Housekeeping

Disclaimer: SnK and its characters are not mine.

A/N: Note to self: giving birth to a baby and then taking care of him does not free up more time, even while on maternity leave. Sorry if this chapter kind of drags; I needed a transition for the next arc of the story.

Chapter 10

It was almost 8 PM when someone knocked on the door to Armin Arlert's quarters. After an exchange of salutes, he was led through the dark hallways of the Survey Corps headquarters. The young soldier still wondered why their highest ranking officer would call on him of all people. Even though he'd racked his brain earlier, he couldn't come up with any reasonable explanation.

The tall Corporal who escorted him stiffly rapped on the heavy wooden slab looming before them. Soon, Armin could hear a muffled acknowledgement to enter from the Commander, and he was ushered inside. Once the cadet had set foot within, the door quickly shut behind him, and he squinted at first to make out the objects in the dimly-lit office.

Three candles were placed around the large desk that was covered in maps and charts, some of which had spilled onto the floor. The three-quarter moon that shone through the window at least contributed a little more light. Perhaps the Commander didn't intend on staying there much longer and so didn't want to waste fuel on the lamp.

"Ah, Armin. Thank you for coming on such short notice," the older man greeted while standing hunched over his desk. He beckoned the teenager over with his single arm.

Armin performed a flawless salute before making his way to the side opposite the Commander. "It's no trouble at all, Sir."

A small smile graced Erwin's face. "How is Mikasa? I trust Levi has already made his apology."

The young blond flinched but gave a slow nod. Could he have brought him in to discuss that? Judging by the tone of his voice, however, it sounded more like he was simply making small talk. If that were the case, then something more important must be on his mind. "Yes, the Captain also apologized to the rest of us at dinner earlier," Armin answered. "Mikasa seems to be…handling it well." He didn't think the Commander would care too much about receiving a detailed narrative.

"That's good to hear," he muttered more to himself. Erwin was soon engrossed in flipping through the pile of maps before drawing one out to place on top.

Armin craned his neck to peer closer. The large parchment detailed a city like one of the four on the perimeter of a Wall.

"Our preparations for the next expedition are almost complete," the Commander began. "During tomorrow's assembly, I will outline the mission to everyone in the Corps. However, there is one last problem I must solve before disclosing our plans."

It wasn't until Armin read the title of the map that his turquoise eyes went wide. "Shiganshina…" he gasped.

Erwin nodded calmly. "I'll spare you the details for now, but the purpose of the next mission is to retake Wall Maria by closing the northern opening to Shiganshina. At the same time, I want to retake the city as well by sealing off the southern breach." He pointed to each location as he explained. "That's why I called you in, Armin."

In the meantime, the boy was slowly digesting this new information. Shiganshina… They were going back home…

"For the northern side, we will have Eren use a boulder from a quarry we'll be passing en route to the wall. However, unless we are blessed with another giant piece of debris within the district walls, we need to come up with another way to seal off the city."

'That way we can finish off the titans and ultimately reach Eren's basement.' The implications raced through Armin's head. Finally they could achieve what they set out long ago to do.

"Our original plan was to collapse a portion of the southern wall in order to close it. Of course, this is risky considering the recent information that the walls are composed of slumbering titans. We don't know what we would unleash by damaging them."

The younger male bobbed his head in agreement.

"I have looked into other possibilities, but so far that is my best option. What I ask of you," he stated, fully looking up at the cadet, "not only because of your familiarity with the city but also your ability to strategize, is to help me think of a better solution."

Armin brought his lips together in a thin line. The Commander was asking him—him, someone fresh out of training—for input on their next mission. He didn't have time to be flattered as the gears turned in his head.

His eyes darted across the yellowed parchment. He knew these streets, could tell anyone what landmarks lay at the intersections of these charcoal lines. He knew the sounds, the smells, the history of every inch this diagram represented.

But after five minutes of thinking, his mind drew a blank.

The biggest landmark was the central military building. Even if it were still intact, it wouldn't be big or strong enough to plug the hole, if the breach at Trost were any indication.

Armin scanned the map once more. There literally was nothing within the city that would fit what they needed. His mind started playing through other scenarios, many of which must have already crossed the Commander's mind. Eren's ability to control titans was unpredictable, so it's not likely they could politely ask the huge monstrosities to leave the city for a few days. Creating a makeshift barricade out of smaller pieces of rubble would take too much time and would not be reliable either. Luring the titans away from Eren's house long enough to sneak into the basement? Too risky as well, and wouldn't help the Commander's original intent to retake the city.

