You blinked. And blinked again.

What?

Your first thought was how close he was. You had been close to him before, sure, but never this close. His nose was pressed to your cheek right below your right eye, and you could make out each individual eyelash, even in the dull lighting of the early morning. His eyes were closed, shut tight. You noticed a rain drop fall from one of his eyelashes and then felt it slide down your cheek.

Huh. Strange.

One of his hands still cupped the back of your head, but one had dropped to your waist. You felt him tighten his hold there, and pull you closer, off the wall.

You felt a strange pressure on your lips, but couldn't identify it.

Then, all the pieces fell together in your head all at once.

Oh.

Without thinking, your eyes fell shut and you automatically pressed back against him.

You still weren't quite sure what was happening but... you didn't dislike it.

Your arms slid up his torso and wrapped around his neck. Seeing your responsiveness, he backed you up against the wall once more, hand now threading in your hair. He bit your lower lip gently, and somehow, you knew what he wanted, and you let him explore your mouth. Your hand fisted in his hair, and turned your head a bit more to allow him more access.

He growled lowly into your mouth, kissing you harder. You let three years of unknowingly wanting this rule your actions, and you matched his every move. Everything was Eren. His hands, his chest, his mouth. He pervaded all of your senses, your every thought. And suddenly, you were disappointed that this didn't happen sooner. You weren't sure it could ever happen again.

Eventually, after you both had long since run out of breath, he pulled back, kissing your forehead and resting his chin there.

You both stood for a moment in silence, arms around one another, his head resting on yours.

You were afraid of what might run through your mind if you allowed your thoughts to catch up with your body. You knew you should try to explain yourself, or feel guilty, or sad, or angry. Instead, you just felt anxious. Not for the fact that, dear lord, Eren had just kissed you. Or for the fact that it was the first time anyone had kissed you, ever. No, nothing like that. You were anxious because of his utter silence.

After everything that had happened, you'd expected he'd have something to say. Anything, really. Eren had never been the silent type, and this was... a big deal. You'd hidden your past from him for years and it suddenly all comes pouring out of the seams all at once and hits him in the face like a tidal wave, and Eren is silent.

It wasn't like him.

"Say something," you whispered against his neck, pleadingly.

He was silent for a few more seconds, and the air around the two of you was very still. You could feel his muscles freeze against your skin.

Half a minute passed in tension.

Finally, his exhale ruffled your hair slightly. "Don't ever do that to me again," he breathed, pulling you tighter.

You hugged him tighter. "You don't hate me?"

"I could never hate you."

You couldn't believe what you were hearing. If he was going to accept you, you needed him to understand. "I'm a killer, Eren."

He was quiet again for a few seconds.

"Mikasa's parents were murdered by human traffickers when we were small. They took her. I... went after them. I killed two. She killed the third. I was nine."

You almost couldn't believe what he was telling you, but by the tone of his voice, you knew he was telling the truth.

"We do crazy things when people, even someone we've never met, are in danger. We act immediately and we act extremely. Sometimes, an immediate and extreme response is necessary. All we can do is accept what happened and use it to make us stronger."

You were stunned into total silence by how... mature he sounded. In all three years you'd known him, you weren't sure 'mature' could have described him. But he had seen a lot of the world, too. For the first time, you thought you might have found someone who understood the condition of the world as well as you did.

But he was wrong about this.

"We're not the same, Eren. My sister was already dead. I wasn't saving anyone."

Eren nodded. "But you removed his threat. He won't kill a child ever again."

You weren't completely sure about his words, but they comforted you in a small way. You nuzzled into his shirt affectionately. "Thank you, Eren."

"I haven't done anything," he replied.

You leaned back and kissed his chin lightly. "You're here. That's enough."

You stood for another minute, just wishing you could ignore the rest of the day and stay there with him. Unfortunately, you couldn't. Today was your last day.

Eren pulled back, arms falling to his side as he yawned. "We should... probably get going. We have to choose our faction in an hour or two. It's already morning," he pointed out.

You nodded, observing the sky. "I'm sorry," you said. "You didn't get any sleep."

"Are you serious?" Eren said. "I wasn't going to get any sleep anyway. Too much to think about."

"No kidding," you agreed.

Eren nodded. "I've already spoken with the others. They'll vouch that the officer was... assaulting that girl and harassing us. You have nothing to worry about. He'll lose his job and be arrested, and you'll be heading off to the Interior before nightfall," he said, with a forced smile.

