Author's Note:

Hey all, it's Grimsley. Sorry for the long wait. I was just kinda feeling bleh and it's difficult to write when feeling bleh sometimes… unless you're writing about bleh things, in which case it's great. I was not; however, writing bleh things, so the bleh feels didn't help. Luckily, I'm no longer feeling bleh, but if some of the bleh seeped its way into the story, sorry. Fuck the blehs. Fuck them all.

Any who, big thanks to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed. Some of those reviews were so insanely sweet. Like, put a smile on my face and helped me stick the middle finger to the blehs right in the face. It was fucking awesome, and extremely appreciated. I'd love to PM you all, telling you how fucking fantastic you are, but, again, I tend to get super socially awkward and my brain pretty much ends up convincing me that I'll just end up being a bit of a nuisance to you. If I have messaged you or reviewed something you wrote, know it took extreme inner strength on my part, and I probably died a little in the process.

Yeah. That's how bad it is. Moving on…

So, if you follow my Tumblr, you may have seen that my laptop was on the bend for some time there. Luckily I have a super savvy girlfriend who was able to fix it with her badass girlfriending skills. Round of applause for le girlfriend.

Anyways, after this chapter, there should be three chapters left. I know, sad feels. It's kinda scary to be honest. I really hope you guys are as interested in my future stories to come. I really love the characters in this AU, so I'll most likely write a couple one-shots that correlate to this story, so fear not. You will not see the last of them. I've grown far too attached.

That being said, I'm currently working on writing up summaries for at least a dozen different long story ideas I have. The problem is, I have no idea which story I want to work on next, because I'm excited for all of them, so I'm leaving that up to you guys. Yep, I'll be posting story ideas either on here in an author's note, or on my Tumblr when I next update so you guys can vote on what you'd like to see next. That being said, if you guys have any ideas for a long fic you'd like to see me write, let me know so I can get them in before next update. Also, do you guys prefer longer chapters like in this fic (Generally 5,000 to 10,000 words), or shorter, more frequent chapters (Probably closer to 1,500 words)? Should it be YumiKuri? Mikannie? MikaSasha (I prefer saying Mikasha because it's just really fun to say)? Some other pairing?

Hmm, what else did I want to say before we start this thing? I know there was something else, but I can't remember what it was. Well, shit. Oh well. If I remember, I'll add it in at the end.

You guys are the best, and I hope you like the chapter. See you all next time.

Chapter 14: Selina Kyle

Just when it seemed Ymir's romantic life was beginning to fall into place, the universe decided to drop kick her in the lady bits. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd practically turned into one of those doe-eyed female love interests in Eren's bizarrely addicting teen rom-coms. She found herself giddy whenever she merely thought of the way Krista asked her out, and had been trying to figure out the perfect outfit to wear for the date. She didn't want to show up way too casual, looking like a total dating novice, but she also didn't want to over-dress, only to come off looking like a total putz either.

In the end, all the worrying had been for naught.

Ymir woke in the dead of night, feeling like someone was hammering a nail into her fucking skull.

Whimpering, she curled into herself, her blankets slipping from her bed before falling onto the floor. Her body was coated in a thin layer of perspiration as she desperately kicked at the dry sheets her sweat-slick legs were tangled in. The immense pressure in her head left her feeling like she was about to throw up at any moment. No matter what Ymir did, she couldn't get comfortable, and had to hold back the urge to cry, knowing that would only add to her problems.

She could smell her shampoo on her pillow, and the scent was making her stomach turn.

Ymir grabbed her phone, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Mikasa was awake. She didn't want to be alone right now. She hit the power button, and instantly regretted it.

The blue light hit her eyes and she reeled back, a sharp stinging pain pulsating through her head. She let out a strangled, broken cry, cursing her own incompetence. She blamed the pain for her sudden stupidity and gave herself a few brief moments before blinking her eyes back open.

Texting her friend was out of the question.

Ymir simultaneously felt like her back was about to split in two and like the pressure in her skull was building up in an attempt to escape. She buried her face in her hands, not surprised at all by the wetness she found there.

