Secret Anniversary ~Melting Reason at a Snowy Hot Spring Inn~
Eren and Mikasa are celebrating their one-year anniversary. Normally, Eren teases the girl he likes because he can't be honest with his feelings, but he's slowly started to show his softer side only to Mikasa.
The two of them have a "secret anniversary" that they haven't told anyone about. It's a special day known only to them, completely separate from their real anniversary. To celebrate, Eren took the plunge and booked an expensive hot spring inn deep in the mountains. The tiny inn, far from
Secret Anniversary ~Melting Reason at a Snowy Hot Spring Inn~ - A snowy open-air bath, a night where reason melts away
"……I'm going in first."
Eren Yeager forced out just those words, then stood without looking at Mikasa's face. He gripped the sash of his yukata tightly. His palms were slick with sweat.
"Okay."
Her voice from behind him was as quiet as ever. That, if anything, only made Eren more impatient. How can you be so calm? My heart feels like it's about to leap out of my mouth.
His footsteps echoed strangely loud in the hallway. The cold of the polished wooden floorboards seeped up through the soles of his bare feet. Glancing sidelong at the single flowers placed here and there in slender vases, Eren laid his hand on the sliding door to the changing room.
(Why can't I just answer like a normal person?)
He cursed inwardly. The moment she'd asked if they should go in together, his mind had gone completely blank. There was no reason to refuse. Never had been. More than that — he understood perfectly well what would happen if he nodded.
That was what terrified him.
Stepping into the changing room, air thick with the scent of wood and hot spring water filled his lungs. He tossed his yukata into the provided basket and grabbed a washcloth with trembling hands. In the small mirror on the wall, his own face stared back, bright red.
"Pathetic……"
He muttered to no one in particular and pushed open the glass door to the open-air bath.
—In that instant, cold air stabbed at his bare skin.
He flinched involuntarily, but the sight spread before him stole Eren's breath away. The snow garden, illuminated. The piled white snow caught the faint orange light, glittering like diamond dust. Countless snowflakes drifted down from the sky without a sound.
Snow, and steam, and light — all mingling together.
(Incredible……)
He murmured in his heart, then hurriedly shook his head. No. This wasn't the time to be impressed. First, he had to calm his racing heart.
He gently dipped a foot into the rock-hewn bath, thick steam rising from its surface. The free-flowing spring water wrapped softly around his skin. As he slowly sank down to his shoulders, he felt the tension drain from his entire body.
"Haaah……"
He let out a long, white breath. The dancing snowflakes vanished the moment they touched the water's surface. Watching that fleeting sight, Eren clenched his fists on his knees.
(Calm down. Calm down, dammit.)
But it was impossible. His heart kept pounding wildly. Mikasa was coming. She would step in here as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Could he even look at her directly?
He closed his eyes. Even the sound of falling snow was drowned out by his heartbeat. Only the distant, faint murmur of the Shizuru River reached his ears.
—How long had he stayed like that?
From the direction of the changing room, he heard the rustle of clothing.
The soft sound of fabric falling.
Eren's eyes snapped open, and he sank into the water up to his neck. He turned toward the rocks, hunching his back. I will absolutely not turn around. He swore it in his heart. His breath caught. His throat was bone-dry.
The door slid open with a clatter, and the chilly outside air swept the steam away for just a moment.
Bare feet stepping on stone — faint footsteps.
The water rippled as something crossed the edge of the bath. Quietly, slowly, the presence of Mikasa's body sinking into the water. It was so natural, as if it were the most obvious action in the world. Just behind Eren's back, she let out a breath.
"It's cold."
A small voice. That single phrase sent goosebumps racing across Eren's entire body. Her voice was close. She was near enough that he could feel her body heat.
Still facing the rocks, Eren couldn't say a word. Say something, dammit. He screamed inside, but his throat wouldn't so much as twitch. Only silence piled up between them.
The snow kept falling, deep and steady.
Eren simply stared at the snowflakes that fell onto the water's surface and vanished. In the direction he'd averted his gaze, he tried to at least feign composure. But the presence of Mikasa at his back rendered it all pointless. The rhythm of her breathing. Her body shifting ever so slightly in the water. He felt like he could even hear the sound of her wet hair clinging to her skin.
The snow suddenly grew heavier.
The quiet fall from moments before shifted abruptly, and large flakes began to swirl. The area around the open-air bath started to blur into white.
"A little…… cold."
She murmured.
At the same time as her voice, something moved in the water. Ripples spread, and against Eren's shoulder — something warm touched him, softly.
It was Mikasa's shoulder.
She had edged closer. Naturally, as if to escape the cold. But it was too natural, too inevitable. A thirty-percent-sweeter way of seeking affection. Telling herself it was their anniversary, mustering her courage — her own best attempt at closing the distance.
(This is bad.)
Eren's whole body froze. Only the spot touching her shoulder burned as if on fire. His heart pounded in the depths of his ears. He couldn't breathe.
—And in that moment, he turned around.
What leapt into his eyes was the white nape of Mikasa's neck, her short black hair plastered wet against it. Beyond the steam, a single droplet of water traced its way down that slender curve and slid off. At the hollow of her collarbone, the drop glittered. The line of her shoulders. The outline of her slender, pale body swaying in the water.
Eren's brain went completely blank in an instant.
(Oh no.)
Before he could even finish the thought, Eren's hand moved on its own. In the water, he grabbed Mikasa's arm. That slender, soft, yet unmistakably strong arm — he pulled her close and—
"Eh—"
Mikasa turned, her black eyes wide with surprise.
Face and all, Eren stole her lips.
It was an impulsive, clumsy kiss, but one filled with undeniable force. He pressed his lips against hers as if colliding, stealing her warmth. Mikasa's body stiffened for a moment. But — within barely two seconds, her arms wrapped around Eren's back.
She pressed her lips back against his.
A natural response, as if she had been waiting all along. Soft, warm lips that trembled just a little. Their breaths mingled. Amid the relentless snowfall, the two of them simply held their lips together.
How long had they stayed like that?
When Eren pulled his lips away, Mikasa's black eyes were wavering right before him. A distance where their breath mingled. Her cheeks were faintly flushed. Not just from the steam.
"Mikasa……"
He only called her name. His voice was shaking.
Mikasa didn't answer. Instead, her hand slowly reached out. Those slender, pale fingers gently tugged at the edge of Eren's yukata — which had, at some point, become completely soaked and crumpled.
It was a clear signal: Let's go back to the room.
No one could stop them anymore.
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