32 Tour

(Mikasa POV)

Changing into a blue dress, Mikasa ran her fingers through her hair one last time, making sure they were neat and behind her. She stepped out of the changing room.

"How do I look, Eren?"She asked the person sitting on the chair right in front of her.

"You look beau ... I mean great. I think it'll be perfect for the gala after the award ceremony."Eren spoke to the shop assistant beside him."We'll take that dress, as well as the suit and pants I wore earlier."

The employee nodded and led him to the counter. Mikasa turned, stepping back into the changing room. She was glad that Eren liked it, his words meant so much to her and brightened up the day. Her mood hadn't been the best since waking up; today was the day her parents died six years ago.

When she was done changing back into her white buttoned shirt and long pink skirt, Mikasa wrapped the red scarf carefully around her neck. A sense of weightlessness struck her for a moment as she imagined it was Eren doing it.

Eren's voice sounded."Are you done yet? Mikasa?"

"Y-yeah." She pushed the curtains aside to see Eren waiting at the door of the shop.

The assistant bowed."Thank you for your patronage, Mr. and Mrs. Yeager."

Eren rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away. "W-we are family! You're getting this wrong."

"Oh!"The employee turned to her."You are truly blessed with a good husband. Mrs. Yeager. Children of noble families who wed early these days often only see their wives little more than playthings."

"I-I u-um, I-"The words were stuck in Mikasa's mouth. She wanted to deny it but yet wanted to live in the dream a little longer.

"L-lets go."Eren grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the shop."Geez, that shop assistant sure has a wild imagination…"

She didn't reply. Mikasa wished it wasn't just an imagination but a reality.

Eren slipped out a parchment from his front pocket."There should be a bookstore not far from here, based on the map the hotel gave us. Shall we go there? I was thinking we could get Armin a book. He would definitely love it."

She smiled."Sure. Anywhere is fine."

They began to walk, admiring the buildings that lined the pavement beneath the bright rays of the morning sun. She had even spotted a well-dressed lady walking a dog right across the road earlier; an unbelievable sight. The inner district of Mitras was truly an area where the affluent lived; only they could afford to have the time and money to take care of pets.

As they continued to move along the street beside each other, Eren cast her a glance. "Come to think of it. Is the wound around your waist still hurting? Since we've already gotten the clothes we need, you should probably go back and rest first. I can handle the purchase of the books by myself."

"I-I'm fine!" She blurted. Realizing she lost control of her emotions for a moment, Mikasa spoke in a calmer tone."I mean, it doesn't hurt anymore."

This was a rare chance where she got to be alone with Eren; she wasn't going to let anything stop her from being beside him.

Eren seemed a little taken aback. "I-I see, that's good to hear."

"Dear sir and miss, would you like to try some of our freshly baked and honeyed bread?"A burly man standing behind a makeshift store called out to them.

As they approached the store; the scent drifting from it was sweeter than any flowers that she had ever smelt; It was like the bread her mother would use to bake during breakfast for her. She took a deep breath. The variety and shapes of bread on display;they were all colored light brown with no hint of mold or staleness on them.

"It looks quite good …"Eren's eyes darted around the selection before him.

"Of course!"The man thumped his chest."We are one of the few street food vendors that have permission to sell food in the inner district of Mitras. I'll have you know, not that I'm bragging. But the State Minister's wife is a regular patron of our shop."

Eren pointed at the long breadsticks in one corner."Is that so … hmm. give me two of those then."

When the purchase was done, Eren handed her a packet. They continued to stroll down the street, enjoying the brownish delight they had just brought amidst their conversation. A soft breeze picked up her hair, stirring it along with her scarf.

Mikasa took another bite and finished chewing it."The bread tastes so different, it's so good."

"Yeah, I still remember when we first arrived in Wall Rose with the refugees, that bread you stuffed into my mouth back then. It was as hard as a rock. Did you know how much trouble I had chewing it?"

"It was for your own good, who asked you to be so stubborn … the bread probably became hard due to it ."She said with a pout.

"Huh? You're not making any sense at all, Mikasa."

A soft laugh left her lips and they continued strolling towards their destination. When they finally arrived at the bookstore, Eren was led to a section on the advice of the store employee. Mikasa went to a shelf in the opposite direction, the title of a blue book there had caught her eye - 7 Steps to get His Attention-.

She glanced around to make sure Eren wasn't nearby and began to read its contents.

"Hello miss, I see you have an eye for books."A female assistant interrupted her, making her almost jump.

"Y-yeah."

"Poor thing … young masters these days have such high standards for their women."

"No, I-"

"It's okay. I understand . I've seen so many cases of young ladies here in your situation."She sniffed and passed her another book. "Here, you should get this, it will help you to please him more."

