A/N: Apologies for the late upload. School was super hectic this year :( Hopefully summer will give me time to write more even though I should be doing research for my engineering project this upcoming year...

Word Count: 6,034

Their mother cried a lot. No, not their. Her mother cried a lot. Eren was dead. Did death automatically disqualify him from being a son? Death nullified marriages; perhaps it did the same thing to do with other types of familial relationships. Then again, maybe she was thinking about this far too much. It's funny. She only cried once after hearing the news, her mother bawling her eyes out after getting a call from the temp agency, but she hadn't shed a tear since that afternoon. She stood as still as a statue when she saw her brother's corpse while her mother wailed, crying about how it couldn't be because he had been alive just earlier this morning so this was impossible – Mikasa, you saw him leave the house! He was breathing and this can't be true! You know this! – which left her to deal with identifying the bodies and the sympathetic glances of their neighbors.

There came a point when Mikasa was tired of hearing her mother's crying. She wished Eren were back in his room, knocking his stuff around and mumbling about how their mom was so dramatic. At least then she knew it would end.

Maybe that's why she snapped that morning. A parent should never have to arrange their child's funeral, but leaving it to their other child to bear isn't that much better. She shouldn't have to know what kind of flowers to pick for the bouquets, which room to book at the funeral home, or whom she should notify about the funeral. Every time she turned to her mother, she'd find her crying at the kitchen counter. Why was she crying so much? Why did she cry all of the time? Crying wouldn't solve anything. No amount of tears would bring Eren back to life. Her sadness didn't excuse her for all of the times she wronged Eren, made him do things he never wanted to do like take that damn job that fateful day. So why was she crying all of the time? Why couldn't she…

"Shut up." The words left her mouth before she realized she said them. Her voice was hoarse from talking to all of those people on the phone, booking dates and times and ordering flowers and caskets and things that nobody should be ordering at the age of nineteen. "Would you shut up? You cry all of the time. You always do this. You cried when he was alive and now you cry when he's dead. You cry like you didn't do anything wrong. You cry like it'll fix all of your problems. You cry, you cry, you cry, and it has never and will never make anything okay. Eren is dead and he'll always be dead and no amount of tears you shed will ever change that so shut up, shut up, SHUT UP." She had never raised her voice at her mother, not that she could remember. She almost felt bad for yelling at her, almost apologized for it, but she bit her tongue. It was exhilarating, being this angry. It reminded her of someone. It reminded her of Eren.

Her mother looked up from where she sat, her head out of her hands for once. She didn't look mad or even shocked that Mikasa had yelled at her. If anything, she looked almost happy for the briefest second until she realized the voice yelling at her did not belong to her son. It wasn't before long that her mother sank her head back into her hands and she cried again. Her shoulders heaved but she no longer made a noise. Mikasa couldn't tell if this was better or worse than before.

Not being able to bear being in the same room as her mother, Mikasa got up and left without another word.

Eren had gone to funerals but going to his own funeral was an entirely different experience. It was weird seeing people from his high school here and realizing just how few friends he had. In fact, most of the people attending were friends of his family but no one he actually cared for. It was even stranger that seeing his mother cry made him feel guilty. He was used to seeing her cry, especially since he was the reason she cried about ninety percent of the time. Even now he was the reason she was sobbing, their next door neighbor patting her on the back but offering no words of comfort because there is nothing to say that will make someone who lost their son feel better. He'd never felt guilty making her cry before but now seeing her bawling her eyes out and knowing he was the reason why made him feel like a monster. Eren wondered if it would at least be comforting to think that it was probably the last time he'd ever make her cry.

An arm linked through his and he turned to see Petra beside him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Ah – yes," he stuttered, surprised at the question. His voice was shakier than it usually was and he was surprised when he realized tears were running down his face. It wasn't that he was particularly sad about dying – he was still feeling numb about the whole reaping situation – but it was more like the atmosphere was weighing against his whole being and the realization of how empty his life was and now seeing his mother cry was wrecking him inside. "I just – it's weird, you know? Do you always do this? Go to the funerals of people you reap?"

She shrugged. "Not normally. I've gone to a few every once in a while but it's not something we make a habit of. Reaping isn't a personal thing so we don't usually get involved with funerals and such." She swept a lock of her ginger hair behind her ear and tilted her head. "Do you think that's cruel?"

It made sense but her words sent a shiver up his spine anyway. He didn't think he'd ever get used to reaping. How do you end someone's life like that and waltz away like nothing had happened at all? But he lied anyway. "No."

