"Christa, who do you think is the most attractive?"

The petite girl blushed furiously at the question, looking at her tiny feet dangling over the edge of her bed. "I - I - I really don't know," she stammered. "I've never really given it much thought. I really just like everyone."

"Oh, come on!" Mina drawled, throwing her head back dramatically. "Don't be such a saint! We've been here for weeks! There must be someone you like especially well. Or at least someone you find to be better-looking than the others!"

Christa looked positively alarmed. She didn't want to have to choose a favorite. This was just like Christa; she made it a personal goal to be kind and helpful to everyone, no matter what the personal cost. She'd been this way since day one, sacrificing her own dinner to help poor "Potato Girl" who'd been unlucky enough to attract the instructor's ire.

The price she was paying for not picking favorites now was Mina's full, undivided attention. And incessant badgering.

This sort of girl-to-girl bonding had been happening more frequently lately, to the displeasure of everyone in the 104th girls except for Mina. She seemed to think that forcing each of us to spill our guts about things we'd rather keep secret was a surefire way to get all of us to become stronger as a whole, creating a better 'team dynamic'. Mina was always spouting something or other in favor of becoming stronger as a team.

"She likes me," Ymir cut in, throwing herself down on the bed beside Christa and wrapping a slender arm around her shoulders. "Don't you?"

Christa giggled and leaned into her friend. "Definitely. I'd say Ymir."

Mina frowned. "No fair! We're talking about the guys!"

Christa's high laugh died down. She paused thoughtfully, before finally giving in to Mina's prodding. "If I had to pick a guy, I'd say Reiner. But that doesn't mean I like him," she clarified, blushing fiercely. "He just seems like a really nice guy."

Mina looked satisfied at this answer and giggled. "He definitely likes you! You two would make an adorable couple! Imagine the little blonde babies!"

If it was possible, Christa flushed an even deeper shade of red. Ymir's face darkened with something akin to murderous intent. Every ounce of it was directed at the host of this little 'slumber party'.

Mina decided it was a good time to turn her attention to someone else before she incurred the wrath of the freckled demon of the 104th Trainees Division. Her face lit up with curiosity. "Annie! Who do you like?"

Annie glared at Mina silently, shooting daggers with her eyes.

Mina quickly took the hint and withdrew nervously, searching for her next victim. Annie was the sole exception to the 'team dynamic' Mina was always happy to say was developing nicely. No matter how hard she tried, or how nice she was, Annie was never receptive to her questioning. A loner down to her very core, the steely blue gaze of the girl in the hoodie never failed to make even you uneasy. And you grew up among the gangs and crime syndicates of the underground district. Annie truly was something else, and as competent as she was, you weren't entirely sure that fact was a good thing. When it came down to it, the blonde scared you out of your wits.

You were pulled away from your thoughts by a loud bang. "[Name]!" Mina called cheerfully, brunette pigtails bouncing as she rapped on the boards above her bed. "Who do you think is the best looking?"

You peered from over the edge of the top bunk where you sat, raising an eyebrow at your bunk-mate. "I don't like anyone," you replied, turning back to continue folding your uniform.

Mina jumped from her bed and grabbed hold of the edge of the top bunk, pulling herself up to the chin and looking at you innocently. "Come on! Who's your favorite? You have to have a favorite."

You gently placed your folded shirt down before looking at Mina with an expression of complete severity.

"Instructor Shadis."

"Ew!" Mina shrieked, laughing. "Come on, [Name], please?" You were silent, so she continued. "How about Eren? I've seen the way he looks at you!"

You froze, halfway through folding your standard issue trousers. "Why would you say something like that?"

Mina practically flew up into your bed. You pulled back, nearly falling off in the process. If looks could kill, Mina would be titan shit by now. "Don't act like you haven't noticed! He always has this funny look on his face when you're around."

"Yeah," you agreed. "It's called anger. We haven't exactly gotten along, Mina."

She looked positively affronted. "Don't be silly! Eren's always angry. We know what his angry face looks like. The one he gives you is different."

