Notes: I'm sorry...? It was late and I was tired and suddenly – eremin . AGH. Spoilers if you haven't watched the anime at least. Very angsty and fluffy aha.

Mentions of Mikannie, JeanMarco, ReinBert, LeviErwin, SashaHanji and YmirChrista

Reviews appreciated!

{Age 7}

Mikasa Ackerman really wanted to meet Armin Arlret.

The sky was a plain, lively blue with white clouds washing alongside the sun like gentle waves in a silken pond. The little girl had heard a lot about her adopted brother's best friend.

Armin, according to her sibling, was smart - too smart for his own good apparently. His eyes ranged from shades of cornflower blue to steely metallic gray. His golden-blonde hair was satiny and he grew it out so sometimes he looked like a girl.

"You're going to love him." Eren beamed delightedly - and the sight of his happiness made her feel warm as well. The way the brunette talked about his closest friend made her think other things, but she felt good that her only brother had someone by his side before she was there. Honestly, he could be a wreck – just yesterday he got in trouble for trying to clean the kitchen and flooded the sink 'accidently'.

The two children tottered along the cobblestone paths of the town, feeling the rays of white sunshine on their backs and enjoying the smell of the crisp, autumn air.

"So, how old is he?" Mikasa wondered quietly, realizing the boy's age had never been mentioned.

"He's our age! And, don't say anything about it, but he is kinda small… and really skinny too. Last winter he got really sick and I wasn't allowed to visit him…" Eren said the last sentence with a look of resentment and furrowed brows. "But I snuck out anyway. Don't tell Mom and Dad though."

She gazed up to the rooftops that lined endlessly overhead, trailing beside the exuberant boy with her own soft enthusiasm before a loud scream shredded the peacefulness. Mikasa felt her heart freeze in place, her footsteps faltering so she nearly tripped on the sidewalk's curb.

"Let go! Let go!" A voice – a child - screeched defiantly, and the siblings bolted around the corner to find a very small kid being slammed into the side of a building. His narrowed eyes were filled with unshed tears and his bottom lip was cut, droplets of scarlet falling to his chin.

The first word that came to Mikasa's mind when she saw this child - strong.

'Why isn't he backing down?' Her inner thoughts restlessly whispered, confused on how a boy that little was not cowering beneath the two towering bullies. They had height, weight and muscle on him - he had no chance of winning a battle against them.

Why was he -

A loud scream of, "Hey, assholes, get away from him!" startled the girl back to reality and she watched in shock as Eren bowled through the older boys, flinging himself onto one of them like a rabid animal. He was…protecting this child.

The blonde victim immediately got up and tried to move before the one jerks kicked him in the chest hard enough to elicit a cry of pain from him. He fell forward on his knees, and finally, the girl could see the tears pooling up and spilling down his cheeks.

'No.'

Mikasa felt nothing but fury and desire for blood as she lunged forward, smashing the bully against the brick wall behind him with little force. She could have used more force - she should have used more force - possibly even break the bastard's nose, but decided not to at the last moment.

The fear that showed on the boy's face made her stop.

Eren had somehow managed to elbow the other teenager in the face, feeling the satisfaction course though his veins at the sight of blood and the damage he had done. The two bullies were gone in an instant, fleeing down the alley like the pair of idiots they were.

Mikasa swiveled on her heel, about to ask if her brother was alright, but stopped at the sight in front of her. Eren, leaning down the gentleness of a mother cradling her child, aided the beaten boy and sat down to pull him in his lap.

The blonde gave a weak protest but then rested his head on the brunette's shoulder and giggled. It took him a minute to realize the girl was there and he practically leaped a foot in the air, squeaking.

"W-W-"

"I can't decide whether you're extremely stupid..." The words slipped from her mouth without her consent, "Or extremely brave."

The young kid blinked, sitting up and wiping his hands off on his pants leg before reaching a hand forward in greeting. "I'd say stupid, because I'm nowhere near brave."

Mikasa unconsciously moved forward and met his hand coolly, her brown eyes searching the depths of his cerulean ones.

"You're not stupid Armin; you just need to stop egging on bullies." Eren wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders with a wide grin. The sister felt a little electricity run through her body.

