Chapter 2

Hot Chocolate

Year 848

Annie Leondhart crossed the threshold into the barracks, wearing her usual poker face. As perceptive as Mikasa was, even she could not pierce the expression that shielded Annie's thoughts.

"So?" asked an impatient Sasha Blouse. "What happened to them? You heard something, right? Right?"

Instead of answering, Annie tossed her jacket lazily on her bed and yanked her sweater over her head.

"Hey, come on!" persisted Sasha. Clearly, she wasn't going to give it up anytime soon.

"They're dead," she said, in a callous tone.

"What? All of them?" asked Mikasa, unable to mask her surprise.

Annie nodded.

"Solders got a little carried while interrogating them… at least that's what it sounded like from the rumors, anyways," she said.

"I don't get it," said Mikasa. "Don't they usually question criminals one by one, separate from each other? Why-"

"Why torture them to death?" said Annie, finishing for her as she began unlacing her boots. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Seems a bit harsh, don't you guys think? " asked Sasha. "I mean… come on… all they did was take a few supplies." A cold sweat leaked from her brow, and she wondered if she'd suffer the same fate for her nightly raids on the barrack pantries

"And Krista," said Mikasa, correcting her.

"I wonder…," said Annie, and she laid on her back to study the ceiling. "Maybe they've done a whole lot more than steal some guns and a girl. People have been pretty desperate since Wall Maria fell… Unless…"

"Yes?" said Sasha, prompting Annie once she fell silent again. "Unless? Unless what?"

"Unless there's some other reason," came the answer, but this time from Mikasa. "Krista was the only one they took, after all."

"Then why her?" asked Sasha, growing more frustrated with the vague nature of the discussion. She who preferred to dwell more on thoughts of food than conspiracies.

"Why else?" replied Annie. "Girls like her go for a high price on the black market."

Mikasa grit her teeth in silence as a torrent of unpleasant memories came flooding back.

"I guess Krista is pretty popular with the boys," said Sasha, dimly.

As if summoned by name, their discussion was interrupted by the sudden entrance of a petite blonde girl. Everyone watched this new addition as she shly crossed the threshold. Well, all except Sasha. She only had eyes for the large chocolate éclair nestled carefully in Krista's arms.

"Krista!" Sasha cried. "That…. that's chocolate! I knew it! You really are a goddess!"
She fell to her knees before the short blonde, screaming to the heavens as if in a frenzied prayer. Tears welled up in the corners of her puppy brown eyes, and she whimpered audibly in hungry expectation.

"S-stop!" Krista exclaimed. "Calm down, already…"

"Please… just one bite!" pleaded Sasha. "Just one bite, and I can die in peace!"

With that, Sasha clawed upwards in a desperate attempt to retrieve the pastry from Krista's iron grip. Krista pulled away, shielding the delicacy with her arms.

By now, Mikasa had just about enough of this noise. She pounced on Sasha in a flash, and plucked her up by the collar of her jacket.

"Oi-hey!" Sasha protested. "Lemme go!"

"Fine," said Mikasa, in a low tone that usually preceeded bloodshed.

She then tossed Sasha to the nearest bed, who hit her head against the wall with a loud 'thud'.

"Everyone… everyone is against me!" cried Sasha, her limbs failing like the toddler in the midst of a tantrum. "You're all so cruel! The last you could do is tell me where you found such a tender morsel!" In all her secret trips to the pantry, Sasha had never seen something so beautiful.

"They were in the kitchen near the officer's quarters, I was passing by and I…" Krista began, hesitant to admit she'd stolen them.

The morality of the situation mattered little to Sasha, who had already shot through the door as fast as her legs would carry her.

Krista took a moment to catch her breath and said "Thank you, Mikasa."

"It's fine," said Mikasa, and turned away. Her black silky strands swung around and shone brightly in the dim cabin light. "Annie was about to rip her throat out, anyways."

Annie said nothing to confirm or deny this accusation.

Krista watched the blacked haired girl retreat back to her bunk, struck by her cool beauty. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she hugged her arms tightly against her chest as if to quiet its beating. Her mind raced with a thousand worries, every one of them urging her to retreat. But not this time. This time, she'd talk with her- this time she wouldn't let her nerves get in the way.

"No, no- really!" said Krista, following Mikasa up the ladder to the top bunk. "I never thanked you properly. You know, for saving me back there… from those kidnappers."

"It was nothing," said Mikasa.

Krista scooted across their sleeping mats and sat alongside Mikasa, her back resting against the cabin wall.

