Mikannie one-shots

Written in the Stars

Thin strips of gold flash against the water, gold gliding and hopping in swirling waves that splash up against each other. Annie's head lays on my thigh as I sit up right against the metal fence that blocks off kids in the Lincoln park from wandering into the river. My hands skim across her hair, just barely pushing through the top layer of hair. Her head moves up and down a little, her breath leaving clouds in the air. But even with her there, I can't help but feel awful. This date was supposed to make me feel better, less scared. But staring at the empty air and the not-quite-flat water just reminds me of how messy and jumbled up my life is. And how not ready I am for it.

"Annie?"

"Hm?"

"How are you always so sure of yourself?"

Annie paused. "I'm not really, I just.... stick to my decisions."

"Oh. How do you make your decisions?"

"You're usually the sure one, did something happen?"

"I've just been feeling so lost recently. I've been overthinking everything."

"Mikasa, I don't even- You know what, nevermind."

"What is it?"

Annie didn't speak for a while.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." she said, her voice shaking. "Yeah, yeah," another pause. "Can I take you somewhere?"

"Sure"

"Just a warning: it's a long way up"

The light is fading, thick, heavy rays of golden light dancing around on the trees. The dried mud cracks beneath my feet, and scratches and chirps are heard from the forest's sides.

"Let's stop and take a rest." Annie says as we approach a clearing of trees. It's at the edge of the cliff, so we sit down, grab onto trees, and let our feet dangle from two thousand feet up. Annie opens her backpack, pulling out two red bean buns. I laugh, just because they're so cute and puffy and round.

"What is it?" she asks.

"It's nothing."

"Okay."

We eat in silence, I guess because she's just not in the talking mood. Although I fear it's because she's waiting for me to say something. She hasn't spoken in hours.

The sky is a deep shade of blue by now, the reds and golds fully sunk, the moon raised high above, flashing streaks between the shadowy trees. It's been almost four hours of walking, and we're finally approaching the top of the cliff. But if I know anything about Annie, it's that it's always worth it.

"Close your eyes" she says, and I obey.

She takes my hand in hers, not tightly, her fingers like ghosts on my skin. Chills grow on my arms from the cold and the touch.

Annie leads me to a flat space, where I can hear crickets and feel cool blades of grass climbing up around my ankles.

"Open"

And as I do, it feels like a movie. I can hear melodies behind me, and I can see the stage lights. Because this moment, like almost all the other special dates Annie takes me on, is too perfect to be real. Annie leads me to a honeysuckle bush, pulls off a few dozen flowers, then plops down on the grass. We spend another twelve minutes in silence, just eating the honeysuckle and berries we pluck of an elderberry bush. Annie collapses on the ground, and I follow after her.

"When you asked me how I make decisions, and how I face my fears, I get advice from the sky. Everything I've ever needed to know has been right there, written in the stars."

I look up, the sky is an almost-balck, greyish-purple colour. The stars seem to have been pushed to the sides tonight, as I have to look around to find them. I stare up at the strips of stars, they look like scattered lights on a christmas tree, and that gets me thinking: what if trees were just stars connected by messy scraps of light, and it was the wood that loomed over the sky. Or what if the harsh lines of tree branches were simply the icy streaks of lighting that burn in the sky, their leaves replaced by moons, their flowers stars, and their fruit planets. The ivy creeping over fences, like evil veins pouring into your fence were just soft, misty clouds. What if the center of every wildflower was it's own little planet, its seeds its people. And then, if an alien ever looks through it's telescope at the streaks of light, what would they think? And humans, what would we be like? Cacti? Lizards?? And that's when another thought hits me: there are infinite possibilities of how my life could have gone in an infinite amount of possibilities, how did I get so lucky to have Annie in my life?

"Hey, Annie?" My words, although gentle and thick slice through the silence, the air warming around me.

"Yeah?"

"Y'know how the sun is the center of the solar system? Well, if my life is a solar system,"

I rolled over to my side to face Annie, my hand cupping her cheek.

"Yeah... what are you getting at?" She asks, even though with the sweet gentle tone she holds, I'm pretty sure she knows.

"Then you're my star." I say, then press my lips to hers.

And every single thing about that moment is perfect. The cool grass tickling my skin. The curves and angles of the land, like crashing waves below us. There are lightning bugs zipping around us, and crickets buzzing, and just a hint of wind across my skin. The stars are shining bright, the sweet taste of honey stars balanced in my mouth, and I'm with the only person in the world I love.

Our eyes meet again, and time just stops. I open my mouth to speak, but then I realize I don't need to. She knows exactly what I was going to say, and she's saying the same thing back.

"We are so, so lucky to have each other."

A/N Whew. It's been a while. So, hi. Working on this story, working on Old Ways, been really, really busy with and art and school. I'm sorry if I'm dissipointing you with my inconsistant uploads, no promises that it will get better, hopefully I will be able to write more but I have a ton of projects at school, work to do, and am pretty sick.

      Sincerely, and with enormous amounts of love,

                                                            L.N.Dominus