Author's Note: So, I'm alive after all lol. To keep it brief; I was inactive on this account for a pretty long time, mostly because I wanted to focus on school and not stress myself out trying to juggle that, work, and keeping up with writing fanfic. Weighing my options, it shouldn't be any wonder which one I put on the back burner.

I finished school a couple years back and, having gotten into fandom again, I have more down time for my fics (that I still thought about even during my hiatus!). Plus, maybe I'll have an easier time writing this now that the source material is actually complete.

So, without further ado, I give you a very (very) sudden and overdue chapter 2!

©️ An anime/manga by Hajime Isayama

Chapter II: Friendship

A couple of weeks had gone by since Ada's "noble rescue" of the young blonde. Ever since then, she'd caught him glancing her way during class or staring from afar during their playtime outside. Armin may have thought he was being nothing but discrete, but no, the little girl was much more observant than he had assumed. She noticed his stares, and while he'd been doing so in order to figure her out, she was doing the very same. From Ada's perspective, his expression always held a sense of anxiousness while his eyes held curiosity. She could tell something was weighing heavily on his mind, something about her specifically. Ada had hoped whatever it was would pass, and that they could continue on just being acquaintances like normal. But she remembered well enough Armin's character. Once something began scratching at his brain, he simply couldn't ignore it. Try as he might, he had to alleviate that itch.

Just what it was living in his thoughts, however, she wouldn't come to find out until another day when school was let out.

Ada had stayed behind a little longer to help Ms. Hoffman clean up, much to the woman's pleasant surprise. Most of the children couldn't wait to leave the stuffy, overcrowded space in favor of their comfortable homes. Especially those as young as she. However, the older woman had to deal with screaming, and sometimes disobedient, children all day. As much as Ms. Hoffman clearly enjoyed their company, she didn't enjoy the added stresses that came along with it. Sweeping up dirt and putting supplies back in their appropriate stations was the least that Ada could do.

She gave her a sweet smile, "Thank you again for helping me, Ada." her teacher said from her desk. "I have to say, I was surprised you offered. Most of the other children don't even clean their own rooms, I'm sure." she jested.

Ada gave her a smile back, pushing the last chair up against its desk. "You don't have to thank me Ms. Hoffman. You're really nice all the time, and I really enjoy your class!" The last part was a lie, she was bored constantly, but whatever put a smile on her face after a long day.

Her teacher put her hands on her chest and cooed. "Ohh, but I do! You're always so attentive and quiet, you're one of the few students here that are." The other being Armin, Ada didn't even have to guess. He was always so well behaved; you would think he wasn't even in the room. Her smile widened a little more. "I've never even had to reprimand you..." she trailed. "In fact, how would you like it if I brought you a treat tomorrow? Just as a proper thank you for today."

Ada blinked, "Oh, that's not necessary, I just wanted to help." As nonchalant as she was being, Ms. Hoffman cooed even more.

"You really are such a good child, and always so well spoken!" She thought her mother must've been really lucky to have a child like her. "So sweet and humble!"

She wasn't being humble; she just didn't want anything from her. "I—"

"I'm making oatmeal cookies tonight, and I'll save a few just for you!" she interjected. "It's the least I can do, after all."

Ada could see how adamant on it her teacher was, and how eager she was to show her appreciation. Or maybe she wanted to show off her baking skills? Nevertheless, she wouldn't feel good to further refuse now. So, she feigned excitement, "Ooo, cookies!" she exclaimed, clapping softly. "I like cookies!"

"Oh, perfect! I'll be sure to make them extra special, you won't be disappointed!" her teacher promised. "Now, I've kept you long enough. I'm sure you've got better things to do than stand around talking to me." she giggled. "You can go home now dear; you've done a wonderful job!"

"Thank you!" Ada exclaimed with a smile. She jogged all the way to the door and turned to her teacher after resting her hand on the knob. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Hoffman!" After seeing the woman wave her goodbye, she opened the door and made her exit. She could feel the sun, soon to begin the process of setting, tickle her skin as she closed the door behind her. Ada skipped down the few steps and when she looked up ahead, she paused on the spot. For in front of her, she saw the familiar blonde haired boy squatting near the dirt road with his back facing her.