Speaking of, he could hear the other man give a sigh. He must have detected that Armin was getting nowhere just like he had.

The young soldier frowned. No! His superior officer was counting on him. Just like he wouldn't let his friends down, he was not going to disappoint the man who had entrusted the success of their next mission to him. His gaze swept over the map once more, searching for something, anything…

The river.

"Sir, if I may…" Armin gently traced a finger over a particular leg of the body of water. "When I was a child, my grandfather told me many stories, one of which was about the construction of the walls." He took a deep breath. "I can't be positive if this is true, but he said while they were building the one around the city, there was a large piece leftover after completion, due to an error on the part of the engineer.

"Since the city was already sealed off, they had nowhere to move it to, so they discarded it in the river." With that, he tapped at one spot in particular. "There is a break in the flow of water at this spot, as if the current were moving around a large object. It wouldn't show on any map. But that's where it's rumored the piece of wall is. If we could get Eren to go down there and retrieve it…" Armin trailed off as his upward glance landed on the small smile appearing on Commander Erwin's face.

"I see. Good work, Arlert. But if this ends up being a myth after all—"

"—You should go with your original plan, Sir. It's the next best option for us. We will need to be careful how much we cave in above the breach."

The two exchanged a knowing nod before the Commander began riffling through his pile of papers. "Thank you for your time, Armin. Your input has been most valuable." He pulled out another parchment from the middle of the stack and laid it on top of the Shiganshina map. "I don't suppose I can ask your opinion on other aspects of our expedition while you're here."

Armin's eyes widened. "It-It would be my honor, Sir!" He involuntarily gave another skillful salute.

Erwin chuckled. "I should grab the lamp. This may take awhile."

Levi emerged from the bathroom in the process of buttoning his shirt. The sun's morning rays had yet to creep into his room, but his instincts knew the layout well enough that he didn't need to bother with any light. Remnants of the shower water matted his jet-black hair and trickled down the back of his neck.

He didn't find himself feeling drowsy or out of it. Today felt like any other day. That is, until he realized there was no knocking at his bedroom door after he'd unlocked it out of habit.

Levi stopped in his tracks, turning to blink at the planks of wood. 'Of course she isn't coming,' he thought to himself, a pang of disappointment hitting his gut. Still, he left it as it was, just in case.

After his shave, he found himself veering slightly to the right as he exited the bathroom once again. The move was unnecessary now that there was nobody to brush by him on her way to clean the sink. He gritted his teeth in annoyance—not at the lack of her presence but at himself for not snapping out of it yet. Levi needed to hurry up and get out of this damned room.

Grumbling, he yanked open his wardrobe drawer where he kept his cravats, only to find it empty. "Ackerman, where's my—" he started before he could help himself. His stormy eyes fell on the wicker basket a few meters away from him on the floor. That's right, he had been in no mood to put away his laundry last night.

He stomped over and snatched a pristine white cravat from the top of the pile. Tch, it was creased in all the wrong places. He shouldn't have expected anything better from the clumsy duo who served as Ackerman's surrogate the other afternoon. They weren't her.

As he adjusted his outfit in the mirror, he let out a deep sigh. 'And it's all my goddamned fault.'

Levi hated to admit it, but now that she was gone, he was missing the chemistry they had together. She had made him feel like there was at least one other person out there just like him. When she was here, he didn't feel so utterly…

Gray eyes met gray in the mirror. The space over his shoulder never looked so empty.

…alone.

Tearing his gaze away, he sat down on the bed and yanked his boots on. Not wasting another second, he grabbed his jacket on the way out the door. He needed to get some air and clear his mind now.

Mikasa lay on her back on the bed. She kept her mind busy tracing the cracks in her ceiling as the morning light gradually brightened her room. The half-Asian girl had been up for the last hour, but couldn't bring herself to do anything, especially not go to his room.

Maybe Eren would be up by now, but she didn't have the heart to face him either. Or Armin, or anyone else really for that matter. There was a heaviness in her chest that she couldn't pinpoint, but she knew being in the presence of another person wouldn't help it go away.

Mikasa finally rolled out of bed when the sunlight started nipping at her. She was going to be late to morning exercises if she didn't start getting ready right now. Luckily, her limbs were able to go through the motions without any thought on her part, for her mind still felt like it was in the clouds.

Was her hasty decision the other night the right one? Maybe she should have slept on it. The more she mulled it over, however, the more she came to the same conclusion: no matter her feelings for the Captain, no matter how wrong he was, she could not participate in the destruction of their team. Her group of comrades with the midget bastard at the helm was Eren's best shot at survival in future missions.

