Poisoned Apple

A/N: Hello! I made a post a while back on tumblr about a SnK/Aşk-ı Memnu AU and I said I'd turn it into a Fanfic, and well, here it is. I only made a small change in it; instead of having Eren marrying Annie, I'm having him marry Historia, because of all that's been going on in the manga recently, I guess that Historia is more suitable for that role.

Hope you enjoy the first chapter.

Set: Modern AU.

Warnings: Guns, death.

Pairs: Mikasa Ackerman/Erwin Smith, Mikasa Ackerman/Levi, Historia Reiss | Krista Lenz/Eren Jaeger + others.

Summary: After years of being single, Erwin Smith, a father of two kids, has his eyes on a young, attractive woman, whom he desired as a wife. Having her adoptive brother getting married and being involved in deep problems, Mikasa agrees to marry Erwin so as to start her own family and indirectly help her adoptive brother. Being new to her new home, Mikasa gets to know people living there, including Levi, an orphan who was taken in by Erwin, and who develops an attraction towards her eventually. Would Mikasa surrender to him? Or would she stick to her duty as a wife and a stepmother to her new kids?

Chapter I: Junction

The day is a big day for the Jaegers. It's the wedding of their one and only son, of course, not counting their adoptive daughter, Mikasa. Eren is getting married to Historia Reiss, the daughter of a well-known, rich family. People say their marriage is arranged just for the goods of the business between the two of their families, and others say they were forced to get married because of Historia being pregnant. Those are just rumors. However, the rumors are indeed real, but that doesn't mean Historia and Eren don't love each other, which makes it the very first reason of their marriage. There is a conflict between their families and this marriage is supposedly going to end it, or so they hope, because Historia has no idea about the deal her father has made with Grisha Jaeger, Eren's father.

"You have to sign this paper, son. Please understand that it is important for the business and for our family." Grisha is trying to convince Eren to sign the contract which will supposedly make Rod Reiss the owner of his share in the company. That is a huge waiver he is about to make.

"Is mom aware of this?" Eren asks in a hesitant tone, noticing the change in his father's features, which gives him an instant answer. "I'm not signing this!" Eren slams the pen on the table and gets up. "This is too risky, and you're not even the one risking."

"Eren, this is so important. If you do want to marry Historia, you're going to have to sign this paper, now, before the wedding starts." Grisha insists still.

"No. My marriage with Historia shouldn't have anything to do with your business. We're getting married because we love each other and want to have a home and a family together." Eren glares at his father and grumbles in an irritated tone.

"I understand. But Historia doesn't know anything about this. This is her father's idea." Grisha tries to explain rather calmly, containing the volcano of anger that is about to explode within him.

"This gives me even more reason not to sign it." Eren clenches his fists and glares at his father for making such a reckless move without even asking him.

"Listen, Eren. Right now we need money, and I'm not giving Rod your share for free. He's going to pay for it, and it will be in our advantage."

"Don't use me to get money." Eren insists still, "I don't care if you're going to lose everything, or if you're going to be broke. I'm not going to start a home with my wife built on lies and advantages."

"Eren, if you don't sign this paper I'm not going to let you marry her and watch me doing that." Grisha then decides that threatening is the only way there is. He knows his son is stubborn and won't be convinced that easily.

"You can't stop me. She's carrying my child and whether you like it or not, that child will be a Jaeger." Eren then reveals, so irresponsibly, the secret he's been keeping from his parents for a while now, and suddenly Grisha understands why Eren was rushing the preparations of his marriage. "I'm not going to abandon either of them."

"H-How could you—" Grisha is so shocked that he can't stand up any longer. He takes a seat and looks down; trying to realize what his son just told him. "Does your mother know?"

He shakes his head, "No. I haven't told anyone, but Mikasa." Eren and Mikasa are so close to each other. Hey grew up together as a loving brother and sister, and though they argue often, that was never a reason for them to bear hatred towards each other, because in the end, they know they're only going to find each other when in need. They never hide things from one another and he was sure he could entrust her with his secrets. "She helped me a lot, you know."

"Sign the paper, Eren." Grisha says for the last time, seeming as if he lost the argument already.