Taking a steadying breath, she wiped her eyes and pushed herself into a sitting position before easing herself to her feet, knowing that getting up too fast would only result in more pain. Ymir stumbled across her room, groaning when she stubbed her toe against her bookshelf. After calling the shelf a whore, she slid her hand along the wall, guiding her way to her desk. She blindly groped around, most likely knocking over everything that had been on it, stopping only when she found a familiar, cold, plastic figure.

Ymir and Mikasa had been best friends as long as Ymir could remember, so it was hard to imagine a time when she hadn't been by her side, mumbling muffled, smartass remarks. They were constantly at each other's' house and spent the majority of their time together while growing up.

Yet apparently that hadn't been enough, because in fifth grade Mikasa's mother, Carla, bought the girls a pair of walkie talkies which they used well into their final year of middle school. Still, it had been quite a while since they last used them. Hell, Ymir wasn't even certain Mikasa still had hers.

Still, it was worth a try.

Ymir pressed down on the button at the figure's hip and tried not to think about the fact that she had a pink power ranger radio pressed against her face. Whoever designed the thing didn't seem to put much thought into its layout. Mikasa and Ymir discovered long ago that, when using them, it pretty much just looked like they were muttering into the crotch of their favorite action heroes.

"Mi-Mikasa?" she called out quietly, her voice cracking. She whispered her friend's name, but the silence in the room made her voice seem far louder than it truly was. "Mikasa?" she tried again, a little louder this time. There was no answer.

She was probably fast asleep.

Sighing, Ymir carefully made her way to the door and slipped out of the room. She padded down the hallways, her head spinning, relying on memory to make her way to the restroom. Once inside, she laid down on the cool, tile floor and did her best to focus on the steady dripping of the leaky faucet.

The coldness from the floor pressed against her overheating skin, bringing with it slight relief, and she did her best to push all thoughts from her mind, focusing only on the incessantly falling water droplets. The steady stream and the consistency of it eased her mind and the intense pain slowly eased to a dull ache, but Ymir knew at any moment the grace period could be over and the pain would return, attacking her just as, or possibly even more, violently than before.

Ymir didn't move when the door slowly opened and someone stepped in. Whomever it was gently sat down next to her, not saying a word.

The silence gave her away.

"Mikasa?" Ymir croaked. She felt tears threaten to spill from the corner of her eyes. She knew it was pathetic, absolutely immature, and beyond embarrassing in all ways, but she didn't want to be alone. She wanted someone she trusted and whom she felt safe with.

"I think the volume on your end was off," came the soft, scarf-muffled whisper. "Migraine again?" Mikasa asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Yeah." Her response came out sounding more pitiful than she had intended. There was a sharp intake of breath before Mikasa let out a long, steady sigh.

"It's been awhile since your last one."

She was right. While Ymir was used to being plagued by migraines, it truly had been a little over a year since her last one. She naively thought, well, hoped that she'd no longer suffer them. That maybe, just maybe, the universe was throwing her a bone. Apparently she was wrong.

The pain started back when she was in middle school, completely debilitating her and pretty much convincing her she was dying. Mikasa had been sleeping over when the first one hit. After staying through it, doing anything she could to help her friend, Mikasa made sure to be there for the second, and the eventual third.

Mikasa came every time.

After half an hour passed by of sitting beside her in silence, Mikasa managed to convince Ymir to take Advil and return to her bedroom. She helped ease her best friend onto the bed, picking the blanket up from the floor and tossing it onto the foot of the bed, knowing the heat from it wouldn't help at all.

"Mikasa?" Ymir's weak voice called out.

"Hmm?"

"Could you, er, could you do the thing?" she asked shyly. Mikasa chuckled

Over the years Mikasa had tried many things to relieve her friend's pain. They never spoke it, but the two truly cared for each other in a way words could never express, and it killed her to see her friend in such pain. She'd tried rubbing Ymir's back and playing with her hair in the past, but neither ever worked, only succeeding in irritating the migraine even more. Somehow, by a bizarre stroke of luck, they'd discovered that the only thing that calmed the pain was for Mikasa to draw on Ymir's back. Something about the gentle pen strokes and never quite knowing what would come next alleviated the pressure, allowing her body to relax.

