A/N: Hey friends! I bring you another fanfic! (Not Hijack, sorry :C) But I really love SnK Right now (if you haven't seen it, please do! It's flippin' great.) Anddd I've fallen in love with Eren and Levi. Yup. So if you're willing to read, I'm willing to keep writing. I actually got the idea for this story from some post I saw on tumblr...But I don't know who wrote it! If that person ends up reading this, then let me know. :]

Anyways. Hope you enjoy this! I'm not sure where it's going. Not sure at all. But hopefully it will end up somewhere good~

Last notes: This is Eren PoV. Also very much AU. Set around our time.

Sometimes trying your hardest isn't enough. Sometimes fighting for the right reasons doesn't brand you a hero. Making choices is hard; regretting the wrong ones is even harder. But there is nothing in this world that should stop you from achieving happiness. Your own sweet piece of reality that clings to the edges of your fingertips. It's easy to picture, but always out of reach. That doesn't make it impossible—just challenging.

Fight.

Fight for what you want, because this is your only chance.

Chapter one; New Job

Alarm clocks are the fucking worst. I hated them. And mine was probably the foulest out of any you could imagine. It was loud, and it panged my ear drums like the beating of a drum. Mornings wouldn't be so terrible if I could just wake up to something less obnoxious.

My hands went straight for the blasted thing, and ended up pushing it off the table. It crashed to the floor but kept ringing. A number of curse words flew through my mind as I leaned over the side of the bed, planning on throwing it out the window this time. But before I could manage that, my door opened, revealing my mother.

She smiled, like always. She had probably woken up way earlier than I. My face fell into a gravity pulled mess as she laughed at my stretched out form, body still halfway on the bed with one arm reaching for the clock.

"Good morning, sleepy," she proclaimed as she extended down and grabbed the clock before I could. Finally the ringing stopped and I was happy again. Though, that didn't last for long. "Don't even think about going back to bed, Eren Jaeger! Your new job starts today, don't you remember?"

Oh yes, I remembered. I just didn't want to remember. It was summer, for crying out loud. The first week of summer and I had been planning on spending the whole time with my friends, just goofing off and having nothing to worry about. But no. My mother decides that it's a good idea for me to get a damned job. Apparently one of her friends ran a stable that housed over thirty race horses, and I was roped into cleaning duty. Basically, she had managed to ruin my whole summer vacation and get me the worst job possible in one foul motherly swoop.

I had never hated my mother, but the emotion was lingering in the back of my mind, ready to leap forward and bare its fangs at any moment.

"Do I seriously have to…?" I murmured as my hands covered my face from her view. This was the worst. The absolute worst. I didn't want to be around horses. I didn't even like them. And it was going to smell and I'd never even had a job before and Mikasa didn't have to do it…

Why did I?

Her voice became low when she spoke again, "Get up. I'm driving you there in one hour."

It was kind of scary how she could go from totally happy-go-lucky to evil mom-mode in a matter of seconds.

Moving was hard. So I slumped to the bathroom and got ready, as slow as possible. Which wasn't the best idea in the world because my mom was totally serious about timing. When she said one hour, she meant exactly one hour. I was combing my hair when she yelled up and gave me a twenty minute warning.

For some reason I glared at the mirror, as if it were my mother instead of my reflection. A half smiled graced my face then I threw the comb into the sink. I guess I had to make the best out of what I was given, even if it sucked.

When I walked into the kitchen, my mother was cooking something that smelled amazing. I also noticed that Mikasa was awake. I nodded towards her and she nodded back. She was weird, but we had a really strong bond. Ever since my parents adopted her, we've been inseparable, even though she drove me insane sometimes. She was even more protective and pushy than my mother. I let it slide however, and I even allowed her to baby me. She deserved that, and way more. She'd lost her parent's years ago in a car crash. We had just so happened to be driving by after it happened, and had helped her out of the wreckage. I bet she thought she owed me, but I didn't think that at all. She was kind to me, so I was as well. Mikasa was the sister I never had, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

"You brush your teeth?" she asked me with a straight face.

I blew some air out through my nose, and sat down in the chair beside her. "Yes ma'am."

She smiled then turned to look at me completely. "Excited?"

I grumpily eyed her relaxed form. "No, just pissed."

"Don't be. It's just for the summer. I'm sure it'll be fun."

"No, it won't be fun. Why is it that I have to work but you don't?"

