May 10th, 853

A month had passed since "the incident" (as it had come to be called by Eren and Mikasa). It had taken two weeks for Armin to even look at him, and when he finally did, large blue orbs full of pain, Eren wished he would have looked away longer. The two had finally talked things through just two days before. Armin had admitted that he still hadn't seen any words form on him, hadn't felt any sort of subconscious pull. He had thoroughly tricked himself into seeing what wasn't there with Eren, but he vowed not to let that happen again. Instead he remained optimistic that his soulmate simply hadn't aged, the alternative too fearful to be spoken. Eren, for his part, had acknowledged that he had convinced himself it was Armin despite the lack of evidence as well. If one could simply will another to be their soulmate, they surely would have done so. As things were, the two would have to move forward as best friends.

Despite his relief that Armin was still a major part of his life, a heavy weight still bore down on him.

How disgusting.

Useless idiot.

That was all he'd seen in six weeks. It was unheard of - no one else had gone more than a few days between messages once the connection was established. Even Hanji couldn't recall anyone else finding themselves in this predicament. She did have a few ideas on experiments to run and theories on titan shifters and soulmates, but Eren was quick to sneak away as soon as the chance arose.

The mess hall was loud as everyone crowded in for the evening meal. Shouts and jeers were heard from one group, laughter from another. Eren entered well after the others, grabbed a small helping and set off to join the others. He was greeted with a smile from Mikasa as he settled into their usual table.

"Eren, is that going to be enough for you?" she pointed at the plate in front of him, a small roll and a cup of stew the only thing on it.

"If they're running low for the night, you can have some of mine. You should really try to get here earlier." Her tone was concerned, not condescending, but he disliked it all the same. The day Mikasa started mothering Jean instead of him was the best day of his life.

"It's fine, I'm just not that hungry." It wasn't a lie – not really anyway. The truth was he wasn't that hungry, hadn't been for a few weeks now. If he was honest, he hadn't even paid attention to his choices, just taken the first thing that was available. He knew he'd need to eat to keep up his strength for training, but it had been so difficult lately. Sure, eating kept him from being hungry for food, but there was that damnable wanting in the back of his mind, a hole he couldn't fill, an itch he couldn't scratch. It made eating feel pointless – no matter what he did, he would remain utterly insatiable. He finished the rest of his meal quickly - thankful that no one else bothered to comment on his small choice of meal, each catching on that he wanted to be left alone about it.

He stood to leave quickly after finishing - it was not a night he wanted to spend socializing. Just as Eren set down the tray, the familiar sensation started to return. He braced himself against the waste bin, the tray lay forgotten to the side. As much as he wanted to read it, he also feared the emotions that came with it. The first had been uncomfortable, the second frustrating as Hell, but neither were that bad. He only hoped the newest thought wasn't anymore intense than the previous two.

Where is the godamn honey!

This thought was in fact, significantly more emotional. In fact, Eren was pretty sure that for every emotion he was able to name, there were a dozen others he couldn't put words to. At the forefront was frustration, but it only hid the deeper sadness, the immense exhaustion, and the intense fear that cursed through his soulmate. But all of this, over honey? The two didn't seem to match.

As soon as the sensations began to drift away, lifting the fog from his mind, he was able to spring to action. For the first time, he felt a strong compulsion to head one direction over the other and gave in to it. Only a moment later he felt something hard run into his chest, followed by a loud squeal and the clattering of metal on stone.

"I'm so sorry!" the shriek left his traitorous mouth before he had a chance to stop it. He scrambled to help the young woman to her feet. Her hair was a light chestnut, her eyes a deep green. She was stunning.

"Thank you Eren, it was my fault though. Oh god I was trying not to spill my tea so I was looking at it instead of looking where I was going. Are you – does it - did it, I mean, you're covered in my tea and it was scalding hot – aren't you in pain?" the last sentence stumbled out her mouth in a hurry, and it took Eren another few breaths to register what she had said. A moment later he looked at the state of his clothing – he was definitely covered in something liquid. Focusing on his body, he realized that yes, it was certainly an unpleasant sensation. But in pain? No, Eren could say that he wasn't processing any pain. Every sensation and thought in his mind had come to a screeching halt the second they collided, and the brunette was convinced that this girl was either A. his soulmate, or B. A very important step towards them. Nothing else seemed to matter.

Realizing it had been an uncomfortably long time since she'd asked the question, he finally forced out an answer. "Uh, kinda? Not too bad, I heal quickly." Smooth Yeager, as if you weren't already a freak, now everyone things you have magical healing powers. Fucking wonderful.

She just stared down at her feet for a moment before a small giggle left her mouth. As soon as she made eye contact with Eren, it erupted into a full blown chuckle. "I'm glad Eren. Sorry again about your clothes." She cleaned up her mess and turned to walk away. Refusing to allow their interaction to end short, he followed her back to towards the kitchen.

"Hey um, I'm sorry but, you seem to know my name and somehow I don't know yours." A light blush formed over her cheeks. Someone it made her even more beautiful.

"Of course I know your name, you're a legend in the scouts! I'm Cora. Just switched units last week from the Garrison." She poured herself more tea as she spoke. "I wanted a new challenge, and my commander supported it so he pulled some strings and next thing I knew I had my leaving papers."

Eren had tried to listen to her. Of course he had meant to! But as soon as he saw her finish pouring the tea start to look around the counter, only one thought was in his mind.

'Honey…'

"Well hello Cora, nice to meet you. What are you looking for?" Subtlety was not Eren's strong suit, better just to rush forward with the first thought in his mind.

"Well, I usually like to take honey in my tea, but I don't see any. Do you know if they have it here?" she looked at him, waiting patiently.

Fortunately, Eren did know. "Not really, it's a luxury out here. We had a few bottles a couple months back, but I think we've been out for a while. I had one of my own that Captain Hanji set aside to help me down some of the tonics she has to give me (it was a half truth, Hanji had set is aside for him, but he'd used it for a lot more than just taking medicine) but it ran out about a month ago. Doubt anyone else has any left either."

Whatever response she gave him was lost on Eren. His mind swirled with the words that had just been spoken – words that he had spoken.

'it ran out a month ago, doubt anyone else has any left…'

Whoever his soulmate was, they had just come to find themselves out of honey tonight. That meant they must also have had a private jar, and were much more frugal with it than Eren was. But who would have been able to get a hold of a honey jar? He realized it could only be a thief or someone important. He wasn't sure which one he hoped was true. By the time he pulled out of his thoughts he found himself standing alone by the kitchen, Cora long gone with her honey-less tea. It was just as well, she had been kind and beautiful, but he was certain now that she was just brought to him to help forcefully jumble his thoughts into alignment.

The teen went straight to his room, a calm sensation flooding over him. He was close, and the options were being narrowed more every day.

Hope someone is enjoying this, it was a small headcanon I couldn't shake that was intended to be a oneshot and quickly escalated. I have like, four chapters left I think.