Well, hi. First time writing in the SnK/AoT fandom but not my first time writing a fic by a long shot. That said, I'm obligated to warn you that I am the shittiest updater in the history of shitty updaters. Don't believe me? I once took almost a year to post a new chapter. I can already say that I'll try to update weekly but my past record of writer's block says otherwise. Oh, and my internet sucks (seriously, it's dial up). That said, hopefully you enjoy the ride.


"Seriously!? Jean? As in horseface?" Eren stared at his adopted sister, mouth ajar in shock, and teal eyes narrowing in budding fury. Mikasa looked less than unimpressed with the situation, her arms folded over her chest and the same bored expression adhered firmly to her face. Eren had to pause to inhale slowly before he choked on his own spit. "I can't believe you." He didn't need to explain why. Out of everyone in their circle of friends, Jean was the only one who regularly rubbed Eren the wrong way. More often than not, the two ended in up shouting matches that escalated into near physical violence. Eren didn't really know what it was about Jean that pissed him off so much besides his cocky, holier-than-thou attitude.

"I told you he'd take it well..." Armin was located all the way across the living room, safely out of range of Eren's ire and Mikasa's icy stoicism. He had warned her about telling Eren her decision before the brunet went to work but, as usual, she had to do things her way. The glower that Eren leveled at the blond had him cringing into his chair and raising his book up slightly as a shield. Eren was pissed.

"I'm allowed to date whoever I want, Eren." Mikasa's tone held an edge of anger in it and she had shifted her weight to one side. She hadn't really expected Eren to take the news well but this display of fury was beyond what she had anticipated. Usually, he just threw his hands in the air and sulked for a few hours… not yelled at her with his eyes practically glowing with anger.

"Oh, and I'm not? You certainly chased off the last one very fast." Eren practically threw himself into Mikasa's face, hissing like a kettle boiling over. "Yes, you can do what you like but I'm not allowed?"

"Eren, we both know she wasn't going to be any good for you." Mikasa had taken on the placating 'mom' tone that Eren loathed. In his corner, Armin cringed down behind his book and hunched his shoulders up to protect his ears. He would have to do damage control on both fronts now, apparently, instead of just calming Eren down. Thanks, Mikasa.

"You're not my fucking mother, Mikasa! Stop trying to be!" Eren whipped around before his sister had a chance to even open her mouth. "No. I do not want to hear it. Just leave me be. Go find your stupid ass boyfriend and complain. I'm sure he'll jump right in there with you." Eren slammed out the door, almost forgetting to grab his wallet off the table with his keys, and left behind a very uncomfortable silence.

"You just had to say that didn't you? You know he hates it when you baby him." Armin rubbed at his temples wearily. This kind of scene happened at least once a week. Mikasa didn't deign to reply, rolling her eyes. Armin knew her thoughts well enough, having roomed with the two since they were all sixteen. 'Eren needs someone to look out for him. He doesn't make good decisions all the time.' There was some merit to the statements, yes, but Eren's personality didn't really take well to excessive coddling. It wasn't all Mikasa's fault, part of it was a result from childhood trauma, but she hadn't made an effort to try to understand where Eren was coming from. "Seriously, maybe you should lay off him for a while. Let him make a mistake or ten. It'd be good for him." Armin raised an eyebrow at the black haired girl in challenge. Maybe she'll listen today….

"I guess." Mikasa turned away and into the hallway leading to her room. Armin silently cheered to himself. That was about as good as it got with Mikasa unless she had pushed Eren too far and he snapped completely at her. It had only happened twice before so far, but it always ended with Mikasa folding to whatever he said and then later finding a way to forget he had said anything. Armin sighed and stretched out to pick up his cell phone now that the civil war was over. He had heard it vibrate earlier but hadn't dared move, lest he set off the two siblings. It was from Erwin, his kind of maybe boyfriend and the message made Armin want to bang his head on a table.

After checking the time to make sure that he wouldn't be interrupting anything on Erwin's side, the blonde called him back. He was already starting to formulate a plan. He settled into the soft armchair, squirming to get comfortable, as the phone rang. Maybe this could work for both of them.

"Hello, Armin." Erwin answered after the third ring. He sounded nearly as exasperated as Armin felt.

"Hey. So what's going on? 'Levi is going to be the death of me' is a little vague of a text, you know."