Was he just sitting outside all this time? Why hadn't he gone home? "What are you doing?"

Armin gasped a little and was quick to stand and turn around to face her. Ada saw he had something curled in his hands, but before she could focus on it for too long she heard him speak. "I wanted to say thank you!" he suddenly blurted out.

"...Whaa?" She didn't quite process what he meant straight away.

Armin clearly realized this, and that he probably hadn't made clear sense, because he shook his head and walked closer; until he was merely a few feet away from her now. "Um..." Being much more in her personal space had hit him with a small wave of nerves that hadn't been present before. "I-I said...thank you." he repeated, not meeting her gaze. "Those bullies...you stood up for me..."

Ada had remembered before he even reminded her. "Oh...yeah..." she trailed. "They were very mean to you."

He nodded, "Yeah...and people usually just ignore me, you know?" he confessed, not that Ada wasn't already aware. "I'm sure it wasn't easy for you. You could've just ignored me too, but you didn't..." His eyes shifted to the side. "I never got to thank you before so..." His cheeks tinged pink, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he nervously held out his hands. Still clutching whatever it was that was gently tucked inside them. "Thank you," He opened up his palms, and Ada gasped at what she saw. It was a wooden cow. "My grandfather makes little figurines for me sometimes," Armin continued. "You mentioned last week in class that your mom owns a cow that you really like..."

She remembers, during a small break between switching subjects, Ms. Hoffman offhandedly asking them to name something that made them happy. Ada had, indeed, brought up their cow and how she enjoyed sitting with it outside. The fact he'd kept that in his mind for so long...she was a little touched that he remembered such a minuscule detail. She leaned in closer to get a better look at the little figure, and Armin watched on nervously.

It was only semi-realistic, but she was still impressed by it non-the-less. It was painted white with black blotches, just like her one at home. All it was missing was the ribbon on her tail, and it'd have been a perfect replica as far as she was concerned. "Woooow..." Ada trailed, causing Armin to snap his eyes back open and stare. Ada looked back up into his eyes and beamed, "It's beautiful...and you said your grandfather made this?" That wasn't something she remembered. Then again, he hadn't been around long enough for readers to know much about him.

"Yeah," Armin quickly confirmed. "I helped paint the spots."

"Oh Armin, you're so talented!" Ada exclaimed, taking the figure from his hands to inspect closer. On a couple of the spots, the white of the base paint still showed through. How cute.

"W-Well, my grandfather still made it!" He felt bashful, anyone could've done what Armin did. "But, um, I'm glad you like it..." he trailed looking down at his twiddling hands. "...thank you, again."

Looking up from the object, she stared at Armin. "Hey...look at me." Ada said, and Armin complied immediately. The look in his eyes, she could see the gratitude he held for her. However, something about his eyes looked solemn as well. She could see just how sincere Armin truly was, but all it did was makes Ada's heart ache. Had people truly let him down so much? She gave him a soft smile, "You don't have to thank me so much." When she saw him begin to frown, she speedily attempted to clarify. "And I mean, it was only the right thing to do! People shouldn't treat you a certain way just because you're different...everyone's different in their own way. It's what makes us all who we are, and that's ok."

Armin blinked, not knowing how to respond at first. He'd always heard the exact opposite from their peers, who'd most likely been hearing it at home. That there were certain things that shouldn't be thought of or poked through, forget about expressing them out loud. There were customs, ways of life, and practices that were considered normal and expected of all who lived within the walls. Anything else was sinful. Armin had spent so long since beginning school thinking that he and his grandfather were committing sin, in thinking of life beyond the walls and reading, dreaming, of what the world was truly like on the outside beyond the Titans. The other children certainly had no problem telling him all this, so to hear different was shocking...but, somehow, reassuring.

