Where the blazes is he? Armin thought.
The last grains in the upper portion of the hourglass trickled to the bottom, signifying the end of his watch and the start of Eren's. He tucked the small trinket away and got up from his perch. Although there were no signs of Titans in their immediate vicinity, Armin still expected his friend to take his assigned shift seriously. Slowly opening the Titan shifter's tent after calling his name thrice with no response, he did not find anyone inside.
Let's see. His cloak isn't here as well, so he probably went out for a stroll? Took a leak perhaps? Or did he get all philosophical again? Might be worth checking the area where Mikasa found him last night.
And so he did, and was no less disappointed. There was no hanging sack by the same tree he described, much less an emo Titan shifter pondering his existence and the life after it. On his way back to the camp, he debated whether or not to wake the Commander up regarding the matter until he noticed some faint tracks outside of Eren's tent. This small detail clearly escaped him the first time he was there a few minutes ago.
Armin knelt down, taking a closer look. He was certain the tracks were not his own; he approached Eren's tent opening from the front, and stepped away the same way he came. These tracks went to the right of the opening, leading deeper into the camp. The wind must have covered some of the prints, but Armin could still make out the vague course of the tracks. What are you up to, Eren? The blond thought as he slowly followed his shirking friend's path.
The footprints that remained visible were deliberate and fairly close to one another, as if his friend—if it was Eren—was careful not to wake anyone up. Armin surmised that was better than more jagged footprints that were further apart; that could only mean he was running away from something. Still, Armin ruled out an attack; he did not find any other suspicious tracks in the area, and there were no signs of a struggle or blood splatters in Eren's tent.
"Hang on, the tracks are deeper here," the blond thought out loud, not unlike a certain gray-haired, cat-eyed monster hunter for hire he read from his fantasy books, "He must've stopped here for at least a few seconds. Then he walked... and stopped here once more. I'd say he was moving from cover to cover. Hiding? But from who? The Commander? Captain Levi?" Armin grinned at the thought.
He followed the tracks for a couple more minutes until they led him to Mikasa's tent, "Mhm. This is getting interesting."
Against his better judgment, Armin undid the tent closure, intending to rouse his male friend only. Unfortunately, what he just saw would make that a wee difficult. The two occupants of the one-man tent were snoring softly, very much entangled in one another's arms. From the looks of it, Armin stood a far better chance besting Levi in combat than prying Eren out of the tent. Wearing his cloak, the Titan shifter was still fast asleep, drool seeping at the corner of his mouth and drenching the girl's scarf. I wonder how she'll take it when she wakes up, thought Armin with a chuckle.
Not denying himself a small smile, he closed the tent and made a beeline back to his perch. Dawn was still a good way off. Though he was still irked at Eren for outright shirking his watch, he could not help but be happy for two old friends of his, especially for Mikasa. Assuming Eren finally revealed to her how he felt, Armin knew that nothing would have made her happier. The darn blockhead kept her waiting too long indeed.
Be that as it may, Eren still owed him a shift one of these days.
(-)
She awoke to the sensation of something cool on her nose, not unlike the morning dew.
It was a nice thing to wake up to, until she realized it was something far less pleasant. It took her a few moments to register the slobber of the Titan shifter next to her, defiling her beloved scarf and making it to her nose. Suppressing a gasp, she gingerly escaped from his arms and sat up, wiping her sleeve across her face. Next, she removed her scarf, rubbing the contaminated area on her shirt for now. She made a mental note to wash it in the nearby stream later.
Propping herself up on one elbow, she used one end of the scarf to wipe the saliva off the sleeping boy's face, causing his cheeks to visibly twitch. She set aside the scarf for now, placing it beside her bedroll. After that, she tried to shake him awake, knowing he was probably late for his shift. An annoyed groan was his only response, much to her chagrin. Resorting to a more potent wake-up call, she boldly hovered over him and resolutely, passionately, deliberately pressed her lips to his.
Well, that did the trick.
She ended the lip-lock once he was fully awake, denoted by his hands on her back, "Good morning, you liar."
He brushed aside hair obscuring her face, revealing that small knowing smile of hers, "Huh? Barely got out of bed and I did something wrong already?"
"That's exactly it," she replied, running her fingers through his mop, "You were supposed to be up perhaps half an hour ago. I was very disappointed to wake up with you next to me."
"Well in that case, I'm glad to disappoint you—OW! Dammit!"
A little more forcefully than she intended, she playfully kneed his side, "You selfish, inconsiderate prick. The last person on watch probably had to take your shift. Didn't think about that, did you?"
"I'm pretty sure it wouldn't kill Armin to stay up one extra hour."
"You're a terrible friend, Eren Jaeger."
"That's how I know my friends love me for real," said Eren with a cheeky smile.
Feeling her limbs strain a little bit, she rested her body weight on his chest, "Really? That's all you have to say?"
"That's not all. Wish to add that, since the last time I carried you, you got a lot heavier."
