A/N: This has been in my head for a while. I'm sorry this first chapter is so long and yet not very shippy, but I'm trying to develop this as close to how the show progresses as possible. There should be one, maybe two more chapters of this. I'm sorry of any inaccuracies. I've watched the anime, but that's about it. Any spelling from names I just looked up and used whatever seemed the most popular. (No one can seem to say definitively which name spellings are correct?) I do hope you like it, since this is the first time I've written anything this action heavy.

A RING FOR A SCARF

one
The Ring

Shit, this sucked. Every single time. It never got easier. But to Jean, the moment this got easy he knew he was truly lost. He wiped the spray from his cheeks. He didn't know what was his or what was titan, all the blood felt the same now. The steaming had stopped and it'd all congealed in brownish splatters over his jacket and pants. He wasn't a clean freak like Captain, but this was fucking gross.

And it was far from over. The branch shook under his boots, with all the commotion around him he'd barely had a second to clean out his eyes before he was moving again. Leaping and twirling on wires, the wind blowing through his hair and stinging his eyes. He saw Connie tagging one, a five meter titan, his tether hooked in the back of its neck, but another was about to swipe him from the air like a fly.

Jean gritted his teeth as he switched directions, body springing around and jarring his neck. He swung up and sliced clean through three of five fingers before they could catch onto his squad mate. Connie soared free of obstruction and cut a gash into his titan's neck. Problem was, it wasn't far enough in. The near miss had distracted him and made him hesitate. Jean met him on another high branch, two titans grasping for them. The one still had no fingers and was trailing steam the other was already healing its neck.

"Damn it. I almost got it." Connie's fists shook, but there wasn't time to lament mistakes. If you survived them, you moved on. Because there were always more to fight.

Jean was jumping after the two below him when a blur of their corps uniform and black hair passed in front of him. He swung into the trunk of the tree that had been his perch, boots ripping up bark as he slid down and got his bearings. Mikasa twirled, back flipped out of the titan's reach and then swiped down in one move, slicing the titan's neck cleanly. The second one was eyeing her, but Jean was already moving. He landed on its outstretched arm and ran, jumping to spear its eyes while Connie came up from behind and finished it.

His pride was stinging, but he was too in awe for it to hurt. The way she moved was a marvel and he swung about after landing on a high branch to try and find her, but she was already gone. His shoulders were falling up and down as he caught his breath, chasing after her toward the rest of their group. Mikasa was agile, but Jean could manipulate his gear just as effortlessly. He'd caught up to her, but trailed behind. Words rose to his mind, several different options that he never got the nerve to say before she was swinging sharply in front of him to avoid a tree.

Jean pulled back, trying to avoid a collision and caught her attention. Mikasa's eyes were stoic as they fell over him, her face forward. He froze for a second and his side caught a thin branch as he swung, it shattered against his weight and spun him in a clear circle. Connie was cackling behind him as Jean's back smacked into a tree trunk. His teeth braced for the sting that shuddered down his spine and he fell for a few seconds before he could move to activate his tether. He was panting now, his cheeks burning worse than the damage to his side.

"You 're supposed to go around the branches." Connie said, stopping to make sure he was good to continue.

Jean's eyes were dark as he glared upward, his cheeks still burning. She had to have seen that. "Eat shit, Springer." He propelled forward again, nose flaring in suppressed annoyance. He was seething at his own stupidity and then that tiny voice in the back of his mind rose up with a very casual Eren wouldn't have tripped.

He was seeing red by the time he caught up to the main squad. There were at least three more titans and they were pawing at the trees to get to the soldiers. They were just a small unit, Captain Levi had taken Jaeger along with a few others on a different route with the expectation that they all converge on the other side of the woods. They had flares for emergencies, but so far as Jean knew, they hadn't lost anyone yet.

