A/N:

Thanks to the lovely anon who requested Levi and Mikasa holding hands for the first time.

Reedited 19-02-19

Another mission, another series of failures far outweighing their successes. As they made their way back to the outermost wall, Mikasa could practically hear her comrades' thoughts as they mulled over the whys and wherefores of their job, and mourned those who had been lost that day. Some people wept openly, others more quietly; some complained loudly, and many were perfectly silent.

This expedition had been particularly bad, even resulting in one of their most respected getting himself injured. It was lucky Mikasa had found him when she did, or…well, she didn't want to think of that.

It wasn't common for Levi to get hurt in battle – it's not like he was known as Humanity's Strongest for his people skills or anything – but the weather had been foul, dropping visibility to zero, and there had been an abnormally high number of titans getting in their way that day. A true recipe for disaster, and the Scouts themselves were the star ingredients.

From what Mikasa could tell, the corporal had needed to swerve to avoid becoming dinner for one of the aforementioned monsters, but because the forest they were in was so dense, he had very little room to manoeuvre. He wound up landing against a tree, twisting his ankle and earning a nice headwound. Still, he fought on, taking down another three titans before nearly passing out, which was the state Mikasa had discovered him in. She'd brought him back to where the rest of the troops were preparing to head out, and helped him into one of the empty supply carts, where she offered to tend his wounds on the journey back to the walls.

It was no secret that there was a something happening between the two. It was hard to miss; the way they moved in synchronisation, the way they could communicate without words and seemed to read each other so well. Even the way they looked out for one another on the battlefield. No one said anything though; partly because any kind of romantic attachment was technically against military regulations (and nobody in the Scouts entirely followed military regulations to the letter anyways); and partly because no one was brave (or perhaps stupid) enough to stand up to an Ackerman. The titans, yes; but the idea of an angry Levi or Mikasa was actually scarier to most of the other Scouts.

In any the case, the feelings were there. But neither Levi nor Mikasa had said anything to one another about it. Oh, they both knew how the other felt, alright; but they were each inept at this kind of thing. Every good soldier needs to be able to admit to their flaws, and neither of the two were very great at words. Instead, they let their actions speak for them, and hoped it was enough.

As Mikasa dressed Levi's headwound, he gave her a curious look that was tough to decipher. The sides on this particular cart were fairly high, giving them privacy and leaving Mikasa comfortable enough to ask if he was alright.

"I'll live," he answered shortly.

Once his head was bandaged and his ankle strapped, Mikasa wet a clean cloth and put it to his forehead.

"What are you doing?"

"It'll help with the pain," she promised, brushing the rag over his brow gently.

"I'm not-" he started to say, but stopped himself. Mikasa knew where that had been going. He wasn't in very much pain – or rather, he had an absurdly high tolerance for it – and therefore didn't need relief. She knew that. But she liked to care for him, and opportunities to be close like this were so rare.

A lock of hair had fallen into her face, and Levi carefully tucked it back. "How are you?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine, I wasn't hurt." She pushed him into a laying down position. "Please, you need to rest. You have to heal."

"Ackerman…"

"Mikasa," she corrected quietly. "Remember? When no one else can hear us, it's Mikasa."

He very nearly smiled. Nearly. "Mikasa. Would you stop worrying about me?"

"Would you stop making it too easy?" she shot back, pouring fresh water onto the cloth. "Don't worry, I'll be right with you the whole journey back."

Levi hesitantly rested his head against a folded-up cloak, and Mikasa half-lay down by his side, propped up on her elbow. Once the rag ran dry again, Mikasa put it aside in favour of pressing her hand against his cool skin.

"I know it's selfish," she whispered, for his ears only. "I know a good many lives were lost today, but I…I'm just glad none of them were yours."

It's was the closest either of them had come to saying I love you, and in response, Levi reached up and caught her hand in his own, bringing it down to where he could see it, and entwining their fingers together.

Mikasa watched in awe. Levi wasn't affectionate – verbally or physically – as a general rule, so while the gesture was small, it meant a great deal. Especially since he'd never done something like this before. "I know it's selfish," he murmured back, "But I'm glad you weren't one of those who were killed today, too."

Mikasa did smile and lay her head down, allowing her grip on Levi's hand to speak for her. "We've got time before we reach the walls again," she pointed out. "Why don't you close your eyes until then?"

At first, it seemed as though Levi was going to argue, but as soon as he opened his mouth to do so, he closed it again and nodded. The more he rested, the sooner he'd recover; he knew that.

Mikasa stayed by Levi's side while he drifted in and out until they reached Wall Maria, at which point she sat up and tried to look as unaffected as possible. But even so, she kept a hold of Levi's hand, and didn't let go until the last possible second.