The very first voice that Emiko Ackerman could recognize was her mother's. As soon as she'd been born, she could recognize that soothing voice that on so many occasions before had spoken to her, sang to her, and hummed to her. That of her father's she could recognize not too long after that, because he'd spoken to her nearly as much as her mother had. It wasn't for a few weeks, but before long, she could connect those voices with the faces that regarded her with so much love.

A weird cast of other faces and voices soon joined her list of those she knew by heart. And as the months went on, she started to learn names. It was a lot to keep track of for her little mind; first voices, then faces, and finally names. But she could do it now!

First off, her mother. So sweet to her, doing her very best, doing all she could day in and day out for her. Emi absolutely loved her mom! Her kind eyes, pretty smile, soft hair that was perfect to pull, and a melodic laugh that always made Emi smile, too. She loved when her mother would sing to her or set her on her hip to help with the chores, or when they'd both go to annoy her father.

Oh, her dad! She loved him, too! Emi knew all the ways to annoy him, but quickly learned that all it took was a smile from her for him to relax again. He always looked angry, but she came to recognize the way that his eyes would soften when he looked at her. She especially liked doing paperwork with him because that always led to napping with him.

There was her godmother Hange, with wild brown hair and it seemed that whenever she was around, her father's irritation would rise. She was funny and loud, and Emi liked her because she'd always help her make as much noise as possible in the kitchens when she was supposed to be watching her. And she allowed her to get dirty, and would roll in the mud with her, too!

There was Jean too, who played with her a lot. He was slightly clumsy when it came to her at first, but he was nice and always seemed ready to play games. And then there was another duo, one that often accompanied Jean, named Connie and Sasha. They were always together. Mikasa and Armin were a bit more reserved around her, but Eren and Floch didn't really spend time with her. But she was determined to change that.

Today, she got to come with mom and dad to that big castle. Most of her morning was spent with dad in the office, and so far, she'd only gotten yelled at once, and it was only because she'd accidentally stepped on one of the crackers that she'd been given as a snack – and it wasn't her fault! She just forgot it was there, that was all!

After lunch, both mom and dad were in the office with her. She took a quick nap with her mom, who'd been out doing stuff outside all day, and she missed her. It was when the afternoon rolled around that things that day took a turn.

For two parents, a very troubling, worrying turn.

For a couple of young Scouts, a heart attack-inducing turn.

For a little girl, a very fun turn.

Everything that day had been normal. Things were quiet at the castle, relatively speaking. The kids weren't at the coast, rather they were here at the base, as was Hange, and everything was calm. Hange was in her office and joint laboratory, researching something or other. No one could really keep all her projects straight, anyway, so she never bothered telling anyone unless she had the goal of annoying Levi or dragging Amaya into being her partner.

The kids, after having their usual training, were granted rare free time, if only to give the two captains some time to catch up with some of the paperwork that they definitely were not putting off until now. Because they were responsible adults. Very responsible.

Amaya knew, now that the kids all had free time, that there would be a knock on their door sometime soon for a certain someone with an offer to babysit. And so she took the time to let her daughter sit in her lap, reaching around her to hold her in place with one hand while the other signed off on documents only to pass off to Levi for his signature as well until that fated knock on the door arrived.

Emi was, for now, content to just play with her toy horse. It was her favorite after all, and it might just convince her mother to let her get her own. She did leave enough hints, after all. It would work eventually.

---

Just as Amaya had predicted, it wasn't far into the afternoon when there was a knock on the door. Five knocks, rhythmic and strong, she knew exactly which person was standing on the other side of the door.

"Come in, Jean," she said without even looking up from her paperwork. Emi could hear a hushed word come from her father, earning him a light whack to the arm from her mother. "Watch the language. Emi's right here."

"Mama?" She heard her name; surely that was for a reason, right? Emi leaned back against her mother's chest, tilting her head back to look up at her. Her mother laughed – that sweet, melodic laugh again – and she pressed a kiss to her head. Emi let out a giggle, smiling widely.

