Armin had been dismissed by Hanji within the hour after Levi dragged Mikasa and Eren off to who-knows-where, and needless to say, he had no idea what to think. The sudden realisation that there could be a child was a heavy burden to bear, so when the Section Commander returned and told him to return to regular training, warning him not to say anything of the incident to anyone, he made his way back to the barracks with his head swimming.

Things had been tricky before. Maintaining a "relationship", or whatever Eren and Mikasa classified themselves as had been tricky. Trying to hide it from everyone else was tricky. But this...? If he had guessed correctly...it wasn't tolerable to think about. A relationship was bad enough to try and cope with, but at least it was relatively harmless. Whereas, if there was a child...

That night, neither Eren nor Mikasa made an appearance at dinner, and by the time curfew was called and the lights were put out, the bunk adjacent to Armin's was empty. He was frightened. To have been discovered by Levi of all people- Hanji, he assumed, would have been at least semi-supportive. There was, after all, too much scope for new research in the situation for them to be angry. But anyone else- particularly Levi- probably wouldn't be so lenient. The fate of his friends was ominous. He hoped, he prayedthey were alright; that he would see them both in the morning, and it was all a big misunderstanding; and Mikasa wasn't pregnant, and there was no need for this anxiety welling within him- they were just being punished for breaching the rules and it would all return to normal, platonic comfort after this...

"Hey...Armin?" A hiss from the next bed over issued.

He rolled over, propping himself up on his elbows and passed a wearied hand over the lower half of his face. "What is it, Connie?" he asked dejectedly.

"Where's Eren?"

Armin sighed and sank back into his pillow, the familiar agitation worming up from the pits of his stomach once more. The bitter taste of a lie spread over his tongue.

"I don't know."

...

The next morning brought a collective groan from the male cadets in the bunkhouse as the door banged open and Section Commander Ness's voice bellowed, "Asses out of bed- it's evaluation day!"

"Shit," Jean moaned into his pillow, gruff voice muffled. "I completely forgot...evaluation."

"Remind me, what's evaluation day?" Connie looked up groggily. Drowsiness still ringed his bleary eyes as he turned to Armin expectantly.

"Fucking hell, Connie, does anything stick in your head?"

"It's like an aptitude test," Armin sat up, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as his gaze fell on Eren's bed next to his. Its sheets were still pulled taut over the mattress, and alas, no sign of having been used. Eren was still gone. Then again, he had expected as much. However, it didn't stop the all-too familiar sinking feeling of dread.

"Basically, they want to see how much we've improved after the last few months since joining the Survey Corps," Reiner explained. He stood up, raising his arms above his head and stretched, mouth yawning open languidly. "It's something to do with preparations for missions, or whatever bull crap they've come up with to cover the fact up that its hours of them pummeling our asses into dust."

"Oh great," Connie grumbled. "That's why they're getting us up at the crack of dawn. Brilliant."

Eventually, after prodding Bertolt out of bed, they all managed to stir and start getting ready, dressing and fixing the straps of the maneveur gear's harnesses, all quietly sombered by the lackluster anticipation of whatever today's evaluation may bring.

"Think it'll be anything like training?"

"Times it by about twenty, and there's what we can expect."

"Fucking hell, this isn't fair."

"They've already seen we can fight titans- I mean, we're all here, aren't we? What more do they need?"

"Subordination. Obedience. It's just a show of power."

"Yeah, like they don't command that already."

Armin sat down on the edge of his bed as he pulled his boots on, tucking the straps of his harness into the leg. Usually, the daunting prospect of evaluation would have him pretty apprehensive as well, but he couldn't shake the memories of yesterday's event from the forefront of his mind. It was such a huge situation- intimidating, life-changing, even, that he couldn't focus on the matter at hand, and it was only after tugging helplessly for a minute that he realised he'd been trying to shove his left foot into his right boot.

"So, do you think Eren'll have to take evaluation with us?"

Armin jerked instinctively when he heard Jean speak.

"What makes you say that?" Reiner responded.

Jean shrugged. "Well, for one thing he's been part of the Special Ops squad for a while now, and for another, he's still not here." His eyes fixed pointedly on the empty bed. "I don't know if they still consider him 'just a recruit' like the rest of us."

