Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please read Author end notes on Update schedule.


Hanji sighed, shaking her head. "She's just the same as before…"She mumbled to herself, as she turned towards the direction where Mikasa was supposed to be with Levi. "And you—"

But they weren't there anymore, and no one knew where they went.


When night fell, Levi found himself sitting down in the dining area of the royal castle alone and drinking.

As much as he wanted to have a peaceful drink to wash away his troubles, his peacefulness was unfortunately ruined by a large group of guards—or rather, hooligans as Levi rather call them— who sat not too far away from him, chugging down beer while they raved.

By now, all of the noble women were either asleep or somewhere socializing with one another, forming bonds or connections. Or, according to what Levi unavoidably overheard one guard shout from the other table, they were looking for the Prince who had gone missing ever since the whole sparring ordeal.

And because for the most part, the noble woman's safety during night-time was ensured by Paradis's own famously strong guards in this castle, most of their personal guards decided to take it easy that night (with permission of course).

Levi desperately wanted to sleep. It was better than staying in this noisy room filled with loud drunkards. He wanted to call it a day and go to bed. But his insomnia kicked in, coupled along with the feelings of frustration he garnered after the conversation he had with Mikasa earlier on.

His eyes exhaustively stared down at his drink, secretly hoping that if he drank a few more it'd knock him out as he didn't want to think about all those shitty, troubling things anymore. It wasn't until earlier today did he remember how tough it is to be the older brother who had to deal with Mikasa Ackerman. He closed his eyes briefly, pondering and then sub-consciously murmuring his thoughts out loud, "Why is she so stubborn?"

"What the fuck were you thinking?" was the first thing Levi said when he and Mikasa were finally alone at a secluded and quiet corner, where no one was currently around. "Fighting? With a Princess? Has being on the surface make you lose it?"

Levi looked at Mikasa dead in the eye. His face was written with nothing but pure anger, and maybe a little disappointment regarding Mikasa's poor choices which led her to be in this situation. Any form of worry that he had for her earlier when he found out about the spar had disappeared and then reappeared in his eyes as only burning fury.

And Mikasa wanted to look away, she really did. But her obstinacy and pride told her otherwise.

Because Mikasa grew up with Levi since birth, she had inevitably seen him get angry—both at her and others. Most times, she wasn't so fearful of him because at the end of the day they were siblings, family. But there were a few times, did his anger truly scare her almost as much as how Kenny frightened her when he got angry himself.

This was one of those times. And yet, she couldn't help but retort back and defend herself.

"Armin was getting hurt. I intervened because I didn't want him to get knocked out unconscious, or have anything worse happen to him. If I had ran off and inform a guard in that moment it would've been too late to save him… and then Princess Annie…" She began to explain things to him calmly, in hopes of her brother understanding the reasoning behind her outrageously risky actions. She told him how afterward Annie forced her in a spot after all the lies she spewed. How she attracted unnecessary attention to herself. How she didn't have a choice—

"You had a choice." Levi hissed, and Mikasa found herself clenching her fist upon seeing that her explanation only added fuel to fire. "If you had just run off to inform a guard to handle the mess that Armin was in, nothing would've happened."

Mikasa frowned. Was he not listening? "But if I had, he—"

"What's worse, Mikasa?" He took a step forward, towering over her. Despite being physically taller than him, she felt smaller; like she had just shrank while his intimidating presence grew. "To flee and get help for that unconscious blonde who will eventually recover—because I highly doubt people like them who want to suck up to that Prince's ass would kill his staff—or having your bloodlust awaken and end up massacring not just him but dozens of other people?"

Mikasa flinched, but forcefully stopped herself from taking a step back because when the aura around him became more intimidating. However, her stubborn resilience wasn't enough to maintain eye contact with him. She eventually looked away. "I…" She bit her lip. Massacring. That single word brought so back much uncountable horrors to her mind that it made it ache once again, and consequently her hand found itself pulling slightly at her hair while she tolerated the pain. "I didn't want him to get anymore hurt…" She meant to sound more fearsome and assertive when she said that, but to no avail it was weakly delivered. Because what Levi said was right. It was cruel, but he was right. Still, she couldn't find it in her heart to just not save him. Not when she…

Levi saw the hurt in her eyes the moment the word massacring left his lips, and in an instant he regretted ever mentioning it. He knew it was a sensitive topic for her, and he should've known that he shouldn't have used that word right after what was almost and could've been a bloody mess. And how she tugged at her hair didn't go unnoticed by him. But those words left his lips so suddenly, he didn't have the time to stop and think.