Of course this would usually end up biting Ymir in the ass, as most things had a tendency to do. Mikasa, though an incredibly skilled artist, had a propensity to often draw inappropriate things. This usually wouldn't be much of a problem, but it'd happened on more than one occasion that Ymir would be changing in the school locker room, completely having forgotten about the drawings on her back, only to hear giggling from behind her, or, even worse, the occasional shrieking and blushing freshman, flustered and gaping at her.

Mikasa had told her on multiple occasions that she was very happy she shared P.E. with Ymir so she could see all the reactions. It may have been a little twisted, but she adored seeing her friend completely and utterly embarrassed.

"Fine," Mikasa whispered. "Take off your shirt and let me have my way with you."

Ymir complied immediately, slipping the shirt off, leaving her in only her black sports bra. Mikasa frowned. For her friend to simply obey such a request without making any kind of smartass remark… she must've truly been in a lot of pain.

Mikasa pulled a pen out of her pocket, she almost always had at least one on her, and laid down beside her friend, working by the steadily brightening morning light that peeked through the window blinds above Ymir's bed. A content sigh escaped from her satisfied friend as Mikasa worked, smirking deviously as she sketched.

The light that filled the room strengthened as the minutes passed by. Ymir groaned and buried her face in her pillow.

"Ugh, what time is it?" Ymir eventually asked, her voice muffled by the cushion. Mikasa pulled her phone out of her pocket, careful to not shine the screen anywhere near her friend.

"A little after six."

Ymir groaned and grabbed her shirt before slipping it back on. She began to get up, still clutching her head gently.

"What're you doing?" Mikasa demanded an answer, attempting to push her friend back down. There was no way Ymir was feeling well enough to get up now, and Mikasa would be damned if she'd allow her friend to torture herself just because she didn't want to miss a single day of school.

"School," Ymir grumbled, struggling weakly to swat her friend away. She was unsuccessful. "I have to go. There's a- a test and-"

"No way in hell," Mikasa interrupted. "You're keeping your freckled ass in this bed, even if I have to strap you down myself."

"Kinky," Ymir muttered. "And I don't have freckles on my ass."

"Ymir, I've seen your ass. On many occasions, in fact. I care to disagree."

"Pervert, "Ymir mumbled, turning over onto her back. She bit her bottom lip, something Mikasa noticed Ymir often did when she had something she wanted to say, but wasn't sure how to go about saying it.

"What is it?" Mikasa sighed. She was insanely tired and was in no mood to deal with an annoyingly stubborn Ymir right now.

"I have to go to school today," Ymir croaked, as if that explained everything. Mikasa raised an eyebrow, waiting for her friend to continue. Eventually, Ymir got the hint. "I-I have a date," she blurted, looking away from Mikasa as the tips of her ears and cheeks turned pink. "With Krista."

"One of these days you're gonna be able to talk about Krista without turning all sorts of red."

"Fat chance." Ymir sat up, eyeing her Converse. "Have you seen her? She looks at me and my stomach rumbles like a Nintendo 64 controller with a rumble pack. She talks to me and my heart starts racing so fast it fucking hurts, like that summer when we pretty much lived off coffee. She touches me and my brain goes completely blank life, er, like…" She struggled to come up with an example.

"Ymir, you're brain always going blank. You're doing it right now."

"Thanks."

"Any time." Mikasa smirked. "Now get back in bed."

"But I just told you-"

"I said no," Mikasa stated, ending the discussion. "You're obviously not better yet, and even if you were, you're gonna be completely drained for a while. You need sleep, and going to school like this is just gonna make you feel like crap. Even in Call of Duty, when you get all shot up and injured, or fall from a really high spot, your character has to rest for a while before moving on, right?"

"You make a valid point," Ymir confessed. Mikasa shook her head, surprised she hadn't thought to compare the situation to a video game from the beginning. It was the only way to really make a point come across with her.

"Do you want to get another migraine at school?"

"Hey, the last time didn't end up so bad, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. It's all you talked about for a week straight," Mikasa sighed, recalling Ymir's weeklong obsession with some random girl she'd never even seen. "But still, the being sick part sucked. You nearly puked in math class."

