Mikasa woke the next morning, reaching out with her hand towards the ceiling from in her sleep, she felt silent tears roll down her face.

"Ms. Ackerman?"

"Yes Annie?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I am."

Annie rolled onto her back and sat up.

"I keep having you in my dreams Annie."

"You're in mine."

"But Annie,"

Annie looked at Mikasa.

"in mine you died."

Annie stared in horror at the taller girl.

"You were laying, on the ground, your face, it was covered in blood, your hands, your legs, your chest, everything of yours, was spattered with blood. You reached upwards to touch my face, you had a faint, soft, smile and warm eyes that stared into mine. I reached up in my sleep and that's how I woke."

Annie leaned onto Mikasa's frame of a body.

"I love you Annie." Mikasa murmured, hugging her tight.

"I love you too Ms. Ackerman." Annie hugged back and sat there in a long silence.

"Annie,"

They let go of each other.

"the world doesn't have to be your enemy."

Mikasa kissed her gently, holding her small hands.

Annie looked away.

"Ms. Ackerman?"

"Yes Annie?"

"I love you."

"I you too."

It was a month later and Annie was filing papers and cleaning up the room Mikasa worked in.

"Here." Mikasa slid two hundered dollar bills into Annie's back pocket of her shorts she was wearing.

"No Ms. Ackerman, you don't need to give me anything." Annie turned around to face her.

"But Annie, I've seen your apartment, you need to fix it up and buy yourself groceries, you don't have much."

"Ms. Ackerman I'm fine."

"Then at least live with me."

Mikasa slid her hands into Annie's back pockets, pulling her close.

"M-Ms. Ackerman!" Annie sounded a little surprised, her eyes were wide and cheeks bright red after all.

"Come on Annie, it'll be fun,"

Mikasa whispered the last part into Annie's ear:

"just you and me, alone."

'Alone' was the part that made Annie stiffen up, was it the good, sexy type of alone, or the type of alone from a horror movie?

"W-What kind of alone?"

"This." Mikasa answered, pulling Annie tighter until their bodies pressed together, kissing her with all of the emotion she could find inside herself for the small blond. Annie tried to pull away but Mikasa wouldn't let it happen. She moved her hands from Annie's back pockets to under her shirt and onto her back. She finally pulled away and Annie looked down at the ground, she didn't know how to respond.

"I-I," was all she could say.

"Come on, don't back out."

"Fine, fine I'll stay with you."

Annie looked at Mikasa's arms which were now wrapped tightly around her waist in a hug.

"Ms. Ackerman?"

"Yes Annie?"

"Have your hands always been hat cold?"

Annie sat next to Mikasa at the table a week later. Annie took a little sip of her wine and set the glass back on the table. Annie rested the side of her head on Mikasa's shoulder and sighed contently.

"You're adorable, you know that?" Mikasa murmured, kissing her gently.

The small blond sat back up and shook her head.

"I don't do romance." Annie murmured.

"I could do you." Mikasa answered, slowly moving Annie's dress up her leg, exposing her thigh. Annie inched over the other side, falling off of the chair and onto the floor.

Mikasa bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh at her small lover.

Watch out for Chapter Four to find out who's key it was and where it leads from the beginning of the story...

~HippieChickEmma