Waking up early for experiments was not in the top ten of Eren's favorite activities. That was a sure thing.

Walking in two kids with oversized clothes sleeping on the floor of Hange's lab? Well…he couldn't say he had ever thought it would happen.

So of course he'd do the most logical thing.

He went get Armin and Mikasa.

"Did you tried waking them up?" Mikasa asked from the side of the kids, kneeling and pushing dark hair away from the face of one of them.

"No, I wouldn't have known what to do with them. They look just too much like them to be a coincidence" Eren stood to the side, looking at the kids from a safe distance.

"Well…here goes nothing" Armin shook the brown-haired child's shoulder, whispering 'wake up'.

With a big yawn and stretching their arms, the kid woke up and looked at them blinking.

"So…where am I?" the kid scratched their head, another yawn making its way into their words.

"Emm…Right now you are in the Survey Corps HQ. Can you tell me your name?" Armin offered his hand, a little smile on his face "I'm Armin"

"Hange" they smiled accepting the hand.

"Wait wait wait" Eren hurried to their side, kneeling in the floor in front of them "Are you a boy or a girl?" he started to bounce, impatient to find out the question that so many had wondered for a long time.

They only shrugged, mumbling a 'who knows?' as their attention was directed to the child sleeping.

"Who's that?" they pointed to the child, frowning "Why's he so tiny?"

"Umm…"Mikasa looked between both kids, biting her lip. "He's just…like that? Don't worry about it, Hange"

"Alright" the kid deepened their frown, their eyes moving around the room "So…whose is this place? There are a lot of nice things here" standing up, they walked up to one of the tables "Woah" they took something that was taken away in seconds by Armin, who left it again in the table with caution.

"Let's not mess anything, okay?" they puffed their cheeks, their arms crossed over their chest "Do you like to read?" Hange, perking up, nodded. "Let's go check some books, how about that?"

"Eren" Mikasa looked at the boy kneeling a feet away from her, taking advantage of Armin distracting Hange "I'm going to wake Levi and go with him to town to find clothes. I'll give him something to eat on the way. Hange is right; he's too small, even for a kid"

Eren nodded at her, looking at Levi. While he knew he had lived in the Underground at some point of his life, he never thought it would be while he was so young. Even if Eren had never been extremely poor due to his father being a doctor, Shiganshina was a poor district. He was not a stranger to signs of malnutrition, despite never experiencing them himself.

The child was too pale; his cheeks too bony, his hair was dry and not shiny like a normal person. Overall too thin and small to be someone close to Hange's age as they had thought he was.

"Be careful" he reached out and took her hand on his, squeezing lightly before standing and walking towards where Armin and Hange were choosing books.

Mikasa never, not in her wildest dreams, thought she would see Levi looking so fragile. She was used to seeing the grown up version, with his bitch face and his somewhat cold attitude.

But seeing him like this, so small she could carry him and so thin she could break him?

"Hey, wake up" she whispered, her hand resting on his shoulder "Levi, wake up"

"Mommy?" she heard him mumble, his eyes opening slowly "Mommy!" he sat up, his clothes making him tangle and fall. She got closer, untangling the mess and helping him sit with only his shirt on "You are not mommy" he said, his eyes losing the hope and his shoulders falling.

"No. I'm Mikasa. I'm going to take care of you for a while, okay?" she sat on her feet, her hands resting on her lap.

"Why?"

"Because…things happened and now you're here and I want to take care of you" she reached slowly, giving him time to retreat but he did not. Putting her hands under his arms, she stood with him and accommodate him on her hip "How about we go for clothes for you?"

"Yes" he nodded, passing his arms around her neck "These are dirty. The floor is dirty"

"Yes, very dirty" she nodded, turning her head to look at Eren who smiled and nodded, holding Hange by their waist as they tried to reach books on high shelves.

"Are you comfortable now?" Mikasa asked as she looked down at Levi, who was holding her hand as he looked at his new shoes.

"Yes" he looked up, his eyes starting to drop.

"Are you tired?" she smiled a little, stopping and putting down the basket filled with food.

"Yes" he nodded.

"Do you want me to carry you?" he reached up yawning and she lifted him up effortlessly, placing him on her hip with one hand to hold his bony rear. She took an apple form the basket and gave it to him "Here, eat this before you sleep" he took it, holding it with both of his little hands as she hung the basket on her forearm and held him with her arms.

"Oh my" a woman from a stand near them smiled, clasping her hands together "What a beautiful boy you have" Mikasa looked down at Levi, with his too pale skin and his too small frame, but she smiled and said 'thank you' as she kept walking with the sleeping boy in her arms.

She reached the HQ quickly, almost running to Hange's lab.

"I'm here!" she opened the door, setting the basket in a table near the door and accommodating Levi so he had both of his legs around her waist and his head on her shoulder "I brought some clothes for Hange"

"Hey there" Eren turned around, blushing as he saw Mikasa. She had her arms around the child, almost as if she was ready to run if anything happened. She was in common clothes, not the military uniform, and for a moment Eren could see Mikasa like that, with her own child. He could see Mikasa as a mother, with her radiant smile and he pushed the thoughts away as the child in her arms turned around in his mind, looking at him with his eyes.

"What are they doing?" she stopped at his side, and he reached for Levi so she could rest her arms. She mumbled a 'thank you' as her eyes rested on Hange and Armin.

"Turns out Hange is a lot smarter than we thought, so they are there just…I don't even know, but they are having fun"

Levi started to move, whimpers leaving his mouth.

"Hey little man, are you okay?" Eren rubbed his back, bouncing him lightly in his arm to wake him up.

"I think so" he rubbed his eyes, small tears falling. A sniff was heard, but he just wiped his tears and looked at Eren. "I have to go potty"

"Uhhh" Eren looked at Mikasa, his widening "Mikasa…"

"No, Eren. Your turn with him"

After going to the bathroom and Levi complaining about it being "dirty and nasty", they went back to the lab, careful so no one saw them.

"Alright, down you go" Eren put Levi down as he closed the door, the kid running to Mikasa.

"Seems like he likes you a lot" Armin smirked from Hange's side, his eyes never leaving them.

"Which is kind of weird" Eren sat on one of the couches, his eyes fixed on Mikasa as a faint blush formed on his cheeks.

"Do I need to remind you who you just helped go to the bathroom?" Mikasa raised her eyebrow, her hand on Levi's head as he hugged her.

"Shut up. I'm going to be so dead when they turn back" he let himself fall on the whole couch, slowly sliding to the floor.

"Well, think like this" Armin turned to see him, his hand coming up to block his face as he laughed "You'll have experience with your children, after all Mikasa can't do the entire job around the house"

At least he could block the cushion a blushing Eren threw at him.