My mother spoke then, adding to the conversation, "Mikasa will be helping me in the bakery, Eren."

I narrowed my eyes to glare at the floor. "How fortunate…"

Mikasa's finger poked my cheek gently; something she did often was touch my face. I'd gotten used to it. "No pouting. Be strong, Eren."

"I am strong," I told her matter-of-factly, "Don't need you telling me that."

I saw her smile and she moved her hand to her lap. "Good. I'm proud of you."

We ate pancakes in silence, my mother humming while she cleaned. Soon I was in the car and headed off to my new career. Butterflies settled deep within the confines of my stomach. I hated feeling this way. Nervousness wasn't something that I was accustomed to. It was as if I was starting at a new school or something. With a heavy sigh, I rested my head on the window for the remainder of the car ride while listening to some old CD my mom sang along to.

x-x

It took about twenty-five minutes to arrive, which I found way too long for my liking. I pictured having to wake up early again the next morning just to get in the stuffy car and drive along that dirt road again. My thoughts weren't very pleasant, to say the least. Maybe if I screwed up enough, they would fire me and my mom would give up on making me work for the summer. Would I even have the guts to do something like that?

I walked beside my mother until we reached the office building. It was medium sized with a tiny chandelier hanging in the center. It smelled like air freshener and bad cologne. I crinkled my nose, following closely to my mother like a small puppy.

"Hello, Erwin. It's nice to see you again." She greeted the man who was standing behind the desk.

"The pleasure is mine, Carla."

I think I saw her blush a little.

Ugh. Gross.

"This is Eren," she shoved me forward as if showing off some prized trophy. I bit the side of my tongue and tried to look the guy in the eyes.

Eye contact is a good thing for jobs, right? Or am I still trying to get fired?

I couldn't decide quickly enough so I just looked at him and said, "Hello."

He was a big guy with bushy eyebrows and a cold stare that would probably make me run in the opposite direction if I had the chance to. Without any other words, he held out his hand and I reluctantly shook it. I could almost feel the cheerful rays radiating from my mother's pours.

"You'll take good care of my boy, right Erwin?"

His eyes went straight to me. "I'll work him to the bone, but he'll be in one piece."

I groaned, it was regretfully concealed by their laughter.

Soon I was alone with the blond haired man. He began to escort me and I let my eyes scan his attire. I noticed he wore a jacket with some kind of wing emblem on the side and back.

In order to fill the awkward silence I asked, "What does that logo mean?"

He kept his eyes forward this time, looking very proper and clean cut. "They are the wings of freedom. It's the symbol for the racing track."

That confused me. "Wings? Shouldn't it be like…hooves or something?"

I heard him laugh as the smell of livestock began to invade my nostrils. "I guess you've never appreciated how fast some of these horses can go, have you?"

My head shook as we entered a stereotypical stable. "I've never seen any horse's race, sir."

"There's a first time for everything, Jaeger." He went quiet for a moment once we stopped walking, and then… "JEAN?!"

I cringed noticeably as another kid, probably about the same age as me, came walking around the corner. "What is it?" The boy sounded almost as tired and upset as I did. Instantly his eyes went to me and he scowled something fierce. "Don't stick me with the new kid, please."

"That's not for you to decide, now is it?"

"Dammit! Just put him with Connie or something!"

"You're the most skilled for this. Stop complaining and do your job, Kirschtein."

I felt really out of place and fucking upset because who the hell said I wanted to be put with such an asshole anyway? Of course I got no say in it; I was stuck with this horse-faced looser. No wonder he worked around a bunch of them, he fit in flawlessly.

The blond patted me on the shoulder and then left without any other words. I glared at the boy who was to help me with working. I suddenly regretted even waking up at all. I should have stayed home. I should have locked my door. I should have clung to my bed or said I was sick. I hated dealing with people like this.

"Follow me."

Whatever.

We ended up in some back room and he threw a coat at me, catching me completely off guard. "Put that on and do whatever I do. Don't make me repeat myself, and also don't ever ask questions. I fucking hate answering bull-shitty interrogations from dumbass kids like you."

Whoa. What a sassy moron.

"Who the hell pissed in your cheerios this morning?" I grumbled, hopefully loud enough for him to hear.

