Chapter 5: Iris


Disclaimer: I own nothing but this poorly written story. A/N at the bottom for anyone interested.


When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

-Iris, Goo-Goo Dolls


Jean felt his lips purse before he set his mug down on the table. Outside the sunlight had dulled from its afternoon glow to warm rays of sunset that streamed through the café's windows.

"Hey Sasha?"

She swallowed a mouthful of baked potato (her third, amazingly enough) before turning to him. "Yeah?"

"What do you plan to do now?"

When he saw her shift in her seat he immediately took back what he said.

"Wait, on second thought, you don't have to answer that; that was a little too straightforward, even for me."

"No no it's fine." She said as she waved her hand to dismiss the idea. Sasha let out a sigh, shoulders rising and dropping from the weight of her breath. "I guess I'll just have to work on getting over the whole ordeal or something." She dropped her hand to her lap. "Probably with a shit ton of comfort food along the way, too."

"And if you see him again?" Jean internally winced at the question as soon as it escaped his mouth but he couldn't help it.

He was worried.

"I'll just have to act like usual, then. Assuming that I don't run away and cry like a teenage girl as soon as I see him, at least."

Jean cocked up a brow. "You don't seem like the crying type to me."

She suddenly laughs, and the brow only raises even more. "Oh believe me, you have no idea. I can get really…emotional."

His face shows nothing short of disbelief. "Well you seem pretty fine right now. You know, with the whole Wedding Crash Fail and screaming at a public place and all."

Instead of looking offended or hurt, Sasha gave him a look that said, 'Really?' before the corners of her mouth slowly formed up into a smile.

If Jean had been paying attention to himself instead of her he would've felt his chest do a funny thing at it.

"You know what…" She started.

He only raises a brow as he smiles back. "Hmm?"

"Yeah. I guess you're right."


Sasha wished she could've joined in on the collective greeting that followed after the new instructors had been introduced.

Maybe even smiled along with the others as they welcomed the trio.

Something.

Anything.

Yet the only thing Sasha registered was the sinking feeling in her stomach and how her heart had seemingly dropped along with it.

The rest of the briefing had been a blur to her. The only thing she remembered from it was her heartbeat pulsating in her ears and Jean's worried and steady gaze on her the entire time. She willed herself to close her eyes.

Please stop looking at me like that. Please stop looking like you're sorry for me.

When she opened her eyes, the crowd in front of her had already begun to disperse, signaling the end of the briefing. Sasha was about to follow suit (most likely to flee to her room and hide there for the rest of the night or maybe even forever) when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She slowly looked up to meet its owner's gaze.

"What do you want, Jean?" she asked, internally wincing as her voice came out sounding too sharp yet too broken all at once.

"Are you alright?" He asked. His voice had hushed to a rough whisper and had his gaze been any stronger, he might as well have bore holes into Sasha's form.

Sasha automatically forced the corners of her mouth upwards. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't play stupid with me."

Forget having holes torn through her body.

Sasha might as well have combust into flames under the weight of his gaze.

They held their glance for an untold amount of time until they heard the sound of footsteps coming toward them. The two immediately tore their gazes away from the other, the idea of gossip amongst their coworkers suddenly coming to both of their minds.

But despite this, Jean had only loosened his grip on her shoulder and hadn't dared removed it, silently telling her that their conversation wasn't over yet.

"I'm fine." The brunette finally said as she gently pried his hand off her, almost immediately regretting the action as soon as she saw the dejected look on his face. Sasha briefly patted a hand to his shoulder, somehow her way of returning his previous action, and willed herself to maintain the smile on her face.

"I'm being honest, Jean. I'm okay."

Without even bothering to spare him a second glance, she turned to walk away, the smile dropping as soon as her back was facing him.

I'm sorry, Jean.

Sasha let out a sigh as she navigated her way past her fellow co-workers and to the stairs.

Her foot had planted itself on the first step of the stairs.

It only took one more step.

One.

One more step before she was finally able to flee the area and yet a voice stops her in her tracks.

The very same voice she had been intending to avoid hearing in the first place.

"Sasha?"

She slowly turned to the voice and plastered on another smile.

"Oh. Hey Berthold!"

She stepped down and held out her hand for a handshake only to freeze when his hand completely ignored it with his other and enveloped her in a hug.

"It's great to see you, Sasha. I didn't see you at the wedding, though?" He said as he pulled away, a smile still on his face.

The very same smile I fell in love with...

Sasha only faked a laugh and hoped it didn't come out sounding like a bitter chuckle. "Sorry about that. Wasn't feeling well that day, and I couldn't afford to show up sick at your wedding." She said weakly before feigning another grin. "Besides, if I were there I would've finished the buffet table before the other guests could have even gotten in line!"

Berthold chuckled, a sound that made Sasha's heart flutter and crash inside her chest all at once as he gently placed his hand on top of her head.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Sasha. It wouldn't have been the same without you." He said as he patted her crown, messing up a few strands of hair in the process.

Please stop. Please.

She continued to force the corners of her mouth upwards as he removed his hand from her head, fighting the urge to wince as she caught sight of the gold band on his ring finger.

"Hey, isn't that my jacket?" Berthold suddenly asked, swapping glances between her face and the article of clothing on her upper body.

Sasha could swear on her life that she felt her heart stop beating. "I umm…"

"Well if it isn't our little Merida herself!" a much louder masculine voice boomed from behind Berthold. Reiner walked over to Sasha and gave her a hug as well.

"Good to see you too, Reiner."

The most honest thing she said since the briefing started. She squeezed him back and laughed for real when he lifted her off her feet. When he set her down she immediately pouted. "You should really stop showing off how big and strong you are, Reiner." She said as she playfully whacked his chest with the back of her hand.

"Can't help it Sash, just really glad to see you here."

Sasha smiled, and this time she didn't have to force herself to.

As much as her heart was practically left in ruins inside of her ribcage, Reiner had always been a big brother to her and one of her closest friends, even after they graduated from college. Seeing him here was a definitely pleasant surprise.

And if she had to be brutally honest, Sasha was extremely glad when Reiner showed up.

There was no way in hell she would've been able to last another second with Berthold alone.


Jean only watched as Sasha continued to converse with the two men he can only dub to be titans. The two towered over her so easily and Jean was certain that they did the same to him.

He had been so preoccupied in watching the three's exchange that he failed to notice Connie standing beside him.

"I'm pretty sure Sasha told you all about him when you were at that café with her, right?"

Jean nodded. "Yeah she di- wait how the hell do you know?" he asked, turning to him.

The buzz-cut gestured to himself with both hands as if gesturing the obvious. "Umm? Best friend?"

"Oh. Right."

Connie dropped his hands with a heavy exhale. "Think she's alright?" He asks, turning back to the trio. Jean decided to follow suit.

"No." The equestrian instructor automatically answered.

"Think she's gonna be alright?"

Jean let out a sigh. "Well, I hope she will."

Connie suddenly turned to him, prompting the taller boy to do the same.

"You better help her with that, Jean."

The look he gives him was nothing short of confused. "Why me? Shouldn't you be doing that, being her best friend and all?"

Connie only narrowed his eyes at him. "Of course I'll being doing that as well." He let out another sigh and ran his hand over his shaven scalp. "She just needs more people there for her, ya know? As far as I'm concerned, the only people who actually know about her situation are you, me and Mikasa, and as much as I trust her to give Sasha all that girl-to-girl comfort that I know neither of us can, I'm sure as hell that it won't be enough."

Jean heaved a heavy exhale as well. "I don't really think I'm cut out for that, man."

And he was being honest.

It's only been two weeks since he met her and then suddenly her best friend recruits him to help her feel better about being in the same room with the very guy whose wedding she originally wanted to sabotage?

Really, Connie?

Much to Jean's surprise, the buzz-cut only let out a scoff. "Believe me when I say you're more than qualified." He nodded over to the where Sasha stood, Jean's eyes following suit once more and locking on her form.

She was nodding to the two in front of her before they promptly left her behind. Almost automatically after they had turned away, the smile on her face fell, and Jean felt something inside of him clench painfully.

The next words that came out of Connie's mouth effectively made him freeze.

"She needs you, Jean."

Did she, really?

He knew for damn sure that she was strong. Sasha wasn't like other girls. She faced her problems head on, and had guts that most guys can only dream of having.

And yet…

Right now she was anything but that. He couldn't see it, but he could just feel that her heart was breaking on the inside, as if the pain in her chest had cloned itself to jump and resonate into his.

Almost as if I could read her better than anyone else.

Jean shook the thought out of his mind before he closed his eyes, letting out another sigh. When he opened them he immediately turned to Connie.

"Alright."

Petra's voice suddenly echoed from the kitchen.

"Alright everyone, it's time for dinner!"

The two boys gave each other a nod before heading into the dining room with the others.

"Yo, Jean!"

Eren suddenly called, hand immediately clapping onto the instructor's shoulder. Jean spared Connie a glance.

You go on ahead.

When the other boy nodded and continued his pace, Jean immediately turned to Eren with a scowl. "What do you want, Jaeger?"

"You remember Annie, don't you?" the doctor said, gesturing to the blonde behind him.

Wait…

Eren supplied for him before he was able to respond. "You know, Annie Leonhart? The girl you tried to ask for prom only to find out she was going with Armin-"

"That's enough out of you, Eren." Armin said hastily, face red from either his effort of rushing to the doctor or from the sheer embarrassment of his high school love life. Mikasa wasn't very far behind him either.

Jean turned to Annie, if only out of courtesy. "So how have you been lately?"

"Good." She said with a short nod. "We should probably get a seat now." She said, nodding again but this time directing it to the table in front of them.

Jean could only nod back as he absently dragged his feet to the closest unoccupied chair, just a few seats away from where Sasha was.

Now Jean had always known that coincidences were a part of life.

Running into a high school batch mate was normal. Ending up working the same place as a distant acquaintance did was perfectly fine as well, though not as frequent an occurrence.

But if you put together the fact that said acquaintance was someone who accidentally attempted (and succeeded) to object your arranged marriage, and that said high school batch mate was the bride at the very wedding she originally intended to sabotage, you can't help but find it strange.

There were just too many coincidences going on at once that Jean couldn't help but think that the universe was plotting against the both of them or something.

It also didn't help that the Annie Sasha talked about back in that café all those days ago was actually Annie Leonhart, the girl who terrified the male population to submission back in high school and the very same girl that, he indeed, tried asking to Senior Prom only to find out she was going with Armin of all people.

(Now that was another story altogether, one he really didn't have the mind or patience to tell.)

What Jean found the strangest, though, wasn't the fact that Berthold decided to work here of all places, nor the fact that the guy was married to someone he had known back in high school.

The obvious middle finger that the universe was giving Sasha at that moment wasn't the most screwed up thing Jean acknowledged that night.

It was the simple observation that Sasha acted the same way she always did the entire duration of their meal.

Almost as if she wasn't the least bit affected by Berthold's presence at the table, and that Jean had only imagined everything he witnessed when she was talking to the raven-haired man.

Yes, she did speak and join in with the conversation at the table.

And yes, she even let out a laugh or two when someone cracked a joke.

It almost seemed like she was her normal self.

Almost because there was still something off that Jean had sensed.

Something that he might have overlooked that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"So Berthold, Reiner, Annie," Hanji started, referring to the new instructors. The three in question turned to the supervisor almost in unison.

"Yes…Hanji, right?" Reiner asked in place for the three of them.

The bespectacled brunette nodded before continuing. "What do you think of the club so far?"

Suddenly all the other staff members turned to their conversation, perking up in interest.

"Well," Reiner started, obviously the trio's spokesperson as the other two seemed like the quiet types. "At first I thought, Damn this place is in the middle of nowhere." He chuckled alongside everyone around him.

"Seriously, how do you people manage being so far from the city? Anyways, soon as we arrived though, all I could think was, Damn this place is huge. It being in the middle of nowhere made a little more sense. It's beautiful out here, though. Everyone's pretty nice around here as well." He said, nodding to his new coworkers with a smile. He spared a glance to Berthold, probably his way of encouraging his friend to speak up as well.

"Yeah. It's nice and quiet. It also really helped having some familiar faces around."

"Familiar faces?" Thomas asked, and Jean suddenly felt the urge to kick his teeth in.

Berthold nodded to two occupants at the table. "Connie and Sasha. Reiner and I went to high school with them. College as well." He said with a smile. "I don't really remember any of you telling me where you worked, though. Only that you guys were instructors. Seeing you here was a nice surprise."

Everyone suddenly turned to the two. Connie only shrugged. "Didn't expect seeing you guys here, either, ya know. But yeah, it's a nice thought to be hanging out with you guys again."