"No." But Eren still hasn't changed his mind. His stubbornness will never be defeated that easily.

"Sign the paper, or else I won't be considering you part of the Jaeger family anymore. You won't be son any longer." Grisha makes a final threat, hoping that for one, his son will quit being selfish and listen to him.

"Good for you, dad." Eren looks at his father in somewhat pity and disgust before he walks to the door and leaves the office. He closes the door and turns around to find Mikasa standing there with a frown (She must have been listening), "Y-You… heard?" He asks her to confirm his guess, and she nods, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Eren says in a reassuring tone, but Mikasa knows things won't be okay. She walks to him and hugs him tightly, seeking for the comfort she knows she'll never find but in his arms. Eren then rests his chin on her shoulder and returns the hug, and that was the only time he could feel things are going to be fine; when they hug and feel each other's warmth, promising with nothing but a beautiful future. "Thank you for everything, Mikasa."

"Don't ever mention it." She shakes her head, "I'm always going to support you." She reassures him as well and pulls away from the hug to look into his eyes, "Both you and Historia… and your child." She smiles, and he nods at her, knowing he can trust her words.

"I'll go to see Historia now." Eren says before letting go of her, "See you later!" He gives off a faint smile before he leaves the house.

"Are you nervous, Historia?" Frieda, Historia's older sister, asks the bride as she lies down on her stomach while receiving a massage.

"A little, but I'm supposing every girl feels nervous on her wedding day." She mumbles in a soft, relaxed tone, contrary t what she's feeling; the mixture of happiness and fear both at once giving her a ticklish, strange feeling in the stomach.

"Well, you have the marriage to worry about… and also… your pregnancy." Frieda snaps suddenly, and Historia raises her head in shock.

"H-How did you—" Historia made sure no one in her family would suspect anything about it, but somehow Frieda found out.

"I found the papers in your purse when I went to get you your phone yesterday…" She explains, "Don't worry. I didn't tell father." And her last statement alone is enough of contentment but that still doesn't make her feel reassured.

Historia frowns and looks down, but her sister approaches her and pats her shoulder comfortingly, "It's enough. I'll go get dressed now." Historia says to the masseuse as she steps aside and nods. Historia sits up and puts a bathrobe on.

There is a sudden knock on the door, and Frieda goes to check who it is, only to find it's Eren, "Eren, what are you doing here?"

"Is Historia in there?" He asks, ignoring her question.

"You know that it brings bad luck when the groom sees the bride before the wedding?" Frieda tries to play around, but Eren's mood is nowhere close to accepting jokes.

"Oh, gee, at least my kids will have an aunt to tell fairytales to them." He replies mockingly, and Historia pushes her sister away from the door.

"Eren… Is something wrong?" Historia asks in concern.

"Can we… talk… in private?" He eyes Frieda and she understands immediately, leaving the room with the masseuse to let Eren in with Historia on their own. Eren closes the door and stands next to Historia, but when she looks up at him with worried eyes, he just decides not to tell her about anything and ruin her mood for the day. It's their wedding day and she should feel like the happiest girl on earth.

"Eren, what is it?" She holds his hands and asks, but he shakes his head.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you because… I was feeling nervous, but now I saw you and I feel so much better." He answers with a gentle smile, and she finally feels at ease, smiling back at him.

"I'm nervous too… But I know everything will just be fine when we're finally at our home." Historia plays with his hand for a moment. She locks her fingers with his then looks up at him again, more words tugging at her lips, and she says, "Frieda… found out that I'm pregnant." Eren gasps, "But she didn't tell father, so I guess it's okay."

"Even if he hears about it… No one's going to stop us from getting married." Eren says in a confident tone, and that alone is enough to make Historia smile and feel secure. She's going to marry a guy whom she knows will take good care of her and her child. What more could she ask for?

They both look into each other's eyes, and they hug, feeling secure in each other's warmth, until they're suddenly interrupted when the door slams open, and Rod enters the room in indignation, Frieda following him from behind and calling him to stop.

