A/N: My sister has insisted that I publish this SnK fanfiction, so here it is. So far I have up through chapter 8 written, and hope to have around fifteen completed by the time this work is through. I hope you enjoy it.

Also, since Mikasa's father doesn't have a canon first name, I have given him the generic white man name John.

Chapter 1

Eren Jaeger hadn't been to many libraries, so he really had nothing to compare the Maria County Library to. It wasn't exactly new, two of the front windows obscured by the faded sign with a woman depicted out front of the building, coupled with the peeling, yellowed letters on the doors. Even the interior was rather outdated, stained carpets with patterns reminiscent to public bus seats and dented where tables had long been present. The colors on the walls were four different shades of white, ranging from almost gray to the newly white painted lobby that made the rest of the building seem old.

Even the shelves, worn and chipped, seemed in desperate need of repair. Eren stood beside one row dedicated to science fiction, glancing at the titles for something that might possible pique his interest. The covers were almost all campy and cheesy, he noted, wondering if it was a coincidence or simply an occupational hazard of being in that genre. He wasn't sure. He hadn't done too much reading in general, and the battered, dusty tomes truly held no interest for him.

No, he was here for another reason entirely. Though that reason didn't appear apparent to him for quite some time as he skulked through the shelves, trying and failing to find something to kill time with while he waited. He was all fast paced action movies and underdog winning against all odds type of guy, and just from the titles and covers he found it next to impossible to determine what might possibly be something he would like. As he was starting to give up hope, out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a splash of blond hair and turned to peek through the row of books.

It appeared the librarian was just starting his shift. His arms were full of books that he was piling on the counter and he seemed to be weighed down by the strap of the blue faux leather satchel on his arm. Eren had been waiting around to see if he worked today though he wouldn't have admitted it to anyone even if he had wanted to. He pushed the books farther to the end of the shelf, feeling almost like a stalker as the petite librarian settled himself in to the podium where he checked the books in and out for use.

"Are you going to talk to him today?" He jumped, though only a little as he recognized the familiar voice of his stepsister Mikasa. He hushed her, grabbing her by the red scarf she was wearing and tugging her down to hide with him behind the stacks of books. Mikasa obliged, peering through the worn pages to get the same view that Eren was getting. Her straight black hair fell in long waves over her shoulders, the glint of her gray eyes showing dimly in the luminescent lighting of the library.

"Don't be so obvious, Mikasa," he stressed to her with a grimace, taking his eyes from the podium to glance at her briefly in annoyance. She frowned, though in confusion more than anything, as she regarded her younger brother. She was taller than he was, with the physique of a body builder but the face of a Japanese idol. He was almost too familiar with her legions of fevered suitors, who one right after another were scorned and ignored by her. Eren had to admit that he found it really hilarious, especially with it came to that jackass down the street with the horrible two-toned hair cut and smug face.

She asked, a little quieter this time, "I don't understand Eren. We've been coming here for nearly two months now to pretend to look at books and hope that Armin Arlert is working. But you haven't talked to him yet?" He flushed in annoyance, glaring at Mikasa and choosing not to respond to that comment. Instead he straightened up from his position behind the shelves and flattened his shirt with one hand. He strode away from his sister quickly to avoid the question.

What was he doing? He wasn't sure, not really. He'd been coming here for a couple weeks with no actual goal in mind thus far besides the desire to see the cute blond librarian. Sometimes Mikasa was with him, sometimes she was not, but every time she posed the same question: 'Why don't you go talk to him?' And every time he remained silent and avoided answering. Why hadn't he gone to talk to him? Eren didn't really have a straight answer. He wanted to, definitely, but the awkward small talk that would almost definitely ensue afterward was mostly the reason keeping him silent. What if they had nothing in common to talk about?

He was heading for the door without paying any attention, his mind so full of the thought of ever actually talking to Armin when someone, he assumed Mikasa, called out, "Wait!" It was too late as he slammed his shins into a cart full of books and toppled over on top of it, the cart shooting across the carpet like a racecar. He felt the bumps of the stairs grinding one of the tomes into his gut with each drop, until finally the cart hit the bottom and flipped over with Eren on top of it. His eyes were fuzzy and he felt a little dizzy, though he mentally checked himself and determined that he seemed to be relatively unharmed, save for a jabbing sensation into his spine. A loud grunt escaped his lips as he attempted to move the cart from on top of him, but he was too dazed and his arms too wobbly to do much more than shift it slightly.

"Eren!" He heard Mikasa's footsteps thunder down the staircase and felt a flush creep up his cheeks when he realized the stupidity of the thing that just happened. He literally couldn't have made a bigger idiot out of himself then he did just then. Despite the fact that he was covered in books and had a large plastic cart on his head, the only thing he could think of was that he hoped that Armin hadn't seen that happen. The cart was lifted from his back and someone turned him around on their lap, brushing his bangs from his face.