Your gaze fell to the ground. "Yeah. The Military Police."

He fell awkwardly silent before gently grabbing your forearm. "Come on. We should go get fresh uniforms. We're covered in dirt and blood."

"Yeah," you agreed. "Let's go."

You made your way through the backstreets of Trost District back towards the Cadet Corps headquarters. The silence was deafening. Then you remembered something.

"I'm sorry about your face," you said sheepishly as you walked.

He laughed. "I never thought my face was that bad..."

You snorted, and elbowed him lightly. "You know what I mean, idiot."

He smiled at you gently. "Don't worry about it, really. I've had worse. You throw one hell of a punch, though." He thought a moment. "[Name], let me see your hands."

"No, it's fine, really -" you started before he let the thought get any further.

"[Name]," Eren repeated lowly.

You sighed and offered him one of your hands. He sucked in a breath at the sight of your knuckles, raw and bloody from the repeated impact of the soldier's face from just a few hours earlier. "We need to clean this immediately."

"Eren, please -"

He pulled your hand to his face, turning it out and kissing your palm. "Let me take care of you, [Name]. Please."

Your face flushed a furious red, and you looked down. "Fine," you said reluctantly. "If it will make you feel better."

"Yeah, you were really hard to convince," he said cockily. "Eren one, [Name] zero," he said, lacing his fingers with your sore ones.

You laughed, and the two of you made the rest of the way to HQ without saying much of anything important.

He doesn't care about my past.

You absentmindedly laughed at some stupid comment Eren made about Shadis almost expressing actual affection for the cadets at the graduation ceremony.

He still cares about me.

You greeted Jean and Marco as you entered the compound. You thanked them for their concern and their help with the situation from the night before.

I think I love him.

At the doorway to the headquarters, Mikasa and Armin came over to check on you. Eren asked if he could fill them in. You nodded, not seeing any reason why you shouldn't trust them. Instead, you just felt guilty that you didn't trust them sooner. He squeezed your hand before you entered the building with him to clean up your injured knuckles.

Somehow, unbelievable, you smiled. Really smiled.

You'd been broken for so long, you'd forgotten what it felt like to be whole.

Eren had gone off to greet the arriving Scouting Legion with Mikasa and Armin, so you and Mina made your way up to the top of the gate to perform routine inspection on the cannons. The inspection was more for Mina and the others' benefit, as they would be joining the Garrison Regiment and it would become part of their daily routine. You and Connie tagged along, all the same.

Mina was awfully quiet most of the way there. Normally, you wouldn't mind the quiet. But, since it was Mina, you felt as though something was off.

"Is there something on your mind?" you asked gently.

She was quiet for another moment. "You know, when I met you, I was pretty scared of you. But I thought that, deep down, you were a really kind person, and I was right."

You raised an eyebrow. "Thanks? I think."

She nodded her head vigorously. "It's a good thing, I swear!"

You chuckled at her and turned your face forward. "So what's the matter then?"

Mina fell silent once more. "Well... you're leaving tonight. It will probably be last time I see you in a long, long time, if not ever."

You were stunned. "Mina, of course we'll still be able to see each other. We'll both be working inside the walls. We can see each other on days off."

"Actually..." Mina said, shyly. "I'm going to join the Scouts."

If you thought you were surprised before, it was nothing compared to how you felt now. "What?"

"I guess all of Eren's angry speeches finally got to me," she said sheepishly. "It was like he said when he and Jean fought the other night. As long as one person is still willing to fight, there is hope that we can win. And I want to win," she stated with more conviction than you'd ever heard in her voice.

"How long have you been thinking about this?" you asked.

"A while. But I just made the decision last night. I had to, I mean, we're choosing factions in an hour."

"Mina... it's so dangerous -" you began.

"I know," she interrupted. "That's why I want to say this now."

You watched her as you walked. "Okay."

"You might hide it really well, but I've been sleeping in the bed beneath yours for three years," she said. "And I know you're really a good person with a good heart. The Military Police has its faults, and I think that you're exactly the kind of person they need to set it right. In case I never see you again -"

"We will see each other again," you said abruptly.

"I could die at any given moment, [Name]," Mina said solemnly. "Please, listen. In case I never see you again, I just want you to know that you're like a sister to me and I've always looked up to you. I wish you the best of luck, and I know you'll be amazing."

Your heart stung at her words, and for the first time you realized how much you really would miss her. "You, too, Mina. The Scouting Legion will be lucky to have someone like you."

Her face brightened. "Thank you, [Name]."