Sasha only smiled. "Same here."

When Annie gave out her own answer after her husband gave her an encouraging look, Jean couldn't bring it in himself to be a decent person and listen.

The only thing he was able to focus on was Sasha as she listened in with interest, as if the very sight of the blonde didn't torture her in the slightest.

Reiner's voice suddenly sounded, and Jean figured he must've told a joke of sorts. Everyone's sudden burst of laughter made the equestrian instructor tear his gaze away from the brunette, internally reminding himself that there was a difference between looking at someone in concern and directly staring at them like a creep.

From there, the conversation had diverged to a topic Jean didn't even bother paying much attention to, mainly because he was still trying to piece out just what it was the he was forgetting to check.

It was only when everyone had left and when he helped Hannah and the others clear the table that he realized what exactly was wrong.

The meal had already ended, and it was only then that he remembered his chore duties for the day, and promptly grabbed a basin Mylius had handed him for him to put empty plates into.

No chance of me figuring it out, then. Maybe I was just over-thinking?

Jean let out a sigh as he neared the seat he knew was Sasha's.

Only for what felt like a rock lodge itself in his windpipe as he soon as he saw the plate in front of him.

.

.

.

Her plate was still full.

.

.

.

The entire duration of the meal she didn't eat at all.

Jean swallowed the new lump in his throat as he took the plate into his hands and dropped it into the basin with the rest with an audible crash.

His coworkers suddenly turned to him, and Jean could only lift a hand. "Sorry." He muttered before turning back to the basin.

Jean spared another glance at what had been Sasha's plate with a grimace.

The fact that she hadn't touched her food was more than enough proof that she was anything but her normal self.

That and no matter how stupid it was or how desperate it seemed, he had to do something to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Something.

Anything.


"Jean."

The said boy only groaned and buried his face deeper into his pillow at the voice.

"Jean." The voice came again.

By now Jean was already half awake and the equestrian coach only squeezed his eyes tighter in an attempt to ignore the voice and fall back asleep.

Yet despite being half asleep Jean felt the presence looming over him and the sound of heavy breathing against his ears.

The sound resembled the kind of breathing you would hear coming out of a gas mask, and was loud enough to stir him fully awake.

Opening his eyes was the biggest mistake Jean could've ever made.

The first thing he saw when he sat up was the glowing red eyes of a horse's head mounted on top of a human body.

"Jean, I am your father!" it said, followed by a whinny.

Now Jean knew who was under that mask. He knew that lab coat anywhere. That stupid voice was pretty easy to recognize even if it was muffled under a costume mask.

But despite knowing, and the fact that he was a man, Jean found himself letting out a high-pitched scream.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The reverse-centaur laughed and pulled off its head, revealing Eren's wide and mad grin. The doctor only laughed as Jean threw a pillow at him.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, JAEGER?!"

Jean winced as he heard the faint sounds of rustling and voices from the rooms beside his.

Dammit, now all the guys are awake.

He turned to the clock that sat on the nightstand beside him.

4:01 am

Great, just great, Jean grumbled. He heard some rustling beside him and turned to look at Thomas who was still beginning to stir awake.

Jean suddenly felt tapping on his foot, and turned to look at Eren who only pressed a finger to his lips as he took a few steps closer to Thomas's bed.

"Hey Thomas. Thomas." Eren whispered. Jean didn't notice that the doctor still had the horse mask in his hand.

When Thomas had begun to open his eyes Eren tossed the horse head to lie beside the other boy's head, snout touching his own nose.

"Huh? What's going o- AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Jean only slapped a palm to his face as Eren exploded in laughter. Then suddenly he heard shuffling from the ceiling above him and slapped the other palm to his face.

Great, now all the girls will be awake.

As if on cue, the door burst open about a minute later, revealing a crowd of majority of the staff members of the Sina Country Club, Levi standing at the very front and holding a flashlight.

Is this supposed to be the staff or the fucking Scooby Doo gang?

Levi's voice was calm and steady as he spoke, but sounded a bit too loud in the room.

"Jaeger, Kirstein, Wagner, now's the time you explain to me exactly just what the hell happened. Everyone said they heard two girls screaming and swore it all came from this room. Now unless one or two or all three of you shitheads actually have hidden intentions with our female guests, I suggest you all explain yourselves." He shined the flashlight directly into their faces similar to how a gang leader would interrogate one of his members. "Now."

Jean grumbled and jumped out of his bed to grab the horse head from beside Thomas to hold it up for everyone to see.

"Does this explain anything?!"

Everyone's reaction when Levi shined the flashlight onto it was completely priceless.

Most of the girls (and even some of the guys) let out a small yelp of surprise, Hannah and Petra actually let out high-pitched shrieks until they were shut up by Franz and Auro, respectively, and even Levi himself jumped a little when he caught sight of the horse head grasped by the mane, its eyes still glowing an eerie red.

"Jesus fuck, what the hell is that?!"

Jean wildly gestured back and forth between the horse head and the crowd in front of him as he spoke. "See! All of you here would've screamed your heads off if fucking Eren over here woke you up with this on his face at FOUR IN THE GODDAMN MORNING!" He punctuated his rant by throwing the mask over to Eren who only kept the mischief in his grin as he caught it.

The doctor shrugged.

"And I would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" Eren said, altering his voice to sound forty or so years older. He only chuckled when everyone groaned and then shrugged again. "And also, how was I supposed to know that Jean would scream the way he did?"

Jean suddenly threw his hand up in the air as he sat himself back on the bed. "How the fuck do you actually expect someone to not shit themselves after seeing that thing? Honestly, just how- wait why does that thing look like Buchwald?"

Jean immediately snapped his gaze to the doctor holding the horse head that suddenly strongly resembled his favorite horse in the stables.

When Eren only smiled and shrugged a third time, Jean leapt up to his feet and out of the room, making his way through the crowd at the door and sprinting his way from the dorms all the way to the stables in his pajamas, fearing that Eren may or may not have beheaded his prized horse.

Everyone heard his voice boom from the courtyard.

"Buchwald, my baby, I'm coming for you!"

Eren along with a few others exploded in laughter. Suddenly the doctor shifted his eyes to Connie who was holding up his smart phone, most likely recording the events as they unfolded. .

"Yo Con, did you get all that?"

"Yep." He said with a grin as but he didn't bother lowering the camera.

"Why are you even recording this anyways?" Samuel asked from beside him.

"I dunno, thought we had a ghost. Thought I could sell the footage for a rip-off Paranormal Activity or something." He said, and then added in a quieter voice, "Or maybe as blackmail to use for the wedding video montage."

Levi turned to him sharply, making the buzz-cut jump. "What was that?"

"Nothing, sir."

Hanji suddenly walked over and examined the horse head.

"Hey Eren, how much for this guy?"

The doctor suddenly furrowed his brows and turned stoic. "You'll have to make me an offer I can't refuse." He said in a low and slow Italian accent along with passive hand gestures.

Some snorted, others groaned again at the apparent Don Corleone impression. Hanji let out a small chuckle as she took the horse head from Eren. "Nice try Eren, but you sound more constipated than you do Mafioso. Now come on, where'd you get this? And how much?"

"Twenty bucks off eBay. Randomly typed in 'Sarah Jessica Parker Vader' on Google and this was the first thing that came out."

"Cool." The bespectacled brunette said as she held up the mask up to her face for closer inspection. "Look at the detail on this thing, Levi." She said as she held it up closer to the manager's face for him to see.

Levi swatted it away with a grunt. "Get that thing away from me." He turned to the crowd behind him. "And all of you. Coz of Shitty Godfather over here none of you are going back to sleep. Anyone who gets caught dozing off gets bathroom duty on Bonfire Night. Dismissed."

Everyone groaned but complied, a few muttering about coffee and breakfast as they made their way to the common room, signaling the end of their unconventional staff briefing.

Eren made the move to exit the room once the doorway was clear but not before sparing Thomas a glance.

"You're not getting up, Thomas?"

The other boy slowly shook his head. "I think I actually wet myself, man."

Eren only chuckled and left the room, barely hearing the other boy yell as he shut the door behind him.

"Godammit, Eren!"


By the time Jean got back from the stables (and not to mention had made sure that all the horses still had their heads attached to their bodies,) everyone was either in the kitchen making or eating breakfast or in the common room doing their usual shenanigans, all of them with a mug of coffee and doing their best not to fall back to sleep.

In his dazed once-over of the image before him, Jean accidentally bumped into Sasha.

"Ah. Sorry man." When he tilted his chin down to get a better look at her, he had to bite his tongue to stop himself from commenting on her appearance.

Her hair was out of its ponytail the same way he saw her yesterday morning, and a little messed up from where she laid on it. He honestly would've had a replay of his breath hitching in his throat if it weren't for the current state of her face.

There were bags under her eyes, but compared to the others who were pretty much sleep deprived themselves, she was a total wreck. The darkness under her eyes was more pronounced, the white of her eyes was rimmed with red and hell, she even looked a shade or two paler.

Damn, is she really that sensitive to sleep deprivation?

"It's alright, Jean."

Wait, did I say that out loud? Oh wait, I bumped into her. Right.

Jean nodded to the people around him. "Is it finals week here or something? Why isn't anyone going back to sleep?"

Sasha shook her head. "Levi set out bathroom duty for anyone who dozes off."

The boy blinked. "Oh. Sorry we woke you up." He said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Suddenly Sasha gave him a small smile, and a small inkling feeling in Jean's gut told him it wasn't completely genuine. "It's alright. I didn't really get any sleep last night anyways."

Despite the obvious bitter choice of words, she said it as if she was talking about the weather. The tone of her voice sounded too casual.

Almost as if she was faking an air of nonchalance to cover up for something. Jean was about to ask if she was alright but Sasha suddenly muttered something he couldn't quite comprehend and turned to leave, leaving him to stare after her in worry.

Quit running away, goddammit.

Jean kept his gaze on her back for a few more moments, ears straining to listen to the conversation she was having with Mina.

Something about dress shopping? He wasn't so sure.

With a sigh he tore his gaze away.

Eavesdropping wouldn't do shit, Jean.

With one final glance at the brunette he made his way to the kitchen, muttering apologies to anyone who may have thrown him a sleep deprivation-ridden death glare as he walked past.

(It didn't really have much of an effect though. Eye bags definitely helped in minimizing the death glare factor.)

He helped himself to a bowl of cornflakes and a mug of coffee before sitting himself down beside Mikasa who, surprisingly, was by herself at the table.

"Not with Eren and Armin?" Jean asked, trying to initiate conversation. The raven turned to him and shook her head. "Eren's back in his office, told me he wanted to be alone for a bit while he works on his paper."

Jean nodded, recalling the fact that Eren had been given a grant to continue on a research paper about God-knows-what. Whatever it was about, though, it involved constantly pulling pranks on his coworkers as Jean had come to find out.

"And Armin?" he asked again before helping himself to a spoonful of cereal.

"He said he had to take care of something. He didn't really say what it was, though."

Jean smirked as soon as he swallowed his food, knowing full well that that something involved a certain blonde girl. Suddenly Jean let the smirk drop as he turned to Mikasa in all seriousness.

"How was Sasha last night? In your room, I mean?" he asked. He assumed that Connie had already briefed her on the situation, and that he wouldn't have to ask of it out loud where everyone can hear him.

Mikasa only frowned. "She didn't speak at all as soon as we got in. She just changed out of her clothes then went to bed. She didn't even bother doing anything for free period."

Jean's mouth formed into a frown that mirrored Mikasa's.

She turned in early but didn't sleep at all the entire night?

"When did she tell you about the entire Berthold equation?" he asked, making sure to lower the volume of his voice upon mentioning the new instructor's name.

"She told me about him a couple times last season. By the way she was talking about him she seemed really hurt about the whole thing. She actually cried the first time she did."

A brow raised on Jean's end. "Oh?"

She didn't even come close to crying when they talked about it in that café. Huh.

Mikasa nodded. "Yeah. It's safe to say that she's really sensitive about it."

"Yet she didn't cry last night?"

She shook her head this time. "I didn't hear anything that said otherwise." She set her spoon down onto her plate. "You're not the only one who's worried, Jean. Connie and I will be looking out for her and will be there for her if she needs us, and I know you will be as well." She said, getting up.

"But for now we should give her some space, even for just a little while. I'm sure she'll talk to us when she's ready." She added, placing her hand and Jean's shoulder. The boy only nodded as she turned to leave.

When she's ready, huh? Jean mused as he absently helped himself to another spoonful of cereal.

Suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore, and he let his spoon drop into his bowl with a soft clatter.

When the hell would that be, then?


WHIRRRRR

Mikasa only watched as her can of coffee dropped out of the main lobby's vending machine with a loud clonk. She then proceeded to bend over to get her new drink through the compartment. Pleased to find her it rather warm, Mikasa straightened up and headed to the west wing of the main building.

The next thing she sees makes her stop in her tracks altogether.

She had originally intended to head over to the infirmary to remind Eren to get breakfast. Apparently the doctor had beaten her to it as he opened the door and left the clinic himself.

And by his luck (and her chagrin,) he runs into a certain blonde Muay Thai instructor.

And then immediately strikes conversation with her.

He didn't even notice her when she was literally just a few feet away.

It's been a decade since Annie and Eren have last seen each other yet why can't she just- why do they have to be so- why does Eren have to be such a- ughhhh.

Mikasa shook her head in hopes to prevent any other jealousy-fueled thoughts of violence race through her mind.

She let out a sigh. She hadn't felt like this since high school.

Why? Just why?

"Uhh Mikasa? You alright?"

The nurse only turned to the source of the voice (Connie, she had come to notice) with a poker face."Peachy. Why do you ask?"

The instructor only reluctantly pointed at her hand. "Your drink."

Mikasa looked down to see that the can had completely been crushed in her grip, its brown contents spilling all over her hand and the floor.

"Oh." Was all that the nurse was able to say.

"Will you look at that."


Krista had been on edge since last night.

After Armin had stormed off last night, she had been so close to crying that she had woken up the next morning with tear stains on her cheeks. Thankfully it was Sunday, meaning that her mother was still fast asleep in the bed beside hers, leaving Krista with enough time to rush to the bathroom and splash some cold water on her face.

And because it was Sunday, she was given a break from her usual sessions, leaving her with nothing to do to shake off the anxious feeling in her chest.

So when her phone vibrated on her nightstand just a little after she had showered and eaten breakfast, Krista almost fallen out of bed out of excitement and nervousness after seeing the message flash on her phone.

[Think you can come by the garden behind the main building?]

Krista could've sworn her fingers were shaking as she typed in her reply.

{Yeah. I think I know where that is.}

Nothing stopped the sinking feeling in her stomach as she waited for his reply.

[Good. See you then.]

Krista didn't feel the need to answer and set down her phone with a sigh.

Why the sudden urgency?

"Mother?" she asked, turning to the woman who was on her phone in the bed beside hers.

"Yes, darling?" she asked, not even bothering to look up from her screen.

"Is it alright with you if I roam around for a bit? I haven't really been able to see most of the club grounds."

Wow, I really suck at lying.

"Yes, yes." Her mother replied, even using her free hand to wave her off almost in a shoo motion. "Just be back before lunch."

"Yes, Mother." Krista said as she stood up and tucked her phone into her jeans, trying her best to not let her excitement seep through her voice. "I'll see you later!" she called before shutting the hotel room door behind her.

She arrived at the garden with a small stumble in her step as her heart pounded louder and louder against her ears.

Despite knowing the location, this was the first time that Krista had arrived in this garden. The view she had through one of the smaller windows in the lobby gave out the wrong expectations for the place.

First of all it was a lot bigger than she would have expected; a rectangular area of cobblestone in the back of the main building and was a lot more hidden as well with tall walls of green that hid the area away from prying eyes of staff members and patrons. Dozens of beds and bushes with various breeds of flowers littered the area, no doubt the same ones she had seen on the tables of the café and restaurant, and from the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a pair of benches.

Krista whipped her neck to look for Armin, not doubting that he was there already.

At last she finds him at the very end of garden, his back turned to her.

Somehow seeing him like that reminded her of all the fairy tale picture books she read as a child, how the princess would meet her true love in the most perfect conditions and scenery. Despite shaking the errant thought away, she felt her breathing stop upon seeing him.

Reluctantly, Krista took a step toward him.

Armin obviously must've heard her coming; he had chosen to turn around at that exact moment.

Krista was both relieved and confused to see that he was smiling at her instead of frowning or giving her some other expression on his face.

"Hey."

The girl managed to respond albeit a little slower than what one would consider normal. "Hey."

"Glad to see you here." He gives her a small smile. And then it drops as soon as it appears. "Well actually I was the one who asked you to come here but umm…uh…aw crap uhhh…"

Despite herself, Krista found herself giggling.

Since when did I find his stammering so endearing?

"Just what are you trying to say, Armin?"

The other blond sighed and let his shoulders slump.

"I just want you to know that Jean told me everything. And that I'm really, really sorry for not hearing you out first."

Krista nodded, not completely sure how to reply.

"I also called you here to give you this. A peace offering of sorts." He reached into one of the bushes beside him and pulled out a bouquet of purple flowers.

Krista found herself giggling again.

Honestly. This boy was too adorable sometimes.

Wait, what?

Luckily his voice stopped her before she could have a mental panic attack.

"They're all hyacinths. The one in the middle is an iris though." He said as he thrust the bunch of flowers toward her.

The girl took it into her hands and pressed the flowers up to her nose to inhale the sweet scent. It wasn't over powering, but it wasn't too mild either, and if Krista focused hard enough she could smell a faint hint of coffee on the petals.

"Do you know what irises symbolize?"

When she looked back up and cocked her head to the side Armin took it as a sign to answer his own question.

"Most of the time they're used as congratulatory gifts for weddings. Other times they're given for good luck."

Krista nodded, still not sure on exactly what his point was. Why was he giving her a crash course on the language of flowers?

"But most of all…they stand for a promise. A promise for companionship and friendship and…love." Her eyes widened. Armin only turned away from her as he flushed a few shades of red. "'I'm willing to risk everything for love'. That's their true meaning." He garnered in a breath before meeting Krista's eyes, midnight meeting with baby blue as the girl found herself having trouble breathing.

The next words he said effectively banished all the air in her lungs.

"I like you, Krista. A lot, actually, and when I finally realized it all the songs and YA novels suddenly started to make sense." He let out a soft chuckle, a sound that made her heart flutter madly against her ribcage, and when combined with how her breathing was pretty much nonexistent at the moment made her feel lightheaded. She barely managed to register the next thing he said.

"So now, with whatever time you have left before you leave, I want you to spend as much of it as you can with me." She noticed how he swallowed a lump in his throat before continuing. "That is, if you want it to be me you spend it with."

The look on his face was enough to make her heart melt. He was smiling at her, but there was a certain glint in his eyes. It almost looked like…fear.

In that moment Krista realized that whatever answers she would give him would determine whether or not she was going to accept his feelings.

.

.

.

But if she were to be completely frank…

.

.

.

The answer was already obvious.

Tears welling up in her eyes, she smiled and nodded.

A look of pure relief washed over Armin's features. "Thank God."

It was then that Krista realized that they had unconsciously moved closer to each other and were merely inches away.

Almost as if reading her mind, Armin himself inched closer to her. He began leaning in, and he accidentally bumped his forehead lightly on hers as his gaze flickered back and forth between her lips and her eyes. By now the two of them had turned a shade of red but neither of them made a move to look away. Krista was about to let out a small yelp at the sudden contact but was silenced when he hesitantly wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her even closer and all thoughts were erased when she felt his lips on hers.

Her eyes widened for a split second and she blinked a few times before closing her eyes and dropping the bouquet to wrap her arms around her neck.

This wasn't her first kiss, and judging how he knew what he was doing with his lips she was sure that this wasn't his first either.

Yet somehow it felt like the first all over again, from the warmth that coursed through her entire being to the fireworks that seemingly danced across her sub-conscience.

It was in moments like this when everything, all her thoughts, her worries and even reality itself was just thrown out the window. It was now when everything she ever felt just exploded into one moment. Right now he was kissing her and she was kissing him back. Right now he was all hers. Right now nothing else mattered.

.

.

.

Now was the only thing on her mind.

.

.

.

And that was because now, without a doubt, was absolutely perfect.


Eren grumbled as he continued to tend to tend to the injury on Connie's arm with an ice pack. He tapped the buzz-cut's shoulder and pointed to the cold compress with his free hand, a silent message to the shorter boy to hold it in place for him while he continued to inspect the rest of Connie's body. The doctor snuck a glance at the other boy's swollen cheek and sighed.

"Mikasa? Can you hand me some bandages?"

She took a minute too long to respond.

Was she spacing out? At a time like this?

Stifling another grumble, Eren asked again. "Mikasa? Bandages?"

"We just ran out, Eren." The nurse said from her seat by the curtain that separated the beds from the main office of the infirmary. And she was being blunter than usual, Eren noticed.

What was up with that?

The doctor only turned to her incredulously. "Ran out? How the hell did we just run out of bandages?! This is the clinic for Christ's sake!"

"Well does this answer your question?" she asked as she stood up and pulled away the curtain, revealing and gesturing to two the hospital beds, each holding a male staff member practically mummified in bandages.

And she was being sarcastic now as well? What the hell got into her?

Eren felt an eyebrow twitch as he turned his attention to Connie. "Just what the hell did you guys yourselves into?!"

-ONE HOUR EARLIER-

"A fight?" Reiner asked, a confused look on both his and Berthold's faces as two of his new co-workers proposed a challenge. They had only opted to go into the gym to fill up their lockers and check out the facilities and equipment they'll be using, probably with a light work-out session sneaked in between. Neither of the two even thought that they'd be making use of the mat as soon as they saw it.

And especially not with their new colleagues instead of their clients.

"Not like that man, more like a spar between two masters?" a blonde Reiner remembered to be Thomas supplied with an expectant smile.

"Alright, fine. One thing though." Reiner pauses to swap his glance to Connie who all but continued with his regular stretches. "You as well, Connie?"

The buzz-cut nodded as he began rolling his shoulders. "Yeah. You and I never really got the chance back in uni, ya know?"

Gaining interest, Reiner stares Connie down.

"Kick-boxing, right?"

He stops half way through his exercise to narrow his eyes at the taller man.

"Tae Kwan Do, muchacho."

"And these two?" Reiner asked, directing his attention to Mylius and Thomas.

"Saiko Style."

"Echani."

The Krav Maga instructor nodded. "Never heard of those before. Better show us what you got, then."

Connie sighed, making a mental note to whack Mylius and Thomas upside the head for naming fighting styles from Street Fighter and Star Wars as if they even practiced them.

(And maybe hit Thomas twice as hard, just for good measure since he woke just about the entire dorm with his girly screams. Does he even know that the entire amount of coffee that the staff drank in the first hour alone was more than enough to kill a herd of grizzly bears? Seriously.)

"I'll go in first." The buzz-cut said before getting on the rubber mat.

Reiner smiled. "Alrighty then. Challenge accepted."

"You're on, Braun."

"What does the winner get out of this?" the Krav Maga instructor asked as he got on the mat as well, assuming a stance while Connie did the same.

"Bragging rights, mostly."

For some extremely fucked up and steroid-infused reason, bragging rights were more than enough to have the two go all out on each other on the mat with only their hand bindings as their protective gear as soon as the bell rang.

Krav Maga, the Israeli martial of kneeing someone in the groin until submission; developed from years of war, it was the most battle oriented martial art of this decade, suited for people of all ages despite its dangerous nature.

It was made even more dangerous when used by an oversized orangutan named Reiner, whose ape-like physique only made the martial art stronger and much more terrifying.

Tae Kwon Do, a John Smith in the field martial arts, solely focused on strikes from hands and feet with kicks as it backbone element. It seemed absolutely harmless when practiced by the average white-belter eight-year-old, but when applied by a black belter who started at that same age, it's anything but harmless.

"Too slow there, Connie."

It was a powerful kick Connie launched as an opening attack; it was an even more powerful block on Reiner's part as his arm barely showed signs of the impact.

With a flick of his elbow, Reiner sent Connie's leg back onto the mat, the latter more pumped up than ever.

"Didn't think you'd end up as an instructor to be honest." Connie said, catching a breath before attacking again, a punch this time.

"Could say the same for you." Reiner replied, not hesitating to slap away Connie's strike by the wrist.

From then on, their spar had taken on a new level, each throwing in their own attack as the other found a way to counter or block it. Connie was the most mobile on the mat, sending powerful kicks and punches whenever he can and even throwing an acrobatic trick every once in a while, immediately retaliating whenever his opponent blocked. Reiner, on the other hand, was comparable to a brick wall, almost completely steadfast in his place as he deflected Connie's attacks and turning into something comparable to a wrecking ball every time he were the one to strike.

Despite the apparent intensity of their spar, though, anyone watching wouldn't have been able to deny it.

