𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙮 | 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰 𝘹 𝘚𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 9: 𝘕𝘪𝘬𝘶

Niccolo awoke early, with a smile on his face. Today was the day that Sasha was coming home. Niccolo quickly rushed to the kitchen to prepare food for the returning scouts. He was excited, very excited, for them to come back, and wore his smile with pride. But maybe this was just a disguise to hide the sick feeling in his gut that something bad had happened. He was well aware of it, of what might have happened to all of them, to Sasha. He remembered the nightmare, once more, and grimaced at the image. Dead, she could be dead. She could be alive, too. She had to be, he just needed to have faith in her. Yet, he still feared today. She promised that she was going to come back, but she never promised she was going to come back with her glimmering smile, or her beating heart.

~

Wet tears slid down her face, but they weren't hers, they couldn't be. She was dead, after all, right?
Sasha slightly opened her right eye, and saw the faint, blurry image of a few people crowded around her, and one boy with a buzzcut leaning over her, crying. She opened her eyes fully, slightly blinded by the amount of sunlight coming into the room, but that was nothing compared to the loud cheers she heard around her.

"Sasha! You're alive!" Connie shouted, waving his arms around happily.
Sasha moved her head up slightly, and looked around, seeing Connie, Jean, Armin, Mikasa, and Eren, all sat around her. She smiled, knowing that they all cared. Yet, her smile fell, as she realised Niccolo wasn't there. It made sense, he must not have been told yet. She imagined him, standing at the dock, waiting for her to come out of the airship and greet him with a hug. Sasha sat up, but winced, and quickly laid back down. Jean noticed, and grabbed a pillow to support her back, allowing her to sit up and face them.

"Niku," Sasha said, with all her might. She found it hard to breath and speak, so she said the only thing she could.

"Meat? You want something to eat?" Connie asked, prepared to go and find some food. But Sasha only shook her head, and took a deep breath to try and finish the word.

"Niku...Niccolo," Sasha said again, clearer, and Connie let out a mix between a sigh of relief and a gasp of realisation.

"Right! Yeah, he's probably waiting for you, outside. Y'know, when you got shot, I thought that 'Niku' was going to be your last word, I thought you just wanted some meat. I didn't think you'd be calling out for Niccolo, Jean, how sweet is that?"
Sasha couldn't help but let confusion fill her mind.
'𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵?' Sasha thought. She looked down at her stomach, and saw a bandage covering her torso. A bit of blood had bled through the fabric, and she could smell a bunch of medical oils and ointments. She had gotten shot, and suddenly the whole memory came back. She remembered seeing a small brown-haired girl climb on the ship, point a gun at her, and then a sharp pain on the side of her own stomach. Sasha scanned her surroundings, and came to the conclusion that she was still on the airship, which meant it was going to land soon, and she would be able to see Niccolo. A silence crossed the room, and only Sasha's deep breaths could be heard. After it began to feel awkward, and Eren looked like he was ready to take his leave, Mikasa spoke up.

"You know, I've never felt emotional about death, or other people's deaths. I never really thought much about those who died fighting, whether they were strong or not. And now, I've realised that I was selfish, and that after I nearly lost you, Sasha, that I shouldn't take my own life or my friends for granted. Thank you," Mikasa said, and looked at Sasha, and then everyone else, who all nodded in agreement.

"Well, we are going to land soon, so we'll try and get you some crutches and see if you can walk, and if it hurts too much we'll figure something else out," Jean said, as Sasha began to feel weak, and closed her eyes once more.

~

Niccolo arrived at the dock, panting, since he'd ran here exactly like he did last time. He looked up into sky, and beyond the bright sun and illuminated clouds, he could see the faint shape of an oval in the sky. It was the airship. Everyone around him started cheering as the ship slowly made its way down to the port. People started shoving past him and crowding around the doors as soldiers began to file out, and wave at the crowds. He saw many brown-haired girls, but none of them were his. It was only until a good fifteen minutes later that the survey corps stepped outside. He pushed through the people, and spotted Armin, followed by the rest of his friends, and finally, a trio. Two boys carrying a stretcher, with a brown-haired girl lying on it. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 brown-haired girl.

'𝘕𝘰! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥!' Niccolo thought, pushing through the people, and getting closer. But when he neared, they were gone. He could only assume that they got on the wooden wagons which were taking everyone back to headquarters. He quickly got on one himself, along with a few other civilians, and followed the carts.

~

After half an hour, Niccolo finally arrived at a large tipi tent, with lots of injured people walking in and out of it. It was where scouts were being treated. He stepped inside, and saw lots of beds lined up on the walls, and some beds on the floor. He walked in between them, and eventually spotted Connie, Jean, Mikasa, Armin, and a short dirty blonde haired nurse talking to them. He quickly rushed over to them, and kneeled on the floor, looking at Sasha.

"Niccolo! Don't worry, she's not dead, just injured. The nurse said that she'll be able to fully recover within three months," Jean said, understanding how worried Niccolo must be. Sasha opened her eyes again, and let out a small laugh after seeing Niccolo. It was the laugh that Niccolo loved so much. She placed her hand on his, and squeezed it slightly.

"Right, guys, let's go. Niccolo, we'll leave you guys alone for a moment," Armin said, understanding the situation. Everyone got up and left the room, leaving Niccolo staring into Sasha's golden eyes. No matter how many times he would see them, or her, his breath would hitch, and his heart would beat faster, every time.

"Niccolo...I did it, I came back," Sasha quietly whispered to him.

"Yeah, you did it, I'm proud of you," He said, wiping a few stray strands of hair from her face, and giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead. Sasha leaned into his touch and after sitting there for less than a minute, Niccolo could hear tiny snores coming from her. He smiled, and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you."

~

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𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 <3

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