In that same train of thought, the sooner everyone trusted the Captain again, the faster they would progress as a squad. She had always wondered why he avoided the mess hall since the battle with Annie. Mikasa assumed it brought back too many painful memories, or that he was afraid of getting too attached to them, so she didn't dare to bring it up during their cleaning sessions. Now, even though it would be an awkward next few weeks, it was necessary he spend as much time as he could with them, and that meant having his meals with them. She had followed him later to emphasize that when he ambushed her with that other query…

The next thing Mikasa realized, she was stepping out of the shower. Her dark locks stuck together in clumps and freely dripped fresh hot water down the rest of her body as she wrapped a thin towel around herself. Hopefully the rest of her day didn't go by like this. She couldn't afford to blank out on her surroundings for that long just because she couldn't get her mind off that blasted son of a bitch. Mikasa made her way quickly back to her room and prayed she hadn't inadvertently made herself run behind.

Levi grasped the sparse breakfast tray as he made his way over to his squad's table. There was a sickening sinking feeling in his gut with each step he took. She was already there, simply picking at her porridge, while Braus' vulture eyes kept watch over her every move. Perhaps the auburn-haired cadet was hoping her comrade would relinquish the remainder of her meal before he arrived.

He had just set his tray down at the head of the table, causing Braus to jolt stiffly back in her seat, when a set of footsteps lightly approached him from behind.

"Levi~!" Hanji rang out, giving him a slap on the back as soon as she was within reach. "How about you come sit with us this morning?" The crazy scientist jerked her head over to a far table where Moblit and Erwin were chatting in between bites of their meal.

The dark-haired Captain raised an eyebrow at her before making eye contact with the stoic girl seated at the far end of the table from him. Their brief glance was all Mikasa needed to know that he was asking permission to be let off the hook this time. She merely nodded and resumed her work at dissecting the porridge.

Unsure if Hanji were leading him to something better or worse, Levi picked up his tray and followed the Squad Leader. Behind him, he could hear a collective sigh of relief from his soldiers.

As soon as he took a seat next to Erwin, the scientist of the group began to rattle his ear off. "So how are things going with Mikasa?"

Levi shrugged. "I think it's plainly obvious." What more could he say? Even though Hanji was visually impaired, she couldn't have been blind to last night's exchange with the top cadet of his squad.

"Maybe~! Or maybe not—after all, there are secrets behind those closed doors of yours." With that, she suddenly poked a finger at the shorter man's forehead and quickly retracted it before Levi could react to the unexpected gesture.

The last part of Hanji's statement seemed to peak her Commander's interest, for he stopped chatting with Moblit and focused his attention on the two newcomers to the table.

"Cut the crap, Four Eyes," Levi growled. "I know you didn't drag me over here to save me from those brats, so spill whatever harebrained notions oozed out of your shit for brains this time." He snatched his cup of tea by the rim and began to take some hasty sips from it.

"Oh, you're no fun," said Hanji with a puff of indignation. "Fine. So did you confess your feelings to Mikasa last night or what?"

A searing spray of tea spewed from Levi's mouth. "The hell?!" he gasped and sputtered. "What are you… why in the…?"

The blond man sitting to his left raised a bushy eyebrow.

"Come on, I knew you were going to intercept her as soon as I saw her follow you out last night. Though I guess it would be kind of awkward in front of Eren…" Hanji pondered, looking off and rubbing her chin with one hand.

As soon as the Captain stopped coughing up hot liquid, he hissed, "Again, the hell, shithead? Why would you even think I had any attachment to Ackerman like that?! She is nothing more than an obstinate subordinate."

Before Levi could continue, Erwin calmly interrupted, "I am quite curious myself as to what led you to that theory, Hanji."

The brunette scientist winked playfully. "Just call it a hunch after our little chat the other day." With that, she raised her own full tea cup in front of her. From her vantage point, though, it would be hard to tell if the steam she saw were coming from the drink or from Levi's own ears. "So if you haven't made a move on her yet, better do it soon. I caught her being cozy with Eren the other day."

Something about that last part triggered a stabbing sensation in the dark-haired man's gut. He didn't know why nor did he want to know why he felt like that. Levi clenched his teeth and abruptly stood up, yanking his tray with him. He couldn't stand being here any longer—not because the lunatic was off her rocker again, but because she was treading dangerously close to territory he did not want to deal with right now. He didn't bother giving the Squad Leader any indication she was right or wrong. Instead, he silently turned away from the officers' table.