Reiner and Connie both had a shit-eating grin on their face as they conversed both physically and verbally.

They were having the time of their lives, catching up with each other in the most violent way possible.

"Why here, though? Of all the places you can go?"

"Everybody's gotta make money some way." Connie answered along with a punch. "Plus this place is pretty far from the city, nice and quiet, ya know? That and Sasha's pretty convincing." He grunted as he blocked a knee to the stomach. "You? What brought you here?"

"Same as you." The other instructor replied, making a move to jab his opponent in the chest with an elbow. It proved to be effective, sending Connie back a foot or two even with his blocking efforts.

"Is this about the money or the peace and quiet?" the buzz-cut asked once he regained his footing, stance at the ready for attack or defense.

When Reiner didn't reply Connie cocked a brow.

"So this is about Sasha then, huh? Thought you already got over that one-"

He wasn't even able to finish as Reiner somehow managed to cross what little distance was between them and launch another attack in the blink of an eye. Whether it was an elbow or knee that attacked him, Connie didn't know. What he did know however, was that whatever it was that attacked him delivered the final blow, setting him off-guard and careening backwards until he fell on his back to the floor.

Guess he still has that crush on her, Connie thought as he set his weight on his elbows, face red both from mirth and the impact he sustained against the mat.

The things he doesn't know.

"Just kidding, man." He said as soon as Reiner neared him. Connie immediately took the other instructor's outstretched hand, Reiner's way of reassuring him that they were indeed just goofing off.

The buzz-cut was taken by surprise when Reiner pulled him up to his feet only to drag him close enough to whisper in his ear. "You didn't tell anyone, did you? Not even Bertl knows."

Connie only shook his head. "Nah."

He really doesn't know a thing.

"Alright, who's next?" Reiner asked as soon as Connie got off the mat, the latter absently rubbing on the new contusions on his arm.

Mylius stepped onto the mat with a stagger courtesy of Thomas's shove and awkwardly raised his fists in his best attempt at a stance.

On that day, the record for fastest knock out in Sina History was one minute and four seconds.

"Hey Bertl, wanna take this one?" Reiner asked as Thomas stepped onto the mat, the latter of the two looking visibly pale enough to actually blend in with the gym's white walls.

The raven-haired man only nodded slowly as he made sure to tighten the bindings on his knuckles before stepping on the mat.

"Yeah sure, I don't mind."

The record for fastest knock-out was soon succeeded by a whopping fifty-seven seconds.

-END FLASHBACK-

"So you're telling me that the three of you tried to take on the new instructors for a spar…" Eren started, turning to them with a look that would make most children flinch and nod guiltily 'cause Daddy was mad at them.

Connie, Mylius and Thomas were no exception to this, the buzz-cut nodding a lot more vigorously than he should.

Damn, we really should have thought about this first. I keep forgetting that Eren's a licensed doctor. He's probably pissed at us getting injured a day before operations-

"WITHOUT INVITING ME?"

.

.

.

Mikasa pressed a palm to her face with a silent groan.

.

.

.

Two out of the three stooges immediately plastered on a grin.

.

.

.

Connie only sweat-dropped as Eren, Thomas and Mylius started talking like excited school girls over fighting Reiner and Berthold.

Never fucking mind.


Reiner stretched the kinks in his back and let the joints release air with a 'pop' as he closed his new locker.

"Well that was one hell of a workout. Don't you think so, Bertl?"

His raven-haired friend closed his locker as well and gave him a questioning glance. "Don't you think you overdid it a bit, Reiner?"

The blond man only shrugged. "Well it's been a while since I last sparred. I'm a little rusty so I'm pretty sure that they'll be fine for work tomorrow.

Berthold let out a sigh. "Whatever you say." He took out a towel from his bag and draped it around his neck. "Anyways, it's lunch. Annie's waiting outside the gym. You coming with?"

Reiner shook his head. "Nah. I'm gonna go for a walk, probably wait out until the dining room isn't so full. Have a bit of a look around too, while I'm at it. And besides," he walked out of the locker room with a teasing grin. "I wouldn't want to be a third wheel to you two again. Or a cock-block."

The blond only laugh as his best friend flushed. He barely heard his cry when he shut the door.

"R-Reiner!"

It was just too easy to tease him sometimes. His reactions were completely priceless as well.

Reiner let out another laugh as he exited the gym and entered the main lobby, making sure to tell Annie of her husband's whereabouts as he passed her by.

He waved at a few of his new coworkers before taking a look at the villa through the wide windows of the main building.

He had to admit, the place really was nice. At least ten hectares worth of green surrounded by even more hectares of forest definitely was a nice break from the city. Reiner remembered going on a cross-country trip the summer after college with Berthold, yet somehow all the places they've visited couldn't quite compare. It was more serene here, peaceful despite his hectic coworkers.

And speaking of coworkers…Berthold was right. Meeting Connie and Sasha here was great. He'll admit it, he did sort of maybe kinda possibly have a crush on Sasha when they were in college.

Reiner could've sworn he was over it. Maybe it was just the initial shock of Connie's recounting of his little crush that made him hesitate on the mat?

.

.

.

Maybe, yeah?

.

.

.

No?

.

.

.

He's not completely sure. Oh well.

Reiner shifted his gaze to look at the people around him, from the pair working at the reception to the staff goofing off at the café near the back.

And that was when he saw her.

Fair skinned and blue-eyed, the girl had long blonde hair and soft features to her face that reminded him of the paintings of angels he remembered seeing in history books back when he was in high school. It also didn't help that the sunlight from the bay window decided to hit her at that moment, the rays casting all around her and making her look like the gods themselves had created and sent her to this earth to fill its inhabitant's hearts with the grace of goodness and all that stuff goddesses were supposed to do.

(And in that moment Reiner was suddenly a hundred percent sure of…whatever he had to figure out. Is he even thinking straight right now?)

She was laughing as she texted into her phone, probably at a joke or a picture. Whichever it was, it made her look lovely beyond known words.

(Well at least, any words in his not-so extensive vocabulary.)

Reiner failed to notice that her heavenly glow was just light from an external source, and had himself believe that the girl in front of him was without a doubt, an angel.

And in his awestruck gazing Reiner hadn't realized that her form was growing larger and larger until it collided with his chest.

"Oof!" Came the angel's voice.

Reiner immediately took a step back and slid his glance downwards.

"Oh, sorry Miss." He said, every fiber in his being forcing his voice not to stutter as he took a closer look at her.

She was so much more radiant up close.

"No, it's alright. I was the one who wasn't looking." She said with a small smile.

Reiner now found himself to believe in love at first sight.

.

.

.

In all his life never had he thought that such a thing was possible.

.

.

.

But now, he was definitely a believer.

.

.

.

"Umm…I really ought to go now." The girl suddenly said.

Reiner mentally slapped himself for just standing there like an idiot. "Oh, right. Guess I'll see you around Miss…?" he trailed, hoping to at least know her name.

"Krista. My name's Krista." She supplied, smile still in place.

Krista. What a beautiful name for a goddess.

"Nice to meet you, Krista, I'm Reiner." He said quickly.

"Reiner. Right. Got that. Anyways, I'll be seeing you then, Reiner!" she said as she moved past him and into the elevators.

Reiner didn't miss a beat and immediately turned around, hoping to catch her one last time before the elevator doors closed in front of her.

He gave her a wave. She gave him a small wave in return seconds before the door closed in front of her.

And on that day, Reiner had already chosen his future wife.


[You there?]

{Yeah, just got held up.}

[Care to share what happened.]

{To make it short, I'm pretty sure I bumped into a weirdo.}


Sasha let out a sigh as she watched the sky above her turn from brilliant blue to a distinct shade of gold.

Not really wanting to stay inside her dorm where a certain pair of people would most likely be, the instructor decided to busy herself by keeping maintenance on some of the club's bows under the shade of the tree she had made a companion out of since she started working at the club.

These would be the last two for the day, she thought as she reopened the canister of beeswax she had brought along with her and started to apply some of it to one of the bow's strings. Lucky enough she had decided to perform maintenance on them by the pair, leaving most of the newly waxed bows inside their respective racks already.

Brown eyes keenly focused on strands of tough fiber as fingers deftly ran wax over them with practiced ease. It was usually only when Sasha did things like this that her mind didn't run in circles, and in fact she even found the act kind of relaxing. After a few minutes of mindlessly running waxed fingers against the bowstrings, Sasha closed the canister of wax and pocketed it before standing up and taking a bow in each hand and making her way toward the archery shack located not too far from where she stood.

Now that she was out of her act of inner peace, nothing stopped a baritone voice from pushing its way through her mind as she walked.

It's great to see you, Sasha.

The girl shook her head to free her attention of it.

Come on Sasha, she thought. Get a grip. He's a married man now. You have to respect that.

She arrived at the shack with a small stumble in her step. It was a very humble abode; a simple four-wall building no bigger in square area than her bedroom with a single door up front.

One that Sasha completely forgot to leave open after taking her last round of bows to maintain.

Ugh, She groaned. That's what I get for not focusing enough.

But before Sasha was able to set one of the bows on the ground to free a hand, another hand beat her to it and opened the door for her. The girl only looked up at the hand's owner in both delight and weariness.

"Berthold?"

He gives her a smile, and Sasha could only curse her heart for skipping a beat at it.

Dammit, why now?

"Thought you could use a hand?"

Sasha shook her head and hoped it didn't look too frantic.

"No no. I'm good. Thanks anyways though." She said, putting up a smile for good measure. "What brings you out here?"

Berthold only smiled again. "Well, I finished checking out the facilities and I had originally intended to head over to the dorm but then Annie and I decided to take a look around the rest of the grounds before lunch." He said, nodding to where the blonde stood no more than a few feet behind them.

Sasha followed his gaze only to look back up at his face. She noted the way he watched her with nothing short of reverence; the sparkle of warmth that reflected in his eyes and the faint smile of fondness that graced his lips as he stared. She turned her glance sideways and noticed Annie standing by the tree she had been not too long ago, her hand propped against the bark and eyes completely focused on the trunk as if studying it.

The brunette looked back at the man before her and had to stifle a heavy sigh.

He looks...happy.

His voice broke her train of thought from moving any further. "Well since you can pretty much handle yourself, I'll be off now." He placed his hand atop her head and patted it.

It took all of Sasha's will to not break his gaze.

"I'll see you later." He said with a smile before removing his hand and heading toward Annie.

She would've whined at the loss had she not have any more self control.

So instead Sasha watched as he approached his…wife.

Even thinking of the word was enough to make her internally flinch.

Berthold gave her a wave as he reached her. Annie only looked up from the tree and walked toward him. From where Sasha stood she saw that they were talking, another one of those hushed conversations she remembered they always had back in college.

Sasha had to shake her head again to dismiss the memories as they came flooding in.

Then Annie nods, and Berthold reaches out one of his hands to her. She only nods again as she entwines her fingers in his and lightly pulls him to her side as they head toward the lodging.

The height difference between the two could've been completely laughable.

But instead Sasha couldn't bring it in herself to do anything else but run inside the shack behind her. No longer caring for maintenance of club property, Sasha dropped everything she was holding onto the table inside and closed the door with a loud slam. Her legs gave way under her. This left her on the floor with her back leaning against the hardwood of the door. She brought a hand to her mouth and used whatever was left of her will not to cry.

Not here, she told herself. Not now.

If she was going to be like this on the first day, how much more the entire week?

The entire season?

For the rest of her life, even?


"Find something interesting?" Berthold asked his new wife (darn, he'll never get used to calling her that) as they neared the lodging.

Annie only gave him a confused glance. Berthold nodded back to the area behind him.

"You were looking at that tree pretty intensely. Find anything?"

The blonde shook her head. "Not really. There was a small piece of metal in the bark though."

"Like an arrowhead?"

Annie smiled and nodded this time. "Yeah." She said, pulling apart their hands as they neared the entrance. Berthold understood her blatant dislike for PDA and proceeded to open the door for her to which she nodded to gratefully.

"Something like that." She said as they entered the common room.


Just a good distance away from the employee lodging, Jean jumped at the sound of a slamming door as he made his way towards the dorm. He stopped in his tracks and gazed at the small structure situated by the archery field in curiosity.

Had that always been there?

Letting his curiosity get the best of him, Jean took a step closer towards it, paying no heed to the fact that his supervisor would be looking for him at this time.

He was barely even five feet away from the shack's door when it suddenly burst open.

This didn't stop Jean in his tracks, though.

He found himself still walking forward to where Sasha stood, taking in the drastic change in her features compared to when he saw her that morning, like the strands of brown hair that seemed to escape the elastic confines of her ponytail and the way her shoulders rose up and down so fast as if she were hyperventilating.