The last thing he needed and wanted was to be the one who would trigger her bloodlust. He would apologise to her, but right now, from his viewpoint, he wasn't the one in the major wrong. And he wanted her to learn her lesson. After all, if a similar incident occurred… and if he hadn't been there on time, the absolute hell would've happened. And then Kenny would have both their heads.

"Mikasa." Levi said, the sternness in his tone remained. He decided to steer back to the main point. "Remember your mission up here. Don't do anything more unnecessary. I can't keep saving you—"

"I never asked you to keep saving me!" Levi didn't know why she suddenly snapped. It was so abrupt, given how guilty she looked a second ago. He had thought that she realised her mistake, but apparently not. Her eyes whipped back and stared right at him, in a sort of frustration that Levi couldn't understand why. If anything, it fueled his rage as Mikasa's own voice began to raise. "I'm not a kid anymore. I'm nineteen—"

"Don't raise your voice at me. Do you not realise the fucking danger you put yourself in?" Growing up, Levi sometimes wished he could just be a brother to her. But because he was older, and because Kenny wasn't exactly the best parental figure, he had to fill up that role sometimes. And most times, he didn't understand why she'd react like this whenever a similar topic like this came about. He knew his sister was anything but blind, so why did she seem so unaware of her reckless actions? Was it just some shitty teenage rebellion phase? "If you aren't a kid anymore, then grow up and stop being so reckless about your b—"

He paused when his eyes caught the faint sound of footsteps nearing them. He immediately sensed someone nearby. It didn't take long for the younger Ackerman to catch on.

It didn't take him too long to know that this wasn't the best location to discuss about Mikasa's bloodlust, her actions and her mission—their mission. "Think about what you did today." He remarked as he began to walk off, walking past her. It was best to go their separate ways for now.

And what Levi didn't see as he walked away was how she clenched her fist tighter in response to his remark that sounded like something he'd have said to her when she was five and did something childishly wrong. "I'm sorry…" She whispered so softly under her breath that Levi who was already far away from her was unable to catch, because he was too busy dealing with his own troubled thoughts.

"Who's stubborn?" A voice chirped, cutting off his thoughts about the fight he just had with his sister. "Are you talking bad about your Princess to yourself? Well, at least you aren't telling and ranting it to those drunkards over there." It was only when she peeked from behind his shoulder did his eyes open and recognize the owner of that painfully cheerful voice. "Not a fan of alcohol?" Hanji asked before taking a seat next to him.

This woman again. Levi thought as he sipped his lavender tea. He hadn't seen her since she interfered in Annie's and Mikasa's spar. He had spent the rest of his day taking one last look in the library and then later in his room—and now here, because no matter how much he tried his mind refused to let him rest. "I don't want to go to bed reeking of alcohol." Levi answered. It didn't take him long to be bothered by her again when he noticed how she stared at him. Or more specifically, his hand.

"You have an odd way of holding a tea cup." Hanji remarked with curious eyes, "And I find it amusing how you're ranting to yourself about Princess Mikasa. Do you not like socialising with the other guards? Even during the welcoming ball you stood all by yourself, Mr lone-wolf." She laughed lightly, almost in a teasing manner.

Mr lone-wolf? Levi couldn't help but scoff, and at the same time he couldn't help but be reminded of how painfully observant she was. "I'm not complaining about Princess Mikasa." It felt weird, calling Mikasa a Princess, especially when they both grew up in the same shit-hole together. But nonetheless he had an act to carry on. "And I don't find it fun to mix with drunkards." He added. He already had Kenny to deal with. He still remembered the time Kenny started training his alcohol tolerance at a way too young age. And the most haunting memory he had during that time was of an annoying, drunkard pink-faced Kenny. It was a surprise to him that he could still fight even after the countless jugs he chugged down.

