That night over dinnertime, each dyad reported its findings to the rest of the group; the common observation being that the woods was much larger they anticipated. Nonetheless, Armin was confident that all teams would finish by sundown tomorrow, judging by the rate they were going.
Much to everyone's relief, there were no signs of Titan activity in the woods. Nevertheless, Commander Hangi reminded each team to keep their flares in handy should any threat arise. Being paired with the Commander to the northern area of the woods, Captain Levi ran them through the plan again in case Titans were encountered.
Levi devised the plan should Eren be incapacitated or otherwise be hindered from using the Coordinate ability. As soon as one dyad sights a hostile, a red flare is to be fired there and then, alerting other dyads of Titans in the area. From that point on, the mapping mission is put on hold and all teams are to gallop northeast, remaining on horseback unless sprinting abnormals force them to use ODM gear. As much as possible, they couldn't afford to lose their horses.
As soon as the Captain reaches the Cleaning Point (high ground that stands in stark contrast to the relatively flat terrain in the area) in the northeast region of the woods, he would launch a green flare, and all teams are to make a beeline to the exact location where the flare was fired ASAP. If the hostiles are lost before the Cleaning Point is reached, all is well. If not, the name of the meeting place alone, as the Captain fondly dubbed it, should suggest the next course of action.
"The key thing to remember here," the Captain emphasized, "is not to engage as long as you have the option of fleeing, especially if there are multiple combatants. Gallop like hell northeast, look out for my signal, then we gut them there. Whatever happens, I'm ordering all of you not to die on a fucking mapping mission. Clear?"
"Yes, Sir," the remaining soldiers said in unison.
Everyone lent a hand in putting away the dining articles after swapping campfire stories once more. As he scrubbed their bowls clean in a nearby stream, Eren was beginning to visualize a life without the towering man-eaters, for his friends had shown him these past few days. It has been weeks since their last major engagement, and it has done everyone good for the most part. Gone were the blank stares on their faces after brushing with death or losing a comrade; everyone generally became more talkative; the instances of stifled sobbing Eren heard at night was few and far in between nowadays. It was almost as if they were finally living normal lives, working the normal job of seeing the world and gathering together for dinner like a normal family.
Funny how mundane chores spurred his thoughts the most, the Titan shifter thought.
He returned to the camp, clean bowls in tow. He decided to bring the bowls to his tent for now as he did not wish to disturb their unofficial quartermaster, Sasha, who was already in her tent. As he put away the bowls, changed into sleeping attire, and lied down on his bedroll, one little thought made it impossible to sleep one wink.
You are such an arse for ignoring her today, Eren.
A handful of times they made eye contact that day, making him reflexively avert his gaze every time. He could not say for certain how he knew, but it hurt her. Though he did it for both their sake and for time to reflect, it was clearly doing more harm than good, even after just one day. After groaning into his pillow, he grabbed his green cloak lying haphazardly beside him, donned it, and went outside. He was greeted by the moonlight once more and the chilly evening breeze.
Though it was fairly dark, the Titan shifter kept his head low, sticking to the shadows. The last thing he wanted was for Connie, taking first watch for the night, to see him making his way to someone else's tent when he had no business to. He had no idea where his friend was perched, so he could only hope for the best.
Before long, he was already kneeling outside her tent. He would have called out her name had indecision not struck at that moment. What if she's already asleep? What if she thinks of him as a creep for visiting this late at night? What the hell was he even doing there? To set things right?
Steeling his nerves for her, he hissed her name once. When that did not work, he called out a little louder, running the risk of nearby comrades hearing his voice. After a few moments, he could make out the sound of bedroll shuffling and knees making padded noises toward the tent opening.
Mentally, he berated himself. Way to go, idiot; you successfully woke her up. Commendable timing.
"Eren?" she shook sleep out of tired-looking eyes, and her locks were mussed up, "I thought you were asleep. What's the matter?"
He placed both hands on his lap and exhaled, doing his best to kill the nervousness. Why did it suddenly become so difficult to communicate with her? Along with Armin, there was no one else he trusted more, with his very life and everything else. Before him was the girl—nay, woman—that saved him on several occasions and would lay down her life for his in a heartbeat. He should feel safe, not as if a man-eater would sprout from the sands and devour him whole.
Perhaps what he felt was not worth it if it meant losing what they had at the moment—a bond not fated to last for more than four additional years.
He barely registered both her hands on his head until Mikasa spoke, "Hey, stay with me. What is it? Just tell me what's wrong."
"What's wrong..." he brought up his hands, finding hers and holding tight, "... is that I waited far too long to tell you... that I love you. Deeply. Unquestioningly. Completely. For that, forgive me. And for waking you up in the middle of the night too."