'So this is Armin?' She thought, taking in his appearance, scanning over him like a machine would. 'He's almost exactly like Eren said'

The blonde child was short, a good few inches off of the brunette, and quite lanky, his shirt sagging off his arms and hanging low around his waist. He was strong - he was intelligent – and now he was a friend. He was now part of her family.

"Armin - this is my sister, Mikasa."

"Yeah, you told me about her." Armin rolled his eyes playfully, giving the faintest of smiles to her. Mikasa decided she liked that smile. "It's nice to finally meet you."

So, Eren had mentioned her? She had come home with his family, and she did spend a few days in their house, adjusting, so while she was doing her chores – it was completely plausible that when Eren disappeared in the middle of the day he was actually heading over to his friend's.

"Despite the circumstances of you being beat up in an alleyway?" Mikasa tilted to the left a little, ignoring her brother's irritated glare.

"It happens a lot." He shrugged, wincing in pain for a second while wiping his bloody lip. Her heart lurched forward, she didn't want him to be hurt…he was a nice boy and a new friend. She had to keep her new family safe.

"Don't think like that!" Eren flicked him on the ear, "You can't let them win all the time."

"Who said I'm letting them win?" His best friend raised an eyebrow, "You only lose if you give up the fight."

There was silence, the trio listening to the wind pick up multicolored leaves and swirl them into a randomized pattern the gray street. The girl began to walk down the sidewalk, hiding her grin under her scarf when she saw Eren grab Armin's hand.

"Hm, a strategist. I like you." She nodded at the boys, who gave her incredulous looks as she led them out of the alley and into the sun.

{Age 8}

"What's this?"

Armin looked up from where he was lying, round blue eyes tracing over the pages of a large dictionary in seconds.

"Where Eren?" He crawled on his knees over to his friend, watching his friend glare irritated at his children's book. Mikasa, who was leaning on her brother's other side, lifted a hand and moved the blonde's shaggy bangs from his face. Armin gave a soft noise of gratitude before turning his focus to the book.

"Here?"

"Yes." Eren huffed as he confined to point to the word.

"Deception, Eren. Dee-cept-she-on. It means to mislead, or to make someone believe something that isn't true."

"Like lying?"

"Yeah, exactly."

'Those two are so cute' the girl thought happily, losing interest with the book she had been reading. She had been startled to learn that Eren was practically illiterate, only able to make out a few things.

As it turns out, Armin hadn't known for too long either and had just begun to tutor him. They had meetings at the local library every Tuesday like this - reading quietly and working together. The first word that came to her mind when she silently gazed at the smaller child attentively – intelligent.

Mikasa cherished these moments.

{Age 9}

"Don't be an idiot!" Eren stomped his feet, huffing, "You can't join the Recon Corps!"

"Whynot?" Armin said quietly, eyes wide, and hands clutching a giant red book. Mikasa stiffened, shoulders going tense – burying her face into her scarf, distressed.

"Y-You...you would get hurt." Eren stuttered, shaking his head angrily and his friend.

"You could get hurt too!"

"I don't want to see you get hurt Armin!"

"And you think I want to see you get hurt too? You mean way too much to me - I'm going with you."

{Age 15}

They became soldiers, placing their fists over this hearts and acting like they didn't have tears in their eyes that threatened to spill onto their faces..

{Age 15.1}

Mikasa met Annie during training and thought 'She's cute'. The long-legged girl met her gaze and scowled, causing her to blush profusely.

{Age 15.4}

"Armin!" Eren screamed above the roar of the battle, watching in horror as his best friend was thrown like a rag-doll across the rooftops, his limp body crashing onto the shingles of an already destroyed house.

"Mikasa!" The brunette snarled, his 3D Maneuver-Gear smoothly whipping out from his belt. "Get over here, now!"

The world became a blur of colors when she saw the blood seeping from Armin's head.

'No, he's not - he can't -'

Her parents corpses flashed distantly in the back of her brain, causing her fists to clench around her blades tightly. She could not lose her family again.

It was hard to look at him as she raced along the edge of a building, ignoring the crash of feet following steadily behind. A few Titans had managed to break in, and they swarmed the small part of the city.