Gone was the smile she had on since Sunday morning, and instead her lips were tightened to a straight line on her face and swollen as if she had been biting on them too much.

What the hell happened to her?

"Jean?"

The said boy suddenly froze, realizing he was still walking toward her and halted in his pace.

Instincts (and not to mention awkwardness) taking over, Jean turned a 180 and headed back towards the lodging, feet moving faster and faster under him as he went along.

Had he left a second later Jean would've noticed the look on Sasha's face turn from…well whatever that was to confusion.

The equestrian instructor could only keep moving, stopping only when he reached the door to his room inside the lodging to rip it open and close it with a near audible slam.

Jean smacked the back of his head against the door as he tried to regain his breath.

You finally get to catch her alone for the entire day and what do you do? You run like a little bitch, that's what.

Jean just stood there for what felt like hours until he finally steadied his breathing and straightened himself before opening the door.

Thomas meets him just outside of it, hand raised as if he was intending to knock. "Hey man." He said, lowering his fist.

"Hey." Jean said as he shut the door behind him.

"So Petra told me to call you for lunch so…" Thomas trailed off, obviously uncomfortable.

"Oh okay." Was all equestrian instructor managed to say as they set out the hall.

"You alright, bro?" Thomas asked as they entered the common room.

Jean gave his roommate a glance but let it drift off to somewhere further behind him.

Particularly to a certain brunette who was conversing with her coworkers in the kitchen. She was smiling, and again Jean was left to question the realness of the sight he had just witnessed a few moments ago. Suddenly she meets his glance from across the room.

And the smile drops.

Almost as if in panic.

The boy only raised his hand in a pathetic attempt at a wave. The girl only gave him another smile that he knew wasn't the least bit genuine before turning back to her conversation.

Jean looked back to Thomas with a heavy sigh. "Yeah." He said as he headed over to the dining hall.

"Nothing's wrong at all."


Mikasa only kept her eyes trained on Eren, hand steadily grasping his forearm, almost in support. The blinds on the dorm storage room door weren't the most reliable light source but even in the dark she could still see the green of his eyes flashing dangerously bright.

She let out a breathy sigh.

"Eren, are you really sure we should be doing this now?" he started to move so she clung onto his arm tighter, blunt nails biting into his skin. "We're bound to get in trouble."

It was a little past seven in the morning. By then everyone was in the common room helping themselves to some coffee and breakfast before the usual schedule started.

By now the others would be looking for them.

So why now?

And here?

"Shh." The doctor whispered before giving her a small smile; a sight that made her heart melt over completely every time. "We're just gonna have to be quiet, remember?"

He's giving her that look again. The-I'm-Up-to-No-Good-But-I-Can-Still-Get-Away-With-It look. The same one she had accustomed herself to seeing ever since they were in high school.

Maybe even ever since they were children, to be honest.

"You trust me, don't you?" he says, a low rumble that sent shivers up her spine.

If she doesn't get herself a backbone soon that look was going to cause her death.

Or in this moment, someone else's.

With a sigh she lets go of his arm, and immediately Eren reaches over for the hidden air horn on the shelf in one hand and a zip-tie in his pocket with the other.

He fits the zip-tie over the bottle's handle, tightening it just enough to fit snuggly. He turns to her with another smile.

"On the count of three, okay?"

Mikasa sighs but relents and nods anyways.

The things I do for this man.

"Ready?"

"That would imply I have a choice in this." Mikasa grumbled lightly.

The doctor perked up with enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit! Now, are you ready?"

The girl nodded again, this time reaching for the door knob, ready to open and sprint all the way out the lodging as they discussed last night.

Eren gives her another one of those blindingly bright smiles before counting down.

"One. Two. Three!"

In a flash, Mikasa rips open the door and runs in the direction of the dorm's exit, Eren not too far behind as he tightens the zip-tie over the air horn, startling everyone out of their breakfast as the horn lets out a massive honk.

And then the commotion starts.

Even in the seconds it took the pair to reach the dorm's front yard they already heard a handful of screams, a glass or two shatter and not to mention the sound of three, four or maybe even all members of the staff falling over themselves as they tried to stop the air horn from emitting any more noise.

Eren suddenly turns to her, grin still in place. "Got all that?"

Mikasa nodded. "Yeah." She did her best to recall anything and everything she saw as soon as Eren launched his make-shift sound grenade.

Connie immediately went into a defensive stance, so did Reiner, Berthold and Annie. Mina and few other girls let out a yelp. Levi almost dropped the mug he was holding but only stayed perfectly calm while everyone else started to panic.

The nurse nodded again. "I'll type it up later."

"Great job. Thank you soooo much." Eren said, immediately pulling her into a hug. "You're the best, Mika." He whispered into her hair.

The girl found enough sense in her to hug him back.

And in that moment, Mikasa was sure.

Eren was going to cause her death a lot sooner than the rest of his test subjects.


Jean lightly tapped the heel of his palm into his ear, a vain attempt to get the internal ringing noise from the air-horn out of his head, and as he looked around he saw everyone else doing the same.

"Anyone else having that high-pitched noise digging into their skulls?" Connie asked in place of him. Was he shouting? Jean couldn't tell.

The thing took a full three minutes to shut up, and all their efforts to stop it didn't really work. At all. The zip-tie was just around it too tightly. They couldn't exactly leave the lodging, partially because they might spike up suspicion amongst their patrons and partially because they'd just make an even bigger mess outside. They couldn't afford to throw it outside the dorm either, otherwise they might disrupt operations at the main building.

So instead they just tossed it into the storeroom and ignored the noise as they waited for it to die out as they went on with their mornings, everyone letting out cries of relief as soon as it did.

Apparently now they had some other noise to deal with, though.

"I'm pretty sure it's called acouasm." Armin supplied.

"What?" Connie asked in a volume way too loud to be considered his house voice.

"Acouasm!" Armin replied in the same volume.

"A coat has him? A coat has who? Who is this evil coat?"

"ACOUASM!" the blonde practically screeched, making the unfortunate number of people who surrounded him flinch in place.

Jean couldn't help his own outburst. "BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!"

The pair turned to him with in unison. "WHAT?"

"Guys." Sasha suddenly cut into two of them. She was obviously just using her regular voice; otherwise Jean wouldn't have been barely able to hear her.

"Everyone else is having a headache as is. Let's not add to that, okay?" she said, making sure spare both Connie and Armin a glance.

The pair in front of her sighed but nonetheless nodded. "We should probably just finish cleaning up. We're up in fifteen." Armin said, and luckily enough everyone managed to hear him as they all started to get back to the table and finish their meals.

Jean was making his way back to the dining room when he decided to spare Sasha a look. That's when he overheard it.

He thanked every deity he knew that the ringing in his ears had toned down enough for him to.

"You're already done eating, Sash?" he heard Connie say.

The girl nodded. "Yeah. Finished right before Eren launched the sound grenade. I'll just head up to the field now." She said before turning and leaving.

There it was again. That feeling in Jean's gut that kept convincing him that something was horribly off. It kept gnawing at him the entire time he ate, and as soon as he was finished with breakfast he decided to give in to it.

If no one had done the dishes yet then there should be twenty-three plates in the sink, Jean thought.

He made sure everyone left before checking it himself, his heart unexpectedly beating much louder and slower than it should as he counted the number of plates.

.

.

.

Twenty-two.

.

.

.

He felt the lump grow in his throat.

"Something wrong, Jean?" Franz suddenly asked from behind him.

The instructor shook his head. "Nothing." He sunk his teeth into his lower lip. "Actually there is something you can help me with."

The other boy's brows rose. "Okay. What's up?"

"It's just…you're on dish duty for this morning, right?"

Franz nodded. "Yeah. Why? You wanna swap shifts?"

Jean shook his head. "No, nothing like that. It's just…" he hesitated before continuing. "No one's allowed to do their own dishes right? When someone's already assigned to do everyone else's?"

Franz nodded again. "Yeah." He stopped mid-nod as his eyes narrowed a bit in worry. "You alright, man? You look a little pale."

Jean waved his hand as he began to walk away, hoping that the other boy didn't notice the stagger in his step. "Yeah, not to worry."

"You sure nothing's wrong? I could tell Levi and Eren for you if you're not feeling well." Franz continued to egg on.

Jean would have thought the gesture was really nice of him.

He really would have.

If only he didn't feel like throwing up at that moment then he would've thanked the guy.

"No, I'm good." Jean said as he got out of the kitchen and into the common room.

"Nothing's wrong at all." He muttered under his breath as he left the lodging.

The stagger he had was still present in his footing and he didn't really bother to correct himself. Only after being a good distance from the lodging did he realize that his feet were leading him towards Sasha at the archery field, and not towards the stables.

Jean caught sight of her form postured in her shooting stance, legs apart and back straight, brown eyes completely focused on the target board in front of her. He watched as she drew her arrow with practiced ease. She held the arrow there for a moment.

Two.

Three.

He released a breath he didn't know he was holding when she released.

From where he stood Jean saw that the arrow didn't even come close to the center, and instead impaled one of the outer circles. Sasha stepped forward to retrieve the arrow, and it even brought more worry to Jean when he saw how she got it out of the target board with ease.

He distinctly remembered that just last week it would take her a few tries to even get the damn thing to budge.

She's not completely focused.

At all.

Suddenly Sasha turned around, and by impulse Jean continued and quickened his pace to the equestrian field, hoping and praying that she didn't recognize him from that distance.

Tough luck. She did.

Jean only kept his line of sight ahead and heaved out a sigh.

Nothing's wrong at all, his earlier thought echoed as he reached the stable's wooden gates.

In that moment, Jean knew.

Those four simple words made up the biggest lie of the century.


Armin only shot Krista a look as she laughed away. Did she really find Eren's air-horn prank from yesterday that amusing?

"It's not funny, Krista." He said with a defeated sigh.

"I can't help it! It's absolutely priceless!" she said before giggling again. "To think that he goes around the lobby with a lab coat and all, and then he just turns out to be no better than a high school prankster!"

Armin only rolled his eyes and lifted a hand to play with the ends of her hair. Ever since that…rendezvous they had yesterday, Armin had taken it upon himself to continue escorting Krista to her first class in the morning and afternoon. Not that he still needed to anyways, but anything was worth a few stolen moments with her, even with their even more frequent text messaging.

Armin smiled. "What about you?" he asked her.

She only turned to him with her head cocked to the side. "What do you mean?"

"What were you like in high school?"

Krista pursed her lips as if in thought. "Well, I was an honor student."

"I expect no less from you."

The smile on Armin's face only grew wider. There was no denying the receding blush that developed on her face at the compliment. Krista only stuttered and looked away.

"I wasn't at the top of the list but I was consistently on it. And…I was very well into clubs. I joined a lot, like the book club and the tennis team. I think it was around that time that I got myself into anime and other fandoms."

Armin nodded before she spoke again.

"What about you?"

"Huh? What about me?"

"Any high school ex-girlfriends I should know of?"

Now it was Armin's turn to blush. "No, I wasn't really the dating type back then you know, since I was mostly with Eren and Mikasa…"

Krista didn't really seem to buy it and faked a nod. "Uh-huh."

The boy only let his shoulders slump in defeat. He can never really get past this girl. "Alright, alright. I did ask a girl out to senior prom. Annie. She was pretty quiet for the most part but she was pretty cool."

"And this Annie, are you two still in touch?"

Armin nodded. "Actually she just started working here as an instructor in the Martial Arts department, so yeah. I know for a fact that she's married now though, after seeing her application form. She hasn't changed her last name so I'm betting not everyone knows. To be honest I didn't expect her to see her again married, but then again we never really hit it off after prom, so…" Armin stopped in his tracks. "I'm rambling now, aren't I?"

The girl only giggled again and shook her head. "Not really. Don't worry, I find it kind of cute."

The blush that had previously stained Armin's cheeks decided to return in full force. "Oh I see." He snuck a glance at his clipboard, an obvious attempt to hide his face.

He took a glimpse at her schedule and sighed.

"Five more days."

This brought a delicate furrow to Krista's brows. "Until what?"

"Until you leave the club."

That made her stop in her pace altogether, leaving them a few short meters from the archery field.

"Oh."

Armin noticed how her eyes widened by a noticeable fraction, probably from the apparent realization. He reached over and tilted her chin up with a finger, prompting her to focus her gaze back on him. "Hey." He said gently, a soft rumble of sorts. He lowered his hand with a smile. "No need to worry about that now, alright?"

