AN: I am so sorry for the lack of updates. I've been super busy with college over the years, but I'm slowly making my way through this fic and rewriting it to my new style. It might take some time before NEW chapters are out (currently there 6 while I type this), but if you're patient with me, it might be worth it :) feel free to let me know if you like the rewritten chapter(s) better as I make my way through it again.

I don't own Attack on Titan :(

"Look, he's at it again."

Liz waved her hand in front of her friend's face to catch her attention. The girl blinked a couple of times before taking her bright green eyes off of the book she was reading. She followed Liz Bandura out onto the patio. A sigh escaped her when she saw her father.

He stood barefoot in the sand, allowing the ocean waves to tickle his feet. His arms stretched wide as the wind picked up speed. The wind blew his dark brown hair in all directions. A goofy smile covered his face. They lived in the beach house for as long as she could remember, but her father admired the ocean once a day.

"Why does he do that?" questioned Liz, with a puzzled look on her pale face. Her blue eyes scanned the scene before her. "Eren acts like he's never been outside before."

"Aye, Carla," Eren called over his shoulder.

Carla jumped. Was Eren psychic?

He shut his eyes and let a long sigh out into the wind. "Come join your old man down here."

"Old man?" snickered Liz and elbowed Carla. "He's, like, your age."

"Shut up. He's thirty. That's not even close," Carla shot back. It wasn't exactly a secret that Eren was fifteen, maybe sixteen, when Carla came into the world. She didn't know much about the how or why, but she knew her mom left about three years after her birth.

Eren gave up everything to give her a happy life.

Liz threw up her hands in her defense and smiled. "I'm just saying. He's in his twenties. Shouldn't be calling himself old."

"It's old for how things used to be... You know, during the war," Carla told her as she recalled history lessons with her father. Twelve-year-olds had the choice to join the military and train for three years before being thrown into different regiments. When the world went to hell with titan attacks, majority of soldiers would die an early death. It worried her that someone so young could fight what was once such terrifying creatures. She was a day away from being old enough to begin training. "That was a scary time. He won't talk about his time in the military with me."

"I wonder why," Liz scoffed with an eye roll. Carla glared at her friend before joining Eren on the beach.

"Tomorrow's a big day," said Eren, not taking his eyes off of the ocean. Carla swore his smile grew bigger. "I wish there were as many job options for me when I was your age. All I had to choose from was the military and moving rocks or picking plants. Do you know what you want to do?"

"I don't have to pick right away, right?" she questioned, suddenly growing nervous. The job she would choose would be her lifelong job. That was absolutely terrifying. How was a twelve-year-old supposed to know what they wanted to do until they died? Carla went through the choices in her mind. A historian for the king sounded ideal to her. History was her favorite topic during homeschooling with Eren.

The only route to work any job for the king made her choice difficult.

"Naaaaaaah," Eren drew out, "but a lot of people pick on their fifteenth birthday, though. Back in my day-"

"It was twelve, I know, Dad." Carla perked an eyebrow. "I've heard your spiel plenty of times."

"Never hurts to tell it again." He sighed. "My little girl is growing up. She'll see the world soon."

Eren nudged her with his elbow. He smiled, but she noted the sadness in his tone. She read Eren like a book. His eyes would lose a bit of shine anytime they mentioned her future. Carla felt a hand begin to clinch her heart the more she thought about leaving Eren alone.

"So, what's on your mind?"

Any job for the king required years of service in the military.

She was really small for her age, so she convinced herself someone of her stature wouldn't fit in well. Liz highly considered it, but she was more well fit for it. Her friend was tall, strong, a good leader, and independent. Carla was more of a studier and she honestly couldn't remember the last time she did something without Liz by her side.

She'd be eaten alive. Though he didn't personally experience, Eren knew people who fought in the war, so his advice could help her through it. All she had to do is ask, right?

"Historian for the king?" Her tone came out like a question. She cleared her throat, "I just-"

Eren snapped his head toward his daughter. Carla gasped at his sudden action and winced when Eren's easygoing attitude morphed. The smile melted into a frown while his eyes became vicious. Before she could explain, Eren shot at her, "No. You can pick up dog shit for all I care, but you will not join the military."

"I... I..." Carla turned her head away from him, refusing to be under his disapproving glare any longer. She couldn't find the words to say to him. Never in her life had she seen Eren in such a stage of anger. Every time he would discipline her, he was always gentle in tone and actions. This was on a way different level.

