Notes: spoilers! Lots of them. Also, :).
She comes back.
She arrives in the morning, as expected, running to the kitchens and calling out that silly nickname that she started calling him (and she's too endearing for him to ask her to stop): "Niku!" He turns and she almost bowls him over, arms tight around his neck, body pressed fully against his.
He feigns annoyance, scolding her while wrapping his arms around her. "You could have knocked over the pot," he says.
She pulls back, sheepish. "Sorry." He shakes his head and kisses her.
They're sat at the tables outside while she eats and eats and smiles and compliments and he can't stop watching. She grins, full of teeth and looking ready to eat him whole. He thinks that maybe he wouldn't mind.
He looks around then and notices they're alone. He turns back to Sasha, who doesn't seem to care.
"Where is everyone?" he asks anyway.
"Oh, probably busy. They don't care about important things." It makes sense in the moment. He takes a napkin and wipes at the corner of her mouth. Her plate is clean and she pats her stomach. Her clothes are casual and it doesn't make sense.
"When did you get changed?" She stares at him, mulling over the question.
"Earlier. Didn't you notice?" He shakes his head. She shrugs.
She's pulling him along, tugging at his hand and smiling at him over her shoulder. "Mikasa is still at the meeting so we won't have to worry about her walking in," she assures him.
The sun backlights her and she looks like an angel. His breath catches in his throat and he can't say anything.
Then they're in her room and he doesn't care that it doesn't make sense because he has her up against the door with her legs around his waist.
But he suddenly can't ignore it anymore. He withdraws, looking into her warm eyes and asking, "Shouldn't you be at the meeting? Why are you here? What's going on?"
She stares and stares and says nothing. The light becomes brighter and brighter and he can't see her anymore.
The alarm blares and he rolls over to slap it off. The sun shines in his eyes. He squints against it, looking at the time. It's early. He needs to prepare. Her family will be here in a few hours.