Krista only lowered her head with a sad smile. "I know but…time just went by so fast and so slowly all at once." She tilted her chin up to face him, watery baby blues meeting his. "Do you know what I mean?"

"Kind of." Armin reached over to lightly pinch her nose. "Last time I checked, you only get that kind of feeling when you're in love."

Krista only puffed her cheeks as they started to tint red. There was no denying the smile on her face, either. "Hey."

Armin couldn't help but smile at her reaction. She was nothing short of adorable. He released her nose with a short chuckle.

The girl shot him a look.

(He would've considered it a glare but come on. It was way too cute to be taken seriously.)

When he chuckled again she immediately continued her pace with loud footsteps.

(Even the way she was storming away was adorable. She was almost kind of like a baby penguin.)

"Oh come on," Armin said as he followed right after her. She still gives him that look and he makes sure to look her straight in the eyes as he spoke.

"You should know I get the feeling perfectly as well."

"The one with being unable to comprehend time accurately?"

Armin only gave her another smile reached down to entwine his fingers with hers and shook his head.

"The one about being in love."


Sasha eyed the plate across from her with gusto.

The steak Petra had whipped up for lunch was beyond tantalizing, and when paired with the mashed potatoes the barista had made along with it and the vegetables she already had on her plate…

The girl had to bite her lip as her stomach grumbled. She took a look around her to make sure that no one was watching. Slowly, if not deftly, Sasha reached over to the serving knife and fork by the plate to cut up her serving of meat.

She looked up and around again, this time making her once-over a little more thorough.

By her mistake she made it a little too thorough, and her eyes ended up landing on a certain pair of people.

Annie was being…well Annie, if there was another way to put it, with the way she silently ate her meal. Beside her, Berthold was quietly chatting with the Reiner and a few other coworkers.

And as she watched him, Sasha couldn't help but notice the way he would throw his wife the occasional glance and secret smile as he ate.

Sasha felt her grip on the cutlery loosen.

With another bite of her lip she set the knife and fork down and finished what little serving of vegetables she had served herself with earlier and ignored how her stomach growled in protest. .

She suddenly wasn't feeling very hungry anyways.


Alright, you got this, Reiner thought as he made his way into the Main Lobby before lunch period ended.

By his luck, Krista was on her phone and sitting on one of the lobby's couches.

And she was alone.

Reiner had originally planned to talk to her again yesterday but Eren's little…surprise (if there was any better way to put it) had left his ears ringing for the whole day.

There was no way he was going to take his chances and miss even a single word that would come out of her mouth. Her voice deserved way more than that.

So now here he was, profusely sweating to a level that rivaled Berthold as he took in a deep breath, mindlessly trying to calm himself down while he was at it.

Come on man, you got this. You talked to tons of girls before, how is this any different?

Internally giving himself a pat of thanks, Reiner stepped forward and immediately occupied the seat beside her.

Far enough that you still give her personal space, but close enough for you to get a good look at her face.

Reiner took in a deep breath.

"Hey." He said.

Did that sound too eager? Oh shit.

She immediately looked up from her phone. "Oh. Hey." She said back with a smile.

Gosh, was she gorgeous.

"So," Reiner started, making sure he said it soon enough so she wouldn't look back down on her phone.

"Are you from Tennessee?"

Classic pick-up line. Works every time, he thought to himself.

Instead of asking why, though, she cocked her head to the side.

"I'm actually from this state but thanks for asking."

Reiner felt all his respiratory system stop working. "…Right."

Before he was able to retaliate, Krista had already looked back down at her phone and typed in what he assumed was a reply to a text.

Damn.

"I'll see you soon, then?" Reiner asked as he got up from his seat.

At least she looked up from her phone. "Yeah. It was great talking to you."

There goes that smile again. And then there goes that light again. It cast all around her, making the blonde of her hair look like shining gold and the blue of her eyes rival the skies in brightness.

She's without a doubt an angel.

Reiner offered her a small wave before going in the direction of the gym.

Much to his luck she waved back before turning back to her phone.

The smile on his face stayed there for the rest of the day.

"Reiner, are you okay?" Berthold suddenly asked in the middle of sparring, a little exercise to pass the time before closing time. By then their clients had already left and hit the showers.

Reiner only looked at his friend with a grin. "Definitely more than okay."

Connie stopped mid-kick on the punching bag to turn to the two. "You sure? You seem awfully happy for a guy who's not tapping out of a leg lock."

With a sigh the taller of the two on the mat released Reiner from his hold.

"You're awfully distracted today." Connie said as the two stood up, immediately turning back to the bag with a kick.

Reiner only shrugged. "Call it love."

"Really now?" the buzz-cut asked, not even looking away from his exercise as sarcasm laced his tone.

Reiner looked almost offended. "Hey, don't act as if this never happened to you before. In fact," he slung an arm around his best friend with a toothy grin. "Bertl was even worse back when he and Annie weren't even dating yet."

Despite the amusement of seeing his best friend so flustered, for a second there Reiner could've sworn Connie kicked the bag so hard he made the chains screech against the bar it was hanging from at the mention of Berthold and Annie.

Reiner knew that was the sign of the buzz-cut lashing out without thinking, which was pretty rare for him considering his martial art.

He didn't bother bringing it up, though.

Something told him that if he did, it won't be just the bag that Connie would lash out on.

That and it won't just be Connie who'd be lashing out on him.


"Good work today, Krista!" Sasha said as her student began removing her gear.

The smaller girl only smiled. "Well, it helps to have a good teacher." She said as she set her bow and armguard on the collapsible table (that Sasha had to install there by herself, thank you very much).

Krista rubbed the redness on her arm with a grumble. "Will these go away?"

Sasha shook her head. "You might as well get used to it. Besides," she removed her own armguard and set it on the table along with her bow. "The best hobbies leave a mark." She said as she lifted her arm, showing the marks of laceration left behind by her armguard, most definitely a product of years practicing archery. Sasha lowered her arm with a smile.

"I'm amusing your knuckles and fingers have calluses already?"

Krista nodded. "A little, but Mother countered them with copious amounts of lotion. She can be really doting sometimes."

The instructor nodded back before smirking. "Ahh. And of course soft hands would be easier for Armin to hold, am I right?"

Sasha had to stifle a laugh as her student flushed. "H-how did you know about that?!" her voice even went up an octave or two.

Wasn't she just adorable?

"Jean may have told me a few things." Sasha supplied. Her mind flashed back the memories she made that Saturday, from the conversation she had with Jean over breakfast and the video game and movie marathon they had afterwards up until the weekly briefing they had later that night when Berthold…

Sasha shook her head before her memories delved any deeper.

"Sasha?"

The brunette turned back to Krista, instantly pulling the corners of her mouth up to a smile. "Heh. Sorry. Just spacing out."

Krista seemed to buy as much and nodded. "Ah. So anyways," she said as she stretched some kinks in her back before straightening up again. "I might as well leave for lunch. See you tomorrow, Sasha!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Krista." Sasha said as the smaller girl turned to leave.

She watched as her student leave. As soon as her figure disappeared through the main building's back entrance, Sasha turned to the tree beside her.

The girl circled it for few moments until she reached a particularly low-hanging branch. Sasha took a look around to make sure no one else was nearby.

The field was completely empty.

Without another thought, Sasha jumped and grasped the branch with both hands before pulling herself up until she was seated on it.

Slowly, Sasha got herself to a standing position and reached for one of the higher branches and hoisted herself to sit on it.

(She had to thank her years of practicing archery for this. Otherwise she wouldn't have had the upper body strength to even do it.)

Sasha had discovered this spot not too long ago last season when she had an absurd amount of free time on her hands. She was just idly roamed around her area when she had an hour of free time before her next session, found the branch with her reach and started to climb. She always did things like that, even as a kid.

The branch was low enough for her to grasp yet high enough for her to be obstructed from view, even from anyone who would be looking up, with the bark thick enough to support her body weight and maybe even more.

She hadn't dared tell anyone about that place. Not even Connie knew about it. Maybe she honestly just forgot or it had just slipped her mind, but whichever the case, back then she thought this place would be her new sanctuary. She knew that Eren had his own space in the dorm basement, creepily enough, and that Armin tended to spend his free time reading in the garden at the back of the main building, so why not have her own space?

Never would she have thought that her sanctuary would end up being her own hiding place.

Sasha took her phone (thankfully it hadn't fallen out of her pocket) and turned it on.

12:34

By that time everyone should still be eating lunch, if not already done.

Maybe if she stayed a little longer everyone would just think that she ate in her free period?

Sasha let out a guilty sigh as she pocketed her phone and leaned her back against the trunk behind her.

She knew it was wrong to skip out on staff meals and gatherings but what else was she supposed to do?

The girl mindlessly began picking at the bark under her fingertips, only to rip out a shard instead. .

It's great to see you, Sasha.

What was the point of her showing up to lunch when she couldn't even bring it in herself to eat anyways?

Sasha carelessly threw the bark away and slammed the back of her head against the tree with a heavy sigh.

It's only for today. I'll join the others for lunch tomorrow, she kept telling herself as the minutes ticked on.

Sasha slammed her head against the tree once more, if only out of defeat.

Goddamit, Berthold.


"You know I never actually found out what happened to the instructor before me." Jean started as he took a seat in between Connie and Armin on the couch with Mikasa on the blonde's other side.

It was a Thursday, and somehow Jean found himself settling himself beside Mikasa and Connie more often since the last weekly briefing. It was almost like they turned into a team of sorts.

Not that they could even be considered as a team in terms of functionality, anyways.

Despite their discreet efforts, Sasha still hadn't gotten back to her usual self, often caught staring blankly into space and barely eating her meals (if she was eating at all at least). A few others had began to take notice but thankfully no one had ever really brought it up and hell, she was even frequently missing for morning free periods nowadays, and Jean had really wanted to look for her then just to make sure but…

Mikasa only brought back up the topic of giving her some space, which lead Connie to nod in agreement as well, which lead Jean to not even bothering nowadays.

This girl. Honestly.

Jean turned to the nurse with a quirked brow. "Eren not here again?" He asked as he looked around. A few others were still at the table while the rest of the staff was already done eating. Where was he?

The raven shook her head. "He said he had to work overtime for a bit."

The equestrian coach only nodded. "Alright. But still though," he turned to everyone else in the common room. "What happened to the guy before me? Did he get injured or something?"

A few others only coughed uncomfortably. Connie practically flinched beside him.

Noticing everyone's uneasiness, Armin answered for them.

"Last season Hanji brought her pet centipedes with her. Eren played around with them a lot for some weird reason, not that I even wanted to know why, but then they somehow ended up in Mike's saddle the last day of the season." Armin shook his head as if shaking off his discomfort before turning back to Jean. "I'm pretty sure you can piece two and two together. It wasn't pretty."

All the males in the area winced and nodded in shared masculine sympathy.

Jean only stared at Armin wide-eyed, realizing how (un)fortunate he was.

Mike or whatever his name is literally had insects bite his dick.

.

.

.

WHAT THE FUCK WOULD EREN POSSIBLY WANT TO DO WITH ME?

As if on cue Eren enters the common room, his lab coat splattered with blood, the whole vicinity turning silent at the sight of him.

"What the hell happened?" Connie dared to ask.

Eren only shrugged and wiped some blood off his face. "A bad day at the office." He said before heading towards his room.

"You better mop up that mess, Jaeger!" Levi called after him from the kitchen, obviously referring to the small trail of blood the doctor left in his wake.

"Peroxide's in your nightstand!" Mikasa called after him.

They heard a muffled 'Thanks!" come out of Eren before the bedroom door shut behind him.

Jean turned to Mikasa. "Hey Mik, Can you tell me why Eren is so…so…" he fumbled for the words. Eccentric? Deranged was it?

"Fucked up?" Mikasa supplied.

Somehow that fit better. Why didn't he think of that before?

Jean nodded. "Yeah. Why the mad genius vibe? Sure back in high school he was kinda…eccentric but now he's just…" he gestured with his hands. "Fucking lunatic. The hell happened?"

"You should know he's still hell-bent on finding a vaccine that could prevent all known diseases."

Jean nodded again, remembering that Eren's mother had died of cancer back when he was still in grade school. It wasn't really a memory that he was very fond of either. Neither was the way he found out about it.

"High school was just the first step, basically." Mikasa continued. "Once we got into college he went completely all out. Now that he's a licensed doctor with a research grant, there's no stopping him."

Armin nodded. Jean only pursed his lips. "That still doesn't explain why his methods are so…unorthodox." He said, gesturing to the trail of blood that still had yet to be cleaned.

Armin eyed him sheepishly. "Should I also mention the fact that Eren's dad was a Nazi scientist?"

