I love a good pot stir.

Review!

This ain't for the best

My reputation's never been worse, so

You must like me for me

We can't make any promises now can we babe?

But you can make me a drink

Ares was lying on her back, her hands behind her head, fully dressed and waiting for Mike. Ares had lied awake all night in her cage, contemplating her next move. She currently had no clue as to what she would do if they told her that they believed she did it. Her first instinct was to escape. Slaughter everyone in her path until she finally made her way out to freedom. But then she spent the day with Mike…

Mike was kind. Mike was generous. And Mike made it a point to learn some of her language so that he could communicate with her a little better.

She smiled at her memory of it. She was excited to see him that morning. She didn't know what he had planned for the day, but she was excited all the same. She found that she had a good time with him and appreciated his company and conversation.

But it wasn't Mike's footsteps she felt that morning.

These footsteps were disappointingly familiar, and she rolled her eyes at them as they got closer and closer. She didn't make a move to get up, didn't make a move to even acknowledge him coming to her cage door. She just stared up at the ceiling.

She noticed that he didn't rudely try to get her attention. He didn't rush her. He just stood there, waiting for her to acknowledge him.

And finally, after a long moment, she slowly turned her head to look at his feet. She ran her eyes from his boots to his face before finally settling on his gleaming silver eyes.

She didn't show any emotion to his presence. Didn't attempt to get up. Just stared at him, and he stared back at her.

"You hungry?" He asked her.

She didn't give him any kind of response.

Levi hadn't done anything particularly terrible to Ares. Well, anything that she thought was horribly unjust. He treated her like she expected to be treated. And she relished in the taste of his hate for her.

But now, as he stood before her, he didn't taste like hate. He didn't really taste like anything at all.

It threw her off, made her uncomfortable.

So, she didn't respond, because her appetite had gone down the drain the second she realized Mike wouldn't be opening her cage today.

"Get up," She saw him say. He unlocked her cage door, gently kicking it open and waiting for her to stand up. He didn't say anything to her as they walked to the dining hall, and when they had arrived, she immediately noticed that Mike was having a close conversation with Hange and Erwin. She guessed that that was the reason why he couldn't personally retrieve her. She couldn't really tell what they were talking about since Mike's body was blocking their mouths, but based off their body language, it looked serious.

Egotistically, she wondered if it was about her.

But that wasn't her current problem. Her current problem was the fact that Mike could no longer provide her with an excuse. She had to sit with her squad. And now that she was dressed and had already followed Levi, she virtually had no choice but to do so.

Before, when she sat with Mike, it didn't escape her notice how much more comfortable they all were without her there. And as much as it killed her to admit it, that bothered her. She thought that they had gotten to a certain point of comfortability. Or thought that they had at least gotten to a point where they didn't mind her being there.

Ares didn't really have friends. The whole aspect of them was kind of a turn off for her. Most people that stuck around her long enough ended up dying. So, why get attached to someone that would leave you just as quickly?

She didn't want to sit next to Eld, but sadly, it was the only seat available. Rolling her eyes and silently cursing the heavens above, she awkwardly sat down with her food. She noticed him check her out from his peripheral, but she didn't reciprocate the interest.

It was instantaneous, how quickly they had all stopped talking. Instead of eating, she realized just how aware they were of her. Even though their eyes weren't on her, their attention was. It was like her first day all over again. The difference now being that before she liked making them squirm, now, it was just annoying. Overkill. It was like all her work to get them to trust her had vanished before her eyes.

And she hated them because of it.

Eld still didn't talk to her, didn't look at her. Good riddance. She didn't want him to. As far as she was concerned, she hated him second to Erwin. Eld was supposed to be her friend. Instead, he was the first to abandon her. Didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt. Didn't even let her try to explain. The rest of them could go fuck themselves, sure, but she especially hated him.

She hated Levi, too. Not because he didn't believe her or trust her. No, he had already vehemently conveyed that to her and everyone around her. Her hate began to develop the moment he came to grab her from her cell.

She usually loved to taste his hate for her every day. It was the one thing she could always look forward to and she was extremely attracted to him because of it. But when he stopped at her cage door, he didn't taste like hate anymore. Instead of contempt and disgust, he looked at her with…interest, curiosity?