Jean reigned in his temper. He shut his eyes, his fingers digging into the bark he was using for support. If he fought while so angry, he'd make a dumb mistake and then he'd be facing a lot worse than a bruised side and embarrassment. When he was calmer he surveyed the scene, trying to take in everyone's position and determine their plans for attack. They were pretty divided, striking in haphazard formations. It had been a mistake to pair so many with team work issues in one group, but splitting up had been a last minute plan and they'd been separated where they had stood.

Sasha was nearest his position and she jumped toward the titans, only to be chased back up into the trees. Mikasa swung into view again, making his cheeks flare up. It was pathetic how easily she could affect everything about him. His heart rate. His breathing. His blood. He wanted to feel ashamed, but he respected her too much to let himself be bothered. She was worth the admiration.

"Oh shit." The tree that had held Jean shook violently, making him slip and cling to the trunk to keep from falling. A titan had rammed it, stepping back and throwing its shoulder into the tree. Jean hopped to another branch, then leapt from the tree entirely to swing around to the titan's back. He didn't get far; the titan turned too fast and had struck out at him, forcing him to change direction.

"No. I am not letting another of you bastards get past me." Jean kicked off again, leaping high and twisting in the air to fall just over the titan's head and then down onto its back. He hooked his tether into its neck and slashed down fast and hard. Steam flew up into his face as he pushed backward with his feet, flipping backward before tethering a tree and righting himself. The titan fell hard onto the ground, shaking the earth, but he didn't cheer. There was no celebrating a single kill. Not when people like Mikasa were on their fourth.

Speaking of, she was rocketing past him, moving with urgency. His eyes followed her for a second before moving to where she had been. Four more titans had converged on their spot. The rest of the group was following her, propelling fast as the titans crashed around trees to follow. Someone must have sounded a retreat, but Jean hadn't heard it. He took off after the group, leaping through branches with finesse this time.

He was lagging behind; sparing a glance to check the progress of the titan's every few seconds. If he was calculating this right, they'd be free of the woods in another couple miles. Hopefully, there'd be some reinforcements waiting. Jean had closed the gap between him and the squad when they came to a sudden halt. More titans were coming at them from the front.

"They're surrounding us." Sasha screamed, her eyes wide. Jean landed next to her. Her hands shook, but she tried to swallow her fear. "W-what do we do now?"

"We keep moving." Jean said. Mikasa wasn't far ahead, all of them stopping close enough to communicate.

"We move separately." She was looking at Jean when she spoke, eyes steady as a breeze stirred the hair around her cheeks. "We're harder to follow if we take separate paths."

Jean nodded, appreciating that she seemed to be directing this at him, as if for confirmation. It felt like…well, he didn't really have time for feelings right then. "We should move in pairs. Spread out and then all converge in on one point a few miles down."

Mikasa nodded, accepting his ideas. Jean's chest swelled, his confidence soaring. Mikasa tugged on the sleeve of the person nearest her, the two of them leaving together. Everyone seemed to assume the pair was whoever was closest. Jean looked sideways.

"Guess it's you and me." She said shyly, her eyes still on the titans getting closer.

Jean sighed. "You ready, Braus?"

She straightened, drawing her hands up to her chest, swords sticking straight up into the air. "Y-yep."

"You'll be fine." Jean said, meeting her eyes. "We're not fighting just flying. Stick close and keep your eyes on me. If something happens, scream."

"Right." She nodded. They jumped from their branch, flying toward an unused path. The titans had already scattered, confused on which team to follow. Jean kept Sasha in his sights, moving in sync with her. It was easy to gain a rhythm and they were both comfortable enough using their gear. Sasha seemed to lose her worry in the thrill of maneuvering. Her smile was returning.

"We're almost through." He called to her. He'd been trying to keep track of how far into the woods they'd gone and he knew they had to be reaching the far side soon. He'd just spotted a pair getting close to their position from the left when he heard Sasha scream behind him.

Pulling up short, Jean watched Sasha being pulled from the air, her leg caught in the hand of a titan. Sasha slashed out with her swords, slicing through its fingers and freeing her foot. But she was too close to the ground and couldn't get her tether out in time. She crashed into the ground, bouncing on her back and eyes pinching shut.

