A/N: Lost track of time again, so it's another long chapter!

Hope you enjoy, leave a review if you can, and see you in the next chapter.

(Matt P.O.V)

"Are you looking to getting strung up, Matt!?" Light exclaimed. "Because if the captain hears about this…!"

"Would you relax, Light!" I laughed out. "There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing."

"Did you just join the garrison to be around that blonde all day?! Tell me the truth!"

I splayed out over the rooftop to sunbathe a bit, ignoring the looming figure of Yagami. "No, it's just a fortunate accident."

I heard him grumble slight before he took a few steps away from me. "Honestly, why the hell did I get stuck with you?!"

"You didn't get stuck with me, you offered to be my partner!" I reminded him. "And I'd like to remind you that I'm not a terrible person to call a partner."

"No, you aren't." He admitted. "But I'm sick of your disregard and overall attitude to being a soldier! Not to mention you ditched me twice this week to be with that blonde guy!"

"Uh, you ditched me!" I reminded him once more. "You were busy kissing arse to the captain while he made his rounds. The second time was me though, I'll grant you that. And it's not like I really missed anything. I was still patrolling and looking out for a few things. I got a few pick-pockets while I was out and about. Not to mention we caught that fake store selling illegal items from outside the wall. I barely had any time with Mello yesterday."

"And today?" He asked angrily.

I shrugged. "He said he has some gardening to do. Something about his grandfather cutting up the wrong plants thinking they were weeds."

He sighed heavily at this. "Well, at least you're around today then."

"For the most part. You have to admit, it's a lot better up here than on the ground. More coverage."

"I'll admit it is a smart idea to patrol up here. But do you think it'll be a quiet day?"

Just as he'd said that we heard a bunch of whoops and yelps from a group not far from us. It sounded like a bunch of teenagers, and it didn't sound like anything good to me.

I stood up and glanced at the brunette. "You tell me."

We leapt from the roof to another and continued this line until we got to the yelling. Like I'd thought, it was teenagers. And none of them were in the right.

A small child, maybe ten years old, sat on the ground covering his face with his arms and whimpering a bit. The teenagers all shouted and laughed as they kicked and hit him, spitting and calling him a heretic – among other things – and I immediately took action to this.

Soldiers were not allowed to severely hurt people unless provoked, but I was allowed some leeway when it came to controlling a scene. One kick to one of the teenagers sent him flying into the others and to the ground. I didn't plan on sing them, but I unsheathed my blades and had them at the ready. The best tactic to scaring people was with the threat of their lives. And dealing with two blades, plus the crest of a soldier, I doubt any teen was stupid enough to try me on. If what Mello said was correct, the garrison struck enough fear in people's hearts when it mattered most.

Especially if we were truly on guard.

The teens looked up at me in fear. My shadow darkening their faces of terror.

I lifted a blade. "This would be the part where you run off."

Like little chickens the teens bolted for the exit and didn't look back. I doubt they'd end their trouble here, but at least they weren't bothering this child anymore.

I turned to the kid, sheathing my blades, then kneeled down to him. "Are you alright?"

He peaked out slightly from his arms and nodded. "Th-thank you."

I blinked in surprise. His eyes reminded me of Mello's. Blue as the sky, but not as sharp. Not to mention he had the same hair colour.

"What's your name?" Light asked.

He uncovered his face. "A-Armin. Armin Arlert."

"Arlert?" Light repeated in surprise. "You're Memphis' kid?"

He nodded, trying to stand up but wobbling a bit. I suppose he'd gotten hurt way worse than I thought.

"I was going to grab firewood for stock when they ambushed me. They threw me into the wall, and I think they broke my arm."

"Let me see." I asked, holding out a hand.

He was hesitant but allowed me to look anyway. It was indeed swollen but I couldn't see a break anywhere. He didn't wince that much, but he flinched when I found a spot that hurt him. He may have only sprained something, but I made a sling out of some cloth for him anyway to keep it from moving. When that was done, I offered to take him home so he could rest.

"You'll protect me?" He asked in a small voice.

I smiled warmly at him. "Of course! It's my job isn't it?!"

He smiled back and he guided the way. Light decided not to follow and instead report the teens to other soldiers. There wasn't much we could really do, but the more soldiers that knew the more fear we could strike into them. I wasn't a fan of bullies anyhow and these ones did not get my sympathy after today.

Armin showed me down a familiar path before he stopped in front of a very familiar building. The same building I'd walked Mello to for two evenings now.

In fact… the blonde himself was right outside the door collecting sticks, for a fire or cooking I could assume.

The moment he caught Armin in a sling he went into a panic.

"What happened!?"

The smaller blonde was quiet but answered with, "I got jumped".

He hurried to the boy's side and checked out his injury. "Those bastards! I'll fucking kill them when I see them!"