Armin felt himself choke up a little, and Ada was afraid he would begin crying. While tears did well up, and even slip down his cheeks, he wiped them away with his sleeves. "That means a lot," he stated, sniffing as he continued to wipe his tears. It truly did.

Ada gave a soft, tender smile to the young boy, feeling her heart swell a little. She'd known Armin to be a sweet kid but getting to witness it firsthand was magically wholesome. "I'm glad, because it's true." she reassured once more. Then, they fell into a silence afterwards as Armin's tears dried. She took the time to examine the figurine a little more, gently turning it around in her hands, before she started walking again. Armin felt his body stiffen when she walked past him and, once she was in the road and turned in the direction of her home, he spoke up.

"H-Hey!" he exclaimed, causing the young girl to stop in her tracks and turn to face him.

"Yes?" she questioned.

"Um..." Armin trailed off, not knowing where to begin for a second. "You're very kind..."

Ada smiled at this, "Thank you,"

"And I was wondering…would you, um, wanna hang out tomorrow?" he asked, his small hands nervously clutching the end of his shirt.

Her smile fell, she wasn't expecting that. "Oh," she said, "Well, I don't know Armin...I don't know if I'm someone you would wanna actually hang out with."

"Why?" he inquired, genuinely not understanding why she'd say such a thing. He took a few steps forward before speaking again. "You're nice to me, and you don't judge me for thinking about the outside." He frowned, "There aren't really other kids in our class who are like that...you're not the same." Well, she knew that for sure. But in that vein, what about Eren? Surely, he'd been one of the kids who were like that. Perhaps, he was just too caught up in his own world to notice quiet children like Armin. As it stood, the boy didn't stand out too harshly.

"I know, but...the others think I'm kind of weird sometimes." she pointed out. "You already get picked on, it would probably just get worse if you were friends with me."

"But I like weird!" he unabashedly protested. "And I don't have to worry about bullies if you're around!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists. "Right...?"

He sounded so innocent when he asked, Ada bit her lip and clutched the small wooden cow in her hands. The young girl was worried about altering his early years too much. She didn't want to make a mistake with him, if she hadn't made it already. "I'm not sure about hanging out..." she sighed, causing Armin's shoulders to sag in defeat. "...But, if it means anything to you, I do think of you as a friend." she stated, to keep from disappointing him. By this point, just the tiniest interaction with him in the first place has possibly gotten his hopes up already. She figured, what would hurt in entertaining his want for companionship?

His demeaner brightened greatly at hearing this, "Really?" he asked, hope shining in his voice.

"Really," she confirmed, nodding her head. "I think you're very kind too, Armin." And he was correct, he wouldn't have to worry about bullies if she was around.

"Oh, uh, t-that's good." he stated. He hadn't known what else to respond with, but the revelation made him feel elated nonetheless. He now stared at his feet, twisting one of them around and shifting the dirt beneath his shoe. "I guess this means you're going home now then?" Ada tilted her head, was that disappointment she heard?

"Yeah," Ada confirmed, "It's just me and my mama, so I help her around the house a lot."

"Oh, wow," he gasped. It wasn't unheard of for kids in their district to help their parents with labor, but it was mainly older kids who had such responsibilities. They were on the younger side, "Help her with what?"

Ever the curious boy, "Everything I guess," she shrugged, "I help her tend to our crops, I feed our animals, and I help her clean and cook."

"Wow," he gasped again, "You sound so grown up, I wish I was allowed to do cool stuff like that!" Ada gave a genuine giggle that made Armin beam. "I won't bother you anymore then, thank you for talking to me for this long." he said, feeling his cheeks warm. He twiddled his fingers bashfully before continuing. "A-And…thank you again for standing up for me…" With his cheeks burning red now, he quickly turned on his heels and ran in the opposite direction. "See you later!" he exclaimed.

