[It’s amazing what desperation can make people do. Like diving headlong into the abyss to get away from someone, only to grab his wrist and cry for him like he’s the only lifeline she has left. And now, initiating the most horrifying thing of all (or so it’s become, years removed from that youthful tangle): lying next to someone. Inches away, even.]

[But damn if the relief isn’t immediate. Aubrey covers her face to muffle the sigh, shaky as it remains, and because (of course!) she’s facing Eren. Sure, it’s dark under here, and she spent god knows how long staring at him before he woke up, but suddenly looking his way would be too much.

[Her priorities are so fucked.]

[Aubrey doesn’t fully stop shivering, but with each passing breath it subsides a little more; from something toeing hypothermia to a somewhat-tolerable chill. She’s not so far gone she’d prefer the thought-freezing scramble, of course. But there’s something stifling about this, too; quiet, unbearably close. She is much, much more aware of Eren’s breathing, his own shiver, and overall indomitable presence than she wants to be.

[He actually seems to be radiating heat.]

H-how… the hell… [Just to hear something besides him.]