I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin


Krista was able to have someone fetch groceries for them. On the list was for two steaks with vegetables and potatoes. It was Ymir's favorite.

Ymir stuck close to her, though not in a way where she would usually be towering over her, protective; it was more like she needed to be in her wake to feel safe. She didn't nod or smirk to those they passed, she merely glanced at them and then looked ahead.

They called up a taxi and went to their designated penthouse provided for them by the Program. Once there, Ymir didn't settle at the sofa with a beer at hand, instead, she went out to the balcony that overlooked the city- there, she smoked, trying to return to normalcy. She didn't even bat an eye at the fridge.

"I'll start cooking when they come back," Krista spoke from the living room couch.

She had lotion ready nearby.

"Does your back hurt any, Ymir," she asked. Her wife hadn't said anything since their arrival. She only went outside and smoked away.

At least that hadn't changed.

"I can massage it for you," she offered.

Ymir stared at nothing in particular, she froze for a moment, trying to gather her wits.

"You don't have to," Ymir told her, she didn't look at her. "It's fine."

Krista was already putting a dab of lotion on her hands when she heard Ymir's decline.

That was a first.

Krista cleared her throat, applying the lotion onto her arms.

"That's fine, Ymir," Krista assured.

The doorbell rang, indicating the delivery was done. Krista took the order and paid the deliveryman. She went to busy herself in the kitchen, trying not to put pressure on Ymir to bounce back. She had to have time to recover and find herself again. The way she looked at her when they were talking before her release was vulnerability and fear.

Ymir spent the entire time outside, not going in to check up on Krista in her progress as she usually did. She went to sit at the patio chair, legs up and close to her chest as though she were trying to reassure herself. She continued smoking, though by now she'd have a craving for some alcohol, there was none.

She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head to cover herself.

It was like she regressed to being that teenager she grew out of.

Krista took the steak dinner out to Ymir with a small smile. Her wife looked different-insecurity written all over her usual aggressive self.

The extent of damage was massive. Krista kicked herself over and over for letting her petty grudge go for so long.

"It's your favorite," she put the dinner down by Ymir.

Krista sat in a nearby chair, playing with her potatoes and vegetables. She didn't have much of an appetite. Seeing her wife as someone else was ripping her apart, feeding the guilt that was coming in stronger and stronger.

"It's getting warmer out," she said.

Spring was almost there.

"I heard that springtime in Japan is beautiful with the cherry blossoms. Sort of like in those comics you showed me," she didn't want to be left alone in the silence to drown in what shouldn't have been

Ymir glanced from under her hood, then tossed her cigarette over the edge. Sleeves held up close to her wrists, she reached out for the utensils almost hesitantly, thinking Berwick would be there to slap her wrists and tell her to use the proper ones- she pushed that thought out and began to eat.

"Yeah, it is," she told her, she ate carefully, constantly trying to remind herself that Berwick wasn't there to lash out on her for simply eating.

Krista frowned, watching Ymir withdraw into herself.

"Nobody is here but us," she assured. Krista slowly went to eating, trying to relax, but this wasn't what she was expecting. She was at least thinking Ymir would talk more, try to joke more, or steal food as she cooked. Instead she sat out on the balcony, smoking, and quiet, and without a smirk to be had.

The dinner was quiet, Ymir didn't move so that she could continue smoking her hours away.

"...he wouldn't let me do this indoors," Ymir stated as Krista cleared out the table,"smoking, I mean."

Krista eyed Ymir.

"Time to break rules!" She put on the biggest smile she could, picking Ymir up, feeling her lighter than she was before, and hauled her into the living room with cigarettes and ash tray in hand.

"He isn't here and he doesn't set the rules."

Krista put up her finger.

"Second," another digit, "I say you can! Wife orders!"

Krista couldn't stand still and watch Ymir wade through the muck of her mind. Offer at a massage didn't work, steak didn't help, and talking wasn't going anywhere. Krista was beginning to pull blanks.