Ada watched as more and more distance was put between them, then gazed back down at the gift he'd given her. She slowly ran a thumb over it as a smile spread across her face.

o O o

Lorraine had been feeling a little under the weather the past few days, so Ada had to help around their home a little more than she did on average. For example, this night Ada had to prep their dinner herself with her mother instead spectating. With the fits of coughing she was in, she didn't want to stand over any of the ingredients that needed to be chopped. Once everything was properly prepared and thrown in the little stew pot, Lorraine made sure to periodically check and stir the food while holding her shawl over her mouth. Ada on the other hand, after having done her part, had gone up to her room and was now sitting at her desk with a blank journal and pencil in hand. Her foreknowledge of this universe's lore had been on her mind ever since she discovered where she truly was. Her memory of it all wasn't exactly locked tight, and she figured the memories would only decay the older that she got if she let them just float in her mind. She needed to keep a record of it, that she could look back to whenever need be. This had prompted her to ask her mother for a journal the previous week, under the pretense she needed it for school.

To begin, the fall of Shiganshina and Wall Maria. She couldn't remember the year the event takes place off the top of her head, but she did know the ages of the main trio were roughly ten years old. She was currently the same age as them, five. If they were five, and the attack happens five more years from now, that meant it was suppose to happen in 845. She jotted that down.

Year 845

Shiganisha gets invaded by the Colossal and Armored Titan, Wall Maria falls to the Titans.

Ada made a side bullet note that Bertholdt Hoover and Reiner Braun, respectively, were the Colossal and Armored. Following this event, the main trio lived as orphans in Trost for two years before enlisting in the 104th training regime. They started in 847 then trained for a total of three years before the Titan Shifters made a reappearance in 850, to take Wall Rose.

Year 850

Colossal and Armored Titan breach Trost, the Titans invade further.

Eren activated his Attack Titan form during this time, which turned the tides of the invasion and gave the Survey Corps an ace up their sleeve. She wrote down everything she could remember, including the year if she could, as well as bullet points with information she thought would be import to expand upon (such as who ultimately died and why). She kept writing until she had pages worth of detailed information…and then she couldn't recall anything further. She'd only read up to about chapter ninety she believed, until she obviously wasn't able to read further. There were tidbits of information she knew beyond that point that she wrote down in another set of bullets on its own page, but nothing in depth. Despite not knowing the full extent of these things she figured this was still sizable enough, it was better than nothing. Now, with all of this written down that begged the question: What would she do with it?

Were she to actually survive the breach, would she just join the Scout Regiment once she was of enlistment age? If not, how else would she put this information to use? What if she gave the journal to one of the Military Policemen? 'No,' she thought to herself, 'They would think I lost my mind,' That's assuming they would've even looked in it. It's equally possible it would just get thrown away, and ultimately written all for naught. If they did read it, she could also be accused of being some sort of anomaly and subsequently arrested. This Ada chuckled at, the thought genuinely amused her. People have a natural dislike or fear of things they don't understand, that they feel go against their idea of what's normal. So, the reaction would be very on brand all things considered.

Then another thought struck her: What if she ended up not being able to bring it with her after the invasion in the first place? If for whatever reason she wasn't home when it started, would she be able to come back for it? If not, would she then have to rely on memory alone?

Her fingers skimmed over the rough pages as she sighed, briefly reading over what she wrote before closing the book. "Hopefully this is good enough," she muttered under her breath. This wasn't something she had to focus too much on for the time being, so she shouldn't be over thinking it so much. While five years wasn't that long of a time in theory, it was still a ways away. In the meantime of her only being able to just live her life, she'd make due by studying the contents of it if or whenever she felt she was becoming forgetful. She opened one of the drawers in her desk and shut the journal inside. As if right on time, her mother came into her room coughing into her shawl again.

"Ada," she croaked, "Supper is ready,"

Ada hopped down from her chair and followed closely behind her mother, towards the stairs. "That sounds bad," she commented, referencing the cough that her mother started expelling again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes Honey," Lorraine said, smiling down at her sweetly. "It sounds worse than it really is." It was very much a dry cough. Her throat was scratchy and her nose a little stuffed. "I think I just need medicine, I'll have to make a house call to Dr. Jaeger." she thought out loud as they descended the stairs.

"Doctor?" Ada said, her interest being peaked.