"Doesn't look any different to me," you said curtly, moving your laundry out of Mina's overexcited way.

Mina pouted. "Humor me! What do you think of Eren?"

Your lips fell into a frown at her eagerness. "Jaeger's a suicidal bastard running headlong towards an early death," you said with forced calm, resuming your chore.

Why did she have to bring up Jaeger, of all people? Even talking about that dolt Kirchstein is preferable...

"Maybe... but that doesn't mean you can't like him, does it?" she asked coyly, waggling her eyebrows.

You gave her a tired look, and didn't reply. Realizing she wouldn't be getting anymore from you, she gave you a wide grin and dropped back down to her own bunk.

"Hannah! Who do you think is the best?"

"...Franz, I guess..."

The sound of Mina's excited squeals were drowned out by your thoughts on her words, and a familiar voice echoing in your mind.

I let those I care about motivate me to become a better person.

You never even noticed Mikasa looking at you curiously out of the corner of her eye.

"CADETS! Today we begin 3DMG training! DOUBLE-CHECK YOUR GEAR, AND THEN CHECK IT AGAIN. We will start with a balance assessment!"

You wiped the sweat off your brow as you stood towards the back of the group, adjusting and readjusting your already-uncomfortable harness. The straps dug painfully into your skin, but you hadn't yet developed any of the rumored bruising you'd heard so much about. You hadn't had much use for the strapping yet in your training, but Shadis said that you must wear it each day, as you'd be wearing it every day until you were finally, mercifully swallowed whole by titan. The man certainly knew how to raise morale.

Too bad I'll never get close enough to a titan to get eaten, you thought smugly.

Top ten. You just had to make it into the top ten.

You finished tightening your leathers for at least the fourth time, before twisting your ring off your finger and depositing it safely into your pant pocket.

Bring it on.

You moved your way to the front of the crowd, watching the other trainees having varying degrees of success during their own balance assessments.

You stifled a giggle as you saw Eren fall forward and bash his head on the ground. Hard.

Shadis' eyes shot towards you and narrowed dangerously.

"[SURNAME]."

You squeaked embarrassingly and jumped, throwing your fist into a hasty salute. "Sir!"

"RESPECT YOUR COMRADES, [SURNAME]. THEY ARE YOUR BROTHERS- AND SISTERS-IN-ARMS, AND THEY ARE THE ONES WHO WILL COVER YOUR ASS WHEN THE TITANS COME KNOCKING."

Your face burned as the eyes of the other trainees fell on you (you distinctly noticed a pair of bright greens looking up at you from their location on the ground), and you looked at Shadis meekly. "Yes, sir."

His eyebrows knotted together and he looked at you fiercely. "Go assist Jaeger with restarting his balance assessment. If I see you laughing again, you will run laps until your lungs collapse and you never laugh again."

"Yes, sir." I wonder if it's possible to melt into the ground and disappear?

"Get to it, [Surname]," he grunted before walking towards Armin, who seemed to be struggling with his balance.

You sighed and walked quickly towards Jaeger, keeping your eyes on the ground.

My brother-in-arms?

"Jaeger," you said dully as you approached the boy, cranking the contraption to ease him onto the ground. "Unclip your harness. You need to reset."

He looked at you upside down with a scowl, before reaching up and snapping the small metal clips off, falling to the ground with a soft thump, the dirt fanning out beneath him.

You walked over to him, tentatively offering a hand to help him to his feet. He gave you a dirty look and struggled to a standing position on his own. "I don't need your help."

You returned his glare. "Fine! I was trying to help. What happened to being 'civil'?"

"I tried that with you. Didn't seem to take," he spat, dusting off the back of his trousers. "Besides, you only care because Shadis chewed you out. For laughing at me."

You tried to keep the look of shame off your face, but failed. "...I know. And I'm sorry."

He seemed to appraise you for a moment, before grunting a 'fine' and re-securing his gear. "I'm ready. Let's do it again."

You nodded and made your way back over to the crank, rotating it slowly and watching as Eren's straps tightened and he slowly lifted off his feet.

