Ello~ here's the long awaiting update to this goshdarn fluff bunny of mine! Enjoy, popkins, because the nitty gritties are coming soon and they will not kind!

"I'm fine. Promise."

Eren scrutinized me, his brows drawn, lips turned down in a frown. "You're not even close to fully healed. You shouldn't even be walking right now," he muttered in irritation.

I was tired of that room I was confined to bed rest in. Hanji kept coming to visit and gave me weird, overly excited looks like she was about to have a conniption on the floor. I wanted to walk around. It was like I was claustrophobic, the walls closing in. I had to do something. So I put on my uniform and staggered into the mess hall and as soon as he saw me, Eren went to my side and insisted I sit beside him, Armin, and Mikasa. He didn't dare say it was to keep an eye on me, but I knew his behavior by now. Eren was many things. Subtle wasn't one of them.

"How are you feeling?" Armin asked me, his blue eyes wide and anxious. I placed my hands against the wood, interlocking my fingers. "Fine," I replied honestly. It was true. I wasn't lying about my health, even though I had no idea what was going on within my body. My transformations were a grand total of two and all Hanji could give me was that I was a fifteen meter class in Titan form. There was no hypothesis for why I sustained injuries in my Titan form on my frail body. There was no prior case of a Titan shifter like me. As of right now, Hanji was christening me the "Strange and Unusual Clawed Titan".

"Hey, Damara." Eren's voice was tinged with impatience. "Where's your head right now?" He drummed his fingers against the table, turquoise eyes scanning me. I knew what he was trying to do; he was looking for any reason to have me on bed rest.

Frankly, while I appreciated his concern, it was getting annoying. "I'm allowed to think," I sighed before I gently pressed my palm over Eren's hand to cease his fingers' incessant drumming. "Stop that."

Mikasa smiled softly at me when she noticed Eren complying with my request. "You seem to be better behaved whenever Damara is here," she told Eren.

Eren flushed bright red. "I do not!" he protested, glaring at Mikasa.

"Glad to see you on your feet!" came a voice from one of the others. The group crowded around our table. The one who spoke to me barely had hair. What was his name?

"Right, figures you wouldn't know the rest of the group, with Eren keeping you to himself." That was Jean, with a grin on his face. I heard Eren growl something under his breath, but I ignored him because of the apparent rivalry between the two. The blond haired girl from the day before smiled at me. "Damara, I'm Historia," she said.

I nodded in response before jolting at Hanji's voice tearing through the din. "I see you're up and at 'em already, Damara! That was much faster than the last recovery time you had!"

Which had been three or four days, if I recalled correctly. I shrugged, my eyes darting to the table. Of course, no one's mentioning that I tried to kill captain Levi in my Titan state, nor mentioned that Eren transformed to subdue me. I didn't care what the court ruled now; I wasn't useful. I couldn't be. I turn on whomever in my sight.

I was a monster. Plain and simple.

"Expedition?" I murmured. "Will there be another one?"

"Not right now," said Armin. "I don't think you would be in any condition to go."

I figured that would come out of Armin's mouth and I felt my expression twist into a frown.

"I really am a bad influence on you," Eren groaned, scrubbing his hand over his face. A small smile graced Mikasa's face at his statement. I rolled my eyes. "Idiot," I sighed.

Jean let out a raucous laugh. "I like her, she's got you down to an art, Jaeger!" he said, reaching to ruffle my hair. I gently raised my hand before his made contact. I didn't know what it was in my core, but I knew I didn't want anyone else ruffling my hair or touching me. Even as a member of the Survey Corps, I was unused to being around so many people. Even with my late comrades, I felt almost uncomfortable.

The thought of them made my heart constrict and shatter, something that must have shown on my face because Eren's hand closed over mine. "Are you okay, Damara?" he asked. I nodded, subconsciously squeezing his hand. He gasped under his breath when he felt my fingers apply pressure to his hand, but no one else noticed. It was something contradictory I noticed.

I wanted no one else to touch me; but Eren was the only one allowed to take my hand—and it was something he did on almost daily basis since I arrived in the Survey Corp. He wanted to keep me in his sights, to make sure I was okay.

Mikasa let out sigh before she addressed Eren. "You're hovering, Eren," she said. I gave Mikasa a grateful smile—she always knew how to speak to him.

Eren's face flushed, his hand dropping from mine. "I'm not hovering," he muttered, turning his face away. I blinked.

"Mikasa, you know Eren's bound to hover over his favorite person," Jean smirked.

Was he talking about me in that context?

"Shut up, horseface," growled Eren.

I guess he was.

I jumped at feeling Jean's hand plop unceremoniously onto my shoulder. "In denial, Jaeger?" he snickered. "Dunno why you would, since she's freaking adorable."

