A/N: Annie's recovery continues and finally her and Mikasa get some alone time. They also learn of some surprise guests that will be with them at the castle for a little while.
The next week passes with little excitement. Annie continues her recovery, regaining her strength through Hanji's so called "physical therapy". Mikasa is never too far away keeping a constant watchful gaze, her expression is usually unreadable but sometimes Annie has spotted a distinct look of concern when she would start showing signs of burning out.
Aside from during therapy, when sharing meals together, or when Sasha made them be more sociable with the group, Hanji kept to themselves reading or writing who knows what. Sasha on the other hand has also been not far away, usually hanging around Mikasa when she wasn't dragging Hanji around. Annie's nightmares have become less frequent in this passing week as well, the horrific images of a raging Eren chasing her down weren't nearly as terrifying as they once had been.
Annie's eyes open, slowly adjusting to the darkness. Waking at this time of night has become routine for her and she takes a deep breath. The air is a comfortable mix of warm and cool this night, warm enough that they left the large window open to allow the breeze in. Her eyes focus on the fluttering curtains a few feet away.
A heavy breath behind her draws Annie's attention and she tilts her head far enough to see Mikasa's face, her eyes closed as she sleeps soundly. Neither of them have brought up the morning from a week ago, or anything prior to that, and Annie wasn't going to be the one to mention it. 'Even if I'd like to, but I'll leave that all up to her.' She thinks to herself then flips over so her whole body is facing Mikasa.
Another thing that Annie has become accustomed to doing is scooting closer to Mikasa when she does wake up this late. Sleeping closer to the other woman always seems to lull her into an sense of comfort and she'd sleep peacefully through the rest of the night. Mikasa being a heavy sleeper as she is never seemed to respond or notice when Annie would scoot close and curl against her, not until she'd wake up and find the blonde like that. That would not be the case tonight however, because as soon as Annie moved closer and wiggled into a comfortable position with her head resting just shy of Mikasa's chest she feels an arm wrap around her waist.
Annie's eyes widen at the sudden contact and she looks up to find Mikasa's eyes still closed, unsure if she is awake or still asleep. A moment passes and nothing else happens, Annie releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding and she relaxes again. She smiles softly and is soon pulled back to sleep from the comforting embrace and slow breaths brushing over her head.
When morning comes and the first rays of sunlight shine in through the open window Mikasa is the first to wake, as usual. She's not surprised to find Annie practically on top of her, as that has quickly become a normal occurrence, what does surprise her is how her own arm is situated so casually over the smaller woman. Unsure if she did it herself or if Annie positioned her that way Mikasa gazes down at the top of Annie's head. She finds herself in no rush to remove her arm or get out of bed quickly as she has been doing all week, making sure she was up and about before Annie even woke up in order to avoid any awkward moments.
But today seems different and she doesn't want to break the moment. There are no plans for therapy today, no experiments, nothing from Hanji as they decided everyone should do as they please for the day and unwind. With that thought in mind Mikasa allows herself to relax again, adjusting her arm draped over Annie's waist just slightly. Storm gray eyes still focused on the blonde locks before her, loose and in disarray. The messiness brings a smile to Mikasa's lips and without realizing it soon finds her fingers tenderly running through the silky strands.
'She must be using the conditioner Sasha brought, her hair is so soft.' She thinks to herself, not bothering to stop, but also being very careful not to disturb Annie. She isn't sure how much time passes while she's like this, nor does she realize she had started to fall back to sleep. That is until Annie begins to stir and rolls onto her back, her farthest arm stretching up above her head and mouth hangs open slightly with hair splaying all over the place. The motion nearly pulls Mikasa on top of Annie and wakes her back up.
Mikasa blushes as she now finds the tip of her nose brushing against Annie's ear. She begins to panic when Annie starts to mumble in her sleep, nothing coherent, but still she doesn't know what to do should she wake up right now. She releases her breath slowly when Annie finally stops mumbling. It is then that Mikasa makes to move herself a bit further away, just enough to give herself breathing room.