Jean turned to him so fast a few joints in his spine popped in protest. "How the fuck is that even possible?"

"He moved to America decades after the war and married late. When Eren was a kid he well…taught a few of his methods to him. You should've seen him in grade school." Armin shivered. "It was terrifying."

Jean spoke up. "You know, testing on animals is illegal. How much more human subjects? Why aren't you firing him?" he asked, craning his neck to the general direction Levi and Hanji who were still in the dining room.

He barely saw Hanji pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Technically, most of his experiments are just pranks. It would only be legit testing if he forced various substances on us against our will." She stood up from the table and put her plate in the sink before entering the common room. "In that respect he's nothing more than just a prankster. Since nobody's been fatally injured from his actions, save Mike of course, but he retired on his own accord and not from said injury, and the fact that he's duly followed all regulations in the club, he has no grounds for being fired."

Levi suddenly appeared beside her. "That and really Kirstein, do you know any other doctor who's willing to work in a club in the middle of nowhere where no one even gets injured all that often? With you brats of all people?"

Jean was about to respond with a no but was cut short when Hanji playfully punched Levi in the shoulder. "Aw, Levi, if you didn't want to break up the squad, you could've just said so."

Before Levi was able to retaliate, Sasha suddenly emerged from the entrance, a small sheen of sweat on her forehead and bow slung over her shoulder as she entered the common room. Hanji immediately changed topic.

"Oh, Sasha!" everyone else in the common room followed suit and greeted the new arrival.

"We didn't see you! Did you eat early, kiddo?"

The brunette managed a smile and nod. Jean could've sworn he winced at the sight of it.

"I'll just be heading up to change, if that's alright."

Hanji waved her hand as if granting permission. "Of course, of course."

With a grateful nod the archery instructor made her way to the stairs, and if one were to watch her closely, they could see that she was steadily avoiding the gazes of everyone in the room.

Particularly those from the certain three seated on the couch.

Jean followed her form until it disappeared behind the door of her room and looked away with a sigh. He met Connie and Mikasa's worried glances.

There really was no need to speak to address the issue, now was there?

Armin immediately sensed their unspoken conversation and spoke up.

"Is Sasha alright?" he asked, turning to the three beside him.

Jean had to cut the guy some slack. Armin was sharper than most people. Of course he would've noticed Sasha not being herself.

Mikasa answered in placed for the three of them and nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. She's probably just tired."

Jean stifled a scoff.

Yeah, of course she's tired.

It was odd how much this girl could affect him. Just a few minutes ago they were having playful banter.

He turned himself out of the conversation, hand tightly curling into a fist on his lap as he looked away.

She was tired of pretending she was fine, that's what.


Krista kept her eyes on her lap with a heavy sigh.

It was Thursday, meaning that the day after tomorrow would be her last day here at the club.

I didn't really promise Armin anything but it's still worth a try.

Gulping and garnering in a heavy breath she turned to her mother.

"Mother?"

"Yes, darling?" The older woman asked, not looking up from her phone.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you." She said, fiddling with the bed sheet under her.

Helena put down her phone, and Krista couldn't have felt more panicked at that moment. "What is it?"

"Well…" she started before taking in another breath. "I'm actually having a lot of fun here and I thought maybe…" Krista internally cursed herself for trailing off, eyes trailing back to her lap.

Dang it. Way to go, Krista.

"You want to extend our stay here?"

Her vision snapped back up faster than she could blink. "How did you-?"

Helena only smiled, as if the current topic was nothing short of scandalous. "I know you've been enjoying your time here with a certain someone."

Krista froze. "Oh, really?"

"Why of course! I'm your mother, Krista, and even if I wasn't it would still be easy to see that you and Jean have been getting along quite well lately."

Jean. Right. Of course.

Krista managed a nod. "If it's not much trouble, is it alright?"

"Of course it's no trouble. Another two weeks then? That would leave us with…" she pauses to take a look at her phone, most likely to open the calendar. "At least another two weeks to prepare for the wedding when we get back. Is that alright?"

The girl could barely contain her excitement. "That's more than alright!"

She didn't even expect getting half a week. But two?

"Thank you so much, Mother!" she said, and her mother lovingly placed a hand atop her head.

"Anything for you, dear."

Little did Krista know that Helena wasn't even referring to Jean at all.

That blond boy… Armin…I'll let you continue this affair but I'll also assume you already told him of your situation. It would be such a shame to break such a sweet boy's heart.


Mikasa could only wait as her roommate continued getting ready.

It was Saturday, meaning it was their day off.

It also meant that all female members of the staff will spend their time dress shopping for the upcoming wedding.

The raven turned to Sasha. The brunette's gaze was elsewhere, hands almost frozen in the middle of her hair as she ran a brush through it.

She's spacing out again.

"Sasha?" Mikasa softly called out.

The said girl only blinked a few times before looking back at her roommate. "Oh, sorry, were you saying something?" she asked as she finally let the brush run past the ends of her hair.

Mikasa only shook her head as Sasha began to brush her hair a few more times before setting down the comb and tying up her usual ponytail.

"You just seemed a little…distracted." the nurse said in the most delicate way she can, getting off her bed to get to the door.

"O-oh?" Sasha asked, grabbing her bag and heading for the door as well.

"Kinda." Mikasa replied, opening the door and letting the brunette through before stepping out and closing and locking it behind her.

For the entire time it took for them to meet up with the rest of their female coworkers to say goodbye to the others and head over to the bus stop, Sasha remained silent.

And when it seemed that she spaced out along the way, Mikasa decided to pretend she didn't notice and not call her out on it.

This didn't stop her from worrying, though.

She gave Sasha one last once-over.

She was blankly staring into space again.

Mikasa sighed as she turned to look out the window.

What am I going to do with you?


Eren only sighed as he watched Reiner keep his gaze up at the ceiling above him and folded his hands over his stomach as he prattled on.

"…and I just dunno, Doc! I can't stop thinking about her!"

It was Saturday afternoon, and while the girls of the staff were out dress shopping for the upcoming wedding (Annie included, much to his surprise), the Krav Maga instructor had taken it upon himself to visit the doctor at his office for some much needed…therapy.

(Any girl would've just called it girl talk, which was why he did it now while they were all out and preoccupied.)

"Can you tell me more about it? From the beginning?" Eren said in a voice he hoped didn't sound too monotonous.

Reiner nodded almost frantically. "Well it all started last week when I was in the main lobby and I dunno, ever since every time I see her it's like she's glowing. I think it's a sign, Doc! Maybe she is an angel in disguise!"

Eren felt himself sigh again as he raised his pencil back to his notepad, his sketch in near completion as he continued to add the minor details.

Somewhere as he was correcting a small portion of disproportionate anatomy Eren heard Reiner ask.

"Doc, are you even listening?"

"No." the doctor says bluntly without looking up from his work. The instructor sits up on the bed with furrowed brows.

"Then why are you taking down notes?"

Eren shook his head. "Not taking notes. I was drawing you like one of my French girls."

He flips the notepad with a flick of his wrist to display a sketch of a nude Reiner sprawled out and posing seductively on a couch.

What the actual fuck.

As irked as the instructor was at how Eren didn't even bother to listen to him, Reiner would never admit out loud that the sketch was actually pretty good. Not to mention anatomically accurate. Even all the way down there.

How does he even know…?

Reiner shook his head free of the thought.

"Thought you were a doctor, Eren. Why aren't you helping me out here?"

Eren sighed as he set his pad on his lap. "I'm a doctor, yes, but not the kind you go to for therapy."

"Eren, we're literally in the middle of nowhere yet the club doesn't have any sort of contingency for psychological health? What if one of us has actually gone insane and we didn't know?"

The doctor only smiles and shrugs as he mentally plans out his scheme to transfer his animal test subjects from under the dorm's basement to Safe House G.

"You're totally hopeless, Reiner. Has it ever occurred to you that her 'ethereal glow'-" Eren air-quoted. "-could've just been sunlight?"

"There's always hope! If there's love there's a will and if there's a will there's always a way! And I'll love her through all the ups and downs of my life!"

"More like with all the ups and downs of your dick." Eren half-grumbled, half-sighed at how Reiner deliberately ignored his suggestion. His patient then began prattling on some sort of life-changing and awe-inspiring monologue about hope and love.

One that Eren deliberately ignored.

With a heavy sigh the doctor only picked up his pencil and resumed his sketching.


"You know, it would probably best if we had conversations like this when Mikasa's around." Jean said as he leaned his weight on the wall behind him.

Connie had led him to the gym which was surprisingly empty, considering the weekend. The buzz-cut only narrowed his eyes as he turned to him.

"Tell me, when was the last time we ever had any free time alone in this place? Without everyone looking for everyone?"

"Alright, touché" the instructor took look around before turning back to his companion. "Mind telling me why here of all places, then?"

Connie deliberately ignored the question as he entered the locker room. He soon emerged fully changed in what Jean presumed to be his work-out clothes, with ankle weights strapped to his legs.

"I need to blow off some steam." The buzz-cut lately responded as he approached a nearby punching bag, not too far from where Jean stood and hanging just a few away feet from the wall in horizontal distance.

Jean watched as the other instructor rotated the bag on its chains until it revealed a side covered in masking tape X's, the leather a little stretched and worn out under the tape from use.

Connie did a few stretches before approaching a stance. "Don't think I won't be listening, just keep talking. I just need to blow off some steam." He threw a series of low kicks near the bottom of the bag, a few muted sounds escaping it as he did.

"Has Mikasa told you anything?" he asked.

Fump fump

Jean nodded. "A little bit. Mostly that she's been spacing out quite a bit. She hasn't pointed it out to her, though."

Connie nodded then aimed higher on the bag. "I see."

Fump fump fump

"She wasn't at lunch a couple days ago but she said she ate early." Jean continued quietly. Connie aimed up to his chest level this time.

In that moment, Jean finally acknowledged the fact that Connie was a master at his martial art.

Fump fump fump

That and the fact that he may have actually underestimated his abilities in the process.

"Do you believe her?" Connie asked again.

The equestrian instructor shook his head. "No." Jean let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know I should've told you this sooner but…on the night that Berthold and Annie arrived…"

Connie didn't bother setting his aim higher and instead increased the speed of his kicks.

Fump fump fump fump

"I found her plate completely full while clearing the table."

Fumpfumpfumpfump

"She didn't touch her food at all."

FumpfumpfumpfumpfumpCREEEEEAK

The chains screeched in protest against the strikes and eventually the bag was sent swinging a few feet in the opposite direction.

Connie only hunched over with his hands on his knees and tried to regain his breathing. Only heavy breaths seemed to escape his mouth.

Jean got his weight off the wall and warily approached his friend.

"Con?"

The shorter man only let out another string of pants before hastily running a hand across his shaven scalp, now drenched in sweat.

And then suddenly using that same hand to hit the wall beside him.

"Dammit!" he grunted after more heavy breaths, collapsing on the floor. He shifted to lean his back against the wall, one knee bent up while the other lay limply on the floor. Connie raised an arm to rest its elbow on the bent knee and brought its hand to cover his forehead and eyes, almost as if in shame.

Silence lapsed between the two for an untold amount of time. Jean used this to slump into a seat beside him with a heavy sigh and kept his eyes on the cement tiles of the gym.

"Sasha not eating is like one of the seven signs of the apocalypse." Connie suddenly said. "Kinda like the four horsemen…" he trailed off, then suddenly removing his hand off his face and turning to Jean with wide eyes. "Jean holy shit you…and horsemen…"

Connie looked up the ceiling as if in near panic. He watched intently it for a few moments before turning back to his friend in all seriousness.

No, the world's not ending just yet. No fire falling from the sky or hails of burning ice or whatever." He said before grinning.

And then he let out a dry, humorless laugh.

Jean only watched him with a furrowed brow in a mix of slight disappointment and mild sympathy.

"Sorry man. Just trying to lighten the mood a bit." He laughed again, this time just a long drawn out breath from his nose and kept his gaze on the floor as well. "Sorry you had to watch me hulk out by the way."

Jean nodded. "No problem."

Connie let out another heavy sigh, this time through his mouth.

"I'd kick you for not telling me earlier but...I'm not one to talk. The entire time that night, I expected her to at least go to me so she could get away from everything but she didn't." Jean could only watch as Connie visibly deflated. "I shouldn't have waited, dammit. I should've gone to her first or tried talking to her or at least done something…" He ran a hand over his scalp again. "But no, I just had to blow it."

He kept it at the top of his head as he slammed the back of his skull against the concrete behind him.

"She's my best friend yet I haven't done anything for her, man." He went back to covering his eyes and forehead with a palm with another exhale. "It sucks."