The door to the office opened and in stepped Jean! "Good afternoon, Captains," he greeted. He'd barely gotten the words out before Emi was sliding out of her mother's lap. Amaya helped her down and made sure she was steady on her feet before letting go. And then she was off, toddling over to Jean. Jean took her into his arms as soon as she was close enough, bringing a delighted smile to her face. "And hello to you, Emi."

"Jean!" She squeaked. Jean set her against his hip, holding her comfortably as he returned his gaze to her parents.

"I take it you want to steal her away for the afternoon," her mother spoke up. She set her pen down, resting her chin in her hand with her elbow against the desktop. There was an amused smile on her lips, one that Emi looked curiously at.

"If that's alright with you, of course," Jean replied. There was a smile on his face, too, and Emi plopped her cheek on his shoulder. She could see the way her father's eyes followed the action, though when he met her eyes they softened, as they always did, upon seeing her. "I'd be happy to take her off your hands for a bit."

"I know you would," Amaya said. "But maybe we want to keep our daughter. She is ours, after all."

Jean laughed. "The offers there. I said my piece."

"Why don't we ask her?" Amaya looked at her daughter, all the love and adoration in the world dancing in her eyes.

"She already ran to him," Levi cut in, not even bothering to look up from his paperwork. "We know what her answer is. Just take the brat and go."

"I'll bring her back later," Jean told them, and with that, he left the office.

"Where going?" Emi asked. Her sentences were getting longer, her vocabulary growing, but it wasn't quite a perfected art yet. Still, Jean found it terribly endearing and he let her down to walk as soon as they were in the hallway. She immediately latched onto two of his fingers with her little hand, and he began to walk, keeping his long strides measured and paced to match her gait.

"Where do you want to go, Emi?"

"Outside!" It was at that moment that she realized she left her stuffed horse toy with her mother; acknowledging this, she turned her head to look back towards the office door as they continued down the hall. "Horse!"

"You want to see the horses?" Jean asked, glancing down at her. Hearing the question made her forget about the forgotten toy entirely and she grinned, hopping up and down with joy. "I'll take that as a yes."

The pair made their way through the deserted halls and finally outside, and Jean started them down the path towards the stables. The walk was quiet, and they made it there without running into anyone else.

Jean didn't mind, because just spending time with Emi was a good time. Seeing her allowed for a nice reprieve from everything else. It was refreshing, seeing somebody so pure and innocent in contrast to all the battle-hardened soldiers of the regiment. It helped that she was extremely cute.

When they made it into the stables, Emi let go of Jean only to run up to the nearest stall. She was far too little to see into the stall, but she put up a damn good amount of effort to try. Jean laughed, setting his hands under her arms to heft her up. This stall housed a mare and her foal that had just been born a few days ago.

There was a stable hand further into the stable cleaning out a different stall, but he smiled and walked up to meet the pair. He leaned his elbow on the stall door that Jean had set Emi to sit on, his arms keeping her in place as she gazed at the horses.

"Jean," he greeted happily. "And Emi too. I see the captains let you babysit, today."

"I asked to," Jean replied. "Thought I'd give them a bit of a break. They're swamped with paperwork anyway."

"That'd explain why Captain Amaya isn't out here with her charge," he noted. "She always goes for her afternoon ride. He's getting antsy; I'll have to take him out myself if she doesn't."

Emi, who had been diligently keeping an eye on the foal as it nibbled on its food, tried to reach for the foal when it looked at her. The mare's tail swished with indifference as she gazed at those who gathered at the stall. The hand noticed this and grinned. "Do you want to meet him, little one?"

"Yes, please!"

Well, who could say no to that?

The mare, used to the stable hand, had no problems with it when he opened the door of the stall. This wasn't her first foal, either and she knew the procedure by now. He guided the mare out of the stall, the foal following diligently behind.

Jean picked Emi up and they stayed out of the way while the mare was hitched just outside of the stall. She was calm, her gaze lazily sliding from person to person while her foal tried reaching into the stable hand's pocket where it could smell the remains of treats.

With Emi on his hip, Jean approached the mare, letting her greet Emi. She reached out with her hand happily, gently placing her palm against the mare's cheek. The horse nickered quietly, contentedly. Emi and her mother were frequent visitors to the stables, she knew she meant no harm.

