Credits/Disclaimers: The story is developed by me, everything else belongs to their respective creators. Written for RivaMikaJam 2 - Ackerbaby Edition (August 2nd - 23rd, 2015). Prompt by Tumblr user: april-yoon.

Chocolate Coloured Promises

She was looking off to the left side where the narrow road sloped into the shallow but strong river that glinted off the orange metal of the setting sun. The sight was truly breathtaking. And four-year-old Mikasa, currently, preferred the blinding shine to her companion's agitated walk. Why did they live in the same direction? Being "neighbours" meant living next to each other, she had been told, but no one had said anything about having to walk in the same direction?

Her tiny body was clad in a beautiful green dress and her head covered by a white hat. A small schoolbag attached to her back, she slowed her pace a little more. A few moments following that, her companion, Levi, in front of her, halted and turned to face her, looking angry. Mikasa stopped as well, folding her chubby arms in front of her chest and attempting her best imitation of enraged. The action seemed to cover her entire torso and she pouted as Levi mimicked her stance and seemed to be much better at it. Maybe because he was older. Her mother had told her that Levi was a big boy - he was a full ten-years-old! Mikasa hoped to be ten soon. She figured that perhaps in another three or four years she would be ten too and, then she would show Levi how to fold arms and look intimidating.

"Why aren't you keeping up?" Levi asked her, voice terse and heavily irritated.

"I don' like you." She retorted with her pout growing. Eyes shimmering with rage that seemed to stem more from age than actual anger.

Levi visibly tensed and hit an annoy-high, but resigned to pursing his lips, marching forward and grabbing Mikasa's wrist. Yanking her, not saying a word and ignoring her shrieks of 'MY han!", "Let me go", "'Bad Leeeeee' -whining and annoyingly stretched syllables of his name -'...viiii!', he walked, dragging the girl back towards their homes. Knowing Mikasa, she would soon start kicking dirt at his blue shorts and white shirt. The bag on his back might be able to protect something of his pristine clothes...

It was another fifteen minutes of struggle before Levi deposited her at her doorstep at her mother's feet. He had had to drag her for the last few steps, while she had put up an admirable fight, and now her dress was ruined. As soon as she saw her mother, she gripped the legs of the older lady, all tear-streaked face and petulance colouring her a shade of childish obstinacy. Levi looked guilty and Mrs. Ackerman hardly knew how to react. She picked up her baby daughter in her arms and asked her over her calming sobs, what it was that had put them in such antagonistic positions from each other. After all, this was Levi - her one-stop-friend for all shenanigans.

Mikasa rubbed her eyes in that fashion that make children look like the poster child for advertisements - both cute and overrated. And mumbled, "He took them all..." - breaking into another fit of loud crying.

Levi, ready to jump to his own defence, suddenly lurched back as a larger hand lay on his shoulder. The other Mrs. Ackerman stood behind her son, looking very grim and quietly enraged. Levi knew his mother well and as he turned to catch a glimpse of her face, his fears took a hold of him - shutting down speech capabilities. He looked down to the ground, decidedly ashamed with a small, "I am sorry, Ma'am."

Kuchel Ackerman apologised to Mikasa and her mother for Levi's behaviour. To which Mikasa reduced to a sob and her mother just assured them that children will always fight and everything would be back to normal tomorrow.

A few exchanged pleasantries later, Levi and his mother were on their way home - next door - while Mikasa was taken inside by her mother who promised to play with her.

The thirty seconds of a stroll were the remnants of peace and freedom, or so Levi thought. And as the door shut in their house, Kuchel was ready to rain down on him.

"Why are you picking fights with a four-year-old?" She all but yelled at Levi, the minute they were inside the house. He was miffed with Mikasa already and his mother siding with the culprit didn't help matters much. As afraid as he was of his mother, he could be stubborn too.

"I was not picking fights. She started it."

"So you would finish it for her? She is still too young. Why was she all dirty? Why are you all dirty? And why was she crying like that? And why are you clamped up?!"

Silence reigned for a minute or so, as tempers simmered and boiled over noiselessly. Kuchel let go of her's first. This was her child, after all. And he was young too. It would not do to be too harsh on him without even knowing the full story.

With that his mother broke into a sigh and knelt down in front of him. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Levi knew when to grab onto a thread of harmony, as it was offered so plainly to him. He seemed to mull it over for a while before replying.

"She said she didn't want to marry me."

It was a long, soft pause. Levi was a short boy, even for the age of ten and his mother had to sit down to talk to him at eye level. And it was after the declaration of such far-off life plans between two children that Kuchel wondered if it would permanently traumatize Levi if she were to laugh uncontrollably at him now - literally, in his face. Judging by the continuously growing scarlet on his cheeks, a little laughter might just push him. Even so, Kuchel lost a bit of control and roared out.

She regained herself just in time to see Levi's eyes widen a little in embarrassment, head bowing and him turning to face away from his mother. She stopped laughing and with crinkled, yet happy eyes said, "I am sorry, I shouldn't laugh. But I want to know why she does not want to marry you?"