War cries and screams rose from the Survey Corps, who were fighting with all their might to stop the beasts. The black-haired girl beat Eren to the blonde, and she rested a cold hand to the boy's forehead. Blank blue eyes snapped opened, and before Mikasa could do anything, Armin began to writhe and wail in a horribly broken voice.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He sobbed, very close to toppling over the drainpipe and to the sidewalk far beneath him. She pulled him back so he had no chance of doing such thing.

"Mikasa!" Eren called, stumbling as he caught himself and ran over to his friend, emerald gaze full of rage and upmost concern. "What happened?"

The blonde went near silent, his hoarse voice still whispering out apologizes as he let the girl pick him up, bridal-style. His terrified eyes stared off into the distance, trembling, his hands clenching the girl's arms in terror.

"No, no, please don't kill him." He muttered to no one, causing the siblings to flinch.

Armin was petrified and that scared them.

"Armin?" Mikasa nearly dropped the blonde in surprise at how Eren's voice had softened to a calm tone. He went and gently grabbed the teenager's hand, his fingers intertwining with the others. "I'm here."

'Romantic.' She thought with warmth spreading in her chest at the act of affection. She hoped that Eren might tell Armin how he felt soon but no such luck.

The Survey Corps kept them separated and torn almost constantly.

"E-Eren? M-Mikasa?" The young teen cried out, gasping and coming to see the people in front of him.

"Yeah." The girl sighed, moving her bangs from her face in one swift tip of the head.

"Y-You're alive-?"

"What's wrong with him?" Eren hissed at his sibling, who gave him a pointed look.

"He's got a concussion and…I think he's going into shock, and doesn't understand what's happening. You need to remain calm for his sake."

"I am calm-"

"Titan!" Armin screamed, using the strength he had left to throw his friends down - a giant hand sweeping over their heads. If they hadn't moved, they would have been crushed in the palm of a giant. Eren rolled to the corner of the roof, letting out a gasp as his legs slipped and he clung to the edge helplessly, unable to reach his gear.

Mikasa shot forward, grabbing him without a second thought before realizing he left traumatized Armin to fight a Titan alone.

"Ar-" There was a resounding crash and horrifying cry as the creature broke the roof in two and separated the blonde from them. The small teenager disappeared, along with half of the building. The dark-haired girl grabbed her sibling hard by his sides, so he couldn't foolishly dive into action.

"No!" Eren yelled, scrambling to try and get out of his sister's grasp. "Stop Mikasa! Let me go, dammit!"

'He's gone…' She faintly thought, horrified, 'He fractured his leg, most likely has a head wound and a concussion, and was going into shock. Unless he leaped out of the way he was either eaten quickly or he fell with the roof and is now trapped in concrete rubble. There is no way he could have survived.'

"Mikasa! Mikasa!" Eren was growing vicious and trying to rip out of her hold. "Y-You - you bitch! Armin's hurt! He's hurt! He's going to get killed!"

"He's gone, Eren." She whispered in a dead tone, fighting an unusual heat growing under her eyelashes. The boy lunged again and again, his face contorting into a monstrous snarl, baring his teeth like a wild animal.

"No, he's not! Please, please, I-I n-need to save h-him!" Mikasa felt her heart break a little more as her brother began to sob, "Armin! Armin!"

The Titan was reaching out for the two and before they could move green blurs shot into existence, silver blades slicing around the creature in a fluid motion. Scarlet blood splashed into the air, painting the streets and houses nearby red.

The beast's body slammed down with a hollow boom. A few Survey Corps members were on the side of a nearby building and lit up when they saw the siblings together - safe.

"Eren! Mikasa!" Connie Springer waved, darting forward to meet them with Marco and Jean in tow. "You're okay!"

The trio froze at the sight of a shuddering Eren, who was curled up on the damaged shingles, choking on his tears and bawling. Mikasa had let him go by this point but he was paralyzed in agony, his hands digging into the roof.

"H-Hey - Eren -" Marco Bodt worriedly began to inch to the devastated teenager by was stopped halfway.