"Oh yes," her mother nodded. "Dr. Jaeger; he's very renowned for his work and lives right out here with us" she explained as Ada jogged over to the table and plopped down in her chair. Her bowl was already made, piping hot and smelling amazing. She stared at all of the vegetables and meat chunks that floated in the rue with her mouth open, practically salivating. Now that she was looking at it and smelled the savory aroma, she realized how hungry she truly was. They each even had a chunk of bread to go with it. "As a matter of fact, I believe his son goes to school with you."

"Yeah, his name is Eren." Ada confirmed, blowing on her spoonful thoroughly before placing it in her mouth. "He said his last name was Jaeger too, on the first day."

Lorraine coughed a little, taking a seat across from her daughter. "Well, that's splendid." she croaked out, "I think you both are the same age as well, maybe you'll make friends."

"Maybe," Ada replied absentmindedly, much more preoccupied at that moment with devouring her food. "What's Dr. Jaeger like? Do you know?" she curiously inquired after swallowing. She saw her mother pause for a second, before tilting her head up in thought.

"Hmmm, well, I wouldn't say I do personally." she admitted, "But, I've heard great things of him by word of mouth. He has an amazing bedside manner and is clearly passionate about his work."

Ada tilted her head to the side and blinked her eyes in feigned ignorance, "What does all that mean?"

Lorraine let out a laugh that quickly turned into a short coughing fit, "It just means he's a great Doctor, honey." she said after recovering. She found the innocently ignorant nature of her only child to be down right adorable, if not humorous.

The following day at school Ms. Hoffman made good on the promise she'd given the little girl and bestowed her with the cookies she promised, right when it was time for recess. They were presented to her in a tin container, and it looked like there were at least twelve of them in it. Ada beamed seeing them, and excitedly took them from the woman with an enthusiastic "Thank you!". It was funny, she felt so awkward when they were initially promised to her. Now that she actually had them in the flesh, she was singing a different tune. Currently she was sat outside in the grass, her tin of cookies in her lap and munching away. This was definitely going to ruin her appetite for any dinner later, and her mother certainly wouldn't be happy about that. 'I'll worry about it later,' she thought, biting into her third cookie.

She stared out at the other children who were playing like she normally did sometimes, particularly noticing Eren who was pretending to be a Titan while playing pretend Scouts with a small group. 'Very ironic,' Her eyes scanned for Armin, but she didn't see him anywhere outside. He was here today, so that must've meant he was still in the classroom. Which went unsurprising to her, the blonde boy was a bit of a teacher's pet. On top of that he seemed to sometimes rather enjoy his free time doing something other than playing outside, like reading. 'He did bring a book today,' she thought with her head down. Yes, that was most likely what he was doing. Soon after that passing thought she saw a shadow cast over her form. Blinking in surprise, she looked up to see a boy with brown hair and bluish green eyes looming over her; it was Eren.

"Hey," he greeted flatly.

"Um…hi," Ada greeted in return, not knowing why he was suddenly speaking to her.

"Can I have one?" he inquired while pointing at the tin in her lap, and she almost wanted to laugh. So that was why he was speaking to her, she should've figured as much.

She shrugged, seeing no reason to be stingy if he only wanted one. "Okay," she said as she removed one and handed it up to him, to which he quickly took.

"Did your mom make you these or something?" he curiously asked before taking a bite.

"No," she answered with a shake of her head, "I got them from Ms. Hoffman, before we came outside."

"Oh…" Eren trailed, then curiously tilted his head. "You some kind of teacher's pet?"

That had caught her off guard a little bit, "U-Um…no…" she trailed.

"Oh, ok," he stated before turning around and walking away from her, he hadn't even told her thank you for the free treat.