"Mihael!" Armin chastised. "Don't swear! Mama hates that!"

"Oh she'll have a lot worse to say when she sees you like this!" He promised, then looked up at me. "Where'd you find him?"

I gestured to the ally. "A few blocks down. Not very far from here."

"I'm sorry I didn't get the wood." The boy said apologetically.

Mello shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Armin. Let's just get you inside."

"Can he stay for dinner!?" The boy asked suddenly. "He's the one who saved me!"

Mello blinked, then looked back up at me. "Saved him?"

I scratched my neck at this. "Well… yes. I mean, I didn't get to stop it before it happened, but I scared those little bastards enough to run away like dogs with their tails between their legs. I think they thought I was gonna kill 'em."

"Lucky it wasn't me." He commented, standing up from the ground. "I would have killed them."

"I was pretty damn close, but I'm not prepared to be stung up for manslaughter."

"So can he stay?" Armin asked again.

The elder blonde looked me in the eye for a split second before grinning and turning away. "You'll have to ask mom and dad."

With that the smaller blonde ran off to find his parents, leaving the two of us on our own. Now came for the questions.

Mello chuckled before turning back to me. "Thank you. Lord knows none of the other soldiers would have cared to help him out in that time. They like to call it 'character building'."

"It's just plain bullying to me." I remarked, smiling. "But let me ask, why is it his name is 'Arlert' but you go by 'Keehl'?"

Mello only shrugged. "It was my mother's maiden name. My grandfather's name. I got sick of people saying 'Oh you're Arlert's boy!' or 'I know your father!' and decided to just drop it. I don't want to be known because of my father. I want to be known as an individual, someone with his own mind and life. I can't do that with his name, so I took my mother's."

"You're a smart guy." I complimented. "Me? I just like Matt more than Mail Jeevas. Plus it doesn't help that it was my father's name and he's been cast out of the military. The moment I was asked my name I was on a list for them to keep an eye on me. Took forever, but I finally got off that list."

"Glad to see it all worked out for you." He commented, turning back to the house. "You coming in to eat, or…?"

"Don't you need firewood?" I asked.

"I got enough twigs and bark to help me keep the soup warm. Besides, you saved my brother. The least I can do is serve you some decent food."

"And your parents?"

He scoffed. "I cooked the food, I decide you eats. I just told Armin to ask our parents so we could get some words in. They don't exactly know I've been hanging around a pig soldier from the garrison."

"Didn't I tell you that words hurt, Arlert?"

The man crossed his arms. "I'm assuming you want me to spit in your soup as well?"

"Special seasoning of yours?!" I asked excitedly.

He opened the door. "Get inside, already."

I couldn't help the victorious grin. With Mello, neither of us won in the snarky-ness department. We just got better at comebacks.

Entering into the home I immediately felt a warm wash of comfort fall over me. It was a new and invigorating feeling I'd never known before. Like this was a real and loving family and not just a group of people you could consider family. For most of my life I'd known only what it was to be working alongside strangers in the military, having no family and no one to turn to other than Yagami. My parents never existed in my mind, I had no brothers or sisters, and I doubted that there were even grandparents for me out there. There was just me. But here… there was everyone.

I followed Mello into the dining room and saw the doctor from a few roads down working on a certain contraption. It looked to be like an artificial limb, but he was having some trouble with it.

The man beside the doctor I almost knew instantly. Memphis Arlert, the man who had gotten me into the cadets in the first place. Of course, I hadn't known his name until just recently thanks to Light, but I always remembered a face.

He looked up at me with a smile. "Is this the man, Armin?"

The boy beside him nodded, nudging a brunette that looked about the same age as him. "That's the man!"

The tall blonde man stood up and opened his right and only arm. "Come're my boy!"

I stepped forward, watching Mello walk off towards the stove where he was cooking the food, and before I knew it I was hoisted into the air from a hug and I could feel him nearly crush my ribs. It still made me smile though. It was nice to see the man hadn't changed much after his accident.

He set me down and I caught my breath as he patted my back. "We need more soldiers like you, boy! Good ones, strong willed, and lending a helping hand to those truly in need!"

"Thank you for helping our little boy." A woman suddenly spoke up, who I could only assume she was the mother. "It scares me to think about what might have happened had you not been there."

I felt my smile disappear slightly. "Does this happen a lot?"

The tall man sighed heavily. "More than you think. The strong always pick on the weak. It's just the way it is. But it's nice to see someone finally stand up for the little ones."

"Hey!" Came the young brunette's voice. "I stand up for Armin all the time!"

I heard the doctor chuckle. "And when it's too much for you, Mikasa has to step in."

The brunette crossed his arms. "I still stand up for him."

Armin pulled the brunette in for a hug. "Thank you for doing so, Eren. Even if you fail a few times, I'm glad you care enough to step in."