"You bitch…" He walks straight to his daughter, pushing Eren from the way, and turns to slap her, "How could you—"

Eren, who saw his soon-to-be wife getting slapped by her father, gets immediately between them, standing as a barrier, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Especially you, you little piece of shit." Rod grabs Eren by the collar, "You dared to touch my daughter, you filthy Jaeger…"

"Father, please…" Frieda tugs at his jacket from the back to pull him away, but he pushes her off.

"Your father just called and told me… You think you're smart, you little, useless bug?" Rod lifts his fist, ready to punch Eren, but Eren blocks his punch and pushes him off, Frieda then stands in between them. "No one is getting married today, or ever. You two dare to play this dirty game behind our backs, thinking you're going to get away with it, and use it as a backup, thinking it will change anything?"

"Who the fuck was playing behind the other's back? You and my dear father see nothing but money, and think you can use our own lives for your goddamned business." Eren says in defense, Historia behind him unsure of what's going on, "Truth is that you can't use us. This is our life and you're not going to control it however you want, just because everything in the world to you two is about money and winning."

"You sure know how to talk," Rod smirks, "but that doesn't change that Historia is my daughter, and if I say she's not going to marry you, then she isn't going to. Not even her damn pregnancy will get in the way. She'll have an abortion, and she won't have anything to do with you anymore."

"You dare lay a finger on her… You dare touch her or my child and this wedding day will turn to a funeral instead." Eren says threateningly.

"You're threatening me, Jaeger? Threatening me on my own land?" when Rod's about to pull a gun out, Frieda quickly holds him in place, giving the opportunity to Eren and Historia to run away immediately from the back door.

Eren holds Historia's hand tightly as he runs towards his car. They get in, and he starts driving as fast as he could to get away from the Reiss household. Eren takes off his jacket and offers it to Historia who is sitting there in a simple bathrobe. Eren makes some quick calls to secure the place where their wedding will be, and to provide his bride with what she needs for her preparations.

"Eren…" Historia reaches her hand to his and holds it tightly. Her hand is shaking in fear, but Eren squeezes it reassuringly and looks at her.

"We're getting married today, and nothing will stop that. I promise." He brings her hand close to his lips and places a tender kiss on it. She nods at him with watery eyes, but soon wipes away her tears and looks down. All she can do for now is to pray and hope they'll get happily married.

Away from all these conflicts between the families, from all the obstacles and hatred, love lies in each small corner of the Smith's house. In the Smith's, there is no grudge, no arguments, no conflicts, just everyone having and enjoying a wonderful, peaceful life. Erwin Smith is also a big business man, but he is more known of how big his heart is. He has two children, a boy and a girl named Aksel and Heidi, but he has no wife. His wife died after giving birth to his younger son, leaving him with two, young, wonderful children. But she didn't leave him alone, Hanji, who is a dear friend to both Erwin and his departed wife, was there to help him raise and teach the kids. Though they missed their mother's love, their father's love certainly compensated them for it.

"Good morning, kids. Are you ready yet to go downstairs and join your father on breakfast?" Hanji walks into the kids' room as usual to wake them.

"Almost…" Heidi answers, giving her hair one last brush before she stands up, "Is my dress okay?"

"Yes, my dear. You look gorgeous." Hanji smiles at the young girl as she gives her a kiss on the cheek before going downstairs. "Aren't you getting up?" Hanji then asks the boy who's still hiding under the bed sheets. He doesn't answer, so she approaches him slowly and pulls the covers off of him, to only find him playing with his iPad. "What have we agreed to about playing games in the morning and missing breakfast?"

"Please mademoiselle, I'm really sick this time." The little boy claims in a pleading tone. "I have cold, see." then he fakes coughing.

"Oh do you? Then get up and let's go ask Mrs. Kirschtein to make you some chicken soup!" Hanji suggests, already aware of the little boy's game but deciding to go with it nevertheless.

The kid frowns and sits up, "Fine. I'm not sick." He jumps off the bed and stands up with puffed cheek.

"Haha! Now go wash your face and get changed to join us on breakfast."

"Alright, mademoiselle." The boy shrugs.

"No… we don't say 'alright, mademoiselle'"

"Sorry. I mean, yes, mademoiselle."

"Good boy!"

"Good morning, father." Heidi rushes to her father and hugs him from behind, giving him his morning cheek kiss.