Eren growled low in his throat before he reached out and shoved Jean's hand off of my shoulder. "Don't touch her, Jean," he muttered. "She doesn't like it."

"You seem just really shy," Historia told me, a slight smile on her lips. "I can see Eren's so protective of you."

"Nah, he just likes her!" teased another girl with brown hair, munching on a potato. Eren flushed bright pink, turning his gaze away. "I-It's not like that!" he retorted.

I didn't understand the twinge in my heart when he said that. My hands twisted in my lap under the table so I could resist the urge to bite my lip. Mikasa, who was as observant as an eagle, noticed my discomfort at Eren's quick denial gave me a quick, yet imperceptive nod to try and soothe me. I returned her a nod with a quick, soft smile to show that her action was appreciated. "I'll…get some food. Kind of hungry," I murmured, standing up.

Historia followed me as I went to get something to eat and from where we were, I heard Mikasa chide Eren. "You need to choose your words more carefully, Eren. You know Damara idolizes you."

"I know," Eren muttered, his palm against his forehead. "It's just kind of hard to keep everything in perspective when I'm trying to be a good role model or something."

I frowned softly. I didn't intend to make things harder for Eren. I liked how he was honest and his impulsiveness, though worrisome, made me admire him more because he was practically fearless. Whereas I was good and scared that I was just a monster hidden in their ranks. Eren was said to be humanity's hope with his Titan; I was the monster that needed to be exterminated.

"Damara?" Historia murmured, trying to get my attention. "Are you okay?"

I nodded with a smile. I couldn't show weakness yet. I had to be strong; otherwise I'll never stay alive in this world. When I got more food and headed back to the table, Eren was standing up—face to face with Jean-looking highly irritated. I frowned when I set my food down near Mikasa, wondering what was said to set Eren off. Noticing me, Eren grabbed my wrist and tugged me after him, much to the confusion of everyone else.

His grip was bruising when it was clear we were heading outside. "Eren…that hurts," I muttered and he stopped, his fingers unwinding on my wrist. I flexed my fingers and wrist to get the feelings back. "Sorry," he muttered. "Jean just pissed me off…"

"I noticed," I murmured. Jean and Eren hardly get along, it was almost surprising that they're in the same squad. Eren glanced back at me. "Damara, I…I'm sorry. I'm getting all tense for no reason…"

I shrugged. He was always tense in my eyes. Kind of hard to figure as per he wanted to kill all the Titans.

Which, ironically enough, includes the both of us.

"Eren, why did you drag me away?" I asked softly, my eyes on his teal irises, the ever-shifting green and blue in his eyes as mesmerizing as the first day I met him.

"I just…well…" Eren's eyes glanced away from me and then back at me. "I…" He sighed. "I…I…"

"What is it?"

Eren furrowed his teeth into his lower lip, stabbing his fingers through his hair. With a groan, his hand snapped to grab my upper arm and hauled me against him. His free arm wound around my waist, holding me fast against him.

There were a few things I noticed about him right then. First: he always appeared of average build, a bit slender, but his body almost felt like an unyielding wall; second: he trembled almost like a man about to lose something so important before his eyes; third: I could feel his heart thundering so close to mine, it felt as if it overtook my own.

The Eren Jaeger I've witnessed was fearless, but he also was so concerned for his comrades that he would protect them with such violent passion. He was so strong that I strived to be like him, desired to be like him. And yet, with him always by my side, trying to protect me, I could see tenderness within the hardened shell of the male in front of my eyes, who turned into the Titan who saved my life.

"Eren…?" I murmured, my arms going him, to try and assuage his trembling. His hold on me tightened, so much that it felt as if my bones would shatter beneath his grip. "What's wrong…?"

"I can't lose you, okay?" he muttered in my ear. "I watched my mom die; I've watched my friends die. I can't…I can't fucking lose you too, Damara."

My eyes widened and my heart began to pound, in sync with his. His trembling intensified when he pulled back slightly to look at me—

-before his lips met mine.

My mind blanked, my eyes widening impossibly, as Eren moved his lips against mine. The kiss—his kiss—was surprisingly gentle. Not what I expected from someone like him.

I found myself responding, my eyes focused on his, my hands went to his face, my fingers caressing his skin. Eren deepened the kiss briefly before pulling away, his cheeks red. "I promise, Damara, I will protect you. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you." The crimson in his cheeks deepened. "I…Damara, I…"

I shook my head to stop him before burying my face against his chest, inhaling his scent. My own body was trembling now, not only from his words, but from a deep, ominous feeling that seemed to lodge itself into my very core, seeping into my bones.

It made me wonder which one of us would truly move on…and who would be laying among the dead.