After neglecting FF for years, I felt the sudden need to come back after joining the SnK fandom. I've been thinking about picking up my old stories (check them out if you love Dramione from the Harry Potter fandom), but life is just hectic so no promises. Anyways, Eren/Mikasa all the way because they are real, and if you're choosing to read this story then I'm sure we agree. Set after the Battle of Trost District Arc at the former HQ of the Survey Corps after the first week of training as official members. Since we're already up to Chapter 59 in the manga and this is around Chapter 21, lots of stuff hasn't happened yet so just keep that in mind. :) I made up their living arrangements since they're not really mentioned—we just know that poor Eren gets the basement. Rated T for alcohol and language. This will probably be a few chapters long!

Chapter 1: Oriental Glow

Saturday, 11:07 PM

"Hey guys, look what I found!"

The three occupants in the room looked up at the sound of Sasha's excited voice. She appeared to be extremely pleased with herself, and knowing her it had something to do with food. The brunette closed the door with a soft click and leaned against it, grinning widely before brandishing the item she had hidden behind her back.

"Meat." Ymir flatly drawled in a disinterested tone. She took one look at it and laid back down on her bunk, resting an arm over her eyes.

On the bunk directly above, Krista put down the book in her hand and frowned at the glutton, who was unashamedly salivating as she worshipped the large piece of meat in her grasp. "Sasha, where did you get that? You're going to get in trouble with the Lance Corporal if he catches you."

"Oh, sorry not this—this is mine." Sasha laughed boisterously and somehow hid the slab of meat inside the folds of her military jacket. Krista didn't bother to conceal her disgust; God knows what else she had in there. "I meant this!"

"Is that…?" The blonde girl blinked in astonishment. "Oh god, we're definitely going to get in trouble. Put it back!"

Ymir abruptly sat up, intrigued, her eyebrows lifting and eyes lighting up in faint amusement.

The carefree food hoarder laughed again and walked over to her bunk opposite Krista's. "Don't worry, there are so many bottles down there, no one's ever going to notice one missing."

Krista sighed in exasperation and glanced at the only girl in the room who had yet to say anything. "Mikasa, don't you agree with me? This is a bad idea."

The black-haired warrior remained silent and seemingly indifferent as she continued to get ready for bed, choosing to ignore the others as usual. Even after a week as an official member of the Survey Corps, she was unhappy with the living arrangements. She couldn't for the life of her understand why she couldn't stay with Eren. His quarters were in the basement, so it wouldn't even be inappropriate or inconvenient as he didn't have any roommates. When she had requested to sleep in the basement as well, Lance Corporal Levi simply gave her an odd look while Eren immediately and rather vehemently shot her down. That had stung to say the least.

Sasha waved the alcohol around deliriously, already acting like a drunk. "Oh come on guys! We deserve a brief respite after such a long week of planning, training, planning, training, and more planning, and—"

She was cut off by two crisp knocks on the wooden door. Sasha froze for a few seconds, guilt flitting across her face before rushing to stuff the bottle under her blankets. She gestured to the other girls wildly for someone to go answer the door. With a sigh, Mikasa padded over to the door and cracked it open.

There was no one within her direct line of sight…oh. She looked down and met the narrowed eyes of Eren's squad leader.

"Ackerman, what the hell is going on in there? It's half an hour past curfew!" Levi's signature irritated growl came from the doorway.

Mikasa met his death glare evenly with one of her own and said in a monotonous voice, "Sasha farted in her sleep." Her face was devoid of any emotion.

From behind, Ymir snorted and Krista suppressed a giggle.

"Hey Mikasa!" Said girl protested, whimpering a bit like a wounded animal.

A look of outright disgust and disdain took over the man's features. "Blouse, you do that again and you're done here!" With a sweep of his green cape and final warning glare, the short captain with an equally short fuse turned on his heel and trudged away, presumably to sleep after having completed his night watch shift. According to the schedule, it was Petra's turn.