"It's true though. He won't stop sulking and he has the entire photography department terrified to go near him right now. Six interns have terminated early, Armin. Six."

"Good lord. He's still that upset?"

"Armin, when does he ever do anything by halves? He's letting it fester and it's not good for anyone. Hell, even Hanji has been walking on eggshells around him." There was the sounds of another voice in the room before Erwin continued, "and Mike claims that Levi smells wrong lately. Whatever the hell that might mean."

"It must be bad if Hanji's minding their manners…. Things aren't really going too smoothly on this side either." Armin rubbed at his temples again and sighed. "Mikasa and Jean hooked up."

There was a pause from Erwin. It was quiet enough that Armin could hear Hanji whining at Mike in the background and he rubbed his temples again. "…. And Eren is furious, isn't he?" Erwin's tone made it more of a statement than a question.

"He was doing fine until she decided to play the 'I can date who I want' line when she all but browbeat Eren's last partner away," Armin could imagine the cringe on Erwin's face, his eyebrows drawn together and his eyes shut, "I'd imagine the poor kid's going to be having nightmares for a while. Eren didn't take that comment well and he left in an absolute fury." It was a well-known secret in their circle that Mikasa was scarily protective of Eren. Just like how everyone knew that Eren and Jean should never be left alone or be made to sit too near one another. The only one who likely didn't know was Levi, unless he'd heard it through his flatmates. Armin tried to avoid him when he could. He had the feeling that Levi didn't like him much.

"Oh dear. Sounds like we're all having a joyous evening." Erwin finally replied, sounding like he was ready to hit his head off something,

"Mhm. But, I did have an idea. Eren's mad enough at Mikasa that he'll probably do something stupid to spite her." Armin leaned forward, grinning even though he knew Erwin couldn't see him. This is where his planning abilities were useful, aside from in class.

"You sound like that's a good thing. Why would it be?"

"Well, you said Levi is sulking around. I know Eren's going to sulk and then snap. What if we try to set them up with each other?" Armin snickered. "It's perfect. They're not polar opposites but they're not exactly carbon copies either. They should balance each other out, assuming they give each other the chance to get to know one another. It's perfect."

"How on earth am I supposed to get Levi to agree to this? You know what he's like when he's in one of his moods."

"I don't know? That's your job. Offer to clean or something? I don't really know much about what he likes, aside from looking like he's about ten seconds away from murder." Armin laughed nervously. Levi did always look pissed off, no matter what his mood, and Armin couldn't remember actually seeing the man smile, aside from in old photographs. "I don't think he likes me anyway." He added as an afterthought, frowning to himself. There was a snort from Erwin and Armin scowled slightly. He didn't really see what was so funny.

"If he didn't like you, he wouldn't tolerate you around. Levi is very… blunt with his opinions on anything and anyone." Erwin sounded put upon. Armin had only met Levi a few times since their schedules were so different. All the encounters had been brief for the most part, too. "He avoided me for a month when Hanji introduced us."

"Mm. Either way, that's not the issue right now. You're supposed to be figuring out how to convince Levi to meet up with Eren." Armin stretched out. He had the easier job by far. All he would need to do is mention that Mikasa wouldn't like it and Eren would be sold. The one good thing about Eren's temper. There was a grumbled mockery of his words from Erwin and the little blonde laughed. "Sorry, but you know him way better than I do. Maybe Hanji could help?"

They hung up after a little more conversation that slowly veered away from what to do about their respective best friends. It would take a couple days to come up with a plan but Armin was determined to succeed. The result was predictable, at least. Eren and Levi would either hate one another and that'd be the end or they would end up enjoying one another's company. There was no real inbetween because of Eren's bullheaded personality and wire-trigger temper and the blunt, cold personality that Levi carried. With the right coaxing though…. Armin grinned to himself, putting his book on the end table. With the right coaxing, things would work out perfectly. He just hoped that neither of the two would realize that they were being ever so slightly manipulated. Eren wouldn't, probably, but Levi was smart enough to put it together.