He was looking at her with the same expression now.

She didn't like that and quickly looked away. Something changed. It made her uncomfortable. She couldn't predict their next moves. She felt a flood of unease and began to quickly look around for possible exits. Something was going to happen. Soon.

As she scouted possible ways of escape, she noticed how everyone's head had turned towards Erwin's table and she begrudgingly did the same. She wished she didn't have to look at people to know what they were saying. She wished she could just ignore him, give him no attention and catch everything anyway.

She hated everyone for that privilege.

"Good morning, everyone. I wanted to let all of you know that there has been an update on the murder of Jonas Muller," Erwin's eye flashed to her so quickly she almost missed it, "Hange has been able to place the murder between the times of ten and eleven pm. Everyone I have interviewed here has an alibi. This means that somebody came here with intentions to kill him. Someone who isn't in this legion," He paused, allowing a moment of fervent whispers, "That being said, I will be initiating a new curfew effective immediately. If I, or anyone else, finds anyone out past this curfew, there will be consequences. Please act with caution and, if possible, do not wander the grounds alone. Thank you."

Erwin's eyes finally settled on Ares. Now, Erwin was a hard man to read, but for someone like her, she saw it all. She saw the guilt in his eyes, but also the determination. She was innocent and he was letting her know. Her hands clenched into fists, tightly gripping the fork in her hands.

She. Hated. Him.

She hated him so much that it made her eyes burn and her jaw clench. Looking around, she noticed how the other soldiers chattered about, looking back at her with interest. She felt like a caged animal. She wanted to run away. She wanted to leave. She didn't like this anymore.

Swallowing, she quickly turned around and immediately noticed that the rest of the squad was looking at her with wide eyes. Petra's eyes awkwardly darted to everyone else, as if she was trying to come up with the words to say. Gunther, who didn't make a habit of talking to Ares much, looked down. It was Oluo who broke the silence first.

"I, for one, never thought you did it," He said, with food in his mouth.

Ares believed him. She almost smiled if it wasn't for Eld raising his hands up to sign to her.

'I'm sor-'

She quickly turned away from him with uninterest, focusing on eating the rest of her food. Fuck him.

Honestly, fuck all of them...except Oluo.

She didn't want their guilt or their pity. She didn't need it. She wanted to go back to Mike. Mike made her feel normal. Like she wasn't some kind of freak. She wanted to make the move to find him, but she felt Erwin's presence creeping up behind her and slowly turned her head to give him a dead stare.

"I would like to speak with you when you're finished," He said to her. As if he didn't accuse her of murder. As if he didn't throw their friendship away over an assumption.

That was the last straw for her.

Ares didn't give him an answer, instead, abruptly getting up and grabbing her tray of food. She threw her trash away and immediately walked over to Mike, who was sitting at his own table with his own squad.

He was in the middle of taking a bite of his stew when she walked up to him—her eyes blazing with the fury of the sun. She tapped his arm once and he turned to stare at her with wide, curious eyes. Ares motioned her head to leave and he sighed.

"I'm eating," He said, giving her a low lidded response.

She hardened her gaze at him, her lip twitching. Then she crossed her arms and released a hard exhale through her nose. She wasn't playing around.

Letting out another large sigh, he turned to his squad and shook his head, "Nanaba, you're in charge for today. Gotta babysit."

Nanaba nodded her head, while the rest of his squad stared at Ares, frozen with skepticism.

He got up and followed Ares out the dining hall and towards the field outside the building. She was walking swiftly, and Mike was trying to keep her pace. They kept walking until they got to the stables, ways away from everyone else and Ares kept walking until she was hidden behind the visual safety of their walls.

She paced back and forth, breathing erratically, and fisting her hands in her silver hair. She felt like she was about to explode. And she couldn't very well do it in front of others and she couldn't go anywhere without an escort. So, Mike had to be the one to witness her devastating tantrum.

She felt hot, like she could burn out the stars themselves. Her fury was almost electric. It was like she could feel its static dancing across her delicate tanned skin. She rubbed her arms to try and shake it away. It was very dangerous for her to feel this way around other people.

It usually meant that her beast wanted to come out and immediately.

She could feel her eyes beginning to bleed that deep red, mixing her usual gold into a wicked amber—a terrible omen that her monster would take over soon. She tried her hardest to blink it away, sucking in deep breaths of air when she felt like it would absolutely overpower her.