"I heard you arguing with her." Hanji admitted shamelessly, and Levi somehow managed to not overreact to that statement. So she was the one who was around? How much did she hear? I'm sure I cut it off in time before anyone could hear anything related to—

"I don't really know what you said since by the time I got there you stormed off… all I heard were just raised, unclear angry voices." Hanji said honestly. It was the truth. Levi had been lucky enough to cut the conversation before anyone could hear the taboo words 'bloodlust' or 'Ackerman' leave either one of their lips. "And I know it's not my business and I have no right to intrude but… I don't think it's Princess Mikasa's fault for any of what happened today. Princess Annie… can be… Princess Annie sometimes." Hanji chuckled, and Levi raised a brow, not understanding what she meant by that peculiar statement since he didn't know Annie well, or at all. But she continued without elaborating much anyway, "And the other advisors… I apologise. They probably forced her into a corner. You two are strangers and are from a foreign land… I suppose they felt threatened, and like some of the other guests here… suspicious, I guess." She shrugged.

"And you're not?" Levi pointed out blatantly, arching a brow. Was she just normally this annoying and overly friendly?

"Nah, you or Princess Mikasa haven't done anything to warrant my suspicion. Besides, Hizuru deserves a break after all the devastation they suffered from the war… and you two deserve a break after that incident earlier." Hanji sighed and waved her hand dismissively, before adjusting her tone to something more formal, "Getting back on track… I apologise on all their behalves. So don't be too harsh on the Princess, you did mention to me she is like a sister to you during the ball, right?"

"…Yeah." Levi nodded. She doesn't understand. He thought, and I don't expect her to. After all I'm an Ackerman and we are mere strangers.

I ought to distance myself from her. Levi thought as he slowly looked towards her. She grinned at him in response, as if to say 'happy to help'. She's too observant, and could interfere with the mission if she gets too suspicious or even curious… but at the same time if I get close enough to her, I might find more intel. And if I do find that intel, piece up the shitty clues, then the sooner we can leave… and the less the probability of Mikasa getting hurt and her bloodlust running loose. Levi looked away from her grin without a response, resulting in a pout from the four-eyed woman that he chose to ignore. He lifted up the cup, wanting to take another sip of tea, to only realise it was empty and that he had just finished his third cup already, and he still didn't feel tired. "Tch." He clicked his tongue. The next thing he knew, Hanji snatched his cup away from him once he placed it down.

"I'll get you some chamomile. It's late, and the last thing I want is for Hizuru's guard to look grumpier the next morning after having a rough day and night. It's the least I can do for the trouble we've caused to Princess Mikasa and yourself and maybe even Hizuru." She smiled as she stood up. Levi scoffed. Speak for yourself, you're still awake. He couldn't help but think. "It works better than lavender tea if you want to sleep, Mister Eye-bags."

"Same goes to you, four-eyes bag." He retaliated, noting her own eye-bags. Hanji only laughed in response, and Levi would've assumed that she was drunk too if it weren't for the fact she didn't smell of alcohol. "That's a new one. I'll get two cups then, and we can drink all our stresses away!" Levi rolled his eyes. How can this woman be so chirpy this late at night without any alcohol?

"I hope you sort things out with Princess Mikasa soon." Hanji said, this time less chirpy, as what Levi called it. "One of the maids informed me she looked so restless and unwell when she came by to check on her." She then walked off to make two cups of chamomile tea.


Mikasa laid restlessly on the bed. Despite the softness of the mattress and pillows and the comfort of the fluffy blanket it provided her with, she didn't feel any less bad about the argument she had with Levi.

"I never asked you to keep saving me!"

It came out so instinctively before Mikasa could even stop herself. Granted, she was indeed thankful for Levi always being there for her. But there came a point where she got tired of it; got tired of burdening Levi with the responsibility of handing her bloodlust.

It was her bloodlust, and she wanted to be the only one to carry on the burden of this monstrous, uncontrollable curse. It should be my burden alone, she thought.

