She was cold.

That was all she felt. Cold. The bitter, chilly air was relentless and assaulted her frail body. Every part of her was numb. Aside from the cold, she felt nothing. Not relief, not sadness, not anger. Just empty. And cold.

She could feel the tears threatening to burst forth. She desperately wanted to be held. She wanted to be comforted. But instead, she was standing alone. There was no one to comfort her, or dry her wet cheeks and tell her everything would be alright.

Her mother and father were dead. Both had been killed before her eyes, and she had been helpless. Never again would she hear her father's voice, feel her mother's embrace. Father would never laugh, her mother would never smile. Mikasa's last memories of her parents was the image of their dead bodies, blood pooling out of their wounds.

Blood. Such a deep, red color. It had been so dark, so red. She clenched her small hand, trembling. Her own hand was cut, bleeding from where she had injured herself. Even now, trickles of blood continued to drip onto the ground.

She shivered once more, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm cold," she whimpered.

She was cold, she was alone, she was scared, and she wanted to go home.

She wanted her parents.

She heard footsteps, and she looked up to see Eren walking towards her. Her eyes widened slightly. She noticed how he seemed unfazed by what had happened. He had jumped in to save her, to protect her. He had told her to fight, to kill. But she didn't even have the strength left to feel satisfied with avenging her parents death. Avenging them did not bring her mother and father back. She was still alone.

"Here," Eren said, removing his scarf from his neck. He reached over and wrapped it around her instead. Her mouth and parts of her face were covered, and the scarf carried a small hint of warmth from Eren's body heat. Instantly, she felt warm as well. The chilly air still lingered, but she felt warm inside.

Yes. It was because of Eren that she was still alive, still free. He had rescued her and had managed to keep her warm as well.

She did not break her wide eyed gaze from him. Instead, she continued to stare. The scarf was red, much like the blood that she suddenly feared. But this red was not menacing, or evil. Instead, it was warm and inviting. If it was from Eren, her rescuer, than how dangerous could it be?

As he wrapped the scarf around her, Mikasa noticed how his hand was also bleeding. He did not seem to notice, even as the blood trailed down his palm. It was like he was oblivious and only focused on tending to her needs.

Suddenly, the fear came back in full force for her. Blood. Red. Bad color. Bad sign.

Her parents.

Dead.

"You're hurt," she blurted out suddenly. Her voice was slightly muffled from the scarf covering her mouth, and her words came out as more of a mumble.

Eren stopped his movements, staring at her with bright, green eyes. Mikasa found that she liked that color much better than red. Green ment life. It meant something was living. Unlike red, which was such a violent color, green was calming.

Eren blinked. "What?" he asked.

Mikasa tugged at the scarf, pulling it slightly below her chin. "You're hurt," she repeated.

"Where?" he demandeed, patting himself down in confusion. He did not seem at all worried with the fact that he was hurt. In fact, he seemed mildly annoyed that he had not escaped the tragic event without a scratch.

She pointed. "Your hand," she said softly. "It's...it's bleeding."

Like how her parents bled.

Eren glanced at his hand, brow knit in confusion. He shrugged. "Oh well. It's just a cut."

But his hand was bleeding. It wasn't just a cut. It was red, it was dripping, and it was…her thoughts trailed off suddenly as the fear gripped her heart.

She shook her head, closing her eyes. It was just a cut. Like Eren had said, it was just a cut.

"Don't worry about it so much," she heard Eren say, his voice pulling her from her thoughts.

She looked at him quickly. Had she made him worry? She didn't want to. He had already done so much for her, and she didn't want to burden him. The very thought of burdening him made her stomach clench.

"I'm sorry," she said. Her voice nearly choked up, and she looked down. She squeezed her eyes shut, but a few stray tears leaked through.

"Eh, don't worry about it," he said. "And don't cry now! Here, we'll take you home."

Suddenly, his hand was closing around hers. His hand was warm, but slightly wet from where he was bleeding. In that moment, as their bleeding hands touched, she felt alive and vibrant.

Red flooded her vision for one moment. All she was aware of was her surroundings. And Eren.

She let out a gasp, instinctively pulling back. But her hand remained clenched with Eren's. She was aware of everything, alerted to what was going on, but in the center of it all was Eren.

Suddenly, red was not such a violent color to her. It was warm, protective, comforting, and inviting. It was violent, like the raging storm that seemed to stew within Eren. It was alive, like he was. And it was soft, like the scarf he had wrapped around her neck.

Suddenly ashamed of the fact that she had tried to pull away from him, she gripped his hand tighter and allowed him to lead her towards his father. She followed him, content with being by his side. He had done nothing but help her, and she would do anything she could to return the favor.

"Let's go home," he said.

Mikasa continued to look at him. "Home," she whispered. "Home where?"

"In a house, silly," he said. "It'll be much better than sleeping outside, don't you think?"

It didn't matter where they were. At this point, Mikasa's home was wherever Eren was, and she was fine with that.


She lied there, awake. Sleep eluded her, driven away by the shadows that threatened to form themselves into monsters.

But she wasn't afraid of monsters. At least, not of the physical kind. She was worried about the monsters that lurked in her mind.

Mikasa turned in her bed; her new bed. The sheets were cold, but her scarf was still warm.

To think she was in a new home, even after what had happened to her parents. She had felt so helpless. Sometimes she still felt helpless. But she had to work past that. Eren seemed so strong, and she would be like that too.

