-Chapter 3-

Things for Mikasa Ackerman had been doing well. After Armin explained to Eren what Mikasa was going through, she felt much better and he was kinder. Eren always cared about her and even though she wasn't that strong at the moment, he made her feel stronger. Just seeing him by her side made her feel much more reassured and safer. For the first time in about two months, Mikasa did not have any more flashbacks of the incident. It almost seemed that for the rest of the day, she was in a dream, a very peaceful dream. When nightfall came, she hesitantly said goodbye to Eren and Armin. She did not want to go to sleep…she knew what was waiting for her.

"Mikasa…want me to keep you company tonight? I understand now that Armin's explained it to me and I don't want you to experience what happened this morning again. You need rest." Mikasa's eyes widened as she nodded gently.

Mikasa lay on her back as she heard Eren's soft breath; it calmed her immensely and she absolutely loved it. Slowly she began to drift off to sleep…

"Mikasa?"

Mikasa opened her eyes as the sunlight completely filled her vision.

"You look a lot better, Mikasa. I'm glad Eren stayed with you."

After blinking a couple of more times, she realized it was Armin who was speaking.
"Where's Eren?"

"I'm not sure to be honest. I came to check up on you today but I didn't find him. Maybe he's already eating breakfast?" He sounded a bit unsure. The thought of Eren going on without them was a bit weird.

"Either way, we have a meeting with Erwin. I think he's going to talk about a new plan for the Expedition that's coming soon."

Mikasa nodded as she went to her bathroom to get changed.

She and Armin walked towards the dining hall quietly. He suddenly broke the silence,

"Mikasa, do you think you're going to be well enough to-"

"Yes. I must. It's to protect you and Eren." Mikasa's voice came off sounding strong and confident.

"But what if you get one of your flashbacks?"
"…I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out."

Armin looked at her giving her a worried look. She knew she was testing her chances with this but there was no way that she would let Armin and Eren face titans without her. As they both entered, they were surprised to see Eren sitting down having his meal. Mikasa wondered if anything was wrong but decided not to say anything for the moment. After eating and putting their plates away, Mikasa clearly noticed that Eren had not spoken a single thing to her and Armin. Even when they said good morning or if he slept well he simply nodded. There was something off about him and Mikasa began to worry.

"Eren…are you okay?" Mikasa whispered lightly as they walked towards their meeting with Erwin and the others.

He simply stared ahead, not acknowledging her.

"Eren." Mikasa put her hand on his shoulder lightly,

"Yes! Stop asking and being so nosy, Mikasa." He suddenly yelled at her as he shook her off and walked away quickly. Mikasa and Armin stared at him, Armin with a surprised expression and Mikasa with a quiet one.

"Don't worry Mikasa. He's probably stressed out because of his lack of control in titan form."

Mikasa looked at Armin with a soft expression, he was probably right.

The meeting seemed to go on for a very long time but at the same time it went by quickly.

Mikasa understood the small changes that were going on. They were to leave early in the morning in two days. Orders to train in the early afternoon and rest the day before the expedition were given to them all. As they were dismissed, Erwin called Eren to stay for a bit. She looked back as Levi stood next to Erwin, his face expressionless. Mikasa shifted uncomfortably outside of the meeting room as she waited for Eren.

"My, my~ Waiting for Eren huh? You are quite the protector, Mikasa-chan!" Hanji's voice boomed over, filling the hallway. Mikasa nodded lightly,

"We're going to need Eren for the rest of today and tomorrow. It would be best if you followed the orders that were given to you, Ackerman." Levi's cold voice stood out from Hanji's boisterous tone.

"Why?" Mikasa stared at Levi, demanding an answer.

"Well, I'm going to have to see how he's doing in his titan form! Before the expedition, you know~?" Hanji admitted.
"Are you serious? Do you know how exhausting that is for Eren? I won't allow it-"

"No one asked you, Mikasa. It's fine by me. If I don't push myself, then how am I going to be able to save all of humanity?" Eren spoke up, he was being irrational again.
"Listen Eren, I know you want to do your best but you have to rest in order to accomplish it. If you push yourself, you'll lose control! Please just think about it."

"Ackerman, are you going against our orders?" Levi's voice sounded challenging.

"Yes, I am. For Eren-"

"Are you sure it's for him? Or are you too selfish to let him make his own decisions? Better be careful, Ackerman. A loyalty like yours will become a blade piercing those you hold dear."

Mikasa's eyes widened as his colds words made their way to her heart.

No, that's not true. That wasn't true. She was sure that she was doing this for Eren, it was his mother's dying wish…No! I-I…No! You're wrong!

"…Mikasa?"

Mikasa blinked, Armin called out and a worried Jean stood next to him.

"Mikasa, where's Eren? What happened?"

Mikasa looked around, she was alone. Had she been spacing out all this time?

"Oy, are you okay?" Jean called out to her,

"I'm fine…Eren. Eren is with Hanji trying to work on controlling his titan powers."

Armin sighed, knowing that Mikasa had just spaced out a bit.

"Armin…do you think that I hold on to Eren too tight?" Mikasa blurted out, she couldn't get Levi's words out of her mind. Mikasa was greeted with silence and she instantly knew that she was. But…she didn't mean it. She just wanted to be safe. She wanted to live in a quiet, peaceful town and instead Eren chose this! She only followed him to make sure that he would survive…

"Hey now, it's okay. I understand that you worry for Eren and I. I know it must be hard for you…" Armin reassured her and it made her smile a small bit. He was always there to comfort her wasn't he?

"Listen, it doesn't seem like Levi and the others will listen to you so how about we train instead? If we work hard together at training, we can try and protect Eren while we're out in the battle field!"

"Really, Armin?" Mikasa smiled lightly. That meant the world to her because Armin wasn't really too keen when it came to working out.

Mikasa and Armin spent the rest of the day training. She helped him with his form and trained him while giving him tips to make things easier for him. The next day went by quickly, thank goodness. She hung out with Eren and Armin the night before the expedition and tried to not ask him about his titan form training, she didn't want to stress him out. The three of them sat on the grass as they looked at the stars above them. Mikasa sighed with worry as she tried to enjoy the seconds of peace before the storm that was coming the next day.