Her eyes trailed down to her hands, and for a split second she saw blood on it. An image from her past trauma.

Massacre. The word echoed around her mind. Just how many innocent lives did I… take that day? Why does it have to be me to have the uncontrollable bloodlust? Why do the Ackermans even have to be cursed with bloodlust in the first place?

She bit her lip and then slowly sat up. Her eyes then averted away from her dirty hands and towards the unlocked window where the moonlight shone through. The moon looks a lot prettier on the surface. She observed.

After the whole sparring incident with Annie, most of the events today were cancelled—mostly because Eren was nowhere to be seen afterwards when he walked off with Armin and Annie. And the advisors that had contributed to the mess were forced to have a meeting with Advisor Hanji regarding their actions, so they couldn't find it in their schedule to search for Eren and drag him back. At least, that's what the maid informed Mikasa when she entered her room to check on her.

Since everything was cancelled, and Eren was nowhere to be seen, she saw no point of leaving her room. The thought of sneaking around did occur to her, to maybe help Levi in his search. Because he was right. They were still on a mission that they had to complete.

But the last thing she wanted was to make two mistakes in a day. And she needed time to cool off anyway, which led her to just resting in the room for the rest of the day.

Even though she 'relaxed' in her room, the guilt regarding the whole argument she had with Levi weighed on her, and she found herself to be restless.

And she found it stupid. She found it so stupid that despite the fact that she acknowledged what Levi had said or rather implied that it would've been better to let Armin be knocked unconscious as opposed to risking her bloodlust to go wild—she still would've saved Armin all over again if she could reverse back time.

To top it off, she felt no regret in saving Armin despite the risk.

Mikasa never expected Levi to understand why she felt so miserable and reluctant when he'd always help her and come to her rescue. Admittedly, she never really had an actual meaningful discussion about it to him, because either way Kenny would make sure someone would be there to monitor and save her in case she spiralled out of control and she didn't want to give him more burden by venting out all her emotions to him and—

It was all just a mess.

She also felt angry. She felt so angry at herself. She spent so many exhausting days and nights training… and she still couldn't properly control her bloodlust.

"I should've killed her back then…"—Kenny had said it himself. And Levi defended her. She was his greatest burden and responsibility and yet he defended her back then, and she knew he would still do the same now. But why?

She wondered if her mother—Kuchel—even wanted her. Kenny had told her she had passed away not too long after her birth due to some form of disease. Was her birth unplanned? Hell, in the first place…

"…why was I born? I—"

A knock on the door interrupted her soft muttering.

"Is this Princess Mikasa Azu's room?" She recognized the voice, but refused to believe that he was the owner. Why would he even visit her, especially at this time?

"Yes." She answered nonetheless, before straightening herself and her messy hair. "May I come in?"

And after giving her next 'yes', the owner of the voice entered her room and she still was in disbelief.

It was Eren Jaeger. The Prince.

He entered her room before quietly closing the door. Mikasa's eyes looked him up and down, to see that he seemed rather… frazzled and messy. And if anything, she swore there was a mini twig in his hair. She would've shrugged it off as her tired eyes just fooling her if she hadn't noticed a small stain of mud on his shirt. Was he in the forest or something? Was that why no one could find him? She pondered.

"Hey…" He said a little awkwardly as he made his way towards her.

"Hello." Mikasa greeted back as he watched the male make his way in front of her, leaning against the window, partially blocking the moonlight. "What… brings you here?" She asked. It was late at night, what could he possibly want with her?

"Eh… Well…" He said as he scratched the back of his head—and the twig still stubbornly remained in his messy hair, unmoving. She wondered if he knew it was there, and if not, whether she should tell him. But before she could consider any further, he continued to speak. "I want to apologise… on Annie's behalf for pushing you today. You looked… uncomfortable."

Mikasa found it ironic how he was apologising to her, and not Annie herself. He didn't have any fault in this after all. But at this point, she didn't know whose fault it was or who she could blame for the mess she was in, the mess she was placed in since birth. "No, no. It's fine." Mikasa quickly assured, albeit she found it odd for him to come into her room this late at night to tell her just this. He could've done it tomorrow morning. Then again, would he even have the chance? The event was still going to continue anyway. "Is that… all?"