Crack! You cringed as he fell forward sharply, smashing his forehead against the ground.

"Jaeger!"

He groaned into the dirt.

You slowly lowered the boy down and jogged towards his still form. "Jaeger, you alright?" You knelt beside him, and gently rolled him over onto his back. "Shit," you cursed quietly.

Blood streamed down his face from a shallow cut on his temple, and his eyes were unfocused. You waved your hands in front of his face, but he didn't respond.

"Jaeger, come on, look at me," you said, worry taking over your tone. You shook his shoulders lightly, and his eyes flicked to you, still not completely lucid.

"So... pretty..." he muttered quietly, attempting to lift a hand. It fell back to his side heavily.

You blanched. "Come on, Jaeger, it's not funny. Snap out of it!"

Eren giggled. Giggled.

So, naturally, you slapped him.

He jolted. "Urggh, geroff me," he grunted, pushing you away. He seemed to think better of it, though, grabbing your arm and pulling himself up into a semi-sitting position, nose almost touching yours as you still were bent over him. "I can do it. I'm fine. Let's start again."

"You're bleeding," you pointed out, red traitorously sneaking it's way to your face. Did he call me pretty?

He glared at you from his place on the ground, resolve evident in his turquoise eyes. "I can do it."

"Don't be an idiot, idiot," you said harshly. "Your head is bleeding. You should get medical attention."

He gave you a look of poison.

You growled in frustration and stood up quickly. He lost his grip on your arm and fell back against the ground. "You want to do it again, fine! But find someone else who's willing to help you kill yourself. I'm leaving."

"Fine!" he shouted, trying (and failing) to lift himself off the ground once more.

"Fine," you said coolly, marching away. "Mikasa, your brother is going to crack his skull on the ground over there. I can't handle him. Can you take over?" you asked the quiet girl.

She raised her eyebrows at you incredulously, but nodded, heading over to where Eren was still struggling in the dirt.

It had been about an hour since your conversation with Eren, and finally, it was almost your turn for your assessment.

"You know, he's really not all that bad."

You looked beside you to find the owner of the voice. "Huh?"

"He's more... intense than many of the others here, but he has a good heart," Mikasa continued in a quiet voice. She looked at the struggling boy fondly. "He hates it when he feels like a failure, and he's got a bit of a temper so sometimes he takes it out on others. But he is a good person and he cares about people. Sometimes it's just hard to tell."

You looked at her quizzically. Mikasa rarely spoke, and when she did, she always had a purpose. Honestly, you respected the girl more than you'd ever be willing to admit.

"Why would he endanger you and Armin then? You're easily one of the best soldiers here. You could join the Military Police. Asking you to follow him into the Legion -"

"He never asked that of me," Mikasa interrupted gently. "I choose to follow him."

You'd never heard anything more shocking in your life. Over the course of the weeks you'd spent in the military, you learned that Mikasa was Eren's adoptive sister and a part of his family. You knew that Mikasa was loyal to him. You just never expected her to be willing to literally throw away a life of comfort and luxury to follow him into hell. Willingly.

Your words were almost impossible to hear. "Why would you do that?"

Mikasa did not hesitate in her reply. "Because I believe in him, and he believes that we can win. But in order to win, others need to believe, too."

With that, she strode away to see her brother, who had finally given up on his assessment and sat dejectedly on the ground. He looked almost like he could cry, if he wasn't so completely dazed by the numerous hits to his head.

You gasped as your feet lifted off the ground, hovering for a second before becoming uneasy in your balance. You drew your legs up a little, bending at the knee, and held you arms out to steady yourself.

The wires stopped jerking and you were suspended, perfectly still, in midair.

You grinned triumphantly, gracefully maintaining your posture in the strange contraption. Shadis walked over to you, appraising your form. "Nicely done, [Surname]," he said sternly, before continuing his rounds. "Maintain that posture for several more minutes and then you'll be let down."

You experimented a bit with your suspension, leaning forward and straightening your legs, moving forward slightly before swinging back. You pulled your knees up to your chest and leaned all the way backwards, gracefully completing a midair somersault, your harness clinking quietly, before coming to an upright halt and grinning.