Jean was already flying in the titan's line of sight. Swinging his sword sideways over its face, effectively capturing its attention. He tried to see if she was moving, but he now had the titan's full attention and it was taking all his concentration to dodge it. He drove it away from Sasha, eyes catching the flash of steel as the group that had distracted him earlier was drawn to Sasha's cry.

Jean kept swinging free of the titan's arms, but it was fast. He hardly had time to adjust before the thing was grabbing for him again. In a quick move, Jean got himself on the right side of a tree and quickly propelled sideways, drawing himself out of its direct path. The titan stopped short, searching for him.

Jean was already arcinging back around, hoping to end it before it brought more of them. Sweat building on his forehead, fists gripping tight over the hilt of his swords, he managed to get his tether line in position. He held his swords ready, preparing to strike down on its neck, but he never got the chance.

A palm swung from behind him, batting him sideways. This time, Jean was snapped against the tree, his body bending painfully before he was rolling down and down, hitting the floor on his shoulder.

"Jean." Sasha's voice was a distant cry to his ringing ears. His eyes were seeing double, the edges of his sight black. He knew it was her, because he saw her face in his head at the sound of her voice, but he was trying to pick himself up without the world spinning out from under him. The wind had been knocked from his lungs and he wheezed in breath.

"Get up. Get up. Get up." She was right above him, her boots hitting the ground in front of him. "Are you hurt?"

"I'll manage." He coughed, standing. Sasha tucked her arms around him and lifted him from the ground and toward the canopy. With his added weight, she couldn't get them to clear the branch cleanly and they crashed into it, both of them grabbing onto it to keep from falling back to the ground. They scrambled to climb up, the bark digging under their fingernails. They'd just managed to scramble to safety when another pair of boots landed next to them.

"Are you hurt?" Mikasa helped Jean stand, taking him by the arm and easing him upright. He caught his breath, avoiding her eyes.

"Fine." His side was killing him, his head was aching, but he didn't want to let on that he was in any way unable to do his job. Sasha was looking below, the three of them surrounded by the two titans.

"Where's your partner?" Jean asked, worrying suddenly that Mikasa was alone. She kept her eyes on the titan, but her profile made him lose breath all over again.

"I sent him ahead to the others. I came to help Sasha and then to help you."

When his jaw finally closed, he felt relief. They'd gone the whole mission without any deaths so far. He was counting on them all making it to rendezvous.

"Are you okay to go?" Still, she kept her eyes on the titans, but the tone of her voice suggested that she was asking out of necessity, rather than actual concern. She cared that he lived or died but…it was the same for all of them. He wasn't special. Not to her. Not like…

"Yeah. I'm good." He rotated his shoulder, feeling and hearing it crack at the motion. "Are we taking these down or making a run for it?"

Mikasa looked at them finally. "We should run. Sasha's gear is banged up and you're almost out of blades." She motioned to where gas was leaking quietly from the tank on Sasha's right.

"Shit." Jean bent down, trying to tighten the canister down, but the leak wasn't at the seal.

"It'll last, right?" Sasha asked, chewing her lip.

Jean punched at the tree, frustrated. "I don't know. Not long. We have to get you moving though."

"You stay in front of us. If you think you're about to run out, land." Mikasa said.

"Okay." Sasha waited for their signal and then took off to the right, hopping clean over the titans' heads. Jean and Mikasa sprang after her. With Sasha, moving through the trees had been fluid, easy. But with Mikasa at his side, helping him to keep Sasha in sight, it was like dancing. They could move gracefully around each other, looping and spinning. It was elegant. Clean. They parried the others actions with precision and perfect timing.

"She's almost out of gas." Jean said as he passed in ear shot of Mikasa. "She should land. Braus! Braus—"

Sasha kept going, the last of her gas spraying uselessly into the air. "Mikasa." Jean called as Mikasa's arc took her close to Sasha's position. Mikasa changed course in a second, sweeping under Sasha as the gas ran empty and Sasha's tether misfired, leaving her hanging in space.