As soon as the door closed, Sasha pounced and relentlessly tugged on the arm of the ebony-haired girl like a petulant child. "Mikasa, you're so mean to me! This is the second time!"

Slightly twitching in annoyance, Mikasa gave a resigned sigh and looked the upset girl dead in the eye. "Fine, you can drink. Just keep it down."

"So what exactly is this stuff anyways?" Krista asked suspiciously, peering into the bottle containing dark amber liquid. She and Ymir were sitting on the bottom bunk while Sasha had taken the liberty of making herself comfortable on Mikasa's bed directly across from them.

"I guess we'll find out." Sasha grabbed the bottle from her and took a large gulp. She rapidly blinked a few times before coughing and spluttering, tossing the bottle back into Krista's hands. "That's some strong alcohol, my throat burns! Save me, Mikasa!" The brunette dramatically threw herself across Mikasa's lap, clutching onto the unperturbed girl who was just silently watching the scene before her.

Ymir scoffed and took the bottle. "What an idiot. Let me show you kids how it's done." Like an experienced drinker, she tipped the bottle back and allowed the cool liquid to trickle down her throat. After a few seconds, Ymir pulled the bottle away from her lips and eyed it curiously. "This is surprisingly good. You said you stole this from the cellar?"

Sasha nodded eagerly. "There's a whole collection stowed away down there. You think it's the Special Ops' secret stash?" Her eyes gleamed in excitement.

"Maybe…" Krista shrugged, twirling a lock of golden hair. "Should we really be doing this?"

"Aww, my Krista is such a good girl!" Ymir wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulder and pulling her in tightly.

"If you're going to do it, just do it." Mikasa spoke up offhandedly. "Don't hesitate."

Krista still looked unsure, and Ymir scoffed again. "Well then, why don't you demonstrate for us?" It was a challenge.

Mikasa's eyes narrowed dangerously at the girl with freckles. Without another word, she reached over and snatched the bottle. She never backed down from a challenge. Giving the alcohol a whiff, Mikasa brought the rim to her lips and tipped her head back. The tangy liquid scorched her throat, but it was a small price to pay for a point to prove. Summoning all of her willpower to keep from making a face at the uncomfortable burning sensation, the soldier fought on.

"Hey…hey, Mikasa. Slow down." Sasha watched with bulging eyes as the liquid was drained from the bottle. "I think that's enough."

"Oh." She drew back and handed what was left of the alcohol to the brunette, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt and internally grimacing at the bitter aftertaste.

"You drank half of the bottle." Sasha breathed, half in concern and half in awe.

"Are you feeling alright?" Krista asked, alarmed.

"Wow you're really something." Ymir laughed, mostly in good humor but with a condescending undertone. "You just had to chug it down like that, huh?"

"Of course I'm fine." Mikasa retorted a bit snappishly. Even though this was her first time ingesting alcohol, she really did feel fine. Aside from the slight temple throbbing, which she decided was due to exhaustion, she felt completely in control of her own body, contrary to what she had heard about the effects alcohol could have on a person.

"But you're really red." Krista pointed out, nibbling anxiously on her bottom lip as she leaned forward to take a better look at the top graduate of the 104th Trainees Squad.

"Must be the Oriental in me." Mikasa deadpanned. She was aware of this so-called "Oriental glow," having seen it firsthand on those rare occasions her mother drank a small glass of wine. Her father had always kept a small stash in the top left cupboard, and when he thought she wasn't looking he would quickly pour two glasses, one for her mother and the other for himself. He claimed that it was simply juice that she couldn't have, and while Mikasa naturally knew that wasn't true, she would pretend to be ignorant just to play along. The wine only came out for special occasions, and last time it was for her mother's 30th birthday. Her mother's birthday…only a few days before…

Suddenly feeling sick in the stomach, Mikasa threw back the covers and tore across the room to wrench the door open, ignoring the startled exclamations behind her and darting out of the room and into the hallway dimly lit with candles. As she ran towards the bathroom, she couldn't stop the shaky sobs that escaped her mouth. Why? Why was she feeling again? She had been so numb for years…why now? Was it the damned alcohol?

