Author's Note: Hey guys, apologizes for the late updates. My senior cat Muggles passed away on July 26th after suffering brain damage from a bad seizure. She was taken to the vet to be humanely put down after being confirmed brain dead. So I needed a short break. Thank you for understanding. Also yes, for now Terror In Tokyo is on hold but not canceled.
Two Weeks Later...
Scouts flew through the deep forest like birds, as they all headed toward the large standing wooden titan stands, with the soft napes. Eren flew ahead, slicing at one of them, though the cut wasn't deep enough.
"You're still lacking, Jaeger!", Shadis ordered, as Armin flew in next, slicing the second. His was even more shallow than Eren's.
"Pathetic Arlet! Why don't you just serve yourself up on a platter for the titans?!", Shadis barked. "Sorry sir!", Armin apologized as Eren glared.
Shadis glanced behind, seeing Mikasa flying in next. She moved at amazing speed, her eyes focused, as she sliced the third one, a deep clean cut.
She landed by Eren and Armin. "Nicely done, Ackerman! A perfect cut!", Shadis praised, impressed. "That was amazing Mikasa", Eren said, as Armin smiled for her.
"I don't understand...these dummies are still, don't the titans actually move?", asked Mikasa as she put her blades away.
Jean and Connie flew in next. "Yeah, but they're slow as hell! And with someone like you leading a team, they'll be finished in no time", Jean grinned, as he subtly winked at Mikasa.
Mikasa tensed up, averting her eyes quickly from him, the expression he gave her...it made her heart start to pound, as her shoulders trembled a bit.
Eren glared at Jean, though the older trainee didn't notice as he flew off to practice. "And people think I'm thick...don't worry Mikasa, he's harmless", Connie assured her kindly.
Mikasa gave a small nod. For the most part, the guys left Mikasa alone in her time with them. They knew from the start what she had been through. Mikasa had remained greatly aloof of the male trainees, only spending her time comfortably with Sasha, Krista, Mina and any of the other female trainees, and of course with Eren.
She was even aloof around Armin. Of course she had shown incredible progress in her mental state, everyone knew, even Shadis, that she could never fully be healed.
She still slept with her teddy bear each night, and showed signs of timidness whenever a man (apart from Eren) got too close to her.
Connie, Armin, Marco, Reiner, and Bertolt all gave Mikasa space, and were always careful, though Jean was the only one who didn't seem to get the message. It seemed like he didn't realize extacly what she had gone through, and anytime Marco or Connie tried to explain, Jean seemed to mesmerized by Mikasa to hear them.
By that evening, Mikasa had spent the entire late afternoon running and training hard. Once she returned to her room, she felt so exhausted and sore.
She staggered to her bed, only in her shorts and training bra, collapsing onto her stomach on the bed, her head on the pillow, instantly passing out. Her teddy bear was sat in the corner of the bed, but still near her.
Sasha had left some ice packs on the bed for her, along with water. Because of how exhausted Mikasa was after training, she went into such a sound sleep, she didn't have nightmares.
By the following day, Eren and Mikasa were combat training again. She was getting better and better with her Ackerman power.
"Eren, you don't have to keep holding back", Mikasa insisted. "I know I just...I know physically you're stronger now, but...", he bit his lip, worried. He was scared that by mistake, he'd trigger something by touching her the wrong way.
Mikasa's eyes softened. "Eren, its all right. I know you. I know you won't hurt me...in that way", she assured him.
Eren swallowed hard. "Alright...", he raised his fists, and went to throw a punch at her, but Mikasa easily dodged it, and she got behind him in a flash.
"Oh crap...!", Eren started in a panic..she was so fast, and before he could react she locked both his arms behind his back, forcing him to kneel on the ground, tightening her grip on his arms.
In fact, her grip was so tight, that Eren felt a bone in his arm crack, and there was a subtle crunching sound, as Eren yelled out in pain.
"MIKASA! Stop!", Eren yelled out, painfully, grimacing. Mikasa froze up, and she suddenly felt her heart sink as she let go of his arms, realizing she had gone overboard.
"Eren...!", she cried worriedly, as he clutched his arm, gritting his teeth in pain. Mikasa's eyes filled with horror.
"I...I'm okay...just...", Eren winced, it was clear his arm was broken, he couldn't even move it. Mikasa's face only filled with more horror and disbelief, as she realized she had hurt him.
She didn't even know how to control her own strength, as Armin and Connie hurried over. "Eren? You okay?", asked Armin.