"Good morning, dear." Erwin replies, setting the newspaper down on the table. "Where are your brother and mademoiselle Hanji?"

"They'll be joining us in a bit." She smiles and takes her place. "You look handsome today, father. Are you going somewhere special?"

"Yes actually. Haven't I mentioned that I'm attending a wedding?" Erwin narrows his eyebrows in an attempt to remember.

"Oh. You have mentioned it last week. I forgot about it. The Jaegers', was it?"

"Yes. Their son is marrying The Reiss's daughter." He nods.

"People have been talking about it in the newspaper… They say it's a marriage of convenience." The girl mumbles, before realizing what she said. She bites at her lips, receiving a glare from the mademoiselle as she enters the dining room with Aksel.

"Good morning, Mr. Erwin." Hanji greets before taking her seat.

"Good morning dad!" The boy jumps to his place next to Hanji not wasting a second to devour his breakfast.

"Good morning." Erwin finally replies, smiling over at his little kid.

"You're attending the wedding today, aren't you?" Hanji asks, noting Erwin's unusual elegance.

"Yes, indeed." He nods, "I hope it won't be a bother to you to take care of the kids until a late hour."

"Oh, not at all. It's my pleasure." Hanji smiles reassuringly. And the four of them start eating their breakfast together at last.

When they're almost done having breakfast, they hear the sound of the outer gate opening and a car entering the yard.

"I know that car…" The boy recognizes the sound of the car, "It's Levi's… Levi is back!" The boy exclaims excitedly before jumping off his seat and running to the window to make sure it was Levi. He sees him stepping out of the car and yells, "It's him! I knew it!" The boy then runs immediately out of the dining room and downstairs.

"Don't run on the stairs!" Hanji yells at him, but he doesn't listen and keeps running.

"We haven't seen him in a month." Erwin states, in reference to Levi.

"Well, at least the place was calmer and we didn't hear unnecessary arguments about how unorganized I am." The girl says mockingly, but Hanji eyes her from the other side of the table.

"That's rude to say about an adult man."

"'Adult'?"

"Levi!" Aksel runs up to Levi and jumps to him, giving him a big welcoming hug, "I missed you!"

"Hello, big guy." Levi holds the boy up and pats his head. "You're still short. I thought you'd grow taller during my absence for a month."

"Look who's talking." Levi hears the familiar voice of a girl saying in a mocking tone.

"As if you were taller, Heidi?" He raises his head and looks over at Erwin's daughter crossing her arms and eyeing him coldly.

"Levi!" Eren walks out of the door and towards Levi, "Welcome back, son." He holds his hand out to him, and Levi puts Aksel down to shake hands with Erwin, but the older guy pulls him into a quick hug instead. "We thought you'd never come back."

Levi pulls away from the hug to answer, "As much as a cat loves freedom, it always comes back to its owner's house."

"Until it finds fancier food somewhere else, then it would never come back." Heidi comments sarcastically.

"Don't worry, Levi. She's trying to pick an argument with you because she doesn't know how else to say she missed you." Aksel says, receiving a death glare from his older sister.

"No I didn't." She denies and looks away.

"She didn't find anyone to argue with but me… but our arguments are so boring." Aksel adds, and this time, Heidi decides to chase him for his unnecessary comments. The kids go running around, leaving Levi and Erwin to talk.

"You're going somewhere? You don't normally dress up like this." Levi notes.

"Today's Eren's wedding… And we're invited." Erwin answers.

"Eren? That brat…" Levi smirks.

"You'd better come with me and socialize with people there too." Erwin says, walking downstairs.

"Actually I—"

"And don't tell me, 'I can't because I have a date with my girlfriend' that excuse is as old as I am." Erwin adds before Levi finishes. "You need to come. You're my older son after all."

Levi pauses, feeling as if he lost the argument before it even starts, and he nods, "Alright. I'll come."

Erwin then smiles and nods back. He looks around, as if looking for someone, "Jean!" he calls, "Go get me the car from the garage, son."

"Yes, Mr. Erwin." The young man nods from afar, putting down the hosepipe and walking to turn the faucet off. He then walks to the garage to get Erwin's car.