He may have been young, but he was, by no means, a kid. Levi liked to think of himself as very mature. It would take a lot for his mother to convince him that she was serious about this conversation, now that she had laughed at him once. Maybe days, before he would crack! Hmph!

Kuchel sighed once more. She knew him well. A mere fifteen minutes of prodding would be enough. She began her task by coaxing him and hugging him from behind which he violently shook off. Nope. Not ready yet...

She dejectedly drew back. Reverse psychology on little kids always worked like a charm.

"I wish you'd tell me...Your daddy did this once and he knew the perfect solution to make it up to me."

That caught his attention and he risked a peek at his mother.

"Really?"

"Mmhmm." Kuchel replied, now nonchalant and walking to the kitchen as if his dilemma didn't matter anymore. "Your father was a lot like how you are now..and he was the best at making up. See, I married him and I still think he is the best." She finished with a happy smile.

Now that was something, he thought. Full attention on his mother's words, Levi approached Kuchel with wide-eyed curiosity. The eagerness to know how he could make it up to Mikasa and impress her enough so that when they got married she would still think he was the best, was a very satisfying thought.

"I want to know. I will tell you what happened...", he relented.

His mother waited patiently.

"She said that she did not want to marry me because I took her ants."

Kuchel was speechless at that. This was going to be one long-winded, complicated story. Like most of these two kids' interactions.

"She had ants in her lunchbox and she named some of them - Eren, Armin, Mikasa and Levi. When I saw her after school, she showed them to me and one of the ants started crawling out, so she gave me the box and tried to catch that one on her arm. Ants are dirty, so I threw them out of the box. She got angry and pushed me."

This child was such a neat-freak. It was a wonder that he was still standing there in his dirt stained clothes, re-telling tales of quarrels and arguments with his young neighbour. Kuchel sighed and urged him on. "Please continue."

"I told her that they would bite her but she started crying and Eren and Armin came and asked me why she was crying. They pushed me too, so I told them to go away."

At this Levi paused. Something obviously restraining his story-telling.

"Then Historia came and said that she could not marry someone like me because a good husband would not throw her ants away. Mikasa stopped crying and told me that she would never marry me."

"I don't like Historia." He finished.

Kuchel wasn't sure if she understood anything of what had actually come to pass. But she knew what she had wanted to know. Levi and Mikasa were fighting over reasons beyond adult comprehension and he very obviously wanted to have his friend back. In another ten or fifteen years, what that would mean...well, that was history in the making.

As promised, she started spilling the long-awaited secret to making-up. "If you want to tell her that you are still her friend and you will NOT throw her ants away again" - impressing that on her son, she continued, "then I would suggest that you do something nice for her. A gesture that will mean something to her."

"I can bring her ants. Even though they are dirty..." He instantly supplied. And then seemed to be debating it.

Patience. Kuchel reminded herself. They were children and they needed to have their own methods of maintaining a relationship, her interference wouldn't exactly be helpful in the long run.

"Oh! Oh! Mom mom! I know. Mikasa likes chocolate. I will make her chocolate." He declared excitedly, finally seeming cheery.

Maybe she should have interfered. Her kitchen was in for an evening of torture while Levi burnt cocoa powder and made little hand prints all over her white counter. Why couldn't he just go find some ants?

The shopping trip was very quick because someone was very impatient to get back home and begin preparing chocolates for Mikasa. And even though they may have saved time there, Kuchel was convinced that she would need a glass of wine soon.

The kitchen had turned a nice shade of cocoa brown and the air was thick with powders of all sorts. There were vanilla and strawberry flavours in the whiffs and raspberries and oranges yet to be united with their chocolate fates.

He had, unsurprisingly, needed help. She was there, but his father had also been roped into the adventure. And it had taken all of forty-five minutes for Levi to throw his dad out of the kitchen with a reprimand of "you are messy". She had laughed at that and assigned all other household chores to her husband, while she helped Levi create his valuable gift.

The clock had struck eleven just a few minutes ago and Levi had decided that he was finally ready with his peace offering. There were dark chocolates and milk chocolates in shapes of the letters 'M' 'L' - multiples of them, there were truffles, berries dipped in white chocolate and orange flavoured ones...he had gone the whole nine yards. Or well, mostly his mother had. For a four year old neighbour, because of an inexplicable ant-incident.

Kuchel smiled at his dedication. Even though a headache was threatening to break out any minute, the evening with her son had been one to remember. Teaching him, understanding him. And his devotion was a spectacle.

And with that reflection, her mischievous side emerged, there was no way she was going to let teenager-Levi live this down when he finally understood the implications of his actions in the adult world.

Morning could not have arrived sooner for Levi. He was too excited. Nervous, but excited. He had never given Mikasa anything handmade. While the reason for such a gift wasn't quite encouraging or amiable, it was a step forward to being friends forever.

