Disclaimer:I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.

After shaking their hands in agreement, Armin told Eren to meet him at the same place as where they were now tomorrow so as to go and wonder about this place outside the walls, where the grass was greener and a variety of newfound flowers grew in a meadow nearby that he had read about in his books.

Before they went their separate ways, Armin had informed the two that now that everyone was free from the walls, they were constructing more houses outside, and apparently they were constructing one for the whole of Levi's squad, considering they did had a big part in achieving this freedom and also it was instructed by Queen Historia.

Additionally, Armin added that Eren and Mikasa would be living in the same house seeing as to Mikasa needed a guide and Armin had suggested it to be Eren since he knew he would volunteer to be her guide either ways, trusting no one but himself to protect her. On the other hand, the blonde said that he would be living with someone else— who he had refused to name and also not too far away from where the raven and the brunette were going to live soon, once the new houses were done being built. As for now, they'll be living in their usual dorms at the survey corp's headquarters. But Mikasa and Eren had a separate room in the dorms, considering Mikasa needed a guide now, who was Eren.

With that, the three went their separate ways, Armin promising to meet up with Jean for a drink, while Mikasa and Eren made their way back to their private room, feeling too tired to do anything.

Once the two had reached their private room, Eren found it to be more spacious than the one he had previously, and apparently someone had moved all their clothes and such in, and had assumed that it was Armin since he was the one who had blabbered a whole chunk of information that the two didn't seem to know. Eren sighed at that thought, though he did hold a small grudge with the blonde, it seemed that he still cared for the both of them, and he did too, even if he had mixed feelings about the blonde, ever since then.

"Hey Eren." Mikasa called noticing the silence that lingered in the air ever since they stepped into the room.

"Huh? Oh yes, Mikasa?" Eren asked as he slowly sat her down on the bed, which they both were going to share—not that he had a problem with it.

"It's very hot today... and I feel sweaty...so I want to shower and…"Mikasa said nervously which Eren didn't understand why she was so nervous about it, assuming she was embarrassed about touching her clothes and undergarments he responded with, "Hm? I don't mind getting your clothes and undergarments... There's nothing to be embarrassed about? "He shrugged as he made his way towards the closet which was already open— the blonde probably had forgotten to close it when he was packing, it was a trivial matter which didn't seem to have bothered him anyway as he searched for Mikasa's clothes, though he had to admit he was slightly flustered when he had to get her undergarments.

"No it's not that..." Mikasa said shyly, which caused the brunette to stop mid-way when he was grabbing her clothes, when he realized what she meant.

She's blind.

She can't possibly bathe by herself now, can she?

"O-Oh, I um….." The brunette mumbled nervously as he quickly got her clothes and sat them down next to her before scratching the back of his head nervously. "I-um. I'll go ask a nurse or something, they're probably still around somewhere here... or I can get—"

"I'm okay if it's you." Mikasa said, almost too firmly.

A moment of silence, as the brunette's cheeks burned red.

"Eren..? Hello..?"

"..Mikasa—wait. No, think about this way, Armin will kill me and—"

"I trust you."

If only she could see his burning red cheeks, she probably would've asked someone else.

It was odd though, she was nervous about it but not as flustered as he was. He couldn't believe she trusted him that much. Not wanting to argue any further as the raven was probably uncomfortable in the clothes she wore now since it was drenched in sweat— he was too but it didn't bother him as much.

Sighing, he finally gave in. "Okay…" Eren gulped as he grabbed her clothes and brought them and helped her make her way into the bathroom, which even shockingly had a tub that was connected to the usual shower handheld head that they normally used, along with a note stuck onto the tub's side

"Hold on." Eren told the raven as he sat her down on the stool before taking a closer look at the note.

'This is a message from Levi. Armin told me you'll be living with Mikasa and will be her guide. Considering that, you'd have to bathe her and such. If you do anything stupid, I'll kill you, and that blonde coconut head probably will as well.'

And for some reason, Eren felt his throat tightening and the aura around him tensing as if Levi were behind him ready to strangle him anytime. Quickly, he shoved that note into his pocket.

That note didn't make him feel any better, it just made his cheeks redder and his temptations rise. "Sorry, I thought I saw something." Eren grumbled, unwilling to tell Mikasa what he just saw and read. When he turned back to her— that was when his cheeks finally represented a tomato. Mikasa had seemed to feel her way through, and had managed to unbutton her clothes—and was already ready to unhook her bra and had already slid down her pants somehow.

"M-Mikasa wait don't! Eren stuttered as he looked away. "At least let me go behind you first..." he mumbled nervously as he slowly, and cautiously made his way behind her, preparing the soap and held the shower's head, waiting for her to completely undress.

"W-wait, you weren't behind me..?" Mikasa responded to his words in a blush as her hands nervously unhooked her bra.