Then Jean crouched down, setting Emi on his thigh as the foal approached to meet her. The horse sniffed all over her face, getting delighted peals of laughter out of her at the ticklish sensation. The sound brought a smile to Jean's face, and even the stable hand who was now petting the mare.

Emi reached out for the foal, and all too soon, the two were best friends. Jean and the stable hand picked up an easy conversation, and for a few minutes they allowed Emi to pet the foal until the hand needed to get back to his work.

Letting the two horses back into their stall, he led them down to see the sole buckskin horse of the Scouts' herd: Strider, Amaya's steed. The hand had been right; he was antsy, and eager to be let out for his usual run. Normally Amaya would do it and that's what he expected, but today he wasn't picky and allowed the hand to take him out and lead him out.

The horses had been out all morning and were usually to wait out the afternoon heat in the shade of the stables before being let back out into the paddock in the evening, but Strider was especially energetic and counted on his usual ride. He'd have to settle for a change today, though.

Jean and Emi followed as the hand led Strider out to the pasture, and they settled down in the grass outside the fence to watch as he joyously ran around the otherwise empty paddock. There was a happy, bright look in her eyes and the wide smile on her face refused to leave. Her excitement only grew when Strider came trotting along the fence line, slowing to a stop by them.

He whinnied, recognizing the girl, who reached eagerly for him. Jean obligingly got up and lifted her once more to sit atop the fence. The horse butted his nose against her gently, his dark eyes staring intently at her. Emi patted his cheeks, his head, and tugged on his ears; already used to this behavior, he took it all in stride.

It seemed as though this was a reoccurring theme among the Scouts and those surrounding the regiment. This was Emiko Ackerman's world. Everyone else just lived in it.

No one seemed to mind, though.

---

Now stuck in their office with no distractions, the Ackermans had to devote their attention completely to the paperwork stacked in front of them. For a while, being daughter-less served as an effective way to prompt them to be more productive. But then they got bored.

Having Emi there in the office meant that they'd get a distraction every so often. Taking her to the bathroom, playing with her for a minute, or something of the like. Without her there, they actually had to do the work they were supposed to.

And it sucked.

"Ugh," Amaya groaned, leaning back in her chair, and dropping her head back. Levi glanced over at his wife, rolled his eyes, then returned them to his paperwork. He initialed where he had to, signed where it was required, and skimmed through the same old shit he'd been signing for years now. This shit never got any more interesting.

He didn't even know why half this shit was necessary; was it really imperative that he had to sign another one of Hange's proposed plans for the coast – which was a modified version of a plan proposed just last week where only one sentence had been revised for clarity? Honestly, he had half a mind to just chuck the pile into the fireplace and be done with it, but he knew he couldn't do that.

Though... maybe his wife would. No, better not give her the idea, because she'd do it. This he knew for sure.

He made it through a few more pages before realizing that his wife was still not doing a damn thing. "Brat," he said, getting no outward reaction from her, "keep working."

"I don't want to."

"I didn't ask if you wanted to. I'm telling you to keep working."

"But it's stupid, it's boring, and it's stupid."

"You said stupid twice, moron."

"The stupid of the paperwork is rubbing off on me," she whined.

He kicked her shin lightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to get her ass back in gear. "Just keep working, Maya. We'll never get it done if you don't."

Another groan escaped her lips and suddenly, she lifted her head and sat up straight in her chair. Levi chanced a glance at her sidelong. What the hell had gotten into her?

"What if I just toss it into the fireplace and be done with it?"

Huh... maybe their thoughts weren't so different after all. That was a scary thought.

"Don't," he said. "The sooner we finish the sooner we can go to bed."

"Oh, that'd be nice," Amaya sighed out. "Alright, fine."

And then, all was quiet in the office once more as the pair got back to work.

---

"Jean!" The call of his name got his attention, but Emi only continued to pet the horse in front of her. When the duo got closer, they slowed their jogs to a walk, and finally came to a stop a few paces away from them. "Jeez, you stole Emi again?"

"I didn't steal her," Jean protested Sasha's words, though he knew she was only teasing. "Just figured I'd look after her for a bit."

"You've got baby fever, don't you?" Connie joked. "Admit it, you just want a kid."