"I was sitting behind Eren. It would've at least been amusing. I mean, just imagine the face he would have made."

"True, but you're still staying."

"But my date." Ymir's shoulders sagged. "Mikasa, I don't want to fuck this up. Not again," Ymir admitted, unable to meet Mikasa's eyes. "I've already done enough of that for a lifetime. I need to make my way into Krista's heart before she wises up and realizes just how lame I am."

"Dude, this is Krista we're talking about. She'll understand," Mikasa pointed out, patting her friend's arm. "And she totally already knows how lame you are. Anyways, if you try and leave again, I'm telling Krista all about that time you peed yourself in front of the entire class."

"That was in first grade!"

"I'll leave that bit of information out," Mikasa mused, smirking.

"You're kinda evil."

"Damn straight," she nodded before standing and slipping her pen back into her pocket.

Before she left, Mikasa grabbed the bottle of Advil she'd brought over and left it on the nightstand beside Ymir's bed, along with a glass of water. She grabbed the blanket still bunched up at Ymir's feet and draped it over her sleepy friend.

"If you need anything, just text me. I'll pick it up for you and bring it after school, okay?"

"Yeah," Ymir croaked. "Uh, Mikasa?"

"Yeah?" Mikasa replied, looking over the room once more, making sure she didn't forget anything.

"Uh, thanks." Ymir was staring down at the blankets, unable to make eye contact. "You know, for everything."

Mikasa's chest swelled with affection. She'd never state it, but she was totally, completely, and utterly in platonic love with her friend. Instead, she smiled, grabbing her scarf and wrapping it back around her neck.

"Anytime, you massive pain in my ass."

Krista warily approached the table. Eren and Armin sat on one side, watching the display before them with a mix of both confusion and terror.

Mikasa lay splayed against the table, groaning loudly as Annie gently rubbed her back. Krista stopped in her tracks, before slowly and carefully sitting at the edge of the bench. She leaned in towards Eren and Armin, speaking out of the corner of her mouth in a hushed voice.

"Is Annie actually being nice to Mikasa?"

"I-I think so?" Eren uttered, his voice wavering. "Think we should be worried?"

"I think so. Maybe she's trying to lull her into a false sense of security before attacking? That's the only theory that's making any sense to me," Armin voiced.

"Hey, I can hear you guys," Annie grunted, jostling Mikasa who groaned. She groggily sat up, her sleep-heavy eyes trained on Krista. She looked as though she had something important to say, but couldn't quite gather the energy to allow her mouth to move.

A few silent moments passed by when Krista found herself watching the main gates of the school, waiting for Ymir to come lumbering in. The thought of seeing her, especially now that she laid all her feelings out, made her stomach flip, and though she was nervous, she honestly wanted nothing more.

"She's not coming," Mikasa murmured, stealing Krista's attention.

"Wait, what?" She felt a horrible sinking feeling take over her body. Was the idea of going on a date with her so unappealing that Ymir would stay home in an effort to get out of it? It made no sense, and she knew that, but the thought still ate at her.

"She gets horrible migraines sometimes," Mikasa explained, a knowing look in her eyes, and shrugged. Krista had noticed, almost immediately after meeting Mikasa, that the girl had an eerie ability to tell what a person was thinking, simply by staring them down, and had somehow caught on to Krista's own nonsensical self-doubt. "Hence me looking like a fucking zombie right now." Mikasa waved a hand up and down her body. "I was over at Ymir's most of the night, trying to help. She really wanted to come today, seemed pretty desperate actually, but I couldn't let her. Practically had to pin her ass to the bed, in a platonic way, mind you. I'm not encroaching on what you've already claimed." Mikasa smirked. "She was just feeling like complete crap; you know? It got really bad, and she's exactly the type of idiot to push it too far and end up making the entire situation a hundred times worse."

Krista probably should have felt relieved, knowing that her bizarre thoughts earlier were merely her overthinking the situation, but the knowledge that Ymir had been in such pain disallowed her from doing so. She had to fight the urge to leave school and rush over to Ymir's immediately.