"I don't see why he'd be left out. He's just as much of a rookie as the rest of us." Reiner picked up his jacket from his bed, slipping it on nonchalantly. "Right, let's get going. Might as well get it over with."

Together, Reiner, Bertolt, Jean and Connie all left the bunkhouse, followed by Armin, trailing in their wake. He knew he should be concentrating on whether he'd be able to aptly pass the evaluation- everyone knew his strengths didn't lie in physical attributes- but all he could think about was Eren, Mikasa, and the potential existence of their hypothetical child. A shudder went down his spine at that thought as he stepped out of the doorway into the grey light of the early morning.

The sun hadn't completely risen, and the sky was strewn with grey clouds billowing overhead like the sails of a ship. Their tired eyes tingled as the cool morning air hit them, making them all blink fiercely as they stepped off the porch of the bunkhouse and start heading towards the mess hall.

Armin took a step forward, meaning to follow, when he bumped into Connie, who had halted abruptly.

"Oh, sorry...why'd you stop...?" He stepped backwards and peering around his comrades to see the approaching group of female cadets walking towards them.

"What the hell?" Reiner frowned. He scanned the girls walking past before he darted forwards, spying Sasha. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"Can you believe it?" she whispered in a dry voice. Her eyes looked haunted. "They're not serving breakfast this morning! We have to get straight on with the evaluation! How can they expect us to function without food?!"

"Crap," Jean cursed. "It's official, I hate evaluation."

"Join the club." Ymir had appeared besides them, Krista not far behind. A grim smile was playing on her lips. "We're heading straight to the training grounds. Well, we've got no choice."

Connie ground his teeth in frustration as the grumbling squad all turned on their heels and began walking in the opposite direction, towards the empty stretch of land some distance away from the barracks referred to as "training grounds". As they approached, they could see an assault course of sorts had been set up; large, wooden structures, forming grisly ghosts in the shadow of dawn.

"This isn't fair. This sucks balls. I'm tired and hungry. How the hell do they expect us to perform in this state?"

"They're trying to make the intensity of it realistic, that's probably why. We don't get a choice when to fight when it comes to the real thing." Armin said quietly. His gaze fell to the ground, watching himself place one foot in front of the other. "We can be starving, sleep deprived, on death's door...but we still have to fulfill our purpose."

"Hm, yeah, I guess." Connie's voice was thoughtful. "Yeah. Like the mission outside the walls a couple of months ago- you know, when Mikasa passed out; she kept going then. Like a machine." he chuckled before he stopped dead and surveyed the rest of the group. "Wait...where is Mikasa?"

Armin's stomach lurched

"Hn?" Jean turned around and noted they were lacking a member of the usual group. "Mikasa? Don't tell me she's gone too!"

"Mikasa didn't come back yesterday at all," Krista faltered.

"That's right, she wasn't in the bunkhouse last night. Or this morning, either for that matter," Sasha snapped out of complaining over her empty stomach. She placed a hand on one side of her face thoughtfully. "Wait...what do you mean 'she's gone too'? 'Too'?"

"Eren wasn't in the bunkhouse last night either." Reiner said grimly.

"What the hell?" Jean's forehead creased in a frightening scowl. "They're both missing?! What bullshit has Eren pulled this time?"

"You're assuming it's Eren's fault?"

"Come on, when has it ever not been Eren's fault? Armin!"

Armin flinched when Jean barked his name.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where they are?"

He shook his head, heart pumping in his chest. "N...no, I haven't seen them. I've got no idea," he lied.

"They've both been acting really strange lately," Sasha said quietly. The whole group turned to look at her as they passed the last building and made their way to the gate leading onto the training grounds. "Skipping meals...Mikasa's been coming into the bunkhouse late, as well."

"Eren's been coming in after curfew a lot recently too." Reiner set his mouth in a grim line, glancing at Bertolt who, although wasn't contributing, was listening intently.

"Something's going on between the two of them," Jean said, his voice harsh and clipped. His hands curled into fists at his sides. "Why the hell weren't they in the barracks last night?"

