Hi all! I am a huge Attack on Titan fan and this is my first fanfic! This one is pure Springles.

THIS CHAPTER: Angst. I got the idea for the bathroom scene from the Steve/Nancy fight in Stranger Things.

Connie's POV

It had been a rather uneventful year since humanity had annihilated the Titans. To celebrate the anniversary of their victory, Jean's mom gave him permission to throw a wild party for his military friends at her home. As they were all adults of legal drinking age, she figured it was the least they deserved it in reward for their service.

Normally the life of the party, Connie Springer didn't feel up to the task tonight. He almost declined Jean's invitation, but ultimately Sasha and her boyfriend of six months, Frank, had convinced him to attend.

Connie didn't like Frank. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with the dude – he was about 2 years older than the average 104th cadet and had served dutifully as a member of the military police before transferring to the survey corps in the final year of the war. He met Sasha on the battlefield, apparently falling head over heels for her when she rescued him from the clutches of an abnormal titan, saving his life. After the war, he asked her on a date (dinner and ice cream, of course) and the rest is history.

Although Connie was happy that his best friend had found love, he had to admit he was a bit salty that she had found it with Frank. Okay, maybe more than a bit salty. Very salty.

Unknown to Sasha, Connie had been working up the courage to confess his own feelings for his partner in crime long before Frank came along. He blamed himself for putting it off for so long, but it never seemed like the right time while they were both on active duty. Besides which, Sasha was his best friend in the entire survey corps, the only one he could felt comfortable both grieving and goofing off with. He couldn't risk losing the bond they had developed over unrequited feelings.

To make matters worse, Sasha was apparently the ONLY one unaware of his feelings toward her. Years before Frank had even made an appearance, the guys frequently teased Connie about his obvious crush on Potato Girl. When Frank and Sasha became an item, his friends expressed clear pity for Connie despite his futile attempts to act like he was over his crush. Even Frank himself expressed concern over the close nature of Sasha and Connie's friendship, discouraging her from staying the night at Connie's place despite the fact that she had always slept in the spare guest bedroom (admittedly to Connie's disappointment).

As he walked toward the kitchen to drown his sorry feelings for himself in another beer, Connie crashed back down to reality. The house was pulsating with the sound of the base. The loud music almost drowned out everything – almost.

As he walked past the bathroom, Connie could just barely make out a conversation between Frank and - a VERY drunk - Sasha.

"It's BULLSHIT. You're bullshit. Everything is bullshit."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Connie froze.

Sasha's POV

Although her vision was fuzzy, Sasha could still make out that stupid, smug look on Frank's face as he brushed off her comment. She was so tired of this. Tired of his dismissiveness. Tired of him.

The excessive amount booze she had consumed that night emboldened her to let his snarky ass know how she really felt.

"You know what it means. You're always acting like everything is great, like it's normal. Like we're in love. Like we just party and have fun. Like half of our friends aren't - (hiccup) - DEAD."

Frank's stupid look vanished midway through her drunken rant. The room was spinning and the image of Frank's face zoomed in and out as his expression became visibly anguished.

Shit, Sasha thought.

For a few moments, Frank kept his composure as the two stood in silence. But Sasha could hear him choking back tears as he finally asked, "Like we're in love? …You don't love me?"

Sober Sasha would have instantly back-pedaled, but drunk Sasha couldn't be bothered to care about Frank's feelings right now. She was always walking on eggshells around him and the blissfully ignorant alternate universe that was the foundation of their relationship. She let him have it again.

Sasha's drunken frame slumped against the bathroom sink as she glared straight into Frank's eyes and confirmed his fear. "Of course not. It's all bullshit – (hiccup) BULL. SHIT."

The severity of what she had just done didn't dawn on Sasha until Frank gently took her face in his hands and lifted it up to look at him. She saw tears spilling out of the corners of his eyes as he held her gaze for a brief moment. Finally, his hands fell to his sides and he walked away from her without another word. She stared at the blurry outline of herself in the bathroom mirror as he slammed the door shut behind him.

Connie's POV

Connie was still frozen in shock when Frank stormed out of the bathroom with tears streaming down his cheeks. Connie almost felt bad for him until he aggressively shouldered Connie out of his way and abruptly exited the party.

Oh shit… Connie thought.

He had never seen Frank and Sasha fight like this. This was bad.

Unsure of how to handle the situation, or what kind of state his best friend would be in when she finally emerged, he paced back and forth outside of the bathroom for several more minutes.