Clinching her fists, Carla retaliated. "Why? It's not as dangerous as it was during the titan war. Even the Scout Regiment is better off. All they do now is travel across the world for roaming titans. More people die in the Retainment Corps than the Scout Regiment, but it's from their own stupidity, not the titans. I would be in the Military Police for two years before I could leave the ranks. Military Police, Dad. The safest corps I could join."

"You don't understand. It's too dangerous for you." Eren turned back to the ocean. His voice softened. "We have our freedom already, and they have plenty of people. Just... Just trust me, alright?"

Carla was gone before Eren could say more.

The sun began to set behind her when Carla pushed past Liz and back into the house. Liz called after her, but Carla slammed her room door behind her. A knock soon followed and she grunted to Liz, "Enter."

"Hey, what happened? I've never seen you two like that." Liz leaned against the wall. Carla continued to read her book from before and pretended not to listen. Liz pulled the book out of Carla's hands, so she would have no choice but to stare at Liz's face. "I'm talking to you! What happened?"

"He asked me if I knew what job I wanted to do after my birthday tomorrow," she started.

"Historian for the king. That's what you've wanted to do for, like, ever."

"Yeah, but that means I have to military training for three years, and two years with the Military Police." Carla crossed her arms. "He lost his mind over it!"

Liz's eyes darted to the door as if to check if anyone was standing in the doorway. She said in a low tone, "Maybe he has his reasons for that. You should trust your father."

Carla huffed at her response and rolled her eyes. She rolled onto her side and faced the wall. "Do you still want to join the military?"

"You know I want to join to Retainment Corps. That's all I've wanted to do my whole life." Liz's tone hinted at her grief.

The Retainment Corps was a new branch added to the military after the titan war ended. Titans were discovered to be normal people injected with a serum, so the Scout Regiment teamed up with the Garrison to trap the remaining titans inside the walls. With the titans inside the walls, people can live outside wherever they please. More importantly, the titans stay safe inside until a cure could be found to return them back to normal.

"My grandfather was in Ragako when that-that beast went through." Liz fisted the hem of her shirt, her knuckles turning white. "He's inside the walls now, but..."

"Sorry, didn't mean to bring up bad memories," Carla apologized, realizing her mistake.

"It's fine. I wasn't even born when he changed, but it would be nice if he had someone who cares for him there when he wakes up, you know?" Liz smiled at the thought of her brother returning back into a human. Trying to change the topic to a lighter subject and to cheer her friend up, Liz laughed, "Hey, tomorrow's the big birthday. I'm ready to party with you tomorrow. Is Hics coming?"

"He better!" Carla interjected with annoyance. She would be more upset if he didn't come than Liz. Even though Liz and Carla hung out twenty-four/seven, her oldest and best friend was Hics. He moved next door when they were four and the duo had been best friends since. Granted, he was the only kid around until Liz's family moved in not too long after, but that never devalued their bond.

Liz picked up a painting of the three of them off of Carla's nightstand. They were eight-years-old in the picture and had come inside after swimming in the ocean. Carla laughed at the faces the three were making and how odd Liz's blonde hair looked against her and Hics's dark brown hair. She told Liz, "We made our pact not long after that, you know."

"You don't have to keep it if that's what he wants." Liz's tone was low and barely audible. She smirked and punched Carla's shoulder. Carla rubbed her new bruise as Liz laughed. "In the end, you're your own person. Do what's best for you."

With that, Liz made her exit.

An hour or two had passed with Carla laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. Her mind flooded with thoughts about how her birthday might be the last day her and her two friends would ever be together. Liz and Hics both already had their fifteenth birthday, but they wanted to wait until Carla made a decision on what she wanted to do.

They promised to go together.

Even if she did change her mind, Liz and Hics wanted to join different branches of the military. While Liz wanted to go to the Retainment Corps, Hics wanted to join the Military Police and work for the king. Being a proud Military Police soldier ran in his family and Hics didn't want to break tradition. He constantly talked about how proud his mom and brothers would be once he made it to a high rank. At least, if Carla decided to stay on the path of being a historian, Hics would be somewhere around the kingdom.

Regardless, tomorrow would be her last day on the beach. She couldn't remember anything before living on the shore nor had she made any memories away from home. More than anything else, she wanted to see the world, see what it had to offer her.

A soft knock on her door broke her from her thoughts. Eren opened her door. He tried to give Carla a smile, but it fell when she wouldn't meet his eyes. Her father greeted her with, "Aye, Carla."

"Aye, Dad," she gave her usual response. "You first."