"Guys, aren't we over reacting?" Krista's voice piped up from the back of the group. "I'm sure there's a perfectly rational explanation for this. It's not like they're bad people, they won't be doing anything wrong..."

"There she goes, looking for the best in people yet again. You're such a cutie," Ymir teased as she threw an arm around Krista's shoulders, who stiffened like a startled kitten in response. "But even you can't deny this is borderline scandalous. Think about it, they've both been suspiciously absent at the same times, and now they're both missing. Think they've eloped?"

"Don't be an idiot, Ymir," Jean scoffed. He placed one hand on the gate leading to the training fields and paused deliberately, hovering in uncertainty for a few seconds. "But seriously...do you think they're...you know?"

Armin's heart was hammering a thousand miles an hour against his chest. He could feel the heat creeping up his neck and prickling the sides of his face as he swallowed nervously. Mikasa was the one most adept at a poker face, he couldn't muster one for shit.

Oh God they know. Oh hell...they know...

Reiner shrugged, stepping forwards and pushing the gate open. "Who knows. But let's focus on the evaluation for now, how about that?"

"Yeah, guess so." Jean sighed before striding past with renewed vigour. He didn't say anything else, but it was clear he hadn't dropped the subject.

Armin slowed his pace as they followed Jean across the field to where a handful of other recruits were already waiting, falling back to where Krista was walking with Ymir.

"Hey...Krista?"

"Hm?" she blinked in surprise.

"Has Mikasa...been alright recently?"

"What do you mean?"

Armin exhaled softly through his nostrils, lips pressed together in deliberation.

"Has she been doing anything- I don't know, out of the ordinary?"

"Um..."

"You're asking about Mikasa?" Ymir made eye contact with him, her face twisted in consideration. "If you mean recently, she's been pretty reclusive. As per usual, but even more so, if you know what I mean. And she's had a bug these past few weeks."

"What?"

"She's been throwing up," Krista admitted softly before she screwed up her eyes and whirled onto Ymir. "But we promised not to tell anyone about that! She made us promise!"

Armin's eyes widened. Things were not looking good regarding normality. After yesterday- Mikasa's odd behaviour, her voracious appetite, her ill-fitting shirt, the shallowed contours of her stomach and now this...

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her. But you didn't know, Armin? Though you were supposed to be one of her best friends."

There was only one explanation. It all but clarified what he had supposed yesterday.

He bit his lip before nodding his acknowledgement to the two and quickening his pace once more. "Thanks," he said simply, drawing away from the two of them and rejoining the rest of the group as they finally drew to a halt, reaching the rest of the cadets. They had been the last ones to arrive, and as soon as they came to a stop, Ness began to speak.

"Alright, this isn't a graded assessment like that of which you would have faced in the training corps. This is actually testing your capability as an active soldier on the proverbial battle field. Basically, it's a training day from hell. We're testing to see whether the training you've received during your time here since Trost has had any effect. How this thing is going to run; well, we're starting with a simple agility course, nothing too intimidating. Then we'll progress onto a cross country exercise for an hour, then move onto 3DMG finesse, then another cross country for an hour, and so forth. You will not rest until sundown!"

"Ah crap. This takes the cake."

"Please," Sasha pleaded, doubling over, her hands clenched around her midsection. "Don't talk about food...I'm dying over here..."

"We're starting! You'll be going in groups of six; lining up here- on the mark, you'll be completing three rounds of the course. Yes, I want you to consider it a race! Alright? Six cadets then, if you will!"

"Well," Reiner squared his shoulders and bid his friends a mock farewell. "See you on the other side, comrades."

"Eh, screw it," Ymir shrugged, and along with Bertolt and Krista, they left the group and went to line up on Ness's starting line. A daunting, almost vertical wall was set up before them, with only a rope structure hung over it for grip, concealing the rest of the course.

Armin hung back with Connie, Sasha, and Jean, who watched as two other recruits joined their friends on the starting line. A moment later, and a signal from Section Commander Ness, and they were off, scaling the wall with surprising ease.

Jean leant back against the fence, watching as Ymir hooked her leg over the top of the wall and dismounted down to the other side before the rest of them. Despite his apparent focus on the others clambering in her wake, it was blatantly obvious something was still bothering him.