"No, it's nothing like that," Jean said. "In the future, sure. Not right now, though."

"Right, right," Sasha said. "Why are you out here, though? It's so hot!"

"Emi wanted to see the horses," Jean said with a shrug. Then he looked down at the girl with a smile. "Right, Emi?"

"Right!" She agreed, despite having not really listened to the conversation happening.

"I think she looks hungry," Sasha said. "You should get her something to eat."

Jean's brow furrowed. "She's definitely not hungry. She had lunch only a short while ago."

"Yes, and?"

"She's a growing girl," Connie agreed with a lazy smile. "Needs a lot of food."

There was an accusatory look in Jean's eyes now as he clued in to why exactly they wanted to go to the mess hall right now and were so insistent on Emi coming along. "You only want her to go with you because the cook never denies her."

"Absolutely not!"

"You're exactly right!"

The two answers came simultaneously; Connie's, the first, who wanted to play at being innocent and continue the ruse, and Sasha's was the second, unabashedly admitting it. What was the point in denying it when they all knew it was true?

With a sigh, Jean lifted Emi off the fence and set her down on the ground only to take her hand again. "Wanna go inside, Emi? We can get a snack!"

The girl, very unlike her father and very like her mother, could never deny a snack. And so she let go of Jean, only to skip ahead happily. The trio followed her, a few paces back, watching her as she danced her way back to the castle.

They went through the courtyard, cutting through the halls to reach the mess hall. Because it wasn't mealtime, the lone cook they'd hired for now was relaxing in the hall at one of the tables. Emi continued to skip, making her way towards the table he was at.

She climbed up onto the bench across from him, and he looked over at her with a smile on his face before setting the book he'd been reading down. "Afternoon, doll," he greeted. "Here without your parents?"

"Mm-hm!"

The trio finally caught up with her, and the cook's eyes wandered up to meet them. "She wants a snack," Sasha told him. The cook already knew Sasha quite well and one of his eyebrows rose in a silent question.

"Is that so?"

"Yep! Emi wants a snack."

"...Right. Alright, I can make her something."

"Great!"

The cook got to his feet, offering Emi a smile as she became preoccupied with a fork that had been left over from lunch on the table. "Only cause you're cute," he said. "Otherwise I'd say no."

Emi was almost immediately bored now that the cook headed into the kitchen and Sasha followed. Then Connie started a conversation with her, and she took off with telling him a story. Jean sat on one side of her, Connie on the other, as she spoke animatedly about... something. They couldn't really tell, mostly because she started from somewhere in the middle. After only a few minutes, there was shouting from the kitchen, and then a loud bang.

"What the hell are they doing in there?"

"They?" Jean laughed. "Probably better to ask what Sasha's doing to that poor man."

"Well, I'm not going to check on them," Connie muttered. "I'm good right here."

"Fine," Jean sighed. "I'll check. Just to make sure she didn't destroy the oven or something. Don't lose Emi, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah," Connie waved him off. Jean wasn't even gone for a minute before Connie got antsy. "Hey, kid," he said, getting Emi's attention. "I gotta pee. You can't come into the boy's bathroom, and I can't hold it anymore. So... just sit tight, ok?"

"Ok!"

She didn't.

As soon as Connie was gone, she got nervous. She hadn't been left on her own before unless it was at home in her room at home. Mom and dad never left her alone when she was here, something about it being dangerous. Emi was confused; the room seemed safe enough when the grown ups were here, but now that they weren't, were things about to get dangerous?

She got scared.

And so she climbed down from the bench and ran. Someone had left the door to the hallway ajar and she squeezed through the opening, a whimper escaping her lips.

"Mama!" No answer.

"Dada!" No answer.

Growing more upset by the minute, her pace quickened. She didn't know where her parents were. From down there, all the doors looked the same! (She didn't know she was in entirely the wrong wing, anyway.)

She continued to run as fast as her little legs would take her. Until she fell. She hurt her knee as she fell onto the wood floor. Though it wouldn't actually require medical attention, she didn't know that, and it hurt. She'd say it hurt like a bitch if she knew that word, but she didn't. So, she did what any big girl would do. She cried. And cried. And cried.

