Part II – On the Road to a Mend

Four steps and a squeaky door stood between Mikasa and her ultimate freedom. She only had one chance; the diligent sentry that watched over her rarely slept, much to her dismay. The night air was cool, and the moonlight filtering through the window cast ample light for Mikasa to make it to the door of her room. Resting her hand on the brass doorknob, Mikasa began to feel a tendril of guilt spread throughout her body. She truly did not want to upset Eren, but she had to leave to confines of her room! 'Besides,' she reasoned, 'I feel much stronger than I did a few days ago.' As Mikasa slowly eased the knob open, a masculine voice called out behind her.

"Mikasa..."

Wincing, Mikasa slowly turned around to confront Eren, pulling the edge of her scarf around her face in guilt. However, instead of finding Eren scowling at her, her line of sight swept over the tense form of Eren, still alseep in the bedside chair. Taking small, graceful steps, Mikasa drew closer to study the predominant scowl on Eren's visage. She noticed, though he was indeed sleeping, his breath was short and jagged. Having abandoned her escape plan at the sight of Eren's discomfort, Mikasa gently grasped Eren's hand.

"Eren, wake up."

Frantically, Eren's eyes snapped open to take in his surroundings. As he shrugged off the weariness of sleep and forced the disturbing images occupying his mind out, he gazed up at Mikasa's worried expression. Seeing that she caught him in another moment of weakness, he quickly stood and turned towards the window.

"Are you alright?"

Mikasa's voice was gentle and concerned. To her, it was no secret that he had nightmares. From all the he endured during the day, it was understandable that he would be haunted as he slept.

"I'm fine," Eren growled out, "I should be getting ready for training, anyway."

Mikasa took notice of the sun making its way over the horizon, heralding the coming of another day. Another day in which they would live in the uncertainty of their lives. Would this be the last time they saw the sun rise over the hills to the east, its early morning rays grazing over the Squad Levi cabin? Though it did no good to dwell on these ideas, they were always present, at least in the back of the minds of the soldiers that risked their lives every day for the benefit of humanity.

As Eren struggled with the belts to his 3D Maneuver Gear, Mikasa approached him from behind, helping him fit the complicated rigging system.

"Let me help you."

The statement was simple enough, but Eren understood the underlying meaning in her words. His response was a quick, "I can take care of myself."

Still, Eren made no move to step away, so Mikasa continued to tie the clasps, her deft hands quickly working through the belts.

"I feel better today, maybe I should rejoin the training. It would be unwise to let my muscles go dull," Mikasa said.

Eren did not reply, but rather spun around with an incredulous look on his face. Hiding a laugh, Mikasa said, "I'll take that as a denial."

Eren sighed, understanding how Mikasa abhorred the idea of being out of commission while the rest of Squad Levi was training and preparing for the next move. Still, he believed that she needed to recover more fully before undertaking the rigorous training that Levi had planned for them.

"Just wait a little more. Besides, you are getting out of all the hard work! Some of the others would kill to be bed-ridden!"

Mikasa let a small smile slip past her stoic mask, admiring the way Eren worried for her state of being, even though he tried to cover his concern. The news of spending more time cramped in the cabin bothered her, but she couldn't refuse Eren, especially when he slept by her bed every night, using the lame excuse, "Yeah, well, if you fall of the bed or something, I don't want to be blamed."

"The sun will be up soon, and you should really eat something before you begin your training, Eren," Mikasa said, turning back to face the bed in the corner of the room.

"I guess if I don't hurry, Sasha will probably eat it all, huh? Well, rest easy and... feel better, Mikasa"

With the trace of a blush spreading across his face, Eren turned to the door, sparing one last glance in Mikasa's direction before leaving the room.

With Mikasa's instincts, she was alerted as soon as the door opened with a soft click. Spinning around, Mikasa balanced her weight evenly across the balls of her feet, prepared to face the intruder. Seeing as her intruder, the only excitement to be found on a day of rest, was none other than Eren Yeager, Mikasa sighed to herself and relaxed.

"Everyone else is eating, you hungry?" Eren asked, hints of concern at the edge of his voice.

"Sure, I was about to head downstairs, anyway."

Eren nudged the door open, walking in with two trays of food balanced in his hands.

"It is a little hectic down there, so I thought you might want to eat up here," Eren said as he set the food down on a nearby table, avoiding Mikasa's gaze in the process. Summing up the courage, Eren spoke again, "There's still some light outside, would you like to go for a run?" Backtracking, Eren quickly added, "Because, uhh, you know... You said that your muscles would get dull, and, uhh..."

Once again, Mikasa allowed a smile at his antics.

"Eren,"

He looked up as she took his hand in hers, tentatively massaging the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I would love to."

A/N: Once again, I thank you for reading the next installment of The SnK Untold Exchange! I was thoroughly disappointed with how this chapter turned out, so I do apologize, hopefully the next will be a bit better and be published sooner. On another note, if any of you like to do fanart, I would love to post a cover image of a work, with all credit going to you! Please PM me if you want to do it! Thanks!