"Are you okay?" The voice was soft, the tone a little higher than his own, and it took him a moment to recognize that it did not belong to a woman. When he realized it wasn't Mikasa his eyes shot opened and he caught the baby blue eyes of the blond librarian. "I tried to warn you, I didn't mean to knock you down the stairs!" He had tears in his eyes and his voice was shaking and Eren was almost too stunned to respond. Mikasa appeared at Armin's shoulder and touched Eren's face in concern.

"Eren?" Armin glanced at her and then back to him, his face still a mask of worry that didn't seem to fade at all. Eren shook his head slightly to clear it, though he couldn't tell if it were the fall down the stairs or the close proximity to Armin that was leaving him a little dazed. He swallowed hard and sat up, pressing a hand to the egg sized lump protruding from the side of his head. Armin's small hands were still holding onto his arms and his wire framed glasses were slightly askew from all the action.

Clearing his throat, he said sheepishly, "Yeah I'm fine. My head hurts a little, but I'm good!" Mikasa nodded in relief as Eren pulled himself to his feet, though the little librarian stayed kneeling by the bookcart and began to clear up the clutter of Eren's misadventure. With a frown, he leaned down and righted the overturned cart, taking the books out of Armin's hands and piling them neatly back into it. "Let me help you," he murmured without making eye contact with Armin. He was too embarrassed to, after that huge mess he caused and how big of a fool he just made himself look.

"Oh, sure!" Armin replied back, surprised and grateful, and the two had the books cleaned up as quickly as Eren was able. As the last novel was placed tidily into the cart, Eren spun on heel to scurry promptly back up the stairs and never return back to that library as long as he lived. His fight or flight instinct was very firmly leaning towards flight, and he was sure he couldn't bear to talk about the events that just unfolded. However, he got as far as placing his hand on the edge of the railing before Armin spoke to him, his voice hesitatant but firm.. "Hey, thank you." Eren froze on the steps and waved a hand without turning around, trying to avoid looking at him so Armin couldn't be subject to the ridiculous expression on his face.

"Not a problem, man." God, he sounded like an idiot.

"I'm Armin, by the way!" That truly caught Eren's attention and he turned around to see the nervous grin on the librarian's face as he removed his glasses. He tucked them into the front pocket of his shirt and held out his hand to Eren. "It's nice to meet you."

Uncertain, Eren hopped down the couple of steps that he had already taken to reach out and grasp Armin's hand. "My name's Eren Jaeger, nice to meet you too."

"I've seen you around a couple times before," he mentioned casually, after they finished shaking hands and that revelation took Eren by surprise. "It's nice to finally put a name to a face." Eren knew that was not true, that the librarian definitely knew his name from the couple of times he had checked out random books with him; it was right on his library card. But he said none of that as he laughed and placed a hand on his hip.

"Well after that failed attempt at stair surfing, you'll probably never forget it either!" His grin was all bravado, but Armin laughed and it didn't seem to matter that he'd rolled down fifteen stairs and landed on his face at the bottom. The young man wheeled the cart to the elevator by the main entrance and pressed the button to take it back to the main floor, turning around to wave at Eren as he waited for it to arrive at his level.

"See you around, Eren!" Eren waved just as Armin turned back around to enter the elevator and watched the doors close behind him. Sighing, he ran a hand through his short brown hair as he turned to look for his sister. Mikasa was waiting quietly at the bottom of the stairs, a small smile on her face as Eren motioned for her to follow him out the door. When they were in the safety of her car, he rolled his eyes at her as she backed out of the parking spot, his arms crossed indignantly over his chest. He was glad they were going straight home, because he wouldn't be able to handle Mikasa the way she was right then in public any longer.

Her lips were still upturned in that same smile and Eren shot her a pouting frown. "What are you so happy about, Mikasa?" Without looking from the road, she patted his arm gently but did not answer as she parked in the driveway in front of their one story home. His mother's car was still gone, he noticed, so she must not be home yet. The sight of her tired looking old Buick Century was always comforting and the thing had kept running through his father's death and all of Eren's childhood into adulthood, so he couldn't be too upset about the way that it looked. Some of his best memories were in that car, like when Mikasa came over for the first time as a little girl.

The two had been best friends ever since.

"You should clean yourself up a little before mom gets home," she advised him as they tossed their schoolbags into the front room of the house. It was a small three bedroom two and a half bathroom home on the outskirts of the suburbs surrounding their hometown. The furniture was modern, a black leather sofa with a matching recliner in the family room, a sleek black coffee table with a glass top, and a black wooden entertainment center in the middle of the far wall. A few video game systems were hooked up as well, with a mix of Eren and Mikasa's games strewn on the floor to the right of the entertainment center.

Most of the newer things in their house belonged to Mikasa's father. After Eren's father had died, Carla Jaeger held on to much of the furniture and items they had bought together. Once John Ackerman came into the picture, everything had changed, though Eren knew it was for the better. As time went on, the new was exchanged with the old and his mom seemed a lot happier.