Ymir's eyes flew wide. When she was handed the pack indoors, along with the ashtray, she was hesitant to do it, very much so. Her hand stopped short of taking one to start anew- it was like she was hearing Krista speak a foreign language, it perplexed her. When she lit one, she readied for Berwick's hand to come smacking her upside the head for even thinking of smoking inside a building, but the hand didn't come.

She sat deeper into the couch, slowly relaxing and returning to what was normal.

Krista sat by her, watching her hesitantly smoke.

It was a start.

"And since you have that, let me help you with the rest."

Krista stood up and dragged the coffee table closer. She went over, picking Ymir's feet and put them on it. Her wife was without her beer but they could integrate that later.

"Final touch," Krista jumped onto the couch beside her, clicking the T.V on to a silly Japanese game show.

"There."

Ymir nodded.

Her feet being propped up, herself laying back as usual, it felt natural to her. Being unable to do this for a long time...it felt like she was learning to walk again. She tried so hard not putting her feet down, but she decided to keep them there after a few minutes, soon she was comfortably reclined, though she wasn't stretching out to reach for Krista for the blond to lay her head against her shoulder.

"This feels...good," she said after a while.

Krista kept her distance, still burned from when Ymir didn't kiss her earlier.

"It should," Krista smiled, giggling when someone went flying into the water from a silly obstacle course. "This is how it should be."

When the clock said ten, Ymir doused her cigarette and got up.

"I have to go to bed," she said aloud, not realizing she did. She made her way to their room and went to change out, she got to the bed and, finding there were blankets there, she laid underneath them on her side, she curled up into a fetal position, keeping to herself.

Krista went to the bedroom with a frown. When did she -have- to go to bed?

"Are you tired or...was it how he said it should be?" She sat at the edge near Ymir. Her hands went to her back, rubbing the tension. "Ymir..."

She leaned down, giving a kiss to Ymir's temple.

"It's how he said it should be," Ymir said automatically, she hated that she had to go through curfews, she couldn't stay up past three like she normally would. She winced when Krista rubbed at her back, though instantly she remembered her doing that so many times before; she unraveled herself and rolled to her stomach, letting her go on. "...you can rub my back."

"He doesn't have control over you," she replied, crawling closer and rubbing her hands over Ymir's back.

She could feel tension in her shoulders and lower back. Her fingertips lovingly pressed in and began to target the troubling pressure points.

"You can stay up as long as you want," she whispered, kissing her shoulder. "You live for yourself, nobody else."

Krista's hands were careful and gentle as she massaged her wife.

In the dim lighting of the room, she lifted up her shirt and hoodie to reveal numerous bruises; some fresh and some just healing, though her back was blue and purple. There were a couple boot prints here and there, indicating that even when she was down, he'd still go on about her, never ending.

She hissed in pain though when she worked around the fresh ones, the tension slowly left her, easing away for the better. She sighed and closed her eyes.

Krista gasped, seeing at all the bruises. She removed her hands, eyeing them all.

"Ymir, I'm so sorry," she had said it so many times but she meant it every time. She didn't know...if she did, none of this would've happened.

Krista went down, shakily kissing every bruise she saw.

"This will never happen again, never," her hands went at their own slow pace, easing the tension. Krista felt that desire to strangle him, to make him cry out, but she pushed it back when she felt her wife under her hands.

She wouldn't think of that right now.

Not yet.

"I love you," she told Ymir, kissing her shoulders.

"...yeah, I love you too," was all she could let out. She wiped away at her face, tears had formed and she didn't even realize it. She wiped them away, sniffling. She suddenly got up and grabbed Krista, pulling her into an embrace, she just had to be held, just had to. "...I won't do anything wrong again, I promise you. I won't get into trouble, just don't let them take me, please..."

Krista was dragged down into an embrace. She felt wet tears on her shoulder.

"Ymir," she gave kisses on top of her head.

"I...I'm not asking you to never get in trouble. It always seems to find you. But I just ask you to pick your fights wisely. And...try not to really hurt someone unless they try to do that to you first," Krista held her wife close to her heart.

She couldn't promise anything. If Ymir was taken away, she'd fight for her to stay, but in the end the outcome would be the same.