"Did you say something, twerp?" He stood a few feet away, glaring at me with those tiny eyes. At least he had bad hearing. I could badmouth him from behind his back all I wanted, knowing that. His face was abnormally long, in my opinion anyway. Though I probably just hated the way he looked because of the way he acted.

I shrugged my shoulders, slipping my arms into the jacket. "Nope. Just ready for action, sir."

He walked beside me, purposely knocking his shoulder on mine and I just rolled my eyes.

What a hard ass.

The next two hours were spent carrying a shovel. I had a hard time not hitting Jean over the head with it, but that was beside the point. So the work wasn't as horrid as I thought it would be, but it definitely wasn't anywhere near great. I probably spent half the time wishing I was home and the other half thinking up horrible deaths to befall Jean.

The minutes went by slowly, and I was thankful for a break when the time arose. Finally I could get that smell out of my nose; finally I could get away from Jean's constant grimacing and unpleasant arrogance.

I sipped some hot chocolate in the break room and sat in a comfy chair while I watched the fuzzy TV that hung on the wall. It was calming. Despite having a horrid coworker and having to shovel horse shit, at least the hot chocolate was good.

The door opened, which caused my eyes to go straight towards it. Something clicked in me at that moment. Something I'd never really felt before, but still knew all too well. It was like a breath of fresh air, the way he ambled into the room. Confidence and composure laced his walk.

Who was this guy? He wore a green cape with those wings on it, the same wings I now had on my own uniform. It hid most of his form, though his arms reached out of it to retrieve the same hot chocolate that I was drinking but had somehow forgotten I had for the time being.

He didn't look at me, but I utterly stared at him. My eyes traveled up and down, I smiled at how short he was. Why was I smiling? I don't know. Why did I want to laugh at that? I had no idea. I didn't even know this guy. But I wanted to. I really did. I wanted to know his name. Why? No clue. Sometimes my own thought process made little to no sense. Without much reasoning other than that, I stood up as he turned, probably about to leave the room, since he had gotten his drink. My mouth opened but formed no words.

What was I even going to say…?

He stared at me. Eyes devoid of any kind of emotion, small bags hung underneath them, as if he hadn't slept the night before. But he still seemed so interesting to me. He also looked a bit pissed off though. Perhaps that was his normal facial expression? I could hope for that at least.

Maybe I shouldn't…

But I did anyway.

"Hi. M-my name's Eren." I stupidly held out my hand for him. I noticed I was shaking, that same nervousness that had filled my stomach just hours ago was back with a vengeance. A moment passed by where I questioned my resolve, if I even had one to begin with. I wish I knew why the hell this guy was causing me to act this way.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I watched as his steely eyes went to my face, then down to my trembling fingers. His facial expression didn't change one bit, but then his eyes met mine again and I froze instantly as he began to converse, "…You're filthy."

My throat made some kind of weird, choking noise and I withdrew my hand, glaring at the damned thing. Of course it was dirty; I'd been shoveling filth for the past few hours. Straightaway, I wiped my hands on my jeans and grinned stupidly at him. "Sor-sorry about that. I'm the new stable hand. Just thought I'd introduce myself. Are you one of the jockeys, or—?"

"Like I give a shit. Piss off." He started for the door but I stepped in front of him, unthinkingly, again, I know.

"Wait, but you didn't even tell me your name…"

Being around this guy made me feel so different, as if I didn't care about anything but him anymore. I was certain the feeling would leave as soon as he did, and I'd do anything to prevent that from happening. I was hardly looking forward to realizing how senseless I was acting.

The shorter boy flinched, and it looked like he was about to swing at me, but he held back, which I was thankful for. The look in his eyes frightened me a little. I swallowed a lump that formed in my throat as sweat dripped down the back of my neck.

His voice was low and deadly, "Fucking move, you ignorant brat."

Okay. I was an idiot. I'd taken things too far. This guy was a stranger to me, I had no right to step in his way and demand anything from him.

Of course, the regret swallowed me whole and I couldn't do anything but say, "Sorry…" and lower my head in disgrace. I backed away from him, sensing those eyes on me for less than a second, and then he was gone.

This was going to be such a long day…

Jean introduced me to Connie and Sasha, who were also stable hands. They were amazing, compared to Jean, so I instantly gravitated towards them. Sasha was cute with brown hair that was kept up in a ponytail. Connie was shorter than me and had a shaved head. He was pretty serious, but very open and vivacious at the same time. I had a feeling I was going to get along with them both just fine.