Mikasa caught Sasha, but the force of it swung them both wide and hanging in open air from Mikasa's tether. Jean pulled up beside them.

"I can carry her." He said, watching them spin on Mikasa's line. "We're almost out of here, it's not far." He reached out and Sasha caught his hand, pulling her and Mikasa toward the tree. They were trying to untangle themselves from the mess of whose limbs were whose when the ground began to shake.

"Hurry up!" Jean's hand was pinched under Sasha's boot and he cringed.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Sasha was trying to get her bearings, but unless they let her drop to the ground, they had to maneuver while hanging. The earth was trembling, each shudder urging them, screaming their limited time.

In her panic, Sasha fingers closed on the scarf around Mikasa's neck. Her eyes were huge, pupils dilated as she tried to climb onto Jean's back. But it was too late, the ground broke beneath them, one tremor too many causing all three of them to fall back into open space, only Jean and Mikasa's tether to keep them in the air.

The titan had reached them and Sasha's scream was deafening in Jean's ear. He could feel Mikasa ripping herself free. After kicking at him, and wiggling her arms, she broke from their tangled ball and propelled herself into the titan's path. In the scramble, the scarf had been completely torn from Mikasa's neck; it lingered in Sasha's hands as Jean got them moving again. He didn't bother with correcting their positions, just worried about getting them out of the titan's path.

"Oh…" Sasha's voice was small this time, barely heard even with her face near his ear. Jean glanced behind him, red fabric drifting away from Sasha's open fingers. It fluttered like a leaf, drifting until the wind caught it and blew it away, toward the break in the trees up ahead. Jean pulled Sasha over his shoulder, bending her in half, and tried to keep moving. Mikasa would buy them time, he hoped she'd be fine on her own. He had to get Sasha to the group. They could meet up with the horses and she could ride on her own. Right now, he was having trouble maintaining any real height. There was too much weight.

"Jean." Sasha was pointing as Mikasa flew past, the titan hard on her heels. "She…she doesn't look okay."

His teeth were straining in his jaw. This was turning to hell real fast. He couldn't go after Mikasa with Sasha on his shoulder. As soon as he'd seen that scarf floating away he knew they'd run into trouble. But he wasn't strong enough to help everyone. He couldn't save all of them. He couldn't do it…

"Let me go." Sasha sounded quiet, but determined.

"Don't be an idiot. You can't outrun it." He said. He was trying to keep his eyes on Mikasa, her body flying recklessly through the trees and nothing to suggest she was trying to avoid the titan trying to grab her.

"I don't have to. I just have to get outside the trees, right? They're all waiting out there. Let me run. The titan's after Mikasa. You should help her." Jean stopped on a low branch, well within titan reach.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I…" She pushed herself down, landing on her feet. "I can do it. I'm a fast sprinter."

Jean watched the titan's hand catch Mikasa by the leg, jarring her out of her arc and sending her spinning. She just managed to get out of reach and correct herself.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling torn. This felt like a betrayal to Sasha. She needed him. She was defenseless. Mikasa was capable of fighting, his priority should be Sasha.

"I'm going." She said, giving him a faint smile. "I'll just imagine there's food waiting for me." Before he could protest she hopped down, rolling into the fall and then taking off at a sprint. The end of the woods wasn't far off and…if there was any luck at all left there would be a full squad waiting for her. He didn't have time to rethink, he was propelling after Mikasa.

She swung away from Jean's hand, moving out of reach. His boots hit hard on a tree, but he steeled himself before calling out to her, his voice loud and desperate. "Mikasa! You have to leave it."

Her eyes were like daggers, turning on him fiercely. She didn't respond, just kept flying around the tree tops, searching. Oblivious to the titan swatting at her. Jean cursed, jumping after her. Her movements were erratic, but timing it, he was able to come up under her, catching her by the waist and moving them high into the canopy.

