Chapter Rating: K
Eren awoke slowly to a familiar voice.
"...ren? Eren? Our shift is coming up."
His eyes opened to see he had not moved from when he was last conscious. He lifted his head from its perch on Mikasa's shoulder, taking in the freshly fed fire and the empty benches around them.
"Augh, Mikasa why did you let me fall asleep?" He asked quietly, trying to rub the stiffness from his neck.
"You deserve to get rest, you know."
He stands and looks at her with his incredulous green eyes. "Well, yeah? But you could have told me to go lay down or something. I mean I did set up my tent…" He trails off when she looks away, with a faint tinge to her cheeks.
"I fell asleep myself."
"O-oh."
But before the embarrassment could settle too much deeper in the two teenagers, a scout approached them with horses in hand.
"You're Mikasa right?" the man asked, as she rose from her spot on the bench. She responded with the soldier's salute, as per custom, and was given a pair of reigns. The man simply nodded at Eren and handed him the reigns to the other. After checking their 3D maneuver gear they slipped into the saddles and set off to scout the perimeter of the camp.
Torchlight was not especially needed on nights like tonight. Under a full moon, the open plains sung with starlight. Titans would be easy to spot from all around—so while their gear might not be particularly effective in the terrain, an ambush would be impossible.
The two rode alongside each other, and despite their determination they often found themselves getting distracted by the stars.
"Hey, Mikasa," Eren started tentatively on one such occasion.
"Hmm?"
"Remember when you, me and Armin used to make our own constellations?"
"Before Armin found his grandpa's old astronomy text books?" She looked at him with a small smile before turning her dark eyes to the bright sky above.
They took turns pointing out real and make-believe star patterns throughout the night, and realized with surprise that the farthest edges of the sky were becoming tinged with morning pinks. The two sat and watched the sunrise for the first time since basics. Their horses took advantage of the time to nibble at the grasses around them, paying no mind to the birds that started rummaging nearby. Despite their shift being up, and that the camp would be packing up to continue its southern strides, Eren was struck by his freedom in this moment. He held out his hand loosely and Mikasa took it.
"I missed you."
Whether it was said by her or him or not at all, the message was there in the warmth of their hands.