She blinked as she stared at his retreating form, then looked back down at the tin in her lap. That was…a very strange interaction, but she brushed it off to him being so young. There was little to no information pertaining to what he was like prior to the beginning of the story, but she never would've expected him to be so nonchalant during their brief interaction. Especially not when he was normally so brazen and unable to sit in one place. "Hey!" she heard someone exclaim, and when she looked up she saw a group of children walking towards her. "Jaeger said you were giving cookies away!" She raised an eyebrow then tried to look for him in the tiny crowd, but ultimately saw him sitting at a tree swing. He was simply staring in her direction and kicking his feet without a care.

o O o

Later on the same day, after school hours concluded, there was a knock at their front door that Lorraine swiftly answered to. Already knowing who it was, she opened the door with a smile, "Dr. Jaeger—" she cut herself off by coughing into her shawl again, sounding a little worse than yesterday; more congested.

"Oh my," Grisha commented, "That's not what I imagined when you said you had a cough, but I've heard much worse. May we come in?"

Lorraine tilted her head, then looked down to see Eren staring up at her. "Oh! Yes, come in." She stepped aside as the two entered her home before shutting the door, coughing again. "I wasn't expecting you to bring your son along, is he your little helper?"

"No!" Eren exclaimed with a sour look, to which his father ruffled his hair.

"Quiet down Eren," he said, then laid his briefcase on the dinner table. "No, I don't bring him along to help me at all," he answered as he laid out the medicine and instruments he brought with him. "But I know you have a daughter his age, and they're classmates aren't they?" he questioned rhetorically, "I figured she could use the company while we're busy. Besides, Eren doesn't have many friends if any." Grisha teased as he looked down at said boy. Eren, however, paid him no mind and was instead kicking up Lorraine's rug with his foot.

Lorraine smiled at the man and nodded in agreement, "That's a very splendid idea, my little Ada could use the company. When she isn't at the school house she's home with me all day." she confessed as she sat down at the chair Grisha turned around for her. "It makes me wonder if she's getting along with the other children at all."

Grisha gently moved Eren away from the rug to fix it, lightly scolding him for mussing up someone else's home, before responding to Lorraine. "If she's staying out of trouble, then she gets along with others well enough I'm sure. Where is she now?"

"She's upstairs in her room," she answered before calling for the girl the best she could. After doing so she heard a door open, and the sound of shoes walking across the wooden floor and down the stairs. When Ada was near the bottom she saw Grisha and Eren in the main room with her mother.

"Hello there," Grisha greeted the young girl with a smile. He walked up to her and got down to her level before putting out his hand. "I'm Dr. Jaeger, it's very nice to meet you Ada."

She glanced down at his hand then back up at him before accepting his handshake. His hand swallowed hers with ease, he shook hers with just his fingers. "Um, it's nice to meet you too…sir." His smile widened at her polite disposition.

"This is my son Eren," he stated, turning his head to look at him.

"I know," Ada assured, "He's in my class."

"Tell Ada hello, son." Grisha said, dropping the girl's hand.

"Hey Cookie Girl," Eren greeted while picking at his ear, and looking around the room.

"Give her a proper hello," the Doctor said, a stern tone behind his voice.

Eren paused, his eyes snapping onto Ada, then said, "Hello, Ada."

"Hi, Eren…" Ada replied. Her mother began coughing again and Grisha stood back up to go back to the table, "Is my mama gonna be okay?"

Grisha chuckled as he picked up his tongue depressor to examine Lorraine's throat, "She should be just fine, but I'll know for certain once I do my exam. In the meantime, you and Eren can go play outside."

"They can go in the backyard," Lorraine rasped. The two kids followed what they were told and walked to the back of the house, where the door leading to the yard was.

"Open for me, Lorraine?" Grisha asked, then pressed the stick down onto her tongue when she complied.

The pair entered the backyard with Eren stopping to take everything in, and Ada going to go pick up her ball that was resting up against the house. She figured they could just toss it back and forth until it was time for Eren and his father to leave, but when she turned around and saw him walking towards Lorraine's vegetable garden it was clear he had other ideas. "Hey!" she exclaimed, running up to Eren and yanking him back by his shirt sleeve. "Don't touch any of that!"