"I'm not letting you go anytime soon," her hands went weaving and playing through her hair. "I'm always here for you. I can promise I'm not leaving anywhere without you."

Krista leaned down, giving a lingering kiss to her forehead.

She nodded against her shoulder, hands grasping at her shirt to have a better hold. She was shaking quite a bit under the covers, both from the cold and her fears coming back to haunt her. She nodded at her reassurances, finding solace in them, what she desperately needed. She held her tighter, scared.

"Don't go," she managed to say before choking on her words.

Krista brought her legs around Ymir, pulling her even closer.

"See? Not going anywhere," Krista didn't let go of her wife. The last time they held each other like this was on Valentine's day. It was the first time Ymir had ever sung for her.

Krista began to hum a familiar tune she recalled her grandfather whistling. Slowly she began to sing quietly to Ymir.

"The sun has left and forgotten me, it's dark, and I cannot see," her hands went to Ymir's neck, knowing that was her wife's favorite spot to be massaged. She found her favorite spot, rubbing slowly to soothe her. "Why does this rain pour down, I'm going to drown in a of deep confusion."

Ymir quieted herself to hear her, though her grip relaxed after every stanza Krista went through of the song. Breaths began to resume their normal paces, she took it slowly now that she was able to find safety to bask in. Her eyes rolled back at feeling her fingers work their way into the soreness there. She sighed, feeling content wash over her.

The song eventually died out as Krista kept Ymir close to her. Having her in her arms, not going anywhere, Krista had missed it. After the incident with Hanji nothing was the same. A long scar was on her forearm as a constant reminder of when things went wrong.

But she had her wife back now. It didn't matter what happened as long as she was right here.

"Ymir," Krista finally withdrew her hands, pulling away slightly. "I'm going to change into my pajamas."

She gave a soft kiss to her cheek as she untangled herself from her wife. She stood up, retrieving her clothes from the bag, and stripped down. She put on a sport's bra and shorts and climbed back into the bed, resuming her position in holding Ymir.

"Do you want me to continue the massage?" She gave chaste kisses all over her shoulder, neck, and up to her jawline. Her fingers were getting a little stiff but she would keep going if Ymir asked.

"You can stop," she murmured,"just don't let go of me."

When she woke up, it was early in the morning. She sat up, her body tearing itself away from Krista's. One glance at the clock at 5 in the morning sent her into a frenzy as she swung her feet over the edge and instinctively changed her clothes.

The next moment she was out in the living room, no Berwick in sight. She stood there, then went for the pack of cigarettes and stepped outside for a smoke.

Krista was jolted awake, seeing Ymir fly around the apartment, getting dressed. She threw off the blankets and did the same, trying to quickly brush her hair down. She felt her hands shake as she struggled with her socks.

This would be Claudia's first drop- wait? Would that make Ymir and Berwick have to go as well?

Krista panicked and cursed as she kept trying to get the sock on.

"Let's go," Krista yelled, throwing the socks to the side and racing out the door to only find Ymir on the balcony. "What...?"

Her eyes were wide, heart pumping.

"No Kaiju attack?" She was frozen between relief and fear.

Ymir flinched in her spot when Krista yelled at her, thinking it was Berwick admonishing her for smoking at the wrong time. Finding Krista standing there made her less tense though she was nearly scared to death.

"W...wh...no, I don't, there's none," she quietly told her.

Krista stood there before almost crumpling into herself. She gripped at her chest right above her heart.

"Oh God," she exhaled, staggering over to the couch and plopping onto it. "Oh..."

She closed her eyes. Her mind was racing from wanting to beat Berwick, comforting Claudia on her first drop, and wondering whether it meant her and Ymir was still compatible.

Krista took a big inhale, covering her face with her hands, and dragging them down over her eyes.

"Oh," she sighed. Relief was slowly coming over her.

Ymir resumed smoking to herself, she stayed still, hoping that the man wouldn't suddenly appear and beat her again.

"...he used to force me to wake up early," she explained.

Krista glanced up at Ymir then back down to the floor.