"This is pissing me off," he growled in the back of his throat. "Where the hell are they? Shouldn't Mikasa be here at least?"

"I thought we'd dropped this," Connie glanced over his shoulder and frowned. "Why're you so obsessed with them?"

"I'm not obsessed with them," Jean spat in distaste. "It just hardly seems fair that we all have to do this evaluation until the sun goes down and we can scarcely stand, and they're AWOL. This is such bullshit. What's Eren's excuse?"

"Well, if you're that bothered by it Jean-" Sasha began to speak. She was looking past him and as she spoke she extended an arm and pointed behind them. "Maybe you should ask the guy himself?"

"What?!"

Both Jean and Armin whipped around, following the direction of Sasha's outstretched finger over to the gate from where they'd come in.

True to Sasha's word, there he was.

Eren.

Before he could stop himself, Armin broke away from the group and practically ran across the field, completely disregarding the exercise he was supposed to be partaking in, and rushing over to his friend who was closing the gate behind him, head hung low as he turned to join the rest of the cadets.

"Eren!" he called.

Eren started, glancing up to see Armin running up to meet him. It hadn't been his intention to make a grand entrance, so to speak, but it looked like his former absence had made that impossible.

"Oh...hey, Armin," he greeted, tone completely devoid of any real emotion as his friend halted in his tracks, breathless.

"Eren- are you alright? Where were you? What happened yesterday? Is Mikasa OK? Is she...?" Armin broke off, his words trailing away as he met Eren's plagued gaze.

"Well..."

He didn't have chance to reply, because a split second later, the remainder of their group was upon them, following in Armin's wake.

"Eren! Where have you been?!" Connie demanded when they reached him.

"Is Mikasa with you?" Sasha looked behind him as if expecting her to appear.

Eren shook his head. "No. Mikasa's still...not here."

"Well that much is obvious." Jean crossed his arms and scrutinized Eren mercilessly. "You look like absolute shit."

That much was true. Dark rings tainted Eren's under eyes, his skin was of a ghostly, grey pallor, and he had a drawn, weakened look about him.

At Jean's remark, he raised his arm and scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Didn't sleep," was all he muttered in response.

"So? Where were you?" Connie asked once more, the energy in the conversation leeching out as a somber tone fell across all five of them as they surrounded their comrade.

Armin regarded Eren in concern. His gaze didn't lift from the ground as he stood before them all, looking dejected and crestfallen. There was nothing familiar about the usually loud, obnoxious, bravado-ridden Eren- only a weakened shadow of his former self, plagued by something they didn't know.

Oh no.

"I was...in HQ," Eren finally said.

"You spent the night there?"

"...yeah."

"And?" Jean prompted.

He looked up at him. "'And' what?"

"What about Mikasa?" Jean's critical gaze narrowed. "Was she with you?"

"Jean, maybe you should back down-" Armin took a hesitant step forward, holding up his hands in unease.

Jean ignored him. "Well, Eren?"

"I...don't know what you're talking about,"

"Oh, sure. You've got guilt written all over your face." Jean glowered. "What the hell's up with you? You're acting like a complete space cadet."

"Are you alright? He's right, Eren, you don't look well." Sasha reached out and touched Eren's shoulder cautiously.

"I'm...fine."

"And Mikasa?"

"She's...in the infirmary."

"Again?" Connie's voice was incredulous. "What's wrong with her this time?"

"Is she ill?"

"What the hell did you do to her?"

"Jean! Eren didn't do anything-" Armin began to protest, but before he could continue, Eren shook his head.

"Yeah I did," he said quietly. "I fucked up. I fucked up, bad."

"What the hell are you talking ab-"

"Mikasa's pregnant."

Armin's heart dropped like a stone. He'd been right. All this time, he'd been right."

Why, for once, couldn't he have been wrong?!

"...what?"

"What did you just say?"

"She's pregnant," Eren repeated. The anguish bordering his expression now came in full force, sweeping over his face and contorting his features in torment.

"Wait just a damn minute," Jean's intimidating posture slackened as he stared at Eren in disbelief. "The hell do you mean she's pregnant?!"

