Chapter Summary: I've met Levi Ackerman twice in my life till now. The second time, as you know, was with both of you in the school field. The first time, however, was when I was 11 years old."

A/N: Whew! The Levi-Mikasa backstory is finally done and uploaded! Enjoy!

We're sitting cross-legged on Eren's bed. This time Eren is in the middle with his back against the headboard. Mikasa and I are sitting side by side facing him. We sit in silence – Eren with his eyes closed, Mikasa with an unreadable expression and me observing the other two.

He's already told us everything that happened. Quite calmly, even. And to be honest, I'm still trying to process the whole thing.

Let's state the facts first –

Eren likes Levi.

Levi probably likes Eren.

Eren is 17. Levi is 34.

Levi has a 14 years old daughter.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"Is she his biological daughter?" I asked in the middle.

Mikasa looked at me like I'd grown two heads.

Okay, okay! I put my hands up in surrender and shut up.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Fucked up. Totally fucked up. That's what this is.

"So… uh…" I decide to speak up. "What are you gonna do now?"

"I think that part is obvious", Mikasa interrupts. "There's only one thing left to do."

"And that is?"

Her eyes focus on me. "Move on."

My eyes widen at her bluntness. "Whoa! Couldn't you at least be considerate of his feelings for now? Give the guy some time!"

Her gaze doesn't waver. "Delaying will only cause more pain." She looks at Eren who's still leaning his head back with eyes closed. "I'm only trying to do what's best for him", she says, more softly this time.

"I know, but…"

"Armin", Mikasa looks at me again. But the sternness in her eyes is now replaced with concern. "Look at the situation! That man is 17 years older. Even his daughter has a better chance of getting in a relationship with Ere–" she stops abruptly when Eren groans and covers his ears with his palms.

"… Sorry", she whispers after a while. Her eyes are cast downward. I sigh and reach out to squeeze her hand reassuringly. Mikasa always means well, Eren and I both know that. But it's just that, sometimes her realistic view becomes a little too much.

We wait for Eren to recollect himself. And when he finally removes his palms and opens his eyes, the first words he speaks are directed towards our raven haired friend. "What's your relationship with Levi?"

She stares at him with an unreadable expression.

Wait, what is this now?

"Uh…" my eyes keep moving from Eren to Mikasa and then to Eren again. "Is there something I don't know?"

Turquoise and obsidian turn to me at the same time. And then with a sigh, Mikasa tells me the details of their phone call.

"Oh", I let out a breath. "So, that's how you know about Levi's daughter. Makes sense."

"I still haven't gotten my answer Mikasa", Eren's voice sounds distant. "What is your relationship with him?"

"Eren…"

He stares at her defiantly.

"Fine, I'll tell you", she sighs. "You know Uncle Kenny is my father's cousin, right?"

We nod.

"Well, Levi's mom, Kuchel Ackerman, was Uncle Kenny's twin sister."

"Was?" I ask.

"Yeah, was. From what I've heard, she had Levi when she was 17 and died while he was still just a kid."

Eren and I both open our mouth to say something, but Mikasa holds up her hand. "Let me just tell you from the beginning."

"Alright", we say in unison.

"I've met Levi Ackerman twice in my life till now", she starts. "The second time, as you know, was with both of you in the school field. The first time, however", she grabs a pillow and holds it against her chest, "was when I was 11 years old."

We say nothing.

"I don't remember it quite clearly, but I do remember it was my birthday." She looks out the window staring at nothing. "Mom and Dad decided to throw a party, talking about how it's a nice opportunity for the whole family to get together. And of course, they invited all the Ackermans. Even the ones who were disowned by their own family members."

"Disowned…?" I hear Eren whisper.

"Disowned", she reaffirms.

A moment of silence follows.

Oh come on!

"Uh… guys", I squirm a little. "Maybe… we can talk about what happened in the party now?"

"Oh, right", Mikasa seems to break out of her trance. "So yeah, I was celebrating my 11th birthday. Well, more like, sitting in a corner and watching the adults with boredom, and there he was. Levi Ackerman. And holding his hand was this 8 years old kid. Her brown hair tied into two messy pigtails – probably done by herself – and green eyes wide with wonder and excitement."

I shift my eyes to Eren. His eyes look distant as if he's seeing everything Mikasa just told us. And very slowly, a sad smile etches itself across his face.

"He noticed me sitting by myself at the corner and came over", she continues. Then as if remembering something funny, she snickers. "That was probably the rudest birthday wish I ever received."

"But", I intervened. "What did you mean when you said 'disowned by family members'?"

Her smile falters. "We'll get to that. At that time, I had no idea about the rift in his relationship with the rest of the Ackermans. Hell, I didn't even know who he was, other than the fact that he was a relative of some sort", she sighs. "I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him to be in a house full of people who hated his guts."

My brows furrow in confusion. "Then why did he come?"