"N-No...Just...I'm sorry..."The brunette stuttered in embarrassment.

"It's fine..." The raven sighed as she relaxed her body. "Just wash my back…"She added, trying to keep her cool.

"O-Okay..." He replied as he started to do as he was told once she was fully undressed. That's when he noticed how soft her skin was when he applied soap to them, even if there were a few scars on her back, it was still soft.

"Your... skin is really soft and…so smooth..." Eren mumbled softly and in a flustered tone, as he continued rubbing soap on her back with his bare hands before getting a sponge to continue to spread the soap evenly, before applying shampoo onto her hair. "And your hair is really smooth too…" He complimented along with a nervous laugh, hoping he wasn't making things awkward for her.

"T-Thanks…" Mikasa stuttered, her face as well, turning a bright red, and boy, was she happy that she was faced away from the brunette.

The brunette then used the sponge to rub her shoulders, "D-Do the front yourself...I'm pretty sure you know where to clean in front and w-why—"

"Yeah..." Mikasa cut into his sentence, feeling that if he had continued shed probably have a heart attack of explosive emotions. Grabbing the sponge before feeling her way through where to scrub.

"H-Hey..." Eren stuttered as he continued to shampoo her hair.

"Y-Yeah..?" Mikasa responded timidly.

"D-Don't tell anyone about…this... who isn't aware of this…okay….?"

Mikasa nodded, she didn't want to explain to anyone about this, feeling that they'd tease her everyday or possibly kill Eren, especially if Jean heard about this.

"I-I'll just prepare the tub now..." Eren mumbled before turning on the tap, figuring she probably wanted to soak herself since they never had such a luxury like a tub before. Plus, she wanted her to feel relaxed.

"Hey... Eren..."

"Hm..?"

"N-Nothing..."

Eren only shrugged at her words, not wanting to force anything out of her anyway. "I'll wash the soap off your body… and you can relax in the tub…I'll stay in here facing the wall… for your privacy… and in case if anything happens." Eren muttered as he grabbed the shower's head after preparing the bath as Mikasa only nodded in response.

The brunette couldn't wait to get done with assisting in her shower, mostly because he felt that he probably couldn't control his erupting emotions much longer.

After all of that, the two finally went to sleep, feeling weary although the sun was just beginning to set. And though the bathing situation they were in was awkward and caused an overflow of emotions, both knew they had to get used to it sooner or later. Plus, Mikasa already trusted Eren with her body, and the brunette still couldn't believe that.

And he'd have to learn how to control whatever odd feeling he felt whenever he saw her body.

Regardless of the awkwardness earlier, both managed to sleep peacefully next to one another, holding each other's hands closely, unwilling to ever let go as they drifted off to sleep.

They had a big day tomorrow after all.

The next day, the brunette was the first to awake, and saw that Mikasa was still asleep, and was unwilling to wake her up, admiring the peaceful look she had while sleeping. Even if it was something trivial, it meant the world to him. That she was still at peace and moreover— with him by her side. But when he had shifted his hand slightly, it seemed to be some sort of trigger to the raven as her eyes opened instantly. And before she could speak, the brunette reassured her, "Shh... I'm here, just shifting my hand a little that's all..."

"Sorry...I'm just afraid you'll—"

"I won't, because that fear of yours, is the same as mine and that's why... I'll never let go." He said firmly, which left the raven in silence, speechless about the fact he could read her so easily now.

They had just woken up and the brunette was already being so comforting yet serious, and loving with her. "Let's go, we have to meet Armin. Don't we?" Eren said smilingly as he helped the raven up, and prepare for the exploration that she seemed to be excited for, seeing that she had a wide grin on her face.
"Mhm…" She said smillingly.

"So where do you want to go?" Mikasa asked the blonde.

"Wherever you want to." He smiled in response.

"The ocean then. I like to hear the two of you laughing in joy, since that was both of your childhood favourite place, wasn't it?"

No arguments, if that was what she wanted.

And that was how they ended where they were now, far away from the walls, at the beach, standing in the ocean by a few feet, feeling the waves hit them a soothing hello, while the brunette didn't greet them back, he only held the raven's hand tightly, unwilling to let go. Afraid she may lose her balance and fall.

"Hey Mikasa! I found a seashell!" The blonde exclaimed elatedly as he brought the object towards the girl.

This wasn't their first time at the ocean. They had been there before. Just once, before the arguments had erupted. The first time, Mikasa and Armin were enjoying the view, Armin was admiring the seashells in there especially. Mikasa was fascinated by the waves, having felt nothing as soothing and satisfying as such. But, for Eren, his view was different, he wasn't as joyous as the two. Especially when they still had unfinished work. Instead, he had claimed that they were still trap, and not free.