It had been two days since Mikasa had told Eren about Jean and he still wasn't speaking to her. He would answer direct questions but that was all. There were no moments of playfully snide remarks, mock fights, or jokes. Armin ignored the tension as best he could. There was still his plan. Levi had been working nonstop and Erwin had been waiting for him to cool down before bringing up the idea of a blind date. He had told Armin that he expected Levi would walk out on him if he mentioned it with the mood the short male had been in lately. So Armin had not so patiently waited until Erwin gave the green light.

The green light came that evening, just after seven pm. Eren was still working for another couple hours but Armin was ecstatic. He had a good laugh at how Erwin had gotten him to agree, though.

"It's not funny! Do you have any idea how intense Levi is about cleaning? It's going to take me two days, if not more, before he'll let me off…." Erwin was whining. Armin was stifling the rest of his laughter.

"Wow, that's rough. All I have to do is convince Eren that it'll piss off Mikasa and he'll be sold. He still won't speak to her at all, either, so it should be pretty easy to get him to agree."

"At least the hardest part is over, I suppose. I already got grouchy pants to agree to meet Eren at that little café near the mall. Actually, it was his suggestion."

"Awesome, that's one of Eren's regular places to stop by so he won't get lost. I'm thinking that we should find a way to follow them or something, that way we'll know that they aren't lying about what happens."

"Hanji wants to watch them."

"That's a really interesting idea but do they have the restraint not to explode?"

"My reasoning exactly. Hanji would probably scare Eren, then he'd run away, and then Levi will murder me in my sleep."

Armin snorted at the indignant "I will not scare him!" that was shouted from the background. The deadpan comment of "honey, you scare everyone," had to have come from Mike. He couldn't hear what else was said because Erwin had started laughing.

"Hanji is sulking in the corner."

"Poor Hanji…. What about Mike? He, at least, is discreet."

"We'd have to worry about him sniffing one of the waitresses or patrons and causing an uproar."

"He sniffs at everyone though. The only ones who notice are the ones being introduced to him…. You and I certainly can't go because Levi would get pissed once he saw us. I could probably get away with hiding but you're like a giant…."

"Excuse me for being tall. You're just tiny. Kind of like Levi."

"Excuse you but I'm taller than he is."

"Boooooys, I think you're losing the topic here~!" Hanji's voice cut through whatever retort Erwin had. It sounded like the brunette had moved closer to the phone now, as well. There was a sigh from Erwin and a cackle from Hanji. "Now that we're on speaker, since it's rude to tempt others with only half the conversation…."

"Mike can follow them. Probably be better to show up before they do so he's just a part of the background." Armin shook his head as he reasoned out parts of the plan. As annoying as Hanji could be, once something got their interest they certainly didn't drop it.

"Easy enough. Levi likes to be a few minutes early so all I have to do is be earlier. You should warn Eren that he detests people being late."

"I will. And I'm going to make sure he wears something other than his band shirts. Knowing Eren, he'll probably almost be late no matter what I do, though. He's talented like that…."

The group spent another half an hour fleshing out their plan. Mike would show up at the café around one pm to give him almost twenty minutes before Levi would get there. After that, it was up to Eren to not screw it up. Armin knew his friend would be fine but it would depend on how Levi chose to react that would set the tone. Eren, while friendly, was a little ill at ease around strangers and waspish with unexpected hostility. Hopefully he would just mind his manners and remember he was out in public so he wouldn't cause a scene. Armin sighed. That hadn't worked the last time. At least Mikasa wouldn't be there to exacerbate the conflict. Or Jean. Jean's face was usually enough to make Eren mad before, Armin didn't want to think about now.

"Alright, everyone. I'll ask Eren when he gets home from work. I'll text Erwin when I have his answer so we can set up the day for them to meet and all." Armin was pleased with their plan. It's a sound plan with as many of the variables as we can control worked out. It'll be up to them after this. Now all he had to do was get his best friend to agree to go so that they could set the actual day for it. That would hopefully be easy enough.

Eren sighed as he took his turn in the back to wash glasses and plates. It had been a mostly silent agreement between the bartenders that they would rotate in shifts to clean the dishware. It helped keep things moving quickly and reduced stress on the cooks during the heavy dinner hours. Aside from that, it also allowed breaks from the clientele. Rowdy college kids often were their patrons and it could get stressful dealing with them sometimes. Luckily, it was the end of Eren's shift and the night had been steady without any incidents, just the way he liked it.