She felt like she was drowning.

She didn't want to put Mike in danger, but he was the only one that could come with her—she thought that she'd instantly kill anyone else. Unconsciously, maybe she thought he'd be able to calm her down. He was so good at it before. She just needed to breathe. Find some kind of way to release all the anger she had bottled up.

Mike, who had been watching her brewing tantrum with anxious eyes, had never seen her so upset. It was surprising, since he thought she would be ecstatic about her proven innocence. But she didn't look like she was happy. Instead, she looked absolutely enraged, like she was struggling to contain something. Struggling to stay in control. She confirmed this, when she suddenly let out a loud and frustrated wail.

For the first time since being around her, Mike flinched. He had never heard her make any sounds besides a small laugh. He didn't even know she could make sounds that loud, that haunting. But here she was, screaming at the sky and punching the wooden walls of the stable. She just kept punching and screaming until her hands started to bleed. Mike was at a loss. He had never seen her, anyone, so unhinged like this. Maybe she was crazy, and she had just been suppressing it this entire time. He wouldn't be surprised. She was a serial killer after all.

He just didn't know what to do.

"Whoa, hey, calm down! You're hurting yourself," He tried to tell her. He didn't touch her. He was afraid to touch her. But she wasn't looking at him, which meant that she couldn't see what he was saying to her. The walls began to shake unsteadily from her violence.

Damn she was strong.

He was worried that she'd knock the whole thing over, potentially setting a horse or two loose. He wanted to grab her, but he was terrified that she'd knock him out. He had seen how much strength the young girl possessed, it had both impressed and scared him. But when her knuckles started to bleed profusely and she didn't stop, he took it upon himself to try to physically calm her down. If she punched him unconscious, so be it. Maybe that would snap her out of her tantrum.

Because that's what this was.

A tantrum. A fit of rage.

He avoided one of her flying fists and maneuvered around her so he could grab her whole body with his arms. This proved to be easy and effective, as he was much bigger than she was. It was like he was providing a cocoon for her anger.

She was so hot. It was like holding onto a small uncontrollable flame. Had she always been so hot to the touch?

She kicked at the air, trying to kick the stable walls again, but he turned her around, so she missed them. She flailed in his arms for a few more seconds before stopping altogether.

He didn't expect her sudden calm, it was amazing just how quickly she could control herself like that. Instead of her erraticism, she now displayed a façade of complete and total control. The only sign of her previous tantrum being that she was breathing erratically through her nose. She had relaxed her body so well that she had almost slipped from his grasp. But Mike still held onto her in fear that she would go back and injure herself further.

He waited about a minute before slowly releasing her and tentatively taking a step back, swallowing hard. She kept her back to him.

Mike didn't anticipate her swiftly crouching down to lay on the grass. He watched as she stared at the sky above her for a few moments before taking her hands and covering her eyes with them.

Blood trailed down her fingers and arms, dripping down to her face and neck. She looked surreal.

With her fits and her size, Ares reminded him of a kid sometimes. He didn't believe he was much older than her, he would have to remember to ask how old she was after this, but sometimes she eluded such a wild innocence, he too often forgot that she had killed more men than he had ever talked to.

He kneeled down beside her, choosing to take a seat to her right. He would wait as long as he had to for her to calm down and try to explain to him why she was so upset.

Ares on the other hand, was more than upset. She was enraged. She was mad at Eld for trying to apologize, she was mad at Erwin for demanding to talk to her, and she was infuriated with Levi for looking at her differently. She hated how all of them made her feel. She wanted to hate Mike, too, but quickly realized that he was too kindhearted for his own good.

Ares was bothered that Erwin got someone as great as Mike to watch her. She thought he didn't deserve it. He probably had much better things to do. But she was thankful for his presence. He was helping her keep herself in check. She wondered how he would feel about her after seeing her blood red eyes that she was currently hiding from him from beneath her bloodied hands.

She liked Mike and she didn't want to scare him off. Because as indifferent as he tried to act around her, she knew that he was scared. She could taste it in the air at that very moment. He was fearful of her.

It made her terribly upset.

She sniffed from underneath the safety of her hands and Mike felt his resolve crack. Was she crying?