"Come on Jean, do I really have to spell it out for you?" Despite himself, Eren gave him a look of such ferocity he visibly faltered for a moment. "There's going to be a kid. She's carrying it. What more do you want,"

Connie and Sasha had frozen on the spot, looking bewildered.

"Who's...who's the father?" Sasha managed to say at long last.

Eren chuckled humourlessly. "I think it's obvious. You're looking at him."

Jean's teeth gnashed together, and in a swift movement he seized hold of Eren's shirt, shoving his face threateningly towards his.

"What the fuck?! You two are practically siblings! You've said it yourselves! And you had sex with her?! You little creep!"

"Jean, keep it down-" Armin cast a hurried glance behind him at the rest of the cadets. They ones on the course were on their second round, and thankfully, Ness hadn't noticed the five of them in the corner of the field.

Jean ignored him and shoved Eren up against the fence.

"What fuck was going through your head?!"

"Jean, believe me, it's nothing to envy," Eren replied stoically. He wasn't even responding to Jean's rough handling, simply choosing to regard him with dead, lifeless eyes, which seemed to piss him off even more.

"I-I'm not envying anything!" he yelled, cheeks colouring.

"Oh pull the other one, you've always had a colossal crush on Mikasa and you know it."

"You shut your damn mouth! You got one of our comrades knocked up and I'm supposed to be happy for you?! Not a chance in hell!"

"I'm not asking you to be happy! Fucking hell, you wanted to know, so I told you! Do you think I'm happy?! Do you think Mikasa's happy?!" Eren finally seemed to stir from his withdrawn state and gripped Jean's wrist, squaring up to him. "It was a mistake, alright? A damn, huge mistake, but a mistake nonetheless,"

Connie and Sasha exchanged anxious looks, clearly unnerved by the whole issue. Armin swallowed his reservations and strode up to Jean and Eren.

"Listen, you two, this isn't the time, or the place," he said as steadily as he could. Even though he'd known, deep down- to have his suspicions confirmed was still enough to shake him to the core. "What Eren and Mikasa have done wasn't right, I agree, Jean, but there's nothing we can do now. So please...back down, both of you."

Jean looked between Eren and Armin, clearly deliberating as his grip on Eren's shirt slackened.

"I don't get it," he said shakily. "How the hell are you so nonchalant? Did you hear him? Did you hear what he just said? About Mikasa?"

"Of course I did, and it's a lot to handle, I get that. Speaking of which," Armin glanced over at Eren. "Is Mikasa OK with you telling people?"

Eren opened his mouth, about to respond, then hesitated.

"...I haven't asked her," he admitted, head drooping once more. "I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon. But people are going to find out eventually, Armin. I'd rather them hear it from me than assume things."

Jean's hand slithered away from Eren's shirt like a dead snake and pressed against his face, a cheerless smile twitching the corners of his lips.

"So what now?" He said, eyes flickering between them from behind his fingers. "Are you and her leaving the regiment, or what?"

"I don't know," Eren crossed his arms over his chest and looked away, heart thudding at the base of his throat. "It's up to Mikasa, eventually, I guess."

"Does the commander know?" Sasha asked. She and Connie had been so quiet they had almost forgotten they were there.

Eren nodded. "Yep. He...told me he's going to have to report it to the interior command. They'll want to see me and Mikasa, you know...to decide...our fate." The words were getting physically hard to say, and he ducked his head, shame prickling at his eyes.

"Decide your fate?" Connie echoed incredulously. "Why?"

"Because this isn't just a breach of misconduct," Armin spoke for Eren, reaching out to rub his shoulder in comfort. "Eren's only under the Survey Corps' faction because they promised he'd be useful in missions. Usually they wouldn't get involved in something like this...but considering he's a titan shifter..." he grew quiet and glanced at Eren, leaning against the face and avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"You're not wrong," he said with great difficulty. "We're in trouble. Mine, Mikasa's...and the...baby's..." he swallowed painfully, his eyes closing. "...our lives are all at stake."

"That's awful," Sasha's hands rose to cover her mouth in quiet horror. "That's so unfair..."

"Tell me about it." Eren shook his head and looked up at his friends, all regarding him with varying looks of curiosity, horror, and, in Jean's case, hate. "It's a shitty situation to be in, no doubt there."

