Nightmare

The gauze wrapped too tightly around his torso made his skin itch like hell; Eren scratched at the course fabric every few seconds but he could only do so much with his blunt chewed up nails. Not to mention it was more humid than the gaping maw of a titan. The arrival of midnight did nothing to quell the sweltering heat of summer either. Silvery rays of moonlight broke through the canopy of leaves and gnarled branches high above, dotting the meadows below. The moon itself glowed brilliantly in its first quarter phase, strikingly similar to a Cheshire like grin. Eren felt mocked by it.

He was scorching out here, the air felt too dense and warm. It was almost suffocating, like breathing in mouthfuls of steam. It had never been like this back in Shigansina…sure it did get hot, but goddesses, never like this. He missed his old home, he missed the cozy weather, he missed swimming in the cool river waters. He missed a lot of things.

Eren slapped at a mosquito that had the audacity to land on his shoulder, grimacing as he wiped his hand on the grassy ground beneath him. He sighed exasperatedly, flopping back down onto the dusty cot he'd forgotten. Honestly it smelled of musk and mold, combined with the heat, it was an altogether horrible stench that wafted to his nostrils the moment he even got near it. Eren wondered if Shadis intentionally had handed these out unwashed. Knowing the taciturn instructor, he most likely did, just to make them suffer a little more.

As if Eren wasn't suffering enough. He glanced to the petite girl who lay soundly asleep just a foot away from him, soft little snores erupted from her as she breathed evenly in her slumber. It amazed Eren how Annie was able to even doze off in this furnace like weather, especially with all these insects buzzing around their heads. He slapped his arm this time as another one of those pesky mosquitos scurried across his skin. A flare of jealousy bloomed within him as he turned to his side to gaze at the snoring blonde girl.

Annie was quite an unsettling sight in her sleep; her usual blank facade was now replaced with a permanent scowl that adorned her lips, her eyebrows scrunched together every now and then, which made her look like she had a permanent cringe going on. She was even curled up into a little ball underneath the cot, so only her head stuck out, cropped ashen hair splayed all around her face, occasionally slipping into her partially opened mouth, but Annie snored on without a care.

In all honesty, Eren thought she looked hilarious more than frightening. Not that he would ever voice that to her. She slept completely undisturbed by the environment around them, and Eren wished he could reach that unconscious state of mind. But it was an endeavor for him to do so.

So he instead focused his gaze to the starry night sky above. The tall trees obscured his view somewhat; but Eren still managed to catch glimpses of the brightest stars that stood out from all the rest. He recalled being in a position like this three years ago; only he was not a Trainee of the 104th training corps, but a refugee of Wall Maria.

He was not with Annie Leonhardt, the cold brooding beauty of the 104th, but with his closest friends, Mikasa and Armin. They had laid on each side of him outside of the Refugee holding camp; a young Armin pointing out clusters of stars he dubbed as con-stell-ations and then giving them ridiculous names Eren himself couldn't pronounce. Mikasa huddling to his side till their shoulders touched, offering him comfort in her silence.

That had been their only solace every night; while their every morning, and noon was filled with nothing but hard labor, plowing and picking through half barren crops. Being offered less than what they deserved, what they needed to survive.

It always pissed Eren off to just think about the past, and then to think further back upon the events that had happened, just drove him mad. So he tried to distract himself with thoughts of the future ahead of him. Of graduation that was now only six months away; of becoming a full-fledged member of the Survey Corp and serving under Commander Erwin Smith, fighting alongside the infamous Captain Levi.

Killing, eviscerating, utterly destroying all of the titans' race. That was his dream; that was his goal.

As Eren mulled in glee over the ever present future, Annie stirred restlessly in her slumber. Eyelids screwing further shut as if she were in pain, a sudden small gasp erupted from her throat immediately capturing Eren's attention. It was then he noticed the perspiration that began to bead on her forehead, and the feverish warmth that was coming from her side.

Perhaps it was the heat finally getting to her, Eren reached out to take the scratchy blanket off her when she visibly flinched. "Annie?" Eren brought a tentative hand to her forehead, brushing away the matted tendrils of hair that stuck, and earned only a wince in response.

