Prompt: Bedroom

Mikasa sat upright, gasping for air. She pushed back the hair plastered to her forehead, grimacing at how sweat soaked her shirt was.

No light showed through the window yet, and she could hear the light breathing of Sasha and Historia. It must be the middle of the night right now. Too early to get up for the day, but Mikasa knew there was no way she would be able to fall back asleep any time soon.

It's been awhile since I've dreamt. I want to go back to not having dreams.

Mikasa hugged herself, willing away the remnants of her dream. When she closed her eyes she could still see the corpses of her friends littering the ground. She could hear the bones snapping when Jean had been eaten, when Eren in his titan form had been ripped apart, Armin swallowed whole, Sasha's arm laying next to her, and a titan reaching for her now, bent leg not allowing her to run...

She jumped out of bed in a rush to just move and think of something else.

Anything else, she hissed at the cold floor.

Not wanting to risk waking up her roommates, she didn't bother with a candle, opting to just go by feel. Quietly moving in the dark, she picked up her bag and pulled out a fresh pair of sleep pants and a clean shirt. She peeled off her cold sweat-soaked clothes and slipped into her clean pajamas. After a brief search for her hairbrush, she gave up and grabbed Sasha's instead, quickly doing what she could to at least smooth it down.

Feeling slightly fresher but still too disturbed to return to her bed for sleep, she wandered aimlessly out of the girls bedroom and into the main room. The fire in the fireplace was down to just embers, and she debated about stoking it up and staying awake for the remaining of the night. Wishing Jean was awake to give her hug, she looked wishfully at the boy's bedroom door. She knew in her head he was safe, it had been only a dream, but just knowing it in her head wasn't helping right now.

I could just go in there for a moment and make sure he's ok...

Telling herself it would be just for a moment, just to make sure he's in one piece and still breathing, she quietly walked to the door of his room.

Taking a shaky breath, she gently pushed it open. Having helped clean this room countless times in the few weeks they'd been here, she already knew her way around the room and knew which bed was Jean's.

She first paused by Eren's bedside. He was rolled onto his side, back to her, but she could hear his deep, even breathing. Pleased that he didn't seem to be having any problems like her, she ghosted over to Armin's bed. Only part of his blonde hair was visible, everything else of him burrowed under the blankets. It was like he had been swallowed whole by them.

Armin. Swallowed.

Gulping to herself, and shivering in the cold, she hurried over to Jean's bed. He was laying on his back, mouth open slightly, and arm draped over the edge of the bed.

He was whole... He was unbloodied... He was alive.

It really was just a dream. Just a dream. Everyone is alive. They're fine.

Feeling light headed from the rush of giddy relief, she put her hand on Jean's mattress to steady herself.

Apparently Jean was a light sleeper; the light pressure of her hand on his mattress was enough for him to open his eyes blearily. He brought his hand up to swipe at his eyes tiredly. He then froze, eyes fixated on Mikasa's silhouette.

"Wha?...Mikasa?" Jean's voice was thick from sleep, low and gravely. To her relief, he kept his voice low. "What's wrong?"

As much as she hated to admit weakness, she wouldn't lie to him. Especially considering she was in the boy's bedroom, by his bedside. It's not like she could say this was normal occurrence. She shivered slightly before replying.

"Nothing...much. Just a dream."

Jean's eyes softened. They all had their fair share of nightmares. It just came with the job. How on earth could a sane human being witness their friends, family and comrades being eaten alive and not get nightmares? He thought quickly and then scooted back in his bed.

"Want to get in and cuddle for a few minutes? I'm sure it would help just to be close to someone right? And it would be warmer than standing there in the cold."

Mikasa paused for a moment. She remembered crawling into Eren's bed back when she was first adopted in his family, crying after having dreams with her parents in them.

That had been purely platonic, but this wouldn't be the same. Yet there was no way she was going to fall asleep again either, and better to be near Jean than in the main room with only her thoughts. She wasn't sure what Levi Heichou would do or say if he found out about this...but she found that she really couldn't care less right now. She nodded quietly and then felt herself blush a moment later when Jean lifted his blankets to allow her to scoot in next to him.

The moonlight coming in the window wasn't much, but it was enough that she could see he wasn't wearing a shirt to bed, and the muscles that she had felt through hugs were now going to be just a thin layer of her shirt's fabric away from her.

Forget worrying about if Levi Heichou finds out. If Eren wakes up to this, he's going to kill Jean...

Blushing to herself, she slid onto the thin mattress and curled up next to him. Jean's scent immediately enveloped her and that combined with his warmth immediately melted away all her concerns. She could feel his heart beat against her back and found herself relaxing, despite the strangeness of it all.

"I could get used to this." Jean's voice murmured into her ear.

Mikasa nodded in agreement. "Too bad we can't sleep like this."

"Hmmm, why, why not?"

Mikasa rolled to her other side so she could face Jean. She felt some relief to note that he seemed to be slightly flushed as well. Unsure of where would be a safe place to put her hands, she opted for folding them together under her chin.

"Eren would try to kill you. I want to avoid that."

Jean chuckled and hugged her tightly.

"It'd be worth it."

Mikasa smiled at him, feeling drowsy in his arms. "You say it now, but then we wouldn't be able to do this again. I want to avoid anything that would prevent this from happening once more."

"Hmmm, good point. I definitely want this to happen again. Preferably without the nightmare. More of you just coming here. That would be quite nice." He felt wide awake, having Mikasa curled next to him in his bed, no chance of him falling back asleep anytime soon now. He grinned at her. "You look like you're still tired. Sleep, I'll stay awake for a bit if you want me to keep watch."

Feeling too relaxed and far too comfortable to say no, she curled in closer to him. Resting her cheek on her hands and pressing her forehead against his bare chest, Mikasa smiled softly.

"Thank you. Good night Jean."

His chest rumbled as he 'mmhmm'd' and replied softly, "Good night Mikasa."

If this is what life would be like every night, I want to marry him.

And with that last thought, she fell into a deep, pleasant sleep.

Someone was poking his cheek. It annoyed Jean greatly because he had just been having a wonderful dream about Mikasa. He slowly came to, but the remnants of the dream were still so vivid he swore he could still feel her in his arms. Opening his eyes, he could see the sun was barely beginning to rise. His eyes focused on Armin leaning over him.

"Armin? What the he-" Jean paused when his mind caught up to him. It wasn't a dream. Mikasa was still here. In his arms. In his bed. In the boy's bedroom. And Armin was standing over them.

Shit!

His blond friend reached out hesitantly and pulled the blanket down from Mikasa's shoulder just slightly. He let out a breath of relief when he could see her shirt was still on. Blue eyes narrowed at Jean.

"I didn't see this. Not this time. But you may want to get her up and out of here before Eren finds out." Armin leaned forward then, eyes glinting. "As long as she's happy, I'm happy. But if you hurt her, or do anything to her that she doesn't want, I will destroy you. Eren may kill you, but I will destroy you first. Treat her well."

With that, Armin leaned back and smiled down at them.

"I'll get back in bed for a few minutes so she doesn't suspect anything. But I recommend you get her moved before much longer."

Jean stared after the blond soldier, unsure if he should count himself as blessed that it was Armin who woke early and found them, or cursed that it was Armin who woke early and found them. That guy could be scarier than Levi Heichou when he wanted to be.