A smile flickered across her face. "Liar," she hummed. "Sorry if you think it's weird going to your own. It's just customary to have you say goodbye to your old life. This might be the last time you see everyone."

He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that too much. At first it seemed like a kindness, being able to revisit his past life and the people he loved one last time, but it was so cruel too. He'd get to see them one last time only to have it wrenched away from him. It was like dying twice.

The pair wandered around the funeral hall, observing as people mourned and paid their respects to his ashes. (Petra had explained earlier that morning that Eren's family had decided to cremate the body since the little vending machine incident had left his body a little, er, a bit difficult to present.) He noticed that Petra would subtly steer him away from his family, as if she didn't trust him to avoid them herself despite the warning she had given him the moment they had walked in. The thought of speaking to them one last time and revealing that he wasn't truly dead was tempting but he wasn't sure they would take it too well. What would he even say if they did believe him?

As they passed by a floral arrangement that the rest of the reapers Eren would be working with had picked out for the funeral ("Well, I actually picked them out," Petra said, "but Hanji came with me and Levi paid! The little blue ones are forget-me-nots. Do you like them? "), Eren spotted a familiar figure standing nervously in the corner, balled up tissues clenched in her fist.

"Sasha?" The words were out of his mouth before he could even think and he felt Petra tense up beside him.

His former coworker whipped her head around to see him, a confused look on her face. Sure he had gotten the wrong person, she began to scurry off to another corner of the room but Eren bounded over and grabbed her by the wrist, ignoring the panicked "Don't!" from Petra as he slipped away.

"Sasha!" he repeated, relieved to see someone he actually liked at his funeral. Despite only knowing her for half a day, he was touched that she had even bothered showing up but seeing the bubbly brunette with tearstained cheeks made him feel horrible. Realizing that she was staring him in horror and that she no longer recognized him because his reaper form was completely different from his appearance from when he was alive, Eren began to stumble with his words in an attempt to hide his identity. "Er, you're Sasha, right?"

The girl sniffled, still clearly confused. "Y-yes." Her voice was thick and heavy, as if she had been crying all day. "I'm sorry, but do I know you? I can't really remember ever meeting you…"

"Ah, that's right, we've never met!" he said, reaching out and grabbing her hand to shake it even though she didn't offer it out to him. He pumped it a little to enthusiastically. "I'm, uh, Eren's high school friend. We had lunch together the day he, er, passed and he mentioned you. He said it was nice that he was able to meet someone so easy to work with on the first day of his job. He said he looked forward to working with you more."

"He…He really said that?" she whispered. Tears welled up in her eyes and he cursed himself for saying the wrong thing but she suddenly burst into a small smile. Wiping her tears away, she sniffed and said, "God, I feel bad for even feeling the tiniest bit happy right now but I really am glad you told me that. He was the only person who didn't think I was a joke at that place. I thought it would be weird if I came here though because I only got to meet him for half a day."

"No, it's not weird! I bet he'd be really glad you came!" Eren stammered. And he really was glad that Sasha had come. It was a little horrible to admit, but she was proof there was someone who genuinely liked him and didn't just come out of guilt.

"Thanks…" Sasha said, a small smile on her face. She looked apologetically at him. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"My name?" Eren repeated. Here was when Eren knew he fucked up. He didn't have a backup identity to fall back on in this kind of situation. Did Petra and Erwin prep him on this? He was sure that they might have but so many things had happened to him in the past week that the only thing he really remembered from any of their conversations was that he was as dead as a doornail. Now he was standing there like an idiot while Sasha stared at him, wondering if her new acquaintance was crazy.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Petra. She always seemed to be at his side nowadays, always popping in to save him at the last minute or stop him from revealing any secrets. "Kuklo, there you are!" she said, her lips in a thin smile. It was scary seeing Petra angry. It was even scarier but she wasn't the type to scream and shout like his mom. Hers was a calm and contained anger, which was so much more terrifying. She turned to Sasha and gave a more genuine smile. "And who is this?"

