thirteen things | e. jaeger

5. Knit Something

a/n: this chapter marks the shift in Eren and Y/N's feelings for each other imo even though it takes a while for them to admit anything

When a knock resounded on your door the next morning, you were tempted to ignore it and continue sleeping. Still, you knew you should answer it – it could be someone important, after all, like Commander Magath.

Fortunately, it was not Commander Magath. Unfortunately, it was Porco, the man whose house you had stormed out of yesterday. He held a bouquet of yellow roses and, upon seeing you, thrust them into your hands.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I was out of line yesterday. I just get so angry sometimes and I don't know what to do so I take it out on everyone around me," he said. You raised the flowers to your nose and sniffed them – they smelled nice. Yellow was your favorite color, a fact that you were certain Porco had taken into consideration when selecting his apology gift.

"It's alright. I know losing your brother has been hard for you. Just...I won't let something like that happen to any of the younger ones. Maybe I shouldn't be a titan, but I'll make myself be good enough if that's what's necessary," you said.

"You're very brave," he said. You sighed.

"I don't know if brave is the right word for it, but thank you anyways. Would you like to come in? I can make tea, if you want," you said, stepping back to allow him in.

"Only if it's not too much trouble," Porco said, following you into the kitchen. You took out a vase and put the roses into it before starting the kettle.

"I was planning on having some myself, so it's no big deal. Is jasmine alright?" you said.

"Whatever you're making is fine with me. I'm no tea connoisseur, I'm not picky," he said.

"That's good, since I'm not exactly a master at making it," you said, pouring the warm liquid into two mugs and handing one to Porco. He took a long sip before letting out a soft breath.

"Have you and Reiner made up again yet?" you said, sitting at the table across from him.

"As much as we always do, and by that I mean Pieck forced us to apologize and shake hands. I still don't like him, and the feeling's mutual, but we can't let that bleed into our work. I'll put up with him for Marley's sake," he said.

"Did Pieck force you to apologize to me, too?" you said.

"No! No, of course not. I actually care about you – you're like a younger sister to me. You just had the misfortune of being the one in between Reiner and I last night," he said.

"I see. He's not that bad, you know. If you guys ever gave each other a chance, you'd probably get along well enough. You might even become friends," you said. Porco shook his head immediately.

"No way. I'm never going to be friends with him. I'll leave that up to you," he said.

"He's a pretty lonely guy, Porco, don't you feel bad for him?" you said.

"Serves him right, for all that he's done. I've seen the way he treated those island devils through the previous Jaw's memories. He pretended to be like their older brother and everything, like he could be their Marcel! Can you believe it?" he said, disgusted. You took Porco's empty mug and put it in the sink along with your own.

"He wasn't that old when he was sent to Paradis. I could hardly blame him for getting attached to the devils," you said, shaking your head at Porco's stubbornness.

"Whatever. Fact of the matter is, we didn't get along before he left, and we sure as hell won't now. I'll do my best to be as civil as possible, but no promises," he said. You frowned as he got up to leave.