"Don't." The girl took a step forward, guarding him with authority and protection practically radiating off of her skin. The boys stared, quite terrified of what they were witnessing - watching Eren be reduced to this.

"What-"

"Armin's gone." She said without a waver in her voice. The squadron all visibly tensed, the shock showing on their expressions. Marco began to tremble violently, and Jean's face dropped, his eyes widening to a point where they couldn't anymore and his mouth agape with unspoken questions.

Connie went to his knees with a quiet, "No…" before tears flowed freely.

They stood on the roof for a while.

...

The evening was lit with flare canons and crackling fires. Mikasa watched in silent anguish on her cot, wiping the tear-trails off her cheeks. She couldn't take this. Armin had been ripped from her so simply - so quickly - so easily. He died in terror. And she hadn't done anything to help.

That was already half of her family - Eren was the only thing left keeping her stable - and at this point in time, he was most certainly not stable.
Upon return, the brunette had a total of three breakdowns, managed to stab a trainee, got into a fist-fight with Jean and punched Reiner when the blonde told him that Armin would be greatly missed.

While Eren showed his anger, sorrow and brokenness through violent actions and meltdowns, Mikasa sharpened her blades to the point where they snapped and she had to restart multiple times. She used punching-bags, not actual people like her brother, to express her pain. She wept in solitude and isolated herself from everyone.

Mikasa watched people make their way through with limp, lifeless bodies and near dead troop members whose names and faces began to slip from her mind. She didn't care.

The first word that came to her mind when she thought of the blonde, dead in the wreckage far out in the city – fearless.

"Move!" Medics cried every-time they brought batches of bleeding and wrecked soldiers in to be taken care of. Her heart felt no sympathy. She felt nothing right now, her hands clenching into fists automatically.

Why did the world have to rip her boys away from her? She knew Eren was going to snap in a short time, and with his abilities, might be seen as a threat and killed because of his pain.

She couldn't let this happen-

"Help! Please!" A voice called, and heads swiveled to see a red-headed girl dragging a lifeless figure in. Mikasa would have disregarded it except for the fact that the corpse had bright blonde hair, streaked with blood and wide blue eyes that were most certainly and most definitely alive. That corpse was not a corpse.

Armin was dragged dumbly, his mouth open slightly and his eyes distant. His breath was shallow and his chest rose faintly, barely able to actually be seen. Mikasa felt panic flood her system. He was alive? Armin was alive?

"Get him to the medic tents immediately!" Mikasa snarled without meaning to, observing the nearby apprentices flounder under her horrible glare as they went to follow her orders.

The girl was following them at a quick pace before she eyed a brunette girl at the edge of the clearing. "Sasha!" She called and the girl flinched, looking frightened that attention was brought to her.

"Get Eren now, tell him Armin's alive."

Sasha ran without a looking back.

The tent flooded with people and within a minute she received the wonderful news he would live. Her heart stopped slamming into her ribcage. It took another minute for Eren to practically bowl into some of the nurses and guard his friend's side like a loyal pet dog, snapping at anyone who tried to get to close for his comfort zone.

The siblings sat there in the dark of the night, past when the sun had slipped away with an orange wave of color and melted down the horizon, past the great Walls. They waited a long time, past the shades of twilight and dusk in royal shades of purple, black and dark blues.

"He's alive." Eren said after a while, his head resting against Armin's pillow, their heads nearly touching.

"Yes." Mikasa felt horrible - she thought the blonde had died. She should not have underestimated him so quick.

The boy had gone down with the roof, but avoided falling to his death by clinging to the outer edge of one of the levels of the broken home. The Titan tried to grab him but he had snuck back far enough to get out of the creature's range and then the Survey Corps did their job. He had passed out in the dirt and dust and debris, still bleeding and crying, only to be found later by Hannah with her small search group that patrolled for people that could be alive - like Armin.

"I'm sorry." She replied mutely, wringing her hands in her lap and nosing under her beloved scarf.

"It wasn't your fault." By his angry tone he still had not forgiven her, but hopefully he would get over it soon. Armin was okay - Eren was okay.

She watched as her brother eyed her with his bright emerald green eyes, wary as he titled forward and - and what is he doing?