The day started with routine with a tinge of hostility. Mikasa waited for Levi by her house - not looking at him, arms folded and the moue from the day before adorning her. They went to school together everyday and today was no different - except for Mikasa's feigned acrimony. As angry as she was with Levi, he was one of her best friends and she wanted to talk to him. But, throwing out ants deserved punishment too. So, for the ants and for making her cry, she decided to go to school with him and let him suffer her indignation.

Levi walked up to her and proceeded to stare. No greetings - how dreary. He would have to make quick progress with his apology if he wanted to stop feeling so guilty over the previous day.

They both headed out for school and Mikasa walked up ahead of him, in a delightful military march and Levi trailed behind her. Coming up with a way to offer her treats was turning out to be very difficult. His mother had drilled it into his head that shoving the box in her hands was probably not the best approach. And then she had thrown in the bit about how his dad was still the best because he was gentle.

Levi was gentle. He had never done anything not-gentle, unless it involved hygiene. And Mikasa needed to learn to be clean. He huffed at these thoughts, but restrained from doing exactly what his nature called to do - thrust the box in her hands.

Their joint school compound was visible soon enough and her pace quickened in an attempt to get away from Levi. Mikasa put all her hopes in trying to make Levi feel her wrath. She was succeeding.

At the gates, they parted ways. With Mikasa looking up sullenly and Levi looking back at her with his usual boredom.

He still had half a day's worth of waiting to do...

Lunch was usually just playtime for her. She would not see Levi till the end of the day again and somehow that thought did not sit well with her. She was honestly unhappy with their current dynamics. But young-rage had been winning over thoughts-of-amendment so far.

To her surprise, Levi had walked into their compound and to the edge of the playground where she was getting messy in a sandbox. He had just been sitting on a bench and hadn't called her or given any indication for her to come over, but somehow instinct kicked in whenever he was around.

So, little Mikasa slowly, but surely walked up to him and stood right there, hands on her side, questioning him sincerely with every expression of annoyance. Levi did not know the "right way" to give her the chocolates, so he relegated to pushing the box into her hands anyway, albeit somewhat gently.

It was well received, he thought. She looked at him puzzled and then slowly suspicious. He urged her to open the box softly, "You can look inside."

Age has very little to do with the perception of happiness. The glow on her face upon seeing the chocolates, the momentarily forgotten animosity, the rapidly spreading smile, the swelling of her chest in giddiness - all reverberated in Levi's chest and he found himself sparkling in that revelation. That Mikasa was happy.

She was smiling very widely and as she looked up to peer into his eyes, all of the previous twenty-four hours seemed to rush back into her memory, because her smile faltered - painfully slowly. He had not realised it, but his lips had started to stretch too - which now, came to an abrupt halt as she stopped smiling altogether.

"They are for you." He conveyed, desperately struggling not to slip back into the distance. And then a muttered, "...I made them..."

"I will givem to ans too." She stubbornly replied with a darkening brow and concentrated look that usually spelled trouble for anyone around.

He had been trying to hide his consistently warming face by looking anywhere but at her and at her declaration of her love for the ants, his head swivelled right back for him to glare at her. His mother's words and the need to be the best for her came crushing back and he rigidly, brusquely, resigned, "Fine. But they are for you."

And then something changed. Even little Mikasa understood a lot more than either of them were actually aware of. She gave him one of the most beautiful, one of the brightest smiles that she could muster and he would remember for the rest of his life, and advanced into Levi's personal space.

"Thank you. I love chocless." She picked one up and put it in her mouth.

A little squealing and a little happy jumping later, she offered the box to Levi. He declined. Seeing her happy and back on good terms with him was enough. After all, he had long term plans. This event had to go in his diary so that he could make 'best husband' later. And-

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a chubby hand slapping onto his lips. Since, he had declined the chocolate, Mikasa had decided that she would pick one for him and feed him. And, well. He couldn't back out of that, now could he?

So, before Historia and her gang of misfits came back to say anything against his future with Mikasa, he opened his mouth and proceeded to swallow whatever she was forcing onto his lips. Her wide, eyes-closed grin took away all cognizance of what it was that he was swallowing.

The chocolates were very tasty for some reason. Tastier than what they had seemed to be the night before.

Lunch was not a huge amount of time and he had to return to his section of the school. So, when Mikasa pranced back to her sand and filth, Levi stood up to retreat too. Belatedly realizing that the girl had had sand on her hand and now his face and tongue had some too. Tch. Filthy.

But they were friends again. And sand grains weren't even a comparison for the sunshine delight on her face. He turned back once on his way to look at her. She was celebrating the return of their friendship too - by sharing her chocolates with friends and the sand alike. The twitch on Levi's forehead couldn't win over the deep-seated content in his heart and the threat of a smile that returned to his face.

Chocolates were a good thing, he surmised.

A/N: Tiny!Mikasa and Tiny!Levi - Awww! There are a couple of side pieces to this one and they will be coming soon! :) Enjoy, till then!