"Do you remember when we were small and I would always mess up your room?" I asked Levi as I walked into the room he was in. He pulled down the white cloth he used to cover his mouth.

"You did it because you're evil." He said to me.

"You're the evil one. You kept throwing my toys across the room because you thought they were stupid."

"They were." It was silent for a few seconds. I walked towards the window and stood beside him. Eren was on the ground sweeping up the steps with a broom as Oluo watched on with his cup of tea in his hand.

"You should go easy on him." I said.

"Why should I? He's a monster, isn't he?"

"You know that's not true. He's a kid." I corrected him.

"How can you be so sure?" I looked at Levi.

"Because if he was truly dangerous you wouldn't let me anywhere near him." I said. He kept his straight face on as he stared out the window.

"You promised you wouldn't die, but I never promised that I'd protect you from everything that's harmful. I didn't stop you from joining the Survey Corps."

"Well…you did try to, but I didn't listen."

"That's because you're a brat."

"And you're an asshole." I shot back at him.

"That's not the first time you've called me that."

"Because it's true." He didn't reply. Instead he continued to look outside the window. I always wondered what he was thinking at these moments, but I knew he would never tell me. He kept a lot from me.

I sighed.

"Just go easy on him. He's been through a lot." I said before turning on my heel and walking towards the door. On my way out I pushed over the bucket filled with dirty water, so all its contents would spread across the floor.

"Go to hell Ryder!" Levi yelled after me as I walked down the hallway. I only laughed as I rounded the corner. He still hasn't changed that much.

I went out to the stables and saw Eren feeding one of the horses. I walked over and leaned up against the wooden wall. With my arms crossed against my chest I spoke,

"We all like you, you know?" He turned around at the sound of my voice and had a surprised look on his face.

"I-really?" He seemed pretty surprised by the idea.

"They're just afraid. You're new and it doesn't help that you can transform into a Titan." He placed the bucket down after feeding the horse its dinner.

"I know, but I wouldn't do anything to hurt any of you." His eyes became wide as he looked at me. Almost as if the idea of him hurting any of us would be traumatizing for him. I smiled and pushed myself off the wall.

"I know Eren, you don't need to convince me of anything."

"Huh?" I walked towards him and reached out my hand for him to shake.

"I want to be your friend, Eren." He looked at my hand with a confused face before he placed his in mine and shook it. "Great, now how about you take a break and come have some tea with me on the steps?"

"What? But what about my duties? Captain Levi said that I have to finish-"

"Leave him to me. If he says anything then I'll take care of that shrimp. I think you deserve a break." I turned on my heel and began to walk out of the barn. I turned back around and waved at the statue like Eren. "Are you coming?" It took him a second to realize that he hadn't moved before he began to run towards me.

I sat beside Eren on the steps of the castle's courtyard. I took a sip of my tea and relished in its wonderful taste. My tea making skills have always been above average.

"So tell me about your friends, Eren."

"Huh?"

"You do have friends, don't you?" I looked at him. He blinked a few times before regaining his composure. He looked away from me and stared at his cup of tea.

"Yes I do. Two of my closest friends are Mikasa and Armin." He answered.

"What're they like?" I asked.

"Mikasa is very protective, but she's the best soldier I know, a part from Captain Levi and yourself of course. Armin is really smart. He knows so many random facts that it's amazing."

"Do you miss them?" I could hear his sadness in his voice as he replied,

"I wonder what they're doing all the time. I wonder what force they're going to choose. I hope they're okay." I took another sip of my tea as I began to think about Eren. I could feel my heart go out to him and all that he's been through.

"Mikasa is the girl you saved when you were nine, right?" I asked him. I could feel his eyes bare into the side of my head.

"How did you know?"

"I was at the trial. I heard the Military Police bring it up." With the few seconds of silence between us I knew he was trying to remember if he saw me at the trial or not.

"You…you were standing beside Captain Levi." I nodded my head.

"You're close to Mikasa, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

"She's a good friend to you, isn't she? You two have obviously been together for some time when your family took her in." There was silence between us again. Eren hadn't taken his gaze away from me, so I decided to look at him as well. "I know you'll see her again, and Armin too. I know they're alright as well."

"How do you know?" He inched closer to me by instinct. He hoped that I had information on his friends wellbeing.

"Call it, intuition."

"Umm…I was wondering…why are you asking about my friends?" He inquired.

"Hm?"

"Why are you taking interest in my friends or me, for that matter?" I gave him a soft smile before turning my head and looking forward. The courtyard was free of any debris. It was silent outside, no bird was chirping and no wind was blowing.

"I know coming here must've made you happy, but also scared. You miss your friends and you don't exactly have any friends here, do you? It also doesn't help that Captain Levi is so hard on you, but please don't take that to heart. He's trying to keep you safe." I stopped for a second to take another sip of my tea. "You know, Eren, your friendship with Mikasa and Armin kind of reminds me of my own."

"Huh?"