"Whoa, that looks bad!", exclaimed Connie. "I'm fine...its nothing..", Eren said, though he was still wincing. "I'll get a doctor!", Connie hurried off, as Armin knelt down at Eren's side.
Mikasa had gone silent, her face white in horror at what she had done, she began shaking. "Mikasa...?", Armin noticed, but she only tensed up, seeing Eren look at her, worry in his eyes. "I..I'm sorry Eren!", she cried, as she sprinted off, back into the girls dormitories.
"Mikasa, wait!", Eren reached out but he winced again, clutching his arm. "Damn it...", he growled. "I'll go talk to her, Connie should be back soon with a doctor", Armin assured him.
Inside the dormitory, Mikasa was sitting on her bed, she was curled up, hugging her knees to her chest as she gave a soft sigh, holding her scarf close.
It was just training...but she couldn't help but feel awful. She really had hurt him badly...and after everything he's done for her...
She felt tears sparkle in her eyes as she released a shaky sob. Before she completely broke down, the door softly opened.
"Mikasa...? Are you in here?", the door opened more, as Armin stepped in, his expression soft.
Mikasa curled up a bit tighter, averting her eyes from him. Armin's eyes softened, worried. He knew the only guy she trusted was Eren, and with the exception of Shadis, being her trainer.
But she remained aloof of the other guys, Armin included. Armin approached her carefully.
"Hey, its okay...", he started carefully. He sat what appeared to be some type of lunch box on the nightstand, sitting on the chair near her bed.
There was a small pause, as Mikasa finally glanced at him. "Is Eren...", she started to ask, her voice cracked.
"He's being seen by a doctor, don't worry", Armin assured the worried girl. Mikasa looked back down, swallowing hard.
"Mikasa, it wasn't your fault...you don't know your own strength too well yet", Armin added, seeing the obvious guilt on her face.
She remained silent, tears still in her eyes. "Soldiers get injured all the time in training, its common...so don't beat yourself up, alright? Eren wouldn't want you to", Armin continued in a soft voice.
Mikasa glanced at him tearfully, still holding onto her scarf. Armin sat a little closer, opening the lunchbox.
"You've really been training hard...after everything you've been through, a lot of people here really admire you", Armin said softly.
Mikasa looked down again. "You think..? Ymir and Annie seem to think I'm too broken to be here...maybe...I am...", she spoke quietly.
"Don't worry about them, they've always been negative...oh here we go", Armin then pulled something out of the lunchbox. Mikasa blinked softly.
"Like I said, you've been training so hard. You need to eat more", Armin set what appeared to be some type of dessert Mikasa's never seen before.
She blinked, gazing at it. It appeared to be a golden color, and it was on a plate. It also had what happened to be chocolate dipped on top.
"It's pudding, its a more rare dessert, its really good, its vanilla and chocolate", Armin explained, offering it to her. He set a small spoon on the plate for her.
Mikasa gently took the plate, as she looked down at it, inspecting it a bit cutely. When she was little...before her parents were killed, she did have some desserts.
Her mother used to bake amazing apple pies every year, and she even sometimes got these delicious sugar cookies from town whenever her dad left.
She also recalled having blueberry pie twice..but she never had pudding before. She scooped some of it into her spoon, looking at it. It was soft and almost reminded her of Jell-o.
She opened her mouth, and took a bite of it...and the moment the taste of vanilla and chocolate entered her mouth, her entire face lit up.
Her eyes even widened at how good it tasted. "How is it...?", asked Armin with a smile. "It's...it's amazing...", she confessed, as she ate some more.
"I'm glad you like it, there's some more in here, so if you want you can bring some of it to Eren later", Armin offered.
Mikasa ate more of it, enjoying it so much...she had never had something this sweet, not even with her parents. She could have never imagined something this sweet even existed. When she was...with the first pedophile, while he did give her better food than the other two, she never had anything like this.
And of course...when she was with the other two, especially the third one...she was lucky if she got stale bread and water.
And Armin knew this. "It might take a while for the doctor to fix up Eren's arm...you want me to keep you company?", he asked softly.
Mikasa bit her lip, she then gave a soft nod. Armin got himself some pudding as he sat a bit closer.
The two stayed together for a little bit, Mikasa had started to really warm up to Armin, until finally they were able to go see Eren. He was resting in bed, his arm in a cast.
"How are you feeling?", asked Armin, approaching his bedside, while Mikasa remained quiet, staying by the doorway, a look of shame on her face.