"There's another one upstairs if ya gotta piss." Suggested an unknown wasted party-goer.

"No thanks, I'm just waiting on a friend." Connie replied.

As the good Samaritan nodded and stumbled away, Connie was startled into action by muffled choking sounds coming from the bathroom.

He nearly ripped the door off of its' hinges as he rushed to his best friend's aid.

"SASH?!" Connie yelled his nickname for her as he barged in. The sight before his eyes was enough to give him a heart attack.

An already wasted Sasha had apparently stuffed a full bottle of wine into her bag and chugged it in the bathroom after her bout with Frank. The empty bottle could be seen rolling across the floor, leaving a few stray drops of red on the tile floor in its wake. The perpetrator herself had passed out against the bathtub with her head tilted back, and was in danger of choking on her own vomit.

Connie rushed over and leaned her limp body against the toilet as gently as he could. Almost immediately, Sasha began retching and he held the stray hair out of her face as her body rid itself of the toxins she had ingested.

Sasha's POV

When Frank left her in the bathroom, Sasha had felt furious. Furious with him for holding her captive in his picturesque dream world for the past six months. Furious with her friends for passively accepting this sham of a relationship. Most of all, furious with herself for letting it go this far. And as sure as she was that it was over between her and Frank, she couldn't help but feel guilty for so cruelly breaking his heart.

As feelings of guilt and anger overwhelmed her, she began rooting desperately through her bag for the only solace within reach – a precious bottle of red wine. Sasha wasn't even much of a wine lover, but she screwed off the cap and began chugging the bottle like a life-saving elixir.

It's not Connie, she thought as the stinging drink slip down her throat. But it's the next best thing when he isn't around.

Sasha would never admit it, but ever since her relationship with Frank grew serious she had developed a bit of a drinking problem. She didn't even like drunkenness very much – but it was the only thing that she felt she could do to cope with Connie's absence. For whatever reason, Frank wasn't a fan of the bald-headed wonder. Although Connie would always be her best friend, Frank would get jealous if she hung out with Connie more than him, slowly forcing the pair apart.

I sure wish Connie were here right now… Sasha thought as she felt her knees suddenly weaken and slumped to the floor. Upon landing with her back against the bathtub she lifted the bottle over her head again with wobbling hands. Sadly, only one drop remained to grace her lips.

Oh…. Shit…. She thought as the room began spinning even more rapidly. Only now did she realize how drunk she was – really, REALLY drunk.

As everything faded to black, Sasha could only wonder one thing – where was Connie?

Connie's POV

Shit. Connie thought. This is bad. Baaaaad.

Sasha wouldn't stop getting sick and was unresponsive to his questions. He monitored her closely and even wondered if he should take her to the hospital.

AUTHOR'S SIDE NOTE: This is a fictional story. For the purposes of this fictional plot, they are not going to the hospital, but if this ever happens to you or a friend in real life, PLEASE GO TO THE HOSPITAL.

Finally, Sasha was able to go a while without throwing up. At this point, Connie decided it was time for her to get home and get some needed rest. However, there were some serious complications with this plan.

First of all, despite Connie's best efforts, Sasha's top was smeared with vomit. It was December and he didn't want to drag her outside, wet with her own sickness, in subzero temperatures. Not to mention the inevitable rumors that would start as a result of Connie dragging her out of the party covered in vomit.

Secondly, Sasha's house was quite far away from Jean's – presumably she had intended to stay the night at Frank's house, which was just around the corner, but with their falling out and the fact that it was already 2:30 AM that seemed unlikely.

Third, Sasha was clearly not in a state to be mobile on her own.

After a few minutes of concerned thinking, Connie came up with a decent plan.

He stood up and yanked his hoodie off of himself. He then proceeded to lift Sasha's arms and slid his hoodie over top of her vomit-adorned sweater. Sure, it was gross, but better than being wet and cold.

He then stood, lifting her arm over his shoulder with one hand and supporting her side with his other. He opened the bathroom door and snuck out the back with her as inconspicuously as he could.

Although Sasha's house was far away, Connie's was just about a 5 minute drive (fortunately, he had only had one drink early in the evening and was in good shape to drive). He helped the drunken girl stumble into his car and drove home.

When they arrived at his small home, he walked around to the passenger's side, lifted Sasha out of the car, and proceeded to carry her to his doorstep in his arms. Although Sasha was slightly taller than Connie, he was quite strong and was able to carry her miraculously thin frame rather easily.