Red. She was still seeing red. Without even seeing him, Mikasa knew Eren was asleep. Nothing, except for his own snoring, could disturb him.

She didn't know how she knew it, but she knew what Eren was doing and where he was. She knew if he was upset and angry, and she knew what made him happy and sad.

Like right now, she could tell that he was sleeping blissfully.

With a tired sigh, Mikasa got up, the blankets falling back. She breathed in deeply, her hands lying on her lap. The curtains that hung from her bedroom window were pushed back, allowing the light of the moon to come through.

She stared at her pale hands, specifically her right hand. It was still injured, the red gash stretching across her palm. She had shown Dr. Grisha her hand, and he had wrapped it in a bandage. For three weeks, she had worn the bandage, applying the ointment that Grisha had given her.

And still, her hand had not healed.

She had removed the bandage three days ago, hoping to air it out. But the wound did not hurt, it just hadn't healed over at all. Sometimes, her hand would tingle and throb, but she couldn't identify why. She hadn't told Grisha, or anyone else about it. Her hand wasn't infected, so she saw no reason to worry. Besides, she didn't want to worry anyone needlessly.

She slipped out of bed and approached the window. Resting her head against the cold glass, she closed her eyes.

Eren had something to do with it. She didn't know how or why, but Eren was connected to it: to it all.

Why was it that she felt this connection, this tie to him? What had her so attached all of the sudden?

She clenched and unclenched her hand, feeling the wound stretch. She swallowed, taking in a deep breath. She wanted to figure this out, she wanted answers as to why she felt like this, but at the moment, it could wait.

Her feelings and sudden emotions weren't an issue, and she could live with it for a while.


She didn't know why she acted the way she did. But then again, she never gave it much thought. Where Eren went, she went. It was to be expected. Whenever someone would ask "Where's Eren?" It was always understood that Mikasa was with him. The two of them were never apart for long.

Something inside of her wanted to be near him. She wanted to be close and protect him. She couldn't put her feelings to words. It wasn't love. It was stronger and different than love. It was a deep yearning to protect him. Just the thought of seeing him hurt made her cringe inside. She would feel hot with panic and do anything she could to ward off any dangers.

It had only been three weeks since she had moved in with the Yeagers, and she was trying to make adjustments to her new life. She found comfort in Eren's presence, and that helped her to feel at home with her new life...her new family.

Mikasa smiled softly at the thought of being safe once again, even as she walked out on the streets with Eren. She tugged at her worn scarf. She had never taken it off. It had been a gift from Eren, and even if she couldn't be with him at all times, at least she had her scarf.

But here, walking in the streets with Eren, she couldn't be happier.

Eren didn't feel the same.

He cast a frustrated look over his shoulder as Mikasa stood dutifully beside him. "Would you quit following me?" Eren demanded. "It's so annoying!"

Mikasa blinked, stepping back. She could feel his annoyance, but she didn't know how to address it. "I'm sorry," she said. Her eyes lowered and she scuffed her foot.

Eren just huffed and turned around, intending on leaving. Like a breeze, she felt his annoyance blow over.

After a moment, she followed after him silently. Eren cast a look over his shoulder, but he didn't say anything. Mikasa beamed as she joined him at his side once more.

She didn't know why she acted this way, but she just wanted to be by his side. She wanted to be near him. For her, that was enough.

"Look," Eren said suddenly, stopping. "I don't need your protection! I'm perfectly fine on my own."

Mikasa nodded. "I know."

"So quit acting like you've gotta protect me!" he exclaimed.

Mikasa tugged on her scarf again. "I just...I just want to stay with you."

Eren blinked before looking upwards with an exasperated sigh. "Alright," he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her forward. "If you're going to stick with me, than you should it least meet my friend."

Mikasa followed after him, allowing him to hold her hand and lead her through the crowd. Even as the crowds of people grew, she was only aware of Eren's presence. She could spot him in the crowd with ease, and identify his voice. His energy, his essence, it all belonged to him and him alone.

Mikasa watched curiously as they approached a young boy sitting up against a tree. The messy, blonde hair was thick and wavy. He was reading a book, ignorant of his surroundings. At that moment, Eren let go of her hand and raced towards the boy. "Hey Armin!" Eren shouted. Now, Mikasa could feel his eagerness.

The blonde boy looked up, his blue eyes wide. "Eren!" he exclaimed, leaping up and waving enthusiastically. He regarded Mikasa with open curiosity. "Who's this?"

Eren nodded in Mikasa's direction. "She's Mikasa. I saved her, and now she's living with us."

Armin frowned in confusion. He tilted his head, blinking. "You...saved her?" He glanced at Mikasa with a smile. Sticking his hand out, he beamed. "Hi! I'm Armin!"

Mikasa stared at his hand before reaching out and shaking it. "Mikasa," she said. Even though Eren had introduced her to Armin, she still felt like she needed to proclaim her name to him.

"She likes to follow me around," Eren huffed, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Armin rolled his eyes. "I can see why. You need someone to follow you around to keep you out of trouble." He sat back down in the grass, leaning up against the tree once more. Eren sat down right next to Armin.

Mikasa stood there, uncertain what to do. Fingering her scarf, she sat down right next to Eren in the soft grass. In that moment, she felt content. She was by Eren's side and in his life: she was where she belonged.


A/N: Yeesh...I haven't updated this thing in a long time! Sorry about the wait. Hopefully things will pick up from here.