"I have a friend that I've been with ever since I was small. We always laughed and joked with each other. I would mess up his room and he would throw my toys away from me. We got in trouble together and we also got rewarded together." I explained.

"Where's your friend now?"

"He's still around. I don't think I could get rid of him, even if I wanted to. We even went through military training together and I was just as good as him. We had times where we didn't even know if the other was alive. Eren, I'm telling you this now, it's the most terrifying thing you could ever experience. The thought of someone you love dead, and you couldn't do anything to help them….Eren, keep your friends close, okay? But if anything like that happens to you, never try to change fate." A soft wind began to blow. "You have to trust your friends, Eren. Trust them with their decisions and never second guess them, okay?"

"I…I understand." I stood up abruptly.

"Don't be scared of us. We can be your friends as well. We look out for each other. We trust each other. So trust us and you'll be fine, Eren."

"Hey, Eren! Ryder!" I turned around and looked up. Levi had his head stuck out the third story window. "Why aren't you doing your duties, Eren?"

"He's having some tea with me." I yelled up to him.

"Why are you such a nuisance, Ryder? Go crap on someone else's parade." He shot back down to me.

"Do you feel all high-and-mighty all the way up there, short stuff?"

"At least I'm taller than you, midget."

"By 1cm!"

"Just stop distracting Eren and let him finish his duties and because of you, you're on dish duty." I groaned and stomped my foot on the ground.

"That's not fair!" I yelled up at him. He knew I hated doing the dishes. I hated cleaning in general, but the feeling of wet food and how it would turn into mush in your hand grossed me out to no end.

"Then go take it up with your boss, wait a minute, I am your boss." I watched as he quickly leaned back into the castle and slammed the window closed. I sighed and took a swig at my tea.

"I really can't get rid of him, even if I wanted to." I said to myself.

"Your friend is-"I cut off Eren's statement.

"Get back to work, Eren. Looks like I'll be in the kitchen if you need me…doing dishes…screw Levi." I began to walk up the steps of the castle and opened the door. "Levi's such an ass." Was the last thing I said before I walked in and shut the door behind me.

"What're you doing in here?" I looked over my shoulder and saw Petra walking towards me. I sighed and looked back at the sink full of dishes that I was finishing up.

"Dishes." I answered.

"Why're you doing them?" She stood next to me.

"Because Levi secretly hates me and wants me to suffer." I stated.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't hate you."

"I'm pretty sure he does."

"Don't think like that. Why did he put you on dish duty anyways?" I was about to answer when someone else answered her question for me.

"Because she was distracting Eren from his work and undermining my authority, again." I sighed as I heard the, all to familiar, voice.

"You still didn't have to put me on dish duty." I complained.

"I'll-I'll leave you two alone." Petra retreated from the kitchen. I heard the door close lightly and footsteps come towards me. I could feel Levi's presence beside me as I concentrated on cleaning the dishes. He began to pick up the already washed dishes and dry them.

"Stop undermining my authority." He stated.

"I was just trying to help him."

"You're not helping him if he's not doing what he's told."

"He was just having a tea break with me."

"That does not excuse the fact that-"

"He needs a friend, Levi." My hands stopped washing the dish. I looked down at the soapy water and watched as it stilled in the sink. I looked up, out the window in front of me, and saw Eren cleaning outside again. "He needs to feel like we're here for him. You might be fine with letting him think that none of us trust him, but I'm not." Levi didn't comment on what I had said, so I took this as my opportunity. "You never used to be like this, so cold and heartless. And you can get off your high horse about me not listening to you when you were the hardest kid to control most of the time." I stayed silent for a few seconds before continuing to wash the dish in my hands. "What happened to you Levi? Ever since we joined the Survey Corps…ever since our parents…ever since Isobel and Farlon…or that night in the cabin…"

"Life isn't all fun and games Ryder." He said. "You have to know when to be serious."

"And you have to know when to let loose."

"I can't. I need to be the captain of this team and I can't do that if I'm not straightforward and serious all the time. I can't let my team down."

"They think the world of you, you know?" I could feel him staring at me, but I knew he didn't have his bored expression on. He had a look of curiosity in his eyes. "They all do, especially Petra. They believe and trust you, Levi. You can let your guard down every once in a while."

"They're the best soldiers." I sighed and placed the last dish off to the side for him to dry.

"Maybe you should look into Petra." I said as I dried my hands on a nearby towel.

"Huh?" I turned around and began to walk away.

"I know she's the type of girl your mother would've approved of." Before I could leave the room I felt Levi grab hold of my wrist.

"Don't." One simple word, but it held so much power.

"Stop, Levi." I warned him.

"What about our 'wedding'?" I smiled at the memory.

"We were five, Levi. We didn't know anything about marriage, about the real world. We didn't even know anything about love." I wiggled my wrist free from his grasp and continued to walk out of the kitchen. As I walked down the hallway I heard the crashing of a plate and a groan. I kept walking.

Well? Yes? No? Thoughts? Still kind of early to tell me if you're interested or not?