"I'll live, the doctor said it should heal within a few weeks", Eren replied, his eyes went to Mikasa, seeing her expression.
"Oh, right! Mikasa brought you some pudding. There was some left over in the kitchen", Armin said, trying to brighten the mood, seeing Mikasa's somber look. "Really?", asked Eren softly. Mikasa didn't say anything, averting her eyes.
She walked over though, and gently set the box on the nightstand. She opened it, and handed him the small plate of pudding.
"Wow...this looks amazing, I never get any since Sasha hogs my share usually", Eren admitted. Mikasa blinked softly then, realizing he couldn't hold both the pudding and the spoon, with his arm broken.
She gently took the spoon, and scooped some pudding up in it. Eren blinked, watching her as she sat on the edge of his bed.
"Here...", she held the spoon forward. Eren blinked, hesitating. "Mikasa..I'm not some weakling...", he started.
"Your arm's broken because of me Eren..please..it's the least I could do", she insisted. Eren sweat dropped a bit, a worried look in his eyes. But he sighed, and let her spoon feed him the pudding.
As Eren got a taste of it, some got on his nose. Mikasa blinked for a moment, as Eren tried to lick it off with his tongue, since his good arm was still being used to hold the plate of pudding.
"I can't reach it!", he said, his voice a bit slurred from sticking his tongue out. Mikasa starred at him, for a moment her eyes were a bit wide and it was difficult to read her expression for the first second.
Eren blinked, noticing her starring. "What's up, Mikasa?", he asked, his tongue still sticking out and attempting to get the pudding off his nose.
Mikasa then smiled softly, and then, she broke into laughter...a laugh Eren had never heard out of her before. Despite being with them for nearly a year, she had never truly laughed before. She smiled faintly from time to time but...nothing like this.
Eren's eyes widened, as he watched her...she had such a beautiful laugh, a laugh he never thought he'd hear out of her...after everything she's been through.
"Mikasa...", he smiled softly, as she slowly finished laughing, wiping the water from her eyes. "I'm sorry Eren...I...", she smiled, seeing his expression.
"I've never...heard you laugh before...", he confessed, a look of relief in his eyes. "You're right...and...it felt so good to laugh...I can't...remember the last time I did...", she confessed softly.
Eren's eyes softened, as he gently set down his plate and wiped his nose. He then gently took her hands in his.
Mikasa blinked, feeling some color reach her cheeks at this gesture. "Mikasa, listen to me. Its not your fault...you don't know your own strength yet. It was bound to happen, so please don't blame yourself", Eren pleaded.
Mikasa looked down, as she felt some tears fill her eyes. She gripped his hand a bit tightly, leaning down. "I'm sorry Eren...", she whispered.
"It's all right Mikasa...if anything I'm proud of you. You've come so far since I first found you all those months ago...", Eren soothed her.
Mikasa went quiet, but she gave a small nod. "I'm just...so glad you'll be okay Eren...", she said softly. Eren gently rubbed her back, as she kept hold of his hand.
That night, the two had drifted to sleep in the same bed. Eren had to sleep on his back, due to his injury, while Mikasa was curled up next to him, sleeping on her side. Eren opened his eyes, and turned his head to the side, gazing at her.
She was in a deep sleep...it was soothing to watch her sleep so peacefully. He recalled all the nights she suffered nightmares, how she barely got enough sleep because of them.
As he watched her, he noticed...she didn't appear as small as she originally was when he first rescued her. Thanks to training, and actually being on a normal diet, she really had grown quite a bit.
He felt some color reach his cheeks, as he gazed down, her top was a bit loose in the front, so he could just see the cleavage of her C cup breasts. He felt himself begin to sweat, as he turned redder.
She moaned softly in her sleep then, turning onto her back. This caused her breasts to be a little more exposed. Eren could feel himself grow warmer, but then he shook his head firmly.
He gently tucked her in, so her blanket was covering her chest, as he looked away, glaring.
'Don't even THINK about it Eren..what the hell is wrong with you...after all she's been through..', he shook his head firmly.
There was no denying at this point he had feelings for her, and...there was also no denying she had feelings for him. But because of what happened to her, it was natural they were both afraid to act on their feelings.
As Eren closed his eyes, attempting to go back to sleep, Mikasa's eyes opened softly. She glanced at him, seeing he appeared to be asleep.
She swallowed hard, feeling some color reach her cheeks...she had never really seen Eren sleep before...he always stayed awake when she needed him...she wondered how much sleep he missed when she was having her nightmares.