Perhaps he expected it, but he was nonetheless pleasantly surprised when she threw her arms around him, embracing him as tightly as she once had when he first emerged from his Titan form. Feeling his nervousness ebb away and speech ability return, he in turn kissed her hair and gently stroked her back.
Still latched onto him, she spoke softly, "I forgive you. For that too."
"Thank you, Mikasa... You didn't deserve to be kept waiting, but the truth is I only gave this some serious thought lately. And even as I put the pieces together, I was still afraid of showing you the whole picture. I was scared of driving you away, or that you might think ill of it and grow to resent me 'til my last days. So, thank you... for teaching me how to love."
She adjusted herself to lean her forehead against his, something she looked forward to getting used to, "And here I thought you knew me well. I've loved you for so long, and you thought reciprocating would drive me away? Blockhead."
He kissed her forehead at that, "Mikasa, I haven't fallen in love with anyone before. You can hardly fault me for screwing that bit up. You had me spinning and I had no idea where to go. I really just made this up as I went along."
"Then I'm glad you found your way... Could you stay with me for a bit longer? I... I missed you, you recluse. Very much so."
He pondered for a moment whether he should stay by her side or not. On one hand, it would not be their first time together. On her first, particularly cruel month in the Jaegers' home, nightmares often found their way in her sleep, the scene of her parents' murders replaying in her innocent mind. Young Eren, roused by incessant, stifled sobbing, rushed to her side without second thought, gently waking her up. From there on, the young boy would soothe the girl back to a more peaceful sleep before getting shuteye himself.
On the other hand, things were far different now. He grew up to be a man, and she a woman. He would be lying to himself at that point if he claimed he did not fancy her. Her face matured and grew more breathtaking with her round eyes, small nose, and petite mouth. It was not even marred in the slightest by the scar on her cheek, though he still hated himself for what happened then. Her figure was no less perfect, managing to simultaneously look tender and powerful. In every sense of the word, she was beautiful. And so the temptation to sin was there.
Only, he loved her too much to act on it.
He kissed her forehead a second time, a gesture he in turn would love to get used to, "Alright. C'mon, let's call it a night."
They entered the one-man tent, and it was immediately clear that two made a crowd in such confined spaces. Twice her elbow found his face, eliciting a hasty apology from her and laughter from both of them afterwards. When they lied down, she faced away from him as the Titan shifter draped on arm over her abdomen. It was their same exact ritual when the young girl was helpless from all the nightmares many years ago.
"Eren, are you going soon? You don't have to spend the night if you don't want to. I just wanted a bit of your time."
"Not going 'til it's my shift. I'm assigned the last one tonight just before the morn, so I won't be here by the time you wake up. Why? It's okay, I can go if this makes you feel uncomfortable."
"No," she said, putting her hand atop of the one wrapped around her core, "Not at all. Don't go if that's the case."
He craned his head above her, placing a kiss on her temple and one along her jawline, tickling her slightly, "As you wish. Get some sleep now. I'm sorry for waking you up earlier."
"If it meant having this to look forward to, wake me up more often."
"Yeah, well, don't push your luck too hard, princess. The others will be bound to find out about us. Just not so soon I hope."
"They're our friends, Eren, and I'm not ashamed of being with you. I don't think it would be right to hide the truth from them for long anyway. Let's just be discreet about it."
"Okay, okay. Now go to sleep. Been struggling to stay awake since we got so damn comfortable. Gotta wake up early tomorrow you know," said Eren, doing his best to stifle a yawn.
"Wait, before you drift off. There's just one thing you're forgetting."
He groaned and buried his face in her raven locks, which was now slightly longer than usual, "What is it now, Mika? Keep it short, please."
She lithely made a 180 degree turn, surprising him a bit though his eyes remained shut. Now facing him, one hand found the back of his head as her lips drifted forward to his, barely lasting a second. Now that got his attention.
"That was... short. Okay, you had me. You should definitely lead from now on. I would have botched that one up."
She grinned as their forehead remained touching, "You don't give yourself enough credit. I know you were just nervous. I was too, even if I wanted it for quite a while now."
"Me? You wanted to kiss me for a long time? Me and this slobbery gob of mine? I don't belie—"
Rudely cutting him off, she pressed forward again, lasting a lot longer this time around, to lend him much needed credence. His hand rested on her hair, fingers entangling themselves in her messy locks. While air remained in their lungs, their lips slowly learned an affectionate dance of expression. Believe me Eren Jaeger, dexterous thin lips seemed to communicate. I do, and I shall 'til my last breath, thicker slobbery lips replied, easing her into a state of calm and safety.
She released him though she could have held out far longer, not wishing to deprive him of oxygen, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, my Mika."