"None of that is happening anymore. You decide what you want, nobody can do that for you," she spoke up. She leaned back into the couch, trying to sort through her thoughts.

Thank God a Kaiju didn't attack.

"...just give me time," Ymir softly requested, she withdrew to her unusual quiet self.

"I know, you have all the time you could need," Krista stood back up.

Krista felt a guilt come back into her. She had been so surprised and taken back at Ymir's personality that it was obviously straining to her. She was used to Ymir taking what she wanted right then and there, not being quiet and having to be encouraged.

"I'm going back to sleep," she said, taking one last glance at Ymir, and going back to the bedroom. She slid back under the covers, putting an arm over her eyes.

Her thoughts went back to their wedding, their week honeymoon, the joking and laughing with Sasha when they got back, Ymir getting drunk making blueprints with her, seeing her smile and ride her horse... It was hard to believe that it wasn't too long ago. She didn't realize how fast things changed, either.

One minute Ymir was holding her, kissing and marking her, telling her lewd jokes, and being possessive.

Now Ymir was withdrawn, quiet, hesitating from physical comfort, and paling in comparison to Krista's memories of hers. In that was where the guilt was. The pangs of pain knowing Ymir saw her looking for her old self that was beaten out of her. Who knows how Ymir felt with all that expectation on her.

When Ymir was done, she ventured into the bedroom but, out of habit, she balked at seeing the bed with bedspreads and blankets, pillows too. She shuffled back almost like a frightened animal, she headed back to the living room to where she sat down on the couch, not looking at anything in particular.

Her mind was going in and out of it. She knows she should trust Krista, revert to her normal self, but for some reason, even under a month, she felt that person she was was beaten out of her, locked away. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her knees when they were brought up to her chest.

She brought the hood over her head to cover herself.

Krista heard Ymir's footsteps as she came in. Swishing of clothing and hurried steps indicated something was wrong. Krista sat up to see Ymir slink away and back into the living room. There was no reason for her to come back to bed unless she had something to say.

Krista got out of bed, yawning, and into the living room. She'd put off sleep till she felt Ymir was ok. Krista sat close to Ymir, putting her head on her shoulder, closing her eyes.

She was so tired.

The somber atmosphere was getting tiring.

"Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"Am I."

"...what?" Ymir stared at her, confused. "You're here, in front of me, so you are."

"No, you're supposed to say 'Am I, who?'" Krista smiled.

"Try again."

She immediately felt like she made an error responding incorrectly, she cringed and quickly said,"Am I, who?"

Krista leaned closer, putting her forehead against Ymir's.

"Am I Ymir going to get a kiss?"

She nodded hastily, short. She leaned against her, following her order as Berwick often commanded her with questions, making sure that if she went on her own accord, he would have a reason to beat her for the wrong action or answer.

The kiss was chaste.

Krista gave one back, lingering on her lips, and pulling away. She looked up at Ymir, seeing nothing sparking behind her amber eyes.

"Are you hungry?" she got up, walking to the kitchen. "I can make bacon?"

She bent over to look in the fridge to find what Ymir loved. She cleared her throat a bit, making sure her breathing was calm.

"I would like that," she replied, no longer did she say yes or no, always answering in her simple opinion.

"Alright," Krista took the bacon out with a carton of eggs. She went to making a bigger breakfast, hoping it'd spark some emotion in Ymir.

When they first kissed, she remembered seeing Ymir's eyes warm. When they kissed at their marriage, she saw the promise of countless summers together.

When they kissed now she saw nothing. Just eyes looking at her as if asking 'is that all?'

It dug deep into Krista. Something she couldn't hide unless she quickly tasked herself. She busied herself with prepping.

"...you don't despise me, do you?" Ymir asked out of random.

Krista broke an egg at the remark and frowned.

"No! Of course not!"

She quickly took the frying pan off the burner and turned the stove off. She went back into the living room.

"Why would you think that?" Krista didn't know where that question came from.

"I just, he...never mind," Ymir brokenly told her, she got up from the couch and retreated to the balcony where she brooded once more, masking the air around her with the stench of cigarettes.

