The sound of boots kicking up dirt on the training ground echoed unnaturally loud in his head. At the Survey Corps headquarters within Wall Rose, in a training area converted from the old stables, Yeager Eren tightened the harness of his ODM gear. The fifteen-kilogram weight digging into his shoulders and hips pulled his mind back to reality. If it didn't, he felt like he might lose it. A few days had passed since that night. In the abandoned house during the thunderstorm, with Mikasa. Just remembering it made the back of his neck burn. "Tch... focus." Eren cursed under his breath and fixed his gaze on the target ahead once more. A log carved to resemble a Titan's neck hung suspended in the air ten meters away. The nape area was painted with red dye to mark the target zone. He had to cut it in a single strike. Deeply, precisely. Otherwise, against a real Titan, he'd die. That was the reality of the Survey Corps. He pressed the trigger for the wire launch with his thumb. A sharp hiss of white vapor leaked from the gas propulsion unit. His body lifted into the air. Engaging his core, controlling his center of gravity, he swung around to the target's flank. He planted his foot against a thick pillar meant to simulate a tree, timing the moment for just an instant. (*Now!*) With a clear mind, Eren drew both blades and slashed in a sweeping arc. *Shhk.* The feedback wasn't bad. When he landed and looked back, wood splinters scattered from the cut in the log. But it needs to be three centimeters deeper, or it's useless—Captain Ackerman Levi's cold voice echoed in his mind. "...Damn it." Not yet. He moved to launch himself again—and that's when it happened. At the edge of his vision, black hair swayed. His heart leaped. Ackerman Mikasa. In the adjacent training lane, she was lined up with the others, receiving a form check on her ODM maneuvering. Her jade-green eyes were as cold and clear as ever. Her long, straight black hair danced beautifully through the air, matching the rhythm of falling and hovering. Her movements were flawless, without a single wasted motion. No soldier among their cohort could match her, and even the instructors were left speechless. That Mikasa glanced at Eren. Just for a split second, their eyes met. —*It's the same as that night*, he thought. Deep within her eyes, something hot flickered. Only he could tell. Her green eyes only revealed the fire beneath the ice when they were looking at him. *Thump.* Something pounded violently deep in Eren's chest, and the strength drained from his fingertips. On his next approach, he missed his footing. He lost his balance and dropped to one knee on the ground. "You idiot, what are you doing, Eren!" Springer Conny was bouncing up and down, laughing. The shaved-headed mood-maker with the undercut. "[laughing]You're staring too much! If you get lost in looking at Mikasa, you can't train!" Snickers rippled through the surrounding soldiers. Eren stood up, brushing off the mud, and shot back. "[angry]Shut up, I wasn't looking! My foot just slipped!" His face was hot. There was no way he could admit that he'd been looking at Mikasa, gotten flustered, and messed up because of it. (*Ah, damn. This is really bad.*) Eren cursed inwardly and turned back toward the target. But his mind was made up. No one could know about this heat inside him. --- It was when the afternoon light had deepened its hue just a little. The water-fetching duty rotation had come around. Usually, it was a simple task for a group of three, but today one of their teammates had fallen ill, leaving just the two of them to fill the water tank in the back of the storehouse. Inside the dim storehouse, the air was slightly cool, and the clamor outside felt like a lie in the stillness. Only the rhythmic sound of water filling the buckets echoed steadily. "...Eren." Mikasa's voice was lower and heavier than usual. She set down her bucket and silently grabbed Eren's arm. She pushed him firmly against the stone wall. The cold sensation of the stone pressed against his back. "Mi—kasa—" Before he could finish, her lips were on his. It was different from that first night—a hard, desperate kiss. As if there was something that would vanish if she didn't confirm it right here, right now. Mikasa's slender, strong fingers gripped the collar of Eren's shirt, and that strength proved that night had been real. After the long kiss, she pressed her forehead against his chest. "[whispers]That night... do you regret it?" It was a trembling question, finally forced out by the usually calm and composed girl. Eren shook his head. There was no way he regretted it. "[serious]Of course not. What about you..." The moment he started to speak, Mikasa's arms wrapped around his back. She buried her face in his chest, clinging to him. "[crying]I'm... relieved. I kept thinking... what if all of that was a dream." At those words, a warmth spread through the center of Eren's chest. He gently placed his hand on her black hair. For a while, they held each other, breathing ragged, feeling each other's warmth. "Hey—you done with the water yet?" A comrade's voice rang out from the distance. They sprang apart as if jolted by electricity, grabbing their buckets again as if nothing had happened. Mikasa's face had already returned to its usual perfect-soldier expression. Only the tips of her ears were faintly red. "We're coming now." She replied with feigned composure and left the storehouse. Another comrade passing by tilted their head as they watched her retreating figure. --- Late at night. The corridors of the Survey Corps headquarters were ruled by silence and the regular footsteps of the patrol guards. That sound finally faded into the distance. The window to Eren's room opened without a sound. Moving like a shadow, a silhouette with black hair slipped inside. Mikasa. Without making a single footstep, she approached his bedside. Words were