The apartment smells like rain and coffee.

It’s early—gray morning light spills through the wide windows, casting soft shadows on the hardwood floor. The city hums beyond the glass, muffled by distance and the steady drizzle outside. A record turns lazily in the corner—something old, scratchy, quiet enough not to disturb the moment.

Eren is leaning against the kitchen counter, hoodie half-zipped, hair pulled back in a loose, messy tie. His mug sits untouched beside him, steam curling up and fading into nothing.

He’s watching them.

Jean is asleep on the couch, one arm thrown over his eyes, his bare chest rising and falling in the slow rhythm of dreams. Mikasa is curled beside him, still wearing Eren’s shirt from the night before, fingers resting lightly on Jean’s stomach. The blanket’s fallen to the floor. None of them bothered with real sleep last night. Not after the fight. Not after what Eren said—too loud, too sharp, words that left marks even if no one talks about them now.

“Maybe I was never supposed to be part of this.” That’s what he said.

“Maybe you two would’ve been fine without me.”

And worse: “Sometimes I feel like a placeholder.”

Jean snapped first. Mikasa went quiet. The rest was a storm of raised voices, silence, slammed doors—and then nothing but exhaustion.

And yet… they stayed.

They always stay.

Eren runs a hand through his hair and breathes in the quiet. It feels like something fragile. Something he never thought he’d have.

He doesn’t know how to say it. That he’s sorry. That he loves them—both of them. That he’s scared of being loved back. That some part of him still wakes up every morning expecting to be alone.

But he’s not. Not today.

So when you walk into the room—you, someone who’s been part of this strange, tangled little family for longer than anyone expected—Eren glances up. His expression is unreadable at first. Still distant. Still guarded.

But then his eye softens. Just a little.

“You want coffee?” he asks, voice low and rough with sleep. “There’s some left.”

It’s not much.

But for him?

It’s a peace offering.