She studied the title of the book -The Good Wife Guide-. "T-this I-"

"Mikasa, are you done? We're making the payment now."Eren's voice sounded.

Her own heart pounding, she held the two books behind her back and paced towards the counter." C-coming!"

The cashier began to make a note of the purchases, naming the items and their price. When the blue book - 7 Steps to get His Attention- came into view, heat flooded her face.

"I-It's f-for P-Petra."She said, trying to keep her tone as calm as possible.

Eren cheeks were reddening."I-I see."

The cashier called out the name of the other book and price as it slid into view, adding to her awkwardness.

"Um, is that for … Petra too?"

She pulled up her scarf and looked away. "A-ah y-yes."

They left the store and began to head back towards their hotel. Mikasa hoped the contents of the book were worth her going through that embarrassing moment just now. For the first time, she was thankful for how dense Eren was.

"Wow, is this really … a cemetery? It looks more like a garden, so beautiful."Eren pointed to his left, drawing her attention.

She turned to see a stretch of green with blossoming flowers spilled all over the slope. There were a few black-clad mourners standing around a well-decorated burial plot. She wished her parents had such a beautiful resting place too, but it was probably too expensive for her to afford. Eren might be able to since he was a squad leader previously and still an officer as well, having a much higher pay than her … but she didn't want to impose on him.

"Mikasa."Eren stopped walking."I think you should head back first, I-I l-left something behind in the store earlier, I'm going back to get it. Could you help to bring back the clothes and books we brought?"

"It's okay, I can follo-"

His fingers started fidgeting with each other."No, you should just return first. Please, Mikasa?"

"Fine…" She gave in. At least it would be a good chance for her to read the contents of the books while Eren wasn't around.

=====

(Eren POV)

Eren stood outside the door, his hand holding a bouquet of flowers. It had been five years since they last commemorated the death anniversary of Mikasa's parents. There used to be a tombstone in Shiganshina where they had visited once as children, but it probably had been destroyed by the titans.

He opened it and stepped inside to see Mikasa lying on their bed, reading a book.

"That's rare. Seeing you do this."

Mikasa's body sprang upwards, her face reddening as she held the book behind her. "E-Eren?"

"So what did the book say? Do you think it will be useful for Petra?"

"W-well y-yeah."

His shoulders slumped a little."In the end, Petra didn't tell me anything at all huh. So when is she planning to confess to Levi?"

"Petra told me she would do so once the expedition was over."

"Damn… I hope we didn't miss out on that. I can't wait to see the captain's face when that happens. Hopefully, we will finally get to catch a glimpse of the fabled Levi smile Oluo told me about."He moved towards Mikasa and grabbed her hand. "Follow me, let's go somewhere."

"E-Eren, could you wait a minute? I need to change out of these clothes. I'll be really fast! I promise."

Stopping in his tracks, Eren realized Mikasa was wearing just her white buttoned shirt and shorts; accentuating the well-developed curves on her chest. He wondered for a moment what it would feel like to play with it, to taste and fondle them; but then quickly reprimanded himself for having such a thought.

He closed the door and stepped outside the room. Something had been wrong with him ever since the incident on the cart, why was he noticing and fantasizing about her breasts so much? There's no way Mikasa would ever let him touch them. He was sure her feelings towards him were just one of overprotectiveness. She would probably scold him if he tried to do anything like that , similar to how his mother used to chide him whenever he got into fights.

"I'm done, Eren." Mikasa stepped out, dressed in a buttoned white sleeved shirt and black blouse; her red scarf draped around her neck as always.

His heart began to race; the tight-fitting shirt on her chest had fully exposed the curvaceous outline of her two round mounds. She should normally be wearing her white dress and pink cardigan, but recently seemed to be choosing more provocative clothing instead... What was she trying to do?

"O-Ok, follow me."He quickly broke eye contact and walked off without waiting for her reply.

Tucking a hand in his pocket, Eren paced along in silence, not speaking to Mikasa. He needed time to let those unwelcome thoughts go away, looking at her might make it worse.

Soon, they reached the cemetery they had passed by earlier in the morning. He finally glanced at Mikasa and held one of her hands ."We're almost there."

She gave him a blank look, her head cocking to one side. "E-Eren?"

He pulled her along."U-um you'll know soon enough."

They walked a little more, passing by several marbled carved gravestones, and stopped in front of a well-decorated lawn; with pink and yellow flower beds by its sides. It was cordoned off from the rest of the burial plots by a brightly colored light brown fence.

He led Mikasa straight down the pavement in the middle, stopping in front of a tombstone. Engraved in white on the black granite headstone were the following words:

-Here forever,

Resting peacefully,

Loved and remembered,

Mr and Mrs Ackerman,

844-

Eren was grateful to Erwin; he had passed him a generous sum of money earlier in the day before he left, for them to buy clothes and also to enjoy themselves. The commander was truly a good man, and a friend he could trust.