Emiko didn't know where she was, where her parents were, or where Jean was, and her knee hurt. She laid there on her stomach sprawled on the floor, crying. She didn't notice someone step out into the hallway upon hearing the noise she was making until they came to a stop only a few feet away. She hiccupped, craning her head up to see who her savior was.

It was Eren!

"Ren!"

"Ren? Is that supposed to be me?"

She got to a sitting position then reached for him with both hands, the cutest pout on her face as she gazed up at him. With watery eyes, a quivering lip, and grabby hands reaching for him, Eren knew what the little girl wanted but wasn't sure quite how to go about doing it. He wasn't exactly around babies growing up – or what was she now? A toddler? Was there a difference?

Instead of picking her up, Eren crouched down in front of her. She hiccupped again, lifting an arm to rub her eyes against her sleeve. "Oh, uh, here," he said, reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief. She only looked at it curiously, then past it and into his eyes again.

Still holding it out to her awkwardly, Eren flushed slightly. How does one... interact with children? Especially one looking up at you like you were a hero when all you did was walk into a hallway?

He reached out, cupping the handkerchief over her nose. "Um... can you blow your nose? Do you know how to?"

She did know. Papa had taught her how!

She closed her eyes and blew her nose. Eren cringed slightly; this was gross. He was a soldier. He'd trained in mud and had seen his fair share of blood but getting the snot out of a toddler's nose? Disgusting.

When she was done, she drew back, smiling widely at him. He wiped her nose of the excess, then used a clean corner to dab her tears away. That part came almost instinctually, and he smiled a little as he did it, only for the smile to leave his face once he realized that he was.

She reached out for him again. He begrudgingly stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket and set his hands under her arms to pick her up. He held her to sit against his stomach, afraid to move more than that. Emi put her hands on his chest, still smiling up at him.

"What? Why are you smiling like that?"

She giggled. She giggled. He didn't say anything funny, and she giggled!

"I don't really know how to hold you. Is this comfortable?"

"Mm!"

The hell did that even mean?

"Ren's tall!"

"Tall? Not really. And my name is Eren."

"Ren!"

"Right. Fine. Ren. But I'm not that tall, you know. Maybe compared to your parents, sure."

"I want higher!"

"...Higher? Oh, like you want to sit on my shoulders?"

"Please!"

"Um... ok."

His voice was calm, but his internal monologue was not. He barely was able to pick her up. How in the world was he going to set her on his shoulders?

"You don't have any experience with kids, do you?" Emi turned her head only to beam at the newcomer. She didn't know Floch very well, but he had funny looking hair that she really wanted nothing more than to touch. But not right now! Diligence! She wanted to get onto Uncle Ren's shoulders!

"Ren, up!"

"Ok, ok," he muttered. Then he looked at Floch, as if for help. Rolling his eyes, Floch approached the pair. Taking Emi from Eren's arms, he hefted her up, only to set her down atop Eren's shoulders.

"Hold her legs," Floch instructed. "There. It's that simple."

Eren scoffed but really couldn't imagine how he'd have done that himself, so he resigned to say nothing. Floch took his leave then, heading down the hall again. Eren held onto Emi's legs which dangled down on either side of his head, and her hands found their way into his hair. "Ow! Emi, don't tug!"

"Sorry!"

"Now what do I do?"

"Go!" Emi instructed, pointing down the hallway. A burst of laughter escaped her as he began to walk. He went slowly, carefully, afraid to do much more than that for fear of dropping her. If he did, the Captains would have his head. He wasn't sure which one to be more afraid of: Levi or Amaya.

Levi would beat the shit out of him.

Amaya would beat the shit out of him, though she'd lecture him afterward.

Save for the beating the shit out of him part, it sounded like one of his mom's long-winded speeches about good and bad behavior, and he figured he could do without it. He shuddered lightly at the thought of getting lectured by her.

Besides all that though... he supposed that Emi was cute. He didn't really want to see her get hurt.

He also supposed that this wasn't so bad. When she wasn't crying or soiling her bottoms, she really was cute. This, carrying her around on his shoulders, wasn't so bad.