I saw the blush on the brunette's face and I couldn't help the grin. Looks like there was more to his standing up than he let on.

I felt another pat on my back. "Set your gear down by the door. I know how straining it can be to carry it around all day, and I want you to make yourself comfortable."

I nodded as I unhinged the mechanism from my waist. I noticed the brunette kid, Eren, staring at the gear in amazement. I suppose he had a thing for the military, but I wouldn't allow a kid to get so close to this type of gear so easily. A little tampering could make things better or worse in the long run, and my tampering with it had been technically illegal to do so. Thankfully the captain had no issues with my tampering since it didn't wreck the device completely. He was even trying to get permission for me to do the same to the rest of the devices, but word hadn't been received yet whether I was allowed to or not. There might be a meeting on it soon though.

I set the gear aside and hung up my jacket. Only then did I get drilled with questions from the small brunette.

"So why'd you join the garrison? Did you even have a choice, or…"

"I had a choice. But only because I graduated top of my class. I just chose the garrison because they need real soldiers to look out for the people inside the wall. Especially when the older ones get drunk and don't help anyone."

"Well, at least we have one good soldier among us." Memphis commented, sitting back down at the table.

I sat beside the doctor on his left. "Two, actually. My friend Light had been the one to train me and he transferred over to the garrison to be my partner."

"Light?" The tall blonde questioned. "As in Yagami? I know him! He is a good egg! So then he trained you? I don't suppose you ever met a young man named Matt did you? I had some high hopes for that boy when I sent him off, but I never got any word back from him. I'm wondering if he was kicked out or not."

I decided to play the game here since I heard Mello chuckled slightly at this.

"Oh yeah! He got real good, became one of the best, graduated top of his class, and joined in the garrison to help fight evil with his sidekick Light Yagami!"

The look on his face was priceless. "Matt!? You can't be serious! HAHA! I knew you'd be perfect in the military!"

I shrugged. "I try."

He then turned to Mello. "Mihael! It's that boy you introduced me to! Isn't that incredible!?"

The blonde finally let the secret slip while he was serving the soup.

He chuckled as he set down the bowls. "We reunited two nights ago, father. He's the one who brought back my guitar."

"Really!? HA! Small world we live in!" The man laughed out.

"Small walls, anyway." The blonde commented before grabbing his own bowl of soup and sitting beside me. "Is Sera and Emma still napping?" He asked his mother.

"Yes, but they should be up in an hour or two."

The blonde sighed. "I'll go grab some firewood later tonight then so I can heat up some soup. Really Armin, I can't believe you let them eat all that taffy."

"I didn't let them, they found it!" He countered.

"Where did they find it?" Mello asked knowingly.

The younger shrunk in his seat. "On the table."

"And where should it have been?"

He shrunk again. "In our room."

"Exactly. I'm not buying another tin after that. Not until they can handle sugar."

I couldn't help the chuckle. "You guys are adorable."

Mello hummed. "He is, isn't he?"

Armin's response was his tongue sticking out.

"Just like a ten year old." Mello commented, taking a sip of his soup.

I rolled my eyes as I took my own sip of the liquid. Whether he spit in it or not, it was excellently made soup! I couldn't remember when I had food this good! Most of the food back in camp was grey and flavourless, but it kept our strength up. This, however, was food worth fighting for!

I heard the doctor sigh and looked to see him rubbing his forehead.

"I'm sorry for taking so long, Memphis, but this damned prosthetic just won't work! I was sure I was on a breakthrough with it!"

"Do not worry old friend!" The man replied. "Just eat then get some rest. We'll work more on it tomorrow."

I looked down at the prosthetic and analyzed it. It was metal and far more advanced than other prosthetics, and it seemed like it could be able to work, but there was something off.

I decided to give it a better look. "Might I offer some assistance?"

The doctor handed it over to me. "Be my guest. If you can find something wrong then maybe I can get it working faster."

I sat back and looked into the joints. "I suppose you plan to have it connected to his nerves and muscles to make it move. It's rather advanced, if I can applaud your efforts. I've never seen a piece of hardware more advanced. Who's financing this?"

"Mostly the military. If it can help with soldiers who have lost their limbs, I want to help. Sadly, I'm no engineer, and the dream is a bit complex. The joints won't move with the correct thought and muscle movement, and it's difficult to test out at all. Memphis helps greatly with his participation, but with every two steps forward I happen to take one step back. It moves, but not as fluent and cleanly as it should."

I nodded at his explanation and looked into the bearings that connected the wrist to the arm and hand. Something about it looked off.

I looked at the man. "Might I borrow your tools?"

He nodded and I reached in for a certain tool and made my little adjustment. After this came another adjustment. Then another. And another…

…and suddenly.