"I know everyone helped," said Krista. "But really, if it weren't for you- well, you know… things could've got really bad." And with that, she offered the chocolate delicacy to Mikasa, imploring her to take it.

Mikasa accepted the pastry from her friend, and studied the strange cake from every angle. She'd never even seen something like this before, and she had no idea what to expect from it.

"It's not a big deal," said Mikasa, and she took a small, apprehensions bite. "If I let someone die on such a simple mission, I wouldn't be much use against the titans."

"Well… yeah," admitted Krista. "But it meant a lot to me, you know? I had to find some way to thank you. Really… I owe you my life."

"You really want to thank me?" asked Mikasa turned her steely gaze to meet Krista's.

Krista found heat rising to her cheeks, but she nodded all the same.

"Get stronger," said Mikasa. "So strong you'll never be a burden to anyone, again."

Krista's cheerful features deflated into sadness.

"I fought too, you know," murmured Krista, making no effort to mask the resentment in her voice. "I guess Eren didn't tell you, did he?"

"Eren?" she asked, worried. "No- what happened?"

It was just like Eren to take all the credit, and gloss over the real dangers of a mission.

"That figures," said Krista, with a soft, bitter sigh. "It was in the wagons. One of the bandits tried to shoot Jean and Eren. I charged and knocked him to the floor. If it weren't for me, they could have been shot, you know. He didn't take too well to that."

She rolled back her right sleeve, revealing an angry purple bruise on her forearm. Mikasa believed her at once. There was no way Jean or Eren would admit that Krista had saved their lives; least of all to her. As Mikasa's gaze traveled to blonde's stern expression, a newfound respect rose within her. Krista was still young, and not yet five feet tall; to tackle a grown man to the ground in handcuffs was no easy task. Maybe she wasn't such a perfect, sweet princess after all.

Mikasa realized she'd be staring into her friend's eyes a little too long, and now it was her turn to look away shyly.

"I guess I owe you some thanks too, then," she muttered, and awkwardly raised the half-eaten pastry in Krista's direction.

Krista helped herself to a mouthful of the chocolate delicacy, and a smile played at her lips while she chewed. So Mikasa wasn't as cold-hearted as she seemed, after all.

For some reason she couldn't explain, Mikasa found it hard to stop looking at Krista's mouth ash she ate. There was something about the way the blonde traced the edges of her pink lips with the tip of her tongue, cleaning away the traces of chocolate there… Finally, she forced herself to tear her eyes away once she realized she'd been staring . Hopefully, Annie and Sasha hadn't noticed.

"Anyway… if your group was stronger and more alert, none of that would have happened in the first place," Mikasa added. "You won't always have someone to look out for you."

"Well, in that case," teased Krista, "There are a few ways you could better thank me, if you really wanted to."

Against her will, the confusing warmth in Mikasa's face grew hotter.

"What?"

"Help me get stronger," said Krista, her brow lowering in determination. "That way I… I won't be a burden on you, or anyone else."

Mikasa was at a loss for words. The request was probably one of the last things she'd expected to come from the petite girl at her side. She quickly regained her composure, and popped the rest of the chocolate into her mouth.

"Fine, if that's what you really want." She answered.

"You really mean it?!" Krista exclaimed.

"I'll wake you at first light ," said Mikasa, who then drew her blanket around her shoulders.

"Before breakfast?" asked Krista, trying to mask her disappointment.

"You want to get stronger, don't you?" asked Mikasa.

"Of course, but-"

"Only way you'll get stronger than the others is if you work harder than they do," stated Mikasa plainly. "Don't make me regret this."

"You won't!" insisted Krista. "I promise!"

"I hope so," said Mikasa.

She spun around to lay on her side and pulled the blanket up around her face, effectively ending the conversation.

Krista hopped out from the bunk and began to change into her bed clothes with an air of cheery optimism. Soon she'd be spending hours and hours with Mikasa… alone. The thought gave her almost too much happiness to contain.

It wasn't until she lay still in her bed that she realized what the two girls had already shared. Her mind wandered to the éclair Mikasa offered, and how she'd taken a bite.. from the same place Mikasa had just moments before. Wasn't that what some called an 'indirect' kiss?' She buried her head deeper in her pillow, her cheeks going red at the thought.

And then, her mind wandered; as if often did. What would it be like to actually kiss Mikasa? The softness of those warm lips against her own, the scene of her breath playing against her skin. Suddenly the heat from Krista's face traveled to new areas of her body, sending tingling sensations along with it. She tried to stop her mind from wandering further, but it was no use. Perhaps waking up at dawn was going to be even harder than she thought.