Hot & Heavy (Eren x Reader)

Chapter 41 - Hot & Heavy

One Year Ago

"Your presence has been joyfully requested at the wedding of Mikasa Ackerman & Jean Kirstein on November X, 200X"

As you looked down at the beautifully ornate letter in your hand, you felt a swelling in your chest unlike any other. You felt a sense of pride knowing how many hoops they had to jump through for the relationship. They were ones that you had been rooting for from the start.

Although you didn't speak to Mikasa as regularly as you used to, there was still a small effort in trying to keep in touch with occasional phone calls.

When you called her about receiving your invitation, she seemed so casual about it. The quiet way she laughed at your excitement and the shyness in your voice and how she still wanted you as a bridesmaid resonated in your ears.

"Ah! Of course, I'll be a bridesmaid, thank you, Mika!"

"You haven't called me that nickname in so long." She chuckled so quietly, it almost sounded like a simple puff of air. "In fact, you haven't called me for a long time."

You had to bite your lip. You had to admit, you were a bit preoccupied with finishing your degree and applying for jobs that your already fledgling check-in schedule was crumbling. Weekly calls became monthly calls. Monthly calls become occasional emails. Occasional emails became nothing at all.

"I know...I'm sorry," was all you could say. Growing up, you felt like you could never stop talking to Mikasa. Now, an invitation to her wedding and to be a part of her wedding party felt like trying to light a match under the water.

Even further back in your memory, you remembered flipping through wedding magazines and fantasizing about the day with Mikasa. She loved the idea of settling down and living a long life next to a lifelong lover. You remembered her grand plans of what fresh flowers she'd choose and the exact order in which each song would play. Even down to the detail of the exact shade and shape her bridesmaid dresses would be.

You never placed that much value in marriage, seeing just how hard it was for your parents to stay together. Your best friend's parents barely slept in the same house despite still being married. And you wondered if the passing of Mikasa's parents at her young age sheltered her and fed those ideas of marital grandeur in her mind.

"Is there anything you need me to help with? Bridal shower? Speech? Anything?" Memories began to trigger in your mind and you grew excited at the sight of old pathways reconnecting.

"No, you don't have to worry about that maid-of-honour stuff. Sasha's got it." There was an even longer pause that made you want to fill. You didn't know what to say. You felt almost foolish to presume. You were at least thankful it was someone you still knew. Just as you opened your lips to try and say anything Mikasa spoke, "You live a bit too far anyways. Just come a little early for all the events leading up to the wedding and enjoy yourself. Hitch can help with all that stuff too."

"O-oh..." Hearing Hitch's name wasn't a surprise. You knew that she had been floating around your old friends. Although losing those people in your life left a life-long hole, theirs seemed to fill quickly with someone new. You couldn't blame them. It was you who sent her to them after all.

"Anyways, happy graduation. It seems like you're still doing well over there?" Mikasa's voice cut through the line, bringing you back from your delusion. Four years after moving, you had finally settled with the idea that Marley was your new home.