Mikasa held her breath, and was careful not let out a sound. She continued to walk on the injured foot, even though the pressure of it hitting the ground brought her great discomfort.

"Anyway, as I was saying, the rain is going to make it difficult to get back before sunset. So we should pick up the pace." Armin explained.

Eren nodded, "Sounds good."

Mikasa knew that she wouldn't be able to run with a twisted ankle, but she definitely didn't want to bring inconvenience to Eren and Armin.

"You guys go ahead, I'm gonna walk." she said softly.

Armin raised an eyebrow at her, "Mikasa, that's not a good idea."

She shook her head, "I'll be fine, you guys go." she assured him.

Eren watched her carefully, and noticed the slight difference in the way she was walking. He remembered watching her stand up funny when she tripped on the root. Even though he caught her before she fell, her foot still got caught under the root.

"Armin you go ahead, I'll stay with her." Eren stated.

Armin was now looking at both of them like they were crazy, "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, you need the points, Mikasa and I will be fine if we happen to show up late. You should hurry." Eren explained.

Armin hesitated, but agreed, before running into the fog. When Armin was out of sight, Eren stopped in his tracks. Mikasa stopped as well, and turned to see why he paused.

He sighed, and began pulling the weighted bag off of his back. "What are you doing? You should go with Armin." she said.

He chuckled under his breath, "And leave an injured idiot alone? No can do." he said, as he strapped his bag to his stomach.

Shit. He knows.

"How did you-" "You shouldn't walk on it until you get it checked out." he said, as he moved closer to her.

He kneeled down to the floor, with his back facing her. "What are you-" "Get on." he demanded.

She felt a blush rush to her face, as she shook her head vigorously. "No! You need to catch up with Armin, you're gonna be late!"

He turned his head to exchange a look, one that read 'stop talking and listen'.

She let out a defeated sigh, and climbed onto his back. She wrapped her hands around his neck as he stood, and his hands held onto her thighs.

"I'm really heavy-" "You're not." he interrupted plainly as he walked forward.

"That's a hundred pounds of baggage plus my weight!" she exclaimed. He shook his head, "Then you really need to eat more." he stated, as he began picking up his pace.

It began raining more heavily, drenching their clothes. But he continued to carry her like it was nothing.

"Eren-" "Would you stop making a fuss?" he shouted.

The anger in his voice shocked her, as she felt instant guilt rush over her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Just, don't worry okay?" he told her softly.

She whispered a quick 'yes' before resting her head onto his soaked shoulder. His skin held the aroma of citrus and nutmeg, and an instant nostalgia hit her.

"Eren?" "Hm?" "Do you remember when you ruined my clothes by throwing food at me?" she asked.

He scoffed, "Are you really gonna pick a fight with me right now?" he asked.

"No, that's not why I mentioned it. I was just gonna say that Jean gave me his extra shirt that night, and it smelled like you." she explained, not realizing how weird the statement came out until after she said it.

Eren thought back, and remembered that Jean took the credit for the shirt he let her borrow. "That's because it was my shirt." he muttered, as her eyes widened and she lifted her head up.

"Really?" "Yeah." he mumbled.

She thought back on the day, and how much hatred she felt towards Eren. But she wore cloth that had touched his skin, and she took in that comforting scent.

"Why are you smelling me?" "I'm not!" she exclaimed as he laughed.

She rested her head back onto his shoulder, silently pouting like a child.

"What do I smell like?" "Citrus. With a hint of nutmeg." she explained softly.

He bent his head down slightly, and lightly touched her arm with the tip of his nose. "You smell tart."

"Tart?"

"Yeah, like a raspberry pastry?"

She smiled softly, and weirdly felt honored to have the same scent of the precious fruit.

He continued to run through a blanket of fog, moving closer to camp with every step. Not long after, the fog cleared out and the rain ceased. Eren could see the camp not too far ahead, and there were still a few more minutes before sunset.

Mikasa looked up and was relieved to see the sun setting over the camp a few feet away.

Their friends waited for them along a railing, and Sasha was the first to see them. She sprang up to her feet, "EREN!" she shouted.

"WHERE IS..." she began, before catching a glimpse of Mikasa's figure attached to his back.

"Mikasa!" she exclaimed, before running towards them.

"Mikasa!" she exclaimed, approaching the two.

"Did we make it in time?" Eren asked. "What? Yeah! But what about Mikasa? Mikasa are you okay?" she stammered frantically.

Mikasa chuckled softly, "Yeah I'm-"

"Mikasa!" Jean exclaimed, approaching the three of them. "What happened? Are you okay? Why is Eren-"

"Guys, I'm fine." she said, tapping Eren's shoulder as a signal let her down. He obliged, and helped her off. He watched her carefully, silently worrying about her injury.

"You both are drenched!" Armin exclaimed, as Connie and him ran up to the rest of the group.

Jean took Mikasa's hand, "What happened?" he asked. She cringed at the amount of people worrying about her, and hated the feeling.

"I just tripped. ." she guaranteed them.

"You should go to the clinic Mikasa." Eren said.

Mikasa turned to him and nodded, and began making her leave until Jean grabbed her hand.

"Let me carry you there."

"No, I'm gonna walk." she told Jean, wiggling her wrist out of his grip.

Before he could argue, she took off towards the clinic. Sasha took off after her, as the boys watched them walk into the distance.

Jean's attention turned back to Eren, as he scowled at him. "What?" Eren muttered, returning the glare.

"Well? Did you purposely trip my girlfriend so you could hold her? I'm not surprised." he said.

Eren furrowed his brow, "What the fuck are you on about?" "Guys let calm down..." Armin intervened.

"Oh come on. You like her, and you can't get over the fact she'll never like you back." Jean hissed, blinded by his anger.

Eren aggressively grabbed the collar of Jean's shirt, "Are you that fucking stupid? Maybe if you didn't leave her back there you would've been able to carry her. But you don't own Mikasa, so I'd suggest you stop treating her like your pet." he spoke through his clenched teeth.

Jean glared down at him in rage, prepared to erupt any second.

Armin grabbed Eren's hand and removed it from Jean's shirt, as Connie eyed Jean and signaled him to cool it.

"Alright stop. Both of you." Armin demanded.

"Yeah guys, chill. Let's just go to the cafeteria before we miss dinner."