Before he could take a single step, however, Erwin called, "Levi." The Captain's stoic face didn't change one iota, but he did pause. "If what Hanji says is true, you know the consequences."

Levi could only imagine, especially after all that stupid crap that happened recently. Mandatory disbanding and transfer of his squad if he were lucky. Probable dismissal or even court-martial if he were involved in anything that seemed like a relationship with the underage girl. "You have nothing to worry about from me, Erwin," he stated dully.

As Levi made one last glance at the teenager who just yesterday made him feel like he'd found his perfect complement, he wondered how much truth had been in those words.

It was shortly after breakfast when all the soldiers of the Survey Corps shuffled into the courtyard. Everyone was to postpone their duties and training until after the assembly that Commander Erwin had called for this morning. While the rest of his comrades congregated to one side of the stony area, Eren pulled aside a certain blond.

"Hey, where were you last night?" the titan-shifter whispered to his friend.

Armin scratched his head, clearly puzzled by the question. "Commander Erwin asked me to come to his office to talk about the next mission."

"For two hours?" Eren couldn't help the annoyance that glinted in his emerald eyes.

"There…was a lot to go over." The shorter boy gave his irked comrade a quizzical look. "Wait, don't tell me you were waiting for me all that time."

"Well, yeah, you usually never leave your room. How was I supposed to know you'd take forever to get back?"

Armin sighed. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting to be out that long either. But it was an opportunity to help out that I couldn't pass—"

A booming voice suddenly reverberated throughout the courtyard. "Good morning, my fellow soldiers!"

"We'll continue this during chores," Eren hissed. "It's about Mikasa." With that, he turned to join his group of friends, with Armin following not long after.

Commander Erwin stepped up to a wooden platform that had been erected temporarily for this assembly. "Thank you all for gathering so quickly. I feel it's time to disclose the next mission. You may have already heard bits and pieces of it from your Squad Leaders." The fair-haired man took this opportunity to sweep his arm out in acknowledgment of the officers standing behind him.

"For those still in the dark, however, I will go over it in full," he continued. "The main objective of our next expedition is to take back Wall Maria at all costs." A wave of shocked murmurs rumbled throughout the crowd. "To that end, we will be departing for Karanese in two weeks and leaving from there no longer than a week afterward. This will be our largest expedition yet, with ninety-five percent of our forces going.

"In addition, we will have fifty Garrison volunteers joining us. Commander Pixis has my gratitude for arranging this." He paused a moment to let this information sink in before delving further. "It is estimated that it will take at least two days to journey from Karanese to the northern breach of Shiganshina with that size army. We already have a resupply point set up at the abandoned town of Oststadt, a day's ride out, but from there we will be on our own."

At the mention of his home town, Eren's eyes began to tear up. Shiganshina—at last, they were going back.

"Not far outside Shiganshina, there is a rock quarry where we will enlist Eren Jaeger in his titan form to carry a large boulder, similar to the Battle of Trost."

The boy in question gave a start; this was definitely news to him. Dozens of soldiers turned to stare at him. Some even shifted away slightly in unease.

"We will utilize this to close the breach and essentially retake Wall Maria. If we are successful, it will be the next of many victories against the titans." This was followed by several cheers and scattered rounds of applause. "However, I want to take this mission a step further." Eren noticed a few Squad Leaders giving each other confused looks, as if they had not been privy to the information to come. "Our Special Operations Squad will subsequently extract Eren Jaeger from his titan form and use him to seal the southern breach made by the Colossal Titan that fateful day five years ago."

A thousand thoughts bombarded Eren all at once: his memories of when Shiganshina fell, his failed progress at controlling his titan form, the exercise Captain Levi had conducted… Suddenly it made more sense why his squad leader had posed that test. Still, that was no excuse for what he did to Mikasa…

Eren almost had to smack himself to go back to listening to Commander Erwin's words. "According to a reliable source, there should be something within the district to close it off from any further titan invasion. Our allies from the Garrison will then help us rid the city of the remaining titans."

The boy's emerald eyes instinctively glanced over at his best childhood friend. Could Armin have been that source? There were no other Shiganshina survivors within the ranks of the Survey Corps that he was aware of besides the three of them. It would certainly explain why he'd spent so much time with the Commander.

"Further details will be provided to your respective leaders, who will pass on the information to you. I highly suggest utilizing our remaining time here to work harder in your training and hone your skills. Your lives and the future of humanity depend on it." Commander Erwin gave one final outward flourish of his arm. "Everyone, dismissed!"

It would still take some time for Eren to absorb all this new information. But for now, he was willing to set that aside for more pressing matters. He wasted no time grabbing Armin and dragging him out of the bustling crowd. The young titan-shifter was going to make good on his word from earlier.