"I'll go to the company for a while and then come back home before going to the wedding. Want to come?" Erwin asks.

"No." Levi shakes his head. "I'll go take a shower and probably clean my room. I'll be home by the time you arrive so don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

"As you wish." Erwin nods at him as Jean brings the car at last, and Erwin gets in.

Levi watches him as he leaves before going upstairs and entering the house, meeting Hanji in the corridor.

"Good morning, Levi." She greets.

"Good morning, Hanji." He greets back.

"How was your trip? Did you have fun?" She asks him with a faint smile.

"A little bit, yes. Still being home is better."

"Nobody touched your room, as you wished. I made sure the door was locked the entire month and made everyone aware not to enter it, as usual." Hanji says, knowing how Levi is strictly against anyone entering his room and touching his things, especially when he's away.

"Thanks… I'll go clean it on my own now. It must have gotten all dusty and filthy with a whole month without being cleaned." He nods at her before excusing himself to go upstairs.

As everyone is busy doing what they must, time passes by so fast, and the long awaited hour is almost there. While some were getting ready for the wedding party, others were hoping for the party to go as planned with all the pressure they're going through.

"Thank you so much for coming, guys. I'll never forget your support." Eren walks out of the registry office with his wife, Historia, and two friends, Mikasa and Armin.

"Don't ever mention it, Eren. What are we friends for if we don't help each other?" Armin says with a soothing tone.

"Most importantly, congratulations, my dear." Mikasa says, "Now let's only hope for the wedding party to go smoothly and end in peace. I've talked to uncle Grisha and aunt Carla. Aunt Carla said she's coming…but she said she wasn't sure whether uncle Grisha will come…"

"I would care less for his arrival anyway…" Eren grits his teeth at the mention of his father's name.

"We should get going now. People will start coming in about an hour." Mikasa reminds her friends, and they all nod before walking to the cars immediately. Eren and Historia going in one, while Mikasa and Armin going in another.

As for Erwin, he just arrived back home and he's walking upstairs to check on whether Levi is ready to go yet or not. Heidi told him he didn't leave his room ever since he entered it. "Levi!" Erwin pauses near Levi's room door, knocking. "Are you there?" Levi doesn't take long before he opens the door, and he appears in his cleaning outfit, while his room is in a total mess, half of it shining with cleanliness, while the other half is all dust and dirt. "Levi, what are you doing?"

"Cleaning," Levi answers.

Erwin stares at Levi with an absurd look before saying, "Yes. I can see that you're cleaning. Why are you cleaning? Why aren't you dressed up yet?"

"Yet? Hasn't it been like… five minutes since you left the house?" Levi didn't really check his watch ever since he entered the room. He got all busy with cleaning that he forgot that time passes so quick when doing the things he loved.

"You have literally half an hour to get your ass dressed. We'll be leaving soon." Erwin sighs and says in a firm tone.

"I can't. I'm not done cleaning yet." There is no way in hell Levi will leave his room half clean.

"Sasha and Nifa will clean it. Now go get dressed for god's sake. We're going to be late. Don't embarrass me in front of my friends."

"No one will touch anything in my room. I'm going to clean it by my own, especially not Sasha. She's always eating while cleaning, and if anything, she's only going to get it dirtier."

"I'm not going to argue with you, damn it. Get dressed. You can continue cleaning once we're back home."

Their argument lasts for a bit longer before Levi is finally convinced to go get dressed. Erwin has to wait for him in front of the door to remind him to hurry up each second, until he finally walks out of his room, locking it after him, of course.

"Alright, I'm ready." He states.

"Thank goodness." Erwin releases a long sigh of relief before proceeding to walk ahead, meeting with his kids and Hanji downstairs. "Kids, listen to your mademoiselle and stay quiet."

"Yes dad. Don't worry about us." Heidi says, pulling her father down to place a kiss on his cheek. "I'm only worried about the kid you're taking with you. I hope he won't cause any bother and ruin the wedding with his bad attitude." Heidi eyes Levi with a hint of tease, but he simply rolls his eyes at her.