She laughs lightly to herself moments later as she watches Annie sleep, a small trail of drool running down her cheek from her open mouth. 'Such a messy sleeper.' She thinks as she reaches up to swipe the drool away with the back of her hand. Mikasa takes a moment to look at the window and decides it's probably around 9a.m. at that point, 'Should probably get up soon.'
As her eyes focus back down onto Annie she finds blue eyes staring back up at her. Mikasa blinks at her, feeling nervous now. "D-didn't realize you were awake."
"Just now." Annie says nonchalantly before she yawns and stretches. "You usually enjoy watching other people sleep?" Mikasa blushes at the question and shakes her head glancing away.
"It's not something that happens, not like I sleep with other people…" she mutters. Annie laughs softly at the response and sits up, her over-sized shirt sliding down one shoulder like it usually does when she moves.
"We aren't doing anything today right?" Annie asks, glancing over her bare shoulder at Mikasa, still blushing at her. She seems to pop out of a daze when Annie's words reach her ears.
"Oh, no, Hanji wants everyone to do their own things today. I hadn't really given it much thought." Mikasa drags her eyes away from Annie's shoulder to look her in the eyes. "Is there something you'd like to do? Other than sleep all day."
Annie laughs gently and shakes her head. "I actually don't want to be in bed all day. What could I do though, not like I can just go out for a casual stroll or something."
Mikasa frowns at that and hums to herself, rolling ideas through her mind, her blush returning as one in particular passes through. "We could… maybe… go out together." The statement comes out as a whisper.
"Could what?" Annie asks with a smirk as she was able to make out what Mikasa said, but wanted to hear her say it louder.
"We could go out, you and me, I mean. I don't think I can take you into town yet but… maybe a horse ride… there is a lake not far away." Mikasa's blush continues to darken as she speaks, trying not to stumble over her words. Annie remains patient and waits for Mikasa to finish getting her thought out before tilting her head slightly.
"Sure, that sounds nice to just get away from potato girl and the mad scientist for a while." She smiles slightly at Mikasa before turning away and crawls out of the bed, knowing that the woman would get a view of the panties she's wearing.
Mikasa looks away as soon as she catches sight of the black undies, her cheeks now burning. She scoots to the other side of the bed and goes about getting dressed while Annie disappears into the bathroom.
An hour later and the two exit the castle grounds on horseback. A pack slung over Mikasa's shoulder with food for later, and while she didn't feel it would be necessary but was urged to by Hanji, she also wears her gear. 'I can't blame them for continuing to be cautious.' She thinks as she glances at Annie next to her. She's wearing her old hoodie and pants today, and hasn't said anything else since they got up. 'Not everyone is like me… falling for someone that was our enemy.' Annie looks at her when she notices Mikasa staring at her for longer than necessary, a blonde brow raising at her.
"Something the matter?" She asks, leading her horse to ride a little closer to Mikasa's.
"N-no, everything's fine. Just have a lot on my mind right now." Mikasa shakes her head and focuses ahead of them, noticing they are nearing the forest where the lake is located. "We'll be there soon, let's go." She says before urging her horse to run faster. Annie sighs softly then does the same.
They make their way through the dense trees in silence until the lake comes into view in a large clearing. The two slow down and Mikasa leads the way to a large tree right next to the waters edge. "This spot looks fine, we'll have good shade here." Mikasa says then leaps down from her horse. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a handful of chopped up carrots and feeds them to the horse while patting its muzzle.
Annie does the same, rewarding the horse for the ride and then walks over to the edge of the lake, the water is pristine and crystal clear. "This is a nice place. Is this some kind of tourist location?" She turns to face Mikasa just as she is placing her pack on the ground. Mikasa sits down next to it and looks over to Annie, shaking her head.
