Motherly

Night had blissfully fallen after the usual wretched day of grueling training. After swallowing down their food, the girls had returned to their barracks for the evening, hitting the mattresses and beckoning sleep to seize them.

Krista awoke in the middle of the night as pale moonlight shone through the one, lone window on the far side of the room. It allowed her to see a few of her comrades, nothing but motionless lumps beneath blankets.

Krista yawned, shifted uncomfortably and wondered what had woken her up. She could hear Sasha snoring, just as the girl had done the previous nights. The noise wasn't the most feminine thing in the world, but Krista decided the growling snorts was only part of the reason she woke up.

The left side of her body felt strangely warm compared to the right, and when she turned her head a fraction, she squeaked in alarm as her eyes fell upon Ymir's peaceful face. The cadet had snuggled up to the smaller girl in her sleep and was currently keeping a firm hold on her, almost like a child would with a stuffed animal.

The act itself didn't bother Krista. The other girl was keeping her warm after all, so she saw no reason to complain. What had her troubled was a different matter entirely.

Krista squirmed, inching to the edge of the bed, and Ymir's arms tightened around her, nose burrowing itself into her hair. The blonde released an exasperated sigh and made a quick decision.

"Mikasa," the young cadet hissed, peering up at the bottom of her comrades bunk. "Mikasa, are you awake?"

There was some movement above, the sound of blankets being pushed aside and Mikasa's upside down, not-one-hundred-percent-happy, face peered back at Krista as she mumbled, "What?"

"Ymir's stuck to me, and she won't let go," Krista explained hastily.

Mikasa blinked tiredly and inquired in a low tone, "So? Just go back to sleep."

"N-No, I can't," Krista murmured urgently before the other girl could disappear again. "I just… I really have to pee!"

The dark-haired cadet watched Krista thoughtfully for a moment and tilted her head to the side. "Just kick her out, then."

"I don't want to be mean."

"Ymir will forgive you, your bladder won't be as nice."

"I know that, but—!"

There was movement from the other side of the room as one of the previously sleeping figures rose from her bed, rummaged around through the darkness for a moment before advancing on Krista and Ymir. Krista recognized the figure as Annie and was about to apologize for being so loud when the expressionless cadet dropped something on the floor beside Krista's bunk with a metallic clank!

Krista tilted her head to the side and peered over the edge of her mattress, frowning despondently at the metal bucket Annie had brought with her. Quietly, she mumbled, "That doesn't really help."

Annie didn't say anything and strode past a few of their sleeping comrades, reaching Sasha's bed and gently turning the girl over, putting her snoring to an abrupt halt. Retreating from the now peaceful sleeper, she stopped next to Mina's bed, straightened the blanket and pulled it up closer to the girl's chin. Then, without a single word, the blonde crawled back into her own bed and disappeared beneath the blanket.

Mikasa exhaled shortly and drew back, letting her head fall against the pillow once more without addressing Krista again.

The blonde looked over at the bucket, gazed at Annie's sleeping form, turned to Ymir's content face and released another sigh.

-/-\-|-/-\-

A/N: AutumnMobile12 and I came up with this and thought Annie's motherly side would be rather cute.