Ten Thousand Needles (Yandere!Eren x Mikasa)

Crappy Foods and Bentos Too

She shifted her weight from left to right, struggling to find a comfortable spot on the bench to settle down. She could feel slight adrenaline running within her. The scarf around her neck only made it worse, increasing the heat from the jaw to her collarbones. She could feel sweat coming from her forehead. Mikasa never had any dating experience. Nor has she met anyone who was so desperate to keep her. But somehow, she felt as if it was her job to help him cope with his mental and emotional issues that were tangled up within his twisted personality. It was like a job for her, a savior's. 

"Mikasa? You can take off the scarf if you feel like you're going to get a heat stroke or something." Eren chuckled.

"I-I'm fine, really." Mikasa nuzzled her nose against the muffler, marking it as a reminder of the promise she had kept.

"Oh, alright then." Eren nods as he opens his bento.

Mikasa glanced at the cuisine that he made. Sushi. Gourmet sushi...

"You're really good at cooking, Eren." Mikasa commented with slight awry.

"Thanks! I learned it from my mom. She was like the professional chef in our home, haha." He scratched his head, flattered by Mikasa's compliment.

"But I'm sure you got some pretty good food too, Mikas—"

Before Eren could finish his sentence, Mikasa opened her bento, revealing the complete opposite of a gourmet dish. More like burnt food.

"I attempted to cook shrimp at the last minute. I guess I must've turned on the heat too high." Mikasa explained, having no intention of feeling embarrassed.

He became speechless, while she took out a fork and stabbed the crusty shrimp. He noticed that the hard shell on the outer layer of the shrimps weren't removed.

"Go ahead. You can laugh at me." Mikasa spoke with a stoic face, giving the boy permission to take pity on her.

"...... Can I... Try one?" Eren asked with curiosity.

Mikasa expected him to just laugh but he was eyeing at her food, as if it was the most delicious delicacy in the world.

".... Sure..." Mikasa hesitantly lifted up her palms and allowed him to pick a shrimp from her bento that sat on her lap.

As he brought the shrimp to his lips, Mikasa stared with intensity, afraid that he would choke on it or spit it out and call it shit and whatnot. 

But as soon as he puts it in his mouth, his eyes began to gleam with light.

"It's so good! How did you learn to make such good food?!" Eren cheered.

"Stop it. You don't need to sugarcoat it." Mikasa made a face.

"I'm being honest! I-It's amazing! Besides, what is there to coat with sugar? It's absolutely perfect!" 

Suddenly, Mikasa began to blush, feeling heat warming up her cheeks. 

What's this strange feeling?

She began to space out, not knowing how to respond to his comment about her food. Why was he so surprised? It's just burnt shrimp.

"Ne, Mikasa! Have one of mine." Eren took out his chopsticks and secured the sushi between the two wooden sticks, dragging it to her own bento. You can clearly tell it was a needle in a haystack. 

"I really like the shrimp that you cooked. It's great!"

"Really Eren? Then I hope you don't mind if I give you my bento—" Mikasa tested him.

"You mean it!?" Eren bursted with his mouth agape.

Okay, not the answer she was expecting again...

"I feel so lucky! Hey! Let's swap bentos!" Eren suggested.

"What? No. I feel kinda bad that you'll have to force yourself to eat my bad cooking." Mikasa held onto her food with a firm grip.

Eren stares at her with a smile on his face. Her cheeks were practically red. Her eyes were looking away from his.

"Mikasa, it's not bad. Trust me." He rested a hand on hers.

"I-It is bad! Even I admitted it. It tastes like crap, so I won't take your bento just so you can have my burnt shrimps." She pouted, hiding her face and turning away to remove his hand from hers.

"If that's what you want, I won't force you~" Eren chuckled as he pulled away and started eating his bento.

Mikasa formed fish lips, feeling as if he did take pity on her. Was he just acting or was he really enjoying her homemade food?

RING RING~~

Mikasa jolted, dropping her bento and standing up to search her pockets. The ringtone played a sweet melody while she struggled to reach her phone. Eren bent down to pick up her food as Mikasa finally laid hands on her vibrating cell. She quickly answered and held it close to her ears, walking away from the boy.

"H-Hello??" Mikasa spoke.

"Oh hey Mikasa!"

"Who is this??"