It was when I was brushing one of the horses and Connie was laughing at something that he walked by again. Only for a moment, brief and subtle but it felt like ages that he stood there and stared at me. It probably wasn't even a stare, more like a passing glance and then a grimace to remind me that he was upset at me.

Why is he upset…? Oh yeah. Because I'm an ignorant brat…

My heart leapt into my throat and my coworker's laughter faded into the background. Again, all that was in my head was him.

I have to know his name. Shit.

That's all I could think.

The man continued on his way, pulling on his beautiful pitch black horse. His eyes left mine and I could think again. Connie noticed my change in mood and suddenly asked, "You okay, Eren?"

I instantly turned towards them, eager for information that they possibly possessed. "Do either of you know who that was?" I pointed a little in the direction of the mysterious cloaked man.

They both hastily leaned over me and peeked around the corner. Those two big dummies. I sighed and wished that they could have at least been little less obvious.

Connie pounded his fist into an outstretched hand, a look of accomplishment on his face. "That's Captain Levi!"

My eyes scanned the room and I too, peered over the corner slightly, watching. "Captain…?"

The boy nodded marginally, "Well that's just his nickname. He's the fastest in the league. Kind of a prick, though. Pretty sure he likes horses more than he likes people."

Oh. Well that explains a few things.

I took in a deep, baited breath. "Soooo…"

"So what?" Sasha asked.

I didn't really know how to say it. Nothing sounded right enough. After a moment I simply asked, "So what's his deal?"

They both looked a little confused, but then Connie just shrugged. I watched as Sasha pulled out a bag of potato chips and started loudly munching on them. "No one knows."

Well I wanted to know. And when I wanted something, I usually didn't give up on it. Levi was probably going to end up hating me even more than he already did by the time I was finished working at the stables.

x-x

I waited outside for my mother to come and get me at the end of the day. I was so tired and worn out. My head was full of nothing but the thought of sleep and a nice meal. She wasn't coming as fast as I hoped she would. Sasha and Connie had already gone home, as did most of the other workers I'd been introduced to. Lucky. They were all so lucky. I just wanted to leave already.

I sat on a bench in silence, playing with the edge of my jacket. I tried to remember the names of everyone else I had met that day. But I couldn't recall any for the life of me. I knew there were two other girls, one was really short with blonde hair and the other was tall and dark haired. She clung to the smaller one a lot. I didn't ask why—none of my business.

A small laugh escaped my lips.

I was being a little contradicting.

Maybe I should just give up on getting to know Levi.

As soon as the name crossed my mind, I heard voices to my left. It was my boss and…and him. Of course it was him. He was probably wondering why I was following him around by now. Their voices were a little hard to hear, but I made out most of it. Seemed as though neither of them had noticed me yet.

"You need to race tomorrow. There's a high demand for you."

"I'll race when I want to fucking race."

So it wasn't just me he spoke to in that crude, uncaring tone. That was reassuring, but still a little disappointing.

Erwin sighed I think, and then I watched as they both lit cigarettes. I unintentionally ran my tongue over my lips when Levi put the white stick between his. "I'm being serious," Erwin told him sternly, smoke billowing out around them, suffocating the air in its grasp.

"So am I," Levi replied, casually resting his booted foot on the brick wall behind him.

I kept staring and listening, feeling a little stalker-ish, but my curiosity won over that.

"You make me more money than I know what to do with, but that doesn't mean I can't fire you."

"Go ahead then."

I breathed out a small held in breath, my eyes going to the ground beneath me, blinking rapidly.

The blond was silent; I didn't see his facial expression so I couldn't tell why. Probably shock. Or possibly anger. Or maybe Levi's attitude didn't affect him like it would anyone else. I had no idea how well they knew each other, so I couldn't judge anything off of that.

"Either you come in, or your horse gets impounded."

I jerked my head up and watched as Levi glared daggers at the taller man. I could almost feel the rage burning from his tiny frame. He then spit onto the ground, right beside his employer's shoes and started briskly walking in my direction.

Blood pulsed through my veins at super speed as I steeled my gaze on a pile of pebbles at my feet. I could tell his eyes were on me. I bit my lips together, forcing anything from bubbling up. It was easier this time, knowing that I'd get my head bitten off if I tried anything.

Almost as soon as he had gone, my mother pulled up.

A sigh of relief exited my lips as I clamored into the front seat.

x-x

"You stink."