But now, this was freedom. Or so he hoped. The brunette still felt trapped in a cage. Trapped in the walls. And he didn't know why, but he pushed that aside. It wasn't time to be the tragic hero who needed saving, that wasn't his role in this story. To say the least, if anything it'd be—

"Eren! Eren!" The raven exclaimed in enthusiasm as in her palm rested a seashell which Armin had found. "Armin says this seashell looks a little pink… is it?" She asked with a smile.

"A-Ah… a little…kind of..."

Mikasa's hands fiddled with the seashell, feeling its structure and used her imagination to see what it was like. "It feels so smooth... want to feel it?" Mikasa asked the brunette who shook his head in response, "No thanks…" Eren mumbled, and her smile soon faded to what was a frown, her hands losing its grip on his hand, which he tensed at.

"Eh…? I didn't know Eren would be so afraid of seashells." Armin teased, trying to rid the dark atmosphere. "He's scared that the seashell may have pointy edges." Armin added with a taunting look.

"I'm not." Eren said firmly. "Stop being childish, Armin. She already said it was smooth, and I don't want to touch it to have to trust Mikasa or your words." He grumbled.

"But I know what you're afraid of." And before the brunette could response, he realized what that phrase meant when Armin had glanced at the raven who seemed a little upset. "Alright." The brunette sighed as he gently took the seashell out of Mikasa's hands, fumbling it with it with his right hand. It was smooth, and it reminded him of the day before… Mikasa's smooth pale skin and her beautiful silky hair. Except, such a seashell shouldn't be comparable to those parts of her… that were much more heavenly. Especially—

"Your face is red, is it the heat? Armin asked, a little concerned about the brunette. "Are you actually allergic to seashells? Is that even possible?" Armin said, both shocked and intrigued about that theory.

"No it's not that!" Eren sighed as he looked away, but soon taking a glance at Mikasa who looked as confused as Armin. Feeling the need to explain himself or at least find some sort of excuse, because he most certainly wasn't ever going to tell anyone about that, "I just—"

"It's fine, we can go somewhere else now, Eren, where do you want to go?" The raven asked.

"I…" He thought for a moment, where would be a place that Mikasa wanted to go, considering he was alright with anything, he just wanted her to be happy. Somewhere beautiful, refreshing…

"The meadow that we passed by on the way here?" Eren suggested. The meadow was astounding, the flowers and everything was just beautiful. The grass and trees bath carried a luscious green, the scent of freshly grown flowers reminded him of what he read about spring. And although she couldn't see, he figured she would at least want to know what they look like, since that was her request, what else would it be? Plus, the blonde seemed excited about it too, so he doubted either of them would have issues.

"That'd be wonderful." Mikasa responded, gaining back some of her smile that had curved into a frown just now. "Let's go!" She exclaimed.

At the meadow, the grass grew tall, the trees were huge and its leaves were able to give them shade. Armin had advised the brunette to rest under them since his face was red earlier, but he refused the offer, since that wasn't particularly the reason, and the blonde only shrugged in response which had reassured him, considering that meant he won't pry into him for the answer.

"Tell me! What flowers are there? Both of you." She smiled as the three strolled slowly around.

"Your turn." Armin said, given he knew Mikasa would probably much rather hear the description from Eren.

"Um…" Eren hesitated as he glanced around to see a sunflower. "There's this flower to your left... it's kind of tall and it's uh… Yellow and it doesn't seem to grow in clusters and—"

"It's a sunflower." Armin cut in, regretting his decision of having Eren take the lead, considering that was the most cringe-y explanation he had ever head in his life. "And I'll explain to you if—"

"No need for that" The raven chuckled softly. "Eren explained it perfectly. "She complimented as she gripped Eren's hand tighter, assuring him there was nothing to be embarrassed about his explanation, since she loved it in every way possible.

"Mikasa… Th—"

"You're too kind, Mikasa." Armin sighed.

"Oi, Armin. My explanation wasn't that bad, I explained it."

"But… your choice of words were terrible."

"Well I'm sorry I don't have a big coconut head like y—"

"Even though you two matured in your own ways, I'm happy to see you getting along in your bickering with childish words." Mikasa cut in, still chuckling in a melodious way which seemed to manage to halt Eren and Armin's conversation. "Getting along? What do you m—"
"What's this flower? Mikasa asked as she quickly bent down, her hand searching for any flower to pick, so as to have an excuse not to answer whatever the brunette was going to say.

After all, the two had to find out for themselves on what she meant. Once she felt something that seemed like a flower petal, though it was unusually soft, caressed her skin, she quickly plucked it out as she stood up holding the flower. "What's this?" She repeated her question.

"Oh!" The blonde exclaimed. "It's a dandelion..." He trailed off as his ocean blue eyes' attention was turned to somewhere else. "And there's a whole patch of them in front!" He said as he sprinted towards them, Eren and Mikasa following behind.