He slowly tried to pry her hands away from her face, but she wouldn't let him remove her hands. He felt bad for her.

"Hey, don't do that," He told her solemnly, "Stop crying."

She couldn't see him of course, but somehow, Mike thought that maybe she could feel his words.

Ares stayed in her position for about ten minutes. She didn't move, she didn't even breathe. The taste of his fear was turning her beast on and she didn't want to accidently tear out Mike's throat in a frenzy.

He stayed with her the entire time. He didn't push her; he didn't rush her. He let her naturally calm down. She was thankful for him. And finally, when she could feel the red eventually disappear from her irises, she slowly removed her hands from her face. She took a hesitant breath in to see if the taste of his fear and anxiety would coax her beast out again.

She surprisingly tasted nothing of the sort.

Just pity.

And Ares hated that more than anything.

He tapped her arm to get her attention and she looked over lazily, "Are you okay now?" He asked her.

Ares turned her head away, rubbing her hands over her face in exhaustion. No, she didn't feel okay.

Mike gently pat her back once, "You're fine. A little deranged, but you're fine," He assured sure.

Ares' lip twitched in amusement and she sighed.

"Come on, let's go patch those hands up, make sure nothing's broken," He said getting up. He held out his hand for her to grab. She reluctantly took it and he gently hoisted her up. He was very strong. He looked at his hand in disgust, as some of her blood had gotten on it, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, he simply wiped it on the back on her cape.

"Ever had Apple Flan?" He asked her as they began to walk back.

She chuckled and shook her head.

"I think you'll like it."

…

It was a cleaning day for Squad Levi and the Captain had assigned each of his members a room to clean on the compound.

Levi had hated to admit it, but during the months that Red was with them, she was a pretty phenomenal cleaner. She followed all of his directions to a point and, best of all, she was quick. It made the whole process go a lot smoother and faster. She had done such a good job on the kitchens that he found himself always assigning them to her. She was just better at it then any of the rest of his squad. But since she had gone somewhere with Mike, Levi was forced to do the task himself.

He had gathered all his cleaning supplies and made his way downstairs to the kitchens. He hated cleaning the kitchens after meals. It was dirty, the cooks never washed the dishes, and there were various crumbs and stains left on the counters and floors amongst other things. Red was the only other person besides himself that could clean it right.

He expected an empty room and a big mess when he walked through the doors. Instead, Levi was greeted with the sight of Mike and Red.

Cooking. Together.

They had both donned an apron. Red was practically drowning in hers since she was much smaller than the cooks there. They both had flour and other ingredients plastered on their faces. Mike was cutting up apples while she was mixing up something in a bowl.

But it wasn't so much the cooking that had thrown Levi off, and it did throw him off, but something else.

When Levi had gone to retrieve her that morning, he noticed just how detached she looked. She was laying down on the floor with her hands behind her head, staring at him with those emotionless eyes she had worn all those months ago—before she had cemented her place amongst them. After some time had passed, he noticed that she didn't look at any of them like that anymore. If she did, there was always some underlined amusement. She had gotten comfortable at some point with them.

But now there was nothing.

She had reverted back to what she was before.

He wondered if it because of them. A reflection of how they saw her.

When Erwin had called him into his office with Hange to tell him about her findings, he was shocked. He thought, without a doubt, that she had done it. There was no question in his mind. In fact, he was so convinced, that he verbally assaulted anyone who believed otherwise. To find out that she didn't actually commit the crime, that they had indeed punished her for something she didn't do, he felt offput about it.

He didn't feel guilt in that moment. He still believed that she was a terrible person who committed vile acts, but he definitely didn't feel good. He began to feel even worse when it became apparent to him that there was a murderer on the grounds, someone they didn't know. He didn't have any kind of idea of how they'd weed them out either.

So, they had all agreed that they would lie.

Erwin would say that everyone had an alibi, everyone was innocent. He would say that the enemy came from somewhere else.

This wasn't something they knew for sure, but Hange was confident that the blade that was used was definitely a blade that the Survey Corps carried. Of course, it was possible that a Garrison soldier could have infiltrated the base and sliced the soldier's neck, but it was only Survey Corps members that had known about the spat between him and the silver vixen earlier. Erwin told them that he would wait until the killer got comfortable before enacting his investigation.