"…Thanks." I passed by my step-sister with a grimace and headed for the stairs.

My shower lasted almost an hour. I had too much to think about, just a lot on my mind. Stuff that didn't really need re-evaluated, but still lingered there, gnawing at the edges and corners of my brain.

When I left the bathroom, I saw Armin sitting in my room, playing video games on my bed.

"Were you waiting long?" I asked him casually.

"A little. I'm used to it, though. You shower like a girl," he laughed and I punched his arm. "How was work?"

"Fuckin' hell, don't ask…" I lie down on my bed beside his legs, mine hanging off the side like limp noodles. Everything ached.

A small laugh came from my friend. "I was thinking of applying, so we could work together. Maybe it'd be more fun?"

Armin had no idea what he was getting into. My friend wasn't at all ignorant, but he was a little naïve. I'd known him since I was like…five or something. Pretty much best buds for life. I saw him basically every day, sometimes I really missed him if I didn't. In a best friend sort of way, of course.

"You're out of your mind," I told him from my spot on the bed. "The place smells like shit. The work is annoyingly disgusting, and almost everyone there is a royal douche-bag with a stick so far up their ass they can't even walk straight."

"Jeez," Armin mouthed while he continued to play his game, eyes focused on the TV, "Wanna talk about it?"

I huffed, my lips going together at the last moment, making a small angry noise. "There's this guy—Jean. He's a giant tool. Basically thinks his shit doesn't stink. And also, there's—"

I was cut off by Mikasa opening the door, joining us without asking. I didn't really mind, but she had interrupted me and made me actually think about who I was going to talk about next.

Captain Levi…

Shit.

The dark haired female sat down in my bean bag and looked longingly towards me. "We're the two of you talking about something?"

Armin spoke up; button mashing and tilting the controller, "Eren is complaining to me about work."

"I'm not complaining. You asked," I clarified, crossing my arms while I leaned my back against the wall.

"Keep going. I'd like to hear."

I sighed and tried to begin where I left off. "Well, I met one of the jockeys…"

"Ooooh, sounds intimidating. What was he like?" Armin finally paused the game and spun around, looking directly at me. I gulped, my throat feeling tighter than usual. Something scared, or maybe…made me nervous about even thinking his name. And now I was telling my friends about him. It was hard, for some reason. And dammit, that made me angry. I tried not to let them see that, though. They would think I was weird, if they didn't already.

I licked my lips a little before answering the blond, "Rude…and, and short."

They both cracked smiles.

"Like a troll?" Armin asked.

Mikasa chimed in, "Or maybe a leprechaun?"

"Leprechauns aren't usually rude though."

"Perhaps he looks like an elf."

I suddenly pictured Levi with pointed ears wearing a tight green spandex suit.

What the fuck.

My head shook repeatedly to rid myself of the fantasy, or…vision, or whatever the hell it was. I didn't want it there. "No. He's actually sort of normal looking. Just short and mean. Apparently he really loves his horse though…" I thought back to when the two were speaking in front of the building.

"What makes you say that?" Armin inquired.

My eyes landed on the ceiling. "He got real pissed when the boss told him he had to come in and race or else his horse was going to be repossessed. The guy even spit on Erwin's shoes before stalking off."

Mikasa's eyes narrowed as she spoke, "I'd stay away from that man if I were you, Eren…" There was that motherly tone again. Made me want to vomit.

With my arms crossed I looked away from her, speaking profoundly, "I actually tried talking to him, but he just called me an ignorant brat, then left."

"My point," Mikasa proclaimed.

Mom made us dinner, which was amazing. I ate like a horse. Excuse the bad joke.

Soon enough, Armin had fallen asleep on the spare mattress I had set up in my room for him, and Mikasa had gone off to bed as well. Armin slept at my house often, since he lived with only his grandpa, I figured he got really bored. But that was fine by me. I enjoyed his company. At least I had someone else to talk to aside from Mikasa. I could probably tell Armin anything, if it came down to it.

Before I fell asleep, my mom stuck her head into my room and asked me about work.

"It was…"

What was it…? Horrible? Stupid? Annoying? Awful? Stressful? …Nice?

"Fine."

She smiled at me. "That's the spirit, Eren."

As long as mom could smile, everything would be okay in the end.

A/N: Let me know what you think and if I should continue! :] Thanks for reading!