"Here." Armin said as he offered Eren a dandelion. "They say if you blow the petals off, after making a wish that you want, it may come true." He quickly explained.

"Things like that don't exist, Armin…" Eren sighed.

"You never know." Mikasa responded as she let go of Eren's grip as she used both hands, clutching tightly onto the dandelion. "Don't you have something you wat to wish for?" She asked softly, which once again had melted the brunette's heart with such a melodious tone.

"I guess… but…fine. It's worth a try." He sighed, giving in.

With that, as they made their wishes, they blew their dandelion's petals off, as they spun in the wind, which Armin started elaborating to Mikasa while Eren was too caught up in watching them spiralling away in the wind—it was a remarkable sight indeed. But although he didn't believe in such things, he hoped what he wished for was 'acceptable', since it wasn't a wish for himself.

He didn't wish for something he had wanted, but instead, what he wished was for someone.

"What did you two wished for?" Mikasa asked curiously.

"It's a secret, and you should keep it as one too, the more likely that they'll come true." Armin responded with a smile.

After roaming around the meadow, the girl was exhausted and kind of hungry, considering her stomach had just rumbled a moment ago which caused the raven's cheeks to blush red in embarrassment.

"Hungry?" Eren asked as she nodded embarrassedly in response, finding it rather cute.

"There's an apple tree nearby, we walked by it just now, and it seemed to have fresh apples, why not snack on that?" The blonde suggested which the two agreed.

Plucking apples from the trees nearby wasn't an issue for the two men, considering they were tall after all. As for Mikasa who couldn't see, she laid down against a tree, taking a short nap. Tired from all the walking, and overwhelming happiness that she finally felt with the two, though the two she was referring to didn't notice that factor.

"Hm...Mikasa's asleep, we should head back while snacking on these." Armin spoke before continuing, "Plus the sun is setting, it's best to head back before night in case we get lost."

"Yeah..." Eren answered as he searched for the best apple for the raven, always wanting the best for her. He didn't know he could've been this picky, especially over apples. But that was the least he could do for now, for her, to please and satisfy her hunger.

"It's shocking you know." Armin sighed, speaking in an oddly happy tone.

"Huh?"

"That you're so soft with Mikasa now, since in the beginning of everything you pushed her away."

"I was an idiot back then, its different now…"Eren sighed in response.

"Thank you, you know." Armin spoke, his words seemingly halting Eren's movements, Eren looking a little confused. "Thank you, for helping me out with the bullies and stuff as a kid and so on. I know we have our disagreements but can't we be friends again? Not just for her, but for us?" Armin asked softly. "But if you despise me that much it can't be helped." He chuckled nervously.

"Armin…"Eren mumbled, hesitating for a moment as he then processed what the blonde had just said for a moment. "I don't despise you that much. It's just everything and everyone has changed. I don't even understand your reasoning anymore. Why didn't you want to explore with Mikasa anyway?" Eren spoke, seizing the opportunity to ask that question.

"Because, I don't want her to feel like a burden, not being able to see and yet she still tries to sew us together back as friends, like… her scarf, for instance, non-stop and painstakingly whenever it was ripped..." Armin sighed. "No one likes feeling like a burden after all…"Armin grumbled softly, remembering the past him who'd have always assumed he was a burden and rather be dead. But now, he knew it was different. At least he hoped.

"Armin… I—"Before Eren could've completed his sentence, his eyes glance to the corner, to the tree Mikasa supposedly was laying at. To see that, she wasn't there.

"Mikasa's gone!" Eren shouted in a panic. 'Where could she have disappeared to? I shouldn't have taken my eyes off her. What do I do now? What if—'

"Eren calm down." Armin said in a calming tone. "Even if she's blind she can handle whatever opposes her. You need to have more faith in her, so, instead of assuming she's a helpless little girl since she's blind, and seemingly more vulnerable when it comes to you… understand that, she is still someone strong." Armin added, almost sounding frustrated, leaving the brunette in silence, speechless.

'Vulnerable? With me? What…?' He thought silently.

"No time for lecturing or daydreaming, she couldn't have gone far. Let's go. Drop the apples." Armin spoke as he walked off in fast pace, his eyes scanning about, Eren following behind, doing the same as he called out her name, hoping she'd answer.

"What is it do you want? Why bring me out here?"

"Even when you're blind, I still sense the familiar strong guard and 'monster' aura you have."

The raven tensed.

"Don't worry, times have changed and I don't plan to hurt you."

"Then? Talk."

Sighing, the person who led her out, alone and defenceless, turned towards the raven.

Crystal eyes reflecting on the raven's dulled grey ones.

"I said talk, Annie." Mikasa hissed, impatient.

Author's note: Sorry for the late chapter update! Personal things came up... so this chapter's longer!