"Ah, so that explains it."

"There you go again, you know-it-all. Explains what, Armin?"

"Why Mikasa's eyes grew as large as the sun when you told the others why you left last night. She obviously wasn't expecting you to lie."

Not too far from beach where they were temporarily stationed, the Scouts were mapping some sprawling woods west of their camp. After breaking their fast, the Commander divided them into pairs, and assigned Eren and Armin to the southern area of the woods. The Titan shifter could not have asked for a better partner with his wanting skill in cartography. As they rode at a steady trot, he now regretted not paying attention in class during his trainee days. Painstakingly crafting a visual representation of an area and staring at existing maps were not exactly terribly exciting.

"Look, do you really think I could've told them the truth? Folk'll think I'm some kind of weirdo for sparring in the night and that we're up to something with... what just happened. Dammit, I don't even have a word for it! What the hell was I thinking!?"

"What the hell indeed, Eren. Look, I understand, and I respect your privacy. But if my opinion means anything to you, I think both of you were being honest with one another until you, well, panicked as you said. You've known each other for years, buddy. At the very least, I think she deserves to know how you feel."

They rode in silence for a while, then the Titan shifter shared his collected thoughts, "Yeah, we've known each other for quite a while, but it was only lately that I gave these—feelings, dammit—any serious thought. My four remaining years pushed me in that direction, the one that will let her know that I need her. But that same thing also held me back, made me afraid. Where will those four years take us? Am I to give her four petty years then leave her forever when I promised 'always?' She deserves better than that, dammit."

"None of our comrades deserved to die too," the blond looked up from jotting down landmarks and distance estimations from his notebook, "But they got devoured anyway. Did the thought of nigh certain death stop them from giving it their all? Of course not. Do us both a favor and just tell her, Eren. Stop overthinking who deserves what and just do what you believe's right. Four years? We're not even sure about tomorrow, Eren.

"One more thing. You are aware that we learned more about the Titans in the past five years than in the last 50 years put together? That being said, put your mind off the Curse of Ymir for now. If there's a will, we'll find the means, and with that the way. Have a little bit of faith."

"Alright. You win, smartass. Now let's just get back to making these damn maps. Wouldn't want to turn in a half-assed piece of work to the Commander."

"Sure. I just happen to be doing all of the work while my partner yammers something about 'getting back to work.'"

"What are you talking about? I'm jotting down notes too!"

"Have you taken into account meridians, latitudes, notable landmarks, distance estimations, the direction, major aberrations on the terrain?"

He tried to hide his embarrassment with the ignorance card, "Why didn't you tell me we had to specifically look out for those?"

"We were briefed by Hangi-san before we split up, and all of those were part of basic cartography class, which I'm suuure you excelled in."

"Condescending, sarcastic moron," Eren mumbled.

Armin reined in his horse and dismounted, motioning for Eren to do the same, "Let's take a break. We've been riding for hours."

"Don't be silly, Armin. We need cover as much ground as possible, and lunchtime's still an hour away."

Notwithstanding Eren's protests, Armin was already tethering his horse, "Trust me, Eren. We have until tomorrow to complete our mission, and I'm sure we'll finish early, so take a seat. This condescending-but-well-informed-moron will conduct a crash course on basic cartography."

"Oh joy," replied the Titan shifter, grudgingly dismounting his horse as well, which uncannily resembled Jean. The two could be mistaken for twins, actually.

"That's right, you freeloader. You're gonna do your share of the work."

(-)

"There's the smoke from our campfire no doubt. Looks like the others went ahead of us. We're almost there, Jean. How're you holding up?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it. Probably just a sprained ankle."

Assigned to the western area of the woods, Mikasa and Jean went the farthest away from camp, and would consequently be home for dinner last. When they finished mapping for the day, Jean descended from the treetops using ODM gear but misjudged distance, landing rather painfully on his left foot before toppling over. His partner rushed to his side immediately, but he shrugged off the accident as nothing to fret about, even as he had difficulty mounting his stallion. It was nearly sundown, and he had been enduring the throbbing pain for almost an hour now.

"We should take a closer look at that once we get back, still."

"Won't argue with that. As you say, ma'am."

As time went by and accumulating, shared experiences brought what's left of the Survey Corps closer, Jean's juvenile, boyhood crush of Mikasa gradually faded away, replaced by an unshakable respect for a close friend. That's not to say it was easy in the beginning though, for in his eyes she grew more beautiful with each passing day, as did the portraits he sketched and painted without her knowledge. In the end however, his esteem for her superseded the childish, puppy love.

After a few minutes of riding in silence, he began, "You never got to tell us you know, what you plan to do once the Titans become history. Took off before we could interrogate you."

She gave him a wan smile at that, "I'd go with Eren. If he really only has so much time left because of that damned Titan curse, I want to see it through until... until the very end. And you? Gonna make good on your plans to join the MPs?"

The way she abruptly changed the subject did not escape him, and so he respected her privacy, not prying any longer after that, "It was a boyhood fantasy of mine; I'm just not sure if it would make the best reality in the future. I might consult Levi on that. On one hand, getting a shot at revitalizing the MPs and instilling the values we cultivated as Survey Corps members? That'd be sweet."

"But on the other, you'd have to leave your comfort zone, uncertain if it'll all work out."

"Ha, took the words right out of my mouth."

"Well, if that's the only thing holding you back and nothing else, then I suggest you go for it. I'm not sure what waits in the next life, but I know I want to make the most out of this one—doing what I love with those dearest to me. You'd make a fine leader, Jean. I think... I think Marco would be happy for you right now, wherever you decide to go."

His heart warmed at the thought of his old friend rooting for him, deep down believing it to be true, "Thanks... I gotta admit though, Connie didn't completely miss the mark there. I wanna catch up on old times with Christa—I mean Historia, never gonna get used to that name."

"Oh, I see," it was getting dark, but Jean could still see the toothy grin she was clearly trying to hide beneath her scarf.

"Hey, what are you going on about there?" feeling him crack a smile himself, "She's our comrade for crying out—"

"Guys! Pick up the pace, dinner's getting cold," Sasha yelled a couple of paces ahead of them.

As their horses broke to a canter, Mikasa told her unsuspecting partner, "Give her Highness a kiss from her comrades then. C'mon, we still have to get you patched up before dinner."

At that point, Jean had practically forgotten about the minor injury, but he was not shaking his head because of that.