"Sasha Braus," Sasha said quickly, holding out her hand and pumping it a little too enthusiastically after Petra took it. "I was a coworker of Eren's before he…before he…" Her eyes were welling up with tears again and all Eren could do was stand there awkwardly, not knowing if comforting her would be the wrong move or not since he technically just "met" her. She looked up, blinking back tears. "I'm so sorry. I barely knew him but I feel so bad that he's…he's…"

Petra looked at her sympathetically and wrapped her arms around the girl, allowing Sasha to rest her head on her shoulder. "Hey, it's fine. You're allowed to be sad," Petra said softly, patting Sasha's back. Sasha didn't pull herself away. Honestly, Eren couldn't blame her. Petra gave off the sort of warmth you'd associate with a mother. "Kuklo said Eren would have been glad to know you came, right? If Eren mentioned you at all in a positive light, you know he meant it. That boy didn't lie about things like that, so I'm sure he really valued your company in the short time that you two knew each other. Kuklo knew him better, the two were friends and I only got to meet Eren occasionally whenever he came over, but he was very honest." She briefly glanced back at Eren to see if he was listening to what she was saying and Eren gave her a quick and subtle nod, making a mental note to remember that Petra would be the older sister to his new Kuklo persona.

This only seemed to make Sasha wail harder. "This is all my fault! If I had only convinced him to eat lunch with me, he never would have died!"

"Hush, hush," Petra said calmly. She dug around her purse and pulled out a small pack of tissues. Pulling one out, she handed it to Sasha. "Dry your face, sweetie. None of this is your fault. You didn't do anything and you couldn't have stopped this. Sometimes life just happens." Petra may have claimed not to frequent funerals very often, but Eren had the sense that she had a lot of experience comforting the deceased's friends and loved ones.

Sasha hastily wiped her face, blowing her nose with the tissue before crumpling it and shoving it in her pocket to throw away later.

"Take the rest of the tissues too," Petra said, handing the packet to Sasha. "Don't thank me! I have plenty more in my purse."

"You're so nice," Sasha sniffled, blowing her nose again.

Petra smiled kindly. "You can just call me Petra. Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so," Sasha answered. The way her nose was running made Eren think she was lying, but Petra seemed to think it was okay.

"I'll leave you two alone then," Petra said, giving Sasha another pat on the shoulder. As she passed by Eren, she stopped to grab his arm. Even though her stature was like that of a modern day fairy, she had an iron grip. Eren was pretty sure the blood in his arm had stopped flowing. "Don't wander," she whispered to him before letting go and disappearing into the crowd.

He shivered but Sasha didn't seem to pick up on Petra's hostile vibes. It was for the better he supposed, but, fuck, those reapers could be terrifying. Shaking it off, he turned to Sasha again and found that she was mostly dry-eyed although her eyes were horribly red as was the tip of her nose. "Sasha," he said quietly. "Eren really did like the time he spent with you. He told me he was planning on having lunch with you tomorrow. And that he felt bad for blowing you off that day but that you were, you know, really cool and everything." God, he was terrible at this and horribly awkward. He couldn't bear to look her in the face, sure that she'd only gawk at him but he looked up to see her slightly teary again, but her lips were pursed like she was trying to stop herself from smiling again.

"You're a really good person," Sasha said.

The earnest way she said it made him feel guilty about deceiving her but there really wasn't anything he could do. If he told him who he really was, it would seem like a cruel joke or she'd think he was insane. The best he could do was shrug his shoulders like the loser he was and give her a final parting pat on the shoulder. He'd probably never see her again after this but he hoped that he had made her feel as if she had an impact on his previous life and that he – Eren, anyway – valued their friendship. "I should probably get going. My, ah, sister worries a lot. But it was really nice meeting you, Sasha."

She gave him a shaky smile. "You too, Kuklo."

Eren felt terrible leaving her there in the corner, surrounded by other grieving people that she didn't really know at all. He was deeply touched that she came and part of him wanted to run back and invite her to the diner he went to a few days ago, knowing that she had a deep appreciate for food and would enjoy all of the delicious pies served there. Petra would probably scold him though and he didn't really want to find out what she was like angry. Or Erwin. His stern eyebrows clearly were a sign that he was not a man to be crossed.

He found Petra and Erwin chatting with someone. Eren couldn't tell who it was because the man's back was turned but it looked an awful lot like his…

"Dad?"

All three people turned to look at Eren. The man, definitely his father who he hadn't seen in months, looked at Eren with confusion. Erwin and Petra were sharing glances that said they needed to fix things and fast before Eren fucked up even more.

Eren cleared his throat. "Did you call dad, I meant," he said, fidgeting a little bit and looking over at Petra. He hoped she'd play along and that his father wouldn't notice his slip up. "I forgot to tell him I'd be here with you."

"I texted him," Petra answered without skipping a beat. "Professor Jaeger, my brother Kuklo. Kuklo, this is Professor Jaeger. He was Eren's father. He teaches philosophy at Shiganshina University where Erwin and I work." Huh. What a small world.