Pushing open the bathroom door, she stumbled through it only to heavily collide with a body, sending both of them sprawling on the cold tiles.

"Oof, ow! Get off of me! What the—" The irate voice stopped as soon as its owner heard the muffled sobs coming from the figure crushing him. "Mikasa?" Surprise colored his tone and replaced the anger.

She had known it was him as soon as they made contact. "E-Eren…" She fisted his shirt and burrowed her head into his chest, her body trembling as the front of his shirt became soaked with her tears.

"What…what are you doing here?" The boy who had just gotten the wind knocked out of him by none other than his adoptive sister asked breathlessly. He tentatively reached up to pat her back. "What's the matter?" Seeing her like this was scaring him shitless—he couldn't remember the last time she had cried like this.

"Eren…" She continued to cry uncontrollably, one hand releasing its hold on his shirt to clutch at her heart. She raised her head from his chest to look him in the face. "It h-hurts…"

The startled gray-eyed boy gaped at the girl hovering above him, blinking as he felt her wet tears splash onto his face and roll down his cheeks. The moonlight shining through the window illuminated her pale grief-stricken face, and he stared as the tears brimming in her dark eyes continued their descent. What could have made her like this?

Suddenly he saw red.

Firmly grabbing onto her shoulders, Eren sat up so that she was sitting between his legs. "Who did this to you, Mikasa? Tell me!"

She shook her head vigorously and took one of his hands from her shoulder, interlacing it with hers and squeezing tightly. "No…"

"I want a name! Give me a name so I can fucking kill the bastard!" Eren shouted, roughly shaking her with the hand he still had on her shoulder.

Reacting instinctively, Mikasa covered his mouth with her hand. "N-No one did this to me…I'm just acting like a stupid idiot." She sucked in a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. Somehow, it wasn't a difficult feat to accomplish with Eren in such close proximity.

Eren looked at her as if she'd grown two heads before prying away the hand covering his mouth. "You're anything but a stupid idiot and you know it. What's the real reason you're like this?"

She looked down at the hands clenched around her own, a small smile slowly appearing on her tear-streaked face. "As long as you're with me…" She whispered, closing her eyes as she brought their joined hands up to her wet cheek and inhaled deeply.

"What?" He asked in confusion. "Dammit Mikasa, answer my question!"

She gently tugged one hand from his grasp and cupped his cheek, gazing into his bright eyes. "Eren, as long as you're with me, I'll be fine."

"Wha—" Uncomfortable with his sudden awareness of how close she was, Eren made to scoot back and create some space between them but was abruptly prevented from doing so by another hand cupping his other cheek.

"Don't…" Mikasa looked at him with pleading eyes. "Don't push me away like this anymore. I can't take it."

"I…" He trailed off and audibly gulped as she leaned in so that their noses were softly grazing. "M-Mikasa?"

"Why won't you just let me care for you?" She whimpered a bit. "I care about you so much it hurts…and it hurts even more when you always push me away."

Wondering who this emotional girl in front of him was, Eren noticed then that her breath smelled like something strangely familiar…something that his father used to indulge in. A terrible habit that only worsened after…no. Now was not the time. "What did you drink?" He urgently searched her eyes for an answer.

"It hurts…" She repeated as her eyes fluttered shut and closed the short distance between their lips. He stiffened in response, shocked, a bit repulsed, and…relieved? His first kiss. Tearing his lips away hers, Eren gasped for breath and jerked away from her reach with wide eyes.

"S-Stop! This is wrong, Mikasa, don't you see? Like I've said, I'm neither your little brother nor your child, but we're still family! What are you doing?"

"Yes, we're family. Of course we are, Eren, and nothing will ever change that." She reached out for him again with a crestfallen expression. "And that only makes me love you more."

