A few days had passed since Erika woke up but the doctor insisted that she stay on bed rest for one more day. Truth be told, it was getting lonely in the room. Erwin had his matters to tend to. After all, his responsibilities as Commander couldn't be ignored just because his cousin was injured.
Every now and then, someone would come to her room to bring her food and assist her around. But none really stayed that long. Neither Jean nor Armin had returned for a visit since that night. Their words had left the girl confused, questioning her reality. Nothing made sense.
She tried searching for an answer to all her questions but her mind was too tired to muster up any answer. Despite her tries and failures, the situation never managed to leave her as she lay on the bed in her almost always empty room. She was more than thankful when the door opened to reveal Mikasa entering her room.
"Mikasa," Erika greeted excitedly with a smile.
"How are you? I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while. We've been a little busy," she explained briefly, taking a seat beside the bed.
"I'm fine," the brunette replied, a slight croak in her voice.
Being the observer that she was, Mikasa could sense the change in the aura of the girl beside her. Mikasa's dark eyes turned to Erika, noticing the glint of trouble paired with Erika's downturned lips.
"Is something troubling you, Erika?" Mikasa asked softly.
Being asked something so true to her emotions made Erika widen her eyes in shock before eletting out a deep sigh. "Actually yeah," she mumbled lowly.
"Oh, what happened?"
Erika then proceeded to tell Mikasa of what had happened between her and Armin. "And afterwards, something even weirder- Well, more like annoying," she rolled her eyes. "Happened with Jean." Erika continued to reminisce the past, letting out her words to the ear-lending Mikasa. "And I guess I'm just kinda confused. Like, I don't really get why Armin would be angry," Erika sighed exasperatedly. "And even if, EVEN IF, I had a crush on the Captain, which I don't!" She denied. "Why would Armin be upset about it?"
"I see," Mikasa hummed. "Maybe he's just jealous," she shrugged nonchalantly, her words casual.
"Huh?! Jealous?" Erika gasped, clearly dumbfounded by the former girl's theory. "I mean like, wh-why would- um, why- like jealous? Why?" She stammered, almost not understanding the meaning of the situation despite the red tainting her cheeks.
"Because you know, he-" Mikasa's words abruptly stopped upon realizing the situation. "Uh, you know what? Never mind," she dismissed it just as quickly. "Maybe he was just having a bad day or something. You should ask him about it."
"Well, I would, but, he hasn't seen me since that day," Erika licked her lips, eyes displaying sadness.
Silence loomed over the girls for a minute before Mikasa broke a question. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?" Erika responded.
"What do you think about Armin?" Erika quivered, trying to find words to answer which all ended up sounding like a bunch of gibberish, except proof to Mikasa of how Erika was feeling. "Erika, you can talk to me," Mikasa gently cooed, placing a hand atop Erika's.
"Well, I guess, Armin... He's a good friend," Erika sighed. "He's always kind and always there for you. I like that about him. And I think he's a really cool person, in general. He's sweet. And smart. And his eyes. I really like his eyes. Especially when he's focused. Or when he's talking about the outside world, about a future he wishes for... Truth be told, I've never actually cared about all those things. I've always just survived. I didn't care enough to live, to look forward to something... But Armin... He inspires me. He makes me realize that I want to see the world, too. I want to learn more about it. I want to experience new things. And I want to do it with him. And Armin... I look at him and I see hope for the future. I can't help but want to protect it. I want to protect him. Armin... He's Armin. And... I love Armin."
Mikasa had spent the past three years with the girl in front of her. In turn, Mikasa understood the look Erika displayed. The light behind her dark eyes reflected the words she let out alongside the emotions swirling in her heart. Almost touched by her friend's feelings, Mikasa couldn't help but let a rare beam tickle her lips, pulling its corners upwards.
But when Erika realized her last words, burgundy drowned her skin, her mind rambling quickly to find something to save herself from the embarassment. "I didn't mean it like that! I swear!"
"It's fine. I know exactly what you meant. You meant it exactly like that," Mikasa cut her off.
"No-"
"Please, I know. You don't have to lie anymore," she deadpanned.
Erika felt defeated, looking away with a sharp exhale. "I guess... I guess I do love him." Her hesitation cracked a small chuckle from Mikasa. "Did you just laugh? I don't think I've ever heard you laugh," Erika cheekily teased, soon bursting into laughter that settled under the silence of the room.
The next day soon arrived and Erika managed to make her way to her cousin's office. She was more than glad to have some company in the room. Even if one of the people was the very boy who had been avoiding her. Armin made eye contact with Erika as she walked in the office, quickly looking away in embarassment.
"Oh, Erika, you're back!" Eren exclaimed.
"I didn't see you caring before," she rolled his eyes, slightly bitter than Eren never took his time to visit her.
"You should be resting," Erwin reminded.
"I've been resting for too long. One more day in bed and you're all going to start forgetting about me," she scoffed, immediately taking a seat at the table.
"Why did you want to meet with us, Erika?" The Commander questioned.
"I think I know who the Colossal Titan and the Armoured Titan are."
Everyone seated around the table let out their displays of shock, almost finding themselves at disbelief. Could she really have figured out the culprits that many are searching for?
