The cafeteria had never been so silent. There was still an awkward tension from the events the night prior, so everyone was watching Eren and Mikasa's behavior silently.

They'd occasionally catch each other staring, and would exchange glares whenever this occurred.

"I thought you were going to apologize?" Armin whispered to Eren, catching on to their frequent eye contact.

Eren shrugged and took a bite of bread, acting as if he couldn't care less. Unfortunately, in reality he was up all night wondering if Mikasa was too cold in his shirt. The cabins didn't have proper insulation, and the winters nights get cold fast. Of course he would never tell anyone that he was up all night worrying, so he played it off the best he could.

"JAEGER AND ACKERMAN!" the commander's voice thundered. They both sprang up, and made direct eye contact with the commander. "My office. Now." he demanded, before walking out.

Sasha tugged on Mikasa's sleeve, and whispered 'good luck', and Armin did the same to Eren more or less.

The two left, and trudged to Keith Sadies office. They both knew what they were in trouble for, but had no idea how the commander would handle it. Neither of them said a word to each other, yet they glanced at one another upon entering the office.

Sadies glared up at them from his chair, his hands folded. Mikasa and Eren both bowed, and waited for their lecture.

"So. You two thought it would be a grand idea to cause a scene in the cafeteria last night, waste food?" He began as he leaned forward.

There was something about him, maybe it was the lack of eyebrows, that was utterly terrifying.

"We're extremely sorry Sir." Mikasa insisted with a bow, Eren following her lead.

"And what do you suppose must happen next?" Sadies asked. "We'll accept any punishment Sir." Eren muttered, rising from his bow. The commander groaned, and thought to himself for a moment.

"You two will be preparing dinner for the next week. And I will not be receiving complaints." Sadies ordered. "Yes Sir." they muttered.

Mikasa closed the door behind them when they exited, as Eren groaned. "Cooking isn't my thing." he muttered to himself, to quiet for Mikasa to hear.

He turned to find Mikasa giving him a cold stare, "Thank's a lot." she hissed, before heading to her cabin. He grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around to face him. He realized she was still wearing his shirt, but he forced the thought out of his mind for the time being.

"What are you pissed off for? We got let off easy." he muttered.

"Right, and what if we didn't get let off easy? And we got kicked out?" she raised her voice this time, which shocked Eren. He stayed silent, and just studied her agitated expression.

She scoffed and shrugged his hand off of her shoulder, "I'm not selfish like you, I'm doing all of this to ensure my family's safety. You don't know what that's like."

"My family's dead." he spoke, with a low emotionless voice.

A voice that sent shivers down Mikasa's spine. She replayed the sentence in her head over and over again, to make sure she actually heard him correctly. "I'm sorry." she whispered, and quickly made her leave.

...

The next day, Mikasa sat on the wooden fence and watched everyone spar. She was skilled in hand to hand combat, so she could only go up against either Reiner, Bertholdt or Annie to make it fair. Reiner and Bertholdt are close, so they chose each other. Annie didn't even look in Mikasa's direction, before asking Eren to spar with her. Reiner had told her that when Bertholdt got tired he would spar with her, but until then she would have to sit and watch.

She studied the clouds, and could tell winter was definitely coming. They were a different shape, and were darker than usual.

"Hey." Armin chirped, walking up beside Mikasa. "Hey." she muttered as he sat down beside her. "Where's your partner?" she asked. Armin chuckled lightly, "Uh Daz got food poisoning. So I'm guessing he's puking in a bush somewhere? I'm not sure, but I feel bad." Armin explained.

Mikasa nodded, and turned her attention back to the cadets. She noticed Eren standing with Annie, but they weren't sparring. It seemed like she was telling him something, but Mikasa couldn't make out words from this distance.

"Hey Armin?"

"Yeah?"

"Eren told me something." Mikasa began.

Armin eyes filled with worry, "Oh god what did he say? I'm sorry-" "No, nothing like that." Mikasa reassured him. He let out a relieved breath, and then waited for her to continue.

"He told me... his family is dead." Mikasa continued.

Armin took a deep inhale, "Oh..." he breathed.

"Yeah. Is that true?" she asked. She didn't want to come across rude, she was genuinely worried. If it turned out to be true, she would possibly forgive Eren for his absurd outbursts. She would probably lash out the same as he did if her parents were dead.

"Yeah. It's true." Armin answered, watching Eren in the distance.

Mikasa stayed quiet, and continued to study the clouds.

"He... he saw it happen." Armin began. "He saw his parents die?" she asked quietly. She didn't want to overstep, but she suddenly had a million questions.

Armin nodded, "Yeah. We lived in the Shiganshina District."

Her eyes widened as she jerked her head to face him, "You mean..." "Right."

Mikasa lived in Wall Maria, but she lived in the middle of nowhere. Very far from the main cities, meaning she was vastly far away when the titans broke down Wall Maria. She remembered listening to her parents the day the titans broke down the wall. How they said they needed to leave immediately, and that a colossal titan broke through the . If Armin and Eren lived there, that meant they saw it. They saw the titans, and they probably watched innocent people die.

"So... Eren's parents-"

"Eren's mom. Eren's mom was eaten by a titan, in front of him. Eren's dad, well I don't know. He went on a business trip and never came back. So I can only assume the worst..." Armin explained.

Mikasa tried to push the awful visuals out of her head, but they surrounded her.

He was only ten... When he watched his mother get killed in the worst way possible?

"I wouldn't bring up that day with him. He doesn't even like talking about it with me." Armin told her.

Mikasa nodded, "Of course. I'm really sorry Armin." she muttered. He gave her a soft smile, "Thanks."

She returned the expression, and then returned her gaze to Eren.

'I'm not selfish like you, I'm doing all of this to ensure my family's safety. You don't know what that's like.'

God did I seriously say that to him? How much of a bitch does that make me?