When he didn't flinch away from her touch, she took a hold of his face again. "I love you." She breathed against his lips and just when he thought she was going to kiss him a second time, her eyes slid shut and her body went limp. Scrambling to catch her in his arms, Eren hoisted her body up princess-style and held her to his chest. He frowned down at the girl he had known for more than five years now and couldn't help but feel troubled by what had just occurred. Mikasa clearly hadn't been in her usual calm state of mind; the alcohol in her system drew out the emotional side of her that she kept hidden on a daily basis. He was very familiar with that side of her, although she made it a point to not wear her emotions on her sleeves as it made her feel "vulnerable" as she had told him once.

But then, when it came to him, she was always very quick to abandon all pretenses and even reasoning. An enraged Mikasa was someone no one wanted to deal with, and it seemed like he was the only one who dared to confront her when he was present. He understood that she was protective of him and even appreciated it—he really did—but she was protective to the point it was suffocating. Perhaps it was too harsh of him to always push her away, but what did he need to do in order for her to finally realize this? Just thinking about it made his throat constrict.

Staring down at her tranquil face, he caught sight of the healing scar beneath her right eye. It had been his fault; he had inflicted injuries on her that day and the worst part was that he had no recollection of doing so. He was dangerous and while he was thankful that she stood by him, he knew that as long as he was a Titan shifter, no one was safe around him. Sealing the gate with the boulder had been a step in the right direction, but there was still much more to learn before the others could trust him. It was all about willpower and control, and he was determined to fight his own body for it in order to kill all of the Titans while protecting those he cared about. He resisted the sudden inexplicable urge to touch the scar and run his fingers along the side of her face.

If he had heard correctly, she had said a few moments ago that she loved him. Of course he loved her as well…the fact that she had to tell him that was confusing; he never felt the need to tell her as it was just something that should simply be understood. It was natural for family to love each other right? And that kiss. He unconsciously licked his lips. What was that?

Furrowing his brow in thought, Eren sighed and adjusted the girl in his arms. She was drunk, so that could be the reason for her emotionally charged words and actions. She had always been an impulsive and straightforward character, never one to shy away from speaking her mind or acting based on her strong sense of morals, so perhaps he was overthinking things. Nodding resolutely, he decided that he would sleep on it and ask her some questions tomorrow. Now he needed to get her back to her room.

Wedging open the bathroom door with his left foot, Eren gritted his teeth in concentration as he struggled to open the door the rest of the way with his elbow while carefully making sure that Mikasa didn't hit her head on anything. He nearly shouted out in surprise and dropped her when he came face to face with the potato girl. She looked suspiciously nervous with the way her eyes were darting around and looking everywhere but at him.

"Sasha? What are you doing here?" He asked, grunting with some effort as he kept his shoulders braced against the door and carried Mikasa out.

"I-I didn't hear anything!" The girl squeaked. Who was she kidding? "I was just worried about Mikasa because she just ran out of the room like that…how is she?"

Eren sighed and glanced down at the peacefully slumbering girl whose mouth was curled up on one side in what appeared to be the start of a smile. Whatever had been bothering her before was chased away by pleasant dreams. "She passed out in the bathroom—good thing I happened to be in there." He stared at the girl before him. "How did she get her hands on alcohol?"

Sasha scratched her head sheepishly. "Um, it was my fault…I stole it from the cellar downstairs and we were just having a friendly…challenge." When he narrowed his piercing light eyes at her, she looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry, it won't happen again."

"It better not. Don't get Mikasa involved in your antics." Eren gave her a disapproving look and shifted the weight of the girl in his arms. "If you need a victim, there's always Connie and Jean." He paused. "Pick Jean."

The brunette didn't miss the wicked glint in his eyes and the hint of a smirk. Smiling herself, Sasha twisted around and bent down, turning her head to talk to him. "Here, I'll take her. If anyone catches you going into our room, there will be unnecessary trouble."