Jean exhaled sharply. His shoulders tensed as he looked Eren in the eyes for a split second before his fists clenched again, and he swung at him.

Eren had not been anticipating the attack, leaving him no time to dodge, so he took the full impact of the punch on his jaw. His head snapped to the side as he was sent staggering backwards, the taste of blood pooling in his mouth. He gasped in a combination of pain and shock, whipping around to stare at Jean, bewildered.

"Jean!" Connie cried. "The hell's wrong with you? He's just told us something pretty damn serious and all you can do is slug him?"

"What was that for!?" Armin gave Jean a look of confusion before hurrying to Eren's side, holding his hand out in support. "You alright?"

"I hope you're happy," Jean said, his eyes not shifting from Eren. He ignored Connie and Armin's bleats of disapproval and glared at his comrade. "It's one thing for you to fuck up your own life, but dragging Mikasa into it as well? That's just fucked up,"

"Jean!"

"Armin, it's alright," Eren closed his eyes, straightening up as he cupped the side of his face, breathing steadily. "I deserved it, to be honest. I've made one clusterfuck of a huge mess. I'd want to punch me in the face too. Besides, he's right, Mikasa doesn't deserve to be involved. It's my fault."

"Eren, you did this together-"

"Yeah, but I didn't have to, did I?" He looked at Armin, the guilt burning in his eyes. "I could've just as easily backed off. If it's any solace," he turned back to Jean, spitting blood onto the ground before eyeing him coolly. "I haven't enjoyed any part of this, not in any way, shape or form. It's just one, big regret."

Jean sneered, but the effort wasn't in it now, and instead, they all appeared dejected as the full force of the news truly impacted them. A grim silence pervaded the small party; Connie and Sasha standing awkwardly on the edge of Armin doing his best to try and provide Eren with something resembling support, and Jean lingering before it all, not quite sure what to say.

They didn't notice Krista, Ymir, Bertolt and Reiner had finished the assault course, or that they were approaching them until they were practically upon them.

"What're you all doing back here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for your- oh, Eren, didn't know you were going to join us today." Reiner was the first to interrupt the silence. He and the others were already starting to glimmer with sweat, the breathlessness starting to pull raggedly on their words. His brow furrowed when he saw the mirthless state of the group. "Wait, what's wrong? Why're you all looking like someone's just died?"

"Is Mikasa with you?"

Eren sighed at Krista's seemingly innocent question, the forbidding state of affairs crushing against his chest once more. His heart thudded ashamedly against his ribs. He'd let so many people down- his squad, his superiors, and his team mates. He and Mikasa weren't just robbing themselves of a career by allowing this child to exist, they were taking a valued comrade away from a squad, that, quite frankly needed them.

"Did Mikasa die?"

"No!" Eren spoke before he could stop himself. "No, no, she's fine. Well, sort of." He bit his lip and turned his anxious gaze on Armin. "She's...well...it's a long story."

"You don't have to tell them, Eren," Armin said quietly, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I...no, it's OK. I think they deserve to know." He exhaled harshly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "You guys deserve the full story. I mean, you've probably noticed that we've been going behind your backs for a while. Um, three months, actually."

Reiner and the others stared at him, completely lost.

"Look. Mikasa and I...were...well, we were seeing each other."

"What do you mean?"

"They were together. A couple. In a relationship. Come on Reiner, put two and two together."

"Who rammed a stick up your ass Jean?" Reiner gave him comrade a bemused look before turning back to Eren.

"Ignore him. He's just mad because...shit, there's no easier way to put this, is there?" Eren's eyes darted from one bewildered face to another, wondering how the hell he was going to put up with all the questions in the aftermath. "Yesterday...we found out...Mikasa's pregnant."

Krista's hands immediately flew up to her mouth; Bertolt took an appalled step backwards, and even Ymir and Reiner seemed to do a double take.

"You've been doing it in secret? Christ, Eren, how many times in three months did you have to do it to knock her up so fast?" Ymir asked. Her expression was mingled with bizarre cross of amusement and confusion, as if she didn't quite know whether to laugh or look torn.