"Hey! Awesome job, [Name]!" you heard a high voice call from your left side. You rotated in your harness to see Mina with a smile, eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration as she struggled to keep upright in her own harness. Her smile struck familiar with you again, and you heard the familiar voice ring through your head, as it had so many times in the last year.

Don't let this change you.

Because you're more than just a thief.

Promise me you'll see the stars.

All this time, you'd kept yourself in complete darkness. You deprived yourself of the light that Amelia had always offered you, the light of love and companionship. The light that so closely resembled that of the stars that shone in the sky at night.

You realized that you hadn't taken a moment to appreciate their beauty since the morning that you registered for the military.

You'd allowed your grief to change you. The warmth from her light had faded away, leaving your heart encased in hard ice.

Suddenly, the voice changed. A deeper, impassioned one took over, each word driving straight into your heart.

I won't distance myself from everyone... I learned to take nothing and no one for granted, and let those I care about motivate me to become a better person.

Jaeger, you idiot. What have you done?

You felt some of that ice that surrounded heart for so long begin to melt, and you basked in the warmth of a fire burning as brightly within you as the phoenix emblazoned on your ring.

You returned Mina's hopeful smile, and her face literally lit up.

"You're doing great, too," you said quietly.

You had never seen Mina look happier.

Later that evening, you were sitting with Mina in the mess hall. You were starting to become rather fond of the irritatingly cheerful, pigtailed girl. As you sat, chewing on your bread, she chattered animatedly with Sasha and Hannah, who were each laughing at something the smaller girl had said. Now that you were thinking about it, most of the people you had met so far... weren't that bad. Even Kirschtein had his good qualities. You thought that maybe, eventually, you could learn to care about them as... brothers- and sisters-in-arms... maybe, eventually, as friends.

You were pondering this when Eren, Mikasa, and Armin came in through the front door.

Eren looked awful. He had a bandage wrapped hastily around his head, slightly damp with blood. His eyes were glazed over, and Mikasa had to lead him by the arm over to their usual sitting place. He seemed to not notice or care about anything around him.

Deep in his usually bright turquoise eyes, though, you could make out the beginnings of panic.

If he didn't pass the balance test, he would be forced to return to the fields.

He would be heartbroken, you realized with surprise.

You didn't want to see his eyes colored with that emotion, you realized with even more surprise.

Heavily, you got up from your seat, pushing the rest of your dinner over to Sasha, who squealed happily and declared that you were her favorite recruit before digging in savagely.

You made your way over to them, and sat down next to Armin, across from the green-eyed boy.

"Hey, idiot."

He blinked at you blankly for a moment, before his eyes fell back into focus and met your own with a look of confusion.

"What?"

"If you go out to the assessment site after dinner, I'll try to help you stay upright. I can't promise anything, but I'll try."

He recoiled sharply, almost knocking his tray off the table. Mikasa caught it quickly, pushing it back into place with a scolding frown at her brother.

"Why the hell would you do that? After today?"

You sighed. Truth be told, you weren't even sure why you wanted to help the suicidal bastard. If he passed the exam tomorrow, you may as well be condemning him to certain death at the hands of titans. But you looked quickly at Mikasa, and saw her calm eyes observing you curiously.

You sighed. "Quite frankly, there aren't enough soldiers like you. It'd be a shame to send you home. That's all."

He looked, if possible, even more confused.

Did he hit his head too hard or is he actually as stupid as I thought?

"What do you mean, soldiers like me?"

You became slightly frustrated, and tilted your chin up at him. "If you don't want my help, then -"

"No, no!" he said quickly, looking alarmed. "You looked like you had the hang of it today. I... I would like your help."

You nodded quickly, standing up again. "Okay. Meet me at the site then."

You turned to leave the mess hall, but were stopped once again. "Hey, wait!"

You looked at him over your shoulder, eyebrow raised.

"[Name]... thank you."

You nodded again and turned, walking quickly towards the exit.

You hoped fiercely that he didn't see your blush when he said your name for the first time.