A/N: This chapter is a bit short, sorry! ;A;
Mikasa woke up and nearly had a heart attack.
There were the sounds of birds and cicadas calling. A breeze was blowing, and she breathed in and the scent didn't match these things. It was a heady, masculine scent; it blended in with the scent of pine, almost like a strongly brewed tea. Then, she realized that she felt like she had been hit by a boulder, or twenty. She was bruised, incredibly stiff around the neck, but still comfortably sprawled and warm.
Slowly, she opened her weary eyes, squinting in the early morning sunlight as they focused, and then adjusted to crack her neck.
She was laying on the ground now, for one. And she was nestled in very close to the wall, but also, something that was firm and warm in a way that was completely relaxing - and, as she breathed in again, it seemed to be the source of the tea-like scent - and she blinked, now quite awake. She tilted her head up, her cheek dragging against warm fabric, and looked right into the inquisitive gaze of Corporal Levi.
Mikasa stared. She stared longer than she realized, or meant to. Then, without a word, she reached out her hand, tentatively, and touched his buttoned-up chest, pressing, to make sure everything was real. It was. Levi seemed to be staying very still, but his eyes openly scrutinized her face, every inch of it, and Mikasa felt her hair fall across her cheek.
She said the first thing that came to mind.
"Are you awake, or are you sleeping?"
Her Corporal replied, evenly, "Having some bizarre dream, I'm sure."
There was a pause as she ascertained.
"I... see. Your... Your bruise looks worse, sir."
"Is it?" He looked only momentarily conflicted before he added with uncharacteristic sincerity, "I like that you call me 'sir', Ackerman."
There they were, laying on the wooden, decrepit floor. The sunlight streamed in from the broken window above them, filling the room with a warmth and yellow glow, and it smelled like morning. Levi looked different than usual; different in a way that she couldn't place her finger on. Wasn't this the conceited excuse of a Corporal who held a mutual disdain against her for so long? It couldn't have been. He looked too human now, more real than she could have ever remembered him being. Only small inches from his face, everything about him was magnified and tangible - he smelled like pine and musk, and it was dizzying. His eyes were very dark, a color she couldn't place, and from here she could see the faint edge of his cheekbones, thin and subtle and softening into a flattering jawline. His brow, too, was sharp, and fit perfectly over his usually piercing gaze, but now it only left a faint crease in the center as he studied her in turn.
Then, his mouth. This was the most dangerous part of him. Levi's mouth was smooth and steady, moved perfectly when he spoke to others: enunciating every drawling, sarcastic, caustic remark, and snapping out every calm and calculated command. It was a mouth that was the weapon for his control, his power. Every centimeter he lacked in stature was made up for with his words. Many soldiers had impressive skills and ability on the battlefield, and each and every one of them could be crushed under the weight of Levi's cruel tongue.
It was dangerous, because his eyes, she realized too late, followed hers. Saw her looking at his mouth. Mikasa wasn't sure what her face looked like, in that instant, and knee-jerk reaction won over as she stumbled over her words, "...You're... You're welcome...? I, um, should find you-something-foryourhead."
Her heart was racing so loudly she was sure that he could hear it, and she thought her face felt hot, and the rush of mortification at her current state in front of her Corporal motivated her to react. With great difficulty, she hurled herself out of "bed" as hastily as possible, and she tried not to look suspicious (she was not very successful). A voice in her head sighed at her, and another had a meltdown, and another didn't say anything because it was currently in a ball in the corner, pretending none of this was happening. No, no she hadn't gotten separated from her troop like some stupid rookie. Not at all! And of course she didn't remain lost and unable to rejoin them. And, ha-ha, there was no way in hell she wound up in an abandoned town in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by titans and with her knees locked. And above all, it was impossible that her Corporal had been the person to find her, and he be lost as well! So since that was impossible, her waking curled against one very half-asleep Corporal Levi was utterly unthinkable!
Of course.