Krista followed Ymir outside.

"No, don't never mind," Krista spoke gently, trying to make sure to not sound too prying. "Tell me...what did he say?"

She kept her distance to show Ymir she wasn't trying to force it out of her.

"Only if you want to, though."

"Just told me things, things that aren't the best to say. I don't know." She ran her hand through her hair. "I feel like a teenager again now, no, not reckless, more of just insecure about shit I shouldn't be of at this point in life."

Krista went to Ymir, frowning. When she was close and within a respectful distance, she examined Ymir.

"Whatever he said, especially if it's how I feel, he's wrong."

She kept trying to find Ymir's eyes, but her hood was drawn.

"I love you, Ymir, and that won't change."

She was uncertain on what to say, what words could possibly have the best and most impact on Ymir, but she couldn't read her mind. Her body language was so different than what she was accustomed to. She didn't know what precise insecurities needed to be soothed.

"I don't love you any less because you're going through a tough time. Especially when someone hurt you."

She took Ymir's hand, smoothing the back of it with her thumb, over and over.

"I would never leave you because you got hurt. I will always love you," she brought her wife's hand up to her lips.

She remembered the first time Krista kissed her hand, she pulled away; then the more she did it, the more she grew accustomed to it. Then later on, it became natural to her. Feeling her lips upon her hand, it felt right. She didn't draw back, she found herself comforted by this.

She drew close to her this time, not to embrace her but just be near her.

Krista slowly withdrew her lips. Her eyes went up, searching, and wondering, if Ymir understood and believed in her.

"If I didn't feel the way I do," Krista went over, pulling Ymir into a hug, "do you think I would've married you?"

"...that's true," Ymir murmured, she slowly wrapped her arms around her, finding another familiar action to be comforting. "Sorry."

She tried pulling away but Krista wouldn't let her go, she decided to hold on to her.

"I think we have to Drift again, it probably might help me."

Krista kept Ymir close to her, savoring what she had missed for the past month since their fight. They were practically completely cut off from each other physically since then. The scar on her arm gave a slight throb as if to respond to her thoughts.

"Yeah, if that's what you want to do. I'd like to try as well."

However, a nagging fear was at the back of her head, whispering doubts that so much had happened that their compatibility was completely shot.

"When do you want to do that?" Krista put her mouth on her chest, above her heart, and gave kisses.

"Maybe next week or so..."

-...-

Hanji was first contacted about their want to Drift, the woman was unfortunately out for the day and she was replaced by Thomas, the Coordinator for Hannah and Franz. They sat in their usual seat in Dancing Titan- Ymir at the pilot's side. She was hesitant for a moment as she stalled for a moment during the calibrations.

After a while, she got herself together and readied her mind, uneasy about it.

"Prepare for Drift," Thomas voiced out.

Ymir waited in apprehension, she froze for a moment, then let the Drift pull her in. She was met by memories, everything, and she did her best not to latch on to them, especially of her family and Berwick, she tried to push through as best she could but at times, she was being pulled in.

Krista felt the soothing connection fill the air and space of Titan's hull. It had been a long time since they had a trial Drift. Ymir's memories were like ocean spray around her as she took in each wave, but something was pulling her into Ymir. She could feel her struggle, being brought out with each current.

Then it hit her.

Berwick hitting her over small, trivial mistakes and screaming at her over being herself. Memories that were once blurry in the blue haze became clear as Ymir's father was hitting her. Small cries echoed those memories.

Krista bit her lip and felt the pain pulsate. A small reminder that what she was seeing wasn't reality right now. It had passed and couldn't be fixed if she latched on.

Ymir began to clutch at those memories, she was no longer seeing vague glimpses, just perfect scenes, ones that were depicted all too well. She was feeling hopeless as she thought of the time she was dragged down the hallway of her home, Ilse watching but never doing anything out of fear.

"K-Krista," Ymir gasped out, she was loosing her touch with reality and she knew it, feeling smaller and vulnerable, the learned helplessness. It was like regressing back into that time, she had little control over it, so little, it scared her. "Krista!"