"Dad's gone, too," Mikasa noted, when she returned from checking the garage for his car as well. Eren shrugged as he went to the fridge to find something to eat and his sister sat before the television, flipping through channels without stopping on anything she found interesting. He heated up leftover steak and potatoes for them both as he watched Mikasa lounge comfortably in the corner of the sectional. She had come a long way since their parents had gotten married, that was for sure. While they were the same age, Mikasa was a lot more introverted and quiet, though she did leave the house with him whenever he invited her anywhere and they carpooled to school together. But there were times when she preferred to stay at home with their parents, or whole up in her room for a week at a time reading Japanese comics online.

He leaned over the back of the couch with her plate, the warmth of the just reheated food comforting on his fingertips. "Hey," he said with a grin to get her attention. She blinked and glanced over to him, graciously accepting the dish with a smile. They sat together on the couch and just let the TV play whatever happened to be on while they quietly enjoyed each other's company. It was a rare occurrence when they were both home alone, and neither had work or school to worry about.

It was only a couple of hours of bad reality television later that Carla and John returned home. They must have gone out together after work, since he heard the sound of both of their cars arriving at the front of the house. The door opened to the garage, and Eren's mother walked in. She was a pretty woman with long brown hair and brown eyes, and skin that was exactly the same color as Eren's. Mikasa told him more than once that she could tell her was her mother's child, because of the shape of his face, and the curve of his eyes. After she mentioned it, Eren had to admit that he could see it too. "Eren, Mikasa dear, would you please help your father with the groceries?" Carla asked as she lugged in a case of water from the garage.

"Yes, mom!" they replied in unison and jumped up from the couch, quickly leaving their dirty dishes in the sink. Eren helped his mom with the case of water as Mikasa headed out into the garage to help her father. Between the four of them it took less than fifteen minutes to get all of the groceries inside from the car and put away properly, only snippets of conversation exchanged between the four of them. Once they were all ready, the four of them gathered into the family room together. Eren didn't really remember when the tradition started, but since they were young kids their parents insisted on getting together every evening for any amount of time just to talk. Sometimes, if it wasn't too late, they'd watch a movie together or play a board game.

They all had their regular spots in the living room; Eren in his father's old recliner and Mikasa on the floor by his feet. John and Carla sat on the couch together with his arm around her shoulders. It was a tradition older than the marriage that made their family official, and Eren would be lying if is said that he didn't enjoy it. Carla was the first to speak, holding her husband's hand as she did. "The bakery was pretty busy today. Eren, I'll probably have you come in for some extra hours the next few weeks since spring break is starting soon." He nodded and listened to John talk about his day at the shop and some of the colorful costumers that brought their motorcycles in for tuning. John Ackerman was a rather plain man, with short blond hair and blue eyes. Unlike the resemblance between Eren and Carla, Mikasa and John Ackerman did not look very much alike; if Eren didn't know better, he would have never guessed he was Mikasa's father at all.

Mikasa spoke next. "Eren and I ate lunch today at Cafe Rio and then we went to the library. I got to see Eren stair surf on a book cart and land on his face." She stated it so casually and calmly that it took a moment for the three of them to realize exactly what she had said and Eren flushed bright red as his parents gasped loudly.

"Eren! That's so dangerous!" Carla said as she stood up and strode over him. She grasped his face to look him over and make sure he wasn't injured.

"Thanks a lot, Mikasa," he grumbled, his voice coming out muffled as his mother squished his cheeks while rotating his head to search for injuries. Mikasa's hand went over her mouth to hide her amused smile and John simply looked like he was trying not to laugh. "It was an accident," he insisted, gently removing his mother's worried hands from his face. "The librarian didn't see me and I didn't see him. He was trying to go around and I ran right into his cart. But I'm fine!" Carla didn't seem convinced but she took his word for it as she sat back down by her husband.

She sighed and shook her head. "Please be more careful, Eren."

The rest of the night went quickly as they watched a little television together before going to bed. Carla kissed them both goodnight and Eren waved to Mikasa as they separated into their rooms at the end of the hallway. Eren's room was cluttered with clothes on the floor that he kept promising his mom he would clean up and he stepped around them to his closet. At the very least, he knew which ones were clean and which were dirty, he thought to himself, tugging his shirt off and stripping down to his boxers. He took a moment to examine himself in the vanity mirror on his dresser, frowning slightly at his plain brown hair and rather slim physique. His only notable features were his eyes, blue and green and bright. He got the most compliments on them.

Finally feeling tired, he plugged his cell phone into its charger and flopped down into his bed, taking a moment to check his Facebook from his mobile. In the upper left corner he saw he had a new friend request. Curious and a little surprised, he checked the notification and realized it was Armin Arlert, a laughing candid of his face as his profile picture that made Eren smile. He clicked accept and locked his phone, pressing his face into his pillow and closing his eyes to sleep.