Eren shook his head a little. "No. I also want to thank you personally." Mikasa tilted her head. Thank me? For what?

"I… had the wrong idea about you. I thought you wanted to… suck up to me and get close to me like the rest just for the title of 'Queen of Paradis'." He started, his eyes tracing down to the ground. Mikasa couldn't help but find his statement half-inaccurate. She did want to get close to him, for reasons much worse than what he said. But of course, she couldn't correct him on that.

"You helped my friend today. Coming from a foreign land that has closed its doors and lived in isolation, I assumed you wouldn't do anything out of line that had a possibility of badly tainting your country's name or cause bad relations with other nations. Or maybe you could've went to inform a guard so you could avoid being tangled in such a mess—but by then I'm sure Armin would've… been more injured than he already is. So I didn't expect for you to… intervene in the trouble Armin found himself in. Not to mention, you even took it upon yourself to bandage him immediately when you could've just send him off to the infirmary…You had nothing much to gain from saving him. And yet you did it, you risked yourself of getting hurt to help him. Not a lot of the other guests here would've done the same thing… they're all too busy trying to sway me to notice someone in need of help." He scoffed.

"So thank you." Eren said, slowly looking back up towards her. "…And also one more thing—" He paused half-way, surprised and concerned of the first sight he saw when he made eye-contact with her. "Are you… crying?"

"Huh?" Mikasa murmured, finally taking notice of the tears fogging up her eyes, soon to leak. "Oh- I…" she immediately looked away, wiping them away as she simultaneously faked a realistic sneeze. "Dust. It's the dust and the dirt..." And honestly, Mikasa hadn't expect for Eren to believe her. However, given the fact he had just returned from the forest, and was admittedly a little dirty, he thought she was speaking truth. What else could be the reason? Who would cry in this situation? "Ah, sorry. I just returned from… outside. I wanted to talk to you before the night got any later. I doubt I could have any normal conversation anytime soon, I'm pretty sure my advisors had devised some crappy plan tomorrow…" He grumbled.

For a fleeting moment when Eren had elaborated his thanks, she couldn't help but feel bad. She realised how hypocritical she was. She more or less saved someone, sure. But at the same time, she was here to find some secret lair, and maybe even steal some information… and for all she knew it could be used against Eren and the person she saved.

She didn't deserve his thanks. For heaven's sake, she was an Ackerman. She came from a clan supposedly responsible for his parents' death. And here she was, receiving the son's thanks.

She felt touched, because after Levi's reprimand, his thanks was... nice. It made her feel a little bit better. But at the same time, her guilt overweighed the touch she felt, and for a brief second she doubted her ability to even finish this mission.

But then she remembered that she was an Ackerman who was stripped of any sane choice since birth. And that she had to complete this mission, because she didn't want her brother to face the consequence of her failure. He had suffered enough because of her.

"What was… the other thing?" She asked, looking back towards him once she was sure she cleared herself of all tears.

"Ah, yeah… I'll make it quick, I don't want to worsen your allergy." It still surprised Mikasa that he believed her lie about the dust. "It's just… been a while since I last saw someone be able to… keep up with Annie. I mean my royal Azker guards probably could but…they're too busy to train me." Mikasa didn't know where this was leading to. And if anything, she grew even more surprised at how bashful he slowly became as he continued to speak. It was a drastic contrast to his angry and irritated demeanour he showcased to the noble woman during the ball and in the morning.

"Training with Annie… didn't really help me much. Besides she has been busy with other things lately… And when you sparred with Annie, I couldn't help but admire your skill. So, I was wondering… if you'd mind sparring with me. Training, you know?" He finally admitted his request, "It doesn't have to be now when all this marriage arranging thing is going on… but then again, I wouldn't mind sneaking off." Eren definitely would much rather sneak off to train and face the consequences later as opposed to searching for his future wife. That much was obvious to Mikasa—his disinterest in romance, that was. "Would that be okay?" The hope that glittered in his eyes for her to say yes was obvious to Mikasa as well.

