The black dots lining his vision were getting larger, and tripping over his own feet seemed more than just a side effect. He tripped again, shoelaces tangling together and he managed to black out before he hit the ground. His attention span was flickering in his unconscious state, remembering white, red, then nothing.

Reality betrayed him and for the longest time all he felt was pain. Mikasa's voice was his only comfort, Armin's his only salvation. A rushed unfamiliar voice made his stomach coil, something about 'head trauma', 'the concrete' and he might be mistaken, but the word 'Coma'. Pitch darkness was all he was aware of.

He was scared.

Falling into a pair of arms is what he least expected, trapped in his lucid state. His mind drew a blank, a concerned voice reaching his ringing ears. It was drowned out by more shouting. Too much was going on, his squad was all around him in a formation Eren didn't recall ever learning. Below him were large reaching hands, fingertips just barely missing his flailing feet.

Panic took hold and he shot out of the arms craddling him comfortingly so. His fingers pressed triggers, body lurching forward through crowds of gigantic trees. The weight of the disposable blades kept him on balance, every noise was so familiar, and Eren felt like he /belonged/.

He felt like that was it, really. He was finally home, avenging his mothers death and upholding the promise of eliminating every titan he could dig his blades into. Unfortunately, he was wrong. Insanity tore him away from his normal everyday duties. He swore every moment he was alone, he could hear Mikasa's voice begging him to wake up, and Armin's whispers of hope.

It made it hurt to think.

Missions got progressively more dangerous, there were too many close calls, death was calling his name and all he did was ignore it. These weren't signs, he thought. Just coincidences that resulted in mere flesh wounds that would evaporate into clouds of steam like hot ocean mist. This mission though, was different.

His movement was off, his cuts were never deep enough, tears pricked his eyes as the number of his comrades lessened more and more. His self-steem plummeted, just like he was now. The wind was shrieking in his ears, his heart was beating right out of his chest and the handles of his blades fell from his hands. He could feel moist breath waft across his back, making his clothes stick to his skin. These would be his final moments.

He would fall right into open jaws-No, a hard surface would hit his back instead, igniting tremors of pain. The air was thick and smouldering every time he took a breath. Fingers, slim and smooth linked with his and everything flooded into focus. White walls, red bandages, stiff joints, a heavy migrain accompanied with an ear-splitting beep every few seconds.

The hand squeezing his was Mikasa's, her face brooding at the corner of his vision. Her downcast grey eyes suddenly sparked to life when she heard his quiet rustling. She looked about ready to cry, other hand reaching out to cup his cheek.

"Eren." He realized she sounded so broken over /him/, which only worsened the guilty pang melted into his chest. He hummed in response, lolling his head to the side to get a better look at her. That was a poor move on his part, his muscles aching upon movement and the tears now falling down Mikasa's cheeks giving him more of a reason to feel like shit.

"...How long was I-" Sobs worked her way up her throat before he could finish and she was scrabbling forward to hold Eren. He wrapped his working arm around her, thumb rubbing calm circles into her shoulder.

"A month."

"What?"

"You were in a coma, Eren. For a month. Some shady guy brought you to the hospital- grey eyes, couldn't be taller than 5 feet and he said he /knew/ you. What kind of friends have you been making? How did you get all these other injuries- Eren, what /happened/?"

He didn't really know, at this point. He pressed his forehead to Mikasa's shoulder, head swimming with images and memories that weren't even real. It was all a hoax, some demented bullshit forced upon him and driving him crazy. He shrugged instead of answered, yelping when she shifted his stiff arm. She apolologized softly, fingers gingerly brushing the long lashing bruise that covered a majority of his forearm.

"When can I go home?"

"A few days."

That was Eren's only relief.