Eren thought that vocalizing what had been bothering him since yesterday would make him feel better. On the contrary, it just made him more confused and frustrated. It didn't help that the blond teenager mopping alongside him still hadn't said a word.

As soon as they were alone in a secluded part of the castle to clean up, Eren had recounted his training session with Mikasa. Other than a few shifts in facial expressions, Armin hadn't given any kind of feedback to Eren's story.

Once he had finished his account, the young titan-shifter waited agonizingly through two minutes of silence before huffing, "So?"

Armin stopped what he was doing and looked him straight in the eye. "Sounds like Mikasa was acting odd all right."

"No shit, genius. Even I could figure that out." Eren likewise paused in his work and leaned against his cleaning utensil. "Any idea what the heck is going on with her? First she's an overprotective pain in the ass, then she's distant, and now I don't know if I want to know."

"You mean about the part where she almost kissed you."

"No, I mean about when she wiped the floor with me for the hundredth time," Eren bit sarcastically. "Of course that part!" He took this opportunity to kick the nearby stone wall. Armin was the smartest person he knew. If anyone could figure out what was wrong with Mikasa, he would, but right now he was acting like a block of wood.

Armin sighed. "Your guess is as good as mine, quite honestly. All week, I would think I had her figured out and then she'd throw me for a loop too, like when she made the Captain come to all our meals."

"Forget the Captain, why is she acting like this to me?"

"Why shouldn't she be? I'm sure everyone would agree with me when I say it's about time."

"Wait, what?" Armin was making less sense by the minute.

The blond slowly brought a hand to the bridge of his nose. "Don't tell me you never saw it." What was he talking about? What hadn't he seen? It was clear Armin was reading these questions off his face. After another pause, his friend stated like it was clear as day, "She has feelings for you, just like you do for her."

Not that again. It was bad enough everyone in the Survey Corps thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend. "Come on, Armin, you of all people know we're just family."

"Are you two?" he replied cryptically. "Because it sounds to me like Mikasa was just acting on something that was there all along. What with the stress of recent events, she's probably feeling vulnerable and wants to cling to what's most important to her."

Eren felt like someone had just dropped a brick in his stomach. His mouth went slack then closed like a sprung trap. Could it be…? "What? No, not Mikasa… That's impossible." Was it really? The chocolate-haired boy had to lean against the wall to steady himself.

Armin shrugged and fixed him with a penetrating stare. "You can keep believing that, but I think the more important question is 'What are your feelings for her?'"

Eren knew he couldn't hide anything from the blond when he looked at him like that, not that he would want to. Him and Mikasa? As something more than family? He never bothered to dwell on it before. "I don't know, Armin. I really don't. It's weird just thinking of her as anything other than a sister. I mean, how would you feel if she asked you out?"

"Hm, you do have a point there." The other teenager raised a hand up to his chin. "She's family to me too…" There was a slight pause before the look on his face became more serious. "But the reality is that's not how she sees me, and to be honest, if it came down to saving me or you and she could only pick one…" Eren gulped. "…I know she would choose you."

The finality of his statement hit the titan-shifter hard. Of course Mikasa would always do her best to protect both of them, but Armin wasn't the one she was so obsessive about.

"You don't have to tell me anything now," his best friend said as he resumed his work, "but think it over. Mikasa at the very least deserves to know how you feel about her."

Eren merely nodded as thoughts swam around in his head so fast he started to feel dizzy. Did he love her like that? Was he even capable of those feelings? Could he imagine his life without her? He wouldn't be sane anymore if anything ever happened to her, that's for sure. But he never realized how fine a line there was between family love and love love. He always thought it would hit him right away, like a clap of thunder, when the time came—just as in all those fairy tales Armin used to read to them.

Whatever he felt, he should probably figure it out soon, if Mikasa was going to keep acting like this. The one thing he never wanted to do was to hurt her. Suppose he could only see her as family; she'd be more devastated the longer he waited to tell her. But if he did truly see her as more than just a sister…

He grabbed his hair and let out a frustrated growl. He wondered if Armin felt this kind of pain when he thought so much.

"Jaeger!" barked the Sergeant in charge, suddenly appearing at the end of the hall. Eren immediately jumped to attention. "Quit slacking and get back to cleaning!"

"Sir, yes, Sir!" he said while saluting. The titan-shifter would have to worry about this later, maybe when he was bored sitting in his cell tonight. For now, he had to make sure he didn't give his supervisor a reason to tattle to the Captain again.