I took a few long pieces of thin metal rods and bandaged them in a specific place on my upper arm after connecting the same rods to the prosthetic.

With hope in my heart, I moved my fingers.

…and the prosthetic moved as well.

The doctor backed up when he saw this and the entire room fell silent. Even if it was a tiny twitch, it managed to work.

I grinned at my handy work. "Working with this is no different than getting my gear to work flawlessly every time. The only thing I'm concerned with is the joints. You want it to work fluently, then switch out the current joints with ball joints. I'd also replace the metal with bone or a bone substitute. Metal will have too many problems in the long run and it's cheaper."

I un-bandaged the rods from my arm and handed it over to the doctor. "If you'd like, I could provide you the materials needed. The soldiers get paid pretty handsomely, but I don't really spend a lot on myself. I'd be happy to help fund for this."

"Holy, heavens." The tall man across from me breathed out. "It actually worked!"

"It did." The doctor whispered. "Even if it wasn't much, it still worked."

I shrugged. "I do my best work with my hands. Plus, this seems like an interesting project. Might I help out when I can?"

"I think you've done all I needed, young man." The doctor replied. "But bone instead of metal, you say?"

I nodded. "Some people in the military donate their bodies to help the cadets learn about the anatomy of titans. I'm sure with enough coin I could convince the scientists to part with a few bones."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that." Memphis said quietly. "I don't want to look down at a manmade hand and know it was someone else's. Someone who died at the hands of a titan or… just no. I won't take it."

"Then how about ivory?" I asked. "Or cow bones? I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to have metal under your skin for so long. It might do too much damage, and if we've hit a breakthrough then more people could suffer serious problems if they too get metal stuck into them."

"If you can provide the materials," the doctor spoke up, "then I'd be able to craft this same thing with the same results. But it's up to you, Memphis. Metal or bone?"

Before he could answer, Mello made the decision for him.

"Bone."

"Son, do not…"

"I won't have you getting infected or having problems with a metal prosthetic." He replied angrily. "You're getting a bone prosthetic, and that's final."

The man sighed wearily, grinning at his boy. "When will you start treating me like an adult?"

"When you start acting like one." Came the blonde's response as he sipped the last of his soup.

The woman beside Memphis chuckled. "That's my boy."

"I agree with Mello, da." Armin spoke up. "If it means your health won't be affected, then get the bone."

"Plus it'll look cool with a skeleton hand instead of that creepy metal thing!" Eren added. "Err… no offence, dad."

The man groaned childishly. "Fine! I'll get the bone prosthetic!"

His wife kissed his cheek. "Stop whining. It's better for your health."

The man grumbled. "I just don't like being ganged up on."

Mello huffed as he took his plate and his brother's. "We could just as easily say no to the prosthetic and allow you to live the rest of your days being treated like a gimp."

"True enough." He agreed.

The doctor then turned to me. "Thank you for your help, Matt. It's good to see we'll be finishing this project soon. How fast do you think you can get the materials?"

"I can get them to you by morning. I know a guy on the inside that can help."

"Splendid!" He said happily as he shook my hand. "It's a good thing you stayed for dinner tonight. Otherwise none of this would have come true."

"Things happen for a reason." I surmised. I guess meeting Mello all those years ago meant something important was supposed to happen for us."

I could just feel the eye roll coming from the blonde washing dishes just a few feet away.

I had to excuse myself after this since it was getting late and I had to return to my post. But I was greeted with happy goodbyes and promises to see me soon. Mello didn't really say much other than his goodbye, but I couldn't fault him for that. Not when he was hiding me from them in a sense.

When I left the home the first thing I noticed was the empty wood pile beside the house. Meaning Mello had to trek a whole mile to grab the wood he'd need for the rest of the week.

I suddenly grinned to myself. Devising a little thank you of my own for the food I was given on such short notice.

(Mello P.O.V)

I opened the door to leave, dreading the mile walk I'd have to take in the dark to get some firewood. I knew Armin couldn't have done it himself, and I didn't want him to. But I really wish the girls hadn't missed dinner so I could go to bed.

I exited the home and froze by the door.

The wood pile had been completely refilled all the way to the top. There was even a bit of kindling along with it. And on top sat a small white rose that seemed to glow in the darkness.

I grinned happily, taking the rose from the top to get a better look at it.

I heard a chuckle from up above and looked up to see a familiar figure sitting on the roof of another house. He seemed to be outlined by the moon and its radiant glow.

He smiled at me. "Thanks for the dinner. It's a lot better than what the military feeds me."

I smiled back at him. "Thank you for helping my little brother. And for my father's prosthetic. It means a lot to me."

He continued to smile at me. "Tomorrow at noon?"

I felt my heart give a bit of a flutter. "By the docks?"

He stood up from his seat. "I'll be waiting."

And we parted ways until tomorrow.

This new routine was perfect.