Eren was surprised to see his father dry eyed and calm. He had always been a serious man, kind of detached at times, but Eren never considered him to be unemotional. A parent should cry at their child's funeral, Eren thought, even if they were a naturally composed person such as his father. Professor Jaeger simply shook Eren's hand as if it was any other day and he was meeting a stranger under normal circumstances. "Thank you for coming," Professor Jaeger said solemnly. "Miss Ral, you never mentioned you had a brother."

Petra shrugged. "I don't think it ever came up," she said apologetically. "He used to live with my parents but he's moving in with me in a few days. I told him that Erwin and I were going to attend your son's funeral and he wanted to pay his respects."

"Ah, well," Professor Jaeger said, shifting his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I appreciate you all for coming here. It's very kind of you."

"No need to thank us. You are a coworker and it's important that we not abandon you in this tough times," Erwin said. Like Petra, he seemed to be used to funerals and conversing with the mourners. Eren couldn't imagine being this calm about it. "Although, I did just hear about it in the obituary and thought the last name was purely coincidental. I don't recall ever hearing you talk about Eren."

Something about Erwin's comment stung and Eren was about to angrily turn to the man and ask what he meant by that statement. It was insensitive and rude, prodding a man about details like that during such a tragic event. Petra must have sensed his irritation because she gripped his wrist tightly, giving him a stern look when he turned to glare at her for stopping him.

His father didn't seem at all disturbed, only mildly surprised. "Is that so? I suppose I was far too busy to ever discuss my personal life with colleagues," he mused. He was busy. It was an explanation he used all of the time. He couldn't be bothered to make his son's sports games because there was important meeting he had to attend. He was too swamped with grading to have dinner with the family. He couldn't make it to the Christmas party because he needed to prep for next semester's classes. It had always seemed like a valid excuse at that time but it was strange for Eren to hear that he couldn't mention his son even once. His father didn't even seem ashamed that he had forgotten to mention that he had a son.

"I suppose that happens sometimes. You're a very busy man after all," Erwin responded. Whether or not he felt it was an appropriate answer, Eren couldn't tell. That man had an unreadable face most of the time. Even when Erwin smiled Eren felt as if he were hiding something.

Petra tugged on Erwin's sleeve, motioning towards the benches.

"We should probably sit down before all of the seats are taken," Erwin said to Eren's father. "Your other guests probably want to give you're their condolences as well."

"Thank you again," Professor Jaeger said, nodding. "Kuklo. Very nice meeting you today despite the circumstances."

"Likewise," Eren said but he had to choke out the words. He wondered if his father could hear the hollowness of his words but the professor turned before Eren could examine his expression. Petra was now steering him toward the seats furthest away from his urn of ashes.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, sitting down by his side while Erwin occupied the seat on his other side.

"No." He considered lying but Petra could read people like a book. Maybe living after death gave you more insight to people's true feelings. There wasn't any use in lying anyway. It wasn't like telling Petra he was okay when he wasn't would make anyone feel better.

He wouldn't consider Petra to be chatty. She's talkative, yes, but that was only because Erwin wasn't a big conversationalist. He only said what needed to be said. Petra normally carried conversations, filling in gaps of silences with questions or telling Eren about her day. She knew when silence was necessary though and this was one of those times. She let him be alone with his thoughts, allowing her quiet presence to be enough. Erwin was also staying silent although Eren had a feeling it was because he was just lost in his own thoughts, maybe thinking about that mysterious figure that slipped those folders under his apartment door in the early mornings, instead of out of consideration.

The rest of the benches began to fill up. He never really thought about what his funeral would be like when he was alive, but he was surprised that so many people came. There were people from his high school classmates, people who barely talked to him when they were alive, bawling their eyes out. A few of his teachers were there too, all of their faces solemn with a few of them shedding tears. Sasha was sitting a few rows down from him, still crying and blowing her nose with the tissues that Petra had given her. At the front were his mother and father sitting a noticeable distance away. His mother was sniffling and red-eyed but she wasn't sobbing like she normally did after a fight with him. Mikasa was sitting by his mother's side, stiff as a statue, and Eren wondered how she was holding up. She was always fine and he couldn't remember her being anything but that. Even when she was sad or angry it would be a calm, controlled sort. It was difficult to tell if she was crying or not since she was sitting to still and Eren wished she would turn around or move, some sort of sign that would tell him how she was feeling, but she just remained there unmoving.