"Maybe he had a good relationship with my parents and didn't have the heart to turn them down", she shrugs. "I don't know for sure."

"But–" But why did he have a good relationship with your parents when clearly, the other family members were antagonized by him? I wanted to ask, but realized she wouldn't know the answer to that. "Never mind. Go on."

"Well, we spent some time together, mostly just watching the others. At first I decided to ignore him, like I was ignoring most of the others. Mainly because for some unknown reason they all had something to say to me when, in the contrary, all I wanted was some peace and quiet."

I laugh. "It was your birthday Mika! Of course they wanted to talk to you!"

"Whatever", she grimaces. "Anyway, so I thought this guy would be the same. And I silently waited for the moment he starts asking nonsensical questions. Because then I'd have to get away from there and find another place to sit." She stretches her legs and leans over my shoulder, making herself comfortable. "But after a while, when he still doesn't speak a word, curiosity gets the best of me. So I raise my head to look at this mysterious guy, expecting to find him watching me with googly eyes and a forced smile."

Eren snorts. "Those are two things I can never associate with Levi Ackerman."

"Yeah", even Mikasa gives a short laugh. "But I didn't know any better then, did I?"

Sadly, I can't participate in their joke right now. Because my shoulder is starting to go numb.

"Mika", I whine. "Get up. You're heavy!"

Don't look at me like that. Have you seen her muscles? She is heavy!

Mikasa gets up and gives me an irritated look, but thankfully, does nothing more. Instead, she scoots over to Eren and leans against the headboard beside him.

The story is resumed.

"Where was I?"

"Googly eyes and forced smile", Eren offers.

"Oh yeah", she sneers. "Imagine my surprise to find the man sitting beside me and watching the crowd with an expression that exactly mirrors mine. I watched him for a while – bewildered by the fact that there's someone else like me – until he sensed my eyes on him and turned his head. He raised an eyebrow as if asking what I was looking at and I quickly averted my eyes, embarrassed by the fact that I was caught staring. But then, my eyes caught the little girl hiding behind him and pocking her head out. I glared at her, hoping she'd get scared and run away. But of course not!"

Mikasa scowls, as if she's still angry that her death glare didn't work on the 8 years old.

"She just seemed even more excited and came hopping around. I looked at Levi, since I was kind of at a loss what to do. Somehow, mom and dad came up right at that moment to talk. He was Levi Ackerman, my cousin – that's all they told me. And I suppose I was still looking at the girl curiously, because then, Levi knelt down to our height and introduced us. His daughter, Isabel Ackerman."

I watch from the corner of my eyes as Eren winces hearing the name. I look at Mikasa. She seems to have taken notice too.

"Maybe I should sto–"

"No!" he cuts her off. He's sitting up straight, eyes wide and breathing heavily. We watch him with concern. He notices worried look and slowly leans back, relaxing his body and closing his eyes. "Sorry. Go on."

"But Eren…"

He looks at her and sighs. "Please Mikasa, not now."

I open my mouth to say something but Eren notices and beats me to it. "I know what you're gonna say Armin. This isn't helpful for me. That digging more into this will only hurt me more. I know, okay? I KNOW!" his eyes shine with unshed tears. "B-But… I still want to know. I feel like… like I need to know!"

I close my mouth abruptly.

As it seems, going along with Eren's wishes is the best we can do right now. Well, to be honest, I'm more afraid of him doing something stupid if we don't.

I look at Mikasa from the corner of my eye and silently signal her to continue. She nods without any argument. Good! Looks like Mika's thinking along the same way as mine.

She pats him on the head. "It's okay, Eren."

I smile at him encouragingly and raise my hand for a fist bump.

He watches the two of us, then finally shakes his head and lets out a relieved sigh.

When his fist meets mine, he's smiling.

So are we.

"Anyway, so that was my first meeting with those two", Mikasa continues where she left off. "After that, I never saw him again until recently. He was never present in any of the family gatherings I attended and I wasn't much concerned about it either. So I never asked my parents. And then… mom and dad got killed in that robbery and I was sent to live with Uncle Kenny."

She says the last words with such calm and indifference – it makes my stomach lurch in an uncomfortable way. My parents are dead too, but they died when I was very little. So I don't really remember much. All the memories I have are of me with my grandpa. But Mikasa… she remembers the moments she had with her parents. The love, the happiness – she has all of those inside her heart – along with the horror and the loneliness. And yet, she can talk about it as if it was nothing.

I could never be so strong.

"I was in my last year of junior high, when one day Uncle Kenny returned home angry and drunk," Mikasa's voice brings me back to present. "He's usually very careful about these things around me, always making sure he's sober when I'm home. So this was very unusual." She grimaces at the memory. "When I went near his room, I heard him kicking the furniture and cursing someone."