By right, after Levi's reprimand, she knew she should consult him about this first—especially when it involved sparring, fighting. At the same time, this was her chance at getting close to the Prince. Besides, she doubted sparring with him would be as painful and stressful as the one she had with Annie, right?

As harsh as it sounded, from the spar she saw him engaged in with Annie, she highly doubted someone as careless as him—who could seemingly only manage the basics of hand-to-hand combat—would give her any trouble that'd lead her to triggering her bloodlust… even if it was unpredictable and unstable.

But… I should consult Levi first, right? She thought. I could… say yes to him after I tell—

"Actually… never mind. Forget it, it's fine." Eren suddenly said upon noticing her hesitance and the look of contemplation she had. "I have troubled you enough." He spoke, as he pushed himself off against the wall. I shouldn't force her. He thought. She's probably tired. And besides we're strangers, plus I was rude to her the other day… why would she even say yes? He scoffed at himself.

However before he could make his way to the exit, Mikasa quickly stood up and reached for his arm, grabbing it lightly. And in the heat of the moment, she agreed. "No, its fine. Sorry, I'm just…a little hazy. It's late." She said, "Sure. I'll train with you." Levi was going to kill her once he found out, Mikasa was sure of it.

Eren's eyes widened in excitement, and for the first time since being here, did she see a genuine smile form on his face. "That's great!" He exclaimed elatedly. "With your help… maybe I can finally be closer to beating Annie and then…" That smile faded to a grim look, "…and then those bastard Ackermans." Mikasa slowly loosened her grip on his arm and nodded. "Yeah." She found it so ironic. She was going to help this man kill her and the remains of her clan that were supposedly responsible for his parents' murder, and at the same time she was going to rob this man of the secrets stored at his hidden lair that could possibly be used against him by Kenny's customer.

What a cruel and twisted world.

"…Anyway, I'm sorry for interrupting you this late. I didn't even think you'd be awake." He apologised after regaining his composure.

"No, it's fine." She assured. "I… nothing new. Royal duties in my homeland tend to keep me up this late, and I… am just adjusting to this new land, so it'll take me a while to finally sleep."

"Is that so?" Eren spoke and Mikasa nodded. "Well… I better get going… wouldn't want the dirt on me to make your nose and eyes any more uncomfortable."

"Yeah…—" The sudden creaking sound of the window caught her attention. Her head turned towards it and her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she saw the window slightly more opened. And upon a certain realisation, she felt her stomach drop just a little.

"Something wrong?" Eren asked, tilting his head. Mikasa turned back towards him and offered the most reassuring look she could garner at that moment. "Yeah…" She took a step forward, her hand reaching out to his hair to swiftly pluck the twig out of his hair. "Sorry, this had been bothering me when you first stepped it." It wasn't really a lie.

Eren's embarrassment indicated by how his expression changed into a more flustered one told Mikasa that he hadn't been aware of the twig that had been stuck in his hair. It amused her. She hadn't expect for Eren's reaction to be like that, not when he seemed rather indifferent during this whole marriage event; and not when the dominant emotion she had mostly seen him express thus far was pure, burning anger.

He swiftly turned around and made his way to her door. "Goodnight." was the last thing he said before he exited her room without waiting for a response.

Mikasa sighed softly. Who'd have known that he would've been easily embarrassed by having a twig in his hair… she thought to herself as she made her way towards the window, her eyes briefly fixated on the twig, and then the moonlight.

"He's gone." She said, before tossing the small twig onto the ground. "I know you're there. There's no sign of wind." She added a she thought back to the creaking sound of the window.

"Good to know my niece still has some instincts." was the first thing Kenny said as he entered her room through the window he pushed open. And when Mikasa finally made eye contact with him, she felt fear stirring within. Why is he here? Did Levi… tell him already? Mikasa didn't know what to think as Kenny walked towards the raven who now stood as straight as how a soldier would, his foot mercilessly crushing the twig that had been tossed aside. How did he even manage to infiltrate the Castle without anyone noticing?

"I hope 'yer not getting too carried away with this royal life…" He commented before taking a glance around the room, and sneered at the opulence it screamed. Meanwhile, Mikasa wondered just how much he had overheard her and Eren's conversation. "And I hope 'yer not falling for that Prince." He joked ever so crudely.