"Don't worry, Mr. Erwin. I'll take care of them. You go and have fun at the wedding." Hanji reassures the man, pulling the two kids to her and resting her palms on the shoulder of each of them.

"I know I can trust you, Hanji. Thank you very much." Erwin smiles before squeezing his kids' cheeks and walking out of the house, Levi following him from behind, messing up Heidi's hair, who almost went after him to kick him, if it weren't for Hanji to stop her.

"Levi, I really do hope you won't start anything at the wedding, like Heidi said. I remember you had a fight with Eren a while ago, but this is his wedding and all the grudges shall be forgotten." Erwin warns, walking to the car.

"I know. There is no need to tell me." Levi shrugs nonchalantly and enters the car. "Actually, I've forgotten about the incident long time ago. His sister didn't and she's the one to start shit with me every time we meet."

His sister… Erwin suddenly drowns in a flashback from earlier today. And as he sits in the car, he remembers when he went to the cemetery to see his wife's grave, when he happened to meet with Mikasa, who was also there, visiting her parents' graves. They often meet there, but they never talk. Erwin simply watches her from afar, concealing his wish to talk to her at least for once. She'd only stare at him from the distance separating them, and smile at him before she turns to leave. But today was different. Today, for the first, something in his heart moved and it urged him to go talk to her.

She is crying, unlike the other days, and Erwin wants to know what is wrong. It isn't her parents' death that's saddening her, or else she would have cried all the other times.

"Good morning… Ms. Jaeger…" Erwin greets like he should, realizing how easy it is.

Mikasa raises her head and looks at him –she didn't notice he was walking her way- She wipes her tears away and wears a smile before greeting him back, "Good morning."

"We often meet here, and I saw that, instead of making smiles our only way of talking, we'd better talk properly." Erwin is normally smooth in thinking and choosing the right words to say, yet he doesn't know why he always finds it hard to initiate talking to her.

"You're right. Sorry I never came to say hi before." Mikasa nods, "You… come to visit your wife's grave, am I mistaken?"

"No." He shakes his head, "You're right. Though it's been years since she left me alone with our kids… I can't seem to let go of her, and always come to visit her grave… tell her how our kids are growing up every day…"

"You do that too. I see." Mikasa's smile then turns from fake to real, "Sometimes I think I'm so stupid, coming here and talking to my parents as if they would hear me."

"As long as they're alive here," He points to his heart, "They can always hear us, so long as we keep them alive within our hearts."

Mikasa listens to his words carefully as they turn her smile to a frown. She was crying, right. And Erwin remembers that he wanted to ask her about it, "Sometimes… people don't necessarily have to be dead to be considered so… It's enough to simply look at them to realize how dead they are. And you just start thinking, is dying for one time not enough for them, to decide to kill themselves while they're alive too?" Erwin doesn't seem to understand what she's hinting at, and so he doesn't know what to say in return. But Mikasa soon notices his confusion, so she decides to change the subject, "I'm sorry. Never mind me… Um! So, you're coming to the wedding today, right?"

"Yes… Yes of course. I can't miss it. Eren's finally a grown-up man and about to get married. I can't miss such a day." Erwin replies cheerfully.

"Then I'll be happy to see you there again." Mikasa smiles softly at him. And it's suddenly so quiet in there, just the two of them staring at each other, until Mikasa's phone rings, cutting that moment. She pulls her phone out of her purse and answers the call, "Yes Eren?... Hold on, what?... Uh! Y-Yes… Wait. I'll go get Armin and we'll meet you guys there. Alright, take care." She hangs up, and as soon as her eyes meet Erwin's again, he realizes it's time for her to leave, "I'm sorry. I—"

"No, no. I understand. It's a big day and you must be so busy." Erwin says and nods reassuringly.

"Alright, have a good day. Hope to see you again at the wedding!" Giving off one last smile, Mikasa waves goodbye at him as she leaves.

It was a short talk, didn't take but a few minutes, but for some reason, it was enough to make Erwin feel so happy, cheerful, and comfortable, strangely impatient to see her again at the wedding.

"You're pretty excited, I see." Levi notes while he drives their way to the wedding party, and Erwin looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "Is there someone you want to see there?"

