it was a slow saturday night at work. technically, you had the night off but hitch begged you to cover her shift since she had a date or something along those lines. you ended up agreeing since you didn't really have anything better to do, especially since sasha had prior plans with niccolo. spending your saturday night alone in the dorm wasn't typically ideal. you decided working was better than spending another night letting your thoughts eat you alive.

since it was one of hitch's shift, you were scheduled to be closing in the cafe along with armin. thankfully, the cafe closed an hour before the store did. you looked at the time and saw you had about 15 minutes left until you and armin could begin closing duties. you rested your chin in the palm of your hand as your elbow rested on the counter before looking over to armin.

the boy was busy making some sort of iced beverage. you couldn't make out what it was as he poured the drink into a cup, quickly placing a lid upon on it and turning to you. he grinned at you as he handed you the drink to which you raised a questioning brow at him.

"you've been looking glum so i made you my personal favorite. it's a strawberry peach lemonade!" he shrugged.

"me? glum?" you mumble, taking the drink from him. you take a small sip and your eyes widen as the sweet drink reaches your tastebuds. you smiled at armin who looked at you proudly.

"i guess you like it. and yes glum! you haven't been around really and i know it's because of the whole eren and mikasa thing."

you wanted to deny it but it was no use when it involved armin. in fact, armin was probably the only person you could confide in. and possibly get answers to the questions that danced in your mind.

you take another swig of the drink armin prepped for you before reaching for a rag to wipe at the counters. "armin, what's the history between the three of you?"

armin, who was breaking down the espresso machine to get it ready to be cleaned, looked over at you. "i'm sure you already know we knew one another since before we could even talk. they've been my best friends forever."

you nod, gathering up some dishes before taking them to the back. armin follows, carry the parts of the machine that are needed to be washed. he begins to speak as you both head back out to the front. "mikasa and eren started dating after eren's mother died."

you whirl around to face the blond boy, shock written all over your face. "what?"

"yeah. back story, mikasa lost her parents when she was around nine years old in a car crash. we both were there for her but eren moreso considering they were neighbors. her grandmother took her and her brother in after the accident and they moved across town. when eren's mom passed, mikasa felt it was her duty to return the favor. which led to them dating." he explained before letting out a sigh.

your mind was to busy processing all the information that you didn't even notice levi approaching the cafe.

"jade citrus mint tea with extra honey, armin." he spoke. "what's got you in a daze, y/n? i'm not paying you to dose off. don't you want to go home?"

"sorry, boss." you whisper sheepishly. you work through the rest of your closing duties while armin prepares his drink.

you were washing the dishes, allowing the details that armin shared with you to fully seep in. mikasa lost her parent's and eren lost his mother. you could understand how that was one thing they had in common but didn't get how that led them to date nor their break up. you sighed for what felt like the hundredth time as you carried the crate of clean dishes that needed to be put away in front of the cafe.

to your surprise, levi was still there, casually sipping his tea while doing the money count from the register. from what hitch had informed you, usually her or armin does it. deciding not to dwell on it any longer, you continued helping armin with the other closing duties while sipping from the drink he made you from time to time.

once you both finished, you stood before levi as he finished his count. armin then let out a gasp causing the two of you to look at him. "y/n! why don't you ask levi about mikasa and eren's relationship. he is her brother after all!"

"brother?" you mumbled, looking over at levi who raised an eyebrow at armin. of course he was her brother. how couldn't you tell? the last name should've been the main giveaway but now you can see the true resemblance.

"why would you ask me about that?" levi asked you. "they dated for a while and broke up. that's all."

"yeah, but why? just because they both have dead parents?" levi glared a bit at your choice of words. "sorry."

the man sighed, running a hand through his hair. "mikasa and eren have always had a close relationship. i was never the type of brother to baby or play with my sister as normal siblings do which caused her to turn to armin and eren for friends. when our parents died, i will admit i wasn't there for her as those two were."

"he basically locked himself in his room after school before leaving to college." armin whispered to you.

you nodded, looking back to levi to continue his story. "it was easy to tell that mikasa developed some feelings towards eren since he was there for her everyday. maybe a crush or appreciation. when his mother passed, he completely shut everyone out."

"i couldn't get him to come out and talk to any of us and i tried everyday. most days he just ignored me." armin added.

"mikasa was finally the one able to bring him back out and bring some sort of life back to him. they started dating some time last year, claiming to be in love with each other." levi pauses, pursing his lips a bit. "i don't think they were ever in love with each other, but more in love with the fact that they knew they weren't alone. they loved the familiarity of one another but it wasn't love."

"that makes sense." you mumbled.

levi looks at his watch on his wrist. "it's past the time you were scheduled to work. the cafe looks good. sorry for taking up so much of your time."

"levi wait!" you called out as he begin to walk away. he turned to you with the expressionless face you have grown accustomed to. "d-do you think they will ever get back together?"

"personally, no. i think they will always have an unbreakable bond but dating? being in love? no. they will always love each other but i don't think they will ever be in love with each other. besides, mikasa has already been asking me for advice on another boy." levi rolls his eyes before leaving you and armin.

armin looks to you before leading you over to the back so you two could gather your things to clock out. "i'm heading over to eren's right now but i can walk you to your dorm if you want."

you shook you head, showing him your phone screen where it said your uber had just arrived. "all good. thank you for everything for tonight armin. i feel like i finally got some answers."

the two of you were heading out of the store, watching as customers were leaving and some coming in to do some last minute browsing. when you got outside, armin stopped you by placing a hand on your shoulder. you eyed him before looking at your uber waiting.

"y/n, is it possible that you like eren?"