She stared at you for a few seconds with a mischievous look on her face. You began to feel uncomfortable.

"Mina, wha - oof!"

Your words were cut off when she threw herself at you and wrapped you in a hug so tight you were shocked that someone of Mina's size could manage it.

"I'm going to miss you!" she yelled in your ear.

"Mina - ow! I'm gonna - ouch - miss you, too," you said, laughing, trying to pry her off of you.

Finally, your small group made their way to the cannons and began maintenance. Eren came up a bit later, looking to help with the cleaning. You two looked at each other and awkwardly smiled for a moment before getting back to work.

"So, Connie, excited about leaving tonight for the interior?" Eren asked from his cannon.

Connie's expression was blank, but he didn't turn away from his task. "Actually, no. I'm not joining the Military Police."

Eren's eyes widened and he halted his actions. "Huh? Why the hell not?"

"I decided to join the Scouting Legion instead," Connie said gruffly.

"Connie! But you were so set on the Military Police..." you said.

"Yeah, I was... but... I changed my mind," he said defensively.

Mina laughed. "Sounds like your speeches won him over, too!"

Connie turned around with an indignant look on his face. "That's not it! I just... I... mind your business!" he yelled finally, turning back to his cannon.

"Don't worry, Connie. You're not the only one," came another voice.

You all turned to see Thomas and Samuel approaching the canons as well. Thomas smiled shyly.

"Thomas! You too?" Eren asked, surprised.

"Hey, guys," came another new voice, almost raspy, from the other side. You all turned to see Sasha standing there, looking very flushed. "Look what I managed to find in the officer's pantry!" she said excitedly, pulling a large slab of beef from within her jacket.

Your jaw dropped. She didn't...

"Oh, she did," Connie said tiredly, turning back to clean his cannon. You hadn't realized you'd spoken out loud.

"Are you looking to get arrested?" Eren asked aghast.

"Sasha, what is wrong with you!?" Samuel yelled in a hush.

"What isn't?" said Connie in a tired voice.

"Just think of the sandwiches!" Sasha said, ignorant of everyone's shock, openly salivating.

"Go put it back!" Thomas said.

"Yeah, meat's gotten really valuable after we lost all that land," Mina pointed out.

"Don't worry about," Sasha dismissed, bringing the meat over. "After we retake what's ours, we'll have tons of land to raise cattle on. There will be plenty of meat for everyone."

The group fell silent, and the air was tense.

Samuel looked like he was going to blow up. His cheeks were red and puffy, like he was holding something (you were afraid it was vomit) back. Then, it happened: "Then I will have some of the meat, too, please!"

Connie looked over at Samuel in alarm. "Hey! If he's having some, then so am I!"

Mina grinned. "I'll have some as well!"

Eren looked around and smiled. You couldn't help but grin, too.

"Come on, guys, we're not done yet. Let's get back to work," Samuel reminded as he returned to his cannon with a grin.

Eren looked out over Trost with a smile and closed his eyes. "Eight years have passed since the wall was broken. Humanity is finally regaining its dignity. We can win," he said with conviction, opening his eyes again with a fierce smile. "It's just beginning. Humanity didn't start this fight, but we're gonna finish it."

You were about to respond, but were halted. You weren't sure when you first felt that strange something stir in the wind. It just suddenly felt like the air just before a storm, or that stillness just before you let out a huge breath. It made your skin crawl, and your hair stand up on end. Whether from your nerves or static electricity, it didn't matter.

BANG!

An eruption nearly blew you off your feet.

A crack of thunder and a flash of lightning.

You looked up from your position of bracing yourself on your knees and felt all the life drain from your body.

You'd never seen one before. You only knew what they looked like through descriptions from people who had seen one and the illustrations of your instructor in the Cadet Corps. You weren't positive on what 15 meters tall looked like, or ten meters, or five. You were certain, however, that this was much, much more than that. You had never seen their smiling faces in your dreams as Eren had, because you had never had it burned into your consciousness.

You were sure now that you'd never dream of anything else.

The Colossal Titan's skinless face loomed over the wall not ten feet from where you stood. He was all ligament and muscle, and his massive, lipless teeth were bared in an eternal grimace. He was everything you had heard about but never imagined.

But the worst part was his eyes.

They were huge, at least as big as your whole body. They appeared almost... intelligent. Hints of something you couldn't identify flashed inside them. Something almost familiar. Then they swiveled toward you.

Three years of training didn't kick in.

You froze.