Hange had voiced that they should attempt to get Red's help in weeding out the culprit, but Erwin sighed heavily, leading Levi to believe that he saw little success with that.

"She won't help. She hates us. She hates me."

He instructed Levi to go retrieve her from her cell while he got a hold of Mike to tell him the news, and Levi did so with haste.

But when he got to her cage, saw how detached she was, he felt the beginnings of guilt creep up his spine.

The floor was disgusting. She didn't have a real bed, not a comfortable one, anyway. She didn't have access to anything she might need in any circumstance: food, water, a restroom. She couldn't talk to anyone; she couldn't see anyone. If there was an emergency and they needed to evacuate, she could very well end up trapped in there. She had no access to a window, so the basement was very dark. It was cold and wet, and still, she chose to lay on the floor. In fact, for the most part, he had never really seen her even sit on the crappy makeshift bed.

He wondered if she didn't mind the living conditions because she had grown up in the Underground. However, even down there, Levi made it a point to always keep a clean environment. He couldn't stand filth.

But Red didn't have a choice in her current conditions. She didn't even get a room like Levi had when he first arrived with Isobel and Farlan.

Obviously, Levi knew that Red had killed more people than he ever could. But after witnessing her discussion with Muller, after hearing what Eld had to say, after finding out that she had been punished for a crime she didn't commit, he began to think that maybe she wasn't as bad as he credited her. After all, Levi wasn't a saint, but still, the Survey Corp had provided him with much better living conditions than what she was given. And now, he was overcome with a horrible sense of sympathy for it.

So, when he arrived at her doors, he suddenly became aware of just how disgusting her conditions were. And she had been living this way with them for months.

That's when his guilt finally set in. That's when he finally started to fully understand just how fucked up her situation was. And on top of all of this, they threatened to keep her locked up in the hellhole.

Yeah, Levi definitely didn't feel good. So, he wasn't an ass to her when she didn't get up. He didn't patronize her or call her any names. He was patient. When she followed him slowly up the stairs to the dining hall, he tried not to sneak any looks at her, he really did try his best.

When she sat down with her food, he noticed just how quickly his squad had stopped talking. He could see how uncomfortable they all were, how much they despised her. All for something she didn't do. He wanted to tell them right then and there, but he knew Erwin would be making the announcement any second.

Then he did, and the reaction was immediate. Everyone had started talking amongst themselves, staring at her. His squad had looked remorseful. He watched as she took this all in. And that's when her façade broke.

She looked furious. Absolutely lethal.

He understood why.

She had probably just gotten comfortable, she thought they were her friends, and in the midst of it all, they were so quick to abandon her because of something she didn't do. Because of him as well. He didn't do her any favors, as he had been very adamant about his opinions on the matter.

When Erwin came to try and talk to her, she hadn't even given him the time of day. She quickly grabbed her breakfast, some of it not even touched, and threw it away, running to Mike of all people.

Levi didn't know why or how she had come to be so attached to him, but walking in on them now, he understood it.

Mike had never treated her differently, never treated her with hostility. He had always shown her kindness, given her the benefit of the doubt. And now, he was cooking with her.

Hell, Levi didn't even know that Mike could cook.

But there he was, in a fucking apron, cooking with her.

Levi felt his jaw twitch. He didn't know why, but the image of them together and happy did something to him. The same way that watching all those boys fawn over her did something to him. But hell would soon freeze over before he would ever admit to the slightest possibility of jealousy.

Before he walked in, he had heard her giggling. And for the splittist of seconds, he had seen her smile—a hauntingly beautiful smile, teeth and all. He wondered why she didn't smile more often, but soon came to realize that she never had a reason to. But after the doors swished behind him, and she saw him there, it was as if she had never done any of it in the first place.

She was back to her detachment.

And Levi was upset because she had stopped looking at him like that some time ago. Before, she used to actually smile at him. It was a different kind, sure. More teasing, more seductive, but she smiled at him nonetheless. She had gotten used to his caustic words and his icy glares and she smiled at him despite it. It always shot a jolt up his spine and blood to his cock.

He didn't like the way she looked at him now. And he definitely didn't like how happy she looked with Mike.