"Not that I'm aware of, but I don't know for sure. Even if it is, it's not really the season that most people do that kind of thing, so I doubt anyone else will come out here."
"I see, probably for the best." Annie takes a seat on the ground several feet away from Mikasa.
"Worried about bumping into people?"
"Not particularly, but it's something I'd rather avoid for now. Dealing with people, let alone angry ones, isn't something I enjoy." Mikasa nods solemnly then reaches into her pack, pulling out a couple of sandwiches.
"Understandable, it would be a mess if someone that recognizes you saw you, I don't think anyone is ready to handle that situation right now. But for now let's not worry about that. Here." Mikasa hands one of the sandwiches to Annie. The blonde inspects what's inside, a few thin slices of beef, cheese and lettuce.
"Did potato girl make these?" She asks before taking a bite, the taste is simple enough, not that she's a picky eater anyway.
"Yes, she was already preparing some food when I went to get something for us. Does it taste okay?" She watches as Annie chews the bite she took.
"Hmm, a little on the dry side, but it's not awful. You won't find me complaining about food, it's fine enough just having some." She takes another bite, Mikasa hums quietly as she looks down at her own sandwich.
"I can relate to not being picky. Is there something you like in particular though, some kind of favorite?" She takes a small bite from the sandwich, mentally agreeing that it is certainly a bit dry.
Annie rests her weight back on one hand, holding the rest of her sandwich over her lap as she looks up to the sky obscured by branches and the few leaves that have budded early. "Not really. I've never lived a normal life, so regular or even tasteful meals haven't been a thing for me. When I lived with my father we had mostly grains, berries, and whatever little meat he could hunt. He also grew some vegetables but he wasn't a very creative cook with any of it, and I was too young at the time to help."
"I see." Mikasa didn't know what else to say and feels bad about bringing up old memories. "Sorry, it wasn't my intent to pry into your past." Annie shrugs it off.
"Don't worry about it, doesn't really bother me. You can ask whatever you want." The dead tone in Annie's voice sends a chill up Mikasa's spine and she frowns, feeling even less inspired to ask anything else. She stares at Annie for a moment in silence, watching as a gentle breeze sweeps at the blonde's fringe. She grins when Annie brings her sandwich to her mouth. She's not sure why but she giggles to herself when Annie takes a large bite, making her cheeks puff out just a bit.
In response to the laughter Annie gives Mikasa a sidelong glare while she chews. Annie then rolls her eyes and finishes off the sandwich before stretching. "So, what about you?"
"Hmm?" Mikasa looks at her in question while setting down the remainder of her own sandwich, her appetite having left her.
"Favorite foods, do you have one?"
"Ah, well, I've always enjoyed grilled trout, preferably with rice and lemon." Mikasa's eyes close as she reminisces on the distant past, of her days living with her parents, before their untimely deaths. "My mother would sometimes prepare it when I was a child, before I met Eren. It's been so long since then."
Annie notices the distant gaze in Mikasa's eyes as she looks at her. "Fish huh, sounds pretty good. Have you ever prepared it yourself?"
Annie's voice pulls Mikasa from her reverie and shakes her head. "No, I haven't. I only provided a little assistance when she would make it, but I probably could if I wanted to." Her eyes catch Annie's, there's something unusually soft about the blonde's gaze in that moment, something she can't quite place but still feels her heart skip a beat. "Would you-… maybe sometime I could make it for you, if you would like that is." Mikasa adds quietly.
"I wouldn't mind that at all, I'm sure anything you make would be good." Annie replies with a smile and watches as Mikasa's cheeks light up. It's then that she notices a crumb on Mikasa's chin. She leans forward with one hand on the ground to support her as the others reaches towards Mikasa's face. "You have something there." She says softly as she plucks the crumb away.