She eyes Eren carefully before saying the next words. "I won't go into details. Just know that the curses weren't very pleasant and at some point the name of the person slipped from his mouth. And that's how I knew he was talking about Levi Ackerman."

Eren opens and closes his mouth several times, before sighing and motioning for her to go on.

"I confronted him the next morning when he was sober. From what I knew, I'd seen Levi once before and to me he'd seemed like a quite reasonable guy. So obviously, I wanted to know the reason of animosity between him and my guardian. But the moment I spoke his name, Uncle Kenny became furious. He said some harsh words in the heat of the moment, and I left the house. Do you remember Armin?"

My eyebrows shoot up. "So this is what that was about?!"

She simply nods.

"What? Why don't I remember?" Eren looks confused.

My memory supplies me vague images of the day Mikasa stayed over, saying her uncle wasn't coming home that night.

"Because you weren't there", I tell him. "She told me her uncle was out on duty and she needed to spend the night with us. So I took her to my house and grandpa arranged for her to sleep in."

"Oh! I remember now. That was the only day both of you came together to pick me up for school", he looks at me with narrowed eyes. "You never told me she stayed over."

"Didn't think it was important", I reply lamely.

Eren huffs.

Mikasa shakes her head in annoyance. "Do you guys wanna hear the rest of it or not?"

"Yes!" we both say at the same time.

"Alright." We shut our mouth as she starts once again. "I returned home the next day after school. And Uncle Kenny was there, looking frantic and scared. When he saw me, he flopped on the ground and started sobbing silently. I went in my room and freshened up. He was leaning against the wall beside my room when I walked out. He looked up at me and smiled. Dontcha ever do that baby girl – he told me."

"You must have scared him, going off on your own like that." I tell her.

"Yeah", she says absentmindedly. "I went over and sat beside him. And then, he told me about Levi Ackerman."

Eren stiffens.

"Apparently, Aunt Kuchel had left the house when she was 16, with the man she loved. A man the rest of the family refused to accept. Five years later, they received a letter from an orphanage in Stohess. It said that Kuchel Ackerman was dead and her son was under their custody now. The Ackerman family could take him with them if they wanted. Uncle Kenny went there to investigate the matter. What he found was a 4 years old kid. When he dug in a bit more, he got to know that the lover had abandoned Aunt Kuchel shortly after she'd fled with him. Already pregnant with his child, she had nowhere to go except surrender herself to prostitution in order to survive. And that's where Levi was born."

She pauses to take a breath. "When Uncle Kenny returned and informed his father about the whole situation, he refused to accept a boy whose mother had disgraced the family name and whose father's identity was dubious. And so they left the boy to his own fate."

I look at Eren. He looks ready to smash something. "Eren", I squeeze his shoulder gently. "Relax."

Mikasa takes a look at him, but doesn't stop. "The family had totally forgotten about him, until that day they met him. My birthday. That was also the day they got to know that my parents had secretly been bearing the cost of his well-being and education." She laughs humorlessly. "They'd been furious, or so Uncle Kenny told me. They'd protested in every possible way, but my parents stayed firm on their ground. Although they'd been forbidden to ever invite him in any of the family gatherings since then. I doubt he would've come, even if they did. The family's hostility wasn't unknown to him, after all."

"What about his… daughter?" Eren asks quietly.

She looks conflicted. "I don't know much about that myself. All I know is that she's about 3 years younger than us and that her mother is dead. I don't know if they were married though."

We sigh in unison.

And then, I remember something. "Why was Uncle Kenny so angry about him that night? Did he tell you?"

At this, she actually laughs. "Believe it or not Armin, Uncle Kenny told me he'd tried several times to form an amiable relationship with that man. He told Levi that he wanted to support him the way my parents used to. But he refused, saying that my parents had their right over him because they stood by him when he had no one. That he didn't need someone – someone who never bothered about his existence – to pity him after all these years. Ungrateful bastard won't let go of his ego – Uncle Kenny said."

"It's not ego", Eren says defiantly. "It's self-respect."

"I know", she looks at him with amusement. "I think what Uncle Kenny wanted was a chance to rectify his past mistake. But he was given none. It was his frustration talking."

She lifts herself and stretches her hands, getting rid of the stiffness. "And that concludes the story of How-I-met-your-crush."

I fall back on the bed, with both hands under my head. Eren and Mikasa do the same. Together we lie on the bed in different angles and look up at the ceiling, surprisingly all of us thinking about the same person at the same time.

Levi Ackerman.

A/N: Announcement guys! Next chapter's gonna be Levi's POV! Yay! Finally! XP

I got super delayed on this one! Really sorry about that! I promise I'm trying! Hopefully, the next chapter will be uploaded in time.

On a different note, I missed the live streaming of Yuri on Ice! Concert yesterday (so sad!), but I'm super excited about the movie! I'm so glad they finally announced it! Any YOI fans here?! Let's scream together! XD