There was a long moment when Eren finally realized that he had been standing without doing anything for a while, the glass he held under the hot water clean, and he sighed. It was time to clock out and go home. He fervently hoped that he could get in before Mikasa. There was still tension between them. It was mostly from himself, Eren knew, but he couldn't get over the hypocrisy. Mikasa had literally chased off the last person Eren tried to date, the poor girl had fled in tears, yet his sister didn't listen to a word that he said. Alright, so his bias against Jean was simply 'he's an asshole' but no matter what, Eren had to listen to Mikasa or things would go downhill. She always treated him like he would forever be a scrawny kid getting beat up on the playground. That had been a long time ago and he could definitely take care of himself now. She just refused to see it. Eren growled to himself and none too gently set the glass into the drying rack with a loud clack.

"What's got your boxers up your ass now, Jaeger?"

Eren jumped, splashing himself slightly as he spun around with wide eyes. Annie was laughing at him from the doorway, a tray of mugs balanced on one hand while the other pushed some of her blonde hair back behind an ear. She was another bartender and server that Eren worked with and, by far, his favorite coworker. Until she did stuff like this.

"Nothing." Eren's reply was curtly annoyed and he stepped away from the sink so Annie could dump the mugs in. "I'm not washing those."

"Duh, I am. You're supposed to be clocking out now, dumbass." Annie shouldered him out of the way, the fixed look of apathy on her face giving way to a tiny smirk. "You forget that or something?"

"No, I know. I was lost in thought."

"Wow, you can think? I guess you do learn something new every day." The sarcasm in her voice would have been fatal, if Eren weren't used to it by now. He replied with a humorless "ha ha" and rolled his eyes.

He could feel her watching him as he pulled down his coat from the rack, having clocked out now, and shrugged into it. It might have been almost summer but the night was still pretty cold. "See you next week, short stuff." Eren ducked out the door before Annie could lunge at him. Eren's jabs at her height were nothing new and she wasn't even bothered by it any more. She knew that he meant nothing by it, seeing how they had gone to high school together. Eren had been acting weird the last couple days and Annie was starting to get concerned. It was likely something to do with his sister, if prior experience meant anything, but Annie didn't want to push him. Maybe he'd talk to her later, outside of work. They did have one another's cell phone numbers, afterall. Though they mainly used them to bitch about work or video games, or to see if the other was interested in going to the gym or something. Eren made a shockingly good workout buddy. Whatever. None of my business.

"Jackass. Don't die on your way home." Annie pulled the door shut and locked it, shaking her head.

Eren made his way home, hands stuffed into his pockets, in a slightly better mood than he had been in all week. Annie had a habit of making him feel better without really saying anything at all, kind of like Armin. He had known them both so long that it was enough. They never judged him, unless he had done something really stupid, and had put up with enough of his crap that there was little danger of them turning on him. Just having a few friends like that assured him that things would eventually be okay. Mikasa would forgive him, like always, and he would just pretend nothing happened. It was the same cycle as always. Probably not the best, though. Eren mused to himself, sighing heavily. All the negativity he felt toward Mikasa stemmed from anger and jealousy. Anger that she wouldn't stop mothering him and jealousy that she could get away with whatever she wanted without much repercussion. The only person that Eren had ever seen Mikasa ashamed in front of had been Armin, the one time that the blonde had completely lost his temper at her for getting into a reckless fight.

All the way home, Eren wondered how to make it up to her without apologizing. He wasn't wrong for what he felt but the way he had handled it had been. His temper would likely be what got him killed one day. A small gust of wind made him shiver and pick up the pace. He was eager to get home and out of the wind. Maybe he'd play some videogames after he got a shower. The smell of alcohol, greasy food, and smoke was not something he felt like tolerating any longer, now that he was free of the bar. It didn't bother him at work, it wasn't easy to notice, but out in the fresh air… it was like a cloud that followed him around. Shower and videogames. Perfect. He smiled and kept going. He was only a block away from home anyway. A glance at the building revealed that Armin was home but not Mikasa. She's probably sill in her late class or studying. He refused to think about the third option, unwilling to ruin his mood.

"Welcome home, Eren." As usual, Armin was curled up in the chair by the window, surrounded by a pile of notebooks and textbooks. It was such a familiar sight that it was almost strange to see the blonde anywhere else.