"The thought of losing you..." Eren stopped speaking as a flashback came to mind. He sat on the bed next to Carla, wrapping a protective arm around her. "I lost my mother to a titan, and I was powerless. I want you to stay here, find a different path away from the titans."

"It's my choice. If I want to go, I'll go." Her voice was defiant, but she snuggled into his embrace. "But I'm scared."

"Yeah, me too." He squeezed her tight. "Whatever you end up picking, I just want you to be happy. I hope you know that. But you don't have to pick so soon. I'd love it if you stuck around."

"Liz and Hics are so sure of what they want to do in life. They're so set on the military. I feel dumb for not knowing one hundred percent what I want. Historian sounds amazing, but it's such a big decision..." She was done with that topic. That was all anyone seemed to want to talk to her about for the past week, all leading up to her birthday. "Is it too late to go surfing? Let's go surfing."

"W-What? Really?" Eren was surprised. Carla wanted to go swimming? With Eren? Even she was shocked. He raised an eyebrow and smirked as he offered, "How about we surf tomorrow instead? It's too cold now. I've heard from your friends that you've got some sick tricks now."

"Not as good as you!" she admitted, blushing. Carla didn't like to brag and was a bit embarrassed that her friends would brag for her. That was a trait that she wished she could be rid of. Eren was always so proud of everything he did and talked like it was no big deal. She couldn't do that. "Dad, I wish I was more like you."

His smile faltered, but his voice stayed his normal self. "Love you, Carla. Get some sleep."

"Love you, too, Dad."

Knock-knock!

"I got it!" Carla called as she finished changing. "It's probably Hics."

"If he didn't bring food, he's not allowed in."

"I hope he brought milk then."

The sun reached its peak on her birthday. Her and Eren barely made it inside from a round of surfing before someone arrived at the house. Carla put on clothes and grab a towel for her hair. She tried her best to wring her hair out and rub the salt water out. Tossing the towel aside, she ran to the door.

"Hey...?" her voice trailed off when she didn't recognize the people at the door. Three adults in Scout Regiment uniforms greeted her. She didn't know much about the military, but she did know that the Garrison had troops stationed in every town. They were around to keep to the peace between the people and just in case a lone titan happened to wonder into town before the Scout Regiment could find it. At first, she thought maybe she had the logo of the two mixed up, but the green capes and hoods confirmed that she was staring at members of the Scout Regiment.

She called over her shoulder, "Dad?"

"Oh my goodness, it's a little Jaeger! Man, Eren must got busy pretty quick!" the only girl in the group shouted in excitement. Her high pony auburn hair bounced when she leaned forward and grabbed Carla's hands. Carla tried to back up, but the woman tightened her grip. "I'm Sasha. It's so nice to meet you, little Jaeger!"

"Dad!" called Carla more urgently. Carla blocked Sasha from entering and searched for any excuse. "My dad not let anyone in unless-they, uh-they have...food?"

"You got us covered, right, potato girl?" the bald man poked Sasha's side. She swatted at him. "My girl's been packing potato's since training camp."

Carla didn't want to know what all that implied or what that meant. Luckily, the pair didn't care to explain and pushed passed her.

"Your daddy won't care if we waltz right in," Sasha started.

"We're old friends," the bald man finished.

"Friends? With the Scouts?" Carla frowned.

"Excuse Sasha and Connie. They have bad manners," the blond man apologized for them. He scratched the back of his head nervously as he stared at Carla. After a few moments of awkward silence, he held out his hand for her to shake. "You must be Carla. Your dad and I go way back."

She hesitated to shake his hand, but she accepted it. His hand shook almost as much as hers did. Letting go of his hand, she pushed, "And you must be nervous."

"I guess you could say that," said the man with a smile. "Commander Armin Arlert, but you can call me Armin."

"C-C-Commander Arlert?" Carla gasped. She pinched herself to make sure she's awake. "I've read about you in textbooks! You're the one that said titans should be moved inside the walls. You-"

"Pardon me, I need to go speak to your father," Armin suddenly said and stepped around Carla, who stood there dumbfounded.

Carla spotted Hics watching the situation from the street. He held his hands up confusion, so she rolled her eyes and signaled him over. His black bangs were pinned back with a headband, out of his face. He asked in a hushed whisper, "Uh... Why are there people from the Scouts here? We're nowhere near titan territory or the walls."

"They're looking for my dad..."

Hics scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do or say. His eyes clouded in thought, his pupils nearly blending in with deep brown of his irises. He bit his thumbnail, and Carla could almost see steam pouring out of his ears.