Eren mulled over her words for a few seconds before nodding, seeing truth in them. "Thanks." He carefully maneuvered the sleeping girl onto Sasha's back and watched the two of them disappear down the hallway.

"Good night, Eren." Sasha whispered over her shoulder. He responded with a parting nod and with one final glance at the girl on her back, he turned in the opposite direction and retreated down to the basement for the night.

Sunday, 6:09 AM

The incessant pounding on the door startled Krista awake. Blinking blearily, she struggled to sit up and get out of bed. She was a light sleeper, but normally Mikasa was the first one to react to any noise. The girl was still surprisingly curled up in a fetal position and sound asleep judging by the way her covers moved up and down in a rhythmic pattern with every breath. Sasha and Ymir's light snores clashed with each other. Too tired to notice anything else, Krista nearly tripped over a pair of boots—probably Sasha's because only hers would be lying around—on her way to the door.

As soon as she cracked it open, the Lance Corporal was roughly pushing past her into the room. He was equipped with a mop and appeared to be dressed for housework in an outfit that was complete with a bandana and mask. Surprised, Krista was no longer half asleep but definitely wide awake from the rude intrusion.

"Get up, you brats!" The unforgiving short man bellowed, loudly tapping the handle end of the mop against the wooden bunk. The sound was unpleasantly jarring and immediately ceased the snoring. "You know what day it is!"

Sasha stirred awake with a groan and groggily sat up in bed, stifling a yawn as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "What day is it, sir?"

Levi looked as if he was going to have an apoplectic fit before realization dawned on him and he schooled his features to that usual impassive state. "Oh, that's right, you've only been here for a week. Well, lucky for you brats, Sundays are clean up days!" His sarcasm was scathing.

Ymir made a disgruntled sound. "We have to clean every week?"

He gave her a sharp look. "I'd have you clean everyday if we didn't have anything else to do during the week." His voice and face showed no signs that he was joking.

With a moan of despair, Sasha kicked back her covers and blindly reached around for her clothes. Suddenly realizing that she was only in her undergarments, she blushed crimson and stared wide-eyed at the man, who was still in the room and tapping away with that damned mop of his. Fortunately, he was too busy glowering at something beneath her top bunk to notice her current state of undress.

"Ackerman, wake up!" He shouted grouchily. Ymir dropped the jacket in her hands to plug her ears. "You sleep like the fucking dead!"

Feeling the need to defend her friend, Sasha quickly pulled on her shirt before clearing her throat to get his attention. "She's not usually like this, sir, she's just exhausted."

Levi shook his head and sent her a scornful glare. "We're all fucking exhausted, but do you see anyone else behaving this way? I woke up the boys only a few minutes before, and I expect that all of them have started cleaning."

Sasha swallowed nervously. Despite his noticeably short stature, this man certainly made up for it with his frightening personality. "Yes sir, I understand. I will make sure that she leaves the room with the rest of us."

Levi considered her for a moment before tersely nodding. "Breakfast in the kitchen in five." As he turned to leave the room, he suddenly paused to sniff the air. Sasha gulped again—could he have smelled the alcohol from last night? But it seemed like the gods were on her side when he slightly shook his head and left without another word. She heaved a shaky sigh of relief and exchanged looks with Krista, who had been cowering by the door the entire time.

It was going to be a long day.

I have the second chapter halfway done, so hopefully I'll have it up within the next two days! I'd love to hear what you guys think about it so far, and I'm even more interested in your answer to: Who's your favorite character in the series? I like Armin (he'll appear in the next chapter) just as much as I like Mikasa, so I can't pick between the two of them. Eren is ranked behind Armin, Mikasa, and Sasha because of his terrible attitude and misdirected anger toward Mikasa...we all know that you want to kill all of the titans, but just calm the fuck down, Jaeger. Thank goodness the more recent manga chapters give him hope.