A child's cries grew louder and louder by the second.

"Ymir," Krista replied calmly as she felt prickling sensations on her scalp.

"I am here," if she could only reach out to her, but she couldn't. Only her voice could close that gap. Lately, Krista felt that was never enough.

"Think of how we used to sit at home, Ymir. I would rub your shoulders as we watch Tom and Jerry in the morning." Her mind was stuck in Ymir's head, seeing the abuse replay over and over. It was making her flinch at each act, reminding her of how she went through similar scenarios. The only difference was that she had learned to cope better.

Ymir's breathing was getting louder as the memories were racing and overtaking all sensory in Krista's mind.

"Things are a lot different now, Ymir," Krista's voice was firm but almost quiet compared to Ymir's Drift.

"You are loved. You are not alone. You won't be hurt." Krista didn't feel like any of her words were getting through to Ymir, but she had to try. Where she normally would give up she felt herself biting back her insecurities and pressing onward. Before this, Krista would've made promises and not fully back them, but after seeing all of Ymir's demons again, she knew her promises had to mean something.

"When we are home, I cook for you, remember, I cooked your favorite breakfast not too long ago. When you feel upset, I hold your hands and kiss them. I don't let you go until you want me to or you feel better.

"What you're seeing is an old memory. It cannot hurt you anymore." Krista's voice was soft and reassuring, trying to find Ymir in all the mess that had happened then and in the present.

"Only if you let it."

Ymir began to shake her head and mind, trying so hard to blot out the pain that had come to haunt her. Hearing Krista's voice brought back a plethora of memories, ones that, even short lived than the rest of her life, acted as a safeguard. She focused on her words, desperately seeking them.

The child's cry ebbed away, becoming a murmur that enabled her to think clearly.

Hope.

Something that has been torn away, thought of nothing but for the weak- she was weak. She rejected the thought if it a long time ago. She grasped at it through Krista, and soon, the hell inside her head receded, she found her foundation and breathed easier now. In, out. Easy.

"I got it," Ymir assured herself, at her best.

They began to stabilize and finished the trial with no further error.

Outside, Ymir was helped out if her suit. She waited for Krista by the door, coat covering her body to shield her from the world. The moment she was outside of the Jaeger, her mind relapsed- she wanted to drink.

Krista didn't know if her words had helped or if Ymir was able to pull herself together. She was only thankful that it didn't escalate.

The moment she stepped out of the Jaeger she felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. Her breathing was normal, perfect, but each breath in Dancing Titan felt forced and hard.

They were still compatible.

Krista felt herself smile as she was helped out of the uniform. When she was back in her previous attire, Krista stepped out and saw Ymir waiting for her. She quickly went over to her, hugging her. Hearing and seeing Ymir struggle at first with the drift was painful. To not be able to hold or physically comfort her wife was even worse.

"You did good," she gave a soft squeeze and pulled away, "we did fine."

"...I need a drink," Ymir blurted out quietly, she didn't look at Krista but she drew closer to her to hold her hand, almost like a child. It was like regressing horribly, she wanted to be comforted.

Ilse appeared, looking up and down Ymir's person. "...get her chocolate instead."

For once, Krista wasn't going to deny Ilse's advice.

"I have a better idea, babe," Krista took her hand, leading her back to their hallway. Since Valentine's day, most people avoided their area with small winks and nudges, not really understand that it had been a long time since anything happened between the two. It was as if it was on isolation.

Krista was thankful to signal an idle office assistant down. With a few gestures and a sugar-coated smile, he quickly left with cash in hand.

"While we were gone, I made a few arrangements," Krista told Ymir as they neared their joined bunk. "Maybe you'll like it."

She was a bit nervous herself.

She had an interior designer come in and freshen their room to look more homely. They weren't allowed to leave the Shatterdome as often as their old one.

"Make it feel more like home," she opened the door to let Ymir see for herself while the assistant went to the finer chocolate establishments and collected things for her and Ymir.