Eren brought his lips up and kissed the blonde's forehead delicately, ignoring the few tears that went down his face as he did so.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He spoke to the limp body, "I don't know what I'd do without you. I know you can't hear me but I am so, so relieved you're alright. I couldn't bear the fact that I lost someone I loved to a Titan..."

The girl tried not to stare at her brother with wide eyes but she had known all along. She just was surprised to see such an act preformed in front of her.

After some silence, Eren whipped up to scowl at her. "You don't mention this to anyone."

"Mention what?" She responded coolly, a faint smirk on her lips as she breathed in the welcoming night air.

Her boys were safe another day.

{Age 15.7}

"Hey." Warm arms wrapped around her waist, pulling Mikasa backwards as warm lips met her neck.

Wow, way to start a conversation. She let out a breathy sigh, leaning back into Annie's body and loving the feel of it. Ah - this was amazing.

"How are you today?" Annie whispered softly in her ear, making the black-haired girl shiver in delight.

"Better now that I'm here with you."

"Ugh, cliché." Annie hissed as she pressed their lips together, force increasing until they were pressed against the nearest wall.

There was a cough and Reiner was staring at them from his spot on his cot, next to a flustered Bertoldt.

"There are rooms down the hall, lovebirds. Do you really have to do that here?"

"That's rich coming from you. And I'm not the one banging every night in a room with thin walls, am I? I think you can stand to see me making out with your squad leader." Mikasa growled lowly, causing Annie to chuckle in her mouth and Sasha, Ymir and Connie to howl in the background from their game of Backgammon.

"Nice one Mikasa!" Ymir yelled loudly, nearly falling off her seat on a bed with laughter.

"Ooh! Get em' girl!" Hanji cackled from their spot next to Potato-Girl and Petra shook her head, trying to stifle her giggles as the boyfriends went bright red.

"You started the game without us?" Marco laughed as he came into the common room, hand tightly wrapped around Jean's as he led them in.

"Welcome to the club!" Hanji shrieked, waving their arms up in their and beckoning the two teenagers to sit beside them. Jean seemed a little reluctant but Marco gave him one of those deeply freckled grins that made him melt so he stayed.

"Where's Armin?" Connie swiveled to the door, expecting the strategist to walk through in a second.

Jean snorted rudely, his hand subconsciously going to meet his lover's. "Probably with his boyfriend."

There were nods of agreement before Mikasa spoke up quietly, "They're not dating."

Sasha choked on her bag on Pringles, and all eyes went to the black-haired warrior, who was currently wrapped around Annie's waist.

"What?" The freckled teenager squeaked, which pretty much summed up what the rest of the room wanted to say.

"They're totally together - maybe they're just being private about it." Bertoldht muttered, but Mikasa shook her head in despair.

"They've gotta be doing it by now." Ymir stated from her seat on the top bunk of one of the cots, wearing a leering grin like a wolf.

"Eren is too much of an idiot to do anything and Armin is currently trying to deny the facts, despite having slept with him for the past few nights when they had nightmares." She sighed solemnly, "They used to do that as kids, so they probably think nothing of it. But they like each other, I can tell."

"Narks." Sasha said as she shoved a handful of chips in her mouth, and licked lips. Hanji moved forward to meet her mouth, with a satisfied smile.

"Mhm. Salty, I like that kind."

"I know you do." The brunette girl went pink, and averted her attention to the game in front of her, rolling her dice and moving her game-chips forward on the board.

"We've got to do something." Connie protested as he moved one of his Backgammon pieces forward and contemplated where to put the other.

"Intervening would make it worse." Annie supplied, hands slipping just below Mikasa's pants band, "And then it would just set them back at level one again and they wouldn't move - it has to happen on its own."

"I agree." Her girlfriend curtly said, holding back as gasp at her lover's hot grip.

"Wha-mph!"

The girls fell onto one of the bunk beds as they kissed, clinging to each other like kittens to yarn. Connie made a retching noise, Ymir wolf-whistled, and Sasha made kissy faces at them in the background while Hanji snapped pictures.

"Such fine specimens." They grinned and set their phone down in their lap, "This is my new wallpaper."