A man obscured his vision, pushing past him but didn't excuse himself. Eren looked up to his face and thought it was strange that the man's expression was bored rather than one of grieving. It was only when the man sat down next to Petra that Eren realized he must be the other reaper. It couldn't be Hanji because the clothes Eren were wearing right now were Hanji's. (Petra had come over earlier that morning to deliver them, saying it was Hanji's way of apologizing for not being able to make it to the funeral.) Hanji must be about Eren's size and this man, judging from how he looked compared next to Petra, was kind of, er, short.

"I thought you said you had work today," Petra murmured as the raven-haired man slipped in beside her.

"I wanted to see the new kid," Levi answered, looking over Eren from the corner of his eye. Eren tried not to freeze up at the man's steely gaze. "He looks like a brat."

"He's a good kid," Erwin said, patting Eren on the back. "Kuklo, this is Levi. Levi, Kuklo."

"'Kuklo,' huh?" Levi sighed. He must have known that Petra gave Eren that name because he turned to raise an eyebrow at her and the woman only shrugged as if that was the only name that had popped up into her mind at the time. Levi didn't offer out his hand to shake and Eren was kind of relieved. He knew that first impressions were often incorrect, but Levi's eyes were kind of scary. It was like he was perpetually glaring at everyone. "How are you liking your funeral?"

"I-it's alright," Eren stammered, wondering if Levi should be talking like that in a place where other people could overhear. Erwin and Petra seemed pretty relaxed about it though and Eren took a quick look around to see that everyone else was too busy mourning to pay attention to the people around them.

"I see you've found a dress shirt to come in," Petra said to Levi, pleased. She frowned when she saw the rest of his ensemble. "Although you're still dressed in your jeans."

"Eyes up here, Ral," Levi replied. He turned to Erwin. "Hanji told me you permanently banned them from funerals."

"It was a necessary precaution," Erwin said grimly. He looked as if he was remembering an unpleasant experience, probably having something to do with why the Hanji person had been banned from funerals in the first place."

"Weird. I'd imagine Hanji'd do anything to go to another funeral. They love these things," Levi mused. "Maybe they're hiding somewhere in the back."

"Disappointed?" Petra asked, prodding him in the side. "They always put the 'fun' in funeral, don't they?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear you say that."

The priest walked in at last, standing at the side of Eren's ashes and ready to begin the service. Eren couldn't really pay attention to the words that he was saying. He imagined it was the usual crap anyway. That he was a great person, too young to die, so much he could have accomplished, his life cut tragically short. Being here was like an out of body experience. Maybe it was since his old physical form, the ashes of it anyway, was sitting at the front of the room. People always said death was cold and harsh. He'd probably feel the same way if someone he loved died. His grandfather died when he was too young to remember so he couldn't say for sure. He could pretty much deduce what it was like from what the people around him were like. They were either dark and brooding, thinking about their own mortality, or sad and grieving like his mother. Whenever the priest mentioned the name "Eren," his mom would wail and it seemed to grow every time. It was starting to give him a headache and soon he found himself standing up and leaving, knocking into Erwin's knee as he made his way out.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Petra was about to stand up and follow him outside but Levi grabbed her arm, shaking his head. "Don't."

Eren didn't hear if she protested or not, he just left. Screw being dead, he needed air. He was gasping for it when he finally made it outside, not caring that the door hadn't fully swung shut before taking a deep breath. He never went back inside. He had never been lie to himself but he kept muttering about how he would slip in again, finding a time to do so without disturbing the service, but really he was just too scared to be in that room and hear his mother crying again. (Would it even be rude if he disrupted his own funeral? He would think not but he remembered Petra mentioning how funerals were more for those who were left behind rather than the people they were being held for.) Every time he moved turned towards the door, a voice in the back of his mind whispered how it would be best if he stayed outside. What difference would his presence make? The only thing he did when he was alive was piss everyone off, sometimes even on purpose, and surely his new afterlife self would hardly be the same. Even as he convinced himself that he was making the right move by staying a way, he knew he was only doing this for himself. He could think up a million reasons about how staying outside away from the funeral would keep him from accidentally revealing his identity instead of it being a convenient way for him to forget that those ashes in there belonged to him, that he was dead, and that he needed to get over his life.

The words "it's not fair" pops up into his mind again, the very same words he said to Petra the first day that he met her and she told him he was dead. It wasn't fair that he had to be at his own goddamn funeral and surround himself with people who didn't give a fuck about him when he was alive. It wasn't fair that he had to come back and hear his mother cry because of him another time. It wasn't fair that he'd never get to speak with his family ever again. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair.