Mikasa is holding her breath, suddenly nervous from the closeness. As Annie's hand recedes with the crumb in tow she finds herself focused on Annie's lips and the subtle smile that has yet to fade. A moment later and those soft lips are suddenly brushing over her own, stormy eyes widen in surprise from the faint touch that isn't quite a kiss but is close enough to entice her to close the remaining distance.
It's the first kiss they've shared while being completely alone, and with no chance of anyone interrupting the moment. They both realize this and take their time to just enjoy the feeling, Annie even scoots closer to make it more comfortable, not letting their lips separate as she moves.
Mikasa presses further into the kiss bringing a hand up to Annie's cheek, her thumb stroking against the soft skin. Her mind is screaming at her to slow down but she allows the tip of her tongue to brush over Annie's lips. A faint sound emits from the blonde's throat and both their blushes darken. Annie allows the prodding tongue to slide between her lips and soon both their tongues are engaged in a slow dance around the others.
Annie is nervous about where she places her hands, at first they just rest on her own lap then move to hover close to Mikasa's thighs and finally they come to rest up on the taller woman's shoulders. An arm almost immediately wraps around Annie's waist, she gasps in surprise when she's pulled entirely onto Mikasa's lap, straddling her.
Annie's grasp on Mikasa's shoulders tighten as the kiss is deepened with that arm pulling Annie closer against herself. She fights with herself to hold back the urge to just shove Mikasa down onto her back and take her. Her hands ball the fabric of Mikasa's jacket into her quivering fists, still she doesn't let herself do it, even as it feels like Mikasa is going to kiss her until she melts.
A long moment later and finally their lips part, a thin string of saliva breaking between them. Both take a moment to catch their breath, foreheads resting against each others. Soon after their eyes open and meet, Mikasa smiles and laughs nervously feeling a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I got a little more into the moment than I realized."
"Why apologize? If it's something you want, I won't complain." Mikasa blushes again and chews on her lip while glancing away from the blonde on her lap.
"I just didn't want to push things too fast, is all."
"Too fast." Annie echoes the phrase and giggles. "I understand. I don't mind either way, but I'll go at whatever pace you set."
In that moment Mikasa wants to bury her face in her scarf to hide from the overwhelming embarrassment she feels. "J-just going to go along with what I do then." Annie nods, a grin still on her lips as she watches Mikasa struggle to keep eye contact.
"I mean unless you want me to take more initiative, well, other than just kissing you because you were staring so intently at my lips." Annie says slowly, leaning close enough to bump her nose against Mikasa's. Mikasa on the other hand feels like she's about to overheat, unable to process anything until Annie pulls away.
"You could-… I mean," Mikasa shakes her head trying to regain her composure, "this isn't about just me, so… you can…" Mikasa's voice grows quieter as she speaks, Annie blinks at her and then nods in understanding.
"True. I'll keep that in mind then. For now though," Annie places a chaste kiss on Mikasa's lips before standing up, stretching as she does so, "there's no rush, right?" Annie looks over her shoulder back at Mikasa with a small smile, trying to reassure her.
Mikasa relaxes upon hearing this and returns the smile. "No, no rush at all. I'm just glad." Mikasa pauses a bit longer than necessary and Annie raises a brow at her.
"Glad about what? That I'm not going to push you to have sex?" She laughs lightly when Mikasa scowls at her.
"What, n-no, that's not what I meant, I mean-… That we're having this chance to get to know each other better, and everything." Her scowl fades into a softer expression, of fondness, a face that Annie had only ever seen Mikasa make towards Eren, and occasionally Armin.
Annie takes a moment to absorb everything that just transpired, everything that has been said and turns her gaze to the clear waters. "To be honest, this is all still surreal to me, that any of this is even happening. But, I'm thankful too." Her eyes close as she enjoys the gentle breeze.
She hears Mikasa as she stands up behind her and looks back at her again. "Anyway, the sun will start setting soon, anything else we should do while we're here before heading back?"