"Hey. Mikasa not home yet?" Eren kicked off his shoes, leaving them in an untidy pile near the door, and tossed his jacket over one of the chairs situated around the kitchen island.

"No, I think she was gonna go somewhere with Jean after her class." Armin didn't miss the way Eren's shoulders tightened up at the mention of his rival. Step one: complete.

"Oh." The sound came out as more of an angry huff of air than anything else. So much for his good mood. "Good for her. I guess." Eren frowned. He was going to have to work on his attitude before he could accomplish anything but starting more fights with his sister. It was a start though.

"Still mad at her?" Armin's voice was soft and Eren sighed while shrugging slightly.

"A bit. Not about Jean though. I mean, he is an ass but that's whatever." Eren ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. "I'm more angry that she thinks she can do anything but then turns around and thinks I'm like a three year old trying to get into kitchen chemicals all the time. I'm not stupid." There was a slight flush starting to crawl up Eren's neck and onto his face. He inhaled slowly, trying to calm down.

"Wanna get back at her?" Armin had to suppress a grin. Eren obviously hadn't expected that because he looked caught between wary and astounded. It wasn't often that Armin urged him into making Mikasa even more annoyed but there had been moments. Enough was enough, though, and maybe Mikasa would listen to reason.

"What?"

"Well, I was talking with Erwin and he has a friend who's having a really shitty time. So we thought that maybe you two could have a blind date. I think you'd like each other. And—" Armin held up a finger to stop Eren from interrupting, "I know that Mikasa won't be able to scare this one away. Just agreeing to go would be enough to get back at her but, hey, bonus if you two hit it off." Armin settled back into his chair, smug smile on his face. Eren was still standing there, open-mouthed, clearly trying to piece together what had just happened. "Erwin's friend agreed already, by the way."

"I… what?" Eren blinked a couple times. And then a few more for good measure. "You're setting me up on a blind date."

"Mhm."

"Really."

"Yes, really. Do you want to go or not? Erwin needs an answer soon so his friend can make time. Busy schedule." Armin grinned wider. Eren looked like he was seriously considering it, brows furrowed slightly.

"What's Erwin's friend like?"

"Artist. Writes a little bit, too. Pretty quiet but kinda blunt and a little scary." Armin had to be careful here. He didn't want to mention too much about Levi so Eren would at least have something to start a conversation about. He had agreed with Erwin to keep as much of their descriptions secret as they could. It was supposed to be a blind date after all.

"Um… Okay. I guess I could go. No promises though, alright?" Eren shifted awkwardly from foot to foot.

Armin mentally punched the air and danced around but his face was composed, a cheerful smile pulling his mouth up. "Sweet. I'll text Erwin and tell him what days you're off so he can pass it along. Oh, and Eren? His friend is gonna like you. Maybe not initially but after getting to know you so give them a chance alright?" Armin got a nod from Eren before his friend started to walk away.

"Wait, is Erwin's friend a guy or girl?"

"It's a blind date Eren. You'll find out when you get there, alright?" Armin started laughing while Eren scowled at him and stomped away. It would be interesting to see his reaction to Levi. Armin knew that Eren had only been interested in a couple guys before in his life (like Jean for a short time) so this would be a bit new to him. It would work out. Maybe not in a relationship but friends at least, and that was all that Erwin was really worried about. Levi had so few.

"Ugh. You're impossible." Eren called over his shoulder as he stepped into his room to get a change of clothing. He still needed that shower. There was quiet laughter from the living room and he sighed. At least Armin found it amusing. Eren couldn't stop a small grin from slipping onto his face. A blind date, huh? Maybe something good will happen. Eren located his clothes and slipped into the bathroom. He felt a little better now and he pushed the thoughts of Mikasa's anger off to the side for another day. He'd worry about that war when it started.

As he tested the water temperature, Eren found himself wondering what kind of person Erwin's friend would be. He had only met Erwin a handful of times and he had come across as very driven. Armin certainly liked him a lot and Erwin had a good head on his shoulders. He was in charge of part of Wings of Freedom, a place that did a bunch of different stuff for magazines. If Erwin was friends with his date, they couldn't be too terrible of a person, or so Eren hoped. He may not have been a shy person but meeting strangers always put him off a little.


Reviews give me life (even when it seems like I dropped off the face of the earth). See you next chapter!