"Annie was a very reserved person," Erika began to explain. "She wouldn't really talk to you unless its necessary. Except two people," she added. "Armin," she drawled out, looking at his light blue eyes as a slight crack of her voice formed at the tip of her tongue. "You know where I'm going with this, don't you?"
"I think I do," he mumbled, looking down to the wooden table. "Reiner... And Bertholdt..."
"What?! No way! Are you kidding me?! They're like brothers to us!" Eren objected, pushing himself off his chair, the wooden legs scraping sharply against the floor.
"Think about it!" Erika retorted. "Have you ever seen Annie talk to anyone else?"
"B-But, you can't seriously think-"
"You think I want this, Eren? You think I want to be right?!" Erika chuckled bitterly. "They were my friends, too," she softly cried without tears.
Despite the tension haunting the four teens, the Commander was left with no choice but to begin to strategize their next moves. As expected, Erika was instructed not to join her classmates due to her injury. So as Erika sat in a carriage next to Captain Levi, her mind began to conjure up horrifying thoughts that maybe Armin could have met when she heard that the squad has yet to return.
"Three of them turned into Titans!" One of the soldiers who had returned reported.
"Three?" Erika frowned, looking at Levi who bore the same puzzled look.
Once he came to a conclusion about the situation, Erwin led all the soldiers -albeit from whichever regiment they were in- to reunite with Hange's squad. Trying to distract herself from her worrying thoughts, Erika decided to make some tea for the Captain and her.
She carefully opened the door to the room that she and the Captain were in, the tray gently brought by her two hands. She placed it down on the table and began pouring the drink once she was sure the tea was done.
Meanwhile, Captain Levi was practicing his aim by throwing some daggers at the wall before him. Erika took a seat on the couch, taking small sips of her hot beverage while her eyes admired the man's skills, every once in a while noticed by the Captain who spared side glances to her.
Still, her thoughts weren't exactly in the moment. Rather, she was brought back to the past week. The situation with Armin... Jean's refusal to tell her... Mikasa's question... And Erika's confession...
"Captain, can I ask you something?" She suddenly spoke sweetly, shocking herself and the man.
"What?" He plainly replied.
The reality of the situation occurred to her. She felt slightly embarrassed of even thinking of venting to her superior. Changing her mind, she shook her head, "You know what... Never mind."
"Erika, just tell me," he said, voice deep and tired. "You already brought it up."
"Oh okay," she mumbled. "So, uh, you know Armin? The-"
"The genius?" He deadpanned, eyes proving unreadable.
"Yeah, him."
"Yeah? What's with him?" The Captain questioned. Erika debated telling him or not, earning another warning from him, "Erika, just spit it out. We're both gonna be stuck here together for quite some time. It's not gonna do you any good if you do not say anything."
"Right," she exhaled. "I... I..."
"Erika, please," he pressured, eyes deeply boring into hers.
"Okay, I love Armin," she did as told, spitting out the words faster than she herself could comprehend.
"I know."
"What? What do you mean you know?" She blinked slowly, almost lost at the words.
"I've seen you two in the same room. The way you look at him, it's so obvious," he let out a scoff. "The way he looks at you. I don't know how you don't know. Everyone is aware of it. Honestly, even your cousin knows."
"My- Wh-Wh- What?! Erwin knows?!"
"Yeah? Like I said, you're too damn obvious."
"Oh my God, Erwin- God, I need time to process this. Oh my God, Erwin knows?" She began to panic, setting down her teacup to grab at her head. "Shit, do you think he's gonna kill Armin?"
"Wha-"
"Was he like, upset about it or anything? Because I remember when I was young, there was this guy at school who was nice to me and Erwin was so overprotective. And- Oh God, they're out right now and I'm not there to- Oh my God, what if he kills Armin? What if-" Her rambles began, words thrown out without second thoughts.
"Erika, please," Levi sternly stopped her. "You're stressing me out. Your cousin is not going to kill him."
"How do you know Erwin knows? How are you so sure Erwin knows?" The girl asked, still in denial.
"Like I said, it was obvious. And he told me. And four-eyes."
"He told you?! Oh my God," she groaned, feeling humiliation washing over her. "When-"
"He told me he knew since initiation night," Captain Levi sighed tiredly.
"That long? How? Nothing even happened," she muttered. "I didn't even know I love him at the time."
"As I said, it's obvious," the Captain repeated. "So, what? Are you just trying to figure out if you love him? Because if so, then yes, you are in love with him," he rolled his eyes. "End of story."
"Right, I'm sorry," she apologized. "That's not it. Something happened and he was basically being jealous and I just don't understand why he would be jealous, you know?" She sighed sadly.
"Erika, would you be jealous if you saw him with another girl?"
The question rose some rushing blood to the girl's cheeks. "Well, yes. But only because I'm in love with him-"
"Erika, please, before I throw this dagger at you," he sassed.
"Right, sorry. But do you actually think he loves-"
"Yes," he firmly pressured, showing slight annoyance.
"Okay, sir. Thank you, Captain," she mumbled lowly, her gaze lowering to the ground in slight shame. Quickly, to take her focus off the feeling, she took her book and began reading it in silence.