Late at night, a single document arrived at the Survey Corps headquarters. It was an official notice of expulsion from the Royal Government Inspector. Leonhart Ani had lost her place within these Walls. Every time the corridor lamps flickered, the soldiers' shadows stretched long against the walls. No one spoke. The long conspiracy had finally come to an end. Yeager Eren stood by the window in his room. The floorboards creaked beneath him. Outside the window, the image of Mikasa's pale sleeping face from earlier that day was still burned into his mind. Though she had recovered, the deep scars remained. Those slender fingers had held his hand all through the night. *Knock, knock.* A short knock at the door. When he opened it, Captain Ackerman Levi stood there. His sharp gray eyes fixed steadily on Eren. "[cold]You're off duty tonight. Go to Mikasa." Eren's eyes widened in surprise. Levi kept his back turned as he continued speaking. "[cold]Rest until tomorrow's sortie. ...Don't think you owe me anything." Eren's throat trembled. He tried to say *thank you*, but the words wouldn't form. Levi's back seemed to carry the shadow of someone he had failed to protect long ago in the Underground City. Without a sound, Eren bowed his head deeply. Levi's footsteps paused for just a moment. But he did not turn around. He simply vanished into the darkness of the corridor. Eren clenched his fists. He couldn't count how many times this man's quiet strength had saved him. In front of Mikasa's room, Eren steadied his breathing. *Knock, knock.* "[gentle]Come in." He opened the door. In the room lit only by a lamp, Mikasa was sitting up in bed, waiting. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders, and her blue eyes gazed at Eren. Bandages were still wrapped around her side, but the color had returned to her face. Eren slowly approached the bed and took Mikasa's hand. "[whispers]We don't have to hide anymore. Our relationship, everything." Mikasa's eyes wavered. She stared at Eren in silence for a moment, then spoke in a low, strained voice. "[whispers]...I was scared." Eren held his breath. "[whispers]Not of the pain... but of the thought that I might lose you." It was the first time. The first time Mikasa had ever spoken of her weakness so openly. She, who was always calm, who never flinched before any Titan, who thought only of protecting Eren—now, with a trembling voice, she said she had been scared. At a loss for words, Eren knelt at the edge of the bed. With a shaking hand, he gently pressed his forehead against Mikasa's bandaged side. The space behind his temples burned. It was hot, it hurt, and yet it was warm. "[whispers]I was... scared too. Losing you was what I feared most." Mikasa's fingers slipped into Eren's hair. Slowly, as if confirming something. All the tension and fear from every episode up until now slowly began to dissolve. One secret between them had vanished. Eren's fingers touched the old scar on Mikasa's shoulder. A wound from when they had survived Shiganshina. A scar deeply etched into her slender shoulder when he had dragged her from the Titan rubble. "[gentle]Does it hurt?" "[gentle]It doesn't hurt." His fingertips gently traced the scar. Next, a small cut beneath her collarbone. A wound from when a wire had grazed her during ODM training back in their trainee days. "[gentle]I remember this one too." Mikasa smiled softly. Eren's fingers moved next to the fresh bandages on her side. The deep wound gouged by a Titan in the Forest of Giant Trees. A raw trace of pain, not yet fully healed. He traced it gently over the bandages. Mikasa's body trembled slightly with a jolt. "[whispers]Does it hurt?" "[whispers]...It doesn't hurt. Touch me more." Eren held his breath and pressed his lips to the bandages. Mikasa's hands wrapped around Eren's neck, pulling him close. "[whispers]Eren." "[whispers]Mikasa." They called each other's names. Again and again. As Eren undressed her, he carefully traced every scar on her body. The old wound on her thigh from training. The faint white line on the inside of her arm. Every scar was proof that they had survived. Mikasa's skin was illuminated by the lamplight, her scars standing out in relief. Eren kissed each one, running his tongue over them. Every time he traced a scar, Mikasa's breathing grew shallow and uneven, her fingers gripping the sheets. "[gentle]Eren... I want to touch your scars too." Mikasa's slender fingers traced the wound on Eren's right arm. The mark where his flesh had nearly necrotized from the backlash of Titan transformation, leaving the skin discolored a dark red. "[sad]You endured this alone... until it got this bad." "[gentle]I wanted to save you. That's all." A single tear spilled from Mikasa's blue eyes. "[crying]I... I can't go on without you, Eren. You have to stay by my side." "[gentle]I'm here. I'll always be by your side." Eren placed his hand on Mikasa's cheek and wiped the tear away with his thumb. Two scarred people held each other, scars and all. It was warm. Mikasa's body heat reached even Eren's nearly necrotized skin. "[whispers]Tonight... I want to confirm everything." Mikasa's voice was hoarse, her breath hot. Instead of answering, Eren pressed his lips to hers. He slipped his tongue inside, entwining it deeply. The inside of Mikasa's mouth was warm, their saliva mingling. Her small tongue timidly tangled with his. "Nn... ah..." When their lips parted, a silver thread stretched between them. Mikasa's blue eyes were glistening, her cheeks flushed red. Eren buried his face in her chest. He pressed his lips to the swell of her breasts, slowly running his tongue over them. When he sucked on her nipple, Mikasa's body jerked. "Ah, there... Eren... nn!" He rolled the hardened nipple with his tongue, lightly grazing it with his teeth. Each time, Mikasa's hips lifted slightly, her fingers tightening on the sheets. Eren's hand moved down to her lower