"Well, was she alright when you left?" Krista asked, doing her best not to sound too anxious, but failing miserably. If Ymir was currently feeling as wretched as Mikasa made it sound, then school be damned, she wanted to be with her. Fuck the test she had next period in English. Screw her perfect attendance record. She didn't give a shit who saw her leave, or what her parents would say. Ymir was more important.

"Eh, she was still pretty miserable, but managed to fall asleep," Mikasa recalled. "She generally feels a bit better when she wakes up, but having one of these fuckers totally knocks her out. They sap her of all her energy, leaving her completely drained, so she'll probably be completely out of it for awhile."

Knowing Ymir would hopefully be feeling better upon waking helped calm Krista's overprotective nerves, quelling her desire to rush to the sick girl's side. Instead, disappointment sunk in, gnawing at her heart.

Why was it that something seemingly popped up every time she made any sort of headway towards a relationship with Ymir? Was fate trying to be a bitch? Were the cosmic forces getting a good laugh at her? She'd been planning this day, this date, nonstop since Ymir said yes. It'd taken everything she had to ask in the first place, and the idea that what progress they made may disappear because of this made Krista feel sick.

"I was planning on checking on her when school's finished." Mikasa's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Make sure she's not dead and what not."

"Raincheck on our plans then?" Annie asked Mikasa, earning herself a couple curious glances from the boys. Mikasa shook her head apologetically.

"Sorry, maybe after?"

"Wait, you two have plans?" Eren blurted out. "As in, willingly hanging out with each other?" His eyes narrowed as he looked between the two girls. "Mikasa, blink twice if you're doing this against your will."

Eren was too slow to dodge the muffin Annie pelted at his head.

Krista juggled the bags as she made her way up the staircase and down the hallway. She'd passed by Mikasa who was on her way out. The girl had informed her that Ymir was still asleep and Gran had been checking up on her throughout the day, making sure she was doing alright.

She didn't bother to knock on the door, not wanting to wake the sleeping girl. She gently set everything on the ground and turned the handle, before slowly peeking into Ymir's room.

The window blinds remained closed, refusing to allow a single ray of light to assault the sleeping girl. An instant chill warned Krista that Ymir's fan was on, keeping the temperature in the room nice and cool. Though the lights were off, Krista was still able to make out Ymir's sleeping form snuggled in her blankets.

Messy, brown hair was splayed over Ymir's pillow, her tanned arm hugging another cushion close to her, and her body curled around it. Krista had to push down the slight fire in the pit of her stomach.

Am I seriously jealous of a damn pillow?

Yes, yes she was.

She grabbed the bags and brought them into the room, setting them on the desk, before gently sitting down on the edge of Ymir's bed. Ymir's brow furrowed as the bed dipped under Krista's weight and she reached out a hand, gently prodding Krista's leg.

"Mikasa?" Ymir croaked, her eyes still closed. "My throat is killing me. Like, hardcore Boromir getting brutally shish-kabobed by that uruk-hai warrior kinda killing me. Darth Vader getting fly-zapped by good ole' General Palpatine killing me. Like in A.O.T when your main character's mom becomes breakfast. That kinda killing me." She cleared her dry throat. "So, you know, do you think you could hand me my water?"

Krista grabbed the cup on the bedside table, but quickly discovered it was empty. She ran over to her bag, grabbed her water bottle out of it, and returned to Ymir's side, unscrewing the top and handing it to her.

"Thanks," Ymir grunted before taking a long sip. A trickle of water slipped from the corner of her mouth and slid down her neck. Krista licked her lips before clearing her throat.

I will not perv on sick Ymir. I will not perv on sick Ymir. She repeated the mantra multiple times.

Apparently the sound was enough to clue Ymir in that the person sat beside her was not, in fact, Mikasa, and she peeked open a single, sleep-heavy eye.

"Krista?" Ymir asked. A lazy smile formed on her lips, and Krista knew, had she not already been in love with the adorable dork, she would have fallen in that moment. Ymir spoke her name with such gentleness, such fondness, that she felt her chest tighten ever so slightly. She'd give anything to hear it again.