Mikasa wanted those moments to last forever, with her fingers tugging on Annie's hair to kiss her harder, for the days all her friends were alive, back to the days were they could joke, laugh and play stupid games to their hearts content and not have to worry about much.

{Age 16}

"Are Jagear and Arlert fucking?"

Mikasa choked on her tea, turning her narrowed glare to Levi, who was wiping a table nearby.

"No. Or at least, not that I'm aware of."

"Hm." The man pushed the white mask over his face again, turning away. "They were holding hands, and feeding each other this morning - they act like some shit romance couple."

"I know."

...

"There's my girl!" Eren giggled hysterically, wrapping an arm over Mikasa's shoulders as she dragged him out of the bar.

"How the hell did you get your hands on a drink?" She snarled at her adoptive brother, who was drooling on her neck.

"C-Connie an-and I got...drinks...for f-fr- something. And I c-couldn't refuse! Your hair smells r-really nice...is it edible?"

"I will feel no regret punching you in the throat if you try that."

"Oh, Mi-kitty got claws!"

The walk back to the male side of the camp seemed to last forever, with Eren babbling stupidly and Mikasa growling threats the whole time.

"I love you Mikasa!" He elongated the word 'love' by way to many syllables.

"Shut up."

"And I love Armin too!" The teenager giggled, a wide, stupid grin on his lips, "Like 'I wanna kiss him' love him!"

"I know."

"Like, 'wanna bend him over the nearest flat surface and-"

"I. Know."

Eren burst into fits of laugher and hacking occasionally after that, not speaking again before he perked up, similar to a puppy, mumbling -

"Why are you sad, Mikasa?"

"I'm not sad."

"Yes, you are. You look sad, I can feel you're sad-" He prodded her cheeks and she fought the urge to bite his hand.

"Eren, please shut up."

"Is it Annie?"

The girl stiffened, getting thrown off guard. "What?"

"This is the day she - she was frozen in crystal - it's been a year."

Mikasa ignored the tears brimming so easily in her eyes, and choked back the sniffle. "So?"

"You're upset."

She hesitated, thinking back on her words. Eren would most likely not remember this - he had no idea what he was doing anyway, he would be horribly hung-over in the morning. She could answer a few questions.

"...Yeah."

"Do you miss her?" The Titan-Shifter whispered gently, gripping tightly to her shirt, coughing and ruining the moment.

"All the time."

They fell silent afterwards.

Most of the guys didn't look too surprised to see Mikasa trotting through the men area - she never did anything there - and if you tried to ask she might break your nose. She often dropped by to see Eren and Armin or any of the others in her squad, and to spend time together.

But everyone did look very shocked when she came in, practically red with anger, but it was only her eyebrows twitching and her gritted teeth gave away how pissed she was.
Carrying a drunken Eren. And slamming him into Armin's lap, who was just calmly reading a book on his bed.

"Take him." She snapped, wiping her hands on her sides, as if trying to rid Eren's stupidity from her palms.

"W-What-?"

"I have no idea, but tell Connie if I see him tomorrow I will break his thumbs very slowly and then make him break every other bone in his hand himself. And I'll do more if he ever gets Eren drunk again."

"O-Okay..." Wide, bright, innocent eyes watched her anxiously. "Mikasa...?"

"What?" The she-warrior whipped around to see Armin's grateful smile forming on his lips.

"Thank you...for bringing him to me."

Mikasa felt the breath catch in her throat as she gave a short nod, "Take care of him okay? I don't have to threaten you for his safety, do I?"

The blonde chucked, "I think he'll be fine, I'll get him everything he needs."

"Thanks, Armin."

As she left the room, she pressed up against the back of the wall and heard the boy cooing to the drunken teen.

"You screwed up this time, didn't you?"

"I-I heard ab-about the death count y-yesterday and I-"

"I understand, but please, don't do this again." The boy muttered, sighing into the drunk's nice, coffee hair.

"A-Arminnn-"

"Please be quiet."

"Kiss m-me and I'll shut up."

"Done deal." There was the sound of pressing down on a mattress, and soft giggles. Then silence.

Mikasa left with a heartwarming feeling in her chest, almost forgetting about her promise to break Connie's fingers if she saw him the next day.