abdomen. Avoiding the bandages, he touched her secret place over her underwear. Even through the cloth, he could tell she was thoroughly soaked. "[whispers]...You're incredibly wet." "[embarrassed]D-don't say it..." Mikasa turned her face away in embarrassment. Eren shifted her underwear aside and ran his fingers directly along her slit. Thick love juices coated his fingers, producing a lewd, squelching sound. "Ahh...!" Mikasa's body arched backward like a bow. Eren slowly sank his finger inside her vagina. The tight passage clenched around his finger, her hot, wet mucous membranes clinging to him. Each time he slid his finger in and out, obscene, squelching sounds echoed through the room. "Nn, nnn... ah, ahh...!" Mikasa bit her lip, desperately trying to stifle her moans. "[gentle]You don't have to hold back your voice. No one's coming tonight." "[embarrassed]B-but..." With his finger still inserted deep inside her, Eren touched her clitoris with his thumb. As he gently stroked the small bud slick with love juices, Mikasa's body trembled violently. "Ah, ah, n-no, Eren, there, I can't...!" "[gentle]Are you about to come?" "I-I'm coming... I'm going to come...!" Mikasa's inner walls clenched tightly around Eren's finger. Her hips bucked wildly, and the fingers gripping the sheets turned white. "Aaahhh...!!" A long, shuddering climax. Love juices ran down Eren's hand, staining the sheets. Eren gently held Mikasa as she gasped for breath. He softly brushed aside the black hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. "[gentle]It's not enough yet." Mikasa looked up at Eren with glistening eyes and touched her own lower abdomen. "[whispers]I want... Eren's. Eren himself, inside me." Eren caught his breath. He himself was already at his limit. When he pulled down his pants, his rigidly erect penis sprang free. Pre-cum was leaking from the tip, signaling the limit of his restraint. He slowly spread Mikasa's legs and pressed the head of his cock against her vaginal opening. The entrance, thoroughly soaked, was already twitching, seeking Eren. "[whispers]I'm putting it in." "[whispers]...Yes, come." He pushed his hips forward. With a wet, yielding sensation, the head was swallowed by her vagina. Hot. Tight. The grip was so strong that Eren involuntarily held his breath. "Ahh... Eren, Eren...!" Mikasa called Eren's name. As if urged on by her voice, Eren thrust all the way to the deepest part in one motion. "Nn-aaahhh!!" Mikasa's back arched deeply. Both her legs wrapped around Eren's waist, holding him tightly as if refusing to let go. Eren began to thrust. Pulling out, then plunging back in deep. The wet, squelching sounds echoed rhythmically, mingling with their ragged breathing. "Ah, ah, ah...! It's hitting... hitting deep inside...!" "[excited]Mikasa... you're squeezing so tight." The inside of Mikasa was hot, clenching and squeezing Eren's penis relentlessly. With each thrust, her love juices frothed, producing obscene, squelching noises. "More, harder...!" Mikasa, usually so composed, was now surrendering herself entirely to pleasure, clinging to Eren. The contrast only heightened Eren's excitement. "Ahh, Eren, I love you, I love you... I love you...!" "[excited]Me too, you're the only one. Only Mikasa, always...!" Eren gripped Mikasa's hips tightly and thrust even deeper. The sensation of the head of his cock hitting the deepest part of her vagina, her cervix. Each time, Mikasa cried out in a high-pitched voice. "Ah, ah, I'm coming, I'm coming again... I want to come together with Eren...!" "[excited]Together... let's come...!" Eren put all his remaining strength into one especially deep thrust. Mikasa's vagina spasmed, clamping down hard on Eren's penis. "Aaahhhhh...!!" The urge to ejaculate surged up. Eren released his semen into the deepest part of Mikasa. Thick, hot cum poured into her womb. "Hah... hah............" The two of them remained motionless, holding each other as they panted heavily. From their joined bodies, cloudy white semen slowly overflowed, staining the sheets. Mikasa's hands clutched Eren's back. "[whispers]...Eren. Stay inside me a little longer." "[gentle]Yeah." Eren stroked Mikasa's hair and kissed her sweaty forehead. Tears, moans, and smiles mingled together. A profound sense of release, unlike any night before, filled the space between them. As dawn began to break, the pale light streaming through the window cast a bluish glow on their skin. With her cheek resting on Eren's chest, Mikasa spoke quietly. "[gentle]From the next expedition on... we don't have to hide anymore, do we?" "[gentle]Yeah. We won't hide from anyone anymore. Captain Levi gave his approval too. We'll tell our comrades properly." Saying this, Eren picked up the red scarf lying by the pillow. He gently wrapped it around Mikasa's neck and tied it carefully. "[gentle]When you tie it for me... I'm not afraid of anything." Mikasa said it softly. "[laughing]You're exaggerating." Eren laughed as he replied, but the corners of his eyes were faintly red. What flowed between them was something new—not fear or tension, but simply a warm and quiet morning atmosphere. The morning assembly bugle rang out. Soldiers gathered in the Survey Corps corridor. Some equipped ODM gear on their waists and strapped gas cylinders to their backs, some checked maps, and some stared at the Wall gate with tense expressions. At that moment, Eren and Mikasa appeared from the far end of the hallway, walking side by side. Their joined hands, unhidden. "[surprised]Huh...!? Y-you two, wha...!?" Connie's eyes went wide, and he froze. Sasha, turning at his voice, nearly dropped the bread she was holding. "[surprised]W-wait, huh, what!? Huh!?!? You're holding hands!?!?" A stir spread through the crowd. Still gripping Mikasa's hand, Eren continued walking straight ahead. Mikasa, too, kept her usual calm expression, though the corners of her mouth relaxed just a little.