And it still wasn't fair that, when the doors to the funeral home finally open, his mother and father didn't even give him a passing glance as they stiffly follow the attendant bearing the ashes. As Mikasa walked by, he found himself reaching out towards her, extending his hand so that it almost brushed her sleeve, but someone put a hand on his shoulder to draw him back.

He turned around to see Erwin standing behind him. The man shook his head ever so slightly. He had the briefest of smiles on his face and the sight of it made Eren shiver.

He couldn't bear being there anymore. It was torture enough just dying. It was just cruel to force him to attend his own funeral. "Please," he whispered, his voice choked and raspy. "Please. Let me go." Go where? He didn't know but he would rather be anywhere but here.

Petra put her arms around him and he was grateful when she pulled him out of Erwin's grasp. "That's enough," she said. It was the same sort of comfort she gave Sasha, Eren realized. Her warmth consumed him, the circles she rubbed on his back so soothing. "Erwin. Let's take him home."

"No, not back there," he begged. The thought of the shadowy figure returning every night, the secrets that Erwin kept from everyone, were too much for him to stand. Despite the clutter, it reeked of loneliness and death. "Petra, please."

"Then you'll stay with me," she said without hesitation. Levi and Erwin exchanged looks but she ignored them both. "It's fine. We have a spare bedroom. You don't have to go back there."

He didn't now if Erwin was against it. He didn't look at him. He just saw Levi sigh. "Make up some excuse to the kid's dad if you want about why we're all leaving early. I'm driving both of them back to Petra's." He was already walking, pulling out the keys from his pocket to fiddle with in his hand. He looked back. "Are you coming, kid?"

He looked hesitantly at Erwin who gave him a nod. Reluctantly, he followed Levi and Petra back to his car. As they drove off, he took one last look at all of the funeral guests. Classmates, teachers, relatives. Sasha, Mikasa, his mother, and his father. All of those people saying goodbye to him one last time and he'd never be able to do the same. Maybe that was the worst thing about funerals.

He was in the spare room in Petra's house. It was small and cozy with the furniture already in place – a bed and a desk with a computer on it. Only the bare essentials were there. Levi was grumbling about how it was really his workroom that he hadn't consented to these rooming arrangements but Petra rolled her eyes and pointed out that the grumpy man hardly slept at her house anyway. ("You have your own apartment!" she said while he frowned.) He lay on the bed. The mattress was kind of stiff and the blankets so pristine that he felt weird like he was staying at an inn, albeit a very clean one, but he preferred it to Erwin's couch at least.

Staring at the ceiling, he thought over the events of the day. Some of it he really didn't mind. Seeing Sasha, for example, or the bouquet from the reapers that proved that at least the undead soul snatchers weren't as heartless as one would expect them to be. But there were things that would haunt him. His mother crying, Mikasa sitting stiffly as she sat in front of his ashes, and…

"Why didn't my dad ever mention me?" he wondered aloud. He had intended to just say it for the sake of it, not expecting anyone to answer and forgetting Petra was even in the room. She wasn't one to simply keep quiet during questions like these though.

"Some people are just really private about their lives," she replied. "Erwin's a lot like that. Your dad is probably like that too."

It was weird to hear her talk as if she knew about his own father than he did. Then again, maybe she did.

"Do you think…could you tell me about my dad?" he asked. The words sound so strange coming out of his mouth. He had always been content with his relationship with his father but thinking about it more made him feel like he knew nothing about the man at all. He had always assumed that his father left him alone because he wanted his son to grow up to be independent but maybe he had just never wanted to spend time with him.

Petra was quiet for a moment, deciding on whether or not sharing information about his father would be beneficial to anyone. She smoothed out a wrinkle on the bed sheet. "We'll talk about this tomorrow," she said. She stood up to leave, moving towards the door. "You went through a lot today. A break would be good for you. Just rest here and come down for lunch later, okay?"

That wasn't a yes but it wasn't a no either. It was a consideration though and it was better than an outright rejection, he decided. "Alright," he replied.

She had already gone though; disappeared behind the door she closed shut and leaving him alone with his thoughts for the rest of the afternoon.

A/N: Was initially just going to solely follow Eren the entire fic but I decided it wasn't fair to just leave Mikasa with no perspective. Hopefully this is a good change.

Also thank you for the kind reviews! They really motivate me to write more of this. Writing's hard but readers make it so worth it~

Shall hopefully be much quicker about the next chapter. I should probably get to uploading the rest of my multi-chaptered fics as well. Hmm.