Mikasa rubs the back of her neck and gives the question some thought while glancing around the area. "Unfortunately it's a bit too cool to go for a swim right now, so maybe a walk perhaps?"
"Sure, some exercise sounds nice." She reaches over and grasps Mikasa's hand in hers then waits for her to decide which way to walk. It takes Mikasa a moment to get over the fact that Annie just took her hand suddenly, but shakes the surprise off and smiles at her before leading the way, tugging gently on the smaller hand now clasped in her own.
Aside from the chatter of birds chirping and various other natural sounds the walk is made in silence, but neither of them feel uncomfortable, their hands never leave the others even after their palms become a little sweaty. By the time they return to their horses the sun is already dipping below the horizon, and with how dense the tree cover is there it's gotten quite dark. "I'm surprised potato girl hasn't come flying through the trees to make sure everything's alright." Annie says as she mounts her horse.
"Sasha can be worrisome but she has good instincts. I think she feels like you can be trusted, so I wouldn't expect her to keep an eye on you like that."
"Can I be trusted?" Annie asks beneath her breath as she rides her horse next to Mikasa, who didn't quite catch what Annie had muttered.
"Did you say something?"
"No, it's nothing." Mikasa raises a brow at Annie's response but leaves it at that. "Thank you though."
"What for?"
"Today, this was nice. I think I could get used to days like this." Annie says softly, but loud enough for Mikasa to hear and enjoys the light blush on her companions cheeks.
"I enjoyed it too, and I'm sure we'll have plenty more to come." They share a smile as they continue on their way.
They return to the castle a while later and are greeted by Sasha and Hanji at the entrance. "It's about time you two got back, we were starting to think you'd lost your way or something." Hanji says as they approach the stables.
"There was nothing to be concerned about, we just took a little longer than intended." Mikasa assures them while stabling the horses, it's then she notices there is one more than there was earlier. "Is someone else here? I don't remember there being a white steed here when we left."
"Oho, you noticed huh. Actually yes, we have two guests here for a few days." Hanji gestures over their shoulder towards the castle.
"Who is-…"
"Oi oi Mikasa, it's about time you showed up. It's rude to make your guests wait around ya know." The strong tomboyish voice clicks instantly in Mikasa's head as she looks towards the front door and finds the owner of said voice is none other than Ymir. She hadn't seem Ymir in a long time, a couple years at least. "Historia is here too of course, but she was so tired when we got here so she's already asleep."
She joins the group next to the stables and eyes Mikasa for a moment, and then glances around until she spots Annie a few feet away, who seems to be ignoring the group on purpose while petting a horse's muzzle. "There she is, man Annie you could at least pretend to be social for once. Or are you embarrassed because of that colossal nose of yours?"
Despite her efforts to rile Annie up for a response the blonde only gazes over her shoulder at Ymir, scowl in place. "Your flat chest is just offensive as your attitude, same as always I see." This is the only thing Annie says before moving towards the group to stand next to Mikasa. How she hated interacting with others, and Ymir especially was always insufferable to be around.
Sasha chokes on a snort at the rude exchange between the two while trying not to laugh. Hanji just shrugs and sighs at their antics.
"Keep it civil you two, as much as I would love to see two titan shifters battle it out with each other, I'm afraid right now isn't the time, or the place. Especially with our little Queen so close by, hmm?" Hanji says with their arms crossed, daring either to say otherwise.
"Heh, I wasn't trying to start anything calm your tits. Seriously though, Annie really is back from the dead. I'll have to get you to teach me that one."
"Wait, what do you mean two shifters? And what's this about a Queen?" Annie just now catches onto Hanji's comment and what Ymir is saying. "Don't tell me that Ymir is also a-…"
"Yup I'm just like you blondie, I can change into a titan." The news is shocking to Annie and she isn't sure what to make of this. She looks Ymir up and down, straining her neck when she focuses on her face.
"And this Queen thing? There's no way that you are." Annie says in a flat tone.