"Wasn't your dad in the military or something?"

Carla punched his arm. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."

"Well, did he do Scouts?" Hics crossed his arms. "I thought he did Garrison, but maybe he spent a short time in the Scouts."

"No." Carla copied his stance. "It was definitely Garrison. He about chewed my head off about Military Police, so I can't imagine my own dad did Scouts."

A curious smile crossed Hics face. "There's only one way to find out."

Carla led them through the bright, white entryway, into the living room. The room was full of natural light, sunlight shining through the all glass wall facing the ocean. Sasha made noises of adoration as Connie pointed out a turtle in the sand.

When Hics bumped into a chair, Sasha spun around and squealed, "Are you another Jaeger?! You're adorable!"

"Er..." Red dusted Hics face, his cheeks puffing up like a fish. "A-Adorable?"

"No, he lives next door," Carla corrected, her voice uneasy.

"For a moment, I thought Eren was breeding like a rabbit," laughed Connie as he patted Sasha's head.

Carla noted how Connie leaned, his stance uneven. From the knee down, what should have been skin and bones was a metal rod that curved upwards at the bottom. Knowing he was in the Scouts, she wanted to ask him if it was bitten off by a titan, but that might be a rude question.

Connie broke her train of thought with, "If we weren't still in the Scouts..."

"I'll keep these idiots busy. Go find out what's going on," whispered Hics as Connie started rambling about inappropriate things. Hics announced, "Hey, so I'm wanting to join the military and eventually make it into the Military Police. Any advice?"

"Oh, you're one of those," Connie snickered at Hics.

"Ignore his ignorance. People don't join to run away anymore. Military Police is an honor," corrected Sasha as she bopped Connie on the nose with her finger. Her husband made a face at her before tenderly smiling.

"Actually, my dad was in the MP when the Scouts moved the titans inside the wall-"

Hics's story faded as Carla slipped into the hallway, sticking close to the wall until she reached Eren's room. She could hear movement coming within, but no one spoke. His door was cracked, so Carla moved at angle to see everyone.

Armin's mouth hung slightly open and tears formed in his eyes at the sight of his old friend. Eren just sat on his bed and stared at the ground. Armin waited until the count of five before he spoke up.

"I... Everyone thought you were dead, Eren..."

Eren didn't respond, but he lifted his eyes toward Armin. His eyes were red, but no other emotion displayed on his face.

"But... You're alive. You're alive and haven't contacted any of us! Have you been here the whole time, Eren? When you disappeared, did you run straight here? Did you quit the Scouts to hide away from... From... There's no damn reason for you to hide!" Armin's voice started to raise in volume and tears spilled over. Eren looked away again and Armin let out a noise similar to a growl. "Say something."

"Arm-"

"When you disappeared in battle," Armin interrupted, and Eren's shoulders fell like he wasn't surprised, "you were reported missing in action. No one saw what happened to you and you never returned, so we had no choice but to believe you died. Was that all faked for you to run away? The war was almost over... You almost ended it."

"Am I free to speak?"

"I hated you." Armin clinched his shaking fists. "I hated you for dying when we needed you the most. You ran off on a solo mission without any command. Typical Eren Jaeger. I was mad for so long, but after a few months, I realized whatever you did must've been for the best because we won. Then I hated myself for hating you when I should've been celebrating your life, the freedom we granted us. The courage you gave me to do things I never thought possible."

"Hey-"

"I'm not done, Eren." Armin leaned against the wall for support. "When I was named commander... It should've been you. How I wish I could've switched spots with you. But this... Having a family while everyone that loves you thinks you died? I loathe you. And if I could, I'd kill you myself."

Eren opened his mouth to say something, but shut it. A long sigh left him before he stood up. He wasn't very tall for a guy, but he was still taller than Armin. His eyes looked down at Armin as he searched for words again. Eren coldly commanded, "Get out of my house."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Armin practically growled as he threw a folded up piece of paper at Eren. "Not until we lay everything out on the table."

"Haven't you said enough? You've said your piece."

"I haven't show you anything yet."

Eren unfolded the paper to reveal a letter that was written in Eren's handwriting, Carla recognized the large, sloppy print anywhere. He glanced for only a moment before throwing the letter back at Armin.

Eren was careful not to raise his voice. "Where the hell did you get this?"

"If you wanted to stay in hiding, you shouldn't have written letters to Levi. When he caught wind of our current issue, he was quick to give us your location because you'd be perfect for the job." Armin put his hands on his hips. "Couldn't bother sending me a letter? Mikasa never gave up looking for you. A 'hey, I went to the ocean without you' would've been better than this silence."