"Mhm. And what are you gonna do about it?" she replied, finding the crook of his neck rather comfortable to lie on.
Oblivious to her affectionate gesture and picking up the challenge in her voice instead, he replied, "Nothing much really, except—"
With a sudden movement, he pushed her to his side, careful all the while not to touch anything inappropriate. She landed on her side with an audible yelp, clearly taken by surprise.
"Except get back at you for that knee kick earlier. Ha! Gotcha! You didn't see that coming at all."
Despite the antic he pulled off, she found it difficult to stay cheesed off at him. For once, she saw him elated, free of all the world's worries and the personal rage he latched onto like a vise. Here he was, thrilled at something so silly as catching the girl he loved off guard for a prank. He was happy, and that fact in itself brought her joy in return.
"No, I suppose I didn't. And I love you."
His hand traveled to hers, by far his favorite thing in the world to hold, "Where did that come from?"
"I just want to be completely honest with you from now on, with how I feel and what I think. Life's too terribly short for things left unsaid."
"Then in that case, let me reaffirm what I said last night. They were anything but whimsical, and I meant everything I said."
Unimpressed, she felt a sly smile tug at the corners of her mouth, "Eren, is it really that hard to say the words? Never known you to beat around the bush."
"Alright, fine. I love you so much more, Mikasa Ackerman of the Survey Corps. There, now that there's no room for ambiguity, I demand a much deserved morning hug."
She lightly struck his shoulder with her palm before sitting up, "You've already had a year's worth of that. C'mon, time to get up. We'll be breaking our fast with the others soon..."
He picked that exact time to quietly sit up and embraced her from the side, planting a quick peck on her temple. Hands joined once more at her belly, they swayed inside their little tent, their rhythm dictated by the beat of their synchronized pulses. They both closed their eyes, content to let their moment last a little longer.
After a while, she broke the comfortable silence, "Five minutes. Then we go. Start thinking how to make it up to Armin."
"I can abide by that. Besides, I know you're perfectly capable of dragging me out there if I resist. Rather not chafe my skin against the sand."
She laughed softly at the amusing prospect of it, "You'd look like a schoolboy reluctant to attend the first day of—"
"Good morning, Mikasa!" blurted a new voice, "Oh, wasn't at all expecting to find you here, Eren. Last I checked, this is a one-man tent."
"Armin!" the Titan shifter hissed, recoiling away from Mikasa. On the other hand, the young woman beside him hesitantly waved, feeling naked without the scarf hiding her reddening cheeks.
"Good morning, Armin," everything was completely normal, and Armin was her longtime friend too, "I was just telling Eren how irresponsible it was not to turn up for his watch."
"Everything's good, Eren and I can settle that later. Right now, we really have to join the others. The Captain values punctuality as much as he does hygiene. Don't take too long."
Before Eren could sputter anything decidedly stupid, his protector raised her voice, "You can count on that Armin. Five minutes, after we freshen up."
The blond nodded and closed the tent, leaving the two of them alone once more. Eren swore under his breath as he started putting on his boots, "Everything we've been through, and he's still a stickler for chickenshit rules. Why the hell do we still have to eat breakfast together like some group therapy session?"
"Really, Eren? You're mad at the thought of joining our comrades for breakfast? That it?"
"Not really mad," he replied, toning down and realizing her point, "I just don't get it why Heichou gets pissed if one of us isn't there. We're not trainees anymore, dammit. We're soldiers."
"Then maybe that's it—don't turn around, Eren."
"Oh, right. Sorry," he was abashed, clearly not having paid attention to the sound of sliding fabric, "Listen, I'll wait outside. I don't mean to—"
"No no, it's okay. I'm almost done. Anyway, going back. I think he's a stickler for this sort of thing precisely because we're soldiers. Levi isn't the sentimental type, but he does care for the squad. Even with fewer Titan encounters these days, we can't really tell when's the last time we'll have breakfast with a comrade, or when he's told his last tale around the campfire. I've grown to rather love the moments we're complete, if only to listen to their stories.
"It feels like being part of a family again. Well, they're the closest we have to family besides the three of us."
Her words stopped him cold. Last night when the squad swapped tales about their plans in the future, he realized that he left too early not having heard hers. Little did Eren know she was not able to share hers, for she deemed it more important to check up on him. Nonetheless, the Titan shifter's hunch did not stray far from the truth—she wants to be part of a family again once all this is over, one I cannot hope to be part of. Forgive me, Mikasa.
Arms embracing him from behind, he was torn away from his morose train of thought.
"We can continue this later. Come, the others are waiting for us. Five minutes are nearly up."
"Nearly," he looked to face her head resting on his shoulder, the scarf now wrapped snugly around her neck. This, to which the young woman responded by ruffling his already messy mop then undoing the tent closure. Upon exiting the tent, they were greeted by an unusual overcast morning. A couple of paces away, the blond was waiting for them, engrossed in a small book he carried around with him.
"You two good to go? Great. This ought to be entertaining."