already few between them. Eren reached out and wrapped his arm around Mikasa's waist. The skin beneath her shirt was slightly chilled from the night breeze. He pulled her close, as if to warm her. Her breath brushed against his neck. As he guided her to the bed, he devoured her lips again and again. Gentle at first, then gradually more intense—each time his tongue traced the inside of her mouth, her body gave a small jolt. In the dim light, they undressed each other. Her skin glowed pale under the moonlight, searing its smooth curves into Eren's eyes. He unfastened her white bra. Her small, white breasts spilled free. He felt with the pad of his finger that the pale pink nipples at their tips were already stiff and erect. "[whispers]Ah..." A hot breath escaped her lips. Eren pressed her slender shoulders down, sinking her gently into the bed. He traced the line of her delicate collarbone with his tongue and buried his face in the swell of her chest. When he gently caught her nipple between his lips and rolled it with the tip of his tongue, her back arched. "[whispers]Nn, ah... Eren..." She clutched his hair, desperately stifling her voice. The tension that someone might be in the next room paradoxically heightened her body's sensitivity to its limit. His hand traveled down to her lower abdomen and removed the last piece of fabric. It was already overflowing with thick, hot nectar, staining her underwear. He traced her secret place with his fingers. "...Nn, fua...!" When he spread her drenched labia apart with his fingers, slick love juices overflowed from between them, forming threads and staining the sheets. Using that slickness, he pressed the hard, swollen tip of his penis against her slit. The moment his hot glans rubbed up against her sensitive clitoris, she lifted her hips and trembled. "[whispers]Please... Eren, hurry..." At her pleading voice, Eren's reason burned away. He thrust his hips forward. *Squelch.* Hot, and tight. Her vaginal walls clamped down tightly around his entire penis, drawing him deeper inside as if pulling him in. He pushed all the way in at once and began to move rhythmically. "Ah, aah!... Nnn...!" She bit the back of her own hand to kill her voice, writhing her body in time with Eren's rhythm. From their joined flesh, every time he drove his hips forward, wet, obscene sounds echoed throughout the small room. That's when it happened. —*Clack, clack, clack.* Outside in the corridor, the regular patrol footsteps stopped right in front of the room. Their movements literally froze in an instant. Eren remained buried to the hilt inside her, Mikasa with her nails still digging into his back, their bare skin pressed tightly together as they stared at each other from just a few centimeters apart. They even stopped breathing. *Thump, thump*—only the sound of each other's hearts was so unbearably loud. A tension so intense they thought it might be heard outside continued for several dozen seconds. ...*Clack, clack, clack.* Eventually, the footsteps receded again, and silence returned. The moment the thread of tension snapped, Mikasa buried her face in the crook of Eren's shoulder and trembled. "...Fufu." He thought she was crying. But no. She was stifling her voice, laughing. Eren had never once seen that expression on her face before. That defenseless look of hers pierced his chest with fierce intensity. "[gentle]Mikasa..." He kissed her forehead, and then, more quietly—but as if afraid to let go—they sought each other's bodies again. This time, she climbed on top of him, and in a cowgirl position, began to move her hips on her own. "[whispers]My Eren... I won't give you to anyone." As if her usual composure were a lie, she straddled him and slammed her hips down fiercely, taking his penis even deeper inside her. Her vagina spasmed ceaselessly, clamping down tightly on Eren's penis. "Gh, ugh... I'm going to come, Mikasa!" "[crying]Deep inside... please, make me come deep inside...!" He grabbed her hips and thrust up into her again and again from below. And each time his penis kissed her cervix, she let out a small cry and reached climax. Finally, with his penis pressed into her deepest point, he released all of his hot semen in thick, pulsing spurts. Her vagina filled with his cloudy white fluid. "Ah... aaaaahhh...!" Mikasa too reached her final climax, her whole body convulsing. Covered in sweat and bodily fluids, they held each other tightly for a long time. --- Just before dawn. Outside, the world was still wrapped in deep indigo. Mikasa rested her cheek on Eren's chest, listening to his heartbeat as she quietly spoke. "[whispers]If... this is discovered, it's discharge from the corps. Or worse, confinement." Her voice was far too gentle for the reality she was stating. "[serious]I know." Eren answered curtly, still staring at the ceiling. "[whispers]Even so." She paused for a moment, then continued. "[crying]Even so, I can't stop. ...I'm afraid of losing you, Eren. More than being killed by a Titan... the thought of someone taking you away from me is far more terrifying." Her fingers dug lightly into Eren's chest. He silently accepted the weight of those words, resting his hand on her black hair. Their relationship was no longer mere impulse. This was the decisive night it transformed into a deep dependence on each other's existence—and into obsession. --- The next morning's assembly ended as mechanically as always. But during the brief meeting afterward, Vice-Captain Gunta spoke up, mixing it into casual conversation. "Ah, come to think of it, there's been a certain pair spending an awful lot of time together lately." His heart froze solid. Gunta was a rugged warrior with a bit of gray mixed into his hair. He was strict but cared about his comrades, and he was the type to make jokes like this. He cleared his throat deliberately and continued. "[serious]Well, I don't care what young soldiers do... b