"Focus on driving, young man." Erwin crosses his arms and leans against the seat, smirking at Levi's sharp remark.

"As you say, old man."

The long awaited moment is finally here, and the luxury yacht was sailing by the time most of the guests arrived. Having a wedding on a large yacht was Mikasa's idea, and she was the one to pay for almost everything. Her parents left her a big wealth before they died. Eren and Historia are walking around the yacht, greeting the guests while talking to each of them for a couple of minutes, and Mikasa is wandering around, making sure everything is going as planned and nothing is missing. She still didn't get even an hour of rest, and she's been working herself out so much for the preparations of Eren's wedding, knowing how his father was against this wedding from the start and wouldn't want to help him.

Carla interrupts her son's conversation with one of the guests to talk to him, and excuse herself to go back home. His father didn't come, as expected, and she promised him to go back home as early as possible. He barely let her go attend the wedding of her son to even begin with.

"What are you? A waitress? Or the fucking owner of the wedding who should be sitting while being served?" Mikasa hears the familiar voice, almost recognizing the rude attitude before turning around to confirm it was Levi. "God… Look at yourself. You look like a zombie."

"Why are you here? Kids aren't allowed into this wedding party…" Mikasa snaps back and the two stand exchanging glares.

"I'm not here to argue, for sure." Levi places his hands in his pockets and answers nonchalantly.

"Yeah…" Mikasa gives him an absurd look, crossing her arms against her chest.

Levi examines her features in silence before he makes another remark, "Go find an empty table. Sit down, and order someone to get you a fucking drink. You're going to pass out before the party is over."

"I can't sit now. I have to make sure everything's going fine—"

Levi rolls his eyes and cuts her off, "Stop acting like you're carrying the burden of the entire world on your shoulders. It's a freaking wedding party. Go enjoy yourself, dance, eat, do whatever. Can't you quit worrying about everything all the fucking time?"

"Don't act as if you know me because you know absolutely nothing about me!" Mikasa aims her glares at Levi, until she sees Erwin approaching and she replaces her glare with a softer gaze. "Hi!"

"Hello again, Ms. Jaeger…" He greets.

"Call me Mikasa, please… That sounds so much better than Ms. Jaeger." She corrects him and he nods.

"Alright, Ms. Mikasa. How are you doing? You look a bit tired." Erwin notes, and Levi looks at her, waiting for her reply because he made the same remark as Erwin and her reaction wasn't that pleasing.

Mikasa ignores Levi's distracting gazes to answer, "I'm alright… I just have been racing with time all the day…"

"Can I steal you for a minute or two to go have a drink?" Erwin invites her with a soft tone, and Levi's suddenly feeling so strange about the whole development of the situation. Erwin never invited a woman, or rather a very young woman, to a drink before, his wife being the one and only exception probably.

Mikasa's eyes meet Levi's, who raises his eyebrow at her, before she looks back at Erwin and smiles, "Sure."

Erwin takes the woman's hand and walks away with her, leaving Levi behind watching them in somewhat irritation.

Carla arrives back at home in a matter of half an hour. She walks in, and she hears nothing but the sound of her breathing. The whole house is quiet as if there is no one inside, "Grisha, honey, I'm back…" she calls but he doesn't answer. She wanders in the house for a while and finally decides to go check his office. She knocks before holding the knob and turning it, but the door is locked. "Grisha, are you in there?" There is no response from him still and she starts to feel concerned about what could have happened to him. He could have had a heart-attack, or something worse happened to him. At that thought, Carla decides to find a way to open the door and break in.

While Mikasa is sitting and having a nice chat and drink with Erwin, her phone rings again, interrupting their conversation. She picks it up and takes a look, seeing that Carla was calling. Mikasa raises an eyebrow in concern and answers immediately, "Yes aunt Carla?"

And all it took was a phone call, to flip her features upside down. The short moment of comfort and peace she was having ended when that phone call ended, and her eyes were looking nowhere but over at Eren and Historian, the trembling of her legs keeping her from standing up and walking to them to break the shocking news to them, to Eren especially.

All it took was a phone call, to turn the wedding into a funeral. But Eren probably expected it to be the other way, rather than what it turned out to be.

To be Continued…