She gently pushed her hair back behind her ear, gazing at him, feeling her heart beating faster. A part of her...wanted to kiss him...but...as she tried to lean closer, her heartbeat picked up rapidly, and she kept seeing foggy flashbacks in her mind.
Her eyes darkened, as she looked down, biting her lip. She couldn't...she was too afraid...and she hated that she was.
'What the hell is wrong with me...its Eren...not them...he would never...', her thoughts raced in pure frustration. She shook her head, laying back down, frustrated with herself beyond belief.
She lay down on her side, curling up into her fetal position.
As she drifted into a deep sleep, for the first time in a while, her sleep wasn't dreamless. Instead, she fell into a vivid nightmare.
A memory of when she was with one of the pedophiles...though her dream was a bit too foggy to tell which one..
Eren stirred softly, he was woken up by the sound of soft whimpering. He propped himself up with a bit of a struggle, and gazed down at Mikasa.
She was asleep, but she was clearly having a nightmare. Her breathing was labored and shaky, and she was sweating a bit, her face expressing discomfort and fear.
Eren's eyes turned worry, she hadn't had a nightmare in a while, several weeks. She curled up tighter, gripping her blanket, shaking badly.
"Mikasa...", Eren gently placed a hand on her shoulder, but this only caused her to tremble harder.
"No...no more...please...I can't...take it anymore...", she cried in her sleep, though her cries were weak sounding.
"Mikasa..!", Eren gripped her hand, heightening his voice a bit, not wanting her to remain in that awful night terror.
Mikasa's eyes opened softly at the sound of his voice, and she sat up slowly, looking around her surroundings. She placed a hand over her chest, her heart beating a million miles a minute, though her expression looked out of it, like she wasn't fully awake.
"It's alright Mikasa, just a nightmare...", Eren started to assure her, but she didn't appear to hear him. She looked around again, the room was dark, and there was a window, letting some light in from the moon.
She looked at the window, gripping the blanket, and she got out of bed. "Mikasa..?", Eren's tone grew more concerned, noticing she didn't seem to hear him.
She approached the window, and she slowly unlocked it...Eren noticed something else strange, her hand was on her stomach...
Before he could wrap his head around what was happening, he saw her trying to open the window. "Mikasa...?!", the window was stuck, and she appeared to grow more and more distressed, trying to open it.
"Mikasa, hey...!", Eren got out of bed, though he struggled a bit due to his arm, as she finally managed to get the window open. Even though they were in a one floor building, it was still a bit of a drop down, high enough to get injured.
As Eren finally managed to lift himself up, he saw her leaning forward, like she was trying to exit the window...she then lifted her foot up onto it, to climb out.
"Mikasa! Hey!", Eren bolted towards her, and just as she nearly lifted her leg fully out, he reached her, grabbing her.
But this seemed to trigger something, as Mikasa screamed out in terror, fighting against his grasp. "Mikasa?! Hey, what is it?!", Eren cried, struggling to pull her back in.
"NO! PLEASE! LET ME GO!", she screamed hysterically, struggling hard, even elbowing Eren's broken arm, causing him to wince. He realized something was wrong, she wasn't herself.
"MIKASA! SNAP OUT OF IT!", Eren yelled, terrified for her, as he managed to fully pull her inside, and they both fell back onto the floor.
When they hit the wooden floor, Eren opened his eyes quickly, and saw Mikasa had landed on her side. "Mikasa...", he sat up, noticing her eyes appeared more alert and opened.
She quickly sat up, looking around at the room, trembling. "E-Eren...", she looked at him, clearly disoriented.
"It's okay Mikasa...were you...sleep walking?", asked Eren, biting his lip. Mikasa looked down, as if she was just as confused as he was. She glanced at the open window, her heart racing.
"I thought I was...back...with him...the night I escaped...", she started to explain, trembling badly. "You were sleep walking then...", Eren realized, worried.
Mikasa looked down, gripping her scarf. "Come on, its nearly morning anyway, let me get you something to drink..", Eren got up, and gently helped her to her feet.
Mikasa started to walk out with him, but she froze up. "Wait..!", she cried then, hurrying back over to the bed. "Mikasa?", Eren grew worried, seeing her search the blankets frantically.
After a few seconds, she finally found it, her teddy bear. She cuddled it as close as she possibly could, giving a heavy sigh of relief.
"My baby...", she cooed softly, closing her eyes and hugging the teddy bear close.