"Hey there." Krista smiled. "How're you feeling?"

Ymir eased herself into a sitting position, careful not to get up too quickly. "Like my head is in a total fog and I've been asleep for a week… kinda like how it gets when Armin tries to explain A.O.T battle strategies to me. Bro is seriously long-winded. I generally end up spacing out."

"No pain?"

"Nope, none," Ymir chirped, a smug smirk replacing her smile. The dopey girl was obviously very proud of herself.

Krista hopped up from the bed, zipping over to the desk. She grabbed the bags before plopping them down in front of Ymir, failing to hide her excited grin. She expected questions or for Ymir to start going through the bags. Instead, Ymir just stared at her, watching her intently.

"Ymir?" Krista asked, nervously rocking from one foot to the other. "Er, do I have something on me or-"

"You look really pretty today," Ymir decided, a very serious expression on her face. Krista grabbed the bottle she'd given Ymir earlier, sniffing the contents. "Er, Krista? What're you doing?"

"Making sure it's just water."

Half-asleep Ymir stared at her, confused, before shrugging. She quickly became distracted by the bags in front of her, her eyes becoming comically wide as she realized what contents they hid within them.

"Krista?"

"I asked Mikasa, Sasha, Eren, and Armin about some of your favorite stuff… Movies, games, snacks, you get the gist," Krista explained as Ymir pulled a bag of cool ranch Doritos out, before hugging them. "We couldn't go out for our date, so I figured I'd bring the date to you."

Krista leaned forward onto her knees, pressing a kiss against Ymir's warm cheek. Ymir spaced out for a second before offering her a lopsided grin.

Sleepy, post-migraine Ymir was hands down the most adorable thing Krista had ever witnessed.

"Oh, I also picked up your homework for you," Krista added, nodding towards the desk where she'd left it. Ymir jumped off the bed, making her way towards the table.

"Oh, wow! Thanks, Babe!" Ymir thanked her happily as she flipped through the papers, apparently not aware of what she'd just said.

Babe?

Krista's heart throbbed as she laid down on Ymir's bed and stole one of Ymir's pillows. She pressed her face against it, determined to not let the dopey, oddly-charming Ymir see her blush.

All Ymir could do was stare at the water bottle cradled in her lap as the movie credits rolled.

This was Krista's water bottle. The same one she drank from every day. The same one Ymir had been sipping from for the past hour and a half. Her lips were touching where Krista's had been touching. And even though they had, in fact, kissed before, the thought of it still made butterflies flit about in her stomach, despite the fact that her tummy was already a bundle of nerves.

She was on a date. An actual date. With Krista, the girl who recreated, rebranded, and made sexiness her own. The girl who single-handedly turned half the school into whimpering, love-stuck idiots.

Sure, it wasn't your stereotypical date. There was no going to a theater like they'd originally planned, and they hadn't stopped at a nice place to eat afterwards, but Ymir didn't mind in the least. In fact, she preferred it this way.

Had they gone out, then Krista wouldn't have currently been stretched out beside her, spacing out while staring at the now black screen. At some point during the movie, her shirt had inched up ever so slightly, revealing a line of pale skin. Despite her favorite movie being on, she was constantly finding her attention diverted to the gentle slope of the dip in Krista's back.

Every time Krista moved, it set Ymir on edge, and every time she made a noise, Ymir jumped, startled. Perhaps it was all for the best that their date hadn't been in public.

It wasn't like something like this whole situation hadn't happened before. Krista had been in her room many times, and, on more than one occasion, they both found themselves laying on her bed together, watching movies.

And yet something still felt different this time. There was an air of expectancy, and Ymir had no idea what she was supposed to do about it.

"Ymir?"

Ymir's body involuntarily jerked, having been startled by Krista's voice suddenly calling out to her. Krista, most likely used to Ymir's bizarre antics, rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder, letting her know there was no reason to be so anxious.

Only there was. There totally was. One extremely hot, devilishly good-looking reason.

The words Krista spoke when she'd asked Ymir out had been running through her brain non-stop since they'd first been uttered. They took over her every single thought, and completely baffled her, and she found herself wishing she had a remote control, so she could turn back time and hear Krista's little impromptu speech all over again. She'd been so taken aback, so surprised by it, that she completely missed what had been said.