---

When Jean had returned to the kitchen, a bowl in hand full of little candies and Sasha in tow, there was no one in the mess hall. When he slowed to a stop and Sasha bumped into him, she realized it too.

"Where'd they go?"

"I don't know," Jean said as panic started to bubble up in his chest.

Just then, Connie returned to the mess hall, walking back to the table while whistling a tune. "Connie!" Jean barked out, and the whistling ceased.

"What?"

"Where's Emi?"

"What do you mean? She's right... Not here. Huh." Connie ducked down, as if she were hiding under a table, before standing up straight again. "Yeah, I uh. I don't know."

"Well," Sasha said, "this is a problem."

"You think?! We lost the Captains' daughter!"

"Now hold on, she's not lost, just not here. We just have to find her."

Jean ran a hand through his hair, setting the bowl down on the table. "Ok. Let's stay calm and be rational about this."

"You're the one not being calm and rational, Jean," Sasha said. She smiled. "We'll find her, don't worry!"

"Right," Jean mumbled. "Yeah." He looked around, looking for any potential exits for her to have taken. There was the door leading to the courtyard which was open, and one leading out to one of the hallways. "You two check down that hallway. I'll check outside. Maybe she went back to see the horses again."

---

"Maybe we should go check on them," Amaya murmured. "She usually wants a snack around this time."

"I'm sure she's fine," Levi replied. He glanced over at Amaya's completed stack of paperwork. "You damn woman. Have you only done that much? Lazy ass." He set a hand on the back of Amaya's head and redirected her head to face the desk.

"Alright, alright," she huffed. "Fine. I'm working."

---

"Eren?" The voice was Armin's, leaving the barracks with a book in hand. It was a lovely afternoon: perfect for reading in the shade of a tree. And that's exactly what he planned on doing. But seeing Eren with Emi was strange. Usually Eren never offered to babysit and avoided being alone with her, if only because he wasn't experienced with kids.

"Armin, thank god," Eren said. "I don't know how to get her down." The hallway they were in was quiet, for the time of day.

"Huh? Oh, let me help."

"Min-Min!"

"Min-Min," Eren repeated incredulously. "Since when do you have a nickname?"

Armin laughed. "Why do you ask? Are you jealous?"

"N-No! Of course not! I've got my own, anyway!"

"Mm-hm," Armin hummed with a smile, "sure."

"I do! I'm Uncle Ren to her!"

"Alright, alright," Armin conceded. He lifted Emi from his shoulders and lowered her into his arms. "To answer your question, I've had this nickname since she could talk, really. She came up with it all by herself! Isn't that right, Emi?"

She nodded happily, throwing her arms around his neck. Armin chuckled, making sure she was comfortable sitting against his hip with his book still secured in his other hand. "Well," Eren said, "she's your responsibility now. Bye."

"Bye! Wait, what? Where are Amaya and Levi? A-And why can't they watch her? And for how long do I have to? Are the captains ok? Or-"

Eren was long gone by the time Armin finished his questions. It was safe to say that none of them were answered.

---

"Floch!"

"Hm?"

"Have you seen Emi?!"

"Recently?"

"Wha- yes, Floch! Recently!"

Jean, outside, had fortunately run into Floch. Unfortunately, Floch was as difficult as always to deal with.

"I saw her inside, with Eren."

"Ok. Did they say where they were going?"

"Nope."

With a groan, Jean jogged back towards the base. He really did not think this was how his afternoon was going to go.

---

"We should be helping look for Emi, right?"

"Perhaps."

"Jean's gonna kick our ass, right?"

"Of course."

"But she's probably fine though, right?"

"Probably."

"Still, these sandwiches are good though, right?"

"Yeah."

"Hell yeah."

---

As Jean entered through the doors on one side of the castle, Armin and Emi were leaving through the other. "I'm sorry it's not a picture book," Armin said as they walked hand in hand towards his usual reading spot. "But I like it. It's one of my favorites. Maybe you'll like it, too."

She settled in his lap as he started to read, leaning against the trunk of a large, shady tree. The breeze kept them cool as they sat, listening to the birdsong and rustling of the leaves far above their heads. All was calm. All was peaceful.

