TITANS. aot

RUNNY NOSE | m. zacharias

mike | fem!reader

     does humanity's second strongest soldier have a weakness? he does.

     ironically, the one thing that dissolves mike zacharius' strong and serious facade was a runny nose.

     thanks to the flu running about in the survey corps, the poor blond caught the sickness. his unique nose now served no purpose to him; he could no longer smell the usual waft of aromas of their headquarters and mike found himself missing it.

     an annoying addition with the blocked and runny nose, he was forced to stay in bed by his comrades. he was too weak to even stand up straight since stress and lack of sleep also contributed to his sickness. now he was stuck in his room with few visitors now and then, as levi didn't want the others to get sick and spread more 'filth' in the air.

     and if someone was to walk in his room and see a man with bloodshot eyes, snot dripping from his nose, and a very raspy voice telling them to "fuck off", they'd never realize it was humanity's second strongest soldier at first glance.

     although it was day two since he got sick, he was itching to move and make himself busy. the paperwork in his desk was probably growing as the minutes passes and if that's the only thing he could do while being sick, he'd gladly do so. but of course, erwin wouldn't allow him. they needed everyone to get back in shape since the other soldiers were also sick, so erwin decided to give everyone a week off of training and work to rest up.

     mike closed his eyes, settling to the warm comfort of his bed. he sniffed, frowning when he realized his nose was still blocked. he missed not being sick, he was able to smell the scent of roses he grew to love.

     cadet y/n l/n, the eldest in the 104th trainees that chose to serve survey corps held that favorite scent of his.

     at first, mike thought nothing of you. just a rookie who thought serving humanity would make you a hero. but as time passed by and he got to see you every day, it would be a lie if he said he wasn't enthralled by you alone.

     you were beautiful, inside and out. even everyone would agree on that. how could mike not fall in love? the smell of roses intoxicated mike; it was the only smell he loved and would look forward to smelling (that's not weird at all) every day in the headquarters. he already memorized your scent and since he did have a unique sense of smell, he could pick it up even if you were a few feet away.

     but of course, mike had another problem that weakens his resolve and that was you. although they haven't conversed even once, mike could tell how nice and funny you were whenever he saw you with the others. no matter how hard he wanted to go to you and have a conversation, he never could. his serious expression would turn to embarrassment and nervousness when you were near; meaning he didn't have the courage. he was so obvious about his crush and lack of confidence that the veterans would tease him for it.

     a knock suddenly jolted mike out of his dizzy state. he narrowed his eyes and glared at the door, hoping he could shoot out beams that would kill whoever disturbed him. "who is it?" he asked when the knocking was heard again, hoping it was loud enough to be heard from outside.

     "uh, cadet y/n l/n, sir."

     fuck.

     mike looked around the room in panic when he heard your voice, he suddenly sat up from his laying position and saw his reflection from the mirror on his wall; he looked like shit. clicking his tongue in disgust, he quickly fixed his messy hair and the crinkles on his shirt before wiping his nose clean with a cloth on his bedside table.