She wasn't self-confident. She didn't consider herself attractive in the least. Her acne was a massive problem, she had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was constantly a mess, and despite being a pretty smart person, she was startlingly dense when it came to romantic situations. For the longest time any thought that Krista might return her feelings was merely a pointless dream, one she'd never admit she clung to.

So, was it really okay? Was it truly alright for Krista to want a person like her? Krista, the person whose laugh sent tingles up and down her spine. The person whom she'd seen nearly every day for the past few months, yet who still had the power to render her speechless with a small smile. The person she'd been watching for so long, but never expected to catch looking back.

Krista's soft hand pressing against her cheek pulled Ymir out of her thoughts. She looked concerned, her eyebrows knitted together as she stared attentively at her.

"Are you alright?" She asked, eyes flitting over Ymir's face. "It's not back, is it? Do you need me to grab you something? Advil?" Ymir shook her head, denying the offer.

"No, I'm fine, just a little lost in thought," Ymir replied.

"Oh, uhm, okay then."

The silence lasted for a couple minutes, growing in awkwardness the longer it went on. Ymir raked her brain for a topic, any topic, to fill the silence.

"Um, so how'd you know that's my favorite movie?" Ymir asked, gesturing back at the laptop.

"Oh, er, I asked Mikasa. Everyone else helped, too. When I told them about the date, well, Sasha was very adamant about the chips," Krista laughed. "Armin let me borrow a couple games as well, though videogames may not be the best idea at the moment. Before I knew it, we were kinda planning an at-home date."

"You… you planned all of this because my head decided to be a jerk and cancel our plans?"

"I-I, uh," Krista looked away, focusing her attention on the cap of her bottle of coke. "When I found out you were sick and our date was probably cancelled I, erm, I kinda got-" Krista didn't finish.

"Kinda got?"

"Nervous, anxious, scared," Krista blurted out. She sighed, biting her lip and doing her best not to look Ymir in the eye. "It's just," she stopped, searching for the right words to say. "I don't want this thing between us to get fucked up before it even has a chance to start. There always seems to be some bullshit getting in the way, usually compliments of our meddlesome friends. Whenever we take a step forward, we almost immediately take three back, and I don't want that this time. I don't want any interrupting phone calls-"

"I could turn it off if you want," Ymir offered.

"—or friends busting in at the worst possible moment-"

"I swear I'm working on having Sasha sedated…"

"I just- I really care about you. Like, really, really care about you. A whole lot of caring about you. Maybe even-" Krista glanced up at her, their eyes finally meeting. Krista's mouth opened, but no words came out. Instead, she let out a frustrated sigh and shrugged. "You just matter a whole hell of a lot to me, and it pretty much took everything I had to ask you out the first time. Also, I think it needs to be said that you're really, super adorable when you first wake up, and I really have a super strong urge to bitch slap migraines in the face right now because I'm being just as rambly as you, and that's pretty fucking bad."

Ymir stared at Krista in silence, her brain completely blank. For a moment there, just a brief, flittering second in time, it seemed like Krista was about to say she loved her.

Her stomach had twisted, turning in on itself, and she was startled to realize that she'd been afraid to hear it. Terrified even. It was something she'd wanted for a really long time, and never allowed herself to believe was possible, but now that it wasn't said, now that the moment had passed by, Ymir realized the only thing scarier than Krista saying she loved her, was the moment when she hadn't said it.

Krista watched her expectantly, obviously hoping Ymir would say something, anything to put her at ease. The thought of telling Krista that she felt the same, that she cared about her in a way that she couldn't quite put into words or understand, left her mouth dry and her heart pounding harder than ever before.

"I, I'm really crappy at this whole saying nice stuff thing," Ymir admitted. "I mean, you've heard my conversations with my Gran and friends. We don't really do the whole telling each other we care about each other thing, because it's just kinda an unspoken fact" Ymir attempted to explain. "But still, I think I might want to try, just this once." Ymir licked her dry lips and took a deep, steadying breath, hoping it would calm the pounding of her wild heart. "I really like y-"

A loud vibration made Ymir jump, and she turned and glared at her cell phone. She really needed to toss the fucker.