"Armin-"

"I searched for you inside the walls for years."

"I wanted to tell you."

"Then why didn't you?"

The two sat in awkward silence until Eren spoke up. "You're here to convince me to rejoin the Scouts, aren't you?"

"No convincing needed when it's an order."

"I'm not bound to the Scouts anymore." Eren raised an eyebrow. "You haven't even told me why."

"It's... Classified." Armin rocked onto his right foot. "You never retired nor relieved. You're under our jurisdiction."

"I died. I'm free of all ties."

"Mmm," Armin hummed. "Clearly, you're not. You're back in our game."

Eren shifted on his bed. "No way in hell. I have a daughter, Armin. I can't just leave her."

"According to Levi, in one of your letters you mentioned her birth date. She turned fifteen today, yes? She's about to leave the house anyways. What are you going to do, huh? Sit around while she's off working somewhere?"

Eren's eyes narrowed, the frown weighed heavy on his face. Those expressions, the anger... Carla never saw anything like that from Eren. In fact, she saw the evidence in front of her that she never knew a lot about Eren.

Commander Arlert was walking proof.

Eren's voice contradicted the fury displayed on both of their faces. "You're a little shit, Armin. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself."

Armin displayed an emotion other than anger. Confusion? Hurt? Sadness? Fear? Did an emotion exist that covered all four?

"Have you talked to your dad yet?" Hics's voice made Carla jump and alerted the two men that the kids were outside of the room. Carla punched him in the arm again.

Eren flung his door opened and stared down at Carla. She backed against the hall's wall, away from her father. When he reached for her, she pushed his hand away. She needed time to process. Process... Process what exactly? If everything Armin had said was true, Eren used to be in the Scouts. Not only that, he was a pretty important member of the Scouts. And he quit... He made everyone believe he was dead.

Eren played a huge hand in the titan war. He's in hiding. She's in hiding?

"Carla, I-"

"You... You lied to me? All those stories you told me about you growing up... None of it's true!" she interrupted him. Carla shook her head, a sad attempt to drown out the noise in her head. "What else have you lied to me about?"

"I have never lied to you. You are the one person I've always told the truth to," Eren said. He reached for her hand.

"Scout Regiment? You told me Garrison." Carla moved to Hics. "Did you know about him?"

"Carla, I don't know what's happening-" Hics backed up until he stood at the hall entrance, not wanting anything to do with the family drama.

"He didn't know." Eren jumped in. He hesitated before his next statement. "And I didn't lie about that. You just assumed Garrison when I didn't say anything about the military."

"Who are you?!" Carla's eyes filled with water. She wiped them away as she stated her thoughts out loud, "Who are we? I grew up being influenced by a liar! God, you lied to the freaking military about being dead!"

"Carla-"

"Is that the real reason you freaked out when I said something about the military? You were afraid you'd be found out! Scared I'd find the truth!" Carla pushed. He didn't even have to answer for her to figure it out. That was all she needed to know. She grabbed Hics's arm and practically dragged him to her room.

"Wait, Carla! Shouldn't we hear what he has to say?" Hics tried to reason with her, but her rage blocked out all logic. Everything she glanced at burned red. He stopped talking when she slammed her door, trapping them both in the room.

"Why, so he could lie to me more?" Carla began scribbling something on a piece of paper with ferocity. Hics tried to read it over her shoulder, but she moved so he couldn't read it. He touched his palm to his forehead and let out a long sigh as he shook his head.

"No, maybe there's more to it-"

"Hics, I'm not in the mood for one of your psychology lectures." Carla slammed her writing utensil on her desk. "We're leaving. Let's get Liz and go."

Carla pushed her window open, but Hics gripped her shoulder. All of her attention drew to the heat of his hands on her, the way he held firmly but his fingers rested gently on her, ready to let go if she asked. He always let go if she willed it so, even when his reason outweighed her impulsive choices. He was too good that way.

"What are you planning on doing, huh? You can't just run away and expect us to blindly follow you."

"Let me go-"

"At least tell me why first."

"I'm following my dream, even if that means running away. He can't lie to me then expect to do his bidding." Carla moved Hics's hands from her shoulders, holding them in her own. His were not much bigger than her own, unusually small for a guy their age. She almost stood eyelevel to him. "You're my best friend. Can we really go our separate ways after growing up together? Let's run away together."

"Okay," he simply said after a moment of silence. The boy followed her out of the window.