{Age 16.2}

"Where's the boys?" Commander Erwin raised one perfect eyebrow at her, glaring down at his attendance checklist. Mikasa tilted her head to the side, biting her lip, not wanting to explain that when she went to get them she heard sounds coming from their room that could suggest some explicit things.

"Out."

"Could you get them-"

"No."

{Age 16.4}

"Stupid. You're so stupid." Her brother sighed and tried to let her lean on his side but she pushed away.

"It was your ass about to get smashed into a thousand pieces." Mikasa growled, wobbling on her crutches. Armin sighed, tucking a daisy in her fluffy bangs, above her ear.

"I can't believe you two argue in the Survey Corps like you argued when we were kids." The boy said, adjusted the pot of flowers next to her hospital cot.

It wasn't her fault Eren was an idiot on the most recent mission and nearly gotten himself killed. If she hadn't pushed him he would be dead - but the consequence was falling off a roof. She didn't have much time to pull back on her gear so -

Here she sat in the medical bay with her two boys floundering over her wounds and cuts like a mother would do. She backtracked a minute when she saw the gratitude in Armin's eyes – how teary eyed he was – how his hand was unintentionally going to grab the other teenager's.

She couldn't imagine how broken Armin would be if Eren – no, that happened once before and they had made a pact to never lose him again. They both loved the reckless idiot so much – but Armin loved him a…different way.

"Stop, I'm fine." She nudged them away, sighing.

"You know, I always thought you didn't have the ability to break bones in your own body - just other people's bones."

"Like all the bones in your left arm in the next five seconds if you don't let go of my crutch?"

{Age 17}

"Mikasa."

The girl stopped, swiveling on her heel to turn and look at her brother. His shoulders were hunched forward awkwardly, his teeth biting into his cracked lips, and his beautiful eyes seemed to go everywhere but to hers.

By his side was Armin, looking equally as uncomfortable but managing to hide it better. She noted theirs hands were nearly touching and smiled internally at that.

"What's wrong?" She blinked, feeling the nervousness radiating off them like heat. Both boys stiffened under her cautious gaze, shuffling their feet and looking flustered.

"N-Nothing. Everything's fine." Armin stammered, his Adam's apple bobbing as he spoke.

"Do you need to sit? You look pale." She instinctively reached forward to cup the blonde's cheek but both teenagers flinched slightly, almost terrified of her touch. Now she was starting to get irritated.

"Sitting would be good." Eren nodded too quickly, and thought teenage boys were awkward she knew that they shouldn't act like this. They treaded over to some chairs in the common area, sitting apart.

'What is going on with them?' She wondered, frustrated. They didn't speak for a minute, opening and closing their mouths but no words forming so they just sat there, dumbly.

"If you two are going to dawdle about all day, I'll take my leave."

"N-No, Mikasa, please!" Eren pleaded with such urgency the girl went cold – what was so important that they couldn't just outright tell her – what was so shocking they had to sit down or that they had trouble finding words to explain?

"I'm listening." She moved back in her seat on a leathery, tan couch, folding her legs gracefully - was Eren sweating?

"Well – o-okay, so we've been talking about this for a while-" The brunette started, shifting on his seat, 'moving towards Armin' Mikasa mentally noted. "A-And we weren't exactly sure what to do a-and-"

Oh, were they seriously trying to tell her that? The woman got out her phone from her jacket pocket, and started dialing quietly; ignoring the agitated squeaks the other two gave.

"M-Mikasa!" Eren practically shrieked, "W-What the hell – this is really important-"

"I know."

"And if you're not going to – wait. What? Then why are you-"

"To tell them the news."

"W-What news?" Armin's blue doe eyes widened dramatically. The girl crinkled her nose, furrowing her brows at them.

"Did you honestly think I didn't know you two were dating?"

Eren and Armin stilled like deer caught in headlights, mouths gaping and the most horrified look washing over their features. The brunette went sickly pale while the blonde seemed ready to hyperventilate.

"Y-Y-You-"

"Why do you think I'm calling Hanji?" Eren's sister asked them in a deadpan tone.

"I-"

"We made bets like three years ago and I just won."