Ymir examined each part of the room, eying everything to make sure it was safe. With everything looking up in order, she ventured to the wardrobe and got into more comfortable clothes to which she wore her hood for safety. She plopped herself on the couch, crouching and staying in place.

"It feels nice," she commented softly.

"I'm glad," she sat on the couch near Ymir but gave her some space. The drift might've been stuck in her mind. She didn't want to overwhelm her wife.

They relaxed for some time until there was a knock on the door. By then, Krista was on her own laptop and was fiddling around with one of the blogging sites. It was a little appalling how much time could easily be spent on stuff like that.

She stood up and opened the door, revealing the office assistant who was sweating and breathing heavily. On the ground was three large boxes of chocolate.

"T-This good enough? If not, I can-"

"Perfect." She smiled at him, taking the chocolate, and leaving him with the change as thanks.

She brought them over to the couch and put them on the coffee table in front of them.

"I hope you feel like having sweets," she undid the ribbon and took of the lid of the box, revealing exquisitely made chocolates. Some were in shapes of bunnies and ranged from different types of chocolate. She took the darkest chocolate bunny she could find and held it up in front of Ymir's mouth.

"Ah?"

Ymir stared at the bunny, eying it cautiously and then recognizing what it was and what it used to do for her. Her mind traced back to when Ilse held up a piece in front of her- she opened her mouth and ate it, she started smiling, though it was shy as if she remembered a good time.

Once done, she reached out for the box and ate them happily, almost like a child.

Krista returned the smile as her wife went to helping herself with the chocolate. Krista stole one of the white bunnies and ate it. One of the better chocolates she ever had.

"These are nice," she said, eyeing the other boxes. She took one, curious as to what the other shops had to offer.

It went on for a near hour, both of them eating through two boxes, ending with Ymir sighing contentedly in the couch, hood off and a smile even broader.

Krista didn't know she could eat that much chocolate in one sitting.

"Might've went overboard," she said to herself, lifting her shirt and rubbing her stomach. It was starting to protest at the amount of sweets she practically inhaled. She glanced to Ymir and gave a soft chuckle. She leaned over and brought her thumb to the side of Ymir's mouth, wiping away some stray chocolate.

In response, Ymir licked the pad of her finger happily. She then retreated under her hood once more, holding her belly. She reached over and took a cigarette to light, normalcy slowly returning.

"...I hadn't had that much sugar since ever..."

Krista scrunched her nose up, feigning disgust, and wiped her thumb on Ymir's coat.

"I hope that doesn't get you hyper or I will have to throw you in the play pin till you tire yourself out."

She withdrew her hand, but the smile on her face was still there. It had been awhile since Ymir initiated something playful.

"I haven't had that much sugar...ever."

She never really had a sweet tooth to begin with.

"Ugg," she held her stomach again, flopping over till she was a ball curled up against the arm of the couch. For the sake of being over dramatic.

Ymir continued to huff, trying to get her sugar-induced coma out of her mind. "You think I'm a kid?"

"It was only a joke, Ymir," she gave a playful nudge with her foot on Ymir's thigh. "Plus, I prefer my women to be fully lots of freckles. And long legs."

Her stomach was too bloated to retaliate, plus she had a cigarette in hand. She laughed and pointed at herself. "Like me, right?"

"Oh, look at that! The coincidence!" Krista slowly sat up and gave the most surprised look she could muster. "Wow! Such a revelation! I never knew that, by these unseen circumstances, that I am married to all the things I am attracted to!"

Krista gave a mocking grin, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

"Yes, dummy, it's you," she rolled her eyes.

The sarcasm she heard, it made her chuckle deeply and she went on smoking. "I thought you married me for the jaeger."

"The Jaeger is pretty," she replied, twirling the ends of Ymir's hair around her finger, "but why marry for the Jaeger? I can marry the beautiful, smart woman who created it."

Her eyes fell on Ymir's face and back to the freckles she loved. She went back to the long but comforting task of counting.

Sometimes she'd find she counted one too many than the last time.

Though she liked to believe they only repopulated and there were new ones to be discovered.