"I was just looking!" he exclaimed, pulling his arm back. Ada knew that wasn't true, as she'd seen him reaching his hand out to grab one of the carrots protruding from the soil. Eren's head then turned in the direction of the tiny barn house, to which he pointed at. "What's in there?" He didn't even wait for her to answer, he ran straight towards it with Ada in pursuit. Once at the entrance the door creaked when he pushed it aside, and he was met with the sight of their cow. She was standing over her feeding bin eating the fodder Ada put in it after returning home. "Why do you have a cow?"

"For milk," Ada said, as if it were obvious, while clutching her ball to her chest. "We have chickens for their eggs too."

"My mom just buys all that from farmers," Eren commented as he walked around and sized the cow up. He leaned to the side to look at the ribbon tied to her tail, then she gave a startled moo when her tail was grabbed and Eren pulled on it.

"Don't do that!" Ada shouted, "Leave her alone and let her eat!"

"I was just looking," he dismissively said again, and Ada sighed. Yeah, she definitely would have never imagined he was this obnoxious as a small child. Given his behavior in his later years, however, maybe that much should've been obvious. "Besides, I'm bored."

"Then we can play catch," Ada reminded, holding her ball up. "Just come back outside," she said, to which Eren surprisingly complied. They both exited the barn and put a bit of distance between themselves before Ada began their game of catch. "Throw it back gentle," she told him after he caught it. He paused for a few seconds, seemingly to mull over her words, then threw the ball back to Ada the same way she'd done it; much to her delight. Perhaps he had more charm than he let on. They tossed the ball back and forth like that for a couple of minutes, then Eren began to show signs of lethargy. Seeing this, Ada decided to start a conversation while they played, to keep his mind busy. "Can I ask you something, Eren?"

"I guess," he said flatly.

"Do you ever think about…what's out there?"

His eyes got wide and he scrambled to catch the ball before it fell to the ground. "What?" he asked, a little bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about what's outside the walls," Ada clarified, "Do you ever wonder what the outside world is like?"

Eren took a few seconds to think about his answer. He did wonder what the outside of the walls looked like, that's why he envied the Scouts so much and thought they were so cool. They were the only ones ever allowed outside, for humanity's sake, and they got to see more than anyone within the walls; even if it was a danger. "…What are you asking for?"

"Because…" she trailed, thinking about how to word herself. "I know someone who really wants to know about it too."

"Who?" Eren asked, genuinely curious. She had his undivded attention now, he didn't even toss the ball back to her after catching it the last time.

"If I tell you, you have to promise not to spread it around." she said, and Eren quickly nodded his head. "It's that boy in our class, Armin."

"Armin?" Eren repeated, "I don't know who that is," That left Ada dumbfounded.

'Is he being serious right now?' Was his attention span short? Or was he just bad with names? "Armin Arlert, he's the kid with the blond, bobbed hair."

"Oh, that kid," Eren realized, "I thought that was a girl."

Ignoring that comment, Ada continued, "He really wants to know about what the outside is like, he told me. But some other kids started bullying him real bad after they found out."

Eren's face twisted up at that, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Ada nodded, "The adults tell us we shouldn't think or talk about it, they we'll be punished if we do and the other kids listen without asking any questions. But he doesn't," she explained, "He doesn't listen because he doesn't think it's wrong, and I don't think it is either. Other kids don't like it though, and they try to bully him into silence."

That was indeed a lot for a young child to try to take in at once, so Eren understandably took a little bit of time to respond. "Why does he even wanna know so bad?" Was all he thought to ask.

Ada shrugged, "Because he's a curious kid, and he likes to learn about things he doesn't understand." she answered, "Is that bad?"

Eren clutched the ball in his grasp, "I don't think it's bad to wanna know. Rules are dumb anyway, especially that one." he scoffed, the idea that anybody would heckle Armin like that over something so minuscule was ridiculous.

"Does that mean you wanna know too?" Ada curiously questioned.

"…I don't know, I guess." Eren replied with a shrug, "I thought about it before."

She supposed that was as good an answer as any, "You guys might have something in common then."

Eren hummed, shrugging again before tossing the ball to her. "Maybe you do too, if you're telling me all this."