"You what?" Eren choked, his hands gripping onto the love-seat he was resting on, ripping off some of the arm's tough skin.

"I get a hundred bucks." Mikasa didn't even look up as she held the humming phone to her ear. The couple still looked traumatized and paralyzed.

"You knew…" Armin groaned in dread, "H-How long-?"

"I always knew you two had a thing for each other before you ever did."

"Stop lying." Her brother snapped, causing her to stiffen and grit her teeth together.

"Why would I lie about that, Eren?" She growled, seeing her sibling's face drop as she continued, "You're an idiot. Holding hands? Protective and obsessive behavior? Sneaking off for 'alone time' with each other? Sleeping with each other? Not hard to piece together."

"Mikasa-"

"Hey, Hanji." She fought the grin off her face, "Guess who won our bet?"

A loud "Godamnit!" and a crash echoed through the phone, so noisy that the boyfriends were able to hear it, and shrunk back in their seats.

"Are you serious?" Hanji hissed, their voice picking up in pitch as they spoke. "Because that's a lot of money-"

"They just came in here and told me – I think Eren's going into shock."

"My, my a sense of humor underneath that deadness. Fine…when you drop by the mess-hall tonight, I'll pay you. But I might be late; I'm going out on my dinner date with Sasha."

"You two are so cliché."

The phone gave a buzz as she clicked it shut, and finished, she turned to the boys with a smirk on her lips. "I don't know why you waited so long to tell me."

"We were nervous." Eren squeaked, to which his sister, while rolling her eyes, whispered, "Obviously."

"We just didn't know how to tell you, we didn't know if you'd be okay with us –"

"I'm gay." She said quietly, sighing, "Why wouldn't I be okay with it? That would be hypocritical."

Eren looked like he was going to lose consciousness and Armin froze with wide eyes in her direction.

"What?"

"You're-"

"I'm what? Into girls? Yes." Mikasa hummed, leaning back as she crossed her arms.

"I didn't know-"

"I was dating Annie before…you know…"The girl said gently, clinging to the memory of the warm lips against hers, hands close around her waist, the midnight whispers of 'God, I love you', and the eyes loving and an endless sea of ice blue.

Her brother opened his mouth, gave an apologetic whine, and stood, shuffling to her right side. Armin followed his lead and went to her left silently.

"Y-you were with Annie when she-"

"Mhm."

"Did you…did you love her?" The brunette asked seriously, hoarsely, grabbing one of her hands and intertwining their fingers. Mikasa gazed at the boys – her boys – ignoring the swelling sorrow in her chest. Emerald and sky blue gazes met her chestnut one, waiting for a response.

"More than you'll ever know." It was rare for her voice to crack, but her usual, monotone voice broke in the middle of that sentence, causing her to drop her head. She felt the blonde grab her free hand, and both teenagers pressed a kiss to her palms.

"Mikasa…"

"You're the best." The blonde nuzzled her shoulder affectionately like a puppy.

"There's someone out there for you, someone special, but they can't handle you yet because you're too amazing." Eren spluttered unintelligently, but it was heartfelt and meant something. "You will find someone Mikasa."

"It doesn't matter, really." She said, pulling them into a hug before they could protest, "I have my boys with me, what more could I need?"

{Age 19}

The wedding was exactly like they planned – beautiful and simple.

Mikasa wore a nice tux, and adjusted Hanji's tie, with a grin. Sasha had tears of joy in her eyes when she stated at the grooms, and Jean tried to act as manly as he could and failed tremendously.

Yes, the boys held on for the kiss a little longer than they should have after the 'I Dos'. Yes, Jean and Connie got a little more than drunk after chugging bubbly wine on a bet, and yes, Erwin and Levi slow dancing and it was really...cute.

But it was perfect, nothing more or less.

Her heart was bursting with happiness as the newlyweds dragged her to the dance room where they all held each other in a sandwich like fashion, giggling as they danced.

Mikasa's boys, her Eren, her Armin, were finally living their life together, kissing, laughing, singing – and she couldn't be happier.

Notes: ...shhh eremin babies for life. Mikasa is a great big sister, I seriously love her. This was kinda lame - meh, anyway reviews appreciated! :D