"The fuck are you two doing?" He asked, venom seeping into his tone, eyes gleaming with suppressed anger. It didn't phase either of them.

Mike made a face, "What does it look like? We're cooking."

Levi looked over to her, noticing that she was ignoring him, giving her attention to her bowl. That bothered him.

He also noticed her bandaged hands. Blood seeped through them. He couldn't recall seeing any bandages on her hands earlier.

"Why?" Levi asked, still focused on her.

"Who are you? The Military Police? Because we want to," Mike scoffed, continuing to cut his apples with indifference.

"I didn't even know you could cook," Levi squinted at him.

Mike answered immediately, "I can do a lot of things you don't know about."

He threw his apples into her bowl and casually reached around her to grab a spice. Levi could feel his pupils dilate at the action, at their comfortability with each other.

"Did Erwin say you could use all that shit? Isn't that a waste of food?" Levi scowled.

Mike threw some more ingredients in her bowl while she stirred consistently, "Erwin knows about it and makes sure to order more ingredients in case I feel the need."

"Sounds like favoritism."

"And you sound like a nark."

Levi glared at him, "I need to clean in here."

Mike made a face like he didn't know what the big deal was, "So wait 'til we're finished."

"And how long will that take?"

Mike shrugged, "Twenty minutes."

"I'm not waiting twenty minutes for you to finish baking. I'm not a fucking maid."

"You certainly act like one. Cleaning as often as you do isn't even a military requirement," Mike made a face at him.

"If it wasn't for me, this place would be a goddamn horse stall."

Mike threw an apple in his mouth, "Sounds like something a maid would say."

Ares snickered behind her hand as she watched the two of them converse. She had tried to keep her amusement at bay, but she just adored how Mike fucked with him the way he did. He was a prodigy.

Levi's eyes darkened at her, "You think that's funny? I should make you clean this fucking mess."

She stopped laughing, turning her head to Mike.

"Give her a break, will you? She was just accused of murder. And for once," He opened his arms wide for emphasis, "She didn't do it. Besides, she's not assigned to you today, she's assigned to me. And I say," He took the mixing bowl from her hands, "We're cooking. We'll clean up when we're done."

"I don't trust you."

"You shouldn't."

Mike then turned to her and signed something to her, which caused Ares to snicker into her hands again.

Levi was furious. When the fuck did he learn how to sign? Was he fluent? Did they talk to each other this way often?

Hell must have frozen over…

He had been jealous of Eld before, for being able to converse with her as often as he did. He wished he could do the same. He wished he could get a chance to peak into that labyrinth of thought just for a moment. Of course, with Eld, he had personally assigned him to her. He wanted him to get as much information as he could from her, since he was the only one who could.

But Mike?

Mike wasn't spending time with her to spy. He wasn't communicating with her because he was digging for information. He didn't have any sound reason to be with her other than he just simply wanted to.

And she clearly wanted the same. The way she stalked to his table to leave with him, it didn't sit right with Levi. And now he understood why.

Ares liked Mike. She liked him and she liked spending time with him. And he genuinely liked doing the same with her.

It made his jaw clench.

Levi tsked before turning to leave, but before he walked out, he glared at them, "You both look fucking ridiculous."

"Comments like that won't get you any flan," Mike called after him.

I would just like to say that I'm sooooo happy that you all like this story. The reviews that I get are so kind and detailed sometimes that I just get incredibly giddy. Its all of you that give me motivation to finish these chapters sometimes.

So, I would like to take the time to provide vague answers/comments to some recent reviews that I saw.

-Mike and Ares will DEFINITELY be best friends. I don't know if you can tell from all of my foreshadowing that I'm providing in these early chapters but have no fear. This was the plan from the beginning. He's going to play a really big part in later chapters, especially concerning Levi.

-I am staying safe and having a pretty okay 2021, thank you. Actually, I take that back, it was okay, but today I got some bad news and I'm going to be pretty depressed for a while.

-Why did she kill Erwin's dad? We will find out soon.

-Lmao Erwin "backstabbing bitch" Smith. Classic.

-Many characters will eventually learn the language. One character is actually pretty fluent already, it just hasn't been addressed.

Stay safe everyone. Take time to spend with your loved ones. We take them for granted, I think.

I love you guys. Thank you.