Connie opened the door quietly, but was startled by the sight of his mother making herself a cup of late night tea in the kitchen. He and his mother lived alone together on the outskirts of town since Hange was able to transform her back into a human last year from her previous titan form.

Although she was used to her son partying until the early morning hours, Mrs. Springer gave him a shocked look when she noticed that he was carrying a completely passed out Sasha. Fortunately, Mrs. Springer and Sasha knew each other well and Connie only had to give his mother a look that conveyed that he would tell her about the situation later. She nodded knowingly and turned back to her tea as Connie carried Sasha up the stairs to the guest bedroom.

When they arrived Sasha began to stir and showed signs of waking. Connie laid her in a comfy armchair in the corner of the room as her pulled down the covers and pulled a trashcan next to the bed. He returned to Sasha and carefully removed her boots. He couldn't help but chuckle under his breath when he noticed that she was wearing a pair of incredibly adorable bunny rabbit socks.

He picked her up in his arms once more and held her there for a moment just staring at her as though she were a beautiful glass sculpture. He carried her to the bed and gently tucked her under the covers. Finally, he released her hair from its' signature ponytail because he knew she never slept with it in.

As he turned to leave, he felt her suddenly grab his arm.

"C-Connie…?" she whimpered softly.

Just hearing the sound of his name on her lips again was enough to make him smile. It was the first acknowledgement she had given him all night.

"Hey Sash…" he said as he gently brushed stray strands of hair out of her face. "How are you feeling?"

She didn't loosed her grip as she locked eyes with him and said in a breathy voice, "I want you…." Connie couldn't help but blush deep red as she trailed off. "I want you to stay… stay here… Please…"

Connie's cheeks were still on fire as a result of the sound of her voice when she said that she wanted him, although he knew what she really meant. She didn't want to be alone feeling this way. She wanted her best friend to stay by her side. He convinced himself it was nothing more than that.

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise." He assured her as he pulled the armchair over to the side of the bed. "I'll stay right here."

Sasha smiled sincerely and closed her eyes.

"Thank you… thank you so much… for being my best friend." She whispered.

"Thanks for being mine…" Connie replied as he brushed his fingers across hers. He was glad that her eyes were closed, because if she could see the loving look on his face right now, his true feelings for her would be obvious even to her potato brain.

"Sometimes I wish that you were more…" she said, trailing off again.

Connie sat in stone-cold silence. This was definitely the alcohol talking. He didn't know how to respond. He knew she probably didn't really mean the things that she was saying right now. He should probably stop her before she starts a conversation that he knows she shouldn't be having under the influence. But he REALLY wants to hear the rest of what she has to say.

Sasha's POV

As she felt Connie lightly tracing his fingers across the back of her hand, drunk Sasha came to a realization that sober Sasha had never been willing to confront. The way she felt about Connie was unlike she had ever felt about anyone else. Sure, he was her best friend. But maybe he was also more.

"Sometimes I wish that you were more…" she began, even in her drunken state hesitating as to whether she should finish the thought.

Connie was silent. She decided to take advantage of the liquid courage that she still felt pulsing through her veins.

"Why did you let me date Frank?" she asked bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Connie replied.

Exasperated, Sasha sighed. "You KNOW what I mean. Why didn't you tell me Frank isn't the right guy for me?"

Connie wouldn't look into her eyes, which was frustrating to Sasha.

"How was I supposed to know? I thought you loved him."

Sasha gave an even more exaggerated sigh and grabbed onto Connie's shirt collar, perhaps more aggressively than she realized, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"You did know. You know who's the right guy but you never said anything. Some -(hiccup) - friend you are!"

Now Connie was starting to get frustrated too. His brows furrowed as he looked her in the eye and asked, "Who's the right guy, then?"

Sasha stared at him in silent annoyance. She couldn't believe he was acting so smug. She could tell he felt it too. He had to have noticed the tension building between the two of them over all of these years. Their faces were slowly getting closer together. She can't be the only one who felt it… right?

Just as she was about to go in for the kiss, Connie sighed and turned his head away from her abruptly.

He said curtly, "Forget it. You're drunk. You should rest now."

She couldn't help but wonder if this is how Frank must have felt as she felt her heart shatter to pieces and swallowed the lump in throat that was threatening to burst. She rolled over and turned her back to her best friend as a single tear drifted down her cheek.