"So," Hanji stood in front of two of humanity's strongest- and unamused- excitedly, "remember when I stole you two for some lab testing?"
"The ones you didn't have my consent for? Yeah, I remember." Levi interrupted. Mikasa had to stifle a chuckle because there was no way she was giving him that satisfaction.
"Yes," Hanji adjusted her glinting glasses higher on her nose, "I was looking through them last night, and oh! I came across such fascinating things. The truth lies in your genetic sequence! In truth, there's less than 10% genetic differentiation between you two, which would explain so much about how similar you are. In fact, you likely share the same genetic sequence that codes for the 'super strength' gene, or the 'Ackerman Gene', as I would call it, and obviously they're both being expressed at that exact locus-"
"Get to the point, shitty glasses. You called me here so it better be important or I'm leaving." Levi scoffed, crossing his arms uninterestedly. Mikasa unknowingly mimicked his actions, saying nothing and eyeing the biologist in front of her.
Hanji inhaled, the glint in her eyes intensifying as she set her hands down on the desk. "Congratulations, you two. Levi and Mikasa Ackerman. Who knew the two strongest soldiers would be related!"
They decided to keep the reveal on the down low. The last thing they needed were more rumors and gossip spreading like a wildfire among the survey corps. But the fact that they were related didn't change their oddly destructive dynamic. Mikasa still made sure to make fun of him whenever she could and Levi still took time out of his busy schedule to make her life a living hell.
"Braus and Springer, you're in charge of dinner tonight. Lenz and Jaeger, handle the toilets. Braus already did enough damage when she couldn't control her stomach after dinner last night, and I don't want to be anywhere near it until it's sparkling."
"Hey-"
"Kirschtein, clean the stables and tend the horses. Arlet, you're with him. Ackerman, you're sweeping the floors. If I see a single speck of dust when I come back, you're shoveling horse shit for a week."
"I swept the floors last week." her eyes narrowed.
"Excellent deduction. Now get to it." Levi turned to leave, but her voice cut him short.
"There's no point in sweeping while Sasha's cooking, the dirt will just replace itself. I'll wait until she finishes dinner-"
"No, you're sweeping now."
"No, I think I'll wait so the dirt isn't endless."
"Ackerman I swear to god if you don't grab that broom and start cleaning I will shove it down your throat until you're shitting it out-"
"If you can even reach it, you damn midget-"
"Guys, stop!" Eren cried out, slamming his hand down on the (dusty) dinner table. Eren grimaced, geez, when was the last time this place was cleaned?
"What's wrong with you guys? You've been fighting like this the whole way here," Christa mediated, "Squad Levi won't be Squad Levi until we all get along!"
It'd be easier to get along with her if she wasn't such a bitch, Levi bit his tongue. Damn, maybe it runs in the family. He took a dramatic deep breath before turning to leave again, only stopping to look over his shoulder and look at his cousin. She was already glaring daggers at him.
"Spotless."
"You know, if you wanna make it anymore obvious that there's some shady shit then just keep up that shitty behavior." Levi had said to her one night when Mikasa was reporting back information from a solo mission. Mikasa stopped at the threshold of the door to look back at him.
"It'd be easier if you didn't use our relations to boss me around even more. That's like, some fucked up version of nepotism." she crossed her arms in annoyance.
"Hey, watch your fucking language." Levi scolded, "And I'm your captain, bossing you around is my job."
"Tch." Mikasa scowled and moved to pick up the empty teacup on his desk and bring it to the kitchen. "I'm feeling the love, big brother."
Levi's face softened. He watched her figure begin to take its leave before deciding to stop her. He supposes it's a shitty thing to belittle the one person he is required to devote himself to.
"You know," he began, causing her to look up curiously, "as much as I hate you, I'm… glad Hanji told us. We're family. We look out for each other now."
"You were supposed to do that in the first place." Mikasa's voice was softer, though, lacking the usual biting tone to it.
"You're missing the point, idiot-"
Mikasa laughed. Just a small chuckle, but her soft voice letting out an almost angelic sound made him stop. She shifted her weight onto one hip, her eyes suddenly fascinated with the elaborate flowers painted onto the porcelain.
"I know. I'm glad, too." an itching silence fell over the two and Mikasa fumbled with the China in her hands. It would be different now Mikasa pondered, she'd finally have someone watching her back as diligently as she does. Someone fully capable, too; someone who understands what it feels like being tied to a person. Perhaps she could use the company, the familiarity. There was something about the idea of getting to know her long lost cousin that excited her, given that there was so much to her clan that she was not aware of.
"What are you still doing here?" his voice cut through the air, though there was a certain tone of caring in his voice. "Get out, brat."
She smirked. Ah shit, here they go again. "Of course, onii-chan."
A/N: y'all,,, I'm here again. I wrote this way back last year and after season 3 came out and after seeing episode 53 I got stupid sad. So now I'm here, coping again. It's pretty raw and unedited but I really just wanted to get something out there. I hope you enjoyed this. Leave me some love~