"Just once," he mumbled, cheeks beginning to flush. He raised his hand to his mouth and began to gnaw decisively on the loose skin around his thumbnail.

"Once? Well, three cheers for your potency, I guess,"

"Ymir! This isn't the time!" Krista gave her a disapproving look, her dainty features screwed into a scowl before she turned back to Eren. "Is Mikasa alright? Is she going to be OK?"

"We don't know." At this, the familiar feelings of rage at himself, and the whole bitter undeserved circumstances came washing over him again. His hands balled into fists as his muscles clenched in defiance. He tore into the skin on his thumb with his teeth- and a dark bead of blood began to well up in its place. "We don't know if this kid is going to inherit my titan abilities, we don't know what it will do to Mikasa, we don't know if it'll even be allowed to exist...we justdon't know anything...I hate it. How can I help her when I can't even tell her it's going to be OK?" The last part came out in a harsh whisper as he felt the hot rush of tears surge to the back of his eyes once again as he lowered his bleeding hand. God, he was so sick of crying by now.

"Do you love her?"

Eren was caught off guard by Bertolt's question. He looked up at his comrade, perplexity knotting his brows together.

"What...? Of course I do."

"Surely, then," Sasha added quietly, glancing at the tallest one among them for confirmation she was allowed to carry through her point. "That's all you'll need to see you both through this."

Hot shame crawled over Eren's back as the fury rose up once more. "Yeah, well, love isn't enough to save Mikasa's life if it comes down to it, is it? Love isn't going to stop the MPs trying to tear us apart, they won't give a damn whether I care about her or not. Love isn't enough to make this whole freaking situation just go away and leave us alone, and love isn't going to-"

"Eren, relax. They're just trying to help." Armin interrupted. He gave Eren a long, hard, knowing look before continuing. "I know this isn't easy for you, and it's not any easier for Mikasa, either. But you have to understand this is a lot to digest all at once. We've never been in a situation like this before, so no one knows how to handle it. We'll do what we can to help, but you appreciate there isn't much, right?"

Eren eyed him dubiously for a second before the tension in his body slackened and he fell back against the fence, burying his face into his hands.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just..." he choked on a bitter laugh. "I'm just piss-scared."

"Oh- hey, the group's moving. Looks like they've forgotten you guys still haven't done the agility course," Bertolt suddenly spoke up. Everyone looked around to see the rest of the cadets, led by Ness on horse back, start on what could only be assumed to be the first of their multiple cross country runs that awaited them throughout the day.

"You lucky bastards," Reiner cursed. "I wouldn't have gone first if slacking off meant I wouldn't have to do it. We should probably go, anyway."

Together, the group sprinted to catch up with the rest of the recruits, before falling into a jog, tailing along behind them in silence. The news of Mikasa's condition was still buzzing in their heads and no one really felt like conversing.

That being said, as they progressed past the field, a few of the other recruits began to realise that Eren had suddenly joined them, and all of a sudden he found himself the centre of many hushed whispers and hurried glances over shoulders as they all ran the course together. He frowned, slowing his pace to match Armin's, who was already beginning to pink at the exertion.

"Why are they whispering about me?" he hissed. "They don't know, do they? I don't even talk to half of them!"

"You've been missing for nearly twenty four hours...and you weren't in the barracks last night, either," Armin managed to say in between short, sharp bursts of breath. "There's been...rumours, naturally..."

Eren internally groaned and pressed his lips together in defiance. He had no intention of telling everyone the truth right here, right now. He'd told enough people already, and that was without Mikasa's approval. Which, he wasn't going to lie, he was beginning to feel somewhat convicted over disclosing- after all, she was the one carrying the child, and everything that was going to happen was going to occur to her body.

A surge of astringent responsibility saw him push himself further in a vain attempt to bury his conflicted emotions beneath the physical exertion of exhausting himself. His feet struck the ground in a steady rhythm, the vibration of his boots striking the earth reverberating up his leg. The evaluation couldn't have come at a better time, to be honest. He needed something hideously rigourous to drown out the guilt consuming every fibre of his being.

They ran on for a good hour, flecks of sweat beading on foreheads and being wicked away from clammy uniforms. It was approaching mid morning, and the early-spring sun began to peek around the clouds, bathing them all in unwelcome warmth that made the run all the more uncomfortable.