After a long pause, she sighed and grabbed the phone, muttering curses under her breath as she accepted the call from an unknown number.

"Hello?" she sighed, exasperated.

"Hey, Ymir," the woman's voice tentatively greeted, and Ymir had to fight the urge to throw the phone on the ground and stomp on it until all that was left was dust. She really had a lot of nerve calling her, nerve which she obviously hadn't passed down to her daughter. "Please don't hang-up. I, uh, I have something I wanted to talk to you about."

She wasn't sure how Krista knew she needed it, but the girl grabbed Ymir's hand tight in her own. Ymir met Krista's steady gaze, and the sweet smile she saw their put her raging emotions at ease. She squeezed Krista's hand and nodded, ready to do what needed to be done.

"Hey Mom."

Ymir had put on another movie once she finished the phone call with her mother, but it was obvious she wasn't really watching it. Dazed eyes stared at the screen, but didn't truly take in what they were seeing. She'd been off in her own world since the conversation ended, and neither one of them had said a thing.

Krista watched from the corner of her eye as Ymir absentmindedly raised her soda to take a sip, missing her mouth completely. A stream of brown, bubbling liquid rushed down her cheek, along her neck, and down and all over her shirt.

"Shit," Ymir yelped, jumping up from the bed before any of her drink spilled onto her clean sheets as well. Ymir grabbed a towel from her laundry basket and used it to mop up the mess she'd made on herself.

Krista hadn't expected her to pull her shirt off, but she definitely appreciated the gesture.

Sure, they changed in front of each other all the time in gym class, but there was an unspoken rule during P.E. that you didn't stare at your fellow classmates as they stripped. Well, yeah, on a daily basis some girl would take her shirt off mid-conversation and go strutting around the locker rooms, and no one really seemed to care much about changing in front of each other all that much, but a casual glance and blatant staring were two very different things.

Krista was definitely breaking that very important rule, but she couldn't help it. Ymir was fucking hot, and this wasn't the first time she'd gazed a little longer than she should have as the girl removed her clothes. Definitely not.

Ymir seemed to realize what she'd done, and in front of whom, because she let out a strangled squeaking noise before turning around, hiding her front from Krista. "I'm sorry!"

"Uh, it's… er, it's okay," Krista stammered, staring at her shoes. After a moment she raised her gaze back up, catching a glance at Ymir's back as the girl searched for a clean shirt.

Krista's hand shot to her mouth, having to hold back the laughter which fought to come out. "Uhm, Ymir?" She uttered when she was finally able to regain her breath.

"Hmm?"

"Why is there a half-naked chick drawn on your back? I mean the art's really good and all, but-" Ymir whipped around so quickly, Krista was unable to finish her thought.

"What?" Ymir choked, having completely forgotten that she was standing half-dressed in front of Krista. She bolted over to her mirror, attempting to catch a glimpse at the sketch.

Krista narrowed her eyes as she stared at the drawing. There was something eerily familiar about it.

"Oh my God!" Krista squealed as realization hit her. "Is that supposed to be Annie?"

All the color drained from Ymir's face.

"I'm going to fucking kill Mikasa."

Author's Note:

Yes, obviously I missed you too much and had to speak to you one last time before the next update. What's that? You missed me, too? Fear not, I already knew that, sweet star child.

Anyways… I just felt inclined to point out that the thing that Mikasa does for Ymir to get rid of Ymir's migraine is something I do for my girlfriend (and yes, sometimes I draw things she'd probably prefer I didn't, though I've never drawn naked peoples on her before. Next time). It's the only thing that really seems to calm her down enough to get her to sleep, and usually after she sleeps the pain ceases. Not always, but usually. That being said, I've gotten migraines on rare occasion, too (usually brought on by very strong perfume) and this doesn't work on me. In fact, I pretty much refuse to be touched when having one.

So, yeah. If you were reading this and you were all, "hell no, no touchey!" that's what was going on. Writing from experience, you know?

Any who, much love to you all. I'll catch you next time.