Jean only nodded again. "Yeah."

His mind suddenly flashed back to just a few days ago when he approached her disheveled form…

Only to run the opposite the direction like a little bitch.

Jean unconsciously clenched his fist beside him and slammed the back of his head to the wall as well, joining Connie in this little act of shared misery.

"I get the feeling."


Armin sat back with a sigh, glad that he had finished all the reports on schedule. Even if it was Saturday it didn't mean that he was exempted from work either.

And with Hanji out of grounds, his work had to be doubled for the day. Just great.

He hears a knock, and Armin only called out. "You can come in!"

The door opens.

And there Krista was; her hair up in a messy bun since she probably forwent washing it that day, forehead a little shiny from the oil that had accumulated on her face since that morning and her frame swallowed up in a pair of jeans a ratty old sweater he infers she had since she was in high school.

And she looked nothing short of beautiful.

Armin couldn't suppress his smile. "Oh, Krista. What brings you here?"

She shut the door behind her with a smile of her own. "I'm actually here for business. Do you know where Miss Hanji is?" she asks as she takes sits herself down on the chairs in front of his desk.

The file room was more of an office than anything else, an average-sized room with shelves upon shelves filled with records and folders that would've been a nightmare to search for had he and Jean not cleaned up last Friday.

Armin flips the pages of his clipboard to meet the Lenz record. "She's out dress shopping. One of our female coworkers is getting married. I'm covering for her at the moment."

Krista only nodded. "Oh, I see. Then that makes my job a little easier."

"And what would that be?" he asked, keeping gaze on the file.

Two days left.

"Mother sent me here with regards on our stay here at the hotel."

How did time fly by so fast, I wonder.

"She wanted me to make sure that our extension was in order."

Armin looked back up so fast he could've sworn he heard his neck pop. "Wait, what?"

Krista only gave him a smile. "Mother decided to extend our stay for another two weeks."

And in that moment, Armin really felt like kissing her.

.

.

.

And so he does.

.

.

.

And remembers too late that there was a wide table between them.

Armin only let out a groan as both his gut came into impact with the desk's edge. Really hard.

"Armin?!" Krista cried, immediately standing up to be at his side and crouching to meet his level as she places her hand on his shoulder.

"What did you just try to do?"

"Ifasgointobisyou" he answered, voice muffled against the wood of his tabletop.

She only looked genuinely confused. "What?"

Armin lifted his flushed face off the desk. "I was going to kiss you, okay?" he said, facing her. "But I forgot there was a table in the way."

Krista visibly froze. "Oh."

They stayed in awkward silence a moment after that.

Krista felt herself blush, thoughts in complete disarray from shock and going everywhere and nowhere all at once so fast she can't even keep track of a single train of thought.

Meanwhile Armin's only stayed in one place.

Her.

The way her lips trembled as she stared at him in embarrassed shock, the way her eyes were a muted shade of blue under the afternoon light of the nearby window and the warmth that radiated from her hand where it placed itself on his shoulder.

Her.

Armin suddenly felt himself move his face towards hers, and before he knew it she was leaning in as well.


Jean and Connie probably stayed against the wall for what felt like hours in complete silence.

That was at least, until Connie broke it by suddenly finding the will to slowly stand up.

Jean looked up at him questioningly, as if expecting him to say something.

"Hm?"

"Do me a favor, Jean?" he asked as he outstretched a hand toward him.

The other boy took and the buzz-cut hoist him up to his feet. "Yeah sure, anything."

Connie kept their hands linked even when the other instructor got to his feet and stared him right in the eye.

The seriousness in his gaze almost made Jean nervous.

"I know I already asked you of this before, but please." Jean felt him tighten his grip for just a split second, almost like a reassuring squeeze. "Promise me that you'll help Sasha through whatever's going on with her. I'll be doing my part as well, but there are things only you can do to her." He squeezes again without loosening his grip, and Jean had to swallow a lump in his throat.

"I know you hate seeing her like that as well. So please. Please."

Suddenly feeling resolve burning in his chest like an open flame, Jean returned the grip and nodded in earnest.

"I will. I swear."

Despite the sentimentality in the action, and how they pulled apart and when their separate ways afterwards, Jean couldn't help but wonder.

Why him?

Of all people, why him?

And what the hell could he possibly do that her two best friends in the entire staff couldn't?


Sasha only fiddled with the hem of the pillow on her lap as she waited for Petra to emerge out of the dressing room, the rest of the female staff members wandering around and looking through racks upon racks of dresses.

All of them had agreed before they left that they would make sure to secure Petra's dress first before picking out their own, and that anyone who already had dresses back home would be the last to get theirs. That didn't stop them from excitedly looking through what the shop had to offer, though.

They were at a boutique in the city, just a small one a couple miles away from the train station. Three hours was way too long to travel for dresses but apparently nothing stopped the girls otherwise.

Lucky enough for Sasha, though, most of them had fallen asleep half way into the train ride, leaving her plenty of time to herself as she blasted away on her earphones.

"You alright there, Sasha?" Hanji's voice inquired when she plopped down beside her on the couch.

Sasha instinctively pulled up the corners of mouth. "Yeah. Just tired from the train ride, I guess. That and I'm not completely used to dress shopping and all that girly stuff." She lied easily.

I've been doing a lot of that lately, she thought.

Hanji patted her hand onto Sasha's shoulder with a smile. "I get what you mean. Don't be so nervous kiddo, I'm pretty sure you'll look lovely." She dropped her hand onto her lap. "You might catch a certain someone's eye while you're at it." she said with a wink.

"I highly doubt it." Sasha said slowly with a shake of her head.

How do I even do that when he's already married?

Suddenly Mina plopped down on her other side. "You have no idea what you're talking about, I'm pretty sure Jean will definitely notice." She said with a smirk.

"Huh?"

Mina dropped the smirk and soon replaced with a look of genuine disbelief. "You seriously haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

Hanji suddenly spoke up. "Sasha, I'm speaking for everyone in the club when I say that I noticed Jean has been staring at you lately. A lot, actually."

Mina nodded. "Yeah. It's kinda sweet to be honest, him always watching over you like that. And how he's always looking for you during free period."

"Or kinda creepy and stalker-ish of him…" Sasha muttered under her breath.

Has he, really?

Was he that worried?

Did he really find her so weak that he had to keep constant surveillance of her whenever he could?

"Alright everyone, I think I'm ready!"

Petra's voice had cut off whatever train of thought had went through Sasha's mind. The brunette only snapped her gaze to the curtains in front of her as the other girls excitedly gathered around.

"What do you think?" the copper-haired woman asked as soon as the drapes opened. She gave a little twirl to show everyone the whole look.

Even Sasha couldn't resist smiling upon seeing her.

The dress wasn't in the same ivory tone as the ones on the mannequins by the window display and was a pure white. The neckline wasn't anything too scandalous and was a straight cut across her chest, its corset bodice appliquéd with lace ending right at her waist where a wide blue sash that ended in a bow in her lower back rested by her hips. From there the fabric fell in soft waves all the way down a little past her knees in the perfect tea length.

To put it short, the dress was beautiful.

And it only made Petra look even more so.

All the girls erupted into applause, not being able to find words to describe just how stunning Petra looked, even if it was just a dress fitting.

Petra only blushed. "I'm guessing this is the one?"

Hanji only tackled her into a hug. "Pet, we wouldn't have applauded otherwise. I have a little issue about the skirt, though." The brunette said as she surveyed the bottom half of the dress.

Petra looked confused. "Huh? What's wrong with the skirt?"

"It looks a bit too full. Knowing Levi he'd probably want to engage in after wedding sex so we really wouldn't want to give him a hard time to look for your –"

Hanji was cut off short when Hannah and Mina threw the couch pillows at her head. Petra was ever the wiser as she let the manager fall to the floor.

Sasha let out a chuckle, the first real one in a long time. She turned to look at the rest of her co-workers. They all had a blush on their face. Even Mikasa and Annie were a distinct shade of pink, though Annie only turned away and Mikasa buried the bottom half of her face in her ever present scarf.

"Anyways," Hanji started as soon as she regained balance. "Now that the bride is done here, you girls can go ahead and look for your own dress."

The rest of the afternoon had been a blur to Sasha from there. She remembered a collective excited squeal as the girls perused the racks and also a few girls going into the dressing rooms to try on their finds, but aside from that she couldn't really recall what else happened.

She does however, remember Mikasa placing a hand over her shoulder as she stared into empty space.

"Sasha?"

The said girl let out a string of stammers before properly responding. "Yeah?"

Damn. I should really stop spacing out like that.

Luckily for her Mikasa didn't really seem to notice and only smiled. "Have you picked out a dress a yet? Or do you already have one at home?"

Realizing that most of the girls had already begun to ring up their purchases, and the fact that she didn't have anything formal that fit the wedding's motif of dark blue and white, Sasha only shook her head before standing up.

"I better start dress hunting then." Sasha said, pulling up the corners of her mouth in a smile.

She wandered off into the deeper crevices of the store, only stopping when she reached a particular rack of ocean colored dresses and picking the first one her size that didn't reveal too much skin.

With a sigh she navigated past her coworkers back to the dressing room, immediately entering the first empty stall she saw and shutting the curtain closed behind her as she hung the dress by the hooks on the wall.

Sasha snuck a glance at her reflection as soon as her jeans and shirt were on the chair beside her.

Rarely ever did she actually fully observe herself in the mirror, and despite how small it was, she still saw it.

The small edge of protruding rib against her skin that she knew wasn't there the last time she checked.

Sasha only stared for a short moment before shaking her head and grabbing the dress off the hanger, opening the zipper and slipping it over her head with ease.

Even with the zipper fully closed behind her, she felt it.

The dress was a little looser on her torso than she expected.

As if on cue, she heard Mina's voice from behind the curtain. "You done there, Sash?"

The girl felt herself nod. "Yeah. You can open the curtain if you want."

Mina didn't even wait and excitedly opened the curtain. She smiled widely.

"I think it really suits you, Sasha."

"You think so?" the brunette asked, smoothing down the skirt as she finally took a better look at her overall look in the mirror.

The dark blue dress's neckline wasn't as revealing as Petra's, and instead was a v-neck that stopped just a little bit below her collarbones, its straps wide enough to cover the expanse of her shoulders. The dress cinched at her waist and from there it flowed down in soft layers ending above her knees.

It wasn't all too bad, she supposed. At least she didn't look too strange in it, even with her hair in its usual, somewhat messy ponytail and dusty flats.

Hannah (had she always been there?) nodded. "Yeah, you look beautiful, Sasha!" she said, the girls around her nodding excitedly.

"It's pretty simple but that's always been your style anyways."

Sasha pulled her mouth up into another smile. "I'm happy to hear that. I guess I'll just change out of it and have it reserved?"

The girls before her nodded, and Sasha tried her best to keep the smile on her face as she closed the curtain.

The smile is gone as soon as her coworkers were out of sight.

A voice in the back of her mind nagged at her in a tone similar to her father's, saying that lying was a bad habit she had to stop doing. It ate away at her conscience for the first few days until she realized one inevitable truth.

Lying wasn't a habit. It was a skill.

Some were just born talented at lying. Others, like her, had to learn how to be. It had to be practiced.

So far she had already improved, up until the point that it had already become second nature to her nowadays.

"You alright there, Sasha?"

The brunette managed a nod before stepping out of the dressing room, fully changed and faked smile already in place.

"Yeah."

Yep.

She definitely has improved.


A/N: I'M ALIVE I SWEAR I'M SORRY. YOU ALL KNOW THE LIFE OF A STUDENT, RIGHT?

*clears throat* Anyways.

In case you haven't noticed, this chapter hasn't been beta read so please excuse any typos and grammar errors in the chapter. I really hope I didn't disappoint any of you with this. Nine months is too long to wait for a chapter orz. Whichever the case, I can't give an exact date as to when I'll post the next chapter, but I'll have you all know that it's around 65-75% in completion. Sneak peak for Chapter 6 will be posted on my tumblr at a later date. Follow me at .com if you have the time *end self promo here*

And just to inform all of you, the original idea I had for this chapter grew too long so I had to divide it into two. And then I had to divide the first part into two parts as well. So you can notice some things I placed in the preview last chapter and the photoset I posted on tumblr not actually being in this chapter at all. Expect it to be in the next two or so.

TO ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED, FOLLOWED, FAVORITED AND PATIENTLY WAITED FOR THIS STORY (AND INTEND TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER AS WELL), THANK YOU AND ILYSM

till next time, my lovelies (^o^)V

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