Mikasa threw his arms off her once their feet hit the branch. She was about to jump when he threw his arms around her.

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"You don't understand." She seethed, her eyes were wide and darting around. Her fingers traced the space around her neck, feather touches like she couldn't fathom that there was nothing there.

"Yes I do." She broke free again, this time cracking him over the head with her elbow. Jean's head rattled, but he kept catching her. He was trying to be gentle, but she was struggling so fiercely. "I get it. You don't feel safe without it. You need it."

"I…" She hesitated, her thrashing growing calmer.

"In all the years I've known you, I've never seen you without it." Jean continued. His grip was still firm. "It's…obviously special to you."

"Very." She said sharply, but she stilled.

"I know." He let out a breath, the tree they were in shaking slightly as the titan tried to grab them. "But it's not worth your life. Nothing is worth your life."

"But Eren…"

Jean's mouth fell open. He wasn't sure if his heart could sink any lower than it had just then. The name was crushing, devastating just then. Because he realized why she loved that damn scarf so much. And it killed him. Jean shook the start of tears, because he was not going to cry right now.

"You think Eren wants you risking your life right now? Mikasa, he'd say the same thing I am." He felt hollow. The will was slipping from him, the only reason he held on was because he could see how hurt she was. The emptiness in her eyes…she must have felt just like he did. He couldn't fail her now. He could keep his heart from falling to pieces, if only because it was best for her.

She was still frozen in his arms, allowing him to hold her or not realizing that he still was. Jean let his grip loosen again, feeling her tense but she didn't move. "Look…"

He was at a loss. She looked so broken. What did he say? What could he say? The war raged on beneath their feet but right then there was nothing outside of the space they shared. Jean stabbed his sword into the tree bark, letting it stand on its own and freeing his hands fully. Somehow in restraining her, he hadn't cut either of them.

Jean reached down over his gear, eyes searching for a familiar circle of metal. A thin wire was looped over one of the ends, its purpose only useful for storage. He broke it free, eyes on his own hands since he couldn't meet hers. He tugged on the string of iron, twirling it over the tip of his finger. He looped it several times, twisting the coil together to make a twine. Still not looking up, he grabbed her hand suddenly. He heard her gasp, but he ignored it.

"It's not the same thing. I just…" His fingers shook as he held out the ring of frayed metal and slipped it onto her index finger. "I can't have you giving up." He held her hand, her fingers so thin and small, it was amazing how deftly she could use them for killing. "I'm not Eren. And…and I know it's not the same." His eyes were locked on his hands, both of them holding her, thumbs squeezing into her palm as he tried to will her into believing in him. "But this is from me to you. Let it…just let it remind you that I'm here with you. Together we can make it out of here. Cause we have to keep fighting, Mikasa—"

Her hand slipped from his, cutting him off. He looked to see if he had done something wrong, he'd been so caught up in what he was saying, it took him a second to remember where they were. Mikasa's eyes were even, her face calm. Whatever he said must have worked. It was oddly thrilling. That something he said could help her. He didn't care what it was or how, just knowing he'd found the right words was enough.

"Are you ready?"

Jean nodded, pulling out his sword and getting ready to jump. He saw the ring still on her finger and he grinned. In his heart, he knew there would come a time, maybe that day or maybe in two, when she would remove it. He'd look at her hand and there'd be nothing there. It was just a stupid piece of metal. It was probably uncomfortable to wear. And he knew that it would never mean as much because it had come from him. But until he looked at her hand to find it gone, he would continue to be elated. It was setting himself up for pain, because when he did find her finger bare…it'd shatter him. But until then…until then…he could be fucking happy, damn it.

A/N: There is more to come and I promise that it will end with more Jean/Mikasa romantic type interactions. My hope is that this story seemed believable, in character, and that the end of this chapter was sweet on Jean's part. I just like the idea of this, I don't know why. Again, one or two more chapters. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. ^_^