"N-no…" She whimpered in her sleep, shrinking away from his touch. He sat up, growing more concerned as she began trembling abruptly. It was so unusual to see Annie- stoic, stone cold, kick-your-ass if you mess with her- Leonhardt appear so scared, so childlike as she subconsciously sunk herself deeper into the small sheet that barely covered her five-foot frame.

"Please…" He heard her whisper quietly, "Please…don't…"

"Hey Annie," Eren spoke softly as he moved closer to her, careful not to wake her all to suddenly, he knew from experience when waking up from a nightmare, it was crucial not to startle the person, "You're just dreaming, it's okay." He continued in his soothing tone.

"…Don't…hurt…" Annie breathed out, flinching again when Eren's leg accidentally brushed against hers, "Don't hurt me…"

The pure fear expressed in her quivering voice made him recoil. Eren was taken back by her words. It sounded so unusual for the almost unbreakable girl. He blinked, glancing down worriedly at her, then reached over once more to gently nudge her awake, when suddenly Annie's hand shot out catching him by surprise; she grasped at his wrist tightly in her sleep.

"No…more…" She mumbled, eyes screwing further shut, mouth drawn into that signature frown of hers. Then pink lips curled into a half snarl, "No more…" Annie spoke again, this time sounding a lot like her cold self. She squeezed Eren's wrist like it was a twig she was desperate to snap in half.

Eren winced, "Ow! Ow, Annie, stop!" To hell with not agitating her; he grabbed her by the shoulder, shaking her awake until her eyes fluttered open, revealing crystalline blue; and the hand that clutched at his wrist loosened its hold.

"Hmrph," Annie grumbled, groggily sitting up, not exactly paying much attention to the startled shirtless Jaeger at her side.

"What the hell was that all about?!" Eren protested, rubbing at his now sore wrist, Annie merely glanced at him, looking dazed and just a bit lost. He noticed the goosebumps present on her arms, and the slow but erratic intake of breaths from her. Her platinum hair was a complete mess of tangles, spilling all over her face, but she didn't seem to care. Or notice for that matter. Annie's chest arose and fell with each breath as she eventually calmed, and became more lucid.

Eren sighed, bringing the hand that she had nearly snapped to rest on her covered knee, "Hey, are you alright?"

Annie focused her attention to his wrist and the mark she left on him that was disappearing rather quickly; then gradually lifted her head to meet his brightened eyes, that were lit in concern for her.

"I..." She trailed off, looking away momentarily, "Where…Where are they?"

Eren stared at her, clearly confused, "Where are who?"

Annie scrunched her brows together, appearing more puzzled than him, "There were kids…they're bullies…they wanted to hurt me…?" Annie finished the sentence as a question rather than an answer, becoming more aware of what she was actually saying, and who exactly she was talking too. She immediately backtracked, "I just had a pretty bad dream, is all."

Eren huffed a chuckle, "Yeah, I can see that." He observed her for few more seconds before flopping back down onto his own dusty cot, bringing his arms around to rest at the back of his head. "If you want," He yawned, "I can't really seem to sleep well either, so maybe we could just watch the stars together?"

Annie said nothing in response; Eren didn't bother to turn her way or persuade her. But, eventually she did huddle closer to his side, bringing along that scratchy uncomfortable blanket. Insects buzzed about as the two trainees lay together in silence, watching as a weak breeze made the leaves of the trees above quiver.

"Bullies, huh?" Eren spoke after a few minutes had passed, though Annie was near half asleep. "You know...I used to be bullied too, always tried too fight them back but," He scowled as he recalled the awful beatings he took, "I was too weak."

Annie remained silent, Eren peeked at her from his side, thinking she had fallen asleep. Until he heard her quietly mutter, "So was I."

She let out a tired sigh, repeating, "So was I."

Eren felt her lean closer to him till their warm bodies touched; and then she did the most unexpected act that was so utterly bizarre for Annie Leonhardt. She lifted her head, and laid upon his wrapped chest, bringing a hand up from under the cover to rest on his abdomen. And though the heat was unbearable, and the gauze was itching like all hell; Eren stayed rooted in his spot.

Annie slept more peacefully that night. He, however, didn't get a wink of shut eye, but Eren didn't mind one bit, especially when he got to wake up a grumpy bedhead Annie in the crack of dawn.