Armin found that he quite liked this, reading out here with her. He read aloud, though he knew all too well that she'd have no context because he was more than halfway through it. Hell, she might not even be listening. But it was nice, certainly, to have someone to read to.

They weren't even out there for five minutes before there was an interruption.

"Mika!"

"Oh," Mikasa said, "hello Emi, Armin. Are you babysitting, Armin?"

"I guess so," Armin said. "Eren kinda just passed her off to me. But I... Well, we're reading together for now. Were you training more?"

"I was," Mikasa said. She still had her gear on, and full gear, a fine sheen of sweat covering her body.

"We're not allowed to do gear training on our own," Armin said. "Because if the gear malfunctions, then-"

"I'm alright," she assured him. "Captain Amaya gave me permission to do this."

"Mika," Emi said again. She got up, toddled over to Mikasa, and tugged on the belts on her thigh.

"Yes, Emiko?"

Mikasa always had a soft spot for this girl; she was extended family, after all. No matter how she was related to the runt, she was related in some capacity, meaning that Emiko was related, too. So, she felt a certain kind of responsibility towards her. Besides, she was adorable. Even Mikasa couldn't deny that.

"I go with you?"

"Oh? I suppose so."

"Bye, Min-Min!"

---

"Eren, you jackass! Where is Emi?"

"With Armin."

"And where is Armin?"

"Why do you need to know?" There was a shitty smirk on Eren's shitty face. "Were you supposed to be the one watching her?"

"Shut up," Jean hissed. "Just tell me where Armin is, bastard!"

"Did you lose the Captains' daughter?"

First, it took him five minutes to even find Eren. And now he was being difficult! Really, could no one see what was at stake here? Emi was missing! Emi Ackerman! Why no one else was taking this seriously was beyond him. All he knew was he had to fix Connie's mistake and fast. Honestly, how far could she possibly have gone?

"Just tell me where he is!"

"He's outside, reading."

Jean didn't bother to thank him as he sprinted outside.

---

"Oi! Watch it!" Levi snarled as someone nearly bumped into him. Levi's eyes narrowed immediately as he realized who it was. "Jean! Why the hell are you running in the halls? I can very well assign you laps outside if you're that eager to run."

Levi sighed as Jean didn't even stop. No, wait. There was Jean. And... no Emi? Was Jean not the one who'd left with her?

The tea could wait. Where the fuck was his daughter?

"Jean! Get your ass over here!"

"Er, yes captain!" Jean stopped, though he seemed terribly antsy as Levi took calculated, deceivingly calm steps towards him. "Um – I know what you're about to ask and... she's with Armin! Reading! Safely!"

Levi's eyes narrowed. "You think I believe that?"

Jean blanched but forced a smile to his face. "It's the truth, sir! Have I ever let any harm come to her while watching her? I let her see Armin while I used the bathroom!"

"I want her back now. Take me to them."

"Huh? No, wait, I-"

"That's an order."

Jean gulped. He was certifiably, without a doubt, fucked. The look in Levi's eyes was venomous; he knew Jean was lying. This was bad news. However, for all of Jean's bad luck so far today, all it took was one wicked stroke of good luck to give him just the break he needed to get away.

A pair of idiots came tumbling out into the hallway, the bowls of food they'd each been carrying spilling out onto the floor. Levi and Jean both turned to look at the sound and Jean couldn't help but grin upon seeing his best friends. Thank the goddesses that they were so damn clumsy.

Upon seeing Levi was there to witness their mess and somehow catching on that Jean needed an out, the two shared a quick look before dashing down the hallway away from them, leaving behind their mess and a captain whose patience was very quickly waning.

"Oi! Both of you get back here now!"

They did no such thing. Biting back insult after insult, Levi started to run after them. "Stay put, Kirstein! I'm not done with you, yet!"

Levi might not have been done with Jean yet, but Jean was certainly done with the captain. He ran, too, only outside, towards Armin's usual spot to read.

---

Amaya sat in the office, her hand working on auto as it signed document after document. She took a brief rest, rolling her wrist out as she gazed out the window. "Levi doesn't usually take this long to make tea," she murmured to no one in particular.