Though that comment caught her a little off guard she easily caught the ball, then stared at the boy in front of her. "How?"

"I don't know, you sound like you know a lot about him." he said, stretching his arms above his head. "And you said you don't think it's wrong either, so I guess that means you wanna know too." he stated.

After pausing for a few seconds, Ada slowly nodded her head and played along. "Yeah, I do."

"Well, what about the Titans walking around out there huh?" he asked, putting his hands up like a monster and roaring loudly. "You not scared they're gonna eat you?!"

Ada laughed, genuinely finding his comment silly. "That doesn't scare me," she said, throwing the ball back hard. Eren just barely caught it, and huffed when he did.

"No way, you're lying!" he accused.

"No I'm not," Ada argued, crossing her arms.

"Yes you are, you're a girl!" Eren exclaimed, "You'd start crying if you saw a Titan for sure."

Before Ada could make a rebuttal to the offending comment, Grisha opened the house's back door. "Eren!" he called, catching the children's attention. "We'll be leaving soon, come back inside now." he said, then stepped back inside.

"You know, I'm sure Armin can tell you more about his dream than I can." Ada stated, turning to Eren. "Maybe you should ask him sometime," The green eyed boy stared at her, then hummed. That was probably the best reply she was going to get out of him, so she decided not to press it any further as the two walked back towards the house. Once the kids reentered the main room, Grisha had just finished packing up his things while Lorraine sipped on hot tea. "Mama, how do you feel?" Ada asked, throwing her arms around her mother's waist and gripping her shirt.

Lorraine smoothed back Ada's hair with a smile, "I feel a little better, dear." she assured, "The Doctor made me tea to soothe my throat."

"A very special tea," Grisha added, picking up a little glass bottle from the table that contained a green liquid. "This is a medicinal blend that I made to soothe your mother's throat, and keep her coughing under control." He leaned down to hand it to Ada, and she took it. "She'll need a little of this in a hot cup of tea everyday until she's all better, luckily she just has a common cold. Nothing serious, just as I thought." he smiled, "Can you be a big girl and make sure your mother doesn't forget?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile, and Grisha patted her strawberry blond hair.

"Before I take my leave, I do also need to remind you to make sure you get lots of rest and to not overwork yourself." he said to Lorraine after picking up his briefcase. "And, that doesn't just stop after you get better. Prolonged periods of not getting proper rest wears on the body, and leaves your immune system vulnerable to viruses. You could get hit with something worse if you're not careful."

"I understand Doctor, thank you." Lorraine said, sitting her cup down to wrap both her arms around her daughter.

Grisha nodded, "I'm sure it's easier said than done when you're running a household by yourself, but just something to keep in mind." He put a hand on his son's head and looked down at him, "Now say goodbye to the nice people, Eren."

"Bye…" he trailed, and that seemed to be good enough for his father. Lorraine and Ada walked them both to the door with the adults exchanging final goodbyes. Ada and Eren, however, stared at one another until the door was shut between them. She hoped what she said to him out in the backyard stuck in his head, and that the seed of friendship between he and Armin would be planted soon.

"Did you have fun with Eren, sweetheart?" Lorraine asked the child as she went to sit back down at the table.

"Yeah, we played catch." Ada said, sitting at the table with her mother while she drank her tea. She sat the bottle down in front of her face, and watched as the motion made its contents swirl around. "He pulled on Gertrude's tail too," she tattled.

"Oh my, a touchy boy isn't he?" the woman joked, "As long as he was nice to you, and you two got along." And her cow wasn't hurt, of course. Ada nodded her head as her only response, and the two sat in peaceful silence afterward. Lorraine focusing on finishing her drink, and Ada wondering where her meddling would lead.

Author's Note: There was more I wanted to add, but this chapter was getting kind of lengthy. So it'll have to wait until the next one. As far as when that will be, I'm going to try and keep an update schedule of at least one chapter a month. Maybe twice a month if I really get into the zone.

Sorry if the ending to this chapter felt a little too abrupt, I'd still love to know what you thought!

TBC