"Actually," Mikasa chimes in, "Not Ymir, but Historia is the Queen now." Annie's confused expression is enough to tell Mikasa that she doesn't know who she's talking about. "Oh right, you wouldn't know her real name, you knew her as Christa. Turned out she was descended from royal blood, and is now our Queen."
At this point Annie is beyond shocked as she absorbs this information. 'So much has happened while I was in that crystal, this is just ridiculous. What else have I missed out on that I don't know of?'
"Annie?" Upon hearing her name Annie snaps out of her thoughts and focuses on Mikasa, her face showing concern for her.
"I'm fine, this is all just really bizarre, I guess."
The gentle tone in Mikasa's voice and the soft look in her eyes as she communicates with Annie doesn't get past Ymir, but before she has a chance to bring it up Hanji chimes in. "Alright everyone, let's call it a day." Everyone turns their attention to them. "I know we were going to wait another week Annie but, do you think you might be ready to attempt shifting again tomorrow? With Ymir here I want to try some things, I've already talked it over with Christa as well. But really it comes down to you."
For a minute Annie doesn't reply, instead stands there looking zoned out. Mikasa, unsure how she feels about the sudden arrangement herself, nudges at Annie's hand. This grabs her attention again and Annie shrugs. "Fine, I'll go along with whatever." With that Annie pushes past the rest of the group and goes inside.
"What's her problem?" Ymir asks to no one in particular. Mikasa follows after Annie a moment later.
"Um… well, she did just learn a lot of new things so, maybe she just wants to be alone." Sasha says quietly watching her friend vanish inside behind the blonde. "I can't even imagine how she must feel right now."
"Right. Hey, I have another question before you two go to bed." Ymir says just before Sasha and Hanji go in as well. "Those two, are they, you know… banging or something?" Her question makes Sasha giggle and Hanji can only shrug.
"I'm not so sure about that, they do seem to have gotten close though. If you want a better answer than that then you'll just have to ask them yourself." Sasha replies before tugging on Hanji's arm and drags them in. Ymir just sighs and shrugs it off, deciding that she will ask about it later.
Inside Mikasa makes her way upstairs to the bedroom and nudges the slightly ajar door open letting herself in. Unsurprisingly she finds Annie already curled up into a ball under the blankets. She also notices that the fireplace already has a small flame burning inside warming the open space. Mikasa approaches the bed, shedding her gear and outer wear in exchange for a long shirt before taking a seat on the edge opposite of Annie.
Mikasa looks down to where Annie's head pokes out from the blankets and gently reaches over to lightly run her fingers through a few loose strands. Annie shifts under the blankets and pulls the blanket down just far enough to look sleepily up at Mikasa. "Sorry, I didn't wake you up did I? You went to bed so fast. I just, wanted to make sure you're feeling okay."
"I wasn't asleep yet, and I'm fine, just a bit tired. Then there's the whole thing with Ymir and Chris-… Historia. Never mind, I don't want to think about any of that right now." Annie sighs then suddenly grabs Mikasa's arm and pulls her under the blankets with her. The swift action causes Mikasa to gasp in surprise and then blushes at their sudden closeness, noses almost touching. They stay this way for a few minutes, just gazing into the others eyes, the only light in the room coming from the flame.
Mikasa smiles at her when Annie's eyelids begin to droop. She presses closer and places a soft kiss against the blonde's lips, who rouses enough to return the gesture. When their lips separate Annie buries her face against Mikasa's neck and, after Mikasa wraps an arm around her, Annie falls asleep with the other following shortly after.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that little bit of fluff here and there, I'm trying to continue easing them into things to make it more natural, to me anyway. Also I have con in a few weeks which means it's cosplay crunch time as I scramble with final preparations for that. I'll try my best to get the next update out for you all as soon as I can. With AoT Season 2 popping out I can at least say that my motivation for this has returned with it. Any who 3's Until next time!
