So, if you get your answers, you can go now," Eren said, leaning back on his bed to lay down.
But Mikasa didn't go out as he thought she would; she was still standing there.
"I want to ask something else, too," she said. But this time she seemed a little nervous. Eren was too tired to notice that, so he just said one sentence.
"I am listening."
"Why didn't you contact us..."
"Stop... stop. Talk about yourself, what you want to ask. Not others. They have their own mouths."
She rephrased her words again and spoke, "Why didn't you contact me in these past two years?"
"Didn't I tell you we are strangers at the boat?" Eren said calmly.
"But I didn't agree," she said. Her voice was just a whisper, so he didn't hear it clearly, and he asked her to repeat it.
"What did you say? I think I didn't hear it clearly. Can you say it again?"
"But I didn't agree!" This time her voice was loud enough even for someone standing at the gate to hear, let alone Eren. "I said I didn't agree! If you say we are strangers, then do we just become strangers? Sorry, Eren, things don't work like that. I didn't agree to that. You are not a stranger to me, and you won't be in the future, either. Don't you see how I feel about you? Can't you see it? Look into my eyes and say if you want to be strangers and don't want to be with me anymore."
Eren was stunned by the sudden confession.
continue—