Once Eren left her room, he began to walk off towards the direction of his room at a fast pace. For one thing, he didn't want to be caught by a guard who'd question the truth of his absence, if they had indeed saw through Jean's cover-up story.

Fortunately for him, he was stopped—but not by a guard.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about." Annie sighed, her eyes peeling away from Armin and to Eren. "And I see that you still look like a mess."

Eren was surprised by their sudden appearance, but before he could question them on that, he had more important things he wanted to be answered for first. "Why didn't you tell me there was a twig in my hair? Was that why you two called my hair a bird's nest and laughed when we were outside earlier?" Eren frowned, and Annie rolled her eyes. "It still looks like a bird nest." She remarked in a nonchalant way that would've irritated Eren, resulting in a light-hearted insulting contest… except, he was too tired from all the events that occurred today to even react.

"You could've at least told me before I went to visit her." He sighed.

Annie arched a brow. "Since when did you care for appearance? Oh- wait. Don't tell me you—"

"I don't. But I don't want to like a fool with a bird nest hair when I'm talking to someone new, especially when I'm asking for a favour. Not to mention, apologising on your behalf." He silently groaned and Annie shrugged, not really caring all too much. "That aside, what are you two doing here? I thought you two were going to wash up?"

"We were heading to our shower headquarters… that was, until Armin here got paranoid of leaving you alone with Princess Mikasa." Annie said, and Eren frowned.

"What did you think I was going to do?" He asked, sounding a little disappointed in his friend's doubts. Before Armin could say anything, Annie helped him answer… sort of. "You should know he wouldn't try anything funny. The idea of him even flirting with—"

"Stop." Eren groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. The idea of him flirting made him internally cringe himself. "Armin… why?"

"I… thought you might say something offensive, resulting in a fight between you and Princess Mikasa." He laughed nervously, turning around. "We should go clean ourselves up now, before a guard walks by and picks up on the stench." Armin said.

"How little faith do you have in me, Armin?" Eren sighed, shaking his head as he started to walk.

"Can you really blame him? And if that had happened, you wouldn't stand a chance against her." Annie spoke as she followed behind, and Eren flinched. He was too tired to receive any more insults. "Armin, tell your girlfriend— Armin?"

The two turned, to see that despite initiating to quickly leave and wash up, Armin was moving quite slowly, his mind seemingly deep in thought. "Armin?" Annie called, her tone soft. And Armin finally snapped out of it. "What's wrong—"

"Nothing." He answered immediately as he caught up to them, laughing lightly. "It's nothing. I'm just tired." And before Eren and Annie could further question his odd behaviour, Armin managed to change the topic. "Anyway, Eren… you ought to thank Jean for managing to convince the other guards to not drag you back… and I agree with Annie, the idea of you flirting is—"

"Stop." Eren urged again as another groan escape their lips.

As Annie and Eren continued their ramble, Armin took one last discreet glimpse towards the direction of Mikasa's room. And a small, soft and unnoticeable sigh of relief escaped his lips.


The following day, the first thing Eren was greeted by early in the morning was the sound of the doors being loudly slammed open. "EREN!" It was Jean, and just the volume of his yell was enough to send the Prince shooting right up.

"Horseface…?" Eren grumbled out tiredly, a yawn escaping his lips. "Why the hell are you shouting so early in th—"

"IT'S THE ACKERMANS! THEY ATTACKED LAST NIGHT!"


Author's note:

NEXT UPDATE: End may-June

I'm sorry that I can't update next month. Long (sob) story short, school is extremely stressful, more than I can ever imagine. I don't even know if I can update during the stated update date, but I'll try :,D

If i ever disappear for too long and didn't update for a long while, you can check on / message me on my tumblr: rosaline-kei

I hope this chapter was okay. I hope Eren didn't seem out of character ;-;

Anyway, I want to thank those who left a review/comment/constructive criticism. It means a lot! :)

Please Leave A Review! Constructive Criticism would be great :) I would love to hear your thoughts!