Goodness, it looked like it was a beautiful day out. She wanted to go out there and maybe do her paperwork on a bench out in the courtyard, but Levi would sooner kick her ass than let her postpone this any further. "What are the odds they're all having fun without me?"

She sighed. Was it too late to quit?

---

Jean's search for Armin was quick, and his disappointment caught up with him as soon as he got there. Emi wasn't with him. Armin knew immediately what he was looking for though, or rather whom, and told him who she was with.

Upon hearing that Mikasa had her, he felt a flurry of butterflies erupt in his stomach. Mikasa, with a kid? The goddesses only knew how long he'd fantasized about that. But it wasn't their kid: he had to focus.

Mikasa wasn't hard to find, and thankfully, Emi was still with her. She and Emi were walking hand-in-hand through the courtyard, and Jean slowed in the doorway to catch his breath and take a mental snapshot of what he was seeing.

Emi let go of Mikasa's hand only to chase after a butterfly. Mikasa stopped to watch her, a small smile on her face. The wind blew through her hair and she lifted one of her hands to keep it from blowing into her face.

Crouched down in front of the flower the butterfly landed on and staring intently at it, Emi almost didn't see it when another flitted right next to her. But then it landed on her nose and she giggled, nearly going cross-eyed in her attempt to see it.

"Mika, a butterfly!"

"I see it, Emi," Mikasa replied, crouching down next to her. The butterfly opened and closed its wings, happy for a break. It flew away only, accompanied by the one on the flower, when Jean approached, an air of casualness about him. His hands were in his pockets, a lazy smile on his face.

"Hello, girls," he said. Both ladies looked up at him; Mikasa curiously, and Emi quite happily. She stood, hopping over to him. She threw her arms around his leg, hugging him close.

"Jeannie!"

"Jeannie," Mikasa repeated. She laughed lightly, adding a small, "cute."

Jean almost died right there but he worked hard to regain his composure. "Y-Yeah, uh, that's just the nickname she came up with for me. I-It's kinda cute, I guess."

Smooth.

"I hate to break this up," he continued after clearing his throat, "but I have to get Emi back to her mother."

"Oh," Mikasa said. "Ok."

Jean picked Emi up, clearing his throat once more. "Right. So. Uh. See you at dinner."

Mikasa didn't even get a chance to reply before he was running off, Emi securely in his arms and giggling.

---

Mrs. Ackerman was still waiting for her tea when there was a knock on the door. Excitement bubbled up in her chest before recognizing the pattern; it was Jean, not her husband with the long-awaited tea.

"Come in," she called. In stepped Jean, slightly winded but with a happy looking Emi in his arms.

"Here to bring her back, safe and sound," Jean said, letting her down. Emi took off immediately, rounding the desk to leap into her mother's waiting arms.

"Hello, my darling," Amaya said, pressing a kiss to her cheek as soon as she was sitting in her lap. Amaya looked up at Jean, a smile on her face. "How was she today?"

Jean rubbed the back of his neck but had an easy smile on his face all the same. "Perfectly behaved, as always."

"I'm very happy to hear that," Amaya cooed, glancing down at her daughter. "Thank you for watching her, Jean."

"Right, yeah. I totally kept an eye on her the whole time."

One of the captain's eyebrows rose. "That's what watching her means." Her eyes narrowed. "Nothing happened, right?"

Oh god. She knew. He had to get out of here – and fast.

"Uh – I have chores to do! Bye, Captain! Bye, Emi!"

It was safe to say that the whole ordeal kept Jean from offering to watch her for quite a few days.

NOTE: ta-da! here it is! I hope you all enjoyed this little special. I was debating doing this strictly from emi's POV but this was fun so I really hope you like it B)

this special is, of course, to thank you all for reading, sharing, supporting, and enjoying this story! we've gone beyond 100K reads by now, and we're actually at 102K by the time this gets published. this is such an incredible milestone and I am so incredibly humbled by all of the love you all have been sending my book.

i've been debating starting like a discord or smth for this lil community we got going over here because lord only knows i need more friends who read the manga but i'm far too awkward to do that. neways...

with that being said, I hope you all continue to enjoy b&w. I might be biased, but I think it's starting to get really good.

see you all on friday for ch 78 - the rumbling. ;)