Along with seven months worth of savings, he was able to purchase the burial plot before him from the cemetery owner, and brought one for his mum as well. When it was her death anniversary in a few month's time, he would pay a visit too. As for his dad … he still chose to believe that he was alive.

."You remembered … Eren?"Mikasa said, her voice wobbly.

"Of course, we did commemorate their death anniversary once before the walls fell. It's probably a very important event for you. I wouldn't forget that."He passed her the bouquet of flowers he had been holding all this time."Here, you should be the one doing it."

Mikasa stepped forward, bent downwards, and slowly laid it in front of the tombstone. Her scarf and hair moving with the gust of the wind that just blew across; leaves fluttering in the air. Droplets of water started to stain the ground in front of her.

He placed a hand on her shoulder while Mikasa wept, tears spilling from her eyes. Eren's body felt cold, his chest aching. The grieving was part of the process as well, hopefully, this would help her to move on.

The painful silence seemed to last for an eternity until sunset began to spill across the ground, painting it in shades of dark red. Wiping her face on her sleeve, Mikasa stood up."Thank you so much… Eren."

The words somehow tugged at his heartstrings."I-It's nothing."He tucked both his hands into the side pockets " It's evening already, let's head back."

"Mhm," She said in a hoarse voice.

Eren turned around, but he only managed to take a step and halted. There was a plump man walking towards them. He was of short stature, around Levi's height, and wore a white buttoned shirt with a black pullover vest over it . Judging from his attire, he seemed to be a wealthy man, perhaps a noble even? This was after all the inner district of Mitras.

The person stepped past him, laying a bouquet of flowers as well in front of the tombstone. He then turned around and faced them."What is your relation to the two deceased Ackermans?"

"They are my parents … Are you someone from the Ackerman Clan too?"Mikasa asked.

He shook his head. "Please forgive me for my rude intrusion. Ever since the Ackerman Proclamation, my brother has been seeking to repay the Ackerman Clan for the huge debt we owe towards them. The businesses in Mitras have long been informed since then to let my family know of anything related to it."He paused for a moment and glanced at his surroundings."It's not often that I come to the inner district of Mitras, so I wanted to visit my daughter's grave as well. The cemetery owner just happened to tell me about the new Ackerman Tombstone when I arrived here earlier."

Eren studied the man's blue eyes, which carried a tinge of sadness ."Huge debt?"

The man met his gaze but ignored his question ."What do you think of life within the walls we live in?"

He frowned. What was up with this weird guy? First, he barges in, and then expects him to answer his question when he doesn't even respond to his? However, it was probably not wise to offend him, most people in the inner district of Mitras were not simple people.

"The walls are a cage, making the people who live within it like livestock."

Mikasa tugged at his arm."E-Eren you-"

The man raised his hand, his eyes widening as he paused for a moment."It's fine. So you are Eren, the Flash Blade ... That's a very honest reply you gave. However, wouldn't livestock living as you call it, inside a paradise within the walls be preferable to hell outside instead ?"

Paradise? Who was he kidding? He snapped back."How would you know that life outside the wall is worse than what's in here?"He pointed to the headstone."Besides, if the walls were really a paradise, Mikasa's parents shouldn't have to die because of damned robbers. They were forced to stay in the mountains, far away from safe districts because of how they used to be persecuted ."

"I see … so that's what happened."His voice turned heavy."My brother was right indeed. Our family … towards the Ackermans … and to think we have failed so miserably in our duty too ."

"Lord Reiss."A towering man in a black trench coat and dark fedora hat, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, stepped beside him."You shouldn't be walking around by yourself."

Eren continued to study the plump man. Lord Reiss? So he was a noble after all.

"It's fine, Kenny. I wanted to visit Freida's grave, but ended up having also a rather interesting conversation with a youngster, and fulfilled part of Uri's wish as well. That girl is an Ackerman too, her parents were the ones that got killed by the robbers ."Lord Reiss walked past them and stopped. "Eren Yeager, thank you for protecting humanity within the walls. I've grown a little fond of you. I hope for your sake, that you are not related to that *person*. It would be most regrettable … "

The noble walked away, while the tall person in black attire stood still for a moment, studying Mikasa ."So you're the child of that branch family … I have already personally sent the entire gang behind those robbers feedin' the dust on the ground a long time ago."He pulled at his hat.'' Gramps would have loved to meet ya if he was still alive ... Well, try your best not to die, girl ." He turned and followed the figure who had left earlier.

Eren stood, dazed. What a strange and queer encounter.

A/N: 3k Words