"Alright, that's enough," Ness said at long last. He drew his horse to a stop. They had lapped the main building three or four times in varying directions, and now they around the back of the building, standing, exhausted, in the sprawling courtyard next to one of the stables. "We're not going to be total hard-asses on you, so take five to grab yourself some water, and then we'll push onto the next part. Five minutes is all you've got, kids!"

A grateful moan of appreciation issued from almost every mouth as the less adept cadets doubled over, panting, and the stronger ones lingered hesitantly, trying to ignore their racing hearts and faces precipitated with sweat.

Eren paused to catch his breath, before he went to accept a water canteen being passed to him by an officer not taking part in the exercise. He tipped his head back and took a long draught, relishing the feeling of cool fluid running down his throat. He swallowed, then held the canteen out to Armin.

"Thanks," he wheezed, taking a few steady sips periodically. Nothing but the noise of worn cadets' breathing filled the air for a few moments as they regained their breath before Armin spoke again. "I wonder why they let you back to training," he mused. "Considering how Captain Levi reacted to you two yesterday in the library...I don't know, he seemed pretty mad."

"Oh, he was." Eren shuddered slightly at the thought of the pure disgust etched into every crease of the Captain's face as he drove his knee into his jaw with no remorse and then broke practically every bone in his hand. "I got the absolute crap beaten out of me. Not as bad as last time," he added hurriedly. He straightened up and wiped his damp brow with the back of his sleeve. "But he was pissed."

"It seems strange, don't you think?" Armin paused to take another swig of water, before screwing the top back on and passing it to Connie, who was flapping weakly for it like a fish. "If they had you in solitary confinement yesterday, just to put you back in with the rest of us...oh." He stopped talking abruptly.

"...what?"

"They're talking about you again, Eren."

Eren looked up and saw a small group of cadets he didn't know all too well consciously turn away from initially staring at him, continuing their conversation in hushed undertones.
Eren looked up and saw a small group of cadets he didn't know all too well consciously turn away from initially staring at him, continuing their conversation in hushed undertones.

His hands bunched into fists once again, his nails digging into the tender flesh of his palms.

"The hell do they have to whisper about? If they want something, just fucking ask me, why don't they?"

"You know how they are," Armin shrugged helplessly. His cheeks were blooming pink like roses, his blonde fringe stuck to his forehead as he took shallow, bated breaths. "They're...intimidated."

"Not enough to bad mouth me from only ten metres away,"

"Don't start anything,"

"I'm not going to 'start anything'. I'm just pissed off."

"Understandable...I guess."

"Jaeger!"

Eren jerked in response to his name being called, whirling around to see Ness beckoning him from over on his horse. His eyebrows dipped in confusion as he excused himself from Armin and weaved through the wearied bodies of the small crowd to get to him. Next to Ness, there was another officer, holding a piece of paper folded in half, watching Eren expectantly as he reached them.

"Sir," Eren saluted accordingly.

"There's a message for you, from the Commander."

"The commander?" he echoed, as the unknown officer held out the paper for him to take.

"You'll be reporting to him first thing tomorrow morning," they said as Eren took the message, unfolding it to read its contents. "You won't be spending the night in the barracks, but in the room you were last night. As you were, soldier,"

And the officer departed.

"Alright, tuck that somewhere safe, kid. We'll be moving on to 3DMG aptitude now, so act sharp." Ness declared, nodding a somewhat friendly acknowledgement to him.

But Eren wasn't listening as his eyes darted across the words printed on the paper in a thick, bold hand.

Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman have been summoned to Central Command in regards to the recently revealed incident between them. They will depart tomorrow and return (if applicable) the next day.

Eren's heart began to pound as he stuffed the court summons into his pocket.

If applicable.

The phrase haunted him, and the torment of the uncertainty of his and Mikasa's futures seemed to be pushed beyond comprehensible peril.

They were doomed.

...

TWELVE HOURS. I SAT AT MY COMPUTER FOR TWELVE HOURS TO TYPE THIS OUT. AND I'M NOT EVEN HAPPY WITH IT. FFFFFFF.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed

.