Mikasa touched her fingertips to her hot cheeks, her mind racing as she tried to count her breaths and calm down. What was she going to do now? Right, right, she needed to get redressed. She needed to find food, maybe, and go get medicine, because his bruise looked agonizing. Mikasa did a splendid job of failing to keep her balance as she shoved her boots on, her back to her Corporal as she tugged on her jacket and scratched her fingers through her thick hair. Her gear was heavier than she remembered, and awkwardly loud as it clanged on, and her trembling fingers seemed to fumble with the buckles in a way they didn't use to. But she got it, and once she meticulously unwound and repositioned her scarf, she was set to go, and ready to stop feeling a pair of eyes on her back, and-
"Ackerman."
Mikasa halted, and spun in place, peculiarly not able to make eye contact with the person who the voice belonged to and opting to burn a hole in the ground with her staring instead. In a pile of dirt and fractured pebbles, a tiny centipede crawled away.
"Yes, sir?" Sir. Ugh. Her stomach rolled, and it almost felt good. That reminded her, she was sorely hungry, and noted to look for anything edible while she searched for any herbs she could use for his wound.
Levi was sitting up properly now, mussing his hair tiredly and yawning.
"Out of curiosity, why are you so attached to that old scarf?"
Of all the questions to ask... Indignant, and maybe a little embarrassed to be discussing this with him of all people, Mikasa begrudgingly replied, "Eren Jaeger gave it to me." Not that it's any of your damn business.
She continued to move towards the doorway - a rich, dark blue and peeling around the edges.
"So? You never take the thing off. It isn't nailed to your throat, is it?"
This conversation was ridiculous. Mikasa frowned, and stopped again, and said petulantly, "No, it is not nailed to my neck. It's very precious to me, because... he gave it to me when he saved my life. If you're planning on taking it from me, I-."
"Saved? I never thought I'd hear someone other than me had to save your ass, of all people."
Emotions she couldn't pin down roiled in Mikasa's chest. She felt boiled over and empty, and in her head, was hit with a vivid mixture of the sunshine at her old home and the smell of her mother's garden, and the sound of stew cooking, and how rich it tasted. Of her father's arms, and her mother's hands guiding her own through needlepoint.
Then, the coppery scent of blood in the air and how it feels on your tongue no matter how tightly you hold your breath. The valley of her mother's neck, gaping and crimson as the sunset. Eren's voice that was already too large for his young body, shattering the world around her, a blade splintering between her tiny hands...
"I was very young," she stated, not a hint of distress in her voice. "It was the day I lost my family. Eren saved me, and gave me this scarf before his family took me in. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to go. I'll be back in an hour."
She was certain he'd said something after this, telling her to halt or wait or hold on, but she focused hard on going outside. Sunshine trickled through the town as she stepped out and the morning was fresh and dewy, and her presence had startled away a little flock of doves pecking at the ground. She stormed away, leaving her superior behind her, and stuck to the long shadows that the early sun had cast across the crumbling buildings.
Truly she was glad to be distracted. Around her, she couldn't hear any footsteps or groans, which hopefully meant the titans were not near. But the overgrown town was still full of life. When danger wasn't quite present, and when she forgot that she was starving and alone and could plausibly die at any moment, the world here was enchanting and story like - like a beautiful, old, forgotten garden she could've dreamt up as a child.
Indeed, flowers seemed to be emblazoned across the old cobblestone road, most of which was packed away under years of mulch, but there were daisies and vines and trees growing straight up out of some of the homes. Verdant mosses hung from aged signs and torch holders and overhangings. A movement caught the corner of her eye in one home, and she saw a barn owl taking refuge for sleep in the rafters. The symphony of wind in the heavy branches, and chirping insects and chattering songbirds all rolled down the alleyways and surrounded her, and store signs and boughs creaked as the breeze lazily went on by, sending her hair flying.
It was a unbelievably inviting day. Mikasa breathed in and smelled nothing but lively, clean air, and remembered where she really was and what was really happening; but, thought it better to not dwell on it. She popped open her pouch and took a swig of water, swishing it around her mouth and swallowing. Remembering the providential well, she considered visiting it to splash water on her face.
But until then, she needed good herbs to work with, and maybe a way to acquire food.
(And, honestly, to get a break from one injured Corporal, and all the trouble that his presence brought with him.)