"Oh Mikasa...", Eren said worriedly, he realized in her memory, she was pregnant when she escaped the third pedophile. He gently took her hand, leading her to the kitchen.
As they walked down the hall, Eren's thoughts raced. What had he been thinking? Sure Mikasa was making amazing progress in recovering, especially with training, but this...what happened to her would never be erased.
She'd always still have bad days, and her nightmares wouldn't fully vanish. She had lost her parents at such a young age, been molested...and raped by those sickos...and even went through a miscarriage at only 14.
It was a miracle and a wonder she was functioning at all.
Once they made it into the kitchen, they noticed Sasha, Marco and Jean were already there. Sasha was stuffing her face with toast and eggs, and judging by the amount, she stole someone's share, most likely Connie's.
"Oh, morning Mikasa!", Sasha greeted, with her mouthful. But her eyes turned softer. "Oh..bad night?", she asked worriedly, swallowing her toast whole.
"Just some nightmares", Mikasa answered quietly."You want anything to eat? There's plenty", Sasha offered, continuing to eat.
"Just some warm milk is fine", Mikasa replied, as Sasha stuffed her face some more. "I'll heat you some up Mika", Eren soothed her, as he went to do that.
Mikasa didn't sit down, she felt too anxious as she stood near the table.
Jean and Marco were sitting on a table a few feet away. Jean was starring at Mikasa, but he also glared. "Did you hear what Jaeger called her?", he asked Marco.
"What? Um no...?", Marco blinked. "He already gave her a nickname..if that little brat thinks...", Jean got up.
"Jean, don't!", Marco started nervously. Jean ignored him, as he approached Mikasa. Mikasa blinked, and she quickly averted her eyes, she was tense enough from the nightmare she just had.
"Mikasa, right?", he asked. Mikasa gave a silent nod, still not looking at him. Jean gulped a bit, suddenly looking nervous, his face red.
"Um...well...I'm sorry but...you have really beautiful black hair...would you ever...well...I mean...I know its...someone as attractive as you...", he rambled at first, though his expression and rambling made Mikasa uncomfortable.
She took a few steps back, feeling herself tremble again, trying to give him the message, but of course he wasn't getting it.
"Huh...I was sure you spoke a few minutes ago", he got a bit closer to her, and that caused Mikasa to gasp softly in fear, backing up until her back was pressed against the wall, as she started to shake badly.
Before Jean could react, without any warning at all, he was suddenly flat on his back on the floor. Eren was standing in front of Mikasa, glaring dangerously, he had knocked Jean right down with immense force.
Sasha and Marco both starred, in shock. "Hey...what the hell?!", Jean yelled, sitting up slightly.
"Mikasa Ackerman is OFF LIMITS!", Eren snarled dangerously, glaring down at him. "If you ever lay so much as a finger on her...if you even LOOK at her, I'll break your fucking legs...understand?", Eren threatened, standing firm.
Mikasa's eyes widened, watching, in a bit of a state of shock at how...protective Eren was. She was a mix of surprised and touched...but most of all she felt safe. Her body relaxed.
Jean frowned, going to stand up. "What the hell is your problem, Eren?! She can't handle a compliment?", he started. Eren glared, and he kicked Jean in the gut, causing him to collapse back down.
"HOW FUCKING DENSE ARE YOU?!", Eren roared, as everyone watched. Jean clutched his stomach, but kept his mouth shut.
Eren glared, as he gently took Mikasa's hand, leading her out of the kitchen. Jean starred, totally dumbfounded for a moment.
"Jean, I told you!", Marco said then. "Told me what?!", Jean snapped. "You really are an idiot! She's the girl who Eren rescued!", Sasha piped in then.
Jean blinked, starring blankly for a moment. "Wait...HER?! I thought...that...", he stuttered a bit, feeling like a complete ass.
"You've been crushing so hard on her, you didn't even pay attention to a thing we said", Marco explained.
Outside the kitchen, Eren had led Mikasa back to bed. "I can't believe what a moron he is...", Eren growled, as Mikasa sat in bed, drinking her milk.
"Are you all right, Mikasa?", he added, in a soft voice. Mikasa gave a small nod. "I...feel a lot safer, knowing you'll always be there for me Eren", she gave a faint smile.
Eren's eyes softened as he sat beside her. "I'll always be here for you Mikasa, I'm never going to let anyone hurt you...or...touch you in that way, ever again. That's a promise", he assured her.
